Life in the Smash Village

I Know You

"Missed me?"

The audience was going wild, stomping on their seats and waving their arms, chanting words that Marth hadn't heard in ages.

"ROY'S OUR BOY!"

The redhead before him looked out to the audience, a bashful grin on his matured face. He may be older, but there's no doubting the way his eyes childishly lit up when he waved at the crowd.

Marth was frozen in place, sword almost slipping out of his hand. His knees were struggling to carry him and his racing heart.

"R-Roy..." Weakly came out of his mouth.

"I suppose we have to fight, don't we?" Roy lightly laughed , eyes locking with his old friend's and noticed the tears welling up.

"Marth, you can never turn down a good match, and I've had plenty of time to perfect my skills." Roy taunted, giving a sly wink at his friend as he waved his sword.

Snapping out of his surprise, Marth smiled and nodded. Roy hadn't changed at all -- he was still the same childish person that always managed to say the right things. It was at that point that Marth realized the audience was at the edge of their seats, all intently watching and fairly quiet.

I can do this. He thought to himself, taking a deep breath and readying his sword.

"Then let's dance." Marth charged to Roy, priming his sword to swiftly slash upward. Roy side-dodged and returned the blow by starting up a series of quick combos, taking the audience by surprise.

"He perfectly executed that Swords Dance!" Peach squealed, nearly swooning in her seat. Palutena realized she was one of the only people who didn't have a connection to the redhead clashing swords with Marth on the field. To her, he was a total stranger -- to the crowd, he was a missing piece of the puzzle.

Their blades clashed and cancelled at every move, and Roy dodged an upcoming blow that would've otherwise knocked him out of the stage. He only had a blink of an eye to recover before another strike, this time slicing his torso. He grunted and fell back, feeling himself nearing the end.

Marth knocked Roy back with a graceful slash, but before the redhead landed on the ground, he delivered more knock-back swipes. Roy jumped to his feet and almost trapped Marth in another swords dance, but the other countered and sent Roy tumbling back. He grabbed Roy by the collar and kicked the swordsman off the stage, causing the audience to jump in their seat.

Roy quickly tried to strike upward to recover, but Marth was quicker. The Hero-King leapt off the stage and spiked Roy, eliminating him from the match.

The crowd went wild with cheers as Marth swiftly returned to the stage and taunted in victory, but he wasn't even processing what was happening. He just wanted to get to Roy.

"ROY, THE YOUNG LION, HAS JOINED THE BATTLE!"

It felt like ages before he was finally sent back to the transport station, and there, he began frantically searching for the redhead. Cameras were flashing in his face since he was victorious, but he just shoved past them into crowds of people who were swarming the place.

Some security. He thought, annoyed at the dense packs of people trying to get through. Then he heard a squeal that was unmistakable.

Peach! He ran towards the sound, hoping that she either was with Roy or would help him find him. He saw bouncing blonde hair not too far from him. As soon as he met up with the two, it was like watching a couple reunite -- she was hugging him tightly and pecking his cheeks, still squeaking with joy.

Marth suddenly backed away, unsure if he should approach them. He realized he was being pushed by other people and abandoned the idea, turning around to exit the stadium.