Pokemon - From the Brink

Chapter 36 - Kiria Kurono: Origin

I was pinned to the floor under a mob of faceless shadows. Individually, they weighed very little, but the sheer number of them climbing over me made it hard to move at all. I felt my heart racing – though I knew Azelf's power was protecting me, just the thought of being held down by these creatures was enough to make my stomach lurch. Even then, there were still people in the stadium who needed to be saved. Azelf was virtually fighting on his own, now that a large portion of Bedlam's army had turned their attention to us and forced my friends to fall back into a shield.

"Come on..." I gritted my teeth, trying to push up against the swarm that was trampling over me. "What kind of hero gets held down...? Come on... Rrgh..."

It was no use. We had bitten off more than we could chew here – we were naïve to think that Azelf alone would be enough to fight this outbreak. As it stood, any innocents left in the stadium now were at the mercy of these beasts unless they could somehow weave their way up to the exit where Azelf was securing an escape route.

"MUMMY!"

"HEEEELP!"

"OH MY GOD! AAAHHH!"

I heard the cries of the people who were terrified for their lives. If this were a movie or an anime, or if I were a stronger person, their shouts would have been enough to give me the strength to push my assailants off of me. But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get up.

"No...! Arrgh!" I pushed with all my might, my arms trembling. No good. "Gh... How about...?"

I opened my palms and tried to use my new psychic abilities. A couple of mist monsters went flying back, but more took their place almost immediately.

"No... I can't..." I gritted my teeth, feeling tears of frustration welling up. "Dammit!"

"If I could just break free..."

"We have to get out of here!" I heard Kai shout, followed by the sound of her gun firing.

"But all these people-" Paolo began to argue.

"We can't break through!" Kai snapped. "Ma'am, hold on, we'll get you out of here!" She glanced back at the mother and son I had rescued.

"Y-yes...!" The woman nodded, scared pale.

"Come on, Kiria! Get it together!" The sniper yelled at the agent who was still hunched over on the floor.

"Itsuki..." She sobbed. "Ngh..."

"KIRIA! SNAP OUT OF IT!" Kai roared, knowing full well why she was in tears. "IT'S NOT YOUR FAULT! YOU HAVE TO LET IT GO!"

"Gh...!" Kiria opened her eyes, and the pain of years past all flashed through her head at once.

*

6 years ago, Saitama Super Arena, Japan...

Thousands of spectators had attended the concert that night, and every single one of them was enamoured by the rising star on stage. The idol had released chart-topping hit after chart-topping hit since her debut the year before at 16 years old, and her popularity was growing so fast that she was poised to become a worldwide celebrity. Though she had started relatively late for the typical Japanese idol, her music captivated the hearts of the nation in a way that no other artist had been able to replicate since she came onto the scene. Unlike many others, she didn't belong to a girl group of cute performers who were manufactured and marketed for their image – she worked alone and sang songs above the traditional cutesy tone girls of her age were known for. This particular idol had caught the attention of the public – filling the stadium to its full capacity of near 37 thousand – by singing straight from her heart.