Chapter Twenty-Seven: Reminds Me Of You

He remained rooted to the spot, paralysed, and his mind offered him nothing but a screamed thought of what the hell is going on?

From where Avis stood, it didn't quite look as if the blast had done anything fatal to anyone—but it was easy to be fooled, and the upturned tables and chairs scattering over the cold ground made his blood freeze along with the sounds of distressed guests starting to shift and disperse.

"S-Stay calm, everyone!" He realised somewhere deep down that he wasn't Avis any longer; that he wasn't the passive boy who could fade into crowds when situations like this arose—he was Aiden no matter how much he hated it and he was forced to take charge. "Follow the army leader and evacuate—we'll figure this out!"

For once, he was grateful that some of his brother's allies had bothered to turn up to the event, and he shouted at them to attack because he wasn't even sure if he was able to do so by himself.

"You must have done something wrong in that meeting you had," his captain mused, his voice tired and not concealing any form of hidden anger. "It looks like the injuries caused were minor, though, so I'll lead them towards the local hospital."

Suppressing an annoyed grunt and replying with a brisk nod, he unsheathed Aiden's sword, making his way off the stage and trying to ignore the faint tremble that ran through his fingers as he clung on to the blade's hilt with far too much force and far too little technique.

Try to remember whatever he taught you, he tried to remind himself, and his mind glossed over the short night of training that his twin's leader had put him through as he lunged at a Hoenn soldier with all the power his shaking legs could give him.

Somewhere beside him, he heard a fellow knight call his name as he struggled to knock his enemy to the ground. "Don't you dare show any of your softness now," the man shouted, raising his weapon and stabbing it through his opponent's neck. "You'll get killed otherwise."

Fighting back the unpleasant bile rising in his throat, the teenager kept his tone light as he spat out a response in Aiden's voice. "Of course not."

He would have regretted doing something like this in any other time or place, when he wasn't doing his job, but this was one of many endless battles Kalos would have and it wouldn't end unless they managed to defeat the other side.

They would kill him if he didn't strike back, he reasoned, and he didn't have any of the natural talent or knowledge that his brother possessed to spare the enemy.

Perhaps it was the adrenaline rushing through his veins as he drew back; perhaps it was because there was no other way this would have gone, but he didn't feel as bad as he thought he would.

"You're pretty bad at this for a Kalos knight," one of his opponents laughed, slamming his blade against his own. "I mean, they aren't very good in the first place, but really? The only thing you have going for you is your Pokemon."

He bit back a growl, taking advantage of the small window the soldier had given him to one-up him and shove his blade against his neck.

"You're pretty talkative for a dead man," he spat in return, plunging his sword into his stomach and holding it there for a few seconds before realising what he had done. The adrenaline had helped somewhat, but it wasn't taking away the fact that he was pissed and that he had just killed another man.

He was surprised by his own nonchalance. This was a war; there were bound to be casualties in the first place. Besides, his enemy had ticked him off. He'd taken out his anger on him because of that.

What had he said? The rush of emotion at that moment had clouded his mind somewhat. All he remembered was wanting to drop the sword and lash punch after punch at the guy until he didn't have a face left. Ah. He was trash-talking me.

It was an insult that had touched on a sensitive topic. Another thoughtless opinion that solidified the fact that a copy was always a step down from the original.

To hell with him. He knew it was an unreasonable thought, but his mind was clogged up too much for him to even register any remote horror.

Sure, there was a sharp tinge of guilt and regret stabbing through his heart, but that was a feeling that he was able to quell somewhat—and he looked away from the body on the ground as he dodged a Flygon's Dragon Pulse, crossing behind the large creature and thrusting the blade into its back.

"I think we've scared the rest of them off," one of the knights whispered, sheathing his sword and turning his head away from the three dead bodies on the ground. "These soldiers were too reckless. It was obvious that they were new."

"Either way, we have to report to our leader about this. I'll do it," the soldier next to him volunteered, turning to him with a worried look. "This was your brother's funeral, wasn't it? You should go inform your family and everyone else about the situation now."

With that, the group trudged off, leaving Avis alone to stare at the corpses before him. He shot a glare at the empty, sealed coffin just a few feet away, as if it was all its fault, and he huffed before jamming his weapon back into its sleeve and turning on his heel.

There wasn't any need to feel so sorry, after all. If there was one difference between the two of them, it would be that Aiden believed in mercy while he didn't.

Somewhere further down, however, he was glad to still feel the slight ache in his heart—it reminded him that he still had hope of being human.

§

"What do you want?"

Her voice was stiff as she spoke, and she couldn't help it as she wheeled around to see Aiden standing in front of her with his head bowed and the barest traces of blood on his clothes. "Weren't you fighting those Hoenn soldiers?"

The Skiddo by her side pawed at the ground in a restless manner, sniffing out the tension in the air and bristling with unease under his saddle.

"It's been a day, and everything is under control now," the boy uttered back, and she could sense some sort of melancholic sadness in his eyes. "I wanted to inform you that we'll resume the...funeral tonight. We hope you'll be there."

Yan made a low, unhappy noise at his words, gazing him in the eye and not bothering to conceal the shake in her shoulders as she answered him. "I'll be there," she muttered, her gaze not as scathing as it was tearful. "Still, why did all of this happen? Why can't he even have a peaceful funeral?"

"I—" The boy struggled with his words, and he averted his gaze and stared down at the ground. "I'm very sorry about everything, Yan."

The girl bit her lip hard enough to draw blood, and she resisted the urge to spit the metallic liquid out before replying. "You should be," she uttered, knowing that it was nothing but unreasonable and that she was getting emotional and angry at the wrong person. "Isn't it all your fault?"

Aiden stepped back, flinching at the harsh words, but she didn't let that stop her from venting her fury. "Aren't you supposed to be a knight? Why can't you even protect your own brother, then?"

She watched as he drew a deep, ragged breath, his hands fidgeting beneath the fabric of his bloodied gloves as he fought for the right things to say—but still, she found herself incapable of pitying anyone else at that moment.

"Never mind," she finally decided. "I'll stop there, Aiden. I have an errand to carry out, and I would appreciate it if you could let me go on my way."

Yan turned and disappeared down the street without giving the boy any chance to react, mounting her Skiddo and grabbing on to her Pokemon's horns. "Take us back to the shop," she instructed, keeping her voice soft. "Please."

Seeming to sense his master's sadness, the creature obeyed as soon as she squeezed her knees into his furry sides—and he broke into as comfortable of a gallop as he could, letting out the occasional snort and trying to cheer up the sullen girl.

She had lied to the knight, of course; she had no errand to run today and it was too late in the night for the shop to be open.

As soon as the goat-like beast slowed to a halt, a bob of his head indicating they were back, she dismounted and nudged the Pokemon into the garden as quickly as she could. "Thanks," she offered. "Get some rest."

Skiddo obliged without much hesitation, the need for a night of well-deserved rest overriding the concern he had for his friend, and he disappeared into the field in a mere few seconds.

Not even bothering to crawl back up to the second floor where her room was, the girl made her way behind the counter with a choked hiss and sat with her back pressed to the wall for a few moments before deciding to remain that way.

She often hated spending nights by herself in the shop, but something compelled her to stay this once and it wasn't the piercing gazes she felt digging into her soul all around her. It wasn't as if she liked sitting there one bit either—the whispers around her unsettled her, and she could feel her skin crawling.

The boxes lining the back clogged up far too much space, and it was then that she made a note to clear them sometime. She felt like she was going to be suffocated by all the crates around her; it reminded her too much that Avis had been there just a few days ago helping out.

Leave, she screamed in her mind, this place is doing you no good— But it felt like she was glued to the floor, and she was able to do nothing but curl into the cage her arms had formed.

A quiver ran down her spine as she stifled a frightened yelp. Something had just shouted out an unhappy insult at her, and she'd been too absorbed in her own thoughts to remember that spirits liked to linger around in the night.

Of course, she could have reported it to her father, but he would just call her a freak just as he had did years ago and close the conversation. Those ghosts were for her eyes alone, lingering around every corner of her village, and she hated it with every fibre of her being.

At least Avis hadn't said anything when she had decided to tell him about the strange defect in her eyes. The low, monotone hum he had produced in reply made her think that he hadn't quite believed her, but he hadn't pushed past that or labelled her with anything unpleasant.

Working together without ever breaching that topic once again had brought her a tone of relief—and she knew that the boy was far too distant from everyone for her to consider them friends, but he was someone that she cared about.

He'd become a brother of sorts, one that she thanked for his silence and apathy towards most issues, and now that brother was gone and the ghosts were surrounding her once again.

She stayed in that half-fetal position for a number of hours she couldn't recall, and her mind drifted between sleep and consciousness the entire time.

§

A rattling at the door woke her, and she jolted, stumbling to her feet and rising with the nervous energy of a Pachirisu on caffeine.

"We're closed," she wanted to shout, but a glance out of the window told her that it was very much daytime and that it was time to start her work. "Come in," she called instead, rushing over and fumbling with the lock. "Do you have an order?"

She slipped on her sandals just as the customer entered, and a frown split over her face. He didn't have the delicate, poised look of someone from Kalos, and he lacked any of the rough features that Hoenn blood would bring—and she wondered just who was stupid enough to venture into Kalos when a war was raging.

"Hello, sir," she rushed out, making her way behind the counter and rushing to get out a fresh sheet of paper. "How can I help you? Do you want to make a preorder, or—"

Yan was interrupted as the teenager tilted his head up from its previous position, looking at her with his striking emerald eyes and offering her a cool smile.

"It's nice to see you again, Yan." The blonde nodded to her, his accent wavering between the trilled slurs of Sinnoh and Kalos' thick words.

Of course, the girl had always known that the boy before her was dangerous, but the grin on his face made that hard to believe—and it took her a few moments to remember just who he was and that she was acquainted with him in the first place.

"Before you say anything, I have a contract for work in this village," the boy sighed. "Secondly, I am glad to be back, so don't look at me like that."

She looked back at him with a doubtful expression. "Then why are you here, Fabio?"

§

okay, at least fabio was introduced. i can't exactly say anything more without spoiling it lol

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