Karuta walked silently along the highway, his heavy boots digging into the
soft ground beside the asphalt path that stretched on into the distance.
The night wind blew cold around him, the chill pushing through his
trenchcoat and sending a shiver down his spine. All around him was a
deathly silence, only the wind giving whispers of foreboding to this
unfortunate traveler. He'd been walking down this highway for twenty
minutes and was just waiting for that tell-tale horn to sound.
Karuta's head perked as he heard the brief whirr of tires on the road behind him. Looking over his shoulder, he watched a car zoom down the highway and vanish off behind a hill in an instant, the fading blare of a horn marking it's existance. Soon, the same car passed him again and vanished away just as quickly. Karuta looked around at his surroundings, finding that things looked exactly the same as when he had started walking.
With a small amount of interest, he jammed the toe of his boot into the dirt and drew a circle. Closing his eyes, the Trainer took off running in the opposite direction, going back the way he came. After counting to twenty, he stopped running and opened his eyes.
"Well I'll be damned."
Sighing at the notion that he hadn't actually gone anywhere in his sprint, Karuta wiped the circle out of the dirt and stared out at the road as the same car drove past once more. Curiousity got the better of him as he looked over his shoulder, waiting for the car to show up once more. When the headlights and horn appeared around the bend, Karuta took off running in the direction the car was heading. It was traveling much faster than he could run, but he kept up a good pace with it for a while. He tried to peek into the windows, but found them dark and fogged, completely veiling the people inside. He could only make out the vague outlines of two adults in the front seats of the car and what looked to be two small children in the back.
The car suddenly swerved away from Karuta, narrowly dodging past a sickly little Sentret that had been preening itself in the middle of the road. The car skidded hard to the left to regain it's bearing, but the wheels caught on the soft shoulder of the hill and it flipped, rolling over and over before sliding to a hard stop upside-down. The chasis of the car was twisted and mangled from the crash, the front half of the engine exposed and leaking fluids.
Karuta looked down at the fallen Sentret, watching the little pokemon's death throes as it's heart beat off rythm from the shock of almost being run down. It twitched a few times before falling still, it's empty eyes staring off into space.
A quiet rustle in the bushes by the road caught Karuta's attention. A pair of glittering eyes appeared in the darkness, staring at the dead pokemon on the highway. There was a sudden snap of movement almost too swift for Karuta to follow as a large Ekans launched itself from the underbrush and snatched up the Sentret, gulping it down in a single bite. Karuta stared at the feeding pokemon in confusion, his brow furrowing at the scene.
The sound of creaking metal caught the attention of both snake and man, drawing their gaze to the wrecked car. One of the back doors shook, then creaked open and fell clean off the car, clattering to the road. A small, but plump, Raichu tumbled out of the destroyed vehicle. It was quickly followed by a small boy, long black hair matted to the boy's brow with blood and sweat. The child coughed loudly, doing his best to clear his lungs of the acrid fumes of leaking fuel.
"Rai-chu cha! Rai-chu cha!" the Raichu choked, clinging to the boy's arm.
The boy laid a moment longer, oblivious to both his watchers. He dragged himself to his feet, staggering and then falling as his left leg gave out from underneath him. Blood slowly pooled around his leg, mixed with the pain-filled tears of the child. The boy quickly crawled over to the side of the car again, trying to push his way back into the car through the passenger's side.
"Mommy? Wake up Mommy...please, wake up..." the boy sobbed as he reached into the car, not quite able to get back in because of the crushed front of the vehicle.
Karuta watched blankly as the Ekans let out a gutteral hiss and slinked over the pavement, darting towards the boy and pokemon. The Raichu looked up at the sound of the pokemon's arrival, a look of fear crossing it's furry face as it stepped protectively in front of it's human companion.
"Rai-chu cha!"
Why was all this so familiar?
~~~~Twenty-Four Hours Remain~~~~
Karuta awoke with a start, sitting up suddenly from his bed. Sheets dropped to the floor as Karuta sat gasping in a cold sweat. He shook his head a few times to clear his mind of the cobwebs, looking around the room.
The Trainer had been enroute to Olivine City for two days and had been staying the night at a small hotel in a cozy little town that blatantly shunned his existance as much as they could. The odd stares and whispers at the sight of the man was something Karuta was used to, though it still bugged him a little. It's not like he enjoyed being the guy that people were afraid was walking behind them....well, maybe he enjoyed it a little.
Karuta looked down at Kyuuden, who was quietly snoozing against his trainer's side. Even the sudden jerk of Karuta's awakening hadn't roused the mouse pokemon at all. He sighed at the pokemon's ability to block out noise while alseep and stared at him, his finger gently tracing over the scar the pokemon bore.
"Stupid little rodent...why'd you have to go and do something like that?" Karuta gave a half-smile to the slumbering pokemon.
Kyuuden snored on.
~~~~Seventeen Hours Remain~~~~
"Bakaaaaa ne!"
Nozomi's usual battle cry rang out loud and clear in the early morning. She charged as fast as she could down the streets of Olivine City, her shout undoubtedly stirring many from their sleep. The pokemon trainer looked a little disheveled and wet, her long green hair matted in thick strands against her neck. Ahead of her was Amos, easily keeping a good length between them while wearing an enormous grin the entire time. He, unlike his angered persuer, was not wet.
"Oh c'mon darlin', it was just an innocent compliment!" Amos bellowed with laughter as he ran, chansing a peek over his shoulder at the enraged girl.
"Innocent compliment!? You walked in on me in the shower and held up a scorecard!"
"I gave you a high score! You should be thankin' me."
"Omae o korosu!"
Amos ducked his head as a projectile shot over him and briefly wondered where Nozomi learned how to throw trashcans so hard.
~~~~Sixteen Hours Remain~~~~
Karuta yawned loudly, a gloved hand covering his mouth as he strolled down the side of a highway. His dreams left his sleep hindered and lacking a few hours, so he was feeling less than his normally perky self this morning. At least he was actually moving on this highway instead of staying in the same area the entire walk. High above him, Tsu-chan soared on the thermals pockets of rising air as the sun warmed the world below. Karuta offered the bird pokemon a quick glance, smiling lightly at the sight of the elegant creature above him.
Karuta turned his attention to the sun, more specifically to it's location in the sky. After a moment of consideration he turned on his heel and started up the low slope that edged the highway, his army boots gripping with the grass and dirt of the hill as he climbed.
After reaching the peak of the hill, the slope suddenly evened off into a plateau. For miles on ahead of him, Karuta found lush fields of green grass, simple wooden and barbed wire fencing surrounding a good part of the land. Dozens of cattle pokemon wandered aimlessly in the field, grazing and meandering to their whims. Miltank and Tauros were the two largest groups in the field, seperated by a random Ponyta or Rapidash here and there. Karuta let out a low whistle from the sheer number of pokemon, impressed at the skill it would take to care for so many pokemon at once.
The coated trainer gently hopped onto the fence, easily landing the seven foot height onto one of the support beams. He crouched on the post, his arms akimbo while he watched the pokemon in the fields before him. He raised his hand over his head, two fingers extended skywards. Slowly, his hand lowered and leveled at a small but healthy Miltank, singling the pokemon out of the dozens of it's kind that walked the plains.
Minutes later, the ranch owners mounted up and charged out into the fields; the screams of their cattle hastening their pace.
~~~~Eleven Hours Remain~~~~
Amos couldn't help but laugh.
He tried to hold it in, he really did. However, his sense of humor was neigh unsuppressable most of the time and this was no exception. He howled with laughter at the television screen before him, slapping a massive hand on his knee. Nozomi looked at him like he was mad, cocking her eyebrows at the older man that sat next to her.
After their five hour chase through the city, the two eventually made up and returned to the hotel room they were sharing during their stay in Olivine City. While Nozomi prompted to fix herself up after another shower, Amos had his own priorities; namely, eating Fruity Rings cereal and laughing at the misfortune of others on the afternoon news.
"Soil tests have proven that the pokemon involved in the incident were rodent and serpent, beyond a shadow of a doubt. While authorities have confirmed the death of Ms. Kounji, the person responsible, if there even is one, has yet to be discovered. Studies on the footprints found near the incident have proven inconclusive. While the size of the footprints indicate a young man, the depth is shallower than even a toddler's. Police are still working to solve this mystery." The newscaster reported solemnly.
"How in the world can you laugh at something so sad?" Nozomi questioned as she sat down next to Amos.
"With a great amount of enjoyment." Amos answered.
"You're pure evil, you know that?"
"Flattery will get you everywhere, darlin'."
"But I don't get it. How in the world can you possibly find that funny? How'd you like it if something like that happened to you?"
"It wouldn't. I don't have any rodent pokemon and I wouldn't get m'self killed by some li'l snake."
Nozomi glared for a moment. Amos was just like Karuta when it came to avoiding a conversation. She settled back to continue listening to the news report. A scene of a gentle farmland was displayed on screen, the lovely landscape marred by the dead bodies of Miltank and Tauros. The pokemon's bodies were digitally blurred, though it was still painfull obvious by the size and lack of digitization in the blurs that the pokemon were shredded and pulverized. Nozomi stuck her tongue out in disgust at the scene while Amos simply poured himself another bowl of cereal.
"Breaking News!: The Manasaki Ranch, just southeast of Olivine City, has been attacked today by an unidentified pokemon trainer. We now bring you a live interview with one of the witnesses of this terrible event."
A tired looking old man appeared on screen, the reporter's microphone jammed under his nose. He looked wearily at the carnage behind him, then back at the camera.
"Sir, can you tell us what happened here?" The reporter asked.
"It was just awful...We heard the pokemon screamin' and bleatin' like there was no tomorrow comin' and we came a-runnin'. When we got here, this big ol' Fearow had been swoopin' down and snatchin' up our animals like they was nothin'. It picked 'em up in the air, gored 'em with it's claws, then dropped 'em to make sure they was dead before it started eatin' at 'em."
"We're aware that this berserk Fearow had a trainer, what do you think of this?"
"I think that it'za assasin! Them no-goodniks over at the Kurahara Ranch have been lookin' to up their sales over the past few months and this is just the sort of thing they'd go and pull. I'd betcha ten to one that punk was workin' for 'em, those slimy beasts."
"Couldn't you do anything to stop the trainer?"
"Well....we tried, but it didn' work."
"Why not?"
"Well...um, I came up ridin' on my trusty Rapidash, Burner. I tried to scare the punk a little by having Burner rear up at him, but it didn't scare 'em nothin' at all."
"So you just let him and his pokemon go scott free?"
"Hey, you try tell someone who punches out a Rapidash that he can't go nowhere he damn well pleases."
A sudden gale of laughter caused milk to squirt from Amos' nose.
"Scary part was how he moved. I didn' even get a good look at'im from the way he stepped. Damn like a blur, he was movin' so fast. I did see some, though. He was wearin' all black, just like a burglar. Saw a coat though, like one'athem folks in the movie...y'know, where the people go flyin' and jumping through their computer world...the one with al'them long trench coats." The farmer scratched his head slightly, upsetting his hat.
Nozomi blinked in amazement. There was no way...it couldn't be Karuta. It sure sounded like him, and that was definately something he would do. When it came to getting what he wanted, Karuta didn't seem to mind letting silly things like laws or ethics get in his way. But still, to let Tsu-chan just slaughter pokemon like that was too extreme, even for someone like--
"Karuta..."
Nozomi blinked again, looking at Amos. Having uttered that single name had a frightening effect on the man whom Nozomi was just beginning to call a friend. The cereal spoon held in his hand was no longer a spoon, but was presently in the form of a tiny ball of crumpled metal in Amos' palm. His bowl of cereal was set on the coffee table before him, the very rim of the glass bowl cracked off. Amos looked as though he was ready to kill the closest person, making Nozomi unconciously move away a few inches.
"Y-you know Karuta?" Nozomi asked timidly. Amos didn't answer, though he quickly stood and stomped towards the doorway. "Wait! You do know Karuta...what do you know about--"
Nozomi's call died in her throat as Amos turned and cast her a wilting glare. He then turned and shoved the door open, regardless that the door had been locked...and swung in the wrong direction. With that door demolished, Amos hurried out of the hotel with Nozomi hot on his heels.
The manager of the hotel looked at Nozomi and Amos, then to a trainee he was with at the time. As the two rushed through the lobby, the trainee leaned in to his manager.
"Aren't you going to make them pay for their room, sir?" the trainee asked.
There was a resounding crash as Amos tore through the main doors of the hotel lobby.
"You do it." was all the manager replied.
~~~~Four Hours Remain~~~~
It had been a good day, so far. Minus the reoccurring nightmares, everything had gone quite nicely. Tsu-chan had lunch, Karuta had gained a few good miles down the road, and he hadn't met a single upstart trainer wanting to challenge him to a duel.
"Hey you!"
Damnit…spoke too soon.
"You! In the coat!" A boy's voice called out. Karuta sighed heavily and slowly turned to face his challenger. Time for another pointless pokemon battle…
Karuta's train of though was abruptly halted as he ducked under the shaft of a broom. The boy who had chased up to him wielded the cleaning utensil like a sword, swinging wildly at Karuta. The trench-coated trainer had nothing to do other than simply duck around the haphazard strikes, though his evasion only made the boy swing harder.
"S'cuse me, but why are you trying to brain me?" Karuta asked innocently.
"For Lyla! Your stupid bird killed Lyla!" The boy shrieked as he took a stab at Karuta's chest, though Karuta hopped just out of range of the attack.
"Who?"
"My Miltank! You let your damn Fearow eat her! I'm gonna kill you!" the boy yelled with teary eyes as he jabbed once more at Karuta.
Karuta's gloved fist wrapped around the end of the broom handle before it impacted with his chest, allowing him to push the lunge to the side. He twisted the broom out of the boy's grip and swung it around to bring it smartly across the boy's head. The child staggered and was promptly swatted to the ground once more by the broom.
"You can't possibly be so upset about a cow. They're just dumb animals, after all." Karuta sighed as he twirled the broom expertly in his hands. The boy had been using it all wrong, it worked better as a staff than a sword.
"You're wrong! She was my best friend! Lyla wasn't just some stupid animal and you killed her!" The boy sobbed as he leapt to his feet and rushed Karuta, small fists flying.
CRACK!
The boy's eyes rolled back into his head as he slumped forward onto the dirt road with a dull thump. Karuta sighed once more and tossed the now broken broomstick next to the boy's unconscious form. With such blind rage as fuel for attack, it had been painfully simple to get past the boy and strike at his unprotected head.
Karuta crouched beside the slumbering boy, checking to see if he had broken the boy's skull. Poor kid didn't look to be any more than ten years old…far too young to be going around threatening people.
Karuta just shook his head and sighed. If the kid had come all this way on his own, he could get back on his own. With that, Karuta played Good Samaritan and dragged the kid to the side of the road so he wouldn't get run over by passing vehicles, then left back on his way once more.
He never even looked over his shoulder.
~~~~Two Hours Remain~~~~
"We met a long time ago, back before Karuta even had enough badges to compete in an Indigo League Competition. He came to my Gym to challenge me for…"
"Wait a second, you're a Gym Leader?"
"Was; I ran the Crimson City Gym for fighting pokemon. Now don't interrupt. You wanted to hear how I know Karuta, so shut up and listen."
"Sorry."
"You should be."
Nozomi and Amos sat just outside city limits of Olivine City, resting on the grassy hils beside the main road. It had taken Nozomi all the way from downtown Olivine to the limits to calm Amos down enough to speak to her about Karuta. Now they simply sat and waited, enjoying a box of donuts picked up soon after Amos cooled down a little.
"Anyway, Karuta showed up at my Gym and challenged me to a duel. Mind you that most people don't challenge me. That's why my gym isn't all too popular; my style of battling. I personally don't believe in making pokemon do anything their trainer isn't willing to do as well. Without that dedication, the pokemon won't respect their trainer." Amos explained.
"Makes sense…" Nozomi conceded.
"Same way with battling. For someone to win my badge, the trainer had to fight alongside the pokemon. It guarantees that the trainer is truly capable as a Pokemon Trainer. Any kid with a Pikachu can yell out attacks, but it takes real skill to be able to fight with your pokemon as a partner and not just as a trained pet." Amos continued.
"My fights were always rough, enough to the point where I stopped giving out badges just because nobody could beat me. My pokemon, sometimes, but never me. Makes for quite a boring time. Then Karuta showed up…"
"Let me guess: he beat you and now you want to get revenge on him?" Nozomu supplied.
"Yes and no. Yes, I want revenge. No, he didn't beat me." Amos continued.
"Karuta challenged me and I accepted. I could tell just from looking at him that he meant business. Too many amateurs come and challenge, thinking it's an easy win. Karuta…he was different. He went straight into battle along with his pokemon, an Arbok."
"Dokuga..." Nozomi gasped.
"Yeah, that's it. Didn't I tell you not to interrupt?"
"Sorry."
"You should be. Anyway, I used my Machamp and myself to fight him. It was a great battle, but his tactics were bizarre. He never stood still long enough for me to get in close enough to hit him. He always kept me at leg's reach and just kicked me as much as he could. Didn't help that he had that homicidal snake lunging around trying to bite us into pieces.
"Pretty soon, it was like he lost control of his Arbok. It just started attacking randomly, not caring about what Karuta told it to do. It tried to take a bite out of me and my Machamp got in the way…"
Amos sighed momentarily, suddenly looking very weary. The tiredness vanished as his face flushed with anger once more.
"It goes to show what a pokemon will do for it's trainer if they really respect them. Machamp lost an arm to that Arbok, and Karuta didn't even care. It just ripped the poor guy's top left arm off like it was so much beef jerky. If only I'd had Maelstrom at the time, I would've had that serpent roasted and seasoned for lunch."
"I'm so sorry…I know Karuta is extreme at times, but I didn't think he'd go as far as to allowing his pokemon to deliberately injure anyone." Nozomi said quietly. She couldn't help but remember the news report and suspect…
"You obviously don't know him as well as I do. After that battle, I tracked him for a long time. He's a slippery one, but I need to find him to avenge Machamp. Plain and simple."
For some reason, Nozomi felt that nothing was just plain and simple. Great, it looked like Karuta had rubbed off…
~~~~Thirty Minutes Remain~~~~
Karuta strolled boldly through the streets of Olivine City, happy to have finally made it to his destination. Now that he was here, he could challenge the Gym, see some sights, and maybe even do a little shopping. The best part of it all was that he was the only person in the City, apparently, dressed as he was. People on the streets ahead of him moved and avoided direct eye-contact, something that Karuta was more than happy to comply with. He didn't need anyone spoiling the good day he was having.
Karuta looked around himself, examining the buildings around him. He suddenly felt a tickle in his nose, then sneezed loudly. He wasn't offered but a single 'Bless you' from a small girl being pulled along by her mother down the street.
Karuta wiped his nose on a handkerchief produced from the inside of his coat, replaced the kerchief, then continued on his way without another though.
~~~~Ten Minutes Remain~~~~
"So what are you going to do once you find Karuta?" Nozomi asked, genuinely curious as well as concerned.
"Don't know, really. I've been going over a lot of different things I could do to him, but I can't decide. Which sounds better; crushing his skull with my hands or breaking his spine over my knee? Maybe both…"
Nozomi sighed and shook her head. She doubted Amos would actually kill Karuta, but with someone as strong as he was, it was possible. Karuta was powerful, but Amos seemed to be in a whole other class of strength. She'd seen him toss around his Typhlosion like it was a rag-doll. There was no way Karuta could stand up to something like that. If Amos really did want Karuta dead, she might as well start digging a grave.
"He's not that bad y'know." Nozomi pardoned, not really sure why. She and Karuta had parted on terrible terms, but she still felt concerned about him. "I know he's extreme a lot, but that Arbok of his is a killer. It tried to eat me just before Karuta and I…"
Amos leapt to his feet, fury in his eyes. The look of anger on his face was greater than even that of Karuta's in the hospital. Amos' whole body shook as he clenched his fists into tight balls, his huge knuckles turning white from the pressure.
"IT WHAT!?! I'LL KILL HIM!!" Amos bellowed as he stormed off back towards the city.
"Amos, wait! You don't even know where he is!" Nozomi cried as she hurried after the enraged Trainer.
"Then I'll rip apart this whole city until I find him!"
Somehow, Nozomi couldn't help but believe that threat.
~~~~Two Minutes Remain~~~~
Karuta quietly strolled down the street, looking into the windows of various shops as he went. Things were getting very peaceful, which was never a good thing. Karuta couldn't help but think that something bad was coming his way. A sixth sense, one could say, told Karuta to stay on his toes. What, exactly, he couldn't tell. It felt big though…
~~~~One Minute Remains~~~~
Nozomi gasped and puffed in exhurstion as she tried to keep up with Amos' massive strides. He didn't have Karuta's grace or breakneck speeds, but his great height and long legs allowed him to easily cover ground faster than Nozomi could without breaking a sweat. With a growl from ahead, Nozomi noted that Amos had suddenly picked up speed, leaving her even further behind.
Amos took off into a sprint, running straight towards a mailbox that was being used by a small woman. His leg swung back in mid-stride, his heavy boot connecting with the side of the mailbox and sending it flying through the air. The woman fell back in surprise, the letter she was going to deliver still clutched in her hand.
~~~~Ten Seconds Remain~~~~
Karuta looked up just in time to see an airborne mailbox plummet towards him. The Trainer dove out of the way, barely escaping being crushed by the metal container. Why in the world was a mailbox in the air? Did it get hit by a car or something?
The sound of heavy footfalls drew Karuta's attention ahead of him.
~~~~Five Seconds Remain~~~~
There he was! That smug little bastard, perfectly open for attack on the ground. He'd pay for what he did…for mutilating Machamp, for endangering Nozomi…he wouldn't live to see sunset!
~~~~Two Seconds Remain~~~~
Karuta leapt to his feet, pushing himself up off the ground to avoid being crushed under the foot of Amos as the enormous man charged over where he had been prostrated a moment before. Karuta landed deftly on his feet and blinked in confusion, trying to place the face of the man attacking him.
~~~~Ground Zero~~~~
"YOU!" Both Trainers chorused, twin looks of outrage on their faces.
Nozomi had barely caught up with the two Trainers as they stood glaring at each other with looks of disbelief and rage. She gained the distinct feeling that this was a bad place to be right now…
"Karuta…" Amos growled.
"Amos…" Karuta hissed. Nozomi could've sworn he had gained fangs.
Amos dug his hands into his pockets, rummaging around for a minute. When he withdrew his hands, the fronts of his fists were adorned with thick brass knuckles, the metal sheeting covering the whole of his fists. It looks more like he was wearing gauntlets than brass knuckles, but the studded backs and ribbed knuckle covers left little room for argument.
"I'll kill you." Amos threatened.
Karuta, to counter, reached into his coat. Nozomi gasped as the sound of metal singing rang clear, the flash of steel appearing in Karuta's hands. He was holding a sword. Not just any sword, but a rather expensive looking katana. How he ever hid such a thing in his coat was beyond Nozomi's comprehension, but so were most of the things Karuta managed. The katana glimmered wickedly, the razor edge pointed directly at Amos.
"Omae o korosu." Karuta returned the threat with equal wrath.
"Guys, can't we just…" Nozomi started.
Before she could stop it, the two lunged at each other. Karuta drew his sword back to swing as Amos swung forward with his covered fists.
And then all Hell broke loose.
Karuta's head perked as he heard the brief whirr of tires on the road behind him. Looking over his shoulder, he watched a car zoom down the highway and vanish off behind a hill in an instant, the fading blare of a horn marking it's existance. Soon, the same car passed him again and vanished away just as quickly. Karuta looked around at his surroundings, finding that things looked exactly the same as when he had started walking.
With a small amount of interest, he jammed the toe of his boot into the dirt and drew a circle. Closing his eyes, the Trainer took off running in the opposite direction, going back the way he came. After counting to twenty, he stopped running and opened his eyes.
"Well I'll be damned."
Sighing at the notion that he hadn't actually gone anywhere in his sprint, Karuta wiped the circle out of the dirt and stared out at the road as the same car drove past once more. Curiousity got the better of him as he looked over his shoulder, waiting for the car to show up once more. When the headlights and horn appeared around the bend, Karuta took off running in the direction the car was heading. It was traveling much faster than he could run, but he kept up a good pace with it for a while. He tried to peek into the windows, but found them dark and fogged, completely veiling the people inside. He could only make out the vague outlines of two adults in the front seats of the car and what looked to be two small children in the back.
The car suddenly swerved away from Karuta, narrowly dodging past a sickly little Sentret that had been preening itself in the middle of the road. The car skidded hard to the left to regain it's bearing, but the wheels caught on the soft shoulder of the hill and it flipped, rolling over and over before sliding to a hard stop upside-down. The chasis of the car was twisted and mangled from the crash, the front half of the engine exposed and leaking fluids.
Karuta looked down at the fallen Sentret, watching the little pokemon's death throes as it's heart beat off rythm from the shock of almost being run down. It twitched a few times before falling still, it's empty eyes staring off into space.
A quiet rustle in the bushes by the road caught Karuta's attention. A pair of glittering eyes appeared in the darkness, staring at the dead pokemon on the highway. There was a sudden snap of movement almost too swift for Karuta to follow as a large Ekans launched itself from the underbrush and snatched up the Sentret, gulping it down in a single bite. Karuta stared at the feeding pokemon in confusion, his brow furrowing at the scene.
The sound of creaking metal caught the attention of both snake and man, drawing their gaze to the wrecked car. One of the back doors shook, then creaked open and fell clean off the car, clattering to the road. A small, but plump, Raichu tumbled out of the destroyed vehicle. It was quickly followed by a small boy, long black hair matted to the boy's brow with blood and sweat. The child coughed loudly, doing his best to clear his lungs of the acrid fumes of leaking fuel.
"Rai-chu cha! Rai-chu cha!" the Raichu choked, clinging to the boy's arm.
The boy laid a moment longer, oblivious to both his watchers. He dragged himself to his feet, staggering and then falling as his left leg gave out from underneath him. Blood slowly pooled around his leg, mixed with the pain-filled tears of the child. The boy quickly crawled over to the side of the car again, trying to push his way back into the car through the passenger's side.
"Mommy? Wake up Mommy...please, wake up..." the boy sobbed as he reached into the car, not quite able to get back in because of the crushed front of the vehicle.
Karuta watched blankly as the Ekans let out a gutteral hiss and slinked over the pavement, darting towards the boy and pokemon. The Raichu looked up at the sound of the pokemon's arrival, a look of fear crossing it's furry face as it stepped protectively in front of it's human companion.
"Rai-chu cha!"
Why was all this so familiar?
~~~~Twenty-Four Hours Remain~~~~
Karuta awoke with a start, sitting up suddenly from his bed. Sheets dropped to the floor as Karuta sat gasping in a cold sweat. He shook his head a few times to clear his mind of the cobwebs, looking around the room.
The Trainer had been enroute to Olivine City for two days and had been staying the night at a small hotel in a cozy little town that blatantly shunned his existance as much as they could. The odd stares and whispers at the sight of the man was something Karuta was used to, though it still bugged him a little. It's not like he enjoyed being the guy that people were afraid was walking behind them....well, maybe he enjoyed it a little.
Karuta looked down at Kyuuden, who was quietly snoozing against his trainer's side. Even the sudden jerk of Karuta's awakening hadn't roused the mouse pokemon at all. He sighed at the pokemon's ability to block out noise while alseep and stared at him, his finger gently tracing over the scar the pokemon bore.
"Stupid little rodent...why'd you have to go and do something like that?" Karuta gave a half-smile to the slumbering pokemon.
Kyuuden snored on.
~~~~Seventeen Hours Remain~~~~
"Bakaaaaa ne!"
Nozomi's usual battle cry rang out loud and clear in the early morning. She charged as fast as she could down the streets of Olivine City, her shout undoubtedly stirring many from their sleep. The pokemon trainer looked a little disheveled and wet, her long green hair matted in thick strands against her neck. Ahead of her was Amos, easily keeping a good length between them while wearing an enormous grin the entire time. He, unlike his angered persuer, was not wet.
"Oh c'mon darlin', it was just an innocent compliment!" Amos bellowed with laughter as he ran, chansing a peek over his shoulder at the enraged girl.
"Innocent compliment!? You walked in on me in the shower and held up a scorecard!"
"I gave you a high score! You should be thankin' me."
"Omae o korosu!"
Amos ducked his head as a projectile shot over him and briefly wondered where Nozomi learned how to throw trashcans so hard.
~~~~Sixteen Hours Remain~~~~
Karuta yawned loudly, a gloved hand covering his mouth as he strolled down the side of a highway. His dreams left his sleep hindered and lacking a few hours, so he was feeling less than his normally perky self this morning. At least he was actually moving on this highway instead of staying in the same area the entire walk. High above him, Tsu-chan soared on the thermals pockets of rising air as the sun warmed the world below. Karuta offered the bird pokemon a quick glance, smiling lightly at the sight of the elegant creature above him.
Karuta turned his attention to the sun, more specifically to it's location in the sky. After a moment of consideration he turned on his heel and started up the low slope that edged the highway, his army boots gripping with the grass and dirt of the hill as he climbed.
After reaching the peak of the hill, the slope suddenly evened off into a plateau. For miles on ahead of him, Karuta found lush fields of green grass, simple wooden and barbed wire fencing surrounding a good part of the land. Dozens of cattle pokemon wandered aimlessly in the field, grazing and meandering to their whims. Miltank and Tauros were the two largest groups in the field, seperated by a random Ponyta or Rapidash here and there. Karuta let out a low whistle from the sheer number of pokemon, impressed at the skill it would take to care for so many pokemon at once.
The coated trainer gently hopped onto the fence, easily landing the seven foot height onto one of the support beams. He crouched on the post, his arms akimbo while he watched the pokemon in the fields before him. He raised his hand over his head, two fingers extended skywards. Slowly, his hand lowered and leveled at a small but healthy Miltank, singling the pokemon out of the dozens of it's kind that walked the plains.
Minutes later, the ranch owners mounted up and charged out into the fields; the screams of their cattle hastening their pace.
~~~~Eleven Hours Remain~~~~
Amos couldn't help but laugh.
He tried to hold it in, he really did. However, his sense of humor was neigh unsuppressable most of the time and this was no exception. He howled with laughter at the television screen before him, slapping a massive hand on his knee. Nozomi looked at him like he was mad, cocking her eyebrows at the older man that sat next to her.
After their five hour chase through the city, the two eventually made up and returned to the hotel room they were sharing during their stay in Olivine City. While Nozomi prompted to fix herself up after another shower, Amos had his own priorities; namely, eating Fruity Rings cereal and laughing at the misfortune of others on the afternoon news.
"Soil tests have proven that the pokemon involved in the incident were rodent and serpent, beyond a shadow of a doubt. While authorities have confirmed the death of Ms. Kounji, the person responsible, if there even is one, has yet to be discovered. Studies on the footprints found near the incident have proven inconclusive. While the size of the footprints indicate a young man, the depth is shallower than even a toddler's. Police are still working to solve this mystery." The newscaster reported solemnly.
"How in the world can you laugh at something so sad?" Nozomi questioned as she sat down next to Amos.
"With a great amount of enjoyment." Amos answered.
"You're pure evil, you know that?"
"Flattery will get you everywhere, darlin'."
"But I don't get it. How in the world can you possibly find that funny? How'd you like it if something like that happened to you?"
"It wouldn't. I don't have any rodent pokemon and I wouldn't get m'self killed by some li'l snake."
Nozomi glared for a moment. Amos was just like Karuta when it came to avoiding a conversation. She settled back to continue listening to the news report. A scene of a gentle farmland was displayed on screen, the lovely landscape marred by the dead bodies of Miltank and Tauros. The pokemon's bodies were digitally blurred, though it was still painfull obvious by the size and lack of digitization in the blurs that the pokemon were shredded and pulverized. Nozomi stuck her tongue out in disgust at the scene while Amos simply poured himself another bowl of cereal.
"Breaking News!: The Manasaki Ranch, just southeast of Olivine City, has been attacked today by an unidentified pokemon trainer. We now bring you a live interview with one of the witnesses of this terrible event."
A tired looking old man appeared on screen, the reporter's microphone jammed under his nose. He looked wearily at the carnage behind him, then back at the camera.
"Sir, can you tell us what happened here?" The reporter asked.
"It was just awful...We heard the pokemon screamin' and bleatin' like there was no tomorrow comin' and we came a-runnin'. When we got here, this big ol' Fearow had been swoopin' down and snatchin' up our animals like they was nothin'. It picked 'em up in the air, gored 'em with it's claws, then dropped 'em to make sure they was dead before it started eatin' at 'em."
"We're aware that this berserk Fearow had a trainer, what do you think of this?"
"I think that it'za assasin! Them no-goodniks over at the Kurahara Ranch have been lookin' to up their sales over the past few months and this is just the sort of thing they'd go and pull. I'd betcha ten to one that punk was workin' for 'em, those slimy beasts."
"Couldn't you do anything to stop the trainer?"
"Well....we tried, but it didn' work."
"Why not?"
"Well...um, I came up ridin' on my trusty Rapidash, Burner. I tried to scare the punk a little by having Burner rear up at him, but it didn't scare 'em nothin' at all."
"So you just let him and his pokemon go scott free?"
"Hey, you try tell someone who punches out a Rapidash that he can't go nowhere he damn well pleases."
A sudden gale of laughter caused milk to squirt from Amos' nose.
"Scary part was how he moved. I didn' even get a good look at'im from the way he stepped. Damn like a blur, he was movin' so fast. I did see some, though. He was wearin' all black, just like a burglar. Saw a coat though, like one'athem folks in the movie...y'know, where the people go flyin' and jumping through their computer world...the one with al'them long trench coats." The farmer scratched his head slightly, upsetting his hat.
Nozomi blinked in amazement. There was no way...it couldn't be Karuta. It sure sounded like him, and that was definately something he would do. When it came to getting what he wanted, Karuta didn't seem to mind letting silly things like laws or ethics get in his way. But still, to let Tsu-chan just slaughter pokemon like that was too extreme, even for someone like--
"Karuta..."
Nozomi blinked again, looking at Amos. Having uttered that single name had a frightening effect on the man whom Nozomi was just beginning to call a friend. The cereal spoon held in his hand was no longer a spoon, but was presently in the form of a tiny ball of crumpled metal in Amos' palm. His bowl of cereal was set on the coffee table before him, the very rim of the glass bowl cracked off. Amos looked as though he was ready to kill the closest person, making Nozomi unconciously move away a few inches.
"Y-you know Karuta?" Nozomi asked timidly. Amos didn't answer, though he quickly stood and stomped towards the doorway. "Wait! You do know Karuta...what do you know about--"
Nozomi's call died in her throat as Amos turned and cast her a wilting glare. He then turned and shoved the door open, regardless that the door had been locked...and swung in the wrong direction. With that door demolished, Amos hurried out of the hotel with Nozomi hot on his heels.
The manager of the hotel looked at Nozomi and Amos, then to a trainee he was with at the time. As the two rushed through the lobby, the trainee leaned in to his manager.
"Aren't you going to make them pay for their room, sir?" the trainee asked.
There was a resounding crash as Amos tore through the main doors of the hotel lobby.
"You do it." was all the manager replied.
~~~~Four Hours Remain~~~~
It had been a good day, so far. Minus the reoccurring nightmares, everything had gone quite nicely. Tsu-chan had lunch, Karuta had gained a few good miles down the road, and he hadn't met a single upstart trainer wanting to challenge him to a duel.
"Hey you!"
Damnit…spoke too soon.
"You! In the coat!" A boy's voice called out. Karuta sighed heavily and slowly turned to face his challenger. Time for another pointless pokemon battle…
Karuta's train of though was abruptly halted as he ducked under the shaft of a broom. The boy who had chased up to him wielded the cleaning utensil like a sword, swinging wildly at Karuta. The trench-coated trainer had nothing to do other than simply duck around the haphazard strikes, though his evasion only made the boy swing harder.
"S'cuse me, but why are you trying to brain me?" Karuta asked innocently.
"For Lyla! Your stupid bird killed Lyla!" The boy shrieked as he took a stab at Karuta's chest, though Karuta hopped just out of range of the attack.
"Who?"
"My Miltank! You let your damn Fearow eat her! I'm gonna kill you!" the boy yelled with teary eyes as he jabbed once more at Karuta.
Karuta's gloved fist wrapped around the end of the broom handle before it impacted with his chest, allowing him to push the lunge to the side. He twisted the broom out of the boy's grip and swung it around to bring it smartly across the boy's head. The child staggered and was promptly swatted to the ground once more by the broom.
"You can't possibly be so upset about a cow. They're just dumb animals, after all." Karuta sighed as he twirled the broom expertly in his hands. The boy had been using it all wrong, it worked better as a staff than a sword.
"You're wrong! She was my best friend! Lyla wasn't just some stupid animal and you killed her!" The boy sobbed as he leapt to his feet and rushed Karuta, small fists flying.
CRACK!
The boy's eyes rolled back into his head as he slumped forward onto the dirt road with a dull thump. Karuta sighed once more and tossed the now broken broomstick next to the boy's unconscious form. With such blind rage as fuel for attack, it had been painfully simple to get past the boy and strike at his unprotected head.
Karuta crouched beside the slumbering boy, checking to see if he had broken the boy's skull. Poor kid didn't look to be any more than ten years old…far too young to be going around threatening people.
Karuta just shook his head and sighed. If the kid had come all this way on his own, he could get back on his own. With that, Karuta played Good Samaritan and dragged the kid to the side of the road so he wouldn't get run over by passing vehicles, then left back on his way once more.
He never even looked over his shoulder.
~~~~Two Hours Remain~~~~
"We met a long time ago, back before Karuta even had enough badges to compete in an Indigo League Competition. He came to my Gym to challenge me for…"
"Wait a second, you're a Gym Leader?"
"Was; I ran the Crimson City Gym for fighting pokemon. Now don't interrupt. You wanted to hear how I know Karuta, so shut up and listen."
"Sorry."
"You should be."
Nozomi and Amos sat just outside city limits of Olivine City, resting on the grassy hils beside the main road. It had taken Nozomi all the way from downtown Olivine to the limits to calm Amos down enough to speak to her about Karuta. Now they simply sat and waited, enjoying a box of donuts picked up soon after Amos cooled down a little.
"Anyway, Karuta showed up at my Gym and challenged me to a duel. Mind you that most people don't challenge me. That's why my gym isn't all too popular; my style of battling. I personally don't believe in making pokemon do anything their trainer isn't willing to do as well. Without that dedication, the pokemon won't respect their trainer." Amos explained.
"Makes sense…" Nozomi conceded.
"Same way with battling. For someone to win my badge, the trainer had to fight alongside the pokemon. It guarantees that the trainer is truly capable as a Pokemon Trainer. Any kid with a Pikachu can yell out attacks, but it takes real skill to be able to fight with your pokemon as a partner and not just as a trained pet." Amos continued.
"My fights were always rough, enough to the point where I stopped giving out badges just because nobody could beat me. My pokemon, sometimes, but never me. Makes for quite a boring time. Then Karuta showed up…"
"Let me guess: he beat you and now you want to get revenge on him?" Nozomu supplied.
"Yes and no. Yes, I want revenge. No, he didn't beat me." Amos continued.
"Karuta challenged me and I accepted. I could tell just from looking at him that he meant business. Too many amateurs come and challenge, thinking it's an easy win. Karuta…he was different. He went straight into battle along with his pokemon, an Arbok."
"Dokuga..." Nozomi gasped.
"Yeah, that's it. Didn't I tell you not to interrupt?"
"Sorry."
"You should be. Anyway, I used my Machamp and myself to fight him. It was a great battle, but his tactics were bizarre. He never stood still long enough for me to get in close enough to hit him. He always kept me at leg's reach and just kicked me as much as he could. Didn't help that he had that homicidal snake lunging around trying to bite us into pieces.
"Pretty soon, it was like he lost control of his Arbok. It just started attacking randomly, not caring about what Karuta told it to do. It tried to take a bite out of me and my Machamp got in the way…"
Amos sighed momentarily, suddenly looking very weary. The tiredness vanished as his face flushed with anger once more.
"It goes to show what a pokemon will do for it's trainer if they really respect them. Machamp lost an arm to that Arbok, and Karuta didn't even care. It just ripped the poor guy's top left arm off like it was so much beef jerky. If only I'd had Maelstrom at the time, I would've had that serpent roasted and seasoned for lunch."
"I'm so sorry…I know Karuta is extreme at times, but I didn't think he'd go as far as to allowing his pokemon to deliberately injure anyone." Nozomi said quietly. She couldn't help but remember the news report and suspect…
"You obviously don't know him as well as I do. After that battle, I tracked him for a long time. He's a slippery one, but I need to find him to avenge Machamp. Plain and simple."
For some reason, Nozomi felt that nothing was just plain and simple. Great, it looked like Karuta had rubbed off…
~~~~Thirty Minutes Remain~~~~
Karuta strolled boldly through the streets of Olivine City, happy to have finally made it to his destination. Now that he was here, he could challenge the Gym, see some sights, and maybe even do a little shopping. The best part of it all was that he was the only person in the City, apparently, dressed as he was. People on the streets ahead of him moved and avoided direct eye-contact, something that Karuta was more than happy to comply with. He didn't need anyone spoiling the good day he was having.
Karuta looked around himself, examining the buildings around him. He suddenly felt a tickle in his nose, then sneezed loudly. He wasn't offered but a single 'Bless you' from a small girl being pulled along by her mother down the street.
Karuta wiped his nose on a handkerchief produced from the inside of his coat, replaced the kerchief, then continued on his way without another though.
~~~~Ten Minutes Remain~~~~
"So what are you going to do once you find Karuta?" Nozomi asked, genuinely curious as well as concerned.
"Don't know, really. I've been going over a lot of different things I could do to him, but I can't decide. Which sounds better; crushing his skull with my hands or breaking his spine over my knee? Maybe both…"
Nozomi sighed and shook her head. She doubted Amos would actually kill Karuta, but with someone as strong as he was, it was possible. Karuta was powerful, but Amos seemed to be in a whole other class of strength. She'd seen him toss around his Typhlosion like it was a rag-doll. There was no way Karuta could stand up to something like that. If Amos really did want Karuta dead, she might as well start digging a grave.
"He's not that bad y'know." Nozomi pardoned, not really sure why. She and Karuta had parted on terrible terms, but she still felt concerned about him. "I know he's extreme a lot, but that Arbok of his is a killer. It tried to eat me just before Karuta and I…"
Amos leapt to his feet, fury in his eyes. The look of anger on his face was greater than even that of Karuta's in the hospital. Amos' whole body shook as he clenched his fists into tight balls, his huge knuckles turning white from the pressure.
"IT WHAT!?! I'LL KILL HIM!!" Amos bellowed as he stormed off back towards the city.
"Amos, wait! You don't even know where he is!" Nozomi cried as she hurried after the enraged Trainer.
"Then I'll rip apart this whole city until I find him!"
Somehow, Nozomi couldn't help but believe that threat.
~~~~Two Minutes Remain~~~~
Karuta quietly strolled down the street, looking into the windows of various shops as he went. Things were getting very peaceful, which was never a good thing. Karuta couldn't help but think that something bad was coming his way. A sixth sense, one could say, told Karuta to stay on his toes. What, exactly, he couldn't tell. It felt big though…
~~~~One Minute Remains~~~~
Nozomi gasped and puffed in exhurstion as she tried to keep up with Amos' massive strides. He didn't have Karuta's grace or breakneck speeds, but his great height and long legs allowed him to easily cover ground faster than Nozomi could without breaking a sweat. With a growl from ahead, Nozomi noted that Amos had suddenly picked up speed, leaving her even further behind.
Amos took off into a sprint, running straight towards a mailbox that was being used by a small woman. His leg swung back in mid-stride, his heavy boot connecting with the side of the mailbox and sending it flying through the air. The woman fell back in surprise, the letter she was going to deliver still clutched in her hand.
~~~~Ten Seconds Remain~~~~
Karuta looked up just in time to see an airborne mailbox plummet towards him. The Trainer dove out of the way, barely escaping being crushed by the metal container. Why in the world was a mailbox in the air? Did it get hit by a car or something?
The sound of heavy footfalls drew Karuta's attention ahead of him.
~~~~Five Seconds Remain~~~~
There he was! That smug little bastard, perfectly open for attack on the ground. He'd pay for what he did…for mutilating Machamp, for endangering Nozomi…he wouldn't live to see sunset!
~~~~Two Seconds Remain~~~~
Karuta leapt to his feet, pushing himself up off the ground to avoid being crushed under the foot of Amos as the enormous man charged over where he had been prostrated a moment before. Karuta landed deftly on his feet and blinked in confusion, trying to place the face of the man attacking him.
~~~~Ground Zero~~~~
"YOU!" Both Trainers chorused, twin looks of outrage on their faces.
Nozomi had barely caught up with the two Trainers as they stood glaring at each other with looks of disbelief and rage. She gained the distinct feeling that this was a bad place to be right now…
"Karuta…" Amos growled.
"Amos…" Karuta hissed. Nozomi could've sworn he had gained fangs.
Amos dug his hands into his pockets, rummaging around for a minute. When he withdrew his hands, the fronts of his fists were adorned with thick brass knuckles, the metal sheeting covering the whole of his fists. It looks more like he was wearing gauntlets than brass knuckles, but the studded backs and ribbed knuckle covers left little room for argument.
"I'll kill you." Amos threatened.
Karuta, to counter, reached into his coat. Nozomi gasped as the sound of metal singing rang clear, the flash of steel appearing in Karuta's hands. He was holding a sword. Not just any sword, but a rather expensive looking katana. How he ever hid such a thing in his coat was beyond Nozomi's comprehension, but so were most of the things Karuta managed. The katana glimmered wickedly, the razor edge pointed directly at Amos.
"Omae o korosu." Karuta returned the threat with equal wrath.
"Guys, can't we just…" Nozomi started.
Before she could stop it, the two lunged at each other. Karuta drew his sword back to swing as Amos swung forward with his covered fists.
And then all Hell broke loose.