Shopping Strip

Disclaimer: I do not own Super Smash Brothers. That goes to Nintendo. I also do not own Queen's Blade that is owned by Hobby Japan. I also do not own Dark Knight Ingrid that is made by Lilith-Soft. The only characters I own are those from the Golden Land, angels from Skyworld including the royal bodyguards, Angel Assembly and archangels along with all the other angels and of course the witch hunters.

Summary: There have been complaints filed to the dark arena after Shulk interfered with the loser consequence. The demand for Shulk to be punished due to not being an official member is an all time high and its making customers leave. The higher ups decide that the only way to please them is to drag Shulk and Rob back to the arena and give the audience what they want, but at this point of time, if anyone is caught in the arena the place will be forced to shut down hence why Pit wants to keep a low profile and work on the mini-tournament going on that week instead. He's not thrilled finding out from Ymir about the plan though, but at the same time, he sees this as a way to get Dark Pit off his back about participating.

Pairing: Rob/Shulk, Pit/Pittoo, Henry/Robin and Alvis/Rosalina with dark OC/Rob, OC/Shulk and Rob/OC/Shulk

Rated: M (for mature) but E (for explicit on Archive or Our Own)

Genre: Suspense, Drama, Romance, Angst, Horror and some Humor

Warning: Swearing, extreme violence, sexual violence, sexual themes and unintentional OOC

This is technically part 3 of the Arena series if you don't count Marth's one-shot that applies to all universes and not just this one (with only the portion at the end being part of the Arena series due to Rob never going to the arena in any other universe). Enjoy!

Chapter 1: The Original Aftermath

In the dark arena underneath Smash Arena, battles continued on like it always did. The only difference was the spark that the dark arena once had wasn't as bright as it used to be. This had to do with the fact the stars of the arena could no longer show up every day of the week for a number of reasons. The main reason is due to an incident that occurred a month ago. One of the Smashers had lost in the arena and because he wasn't with anyone at the time, he was forced to pay the price. He was defiled in front of the demon audience who just wanted to see him suffer despite being entertained when he won. He might have been one of the first Smashers that could be used in the aftermath of many matches if the demons played their cards right. Instead, it was the angel captain and the Heir to the Monado who put a stop to that plan and saved the fragile tactician who would not be able to escape the demon's grasp otherwise.

After that incident, the demon crowd wasn't as large or rowdy as before. It was almost like they feared another incident like that occurring given how the Monado boy could have easily cut them all down with one swing if he wanted to. That incident made less people want to participate due to the paranoia that he would return and put a stop to their fun. Unfortunately for them, it meant that the fewer demons there were, the less money that was being put into the matches. The motivation to fight and commentate was disappearing and everyone knew that. Even when the human lost to the Minotaur who let out a yawn after being promised a powerful opponent was being eaten in front of his or her eyes, the fire wasn't as strong as when the white angel that people admired on the outside was the reason for the death of many of these powerful opponents in the arena.

The commentator was the target of all the abuse when things weren't going well. He was hyperactive when the arena was doing well, but his commentary has become that of a cynical old man who didn't want to spectate anymore if he was bored. He would often be brought into the office of Smash Arena to speak with the man in charge of the dark arena below and be lectured as a result.

This time was no different either. The commentator was ordered to go to the top floor where the man in charge of this place was. He was met with a busty dark skinned lady with long red hair, purple lipstick and hazel colored eyes that pierced his dead soul. She was sexy with how she wore no bra to cover the bottom portion of her breasts, but the stare she gave him showed the commentator that he tried anything funny that his life would end prematurely. Her red cape draped all the way to the floor and she looked like a dark knight ready to kill her target on the spot. She was standing next to a man who had his back turned to the commentator because of the swivel chair he was in. All the commentator could see was his head covered with spikes the same color as the dull gray walls of the office.

"Cosine, you know why you are here, correct?" The redhead spoke in a dark and serious tone.

"Yes Ms. Ingrid…it concerns the arena…" Cosine murmured softly to himself as he wished he could fade into the floor. "I am trying…I really am."

"No, you are not." Ingrid said simply. "When you are not motivated to work then the audience isn't entertained. Without the Smashers, you have to be over the top…unless you want to leave."

"I don't Ms. Ingrid, it's just that…"

"The Monado boy is giving is putting my underground business in pickle." The man in the chair stated simply causing Cosine to flinch hearing him speak up. "This will not do."

"W-What do you want us to do about it Count Black?" Cosine questioned knowing he was stepping his boundaries. "Master Hand is thinking of getting that law between humans and demons passed to avoid the Smashers from ending up in critical condition…if that happens and you get caught…"

"Cosine, I order you to bring the audience back to its former glory." The man commanded again causing the commentator to flinch. "Use whatever means necessary."

"B-But…the only way to do that is to drag the Monado boy back into the arena under our terms and continue where we left off that month…"

It was that moment when the chair was spun, so the man was facing the young commentator. Despite some wrinkles due to age, this man was very attractive for someone his age.

"You already know what needs to be done."

"But..."

"It is all or nothing. If you do not pull this off, then I will not protect you from the witch hunters. They are hunting you down like the rest of the Apostles after all."

Cosine gasped at the threat and for a minute glared at his boss before sighing in defeat.

"…If that is what you wish…I will bring Robin and Shulk back into the arena…and will make sure they know their place in the arena."

Ingrid shook her head at this plan. It was reckless even for Black, but the arena would be no more if they didn't take some risks. She wished that this plan wasn't put into the action this particular week seeing as the Smashers will be on red alert for the upcoming tournament at the end of the week.

A month has passed since that terrible incident in the dark arena. Most people weren't aware of the exact details, but they knew one thing that spread like wildfire. The story told was that Rob was injured in the arena and was rushed to the hospital due to being poisoned by some type of demon. It was a miracle that he survived, but it was enough that it would attract everyone's attention. For the longest time, Smashopolis was seen as a peaceful place despite the competitive streak the metropolis carried. Now with the sudden attack, Master Hand felt like he needed to enforce some rules to the Smashers and eventually all of Smashopolis.

The first was that Smashers could no longer go alone at night. If they needed to go somewhere late at night, they needed to bring a trusted companion with them. That way, Master Hand would have a good idea what happened to the Smashers who went off in groups. The second was should the Smashers go out that they would report to the three Miis in charge of the bus that would take the Smashers to Smashopolis. Master Hand had found out that because some Smashers had cars that they would go alone in the middle of the night. Master Hand could trust these Smashers but needed them to report to the Miis first before they could go anywhere thus limiting freedom to these Smashers.

The final thing applied more to all of Smashopolis rather than the Smashers, but this incident pushed Master Hand to consider a law that was going around the universe that would prevent humans and demons from harming each other. It was the first step to true peace and equally and while it is considered an experiment at the end of the day, it was the idea that counted. The rules were very easy to follow. Demons and humans were not allowed to lay a finger on each other or risk the consequences of the higher ups such as the Pan Galactic Federation of aliens who were more than happy to enforce this rule along with the many Overlords who had agreed to this law. It was unknown which demon proposed this bill, but Master Hand assumed it was the current Netherworld President seeing as that young man was a pacifist at heart. Master Hand intended to ignore it simply because they were in a tournament setting and therefore did not need this law to apply to his fighters. However, if this concerned incidents outside of Smash, then he would need to agree with it in order to protect his Smashers. Since only a few fighters were demons, the law wouldn't really apply to the participants as a whole although it should be noted that the two most vocal members of opposing Master Hand in signing it were Samus and the assist trophy Ghirahim. The former didn't want this law to be used against her seeing as she is a bounty hunter that did not discriminate against the space pirates' race. The last thing she needed was to be told that even if she saved the galaxy from these fiends that she would get arrested for breaking another law that she wanted no part of. Ghirahim simply didn't want a law that would limit the damage he and Ganondorf could do. Ganondorf did not protest because there were so many loopholes in this law that it wasn't worth fighting against it. The main loophole was that Gods, Goddesses, angels, elves, fairies, dwarves and aliens were not included under the demon category meaning they were free to continue whatever they were doing originally. This was actually the reason Pit had no problem with the law because he could still beat up demons as usual.

Besides this law being pushed through, nothing major has happened in Smashopolis. One of the more major Smash tournaments of the month was around the corner and the Smashers needed to train for it. Master Hand had planned this out in advance the minute a month has passed. This not only allowed Rob to recover from the trauma he suffered (he bounced back surprisingly fast for someone who was usually depressed), but it would allow all the Smashers to not slack off when they trained for the one month. At the end, the bracket would be revealed on who would be participating in this thirty-two fighter tournament. Even if a Smasher wasn't chosen, the fact that they trained was all that counted.

When the bracket was revealed, many of the Smashers were annoyed with who they were matched it and who they would need to watch out for should they get far in the bracket. Dark Pit and Robin were probably the most frustrated with not being chosen on the list. Pit shook his head seeing how he was selected despite having plans during that particular day. The brunette needed to decide quickly if he would fight in the tournament or allow Dark Pit to take his place during the tournament to do something else (seeing as how no one could tell the difference between the angel twins besides what weapon they used…and that could easily be worked with seeing as how it would only take them switching arms to convince the audience that Dark Pit was certainly not Pit and vise versa).

Shulk was relieved he wasn't on the tournament bracket simply because he wanted to spend time with his boyfriend. For that entire month, he was helping the other Smashers train instead of helping his boyfriend. That was left to Chrom and Robin who even took him out of the Smash Brothers Realm to go home temporary to heal up. Battling had allowed Shulk to get his mind off his failure at noticing that his boyfriend was acting weird before the incident. The blond blamed Pit and Wario for Rob getting assaulted in the arena, but it was still his fault in the end for not noticing that something was wrong with his boyfriend until it was almost too late. Pit had somewhat apologized to the two somewhat with being able to get that Nutcracker Clock Globe for Shulk at a discount (even with the implication that he might have used all that money Rob had earned in the arena to buy the clock fairly).

Robin's suggestion was brilliant when she first announced it. The Smashers would form a huge group again and go to the Smash Mall to shop and have fun for the entire day before they went back to training. One day of slacking off wasn't going to hurt anyone. Shulk loved the idea so much because it meant spending time with Rob. Of course, he would soon realize that he couldn't catch a break on anything concerning the dark arena.

The reason the female tactician brought up Smash Mall in the first place was because there was a huge sale going on in every section of the mall. It was an early Black Friday for Smashopolis and people were already pushing and shoving just to get into a store and get out with a cheap item. For some Smashers, it meant that Amiibo hunting was more dangerous and before. Mario was determined to get the Rosalina Amiibo this time around earning a facepalm from Luigi who warned Mario previously that if he acted so desperate to get a rare Amiibo that Peach would be jealous. Fortunately for the Italian plumber, Peach was going to be shopping with the female Smashers for dresses (as a way of cheering Samus up due to probably being one of the few Smashers to be affected by the law).

The huge Smasher group would break down into a smaller group before it would be left with five people: Shulk, Rob, Rosalina, Alvis and Chrom. Pit, Dark Pit, Lucas and Lucina were originally part of that group but Pit had told them that he wanted to introduce them to someone they would all adore. The name Laila flew out of his mouth and of course Dark Pit groaned at the light angel acting like a doting father again. Lucas was rather excited to hear that this angel girl that Pit wanted to introduce was around the same age as the psychic boy meaning he would most likely gain another friend here in the Smash Brothers Realm. Lucina acted like she wasn't interested due to being on high alert, but she ended up smiling the more Pit talked about her.

Robin should have been part of the group, but she ended up leaving with Henry and Morgan in order to have some family time together. Olivia and Inigo were with them too seeing as how Lucina was with her friends and Chrom made it his goal to watch over Rob temporary before handing him over to Shulk. This meant that he would have to play matchmaker to even get Alvis to move away from the Monado boy.

This was only a rumor started by Palutena but apparently the silver haired Homs who often hovered around Shulk was in love with the Queen of the Cosmos. Seeing as this came from Palutena's mouth, it was obviously dubious information. However, Rosalina did humor the idea that she might have had feelings for Alvis and did tease him every now and then. That only spread the rumor especially when Alvis started to hang out with her more than Shulk during that entire month whenever Shulk wasn't training. Now here they were in the clothing section with Rosalina telling the boys to wait here while she went to pick out a dress only to be officially distracted at clothes that actually fit her huge figure. Alvis ended up staring at her instead of doing his self-proclaimed job of looking out for the Heir to the Monado. Meanwhile, Chrom had gathered as many clothes from the clothing racks as possible for Rob to try on. The white haired tactician needed more clothes for his wardrobe that wasn't his outfits for Smash and this was a perfect opportunity to buy them. Chrom knew that Shulk would buy anything for his boyfriend so he wouldn't have to worry about the price tag for once. To say that Rob wasn't annoyed when clothes were thrown at him and he was pushed into the changing room would be an understatement.

"Here, Rob. Try out all of these clothes if you're really wanting to break out of that shell." The Ylissean king told his younger companion with a small smile on his face. "We all know Shulk isn't the type to help you with picking out clothes."

Shulk pouted hearing that insult thrown at him. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Ha-ha, I didn't mean to make it sound like an insult, Shulk. I'm just saying that from being around Dunban. He makes it seem like you Homs don't care about fashion."

"We kind of…don't…fashion's…more of a Colony 6 thing."

"Exactly. That's why I'm the best man for the job."

Rob grumbled trying to get all the clothes that were dumped on him. He glared realizing that Chrom wasn't going to help him try them on. He just wanted Rob to try them out and look in the mirror. If Lissa or Maribelle were here, they would be critical of these outfits.

"I'll leave you two alone. I got to help this hopeless fool here with his love life." Chrom said with an even bigger smile.

The idiot was Alvis who wasn't paying much attention to Shulk. The seer sighed seeing the silver haired Homs standing out like a sore thumb due to being the one holding onto the Monado. Shulk had told him that he would practice with it later, but it didn't seem to be the case. Alvis had no problem carrying the sword around, but on a day that was meant for relaxing before getting back to training…it gave off a bad aura. Chrom knew this and why he was going to get Alvis to interact with other people that weren't the selected few he hung out in Smash Brothers Mansion.

"I am not a fool." Alvis reminded the blue haired king while glancing over the clothing racks in order to get a glimpse of the tall Goddess in the background. "And I do not have a love life."

"You will when I'm done helping you tonight. You need to stop being so stiff."

Alvis snarled when Chrom grabbed his arm and started to drag him off in the direction of Rosalina who he had been trying to avoid as of late for some reason. Chrom said it was love but Shulk wondered about that given that Alvis lacked the emotions and the data to register what love even is.

Shulk let out a sigh of relief finally being alone with his boyfriend. Due to Robin and Chrom taking up most of Rob's time after the incident along with helping other Smashers train for the tournament, the blond didn't have time to be alone with the young tactician. He was doing way better now than he was last month and Shulk was glad that he might finally get over the incident.

"Shulk, stop staring into space and help me put this on! I think Chrom actually picked out a winner with this."

Rob sounded so happy when he was ordering the younger male around. Shulk let out another sigh as he went to assist his roommate. Rob actually didn't need much help with putting the outfit on as much as he needed Shulk to adjust the back of the jacket. He put it on in such a way that it wrinkled in the back and all Shulk needed to do was pull it down to straighten it. Looking at the mirror, the Homs got a very good look at his boyfriend. This attire was what you would call a biker outfit. The color was all black and the design was incredibly simple with a shirt underneath the jacket that hid his stomach along with tight pants that was meant to show his figure. The seer normally thought of Wario's rather ugly garments when he thought of a biker uniform, but seeing Rob attempt a similar style made him appreciate the design choice. His cheeks turned red thinking that Rob was as attractive as ever.

"Like what you see?" Rob questioned in a seductive tone. He leaned slowly into Shulk's chest hoping the taller Smasher would get the hint of what he wanted to do behind the closed curtains of the changing room.

"Rob, not here!" Shulk blurted out. "Someone is bound to hear us!"

"I just want a hug." Rob teased. "Is that too much to ask?"

"N-No but…"

"You're so weird, Shulk. You Homs don't mind being seen naked, but you freak out over public display of affection…even if it is behind the curtains."

"Hush! I'm not like you…" Shulk murmured as he found himself embracing the smaller male from behind…along with moving his hands lower down to where Rob's pants were. "I just don't think this is a good idea…"

"Who is going to come in Shulk? No one would want to mess with you."

Rob enjoyed edging his boyfriend on. He could look at the mirror and see Shulk had a crimson tint slapped on his face. The blond desired what Rob wanted here, but he was still hesitant to do anything that would hurt the tactician. In Rob's mind, if he could start enjoying sexual encounters with Shulk again, those awful nightmares of that incident wouldn't return. For the past week they have pretty much vanished from his mind and he was happy for himself.

"I don't have the Monado though…"

"You don't need the Monado to protect me." Rob joked as he gave the hand signal for Shulk to turn his head toward the taller male. "You just need your sexy body to turn other people away."

Shulk chuckled at that comment as he obeyed Rob's gesture and placed a small kiss on the white haired magician's lips. Rob must have forgotten to put something on his lips before heading out because they were chapped again. Not like Shulk minded a bit as his tongue would be enough to moisten Rob's lips.

"Mmm…Shulk…"

His voice was mesmerizing. Shulk wanted to eat him up right there in the changing room with that sexy biker outfit on. The Monado boy might have gone a little too far if it weren't for Rob stopping the kiss and asking him something he forgot to answer.

"You never told me how I look in this outfit."

"Would I be lying if I told you that no matter what you wear, you look attractive?"

"…Yes…because I look ugly in a lot of other attire…"

"That's not true! You just need to lose some weight around your butt area and it won't be such a big deal."

"Oh, now you tell me my butt has gotten bigger…"

It was better to compliment this butt then to bring up the sad fact that his stomach area has gotten smaller after that incident. Shulk knew Robin and Chrom did all in their power to make sure he was eating healthy, but Rob just lacked an appetite as of late that it worried the seer greatly. Then again, if his butt was bigger than he remembered, the fat was going somewhere and it just happened to be in that wonderful area.

Unfortunately, their happy flirting had to come to an end eventually and not because it was too risky to make love in the changing room. It had to do with the fact that they weren't expecting anyone to actually come into their changing room uninvited. Both had noticed that someone had entered the changing room via the mirror, but they were so tangled into each other that they wouldn't have time to untangle and demand to know who the intruder was. Shulk felt something shock his entire body. The shock was so strong that he had fallen to the floor unmoving. Before he passed out, he heard Rob scream his name, but apparently the scream wasn't going to be loud enough for anyone to come in and save them. Shulk could only curse at how careless he was before the darkness overtook him.

Me: TBC with 4719 words.

Li: Can these two ever catch a break?

Me: Be happy it's not you Li! Notes!

1. Cosine's appearance will be described in the next chapter, but I think it's obvious what his demon race is with some of the actions he does.

2. Again, Count Black and Ingrid's character hails from the Taimanin Asagi series. They specifically get the Dark Knight Ingrid series to themselves simply because it shows a different side to the villain Black from the POV of Ingrid who is loyal to Black to a fault.

3. The human/demon law is pretty much the same law from the Monster Musume anime. Seeing as how those girls will make a cameo in future stories, its best to casually bring up the law here before the story that goes into extreme detail about it. As brought up above, there are many loopholes concerning the law such as being able to claim harassment to someone you don't like to get them in trouble. Samus' job for example is to get rid of the space pirates, but if one is a demon and not an alien, they can get her in trouble despite doing her job. Now remember that in this story, Master Hand implements the law to protect Rob even though the slime monster that attacked him would not care about a law like this. Another thing is that if Rob's dragon blood were brought into the equation, then Rob would not be protected under the law anyway because dragons are considered demons especially in the Disgaea universe.

That's it. Reviews are appreciated. Ja ne!