"… I know that if we quarrel with words, it will vanish,
And we'll move on, knowing of our dreams
And spoken goals.
The defeats in the evening rain will make me better,
Even if my body does not yet appear strong…"
Such a soothing voice, so light and clear; like a gentle summer breeze. But he wasn't sure to whom it belonged. He had never heard such a peaceful melody before, and was puzzled as to why anyone would want to sing to him to begin with. He was just a lowly criminal who garnered hateful looks where ever he went.
"… Good-bye isn't a sad event because,
As I walk away, you'll be waving your hands,
Smiling.
I extend my heart as I embrace the sky,
Trusting my confirmed desires…"
But this light that was shining into his eyes was annoying him. All he wanted to do was relax and enjoy such a pretty song, but the light was preventing the former. Who was the one dumb enough to shine a light into his eyes, anyway?
"… I have a map of the future here!
Onward! Onward!
Cross the seven colors of the rainbow with me.
Ready? Go! I'm ready!
I'm tightly grabbing your hand and taking you along…"
With a light growl, Jet cracked open his eyes, squinting slightly as the light that had awoken him grew more intense and bright. He was… Up in a tree? In… A backyard of sorts? A backyard with a really big pond… It took the boy a moment to get his barings and remember where he was and what had happened.
That's right. He had gone to look for his Dragonite and found her at the home of that stupid girl, who had two days to learn 'songs she had never heard of' or else that Clair woman or whoever was going to feed her to the dragons. And after the girl stormed inside, he had settled in on the tree branch he now found himself on and had promptly fallen asleep.
Upon seeing the backyard deserted, though, the dragon trainer couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed. No one was singing to him after all; He was still alone.
"… I want to be chasing such a feeling of freedom…
Running towards the galaxy like a dazzling star!
My heart's response changes as I aim for the light.
There will be no time for gloom, as that would repeat the past…"
So then who was singing? Surely that dumb girl did not possess such a pretty voice. But it would be fitting… Shaking his head to clear his mind of such thoughts, the boy slid off his branch and once again expertly landed, straightening before glancing up at the three story house before him. Quickly, he noticed that the back door was wide open, with no sign of life anywhere.
"If only more people left their doors open," He muttered to himself with a slight frown as he cautiously made his way up the back porch. "Would certainly make stealing a whole hell of a lot easier…"
Standing before the open door, he stared at it for a moment or two, as if waiting for something to jump out at him. Then gingerly, the teenager leaned forward and stuck his head through the frame and surveyed the interior. The room was rather wide and long, a few plush armchairs clustered together around a three-seat leather couch in one corner.
The rest of the walls were lined with tall bookshelves constructed of some dark wood that was almost black, and were packed with all sorts of books from large, thick ones to small and thin ones. But everything was covered in a gracious layer of dust, as though it all had been neglected for years.
Wrinkling his nose, Jet exhaled strongly but was satisfied about finding no one. Hopefully it'd remain that way as he stepped silently inside, a few dust particles whirling around his worn shoes. Though thieving would have to come second. For now, he was curious to discover the mysterious singer.
"… Onward! Onward!
Cross the seven colors of the rainbow with me.
Ready? Go! Even farther!
Go through the clouds to the sky!"
He could hear the soft hum of music now as the silver-haired boy moved deeper into the large home. But before he could even locate the stairs to the next floor, the voice he had been using as a guide died away, leaving nothing behind but utter silence. Instinctively, he froze in his tracks, poised and ready to bolt. He knew all too well from his many years as a thief that when sound suddenly stopped, you were about to be discovered.
But much to his surprise, as the seconds dragged on, there was no sound of approaching footsteps, coming to investigate. There was nothing, so providently he crept forward again, this time taking care to remain as quiet as possible. Last thing he needed was that dumb girl accusing him of trying to rob her, too.
After only a few minutes, the teenager finally found the stairs, towards what was probably the front of the house. Like a ghost, he moved up them, taking it one slow step at a time, just in case the fixture decided to betray his presence with a loud, drawn-out 'creek'. By the time he got to the top and onto the second floor, to his relief the voice began to sing again.
"I felt the wind, my breath together
With the earth at the moment I jumped.
A voice echoed in my heart, 'You'll be alright!'
When I turn around, everyone is smiling.
I want to be chasing such a feeling of freedom,
As I raise my hands up towards the blazing sun.
I looked back at yesterday and remembered.
Alas, there were tears, but they don't trouble me…"
"Gods, how big is this damned house?" Jet cursed, having investigated a good half of the rooms on the second story by now and was still clueless. Did he really have to search the house from top to bottom? Well, screw that. He'd just take the easy way out.
"Otomé!" The boy bellowed, hoping he had been loud enough to be heard over the singing. Really, he wasn't going to comb the entirely house, and especially not for the likes of her. But much to his satisfaction, the voice suddenly ceased in mid-sentence a second or two after he shouted.
"On the second floor, you know!" He called again without waiting for any sort of answer. Like he would receive one anyway? But he didn't feel like standing around there for ages while she, too, searched the massive house for him.
Luckily, it only took a water trainer a few minutes to reach him, looking none-too-pleased about doing so, either. Stopping in front of him, she didn't even bother to hide her glare though remained silent, waiting for him to explain himself. But Jet said nothing, simply returning her hostile gaze with another smug smirk.
"What do you want and why are you in my house?" Otomé gave in and finally remarked in a chilly tone.
"You shouldn't leave your doors wide open, you know," He replied as if the open back door completely justified his intrusion.
"Ugh… Fine. But if you stole anything…"
"There's nothing worth stealing in this place anyway."
Aggravated, she bared her teeth at the boy in a feral frown. "What do you want?"
For some reason, he found it more fun to simply annoy and infuriate the girl rather than to kill her. Sure, it had been momentarily fulfilling to have one of his blades pressed against her throat and to see that fear in her bright-colored eyes. But it was almost cute whenever she hissed or glared at him, like he should feel threatened. And the knowledge that she had yet to win an argument oddly made him smile.
'Because that means I'm better than her,' He excused.
"I just wanted to know who was singing, that's all," Jet answered with as much innocence as someone like him could muster. "It woke me up."
As if suspecting him of having a mischievous plan afoot, the blue-haired girl eyed her counterpart warily. "And here I was, thinking you'd put two and two together," She sarcastically remarked a moment or two later. "That was me singing, genius. I told you that I had to practice."
Narrowing his eyes at her, he mirrored her frown and returned her look of distrust. "You? Please. Like you could have such a pretty voice?"
The two of them were in a staring contest now. Without blinking, both trainers scowled at one another, Otomé with her hands on her hips and Jet with his arms crossed. But then as if having abruptly decided something, the girl let her hands drop to her sides as she closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and began to sing.
"… I continue to step towards the future.
Onward! Onward!
Cross the seven colors of the rainbow with me.
Ready? Go! Fly high!
With overflowing emotions! …"
The verse was short, but it was the chorus she had been about to sing when the boy's summons had interrupted her practice. Though with a smug sense of pride, the girl smirked as the dragon trainer could do nothing but stare with a frown tugging at the corners of his mouth.
"See? Told you it was me!" She announced triumphantly, delighted to have finally won something against her would-be murderer.
Though not enjoying defeat, Jet challenged, "I bet it's just a fluke!"
"What?! Don't make me sing the rest of the song! I've been practicing it all morning!" Out of all the things in the world, singing was one of the few that the female teenager was actually decent at, so she was touchy if her skills were doubted.
"Go ahead! I dare you!"
"Fine!
… I know that if we quarrel with words, it will vanish,
And we'll move on, knowing of our dreams
And spoken goals.
The defeats in the evening rain will make me better,
Even if my body does not yet appear strong…"
It was the same verse that had awoken him and made the boy believe he was being soothingly sung to. Though hiding his disappointment of having been wrong, he couldn't help but feel regret that such a dumb girl like her had to have such a beautiful voice.
Had it not been for that blasted storm, he would've left soon after discovering the identity of the mystery singer. But as soon as Otomé had proved him wrong, they had strangely begun to talk, right there in that hallway. Not argue, but actually talk. For some reason, he had been compelled to apologize as well, telling her with a soft voice that he had not meant to do what he had downtown the previous day.
She had given him a long, icy look before turning away with a sigh and informing him, much to his shock, that she didn't hold it against him. She didn't know why, but she had never been one to hold grudges, no matter what.
"But by Suicune, at least you're not in Team Rocket!" The water trainer had then jokingly remarked, cracking a half-hearted grin. Her slightly unenthused mirth died quickly, though, when she caught his look of shame as he glanced away from her, silent.
"You're… Not… In Team Rocket… Are you?"
After a moment or two, Jet sighed heavily, suddenly looking tired again. "No… Not-" He faltered and took a deep breath before trying to continue.
"… Not anymore."
The saturninity that befell them was almost stifling. He didn't dare look to her. Why should he? Her silence at such information made the expression she probably wore now painfully obvious; her bright eyes were probably brimming with hatred now, them and her deep frown wordlessly accusing him of being a monster. How many seconds would it be before she screamed at him to get out of her house, out of her sight? To leave and never bother her again?
Sure, the girl was dumb, but rejection was rejection and rejection always hurt.
But he was only answered with a sigh. She couldn't say she didn't care, but the past was the past, so what did it matter? Just so long as he didn't try to kill her again, or was secretly in cahoots with Nightmare.
"'Nightmare'?" The male teenager echoed, arching an eyebrow in confusion. Otomé nodded.
"The blonde from Illex Forest. That's Nightmare. His codename or something, I guess." As if to prove that it didn't matter much to her what her foe was called, she shrugged and fixed her eyes on the wooden floor below her bare feet. "He's been after me since… … … Well, for a long time now. A year maybe, I guess."
The reason for her pause intrigued him, but he knew better than to pry into her past.
After that, the water trainer had elected to return to her song practice, bidding her counterpart to stay as long as he wished, so long as he didn't steal anything (again, he had insisted that there was nothing valuable enough to steal). But he took her up on such an offer, hunting out an empty guest room on the second floor once she had disappeared back upstairs.
For the rest of the day, the girl had done nothing but sing. Sprawled out on the bed in the room he had found, Jet had made a game out of figuring out her routine and after a few hours, was certain he had discovered it. She would listen to a song at least a dozen times and pay close attention to it. Then she'd sing along with it and once she was confident enough, she would sing again, only without the help of the music.
But completely unused to such an indoor life, he soon grew restless and eventually found himself outside again, the girl's Pokémon once again collected around the pond and still shooting him misgiving looks. Damned fish.
He had begun to pass the time by sparring with his Salamence out front, oblivious to the gray clouds that filled the sky now. He had momentarily thought it unusual that it seemed to be getting darker faster and earlier than the previous day, but paid no real heed until he felt the first fat drops of water pelt his face.
By the time he had recalled his blue dragon and reached the back porch, the dragon trainer might as well have simply stayed out in the rain that was now coming down in thick sheets, a crack of lightning parting the dark clouds every now and then. Damned nature.
Annoyed by the weather's underhanded trick, Jet stalked back into the house to begin a search for some towels. Sure, he had gotten caught in storms dozens of times back home, but that did not mean he liked staying wet. As he neared the stairs to the second floor, he was greeted by the sight of the water trainer as she came down them herself, looking weary and grumbling to herself about how tired she was.
"How tired can you get from singing?" He remarked impatiently by the foot of the staircase with crossed arms.
"Hey, it takes a lot of energy to project my voice loud enough," She shot back, awarding him with a disapproving frown as she noticed the water he was carelessly dripping onto the wooden floor.
"Oh, of course. You're right. It's completely hard work. I've learned my lesson." His tone was cruelly sarcastic and betrayed his agitation. He was in no mood to put up with the girl and her stupid sass.
"You're free to leave anytime you want if you're going to be so rude," Otomé shot back coldly with a slightly hurt glare.
"Hey, Salamence wanted me to stay, so I'll stay, despite whatever silly complaints you have." If only she'd get the hell out of the way. She had stopped halfway down once he had spoken to her and the stairs were only wide enough to let a single person pass at a time. All he wanted was a way to get dry, the water that had soaked into his ebony clothes now chilling him. He hated the cold.
"No," the female teenager corrected sternly. "This is my home and if I tell you to leave, you leave, unless you want to feel one of Ai's Ice Punches again…" Was she threatening him? Jet couldn't believe she was actually threatening him. How dare she!
"Fine!" He half-shouted, glaring bitterly up at her. "This is exactly why I'd rather be in that storm anyway; People like you!" Whirling around, he stomped back in the direction he had come, the sound of the back door slamming a few seconds later loud enough to be heard over the foreboding thunder.
So it was late dusk now, the sun having almost fully drowned beneath the horizon and the approaching night's pouring rain. But that did not deter the brunette from catching sight of the dragon trainer as he angrily stormed out from around the house, jumped the fence, and continued on down the road towards the rest of Blackthorn City. The rain was more of a hindrance than the growing darkness.
"Stars, finally," She commented dramatically, watching the boy go until she could see him no more. "I was wonderin' how long he was gonna make us wait out in the rain. Bastard." She hated water and fondly patted the long, black neck of her partner when the dark beast crooned pitifully in agreement.
"Let's wait jus' a few more minutes, though, ta make sher he doesn't come back. Then we can grab the girl and get back ta Viridian an' otta this freakin' rain."
Obediently, the pair remained steadfast in their hiding spot just a little while longer. It was almost completely dark before either one of them moved again, a small shadow—possessing something reminiscence of tails—stealthily darting across the concrete road and effortlessly over the white fence. Without a sound, it glided up the front porch and stopped only to examine the lock on the door.
But with ease, the lock was picked and gingerly the shadow inched the door open, just wide enough to allow it passage inside.
That boy! How dare he! She had been kind and allowed him to stay in her home, even after he had tried to kill her twice, and he had the nerve to be so rude and disrespectful! Otomé hadn't moved an inch from the stairs once Jet had stormed off. Instead, she had taken the rest of them two at a time before throwing herself down into the nearest armchair to brood and fume.
How dare he!
But in her anger, she had become deaf to the sound of the front door squeaking slowly open and of the rain suddenly becoming louder. She had become blind to any shift in the shadows around her, but luckily, had not become oblivious to the feeling of someone behind her.
"Coming back to apologize, I take it!" She suddenly declared loudly as she jumped around in her seat to stand on her knees and face who she thought was Jet. But when she instead was greeted by the cheeky grin of a strange woman with dark brown hair that was wet and plastered to her pale face, the girl was shocked.
As far as she could tell, the woman was dressed in all black as well, the thin, oval glasses she wore spotted severely with rain drops. Her eyes, full of cunning and ice, were a bright orange and almost cat-like, her pupils vertically elongated in an inhuman way. But those ears…
Where the water trainer supposed normal ears would be, a pair of furry, cream-colored, fox-like ears stuck out from the woman's head instead.
"Apologize fer what?" She replied cheerfully in a strange accent before suddenly grabbing the back of the teenager's head so she could better force a red cloth over her mouth and nose.
Otomé tried to scream, but in taking a breath to do so, she inhaled a strange scent that instantly made her groggy. And the more she breathed, the more she began to lose hold of consciousness, her mind growing increasingly hazy until she finally gave in to the insistent urge to sleep deeply seconds later.
As the girl's struggles for freedom slowed and then finally stopped, the brunette's grin widened, three of her golden-tipped tails wagging gently. "Damn finally. Now ta jus' gitt'er ta Faint an' we can be outta this dumb place already."
Moving around to the front of the chair, the fox-eared woman then let go of her prey, allowing her to fall backwards and into her waiting arms instead.
"Damn. You just' hafta be heavy, too, don'chya?" She complained to herself as she struggled to get a good grip on the blue-haired teenager now draped limply in her arms. But her enhanced instincts barely managed to move the brunette out of the way as a blast of what appeared to be air charged through the space she had once occupied and hit the opposite wall, deeply cracking the painted drywall.
"Get away from her!!" Omi hissed savagely from the staircase's banister before launching another psychic blast. The slicing attack, however, quickly dissipated when the brunette turned to face the feline and used Otomé as a shield; if the blast were to hit, it'd directly hit the water trainer instead of the intruder.
"Hey, aren't you Tuusun's Espeon?" The woman remarked with a smirk, her ears pressed back against her damp hair. Arching her back, Omi's fur stood on end.
"Your looks have completely changed, but your voice still remains the same, Hebi Oni!"
"I'm touched you remember me." To aggravate the Sun Pokémon further, the newly christened Hebi Oni chuckled as if she had just been told a joke. "But you see, the Boss wants back what's rightfully his, so he's sent me to get it, seeing as Nightmare keeps failing and all…"
"I'll kill you before you even make it out of this house!"
"You're on, snaggle tooth!" With reflexes as quick as the lightning outside, the brunette whirled around and was already bounding down the hall she had come before Omi had a chance to comprehend and follow. But despite her superhuman senses, the woman was still cutting it close, barely managing to avoid quite a few of those deadly psychic blasts.
But quickly, Hebi Oni learned and by the time she burst back out into the heavy rain from the front door, she had begun to use the water trainer as a shield whenever she felt that she would be unable to dodge an attack. Merciless and cruel, yes, but one could not expect anything greater from ones like her.
"FAINT!" The brunette bellowed at the top of her lungs as she bolted back across the street after barely managing to hop over the fence again. Swiftly, the black beast was at its mistress's side, crouched down low to the ground to allow her to toss the unconscious Otomé over its broad shoulders and then clamor onto the dragon's back herself.
"Up! Up!" Hebi Oni ordered as she lightly dug the heels of her boots into her creature's sides. "That damned cat discovered me an' is probably gonna follow us er somethin'!"
Without dallying any longer, the ebony reptile snapped open its wings and sprang into the sky with a strong thrust against the wet ground, not enjoying flying in such rain one bit but knowing that it was essential unless they wanted to be caught.
But it was only mere seconds before an angry roar challenged them. Twisted around, the fox-eared woman frowned when she saw a teal-eyed, golden dragon charging into the air after them.
"Damnitall!" She slurred in an annoyed manner. "I don't get paid enough for this! Faint! Faster! A damn Dragonite is after us!"
Growling at such news, Faint proceeded to beat her wings faster as commanded, trying in vain to outrun such a mythical Pokémon. But Dragonites could circumnavigate the globe in under sixteen hours, so it wasn't long before Kin was almost literally right on the strangely-colored beast's tail.
Roaring again, the golden dragon suddenly launched a long stream of flame from her fanged maw despite the hard rain, aiming straight for the brunette's back. Hissing at such perceived insolence, the darker reptile folded both its wings and dropped downwards in a stomach-turning manner in order to avoid the assault.
"Oh fuck!" Hebi Oni shouted in surprise as the Flamethrower passed inches away from her head, before clutching onto her dragon's neck to avoid being thrown off from such an abrupt dodge. "Arg! Fuck this! We'll do it the easy way!"
From inside the trench coat she had been wearing to deter the falling water droplets, the fox-eared woman pulled out a minimized Great Ball, promptly restoring it to its normal size and releasing the creature within.
With a flash of red light that mimicked the lightning, a humanoid figure was suddenly crouching on the dragon's back, behind Otomé but in front of the kidnapper. Even in the night, its golden skin and large, ivory mane of fur around its neck were clearly visible, its triangle-shaped ears pointed permanently upwards as though it were always alert.
"Psyche! Teleport us outta here!" Barked Hebi Oni as soon as her Pokémon has finished materializing. "I will not be shot down by a damn Dragonite!"
The woman refused to move even a single tense muscle until her Hypno nodded and closed its eyes, its large body beginning to glow softly as it readied its power. Confident that they would now be escaping easily, she then twisted back around to face Kin.
"See, unlike Nightmare, and Lorwave, and all those other idiots," She shouted tauntingly. "I actually think ahead! Toodles!"
The echoes of the brunette's victorious laughter was all that suddenly remained of the Dragonite's quarry, but even that was quickly drowned out by the booming thunder of the storm.
A/N: The song that Otomé sings is "Ready Go!" by Naomi Tamura, and is the fifth opening song for the Japanese version of the Pokémon anime. To state the obvious, I didn't write it or anything like that, but it's such a nice song. :3
And if it's seemed like I've missed a closing italic tag, then I have no idea why and it refuses to be fixed.