Remram
AchronumRandom thought but I just noticed how many all characters have names that start with the letter K.
Henry and unannounced GM character must conform to the precedent.
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Henry and unannounced GM character must conform to the precedent.
—Brynn Reyes—
— Moved —
Hope minors are allowed for the apocalypse.
Hope minors are allowed for the apocalypse.
Pebs Meyers
@Alamantus@Vertigo
Duncan’s words were a rock she could cling to in an ocean of doubt, and cling Pebs did, giving him a few shaky nods as she tried to calm down her breathing. That’s right, there was a breeze. She could feel it, cool as it brushed past her arms, and she focused on the comfort of its existence. There was still hope, even if things didn’t make sense, even if the wind was just the result of a fan set up to mess with them, she had to keep fighting. She had to keep believing that there was a way out, if only because standing here in doubt wasn’t helping anyone.
“Right. Right,” she said, nodding again as she looked back at the opening that had appeared. Through it she could hear where the breeze had come from, could hear the wind howling anything but reassurance, but there was a way ahead and she was going to find it. She was going to get out of here with Duncan, and she was going to go home and make it clear to her parents that she was going back later, college or not.
“Okay,” she said, with one final exhalation. Then, she looked to Duncan, giving him a grateful smile. “Thanks. Now let’s go.”
Forcing her feet into motion, she led the way towards the maze entrance, then towards the hallway the wind was coming from. They were getting out of here, period.
Eryn Montero
Flooded Lakewatch: The Drain || Day 5: Afternoon || @PlatinumSkink@Gardevoiran
Eryn watched in silent amazement as Azelf called a Beheeyem to it, realizing that it had to be tapping into the Beheeyem’s psychic powers. Confirming this was Vivia’s reaction, then Skylar’s and Oaken’s, whose outburst was surprising albeit expected. When Oaken crossed his arms and looked to her, Eryn realized it was her turn, and she redirected her attention to Azelf, eyes wide.
The words came first, loud enough to block the rest of the world out but strangely unintrusive. If Eryn had to term it, she’d say it was calming; Azelf’s voice possessed a serene strength that helped communicate its power and knowledge, and it flowed into Eryn’s mind smoothly, its tone tranquil and reasonable. As it spoke, memories of the previous few days flashed through Eryn’s mind: when she’d met Dei in Kalmia’s lab, when she saw Kylie come out from behind a bush at the Trainer School, when Eri revealed his shapeshifting ability to her, when she reeled up Tula on her first attempt with a fishing rod, and when she saw Peri hatch in her arms. The images brought a warm feeling to her heart—a feeling of pride, accomplishment, and gratitude towards her team.
Then an unfamiliar image filled her mind. A girl lay, eyes closed and suspended in a test tube, her blue hair spanning out behind her, giving her an ethereal aura. The room she was in, however, prevented any doubt from crossing Eryn’s mind that this situation was wrong. She was being held there, guarded and imprisoned against her will, all because she was… important. Powerful. A legendary. But how?
The Azelf ended with a single question, which sounded more like a plea, an appeal to her better self. Help us save her?
And then the image faded, and she was back in the room, back with the other trainers and Azelf and Palkia, back with a sense of confusion and wonder, but this time with an added sense of responsibility. She’d started her trainer journey because she loved Pokemon, had continued it and recruited her team because she wanted to explore the world and see how far she could go, but that had all been about her. Now, she was asked to do something important—something that would affect more than just herself, and something that would allow her to return some of the good the world had shown her.
“Yes!” she burst out. “Yes, I’ll help. Please. I-I don’t know how much I can do, but… ”
She trailed off, glancing at the three trainers beside her, each of whom seemed as qualified as her, if not more. Doubts swirled in the back of her mind, a remnant of the thoughts placed there to test her before, perhaps, but she stood above them now. It could be argued that she was still young and inexperienced, that she still had a ways to go before she could confidently help legendaries in need, but Azelf had chosen her. It believed that she could help, and Eryn was willing to believe that too.
She turned back to the Azelf, this time with resolution in her eyes. “I’ll do my best to help save that girl, and if that’s not good enough, I’ll get stronger and try again. You can count on me.”
Here she was, day five of her Pokemon journey, promising a legendary that she could help do something even it could not do. In another world, she might have thought that foolhardy, but this was now, and Eryn wanted to help—as much as she could and more.
Aedre Charbonnet
Mesalon City: Gym || @Luckyblackcat@Zanavy
As intimidating as his title of gym leader was, Lan was attentive and calm enough to reassure Aedre’s jittery nerves. His eyes, unwavering and intent, communicated his belief in her, and his words confirmed this further.
“Thank you. Thank you so much,” she said, clasping her hands together as she searched for more words. When she found none, she hesitated, then settled for a grateful smile. Gym leaders were gym leaders for a reason—a lesson she’d learned early on with Tate and Liza, who were much too mature for their age, and a lesson she continued to learn as she traveled. No matter how old, unfriendly, or otherwise unapproachable they looked, there was a kind heart somewhere in every one of them, and Aedre wondered faintly if she could ever live up to the kindness they and other trainers showed her on a daily basis.
A fluttering sound caused Aedre to flinch, ducking in surprise as Tacita flew towards her, and she recovered herself with an embarrassed smile. “Sorry about that, Tacita. You surprised me,” she said, reaching up to give the Rowlet a thankful pet. “Thanks.”
Though some people thought certain Pokemon, like Lillipup or Skitty, were more calming than others, Aedre would gladly argue on the behalf of all Pokemon. No bird, fish, or sword was anywhere less empathetic than the next Pokemon. Sure there were trainer and Pokemon differences, but those were individual cases. Statistically, she was sure, there would be no difference.
On her other shoulder, Little gave a bright chirp of approval, ruffling his feathers. Seeing him get along with Tacita brought a smile to Aedre’s face. Here was another friendship in the making, a fire-type and a grass-type who defying stereotypes and proving how much potential and intellect Pokemon truly had.
Ty started a conversation with Amber then, and Aedre drifted over, listening in. Apparently training had gone well for Ty and Hunk, which she was glad to hear. After Sophia storming out and her talking to Lan, she was happy to hear some good news.
“Oh, I think Sophia’s the only one who’s fought Lan so far? But she left early to catch up with Oscar in Vareena,” she said. “She looked like she had a good chance for the badge, but since she didn’t finish the challenge I don’t think she’s getting the badge…”
She trailed off, then, realizing she was dampening the mood, attempted to brighten up again. “But I’m excited to see your battle! Reaper and Hunk seem so strong!”
Hello everyone. This is ApolloKnight. My name is Asher.This is Clockmaker. But I don’t think my parents would be happy with me if I gave my real name to people online.Thank you for joining us.Ey apolloWelcome Asher (づ｡◕‿‿◕｡)づDid everyone here really receive their partner digimon from the game?I believe we have Clock. And it’s no likely coincidence either.Anyway. Please let me account for my radio silence.I went to check where Vorvomon fell from the sky last night. And that’s when I found a portal that pulled me into another dimension. The digimon’s world.(°ロ°) (°ロ°) (°ロ°)Damn broAs I zipped through some blindingly bright tunnel and found myself in a location that looked vaguely similar to that glowing mushroom dungeon from the game. Although it was too dark and I didn’t think it was wise to explore on my own.Anyway, it’s incredibly important that you go to the digimon’s crash site and go through these portals. It’s where you’ll receive a partner device. Like from the game, but besides its similar design, its functions aren’t entirely clear to me yet.A digivice? \(°ロ°)/But I have learned one important feature. It is our connection to the digimon world. And it’s how I got back home.From what I can gather. This device has the ability to open and close portals from our world to theirs. Like from Point A to Point B.That sounds a bit dangerous. What happens if you get stuck?Let me clarify. The original portal seems to close on its own, once you and your digimon partner go through it. Probably to prevent others from using it too. So I had to reopen it, by holding the device in my hands and imagining a location clearly in my mind. Which then immediately sent me and Vorvomon back to my pictured location. And the portal is still there now.I think I understand. But what happens if that experience was just a fluke? I mean, have you repeated that hypothesis?I wanted to get back to share this information with you all. So I’m afraid that I haven’t tested it yet. But I will do so, if that means making sure that my guildmates stay safe.I got no idea how to find a portalJust look around (~˘▾˘)~Citys huge its gonna take foreverMuchomon climbed through my window to get out of the rain. So I wouldn’t know where to look.Try looking around first (~˘▾˘)~And apparently he forgot too.I have one in my yard.What (°ロ°)Headed home right now to confirm.Alright then. Just don’t stay there for any longer than you have to.(°ロ°) Stay safe Afton!Damn its like some scifi movieI’ll send pictures when I get there.Afton Reimer
Los Angeles || Morning
“Again, Dad, I’m fine,” Afton said as she hopped out of the car and walked towards the front door of their house. “Go back to work.”
“Alright Daise,” her father said, shifting his car into gear, “take care of yourself. Love you!”
Unlocking the door, Afton slipped into the shaded room and made a beeline for her bedroom. In she went, not bothering to knock as she opened the door and tossed her bag against the foot of her bed.
“Hopmon, come out,” she said, then paused to wait for the digimon to reveal itself, which it did, tumbling out of her closet after a second of rustling.
“Afton! You’re back!” Hopmon said, bouncing to her side. “I was so bored waiting around, especially after Dad left. This place is so boring! How do you have fun?”
Though she heard Hopmon’s words, she chose to ignore them, turning towards the door. “Follow me,” she said, leading the way out and towards the screen door in the living room. The meteor had landed
“Where are we going? To the outside? Oh, isn’t this the place I landed yesterday? Smells like it. Smells dry, hot, and… empty.” Hopmon paused at Afton’s side outside the opened door, looking around at the barren yellow foothills of dried grass and dirt, which saw color in the form of the hardiest of weeds and native shrubbery. “Is this place a desert?”
“Yeah,” Afton said, crouching and looking at the patch of loose dirt. She could still make out a strong ebbing quality to the air above the patch, through which the world appeared to waver.
Pulling out her phone, she snapped a picture of the strange air and sent it to the group. Text messages started popping up immediately.
woah(°ロ°) (°ロ°) (°ロ°)does it move?I’m going through.With the text sent, she slid her phone in her pocket and waved Hopmon over. “Get ready,” she said, picking him up and tucking him under as she would a basketball.
“Get ready for what?” he asked, wiggling in the crook of her arm. “Are we doing something?”
“Yeah,” she said, leaning forwards to touch the waver, finding that her hand almost seemed to move forwards without her, drawn towards the visible folds in the air until she made contact with and was sucked into nothing.
The world went white, bright, and featureless, but Afton registered a very clear feeling of movement. She was moving. Where and how, she had no idea, but onwards she zipped until suddenly she hit the floor, deposited unceremoniously back into existence.
“Woah, what was that?” Hopmon asked, wiggling out of her hold and dropping onto the floor to start bouncing up and down. “That was fun! Let’s do it again!”
His words flew right past Afton, whose attention was wholly absorbed by their new surroundings: a world of shadowy violet, splotched by the rainbow in the form of every form of flora possible. Another glance around confirmed what Asher had said over text. This was indeed the mushroom forest every player spawned in on their first day, though Afton had portalled here herself this time around. What she was missing, now, was the digivice, which Asher had said she would “receive” after going through the portal. In the game, a line of text had popped up, and the device had been added to her inventory, but did that apply now?
“What’s wrong?” Hopmon asked, bouncing over to her side. “What’re you looking for?”
Afton froze mid-pat, one hand on her back pocket, in which the unmistakable outline of something she’d never had could be felt. Reaching into it, she grabbed the digivice, holding it up to what light was available in the forest. “This.”
“That?” Hopmon cocked his head, staring at it. “What is that?”
“A digivice,” Afton said, turning it in her hands. The device itself was a dark red, highlighting its white buttons, which Afton pressed after a brief moment. On the third button, the device’s screen lit up.
“Afton?”
The shade of uncertainty in Hopmon’s voice prompted Afton to look at him, and she was surprised to see that he was glowing—faintly, but clearly. An outline of white surrounded him, getting stronger with every passing second until suddenly the light engulfed him, lengthening into a beam that shot into the sky. Glancing down at her digivice, Afton saw the words, “
Hopmon digivolve to: Monodramon” flash across the screen. Then all at once, it ended. The beam of light retracted into itself and her digivice went out, leaving her standing in front of what was very much now a Monodramon.“Hey! I’m a Monodramon again!” The purple dragon spun in a circle, holding up each wing separately as he looked himself over. Now over two times taller and several times larger, Monodramon was no longer as easy to look over as he was while he was a Hopmon. Where he was barely a foot tall before, he was now solidly two feet tall, if not more. His claws were now prominent features, each stretching over an inch long, and as clearly as Afton remembered her character’s avatar back in the day, she had to admit that seeing a Monodramon in real life was quite a different experience.
After another few seconds of admiring himself, Monodramon looked to Afton with a grin. “How about that?”
“You’re going to be harder to hide now,” she said, looking around at their surroundings again. As Asher had written, the forest was dark and Afton agreed that it wasn’t a good idea to stick around. Still, she took a moment to stand there, taking in the digital world’s color with her own eyes. On a monitor, colors were vivid, but they held none of the realistic properties experiencing them in real life did. The dampness of the forest, the vague scent of moss and mulch, the lukewarm temperature that likely drove growth as much as it did laziness in its inhabitants—those properties were all lost in a screen-based experience, however much text and lore the game tried to throw at its players.
“Buzz off,” Monodramon said suddenly, his voice lowered and hardened, more growl than talk at that point, and Afton stared at him. Then, the bushes rustled, and it all made sense.
“Yeah, that’s right, run,” he said, clacking his teeth together, one side of his mouth hooking as he puffed his chest.
Afton gave him a nod when he looked over, then turned back to where they landed. “Let’s get back.”
“Aw, can’t we stick around? This place is way more fun than the human world,” Monodramon said, his voice bordering on a whine.
“We’ll be back,” she said, holding the digivice up at the spot. Though it felt strange doing it, Asher had outlined the process already. When it came to figuring the situation out, Afton had to hand it to him. He wasn’t a guild leader for nothing.
Cavan Maynard
New York || Morning
Back. I ended up in the Mushroom Forest too. Found the digivice in my pocket. Didn’t stay for long.(°ロ°) (°ロ°) (°ロ°) It’s real! It’s happening!!!Cavan sat up on his bed from where he’d been slouching on his bed. It’d barely been a few minutes since Afton sent the photos and said she was going through, and she was already back. Had she been that quick?
Time doesn’t seem to translate between dimensions properly. I was there for around ten minutes. My Hopmon digivolved into Monodramon.(°ロ°) What? How??I pressed the rightmost button on my digivice and he digivolved. Maybe connecting to it was enough to bring him to rookie form. He said he was a rookie before arriving.As Cavan’s eyes flicked over the messages, a smile grew on his face. “Get ready, we’re going to the digital world.”
Tunomon looked up from where he was resting on a pile of Cavan’s clothes, a mixture of confusion and hostility in his eyes. “How?”
“Through a portal, apparently,” Cavan said, sliding off his bed and grabbing his skateboard. Then, looking around, he picked up his sports bag, emptying its contents onto the floor and setting it on the floor with its flap wide open. “Would you mind catching a ride in this bag? I’m pretty sure walking around with you next to me is a bad idea.”
Tunomon eyed him dubiously. “Why? If anyone’s not minding their own business, a good tackle should change their mind.”
“Well, I said already, but you can’t just go around tackling people,” Cavan said, adjusting his bag idly, his mind focused on his words, struggling to find phrases that didn’t come off as aggressive, dismissive, or otherwise triggering for Tunomon. “Humans who fight each other get in trouble. They get captured and locked up.”
Seeing that Tunomon looked nowhere near convinced, Cavan shook his head, sighing. “Look, just trust me, okay? As soon as I find the portal, we’ll go through and I’ll let you out. But if you go around walking in the human world, someone’s probably going to try and hurt us.”
“Okay,” Tunomon said cautiously, bouncing over to the bag, then into. “What’s that?” he asked, staring at some sharpie scrawls along the side of the bag’s interior.
“That’s a list of trick name ideas,” Cavan said, running a hand down the list. “It’s old and I should really get back into it.”
Tunomon grunted in response, clearly done with the conversation, but wasn’t, and his eyes lit up as it caught on a particular idea he’d scrawled down.
“Hey, how do you feel about the name ‘Baxter’? After one of the steepest streets in LA. Thirty-two percent grade. Epic skate street,” Cavan said. “Or just ‘Bax’. Sounds cooler anyway.”
Tunomon was silent for a moment before grunting again, and Cavan grinned.
“Bax it is,” he said, zipping the bag and hefting it up with a grin.
Alice Takigawa
Tokyo || Night
If you both ended up in the mushroom forest, maybe all our portals lead there (• ε •)Could be.We could all meet in the digital world then (╯°□°)╯(╯°□°)╯(╯°□°)╯Sounds doable. Mushroom forest isn’t that big.sweet. last one there loses“This isn’t a race!” Alice hissed to no one in particular, one hand holding her phone and the other rifling through her closet for something to wear into the Tokyo night.
“Are we really going to try and find a portal to the digital world?” Dorimon asked from where he sat on Alice’s bed. “I don’t remember where I landed very well either. The impact left me pretty rattled and confused. I just felt like climbing up here was the right thing to do, so I did.”
“Well I’m glad you did, but yes, we’ll be going to look for where you landed,” Alice said, stuffing her arms through the sleeves of her oversized jacket as she walked over to her bed. “Here, I’ll hide you in here,” she said, pulling open the side of her jacket and motioning for Dorimon to hop over.
“Okay.” Dorimon hopped into her arms carefully. “You sure you don’t want me to walk? It’s pretty dark outside, and I’m pretty good at hiding.”
“Nah, it’s fine,” Alice said, adjusting her grip with a smile. “You’re not that heavy anyway.”
That was a partial lie, and Alice suspected that Dorimon knew that. Still, he didn’t say anything, and she was grateful. Even though he was only about the size of a soccer ball, he was heavier than any cat or small dog she’d tried to pick up before, likely because he was much rounder and denser than any cat or small dog she’d seen before.
Still, the most treacherous part of the night had yet to start: Alice needed to get out of her apartment without alerting her parents. Though they slept early, her mother was a light sleeper, and any stray creak or crack could summon her from bed. Luckily, Alice had experience sneaking around the house at night. She was a master at getting to and from the kitchen, where she filched snacks many a night when raids happened at odd times, and it wasn’t until she reached the front door that she hit the first snag in her plan. With its chain lock and creaky hinge, her front door was a worthy adversary that she’d never tried to best. All she could do was try and go as slow as possible as she unlatched the hatch, holding her breath in prayer as she opened the door one achingly slow millimeter at a time.
C r e a k
Alice froze, one hand on the doorknob and the other starting to tremble from supporting Dorimon’s weight. One second passed, then two, and when her parents’ bedroom continued to stay quiet, she breathed a sigh of relief, slipping out the door and carefully closing it behind her.
“Whew, hard part over,” she said, as the elevator doors closed.
“Are you afraid of your parents, Alice?” Dorimon asked.
Alice’s brows shot up. “Wh—no! No, why would you think that?”
“You seemed to be afraid of letting them find out that you leaving tonight,” he said. “I know some digimon who have ‘protectors’ that treat them more like prisoners than anything.”
“What? No, it’s nothing like that,” she said. “It’s just that I don’t know what I’d tell them if they found out I was going out. I mean, I would get in trouble, maybe, but it wouldn’t be that bad… ”
She trailed off, then shook her head. “No, I love my parents. They just worry a lot sometimes.”
“Okay,” Dorimon said, which Alice was beginning to understand as the phrase he said when he didn’t really understand, but felt that he should say he did anyway. As much as she disliked the non-confrontational attitude of his application of the phrase, she appreciated the sentiment, It was a mature thing to do, she figured, and she vaguely wondered whether she could be that mature.
“I think I’ve seen that tree before,” Dorimon said when they exited her apartment building.
The tree in reference was a leafy ginkgo tree, and Alice walked towards it, looking around expectantly. “I don’t see a crater anywhere.”
“Over there,” Dorimon said, pointing at a row of bushes. “I think I landed by those.”
Alice walked over, squinting in the darkness. With the streetlights behind them, her shadow made it difficult to properly make out anything near the bushes. “I don’t see anything,” she said as she peered over a bush, taking a few more steps forward. “Are you—”
She’d stepped into the portal, she figured, and before she knew it she was wherever the portal unceremoniously dumped her, the moist forest floor dampening her pants. A glance around revealed a hazy purple forest, and she shot to her feet, patting herself down as Dorimon hopped to the ground, shaking himself off.
“Are you okay, Alice?” Dorimon asked.
“Yep, fine! Fine,” she said, looking around again. “Right, so, digital world, mushroom forest, digivice,” she said, fishing the device that had appeared in her jacket pocket. “Now, digivolution.”
The bushes rustled, and she froze, looking over with wide eyes. The shadows made it difficult to make anything out, but Dorimon no longer looked friendly, his mouth held slightly open to accentuate his jagged jaw.
“W-who’s there?” Alice asked, voice trembling as she clutched her digivice, attempting a brave face, which was rather difficult to do knowing the vast number of digimon capable of obliterating her existence.
Natsuko Rinha
Evening || Land of Wind: Demon Desert
“Right? I’ve eaten enough scorpions for a lifetime,” Natsuko said, laughing with Aimi. Beside her, Koharu was markedly less amused, and Natsuko caught her glancing at Tetsu and Haruto across the fire more than once. Still, Koharu had lightened up enough to crack a smile despite her burns, which Natsuko knew hit more mentally than physically. A year or two ago, she might not have understood, but now she did; her teammates were heirs, strong and proud of their strength. For them, every loss was weighed on them because they didn’t, couldn’t lose. The luxury of being able to laugh off a loss was not available to heirs, whose losses had a whole host of implications that started with impaired judgement and clan weakness. Koharu and Kazuhiko had attempted to explain to Natsuko one time, and though the details had been lost on her, the conversation helped reaffirm the longstanding standard of stress her teammates have had to deal with. Nowadays, Natsuko was better at spotting heir-related situations, like when she didn’t understand why one of her teammates wasn’t as happy or amused as her about something that’d happened. Sure at times it might’ve been because she wasn’t as funny as she thought, but that was Kazuhiko’s opinion. As far as she was concerned, she was hilarious.
On the other side of the fire sat said silent grouch, looking as uninterested in conversation as he could and pulling it off, to boot. His eyes were on the fire, and the skewered piece of scorpion in his hand was barely touched, but Natsuko knew him better than to believe in his seemingly natural lack of interest. He was stonewalling the Suna-nin out with his poker face tactics.
Sure, even Natsuko wasn’t quite ready to forgive the two boys for burning Ruru and taking her hostage, but they’d agreed to an alliance, given the stolen tools back, and helped hunt for their dinner. They’d even apologized, albeit under pressure from Aimi, who was capable of being quite intimidating when she was mad. More importantly, though, they’d provided her team with aloe and petroleum jelly, the former for Haru’s burns and the latter for their whole team’s chafed skin. Considering all this, Natsuko felt that Suna Team 12 was more than on their way to redeeming themselves. They had wronged, but they were trying now, and there wasn’t much more she could ask for.
To be fair, Natsuko was a little biased here. Aimi was instantly likeable, clicking with Natsuko and everyone else who spoke to her, and the petroleum jelly was working wonders on her feet, which had dried to the point of cracking despite this being only their second day in the desert. Granted, they were dealing with the Demon Desert, which touted its harshness in its name, but credit where credit was due, the Suna teams knew what they were doing in the sand. From staying aware of where their shadows fell while hunting to carrying around medical supplies for ailments common in the desert, their familiarity with the landscape was impressive. The only thing they’d lacked was a reliable water source since it didn’t seem like Suna had many water jutsu users like Koharu, but they knew how to identify the types of cacti that were edible and held water.
Even more impressive were their wind jutsu, which were specialized in ways Natsuko wasn’t aware was possible. From what she’d seen, Aimi appeared to use wind chakra to boost both her stride and the speed with which she covered it. Haruto, on the other hand, utilized chakra to turn his jumps into what was essentially floating. Only when Aimi told her it was a hiden technique passed through their clans did Natsuko feel better. For all Sayumi’s snipes about her being lazy and uncreative, her tutor couldn't expect her to use something similar to hiden techniques. Hopefully.
“Hey, why’re you three being so silent?” Aimi asked, shooting a sharp glance to both her teammates. “Battle’s over, remember? We’re allies now, so let’s see some chatting.”
Kazuhiko looked between Natsuko and Koharu, his eyes communicating his dislike of the idea, but Natsuko just gave him a smile and a shrug. Yeah, it sucked that he’d been saddled with talking to the two more disagreeable members of the team, but that’s how life went, right?
“Is it a crime to want to eat dinner in peace?” Haruto asked, his shades making it impossible to tell whether he was actually annoyed. “Not everyone’s as talkative as you.”
“As if I’d believe that after three years of watching you and Tetsu talk nonstop during meals,” Aimi shot back.
Despite Haruto’s half-obscured face, Natsuko could imagine the annoyance in his eyes now, and she covered a giggle with a hand as he turned to Kazuhiko.
“What do you think about the scorpion,” he said, his tone unnaturally even.
Kazuhiko met his gaze with an even flatter look. “Starving’s worse.”
Natsuko laughed then, drawing everyone’s eyes, and she recovered with a shrug and grin. “What? That was funny.”
“We should talk about Team 1 at some point,” Tetsu interrupted, prompting a spike of annoyance in Natsuko, but Aimi’s apologetic glance as she patted her knee was enough to keep her from interrupting. “They’re the strongest Suna team by far, and I don’t think it’d be a stretch to say they’re the strongest in this exam.”
He looked between them, pursing his lips. Considering how proud he was, Natsuko figured it must take a lot for him to admit to being weaker, which just went to show how strong Team 1 must have been.
“The shorter boy, Katsuzo, specializes in both wind and earth jutsu. His clan’s hiden jutsu mixes the two and allows him to control rocks and sand. He’s known to rocks more, but when we fought today he used sand to slow us down and grab onto Haru,” Tetsu said, looking to Haru, who gave a nod. “He’s difficult to fight in general, but in the sand, he’s basically impossible to fight.
“Then there’s the taller boy, Atsushi, the puppeteer. He has two puppets—a centipede and a hawk. In Suna he’s known as a born puppet master, a genius. Trying to predict what he’ll do with his puppets is just…” Tetsu shook his head. “All I can say is that he hid his hawk inside his centipede when we last fought, but he probably won’t do that again. Watch out for his puppets though. Puppeteers’ strongest weapons are their poisons.
“Finally, there’s Maho, the girl with the crazy strength. It’s a wind-based hiden jutsu, but take a punch from her and you’re done. Fighting her from a distance is your only option, but last time we went at her by combining our fire and wind techniques, she turned it back on us by deflecting it with one of her wind-enforced punches,” Tetsu said, annoyance bleeding into his tone. “Her jutsu can hard counter many of my jutsu, and my whole team’s since we favor close combat. With Katsuzo restricting our movement… that battle was a mess, and we were lucky to get out as fast as we did.”
There was a brief silence, and Natsuko spent it processing his words. Hearing his description and brief on the battle, she was almost intimidated. Fighting someone who could control sand, someone who wielded poisoned puppets, and someone who required that she attack from a distance all at the same time? It sounded like an impossible scenario, but it seemed to be their current one.
“If we can counter Maho, how does the situation change?” Kazuhiko asked, his eyes focused on Tetsu and his meal completely forgotten.
“Well, it changes quite a bit,” Tetsu said, grinning.
Suna Team 1
Night || Land of Wind: Demon Desert
The sneeze that burst from Maho was loud enough to send Katsuzo flinching despite him standing on Atsushi’s other side, and that action did not go unnoticed by Maho. Matching the glee forming on her face was the disgust tightening Katsuzo’s as he raised a finger to point at her.
“Atsushi, tell her to keep her germs to herself,” he demanded.
“Oh shut up, you must’ve given your cold to me,” she shot back.
“Atsushi’s the one who sneezed earlier, Aho.”
“That doesn’t mean you aren’t fucking sick, Yatsuzo.”
“I don’t know why you insist on calling me that. It’s nowhere near as good as Aho, Aho.”
“Well you’re a fucking midget.”
“Atsushi, she’s resorting to name calling.”
“Aw, ‘lil baby gonna go cry to Atsushi because I hurt his feelings?”
“Atsushi, I don’t understand why she says this kind of stuff. Can’t she understand that I don’t want anything to do with people who don’t have two brain cells to rub together?”
“Are you calling me stupid you—”
With some resignation, Atsushi placed a hand on Maho’s shoulder. He didn’t want to intervene any more than she wanted him to, but judging by how her eyes went straight past him, his warning was going unnoticed.
“Yes! Yes I am!” Katsuzo said, brows high. “I’m glad you finally figured it out! I mean, it took three years, but hey, you got there, and I guess that’s what’s important for someone with the IQ of a decapitated lizard.”
Centipede was around Maho in an instant, and she struggled, wind swirling around the puppet. Beside her, Atsushi took a step back, mild concern gracing his face. If Maho fully activated her wind jutsu, Centipede was at risk of getting damaged. The alternative was having Centipede inject her with a tranquilizer, which he wanted to avoid because it’d put an end to their plans for the night, but judging by the looks of it—Maho spitting expletives as Katsuzo smirked triumphantly from the side, enjoying the now grazing wind—it seemed like he might be better off safe than sorry.
Kazuhiko Taketori
Morning || Land of Wind: Demon Desert
Scouting the desert was made much easier by Haruto, who had access to sparrow summons. If Kazuhiko ever thought that summons were useless, he certainly didn’t anymore. A mere three sparrows was enough to scout out a good portion of the desert, given the height, aerial view, and flat landscape. The first sign of danger was when only two returned to report.
“Tsk, Hanemaru didn’t come back? Of course,” one of the sparrows sniped from his perch on Haruto’s arm, ruffling his feathers. “He was always careless, thinking he could fly at a lower altitude just because he’s a bit faster.”
“Well, we don’t know how he was caught. It could’ve been a hawk,” the other sparrow said from beside him, a shiver rustling his feathers. “I hate hawks.”
“Well whatever, he deserved it,” the first sparrow said. “As for my assignment, the southeast was clear. No Team 1.”
“I saw a Suna team that wasn’t Team 1, probably half a mile off,” the second sparrow added, “but otherwise the northeast was also clear.”
“Okay. Thank you,” Haruto said.
“We’ll be going then. Apologies on Hanemaru’s behalf,” the first sparrow said. “I’ll go give him a talking to when we get back.”
“Yeah, apologies,” the second sparrow said, and both of them poofed out of existence with a small cloud of white smoke.
“Right,” Haruto said, his sunglasses making it difficult to tell where his attention was focused as he spoke, “west, huh?”
“Seems like it,” Tetsu said, and Aimi nodded.
“But we don’t know if it’s them,” Natsuko started, confusion written across her features.
“The sparrows reported that the other two directions were clear, so the only unknown is west,” Kazuhiko explained. “Also, Suna-nin are more used to the desert, so I wouldn’t be surprised if they know to keep their eyes on the sky.”
A nod from Haruto confirmed this, and Natsuko managed a grudging “okay” before they were off, dashing across the sand to the west. Traveling across the sand was made easier by a suggestion from the Suna-nin to apply water-walking principles to the sand. By maintaining a steady layer of chakra on their feet, they were able to avoid displacing the sand below them, thus allowing them to walk on sand as if it were solid ground. While it took chakra, it saved time, and they were hoping to get the battle over with before the sun reached its peak.
Tetsu stopped first, raising a hand to signal the rest of them to stop. “There,” he said, pointing at a group of sandy-colored protrusions ahead.
“Let’s split up and corner them,” Kazuhiko said.
Tetsu nodded, and they were off, Tetsu leading his team to the left and Kazuhiko leading his to the right. Staying silent on the sand wasn’t hard, but maintaining a low profile among the sparse landscape was. Luckily, it didn’t seem like the other team was watching from within the rock formations, which Kazuhiko likely wouldn’t have recognized as a viable hiding spot on his own. Luckily, he had the Suna team’s experience to lead them through the desert and point out what might not stand out to a Konoha shinobi.
Across from each other, the teams crouched behind cacti and rocks as Kazuhiko counted them down from three. On one, they dashed forwards into the large crevice between two rock formations, only to find an abandoned fireplace with the remains of a lizard still sizzling above it.
Haruto kicked at the stones lining the fire. “Tch we missed them,”
“No,” Kazuhiko said, his eyes flicking around the hideout. Though it looked to be a short-term, possibly newly-found place, the lizard wasn’t burnt yet, and there were some stray bones scattered haphazardly on the floor, almost as if—
He stiffened, head snapping up in alarm. “They’re still—”
The world whited out, leaving him alone in the vast sea of nothingness. He saw nothing, stood on nothing, was nothing. He was standing in the middle of an endless sea of white, drifting further and further into nothingness, and—
A sharp pain hit his shoulder, and he grunted, grabbing his shoulder as the world blinked into color again. Tetsu, Haruto, and Aimi had cornered a tall, black-haired boy and a shorter and much more terrified-looking boy with green hair. Beside him, Natsuko was looking at Koharu in confusion.
“Ruru, what was that for?” she asked.
“Genjutsu,” Kazuhiko said, straightening and looking around as he caught his breath. “That’s Tadamitsu Hyuga,” he said, indicating the taller boy, who was raising his hands with a pleading smile on his face as he tried to keep the Suna-nins’ kunai at bay. “He saw us coming. And the other person on their team—”
“Specializes in genjutsu?”
A pale-haired girl stepped out from the shadows, kunai glinting in her hand. Along with her height and complexion, she was strikingly similar in appearance to Koharu, which was precisely why Kazuhiko remembered her.
“Michi,” he said, eyes flicking to her teammates, then back. “I suppose this is where we ask for your characters.”
She forced a laugh. “Well you’re a little late for that!” she said, her tone sharpening as she spoke. “Some Suna team got us first, but you’re welcome to rob us of food and whatever we have left.”
Beside him, Tetsu’s team reacted, straightening and backing off from Tadamitsu and Yasu. Aimi whispered an apology as Tetsu walked over, his face hard.
“Two boys and a girl? One puppeteer with a centipede?” he asked.
“Yeah,” Michi said, her voice taking a weary tone as she lowered her kunai. “You know them?”
“They got us too,” Tetsu said as Haruto and Aimi joined him. Haruto’s face was still unreadable, but Aimi looked fully apologetic, rubbing her arm as she glanced back at where Tadamitsu was rubbing Yasu’s back as the shorter boy sat, barely suppressing shivers.
“We’re looking for them,” Kazuhiko said. Beside him, Natsuko looked a bit awkward, offering a hesitant smile at Michi between glances at Yasu.
Michi looked between the six of them, then to Tadamitsu and Yasu, before meeting Kazuhiko’s eyes resolutely. “We can take you to them. If you guarantee us characters if you win.”
@Sunflower
Eryn Montero
Flooded Lakewatch: The Drain || Day 5: Afternoon || @PlatinumSkink@Gardevoiran
Eryn quashed the doubtful voices in her head with brute willpower as she closed the distance between the Beheeyem and herself, giving herself a single beat to exhale before she slid between the floating psychic-types’ ranks. Whatever resistance she expected didn't come, and she was left surprised, waiting for a response that didn’t come even as she looked back at the line of Beheeyem.
“Hah! Take that, Oaken!” she called, throwing a gleeful grin at the bespectacled boy on the other side of the Beheeyem. “I should’ve gone with my gut two rooms ago!”
Of course, hindsight was twenty-twenty and there was no way to guarantee that she’d have been safe attempting the same stunt from the beginning, but that didn’t matter to Eryn. What mattered was that she’d been proven right, and though some small voice was telling her that she ought not to be so confident, she was absolutely taking this as a sign that gut instinct was the way to go.
Her grin stayed as she watched Oaken struggle with the Beheeyem, bursting into laughter when he made his angry declaration. “Oh, I thought I’d never see the day you lost composure like that,” she said, fully intending on teasing him further. The tone of his request to keep going, however, made her reconsider, but only so much as to slow to Vivia’s side.
“Hey, has he always been this much of a grouch?” she asked, looking at the girl. From what she remembered, Vivia had arrived with Oaken and two other trainers as trainers chosen by Jacques. She’d assumed that meant they knew each other, at least somewhat, though she was open to being told she’d assumed wrong. As always, there was no harm in asking.
Her eyes flicked down to the water beneath her feet at multiple points during the walk, noting the rising water level that did more to fuel the nonsensically cautious voice in her head than incite actual panic. Splashing through the water with bare feet didn’t feel so bad, especially given that it was freshwater. At least she wouldn’t have to deal with dry skin for days afterward.
The other, more prominent thing on her mind during the walk was the presence coming from ahead, which grew stronger and angrier as they got closer. Where the depths of the Infested Forest inspired dread, this presence was all pressure and expansive power, and Eryn had to admit that she likely would’ve had to take a breather to think at some point down the hallway if it weren’t for the others with her. Even with the voices in her head and the hostility her senses made her aware of, Eryn would never think to give up before someone else did, least of all Oaken. She was still set on battling again him at some point, after all, and what grounds did have to challenge him if she couldn’t even walk down a hallway properly?
It wasn’t until she entered the room that she understood why the air felt as it did: At the center of the room, towering over her was the most realistic rendition of Palkia she’d ever seen. Her eyes trailed the purple lines accentuating legendary once, then snapped back to its eyes, transfixed. Though they were dim, she felt as if she needed to check, to make sure that her eyes weren’t playing tricks on her because her senses were telling her that this monster of a Pokemon was anything but sleeping.
On its head was Azelf, one of the trio of guardians tied to Palkia and Dialga, and Eryn watched in stunned silence as the much smaller and gentler-looking Pokemon flew into life. In her head, something was attempting to click, but she wasn’t quite there. She and every other person interested in Pokemon had read up on legendaries, but to Eryn they’d stayed just that: Legends. She no more expected Palkia and Dialga to be more than abstract concepts of creation than she believed Entei roars to fuel volcano eruptions, yet there was Azelf, adding surreal but undeniable confirmation with every meter it flew.
Oaken spoke first, then Skylar, both speaking as if they fully expected to find something along the lines of legendaries in this room. Part of Eryn felt slighted that Oaken had traveled this far without informing her of this, but the other part was too busy trying to come to terms with how her world had just turned upside down. Azelf was real, and so was Palkia? Then Dialga, Mewspirit, Uxie… and Mew, Arceus, every single legend she’d heard in nursery rhymes and elementary school poems…
Her breaths were coming at a faster pace as she tried to calm down, but as her eyes flicked between Azelf what seemed to be a dormant Palkia, she found herself at a loss for words. So, instead, she was left staring, her mind registering that it was probably a good idea to say hi and her mouth too dry to do so.
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