(Preshow) Preshow Facility

[Clownpiece]

“Okay, that’s him.” Two sets of eyes, stacked atop each other peered around the corner and into the dojo. The not-so-quiet whisper came from the purple-eyed girl on top, wings fluttering surprisingly silently as she floated a good few feet off the ground. Though her star-spangled outfit was hilariously ostentatious, not the sort of thing that allowed for someone to be sneaky, the blonde-haired fairy was finding remarkable success. Although the steady flow of people going in either direction, employee or otherwise, often shot a confused or even suspicious glance at the plaid-dressed woman beneath her, most of them were making it a point to ignore the little girl.

“Which one now?” Yuuka asked from beneath her, Clownpiece’s vague directions doing nothing to help her actually locate the fairy’s partner. Compared to the child, the youkai wasn’t nearly as into this little game of theirs, and honestly didn’t really make any effort to actually hide herself, instead opting to sort of half-stand around the corner, looming suspiciously. Her voice wasn’t really quiet either.

“The green one, right there.” Purple flashed as the small girl gestured into the room with her purple-flamed torch. Of course, as she was currently wreathed in an aura of madness, making all those who laid eyes on her simply believe she was a hallucination, this pointing did all of nothing, as Yuuka refused to acknowledge the motion above her.

“Oh, that guy?” Came Yuuka’s response, one of her own hands stretched out and pointing in the exact same direction. Fortunately enough, there was actually only one green-clad guy in the room at the time, so the youkai’s guess was right on the money. The guy in question was Link, back turned away from the sneaking duo, and from the doorway in general as he swung his sword against a dummy, possibly warming up for the coming fight.

“Yeah, him!” The little fairy affirmed, all pretenses of stealth disappearing for a second as her voice raised.

“He doesn’t look like much...” Yuuka said quietly, her mumbling comment made mostly to herself, though Clownpiece heard it anyway. The garishly dressed girl simply hummed a vague agreement, her mind wandering, paying no mind to what exactly she thought of the boy yet. Instead, all she could focus on was a certain, hellish idea that sprung to mind...

His back was turned to her, she currently couldn’t be comprehended by feeble human minds, and he was super embroiled in that sparring session of his...

The fairy’s unseen mouth cracked open in a devilish grin.

“I’m gonna go greet him!” Of course, despite how sneaky she’d been trying to be, and how sneaky she fully intended to be, the little girl couldn’t help but be excited. She dropped right back to the ground, almost-bare feet slapping on the floor in front of Yuuka.

“Sure thing. I’ll be there in a minute.” The youkai, unphased by the sudden sound of nowhere, sounded perfectly unenthusiastic about the whole thing.

Without hesitating a moment, the torch-wielding fairy cheerfully skipped forward, towards the boy testing out a flurry of blows with his sword. Each hit shook the dummy of his and sent a powerful thwack echoing throughout the dojo. The perfect sound to mask Clownpiece’s footsteps. The living madness crept (or rather half-ran) ever closer, swiftly coming up on the unaware hero. Of course, she did keep herself at a safe distance amidst his assault, circling around him at a distance where she wouldn’t be hit by an errant sword swing. Not that such a thing was an issue, he kept his swings short and efficient. It was the form of someone familiar with his weapon. Her small, star-spangled form flitted into his vision, perceptible only as a hallucination, and suddenly Link’s flurry faltered. His sword-arm hesitated, his blue eyes locking onto the fairy, and for just a moment, Clownpiece worried that her stealth had failed her.

It hadn’t.

Catching himself staring at specters, the teen shook his head and flicked his gaze back to his target, raising his sword high. With a mighty shout, he brought his weapon down, embedding it into the dummy with a loud thock. His arm strained, a grunt escaping him as he tried to pry it free, and that was when the fairy struck.

“Yo!” Clownpiece called out loudly, hopping forward the last little bit she needed to put herself face-to-face with Link, her form suddenly actually registering in his mind. A startled shout escaped the blond-haired boy, and he threw himself backward, adrenaline-induced strength causing him to pull his weapon with him, and letting him fall back onto the padded floor, landing on his butt. A vibrant grin spread across the clown fairy’s face, lips open with a toothy smile, and a cute giggle escaped her. She stared mischievously down at the fallen hero, arms crossed triumphantly over her chest.

“Hey! What’re you doing!?” Surprisingly, it wasn’t Link who spoke first, as he was simply too busy staring at her, eyes wide. Rather, it was his little blue ball friend thing. The weird little thing she’d vaguely noticed before, but hadn’t really given any mind. Clownpiece simply stared, baffled, at the strange glowing ball for a few seconds.

“Wasn’t talking to you.” And she immediately brushed it off, promptly tuning out its screaming as she turned her gaze back to the boy. “Link, right?”

“Uh, yeah...” The hero blinked a few times, slowly regaining his bearings, but not really moving from his position yet. “Then you’re Clownpiece, I’m assuming?”

“Heh heh heh...” a low laugh escaped the small girl, and she stood slightly taller, her grin turning downright devilish. “That’s me!” With a dramatic flourish, the child uncrossed her arms and swept her torch up into the air, painting a brilliant purple arc as she did. “Clownpiece, the most terrifying and disastrous fairy on hell, earth, or the moon!” Her grand introduction finished, she dropped her torch back down to her side, though her face was still painted with her slightly sadistic smile. “I hope you’re ready to raise some hell~,” she sang, leaning over a bit as she offered up her left hand to help pull the Hylian to his feet.

And again, Link simply... stared, for a second, the gears in his head almost visibly turning as he tried to process the fact that this was gonna be his partner. Only for a second though, before he groaned at the fairy’s little pun, deflating a little bit, but accepting her help nonetheless. He grabbed hold of her left arm and was almost immediately just hauled to his feet, the girl’s tiny form hiding an unexpected strength within yet. He stumbled just a little bit, thrown off by the power behind that pull, but regained his balance quickly.

“So...” Clownpiece said once he was back on his feet, hopping back a step or two and staring up at the Link who now towered over her. “What do we do now?”