Hello again and welcome to chapter two!


Glaceon awoke from a (pretty much) restful night's and found the air to be exuding a delicious aroma, seeping around the doors and walls of the small wooden temple like a stealthy Ghost-type Pokemon.

After taking a good while to stand up, stretch, and rub his eyes (when your life is nothing but wandering, one of the few benefits is that you can sleep in until whenever you feel like), Glaceon slowly walked out of his little room.

Just like always, the carving of Arceus was on guard. Glaceon thanked the god for his hospitality once again, and the lack of nightmares that night. Maybe Arceus's protection really was on the tiny temple. The door to the second guest space was open, revealing a naginata, as well as a few traveling supplies and pieces of armor littering the ground- the girl from the night before was still around, and, judging from the smell wafting around, was outside cooking.

Lazily, he stepped outside and stopped in the doorway.

Closing his eyes, he felt the fresh spring wind on his face.

Opening his eyes, he surveyed a vast wall of green- trees, of all shapes and sizes. They lined the little dirt path like sentinels, as if waiting for it to fall into disuse so they could reclaim it for their empire of green.

Once again, the sky was blue and vast; although today, puffy clouds dotted it- the writer had spilled his ink. A family of birds darted through it, onto the waiting branches of a nearby tree; the branches themselves stretched out like a spider web of wood, grasping fingers trying to reach the sky. There was room amongst them for many more birds- and indeed there were, of all shapes and sizes, flitting about like so many small dancers. Bugs joined in, all varieties, and other small animals darted through the brush underneath, which was ringed by flowers of pink and gold.

Today, the forest was alive.

Next to the temple was a small clearing, perfect for sitting and watching the sky under swaying branches of the watching trees. This was not the case, however, as the Pokemon girl had set up a campfire and was crouched next to it, checking a metal pot suspended above the blaze.

Glaceon stood silently for a bit, admiring the fire. It was well-made and well-placed, ensuring the safest campfire possible- she had obviously had a bit of survivalist training. He remembered those days. The girl looked up, brushing a few strands of raw emerald out of her face, noticed him, and gave a small smile and wave.

"Hey," she said, standing up and brushing herself off. She had taken off the heavier outer armor, and was outfitted in the lighter under layers that didn't inhibit movement. "Good morning!" She opened the pot, and a fresh gust of the delicious smell dissipated into the air. She sniffed the air approvingly. "Looks like it's done. At least, I think it is." She rummaged around in a few satchels next to her, emerging with a ladle and two bowls. "Do you want some?"

"Okay," was the simple answer she received.

Dipping the ladle into the pot, she splashed a bundle of noodles in slightly brown broth into the waiting bowl, and then did it once more for the other one. She added some sliced-up preserved meat and vegetables hastily, and handed a bowl to Glaceon along with a set of chopsticks. "This is thanks for saving me last night."

Glaceon looked at her, slightly confused. She could've taken on those lowly village samurai easily; she's a Pokemon. What's holding her back? Does she not have an Emblem? No- I saw the wings.

He looked down at his bowl. In it was noodles, meat, vegetables… all swimming around like small creatures locked in a tide pool of broth. He looked up again. "Isn't this my meat? I swear I just bought this in the last town- it was supposed to last me for a few more days, at least."

She nodded. "Yup. I made your rice, too." She pulled out a metal canister from the embers of the fire, using a small matching rod that fit into it, and proceeded to open it, revealing cooked rice. She dumped half of it into her bowl and half into his while he sat looking perplexed.

The girl proceeded to slurp up the concoction from her bowl, hardly even using the chopsticks. Glaceon put a hand up. "Alright, I've got a few questions… but first tell me your name."

She stopped slurping. "Shinko." She continued slurping.

Glaceon rubbed his temple. "Yes, and mine's Yukine. But I meant your name." He enunciated it as much as he could, and pointed at his sword, which had a few spots of frost on it, like always.

Her eyes widened. "Oh, um, but we're not supposed to talk about that. That's what my lord always says."

"We can talk about it, if it's Pokemon to Pokemon," Glaceon, or Yukine, replied. "I'm Glaceon, an Ice-type. Pleased to meet you." He leaned down, attempting her strange souplike concoction.

"I'm called Flygon," said Flygon, shyly, as if she was telling her deepest secret. "I'm Dragon-type. Also Ground."

Glacceon nodded, sucking up an overcooked noodle. "I've never met a Dragon-type before," he stated.

Silence ensued, aside from slurping on both sides- as curious as he was about the Flygon's night chase, it was none of his business. So he had nothing else to talk about, save the fact that she had used up all of his food. He didn't find the silence awkward at all. She, however, did.

Finally, the Dragon-type tried for conversation, "Umm… Is it good?"

"It's… different," was Yukine's reply. "I've never had noodles like this before… or with rice in broth."

"Isn't it cool?" asked Shinko excitedly. "They're all the rage over where I'm from- newly invented! It's basically a block of hardened noodles that soften in boiled water. Then you add stuff." She opened her pack, revealing rows upon rows of blocked noodles, next to small bags of spices. "I had the cook back home package a bunch for me, because I can't cook!"

That explains a lot.

She held the bowl to her mouth, draining out the last of the rice and broth in one last gulp. "It's pretty good, I think. The rice and meat made it taste even better!"

"Yeah," said Glaceon. "My rice and meat." He was almost done his bowl, too. "Although I would separate the noodles and rice next time, just saying."

"Hmm," said Shinko, putting a finger to her chin. "I guess so. This isn't very soup-like, is it? More like wet mushy stuff. It's supposed to be soup, though, I think."

Yukine grunted, standing up. "Well, thanks for the meal. I guess I'll get going then."

"Wait!" cried the Flygon, reaching out a hand. "Don't be so abrupt! We only just met!"

"Yeah," said Yukine. "And now I'm leaving." He turned to walk away, then swiveled on his foot, back to her. "After you pay me back, of course."

She blinked. "For what?"

"Using all my food."

"Oh. Oops."

He waited. She shifted on her spot on the ground. "Um," she started, changing the subject. "I have a… proposition for you."

Now it was his turn to blink. "What do you mean?"

"Well, you see," said the girl in green. "I'm being chased. I'm a samurai under Lord Noburou to the east, not of the Yami Clan, who rule these lands." She looked at Yukine, who hadn't moved, but remained expressionless. She continued. "My lord has far less land then the Yami Clan. He is a minor lord, while Lady Yami is a major one."

Yukine nodded. "One of the land's two most powerful leaders, the other being Lady Sonohara of the White Rose."

"Yes," continued Shinko. "They're often called the Black and White Queens, due to their Clan colors, and the fact that both of their kingdoms are easily bigger than anyone else's." She paused to clear her throat. "But, back to what I was saying. My lord has always been fearful that the Yami want his land to make their kingdom even bigger, but they've never made a move. Until now."

One of Yukine's eyebrows was now raised. He was interested. Shinko continued her tale. "Our villages are being heavily ransacked by a gang of organized bandits. Every night, somewhere else is hit. Survivors say the leader wields mystic powers. And every time our army catches the bandits, they flee over the border into Yami territory, where we can't follow. But here's the thing." She leaned forward conspiratorially, red-grey eyes narrowed. "No one has heard of any bandit attacks happening in the Yami's land."

"How do you know?"

"We've talked to all the merchants and other travelers who cross the border from Yami lands. No one has heard or seen anything. The funny thing is, an organized bandit gang like this one would benefit better in Yami territory. The Yamis are much richer than us, and their kingdom is incredibly expansive- meaning there are more tiny farming villages to attack that are out of the way. Also, our kingdom is much more compact than theirs' due to its small size- we can launch a counter-offensive relatively quickly. The Yamis are all spread out over a vast distance- it would be much easier to quickly ransack a village and disappear there than in our kingdom."

"So your theory is that the Yami are pretending to be bandits and attack your lands," the Glaceon stated. "Or have hired mercenaries or bandits to do it for them."

"Yep," responded Shinko. "That way they won't draw any attention to themselves from other powerful lords. If it looked like a tiny kingdom was having bandit problems, nobody would help. But if the Yamis are picking on a kingdom ten times smaller than theirs in order to invade, the Sonoharas or another powerful lord might come to our assistance. They don't want the Yamis stronger than they already are, plus it would make them look better if they go out of their way to help weak little kingdoms like ours."

"That's a pretty logical theory," mused the ronin. "And I assume that's why you're here in Yami lands?"

Shinko nodded vigorously. "Yeah, I came under cover of night! But the guy at the inn I stopped at must've seen my lord's symbol on me and ratted me out to the guards, because after like ten minutes of sleep they came and chased me right out the village!" She shook her head. "Outrageous. These Yamis have no sense of hospitality."

"I guess they follow their leader," said Yukine. "The Veiled Lady's never been a nice sort, at least in the stories."

"Oh, pssh," said Shinko, flapping her hand around as if the Veiled Lady was nothing more than a level one Caterpie. "Don't believe all those stories you here about her. It's all part of her routine- scare her subjects into submission, and scare her enemies. What a way to be a leader; hmph."


The Veiled Lady is the alias of Lady Yami. It's used more than her real name, Sayomi. To everyone, near and far, she's just referred to simply as "the Veiled Lady." She always wears a great flowing grey cloak, and a massive veil over her face, so no skin is ever showing. They say she takes it off in her private quarters at night, but nobody's ever seen her true face. She hardly talks, either, or so they say- choosing instead to speak through her ever-present steward.

There are all sorts of rumors about why the Lady is Veiled. The most common is that she's incredibly beautiful, the most beautiful woman alive perhaps, but will not reveal her beauty until she meets a man that loves her first for her inner beauty or some such. But there's plenty of other tales that are much darker.

Some say she's a hideous old witch, who hides her face because she's so awful-looking. Others say she's a corpse, an unliving queen that will stay to rule her people throughout eternity. Still others believe she's not human in the first place; instead, some kind of monster or demon.

Whatever she is, her ploy works. She cloaks herself in mystery and lets the legends spread, hardly needing any provocation. Everyone's afraid of the unknown, and when a powerful Lady makes herself the unknown, everyone fears her.

It doesn't help that she built her castle, the Black Castle, on a massive cliff overlooking the sea- not even in her kingdom's capitol city.

The Yami Clan is the most powerful in the country, aside from the Sonohara Clan- ruled by Sorai and Tai, the twin Sonahara leaders- who are about equal in power. They are peaceable monarchs whose domain includes much farmland, unlike the Yami's dense forests and mountains. The Sonoharas are also renowned for their kindness- helping out the many minor kingdoms, although their army always remained the largest in the land.

There are six other major kingdoms (though all still significantly smaller than the Yami's and Sonohara's), and a plethora of minor ones like Lord Noborou's. Yukine knew little about Shinko's lord- his reputation was like an insect's shadow when compared to the Yami's or Sonohara's giant ones. That's why he must have sent Shinko into the Yami's territory, to get real proof, because a tiny noble like him wouldn't have been able to have any say in anything unless he had solid evidence to back up his accusation. But, as was revealed by Shinko's midnight chase, the Yamis had apparently beefed up the border guard, on the lookout for anyone bearing Noborou's crest.


"This is all very interesting, but what does it have to do with a ronin like me?" asked Yukine. "Or the food you owe me?"

"Well, how do you make money?" Shinko countered his question with one of her own. "I assume you act as a samurai-for-hire or something along those lines, right?"

Yukine nodded. "I occasionally take on bodyguard duties, or bounties, yes."

"Well, here's my proposition for you," she said. "I hire you as a bodyguard while I travel through Yami territory, and you get paid for it! With someone as strong as you by my side, I could accomplish my mission quite quickly and easily. We'll determine the price back in my own kingdom's court."

"Hmm," Yukine held his chin. "I could definitely use some money- I'm almost out. But I have three conditions."

"Well, let me hear them!"

Yukine held up a finger. "One: don't talk as much. Two: all the food we eat while I'm in your company is bought by you." Now two fingers were up. He lifted a third one. "And, three: I get paid back for the food you owe me, separately."

"Uuu…" Shinko thought for a few seconds. "I guess that's reasonable…"

"If you don't accept, I'll just be on my way," said Yukine. He turned to leave, then looked back. "After you pay me of course."

"Gah! Fine! I'll do it!" the younger samurai said. "Just don't leave." Yukine raised an eyebrow but only said, "We should get going soon, too. We're wasting daylight, and those samurai chasing you will probably come back."


After gathering up the breakfast things and disposing of the fire, the two samurai went back into the small temple to collect their other belongings. Yukine realized he'd left his food pack out next to Arceus when he was having a late-night snack the other night, which is how Shinko had found it. He stuffed his few meager possessions into his satchel and met up with Shinko at the doorway to the road, now in full samurai armor again.

"You're going to have to take that off- you look really conspicuous running around with full armor in with your lord's symbols emblazoned over everything," advised Yukine.

"Oh!" his new traveling companion looked down in sudden realization. "You're right!"

She pulled off the big pieces holding her lord's emblem; tongue out in concentration as she unclipped a strap. She crammed the armor parts into her backpack, forcefully stuffing them in on top of her other things. Now she just looked like a minor noble or merchant-class girl, holding a naginata. "Some of my things were on my horse," she said sadly. "But, thankfully, most of them were on my back."

After saying their last goodbyes to Arceus, the duo walked around to the temple to the other side (where they hadn't had breakfast), and were glad to see the two horses of the samurai from last night remained. Kenichi and Ryuunosuke had been so afraid that they'd ran straight down the road, not staying anywhere close to the icy swordsman. It took too long to get a horse ready for travel- and now, here they were, one for Yukine and one for Shinko.

Silently, Yukine prepared the horse for riding. He stripped it of everything marking it as a Yami horse, and Shinko did the same to her's. It was a good military horse- it had remained here after its master had left, because that was the last command it had received. The horse looked happy that it had stopped running after Shinko's horse the night before and was able to get some sleep.

Shinko talked to her horse, and stroked its ears. As she swung onto the saddle, she pouted, saying, "I hope my horse is okay… he's a good horse."

"I'm sure he is," said Yukine, swinging up onto his horse as well. "The samurai chasing you had no need for a riderless horse. He's either being put to good use or on his way home right now."

"Oh, I hope he is," said Shinko wistfully. "He's a great horse, my Razor. The very best. Let me tell you about the time-"

Yukine held up a hand, eyes closed. "Please, keep the conversation to a minimum."

So, wordlessly, they rode on until a village came into view, on two horses that didn't belong to them- the ronin with a blade of ice and the samurai girl who couldn't cook.


Gah nothing happened this chapter. Well, I got a little world-building in, and Shinko and Yukine's names- plus why they're teaming up in the first place. Don't worry- I promise next chapter, once they arrive at the village, they'll meet a few OCs. There's also a fight scene. So it won't suck like this chapter.

As for OCs, I've gotten a lot, and have decided not to accept any more except for minor characters. What I mean is: if you have a good idea of how a certain Pokemon could work in a cool way as a samurai, PM me! As shown in this chapter, there are many lords, and each lord needs samurai. So I need minor lords, samurai, and maybe a bandit or two! If you still want to try submitting a (not-minor) character, I'll probably turn you down (sorry!) but you can still try I guess.

In a random side note: it's fun to write Pokemon Gijinka SYOCs! I hope someone starts a new one- after the writing I've been doing, I want to submit an OC too!