Marrow and Taeru’s little one sided confrontation ended amicably enough both thanks to Sanzzoku’s intervention to correct her mon‘s attitude and because Taeru getting his own meal served put Marrow’s mind entirely at ease. Soon enough the two of them were chomping away at their food without any complaint. Unlike William who simply had to take a moment to insult their host’s cooking.

Sanzoku gave Ikoma an apologetic smile and a shrug over the boy’s shoulder. She for one found her meal perfectly fine, though that was likely in part due to her rarely eating anything but commoner fare during her life, and having an understandable eye for quantity over quality. The titan of a woman needed all the energy and protein she could get after all, and while spice was nice, regularly spicing the amount of food the sell-sword was currently loading into herself to a satisfactory degree would quite literally bankrupt her.

Not that she was the kind of person to leave her taste buds completely out too dry however. The woman would, on occasion, indulge in a little sweet treat when she could afford it (both physically and financially) but breakfast was certainly no time for such things. It was a time to fuel up before facing the day and, if Sanzoku had anything to say about it, chatting in between generous mouthfuls of rice.

She rolled her eyes at Williams attempt to shut down her not at all nosy inquiry to Rintaro about his climbing equipment, then gave him side tild of her head a look that said ‘see it was fine’ when the young man who she’d questioned supplied an interesting answer to her query about his climbing equipment order, though he did seem a little nervous about it, judging from the stuttering. She put it down to either being embarrassed by William’s intervention on his behalf or being intimidated by her size. Or both.

”Oooh those. Yeah, I’ve heard about em, and been up that way a few times. Never seen any myself though. You’ll have to tell me about how your climb goes if we happen to meet again somewhere after you go up there” she said, but left it at just that rather than risk making him more nervous about being the focus of their attention, having found her tact about 20 seconds to late.

It also helped that a little confrontation involving a haunter and the establishment’s furret server drew her attention for a moment. The sellsword’s hand went to her mace on instinct upon hearing and seeing the start of it, but then gave a short bark of a laugh and released it as the source of the little incident merely being the mon’s impatience became clear.

”That one needs to learn table manners it seems” she joked before saying ”not like you Marrow, your the fastest little learner, aren't you sweetie” to her pokemon while giving him a little scratch behind the ear as she praised him.

She still having a fair bit to learn about him however, she missed how the mon was a little bit more on alert than he had been a few moments earlier, the houndour’s ears perked up in response to distant and, to most, inaudible sounds of combat occurring outside the town’s walls.

---

@AThousandCurses@Scribe of Thoth@LostDestiny

Lady Hanabi nods to the guard, swivelling her full attention to Shaakira.

"There we are. Quick and harmless, as it should be. Please, enter. Welcome to Saffron Village." She steps aside and sweeps an arm inward, invitational to the village. "I caught your companion's name. Akeeta is a good name. I'm afraid that your own name, however, escapes me."

Ajairu stamps his hooves, his mane flaring brightly. The ponyta swivels and briskly stamps to the exterior of the wall and whinnies, its flame-tail lashing about in agitation. Hanabi pauses and studies this behavior, her eyes narrowing slightly. Her demeanor shifts. A samurai's steed was a smart beast- and this Ponyta was particularly timid on top of that training. If he was alerting to danger, Yasashi believed it.

"Danger!" She declares loudly, moving to Shaakira in the course of a few swift strides, positioning her heavily armored body as a shield from potential harm as she surveyed the surrounding area. Her eyes, ever hawklike, seemed as if they were piercing straight through the world itself as her gaze followed the horizon line in a north-south sweep. "The girl may enter-"

Her words were stopped short; to the near south, the resounding crash of cart and Tauros alike being thrown asunder filled the air.

"I want archers on those towers! This is no samurai assault, I want longspears on the double! Ajairu, Go!"

Her orders rang out loud and clear, resonating above even the chaotic din of civilian panic in the area and the howls of whatever creature lied in that direction. The two guards immediately hastened themselves relaying her orders, as others took their place at the western gate. The fiery horse let out a cry, the flames on its body flickering and brightening further as it lithely ran in a slow circle- then was a blur of flaming motion racing towards the south. Yasashi spared a look to Shaakira as she began to run in the same direction as the pony.

"If you can't fight, get inside!" She barked to the young girl, before focusing on her sprint; the woman herself was surprisingly light in her armor, and the extreme fitness of her lifestyle carried her with immense haste.

---

The Persian thrashed under the rain of deft blows Ryuji laid upon it, and while Mori's foreboding presence cast a shadow over the creature, it hardly seemed intent to back off- especially with the strange grip the bird's eyes held over it. In a burst of movement, the alpha pokemon hurled itself forward and out of Ryuji's hail of blows to viciously slash its claws across one of the guards torsos, the direct blow of the beast's claws crushing the lighter armor with ease and allowing the Persian to turn aside- a shadow of movement following its initial attack almost perfectly, the darkness of its shadow flowing over the crushed guard and performing a secondary attack, Assuring* a kill even as the Persian turned its focus aside and flicked its tail in annoyance, seemingly little hindered by the wounds sustained by the naginata strikes. Other guards maneuvered around, trying to recuperate and regroup...

The Persian roared at Ryuji, the soundwaves of its cry visible in the air as the red glow of its eyes flashes. In that same instant, Ajairu appeared, flaming hoofprints left in its wake, in a blitz of speed eclipsing the Persian's own arrival; the flames on its mane bursting into a greater inferno as the, comparatively, small horse crashed into the Persian's side with a conflagration of flame. The immense roar was cut short, but the Persian hardly flinched under the blow. It whirled about, throwing the Ponyta away from itself even as the Gem atop its head flared brighter- and in a sweeping of its head a beam of energy cut through the air, sweeping past Mori in the sky, and slashing through the ground in pursuit of Ajairu as the horse scrambled to its feet and raced away in another blur of movement. The beam arced across the flaming horse, sending it sprawling across the ground with a pained whinny.

In that moment, the Lady Hanabi appeared from the western side of the village's walls. In the span of a breath her eyes took in the scene, and discerned Ryuji as more than a simple warrior. She temporarily shelved her concerns over Ajairu as the Persian roared once again, posturing powerfully, her sprint carrying her between the Persian and the South Gate; flanking the creature with Ryuji as the guards flowed past her and regrouped within; her orders were passed amongst them once inside, though time would be needed for the formation to assemble.

"Ronin!" She called to Ryuji, using the general term for a wandering warrior. "You strike well! Let me be the shore, and you the waves; We will break this beast upon me!"

With a hand on her katana, she shifted her stance and drew the blade into both hands; the heavily armored warrior's eyes were aware of her surroundings but focused on the Persian. With her feet rooted here, her armor bright and gleaming, and her blade in hand she gave one the impression that she, more so than the wooden structures around her, was the wall of this city.

She was attentive and ready, prepared to co-ordinate with Ryuji in an instant.

William raised an eye at Rintaro's placation but didn't comment further. While he would have disagreed with Rintaro spilling out his business to Sanzoku, it was his customer's business after all. That aside, Sanzoku seemed incredibly proficient in pissing him off with that side-eye look. He rolled his eyes. While William figured that wasn't the intent behind the gesture, he was the type to get mad about anything. Taking a bite out of his red bean bun again, he swallowed the sweet down his throat and took a look down at Taeru.

The Wynaut seemed to have already finished his five buns by the time William took two bites out of his. Taeru's stomach was an enigma to William. No matter how many times William watched the blue Pokemon eat, it would always inhale its food without chewing anything. It's not like Taeru was incapable of chewing; it just preferred to down its food in one sitting.

Looking back at his two customers, it seemed like they were starting to get chummy with each other. Swallowing the last of his red bean bun, he got up from his seating. "Seeing that my business here is done, I'll leave now," William statedly flatly. Taking out his wallet, he left the amount total and a good tip behind on the table and started to head out. While he didn't like Ikoma's cooking, she did provide a service for him, so he was obligated to pay a few extra more. That and Taeru seemed to like her red bean buns a lot. "Taeru, we're leaving," He flatly said as he started to move. The Wynaut got up and waved goodbye at Marrow before following William.

His eyes wandered off to the side to see the tail end of a haunter flying back to its owner and a furret scurrying away. Following the Haunter with his eyes, his eyes landed on Tamaki. "Ah, good morning, Tamaki," With the greetings done, he turned to look back forward and leave. It was sad to say that Tamaki might be one of few cordial relationships he had in this town. He often visited her shop to tell his fortune or buy a few good luck charms. Other than that, they were just buyer and seller, just like Rintaro and Sanzoku.

Exiting outside the Inn, William sighed, "Now, I guess I have to get back before the old man starts-" Before he could finish his sentence, someone screamed out.

"Everyone evacuate from the south gate! There's an alpha Pokemon on the loose!"

Alpha Pokemon? William watched as people started to run away from the source of the danger. God fucking damnit, this was going to do poorly for business. He doubted people would come to his uncle's shop with an accident like this. That being said, this could also be a positive thing. He had been working on a PokeBall, and he heard that Alpha Pokemon were strong. Was his PokeBall strong enough to catch the likes of an Alpha Pokemon? "Let's go, Taeru," William said to his partner Pokemon.

---

It wasn't too far from the Inn, but William had already understood the situation. The town guard were combating that beast along with an old man and his Murkrow. They were soon joined by Hanabi, but he didn't think the odds were going to be in their favor. His eye zoned in on the injured guard and immediately went to tend to the wounded guard. Turning the man slightly over, he grimaced to see the man's bloody innards and dropped the body. "Shit..." William said to himself. Capturing the beast was now a priority. It was too dangerous to be left alone, and William didn't know if the town guard, Hanabi, and the old man could kill that beast.

"Taeru, stay back," William said to his friend. There was no way Wynaut could take a hit from the Persian in front of him. That said, he still needed to help deal with that thing. Unfortunately, he had left his bag behind at his house, but he still had something he could use. It was time for a Pay Day. Taking out his wallet, he loaded the space between his fingers with coins. With careful aim, he raised his arm. "Take this!" William yelled out as he threw the coins.

The coins were soaring through the air. Aside from being less deadly than arrows, they still flew through the air, coming down like a golden rain at the feline beast. The Persian was pelted by the barrage of gold coins. An annoyed glare was tossed at William, but the Persian couldn't ignore the four combatants that were near by it.

_{Interaction: @Silverstein @AThousandCurses @Fading Memory}

---

Zen consumed his food in a matter of minutes while Himaru seemed to take her time. She was in no rush to return to her stall after all. The pokemon floated around her impatiently until her attention was grabbed briefly by William greeting her. She waved at him politely in response, having just shoved some food in her mouth. He didn't stick around for long, not that she was expecting him to. Their relationship was mostly business when it came down to specifics. Regardless he was gone as fast as he showed up the doors opening to the commotion outside.

Himaru was partially inclined to ignore it, figuring the guard would probably be able to handle the situation but her partner made the decision for her, zipping out of the Inn and into the streets with little warning. With a heavy sigh the white haired female shoveled the rest of her food into her mouth, not wanting to waste anything, threw some money on the table to cover her food and a hefty tip seeing as Zen had caused some issues. She briskly followed out the door in time to see William throwing some coins at a large cat near the front gate, and Zen heading straight for the commotion as well. Maybe the mon had sensed something in the air this morning and that's why he had been acting so antsy today. No matter the reason Himaru had no real way to stop Zen from entering the fray. It was times like these that she regretted not using the pokeball invention. At least she would be able to call back her partner when he started to act up.

With a groan she followed her partner toward the battle, careful to remain farther away than the others but close enough that she could monitor Zen and still give him commands. "Zen Confuse Ray!" She called from her spot in the distance. The pokemon obliged and a dark purple ray shot from the Haunter, striking the large cat though not damaging it. Hopefully now the huge mon would be more likely to accidentally damage itself than the others fighting it. Making the fight easier for those involved. "Now's your chance before it shakes off the confusion, hit it will all you have!" Himaru yelled hoping the others would take the momentary advantage.

---

---

"Many thanks for the room. I'll be sure to return this evening when I'm ready to retire." said the foreigner to the innkeeper. He'd just negotiated his lodgings for the duration his time in Saffron Village. He was able to get a fair price, as always, in exchange for a free sampling of some of the foods he'd brought with him to sell. A place like an inn or tavern would make for great patrons, as they may well be interested enough to purchase a small bulk of supplies to sell those delicacies within their establishments for a time thereafter.

"Well, what do you say we fix up our breakfast, now?" he asked the hidden Vulpix, eliciting a muffled bark of eagerness from her. He heard some shouts and commotion coming from the south, but paid it no mind at first. Whatever it was, it surely was not any of his business. But then Flurrie uncharacteristically emerged from under his cloak. She hopped down to the road and stared intently toward the south, "What's the matter? Do you sense something?" and that was when the reports reached his ears.

"Everyone evacuate from the south gate! There's an alpha Pokemon on the loose!"

"Alpha...?" he said, thoughtfully, "So they have those here as well." Alpha Pokemon existed back in Kalos as well. They were certainly dangerous monsters to deal with. Back home, they would have been kept in check by the King's Knights, an elite order of knights partnered with powerful Pokemon whose duty was to patrol Kalos and strike down Alpha Pokemon that threatened the townships. But it was looking like Kanto did not have an equivalent of its own that Caspian could see. Shortly thereafter, someone emerged from a nearby inn and sprinted past him toward the South Gate, accompanied by a small blue Pokemon.

"Surely it's not our place to - Wait, Flurrie!" he interrupted himself when he saw Flurrie taking off in a sprint. Naturally, Caspian ran after her. It looked like Flurrie was determined to do her part and protect the village. Why, he couldn't fathom. Sometimes Pokemon were just as capable of illogical acts of nobility as humans were. So it seemed this would be one of those times for the two of them.

Caspian and Flurrie reached the site of the battle mere moments after the stranger from the inn. A quick assessment told Caspian all he needed to know. The giant Persian was the Alpha, and two Kantonian warriors appeared to be struggling against it. At least until someone's Haunter stepped in and used its power to confuse the beast and create an opening. At this, Flurrie glanced back at Caspian with an expectant look on her face.

"I can never say no to you..." the man muttered to himself and went to action. He brought his hands together as if in prayer. In truth, he was concentrating his power. As he did so, the winds picked around him a bit, and then the sky above began to darken with small storm clouds. In moments those clouds began to produce, of all things, snow and hail. As soon as a snowflake touched Flurrie, her mysterious power kicked in and she became cloaked in a snowy mist.

The white Vulpix darted forth, using its Quick Attack to move with great speed. As she did so, she left behind afterimages of snow and mist in her wake. Anyone looking would have a difficult time making out her shape or appearance, and any attack from the Persian at this time would be hampered by lack of visibility as well as Flurrie's own speedy movement. As soon as she was close enough, she opened her mouth and produced a snowy blast of wind, her Powder Snow attack. The move's power was normally fairly average at best, but in this snowy hail storm courtesy of Caspian, it was stronger than normal.

As for Caspian, after his Hail was successfully conjured, he went to work on his next tactic. If what he remembered about Persian was correct, then he was fairly certain he had a move at his disposal that would be greatly effective against it. He held forward his palm and concentrated. In front of his hand appeared a small blue orb of aura that began to grow in size. He was preparing to launch an Aura Sphere, a type of attack that should theoretically be incredibly effective against a Normal animal Pokemon like Persian. When it was finished, Caspian let the ball of aura fly toward its intended mark.

Perhaps between it, Flurrie's Powder Snow, and whatever anyone else in this fray decided to launch... that monstrous Persian could be felled.

"Oh! I'm sorry; I never got the chance to introduce myself," Shaakira realized, turning to face Lady Hanabi again, "Shaakira el-Akbari. Nice to meet you."

Shaakira extended a hand towards Lady Hanabi, but before a handshake could be made, the wail of a stricken Tauros filled the air. Lady Hanabi had then immediately bolted south, but not before urging Shaakira to get inside where she'd be safe. Shaakira wondered what was going on, and wanted to follow Lady Hanabi so that she could find out. But she knew her priorities.

"C'mon Akeeta. Let's get this inside first before we do anything," she instructed the Parasect.

...

With the wagon of perfumes safely inside the market area of Saffron Village, Shaakira quickly gathered handful of perfumes to stock herself with: a few bottles of her famous Life Dew perfumes, some of the more standard variety and a mix of different ones that may or may not have been selling all that much, before flipping the sign she out front to say her shop was closed, and rushing out to catch up with Akeeta, who'd evidently gone on ahead to find the source of distress. Sure enough, as they both got past the south gate, they found it.

It looked as though the guards were fending off an Alpha Persian, and more than a few citizens and their Pokemon were giving what aid they could. What worried Shaakira was the sheer number of people that were fighting the Persian at once. Sure, an Alpha Pokemon could take a punch or two, but even they had their limits as far as withstanding a barrage of attacks went.

Still, Shaakira's concerns weren't worth bringing up while the Alpha Persian was rampaging like this. She'd be better off offering what services she could for the time being, and staying back from combat all the while.

"Is everyone OK?" Shaakira asked around, although she was looking specifically for the Tauros whose voice she heard earlier.

Meanwhile, Akeeta started to dig a tunnel underground. It knew it had to get close in order to fight the Alpha Persian effectively, and it knew it had to close the distance that it needed to safely. It kept tunneling its way towards the Persian, ready to strike at a moment's notice.

---

Rokuto's gaze turned down toward his lap bashfully as Sanzoku continued her interest in his story, though it slowly raised again after William took his leave. He was in the clear now, unless the brute of a woman next to him decided to strike up another conversation. Still, she was clearly a traveller, and it was much easier to spin lies to someone he'd likely never see again than a shopkeeper who he'd be in proximity to for weeks to come.

It seemed the universe was not quite so kind as to leave him to his vigil, unfortunately, because Rokuto's momentary reprieve from prying eyes was immediately ruined by an apparent Pokemon attack. What was an alpha doing this close to Saffron? And more importantly, how had the garrison not handled it already? Rokuto was right to be wary of this town's security, apparently. Unless the alpha was lured here as part of a targeted attack; all three warring clans obviously had their sights set on Saffron, and it would be easy for someone to slip in during the commotion.

Which unfortunately meant Rokuto would have to throw himself in the way of danger if he wanted to keep a solid eye on everything. It shouldn't be too hard to evade a single Pokemon - powerful as it may be. Even if it engaged, maybe he could embarrass the local defenders enough that the shogun might start to take him seriously.

"Sorry - save that meal for me, I have to go," Rokuto called to Ikoma as he dashed out the door. Poyo was definitely going to end up hungry and annoyed if Rokuto was forced to unleash him before breakfast, but he didn't like his odds handling an alpha with just a tanto. The boy kept his gaze skyward as he traversed the streets toward the southern gate, on the lookout for an easy way to scale the walls and get a quick aerial view of the incident. Every way up he could find seemed blocked by archers as they clambered up to their roosts, and Rokuto clearly didn't have time to explain himself to suspicious guardsmen at the moment.

Filing in behind the assembled warriors at the gate at last, Rokuto kept one hand on Poyo's ball and the other on the handle of the blade tucked in the small of his back. He remained tense as his eyes swept over the area in a quick appraisal of the situation, though he allowed himself to relax a tad once he noted the samurai on scene. That Cinnabar girl probably had the situation in hand, if what he'd heard about her around the castle was true, and despite the carnage in its wake, the persian didn't look like it'd withstand the barrage being thrown at it much longer.

The shinobi foolishly assumed he was in the clear until a lone snowflake landed on his nose. His head tilted upward for a brief moment in confusion before his reflexes took over and he threw himself under a nearby awning with far more deftness than Rintaro the diffident mountain climber seemed like he would be capable of, narrowly avoiding a falling hailstone. Too preoccupied to chide himself for his break in character, Rokuto searched frantically for a second threat, only to scowl as he followed the trail of Powder Snow back to some foreigner with a discolored vulpix. His thumb scraped the latch on his Pokeball, releasing his venonat at his feet.

Poyo looked up at its master curiously, its mandibles clattering in an unspoken inquiry about breakfast.

"Relax, you'll get your food in a minute," Rokuto grumbled quietly, "I want you on standby in case the situation gets out of hand. I don't trust Snowflake over there."

---

Jiro stirred amongst a pile of splintered wood. His armor had saved him from any serious injuries, though Hitomi lay face-down beside him with a gash along his back. "Hitomi?" Jiro asked, and the small Sentret gave a weak groan of acknowledgement with a slight swish of its tail. "Hang in there, I've got some medicine for you," he said, fishing in his pouch for the standard-grade concoction that all village guards were required to carry. It wouldn't cure the entire wound immediately, but it could stabilize all but the most grievous of injuries.

Hitomi cried briefly at the added sting when Kimura dripped some of the potion onto the cut, but then the blood coagulated quickly after, and scar tissue reduced the size of the Sentret's energy. Soon after, Hitomi was able to push himself up and realize, along with Kimura, exactly what was going on around them.

A group of fearless travelers and the like had taken to combatting a massive 10-foot-tall Persian (roughly double that in length) that flailed* and lashed out*, clearly confused as it damaged itself nearly as much as the people and Pokémon around it. Hail was spreading from the gate as a blur of white--Kimura thought he recognized it as the Vulpix from earlier, but it was too obscured in the frosty deluge to be sure--unleashed a cone of snow and ice toward the monster, combined with a flurry of attacks from many others. Archers had mounted the towers along the perimeter and awaited a silent signal to fire from their commanding officer, but they would not fire while they risked harming civilians.

Closer to the gate Kimura recognized Captain Mizuno and Kanegi, gathering their wits from an attack they had suffered. Kimura scooped Hitomi in his arms and sprinted to the captain, trying to ignore the fear piercing his gut. He raised one arm in a feeble attempt to ward off hail that musically--but not painlessly--pelted off his armor. "Captain, are you okay?" Kimura shouted over the cacophony as Hitomi climbed to his shoulder.

Captain Mizuno looked over after a shake of his head. "Kimura? You've been trying to prove yourself, now's the time."

"Yes, sir! Just give the order, sir!" Kimura barked in response, steadying his hand as he grasped and drew his blade.

"Aim for its sides, stay away from its claws and tail, and especially," the captain ordered, "stay away from its mouth! It won't hesitate to eat you if you give it the chance. Kanegi and I will go left, you and Hitomi go right. It's confused and can't keep pace with all the attacks. If we do this right it'll drop sooner than later. Now, go!"

Captain Mizuno and Kanegi sprinted off at the last command, and Kimura followed suit only a moment after. The two charged toward the Persian's farther flank as Kimura raised his sword to strike. In the same moment, Hitomi leaped into the air and its tail glowed white before becoming the texture of polished steel. Kimura focused as he charged ensuring he wouldn't miss as he lunged toward the Persian's belly.

In the moment before his attack met its mark, the Persian had noticed the small flying Hitomi and opened its maw in its direction, the tiny creature perfectly bite-sized for such a large beast, but Hitomi cleverly changed the angle of its attack, and the iron tail struck the Persian upon the nose at the same time Kimura sliced its underside. The creature howled, knowing it was too weak to continue fighting for long, but unable to clearly tell its up from its down, accompanied by a perpetual urge to hold its ground despite its instincts to flee when so thoroughly overwhelmed.

After his contribution to the fight, more people joined in the fight. Himaru seemed to follow him out of the Inn, probably hearing the announcement, and performed some sort of shamanism shit along with her partner Pokemon. What happened next surprised him. Concentrated pellets of ice began to rain down from the sky. "It's snowing?" William incorrectly stated. The hail pelted him with ice, but he wasn't too bothered by it. Looking over towards his right, he found the source of all of the hail—a foreigner who wore a cloak in the middle of Kanto. Wearing a cloak in a hot climate in the South of Kanto was beyond William's understanding.

Aside from that, he noticed a young girl amidst the crowd of fighters that had gathered to combat the beast. "Hey, Kid!" William called out to Shaakira. "Get out of here! This isn't a place for a kid to be wandering in!" He saw Rintaro come in. Rintaro seemed content to stay in the far back and provide backup if needed, so William glanced back at the beast. The feline beast seemed to be cornered by each combatant that joined the field. However, that's what it made all the more dangerous. A cornered beast became stronger the more fearful and weak it was. Yes, a cornered beast...

A sword stained with blood dripped onto the wooden floor. As the servants scrambled around like headless chickens to tend to his mother, William stood there watching. Their fearful looks were ingrained into his mind.

"Lady Dokuyu!"

"What have you done, Lord William!"

It was a reasonable response for them. A son attacking his own mother with a blade. Anyone would feel that way, but yet why. Why mother? Why did would you look at me like that?

"William... I'm so proud of you,"

William shuddered at that memory. That smile from her was what solidified that cursed moment. How it turned from a smile to a grin as if she was proud of him for doing something he should never have done in the first place. William snapped himself out of his remembrance. Now wasn't the time to be all nostalgic. He had a beast to catch. Narrowing his eyes at the beast, he took out a Pokeball. He had about three of them inside his pouch. Clicking the button to set into 'capture mode,' he began to aim at the beast.

Unfortunately, for William, it seemed like the Persian had snapped out of its confusion. Taking many hits and hitting itself seemed to break itself out of it. Persian glared at its prey. It couldn't run because of the accursed black bird, more humans were coming in with their Pokemon, and suddenly some strange cold object was raining down from the sky. His eyes darted to them until they landed onto William and became dilated. That device that human held in its hand. Persian let out a cry and dashed through the opposition even if it exposed itself to more damage. It could not run, so it had to fight. It had to kill that being before it threw its device.

"Wyyyyyy!"

"Oh shit," William said to himself. Tossing the ball up in the air for a moment, he threw the ball towards the Persian, who was dashing at him at high speed. William prayed that the ball would land on its target before the Persian could reach him.

Shaakira didn't notice the Hail having been in effect until she drew a little closer to the battlefield and got herself pelted by a few hailstones for the trouble, nor did she even see the tunnel that Akeeta had dug. Rather, her tunnel vision had led her to continue her desperate search for the fallen Tauros that effectively summoned her here to begin with. Sure enough, Shaakira heard a man's voice.

"Hey, kid! Get out of here! This isn't a place for a kid to be wandering in!"

"I can't do that!" Shaakira called back, "Not while there's someone out there who's hurt."

However, the second she laid eyes on what the man had in hand, she knew she was right to stand her ground. Shaakira had heard of these accursed contraptions before; they were called Pokeballs, and as far as she was concerned, they were the most evil things man could have ever devised. Shaakira had to stop this guy. Everything was a better option than to let the Persian be captured by those abominations.

"NO!!" before she knew it, Shaakira found herself bolting into the fray, and throwing herself in between man and Pokemon in a valiant effort to intercept the Pokeball's path. Regardless of success or failure in her endeavor, the laws of physics would dictate that she land on the ground with a thud. She slowly got back up, and looked at the man that threw the contraption.

"What in Yveltal's name is wrong with you?" she asked him. She had so much more to say, but lacked the strength to say any of it.

...

Akeeta, however, was more concerned with stopping the Alpha Persian from harming Shaakira, or the man it was trying to attack in reality. It lunged at the Persian's left flank with all its might, and dug its legs and claws into the side of it for good measure. Energy began forming around Akeeta's claws, sapping strength from the feral Pokemon and starting to replenish the stamina Akeeta had expended in the attack prior. However, the amount of energy Akeeta could drain from the Persian would depend entirely on how much longer it could hang on...

Sanzoku’s table guests dropped away one after the other. William, the only one of them with actual duties to see too during the day, got through his meal as quickly as could be and saw himself out.

”Take care. I’ll see you later” she said to the man in farewell, before joking to Rintaro ”Cheerful one isn’t he” once the grumpy merchant was out of earshot.

Rintaro was saved from her assailing him with more conversation however, because a few moments later news about the cause of the sounds that had Marrow on alert reached the inn they were in. An alpha pokemon attack, news which had the sell-sword raising an eyebrow for two reasons.

The first was that it was not the kind of thing she expected to happen right next to the capital. Out on the roads or too some unfortunate isolated village sure, but she had to wonder why any pokemon thought such a concentration of humans would make a good target.

The second was that her dinner guest excused himself upon hearing about this and headed right for the door, which was quite the interesting response for someone who didn’t look like a warrior. Maybe he was just worried about family or something, but it was still quite the odd little reaction.

Either way, her curiosity peaked, she decided to see what this was all about. Unlike the younger folk however, she didn’t run heedlessly into danger right away. Instead she shoved one final load of rice into her mouth, slapped down a few coins on the table and then grabbed her pack and then got moving.

”Come along Marrow, let's see what this is all about shall we?”

---

Battle was in full swing, and even possibly coming to a close by the time Sanzoku showed up, both due to the delay in finding out about it and the fact that she had taken the time to clad herself in her armor. Years of experience meant she’d managed to do so while on the move, but it was still a delay nonetheless. The kind you made time for if you wanted to ever retire in her profession.

What she found when she arrived was a mess. Bodies on the floor, troops in disarray and a bunch of unarmored folks and their pokemon trying their best to survive and fight off the lone alpha Persian’s attack on a scattered merchant convoy. Several of them were from the inn she had been in, she noted, and none of them were soldiers. There were princesses, mystics and battered Ronin in the fray too, but it was her two table guests who had most of her attention.

”Fancy seeing you here” she said cheerfully to the one who was sensible enough to not throw themselves into combat. She didn't miss the knife the guy was holding behind his back with intrest, but that wasn’t a concern right now. Instead the armored titan of a woman shoved past him and all the other onlookers with ease and entered the fray, Kanabō in hand and Marrow hot on her heels .

”Stay behind me like we practiced little one” she instructed him before she started running forwards with a speed that always took people by surprise, right as William had a poorly timed confrontation regarding him trying to catch the pokemon that was about to kill him with a kid he she had heard him shouting at about the fact that she shouldn't be here.

”Same goes for you, tinkerer” Sanzoku shouted as she came thundering in to intercept the rabid Alpha Persian, her cloak billowing behind her as she ran. She raised her gauntleted arms up in an x shaped guard with the Kanabō gripped in between them like a cross bar as she skidded to a halt by them and yelled ”Pick on someone your own size kitty” at the oversized house cat in an attempt to Obstruct its murderous onslaught.

---

Interacting with: @AThousandCurses@AdmrlStalfos19@Rethel34

The sky split; hail falls; magic whirls in the air; cohesion shatters briefly. Moving with the shifting action, Hanabi's swift footwork brought her about to place herself before Shaakira and William as their antics brought the beast's ire upon them. In the same breath she took to shift herself defensively, she sensed a behemoth's movement at her back. Deftly stepping aside and bringing her blade low, she subtly transitioned into offense;

"Snow falls heavy on
A field bearing witness to
Folly and dread waste..."

Her words came smooth and quiet, but carrying over the din.

Sanzoku caught the Persian upon her crossguard and block; Hanabi didn't let the opportunity to strike pass her. The raging Persian crashed upon Sanzoku's own hulking mass with its fury, and before its full might could press upon the towering warrior the Lady Hanabi rose under Sanzoku's guard and leapt into the Persian, her sword arcing deftly in a crescent reminiscent of the waxing moon, the silvery blade rising in a sweeping arc as Hanabi twirled with the slice upwards beneath the Persian's head, slicing in a vicious Guillotine* blow as Sanzoku caught the creature's rush to a standstill.

The great cat would have howled, if not for its vocal cords being severed in that same moment. Shortly after, it collapsed in a lifeless heap. The crisis, it would seem, was at an end. The archers atop their posts laxed their bowstrings, and one by one, disappeared from view while the hailstorm that had been summoned not but a minute prior broke apart, giving way to the gleam of the sun.

Captain Mizuno straightened, wiping clean his blade on the Persian carcass' fur before sheathing it. Aside from a small spatter of blood on his armor, you would never guess that he had just been in a battle. He took in his surroundings, and impressively, the damage had been contained to a small area. The majority of harm had befallen the prisoners' convoy, of which some prisoners had escaped into the woods, others lay unconscious, and two seemed to have perished. One such prisoner had aided in the fight, whose quick thinking and Murkrow companion were owed thanks for the beast not reaching beyond the gates and causing many more casualties. He bowed his head in gratitude to the fellow before continuing to survey the battlefield.

His eyes passed over the front end of the creature, and there, beside its head along with a hulk of a woman was Lady Hanabi, painted with blood from the lethal strike she had delivered to the Persian. "Milady Hanabi!" Mizuno greeted. "I am humbled by the noble presence of one such as yourself. If I may bother you for just a moment of your time, I believe you will find it worth the delay."

His efforts, it turned out, were probably not really needed. His and Flurrie's contribution to this battle was pretty minimal. Oh well, this was mostly Flurrie's idea anyway, and she did at least look a little satisfied in the aftermath. The hail slowly stopped falling and the clouds gradually dissolved into a clear sky once again. That was about when Flurrie's snow cloak wore off and she could be seen by all. At least for the time it took for her nervously scamper back over to Caspian and bury herself under his cloak anyway.

"I swear, you're a big hero one moment, and fleeing with stage fright the next." he teased with a sigh. Oh well, maybe now the two of them could actually get their breakfast in peace. The foreigner gave one more disappointed look at the fallen Persian and shook his head. What a tragic waste of life. It appeared that the people of Kanto treated Alpha's with quite a harshness. In Kalos, the King's Knights would have captured the Pokemon rather than kill it. At least then it would have an opportunity to do some good for those around it. Or be released further away from settlements where it would not endanger people.

Here in Kanto on the other hand, it appeared as though only one individual was willing to try and end this non-lethally. And he was stopped by a nearby foreigner and chastised for his efforts. Actually, wait... that foreigner. Caspian could swear he had seen her somewhere before, probably at the port. But he shrugged it off for now. His business here was concluded, and both his and Flurrie's growling stomachs served as a reminder that neither of them had had a chance to eat a meal yet this morning.

All in all a rather unpleasant way to spend the morning. Caspian did at least learn something of value for his efforts. What he had heard about individuals in Kanto with similar talents to his own, that appeared to be true. He'd spotted no less than three individuals who did more battle damage to the Persian than any of the Pokemon present. So with that confirmation, Caspian knew coming to this region was the correct choice. But what to do with that information? Well perhaps the best thing was to wait and see.

"Let's get your breakfast sorted out, then." he told his Pokemon as he began to walk through the gate. From the belongings he carried on him currently, Caspian received a small wooden bowl. He held it up to his face and gave it a gentle blow. A cold shot of air conjured a small pile of snow that he collected within the bowl. After that he took a small handful of Rawst Berries, crushed them and then shook and mixed them into the snow. He then held the creation up to his shoulder for Flurrie to eat. It was one of her favorite treats. The Vulpix barked and licked at the flavored snow happily.

_{Interaction: @AThousandCurses @AdmrlStalfos19}

---

The alpha pokemon was dispatched fairly quickly with the number of people involved in the fight. Attack after attack was thrown at it. Himaru watched as William attempted to use his invention to catch the large beast and she almost sighed in relief, however the attempt was blocked by a child no less, who yelled at him for his attempt. She barely had time to process what was happening when the beast was permanently felled. She would have rathered a non-violent end to this fight. The beast had to have had a reason to be so close to the village, or at least being riled up, now they may never know.

“You…you killed it…” She didn’t direct this toward anyone in particular but she walked closer to the felled pokemon as she did and when she got closer to it she kneeled down next to it. She was aware that it had cost the life of humans, but the opportunity to catch it and end this with less life loss was completely blocked. Her mind finally unclouded after a short prayer and she stood turning toward the child, anger behind her eyes most people hadn’t seen in her before.

“It died because of you, I hope you know that." She was angry but she managed to refrain from yelling. She didn’t give the child a chance to respond, instead she turned to William to make sure he was okay. Ignoring any attempt to make an excuse. It had happened, there was no taking it back now, so arguing about it wouldn’t help now. One would think that an individual who speaks with spirits and ghost type pokemon on the regular would be more okay with death, which she was, but as a last option. In her eyes the child who blocked the pokeball forced death to be the only option.

“You okay Nelson?” She asked giving him a once over. They might not be friends but she still wanted to make sure he wasn’t hurt. It was also a way to make it clear to the foreign child that Himaru had no interest in speaking to her at this time. Zen floated over to her floating around her, sensing her distress. The Haunter had previously been floating around the various deceased people and pokemon, but had been shooed away by the remaining guards so he had returned to Himaru.

"What!?" William exclaimed.

The PokeBall he threw was smacked out of the air by the young girl. She went on to preach something about Yvetal; William's mind supplemented that it was some Kalosian Death God thanks to his tutor, which was ironic considering what would happen next. The Persian was still rocketing towards him. Taeru stood in front of him in a vain effort to protect him, but William hugged the small blue Pokemon to take the brunt of the damage. He closed his eyes.

The moment never came, and William slowly opened his eyes. A huge shadow enveloped both him and Taeru as he looked up. The figure had a muscular back, red as colorful as fire, and-

Oh, it was just the ogre. Sanzoku had appeared and intercepted the Persian's attack before quipping about he too didn't belong here as well. He could hear a big bang and a clean slice in the air as both Sanzoku and Hanabi dealt with the feline beast. The head of the slain Persian rolled down to where William could see it but its side. The stench of blood and dismembered head of the Persian made William nauseous, but he's seen worse. Watching Oichi would always be a traumatic experience that William could never forget.

"Return, Taeru, don't come out of your ball until I say so..." William quietly said as he returned Wynaut back into his ball. Taeru was still a little young to see things like this, and William wanted to keep his friend innocent for a little longer. He stood there in a daze as he listened to the conversation flow without him. He almost died today because of a child's ignorance and naivety. If it weren't for the fact that he had a close meeting with death, he would have screamed at the kid for her stupidity.

Himaru broke him out of his stupor. "Thanks for the concern, Himaru; I'm alright," He reassured the spiritualist. William didn't plan to tell her that he was planning on killing the Persian if it had been caught, but it would have been out of his hands anyways. The town guard would have decided whether or not what to do with it, and Himaru could have maybe convinced not to. Either way, it was a shame that the Persian was killed.

His eyes slowly looked over towards, Sanzoku. The woman saved his life, and he was grateful for it. With a sigh, he slowly got up from where he was sitting and walked over towards her. "Thank you, Sanzoku, you saved my life, I am in your debt" William said with an actual polite tone. He was more than capable of doing that, but he often let anger and grumpiness do the talking for him. "If there's anything you need, ask me, okay?" After saying everything he wanted to say, William was about to leave and retire back to the shop, but before that, he looked over to Shaakira.

"And you, I don't want to see your face around here anymore," William said. His look gave the impression that he was looking at Shaakira as less than human. If more appropriate, he thought of her as nothing more than a disgusting weedle, poisonous and harmful, and grows up to be twice as uglier when evolved. This child was responsible for his near-death experience, which William would never forgive nor forget. With that, he continued his trek back to his uncle's shop. He needed to rinse the blood out of his boots.

The noble samurai deftly twirled aside, hail plinking in a quieting decrescendo off her armor as the storm subsided. In a languid movement, the sword was pulled across the bracer of her left arm and cleansed; then slowly sheathed. The samurai then marched directly astride the deceased creature and clapped her hands together loudly, bowing deeply over its corpse. She held this bow for a few long, precious, moments in silence until a voice seemed to shatter her reverie;

---

“You…you killed it…”

Hanabi rose from her bow and looked at the woman with an even expression; a calmness of practice. She silently appraised her and noted that she accompanied the spectral 'mon that assisted the fight, before letting a breath slip from her body. A tensed and held breath that needed to be refreshed.

"Miss, direct your statements. I killed it. Not the world. Not anyone else. If I had not struck it down myself, my orders would have been the ultimate cause; Gaze about, take in the archers there on the towers, and take upon your senses there the longspears and guards in preparation if it had managed to break past me. My orders, my intentions, my responsibility. The world is bad enough right now without undue negativity and harm being directed outward without target. If you must curse a name and a face, let it be mine; Hanabi Yasashi."

At that she turned about to address everyone present;

"I am Hanabi Yasashi! Lord under the Shogun! This was a catastrophe; a disgrace; but not wholly a circumstance of waste! You!" She points to Ryuji. "You fought well, and showed bravery. Whatever accusation you faced is henceforth dropped. That man is my guest; see to it that he is fed and treated with honor." She instructed towards the Captain, nodding to him in acknowledgement of his own words as she did so. "As for you-" She began to walk away from the Persian now, passing near to Sanzoku.

She reached for her belt, produced a coin purse, and threw it towards Sanzoku's chest without a second glance towards her.

"You're no Ronin or Samurai; coin will suffice, I'll not waste supplications on someone who doesn't want it. You have my thanks and respect for your actions."

That was all she spared for Sanzoku, seemingly intent on making her way to the captain to have a word with him. But, alas, she stopped mistride;

"And you, I don't want to see your face around here anymore,"

She whirled about, a sudden fury in her movements, as she approached William directly and stood face to face with him. Barring his movement back into the village.

"That girl acted in her faith and with her convictions; Just as you and I did. Who are you to say any of us are on the right path, which of us has the cleaner spirit? Your pokeball, my blade, her faith- all are tools and all could have solved this. If you are angry, be angry that the situation arose. Search yourself and blame that which is truly the cause for all our chaos, blame that which is the ultimate disruption of our peace in these lands."

She turned away from him and eyed the Captain now.

"Blame the war. Without it, this never would have happened."

And she marched away, stiff in movement now, the brief emotional confrontation fading away to a stern and professionally angry expression as she left the situation behind her.

"I want the names of the patrolmen from the night. I want to know why they didn't detect this creature. I want to know how we let this disaster reach our doorstep."

She began speaking to the Captain Muizuno from a conversational distance, but each word carried her forward until she was just on the edge of his personal space and speaking in an authoritative growl.

"You have my attention." She concluded. "I can spare as much time as you need."

Ajairu finally pressed into the group at this point, limping lightly as he timidly encroached through the throng and nudged Yasashi on her hip with his nose. This seemed to have an immediate calming effect on her, and she lifted a gloved hand and softly caressed through his fiery mane.

"Sorry, my friend, we will get you cared for soon."

---

---

"The name's Ryuji, not too shabby yourself Lady Hanabi. I truly appreciate that," Ryuji greeted back with a smile, relief that he was acquitted for the mess he had gotten himself into. She reminds him of his former revered, lawful, and authoritative samurai leader back in the day.

Damn! the women here in this village are crazy strong and kinda brutish and so were that hex lady, and that foreign mage who can change the weather. and the merchants here are so brave - err sort off. Clearly, They have different motives in joining in the fight. Ryuji thought to himself.

"Heh, I think I like this village already," The wanderer muttered with a smirk, looking back at the aftermath of the fallen beast and observing the individuals who aided to fend it off. He stands idly with Mori perch around on his right shoulder and can't help but notice that little outburst that Lady Hanabi put upon her underlings.

"I want the names of the patrolmen from the night. I want to know why they didn't detect this creature. I want to know how we let this disaster reach our doorstep."

Ryuji winced and painfully avert his eyes and feels like he's throwing the captain under a bus here- knowing that he himself is cursed and will bring misfortune to others and partially responsible for that feral feline attacking them out of nowhere. That calamity will follow him where ever he goes. Surely that's worth mentioning right? The Ronin kept his silence about his identity, not to spoil this little victory.

Sure enough, the beast was swiftly beheaded. Shaakira gasped upon witnessing the gruesome display but, knowing that that was the result she should've expected most, she tried her best to hide her reaction, and ultimately didn't question it. It was a shame that the Persian died; it really was. But if that was the way it was meant to be...

“It died because of you, I hope you know that."

"What?" Shaakira's eyes widened in shock and disbelief as she faced the woman who said this. Her mouth quivered and tears rolled down her face as her very faith came under fire, but just when she was most ready to cry, she steeled her resolve.

"No. I won't let you push the blame of that Pokemon's death onto me!" Shaakira told the woman, "I have no blood on my hands to dictate such a thing, nor was it even my intention! I just... Akeeta and I only wanted to calm it down, that's all."

At the mention of its name, Akeeta got off from the Persian and returned to Shaakira's side. It could tell she was upset, and raised a claw in an offer to try and comfort her. However, it noticed the other woman and her Haunter. Suspecting the woman to be responsible, Akeeta lowered its claw again, and turned to stare down the woman.

"Furthermore, how could you defend such a vile man?" Shaakira asked the woman, "For all you and I know, he could've intended to unleash that destructive Pokemon again and hurt even more people. He certainly seems the sketchy type; perhaps that's what he wanted all along. No-one has the right to ready access of such power... least of those who'd use it to harm innocent people..."

That was what Shaakira believed, anyway. But could she get that through to this other woman? She didn't know...

The Persian lunged at the unflinching Sanzoku, jaws wide and fangs bared, and received the length of her Kanabō as a bar gag for its efforts, the sellsword pushing forwards to keep its maw occupied even as the heavy clawed paws slashed and batted at her armored form.

”Gotcha!” she laughed in the face of danger, before loudly requesting aid by shouting ”Now if someone could-” and getting it before she could even finish the request when Lady Hanabi stepped around her (and a fire spitting Marrow) and delivered a final blow to the attacking beast, brutally and effectively parting its head from its body.

The great cat’s body slumped, its severed neck spraying Sanzoku’s armor with blood as it fell while leaving the head hanging from Sanzoku’s Kanabō by its teeth. The one eyed sell-sword blinked once at the climactic ending to the conflict and then gave a bark of a relieved laugh that caused the head to drop from away from her guard and hit the dirt.

She let out a little sigh to release the last of the tension and then, with considerably less grace than the one who had performed the killing blow, stashed her Kanabō back by her side.

Then she did her best to wipe/shake the blood off of her armor, during which William approached to thank her for saving his life.

”Ah, it was nothing” Sanzoku said, modestly waving off his thanks, before quickly adding ”Not that I’m going to say no to being paid mind,” because of her profession. As a mercenary she didn’t exactly go around doing selfless heroics after all, at least if she wanted to cover her expenses. Such fixing as the dents and claw rends on the armor that had allowed her to pull off the little life saving maneuver.

Speaking of getting paid, it turned out that would not be a problem, because the local lady (and expert head chopper) tossed her a bag of coins for her efforts, but giving little else in terms of pleasantries. While she found her treatment a little rude and dismissive, the coin purse the sell-sword had received without even asking more than made up for any unpleasantness.

She gave her a respectful bow in response and a ”My thanks to you as well, Lady Yasashi, a few more moments and I might have been in trouble” regardless, the thanks a mix of genuine appreciation for the assist/save, and a subtle bit of marketing/politicking. It never hurt to try and get in the good books of the rich and powerful in the sell-swords opinion, considering that's where all the best employment opportunities are.

After that she carefully stashed her earnings away (she’d count them later, doing it right now would not look good and she had a vague idea just based on the weight anyway) as people started to drift off away from the battle site. She had no interest in engaging with the argument surrounding William’s attempt at capturing the monster vs its death. A few weeks ago she’d have been solidly on the side of death, but little Marrow had changed her, and so as of now she didn't really have a firm stance on the matter.

As if knowing she was thinking of him, the Houndour gave a muffled yip, which drew her attention down to him.

”Hello little one, you did so well in your first real battle” she told him, a little guilty about not checking in on him earlier, crouching down next to the pokemon and giving him a scratch behind the ear, before frowning and asking ”Oh? What do you have in your mouth?” upon seeing what had muffled his yip. She reached out and the mon obediently dropped the, now slightly drool covered, pokeball William had been prevented from using to try and capture the Persian into her hand.

”Huh. I guess he forgot about it?” she said as she tossed it up in the air once while thinking and then, upon catching it, stashing it in her pouch. ”You're a good boy, finding that for me Marrow. We’ll give it back to William when we see him again later today” she told Marrow, giving him a rewarding pet before standing and stretching.

She briefly considered whether she could get away with looting the severed head of its valuable forehead jewel, and then decided against it. If there was any justice it would go towards supporting the dead guard's family. She’d gotten plenty out of the situation already after all.