This chapter, we take a little break to go back in time, and take a look at a little bit of a relationship between two surprising acquaintances.
KedharS: Definitely. They're rather cute together.
Just a Bad Writer for Fun: We'll have to see. Wonder if he'll be able to beat Diancie.
Rus0804: I wouldn't call it a crush as much as acknowledging that Sylvia is hot and not being able to be cool about it.
KyubiMaster09: The Draconid people don't have wi-fi. Or television reception. Or cell service. Or newspapers. Or any contact with the outside world at all, really.
Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings
Chapter 550
In the brief two weeks between the death of "Murasaki Kanou" and the birth of "Sylvia Driscoll", the ghost of Murasaki Kanou had occupied herself in Luna Lunark's home, reading up on all sorts of interesting topics.
But she wasn't alone.
"So… you're okay. That's good."
Kanou studied the boy sitting across the table from her. Somehow, the black-haired boy was able to drink soup while hiding his face behind a mask. It was rather odd. His movements were so swift that she couldn't catch the moments where he pulled down his mask to sip.
"Isn't that uncomfortable?" Kanou asked, raising her eyebrow. She was curious. She'd never seen someone eat in such an odd way. As a girl who fascinated with interesting and exciting things to counteract the overwhelming boredom she felt in her life, she found herself drawn to the boy, who she had learned from the professor was named "Dokukage", in spite of herself.
It was also interesting that he was dressed up as a ninja in the first place.
"As a shinobi, it is my duty to conceal my face from others," Dokukage replied. "It is a matter of honor, you see."
Kanou blinked. So he actually was taking this pretty seriously, apparently. He thought that he was a real ninja? That was…
It was crazy, but also rather amusing.
"So you're a ninja?" Kanou asked. "Like a real ninja?"
"Yes," Dokukage nodded. "Since I was a child, I was raised in the path of ninjutsu, to become a powerful warrior for the sake of my village."
Kanou took a slow sip from her soup. She set her spoon down and asked "so does that mean you can use the shadow clone jutsu?"
"NOT EVERY NINJA CAN USE THE SHADOW CLONE JUTSU!" Dokukage exclaimed, his face going hot. Kanou blinked and he gasped, glancing away.
"…Fufu. Aren't ninjas supposed to keep their cool?" Kanou laughed.
"Th-that's…"
Kanou laughed again. Dokukage was surprised. What he'd heard of the girl from Professor Lunark, she was supposed to be the kind of person who never smiled or laughed. And even from what he'd seen of her, she seemed withdrawn and vacant. Not the kind of person who would laugh or be amused by him losing his cool.
But the moment was gone as quickly as it started. Her face returned to its more vacant, impassive mask, and Dokukage thought it was kind of a loss.
"You were the one who pulled me from that river, weren't you?" Kanou asked quietly. Dokukage flinched.
"You… were aware of that?" Dokukage asked, surprised.
"I'm not exactly a light girl," Kanou said, glancing down at her slightly plump figure. "And with that witch being as small as she is…"
"Ah," Dokukage had to agree with that. Professor Lunark was barely five feet tall and had the physique of a prepubescent girl, with the exception of her… voluptuous chest. No way she could have pulled Kanou out of that river, which is why Dokukage, who had been watching from the shadows, had jumped in immediately. "You're being too hard on yourself, though."
"It doesn't matter," Kanou said, shrugging. She didn't mind that much about being slightly overweight. She wasn't one of those annoying vapid girls who cared so much about her figure. She could take it or leave it. "But I do want to thank you. If not for you saving me, I would have died an empty, meaningless existence. But now… now I'm a little intrigued…"
"Oh?" Dokukage raised his eyebrow.
"I found some interesting notes on a certain incident that's caught my attention for now," Kanou explained. "So you don't need to concern yourself with me. Still, though…"
Kanou adjusted her glasses, glancing at him.
"You have to work on your poker face. For a ninja, you give way too much away."
Dokukage scowled behind his mask.
"You say the same things as Yumeko," he sighed.
"Oh?" Kanou's frown deepened. She didn't like being compared with other people. It pissed her off that she was so ordinary, like them.
"She was… a friend. She always said I wasn't suited for being a ninja."
"Who is?"
"Fair enough, but… I guess I've never been very good at hiding my true feelings," Dokukage said. "Luckily, well, I'm good at wearing a mask, so none of the other students at my school have noticed. Besides, they all stay away from me for some reason."
"Is this ninja school?" Kanou asked, raising her eyebrow.
Dokukage shook his head. "The Pokemon Academy. I'm a first year."
"…And there aren't any other ninjas there?" Kanou followed up.
Dokukage shook his head again.
"Well, that's probably why people look at you like you're a weirdo then," Kanou replied.
"Huh? But ninjas are cool!" Dokukage protested.
"People treat those who look and act differently like outcasts," Kanou said. "That's just part of being an ordinary person. A high schooler who goes around dressing like a ninja is going to make people think you're a weirdo."
"Ninjas… are weird?" Dokukage's face went pale and he dropped his spoon into his soup. Unfortunately his mask still covered much of his face, to Kanou's irritation. She was getting very invested in seeing what he looked like now. "I-I always thought that… everyone thought ninjas were cool… my sensei said that Naruto was the #1 manga, so… people don't like ninjas?!"
"Meh. It's all about superhero schools now," Kanou said, waving her hand dismissively.
"What about pirates, are they still cool?" Dokukage asked.
"Yeah, people still like pirates. I don't think that one's ever getting cancelled," Kanou assured him. Dokukage burst out laughing. Kanou rolled her eyes. "See what I mean? No poker face. So tell me something, Dokukage."
"Hmm?"
"What are you doing here?" Kanou asked. "I mean, you said you're going to the Pokemon Academy, right? So what are you doing out here, working for a crazy witch lady with an obsession for old horror stories?"
"Professor Lunark is a professor AT the Pokemon Academy, actually," Dokukage revealed.
Kanou blinked. Today was full of interesting things.
"That… is a professor?" Kanou pictured Luna Lunark in her mind. She had a bit of an interest in the woman. She lived life by her own terms, and had given Kanou somewhat of a reason to go on. Kanou almost wanted to be like her… if not for the fact that would just make her some boring copy of someone else. No, if Kanou was going to reinvent herself, she would become her own person, a brand new person.
Still, to think that a woman like that, who looked like a child and yet was an adult, to think that she would be a professor at a school…
"So what, you're working for her under course credit?" Kanou asked, raising her eyebrow.
Dokukage nodded. "Something like that… the professor, the class she teaches… she specializes in potions. And I have some experience in that area."
"Oh, really?" Kanou asked.
"My village is home to a great many herbs. We've been refining them and using them in potions and elixirs for centuries. So the professor is making use of my expertise as an assistant in exchange for some… assistance of her own."
"Oh?" Kanou was already starting to get bored. The topic might have seemed interesting on the surface, but no, it was just a little bit boring.
Dokukage wasn't the best at reading other people, though, especially not someone like Kanou who was so emotionally detached that it seemed like everything was just sort of boring to her. So he didn't pick up on the fact that she was already checking out, and continued to talk.
"One of my pokemon, my Nincada… is having some health problems," Dokukage said. "Higurashi… he's had a major fever for months. According to the nurses, it's a rare form of infection and modern antidotes don't have any effect. An herbal remedy, a potion of some kind, it might be able to cure him… but if not, well…"
Dokukage's voice lowered.
"I just hope the professor can find a cure," he muttered under his breath.
Kanou didn't say anything, she just stared quietly at him.
"You're a ninja, right?" Kanou asked. It was an obvious question at this point, which is why Dokukage was confused. He had been talking about something meaningful, but apparently she had just changed the topic out of nowhere. He wasn't really used to talking with normal people, though. Only fellow shinobi. Maybe this was just how ordinary girls like Kanou did things?
"Uh, yeah, why?" Dokukage asked. He had quickly become aware of the fact that he was, for the first time he could remember, having an actual conversation with a girl who hadn't been drilled on proper shuriken throwing techniques or seduction or multiple forms of martial arts.
Kanou was just an ordinary girl, and Dokukage found himself suddenly realizing he had nothing to talk with an ordinary girl about.
"So… you probably know how to work out, right?" Kanou asked. "You know, get in good shape, trim the fat, all that stuff?"
Wait, is she coming onto me? Dokukage wasn't sure. Were normal girls this forward? He was in good shape, but… well…
"I've been thinking of reinventing myself," Kanou said. "I had my eye on some nice clothes… maybe dye my hair, get some contacts… but, well… it wouldn't suit this figure. So would you mind getting me into shape? If you do, I could lend a hand in return."
"Lend a hand how?" Dokukage asked.
"Before I threw myself off that bridge, my parents made me study medicine," Kanou explained. "They wanted me to be a doctor or some other boring, predictable career… so I'm rather good at research. In fact, I'm what you might call a genius. Who knows? Give me some time and I might be able to help this professor of yours find a cure."
She shrugged.
"Couldn't hurt, right?"
Dokukage paused. It would be no real difficulty to help. Kanou wasn't what anyone would call fat, just slightly overweight. In a few weeks time, with some discipline and exercise, and a ninja diet, he could get rid of those extra pounds no problem. And in exchange, she would help find a cure? That sounded like a fair trade.
"I can help," Dokukage said, nodding.
Two weeks later, and Dokukage was beginning to have second thoughts. It wasn't that Murasaki Kanou wasn't helpful, far from it. She had memorized every page of the professor's herbology library in a flash, and when he asked how she simply dismissed it as "because I'm a genius."
No, what he was regretting was the fact he had actually tried to get to know more about her. Kanou, well… he had grown to like her. Not in a romantic way. At least, not as far as he knew. But in spite of her claims of being boring and predictable, Dokukage found "boring and predictable" to be rather refreshing.
Better than being a shinobi or something.
But right now, "Murasaki Kanou" was gone. She stood in front of a long mirror, admiring her new looks. She'd dyed her hair, replaced her big glasses with color contacts, and squeezed her newly voluptuous figure into a tight dress that looked like it belonged on an antique doll. He could see the resemblance between the two, but whoever this was, she wasn't Kanou.
"Kanou-"
"Sylvia," the blonde corrected him with a sharp look and a coy smirk. (She'd been smiling a lot recently, more than Kanou ever had) She turned back to the mirror and fluffed her hair a little, checking herself out at different angles. "Sylvia Driscoll… that's my name now."
"Okay… Sylvia," Dokukage said.
"So, what do you think?" Sylvia asked, strolling over to him, batting her eyelashes.
"You look fine," Dokukage said evenly. That was another thing he had to thank her for. Not only had Kanou (though, she was going by Sylvia now?) helped the professor with her research, she had also taken the time out of her schedule to help him work on his poker face while he was helping her work out. Now, his face was an impassionate mask if he wanted it to be.
It wasn't until now that he realized she had been using him as a test for a mask of her own, the mask of this… "Sylvia Driscoll" or whoever she was now.
"Now that I've been… reborn," Sylvia mused, stroking her chin, "I suppose I better uphold my end of the bargain."
Dokukage blinked. What did she-
"Your Nincada, right?" Sylvia turned back to him. "I found a cure. I meant to tell you, it just… slipped away."
Dokukage's jaw dropped.
Sylvia smirked. "Looks like you still need a little more practice."
"You… no way, how?" Dokukage gasped.
"It wasn't difficult," Sylvia said, shaking her head and rolling her eyes, as if curing a disease that modern doctors couldn't understand was some small thing, not worth her trouble. She walked past Dokukage and headed for the library. Dokukage gaped, staring after her. The way her ass was moving, she wasn't… was she…?
No! Damn! Fuck! What the hell are you thinking?! That's not-! Dokukage slapped himself across the face to snap him out of his ogling haze. He sighed, and readjusted himself, moving to follow her, only to see her peek her head out of the door, giving him an odd look.
"Did you just… slap yourself?" Sylvia asked, confused.
"Uh… yeah, I just, um…" Dokukage blushed, not sure what to say about that.
"…If you really want to look like you're a stoic ninja who's in control of your emotions, maybe you should probably start doing that mentally," Sylvia replied. She gave him a smirk. "Maybe then you can stop your wandering gaze…"
God fucking damn it.
Sylvia closed the door behind her and took a deep breath. That… that was okay, right? That's how she was supposed to act in her new life, right? Yeah. Exactly. She was doing it perfectly. She wasn't the boring, plain Murasaki Kanou anymore. She'd been reborn. She was Sylvia Driscoll now, and Sylvia Driscoll did whatever the hell she wanted.
And right now, she wanted to prove how smart she was by showing off how she'd discovered the cure for Dokukage's Nincada.
Dokukage followed Sylvia into the library, and she walked over to one of the desks where she found a large, old book bound in leather. She opened it, scanning the pages until she found the one she was looking for, and then showed it to Dokukage. "Here."
"It's… what? 'Evolution Sickness'?" Dokukage asked, squinting at the page.
"Apparently, it's a rare illness that can occur in some Bug type pokemon when they begin the evolution process," Sylvia explained. "Usually pokemon like Kakuna and Metapod The growth of their shells doesn't match the growth of the pokemon inside. So they find themselves trapped, unable to break free because the cocoons are a little too tight. Take out your Nincada."
Dokukage nodded, pressing the button on the pokeball and letting out his Nincada. The small pokemon's eyes were glassy and it wasn't moving, it barely seemed to be breathing.
"The nurses said that these were all signs that Higurashi would evolve soon, but they didn't have an explanation for why it wasn't," Dokukage said. "And when they checked the fever… Professor Lunark said she thought it looked familiar, but…"
"But she doesn't have that much experience with Bug types," Sylvia said, shaking her head. "Something this obscure, you could be a nurse and go your whole life without seeing a case like this. If you know what it is it's easy to spot, but if not then you would have no idea what to do."
She flashed Dokukage a triumphant smirk.
"But of course, I figured it out immediately. Because I'm a genius."
She knelt down next to where the pokemon sat still on the ground, and placed her hand on his scaly back.
"Yeah, see? The skin is rough and tight. The pokemon inside wants to come out, but he's too weak to break through because he's grown a little too big for his own skin. It makes sense no one caught it, the book didn't even mention the possibility that Nincada could be susceptible," Sylvia said. Her eyes were shiny. "How exciting! A disease, so rare hardly anyone encounters it, striking a pokemon that has never had a reported case? I'm so glad I decided to help! I can't wait to see what will occur!"
Her expression turned serious again, causing Dokukage to get worried.
"But if we don't get him out of there soon, well… he might suffocate. He's already been in there for weeks. We need to ease the shell in order to get him to evolve."
"You said you found a cure?" Dokukage asked.
"Yep, it's all here," Sylvia said, rising to her feet and slapping the page of the book. "The problem is whether or not we can make it."
"What… what do you mean?" Dokukage asked, his face going pale.
"You said the professor was out of town?" Sylvia asked. Dokukage nodded. She sighed. "That's not good, then."
"Why not?" He demanded.
"When I found the recipe I went and looked up all the ingredients for it," Sylvia explained. "And the professor has almost everything we need, but…"
Fuck! Dokukage didn't like the sound of that "but", the same way he didn't like the sound of that "almost" everything. "But what?"
"We need to make a special salve, to stimulate the growth of the scales and also make them more susceptible to tearing, so that your pokemon can safely evolve," Sylvia explained. "But to do that, we need a special compound ground from a night flower."
"What's a 'Night Flower'?" Dokukage asked.
"It's a special flower that only grows in dark places, haunted by ghosts," Sylvia said. "They absorb the ambient energies of ghost pokemon in the area. Which makes getting one… tricky. There is one place we can find it, but it would have been easier to get there with the professor's help."
She looked out the window of Professor Lunark's grand library, at the large mountain looming beyond. The professor had built the house at the base of the mountain specifically because of her love of Ghost types, which populated the mountain.
"Oh well!" Sylvia shrugged, "not like we can do anything about it now! I'll have to go pick some up! Should just be lying around, I'd wager."
Dokukage took a moment to think, not sure he had heard her right.
"Wait, wait, you're going to go to Mt. Specter?" Dokukage clarified. "To go find this… what is it, a night flower? Now? Alone? At night?! You don't even have any pokemon!"
"Yeah?" Sylvia grinned, her blue-lensed eyes sparkling with excitement. "Should be a blast!"
"I'll come with you!" Dokukage blurted out. There was absolutely no way he was letting her go all on her own. She was just some middle schooler! She was a girl! She had no idea what she was getting herself into!
"No, you stay here, if we both go, and we don't come back, then no one will tell the professor what the cure is," Sylvia insisted, crossing her arms in front of her large chest, giving it a little shake to disorient Dokukage for a moment. When he got his cool back, he glanced up at her face again and tried to protest.
"But… but you don't have any pokemon! I have pokemon to protect myself, I have training, you're just an ordinary girl!" Dokukage insisted. "I'll go, you stay here!"
Sylvia's face darkened. She was just an "ordinary" girl? Really?
Sylvia snapped the book shut, and smirked. It was a dangerous sort of smirk that made Dokukage's blood run cold.
"Do you even know what a night flower looks like?" Sylvia asked, raising her eyebrow. Dokukage glanced at the book. "That's what I thought. You'll just be wandering around like an idiot. No, it's gotta be me, since I know what I'm looking for. And besides, there's absolutely no way I'm going to miss out on an adventure that promises to be this exciting. That's just not the kind of girl that Sylvia Driscoll is, don't worry."
"Give me the book so I can find it," Dokukage insisted. He reached for it, and Sylvia pulled it away from him, giving him a coy smirk.
"Nope~" She chirped. She reached down and popped open a button on her shirt. "If you want it back… come take it. You're a ninja, right? You should have all sorts of moves to take care of a… helpless little ordinary girl like me…"
She licked her lips and popped another button. Dokukage flinched, averting his eyes and shielding his face. He wasn't going to give into her seduction! Absolutely fucking not!
When he looked again, Sylvia Driscoll and the book were gone.
Fuck.
From the moment she was born, Sylvia was a capricious little devil, wasn't she? But at least she seems to be doing some good.