shiningboxofjustice | PSL Post - Athrun Zala and Yukari Takeba

[ 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. ]

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.]

Edited 2014-11-10 05:00 (UTC)

[ 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?

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.

... 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?

[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.

... 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?

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.

... Same here. [ Well, at least neither of them had to worry about the other being dead weight. At least, assuming he was telling the truth. It didn't seem like he wasn't though. He'd be bragging way too much if he was lying to try to impress her.

But that last part gets her attention. A debuff? She remembered something like that being told to her about her Bulbasaur too.]

I think the same thing is going on with mine? But just because it's not an actual attack doesn't mean it isn't useful. Making whatever we're fighting weaker could mean the difference between surviving the fight and... not.

[ Of course, it'd be even easier if she had her evoker or, you know, her bow. Then they probably wouldn't have to worry about much of the stuff here at all. ]

[Huh. She hadn't struck Athrun as the type who was regularly exposed to danger. But then, perhaps the same could be said about him while he was wearing civilian clothes.]

Yes, I know. A proper defense can make a world of difference if used correctly. Only a fool chooses to remain constantly on the attack. My only concern comes from a lack of diversity -- one attack doesn't make for a very flexible offense.

Anyway, I think we should get moving. I'd like to keep talking, but I don't see why we can't talk while on the move.

[ Yeah, she knows that she probably doesn't seem like it either. But, well... at least he's not really pressing her on it. She didn't want to explain things in too much detail. She's not even sure if he'd believe her. ]

Yeah. We should get moving. There's no reason to hang around here, after all.

[ She's not going to start moving until he does though, but there is something she realizes that she should probably say to him first. ]

Oh. I haven't introduced myself yet, have I? My name's Yukari Takeba. What's yours?

Edited (wrong icon) 2014-11-16 20:15 (UTC)

...Ah, yes. My apologies. I'm Athrun -- Athrun Zala. It's nice to meet you. Anyway, let's go -- the exit is north of town.

[He returns his Charmander to its ball and begins to walk north.]

It's nice to meet you too.

[ She forced a small smile to her lips, though really, it's not really all that good to actually meet him right now. Things were still pretty confusing, but he seemed like a decent enough guy. At the very least, she probably didn't have much to worry about with going with him.

She follows after him, letting her Bulbasaur stay out of the ball for now. The little guy was eagerly following after her, so she didn't think it was going to be much of a problem. ]

... You know, I still can't believe that these ball things actually work the way they do. Something like that really shouldn't be possible.

[That's fine, since Athrun feels the same way. The soldier in him is naturally suspicious, but this isn't the first time he's had to cooperate with a person to get through a situation -- and that was with someone who considered him an enemy.]

Yeah, I know. I've never seen anything like them. Even putting aside the blatant disregard for the law of conservation of mass, there's the fact that it does this to living organisms. I didn't think it was physically possible.

...But then again, I never would have dreamed that our current situation was possible, either.

It shouldn't be possible.

[ Says the High School student that fought monsters during a hidden hour between 11:59 and 12:00 Am ever night. So maybe she shouldn't talk. ]

... Then again, it's not like something like this little guy here would be normal where I came from, so who knows what's going on.

[ Yukari paused for a moment, taking a deep breath before focusing a bit more. ]

So... we're just supposed to head north, right? Do you have any idea of how long it should take to get anywhere else?

[A nod. It shouldn't be possible, but that ship has sailed, so there was little point in dwelling on it.]

I was given one. Apparently we're in for about half a day's walk from here to the next settlement. Beyond that...I suppose we'll just have to see when we arrive.

[He's a bit disgruntled about that. He would rather have more information than what they've been given to go on so far.]

You'd think that they'd give us a little bit more to go on. I mean, we clearly know absolutely nothing about this place?

[ She frowns when she mentions it, which is something that her Bulbasaur picks up on. Since it's nuzzling her leg again. ]

But if they're not going to give us anything to go on, we might as well just keep going and hope that we actually learn something in the next town. [ Either way, there was no use staying around here, so Yukari's going to start to walk towards the exit of the town. No time to waste, after all. ]

Yeah. There's not much use in dwelling on what should or should not be. And time's wasting -- I'd rather not have to sleep outside if I can avoid it.

[Not that he has no experience doing so. At any rate, he's walking alongside Yukari now, falling silent as he does. Soon enough, they reach the tall grass on the edge of town, where Route 1 begins.]

Well...here goes nothing, I suppose.

[Deliberately, he steps into the tall grass, one hand on the Poké Ball now clinging to his belt. Nothing happens -- at least not immediately.]

Right. That's not something that I really want to do either.

[ It didn't take them that long to make it to the outskirts of town. Pallet Town really was tiny as heck, but once he goes into the grass Yukari can't help but freeze just a bit. It's not that she's really afraid of what's going on, but she's still wary since she doesn't know what to expect.

But when nothing happens, Yukari goes to follow him, her Bulbasaur happily trailing by her heels. Though when she goes down to look at it, she can't help but notice he seems more alert now than he had been before.

... Maybe there really was some sort of danger nearby. ]

[Athrun continues to lead the way, and they leave that particular patch of grass.]

...Nothing, huh? I'd wonder if that was a sales pitch, except for the fact that he gave us these creatures for free. I wonder how common these wild Pokémon actually are.

[ Yukari follows after him, frowning a bit as she thinks of it. ]

If they were warning us, there was probably a reason for it, and they probably are pretty common.

[ She looks over at her Bulbasaur, who trots ahead a bit and starts looking around a bit more. ]

... Maybe they just don't want to come near us because I have him out?

That could be. Shall we test that hypothesis? If you're up for it, return him to his ball for a little while -- maybe an hour or two. Then bring him back out and compare the encounter rate between the two time periods.

... I guess.

I mean, it's not like I can't just send him out again if we do get attacked.

[ Even though all of her experience from Tartarus was pretty much screaming at her that basically putting away any chance of defending herself was a stupid move.

But after another moment, the Bulbasaur is back in it's ball, and Yukari really needs to figure out a name for it. And soon. ]

[Athrun nods and leads the way onward.]

So, I assume you're from Japan?

[It seemed like a good possibility, based on her name. And he felt like he needed to make small talk.]

[ Yukari blinked, but nodded after a few moments. ]

Yeah. I am. I guess my name was a pretty big giveaway for that.

[ She paused, looking around to see if anything was coming. ]

... So, where are you from?

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