16: The Moguls (I)

Aiden – Audino

 

Black fumes scattered as a group of Squirtles doused the fire in an orderly fashion, lined up and spraying water all at once. A crowd gathered around from a safe distance, watching the firefighters do their job. 

The Squirtle Squad, as my neighbors like to call them, was never very punctual. They’re not the most professional, but they’re able to kill a forest fire in just under an hour or two. At least, Danny told me that once.

If only they came sooner. 

“A-ahh…” I was incapable of muttering anything but a shaky gasp as I stared at the pile of ashes that was my house. My nose twitched at the stinging scent of charcoal and black dust.

Each Squirtle shut their mouths, stopping their water flow as they ran inside, to recover anything that wasn’t burnt, I assumed. The flames hadn’t spread to any other house—it was mine alone that burned to the ground. Why? I thought. Who could have done this?

Just then, one of them dug out a frying pan and threw it aside.

And it hit me. Not literally of course, but you get what I mean.

“…w-whoops.” I was cooking pancakes for breakfast, and Stella was in such a rush to see Virizion… I’d forgotten whether or not I put out the stove fire because, well… I never did. 

“What the hell happened here?!” Stella exclaimed. “Y-your house, it…”

“Yes, I know. It’s reduced to ashes. I can see that.” I frowned. Even though the Rockruff was so hasty in taking us over to the tavern, it wouldn’t be right to blame her. Neither of us were really paying attention…

“Dude, I am so sorry… it- it was fine before we left, was it? 

“Well…” I was about to explain to her what I thought happened, before being approached by one of the Squirtles. Like the rest of the firefighters, he wore a pair of spiffy-looking sunglasses. His had a blue rim unlike the other water turtles. I presumed he was their leader.

“Excuse me, Audino! Do you happen to be the owner of this home? Well, rather, the remains of it?” He spoke loudly and sternly, standing upright, his arms behind his shell.

“Oh- um, y-yes, that’s me…” Does he really have to specify?  

“That’s great–well, uh, not great that your humble abode is now destroyed.” He nodded solemnly. “Very sorry about that, by the way, Audino.”

I just nodded back, a tad bit irritated that he was rubbing it in seemingly (and hopefully) unintentionally. I still kept a straight face, though.

“…you really gotta point that out, Squirtle?” Stella scoffed, and I mentally sighed. Thank goodness she said it for me. “That’s kinda fucked up.”

Unfortunately the Water-type ignored her remark. “What I meant to say is that it is great for us to know, considering what caused the fire.”

I gulped. “…y-yes, I… I caused the fire, it was my mistake, sir,” I admitted. “I left the stove running because me and my friend were in a rush, and I neglected to put out the fire.”

“Wait, it- it was because of that?!” Stella gasped, eyes widening. “Holy shit, I- I thought you did put out the stove! You told me back at Swanna House!”

“I wasn’t… entirely sure.”

The Rock-type’s jaw was wide open as she was at a loss for words.

 

“…ohh. This changes things.” The Squirtle pushed up his pair of shades.

“Eh?”

“We thought there was a serial arsonist about to run amok, with Audino here as their first target!” he laughed.

Stella and I were silent for a few seconds. She and I were rightfully bewildered.

“…bruh. Are you fucking kidding me?” she growled. 

“W-with all due respect sir, what made you think that?” I really, really wanted to yell at this Squirtle. But I’m not a big fan of raising my voice.

He had the audacity to shrug. “I’m not a detective. I’m a firefighter. The only thing my squad and I know is spraying water.”

“Then why did you think you could guess what caused the fire?!” the Rockruff snapped.

“…anyway! This is good to know, now I know who to issue this fine to!” Ignoring our questions, he shoved a piece of paper into my paws.

“Wha– fine?!”

“For our services! And also because you started a fire that could’ve potentially burned down more than just a single house.”

I struggled to come up with any words as I glanced down at the note issued to me. I shuddered at the big number below. A thousand Poke?! This has to be a mistake! I thought.

“Sir! Found something interesting here!” Another sunglass-wearing Squirtle marched over with a necklace in his paws. “This looks to have survived the fire!”

I immediately recognized the piece of jewelry. “T-that’s—! G-give me that, please!” I quickly took it from him. “…mom’s necklace…” I mumbled as I examined it. It was a silver bead necklace, with one big pink bead with a strange, wavy sigil etched into it. I never knew what it was, but Mom told me it was important.

“…mom…” I repeated to myself as I clenched the necklace in my paw. I took a deep breath. My house, and nearly everything I own—my books, my berries, my flowers—may be gone, but the fact that my only memento of her was still intact gave me hope.

“…shit really went downhill today… just… I’m speechless, man.” Stella stared at the ground. “…what now?”

“…there’s only one thing I can do, really.”

 

---

“You’re… asking your dad for help?” The Rockruff raised an eyebrow.

“W-well, I have nobody else to turn to… I feel really bad asking him for a favor, but I have zero clue how else we’re supposed to get out of this situation…” I pouted as I led the way down the town hall’s hallway once again, passing by the HAPPI office and heading into the post office across from it. The room itself was a lot bigger, but felt pretty cramped with all the shelves stacked with different cardboard boxes. There was a young-looking Delibird behind the desk, staring at the clock. 

There was a stand right next to the desk housing an assortment of stationery for writing letters. Normally I’d take my time browsing each one, trying to find the prettiest-looking design, but I just grabbed the first one I saw—white card stock with green stripes. Once I paid for the card, plus a little envelope, I got to writing.

“‘Hi Dad, Aiden here…’ erm…” I spoke aloud as I wrote. “‘Something awful happened today, and I really need you to come to Post Town.’”

“Do you really need to say what you’re writing out loud?” Stella snickered.

“It helps me get the words out right!” I defended myself, before realizing I had just written “It helps me get the…” on the card. “…oops.” I erased the last couple of words, blushing a little. 

“Anyway… ‘I’m going to be stuck at the local inn for a while…’” Not wanting to be a burden on any of my neighbors, especially with having another ‘mon with me, I decided staying at Swanna House would be best. “‘There was an accident and my house burned down…’”

“…you, uh, you sure about adding that in?”

“Well, of course. I wouldn’t wanna imagine the shock on his face if I broke the news in person… How else am I going to explain it anyway?” 

I looked at the canine, and she was gesturing with her glances towards the Delibird behind the counter. “No, it’s not that, just… just fucking look at who’s right next to you.”

The red and white fluffy bird just stared at us with wide eyes. Turns out I was writing right in front of him. “Uhhhh…”

“See? Should you really be blurting all this shit out to complete strangers?”

My face grew even redder. “S-sorry… uh…” I hastily signed the letter and stuffed it into the envelope. “M-maybe I should just keep the letter short and sweet! Er, uh, not exactly sweet, given the context, but… you know what I mean, don’t you?” I buried my embarrassment as I jotted down the address in the corner. I may be a little forgetful, but I’d never forget my childhood home.

“I swear to fucking Jirachi…” Stella huffed.

I apologetically nodded my head at the Delibird, then handed him the letter and the payment for instant delivery. “C-can you get this delivered as soon as possible? It’s urgent…”

“Of course.” I could hear him mutter under his breath, “I could assume that…”

 

“A thousand Poke for this ?” Stella frowned as she entered our temporary lodging. “Back home you’d only need to pay a fraction of that for a room…” She lied down on one of the nests, plopping down her bag beside her. “So glad I’m not the one paying…”

“I thought the prices were fine? What’s so wrong with them?” I looked around—it seemed pretty standard for a hotel room… I think. Never stayed at Swanna House before, because, well, I live in Post Town. Never stayed in an inn, period, now that I think about it.

“Dude, don’t you have to pay another thousand in fines?”

“…that’s why I contacted my dad, haha…” I hid my shame with a chuckle.

“So you’re planning on leeching off of him.”

“I feel really bad about it… but I have nobody else to turn to…”

“Don’t you have a job or something?”

“…sort of?” I mumbled. “It’s not really a proper job, but I do a lot of errands and favors for my neighbors, like tending their gardens or baking them some nice pies…”

“That does not sound like you make much.”

“…I’m practically unemployed,” I admitted. “My family’s pretty well off—we’re a family of healers—so it’s not too big of an issue… I just have too much free time on my paws.”

Stella just glared at me for a couple seconds before sighing, resting her head on her front paws. “…sounds like quite the life,” she scoffed.

 

The air grew awkward after that. I sat down on a chair next to the desk in the corner. The two of us exchanged silence. 

“…” I fiddled with a pencil, rolling it back and forth on the desk.

“…” Stella was staring down at the violet bracelets on her paws. “…you got anything else to say, or…?” 

“Hm?”

“It’s just… I was kinda expecting you to try and lighten the mood with some more small talk or whatever.”

“…I dunno…” I mumbled, slumping my shoulders.

“Yeah, guess that’s fair. Your house did just… erm… never mind.”

“…I dunno…” I repeated. “…hm. Why does that phrase sound so much like Audino? It’s kinda funny…” The thought just popped into my head.

Stella blinked, before smirking a bit. “…I… I dunno.”

I snickered. “Audino…”

“Yeah, I dunno, Audino.” She rolled her eyes. She chuckled, but her laughter then slowed down to a sigh. “That was a stupid joke.” She was almost turning red. “…this is fucking stupid. I forgot how much I hate small talk.”

“Eh? You just said you were expecting some from me?”

“Yeah, to kill the silence!” Stella complained. “Like, come on, the moment we walk in here, the mood sours like somebody just died or something.”

“…all my flowers are dead, does that count?” I wondered.

“I… I’m not gonna answer that.” 

 

The silence continued to drift the two of us apart. The mood shift was such a sharp turn from the night before—Stella, while still hesitant to talk to me, seemed at least a little chipper yesterday evening. I think it was because of the pie—everybody likes my pies.

“…so… um…” I fidgeted with my paws. I need to break the silence somehow! “…what did you… think of Virizion earlier today?”

Stella’s ears shot up as soon as I uttered the Verdant Sword’s name. “I’m, like, really on the fence about her. Like, I still think she’s super cool ‘cause she’s the type of rescuer I wanna become…” Stella started rambling on and on… now there was the pep I remember from last night. “…I-I don’t mean I wanna become some stuck-up prick who crushes a bunch of guys’ dreams. Now that just sounds cruel. I just wanna be somebody strong, you know? Somebody people look up to. That’s why me and my friends all decided to start a rescue team—we wanted to become a group people can look up to and depend on.”

Her sudden change in mood made me smile. “…I thought you said you didn’t like small talk?”

“Pfft—that ain’t small talk. Small talk’s when you randomly start talking about pointless shit that makes no sense. Besides, I just talked a lot! I’d call that ‘big talk’ or something.”

“Well, I did bring up Virizion out of nowhere to kill the silence…”

“You calling the Verdant Sword pointless shit?”

“N-no? What? It’s just your logic makes no sense…”

Stella scoffed. “Whatever. This doesn’t count as small talk. For one, I’m enjoying talking right now. Isn’t small talk stuff like, ‘Oh, how’s the weather?’ or ‘What’cha been up to lately?’ Basically, just talking about nothing?”

So she likes talking about rescuers… and herself, I deduced. “…I like talking about nothing sometimes. Tell me more about that team of yours… what happened with them?”

“You know how I, uh… quit, right? Well, that’s ‘cause…” She seemed a little hesitant to share for some reason. “…’cause they were holding me back, you know? I was the muscle of my team, doing most of the dirty work.” Stella’s tail began to wag. “I’m a pretty capable gal, if I do say so myself,” she flaunted. “…I mean, so were my friends. They were great people, knew ‘em since I was little, but… y’know. Had to happen. Yeah.” Her tail-wagging slowed down a bit as her eyes drifted to the side.

“Did people ever look up to you?” I asked.

“…besides them, not really. Still just a bronze rank, after all.”

“Well… I look up to you, Stella. Figuratively, of course…” I tried to add a joke at the end.

“Yeah, you’re like twice my height—wait, what the fuck did you just say.” She almost did a double take as her head jolted to face me.

“I think rescuers in general are cool,” I nodded. “Especially after meeting so many lately.”

“S-seriously?” She quickly turned her surprised look into a smug grin. “…hmph! What can I say? You haven’t seen me in action yet, but you wouldn’t be disappointed, that’s for sure.”

I smiled back at her—I was glad that I successfully raised her spirits.

“Speaking of being in action, I need to get back into it soon,” the canine said. “Better start looking for rescue team openings. Definitely wanna team up with some strong ‘mon, but… not gonna lie, I’d settle with anything at this point. Been itching to get back to work.”

“The bulletin boards both near the town gate and outside the HAPPI office may have some advertisements…”

“Well, we got no time to waste then! Not like we got anything better to do in this tiny-ass room, do we?” She got up from her nest and trotted over to the door.

“W-wait! Maybe not now… I’m waiting for my dad to show up, he could be here any minute.”

“…you just sent the letter, like, an hour ago.”

“The Pelipper in the Mist are very fast. And it’d only take about twenty minutes for my dad to fly here. Noe Town’s pretty close.”

As if on cue, my ears could pick up the sound of wings flapping from outside. Was that him? I wondered, before listening a little closer. “…he’s here!” I could easily recognize the pattern of his wing flaps. I moved to the window and saw a Togekiss landing right outside the tavern.

 

---

 

“Are you alright, son?! I flew out of the house as soon as I got your message!” My dad tightly wrapped his white wings around me as soon as Stella and I stepped outside to meet him.

“Y-yeah… erm… you’re squishing me, dad…” I groaned.

His embrace loosened. “It’s been months since I last saw you, Den-den… were you planning on visiting home anytime soon?”

“Well… I’ve just been busy with… um…” I struggled to come up with an excuse as I stared at my father’s expectant expression.

Thankfully, his attention shifted to the Rockruff he just noticed behind me. “Oh? And who do we have here? Is this a friend of yours?”

Stella was just… there, I suppose. She looked out of place, which was certainly fair… “…Uh, me? H-hey there. Name’s Stella.” I could tell she was wincing at my little family reunion.

“Nice to meet’cha!” Dad chirped, before mouthing to me, “So Den-den… is she just a friend, or… that kind of friend?”

“…what do you mean?” I tilted my head, and the Togekiss just had a playful smile on his face. “…oh. N-no, of course not!” I exclaimed as soon as I realized. “We, um, just became friends yesterday…”

“Ahaha!” He patted me on the back, laughing it off. “I’m just messing with ya, kiddo.” 

Stella cringed even more.

“…anyway, you’re staying here for the time being?” Dad looked at the tavern.

“Yeah… my house is gone, and it…” I nearly admitted it was my fault. “…it was an accident that caused it.” I lowered my head. I wasn’t wrong—I didn’t know that I left the stove running. I feared he’d be upset if I outright said it was me who caused it. 

“I see… well, I’m glad you’re okay, son.” Dad hugged me again. “I’m so, so glad…” he repeated. “Couldn’t bear to lose you too.” His cheerful attitude dropped as his tone became a little melancholic.

I just nodded, almost getting crushed again by his giant wings. 

“You can always come back home to Noe Town if you’d like, Den-den,” he said.

“No, that’s fine…” I immediately answered. 

“Are you sure? We’d really like it if you came back, though… your cousins and I would really appreciate an extra pair of paws in our healing business…”

“I-I can’t.” More like I didn’t want to, quite honestly… “…not right now at least. Just… um…” I struggled to come up with an excuse. Please don’t press further please don’t press further please don’t press further.  

“Why not?” And of course he presses. “What’s stopping you, son?”

“…erm…” Heck, what do I say here?

“…He’s got unfinished business here, can’t you tell?” Stella stepped in. “He’s got this fine that he’s gotta pay off from some Squirtle firefighters for the fire. Can’t just leave without dealing with that.”

“…um, yes! It’s a pretty hefty fine…” I went with what the Rockruff said.

“How much?” he asked.

“A thousand…” I admitted, and almost instantly my dad presented to me a pouch of Poke. “H-huh?”

“I came prepared~” Dad smiled. “I was planning on giving you some more money to help you anyway.”

“Eh? Oh, no, you shouldn’t have…” I stared at the little sack of money he was holding in front of me. That had to be way too much! I thought, still surprised despite anticipating that he’d do this.

“Please, son, take it… you clearly need it.”

The words “I clearly need it” didn’t sit well with me, to be honest. I know he obviously didn’t mean any ill will by it, but I felt a little pitied, and it stung. I was glad Dad was looking out for me once again, but I have to admit I’d been relying on him for too long.

Then again, he was right. I clearly needed it. This was what I wanted, but I still felt awful for just “leeching,” as Stella put it.

 

I said my goodbyes to Dad, promising that I’d come visit when I got the chance to. 

“…’Den-den’?” Stella repeated in a half-chuckle as we saw the Togekiss fly off. 

“What? H-haven’t your parents ever called you endearing nicknames like that?”

“…never had parents.” Stella looked down, suddenly solemn.

“O-oh.” I was caught off guard. “…I’m sorry.” 

“Pfft- haha!” The Rockruff broke into laughter, dropping her sadness. “Man, I love seeing people’s reactions to that!”

“Eh? W-were you lying?”

“Nah, I really don’t got parents. Well, I mean, of course I did, but never really knew ‘em. I was raised by my grandpa. He said my parents were famous rescuers who just dropped me off with him so they could travel the world.”

I just nodded, my eyes drifting back to the sack of money my dad dropped onto my paws. I grimaced—the shame had settled in, second thoughts piling up. I thought of finally getting a proper job so I could pay Dad back… I had to give back to my family somehow. 

The obvious answer was just to go back to Noe Town and continue working as a healer like they want me to… but I just didn’t want to.

“You’re welcome, by the way.” Stella added with a little smirk.

“W-wha?”

“Look, the conversation was dragging on. It was getting more awkward for me by the second. You expect me to sit through all that?”

“…ah, right… Yeah, um, sorry that you had to see all that. My dad’s always a bit of a jokester.”

“Though, what’s up with the ‘healing business’ or whatever?”

“I come from a long-running family of clerics. Back in Noe Town people often visit our home to get themselves patched up,” I explained. “I was taught at a young age how to properly tend wounds and use healing moves and whatnot. My parents said I had a natural affinity for helping people, which I indeed do, but… I dunno. It felt like too much pressure to continue tradition. Especially after my mom passed away.”

“Sheesh. You guys must be rich. Healers make a ton of cash, I hear. No wonder you were able to just live such an easygoing life.” Stella scoffed. 

“…I really need to find a real job,” I concluded. The Poke pouch jingled in my hand as I held it. The clinking of the coins was reminding me of something, but I just couldn’t put a finger on it.

 

---

 

Stella tried looking for rescue team openings on her own at the HAPPI office, but came up with nothing. So she tried again when I visited the town hall to pay the fine.

“Mmf!” I heard a muffled noise after I had dealt with the pesky Squirtles. I looked down and spotted Stella holding a colorful piece of paper with her mouth.

“S-Stella, I don’t think you’re supposed to rip those off of the boards…” I took it from her.

“What’s the problem? I wanted to show it off to ya. Looks like somebody put it up today—don’t remember it being posted yesterday.”

“Notices posted on bulletin boards are for everyone to see, though…”

“I wanted the offer for myself, duh! I don’t want anybody else stealin’ my spot!” She wagged her tail. 

 

I read the advertisement. 

“Join our rescue team, the Moguls! Let’s aim for the top together! Currently looking for two more members, especially hard-working ‘mon and those well-versed in business!”

The paper was decorated with a green border and a detailed doodle of a big sack of cash. An arrow pointed to it with the words, “This could be yours if you joined us,” with a smiley face at the end. Below was the so-called “Moguls’” address.

 

“It’s the only one available, so I kinda have to take this one. Moguls is a weird-ass name, though, what does it even mean?”

“A mogul is… somebody wealthy and important, I believe. Like a celebrity.”

“It’s also fuckin’ weird that they’re asking for… people ‘well-versed in business.’”

“Do they have some kind of theme going?”

“Maybe? Some teams like to stand out to try and get fans. My team had an S theme, heh. Stella, Sapphire, and Sol.” 

“…Are you sure you should be going for this team? Not to be rude, but… are you ‘well-versed in business?’”

“Nope, but they’re also asking for hard-working ‘mon, and I’m a hard-working ‘mon! No idea why they want businessmon, though. I guess rescuer work is kinda like a business, if you think about it.”

“…business…” I repeated to myself. That nagging feeling came to me again, the same one I had when I heard those coins jingling.

And then it finally hit me. I gasped. “That Pikachu from yesterday, Ichi! He lugged around a sack of Poke that jingled with every step he took, that’s how I remember him!”

“…what are you on about.”

“O-oh, um, I just remembered a conversation I had yesterday with that one Pikachu we met. When you and that Snivy went to watch Virizion, he explained this big dream he had. He’s a businessmon who aspires to make an ‘oasis of opportunity’ or… something. A lot of it flew over my head. But he said he’s looking for people to help him out, regardless of work experience.”

“What, you thinking of working for him?”

“Y-yeah! Not sure what kind of work I’d be doing, though. But at least it’d be a real job!” I smiled. “…though I guess that means we’d probably be going our separate ways, then.”

“…guess you’re right about that,” Stella nodded. “…fuck, that kinda sucks, not gonna lie. Only known ya for two days, but you’re not too bad of a guy… Den-den .”

“Eh-” I blushed upon hearing that nickname.

“Bwahaha!” She burst into laughter. “…real nice of ya to let me stay with you for a bit though, Aiden. Guess I’m staying in Post Town for a lot longer now, huh?”

“I guess so… I’ll see you around, right?”

“Probably.” She took the advertisement back and stuffed it in her bag, and the two of us headed outside.

 

The two of us said our goodbyes in front of the town hall. “Welp. Good luck with that… business thing with that Ichi person.” 

“Mhm. And good luck with joining that rescue team!” I waved before she started strolling off.

I started making my way toward Ichi’s house, and funnily enough I was going the same way as Stella.

“…uhh, why are you following me?” Stella raised an eyebrow.

“Ichi’s house is this way, haha… he said it was right outside Post Town.”

“Huh. The address on the flyer is also outside Post Town. Weird.”

We continued to walk together, passing the town gate and reaching the crossroads. We were silent almost the entire time.

“…it’s, uh… kinda awkward that we just said goodbye… yet we’re still together, haha…” I pointed out.

 

As we approached our destination, it became much clearer that something was up. 

Stella and I stood in front of a big freshly-built house in the middle of an empty, dusty plot of land. The house had pretty similar architecture as the homes in town—oak wood walls accented with vines, and a dark roof with leaves.

“…don’t you have someplace to be? Or did you forget?” Stella asked me.

“…this is where I’m supposed to be. This is Ichi’s house.”

“But… this is where the Moguls said they were from their ad.”

 

We both looked at each other, then back at the house.

“What the hell.”

“What the heck.”