PSL Post - Athrun Zala and Yukari Takeba

[infinitejustice]

This post will be used for PSL threads between infinitejustice and evokeslovers.

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[infinitejustice]

[To call today "bizarre" was an utter understatement. Awaking in a house that isn't his own, to an urge to get to the laboratory of a man he'd never heard of, and receiving a creature he'd never heard of -- one with its tail on fire, no less. He hadn't exactly been generous with information, either -- all he had told Athrun was that he needed one of these for his own protection when walking through tall grass, and how battles work.

Prof. Oak had also mentioned there would be a girl his age around. So, he decides to ask around.

Now, when Yukari visits Oak and chooses her starter, he will mention that there was a young man her age who had just come buy and picked his own starter. If she wanted to look for him, he has chin-length blue hair and is wearing a black jacket.

She also might hear Athrun's voice as he's asking people for information. It sounds a lot like...well...like his voice.]

[evokeslovers]

[ Yukari wishes that she could say that this was the strangest thing that had happened to her. But after everything involving the shadows and the Dark Hour, well...

Okay. It was still the weirdest thing that had happened to her. But not by much. Still, waking up in a house that wasn't her own, and being told to go speak to someone named Professor Oak was still pretty strange. Especially since she ended up with some sort of frog-plant thing that was cuddling up against her as they walked around the small town. She's not sure of how she feels about having the little guy fight to protect her though.

But those thoughts are put out of her mind when she heard a voice while looking for the so-called guy with blue hair she was supposed to find. Because that voice was familiar. Way too familiar for her to ignore it.

She might be speaking before she even sees who it belongs to. ] Minato!

[ She hadn't really used his name all that much before, but she regrets it almost as soon as she sees who was actually talking. Because he wasn't Minato. Not by a long shot. Maybe he wouldn't pay attention to her at all, and she could just go off and feel like an idiot by herself. Yeah. That really sounded good right now. ]

[infinitejustice]

Huh?

[The name is unfamiliar to Athrun, but the shout caught his attention -- particularly since her voice sounds not unlike one of Athrun's old comrades from the wars. He turns his head and sees a girl, close to his age. Could this be the girl whom Oak was talking about?]

Was that directed at me? And did you by any chance meet with a scientist named Oak?

[Might as well get answers to both questions at once. At any rate, she clearly wasn't Miriallia. Additionally, Athrun is less soft-spoken than the young man Yukari used to know.]

[evokeslovers]

[ Yukari sighs, averting her eyes from him for a moment before she finally answers. ]

Yeah. Sorry. You just... sounded way too much like someone I used to know. [ Heck, you even have the same hair color and everything too. But it's that second part that keeps her here instead of running. ]

And... yeah. I did. I guess you're the guy that he told me about. You wouldn't happen to have any idea of what's going on here, would you?

[infinitejustice]

I understand. I had to do a double take, myself.

[He shakes his head.]

I wish I did. Unfortunately, all I've been able to figure is that we should head north. I don't know what to expect, but I don't think we'll find anything more in this town.

[evokeslovers]

... Wait, really? [ That was really weird. Him sounding like Minato was bad enough, but she sounded like someone he recognized too?

She frowns at his other statement though. This town did seem small. It's not like they had anything better to do. ]

Yeah. I guess. But didn't that Oak guy say that it was dangerous to go out there? Are you okay with going out that way if it's true?

[infinitejustice]

[Athrun nods. Who knows what question it was directed at.]

He said it's dangerous to go alone. With our own...er, "Pokémon," we should have protection. Additionally, two of us together should reduce the danger. There's safety in numbers, at least to a point.

But even if that wasn't the case, it's clear that we won't learn anything further in this town. I'd like to move on and see what we can find.

[evokeslovers]

... You're really taking the prospect of there being danger pretty lightly. [ Then again, it's not like Yukari knows much about him. For all she knew, he could be used to monsters all the time. She moves her hand to that... weird ball thing, and lets out her creature. Because, well... he was right. It probably wasn't a good idea to be walking around without it. ]

But yeah. It's not like we're going to find out anything here.

[ Her... pokémon, 'Bulbasaur' let out some sort of happy sounding noise. Before moving to nuzzle at her leg. ]

... Well, at least it likes me. Is yours as affectionate as this little guy?

[infinitejustice]

I'm afraid danger and I are already well-acquainted.

[It isn't a boast; rather, a simple statement of fact -- one he's not particularly thrilled with. But such is the life of a soldier.

For the moment, he watches Yukari's Bulbasaur, then opens his own Poké Ball and lets his Charmander out. It immediately stretches its arms, then hops up and down a bit.]

A little early to tell, I think. More than anything, he seems to want action.

I certainly hope he'll be enough. From what I was told, he really only knows two abilities, and only one is an actual attack. The other is a debuff.

[infinitejustice]

[It's the following day after their arrival. Athrun and Yukari had first gone shopping for food and supplies, which led to the first thing they learned: training Pokémon was shockingly inexpensive. In fact, an adolescent could do it on a weekly allowance if they weren't interested in traveling.

Then, the next morning, they visited the Pokémon Trainers' School. Sure enough, the students were children, but the teacher was happy to talk to the two of them outside of class. He gave them some important information about training, what the Gym Challenge was, and what the ultimate goal of a trainer was -- namely, defeating the Elite Four of the Pokémon League. He also dropped another bombshell: winning battles against other trainers meant you also won prize money from the defeated trainer.

Then, lastly, they met an old man who taught them how to catch a wild Pokémon. That was followed by a trip to the Poké Mart to stock up on Poké Balls, as well as Potions and a few Antidotes based on the reputation of Viridian Forest.

Additionally, the gym in town was empty. There was, however, another gym in Pewter City to the north.

They're back at their room now. Athrun is busy putting everything away. Potions and Antidotes in one pocket of his satchel, Poké Balls on the other. Charmander's ball is firmly attached to his belt.]

All right, I'm all packed. How about you?

[evokeslovers]

Yeah, I'm packed.

[ Of course, she's not particularly happy to find out what training pokémon really entailed. ]

Still a bit in disbelief that we're actually going through with something like this, even if we really don't have much of a choice here.

[ She's not exactly big on the concept of catching a wild animal and forcing it to fight for you. It was just... wrong, somehow. The fact that kids did it all the time here was just ridiculous. ]

[infinitejustice]

Honestly, I'm still in a state of disbelief that we're in the situation we're in in the first place. I still have too many questions about why we're here and how we got here.

[He also wants to find a way to get back. That's the main reason why he's going to take this gym challenge. That, plus he wants to have a goal to pursue.]

But all in good time. For now, let's just focus on getting to the next city, especially since it sounds like it'll take a day or two to get through Viridian Forest.

[evokeslovers]

Yeah... I guess I'm picking the silliest thing to worry about.

[ Besides, on the way here the Pokémon attacked first anyway. ]

Hopefully being in there won't be too bad. Going into forests like that isn't really something I usually have to do.

[infinitejustice]

Nah, not really. The fact that you're not still dwelling on that is a good sign, honestly.

Yeah, neither have I. I've spent most of my life in cities, and most of them weren't even on Earth. It's a bit daunting...

...but at the same time, I'm intrigued. This should be interesting.

[evokeslovers]

[ Hey when fighting a personification of death and the actual possibility of time travel came up, a different world like this isn't all that strange. Still, she can't help but smile at that last sentence from him. ]

Yeah, you're right about that. Whatever else happens, being bored isn't something we really have to worry about.

[infinitejustice]

Indeed. It almost makes it worth it to get away from pushing paper across a desk.

[And he's ready to go.]

Especially since I've never been much of a desk jockey.

[evokeslovers]

... Not really a lot of stuff to do as a soldier during peacetime?

[ She's not really used to the idea of soldiers who regularly had desk jobs. It just seemed a bit too mundane, somehow. ]

late new thread is late but also time to start

[evokeslovers]

[ Morning came later than Yukari would've liked, having a much harder time getting to sleep in the sleeping bag than she thought she would've. Apparently being the city girl that she was made getting used to camping a lot more difficult than it usually would've been. ]

... They did say that it shouldn't take us more than two days to get to Pewter City, right?

[infinitejustice]

[When Yukari wakes, Athrun is visible crouching over a campfire, cooking some canned food. Not the most appetizing of breakfasts, but at least it's food.]

Hm? Oh. Good morning.

[He ponders her question for a second.]

I believe so. Why?

[evokeslovers]

Morning.

[ And she sighs, knowing that this is going to make her seem weak but... ]

Honestly? I really don't want to camp out more than I have to.

[infinitejustice]

It's not so bad once you get used to it...though there's a certain comfort about an actual bed.

[Athrun peers more closely at the food he's cooking.]

From the sound of it, though, we'd best get used to it. We may have to do a lot of this while we're traveling to challenge gyms.

[evokeslovers]

[ Yukari sighs, but she knows he has a point. ]

I guess. Doesn't mean I'm going to want to stay away from a bed longer than I need to though.

What are you making anyway?

[infinitejustice]

Sausages.

[Since this is the Pokémon world, they're vegetarian sausages, as the label indicates. Athrun considers that a minor detail, though.]

I wanted something we could cook over a campfire. They're almost done; should be done by the time you get yourself ready to eat.

[evokeslovers]

[ Yukari's not sure what to make of the whole sausage thing. On one hand, all of the fat with it would just be... ugh.

On the other, at least she was getting a lot more exercise than usual. But once she glances at the package, her thoughts change a bit. ]

Yeah, that was definitely a good idea. I'm... not even sure how'd we'd be able to cook anything else out here. Not that I'm really all that good at cooking to begin with... [ But at least she's not as bad as Fuuka. ]

[infinitejustice]

As in you've never tried, or you've never been able to make it work?

[Athrun pulls out a pair of paper cups from his backpack, along with a bottle of water. The sausages would take some more time to finish cooking, so he gets other stuff set up.]

Though I don't think suspending a can of imitation meat over a fire really counts as cooking. Feels too simple for that.