Twelfth Day - Prose/Action/Text
Hiroto was in a great mood. He'd conquered his third gym, his Pokemon were happy, he was happy-- And he'd finally made it to what seemed like the very center of Johto, through some freak accident, Goldenrod. It had been over a week at this point since he'd been in Violet, but that was okay. He could head back and be there in a day at any time now. Traveling trouble would be a thing of the past for them now, if they did things right.
He had a wide grin on his face, wider than normal, as he flipped open his PokeGear, knowing exactly who he wanted to call. Most of the others had gone to Olivine with him, but he hadn't seen Sayaka in over a week now, and to be honest, he kind of missed her. Teasing her, messing around with her, having fun with her-- She was getting to be like a weird little sister, sort of. Not to mention someone he would be protecting and keeping watch open at all costs.
Yeah... He'd tell her about his third badge first. He put in her number, waiting for her to pick up and ask him why he hadn't replied to her text, or what was up with the weird present he'd sent her, or some other--
"THE NUMBER YOU ARE TRYING TO CONTACT IS NO LONGER IN SERVICE"
Hiro blinked, pulling away the PokeGear to stare at it. Had he put it in wrong? It had been a while, but... Well, he did know a lot of people... Ignoring the sinking feeling in his stomach, he shrugged and put in Sayaka's number again. Wrong numbers would have to happen sometimes, so--
"THE NUMBER YOU ARE TRYING TO CONTACT IS NO LONGER IN SERVICE"
... Now he couldn't ignore the sinking feeling. As panic began to rise, as his breathing began to quicken, he switched tactics, going to the last text message she had sent him and hitting "call" on the PokeGear. There was no way he could keep getting the wrong number this way. Quite the contrary, through this method, he'd be talking to her within the next
"THE NUMBER YOU ARE TRYING TO CONTACT IS NO LONGER IN SERVICE"
"THE NUMBER YOU ARE TRYING TO CONTACT IS NO LONGER IN SERVICE"
"THE NUMBER YOU ARE TRYING TO CONTACT IS NO LONGER IN SERVICE"
"THE NUMBER YOU ARE TRYING TO CONTACT IS NO LONGER IN SERVICE"
Every trick he tried, every shortcut he used, every which way he leapt--
There was no way around it. The answer was right in front of him, making bile rise in his throat as he realized the implications surrounding this girl going home meant. No, he didn't just realize them now. He'd known all along. He'd been desperately trying to avoid them, been looking even harder for a way to leave just so he could "kidnap" her and save her from it.
But then this world had taken him up. He'd gone to Olivine to try to help there. He'd gone and started collecting those badges when he should have been going back to stay with her-- Did being sent back hurt? Was it scary? Did she know? ... She probably knew. Or maybe she just slipped away, woke up from the dream that she had thought this had been all alone.
Hiro slid down to the ground, leaning against a wall.
Except Sayaka couldn't wake up. This may have been a dream to her, but she wasn't waking up. There wasn't anything waiting for her... He'd failed. He hadn't kept her safe. He hadn't kept her here, and he hadn't brought her to another world, which meant one thing and one thing only.
Sayaka... was dead.
[ACTION]
[Hiro can be found wandering aimlessly around Goldenrod City, a peculiar quarter of three Paras and a Combusken following behind him. He had a lot of plans, a lot of ideas for what he could do in the city while he was here, but they seem rather insignificant now. He failed. This is something that can't be taken back. She was here before, and now...]
...
[Eventually, he sits himself on a bench, head in his hands, with his three Paras surrounding him, trying to cheer him up with their wacky antics. His Combusken is just watching, helplessly, trying to think of something to add to the three's act. ... Which isn't working. Eventually, he just whips out his PokeGear to write up a message. It's short, sweet, to the point, and it's all he can manage right now.]
[TEXT]
Sayaka's gone.
[PRIVATE TEXT TO KYOKO]
Want me to come back to Violet now? ... I can stay here for a few more days if you want some time alone to think things over. I can open up the shortcut if you'd rather have a city to cool down in too.
...
I wanted to protect her, save her, but I failed. I failed both of you.
I'm sorry.