Hello all! This chapter was supposed to be done sooner but it wasn't.
My bad. Finals.
Anyways, not a lot to say so enjoy the chapter!
Regice and Celebi walked through the parking lot to the massive building towering over them. Celebi didn't seem fazed at all, but Regice was still surprised at the sheer size of such a thing. For all intents and purposes, this had been the biggest building she'd seen around her hometown.
They stopped before a large pair of glass doors. Celebi took out a small card and held it in front of a reader. The doors clicked and the short girl pushed them open. Regice followed as Celebi led her into the ground floor of the university. It was still big, but it looked smaller on the inside than she was expecting.
"What's that face for?" Celebi asked.
"I thought it'd be way bigger in here. It's still big, but it just feels like it's lacking in some way," Regice shrugged.
"That's because the middle is hollowed out," Celebi explained.
"How much of the middle?"
"Remember when I suggested you take a stab at being a fighter?" Celebi asked.
"An idea I am still not thinking about, yes," Regice nodded. Celebi rolled her eyes but continued regardless.
"The point is," Celebi sent her a pointed look, "they take the fighting league pretty seriously here. It's a big part of the schools partnership programs."
"But didn't you say this place was only ranked sixth in the country?" Regice raised an eyebrow.
"In colleges, yes," Celebi smirked, "in fighters we're number two."
"Who's number one?" Regice wondered aloud.
"UFA. University of Fighting Arts. But they're like primarily a fighting school so it makes sense," Celebi answered. Regice hummed in response.
"So are they like your rivals or something?" Regice questioned as they continued walking through the halls and towards the elevator. Celebi shook her head, pressing the call button and stepping to the side as they waited for the elevator to arrive.
"They aren't our rivals. Or at least, the only race we're in against them is in who's number one. Our rivals are actually the school at the number three spot right below us," Celebi went on. There was a ding as the elevator opened and the two stepped in. The panel with the floors had eight buttons. There was one for the lower basement level, one for the ground floor which they we're currently on, and then six floors above them. Celebi hit the button at the very top for the sixth floor.
"And who's in third in the fighting league exactly?"
"That would be SFU," at Regice's deadpan look, Celebi groaned, "Sinnoh Fighters University! God, look these things up yourself from now on!"
"Oh! I remember Sinnoh. I was there for a while when I was traveling," Regice hummed. Celebi raised her eyebrows at that.
"You were all the way in Sinnoh? What was it like?" Celebi asked. Regice shrugged and grunted.
"Eh. I think it's a little overrated. People were always saying it was like the best place ever and that no other place compared but it didn't really feel any different than any other place I traveled to," Regice mused. Celebi shook her head and laughed slightly.
"You're such a hipster," Celebi jabbed.
"Says the girl who tries to turn everyone on to the 'farmer life' or whatever you call it," Regice shot back.
"Oh shut up," Celebi elbowed her.
"Okay so anyways back on the subject, SFU is clearly another primary fighting school. So what's the beef with them?" Regice asked as the elevator opened and they stepped out.
"Oh please, there's no real animosity between us and them, it's more of a rivalry because apparently their school and our school are constantly shifting who's in second," Celebi led the taller girl down the hall. Regice followed and looked around.
There were windows going around in a giant oval, all overlooking the center where there were open spaces that she recognized as fighting grounds. There were balconies just outside the windows as well, allowing people to watch from beyond the glass and really see everything that happened. Regice noted that every floor aside from the ground one had these balcony viewing areas.
There were even a series of bridges that spanned across from one side of the building to the other, though the bridges were only on the very top floor that they were currently on, likely to prevent anyone who could fly from destroying a bridge while people were on it. Celebi nudged the door to said bridge open and Regice followed and looked down at the fighting grounds to get a better view.
There were a few odd students around the open center of the building, working out or practicing with friends or teammates. While she couldn't say exactly what some of the exercises were for, they looked like they were having fun at the very least. She continued staring down over the metal railing stopping to take in the view from so high up. Celebi stood with her and leaned with her back against the rails.
"So you guys and them are fighting to see who can be in second place?" Regice confirmed.
"Well yeah, pretty much. Nobody has taken the number one spot from UFA in decades. So we pretty much colloquially agree that second place is a gold medal," Celebi laughed. Regice laughed too, seeing that the whole idea of competing over second place was pretty ridiculous.
"But hey, it's really good for school spirit! Watch," Celebi turned and waved over at one of the students sitting at a table on a balcony one level below. They were talking with someone and once they noticed both turned and waved.
"What's up Celebi!?" one of them shouted. The voice was male and while Regice couldn't tell how tall he was from their higher level, she could tell he was shorter than the other person he had been talking to.
From this distance, all Regice could make out was that the young man had a very pointy, and very bright orange hairstyle.
"Hey Victini!" she waved with a big smile, "what do you think about SFU!?"
"Fuck those guys!" the now identified Victini screamed and jumped high into the air.
"Vic!" the other person, who also sounded male, chastised, "Watch your language in public!"
"You're not my dad, Deoxys! Get off my back!" Victini shouted. The other boy, Deoxys, pinched the bridge of his nose and Regice could see even from their distance as he slumped with a sigh.
"See? Told you it's good for spirit," Celebi said, waving at the two as she continued across the bridge and to the opposite side of the building. Regice followed, smirking slightly as she heard the two young men arguing faintly.
Celebi led her back into the building and down a hallway towards a pair of double doors. Above the doors was a placard with 'Headmaster's Office' on it. Regice sighed as she realized she'd now have to deal with professional people again.
"Alright, I'll wait out here. I doubt the HM wants other people in there for a meeting specifically for you," Celebi gently nudged her forward. Regice sighed and took one of the handles gingerly.
"Alright, I'll try and be fast," Regice said. Celebi scoffed.
"Don't be fast! Fast is never good! Take your time damnit!" the short girl told her off. Regice rolled her eyes and nodded mockingly.
"Yes mother," she intoned. Celebi pushed her into the room in retaliation, the taller girl stumbling through the door in surprise.
"Have fun with your meeting!" Celebi said with evil sweetness in her voice, slamming the doors shut right after. Regice blinked and looked around.
The office was fairly plain, which was surprising since the rest of the building seemed so modern and unique. The center of the floor held a large circular carpet that looked like it was bought from a normal retail store, complete with a slightly tacky pattern design. The room had a large cabinet on the right side, all manner of awards or other official trophies displayed neatly. On the left side was a door that she could only assume was a bathroom as the door remained partly open and she could see the sink.
That just left what remained directly in front of her. Or rather, what and who. The far wall was actually one big window that overlooked not just the island that the school was on, but even the coast of the mainland as well. There was also a desk that looked like it had been hand carved by someone with two lavish armchairs positioned before it, and behind it, sitting in a plush office chair, was a man.
A man she recognized.
His hair was white and flowed like a wisp behind him, but the sides of his hair were cut into a fade and rather than the white on top of his head, the hair on the sides of his head was grey. This was made stranger by his beard which was perfectly trimmed and very full that was also white. His skin was a grey color and his eyes had wrinkles around them that said he smiled a lot. Despite the color of his hair, she knew this man was not nearly as old as he appeared. At least, she was pretty sure he wasn't.
He was tall, and while he wasn't particularly broad, he wasn't thin either. He wore a pristine white suit and a dark grey dress shirt underneath it. He was adorned with a lot of jewelry, a ring on each finger and both thumbs, and two piercings in each ear. Every single piece was a different color. His eyes bore into her, somehow both amused and serious at the same time. His eyes were so strange as well, though some comforting to her who had seen them so many times. They appeared both red and green at the same time, both colors somehow mending perfectly despite being opposites.
"Uncle Arcey!?" she said, completely shocked.
Yes, the man before her, Arceus von Maker, was someone she had grown up seeing. He was a close family friend, someone Jirachi had known for a long time and still remained friends with today, thus the familiar name of Uncle. He wasn't actually related to her, but he may as well have been. She remembered all the holidays where he would show up and give her and her siblings some crazy gift. He even had a regular order at the cafe! She knew it down to the exact amount of sugar he liked in his coffee!
"Hello Ice. It's been quite some time now hasn't it?" the man smiled, his beard twitching upwards with his lips.
"YOU'RE THE HEADMASTER!?" she cried, not even responding to his question.
"Your father didn't tell you?" he looked a little concerned with her outbursts.
"Wha— He never— NO!" she finally got out. She was pretty much in shock right now.
"I swear Jirachi, you never cease to surprise the people around you," he muttered quietly.
"Have... Have you always been the headmaster here?" she asked quietly.
"Well there were many years before when I was simply a young man who wanted to teach others—"
"I mean since I've known you!" she huffed. She didn't normally lose herself like this, but this wasn't something she was expecting today and it was really messing with her.
"I tease, Ice," he chuckled, "Yes, I've been the headmaster for as long as you've been alive now."
"You've been the headmaster of one of the most well known universities in the world and never told us?" she crossed her arms. He blinked.
"Your brothers knew," he raised his finger matter-of-factly.
"THAT MAKES THIS WEIRDER!" she cried. He laughed again and she blushed lightly.
"Well when Jirachi told me you were looking for a place to go after your year off I was happy to pull some strings to get you in. If anyone could vouch for your drive and general willingness, it was myself," he said sagely.
"This is a dream," she stated.
"You're welcome to pinch yourself, Ice," he smirked.
"Hush you. You're not real. I always thought you were an accountant or something," she pointed scathingly at him. He raised an eyebrow at that.
"Why an accountant?" he asked.
"I dunno, you had a lot of money, you were really good with numbers and paperwork, and I only ever saw you during holidays or sporting events that you and my dad's would go to," she shrugged.
He looked a little put off by her description.
"Right," he said instead, "anyways—"
"No seriously, Uncle Arcey. You're the headmaster here?" she asked again, truly floored by this revelation.
"Yes my dear," he sighed, "I am and I have been all your life. I never realized your dad didn't tell you."
"No. No he did not. And he and I will have words," she glared, not at the man in front of her but at the thought of Jirachi and his whimsical ways.
"I expect nothing less from the girl who ran off on her own for a year," he said offhandedly.
"Hey, you were all for it when I said I was leaving for a year," she shot back. He waved her down.
"Did I suggest that was a bad thing?" he smiled lightly, "Your independence is one of your strongest features."
She flushed a little, averting her eyes. She wasn't a huge fan of compliments like that. Not compliments in general, like 'I like your hair' or 'you're pretty good at that' but those genuine compliments where the person fully believes what it is they're saying to you.
Arceus was really good at being genuine too. That made it worse.
"Alright alright," she huffed, "well thank you for the chance Uncle. I didn't realize that it'd be coming from you."
"We're practically family," he waved her off, "I know you'll do amazing things, regardless of if you go through school or not."
"Oh? Should a headmaster really be insinuating that his student may drop out and succeed?" she smirked slightly. He laughed.
"It'd be more amazing if I managed to get you to stay here for more than two years before you leave for another year," he remarked. She crossed her arms and pouted a little.
"Oh shush," she mumbled, "I'm at least gonna try."
"Hence why you're here, right?" he smiled. She smiled too and nodded.
"Wonderful," he hummed, "then let's get down to brass tacks."
She was slightly surprised, having forgotten almost entirely that she had an actual meeting with her uncle. For a brief moment she had thought that the revelation that he was the headmaster was what it was for, but then remembered that he had thought Jirachi had told her already. Which meant that there was actually something he had wanted to discuss.
"So what do we actually have to talk about? If I'm already accepted in then what more is there?" Regice asked, sitting herself down in an armchair before Arceus's desk. She hoped that didn't sound pretentious, but it was worth asking.
"Well that's just it. You're not technically accepted yet," he said with a slightly bashful smile, "it's more like you're on a wait list with a very good chance of getting in."
"So what's the catch?" she tilted her head slightly.
"Have you ever heard of our fighting program?"
Her face hit the surface of his desk and she let out a long drawn out groan. It was like Celebi was setting her up for this before they got here. Regice considered letting out a few choice colorful words, but she refrained out of respect for her uncle.
"I have. Several times in the last hour or so, as a matter of fact," Regice said from her place crumpled on his desk.
"Well your reaction tells me a lot about how you may feel about it," the man winced very slightly, his hands forming a small tent before him.
"If you're saying I have to join your fighting program to be a student here I'm letting you know now Uncle Arcey; I'm not really a fighter," she finally raised her head and stared at the man.
"Then it's good that that's not what is required of you," he claimed. She raised an eyebrow and stared at him intently.
"Care to explain?" she asked.
"Certainly," he smiled warmly, "You're in luck in one regard. Our slots for students in the fighting program are full, so even if you were a capable combatant, you wouldn't be able to join unless one of the current students dropped out."
"Okay... So why bring the program up in the first place?"
"Well there's another factor to the program that isn't always immediately evident, but is no less important," Arceus leaned forward and she watched as the green and red in his eyes switched places with the lighting, "we require personal trainers."
"Personal trainers? Like a life coach?" she clarified. Arceus laughed quietly, shaking his head and easing back with his hands.
"Not quite so, no. Rather, the fighters in our programs have very different scheduling and priorities due to scholarships and the like, so they don't always do the best academically, socially, or mentally. As a personal trainer, you'd be tasked with helping them with their duties as both fighters, students, and members of society," he explained.
"Woah woah woah, hold your horses Uncle," she finally cut in after listening to his request, "I'm not really qualified to be a fitness instructor, therapist, or guidance counselor, especially all at once! Besides, isn't that something that a professional should handle? Why have a student do that kind of stuff?"
"There are two professionals involved actually, and you'd be learning on the job under them. Likewise, we ask students to take this on because it gives the fighters a chance to interact with people around their age with different fields of interest. It gives them a chance to be a bigger part of this university than just fighters," Arceus once again rattled off the information without missing a beat. Clearly he had heard these kinds of things before.
"So you recommended me for this... Why?" she questioned.
"I figured with your lack of interest in actual academics, this gave you a chance to share your experiences and stories about your year around the world with our fighters. You may be able to give them insight they've never thought of with the things you've learned while traveling."
Regice was silent as she took that in. Was he saying she was worldly? That was pretty nice of him to say but she hardly felt any different than she did before she traveled the world. Sure she'd had her worldview changed a lot, as you would when you see how people live around the world, but she didn't think that'd help anyone.
Even so, he wasn't saying that she'd have to be a fighter, and she was pretty sure that if there were people that would be teaching her how to do it, then she'd pick it up.
"I... Can't say I'm not a little interested," she rubbed her arm, "But I don't know if I'll be any good at it."
"You're more resourceful than you give yourself credit for, Ice," Arceus gave her a parental smile, one she had seen many times and had a natural calming effect. She sighed.
"Never know until you try, right?" she smiled, repeating the words her dads would tell her and her siblings.
"If it makes you any more excited," he suddenly had a mischievous expression as he sent a message on his phone to someone, "there's someone who's part of the fighters program that I think you'd be happy to help."
There was? As far as she knew, Celebi was the only person she knew who went here. And who would Arceus know that she'd be excited to see? Unless...
"She should be right in," he said, that look still in his eyes.
It couldn't be, could it?
Suddenly there was a loud knock at the door to the office. It was heavy, and it sounded like they were doing so begrudgingly, like they had wanted to simply open the door and walk in.
"Come in dear," Arceus called.
It had to be.
"What'd you want, dad!? It better be good old man, I was about to do some training with Zee and I... Don't wanna... Keep..." the loud and boisterous voice behind her quieted from her tangent, and Regice felt her breath hitch a little. It definitely was her.
"Ice? Is that you?" the girl behind her asked, as if not believing who she was seeing. Her voice was husky but not insanely deep.
Regice turned around to regard the young woman who had just kicked the doors open. It had been a long time since they'd last seen each other, and she had changed in a lot of ways.
She was tall, taller than herself, standing at the same height as Regidrago, around seven feet tall. Her shoulders were broad but weren't squared, and even with her impressive size she remained beautiful and refined. She had the same grey skin as Arceus, but her eyes were a piercing red. Her hair was a golden blonde, and her bangs framed her face perfectly. The rest of her hair was cut short, just below her ears. She had several piercings that looked to be made of gold. She had two in her left eyebrow, one in her right nostril, and a multitude different piercings in her ears.
She wore a black leather jacket with red accents that hung off her shoulders like a cape. She had a light grey t-shirt that was torn to cut off above her belly button, accentuating her abs, her strong arms, and her impressive... Assets. Regice noted she had a belly button piercing as well. On her waist was a studded black leather belt. The studs were a gold color, much like her piercings. She wore a baggy pair black of pants that hung off her hips dangerously and bunched up towards her shins where she wore a pair of dark grey combat boots.
"Oh my god..." Regice stood and walked over to the taller girl slowly. The girl in kind just looked at Regice in shock.
In a flash both of their surprise was replaced with the same kind of joy a child showed when being given a gift.
"Regice!" the tall girl tackled her in a hug and picked her up easily, swaying back and forth.
"Giratina!" Regice hugged her back, laughing as she was flailed around.
"It's been years! I haven't seen you since I moved!" Giratina shouted as they embraced.
"I know! You're so... Ripped!" Regice noted, "And you have so many piercings!"
"Good to see you two together again," the click of a phone camera going off could be heard as they both turned and watched Arceus send it to someone before putting it away.
Giratina flushed and put Regice down, scratching her cheek and huffing. Regice snorted at the taller girl. Looked like she still didn't like having her picture taken.
Giratina was the twenty two year old daughter of Arceus and, for a very long time, one of Regice's best friends despite being two years older. Much like she called Arceus an uncle, Giratina was like a cousin, maybe even another sister. She knew her almost as well as Celebi, but about five years ago the von Maker family moved somewhere else and they hadn't seen each other since. They'd tried to see each other as often as they could but apparently Giratina had started skipping school and Arceus had to send her away. It looked like she'd gone through a real renegade phase.
"Giratina is part of the fighters program, if that's any incentive to the offer I've made you," Arceus said as he leaned back into his chair.
"Wait, Ice, you're going here now!? Since when did you care about school!?" Giratina looked almost betrayed, as if the notion of her learning was criminal.
"First of all, don't judge me Miss Skip Everyday," Regice smirked as Giratina flipped her off, "and second, a friend convinced me."
"A friend? Who?" Giratina looked confused on who could've convinced Regice to go to school since as far as she had known, the cold girl had always been anti-education.
"That'd be me!" Celebi called out from the hall, "Also you forgot to close the door!"
"You and Celebi are still friends?" Giratina asked, a little surprised.
"Why's that so strange?" Regice asked, eyebrow quirked.
"I dunno, she always seemed to piss off your brother, I'd just figured he'd have killed her by now," the renegade shrugged.
"That is not an unfounded assumption," Regice sighed.
"Regice is going to be one of the personal trainers when she joins," Arceus told his daughter, "I figured she'd be more than happy to do so if she knew one of the people she'd be working with."
"I never agreed to anything," Regice said quickly.
Upon seeing the sad look Giratina sent her, she wilted a little. How did someone so giant, jacked, and hot throw on the kicked puppy look so easily!?
"C'mooooon Ice!" Giratina threw her arm around her shoulders, "You gotta now! Think of all the trouble we can get into again! Hell, grab Bi and we'll have a party!"
"As per Jirachi's wishes, he asked you don't get his daughter thrown in prison," Arceus commented.
"Oh relax old man, I'm always sure not to get caught!" Giratina waved him off.
"You mean you're always careful not to get in trouble, right?" he asked, an edge in his voice.
"Can't get in trouble if nobody knows you did something!" she claimed proudly. Arceus seemed to deflate and groaned into his hands, and Regice looked unimpressed.
"Anyways," the renegade continued, "you gotta join now Ice. You'll love it here!"
"That's what I said!" Celebi called again.
"See! That's three on one!" Giratina cheered, "And the old man counts as like, five votes 'cuz he's the head honcho here. So it's really like seven to one!"
"Is that really how it works?" Regice asked.
"Who cares? Don't you wanna hang out again?" Giratina asked, sending her a slightly worried expression.
"Of course I do! I just don't think I'm qualified to be one of these personal trainers is all..." she sighed.
"Wait, that was the deal!?" Celebi asked, finally coming into the office, "You should totally do it, Ice! You'd be a great fit for it!"
"See! Believe in the us that believes in you!" Giratina goaded.
Regice sighed again, deeper this time as she thought. It wasn't like this would cost her anything but her time at the end of the day, and if it meant she got to hang out with her two best friends again then maybe it would be worth it. Plus this might be the kind of thing she'd been searching for! Something that'd make her feel like she was actually doing something with her life!
"Alright, alright," Regice laughed, "You've convinced me."
"Yes!" the renegade pumped a fist, "Bad bitch time!"
"Language," Arceus groaned from his hands.
"Bad bitch hour?" Giratina looked confused.
"I don't think that's what he meant..." Celebi smirked up at the giant girl.
"It wasn't," Arceus finally regarded the three of them again, "and I'm already fearing I've made a mistake in bringing you three together again."
"No takesies backsies!" Giratina grabbed Regice and Celebi and dashed out of the room. Arceus just watched the three disappear around the corner, all manner of ruckus being caused as they fled his office.
And yet he couldn't help the smile that came to his face.
"It's good to see her so happy again," he commented to himself, getting the necessary forms together to move a new student into the trainer program.
Regice allowed herself to be pulled by Giratina towards the balcony area once more. She was wondering why they were going back outside. Had there been something else that Regice had missed?
"Ready to head down?" Giratina asked.
"Head... Down?" Regice asked wearily, now a little worried about the grasp that the bigger girl still had on her arm.
"Yeah! It's way faster than the elevator," Giratina claimed with a scary grin. Regice noted that Celebi had been let go and was watching with an apologetic smile.
Regice really didn't like this now.
"Uh, is it too late to—"
"Yes!" and with that Giratina was surrounded with a dark purple aura for a moment.
Her jacket fluttered on her shoulders but didn't fly off. Instead, the sleeves seemed to morph into what looked like a pair of black wings with red talons. The wings looked tattered and shadow-like, and they stretched outward in an impressive six and a half foot wingspan.
"Let's go!" Giratina cheered before she crouched and sprung into the air with a single flap of her wings. They soared upwards quickly, and for a brief moment Regice could see above the university.
That was a bad thing in this instance, however.
To say that Regice was unprepared for this to happen today was an understatement. She yelped as Giratina adjusted her grip to hold her bridal style before going into a freefall back down to the ground level. Regice resisted the urge to freeze the bigger girl solid as they fell but only because Giratina was her only hope of surviving the drop in the first place.
And survive they did, as the shadowy, wisp like wings fanned out and caught them just before they hit the ground. Giratina then allowed herself to touch down, barely a sound as her feet met the floor.
"And we're here! Welcome to the training grounds for the fighters!" Giratina smiled at the girl in her arms.
Regice promptly smacked her across the face with an icy hand.
"OW! NOT THE ICE!" Giratina was now scrambling to get Regice out of her arms. Unfortunately, the only way to do so was dropping her completely, which backfired as Regice clapped both hands onto her face and gripped.
Giratina wondered if that kind of heavy handed grip came from Regigigas.
What she did know was that Regice did not in fact fall as intended. Instead, she once again felt the sting of ice and realized that the blue girl had just frozen her hands to her face. Giratina's eyes went wide as Regice fell, dragging her along by her face.
They landed in a heap on the ground. Giratina groaned as she felt Regice's hands leave her face and the ice melt away. She felt her face and whined.
"Iiiiice! My face is all numb now!" Giratina growled.
"Tell me about it," Celebi commented as she floated down at a much slower pace than they had, her small wings fluttering as she hovered above the ground, "She really likes touching people with her cold ass hands."
"People really like leaving me with few options but to do so," Regice grunted as she pulled herself up and dusted herself off.
"Ugh. Last time I try giving you a shortcut," Giratina swore as she too stood.
"Shortcut she says," Regice grumbled. After a second of silence the three of them started laughing.
"You totally missed that kind of stuff," Giratina elbowed Regice lightly.
"Please," she rolled her eyes, "I could live without the constant heart attacks."
As the two went back and forth, a new figure walked up to the group of three. Celebi, who at the moment was hovering to be at eye level with the two much taller girls, snapped her fingers a few times to get their attention before pointing towards the newcomer.
"Oh," Giratina looked at them as if remembering something just now, "Hey Zee! Sorry, I totally forgot we were gonna spar. I got caught up with other shit."
"What, I'm just 'other shit' now?" Regice asked with a raised brow.
"Oh shut up you know what I meant," Giratina rolled her eyes.
"... It's fine, Renegade," the giant man, Zee apparently, said in a deep voice.
Then he said nothing else and just stared at them.
"Sorry about him," Giratina apologized as she stepped towards the tall man, slinging an arm around his shoulder, "he doesn't really do social interaction that well."
Giratina didn't even notice, or perhaps she didn't care, as the man took one step in the opposite direction as her, letting her arm fall off of him. Regice took this time to observe him.
To say he was a strange one was putting it lightly.
He was the same seven foot height as Giratina, though that's where the similarities between the two ended. He had a broad chest and two strong arms that he very clearly trained a lot. In contrast, while now weak looking by any measure, his legs were only toned in a way that said he likely didn't train them as much as his upper body.
His skin was black, much like Registeel's own skin, but the difference was that the giant before her had hair. And a lot of it. His hair was pulled back into a high knot, and even then five giant dreadlocks practically exploded out from the knot. It was almost like they defied gravity with how well she could see all of them. Braided into each dread were two green, hexagon shaped gems. His face was strong and pointy, with sharp features and bright green eyes.
His outfit was no less interstate. A long, trench coat went down to his knees, the front half almost neon green while the back was black. The buttons going down it were a bright white and had the same hexagonal shape as the gems in his hair. The collar of the coat was high, and covered the bottom half of his face from everywhere but the front. As it was buttoned up, she could see what he wore under the coat. His legs were covered by a pair of trousers that followed the same strange color scheme as his coat. He wore the legs over his boots, which Regice could only see the bottoms half of, with black bodies and the same neon green soles.
Symmetrical was how Regice would describe his person. It was like everything about him was completely in order and meant to be equal.
"... Who is she?" he asked, his deep voice rumbling again. It seemed like he spoke with the same amount of order that Regice had thought of him as well. That would also explain why he referred to Giratina as 'Renegade' instead of her name.
"This is my sister from another mister!" Giratina walked back over to Regice, putting her hands on her shoulders and pushing her forward to stand right before the giant man.
She didn't like that she had to look up to meet his eyes.
"So Ice here is like, what, twenty?" Giratina asked. Regice nodded, still staring at the man before her.
"And Zee here is between both our ages! Look at that! We're all age neighbors!" Giratina said with a smirk.
She held that smirk for a bit before it fell and she glanced between the two. Neither had said a single thing to the other. In fact, if she had to say...
Did Zee look... Afraid?
"... Ice Demon. I can sense it," the giant man shivered slightly.
"Is that how you greet people?" Regice asked, her voice a little cold.
"... You only prove me right," he huffed.
"Alrighty then!" Giratina stepped between the two and Celebi flew over and rested on Regice's shoulder, "I guess we'll introduce you two!"
"This is Regice!" Celebi said from her shoulder. The cold girl nodded once.
"And this is Zygarde!" Giratina introduced the giant man. He didn't even blink at her.
The two continued to stare the other down.
"Damn, I was afraid they wouldn't get along," Giratina pouted.
"What's wrong with him exactly?" Regice asked. Celebi smacked the back of her head.
"Don't be rude to people you've just met!" the short girl chastised.
"After he called me a Demon? Hell no," Regice grunted.
"Don't mind Zee," Giratina insisted, "He really doesn't like the cold. And considering your name is literally Reg-ice you can probably put two and two together."
"... I feel the blizzard within her attempting to break free," he told the renegade.
"Oh yeah and he's also all about 'the natural order' and 'enforcement from the world', and all that kind of hippie junk," Giratina explained his mannerisms a little. Even she didn't really fully understand him, but she knew he was an amazing fighter so she didn't really need his life story.
"What, like the people from Kalos?" Regice asked. He finally showed some emotion in the form of his eyes widening very slightly.
"... What do you know of Kalos?" he asked.
"More than what you could read in a book I guess," Regice shrugged, "I stayed there for a while while I was traveling. Probably one of the more interesting and diverse places I've seen."
"... I am from Kalos," he said simply.
"That explains why you're such an upfront prick," Regice replied bluntly.
Giratina and Celebi were sure that'd send the two back into their heated staring match, and that they'd likely never start talking to each other.
Imagine their surprise when Zygarde let out a single bark of laughter.
"Perhaps you aren't so bad after all... Demon" he added, a very hard to see smile on his face, "At least you have a backbone."
"I'm full of surprises," Regice rolled her eyes.
"Well you two," Giratina butt in, "this has been just a delightful exchange," her face said it had not been, "but I had forgotten I promised Zee I'd train with him. We'll hang tomorrow after the first day of classes, sound good?"
"Works for me," Regice said.
"As long as you don't try and fight me again," Celebi said, floating off Regice's shoulder and hiding behind her bigger friend. Giratina scoffed and flipped her short hair out of her face.
"That was one time Twink-erbell! And I didn't even hit you!" Giratina huffed.
"Because Zygarde had to stop you from hitting me!" Celebi put her hands on her hips as she sent an adorable glare Giratina's way.
"... She's not wrong, Renegade," Zygarde said after a moment. The way he said renegade was said as if it were both an insult and a nickname. Giratina tsked and flipped him off regardless.
"Enough out of you. Ice, 'Bi, I'll see you two tomorrow. C'mon Zee, let's see who's tally goes up today!" Giratina shouted as she dragged the giant man along. Whether due to her strength or from him allowing her, he was dragged quite easily.
"Bye Giratina!" Regice called. Then it was just the dynamic duo again.
"So where to now?" Regice asked.
"Food," Celebi said proudly as she flew off in a random direction, "Keep up!"
Regice groaned. Sure, keep up with the flying pixie, no big deal. Not like she had to walk everywhere.
Okay so technically she could also float, but only like a few inches off the ground. It wasn't the same. She walked at a quick pace to catch up and before long they were walking— well moving— side by side again. The gentle humming beat of Celebi's wings made for a comforting lack of conversation.
And yet, Regice did have a question for her friend.
"Why didn't you tell me Giratina was her?" the cold girl asked. Clearly Celebi had known since she said they'd interacted here before a moment ago.
"Oh, that. I wanted to surprise you. She didn't know that you were gonna be coming here either, remember? I'm just that thoughtful, surprising my two good friends like that," Celebi crossed her arms triumphantly.
"You forgot didn't you."
"Perhaps a little," Celebi slumped mid-air. Regice laughed lightly as they left the building, their exit taking less time seeing as Giratina had flown Regice to the ground floor.
As they entered Celebi's car for the second time that day, Regice's phone rang.
"Which dad?" Celebi asked.
"Neither. It's Steels," Regice answered. Celebi booed and started driving, having lost interest entirely. Regice answered and leaned back with her phone to her ear.
"Hello brother, what do you need?"
"Rocky and I have finished our meeting with the construction company and we're heading home. We're almost there but—" Registeel was cut off by the deeper voice of Regirock.
"We forgot to pick up the package dad asked about and now we're farther from the post office than you!" Regirock said from the driver's seat. Registeel groaned.
"Yes. That. Be a dear and retrieve it in our place, would you? We'll owe you."
With that he hung up, leaving no room for negotiation. After all, that was how her brother's had become the businessmen that they were. No room for bargaining, promises of return investment, terrifying glares. Truly the epitome of graceful social interaction.
"Hey 'Bi," Regice sighed, "gotta make a detour."
"Oh joy. What exactly are we getting?" Celebi asked.
"I dunno, some package for my dad," Regice tapped her fingers on the armrest.
"What a joy. Tell your brother he's a jackass," Celebi grumbled.
"He knows that already, telling him doesn't do anything."
The two laughed as they left the university island and returned to the city. Instead of going straight home, they went around the city to reach the post office.
Celebi pulled over but didn't turn off the car.
"There's nowhere to park so I'll circle the block until you're ready. Don't take too long! I'm hungry and wanna give Steels a piece of my mind," Celebi glared forward as she thought of ways to annoy her brother. Regice just nodded and stepped out of the car.
As Celebi pulled away and drove around the corner, Regice turned to the post office, stepping inside and looking around.
"Can I help you?" a friendly voice asked from her right. She turned and saw a man in a light blue postman's outfit with pale skin and blonde hair with a full matching beard standing behind a counter. He wasn't particularly tall and he was skinny. His eyes were black and beady, like a birds.
"Uh, yes actually. My father has a package here that he wanted me to get," Regice said to the man.
"Of course. Name please?" he asked.
"Jirachi," she said. He nodded and went through a door behind the counter. He reappeared a moment later with a small box.
"This is what we had for a Jirachi. Do you have his signature or information?" the man asked. She rattled off the answers to any of the questions he had. At the end he nodded and slid the package over the counter to her.
"That's all then! Thanks for using Pelipper mail! We hope to see you again soon!" he said jovially. She smiled and nodded in thanks as she left.
She stood outside and looked around. She squinted as she searched for Celebi's car, but sighed when she saw no sign of it. She walked forward and sat on the curb, waiting for her friend to arrive.
"Are you lost?" a voice asked standing from her left. She turned with an eyebrow raised. It was a young man, maybe her age, if not only slightly younger.
"No, I'm waiting for someone," she said, leaving the conversation there. She had talked to a lot of strangers in her travels, but that didn't mean she just trusted people willy-nilly.
"I see," he said.
Then he sat down next to her.
Consider her officially creeped out.
"You new around here too? I don't think I've seen you out and about before since I got here," he said, chatting like they were familiar friends.
She chose to remain silent, staring ahead and hoping Celebi would show up already. He didn't even seem to notice her ignoring him. He just continued talking.
"Yeah I came here for school recently! You know PULAS? Or are you going there too?" he asked once more. Regice couldn't help but notice that whoever this person was, he apparently really liked to talk.
"Yeah I got accepted for the fighters program! I'm pretty good, if I say so myself," he grinned proudly.
Regice wasn't one to judge a book by its cover, but she couldn't help but laugh at the thought of someone like this guy going toe to toe with someone like Giratina or Zygarde. Simply put, compared to those two he didn't look like he was even in the same weight bracket.
"Hey! What's so funny, huh?" he asked, mistaking her laughter for his boast.
"Listen," she finally spoke again to him, "is there something you need? Because I'm not really in the mood to talk to strangers right now."
"Hey! Don't be rude! I can't just chat up a pretty girl?" he asked.
And there it was. Just a simple skirt chaser.
"Is that all?" she asked, very clearly unamused.
He winced and rubbed the back of his head. His face flushed a little and he cleared his throat.
"Uh, actually," he coughed again, "I'm uh... A little lost, maybe."
She blinked and stared at him, her gaze scrutinizing his every feature. This was the first time she actually took his appearance in, actually.
He was short. That much was evident immediately as she had to look down quite a bit to look him in the eyes.
Speaking of his eyes, they were eerie in a way, but also big and cute like Celebi's. The sclera was red and his iris were a pale yellow. His hair was a dark, dusty grey and his hair was tied into a high ponytail. His eyebrows were big for someone so small, and looked like they were almost a part of his hair. His skin was dark as well, making his eyes stand out all the more.
He wore a black scarf that seemed to drift ethereally. He wore a black jumpsuit that seemed meant to show off that, despite his small size, he was quite toned. Around his wrists were bands that were similar in appearance to his scarf.
And he didn't wear any shoes.
That certainly served to lower her opinion of him more.
"Lost?" she asked. He nodded quickly. He had said that he only arrived in the city recently.
"Yeah! I was looking for the train station back to the school but I forgot where it was!" he explained.
"Go two blocks down then turn left. Keep going forward from there and you can't miss it," she said, having seen it when Celebi and her were driving here.
"Really!? Thank you!" he jumped, invigorated to his former enthusiasm. She swore that for a moment his hair changed color, but maybe she imagined it.
"Oh! How could I forget!" he bowed to her rigidly, "I'm Marshadow! Thank you for the directions! I will make it up to you somehow when we meet again!"
When they met again? She supposed she was about to be assisting the fighters at the school, and if he was there for the program then she would be seeing him again.
"Thank you again pretty lady!" he said as he bolted off in the direction she gave him.
She wasn't even able to say anything back due to a car horn honking and grabbing her attention.
"C'mon Ice! Mama wants food!" Celebi honked again. Regice sighed and stood, dusting herself off and getting back into the car.
She looked out the window, seeing the still running form of the short boy, Marshadow, sprinting down the street. She shook her head. If she was going to be seeing him more frequently, maybe she'd teach him some common decency.
"So what's in there?" Celebi pointed to the small box in her hands. It was a perfect cube, one foot by one foot and sealed tightly.
"No idea. Knowing my dad it's either more silverware or some weird decorations for the cafe. Doesn't feel too heavy, whatever it is," she gave it a light shake, hearing nothing come from the box.
"Well we can figure that out when we get back," Celebi shrugged.
"This is not what I thought this was gonna be," Regice said from her seat in the diner.
The afternoon rush was going on, with patrons coming and going from the cafe for a late lunch. Regice sat at the counter, watching her dad open the package she'd delivered.
It was a bottle filled with a dark liquid. As far as she could tell it was alcohol. But she wasn't sure.
"Technically we're not supposed to serve anything like this here until after six, but nobody here is gonna rat us out so no harm no foul, right?" Jirachi smirked at her.
It was definitely alcohol.
"Didn't the police say not to try this again? Especially after that one guy got drunk and trashed the fountain in the square?" Regice asked.
"Oh yeah! And then he tried to set the police car on fire!" Celebi remembered, taking a brief break from her meal.
"Okay, but they didn't say to never do it again! It's been like two years since that! Besides, we have a license to sell now, so it's fine," Jirachi waved them off.
Aside from his blatant admittance that they hadn't had a license to sell back then, there was at least one other outstanding issue.
"It's only three forty," Regice deadpanned.
Jirachi had already disappeared into the back, however, likely to tell his husband that whatever they had ordered had arrived. For whatever reason, Regigigas was very accepting of the sometimes poorly thought out ideas Jirachi had. Perhaps that was what love was all about.
Or, Regice couldn't help but mentally correct, it likely had to do with the fact that somehow, Jirachi always managed to find a way out of whatever trouble he managed to get himself or others into. She asked both dads about it and they both responded with the same thing.
"It's as easy as making a wish and hoping it comes true!"
Of course, she already knew that Jirachi had some kind of mystical power, but he rarely used it in the family's presence. Only Regigigas knew for sure what his powers did. Maybe it had something to do with Jirachi's refusal to tell them how he always got them just what they wanted for their birthdays.
"So Ice," Celebi finished her meal with a sigh, snapping her out of her thoughts, "You ready to start tomorrow? You get to see first-hand how crazy the fighters at the school are!"
"I suppose. It'll be nice to see Giratina so often again," she smiled.
"And whaddya think about Zygarde?" Celebi nudged her with a scandalous look in her eyes. Regice raised an eyebrow at her.
"He's hot," she said simply.
Celebi deflated and shot her an unamused glare. She crossed her arms and huffed.
"Ugh, really? That's it? You didn't even sound like you believed it!" Celebi groaned.
"He's not my type. However attractive he may be," Regice shrugged.
"And what is your type? It's not that short dude I saw you chatting up, is it?" Celebi asked. Regice shot her a cold look.
"You saw that?" she asked.
"Yeah, but I figured it wasn't important. You're not into the little boy type, are you?" Celebi looked surprised at the thought.
"No you doofus, he was asking for directions. And he's not my type either," Regice flicked the short girl.
"So what is your type then?" Celebi asked. The girl was as much the helpless romantic as she ever was. Perhaps romantic was too strong of a word though, it was more like a perversion related exclusively to Regice's own love life.
"Tall, blonde, and none of your business," Regice blew a short breath of frigid air at Celebi. The short girl shivered and slapped her arm.
"Ugh, you suck," Celebi pouted. Regice laughed, leaning on her hand and thinking of her day.
She reunited with an old best friend and pseudo family member, learned her uncle was the headmaster of the school she was going to attend, met a giant guy with no tact, then met a short guy with no tact. She was seeing a pattern with those last two.
And now she had agreed to help support a group of fighters. She had no prior experience with tournaments or fighting and now she was going to become a coach for them. Funny how the world worked.
She sighed and tapped her fingers on her cheek. As strange and uncertain as tomorrow would likely be, she couldn't help but feel a little excitement. Aside from the thought of seeing Giratina more, she was always willing to do something new, hence why she traveled the world. So she couldn't lie and say she wasn't looking a little forward to this new chance.
But that was all for tomorrow. She wouldn't worry about it right now.
"Ice!" Jirachi called from the back, "come share a drink with the family! And if anyone asks, it's juice!"
Right now, she'd just relax.
That'll do for now!
Thank you again for reading. I have a lot of fun writing this. Mostly because I can just sit back and not think while I write.
We meet the other main characters in this chapter! I really love Zygarde and Giratina so I wanted to make them important to this story. Marshadow is also a favorite of mine and I was excited to have him in this story as well.
Rest assured there will be more characters to meet, so if your favorite hasn't shown up there's a lot more to see!
If you liked what you read, follow to stay updated and drop a review so I know what to do more/less of! I don't really respond to reviews but I'm always open to trying depending on what people say.
Have a wonderful time out there and happy holidays!
