Arc 1, Chapter 10: Meeting

Haruhi fluttered awake the next morning, feeling a little frazzled. The bed she’d been given was a little soft compared to the one she’d had at home, almost uncomfortably so. She slowly opened her eyes, and reflexively squinted at the sun in her eyes. After a few moments passed, her eyes adjusted, allowing her to hazily glance around at the room she was in. Kohana’s room was closer to a greenhouse than a bedroom, with a massive portion of the ceiling being one big window, allowing lots of sunlight to get in. Combined with the variety of plants in the room, it was maybe the most stereotypical grass-type room Haruhi could’ve imagined. It all seemed distressingly flammable, too, especially with the heat. Haruhi’s bed was in a shaded portion of the room, but she still felt more than a little hot with the heat of the morning sun coming down on them both. As for Kohana, she was lying down on top of the covers, curled up in a ball, still fast asleep. Assuming she ever gets under them… Consciously, Haruhi knew it was probably because of grass-types eating sunlight or whatever, but it still looked silly to her. She hopped off of the bed and started trotting over to the door, and heard stirring behind her.

“…Guhhhd mornin…” Kohana said with a yawn. She glanced out the window, and saw the sun still creeping over the horizon. “It’s really early…”

“Well, I normally get up this early.”

“You, uh, lived on a farm, right?” Kohana asked, rubbing her eyelids.

“…Yeah, that’s right.”

“I bet you got to eat lots of tasty berries every day! Why do you gotta get up so early if you have all of that food?”

C’mon, think about it for two seconds… I know you’re literally a preteen, but still.  “We still have to actually go harvest the berries, y’know. That means getting up and tending to the farm in the morning. And it’s not like everything grows year-round.”

“Oh, wow. You’re a pretty hard worker, then! Sorry.”

“It’s okay, Kohana…” Haruhi felt a strange urge to be especially gentle with Kohana’s feelings. Logically, it was probably triggered by Kohana acting young and innocent, but Haruhi couldn’t place the exact origin of those feelings inside of her. “I’m gonna go have breakfast.”

“Oh, okay…” Kohana sat up on her bed. “I’ll be here…”

Haruhi headed downstairs, and saw Mayumi and Akihiro in the midst of conversation. Mayumi was sitting on the couch, sipping a coffee.

“…Is all of that really true?” She overheard Akihiro ask.

“Well, half of it is speculation.” Mayumi noticed Haruhi after looking up from her coffee. “Oh, good morning.”

“Morning, teacher.”

“Did you sleep well?” Akihiro asked. “I certainly hope you didn’t mind sharing a room with Kohana.”

“It was fine…” Being in a room full of flammable things was a little bit stressful, though… I’m gonna b— Stop, thinking about it is gonna make it worse. “Where’s the Serperior? Ryo?”

“Oh, he likes to get up a bit later than I do so he can take in the morning sun. It’s a part of being a grass-type to spend a lot of time photosynthesizing.”

Right, that’s what it’s called… “What were you guys talking about, anyway?”

“I told him a few things about my past with Amadeus.”

“…Are you sure you should be sharing something like that so casually?”

“It’s fine, the secret is safe with me,” Akihiro reassured her. “At least, what Mayumi has told me, anyway.”

“For the record,” Mayumi began, turning to Akihiro, “If you want details about his own past, you’re gonna have to ask him directly. He doesn’t like other people knowing how he used to live.”

“Of course,” Akihiro nodded. “In any case, you’ve practically prompted me to question Dumas on the matter, but I digress.”

“Quite frankly, I’m considering staying a few days to do exactly that…” Mayumi said, staring out of the window. “That question has been gnawing at me for around the past few week now… I can’t really stay too far away from home, though. I do have someone waiting for my safe return, after all.”

“I certainly wouldn’t mind letting you stay for the next day or two,” Akihiro offered.

“It’s fine, I do have to get going soon…” She turned back from the window, and paused when she made eye contact with Haruhi.

“…Teacher?”

“Yes, Haruhi?”

“Have a safe trip.”

Mayumi chuckled. “I guess I really am leaving soon, huh?”

Not very long after, they’d wrapped up breakfast, and Mayumi had her bags packed, and was ready to leave. Haruhi stood in the doorway, with Amadeus off to the side.

“Stay safe, alright you two?”

“I promise, teacher.” Haruhi had the slightest mist in her eyes.

“I promise,” Amadeus added.

Mayumi pulled them both into a hug, dragging Amadeus closer to Haruhi in the process. She held the hug for a few seconds, then drew away from them. “Goodbye, you two. I wish you luck.”

“…Thanks for everything you’ve done for me, teacher.”

“Don’t mention it, kiddo.”

And then, not a few minutes later, she was gone. Haruhi felt strangely empty, seeing her go. Mayumi had supported her for all of these years, guided her when nobody else would. And now she was simply… gone. Out of her life, just like that. Haruhi took in a deep breath. It’s gonna be okay… You’re strong. You can do this.

A few minutes later, Fudo approached them from behind. “You guys are headed for the Guild, right? I’ll show you the way.”

Haruhi perked up. “Oh, thanks.”

“Are we gonna walk there?” Amadeus asked, as they started walking down the not-too-busy street. “We are pretty far from the Guild, are we not?”

“Nope, we’re taking a teleporter. As a trainee of the Guild, I can get free rides with up to two guests, but they’ll charge a fee if you’re not one, or at least work with them in some official capacity.”

“Like teacher’s dojo…”

“Teacher? You mean Mayumi, the Umbreon you guys were with? She’s got a dojo?”

“She ran the only one in town all by herself,” Haruhi confirmed.

“…Man, how small was the place where you grew up? I could probably name four in this district alone.” Fudo grumbled to himself. “Let’s see, there’s The Grand Lightning, Grand Street Dojo, Rentaro’s Dojo, The Aura Training Grounds… Yeah, that’s four.”

“Wow…” Haruhi sighed. “Competition must be stiff.”

“The Guild has it’s own training program too, right?” Amadeus asked. “That’s only going to make it more fierce.”

“All of them started as members of the Guild of Honor, though,” Fudo explained. “They get certified by the Guild for the sake of meeting regulatory requirements, and almost all of them teach some specific school of thought in terms or combat or a particular type of techniques to find a niche. I’ve seen more general combat skills-style dojos in places far from here. The Guild’s more focused on teaching dungeon exploration, anyway. And they’ve got lower barriers to entry at most of these places, too.”

“It sounds like the Guild almost wants them to do that, given all of the benefits they get,” Amadeus commented.

“You’re probably right. It does mean that most ‘mons old enough to join already have some idea of what they’re doing. Or not, given all of the confusion generated by the Eighteen-sector chart thing. But hey, if it means more people can fight. Speaking of, how good are you guys?”

“Well, she’s pretty good. I don’t know about me, though…” Amadeus said sheepishly.

“You’re not that bad, Amadeus,” Haruhi pointed out. “You did do decently back in Uragiri no Mori.”

“You and Mayumi did most of the work back there, though, didn’t you?” Amadeus asked. “I’m not exactly a powerhouse. And it’s not like we were constantly fighting back there, either.”

This self-depreciating nonsense had better not become a regular thing. I swear, if he keeps this up I’ll set him— No. Stop. Don’t think about that. “Dude, just shut up and take the compliment.”

“I— okay.”

“We’re at the station,” Fudo said, interrupting them. In front of them was a nearly identical building to the one they’d taken a flyer from yesterday, except this one was apparently ‘station 7’.

“…How many of these things are there in the city?”

“Thirty total,” Fudo replied. “All to make getting around the city easier. It’s a big city, after all.” He guided Amadeus and Haruhi through the doors, where a bored-looking Magmar was sitting at the reception.

“Cards?” The Magmar asked.

“They’re with me,” Fudo said, brandishing a card similar to what Mayumi seemed to have, but with a few different symbols on it. The Magmar peered at the card for a moment before continuing.

“Right, where to?”

“To the Guild. Drop us off near the main foyer, please.”

The Magmar cracked his knuckles. “Alright, hold…” He paused. “Wait, aren’t Shinx part dark type?”

“Only Luxio and Luxray, not Shinx,” Fudo corrected in a condescending tone. “Easy mistake to make, I know.”

“Ah, I see…” The Magmar said, a little befuddled. “Very well. Hold on, you three…”

No later than when the Magmar touched the three of them were they suddenly, and jarringly, in the middle of a busy foyer with a very large, arched ceiling. The Magmar was gone in the next instant.

“Wait, Magmar can learn teleport?” Amadeus asked.

“Sure can. That’s not even the most unexpected ‘mon to ever use it, either,” Fudo answered. “But enough about teleport.” Fudo pointed to a desk off to the side with a small line formed behind it. “Ask the receptionist over there to let you join, and they’ll get you squared away. Assuming they don’t give you a hard time about how young you guys look. The age requirement is supposed to be fourteen for a trainee.”

“But we’re past that age,” Amadeus pointed out. “There should be no issues, right?”

“I don’t know how else to say this,” Fudo sighed, “But you guys look like little kids and you have no kind of I.D. to prove your age. You had better hope she’s in a good mood…” Fudo gestured to the Politoed sitting at the reception, seemingly arguing with whoever was at the front of the line. “Midori can be a real hardass. As for me, I’m off to go report at the training area with my friends, since today might finally be the day we get become an official team. See you around.”

And then Fudo walked off in the opposite direction, leaving Haruhi and Amadeus to their own devices. After waiting on a Dewott, a Quillava, a Krokorok, and a purple-looking Solosis for what felt like forever, it was finally their turn.

“Next,” The Politoed called out. “What are you kids here for?”

“We want to join the Guild,” Amadeus answered.

Midori raised an eyebrow. “…Ages?”

“Seventeen and Eighteen,” Haruhi replied, doing her best to contain her enthusiasm.

“…Do you have I.D. to prove that or are you just planning on lying your way in?”

“Let them join as trainees, Midori,” A not-too familiar voice replied. “I’ve already done a thorough background check on them both. They’re as old as they say they are.” Dumas rounded a corner from behind the reception desk, looking a little imposing. Haruhi couldn’t help but be drawn to the strange medallion around his neck. Something about the almost sinister-looking eye it depicted was uncanny to her.

“And by that, do you mean that they’re your latest disciples, Dumas?” Midori spitefully asked.

“That’s a strange way of putting it,” Dumas answered. “I trust you’ll handle the paperwork. Come along, you two. You’re due to meet with the Guildmaster in ten minutes. Before you ask, I like to stay on top of things. Let’s get a move on.”

Dumas led them through a series of very wide corridors, with Guild members bustling about. It slightly reminded Haruhi of the Mayor’s house, except it was huge and sprawling. Gradually, however, the aesthetic changed. There were more decorations, more traditional tapestries, and the construction looked much older. It started to resemble an imperial palace, or at least, the idea in Haruhi’s head of what one should look like. Of course, there’s a reason for that… Haruhi thought.

“We’re here,” Dumas said, stopping in front of a very large door. “As long as you don’t embarrass yourselves, you should be fine. He’s already heard about you two from me, so you’ll get some leeway that you might not otherwise have. Just don’t act like spoiled brats.”

With that, Dumas opened the door, allowing them to enter. The room inside was bigger than Haruhi imagined, which is to say, very big. The massive room stretched pretty far back, with massive pillars on the sides, and tapestries depicting the previous Guildmasters. At the very back, atop a golden throne, was the Guildmaster himself, a rather imposing Toxicroak with a golden cape. Dumas exited the room, leaving Haruhi and Amadeus alone with the Guildmaster.

“Greetings, you two,” The Guildmaster began. “Tell me, do you know who I am?”

Haruhi, fortunately, knew the gist. “You are Shogun-Guildmaster Tokugawa Toxicroak III, who first ascended to the throne around twenty years ago.”

“So you know your history. Can you tell me a little bit of how this Guild came to be?”

“The Guild of Honor was founded around a century and a half ago, when The Daylight first  made contact with other parts of the world. The ruling Shogun at the time took a portion of what was then his army, and created the Guild of Honor in an attempt to modernize,” Haruhi confidently answered.

“Very good, very good…” Tokugawa observed. “Now then, Haruhi. I am aware of some of the… unfortunate details of your past, but I am willing to give you a chance based on your apparent skill, and Dumas’ recommendation, as well as your diligence in being familiar with our history despite growing up far removed from any standardized education. As for you, Amadeus…” Tokugawa tilted his head. “I am aware of a few of the details of your current situation via Dumas. It is my understanding that you have been isolated from anyone you once knew, and that you have little memory of the exact details of what happened, correct?”

“…That’s correct, yes.”

“You are also not quite as skilled as Haruhi, but Dumas is insistent that you have some potential. On that basis, I’ll allow it, but I expect you to work on your skills, understand?”

“I understand.”

“Good. Be back here this time tomorrow for your official entry into the Guild. In the meantime, you should ask one of the people up front to show you around.”

And just like that, the meeting was over. Haruhi and Amadeus awkwardly left the room, and found nobody waiting for them on the other side.

“So, uh…” Amadeus began, “Do you remember the hallways? I wasn’t really paying attention when we were walking…”

“…Really, dude?”

“I— Yes.”

“You gotta remember these things, man…” Haruhi started to lead him down the hallway to the left.

“I figured I’d learn eventually…” Amadeus quietly said, making an excuse for himself.

Haruhi wasn’t paying attention as closely as she would’ve liked, however. It took the two of them nearly twice the amount of time to get back to the foyer. Haruhi eventually relented and asked someone else.

“See, you didn’t know that well,’ Amadeus huffed.

“I got us back here fast than you would’ve,” Haruhi bitterly replied. “You wouldn’t have even known where to start.”

“Yeah, sure…”

“Amadeus, that is literally true. By your own admission, you weren’t paying attention!”

“I— You’ve got me there.” He sighed. “Let’s just find someone to show us around already…”

“Ah, there you are. Good timing,” Dumas said, approaching them. He then turned to a handful of companions by his side. Fudo was one of them, and he stood next to a Medicham and a Machoke. All three seemed nervous next to Dumas “You three. Show these two around.” Dumas then walked off, leaving the five to themselves.

“Oh. Hello again, Haruhi and Amadeus,” Fudo remarked. “These are my teammates, Yogi—” He pointed to the Medicham, “And Daisuke,” Fudo pointed to the Machoke. “They’re my teammates. Yogi and Daisuke, Haruhi and Amadeus.”

“Fudo,” Daisuke interrupted. “We’re not a team yet. Don’t jinx it!”

“Yeah, you know how hard Dumas is to please,” Yogi pointed out.

“Sorry, sorry, it’s just… I’m excited, y’know?”

“Well, if you keep pestering him about it, he’s probably gonna stop ‘considering’ it!” Daisuke exclaimed. “Uh, anyway, hi.”

Amadeus and Haruhi stood there blinking for a few moments.

“…Are you guys gonna show us around or…?” Haruhi asked.

“Welp, not like we have a choice, now do we?” Fudo asked. “Alright, let’s just get this area out of the way first. Here’s the foyer, the only place you’ve really seen so far. Here you’ll find the reception, of course, but there’s also a whole bunch of civilians here looking to hear back from completed jobs. Once you’re done with something, always come back here, turn it in at the reception, and wait for them to show up. They’ll find their way to you eventually. And through those double doors…” Fudo pointed to a set of doors in the back. “That’s where everyone gets to pick jobs.”

“Not us trainees, though,” Yogi grumbled. “We get assigned jobs, so they don’t let us back there without permission.”

“Wait, really?” Haruhi asked. “How long have you guys been trainees?”

“About a year,” Daisuke confirmed. “If you ask me, the only reason we’re not a team yet is that Dumas was just waiting for all of us to turn sixteen so we met the age requirement for forming a team.”

“So that mean you guys are pretty good, right?” Amadeus asked.

“We’re better than some of the actual teams in here!” Yogi boasted.

“But enough about us!” Fudo said, “Let’s move on to the training area!”

The training area, not to far removed from the main foyer, was pretty huge in it’s own right. This place has gotta be fifteen or twenty times larger than Teacher’s dojo… There were some Pokémon sparring on the various raised platforms. Others were sitting down and watching a demonstration of some kind, or maybe a lecture. Still others were launching attacks at dummies, either working on their techniques or getting a feel for new moves.

“Speaks for itself, doesn’t it?” Fudo said, gesturing to various parts of the massive room. “You’ll be spending almost all of your time in here for quite a while, so get used to all of the noise. And be kind to your combat instructors, a lot of them aren’t being paid to do this. It’s volunteer work for the most part. Only the officially certified ones get money.”

“Don’t need to tell me twice…” Mentally, Haruhi was thinking of Mayumi. Surely most of the people in here would be just as good, right?

“And when he said ‘most of your time’, he meant that!” Daisuke added. “The Guild is very careful to make sure it sends competent ‘mons to do jobs. If you’re slacking on your combat skills, don’t expect to get jobs!”

Haruhi glanced at Amadeus. “Anything else about this place?” He asked.

“There’s a sparring partner exchange over there to help you find sparring partners if you want someone other than your friends to fight.” Fudo pointed to a desk with a few Pokémon hanging around it. “Other than that, though? That’s all there is to see in the whole Guild.”

“…Wait, really?” Amadeus asked. “Surely there’s more to it.”

“Well, there is the Guildmaster’s palace, and you’re allowed to explore that, but for the most part, it’s just a bunch of offices,” Fudo said, shrugging. “It’s almost entirely administrative, save for the Guildmaster’s personal living space, which is obviously off-limits. We don’t go in there much ourselves, and you probably won’t if you don’t take up a position like that.”

“…There aren’t even dorms?” Amadeus asked.

“Nope!” Yogi confirmed, sounding a tad frustrated at the idea. “Gotta find a place to live elsewhere. A Whole lot of people come from other continents and learn that the hard way, too. They think that it’s all about camaraderie. That’s just not what the guild is.”

“If you ask me,” Fudo continued, turning everyone’s attention back to the massive training grounds, “This right here is the Guild. A place where ‘mons come in and explorers come out the other side.”

And I’m gonna be a part of it… Haruhi looked around the room with a firm determination.

The trip back to the house was uneventful, save for Amadeus ending up spending a bit of the money they had left on a teleport back to station seven.

“We could’ve just asked Fudo for a trip back,” Haruhi argued.

“He has work do to,” Amadeus pointed out. I really don’t want to make him go out of his way for us…

“Would it really have been that big of a deal? I don’t think it would’ve been that big of a favor.”

“Haruhi, we’re going to get free rides starting tomorrow. We can afford to spend a little bit now.”

“It was 300 poké for one ride. We could’ve spent that on something useful…”

“I don’t think we’re pressed for cash at the moment,” Amadeus said, defending his position. “We have food and a roof over our heads. We can afford to spend on one trip.”

Haruhi sighed, and a few embers came out. “Which way was their place again…?”

“I’m pretty sure we just walk straight…”

Several minutes spent walking though busy streets later, they eventually arrived at the house. Amadeus made sure to mentally jot down the street names as he went along so they wouldn’t get lost next time. 147 Blossom Street. Got it…

Inside, Ryo was sitting down on the couch, soaking in the sunlight. He noticed them, and waved with his stubby Serperior arms.

“You two are back early. Only got the tour and such, I presume?”

“They said we can officially join tomorrow,” Amadeus explained. “Incidentally, Fudo was the one that gave us the tour.”

“And I’m sure he just showed you around the training grounds and foyer, since that’s all the trainees ever get to use.” Ryo chuckled.

“…Are you a part of the Guild, too?” Haruhi asked.

“I was a member of a team with my sister and Akihiro. Technically, I still am, but I’ve all but retired to help raise Fudo and Kohana, only occasionally helping out with administrative duties. Akihiro’s mostly doing administrative work these days, too.” He paused. “You know, it’s funny. For the longest time, everyone thought it was going to be him as the next Seer, but then Dumas came along nine or ten years ago, dazzled the Guildmaster, and practically stole the title out from under him shortly after the previous seer’s death. At least, that’s what it looked like at the time.”

“…So does Akihiro work relatively closely with Dumas?” Amadeus asked.

“Closer than most, but not terribly close,” Ryo said, shaking his head. “He keeps most of us at a distance.”

“What, is he some kind of loner?” Haruhi asked.

“Frankly, that’s a good way of putting it,” Ryo agreed. “Although I’m pretty sure he was in a relationship with a Lucario whose name we don’t know at some point.”

“Where’d you get that from?” Amadeus asked. The more I can find out about Dumas, the better…

“About a year or two before he first came to the Guild, Akihiro, my sister, and I were on a job that took us into Northerner’s Territory. We just happened to run into a Luxio with the same medallion he wears every day, and he was travelling with a Lucario with a matching medallion. I was in his office one day and I noticed a photo of him with what looked to be the same Lucario on his desk.”

“Huh. Interesting,” Amadeus commented. That’s one more topic I can bring up in our inevitable discussion…

FWOOM!

Amadeus was a little startled to see Haruhi starting a bonfire in the fireplace so suddenly. Admittedly, she was doing a pretty good job of keeping it under control, and this wasn’t Amadeus’ first time seeing Haruhi do something like this, but it still caught him off-guard.

“A-a little warning, maybe?” He asked Haruhi.

“S-sorry, I just… kinda did it?”

Ryo laughed. “You know, I once saw your mother do exactly that. She always preferred flames at your age, too.”

Haruhi shot another blast into the fireplace. “…Is it weird to say I really like fire?”

“Well, it is a part of you. It’d probably cause a few problems if you disliked fire,” Ryo observed.

Haruhi absentmindedly fueled the flames again. “…Huh.”

Amadeus nervously shuffled in place. The flames felt almost uncomfortably hot to him.

Later that night, Akihiro found himself in Dumas’ office. It was time to do a little ‘investigation’ of his own. He knocked on the door to Dumas’ office, expecting him to be inside.

“What do you want?” Dumas said, having snuck up on him from behind somehow. Akihiro jumped a little, but only a little.

“Just wanted to discuss a few things in private with you, Dumas. Nothing more, nothing less.”

“…Very well.” Dumas unlocked the door to his office, and motioned for Akihiro to sit down. “What did you want to talk about?”

“About Haruhi and Amadeus, of course.” Akihiro sat down on a nearby chair as Dumas stuffed a few papers into his desk. “For starters, why didn’t you tell me if my niece was coming?”

“That woman Haya wrote to you, didn’t she?” Dumas asked. “What’s the issue?”

“I would’ve preferred it if you told me she was coming.”

“But it didn’t make a difference in the end, now did it?” Dumas asked defensively.

Akihiro sighed. “There’s the Dumas I know…”

Dumas frustratedly fiddled with his medallion. “Anything else you wanted to ask me?”

“Well, there is one more thing,” Akihiro said more curiously. “What exactly is your relationship with Amadeus?”

“What did that Mayumi bitch tell you?” Dumas growled.

“That you’re her ex, and that Amadeus just happens to share a lot of your same mannerisms. Oh, and you just happened to go by Amadeus at the time. What’s going on here?”

“…”

Akihiro got impatient. “He’s not your bastard child, is he?”

“…Get out.”

“What?”

“Out!” Dumas’ voice was raised. “Now!”

“I—”

“If you do not leave immediately, you will face disciplinary action. Now. Get. Out!”

Akihiro was flabbergasted. What in the world is such an important secret that he has to avoid discussing it at all costs? “This is ridiculous! What do you—”

“OUT!” Dumas roared.

Akihiro relented, and left the room quickly. But a burning question remained in his mind.