Chapter Text
My name…
Long before I was born, thousands of years before that moment, I already had a name. A musical sound of syllables strung together to mean me, and none other. A particular inflection, perhaps a bit of awe, maybe a slight amount of fear, a tiny bit of curiosity… the word chosen, out of every other, to describe me. All that I had done, all that I would, a single word that separated who I am and what I could accomplish… from everything else.
Have you ever wondered that? How you and your name have changed things? How the world is different because of you? What impact you’ve had on the lives of the ones closest to you, how their life is better from the choices you made… or how it has been made worse? If the things you’ve done have been worth it?
I have waited a very, very long time to reach this moment, where I could finally share all that I am with you. There were so many days that I feared that it would never come… that I would mess up and break everything, or that it wouldn’t be enough… but... at long, long last, it’s here. The fight is over. I’m free, with only one final task left to accomplish, nothing but this one last moment in time that I have stretched out for us....
Then I can finally rest.
My name is Sinori. Sit down, and let me share who I am with you...
I crept carefully over the rooftop. The shingles were still slick from rain earlier this afternoon and I didn't want to slip. Falling off the roof would be painful and embarrassing, but even worse would be the aggravation of having to find my way back up to the roof. I had barely made the jump from the trashcan to the window ledge, and I wasn't sure the tree branch I had jumped to after that would hold my weight a second time.
I felt my stomach growl from hunger. Not that I had very much weight to speak of, but still…
The chimney was just a few careful strides away, and I could see smoke drifting up from it. Excellent - that would make things easier; if the fire was lit, then the chimney would be open, so nothing would get in my way. There would be a fire at the bottom, but that wouldn't be a problem. When you can breathe fire it's not really a concern to step in it.
I paused at the edge of the chimney, glancing down it… yes! I could make out the dim flicker of light at the end of the vent. I hopped up on the edge, using my tails to keep my balance… then I hopped inside, pushing my paws against the sides to slow my fall.
The friction hurt a little, but this wasn't the first time I had done something like this. I had long since grown calluses to protect my feet from any serious damage, and I had learned how to lean to keep myself from falling too fast. I pressed harder against the sides when I neared the bottom, wedging myself in the chimney and halting my fall.
A bit of soot continued to fall, hitting the fire and causing it to stutter angrily. I held my breath, listening for any sound from the room beyond… nothing. Nobody had been alerted to my descent, or at least, hadn't come to check on the noise.
I slowly tilted my head down towards the flames, enjoying the warmth it brought, and peeked into the room.
There were two people on the couch, facing the fireplace. I froze in place, certain I had been caught, but neither moved. I started breathing again and took a closer look. Good - they were both fast asleep. I scanned the rest of the room and spotted a Lillipup, also asleep. I grinned to myself and slid slowly into the fire, pulling open the mesh grate and stepping gingerly out of the fireplace. I made sure I wasn't trailing any live embers in with me and stepped off of the stone surrounding it.
I knew people tended to think that having a Lillipup or a similar Pokemon made their house more secure, but in my experience that was rarely the case. Unless they were actually trained for protection, which few were, most grew content and lazy with the easy life they lived indoors. Strange sounds weren't a danger to immediately investigate, but a curiosity that could be investigated after a bit more sleep.
I waited a few seconds to make sure the other Pokemon was going to stay fast asleep, then crept over the carpet to the hallway. I had been told what I was looking for was upstairs, so I slipped up them, relying on the rich carpeting to muffle any creaking noises as I shifted from step to step.
The top floor was dark, so I focused and exhaled a small wisp of fire. I guided it to float above me and brighten the hallway enough for me to see by. Four doors branched off from the hall, all of them closed. I paused by each of them and listened carefully. I could hear soft breathing coming from behind two of them - other humans fast asleep, probably - but other than some humming sounds the other rooms were empty. I slowly pushed open one of those doors and peeked inside.
The room was full of various odds and ends, and some strange furniture that I assumed were probably for amusements or exercise, but didn't have what I was looking for. I backed away and checked into the other unoccupied room instead..
Score.
The room had a few desks in it with various bits of equipment - computers, a fan, some notebooks - but what I was looking for was tucked away in the far corner. A wall unit, large shelves spaced apart with various books on the upper shelf… and a large metal safe at the bottom.
I crossed the room and hopped up on the safe, squeezing between it and the shelf above me. I ignored the front of the safe - that was always the place with the most nasty anti-theft traps designed specifically to stop someone like me - and glanced down at the back of the safe. It was just a solid piece of metal, with no obvious bulges or dents where something would be hidden in the framework.
Perfect.
I focused and brought the wisp down towards the safe, exhaling and bringing forth a second one. Using two wisps at once was a bit of a strain, especially as hungry as I was, but it was a risk I had to take. Once I started breaking into the safe I would be on a timer.
The orange wisps hovered over the back of the safe, waiting as I took a deep breath… and then they dimmed as I focused their energy almost completely into heat instead of light.
Most fire types practice for quantity. I'd seen a Charizard blast an entire wall of a house with a wave of fire, consuming both sides and licking into the air beyond… but size isn't everything. The display had certainly been impressive, and the house had been singed from the experience and was left with some impressive looking scorch marks, but it hadn't burned down.
I might not be able to produce that much sheer volume of fire, but if I set my mind to it, that house would have burned down. Unlike that Charizard, I focused on intensity. And my flames could get extremely hot, in a very concentrated point of space.
The benefits of that skill took a rapid toll on the metal of the safe. Smoke began to drift upwards, along with a horrible smell and a satisfying hissing sound, as my wisps began burning through the back plate. I moved the wisps in a square pattern… then they reached the point the other wisp had started, and I felt the safe wobble a little beneath me. I reached my paw out and caught the loose metal before it could fall, not wanting to risk a loud crash waking anyone up. I guided it to a slow fall against the back of the wall unit, letting it cool a bit before resting it against the wood there.
I leaned over and glanced over the now-exposed shelves of the safe. A black bag on the bottom; from the lumpy shape of it there were probably a lot of small items inside it. On the shelf above was a folder with some loose papers in it, but nothing else that seemed of any value. Unless the bag held super berries or something, this was probably not anything worth the effort. Well, at least not for me.
Still, this is what I'd been told to nab, so I leaned in and bit the folder, pulling it out of the safe. I was wearing a simple harness with a pouch on the side, and though it was now dirty with soot, the folder slid into it with just a little cramming and bending. The bag made a nice jingling sound as I pulled it out of the safe, and I gave in and rattled it a little, enjoying the sound it made…
A horrible noise suddenly blared out from above me. On the ceiling a small machine was suddenly flashing a bright white light and screeching out the noise. I saw the smoke from my wisps curling around it as they dissipated and I grimaced. I had gotten distracted by the bag and had wasted the short time I had before the smoke detector went off. I was hoping the people downstairs would dismiss it as reacting to the fire in the fireplace, but I didn't want to depend on that.
I heard the Lillipup start shouting something about how the postman had come after all, and he had told the humans that he was a bad person always snooping around with that suspicious bag of paper, but I ignored him and dashed to the window. No luck - the window faced the street, not the tree I needed.
I dashed out of that room and into the other empty room, scurrying towards the window as I heard stomping on the stairs. One of the humans, hopefully just checking on the other sleepers. Not much time.
Score.
I relaxed as I saw the tree outside the window. I wouldn't have to dodge into another room; I could make my exit here.
It took a bit of work to undo the latch on the window, but nothing major. The window slid up from just a bit of pressure from my head, and then I was outside, on the window ledge. I pushed the window back down with my hindleg, then breathed a sigh of relief. The noise was muffled now, but even more than that, I was in the clear.
The humans wouldn't notice anything was wrong at all until they looked in the safe. From the front it still looked locked and intact, after all. And other than the unlatched window I had left no other sign of my presence there. The Lillipup might sniff around at the new smells I had introduced to the house, but that would be all.
I stuffed the bag into the sack at my side, in between the folder, then took a deep breath. The sky was cloudy tonight, but I could still see enough to judge the distance to the tree branch. I gathered myself, fanning my six tails out for balance, and leapt out into the darkness.
"So why'd you leave early?"
Sara hesitated. Perry had made her promise not to tell anyone about Flen before the championship ended, and she had kept that promise. But was it okay to tell somebody that she had known before everybody else? She glanced at the Espeon asleep on the couch, remembering Perry telling her how upset Clara had been at learning she hadn't been told when everybody else had. Would the league be mad at her for knowing before anybody else had?
The league official noticed her glance towards Clara, but just smiled. "I thought that might be the case. That is one very lucky Espeon… this is twice now that a trainer has given up the championship for her sake." The woman from the league looked down at her paperwork and missed Sara's grimace. After everything that Clara had been through and how difficult her life had been, especially lately with Flen’s death, 'lucky' was the last word she would use to describe her… but she understood what the older woman had been trying to say and from what perspective, so she left it at that.
"Officially, we can't make you the gym leader until you graduate… which… it looks like you still have three years to go on. We got a special exception for Flen because of his heart condition, but no such luck in your case - you have to finish school first."
There was that word again. Yes. Sara wasn't 'lucky' enough to have a fatal heart defect waiting to end her life early.
The League official kept flipping through pages undeterred. "Tammy was originally assigned to help Flen with the accounting side of things back while he was learning, and she'll pick that up again. She's a good teacher, and she'll make sure you're ready to take over by the time you graduate. Perry and Todd have agreed to take care of things during the day so you can take care of school, and will be the 'official' co-leaders of the gym… but you're an 'assistant' backup leader; if you're at the gym on a weekend or evening then you can participate in official badge matches. And unofficially, they both agree that it’s your gym now."
Sara nodded, still feeling a little numb.
"We'll have some more badges sent to you - from what Todd mentioned they’re… err, you’re running low, but they should arrive in the next week or two. If you get too many challengers before then just get their trainer IDs and we'll make sure badges get to them."
Sara fidgeted a little and spoke up. "Actually… I was wondering about that. Do I have to keep the same theme as Flen? With the heart badge and all? He was good at what he did, and could easily tell how well a trainer took care of their Pokemon, and… that badge meant something when it came from him, especially him, since… his heart... I don't think it would be right for me to keep giving them out.. And I've been thinking about it a little since you first asked me about being a leader; I think I'd be better at a different aspect of training and battling Pokemon."
The older lady frowned and turned a page back. "Of course; it's your gym now. We just assumed with you being Flen's student… but it’s no problem! We can still cancel the order and get new badges. What did you have in mind?"
Sara glanced at the clock at the wall, smiled, and made her suggestion.