Chapter 40: Unraveled

  No one had really recovered from hearing Myra's version of the things that went down yet. The villagers were only just starting to move again, quiet and frightened, whispering fragments of stories they didn’t truly understand. How could they? They hadn't been there like she had!

  And right in the middle of it all stood Captain Kaen. Her uncle.

  He looked… wrong. Not angry, not even disappointed. Just... tired in a way Yuki had never seen before. His eyes were steady, but behind that steadiness there was something she recognized too well. He looked hurt.

  "Clear the square," he said, voice carrying easily over the scattered crowd. It was steady but gentler than most would expect from him. That gentleness made it worse somehow, like he didn’t have the heart to raise his voice at anyone anymore.

  The villagers hesitated. Then one by one, they obeyed. Doors opened, lamps flickered back to life, parents ushered their children indoors. The space around them emptied until it was just the guards, the three Elders, she herself and... Auri.

  Yuki’s feathers bristled. Auri looked pale, like the light had gone out of him. She wanted to rush over, but uncle Kaen’s gaze caught hers before she could move.

  "Risa and Vira flank him," he ordered. "Keep him steady. He looks like he’s about to fall unconscious. No roughness unless he tries to flee or fight."

  Risa nodded silently. Vira hesitated for a moment. Yuki caught that flicker of conflict in her eyes before she bowed her head and obeyed.

  Yuki’s glare sharpened as uncle Kaen turned toward her. His expression softened slightly, just enough for her to notice.

  "Myra and Durro stay close as well," he continued, turning away from her to the Talonflame and Donphan. "But keep a look at your surroundings. We don’t want any more surprises."

  And then he looked back at her. There it was, that heavy, impossible mixture of Captain and uncle whenever he had to interact with her in his position as Captain of the guards.

  "And Yuki," Kaen said quietly, "you’re with me. We’ll have you held separately for questioning until it’s time for you to properly retell your version of what happened. Your parents and sister are worried sick. We all were."

  It hit like a spark to dry tinder. "You can’t keep me away from him!" she burst out before she even thought. Her voice cracked halfway between defiance and plea.

  Her uncle didn’t flinch. His eyes softened more than his voice. "We won’t," he said, gentle but firm. "If Auri truly is innocent, you’ll be the one to prove it. Tomorrow. And if he’s not… Then at least you won’t be dragged into it by trying to fight the whole village on his behalf."

  There was no anger there, just that familiar weight she’d heard whenever he’d had to lecture her before. Family steel, tempered with love. It took all the fight out of her in an instant. Yuki’s feathers drooped.

  Uncle Kaen exhaled. "Also, you’re grounded," he added, almost like an afterthought. "I’m sure Mira and Daigo are going to agree with me there."

  If she hadn’t been so heartsick, Yuki might’ve snapped back. As it was, she just gave him a half-hearted glare and muttered something unintelligible. Especially with her knowing that her punishment was more than justified.

  Before she could say anything else, Elder Seori stepped forward. The Ninetales' voice was calm but sharp as a blade. "The square is really not the place for this. Rumor will consume the truth if we do not give it a proper hearing."

  Elder Brenno’s deep rumble followed. "The ancestral hall is sanctified. If this matter is to be judged, it must be judged there. Elder Gorun will forgive the incursion."

  Elder Ilyra didn’t speak, she simply looked at Auri, her strange eyes reflecting torchlight like still water.

  Uncle Kaen inclined his head respectfully. "If that’s what the Elders wish, we’ll move this matter to the ancestral hall," he said, his tone shifting back to command, smooth and sure. The last few villagers who lingered didn’t dare to question it.

  The guards fell into motion with practiced precision. Risa and Vira flanked Auri from either side, their stances professional but their expressions grim. Myra and Durro closed in behind them, the Talonflame’s wings half-spread, the Donphan’s weight steady as a wall.

  Auri walked forward like someone trapped in a bad dream. His movements were careful, his steps dragging just slightly, as if each one took effort.

  Yuki caught his eyes for a single heartbeat before they led him away. He didn’t speak, didn’t even manage a smile. Just looking at him Yuki already knew that he was pushing much more blame on himself than he should. Again. Just seeing that made her chest hurt so much it was hard to breathe.

  Uncle Kaen’s voice came again, softer this time. "Come on, Yuki."

  She turned, every muscle in her body screaming to stay, but her uncle’s paw was already guiding her away from the market square. She stole one last glance over her shoulder. Auri was already surrounded by guards, his yellow fur catching just enough torchlight to shimmer before the shadows swallowed him.

  And for the first time since they left the battlefield at the Stormspire Prison, Yuki felt the full weight of the night settle around her. The villagers were afraid. The guards were distant. Myra wouldn’t even look at her.

  Just a few hours earlier Yuki was excited at the thought of returning home, even knowing she would have to expect quite a punishment for Auri and her vanishing for such a long duration without even leaving a note. But right now, for the first time in her life, Newleaf Village didn’t feel like home at all.

  By the time they reached her family’s house, the air had grown thick with the weight of silence. The torches lining the street flickered in the wind, their glow carving long shadows across the dirt road. Yuki followed her uncle without a word, claws dragging faint trails behind her. She thought they’d go to the guard station, maybe his office first, but instead unlce Kaen stopped at her home.

  He pushed open the wooden gate and held it for her. "Inside," he said quietly. His voice carried no warmth, but it wasn’t cold either,just heavy.

  Inside, the house glowed with soft firelight. The smell of herbs and roasted berries lingered in the air, familiar and painfully gentle. The moment the door opened, footsteps echoed from the kitchen.

  "Kaen? What is it? Here to inform us of whatever idiotic rumors caused a commotion this time? I told you I don't care what lies are getting spread around!" came her mothers voice from the kitchen, edged with annoyance. That seemingly wouldn't be the first time her uncle came by these last days for stuff like that.

  Moments later Mira appeared in the doorway, apron still half-tied, paws dusted with flour. For a heartbeat she froze. Then, with a sound between a sob and a laugh, she darted forward and swept Yuki into her arms. "Yuki! Ancestors, you’re safe!" she cried, pulling her close.

  Yuki’s feathers flared, her body shaking. "I'm sorry," she whispered, the words muffled against her mother's shoulder. "I didn’t mean to-"

  "Shh," Mira murmured. "You’re here. That’s all that matters right now."

  But then uncle Kaen stepped inside, and the tone of the room shifted. His presence filled the doorway, a reminder that this nightmare of a day wasn’t over yet.

  "Let her breathe, Mira," he said gently, though his voice carried the weight of authority. "We unfortunately still have things to discuss."

  Heavy steps followed from the hallway. Daigo appeared, his feathers dulled from exhaustion. Even behind his stoic composure, the fatigue in his eyes was clear. He froze when he saw Yuki, his jaw tightening as emotion flickered behind his steady exterior.

  "Seven days," he said quietly, his voice low but trembling just enough for Yuki to hear it. "Seven days we searched for you. I led patrols past the river, through the old thickets, even the Dungeon paths. I thought-" He stopped, unable to finish, the last word caught somewhere between anger and relief.

  Before Yuki could respond, another figure appeared at the stairwell. Ayra. Her fur was a mess, dark streaks under her eyes from too little sleep. For a moment, she just stared. Then the mask cracked.

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  "You absolute idiot, Yuki!" Her voice shook, raw with all the fear she’d buried. "Do you have any idea what you’ve put us through!?" She stepped closer, trembling. "Every single day, I told them you’d come back. That you’d just wandered too far. That you’d light up the horizon with that stupid chirp of yours and laugh about it later!"

  Yuki opened her mouth, but Ayra wasn’t finished.

  "And then the days kept passing!" she continued, voice rising. "The guards stopped searching the woods, Mom started lighting candles every night, and I-!" Her voice cracked, and she clenched her claws into fists. "I started thinking I’d never get to yell at you for how much worry you caused."

  The silence that followed was sharp as glass. Yuki swallowed hard, tears burning at the corners of her eyes. "Ayra…"

  Her older sister let out a trembling breath, the anger in her voice dissolving into relief. "Don’t you ever do that again!"

  And before Yuki could say another word, Ayra stepped forward and pulled her into a crushing hug her arms folding tight around her as if afraid she’d vanish again.

  Yuki froze for half a heartbeat, then melted into the embrace, her throat tight. "I’m sorry," she whispered. "I didn’t mean to-"

  "I don’t care," Ayra murmured into her feathers. "You’re here. That’s all that matters."

  A pointed cough from their uncle saw them looking up. The Arcanine motioned toward the table. "As much as I'd liketo let this play out a little longer I'll have to ask you to sit," he said, his tone turning formal again. "I unfortunately still have to do my job after all, so let's get that over quickly. For the record, you and Auri left the village without any notice or authorization. I need to know why."

  The shift from warmth to formality stung. Yuki blinked at him, feathers ruffling. "Because we needed answers," she said. "If you ask me to start from the beginning, we'd have to start with Sia."

  Uncle Kaen frowned. "Sia? You mean-"

  "The Mythical, yes," Yuki said quickly. "Princess of the Umbral Abyss and whatever else. Auri met her in the Core room of the Windshear Hollow Dungeon. They stayed in touch afterwards. To shorten a long story down, Sia helped us deal with a few of Miu's antics. In the end we got a situation where Miu owed us two straight answers. And thanks to that we found out that Auri was actually a human. And Miu essentially admitted that she wanted to kill him."

  Mira gasped softly, eyes wide. "Kill him? But why?"

  "Because he’s human," Yuki said, voice trembling. " That was enough for her to be terrified of him. Terrified of what he could become. And that’s also why we had to find Sia. She was the only one who might’ve believed us and who could’ve protected him.”

  Kaen’s brow furrowed deeper. "So you just ran through half the crater looking for a Mythical? The Umbral Princess herself?"

  Yuki shook her head, feathers bristling. "Of course we didn’t just run trough the entire crater blindly! Miu owed us two answers, not one! The other one was how to find Sia. We thought the Divine Laws would force her to tell the truth." Her voice dropped, bitter. "And she did. But she twisted it. She told us to go to some old ruins in the northwest and claimed that Sia would get there as fast as possible once she found out we're there. And that was the truth. But she omitted the fact that said ruins were actually the Stormspire Prison."

  Ayra’s eyes widened. "But that's where according to the stories the Storm Menace was banished to!"

  Yuki nodded, her voice small. "We didn’t know. We didn’t mean to. But Miu used us to break his seal. By attacking Auri she forced him to defnd himself and Zuko somehow used his ability to influence Auri's type energy to break one of the seals. Miu broke the other one and then the Storm Menace was free again."

  Daigo’s claws tightened against the table. "You’re saying the Storm Menace was freed because of Miu’s deceit?"

  "Yes!" Yuki said fiercely. "Auri didn’t free him! He tried to stop it! But after Zuko and Miu claimed that Auri once already nearly destroyed multiple continents in the past, when he still went by the name Noah, no one is willing to believe him!"

  Uncle Kaen’s eyes darkened, his voice low. "To fill in the parts Yuki left out, I think you all know of the human and his partner who saved the tree of life and defeated Dark matter, thereby stopping the world from falling into the sun. This human apparently went by the name Noah. Later he nearly destroyed the world, claiming he had to save it once more."

  "Even if that was him," Yuki whispered. "He would never do something like that! He doesn’t even remember! And he’s not the same person anymore either! He’s just Auri."

  For a long moment, no one spoke. The only sound was the soft crackle of the fire.

  Then Daigo exhaled, his expression weary. "So that’s what this entire comotion was about. The Elders most likely called for a trial, didn't they?"

  Yuki nodded weakly. "It sounded like that until uncle Kaen pulled me away from the square. Auri didn’t even resist!" Her voice broke. "He just let them!"

  Mira reached across the table, her eyes glistening. "Oh, Yuki…"

  Yuki pressed her wings close. "He's my friend! He's the first one to sacrifice his own wellbeing for the sake of others! He always does! And now they’re treating him like a monster!"

  Uncle Kaen closed his eyes briefly, then leaned forward. "I believe you believe him," he said quietly. "And I believe your heart wouldn’t lie. But belief isn’t proof, Yuki. Not when the entire village is afraid."

  "So you don’t trust me," she said, her voice shaking.

  Her uncle's gaze softened. "I trust you. But I have to protect everyone who trusts me too. 400 lives depend on me keeping the peace and that means I can’t ignore what they saw tonight. Or think they saw."

  Daigo’s deep voice rumbled. "The peace won’t last if we start punishing the innocent."

  Kaen sighed. "I know." His tone was heavy with exhaustion. "But I can’t decide that alone. The Elders will and I eagerly await the day you join them, Daigo, just so that I could finally do for the Newleaf Village. And until the trial tomorrow, I cannot let Yuki near Auri."

  Mira’s ears lowered. "Kaen-"

  "I’m sorry," he said gently. "If I thought she’d be safe with him, I’d let her go. But she’d stand between him and the whole village if necessary, and I can’t risk that. Not now."

  Yuki’s eyes shimmered. "Uncle Kaen…"

  He moved closer, resting a paw lightly on her head. His voice dropped to something almost like a whisper. "I don’t know what’s true anymore, Yuki. I lack the insight, and the courage maybe, to claim certainty. But I do know this much: You’ve never once stood beside someone unworthy of your trust."

  Yuki froze. Her breath caught, eyes stinging.

  Uncle Kaen withdrew his paw slowly. "Rest now. Your parents will keep watch over you tonight. Tomorrow… the Elders will have their say."

  For a while, no one moved. Then uncle Kaen turned to leave, his tail flicking once before disappearing into the dark outside. The door shut softly behind him.

  Mira pulled Yuki close again. "You’re home now," she whispered.

  Yuki’s feathers trembled. "It doesn’t feel like it anymore," she admitted weakly.

  Daigo stirred the fire with slow, deliberate motions. "Home’s still home," he said quietly. "Even when the world outside forgets what it means."

  Ayra sat beside her, slipping a paw around her shoulders. "And we’re here. All of us."

  That finally broke her. The tears came freely, quietly, until her breathing steadied. She leaned into her family’s warmth, the firelight reflecting off her feathers. For the first time in days, she let herself feel safe.

  A few hours later, Yuki found herself in her room. She lay curled on her nest, eyes open, staring up at the dim ceiling beams. The moonlight spilled through the single window, pale and cold against her feathers. Every little sound made her ears twitch, the wind outside, a flickering ember, the rustle of the night itself. None of it soothed her like it usally would have.

  Her body was home. But her thoughts were still out there, in the ruins, in the storm, in that moment when everything had gone wrong.

  She could still see Miu’s eyes, bright with that terrible conviction. That a human can’t be allowed to live. The words burned as sharply now as they had when she first heard them. Or earlier this evening with Auri just standing there, refusing to fight back, refusing even to defend himself, under the glares of the remaining village. His silence had felt worse than anything. Like he’d already accepted that no one would listen.

  Yuki pressed her wings tighter around herself. Her chest hurt in a way that no wound could explain.

  She of course understood Auri could be considered dangerous, the same way one would consider the guards or the Elders as dangerous if they wanted to be. Everyone who regularily proved their own abilities in a Dungeon, even she herself, could be considered dangerous on that merit alone. She also understood that Auri had the potential to become quite a bit more dangerous than most. Mainly due to his extreme type sensivity, honed battle instincts, sheer talent, and of course his extreme drive to grow stronger.

  But none of that made Auri evil. Every Pokemon that held power could be considered dangerous. But she would never consider Daigo, her own father, evil just because he was strong enough to be on the verge of becoming an Elder himself. One should judge a Pokemon not by the potential catastrophe they could cause, but by their actions. She was sure of that!

  Zuko had claimed that Noah, once the world's savior, had turned into its executioner. Someone who had brought ruin to big parts of their world. But even Zuko had been forced to acknowledge that Noah at least claimed to do it to safe the world again. While what Noah did could undoubtedly be called evil, she had no way of finding out if everything truly happened that way. And she wouldn't believe a single word that scheming monster said to them! Not as long as his statements even held the slightest bit of wriggling room!

  Even then, even if Noah had been evil, Auri was not the same! Pokemon changed all the time and with him literally loosing all of his memories? He was decidedly not the same person anymore! And she knew Auri! The way he always placed himself between her and danger. The way he never asked for thanks. That wasn’t someone who wanted to destroy the world. Not in a million years!

  And yet the Elders were going to put him on trial. Yuki buried her face in her wings, biting back a growl. "You can’t punish someone for something they don’t even remember," she whispered. It was madness. Hypocrisy. Because if they truly believed in holding reincarnations accountable, then she should’ve been standing beside him.

  Zuko had quite clearly claimed that just like Auri was truthfully Noah, she was actually Ray. That meant she had once been his partner. His equal. His other half in battle and in purpose. Now the world blamed him for the past, but no one even knew about her. No one accused her. No one bound her powers or feared her name. She had walked free, shielded by ignorance, while he sat imprisoned for both of them. Because Myra had been more than willing to lie for her, but threw Auri to the Sharpedos without a second glance.

  Except Yuki was quite sure she wasn’t Ray. Just how Auri wasnt really Noah. So neither of them should be judged at all. Whatever mistakes that Raichu and Blaziken had made, Yuki trusted that both of them had her reasons back then. That they’d simply given it their best with the right goals in mind. And maybe that was enough.

  Still, she knew none of that would convince Auri. And it wouldn't convince the Elders either. The worst part was that there was nothing she could do to stop what was coming. She was simply too weak.

  Her throat tightened, and the tears finally came. Quiet, shaking, hot against her feathers. Not for herself, but for him. For how unfair it all was. For how powerless she felt.

  "I’ll fix this," she whispered into the dark. "I don’t know how… but I’ll fix it. You don’t deserve this." Her voice broke, fading to a trembling breath.

  When exhaustion finally pulled her under, she curled around the scarf, one of the matching pair she and Auri had comissioned when they had become friends. It was her reminder that she wouldn't give up on him, no matter what happened.

  Important characters in the chapter:

  Torchic (Yuki) – Level 17 (Evolution Requirements Not Met, Stat Boost Applied)

  Ability: Speed Boost

  Battle Nature: Hasty

  Stats:

  TE Pool (Health/AP): 84

  Attack: 49

  Ranged Attack: 49

  Defense: 57

  Speed: 42

  Total: 281 (Strength Level: Teenager)

  Moves:

  Close Combat Moves: [Scratch], [Quick Attack], [Feint], [Fire Spin], [Flame Charge], [Aerial Ace], [Counter], [Slash]

  Ranged Combat Moves: [Ember], [Sand Attack], [Overheat]

  Utility Moves: [Growl], [Detect], [Dig]