Despite all of her fastidious preparation, Noriko was not expecting to be ambushed outside the boardroom hosting Silph Co.'s annual general meeting.
She had burned the candle at both ends to ensure that her presentation would be as accurate and clear as possible, ironclad in its facts and figures, and in its graphs and charts. She had rehearsed the short, meaningful speech she was to deliver as CEO of the company, and it would be eloquent and inspirational, with hardly any embellishment needed – the entire organisation had achieved so much in a year.
Make no mistake, her address to the board was the best way to sway its members and persuade them to continue to support Project Indigo. This was no easy task, because the shareholders were split into two camps, with Noriko's side currently holding a slim majority.
So when the Nara brothers, leaders of the other camp, and her cousins, physically blocked her way into the boardroom, it threw her for a loop.
"We want a word with you, Kitamura-sama," said Gozaburo, in his deep, guttural voice.
Noriko ignored the condescension thick in the delivery of the honorific, and tried to squeeze past. But the three men made it impossible.
They were all bigger than her, but it wasn't their size that made her nervous, it was their number. The Nara had a penchant for ganging up on their target to get their way. Their coercion tactics were simple yet effective, but Noriko did not scare easily. She stood firm, and looked each of them in the eye.
"Cousin Gozaburo, cousin Hideki, cousin Kyu. It's good to see you. What would you like to discuss?"
Kyu stared bloody murder, clucked and turned away in scorn. Where Gozaburo was heavy-set, he was rake-thin with sunken eyes.
Hideki raised his arms in surrender. "Now, now, it's been a few months since the families got together." Hideki was perhaps the most handsome of the three: he took special care of his skin and his hair, and the purple business suit he was wearing had a sheen to it that caught the light. "We should not nurse old grudges. The company has flourished under the direction of Noriko-kun."
There was something about that that struck Noriko askew; it did not feel entirely sincere.
Though he played the mediator, Noriko knew Hideki was a devious manipulator. He played the part well, and managed to convince enough board members to side with the Nara while simultaneously praising the company's new chief.
Noriko had her work cut out for her. She folded her arms and looked at her cousins expectantly.
"Ah, yes, let's get straight to the point, shall we? We've come here as representatives of the Nara clan to clear away the bad blood between us and the Kitamura clan. Hand on heart," and while speaking, Hideki emphasized the words with action, "we humbly deliver an invitation to dinner whereby we officially reconcile as main and branch families, Kitamura and Nara."
Gozaburo pulled out a card and offered it to Noriko humbly, head bowed.
Noriko was taken aback. The Nara were a proud and stubborn people, unapologetic in their dealings, both professional and personal. That they were being courteous was noteworthy, especially after their last encounter. But they were Nara after all: it was apparent in Kyu's demeanour that this invitation was not given wholeheartedly, and Noriko could see why.
Silph Co. was their company, founded by a nomadic husband-and-wife duo who, as the clan legend went, were touched by Arceus itself. Their ancestors had once been highly spiritual, sought-after priests and healers. The family business was established hundreds of years ago, and the clan was well-known and greatly respected throughout Kanto.
An opportunity arose that brought the Kitamura and the Nara together, and the place that would eventually become the Silph Co. building was constructed. The partnership ran deep, and was full of mystery. One which Noriko was determined to unravel.
She had spent her childhood and adolescence learning as much as she could about the two families, about magic and superstition, and how anything – even ghostbusting – could be fashioned into a white-collar business with enough effort. By the time Noriko grasped the extent of Silph Co.'s operations, it had practically cornered the market on religious paraphernalia.
All of this would be fine and would stand up to public scrutiny, but Noriko knew something that no-one else knew, outside of her own family: that there was something supernatural at the heart of the Kitamura. The Nara were requisitioned, being peerless experts in the occult, and both clans entered into some sort of agreement that was something more than two families joining together as main and branch.
The Nara of today are likely ignorant of the clan's beginnings. None of the brothers claim to have inherited their family's eponymous powers; they seemed more concerned with the company's bottom line than with anything else. They enjoyed the status and privilege attached to the name, unaware of the dark secret that bound their family to Noriko's own.
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Quite apart from the other Kitamura siblings, Noriko was a studious child, devouring books from the moment she learned to read. Her mother provided loving encouragement, and one of Noriko's fondest memories is of her curling up with her mother and reading a book together about myths and legends.
It was a particularly warm evening, with a beautiful full moon providing tranquil illumination, and they left the main shoji open to invite the cool air in.
A certain wild pokémon considered itself invited as well – perhaps out of curiosity, as all eevee tend to be. It sat nearby and listened to mother and daughter read to each other, and by bedtime Noriko had befriended Midnight.
The creation myth in particular had caught little Noriko's attention, and she drew out a few pokémon genealogy trees purely for the fun of it. Somewhere in her pile of doodles was a drawing of the different evolutions of eevee, though Midnight never indicated a preference.
Her next project was tracing her own family's lineage, and she'd learned many neat things about some of her ancestry, including their ties with the Nara clan. Young Noriko found another rabbit hole to jump head-first into, and it was fascinating.
Her brief sojourn reading about the Nara clan fed her hungry mind with even more fantastical stories, and there was something gratifying about being linked with them as main and branch families.
When she had finished wandering through that tangent, she took a fresh look at her family tree, and frowned. It was incomplete, and the shape of it bore questions she could not find in a book.
So, Noriko approached her aloof yet charming father, who laughed and said cryptically:
"You will learn about the Kitamura name when it is your time, little one."
The years passed by, Noriko spending her days reading, and playing with the Potenza children. Her sister Yuuna had inherited their mother's kind and gentle nature, and Noriko had grown close with Izumi and Giovanni.
It was around this time that tragedy struck.
Every year or so, the members of the Kitamura family embarked on a sort of pilgrimage deep into the woods in the north of Viridian Forest. Noriko hardly paid attention to this event, having her nose stuck in one book or another. She had gleaned entirely by happenstance that there was a coming-of-age ceremony and that it was usually just her fledgling sisters and her mother and father who undertook the journey.
The year she turned fourteen was also her fledgling year, and as her father had promised years earlier, Noriko learned the hard truth about the name 'Kitamura'.
Hidden deep in the woods was a small village. The village was shrouded in mist, being situated up a mountain, and its inhabitants all wore the same outfit. Long, white flowing robes with red trim, religious adornments, including red and black makeup that accentuated the eyes, and ankle bells that emitted a soft melodious jingle. Noriko adjusted her glasses and smiled as they approached; the journey had taken all morning, and she was excited about the ceremony.
"We of the Kitamura clan humbly ask for an audience with the all-powerful, the all-knowing, The Eternal One, Nogikyo-gen," declared Noriko's father.
None of the people responded to the proclamation, and Noriko noticed two things in quick succession:
Every single one of them was female.
There was something massive shifting in the shadows a good five hundred meters away.
A voice rumbled so loudly that Noriko felt it reverberate in her bones:
"Who dares break my slumber this day?"
The women scurried towards the shadow, lining up in two rows, all kneeling and bowing low. Six more carried something heavy, a huge trough containing water, supported by big bamboo poles; they set it down gently and moved away to join the rest, skulking backwards, never turning their backs on the shadow.
Noriko's group waited quietly, Noriko herself bursting with so many questions, but there was a sombre air that told her to stay silent. She stared at the shadow, making out a raised platform of some sort, a dias upon which the shadow rested. There was a long curtain surrounding it, obscuring the shadow. She looked all around, at the village and at the women, and she recognised some of them.
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The curtain was pulled away, and the shadow leaned in for a drink. Noriko's father forced her to bow, but just before that, she glimpsed the creature and noted legs and brightly-coloured fur. Was the shadow a pokémon?
The creature turned to look at the group, and they were all forced to the ground by a mysterious power. Noriko found herself kowtowing in the dirt, and her attempts at raising her head were futile.
She had heard of the Winged Mirages possessing such great power that simply being in the presence of one was enough to subjugate people and pokémon alike. But this aura felt targeted and vindictive.
Noriko's father shivered unnaturally. "Y-y-your Grace, it is I, Kitamura. I have come in obeisance, and bring an offering, modest though it may be."
The creature raised its head contemptuously, releasing the group. "Look upon your god, and know my name forever. I am Nogikyo-gen, the sovereign of you Kitamura."
Noriko gazed up at the pokémon, her eyes traveling a long way. She arose as she took in its size. At its repose, it was humongous, and she shuddered as she tried to work out how large it would be standing. It was beautiful, and a golden radiance filled her view, with the afternoon sun dancing off the fur. It had crossed its forelegs proudly, and its face was regal and beguiling.
Her mother stepped forward and placed a golden tray with a maiden's outfit and accoutrements in front of the creature. It was white with red trim, like the ones the women were wearing, and Noriko sensed a growing peril inside of her.
Simple, dull questions like how a pokémon could speak paled in comparison to the questions that were now dominating her mind.
Was this what she thought it was? Did her sisters all disappear up this mountain, and not move on from the family once they had come of age, as Noriko had assumed? Was it her turn as her father had said all those years ago?
The creature suddenly directed its gaze at Noriko, its eyes crimson and ghoulish.
"You may speak."
Noriko froze. Her group consisted of just her father, her mother, and herself. They had travelled a long way to get here, with unsuspecting Noriko asking questions which were rebuffed in one way or another. She was still coming to terms with her parents' involvement in and knowledge of the Kitamura coming-of-age ceremony, and they said nothing, nothing at all to prepare her. They participated in this for decades at this point, and were responsible for her sisters being forced into a life of servitude, with no way out except death.
Nogikyo-gen smiled, its broad grin chilling Noriko to the bone.
"Oh, I do enjoy the dawning of comprehension when they begin to discern their fate."
The creature shifted its position, giving its full attention to Noriko. Her parents both kowtowed lower, their noses touching the dirt.
"You seem to have caught on quicker than your sisters, mortal. This interests me, so I shall reward you with the answers you seek.
"Yes, the Kitamura owe their life and fortune to me, the great Nogikyo-gen; I am your patron and you are my subjects. Your father found me an age ago, and we formed a pact, a covenant which has rather clear stipulations. The first is–"
"To surrender his daughters to you, to serve indentured for... for life."
Nogikyo-gen bristled. "Speaking the facts does not entitle you to interrupt me, feeble human. I think you can work out what happens to arrogant little girls here."
Noriko was standing, and she snapped her head down at the reprimand, her eyes shut and her hands squeezed tight. She suddenly wished to see Midnight, one last time.
The pokémon seemed satisfied with her reaction, and moved closer. Its snout was mere inches away, its breath hot like embers. Noriko shook involuntarily with a visceral fear, but she forced herself to stand firm.
"The first obligation is to surrender the Kitamura daughters as they reach adulthood. The second is to sacrifice the newborn sons to me before the changing of the seasons."
Noriko's head jerked up in shock.
The creature smiled wickedly, and swept away, back to its reclined position on the dias.
"In return, I grant your father a boon. I am Nogikyo-gen, The Eternal One, and nothing is beyond my power.
"Your offering is accepted, Kitamura. Speak, and what you desire shall be yours."
Noriko's father shifted his position, from a kowtow to kneeling with his body upright, but with his head bowed still. No-one looked at Nogikyo-gen unless it willed it.
"Oh heavenly spirit, your devoted liege seeks your empyrean favour. If it pleases Your Grace, use your blessed power to provide more time to me on this earthly plane."
Nogikyo-gen tutted. "Always the same," it said scornfully.
The creature began to glow, its tails hovering, high enough to cover the village in shadow. The sun had already set, with a full moon taking its place, but its luminescence was engulfed by Nogikyo-gen's shadow.
This was the reason her family tree seemed incomplete? Why she never had any brothers? Why, apart from Yuuna, she never saw her sisters once they reached maturity?
It was obscene, and Noriko suddenly understood some things that had niggled at the back of her mind, at the strangeness of her family dynamics, and she was horrified by the implications.
"No," she whispered.
Nogikyo-gen turned to look at her again, but she was not afraid.
"No!" she repeated, louder this time, defiantly. Her eyes were trained on the creature, and a burgeoning disgust propelled her towards the beast. She didn't have a plan, she just knew she did not want to be enslaved.
The creature stopped glowing, its face dark and malevolent.
"You dare?"
It was too late, Noriko would stop the ceremony, or die trying.
Nogikyo-gen finally stood up, and roared angrily.
"Noriko, stop!" her father shouted.
The pokémon leapt at Noriko, mouth agape, and she raised her arms up reflexively. She was going to die here.
There was the sound of clothes rustling in the air, a scent wafting over her, and a hand pushing her away. She landed on the ground in a heap, her glasses nearly falling off her face.
Noriko looked up in horror, tears forming in her eyes. It was her mother, come to her defence. The great beast had bitten her arm, and blood began pooling on the ground.
When Nogikyo-gen realized what had happened, it became even more hostile. It gripped the arm and yanked, brutally ripping it off Noriko's mother. Her screams resounded all through the mountain, but no-one dared to move. Noriko tried to pull her mother away, but she was petrified.
"I will not be disrespected on my own mountain!" the creature boomed, blood – her mother's blood – dripping from its jowls.
Nogikyo-gen raised a paw and swatted her mother to the side. It took a step towards Noriko, readying some sort of attack that was difficult to identify in the moonlight.
Frightened, Noriko scampered away. She stared at the titan pokémon, her heart beating out of her chest and sweat collecting on her forehead. There was no way to avoid it, no way out of this. She had committed a grave error in coming here, she should have discovered this dark family secret earlier, and saved her siblings and herself. Noriko cursed her family, her father, and cried out in woe.
Nogikyo-gen fired its attack, but nothing happened.
Midnight the eevee had tackled the pokémon directly in its face, thus thwarting the attack.
"Midnight!" Noriko exclaimed. Her pokémon must have followed her all the way up the mountain.
The eevee flapped its head to the side, indicating the direction by which Noriko should escape.
"No, I..."
Nogikyo-gen howled in rage, its body glowing in preparation for another blast. The brave eevee kept it focused on itself, managing to dodge a few of Nogikyo-gen's attacks.
Noriko knew she should run. She should take the opportunity created by her partner pokémon and escape while she still had the chance. She took a few hesitant steps, and noticed some of the houses on fire. Her sisters were assiduous in responding to the danger, hauling buckets of water to put the fires out, but none of them thought to make a getaway.
They seemed incapable of breaking free from their imprisonment, but Noriko had no time to think about it further. She searched for her parents, but in the confusion it was impossible.
She had to flee now, but she would not leave her eevee to die.
"Midnight!" she screamed. "Let's go!"
Nogikyo-gen snapped its head up at the sound of her voice. Its rage was uncontrollable, its animosity radiating out in waves. The next attack was directed squarely at Noriko, who was running towards her eevee with arms wide open.
Midnight realized the danger, and veered around, leaping into the air to meet the attack head-on. It let out a piercing cry and began to glow an all-encompassing light, brighter than the moonlight shining down upon them. Both Noriko and Nogikyo-gen stopped, transfixed by the light undulating over Midnight's body, its form changing.
Then the light faded, and Midnight landed gracefully. The pokémon was no longer brown; it was now a sleek black, with yellow rings and crimson eyes. Midnight had evolved into umbreon, the moonlight pokémon.
Midnight wasted no time; its rings glowed as it emitted a snarl at Nogikyo-gen, who took an involuntary step back, frozen. With the full moon's illumination, Noriko finally beheld the complete form of Nogikyo-gen, and it strengthened her resolve. She would be back one day.
Noriko and her new umbreon made a hasty escape out of the still-burning village, running down the mountain through thick bushes and trees. Nogikyo-gen, the titan pokémon and sovereign of the Kitamura family, let out a final howl that shook the earth.
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That howl had stayed with Noriko ever since.
Now, three years later, she had progressed far enough in her plans to take the final step.
She felt guilt at her part in her mother's savage amputation, and her resentment towards her father was deep, but her grudge against Nogikyo-gen overshadowed everything else.
It was clear now that her father enjoyed effective immortality through the boons endowed by Nogikyo-gen, at a terrible cost. It explained the family fortune, and the similarities among the few Kitamura men whose photographs Noriko was able to dig up: they were the same person, literally.
Noriko was unsure of exactly when he crossed paths with the titan pokémon, but she did know there was an attempt to repudiate from Nogikyo-gen and disavow the agreement they had made years ago. It involved the Nara clan, who named their price by hitching their wagon to the Kitamura family, but given that nothing had changed in terms of the covenant, that plan had failed.
Well, no matter. She was an avenger. Her mother had suffered a fatal wound, and Noriko's grief fueled her ambition. She would end the Kitamura curse and rescue her sisters.
If that entailed usurping her cousins and wresting control of their company, so be it. She could handle the Nara clan's deep animosity – she had experienced something much darker than that in her encounter with Nogikyo-gen.
Her eyes wandered over to the dinner invitation she received earlier in the day.
Perhaps it would be good to mend bridges. Back at the annual general meeting, Noriko had delivered an impassioned speech, and Hideki endorsed her larger plan for Silph Co., including the construction of the new cities, something completely different from pokémon research and development. Gozaburo assented, and even Kyu seemed interested.
It was a big win, though she still sensed, if not outright malice, then some antipathy from the Nara brothers. Accepting their olive branch would smooth things over between the families somewhat.
But first, she had something of great importance to do.
Noriko spearheaded the creation of the pokéball, having taken inspiration from the long-ago myths and legends about monsters and magic she read about growing up. She'd been lucky, meeting a brilliant scientist who shared her desire to bring such folklore into the modern age. Together with the resources of Silph Co. at their disposal, they were able to actualize a fantasy.
Now, it was time to put it to the ultimate test. Noriko changed into dark, form-fitting clothing, and affixed two harnesses containing a total of twenty empty pokéballs to her body. She covered her face with a black scarf, her thin glasses hidden by the fabric, and put a pair of jika-tabi on her feet, a gift from a friend living in Fuschia City.
Her umbreon sauntered over while she fiddled with the harnesses – the same ones that were used in the pokéball trial just a few weeks earlier.
"Do I look okay, Midnight?" she asked nervously.
Midnight stared at her. He knew how dangerous this mission would be, but it did not faze him. He'd already gone toe-to-toe with Nogikyo-gen, he was ready for this. And so was she.
Noriko chuckled, and petted her partner. She took a deep breath and felt her courage returning. She would keep her date with destiny.
Under the cover of night, Noriko and Midnight embarked on the journey to Nogikyo-gen's mountain.
"Let's go catch a beast, Midnight."