The battle had concluded in a way that had satisfied very few people. Chad and his teammates were, for the most part, left unsure of what to make of what transpired. The sole exception was the one who had been the most invested in this battle. Emi left without a saying word. It was the first time – and likely the last time – Chad saw the winner of a battle walk out looking like the loser, and vice versa. Still, one might ask: was she really the winner?
Chad hurried out of the crowd the moment he saw that. Some of the club stayed behind, others followed suit. Aki languidly followed him. But he was the first one to reach the slouched Emi in the lobby.
"Emi, I–" he started, only to freeze up. What was he supposed to say here? What could he say to make her feel better?
She glanced over her shoulder but did not stop. "I'm going home," she droned before pushing open the door and heading outside. Chad did not follow.
His intuition had turned out to be correct and both of them knew it. Chad slapped his forehead as it finally sank in. How did he not see this coming?! A public battle was the perfect place to show a Pokemon to the world. Chad had no qualms about the outcome. To be honest, he doubted Qwilfish was as troublesome as some were making her out to be. It was how they reached that point that weighed on him.
Emi had walked in with intent to punish that Qwilfish, and while she had done that, she had also unwittingly played a role in saving her. Nori had used her! It was as much a painful realization for Chad as it was for Emi.
Nori went stumbling out of the arena and into the hallway, laughing and sobbing all the while. He collapsed to the ground, embracing his knees and burying his face in them while sniveling powerfully. He never wanted to go through anything like that ever again. But it worked! He didn't want to think about what would have happened if it hadn't worked. But he didn't have to worry. His dumb, rash plan had worked out.
How long was he curled up there for? It couldn't have been more than five minutes at most. There were several points when Nori thought he heard a voice or two calling for him, but he ignored them. It was only when a familiar "Sir!" rang out that he looked up and took notice.
A scruffy-looking man in a trenchcoat was standing near him. He took a half step closer. Agent Studd repeated, "I said are you all right, sir?"
Nori slowly unfurled his legs and put down his arms into a sitting position. He wasn't. What he wanted to do was go home, sit in his bed, and try to sleep. "I'll be okay," he sighed truthfully, wiping his eyes. He sniveled more. "Got a tissue?"
"No?" Studd glanced away awkwardly, only to look in the direction of the restroom. "Aha! That would work!"
Nori heard him burst in, slap the toilet paper roll, and rip off some sheet. He was in and out in seconds, and before he knew it, he was standing over him with a bunch in hand. Nori snatched it up and blew into it harshly, mucus bursting from his nostrils like a gushing berry. He turned the rag around to do it two more times. That got most of it out.
Agent Studd was still standing there. Nori tried to reach for his hand to be helped up, but the man pulled away and took several steps back. The boy instead used the wall. His legs buckled. He had to lean against it to keep from collapsing altogether. This sucked. His nose was clear and it was still hard to breathe.
It took a minute for him to catch his breath and for the pins to leave his legs. Nori pushed himself upright and stretched. "Okay," he rasped, idly chucking the toilet paper towards a nearby wastebin. It landed on the side.
"All better?" Agent Studd asked.
"No, but good as I'll get for now," he admitted. He was standing straight, but rigidly.
Nori pressed his left hand to his head, draping it over an eye and part of his forehead. His arm slowly dropped as a realization set in. This was not over. There was actually one last thing he needed to do for this to have really been worth it.
"So what did you think?" he asked, before thinking to clarify what he meant. "About her, that is." He was sure about how Agent Studd thought of his performance there.
It took him a moment to process the question; before then, he stood with a blank stare. "The same as before, now verified," the agent declared. "She is very not dangerous in the eyes of myself."
Nori nodded. He even faintly smiled, hope welling in his throat. That was good enough, wasn't it? "So an Official, that's you and whoever else attended, saw her and saw I rehabilitated her," he stated with serenity. "That should be enough to pass Qwilfish, right?" Right?
Agent Studd tilted his head for a moment. He ran a hand over his hair. "Ah, I guess I see your point. I think it might have supposed to be more official than this. Having something arranged, in other terms."
A pang hit the boy's heart, slumping him against the wall again. He was hoping that this was going to be the end of it. That he could move on after it got confirmed. If they wanted him to go through it again, that would mean having to put up with…ugh. He wasn't looking forward to it. And who knows how long a wait that would be?!
Those thoughts all ran through his mind in the span of a second. Agent Studd continued. "But I will report to my superior and make the case. Do not fret, sir. You are speaking to a master of excusing one's self! I am sure they will understand!" The man stood tall with a much too wide smile, although it was actually genuine. "Um, maybe I will be enough. I saw the Gym Leader here, too."
"Gasha Qian?" Yeah, that was one more important person. Nori was able to stand properly on hearing that. If the Officials weren't going to pass him at that, then he would get help from Arumi and raise a stink. "That's good."
Before he could think on it further, a young adult in a uniform poked his head in. "Are you two done in here?!" he barked at them.
Nori fired off a glare. It may be their place, but were they that unsympathetic about this?! He didn't have the energy to argue, however. "Fine, fine," he grumbled. He wiped his hands on his jeans, scooped up his bag, and stomped away. As he passed by, he muttered something just loud enough to be heard. "Last time I come here if that's how you're treating me."
The man made a gurgling noise. "W-we apologize, Mr. Carino, but there is another battle scheduled in this room soon. Please try to understand."
He understood, but that didn't mean he liked the way the guy put it. Agent Studd was right behind him as he marched into the lobby. Most of the people who had come to watch seemed to have already left, or if not, were hanging around to see other battles. There were some who came up to express their sympathies. He politely thanked them while scouring for anyone he knew. When he saw no one, he excused himself to head outside.
The cold air of a late October night was like a soothing massage. Nori inhaled deeply, letting it flow into his lungs. The darkness was equally comforting. Somehow, today had gone well. It was out of his hands for now. That would normally stress him out. When he really thought about it though, he felt fine. Was it internal confidence?
"But I must say, sir," Agent Studd spoke up. "I was not expecting this plan. Job well done."
With that, the burst of adrenaline from getting annoyed at the employee crashed. "Thank you," he wheezed. It felt like he was going to fall over again, or bile was going to start flying out of his mouth, or both.
"We will meet in the usual spot on Sunday. Until then, hasta la bye-bye." With those impulsive, if not hasty parting words, Studd skipped away while whistling a tune. Nori actually recognized it as some victory song from the virtual Pokemon journey games.
Nori held his arms over the bottom of his rib cage. He rolled his ankles. It was going to be a long walk back home from here. Were his feet going to listen? He should have asked to be driven home.
His attention was drawn to someone approaching him. The golden light under which she walked illuminated her radiantly. She wore a silvery-white coat with a regal floral pattern that would befit any kimono overtop a purple dress shirt with white frills along the collar and sleeves. A ruffled lavender skirt that extended to her ankles covered her lower body. Just as elegant as always, even when informal.
"Prema," he greeted listlessly, although the sight of her warmed his soul. She had indeed come to watch. Two individuals were following in behind her at separate paces. He recognized Mrs. Kurusu straight away, thankfully dressed more sensibly in slick black pants and a brown leather jacket instead of her biker one. The other lagged out of sight.
"Good evening, Nori." Prema approached with folded hands. She comforted him with a simple smile. "You did well tonight."
"Thanks," he replied. She was the one person he fully trusted not to judge him over any of this.
Satomi chortled. "Never seen a battle quite like that! That was quite reckless of you!" she humorously chided. "But I suppose your trust in that Qwilfish was not misplaced."
Nori glanced away. "Yeah…" he admitted. "It was kinda stupid."
"It was not," Prema spoke up. "The fact that you were willing to endure this for the sake of your Pokemon speaks volumes about you as a person. It was an act of self-sacrifice that few would be willing to make. For that, on behalf of the Kannagi Shrine, I commend you." She bowed to him, far deeper than he had ever seen her bow.
"I…" He shut his eyes and sniffed. His body lightened and his shoulders eased up. "Thank you." He wasn't sure why. She wasn't the one who would have to approve of this. But hearing it from her lips somehow helped immensely.
"You are welcome, Nori."
He never thought of it that way. But he had sort of sacrificed himself for Qwilfish. A little trauma and humiliation for her life. It was hardly a conundrum.
Nori looked up at her. There was something he was wondering about. "So you said you might have your dad watch. Did he come by? What did he think?"
"He can answer that," Satomi chimed in before whirling to the third person. "You can come over here, Master Haruto Kannagi. He doesn't bite!"
Nori stood to attention and tried to put on at least a neutral expression. It took a moment for the man to approach. When he did so, it was slowly with hunched shoulders, and a dropped and trembling chin. He had short dark hair and the same eye color as his daughter, a marine blue. He wore a purple hanten over a golden t-shirt, as well as sleek black dress pants.
This was their first time meeting. The boy was expecting someone more stiff or imposing. But he was slim, and actually only 170cm or so. The man appeared more forlorn than stern, at least for the moment.
"Hey, Mr. Kannagi," the boy remarked as he looked up at him.
"So, you're Nori Carino," the man mused aloud. He scrutinized him up and down, though his expression did not belie his thoughts. "The Demon Tamer. Prema's friend."
Nori stuck out a hand. "Nice to finally meet you, I guess."
Mr. Kannagi bobbed his head. After just staring for a moment, he gave Nori a very brief and slack handshake. "Likewise," was his terse reply. "If you'll excuse me. I'll be in the car." With this, he walked away.
Nori's arm dropped as he watched the Master of the shrine go. While he was usually decent at reading others, he was uncertain what to make of this. Either he was good at hiding his emotions or he wasn't feeling much of anything. He wasn't hostile, yet he wasn't welcoming either.
"Ah, don't mind him," Satomi assured, wiggling her right hand. "He's still processing things."
"This is not how Father normally is," Prema added. "I am certain he will recover soon."
"I figured as such," he said to both of them. "A lot of people were just given a lot to think about. They probably had this image of Qwilfish as like a crazy killer like Emi did, and well, that's anything but the case."
"I am curious, Nori," his friend asked. She placed one hand over the other, almost in a prayer position. "As far as I can tell, your rehabilitation of Qwilfish is a success."
"It's questionable if she even needed it to begin with," Satomi snorted, crossing her arms and turning up her nose. "This whole thing was a sham." So she thought so, too.
The green-haired teenager continued. "In any event, am I correct in my assumption that you will need to have it verified?" She leaned in with anticipation.
"You are, and I sort of did. I'll be finding out on Sunday," he said. "If they don't accept today, it'll just be a formal test." He glanced away. "I hope it's over now."
Prema nodded. "I look forward to hearing of the result."
"I'll come by right away."
"I will prepare tea for you, then."
The boy couldn't help but grin and rub his hands. If it was as good as the last cup she made for him, then he couldn't wait to have more. Though this would be a tea for celebration rather than relaxing.
"Heh, already making plans together, I see," the elderly priestess remarked with a grin. "But anyway, I believe we should head back to the shrine, Lady Kannagi."
"Very well." Prema turned to him. "Thank you again, Nori."
"Hey, uh." Nori hustled forward some steps. That's right, he still had to get home. "Mind giving me a lift back? Um. He said you have a car, right?"
"Lift you?" Prema craned her head.
"He means drive him back home," Priestess Satomi explained. After that, she turned to him with a wink and a thumbs up. "And no problemo. It'll be a squeeze, but there's room for five of us there."
"Thanks." It wouldn't be the first time he had to cram into a car.
The three of them set out, headed for a red vehicle on the edge of the parking lot. Nori wanted to talk more with Prema, but he couldn't think of anything to say. Judging by the way she glanced and opened her mouth only briefly, she felt the same. But maybe they didn't have to. He was just glad he'd be able to see her again. Of all the people in his life right now, she most of all was the one he was unsure what he'd do without her.