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Dawn had broken completely over the horizon and cast this entire side of Coronet in a rich orange glow. The wind whipped around Yuuma and made him shiver. His mind wandered to Po, his slugma, sleeping in the ball hooked to his belt. No, he had to endure the cold. But thirty long years of hiking up and down Coronet had not taken the Alola out of him yet. He took a sip from his cocoa and glanced over at the young lady that had come to look over the railing and down the mountain with him. An empoleon stood beside her, though it seemed occupied with the steaming hot sweet potato it held awkwardly in its clawed flippers. "Seems like the mountain never really changes, eh?" he said warmly.
A long history of hiking lonely trails had made him good at striking up casual conversation. But the response he got put him off. The woman's voice was cold - colder than even the biting air around him.
"No. It doesn't." She took a sip from her own cup and then continued to stare down the mountain.
"What brings you this far up Coronet?" asked Yuuma. He turned to face towards the young lady and frowned. Her worn red coat only came halfway down her thighs. No leggings. And not a single wobbling knee. The brilliant white scarf she wore was plush and looked warm, but it was pulled down far below her neck. Even her fluffy hat was sagging partially off her head. "Endurance training?"
She turned her cold eyes on him and stared at him for a long while. Finally, the corners of her mouth twitched gently upwards. "I'm used to it." She scratched the back of her empoleon's head fondly and added, "Besides, I've seen worse."
Yuuma nodded and took a sip of his own cocoa, then chewed his tongue, wondering what to say next. She didn't seem receptive to conversation. But she didn't seem exactly hostile to it either.
"Where you from?" he asked, somewhat lamely.
Her gaze remained steady. "Twinleaf."
"Ah! I heard Lake Verity is beautiful, but I've never been able to pull myself from the familiar torture of hiking up this damned mountain." He chuckled and looked up towards the peak before looking back at her. "How's the town?"
"Quiet." Another sip.
Yuuma waited for her to continue. When the silence stretched out into a solid, unbroken minute save for the whipping of wind, he added, "Ah. Must be… must be nice."
"I suppose. Three years will change a place." She raised an arm and pulled back her sleeve, revealing a display of horrid black and purple lines running from her fingertips and snaking up her forearm. And a delicate white gold watch. Yuuma gave a start and she tossed him a single, smug smirk. "I'm not contagious. And she's late." She shook her head and pulled a phone from her coat and dialed someone. To Yuuma's surprise, she raised a single finger up to him to beg his patience. Whoever she dialed must have picked up, because she spoke a second later, in a voice that was - to Yuuma's terror - even colder. "Don't start with me. You said be ready and I was. Just get here." She frowned and began to chew her tongue then burst out, "I managed to navigate Sinnoh without running into constant distractions even when the news wouldn't shut up about Sinnoh's latest, greatest title holder. Just get here, Shirona. It's rude to make a lady wait."
She sighed and shook her head again. Whatever was coming through the phone changed her upright, dignified posture, into a tired slouch. "Fine. Fine. Yes. Love you too." She tucked the phone away and looked down at her empoleon. "Late again. Why do I ever bother showing up early?"
She turned her attention back to Yuuma and added, "I'm sorry about that. Please, continue."
Yuuma furrowed his brow. "Shirona… and those markings." He laughed. "Pleased to meet you, Hikari. I have a terrible habit of not asking people their names when I pass them by on the mountain. I suppose it helps make this place feel all the more ethereal."
She smiled in earnest at him, and replied in a disarmingly warm tone, "I know what you mean. And at the expense of that, you are?"
"Yuuma. Alolan native. Poni, specifically. But I've been here a little over three decades now. Mountain still has so much to see from foot to peak." He frowned. "Though some sights are admittedly more grim than I'd like."
Her smile faltered and she inclined her head. "Idiots." She turned back to the railing and slouched against it.
"I wouldn't call most of those unfortunate souls out there idiots. Just… just that. Unfortunate. Ill-prepared."
"Sounds a lot like idiocy to me." She raised her left arm and stared down at her corrupted fingers. "I was smart and even then, I have something to show for a minor hiccup."
"The mountain did that?" asked Yuuma. "I thought…"
"No. You were right to believe the rumors. This was something else. Something… properly Other. But it's the same concept in the end. Make a mistake and you won't see the light of day ever again." She continued to stare and then threw him a small smile. "I don't mean to brood. This was easy enough to make peace with. The eternal celebrity that lives within that scattered-brained excuse of a woman I call a partner, on the other hand… Well, I think I'm entitled to brooding over being made to wait."
"I won't deny you that," said Yuuma. He glanced away and wondered if it was worth asking. Might as well, he thought. "You said the rumors were right."
"I did."
"Was it as awful as they paint it?"
"Not really. You're dead if you make a mistake, I made that clear already. But by then, I was used to having expectations lorded over me."
"Really?"
"Shirona is demanding. Now that I've proven myself and then some… the roles are often reversed." Her empoleon let out a deep and curious squawk and she laughed. "Absolutely earned."
"Was it terrifying? It's the realm of the Renegade. I can't imagine it was all soft meadows and gentle hills."
"It was bizarre, and certainly dangerous. At the time, I was petrified. But I was also determined to succeed." She raised her hand again, though the motion was lazy and dismissive. "And I got off with the equivalent of a scar and a war story."
"Impressive."
"So they say."
"Hm."
Silence fell between the two, stretching out from a couple minutes to nearly fifteen. Finally, Hikari spoke up, "I pity Giratina."
Yuuma turned to look at her, his eyebrow raised. "The Renegade? You… you pity him?"
"Her."
"Her?"
"Or so she said. She's very lonely. Very caring. Eminently concerned with just how temporary we all are. And she's forced to be very, very distant." She smiled. "She froze the wound for me. It would have killed me otherwise."
"What? Really?"
"You're bound to fail navigating that bizarre realm at some point. The error that so many made, that Akagi himself made, was not trusting Giratina. She is lonely, caring and consummately wrathful." She stood up from the railing and stretched. "So, yes. I pity the Renegade."
"I've heard that line before, come to think," he said.
"Oh?"
"Yes. 'Pity the Renegade.' It is quite common throughout the region among hexers. Not so much in Alola. Far as I remember, their kind had a very spotty reputation on the islands. Trending towards poorly received more than well received. Now I know what they mean by it."
"Indeed."
The winds died down and the sound of someone trudging through fresh snow sprang up behind Yuuma. He turned, and so too did Hikari. "The Ch-"
"Shirona." Yuuma turned to look at Hikari. Her arms were crossed and she looked stern. "You're nearly twenty minutes late."
The blonde woman gave her a sheepish grin and patted the togekiss beside her on the head. "Forgive an old lady her memory. It's on the way out," she pleaded.
"Don't pull that with me, you're not that much older."
"But it's enough to make a difference!"
"Don't make me tell alakazam to flip you upside down." She pulled a ball from her belt and held it up menacingly.
"Alright, alright! I'm sorry. Can I make it up to you?"
"I'm sure you'll try," replied Hikari. She threw Yuuma a glance and inclined her head. "Thank you for helping fill the time while this forgetful excuse of a Champion showed up."
"Before you leave," began Yuuma. Hikari tilted her head. "I heard you simply… stepped down. Almost immediately. Why?"
The young lady shrugged. "I don't have it in me to deal with the position. I'm not a celebrity." She strode over to Shirona and held her left hand out. The Champion took it into her own and bent over to kiss it. "But she is. To a sickening extent."
"You chose to see this through," replied Shirona. She nodded her head in thanks at Yuuma.
Hikari waved goodbye to the hiker before looking her partner square in the eyes. "And every time you're late I regret it."