(NOTE: IF YOU SKIPPED STRAIGHT TO THIS CHAPTER, PLEASE GO BACK TO CHAPTER 12; THIS IS PART TWO)
Less than ten minutes later, Nana fled the changing room area.
Don't get her wrong; it's not like she'd hated the 'fashion show'...but it just wasn't for her. Plus Gretchen's piles of clothing ensured it was going to take forever. Once Peach went to change into her second or third outfit, Nana left under the flimsy pretense of needing to use the bathroom. Without stopping, she'd altered course slightly to walk past a rack of clothing, from which she'd plucked her swimsuit's hanger; on their way in, Palutena had stopped to talk with Daisy, and Nana had surreptitiously hung it up while the goddess was distracted.
Beside the yawning exit to the mall's interior was a counter manned by several Miis. She was only in line for a few minutes before one of them waved her forward. After declining the option to have her purchase delivered (she did not want Popo to see it before she was ready to surprise him), she swiped her card and completed the transaction. She took a moment to fold up her new swimsuit to stash it and the receipt inside one of the many interior compartments of her messenger bag before leaving the store.
Despite also being indoors, it was much cooler outside the store. Nana took a deep breath and savored the less stifling air as she leaned on the railing and surveyed the ground floor below. Numerous people meandered around down there, filing in and out of the smaller shops or ascending the escalator to her left. She watched the ones on the escalator with great interest. Hardly anyone noticed her, and those who did hadn't given her a second glance. With this knowledge, a broad smile spread across her face as she headed for the down escalator. It wasn't that Nana didn't want to interact with people, but she'd much rather do so during official events.
It occurred to her, as she rode the moving stairway, she was doing a lot of mental mountaineering to justify her unwillingness to deal with things today.
Over on the upwards escalator, people started chatting excitedly. The words were lost to everyone babbling over one another, but the buzz spread quickly. Before long, even the people on her escalator were affected, and many turned to run back towards Fine Label's. There could only be only one reason for such a reaction, and Nana slowly turned to risk a peek.
In the gaps between the gathered crowd's heads and bodies, Nana caught glimpses of olive fatigues and a familiar blonde ponytail.
Of course it was Samus.
Nana grunted in annoyance and jogged down the rest of the escalator. Once her feet were planted on unmoving ground, she frantically weighed her options. The crowded smaller shops were tempting hiding places, but they weren't very deep. She could double back through the ground-level entrance of the store she'd just left, but she didn't know if anyone else was acting with Samus. This left her no other choice but to try blending in amongst the crowd. At least she could explore while fleeing, in case another escape option presented itself.
With a deep breath, she threaded her way into the throng. It was strange—yet fascinating—how many shops were devoted to singular types of items. There was a hat store, a book store, a shoe store, and even a store devoted to just candles! And these were just four out of who knows how many more shops! But as much as she'd like to browse through the shops she breezed past, she couldn't allow herself to become distracted and not notice Samus's approach. She couldn't even stop moving to look back; more and more of her oblivious escort was abandoning their unwitting post to meet the celebrity tailing her, and accidentally making eye contact might seal her fate.
Maybe they'll slow the bounty hunter's progress.
Before long, the flow of foot traffic carried Nana to the perimeter of the central hub, along the outskirts of the amusement park area. To her left was a rollercoaster featuring winged angular cars painted in a striking white-and-blue scheme, looping through the air and twisting through enclosed tunnels bolted to sections of its tracks. The group she'd been traveling with had all but completely dispersed by now, and she quickly jogged ahead to find another mass of people to hide among. Unfortunately, people were sparse in this area, and the nearby shops to her right were not only barely occupied but also well-lit—she'd be instantly discovered.
Her options exhausted, Nana dashed into the amusement park area.
She allowed herself a smile; this was perfect! Flashy rides, booths offering tempting food and games of skill, and a congested, noisy crowd promised excellent camouflage for evasion. Relaxing a little, she wound her way through several large clusters of people. She soon stood at roughly the center of the amusement park, absently tapping her foot while she looked around. The aforementioned rollercoaster loomed nearby, the sudden shouts of its riders preceding the clatter of its tracks as they sped by. Across from her was a large enclosed area encased by a thin netting, filled with children romping about in a pit filled with small plastic balls, climbing vines, and sliding down green tubes that looked like pipes.
She shook her head; this wasn't the time to stop and admire the carousel of fiery white horses, cool as they looked—pursuit needed to be shaken. Trying her best to appear nonchalant, Nana turned in a slow circle in search of any sign of Samus. Although she found none, it occurred to her that the mass of people milling around—as well as the noise of the rides—could mask the bounty hunter's approach as much as it could conceal Nana's position.
She needed to relocate, and with no idea where Samus was, she needed to do it fast.
The second turnaround she made was as slow as the last one, but this time her eyes were scanning the higher floors in search of sanctuary. She finally spotted the ideal hiding place: a large, dark alcove from which she saw flashing multicolored lights casting the shadows of many, many patrons upon the ceiling outside of it. But as perfect as it was for a hiding spot, there was just one little problem.
It was way up on the fourth floor, and she couldn't see any escalators close by. Damnit.
Just as she was about to drop the idea, a ruckus to her left grabbed her attention. On the second floor, leaning over the railing, was a group of teenage boys at least a couple of years younger than her. They were heckling another boy on the climbing wall beside them, who was surprisingly good at finding handholds while simultaneously returning fire with a salvo of insults.
But more importantly, Nana could see how the back of the wall was anchored to the railings of each floor, providing stability for the attraction. This looked like her only way to the fourth floor from here, galvanizing her with the thrill of hope. After one final check for Samus (she couldn't be seen, which didn't make Nana feel any safer), she jogged the short distance towards the gap in the metal safety rails fencing off the climbing wall.
There were only a handful of participants here. Nana casually strolled in, passing by a wooden standee featuring a cartoonish polar bear in dark sunglasses and pink shorts holding up its paw for the minimum height requirement. The Mii running the attraction, who was in the middle of assisting a girl with her harness, looked over with a friendly expression on display.
"Welcome, Miss! I'll be with you in a moment! Just give me—um, Miss?"
Nana had already started stretching and knuckling her back. Satisfied sighs harmonized with the slew of cracks and pops emanating from her joints and spine. After taking a few seconds to tighten the strap of her bag to minimize jostling, she leaped into the air and effortlessly grabbed onto a pair of knobby handholds a few meters off the ground.
"Miss," the Mii squawked from below. "You must wear the required harness! Please return—"
Nana giggled softly and situated her footing. "No time," she called back over her shoulder. "If I mess something up, I'll pay it back later!" Without waiting for a reply, she scrambled up the wall.
Within seconds she'd passed by the struggling boy and his hecklers. Although the ascent was laughably easy, the shouts of surprise and awe from below still managed to make her ego swell. There were also shouts of...appreciation mixed in there, quickly reminding Nana of just how little she was wearing. At least the strap of her bag was tight enough to keep her shirt from billowing out too far; people below might catch a glimpse of the back of the sarashi wrapped around her chest if they were lucky. The bike shorts, however, left her feeling exposed despite how much skin they covered.
If anyone asked, her blush was from exertion—even though she wasn't sweating.
All in all, her climb took less than thirty seconds. Upon reaching the fourth floor, she shimmied over to the right side of the wall and vaulted neatly over the railing. A mother and her daughter leaped back in shock as Nana landed hard in a three-point stance directly in front of them. Muttering a quick apology, she straightened up and bowed at the waist before scurrying away.
A cacophony of overlapping sounds and music and conversation reached her ears long before she rounded the final bend to her destination. A bright sign that read 'Mario's Odyssey Fun Zone' in blazing neon letters hung over the massive entrance and Nana wasn't surprised to find her currency card was already in hand as she entered the arcade.
WHAM!
Foam met mechanical goomba with enough force to send a rattle up the handle of the replica mallet. The goomba retracted into the green pipe it had popped out of as the machine counted a point. Nana's teeth flashed in a lopsided grin as she readied the mallet for her next strike.
WHAM-WHAM!
The two goombas had barely cleared their lairs when Nana rained foam fury upon them. Two more points were tallied. The instant they withdrew, a flash of gold caught her attention. The golden goomba sank down just before her mallet connected, and the weapon bounced harmlessly off the rim of the pipe. There was no time to reposition herself; movement at two of the four pipes drew her ire and she swung towards them.
WHAM! WHAM!
"Ow-wowowow!"
She scoffed at the raspy cry of a smacked Toad, tinny though the machine's speaker. The machine impassively counted a point for the goomba, and then docked a point for the bystander. Raising her mallet, she surveyed all four pipes and waited for movement. Three gold goombas and a Toad shot up, and she barely managed to clobber one gold goomba—the machine tallied three points for her effort—before all but the Toad remained. Another Toad and two regular goombas joined him and she quickly peppered the goombas for their mechanized insolence.
When the game ended a minute or so later, Nana admired her accumulated points. She wasn't totally satisfied with that score though, so she swiped her card to queue up another game of Goomba Thumpin'. As the machine started up, Nana rolled her shoulders and carefully watched the four pipes for movement.
The arcade somehow maintained a dim atmosphere despite the multitude of colored lights coming off of countless game machines. Combined with a steady influx of people roaming into and out of the massive space (she was pleasantly surprised to learn there was a second floor), avoiding discovery should be a simple matter even if Samus thought to search here.
"You're pretty good at that," a flat-accented, feminine voice called out from a light gun game to Nana's right. "Do you come here often?"
With a flick of her wrist, Nana had just delivered a pair of blows to two gold goombas. They were quickly replaced with three Toads and a regular goomba, which she'd barely bopped after a moment's hesitation.
"Nope," she cheerfully replied. "Guess I'm just a natural!" All four pipes had toads out, and Nana used that brief pause to flick her gaze over to the light gun game; soldiers of some kind were falling over in digitized death throes almost as quickly as they were appearing on the screen. "Wow, you're really good too," she said and returned to bashing goombas.
It was only a few cycles before Nana's game ended and she took a moment to appreciate her new score. Sure enough, she'd left her previous record in the dust. No longer needing to focus on mechanical adversaries, she turned her full attention to the gun game, entitled 'Temporal Emergency 2'. There were only a few soldiers on screen now, but the display's perspective suddenly shifted down behind a crate and remained there while the timer counted down. Confused, Nana turned to ask the other player if there was a problem with the machine.
The calm aquamarine eyes staring back at Nana placed her heart somewhere around her feet.
"Found you," Samus said with a wink, stepping on a foot pedal and dispatching the game's remaining soldiers without looking.
An instant later, the game's pastel blue pistol was trained on Nana. Out of instinct, she took a half-step backward and brandished her foam mallet. They stared at each other, ignoring the shadows of people moving along one side and the lights of the arcade machines on the other side. Eventually, a smile played at the corner of Samus's lips and Nana realized how dumb she must have looked with her foam implement held so menacingly.
"I can't believe Peach sent you after me," Nana grumbled as she set the mallet down on the machine. "I can't believe you found me."
Samus placed her light gun in the machine's holster without looking and shrugged. "All I had to do was look for the light bouncing off your hair tube things."
Nana's mouth snapped shut as quickly as it had opened and she furiously grabbed one of her pigtails. Sure enough, dazzling lights were wildly playing across the hairclip's silver surface. Nana let it drop and shook her head to clear the afterimages dancing before her eyes. "Of course," she quietly muttered.
"She didn't send me, by the way," Samus grunted, folding her arms and shrugging again. "You left, I got curious, I followed; mostly to see where you could possibly go in a place you'd never been to before." She arched an eyebrow. "Credit where it's due, though—you actually managed to lose me up until you decided to put on a show climbing that wall."
Muscles tensed in Nana's arm as she fought the urge to facepalm. Willpower won out and she simply rolled her eyes instead. "Well, it's not the first time I've gotten in trouble for hubris. So what happens now?"
"Bad news first," Samus held up one finger. "Although I agree with you, we have to go back and spend time with the others. This is Peach's baby and it's for all of us to get to know each other anyway, so we can't just ditch the squad."
Apart from an involuntary groan, Nana remained silent and nodded.
Raising a second finger, Samus continued with a faint smile. "The good news, though, is that we can take our sweet time linking up with the others." She gestured to a second screen, a pastel pink pistol in its attached holster. "I think I'm going to need some backup here. Any objections?"
Grinning, Nana stepped forward and grabbed the weapon.
Apart from initial confusion with the weird pedal mechanic, Nana wasn't too shabby at the game (her experience with blasters during matches certainly helped). She wound up needing to swipe her card quite a few times to keep up with Samus, but it was a fun change of pace. Sometime later, they'd finished their game and exited the warm, stifling arcade. Samus took point during the brisk march back to Fine Label's, leading Nana past a variety of storefronts, across a bridge, and down a couple of escalators. Minutes later, they'd reached the apparel store.
Even halfway across the sales floor, Peach's stormy expression was evident. The princess's arms were folded and her foot tapped rapidly. Daisy stood slightly behind and to the right of Peach, her face pulled into a sympathetic wince. And although every fiber in Nana's being was screaming for her to run—or at least hide in a nearby clothing rack—she kept her posture straight and maintained eye contact as she approached. The least she could do was face her dressing-down with dignity.
"Hello, Nana," Peach frostily hissed as Samus moved to stand on her other side. "I see you've finally returned from the restroom."
Allowing a thoughtful frown, Nana nodded with a small shrug. "Yeah, sorry about that; you know how the line can be." She spread her arms slightly and rolled her eyes to look at the ceiling for a second. "Plus, I fell in—which let me tell you, that wasn't fun."
Daisy's mouth twitched before she bit her lip with amusement in her eyes. Samus snorted and quickly tried to cover it by clearing her throat when Peach's head suddenly snapped in her direction. The brief respite allowed Nana a moment to breathe, but it quickly passed when Peach's oppresive stare weighed upon her once more. The princess said nothing, seemingly content to skewer Nana's spirit with her eyes alone. And Nana, try as she might, stood her ground up until Peach silently arched her eyebrow.
"Alright, alright," Nana hastily cried out, holding her hands out and averting her eyes. "You got me!" She blew out the breath she hadn't realized she was holding until then and slumped forward with her hands on her knees. A quick peek was risked from beneath her bangs; Peach's demeanor hadn't changed, but she hadn't said anything yet either. This whole situation was eerily reminiscent of enduring Harasen's rebukes back home.
Except for the silence. That was new.
Straightening her posture, Nana's expression was apologetic as she rubbed the back of her neck. "Look, I was fine right up until I'd heard the words 'fashion show'. I didn't even know that was part of the schedule—hell, I didn't even know what it meant until a minute before I sat down with the others." Her hands balled into tight fists at her sides, largely to keep herself from subconsciously touching her bag and drawing attention to it. "I didn't have any outfits to try on and I...I just panicked when I saw everyone else's stuff!" The last words came out in a tumble and she clasped her hands in front of her.
If Peach was at all moved by Nana's words, her face betrayed nothing. Crap. Maybe she should try another angle.
Just as Nana opened her mouth to continue, Peach's lips suddenly turned up in a pleasant smile. At least it would have been pleasant if the smile reached her eyes. Nana's mouth snapped shut with an audible clack of her teeth and she swallowed her words.
"You know, I vaguely recall something like this happening last tournament," Peach said after a pregnant pause. Even on the edge of Nana's vision, Samus's suddenly stiffened posture was obvious.
The bounty hunter was staring straight ahead with unfocused eyes. "I still remember the baby—" her eyes squeezed shut and shuddered. "—the baby blue dress you all made me put on."
Scoffing, Peach rolled her eyes. "Oh, come now. It wasn't that bad." The sinister smile returned as she focused on Nana once more. "But back to you, Nana. Although you're not new to the tournament, you're new to these gatherings, so your participation is mandatory. Oh, but there's no need to panic—based on previous experience, I'd taken the liberty of asking the other girls to select outfits for you."
Peach snapped her fingers, the sound echoing through the sales floor. One by one, the rest of the group appeared to stand around the princess, each holding a bundle of clothes in their arms. Isabelle, Wendy, and Leaf at least looked sympathetic; the rest of them ran the gamut of emotions from indifferent to bemused. Bayonetta, unfortunately and unsurprisingly, looked positively elated.
"O-ho-kay," laughed Nana as she raised her hands. "I get it now. I ditched you guys and now you're getting back at me by trying to freak me out, right?"
Peach said nothing and simply pointed at Nana. Everyone else began to advance.
"...Right?"
Alright, so maybe this didn't suck as much as she'd thought it would. Oh, it still sucked, but it could be worse. Maybe. Probably. But the only way out of this punishment was to see it through. And see it through she shall.
It had been a long, repetitive hour up to this point. An endless montage of putting on an outfit, walking out to the common area where everyone sat, and awkwardly standing there while they assessed her clothing with folded arms. They would then shake or nod their heads (usually the former), giving Nana her cue to head back to her stall to wait for Daisy to deliver the next outfit.
Nana exchanged a nod with Samus, who opened and closed the stall's door for her. Once inside, she sighed and changed out of her latest ensemble, a striped shirt worn under a surprisingly appealing marriage of a denim skirt and overalls, complete with a comfy pair of pink and white sneakers. A surprisingly kind outfit from Bernice, considering those weird looks she still occasionally shot Nana. Maybe she was wrong about Bernice. Or misinterpreting those looks as something they just weren't.
Once she finished undressing, she carefully folded up each article of clothing and placed them in a small pile in one corner of the stall with the other clothes she'd planned on buying. While she waited for the next outfit, she glared at the closed door. Did Peach really need to have Samus guard her stall? It wasn't like Nana was going to try escaping twice. Even if she did, her only path out was through a room occupied by several women just as capable in combat as she was, if not more so.
Her oft-repeated thoughts about the situation were thankfully interrupted by a knock. A small bundle of red clothes was slid under the door as she padded over.
"Last outfit, Nana," Daisy cheerfully said with a tired laugh. "Let's get this done, girl; mama needs a rub-down!"
Nana could only grunt in affirmation as she examined the clothes. Several blinks of confusion immediately followed when she found herself holding a slightly long sleeveless red shirt that looked like it was too small for her and a matching pair of pumps. She searched the floor; had she dropped part of it? No, there wasn't anything else here apart from her to-buy piles.
"Uh, Daisy," Nana called out, knocking on the door. "I think this outfit's incomplete—all I have is a shirt and shoes."
"Wait, really?" Daisy opened the door enough to poke her head in. Her face immediately scrunched up with suppressed laughter after she'd given the garment a once-over. "That's a dress, Nana."
"THIS IS A DRESS!?"
Unable to hold back any longer, Daisy burst out laughing. Nana's face heated up as she turned back to the so-called 'dress' in her hands. Out in the common area, just barely audible over Daisy's laughter, Bayonetta was also cackling away. Heaving a heavy sigh, Nana looked to the ceiling and muttered under her breath. She honestly should have seen this coming, but she'd been so dang concerned with getting this punishment over with that she'd forgotten about the witch's involvement.
"When I get my hands on her..." Nana growled, taking great efforts to not wrinkle the dress's material.
Daisy shook her head and withdrew from the changing stall. "Yeah, yeah—save it for a match. Now put it on and get this over with," she yelled as she headed back to the rest of the group.
Getting into the dress was easy enough despite its tight fit. Her eyebrows furrowed as she assessed her reflection in the mirror; she had no idea if the dress looked okay or not. No amount of tugging at or smoothing down the dress could make its hemline go any lower than just past her hips, and it threatened to ride up with every step she took in the little stall. After about a minute, she worked out an awkward stride that allowed her to maintain at least a semblance of modesty.
The shoes, however, were a completely different story. They slipped on easily enough, but she lost balance on the stupid heels the instant she stood up, falling against the wall with a strangled yelp.
"You okay in there?" Samus asked with a knock, clearly fighting laughter.
"My pride's hurt, but I'll live," Nana sighed, carefully getting to her feet. It took longer than she'd liked, but she found herself awkwardly standing before the mirror. Her stance wasn't anything like the models she'd seen on television when she surfed channels at home; her feet were shoulder-width apart, but her toes were turned inward and her knees were pressed together. Although stable, she still possessed all of the grace and poise of a newborn caribou on ice.
"It took me a while to learn how to wear heels too," Samus suddenly said. It took Nana a moment to realize the slight muffling of the closed door was absent. Sure enough, the bounty hunter was leaning against the open doorframe with folded arms. "Try putting your heel down before your toe when walking; you'll get more stability that way. And when you're walking, put one foot in front of the other like you're on an invisible line."
Nodding slowly, Nana took a couple of tentative steps using that new information. She still stopped to windmill her arms every so often, but she was soon able to carefully pick her way along the hallway of changing stalls without toppling over.
"Good enough; that should at least get you out there and back," Samus said, suddenly reaching out to grasp Nana's shoulder. "Also, whatever you do, try not to give Bayonetta the satisfaction of getting under your skin. Don't even make eye contact with her if you think it's gonna make you mad."
Nana took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. "I'll try," she said and slowly made her way towards her waiting audience. As an extra measure to keep her balance—at least she'd hoped—one hand remained in contact with the wall to her left as her wobbling legs struggled to carry her forward. Upon reaching the end of the short hall, she made one last-ditch, ultimately futile effort to tug the dress's short hem down before taking a tentative step through the curtain.
The low murmur of several conversations gave way to stifling silence as everyone became aware of Nana's presence. Seconds dragged by as she kept her eyes fixed on a section of the wall slightly above everyone's head (Rosalina's presence made this extremely difficult to subtly do) and waited. Why wasn't anyone saying anything? She might have even been fine with a cutting remark from Bayonetta as long as it broke up this oppressive quiet.
Barely able to suppress a wince, Nana allowed her gaze to fall and scan the crowd. The expected expressions of amusement were thankfully absent, even what she could briefly see from Bayonetta when her eyes quickly passed over the witch's face. Mostly everyone had confused or even contemplative looks-except for Peach. The princess at least had the good graces to look at least slightly remorseful when Nana shot her a baleful look.
"Damn, Nana! We gotta get you to a nightclub!"
Daisy's exuberant voice pierced straight through the fog surrounding Nana's mind. She flinched, taking an involuntary step backward and just barely managing to not roll her ankle. "Th-thanks," she squeaked out once her leg stabilized. "But I don't think I'll—"
"If you let your hair down, you'd look like that one rapper's girlfriend," Leaf suddenly blurted out. The pokémon trainer wilted slightly under the sudden barrage of questioning looks thrown her way. "I was flipping channels last night and I caught one of his rap battles."
Rolling her eyes, Wendy scoffed. "That airhead sitting on the speakers? Nana's in much better shape than her, but I can see it."
"What is a 'rapper'?" Zelda asked, tilting her head.
"Oh—I can help with that!" Moni offered, vaulting over Palutena to get to the Hylian. The Inkling was busily trying to balance her pointy headphones on Zelda's long ears when Nana turned to Peach with an expectant look.
Peach offered a small smile and waved dismissively. "Alright, you've served your time. Go change and let's get out of here." Her expression sobered. "And if it means anything at this point, I'm sorry I put you through this."
Nodding quickly, Nana turned around in a slow, awkward shuffle and stepped behind the curtain. The moment the fabric closed behind her, she leaned against the wall and removed the offending footwear. "How do you guys even fight in these things," she groused, bending down to massage her sore ankles. A split second later, her sense of modesty reminded her that she was still wearing an incredibly short dress. Samus burst into laughter as Nana straightened up and all but sprinted into her changing stall.
"A lot of time in the field," Samus finally replied after her laughter died down. "You thinking of trying it?"
"To hell with that," Nana replied without hesitation, sending Samus into another short fit of laughter. She slipped out of the dress and quickly rewrapped her sarashi before putting on the rest of her street clothes. Once fully dressed, she quickly checked her reflection to make sure she had her stuff before scooping up her to-buy piles. "I'm just glad this is over with," she said as she exited the stall.
Not much later, everyone had made their purchases (this time Nana opted for home delivery) and they were back on the bus. The ride didn't feel particularly long, but Nana was happy enough to minimize her time spent in the heat. Conversation was light as their transportation made its way through the city streets, stopping regularly for pedestrians and other vehicles before it came to a stop in front of a squat building.
Among the first to disembark from the bus, Nana was allowed a minute or two to admire the rustic structure. Its old, dark wood offered a nice contrast to the white material of the walls it framed. The sloped roof was comprised of wavy black tiles, topped with silver-colored fish facing each other from their perches upon the top corners. A simple contrast to the surrounding contemporary buildings of metal, glass, and concrete.
"Hmm, Zen-themed; very interesting," Gretchen drawled, snapping a photo with her phone. "I've flown to a few islands with similar themes on display. The best one was Baskar." She turned to Nana with an unreadable smile (what was it with those two and their weird expressions?) and pocketed her phone. "Do you ever fly?"
"Nah, but we jump good," Nana deadpanned with a shrug. "Well, until me and Popo started fighting here, anyway—we've done our share of involuntary flying in matches."
Raising her chin slightly, Gretchen brought her hand up to the side of her mouth and giggled. "Oh, ho ho…you're an amusing one!" A mischievous grin suddenly took over her face, and she turned her hand to cover her mouth somewhat. "But since we've landed on the subject, I've just got to know what the deal is between you and—"
Gretchen was suddenly knocked aside by a small parade consisting of Wendy, Moni, Palutena, and Bayonetta. Daisy was leading the pack in a chant yelling "RUB DOWNS, RUB DOWNS, RUB DOWNS" as they advanced on the spa's front entrance. In their wake, Gretchen spun in place for a moment before dashing after them with raised shaking fists.
"WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE!?" She shouted, her voice once again divested of its previous elegance.
Face scrunched up in curious contemplation, Nana watched Gretchen leave all the way up until she'd entered the building. Eventually, the rest of the group filed around and past Nana, leaving her alone on the sidewalk until she shrugged and followed suit.
Once her eyes adjusted to the dim lighting of the spa's lobby, Nana positioned herself among the rear ranks of the group and took in the surroundings. The upper halves of the walls, over wood paneling, had lovely murals of flowers and leaves over a vibrant red background. Soothing music, played on traditional string and percussion instruments, drifted out from hidden speakers and had Nana shaking her head occasionally to keep herself focused. At the head of the room, Peach was talking with a woman sitting behind a counter who, despite her courteous expression, held an air of supreme authority.
With a nod that could only be seen as wearily diplomatic, the woman stood up and sauntered around the counter. Somehow, her outfit of what appeared to be a wide-sleeved black robe with gold floral accents held loosely closed by a wide orange obi covered with yellow hexagons did nothing to diminish her authority. An array of fancy gold pins kept her (presumably) long black hair up and out of the way. Her stern brown eyes swept over their group, and Nana found herself standing considerably straighter when they passed over her.
"Esteemed Smashers," she began with a measured, gracious voice. "You all honor my humble establishment. My name is Madam M, and I am pleased to meet you all." Her voice suddenly took on a stern tone to match her just-as-suddenly narrowed eyes. "However, let's get one thing straight: All of my patrons are equal here—your celebrity status carries little weight." In a blur of motion, she pulled a folded fan from her obi and pointed it towards Daisy's group (Nana quickly hid a satisfied smirk when even Bayonetta flinched slightly). "Several of you have voiced last-moment changes to the schedule I've carefully crafted for this experience, demanding I move the massage portion of the experience to the top of the program. While typically out of the question—" Her voice was pleasant and sophisticated again. "—there's enough of a lull in today's business that I can...shift some things around. But let it be known—this will be the only time I do this."
The woman's robe slid off of one shoulder as she raised her hands to deliver a pair of loud claps. A door off to the side suddenly slid aside, permitting entrance for a cadre of various burly men.
"Ladies, meet my finest masseuses," Madam M said with a flourishing gesture, earning her considerable applause and at least two whistles. "Simply make your selection and he'll direct you to the room where you will change into the provided towel and..."
A hard lump formed in Nana's throat as the rest of Madam M's words were drowned out by her pulse pounding in her ears. Every muscle in her body tensed up as she watched her companions, some more excitedly than others, step forward to leave with these random strangers. Maybe she could leave before she was spotted. No, she shouldn't abandon the group again. But she couldn't participate in...in this! Maybe she could just wait out here.
"Miss," Madam M said sharply. "Miss, are you ready to make your choice?"
Nana's eyes snapped open, unaware they were even closed. The lobby, once full of people, now stood empty save for Nana, Madam M, four patiently-waiting men, and...Daisy, oddly enough. Wasn't she the one clamoring for all this in the first place? The Sarasaland princess's eyebrows were furrowed atop a concerned expression, a stark contrast to the impatient boredom the proprietor wore.
"I realize you're facing some indecision, young lady," Madam M sighed, buffing and inspecting the fingernails of her left hand. "But all of my employees have had their skilled hands honed to my precise standards of massage therapy." Her other hand, Nana noticed, had settled on the handle of her folded fan. "It does not matter whom you pick, so just pick one!"
Summoning up all her willpower to take a step back, Nana was surprised to find herself several steps closer to where Madam M stood. "If you think I'm going to let some strange man touch me—"
Fan in hand, Madam M strode forward to close the distance. "How dare you imply—this is a professional service for a legitimate business!"
The woman's mouth suddenly snapped shut when Nana thrust out a palm shrouded in frosty mist. In the back of her mind, Nana grudgingly gave this woman a bit of respect when she'd halted her advance yet did not retreat.
"Look," Nana bit out, taking a slow breath to calm herself. "I don't care how professional, or clinical, or detached these guys are. I don't want just any man touching me, got it?"
Heavy silence fell over the lobby as Madam M's eyes unflinchingly focused on Nana's palm. Agonizing seconds dragged by as the woman's features took on a contemplative, almost assessing expression. Not one hint of intimidation; paired with the lack of retreat, it was plain as day that she'd seen some stuff. As those agonizing seconds extended towards an agonizing minute, Nana worried if she'd escalated things too quickly.
Suddenly, Madam M's fan was tucked back into her obi. "Very well," she said coolly, straightening up and stretching her neck. Her eyes remained fixed upon Nana's hand, even after the mist had dissipated. "I do wish Miss Peach had taken such...aversions into account when booking this appointment, but this can still be salvaged." She blinked as though just now realizing Nana was behind her hand. "May I see your hand?"
"You're seeing it," Nana replied flatly, raising an eyebrow and wiggling her fingers. The older woman snorted and rolled her eyes. Nana shrugged and wordlessly acquiesced, turning her palm upwards for further inspection. Hopefully, the demonstration of her ice powers would dissuade Madam M from trying anything funny.
With a slow nod, the proprietor took hold of Nana's hand in a firm, yet still somehow soft, hold. Her thumb pressed experimentally into specific points on Nana's palm as she hummed thoughtfully. Nana, for her part, remained still and kept her arm's muscles slackened. Madam M soon gestured for the other hand, which Nana supplied, and repeated the inspection with identical hums.
"The hands of a hard worker," Madam M mused, using her thumb and index finger to lightly squeeze the sides of Nana's hand. "Unrefined and lacking finesse, but your line of work doesn't exactly require you to split a single hair with a blade. They're very tense and stiff, though-you would benefit greatly from one of my hand massages."
And Nana was just starting to get her impatience under control, too. Rolling her eyes, she sighed. "Then that puts us right back at the beginning. I already told you I don't want a—"
"Oh, I'm well aware of what you don't want," Madam M replied with a coy smile. "You should be relieved, then, to know that I'll be the one performing the service."
Nana couldn't help a flat look. "You're going to massage my hands."
"I'm the only one qualified to."
Grunting in annoyance, Nana snatched her hand out of Madam M's grasp. Frowning, she stared down at her hands and flexed her fingers. Her hands were just fine! Weren't they? Even if they weren't, wouldn't she have been feeling pain during her last match, or even climbing that wall a bit ago? And yet, when she looked back up into the confident eyes of Madam M, she couldn't shake the thought that maybe this woman knew something she didn't.
What would Popo do in this situation?
Well, he certainly wouldn't have made waves by fleeing the group the way Nana had. Although Popo would never admit it, Harasen had effectively drilled into his head the importance of appeasing people for the sake of diplomacy. He also would have figured out a way to turn down Madam M's service without insulting her.
Above all, he would recognize an opportunity to salvage a disaster and take it.
"Fine," she finally muttered. "You can massage my hands. But if you mess them up, I'll personally make sure Master Hand shuts you down."
"I accept your terms," Madam M answered haughtily, not even blinking at Nana's threat.
A sigh of relief sounded from Nana's right. Both she and Madam M turned to watch Daisy sheepishly slide her tennis racket back into her purse.
"I didn't know if I needed to step in," she said with a shrug. Closing her purse, the Sarasaland princess pointed towards one of the still present men, who looked absolutely pitiful with their nervous fidgeting. "So can I still...?"
"Yes, just go already," Madam M snapped, waving everyone off. A cacophony of a flurry of hurried footsteps filled the lobby as everyone else fled through a door to the right of the counter, leaving only the ambient music filling the room in their wake. Madam M waited for a few seconds before nodding to a sliding door on the left. "This way, please."
"It's been some time since I've had the chance to ply my craft," Madam M explained as she took the lead, footwear loudly clacking on the floor. "Most of the patrons coming through here want...standard spa attractions. Basic things for basic people."
Nana nodded absently, more intent on committing their route to memory. It turned out that there wasn't much to memorize; they traversed one hallway featuring many doors on each side. Every door had placards next to them designating whatever facility was contained within. It wasn't long before they came to an open door just before the hallway turned sharply to the right.
Madam M stepped in and quickly drew a curtained partition aside, revealing a flat table with a pillow on one end. "Lie down, and keep your hands at your sides," she commanded as she searched through a cabinet. Nana did as she was told, taking a second to arrange her cylindrical hairclips so she wasn't laying on them. Not much later, Madam M moved across her field of vision and tugged the curtain back across the door.
"All right, now let's begin. Do try to relax—stress is poison for the body."
Letting her eyes fall closed, Nana took a deep breath and nodded. As she'd done during the initial palpations, she kept her arm muscles loose and limp as Madam M took her left hand. Her brows furrowed as something fragrant, warm, and slimy was rubbed into her palm, then along the back of her hand, and finally over her thumb and fingertips.
"Special hand cream," the other woman supplied. "It heats on contact, loosening joints and muscles for this—"
Without further warning, Madam M had laced the fingers of both of her hands with Nana's fingers and quickly pushed back, effectively folding her thumb towards her pinky. A staccato burst of cracks and pops filled the room and Nana's eyes snapped open with a gasp. Madam M grinned and took a half step away.
"About ten or so years of tension and fatigue—melted away in mere seconds," she beamed as Nana admired her hand, utterly fascinated. "You can thank me for any future wins you rack up, by the way. Perhaps even mention my services in interviews."
Nodding numbly, Nana's head fell back on the pillow and she held up her right hand.
"Not yet—I still have things to unlock with your left."
Some indeterminable amount of time later, the curtain was opened and Nana staggered out into the hallway.
"So, how'd it go?"
Nana blinked and lazily looked around. "Huh? Who said that?"
A hand waved in front of her face and snapped twice. "Over here, dummy!"
Squeezing her eyes shut for a moment, Nana tightly shook her head. Upon opening them, she realized she'd been staring at one of the ceiling lights. Once she adjusted her vision, she found herself looking upon Leaf...who was clad in but a towel with her hair tied up into a loose bun.
"Are you okay?" The pokémon trainer frowned slightly and tilted her head.
"Yeah, I'm just..." Nana raised her hand and slowly made a fist. "I'm just flexing. Wait, why are you—?"
Leaf grabbed Nana's hand and all but dragged her down the hallway, pointing ahead with her free hand. "They sent me to find you so we can all relax in the steam room. C'mon, let's get you changed!"
Once Nana had dressed down, she wrapped the provided towel (how could a towel cover more skin than that dress, anyway?) around herself and stepped into the steam room. The warm air, heavy with moisture, was tinged with salty notes as it filled her nostrils. Already her pores were open, slicking her skin with cleansing sweat. It wasn't too far removed from the Murasat bathhouse, albeit smaller in size.
"Yo, Nana—over here!"
A hand shot up, blurry in all the mist, and waved excitedly. Nana padded across the tile floor and sat on the long wooden bench next to Daisy with a pleased sigh.
"There's my girl!" Daisy draped an arm over Nana's shoulders, pointing at her with the other hand. "You all shoulda stayed to see her; she was all like 'I ain't lettin' one of these dudes feel me up' and then BAM—" She held her hand out in an approximation of Nana's channeling. "—they do this cool stand-off!"
Scattered laughter and gasps of awe filled the room, echoing in the small space. From the other side of Daisy, Peach sighed and folded her arms. "Nana, are you going to do this every time?"
Rolling her eyes, Nana scoffed and leaned forward to look around Daisy. "Please, can we just drop this? I smoothed things over with the owner, and I meant what Daisy said I said-I'm not comfortable with just any guy touching me, no matter how professional." She leaned back and let her head rest against the wall with closed eyes. Although Peach said nothing further, she let out a pensive sound. At least Nana's point was received, if not understood.
Conversation resumed shortly, most of it centering on comparisons between everyone's masseuses' techniques. Tuning it out a bit, Nana allowed herself a faint smile and rhythmically closed and opened her fists. A reminder to bring Popo here was filed away; she felt like she could strangle a condor with her bare hands now, and she wanted Popo to feel this same power radiating off of his fingertips.
"Hey Nana," Gretchen suddenly said from the bench across from her, jolting her out of a near-doze. "Are those hairclips going to be alright in this humidity? I would have left them with my things in the changing room."
Blinking a few times, Nana straightened up and smiled at the other girl. "Nah, they're made from a special kind of silver only found in one mountain that I know of. It somehow keeps its shine and never tarnishes or rusts." Carefully grabbing a hairclip, she gently wiped the condensation off on her towel and giggled when it immediately misted up again. "Whenever I wear these, I don't let them out of my sight until I put them back in their box; Popo went through so much trouble to mine the metal to have these made for me."
"Aw, that's so sweet," Peach exclaimed, pressing her hands together with a single, soft clap.
"Yeah, but does he have a brother though," Wendy called out from the other end of the room, drawing laughter from Nana and everyone else.
The ride back to the Residential District was largely uneventful. Nana contributed to the light conversation as necessary but was mostly content to watch the horizon between the trees passing by. Clouds had finally appeared, far too late if you asked her, forming puffy silhouettes of purples and pinks against the early evening sun, hanging low in a blue and orange sky. Sometime later, the bus entered the residential district and stopped in front of Peach's house.
She stepped off the vehicle and took a moment to stretch her limbs. A longing look was given towards her home, past Bowser's fortress. As much as she'd love nothing more than to go home to Popo, she knew full well that her day wasn't done yet; everyone else was filing towards the open doors of the miniature castle, held open by a pair of Toads. Sighing through her nose, she stepped behind Isabelle and followed everyone inside.
Plush red carpeting, over black and white tiles set in a checkerboard pattern, muffled everyone's footsteps as they stepped into the large well-lit main room. Its walls were painted sky blue, accented with soft white clouds. Three carpeted stairways, two along the angled walls and one directly ahead of them opened out onto a common balcony extending out from the back wall and parts of the side walls. At the top of the center stairway, upon a semicircular dais, sat a fancy throne behind a velvet rope barrier flanked by twin potted plants. There were several red doors on both levels, the ones on the bottom level were constantly opening or closing as Toads bustled through them. One door in the far right corner of the upper level had a pair of Toads flanking it, spears in hand.
Peach lead everyone toward an octagonal rug with a sun on it, surrounded by plush couches, that sat at the base of the center stairway. With a stretch, she unceremoniously flopped onto the end of one of the couches and gestured for everyone to do the same. "I figured we could have a nice meal and relax for the rest of the evening," she said once everyone took a seat. "With all of our introductions out of the way, maybe have a nice conversation."
With a noise akin to a death rattle, Bayonetta slid down on her seat into a posture even Nana could recognize as 'unladylike'. "If we're going to have a stiff, awkward chat," she groaned, lolling her head to give Peach some side-eye. "The least we could do is lubricate the parts to make it easier. You have anything to drink around here?"
To Nana's surprise, Peach was smiling as she waved over a suit and tie-clad Toad. "A round of mimosas to start us off, please," she said. The Toad nodded quickly and sped off towards one of the lower-level doors. Peach snapped her fingers and drew the attention of another one of the little guys, who came by with a handful of pamphlets. "A small selection of entrees available for dining," the princess explained while the Toad passed out the little menus.
Scratching her head, Nana frowned at her copy. Nothing looked familiar, but the rumbling in her stomach had been a real nag for the past few hours since her climbing stunt, so she really should pick something. Flipping over the menu revealed a familiar-sounding item: steak and potatoes. Ness talked steak up all the time, so it must be good, right?
"I'll have this," she said, pointing to the picture as she handed it back to the waiting Toad.
The Toad nodded approvingly as he circled her selection with a pen. "Excellent! And how would the young woman like her steak?"
Tilting her head slightly, Nana squinted her eyes. "Uh, I'd like it cooked." Her eyes rolled as scattered snickers broke out among the group. "Look, just have the guy making it strike a balance between cooked and chewable."
The impatient look on the Toad's face was instantly extinguished when Nana flashed a wide-eyed glare. "Medium-rare it is," he meekly rasped before taking the rest of the orders. Nana let herself slump against the back of the couch and folded her arms, fully prepared for a rebuke from Peach.
"Don't let him get to you," the princess said apologetically with a frustrated sigh. "He's too used to people knowing exactly how to word their orders. Even Mario's lost his patience with him from time to time."
Daisy snorted and lightly swatted Peach on the arm. "Yeah, Mario nearly flipped the table once 'cause he was rude to Luigi!"
Everyone shared a laugh as the (presumably) first Toad came back around bearing an expertly-balanced platter of drinks. Naturally, his route started where Peach was sitting. He stopped in front of each member of the group and only moved on once a glass was taken off of the offered platter.
Nana's fingers had almost curled around a glass when Bayonetta cleared her throat. Of all the...
"Nana, darling, aren't you a little young for such a drink?"
The only thing keeping Nana from fully closing her fist was the prospect of pulling fine glass shards out of her hand. "You're just going to constantly be a headache for me today, aren't you? But I'll—" The Toad had started to move towards Isabelle, and Nana stuck her leg out to bar his path. "Hey, stay there!" Her eyes snapped back to Bayonetta. "I'll have you know that I am an adult...technically. So I can have this drink."
Without breaking eye contact, she snatched a glass off of the platter and took a long pull of the bubbly, citrusy drink. "Thank you," she muttered to the Toad, withdrawing her leg.
Apart from progressively narrowed eyes, Bayonetta's expression remained unchanged as she swirled around the glass in her hand. A few seconds passed and the witch simply reclined fully onto the couch and crossed her legs, raising her glass in the air.
"I'll accept that," she said with a smirk. "So maybe you can have adult drinks." In one smooth motion, Bayonetta brought the glass to her lips and all but instantly downed the mimosa. "But can you handle them?"
Ooh, a challenge. Nana quickly drained the remaining half of her drink and held up her empty glass, which was instantly taken by the Toad. "Oh, you bet I—"
"Hold on a minute!"
Both Bayonetta and Nana turned to Peach, who looked between them with flashing eyes and folded arms. "There will be no excessive drinking in here again," the princess told everyone before raising her eyebrows and smiling. "Not on empty stomachs, anyway."
Not much later, after everyone had their meal (Nana found the steak to be quite tasty), another round of mimosas was brought out and distributed. Nana took a careful sip of her beverage and allowed herself a moment to figure out the specifics of the flavor. Orange juice was definitely the primary flavor. Beneath it was something subtle that she couldn't quite put her finger on. She turned to Isabelle with a frown. "I taste the orange juice, but what else is in this?"
"Champagne," Isabelle immediately supplied, her tail wagging lazily. "Equal amounts of each, so it's really simple to make in large batches. Plus they're not too strong, so you could space them throughout the day if you wanted to!"
"Speaking from experience, I take it," Palutena said more than asked.
Isabelle winced and immediately raised her glass to her lips, giggling nervously after draining it. "Let's just say it's a good thing Thomas is helping out now."
Gretchen made a noise of disgust. "Ugh, Tom...You know, he wouldn't be relegated to covering for mayors and assistants if he'd only thought to charge interest on those loans like I told him."
"Life's not all about bells, Gretchen; guy's helped a lot of people get good homes," Bernice grumbled, exchanging her empty glass for a full one from the passing Toad's platter.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"You heard me."
The back and forth between the two quickly began escalating towards raised voices. New glass in hand, Isabelle rushed over to mediate while Nana fell back against the couch with closed eyes. This wasn't so bad, actually.
"I have a question for you, Nana."
Nana opened one eye and slowly rolled it around until she was eye to...eye with Rosalina. There was something funny about that. "Shoot."
Smiling softly, the towering woman lightly drummed her fingertips on the closed book resting in her lap. "At Dedede's party, I distinctly remember Captain Falcon and Solid Snake admonishing Popo for getting into the alcohol coolers. Are they, or is Peach, wrong about your ages?"
"They're actually both right," Nana replied with a smile. As she stretched her limbs, she was surprised at how heavy they felt; it wasn't even late yet. "I guess this place doesn't see Popo as an adult yet." Jerking a thumb towards herself, her smile transitioned into a toothy grin. "But I'm just a hair over five months older, which makes me the adult here."
Leaf grinned as she grabbed a fistful of chips off of the platter of another Toad walking by. "Whaaaat, no way! Does he hold it against you?"
Nana glared and stuck her tongue out. "No, and everyone praises his maturity for it. I do too, but..." The platter of drinks floated in front of her and she took a glass off of it. "I can't even lord it over him, and I only have a few weeks left before he's an adult!"
Wendy crossed her legs and leaned forward with exaggerated interest. "Oh, do tell!"
Instant clarity dispelled the fog from Nana's mind as she jabbed a finger at the Koopaling. "Hey, back off."
"Whoa, hey," Wendy slowly leaned back with a knowing smile and held up her hands. "I'm just playing—you've staked your claim."
For a moment, Nana squinted at Wendy before slumping back onto the couch and hoping to hide her flushed cheeks with a long pull of her drink. What was that? She hadn't reacted like that when Wendy had joked about Popo earlier. She tried to sort her thoughts, but the warm fog filled her mind again and sapped the energy.
The ensuing awkward silence was thankfully disrupted when Bayonetta burst through the kitchen door. Staggering behind her was a Toad, struggling to keep a platter of much larger glasses balanced over his head.
"Gather 'round, ladies!" She gestured for the Toad to stand in the center of the sun-blazoned rug. "Good to see those prissy little drinks you lot've been knocking back haven't taken you off your feet yet." She gestured to the new drinks, each full of a liquid that couldn't seem to decide if it was red or pink. "It's time to see if you can withstand the gale-force storm of the mighty hurricane!" The witch smirked and pushed her glasses higher up on her nose. "That is, of course, unless you wish to be seen as craven in the eyes of your peers."
Somewhere in the back of her mind, Nana knew she shouldn't be rising to this woman's bait. But the need to prove herself took precedence over those reservations. She was the first to her feet, storming up to the fearful Toad to take a glass that looked like the top of an oil lantern she had back home. Without hesitation, she raised the glass to her lips. An explosion of sweet fruity flavors greeted her tongue when she took her first sip, and a slightly tart note was left in its wake when she swallowed.
Nana slowly blinked a few times, waiting for this allegedly powerful drink to knock her out. Unless she was in some sort of disconnected fever dream, her feet were still planted on the rug—hell, she wasn't even wobbling! An eyebrow was quirked towards Bayonetta before she turned to the others with a shrug and a smile.
"I don't know what she's talking about," she said confidently. "I'm still standing, and whatever's in this tastes great!"
Some indeterminable amount of time later, Nana was sipping at her second hurricane while she meandered around the upper level of the room. There was no rhyme or reason to the path she took. She just wanted to look around. Unfortunately, the guards posted outside that one door were just so rude to her, limiting her to the opposite half of the upper level. She hadn't even gone near that otherwise innocuous door when the minuscule mushroom men started squawking. They probably just wanted a reason to look all authoritative.
They looked more like yappy little dogs, honestly.
Grunting, she twirled around to lean against the wall for a spell. As she glared at the guard Toads across the way, who were probably now oblivious to her, she slowly cracked her neck. Everyone was just sort of doing their own thing now, and Nana wasn't sure what she should be doing. Apart from consuming the drink, of course. But even that was losing its...it wasn't exactly unappealing, but there should be more to this sort of thing than drinking. Maybe some of those games she'd seen on the television, or even just some conversation.
Nana sighed and blinked slowly.
"Hey, you sleepin' up here or somethin'?"
Nana's eyes slowly opened and the sight of Bernice and Gretchen right in front of her made her recoil, bumping the back of her head against the wall. "Huh? No, was jus'...blinking..."
"Longest blink I've ever heard of," Bernice laughed as she leaned against the wall next to Nana. "We weren't sure if we shoulda poked you with a stick or...somethin'." To illustrate her point, she pulled a dried wooden stick out of a pocket that had no business holding something of its size.
"I'm just surprised you managed to not spill your beverage," Gretchen stated.
Nana frowned down at the quarter-full glass in her hand. "I'm learning all sorts of new stuff about me today," she quietly murmured before speaking in a slightly-louder-than conversational volume. "I think I ought to head out though. Seems like things are winding down."
"Yer not wrong," Bernice admitted as she moved to stand beside Gretchen once more. "I guess we caught you at the right time then."
Slowly mouthing the word 'we', Nana watched as both Bernice and Gretchen stood in front of her and folded their arms. Bernice's posture carried a particularly menacing air to it; what with her slightly raised chin and her head tilted slightly to the side (Nana certainly recognized it from people in her village). Quickly downing the rest of her drink, Nana set the glass on the floor and pushed off from the wall.
"Somethin' you need ta...sssay to me?" Nana kept her arms carefully at her sides, not sure what to expect from these two. But going by all of their little looks all day, she couldn't rule out a tussle.
"Yeah, I wanna talk about York," Bernice said, a light scowl twisting her features. "I heard you nearly broke his hand at Dedede's, so'm here to send a message from the...the rest of us." Smiling, she took a step closer and brought her little pointed nose mere millimeters from Nana's. "Try harder next time."
What.
As Nana stood there struggling to process the words, the two sisters turned in unison and tottered off on unsteady feet. Only when they started stumbling down the stairs, some distance away, did everything register and a confused smile spread across her face.
Later on, Nana's plans for egress were foiled when Isabelle spotted her and pulled her back to the couches on the ground floor. Whatever conversation was happening was just too much for her to keep up with, try as she might. All of her concentration was on not falling asleep. Every so often someone would say her name, prompting a vague grunt in response.
At some point, Daisy drifted into view (When did she even leave?) with a tray of tiny glasses. Each vessel was filled with a clear, dark amber liquid. Nana carefully held her glass, uncertainly mimicking everyone else's motions. The odor wafting from the tiny glass was powerfully acrid even held at arm's length! Once everyone had a glass, Daisy lead them in a cheer that left Nana's ears ringing before they all downed their glasses.
Oh, this wasn't good.
Whatever the hell this was, it was pure liquid fire she'd just poured down her damn throat! Every surface in her mouth felt like it was scoured raw, and the smoky aftertaste flared out through her nostrils as she doubled over from a loud coughing fit. Dimly, in the back of her mind, was a sense of guilty satisfaction when Moni, Leaf, and Bernice all joined in the coughing quartet. Isabelle, somehow, seemed completely unfazed by the drink.
Entirely too much time passed by before her coughs became raspy gasps for air. Groaning loudly, she straightened up and lazily lolled her head back to stare at the ceiling with her mouth hanging open slightly. An unknown amount of time passed before she loudly smacked her palms against her knees and lurched to her feet.
"'M done," she loudly announced. Or rather she would have announced it if the words weren't a mush-mouthed mishmash of jumbled-together syllables. She slowly spun around a couple of times before finally getting her bearings and marched towards the front door with purpose.
Much to her chagrin, Bayonetta was leaning against the wall beside the exit with her arms crossed.
"Not you again," Nana enunciated carefully, wanting to make sure she was properly heard as she drew near.
The witch snorted and rolled her eyes. "I'm not barring your path, am I?"
Grunting, Nana conceded with a shrug. "Guess not."
A smirk tugged at the corner of Bayonetta's mouth. "I gotta admit it—I'm very impressed that you're still on your feet."
"Takes a bit more than a few drinks to keep me down," Nana grinned, shrugging again.
"Oh, don't sell yourself short," Bayonetta tilted her head and lightly tapped her chin. "I was so sure the extra rum I added to your first hurricane would've put you down. And you just kept going."
"Well..." Nana said, putting her hands on her hips and bobbing her head side to side as her grin turned impish. "Ya aren't the first to underestimate us, and prolly not th' last!"
Bayonetta's eyebrow rose slightly before she shook her head. "You know what? You're alright—at least outside of the arena, anyway." Chuckling, she pushed off the wall and strolled towards the others, lightly patting Nana's shoulder as she passed by. "Try not to hurt yourself on the way home."
As Nana stumbled outside, the crisp air of the night was refreshing as it blew across her face, sweeping a great deal of fatigue away. Eager to fill the space left by that fatigue was a slew of random thoughts she couldn't hold onto for very long as they careened about her noggin.
One thought, however, filled her with eager determination: She'd survived the day, and she was free to go.
Now all she had to do was survive the walk. The ground seemed to rise up to meet her footfalls, which left her slowly and awkwardly clomping forward as though she were carrying her gear, Popo's gear, Popo himself, and several sacks of vegetables strapped to her limbs. This made her especially frustrated because they were both trained to do just that in case the other was incapacitated, so her movement had no reason to feel this hindered! Stupid ground, forcing her to concentrate on something as simple as walking, which she'd totally been doing since, like, a really long time ago. Left, right, left, right, left...left...left...wait, what now?
She firmly pressed one hand against the cool stone of Bowser's fortress to keep herself stabilized while she rested for a moment. Pride swelled within her when, after a minute or so of glaring at the sidewalk, the ground slowly stopped undulating. The tradeoff, unfortunately, was every single light source—from the streetlights to the stars above to the gleaming Blue Falcon in a driveway across the street—leaving streaking afterimages that persisted even when she squeezed her eyes shut. Groaning, she forced her eyes open and kept her attention on the sidewalk as she trudged forward.
Around the midpoint of the keep, the sound of a door slamming reverberated ahead of her. An agitated voice, accompanied by highly amused laughter, followed. Curiosity displaced some of Nana's mental fog, and she crept forward.
"—have to really drill me in the head like that though?" The agitated voice, she now recognized as Ness's, was saying. "It's not funny, Luke!"
Lucas only laughed harder. "You played a stupid game and won a stupid prize."
"Ugh, not you too, man," Ness sighed. "What about you?"
There was a brief silence, followed by the universal 'I dunno' grunt.
"You're dead to me too," Ness grumbled. "C'mon, none of you have my back? I just want to make sure—what's wrong with you?"
At that point, Nana had come around the corner from Bowser's keep. A third guy, clad in dark shorts, a cyan-and-white T-shirt, and a pair of large, reflective sunglasses stood framed between Ness and Lucas. Nana had raised a finger to her lips as she stalked closer, and he slowly nodded. By the time she'd positioned herself directly behind Ness, Lucas finally noticed her and he started coughing to hide oncoming laughter.
"Wanted to make sure what?"
Ness jumped straight up in the air, nearly dropping the ice bag he held to his forehead as he spun to face her on the way down. "Geez, Nana, don't do that!"
"Yer the one with the...those mind powers," Nana retorted. "Shoulda sensed me or whatever!"
"You know it doesn't work like—"
"Whoa, hey, look at the time," Lucas interjected, looking at his bare wrist. "I should probably get back and rest!" Without waiting for a reply, the blond psychic dashed to the sidewalk, hopped on one leg as he pivoted into a turn, and sprinted away.
They all stared after him for a few seconds before Nana turned towards Ness again. "So what were you just talkin' 'bout? And what's with the ice?"
"I...forgot." He slowly backed away when Nana tilted her head. "I, too, must go. I uh...left my parrot in the oven."
A grin spread across Nana's face as she watched Ness dash towards his house. "He'll have to tell me someday," she said as he threw open his door and flung himself inside, immediately shutting off all the lights. She then turned to the third guy and raised an eyebrow. "So what's your story?"
He simply held out a vague thumbs up (his thumb had barely lifted from his fist) before he shrugged and strolled away at an agonizingly slow pace. What's his deal...? There was something familiar about him too, but...ah, screw it. Knowing this place, she'll probably have to fight him at some point anyway, so why continue to hurt her head thinking about it?
Forgetting about whoever that was was a simple matter of turning away from him. Further burying thoughts of him and Ness and Lucas was an avalanche of relief and happiness as she stared at the cabin. There were several other emotions too, but she was too busy concentrating on smacking her palm onto the unlocking scanner doohickey to process them.
Stupid little...
Finally, after the fourth or so try, her hand finally smacked onto the palm reader and the lock disengaged. A goofy grin and flushed cheeks couldn't be helped as she reached for the doorknob.
Nana was finally home.
Author's Note: (09/23/2022) When writer's block puts up its guard, you either have to wait for it to open up or you start dealing writer's chip damage. If you were out there waiting for me to update, thank you from the bottom of my heart for being patient. I hope you liked these two chapters, experimental as they were, because even with all the issues I had writing them, I still had fun! The next chapter should come more easily to me—at least not to the point where it takes me another two years to complete. See ya (hopefully) soon!