Chapter 1: My Irritating Brother

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from the Mario series.

-It's rated higher due to language.

-"This means that someone is thinking."

-'This means that someone is reading something'

As I woke up in my bed I thought that maybe today something different would happen. There hasn't been a peep of Bowser in months and I was starting to worry about what the long absence of the Koopa King means in the long run. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy for the time of peace, but this long term 'vacation' from an evil plot is nothing short of a miracle. The princess is usually kidnapped once in every two months, so I guess it could happen at any time now.

I climb down from my bottom bunk before getting dressed. I then turned to look at my older brother. His light snoring is the only noise that's filling the silence. I shake my head before walking out of the bedroom to make myself some breakfast. In a short time I was sitting at the table with a plate of eggs and toast, and drinking my morning cup of cappuccino. I heard the first postman deliver the daily newspaper on time so I stretched before standing up to go grab it.

Sitting back down in my chair, I take my time reading the news while nibbling on a piece of toast. "It looks like trouble might be happening sooner than I thought." I continued reading the article that was on the front page. 'It has come to our attention that suspicious people have been spotted travelling throughout the Mushroom Kingdom. Take caution on your travels in the case that our fears might become true.' "Wow this might actually be more serious than I thought. I wonder why it's so vague though." My train of thought was interrupted by my previously sleeping brother.

With a loud yawn Mario attempted to roll onto his side and climb down the ladder only to crash onto the floor since his grip slipped in his half asleep state. He jumped up from his position on the ground before placing his comforter back on his bed. Without a word to me he stumbled into the bathroom. Upon his return he seemed a little less asleep and plopped down onto his chair. I simply continued perusing the newspaper while finishing my small breakfast.

It's been mostly silent in this house for a while now, not that it looks like Mario cares. It doesn't seem like he noticed that I've been progressively talking to him less. At this point I only speak to him if he's talking to me or if something directly concerns him. I don't know if he knows that I'm pretty pissed off at him these days. I know that he doesn't talk much, but he should know by now that I'm not like that. I'm usually a chatterbox around the people that I'm familiar with. The fact that he hasn't shown any concern for my recent behavior only seals the deal that he's being an ass.

As soon as I ate my food I slowly washed my dishes before drying them and putting them away. The sound of the second postman came not a second too soon and served as a distraction for the green clad plumber. "I'll get it," I muttered before walking out the door. Our secluded front yard greeted my sight as I inhaled the fresh air. I smiled to myself at feeling the warm sun hit me while a gentle breeze prevented me from getting too hot. I got the mail and noticed that one of the letters was a bright pink color. There was a royal seal on the back that cemented the fact that this letter was for Mario and me. I noted that my name was hastily scrawled on the envelope while Mario's was perfectly written as if I was a last minute thought. Scowling at the slight offense I trudged back into our house. "Hey bro, Peach sent us a letter." Mario was instantly awake at my statement.

He looked eagerly at me as I tore the envelope open and gently tugged the lightly perfumed letter out of it. I read it before saying, "She's inviting us to her latest party that she's hosting today. It looks like a lot of people throughout the kingdom are attending. Seems like it's a little late to be telling us this right?" I handed the letter to him before taking a seat as well. He visibly lifted the paper to his nose and sniffed the letter before reading it for himself. "Ugh… Why would you sniff it? I really wish I didn't see that." He looks up at me and says, "So what it's not like we had anything planned today." I frowned at his flippant response before walking to the front door again.

"Maybe you didn't, but that doesn't mean that I didn't have plans." I grumbled to myself as I left the confines of our home. I still had some shopping to do, as well as visit some people before the event now. "At least there are a few hours before the party officially begins." With that in mind I hopped onto the warp pipe and popped up at the entrance to Toad Town.

I noticed instantly that the town was bustling with activity this morning. "It's probably because everyone's just excited for the tourists to be visiting." I have no doubt that the shopkeepers are trying to spruce up their stores in the hopes that more people will be drawn to them. I looked to my side and saw that the florists are also hard at work and are transplanting some new flowers to brighten the town. I chuckled at their antics before reaching my first destination.

The only grocery store in town was quite nice seeing as it was used by the princess herself. Well it's usually one of her attendants instead of her that shops here. If Peach was in the shop on her own then it most likely means that she was in the mood to bake. I walked down the aisles and looked at my list. 'Tomatoes, pasta, broccoli, musk melon, grapes, milk, soap, laundry detergent' I was thankful that the list wasn't too long seeing that I had a time limit now.

I quickly gathered the needed items and made my way to the checkout counter. There was only one till open, but the line wasn't too long this early in the morning. "I'm sure that it will be bustling around lunch time. The visitors will all be walking in around then. I doubt that they all plan on leaving right after the party today either. It's most likely going to run until late at night since Peach usually has a firework show at her parties." I shrugged to myself before placing my items in front of the cashier and paid for them.

I walked back to the house and placed the groceries in their spots before looking around at the empty place. It was weird not seeing Mario in here considering that he said that he didn't have any plans. I narrowed my eyes as an irritating thought came to mind. "Nah, he wouldn't have gone without me." I looked around the room before retracting my previous thought. "It wouldn't be the first time that he left without me though." I frowned before I walked out of the house once more.