"Pinch me. I must be dreaming."
"No," replied Kenshin, "I will not. If I do, you'll just end up complaining that I've hurt you. Besides which, you know you're not dreaming."
"I'll do it!" beamed Sora as they reached across and pinched Hana's bare arm.
The raven-haired girl gasped and batted Sora's hand away. "What did you do that for? It hurt!"
"You asked!" replied Sora, staring dumbstruck at the girl.
"I didn't ask you to hurt me," she replied, before giving a derisive snort and walking on past them.
Kenshin smirked and patted Sora on the shoulder. "Oh, buddy, you never stood a chance. The only way to win is not to play." He moved his hand to Sora's back and nudged them on to keep walking, lest they be left behind.
"Well, what don'tcha believe Hana?" asked Sora, walking a bit faster to move in step with the girl. They had only been travelling together for a little over a week, but Sora's heart already belonged to Hana, whether or not she wanted it, which she didn't. This was an inscrutable fact that Sora had missed entirely, and, like a moth to a flame, they kept coming back for more, convinced that they could somehow change Hana's mind, despite all of the evidence to the contrary.
Hana hummed to herself for a moment. "Well, I'm not surprised that I won the Earth Badge, or Kenshin for that matter, but I'm surprised that we
all won it, especially on our first tries. We only started out as trainers a week ago, so that's gotta be some kind of record or something, right?"
Kenshin adjusted his glasses and groaned. "Hana, don't."
"Don't what?" she replied, smirking at the giant.
"She doesn't mean it, Sora," said Kenshin, patting the youngster on their back. "You earned your badge, just like the rest of us, and no-one can take that away from you."
"No, no, I get it," whined Sora. "I picked the charmander, so that means I'm gonna struggle more than you guys with a ground-type gym." They shrugged, "Maybe I just got lucky that Beale's still settling into the role and he's not hit a rhythm yet."
"Maybe it's because he was limited to a maximum of two pokémon," said Kenshin, "And they were low-level and they barely knew any ground-type attacks? The first badge is a bit of a given, really, it's not meant to be a difficult match, it's just a check to make sure that a trainer knows how to handle their pokémon in a battle." He used the palm of his hand to push his glasses back up on to the bridge of his nose. "The people that lost their first badge match are usually too immature, or too reckless, it's not down to typing. Unless you'd gone in with just a pikachu, I suppose."
"That'd be pretty reckless," said Hana. "Type match-ups aren't everything, but it's part of a trainer's job to pick their battles. Going in with a weakness is one thing, but going in when they're immune to all of your attacks? That's suicide!"
"It's just a shame it doesn't get much easier with Brock next and then Misty," sighed Sora, as they ran a hand through their blonde mop of hair and sighed. "Why couldn't we live in Celadon? Beating grass-types would be a cinch!"
Kenshin groaned and face-palmed. "What'd I just say about the first match being a gimme? You've got a type-advantage of Erika, sure, but you'd still have to face Beale and Brock and Misty at some other point. You're almost better off facing them early, it's your final gym where you want to have an advantage, because the leaders get to use a full team of six and they don't have to hold back." Kenshin adjusted his glasses again, "Anyway, you just caught a mankey, so why are you so worried about Brock? You can leave Charlie in his ball and let, uh, what was it, Manfred? Manuel?"
"Marcel," corrected Sora.
"Right, Marcel," said Kenshin. "Let Marcel handle it. Give him a little extra training if you're worried, but he'll be more than enough to handle the rock-types. Have faith!"
"It's easy for you to say that, you have a bulbasaur," pouted Sora.
Kenshin nodded, "Yeah, and I've got a spearow and a weedle, too. It's one good pokémon for Brock and two with a weakness to him. I'm counting on Ichiro to do all of the work, that's no different to you and Marcel. You just need to train him up a bit and he'll be breaking boulders for fun." He patted Sora on the shoulder, "You and Marcel have this."
Hana's face had softened a little during the discussing and she flashed the young blonde a smile. "I've only got two pokémon, and yeah, Ren's gonna be front and centre for Brock but I don't want Hayato getting involved. He's just a pidgey, he's not going to do well against rock-types and I'm really hoping to find some support in the forest, but I kinda doubt it. Brock's still only our second gym, he won't be that tough. Misty will be the bigger problem, but we've got plenty of time to build our teams before them."
Sora looked to Hana, surprised by her kindness and that she was even paying them any attention. "Do you really think so, Hana? Do you think Marcel and I can win?"
"Marcel, and Charlie," she said, "And Ricky, too. And you."
"If you say it, then it must be true!" beamed Sora, whose footsteps instantly seemed lighter as they moved nearer to the pink-haired girl. "Thank you for believing in me, Hana. I just needed to know that someone did."
Hana winced a little and then nodded quickly, waving a hand at Sora to try to push them away from herself. She looked to Kenshin who said nothing but flashed her a rather smug smile as Sora ignored her efforts and kept trying to get closer to the girl.
"You kids aren't going into the forest tonight, are you?"
Kenshin was the first to stop, turning to spot an elderly woman, illuminated by a small oil lantern. She was sweeping leaves from her porch, but stopped and leaned on her broom for support as the group approached.
"That was the plan," said Kenshin. "We've got an hour or two before it goes dark, so we can get a decent way through and then find somewhere to set up camp. I've camped in forests before, so we'll be alright."
"Oh, my," murmured the old lady as she looked up at Kenshin. He was only 16, but he towered over most people, and this woman was no different. She was only just on a par with Hana, though it was clear she had been taller before she'd taken to stooping. "I'm sure you're very capable, young man, but pray, listen to an old lady's words of wisdom. Do not enter the Myrtle Forest tonight. You may have camped overnight elsewhere, but this forest is... different. It isn't like any other forest you've been through, it has an energy, and not always a positive one at that."
"Huh?" asked Sora. "What do you mean? Is it a negative energy?"
"It is a great feeling of sadness that permeates the forest," said the old woman. Her face was deeply line and her eyes were darkened with age, but now they seemed almost hollow as she spoke. "Terrible things happened in the Myrtle Forest on this day, many moons ago, and the forest remembers them. Every year the forest cries for those that lost their lives, and the sobbing of the trees will keep you awake, but tonight is a full moon, and that means that the forest spirits are at their most potent. Those same events will play out again tonight and you do not want to get caught up in them. Please, for your own safety, stay out of the forest tonight."
Kenshin shook his head. "Look, old lady, we don't believe in that sort of thing. Those noises will just be the bug-types feeding or pupating. We'll be fine. There's nothing supernatural in the Viridian Forest, that's just nonsense."
"Will we?" asked Sora, tugging on Kenshin's sleeve. "Have you been here before? Maybe the old grandma's right?"
"Old lady? Grandma?" the woman huffed, her nostrils flaring. "Don't you children have any manners? My name is Hibiki and I can hear you just fine. Especially you, bellsprout," she added, jabbing a finger in Kenshin's direction. "I've forgotten more about this place and its legends than you'll ever know, especially with that attitude. I have
seen the spirits that are at work here and you would be a fool to dismiss my words as rubbish because you think you know better!"
Kenshin looked a little sheepish, but before he could say anything, Hana stepped forward. "Please, Miss Hibiki, tell us what happened. What could be so awful that you have to warn us not to enter the forest?"
Hibiki's face softened and she stretched out a leathery hand to touch Hana's cheek. "I'm so glad to see that some children are still raised properly. Not like these two brats." She smiled and placed both hands on top of her broom handle again, "My dear, come inside and I will tell
you the story. If the boys want to listen too then they can consider themselves lucky to have you for a friend."
Sora pouted and was about to say something when Kenshin cut them off with a stern shake of the head. "Leave it, Sora, it's not the time."
The blonde muttered something unpleasant about the old woman and folded their arms, giving a sneer that Hibiki surely felt, even if she didn't see it as the three followed the old woman into her house.
Entering Hibiki's house was like taking a step back in time. It was a small cottage, as might be expected on the edge of a forest, but it seemed like Hibiki had no electricity, as the house was lit entirely by small oil lanterns and candles. There was no television, there was no radio, there were no radiators either, only a log fire in the middle that seemed to warm the entire building and, hanging over the fire, was a kettle with steam billowing from its neck.
Hibiki gathered four cups, clearly not holding too many grudges, and then strained the boiling water through tea leaves to fill each cup. She set them down on a small table, along with a pot of honey and a small spoon. "Take one," she said, "It isn't a warm night and this will heat you from the inside. You'll be glad of it."
Hana took one immediately, followed by Kenshin. He was the first to take a sip and, while it was freshly boiled, the boy didn't seem to mind. "That's good," he said. "My grandmother makes tea the same way. Thank you." His voice was a little more contrite, trying not to cause further offence now that he was in Hibiki's house.
Sora was the last to take a cup and sniffed it warily. They took a sip and winced, gagging a little at the bitter taste.
"That's what the honey is for," said Hibiki. "Myrtle tea isn't to everyone's liking, especially not at first."
Sora nodded and added two large dollops of honey, before stirring it vigorously. It still tasted and smelled odd, but it was more palatable now, so they left it at that, while Hana also added a little honey to soften the taste.
"You called this Myrtle tea," said Kenshin. "You also called it the Myrtle Forest. Is it grown there?"
"I call it the Myrtle Forest because that's its name," replied Hibiki, obviously not feeling too forgiving. "Don't they teach you anything in school? The forest is named after the trees that make it up, and the tea leaves come from those teas. This is rudimentary stuff, young man."
Kenshin sighed and sat a little further back in his chair. He wasn't going to be making friends any time soon, and, as Sora added another spoon of honey to their tea, it fell to Hana to get the old woman talking.
"Hibiki," she said, "You were going to tell us about the tragedy that took place in the Myrtle Forest. Please will you tell us now?"
The old woman nodded and took a sip from her tea. She set her cup down and leaned forward, talking in a hushed tone to the group.
"This is a story that my grandmother told to me, and she knew it from her grandmother, and from hers before. This is an old story, from when humanity was still young and the gods themselves still walked the lands.
Long before Pewter was hewn out of the mountains on which it stands, there was an ancient village at the base of the mountain range known as Taupe Vale. It wasn't the biggest town, but it was the only civilised place between the forest and Mount Moon, so it was an important stop for any travellers looking to rest or restock while on their journey. In time, it became a wealthy place and the fourth emperor stationed his eldest cousin, Ganryu there as its overseer and protector. Ganryu fortified the city, raised an army and ensured the roads were safe from bandits.
He also fell in love.
She was the third daughter of a cattle farmer, from the lowest caste, with no money or title, only a kind spirit and hair like the first leaves of spring. From birth, she had long green locks, so her parents had named her Midori and, as she grew older, her hair become more vibrant, and her eyes were of the same shade, too. She grew more beautiful and more compassionate with age, becoming an excellent cook, and she was known for her invigorating broth that she made diligently each day for the farm hands and any of the country labourers or visitors. It was this stew and her beautiful green hair that captured Ganryu's heart, causing him to propose to her immediately, but she politely rebuffed him, because her heart belong to another.
Despite this, Ganryu made his intentions known and set out to make the emerald-haired woman his wife. He would travel to see her each week, bringing lavish gifts of food, finest silks, spices, even perfume and jewellery, but Midori would always refuse. Some of the silks and jewels were worth more than the farm, but still she and her family persisted in turning Ganryu down.
The lord of Taupe Vale knew that, as long as her heart belonged to another, then it would never belong to him, so he spoke with his spymaster and the two men drew up a wicked plot to remove Midori's lover from the scenario. Within a week, he was found dead, hanged by the neck in his own hut. The coroner declared it to be suicide, but those in the village knew that this could only have been done by the wicked hands of men, and no-one was more certain of it than Midori.
So, when Ganryu came to visit a few days later, bedecked in his finest armour and carrying wondrous gifts of all sorts, Midori made her feelings very clear. She accused him of her lover's murder and told him that no-one could ever love a man with a heart so black. Midori told him she would die before she would marry him, and after being rejected so publicly, Ganryu swore revenge.
He returned a week later, but instead of his usual compliment of guards and carts of extravagant gifts, he came alone, disguised as her deceased lover. On arrival, Ganryu found the farm to be abandoned, with no sign of where the family had gone. Ganryu had become cruel and deceitful, and with no-one around, he approached a cherry blossom that stood in the courtyard of the farm. "Mother Sakura, most beautiful and fragrant of all trees," he said, bowing before her, "Do you know to where my love has run? I fear that she thinks I have died and now that I cannot find her, my heart is sick with worry."
The tree blushed, its blossom turning from snow-white to soft pink at being addressed in such a way by such a noble man. "Do not worry," she whispered on the breeze, "Your love has gone to the Myrtle Forest, go and be with her. She misses you dearly."
Ganryu laughed and removed his disguise, blowing a loud trumpet blast to summon his army that had been in waiting beyond the ridge. Realising what she had down, Mother Sakura began to weep as her blossoms fell to the ground as Ganryu and his mean burned down the farm and the fields, releasing the pokémon, so that the family could never return. They then mounted their steeds once more and set off for the Myrtle Forest.
The light was fading by the time they arrived, but under the forest's dark canopy, the family's lanterns were easy to spot. Ganryu and his mean found the family in a clearing, sleeping in tents around a single log fire, with a single large pot cooking in the middle of their camp. His trained archers silently picked off the watchmen under the cover of darkness, and the rest moved stealthily, going from tent to tent and snapping the necks of any they found asleep, until only Midori was left. Ganryu had her bound and brought her out of the tent to show her the fallen bodies of her family and their labourers, not a single one of them spared by Ganryu's cruel hand.
He then asked Midori again to marry him. She refused, so he had his men break her bones and force her into her own cooking pot, sealing the lid with sap from the myrtle trees and leaving her to boil to death, surrounded by the bodies of her family. He then returned to his tower and sought out a new woman to be his wife while tales of of supernatural occurrences in the forest began to circulate.
Travellers would tell tales of sobbing noises coming from the forest at night, even when no-one is around. They come from the trees and the plans themselves, and sometimes their emerald green tears fall to the ground when they remember the unwitting role that Mother Sakura played in Midori's demise. More than that, though, they tell stories of eerie sights.
People have seen an entire family with their necks bent backwards, so that they can only stare at the forest canopy. Any that disturbed their silent vigil were met with unearthly screams and were driving out of the forest, while others tell of the emerald maiden, a ghostly figure whose bones bent the wrong way, with unnaturally green hair that was never dry. In her presence, the trees themselves would cry for their role in her death. It is said she walks the earth looking for her lost love and if anyone should encounter her, she will take revenge by breaking their bones and then dragging them back into her cooking pot, where she will boil them alive in their own juices."
Kenshin, while skeptical of the whole story, was a sucker for a good myth, and this had a bit of everything, so he accepted it for the story it was, even if he believed none of it. He sipped at his tea and sat back, nodding in satisfaction at Hibiki's tale. He had never heard of Lord Ganryu or Midori, or the Myrtle Forest, or even Taupe Vale, but it was a good story all the same.
Hana, too, was riveted, not least because Hibiki was telling it directly to her, but she too found the tale fascinating and it sounded like so many other tales that she had been told in her youth. She sat up and cleared her throat, "What happened to Ganryu?"
Hibiki sneered, "He married, raised a family and died of old age. If anyone tries to tell you that there is such a thing as karma, then it's not to be found in this world."
Sora had grown bored during the story and was fussing over their phone, only looking up at the change in Hibiki's tone to realise that the story was over. "Well," they said, hopping to their feet, "Thanks for that, old woman, but we need to get going and it is dark now, but Pewter City isn't going to wait for us."
Startled by Sora's sudden move, Kenshin took a moment to catch up, shooting the younger teen a glare for their rudeness. "Thank you for the tea, Miss Hibiki," he said, trying to make up for it with a bow of his own. "Thank you also for the story, and for taking us into your home."
Hibiki looked at the two with disinterest, but stood up when Hana did the same. She reached out to take the girl's hands in her own, "My child, thank you for listening to an old woman, but please, do not think of my tale as a mere story meant to scare babes, it is a warning. You do not want to meet the emerald maiden of the forest, or her family on a night like this." Hibiki squeezed Hana's hands, as if stressing her point to the younger woman, "Do not enter that forest."
Hana nodded. "Thank you, Miss Hibiki, I'm sorry about my companions, but we are grateful for your company and your sage advice. I hope you have a pleasant night."
The three made their way outside to find that darkness had already overtaken the daylight and, with it, a cold breeze that made the idea of travelling through the forest even less pleasant than normal.
"So," said Hana once they were out of earshot of the cottage, "Are we going back to Viridian for the night? It's already dark, so why don't we just get some sleep and get an early start on it tomorrow? We can still make it to Pewter."
"You aren't serious, are you?" asked Sora, wrinkling up their nose. "You're scared of some old granny's story? It doesn't even check out. It's totally bogus."
"What do you mean?" asked Kenshin, looking warily to the blonde.
Sora grinned and held up their phone. "I was fact-checking everything she said. I mean, it's 2022, you've gotta do it, you can't trust adults, they'll tell you whatever. So, like, Taupe Vale was this centuries old place that died off when they built Pewter, and the Viridian Forest is full of myrtle trees, so calling it the Myrtle Forest kinda makes sense, but that's it. The rest is just some BS ghost story to scare kids."
"It's still dark," said Hana, "If we had a few hours of good light then yeah, I'd wanna get started but I dunno if it's worth starting now when it's already dark. Ghosts or no ghosts, you could end up tripping on a root or walking into a weedle nest. Who wants to do that?"
"I wanna go for it," said Sora. "I wanna stick two fingers up at that rude old lady and march right into the forest. We've got torches and Charlie's tail will give us plenty of light if you stay close. We were gonna camp out there anyway, so why not? Yo, Kenshin, you got an opinion?"
The taller boy looked up and blinked, "Nh? Sorry, I was looking up the story too. Like always, there are different versions but they all have the same basic facts and end with an entire family being slaughtered in the forest. It doesn't mean it didn't happen," he shrugged, "And even though Hibiki was a good story-teller, 've never believed in ghosts before and I'm not about to start now."
Sora grinned and put their arm around Hana. "Come on, Han-chan, you've got me and Kenny boy here to protect you against any ghostly forest spirits. You'll be fine! We won't let nothing happen to you, right, Ken?"
"Call me 'Kenny boy' again and I can't promise that nothing will happen to you," he replied, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose with his palm. "Sora's right though," he said, looking to Hana, "There's three of us and we've all got pokémon, I don't think we need to worry."
Hana sighed, "Fine. Fine. We'll do it, but if anything â anything at all â happens then I will hold you two personally responsible!"
"I won't let anything happen to you," said Sora, taking hold of Hana's hand. "I will protect you with my life."
Kenshin grabbed Sora's mop of dirty blonde hair and began dragging them into the forest, "Save it, Romeo, this is not how you pull." He looked over his shoulder, "Come on Hana, you don't want to get left behind, do you?"
Hana's eyes widened at that comment and she hurried along behind them.
They had been walking through the Viridian Forest for about half an hour, entirely without incident. It was cool and the ground was still somewhat damp underfoot from recent rainfall, but it was still early enough that they could easily go another hour or two before needing to stop for sleep.
Charlie was leading the group, the charmander's tail giving off enough light to illuminate the forest floor, as well as giving the team a focal point, while Jiro perched on Kenshin's shoulder and Ren walked beside Hana. The girl kept touching the back of the squirtle's head for comfort and support, secretly wishing that the water-type was taller, so she could hold its hand. She was on edge and wanted something to make her feel a bit safer. She looked over her shoulder at Kenshin and his spearow, bringing up the rear of the group and got a friendly smile from the older boy. Maybe they were right, maybe it was just a story. It was still a creepy forest full of bugs, but that wasn't
too bad and it certainly wasn't going to stop her.
"I thought there'd be more pokémon," said Sora. They looked back at the other two, "We've been walking for a while and I've not seen anything at all."
Hana blinked. Kenshin stepped up beside her and groaned. "Maybe you need to look a little harder," he said, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"Yeah," said Hana, "I mean, there are literally pokémon
everywhere in this forest."
"No, there aren't," said Sora. "I haven't seen them."
Hana sighed and fished her torch out of her pocket. She flicked it on and immediately pointed it the canopy above, where bright yellow eyes reflected the light back. "See those? Metapod."
She then shone it at another branch where the tough shells of kakuna hung. Pointing it down at a berry bush that rustled, she shrugged. "Caterpie or weedle, probably, something's in there making it shake."
Kenshin nodded. "Pokémon aren't going to run up to you and beg to be a part of your team and those in the forest are better-equipped to blend in. They're not just hiding from you, but from predators, too, and most of them won't like fire, so they'll give Charlie a wide berth."
Sora grumbled, "Alright, alright, no need to gang up on me. I guess I'll just take a metapod if we get to the end of the forest and I don't find anything better. That's gotta be easier than raising a caterpie. It's like halfway to being a butterfree already."
The group continued to walk through the forest. There was a gentle bristling of branches in the breeze to accompany them, along with the occasional chittering of the assorted bug-types that called the forest home. Even the chittering was a quiet, calm sound, devoid of panic or aggression, it was all quite peaceful and even Hana found herself soothed by it. The night was drawing in, so tiredness was starting to take over and the group became tired and less chatty until Kenshin said what they were all thinking.
"Next time we find a bit of open space, we should set up camp." He yawned, covering his hand with his mouth, "We've made good progress, so we'll be out of here by lunch time tomorrow."
So, when the group found a clearing besides a small stream running through the forest, it seemed too good to be true. They pitched their tents and, with Charlie's help, set a campfire going in the middle, where they all sat for a warm mug of hot chocolate. There were fewer trees here, so the canopy broke in places, allowing them to see the night sky and the stars overhead.
"I told you there was nothing to worry about," said Sora, gently scratching the back of Charlie's head. "Just an old story to scare the kids. There's barely any pokémon here, let alone ghosts and ghouls. It's just us."
"There are pokémon here," said Kenshin, "It's not anyone else's fault if you're just oblivious to them."
"He's right," said Hana. "There are some bugs over near the water, I dunno what, but I'm not gonna disturb them with my torch. They aren't doing us any harm."
Sora shrugged. "I didn't see the
right kind of bugs. There was nothing to catch. That's what I meant."
"Of course," said Kenshin, before yawning again. He had already withdrawn Jiro and taken his glasses off as he too watched the fire. "I'm going to call it a night. Try not to make too much noise, yeah?" he asked, his attention pointed towards the blonde.
"Well, what if we see the green ghostie?" asked Sora, smirking at their own joke.
"Emerald maiden," corrected Kenshin, "And you won't, so behave."
He withdrew into his tent and closed the zip, leaving Sora, Hana, Ren and Charlie sat around the campfire. Charlie gave a yawn too, his eyes drooping somewhat as he stared at the embers. His little yawn came complete with a tiny little flame that carried on the air for a moment before flickering out of existence.
"Aww," said Hana, "Are you tired too, cutey?" Ren tugged on her arm and nodded in agreement. "Maybe we should all go to bed," she said, looking to Sora. "I'll see you in the morning."
Sora nodded and gave her a wave as she and Ren withdrew into her red tent. They withdrew Charlie to let him rest and sat for a while longer, poking the embers of the fire with their stick. "I should have got Ren to put it out," they muttered, before grabbing a bucket and trudging towards the water's edge. "Kenshin would never forgive me if I went to bed without damping down the fire first."
Sora lowered the bucket towards the stream and dragged it across the surface. They caught wind of their reflection in the moonlit water and stick their tongue out, but as they smirked, the face in the water contorted and it was no longer Sora's reflection staring back. Instead, there was a beautiful young woman, with long, dark hair that seemed as dark as the abyss. She pouted as Sora leaned forwards to get a closer look and then looked directly at them with a wide frown and hollow eyes. Sora yelped and tried to lean back, only for a something to pull them into the stream. Sora gave a yell as they fell head-first into the water and thrashed around, quickly getting back to their feet, dripping wet.
"Is everyone alright?" shouted Kenshin, almost tearing open his tent to step out into the night with a torch in hand. Hana followed him out, shining her torch around until she spotted Sora and began to giggle.
"It's not funny!" whined the soaked blonde. "I saw something in the water and it pulled me in."
"Was it a really shiny penny?" asked Kenshin. "Like that fountain in Viridian?" He strolled towards the stream and offered Sora a hand.
"No," Sora replied, climbing out of the water. "It... was a woman."
"You saw a woman in a stream that's about a foot deep?" asked Hana, folding her arms. "Baka."
"No baka," hissed Sora. "I saw her face, and then something grabbed my collar and dragged me in. She did it, she was trying to drown me!"
Kenshin groaned. "Technically, you
can drown in a foot of water, but are you sure something dragged you in? Maybe you just slipped and fell? That's far more likely."
"Then explain the ghostly face I saw!" objected Sora, trying to wring out some of their clothes.
"Too much candy," said Hana. "It's all you eat. Processed sugars. It's why you're so hyper and you don't sleep well."
"Agreed," said Kenshin, fishing the bucket out of the stream and placing it beside the fire. "Sit yourself down and dry off, don't get in your sleeping bag while wet and remember to put out the fire when you're done." He shook his head and climbed back into his tent, "Don't forget about it again, alright?"
Sora snorted and sat themselves down beside the fire with a sullen expression on their face. "I know what I saw, and I only saw it because I went to get water for the fire! I'm not stupid."
Hana smiled. "Are you sure?" she asked before vanishing into her tent with a mean-spirited giggle.
"Some friends," muttered Sora. They were shaken up by what had happened, but the more that Sora thought about it, the more they started to doubt it, too. It probably was down to too much sugar and the old bat's story playing on their mind, helping them to see things that weren't real. Sora sighed and inched closer to the fire, they were never going to dry out at this rate.
As they sat in front of the fire, Sora noticed that the flames were starting to die off, so they got a stick to poke the embers, hoping to restart them, but the fire continued to shrink. Sora wasn't anywhere close to dry, so they entered their tent and started to rummage in their bag for Charlie's ball.
Turning to leave the tent, they saw a bright greenish flash from the outside and scrambled out as quickly as possible, pokéball in hand and ready to battle. The fire had been extinguished and was little more than smouldering embers now. The light was now moving away from their campsite and Sora, headstrong and foolhardy as ever, gave chase.
"Hey!" they shouted, chasing the green glow and, as they closed the gap, they sent out their charmander. "Charlie, use ember to stop it running away!"
The charmander nodded and reared back, before unleashing a volley of burning embers in the direction of the glow. Some missed, but Sora was sure that some were hits, though the glowing creature failed to react and they fell through it, landing as black coals on the forest floor. Some struck a few dried leaves at the base of a bush, where they tool hold and started to burn. The glow stopped in its tracks and rushed to the fire, smothering it in a few seconds as Sora and Charlie had chance to catch up to it.
"What are you?" asked Sora.
The glow turned and, once more, Sora saw that woman's face. She bore a pained expression this time, with her dark hair hanging either side of her face as she stared back at the youth. Her mouth twisted, it was distorted and her lips were impossible to read, yet Sora knew what she was saying, "Fire". She had extinguished the loose embers and stretched out a painfully thin, incredibly bony arm, pointing it at Sora and beckoning them closer.
Sora refused, "Lady, you tried to kill me. No way." Yet, they found themselves moving forward, towards the spectre. "Hey! Stop it!" shouted Sora, "Charlie! Attack her!"
The charmander looked as confused as Sora, but understood what attack meant and let loose a volley of embers. Any that came too near to the creature were extinguished immediately and fell to the floor as black lumps of hardened ash, but it distracted her for a moment as her gaze settled on the fire-type instead.
"What's going on?" shouted Kenshin, rushing through the forest with Jiro flapping overhead. Just behind him were Hana and Hayato. "Sora!"
"Ken!" shouted the blonde. "It's the green ghost, she's real, she's right here! She put out the fire!"
"The what?" asked Hana as the pair arrived with their birds. "What are you on about?"
Sora blinked and turned back. The ethereal woman was gone, it was just them and their charmander now. The two flying-types took a perch on branches overhead as Sora's entire body slumped. "The ghost lady, the emerald maiden, she's real, she was right here. Charlie and I were chasing her, she... she kept putting out the fires"
"What fires?" asked Kenshin, before looking down at Charlie. "Oh hell no! Sora, have you had Charlie using his fire attacks IN A FOREST? Are you trying to burn us all alive?"
Hana huffed, "Even for you, that's pretty reckless."
"What? No!" Sora held their arms out. "No! We were chasing the emerald maiden, Charlie was attacking her, and she kept putting out his embers..."
The charmander looked to Sora, then to the others and nodded.
Kenshin groaned and rubbed his brow. "I don't even know where to start with this. You could have started a forest fire here, and it's because you think you saw a ghost. So first she tries to pull you into a stream that's only a foot deep, and now she's putting fires you made? Well, good, I'm glad someone knows how to be responsible in a forest." He turned, disgust etched across his face. "I'm going back to bed, you should do the same and I just hope you pack this in. I don't know what you think it is, Sora, but it's not funny and I'm done with it."
Hana said nothing, recalling her pidgey as she followed Kenshin back to their campsite.
Sora glanced around for any sign of the light that accompanied the spirit, but found nothing. Just the charred remnants of Charlie's attacks. "Am I losing it?" they mumbled, "You saw her too, didn't you buddy?"
The charmander nodded and rubbed up against Sora's leg, before yawning.
"Yeah, you're right," they muttered. "We should just go to bed and forget all about this."
So, Sora returned to their tent and recalled their charmander, climbing into their sleeping bag and hoping for an undisturbed night.
Sora's eyes begun to grow heavy and the warm embrace of sleep was soon upon them, but no sooner had they started to pass into slumber were they awoken by a blindingly bright presence within their tent.
The light was intense and painful, but Sora blinked through it to see the maiden squatting at the end of their sleeping bag, staring at the teenager.
"You again," snarled Sora. "What do you want with me?"
The spirit's head tilted. She opened her mouth, but made no sound and yet, within their own mind, Sora heard the word "follow". She then rose up, passing through the material of the tent, and into the night.
Sora shook their head. "I'm not
that stupid," the said, before turning over and trying to go back to sleep.
It only took a few seconds for them to feel a stabbing pain in their mind. It wasn't physical, but it felt like the sharpest headache Sora had ever experienced and the blonde sat upright, clawing at their own head to dismiss the pain. They winced in agony as the face of the ghostly maiden reappeared through the end of their tent. "Follow," she spoke to Sora's mind and the pain dissipated.
"You won't leave me alone until I follow you, will you?" asked Sora.
The spirit turned and passed back through the tent, out into the night. This time, Sora unzipped their sleeping bag, pulled on their trainers and jacket, and followed the spirit out into the night, finding it stood on the edge of the camp site, waiting for them.
"Where are we going?" asked Sora, finding that the ghost's green glow was enough to illuminate the path, so that they could step over roots and rocks easily enough.
There was no answer as the spirit continued, leading Sora deeper into the woods, where the trees grew taller and the canopy filled in so much that they couldn't see the night sky at all. The forest grew quieter, too, so that the sound of their footsteps squelching through mud or snapping twigs was the only sound that Sora could hear. It was only then that they realised they had left their pokéballs behind, and Sora could only hope that they wouldn't need them.
The spirit led them on further, deeper into the darkness of the forest. The trees became more gnarled and the ground become more uneven, making it difficult for Sora to walk without stumbling, but they pressed on, following the emerald-haired spectre into the depths of the Viridian Forest, past the myrtle trees and further on into the depths, to the parts of the forest so ancient and overgrown that no human had disturbed them in centuries...
It took three weeks for them to find the body.
Sora Amai's travelling partners reported them missing the next morning, and they searched the forest with the aid of the Viridian Forest Rangers, but found nothing at all. There were footsteps in the soft mud heading away from the camp, but these faded out as the trees and the grasses overtook them, leaving nothing but a vague direction. In the end, Sora's body was found by chance, as a geographical survey was plotting the routes of the streams within the forest and their growlithe caught the scent of rotting flesh and went to investigate.
Decomposition had already set in, and rigor mortis had frozen the limbs in place. Every limb was broken, and as the body was found at the bottom of a steep cliff, cause of death was listed as a fall on the official autopsy. The fall must have been violent, and death presumed instantaneous, due to a deep laceration across the neck, presumed to have come from contact with a jagged rock on the way down.
The body was found surrounded by mushrooms, which were not uncommon to the forest, but when it was moved they found a clutch of wild garlic and leeks growing beneath it, neither of which had ever been found in the forest before. Some people might think that these were ingredients needed for a wholesome broth, but if so, no-one said anything.
Sora's travelling companions were told what had happened and began to rave about an ancient Kantonian legend that fell out of popular memory centuries ago. They claimed to have been warned of this "emerald-haired maiden" by an old woman that lived in a cottage at the edge of the forest, but when investigators went to speak to this old woman, they found her alleged dwelling to be little more than ruins. Checking census data, they found that the cottage's last-known resident, one Setsushi Hibiki had died over three-hundred years ago, and the building had since been left to fall into disrepair.
Despite this, investigators noted the pungent smell of myrtle tea in the air when exploring the ruins...
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