Pokémon Obsidian | An Orre Fanfiction

Chapter 37: Reluctant Suspicion

The funeral was the first time in months that most of Naaji's relatives saw him. Sluggish and silent, he dragged his feet as if existing, let alone walking, took all his energy. Laila and Jamie tried to talk to him. He only nodded or shook his head if he had to.

When Laila returned to the shop, she found Ilirian staring at his P★DA on the street outside. He hastily picked up a grey envelope and dejected-looking bouquet of roses. All flowers looked dejected in The Under.

'I'm not coming on to you or anything... I just wanted to give you something to cheer you up.'

'Yeah, right. Although...'

Laila took the condolences card from its envelope. 'I guess a "sorry your relative died" card isn't coming on to anyone.'

'Well, I also know you want to see me, but you're in denial. One of us has to act on it.'

'You're my friend, bro... oh, fuck off. I can't even be bothered anymore. I like you. So what?'

'Yeah, so what? Admitting it will save us both a lot of trouble.'

Laila wearily smirked as she unlocked the door. 'I can't believe you seriously told the coppers you went back to bed because you "didn't have time for this shit."'

'To be fair, I was high as fuck, but yeah. Who does have time for this shit? Isn't this the sixth Cipher revival? I didn't even live through the others and I'm tired of it.'

Muffled music jingled from the back room. Raine forgot to switch the radio off. The aged metal stairs rasped under their feet as they climbed. Laila hesitated. Ilirian thought she was ignoring his last remark, but she was thinking before she blurted out a sarcastic reply.

'...You must deal with some shit. Being a Luvaro. It's not unlike what me and Camden and everyone went through, I guess.'

' I mean... it's not exactly a respected name these days, so at least we're not being married off before we've even left the womb. I love Grandpa, but jeez... I don't know how Grandma – Ivyra – stood it, knowing he had a kid with Leden... and being chill with him banging her until he died. Then again, I feel awful for Leden, 'cause she couldn't marry Grandpa and got stuck with King Psychopath.'

'Has it ever been awkward for Chess? I feel like I know Rustie and Dirk, but even though I know Chess, somehow I feel like I don't know him that well. He's so quiet. Except when he's on stage! It's so funny – and heartwarming, honestly – to see him and Aiko light up.'

'Yeah, he's the silent type, but I don't think he feels awkward. I'd say it's more awkward that everyone knows about the arranged marriages and, well... Ardos. Greevil. Cipher.'

Laila took her funeral gift from its package. It was a hand towel. She sighed as she hung it on the oven door.

'Oh, dear... Cipher. Cipher, Cipher, Cipher. "Who has time for this shit?" Relatable. But to be fair, dude, my grandpa was Grand Master and my great-grandpa was an Admin who definitely thought he was the Grand Master.'

'They were mentally ill. And they thought they were doing good. None of my relatives have that excuse... they just wanted – or still want, in Ardos' case – to take over the world for fun.'

'Mental illness isn't an excuse for being a cock. Although yeah, in Alfie's case, he was horribly manipulated to get to the point he did and it wouldn't have happened otherwise. He did want world domination, though. Lyndon was more into world destruction.'

Trudging out onto the balcony, Laila stared out over The Under's grimy main street. Distant bells shrieked. Students in uniforms emptied out of a Galar-inspired high school.

'I always wonder what a stuffy old Galarian school is doing in a shithole like this. My mum was like "what?! You're in Orre and you're not acting like it?" She loves all things Orrean.'

'She's in a minority there. But that's the point of The Under, "innit?" Whoever you are, there's a place here for you.'

'We're just edgelords, mate. I can't believe I choose to live in a cave, but I have lived here for most of my life. You're pure edgelord.'

'I'm serious, Laila. People aren't like "evacuate, it's a Luvaro" down here. Sometimes it's nice to go a day without someone yelling "Grand Master" at me.'

'Sure, Grand Master.'

Ilirian tutted. 'Who do you really think it is? Seriously? Oh, wait, that's a stupid question. You're gonna say it's me.'

'I wasn't, actually. I have no idea, to be honest. Wisteria said something about Jimmy Don and... does he look familiar to you?'

'...Who?'

'The country singer. Jimmy Don.'

No-one mentioned the person that Laila thought Jimmy Don looked like. She was partly wondering if someone who didn't presume he was Brynlee's son would come up with the same, but she was also observing how Ilirian reacted. If Jimmy Don – or rather Ryland, because that was his real name – was high-up in Cipher and Ilirian was GoD, he might have been surprised Laila mentioned him; but he looked truly clueless, as she would have expected of an alternative snob who wasn't Grand Master of Cipher.

She took out her P★DA to show him a photo. Before it loaded, a battered black car juddered to a stop outside. The doors slammed. Wyatt was dropping Raine, Abbey and Leon off. Holly got out, too. She waved to Laila, who beckoned her in. Laila wondered if the older Trainers, who lived through the other Cipher incidents, would offer any useful insights. Their discussions only went in circles. They had no idea who GoD was, until Ilirian never returned from the bathroom and they frantically searched the apartment for chips. There were none.

Laila knew there must have been a valid reason for it. Why would he show up with flowers, only to abruptly disappear when they started discussing GoD? Maybe he didn't expect them to discuss GoD. That was what Abbey thought. Holly, like Laila, didn't want to suspect her best friend and bandmate; but she had to admit it was odd.