章 3: Chp 3: Parting
Vic went through untold hardships from the time he came to this world until Grandma Cici took him in. After his parents died, he had to go to the slums to work as a coolie in order to make enough money to feed himself.
Although it was a little hard at first, perhaps because of the existence of Pokemon in this world, people in this world were far more powerful than those on Earth. Even as a child, he still had the physical strength of an adult in his former life. The money he earned every day, even though it was pittance, was enough for him to get by.
However, the place where he worked was in the slums. There were always gangsters, outlaws, who tried to collect money in the name of protection fees. Generally, people who tried to make your life worse.
Seeing his small body, Vic gave up and paid some money to those gangsters. He didn't have the strength or the power to go against them head on. But when they saw he was only a kid, they started trying to get even more money out of him.
This continued for two weeks.
But by the third week, he was tired of it. He hardly had enough money to buy food for himself, let alone save a bit for his future travels.
As usual, when he got off from his work with his daily wage, there were already gangsters waiting for him in the littered street. But this time, there were only two of them. They must have thought that Vic was only a small kid. That was why they only sent two people over.
Taking a look at them, Vic quickly ran towards a remote alley. Sure enough, the two goons assumed he was trying to flee and immediately gave chase.
As soon as they reached a dead end, before the two guys had time to speak, two packs of pepper powder were directly thrown on their faces. Vic then swiftly smacked them upside the head with sticks, knocking them out cold.
After making sure they had passed out, Vic searched their pockets and found some cash on them. He didn't know how many people these two scumbags had extorted money from, but this was all his now.
It seemed he had to find a job somewhere else. Vic didn't care. This was his plan anyway. But before he could leave, a voice came from behind him.
"You dare to steal our money? You're done kid."
Hearing that, Vic instinctively tensed up his body. He didn't know there was another person besides these two. He initially planned to rob the gangsters and leave the slum quickly.
Once he reached home, he would be safe from the gangster's pursuit. Those guys didn't dare to cause trouble outside the slum.
'Why am I so unlucky today,' Vic thought.
Turning around slowly, Vic saw a man walking slowly into the alley. He could see that this guy was not of the same class as the two punks on the ground. Fortunately, he wasn't holding a pokeball, to Vic's relief.
"Do you think I can't beat you up without a Pokemon, kid?" the man asked, knowing the kid was looking for pokeballs on his body.
Vic, who had just relaxed a little, unconsciously tensed up his muscles again. There was nothing wrong with what the man said. He forgot that he was just a kid. In case he didn't get out of here quickly, the other gangsters would be coming soon.
Vic had no doubt that the gangsters would just let him go free. The slum was a dangerous place. Nobody would care if a small child died.
After the man approached a certain distance, Vic threw out the pepper powder he had left, but was quickly dodged by him. Soon, after a brief struggle, Vic was knocked to the ground, completely unable to resist.
After that, the man grabbed Vic by the collar and lifted him up. But before he could speak, the knife that Vic had hidden in his sleeve pierced his throat. The man let go of him and covered his throat in a vain attempt to block the blood that was spurting out.
As the man fell to his knees, Vic stepped forward and stabbed a few more times on the man's torso. The knife fell to the ground as Vic raised his trembling hand that was covered in blood. He had just killed a person.
Just then, it dawned on him that he was still in the gangster's territory. Hesitating slightly, he turned to the other two unconscious gangsters. Gritting his teeth, he picked up the knife and proceeded to slit their throats.
Then, he put them all together in a pile and quickly left the alley before returning with a small tank of oil that he had stolen from his workplace. He poured the oil all over the dead bodies and lit them up on fire.
During this time, his hands were trembling but he kept it up. As the three men burned, he crept into a corner and watched them. After that, he quietly left the slum.
As soon as he got home, Vic rushed straight to the bathroom and threw up while gripping the toilet. He changed into new clothes and left the bathroom a short while later, feeling sick to his stomach. His old clothing, which was stained with blood, was discarded.
It wasn't until a few days later that he finally managed to recover from the ordeal.
For a long time, Vic thought that no one but him knew what happened. When Grandma Cici told him that she had seen what he had done that day, he quickly became scared.
"Can I ask why you took me in even after knowing that I already killed someone?" Vic asked, looking at Grandma Cici still with the kind smile on her face.
"I've seen you a couple of times in the slums. You're a good kid, I know that. That's why I don't mind hiring you. Those bastards deserve to die anyway."
After chatting with Grandma Cici, Vic put on the backpack given by her, thanked her for all her care and left the Day Care. By the second floor window of the shop, Nicole, who had already packed her bags, stared at Vic's back as he walked away.
"Why? Are you sad that we're going to leave?" asked Grandma Cici.
"Yes, I don't know when we can meet again," answered Nicole.
"Is my little Nicole falling in love now?" said Grandma Cici.
"Not that, grandma," Nicole complained. "I only saw him as a friend. By the way, I heard what you guys were talking about downstairs. Why did you help him?" asked Nicole.
"To be honest, I have no idea either. I just feel he's going to be a successful person someday."
==========
Vik, who returned home silently all the way, opened the door and found no trace of Zorua. As panic started to creep in, he suddenly saw a small potted plant by the window. It appeared Zorua had disguised himself as a plant using his illusion ability.
This made him breathe a sigh of relief. What mattered most to Vic was that Zorua felt safe enough to hang around and not flee. Zorua was his ticket to his future success.
After confirming that Zorua hadn't run away, Vic sat on the table and put the bag in front of him. Grandma Cici had given him this bag before leaving the Day Care and told him to open it only when he got home. As soon as he unzipped it, a letter appeared in front of him.
Vic,
When you read this letter, Nicole and I have already left this city. I'm not sure whether I'm making the right decision, but I want you to be happy with your life in the future.
After living for so many years, I haven't met a kid as promising as you. The things in the backpack are what you need most. I hope you can become an excellent trainer.
There are many beautiful things in this world that are worth protecting, and there is also a dark side, but no matter what, I hope you will stay true to yourself. Good luck out there, Vic. I hope we can meet again.
Till then take care of yourself.
With Love,
Grandma Cici
The letter came to an end. Vic stared at the letter with teary eyes. He had always regarded her as his own grandmother.
'Thank you, Grandma Cici,' Vic thought.
Folding the letter carefully, he put it inside the drawer. After that, he turned his attention to the bad and began checking the gifts Grandma Cici had given him. He was surprised to see the content inside. He realised just how valuable the things Grandma Cici had gifted him.
On the top was a belt with pokeballs fastened on it. Vic, who has been working in the Day Care for almost a year, can tell at a glance that these were specially made pokeballs that only capable trainers would choose.
Compared with the ordinary pokeballs sold by the League, these specially made pokeballs protected the trainer's privacy. Meaning, no one can see through the Pokemon's information inside. Also, the pokeballs were only suited to certain types of Poemon.
He recalled one time when he was working at the Day Care, Grandma Cici had asked him what type of Pokemon he liked the most. Vic straight away answered grass-type Pokemon because this kind of Pokemon was more common and much easier to rest compared to others.
Grandma Cici then asked him what he thought of poison-type Pokemon and Vic only said it was too expensive to raise. Poison-types Pokemon, including dragon and psychic-types were one of the hardest types to raise.
He didn't have much money to buy one, let alone raise it.
Vic only thought it was a normal conversation and had even almost forgotten it. Unexpectedly, Grandma Cici remembered it.
Of the six poke balls, poison and grass-type pokeballs respectively occupied three. There was also a note from Grandma Cici on one side of the belt that read, 'I know you wanted to get grass-type Pokemon because of your money problem, but I still feel that poison-type is more suitable for you.'
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