One of a Kind

Chapter 3: Rescue

...there at the door was Mario, Luigi, and Leah.

"Princess!" Mario cried at seeing Peach

Peach gently set the tired brunette's head on the ground, stood up, and rushed over to them, giving them a grateful hug. It didn't take Luigi very long to notice a tuft of brown hair next to the bed. When Peach let go, he slowly crept over to see what it was.

When he got to that point, he saw a young girl close to Leah's age laying on the floor tied up in shake vines. The girl's eyes were half open, red and puffy from crying. Her cheeks were stained with tears, and she was almost abnormally pale.

Luigi became worried and knelt down next to her to get the vines off. A single tiny shock from his Thunderhand and the vines became limp. The girl didn't move. Was she tired from struggling or something?

"Weegi?" Mario called to his brother

"What's going on, bro-in-law?" Leah asked

"You two better see for yourselves" Luigi answered nervously

They all went over to see the young girl, nearly passed out from obvious physical fatigue, most likely from crying. The moment Leah saw her, she gasped in surprise and in worry. She knew exactly who that was.

"Kathryn!?" Leah cried out before knelt down beside her friend

Kathryn barely stirred enough to look up at Leah, but only for a few seconds. After that her eyes started to softly close. Leah continued to shake her, but it proved to be ineffective as Kathryn was soon fast asleep.

"Leah, who is this?" Mario asked, kneeling down to Leah's position

"You guys remember that girl I mentioned? Kathryn?" Leah asked

The rest of the group nodded.

"This is her..." She confessed

The group let out a shocked gasp. This was Leah's sister online? How? She looked so...sad, while Leah looked much happier. Leah gently lifted Kathryn's head onto her lap, letting it rest there. Leah just stared into Kathryn's face, not saying a single word.

"Anyway, are we-"

"Yes" Mario was cut off by Leah

"You didn't let me finish" Mario retorted with a frown

"I know that you were going to ask if we were taking Kathryn and my answer is yes" Leah retorted back

Mario was a little bit surprised. He knew that Leah was stubborn, but now she was a mind reader? It was a little weird. Peach felt a pang of empathy for Leah and Kathryn. Kathryn had been scared to death since she'd first gotten here, and Leah was probably worried sick for her.

Luigi...just stared at the brunette on the floor. She was so...attractive to him. Her dark chocolatey brown hair contrasting with her smooth pale skin, her tears looking like little rivers running down her face, she...Luigi just couldn't describe her.

Luigi and Daisy had broken up just a few weeks ago and Luigi wasn't taking it very well. At least, not before he saw this girl. His face started heating up, his heart began to pound, and he nervously picked up Kathryn bridal style. How did Luigi suddenly feel so...trapped by this beautiful girl?

Mario and Leah kept arguing out the door, the princess following close behind. Luigi followed behind the rest of the group, still staring at Kathryn, before shaking his head and looking forward. Eventually, the arguing between Mario and Leah died down when the group returned to the mushroom kingdom. Princess Peach was returned to the castle and the others made their way home.

When they got inside, Leah addressed the elephant in the room.

"Where is Kathryn gonna sleep? If she's gonna stay here, she needs a place to sleep" She said

"We can just put her on the couch, right?" Mario asked

"No"

"Huh?" Mario and Leah asked in unison

"For the time being, she'll sleep in my room" Luigi said in a monotone voice before going upstairs, leaving Leah and Mario confused

Luigi quickly went to his green colored bed, pulled back the covers, layed Kathryn down, and pulled the covers back over her body. She seemed to relax a bit, as her fearful face softened into a look of content. Luigi smiled, grabbed some PJs, and went into the bathroom to get changed.

When he came out, he saw that the lights were out, meaning Mario and Leah had gone to bed. Luigi pulled out a flashlight, put his clothes in the hamper, and went downstairs. He grabbed a white sheet and a pillow before laying down on the couch and drifting off to sleep...for about 10 minutes.

In the middle of the night, Luigi felt something lay down next to him. He opened his eyes to find Kathryn there, looking up at him. Her rich, chocolaty hazel eyes sparkling in the moonlight as her pale skin was barely visible in the dark. She didn't have an expression on her face, though her eyebrows were raised slightly.

Luigi blushed like crazy. What was she doing there? What was she gonna do? What was HE gonna do? What's going on!? His thoughts were cut off when Kathryn suddenly hugged him, burying her face into his chest.

"Thank you" She whispered to him, just barely audible

Luigi, looked confused for a second before smiling and returning the embrace. The two of them quickly fell asleep in each others arms...

...unaware that something, or someone was watching them from the shadows.