Here's Chapter 8! Sorry if there's some fluff in this one, but 'romance' is one of the categories. There's not too much, but still. Oh, and I won't be able to update tomorrow, but I'll try for the day after. I've got lots of writing to do, but my schedule's blocked up tomorrow. :(

Enjoy!

Zelda tried not to yawn.

As Master Hand's special guest, Queen Jigglypuff was required to watch all the matches, no matter how redundant or tedious. And as the tour guide, Kirby had to stay with her the entire time. And as the tour guide to the tour guide (who actually knew it's way around Smash Stadium as well as Queen Jigglypuff herself did), Zelda had to stay with them the entire time.

Mewtwo really could have picked a better location for this match, Zelda thought shaking her head. A recreation of the Fountain of Dreams, the most reflective, mirror like place of the whole list of locations, was picked for Falco and Roy's match? Really? It just couldn't be a coincidence.

That settled it. Mewtwo was trying to kill them. Via boredom.

Barely anything had happened the whole match. Falco and Roy had just been moving around, examining themselves from different angles in the calm water like surface. Falco had tried to shoot his gun once, but when it hit the water and distorted his reflection, he quickly gasped and put the weapon away.

The match finally ended when Falco, the first to realize how inexplicably hot his image was while walking, followed himself right off the side of the stage.

And so the match was finally over.

It took another ten minutes to get Roy to leave the stage.

Zelda folded her arms and sighed as the display screens shut off, their last image having been of Mewtwo zapping Roy off the platform while yelling "DETENTION!".

Glancing at Queen Jigglypuff and Kirby out of the corner of her eye, Zelda tried not to sigh again. The pokemon seemed more interested in flirting with an inarticulate, toddler-like blob than watching the matches.

When Zelda had decided to take Kirby with her that morning, struck by it's cuteness, she'd had no idea it would turn out like this.

It was then that something hit Zelda's shoulder blade. Although it hadn't been a hard hit, Zelda, on impulse, spun around and set the object on fire.

Marth blinked dully from her to the now burning ball of paper and shrugged. He had vowed to burn it.

"What?" Zelda snapped, eyes blazing on Marth.

But before Marth could speak another, shrill voice rose up, "Ew, another commoner?"

Zelda slanted her eyes towards Queen Jigglypuff, who was glaring at Marth appraisingly, the same look she'd given Zelda a couple of hours before.

"Yeah." Zelda muttered, to which she received a dirty look from the knight. She waved a hand at him boredly, "This is Marth."

Queen Jigglypuff made a sound that must have been a snort, but was far too high to resemble one. It was more like air being let out from a balloon at a painfully slow rate.

"Your boyfriend, I suppose." Queen Jigglypuff observed airily, "Well even servants deserve to love." she slanted her eyes towards Kirby suggestively, "It's a very strong emotion."

Doing her best to cover a blush, Zelda reached for her former anger, which was promptly fed by the fact that Marth was completely unaffected by Queen Jigglypuff's words, "So? What do you want?"

Marth glanced at Kirby, then dropped his voice, "Where did you find him?"

"Him?" Zelda asked, surprised, "You really think so? I've been trying to figure out it's gender all day..."

Marth scowled, "It would be a him, wouldn't it? Seeing as the jigglypuff's a girl."

Zelda just shrugged, "I figured she was bi, or just didn't care."

Marth started to say something else, then shook his head, "Never mind. We're getting off track."

Zelda gave him a quizzical look, "And what track were we on, exactly?"

With another uneasy glance towards Kirby, who was now completely preoccupied with Queen Jigglypuff, Marth turned Zelda away and spoke quietly, "You should get rid of it."

Zelda gave him a blank look, "What?"

Marth sighed. He'd hoped she'd just agree to ditch Kirby and be done with it. But no, women always wanted explanations. It wasn't enough to just say that you liked them out of no where, it had to be premeditated, or explained, and then there would be all those questions about how long did you like her, or why you liked her, or 'so are we going out?', and then he'd be tricked into divulging some embarrassing story that involved him keeping a picture of her he'd gotten off an unconscious Link one morning after fending off an attack and she'd never let him live it down-

Hold on, where had that come from?

Marth, about to shake his head of the horrible train of thought, stopped when he realized Zelda was still watching him expectantly and spoke instead, "Pichu's jealous. She said something about being your 'cute sidekick'."

Zelda's first look was that of confusion, then consideration.

"You know," she mused, "I've never had an official cute sidekick, but if I where to have one, Pichu would really fit the part..."

Marth frowned at her, "So will you get rid of it?"

Zelda broke from her reverie to shake her head at Marth, "I can't, even if I wanted to. Mewtwo gave me special instructions to keep an eye on Kirby and her royal highness during the tournament."

"And after the tournament?" Marth asked.

Zelda shrugged, "After the tournament? Sure, why not?"

One of the speakers buzzed to life and a high, but not so shrill, jigglypuff voice spoke up: "The next match will begin in ten minutes."

The corner of Marth's mouth dipped as the speaker clicked off, "I better go."

"Have fun." Zelda cooed, unable to help her smirk as Marth shot her a dark look and stormed away.

Snickering to herself, Zelda turned back to Kirby and Queen Jigglypuff in time to see a small pink heart float through the air and burst against the former's forehead.

"Buyoo!" Kirby exclaimed, unchanged.

Queen Jigglypuff, about to mutter a curse, found Zelda watching them and narrowed her eyes at the Princess, speaking in her helium voice, "Shouldn't you be with your commoner husband, urchin?"

Zelda seethed, about to snap"Shouldn't you be using attract on a pokemon?" when she remembered that 'attract' only worked on someone of the opposite gender.

She regarded Kirby dubiously. It wasn't a pokemon, but still, if the same rules applied...

Zelda shook herself and turned back to the display screens. It was better not to think about unanswerable questions.

In the end, barely anyone had stayed to watch the complete duration of Marth's match. Everyone had shown up, but one look at Captain Falcon and his ever present skin tight body-suit in motion had sent nearly everyone out the door, including Marth.

Young Link and Pichu had shown up, and the former hadn't allowed the latter to leave. Roy had also shown up, staying for his brother but not watching the screen for his stomach. Zelda had stayed, but only because she had to, since Queen Jigglypuff and Kirby were there. That was the only reason.

And Link was back in the hospital where he'd been sent immediately following his first and last match in the tournament.

Now that the match was finally over, the group left Smash Stadium. Zelda and the others had drifted back so that Kirby and Queen Jigglypuff were within eyesight but out of earshot.

"Marth was great!" Young Link exclaimed, punching the air with a fist.

"Was he?" Roy asked, running a hand through his hair as he leaned towards Zelda and whispered, "How bad was it?"

Zelda mimed sticking a finger down her throat.

Roy shuddered, "I thought so."

"I do have one question," Young Link said, looking puzzled, "You know when Marth tripped on the capsule that appeared and fell on Captain Falcon? What was that bulge in Captain Falcon's pants?"

Zelda covered her mouth- to stop laughter or puke no one could tell- while Roy went bone white. Pichu, meanwhile, was pressing some buttons on her camera. She then showed the screen to Young Link.

"You mean this part?"

Young Link peered at the picture and nodded with an innocent smile, "Yeah, that."

Pichu considered a moment, glinting black gaze shifting from the open, curious face of Young Link to Zelda and Roy in the background who were venomously shaking their heads.

In the end, Pichu shrugged, "Dunno."

"Oh." Young Link sighed, then grinning, "Ok! But wasn't Marth fantastic?"

While Roy agreed with the boy, Zelda sidled up beside Pichu and dropped her voice, "And why exactly did you take those pictures?"

Pichu grinned mischievously, "The merchandise booth is almost finished, you know."

"Ah." Zelda observed, not needing nor particularly wanting to hear the rest. All the same, she had to give Pichu some credit.

It was then that Marth ran up, coming to an abrupt halt when he realized these weren't people he was in any hurry to meet. But it was too late. They'd seen him coming.

"Marth!" Young Link squealed, leaping for Marth and wrapping his arms around the knight's waist, snuggling close, "You were wonderful Marth!"

"Yes, I get it!" Marth snapped, trying in vain to push the boy off him, finally yelling in a somewhat distressed tone, "I've had enough of this for one day!"

Zelda snickered while Roy shook his head, sympathising with his brother. Meanwhile, Pichu was taking more pictures.

Marth finally managed to disentangle Young Link and, spotting Pichu, let out a growl and snatched up the pokemon by her backpack.

"The camera." Marth instructed. Pichu scowled at him and handed over the device.

Marth dropped her and proceeded to go through the camera's memory. Zelda and Roy came up on either side of him to watch. When he got to the picture Young Link had asked about before, Marth blanched, then went blood red.

"Pichu!" Marth roared, but the pokemon was already escaping, dragging Young Link after her.

She turned around long enough to stick out her tongue and yell, "The picture's locked! And don't even think about trying to break the memory card because every picture I have in there I have on my phone!"

"You little rat!" Marth shouted, torn between chasing the pokemon and smashing the camera. In the end, he chose neither and simply stood there, fuming.

Roy gingerly took the camera from Marth's trembling fingers, murmuring as he slipped away, "I'll just get rid of this..."

So Marth was left with Zelda, the only living match for him, who was too preoccupied laughing to deal with Marth's present fury.

Well, too busy until Queen Jigglypuff turned around and said to Kirby, loud enough for Zelda to hear, "It's sad, really, how girls these days react when they find out their husbands are having an affair with another man."

Zelda's laughter stopped abruptly, as did Marth's furious trembling.

"Was she directing that at us?" Marth demanded, glowering after the jigglypuff who had turned her back to them once more.

"She probably was." Zelda scowled, eyes narrowed on the pokemon as well.

"Because I'm not gay." Marth added.

Zelda glanced at him quickly, "Yeah, I know."

The two blinked at each other a moment before Marth averted his gaze, recovering by sliding a glare towards Zelda and asking, "Why did you tell her we were married?"

"I didn't!" Zelda huffed, half blushing from anger, half blushing from embarrassment.

Marth, back on his feet, simply gave Zelda a doubtful look, "Sure"

Zelda fumed as Marth started walking away, "You're such a jerk!"

Marth grinned, not looking back at Zelda for he knew he wouldn't be able to hide his expression, "Yeah, I know."

Ugh, again, sorry for the fluff. And I know Kirby's a guy, it's just that when you look at him he could really be either (when I was little I thought he was a girl) so that's where all the doubt is coming from. Anyways, I'll update the moment I finish the next chapter! Thanks for reading (and reviewing, for those of you who have, I really really really really appreciate it!)