Sakura Shiranai was a shortish, brunette, fifteen-year-old girl with dark brown eyes who lived in the peaceful town of Vaniville for four years. And she was not happy. She was angry. Very, very angry. And lonely.
Her older sister, Serena, got everything. She had friends and happiness and acknowledgement and talent and courage. Sakura only hung out with her mum, Grace, sometimes, and her mum's Fletchling, Kasai, or her mum's Rhyhorn, Ishi. Serena and Grace cared about her, but lately, Grace had been busy preparing for Serena's visit with her friends. The one thing Sakura had that Serena didn't have was the ability to actually ride a Rhyhorn - that she knew of, anyway. Serena could have learned how to ride in the years she'd been gone, though, becoming the oh-so very best or whatever with her friends.
Calem didn't have a younger sibling, and everyone else in Vaniville was either too old or too young for a fifteen-year-old to hang out with.
So Sakura was lonely. And jealous. Her sister had travelled across the entire region when she was thirteen. Thirteen. Four years later, and Sakura hadn't ever strayed past Aquacorde.
Why? She didn't know. She'd never asked her mum if she could go travelling like Serena. She supposed it was because Grace was so happy all the time - too happy. Sakura knew Grace missed Serena a lot. She couldn't just leave.
Sakura sat in a café in Aquacorde with a mocha coffee, staring out the window. Serena, Calem, Shauna, Tierno, Trevor, and possibly Ash were supposed to arrive in an hour. They would probably come flying in on their dragon- or flying-types or whatever show-off Pokémon they had. Sakura couldn't blame them. If she had a large Pokémon that flew, she wouldn't touch the ground for hours.
Unfortunately, Kasai was far too small and fragile. And Ishi couldn't fly. Duh.
Sakura sipped her coffee boredly. She wondered what Serena was doing right now. Probably getting ready to come home. Boringly.
Sakura went to a table outside. The air smelled springtime-fresh, and the Santalune forest was green and colourful.
The forest. Sakura would love to go to that forest. According to Serena, it's a small forest, but you can get lost easily if you don't follow the paths. The forest was a not-so-direct route to Route 3, which lead to Santalune City.
Sakura looked around at Aquacorde. Four years ago, when they'd first moved to Vaniville, she'd thought Aquacorde was the biggest town in the world. Now, it was an all-too familiar waterway town with a small potion shop, a small Pokéball shop, a Photo Spot, and a newly-installed café, plus a few apartments.
Pretty, but not that interesting.
Sakura finished her coffee and went home. She went upstairs and to her bedroom and shut the door.
She lay on her bed and stared at the ceiling. Her room and Serena's room were almost the exact same: a twin bed, a TV and Wii console, hardwood floor, a large, lush rug beneath the bed, a computer and computer desk, a nightstand by the bed with a lamp, and a long bookshelf next to a mirror. But Serena's room was all pink and violet and white, while Sakura's room was black and gray and red.
Kasai hopped up onto Sakura's bed and stood on her stomach.
Sakura laughed. "I didn't know you were in here," she said.
Kasai cooed and fluttered to the ground. Sakura stood and opened the door. Kasai flew downstairs.
Sakura closed the door and sat on her bed again, staring out the window, and waited.
"Sakura! Come downstairs! They're here!"
Sakura opened her eyes. She must have fallen asleep. She dragged her fingers through her hair and tied it loosely at the end before going downstairs.
The living room was a bit crowded. Grace was passing out cookies and little sandwiches to everybody. Trevor was sitting on the floor. Tierno was standing beside Trevor. Sakura noticed Tierno had actually lost a lot of weight and gained a bit of muscle. That was different.
Calem was sitting on the couch, next to . . . Serena.
Sakura opened her mouth to say hi when Shauna appeared out of nowhere.
"Sakuraaaaaaaa!" she squealed, hugging Sakura tightly. She pulled away and gripped Sakura's arms. "We missed you! I missed you, anyway. I'm sure Serena missed you, I mean she talked about you a lot! Ash couldn't make it though, he's on vacation in Alola. I know! Alola! Lucky him. I've never been anywhere outside of Kalos. Eeee, this is so exciting! I forgot how nice this house is and how good your mum is at cooking and oh. My. Arceus. I love what you did with your hair. It looks exactly like how Serena's did when she was younger. Doesn't it? It's so cute! Well, I mean it doesn't look exactly like hers, I mean yours is a different colour, but really. Oh, you've gotten so pretty! I wish we had visited sooner. So, have you been doing anything exciting? How have you been?"
Sakura sighed. This was normal. Normal for Shauna to be overexcited, and normal for someone to compare her to her sister.
"Hello," Sakura said. "Thanks. I haven't really been doing anything. I've been fine. I like your hair, as well. It's different. How are you? And everyone else?" she added, looking over Shauna's shoulder.
"You really like it?" Shauna grinned. Her light brown hair that was normally long and tied up funnily was now cut pixie short. "Thanks! I'm great, by the way."
"Us, too," Calem called, smiling.
"Hi, Sakura!" Serena said, grinning.
Sakura smiled tightly. "Hi, Serena. What have you been doing lately? Anything interesting happen?"
"Oh, you will not believe what we found in the Pokémon Village!" Serena exclaimed.
Sakura reluctantly went over and sat down beside her sister. "Do tell."
"Okay, so there was this Ditto, right?" Serena began. She kept talking, with Shauna or Tierno butting in at times, but Sakura stopped listening. She wanted to go to the Pokémon Village. It sounded so peaceful and nice. And Snowbelle City sounded pretty, too. But Sakura had never been.
The next few hours were the longest hours of Sakura's life. Hours of laughter and stories and cookies and sandwiches and movies and ugh.
Finally, dinnertime rolled around. The Shiranais didn't have a dining room, so everyone ate in the living room: hotdogs and hamburgers and chips and salad.
Everyone was merry and junk. Sakura pretended to be happy as best she could. It wasn't easy, but she managed.
"It's remarkable how well Sakura's hairstyle replicates Serena's from long ago," Calem commented. Sakura rolled her eyes.
"Hey, Ms Shiranai," Tierno said, "what did Mr Shiranai look like? Nevermind if it's a tough subject."
"No, no, not at all," Grace said, smiling. "You're so considering. Mr Shiranai was amazing. Sakura takes after him, his looks. He had the same eyes, but Serena's honey hair. Well, his hair was shorter, but still. Sakura shares his clever, sly smile and his eyes full of tricks. And his nice jawline," she added, giggling.
Serena smiled. She took after their mother in most ways but her hair - her kind smile and sparkling blue eyes and that look when she's sad that makes her look like a hurt Fennekin.
"His mood could change quick as a blink," Grace continued. "He could be merry as anything when you say something that makes him mad, and he will be mad."
Everyone but Sakura laughed.
Sakura stood and headed for the stairs.
"Oi! What's wrong?" Serena called.
"Nothing," Sakura said over her shoulder. "I'm going to the bathroom."
"Oh, okay," Serena said. The group continued chatting.
Sakura went to the bathroom and stared in the mirror. Did she really look that much like her father? She didn't know. She'd never seen him before. He'd gotten a job in Johto, but was killed when the boat sank due to a freak storm. This was before she had been born, when Selena was only two.
Sakura sat on the tile floor for a few minutes, staring at her hands. After a while, she took a deep breath and went back outside.
She stopped before turning the corner when she heard them talking about her.
"Sakura's . . . sensitive." Grace. "She's tough, and can stand up for herself remarkably, but, like I said, she takes after her father. Her temper is dangerously short. I don't think she'd do very well as a Pokémon trainer. She'd get too angry if she loses a battle. Besides," Grace added, "she never speaks of leaving. She's content with Aquacorde and Vaniville."
"I think so, too." Serena. "I mean - and I know this is going to sound terrible - but I don't think she'd be that fun to have around. She's inexperienced and curious, and easily angered, as Mum said."
"Just an idea." Tierno.
Sakura's gaze hardened. She felt the familiar icy calm settle deep into her bones, her limbs going tense. She walked out to the living room.
"Oh, Sakura," Serena said, smiling. "You're back."
"I've been back," Sakura said, smiling right back.
Selena's smile wavered. "For how long?"
Sakura clenched her left hand into a fist. "Longer than you would have liked." She raised her fist and smashed the lamp next to her without even glancing to her left, making everyone flinch. She then proceeded to storm up the stairs and slam the door to her bedroom.
She heard voices calling her name, but she locked her door and ignored them. She threw half her clothes in a backpack, along with her phone, phone charger, computer, all her life's savings, her hairbrush, a small pillow and sleeping roll, a canteen of water, and a bag of chips she had on her desk. She grabbed her coat and slung her bag over her shoulder and opened her window.
She gave her room one last long look before jumping out the window.