Enemy's Identity

09:00 pm, June 28th

Alto Mare

Kai examined the First Place Glass Medallion won by Item-M.

It had reliefs of the Eon Pokemon carved over it, and even in the dark, it threatened to burst out with a silver glow.

Item-M had plans to only get the Milestone for taking part in the race. Those plans had changed last night, though. Not only Kai had commanded her to put all her efforts into winning the race but also to be as pompous about it as she could.

Kai's first target was none other than the girl, lying beside him with her mouth gagged and her hands and legs tied.

Bianca. The closest friend of the adult Latias.

From the movie, and guessing the defenses of the Order's Contestants, Kai had analyzed that if there was a sure way to enter the Secret Garden without alerting the entire town, then that was this girl. That's why, after checking out the impenetrable security around the warehouse, Kai hadn't waited to put his plans into action.

They had made an educated guess that Bianca would come to the Water-Chariot race. They had also guessed that Order's Contestants would guard her, and as these guards could call for help instantly using Mission Credits, Kai needed a distraction.

'When in the crowd, use the crowd,' Kai had commented. 'First, Petyr will find out Bianca's location from some strangers. Then I will use the ruckus caused by you winning the race, and ambush the guards if she would have them around her. So, you must win the race.'

Item-M had frowned at that command. 'It will be extremely difficult,' she had told him. 'Totodile is almost untrained and I have no practice whatsoever, either. I will try my best, master, but if I see I can not win, then still you can count on me. You will have your distraction.'

Kai hadn't asked her what was this other way. Nor was he interested. His servant had accepted the command, and that meant he wouldn't have to care about it anymore.

But surprisingly, she won.

And Kai used the minuscule time frame perfectly, kidnapping Bianca from under the noses of the invisible legendary Pokemon, which he was sure were there all the time, enjoying the race along with the audience.

-/What did you get for it?/- Kai asked Item-M, throwing the medallion back to her. -/Two milestones in one day, not bad. Not bad at all./-

Item-M nodded in agreement. "Though by now all the minor and major Contestants in this town know I was a Contestant," she answered, "it was still worth the risk. For Participating in the race, I got a +20% chance to encounter a wild, evolved water-type Pokemon. Winning the race got me 2 Intelligence Points, 1 Charisma, and the medallion. I can use this thing to get in favor of the many major main-storyline Characters from Pokemon World. It also enhances the Base Damage of water-type Pokemon up to D+ grade by 20%."

'That's quite a lot,' Kai reflected. -/I also have a congratulatory gift for you,/- he told her, amusing himself at Item-M's shocked expression. -/Seeing that you have such chemistry with Totodile, it would be better to let you have the Pokemon./-

"Master…" Item-M fumbled for words, but Kai cut her off.

-/Take it as a command,/- he said coolly. -/Totodile is a weak Pokemon, and I have seen Selene flicking her tongue at it whenever I had taken it out of the Pokeball. I am afraid one day we'll wake up and wouldn't find even a trace of its existence.

-/The only reason for getting the Pokemon was the Elementary Ability, anyway. I know I can only catch a wild Pokemon by defeating it in a Pokemon battle, using my own Pokemon. But you can do that too after getting Totodile, can't you? Take it, evolve it if you can, and use it to catch some good Pokemon for me, instead./-

Item-M kneeled. "As you command, master," she said.

Kai could feel the bubbling happiness in her heart, but it wasn't the time to play with her emotions.

-/Have you recalled something?/- he asked her.

After kidnapping Bianca, they had met each other just a few minutes before. Kai had taken Bianca into the sewers to hide for the day, and Item-M had returned to the room. If the legendary Pokemon were searching for Bianca, then they wouldn't have found her anywhere.

The first thing Kai had done after meeting her was to tell her about the strange web of hair around the warehouse. He had hoped to get an answer instantly, but it seemed he had hoped for too much.

"Not entirely," Item-M answered, pressing her brows. "A soulless creature that can weave a web of hair… I don't know, master."

-/Can it be that thing?/- Kai added, helping her thoughtful expression. -/You know, the Horcrux or something./-

The moment he had learned about them, Kai had imprinted them on his heart. No. Not to replicate the idea, as Kai had found it extremely stupid to break apart one's soul. The teachings from his previous world told that leaving even one aspect of Body, Mind, and Soul could be dangerous in controlling a Beast's Blood Essence. It wasn't a great analogy, but it was true.

The reason he was interested in it was something entirely else.

Item-M giggled before Kai's thoughts could wander far. "It can't be that," she told him. "It's top-level magic. Not to mention that you couldn't sense even a trace of a soul from her. So it can't be that. Wouldn't it be stupid to hide her soul in an item…"

Item-M couldn't finish her words. Kai saw her eyes widening mid-sentence. For a moment, he even thought Latias had found them without him knowing about it.

"Wait a minute!" she mumbled to herself. "Soulless. Can control hair and make a web out of them. Why haven't I thought of it before? I think I know what we are facing, master. You weren't right about Horcrux, but you weren't completely wrong either. She is soulless because her soul lies in another item."

Kai stood up as Bianca wriggled behind him like a worm. -/What is she?/-

"It was as you had guessed," she declared. "She is a 4th-floor Contestant, and if I am right, this is her floor-ascension mission. As I told you on the cruise to New Bark Town, I know little about this world, for it is completely out of my expertise. But I know the basics. Our enemy seems to have a part of the powers of Sakasagami no Yura, the Hair Demon, also known as Yura of the Demon Hair."

-/Which world?/- Kai asked expectantly.

Item-M smiled.

"One of your favorites, master," she told him. "The World of Inuyasha."

************

AN: Item-M's reference image is available now on Discord. A snippet on Yura is available too (along with images).

DO READ GUYS!!!

Now, first let's clear how many Eon Pokemon are, otherwise, it might confuse readers who haven't watched the movie. (Pretty much all that means, haha!)

1. The original Latios: He was mentioned in the movie as a background setting. Some Evil Pokemon had attacked the city, and then this Latios had sacrificed himself to save the city. The Soul Dew which is shown in the movie, and that got destroyed by Team Rocket, belonged to this Latios' soul. (it's enough to know about him.)

2. The Eon Pokemon (main characters of the movie): when the original Latios died, he left behind two children. Latios (brother) and Latias (sister). At the end of the movie, the destruction of their father's Soul Dew caused a tsunami. To save the city, this Latios (the brother) sacrificed himself. Now his soul became the next Soul Dew (the one which our MC is after). Only Latias (the sister) survived.

3. The young Eon Pokemon: At the very end of the movie, Latias (the sister) was seen flying in the sky, followed by two young Latios and Latias (probably brother and sister too). Now I have no knowledge of any incest. So don't ask. Ahem! Anyway, so we have three Legendary Pokemon with us now. Adult Latias (the sister from movie), and young Latios and young Latias.

I know it's long, but it will give you a clear understanding of the things. Still, you can ask me anything on Discord or on comments. Thank you!

For the following chapters, I will be posting many images on discord from the movie to help you guys. If you are not a part of Discord, but can join, then I would recommend joining the server. Enjoy!