CHAPTER ALERT! GET DOWN!

… Haha, just kidding. Welp, time for another chapter!

ENJOY!

Chapter 11.: Touring and Bonding

"Hey Shulk …" Shulk looked up from his book to see Lucina, smiling softly.

"Hey." Shulk greeted, turning in his seat to get a better look. "What's up?"

"I … I just wanted to say thanks for saving my hide in that match." She smiled with a blush on her visage.

Shulk blushed as well. "It's fine, though you got a point," He chuckled, a little relieved with the distraction, "after that Master Hand incident, I was a bit apprehensive. I just reacted on instinct when I saved you."

"Well, thank you, anyway." Lucina said to him gratefully.

"So uh … I was wondering." Shulk hesitated before getting himself together, "You never seen the outside of the Mansion, right?"

"No. Why?" Lucina asked.

"Well …" He blushed, "Want me to give you a bit of a tour around it?"

Lucina accepted with a small smile. "Sure! That would be great!"

With that, the two walked outside. Shulk brought her near a bunch of trees with a small scale.

"This is where we go to Classic Mode." Shulk said, turning to the scale. "This is where you change the difficulty."

Lucina studied everything Shulk had pointed out. "It looks so harmless from here, though … was someone playing it easy?"

Shulk laughed, "Maybe Ganondorf was a bit of a coward and decided to go with the 1.0 difficulty."

That joke flew over Lucina's head, but she laughed alongside Shulk to avoid any awkward moments. She was trying her hardest to have a sense of humor whenever he cracks a joke or two.

Shulk brought her to a large area on the side of the Mansion. There was a circled, dirt battlefield with a few benches for the audience, and there were a few selection menus for things such as item selection and damage control.

On this small battlefield, Marth and Little Mac were fighting.

"This is where others practice. Of course, most people usually practice in the Training room, but some, like Little Mac here, want to train for outdoor matches."

Marth stopped swinging his sword at Little Mac, and he turned to see the two. "Hello, you tw-" Before he could say another word, a gloved fist met his face, and he fell to the ground. Marth quickly got up, glaring at Little Mac. "HEY! I wasn't ready!" He shouted indignantly.

Little Mac placed his gloved hand behind his head, embarrassed. "Sorry 'bout that."

Lucina giggled. "Careful there."

With that, Shulk brought her to a playground in the backyard, with a few instruments such as a seesaw, a swing, and a merry-go-round. On the swingset, Nana and Popo were on it as Riki was pushing Nana as Lyn was pushing Popo.

"This is where the children Smashers play in outside of battle. This is also where the Assist Trophies work outside of battle."

Shulk turned to see Riki and Lyn waving, and Shulk waved back before he continued the tour.

The final destination was a large garden, with different kinds of plants and flowers.

"This is the garden. The original eight Smashers take care of it."

Lucina was in awe. It was beautiful …

Shulk plucked a red rose from a rose patch and gave it to Lucina. "For you."

"Oh!" Lucina was surprised, but she took it. "Th-thank you, Shulk … that was sweet of you." She stammered.

Shulk blushed, but he tried to not let Lucina see it. "W-well … now that the mini tour was over … want to go get some lunch?"

Lucina nodded. "Sure."

When Shulk turned, Lucina followed, but she suddenly tripped on something … a loose vine, in fact. She stumbled forward, and when Shulk turned to see what was going on, she landed right on top of him and the two fell to the ground. After the initial shock from the fall, the two realized their position. Lucina quickly got up.

"S-sorry!" She apologized, extending her hand for Shulk to grab. Shulk grabbed it and she pulled him up. "You all right?"

Shulk nodded, his blush still there. "Y-yeah. You?"

"I'm fine. Sorry about that." Lucina admitted, blushing hard, "I-it's kind of like our first meeting."

Shulk chuckled, remembering the first time they met; bumping into each other, falling, and him mistaking Lucina as Marth. "Y-yeah. It kinda does …" Brushing himself off, Shulk offered again, "So uh … lunch?"

Lucina nodded, and the two walked back inside the Mansion, neither of them saying a word due to their blushing.

And done for now!

Thanks to ProcrastinationIsMyCrime for beta reading this chapter! :D