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soaringthoughts · 1 year

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:: A MISFORTUNE'S VESSEL. (chapter 2)

[ lowercase intended. ] a misfortune's vessel : chapter 2/? chapter - 1 PAIRINGS: aqua hoshino x reader

A/N: I actually didn’t expect for people to see and read my work, but here we go! School just finished for me and I just graduated so I've been very busy for the past month and wasn't able to update.

I procrastinated too much on this.. But now I finally finished it. ╰(❁´◡`❁)╯

word count: 3492 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

it felt as though time had flown. you're glad that your body is finally capable of self care.

what relieves you the most is that you finally reached the age where people wouldn't suspect you for walking and talking.

it didn't take long before you can finally stand up on your own two feet, you've always sworn to never leave your crib at all rather than do all the crawling.

everything changed, however, when the news regarding Ai reached you.

you didn't get to hear an ounce of it from Miyako. but due to Ai's popularity, the news spread like wildfire all across the internet.

you were devastated. Ai passing away was the least thing you'd expect to receive after not hearing from her for years.

it made you wonder, what about Aqua and Ruby?

you can't gather the wits to ask Miyako about it. perhaps letting her recover from it would be the wiser decision.

over the past years since the incident, you barely got any attention from your parents.

Saito deserted his responsibilities. he spiraled into depression and disappeared from the company grounds. perhaps it was because of what happened to Ai.

it was all so sudden that Miyako was forced to be bombarded with these responsibilities, which only occupied more of her time so you barely got a chance to see her.

you are often alone at home, well at least that's how you felt. Saito stayed with you, but he would often lock himself up in his room and only come out to eat or use the bathroom.

hell, he even wastes his time on drinking alcohol and only gives you money just so you could take care of yourself.

Miyako, however, thought that this was bad parenting and so she decided to leave you with a babysitter.

you were upset as to why her, your own mother, is out there taking care of other children instead of her own daughter.

but you were considerate enough to understand that she's still working for strawberry productions which concludes of being present at her workplace most of the time.

but despite all that, you still managed to graduate from primary school and live your life as it is.

you are currently a highschooler. and for this next school year, you are struck by the decision of whether to take general or entertainment program for your new school.

you've always wanted to be an iconic idol like Ai but after hearing Miyako's opinion regarding this matter, you've decided to just pursue being an average student.

she didn't sound too supportive of it, especially after what happened to Ai.

being an idol really does have its ups and downs.

“I'm going.” not sounding too optimistic, Miyako was concerned by your well-being.

“I'll give you a ride.” Miyako snatched her car keys from the kitchenette's counter, accompanying you outside the house to head for the car.

normally, the atmosphere between you two is awkward. perhaps it's due to the relationship you both have and from the times that you two barely spend time together.

but today seemed different. unlike before, Miyako seemed to be more talkative around you after the disagreement you had regarding being an idol.

“I'm sorry, [Name].” Miyako tried to clear the atmosphere. but the rest of the ride was in silence, almost deafening at that.

you didn't have any response to this. you had already given up from the start, or so you thought.

taking things slow, that's your current objective.

“I believe in you, good luck.” as soon as you arrived at the destination, you stepped out of the car.

brushing a hair strand to tuck it behind your ears, Miyako's lips lifted into a bittersweet smile. perhaps it was due to her stress. but despite that, you took her smile all whole-heartedly.

“Thank you, mom.” with the return of a heartwarming smile, Miyako gave you a gentle squeeze of a hug before you head inside.

the school didn't look all too fancy, it didn't look all too good-for-nothing either. just an average school to be precise.

the clanks of your shoes reverberated through the school halls as you made your way inside.

the campus looked almost empty, but you were still passing by a few students throughout the way. perhaps they were also here for the enrollment.

you fixated your gaze over the plates of each classroom you are passing by to look for the general program you'll enroll in. it didn't take long, you eventually stumbled upon the said room as you lined yourself up with the students who also seemed to be here for this strand.

there was nothing special about the area. the building was simply structured and barely furnished. the atmosphere was dull. but perhaps it's because it's a new opened school.

as you got done signing the papers and passing the qualifications and requirements for your enrollment, which took a toll of time, you returned outside the halls and started heading back into the direction from where you came from to head back home.

it was quick, the long line was what kept you in.

unlike earlier, the sun seemed to shine brighter now. the rays of it reflected through the hall windows and over your figure. it was almost blinding.

you were able to see the hallways more properly. now that it's lit up, it actually doesn't look that bad.

you made your way throughout the area, standing out in your proper school attire and your bag slinged in your back.

your mind was stirred with your current emotions of what you feel about your upcoming school year. your mood swinging from both anticipation and nervousness at the same time. even though it's just the same strand you chose in your past life.

almost drowning in your thoughts, you didn't notice the group of people you bumped on. specifically a girl that's facing the opposite direction.

they seemed to be arguing about something, or maybe that's what you thought.

“Oh?- are you alright?” the girl was startled and swiftly turned around to check you out. luckily, it was just a small bump so you managed to stay on your ground.

you were in daze by the familiarity of her voice. you blinked a couple of times to clear your sight, before taking in the figure of the girl, along with two other people with her.

the two that were right in front of you were lookalikes despite the opposite genders they are, they must be identical twins.

as for the other girl on their back, she was immediately silenced by the sight. she had scarlet orbs and hair locks unlike the two.

you felt the guy's gaze dart at you, as if examining your features. “..[Name]?” as well as the girl, the guy's voice also seemed all too familiar.

you were surprised by how he knew your name. and that's when it finally rang a bell, it was Aqua and Ruby.

“You guys..” was all you managed to mutter. you were still in shock by the sudden encounter. you didn't expect that you'd reunite with them here, out of all places.

considering the school attire they are also in, it was obvious that they are also enrolled for this school.

you can say that nothing much changed. they were still the twins that you knew.

Aqua is still as stoic as ever. his phlegmatic tone remains the same. Ruby, still a bundle of joy, much to your surprise.

Unlike Aqua, Ruby is still as talkative as ever when comparing the two, “Aw, is that all you have to say? it has been years!” to your surprise, the two seemed to still get along with you despite not seeing each other for years.

you indulged in a small conversation, mostly about updating yourselves about what happened over the years of being separated.

“So, what program did you take?” just as Aqua had decided to chime in, the atmosphere immediately shifted from someone clearing their throat. done on purpose.

that's when you remembered that the two were also with someone else.

“I'm still here, you know.” said the 'unknown' girl to ease the atmosphere, almost feeling bad for leaving her in the dark from the reunion of you three.

she had red locks with a length that extends to the central of her neck. as well as cerise doe eyes that somehow resembles Ruby's, which complements to the color scheme of her hair.

she had a navy blue beret on, unlike you, Ruby, and the rest of the females in the school. making her stand out.

“Well.. this is kind of a personal matter, [Name] is a friend that we haven't seen for years.”

you didn't expect for Aqua to respond, but you were glad that he is finally somehow being more open than letting Ruby do all the talking.

this earned a scoff from the girl, a name that is still unknown. “Maybe let me chime in at least.. maybe we can get along.”

although you appreciated the fact that this girl was willing to talk with you, you can't help but wonder if she only said that so she wouldn't feel left out.

setting your thoughts aside, you decided to conversate anyway.

“I'm [name].” there was no need for formalities, and so you decided to just simply introduce yourself by letting her know your name. you're awkward at starting conversations after all.

“I'm Kana!”

and without a word, the girl, who is named Kana now that you knew, slipped in between the twins to close the distance between the two of you.

she abruptly dragged you by the arm with a gentle grip, turning you two away from the twins as she whispered in your ear, “So.. are you and Aqua dating?”

this question caught you off guard, especially from someone you've barely met for an hour. not even for 15 minutes.

“huh? no, we're not.” you whispered back in a sheepish manner. you didn't even know why this girl, who is practically still a stranger, would ask this.

the situation was overly awkward. you felt the eyes of the twins watching both of you from behind.

“Really?” Kana exclaimed with a hint of enthusiasm in her tone, her voice now more audible that it was probably heard by the other two. shortly after the realization sinks in, she immediately clears her throat to brush the awkward atmosphere off.

“I- I mean, really?” she followed with her voice now less excited than before to cover her excitement up.

the two of you then turned back around after clearing Kana's question up, now facing the twins once more.

the twins glanced at each other's faces as if communicating by thoughts, confusion evident in their expressions. “What was that about?” asked Ruby, staring at the two of you intently.

“Nothing!~” said Kana, with the brightest smile on her face. “Don't tell them I asked you that, okay?” she whispered once more, in which you gave a nod of approval. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“For how long are you two going to keep on following me?” Aqua remarked in his usual tone.

― “Until you answer all my questions!” said Kana.

― “I'm not. I'm headed in the same direction.”

he simply hummed at the difference of your responses, spiced with a hint of displease from Kana's perseverance.

the two went on in their way with a small conversation, although it was mostly Kana just bombarding Aqua with questions.

you were headed for the same path as Aqua, it just happened that your destination was the same route as his.

throughout the entire conversation of the two, you were quiet. but you couldn't help but pique curiosity from their topic, especially from how persistent Kana is to suggest Aqua to continue acting.

so he used to be an actor? a child one at that. or so you thought.

“I'm headed that way, see you two.” you pointed in the opposite direction of two paths you three came across. this time, your route is now different from what they are taking. so you decided to inform them of your route before parting your ways.

“Wait! Why don't you come with us, [Name]? Aqua and I were just planning for a hangout so you might as well come,”

you abruptly stopped on your tracks from hearing Kana. you then turned around to face them again, an inviting expression on Kana's face in contrast to Aqua's impassive ones.

“No we're not.” Aqua remarked,

“Come on, Aqua! you haven't seen us both for a very long time!”

“My destination is not somewhere that will keep you two entertained.”

“As long as the three of us can hold a conversation..”

“Fine.”

it took a chunk of Kana's convincing before finally persuading Aqua into it. it made you wonder as to how she can even handle his unexpressive attitude.

she waved her hand at you to call you back. and so you decided to come along since you were free after all.

“Oh, Kana Arima. I haven't seen you in so long― and..? Aqua's girlfriend?”

almost choking from your own saliva, you cleared your throat awkwardly and as well as Aqua. do old people just often ask the most off-putting questions and embarrassing things?

“No, we're not. I'm a friend. That happened to end up here for a hangout.” you emphasized the word 'hangout', as if not expecting for it to occur in some strange old man's room. you didn't even know the guy.

with a chuckle, the man twisted his chair to face you three. “I see, I see. I was kidding.”

“That wasn't very funny..” said Kana who was patting your back to ease you from the coughing, the situation almost dramatic.

the room was then eventually beaming with a light atmosphere as you all conversed with general topics regarding your lives. such as school, relationships, and.. acting, which you cannot relate to.

but despite that, you all got along despite you just meeting the other two this day.

a while after for what seemed like an hour, you four were invited to dinner by an elderly woman that barged into the room, in which you all complied.

the dining table was in silence as you all fixated your attention on the food. but the silence was also broken from time to time with short paced conversations.

“So you still live off your parents, Director.” Kana remarked in the most casual tone.

'that wasn't his wife?..' you thought to yourself. it was bizarre to think about now that Kana mentioned it.

the dinner went on with them talking about the careers they used to have with acting. it seems that Kana was still in it, unlike Aqua who apparently already quit a long time ago.

of course, they made sure to include you in as well, asking you about your route in life and as well as your interest in acting.

and so you just found out that the man used to be a director.

hell, Kana even suggested you to be an actress with her.

she really is a persistent person. she even offered to give you a training after excusing yourself that you're not fond of acting. she seemed really desperate to have a friend with her.

if only they knew how talentless you were in your past life.

but that was in the past.. right?

even so, that fact deteriorated your self-esteem despite living in a new body that is probably way better than your previous one.

it didn't take long before the sun went down. only then you realized that you spent too much time in the hangout.

Miyako must be worried by now..

as you three dismissed yourself from the director's house, Kana parted her way. her dorm was in the opposite direction unlike you who's headed for the same destination with Aqua, which is the bus station.

the walk was quiet, considering the two of you are not fond of idle chit-chatting. but of course, the tension was less awkward with a few chats.

shortly after reaching the bus station, the both of you sat on the bench.

the next bus was the last, so it's only good that you two made it in time.

the surroundings were dark. the moonlight barely lit the ground, the only light source being the flickering street lamp that was beside the bench.

“I didn't know you did acting.” you suddenly commented to put a halt to the silence.

“Not for long. It's not my course.” Aqua simply remarked. he was still a tad replier up until now.

you were slightly taken in by surprise. throughout the hangout with Kana complimenting his skills, you didn't expect him to actually dislike acting.

“So you didn't take entertainment program?”

“I took general program. I wasn't even fit to act in the first place.”

“Shame.. I would've liked to see you perform.”

“Enough about me. You took the general program too, right?”

your face shifted into one of intrigue at Aqua's response. it was nice to finally have a talk with him after hours of just awkward greetings. much to your surprise, now that you two were alone.

“I did. It would be a good coincidence if we end up in the same batch!” this earned a hum from Aqua, not showing any signs of displease of having you as a classmate.

“Hm, you're right. But it seems less likely to happen considering the amount of those that applied.”

just as you two were finally conversing once again, the moment was interrupted when the bus had finally arrived.

you two rose up from your seats to quickly head inside, not wasting any matter of second in order to not miss the bus.

the vehicle immediately drove off as you two got in despite not even getting a seat. this caused you to almost stumble, in which you managed to stay on ground by holding onto a pole and with Aqua's hands firmly grasped in your arms from behind.

“Thank you―” you sheepishly remarked, returning with a simple nod from Aqua.

you two got further inside the bus, only realizing that all the seats were full.

that must be why the driver immediately drove off, because there were no seats left available.

just then, the driver abruptly stomped the brake, causing the both of you to stumble once again.

good thing the both of you were strong enough to stay on your grounds.

as the bus stopped, one passenger left his seat as he left the bus for his stop. the bus drove off again shortly after.

you two eyed the seat.

“You sit.” said Aqua, gently shoving you closer to the available seat. of course you couldn't refuse due to how exhausted you are from the day.

as you sat, Aqua stood beside you as he held onto the bus hanger for support.

the ride was surprisingly long. and the silence was frequently broken with small talks.

you shared stories, emotions, and laughter― well, something Aqua didn't reciprocate to say the least.

he was still as stoic as ever. but that's what makes him recognizable from all the people you know. and somehow, with that distinctive demeanor of his, it reminds you of someone. 'what was his name again?..' you couldn't quite remember his name, but his face was still as clear as skies in your mind. all that you know is that it was someone in your past life.

it didn't take long before you reached your stop. you were first to get off the bus before Aqua.

“See you, Aqua.” you waved your goodbye and rose up from your seat, stealing one last glance on him.

“See you, [Name].” he returned. as you eyed your gaze on him, you noticed the faint smile that lifted up on his lips. one you've never seen from him before.

maybe you only stereotyped him of not having emotions at all, that he's unexpressive.

now you found out that he actually is, well, except for his friends.

but with all those thoughts aside, you can't help but notice how good he looked with a smile. almost charismatic.

“You should smile more often. You'd get a lot of girls.” you playfully remarked with the smuggest look you had.

his face immediately shifted back into his neutral one, as if masking his smile. in which you found kind of funny.

“Is anyone going or not?” the driver eventually spoke, impatiently tapping his foot on the bus floor as if a sign to skip the stop if no one's going down.

not wasting anymore time, you quickly got off the bus. and with a few studs of walk, you finally arrived back at home. mind at ease from having to reunite with your friend. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Taglist: @lumiriai, @miyakoa, @dododododooosworld, @kimiko-the-angel, @fukumiai, @kat-kaps, @karma-gisa

#aqua hoshino #aquamarine hoshino x reader #aquamarine hoshino #ruby hoshino #kana arima #oshi no ko #oshi no ko anime #fanfiction #aqua hoshino x reader #slow burn

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waywardstation · 5 months

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Forgot

Phione Akari AU

Ingo is pushing himself too hard and forgetting important responsibilities. Kana is not happy dealing with this.

I wrote this based off a combo of requests, one requesting an AU-specific situation where Ingo needs to hide Akari somewhere, and a general request for more interactions with Kana. And then I remember at the time I wrote this I had been dealing with a pretty awful sore throat and lost voice, so I cast that upon Ingo just to get some of my irritation with it out. It's cathartic writing about it so I can at least relieve it for other characters, haha.

OR read here on AO3!

AND check out the Phione Akari AU masterpost!

Enjoy!

————

The worn bench creaked quietly as Ingo sat down, leaning forward against the table with a sigh.

It felt good to sit down on an actual seat after another trek of five extensively rough days, devoted entirely to fruitlessly scouring the coastlands for Akari.

Well, in a sense. Her body was still out there somewhere (he believed at least, from what Akari had managed to share with him through writing in her pokedex), but Akari herself was right here with him. And she always had been, it just took the entirety of this trip to realize that. Now a small, watery pokemon hidden just within the flap of his coat collar, it was easy to keep her out of sight.

Ingo felt some guilt over the fact that he could no longer carry her in her water bucket around Jubilife, or even really have her out in the open at all. She had grown attached to residing in it during trips (and understandably so – phione dried out fast), but it was simply becoming too bothersome with Kana and her friend Miki snooping around. And Fancy – Miki’s staravia – was too interested in Akari for their own good. It always gave her the same stare those hungry coastlands murkrow did.

Thankfully though, he had yet to see any of them yet today. Perhaps it would be a little too hopeful to think they were currently too busy with corps work to come find him tonight. But he didn’t hold out on that – usually a trip into Jubilife guaranteed a forced visit with at least one of them anymore.

Ingo had seen a lot more of the two women lately than he would have liked to, ever since they caught a glimpse of poor Akari.

The phione’s true identity had been easy for Ingo to keep from the two women when the truth had been obscured even from himself, and he simply knew her as ‘Passenger’ . But now that he knew, Ingo felt it may take a little more strain to keep that narrative going; Akari had made him promise not to reveal her demise to anyone, especially not to Kana or Miki. And while returning back to Jubilife, she had made it abundantly clear she wanted him to just keep them away from her for a while. So for now, as far as anyone else was concerned, she was simply a wild pokemon that had become attached to him, nothing more.

But obscuring the truth would allow some problems to continue. During their last few run-ins, Kana had been heavily implying that if he wasn’t going to bother catching the novel Pokémon, she would catch it herself. She ‘had a job to do so as a survey corps member’ , as she had put it (not like Ingo had ever seen her particularly motivated to assist Professor Laventon with filling out his pokedex, though – he assumed it was simply a front to get her hands on a relatively new, conventionally cute, and conveniently portable pokemon that had caught her eye).

And even if Kana had been exaggerating her intent, Ingo did not want to risk that hypothetical. Not once had he tried to capture Akari in a pokeball, and he absolutely did not want to test to see if he could. He was fully aware that Akari was freaked out by all the unknown consequences that would accompany such an incident, even more so if someone like Kana would manage to catch her.

So, no bucket in town – nothing to tip off that he had her with him for anyone, but especially not for Kana and Miki. And not a word to anyone that she was alive and well, except for the fact that she was stuck in the body of a phione.

While Ingo had his own reserved thoughts about these tracks going forward, he understood Akari’s desired route. Technically, she had gone directly against Kamado’s orders. And after what had happened in the last few months, after the sky bruised red, Ingo knew Akari’s nervous uncertainty was… still there. And while he felt it would be received much better than she was expecting, and he felt ultimately it would be better to say something now rather than later, a small part of him didn’t blame her hesitance.

So for now, he would honor her wishes, despite the extra effort.

A soft clack against the table pulled Ingo from his thoughts. Beni had set down the order he’d made at the canteen’s front — the usual plate of potato mochi, bowl of rice, and steaming cup of tea.

“Ah, thank you.” The warden pulled the hot food and drink towards him. A quick scan of his order, and he realized something was missing. “…Oh. By any chance, could I request a cup of water as well?”

“It’ll be right out.” Was Beni’s only reply. Ingo suspected that the man knew exactly why he was asking for it. He’d seen Ingo order it just for his accompanying companion a few times, and probably knew she was with him. Ingo did not worry about him knowing, though.

The warden cleared his throat delicately, as if the simple action hurt. “And if you’ve got it, some combee honey with it as well?”

One of Beni’s eyebrows raised.

“Ah, not in the water, just with the order.” Ingo was quick to try and explain himself at that sight. He gestured vaguely to his neck. “For my tea. Sore throat.”

Surely, Ingo thought, Beni had heard him constantly shouting Akari’s name like a broken record outside Jubilife’s gates at some point over the last week and a half.

“Of course, I’ll send Magby out with it shortly.” He finally answered, turning to slip through the restaurant’s door and re-enter his kitchen.

“I appreciate it.” watching the door to The Wallflower slide shut, the warden was left alone to survey the Jubilife strip. At this time of evening, few people were out and about, browsing shops at their own pace, or standing in small social groups. A flock of what he presumed to be starly were out in the distance, amongst the sunset clouds…

Ingo felt something wriggle under the collar of his coat, impatient to move from off his shoulder. The sensation reminded him of the damp spot that had developed there.

“Stay on schedule, Miss Akari.” Ingo reminded her of what they had discussed earlier on the way back to Jubilife. “Remember, safety checks first.”

Squinting against the fading sunset he was facing, Ingo scanned the Jubilife strip street, looking out towards the Galaxy Hall.

A quick peek at the people shopping and talking. A few folks he recognized, but no Kana.

A glance over his shoulder at the training grounds. No Miki.

“Alright, it is now safe to exit the cab.” The warden tugged the flap of his coat collar back with a finger. He turned his head to find his hidden companion under the fabric, intending to safely remove her himself. However, he instead felt something damp wriggle down his arm from inside his coat sleeve. The suddenness caught Ingo off guard, but she was out of the fabric bridge and onto the table before he could even do anything.

Akari was certainly impatient to get something. Ingo would have guessed the plate of mochi was her target, but he didn’t find himself too surprised when he saw her heading for his cup of tea instead.

“ Phi! ” Akari grasped at the edge of the cup with her flippers, making sounds in her effort to pull herself up and over.

“Ah, refrain from boarding, I am drinking that.” Ingo gently nudged her away from it, before picking it up to take a sip. “I requested water for you, and it will arrive shortly.”

“ Phi,” She squeaked up at him, a tone in her voice revealing that she seemed to be lamenting something. It was so much harder for Ingo to understand her like this, but with some trial and error oveer the last day, he had gotten by with guessing most times. He knew she was starting to dry out by now, and was eager to find a substitute for her bucket.

And most likely, it was partially his fault that she was so desperate to get rehydrated. But he hadn’t had the heart to interrupt Anthe when she pulled him over to her shop for a half-hour conversation the moment she spotted him wearily shambling through Jubilife’s gates.

Bless the woman’s insistence on attempting to hearten him with every update to the Galaxy Team’s recovery efforts on Akari over his five-day absence.

“Nothing turned up in the fieldlands, but they’re still searching through the highlands, and they’re supposed to start combing through the mirelands soon… oh Ingo, they’re trying so hard.”

Anthe ended up apologizing when she became emotional herself, and Ingo could do nothing but extend comfort to her. She had no idea the watery blue pokemon situated within his coat collar was the very teen she was so worried about. And Akari had no choice but to slowly dry out on his shoulder over the course of that well-intentioned, but lengthy conversation.

“The tea is too hot for you. The water will be a more suitable option. We do not need you evaporating… again.” An earlier visit to Firespit Island had taught both Ingo and Akari that a phione’s aquatic body was quite prone to evaporation, especially when presented with the heat that the area exuded.

Ingo coughed, restrained but hoarse. He cleared his throat again gently, just as he had earlier. “And I require it in order to properly service my cab. Our last trip had left me in need of it, as I’m sure you understand.”

Endlessly shouting Akari’s name all throughout the coastlands for days on end, even after his throat had been stripped, and his voice cracked. Minimal water breaks sacrificed to instead continually search for her. Breaking down gracelessly the day before at the sight of Akari’s belongings strewn about Castaway Shore, and the horrific implications that such a scene presented. Then breaking down all over again when he realized that not only was Akari still alive, she had been right by his side the entire time.

Understandably, this all took a toll on him. Ingo had sorely overused and undermanaged his voice these last two weeks while searching for her. And for him, it took a lot to get to that point.

It was the entire reason why upon returning back to Jubilife after almost a week in the wilderness, Ingo’s first stop had been The Wallflower. He was sleep deprived, emotionally shaken, his muscles ached terribly, and both himself and his clothing desperately needed a proper scrubbing. But his throat was absolutely killing him, so tending to that came first.

Another sip from his hot tea, grimacing as a swallow spurred a sharp stinging sensation to flare down his throat. It hurt now, but it would get better.

He set down the steaming cup, but kept an eye on it to ensure Akari would keep out of it. As it was, he could see her staring at it longingly.

“Your water will arrive shortly, I assure you. But for now,” Ingo pushed the plate of potato mochi closer to her. “Take some time to properly refuel; we haven’t been keeping on schedule doing so as we should.”

The last five days had simply consisted of grazing on plucked berries whenever he had passed by a populated tree or bush. Stress-induced heartburn at night had already made the process discouraging, but it had been hard to justify sitting down to put together an actual meal when hypotheticals nagged at him.

Hypotheticals about how Akari may have been just out of sight, hidden right over the hill. Probably hurt. Maybe bleeding. Possibly passed out, or even-

At the time, it felt morally reprehensible to do anything else other than put every ounce of energy into looking for Akari, but in retrospect, it had been irresponsible to neglect his cab like that.

Akari had been even worse, though. With frequent refusals to eat any of the berries he offered her, she sometimes even threw them back at him in apparent irritation. Now that he knew this phione as Akari, he recognized she had been understandably frustrated at him for not realizing who she was. But back when she was simply ‘Passenger’ to him, a clingy and high-strung enigmatic Pokemon, it had been exasperating and confusing behavior.

“Phi.” Phione pointed at the potato mochi, then at him.

“In a moment, I will. I’d like to take care of this first.” Ingo gestured to his throat, before reaching for his cup of tea again. Without honey, the fleeting relief was much too temporary. “Go on and eat.”

“Phi-phi.” Akari squeaked, seeming to accept his answer for now. Using her flippers, she pulled herself over to the plate, and flopped over against one of the potato mochi patties. Ingo watched as bubbles began to fizz inside her transparent body, similar to water slowly climbing towards its boiling point.

Her body was simply just dissolving the mochi to absorb. Over the course of the two weeks she had been with him, Ingo had seen her gradually shift to eating like this. At first mimicking human eating habits and gumming on food, Akari had eventually succumbed to this method instead, realizing it was easier for this form.

Ingo remembered that Laventon had hypothesized the species used their bodies to filter feed in the ocean as they drifted in the cold depths. Phione didn’t exactly have teeth. Or a skeleton. Or a recognizable muscular system, or even proper skin. He didn’t really know what the frail species’ body did have – as far as he could tell, they were almost entirely made up of water. So he supposed a process like this shouldn’t be surprising.

Soon enough, the patty was gone. Ingo cleared his throat gratuitously after another sip, setting the cup aside for the moment. “Alright Miss Akari, I’ve been thinking about our next trip out to the coastlands.”

“ Phi? ” Akari shot him a puzzled look.

“Indeed! It’s been on my mind the whole trip back,” Ingo guesstimated Akari’s reaction. “And I’m considering when we next depart, our first stop should be over around Veilstone Cape. If that’s where your belongings were found, perhaps your, well… your original body is still somewhere nearby.”

“ Phi!” A firm, disagreeable shake of her head.

“No? Do you think we should look somewhere else?”

“Phi-phi!” Was that a yes, as in “yes, look somewhere else!” ? Or no, as in “no, you’ve got it all wrong!” ?

“Ah, should we… survey the cliffsides then?” Thoroughly confused, Ingo had no idea if he was even interpreting things right anymore.

“Phi!!” Akari was definitely becoming more animated with her methods of disagreement. He was headed down the wrong track, surely.

“Alright then, do you believe it’s not even located within the coastlands anymore?” Ingo was trying to make sense of her adamant disapproval. “Should we set our destination somewhere else? But how far could it go? Surely as a natural water-dweller, I would assume it would be slow to leave the shore…”

“Phi-phi!” At some point during his rant, Akari had flopped off of her mochi patty and over to his arm, just to smack his wrist with a flipper.

Ingo halted to turn his attention to her; ok, that was her ‘please stop and listen to me’ tone. He would know after being constantly subjected to it for two weeks. “I am sorely misinterpreting this, aren't I?”

Finally, an agreeable head nod. It seemed the complexity of this conversation needed more than just ‘yes’ and ‘no’ answers to maintain itself.

And Akari was very much aware of that. She leaned over the side of the table and pointed down at his… waist? His thigh? The bench he was sitting on? It was admittedly hard to tell when she was gesturing with an amorphous flipper, as opposed to a clear finger.

“Um,” Ingo’s confusion put a stop to Akari’s attempts at pointing. She sat back and stared down at the wooden patterns on the table for a moment, clearly considering something, before she squeaked enthusiastically. Ingo watched as she held one of her flippers out stiffly in front of her, while wiggling the other in front of it. Big, determined eyes stared up at him intently the whole time, hoping he’d understand.

It almost looked like she was imitating the act of taking notes in a…

Oh!

“Are you requesting your pokedex?”

Akari nodded her head vigorously, seemingly happy he finally understood.

“Bravo!” Ingo mirrored her sentiments before it fizzled into a cough – that’s right, Akari had used it yesterday to try and communicate with him, pointing to words and pictures, and even attempting to write something at one point (it had taken a very long time and hadn’t been very legible in the end, but they could work on that). He turned to the side, reaching into his coat pocket in search of the waterlogged field book. In the moment, he had practically forgotten he had it on him. “Alright, let me retrieve it for you.”

Maybe she had a map in her pokedex? So she could point out the location they needed to go to next? Or perhaps she even had something recorded within the pages about this pokemon she has swapped with, that could give them a hint as to what happened-

“ Starr! Rrravia!!”

Sudden, frantic squawking and flapping of wings directly by Ingo’s right ear jumpstarted his heart. A loud bang as his knees hit the underside of the table, causing the dinnerware to clatter. Almost dropping the pokedex, Ingo jerked his head back up to see the very two people he was attempting to avoid for Akari’s sake, now heading right for his tableside.

The culprit of the excited squawking — their curious staravia, Fancy — was pecking around his plates on the table.

“Ingo! Where have you been?”

Great. That sentence was sharp with thorns.

“Ah, Miss Kana, Miss Miki… Hello.” Ingo’s tone wasn’t as warm as he supposed it could have been, noticeably so. But then again, five days of agonizing over horrific hypotheticals in the wilderness had drained him of social courtesy in the presence of unwanted company.

Plus, he couldn’t entirely help his aching throat from sounding like it was full of rough gravel.

A quick, not-so-inconspicuous survey of the table between calibrating blinks as Fancy continued to poke around the table. Among his dinnerware, Akari was suddenly nowhere in sight — something that was equal parts relieving and terrifying to him.

Was she hiding from them?

“It’s been five days since we last saw you! Were you out in the wild this entire time? We were starting to wonder if something happened!” Miki told him.

“Ah- no, no-” Ingo’s words stalled, attempting to simultaneously search around the table, and keep a proper conversation going. Fancy seemed interested in the general area by his plate. Ingo attempted to see where its gaze was pulled, in case it had caught a glimpse of something small and blue. “Besides a rather sore throat and tired cab, I am alright, I can assure you. I was solely searching for Miss Akari. And unfortunately, I- ahem , I still am.”

Ingo hoped that wherever the teen was, she understood the double intent and kept close to him. He didn’t want Fancy finding her before he did.

A look of empathy crossed Miki’s features (or maybe it was pure pity; Ingo was acutely aware of how worn down he looked, and his broken voice had involuntarily cracked. It could have easily been mistaken for swelling emotion), but Kana only seemed to grow annoyed at his words. Ingo wasn’t surprised, as he knew how she felt about how much time he was putting into searching.

Kana never stated her feelings outright, but her behavior had made it very clear to him that she was irked. Irked that Kamado was basically allowing him to drop half of his work to voluntarily look for Akari out of his own volition, while she was ordered to do the same thing.

The survey corps are already looking for her, Kana had practically scolded him the last time she saw him, five days ago when he was first heading out to search. That’s our job, because we’re the survey corps. You’re not. We’ll find her, but we need you here at the training grounds, doing your assigned job at least some of the time, ok?

She used ‘we’ a lot, most frequently during perplexing admonishments like this. Ingo sometimes wondered if Kamado was aware of just how much implied authority Kana utilized to try and inflate her words’ influence. She talked to him like she was Kamado, sometimes.

Or like she was Zisu, at least. But Zisu would never talk to him the way Kana tried to, even if she technically had the authority to.

“Well, have you found anything helpful yet?” Miki seemed to not be keeping an eye on her staravia at all. To Ingo’s slight exasperation, she either didn’t notice or didn’t care that Fancy was now pecking at his plate of mochi.

“Ah, I recovered a few things that might be of help, I suppose.” Ingo collected his plate and bowl, pulling them a little closer within the protection of his arms. Fancy glared.

“Well, that’s good…” while it was more appreciated than Kana’s hard silence, Ingo could not tell whether Miki was being pitiful, sympathetic, or unbelieving with that painfully, poorly-hidden sorry tone.

However, his statement was not a lie. Just a vague truth. He had found Akari and some of her belongings, now they just needed to find her body, from what he understood.

…Though, right now he was still vying to know where Akari herself was at this moment. With both himself and Fancy searching for her and coming up with nothing, Ingo was practically convinced she was not anywhere on the table, which worried him.

Speaking of the feathery pokemon, the absence of exposed food now left Ingo’s cup as the only lure. Fancy stepped closer, curious eyes fixated on the drink. Ingo could see their intentions coming from a mile away, and he was not about to have hot tea spilled all over the table and himself.

“Fancy, please-“ Ingo grabbed the cup right before they could poke their beak into the drink, sheltering it close with his food.

“Starr!” Fancy squawked indignantly at the action, flapping their wings. It hopped the rest of the way across the table to invasively jab at Ingo’s hand, most likely in an attempt to snatch his cup.

“Fancy! No!” Miki finally took initiative to admonish her poorly-mannered companion, reaching over the table to pull her staravia out of Ingo’s personal space. The scolding finally forced Fancy to flutter down to the ground, squawking all the while. With a sour disposition, they had to settle for simply pecking at the dirt instead.

“Sorry! I think Fancy’s just looking for your little friend!” Miki attempted to brush off Fancy’s behavior, as she always did. “…Where is that strange pokemon that’s always clinging to you?”

While straightening his coat and brushing stray feathers off himself, Ingo almost laughed at how desperately he wanted that question answered himself.

“Ah, Passenger uncoupled itself from me, and I am no longer sure of its whereabouts.” Again, a truthful statement. And again, Ingo hoped wherever Akari was, she could recognize the inherent worry that the phrasing implied.

Though maybe, Akari had retreated somewhere into one of his coat pockets. Was that why Fancy had been poking at him? Ingo kept his eyes on the two women, but all focus shifted to what his fingers were feeling out, his hand subtly moving to pat his coat pockets from under the table. Where was she-?

“What is that?” An element of morbid curiosity entered Kana’s voice, the woman speaking up for the first time in this whole conversation. The tone alone made Ingo’s hands freeze midway in one of his pockets.

“Is that… Akari’s pokedex?”

“Her pokedex?” Miki peeked over the edge of the table to get a better look. “Ooh! Did you find it out there?”

“O-oh. Well-” Oh dear. They’d seen the waterlogged notebook in his lap when he leaned away from Fancy.

All things considered, it was only Akari’s pokedex. But then again, it was Akari’s pokedex. Gut reaction told him it would be best that Kana and Miki not know he has that right now.

Why? It would cause trouble. How? Ingo wasn’t entirely sure yet. But he was holding onto Akari’s missing things. He hadn’t shared where they had been found with the Galaxy Team. He had Akari herself with him while the survey corps were still breaking their backs looking for her. He sort of knew what had happened to her, and kind of felt like he could piece together how to fix this.

There was a lot to uncover, all things considered. Putting it like this, Ingo for the first time properly reflected on just how much he was withholding. And it wouldn’t have mattered if he really only learned the truth about all of this yesterday — if Kana found out about even one of these things, he knew she would not spare any empathy if the narrative was in her hands.

Nervous jitters begin to tickle inside his ribcage. This felt comparable to suddenly realizing the tallgrass fields were unnervingly quiet because they weren’t empty.

“-Yes.”

That sounded much too certain, he chastised himself. Add some uncertainty.

“I… believe it is, at least?”

Ingo tentatively picked up the bloated bundle of notes to show it to them. People showed things to other people when they had nothing to hide, and he certainly had nothing to hide. Definitely not.

“I, ah, happened upon it while searching; the contents of the pokedex have sustained significant water damage, as you can see.” Ingo carefully flipped through a few curled pages to prove it, before setting it back down beside him. “So it is difficult to tell for sure. I was on track to deliver it back to Professor Laventon for confirmation, but when I arrived, it appeared his station had already closed for the day.”

A truthful statement. Laventon’s office was dark, because at some point in the warden’s absence, the professor had most likely joined the last survey corps group on their last departure. Laventon frequently went out searching for Akari too when he could, he simply was not as solitary as Ingo when it came to his methods.

But it didn’t seem like the two women cared much about that, though. At least Kana didn’t — she just stared at him with the same look she’d been giving him throughout the entire conversation.

Hands on her hips, it was beginning to feel like she was trying to come across like she was expecting something.

Expecting him to say something.

Ingo swallowed uncomfortably, this time more from social pressure than any kind of sore pain. Maybe he missed an obvious social queue… the majority of his attention was still lingering around what was going on beneath the table, if he was being honest.

Fancy had sneakily begun pecking at one of his shoes, furthering his suspicion that Akari was somewhere on his person. Ingo gave himself another subtle pat-down from under the protection of the table. She was definitely not anywhere within his coat pockets. If she was, he would have expected to feel a damp flipper bap his searching hand in response by now.

Where was she?? Nervous energy was continuing to build, only able to be somewhat subdued by a bouncing leg.

“So… is that all?” Kana’s barbed voice broke the silence, somewhat refocusing Ingo’s scattered attention.

Where was this even supposed to be going? Why were they still lingering around? The conversation felt awkward with how it was dragging, like they were beating around the bush. Ingo just wanted this interaction to be over, so that Kana and Miki could leave, and he could properly look around the area for Akari, and stop stressing over the idea that Fancy had grabbed her-

“Ah, I believe so?” Perhaps that would have sounded more authentic if he didn’t have so much urgency to just end things.

Wrong Answer. Kana, clearly exasperated at this point, exaggerated a sigh as she rolled her eyes.

“Our training session, Ingo. You weren’t here for my training session today. After you told me you would be.” She crossed her arms, her tone suggesting the experience was entirely unpleasant. “I had to train with Zisu.”

Poor Zisu, Ingo’s tired mind lamented what his manners would never let slip past his lips.

“You did?” Ingo said instead. “There was no need; I’m certain we rescheduled due to my expected absence. But not to worry, I will still be on schedule for it tomorrow morning.”

Kana’s hard glare gained a bewildered quality to it, as if Ingo’s skin had suddenly turned blue. “What? Today was the reschedule, Ingo.”

“It was?” Ingo’s split concentration once again reconvened on the conversation for a moment. “…It was.”

That’s right. He had scheduled a training session with Kana the day he was supposed to get back, having only been set to make up for another session he had missed earlier in the week.

But after finding Akari’s things scattered across the beach yesterday, he had sort of deviated from his plans of going back to Jubilife that evening. He had been so distraught, that he couldn’t see himself in any state to be around others, and still keep his dignity.

It seemed all the physical exhaustion and roiling emotions had scrambled his schedule and fed him unchecked assumptions — an extra day in the wilderness did not mean a pushback on the training session.

That’s why Kana had approached him. She was looking for an apology from him, or an explanation at the very least. And he had given neither.

The stark realization that he had failed to meet the schedule he had set brought an annoying, unwanted flash of heat to his face.

Ingo found himself sitting up a little straighter, haste fumbling his words. “Oh dear. I- I greatly apologize Miss Kana, I didn’t mean to derail like that. Genuinely, I had forgotten-”

“You always forget,” Another frustrated response was the harbinger that warned Ingo of the oncoming storm.

“Kana, don’t,” And Miki’s hasty attempt to quell it further told him that this had apparently been brewing for a few days now.

“Ingo, this is what I’m talking about.” Kana ignored Miki and took over. And because he’d already strained his voice way too much to speak over her quickly-raising anger and reclaim the conversation, Ingo let her. “You keep doing this! For almost two weeks now, you’ve been throwing aside your responsibilities at the dojo for something that other people are already taking care of-”

But they were all looking in the wrong place anyways, Ingo added a mental footnote.

“-and you’re not even following whatever you do manage to schedule!” Kana continued, none the wiser to his annotation. “People like me depend on those schedules you set, you know. I spent my only break in between these search expeditions waiting around for you, when I could have been resting instead! And look at you; correct me if I’m wrong, but I bet you’re going right back out there again first thing tomorrow, if not tonight!”

No correction was hurriedly inserted into her terribly brief breath between words, for really, she was not wrong.

“Ingo, I know Akari is missing, but you’re not helping anyone like this.”

Ingo’s frown deepened, not out of indignance or hurt, but as a plain reflex to opposition. He might have felt deeply offended by such blunt words, or even taken them to heart under different circumstances. But it was hard to truly do either when Akari was alive and well (wherever she currently was at this table), and it was solely because of him.

“ Ok, Kana,” Slightly horrified at the way her friend was talking to someone who was already clearly so spent, Miki pulled back on Kana’s shoulder. Ingo’s pulled frown must have given off an upset quality. “He’s just worried about her.”

“Aren’t we all?” Kana retorted. “We’re all looking for her! The difference is, we’re taking shifts to juggle all the other responsibilities we have around here. And he- ” an accusatory finger jabbed at Ingo. “-is not. Tomorrow, I’ll be surprised if he even still has a job here once I have a talk with Kamado.”

Miki actually appeared offended enough on his behalf to let out a little gasp, which surprised Ingo a little; normally, her reputation as Kana’s malleable friend led to stubbornly agreeing with her. Throwing a quick glance at him, she pulled Kana a few steps away to squeeze half-audible whispers through gritted teeth.

Now Ingo’s frown really did emphasize a conflicted expression as they conversed about him. While objectively Kana’s entire viewpoint did come off as insensitive, Ingo couldn’t help but feel he wouldn't be so torn on the treatment if he hadn’t failed to meet the expectations that he himself had set.

The biggest problem here was that Kana felt she had been stood up by him several times now, because all things considered, even if they had been accidents, she had been.

Really, the only reasonable path forward was to apologize to her, offer another solution to the dilemma, and hope that went over well. First and foremost, he wanted to right his wrongs where he could. However, he couldn’t deny that a tiny part of him was motivated to just get them out of here quickly, so he could find Akari.

But a genuine apology required talking. Lots of talking. And Ingo felt his vocal cords were running out of steam for that.

Kana and Miki were still currently arguing at the end of the table. Ingo grabbed his cup and tipped it back, expecting another swallow of hot tea to soothe the fire in his throat long enough to present an offer. He could get this over with quickly, then-

To say his poor heart stopped would be an understatement when he felt a loose, lukewarm blob bump against his lips with a warning squeak.

Tea sprayed out his nose and between his teeth. Whatever Kana and Miki were saying halted abruptly as Ingo lurched forward, choking harshly into his cup. Only after the dramatic reaction had calmed somewhat did Ingo become aware the flow of words had stopped around him, and he was being stared at intently.

“Wrong… wrong track, apologies-” He half-bluffed, wiping at his mouth as he continued to cough through his words. “-I’m alright.”

“You sure?” Miki extended.

“Yes.” Ingo attempted to regain composure and clear his throat as he moved to protectively place a hand over his cup.

So that’s where she had been.

Perhaps Fancy’s attempts to get to his tea had been more deliberate than he thought. But at least he had found her.

“Look Ingo, it’s clear you’re… working through a lot of things right now.” Kana gestured to him with a palpable irritation that only sharpened otherwise-understanding words. “Just forget it, tomorrow-”

“-No, please stay for a moment.” Ingo hated interrupting Kana, especially considering where he stood with things right now, but he had to correct these tracks. “Miss Kana, I would like to propose an apology. A proper one.”

Despite it being the last thing his aching legs wanted to do, Ingo pushed himself to stand up from the table. A proper apology required approaching it and addressing recipients with seriousness and respect, and it just seemed more genuine not to do things while sitting down. He kept his cup of tea within his hands, though.

“One must conduct themselves with integrity, and keep to their expected schedules for those that depend on it. And yet, I failed to arrive at our set destination yesterday. For that Miss Kana, I deeply apologize, and I fully intend to make it up to you. Your time is important.”

Kana said nothing, simply looking him up and down. Perhaps she was sizing up his apology, expecting more. Or maybe she was even questioning if he was in any state to uphold such a thing, believing him prone to forget yet again. And Ingo could see where she was coming from; her knowledge of his true situation was slim to none, and he was aware of how flippant things must have looked to someone who did not know.

Could she cut him a little more slack? Maybe (definitely). But he had essentially neglected her twice now.

And he did genuinely feel bad about that.

“Now, I wrongfully assumed my schedule included our training tomorrow morning, and as such, I have already set aside time for it. That offer is still open. I am well aware my word may not mean much to you at the moment, but would you be available at that time to begin the training session we missed?”

“I’m leaving early tomorrow with a group to comb through the highlands. I won’t be here. Remember?” A flat, barbed response unapologetically slapped Ingo across the face.

“Alright then…” Shake it off. Ingo cleared his throat again, to the point where it was becoming annoying. “When are you scheduled to return?”

“Three days. Could be four.”

More of a push than a slap this time. “Well then, when you return, I will be stationed here, ready for two consecutive training sessions with you… If you are up for that, of course.”

Kana seemed to consider it. Miki nudged her.

“I can do that.” Her tone suggested the compromise was still unsatisfactory to her.

Another nudge from Miki.

“And I’m sorry. About what I said about you. I know you’re trying to do a lot.” Rather mechanical words that practically creaked with how rusty they were. But it was an unexpected surprise all the same, even if it had been prodded out. “But Ingo, you can not forget again. Or I will tell Kamado about every single instance you’ve left me waiting within this week.”

“Of course, of course.” Quick to end the conversation on surprisingly agreeable terms, Ingo nodded his head. “That is more than reasonable. It will not happen again, I can assure you.”

“For your sake, I’d hope not.” It seemed as if injustices had been made right. Satisfied enough with the outcome, Kana turned to leave. Miki was quick to follow, with Fancy trailing behind. “I’ll be seeing you as soon as I get back, Ingo. Don’t go get yourself lost in the wilderness again.”

“Ah, likewise,” Ingo wondered if she could even hear him with his limited volume. “Please enjoy a good rest of your evening, both of you.”

Miki at least waved goodbye to him as they moved on towards the Galaxy Hall. Ingo stood there in silence, posture rigid until the two women were out of sight. As soon as the hall’s doors closed, Ingo sat back down and leaned closer over the cup, finally removing his hand from over the top.

“Miss Akari!” He whispered into the escaping steam. “I am proud of you for following procedure and hiding… but really? Of all places, it had to be in here? ”

“Phi!” The green-tinted liquid stirred, and a pair of miffed brown eyes blinked back up at him from within the ripples. Ingo didn’t need her to write it out for him to understand what she was implying.

“I didn’t know; I hadn’t seen where you had gone.” His stern features softened some. “I apologize, but next time, please board elsewhere.”

“Phi-phi phi,” Akari went on about something entirely indecipherable to Ingo, but it died down as she caught something. Ingo followed her gaze to spot Beni’s magby finally approaching their table, his honey and Akari’s water on the tray in its hands.

It had certainly taken long enough! But Ingo gave Magby some slack, he knew the Pokémon was rather shy, and had probably been waiting to approach the table after such incensed company had left. It looked like it was expecting a comment on its tardiness regardless though, keeping its eyes on the tray so as to avoid a stern look.

“Thank you, Magby. Your service is much appreciated,” Ingo made sure to properly thank the Pokémon as it finished unloading the tray’s contents with shaky claws. Bashfully (and somewhat elated), Magby chirped at him before turning to take the tray back inside, leaving them both in peace once again.

Akari immediately leapt from Ingo’s tea, splashing into her cup of water.

“Better?” Ingo asked, already pouring the honey into his cup.

“Phi,” Akari splashed the water with her flippers in satisfaction before submerging.

Stirring the honey into the contents of his tea briefly, Ingo tipped it back and swallowed the improved remedy – the relief was instant. Much better. “I agree.”

“Phi-phi!”

Akari’s give-me-your-attention tone. Ingo was pulled out of his little piece of heaven to see Akari leaning over the side of the cup, jabbing a flipper over at the Galaxy Hall.

“Uh,” A few days ago, it would have been impossible to parse the correct intent from such a non-specific gesture. But now that he knew this was Akari he was talking with, and knowing how much Akari liked to snoop when she could, he thought he knew what (or in this case, who) she was wanting to talk about with him. “...that conversation went better than expected, didn’t it?”

“Phi-phi,” Akari nodded her head with a compliant tone. Whew, that was what she was wanting to talk about.

“I know, I only got my head bitten off once,” Ingo’s attempt at an amused tone cracked terribly, and he stopped to take another drink of tea. “Though, there is some good in this. Now that tomorrow’s schedule has been cleared, It seems we’ll be able to depart first thing tomorrow, and head back out for the coastlands.”

Akari had been largely passive from within her cup, but it seemed these words put a fire under her. With a squeak, she practically threw herself out of her water and flopped across the table. It startled Ingo when she just kept going right over the edge after a quick peek over the side at his lap.

“Miss Akari, what are you-!” Ingo instinctively reached to break her fall, but lethargy slowed his reflexes, and she plopped the rest of the way down onto her Pokedex, still set down on the bench beside him. “-what are you doing? Be careful!”

“Phi! Phi!” Stern squeaking and both flippers smacking the Pokedex’s cover was her only response.

She urgently wanted to tell him something, and it was more complex than what a simple guessing game of yes and no could decipher.

“Alright, alright, one moment,” Ingo picked up the pokedex and pushed his plates back to make room for it on the table, balancing Akari on top of it all the while.

She got to work instantly, attempting to pry the cover open until Ingo gave in and opened it for her-

“Here, just let me know when to stop,”

-thumbing through the pages and waiting for an indication of some kind.

Ingo flipped past pages of maps, hand-written observations on pokemon, and informational notes on local flora. But Akari made no sound or movement, so Ingo kept thumbing through them. Only once the pages began flashing blank faces did she reach up to bap his hand.

“Here?” Ingo stopped, exposing two blank pages to her.

“Phi!” A resounding yes. So, blank pages… she was going to write or draw something for him then, he assumed.

“Alright,” Ingo pulled out the pokedex’s writing pen from where it was clipped on the side and handed it to her. Her tiny little appendages wrapped around it as best they could, and Ingo leaned forward to watch as she began to scribble on one of the pages.

T…

Perhaps it was because he had been setting his mind towards nothing but marking and reaching certain destinations for weeks , but Ingo’s mind couldn’t help but jump right to a location. Tranquility Cove? Or maybe Tombolo Walk? Both locations were not exactly on land. But there were sheltered places amongst rocks and ship wreckage near both areas. Would the phione possibly seek out shelter there? Ingo just knew that he’d find a way to them if that’s where they needed to go-

A…

TA? Neither place had A as the second letter. There goes his previous train of thought.

She definitely was not writing out a location. She could have used one of the maps for that anyway. It was going to be a message.

And this message was going to take a while, Ingo assumed. With the limited mobility of her flippers and the size of the pen in comparison to her, the work was rather messy and slow going. He resigned himself back to his rice and potato mochi as she continued – both would have normally been considered disappointingly cold by now, but if Ingo was honest with himself, it was still leagues better than anything either of them had eaten in days out in the wild.

When she was done, Akari dropped the pen with a slick splat and leaned to the side, glaring up at him expectantly as she pointed with her flipper.

Ingo’s hypothesis had been right – on the page, in big, boldly-scrawled yet shaky writing, it read:

TAKE A BREAK!!!

Three exclamation marks. She was serious.

Stalling on the words, Ingo mulled them over for a moment. “Miss Akari, I can assure you that I am alright, and will be even better tomorrow. Our departure is already scheduled, and I intend to keep with it.”

No squeaking, no shaking of her head, and no upset glare like he half-expected – Akari simply turned back around and continued the taxing effort of scrawling words across the page. When she had once again finished, she jabbed her flipper at the words with surprising vigor, then repeated the agitated movements at him.

NO TRIP. NEED REST

It surprised him a little, how adamant she was about this when her actual body was at stake. But it was clear she just wanted him to regain some lost energy, instead of trying to expunge even more from a tank that was already empty.

And perhaps she was right in wanting this. He had just spent five days out in the wild. Could he really put himself through something like that again? His will said yes, of course he could. But it was paying no mind to the aching in his muscles, already groaning at the thought of going back out there.

And honestly, what could he do like this? A sore throat. A headache feeding off of sleep deprivation. A deep aching that one night’s rest realistically wouldn’t pacify. Maybe if he had managed his cab a little better out there… but that was nothing more than a hypothetical now.

“Alright. I will… rest my engines.” Breaking up the sentence with a sigh, Ingo finally relented. He leaned forward against one aching arm as he gently massaged tired, darkened eyes with the other. He was in need of some decent sleep. “I do suppose the service is sorely needed. We will stay here tomorrow.”

Celebratory squeaking started up. A cold, wet flipper was felt against his wrist, bapping it animatedly – the only way she could really say thank you in this state. Despite his display of exhaustion, Ingo let out a quiet sound of amusement.

“Just for a day,” He reiterated. “And I still intend to be productive in my search efforts tomorrow. Perhaps just within Professor Laventon’s numerous books this time, rather than the coastlands’ beaches.”

The agreement was still plenty satisfactory though, it seemed. Akari clapped her flippers together in appreciation and made her way back to her cup of water.

Good, Akari had been pacified. Now Ingo just had to pacify his stomach – once he finished his meal here, he could finally go to sleep… in an actual bed! Ingo told himself he had been more than ready to go back out into the wilderness, but he couldn’t deny the thought of resting with an actual stuffed mattress under his back and soft blankets keeping him in a tight, warm hug until noon sounded like a dream.

“Alright now, give me just a moment, and then we can depart.” Ingo closed Akari’s pokedex and pulled his plates back towards him. Akari watched lazily from her cup as he resumed eating and drinking what remained, and while it only took a few minutes to put it all away, by the time Ingo looked back to see how she was doing, he could see she had fallen asleep. Drifting around lazily at the bottom of her cup, little bubbles were slipping up to the surface as she slept.

Quite a different energy from what she had been displaying earlier. She had apparently been much more tired than she had let on. Very in-character for her, honestly.

“Miss Akari,” Ingo tapped her cup gently after stacking his empty dinnerware together, freeing a small cloud of bubbles from her mouth in surprise. “Are you ready to depart now?”

A half-asleep nod. She was barely with him.

“Alright,” Ingo lugged himself off of the bench and stretched contentedly. “Next stop then, the dojo’s spare unit-” An intrusive yawn in between. “-All aboard.”

Slipping Akari’s pokedex back into his coat pocket, Ingo held his hand out to her, waiting for her to hop on. She flopped onto it sluggishly with a little yawn, and he brought her up to set her back within the familiar spot of his coat collar as he started for the training grounds.

The street was much quieter now. The sun had set a while back, and the dark strip was rather barren with barely any activity in sight. Ingo didn’t mind, though. As he walked, he cleared his throat; tonight’s situation had turned out relatively ok, but if that happened again, it might not go as well the second time around, and he had to address that. He hoped Akari was awake enough to listen to him.

“Ah, Miss Akari… I would like to discuss something real promptly, if that is alright. I want to admit that well, traveling down this route is much rougher than I had anticipated.” Ingo turned his head slightly in her direction as he headed up the hill for the gates, hoping she was listening. “I understand your feelings on this and am trying to honor them. But tomorrow, if we are going to relieve ourselves of some stress at your request, I ask that we also relieve a few others of theirs. Tomorrow, if he returns back to the station, we must bring Professor Laventon up to speed on your situation.”

“Phi! Phi!” Ingo’s frown pulled at the immediate argumentative squeaking that started up. It had taken a moment to kick in, but she was definitely listening, and it had certainly woken her up a little. At least she was paying attention.

“He is worried sick about you. I am sure he would be relieved to know you are alright.”

The squeaking began to lean more on the desperate side. Ingo felt a cold flipper bap his neck a few times.

“Now, you know he would not discuss your predicament with others if you requested, including Kamado. Your current situation will be safe with him. You must know that.” Ingo stopped outside the dojo’s doors, but kept himself from entering.

“Phi!”

That was her correctional tone. He had misinterpreted her reasons. A proper glance over at his shoulder – Akari had been staring up at him, but she averted her gaze at the possibility of eye contact.

Sheepish.

She was embarrassed.

“Miss Akari… I could not imagine him becoming angry at you, given the circumstances.” Ingo recalled the day Akari left on her fateful trip to the coastlands. She had told him that Laventon had suggested she take someone with her, and Kamado had required it. He would have gone with her, had she simply waited for him.

Ingo imagined Laventon would feel a lot of things if he revealed that the small pokemon he had gotten a glimpse at a few times over these last two weeks was actually Akari. Joy, relief, confusion… maybe disappointment for disregarding his suggestion, but not anger. Not in that moment, surely. Ingo could not possibly see Laventon getting upset when faced with the impossible truth that Akari was alive – he’d be too busy celebrating. The man’s optimism always seemed to outweigh any possible anger of his.

Kamado would probably be a different story. But they would not get into that.

“I believe Professor Laventon would simply be appreciative to know you’re alright.” Ingo attempted to reassure her. “You have seen how much he’s been worrying about you. He is feeling… very much like I was before I had known. Even if he is not past admonishment upon realizing, it may still be rather amiable in comparison to what you’re expecting. Wouldn’t you agree with that?”

“Phi-phiiiii-” Akari groaned, but the drawn-out tone suggested her concern gave way to reluctant agreement.

“So, you understand what I am asking?”

A squeak that sounded agreeable.

“And you are alright with it?”

Another agreeable sound, but it was significantly quieter and more delayed.

“...Would you like to discuss it more in the morning?” Ingo could tell sleep was weighing heavy on her again.

A cold spot nudged against his neck. She was nodding her head while leaning against him, not even opting to make a sound anymore. Yep, he was losing her again.

“Alright,” Ingo finally slid open the dojo’s door. A part of him was a little relieved that it was unlocked – Zisu had still been leaving it open in case, just for him. He stepped through into the darkness, closing it back behind him. “We’ll talk about it more tomorrow, then. Thank you.”

#phione Akari AU #submas #ingo #warden ingo #akari #pokemon akari #also original character Kana and NPC Miki #phione #pokemon legends arceus #pokemon legends #pokemon #pla #pokemon fanfic #pokemon fanfiction #waywardstationfanfic #Ingo and Akari slept until like 1PM the next day #they NEEDED IT

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rays-of-fire-and-ice · 3 months

Text

The Music Goes On and On

Rating: K/General

Setting: in the decade before the main story.

Synopsis: Shinji is going about his daily life at his job in a music store, until he sees an old face from the past.

AN: the winner of my first poll! This was fun to write, so thank you to everyone who voted for it!

I hope I did Shinji justice here. He's a character I love, and I've always wanted to know what he and Visoreds did after escaping the the Living world and before they introduced themselves to Ichigo. I've broached the topic before in As Months Go By, As Season Change part II, but I wanted to write a specific instance of his life in the World of the Living. I had intended this to be more comedic, but well...it's me, and it ended up more angsty with one sappy moment.

In terms of research, I looked into Japanese 1990’s music and the workforce during the 1970’s. I'll briefly go over it here, but if you want to skip it and get to the fic, continue to the line break before the story begins.

For music, I mainly used information from this article about Japanese jazz bands, doing Youtube searches for 1990s Japanese music, and searching for what records stores in Japan typically look like.

The songs, albums, and bands mentioned in this fic are:

B'z: a Japanese rock duo who sold millions of albums during the 1990's. They're one of Japan's best-selling artists even to this day, having sold over 80 million albums. Sasori ni sasa reta by Kimidori Review by Glay: this was one of the best-selling albums in Japan for 1997, and sold over 2 million copies in it's first week. Casiopea: a Japanese jazz fusion band who have created over 40 albums as of the time of writing this fic. They've been active since the 1970's, and have gone through four phases with different band members; in this story, they're in their second phase. Light and Shadow by Casiopea Casiopea by Casiopea Yasuko Agawa: a Japanese jazz and blues singer. Before releasing her debut album, Love-Bird, in 1978, she starred in movies in the early 1970’s. This included the Bloodthirst Trilogy, a Japanese horror film trilogy that involves unconnected stories about vampires. Agawa starred in Chi o suu bara, which is the final film in the trilogy and it's title has been translated to Evil of Dracula in English. Love-Bird by Yasuko Agawa All Right by Me by Yasuko Agawa Scenery by Ryo Fuuki (also mentioned in As Months Go By, As Season Change part II)

In terms of the workforce research, I had to change the timeline in light of what I found. Rather than seeing a coworker Shinji knew from 30 years ago, it's now 21 years. This is because the store they worked at together, Yodobashi Camera, opened it's first store in 1975, and in this fic Shinji got a job with the company a year later. In it's early years, the stores primarily sold cameras and photography equipment, but eventually branched off into other technology and home electronics such as TVs and PCs. Nowadays it's online version is incredibly popular and one of Japan's most visited online shopping platforms. Why a camera store? I can't explain why, but I have this weird feeling that Shinji might've worked in a camera store at some point. Maybe because old camera's used to have inverted lenses, meaning they could be upside down (and we all know how Shinji feels about things that are inverted).

Finally, there's a slight joke with the name Shinji chooses to use here. From what I saw in my research, ‘Mako’ can use the same Kanji characters as ‘Shinji’, (which are ‘真子‘ and if I’m not mistaken have the same meanings of ‘truth’/’sincerity’ and ‘children’) but both names can also be spelled using other Kanji characters too (but it changes the meaning of the name). While ‘Mako’ tends to be primarily a girl's name, it seems it can also be a boy’s name too, and from what I can see, the spelling of it can be same for both boys and girls when using the same characters as ‘Shinji’. If I got any of this wrong, please let me know so I can change it. My sources for all of this were here and here.

Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this!

______________________________________

The bell above the music store’s entrance rings as the latest customer leaves. Shinji doesn’t glance their way, taking and unfurling a poster of B’z from his cart. After pinning it to the wall, he lifts out a box of CDs to restock the ‘New Releases’ display rack at the front.

Karakura Beats Records Store is empty save for him and Kana, who resumes pricing the latest shipment of vinyls behind the cash register. The morning sunlight pours in through the many posters and notices stuck to the windows facing out on to the quiet street, casting blocks of shadow over the many vinyls and CDs.

From the speakers high up on the walls, a tune he’s never heard before begins to play quietly through the air. Shinji drums his fingers on the CD rack to the tune in between stacking in copies of ‘Review’ – which will no doubt be gone by the end of the week if the hype around the album and the sales figures from other music stores are to be believed.

Eventually, he’s swaying his body to the beat too. “Yo, Kana-san!”

She looks up, her bright, dyed hair falling over one shoulder. “Yeah?”

“Which track is this?” he asks, still swaying as he tops up the rack the. “It’s a good one, I might buy the album if the rest is any good.”

“ ‘Sasori ni sasa reta’ by Kimidori.” She grins. “I knew I could get you to like something I like.”

“Didn’t think you’d like hip hop.”

“Not much of it, but I heard this one when I was in my last year of high school.”

Done with the CDs, Shinji returns to his cart and rolls it behind the cash register. “Ya done with those?” he says, pointing at the vinyls.

Sticking a price on the top one, Kana picks up the pile and drops them into the cardboard box that just had 'Review' in it. “Done now.”

He goes to pick it up, but blinks down at the cover. There’s three shadows on a white surface, and above them with is a de-saturated sky, and running along the middle is a dark lake and the silhouettes of hills and houses. The album’s title is in English, as is the band name. Even so, he recognises the name without having to read the blue slip on the vinyl’s side with a translation. “Huh, when did this come out?”

“In September. The old drummer came back, apparently.”

“Ya mean Jimbo Akira?”

“Yeah, but it’s got a guest drummer too.” Kana cocks an eyebrow at him. “I’m surprised you don’t know. You like Casiopea, right?”

Shinji shrugs. “Some of their stuff, sure. I can take ‘em or leave them, just surprised I didn’t know about this one.”

“They release something every year, right?” Kana says, moving on to the next stacks of vinyls and CDs to price. “Shouldn’t be too surprising.”

No, it shouldn’t. He’d been listening to their music since their self-titled debut album in 1979, and even though he’d lost some interest in their music by the late 1980’s, he still kept tabs on them. But then, even after being in the world for as long as he has, the passage of time is so different it sometimes escapes him.

Resisting the urge to shake his head, Shinji puts two other boxes of CDs and vinyls Kana had prepared into his cart, and rolls it down the right-side aisle.

Hecomes to a stop at his favorite section. Written above the display racks and cupboards is ‘Jazz’. When he’d started here three months ago, while he'd been impressed the store's collection was better than others he'd come across, the section had been smaller and in desperate need to of a wider range of artists. After showing his extensive knowledge about jazz and blues music had been one of the reason’s he’d been hired by he and Kana’s manager.

Aside from the usual roles in customer services, he’d been tasked with refurbished the store a little, putting up posters for bands and music artists on the walls and redoing the titles over each genre section. While doing the latter task, he had to withhold the temptation to write every genre name upside down – he’d tried to argue it would make them stand out from other stores, but backed down when Kana protested against the idea, saying ti would confuse customers.

The jazz section was his unofficial space in the whole store, the one where he got to arrange it as he wanted. The entire row against the wall has a wide variety of artists, from the famous to the up and coming to local talent. He goes to the where the rest of Casiopea’s discography is and clears a space for the vinyls.

The bell rings again. Kana greets their new customer from the counter and offers assistance. Judging from the voice that thanks her, the person is elderly.

Shinji doesn’t listen to the rest, but as he makes his way down the middle aisle to stack some vinyls and CDs in the ‘Rock’ section, the older man remains in his peripheral. He takes out the box, balancing it on the rack with his arm over the top, and unloads the vinyls two at a time into an empty space with the others. He frowns at the sensation in the back of his mind; something nags in the back of his mind, begging him to look at the man.

The bell rings again. This time by the sounds of it, it’s one of their regulars, a young woman who’s name doesn’t remember. She and Kana chatter away, discussing the weather and family. It’s so ordinary, so far away from all of the worlds he’s ever known. He hasn’t been in the Soul Society for decades, and yet there are times like now when it feels like only yesterday he was a captain.

With all the vinyls stacked in, he begins to lift the almost empty box back into the cart. However, his arm bumps into someone, clattering the records inside. Shinji turns to apologize, but his throat closes up involuntarily when he sees it’s the older man from before.

“Oh, sorry, please excuse…” The old man trails off.

Shinji frowns, that nagging sensation getting stronger now that he has a closer look at the man. He’s not as old as he thought. His hair is greying, but there’s still some dark hair on the top of his head and in his thick eyebrows. Wrinkles ring around his eyes and the ends of his mouth, but they aren’t deep, only just beginning to show more prominently. Behind his glasses, the man’s eyes are dark brown, and widened with probably the same strange feeling of familiarity as Shinji is experiencing.

Then, when the man tries to speak again, and his brows furrow into a frown, it hits Shinji.

He nearly has to bite his tongue from saying the man’s name aloud. “No harm done,” he somehow manages to say without any of the spiking nerves thrumming through him.

He tries to remain calm as he continues stacking the vinyls in, but he can feel the man’s – Keiji Mimura’s -- lingering gaze on him, even as he turns and pretends to browse the albums in front of him.

He has to get out of this fast. He can hear the cash register going; Kana must be ringing up the regular, which means she’ll be free any second now. He hoists the box back into the cart, planning to head back to the counter, then offer to take over the register for Kana. She’d go out on to floor, probably keep Keiji distracted and try to sell him some obscure rock album she likes. If he ends up buying the album, Kana will likely keep the conversation going all the way to register, get Shinji to move aside so she can ring Keiji up, and then he’ll be gone from the store, and Shinji’s life again.

Shinji doesn’t even make it three steps when Keiji speaks up behind him. “…Hirako-san?”

Shinji has no choice but to stop and turn around. In the face of the man’s shocked expression, Shinji somehow manages a smile. “Excuse me? Did you say something.” It sounds lame even to his own ears.

The man shakes his head. “Forgive me, it’s just…you look and sound like someone I used to know.”

It takes everything in Shinji to not drop the smile, but even then, the corners of his mouth twitch. How to get out of this?

He and the other Visoreds had managed to keeps their identities a secret up until now, switching jobs every few years, never getting close to any coworkers and never revealing anything about their personal lives. They mostly find work outside of Karakura Town in the major cities, countryside towns, and to a smaller extent the towns that surrounded Karakura. The commutes were a pain, but they needed to make a living and not expose themselves as being ‘ageless’ to local residents. This was his first job in Karakura Town, and it had partly been out of desperation when he couldn’t get another anywhere else.

He can dismiss Keiji, just treat this as an awkward encounter with an elderly man who had a case of mistaken identity. It happens, more often than he realized before being forced into the World of the Living.

It’s what he should do.

Later, as he's walking back to the warehouse and then while being lectured by the other Visoreds after telling them about his day, he will reflect on this moment where he chose to do something far more troublesome for himself.

Shinji’s widens his eyes, pretending to come to a realisation. “Ah! Wait. I think I understand your confusion.” He chuckles and shakes his head to himself for effect, leaving the older man bewildered. “I’m terribly sorry, sir,” Shinji continues. “Did you used to work with Hirako Shinji?”

“Y-Yes!” Keiji stammers out.

“Ah, ya see, he’s my father. I’m his son.”

The older man blinks, briefly scanning Shinji from head to toe. “He never said anything about children,” he murmurs under his breath.

Shinji pretends he didn’t hear it, remaining rooted in place, grin plastered wide over his face and a fisted hand on his hip. Seeing the man’s unfaltering skepticism, he bows slightly and holds his hand out to him. “I’m Hirako…Mako.”

Of all the names! He purses his lips and continues to stare at the ground, hard, as he inwardly begs, Please don’t think too much on it, please don’t think to much on it, Keiji-san, don’t think --

After a beat, the older man bows and shakes Shinji’s hand. “I’m Mimura Keiji. Forgive me for before, it’s just that you look so much like Hirako Shinji – your father, I meant.”

“That’s fine. I’ve gotten that quite a bit, actually. Everyone’s always saying I look like my old man.”

That gets a huff of a chuckle out Keiji; Shinji can’t tell whether it’s due to the comment, how informally he’d spoken, or how the way he spoke was identical to his 'father'. It's probably the latter.

Keiji lets go of Shinji’s hand and they both straighten back up. The store bell rings, briefly drawing Shinji’s attention to Kana. To his chagrin she doesn’t look his way, instead continuing her chat with their regular as she makes her purchases.

“I worked with your father a long time ago.” Keiji explains. “We were coworkers”

Shinji keeps his grin small as he returns his focus back to his old coworker. “Where did you work with him? The old man’s had a lot of jobs across his life.”

Keiji smiles. “So he said. We used to work at Yodobashi Camera together.”

“Ah yeah! He was a sales clerk there. He barely knew a thing about camera’s when he started, huh?”

Another huff of a chuckle broadens the old man's smile. “He learned on the job. I was no expert at the time by any means, but he even had to learn which button to press to take a picture.”

Shinji chortles, both from the memory and the embarrassment of those years. He’d been the World of the Living for several decades by that point. He’d known about cameras but was so concerned with training to control his Visored abilities and stay afloat money-wise he hadn’t ever learned about some of the most basic things for humans.

“He was all right with the other technology of course,” Keiji continues. “We often had shifts together. Every now and then we went for drinks at ‘The Golden Cup’ with everyone else.”

Despite himself, Shinji can’t help but grin wider as nostalgia flutters in his chest. He and the other Visoreds tried to maintain a certain distance between themselves and the cowrokers in whatever job they worked in. Regardless, on rare occasions, he’d indulge himself and go drinking with his coworkers. He did it more often with the employees of Yodobashi Camera than in any other job, and he’d never had a bad night out with them. They were a good bunch of hard workers who knew how to party even harder afterwards -- or at least as much as they could given that they all needed to wake up and go to work the next day.

“I -- He mentioned that too,” Shinji eventually says. “He always came home in a good mood after those nights, tripping over his feet."

Keiji gives a nervous snort. "I must admit, I did worry about how much he drank sometimes."

Shinji did too. He recalls the concerned pinch of Keiji's brows when he was about to leave, wobbling on his feet. He rarely got drunk, and he didn't always understand why he chose to get drunk with those guys.

"Nah, he was always sharp," Shinji says, "even when drunk. Heck, he could even play mahjong while drunk and still win." He let's Keiji's chuckle fill in the air for a pause. "He used to play that game with his coworkers too, right?”

“Ah, yes! I used to enjoy our games.” Keiji sighs. “It’s been a long time since then, and Yodobashi Camera has certainly grown bigger and bigger over the years.”

“Ya can’t escape them these days, huh? Feels like they’re at every railway station in the major cities.” Shinji leans back against the vinyls racks, trying to appear casual. “So, do you live in Karakura Town now?”

“Oh, no. My wife and I are visiting our daughter. I assume you live here?”

“Yeah, I moved here about a year ago.” A lie, so natural sounding from years of saying many more like it before.

He can sense the next question coming – something to effect of ‘Do your parents live here as well?’ – so he quickly continues, “It’s a small town, but there’s a few places I can recommend for visitors if your daughter hasn’t taken you to them already.”

“We only arrived two days ago. We visited one of the shrines with her yesterday. My wife and daughter are having breakfast at a cafe nearby. We’re planning to walk around the shopping district this afternoon.”

“All good ideas. There’s also Tsubakidai Park, it’s always nice to walk around there. There’s also a music performance happening there two days from now, local bands mostly.”

“Is there now?”

Shinji points to the most recent poster taped up next to the store’s entrance. He briefly glances at Kana, who had gone back to pricing the vinyls, but she’d stopped at some point, staring at their exchange. She eyes him with a raised brow. Her expression is asking him ‘Is everything okay?’

“See that there?” Shinji says, keeping Keiji distracted long enough to wink at Kana in reassurance. “It’s got the details for it if you’re interested.”

With a shrug and a good-natured roll of her eyes, she returns to her task.

Keiji nods. “I’ll be sure to look at it on my way out.” Turning back, he looks over Shinji shoulder. “Speaking of, I came here to get an album I was told would be here. I believe it will be under jazz.”

“Yeah? Which one?” Shinji asks as he leads Keiji to the ‘Jazz’ section.

“It’s often hard to find, but Umei -- oh, she's my daughter -- thought I should try my luck here. She said this store often sells music from older artists. ‘Retro’, she calls it.”

“She ain’t wrong.”

Keiji frowns thoughtfully when they stop in front of the rows of CDs and vinyls. He let’s out a sudden, ironic laugh. “Actually, now that I think about it, it’s from a singer your father introduced me to.”

Shinji already knew, and his heart squeezed for a moment. “Oh, yeah? Which one?”

“Agawa Yasuko.”

The memory comes to him. He’d gone drinking with Keiji and his coworkers, and they ended up discussing films they love. When the topic of The Bloodthirsty Trilogy came up, Shinji brought up how Yasuko Agawa had gone on to make music since then. Only Keiji was interested, and took up Shinji’s suggestion to go buy her debut album. He hadn’t seen someone as smitten with a jazz album as Keiji (and apparently his wife) was. They discussed her singing the next day during lulls at work, and for the first time in a while, Shinji felt relaxed, briefly forgetting the troubles that always weigh on his mind.

“Well, her albums are just here,” Shinji says, gesturing to the left-side display racks. “Were you after CD or vinyl?”

“CD,” Keiji says while steps around him. He bends over the CDs and thumbs through them. “You have most of her albums here.”

“It’s like your daughter said, we’re retro here.”

He takes out a copy of ‘All Right With Me’ with a grin. “This is the one! I listened to it last year, but haven’t been able to find a copy of it until today.”

“It’s a good one, she’s always had a great voice. I can recommend any of her albums, they're all good.”

“Ah, are you a fan of jazz music too? Just like your father?”

“Yeah, like my old man, jazz is one of my favourite genres. It never gets old.”

“He said the same thing.”

Then, because one of half of him is now stuck in the past, Shinji says, “My father mentioned you had a wife, a daughter, and a son. They doing okay?”

Keiji hums in ascent. “Yes, very well. I’m not sure if your father told you, but my wife, Kyoko, works in a bakery. She has worked in the same place for over twenty years now, and got promoted to manager five years in.”

“That’s incredible!”

Keiji nods firmly and returns to flicking through the albums. “She’s always been determined. Umei is a newspaper reporter for the local news here, and my son, Naoya, is an accountant in Tokyo.” He grins. “He’ll be having our first grandchild soon. My wife is eager to be there in the weeks before the baby is born, she already has gifts planned for him. He’s a lot like his mother, determined and hard-working. I have no doubt he’ll be a good father.”

Shinji has the sudden urge to reminisce with this man. To talk about their days in the store, where Shinji learned how to use a camera, and about their regular customers. To show he remembered the little details Keiji had told him about his life outside of work – how Kyoko would come to visit them with baked goods when she knew her husband hadn’t packed a lunch, or how happy he was about Umei’s first day of school, or when he was pleasantly surprised by Naoya’s sudden obsession with the new ‘Astro Boy’ anime. To talk about the music from that time, and see if he’d taken on other jazz and blues recommendations he’d made.

At Shinji’s silence, Keiji’s grin transforms into a bashful smile. “You’ll have to forgive me. I must seem like an old man rambling about my family and reminiscing about the past.”

“Nah, it’s fine. I get it. My old man worked at Yodobashi Camera over twenty years ago, and if I saw an old coworker, even if it was their kid, I’d want to talk about it.”

"Well, thank you then," Keiji says, “How is your father these days? I probably should've asked that first.”

Shinji knew it was coming, hovering over them from the moment Keiji recognised him without realising. Even so, the pit of his stomach plummets along with his grin. He’s at another crossroads.

He takes in the man’s features again. How the wrinkles gather deeper around his eyes and around his mouth as he speaks. The fact he wears glasses now, resting over the faint scar on his nose he got when he broke it during a high school baseball game – he’d tumbled after getting homebase and cracked it on the ground, Shinji recalls; it'd been a drunken confession made on one of the night he'd gone out with the coworkers.

He thought noticing age couldn’t affect him anymore. But seeing someone from his past, someone who he got along well with and truly wished the best for, it strikes something in him. He’d been a Shinigami for centuries, ferrying hundreds of Souls like him to the Soul Society. One day, Keiji will be met by a Shinigami when he passes on, and forget the life he’d lived by the time he gets to the Soul Society.

It’s then SHinji realises he's been living in this world for too long. That detachment, that knowledge that he was not like humans, has eroded over time, crumbling bit by bit, leaving only a thin slab behind. Hiyori was right; he should’ve left his job at Yodobashi Camera sooner. It's been one of the longer jobs he'd had, and he recalls trying to stuff down the bitterness of leaving it behind when he left on his last day.

It hadn't been right to drag Keiji along like this, for his own selfish whims of wanting to relieve the past. So he does the right thing this time.

Shinji looks off to the side. “He’s gone. So is my mother.”

In the pause, Keiji remains frozen in place, lost for words. “Oh, I…I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to bring up…I had no idea.”

“It was three years ago. He and my mother were involved in a car accident.” Like all his lies, it comes out smooth and natural, like he is the son reflecting on grief he's only just overcome. He hates it.

Keiji shakes his head in disbelief. “That's awful, truly. I really am sorry.”

“Thank you, but you don’t have to be. I’m sorry you found out this way.”

Keiji is silent again, staring at the ground for a long moment before raising his head. There’s a faint mist across his eyes. “Your father and I only knew each other at work, and on the occasions he came to drink with the rest of us. Even so, I could always tell he was a good man. He worked hard, but he always had time to help others around the store too. Not just his coworkers, but also the customers.” His smile faintly returns. “I always wondered what happened to him after he left the store. I always thought, though, that wherever he went, he’d do good work.”

Keiji always saw the good in others, and in a time where Shinji still hadn’t fully processed Aizen’s betrayal, he’d been wary of the man at first. He'd reminded him of his seated officer Genji Isawa: a hard worker who could bring a smile and laugh to anyone who met him. Maybe this is why he'd eventually came around to being a little less guarded with him.

In his last year with the store, it was only then he’d begun to take an interest in his personal life and the lives of his coworkers, whether it was the rowdy Takahiro, or the quiet but hard working Kaneshiro. In some ways, now that he thought about it, Keiji might’ve been the closest thing he’d had to a friend in many years. Still kept at a distance, still lied to, but still an echo of a friend, one he probably would've had in another life.

He can't tell him any of this, not without it sounding like he truly knew him rather than a son telling a father's old coworker what his old man thought of him.

He'd put what little detachment he still had between him and his past, but now it came bleeding through like a bruise. If only he knew he was speaking these words directly to him and not to the son he thought he was.

“Thank you,” Shinji says quietly, still unable to meet Keiji’s eyes completely. “He’d have appreciated your words a lot.”

A sombre awkwardness settles over them, only broken when the store bell rings. A young couple come in, with the woman goig straight to the ‘New Releases’ rack. Shinji looks to Kana, who now unabashedly just stared at the scene unfolding in the corner of the shop. She’s only distracted away when the man who just entered asks for assistance.

Keiji bows. “Thank you for your assistance and for listening to my ramblings today, Hirako-san. I’ll go purchase this now.” He rises, but doesn’t move to the counter. He hesitates to say something else, lips parting and closing. "And I'm truly sorry for your loss. You have my condolences."

Shinji can only nod. This will be the last time he ever sees Keiji. It’s just as well, given the emotions and reactions he’d undergone today. Who knew how he’d react to meeting some of his other old coworkers from his other jobs. If nothing, this has reiterated why he shouldn’t get close to any of the humans, not even asking them about or taking an interest in their personal lives.

But some part of him, a wistful part that he’d thought was buried under the cynicism and hurt of Aizen’s betrayal, urges him to do one last thing. His detachment tries to block it, but it shine through, clutching at his heart.

“Did my father ever tell you what his favorite record was?” Shinji asks.

Keiji frowns slightly and shakes his head. “He might have, but I’m sorry, I can’t remember.”

“Well, to be more accurate, it’s one of his favorite records.” Shinji takes a step backwards and scans the lines of CDs until he finds the one he needs. He fishes it out of the rack and presents it to Keiji. A copy of ‘Scenery’. “He loved it from the moment he heard it. I still have his vinyl copy of it.”

Keiji is slow to take the CD. “I’ve always been more into pop music, really. Agawa Yasuko is the only jazz singer I liked.”

“It came out in 1976, the same year he started working for Yodobashi Camera. He said that while listening to it, it’d remind of his life at the time, including his work and his coworkers. He always associated it with good memories.”

Keiji nods, and his smile returns, albeit with a sadder edge to it. “I’m glad, then.” As Shinji holds his hand out, planning to take the album and put it back, Keiji raises his gaze back to him. “In that case, I’ll be buying this too.”

Shinji let out a chocked chuckle. “Whoa, hey, I wasn’t trying to make a sale –”

“I know, but I want to buy this now.”

Keiji had to be guided by his sentimentality right now, this isn’t fair. Did he feel the need to listen to this to honor him? “Hey, look, it’s really not –”

“If you recommend it, and if your father would’ve recommend it to me, then I have no doubt I will enjoy it. I’m sure my wife would too. She also likes Agawa-san’s music, and a few of the other recommendations your father made.”

Somehow, that lightens the load on his heart. He even manages a grin. “Then in that case, it’s on me.”

“What? Oh, no, please, there’s no need –”

Shinji holds up a hand to silence him. “It’s no trouble. Think of it as a gift.”

Even as they walked to the counter, Keiji fretted about the idea. Kana is ringing up the couple, but as the woman counts out the money, she eyes Shinji and Keiji as they approach.

After serving the couple, Keiji comes up the counter and Shinji digs his wallet out of his pants pocket.

“He’s buying the Agawa album, the Fuuki Ryo one is on me.”

“Really, you don’t have to do this,” Keiji insists.

Kana only shrugs as she takes Shinji’s money. “If you’re sure.” She turns to Keiji with a smile. “Good choices by the way.”

Keiji hands her the albums and his money. While waiting for Kana to count up his change, Keiji reads the poster for the upcoming music festival. “I’ll tell Kyoko and Umei about this. I have a feeling they’ll be interested.”

“It’s looking to be a good line up this year,” Kana says while handing him his change and bagging his purchases. “They have a lot more local acts. It’s always good to support them.”

“Yes, it is.” He bows to her after taking the bag from her. “Thank you very much.”

She bows in return. “Have a good day, sir.”

Keiji then bows to Shinji. “And thank you so much, Hirako-san. I’m glad I got to meet you. Please, pay my respects when you next see your father and mother.”

Shinji bows in return. “Likewise, Mimura-san. I’m sure my old man would’ve been happy to see you today.”

Both rising, Keiji smiles broadly, before turning and leaving the store. There’s a still silence after the bell above the door rings. A few heartbeats later, Kana finally speaks. “What was that about?”

“One of my dad’s old coworkers,” Shinji says, ungluing himself from his spot and going back to get his cart. From across the store, he says. “My old man and I look a lot alike, so he thought I was him.”

“Huh,” Kana huffs. “That sounds like it’s be awkward.”

“It was, but…I’m glad I got to see him.”

Kana’s brows frown slightly, but she doesn’t say anything about him ‘seeing’ rather than ‘meeting’ him. “So long as you’re feeling okay about it.”

“Yeah, I am.”

The rest of the day continues as usual until closing time. The sky has turned to amber, with the last of the sun peaking out over the horizon, by the time Shinji and Kana steps out of the store.

After locking the front door, Kana spins to him and hitches her bag over her shoulder. She jerks a thumb in the direction of Karakura’s main shopping districts. “You want to go for a drink?”

She always offers, and just like every other time, Shinji shakes his head. “Nah, gotta get home.”

Kana shrugs. “Suit yourself.” Unlike other times, concern flickers across her expression. He’d tried to hide the sombreness that’d settled into him after Keiji left, but maybe he hadn't been convincing. Maybe he's losing his tough.

Kana bows. “Thanks for your hard work today. See you tomorrow.”

Shinji does the same in return. “See you tomorrow.”

They part ways, going in opposite directions.

Autumn is in the air, crispy in the wind that brushes against him as he walks the quiet streets of Karakura Town. The streetlight pop on, beaming down over him and the those either returning home or heading for a night on the town in the shopping district. He can blend in with everyone, dressed like them and walking like them, but never be one of them.

He never wanted to be, still doesn't, but like them, he'd let that small part of him, that sentimental part of him, get the better of him.

As he comes to the quieter part of town, getting closer to the warehouse, he contemplates quitting his current job. It's only a passing thought, one that he dismisses when he considers his and the Visoreds financial situation. Kisuke had been generous over the years for someone struggling almost just as much as them, but they can't rely on him.

They needed to make their own path back to the Soul Society. Back to Aizen, to take him down once and for all. The old fire returns in Shinji's, a determination he'd used to fuel his detachment form humans.

But he's been here for so long, more than a century now. He's been alive for too long, and been around humans for too long.

Their lives are so short; one moment they're here, and the next, they're meeting a Shinigami or another agent of death. Yet, he'd come to like some of the human's he'd interacted with over the decades. Keiji is clearly one of them, and for all of the grief today had caused him, he still can't deny he'd been glad to see him. But now he'd another person in his past, one he'll never see again.

And one day Kana will have to be one of those people too. He could still visit the store for next few years and get away with it, but there will come a time where he’ll have to stop visiting. And even then, he’ll have to watch himself more in public; Karakura is a big place, but there’s still a decent chance he’d run into her on the streets in the years to come.

When that time comes, she might wonder where he went, what he’s up to, or maybe she won’t. Maybe she’ll unintentionally spare him and move away, going back further north to be closer to her family and finally confess to that one highschool friend she sometimes calls on her breaks and still lives in her hometown. Maybe she’ll use the money she’s saved over the year for singing and guitar lessons, then start that rock band she’s always dreamed of and leave Karakura to go touring.

And maybe none of that happens, and she stays here until the end.

It’ll be a shame when it happens. Despite how small the store’s original jazz section had been, he always loved the store’s collection. He hadn’t found another like it in all his time in the World of the Living.