Chapter 226: Scars of the Past, Hopes for the Future
Sleep eluded Xiu. He lay on the hard, makeshift bed in the warehouse, staring into the darkness, the conversation with Professor Oak replaying in his mind. Xiaochun's grim fate… it gnawed at him.
A faint rustle, a whisper of movement. A small figure materialized in the dimness of his partitioned space. Xiaochun. She stood silently beside his bed for a long moment, then reached out a hesitant hand, her small, cool fingers brushing against his. She didn't speak, couldn't speak, but her touch conveyed a quiet uncertainty. Then, she simply sank to the dusty floor beside his bed, still holding his hand.
"Chun? What are you doing?" Xiu murmured, his voice raspy with fatigue and a touch of helplessness. He'd sensed her approach, but her actions perplexed him.
He sat up, the wooden planks of the bed groaning in protest. Reaching for the small, battery-powered night light he kept nearby, he switched it on, casting a faint, flickering glow over their small space. He gently pulled Xiaochun to her feet, noticing the dust clinging to her borrowed clothes.
"Pat yourself off," he instructed softly, gesturing to her trousers.
She brushed at the dust absently, her gaze fixed on him, those unnervingly direct eyes searching his face in the dim light.
"What's wrong?" Xiu asked gently.
She shook her head silently.
He studied her for a moment, then guessed. She can't sleep. Maybe it's because of the unfamiliar surroundings, the lingering fear… or maybe just the silence after so much chaos. "Come on," he said, shifting over on the narrow bed, patting the space beside him. "Sit here."
She obeyed without hesitation, perching on the edge of the bed, turning to face him. The dim night light cast long, dancing shadows, illuminating one side of her face, leaving the other in darkness.
Her expression, as always, was carefully neutral, yet Xiu sensed the turmoil beneath the surface. For some reason, looking at her small, still figure, her dull, almost lifeless face in the faint glow, a strange, unexpected laugh bubbled up inside him.
"Ha."
The soft chuckle seemed to startle her. She tilted her head, a silent question in her eyes.
Xiu sobered, his gaze turning distant, introspective. "You know," he began, speaking more to himself than to her, "I used to think my biggest problem was a lack of money, being exploited day after day in a soul-crushing job. I blamed myself, thought I wasn't working hard enough, wasn't smart enough."
He looked at Xiaochun then, his voice taking on a raw, bitter edge. "But eventually, I realized… some things are just not your fault. Some battles, you can't win, no matter how hard you fight, because the game is rigged from the start."
"You worked hard enough, didn't you, Chun?" he continued, his voice tight with a shared, unspoken anger. "You clawed your way out of whatever hell they put you through. You executed their missions, did their dirty work. And yet, in their eyes, you were just a tool.
Expendable. Disposable."
His gaze drifted beyond her, towards the dark expanse of Viridian City, now miles away. "And those ordinary people in Viridian… what did they do to deserve being caught in the crossfire, to become bargaining chips in a game played by those at the top? Nothing."
His voice rose, laced with a quiet fury. "This whole damn society… it's twisted. The ones at the top, they think they control everything, that they can play with lives without consequence." He clenched his fists. "But one day… one day, there will be a reckoning."
He paused, letting the intensity of his emotions subside, then abruptly shifted the topic, bringing the conversation back to her immediate situation. "The preliminary test results from Professor Oak's lab are in," he said, his voice now carefully neutral.
"Your physical condition…" He summarized Oak's findings, deliberately omitting the most devastating parts – the irreversible vocal cord damage, the inevitable organ failure, the loss of fertility. She doesn't need to carry that burden, not yet. Ignorance, in this case, might be a small mercy.
He focused on the aspects that offered some hope, however slim – the potential for dietary changes to improve her overall health, the possibility of physical therapy to manage her mobility.
Xiaochun listened silently, her expression unchanging. Too calm. As if she already knew, or perhaps, as if she no longer cared.
"I will find a way," Xiu stated, forcing a conviction he didn't entirely feel, "to help your body recover as much as possible. We'll work on it. Together." Sharing even this partial truth, voicing this commitment, seemed to lift a small part of the weight from his own shoulders.
He then rummaged in a nearby crate and produced a small, plush Dratini doll. "Here," he said, pressing it into her hands. "I bought this for Happiny when it first hatched, but Happiny preferred… well, food." He smiled faintly. "If you like to hold something when you sleep, you can have this. When we have time, I'll take you into town, we can get you a bigger one, something you choose yourself."
Xiaochun lay down on the bed, clutching the Dratini doll, her eyes still fixed on Xiu in the dim light. Her unwavering stare was… unsettling.
"Get some sleep, Chun," Xiu said softly. "I'll take you for a proper look around Pallet Town tomorrow." He took the night light, switched it off, and left her to the darkness and the soft comfort of the plush dragon.
The next morning, Xiu woke with the ingrained habit of a soldier, his hand reaching out to slap the alarm clock an instant before it was due to ring. He sat up, stretching.
Sleeping in his own makeshift, bare minimum accommodations felt surprisingly comfortable. Or perhaps it was just the peaceful, restorative aura of Pallet Town itself, a stark contrast to the lingering dread of Viridian.
He moved quietly, not wanting to disturb Xiaochun. After a quick check on her – still asleep, clutching the Dratini – he tapped lightly on the makeshift wall separating their spaces. "Going out for a bit. Sleep in if you're tired."
He stepped outside, greeting the dawn with his usual ritualistic declaration: "Today is another day full of hope!" He released his Pokémon for their morning exercises, then joined Scizor for a brisk run around the perimeter of Oak's property.
The clean air, the physical exertion… it felt good to sweat out the stress from Viridian.
He hadn't been running long when Xiaochun appeared at the warehouse door, standing silently, watching them.
"Breakfast won't be for a while yet," Xiu called out as he jogged past. "Make yourself comfortable." He completed his run, then joined Abra for a brief, intense session of psychic conditioning.
By the time he finished, Xiaochun was still there, sitting quietly on the grass, observing. Abra, its duties done, levitated to its customary perch atop the withered tree to meditate.
"Come on," Xiu said to Xiaochun, his breathing returning to normal. "Let's get you acquainted with the other residents. And then, we can feed them." He led her towards the Pokémon, explaining their feeding routines, and letting her try to interact with some of the more docile Pokémon.
They're not all bad, Chun. Pokémon can be companions, not just tools or weapons.
After the morning chores, Xiu took Xiaochun to check on the injured Pidgey. They found it huddled beneath the withered tree, its head tucked under its good wing. "So that's how a Pidgey sleeps," Xiu mused.
His approach startled it awake. It looked up, momentarily disoriented, then hopped a short distance away, dragging its bandaged wing. It ignored them then, attempted to preen its feathers with its blunted beak, an awkward, mostly futile effort.
Xiu observed it for a moment. The Pidgey seemed a little stronger, the desperation gone from its eyes. A good sign. He then turned to Xiaochun, a new thought occurring to him. "Chun," he said, "Can I ask you to do something for me? A favor?"