Third period. Right before lunch. Math class with Nazumi-sensei. Sae-chan, who sat right next to me in the opposite desk, was spacing out as usual. This was the only class that we didn't have Naoko-chan with us. Naoko-chan was so good at math. Even better than I was. However, my enjoyment towards math wasn't suppressing my nerves about the Pokemon Battle Tournament this afternoon. On festival days, we have the first three periods of class, lunch, and then the activities.
The school wasn't buzzing with excitement like I thought it would be. Maybe this idea wasn't a good one after all. I knew that there had to be more Pokemon trainers around other than myself and Satoshi. I gave Naoko-chan her Pokemon so she could get back at Satoshi for a sexist comment, but I highly doubt she'd get far enough in the tournament to battle him. Sae-chan wanted a Pokemon just for the sake of having one. From what Nazumi-sensei told me, a good amount of students signed up for the tournament, but that doesn't necessarily mean that they're pumped for it.
Ah, baka, baka! I hit myself in the head with a fist a few times. This was a stupid idea for a fall festival!
"Can you not answer the question on the board either?" Sae-chan leans over slightly and whispers.
I shake my head. "I understand that, I'm just worried that nobody will like the tournament."
"What makes you think that?"
I look up at the front of the room to make sure Nazumi-sensei had his back turned so I could lean over farther to talk. "Nobody seems very excited about that it's this afternoon. You don't hear anybody talking about it, do you? The only people I've talked about it with besides you are Naoko-chan and Satoshi-kun."
"Daijobu." Sae-chan enunciates every syllable. "Even if it's just between two people, as long as they're good trainers and the battle is exciting, people will get into it."
"You forget that parents are supposed to come and watch. The festival is a fundraiser for the school budget." I reply.
"Are your parents coming, Kasumi-chan?" Sae-chan asks.
I look at her dully. "They're on a cruise ship in the middle of the Caribbean right now."
"I didn't know we had a cruise line that went there…"
"We don't. They flew to Miami first. Gosh, and they don't know a word of English…Well, besides 'thank you' and 'where is the bathroom'."
Sae-chan laughs quietly.
"Kasumi-san, Sae-san, please pay attention." Nazumi-sensei says loudly.
"Hai!" Sae-chan and I reply after jumping a bit out of our seats, startled.
Lunch hour finally came around. Sae-chan and I pick up our bags and get ready to go have a nice lunch outside. Nazumi-sensei called me to the front to have a quick chat with me about the tournament, seeing that I was on the festival committee. Another member already had a chart laid out for who was going to battle who. About twenty-five students, give or take a few, signed up. I suppose that wasn't such a bad turn-out. I shouldn't get too discouraged over it.
I reach into my bag and take out another stick of Pocky before leaving the room with Sae-chan. We meet up with Naoko-chan outside under our favorite tree. We all sit down and each take out our bento. After putting a baby octopus into my mouth I casually look around the campus to see if I could find Satoshi. We haven't said a word to each other since yesterday. I couldn't help but wonder what was going on inside his head. Then again, he apparently knows exactly what's going on in mine. He might be able to hear my thoughts right now. Creepy.
I finally spot him sitting against the trunk of a tree across the courtyard. He was sort of slumped over like he had fallen asleep. He must have, because his sunglasses were starting to slip off of his nose and you could see his closed eyes. His face was pale. More than usual. It worried me.
I read through all of the vampire books I checked out earlier about twice. If it made any sense at all, it said that vampires have weak immune systems. They are able to eat regular foods, but they have to be high in iron, natural vitamins, and protein, otherwise they will become weak. If they cannot get that certain source of nutrition, that is when they resort to the blood of other beings. Vampires are shunned from society and aren't very keen on being social.
Matched Satoshi perfectly if you ask me. He said his favorite soup was Miso, which has a lot of leeks in it. Leeks are very high in vitamin C, iron, and fiber. For a vegetable that is. I guess if you're a vampire, you have to be forced to like those kind of foods. Sweet Potatoes, also very high in vitamin C and a good source of potassium. Steamed fish, high in protein.
Sometimes I can't help but think I think to myself too much…
"I'll be right back."
Naoko-chan and Sae-chan look up at me. "Where are you going?"
"Over to the vending machines. I want to go get something to drink." I reply.
"Okay." Sae-chan smiles.
I walk in the direction of the vending machines, which was also the direction of the tree that Satoshi was sitting under. I just wanted to ask him if he was feeling alright. That's all. I'm not going to say anything else. I promise myself this, or I will be perform ritual seppuku. The problem is…I'm not good at keeping promises I make to myself.
I walk up to him and sure enough, he was sleeping.
"Satoshi-kun." I say firmly.
His eyes wince and his hand quickly goes to resituate his sunglasses. "Whatta ya want?"
"I just wanted to know if you were feeling okay. You look a little peeked."
"None of your business."
My shoulder felt a little cold. This was the Satoshi I first spoke to. The rude and ornery one.
"You're not eating right, are you?" I ask.
"Who asked you?" Satoshi says harshly. "Just leave me alone, okay?"
Satoshi stands up, having to place a hand on the tree to balance himself before walking off. I turn on my heel and go to the vending machines. Ah, mou! Mukatsuku! I get my drink and head back to the tree where my friends were waiting.
*****
"And the Supiaa goes down!" The announcer, a boy from junior class 1-C, calls. "The winner of the match is the Red Trainer! Yokohama Matsumi!"
The people that filled the field arena cheer. Others boo. The turn-out was better than I thought it would be. Sae-chan's little snack stand was doing excellent as well. Of course, the festival had just started, we'd be doing this for a while. It all depended on how long we could keep the audience's interest. Of course, I was standing on the sidelines waiting for my turn to battle while munching on the last remaining sticks of Pocky.
Naoko-chan was up next, battling against a girl from class 1-D. Her name was Koishikawa Yukino. I wasn't quite sure how it was turn out, but I watched anyway.
Naoko-chan released her Mariipu. Yukino responds with an Aabo. Eh, with those Pokemon, the match could go either way. It all depended on which Pokemon was more experienced. My money was on Yukino. No disregards to my friend. In the end, Mariipu fainted. But there were two more left to go.
I'll skip the details, Yukino won the match. Naoko-chan won the second round though. At least she can say she won 1/3. It wasn't a total wipeout, that's a good thing.
It was my turn after another two battles. My first opponent was a boy from the same 1-D class. Ohkano Jin. I had some unnecessary rage to vent. He was my target.
"Let the battle begin!" The announcer yells.
"Go, Nidokingu!" Jin throws out a Poke' Ball.
I smirk to myself. "Kameiru!"
"The first round is between Jin's Nidokingu and Kasumi's Kameiru!"
I was perfectly calm about this match. It should be easy. "Water Gun."
The giant pink dinosaur is drenched from head to foot. Nidokingu may be normal type, but its secondary type was poison/ground. Ground type are weak against water, as anybody would know.
Whenever I'm in a Pokemon Battle, I feel like a completely different person. I feel more vicious. I'm a competitor after all. I feel like there is no mercy. I'm not your average petit school girl now, am I? Feel the evil waves emitting from the battle field. This is war, people, not play!
Nidokingu shakes it off but you can see the damage.
"Earthquake." Jin commands.
"Withdraw."
Kameiru goes inside its shell while Nidokingu's earthquake shakes the field. My turtle bounces up and down and rolls a couple of feet, but nothing bad has happened to it. It pops back out once the attack has subsided and spits out a hydro-pump. Nidokingu gets the full blast and is out cold on the ground.
"First round goes to Kasumi and her Kameiru!"
Jin calls out his second Pokemon. "Kurabu!"
I call out mine. "Hanekko."
It was the same thing over again, except with different attacks of course. I was obviously the trainer to beat besides Satoshi. I'm not trying to give myself a big head, but it's the truth. There were some pretty good trainers besides me and him. At least there was somewhat of a challenge waiting. However, Naoko-chan's lost match kept on hanging over me. I felt sort of guilty that she didn't win. I gave her the Pokemon and I should have helped her train them. Naoko-chan isn't the type of person who'd like battling, you'd think. She's sort of timid. You have to be at least a little aggressive to be a successful Pokemon Trainer. Those are the plain facts.
After my battle, which I won effortlessly, I went over to Sae-chan's snack stand. She was just finishing up selling some Onigiri to two girls when I walked up. She smiles at me.
"I watched your match when I didn't have costumers. Sugoi, Sugoi!"
"Domo Arigatou." I grin. "You still haven't told me why you didn't sign up."
"Eh, fighting isn't my style. You know that."
I frown slightly. "It isn't Naoko-chan's style either."
"Sou, ne" Sae-chan puts her elbows on the counter and rests her chin in her hands. "I feel sort of sorry for her."
"Me too…"
"I'm not sure if she cares that much." Sae-chan says. "She mainly got into this thing to get back at Satoshi-kun for some stupid comment. Naoko-chan can hold such a grudge. Mou…"
"Maybe she should have kept hers as pets like you did."
Sae-chan giggles. "Muchuuru is so cute!! I love it to death. Same with my Mirutanku and Kimawari."
"So, how is the stand coming along?" I ask.
Sae-chan's face lights up. "Great! All of my home-made bonbons are selling like mad. Rena-chan, in our class, made all the Onigiri and they're all going too. Plus, when you were over on the sidelines, I got to talk with Ryu-kun."
"What about him?" I ask, a little snippy.
Sae-chan puts up a peace sign. "He apparently was just picking on you because he was total jealous of you and Satoshi-kun."
"EH?!?" My jaw drops five feet. "USOU!"
"Hontou ka, Hontou ka!" Sae-chan nods her head twice.
"That and Souichiro-kun asked me to go on a date Saturday." Sae-chan blushes.
"Congratulations." I say, still in a small daze.
Just then, I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turn around to see Satoshi. He removes his hand and just stares at me with that icy expression he always carries.
"Good job on that battle." He says.
"Thanks…" I reply, unsure if he was sarcastic.
"Just don't waste all your energy on the weak trainers. I'm waiting for a good battle later on."
Ah, I see where he's going. "Wakatta. You'll get a good battle, that's for sure."
"Good." He walks away again.
"I don't get that character, do you?" Sae-chan asks me.
"Not entirely…" I reply honestly.
Later that day, once most of the Pokemon battles were over with and I had my share of weak trainers and decent ones, It was finally down to the top two. To nobody's surprise, it was myself and Satoshi. I wasn't sure what three Pokemon he was going to use, but I knew for sure that one of them would be Gousu. I needed my strongest ones. My set included Kameiru, Tosakinto, and Hitodemon. All water type and my three strongest. As far as I knew, Satoshi only had one electric type, and that was Pikachuu. I had to admit, I was a bit nervous. My last battle was going decently up until he sent out Gousu. That's what I have to watch out for. Satoshi lives in a graveyard and his strongest Pokemon is Gousu. Put two and two together!
"Our finally match today is between Kasumi of class 1-A and Satoshi of class 1-A. Get ready folks, for this should be a good one!"
"Ikimashou, Kasumi-san." Satoshi says from across the field.
"Hai, Hai! Just send out your first Pokemon, Satoshi-kun." I reply.
He runs his hand through his hair. "Fine, already. Eifi."
Psychic type. Yosha! "Tosakinto!"
So, it was against the freaky looking cat-thing and my goldfish. This battle would be worthless to explain scene by scene. The only battle that mattered to me now was the one I would be having against Satoshi's Gousu. So, here's the synopsis so far:
Round 1 - Eifi vs. Tosakinto - Battle goes to Eifi
Round 2 - Karakara vs. Kameiru - Battles goes to Kameiru
Third round. Satoshi always uses his Gousu, he must be saving it for last like he did last time. I was ready though. I used the same strategy. I saved my best Pokemon for last as well. Hitodemon, it's your turn. I let out my Pokemon and Satoshi reveals his as well. Gousu, just as I suspected.
"Round three and the score is tied one to one!" The announcer summarizes. "The last battle is between Satoshi's Gousu and Kasumi's Hitodemon. Winner decides the tournament. Trainers at your ready… begin!"
"Hitodemon!" I call out, pointing towards Gousu. "Use your surf attack!"
Hitodemon twirls up in the air until it was a speck in the sky. Suddenly, gallons upon gallons of water come crashing down upon Gousu. It's definitely affected. Hitodemon comes soaring back down.
"Lick."
Hitodemon was caught off-guard and was soon covered by Gousu's thick red tongue. It shivers all over and I couldn't help but worry if it was completely paralyzed. If so, I would be a pushover. Hitodemon luckily shakes it off after a while. Yokatta!
"Thunder!" I call.
Hitodemon spins and spins, finally sending out a huge jolt of electricity. Gousu gets hit. I found it a bit strange that Satoshi didn't even tell Gousu to try to defend itself. Also, the attacks were weakening Gousu, but not by much HP. This was one strong Pokemon. How could it be this stalwart and still not evolve? This Gousu should be at least a Gousuto by now. Possibly even a Gengaa. One like Hanako's.
"Kasumi-san," Satoshi calls. "I told you that you couldn't beat my Gousu. Deal with it."
"It's not over yet, Satoshi-kun." I reply.
"It will be."
A lone cloud covers the sun and there seemed to be an eerie purple glow around Gousu.
"Nightshade." Satoshi commands.
Gousu's eyes widen to their fullest extent and it sticks out its enormous tongue. A bright flash of purple light erupts from all over the place and I again have to shield my eyes. A few people in the crowd shriek. Others 'Oo' and 'Aah'. When I open my eyes, Hitodemon was still standing. Not for long, however. It wavered on the spot and slowly fell backwards. The gem in its center blinked a few times before going completely dark. My shoulders sulk. It was all over.
"Hitodemon. Return."
"The winner is Gousu! Satoshi wins the match! This tournament is over!" The announcer says triumphantly.
Satoshi returns Gousu and the crowd cheers. I walk over to him and hold out my hand.
"Congratulations. You are a really good trainer."
Satoshi shakes my hand. "Yeah, I know I am."
… pig-headed jerk…
Satoshi takes back his hand and coughs into it a few times before slowly walked uneasily out of the field house. Yes, it was all over. And I was still worried about him.
Later that night, I checked out another book from the library. It was on malnutrition.
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Japanese Romanji Translations!
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Baka - Idiot
Daijobu - It's alright/Don't worry
Hai - Yes
Seppuku - (in case you didn't know…) it's a form of suicide where someone chops off your head for you
Mou - For goodness sake
Mukatsuku - [He/She] pisses me off!
Sugoi - Amazing
Domo Arigatou - Thank you very much
Sou, ne - (in this case) I guess you're right, huh?
Usou - You're lying!
Hontou ka - It's the truth
Wakatta - I get it/ I understand
Ikimashou - Let's go
Yosha - a term used to get the person pumped. Sort of like 'Alright!'
Yokatta - Thank goodness