Kyaaaaaaah! You don't know how long it took me to even start this chapter >.< Sorry its a filler, I've got a whole bunch of things going on, and was barely able to get on recently!
Chapter 4
Filler- The Average Day in a Week
An idea dawned on me. It was almost maddening how simple and how stupid it was. Maybe I was misunderstanding the magnitude of what I was planning to do, but maybe I didn’t.
If I told Shuu he would stop me. If I told anybody they would stop me. That meant that I was on my own.
“Okay,” I said quietly.
I felt unstoppable and overwhelmed.
I’m going with him.
…
…
My tears were done. The echo of my crying taunted me as I looked out the window of my room.
The sun was coming down. The rays were beautiful. If only I could be happy. I didn’t know why I couldn’t be happy, since I found a way to stay with Shuu.
Maybe because I would be leaving everyone else behind.
My parents never had much time to spend with me, their daughter. But we felt a strong connection instinctively between us. It grew on its own, and I felt like I was ripping myself away if I went away.
Wakana. She was never much of a friend, shy, and on Shuu’s side. But we shared a lot of fun times, growing up together.
Doctor. She was just like a mother to me. Always supportive but stern and looking out for me when I needed her help.
But most importantly, my little brother. Just thinking about him makes me want to cry. Masato was two years younger than me. His mind ran on logic and intelligence. He would always annoy me with his knowledge, and sometimes his ego (“you’re dumber than a pole, Onee-chan”), but he was the most special person in my life.
He died when I was seven, making him five. He was a child prodigy, impressing everyone with his extreme IQ. I have to admit, I was jealous and frustrated that a five-year-old brat was ten times as smart as me. But that brat is my deceased brother.
It’s like the bond with my parents. There’s every reason for it not to be there, but it is there.
I never knew how he died. My parents and I have no memory of him. We were told that all has been erased except for the joyful days of him.
Is it alright to be merely ignorant and happy?
But everything changed from then. My mother was depressed for a while. My father was restless and couldn’t concentrate on his duty. I was clumsier and less cheerful. No one thought of erasing the aftermath.
All the shadows I saw stretched endlessly. My world was dark, but it was perfect. Perfectly gloomy.
Then Shuu came. I thought everything was perfect. No more chances of me having relationships and then destroying them.
Look here now. I’m going to give up my lifestyle to go with him to save the ocean.
I stood up. My tail was aching from sitting so long, so I decided that in the time that Shuu needed to recover, I would awake my memories.
My first stop was my brother’s courtyard, where he was buried. Yes, he had a whole plot of land to himself. It wasn’t far from my room, but even from miles away I could spot the green splat of flowered land standing out from the pale, sandy hills.
I read the sign on the gate.
“Masato. He knows as many things as there are flowers in his courtyard.”
I looked behind the bars. I couldn’t possibly count how many flowers there were. He wanted to be a botanist or a biologist. Something with plants. But his greatest ambition was to become a Pokemon professor. I longed to remember more of him, but my mind merely reached into a mental bucket of water, no solid or taste.
I imagined what it would be like if I died on the journey and was brought home. My sign would probably read something like “Haruka, the ditzy idiot in comparison to her brother.” I would very much prefer living.
I was depressed again.
My second stop was in my mother’s bedroom, where Masato was born. Doctor told me that she woke up in the middle of the night and felt urgent. My father rushed to get the Doctor, who was recovering from staying up for two days in a row helping patients.
My father, after getting the Doctor, came to get me. I was already awake. Sweat was dripping down my face in my fright, my father said to me. I could almost remember a little bit of it. My swimming was clumsy and slow, but that night in the dark infinities of the hallway, I was quick.
The two of us, my father and I, waited outside my mother’s room. I can remember this part. My mother must’ve been thrashing furiously, because a pillow hit the door with enough force to break it open.
After a while of waiting painfully, I heard two cries.
Twins! I thought. The cries rang on, and my father sighed in relief.
But I listened on. Something was not right. Maybe it was because I was still very young, but I could hear a desperate feeling in one of the cries. Eventually we could hear only one of the babies crying.
One of the twins had died within minutes of being born. He was weak, Doctor explained.
She told me that women can’t handle twins very well, especially in Hoenn. We were more delicate than people from Kanto. Either way, when twins came in, usually both died. We were lucky Masato survived.
That was the peak of our joy, the memory that beamed the brightest of what we had left.
I was feeling nothing but sad today, but even if all my memories were happy, I’d be sad. Masato was a miracle from the start, climbing and climbing.
Wishing to tear myself away from the past, I looked for the future. I visited the stadium, cracked and vacant. The dust of the battles still hung in the water, releasing the feelings of tension and power. The excitement was still fading.
The bird, Topaz, had clearly made a mess of things. Her footsteps were literally engraved in the stone walk before the stadium.
Among that dust, someone had worked up the courage to post the names of the mages who had won.
Kanata.
Shuu.
Satoshi.
Those names were the list. Kanata, the girl with a big smile. Satoshi, my newest friend. Shuu, the person who is and will be close to me.
For a moment, I had to think realistically and logically. What would my parents do? They’d probably send out a searching party for me.
What if I was a burden? Will I be prepared for this journey? What could I do? Up until now, I had been focused on myself being with Shuu, never considering anything else.
I certainly didn’t want to turn back and change this decision. I would regret it. But what if I would regret coming as well?
I slammed my tail into the dirt, shaking the doubts away from my mind. If I was with Shuu, I would be happy.
I knew just what I had to do.
…
Wakana wasn’t exactly the best person I could ask, but I could trust her. I got straight to the point.
“I need training in fitness.”
Wakana looked at me as if I was crazy. Was it because she knew I hated even moving or she thought I was asking HER to train me?
“Uh, I can call up the fitness director- hold on a second,” she replied, confused.
In the next minute Saori had arrived at the door with no expression on her face. Her hair had grown longer since I last saw her- several sleek, scarlet strands made a curtain for her right eye.
Not wasting any time, she dragged me into the fields.
“Okay, Haruka, let me see what you can do.”
…
I never felt more tired in my life. Saori had yearly fitness tests, but that was heaven compared to the throb in my limbs.
“Ow, ow, ow,” I muttered to myself as I rested on my bed. First I took a shortened version of the test. I was particular lagging in speed, Saori said my strength was large for my age. So for my training we focused on speed.
I swam ten times around the palace. I went and got a drink for Saori as fast as I could. I raced. I learned how to swim in place (after three hours). I swam, swam, swam. I died.
We had a lunch break. I thought it was all over.
No, Saori caught me off guard and suggested I learn how to use weapons. I had to prepare myself, after all, I was a princess, and put my strength and coordination to use.
I didn’t need to practice with archery. She taught me swords, throwing knives, even things like sticks and stones became useful weapons.
She said I learned quickly despite being slow.
I sighed.
…
Dinner. Shuu didn’t show up, his food was taken to him. I planned to visit him after dinner. I ate wildly, as if I had seen food for the first time in weeks. My parents didn’t mind, they had thoughts on other things. After all, they were in charge of Hoenn. The whole journey business was up to the elder, I remembered. They didn’t have to worry- yet.
Shuu was glad to see me, after being locked up in the room all day without a taste of fresh water.
“They’ll have a ceremony for us when we leave,” he told me. “Only it won’t be public. We’ll present ourselves to the Royalty- that’s you, I guess-“
“Hey!” I cut in, and let him continue.
“-and we go off quietly.” He paused for a second. “What’d you have for dinner?”
“Takoyaki! Made with the best Octillery in the sea! And for dessert, there were lots of puddings!” My tongue tingled, remembering their subtle and casual sweetness.
“Puddings can be fattening,” Shuu reminded me.
“Hey! So what?”
“It’s a shame, this country will have a chubby princess,” Shuu sighed.
For a while we forgot about the journey, about the curse of the force, about his injuries, about his lying to me about his powers. We talked and laughed. He teased me, I protested. It was like the same old times.
“I always got better grades,” Shuu called upon our school times.
“Well, once you got an 85! And I got a 90!” I said.
“Well, that was once. For the next six tests I beat you by two grades. Remember when I got a C, and still got two letters higher?”
“Gah! Well, well…” I tried to think of a comeback. “You have green hair!”
“Gah! Well, well…” Shuu tried to think of a way to retaliate about my colors, but couldn’t. I had normal colors. “Well, uh, you’re FAT! Besides, what does my hair have to do with grades?”
“Uh, because… you’re punk!”
“You wish. This topic is getting nowhere!”
Silence.
“And neither are we!” I burst out.
It took me a minute to realize what I said and we both turned red.
“Haruka, I had no idea…” Shuu teased.
“I don’t!” I protested.
“You don’t what?” He was poking fun at me!
I groaned and we both laughed… nervously.
I collapsed onto my bed that night, exhausted. Today was long, but also fun. I wanted to be like this forever…
...
-Michiyo
Chapter 4
Filler- The Average Day in a Week
An idea dawned on me. It was almost maddening how simple and how stupid it was. Maybe I was misunderstanding the magnitude of what I was planning to do, but maybe I didn’t.
If I told Shuu he would stop me. If I told anybody they would stop me. That meant that I was on my own.
“Okay,” I said quietly.
I felt unstoppable and overwhelmed.
I’m going with him.
…
…
My tears were done. The echo of my crying taunted me as I looked out the window of my room.
The sun was coming down. The rays were beautiful. If only I could be happy. I didn’t know why I couldn’t be happy, since I found a way to stay with Shuu.
Maybe because I would be leaving everyone else behind.
My parents never had much time to spend with me, their daughter. But we felt a strong connection instinctively between us. It grew on its own, and I felt like I was ripping myself away if I went away.
Wakana. She was never much of a friend, shy, and on Shuu’s side. But we shared a lot of fun times, growing up together.
Doctor. She was just like a mother to me. Always supportive but stern and looking out for me when I needed her help.
But most importantly, my little brother. Just thinking about him makes me want to cry. Masato was two years younger than me. His mind ran on logic and intelligence. He would always annoy me with his knowledge, and sometimes his ego (“you’re dumber than a pole, Onee-chan”), but he was the most special person in my life.
He died when I was seven, making him five. He was a child prodigy, impressing everyone with his extreme IQ. I have to admit, I was jealous and frustrated that a five-year-old brat was ten times as smart as me. But that brat is my deceased brother.
It’s like the bond with my parents. There’s every reason for it not to be there, but it is there.
I never knew how he died. My parents and I have no memory of him. We were told that all has been erased except for the joyful days of him.
Is it alright to be merely ignorant and happy?
But everything changed from then. My mother was depressed for a while. My father was restless and couldn’t concentrate on his duty. I was clumsier and less cheerful. No one thought of erasing the aftermath.
All the shadows I saw stretched endlessly. My world was dark, but it was perfect. Perfectly gloomy.
Then Shuu came. I thought everything was perfect. No more chances of me having relationships and then destroying them.
Look here now. I’m going to give up my lifestyle to go with him to save the ocean.
I stood up. My tail was aching from sitting so long, so I decided that in the time that Shuu needed to recover, I would awake my memories.
My first stop was my brother’s courtyard, where he was buried. Yes, he had a whole plot of land to himself. It wasn’t far from my room, but even from miles away I could spot the green splat of flowered land standing out from the pale, sandy hills.
I read the sign on the gate.
“Masato. He knows as many things as there are flowers in his courtyard.”
I looked behind the bars. I couldn’t possibly count how many flowers there were. He wanted to be a botanist or a biologist. Something with plants. But his greatest ambition was to become a Pokemon professor. I longed to remember more of him, but my mind merely reached into a mental bucket of water, no solid or taste.
I imagined what it would be like if I died on the journey and was brought home. My sign would probably read something like “Haruka, the ditzy idiot in comparison to her brother.” I would very much prefer living.
I was depressed again.
My second stop was in my mother’s bedroom, where Masato was born. Doctor told me that she woke up in the middle of the night and felt urgent. My father rushed to get the Doctor, who was recovering from staying up for two days in a row helping patients.
My father, after getting the Doctor, came to get me. I was already awake. Sweat was dripping down my face in my fright, my father said to me. I could almost remember a little bit of it. My swimming was clumsy and slow, but that night in the dark infinities of the hallway, I was quick.
The two of us, my father and I, waited outside my mother’s room. I can remember this part. My mother must’ve been thrashing furiously, because a pillow hit the door with enough force to break it open.
After a while of waiting painfully, I heard two cries.
Twins! I thought. The cries rang on, and my father sighed in relief.
But I listened on. Something was not right. Maybe it was because I was still very young, but I could hear a desperate feeling in one of the cries. Eventually we could hear only one of the babies crying.
One of the twins had died within minutes of being born. He was weak, Doctor explained.
She told me that women can’t handle twins very well, especially in Hoenn. We were more delicate than people from Kanto. Either way, when twins came in, usually both died. We were lucky Masato survived.
That was the peak of our joy, the memory that beamed the brightest of what we had left.
I was feeling nothing but sad today, but even if all my memories were happy, I’d be sad. Masato was a miracle from the start, climbing and climbing.
Wishing to tear myself away from the past, I looked for the future. I visited the stadium, cracked and vacant. The dust of the battles still hung in the water, releasing the feelings of tension and power. The excitement was still fading.
The bird, Topaz, had clearly made a mess of things. Her footsteps were literally engraved in the stone walk before the stadium.
Among that dust, someone had worked up the courage to post the names of the mages who had won.
Kanata.
Shuu.
Satoshi.
Those names were the list. Kanata, the girl with a big smile. Satoshi, my newest friend. Shuu, the person who is and will be close to me.
For a moment, I had to think realistically and logically. What would my parents do? They’d probably send out a searching party for me.
What if I was a burden? Will I be prepared for this journey? What could I do? Up until now, I had been focused on myself being with Shuu, never considering anything else.
I certainly didn’t want to turn back and change this decision. I would regret it. But what if I would regret coming as well?
I slammed my tail into the dirt, shaking the doubts away from my mind. If I was with Shuu, I would be happy.
I knew just what I had to do.
…
Wakana wasn’t exactly the best person I could ask, but I could trust her. I got straight to the point.
“I need training in fitness.”
Wakana looked at me as if I was crazy. Was it because she knew I hated even moving or she thought I was asking HER to train me?
“Uh, I can call up the fitness director- hold on a second,” she replied, confused.
In the next minute Saori had arrived at the door with no expression on her face. Her hair had grown longer since I last saw her- several sleek, scarlet strands made a curtain for her right eye.
Not wasting any time, she dragged me into the fields.
“Okay, Haruka, let me see what you can do.”
…
I never felt more tired in my life. Saori had yearly fitness tests, but that was heaven compared to the throb in my limbs.
“Ow, ow, ow,” I muttered to myself as I rested on my bed. First I took a shortened version of the test. I was particular lagging in speed, Saori said my strength was large for my age. So for my training we focused on speed.
I swam ten times around the palace. I went and got a drink for Saori as fast as I could. I raced. I learned how to swim in place (after three hours). I swam, swam, swam. I died.
We had a lunch break. I thought it was all over.
No, Saori caught me off guard and suggested I learn how to use weapons. I had to prepare myself, after all, I was a princess, and put my strength and coordination to use.
I didn’t need to practice with archery. She taught me swords, throwing knives, even things like sticks and stones became useful weapons.
She said I learned quickly despite being slow.
I sighed.
…
Dinner. Shuu didn’t show up, his food was taken to him. I planned to visit him after dinner. I ate wildly, as if I had seen food for the first time in weeks. My parents didn’t mind, they had thoughts on other things. After all, they were in charge of Hoenn. The whole journey business was up to the elder, I remembered. They didn’t have to worry- yet.
Shuu was glad to see me, after being locked up in the room all day without a taste of fresh water.
“They’ll have a ceremony for us when we leave,” he told me. “Only it won’t be public. We’ll present ourselves to the Royalty- that’s you, I guess-“
“Hey!” I cut in, and let him continue.
“-and we go off quietly.” He paused for a second. “What’d you have for dinner?”
“Takoyaki! Made with the best Octillery in the sea! And for dessert, there were lots of puddings!” My tongue tingled, remembering their subtle and casual sweetness.
“Puddings can be fattening,” Shuu reminded me.
“Hey! So what?”
“It’s a shame, this country will have a chubby princess,” Shuu sighed.
For a while we forgot about the journey, about the curse of the force, about his injuries, about his lying to me about his powers. We talked and laughed. He teased me, I protested. It was like the same old times.
“I always got better grades,” Shuu called upon our school times.
“Well, once you got an 85! And I got a 90!” I said.
“Well, that was once. For the next six tests I beat you by two grades. Remember when I got a C, and still got two letters higher?”
“Gah! Well, well…” I tried to think of a comeback. “You have green hair!”
“Gah! Well, well…” Shuu tried to think of a way to retaliate about my colors, but couldn’t. I had normal colors. “Well, uh, you’re FAT! Besides, what does my hair have to do with grades?”
“Uh, because… you’re punk!”
“You wish. This topic is getting nowhere!”
Silence.
“And neither are we!” I burst out.
It took me a minute to realize what I said and we both turned red.
“Haruka, I had no idea…” Shuu teased.
“I don’t!” I protested.
“You don’t what?” He was poking fun at me!
I groaned and we both laughed… nervously.
I collapsed onto my bed that night, exhausted. Today was long, but also fun. I wanted to be like this forever…
...
-Michiyo