I'm very excited for ARMS! So I kind of requested an entirely new category just so I could write some ideas for how I see the characters' personalities based on their appearances and descriptions on the Japanese website. I hope the game has as detailed a world as Splatoon; it's got a lot of potential for that. But I expect I'll enjoy it even if it doesn't!

I don't own the characters and all that. But if I did, would this really count as a fanfiction?

The twenty-one-year-old ninja slowly flipped to the next page of his book, reclined comfortably beneath one of the trees lining the path to the Ninja College. Ninjara was completely engrossed; reading had always been a passion of his, but his hard work in college and now training for the ARMS Grand Prix had taken much of the time he usually would have spent in a book. This specific book had been gifted to him by Ribbon Girl; she had caught him leafing through a book he had possessed since his childhood and read on many occasions and it started a conversation ending in the offer. She had expressed concern that it would not be the type of story that would pique the usually stoic ninja's interest, but she was clearly wrong. Anyone who didn't know Ninjara very well, and even several who did, would be surprised to learn this was a romance novel.

Not that it was just endless tales of steamy passion. There were pages of action or mystery, battling a vicious foe or searching for a missing key, but they were all driven by one goal: the reunion of the main character and her one true love. Ninjara would never outright say it, but he had a soft spot for such things. The scene he was currently obsessing over had the character in question pining over her love as she attempted to magically contact him across the great distance between them.

His thoughts were torn from the sweet and admittedly corny words by the roaring sound of a thruster drawing nearer. Sitting up and laying the book over his knees, he searched for the source.

"Oh, hi, Ninjara!" a young girl greeted cheerfully. Mechanica, one of Ninjara's competitors in the ARMS tournament, had arrived. Unlike the other competitors in the Grand Prix, Mechanica did not possess the uniquely springy arms, but her obsession with the sport led her to build a robotic suit-the source of the interrupting thruster sounds. "What are you doing here?"

Ninjara silently held up the book he was reading as a response. "You?"

"I was gonna practice my mobility on the steps of the college," she explained, climbing out of the seat of her robot suit and dangling her feet over the side so that she could face Ninjara more easily. "Y'know, it's pretty surprising that it was chosen as a stage. I would think the ninjas would want it to stay a secret!" Ninjara barely acknowledged this statement as he wondered if he would be able to focus on his book with her around. The clanking and groaning of her suit were one thing; the chattering was another. "Whatcha readin'?"

"Errr, just a book Ribbon Girl gave me," Ninjara responded, avoiding claiming any further details. As a ninja, he concerned himself very little with shallow emotions such as embarrassment-but that small amount of concern was enough for him to shy away from openly admitting he was obsessed with romance novels.

Mechanica didn't seem to care about the vagueness. "I didn't even know you read."

"When I have time. And I'm not being interrupted."

The girl clearly didn't get the hint, clumsily climbing down off her robot suit and to the ground. "That's so cool! I like to read, too. That's how I learned how to build this thing!" She proudly patted the robot. "What kinda book is it?" She drew nearer.

"Fiction," Ninjara responded, pulling the book back into his lap. "I'm sure it's not anything you'd care about."

"Don't be silly! Just 'cause I like learning from books doesn't mean I don't like fiction. Lemme see it!"

Ninjara sighed. There was no deterring her. He held the book up, showing her the cover.

"A Journey of Love?" she read questioningly. She stared for a moment before stifling laughter. "That's so corny." Ninjara growled and began to leave. "No, wait!" she cried, pursuing him. "I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. I just didn't pin you for the… uh, romantic type."

"Yes, well, I've always found it's more interesting to do what you like rather than what people expect from you."

Mechanica grinned. "I totally get that! See, that's why I'm here. Just 'cause I'm some little kid who hangs in the junkyard, everyone assumes I'll just be that little kid my whole life. But I wanna be more than that. I entered the ARMS Grand Prix so that I can show everyone that they don't have to fit into the little boxes everyone makes for them. They can be anything! They just gotta try."

Ninjara considered her words. "Hm. That's a great cause, Mechanica." Perhaps there was more to this strange child than he first thought.

"Hey, d'you think I could read that book after you're done with it?" she asked, interrupting his thoughts.

"…Sure, why not," Ninjara responded, showing a rare smile for the optimistic teen who had done the seemingly impossible: breaking down the ninja's emotional defenses.