Chapter Text
Chapter One: Arrival and Friends?
-Sendai City June, 2018-
Yumeba Kai, a Pokemon Trainer of the tender age of twelve was walking through the streets tapping at his phone. His golden eyes staring at the screen as his long deep blue and teal hair flopped around in the ponytail. Slim, lean, but with muscles. He clicked his tongue, even at twelve years old he was still regarded as handsome by many of the older ladies in the area. Right now though? He was stranded in a new world, without his Pokemon, because apparently he and three other trainers had problems that needed to be solved. According to someone named H-san. However he was deposited in an area where the others weren’t and now had to find his way to the train station to get to Tōkyō. Thankfully his money was transferred to the local currency.
“If I could describe this area….” he mused as he looked at the phone numbers. All of them not working because they belonged to everyone in the Hoenn region. “Kantō? No….”
Kai looked at his map. “North of Kantō, but south of Sinnoh.”
Someone was laughing maniacally on top of a school building. Kai ignored it, just as he was ignoring the strange creatures walking around and talking. Then there was crashing, like someone had thrown large pieces of debris. Kai’s eyes glanced over through his non-prescription glasses, with a small thin chain to keep around his neck. It didn’t suit his look, but his normal three piece suit was not on him as he was getting them cleaned at the dry cleaners. ‘The least this H-san could have done was at least wait for my laundry to be finished. I am walking around in shorts and a shirt.’ he huffed in his mind before glancing at the school again. There were two other people on the roof and he was sure he just made eye contact with one of them and looked away. Focusing on his phone. If he ignored the problem it would just go away.
Then the figures were just gone. So Kai continued to walk. “Maybe I should walk to Tōkyō.”
He was almost serious. He had a map, had a compass, had money, so he could walk and not worry about finding where the train station was. All he needed to do was find the way out of the city. Using his compass and drawing up a route Kai found his running shoes and slipped them on. He tightened his ponytail and headed off. Not knowing he had witnessed Itadori Yūji becoming Sukuna for the first time, meeting Fushiguro Megumi, and being knocked out by Gojō Satoru. He just didn’t have time for it. ‘I would rather be reading a dark fantasy novel, or at least a good vampire one.’ he thought as he rubbed his forehead. ‘Honestly, what kind of issues do I have?’
He had several, he knew it. Yet he wasn’t ready to admit them to himself. He headed for the exit, stopping by a convenience store to get a town map and some supplies. Thankfully there was one that was open late. He read the letter again as the cashier rang up his goods. ‘Apparently I have been ‘placed’ into the world where H-san has already added me into it. Since I grew up in Johto but moved to Hoenn, it translates to born in the Kansai region, where it is in a small town and most of the nurses probably don’t remember me, he even put it in my birth certificate. Creepy. Then moved with my family to a small remote town in Kyūshū where we were homeschooled. Then my family got a transfer assignment but sent me to Tōkyō to live with a family friend while I continue my education here. It’s the same story for the three others who were sent here. We get allowance money, the house gets paid for, we can do quests to earn enough points to upgrade the house. Not a bad deal.’
Kai walked out of the convenience store after paying. He did get directions to the train station and the way out of the town. He looked around for a place to stay out. The station was open, it closed at about midnight to 1 AM. Opens at five, he got a ticket to Tōkyō, which would take about an hour and a half give or take. Kai waited for the train tapping at his phone. He yawned, ignoring the strange creatures. They didn’t seem to notice him either, they were always searching for something. They were different from Pokemon. More hungry, more sinister, more dangerous. Especially if they sensed something that or that someone was watching them. So Kai was using his peripheral vision to keep an eye on them but never once looked.
Got himself a bentō, leaned his head against the window. He lifted his hand and tapped the air before drawing a circle over and over again. Plugged in a CD that his cousin Kuroki had gotten him into the player and slipped the headphones on his head. He drew his finger at a diagonal through the imaginary circle as he picked up the chopsticks. Then tapped it. He read a lot of isekai, few of them were vampire themed ones. However some of them talked about a system, but it didn’t seem like one of those worlds. The bentō was good though. ‘I’d rather be serving tea to my sister.’ he thought as the train continued on to Tōkyō. It was the last stop, thankfully, so Kai just began to follow the instructions to the house. It wasn’t big or fancy, but it was enough to fit four trainers of various ages inside.
“Let me go!” a girl shouted as she kicked open the door. “I’m going to figure out where H-san sent the last trainer!”
She had long violet hair, light purple eyes, tan skin, and a beauty mark. Holding her back was a boy who is fairly tall for his age, he has fair skin that is freckled lightly on his face and shoulders. He has short pink hair and red eyes, he was wearing glasses. She seemed to be around and the boy were around fifteen.
“You two, I think he’s here.” a girl said, she was tall, around fourteen years old with olive skin, red hair, and gold eyes. There were even some freckles on her face.
“Ah! Abigail, why did you say anything?!” the girl huffed as she managed to get out of the boy’s grip. “Hello there, I’m Kinomoto Sumire.”
“Abigail Oren.” the second girl said as she pointed at herself. Kai moved his head to look at the teen who was picking himself up from the ground.
“And you?” Kai asked as the teen turned around pointing at himself.
“Ah, Momotarō Tōya. Nice to meet you….”
“Yumeba Kai.” Kai finally said as the teens brought them inside the house, he took off his shoes at the entrance. “Should I say pardon the intrusion?”
“No, we all kind of live here together so it’s alright.” Sumire told him. “We already picked out our rooms, hope you don’t mind.”
Kai just clicked his tongue as he walked upstairs.
“We’re going to start school soon, don’t forget!” Tōya said with a wave. “Wait, we forgot to ask him where he ended up.”
“I want to hit him.” Sumire said before taking a deep breath and calming herself down. “Seriously though, why were we brought here where there are things that ugly outside of the house?”
“Just ignore them.” Kai called down from finding the bedroom. “Treat them as if they don’t exist, they can’t do anything unless you invite them in. Like vampires of the mind.”
“How do you know?” Sumire asked and Kai came back down staring at her. She was almost his current height. 157 cm. He still had room to grow, but it seemed like she was almost done.
“Because I took a train full of them just to get here. I ended up in Sendai.”
“Well it is a good thing you are safe.” Abigail told him as Tōya began to cook something up. “Where are you from?”
“Hoenn.”
“Tōya-kun and I used to be from Kantō before we moved to Paldea.” Sumire said as she sat at the table. Abigail was cleaning up the dishes from their earlier meal. “Abigail is from Galar.”
“I see.” Kai said as he took a seat as well.
“My cousin and I are Dubwool shepherds, though I prefer to get into Pokemon breeding.” Abigail said as she took a deep breath. The meal was light and Kai took a quick shower and bath before heading to bed.
The next morning it was Tōya who woke him up with the delicious scent of food. Sumire was designing outfits for him.
“You know Black Butler?” Kai asked and Sumire looked up. “I like Sebastian’s outfits.”
“Fine, but I’m designing you clothes a kid your age should be wearing.” Sumire answered and Kai nodded his head in agreement. He could handle that. He just wanted the clothes that he was comfortable in. Abigail looked at them before setting down her letter. “H-san said that he chose us because we would be the easiest ones to adapt to this world’s… unique cursed atmosphere, whatever that is.”
“Oh.” Kai and Sumire said at the same time. “Those are a form of cursed energy? Resentment maybe?”
“What do you mean?” Tōya asked, Kai frowned before being the one to explain.
“I was wondering why that sickening feeling was familiar. It reminded me of a necklace that my cousin, mother’s older brother’s son, had. My other cousin, the son of the middle brother, always said it was cursed. That it was not an ordinary necklace.” Kai explained, Sumire let out a hum.
“Just felt like I was stuck with that red coated jerk Alucard again.” she sighed as she rested her chin on her hand. Everyone looked at her. “What, I’ve been to one different world before, for like a month.”
“I don’t have any experiences like that, but my parents are archeologists, and sometimes I would often feel weird things coming from certain artifacts. Even if it was the picture. Mom said it was likely that I was sensitive to ghost types.” Tōya admitted, Abigail had a serious look on her face. “However a lot of the objects had nothing to do with ghost types and I know the difference between the two.”
“I too have had strange experiences like that, but more like a warning in my soul.” Abigail admitted. “I have a different belief than most people. One that speaks of a Creator that had entered into His world to save it.”
“Oh, you found that book too?” Sumire asked and Abigail looked at her. “I’ve been doing my best to get through it, there were always a lot of questions that I had. But on my first trip to that… jerk’s world, I actually gained a lot more perspective.”
“Alright. Alright.” Tōya told them, though it was obvious he was interested in what they were talking about. Kai looked at the food he set down, it was just fish, rice, miso soup, and some vegetables that had been cooked in a way that kept the nutrients. “Before we get into a discussion, how about we eat first?”
Afterwards it was school. Tōya and Sumire were in their first year of senior high school, Kai was starting his first year of junior high school, and Abigail was in her final year of junior high school. So Tōya and Sumire had spent the entire day when they arrived studying up on everything that they would have learned. But since they were going to the schools in Paldea: Uva and Naranja, which had the same classes and studies that a normal school here would learn other than Pokemon studies. What they were mainly going for was historical studies. Sumire herself excelled in languages, fashion, and math. Apparently her time learning under a butler named Walter made sure she never slacked off on her studies. Kai was inspired and took his own studies seriously. After all it seemed like being a butler also meant a high standard set for themselves and allowing for that knowledge to be passed on. ‘Good thing that I already like reading.’ he thought as he took notes in class. Lunchtime came and went, Tōya having made him a very tasty bentō.
Tōya was making a shopping list in his own head as he went throughout the day. When the classes ended the four of them were heading back to the house, since unlike the school in Paldea there were no dorms attached. Which he didn’t mind, he was already planning the meals for the weak. He also noticed that Kai’s uniform wasn’t fitting properly. ‘He grew. Well he is that age, but I think he is tracking with my own growth. But I’ve only known him for a day, so I’ll see if Sumire can adjust the uniform or if we have to get a new one.’
Kai was next to him reading a book when they passed by a man and a teenage boy, with hair that was kind of a pinkish blonde. It was just a glimpse and Tōya was heading into the grocery store with the others. The man he was with had white hair and a black blindfold on.
“Weird.” Sumire muttered.
“Rude.” Abigail said and Sumire apologized. “Not to me.”
Sumire apologized to the man, to his face, with a bow, for calling him weird. Kai was impressed, since no one would blatantly admit that while apologizing even if it was a personal conversation. ‘One that he might have overheard.’ Tōya mused in his mind as he just went straight to shopping, humming as he looked at the vegetables, checking the prices, and buying what he could for now. It was mainly because he wanted to do a more comprehensive comparison to the other grocery stores to see which one had the better quality per price.
“That was mortifying.” Sumire groaned as she walked up, Abigail with her. “How was I supposed to know he heard that?”
“Never assume.”
“He was strange.” Kai pointed out and Abigail gave him a look. “Think about it, above all of the hustle and bustle of the city, he managed to pick up a passing conversation not even with a louder voice. Sumire was talking normally, and even then quieter.”
“Well he wasn’t burning out in the sun.” Sumire sighed as Tōya continued to walk around. “Spending our grocery budget already?”
“Just getting what we need for the week.” Tōya replied as he finished up. “Meal planning is important.”
“Any meal prep?” Kai asked and Tōya thought for a moment.
“It’s still summer time, which means more foods that are better for keeping us cool.” Tōya mused before nodding. “Fall and winter are the best times for longer cooked meals. Meal prepping isn’t bad, but we all get home at the same time and we don’t need part time jobs yet.”
Tōya noticed one of those curse-like creatures on a woman’s shoulder as she was complaining about shoulder stiffness. ‘So it seems like they can interact, but it would feel more like an issue with the body.’ Tōya thought, knowing this was going to be a talking point when they got home. A curse bumped into him and Tōya allowed himself to stumble forward. Kai glanced at him and Tōya grinned. “Lost my balance there for a moment. Hey, why don’t we watch a movie tonight?”
“Which one?” Sumire asked as she walked forward. Tōya thought. “Scifi?” he asked.
“But I like fantasy.” huffed Sumire, the two were bickering back and forth about which movie. Even after they paid and left, Abigail took control saying that she would decide. They had to stop by a rental place while Abigail looked through the movies carefully. Then once it was decided, they left. The curses seemed to believe that they were just normal humans now, unable to see them. Kai didn’t like that they could easily land on him but he was doing his best in ignoring that.
“I think we should do research.” Sumire said when they got inside their house. “See how these things come to being, what they’re capable of, why people just ignore them.”
“I think there are very few people who can actually see them, but they can interact with the world around them.” Kai said as Tōya went to prepare dinner. “Meaning there wouldn’t be much of a paper trail.”
Sumire clicked her tongue as Abigail leaned forward. She was thinking. “Lingering resentment maybe?” she mused, Tōya was tapping some pork with the back of a cleaver.
“I think it’s more than that.” Tōya hummed as he cracked a few eggs into the bowl. “If it was lingering resentment then why not call it that? I think we should listen around, see if anyone actually names them for what they are. We don’t know what they are actually called.”
“That man from earlier was suspicious.” Sumire said and Abigail looked at her. “No seriously, the entire time it felt like he was aware of them. They stayed away from him, they treat us like everyone else. Yet the moment he entered the area they scattered. Looks like they didn’t go too far though, like they weren’t leaving those areas. Just hid. Like low level Pokemon.”
“I think that’s exactly it.” Kai finally spoke and they looked at him. “They’re not leaving the area the are born in. Like ghosts, but these are more like resentment, frustration, curses formed from the minds of people. Think about it. Saying every day “oh my back hurts, why does it feel so heavy?” until something small is born from the weight you put on your own shoulders.”
“Creepy.” Sumire huffed.
“Right now, we probably can see them because our perception is more like that of a trainer, we need to see what is out of the ordinary in order to survive.” Kai mused, Tōya salted and poured mirin onto the pork cutlets letting it sit after starting the prepared rice. “However, interacting with them would be the same as any normal human. They can cause harm to us, but there is a likely chance that we can’t cause harm to them.”
“Unless we gain a strange ability to do so.” Abigail mused and Kai nodded towards her. “Right now we are just seen as humans, maybe some slight awareness, but even that man from earlier seemed to react the same way he would with anyone else. Though surprised at Miss Kinomoto’s apology.”
“No, he was super weird.” Sumire insisted. “Like showing up before dinner wanting food kind of weird.”
“That is oddly specific.” Kai looked at Sumire as he began to work on his homework.
“He literally laughed when I apologized.” Sumire huffed. The group chatted for the rest of the night. Life went on without another run in with the strange guy. The curses began to treat them like regular humans. Some were repelled by Kai’s numerous sealing and protection scrolls that he made. Mainly for his cosplay items. One of his true passions, that and helping his twin sister, Yumeba Sakura, with her hair and make up when she was in training to become a pop idol of the Pokemon world. He was heading back home tapping on his phone on the way home when he passed three people wearing a similar uniform.
“Sheesh, I can’t believe that I didn’t get scouted again.” a girl around fifteen said, she had mid-length brown hair that reached to her neck that is styled with bangs that cover the right side of her forehead. She also had orange eyes, long eyelashes and thin eyebrows of the same color. “They don’t have eyes for talent.”
Kai’s eyes glanced towards the two other boys, both around fifteen. One had spikey black hair and the other one he recognized as the pink haired one that hung around the strange white hair man. He had an undercut that made the lower hair look black. Kai’s eyes flickered back to the girl who was speaking before remembering all the pop idols and cosplayers he had seen. It wasn’t that she was bad looking, but talent scouts could tell when someone was trying too much. Kai’s eyes returned to his screen. He was already being stalked by a curse, definitely one of someone who was hating him. It’s been following him since school. However due to his habit of being more blunt when someone didn’t get that they were being a down right jerk or stalkerish meant that he had made quite a few enemies.
“Kohai…” the thing spoke, but Kai ignored it as he walked. ‘If these things come from people’s negative emotions then I will have to do well to keep mine in check.’ Kai thought to himself. He got distracted by a hundred yen coin on the ground and bent down to pick it up as the thing swiped at him. ‘Ah! Lucky! Maybe I should check YouTube later to see if I can find any fun videos.’ When he wasn’t putting airs he was really kind of a space case when it came to danger. He stood grinning as he stood up straight. It tried to attack him again but he had turned to walk across the street. ‘Maybe my calm in the face of danger comes from the dangers of the Pokemon world.’ he mused as he let out a sigh putting his phone away. Then began to look around, he was checking the area, but it could come off as he was sensing the thing at least. It seemed like the three teens decided to kill it off or something. Kai got a text from Tōya: “karaage chicken tonight, but I might have bought too much chicken. If you have anyone you can invite over please do.”
‘Friends, huh?’ Kai thought as the group chased the curse into a building. ‘I don’t think I’ve made many friends. I guess this thing was made on this street, which means my stalker knows my way home. I should change it up. However there are three people who just saved me. Alright, if they talk to me I will invite them over for dinner. But….’
Kai tapped his chin as he read the message again. ‘How do I go about offering dinner? It’s not like I can acknowledge those creepy things without them becoming aware of it. But I also don’t want to gain any weight… my cosplays won’t look right either.’
He was deep in thought not realizing that he was being called out to, until a hand tapped his shoulder. He turned around. It was the girl, and the two boys.
“Are you alright?” the pink haired one asked and Kai just blinked before holding up his phone so they could read the message. “karaage chicken?”
Kai nodded his head. “My housemate bought too much, was asking if we could invite friends over.”
“Then text your friends, sheesh.” the girl huffed, Kai blinked once. “You have friends, right?”
Kai thought about it. ‘Main friends, twin sister Sakura and cousin Kuroki who aren’t here, secondary friends Sumire, Abigail, and Tōya. School friends, none, neighbors who are our age, none.’
Kai blinked once before realizing he pissed more people off more than made friends with him. Ability to solve awkward social situation. None.
“No?” Kai wasn’t sure if it was a question or an answer. “So… do you want some?”
“Sure! Ah! I’m Itadori Yūji!” the pink haired one said and the other two sighed before introducing themselves.
“Kugisaki Nobara.” the girl said looking at her own phone. “I might decline, I want to do some shopping.”
“Fushiguro Megumi, I will decline as well.” the black haired teen said, Kai blinked.
“So instead of accepting free food, you would rather spend money or go mope is that it?” he asked, keeping his tone polite. “Ah, understood. I guess people in the city really do prefer the simplicity of eating out.”
“Hey, a girl has to think about her looks!” Nobara argued and Kai blinked. “I have to get scouted eventually.”
“Scouts can tell when you are trying too hard.” Kai warned her and both Yūji and Nobara blinked. “Look, you are quite pretty by yourself, your confidence is good, but scouts aren’t looking for that. They are looking for something that they can mold to their image while keeping the original beauty intact.”
“How do you know this?” Nobara asked and Kai lifted up his phone showing him with his sister surrounded by pop idols and those in training. All without makeup on but wanting a picture of the eleven year old Kai who was dressed up as a xianxia cultivator. “Because these are the people my twin sister hangs around with.”
He looked at Nobara.
“However. I can help a bit, but you three need to help us finish off the karaage chicken.” Kai said, both Yūji and Nobara looked at each other before dragging Megumi along with them. The house wasn’t too far away and the moment Kai entered, he saw the problem. A mountain of karaage chicken and more being made over a fire grill. It seemed as if there was a power outage in the area. ‘Why do I get a feeling Gojō-sensei is the cause of this?’ Megumi thought as Tōya peered around the amount. Sumire looked up from her sewing as Abigail was setting the table.
“Pardon the intrusion.” the three said as they took off their shoes.
“Oh, it’s no problem. Just a sudden power outage while we were at home.” Tōya sighed as the rice in the traditional bamboo cooker was done. “I just happened to be reading a good novel at the time and the main character was making some. Oh but don’t worry Kai, shopping day is tomorrow, so if the power isn’t on by then I will just make smaller trips throughout the week and cook for the day.”
“Honestly.” Kai said before tapping the to-do list that H-san had sent them. With little chibi drawings included. “Remember, we need to rotate the cooking schedule, Tōya, this is so no one person is doing all the chores.”
“But I like cooking.” Tōya told him and Kai nodded his head. The smell of ginger soy sauce in the air. But he could tell that Tōya put his all in making each batch of karaage chicken unique.
“But all of us need to learn how to like it too.” Abigail told him as she placed a hand on his shoulder. “Please, sit. Ah, my name is Oren Abigail.”
“Momotaro Tōya. Pleased to meet you.”
“Kinomoto Sumire, mind your feet, I’ve lost a few pins.”
“I should have introduced myself earlier, I am Yumeba Kai.”
“So how did you guys meet?” Abigail asked as she set down some pickled vegetables and miso soup with carrots in them.
“Ah, well he….” none of them really knew what to say until Yūji spoke up. “We were checking to see if he was alright. He bent down earlier and we didn’t know why.”
“Oh, I found a hundred yen.” Kai answered, he wasn’t sure if they knew about spirits or not, but it wasn’t exactly a lie either. ‘Though I wonder why that thing stopped following me. And why is it that I remember the sound of fighting? Oh well. Food is tasty at least.’
After dinner was done the dishes were cleaned up and Kai upheld his promise. First he washed Nobara’s hair gently using some of the products Sakura and himself used. Being very gentle and making sure to do a light cleaning of the face. After all, natural oils were important. Then while her hair was drying, with a little bit of combing and styling, Kai got to her makeup. Like her hair he was going a bit more natural but used the makeup to bring out the eye catching features. Her orange eyes were one of them as well as her lips. He made sure to match with her skin tone, using blue as just the liner around her eyes but not too much. He smiled a bit as he finished up, Sumire was already sketching designs for Nobara and the others. Kai wondered if this was what making friends was like.