✘ silent tongue ✘

[telepatiya-blog]

SUGANE.

     SUGANE STARTLED as Red stirred in the hospital bed. Kangaskhan did, too; she stood from her seat on the floor, and wandered over to the bedside. 

     “How’re you feeling, there, little one?” she asked Red, tilting her head to the side. 

     Quietly, from his chair in the corner of the room, Sugane piped up. 

     “H-Hey, Kanga…maybe you should let him sleep…”

     Red's eyes widened and he gasped, completely taken aback. He had thought he was alone. Frantically, he scoured his brain, which worked like a submarine’s sonar system, for any trace of another person’s presence. But there was none. In fact, his head was eerily silent. 

     Flames licked at his neck. Red shuddered, finally realizing how serious his injury must be. He knew he would recoup, though. He always did, even when he got crushed by an avalanche or hit with one of Metwo’s brain-frying attacks.

     Red looked up. He saw two things: one friend and one enemy. A snarl grew in his throat, and he very nearly lept out of the bed to strangle Sugane. But his pain kept him anchored. It kept him glaring, and growling, and furious.

     However, there was more to it than that.

     He was also afraid.

     And he was also helpless.

     Without his powers, who even was he?

     I’ll kill you!

[telepatiya-blog]

SUGANE.

⎡ telepatiya ⎦

     I’m honestly fucking terrified of you at all times, and I wish I could leave, but I hope you don’t die, because that’d suck.

     When Red awoke, he was struck with fire. His whole body burned, but especially his neck. At first, he didn’t realize why--had he hurt himself somehow?--but then he remembered: Sugane.

     Hatred broiled in his gut, bubbling and frothing with the scorching heat of a thousand suns. He knew he shouldn’t’ve approached him. He knew he shouldn’t’ve tried to ask for help, or try to apologize.

     The psychic’s eyes blinked open. The world was a smudge for a while, before it sharpened and became clear. His surroundings mirrored that of a hospital room. That would make sense, Red figured, considering how his neck had been sliced into like some kind of A-class pastry.

     He tried to sit up, but failed miserably. Wincing in pain, and struck again by fire, he laid his dizzy head down and stared at the ceiling.

     His past promise came to mind.

     If I ever see you again, I’ll kill you.

[telepatiya-blog]

suganetxt:

     “W-WHO HASN’T heard about that?” Sugane asked, not expecting an answer. He pretended not to notice the fear in Red’s words, whilst trying to hide his own.

     Sugane’s fingers tightened more around Honedge every time Red spoke, but the sword could only offer so much support, and it wasn’t enough to keep the ace trainer’s body from shaking visibly. He hated how scared he was; he was supposed to be one of the toughest in the bunch; he wasn’t supposed to show weakness.

     “I’m…just f-fine.” As if. Sugane bit his lip as the bitterness in Red’s words stung him. The ace trainer pretended not to notice. He was only doing his job, after all…and he was doing something good, whether or not Red thought so. There was nothing he could do to convince him, and so he kept his mouth shut.

     Sugane lifted his head, if only just slightly, to look at Red. “What is it?”

     Red was not in a hurry. In fact, his pace was so leisurely that for a good minute and a half, he simply tapped his shoe and listened to the wind blow. For a minute and a half, he let Sugane’s question hang in the air. And only after he had his fill of the silence did he open his mouth to speak.

     But he was cut off by a man with a knife and a sneer. The man, seething with rage and recognition, staggered up to Red, dragged the blade across his throat, and then bolted away.

     The R on his shirt was as gaudy and red as the blood pouring from the psychic’s neck.

     His Honedge clattered to the ground. His eyes widened. And his shaking hands rose to touch the sliced flesh of his throat.

     “O-Oh...”

[1999hxh]

[mademoiselle-rose-things]

Don’t forget to love her. The little girl you used to be. Perhaps she lies within you. Untucked. Sleeping peacefully.

(via mademoiselle-rose-things)

[telepatiya-blog]

SUGANE.

     SUGANE SHUDDERED at the sudden voice in his head. He tensed up and curled his fingers a little tighter around Honedge’s hilt for support. The sword’s ribbon hand came up to wrap around his wrist, offering him as much comfort as it could give. And it did help, steadying his shaking hand. 

     “Y-Yeah,” Sugane stammered, strands of blond hair falling into his face as he hung his head and looked to the ground, away from Red. “Been a while…”

     Have you heard the news? Red asked. They say Team Rocket’s back in action. The champion spoke the words slowly, almost languidly, into Sugane’s mind. But even a fool could tell there was fear in them, and even a dunce could see he was scared. After all, the last time they had risen into power...

     Red ran his finger down Honedge’s cracked blade. So, how are you doing? The champion stared intently at Sugane. Still creeping around in the middle of the night? Bitterness sprinkled his words. But then, his face fell with sympathy, and all bitterness was forgotten. 

     I gotta tell you something.

[telepatiya-blog]

SUGANE.

⎡ telepatiya ⎦ 

     SUGANE’S CHEST tightened, and he set a hand protectively on Honedge’s hilt at the sight of Red coming down the sidewalk. 

     Oh no. Him again. 

     Immediately, Sugane stepped back into the shadow of a building, pressing up against the brick and making himself as small as possible, which wasn’t very, considering his height.

     Please don’t see me…please don’t see me…

     Red had heard the whispers, and he was well aware of Team Rocket’s supposed comeback. But, as the champion of the Kanto region, he had responsibilities to uphold. Leaving the League wasn’t an option. Traipsing around the region wasn’t an option. And, most devastatingly, taking down the Rockets wasn’t an option.

     At least... not on his own, it wasn’t.

     While he walked, Red toted his Honedge over his shoulder. Its blade was riddled with cracks and fractures, but it still shone like the finest of silver in the light of the sun. Master, said the sword, its voice a mere echo of what it had once been, someone is watching us.

     Red side-eyed the Honedge. “Don’t call me that,” he muttered. “You and I are equals. Always have been, always will be.” The psychic looked away from the sword. His eyes locked on a darkened figure, standing in the shadow of a wall. 

     He recognized them instantly.

     Long time no see.

[telepatiya-blog]

GREEN.

         The rain stung on the small wounds that Green had managed to make on his palms, so he was happy that Red came back without a fight. He didn’t have to worry about the guy rushing to his deathbed by coming down with something terrible. Red had bad habits, and they both knew it. He could recall many times that he had to drag the other indoors like he had just now. Maybe he was wishing for the past, too. 

                                           “Guess not.” 

        Green laughed lightly, doing his best to push aside any bitterness that lasted between them for the moment. The atmosphere had been awfully tense before, and with time, it seemed to grow thinner, and it was easier for him to get words out without feeling angry.

        “Heh… Neither of our outfits are really fit for this weather, either. Figures.” 

       So, once they walked through the doorway of the gym, Green removed his jacket and set it off to the side. It wouldn’t do any good to keep that thing on now, in fact, it would only do him bad. While it had been warm before, it was now only making him shiver from the cold.  He eyed Red and his Rapidash from the corner of his eye for some time, before he finally spoke up again. 

“So, you’re still pretty close to your Pokemon, huh?

         I always …. know you’d be a good trainer, y’know?  

               That’s why I wanted to be better than you. Then I’d be the best.  

                                 But… well….You beat me. ”

     “That isn’t true.” 

     Red ran his fingers through Rapidash’s mane. It didn’t burn him, even though it was made of fire--in fact, it actually felt quite cool. “Green,” he said slowly, “I wanna show you something.” The psychic reached out, took hold of Green’s hand, and brought it close to the flames of Rapidash’s mane. The fire didn’t burn him, either; it merely brushed over his skin like water before reaching up towards the ceiling. 

     “Do you understand?” Red asked. “You’re just as good as I am.”

     Rapidash whinnied. Then, she rubbed her nose against Green’s cheek, and Red let go of his hand.

     A smile broke out over Red’s face, shining on his lips like the sun shone in the sky. “I’m tired of being angry all the time.” After returning Rapidash to her Pokeball, Beedrill fluttered down from the rafters and sat on his shoulders. “Let’s be friends again, okay?”

[telepatiya-blog]

GREEN.

This wasn’t how this was supposed to happen. But, holding onto anger could make situations pretty messy. That was just how things worked. This was all his fault. It had been forever since Red had become champion, and like the idiot he was, he held onto that grudge as if his life depended on it. Green balled his own hands into fists and watched the raven move closer to the door each second. 

Honorable. No, it wasn’t that. It was just too late now. He could see it, his gramps looked down on him, and his opinion meant everything to him. Red was more of a grandson to him than he was. He was just a disappointment. 

 I don’t either… don’t you get it? 

Fingers dug threateningly into his palms, drawing blood up as Green attempted to push back these feelings. He was such an idiot, and now, his best friend and rival was leaving again. Out of his life in a blink of the eye.

 So, he ran to reach Red who was not too far from the gym. Maybe the guy was too deep in thought to get very far. He was being a bit of an ass. Almost instantly, he grabbed his sleeve tightly, as if he was begging the other not to go.

“Hey. Just stop for a minute, OK?

Will you… come back to my gym? 

You’ll catch a cold walking out here right now, ya know.” 

With this, Green looked off to the side, acting like that was the only reason he wanted Red to come back. But this was Red, he had to know better, right? He just couldn’t ask like that. It wasn’t him.

“Come on… you’re getting soaked.”

     If the rain was good for anything, it was good for clearing his head.

     In fact, the second Red stepped out into the storm, he his fists unclenched. His heartbeat slowed. And his jaw relaxed, releasing his teeth from its grinding torture. The rain pelting his hat, shoulders, and shoes drowned out all of the thoughts in his head. And he was grateful for that, because they were starting to take a rather nasty turn.

     He didn’t know how far he walked, but he didn’t get very far before he was suddenly stopped. Red turned back to look at Green with wide eyes. Immediately, he wanted to ask him why, or how, or what, but he didn’t manage to get a single word out before Green answered all of his questions for him.

     It was then that he realized he was shivering.

     Of course, he knew better than to eat what Green was feeding him. And he knew, too, that there was more to his reasoning than just avoiding the cold. But Red would not press--after all, he knew they were skating on thin ice. He didn’t want to make it thinner.

     “The rain hasn’t spared you, either.” Red shook his head. Water droplets flew from his hair. Then, after he and Green reached the Gym doors, he called out his third Pokemon: Rapidash. The flames from her mane warmed Red, and he patted the side of her neck because of it.

     “That’s my girl.”

     Red turned to Green. He stared at him for a long moment before turning away. A small smile graced his features. But he doubted Green noticed it.

[telepatiya-blog]

GREEN.

Yeah, Green was upset. It was fairly obvious that he was, as well as why he was – his dream slipped through his fingers like sand. Gone in an instant. Never did he receive a congratulations or a pat on the back, no – when his gramps came, all he got was a scolding. Maybe they thought that he should have shown his pokemon more love, but that was assuming that he didn’t love them. Boy, did he. 

That was what angered Green, not only did he have to be removed from his throne right away, but he was mocked. Of all people, it was his own family that had to get on his back about it. He thought he was doing just fine – he was always a step ahead of Red, and his relationship with his pokemon was great. 

Just perfect.

 Yet, even after everything that had happened, it sounded like Red was giving him another chance. If it weren’t for the sound in his voice, maybe he would have jumped at the chance. 

 “I don’t wanna have ya throw it to me. That’s not what this is about… 

You won fair-and-square.”

“Why hand it to me now? That wouldn’t make me happy, Red.

That would defeat the purpose. 

I already had my chance, right?” 

     Red took a step towards the door. And then he took another. And another. Pretty soon, he was standing in the doorway. His fists were balled in anger, and his teeth were clenched with the same feeling. Why? he asked. Why are you acting like this? What are you trying to accomplish by being so honorable?

     The psychic swallowed the lump in his throat. Then, he slammed his one of his fists against the doorway, where it remained for a while before falling back to his side. Its echo lingered after it fell, however. And the statement it made remained even after that.

     I don’t want things to be this way.

     Memories flooded his mind. Memories of him, and Green, and his family. They were all together. They were all happy. There were no Pokemon battles, or Championships, or anything of the sort.

     Red took a shaky breath. He was so angry at himself, and Green, and the circumstances. But he was also sad. And he missed the pictures his memories painted for him. He wanted to live in them again.

     Quickly, the psychic turned around. He didn’t want Green so see his face, or the distress painted on it.

     “Everyone deserves a second chance... don’t you think?”

      He refused to acknowledge the crack in his voice, or the hitch in his step when he walked out of the Gym, into the rainstorm.

[telepatiya-blog]

SUGANE.

     FEAR. THERE was so much fear. Sugane knew that he needed to push through it, but there were some walls that were impenetrable, and this was one of them. He had only been doing his job: protecting the area from people who might cause harm. 

     But he’d failed. He’d been defeated.

     And now, he was going to lose his Honedge, his best friend, due to his stupidity, due to letting his guard down.

     No. He wasn’t letting that happen.

     With all the strength he could muster, Sugane launched himself off of the ground and at Red, all the while yelling as loudly as he could, “Give it back! That’s my best friend you’re trying to steal!”

     He wasn’t thinking. The world was a blur, his heart pounded in his ears. At some point, he’d grabbed Red’s collar, and then he was yelling in his face.

     “I was just doing my job! I was trying to protect people! Kill me if you want to, I don’t care. J-Just give it back, give it back, or I’ll…I’ll…”

     …When had he started crying?

     “I-I’ll have to…take it back…myself!”

     Honedge is the only safety I have left… I can’t let you take it!

     Ice water washed over Red’s head, chilling him to the core. “Steal?” he repeated warily. “You must be joking.” But how could he be? Sugane’s voice was being ripped apart by emotion; it was cracking, dipping, and stuttering. But what if he was just faking it? After all, Red knew first hand how deceptive Rockets could be. So why would Sugane be any different, if he really was a Rocket?

     Red drew his pilfered sword. Then, he raised it between him and Sugane, pointed it at the boy’s throat, and forced them apart.

     Thunderpaw, whose hair was standing on end in alert, looked from Red, to Sugane, and then back again. Fam, she said slowly, I think--

     But Red didn’t hear the rest of her sentence. His head was being flooded with feeling, and words, and pleas.

Give it back... Honedge is the only safety I have left...!

     The psychic gasped, and dropped the sword, and knew the truth.

     Red picked up the sword. Then, he pressed it into Sugane’s hands. Because, now that he knew Honedge was not just a weapon to Sugane, and now that he knew he wasn’t a part of the malevolent Team Rocket, he wanted to say sorry. Sorry for hurting him, sorry for taking his precious Pokemon, and sorry for not following his mother’s motto:

     Don’t judge a book by its cover.

[telepatiya-blog]

SUGANE.

     THERE WAS no time to react, not even a split second before Thunderpaw was upon Sugane. There was a moment, then, when the world turned black, and the ace trainer saw nothing but stars. And then he was seeing more than stars. He was seeing a twisted grin, and empty eyes, and he couldn’t breathe, and then the familiar smell of iron filled his nose, and blood was spilling down his face, and—

     He snapped out of it. He couldn’t do that. Not now, not here. His hand balled into a fist around where Honedge was supposed to be, and when his fingers found nothing, a familiar feeling of helplessness set in. Honedge was his lifeline, and without it, he knew he was too weak to defend himself. Especially now that he found he could hardly move. At least, for the moment.

     Choking on his own voice, Sugane spoke, his hands shaking visibly as he tried to maintain his composure. “I guess I was…right…not to trust you…huh?”

     Red stepped on Sugane’s chest, ground his boot into the boy’s shirt, and said, “A few days ago, I saved your life. Now, I’ll spare it.” He knelt down, so as to see eye to eye with Sugane. “Don’t let it go to waste.”

     Thunderpaw bared her teeth and spit in Sugane’s face. Rocket trash, she hissed. I thought you and your lot were gone for good. But I guess pests are pretty damn hard t’kill, huh?

     Red held out his arm, which Thunderpaw then jumped on. The trainer picked up Sugane’s Honedge, ran his finger down the flat of the blade, and then stuck it in his belt loop. “Only Rockets prowl the streets at this hour,” he murmured. And then, silently, he added: Only Rockets wear black. Only Rockets use Pokemon as weapons. Only Rockets, only Rockets, only Rockets...

     “If I ever see you again, I’ll kill you.”

[telepatiya-blog]

GREEN.

          Maybe it was true, maybe he was playing rough, but he was always like that. A big talker, talking as if he was better than everyone else, when he was really more lonely than anything else. This was a kind of cover, a space he was keeping between himself and others to keep himself from getting disappointed again. 

                                    “Yeah, ‘course I know.

                                                   You’ve always been like that.

                                                 Just thought you could’a gotten better. ”

          His arms moved from where they were behind his head to where they had been before, at his sides. This was all a pain, because Red always seemed to pull the sympathy card. It struck a chord in Green, even if they weren’t the closest for a while now.

                      ”Hey, wouldn’t be too surprising. 

                      Gramps could’ve sent you. ”

         Man, it was like the rain was even trying to match the mood here. It was tense and unsettling, and the lightning – it was much like his anger. It came in certain instances – strikes – and then welled up inside of him, so that the process could start again. It was still there, but he thought that maybe he shouldn’t be irrational, if he actually wanted to talk about it, or get attention at all. 

                                 “LOOK, I just don’t really want to talk about it. ”

                                                                       It was easier not to.

     He shouldn’t’ve come here. Green didn’t want him here. He should just leave before he made things worse. But he had already made things worse, hadn’t he? If Green said he didn’t want to talk about it, that meant he was upset. And Red had made him that way. So...

     What was there left to lose?

     Red’s hands shook at his sides. His breath came in ragged gasps, and his legs screamed at him to run. But he refused--he wouldn’t bolt this time. He wouldn’t let his fear overcome him; he would conquer this challenge, just like he had conquered the league.

     Then, he would finally set things right.

     “Battle me,” whispered Red. His hat threw shadows over his eyes, his cheeks, and his mouth. “Three on three. Or four, or five, or six. Whatever you want--I don’t care.”

          You’re stronger than you think; I know you can win. 

          If you win... I’ll step down as Champion. 

          I never wanted it anyway. Not like you did.

          Would that make you happy, Green?

[telepatiya-blog]

SUGANE.

     RED’S USE of “that thing” in reference to Sugane’s Honedge pinched the wrong nerve, and his hands tightened around the hilt of the sword Pokemon until his knuckles turned white. Nonetheless, Sugane lowered Honedge a little. He was not planning on picking any fights unless he had to.

     “I know that. But, the question remains: what exactly are you here for?” 

     Darkness spilled down the street, casting Red and his Raichu in an eerie light. What am I here for? the trainer repeated. A grin cracked the ice on his face, toying at his lips and making the eerie shadows look even eerier. Well...

     Thunderpaw leaped off Red’s shoulder, dug her claws into Sugane’s shirt, and let loose a bolt of electricity. It was not intended to kill--rather, its purpose was to shock and stun.

     In an instant, Red had disarmed Sugane. And, after throwing the Honedge to the ground, he asked, I think I’m the one who should be asking that question, don’t you?

[telepatiya-blog]

SUGANE.

⎡ telepatiya ⎦

     IN THE dark of night, footsteps could be heard, echoing in the empty silence of the concrete jungle. Sugane lifted his Honedge defensively, the blade sparkling as a moonbeam bounced off of its edges, making it visible to whoever was approaching. “Who goes there?” Sugane said lowly, before the person came into view. Faintly, he recognized Red. 

     But that was no reason to trust him.

     “What are you doing here?”

     Red raised an eyebrow. Put that thing away, he thought. I’m not gonna hurt you.

     Thunderpaw, Red’s Raichu, mirrored his expression perfectly. What the fookin’ hell are you doin’, mate? She spoke fast, almost as if she couldn’t wait to be done talking. My fam here ain’t a Team member, yanno!

[telepatiya-blog]

GREEN.

 Words like those were almost too far overdue in his eyes. The only reason he would even blink at this was because it was Red, someone that actually was a good childhood friend of his before everything happened the way it did.  It wasn’t so fun to have your dream crushed right before your eyes by someone you considered a friend. 

Really, it was the worst feeling ever.

Green folded his arms behind his head, and lightly kicked at the ground, as if there were pebbles at his feet to kick. It at least served as some kind of distraction for him, since this wasn’t the kind of interaction that he had been hoping for when he woke up this morning. Damn, did Red ever pick the worst times. 

“Sorry? You came all the way to my gym for something as stupid and simple as that? You gotta be kidding me, Red.”

 He had to know that Green wasn’t one for this mushy stuff, especially it didn’t seem too sincere. He gets it, Red was never a big talker, but if there was any time that he should try, it was now. It wasn’t like a ‘sorry’ alone was going to bring him to brush off a grudge he had been holding for quite a while now. 

“ ‘least you could do is sound like you mean it. 

Don’t tell me someone made ya come ‘ere.”

     Red stared at Green. His face remained cool, calm, and collected. But, with each passing second, his nails dug deeper into his palms and his muscles wound tighter. In fact, they wound up so tight that it was a miracle they didn’t burst forth from his bones.

     “I’m not very... good... at this, you know.”

     The sky turned gray. Red tore his gaze away from Green, turned toward the window, and frowned. Lightning split the sky in two, thunder rattled the windows, and a blanket of rain tossed itself at the window. Red turned back to Green. 

     “Don’t be mean; no one made me come here.”

     A moment of stiff silence passed; the only sound to be heard was the sharp patter of rain against the roof. Then, Red cleared his throat, opened his mouth, and... shut it again.

     I don’t know what I’m doing.

     I’m sorry for wasting your time.

[telepatiya-blog]

GREEN.

Things were pretty alright these days, better than before for sure. Now, since Green had been running the Viridian Gym for a while, he had something else to keep his attention on than the remaining irritation. He could find something that he enjoyed, and hold onto it. 

Sure, some other people could probably do the job, but it was something that gave him money, and a place to stay other than in Pallet. There were some things there that he  didn’t want to deal with, problems left unsettled. 

Cue a sigh, for when Green spotted his much shorter friend, some emotions resurfaced, and he tried his damnedest to keep them in check. It was a little aggravating to be next to nothing in the eyes of his oh-so-great gramps, the Professor Oak of Kanto. Though it would never be admitted as long as he lived, a lot of what he did back then was for recognition – sometimes it still was. Of course, anyone would want to be seen as more than “an amazing Professor’s grandson”. Everyone wanted to be their own person, it was a bother to be living in someone else’s shadow.  

“Did ya come here for somethin’, Red?”

 “Something other than just, you know, starin’ at me like that? Come on, out with it.”

      The summer heat melted the ice off his ice cream. Red stared down at the sticky-sweet goop dripping down his hand remorsefully--for it was a great loss--before throwing the ruined treat over his shoulder. His Beedrill shot forward, unhinged its gaping maw, and swallowed the thing whole.

     Red was headed to Viridian City. His hands were clenched into fists and his lip was in a perpetual state of being bitten, because he had finally had enough of the silence. And he had decided that, after all this time, he and Green were going to have a talk.

     But when he reached the Gym’s front steps, the champion hesitated. His face screwed up with anger, and his lips pulled back in a snarl. Was this even worth it? Green was such an ass, it wouldn’t surprise Red if he just kicked him out before he got a single word in.

     Beedrill took a seat on his trainer’s shoulders. What are you waiting for, bzz? The Pokemon leaned forward over Red’s head and nipped the boy’s nose. Hurry up and go! We don’t, bzz, have all day!

     Red sighed. His fists, which had been clenched this whole time, relaxed. And then he headed up the steps, pushed open the grand doors, and walked inside.

     When he saw green, his stomach muscles tightened. It felt like he was taking the plunge on an infamous roller coaster.

      Yeah. I’m here...       ...to say sorry.