Hey, I'm back. And I brought Chapter Four with me!
Zel: Thank goodness, otherwise there wouldn't be much point in you showing up like this.
Rose: Hush you.
Chapter Four: Botan
Three days later however, the barrier was still in place and neither Botan nor Kurama had any clue as to how to get through it back to Reiki. Mrs. Cullen still hadn't thought of anywhere else that they would be able to stay for cheap, so she was kindly letting them stay with Aria and herself until Botan and Kurama's parents called. Little did she know that they weren't going to if only for the simple fact that they didn't exist.
Of course Botan and Kurama thought it better not to tell her that. So when their parents didn't call, Mrs. Cullen began to worry.
"Oh I'm sure that they'll call soon Mrs. Cullen. Please don't worry so much." Botan said for the umpteenth time, trying to wave away their host's worry.
"All right, but maybe you should try to call them instead." She suggested as she went into the other room to finish something.
Botan gave Kurama a worried look. "We need to find some way back to Reiki soon, before she tries to call our 'parents' herself." She whispered.
Kurama nodded. "Either that or think of a reason that they can't buy tickets."
Botan's kitty face popped on her face, something that had been happening a lot lately. "Yes I'm sure you would rather do that and stay here then find a way back to Reiki. Meow."
Kurama closed his eyes and did his best to ignore her, especially since Aria had just entered the room.
"Good morning you guys." She yawned as she sat next to Botan at the table.
"Good morning Aria, did you sleep well with my loud mouth sister in the same room?" Kurama asked over his cup of orange juice, prompting the loud mouth to smack him over the head, making him and Aria laugh.
Botan had noticed that Kurama was more at ease in this place then she had ever seen him and she couldn't help but feel that that was a good thing. Maybe it was because Youko was currently in his spirit form and out of Kurama's body. Although, she also had a distinct feeling that Aria had something to do with it. Or at least she hoped so. The blue haired ferry girl felt that they would be good for each other, at the very least as friends, although...
Botan decided to try her hand at matchmaking.
Kurama looked over at his 'sister' as she started giggling almost manically as her kitty face appeared, again.
"Hey Botan," He said in an almost bored tone, causing her to look up at him.
"Yeeeeees." She said suspiciously.
"Your whiskers are showing." She quickly tried to hide her sneaky attitude.
Fortunately, Aria had gone to get her breakfast from the counter, so she missed her friends little conversation and Botan's strange behavior.
"So," She said lightly as she sat back down with her plate. "Are you guys planning on doing anything today?"
Kurama and Botan looked at each other. Well, we have to find out how to get past the barrier, get home and figure out a way to get past the demon that's been watching the house, and it would be nice if we stopped the destruction of all living things while were at it to.
"No we're not planning anything." Botan said a little too cheerfully.
"Why, do you have something planned?" Kurama asked.
Aria smiled. "Sort of, today's the first day of the Pokemon Convention. Usually I don't go because more then half of it is people trying to sell you worthless crud, but I thought you two would like to go because the other half is pokemon battles and contests and things like that, and since there aren't any pokemon where you live I thought you would like to see them in action."
Botan looked over at Kurama. She knew he was curious about the pokemon creatures and she herself wanted to see all the different kinds besides the ones that Aria had already shown her in the forest and ocean.
"Okay, that sounds fun." Botan said as Kurama nodded.
Aria smiled widely. "Cool," She said. "I'll just grab my pokemon so they can have some fun too and then we'll go."
After an hours walk, the trio stood outside of Botany's huge convention center waiting in the long line to buy tickets.
Aria sighed angrily. "Arh, this is taking forever!" She nearly screamed in frustration. "It didn't even take this long for us to walk here." She kicked at a pebble on the walk way, sending it flying towards a small table off to the side.
Kurama sighed; the wait and the girls' complaints were starting to grate on his nerves too. "I'm sure the line will start to move soon Aria." Youko, who was standing next to him, looked up at him.
"You really think so?" He asked sarcastically.
Kurama glared down at his other half. "Be quiet Youko." He said fiercely.
"Oh now that's just not fair." Botan exclaimed.
"What?" Aria asked as she tried to see how far back in the line they were.
"Those people over there don't have to wait in line at all." She pointed over to the table Aria had kicked the pebble towards.
Aria looked. "Oh, that's because they're trainers who're going to compete in today's competition." Suddenly her eyebrows shot up. "Now why didn't I think of that?" She murmured to herself then she quickly motioned for her friends to follow her to the table.
The lady sitting there looked up as she approached. "May I help you?" She asked politely.
"Yes," Aria smiled. "I'd like to sign up for the pokemon battle." The woman handed her the papers and she quickly filled them out.
"'Kay, here's your pass. They'll announce over the PA system when you'll need to go the arena. Are these two with you?" She asked as she handed Aria her trainers pass and information about where she would have to go.
"Yes ma'am." Aria said cheerfully, relieved that they wouldn't have to wait in that awful line any longer.
"Okay then," The woman whispered more to herself then to anyone else as she handed Botan and Kurama special passes that were similar to Aria's. They would allow them to visit all areas of the convention as well as let them sit next to the ring during Aria's fight.
With a final thank you, Aria led the way through the doorway into the convention.
Looking around the large, well lit room Botan began to see why Aria had said that half of the place was full of worthless junk. It reminded her of a really big tourist trap. Come to think of it, it probably was.
But then Botan saw the cutest little stuffed Skitty doll and she found she didn't care. Maybe it was a good thing Kurama was in charge of what little money Koenma had given them. She thought to herself as she picked up the toy and hugged it. It was very soft, although not as soft as the real deal, but still, it was cute. Once this whole end of the world mess was over, Botan hope she would be able to come back here and at least visit Aria and her pokemon. She liked them.
"Botan, are you coming or what?" Aria called back to her and Botan saw that she and Kurama had walked on ahead without her. She quickly dropped the doll and ran to catch up with them. Watching her friend out of the corner of her eye, Botan noticed that Aria seemed much more relaxed here for some reason. She had glimpsed Aria's mask falling a few other times, but had never bothered to mention it. If Aria didn't feel comfortable with them to let it down 100, that was her business. And besides, who could blame her? She's only known us for a few days; I'm amazed she's as open as she is. Botan thought to herself as Aria led them into a large room that reminded her slightly of the arena at the Dark tournament. Looking over at Kurama, Botan saw that it was bringing up bad memories for him too.
"Um, Aria," Botan tapped her shoulder. "Where are we going?"
The younger girl looked over her shoulder, positively beaming. "Huh? Oh, we're going to the Arena where they have all the battles and stuff. I thought you guys would like to see a few, plus they end in like, half an hour and then we can walk around until I have to go to my match."
"Are you sure you're ready for a match on such short notice?" Kurama asked in what sounded to Botan like a slightly worried tone.
"Yes, I'll be fine. I've been out practicing with my pokemon whenever you two go out and talk." She said with a hint of confidence. Since they had started staying at Aria's, Botan and Kurama had gone out to the clearing that they had first landed in to try and contact Koenma. The were usually gone for at least three quarters of an hour, including the walk to and from the house, which Kurama supposed could be enough time to practice, although he still didn't know enough information about the creatures to be sure.
Aria caught his unsure look and waved it away confidently. "Don't worry Kurama." She smiled at him. "I've been doing this ever since I was ten. I do know what I'm doing."
"Okay." Kurama said, still a little concerned, but willing to let it go since she seemed to know more about the subject. Soon, his attention was focused on the two people standing at the ends of the large arena. Botan saw that each person had a pokemon standing in front of them. Or at least she assumed they were pokemon since she had never seen anything like the creatures before. Besides, Aria had said that this was a pokemon contest, so those had to be pokemon. Now she just had to figure out which pokemon they were.
"Aria," She asked never taking her eyes from the battle that had just started. "What kind of pokemon are those?" She pointed to the two creatures that were now attacking each other with deliberate grace.
"Well," Aria said as she squinted to get a better look at the creatures that were now throwing attacks, which seemed to be more beautiful then anything else. "It looks like the flying one is a Butterfree and the small, whitish one is a Pachirisu." Aria made a face at the blue striped, energetic pokemon.
Botan managed to tear her gaze away from the contest to ask her guide a question. "What's wrong with the Pachirisu?" She saw that Kurama was eyeing the small creature like it was little kid that had had too much sugar.
"Well," Aria said looking down at the arena. "Pachirisu's are cute and all, but they're waaaaaaay to squirrelly for my taste. I mean look at that!" She pointed suddenly as the Pachirisu suddenly stopped trying to attack its opponent and lay down on its tail to take a nap. "It's basically just a hyper active squirrel with its own personal electric generator." She laughed as the Pachirisu's trainer started to yell at the small electric squirrel. "My friend had one once," She said almost sadly as her eyes focused on something or someone that was no longer there. "But then again, she had almost as much energy as Sachi did."
"Sachi?"(1) Kurama asked, completely ignoring the contest, which had ended at the sound of a loud buzzer.
"Yeah, he was always so happy and energetic and...bouncy," Aria went on, waving her hands vigorously as she spoke. "He drove me completely bonkers! He was always escaping his pokeball and getting into all my stuff. It was annoying more then anything." She conceded as she settled her hands back in her lap.
It was almost awkwardly silent for a moment before Botan realized that neither of her friends where going to talk. So she interrupted their silence for them.
"How long do these contests usually last?" She asked as two new contestants made their way out onto the field.
"Well," Aria said patting her knees and sitting up a little straighter as if she was dragging herself out of her own thoughts. "Each contest lasts three minutes and if a pokemon is hit by the others attack then that pokemon's trainer loses points. If no one attacks by the time the match is over, then both trainers get a warning and lose more points. All the attacks have to be beautiful too, otherwise they lose more points."
Kurama stopped her. "There seem to be a lot of ways to lose points."
Aria smiled. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure they out number the ways you canearn them."
"Thanks for the explanation Aria, but that wasn't what I was asking really." Botan said. "What I meant was how long until all of the contests put together were over?"
"Oh," Aria said looking at her watch. "This should be the last one now." She said as two different trainers walked out into the arena. "Then we can hang out for awhile and look at everything."
"Okay!" Botan giddily punched the air then paid strict attention to the adorable creatures that began to swirl and dance in midair while Aria and Kurama began to talk.
And they kept on talking after the match ended and they, along with a very bouncy Botan, walked throughout the large building where the convention was being held.
"So what exactly do you do at your job?" Aria asked curious.
"Well," Kurama thought about his step father's building and wondered if it was possible to make it sound interesting. The small grey building with its floors of small offices filled with people who never seemed to deviate from their work.
No, not possible.
"It's very boring," He told her truthfully. "Mostly I help to file paperwork."
She looked up at him, unbelieving. "That's it? You don't do anything else at all?"
"No," Kurama wasn't planning on telling her about any of his former occupations as thief or spirit detective. "I told you it was boring." He smiled as he nudged her with his elbow.
Botan watched in amazement from behind her friends. Maybe Kurama wouldn't need any sort of shove after all. He seemed to be doing very well on his own, even if he didn't know it. Botan did her best to stifle her laughter when she realized that both Kurama and Aria were oblivious to the other's feelings. But then again, Botan realized she had the advantage of a third person perspective. Maybe she should try to put it to better use tonight when she and Aria were talking before they went to sleep...
"Hey Botan!" The ferry girl looked up to see Aria and Kurama were waiting by an opening in the grey wall. "Come on; let's go so you two can actually get good seats.
"Oh okay, I'm coming!" She ran to catch up. She would have to think about what kind of hint to give Aria later.
They really did get good seats, Botan thought as she and Kurama cheered wildly when Aria appeared in the arena to their left. She stood straight, radiating confidence and pride to the audience and, more importantly, her opponent.
The young woman standing opposite from the brown haired girl was blonde and pretty looking. She reminded Botan of a glass flower that would cut you apart with shards of glass if you broke it. Kurama saw nothing resembling a flower and was distinctly reminded of the girls at his school and work who continually tried to force their attention on him.
Aria narrowed her eyes at her challenger in recognition and dislike as the announcer told both girls to choose their first pokemon. The rules were simple. Each contestant may choose three pokemon to battle. Once one of the creatures was judged to weak to fight by the referee, the other player earned a point. The person with the most points at the end was the winner and would be able to go on to the next round.
Botan watched as Aria released Vixie from her red and white ball and then waited for the announcer to start the match.
The ref raised his flag and once both players were ready with their pokemon he whipped it down yelling, "Begin!"
The opponent's large flower like pokemon leapt forward, trying to crush Vixie beneath its weight before the smaller creature had a chance to attack. But a quick command from Aria sent Vixie dashing away, her small size now an advantage the large, clumsy flower didn't have.
"Oh come on Aria," The blonde haired flower called from her spot across the arena floor. "Are you just going to run away like always?" Aria didn't answer the other girl, just gave Vixie another command that sent her dodging out of harm's way.
"And what's with the little pokemon?" The other girl continued to taunt Aria, making Botan and Kurama mad. Although, Botan noticed, they seemed to be the only ones who could hear what the girl was saying above the roar of the crowd, so maybe that was why no one was trying to stop her from bullying the brown haired girl.
"I mean, didn't Marian already prove that you can't win a fight with a wimpy little thing like tha-?" The girl stopped dead as her pokemon fell heavily to the ground, making tiny little Vixie the winner.
It was in cases like these that Aria couldn't help but gloat.
"What was that Lexa?" She smirked triumphantly. "I couldn't hear you over the roar of the crowd. I think they like it when I win."
Lexa's face turned ugly with rage. "Just you wait," She said darkly as she drew out her next pokeball. "I'll beat you just like your stupid sickly friend."
Botan watched her new friend's face cloud over with rage and grief. Right then the ferry girl wanted nothing more then to run out and help her friend even though she wasn't quite sure how to. But Botan remained in her seat, realizing that this battle had just become oddly personal.
(1) Sachi means Happiness.
Ta-da! A battle. Ooooo. Aaaaaa.
Zel: You can stop now. It wasn't even a whole battle.
Rose: Yes, but it will be. And besides, this battle is more interesting then others because it has a mystery. Who could Marian be?
Zel: I know, she's-
Rose: Hush, that was a rhetorical question for the audience, not a real question for you. Anyway, find out next time in Chapter Five of Aria.