Who will be there for you?

[yattagarasu.livejournal.com]

Who: yattagarasu and OPEN
Where: The fringes of Azalea Town, but not too far out
When: Friday, September 10th, evening-ish (forward-dated because I won't be here tomorrow and I only remembered this date not too long ago!)
Summary: Kay goes to pay respects to the deceased in the only way she can. AS USUAL, action or prose is fine with me, whatever sails your boat.
Rating: PG-13 at most, probably
Log:

The drizzle was continuous, but not anything deterring, and most of her Pokémon were snug in their capsules with the promise to let Flapper out later and Prise curled in a little ball on her bed. He was too young to be much of a night owl, so she'd let him sleep in her room with Byrne keeping an eye on him. As loyal as the Murkrow was, he wasn't fond of staying out in the rain, light or not. And Kay... had other things to accomplish.

She hadn't forgotten. Sure, there were other things to deal with, but she hadn't forgotten one simple fact looming over her for the entire week, one she hadn't mentioned to anybody. Even Kay couldn't stay 100% cheerful in the face of loss, and to blithely remark on it had seemed pointless. Her friends would just worry. So she'd paid a visit to the Pokémart earlier on with the excuse of buying more supplies-- which she had, but she'd additionally found a package of chocolate Swiss Rolls. They weren't her old favorites, but they'd do. Azalea also had quite a few patches of flowers that she'd made use of to form a small bouquet, and with that, she had everything.

The soft, light patter of the drizzle was the only sound as the girl quietly made her way past the houses and small buildings. There weren't too many people outdoors right now, something she appreciated, and it wasn't long before she'd reached the outskirts, close to Route 33.

There wasn't a grave, a first-- but she'd expected that. Instead, Kay knelt down and placed the crude bouquet on the ground, backing up a few steps once one half of the package of Swiss Rolls had joined it. She stared at the ground for a few moments, then spoke quietly.

"Hi, Dad."

No response.

"Sorry I couldn't get away sooner, traffic was a mess." It was habit more than anything to joke, but Kay cleared her throat a few seconds later. "It's been a long time, hasn't it? And maybe you're wondering why I'm not at your grave like I usually am, but the thing is, I can't be at your grave right now. Your daughter's literally become a world traveler! A lot's changed in a year, but you know me, I couldn't just skip your anniversary in a different world! Even if it's... three months earlier than it would be back home. Maybe they'll let Uncle Badd out to come see you, at least."

She rocked back on her heels, already tuning out the drizzle and the damp chill of the evening in favor of amiably addressing the air. "You know... it took me seven years, but I found your killer. I learned a lot, maybe more than I wanted to, but we took care of the people responsible for your death, and they can't do that to anyone else any more. So I really hope you'll be able to rest in peace now. Mr. Edgeworth, Gummy, they helped me solve everything, and I owe them a lot. Not that I think Mr. Edgeworth's too happy about me following in your footsteps, but there's no way I'd let your work go unfinished! As for me..."

Kay trailed off, then smiled reminiscently. "I've met a lot of people here and made new friends. There's Byrne; he's a Murkrow, but he's the best partner anyone could have asked for. And the rest of the team, too. And Johan and Kaito and Juudai and Crow-- I think you'd like them! They're all amazing guys, and they've been looking out for me, even when I tell them they don't have to. Johan, especially, and if you were here, it would've been great if you could have used your Prosecutor Powers to make him sleep like a normal person! And there's people like Snow and Mr. Wright and Maya and Trucy and Uncle Smokey... Batty and Sora and Heather and Beat and Konata..." She laughed under her breath. "It feels kind of like a family here. Even with Mr. Edgeworth, and he's not even from my year!"

Silence reigned. She scuffed a foot in the mud and lowered her head.

"... I'm okay. I never wanted you to leave, and I didn't think you ever would, but it wasn't your choice, was it? I just never got the chance to say goodbye. I still think about that every day. But honestly? I know you wouldn't want me moping, and I'm sure you're still looking out for me, just like a hero would. And I'm not alone here. So, if anything, if I became even slightly like someone you could be proud of as a father, then that's good enough for me." She closed her eyes briefly, uttering only one sentence before she fell silent.

"Happy Anniversary, Dad."

Comments

[darkenedgales]

Just like Kay's Murkrow, Crow didn't like the idea of staying out in the rain, or at least not for long. Therefore, as soon as he'd finished a short training session with his team (he wasn't a slave driver to have them fight in such weather for more than half an hour, really, and even then, Gale seemed to be willing to continue) and buying the necessary supplies in the mart, he was ready to go back to the PokeCenter and probably collapse on his bed.

It was then when he spotted Kay. He wanted to call out for her, but he stopped himself as he noted she was acting somewhat... strange. Knowing her, he'd expect the girl to be jumping between the roofs of the city, completely ignoring the drizzle. Instead, she was heading towards the entrance of Azalea with what appeared to be a-- bouquet, he figured, in her hands. They hadn't planned on leaving anywhere today, so why would she go there? Crow frowned slightly and followed her quietly. If it turned out to be nothing important and he was just overreacting, he would just go back to the center. However, still having the kidnapping in his mind, he couldn't just leave her alone.

When she reached what appeared to be her goal, Crow kept some distance from her, but was still close enough to hear what she was saying. And then he realized what it was all about.

Crow understood, maybe better than anyone, that simple but meaningful ritual. One that he himself had repeated continuously for the past three years. Speaking to a dead person... He knew all to well how both relieving and painful it was. Relieving, because it felt like they could still hear you and be with you for a moment, and painful, because they could no longer answer.

And for that reason, he probably shouldn't even be there. Crow turned around, intending to leave the place without Kay noticing.

[yattagarasu.livejournal.com]

She normally wouldn't have noticed, and later on, Kay couldn't have said why or how she even had; it could have been a flash of bright hair or a faint sound or just a hunch, but she did turn. When she saw just who it was walking away, she gave the flowers a quick glance, and then took a step back. That step back turned into three, and then she was jogging after her friend, half-wondering how much of that he'd heard. Not that it mattered, he knew most of it anyway, and Kay wasn't the kind of person to be ashamed or embarrassed at talking to the spirits of the departed.

"Crow!" she called, once she was a little closer.

[darkenedgales]

Oh crap. He hadn't planned for that.

Hearing his name being called, Crow stopped walking and turned around to face Kay. Honestly, having seen what he just did, he wasn't sure what to say, so he looked away from her. "I, uh, didn't mean to eavesdrop or anything."

Smooth, Hogan. Real smooth.

[yattagarasu.livejournal.com]

About as smooth as a bumpy road, as far as Kay was concerned, but (for once), she didn't say anything remotely like that. Instead, she studied him curiously, not sure why he looked so awkward. Or why he was even avoiding looking at her at all. It wasn't like he'd walked in on her changing or something.

"How much did you hear, anyway?" It wasn't demanding or upset, just curious.

[darkenedgales]

Well, she didn't seem angry at all. Not that Crow had ever seen her angry, now that he thought about it. He figured that she wasn't a kind of person to mind his presence there (whatever made him thought she would, anyway?), but still wasn't sure if it was okay for him to have heard all of that.

... Speaking of which.

"Pretty much everything, yeah. Sorry." Crow admitted, scratching the back of his head. He then looked in the direction where Kay had lied the flowers on the ground. "... You sure you don't wanna some time alone there?"

[yattagarasu.livejournal.com]

"I'm fine!" Kay quickly waved her hands in front of her, shaking her head along with her words (and palms). Though she could have done with alone time with her father's (lack of) grave, Kay could have also done with some time spent among the living. She didn't want to dwell on sadness, after all. "I was done, anyway, and I know you guys don't want me staying out in the rain too long."

[darkenedgales]

For a moment, it seemed like Kay's word didn't reach Crow at all. He kept on staring at what could be now described as an almost-grave, apparently lost in his thought, which, by itself, was pretty unusual for him.

"Huh? Oh, yeah." The duelist agreed, albeit absentmindedly, making it somewhat obvious it was the girl's remark that made him realize it was still raining. "Guess we should head back, huh?"

[bakaitoukid]

Stealth might not have been a part of Kid's modus operandi, but that didn't mean Kaito didn't have the ability to be sneaky in his repertoire. Like any good thief before him, he had managed to perfect the art of sneaking around, which made shadowing people a cinch when heists required him to do as such.

Even so, that was not how he wound up stumbling on Kay's private ceremony on the edges of Azalea (he liked to think he had plenty of respect for people's privacy, unlike certain detectives he knew). Drizzle or not, his Pokemon team was ready and willing to train, and Route 33 was the perfect place to do so. So with his backpack restocked with potions and other healing items just in case, Biz perched on his head and his still unnamed Eevee trotting close to his heels, he left the sleepy town of Azalea behind to spend the afternoon on Route 33.

Of course, heading out to Route 33 meant passing Kay in the process.

Upon catching sight of the short, ponytailed ninja thief in the distance, he stopped, tilted his head, and briefly asked himself what she was doing out here in the rain. From his angle, he couldn't see the flowers or the chocolates, just her back. Had she the same idea as him?

There was no reason not to say hello, was there? And possibly have a little bit of fun in the process (it had been a while since he had pulled any harmless pranks, after all). Hands in his pockets, he shushed both Biz and his Eevee so they wouldn't alert the girl to his presence and slowly approached Kay from behind, intent on placing his hand on her shoulder and startling her if she could.

"-- I just never got the chance to say goodbye"

He stopped short as he picked up on that part of her conversation, his grin fading as he immediately understood what the underlying meaning of her statement was. How many times had he said the exact same thing to his dad....?

Kay was doing something important, and Kaito had enough sense to know not to interrupt her. Which is why, upon realizing that he might be intruding, he slowly turned around to sneak off back toward Azalea.

[yattagarasu.livejournal.com]

This was interrupted by a hand on his shoulder not more than a minute later, not intended to startle but to alert him to the fact that Kay was very much aware of his presence. Not that she had been, but she'd finished with what she needed to say, and timing had led to her spotting her fellow thief.

... Who had been startlingly close, now that she thought about it. She'd have to ask him for tips on stealth in rainy weather at a later point.

"I must have gotten terrifying without knowing it if I scared you off before I even turned around," she greeted him lightly. "Or did you just finish training?"

[bakaitoukid]

For the third time that afternoon he stopped in his tracks, this time prompted by the hand on his shoulder. The grin he gave her from over his shoulder was slightly sheepish (almost as if he had gotten caught with his hand in the cookie jar or something similar) and apologetic. She didn't seem upset or embarrassed that he had intruded on something so personal though, and that was a good sign.

"I was just about to start, actually," he said as he jerked a thumb toward the Aipom on his head, who lifted a paw to wave at Kay.

"And I didn't mean to eavesdrop either, in case you're wondering. Er. Sorry about that."

[yattagarasu.livejournal.com]

"It's fine!" She waved off the apology just as blithely as she'd interrupted him, retracting her hand to return Biz's wave and idly stretching. Kaito might have been mischievous and stealthy, but he wasn't the type to eavesdrop on something if he knew privacy was desired. Though truthfully, Kay didn't mind either way. She just rarely had company when she'd visited her father's grave before, and she hadn't expected it here, when he didn't even have a grave to visit.

"I'm finished, anyway," she added on the same breath. "It wasn't anything too exciting, so you didn't miss much."

[bakaitoukid]

He glanced from Kay, over to the flowers and chocolates laying on the ground a few feet away, then back to Kay again. The drizzle might have been light, but he could already feel droplets of water dripping from his hair and soaking through his clothing.

"Is it for your dad?" He asked, tone slightly hesitant just in case she felt like he was prying. She had told him the story surrounding her father's death after all... so who else would she be paying her respects too?

[yattagarasu.livejournal.com]

The expression on her face was more of a "guilty as charged" look than anything, but she nodded easily enough. She'd been lucky enough to have been spared additional deaths of anyone close to her (though she wondered if Lauren Paups would be doing anything for her father, or even if she could).

"It's the anniversary of his death," she replied-- in a softer voice now. "I didn't want to just pretend that it wasn't, so I thought I should do something for it. Even if his grave isn't here."

[overthedratini.livejournal.com]

Johan hadn't thought much of it when Kay said she was going to get more supplies. He'd offered a simple "Don't stay out too long, it looks like it's going to rain." and went back to sitting with Lazuli and watching over the Eevee and sitting with Byrne. It wasn't until a few moments after Kay had left and a few more moments of watching over her Eevee that he'd recalled he himself could probably use some more supplies, and with that in mind, he left Misola with the Murkrow and the two babies and set off - not necessarily after Kay, but moreso after a few things he could use.

He didn't particularly mind the rain himself, though he knew his Pokemon did - it would have been rather welcome if it had been just a little bit cooler. He knew he'd be alone in that, however, so he counted his blessings for the light rain and enjoyed the fact that it meant most of the people of the town were inside. He'd gotten enough looks when he'd returned, strolling alone in the middle of the rain wouldn't help his already odd reputation here any.

As he got closer to the PokeMart, he realized, he could see a familiar figure heading off in the opposite direction. Johan could think of at least half a dozen reasons why she'd be going off alone now, among them being that she'd spotted her kidnapper and had given chase - though the likelihood of it being that, given that she was going at a pace relatively slow enough for him to still see her while he stood there and thought about it, probably meant it wasn't that.

... Still, the feeling of having lost her was fresh in his mind, and Byrne was still back at the inn with Flapper... As long as she didn't see him, he supposed it wouldn't hurt too much to tail her, would it? If it turned out to be nothing, he could just join her, and this would give him some more "thief practice". Settled on this decision, he nodded to himself and dashed after her, moving as silently and swiftly as he could.

What he found when he finally caught up with her wasn't something dangerous, and truthfully, not something Johan could fully not understand - not entirely, at any rate. What he could tell, however, was that Kay was hurting, and not just about what he'd thought she'd been lately. And yet... he wasn't sure whether or not to approach, to offer comfort or to not - partners or no, this was... different, wasn't it?

Eventually, he chose to stand there and watch her from a distance-- He could do that much, and make a move if it looked like one was necessary, right? They were each others' wings, after all. He had to do something.

[yattagarasu.livejournal.com]

For her part, Kay didn't budge once she'd finished speaking. There were things she still wanted to say - there would always be things to say, no matter how long she talked - but they weren't things she could actually voice. Not without the risk of losing her composure, and seven-- eight years now had taken the edge off her grief. Did it assuage it completely? No, but she hadn't expected it to. Loss was something that stayed with you, even though you could usually suppress it. Renewed loss was just something a little more recent and painful.

She sighed after a few more minutes and started to turn back to town (the others would notice if she took too long), but then she caught sight of a familiar figure. Considering their last night in Azalea had been a date, that this night was almost exactly the opposite... she didn't miss the irony. Still, Johan was always a welcome sight, and she turned more to face him directly, inviting him over with a crooked smile and a small hand motion.

[overthedratini.livejournal.com]

He froze instantly as she turned, his expression mirroring that of a deer caught in headlights. After all, if he had been right that he was intruding, worried or not, he'd be in the wrong, and-- ... He let out a breath after a few moments, realizing Kay was waving him over. At the very least, that meant she wasn't upset with him. Not that she ever really had been before, but...

While he normally might be much better at being able to tell how she would feel and react, he mused as he jogged over, this was... completely new territory for him, so he should be prepared for anything. Though from the looks of things, Kay was still Kay, odd smile aside (though it was still a smile, which meant she was still Kay) so... hopefully there was nothing to worry about after all. As long as Kay could be okay, that was all that mattered to him right now anyway.

"E-Ehe... Hey, Kay," he started as he arrived to stand directly across from her, now fully able to see what she had been speaking to earlier behind her.

[yattagarasu.livejournal.com]

The Swiss Rolls and the flowers were definitely in plain view, an offering for a grave that wasn't there, but Kay had done her best with what limited supplies she had. Spirits could probably see and hear you anyway, or so she hoped; surely her father's ghost wouldn't be restricted solely to his own world if his living daughter was no longer in it.

"Hey," she returned the greeting with a brighter smile, giving the flowers a glance before looking back at Johan. She'd thought she'd feel a little more awkward around him after that talk with Kaito, but she'd been able to act the same-- more or less. She certainly didn't seem awkward now. "I wasn't out that long, was I?"

[overthedratini.livejournal.com]

"Huh?" Johan held up his hands and shook them a bit, before giving his head a firm shake no. "You reminded me that I wanted to get supplies too, but when I got to the store I saw you, so..."

Johan held out his hands to his wides, laughing meekly, finding himself almost unable to meet her eyes - though for the moment, he was doing rather amiably - though a sneaking thought came sneaking into his mind as he forced another chuckle out. This was something she would have kept to herself, had he not found her, wasn't it?

Not that it was his business, not in any way at all, so...

"So here we are," he said finally, motioning to the ground as if that would give some greater explanation than he could.

[yattagarasu.livejournal.com]

Kay's answering smile was a rueful one. He'd found her out yet again, and though she hadn't taken as many steps in order not to rouse suspicion or concern, she should have known that Johan would have found out, whether he'd been intending to or not. She'd only stayed silent not to worry her friends, but he was here already, and Kay didn't feel like fumbling for excuses. This was perfectly normal, and she'd been doing it faithfully for seven years, so saw no reason to be ashamed of it now.

But she'd probably been silent for longer than was comfortable, so she shifted slightly and imitated Johan's early motion. "I always visit his grave on the day he died," she said by way of explanation. "But I had to improvise this year, and I'd just attract attention if I did it in town." She didn't mind attracting attention, but there were times when she preferred not to.

[savethefarron.livejournal.com]

Snow and Franziska had just pulled into town. Like, literally, the two of them had been passing by in the rain when he'd spotted Kay. He'd told Franziska he'd catch up, she'd called him a fool, and then he was alone. Well, alone with the distant addition of Kay.

But now that Franziska was disappearing into the distance and Snow was left on the path in the rain, he realized he had no idea what he was even going to do. He'd sent his travel-partner ahead so he could talk to Kay, make sure nothing was up, but... Now he'd watched her a second, and he really got the feeling it was something a little private for him to barge into.

But he couldn't just stand there, now that he'd probably pissed off Franziska for the night. So after a minute or so, he reached a hand into his pocket to pull out a PokeBall and silently push the center button. His Flaaffy appeared on the ground in front of him, ducking her head in surprise at the rain, then noticing Kay. She seemed to sense that it wasn't playtime though, choosing not to get disgustingly excited. Thundara glanced up at Snow, a question more than anything. He nodded toward the girl crouching in the wet grass, and without another word, Thundara turned and trotted off toward her Aunt.

It wasn't long before the Flaaffy reached Kay, looking very much like a sad pile of cotton candy in the rain like this, but utterly undeterred. She pressed her nose under one of Kay's arms to make room to crawl underneath it in a warm Auntie hug. 'Flaa?' She looked up at Kay now, concerned but not demanding. She got the feeling she wouldn't understand, anyway.

[yattagarasu.livejournal.com]

Kay had been so lost in thought that she'd entirely missed the little pink thing approaching-- when normally she would have seen Thundara coming a mile away and done a Baywatch-esque run to greet her. As it was, she jumped a little, looking down at the Flaaffy with widened eyes. "Thundara...?" Not like there was any other Flaaffy around who'd just show up like this.

There were a few other questions on her mind, like what she was doing there, and the thought that she ought to look for Snow... but as the little pink sheep cuddled closer, she bit her lip and pulled her closer.

"Hey," she murmured, lifting her fully into her arms. "Wet wool can't be fun, huh?"

[savethefarron.livejournal.com]

The Flaaffy crawled eagerly up onto Kay's lap, nestling her damp nose under Kay's possibly damp chin and pressing, as if she couldn't cuddle her aunt quite enough. 'Flaaffy,' she sighed, but it wasn't an unhappy sigh so much as one resigned to the rain. She was trying to keep all electrical activity to an absolute minimum, but the rain seemed to bring out the static, so there was no doubt that Kay was tingling a bit in some of the places her skin had in contact with Thundara's wool.

Snow, meanwhile, watched this exchange from afar. He waited a couple of minutes until he was sure that his sheep had interrupted her in the most pleasant way possible. Then he sidled up behind her, quietly pulling something from his pack as he did.

The first thing Kay probably noticed, though, would be the sudden and distinct lack of rain hitting her in the head. Because after his casual but stealthy approach, he (somehow, through no fault of his own, cough cough) found himself standing directly behind her, holding an umbrella over her head with one hand as he gazed back toward the path in an attempt to look inconspicuous. Obviously she was gonna know he was there--he just also wanted her to know he didn't mean to butt into anything private.

[yattagarasu.livejournal.com]

It wasn't a painful shock, but maintaining close contact with something that kept giving you little zaps (like continuously shuffling your way across an expanse of carpet and then repeatedly grasping a doorknob) wasn't the most pleasant feeling; Kay finally settled for wrapping her muffler around the bare sections of her arms and holding Thundara that way.

It wasn't long after that. As accustomed as she had grown to the rain falling on her head and working at plastering her hair to her forehead, it took Kay a minute to register that there was a distinctly different sound as the rain fell, and that there was no longer water dripping down on her. Snow probably missed her surprised stare as she turned her head, but then she grinned in a "Whoops, I've been caught" manner and shifted her armful affectionately for better cuddling opportunities.

"I figured the drizzling would stop eventually," she offered meekly.

[savethefarron.livejournal.com]

Thundara was glad for any sort of cuddling, and though she might've preferred the sort where they didn't have layers between them, she understood the necessity. And in her own way, she was glad for Snow's umbrella cover. How else would she dry off and be able to cuddle Aunt Kay properly?

Snow, meanwhile, had a 'whoops, I've been caught' look much like Kay's. He glanced down to meet her eyes, head tilted slightly. "Hey, pretend I'm not even here. I just figured... y'know, you'd catch a cold or something."

[yattagarasu.livejournal.com]

"Not unless I'm pulling kids out of a flood after chasing Flapper in a thunderstorm!" Kay denied it cheerfully (and truthfully, for that matter). "Don't worry, Snowball, it takes a lot more than a little drizzle to give me the sniffles! But thanks for dropping my niece off."

Considering the warm, loving grip she had on the Flaaffy, she wasn't about to be relinquishing Thundara anytime soon.