Hiding in my Skin, Broken from Within

Chapter 5: Just for a Moment

Title for this chapter is based on "Just For A Moment" by Gryffin

Hiding in my Skin, Broken from Within

Chapter 5 - Just For A Moment

The sun had begun to set on Gaur Plains. Lucina and Captain Falcon had spent several hours training, both against other monsters as well as in one-on-one in friendly sparring matches, and they were quite exhausted. Remembering Fiora's advice from earlier, they headed for the cave located east of the statue. After walking past the nearby lake, they entered the cave.

Fiora mentioned that the cave was once a refugee camp for residents of Colony 6 after it was ravaged, and it still possessed the bare essentials for living. Several sleeping mats with blankets lined the stony floor, and there were a few tables with chairs and boxes that contained tools essential for survival, such as various first aid implements, rope, cloth, and hunting tools. In a corner far away from the sleeping mats was a cauldron hung over a stack of wood. It wasn't luxury, but it would do.

"Wow..." Lucina murmured, taking in her surroundings. "The people who last stayed in this cave sure knew how to survive."

"Having to spend so long in the wilderness like that..." The Captain remarked. "I can only imagine."

"Hmm?" Lucina was bemused by his comment.

"...Ah, sorry if my words seemed out of place. It's just, the world I come from is so technologically advanced that scenarios like that would not be an issue," Falcon clarified.

"I see," Lucina replied, taking a seat at a nearby table. "You know...I've always wanted to see what the worlds everyone else is from are like. I guess I just want to broaden my horizons, as they say. When I was a child, I loved reading stories that took place in other worlds. And...during my time here in the Smash tournament, I've come to know so many people who ended up being my friends, and they would tell me all about their own worlds."

"Is that so?" Falcon asked, taking a seat across from her.

"Yes," Lucina answered him. "When I first met Shulk's friend Fiora at that off world quest some time ago with my father, she told me all about this world, where she and Shulk came from. I chose to come here because I wanted to see how vast and amazing it was for myself. ...If it's okay with you, I would someday like to visit the world you come from, too."

"Really?" Falcon was surprised by Lucina's remark. "I could take you someday in the future, but I don't think it would be such a great place to train, seeing as how it's vastly different from your world or Shulk's."

"Oh, no, it's fine," Lucina said. "I would like to go somewhere else to continue our training, but I'm not sure yet. I'll probably let you know tomorrow morning."

"Sounds fine," the Captain replied. All of a sudden, he winced and clutched an area on the left side of his back with his left arm. "Ngh..."

"Is something wrong...?!" Lucina gasped.

"I think...that battle with that monster..." he strained, "May have...injured me a bit."

"Let me see..." Lucina began. "I know some first aid from my battles back in my world."

"Okay..." the Captain obliged. He slowly began to lift the back of his jacket, exposing his back. As was expected, the area he was clutching earlier had some bruises and scratches on it. One of the scratches appeared to be bleeding slightly.

"A-ah..." Lucina wasn't grossed out by the injuries, as she had helped treat her own and others' in her own future when she battled Grima, whenever she didn't have the aid of a healer. She was instead...slightly flustered by the sight of that rippling, nicely toned back, even though only a small portion of it was exposed. Her heart started to beat a touch faster, and she felt the blood rush to her face a bit.