Chapter Twenty-Three: Pierrot's Game

The silver-haired boy glanced down.

Quinn was walking beside him, her gaze on the ground and away from the trainer next to her. It wasn't that he minded—as opposed to what most thought, he did enjoy silence—almost as much as he liked noise.

It was twisted how he liked it, though—it swallowed up every inch of sunny thoughts and the quiet would leave him to drown in the thoughts and fears that he loved to place on himself like a masochist; leave him to force his vision into something achromatic.

He had no reason to smile now—Celeana was absent, and Quinn wasn't even paying attention. He had no one that would see him, and besides, it was tiring wearing that wretched grin for hours on end. It was oddly comforting having that dull expression back on his face; yet, he felt vulnerable without the previous curve to his lips.

Yes, he thought to himself, this is my rightful expression. The one that's truly mine.

After a few moments of fretful decisions—all in his mind, of course, he didn't want to sound like someone insane—he settled for keeping his facial muscles in a tense, ready position. He had to be prepared when the occasion came. Though now silent, the child next to him was unpredictable.

His theory was proved right as he felt a pair of eyes graze his presence, and almost at once, the smile bloomed once again, his stony gaze softening as he looked down at the shorter girl, hazel irises unamused and staring at his own violet ones.

"What's wrong?" he asked, making sure to keep his tone level as he spoke. Quinn wasn't quite a normal child, and he couldn't use that false tone most would use when speaking to young children.

The girl narrowed her eyes, and Ryou halted as her feet slowed to a stop in front of him. Her voice was firm and unwavering, and it was deep for a nine-year-old like her—it was amusing how she seemed to be the adult out of the three of them. "That girl. What's her name?"

"Who do you mean?" he replied in a light tone, feigning innocence and sticking to teasing her. He didn't know why—he wasn't familiar with her, after all, and he could have just told her straight out. He pretended to think for a while. "Oh, her? Ah, I almost forgot about that girl...her name's Celeana. I think."

His subconscious mirrored her speech pattern as well, using shorter sentences than he preferred and keeping his dialogue fragmented. That, coupled with his instinctive facade of a joking, teasing front, were irreplaceable habits—he couldn't get rid of them.

"Yes, her." The child gave a small nod to herself before speaking once again. "That one with the Meowstic. Blue hair, purple eyes. Right?"

The trainer responded with a tilt of his head, recalling the cold, amethyst-hued gaze that his friend had displayed in that particular timeline—the confusing one which involved that Meowstic and what looked like an alternate version of her. "Amber, actually. Why?"

"I saw her." Noticing her companion's exaggerated actions of looking around in a bemused manner, she let out an annoyed sigh from between her teeth. "No. Not here. In the future; that one. The one that Celebi got us into."

Her cold analysis was met with a laugh, and she looked up to see a sly smile on the boy's face. The teenager had yet again forced out that sound from his throat, no matter how sick it made him—it seemed like the most appropriate action to take, and he hoped that the nervousness in his voice wouldn't slip through. "Uh, yeah. We all did. Both the psycho and the one on our side."

Quinn shook her head in disapproval. "Not what I meant!" she breathed in frustration. "I saw her. More than once. Thrice? No, too little..."

Ryou froze, the jesting remark in his throat forgotten for a moment.. He'd thought that there was some deeper meaning to the girl's words at first, but he had brushed it off as him overthinking—he tended to do that sometimes.

"What I'm trying to say is," She spoke again, and the conscious effort in forming proper sentences was much more evident. "I saw that Celeana girl. In more than one timeline. At least ten of them had her and that Meowstic ending the world."

The pale-tressed teenager then managed to form a reply, not bothering to come up with anything witty. "So, what's the point of that?" he questioned. "Are you telling me that she's going to go and end the world? Because—"

He was interrupted as a flash of white light emerged from somewhere within the girl's bag, taking the form of an calm Celebi.

"Please let me explain this," the Legendary informed, polite enough to ignore the boy's startled glance. "What Quinn means is she has a suspicion. Using technical logic, multiple futures having the same fate does not mean that it will come through. However..."

She paused for breath, taking note of the male's cautious expression before continuing. "Timelines are wound together loosely—that is how Arceus created things. Some futures are more interconnected than others—and using the rule of probability—"

"Got it," the trainer stated, his collected tone rivalling that of the Legendary's. "The most repeated events across timelines have the greatest chance of occurring, right? That would explain why both of you think that Celeana's going to end the world—and why you're uneasy around her.

Quinn gave a brisk nod—what a blunt attitude, he thought in slight admiration—and spoke once again. "Yes. You see my reasoning? I don't trust her. That girl."

His mind tried to bolt into a state of overdrive, but he restrained it from doing so—instead, he went for a state of calm reasoning. "It might be some kind of warning, but..." He paused. "I haven't seen her do anything very suspicious. I mean, did you see her? She's too innocent for her own good—she wouldn't be able to harm a Caterpie."

That were the words that had left his mouth, but the icy chill never went away—he had hesitated for a reason. He'd seen the deranged version of her in that timeline, and his mind was creeping back to the time when he'd step in to save her from that poacher's Breloom—who else could have knocked out that thief?

"How about this?" he tried to offer. "We trust her first. If she does turn out to be the one that ends up the destroying the world..." The boy's tone, although light, had faltered at this point. "We'll decide on that when it comes."

Celebi bit her lip—it seemed as though she had still kept her meek demeanour. "I am sorry," she affirmed. "I know that you have been with her for quite a long time, and that you are close—"

"It's fine," the trainer assured. "I respect and understand your opinion—besides, I can't say if we're that close. She's not even here to judge that fact."

As his tone threatened to waver, he tightened the edges of his mask so that it covered perfectly. It was ironic—he was forcing himself to push an air of what was supposed to be lightness into his tone. He meant those words, though—it was all too likely for the teenager to dislike him. 

He was annoying—it was the one defence mechanism he had—and after all, Celeana had no choice but to come with him at that time.

Ryou snapped out of his trance, glancing away from the both of them and shaking his spiky bangs out so that they fell over his eyes. He didn't want Quinn and a Legendary to see the weakness in his eyes. It was better that they just ignored him.

Noticing the carrot-haired girl's unmoving gaze—she'd already returned Celebi to her Pokeball—the male straightened up, grateful for the time he had bought to pick up the fragments of his smile and piece the expression back together.

Smiling, he tilted his head, amethyst eyes as bright as ever. "We're almost at Fortree," he pointed out. "Shall we get going?"

• • •

"This is a battle between Ryou Imizu of Rustboro City and Winona, the Gym Leader of Fortree! Each side will be allowed to use four Pokemon—the battle will be over when all Pokemon on one's side are unable to battle. Only—"

The silver-haired boy shut the referee out—he'd heard that spiel enough times to have memorised it. Besides, he hated the fact that Rustboro had been announced as his hometown. It wasn't his home—it never would be.

He was especially restless and on edge that morning—he hadn't been able to sleep, so he'd spent the night finalising battle strategies for each of his Pokemon. Maybe that hadn't been necessary, but he was paranoid—and it was a decent way to pass the time.

"Welcome, Ryou." The blue-haired woman regarded him with a calm gaze, fingering a Pokeball in her gloved hand as she spoke. "As you can see, I am the Gym Leader here—and once the battle begins, I will be able to read your patterns that flow in the winds."

A smile crept its way onto his face, and he inclined his head to her in what he hoped was a polite fashion. "Thank you for accepting my challenge," he stated. "I hope to enjoy a good battle against you today."

With that, the issue of start was yelled into the air, and two Pokeballs opened, sending simultaneous beams of white light into the air.

The trainer's eyes widened as his opponent's Pelipper took off into the air, cursing in his mind—he'd made the wrong choice. He'd thought she'd send in her Skarmory—it was the way most of her battles had started—and he was willing to take a risk.

His small Larvesta stood on the ground—switching out now would just mess up his strategies, and besides, he would just be giving the opponent more time to attack. The dual-typed creature looked up at him—both of them knew what had to be done, and even though he hated using his Pokemon as sacrifices, it couldn't be avoided.

"Larvesta, String Shot," he called—an alternate plan against Skarmory would have to come later. He knew he had at least three more strategies.

Nodding, the bug-like Pokemon leapt, bright blue eyes intense and focused on the large nemesis above him—if there was one thing he could count on, it was his current partner's determination and deadly accuracy that never missed.

A large column of string shot out of the creature's mouth, sticky threads wrapping around the creature's wings and binding them together. Winded, the Pelipper let out a screech, losing any ability to fly and crashing into the ground.

"Now, Bug Buzz," Ryou commanded, and Larvesta sped towards the large, fallen Pokemon, a green glow surrounding him as he slammed into his opponent's side.

Winona raised her arm with an air of confidence. "Get up, Pelipper," she countered. "Break those flimsy strings that halt your way to the winds—and attack back with a Water Gun!"

A smirk formed on the avian's beak, if that was even possible—and the bird rose up, the twine around her tied appendages snapping with an easy, energetic flap. The dual-typed Pokemon let out a powerful cry, a jet of water shooting forth from her bill and heading straight for Larvesta.

"Dodge—" For all the accuracy that the bug possessed, it was far from the best at evading attacks, and it was unable to move out of the way as the stream of liquid crashed into it. His Pokemon was sent tumbling several feet away, letting out a high-pitched wail as it was attacked—a sound that shook him to the very core.

He had to look as though he was in control, though—he had to be the one to instil strength in his Pokemon. This was a lost battle, however, and he could just stall and weaken his enemy as much as he could.

A sigh escaped his lips, and his arm dropped to the side. "Are you OK?"

Hissing, the Torch Pokemon got up—he was still standing, but it was clear that the small creature was worn out by the super-effective attack. "I'm sorry for making you do this. String Shot again—is that fine with you?"

A second pillar erupted from his mouth, entangling the Pelipper once again. They both knew that it was futile—if Winona's Pokemon could break free once, she could do it again. Her reaction was even faster this time—the string was cut loose even before she hit the ground.

"Giga Drain!" Even if he couldn't win this round, he would just weaken his opponent as much as he could. He'd already slowed the opponent considerably with String Shot—now, if he could just tire the Pokemon out enough, it would be OK.

Larvesta screeched, the whorled orange horns protruding from his sides glowing in a bright emerald and sending light-trailing vines towards his nemesis.

Ryou glanced at the battle with a worried look—Giga Drain wouldn't work well on a stronger Pokemon, and the health that the small creature would be able to recover was minimal. He watched as the poor organism took yet another Water Gun—he had just one move to spare.

The trainer took a deep breath. "Double-Edge, Larvesta. Full power."

The Pokemon spared a split-second to look back at him, but the teenager could see the trust shining in those cerulean eyes of his. Then, he was off, a plain white cloaking him in an ethereal glow as he charged towards his opponent.

Winona just lifted her arm. "Aerial Ace, Pelipper—ride the winds!"

It wasn't even surprising to see the result of the battle, and the pale-haired boy walked forward to the collapsed Pokemon in front of him, cradling his battered body and holding up Larvesta's Pokeball.

"I'm sorry," he muttered. "Take a good rest."

Then, he stood up, preparing his next red-and-white sphere for battle—yet, an uneasy feeling constantly ate away at his chest.

This was going to be a long fight.

• • •

The Gym Leader narrowed her eyes, trying to keep up with the speedy battle at hand. "Altaria, watch out—he's behind you—"

Ryou's own violet optics blinked—he wasn't letting her get away. The elegant Pokemon zeroed in on his opponent in no time, a razor-sharp talon raised in eager pursuit and simmering in a destructive aura of cobalt blue. "Flygon, Dragon Claw."

He was grateful for the late-night practice he'd put in yesterday and the sudden evolution—that made Altaria far easier to deal with. The draconic figure roared, tearing a limb through the layers of cloudy fuzz that made up the Pokemon's wings and leaving a deep scratch on her underbelly.

A muffled cry of pain arose, and the Altaria skirted back, trying to escape—but the newly-evolved beast was faster, leaving another bleeding wound at the back of her neck.

"Dragon Dance, my friend—and then Dragon Breath," Winona muttered, and her injured comrade nodded with renewed vigour, a mess of blue and purple smoke surrounding the avian with a strengthening glow before she attacked.

Flygon would have dodged, but he'd forgotten about the burn that his enemy had left earlier— it started to act up again, and she winced, leaving a reaction gap that the Dragon Breath was only too happy to fill.

"Quick, Roost—" Ryou was quick to call the next command, but he was distracted by the sound of a glass door sliding open and the sound of voices.

"Of course, sir, yes, you may view this battle. Right this way—follow me." One of the workers bowed at the familiar voice, and even the footsteps sounding on the wooden floors was enough to cause a crazed, out-of-tune orchestra to his ears.

Halting his command—Flygon would follow through—he spun around, panicked gaze landing on the collected, steel-blue irises of the man who was strolling towards him.

Most would look at this particular trainer in respect and admiration, but the teenager just froze, pupils dilating to the tiny pinpricks and going dull with shock and terror as Steven Stone took his seat in the gallery above them.

He shifted his gaze to the Champion, his heart palpitating in a wild rhythm as he took a few shaky steps backwards. This was worse than the time that he'd seen Primal Groudon, even worse than the time that Giratina had almost killed him—and he spoke with pure contempt in his voice.

"What are you doing here?" he muttered. "Y—You're not an official part of the Devon Corporation. You shouldn't be here. They—They aren't supposed to be here yet—"

He was cut off as Winona took advantage of the situation, attacking with a series of Dragon Breaths as the boy failed to counter in his half-catonic state.

And, as Flygon fell and he could stare into the calm gaze that Steven returned, he was nothing but helpless once again.

• • •

"You could have won that battle, you know."

Steven's voice was disapproving as he sat with the younger boy in the newfound privacy of his hotel room, watching as the pale-haired teenager curled up against the wall furthest away from him, eyes still blank and uncomprehending as he hugged his knees to his chest.

The voice that replied was quiet, but it was still as venomous as he had remembered it to be. "Yes, I could have," he mumbled. "If you hadn't shown up at that time, I would have won."

"You could have turned the match into something easier," the Champion replied. "Come on—the entire family knows of your intelligence. You know that the Beldum you have is specially bred, right? Why didn't you use it?"

Ryou scowled, his back bumping uncomfortably as he tried to put more distance between the both of them. He hated being like this—having his confident facade torn apart in a matter of seconds, he was absolutely vulnerable. "Shut up," he shot back. "Just shut up and let me go. I've already told you that you're not my family."

"How long more are you going to be like this?" A sigh escaped the man's mouth as he got off the bed, making his way over to the shivering boy and ignoring the fact that the teenager's hands had crept to his head, wrapped around clumps of pale hair and tugging furiously—and that he was rocking his slim frame back and forth violently.

"I just came here to say that Devon Corporation will arrive soon," he stated. "Father's mad. Stop making such a scene, please, and stop assuming that name—just do as he says and go home. It'll be easier for all of us..."

"...Shion." 

• • •

「Dedicated too my lil neechan Demoniscy for being the first ever Ryou supporter ahaha happy birthday smol one!! 」

The song in the media is "Please Give Me A Red Pen/Aka Pen Onegai Shimasu", a Vocaloid song produced by the late PowaPowaP (my condolences ;-;) and originally sung by Hatsune Miku. This English version is sung by Abby (YouTube) and translated by cowf (YouTube).

The long-awaited return of Ryou that we've all been waiting for has finally happened! (Urm not really all of us but eh at least me okay cut me some slack xD I was dying because I haven't been writing about him for a g e s-- *shuts up*)

But wElp I need all this angst I need all this delicious angst I need a pOOL of it yES

And Steven omg please stop let's make this a thing: #SaveTheCinnamonRoll2k16 ;-; save him please I know what's going to happen and I feel sad (okay it was because I was listening to sad music while writing it but yeah)

Besides that, thank you SO MUCH for 5.4K reads and 693 votes! That's about a 200+ increase in reads :o My next goal is 708! :) (dO IT FOR THE CINNAMON ROLL)

Critiques are most certainly welcome, and don't forget to read, vote and give your thoughts in the comments! Please be 100% honest!

~ nyxia ☆