Hanbei was currently sitting in the castle of Ignis. Lord Hideyoshi had gone out to train, but he had told Hanbei to stay behind. It wasn't like Hanbei wanted to go, but even if he wanted to he wouldn't be able to now. He had also left Kanbei back at the castle to watch over Hanbei. He had thought the boy was starting to come down with something serious. While Hanbei couldn't say he was right or wrong, he was perfectly fine with spending some time with his best friend.
Hanbei yawned before shivering in his seat. Despite wrapping himself up in some warm clothing, and even covering himself with a blanket, he still had shivers. He wasn't even that cold. He didn't know what was wrong with him...maybe he was coming down with something. He shook his head and took a sip of his tea.
"You're tired?" Kanbei was sitting in the seat next to the electric user. While it wasn't abnormal for Hanbei to lose his energy- far from it, in fact- he still wanted to make sure the boy was feeling alright. "You want me to get you anything?"
Hanbei chuckled and waved off the offer with his hand before taking another sip of his tea. Mmm...this was actually really good. Kanbei makes good tea. Who would have guessed?
"You know me, Kanbei, I'm always tired. It's nothing." He shook his head before whistling. "Pikachu?"
"Pika!" A yellow mouse pokemon suddenly ran into the room and towards his trainer. He hopped onto the trainer's lap and smiled widely before making itself comfortable and laying down on the boy's lap, curling itself up like a cat. Hanbei chuckled and gently patted the mouse on the head.
"Hey, Pikachu." The second-in-command gently scratched the back of the pokemon's head before rubbing the top of it's head. "How are you-"
The question was suddenly cut off as Hanbei went into a coughing fit, almost dropping his tea cup as he let out a few violent coughs. The tea managed to spill out of the cup and some of it landed on the pikachu. It's ears perked up and it dashed out of the seat and away from the warrior, who was now coughing violently into his hands. It sounded like his throat was completely filled.
"Hanbei!" The ghost user exclaimed as he stood up out of his seat, eyes widening just slightly. He took a step towards the boy, but he waved his hand towards him and shook his head.
"I'm fine, I'm fine," he forced out before taking a deep breath. All the coughing had forced the air out of his lungs. His chest felt sore. He had been coughing all day into tissues and onto his sleeve. Come to think about it, his entire body had been getting sore. It was starting to get painful to move around. Maybe he really was coming down with something. It'd been like this for a couple weeks now...
"Are you sure?"
Hanbei nodded and looked at his hand. He saw red. Red little droplets covering his hand, staining it red and giving it a faint metallic smell. He stared at his hand for a moment before chuckling. "Yeah...I'm sure."
He yawned once more and stood up from his seat. There was a small smile on his face as he waved to Kanbei. "I think I'm going to be taking a nap."
"Taking a nap." Kanbei repeated. It wasn't even a question. He was expecting the boy to say it. He always took naps. It was nothing new. "You realizes it's the middle of the day, correct?"
"I'm aware, but you see, a genius such as me needs as much rest as he can get." He chuckled before holding back another coughing fit. Ow...it hurt to keep it in… "Don't worry. I'll tell you if I need anything. Come on, Pikachu."
"Alright." Kanbei's voice was but a mutter as he sat back down in his seat, trying his best to relax, but even then his body remained tense. He watched the tiny mouse run towards his trainer as he walked down the hallway and into his room. He couldn't help but count the minutes Hanbei was asleep.
Minutes had turned into hours, and a few hours later Lord Hideyoshi had returned to the castle. When he asked Kanbei where Hanbei had gone to, he simply responded by telling him he was taking a nap. That cleared it up with the warlord and he said he was going to sleep as well, and recommended that Kanbei did the same.
Kanbei barely got sleep. He never needed much of it, and he often found himself staying up late reading books or going out on walks with his Lampent. It had been another five hours until he fell asleep. It had to be three in the morning by the time he went to bed, and even then he woke up every hour or so. He had eventually made it to the morning, however.
He had finally gotten to sleep at about five in the morning, and woke up at ten, only five hours later. The ghost type user got out of bed and greeted the day as he always did, mumbling to himself and walking out of bed with that same frown he had all throughout the day.
When he walked out and looked around the castle, he noticed that Hideyoshi was gone, either to do even more training or to take care of something political. Ransei was normally a political mess, and when Hideyoshi wasn't with his pokemon or with Kanbei and Hanbei, he was often pulling his hair out over the political mess that was the continent.
However, Kanbei also noticed that his friend wasn't awake either. Sure, he usually slept in pretty late, but he had to been asleep for...more than twelve hours by now. Even Hanbei couldn't sleep for that long. Though...perhaps he was just in bed reading. He was sick, after all. Maybe he just didn't want to get up. Hideyoshi had most likely checked on him. After convincing himself that his friend was alright, he went to eat a late breakfast.
An hour afterwards, at around eleven, Hideyoshi had entered the castle once more, making his presence known with the usual slam of the door and exclaiming "I'm here!"
When the warlord made it to the dining room, where Kanbei still sat, and was reading to get his mind off of things, he smiled. "Ah! Kanbei! How's Hanbei doing?"
Kanbei looked up from his reading material and looked at Hideyoshi. "I imagine that Hanbei is still asleep, Lord Hideyoshi."
"Ah, the lazybones is still sleeping, is he?" Hideyoshi let out a laugh. "Well, I'm going to go check on him. Maybe he's feeling better."
Kanbei nodded as the warlord walked away. He looked back down to the material and tapped his fingers against the table, trying to only focus on the reading material, to get him mind away from all of this…
A minute later, though, he heard the warlord scream out. "Kanbei! Come in here! And tell one of the maids to get a doctor!"
Kanbei's mind immediately drew its attention away from the material as he stood up, his heart sinking as he already imagined the worse outcomes. He quickly attracted one of the maid's attention, who was already in the dining room anyways, and told her to get a doctor before moving towards Hanbei's room. What he saw...he truly wish he didn't have to see.
Hanbei was in his bed, laying on his side and looking towards the window in his room. His eyes were closed and next to his mouth there was a blood stain which had stained his bed an awful shade of red. He wasn't breathing and while his Pikachu, who looked very concerned, was trying to nudge him awake by patting him on the forehead, Hideyoshi was grabbing him by the shoulder and shaking him almost violently in an attempt to wake him up.
Kanbei's heart raced as he heard the warlord shout at Hanbei to wake up. His mind could barely process what was happening as he moved towards his friend's bed. He sat down next to Hideyoshi and moved the fire user's hand away from him. "Lord Hideyoshi...that's not going to help…"
The warlord looked like he was about to protest, but instead he just sighed and nodded. "You're right, you're right," he said before quickly standing up. "I'll go see what's taking that doctor so long."
Hideyoshi quickly stood up and practically ran out of the room. Kanbei couldn't tell if he was panicking openly or trying to keep his cool. He shook his head and moved his hand to Hanbei's chest, where his heart should be. He was hoping to feel it beating. He was so desperately hoping for his heart to beat, to give a sign that his friend was still alive and would make it out of this alive with medical attention. Instead...he felt nothing. He shook his head and looked down at the ground. His hand shook slightly as he drew it back. There was no heartbeat...that only meant one thing…
Hanbei was dead…
There was a full moon out tonight. It illuminated the graveyard very well, but even then he had asked his Lampent to light up the gravestone he was kneeling in front of. A pikachu was sitting next to the gravestone, having not moved since the three had arrived at the graveyard. The words on the tombstone simply read, "Here lies Hanbei, second-in-command of Ignis, a brilliant strategist, and a great friend."
Kanbei took in a deep breath and then exhaled, looking down at the ground as he released the stored up air. It had been two years since Hanbei had died, and while everyone, even Hideyoshi, had by now gotten over his tragic passing, Kanbei could not let it go. He had lost his only friend two years back, and since then he avoided social interaction even more than before.
It was consumption, according to the doctors. It had been in there for a couple months now, and they suggested that it had only gotten worse in the last couple weeks of his life. Chills, sores and coughing up blood...Hanbei was in pain. It was impressive that he hadn't complained, but that was also what had gotten him killed in the end.
Kanbei had tried to contact the boy. He had been reading up on ways to be able to talk to the dead, and he even tried to get his ghost pokemon to try and detect Hanbei's soul. It had always been pointless, though. He had searched all over Ignis, and even all of the south-western part of Ransei, but he couldn't find any trace of him...how far gone was he?
Kanbei shook his head and looked up at his Lampent. "Do you sense him?" The lamp pokemon shook his head, and the second-in-command sighed as he closed his eyes, looking towards the tombstone, he took another deep breath. Though his Lampent didn't sense Hanbei's soul anywhere around here, he needed to try…
"Hanbei…" he said to the darkness around him, not opening his eyes as he concentrated. He imagined Hanbei being right in front of him, standing in front of his tombstone, being so close that Kanbei could just reach out and touch him. "If you're there, please...talk to me…"
There was silence. The only sounds he could here were the crickets, chirping away without a care in the world. "Please, talk to me, Hanbei. I've been trying for two years now. You have to talk to me. I need to see you again...I miss you."
At least a minute passed where there was nothing but silence and Kanbei slowly opened his eyes. He didn't know what to do. He truly didn't know what to do. He felt like he should cry. He actually wanted to cry, but...he couldn't find it in him. He's been doing it just about every time he visited Hanbei's grave. At least...he had during the first year. Now it was only when he thought about all of the good times they had spent together...there were a lot of good times.
Before he could decide to think back on old times, he sighed and stood up. No point thinking back now. It was only going to end with him crying. He looked to the Lampent that floated next to him and nodded. "We're leaving."
"Lamp," the ghost type said with a nod. It didn't seem too cheerful. It had sensed its trainer was still upset, and his emotions rubbed off on the Pokemon, but Kanbei didn't seem to notice as he turned to the Pikachu.
"Alright, let's go," he said as he reached his hands out to pick up the mouse pokemon.
"Pika…" the mouse muttered, it's ears hung down and its tail hanging limply once Kanbei had picked him up. The weight of the mouse was also accompanied by a static shock, but by now the second-in-command had gotten used to the shocks from Pikachu, and didn't flinch or drop the Pokemon.
Kanbei turned and walked away from the graveyard, the ghost-type following him. The walk was in silence. He made no noise as he moved away from the graveyard and towards the castle of Ignis. Once again, he came back to the castle empty handed, without coming close to contacting his lost friend.
Kanbei wouldn't leave the castle several days that after. The two Pokemon had improved their moods after visiting the graves. While Lampent had always accepted, and had even gotten used to death, being a ghost type, Kanbei had a suspicion that the Pikachu would never get over the loss of his trainer fully, no matter how cheerful it tried to be.
During the days that he spent in the castle, Kanbei read scroll after scroll, book after book, trying to find a way to contact his friend if he could. There had to be some trace of him out there in Ransei. Kanbei refused to believe that he would just leave like that, without any last words to him…
Kanbei had always been caught up in his studies after Hanbei passed. Whenever he wasn't following orders from Hideyoshi, he was reading and even rereading books to try and find where a soul might reside. He only ate when he had to now, and he only ate enough to satisfy his hunger. He was losing weight and looking to become skinnier as the weeks went pass.
After at least a week of trying reading, rereading, and re-rereading, Kanbei had gotten an idea. It was a foolish idea, but it was one nevertheless. It was said that heaven was high up in the skier. Higher than the clouds themselves...perhaps Hanbei was up in the sky...somewhere up high, and he couldn't come down to the earth for one reason or another…
Of course, it was truly a ridiculous idea. Kanbei knew that it was, but even then, he was desperate to find the soul of his lost friend. He needed to get to the highest point in Ransei. He needed to try. The highest point in Ransei...where was that? ...of course! Avia! It was a city in the clouds. Of course it would have the highest point in Ransei.
Kanbei, perhaps with poor judgement due to his mental state, decided that this was his goal. He needed to go to Avia, and he chose to pack up immediately. He packed only the basics. Food and a few changes of clothes. He didn't plan on staying there for long, so not many things were needed.
The packing was done in a matter of minutes, and he was about to say that he was finished, but before he was about to leave his room and ask HIdeyoshi if he could leave for Avia, he remembered something...something that could be important.
The ghastly looking man had turned to his closet and opened it once more, looking through the articles of clothing he kept in there. Eventually, he found the object he was looking for. It's white fabric sticking out in the mostly black clothing that Kanbei kept in his closet. It was Hanbei's hat. He had taken it before they took Hanbei out to be buried. Yes, it could be seen as disrespectful, but...he needed it. Something to remember Hanbei by.
Quickly and carefully putting the hat in with his other items, he left his room, searching for the warlord of Ignis. He needed his permission before leaving the kingdom. It was just proper customs.
He knew where to find Hideyoshi, though, and he found him rather quickly. He was in his throne room, his head resting on his hand and propping his arm up with the chair's arm. When he saw Kanbei come in, he smiled.
"Ah, Kanbei! Nice to see you out and about," he said as he sat up straight. "And...you have bags packed? Where do you plan on going?"
Kanbei walked to the front of the throne and kneeled down in front of the warlord, putting his bag of packed items on the ground next to him. He put a hand on his chest and looked down. "Lord Hideyoshi, if you allow me, I wish to go to Avia, the kingdom of Lord Masamune."
"Avia?" The warlord tapped his fingers against the arm of the chair, raising an eyebrow at his second-in-command. "That's an awfully long ways away, you know. How do you plan to get there?"
"By charizard, if you'd allow it," he said. "If not, then I can take a carriage. I will take any means necessary to get to the city above the clouds."
"And why do you want to go? What could you possibly want to do there?"
"It's for...personal reasons, sir. I must go and prove something to myself."
The warlords lips drooped down to form a frown. He sighed. "Kanbei, this is about Hanbei, isn't it?" He was away Kanbei spent much time reading about the dead and visiting Hanbei's grave. He was hoping he had gotten over it by now, but evidently not…
Kanbei didn't respond. Instead, he just looked up at Hideyoshi. He knew the answer. Kanbei didn't need to open to answer it. Instead, he just waited for a response from his warlord.
Hideyoshi stared at Kanbei and he let out another sigh. He could tell that Kanbei was going through his grieving process too. If this could help the man...he would allow it. "Fine. You may go to Avia. I give you permission. Take a Charizard to fly there, but I don't expect you to be there for too long."
Kanbei nodded and stood up, his face having a faint look of disbelief, but he quickly washed the expression away and replaced it with his normal expression. "Thank you sir. I shall leave immediately."
Hideyoshi nodded. "Do stay safe, Kanbei, and don't make any rash decisions."
The second-in-command nodded once more and, after picking up his things, left the throne room. It was the middle of the day. If he was lucky, and fast enough, he would be able to get to Avia by midnight. If he could do such and act, and if his Charizard was capable, his trip should be very short.
He had gotten a charizard from one of the castle trainers. He promised to return it once he was back and, after mounting the dragon pokemon, flew into the air, holding on as tightly as he could. Flying was never his preferred method of travel, but it would be much faster than getting in a carriage and going the long way.
The ride, unfortunately, was not nearly as short as Kanbei had hoped for. The Charizard had gotten tired after several hours into the ride, and they had to stop as soon as they made it to shore. While the Charizard had slept, Kanbei couldn't get much sleep at all. If he was correct, Hanbei should be there, but if he was wrong...he wouldn't know what to do afterwards.
The next morning, as soon as his Charizard woke up, they had taken to the skies. Kanbei had only gotten a couple hours of sleep that night, but he still remained on task and stayed awake for the whole ride. The tallest point in Avia would be part of the castle, wouldn't it? Kanbei didn't pay much attention to the layout of the land. He just knew the tallest point on Ransei would be here...or at least should be.
When they got to the floating islands of Avia, they were up so high that Kanbei's normal attire wasn't enough to keep him warm. He shivered slightly, but ignored the cold and had continued on. He had thanked the Charizard when they had finally landed and told the pokemon to wait for him. He then made his way to the castle, carrying his bag of items as he did. Thankfully the bridges in between floating islands meant he didn't need the Charizard to navigate through Avia.
Making it to the castle was simple enough. The real problem was trying to get in, however. Guards had remained at the gates and he couldn't get in without stating his name and business here.
"Kanbei, second-in-command of Ignis," he had replied with. "I wish to speak to Lord Masamune so he can take me to the tallest point in Avia."
The guards had exchanged glances, wondering if they should trust him to be in the same room with their warlord. It probably had something to do with his appearance, which didn't exactly make him seem like a trustworthy guy, but eventually they nodded and decided to let him in.
"Just follow us, and don't try anything stupid," one of the guards said with unneeded hostility as the two opened the door and led Kanbei inside. The walk was in silence, though, which Kanbei was thankful for. He didn't feel like talking. He didn't want to explain himself. He wanted this to be done with…
They had made it to the throne room after a few minutes of walking. It was just about as impressive as Hideyoshi's throne room, if not a bit more, though Kanbei would most likely leave that part out if he were to tell his story to Hideyoshi.
Masamune himself was in the throne room, practicing his abilities with a sword by slashing it through the air. He was so focused with what he was doing that he didn't seem to notice the three who had just walked in.
When one of the guards cleared his throat, Masamune had stopped what he was doing and looked to the three. He chuckled and put his sword into its sheath. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't see you there."
He let out another chuckle before clearing his throat. "Anyways, what brings you to my throne room?"
"My lord, we have found this man at the gates of the castle," one of the guards said as he gestured towards Kanbei. "He says he is from Ignis, and he wishes to speak with you."
"Ignis, huh?" Masamune asked before taking a few steps towards Kanbei. He put a hand on his chin and hummed in thought, staring intently at his visitor. A moment later a smile grew on his face and he snapped his fingers. "Oh! Yes, I recognize you. You're Kanbei, correct? Hideyoshi's second in command?"
"Yes, that's me." Kanbei said as he looked the warlord up and down. "And can I speak to you, Lord Masamune?"
"Of course you can," he said with that same smile on his face. "What is it that you want, Kanbei?"
"Lord Masamune, if you could let me, I would wish to the tallest point in Avia, the city of clouds, for my goal is to reach the tallest point in Ransei, and surely it must be Avia."
"Well, you're not wrong," Masamune said with a chuckle. "But why would you need to go to the tallest point in Ransei? What do you want to accomplish?"
Kanbei held back a sigh. He knew such a strange request would get some questions. "I am only trying to test an idea that I had, and I need to be at the tallest point in Ransie to test it."
"A test?" Masamune nodded. "Well, I don't see why you shouldn't be allowed to be brought to the tallest point, but I do ask you to not do anything ridiculous. Understand?"
"I have already gotten advice similar thanks to your guards." Holding back the annoyance in his voice was a true challenge. What did they think he was going to do that was so stupid? "I won't do anything rash. Don't worry."
Masamune chuckled. "Good. I guess I'll lead you to the top. Follow me." He then turned and walked away. Kanbei looked at the two guards that stood at either side of him before nodding and following the warlord.
After they were a few feet away from the throne room, Masamune was quick to speak. "So, I'm guessing you don't want to tell me what you're testing?" he asked. "Because, as warlord, I think I have a right to know."
"Not if it's someone's personal manners," Kanbei replied, and he was quick to do so. "Not everything needs to be known."
"Well, I understand that it's your personal matters. I just was wondering if you wanted to tell me."
"Preferably not."
Masamune looked back at Kanbei, and the second-in-command noticed the frown on the warlord's face, but Masamune nodded and looked forward once more.
Eventually they had made it to a big, spiral staircase. While Kanbei was expecting, or even hoping, for it to end quickly, it didn't. It just kept going up and up and up. Just as Kanbei was starting to wonder if this even had an end, the stairs had suddenly stopped at a wooden door. Masamune looked back at Kanbei and opened the door.
"Here you go," he said as he gestured outside the door in a grandiose manner. "The tallest point in Ransei! Housed in the kingdom of yours truly: Masamune!"
Kanbei nodded and stepped through the doorway and into the outside world. "Thank you, Lord Masamune," he said as he walked towards the edge. It was just to look down. He wanted to see how high the tower really was, but when he looked down, he suddenly felt dizzy, as if he was going to fall.
It must have looked like he was about to fall, too, because Masamune had stepped towards him, grabbed his clothes, and pulled his away from the ledge. "Woah, steady there, now."
Kanbei nodded and put a hand to his head. Alright...don't look over the edge this time. "Thank you."
"No problem," the warlord said, giving the strategist a smile. "How long do you plan on staying here, anyways?"
"However long it takes," he said simply as he managed to steady himself, the dizzy feeling disappearing quickly after he was pulled away from the edge. "It may take all night, even."
"All night?" Masamune asked as he looked up into the sky, looking for the sun's position. When he finally found it, he looked back down at Kanbei. "But it's only five in the afternoon now."
"I'm aware," the man said as he sat down, fishing through the contents of his bag. "I have food and water to last me that long. Don't worry about me."
Masamune seemed reluctant to leave Kanbei on top of the tower, and the warlord looked to the side in thought. Eventually, he sighed and looked back at Kanbei. "Fine, but be safe, and stay away from the ledges. Leave whenever you have to."
Kanbei nodded. "Thank you for your hospitality," he said as he watched the warlord walk into the tower and begin his long descent down the stairs. Now he was left alone, as usual. He sighed and stared off into the distance, waiting for the night to come.
For hours Kanbei had sat there, ignoring the cold temperatures that came at such a high altitude, and ignoring the hunger that was eating away at him for weeks now. He stared off into the horizon, his mind thinking about what to do if this were to fail...he didn't know what to do. What was he going to do if this didn't work? He had no idea…
Eventually the sun was beginning to set. It was just what he had been waiting for. He watched as the sun went beneath the horizon, filling the sky with pink. Even though the sun had already set, he waited even more. Midnight. This had to work at midnight.
A few hours later, it was midnight, or at least he was assuming it was midnight, but he couldn't wait any longer. He needed to get this done with. His food was running low, and being awake and having nothing to do only gave him the urge to eat. He sighed and stood up.
If only he had brought his Lampent here. It would have been useful for trying to find Hanbei's soul around here. Of course, he knew he couldn't bring any Pokemon with him. Neither his Lampent or Hanbei's Pikachu would stay calm during the ride on the Charizard, and he knew that for a fact. Still, having his Pokemon here would have been useful.
He sighed and stood up. Looking towards where the sun had set, he closed his eyes and lowered his head. He took a deep breath. "Hanbei...if you're there...please speak to me. I have been looking all over for you. This is my last chance...I need to talk to you...please."
Kanbei opened his eyes and slowly looked up. He was hopeful. He had expected a ghost to appear in front of him, but instead, he saw nothing. He saw nothing, and the only thing to answer him was the howl of the wind.
Kanbei, after quickly looking to the left and to the right, sighed. "I...suppose you're not here," he muttered. What was he going to do?
"Oh come on! Just turn around, silly!"
Kanbei's eyes widened slightly and he turned around, only to be face to face with Hanbei. Well...the ghost of Hanbei, at least. It looked exactly the same as the boy was when he was alive. Well, almost. The only thing missing was the hat, but other than that...it was the same Hanbei he had always known.
Before Kanbei could respond, the deceased strategist tackled him in a hug, a huge smile on the ghost's face. He actually...felt real. Like he was actually there. "Hey, Kanbei. You missed me?"
Kanbei couldn't find the words to say. For what felt like a few minutes he just stood there, trying to comprehend what was happening. Finally, he put his arms around the boy and nodded. "Yes...I missed you ever since you've left, Hanbei. I've missed you so much…"
Hanbei chuckled and nodded. "Yeah, I know," he said. "And...hey, can I ask you a question?"
"Of course, what is it?"
"What are you doing?" Hanbei moved his arms away from the other and took a step back, crossing his arms.
Kanbei blinked before tilting his head. What was he doing? What? "Excuse me?"
"What are you doing with yourself?" The deceased strategist shook his head. "I'd hate to say this, but look at you! You're wasting away! You're ignoring your own health to try and talk to me. I'm already dead! You're still alive!"
Kanbei was taken aback by those words and took a small step backwards. He..wasn't expecting this coming from his friend… "But, I just wanted to talk to you again, Hanbei."
"I know, Kanbei, I know, and it's really sweet of you, but I thought you'd give up eventually." He shook his head. "There was a reason why I didn't choose to talk to you. I was hoping you'd get over it, but now, with you coming all the way to Avia...I had to say something."
"Wait...you were...with me the whole time?" How...how was that possible? Wouldn't he have noticed it…? "My Lampent had never sensed your soul when I asked him if you were here, though."
Hanbei chuckled. "Well, maybe it's because I didn't want to be sensed," the ghost said. "Anyways, that's not the point. Kanbei...you need to get over it. You need to move on. I'll be fine. The afterlife really isn't that bad. Please, live your life while you can."
"But...what if I can't go on without you? What if I don't want to move on?"
Hanbei grinned slightly and took a step towards Kanbei. He patted the man's cheek. Despite it feeling like an actual hand, it was cold to the touch, and it made the man shiver.
"It's really sweet that you care about me," he said. "But...I know you. I know for a fact that you can move on. You survived without me, didn't you? There was a time where you didn't know me."
There was silence from the living one of the two as he tried to think about what to say. Eventually, he just shook his head. "I don't know if I can make it.."
"You will," the strategist said, giving him another pat on the cheek. He smiled at him, and that smile alone was enough to make the living one feel better. "If you won't try for yourself, try it for me, please. I don't want to see you like this."
Kanbei stared into the other's eyes for what felt like several minutes before eventually nodding. "I...I will try. I'll try for you, Hanbei."
The smile on the boy's face widened and he nodded. "Right, thank you." He moved his hand away from Kanbei's cheek, and though the latter of the two wanted to grab hold of it, he resisted the urge.
"Well, I guess my work here is done," Hanbei said before yawning. "Good thing, too. I don't like staying up this late. You know me, I'm early to go to bed. Now, I won't have to talk to you again, right?"
"No...no...you won't. I'll try my best to move on."
Hanbei nodded. "Oh, also, you're taking really good care of pikachu. Thanks for that." He chuckled and took a step back. His figure started to fade away, but he suddenly remembered something and snapped his fingers, his form becoming physical once again. "Oh! Also, get rid of that hat. Keeping it isn't helping you at all. Okay, now I'm gone."
Before Kanbei could decide to stop him, his friend faded away completely, likely to not be seen by him again. He stood there and stared at the spot where his friend once stood, only the faint gusts of wind breaking through the silence. The hat? Hanbei wants him to get rid of the hat?
Kanbei turned to his bag and picked it up before digging through it's contents. Eventually, his hand had grabbed the hat and he pulled it out. He stared at it, knowing that it was the only thing he had to remember Hanbei. The only physical thing to remind him of all those good times.
Kanbei slowly walked to the edge and looked down into the dark nothingness. He didn't feel dizzy this time. He did not falter. He stared down into the abyss before looking at the hat once again. Perhaps it was time to turn a new page...time for him to stop mourning and forget it all.
He let go of the hat.
He watched it fall through the abyss until it was eventually engulfed by the darkness, being unseen by Kanbei's eyes. For the first time in his life, Kanbei...seemed to smile. It was a small smile. It was hardly noticeable, but it was a smile nonetheless. It was almost like a weight was lifted off his shoulders. A huge worry he'd been having for two years now was gone.
Kanbei sighed and walked to his bag. He picked it up before turning to the doorway. Well, it was time to go. He couldn't stay here for too long.
Before he had left the top of the tower, though, he stopped halfway through the doorway and turned around. He didn't even have to have his Lampent to feel the familiar presence. "Thank you for your friendship...thank you for everything, Hanbei. May you rest in peace."
Then Kanbei walked down the huge spiral of stairs, and for the first time since two years ago, he seemed to actually be happy.