Chapter 1 - 8-Bit Sweater
"The two players are both down to their last Pokemon. Seth Heere has been reduced down to the Steel-Type Ultra Beast Celesteela, which doesn't prove good for Neo Politan. The Celesteela has the Type-Advantage over Miss Politan's Ice-Type Vanilluxe. The only hope she has of winning against Seth would be to outspeed the Celesteela and use Hidden Power, which has proven to be super-effective by the Pokemon earlier in the battle."
Ruby watched while unconsciously holding in a breath, awaiting the outcome of the final match of the Pokemon World Championship. The moment was tense and it couldn't come fast enough. Ruby silently cheered Neo on, careful not to wake her napping sister. Neo was Ruby's inspiration for her recent delve into the competitive scene, and Ruby would always cheer her on. She was last year's Pokemon World Champion Her eyes glued to the screen, the commentator began speaking again. This was it.
"It's down to this, folks. If Vanilluxe can outspeed Celesteela Neo will most likely grab the victory. Wait, it seems like Celesteela has somehow managed to be faster than the Vanilluxe!"
Ruby let out the breath in defeat, accepting that good things must come to an end. But then a cheer came from the crowd, muffled thanks to the sound guys protecting live viewer's ears. Ruby's eyes darted back to her screen in excitement.
"But in a miraculous twist Vanilluxe has dodged Celesteela's attack, using Hidden Power and taking it down! Ladies and gentlemen, it's over! For the second year in a row Neo Politan has won the Pokemon World Championship, keeping her title as the best competitive player in the world intact! The crowd is going wild! Viewers at home, be sure to tweet your excitement! Be sure to come back tomorrow for the card game event to see if Neo Politan will reign supreme there as well! We'll come back in a minute."
Ruby couldn't hold it in. She cheered loudly and jumped out of her chair, jumping about in excitement. She eventually came back to her senses, panting from the jumping she had just done. A crash from outside Ruby's room told her she had woken up her sister Yang. A furious knock on her door came pounding, so hard it almost threatened to break the door. Ruby rushed to open it, prepared to apologize. Yang was on the other side, tired eyes and out of breath.
"What happened?! Why did you scream? Are you hurt?" Yang asked in a tired delirium as she held back a yawn.
"Yang, I'm fine. I'm sorry I woke you up. I just got excited." Ruby answered. Yang realized what Ruby was talking about as she came out of her tired state of confusion. She remembered that there was some big tournament going on that was important to Ruby, and that Ruby was rooting for someone to win. Yang could safely assume that said someone had been victorious. She was glad Ruby could still enjoy the event, even though they hadn't been able to go. And it was only one state away, too…
Yang yawned, giving a thumbs up and made her way back to the couch, hoping she would be able to finish her nap. Ruby returned back to her desk, closing out of the streaming website that was Twitch. Nothing else would happen there today. Noticing the time was 5:47 Ruby was about to prepare something for dinner before she got a call on her Discord. She put on her headphones, adjusted her microphone, and answered the call.
"Hey Ruby!" Came a male voice from the other end. It was Jaune Arc, Ruby's best friend since the sixth grade. She was the only person who would talk to him after he got carsick on the bus and was known as "Vomit Boy" for the rest of the year. "You saw the last match, didn't you? Oh, please say you did!"
"I did, Jaune. I was practically holding my breath the entire time. I was worried Neo wasn't gonna win at the end there. I screamed when her Vanilluxe made such a comeback."
"Yeah, her Vanilluxe is a beast. That ice cream Pokemon is practically Neo's mascot at this point. Remember last year when everyone was super cocky against her because she wasn't using the same builds everyone else was? Her entire team is filled with obscure Pokemon who end up being strangely powerful."
"Not to mention she made sure to change it from last year, aside from the Vanilluxe. She was super prepared. And this is only her second year competing for pete's sake! I wish I could do that too…"
The thought of food now gone from her mind, Ruby chatted with Jaune for what seemed like hours before they were inevitably joined by their friends Nora, Ren, and Sun. Nora and Ren came in and greeted like normal, but Sun had hopped in the call and immediately began talking, so fast that no one could understand him.
"Sun! Calm down! We can't understand you!" Ruby yelled into the mic, finally getting the attention of her friend. Ruby compared him to a monkey. He was hyperactive, tended to get loud when excited, and really liked bananas. Sun took a few deep breaths before continuing.
"Sorry, guys. I'm just super hyped, and I rushed to my house as fast as I could to spread the good news. Guys, Hamacon tickets are finally available for booking." And at the mention of this, everyone immediately gasped with excitement. Well, except Ren. Ruby went to Google and looked it up, her excitement visible in her bouncing leg. One search for Hamacon and there it was: Hamacon, the anime convention the group had been looking forward to all year, from the Friday of June the twenty-third through the Sunday of June the twenty-fifth. The tickets were already half sold out. For a mini-convention, it was oddly popular. The highlights of the convention included a panel featuring Matthew Mercer, a Cosplay Contest, and, much to Ruby's delight, a Pokemon Trading Card Game tournament.
"It's about time! I've been saving up for months. I dealt with too many old ladies wanting to "see my manager" just because they didn't like that I dyed my hair. I swear, I'd quit that job simply because of how often the customers are rude to me and my fellow employees." Ruby complained, confirming the payment for her ticket. "I like working there too much though, so it's a win/lose situation. Speaking of…" Ruby checked the clock, noting it was now half past nine o' clock. "I should probably head to sleep now. I've got to get up early for work. See you guys tomorrow." Ruby disconnected, putting her computer into sleep mode, spinning around in her chair and flopping onto her bed. Tomorrow was another day. Another boring day, but a day nonetheless.
"Besides, it's a Sunday tomorrow. Nothing exciting happens on a Sunday."
Ruby rubbed her eyes as she used her keys to unlock the door to the bookstore. She took in a deep breath to attempt to wake herself up. 2nd & Charles, the best place to be if you were an avid reader or you needed somewhere to revel in your fandom. The perfect place for Ruby to work. She snuggled into her hoodie, the drastic temperature difference between the outside and the inside of the building affecting her. She knew it was about to be June but she really like her hoodie. Ruby made her way behind the front counter, where customer's came to pay for their purchases. Waiting for her was Blake, another of Ruby's small circle of friends, and Mercury, a fellow employee that Ruby didn't enjoy the company of but had to deal with anyway.
"Hey, Ruby." Blake greeted, putting down the book she had been reading. Ruby gave a wave, still a bit too tired to give a smile. Ruby searched through the cabinets behind the counter, searching through them. She groaned in frustration when she pulled out an empty box, the label indicating it used to have cans of Monster in it. Ruby glanced over at Mercury, who was happily taking big swigs. "Did you seriously have a secret stash of energy drinks?"
"Well, I did. Yang doesn't let me drink them at home, so I drink them here so I can wake up and work properly. Though it looks like somebody found it and has been drinking from it." Ruby replied, annoyed and glaring at Mercury. Checking her phone, Ruby gathered that her boss likely wouldn't be arriving for another hour. "I'm gonna go to the gas station and buy one, or else I'll be grumpy and tired all day. Want anything?" Blake shook her head, returning to her book.
Ruby walked out of the store, swiftly heading to the edge of the road. She quickly crossed the street, being careful not to get hit by a car. Once there, she pushed the door open as a bell rung, signaling her entrance. Ruby stepped to the back of the store, searching for the Monsters in the large coolers. Eventually finding them, Ruby was tasked with making the toughest decision of the day: what flavor to get.
As she pondered among her options, a hand with a white sleeve appeared in front of her face to grab a strawberry-flavored Monster. Though startled, Ruby politely backed away, realizing that she had been blocking the drinks from someone else. Looking over at the mysterious hand, Ruby saw a girl shorter than her, which was certainly a rarity. The girl was wearing a sweater where one side was white and the other was brown. She was wearing a pair of pixel sunglasses, sunglasses where the frames were jagged, similar to an 8-bit video game. Her hair was tucked away neatly within a pink beanie.
"Oh, I'm sorry about that." Ruby apologizing, deciding to just grab a regular Monster as not to block anyone else just in case. The girl gave a smile and a wave, seeming to say that it was fine. "Seems you needed a morning energy boost too, huh?" Ruby asked, half-joking. The girl in the sweater nodded in reply. The two stood there for a moment before they awkwardly walked in different directions, only to end up back together at the cash register. Ruby stood behind the girl, allowing her to go first. The man behind the counter rang the girl up, telling her that it was two dollars. The girl reached for her pocket before face-palming. Reaching into a pocket in her sweater, she pulled out a notebook and pen. Ruby was confused.
"Oh. Well, sorry little miss, but I can't sell this to you then. Have a nice day, however." The man said, taking the drink. The girl with the sweater stepped out from the store, an awkward look on her face. Ruby stepped up to the counter, allowing the man to ring her up. Looking down, Ruby finally understood one thing: that the girl had forgotten her wallet at home. The one thing she didn't get is why she wrote it on a piece of paper. The cash register interrupted her thought. "That'll be two dollars."
"Um, actually, can I pay for that girl's drink?" Ruby asked, pulling out a five-dollar bill. The man behind the register shrugged, a gesture meaning "why not?" He took the five dollars, gave Ruby the drinks, and wished Ruby a nice day. Ruby hurried outside, hoping the girl didn't leave yet. She spotted the sweater-wearing girl standing beside a white car, looking at her phone. Ruby walked up to her, and handed out the pink Monster can. The sweater-clad girl looked up, confused. "I, uh, saw the note you wrote about forgetting your wallet. So I decided to pay for it for you." Ruby told her, her hands grabbing onto her own after the girl took it. After a good second, Ruby stuck out her hand again, offering a handshake. "Oh, my name's Ruby by the way! Nice to meet you!" The girl hesitantly shook Ruby's hand. The girl's mouth opened for a moment, as if she was about to say something, however a voice came from behind them.
"Sis, ready to head out?" A man with an all white hoodie walked up. His red hair stuck out from his hat, and a large tuft of it covered his right eye. The man's eyebrows shot up in what seemed to be surprise. "Hey, finally decided to make some new friends? Awesome, sis." The man comically noogied her head. Sweater-Girl gave her brother a glare, but he didn't bat an eye. "Hey there… Red. The name's Roman Torchwick, pleased to make your acquaintance." He bent and took Ruby's hand, kissing the back of it, causing Ruby to slightly blush. Sweater-Girl slapped his arm after he did, shooting him another glare. "Alright, alright, geez! I'll just get in the car." Roman stepped to the other side and got into the driver's side, closing the door. Sweater-Girl crossed her arms and shook her head, an annoyed look on her face. She took out the notebook and the pen and wrote something, folding it and handing it to Ruby. Sweater-Girl waved goodbye to Ruby, getting in the car and driving off with Roman. Ruby cracked her can open and took a sip. Truly an odd pair of siblings. Right as Ruby went to read the note, she felt her phone vibrate.
"Ruby, hurry up! Coco is gonna be pissed if you don't get here in the next five minutes!"
Ruby silently cursed, shoving the note into her pocket and running back across the street. She practically burst through the door, panting from the run. A woman wearing a beret looked over, glanced at her watch, and nodded. Ruby blushed from the embarrassment of almost being late, but she sucked it up and made sure to begin her work.