Nori decided to walk, rather than skateboard to school on Thursday as September gave way to October. He did so for no particular reason other than to have more time to collect his thoughts. He had a lot of mixed emotions about what had happened.

Several of the young official's favorite radio dramas had death in them. Cops shooting criminals, criminals killing cops or other criminals, innocents getting caught up in violence, Pokemon killing and being killed. But this was the first time he'd seen something die with his own eyes. He knew it was different in real life compared to fiction. It was always awful to hear about it on the news, and besides the brush yesterday, he had nearly drowned three times. Despite knowing all that, he still wasn't prepared for just how horrible it would be to see in person.

He listened to the morning news, and it had nothing on the brutal slaying of a wild Ninetales. But that didn't mean much, since it hadn't even been a full day since it had happened. Maybe they hadn't found the body yet. If they did, he hoped they blamed a Scyther or something for her death.

When the young official arrived at school, he spotted a vaguely familiar blue sedan pulling up beside the curb. Touya Takao got out of the passenger side. He wore a pastel-blue duffle coat, bell bottom jeans, and raised platform shoes. Just as fashionable as his twin sister.

"Hi, man," Nori greeted him with a wave. "How's things?"

"Been pretty good," he passively replied with a shrug. "Know how you've been, so." The beige-haired teenage male didn't say more, just nodding at him before heading in the building. They were only acquaintances. Besides, his presence meant…

"Oh, hey." It meant that Yumi would be with him. Unless she caught a cold or something, but she hadn't. She adjusted her bag, ensuring it was snug on her back. She waved to her dad as he drove off.

"And how are you?" he asked.

"Good, I guess," she said, although the way she briefly avoided eye contact and her light sigh made it somewhat unconvincing.

She dragged slightly as they walked into the school together, with elbows tight at her side. Nori slowed his pace to stay alongside. He expected what was on her mind. He wasn't sure if she was going to speak up, or if he'd have to bring it up himself.

"So…" She swallowed some air, trying to compose herself. "Did the training go fine?" There was unhidden dread in her tone.

"It went okay," he replied. He had prepared for that question and was ready to answer it, even if it was only with a half-truth. "Pawniard still wants to hurt other Pokemon. I'm not sure what I can do about that. But he's showing promising improvement, so I'm keeping at it."

It was what he told his mom and what he planned to tell Agent Studd on Sunday. He knew trainer law, it wasn't illegal to kill a wild Pokemon in self-defense. Yet he didn't want to take the chance something might go awry, and they'd go after him for killing again anyway. Especially since Pawniard did that to protect him. He couldn't betray that!

His friend gave him a listless, almost empty gaze. For a second, Nori was concerned that Yumi sensed there was something that he wasn't telling her. But finally, she slumped and let out something like a whimper. "Thank goodness…" she remarked while she pressed a hand over her heart.

Nori felt a faint warmth in his chest. He had to admit that it felt pleasant to have someone who was so concerned about him. Even his mom had mainly shown confidence in him when he told her where Pawniard came from. Come to think of it, Yumi was arguably the biggest help in all of this. Even Prema hadn't done much, although he still wanted to speak to her about it once she finished her work.

"Thanks for being here for me through this, Yumi," he made his feelings clear.

"Oh!" She snapped up, tucking her bangs behind her ears. "Um, you're welcome. I just…" She chuckled nervously. "I don't think I did much, and I was trying to talk you out of it."

"You still helped anyway, but point taken," he conceded. An irony occurred. "Guess it was just like before, in a different way." When she was with YAMS, she tried to convince him to abandon the Demon to her fate. He even remembered she was nicer about it than most of the others.

She sighed longingly, as if reminiscing on their past. "I guess so," she agreed.

They had been walking through the school halls to their respective homerooms at that point. She was an eighth year, one grade above him. Right as they were about to part ways, Nori impulsively spoke up.

"Hey!" he said. "Want to hang out after school?"

Yumi blinked. A sad smile appeared on her lips. "I'd love to," she started. Nori could already tell there was a 'but' in there before she said so. "But I have a science project due on Monday, and I really need to work on it. Plus, mom and dad don't like us having friends over without plans."

Nori could imagine several reasons why they wouldn't. "Ah. Maybe some other time."

"Yeah." She took two preliminary steps down the hall. "So I'll see you at lunch, Nori."

"See you then, Yumi."

Once he was sure she couldn't hear him anymore – looking over his shoulder for good measure – he relaxed and sighed. He didn't want to worry her by telling the whole story. There were a lot of people he didn't want to worry. Yet…part of him was screaming to tell someone, just to get their take. Really, there was only one person he felt he might be able to talk about it with. And she could help if…


The rest of Thursday passed smoothly, and Nori hung out with Maylene on Friday as they planned. On Saturday, Nori went to the Kannagi Shrine. To his relief, there was no issue with seeing Prema. She seemed a little relieved to see him, actually. She suggested a walk behind the shrine. He added that it should be the two of them without their Pokemon. It was a good day to be outdoors, the sun shining and the temperature being just right.

"I never knew there was a path back here," he remarked as they traversed the leaf-covered trail. Well, he never actually looked. He didn't want to loiter around the old radio station or go somewhere he shouldn't have. The young official glanced around for any side paths, but there didn't seem to be anything reasonable to explore. Not that he'd go running off without her.

"Most are unaware of its presence," Prema elaborated. "It does not lead anywhere in particular, simply from one end of the shrine to another." So just a place for a walk, in other words.

"That's so cool!" he gushed, unable to resist jumping slightly. "It's like your own private trail! You can get peace and quiet whenever you want!" He would love to have a place like this! It seemed a good hiding spot from the public, actually.

Prema shook her head. "There are rooms in the shrine better suited for that purpose. Moreover, it is untrue I can come here whenever I wish."

Maybe on the first part, though she was taking things too literally on the second. He imagined there were still soundproofed rooms in the building given its former purpose. "But it's still nice to get fresh air and exercise." If it was between indoors and outdoors, he'd take the outdoors every time.

"Yes."

Prema continued to lead the way until they reached a clearing. Its biggest feature was a log to sit on, but there were rocks and even grass and weeds poking out from the ground. The sounds from the shrine were inaudible this far away from it.

"I come sit in this grove on occasion," Prema remarked.

"How often do you?"

She lightly turned away. "Admittedly, only thrice," she said while looking at the log. She fixated on it for a second.

Was she here recently? Nori supposed she had to have been. Maybe it was something she only recently learned about. He did wonder how she found it, it wasn't like her to go exploring. Maybe he didn't know her as well as he thought!

"We should continue," she eventually said before he could ask about it, moving to the other end of the clearing.

He didn't follow her right away. When he did, he ran out in front of her and turned around. "Wait, Prema," he said, putting his palms out. "Can I ask you something while we're out here?" It was now or never. Probably.

She gave a calm and serene nod. "Of course, Nori."

Okay, good. She didn't mind talking about it here. Here seemed perfect, away from anyone else. Just in case. He paced around in front of her. How was he going to say this?

"I, um." He simply started talking, hoping just doing it would help. "Am I cursed? You can tell if I am and break it, right?"

Prema's expression faded. After a few seconds, she folded her hands. "Nori, I understand that there are times when life is frustrating. You have had to deal with far more adversity in yours than anyone should have to at your age. But I do not believe that it would be as a result of a curse."

Where did she get that idea? Wait, no. "No, no, no!" He shuffled his feet. This was hard to explain! "I mean, I think a Pokemon might have cursed me recently. Or um, maybe it didn't. But I want to be sure! Can you check?"

That wasn't weird, was it? No, that definitely was. He slapped his forehead. But it was a peace of mind thing. He wanted to know for sure if that Ninetales did so before Pawniard…

Prema thought about it and eventually nodded. "I understand. Stand there." She gestured near the center of the clearing, right in front of the log, and began to walk there herself.

He moved to where she indicated. "Okay. Now what?"

"Hold as still as you can."

Prema stood in front of him. She reached out, fully outstretching her arms. Nori nearly jumped to the canopy as Prema put her hands on his shoulders. After that and as she moved her thumbs off, he froze up entirely. He wasn't expecting physical contact! Well…she said to hold still…so it sort of worked?! It was easy to hold himself steady with how tense he was.

When she released him, it was both a relief and a strange disappointment. "I do not sense one upon you," she said simply.

He let out a heavy sigh. His legs felt like jelly. He stumbled over to sit on the log to avoid collapsing. "That's good," he said, more to himself than to her.

Okay, so he wasn't cursed. But he could've been, if Pawniard hadn't acted fast. But if he was, Prema should've been able to break it no problem. That was good to know.

"Nori." Prema saying his name made him look up. She was leaning in slightly, her eyes locked upon him. "Is this the only reason you wanted to visit?"

For a moment, he thought she was about to ask him what happened. But where did that come from? Whatever, he gave her a smile in response. "No, no. I wanted to see you, since you have time for me now. Plus it's the weekend, too. That was just…" He hesitated. What would she think of this? Probably nothing good, right? "Something I was wondering and figured to ask, since I'm here."

She exhaled and simpered slowly. Her own relief did not escape him. With a gentle bow, she said, "Forgive me if you are uncomfortable with sharing. I am intrigued as to why you would worry about having been cursed."

He should've known. He bit his lip and looked away, but kept eyeing her. Prema patiently waited, folding her hands. She gave him an out, but was it one he should take? No, she was going to wonder if he didn't tell her, so he might as well.

He rubbed his neck. "Well. I…" He huffed, scratching an itch on his neck. There was no getting around this. "Pawniard…" That was wrong, too. He forcefully shook his head, saying the last words through squinted eyes and clenched teeth. "No, we killed a Ninetales."

Prema recoiled. Her hands flew to her mouth in a failed attempt to suppress a gasp. "What…?"

Nori leapt to his feet and started explaining as fast as he could. "We were out training on Wednesday when I heard a girl calling for help." He started pacing aimlessly. "She was pinned under a rock. But when Pawniard saw something was wrong, she changed form and tried to kill us. I think it was because we fought her young in the woods the week before. She was angry enough to fight off the Demon. But Pawniard killed her, right as her tails were glowing."

He only stopped when he ran out of breath. He took looked at Prema at that moment. She didn't seem to be judging him, but she usually wore a stoic mask. So who knew what was going through her mind?!

"I don't know," he continued after a deep breath. "I don't know what to think or how I should feel about what happened. Like, I just feel like I'm going to fail my Pokemon, even though I know I'm making progress. There's good signs. But he's still…" He hurt Anthony's Pokemon, but that paled in comparision to what happened on Wednesday.

Nori didn't know what to say. He stared at Prema, non-verbally pleading with her. The longer she remained silent, the more Nori began to regret telling her what happened. Maybe he was wrong. Maybe he screwed up yet another friendship! It wouldn't surprise him at all.

"I empathize," was what she eventually said. "I have also felt that way as of late."

She changed the subject?! Or was she simply avoiding it? Nori gulped before asking, "What do you mean by that? That you'll fail?"

Prema raised her shoulders, a faint groan escaping her. She wandered over to the log and sat upon it. Nori followed and plopped down next to her.

The future head priestess of the Kannagi Shrine turned her head to look at him. "Where should I begin?" she pondered aloud.

"Well, it's about Wednesday, isn't it?" Something evidently happened during the exorcism.

It took her a bit to verify. "Your research was correct. The spirit in the warehouse was that of Konrad Guhl." She made a long blink.

Huh, that was a surprise. It was just an educated guess, but it was right. He couldn't help but sit up taller and smile a little.

"He wanted to battle a strong trainer before truly passing on." She squinted and lowered her head, trembling lightly. "I could not oblige him that."

"Why not?" he asked.

"I could not defeat him. My training, both as a priestess and a trainer, was insufficient. Moreover, he attacked me after the battle. Priestess Satomi had to save me and help me send him to the afterlife."

He sneered. "He attacked you for losing to him?!" he yelled. "What's wrong with him? He's no better than Lochlyn Nuzzo! Well, besides killing, but still!"

"Nori…" Prema gave a helpless look. Her eyes darted around, and she even looked behind them.

He got to his feet. "Screw him!" he made his thoughts perfectly clear, waving a fist for emphasis. "He got what was coming to him! I'm glad you're okay, Prema. If I was there, I would've done the same thing!"

He sat down again and crossed his arms. Good thing she got rid of Guhl, because if she didn't, he would've let Pawniard and the Demon loose on him and his Pokemon.

"You do not understand," Prema said, a little more forcefully. "In spite of having sympathy for him, I am under no illusions that Konrad Guhl had to be dealt with. But I feel as if I should not have needed aid at the end." She sighed. "I am ashamed of myself."

Oh. "I don't get why you think that. I mean, I helped you! Nariya and the others helped you! Why do you feel bad about Mrs. Kurusu helping you?"

"Because…" She paused. After about ten seconds, she chuckled quietly. "I suppose I do not really have an adequate answer."

Nori wasn't sure what to say to that. Instead, he decided to just listen.

She looked up at the skies above. "I suppose it feels like the logical conclusion. I am the future Master of the Kannagi Shrine. I have been training for that role for a decade. I should have been able to do better."

He shook his head in utter disgust. He put his hands on the log and leaned back. "Yeah, well, that guy was training Pokemon for even longer. No wonder you couldn't keep up." That stuff was why he had no desire to be a serious trainer.

"But that aside," he assured, "You have a bunch of people willing to help you and throw themselves into danger and protect you! I'd be glad to have people like that, especially if I'm leading something! And besides, there's always room to grow!"

"I suppose so," she admitted before going quiet. She mulled over his words for over a minute.

He decided to change the subject and chance asking a question. "Well. What do you think about my situation? And Pawniard, now?" He felt his skin prickle after speaking.

She turned to him, but did not answer immediately. Eventually, she stood. For a moment, Nori was afraid she was going to walk off without answering, but instead she turned and faced him.

"Without being able to observe his behavior on a long-term basis, I cannot say for certain. Yet it is evident that he has some degree of honor and respect for you. It would have been easy for him to abandon you in the chaos of the attack. Instead, he stood and fought. He did neutralize that Ninetales, but I find it likely that he did so to stop her."

That was…not what he was expecting out of her. Pretty to the point. It made sense, but still. Pawniard had killed again. If he'd told this to anyone else, that would be it, no matter his reasons. What was he supposed to feel about this? How should he have felt? And…

"I believe his saving you is proof that you are making progress on his rehabilitation," Prema added.

After some more seconds to think about it, he leaned forward and stretched his limbs over his head. "I feel like her death could've been avoided. Maybe if you were there…"

Prema's expression suddenly changed to that of realization, followed by determination. "Nori, there is no sense in dwelling upon a hypothetical. There was no guarantee that my presence would have helped, or vice versa. With that said, going back to your Pokemon, I feel as though his protecting you – even if he chose to subdue your attacker lethally – is a sign that he can yet find redemption under your care."

He blinked. Actually, it was something he had been thinking. It was something of a relief to know someone else had reached the same conclusion.

Something randomly occurred to Nori at that moment. He pressed a finger to his nose while considering it. Both him and Prema had their task go astray. Also, just like how Priestess Satomi had to step in to help, Pawniard's hand may have been forced. Maybe he was using it as an excuse to kill, but he didn't want his trainer – him – to be cursed. He respected him enough to protect him. That really was proof his rehabilitation was coming along.

"Thanks," he said, putting his hands on the log for support. "I was thinking that, but I didn't know if it made sense."

"It does," she assured him with a soft nod.

"Well, for that matter," he encouraged, getting to his feet and walking toward her. "I think you're going to make a great head priestess some day. Who cares if you needed help to send some dumb dead trainer to wherever he's going? Even if it means anything, not like you'll be head of the shrine tomorrow."

He was just talking from the heart, but it seemed to help. Prema even had to stifle a laugh. She put a hand on her chest. "Tomorrow's wind will blow tomorrow," she quoted a proverb.

"Right. You still have plenty of time to be worthy of taking over, and I still have time to rehabilitate Pawniard."

"We will simply need to keep working towards our goals, little by little."

One step at a time, one day at a time. He remembered what Priestess Satomi had told him, that Prema would be there to support him if he needed it. It seemed that he would be able to support her as well!

Then they were quiet. Again, neither of them had any idea what to say to the other from there. Nori wanted to laugh. He almost did, before Prema – who was eyeing the trail – spoke.

"We should return soon."

"Yeah."

They continued on. Before they left the clearing, however, Prema went "ah!" and paused in her tracks.

"One further thing," she said, staring vacantly down the path. "Father said I should not tell anyone that I needed Priestess Satomi's help."

He blinked. She went against her dad's wishes? Wasn't that, like, dangerous? "Really? Why did you tell me?"

The priestess inhaled and exhaled. "Because I needed to tell someone."

In sync, the two of them turned to face each other. Their eyes met. There was a brief but long pause before Prema spoke once more.

"And, I trust you."

He beamed. "I trust you too, Prema."

Silence fell between the two of them once more. Yet this was more of a happy quiet. It wasn't an awkward one where neither of them had any idea what to say. It was comfortable, just being with his friend. If only he could spend more time with her.

"Let's go back," he declared, stepping lightly.

"Of course." She was right beside him.

Nori felt like he might just float away. Prema had opened up and looked to him for moral support. Part of him wondered if she was only friends with him to be polite, but this was proof otherwise. And he was glad to be wrong about it.


Later that evening, Nori went to Gabbron Park to relax, reflect, and let his Pokemon get some exercise. Each of them was an irreplaceable companion, and Pawniard now counted among them.

There was good and bad news to come from it. The good news was that Pawniard was just sitting beside him. He wasn't picking fights or looking to cause trouble, finally seeming to realize there were more ways to enjoy life than hurting or killing. The bad news was that he was there because Pachi and the Demon didn't want to be anywhere near him. On top of that, there was still no guarantee he was going to be different in battle.

It was a strange sight to see the Demon actually playing with Pachi. A step forward for her, too. Even if it was play fighting to the point of being sparring, that was still a form of play. Nori couldn't fault them for excluding Pawniard; he had terrified and tried to attack Pachi before, and despite how violent and aggressive she had been, the Demon had never intentionally killed another Pokemon.

Pawniard, for his part, had taken it in stride. He even seemed to get a little arrogant about it before coming to sit on the bench. Maybe it was because he knew Nori wouldn't give up on him, not even for his other Pokemon. Still, Nori couldn't shake the concern from that. What was he going to do if they kept hating Pawniard? Or future assignments? It was going to be awkward at the very least.

Nori glanced at his assignment, his Pokemon. Prema had given him a lot to think about, and confirmed a lot of what he'd been thinking. Rehabilitating the Demon was a stroke of luck; this was going to take a lot more time and effort. But when he boiled it down, it was all about teaching Pawniard what was and wasn't acceptable in battle. You could bend those rules sometimes, just not cross the line completely.

Instinctively and impulsively, he reached a hand out. Pawniard's head snapped at him. Nori halted briefly, but kept moving. His Pokemon did not stop him as he gave a gentle pat on the forehead.

"We'll keep at it, a little bit at a time."

Pawniard barely responded, but he did. Just a slow blink and a low hum. The bladed Pokemon peered upward as Nori let go.

The young official wasn't sure what he'd do from here or where the road to Pawniard's rehabilitation would take him. It was not going to be easy to tone down his Pokemon's worst habits. And he already knew he could forget about breaking them entirely. It was certainly going to take longer than it did with the Demon. But even if it was a long and arduous path, he would go wherever it led.

Continuing Slice: Blade of the Demon Tamer


And so this story comes to a close! If you've made it this far, thanks for sticking through it. Pawniard's rehabilitation will continue across future fics, since it's not always going to be realistic for Nori to be able to fix a Pokemon in the span of just one. Like he even realized, it was fortune with the Demon.

The idea of two concurrent fics came about as a desire to try an experimental style. Not everyone likes omniscient third person, especially if sudden. So I figured, how about the same scenes from different perspectives with different info/thoughts in each? Yes, it would have been easy to blend them: just have Prema accept and have Pawniard play a role in stopping Guhl. Besides the above, there were a couple other reasons that I didn't. The first is the plots were unrelated. Prema's contributions to Nori's plot are almost nil. Nori does step into Prema's plot, but it's as much about developing their bond and he does other things in the meantime - a big part of it was he was distracting himself from Pawniard. If they were in the same fic, I'd effectively have an A plot and B plot. It'd be possible to have merged them as brought up in the fic itself, but the second reason I didn't was because I felt I could get more development out of NOT doing so, particularly on Prema's side.

The next fic is already like 37k words done encompassing prologue to chapter 11 plus parts of chapters 12 and 14 (and some beyond), not sure how long it'll end up being in the end. It will be called Nori Carino: Abyssal Despair. What happens when a beloved celebrity dies in an accident, and the Pokemon responsible gets given to the Pokemon Rehabilitator? Probably not good things for anyone involved, really. I'll probably start posting it once it's closer to two-thirds done, depending on my pace.