Nova walked down the hallway with an expressionless face, thinking about the letter he received.
It made no sense for someone to slide a letter under his door, especially Sol. He even told her two weeks ago that he couldn't read. Unless there are cameras in his room, no one should know that he could read.
On top of that, why wouldn't the person at the door just explain their purpose through the door? That was weird, excessive, and alarmingly suspicious.
'Being all mysterious and creepy is why people think we're still a gang…' He could only sigh and just go to the entrance hall. It was still very much daytime so even if he got ambushed, multiple people would witness it, making him less anxious by the second.
Maybe he was overthinking it.
The scene he arrived at in the entrance hall was a strange one. In the front of the room sat Sol with her eyes closed, slowly petting her Absol, while seven other members were standing in front of her not saying a word.
Two of the seven had Pokemon on their shoulders and head, a girl and a boy with a Zorua and Skorupi respectively. The girl had short brown hair, a healthy glow, and a smile that seemed a bit… off. The boy looked the complete opposite of her with his matted black hair, sickly pale skin, sunken cheeks, and a face that looked like he hadn't smiled in years.
The rest of the people were almost unnaturally unremarkable. Then again, they were probably all fairly accomplished thieves and thieves tend to do better if they look as average as possible.
'Either that or they're cannon fodder. Eh, it's not like I'm any better right now,' Nova reasoned.
Sol snapped her eyes open to look at him when he walked in, and everyone looked over to him as well. He simply raised an eyebrow and walked over to the line of people, standing next to them.
Sometimes he forgot he was an eight-year-old kid and most people would be reasonably confused why a child was in the glorified mercenary guild, especially one that didn't hesitate to talk to their boss nonchalantly.
Suddenly, he raised the note in the air. "I thought you knew I couldn't read," he couldn't help but blurt out. The atmosphere was awkward and tense; the silent staring starting to get to him.
Immediately the atmosphere was broken when her eyes widened a tad before she coughed into her hand and the faintest hint of a blush appeared on her face. "Ahem. Yeah, I knew that, it was just a test. Totally didn't forget," she muttered that last part, failing to realize that everyone heard it anyway.
Nova's eye twitched when he saw that. 'She just forgot and wanted to seem cool, didn't she? ...And this is my boss.' he internally sighed.
She cleared her throat. "Anyway! Before we begin, here Nova, your starter Pokemon came in an hour ago," She tossed a shrunken Pokeball at him, which he caught and inspected immediately. He knew what a Pokeball does, but he didn't actually know how it worked.
"Don't play with it." She stopped him from opening it accidentally with a light glare. "While it's shrunken, the Pokemon can't get out. If you press the button and enlarge it, it can leave whenever it wants. If you press it again, it opens. It also opens if you squeeze the black band so be careful."
Her voice then changed, almost imperceptibly, but he could somehow tell she was now serious. "Do not let him out until you're ready. Pawniards aren't known for respecting those who are weak. They're cruel, merciless, and wouldn't hesitate to kill those around them to be recognized as the strongest. However, they will obey the strong without question."
Nova remembered her saying something vaguely similar two weeks ago but he didn't think it was that serious. He got a slight shiver thinking about how bad it would've been if he just released it right then and there. Pocketing the already shrunken ball, he gave a nod to her in gratitude.
One might think he was scared of it jumping out and attacking him, but he knew Sol's Absol would decimate it within an instant. He was just scared of going back to kitchen duty for another two long weeks if it happened to die from such a devastating attack.
"Moving on, the reason I brought you all here today. You may have already noticed, but you're all rookies. In other words, people who've been recruited in the last six months." She stated, pausing as some of the group looked at each other, obviously not realizing this fact until she stated it. Nova included.
"I chose you eight because you are the most promising. In other words, I see potential in you. In a few years, I've decided to put a secret plan of mine into action. It, however, requires someone that is fairly powerful and, for lack of a better term, malleable." With those words, the people in the room became visibly disgruntled. No one liked to be told they were easily influenced after all, especially by someone who was a former gang leader.
She raised a hand, stopping anyone who was about to speak up. "By malleable, I mean able to learn from scratch. I would've chosen a veteran for this special mission but they all have been working for years and wouldn't be able to change their working habits on a dime like that." Those who were previously angry just blinked in confusion, before accepting her words at face value.
"Sadly, I cannot choose all of you. This special mission only needs one person due to the contents of the mission. In a month, I'll be holding a tournament between the eight of you-" Nova noticed the brown-haired girl's smile somehow get even wider "-but you aren't allowed to sabotage each other before the month is over. That'd defeat the point." Her smile disappeared for the first time and everyone heard her go 'tch'.
The man with the sunken face raised his hand. Sol simply stared at him before making a 'go ahead' gesture. His first words surprisingly resonated with Nova.
"Do you mind if I forfeit my spot right now? I don't really want to do any special missions," he said in one of the raspiest voices Nova had ever heard.
Nova also spoke up right after him. "Yeah, can I forfeit as well? If what you said is true about Pawniard, it's gonna take the whole month to get him to listen to me, much less participate in a tournament,"
He decided to not mention that he wasn't even a battle maniac. He was much more interested in how Pokemon even worked on a fundamental level, and if he could replicate their strengths in his own body.
Sol furrowed her eyebrows, seemingly confused as her head slowly tilted before a light bulb seemed to go off in her head. "Are you two sure? You'll miss out on the reward, and it's a once in a lifetime opportunity."
This comment captivated everyone present as they leaned in, waiting for her to elaborate.
"If you manage to win, from that moment until you take the mission, I will personally train you and use any resource I have to support you." She dropped that bomb.
It was well known among the guild that Sol was the undisputed strongest. When asked why she didn't defeat the fourth gym leader to make the guild official, she only said she was 'broken' and refused to elaborate. Not that anyone even dared to continue questioning her after she said that with a tone of finality.
To be personally trained by someone who was likely high-gym leader level and even supported by the guild itself for a week would be a significant boon. Much less the years she was implying.
"Never mind." both Nova and the depressed-looking man said at the same time. For a split second, there was even light in the guy's dead eyes.
That action rewarded them with one of Sol's rare smiles. "Good. Now that that's settled… see you all in a month." She disappeared in a flutter of leaves and wind, making everyone have to cover their eyes.
'...Did she just do a Jutsu? The fuck was that?!' Nova's mind was reeling. He knew Pokemon existed but it looked like she just pulled a random ability out of her ass. 'I know she only did that to seem cool but I can't even deny how cool that was.'
Shaking his head, he noticed that only he and one other person was still standing in the same place. That one person was the brown-haired girl, staring at the spot Sol was in with a look of excessive admiration. Nova would've thought it was a look of worship if he didn't have common sense.
No way would Sol let an obvious cliché yandere in the guild, right?
...Right?
Sighing and shaking his head, Nova also decided to head to his room. The tournament provided him with an idea to get his Pawniard to listen to him. Even if it was a risky one.
'Fuck it. I've been taking risks since I left that orphanage, why stop now?'
Finally arriving in his room, Nova pulled the Pokeball out of his pocket and took a deep breath before releasing Pawniard for the first time.
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AN: I think this'll be the last chapter for the week. I'll start posting again on Monday, but I wanna stock up chapters on the weekend so I can actually write longer chapters without time constraint. I write slow if you couldn't tell.
Anyone think they can figure out how Sol pulled that 'jutsu' near the end? Hint- She only uses Pokemon that have dark as a primary or secondary typing.