Heart of Hisui: Rei x Reader

13 - Stay By My Side

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-Your POV-

A reef of clouds and lightning raced across the skies from the sea. The Cobalt Coastlands were everything Cyllene said it was and more. Everything from the powerful Pokemon to the unpredictable weather.

"This time, stay by my side." Rei turns to me, a small, wobbly smile on his face. Clearly, I wasn't the only one who was given goosebumps at the obvious risks up ahead.

"Yes. Yes, of course," I return the warm demeanor but shudder as a bout of chilly rain begins. Just a light drizzle, in all honesty, but just enough to hinder the speed at which we could go and send shivers down my spine. "Where should we start?"

My gaze wandered the shoreline, noticing Pokemon I had yet to document for the Poke Dex. A large, pale blue seal-like creature had its back to me. A delighted grin spread across my face, and I reached into my satchel to grab a spare Poke Ball.

Crouching down behind a patch of tall grass, I cast a glance at Rei. He follows right behind me, and as I approach the unidentified Pokemon, an unsettling feeling sinks in. Just as I was about to toss the capsule and capture it for the Pokedex, it abruptly swiveled around, revealing its glaring eyes glowing a vibrant red making me instantly freeze.

"Alpha!" Rei shrieks from behind me, but I don't move a muscle — even though a burst of panic needles me.

If it saw me, I was done for.

That's when I realized that it was lumbering on its flippers toward us. The rain doesn't let up, adding to the exhilaratingly horrifying sight.

Taking a deep breath, I grab onto Rei's wrist. "Make a run for it!" I shouted, pulling him along with me, away from what was a disaster waiting to happen. He merely nods, and we rush out of the way and up a path leading up a cliff. Anywhere. Anywhere would work, as long as that Pokemon couldn't reach us.

The sound of my woven shoes splashing against the puddle-littered ground echoed in my brain. One foot in front of the other. Rain drenched my hair and plastered it to my face, each step I took was as fast as my shallow breaths, the roar of the Alpha behind me... it all added to my rising terror.

The Alphas knew I didn't belong here. I wasn't from this world, so drastically different from Sinnoh.

"(Y/N)!"

I won't stop running.

"Hey! (Y/N)!"

"What?" I snap at Rei, and my pace finally drags to a stop.

I had taken us up the bluff, and we now stood atop it, amidst the cold gale and tempest that whipped around us. "It's gone now. It's not coming. We're alright." He assures me and my iron grip on his wrist loosens, but something inside me wants to keep him close.

Wordlessly, I nodded, then surveyed our new surroundings cautiously, certain I'd detect another threat. Farther down the trail that led to the end of the cliff were a few clumps of Pokemon, a handful of trees, but nothing completely out of the ordinary besides a tall, upright stone. "What is that...?" I mumbled, crossing the space between the boulder and me.

"Cyllene-san told me about it a while ago. The lord of this land, an Arcanine, passed away a while ago." Rei explained, joining me before what I realized was a grave marker of some sort. "It was a valiant, gallant death, supposedly, saving a young Growlithe."