Thanks for the comments. I really like it. Here's the next chapter. I hope you enjoy it!
Chapter 3: Secrets
Dinner Time
The table was set, and the food was ready. Peach held a microphone toward her lips, ready to announce dinner to all of the Smashers.
"Good evening, everyone! Dinner is ready, so come to the dining room immediately or your food is going to get cold. And today's meal is a nice, hot cheesesteak with fries. Plenty for everyone to enjoy!"
Many of the Smashers came rushing to the dining room once they heard the news. Since Kirby was already at the dining table, he helped himself with at least two hundred of the cheesesteaks stacked as towers and a bucket load of fries.
Link and Zelda planned to eat soon after they constructed some research on the new girl that appeared in the Smash Mansion. "Makato is quite a unique girl. . . I don't think she's just a regular person who makes potions. It takes more than that. . ." Zelda said, typing on the computer.
Link nodded to her response. "I agree. Let's see if she appears on Google."
Zelda entered Makato's name on the search bar and was able to find all sorts of information.
"Wow, surprisingly easy. . ." Zelda smiled. She clicked on the first link on the website that said, "Makoto Oh's!".
"What the? This is just a Cereal Brand. . . And her name's not Makoto." Link sweatdropped.
"Oof. . ." Zelda sighed. "We don't even know her last name. . ." Zelda typed on the search bar, "Makato, the girl that makes potions", and pressed enter. Once she did, less than twenty results appeared on Google.
"Aye! You did it!" Link patted Zelda's shoulder.
After looking through many websites, Zelda came across a website that read, "The Tachibana Family."
"This is the last link. . ." Zelda said, hovering her mouse toward the link. Once she clicked on it, the link took her to a black page with a golden title on the top that read, "The Tachibana Family: The Royal Blood of Magic."
Link and Zelda glanced at each other, as sweat dripped from their cheeks.
"Royal Blood of Magic? What does that mean?" Link murmured.
Zelda shrugged and continued to scroll down the page until she came across the background of the Tachibana Family. "The Tachibana Family: The Royal Blood of Magic. For many generations, the Tachibanas are one of the most powerful wizards to obtain magic through genetics. Whether it be fire, water, earth, light, dark, etc. Every Tachibana is considered royalty. King, Queen, Prince, or Princess. The rarest of magics that can be brought upon a Tachibana can be the power of the brain, which can result in potion making, healing spells, mind control spells, and many more."
Zelda continued to scroll more of the page.
"The Golden Flower is a rare plant that has the power to block and/or weaken a Tachibana's magic only through the month of May every year. Taking advantage of that month can mean taking the power of a Tachibana for yourself. . . As they are royal wizards, they are royal with a high price on them. . ." The text grew chilling as she continued to scroll down.
"Capture them. Torture them. Kill them. Sell them. Coming across a Tachibana is the same thing as coming across an open bag of gold. . . Whatever it takes. The most powerful and rare wizard amongst them all is a Tachibana that makes potions. . . Makato. . . Tachibana. . . is one of the few. The Princess of Potions."
"This website is definitely exposing the secret. . . Are you sure we should be reading this?" Link said.
"I just hope nobody hears about this website. . . This website doesn't sound friendly toward the end. . . As if they want her for an evil purpose."
"I know. Hey, on the bottom right corner on the screen. It says something about a reward. . ." Link pointed.
"Huh? Oh, I see it." Zelda clicked on the word reward that was colored yellow. Makato's picture was right next to the information about the reward.
"Wanted: Makato Tachibana: Alive. Where: Maple Forest. When: The month of May of the Golden Flower. Reward: five crates filled with gold bars. . .?!"
"Whoa! We could be rich and buy a house and-!" Link paused on his excitement when he noticed Zelda piercing at him with her glare.
"K-kidding obviously!" Link cracked a laugh.
"Good, because that wasn't funny," Zelda said. "Whoever wrote this wants her. And they're willing to put a price on her. I'm sure Makato has no idea who wrote this. We can't tell anybody about this, nor Makato."
In a different part of the mansion, while everyone ate dinner, Ganondorf and Bowser smirked at each other when they came across the same website that Zelda and Link went on.
"Eavesdropping is as simple as winning the lottery." Ganondorf chuckled in a dark tone.
"And when was the last time you won the lottery?" Bowser said.
"Shut it!"
(oOoOoOo)
10:00 PM
After dinner, some of the Smashers were sleeping, others were playing video games. Some of them had their own things to do. Roy tap-danced his way down the hallway, feasting on the last few bits of chocolate from Marth and Ike's present.
"Yum, yum, yum! This chocolate is better than my grades! Too bad Marth and Ike couldn't try it."
"So you did enjoy my chocolate. I hope you enjoy this." A voice said from a close distance.
"Huh? Wait! Who's there?" Roy stopped moving and grooving and searched the hallway.
Just when he turned around, a wooden mallet appeared right for his face, knocking him out head-on.
Marth held the mallet in his hand as he placed it on his shoulder. "Well Ike, revenge has been spoken?"
Ike nodded, standing beside him. "We can't just leave his body here or everyone will think we murdered him. Or worse, we might get forced to eat a gallon of mayonnaise. . ." Ike's face went green at the instant.
"No, no, no! That's not going to happen again! My stomach couldn't handle that much mayo. . ."
"And my asshole was burning all night. . ."
"Ugh, Ike. TMI? If we want to avoid that, I say we leave him in the pool." Marth suggested.
"Good idea."
Executing their plan, Marth held onto Roy's arms as Ike grabbed hold of his legs, making their journey to the large backyard and into the pool.
"Nice!" Marth and Ike high-fived each other with their successful plan. Roy floated on the water with arms and legs spread apart with a large bump on his forehead.
"Anyways, good night, Ike. . ." Marth yawned, walking back in the mansion. Ike followed Marth inside the mansion and stopped his footsteps.
"Hmm. . . I wonder what she's up to?"
(oOoOoOo)
As most Smashers fell asleep at the midnight hour, Ike slipped out of his room and tiptoed in the dark night of the hallway where everyone's rooms were door-to-door. Just as he passed Sonic's room, his heart began to race.
"Just a few more steps. . . And then. . ."
"Ike."
"I'm not sneaking into Makato's room, I swear!" Ike froze in position.
"What?"
"Huh?" Ike turned to the voice, seeing Lucario in a yoga position of the tree. Ike relaxed his shoulders a bit, knowing Lucario isn't the type to snitch and tell.
Ike twitched a little bit and waved a bit, forcing a grin. "H-hey! W-what's up and cooking my b-blue raccoon? Isn't it. . . you know? A little late?"
Lucario tilted his head. "You should know me by now that yoga at midnight is a hobby for me. I thought you heard me the first time when you passed by me. And what was that about sneaking into Makato's room?"
"Sneaking into Makato's room? You heard wrong! I. . . said Ma. . . Marco!" Ike splatted out. "I'm going to sneak into Marco's room."
"Nobody's named Marco."
"How do you know? That's why I'm here. . ." Sweat rained from the mercenary's hair. Lucario relaxed out of his tree pose and picked up his yoga mat. "You know what? While you look for. . . Marco, I think I'll call it a night and head for bed. . ."
"Yeah. You go do that. Don't let the Marcos bite."
Lucario left Ike in the middle of the hallway, and Ike let out a heavy sigh. "Finally. . ."
With a few steps, Ike made it to Makato's door. "Maybe I can make up an excuse and ask for a Marco potion. . ." Ike held onto the knob and opened the door inch by inch. The room was pitch black, with only the light of the moon shining through the window.
Ike closed the door, as his heart pumped out from his chest with more power and force. He started with a few steps toward the bed. Slowly but surely, he made it to Makato.
"Leave me alone. . .!"
Ike cupped his mouth to keep his fear in, thinking he woke her up. Makato repeated the same words over and over again. Every few seconds, she twisted and turned her body.
'Leave me alone? A fan of Michael Jackson? No. . . that can't be. Probably a nightmare about Marth's gender reveal. All jokes aside, she looks like she's in pain. . .' He noticed the unpleasant look of pain upon her face as she was asleep.
"Grrr. . ."
'Wait, what was that?' Ike got up from his knees and turned his head toward the corner of the room, seeing a miniature round bed and a pet bowl. He walked to the corner, seeing a small, ball-shaped, fluffy light bluebird; a yellow beak and large blue eyes.
"Oh, now she got birds growling like dogs. Not even a threat." Ike scoffed, as he put his hand out to the bird.
The bird glared at Ike's hand and thrust its sharp beak right at Ike's palm.
Tom's scream was somehow channeled to Ike's throat from the devastating pain. "AHHHHHHHHHHH! YOU SON OF A BITCH!"
"W-who's there?!"
By the time Ike had the bird in his hand Makato was awake as she held the blanket up to her chin. Makato turned on the night lamp that shined a yellow color, revealing the mercenary in his blue pajamas.
"Ike? What. . . are you doing here. . .?!"
"It's not what it looks like! I heard. . . um. . . shouting! Yeah, I heard some shouting as I was getting a glass of water. It sounded like it was coming from your room so I came to investigate it. But this bird thought I was a predator and stabbed my hand so. . . Just wanted to see how you were doing! Not a pervert or anything. Don't call the cops. . . Please."
Makato collected herself, rubbing her eyes before lowering the blanket. "Oh my, I must be talking in my sleep again. . . It's okay Miru, he wasn't trespassing. He was concerned."
The bird glared at Ike before snuggling its feathers, drifting to sleep. Ike released the bird and set it back on its bed.
"I should be fine now. . ." Makato said. "Thank you for your concern."
"Mind if I ask what were you dreaming about?" Ike asked, taking little steps toward her.
Makato stared at Ike, curling her lips. "Um. . ."
"I think you'll feel a lot better if you tell someone about it." Ike said.
"Well, you see. . . I had a dream about my ex-boyfriend."
"Your what?"
Makato looked at him with a frown. "Yes, I had a boyfriend before coming here. His name was Mikoru. . . and he lived in my village called Niho. I had a dream that he was chasing me with an army of monsters. He only wanted two things: marriage and my power to make potions. But, you see. . ." Makato clenched her fist. "I can't love him the way I used to because he hurt me. . . many times. I don't know what happened to him before. He was so kind and nice, but then. . . after that. . . he became a new person coated in evil."
Ike listened without a word, watching her eyes watering.
Makato looked down at her wrist. "There was one time when he broke my wrist because I refused to be with him. And there were times when he tried to force himself upon me. I was. . . so scared." Her voice croaked from the painful memories as she gulped. "So terrified of his evil ways. When I received the invitation to join Super Smash Bros Brawl, I was so happy. I thought it would be a place for me to run away from my problems. . . but even in my dreams, he. . . he still comes to hurt me. . . I can't take it anymore. . .!"
"It's okay, Makato." Ike then laid his hand on her own under the blankets. "You don't have to worry anymore. I'll be there for you."
"Ike. . ."
Ike then pulled her in for an embrace. Makato closed her eyes, wrapping her hands around his body, taking his warmness in.
"There's one thing I don't get about this Mikoru guy. . ." Ike said, still holding her. "Why is he so obsessed about your potions? Can't he just ask some witch to make him some?"
"That's a good question. . . Maybe it's because. . . I'm the Princess of Potions."
Ike stopped hugging as he pulled out from the embrace. "A Princess?"
"Yes. My potions are 99.9% accurate amongst any others that people come across. And many recipes I know just come into my head. . . Too much that I had to make a potion book in a language that most people wouldn't understand."
"Do you test them on yourself? Or you just know it would work?" Ike asked.
"I have a friend named Miru. We've been friends since childhood and he agreed to be my guinea pig. He's the little bird you saw there. Regardless of his appearance, he's actually a human." Makato pointed to the corner of the room where the little bird slept.
"I almost wanted to strangle him. . ." Ike murmured.
"What I'm working on is a potion that'll turn himself back to the way he was. I didn't want to use a human potion, I wanted to create a potion that'll turn even animals back to the way they were. But I'm missing a vital ingredient. . ."
"What is it?"
"A blue. . . hedgehog."
Awkward silence filled the room and Ike's face went pale.
"A blue hedgehog?!"
"Yes, a blue hedgehog. It has to be a blue hedgehog, not an ordinary one. I remember when I was at a young age, collecting rocks and flowers, I came across a wild boar. And then out of nowhere, a blue talking hedgehog came and knocked it out with its feet. I thanked him and plucked a quill from his back without him noticing. I think I accidentally mixed his quill with a potion that I was working on. I let Miru drink it, and he was back to himself! I was quite surprised!" Makato smiled. "I had a feeling, if I get more of his quills, I can create the potion for Miru."
'Sonic, my guy. You're about to be an ingredient for a potion.' Ike thought to himself.
"There are many strange creatures here, so I think I'll have the opportunity to find this blue hedgehog again. What do you think?"
"Lucky for you Princess Makato, we happened to have a blue hedgehog that lives here. And he goes by Sonic."
Makato's eyes lit up. "Sonic! So that's his name! What great news! Do you think you can get him for me?"
"Uh. . . yeah! Consider it done." Ike forced a smile upon his face with a peace sign.
A yawn escaped from her lips as she rubbed her eyes. "You know. . . talking to you really helped. Thank you for coming. . ." Makato said. "I think I won't have any nightmares after this. . ."
"Great to hear. . . Well, I should get going, so you can catch your Z's." As Ike was about to leave her bedside, Makato held onto his sleeve.
"Wait. . ." Makato blushed. "Can you, um. . . stay? Until I fall asleep? Just for the night. Your embrace. . . it's so warm. . . and comforting."
Ike sat on her bed and pulled her into another hug. "Sure thing. . ."
A/N: Thank you for reading! Till Next time! :3
