Baki
She/Her
18
December 21
Saffron City
Bi
Gym Leader
Officer
oceans of angels, oceans of stars, down by the sea is where you drown your scars
DENOUEMENT [M]
POSTED ON Dec 14, 2023 8:17:05 GMT
[nospaces] [attr="class","petalbasetsu4"] [attr="class","star1tsu4"] [attr="class","circleoutline1tsu4"] [attr="class","starimgtsu4"] [attr="class","star2tsu4"]Fuck.[break][break] He's right. First sign of trouble and she comes back to cry in his arms. [break][break] What a fucking joke. [break][break] "... Yeah. I did have to. This is the only way, Navy."[break][break] She's not good at anything else. [break][break] ... But wasn't that his excuse, too?[break][break] "Rocket will win if everyone gives less than everything they've got.[break][break]
... Even their lives."[break][break] She knows he can't rightfully argue that. [break][break] Not after admitting he's the stupid, reckless one who got killed.[break][break] "... Aya was the same, knew it better than anyone. Fought three pokemon and an avatar off at once. Held 'em at a standstill long enough I could escape. Ol' girl was probably at least a century old. Probably took a hundred grunts to capture her in the first place. Can only imagine the carnage."[break][break] She smiles at the thought, wiping away tears. No way Ayame would go easy on anyone, let alone the Rockets she hated so much. [break][break] Baki looks down at Navy slumped against the wall, then clumsily plants herself on the ground beside him. Cast on her leg, it's hard to kneel or crouch, but she's not planning on going anywhere. Not with Navy in this condition.[break][break] "Y'know... I 'found' her in one of those underground storage facilities Rocket's got. A million stolen pokeballs, and hers was the only one I could find that wasn't damaged. She's the only reason I made it out when some giant dragon collapsed a building on our heads, the day all those riots sprung up. [break][break]
"Was ready to kill me at first, til I told her I hated Rocket as much as she did. Promised I'd bring her back to the forest she was stolen from, one day... but, y'know...[break][break]
"Now I think of it, Rocket prolly razed that, too."[break][break] Just like Kanto.[break][break] The dream of going back home sustained her. That forest would always exist, long as Baki held it in her mind. Whether it was still standing or not mattered much less than the idea of it.[break][break] A place you could call 'home', a place you'd fight for.[break][break] "Ain't gonna make her sacrifice meaningless. Ain't gonna push papers when there's a fight. Anything I can do, I'll do. And turns out, I can do a hell of a lot. It's a wonder Freya managed to keep that office running without me, cause holy shit. It's a lot."[break][break] freya morningstar might've been scary before, but now she had Baki to take care of all her admin work, she was practically unstoppable. [break][break] "Turns out, though, I can do that, too. Aya knew there was stuff I could do that other people couldn't, saw the good in me. Gave her life to protect me, cause she knew I'd keep on fighting. Had faith, when everyone else saw me as some lost cause."[break][break] Just like him.[break][break] Tsubaki turns to Navy as she talks, brushing dirt and blood out of his hair. [break][break] The man's a wreck. Tell-tale signs of age are beginning to show. He's still young, but not young. Not anymore. Lines appear in the corners of his eyes. A couple stray gray hairs poke out here and there. His skin's weathered by the tropical sun he's saving the world under every damned day.[break][break] "... Fuck, that distortion didn't do your body any favors, did it? How're you expectin' to bounce back from gettin' killed as an old man, huh?"[break][break] He's pushing himself to the breaking point. How he's been living the last year would've aged anyone, even without the time-space fuckery. She realizes she's fussing over him and pulls away, hoping he doesn't notice the red on her face.[break][break] The sea lies in front of them, vast as ever on the horizon.[break][break] The dead man's exhausted, so she just keeps talking. Anything to distract him from his pain and her own embarrassment. [break][break] He doesn't need to say a word.[break][break] "You're right, though. Gotta find my own way, can't come home cryin' to you every time I fuck up. Think I figured one thing out, though. [break][break]
"Gotta just... never be unprepared again. [break][break]
"Aya gave everything to protect me, but she wouldn't need to if I wasn't so stubborn. Expected to just punch my way through everything like a dumbass. Worked when I was fightin' thugs, gangsters, cops... even League officers. Turns out, you can punch through a hell of a lotta stuff if you try.[break][break]
"But you can't win a fair fight against a God, no matter how hard you hit. Just ain't enough."[break][break] The light of the forest, embodiment of life...[break][break] The darkness of the ocean deep, stirring up storms with giant wings...[break][break] Had she encountered those monsters before, she'd never have tried fighting them head-on. Now she'd seen how powerful these legends were first-hand, she understood exactly the kinda battles Navy had been fighting this whole time.[break][break] What an idiot.[break][break] "There's gotta be an answer to 'em. And if there's an answer, there's a way you can get ready to fight 'em."[break][break] [attr="class","star3tsu4"] [attr="class","petalpoketsu4"] [attr="class","rouxcredittsu4"] ♠[newclass=.petalbasetsu4]font:11px roboto;--accent:#d5bed2;[/newclass] [newclass=.petalbasetsu4]max-width: 450px; height: auto;border: 1px solid #1a1a1a; border-radius: 10px; overflow: hidden; background: #252525; [/newclass] [newclass=.star1tsu4]border-radius: 10px 10px 0px 0; max-width: 460px; height: 220px; background: url(https://i.imgur.com/ZtFj789.png), rgb(160, 132, 155, 0.65); background-blend-mode: luminosity; background-attachment: fixed; background-size: contain; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center;[/newclass] [newclass=.starimgtsu4]width: 100px; height: 100px; position: relative; border-radius: 100%; object-fit: cover;[/newclass] [newclass=.starimgtsu4 img]height:100px;width:100px;border-radius:100%;[/newclass] [newclass=.star2tsu4]width: 350px; padding: 20px; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify; color: #eee; margin: 20px 0px 20px 0px; border-radius: 5px;[/newclass] [newclass=.petalpoketsu4]text-align: center; margin: 0 auto; [/newclass] [newclass=.petalpoketsu4 img]margin-top:0px; [/newclass] [newclass=.circleoutline1tsu4]border-radius: 100%; width: 120px; height: 120px; background: var(--accent); opacity: 0.3; position: absolute; [/newclass] [newclass=.star2tsu4 b]font-weight: bold; color:var(--accent);[/newclass] [newclass=.star2tsu4 i]text-decoration:italic; color:var(--accent);[/newclass] [newclass=.star3tsu4] border-radius: 0px 0px 0px 0; max-width: 460px; height: 50px; background: url(https://i.imgur.com/ZtFj789.png), rgb(160, 132, 155, 0.65); background-blend-mode: luminosity; background-attachment: fixed; background-size: contain; display: flex; text-align:center;[/newclass] [newclass=.rouxcredittsu4]align:right; color:#AB4646; font-size:10px; text-align:right; padding:10px; [/newclass]
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