Chapter XVI: A Different Kind of "Stage on!" (Part 3 of 3)
The crowd gasped and fell eerily silent as Prince Satoshi took the lethal volley of Poison Sting from Rocket Dan's Arbok. The princely trainer trembled and fell on the hole created by a sabotaged stage floor. Luckily, he fell on top of a bunch of sandbags; saving his head from a concussion.
Poison Sting: they're poisonous and they really sting.
"Satoshi, I'm coming!" Haruka jumped back into the hole and tended to her beloved. "Satoshi, get a hold of yourself! Say something; anything!"
The trainer slowly opened his eyes and looked at the face of an angel. "Haruka…I did well…right?"
"Save your strength. I'll take you to the infirmary—"
"No! Save Pikachu…save the play…"
"But the play's ruined!"
"No it isn't. Finish…the play…"
Eventually, he passed out. Haruka's eyes quickly filled up with tears and soon started rolling along the side of her face. She thought that Satoshi had died because of the toxin in the poisonous missile volley. She mustered up her courage and crawled back up; wearing the most serious face her friend saw in history. The crowd even tried backing away from the stage because of the presence of an ominous aura emitting from her. Even the villains' feet were shaking before her.
"Hey Kojiro, do something. Her expression gives me the creeps." Musashi pulled her partner in front like a shield.
"H-H-How can I do something? I can't even move!" Kojiro exclaimed.
"Y-You're the g-gentleman. You negotiate with her."
"I told you my legs are trembling as we speak!"
Kanata warned them about Haruka's unusual behavior. "Oh boy, you three sure have done it this time."
"Done what?" The talking Nyarth asked.
"A lot of people think that Haruka is a helpless girl because of her shy disposition. The last time she was provoked…" Kanata gave them a serious and scary glare complete with a terrifying grin. "…the provoker was confined in the hospital for six whole months because of fractures."
"S-S-Six m-months…? F-Fractures…?"
"Yup; and if you're lucky she'll just send one of her Pokemon to finish the dirty job for her."
"I'm not afraid of a measly child!" Nyarth jumped towards the brunette girl; claws after ready. "Let's see how she likes being sliced and diced."
In a sudden and terrifying turn of events, Haruka quickly caught Nyarth by his neck and began squeezing the Pokemon with her hand.
"Don't say I didn't warn you, guys." Kanata smiled. "Got anything to say, Haruka?"
"You killed Satoshi." The brunette girl said in a dangerously serious tone. "You lowlifes killed Satoshi. It's unforgivable."
Kanata turned around and called the active stage crew. "Naginata, close the curtains now!"
The curtains did close and the lights were shut off. The crowd couldn't see a thing (which was for the best because the next set of scenes was going to be gorier than a splatter film). What they only head were the screams of the trio and a lot of pounding and pummeling going on behind the velvet. A few minutes later, the pummeling stopped and so did the girly screams. But the curtains were still closed and the lights were still off.
"Satoshi, can you still perform?" Kanata helped Satoshi get on his feet. "The people still think that this is part of the play."
"I guess we need to give them the ending they really deserve." Satoshi replied.
"Come on; we're putting up a ten-minute break. Dress up and we'll move to the rest of the scenes."
---0---0---0---0---0---
With the tyranny of the not-so-notorious trio from Rocket Dan eliminated, the play continues as planned. Today has been one crazy day but they were almost at the ending of the story. Stage crews made makeshift repairs to the hole in the stage floor as the stars of the play freshened up for the climax.
Rallying what's left of the defenders of the once independent regions under the Empire's grasp, Prince Satoshi went up against a massive Imperial army led by his despicable father. Despite the odds stacked against the forces of good and a 5:1 troop disadvantage, the noble prince killed Emperor Sasabi in battle and routed the Imperial forces. The survivors of the enemy army retreated behind the walls of their Imperial citadel fortress but even its walls weren't safe as the resistance forces attacked from the east and their Sinnoh allies making landfall in the south. After the terrible evil has been destroyed, Prince Satoshi disappeared from the royal life. He relinquished his identity as a royal family member and traveled to the southern islands where he married Princess Haruka, who also relinquished her identity as a princess.
"It sure is peaceful here, isn't it?" Haruka said; standing on top of a cliff before the vast open sea. "Are you sure you don't want to claim the Imperial throne?"
"I've had enough of royalty. My happiness lies with you, Haruka." Satoshi replied; facing his beloved wife.
"I hope that's the last time we'll be seeing those three."
"You mean the Imperial agents called 'Rocket Dan'? I doubt that they'll come back for us."
"Satoshi…"
"Yes?"
"I love you."
"I know…because I love you too."
Satoshi and Haruka faced each other and kissed; nature being their only witness. They have never been happier than by each other's side.
The End
As soon as the curtains closed, the crowd clapped their hands in awe. To show them that they were even moved by the play, they stood up as well—a standing ovation. The curtains opened again and the entire cast lined up for one big bow with the main characters and the director of the play at the center. For a few hours, they all felt like superstars. Backstage, the stage crew gave the actors and actresses a round of applause for a job well done. Even with illegitimate members of the theater club, they were able to save the club's reputation of one great play every year.
"Too bad, Haruka; I asked Satoshi to fake the kiss." Kanata said. "You know…for public viewing purposes."
"At least…I got that close to him, kamo." Haruka replied; blushing. "That's good enough for me."
"Are you sure you don't want to join us in the theater club?"
"I'll become famous in what I do best, Kanata. That is through Pokemon contests."
"Well, suit yourself. I'm really in no position to stop you."
All of a sudden, Haruka jumped towards her friend and gave her a warm hug behind.
"Thank you, Kanata. This has been one of the happiest days of my life, kamo." The brunette girl said.
"No problem." Kanata smiled. "That's what friends are for, right?"
---0---0---0---0---0---
That night, the entire cast and crew headed over to a restaurant downtown ran by Konomi's parents for a well-deserved dinner treat. It was closed for the night just to make way for their celebration. The lively bunch itself was lively.
"Kampai…!" They raised their glasses full of orange juice and toasted with each other.
"Ah, I love the sweet taste of victory." Kanata said; acting like a drunkard.
"Now, now…let's not get carried away." Haruka replied.
"Come on, enjoy the party. There's no need to be shy. I'll even show you some tips on how to seduce Sato—"
Because her friend was about to go overboard, Haruka simply had no choice but to whack her hard with a huge paper fan. The purple-haired girl's head fell down on the table with the back of her head steaming like a steamer.
"I told you not to get carried away, kamo."
The brunette girl turned her eyes on the prize: her beloved Satoshi who was singing along with some of his buddies. She could never forget the time that his lips and her lips almost collided with each other. It was a near miss but she felt like she was drawing closer and closer to his heart.
"Hey Satoshi, I'll treat you to lunch for three days. Give us a real kiss with Haruka." One of his sing-along peers challenged him.
"EH? We're still young! I can't do that!" The trainer refused.
"Come on, it's only a kiss. It won't last long."
Suddenly, the entire bunch was rooting for him to kiss Haruka. Now he really can't say no to that.
"S-Satoshi…" The brunette girl shrugged and blushed.
"Don't take this the wrong way, Haruka. I can't say no to all of them." Satoshi explained.
"I…I…don't mind."
"Well, if you say so."
The entire party was now about to see a real kiss—unlike the one that was faked just because the public is watching. Both of their hearts pounded faster and harder than usual as soon as they were invading each other's intimate space. But as soon as they were really going to kiss, Kanata emerged in front of Satoshi and grabbed the trainer's head. The kiss that was supposed to be for Haruka was just diverted to somebody else.
"K-Kanata…?" Haruka said; almost speechless.
"ACK…!" Satoshi broke away immediately. "Kanata, what are you doing?"
"Oh Satoshi, I just love your can-do attitude." The purple-haired girl was now really acting like a drunkard (for crying out loud, is orange juice even alcoholic?). She was even poking near the trainer's private property. "Why don't we take this inside a dark room? Just the two of us…?"
"K-Kanata, orange juice is not even alcoholic kamo!"
TO BE CONTINUED
Kamo! Trivial Trivia #13: The word "kampai" literally means "empty glass". But tradition suggests that this is what they say while they raise and toast their glasses in the air. It can be commonly found during a celebration after a successful feat or a great accomplishment.