I Wanna Be The Very Best by Chie

I Wanna Be The Very Best

Chie: This is for a friend who requested a sesskag + pokemon one shot from me waaaay back sometime last winter.

I think we’re both glad I never got around to write my original idea and that I waited until now to get back to this. :P

Also I definitely didn’t write parts of this while sitting at the library routinely spamming the pokestop right outside the window.

Disclaimer: Obviously I don't own Pokémon GO or making any money off this story, it's just a bit of fun.

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Sesshoumaru paused under the red torii gate at the top of the stone steps and glanced up from his phone. Looking at the peaceful shrine before him, he felt almost as if he had stepped back in time. Here, among the old traditional buildings and the tall trees gently rustling their leaves in the night wind, it was easy to forget that just below, down those step, the 21st century Tokyo spread with its vast forest of glass and concrete and towering buildings.

Looking around to make sure the grounds were deserted, he turned left and walked over towards a large tree. A picture of the same tree was on his phone screen, above it read Goshinboku. The text below – This Pokéstop is too far away – disappeared and Sesshoumaru gave the picture of the tree a good flick, swiping again to catch the two Poké Balls and an egg the PokéStop dropped for him.

Satisfied with his spoils, Sesshoumaru took a second to contemplate what he should do next. Normally he always moved right over to the next stop; it was more cost effective that way, and in the heart of Tokyo there was no shortage of PokéStops. Besides, he didn’t want to draw any attention to himself and awkwardly loiter around for those five stretching minutes that it took for the stop to reset.

But then… This shrine was remote and quiet – and most importantly, empty. Perhaps, for just this once, it might be better to stay and wait until he could flip the stop again. He ran no risk bumping into anyone here.

“Can I help you?”

The voice, polite if a little bewildered, startled Sesshoumaru so much he nearly jumped. He whirled around to face the woman who had spoken. She was standing a few yards away and recognised him instantly despite the mask covering the lower half of his face. He could tell this by the way her blue eyes widened and her jaw slackened.

“You’re that hot news anchor!”

Sesshoumaru blinked. Well that one was new, few people were quite so blunt. She seemed to realise just what she had blurted out, too, as her cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

“I mean, you’re that news anchor,” she mumbled, lowering her gaze.

He tugged the mask down. No use hiding when he had already been discovered. “Yes,” he replied.

“Wow. Uhm, I didn’t expect to see you here,” the woman babbled. “I was letting Buyo – our cat – out when I saw movement over by the Goshinboku and decided to investigate. I thought it might’ve been that brat again climbing into the tree. He’s driving Grandpa nuts.”

Sesshoumaru’s mind raced. He pieced in the clues out of the girl’s story and realised she must be living here, at the shrine. The house must have been somewhere behind the shrine buildings and he cursed himself for not noticing. He felt like a right creep now, traipsing right into someone’s yard in the middle of the night.

“I am sorry,” he said tightly, “I did not realise this was a residential property.”

“No harm done,” the woman said, reassuring him with a small smile and an unconcerned wave of her hand. “This side belongs to the shrine, anyway, so it’s open to the public.”

She peered at him, fumbling with the hem of her shirt. “So, what are you doing here? At this time of the night?”

There was no edge of disdain in her voice, no hostility; only honest curiosity. Still Sesshoumaru’s jaw instantly clenched. He couldn’t fess up that a grown, distinguished man such as he had trespassed on the shrine grounds in the middle of the night because of a game.

As his mind raced to come up with an excuse, his phone, still in his hand, buzzed.

Both his and the woman’s gazes snapped towards the phone screen.

Great, another Rattata, flickered on his mind, immediately followed by a hearty Shit!

His hand dropped down, the screen facing his thigh to hide it from view.

Had she noticed? His shoulders tensed as the silence between them stretched, finally broken by yet another polite inquiry from the woman.

“Aren’t you going to catch it?”

Humiliation washed over Sesshoumaru and he gritted his teeth as he slowly raised his phone and tapped at the damn purple rat. On the heels of mortification came anxiety: if this girl told the press about this… He’d never hear the end of it, they loved nothing better than turning against one of their own.

The first Poké Ball he threw swerved to the right, missing the Rattata by a mile. Sesshoumaru’s skin crawled under the weight of the woman’s stare and he gripped his phone tighter. He hadn’t had an audience before and he didn’t particularly enjoy the experience. Nevertheless, he took a deep breath and willed himself to concentrate on his aim. After a few feeble and futile struggles, the rat succumbed to its fate and stayed in the ball.

“You’re not the only one,” the woman spoke again. “Far from that. The shrine’s become much more popular since it became a PokéStop. And it’s not just the kids who’re playing, I see all kinds of people. There was this sweetest granny with her grandson just the other day. Of course, Grandpa is over the moon about the game, and all the potential customers it brings us.”

“Hnn,” Sesshoumaru said. He was still unwilling to admit out loud that he was indeed playing the game, ever though he had already got caught red-handed.

“Actually,” she said, her voice taking a low, conspirational tone, “Grandpa’s been constantly nagging Souta – my little brother – to put up a lure module here. I think it might work even better to attract people than it does Pokémon.”

A chuckle escaped from Sesshoumaru’s throat as he pictured the scenario of people wandering over to the shrine just to crowd around the tall, ancient tree.

“I’m sure that’s quite a sight.”

She beamed at him, and he found himself relaxing in spite of himself.

“It is,” she said, rocking on her heels.

On the screen of Sesshoumaru’s phone, Goshinboku’s PokéStop had turned from purple back to blue so he flipped it again, collecting the items it dropped.

“You know…” The young woman fumbled her own phone out of her shorts’ pocket. “Pokémon like to spawn near the well house. I’ve caught nine Dratini from that same spot.”

She gestured towards one of the shrine buildings a little apart from the rest, then held out her phone, proving that she did indeed have a commendable collection of Dratinis.

The last traces of Sesshoumaru’s embarrassment ebbed away and his eyebrow hiked up.

“You play, too?”

“Of course!” The woman shrugged. “How could I not? I watched the anime all the time as a kid. Fought with Souta over whose turn it was to play the Red version on the Game Boy. It was pretty much the only videogame I ever really got into.”

“I had a full Pokédex in both the Blue and the Silver versions,” Sesshoumaru bragged, half-surprised he had admitted such a thing of his nerdy past to a complete stranger. But then, stranger or not, the two of them were both bound by the same childhood nostalgia and playing the same mobile game.

“Really?” she gaped at him. “Even Mew? And Celebi?”

He nodded.

“Wow,” the woman breathed, “that’s impressive.”

“It wasn’t an easy task,” Sesshoumaru said, though his chest puffed at the admiration in her voice.

“I can only imagine.” She hummed. “It can’t be easy now, either. To be playing Go when you’re famous.”

“That’s why I mostly play after work at night. I don’t really wish to be recognised while hunting Pokémon out on the street.”

She nodded. “I understand, you have a reputation to maintain after all.”

“Exactly.” His job was delivering the news every day; he needed his audience to take him seriously.

Sesshoumaru’s gaze flickered towards his phone, wondering if the PokéStop had reset already, when something else drew his attention.

He blinked at the screen. “There’s a Dratini nearby.”

“It’s probably by the well house,” the woman said, perking up. “This way.”

He followed her towards the shrine buildings and soon enough, his phone buzzed and the elusive dragon Pokémon appeared. Sesshoumaru tapped at it, so excited that he forgot all about his audience. His eyes were trained on the Poké Ball, which he sent forward with a decisive flick of his finger. This time his aim was perfect, and the Dratini disappeared into the Ball right away.

Come on, he told the Pokémon as the Ball lurched once, twice. Stay in.

“Did you get it?” the woman asked from behind him.

He turned to her and grinned.

“I did. Thank you.”

“No problem! I’m happy I could help you, Mr Nishimoto.” She met his eyes and smiled. “Well, it’s getting late so I should head back in. Feel free to stay a while longer, though, if you want to get the PokéStop.”

“Thank you, Miss…?”

“Higurashi. Higurashi Kagome.”

“It’s been a pleasure, Miss Higurashi,” he replied, taking pride in the blush rising to her cheeks. “And perhaps,” he slanted an appraising look at her, “I’ll see you again tomorrow night.”

“You know where to find me,” she said, her blue eyes alight.

“Indeed.”

He inclined his head and she wished him good night before turning away and walking across the shrine grounds.

As Sesshoumaru walked back towards the shadows of the towering Goshinboku, he decided that he would definitely drop by this shrine again. And perhaps for more than just the PokéStop and the Dratinis.