Welcome to Thousand Roads! You're welcome to view discussions or read our stories without registering, but you'll need an account to join in our events, interact with other members, or post one of your own fics. Why not become a member of our community? We'd love to have you!
hii, this is my second fic i'll be posting here. this one's a little different from what i like to write in that it's, not 100% fluff. it's not dark exactly either, basically a hurt heal. but like in life, there's always a happy ending, so please don't worry about that!
premise: multiple chapters, a hurt/heal fic focusing on lisia recovering from some pretty bad stress and (likely) unspecified other mental health things. her wallace is here to help! cws vary by chapter, so please check for them.
(also, hiyori and hiyorigo mean 'japan' and 'japanese'. 'hydraean' means 'english', and 'ilseon' and 'ilseongo' refer to 'korea' and 'korean'. just so you know!!!)
foreword: i tried my best to give context for the italicized japanese phrases, but here they are just in case! and thanks to @Torchic W. Pip for beta reading!!) hime-chan: basically 'my little princess' or just, 'princess'. lisia's mom is very doting.. itterashai: basically 'have a safe journey'. moshimoshi: 'hello' when on a phone call. raku ni shite yo: 'take it easy'. jaa: 'well then' or 'soo..' basically. shouganai nanoyone: 'it can't be helped, huh....' with added feminine flair. how i talk normally?
〔Lisia Amou
天羽リシア
@lisianthus
'I'm really sorry everyone... I'm going to have to cancel tonight's show at Hearthome City, and postpone the remaining tour dates for now. I'll make it up to you all, I promise. Refunds will be given, please don't worry. I hope I'll be able to see you all again sometime soon...
本当にごめんなさいみんな。。。あたし、今晩のライブはキャンセルしなければいけませんです。そして、他のライブの日遅らせれました。どうかみんなにちゃんと誤ってほしいです。いつかすぐみんなと会いたいです。。。'〕
Lisia didn't want to have to do this. She really, really didn't want to have to do this.
But...
'I need to get away...'
Lisia knew what kind of attention this would attract from... just about everyone. She managed herself (with her father and her Wallace's help), so there was thankfully no overbearing agency pressuring her to continue on. She had already let the venues hosting know, as well as her staff and support team, so there wasn't anything to worry about there. Business matters themselves were certainly not the issue.
The media, on the other hand, would likely have a minor field day with this. All sorts of speculation—ranging from the normal, 'Hoennian Idol Lisia cancels remaining half of live tour, due to illness,' to the... outlandish, 'Lisia Amou RETIRES from idol work'—would undoubtedly, undoubtedly occur. That would be annoying as well, but for Lisia, the honest-to-god worst part about this would be her family's reactions.
Her family wouldn't react poorly—they understood the trials of mental health far better than others would, too. The thing was... they could be a little invasive at times, in just about the most helpful way possible. Because of the idol industry being very, very stressful work, Lisia tended to take as much time as she could to relax and recuperate, away from mostly everyone. Being cooped up in her childhood room in Hoenn, or taking walks through the forests in her dad's area of Kanto that she knew oh so well... those were her happy places. Those places, along with being mostly alone for the next long while, would help immensely.
'Hey, Aria... we're heading home to Hoenn.' she said softly in Hiyorigo to her prized cloud-covered bird. Lisia's Altaria was the first one to recognize the signs of her impending mental breakdown, and almost relentlessly tried to convince Lisia to cancel her upcoming responsibilities, despite Lisia's reluctance to do so.
‘Kiii!’ Aria exclaimed. She seemed quite relieved, which made it seem just a little more worth it to Lisia.
‘I'm really excited too, Aria! We just have to pack and call home now, so let's try our hardest to be as quick as we can!’
—☆—
Cleaning up was surprisingly easy. Having another pair of wings to assist definitely made things go much faster. …and Lisia didn't have the motivation to get her outfits hung up in the first place, so they were still sitting in her bags as well..
Lisia picked up her phone once more and started to call home, just to let her parents know what was going on before she Pelipperd the announcement to the whole wide world.
'First... Mom.’
Lisia's mom, Astraea, picked up very quickly like always. She talked with Lisia a lot when Lisia was away on ‘work stuff’, but Lisia usually called a bit later in the day.
'Lisia? Don't you have a concert tonight?' her mom asked.
'About that... Aria and I are going to be heading back to Hoenn tonight.'
'What's wrong, did something happen, hime-chan?' Astraea said, the worry evident in her voice.
'...I... need to take a long break, I think.'
'When should we be expecting you tonight?'
'It's 5 now so... probably 8.'
'Alright. Do you want to tell Kazuki yourself?' her mom asked.
'I'll call him now... thanks Mom.' Lisia said in the most undejected tone she could muster.
'Itterashai, hime-chan,' Astraea wished her daughter a safe flight home in Hiyorigo, not Hydraean like usual.
One down, one more to go.
Lisia's dad, Kazuki, was at work, so he would probably take a little bit to answer like usual.
One ring.
Two rings.
Three.
Four.
'Moshimoshi... Lisia?' her dad asked in Hiyorigo.
'Yes, it's me... I've already talked with the venues and everyone else that needs to know, but...'
'Idol life is hard. Don't beat yourself up for going through one of the hardest jobs in the world every day, everyone needs a break... You're coming home tonight then?'
'Yes... I'll be home in a few hours.'
'See you and Aria then. Raku ni shite yo.'
'Thank you.., jaa,' Lisia was interrupted by Kazuki's voice cutting in.
'Ah. Before I forget. Are you going to tell Mikuri about this?'
'I'm not sending the announcement until I land, so he won't know until I'm here anyways... I want to talk with him when I get home, so I'll be fine for now. Thank you for asking.' Lisia said thoughtfully. She didn't want to worry her beloved Wallace, but at the same time, she knew she wanted to talk with him face-to-face about this all.
'Of course. Take care.' he said to end the call.
–☆–
Lisia was still in her casual hoodie, perfect for hiding from fans and paparazzi with, and hadn't unpacked her bags much from the previous day's flight. Everything was good to go for her to leave.
'Alright, Aria, I'm going to need you to get in your Poké Ball for a little bit, okay? I don't want us to be spotted leaving the hotel...' Lisia said to an understandably slightly dejected Aria, who obliged.
Lisia wheeled out a trolley from the closet in her room and carefully slung her heavy suitcases and bags onto it. She had requested a taxi to the airport with the Wooper app on her phone, so it would be here soon. Aria could have carried them all, she was a strong bird, but Lisia didn't want to have to put her through all that just to not be spotted. A taxi would fit their needs just fine.
Lisia went down the elevator, which was thankfully empty, and checked out with the concierge, explaining that her plans had suddenly changed.
After getting over with that interaction (it helped that the lady at the desk was very kind about the situation, even though Lisia didn't explain anything except the minimum amount of details), Lisia stepped outside into the cold winter air. It would be much warmer back home.
Piin! Her phone made a noise telling Lisia that her taxi had arrived. Despite her smaller frame, Lisia was quite strong, and had just about no problem with putting her bags onto the trunk of the white, luxurious-looking vehicle.
'Miss... Ai Mitsuki?' the driver, who looked to be in his 50s, asked to make sure he was picking up the correct person.
'Yes, that's me.' Lisia said.
This 'Ai Mitsuki' was a pseudonym that Lisia often used while travelling to different places on work duty. Lisia's name in Hiyorigo was written in katakana for both safety and stylistic appearances, but on official documents and the like, her name was written using kanji, 美 for the 'ri', 月 for the 'shi', and 愛 for the 'a'. Put together, the combination actually makes a full name, Ai Mitsuki. If she didn't dress in her normally sparkly fashion, and if she wore her hair down, she could reasonably talk her way out of being 'Lisia Amou', and convince others that she was just 'Ai Mitsuki', a normal, ordinary college student.
Sometimes Lisia wished that was the case...
Luckily, it seemed that the man driving her did not catch onto her celebrity status, and after a short ride to the airport, she departed with a 'thank you', and walked into the airport.
This would be the tricky part.
–☆–
Lisia hadn't sent the announcement yet. Although it would have probably been best to give as much advance warning as possible, doing it before she got off the plane would be even more of a headache. It would be the safest choice to be a bit more stealthy.
...This was one of the most stressful parts of the job. Being an idol meant that Lisia had to be, well, in her 'idol mode' at all times. There usually wasn't much of an easily visible difference between 'stage Lisia' and 'in-private Lisia' in some ways—no matter what, Lisia was a very sweet and excitable person—but the differences were there, and seeing them could be jarring for a fan.
...Idols had to keep up appearances, the world turned thusly...
Lisia, who had been contemplating the 'what ifs' of her upcoming airport experience, sighed resignedly, muttering, 'Shouganai nanoyone, Aria-chan....'.
With her luggage rolling behind her, Lisia set off to board her flight. Lisia's departure was a last-minute decision, so if she had waited another hour to decide things, she would have arrived in Hoenn at around midnight.
Thank god, the walk to the gate and (surprisingly enough) getting boarded was completely, completely uneventful. Lisia saw a few people walking around who seemed to be arriving for her late-night concert, which made her feel much more than a little bit guilty, but she reminded herself that taking some time off would certainly be the right thing to do, and with luck her fans... wouldn't hate her. Hopefully. Hopefully....
~☆~
Business-class meant privacy. Lisia was, in some sense of the word, a businesswoman (in that she worked hard at selling her product), so it was relatively natural for her to fly at that tier of luxury.
...Although it was more out of necessity than anything. She would attract a little too much attention if she wasn't careful to blend in as much as possible.
The plane took off, and Lisia's thoughts drifted to the reason why she was coming back home to Hoenn in the first place. Her steadily worsening mental health.
Being an idol had its good points and... awful points. Lisia was able to avoid some of the worst things, like being overworked by an agency, because she took care of that kind of thing herself (or with her dad, who was an idol producer in his heyday). But even without the horror stories, Lisia had to put up with. A. Lot. of things.
For example, having to always force a smile. Normally this wasn't an issue—Lisia was mostly a very energetic and happy individual, and had no qualms with spreading that happiness outwards. But when it rains, it pours. During those times where her heart and mind seemed to pour with pain or anxiety, Lisia could do nothing but smile it away if she was on the job, anywhere that wasn't her home.
It felt fake. But the pressure to keep with the status quo of the idol industry, with what sometimes felt like every eye in the world being on her, was too much.
Another was the fact that Lisia simply missed those she was close with. Her 'inner circle' wasn't huge, but she definitely enjoyed being with those few people.
Particularly Wallace... to all that knew Lisia well, he was obviously the one she cared about most. Wallace was her mom's younger sibling by 9 years, just like how they were older than Lisia by 9 years. Despite being Wallace's niece, Lisia had always treated Wallace as an older sibling, and in turn they did the same for her. She had always seen Wallace shining up on big stages for as long as she could remember, and knew that she wanted to be just like him.
It was safe to say that they were a big influence in Lisia's life. As she got older and was able to more fully understand the struggles they went through—as a kid it was a lot of 'Why is Wallace sad?', which was... hard to explain to a young child—she started to consider Wallace her idol. After all, he gave her the motivation to start her very own journey as an idol, years and years ago. And Aria, for her 7th birthday. And... many happy moments.
In a sense, Lisia was mostly coming home to see Wallace. She knew that as of late her 'genki'-ness, her bright personality, was starting to dim. But they could fix that.
-☆-
In an effort to distract herself from overthinking and spiraling, Lisia slept through most of the flight. It was only a two-hour nap, but because of her normally packed schedule, every second counted to her.
The plane landed a bit harshly onto the pavement of the airport. Lisia's eyes immediately snapped open, as she feared for the worst—oh, it was just the plane landing. Thank god. She had to wake up from her nap, anyways..
That was another reminder of something else Lisia was looking forward to: being able to sleep in. One really couldn’t recognize the luxury of freedoms like that until... they worked an inescapable, always on-call job. Or just a night shift at your local Poké Mart.
Lisia took her phone out of her small backpack and put it out of airplane mode. Aside from a slew of Pellipr notifications (‘I should really turn those off…’ she thought,), a few new text messages popped up. The most recent one was from her mom, five minutes ago.
foreword: it took me a while to write this! i hope that i'll be able to basically end up writing at a better pace from now on because i do plan on having like... eight maybe nine? more additions to this, but they might be a little shorter? whooooo knows... but well, here's this LOL. some sad, some happy, that's how it is?
ilseon is this universe's (unified) korea. the name itself comes from the kanji 一 'ichi', which means 'one', and the 鮮 (sen) in 朝鮮 'chousen', which is a rarer way to refer to korea in japanese. if you convert the kanji compound 一鮮 'issen', basically meaning 'one korea', to korean hangul, it sounds like 'ilseon'. (note: i do not speak korean, only japanese and english, so that's why i'm drawing inspiration from japanese culture stuff even here, and why this might not be a super correct thing, maybe?)
here's a list of all the hiyorigo (japanese) used in this, hopefully it's all derivable from context clues, but i know that not everyone who's reading this will know what i mean, so here are translations:
'kaachan' — 'mom' (in an affectionate way) 'otsukare' — 'good work'
'kotori' — 'little bird' (this is eunsong/winona's nickname for lisia) 'kichou' — 'captain' (this is lisia's nickname for eunsong/winona, like she's the captain of an aircraft that kind of thing) 'ojamashimasu' — literally 'i'm being a bother', basically means 'sorry to intrude' (used when entering a house) 'okotteru' — 'angry' '[name]-nee' — basically used to denote the person being talked about is your big sister, not sure how to translate it though lol 'kami' — basically 'gods', can be used in a monotheistic or polytheistic sense. (in this universe legendary and mythical pokémon, except for arceus, are treated as kami are in the shinto culture of japan) 'zenzen nakushitakunai' — 'i don't ever want to lose [subject]' 'daijoubu' — 'okay' or 'alright' 'shimpai shinaidene' — 'please don't worry, okay?' 'okaeri' — 'welcome back' (used when someone returns to their living area)
wow that was kind of a lot LOL. i mirror quite a bit of lucia's speech with how i talk normally (only with people who are bilingual in japanese and english ofc), so uhhhh,
thank you @Torchic W. Pip for betaing! but chapter 2 CWs: allusion to prior suicidal ideation, worrying about another suffering from it
Lisia stepped out of the airport, luggage in hand. The air was much warmer than in Sinnoh, and she certainly couldn't see her breath.
The lights surrounding her illuminated the dark, cloudy sky. It felt a little like being up on stage... although that was a little bit of a scary thought, admittedly.
The 'we' that Lisia's mom had mentioned in her message to Lisia wasn't referring to Wallace, despite Lisia's... more than slight hope that they would show up. Her dad had gotten off work in time to accompany her back home, which was a bit of a surprise. Both sides of the family were full of notorious workaholics, after all, but Kazuki did try to support his daughter as much as he could.
She looked for any sign of her parents. They didn't seem to be waiting right in front of the doors...
'Kya-mo!' a Pokémon's voice called as Lisia was startled by the feeling of something landing onto her hood.
The Pokémon, a Wingull, greeted Lisia once more, leaning from its newfound perch on the top of her head into her field of view.
It had green stripes on its body.
'Oh! Mecchan, is that you?' Lisia exclaimed surprisedly as the shock of having a Pokémon land on her head wore off.
Mecchan was Lisia's mother's Wingull. It was a Shiny Pokémon, and a playmate of Lisia's as a kid before she got a Pokémon of her own in Aria, her Altaria.
'If Mecchan is here... then kaachan is close, isn't she?' Lisia remarked to herself.
The Wingull suddenly took off from Lisia's head, circling to her left. Lisia walked alongside it, figuring that it was probably trying to guide her to wherever her parents were.
〜☆〜
'Hime-chaaaaaan!!'
Astraea was obviously very excited to see her daughter.
'Otsukare.'
Kazuki was, too, but he showed it with a faint smile instead of... whatever his wife was doing. Dancing?
Astraea and Lisia were like two birds of a feather.
The three of them walked into the station, with Lisia's usually abundant social battery quickly draining from the sheer amount of attention her mother was giving her.
Not that she didn't appreciate it—it was just a lot to have to deal with at the moment. There would be plenty of time to talk while she was at home, but Lisia just wanted to not have to answer any questions about how she was feeling.
...It was only 8, but Lisia felt pretty tired. Considering how she had been working extremely hard, day-in, day-out, for the past god-knew-how-long, it was probably a natural thing, or so she thought, anyways.
〜☆〜
The journey from the airport to Lisia's home took a while. Sootopolis was an island, and the only bridge connecting it to the mainland of Hoenn was usually extremely crowded with cars, just as any busy highway would be. People took ferries if they weren't in a hurry, and of course people used their Pokémon to get places if they weren't too far—but just like in all of Hiyori, trains were the most popular way to go places.
And in Hoenn, a special line was very popular due to the vast amounts of water separating the region's cities and towns. Underwater bullet trains were a relatively recent invention—a certain now-famous train conductor who was studying in Hiyori at the time had the idea for a mass tunnel system like the Marine Tube in Unova—but they had in no time improved the lives of many Hiyorijin.
The closest station was a few minutes away from the big airport in Lilycove, and it had trains arriving and departing every 30 minutes on the dot. From Lilycove Station, it took almost an hour to get to Sootopolis. Lisia had been on the underwater line more than a few times in the five or so years that it had been in service—it was the fastest way to get home after performing in a Contest, after all.
~☆〜
So right as Lisia settled into her seat for the hour long train ride, she fell asleep almost instantly. The seat wasn't as comfortable as the airplane's, but it served its purpose nicely.
Astraea smiled, albeit a little worriedly, and patted her daughter on her head affectionately, so as to not wake her up. Lisia didn't seem... horribly depressed, thank god. It hurt to see her not shining as brightly as normal, but Astraea was ready to do as much as she could to help.
'She's been working hard for the longest time...' Astraea murmured.
'I'm sure that Wallace will have some good advice for her. You remember the same thing happening to him, back when he was active as an idol.'
That was exactly why Astraea was as worried as she was.
〜☆〜
When Wallace was 19, something similar had happened. And things got bad. Kazuki didn't know the extent of how bad it got, but Astraea could never forget—Wallace was lucky to even be alive.
It pained her deeply to bear that burden—it was an incredibly, incredibly scary time for her and Wallace both. Of course, Astraea made sure that Lisia knew as little as possible, and Kazuki was busy with the management side of Wallace's career, so only a select few people truly knew the details of what had happened.
Maybe it was luck, maybe it was fate, but somehow, Wallace got better. And with that, he set off on a new career path entirely—competitive battling.
Hearing Wallace say that he thought he'd like to try his hand at battling was a bit of a shock to Astraea at first. The art of Contests and the art of battles were two very different things, of course... but as the shock of that sudden announcement wore off on that day, years and years ago—she realized that if anyone could make battling as extravagant as idol work, the one to do so would be Wallace.
Astraea wondered if Lisia would follow in the same footsteps as Wallace. She did admire him an incredible amount, after all...
'You're right... I'm sure they'll know the right thing to say...'
〜☆〜
Lisia had just woken up a few minutes before, and she was starting to feel a little better. Sootopolis was starting to become visible through the clear glass of the tunnel. Sootopolis meant home, and that meant Wallace, and those were all very nice things.
Things that she loved dearly.
'Ah...'
'Mikuri called...'
Lisia had Pelliprd her announcement right as she stepped onto the train, and in the ensuing hour, she had an extremely high number of notifications on... just about all of her work accounts. ('Better turn those off...,' she thought.) And a text from Winona, and... more than a few from Wallace as well.
Lisia decided that she would get to Winona's message first. She wanted to talk things through with Wallace face-to-face.
ウンソン機長 (Eunsong) - 30 minutes ago
'Let's go flying sometime now that you're back, kotori.'
Lisia smiled when she read Winona's request. Sure, it was written as a command, but that was just how she talked, anyways. She was a nice foil to Lisia—a wise falcon to Lisia's exuberant, hummingbird-like energy. 'Eunsong' was the name of a type of pine tree found in the Ilseon region that Winona's mother hailed from—Winona was named after it in the hope that she would grow to be as strong and unwavering as her namesake.
Flying was something that both of them loved to do, and Lisia was sure that she'd take up Winona's offer more than a few times.
'I'll let you know when I'm ready for liftoff..(_ _; thank you kichou!'
The train smoothly pulled into Lazuli Station—it was painted with the same color as the lapis-like blue of the water surrounding Sootopolis.
Lisia could afford to be a bit more relaxed in Sootopolis—despite being a famous person from the city—or maybe because of that—she wasn't really bothered by others, which was a very welcome reprieve from just about anywhere else in the world, especially in Hiyori.
Pokémon-based travel was the preferred way to get around as well—of course, one could walk around the outer area of the island, but it took a long time. Some people, typically those who commuted to mainland Hoenn when trains weren't running, drove, but... the majority of Sootopolians didn't need to. As an island, Sootopolis was pretty big, and not all of it was settled because of the water contained in the middle of the area. In lieu of a land-based shortcut, locals just rode their Pokémon, or just took 'the scenic route' by ferry.
Maybe it wasn't the most convenient, but... allowing nature to flourish in that way was important, or so Lisia assumed.
And Sootopolis really was pretty—the moonlit water shimmered under Lisia and Aria as they raced through the night. As city lights and untouched nature met, Lisia started to feel that coming back... was probably the better choice.
It felt nice.
Soaring through the air without any worries—how long had it been since she was able to do that kind of thing?
'It's been waaaaay too long...'
Lisia's house wasn't as big as one would expect, but it wasn't like her family needed a big one anyways. After all, she was an only child, so there wasn't any need for extra space. It was decorated relatively tastefully, as Astraea had an eye for that sort of thing—the interior was largely bathed in pristine-looking white, accented by dark aquamarine here and there. Despite the tasteful air of the house, it still was host to a very welcoming atmosphere.
Once Lisia got to her room (which she shared with Aria), she decided to look at the messages Wallace had sent.
美雲成ちゃん！！ (Mikuri-chan) - 1 hour ago
'Lucia, I don't know what happened, but...'
'I'm here for you.'
34 minutes ago
'Would you like to meet up soon?'
His asking was a formality—whenever Lisia came back home, they made sure to meet at least once, usually much more than that.
And Lisia did want to, but...
None of her responses felt exactly right. She knew that Wallace was very likely worried sick about her... and she didn't want to put off explaining everything to another day.
Route 193 wasn't an actual road leading to anywhere—after all, Hoenn's routes were from 101 to 134, and across all of Hiyori, there wasn't a Route 193, at least not in the traditional sense.
Route 193 was a 24 hour drive-through that specialized in food popular in the Unova region—things like burgers and fries and milkshakes. The restaurant had been in Sootopolis for ages, to the point that Astraea had mentioned going there as a kid, and just about every local went there once in a while.
It was junk food, sure, but... the Unovans were infamous for being good at making that kind of thing, anyways. Lisia and Wallace both agreed that there wasn't anything close to being as good, or authentic, as it throughout all of Hiyori.
That kind of thing happened when a Unovan man mysteriously washes up on the shores of Sootopolis.
Gotta love Fallers.
〜☆〜
'They still haven't read it, Aria... I don't think we're going to be able to talk with Mikuri tonight after all...' Lisia said with a hint of sadness in her voice.
It was 11:30, an hour and thirty minutes since Lisia had replied to Wallace. She spent her time playing games with Aria (‘how are birds that good at chess!!?’ )... and was somehow, consistently defeated by her avian companion.
Aria was too smart for her own good.
She had beaten Lisia at checkers (twice), chess (five checkmates, two draws), Go Fish, Chutes and Ladders, and, somehow... somehow, poker.
11:50. Lisia was in immense debt—payable only in cotton candy—to Aria, because of the sheer ruthlessness of the unassumingly monstrous fluffball sitting in front of her.
Lisia came to the conclusion that her beloved bird must have been part of the yakuza in a past life.
Piiiiiin!
Lisia had finally gotten around to turning off her notifications for her 'work' accounts, so it was likely that the notification on her phone was from Wallace.
Or so she hoped.
'It's raining, so don't feel like you need to ride Aria there. I'll pick you up at midnight, Lucia.'
'Uhmmmm, Mikuri-chan!! He's going to pick me up at midnight and we're gonna go to Route 193 and it's gonna be REALLY REALLY FUN and I don't know when we'll be back but I knew that it would be better if I told you so-' Lisia had to catch her breath.
'It's nice seeing you excited like this again... have lots of fun with Wallace, okay?' Astraea was relieved to see her daughter smiling once more, even though she knew it wouldn't always last—a break from looking at the face of someone dear to her wrought with pain was very welcome.
'I promise I will!!'
~☆〜
'Ojamashimasu...'
'MIKURI!!' Lisia just about tackled Wallace into a bone-crushing hug, pinning him square against the door.
She was like a heat-seeking missile when Wallace was around...
'Lucia-chan...' he managed to choke out a greeting to Lisia. She was clearly very happy to see them.
'Lisia, you're hurting poor Wallace!' Astraea called out from the living room, failing to stifle a laugh at the absurdity of the situation.
After mouthing a silent 'thank you' to their sister, Wallace walked out of the house with Lisia in hand, clearly more than a little sore from the impact their back took from Lisia's love-beam bodycheck.
It was raining pretty hard outside, and the sky was full of dark storm clouds, which the moon barely shone through.
Lisia suddenly stopped right before the porch gave way to the rainy sky.
'Let's race to your car, Mikuri!!'
It was only 15 feet away... but Wallace played along anyways.
~☆〜
Wallace's car was a convertible, perfect for top-down cruising around during summer nights... and for protecting against the torrential rains that Sootopolis was often afflicted by. Even in a downpour, it didn't take long for the two to arrive at Route 193 and order food. Of course, eating inside of the restaurant was an option, but it was more fun to hang out unbothered, anyways.
'It's been a while...' Lisia said.
'I was really surprised when you said you'd be coming back...'
'...I guess I'm surprised about it, too, ahahaha...' Lisia laughed with a hint of nervousness in her voice.
They sat in relative silence, accompanied only by the sound of the rain pitter-pattering on the car's windshield. Things felt... tense.
There was a lot that Wallace wanted to ask, anyways.
And even more that he wanted to say, too.
But it was hard. Thinking about when this exact sort of thing happened to him, seven years ago... what did he need? What gave him solace in his darkest moments?
Time was a big factor in their recovery process. The old adage about it healing all wounds turned out to be true, at least in his case.
Aside from that... what did Astraea do for them? She certainly listened to them vent an inordinate amount of times. And she tried to offer advice, within reason, anyways—knowing that someone was on their side, even though they had felt burned by others—that was priceless.
By now, Wallace was completely engrossed in thinking about his past trials—his face contorting to become a little bit more intense-looking than usual.
'Miiiiikuuuuriiiiii...'
Lisia pouted ever-so-slightly. Wallace seemed to be completely out of it.
'Nee... Mikuri-chan...'
She poked him on the cheek with a french fry.
No reaction.
'Geez... Mikuri-chan tte, okotteru no?'
Lisia was beginning to think that Wallace was mad at her... for some reason.
Hey… did I do something wrong...?' she asked.
'Hm?' Wallace replied in an absentminded tone.
'Were you ignoring me just now??'
'Wh-no, of course I wouldn't ignore you, Lucia! I was thinking, about how...'
'About what?'
'Hmm... Lucia, do you remember what happened seven years ago?'
'Uhmmmm... Eunsong got me a life-sized Munchlax plushie for my birthday that year?'
'Not quite!' Wallace laughed a little at Lisia's response.
'You were a bit smaller then, so I guess you wouldn't remember too much, especially because Astraea didn't want to worry you, but...'
'Basically... Mikuri got really sick, and they returned home from idol work, just like Lucia did today.'
'Mikuri was sick?'
Wallace tapped their chin, trying to figure out how to explain it as best as possible. 'Well... it was probably the same kind of 'sick' that's happening to Lucia-chan right now. Astraea-nee, may the kami bless her, was there for me back then.'
'Oh... I didn't remember that at all...' Lisia was more than a little shocked—how could she not know about something as important as this?
'She saved my life, Lucia-chan. I'm all better now, obviously, but... if it weren't for her, I wouldn't be here.'
‘I… I never knew that things were that bad, that you almost… you almost…’ Lisia was at a loss for words.
It took her more than a few seconds to collect herself.
‘That's really scary to think about... Mikuri-chan, zenzen nakushitakunaiyo.'
'And I don't want to lose you, too. And, well... if I'm being honest, I am worried about that.'
Lisia's eyes started to water a little, as did Wallace’s.
Silence.
‘Really worried…’
Silence once more.
'Hey... I'll be fine, okay? It'll be okay...'
'I said that to Astraea, too, before...' Wallace mumbled.
Wallace's thoughts started to spiral. What if he couldn't protect Lucia? What if... that happened? He would never forgive himself if... if he were to lose her.
'Hey.' Lisia said forcefully. She could see Wallace’s expression turning darker and darker.
'I have you andkaachanand Eunsong here for me. Mikuri doesn't need to go this alone, because... well, I'm not alone either.'
'So really, I'll be daijoubu. It'll be okay... I just need some time away so I'm not stressed, I think...'
'Shimpai shinaidene.'
Don't worry.
(' Lucia really is strong ...' Wallace mused.)
'...What can I do for you?' Wallace asked, steering the conversation away from heavier topics.
'As long as you're here for me when you can be, I'll be fine, right? I haven't gotten to spend time with you in ageeeessss.... so I missed Mikuri a lot.'
Wallace frowned a little.
'That seems too simple. Isn't there anything else I could do?'
'Believe me, okay? I know that my coming days might not all be bright, but... as long as you're here, I'll try to smile the best I can!' Lisia exclaimed. She was trying to show Wallace that she would... eventually, be just fine.
'Even when things are tough, your words still sparkle... it's a great gift, you know? Not everyone has that power.' Wallace grinned.
'I promise I'll never use it for evil!!' Lisia exclaimed. She really did beat to the rhythm of her own drum...
Their fries had gone cold by then, but... they still didn't taste horrible, anyways. Maybe that was because in a certain way, the two fed off of each other's presence.
~☆〜
'Bye!!!'
Lisia waved from her doorstep to Wallace, who was back in his car. The rain had mercifully slowed to a drizzle, which made the drive back home a little safer.
Lisia unlocked the door and stepped into her house, maybe a little too loudly for it being one in the morning.
Thankfully, her mother was a night owl, and as such was somehow still awake.
'Ah, hime-chan! Okaeri! How was your date with Wallace?' Astraea asked chipperly, slightly raising what was undoubtedly a cup of coffee. Lisia hoped that that was decaf, but she could tell that it very likely was not. Her mother was the Amou household's resident coffee addict.
'Date...?'
'No, well, you know... I don't know what to call it, but how was it?' Lisia could tell that her mother was... definitely a bit too energetic for that time of night, thanks to the coffee.
'It was good! I'm glad that I was able to be with Mikuri... Route 193 has always been where we've gone together, after all, so it was good to be back.'
'Yeah!!!'
It was almost like Astraea was drunk, the way she acted… she had just about zero self-awareness when it came to controlling her volume.
'Oh... kaachan, Mikuri told me about... when you really helped them a lot of years ago.'
'I was thinking about that earlier today, actually...' Astraea was taken aback by a topic as serious as that coming up out of the blue.
'Thank you for saving him.' Lisia said, as seriously as she could.
'Oh, hime-chan... it was a really scary time, but we got through it, and that's exactly what's going to happen with you too. I'm here for you!!'
'Thank you...'
'Do you want a cup of coffee??' Astraea asked her daughter, almost imploringly.
('Well... having an all-nighter could be fun, maybe ...?' Lisia thought with a little trepidation.)
