I do not own Nintendo or Pokemon, or its characters. This story is purely fanmade.
Mirrors and Pearls, Mirrors and Pearls
Chapter One: Emotions and Motives- One and the Same?
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Main characters in this chapter:
HarukaMay; age: 19
HikariDawn; age: 18
ShinjiPaul; age: 19
ShuuDrew; age: 20
Nozomi; age: 20
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Can you go five minutes without screwing something up?!
Why won't you quit nagging on me? That's all you do, and it's making me sick!
Whine-whine-whine- get over yourself already!
For Christ's sake, comb your hair! You look like a bum!
Stop saying that you're gonna go do so well at the freakin' preliminaries, it's getting annoying!
Shinji's harsh words echoed through her mind, just like they always did when she sulked after being yelled at.
Why does he treat me like that? she thought, trying to fight off the streams of tears she feared when gush out at
any moment.
But I can't leave him! she thought adamantly. He needs me. Maybe he doesn't know it, but he needs me. He loves
me, I'm sure he does. He wouldn't be able to go on without me. However, she was started to doubt her own
reassuring words. Did he need her? Did she need him? Was her heart in the right place, but his in the wrong? She
shook of these thoughts. He did love herand he did need her. And, more than anything else, she needed him.
Desperately.
"No, no, Snorlax!" Haruka sighed exasperatedly, resting her forehead in the palm of her hand. "I said snore not leer.
Ugh,just return to your pokeball for now." She sighed again and sat down to recline on the cool grass outside of
the Shinou Grand Festival Contest Hall. She certainly had a long way to go before Snorlax was anywhere near
being fit for the grand festival. Maybe she'd be better off using her Beautifly...
"E-excuse me!" a girl's voice interrupted Haruka's thoughts. "I hate to be a bother, but you've sat on my pokétch!"
"I'm so sorry!" Haruka blushed, jumping up. She knelt down to pick up the pink watch-which was, luckily,
undamaged- and turned to look at the owner of the pokétch. She was stunned for a moment by the strikingly pretty
girl with long, dark blue hair and bright cerulean eyes. The girl smiled brightly at her, and gently took the watch
from Haruka's hand. "I'm Hikari, by the way," the girl told her. "I guess you're entering the Shinou Grand Festival, too?"
Haruka quickly nodded, unable to speak. She felt her face beginning to grow red.
"That's great!" smiled Hikari brightly. "I'll definitely look forward to seeing you in the preliminaries! Good luck!"
"You too," Haruka forced herself to say, then smiled sheepishly. Hikari laughed lightly and waved as she walked
away.
When she was out of sight, Haruka sighed deeply and sank back onto the ground. She was beginning to blush again
and felt so bewildered. Why was she feeling so...odd? Why did this Hikari girl have such a profound effect on her?
Why did a goddamn girl have any effect on her?! She leaned back on the cool grass and let the sun flow over her
face as all the thoughts ran through her head like a gushing river. I seriously need to take a mental health day.
---
Hikari surreptitiously tiptoed into her dormitory room provided by the grand festival committee, so as not to
disturb Shinji.
But her efforts were in vain.
The violet-haired youth stood cross-armed next to the bathroom, and flicked on the lightswitch when Hikari had
taken a few gentle steps in.
"WHERE THE HELL WERE YOU?!" he roared, taking several menacing steps toward her. "I've been waiting here
for over a goddamn hour!"
Hikari whimpered slightly and fought back tears. "I-I was just out training my Floatzel-"
"Don't lie to me like that!" he snapped. "I've seen you and that Kengo freak eying each other! You've been with him,
haven't you?! Wouldn't be too difficult for you to sneak over to one of the dark corners of the parking lot and have
a little fun, would it, eh?" His eyes seethed with unfathomable fury and Hikari began breathing rapidly and she
slowly backed away from him.
"Shinji, honey, you don't understand-" Shinji cut her off mid-sentence and cuffed her cheek.
"Shinji! Please, darling, stop, I would never cheat onyou!" she wept as she collapsed into a limp heap on the
floor.
Shinji sneered at her. "You're a weakling, just like the rest," he scoffed, and he walked through the ajar door. His
words stung like sharp knives on Hikari's ears. he could be rough with her sometimes, but she rarely seen him
so...livid. Kengo wasjust a friend- why couldn't he accept the fact that she could just have friends and still be
faithful to him?! Why did her have to be jealous anytime she was with another guy?
It's only because he really cares about me, she reassured herself. He loves me, and...and he just doesn't want to
have to share me with someone else!
---
Can't...get...her...out...of...my...head! the words ran through Haruka's mind over and over again. They'd had only
just met, and already the girl had completely taken over Haruka's mind. The cheery smile, the long, dark blue
hair...and underneath, the subtle feeling of a darkness looming all around the girl. The enigma of it all...Haruka
HAD to see her again. But how?
"Aha!" she said, as an idea suddenly revealed itself to her. "I'll call the dormitory directory- they'll have to have her
dorm room's phone number!" She jumped off the carpeted floor and rushed over to the beige-colored telephone.
"What's the directory number, again?" she murmured to herself, checking the numbers listed next to the phone.
"Let's see- ah! 322-9991!"
Riiiiiing...riiiiiing...riii-
"Hello this is the Shinou Grand Festival Dormitory Directory, how may I be of assistance?" chirped a young
woman from the other end of the line.
"I-I-um..." stammered Haruka. Good God, what had she been thinking?! She couldn't just instantaneously call up
some girl who was practically a stranger to her-
"Yes-sss?" sighed the young woman exasperatedly. "Can I help you, miss?"
"IneedthephonenumberofagirlcalledHikariplease!" Haruka blurted out loudly into the phone.
"Eh?" said the young woman. "What was that? I couldn't decipher what you just said."
Haruka inhaled deeply. "I need the phone number of a girl called Hikari," she said calmly, even though her heart
was pumping a mile a minute.
"Let's see..." said the young woman, who was apparently looking up the name on a computer. "There are four
Hikari's here currently. Can you give me any more information about the Hikari in question?"
"Well, she has dark blue hair and sky-blue eyes," Haruka responded weakly.
"Oookay," said the woman. "Ehm...oh wait, here she is! Her number is 322-9989."
"Thank you so much!" Haruka said excitedly, her heart thumping faster again.
"You're welcome, hon," replied the woman, who then hung up the phone.
Haruka pulled a piece of Skitty stationary and rapidly copied down the number the woman had given her.
"322-9989," she repeated to herself, feeling a drop of sweat glide down the back of her neck. Was she seriously
going to go through with this?
Yes! I have to see Hikari again!
But what if she thinks I'm some sort of creep who just calls up complete strangers?
Maybe she'd do that, but she might also be really eager to see me again! Almost as eager as I am...
Haruka jabbed her index finger into the buttons, and held her breath when she heard the ringing.
---
Hikari studied her face meticulously in the bathroom mirror. She was still shaking after Shinji's outburst, but she
looked externally serene. She placed her slender hand around the onyx-black hairbrush and began brushing out her
hair gently, slowly.
Then the phone began ringing.
Hikari's grip tightened around the bush, and she began to wince. Was this Shinji calling? Was he going to torment
her further?
He doesn't mean to torment me. He just doesn't know how to show his affection properly.
Still, she couldn't bring herself to answer the phone. It was like her feet were bolted down to the linoleum floor.
The phone persisted, though, and continued ringing through two solid minutes.
"It can't be Shinji," she breathed. "He would never wait this long for me to answer the phone."
She was relieved, but at the same time anxious. Who else would call her? She knew hardly anyone else here, and
those she did know didn't have her number...
She took a few strides out of the bathroom and toward the phone. With a trembling hand, she lifted the phone off
the hook.
"H-hello?" she whispered.
"Hikari?" said a voice at the other end. "Is that you? Can I speak with you? Is this is a bad time?"
"U-eh..." Hikari felt a bit overwhelmed. Why in the hell would someone randomly call her up and bombard her
with these questions? "Erm, who-who is this, again?"
"I'm so sorry!" the voice on the other end exclaimed. "I got nervous and forgot to tell you...I'm Haruka Normandy,
the girl you met earlier, do you remember?"
"Oh...yes," replied Hikari, her voice becoming somewhat vague. "Yes, yes, I remember." She paused for a moment
and laughed lightly. "The girl who sat on my pokétch, right?"
"Well, yeah," Haruka responded sheepishly. "I'm really sorry about that, Hikari."
"'Salright," laughed Hikari. She paused thoughtfully for a moment and said in a softer tone, "Haruka, I know this is
sudden, but-"
"Yes?" Haruka said, trying to cover up her eagerness.
"Could you meet in the mess hall in a few minutes?" asked Hikari. "It'd be nice to talk to someone who's not
Shinji-ehm-talk to another girl."
"It's a date!" squealed Haruka. "Oh, I-I mean- see you there!"
Teeming with exhilaration, Haruka hung up the phone and dashed over to the bathroom mirror. Her hands fluttered
aimlessly all over her clothes and face and she had no idea what to do.
"What have I done?" she groaned, her mood dropping from ecstasy to horror. "I have a date with a girl I barely
know, and I'm going to humiliate myself in front of her and all the other coordinators." She rested her arms on the
bathroom counter and felt her head slunk into them. "This was a bad-bad idea." She lifted her face to look at herself
in the mirror. "Who am I?" she sighed. "I'm not a lesbian...am I?"
Something flickered inside her, like a flame rekindling a dormant candle. "I can't give up now!" she cried, jerking
out of her pitiful position. "Not when I've gotten this far! I AM going to the mess hall and I AM going to talk with
Hikari!" She lifted her head high and held her back straight as a soldier's. "And nothing will stop me!" she shouted.
What Haruka didn't know was that a certain green-haired boy hovered outside her dorm, eavesdropping.
"Nothing, eh?" he sneered. "Not even me?"
---
Hikari took a magenta windbreaker out of the closet and slowly zipped it up so that only the collar of her emerald-
green sweater was visible. She checked herself over in the mirror and scooped her navy-blue hair into a messy bun
at the top of her head. She grinned widely at herself to make sure there were no particles of food caught between
her teeth.
"Okay," she said to herself, checking her pokétch for the time.
19:12. The mess hall should still be open at this hour. Shinji wouldn't be back from the bars until around ten.
Hopefully.
Hikari slapped some lotion on her dry skin and headed out the door.
As she glided down the sidewalk toward the mess hall, she bumped into a tall boy with green hair who stood there
stoically, not even bothering to move or excuse himself.
"Oh, excuse me," she said brushing herself, feeling a bit perplexed by the boy's lack of response. She peered at him curiously for a minute, and then waved a hand in front of his face. "EEEExcuse me."
The boy angrily swatted her hand away and glared maliciously at her.
"Fuck off," he snarled. Feeling flustered and more than a little frightened, Hikari managed a clumsy bow and
mumbled, "I'm sorry, please pardon me," before scampering down the hall until the boy was out of sight.
I hope I don't run into him again.
Hikari continued to runt through the halls, checking the signs on the doors to see if any were the mess hall. Finally,
she arrived at the large ebony doors which had "SHINOU GRAND FESTIVAL CONTEST HALL MESS HALL" engraved deeply through its center.
When Hikari had been here before with her mother, Ayako, the doors to the mess hall had been very stiff and
difficult to open. So, she threw her weight against the door and shoved.
To her surprise, the doors were much easier to open than she'd remembered, and Hikari ended up falling face-flat
on the tile floor of the mess hall. Several other coordinators present ogled at her, a few others began laughing at
her, and only one bothered to come over and help her up. That one was Haruka.
The pretty brunette offered her hand to Hikari, and she took it as Haruka pulled her back up to her feet.
"Déjà vu," chuckled Hikari.
"Hm?"
"Oh, well, when I entered my first Super Contest, my friend Nozomi who I'd just met, helped me up after I had
fallen."
Haruka smiled. "I hope you didn't take a tumble while you were doing your appeal."
Hikari shook her head. "No, it was afterward-"
"Can I help you?" snapped a cafeteria worker, who was looking rather irritable.
Embarrassed, Hikari cleared her throat. "Um, yeah," she replied, taking a seat at the nearest small table. "Could you
get us two cups of green tea?" The cafeteria worker just grunted and stalked off to the kitchen.
"What lovely service they have here," remarked Haruka, taking a seat across from Hikari.
Hikari just laughed and said, "So, where have you traveled, Haruka?", trying to make light conversation.
"Oh...Houen, Jouto, Kantou, and, just recently, Shinou. I hope to visit Oure sometime...or maybe the Orange
Islands. I hear they're a really awesome place to visit in the wintertime."
The two girls continued talking and giggling until the cafeteria worker brought out the tea.
Lifting up the delicate porcelain cup, Haruka took a deep sip. "A tad bitter," she commented. "But I like my tea that
way." Hikari stared in a spacey manner into her tea for a minute and then began slowly, "Earlier in the hall I ran
into a really rude boy with green hair..." She saw a look of consternation briefly flicker in Haruka's eyes, but the
young woman quickly covered it up with fake indifference.
"Oh...well-yeah...that's too bad," remarked Haruka idly, trying to evade the subject. "So, um, have you prepared
your Pokémon enough for the preliminary round coming up in a few days?"
Why would she try to change the subject so quickly? Hikari thought. She gave Haruka an inquisitive look.
"You wouldn't happen to know any rude, green-haired boys, would you, Haruka?" she interrogated.
Haruka's face turned red and she opened her mouth, ready to deny ever knowing a boy who fit that description,
when she was interrupted by someone throwing the mess hall doors open.
"Shuu!" she gasped, jumping out of her seat.
The boy smirked at her. "Haruka," he replied smugly.
---
"Misdreavus? Are you okay?!" Nozomi called as she dashed toward the enormous oak tree to attempt to catch the
descending Pokémon.
"Oh no," she moaned, catching the ghostly Pokémon in her arms. "The Staravia you were battling up there must
have battered you up pretty badly!"
She cradled Misdreavus in her arms and soothed, "Don't worry! I'll get you over to the Pokémon center as fast as I
possibly can!" Her heart pounding, and legs working full-tilt, she soon made it over to the Shinou Grand Festival
Contest Hall Pokémon Center. She shoved the swinging glass doors open and pelted inside.
"Nurse Joi!" she called hoarsely, realizing the reception desk was vacant. "Hello? Are you here!"
"She's on break!" snapped a fierce-looking lavender-haired boy nearby. He advanced a few steps toward her and
looked her up and down, sneering. "I take it you're a girl," he remarked.
"Yes, I AM a girl!" Nozomi responded indignantly. "Are you flippin' blind or something?!" The boy gave her a
glare that chilled her to the bone, though she showed no sign of it outwardly. He slipped out the doors as Nurse Joi
entered.
The nurse curtsied to Nozomi. "May I help you, miss?"
Nozomi smiled gratefully at her. "Yes, thank you," she answered.