Encounters

Aima stopped in front of the shrine, bowing respectfully and muttering something under her breath, before walking in.

She climbed on top of the largest building, sat down, and flipped through the wallet.

$15....some change....

She stopped. in the section that she just came to, there was a photograph of a little girl with black-tipped brown hair and vibrant green eyes running through a village.

"Aww, she's so cute." Aima thought to herself.

This was what she was looking for. People almost always carry photos of their relations in their wallet.

She wanted to find out more about her, know why she was the way she was.

Aima smirked to herself.

"Then again, that's probably what people think about me. They want to know. Understand. Connect. Rather unfair of me, huh?" She thought.

She was silent for a long time, the soft afternoon breeze gently playing with her messy brown hair, her Amber-yellow eyes locked on the photograph.

"Fine." She decided out loud. "If she finds me...I guess I'll share a bit of myself with her." She said to herself, her words swept away on the wind.

"AIMA-CHAAAAAAAAN!!!!"

Narakun's voice echoed through the shrine's hollow, empty aura. She came bolting around a corner with unrealistic speed, then charged Aima, tackling her with suprising strength for such a small, almost gaunt figure.

Narakun, normally not a violent person, hauled Aima up by her scarlet seater hood, staring her in those amber, animal-like eyes.

"Explaination. NOW." she said viciously. "I'm not all that mad about the wallet thing. I can do without cash around here. But dishonesty, 'specially comin from you, is NOT TOLERABLE." said Narakun roughly, shoving her back.

She smirked, knowing that if Aima tried to turn and run, she would be face-to-face with her club of her Marowak, the fangs of her Mightyena, Houndoom, and Umbreon, the claws of her Flygon, and the scythe of her absol-- all of which surrounded them.

Narakun couldn't help but feel a bit of malicious joy as she said: "So, Koinu-Mimi, whutcha gonna do now?"

(( -sigh- I know it's comin'. You're gonna call me Yogore Josei, ain't ya?))

((Well I CAN'T call you Yogore Josei anymore, now CAN I? ))

Aima was silent for the longest time, searching Narakun's eyes, matching her vibrant green power with her amber-yellow calmness.

The wind carried their silence through the shrine grounds to the graveyard behind the shrine, adding to the affect.

Aima closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them again, more intense than ever.

"I am sorry for my dis-loyalty." She said calmly, staring back into Narakun's eyes.

"We should work together since we're both teachers now. I was...curious, just as you are of me. I wouldn't put it past you to do the same thing, if you wanted to."

Aima pulled herself away, gently, yet with unexpected strength.

Aima handed the wallet to Narakun, eyes locked to Narakun's

"If you wish it, I will make things even between us." Aima said with an almost un noticable hint of politeness in her voice.

Narakun was puzzled.

"I honestly don't know what you're talking about," she said. "I just hope that you don't mean tackling me like I did to you"

Narakun tried to keep her gaze steady, but her eyes betrayed a bit of fear as she remembered Aima's strength from previous encounters.

Narakun took back the wallet catiously, keeping her eyes on Aima. Then she opened it, looking to see how much Aima had stolen.

Suddenly, she froze. Her eyes widened, then narrowed.

I keep track of where everything of mine is, she thought. I know that my photograph was in the second pocket on the left side of my wallet. Now it's in the first. My memory has never failed me. Aimaaa....

Narakun looked up at Aima-chan, glaring. "What were you doing with this?" she said. Her body was trembling with anger.

"You're exactly right. Since we're comrades here, we should act like it. So what's with the probing? Are you literally asking me for trouble?"

Narakun's body quaked with sheer anger. Her Umbreon snarled nervously, worried and afraid for her trainer.

Aima kept focus, remorseful in her mind.

"Aima, you damn mutt." A voice echoed in her head.

She was remembering something someone close to her had said to her many years ago.

"You never think of the consequences, do you?"

She quickly came out of her trip down memory lane, when her Miroku, Charizard released itself, sensing danger.

He brought himself up to his full height, which was a whopping 13 feet--more than twice the size of your average 5'07 Charizard. Aima never even knew how he got so large.

He released a deep rumbling growl in warning to any who approached Aima.

Aima turned on Miroku, her rage having been suddenly released like a spring.

"MIROKU--" But that was all that you could understand in you were a human, since she said the rest in Pokémon.

Miroku was silenced, obediently listening to his trainer.

There was silence after she finished her rant.

Nobody had expected her outburst, let alone to have it said in the Pokémon Language.

Aima spoke.

"I feel perhaps...we shouldn't keep too many secrets from one another, if we are to work together....I am most likely wrong, for I know that some secrets are just meant to be kept."

Her eyes were shaded by her hair, the setting sun causing a glare from Aima's glasses.

Miroku made no noise, concerned for his trainer.

Narakun stepped back a few paces. "Uh, er, Aima-chaaaan... Is everything okaaay?!"

Now Narakun was shaking, not with anger, but slightly with fear. Miroku had acted very strangely, and then Aima had yelled at him -already not very typical, if Miroku really thought that something was wrong- and she scolded him in Pokemon, no less.

Also, just before Miroku's outburst, there had been a very far-away look in Aima's eyes...

Then Narakun felt something... Nothing in particular, but something wasn't right... There air smelled unnatural, and Narakun's nose had never failed her...

She shook off the feeling. We're in a shrine, for God's sake, she thought. Creepy things are supposed to happen her. Creepy things...

Narakun straightened up and said, "I suppose that you're right. But let's talk somewhere else. No need to be out here in the shrine--" she said that word with a slight shiver. "When it's getting cool and dark out here."

Narakun definetely didn't mind the shrine at all in the day, but at night, things just didn't seem right... Anywhere except for there after the sun went down.

Aima looked up, her anger having subsided.

"Very well. Where are you the most comfortable in the dark hours?" Aima said, almost distant again, for she pondered something in her mind.

"Miroku knows more that anyone that I can handle a situation like that. Why would he suddenly leap out in warning--" She realized something.

"Perhaps....it wasn't against Narakun's Pokémon. Maybe....it was something else. Something much more formidable." Her mind returned to the moment at hand.

Aima looked back to Narakun, eyes clear and focused.

Narakun looked embaressed. "Uh... I dunno. To be honest, I think any where but here would be fine... This place gives me the chills after sunset..." she said.

Suddenly, Takibi (her Houndoom) flinched at something, and looked around nervously. He whined pitifully and inched closer to Narakun along with her other pokemon.

That's weird, Narakun thought. Really weird. Takibi is more fearless than any of my pokemon. I've never known him to be afraid of anything...

Narakun thought for a moment, her luminous green eyes seeming to dull for a minute.

"Uh, I'm fine anywhere you wanna go. Like I said, anywhere but here. I'm starting to get this reeaally eerie feeling..." Narakun stuttered.

Narakun froze. Her heart beat faster. She was having a flashback from the depths of her memory...

She was sitting in her room, talking with Mikala cheerily as their Eevees sat in their laps, playing with each other.
"What do you want Mikala to evolve into, Mikala?" Narakun said. She giggled, because her twin sister had given her Eevee the same name as herself, having been a bit younger when she named it. "Oh, I dunno," said Mikala lazily. "There's almost too many choices to choose from. I've been thinking maybe Flareon or Espeon. I like 'em both a lot."
"I know what I want Naraku to evolve into. I've known ever since I've had her I've known that she would become an Umbreon. I just had this feelin', ya know?" Said Narakun, smiling.
The door to their room opened and--

Narakun shook her head like she had woken up from a dream. I wouldn't appreciate reliving that moment, thank you very much, she thought to herself.

A voice echoed inside her head: Stick around here and I can let you 'relive' a lot more past times than that...

Narakun looked around. She thought she saw a shadow disappear at the edge of the shrine boundaries, where it met the Harusame Forest. Okami, her Mightyena, growled in direction that she had looked, obviously having seen the shadow too.

Narakun muttered something under her breath that even her pokemon standing right next to her couldn't hear her.

Narakun walked slowly, cautiously, toward where she had seen the shadow. Something in her mind was beckoning her into the woods...

((Umm, the only forests are Harusame and Hoki... I suppose I could add a small forest just for the shrine though...))

Aima's eyes suddenly turned to the roof of the building where she was sitting earlier. The Gengar statues holding stone balls placed on each side of the roof were gone.

The shadow Narakun had seen beckoned Narakun closer, in silent greeting.

Suddenly, an unfamiliar voice rang in Aima's head.

"OUT OF THE WAY, DAMN MORTALS!" It exlaimed, sounding as if it belonged to a man.

Without really knowing what she was doing, Aima ran forward, tackled Narakun, and landed ontop or her in the bushes, just in time to avoid a giant red Shadow Ball attack that zoomed past them, directly hitting the shadow.

Suddenly, a red Gengar landed on it's feet, a serious look in it's vibrant green eyes.



"You don't need the company of the living, go back to your grave with all the rest!" He said, obviously displeased.

The shadow calmed down, and slowly vanished, quietly and peacefully.

Then another Gengar, this time Blue with bright yellow eyes landed next to him, speaking in a woman's voice.



"Don't be too hard on them Gotenma, they are only curious." She said.

"I'm not mad at them Soriu, I'm mad at the damn mortals who aroused them this much!" He said violently.

He marched over to Aima and Narakun, and pulled them both up un-gracefully.

"You two!" He said.

"What the HELL d'you think yer doing, giving of all that hi-powered spiritual energy?!? You think it's cool makin' us have to take physical form?!?! Well? DO YA?!" He shouted forcefully.

Soriu stood behind them, eyes closed and shaking her head.

Aima was silent, still recovering from what had just happened.

((I know that, I thought that maybe the Harusame Forest brushed the border of the Shrine. I dunno.))

Narakun shook her head as though waking up from a trance (which she actually might've), and looked around. She stared at the Gengars and her jaw dropped.

"Okay, I dunno wut your problem is, but as far as I know, the shrine isn't some holy place that only Dao can come to without being attacked by some freak Gengar who has major issues!" she stuttered.

Narakun was puzzled. She'd never liked ghosts, but this strange mystery intrigued her. "So...just who are you and what right do you have to attack us outta nowhere and call us dang mortals, eh?"

((It does. But you called it Hakusai, so I got mixed up.))

"Attacked? Do you know what we just did? We just saved your miserable little lives! We guard this shrine from wondering idiots such as yourselves!" Gotenma yelled, suddenly levitating up yo Narakun's eye-level, and poking her upper chest with his finger.

"Gotenma, please, we're in a graveyard..." Soriu sighed.

She shook her head, then pulled Gotenma down back to the ground.

Gotenma, glared at her, but didn't argue.

"Perhaps a proper introduction is required." She said, eyes closed.

She then opened her bright-yellow eyes, which shimmered like gems in the darkness.

"I am Soriu, guard of the mind. And this is Gotenma, guard of the spirit. We are the guards of this shrine."

Gotenma folded his arms, and with a great "Hpmh!", he turned his back to them.

"I hope you'll excuse my accomplice, to put it bluntly, his fuse is even shorter than Miss Aima here." She said, jesturing ot Aima.

Aima looked annoyed for a moment, but then bowed respectfully to Soriu and Gotenma.

Soriu bowed back, smiling again, while Gotenma steamed off in the back.

Aima then paused for a moment.

"Uhh.....How...How'd you know my name?" She said, straightening up.

Soriu straightened herself, and looked up at Aima.

"We heard the whole thing. Or at least, I did." Poor Gotenma had to read your spiritual energy to know what was happening. It's not really an easy thing to do. She said, smiling.

Gotenma looked angry again, but he let it go.

((whoops... sorry!! >_<()))

"You? Save our 'misereable' lives?" Narakun said doubtfully. "Yeah, right."

Gotenma quivered with rage. "You would never even know, pathetic, stupid mortal!"

Narakun giggled. "Ya know, you look kinda like Santa Claus, all red and green like that..."

Gotenma burst. "Just shaddup!!" Narakun couldn't help but smile at the childish way he acted.

Narakun leaned toward Aima and whispered, "Ya know, Soiru was right. He has a worse temper than anyone I know."

"I HEARD THAT!!" Gotenma screamed.

((Sorry it's short. I might come edit it later. Gotta go. BTW, Gotenma ==> Hehe...))

Aima sighed. All the noise was giving her a head-ache.

"I'm surprised though..." Soriu started, looking down the path which lead back to the academy.

Aima was instantly curious.

Soriu smiled politely.

"Well, the thing is...have you met an old man in grey monk's robes at all?" She asked calmly.

Aima pondered it a bit, then suddenly she remembered someone who fit that description

"Dao!" She said suddenly.

"Yeah, we've met him! Why do you ask?"

Soriu gave another small, polite smile.

"Ah, that means he's alright." She said.

"We always worry about him when he's left the shrine. He left about 5 days ago to go up the the academy, but he hasn't come back."

Aima pondered this again, then gasped and slapped her forehead.

"He's been standing in Hitorii's office all that time?!" She said, not addressing a person in general.

"Aww crap, that really bites! I feel sorry for the man!" She said, aggrivated with everyone who was interrupting him when he was just about to apply.

"..........Hitorii? That name.....that's Master Henjin's son." Soriu said, trailing off.

"What?" Gotenma was caught off guard when he heard Henjin's name.

Aima broke out of her sypathetic trance, and realised that Soriu had no idea that Hitorii was the new headmaster, let alone that there was a new headmaster at all.

"Ahh, Henjin?" Aima asked, now deeply curious.

"Henjin Yumemiru. He...He was that headmaster and founder of the academy. We...watched his funeral from the roof. We did see Hitorii, but we haven't seen him since.

Has...has he returned? Has he taken charge of the academy?" Soriu asked intently, yellow eyes intensely bright.

Aima didn't really know what to say...

"Well...I guess you could say that..." Narakun said. "The academy hasn't really even opened yet. We're still lookin' round for teachers who can work at the academy, but that ain't goin' so well. Just not enough people have applied yet for us to start accepting students..." Narakun said disappointedly.

Narakun seemed to have only just noticed Gotenma's reation to the name 'Henjin'.

"Uh... Did you know him? Henjin, I mean." Narakun asked inquisitively.

"Nunya bizness!" Gotenma replied angrily.

"Well, 'scuse me!" Narakun replied, in that 'Well-you're-just-a-jerk' voice.

Gotenma turned his back and pretended to be occupied with something.

"Hey, uh," Narakun asked. "What's up with him, Soiru? He's always so cold about everything..."

"Well, it's a bit difficult to explain..." Soiru said. She paused for a moment to think.

Gotenma muttered something and moved farther away.

"Gotenma..." Soiru struggled for the right words. "...is...sort of... well, different. I'm not exactly sure what else to say."

Narakun suddenly noticed how late it had gotten. She always liked to stay up late, but if she had been in her dorm she probably would've been asleep by now. The moon was high in the sky, illuminating the shrine in soft, gray light.

((I actually was gonna say it was a full moon, to make it kinda cool and spooky, but I remembered that Aima doesn't do so well in the full moon, so I'll leave that descision up to you))

((Go ahead, I don't mind. ;P))

Aima stepped into the shade of a near-by oak tree, which towered into the sky, covering a large section of the shrine grounds in shade.

She looked distracted. Distant. As if keeping busy in her mind.

Miroku, who was still out, came over to her and shaded her from the moonlight with his wing.

"Poor girl..." Soriu muttered, almost in-audible.

Gotenma was silent for as moment, before he said: "Forget it, I'm gonna go quiet the others before they get too wild." He said grumpily as he leapt off into the distance toward the graveyard.

Aima's ears twitched, and she turned her head in the direction of the lake.

She was, silent before saying: "I think we should go visit Mizu-san and Taru-san."

Her hearing seemed to be much more acute all the sudden.

Soriu smiled. "Friends of yours?" She said.

Aima looked at Soriu, her eyes more wild and animal-like than ever.

"...Sort of." She said.

Soriu nodded. "Well, I don't want to keep you." She said politely.

Narakun was puzzled. ((I don't think she could exactly have read Aima's profile, since this is role-play))

She looked back and forth from Aima to Soiru.

"Oh, um, right, mebbe we should," stuttered Narakun. "Uh, thanks for your great hospitality, ma'am." She said, nodding at Soiru.

"Not a problem at all. Come visit soon, if you like." Soiru said, almost cheerily.

"Uh, okay!" said Narakun.

Narakun didn't understand how Aima knew that Mizumi and Hotaru had gone to the lake, they had both left Hitorii's office long before Mizu-chan and Taru-chan.

As she started walking, she noticed how oddly Miroku was behaving. It was as if he thought that Aima-chan was allergic to moonlight. And Aima didn't react.

"Uh, comin'?" Narakun asked timidly.

Aima's dog-ears twitched as she heard a distant Gotenma griping with another exited ghost.

".....Yeah. Let's go." She said, not having eyes contact with Narakun as she walked away, bowing before she left, with Miroku still shading her with his wing.

---------------(Go to Mizumi's lake topic)