Save State

By: Aviantei

File Five: Relationship Development

Since I had sort of just sprung the whole date on her out of nowhere the night before, Fri still had festival responsibilities to tend to, especially since the shrine ceremony was tomorrow. However, all of her hard work had paid off, and they were ahead of schedule as it was. She tried to hide it, but I had known that Fri would still be paranoid about things getting done without her. In the end, Professor Maple had to assure her that it would be fine, and Fri deserved some time off after all of the hard work she had done already.

When it came down to it, I should have considered myself lucky that she didn't decide to reschedule our date until after the festival was over, let alone the ceremony.

As such, we had to have our date for the afternoon. Not needing to do work and not wanting to overdo it on the festival for myself, I had initially planned to sleep in through the morning and wake up with enough time to get ready and at least show up early. However, I found myself awake in the early hours of the morning anyway, during which time I realized that I really hadn't planned this out well in the slightest.

I had condensed it simply enough—wandering around the festival and taking a chunk of my Championship funds out in the process—but I wondered if that was enough. Surely, Fri was going to have plenty of things in mind that she wanted to do, but she would still criticize me for letting her do all the work whenever I was supposed to be helping her relax.

Agh, this was supposed to be a victory for me and it was quickly turning into some sort of nightmare.

I willed myself to relax a little. I was sure that things would be able to flow naturally enough between the two of us, and if I got stuck, I could just pull on my memories of what we used to do as kids. It was kind of a dangerous strategy, because there was no guarantee she liked the same things anymore, and it was just supposed to be the two of us, no Errat involved. I would just leave it to luck and working off the top of my head. It had been successful in getting me into my date, so it should serve plenty when it came to making the date a success.

In the end, there was nothing else to do but get ready and go. I had left insanely early, but I was prepared for the idea that maybe something would come up and cause a diversion. Nothing did, so I was left waiting by the entrance to the festival closest to Fri's house for quite some time. It might have been better to go and pick her up at the door for the sake of romance, but Fri didn't want it.

I ran over my mental checklist one more time. I had pulled out some of my nicer-but-still-casual clothes for the occasion, my wallet was secure in my pocket, and I was on time. I didn't have to force myself to act any certain way; I just had to be me, and everything would work out. As long as we were having fun, it should have been fine.

Way easier said than done.

"Aw, no waaaaaay! Jijri got her fiiiirst! How'd you do iiiit?" Fuji's words were accompanied by the familiar sensation of her pulling on my pants, albeit this time with one hand instead of two. She was back in Fri's old yukata again, the hand not pulling on my pants brandishing a spool of cotton candy. I was terribly glad that I had chosen to wear a belt today; the last thing I needed to do was end up unintentionally being pantsed in front of my date's little sister.

Speaking of my date.

"I just came early is all," I said, patting Fuji on her head. I took care not to knock her hair out of place; making her cry was, coincidentally, also the last thing I needed to do. "Where's Fri, Fuji-chan? Don't tell me you ran all the way here and left her behind." Of course, this could have also been a practical joke from the start. Maybe Fri hadn't intended to go on the date with me in the first place, and Fuji was her way of telling me that.

Except Fuji was looking around, an almost panicked look on her face, and my suspicions were erased instantly. It looked like the fact of the matter was that the younger sister had gotten overexcited—probably had challenged Fri to a race, at that—and ran on ahead. Sure enough, Fri arrived soon enough, not out of breath in the slightest.

The older sister was in a yukata of her own, although the difference of age couldn't have been more striking (and I mean that in the most complimentary way possible). The yukata did its work of showing off her figure perfectly—and that's all the more I'm going to say about that. Fri had put up her hair in a similar manner to Fuji's, although their bangs had been tussled differently, something I was amazed I had even noticed given how similar they were.

I always pointed out how much they were the same, but this really brought it out. Even their yukata had similar patterns to them, right down to style and color scheme. True, they weren't exactly replicas of each other, but you could easily imagine Fuji growing up to looking like Fri, or Fri having looked like Fuji when she was younger.

The only real noticeable difference was in their expressions, but I guess that was normal. Fuji was a kid at a festival; Fri was a young woman about to go on a date. Putting experience aside, their personalities had a whole hell of a lot to do with that, too. Figures that I would end up dealing with the more sour temperament in my choice. Although, I don't know why I was thinking too hard about something like this at all.

"You both look really great," I said. I'm sure that the correct response would have been to compliment them individually (with my date's name first), but Fri seemed to accept it, a slight smile showing up on her face. It suddenly occurred to me that, even if my earlier paranoia wasn't entirely granted, Fri had still brought her little sister along for the ride. "So, what are your plans for the day, Fuji-chan?"

I had worked hard to keep the nervousness out of my voice, but I could have sworn that Fri had smirked anyways. Fuji didn't seem to take notice however, finishing a bite of her cotton candy before answering, "I'm gonna go around the festival with my friends! I'm trying to save my money so that I have enough for all the days, but it's really hard…"

Fuji looked really crestfallen, a feeling I could remember quite well from being a kid. Saving money hadn't been one of my strong points, and I would always have to go back and ask Mom for more to be able to eat the next day. The only reason I wasn't broke now was that I didn't have enough things to buy with all of my Championship money, even with paying the bills and tending to my Pokémon.

Things could have only been worse for Fuji, especially since their parents had to take care of two kids instead of one. Sure, Fri was probably earning her own keep and on the borderline of moving out, but I knew her family. They would do their best to give both of their daughters would they could with their income, and have to rely on pristinely preserved hand-me-downs for the rest.

Feeling a bit guilty for the obnoxious amount of money I was carrying, I slipped out one of the bills. Fri's eyes widened, but she didn't object.

"Here, Fuji-chan, why don't you take this?" I said. I wondered if a girl her age even understood the value of this much money or not. Regardless, she stretched out her hands, taking the bill when I gave it to her. "Now keep that safe and don't let anyone else see that except for people you're buying things from. Make sure you share with your friends, too."

Fuji nodded, going to add the money to her purse. She put the purse over both her shoulders for good measure. "Thanks, Jijri," she said, then buried her face behind her cotton candy. I wondered if she was just as embarrassed to show off when she was blushing as her sister.

Okay, that whole thing made me feel pretty good, even if that wasn't exactly what I had been doing it for. I had just been feeling like she deserved it, all things considered, and more than a bit generous since she wasn't going to be coming along for the ride and going with her friends instead. Speaking of which… I took a look around the area, but with the crowds, it was hard to tell if there were any kids approaching.

"They'll be here soon. We did all arrive early after all," Fri said. It was solid logic, and kids were far more bound to make timely arrivals. Despite that, Fri looked a bit embarrassed. "Although, I suppose I should have told them an earlier time so that we could have left sooner…"

I shook my head, reaching out for her hand. I hoped that was still a comforting gesture to her, and I could at least confirm it wasn't unpleasant from the fact that Fri let her fingers mingle with mine. "Nah, this actually works out," I assured. "There's something I wanted to talk about that I'd rather get out of the way before we actually start the date."

"Oh?" Fri immediately switched over into business mode, an action so effortless that it startled me. I had been hoping to keep this sort of casual, but I guess it was serious enough. I tried to muster my own bravado, although it couldn't compare to hers in the slightest. "What is it, then?"

For a moment, I almost stopped. I knew first hand all of the work that Fri had put into the shrine ceremony. What I was about to ask for… Well, it would involve a lot of extra work. I really had no place requesting this sort of thing, especially considering just how unreasonable it was.

Except I had a place. I was the Champion, after all. I hadn't stepped into office yet—there was a vast amount of politics and paperwork waiting at the end of Victory Road for me this time around—and was really on more of a sabbatical at the moment, rendering my official capacity for authority pretty much useless. Even so, Champion title or no, I was still Jijri in Fri's eyes, so she'd take my request from that angle, and leave the rest behind.

That was encouragement enough.

"I want to try and capture the legendary Pokémon at the Shrine Ceremony," I said, pushing the words out before I lost my nerve. I kept my eyes open, making my vision unfocused so I could look confident without really having to see her at all. "I know that I'm really pushing it, but I think it's what I need to do. If I don't try, I'll never know if I can achieve my dream. So please, would it be possible to let me try? I'll do—"

I focused for a moment, and Fri's expression hadn't changed. Fuji-chan was staring at me, eyes wide and mouth open, but her sister wasn't. I had at least expected something—a smile, a frown, work with me here!—but nothing hadn't been it. It was enough to bring my heartfelt words to a halt.

And just as suddenly, Fri smirked.

"Stupid Jijri, why do you think I asked to have the Shrine Ceremony coordinator position?" she said. I hadn't been this smug in my entire life, Fri was practically oozing superiority in my direction. "I was nominated to be part of the festival committee the month before you left. It's why I shoved you out of the house, so you would be ready whenever the time came.

"In other words, I've been planning two variations of the shrine ceremony, and they've both been approved depending on circumstance, including the one where you challenge the legendary Pokémon."

Fri didn't wear glasses (her vision far exceeded any need for them), but they would have fit her image so perfectly in that moment that I was prepared to fly her to a nearby city and purchase a pair any moment. She had gotten this approved long before I had considered such a thing, made preparations because she knew me well enough to predict this—or force me into it, but whatever. That meant she had gotten permission from the Professors, the rest of the festival committee, the Elders—

I couldn't help it. The only reasonable action in this situation was to hug her. I wanted to see if she was shocked or not, but that would have required pulling away.

"I don't know why you did it," I whispered, "but thank you."

"Don't be an idiot," she whispered back. "I'm supposed to look out for you, remember? To make sure you go through with the things you say you'll do?

"It's what your mom wanted after all."

We fell into a silence, even though the festival crowd around us provided plenty of noise to make up for it. I felt bad for not thinking about my mother this entire time, but there was no point in dwelling on it now. Soon enough, Fuji's friends appeared through the crowd, whisking the younger sister off without a moment to waste. Fri smiled, slipping her hand into mine and leaning on my shoulder.

"I hope that display earlier wasn't just for show and you really don't have much money left," she said, words still biting. "After all, it would be a waste if you didn't happen to bring enough money for your actual date with you, Jijri."

I smiled a little as an answer, letting her teasing go. We headed off into the festival at a much slower pace than we had in the past.

I had been worrying about just how much Fri would actually be able to relax at the festival, even though that had been our whole point in coming in the first place. When it came down to events she had planned in the past, she always seemed to be more obsessed with making sure they turned out perfect in opposition to having fun—even at things like her own birthday party. Wondering if she would have the same problem at something as big as the festival… Let's just say I felt like my concerns were justified.

However, Fri seemed to be managing just fine. I'll admit it: I was more than a bit stunned. Eventually I let myself get over it and enjoy myself, which proved to be easy enough. Fri did have a mental checklist of things to do, from what foods to eat and what games to play and even what rides to go on. It wasn't like she would have made me go broke anyway, but I was glad that I had cashed the amount of money that I had before this date for the sake of my wallet.

The sad part was that I was the one thinking too hard. I had run a number of errands under Fri that day, and learned of the many problems people had in setting things up. Each stall I looked at, I could think of a hundred things to run checks on.

Fri was rubbing off on me. Maybe that's why she was so calm. I had stolen all of her OCD.

"Oh, it looks like this stall still isn't open," Fri said, stopping me in my tracks. Sure enough, the stand of the person who could allegedly speak to Pokémon was still as blank and empty as it had been the other day. "I hope that the people who requested it are okay. Traveling overseas can get pretty rough at times. What do you think, Jijri? Would you bring any of your Pokémon here to talk to them?"

I couldn't even find it in me to pretend to be surprised. "It figures that you would know about these guys, Fri," I said. The professors must have really trusted her, considering how top-secret Wato had made it seem. Of course, the assistant could have been blowing things completely out of the water. "And I guess it could be interesting, but I'm a little skeptic."

Fri rolled her eyes. "Since when did you become so practical?"

"It's not practicality, it's experience," I retorted. At least I hoped that it was. "I've run into more than a few people out there who claim to be able to talk to Pokémon, and they always come up short. I know that this person is a friend of the professors' and all, but I just don't want people getting swept up in something that isn't even real."

Fri laughed a little, lifting my mood away from my somewhat somber response. "Maybe you should test it out when they come by. I'm sure you and your championship team have good enough bonds that you'll be able to tell if it's the real deal or not."

Now there was a thought. Sure, I had only been visiting my Pokémon and not being around them all hours, but that didn't mean our bond depleted any. I had even being going to see them every day. Sure, it seemed like a few of them were jealous of the attention I had been giving Wicker, but I was sure that could be worked out easily with some quality time and festival food.

"Oh, there you are Jijri!" Wato's voice still managed to be distinctive over the crowd, catching my attention. He had what looked like some Noda stand food in one of his hands, and had even dressed up for the sake of the festival. I guessed that he either had the day off from the lab, or maybe it just wasn't his shift yet. "I'm really sorry to interrupt you like this, but is it true that you're going to try and challenge the Shrine Pokémon at the ceremony?"

I was taken aback by Wato's possession of the information, as well as the fact that Fri didn't seem bothered that he was spreading it around. Sure, it probably was better that people knew it was going to happen, but I wasn't ready for that stage yet. All I had wanted was a nice peaceful day, and now we were going to be clustered with attention.

Just making a decision to do something didn't justify this sort of treatment yet.

"Yes, we're going through with the plan," Fri said, smiling. I almost had to double take. Wato was in on this too? Was I the only person that was clueless about what I was going to be doing tomorrow?! "I trust that the professors are doing their best with the promotional strategy?"

Promotional strategy? Just how far thought out was this mess?

"Yeah, they've been telling people who stop by the lab. It's been spreading the word pretty fast. That's how I found out." Wato turned to me. "Good luck, tomorrow, Jijri! Oh, wait, you're not supposed to say good luck when it comes to things like this… Break a leg then!"

"Yeah, thanks," I managed to say. Seriously, though, the news had spread that fast? I had only made the decision a few hours ago. I didn't remember this town being such a rumor mill, even during festival time. Then again, I didn't remember Wato being such a sucker for rumors, either… "Well, we're sort of on a date here, so we'll just be going…"

Wato's eyes instantly widened at those words. I could feel the amount of questions coming before the boy even opened his mouth. Not even giving some form of farewell, I grabbed Fri's wrist and pulled her into the crowd. Given how many people there were around, it was pretty easy to throw Wato off our trail. I just hoped that he hadn't become the type of person that would follow us in search of answers.

We didn't stop until we were out of the lane, instead intermingling ourselves with the crowd that had formed around the game area. Some years the business would be slow here, but that didn't appear to be the case this time. Every stand seemed to have someone playing, and most even had small lines forming as people waited to be play. It seemed like this year would be profitable to everyone.

"I honestly thought that you'd be better at handling attention than that, Mr. Campion," Fri commented, repressing a snicker. I rolled my eyes. Fri lightly pushed my arm. "Don't be like that," she scolded. "You should have known that a declaration like that was going to be a big deal. Of course people are gonna want to talk to you about it."

"Yeah, well, I was just kind of hoping for it to be kept quiet for a little bit, you know?" Now I was just paranoid that everyone would suddenly notice me again, make a big deal out of my existence. I didn't think I could handle having that much attention again after just a few months of rest. "Besides, if everyone keeps clamoring around me, I'm not going to be able to give you my full attention, you know."

Damn my face for heating up! The only good thing about it was that Fri ended up blushing, too, so I counted us as being even. She shifted a little bit, pulling the slip of paper that served as her to do list out of her pocket. I gave her a few minutes to look it over, agreeing that it was best that we didn't focus on how awkward we were in that moment.

"You know… there's really only one more thing to do on my list," Fri said. "How about we take care of it and then we can go someplace where no one will really find us?"

I nodded. "Sounds like a plan."

Technically, Fri had lied, and there were two things that she wanted to do. However, picking up dinner from the Noda stand was such a tradition that I considered it a requirement other than a request necessary of marking down on a list, so I let it slide. Errat seemed to be running things to perfection, the food from the stand reaching the same quality that had been established at last night's dinner.

So, with our stomachs full and a Pancham doll I had won after several dart throwing attempts safe in Fri's arms, we headed for the swing at the Pokémon Lab.

It was getting close to evening by now, and the professors and lab assistants were busy escorting all of their guests out for the evening. I wondered if Fri had planned our visit with the end of visiting hours, but I wasn't about to complain. Trainers that had Pokémon at the lab were free to visit whenever they liked, and Fri helped out a lot, so our getting in wasn't an issue.

Fri had a hard time navigating the hills with her sandals on, so I ended up carrying her most of the way. Sure, she could have made it without shoes, but it didn't matter to me. At least this time we had water, and the setting sun made it way less hot than it could have been, so the journey was a relatively easy one up to the swing.

The only thing that caught my attention was that Wicker didn't join us, but I guessed that was okay. Maybe she was just giving us privacy or she hadn't had the chance to warm up to Fri yet. Either way, I wasn't too concerned. I was supposed to be giving all of my attention to Fri, and I would need to come back here tomorrow to gather up my team for the challenge at the shrine ceremony.

All of that could wait, though. I sat Fri down on the swing, and she managed to put her arms around the ropes while still hugging her doll. I might have blushed from how cute it was, but at least I could hide it by going behind her to push her.

"Hey, Jijri," Fri said, before I could start aforementioned pushing. She even tilted her head back to look at me. So much for my not-so-carefully constructed plan. "Thanks for carrying me up here. You didn't have to."

"Nah, it's cool," I said. I was certainly the master of elegance, and a real charmer at that. I was seriously questioning why Fri had even bothered to say yes in the first place.

"Yeah, but you won me this toy, too…" Fri hugged the Pancham tighter to her chest. I was actually impressed that I had won enough consecutive games to earn a prize that big. It might have been cheaper to just go into the city and buy her a toy, but that didn't have quite the same effect. "So at least let me give you something for a reward and a thank you for a good time today, alright? Lean closer."

It was such an obvious ploy that I should have seen it coming. Even so, I had the idiocy level to be surprised that she kissed me. It was short, chaste, and upside down, but I wasn't about to complain. I just hoped that the dinner I had eaten wasn't unappealing or anything.

Fri was the one that broke it, and I stood up, no chance at reigning in the color of my cheeks anytime soon. Fri seemed satisfied enough, sitting up properly. "Alright, time to get going!" she declared. "You're a big boy now, Jijri, so I expect to be able to see every corner of this lab when you're pushing me alright?!"

"Yes, ma'am," I replied, laughing softly. The sound of my laughter mixed into hers as I started to push, putting my all into it in hopes that she would be able to more than the lab by the time we were finished.

I might as well have been on the swing with her, soaring up into the sky.

[Mass Post Part 2]

Extra late post! Much apologies.

The next chapter update date is currently unknown.

Next time, DATA ERROR.

[POST 042515]