Winterspring City was as rustic as it was metropolitan. Up until sixty years ago, Winterspring was one of many small villages that dotted the countryside of the Sakhaloh region. The region was known for its cold climate, and the town was subject to only two of the four seasons, hence its namesake. This gave the denizens little reason to brave the elements and travel to other villages, let alone other regions. That all changed when a man by the name of Sugawara Harmoni, a famous Burst Warrior, found Winterspring to be the perfect place to set up his dream project: a school for young Burst Warriors to hone their craft with little to no interference from the outside world. The residents of Winterspring protested against the new project, believing that the popularity of this academy would wipe away the traditional culture that had persisted in Winterspring for so many generations. Sugawara, who was born and raised in the village, knew how dearly his friends and neighbors held onto the cultural history of Winterspring and assured them that he could successfully blend the past and present, simple and modern. And so, RéBURST Academy was born.
To a large extent, Sugawara was successful. The mixture of Sakhaloh tradition with modern publicity and technology resulted in an entirely unique city. The north and west of Winterspring were now as industrial as Jubilife in Sinnoh, while the east and southern outskirts were as rich in culture as Ecruteak in Johto. The academy had turned the small village into the second most populated location in Sakhaloh, yet looking from the outside in, the town was still encased in an antique flair that most cities fail to achieve.
At the center of the city, in the heart of the business district, this fact remained true. On a Wednesday evening, the sun set over a horizon of three-to-four story buildings. The structures had originally been single-story residential houses but had quickly been turned into a variety of shops, restaurants and public facilities. The floors above them served as low-rent apartments and living quarters for the owners of the shops below. The buildings were made of old brick and stone, a mixture of dark grey and brown, earthy colors. Many of the stores used traditional attractions to match the old-style feeling, from awnings of soft red and orange to older streetlights casting a warm glow on the sidewalk. Many of these shops had been there before the Academy was built and were simply modernized for the large new customer base.
In one such building, a bookstore, sat Kiryu Camilla. At the age of sixteen, she still looked very much like a teenager, she definitely could not pass off as an adult on looks alone. She was a bit shorter for a girl, had a slim but athletic build and lightly tanned skin. She was currently sitting cross-legged on the wooden floor of the bookstore, a hardcover fiction novel in her lap. She sat hunched and looked closely at the pages, occasionally brushing her black hair, which hung loose and uneven at her neck, away from her eyes and small nose. Coming into the store, she had picked the first book off of the shelf in the back and plopped down to read. The novel was old and used some complicated language, but Kiryu found it rather interesting. She didn't consider herself a bookworm, and her English teacher probably wouldn't have thought her to be able to read at all, given how often she shirked her required reading duties. But really, who does enjoy reading a book that was forced on you by some old bat? Not Kiryu, that's for sure. Still, with her life seeming so busy nowadays, Kiryu was happy for some time to sit in a quiet place and read. She wasn't afforded that luxury at home, and she had much more important things to be doing during and after school.
Kiryu's reading was interrupted by the owner of the shop, an old, balding man with wire-frame glasses. He peered around the bookshelves and stepped on a loose floorboard, the resulting "creak" catching Kiryu's attention.
"I'm sorry, Miss," the owner said softly, "I'm just seeing who's left in the store. I'll be closing down soon," Kiryu closed the book and stood up, returning the man's small smile.
"Oh yeah, I'm almost done in here," she assured him, going down the aisle where she had picked up the book. She heard the owner head back towards the front of the store and continued to smile. She had been here before and had always found the old man to be kind and polite. He didn't even glare at her for reading for so long in a book store. Poor sap.
Her smile turned into a mischievous smirk as she slipped the book into her drawstring bag. She glanced down both sides of the aisle before taking two more books and putting them underneath her purple zip-up hoodie, pulling the zipper over her dark blue shirt and black pants. After this, she headed to the front of the shop, where the owner was opening some packages of inventory. Once again, she put on an innocent smile and called over to the geezer.
"Hey, do you have that Murkrows and Men book somewhere in here?" she asked, "I need it for class."
"Oh yes, I'm sure I have it somewhere in the back. Let me look for you," the man replied cordially, walking slowly to the other end of the shop. Kiryu watched him go out of sight and quickly moved towards the counter. Opening one of the drawers under the old wooden countertop, she spotted the day's earnings and swiped it, putting it in the front pocket of her hoodie. It wasn't much, but her friends at The Alley would be pleased. Kiryu had heard that the shop owner was from a wealthy family anyways, and she needed to provide something to stay top dog in her group. So, she didn't feel too bad about abusing her victim's naïve nature for a greater cause. The books, though, they were just for her.
"Oh, I'm sorry, it seems that I don't have any on the shelf," the owner said from the back when he couldn't find the book in question (Kiryu had made sure of that earlier). "Here, let me go back in storage, I know I have some in stock. It's a very popular book, you know."
"Thank you," Kiryu said politely, continuing to smirk as she stepped out from behind the counter. The old coot wouldn't know what hit him, and she'd be long gone by the time he figured it out. She made sure that all of her pilfered goods were secure and turned to walk out the door… Before walking straight into a wall.
Bunta "Ben" Uendo wasn't literally a wall, but he was built like one. Tall and Muscular, his wide shoulders seemed to block out all the light from the display windows as he glared down at Kiryu. His light brown hair stuck up stylishly, making him look even taller. He wore a red jacket and jeans and was Kiryu's least favorite person in the world.
"What the hell are you doing in my uncle's store?" he said harshly while Kiryu clumsily regained her balance from running into him. Ben wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer, and Kiryu didn't expect him to figure out her shoplifting very quickly. If he kept talking as loud as he did, though, she'd attract unwanted attention and the whole thing would be ruined.
"Aren't I allowed to purchase some fine wares where I want?" she retorted, crossing her arms impatiently.
"Don't you sass me," Ben snarled, jabbing Kiryu with his finger and knocking her back a step. Ben had turned 18 that year and made sure that everyone knew it, "I'm not gonna be pushed around by some little girl in my own building."
"I'm pretty sure this place belongs to your uncle," Kiryu said innocently, shrugging, "besides, I don't see your name on it," it was juvenile, but she knew it was good enough to push Ben's buttons. Getting him riled up just made him sloppy, especially in a battle. Kiryu saw his jaw set, trying not to get too angry at such a comment, and she tried to push him further for the fun of it. "Anyways, have you been driving that new car around town?"
"No," Ben growled through gritted teeth, "Not since you and your punk-ass gang spray painted it."
"Outrageous!" Kiryu exclaimed with mock outrage, "Accusing me and my friends of such a thing, when you know very well that there are no gangs in little ole Winterspring! Isn't that right, Burst Beat," she finished slyly, and was happy to see Ben's face turn a deeper shade of red.
"Get the hell out of here," Ben spat, and Kiryu happily obliged. As funny as it would've been to see Ben break his relative's things in an attempt to punch her, Kiryu needed to get out of there before the old man came back and noticed his missing money. She dodged around Ben and quickly headed for the door.
"Yeah, yeah, I get it. You don't want to pick a fight you can't win, disappoint the family again," Ben clenched his fists and was about to give a witty retort, but Kiryu had already shut the door and headed out onto the street.
The business district was crowded, as per usual. People of all shapes and sizes walked up and down the downtown walkway, talking, laughing and shopping. Younger kids looked at the various displays in the shop windows while older teens headed towards restaurants and lounges to meet up with friends. Adults were leaving work and heading towards home, though most of them were out driving on the vehicle roads, outside of the downtown area. Of course, the area had its fair assortment of Pokémon as well. Groups of Pidgey flew down to look for any dropped food along the street while a Meowth ran from one alley to another when it thought no one was looking. The Shakhaloh region wasn't known for a huge array of Pokémon, but with Burst Warriors from around the world coming to town on a regular basis, the lack of variety was more than made up. On that particular evening, Marill, Togetic, Larvesta and Abomasnow were enjoying the sights alongside their trainers.
It was a breezy evening, so Kiryu's jacket served more purpose than shoplifting as she headed across the street through the crowds. She'd head to the Alley Cat hideout, drop off her earnings and try to get home before dark for once. Chao and Lin would be mad enough about her day on the town, she didn't need to give them even more reason for scolding.
Suddenly, when she was about halfway across the street, a furious roar came from the shop that she had just left. People looked at the building in fear and surprise, then began running away as an orange winged dragon smashed open the bookstore door, claws clenched in fury and fire licking from its mouth. The Charizard Burst immediately zeroed in on Kiryu, who didn't expect Ben to find the missing money so quickly. Nevertheless, she kept her cool and quickly shot a hand towards her pocket, grabbing a dark purple stone: A Burst Heart.
She took the stone and held it close to her forehead, quickly resulting in a bright flash of light. Instantaneously the teenager gained two large cat ears and a long, whip-like tail. Her left arm grew sharp claws and her right turned into a cat's paw from the elbow down. The change was immediate, and the Liepard Burst kicked off into the crowd, dodging to the right as the Charizard Burst opened its wings, glided across the street and smashed the ground where Kiryu had been standing a second earlier. Seeing his target run away, Ben gave another mighty roar and took to the sky.
Kiryu ran on all fours, weaving through the stream of people at an inhuman speed. Glancing back, she saw that her rival had spotted her and was hot on her tail. She sprinted around groups of people who barely had time to notice her racing by. She was hoping to get lost in the large downtown crowd, hoping that Ben would slow down his chase due to the large number of pedestrians. She wasn't surprised, however, when Ben opened his mouth and released a cone of fire in her direction. People gasped and rushed to the sides of the street to avoid the Fire Spin attack, leaving Kiryu singled out in the middle of the road. Instead of following the crowd to the side, she picked up the pace and ran straight ahead. She outran the attack by mere inches, feeling the heat on her tail, and continued to sprint away. Ben swooped low and followed while the crowd quickly gathered back together in the middle of the road. They shouted angry insults at Ben and complained about yet another life-threatening playground dispute between Burst Warriors.
She was faster than Ben, but Kiryu wasn't being aided by the wind, and soon Ben began catching up to the Liepard Burst. She didn't need to look back to know that Ben's sharp teeth were grinning as he got closer to his prey. She dodged left and right across the street when she could, but as long as she ran along the main road, her opponent could just follow the large pathway to stay on her track. As she approached a particularly dense crowd of people headed the opposite direction, Kiryu leapt into the center of the group and turned to the left, adjacent to a smaller alleyway between buildings. Using an unfortunate businessman as a launching pad, she slammed her back legs on him and kicked off into the passageway just as Ben flew over the group. She did a shoulder roll onto her feet and put her back to the brick wall, breathing heavily. After a couple seconds she poked her head back into the main road and was happy to see the retreating tail flame of a Charizard Burst flying away.
The adrenaline quickly wore off and she collapsed into a sitting position, laughing silently between gasps for air. Her friends would be happy to know that the leader of the Alley Cats had outwitted the leader of the Burst Beats once again. In her mind, she thanked Liepard for the help, and felt her cat's gratitude in return. Like every Burst Warrior, she had run faster and farther than any human could've done on his own. She was faster, stronger and more agile, all thanks to her Pokémon and the Burst Heart in her pocket. She and Liepard had been together for almost four years, and Kiryu knew that her Pokémon was more than happy to help her out if it meant a nice place to eat and sleep. It was a win-win situation for everybody.
Kiryu rested her eyes for a bit while she got her breath back, and then looked at the evening sky. The alley was dark, but the setting sun still cast a red glow on the street to her left. The stars were also becoming visible in the blackening sky. She checked her phone for the time: 6:15. The chase sequence had only taken a few minutes overall, though it felt like hours of stress and strain to her. Even with the setback, though, she'd still be able to drop off the money and get back home right at dark. She'd use Liepard to get from place to place faster, now that she had already Bursted with her. It was probably better to stay in Burst form, in case Ben or one of his cronies was still out on the prowl. While she thought about it, it was also better for him to have found out about the shoplifting so quickly. She wouldn't have robbed the old man if he wasn't the uncle of the Burst Beat leader. Kiryu could've gotten a lot more money somewhere else. This way, she got to see Ben's initial reaction firsthand and he wouldn't try to sneak up on her to get his vengeance. Overall, the heist was definitely worth it.
The teen spent a few more minutes resting in the alley, then stood on four legs again and did a catlike stretch. The crowds were thinning, so she decided to head to a series of backstreets that began a few blocks up to avoid detection. She darted silently back into the crowd and headed up the main road once again. Anybody who spotted Kiryu didn't pay her any mind: just another Burst Warrior with someplace super important to be.
This time she ran to an alleyway on the right side of the street. Once she was secluded behind the stone wall, Kiryu stood on two legs and slowed to a walk. After getting past some garbage cans that had been recently tipped over by some Rattata, she had a smooth trek ahead of her back to The Alley, and then home. Despite being in a secluded alleyway at night, the teenage girl wasn't afraid in the slightest. She lived half of her young adult life in these backstreets, and her partner Pokémon was once a literal alley cat. Kiryu hummed softly to herself and strode down the passageways, turning each new corner with little concern. When there actually was something around the bend, she nearly jumped out of her skin.
Lying on the cold, hard ground was a heavily bruised teen in dirty, scuffed-up jeans and a torn red jacket. Ben Uendo moaned softly in pain, seemingly oblivious to his arch rival having stumbled upon him in such a disheveled condition. Lying next to him was his orange Charizard Burst Heart. Kiryu was frozen in shock, unable to comprehend that someone was able to put the smack-down on her main opponent this badly and then left him in some alleyway. Several questions raced through the girl's mind, but luckily for her, she was about to get an answer.
From out of the shadows stepped a cold-looking man. Black hair fell to the top of his shoulders and in bangs across his face. He had brown eyes, a long nose and wore a black long sleeve shirt with brown pants and white gloves. Overtop was a white long coat and furry grey scarf. His face, while not cruel, betrayed nothing but a stern glare. Kiryu had been staring at Ben when the man made his appearance, so she didn't fully comprehend the new face until he spoke.
"Was this man chasing you?" he asked flatly, pointing at the fallen Burst Warrior with one hand. Kiryu jumped once again at the voice, quickly looking the new arrival up and down several times. He looked young and relatively well-groomed, but his overall cold aura was not helping Kiryu's first impression of him. She noticed a white and purple Burst Heart in his other hand. The man waited patiently for Kiryu to assess him before she answered.
"Y-yes," she said cautiously, and the man nodded immediately.
"I thought so. I saw him terrorizing the people downtown and decided to put a stop to it. Apparently, he saw you head into these alleyways and was bragging to himself about some ridiculous ambush scenario," the man seemed completely oblivious to Kiryu's shocked composure, which was now quickly turning to one of suspicion and caution.
"Hold on a minute," Kiryu spoke up right after the man finished his explanation, "that… Doesn't explain how he ended up like this!" she motioned towards the injured Burst Warrior in front of him. The man didn't even look at Ben before answering.
"Well, I beat him in a Burst Battle, obviously," he raised his eyebrows and put stress on that last word, as if talking to an uncomprehending child. He succeeded in replacing Kiryu's caution with indignation. Who the hell was he to talk down to her after meeting her in some alley like Jack the Ripper?! And the way he treated the feat of taking Ben Uendo down like some simple, everyday task! Very quickly, Kiryu came to three conclusions about this man. He was probably a pervert, most likely a liar and, at the very least, definitely a creep.
Still, his description of Ben and his scheming was spot-on. If he was, in fact, telling the truth, he very well could've saved Kiryu a blow to the head and a loss in all of her possessions, both stolen and owned.
Throughout Kiryu's thought process, the man stood there very still, eventually crossing his arms and looking expectantly at Kiryu for a response. So far, he was acting as if Kiryu was the one appearing in dark alleyways and presenting unconscious Burst Warriors like it was nothing. What did he want, a pat on the back?
"Uh, yeah, thanks," Kiryu said awkwardly. "Thanks for taking care of him for me, Mister…"
"Takumi," the man said rather pridefully, "My name is Takumi Chikao Genji," The name triggered some random fact or memory in Kiryu's brain, but she didn't pay it any mind. She had never seen the man before in her life and Takumi was a common name. "I've never been able to stand Burst Warriors who abuse their gift on petty conflicts, so I took matters into capable hands," his boastful acknowledgement of Kiryu's halfhearted gratitude didn't do Takumi any favors in the teen's eyes. She saw no reason to continue this strange encounter.
"Yeah, that's cool," she said nonchalantly, taking one last look at the barely-conscious Ben on the ground before turning to head down a separate backstreet, "I'll see you around, I guess."
"Hold on just a minute," the sharpness in Takumi's tone made Kiryu look back despite herself, and she saw those cold, stern eyes directed right at her. "This Warrior also informed me as to why he was chasing you. You have stolen some money from his uncle and you will give it back immediately."
"Wait, he said…" Kiryu took a second to process the accusations leveled on her, "Well… Excuse you," she reflexively snapped at him, making sure her voice sounded nice and indignant, "but how the hell do you know that he's telling the truth?! I would never even dream of stealing, but you come up to me like some stalker in the night and accuse me of some random crime?"
"If you don't have the money, then you'd turn out your pockets without hesitation," Takumi's voice finally betrayed an emotion: irritation. He had hit the nail on the head, though.
"I… Look, times are rough, sometimes you have to do what's necessary to survive," Kiryu started, but the man curtly cut her off.
"I just told you that I do not tolerate Burst Warriors who abuse their powers on petty crime," he had his eyes closed, but then opened them and glared directly at Kiryu, "and I assure you, miss, that I would have never approached someone as weak and immature as yourself if I didn't have a reason to," Kiryu's eyes widened and face turned red. "You will turn over the money to me now." What was with this guy?
"I… You…" the teen stuttered, the clearly insulted tone in her voice now genuine.
"Stop wasting my time," Takumi took a step towards her, clearly annoyed. In her mind, Kiryu forced herself to calm down. This was the exact same tactic that she had used earlier on Ben. As rude and strange as this guy was, he wasn't going to get under her skin. Takumi watched as the girl took a breath and calmed down. She had an idea, one that would get the rest of her questions answered and allow her to get back at this guy for his pompous attitude.
"Alright, you caught me. I took the money," Kiryu put on a sly smile and held up a finger as Takumi stepped forward, "and I intend on keeping it. I'll cut you a deal, though. If you're going to insult me to my face, you better put your money where your mouth is. Beat me in a Burst Battle, and I'll fork over my own," This guy looked like the chivalrous type, Kiryu reasoned. Now she'd be able to see exactly how this guy took down Ben while kicking his ass for calling her out on her mischief. Takumi stood still but responded immediately.
"I'm not surprised that it's come to this," he sighed. The man's body language betrayed him, however, as he almost immediately seemed to liven up at the prospect of a Burst Battle. His eyes became much more alert and concentrated as he sized up his opponent, and he began to back up in the alley to give the two Burst Warriors space to begin. "I will make this swift and decisive, weakling. I accept your challenge."
The two moved away so that there wasn't a big lump of Ben between them and found themselves deeper in the narrow alleyway. Only a few feet wide, the backstreet was lit only by moonlight as the sun was nothing but a thin red line over the horizon. Takumi carefully placed his first Burst Heart under his coat and took out a second. Kiryu could barely see a greenish shade on her opponent's stone. As for herself, the teen stayed in her Liepard form, intending to use her agility and acrobatic skills to bounce along the alley walls and take out her opponent rather quickly. Feeling the tension of the moment, she bounced on the balls of her feet as Takumi prepared himself. A small part of her brain wasn't quite so eager to get into a fight. After all, this is the guy who apparently took down Ben Uendo. Kiryu swiftly pushed her hesitations away. She was stronger than Ben anyways, and this guy was not going to call her a waste of time and get away with it. Takumi looked briefly at his new Burst Heart and the alley filled with a bright flash of light. The battle was on.
Kiryu immediately sprinted at her opponent, hoping to catch him before he could fully react after Bursting. Once she was a few feet away from Takumi, Kiryu jumped and kicked off the wall, going into the air and overtop of her opponent. She quickly brought her claws down to attack in midair, only to find that Takumi had already dodged past her. When she landed, she faced Takumi's front rather than his exposed back.
Her opponent had chosen a Roserade, as Takumi now sported two bouquets of flowers from his sleeves, petal-like hair, a cape and a small mask over his eyes. Once Kiryu had landed he lunged at her, a thorny vine shooting from one bouquet in a Poison Sting attack. Kiryu barely sidestepped it and moved in with Fury Swipes, pouncing on Takumi with elongated claws. The Roserade Burst was able to avoid getting bowled over and blocked each swipe with his arms, minimizing the damage. Kiryu kept up the pressure by continuing to force him back with Pursuit, and with his arms preoccupied, Takumi had little melee options to counter with. Her claws raked Takumi's arms, making petals fall and leaving gashes, but the man held his ground, making sure to block every strike. Finally, seeing a brief pause in his opponent's onslaught, Takumi raised his blue bouquet and blasted Kiryu with Stun Spore. The Liepard Burst easily dodged his attack, but was forced to step away, losing her momentum.
She already had him on the rocks, Kiryu assessed as she stepped away from her opponent. She had dealt a large amount of damage and forced Takumi onto the defensive, exactly as planned. The teen planned on getting a Hone Claws off, then to jump back into the battle finish the job. The unprepared combatant didn't see the Magical Leaf attack hit her before it was too late. Kiryu had assumed that Takumi would have to catch his breath after fighting so desperately, but the man was already back on the offensive in the split second that Kiryu had paused. She was knocked back by the flurry of colored leaves and was soon struck by two Poison Sting hits from the Roserade Burst's vines. Kiryu had no way to retaliate and had to close the distance quickly.
The Liepard Burst sprang forward yet again, trying to pounce on Takumi with claws outstretched. The man effortlessly ducked under Kiryu, causing her to go sailing over her target back her original spot in the alley. Takumi wasn't quite in the clear, however. He stood up, only to be whipped in the face by Kiryu's tail from an Assurance attack.
Kiryu landed gracefully from her jump and turned around, but quickly found herself assaulted by several Poison Sting attacks at once. How was he shrugging off these attacks?! Kiryu was forced to dodge the rapid stabs from the vines, which fired from Takumi's Bouquet like projectiles. Dodging the vines quickly proved difficult with the narrowness of the alleyway, and finally Kiryu felt the sting of a direct hit. To her dismay, the vine proceeded to wrap around her waist, holding her in place. Not good.
Upon trying to swipe at the vine, Kiryu felt Takumi yank her back, taking her breath away and causing her strike to miss. She looked up to glare at her opponent, only to see the man finally smiling; or rather giving a cocky smirk. A light green energy glowed around the vine, and Kiryu felt her energy get sapped from the Mega Drain. The Liepard Burst, still on two feet, began rushing from left to right, trying to find slack in the vine, but Takumi merely mirrored her movement, keeping the organic snare taught. She'd run towards the right wall, and Takumi would lean to his left, making sure that there was no slack and keeping the Liepard Burst from doing any fancy maneuvers. To top it all off, Kiryu's vision began to go blurry, and the teen realized that one of the Poison Sting attacks had given her the titular condition. Her increasingly woozy behavior was not lost on Takumi, whose triumphant smirk grew slightly bigger.
"Time to end this," he said simply. Kiryu only had a second to look at him with confusion when purple energy, almost like violet electricity, travelled down the vine and mercilessly zapped Kiryu. The Liepard Burst cried out in pain, feeling like she was hit by a lightning bolt while being dumped in acid, before the Venoshock finally ended, leaving her kneeling on the ground, head bowed forward. For a second, neither Burst Warrior moved a muscle.
"It was just a matter of getting you poisoned," Takumi finally said in his monotone voice, though Kiryu caught a hint of triumph in explaining his strategy. "I knew I needed to maintain a safe distance after your first attack. I couldn't subdue you with Stun Spore, but I always make sure to have a backup plan," Takumi's voice was just background noise for Kiryu, who was trying to think clearly with electric sparks going off in her vision and her brain getting clouded with poison. "This battle is over," Takumi said matter-of-factly, though when he didn't get a response from his opponent, he kept his vine wrapped around her waist. The battle was not over, not for Kiryu, but she had to find a way to get out of this situation. If she tried running about the alley, the Roserade Burst reeled her back in like a fisherman. Her next move had to throw him off-guard, or else he'd finish her with another Venoshock. The teen shook her head forcefully, trying to stop her vision from clouding, when she finally got an idea. There was only one direction left to go that Takumi couldn't control: forwards.
Takumi had started to cautiously step forward to check on her when Kiryu sank her claws into his vine and leapt straight at him. She could barely see where she was going, but Kiryu sprinted at full speed, claws glowing black with a Night Slash attack. Takumi hastily attempted to dis-attach himself from his opponent, but he was too late. Kiryu slammed into the Roserade Burst and slashed him multiple times with Night Slash, raking her claws across his body and finally knocking Takumi off of his feet. With no time to lose, Kiryu went to pounce on Takumi once more with a final Night Slash.
The man raised his arms forward, Kiryu thought to defend himself, when a series of glowing Magical Leaves puffed out of his bouquet- and rushed into Kiryu as a group, straight into her stomach and forcing her to the ground for a final time. The teen struggled to stand up again, but felt one final strike from the poison, like a sword stabbing through her, and she went limp, unbursting back into normal form.
She was a literal arm's reach from victory; she was sure that one more Night Slash would've done it. Yet the victor now stood over her looking as stern as ever. Takumi had unbursted and seemed completely unaware of the slash marks across him, causing Kiryu to question how close to victory she really was. She had known that the man was tough, he had defeated her arch rival with little effort, yet she couldn't avoid the feeling of shame that was now taking the place of the fading poison in her brain.
Kiryu's coat pocket had ripped from the last attack, causing money to scatter around the alley. Takumi casually collected it while Kiryu wallowed in self-pity. She had let down her friends, let down her mother, let down her Liepard and let down herself. Once the money was collected, Takumi put it in his pockets and continued the way Kiryu had come, out of the alley.
"I trust that you can get yourself home. Don't waste my time again," the man told her as he walked away without a parting glance. Kiryu was alone in the city. She stared at the sky, now lit by the moon and stars. The girl was lying in a dark, dirty alleyway, filthy and injured. Yet she still lay on the ground long after her opponent's footsteps had faded, watching the sky, listening to the city and thinking about the events of the day. Thinking about her heist, thinking about the fight and thinking about Takumi. In the end, now that her head had completely cleared of poison, Kiryu felt that she was able to sum up the day in one short, sweet sentence: This Takumi guy was now her least favorite person in the world.
Author's Note:
On March 6th, 2013, I joined a forum on this very website known as Pokeplayers: A Roleplay Forum. Over the course of five years the forum grew to be the fourth-largest on the website and sits on the front page of the Pokémon forum list. Though it's abandoned now, that place will always live on in my memory as an incredible forum full of incredible people, many of which I am still friends with today. I wouldn't give up my wasted time on there for anything.
Of the many roleplay threads on that forum, the greatest one, the magnum opus of Pokeplayers (and I know that many of my friends from the forum will argue with this) was the RéBURST roleplay. Containing both cringe and meme potential in equal amounts, the story told in that thread was the product of angsty teens having fun and I never get tired of reading it. Behind all of the plot holes, horrible characters and terrible dialogue was a story worth telling, and I have finally decided to tell that story as my love letter to Pokeplayers and all of the people on it.
Even though author's notes have become infamous on this site, I've always enjoyed the "Coli Chibi" approach to them, wherein the author gives interesting facts about the fanfiction and the media that it's inspired from. This approach is the perfect opportunity to talk about the original RéBURST roleplay and give any readers who are unfamiliar with the original story an idea of how unintentionally funny and strange it was. There will also be some major changes to the plot and characters, so these author's notes will be useful in covering the original story that inspired me to write this.
So to any new readers, welcome! To any old readers, Mr. Grool is back, for better or for worse, taking some steps out of his comfort zone. To any original Pokeplayers who read or were in the original roleplay, get ready for a wild ride. I will try my best to do such a masterpiece justice. Enjoy.
Special thanks goes to Jack Storm 448 for beta reading this chapter.