3. OBON
The festival, in spirit, reminded Zuko terribly of the Obon festivals back home. Beautiful hand-crafted lanterns would hang above every doorway, fireworks would be lit and cast into the sky, and the river shimmered from the lanterns floating along it. This night was no different, except for the much larger scale of splendour jammed into the small city (which would more accurately be described as a countryside town judging from its size but who was Zuko to judge). By now, most of the street stalls had fully set up for the night and hordes of people inched along the veins of empty space left. The night sky lit up in a way Zuko had seen only in the capital city during the New Year season. Leon expertly ghosted in between stacks of humans that Zuko was left hurrying after him, barely managing to not lose sight of him on multiple occasions. When they finally came upon a stall with an impressive line standing before it, Leon finally stalled, excitedly gushing.
"Have you ever tried the dorayaki here? Ecruteak's famous snack, it comes in three different flavours: Entei, Suicune and Raikou, named after the legend of the Belltower." Here, Leon put on a professional air about him, reciting as if he were a tour guide, "of course they don't actually serve any fishy stuff like Pokémon meat, its actually just custard, red bean paste and sea salt. Those are the traditional flavours but recently they've come up with additions like Lugia, which is cheese and whipped cream and the almighty Ho-Oh, a mix of every fruit you can think of!"
Practically dragging Zuko to join him in the queue, he carried on.
"So, oh enigmatic stranger, you never answered me! Where are you from?"
Zuko wanted to make a non-committal answer as he had done all afternoon but now, there was a difference between being cautious and not even trying to figure out his current predicament. His court might be in disarray at the moment for all he knew, so despite his worries of being in some unexplainable land, he sought to at least clear up his wonderings.
"About that, Leon. I actually have to admit something: I'm looking for a way back home. My self was forcefully taken from there with no memory of how I came here. I'm assuming this is the Earth Kingdom? So if you will be so kind as to enlighten me of my current position or even load me a messenger bird, I will ensure that you will be properly compensated."
Zuko was not sure if this, this place, would be amiable towards the Fire Nation despite the end of the war so he made sure not to mention his identity. Leon stared at him, bug-eyed. A jolt of insecurity ran up Zuko's spine, which reminded him of that one time he touched the golden egg in the Sun Temple.
"What?" Then, "Dude! Are you roleplaying? What show is this from?" Leon's glinted with amusement. "I never thought you the type! Man, I'm really starting to take a liking to you!"
"I'm serious! I'm a person of high birth. I'll understand any reservations you might have helping a stranger like this but I assure you, I merely wish to get home and you have my word that my self would do the utmost to reward you accordingly."
"Dude, quit making me guess. I don't know this show."
Irritated, but fearing his ideas of being somehow spirited away to another land were actually true, Zuko tried a different approach.
"Does the term, 'Avatar' or 'Fire Nation' ring any bells?"
"Avatar? Like in 'Pandora'? Oh but if it's 'Fire Nation' then it should be 'The Tales of the Sun'. Which is it?"
Zuko never considered himself an imaginative person. Good ideas came from Sokka. Spiritual understandings were Aang's thing. But now, an impossible scenario in his mind was starting to look more reasonable. While he still had no clear idea where he was, he was almost sure that he was in a place that was not exactly physically reachable. What that meant, he had no idea. He was inclined to think this a place not of his world and the bugging thoughts of 'spirit world' were looking less dismissible and were now making camp in his mind. But spirits knew of the mortal world. So that did not make sense. He had to try bending; Aang mentioned before that he could not bend in the spiritual world. Not now with so many people around of course, in case his bending worked and he set fire to something (or someone, which was something he really wished he had not thought of). It was all making his head turn. And although the possibilities had been nibbling away at him ever since he saw the strange Pokémon in the forest, it was entirely different to receive confirmation that he had not in fact landed himself in some isolated island which had weird animals and strange dressing.
He must have spaced out because Leon was now shaking him bodily and apologising for 'not being as big a geek so stop acting like I've shat over your favourite show'
"I'm kind of out of cash at the moment."
There was a reason Sokka was the idea guy and Zuko fell mostly into the 'beat stuff up' group. While Zuko liked to think he was pretty decent at thinking on his feet, this attempt at digressing the topic was a whole new low for him and he nearly face-palmed at himself.
"Oh god! Were you robbed? Why didn't you report it the moment we came here? You should have said something!"
As Leon went on a tirade, Zuko 'umm'ed and 'err'ed, silently glad Leon seemed to be filling in the details on his own. Thank god Leon had the attention span of Aang. He really needed some time to think over his situation properly now.
"Well, considering how today has been a good day for me, I'll treat you for tonight. Make sure you report it to the police tomorrow though!"
Zuko rather felt that Leon was a good man, so he agreed and tried to give a disarming smile. Regardless of whether his smile was truly convincing, Leon sighed and seemed to buy his act, muttering about how Zuko should learn how to take care of himself a little better.
Maybe the universe had finally taken pity on him and given him a tiny scrape of good luck after having spirited him off to who-knew-where. Because spirits, he needed whatever silver-sandwich clouds he could grab onto now.
Somehow, one thing led to another and Leon ended up asking for a double room at the Slyph's inn to accommodate Zuko. Not one to turn down goodwill when he received it, Zuko accepted the show of generosity and thanked him genuinely.
"Heh, its not a big deal actually. Pokémon Trainers get free board and breakfast so I didn't have to give a single cent."
At Zuko's puzzled look, Leon gave a good chuckle and continued, "You must have lived under a rock or something! Pokémon Trainers get paid allowances by Slyph Co depending on their ranking. Now, that ranking is based on a whole slew of indicators but essentially, it boils down to badges, ribbons, battle tower rankings and so on. Additionally, they are given free services and meals at the Pokémon centres and Slyph-owned accommodations throughout the country. Honestly, that's actually the main draw for most Pokémon trainers, but quite a number of them are in it for the thrill as well."
"So Pokémon training is actually a real job?"
Zuko blurted out the question without thinking, because he had been thinking that what Leon did was a hobby, like how Toph treated her Earth Rumble fights. Leon gave a scandalised pout. "Of course it's a real job! Not to mention, it's probably a job with perhaps the best perks, aside from the elite four and gym positions, I suppose."
Starving in the Earth Kingdom. Begging for food by the road. Stealing an ostrich-horse from a struggling family who had shown nothing but hospitality. Robbing a man for a few bites by threatening his friend at sword-point. Zuko had already committed many acts that he was ashamed of and he had no desire to add more crimes to his ledger. Having a job meant some sort of income, so he would not return to that downward spiral of poverty and crime. And Pokémon training was starting to appeal to him. One, he would get to travel, seeing as how Gym challenges were a central focus of a Trainer's career. That meant he would have the opportunities to figure out more about where he was. Two, free food and board. Not to mention, apparently if you challenged trainers along the road and won, you would earn a stipulated amount of cash. Even if he did not challenge any gyms, he could still get by.
"How do I become a Trainer?"
"Woah, what's this? Heh did I convince you of how cool Pokémon training is? I'm pretty awesome, eh? Well just register at any gym. But you need to go over in the morning, they're probably closed by now."
And with that, Leon decided that he shouldn't keep Zuko up much longer and bided him goodnight, promptly falling asleep with a light snore. Now that he had time to himself, he channelled a small amount of chi into his palm and was so surprised when a tiny flame burst into existence that he nearly fell out of his bed. That meant spirit world was now off the table, and that probably meant he could cross 'dead' off his list as well. It was only when the sky turned a cosy purple, signalling the coming of the morning sun when Zuko's thoughts of malignant spirits, worries for his nation and annoyance at once again not thinking things through finally quieted and Zuko drifted to an uneasy sleep.
Sunrise came and the warmth of Agni roused Zuko. He was prepared for the day by the time Leon woke up blearily and his friend gaped with incredulity when he mentioned his robes were his only possessions. Or maybe it was from some realisation that Zuko's scar was real, which further gave confirmation that he was not on his world. His scar was probably about as well known as the Avatar's apparent existence. From there it was a whirlwind of activity and Leon flustered to get ready and dragged him to the police station. Zuko fudged some story about his 'robbery encounter' and it ended up sounding like the attack combustion man made on Team Avatar back at the Western Air Temple. The police officer, a green haired middle-aged woman, started frowning and hissed "Hyper Beam?" under her breath before releasing him, informing him rather regretfully that it might take a while to capture the culprit in question. All in all, Zuko was just glad she bought his admittedly poorly put together story.
After that, Leon offered him some spare clothes he had in possession. Coming as more of a shock than it should have, apparently Zuko's clothes were too traditional and though it was fine for bonfire night, he was going to get stares elsewhere and else-when. Zuko had half a mind to refuse when thoughts of gathering unwanted attention rose and he figured it was better to be safe than sorry. Unwilling to further inconvenience Leon, he insisted on parting ways and Leon gave a hesitant farewell only after writing a series of symbols on a slip of paper, telling him to keep in contact once he got his phone back. There was guilt gnawing at Zuko before he resolved to figure out what a phone was so that he could keep Leon's promise.
Leon's farewell package consisted of a black sleeveless turtleneck shirt and dark maroon cargo pants. Changing quickly, Zuko removed his bun and the embellishments in it to tie it into a loose ponytail with a red cloth, similar to how some of the women had tied their hair. Seeing as how he did not draw any appalled glances (apart from his face), he supposed he was finally dressed appropriately.
And so, the sun was already halfway across the sky before Zuko finally made his way to register as a Pokémon Trainer.
Apparently the universe had decided he had received enough pity-luck. The receptionist had asked for something called an 'I.D.' and when Zuko mentioned his 'robbery incident', the clerk gave a flat look and asked him for his ID number. He had no idea what that was, let alone try to lie his way through. So when he mentioned he had forgotten and asked her to use his name instead, she grabbed a spare piece of paper and a strange brush which she used to scribble at the corner of the paper. Zuko gave a yelp of surprise because the brush (pen) was apparently self-inking. Self-inking brushes (pens)!
Spirits.
Trying his hardest to pretend he had not just acted out in surprise, he wrote his name and passed the paper back to her, and she understandably blew up and complained about not needing to pay attention to pranksters.
Right, different writing. Stupid!
How had he forgotten? It was not as if the surrounding posters and signboard at the top of the entrance door were reminding him or anything.
Fleeing from the pissed woman, Zuko ran into a narrow street behind the Gym and paced about. He could not get a Trainer license without an ID, whatever that was. So did that mean he should register for an ID first? Then the question would be where could he get one, and even then, would he still need an ID number first? Or did that come after he got an ID? Or did they come together, considering the relevance in name? Would he be able to get by without an ID? For that matter, how many people here do have an ID?
He was scratching his head furiously, mussing up his hair as he gave a frustrated groan.
Spirits, who did he piss off in a previous life to have such bad luck?
Right, asshole who burnt down a village. No wonder he was having bad luck, karma must be catching up to him.
"Hey you!"
It was a throaty voice, and with a glance upwards a sun-drudged and scrawny man came into view.
"Yeah, you. Why are you looking so down? I saw you earlier." With that he gave a hearty laugh, hand waving towards the Gym to indicate what he meant.
"You got some spunk, boy. What, did your friends put you up to a prank like that?"
"Er." Halfway between wishing to Earthbend a hole in the ground and puzzlement behind how that display earlier could actually be a convincing prank, Zuko understandably gave an incredibly fluent reply.
"Wait, hang on, you mean you really lost your ID?"
There was a beat of bewilderment before the rough-skinned man gave another bout of amused laughter.
"Looks like I'm in business then."
Business?
"Don't look at me that way! This is a completely legitimate business."
The man crossed his arms, leaning back on his heels in an indignant stance, as if he was annoyed Zuko suspected him of some fishy business. "We get kids who ran away from home but don' got no sense to remember their ID."
An ID must not be that important after all, then.
"You must have gotten into a bad fight if you lost your ID, eh? So here's the deal, I'll get you an ID, and in exchange, you pass this paper here to the lady, along with a thousand bucks. Got it?"
With that, the man pulled out a neatly folded piece of paper, holding it up with one hand while another was reached out for a handshake. "Deal?"
Honestly, Zuko was starting to feel rather impertinent towards his luck for its apparent mood swings. Something was definitely up.
"Okay the truth is, we're dating. But her dad don' approve of it. He checks her phone and all and he's about to come by later. But I've got to get this here message to her quick so I'd appreciate you pass it to her for me." The man gave a look akin to a kicked puppy. "Besides, it takes weeks to get anything processed at Internal Administration, not to mention the traveling time to Goldenrod!"
Zuko squinted, melodramatic as it was though, a piece of paper probably could not harm him too seriously and besides, he really needed that ID. Considering how important it sounded, he probably couldn't afford to wait weeks when he could be using that time to get home, besides he didn't know where Goldenrod was. But then there was the concern of money of course.
"I don't have any money." His face reflexively blushed a little from embarrassment.
Blinking owlishly, the man looked too stunned for words. Zuko's blush threatened to deepen, when he suddenly barked with laughter, slapping his side.
"Of course, silly me. Why would you have money on you if your whole wallet got robbed!"
The man slung an arm over his shoulder, patting it as if in pity of his robbed wallet.
"Alright, tell you what kid, I'd settle for your first badge. Once you've won it, I'll come to collect it alright?"
Well, it wasn't as if he was planning to become a proper pokemon trainer so not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, he nodded, "Alright, deal"
Feeling like he had just signed up for some sort of clandestine deal, Zuko reluctantly shook the weasel-like man's hand. Spreading his mouth into a sharp grin, he pulled Zuko in through the doorway. Inside, a plethora of metal and strange equipment piled up the floor. The man sat in front of one such item and reach the side of it. There was a click and then it started to glow.
"Alright now, a deal's a deal. So what's your name?"
"Zuko"
"Last name?"
"Eh?"
"I'd need your full name, boy."
Last name? Perhaps, he was talking about the family title? But even if this were a different world, it was never wise to provide one's true name to random strangers, much less to so freely give out the information that he was the Fire Lord.
"Er. Lee?"
Idiot. Was Lee even a last name?
The scrawny man gave him a funny look, before shrugging it off. "Sure thing then. Age?"
"18"
It was a long list of questions and aside from another raised eyebrow at his birthdate, the man held back from digging for information and Zuko was rather relieved once he was done.
"Alright. Now for a picture. Look here, smile! Got it."
There was a bright flash from another rectangular device the man had set up on a three-legged stand. Then, he was handed a metallic piece with a plethora of writing and an impressive drawing (photograph) of his face stared back at him on the front.
"That's it boy. Here, a brand new spanking ID for 'Zuko Lee'! Now, just pass this paper to the woman at the desk. She'll know who it is so don't worry."
Thanking him, Zuko shifted back out and approached the Gym once more.
He returned to the clerk, nerves fraying as he realised the same clerk he pissed off was still fuming in her seat.
Apologise with respect. And maybe a little self-deprecation while he was at it.
"Right, about earlier," he stumbled over his opening words (stupid), "that was stupid and childish of me, I would like to formally extend my apologies and-"
All he got for a response was a flat look. Or incredulous, he couldn't really tell.
"Right, I shouldn't waste your time, you must be busy so, I really am interested in registering though, so if you could please?"
There was a pregnant pause, then, "Sure"
Zuko let out a breath he didn't realise he was holding. The fish-out-of-water feeling he'd been feeling ever since landing here must have really gotten to him more than he'd expected. He never did think through properly when he was under pressure, even if that had improved over the last year.
It turns out the registration process was slower than expected, and Zuko had to sit there for a good solid half hour before she was done.
"Right, here's your ID back. Before I give you your card, you need to receive your starter Pokémon. This way, please."
She signalled towards a hallway, silently striding down the hallway, without nary a glance to see if Zuko was following.
The silence was awfully awkward so Zuko thought of the earlier deal he'd made.
"Er, Miss?"
She barely gave a sign of acknowledgement sans a tilt of her head. Judging it to be a sign to carry on, Zuko got to the point, "I met your boyfriend outside and he wanted me to pass you this."
She immediately halted, glancing at him up and down before plucking the piece of paper out of his grasp.
"Thanks."
He did not think that 'prank' he pulled was that offensive. Zuko settled for the exceedingly quiet walk, giving up on trying to break the awkwardness.
Soon, they came upon an impressive hall. There were all manners of tools hanging around, and an abundance of space. He figured it was a training hall of some sort, because some of the Pokémon Zuko recognized from Leon's gym battle were floating around, either darting through a series of hoops hanging from the ceiling or shooting the same dark shaped balls towards some shooting targets along the back wall.
"Morty." She greeted once they stopped behind a man feeding one of the round-shaped Pokémon.
"Oh, Merida! Who's this?"
"A new Trainer."
"Oh! Hello, nice to meet you! You seem familiar." Scratching his chin, Morty gave a thinking look, then, "Ah! You were with that Leon boy yesterday!"
The man had a bright smile that split his face, a type of mirth dancing in his eyes that reminded him of Aang. "Nice to meet you again! So I suspect you're here to get your starter Pokémon?"
He took the lack of response from Merida as an affirmation and continued, walking towards a door to the side as he continued speaking, "Well, you're in luck. You and the Pokémon both actually. A young trainer left this one after he had to quit for I quote, family reasons."
"He's a spitfire, lot's of pluck in him so I've been waiting for an older trainer like yourself to pick him up. I was about to consider sending him to Professor Elm but I had a gut feeling and you came along. So congratulations on the perfect timing!" Morty chuckled, the happy and chatty demeanour allowing Zuko to relax a little ever since his mistake with the clerk earlier.
"Of course, I wouldn't force you to take him but do give him a great deal of consideration."
With that, Morty pushed in a small groove at the side of the ball he held, looking expectant as the Pokémon emerged in a burst of light.
It gave a shake of its head, ruffling the red feathers along the crown of its head rather vigorously. It was rather like a hawk-chick, Zuko decided. Except it was a glorious orange. Beady black eyes looked dolefully around as it shifted on one pale peach leg to the other, the claws at the end flexing as it settled on the ground. Soft yellow down feathers lining both sides of its neck fluffed up as the Pokémon puffed up its chest. It chattered at Morty, as if demanding to know why it had been called out. Then, turning, its eyes settled on Zuko and it blinked inquisitively, cautiously approaching him as it tilted its head, jerking it in one angle to the other. Zuko unconsciously lowered himself and reached out to pet it as it neared, letting it peck at his hand curiously. Then, it rubbed the side of its head against his hand affectionately, cooing in a pleased sort of tone.
Zuko decided he liked it quite a bit. He never had any pets. The animals around the palace were just for show and generally had their own caretakers. Momo and Appa were technically Aang's pets and he never spent that much time with them anyway.
He could feel himself smiling as it now proceeded to scratch its own head with its claws instead. The red feathers on its head shaking and seemingly flickering from in-between the orange down.
"Obon."
A/N
Re: Zuko's appeal to get help from Leon. Olden day royalty speak in strange ways. For example, those of high birth will refer to themselves in third person, and with incredibly formal, complex speech. I hope I captured that aspect in some way. Zuko slipped into this style of speech halfway through to try and convince Leon. It's also why Leon assumed Zuko was roleplaying because no one in modern times speak that way except in historical dramas.
Re: Slyph Co. Pokémon training should have some sort of perks to it. Otherwise, why would so many people be into Pokémon battling? Not many will want to spend their lifetime training animals just for battles, I'm sure. One or two Pokémon with certain innate abilities to help around the house should be enough. Slyph Co has the monopoly on all Pokémon battling related sales. So how is Slyph Co going to earn from all those Pokémon battling technology they produce? Sponsor to generate their own demand pool, of course.
Re: Shady man in the alleyway. He's shady.
Re: Obon. Which came first? The egg or the hawk-chicken? How do you like Zuko's first Pokémon? If Zuko was a Pokémon, he'll be a Blaziken, I think. A fire and fighting type, with the signature move blaze kick. Tell me that isn't a poultry form of a firebender. I'm thinking of shortening the name to 'Bon' over time, but that just makes it sound like a shortened form of 'bonfire'. I don't know, tell me your thoughts?
I want to hug Leon so bad. I hope Zuko meets him again soon.
Sorry for the update speed! I know this is incredibly slow as compared to most other authors, and I have no excuses except the standard - studies and other commitments. But I've read your comments and they really help to keep me invested in this - the problem mostly lies with the actual writing (I'm extremely rusty, and lazy). No promises on when the next chapter would be out though, but at this rate, I'll expect it'll take another year (oops).
