[attr="class","star2tsu2"]A familiar embraces closes around you, pulls you from the clutches of angels. You feel a slight tug, and your vision is shrouded in droplets of red. They scatter like jewels and color the scene unfolding at a distance.[break][break]
Navy's shouting, and Hattori's all worked up. [break][break]
You wonder why.[break][break]
Looking up, you acknowledge the pokemon that's holding you: an extension of Navy himself, a projection of his fighting spirit.[break][break]
His touch is nostalgic. [break][break]
It snaps you out of it a little, this constant haze that's been clouding your head since you gazed straight into the light. [break][break]
You're reminded of those rare occasions Shuwen doesn't accompany the sheriff on his constant meddlesome journeys outside town. Those nights the past five months you've come home to an empty house and, afraid to be alone, cuddle into the pokemon's arms. [break][break]
The shame and embarrassment you'd feel if somehow Navy knew, or could sense it... you'd die on the spot, really...[break][break]
... but, in the end, childish as it felt, it was worth it -- cause for someone who's always been alone since the age of twelve, raised by maids, convenience store food, and ill-intentioned ruffians that would eventually lead you into the waiting arms of Rocket, you finally, finally had someone who gave a shit about you. [break][break]
The way his fur's so soft, despite how proficiently he tears apart his foes... he could only belong to someone like Navy, after all.[break][break]
You look down at the state of your arm. It's slick and wet, entirely red like you plunged it straight into a bucket of paint. [break][break]
But it doesn't hurt a bit. [break][break]
As long as you can't feel it, it's not real. Right?[break][break]
And so you gently pet Shuwen's arm, waiting for the worst of it to be over.[break][break]
"... Alright... alright, alright... no need to yell..."[break][break]
You protest Hattori's battle cry, his shout splitting open your head.[break][break]
Your body's weak. You've lost a lot of blood. [break][break]
An arm being flayed kinda does that. [break][break]
But, at least down here, it doesn't take a lot of effort to float. So you cross the chamber and reach for your guardian angel with your good arm, to pat her on her squishy head. Immediately, her tense, frozen state relaxes, and she's back to her old self.[break][break]
"Next time... sting me awake, will ya...?"[break][break]
You turn to Navy.[break][break]
It's hard to meet his eyes. Not when you feel like something else is looking through them. [break][break]
Whether a hidden part of you, or something else from beyond, you don't know what came over you. It's gone now, so you think. [break][break]
But, before you lose too much blood, you've gotta say something. [break][break]
So you force yourself to look him in the eye under the brim of your hat.[break][break]
"... Th-... thanks, again... dad..."[break][break]
You dunno what compels you to say it. But time and time again, he's been there to save you, to look after you, to offer you sage advice. He's no role model, but he's there. That's what counts. That's the important part. [break][break]
In a world where you've been invisible, entirely unseen for your entire life, he's the only human who's managed to see Tsubaki.[break][break]
"... Ready to go when you are."[break][break]
You say it like it's no big deal, but the throbbing behind your eyes won't stop. Stay here any longer next to the core and you don't know what'll happen.[break][break]
+ Navy [break]
+ Nihilego's sting numbs Tsubaki's pain. [break]
+ Tsubaki readies herself for an escape.