Disclaimer: I own nothing here.
Peacekeepers
AN: Get your tissues ready and cue the sad background music... (I listened to sad Naruto songs and bawled my eyes out writing this...)
Also, in regards to episode JN115, I have just two things to say: (violently shakes Cynthia and Steven by the collar) Stop ignoring each other! You're killing me here! And Steven, stop lurking in the corner, you're not Vegeta! xD
Chapter Seven - Dance
It was a gray, rainy day outside as a five year old Cynthia sat curled up by the window, clutching tight to a small Garchomp plushie. She tried to focus on the sound of the raindrops hitting the glass with little success. She couldn't block out the noise of her parents arguing in the next room.
It wasn't that hearing them argue was anything new, but this time was different for some reason. Mom had went to the doctor the day before because of a really bad headache. Spending the whole day and night at the hospital had been both scary and boring, but at least Grandma had been there to keep her company, since Dad was busy taking care of Mom.
Then, for some reason, everything had changed when they returned home this morning. Grandma wasn't there to explain anything and most of what her parents said didn't make sense even though she tried really hard to understand. The words "terminal" and "illness" kept popping up, but she didn't know those words yet.
Her head snapped to attention at her father's latest sentence though. "I love you too much! I just can't stay here, knowing you could die at any given moment! I can't bear to see it!"
Cynthia knew what the word "die" meant though. Was Mom going to die? She rushed over to the doorway between the rooms to see her mom doubled over in a chair, crying, while her dad was by the front door, a suitcase and his coat in hand. Was Dad leaving?
"That's not love!" her mother sobbed out. "Or did you forget your vows?"
Her father made an agonizing sound but said nothing more as he turned for the door. His gaze caught on Cynthia and for a brief moment, he hesitated, his expression softening. "Dad?" she called after him, tears brimming in her eyes as she dropped her Garchomp and tried to run to him, but he was out the door before her small frame could reach him.
"Dad, come back!" By the time she opened the door and ran out onto the porch after him, he was already driving off in one of the two cars they owned. "Dad!" Why did he leave? How could he leave, especially when Mom was so sick?
Maybe there was just something she didn't understand yet. Maybe everything would be ok tomorrow. Cynthia went back inside to see her mom on the phone, still crying as she tried to talk. "Yes... He's gone."
Cynthia ran up to her mother and crawled into her lap, demanding to be held and hoping she could hear the person on the other line. It was faint and she couldn't make out the words, but she was sure she could hear Grandma's voice. Grandma always made things better... Surely this time would be no different?
"Just... come get her," her mom said through a shaky voice. "It's best if she doesn't see it happen."
"Mom?" Cynthia whimpered, not understanding anything anymore. She heard her grandma's voice again.
"Two months isn't enough time to justify the risk of traumatizing her," her mom replied, her voice growing firm with determination. "Better to get her used to the idea of only having you."
Grandma's voice crackled again as Cynthia clutched tighter to her mother and buried face into her neck. "Right, see you soon." Ending the call, her mother wrapped both arms around her and shushed her softly. "You'll be ok, sweetheart," she told her as she kissed her head and stroked her hair tenderly. "I promise, you'll be ok."
The rain never stopped for the rest of the day.
Cynthia woke up to the sound of Pidgeys and Starlys chirping in the forest nearby, with intrusive morning sunlight soaking through the tent fabric. "Great," she grumbled, feeling a nagging headache eclipse behind her eyes, as if she had been crying in her sleep. Figures she would have a bad dream about a memory she didn't need or want.
With sluggish movements, she sat up, feeling like she would be in a foul mood all day. She could hear movement outside and with a glance noticed Togekiss had already sneaked out, probably to forage for his breakfast.
Feeling stiff and sore from sleeping on the hard ground, she tried to loosen her muscles with the few small stretches she could manage in the cramped space of the tent. She couldn't remember the last time she had to sleep on the actual ground.
Having her own personal jet in the form of Garchomp meant she could always make her way to a town or a Pokémon Center no matter where she happened to be or what time of day or night it was. A proper bed was something she had apparently taken for granted.
There were other things she was already missing too. She wanted a shower, she wanted to brush her teeth, she needed the restroom. Honestly, how did people survive in this era?
Sighing in resignation, she pulled herself out of her tent, still wearing her assigned ninja garb since she hadn't bothered to change before bed. She looked over to see Aaron working on getting another campfire started and perhaps breakfast as well. Steven was nowhere to be seen, perhaps still sleeping since Aggron was laying beside Aaron's tent, as if guarding it.
Lucario too, was absent, probably out gathering his own breakfast with Togekiss and Skarmory.
Garchomp gave a happy chirp and moved to give her master an affectionate nudge, causing her to wince a little. "Ah, easy Gar, I'm a little sore." Garchomp offered a whine of apology and concern, which Cynthia soothed with a pat on the head. "It's alright. Come on, I need your help."
After grabbing one of the two canteens from their supplies, she headed for the treeline, passing Aaron as he fiddled with the cooking rig. "I, um, need some privacy for a bit."
Aaron nodded, barely glancing at her. "Of course. Stay alert, the forest is teeming with wild Pokémon."
Cynthia nodded back and continued on, with Garchomp tromping along dutifully at her shoulder. Heading into the thick underbrush, the duo managed to startle a group of Rattata and Nidoran, which were curious at first but then fled in fear when Garchomp growled at them.
After finding a suitable place to relieve herself, Cynthia followed Garchomp to a small, clear stream where she could wash up and fill her flask.
Upon returning to camp the smell of that same soup left over from dinner reached her nose. She managed to fight off a wince of distaste, reminding herself that she couldn't really expect a variety of options when traveling in such an undeveloped time period.
You ate what was offered, or you went hungry. She understood that, but that didn't mean she had to like it.
Feeling slightly chilled after her washing session she approached and knelt by the fire, her stomach growling despite her aversion towards the food boiling in the pot in front of her.
"It'll be awhile yet before breakfast is ready," Aaron told her and shot a cursory glance at his tent; Aggron still hadn't moved, suggesting his master was still sleeping. "I suggest you and Steven get some combat training in before we leave."
If he was suggesting that she wake her new, temporary husband, then he had another thing coming. For one thing she didn't know if Steven would take kindly to being deliberately woken up. For another, he was probably already awake from the sound of their voices and the smell of food.
"Ah, then I need to do some exercises first," Cynthia replied, neatly sidestepping his unspoken suggestion. If she was to undergo some strenuous martial art drills then she needed to limber up a bit. Without another word, she moved over to an open space and took up her tai chi starting position.
As she focused on her breathing and began the first of many slow, fluid movements, it was a constant struggle to block out all the various distractions happening around her.
Togekiss and Skarmory returned with a gift of berries for their comrades, causing Aggron and Garchomp to greet and thank them noisily.
Lucario appeared beside Aaron as if to speak to him, though they both looked over to watch Cynthia curiously for a moment before resuming their conversation.
Steven emerged from the tent seconds later and looked about as disheveled, grumpy and miserable as Cynthia felt. He seemed frozen in place, like a Deerling in floodlights. When she took a second to glance at him, he was staring right back, as if he had been hypnotized by her slow dance.
Was she really that much of a spectacle? She would admit to feeling conspicuous without her Lucario performing the ritual beside her but she knew the exercises would make her feel better afterward, so she kept at it, despite all the staring.
She was a champion after all, she could deal with being in the spotlight, for a time.
Thankfully, Aggron moved to give his master a nudge in greeting, effectively breaking Steven out of his trance. Almost with a start, the Hoenn champion gave both his Pokémon an affectionate pat, muttered a greeting to Aaron and Lucario and turned towards the forest, no doubt to fulfill his own private morning routine.
Aggron went with him as both a guard and a guide, his heavy footfalls hard to ignore. When they returned moments later, Steven appeared a little more awake, his hair slightly damp from a partial wash in the stream.
Cynthia was halfway through her forms when he made his tentative approach. "Good morning," he mumbled groggily, perhaps not used to human interaction before his morning coffee. Absently she wondered if he even drank coffee, or if he preferred tea instead.
"Morning." She wasn't about to call it a good one. But she felt her mouth form a small smile in greeting, for some reason her mood lifting slightly in response to his presence.
"I can't seem to remember, do these exercises help with soreness?"
"A little." Cynthia couldn't hide a smirk, realizing he had been just as uncomfortable sleeping on the ground last night.
"Mind if I join you?"
"Please do. My usual tai chi partner isn't here."
He sighed groggily and took up a position a comfortable distance away. "I haven't practiced this in so long..."
"Just focus on your breathing, and try to relax." For his benefit, Cynthia paused briefly and started over with the first form. Taking one step into a sort of slow motion lunge, she eased into the second phase, of bringing both hands together as if manipulating Aura and pushed it aside with one fluid gesture.
"Right," Steven replied and tried to mirror her movements. His former years of training seemed to come back to him after a few moments and he was keeping pace with her by the time they reached the sixth form.
At some point throughout their rhythmic dance Cynthia managed to drown out all distractions, reaching the goal of introspective mediation.
She didn't want to face the negative memory nagging at the back of her mind, but she knew she had to accept it and let it go if she was to move on with her day with any semblance of peace.
Yes, her mother was gone forever and out of reach, not unlike the stars in a night sky. Her father, although possibly still alive, was too much of a coward to reach out to her. Although she did miss her mother at times, she had no desire whatsoever to see her father. But thankfully, she didn't need them anymore, because her grandmother had raised her to be strong and independent.
With a flowing motion she released the memory and the emotions it carried with it. Oddly, something dark and lonely remained, as if it had lodged near her heart and refused to leave.
A little frustrated, she resolved to examine the residual emotion later, perhaps during another exercise session before bed.
With the final form nearly finished, both trainers performed the closing phase by pulling their hands palms up to their chests then flipping them palms down and dropping them slowly to their waists.
Cynthia liked to think of the movement as a powering down phase, where she could almost feel the energy in her body balancing out, a sense of calm overtaking her.
She didn't realized she had closed her eyes until she opened them to see Aaron and Lucario standing a short distance away and looking as though they were about to burst with anticipation.
"That was incredible!" Aaron praised as his gaze flipped between his new students. "And you practice this dance every day?"
Cynthia nodded hesitantly, feeling that he was over exaggerating the matter a bit. "Always with my Lucario back home and sometimes at night before bed."
Steven groaned a little in his response. "As I mentioned before, I used to practice every day with a friend, some years ago." He rubbed at his neck and averted his gaze sheepishly. "Admittedly, I'm a bit rusty."
"And are you certain you are unable to control Aura?" Lucario questioned, his tone both awed and suspicious.
Cynthia wasn't sure how to reply at first; she had been practicing those forms for so long that it didn't seem like anything so spectacular to her. Steven chuckled from beside her. "If we could wield Aura then we wouldn't really need an army to save Celebi, would we?"
Cynthia nodded in agreement, a mental image playing out in her mind of both of them shooting Aura Spheres from their hands whilst their four Pokémon wreaked havoc along with them. Honestly, what could stand in their way?
"Hm, I suppose you would be formidable, but I think you're forgetting that Nobunaga tends to keep his most elite warriors close to his side at all times," Aaron told them soberly. "Each warrior commands a highly trained, immensely powerful Pokémon. I'm afraid you would still need an army to get anywhere near your goal."
Steven sighed, sounding a little disappointed. "A guy could dream." He gave Cynthia an appreciative smile. "Anyway, I do feel better. Thank you for guiding me through it."
She tipped her head in response but didn't have the chance to reply when Aaron clapped his hands emphatically. "Right, time to get to it. Let's see how well you two can transition those forms into swordwork." He nodded to Lucario, who tossed them each their wooden swords.
Cynthia and Steven exchanged a withered look, as if wordlessly sharing the same thought. It was going to be a long day.
AN: So I realize that from the game universe, Cynthia has an unnamed younger sister and you might be wondering how she fits into that flashback. Well, I am choosing to mostly ignore the game universe because the order in which events happen confuses me. I may end up cherry picking certain things later on though.
/o/o/ Bonus scene: Present – Ruins camp
Cynthia's Lucario: (Looks up at the sky) "Do any of you feel that?"
Milotic: "Feel what?"
Lucario: "I think Master is sad today, wherever she is..."
Glaceon: (Pouts) "I wish I could be there to make her feel better."
Spiritomb: "Stop crying, Master is strong."
Milotic: (Nods) "Yes, Master will be fine."
Lucario: (Looks back to the sky) "Hang in there, Master..."