(08/19/2019)(UPDATED: 09/12/2019) Hoo boy, I hope I'm not establishing a pattern of once-a-week updates, but I really wanted to get this chapter pushed out before I forgot about it! I wanted to really thank everyone who took the time to read my little story in its fledgling development stages. As always, if you have any tips for me, they will be greatly appreciated. For now, though, I hope you all like italics and semi-colons!

~Nine Months After the Last Tournament's Broadcast~

The song of distant Nitpickers heralded the impending dawn for Murasat Village and the other settlements around the foothills of Icicle Mountain. Chirps and squawks echoed down from the mountainsides, became amplified through the valleys of the region, and arrived at the ears of peacefully slumbering residents for a gentle, gradual awakening during the colder months.

In the milder months, it was a hellacious cacophony that startled people into falling out of bed, or hitting their heads on low slants in their ceilings.

Nana grumbled while rubbing the middle of her forehead. That was going to be a nasty bump, but at least the skin was unbroken. Briefly, she considered strolling outside and face-planting right into the snow for a few minutes to get the swelling down. No; the indignant posing just wouldn't be worth the relief. At least she was awake, though, and able to face the day with her grogginess at a relatively low level.

"I guess the Elder had to be right about one thing this season," she muttered. It's not that the Elder was often wrong about things, but oftentimes his predictions tended to hold out for at least a couple more days. Oh well. Nana supposed the big project for the day would be to move the bed closer to the center of her room; at least far enough away from the slant in her half of the cabin duplex. Oh, but she'd need Popo to help with that, lest she leave scratches all over her floor.

She rapped her knuckles on the shared wall between their rooms before exchanging her slippers for her white boots, exiting her half and walking the short distance to Popo's half of the duplex.

It wasn't that Nana didn't appreciate their home being built for them, but sometimes she wondered why they needed to be kept separated like this. They were Murasat's champions after all, and it was evident in both their duties and their battles in the skies—battles that everyone in the region saw—that they worked best when they were in tandem. A faint blush stained her cheeks while she, not for the first time, regarded the implications of that barrier; did the rest of the village think they were animals? Not even when they were away during the two tournaments did they do anything more than be a bit more affectionate out in the open… Nana giggled a bit when she recalled Ness's exaggerated gagging gestures when she and Popo engaged in sweet-talk.

It'd been a while since she'd thought about the tournaments…

Pushing those thoughts away at the end of the ten-foot walk from her door to his, Nana all but kicked open the door as she barged in. "Good Morning, Popo! I was thinking maybe we could move my—Popo?"

His side of the duplex was dark and silent. Nana first presumed Popo had gone out to visit with the Elder already; a notion immediately dispelled when she saw his boots neatly resting on the absorbent mat beside the door. She removed her own boots and carefully set them alongside his on the mat before investigating the room.

A quick glance at where he still lay upon the bed confused her at first. He was somehow still asleep? Sure, there were a few times where the birdsong was so sudden he'd knocked himself back unconscious, but on the first day of the warm season…it wasn't likely. Nana padded over to his bedside and examined him a bit more closely. He didn't appear damaged; no bump, no bruise, and his light snoring seemed completely oblivious. She squinted a bit in the early-morning light filtering through the shutters and eventually found the reason: He was wearing Topi fur earmuffs! She was about ready to smack him upside the head before she caught herself—it really was an ingenious idea, worth pursuing for the coming months. Get a little extra sleep, maybe wake up by the morning dawn when the sun's rays came through the windows... They might not even have to move the beds!

The idea to search for her own earmuffs brought her up short. She could find them later, certainly, but she'd been up too long to simply go back to sleep. All this thinking made the bump on her head pulse angrily anyway, and she was not about to spend this morning eating breakfast alone. Once again, she regarded Popo's sleeping form. On the one hand, he looked so peaceful when he slept… But on the other hand, he was usually the one getting her up to face the day, and it was high time she got him back for it.

"Popo," she cooed, settling down beside his sleeping form and removing the earmuffs. "It's time to get up."

He grunted in reply, and immediately rolled away to face the wall. Nana puffed her cheeks out a bit, before grinning and narrowing her eyes appraisingly. She'll give him one more chance to comply…

"Come on, you're not going to let me go to breakfast all by my lonesome, are you?" A hand reached out to lightly settle on Popo's shoulder, and he predictably shrugged it off.

"Mrphl...G'way…"

"I see. I see…" She gave a determined nod, placing the spurned hand against the small of his back, under his now ridden-up sleep shirt, and began to channel. "I did warn you, Love…"

An image needed to be kept up.

At least that's what Elder Harasen told himself as he walked the grounds of Murasat Village, a steaming mug of morning brew in one hand. Every few homes, he'd stop and greet a grumpy resident trying to power through the rude awakening brought on by the increased Nitpicker numbers. Harasen was always the very first one up and out the door—there were no excuses for rest of these slacking villagers. Times may have made a change for the easier, but that should have instilled an even greater sense of vigilance among the community! Even their champions, Nana and Popo, were starting to get lax! They would sleep a little longer, stop to rest a little more often, and there was even a little sass seeping into their attitudes!

He forced himself to calm down and take a sip of the morning brew. They were still quite young, after all, and even he had to admit that the landscape of the village changed for the better since their humbling exclusion from the last tournament. The two climbers had decided to personally train an ever-expanding town guard to help ward off threats from the condor, and their previous battles seen within the lights of the borealis brought in many more opportunities for trade and friendship with the other villages around Icicle Mountain. However, they should still present themselves as the champions they are, especially if Popo planned on becoming an Elder himself! Sure, he never talked about it to Harasen, but surely he'd wanted the position. How else could one explain those initiatives taken earlier in the season?

Sip. There he went again, working himself into a mood that wasn't entirely fair to those two. Harasen needed to focus on the good they were doing. Why, just last night, he saw Popo heading into the duplex-style cabin he shared with Nana rather early in the evening. The lad must have been the only one to heed his warning about the changing season, and was going to sleep at a reasonable hour! Yes, yes; he was going about this all wrong.

The Elder paused for a moment, before turning to head towards that very house. Surely they would be well-rested and ready to help with the breakfast preparations. Well, at least Popo would. The young woman would most likely need to be dragged out into the snow to join the waking world. Sip. They'll climb that hill when they reached it.

Harasen's approach to the boy's door was halted when an unearthly howl came from within, followed by a thump that rattled the windows and doors of the entire duplex. What was that? Was their champion under attack? If this assailant got the drop on Popo, of all residents, then the village was surely doomed.

From homes nearest the duplex, heads began to poke out from windows. Heads with open worry etched across their round faces. Harasen took a deep breath to bellow an alarm when something heavy slammed against Popo's door, interrupting his intention. A second slam followed, before it swung open and Popo lurched out, clad in his pajamas. A brief spin showed the source of his assault; Nana was on his back, her right arm around his neck in a firm headlock, and her left hand was up the back of his shirt. Even in the cold, Harasen was able to easily see the mist from the ice spell she was casting. All the while, Nana was cackling madly while she clung to Popo.

"NANA!" Popo roared, arms flailing around in an attempt to loosen her hold. Unfortunately for him, he was too groggy to think right, and her grip was locked in tight. Instincts finally kicked in somewhat and he fell backwards onto the ground, rolling around in one final attempt to try and shake his attacker. The effort was in vain; Popo, Nana, and their yet undetected audience knew this. It clearly didn't stop him from trying to shout his way out of the predicament, however. "I'M UP! LET GO, OR I SWEAR TO SILA I'LL—"

The elder loudly cleared his throat, and the two combatants halted their impromptu wrestling match to gape at him. The two faced the one, and nearly a full minute passed before they hurriedly disengaged from one another and stood at attention, quickly straightening out their bedclothes. Nana, for all of her efforts attempting otherwise, was snickering and poorly hiding it by covering her mouth with her hand.

Elder Harasen, presiding Chief of Murasat Village, chugged the rest of his soothing morning brew.

Popo's mood throughout the day had remained consistently dour from morning until now, and the sun's sheer audacity to shine cheerfully on the denizens below was just not helping things. The one saving grace to his grousing was that it cast a pall over the group he was escorting to the training grounds. They respectfully stayed well behind his position—a good 50 meters—and he was allowed his first moment of privacy for the day. Very slowly, he turned his head to the left, to steal a glance at the only one willing to still climb next to him when he got like this…

Nana's unwavering, smiling gaze met his fully.

Startled, Popo recoiled as though he were slapped. If not for an already firm grip on his handhold, he would have surely taken a tumble down the mountain. In front of this new batch of volunteer trainees, on this easy trail, it would have brought on even more shameful an image in the eyes of the Elder. And more likely an even tougher punishment detail for them both. How was she smiling at a time like this, anyway? They hadn't even finished the extra chores they were already saddled with! Preparing and serving breakfast and lunch, cleaning the feast hall after the meals, training new village guardians, and they would still be preparing supper and cleaning the hall one last time for the day.

Popo blinked when a realization hit him: The only reason they were both doing all of this was probably because one would have stepped in to help the other. It was actually kind of smart of the Elder to come to that conclusion, since they did it all the time. Harasen did not like being undermined, after all.

No time to ruminate on this; this lesson needed to be completed, or the Elder would surely pile more burdens onto their shoulders for merely running late. Popo bit his lip and tore his eyes from hers with a sigh.

"Oh no, you are not shrinking back after I finally got to look you in the eye today." A hand reached out to caress his cheek, and Nana drew his face towards hers to lightly nuzzle her nose to his.

Popo all but steamed from the ears at this display of affection, and a shuddering glance was cast down at the students. They hadn't advanced anywhere near the position he and Nana occupied, so he couldn't tell if they'd seen what happened. Even worse, the glum veneer he had carefully built up over the course of the day was starting to rapidly peel away.

"H-hey, what was that for?" Popo attempted to muster up another bout of gloominess, but the damage was done; a goofy grin was fighting for territory on his lips, and he turned away in a transparent attempt to hide it. They started to climb again.

Nana giggled softly before responding. "I knew it was an act. It's just not like you to be like this, even during our worst punishments. What makes this one so special?"

Popo shrugged, finally giving up the front and focusing more on getting the blush off of his face from earlier. "I…just couldn't sleep. Felt like something was gonna happen today. Figured it'd be real late by the time I nodded off, that the Nitpickers would wake me right up. And…"

"…And something definitely happened, but the feeling didn't go away?"

Popo nodded, scrambling up to the plateau where the training sessions took place, before turning around to offer Nana a hand up. She took the offered appendage, and he easily hoisted her to a standing position next to him. "It's probably nothing. All the same, I want to get these lessons done with so we can be back home in case I'm right."

Eventually the rest of the group made it up to the large plateau that the Ice Climbers had set aside for the purposes of training. It was a simple setup, with numerous 'stations' at regular intervals along where the plateau met the cliff wall. Each station would cover the basics of each aspect of survival that Nana and Popo were either taught or developed together, and ranged from gear checklists at the easiest station, to their patented Belay move at the most advanced station. The youngsters were instructed to pair off, and then the lessons began.

Popo and Nana would spend the next couple hours alternating the demonstrations of various techniques from the mundane equipment inspections, to different applications of the rope systems. It wasn't at all an exciting lesson, but the students paid rapt attention without letting their gazes wander. Elder Harasen may have lifted the punishment completely if he saw how they took in the Ice Climbers' collective words and demonstrations. Okay, maybe not completely, as they were nearly done for the day, but maybe someone else would clean the feast hall at least?

By the time the lessons ended, the sun was just beginning to dip beneath the horizon. The chill would at least offset the sweat they had all accumulated from the more hands-on exercises the students had partaken in. Popo and Nana had decided then, for the group to practice rappelling to the bottom of the range's foothills to expedite the journey home. While watching the progress from the edge of the plateau, Popo was readying a rope in case a sudden rescue mission was needed of them.

"You think they'll need to be saved?" Nana moved to ready herself alongside him, her own rope slowly uncoiling.

"Honestly? No. Knowing our luck, though..." He sighed, shaking his head. "I'm just tired. I think after we eat and clean up, I'm just gonna take a ten-hour nap."

"Ha, sure." Nana paused a moment, resting a hand on his shoulder before continuing. "Hey, Popo…I'm uh…I'm really sorry about this morning. I just—"

"Oh, don't even talk about that." Laughing, Popo brought his free hand up to rest over hers. "I think after some of the ways I'd ah…encouraged you to get up with me, I think I had it coming. I think if the Elder didn't see us, I would have found it a hell of a lot funnier after a nap or something to eat."

His breath caught suddenly, when one of the students lost their footing, but their partner was able to firmly hold onto the rope while the first found the purchase needed to stabilize their descent. The first of the other pairs was just about to the bottom, and Popo felt Nana's hand tighten on his shoulder.

"It's okay, Nana; they're making progress. We should probably start heading down ours—Ow, OW! What gives!?" Her grip had turned from a tender hold into something resembling a vice clamping down on his collarbone.

Nana, for her part, said nothing, but he could hear her breathing hard next to his ear. A panicked glance towards the students below showed nothing dangerous happening; the one stalled group was actually finishing up their descent. Popo scoffed, barely registering one of the kids pointing at the sky, before turning a white-hot glare in her direction.

"If you're going to try to scare me, could you please be a little more…tasteful…" Popo trailed off when he saw her face. There was a litany of emotions crossing her features, but what instantly doused Popo's anger were the tears freely flowing down her cheeks, to bead and crystallize in the fur lining her hood. His reaction was immediate, and his focus immediately shifted towards placating his partner.

"Nana, I…" The hand on his shoulder quickly moved to cover his mouth. Nana was smiling now, and with her free hand she pointed up and to the sky.

"Up there, silly." She sniffled wetly. "I…I don't think you're gonna get the sleep you wanted to, though..."

Popo blinked slowly, before turning his eye to the skies above. Where the aurora borealis normally was, an image had formed. On a white field, the familiar circle logo of the Super Smash Brothers was on display, but then it quickly faded into a much more important image.

The eggplant silhouette stared down at them from the heavens above, and the words "WELCOME BACK" flashed over it in an alternating pink and blue pattern.