Okay, now that the poll I currently have is up (actually, it's BEEN done a long time ago, but I was too lazy to say it till now XD), from now on, I'll try my hardest to focus on this story itself (I'll still update other WIPs if any ideas popped up). Also! Feel free to request a vocabulary word! Just check Chapter 4 for more details :)
Anyway, for Shana Hager, here's Specter!
ENJOY!
5. Specter
Specter – noun: a ghostly appearing figure
Pairing: Luigi x Ryu (friendship)
"Are you chicken? Bawk bawk bawk!"
Upon seeing the small scenario happening nearby, Ryu rose a brow. The Koopalings were at it again, bullying Luigi because of his timid nature. And by what he was hearing, they were daring him to do something ridiculous.
"C'mon, it's just a ghost!" Larry laughed, sticking his tongue out at the younger Mario Brother.
"B-b-but..." Luigi stuttered, wiping off the sweat from his brow. "Ghosts are scary!"
The Koopalings laughed so loud that it attracted a few more stares. "You're like a little kid, scared of ghosts!" Morton chortled. "What, do you keep your nighty-lighty on every night?"
"N-no I don't!" Luigi defended, his glare on his face and his eyes narrowed down, though Ryu could see that the man was still shaking. "I'll show you! All of you!"
"Then go to the Smash Cafeteria at night," Bowser Jr. taunted, "if you're not a coward."
"I'm NOT a coward!"
"Then prove it!" Wendy winked as she and her siblings laughed and left the room, leaving Luigi to his own devices.
Ryu frowned upon seeing Luigi shaking in fear. Clearly, he was quite disturbed and frightened from the kids' bullying. He walked towards the Mario Brother, placing his hand on his shoulder. Luigi screeched and jumped nearly a foot in the air, until he turned his head to see Ryu.
"O-oh! R-Ryu..." he stuttered, and Ryu noticed tears threatening to fall from his eyes. His frown intensified—poor Luigi. Although he was timid, he didn't deserved to be picked on for his shortcomings. Everyone had those, including Ryu himself, and it irked the martial artist that Luigi was being singled out by the kids for his own flaws.
"Don't listen to those brats," Ryu reassured. "They have a lot of growing up to do."
"I-I know..." Luigi gulped as he wiped away the tears with his sleeve. "But I'll show them! I'll let them know that I'm brave like my bro!"
"That's the spirit," Ryu chuckled, patting him on the back. Despite the kids' mean nature, Luigi never gave up on himself. When they first met when Ryu joined the Smash Mansion, he could see how shy the green man was, but during matches, Ryu saw how powerful Luigi was—his Green Missile was NOT something to laugh at (even though the way Luigi did it was ridiculous).
"I'm going to do that dare!" Luigi cried.
"Grea—wait what?" Ryu was taken back by Luigi's sentence. His frown grew even more intense than last. All the times where the poor man was bullied, he never gave in the kids' demands to "prove" his bravery. Why the sudden change of heart? "Luigi, you're letting those kids win," Ryu tried to convince his friend. And it was true—he had no idea what they dared him to do, but he was concerned that Luigi could end up in trouble, or worse, hurt.
"I'll go into the Cafeteria tonight and face a ghost!" Luigi cried, his fists clenched.
"...A ghost? In the Cafeteria?" Ryu raised a brow. Okay, that was the most ridiculous dare he ever heard, and that was saying something—Ken had always dared him to do stupid things when they were children, but even he wouldn't dare Ryu to do something so ridiculous.
"Yeah!" Luigi nodded. "There were rumors that a specter had been haunting the Cafeteria."
"But that's just it, a rumor," Ryu continued to attempt to convince Luigi. Even though he was in the Mansion for only a year, even he knew of the rules from the Hands: when the clock struck 10 PM, all of the Smashers must sleep in their rooms and to not go into the Cafeteria, the Smash Auditorium, or even outside unless absolutely necessary. Otherwise, the offenders would be punished severely.
"I don't care!" Luigi cried. "Besides… I do have my trusty vacuum with me!"
"Your vacuum? Oh right..." He remembered hearing Luigi's adventures where he entered a haunted mansion to rescue Mario with just a vacuum to defeat the ghosts. But the fact that Luigi could get in trouble still bothered him.
"Yup! I'll let those kids know that I'm brave! I'm no coward!"
"Luigi, pleas—"
Before Ryu could protest, Luigi had already ran into his and Mario's room to prepare for the "dare", and Ryu sighed and shook his head.
This was going to be a hard night, and he was sure that the Hands would not appreciate this.
The clock struck ten, and the Smashers retired to their rooms to sleep for the night. The Mansion grew silent… except for small, short footsteps that were in the hallway.
Luigi had strapped his famous vacuum on his back, and he crept down the hallway, looking around to make sure that he didn't wake up the other Smashers, or worse, the Hands. Thankfully, he didn't hear any stirring from each of the doors he passed by, so he continued on his way.
After a few minutes of sneaking, he finally arrived at the Smash Cafeteria. Despite the darkness, Luigi could see the long tables and the chairs on each side of him clearly—he wasn't sure if he was just used to the darkness when he left his room a few minutes ago or all the adventures he had in his own mansion that gave him the power of seeing the dark well.
His legs shook, and he could have sworn that they turned into jelly and he melted then and there. However, he gripped his vacuum's head and continued on his way into the back of the Cafeteria, where the Miis usually cooked and served the food out.
In fact, he was so occupied by finding the ghost that was supposedly haunting the Cafeteria that he didn't hear the footsteps behind him. He didn't even notice someone right behind him until he felt a cold hand on his shoulder.
Luigi yelped and jumped up so high that he nearly crashed his head onto the ceiling. He then turned with his vacuum's head clutched in both of his hands and aimed it at whoever was there. Sweat dripped down his face and his eyes remained wide, and his heart pounded in his chest.
"Luigi!" a deep voice gasped. "It's me!"
Luigi squinted to identify the individual. Upon seeing the much taller man wearing the white karate gi and the red headband, he breathed a sigh of relief as his heart slowed.
"R-Ryu..." Luigi gulped. "Y-you scared me!"
"You're doing the dare, aren't you?" Ryu began.
Luigi nodded, avoiding eye contact from Ryu as he looked down at his shoes, which were suddenly the most interesting thing in the Cafeteria. "I-I know, Ryu… I shouldn't be here, but—"
"Are you?" Ryu raised a brow. "You're lucky that the Hands didn't hear you."
Luigi placed his hands behind his back, his legs still shaking from the startle he had endured. He said nothing as Ryu continued to speak.
"See?" Ryu said, glancing around the dark Cafeteria. "There's no ghost, specter, phantom, or anything here."
Luigi also glanced around the area. Despite the darkness, he had to admit that Ryu was right—there was not a single ghost in here.
"Y-you're right..." Luigi gulped.
Ryu placed a hand on Luigi's shoulder, a comforting smile on his face. "Let's get back to bed. Let's hope that the Hands didn't notice us here—"
Just as when he turned his head to the entrance, the doors there suddenly closed. Ryu jumped slightly, but Luigi screamed. After a few seconds, the two could hear a small click. They were locked in.
"W-we're trapped!" Luigi cried, holding onto Ryu's legs like a child hiding behind his mother.
"Stay calm!" Ryu growled as he held his fists up. "Someone's here! Stay close, Luigi!"
The two then heard an eerie and strange voice coming from all directions. "Hehehehehehehehe..." it laughed. "Are you planning to escape?"
"Who are you?" Ryu glared. "Show yourself!"
All he could hear was laughing. "You and your little green friend will join us..."
Ryu could feel Luigi shaking, and as soon as he heard sniffling from the younger Mario Brother, he gritted his teeth. While it was true that Luigi was fainthearted, Ryu didn't want to bark at him for being so scared—instead, he extended his arm in front of Luigi, as if he was going to defend him. He didn't want these people—whoever or whatever they were—scaring his friend.
"Join us… join us… jooooiiiiin ussssss..."
Before Ryu could react, specters appeared around them, with green chains around their wrists. Their fangs twinkled in the darkness, and they slowly floated towards the duo.
Luigi screamed and sobbed, burying his face with his hands. Ryu, despite the situation they were in, reacted bravely. He placed his hands in front of him, and aimed it at one of the ghosts. With a cry of "HADOUKEN!", he sent out a large blue ball of fire right towards the ghost…
But it went through the phantom, and the Hadouken flew right into a wall, leaving it charred black.
Ryu's eyes widened at this. What was worse was that was the only move that he thought would harm a ghost, and he knew this after fighting many Gastlys in Smash Run.
Ryu, to Luigi's surprise, took a step back as the ghosts continued to approach him. He was helpless—all of his attacks would be ineffective to defeat them, and even though he wasn't showing it, Ryu himself was scared. Thoughts flew in his head—if these ghosts touched or killed him, what would happen to his soul? Would it join them? Would they even do something worse to his ghost?
Another thought flew in his mind—what would happen to Luigi? The thought that he couldn't even defend his friend made him grit his teeth in frustration.
When the ghosts floated closer to him, he squeezed his eyes shut, ready for whatever the specters were going to do with him—
"LEAVE HIM ALONE!"
Before Ryu could react, Luigi jumped in front of him, his vacuum's head clutched in both of his hands. Ryu couldn't see it, since Luigi's back was on him, but Luigi had his teeth gritted, his eyes narrowed at the ghosts that attempted to harm his friend. Turning on the switch, Luigi pointed the vacuum right at one of them, and with a loud, sucking sound, sucked it into the dust bag.
With a stylish jump, Luigi landed behind the other ghosts, and he began to suck up the ghosts with his trusty and powerful vacuum, reducing them one by one. Ryu could now see his brave expression on his face.
Ryu's eyes widened in shock. Luigi… was protecting him? Usually, Ryu was the one to protect him from those who tried to harm him. This, in his opinion, was a nice change, as he watched as Luigi sucked in the last ghost into the vacuum.
Luigi swung the head around and attached it back to the vacuum. With a sigh of relief, he looked back at Ryu. However, he remained silent, the realization of what he had done struck him.
"Luigi..." Ryu began. "You… saved me."
Luigi rubbed the back of his head. "I-I did?" he blushed in embarrassment. "I-I guess I did..."
"Thank you, Luigi," Ryu smiled, walking up to him and then hugging his friend. "I owe you my life for it."
Luigi's blush intensified, but he returned the hug, laughing. "D-don't worry about it, Ryu! That's what friends are for, right?"
Before Ryu could respond, the two heard muffled crying in Luigi's dust bag. Ryu raised a brow, glancing at Luigi's vacuum briefly.
"What was that?" Ryu asked.
"I don't know..." Luigi gulped. Although the sobbing sounded familiar, he didn't want to release the ghosts out of fear that they would attack again. His body shook, but it was stopped when Ryu placed a hand on his shoulder. He looked up at the martial artist, but Ryu said nothing, except a nod, as if he read Luigi's mind and was encouraging him to do it despite Luigi's hesitation.
Gulping, Luigi took the head again and turned the switch on. He placed his feet firmly on the white floor in case he was thrown back from the impact when the vacuum spat the ghosts out.
The vacuum began to sputter, but it then spat out orange and brown balls of something. When they hit the ground, they were uncurled, revealing the Koopalings plus Bowser Jr.
"You guys?!" Luigi gasped.
Bowser Jr. wiped away the tears from his eyes, as if he was traumatized from being stuck in the vacuum bag for so long.
Wendy was up on her feet then, before glaring at Jr. "I told you that using those Ghost Mushrooms was a bad idea," she growled.
Just before Ryu could confront them, the lights were turned on, and everyone looked to see the two Hands floating by the doorway. Even though they couldn't see their expressions thanks to the Hands not having faces, they could still tell that the two were angry, judging by their curled fingers.
"...Uh oh..." Bowser Jr. gulped.
To Ryu and Luigi's surprise, they were let off easily once they told the Hands their side of the story—they were unable to fight in tournaments for a week, but they were both fine with it, as they were glad that they didn't ban them from the Mansion. Bowser Jr. and the Koopalings, meanwhile, were punished more severely; they were banned from tournaments for four months, and they were warned that if they ever did a stunt like that again, they would be kicked out of the Mansion.
Luigi, despite the small punishment, smiled as he and Ryu left the Hands' office. "I'm glad things worked out," he commented.
"Yeah," Ryu chuckled. "I'm relieved that the Hands believed us. I thought that I wouldn't fight here again!"
"What's better, though?" Luigi said. "I taught those bullies a thing or two!"
"You sure did," Ryu laughed, patting Luigi on the back. "And Luigi?"
"Yeah?"
"Thank you. I have to be honest—I didn't expect you to protect me." He laughed again.
Luigi laughed alongside his friend. "Well, I may be a scaredy-cat, but that doesn't mean I can't protect someone!" He raised his fist proudly. If Pit was here, he would clap for Luigi for making such a pose.
Ryu nodded as they went to the Smash Cafeteria for breakfast. When they entered there, the two saw the Koopalings fixing the scorched wall that Ryu left with his Hadouken last night. Despite the glares from them, Luigi simply smirked at them, as if taunting them that he and his friend were let off easily while the kids weren't as lucky.
And to Luigi, it felt great.
Constructive criticism is welcomed! Requests for a vocabulary word is still opened! Just check Chapter 4 for more info!