CYOA 2 – To The Victor Go The Spoils – Chapter 34: Homecoming (Patreon)

Last time: Hanzo and Lúcio had a little mid-journey stop in Lavaridge Town where they played with Roadhog. In exchange, the big guy helped Hanzo evolve Kikuri.

Warnings/content: No warnings, just plot!

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Lúcio has been texting all morning, sitting on King’s back and doing nothing but occasionally grinning at his phone screen while they all get closer and closer to Hanamura.

“Enjoying yourself?” Hanzo asks eventually when the nerves get the better of him, heart fluttering so hard that he is getting nauseous. He has been able to see the gates leading to the gym for quite a while now – there is not much around the beautiful Hanamura estate to begin with – but now they’re so close that he can actually see the insignia on it.

And he is nervous.

There are six badges sparkling in a little ornamental box that he had purchased way back at the beginning of his journey in Goldenrod City. All of that feels an absolute lifetime ago. Reaching his first destination… that fight and subsequent… ah… trade with Baptiste.

That night at some stranger’s house, watching his little brother turn everything within his radius upside-down. Meeting Cole again – and finding Zeus.

God, it really does feel a million years ago. And now he is back where it all began, trying to best his own father and wrest the seventh badge from him.

It had always been his dream to have the beautiful cherry blossom badge in his collection fair and square and now he is so close that he can taste it…

“Fine… don’t listen to me then. See if I care, bro.”

Hanzo startles out of his thoughts. He blinks profusely, turning to stare at Lúcio who is looking right back at him from on top of King’s back, his brows lifted. “You talked first and then immediately went into your head.”

“I… you’re right. I am sorry.”

Lúcio waves it away. He doesn’t look mad. Instead, he finally pockets his phone and slides off of King’s back because while they’re friends enough that King is willing to carry him for a while, he is starting to nicker and whinny softly, his gait becoming decidedly more bouncy as he recognizes where they are.

Lúcio probably doesn’t trust him enough to not throw him to the ground and Hanzo thinks that’s an excellent judge of character.

Hanzo gestures to the pocket that now holds Lúcio’s phone. “Have you been texting with who I think you were?”

Lúcio is grinning broad and unrepentant. Hanzo doesn’t think he’s ever seen him embarrassed. He kind of wants that energy for his own if he’s being honest.

“Not only him but yeah. A lot of texting with Mako. We’re already planning another meetup.”

Hanzo lifts his brows, thankful for the brief distraction. “That is fast. I did not think he would be such a… slut.”

Lúcio grins and throws his arm around Hanzo’s shoulders. “Sure, yeah! He said he’s going to introduce me to a few of his mates.”

Hanzo stiffens a little, wondering immediately whether one of those ‘mates’ will be his own father. Lúcio notices the slight change and lets his arm fall off his shoulders, tactfully changing the subject.

“So you feel ready? You gonna get that badge?”

“I truly hope so. It would be a shame to end my journey at this point.”

“Those aren’t fighting words, you know…”

But they’ve finally reached the gate and Hanzo does not have to answer. King is neighing wildly, throwing his head back. Somewhere in the distance, a slew of Rapidash and Ponyta voices answer. His family.

Hanzo opens the gates with a mighty push and watches how King immediately sets off to find them. All too soon his gray fire is no longer visible. Instead when Hanzo turns his head back forward, he sees his father standing outside the doors of the main building.

He looks austere and strict as ever, his dour face immovable as if chiseled into marble.

After a moment of silence, he stiffly bends at the waist, muttering a ‘Welcome’ as if it had been an effort to do so. Hanzo mirrors him, his heart hammering in his chest.

“Thank you. It is good to be back, father.”

He can tell how Lúcio is staring at the side of his head, a smart little remark probably burning on his tongue. He does not make it, though, and the greeting proceeds smoothly thankfully.

Sojiro steps aside, pushing the door behind him open with one outstretched arm.

“Please step inside. I think we have much to discuss.”

.o.

The gym does not have many rooms for boarders but thankfully there is one free for Lúcio to stay in while they are here.

Hanzo is not too happy about them being separated but it might be better in the long run for him and his father to have a one-on-one talk.

As they quietly move through the Hanamura gym, the bulbs overhead keep flickering seemingly wherever they go.

“Is… something wrong with the electricity?” Hanzo asks with a frown upwards. Looking back, the lamps are gleaming steadily, as do the ones ahead. It is almost like the flickering is only centered to their exact location – and following them.

Sojiro’s answer is an impatient sounding scoff. Hanzo thinks that that will be it but after a couple more steps his father does feel the need to elaborate: “I’ve had multiple handymen here already. They all assure me that the circuitry is perfectly fine.”

He jerks a hand up toward the bulb flickering above them. “Amateurs all of them.”

Hanzo thinks that it is wiser not to question it further, so he carefully steers the conversation elsewhere.

“Did Genji contact you again? I did tell him, that-”

“Yes, yes. He did.”

Sojiro’s voice has become, if possible, even more icy. So Hanzo falls silent and does not ask more. He can imagine quite well what had happened, anyway.

Genji had probably told Sojiro that he would not continue his journey toward becoming the new Champion. Maybe he even told him that he would stay with Zenyatta in some kind of sexual haze and just occasionally stop fucking so he could kick out possible contenders for the badge.

Hanzo wouldn’t put it past him, honestly – and the tense line of his father’s shoulders speaks volumes.

He is not too concerned for the both of them, however; Sojiro has always had a very soft spot for his younger son after all. He would eventually come around, Hanzo is quite sure about that.

It does lead him to wonder, though, if that would make him the favorite son for once. The thought makes him pause for a moment as his father has reached a pair of doors that is not leading toward his private rooms and neither to his office.

He pushes it open and indicates with an impatient gesture for Hanzo to step into the room the gym has always used to welcome new trainers and hash out the details of the fight with them.

So they’re getting right to the point…?

“Howdy there. Had gotten a bit bored waitin’, not gonna lie – but damn you’re a sight for sore eyes. It’s really been worth it.”

Hanzo’s heart drops for a split second before pounding faster. He stares confused at Cassidy standing there with his hand on his chest (he had probably been bullied into leaving his garish hat somewhere) and smiling lopsidedly.

Hanzo’s gaze flicks from him to his father’s dour face and back again.

“...I’m sorry? What is the meaning of this?”

Sojiro’s arm moves to indicate Cole. “He appeared here last night, babbling something inane about wanting to meet up with you. He obviously was too early, which does not surprise me.”

Hanzo almost chokes on his tongue hearing his father casually talk about Cassidy’s sexual prowess… or lack thereof.

Cole just smiles that same easy… lovable… smile. He does not care. Obviously he doesn’t – otherwise he wouldn’t be pursuing Hanzo.

“I thought it would be a good opportunity to see how far you’ve come before I get everything in order to battle you myself. If you do not live up to my standards we might as well just forego a battle, yes?”

Hanzo’s hand immediately slides toward his back and the rucksack he is still wearing. All his badges are inside there, clearly showing him as able and eligible to fight his father – but he bites his tongue. He knows better than anybody else how stubborn Sojiro can be and arguing with him won’t do him any good.

Home sweet home.

He hasn’t even been able to take off his travel clothes and his father is already testing his patience again.

Still, seeing Cole is certainly nice. Very nice, even.

“You two will fight tomorrow after lunch. Until then you have time to…” Sojiro does not finish his sentence, simply waving his fingers at them with an expression of disgust on his usually stoic features while he looks Cassidy up and down.

The other certainly looks quite out of place standing there in his socks and with his dirt crusted jeans. Once again, though, he is just grinning and coming closer, offering his elbow to Hanzo.

“Great. We’ll have plenty of time for you to show me around. Dyin’ to see your rooms, too.”

He winks at Hanzo who inhales deeply – but Sojiro has turned away already and is marching out of the room, apparently deciding that Cassidy is now Hanzo’s problem. Which is just as well. He relaxes and after a second of indecision actually takes the proffered arm. Why should he not? He’s been missing touching Cole. He feels warm and real underneath his hand.

“Very well then. Come with me.”

He pulls him toward the door, eyes flicking up toward the light flickering and his stomach starts to feel a little queasy.

“You got trouble with the electricity?” Cole asks happily.

.oOo.

Lúcio and Cole are more than happy to see each other again. Hanzo watches them quietly for a moment before the electric hum behind distracts him. The tiny hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.

The static soft crackling is steadily getting louder, making him wonder why the other two are not able to hear it. In fact, he gets the unsettling feeling that someone is standing right there, close enough that he is sure he should be feeling them.

The static takes on a rhythm; an up and down like breathing. His palms are prickling, so he balls them into fists and jerkily turns around – but there is nothing there. Even the static is gone as if cut with a knife. Just empty air and silence up and down the corridor while in the room behind, Lúcio and Cassidy are talking animatedly about the gigs coming up for Lúcio’s music career.

Hanzo looks up at the bulb above him. It glows with a steady, cool light. He looks down the hallway and just where it turns around a corner- there it is again. A brief, ominous flicker. He exhales roughly, feet moving all on their own to slowly take him toward it. It is ridiculous of course… but it does not feel like this is a mere electrical malfunction. It feels like something different. Something that makes his skin crawl as he comes closer and closer to the flickering.

Just when he steps beneath the lamp – it stops flickering and shines with a steady glow that unnerves him even more for some reason.

You’re starting to rival father with your paranoia, a little voice that sounds an awful lot like Genji whispers at the back of his head.

To his right, down the hallway – another flicker.

Hanzo clenches his jaw and turns to it, his feet moving once more, faster this time. He wonders what he is going to do when he reaches the flickering but once again it stops just before he reaches it.

Frustration mounting, he looks for the next flicker above. It’s not in the ceiling this time, though; it is one of the few artistic lamps standing in the hallway, used more for its look than its light.

He is just about to run to it when a hand claps on his shoulder, nearly making him cry out in surprise.

Whirling around, Hanzo is face to face with Cassidy who is throwing him a confused smile, his warm eyes flicking from Hanzo’s face down the hallway and back again.

“Uh… are you alright?”

Hanzo swallows thickly. Suddenly feeling embarrassed, he roughly pushes Cole aside and rushes past him back to where he came from in the first place.

“Of course. Stop asking stupid questions. Come, I’ll show you to my room.”

Cole is taken aback by the animosity, Hanzo can see that much; but he does not apologize. That’s not something Shimadas do.

.oOo.

Deep in the night, Hanzo is still lying awake and staring ahead of himself. Cole is at his back, comfortingly warm with a heavy arm around Hanzo’s waist that weighs him down.

He feels good. Perfect, even. There is nothing warranting a sleepless night right now… other than the insistent electrical pop and crackle that has been moving to and fro in front of his doors.

His eyes slowly follow the sound from one side of his door to the other. It sounds like something… pacing. His skin prickles with a new bout of goosebumps. He is actually debating waking Cole up so he can listen in on it as well and make sure that Hanzo isn’t going crazy but… well he is afraid that he might actually. Become crazy, that is. The thought of Cole’s sleepy face just staring at him mutely as he tries to rub his two brain cells together and formulate something suitably soothing so Hanzo will stop being an idiot and go to sleep is… yeah. It’s scary in its own right.

So he doesn’t wake him.

Suddenly, the pacing stops. The crackling persists for just a second longer, then vanishes. Hanzo has a split second to start relaxing his muscles and breathe out – when his bedside lamp flickers to life. There is no sound this time. Just a gentle flickering of the bulb. On. Off. Flickering. On. Off.

Hanzo stares at it, his fingers curling tighter into the bedding, heartbeat throbbing in his ears.

There’s a tiny spark shooting off the lamp – and on his phone. The screen lights up; then flickers out again.

He sits up abruptly. Cassidy grumbles behind him, then turns around without ever waking up, leaving Hanzo to stare at his phone screen as he watches apps being opened and closed and then folders being… being rifled through.

Absolutely impossible. Is he sleeping after all and this is just an insane nightmare he is having? He pinches his thigh but he stays sitting right where he is, watching as his phone’s photo album is opened and the hectic rifling slows down; like someone has finally found what they’ve been looking for and are just leisurely perusing his photos.

There are not many there. Hanzo is not sentimental enough to keep a lot of pictures; but there are a few of his team in various quiet little moments where he had been able to take photos without them noticing.

Most of them are of King. When he’d been a baby Ponyta – and later on as a Rapidash.

Hanzo slowly stretches out his hand for his phone. Just as his first finger touches the case he feels a soft electrical zap and the screen goes dark. He curls his fingers around it and holds it in front of his face. Tapping on the screen has it light up once more; it seems unharmed and like nothing ever happened.

Is he actually going insane? No.

The static hum of electricity is back; and so is the flickering in his bedside lamp. Just when his eyes fix on it, the lamp goes out – and once more he can hear it from the other side of the door. The same pacing quality back… and forth… back… and forth.

Beckoning him.

Hanzo inhales deeply and slowly stands up. He throws a small look back to Cassidy but he has his back turned to him and is snoring peacefully. He does not think he wants him to witness in real time how Hanzo is making an ass of himself, so he leaves him be and decides to follow an electrical malfunction in his underwear.

He opens the door. The lights are flickering briefly to his left, then stop. He gets the odd feeling of having startled the… thing. The ghost? Ugh.

Feeling disgusted with himself, he almost misses how the flickering moves. Once again it appears down the hallway, waiting until Hanzo is just about close enough to change position yet again. He is being led, that much is certain now. But by whom? And where?

He’s left his Pokéballs back in his room and King is still out with his family. Now that he thinks about it, he really should have been more careful. But he’s on his own family’s property – what even could happen?

The flickering leads him right to one of the doors leading outside. He stares at the flickering lamp, wondering what might happen now that they’ve reached one of the last electrical devices inside the estate.

The flickering becomes slower until it is more of a steady glow varying in intensity. A Will-O-Wisp. Hanzo gets the feeling like the thing is thinking about what to do next – before it suddenly leaps out of the lamp and through the wall. A ball of orange-yellow electricity that, when Hanzo throws open the doors, sits there on one of the stone’s of the slowly overgrowing path toward the stables.

It starts to hover until it is about eye level, then begins to bounce down the path, hitting every stone slab on the way.

Hanzo stares after it, his hand curling tightly around the doorhandle. He thinks about turning back and getting his team after all – maybe even wake Cole, the oaf – but in the end his feet move without his consent, making him trail after the bouncing light.

The night is cool but not icy. At least he won’t get a cold from running after mysterious lights in his shorts. He watches as the light pauses every now and then, maybe to make sure whether he is still following or not, and then keeps moving along the stone path. Its bounces are jaunty, electricity discharging with a crackle every once in a while; it’s strong enough that he can feel his hair frizzing.

He knows where they’re going even before the ball of light slips into the stables. The pathway only led to them, after all.

Hanzo waits for mayhem to break loose but everything remains peacefully quiet. He inhales deeply, then carefully opens the door.

Inside, the air is warm both from the heat of multiple bodies as well as the fire of Ponyta and Rapidash alike.

A few eyes sleepily blink open to look toward them; among them is King who is standing together with another Rapidash that Hanzo assumes is his mother.

Hanzo looks about but he can’t see the electricity anywhere. His stomach slowly sinks. Has he just been imagining it after all? Is he losing it?

King nickers softly toward him and shifts a little closer, a look of concern on his face that Hanzo really does not want to see in that moment. He is not going insane. He turns around, looking accusatory toward the lamp above the doorway – and surprisingly enough that does the trick after all.

The steady light flickers after a moment of staring at it and a second later, the ball of light he had been following, jumps out of it and zigzags through the stable.

A few Ponyta and Rapidash jerk in alarm but most of them just calmly look on like they know something that Hanzo is not aware of.

King lowers his neck and carefully sniffs at the crackling electricity that has come to sit in front of him on the ground, almost motionless this time.

Hanzo stares at it; he can’t help but feel elated that clearly the Pokémon are seeing this and he is not losing it… though he still has no idea what he is even looking at. What is happening?

Or maybe you’re just still in bed and dreaming this up.

He pinches himself in the arm and as if in response to this, the ball of electricity finally changes. It dims down until Hanzo can make out a shape in its middle; a small, angular shape that is subtly vibrating.

“What…?” he whispers and inches closer. He slowly squats down to get a better look at the thing. The electricity fizzles out with another soft crackle and he is left staring at a small Pokémon.

“A Rotom,” he murmurs, extending a finger to lightly touch the tip of the small Pokémon’s head. It gives him a smallest electric shock that has him jump more out of surprise than pain.

King is intrigued as well. He lowers his neck until his big soft nostrils are mere inches from the other Pokémon, sniffing it.

The Rotom jumps once then settles down again. It is smiling but Hanzo has no idea whether it is actually happy or whether that is just its normal expression. He hasn’t really paid much attention to them but… well.

“It was a ghost after all,” he mutters, delighted despite himself. “A ghost Pokémon.”

Since the Rotom has not moved away yet, he extends his hand again, touching his finger to the tip of its head once more. This time he is prepared for the small electric current running through his hand and halfway up his forearm. It is a comfortable prickling; much like King’s fire is soothingly warm against Hanzo’s skin.

“Did you… want to see for yourself?” he asks softly, nodding toward King. “How he’s doing, I mean. If he’s happy.”

The Rotom makes a staticy little sound that Hanzo has no idea how to interpret. It starts to bounce again, startling King who takes a step back with an annoyed snort.

Hanzo watches with interest as the Pokémon seems to inspect first King, then Hanzo, and then unceremoniously moves toward a slew of unused Pokéballs lying on one of the hay stacks in the corner of the stable.

It bounces on one of them, looking expectantly at Hanzo who slowly gets back up on his feet.

“Do you… want me to catch you?” he asks haltingly. “Is that why you came to the gym? To look for a trainer?” He’s never heard of a Pokémon actively looking for a trainer and choosing one for itself but… well – it seems like nobody in his team is exactly ‘run-of-the-mill’ in the first place.

The Rotom just stares at him, though it bounces a bit faster with excitement. Hanzo can’t say that he doesn’t respect the amount of determination packed into such a small body.

As far as he knows, Rotom aren’t exactly the biggest powerhouses out there, but a good chunk of enthusiasm can make up for a lot of shortcomings – at least that’s what he’s learned from his Pokémon so far.

He grabs one of the gym’s spare Pokéballs, weighing it in his hand while looking at the Rotom bouncing with excitement. His instinct is to question the Pokémon’s decision and to tell it that it honestly would fare better with a Champion like Cassidy or someone who could match its energy like Lúcio.

But in the end it had been very determined to only show itself to Hanzo so that has to mean something… even though he’s not sure yet what exactly.

It’s unconventional – but he’s come to enjoy ‘unconventional’ a lot during his journey.

“Very well. Welcome to the team, my friend.”

.oOo.

Cassidy had still been in the exact position Hanzo had left him about an hour earlier but when he carefully slips back into bed, he suddenly chortles himself half awake and, smacking his lips, turns around to throw his arm around Hanzo’s middle again.

“Fuck,” he mutters, his sleep deep voice resonating in Hanzo’s very core. “Ye’re ice cold. Were you outside?”

“For a bit, yes.”

He does not answer for a while so Hanzo thinks he must have fallen back asleep but then Cole’s arm tightens a little around him, pulling him closer against the furnace of his furry body.

“Been huntin’ ghosts?” he mutters but it already sounds like he’s more talking in his sleep than anything else.

Hanzo almost dismisses it completely yet while he does not reply, he takes note of how Cole’s fingers tap lightly against his stomach in a little rhythm for a good few minutes to come before he completely relaxes behind Hanzo and actually falls back asleep.

It starts to occur to Hanzo that he might have underestimated him for a good long while. He might be utilizing that lovable mutt persona of his more than he ever thought.

He kind of likes that.

It’s exciting.