Timeline of Errors

Part 1 - Assistant Director of the Pokemon Association

"You are Valentina Rojo. You are the hero of this world and you will rewrite lots of fates intertwined with yours. However, you will not be able to rewrite your own fate as the hero."

The voice rang out in the dark empty space. A young woman with dark red hair turned to the voice.

It's that voice again, she thought.

I don't know what she's on, but...

I'm no hero.

Her dull red eyes turned away as she decided to ignore it. Her flowing red hair swayed as she turned and walked down the road. Her back straight, her soft pink coat swayed behind her, her slender legs took long, elegant steps. Suddenly three people who were standing nearby turned to her. They couldn't help but stop and stare for the while.

"Isn't that... the assistant director of Pokémon association?" asked the first person.

"Huh? No way, right?" said the second person and snickered, "what would she be doing, casually walking down the same streets with us?"

"No, that is her, alright... I've seen her in one of the Pokémon Leagues before, giving a speech. You'd have known her anywhere with the way she walks," the third person implied and shook his head.

"The way she walks?" asked the second person.

"Like, you just suddenly turn to look at her, for some reason... like the sort of person you can't ignore..." said the first person, "she looks so different in TV, though... if you get what I mean..."

"Yeah, no..." said the third person, still with his gaze locked on the back of the said girl, "she looks... warmer on screen, doesn't she?"

"Yeah... like... she was really friendly and nice," said the first person and smiled nervously, "but off camera she's..."

"Aloof? Cold?" asked the third person, "that's the impression I get from her..."

"Like 'leave me alone', I'd say," said the second person, her voice trailed off.

~~~

I was walking down the streets with both of my hands inside my coat's pockets. Anywhere, anytime, I know people are always staring. But I pay them no heed. I have no responsibility to answer to them, not while I'm off duty. I am doing my job properly in my workplace and the rest is nobody's concern or business.

I stopped in front of a two-stories building with a pair of red wooden arches adorning its entrance. I made my way to the front door. A wooden sign was nailed to the wooden doorframe, etched with Japanese katakana saying 'Restaurant'. With a hand on the slide door, I slid it open to reveal a restaurant with white polished marbles walls. Most of the customers inside the restaurant were sitting around a big conveyor belt extending from one side of the room to the other, except for a few who hung around the noodle bar on the right-hand side. I made my way towards the right corner of the restaurant and sat down in an empty chair, right underneath a big fan where no one was around. As I always do. The corner is the best spot in the whole restaurant, where I can eat without any disturbance.

"Ah, Valen, you're here again," said one of the employee and smiled, "what can I get you today?"

I turned to the direction the voice was coming from and instantly recognized the employee. The girl with back-length cool brown hair and big round glasses called Lucy. The girl used to live in the same neighborhood as me back in Loquat, but she moved away to the Sinnoh mainland about ten years ago. Recently, however, I started meeting her again because she just always happened to be around when I came for lunch, working as a part-timer.