Hiding in my Skin, Broken from Within

Chapter 3: Beating Heart

Chapter's namesake - Beating Heart by Ellie Goulding

Hiding in my Skin, Broken from Within

Chapter 3 - Beating Heart

Lucina slowly opened her eyes. Her senses were still a bit distorted, but she could barely make out the fact that she was in an ambulance, as she felt the stretcher she was strapped to rattle every once in a while as the ambulance drove to the hospital. She could also faintly hear the sound of sirens. The anesthetic being administered to her by the intravenous tubes helped to numb the pain from her injured leg. Her vision was still blurry; however, she was able to faintly see Shulk out of the corner of her eye. She slowly turned her head to face him.

"Shulk..." she faintly whispered, her mouth covered by a small, transparent oxygen mask, her breath making condensation form on the mask's inside.

You decided to stay with me on the way...? She wanted to say, but was too weak to. Just so I wouldn't be alone? You're too kind, Shulk...

Walking slowly over to Lucina, Shulk put his hand on her forehead and said, "Don't worry, Lucina. You're going to be fine. For now...just rest, and within a few days you will be able to recover..."

Upon hearing those words, Lucina slowly closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

The next morning...

"Mmm...how long have I been sleeping?" Captain Falcon murmured groggily as the bright sunlight shone through the curtains. He climbed out of bed, clad only in his dark blue, silky pajama pants, and opened the curtains. Judging by how bright it was outside, it had to have been quite late in the morning.

"Damn... Did I really sleep this late?" he said. Remembering what happened the night before, he thought, it's ironic...the other night I couldn't sleep very well cause I was worried, and this morning, I guess I didn't want anything to do but to just sleep in...

He turned around and looked at himself in the mirror. His short, jet black hair was a mess, and his bluish-green eyes looked tired. Almost as if by instinct, he traced the scar on his left eyebrow with with his left hand. Scar aside, he had a face many women would call handsome. His physique was certainly something, as well: his muscular biceps; chiseled, hairless chest and abs; and toned thighs were all a result of his personal training for racing and fighting.

In spite of all this, he believed he couldn't show his true self like this to anyone, either from the world he came from or in Smash City. The reason behind this was that wherever he went, danger would follow. He remembered the incident that gave him his scar, as well as the many times he went out of his way to protect his friends from harm, including a woman he had feelings for; unfortunately, that relationship was short-lived. He thought that perhaps that was for the best if it meant she wouldn't be in harm's way.

He looked at his reflection and said, "It's not every day I get to look at myself in the mirror like this...I sometimes wonder if the person staring back at me really is me..." He shook his head. "Come on, Captain Falcon. Stop with that angsty pseudo-philosophical bullcrap," he berated himself.

Almost immediately afterward, the smartphone on his dresser began to ring. The ringtone was that of a codec call; it was then that he recognized who was calling. He picked up the phone.

"Snake?"

"You didn't message me last night...though I guess with what happened, I don't blame you."

"...You saw?" Falcon asked, with a trace of anxiety in his voice.

"Well...the cameras stopped rolling after Charizard hurt that girl, but...yeah."