Takeshi Yamato: Ugh… That prototype Transserver has quite a few bugs to work out… OK, where am I?
(Muffled noises coming from a stack of VHS tapes)
Takeshi Yamato: What's that noise? …Wait, I recognize this pla–No. NO. (Falls to knees) NO! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
Empire of Ransei - Imperial Summer Palace - 0802 hours local time - Day 251 of Ash Ketchum's Pokemon Journey
Ash barely ducked under the blade, Pikachu dropping to the floor as Kyoji fell on his ass.
The girl focused on him, Ash seeing the swords of the now-long since dead Samurai fallen off of Kyoji's belt, then lunged for them, drawing the katana as she swung at him, refined carbon steel meeting tool steel as the properly forged weapon, made of thousands of folded and properly tempered layers of steel hit the weapon, a massive chip was made in the cutting edge, but he pushed back, staggering her back before punching her in the gut, knocking her to the bed and having a chance to get a better position.
She quickly got up, swinging at Ash again, the Pallet Town trainer ducking as Kyoji tried to get back to his feet.
"What a FINE mess you've dropped into this time." came a male voice, roughly in his early forties, Kyoji turning his head to see a man with red hair, yellow eyes and a light smirk.
"Ryo?" Kyoji asked before shaking his head. "I-I mean, Major-"
"Relax, Kyoji. It's good." said the now-named Ryo, before he peeked into the room. "Your highness, might I recommend you NOT kill our guest, please?" the girl stopped, Ash sighing as he got up.
"She was trying to kill me, you know." he said to Pikachu, who snorted.
"Pikapi." 'Ash, if you were in any real danger, you know I'd step in.' his starter replied as he climbed back onto Ash's shoulder. "Pika." 'You were fine.'
"Perverted assassin." the girl snapped before Ryo quickly stepped in and put his hand on her shoulder to stop her.
"Honored guest, actually. I was only informed a few minutes ago myself." he said. "Your highness, meet Ash Ketchum, Crown Prince of Rota. Prince Ash, this is Crown Princess Tatsuki Yamato. I hope you don't take the-"
Ash waved it off. "Not the first time someone's come at me with a sword." he said. "Also not the second or the third, which is distressing, once you think about it."
The Ranseian Major chuckled. "You lead an exciting life, then!" he declared before looking at the door, then scowling. "…Your highness, you know you should've put up a sign saying it was occupied. You sleep in the nude. No wonder they just barged in: they thought it was empty."
Tatsuki glowered at the Major, but said nothing, then glared at the boys. "You are not staying in here while I get changed!" she snapped. "Perverts!"
"We WOULD have left sooner if you weren't swinging a sword at us." Kyoji said, uncaring if he was addressing the crown princess of his empire, Ash just rushing past before all three left the room and closed the door.
"You have some balls mouthing off to her." Ryo said to Kyoji before looking to Ash. "Major Ryo Kanetsugu, Ranseian Special Forces Division, on assignment as the princess' personal guard for now."
Kyoji scoffed at that. "Dude, you should be in Ferrum making life hell for the commies." he said, disbelieving. "Why are you here? You're better off there then babysitting."
"True, but then I'd miss a chance to see you again." the seemingly laidback officer said. "It's been WAY too long."
"You two know each other?" Ash asked.
"You could say that. I tried keeping him out of trouble, but with my constant assignments, Kyoji had to put up with bullshit." Ryo said. "Disgusting, to be honest. But hey, good things came out of it: he met you!"
So cheerful for someone so skilled in killing things. Ash read him like a book: the man was responsible for a LOT of death. But it was just a job for him. Nothing personal. He really did care about Kyoji, though.
"Nonstop excitement." Kyoji said. "New Island and a super-powered Mew, Cipher coming back-"
"You going to Ferrum and starting a war?" Ryo cut off, smirking. "Bound to happen sooner or later. Still, gotta ask… Groudon was reported as being seen-"
"I do not want to know." Ash said, having a good idea what was going on. Then he smiled realizing something. "At least something's changed."
Kyoji and Ryo looked at him, then each other, in confusion before Ash shook his head. "So, where are the others staying?" he asked. "Might as well help them settle in."
Ryo nodded, still confused. "Your… comrades…" he said, probably thinking the word 'harem' would be a bit insulting. "Are on the other end of the building. I'll guide you there."
"Pika." 'Seriously?' Pikachu asked his trainer.
"Things have changed, Pikachu." Ash said. "And for the better, really."
New region… broken cycle. Ash could live with that. Ash would LOVE that. And he would also love to do ABSOLUTELY NOTHING for two months. Hopefully Ransei was as peaceful as Kyoji claimed.
And Cyrus was secretly plotting a surprise birthday party for him instead of plotting to end the universe and start again as god.
Ash could hope. He could use some hope.
Misty looked in the direction Ash's room was in, which was noticed.
"You're worried?" Anabel asked. "That scream was a little worrying."
"Ash doesn't scream like a girl." Misty said, but kept an eye out.
"Don't tell me you're thinking Ash is peeping on someone." Becca asked, looking a little concerned. After all, Ash seemed like a perfect gentleman.
"Please. Ash, a peeping tom? That's as laughable as a nuke being a legitimate threat." Serena said haughtily. "He's had ample opportunity to do it to us - some of us actually WANT it-" the Kalosian looked at Misty and surprisingly Anabel and… Iris? "But instead, he hides so far out of sight when we change, we rely on Natu to make sure he hasn't run off!"
Becca's eyes opened, revealing her brown irises as she just stared at Serena's open admission. "What." she stated.
The Kalosian woman giggled. "Oh, come now. Do not tell me you're not interested in Ash looking at that mocha-skinned body of yours." she said, the hiker girl blushing noticeably at Serena's statement. "Or imagining how he'd drink you up with his eyes?"
Misty jumped to her rescue. "Serena, please don't traumatize her. Robin's still unwilling to talk about what happened." she said dryly. "We have a good idea WHAT, but unless she tells us…"
Robin was silent, unwilling to discuss what happened.
"You see my point." Misty deadpanned.
Serena chuckled. "I would never do anything without permission." she said. "So unless she asks, I'm not doing anything. Consent is ALL."
"Robin must've consented, then." Iris said. "Not knowing what she was in for."
Becca decided to change the subject. "S-so, uh… why didn't you all go take part in what happened at Shamouti?" she asked. "I saw Ash in the reports-"
"We don't exactly have flight-capable Pokemon." Misty cut off. "Still trying to find the right fit for each of us."
That was a pain and a half. There were next to no flying-types with their type specialty that could be ridden and ones that could fly in ANY form that weren't flying-types were… well, rare.
"You could branch out. I did!" Becca said cheerfully. "Still not the best fighter, but Skarmory can fly!"
That might be a valid option, really. They'd all have to look into that.
Becca then looked to Anabel. "You don't need to." she added. "You can use Metagross. I know you have a Beldum."
Anabel gave her a look. "I've been training him-" "That line doesn't have a gender-" Becca cut in before Anabel's eyes flared with psychic power. "TRAINING HIM for years and he's still a Beldum!"
Becca sighed. "Psychics. RIGHT." she said before pinching the bridge of her nose. "Beldum is also Steel-type. They NEED to physically attack to push their evolution. Violence is part of who they are."
Anabel looked away. Psychics preferred mental warfare to physical. After all, the mind was their greatest weapon. The crunching of bone, sting of pain, that was not the way of the psychic. Mind over matter might have been something of an exaggeration, but it was not inaccurate.
"I'm willing to help." Becca added. "Rock and ground might be my main specialties, but I've branched into steel: close enough for it to fit, but still outside my field of experience. There are ice-types that fly."
Iris shuddered at the reminder of ice. Apparently Iris was kept out during Opulucid's very NASTY winters a few too many times and while her grandfather made the ones that did so regret it, her cryophobia was cemented.
Still, that advice was pretty good. Misty could catch an ice/flying-type, Anabel had Metagross, Iris could use Dragonite…
Misty had NO idea what Serena or Robin would use. Mei had Natu.
…speaking of parrots, where was Ash?
The door opened, revealing the object of Misty's musing along with Kyoji and a Ranseian soldier with red hair.
The latter chuckled. "Well, I can't deny you have good tastes in ladies." the man said, Ash giving him a glare for that comment. "What? It's a compliment."
Ash continued to glare. Apparently he didn't like the implication that they were his property or something like that. If anything, he encouraged them to do whatever the hell they wanted, up to and including leaving and going about their lives without him.
So he felt a little - ok, a LOT - insulted.
"Thank you for the compliment on our looks, but Ash doesn't consider us 'his'." Serena said. "He was engaged to us against his will, but none of us are really complaining. After all, we all love him. And this is better then a love polygon."
"He's a bit stupid like that." Kyoji added in a deadpan, Ash turning the glare to him.
It was not effective.
"Well, this is going to be barrels of fun." the older soldier said. "Major Ryo Kanetsugu, Ransian SpecOps. I'm going to be seeing a lot of you over the next few weeks during your stay. Especially if the Emperor does what I think he's going to do."
"He better not. I don't need more people engaged to me." Ash snapped. "And she'd probably kill me in my sleep."
"Yet you're smiling." Anabel noted. "…WHY are you smiling?"
Misty snorted. She had a good idea and voiced it. "Oh, I get it. New region, new love interest." she said. "And because whoever she is hates your guts, you think you've broken the cycle."
Ash's smug smile only deepened. On the one hand, Misty could understand WHY Ash considered that a good thing: if that pattern was broken, there was a chance for actual rest. No crisis to resolve, no rampaging legendary, no local team, no… nothing. Just… peace.
And to be honest, Misty wasn't against that, feeling a bit… proud of being part of an exclusive group.
That said, Ash would rather live as a celibate monk thanks to that vow to make up for what happened in Altomere. Guilt was powerful, but not dealing with it and healing it was unacceptable.
"Yup." Ash said smugly before the smugness just left his face. "Let me have a ray of hope that things will change, please?"
…The conflicted feelings only got WORSE. If they told him nothing would change, it would just depress him and drive him closer to the noose. At the same time, not every change was good.
"You guys have a VERY complicated dynamic." Ryo commented before grinning. "I can see why Kyoji likes you! Keep up the good work!"
They had his… approval?
Kyoji sighed. "Long story." he said before his superior walked out of the room, smiling. "…Where's Taggard?"
"Apparently on a patrol of the grounds." Neesha answered, before pausing. "You're normally not concerned about him. Why are you asking?"
"Ryo's… a bit of a fight nut." Kyoji answered. "And I think he wants to test himself against the most elite of the Rotan Royal Guard."
They wouldn't shed any tears. Bastard was making matters worse.
Outside Valora City - 0956 hours local time
"It looks a LOT different from the game." James commented on the almost mountain of metal and stone, a massive contrast to how it looked in Conquest, comparable more to a strange mix of Minas Tirith from the Lord of the Rings movies and a 40K hive city.
It's been over 8000 years. You SERIOUSLY think it would remain static?
"Well, no, but… this is kinda extreme." Meowth said, not willing to piss off their effective god.
Ransei's technological push has had costs. Let's just say that while they're very ideologically opposed, Ferrum and Ransei aren't as different as they'd like to think.
"Spoilers?" Butch asked.
You've gotten ENOUGH hints.
Meowth's ears perked up before his expression turned into disgust. "Arceus preserve me, you DIDN'T." he pleaded.
Spoilers. Know your place, cat.
"What the hell are you doing?" the rockets jumped at the sound of the voice of their commander, who looked annoyed. "Stop loafing about and do your goddamn jobs."
Wise words.
"So… you're the Horusian." came another voice, as a redheaded and yellow-eyed man approached, wearing the standard Ranseian military uniform. "Ulysses Taggard. Master armorer, commander of the Rotan Royal Guard twice over and the main reason for the fall of Orre. Your new master's actions notwithstanding, he couldn't've taken that goddamn region without you."
Taggard, to his credit, only put his hand on his shovel-axe's handle. "And you are?" he demanded evenly.
"Ryo Kanetsugu, Ranseian Special Forces." he said, introducing himself. Taggard's response was to whip out the entrenching tool.
"You bastard got my king KILLED." he growled.
"I wasn't there." Ryo said evenly, smiling.
"You're all the same and we will never forgive or forget." the Horusian snapped. "Go near Ash and I will have your head on a pike as a warning to anyone thinking of trying the same thing!"
"Spoken like a loyal falcon of Rota." Ryo said, smirking.
"Uh… boss?" Cassidy started. "I think he WANTS you to attack him." This made the Ranseian Major drop his smile in favor of a scowl. Clearly, he wasn't happy about that.
"Damn you, you yellow-haired bitch." he spat.
"Well, excuse ME for preventing a diplomatic incident!" Cassedy snapped.
"I don't CARE about the politics. He is one of the greatest hand-to-hand combatants of his age!" Ryo shouted. "And if there is ANYTHING I want, it is a GOOD FIGHT against a hell of a combatant!"
Taggard folded the spade and slipped it back into its cover. "Then I spite you." he said. "Touch Ash, however and you will die in your sleep. I will deny you your death in battle."
Ryo's scowl was matched by his face turning red. "You deny me a chance to prove my skill?" he demanded.
"You want to fight for the sake of it. I defend my king. You just want a cheap thrill." Taggard said. "I refuse to be your entertainment."
A very loud, feminine scream cut off the argument.
"That better be my prince laying with one of them." the old guard said dryly.
"Not unless he managed to seduce my princess in three hours." Ryo deadpanned. "But that's apparently his greatest skill."
Taggard did not rise to the bait, much to the Ranseian assassin's annoyance.
Throne Room, Ranseian Royal Palace - 1000 hours local time
Tatsuhito waited a moment for the ringing in his ears to fade before speaking. "That was expected, but still painful." he dryly said.
"You want me to take that pervert on a guided tour of Ransei?!" Tatsuki demanded, furious at the idea she would have to spend time with… HIM.
"Daughter, you sleep in the nude." Tatsuhito noted dryly. "And you didn't put up a notice saying the room was occupied. Of course he was going to get a glimpse of your…how did you put it, 'glorious beauty'?"
Tatsuki's face flushed red. Mostly with embarrassment. "…That was mother's words, not mine." she muttered. Not a lie, though: she took very much after her mother in terms of looks.
Though her mother did glare at her breasts. Apparently, the daughter was bigger then the mother when she was her age. Something she DIDN'T need to know.
"Tatsuki, this is a magnificent opportunity for you and Ransei as a whole. You will be seen with the King of Rota, our greatest rival, peacefully showing him the beauty of our home." her father continued, pretending not to notice his wife's disgust at the concept of peace. "And who knows? Maybe he will show you that it was an accident and he is in truth a gentleman."
Tatsuki was two steps away from pouting. "I make no promises on changing my mind." she deadpanned.
"I ask that you give him a chance. He obviously holds no ill will towards you swinging a sword at him." her father said, smiling. His daughter quickly fled before he could make more… comments.
"Tell me you are not seriously thinking of playing matchmaker between our daughter and that peasant." Sayaka demanded. "He has no noble lineage!"
"The staff of Sir Aaron does not light up for anyone not of his line, wife." Tatsuhito said sternly, but evenly. "That is enough proof of his ancestry."
Sayaka made an aggravated sound that seemed to indicate she wanted to STRANGLE her husband. Damn him for having the facts and damn him all the more for not letting that bastard being born a commoner get in the way!
"She will kill him." she finally stated.
"The question is, will he die sadly or happily?" Tatsuhito said, Sayaka GAGGING at that mental image while her husband just SMILED.
He LOVED doing that to her sometimes.
One hour later
Tatsuki shoved the door open, finding Ash's royal harem (she swallowed bile at the idea) engaged in discussions about Pokemon while their husband to be was seemingly having a discussion with his Pikachu.
She HAD changed out of her formal attire to something more… practical, a simple set of yukata and a haori to cover them, but they were still a deep royal purple. And they did NOT hide her bust as easy as her kimono did.
"My father wishes me to take you on a tour of the region." she said curtly, Ash turning away from Pikachu, who jumped onto his shoulder. "For diplomatic reasons. Frankly, I would rather shove you off a cliff."
WRONG MOVE.
The redhead and Kalosian both rushed and shoved her against the wall. "Do NOT give him ideas." the redhead, Misty, snarled. "You heard about Orre?"
Tatsuki saw the rage in Misty's eyes, knowing BETTER then to counterattack. "…Yes." she answered, unsure where it was going.
"Let's just say he TRIED to do that. Make the suggestion again and you will not live long to regret it." Serena added, her eyes flashing between red, pink and blue.
A latent psychic with multiple personalities, all Ash-crazed. Joy.
"Uh… you mind letting her go?" Ash asked, both of them looking to him. "I accidentally walked in on her changing. She's got a right to be mad."
"Was there a sign?" Misty asked. "It obviously wasn't LOCKED."
"No, but-"
"Then it's on her." Misty finished before backing off. "We only get to cry pervert if it was intentional. YOU actively avoid being near us when we're getting changed!"
Tatsuki did NOT understand why Misty sounded… angry at the idea that he wasn't watching them getting changed.
"Oh, I can show you…" Serena purred, her eyes now red as rubies, sounding like a high-class courtesan. "If you want…"
"Serena, Jade, whichever, PLEASE leave the girl alone." Ash all but ordered. "She wants to remain mad, let her."
Serena let her go, Tatsuki noticing a slight change in tone. He sounded… HAPPY about her being angry at him.
…She was horribly confused. Wasn't he supposed to be like those harem protagonists in those manga she… acquired, a total unashamed pervert that the girls constantly punched in the face and was always trying to get more pretty girls to peek on?
WHY WASN'T HE MAKING SENSE?!
HE WASN'T SUPPOSED TO BE AVOIDING PEEKING, HE WAS SUPPOSED TO BE DOING IT!
Tatsuki OS 2.69 has stopped functioning. Please meditate on the problem. (WHACK!)
While Tatsuki's brain was attempting to defragment and restart, Kyoji decided to take full control. "We'll start in Violight." he said with a grin. "You'll LOVE Violight."
"Uh… sure…" Ash said as Tatsuki just stared blankly. "Serena, you better not be doing anything."
Anabel chuckled. "No, that's… that's actually on you, Ash." she said, Tatsuki continuing to stare blankly into space. Serena slapped her to, in effect, flip her switch. (WHACK! That wasn't innuendo, damn it! That was a computer joke! [MORE WHACK!])
Entry 106: Tatsuki Yamato
Crown Princess of Ransei, Tatsuki Yamato is a fairly sheltered girl, having been locked in the palace by her mother until she was 15.
Rash, hotheaded, impulsive and quick to judge, she is, however, very skilled in reading the moods of politics, unlike her elder brother, but lacks both the patience and tolerance required to use it properly.
She inherited her mother's looks, making her quite a catch, but every noble that tried to get engaged to her quickly found a sword in their gut.
Entry 107: Komuahito Yamato
Crown Prince and first in line to the throne of Ransei, Komuahito is the favored child by his mother, effectively babied by her.
While he had grown out of it, showing great patience, he could never learn to read people. Rumors abound of his extreme tastes that are… less then acceptable in even noble circles, but no one wants to say anything about it.
People seem to disappear shortly after.
Ron the True Fan: (Crawls out of pile of VHS tapes) I LIVE!
Takeshi Yamato: (Sweatdrops) O… kay… The ham is strong with this one.
Ron the True Fan: I doubt any of the younger ones will know what the actual FUCK these things are. But in case you were wondering, SYMBOLISM! I have vid backlog! …And I was BURIED by it. And now I can bury YOU in SOT chapters for the first time in MONTHS.
Takeshi Yamato: …sure. Anyway, readers, we're back to this, though I still think I need more of a break. This whole arc was pretty much Ron's idea anyway.
Ron the True Fan: Jorn had influence. But I get to deal with the idiots lobbing threats at him. He's too busy to deal with them. Just like I was too busy with vid work for a month to do ANYTHING. But I'm BAAAAAAAAAAACK… Take'll deal with beta shit when I finish them off.
Takeshi Yamato: Gotcha. Well, we'll see you next time, readers. (mutters) Hopefully it'll be another month or two.
Ron the True Fan: DON'T COUNT ON IT! (Mad cackling before flock of Natus SWARM and peck)
Ja Ne!