Eight Birds of Paradise Singing

{When the feed clicks on, there's a Togepi peering curiously at the screen. She trills, and picks it up awkwardly, giving the network a lovely view of Nanao's bare feet and ankles, which grow steadily larger as the little egg Pokemon toddles unsteadily towards her.} 

Love, Kanra - I wonder what that's all about... Oh, hello there. {And suddenly we're flying through the aiiiir~ but not really, as Nanao gently sets the Togepi next to her on the piano stool. The 'Gear gets unceremoniously dropped, and the view changes to one through the open back door, where a Houndour is making a concerted effort to try to attack a laughing Alakazam, who is simply avoiding every single attack with ease.}

Yes, yes, I missed you too, Miki. {The Togepi squeaks happily, and Nanao laughs a little - and outside the noises of battling cease for a moment, as the Houndour starts to glow.} Huh?

{The Houndour grows bigger and bigger... and bigger still, until it finally stops, and the Pokedex goes 'ding', announcing the fact that 'your Shuuhei has evolved into a Houndoom'. But Nanao ignores that, and accidentally leans against some of the keys of the piano as she turns around properly to see out the door.}

. . . My dog has turned into a horse. I can't believe it. {Her Houndoom looks to be just as surprised, as he looks himself over in a state of shock, before something seems to click inside his brain, and he turns to face the Alakazam, who is simply standing there.}

{And then the giant canine leaps for the fox-like psychic, and Kiyone can't move fast enough to get away. There's a few moments of slack-jawed silence from Nanao, before she mutters something along the lines of "I can't believe I'm going to do this." and a familiar sounding piano tune starts up.}

{This is a wacky chase scene accompanied by the Benny Hill theme on the piano, Johto. You're welcome.}

{It's early evening, and at Ise's house, they're eating dinner. On the floor, because Nanao has no furniture yet. On the plus side, from what can be seen of the house, it seems that renovations have finally been completed, as the walls have been repainted, and the bare wooden boards have been scoured clean. Nanao (who is dressed in her nurse's outfit) waves briefly at the camera, before going back to her soup.}

Hello, Johto. It's been a while, and, as you can see, I've finally finished overhauling the house. It was a long job, but I'm glad I finished before summer hit, if what you all told me about the seasons was accurate. {She gestures to something with the spoon, and the camera swivels around to find an egg in what looks to be a cradle with eyes, with a grumpy-looking Charmeleon sitting beside it, warming the egg with it's tail flame.}

And I have acquired yet another egg. Hopefully this will be the last one for a while, as I really need to start focusing on raising them all. You, ah, may have seen me wandering about, looking pregnant - that was because I was carrying this egg around. {She frowns, briefly, before going back to the soup.} Does anyone else have an egg from Easter that hasn't hatched yet? It's been nearly two weeks, and I'm a little concerned about the Pokemon inside.

I'm taking it in with me to work this evening, but I'm not - wait. {That may have been something like a crack. Everyone moves in, and the cradle transforms back into a Ditto, and it stares curiously at the egg. There's silence for a little while, but the egg has fallen silent again.} That's the fifth or sixth time that it's done that, and I don't know why.

{She reaches out a hand, and gently lays it on the egg, and the shell seems to crumble beneath her touch, and suddenly, in a wash of amniotic fluid, the tiny and far too still form of a Riolu appears.} No...

{The camera blurs, and for a few minutes, only garbled pictures and sound comes through - running feet, the calls of Pokemon, the sudden shift from light to dark to almost-strobing light, and the change in the BGM to the rather familiar tune of the Pokemon Center. When it stabilises, Nanao is slumped on a chair in the staff break room, head in hands.}

I should have known something was wrong - why am I even allowed to do this? He could be dead, and it would be fault..!

{The camera switches off, but not before it catches the sight of Casanova the Ditto transforming into something that looks distinctly human.}

{ooc: She's in the Goldenrod PKMN Center - feel free to run into her, because she really, really needs a hug now.}

When the video clicks on, it shows Nanao completely dressed in her alternate outfit down by Cherrygrove Beach, holding a wet Pokeball in her hand. It's rather obvious that she doesn't know she's being filmed, as she starts speaking.

"I didn't know that I'd missed Christmas, nor that I would miss New Years, due to a certain... encounter." She moves forward, geta making marks in the wet sand. A quiet "Sennn...." comes from behind the camera, belying the camera-mon to be Hanatarou. She speaks again quickly, without looking back.

"No, I don't hold you responsible, Hana, how could I? If there's anyone here who could understand the trials of winter, it would be us Shinigami. How could I not remember those terrible famines - the suffering, the pain..." She looks out at the moon making patterns across the restless ocean, and it in return glinted off her glasses, softening usually harsh features.

"Did you know I'd agreed to spend the holidays not working? It's bizarre, but he wore me down, kept asking and asking.... I suppose it was when he finally sat down and did his section of the budget without any prompting that I gave up. He's persistent like that, I guess."

"Braaaa. Abra, ba ra." Kiyone walks up next to her, and placing his paw in her hand, leans his head against her leg. Her free hand reaches around and scrathes behind an ear as she continues.

"You're right, of course. It's a little sad to give in for that reason, but you haven't known the man for as long as I have. His determination is second only to his age... of which he doesn't look." She pulls out the Pokeball from her obi, and gazes at it pensively, before bringing up to her lips and brushing it with the lightest of kisses.

"I'll call you Shunsui... in his memory." Isane floats up next to her, and Hantarou too decides to scarper up next to her. Their unvoiced message is clear: you have us, and we'll never abandon you. We'd follow you to the ends of the route and beyond, we'd do anything for you. We love you, just as much as he said he did. She kneels, and they cluster in. The feed times out to a view of a single tear rolling down her face.


Later, a text:

//TO HICCUP AND TOOTHLESS;

If you swing by the beach tomorrow, I'll gladly start to teach Toothless how to speak.