Three: Divine Favor
POV: Daisy
Watching the sunrise was my favorite part of the day. My boyfriend never understood why–he had a bad habit of waking up with the lunch bell–but it was euphoric. The crispness of the morning air, the soft wind blowing, the slow warmth of the sun rolling over me. There was a hill just outside the main campus, just high enough to peer over the towering pines surrounding the school. With my favorite quilt (which I stitched myself), it was a morning ritual to enjoy one peaceful moment before the excitement of the rest of the day.
So when I found someone in my favorite spot just before sunrise, I almost lost it. It was one of the first years that joined my house, Richter. I had seen him around in the gym with Incineroar, and vaguely remember him hanging out with Ylissian royals (read: self-righteous ****s). Taking a deep breath, I walked up to him with a strained smile on my face.
"Hey there, Richter," I said, teeth clenched. "Mind if I sit here?"
He glanced up in surprise. "Daisy! I'm sorry, am I taking your spot?"
"It's fine," I said, maybe too quickly. He scooted to his right, and I laid out my quilt, a floral pattern on a white backdrop with an orange trimming. I was wearing an orange button-up shirt and a pair of khaki shorts, the weather still warm enough to get away with short sleeves. Richter, meanwhile, was wearing a blue button-up coat and riding pants. The dark circles under his eyes indicated he was here all night.
We sat in silence for a while. When the sun first peeked over the horizon, I forgot Richter was there entirely. Despite having seen the sunrise a million times, it was like seeing it for the first time every time. I felt my Mark perk up, the Mark of the Mushroom, and before I knew it, I was a foot taller. Richter had rolled away to not get pushed over, ending up on his stomache.
I smiled sheepishly, my annoyance with him long gone. "Sorry 'bout that," I said. "Daisies grow in the sun." He stared, before letting out a small chuckle. I willed myself to shrink back to normal, and got up. As I folded my quilt, Richter got up as well, stretching his arms above his head.
"You found a great spot for yourself," he said.
"Feel free to use it on cloudy days," I said with a wink. As we both walked towards campus, I frowned a little. "How long have you been up?" I asked.
He rubbed the back of his head, almost ashamed. "I'm fine," he said, and he hurried off to Ultimate House. I shook my head in disbelief, but part of me wondered if I overstepped my boundaries. We weren't friends, so was it my place to question his lifestyle?
Since the cafeteria wasn't open for another half hour, I decided to head to the gym. The gym was located across from the metal shop. Whirring from the metal shop indicated life, and knowing the creatures of the night that called the metal shop home, I figured that whoever was in there had worked through the night.
I entered the gym's sliding door and entered the girl's locker room. My locker was marked with my name and a flower pendant. Inside was clean workout clothes I left here the previous night: an orange sleeveless top and green shorts. One quick change later and I was jogging into the gym proper.
The gym was empty save for one: Mac. A second year from 4th House, I was convinced he was at least a little bit insane. He was short, probably the shortest student outside of the pre-teens and an actual monkey, but he was a monster when it came to the gym. His Mark, the Mark of the Knockout, caused his muscles to grow abnormally large, and could grow larger at command. He also had the privilege of being the only student to beat me in a fight.
He was laying into a sandbag, green boxing gloves moving so fast they looked like flashes of lightning. His spiked black hair was drenched with sweat, but he never let up. It wasn't until I called out his name that he stopped. Holding the bag with one hand, he slicked back his hair, muscles bulging through his pink hoodie. I waved him over to the ring, and he grinned. Mac wasn't much of a talker, similar to that knight from Hyrule, but I didn't mind. If I wanted to get my ear talked off, I would hang with Peach. Sometimes, all I needed was to punch and get punched.
I slipped on a pair of martial arts gloves, the kind that hand the fingers open, and stretched against the ropes of the ring. Mac slipped under and took off his pink sweats, revealing a black top and green shorts. He tightened his gloves, skin glistening with sweat. "First to knockdown?" I asked, stretching my legs out. He grunted with a nod, and we fist bumped.
His first strike was so fast I barely had time to react, throwing up my arm to block. My Mark didn't allow for growth as intense as Mac's did, but I had learned to focus the growth in specific limbs. My arm grew to compensate for Little Mac's punch, protecting my bone from breaking on impact. He followed with several more blows in the span of a second, and I felt my skin grow hot from the constant barrage.
If I stayed in this position, Mac would overpower me, so I grew my lead arm to the thickness of a tree trunk and brought it down like a hammer. Mac was forced to step back, and I quickly shrunk my arm to normal and advanced, throwing a jab with my lead hand. I willed my arms to extend, keeping myself out of reach, and kept jabbing to keep him back. With the pace slowed, I looked for an opening to grab him, but he didn't even look tired.
But Mac got impatient, and surged forward with a lead hand uppercut. I barely dodged, his fist grazing my chin. I used the proximity to grab his rear hand and his waist, and I threw him over my shoulder. He landed with a thud, a stunned look on his face.
I extended a hand to him. "Good game," I said, out of breath. He grinned and accepted my hand, using it to get up. With a grunt and a nod, he jogged off to the locker rooms.
—
By the time I left the showers, the cafeteria was open. Walking in, I noticed Richter and his friends sitting down with breakfast. I caught his eye and waved with a smile. He waved back, seeming a little embarrassed from my earlier question.
After going through the cafeteria line, I found my people: my best friend Peach, my boyfriend Luigi, and his brother Mario. Peach, as per usual, was chatting away while the boys followed along. Luigi's head would bob from time to time, a consequence of his late night. How he was saddled with a friend group full of morning people, I didn't know. But I knew he didn't want it any different.
"Yoohoo!" I called. Peach looked up and brightened.
"Daisy!" she said, waving me over. She was wearing a pink sundress, her blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail. Mario was sitting next to her in a red collared shirt and jean overalls, and across from him was Luigi, almost identically dressed except for green replacing Mario's red.
Setting my tray down on the table, I bring my arm across Luigi's shoulders and plant a kiss on his cheek. He blushed profusely despite it not being anywhere close to the first time. "What did I miss?" I asked, letting go of Luigi and grabbing a fork.
"We were talking about our classes," Mario said. "Have you gotten yours yet?"
I shook my head, swallowing a mouthful of pancakes. Grabbing a slice of mango, I waved it around. "Let me know what you guys got so I can try and get the same classes."
"Mushroom Kingdom History II, Ruling a Country 101, Calculus, Biology, and Advanced Light Magic," Peach said, popping a strawberry in her mouth. I winced. Those all sounded incredibly boring.
"Same here," Mario said, "except I don't have Ruling a Country. I have Adventuring 201 instead."
"Is that with Professor Snake?" I asked. I loved his Adventuring 101 class, and he was fun to mess with.
"It's with…" Mario started, flipping through the syllabus. "Adam?"
"Huh." The name didn't ring any bells. Was it a new teacher?
I turned to Luigi. He had his face in hand, half asleep over a barely touched bowl of oatmeal. As his head began to droop, I put my hand under his chin and turned his head towards me. His eyes snapped awake.
"Wha-"
"Earth to Luigi. What classes are you taking?" He slowly nodded as he took in my words, our eyes holding constant contact. I found myself lost in those green orbs, and forgot what we were talking about.
Peach and Mario's laughter snapped us out of it. We both turned away, blushing.
"I, uh," Luigi stuttered. "I have Mushroom History II, Calculus, Tech and Engineering, Physics, and Green Magic."
"Green Magic? I guess any color can be magic now," I said, nudging him with my elbow playfully.
"What is Green Magic, Luigi?" Peach asked.
"I don't know," he said, moving his spoon around his oatmeal bowl. "Palutena said I would do well in it. Who am I to argue with a goddess?"
"No wonder we never fight," I said with a wink. That got a chuckle out of him.
"Bold claim, Ms. Daisy," said a voice from behind. I turned my head to find a shining door to Palutena's waiting room, with the goddess herself sitting, arms crossed and a small smile on her face.
I groaned, feeling like a kid caught sneaking candy. "I'm sorry, Lady Palutena," I said, standing up.
"Luckily for you, you're my first meeting of the day," she said, floating towards the big oak door to her office. She phased through the door, before poking her head back out. "Whenever you're ready," she called, disappearing again.
I looked down at my empty tray and groaned again. "Guess that's my cue," I said. "Can you take my tray back, Loog?" He nodded, and I planted a kiss on top of his head. "Wish me luck!"
I walked through the shining door, and it disappeared behind me. The waiting room wasn't empty like normal. Pit was sleeping on one side, and on the other was what looked like a ninja wearing a light blue uniform. Her face was covered by white cloth and there was a red symbol of an eye on her chest. She looked like she barely survived a brawl, with her right arm in a cast and what was visible of her face was bruised. Like the angel, she was asleep, her breathing labored.
I walked past the pair and pushed through the oak door. I closed it quietly, and saw the goddess was looking through a folder with Richter's name on it. When she noticed me, she quickly threw it in a drawer and offered a smile.
"Thank you for coming," she said, pulling out a separate folder.
"Is that girl ok?" I asked, sitting down.
"She's recovering quite well," Palutena offered. "She's a new student, actually, in Smash House."
"What happened?"
"Nothing to be afraid of," Palutena said, pulling out a yellow page from the folder. Her quill came to life and began scribbling on it. "She was in Hyrule. Luckily, I found her before it was too late, and Pit helped bring her here." Something about her answer seemed suspicious, but I decided it wasn't worth pursuing.
"So," Palutena began. "We have the standard Mushroom History II, Pre-Calculus, Physics, and Adventuring 201. I know last year you took general combat, and you were very impressive in the ring this morning."
I fidgeted a little. I never got over her whole 'all-seeing' shtick.
"There isn't a set class for advanced combat, but we could set up something. I know a few other second years were interesting in expanding their knowledge. However, it would be more like a club than a class."
I nodded. "I would want to do that," I said.
She smiled. "Very good," she said. "That still leaves one class open. We could have a set Study Hall if you think your time would be too divided–"
"Actually," I interrupted, "I was interested in taking Green magic."
Palutena's eyebrow shot up. "It is a difficult class to get into with no prior magic experience."
"I can do it," I said, the competitive part of me firing up.
"Very well," she said, the quill finishing up writing. As the quill set itself down, the goddess placed the paper back in the folder.
"One last thing," she said, looking… a little nervous? "I saw you talking with Richter this morning. How is he doing?"
The question took me by surprise. "He seemed tired, but otherwise good," I said. "I'm not really close to him, though."
She nodded. "That's alright." She put the folder in a drawer. "Say, how would you feel about, if for some extra credit, being my Teacher's Assistant?" She held up her hand before I could sputter out an answer. "It wouldn't be grading or tutoring. My primary job is a chaplain, so as a TA, you would check on the well-being of first year students."
I nodded, the dots connecting in my hand. "I would want to do it, but," I said, rubbing my palms on my legs, "why me?"
She smiled warmly. "You are great with others, Daisy. You have a natural charisma and warmth to you without being too… much. Bless his soul, but could you imagine if Pit was doing that?"
I snickered. That poor kid needed some people skills.
"Plus," Palutena continued, "Pit's enrolling this year, so I'd be putting too much on his plate."
"Oh!" It never occurred to me that an immortal angel needed to go to school. Was Pit even immortal? He looked barely older than the girl he was sitting across from, and he didn't seem much different from my first year at school.
"It's best not to think about it, dear," Palutena said, standing up. "So, will you consider my offer?"
I got up from my chair as well. "I'll need to think about it," I said.
"Send me a prayer when you decide," she said, gesturing towards the opening door.
—
"Is that something you want?" Rosalina asked me.
Rosalina was the friend I went to when I needed advice. I felt a little bad, because I didn't want her to feel like that's all she was good for, but with Palutena's offer, I needed her wisdom. She wasn't much older than me, but she was so mature.
"I like the idea of helping people," I said, "and the extra credit is definitely a good bonus. But it's a lot of responsibility, you know?" Rosalina nodded, petting the head of the Luma she was holding. It chirped happily, its arms waving around like a toddler. She set the little guy down, and it bounced away, leaving a trail of star bits in its wake.
"You have a big heart, Daisy," Rosalina said, adjusting her blue dress. "I would be more than happy to help you with classes if it meant you could have this opportunity."
I bit my lip. Sitting across from Rosalina, I could see the dark circles under her eyes. "Rosie, I couldn't ask you to do that."
She waved her hand. "I would help you with classes regardless. What's the point of reading a ton of books if I can't show off once in a while?"
I snorted. "In that case, I won't stop you." Leaning back in my chair, I took in the commons of 4th House. I hardly saw Rosalina outside of it, but that was understandable. Not only did she have an army of Lumas to take care of, but the place was so darn cozy. As I let out a long sigh, sinking into my chair, I saw the first year Robin walk in.
"Rosalina, I-" he started, when he noticed me and stopped. His face got a little red. "I'm sorry, I don't believe we've been introduced. My name is Robin," he said with a little bow.
I looked from him to Rosalina, who was trying her best to hide her amusement, and back to Robin. "Hi, I'm Daisy," I said with a little wave. He nodded, looking awkward.
"Rosalina," he said, turning his attention back to her. "Have you seen Shulk? I misplaced a journal and was wondering if he had taken it by mistake."
"He's not in the metal shop?" Rosalina asked, surprised. I had met Shulk last year on that first field mission, and from what I heard he was rarely outside of the shop.
Robin shook his head. After a moment of thought, he shrugged. "Perhaps he's in the cafeteria," he mumbled, moreso to himself than to Rosalina or myself. He turned around, still in his head. As he reached the hallway, he waved back. "Talk to you later, Rosalina," he called.
Rosalina returned the wave. "Talk later, Robin," she said.
After Robin was out of sight, I stared at Rosie. "What was that?" I asked with a grin.
Rosalina's face got pink. "He's a friend," she said.
"Maybe we can make those study sessions double dates," I teased.
"Maybe," she said, before the realization hit. "Not as a date, I mean. But he is very well-read," she said, flustered.
I hummed in response. "Sure thing," I said, getting up with a stretch. "Did you want to join me and the others for dinner, or are you waiting for you-know-who?"
She glared at me with a barely contained smile. "Let's go."
—
After dinner, I had one thing left for the day, or at least, a hypothesis I wanted to confirm. Lo and behold, there was Richter Belmont, sitting on the hill and staring up at the moon. It was on the phase after the full moon (waning gibbous for you astrology nerds out there), and I had to admit it was beautiful. It looked like it was resting on the treetops.
As I sat down next to him, Richter flinched. "Hey," I said, leaning back on my palms.
"I wasn't expecting anyone," he said, looking embarrassed.
"I'm just checking up on all the first years," I said. "Lady Palutena took me on as her TA, and she wants me to make sure you guys are doing alright." It wasn't exactly a lie, but it was nice to have the excuse.
"Ah." Richter focused back on the moon. He seemed captivated by it.
"Have you met with her yet?" I asked. He made a face in response.
"…Not yet," he finally said. There was something more, but I didn't want to push it. I had the feeling he wanted me gone the moment I sat down, which was too dang bad seeing as he stole MY spot.
"How do you like campus?" I asked. I almost cringed at how lame the conversation was going, but there was something going on with this kid.
"It's fine." After a few minutes in silence, he finally relented. "I like the gym."
"Do you spar?"
"Sure," he said with a shrug.
"Let's go then," I said, getting up. "Gym is open 24/7."
He looked like he wanted to protest, but as it's impossible to say no to me, he got up with a groan.
The wind was beginning to pick up when we made it to the gym doors. I had brought a clean pair of gym clothes after dinner, while Richter had a spare set in his locker. People were sparse that late. Ike, a third year from Brawl House, was on the weight rack, spotted by Terry, one of the Ultimate House leaders. Min Min was on the treadmill, and she waved as we walked by.
When we got to the ring, I was surprised to see Pit and the girl from Palutena's waiting room already there. She looked much better than she had that morning, probably thanks to Palutena's white magic. Her cast was off, and she was using her arms to throw Pit to the ground as Richter and I reached the ropes. She looked up at us and glared at Richter. Turning away with a huff, she hopped out of the other side of the ring, storming off to the women's locker room.
Richter looked taken aback. "What was her problem?"
I was just as confused, going under the ropes to help Pit, who was still flat on his back. He took the hand I offered and sat up, clearly winded. "Who is that, Pit?" I asked, testing to see if he kept up the same story as Palutena.
Pit looked up at me, dazed. "That's Sheik," he said, turning his attention towards the locker rooms. "I'm helping her get adj… adj…"
"Adjusted?" I offered.
"Yeah." He grabbed the rope to get up, still a little wobbly. "She missed the train the first day, so I had to pick her up."
I nodded, noting that the stories weren't adding up. Palutena was definitely hiding something with that girl. "You're enrolling this year, right? Are you both in the same house?"
He shook his head, wincing after. Whoever Sheik really was, she thoroughly messed Pit up. "She's in Smash House, and I'm in Brawl." He slipped under the ropes and staggered towards the men's locker room, holding his head in his hand. "See you later, Daisy," he called back, entering the locker room.
Richter looked bewildered. "Her first day here, and she already hates me," he said, climbing in the ring.
"You can't win them all," I said, stretching my legs. "I'll have a talk with her, though. Try and clear things up."
"Thanks," he said, draping a towel over the ropes. "Are we using weapons?"
"Feel free to," I said, grinning. "I'm basically a weapon anyways."
"Right. Mark of the Mushroom is pretty dangerous." He held out his right hand and a chain appeared in a flash of light. He brought the chain to his mouth and whispered something, causing the chain to glow blue. The glow seemed to extend to his person, as if he was emitting moonlight.
"Three," I started.
"Two," he responded.
"One," a voice said from above us. We both looked up, and there was a man in a white suit, the left side of his face covered by a black mask. His wavy hair was stark white, and his visible eye was aetherial blue. He had half of a sophisticated looking mustache, looking like a magical butler. "Go!" he said, snapping his right hand, gloved in white. And like that he disappeared.
Before I could question anything about him, I felt compelled to fight. Almost against my will, I leapt towards Richter. He went into a guarded stance, holding the chain between both hands. I threw a punch with my lead hand, and Richter wrapped the chain around my arm, the metal searing my skin. Wincing, I grew my arm in size and pulled him closer, elbowing him in the face.
He staggered back, letting go of his chain as his nose started pouring out blood. I tossed the chain to the ground and stalked towards him, filled with… rage. I could barely see anything besides Richter in front of me. He wiped his nose and flung the blood at me. As it connected with my skin, it burst into blue fire. It quickly spread up my arms, the heat unbearable. Still, I pounced on Richter, my enlarged hands enveloping his neck as I squeezed.
He strained against my hands, letting out a strangled shout. A blinding light emanated from him, throwing me back. As we both staggered to our feet, I felt myself being held back. Turning, I saw Ike, hands on my arms and screaming something I couldn't hear. Looking back at Richter, Terry was holding him down. Still beholden to the rage, I grew a foot and threw Ike off me, tossing him into Terry. I pounced at Richter, only to slam into an invisible barrier. All the anger fled my body, and I stared up in horror at a furious Palutena.
"What. Happened."
Author's Note: Sorry (not sorry) for the cliff hanger. I don't think I'll get chapter 4 out before the end of August, but I'm sticking with this story for the foreseeable future. See you next time.
