Aregin's POV
Salamence lands with a muted thud as I hop off and return him to his pokéball. My first thought about this place is about how cold it is. I quickly dart into the nearest clothing shop, snagging a sturdy black jacket off the nearest rack and paying the cashier before exiting out into the glaring white landscape. I guess it snowed recently, and pretty heavily too. The shopping town is blanketed by a good foot of snow and many of the stores are closed until the plows can get through. I wonder where she would be hiding… I think to myself as I scan the faces of the unusually large crowd in the town plaza. She could be anywhere in this town. I travel up and down the sidewalks, looking for a pair of icy blue eyes beneath black bangs. Most of the people here look the same, which makes my job a lot easier. Everyone's blonde and has normal blue or brown eyes. After exhausting all chances of seeing her in the plaza, I head down the road of shops.
I dart in and out of the various stores, hardly anyone is shopping today, most are just enjoying the snow, I guess. The closest I can find to my target is a woman with tea green eyes and black hair just as long as hers. I almost thought it was her, until I saw the child clinging to her leg.
I should check the Pokémon Center now. She wouldn't be stupid enough to leave Eira without a Pokémon or two. Maybe she even tricked the Professor Cypress into giving her one…
The doors of the Pokémon Center open with a woosh and I stroll in, noticing the lack of many Trainers around. None of the Trainers that lounge in the lobby are even close to being my target. All of them are young men, except one young girl with bright blonde hair-definitely not my target. The Nurse Joy for this Center smiles warmly as she welcomes me.
"Hello, what can I do for you?" She asks when I saunter up to her counter.
"I'm looking for a cousin of mine," The lie quickly forming itself along with a fake smile, "She's left on her journey and isn't answering her phone. I was wondering if she came through here recently. She's about yay tall and has black hair with icy eyes." I hold my hand just above shoulder level. Nurse Joy thinks for a minute before snapping her fingers.
"Yes I believe I've seen her just recently, she stayed two nights ago," She says, "Hope you find her soon! Oh! You should know that she cut her hair the day she arrived. Too bad, it was so pretty too." She smiles once more before I leave and make my way back out into town.
"So she's trying to hide now," I mumble to myself, "Trying to blend in with the crowd. Two days…" How far could she have gone in two days? I dig out Salamence's pokéball and release him out into the cold air. He shivers in the cold before looking at me with contempt, as if to say 'Why is it so damn cold?' I merely wave away his question and hop on his back.
"We're going to Marn, head south Salamence," I order. Salamence roars once before taking off with a quick beat of his large, red wings, turning south once he's high off the street of the snow covered town.
Rin's POV
"Come on guys! We're finally here!" I laugh and race through the town entrance, "Kasha, we can finally challenge the Gym!" Kasha chuckles and Guy smirks at my excited glee.
"Hold your Ponyta, the Gym will still be there tomorrow," Kasha says, "I want to check out the restaurants first. I'm starved!" Guy laughs with Woody and pulls out a small blue book.
"Well, there's the Grinning Gengar, a small family run place not too far from here," He reads, "Says here that they're famous for their eerie fast service and amazing desserts. Or there's the Delcattería, they're a restaurant that allow battles while patrons wait for their food."
"I think my Pokémon have battled enough for today," I say, smiling down at Eve and Tikeri, "How many kids challenged me before we got here? Like ten?" Kasha snorts.
"You wish, you only battled five," She retorts, "I took care of the other three and Guy took down the last two."
"I still beat more than you," I tease. Kasha turns a bright shade of red and Guy laughs.
"Riiiin when can we get some fooood?" Tikeri whines, "I'm hungry!" Eve smacks him upside the head, using her height to her advantage.
"You won't starve Furball," She scolds, "We'll get there soon enough." Tikeri growls and mutters to himself. Winter laughs down at the two from my shoulder.
"You are certainly the most interesting group I've come across in a long while," She states, "Now I really know I'm going to enjoy traveling with you."
"Thanks Winter, I'm glad you're so keen on staying with us," I respond and she purrs delightedly, "Let's go to the Grinning Gengar." Guy nods and Kasha strides right past me down the large street. We follow quickly behind and I marvel at the large city of Marn.
Near the outside of the city-where we are-are all the smaller buildings. Homes, small businesses and quaint neighborhoods dominate. Near the center, what I can see of it, are tall skyscrapers and large buildings for who knows what. I can see the red roof of the Pokémon Center from here.
"So, how tough do you think Cinder and Aqua are gonna be?" Kasha asks.
"I don't know. I hope they aren't too tough. I'd like to win on our first try."
"Oh come on! We need at least a little challenge!"
"You'll be glad to know, they're no pushovers," Guy interrupts, "They're pretty good for being so young. I nearly lost against them."
"Huh, well that's great! Now let's get to that restaurant, I'm starved!" Kasha yells before dashing down the street in front of us, nearly plowing over a woman carrying groceries.
"Kasha, wait up!" I yell and catch up to her, "We'll get there soon enough!"
"Actually, we're here," Guy says from behind us, panting from the run to catch up with us. I look at the restaurant and see a small black painted building decorated with purple awnings, curtains and a wooden sign depicting a smiling Gengar.
"Good, now let's get something to eat," Kasha says before reaching for the door handle, letting herself in with the rest of us following.
Inside is just as unique as the outside. The lights burn dimly and the tables are all covered in nice violet tablecloths with candles situated in the middle. Royal blue and deep purple accent the chairs and rugs with a small bit of gold flashing here and there.
"Wow," I say breathlessly, "I can't believe this is a family run place." I look around and see a few couples at the tables and one woman dining alone in the corner. An elderly woman exits from a door and walks up to us with a large grin, her silvery hair pulled back into a professional bun.
"Hello children. Are you here for lunch?" She asks and Kasha answers for us.
"You bet. We hear you're the best around these parts." The old woman laughs and adjusts her glasses.
"Well I don't know about that, dearie," She smiles, "But I'd say our food is pretty good. Have a seat wherever you like and I'll send out someone to help you." We take our seats at a corner booth and I look around at the room again. The one lady in the corner interests me. Her royal blue hair extends all the way down her back in ringlets and somehow it seems to shimmer in the candlelight, faintly, but it does. She looks lonely sitting by herself, yet not somehow, like she's waiting for someone.
"Hey Rin!" Kasha pushes my shoulder to get my attention, "Did you even hear me?"
"What?" I ask, snapping out of my focus. Kasha shakes her head in exasperation.
"I asked if you had any clue about that big bird the first day we traveled together," She says, "I think it could have been a rare Pokémon. Maybe even a Legendary!"
"There are no Legendaries in Alamar," Guy and I say in unison. I laugh and Guy chuckles while Kasha pouts.
"You never know! That thing was a perfect match for Articuno when I looked in my pokédex," She argues, "What if it was? That would be so cool!"
"Yeah right, and my grandmother was the Queen of Shiba," I retort, "Everyone knows that Legendary Pokémon all live in the other regions. We've had this conversation before Kasha."
"They may not live here, but it would be pretty cool if you two did actually see Articuno," Guy says, "It would be like the ultimate good luck charm. You want to hear something cool?" Kasha nods vigorously and I nod too.
"I've heard that the Legendaries can take on human form and they walk among us, just for kicks!"
"Where'd you hear that?" Kasha asks.
"Professor Elm was reading it out of a dusty old tome once," He explains, "I think it was from an elder in Celestic Town. It was really neat."
"Cooool!" Kasha says, "For all we know they could be walking among us right now!" I laugh at her over dramatic tone.
"Yeah, that would be amazing, but like I said earlier, there are no Legendaries in Alamar," I scold, "No unique Legendaries for our region like Palkia is for Sinnoh, or Rayquaza is for Hoenn. No traveling Legendaries either, like Entei or Latias."
"Arceus, you're such a buzzkill Rin!" Kasha pouts. Just then, a petite lady appears at our table to hand us the menus and get our drink orders.
After she leaves I find my eyes drawn back to the blue haired woman. The kind, older woman that greeted us has taken up a spot across from her at the table and she is talking animatedly. The lady in blue smiles at whatever she is saying and points to a book lying open on the table. The older lady takes a look before shaking her head sadly, the lady in blue frowns and closes the book. The older woman gets up to leave, but for some reason I can't take my eyes off the younger woman. She looks back down at her book with a crease between her eyebrows, like she's condemning the book for being wrong.
"RIN!" Kasha yells.
"What?!" I yell back. Guy laughs his butt off, Kasha looking at me like I've lost my marbles. I look down in embarrassment and notice our drinks have arrived. "When did these get here?" Guy just laughs harder, tears forming at the corners of his eyes.
"That's what I was trying to get your attention for!" Kasha scolds, "They floated over here! Just floated, like they were being carried by an invisible person." I look back down at the glass in front of me and make a sound of surprise.
"Cool," I respond.
"Cool? Is that really all you have to say?" Kasha acts like I've just kicked a Lillipup. "Our glasses just floated over here out of thin air and all you say is 'cool'."
"Well, yeah," I answer, not really seeing where Kasha is going with this, "It's called the Grinning Gengar for a reason Kasha." She blinks, temporarily halted in her argument. "The owners probably have ghost types hiding in the shadows to serve the orders when they are ready."
"Like I said, killjoy," Kasha retorts.
"Technically you said buzzkill," Guy points out. Kasha just groans and puts her head on the table, ignoring the two of us. I smile at Guy and look at the menu. It's nothing fancy, but it is all the kind of good, homemade kind of food that will leave you feeling satisfied. The younger woman that took our drink orders returns and Kasha stops moping long enough to order, but goes right back to it when she stops talking.
"Is she okay?" Our waitress asks.
"Yeah, she was just at the failing end of logic," Guy responds with a smile before ordering and I do the same. The waitress shrugs off Kasha's foul mood when she turns to go back to the kitchen.
"You know Kasha, if it makes you feel any better, it could have been Articuno that we saw," I say, "I don't know of any other Pokémon that look like that." Kasha lifts her head up off the table and looks sideways at me.
"Really? You're not just saying that to make me feel better?" She asks suspiciously. I hold up my middle three fingers and put my other hand over my heart.
"Scout's honor," I smile at Kasha.
"Fine, I guess it does make me feel better," She teases. Guy starts talking about something or other, but I find my eyes drawn back to the lady in blue… again. Something about her commands attention. I'm surprised Kasha and Guy haven't been looking her way. I don't know if it's the way her hair sparkles faintly, or if it's just her unique features; short, round nose and wide molten chocolate eyes with skin so pale it almost looks blue. She's returned to reading her book, although with an air of disappointment, and her eyes scan the page as if looking for a crucial detail.
I look back to my friends to find them talking animatedly about Legendaries again, so I figure I can stare at the woman for a while longer. Looking back, I notice the detail that had been escaping me for so long. The woman is glowing, as if lit by an inner fire of a golden tone. It is too faint to notice right away, but in the dark restaurant, it stands out as faintly as the shimmers in her hair.
The lady in blue looks up from her book and catches my eye, causing me to jump and blush in embarrassment. She studies my face, her brown eyes flicking back and forth over my features before she smiles slightly. She continues to look at me as I cannot tear my gaze away from her. Her aura of gold and her unusual features have trapped my eyes, I couldn't look away if I tried. There is something about her that seems familiar, it's so small of a feeling I wonder if I'm just imagining things.
"Yay! Food's here!" Kasha says happily and I somehow turn my gaze back to our table. The dishes we've ordered arrive on floating plates, as if served by the air itself. I know it's just a group of ghost types hidden in the shadows of the restaurant, but it is pretty amazing how fluidly the Pokémon deliver the plates. Right before they leave, a Haunter materializes next to a Gengar and they both smile and wave before returning to the kitchen.
All of our Pokémon besides Current and Shade have taken up residence under the table, Eve actually sitting on my feet as she digs into her food.
For now I'm drawn into the delicious food. The soup I've ordered is wonderful, and judging by the sounds Kasha and Guy are making, theirs is wonderful as well. Before I know it, everyone has eaten their fair share and Kasha has drawn me back into the conversation about our Gym challenge.
"Fire and water, fire and water, fire and water," She toys with her fork, flipping it between her fingers, "What can we do about fire and water…"
"You know, neither you nor I have any type advantages against Cinder or Aqua," I say, "I'd go so far as to say we're at a complete disadvantage."
"Not if we use Shade and Eve," Kasha explains, "They wouldn't be at an advantage, but neither would they be vulnerable."
"Maybe, but what if Cinder has a Monferno? Or a Combusken?" I retort, "Then we're screwed."
"Come on Rin! Ya gotta be optimistic!" She smiles and thumps my back, "Just remember, we saw Articuno the day we met. That's gotta be worth something!"
"Yeah, sure," I roll my eyes and pet Eve under the table, "So what Pokémon do they have?" I ask Guy.
"That would be cheating," He replies with a smile.
"Pleeeaaase?" I pout, giving him my best Lillipup eyes I can manage.
"No," He says with a chuckle, "And no amount of begging will get me to tell you."
"Party pooper," Kasha pouts. I laugh and find my eyes drawn back to the table of the blue lady, but she's gone. I guess she's moved onto her own business.
"Hey Guy, anything else about Marn in that little book of yours?" Kasha asks, "We should see the rest of the city."
"What about our challenge?" I ask, maybe a little bit whiny.
"It will still be there tomorrow," Kasha says with a teasing smile.
"Sure, there's a lot of things in here about every city," He explains, "Mostly just restaurants and main attractions though."
"So what's it got about Marn?" I ask. Guy pulls the book out of his bag, puts on his glasses and flips through the pages.
"Well, there's this restaurant, the Delacttería, Shuppet's Toy Store. There's the Junkyard, the Gym, of course, and Artisan's Square… hang on a minute." Guy's eyebrows crease his forehead as they lower in confusion. He readjusts his glasses and reads the page again.
"What's up?" Kasha asks. Guy looks up from his book with an impressed smirk.
"Says here that there are two Artisan Squares in Alamar," He explains, "One here in Marn and one in Análi. It says that they are the two centers of art in Alamar. Hm, neat."
"Two centers of art?" I say, "How can there be two centers?" Guy smiles and closes the book with a snap, returning his glasses to the top of his head.
"How would you like to go all the way from the Islands to Marn to see the center of art? Or from Eira to Análi?" He teases, "I guess it's most likely for the sake of convenience."
"Weird," Kasha mumbles.
"So says the girl with white hair and silver highlights," I mock playfully.
"I'll have you know the silver was a fashion choice," She remarks pridefully.
"But the white wasn't?" I tease back. Kasha just sticks her tongue out at me and sits back.
"Well I don't know about you, but I'm ready to go."
"Yeah, we should hit the road. Let's go to the junkyard!"
"Why the Junkyard?" Guy asks. I smile brightly and dig out the mechanical Lugia I made out in the Crystal Forest.
"I need more scraps to make more of these!" I reply, "I bet I can sell it for a pretty penny down at Artisan's Square"
"But it's so neat! Why would you want to sell it?" Kasha asks.
"Well, I make things for other people," I explain, "Why would I make things just for me to keep? What good is making something if you can't make someone else's day a little better with it?" Kasha seems to think about what I said before nodding slowly.
"That makes sense I guess, but you're sure you want to get rid of it?"
"I can always make another."
"I don't think I've met anyone quite like you Rin," Guy says, "You make something totally amazing, then give it up without a second thought." I blush at the compliment and pick at the spines on my trinket.
"Guy, you broke her!" Kasha laughs and slings her arm around my shoulders, "Don't worry Rin, we'll go straight to Artisan's Square after we hit up the Junkyard for your spare parts, okay?"
"Okay, now let's get going, we got only half a day left!" I scoot out of the booth and Eve, Tikeri and Winter follow. On the way out, we pass the table that the blue lady was sitting at. Something glittering in the candlelight catches my eye. A brown leather covered book with gold leaf lettering sits on the table. She must have left it there by accident. I quickly scoop it up and hurry after Guy and Kasha who are already talking to the older woman at the entrance, settling out bill most likely.
"All right children, you have a nice day," The old woman says as my friends make for the door. I tap the woman on the shoulder and hold up the book.
"Ma'am, I think the young woman you were talking to earlier left this here," I explain. The old woman tightens her lips and frowns. Her eyes roam over my face as if searching for something, they betray an underlying emotion of suspicion that worries me. She opens her mouth as if to say something, but closes it and taps her finger on her lips.
"Ma'am? Are you all right?" I ask. She seems to shake herself out of her mood and smiles at me.
"Oh yes dear, I'm quite fine," She answers, "If she forgot it here then it wasn't important. You can keep it if you like, it's just an old book full of fairytales and legends." She waves her hand at me dismissively, shooing me off. "You might want to catch up to your friends, dearie, if you don't want to be left behind." She smiles once more before walking quickly back to the kitchen. I stare after her with the book hanging in my hand.
"What just happened?" I ask my Pokémon.
"I have no idea, but we need to go!" Tikeri says, "Guy and Kasha left without us!" He tugs at my shorts to get me to follow him out the door.
"You're so impatient, furball!" Eve scolds, "They aren't going to leave us behind." I giggle and look at Winter, who's made herself at home around my neck. She's grinning widely, looking back and forth between Tikeri and Eve.
"What's so amusing?" I ask quietly. Her smile broadens.
"They fight like and old mated pair," She snickers. I roll my eyes and break up my two friends.
"Come on guys, let's go catch up to Guy and Kasha," I say and we head out of the restaurant to jog down the street. Kasha and Guy have stopped to wait for me and Guy teases me about being slower than a Slowpoke. I just jab him lightly and continue walking towards the center of the city.
From earlier the city looked like it was all centered in the middle, but as we near the sky scrapers, Marn almost looks like a terraced mountain. The buildings jump in uniform height, from small to larger and larger as they congregate towards the heart of the city. Many of the medium sized buildings are businesses like dry cleaners, battle clubs, Fan Clubs and so on. There are a few higher scale homes, but most of those are littered around the shorter section of the city.
The Junkyard appears on our right after a solid three hours of just trying to find the dang thing. A small, squat building sits out front, probably the managerial office. A Houndoom and a Houndour lazily sit out front, though their eyes never wander from watching us. After a brief pop into the office, the man that owns the Junkyard allows us to take whatever we want, as long as we take care of a Zubat and Rattata problem of his.
"Gears! And bike wheels!" I shout as I quickly run to a pile of metal, "Even plates of metal!" Guy laughs at my enthusiasm.
"This must be like heaven to you, eh Rin?" He jokes but I just smile in return and stuff as many odds and ends into my bag as I can without tearing a hole in it. Tikeri jumps from pile to pile with me, growling at any Rattatas that stray too close for comfort.
"Everything's so shiny!" He gushes, "What's this?" I look to find him pawing at a large spool of copper wire.
"Tikeri, you're a genius!" I squeal and immediately grab it, "It's so hard to find decent copper wire in a junkyard!" Kasha and Guy both start laughing hard. "What?!"
"You should see your face, Rin," Kasha laughs, "You're like a kid in a candy store!"
"I can't help it! You try being me and not get excited," I retort. Kasha's eyes sadden slightly, probably remembering my confession on the road south, before we met Guy. I wince a little, not wanting to have made her sad.
"All right Rin, I'm sorry," She apologizes.
"It's fine, besides, we still need to take out that Rattata nest," I remind the two of them. Guy immediately groans and takes the lead to the back of the Junkyard. Kasha throws her arm around my shoulder, and Winter, and leads me behind Guy.
"Really, Rin, I am sorry," She whispers.
"Kasha, it's fine. It's really nice travelling with you and Guy. It's almost as if I started my journey like any other kid, without the whole my-house-blowing-up thing."
"Hey Rin?"
"Yeah?"
"Why haven't we gone to the police? You know they could probably help figure out who did it."
"I don't really know. Something in my gut just says to keep going and to leave my past behind. My parents kept a lot of things from me and I'm wondering if I really want to dig up the skeletons in their closet. Does that make any sense?"
"A little. But if it were me, I'd want to know the truth." I laugh at Kasha's statement.
"That's because you have no patience to let things be. You have too much confidence Kasha, too much confidence to let yourself not know something." She laughs and bumps me with her hip.
"Well, then Ms. Smarty Pants, let's go take put those Rattata for the old dude and get to the Pokémon Center," She eyes the horizon where the sun is starting to droop, "Looks like we don't have time for Artisan's square tonight."
"You girls coming or what?" Guy shouts from ahead. Kasha and I laugh at his impatience and rush to catch up.
One cleared out nest of Rattata and a bag full of junk later, we depart from the Junkyard and off to the city heart to find the Pokémon center for a strategy meeting and a good night's sleep. Eve's rings glow with the moonlight until we find the warm glow and red roof of the Pokémon Center. Nurse Joy gives us our rooms and we retire for the night, I for one, excited for what tomorrow may bring.
And there ends Chapter 9. The Lady in Blue may stay a secret, or maybe she'll make another appearance. I can't quite decide yet, but I await your reviews on baited breath, or they are the sustinence we authors thrive on so vividly. Okay, random weird moment aside, please review and be nice, I'm tryin my hardest here!