A/N:The next chapter of FNU is here, folks! It's not going to be a happy one...
Oh, and since each chapter title is in Japanese...I'll translate what they mean from now on. This one means "tragic past." You'll see which character's past it is shortly...
Chapter 9 Sangeki No Kako
Quickly, quickly they ran, as fast as they possibly could, away from the relentless foes who constantly pursued them. They hoped that by simply running, they could overtake these disgusting people who were after them, but they were fools. They knew this in their heart, they just did not wish to acknowledge it out loud. Both of them knew, but they kept up the false belief, just to lift up their hearts again and again.
As long as they were together, nothing else mattered, not even their lives. That was the last thing on their minds at this moment. All these pokemon wanted to do was to run away and hide, to go back from whence they had come into the loving arms of their warm and caring mother and laugh and play with their innocent, carefree siblings who had not seen the stuff they had mere hours ago.
Hours, one of them thought as they hurried through the thick foliage of the forest that seemed to go on and on for centuries. They didn't know how long this passage was or how long it took for them to get out of here, they just wanted to go home. That was what was on their minds. At least, the younger one thought just of that.
The two blue pokemon that looked vaguely like lions or cats crept around each corner of the forest, half-expecting shadows to come jumping out at them from every possible angle. But none did, and the younger one cursed herself for her wild and crazy imagination. Her golden eyes narrowed as she scanned the perimeters of the path they were currently walking down.
"Stop acting so paranoid, Hibana. Obviously, they're gone now." The older, and more foolhardy one, replied, flashing her younger sister a reassuring smile, but the younger Shinx merely glared at her.
"Don't be an idiot. We need to be on our guard. We saw something we shouldn't have seen, and those...those...outsiders are going to come and get our souls!" Hibana, the younger, responded, before shivering slightly.
"What's the matter? You don't need to worry about anything. I'll always protect you!" The older one, Hinata, responded, before petting the other Shinx mischievously with her paw. The older one was obviously more mischievous and easy-going than the younger. In fact, among her friends, she was known as an optimist and a cocky, if not conceited young pokemon. However, this had earned her lots of respect and friends-though some called her a naive, if not childish young brat.
The opposite could be said for her sister, Hibana. Hibana was careful and cautious, often preferring to stay at home and read books than go out of bounds of her native home. This caused many adults to favor her over the older, especially considering the fact that she seemed to be more wise and understanding of the way things worked, and she actually feared the outsiders. The older proclaimed that the beliefs and ways of their clan were nonsense, and that she feared no one in the world.
That was part of the reason why they were out in the middle of the woods. That was due to a little incident, where Hibana and Hinata had been out in an outsider's town not too far from here and had discovered a job request to go and rescue someone stranded out here. However, they had discovered a little too late that it was merely a set-up, and the "rescued" pokemon was already gone by the time they got there. Hibana had realized only too soon that it was a trap and tried to warn her foolish sister, but Hinata had ignored her warnings, and now they had the bandits trying to hunt them down and kill them for what they knew.
Even though they were merely young cubs who wandered into the wrong place at the wrong time, and were trying to do the right thing. Even though the two of them posed no threat at all to the existence of the bandits, they had considered them enemies who knew too much and had sworn to eliminate them.
"Sister, outsiders are terrible and cruel, aren't they?" She had asked one day when they were really little and out playing with other pokemon, including a little Buneary named Neary, who was actually quite nice.
Her sister had merely struck her hard for saying that, and had told her that she was an idiot for believing the nonsense the adults told her. Hibana had protested, and told the adults, who had just let it go. They merely saw it as sibling rivalry.
Hibana truly could say, now, that she hated her sister. She hated the love she got from her father, who only sent cold hate in hers. She hated the attention bestowed on her older sister and the fact that one day she would be leading the clan, and Hibana would be the person who would be ignored and be the outcast of the family. She hated how Hinata was such a fool and conceited, because her older sister was blissfully unaware of little things called consequences, and how every reaction has an equal and opposite action.
Suddenly, several shadows surrounded the two girls, who banded together in a small huddle, as if attempting to protect each other from the shadows. It was futile, however.
A blue pokemon approached, first. Its golden eyes scoured over them, and it flew on two wings. It had a huge blue horn sticking out of the top of its head. "I found them, Boss!" It cried, in an irritatingly high-pitched voice.
The second, a badger-like pokemon, popped out of the ground before spitting dirt in the faces of the two sisters and getting up on its feet. Its legs were razor sharp, but not as sharp as its claws, which it honed every day. This pokemon was called Drillbur.
The last, a black and red fox pokemon approached the quivering innocent children in amusement. Her blue eyes were full of intelligence and cunning as she studied them. Her fur was long and red in the back, but she possessed sharp claws and the ability to produce illusions so grand they fooled even the smartest magician. Her name was Zoroark. "I see we meet again, foolish children." She remarked sadistically. This pokemon was cruel and spared no prisoners.
"Not you, you evil witch!" Hinata shrieked, but Hibana merely smacked her on the head and shook her head at her.
"Don't act like that, you idiot!" She remarked.
"Here is an exception. It seems the younger sister is more perceptive than her bratty older sister. Is that right, dear?" The Zoroark observed.
"Y-Yes. It was her fault that we came here in the first place. It'd be better if we left, because it'd be smart." Hibana whispered, not even looking at the outsider in front of her.
"Well, aren't you the smart little Shinx? Too bad you both have to die. It's time for your...punishment." The Zoroark cried, before exposing her claws and then unleashing her attack. "NIGHT DAZE!"
Then, Hibana's perception of reality changed, and she knew no more, until she heard her sister's voice cry out her name, and then eerie silence.
Hibana shot up in her bed, sweat matting her thick blue fur. Frowning in distaste at the condition her coat was in, she made a mental note to go down to the filthy spring tomorrow run by that old coot Torkoal. He may be an outsider, but at least he kept his place pretty clean. Too bad she had to expose herself to bad diseases, but it was only for one day.
A smirk came onto her face as she thought about the naive newcomers. When they had arrived home tonight, they had barely gotten any kind of reward. Chatot had kindly explained to them that true disciples of the Holy Guildmaster do not earn money because it is considered unnecessary. They needed to concentrate, instead, on spreading the word about the great Guildmaster.
She hadn't gone to the Guildmaster about that little orange weasel who had insulted her earlier today. This was the first time she'd lied to them, but her true loyalty also lay in someone else. Someone more...deadly. He had saved her life years ago and in return, she promised to make the world of the past be the utopia that he had promised her it would become in the future. In the future, there were no outsiders. Just native-born pokemon.
In the future, only the chosen ones of the Guildmaster-and Dusknoir's legion-would exist as leaders, while the rest of the populace would be happy under their guidance for the rest of eternity. Two pokemon had gone against this ideology vigorously. One was Grovyle and the other his friend, Rosie. The two were childhood friends. Fortunately, Rosie had been captured and brainwashed into reality by Dusknoir. Now, she remembered that Grovyle was her enemy.
And yet, and yet-there was another pokemon, wasn't there? That she hated more than any other? She could still remember the ebb and flow of that pokemon's voice, the sounds it had made when she had attacked that pokemon for being a criminal beyond compare.
That little bitch...
"I hated everything about you, Hikari. I'm so glad that I don't know where you are right now." She hissed. She hadn't liked the little bitch from the start...that damn upstart, the disgusting smile she would send her sometimes. They hadn't gotten along from the moment they met.
"Who's Hikari?" A familiar voice uttered, and Hibana turned around to see a familiar Azurill standing there, staring at her curiously. There was a different air about her now, somehow. It seemed...strange, somehow.
"Sick pokemon, huh? How'd you get in here, outsider?"
"Don't call me that!" The Azurill screamed, and then suddenly its tail turned white, and it unleashed an Iron Tail on the unsuspecting Hibana, who went flying backwards and hit the wall. The blood dripped down from her tail and painted the floor red.
"What the hell was that for?" How the hell did she know that attack at this age? Was she stronger than she looked?
Hibana was honestly feeling a little unnerved at the cold look the girl was sending her now. It wasn't one of friendliness. Instead, it was an icy look, almost too mature for someone her age to wear.
"This is it, then? This is all you can do, Hibana?" The Azurill uttered in a bored tone, as she bounced on her tail. Then she unleashed a Water Gun.
"Too easy." She responded, and unleashed Spark, which Azuri barely dodged.
Azuri then used splash and jumped forward. If she struck headfirst with this attack, everything would go okay. But it didn't.
Hibana was prepared. She attacked, with Thunder Fang, which was a successful hit. Azuri went flying backwards and hit the wall. Yet...she was back up on her feet, with a few bruises on her, and she looked exhausted, but why was she still standing? She was a water-type, after all.
"Baka. I'm a Normal-type. I am most definitely not normal, but I can assure you that I am more normal than any of the idiots in your little cult." Azuri retorted coldly, her purple eyes flashing blue briefly. Then, they suddenly shone red for a brief moment, and then returned to normal.
Hibana's eyes widened. What had that been? Some kind of eye power, perhaps? Was this girl...possibly?
The Azurill smiled coldly. "You do realize that I know exactly who you really are loyal to, right? Mr, Tall, Dark, And Ghostly Creepy?"
Hibana's fur bristled. "DON'T YOU EVER SPEAK THAT WAY ABOUT HIM!" She shrieked, and leapt right at Azuri, who couldn't dodge. She started to scratch at her skin, and the girl shrieked in pain as she kept it up. Suddenly, an odd feeling went through her skin. It felt as though she was being contacted by something.
Then, a mysterious blue light shone out of nowhere, and hit Hibana. Up on the cliff, Grovyle smirked coolly. "That wasn't bad."
When Hibana came to, all of the Guild members were there, including the goody-two shoes. The bratty ones were nowhere in sight, and the Azurill was gone.
What had happened to her, anyway?
Grovyle sat impatiently in Kentachi's house and then he stopped upon seeing a bunch of pokemon come in. A young Pichu, an Absol, a Torchic, a Nidorina, and an Azurill came in. All of them sat down.
"This? These are your friends? You think with only them, you can beat him-"
"Of course we can." The Torchic piped up confidently.
"...Sure." The Azurill muttered.
"Shut up, Azuri!" The female Torchic exclaimed, nearly blazing.
"Hiyoko-chan, knock it off."
