Hard Enough - Chapter 444 - Wedding Bell interludes (Patreon)

Cynthia raced across the sky atop her Togekiss. The saddle barely fit her with Togekiss not being anywhere near as large as some other flight capable pokemon but for some odd reason Togekiss always arrived first whenever she raced with her pokemon.

People called her pokemon Super Lucky with how often small windfalls came Togekiss’ way.

Like the tailwind that was pushing them along the further they flew, or the fact that several Pidgeot that rose to challenge them found other pokemon suddenly engaging them or trainers or other random events.

Cynthia had never questioned it. Her pokemon had great luck, and she had made sure to weaponise that when she fought but right now for transport there was no other pokemon she’d rather ride.

She cleared the Fiorian coast, dodging several patrols and cutting out to sea.

What had the knight said? They were making for the port of Fiore? There was only one such port and that was slightly south of her current position.

Turning she began to cut along the coastline, watching for any telltale signs that a large scale battle had taken place recently.

She found nothing, but rather than being relieved, she grew more concerned.

When she caught sight of the ships that comprised the convoy her anxiety shifted into confusion. 

The ships were fine?

That… was this a trick of some sort? What was going on?

She descended, ignoring the calls from the various trainers on the top deck of the ships as she shot towards the centremost ship that she’d stayed on during the trip across.

Landing, she swept off Togekiss in a practised action that saw her keep her momentum and power towards the bridge. She entered with a sharp clang as the door was forced open faster than it normally was.

On the other side the captain and the bridge crew rose to greet her.

“CHAMPION ON THE BRIDGE!” barked one of the men at the entrance as some of them turned and saluted her.

“At ease,” she said tersely, ignoring them instead of doing her usual demand for them to drop the formal tradition of saluting a superior and instead closed with the captain..

Her serious expression caused several of their smirks to slide from their faces and for them to begin checking their workstations while turning their heads to track her.

“Captain, what has happened since I departed?” she asked.

“...not much of any concern really. We’re only two days out from reaching Fuschia. The Head Diplomat pitched a fit when he learned you were gone so watch out for that.” The captain looked her up and down. “Are you alright, ma’am? You look like you’ve just blown in after a long flight, if you don’t mind me saying that.”

“I…” she frowned. “There have been no attacks? I was told—” she started to say, only for one of the bridge crew to gasp. 

“Multiple signatures in the water! I’ve got multiple signatures in the water!”

“Pings on the radar!” roared another.

Cynthia blinked in surprise while the Captain stiffened. Then something shifted his expression.

“Man the battle stations!” he roared. “Sound the alert and get everyone up to the deck! If there are boarders or an assault, that’s where they’ll be best able to help!”

He turned, his gaze feeling more like a turret locking onto a target as he swept the bridge. “How many signatures are we talking?”

“Six submarines! I’ve got metal pings on sonar!” reported one man wearing a heavy headset as he leaned closer to his display.

“Heh! Six? Cocky bastards!” he grabbed up a small handheld receiver and clicked it. “Hello everyone, this is your captain speaking. If you look to your right you will see the lovely coastline of Fiore. Ain’t that swell? Well, no time for sightseeing; we’re about to be attacked by pirates, so get your backsides up onto deck and get your pokemon out and boosting! It’s time for a proper battle! HOOOORAAAAH!” he roared.

He set the receiver down, and Cynthia blinked as several echoing cries of 'Hoorah!' rang out through the ship.

She was finding herself slightly lost. She’d been told the convoy had already been assaulted only to somehow arrive moments before the attack took place? 

Had Togekiss’ lucky trait somehow seen her going so fast they’d gone back in time?

Cynthia contemplated the possibility for several seconds. There were texts that indicated it was possible and there was the study of Sinnoh’s ancient nation, Hisui, that was being looked into but—

No, this was far too lucky even for her Togekiss.

This stunk of shenanigans.

Psychic shenanigans.

She considered the culprits.

There was Sabrina, but that was the obvious option. And she hadn’t said anything during the discussion or appeared all that interested in the conversation despite claiming her own space.

No, this had to be the Knight of Rota that she’d witnessed, a being that had surprisingly looked similar to the tiny outline she’d seen floating in the sky.

A move that went hand in hand with most psychic types.

So, the knight of Rota was psychic typed then? For him to have predicted the assault upon the convoy… that was rather unsettling, and also kind of him.

“Champion? Will you not be taking to the deck?” asked the Captain carefully.

Cynthia blinked. “Ah, yes!” she replied as she broke off from thinking about just how bad it would have gone down for the convoy to be attacked and her to not be here.

Damn! She was going to owe the Knight and Queen for this.

She strode out, her hand sweeping along her pokebelt as her pokemon took up positions on the deck.

Still, if they thought that was enough to stave off her desire for information they were in for a rude shock. 

Favours for helping her protect her fellows was one thing, but learning about interesting historical sites or powerful pokemon was another thing entirely!

“Glaceon! Freeze the waters!” she commanded with a sweep of her hand.

Glaceon took a large breath in before expelling a wide wave of Icy Wind.

Straight away the waves around them began to slow and small patches of ice began to build up. While it was nothing compared to the effects of a Legendary pokemon like Articuno, Cynthia was still proud of her pokemon’s power.

“Continue to free the sea! Limit the submarines options!” she barked.

At this, several other trainers had their pokemon joining in with Ice Beams and Aurora Beams. When one person started to order Blizzard, she coughed pointedly.

“Not that. It will damage the ice. I’d rather have a sheet that they have to break through. It will give us a few seconds more warning,” she advised.

The trainer quickly adjusted his order to match his fellows as others continued to have their pokemon buffing up. Garchomp chose that moment to step up next to her and give her a dull eyed look.

“Chomp,” he muttered, eyeing the frozen waste that was forming up behind and to the sides of the ship.

“Ahaha, sorry about that Gachomp we just needed to create a field that favours us. It’s not like this is enough to bother you though, right?” she asked sweetly.

“Tch!” he clicked his tongue and rose to his full height. “Gaaaaaar!” he roared, clashing his forearm blades together in a show of strength.

Cynthia beamed at her starter as his mere presence caused some worried people to straighten their spines.

“Ah! Speaking of environmental effects. Let’s get some rain happening! I want some electric pokemon ready to greet anything that breaks through the ice!” she called.

That got several smirks as people cottoned onto her plan.

It was simple, but it had the added element that the earlier ice sheeting she and the others had created would effectively blind the submarines from seeing the weather change until they breached.

Several pokemon began to spark up as the weather shifted into a stormy sky and rain fell. Cynthia donned a coat before any rain could soak her but it didn’t stop the cold from leeching into her body.

Rather than react she stared out over the icy expanse, waiting for the first sign of the pirates.

A moment later a Gyarados breeched the ice with a dull roar.

It came up angry and fast.

Lightning met it with a boom and a flash.

It fell down to the ice with a heavy thud.

The Gyarados was the first to emerge, but it also seemed to be the herald, as from numerous points around the ship, Sharpedo shot out of the water.

A good deal of them had crazed red eyes while others glowed with dark energies as they shot out of the water and soared with jaws opened wide.

Once more, the people around her acted, allowing her to sit back and watch on with her team for any pokemon that slipped through the defensive net that the sailors and their pokemon had formed.

The flashing of lightning and claps of thunder caused visibility to drop somewhat, but Cynthia pushed through the hardship, knowing that she would simply have to stay alert.

Garchomp shifted, and through the bond she felt him react to something she couldn’t detect.

A moment later, he was punching a Sharpedo out of the air that had lunged for her.

Cynthia forced her body to stay loose. Relaxed wasn’t a state she could manage with all the chaos around her but she could be ready for other threats.

Like the submarine that was just now breaching and had caused several trainers to begin raining attacks upon it.

“Fire Blast!”

“Thunder!”

“Hydro Pump!”

They called and each attack splashed across the metal sheeting only to leave not even a blemish in response. That made Cynthia frown. Metal that strong should have either melted or glowed cheery red from a Fire Blast hitting it.

What about concentrated fire?

“Flamethrower!” she announced, more so for her allies to get out of the way than for her actual pokemon.

Garchomp stepped forward with fire flashing through his maw before letting loose a torrent of flames that coated the submarine.

Sections of ice around the sub melted quickly causing a haze to drift upwards, obscuring the sub as Garchomp cut off his flamethrower.

A metal clunk caught Cynthia’s ears and caused her to twitch. It was entirely too mechanical and unlike any pokemon noise.

Trusting her instincts, her hand shot upwards. “PROTECT THE SHIPS!” she barked out and her pokemon sprang into action to align themselves out as wide as they could before projecting the energy shield of Protect wide.

A moment later her instincts were proven correct as missiles slammed into the convoy only to detonate on the Protect.

Cythnia’s nostrils flared and her hand stabbed forward. “Draco Meteor!” she roared.

Garchomp didn’t tilt his head like he had as a small Gible; instead, he hunkered down, allowing the energy ball to build up.

Rather than firing a ball that then showered projectiles, Garchomp spat smaller balls that punched through the air and slammed into the metal hull. A gong-like sound rang out over the battlefield only to repeat before a terrible shriek rang out.

When the smoke cleared the submarine now had a hole punched through it.

It began to list before sinking beneath the ice.

Around them the other submarines that had been fighting with other ships matched them.

“Submarines are pulling away!” reported the captain. “We’ve driven them off but I want water type pokemon in the drink to shield us from any revenge attacks!” he barked.

Cynthia crossed her arms as her Milotic led an army of water types over the ship. A glow formed as she punched through the ice allowing others to come with her rather than slam into the ice.

Or at least that should have been what happened, only for a trio of Magikarp to slap onto the ice and flap around uselessly.

The trainers that had sent them out leaned over the railing. “Go Magikarp! We believe in you!” one called while others laughed at them.

Cynthia snorted at their antics only to tense up as Milotic fed her an impression of something large moving underneath them only to shift back into the depths.

Hmmm, so there had been a Wailord lurking down there? Was that pokemon part of the pirates attack only to be called back? They would have been able to lift one of the ships if they’d done so…

Perhaps with the aggressive showing Cynthia had put on they’d thought better of attacking further?

It still left her annoyed and toying with the idea of pursuit only to shake the idea away as she spotted a flock of flying types rising up from Fiore.

“Eyes up, we’ve got Fiorians inbound!” she shouted. “Everyone on their best behaviours! I don’t want them shot down but I don’t want us laying down for them either!”

People grumbled and watched the incoming pokemon only for them to stop a kilometres or so away. Cynthia frowned as they held position. She could see that the riders on the backs of the pokemon were talking animatedly, but even with her excellent eyesight, she couldn’t tell what was being discussed.

On a hunch she walked back into the bridge, trusting her pokemon to keep an eye on the situation.

“Captain, how far off the coastline are we?” 

“We are precisely six kilometers!” he barked. “Needed to keep a buffer there of one to make sure we didn’t breach Fiore territory!”

“The agreement was five kilometres off the coastline yes?” she asked, reaffirming the detail in her mind.

“Indeed. Lots of folk discussed pushing it out to fifteen but there is a lot less safety for seafarers if they can’t skirt the coastline so it was decided that five would be best. Commercial fishing rights are still being debated, I believe,” he added.

“So the Fiorians can ‘inspect that we’re not fishing but nothing else with our current position?” she clarified.

“... indeed,” he replied, giving the hovering flock a thoughtful scowl. His eyes slid to where the submarines had been and chewed his lips.

He didn’t voice the accusation that even now was floating through Cynthia’s mind but instead met her gaze and nodded. “Log the incident and discuss it with the diplomat later,” she ordered. “We’ll need to keep this in mind. It might be nothing. Or it might be everything,” she muttered.

Suddenly she was very interested in learning what her new psychic friends could reveal about the incident. Was this just opportunism by a group of desperate lawless people, or something else much more sinister?

For all that she was looking forward to getting back to Rota to ask some very pointed questions, she also knew that there would be Fiorians attending the wedding, which was going to make matters delicate.

Urgh! So stressful!

“I’m going to raid my ice cream stash!” she declared seriously as she turned and marched off.

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Forrest grinned as he handed over a triple stacked ice cream cone to Misty. 

“Here you go Misty!” he gushed while depositing the single scoop cups in front of the others.

Ash and Pikachu happily began devouring theirs while Gary eyed his critically. 

“There’s a real difference in treatment here,” he pointed out.

“That’s an understatement!” chuckled Mia as she flicked some ice cream to silly Mouse only for him to adopt a pitiful expression as he began begging for more.

She snorted at his antics and rose. “Come on, I need to get some more anyway!”

“Eh, I’m fine,” Gary replied, waving her off and instead remaining in place. His attention turned to Ash. “So, how’s Kohto been for you? You actually earning any badges this time around?” he sniped.

“Huh? What’s that supposed to mean? I earned all of my badges!” growled Ash.

“Sure, sure, I just heard a rumour that some of them were pity badges is all!” Gary taunted.

“They weren’t!” denied Ash instantly. “And for your information, I’ll have you know that I’ve been doing great! I am just taking my time and building up my team this time around!” Ash smirked. “Care to see how strong we’ve gotten?”

Gary smirked back. “You sure you want to do that, Ashy boy? I’ve been fighting the Trinity Nation challengers! And I haven’t been letting them pull their punches. My team are the strongest they’ve ever been!”

"Yeah, well we’re stronger!” snapped Ash.

Misty licked her ice cream and sighed, shaking her head lightly. “I knew it was going to end up this way,” she murmured as the two boys and the electric mouse raced to book in a slot on a nearby field that was already hosting several battles.

With the surge of people, Pokémon battles were inevitable.

“Hey guys! Book me a slot after, would you?” Called Forrest at their retreating backs, earning a wave from Ash.

Misty raised an eyebrow at Forrest. “But you haven’t had anyone challenge you?” she pointed out.

“Eh, by the time my slot comes around I think I’ll have found someone interesting to face,” he replied with a shrug.

Misty’s lips curled upwards, and she nodded along. She gave Ash and Gary a thoughtful look only to click her tongue. “Damn, they’re too far away now.” She handed off her ice cream and typed out a quick message. “There! That’ll solve that issue!”

Forrest bit his lips, knowing full well that Ash wouldn’t check his transceiver until later. 

Misty caught his amusement and huffed. “I also messaged Gary! He’ll take care of it… hopefully.”

“Guess we’re going to have to find some people to challenge,” Forrest murmured as he began people-watching for anyone that might be either interesting to challenge or let him learn something.

He ignored the locals and the elderly that were hustling around with eager looks. Old people were always just happy to fight and usually had forgotten a lot. It was rare to find one that had a trick or two and even then it was just that, a trick.

Solid trainers usually needed to commit serious time to stay strong, it wasn’t just about reaching the peak, you had to work to stay there.

“Hmmm, weirdo dressed up in a jester’s outfit that is probably a psychic type? Nope, a bunch of Bug Catcher kids…. Nope.” his eyes continued to slip around only for Misty to perk up.

“Is that…”  her hand drifted up towards a woman contentedly sitting at a cafe reading a book. “Lorelei of the Elite Four?”

Forrest’s head snapped around and he blinked in surprise before nodding. “Woah! It might be! I’ve seen her once at the Gym so I think you might be right. Think she’s… no of course she’s here for the wedding. I think her and Brock actually get along really well.”

“Urgh, I wish I could fight her!” Misty squirmed.

“You can though?” he said, giving her a confused look. “Just go up and challenge her. It’s easy.”

“Forrest,” she shot him an unimpressed look. “She’s obviously relaxing and doesn't want to be disturbed!” 

“Yeeeeeeah, I see your point,” he admitted only to blink when a much older woman sat down across from Lorelei. “I don’t recognise her. Who’s that?”

“No idea,” Misty replied, only to shriek as something licked her wrist. “Eeeeeek!” She shot to her feet only to glance down and find a Riolu smirking up at her.

“Rio!” it barked once before grabbing her ice cream and running away with it.

“Hey! Stop right there!” she roared only for the pokemon to run faster. Misty clenched her fists and made to sit down.

Only for Forrest to grab her hand and tug her to her feet. “Woooooooah! A Riolu!” Forrest said as the little pokemon ran off. “Come on, let’s get after it!” He began to run, dragging Misty along. 

“Hey!” Misty jabbed Forrest. “I can run on my own and that pokemon owes me my ice cream!” she growled as she locked in and began to run faster.

What she wouldn’t give to have a bicycle right about… her thoughts stalled as she skidded to a halt. “Your bicycle!” she cried as she yanked Forrest by gently slapping her arm across his chest.

He folded around it with a loud, “Hurk!” before straightening. “What about…?" he trailed off. Then he grinned as he met her gaze. 

Within seconds he had his bike unfolded from his satchel and deployed. Misty jumped on behind him and pointed. “After that ice cream thief!”

The Riolu, who'd been smirking up until this point, yelped as it suddenly found two kids charging after it.

Misty felt like cackling as they closed on the little pokemon only for it to dart to the side and tuck itself behind a man in armour.

Forrest found himself caught out as he tried to skid, without hitting the man covered head to toe in metal while also not tipping Misty off. 

He launched himself in one direction while doing something with his hands that saw the bike tipping back upright.

A soft ‘clack’ announced the footstand deploying as all momentum vanished.

Misty blinked, finding herself suddenly standing upright with no rider ahead of her.

Forrest groaned as he sat up, dirt covering him while a nasty-looking graze had appeared on one side of his face from grinding along the dirt for a few metres.

“I say! That was a remarkable feat young man! To save the fair maiden from taking a tumble with you! That was well done!” boomed the knight as he turned.

His dark hair swept out to the side like miniature blades while he inspected the two of them. At his feet the little riolu tugged down an eyelid and stuck its tongue at them.

The knight appeared to notice this as he knelt. “No no, young Riolu what have I said letting your mischievous nature get the better of you! You must be earnest and true! As a knight requires!”

The Riolu sighed and rolled its eyes before adopting a serious expression. It locked eyes with Misty and started to bow only to smirk and stuff the rest of the ice cream into its mouth and swallow.

For a moment no one moved.

Then the smirk began to vanish as Riolu shuddered. Its eyes twitched and it spasmed. Misty grinned. “Ha! Serves you right! You’ve got a brain—”

Riolu stepped to a nearby garden where it threw up.

The knight sighed and rubbed at his forehead. “Truly, it is a test sometimes to raise young pokemon into true champions,” he muttered quietly before bringing out a pokeball.

A tall penguin like pokemon with a metal crown in front of its eyes emerged.

“Empeloen?” it asked, looking around only to sigh in a manner precisely like the knight when it spotted the sickly Riolu whining at the lost ice cream.

“Do not attempt to eat that,” commanded the knight as the little jackal continued to observe the mess.

It whined but stepped back allowing the other pokemon to spray down the garden and mulch the mess.

The knight sighed and turned. “My apologies for my pokemon’s behaviour. New environments make it slip into ill discipline. Might I offer you another ice cream to make up for your lost treat?”

Forrest walked up, rolling his shoulder and eying the knight up and down. Misty felt something flicker and it took her a moment to realise Forrest was channeling his aura. The knight turned to fully regard Forrest.

“You’re strong, aren’t you?” Forrest demanded.

“There are few that can match me within Kalos, for this feat I have earned the title of Duke!” declared the man formally as observed Forrest.

“I want to fight you,” Forrest said. “I have a booking at the nearby field and I want to see what the best can do.” his gaze slid to The ‘Empoleon’, and the Riolu. “You’re a steel type trainer right? I think I want to specialise in that as well.”

The man gave a small approving noise. “Hmmmm? Is that so? Well met then young trainer! I am Wikstrom! Duke of Kalos and member of the Elite Four! I accept!”

“I also want to challenge you!” Misty cut in.

Wikstrom turned and looked her up and down. “Hoh?” he murmured. “The fair maiden also wishes to fight? The youngsters of Rota do surprise!” he boomed with a smile.

Misty half considered pointing out she was no fair maiden only to recall the meaning. She shut her mouth before she could insert her foot and instead nodded. “That’s a water-steel type isn’t it?” she said, pointing towards the Empoleon.

“Indeed, a most erstwhile companion as well!” Wikstrom stated.

“I want to fight that pokemon. I’m a water type specialist!”

“Hmmm is that so? Well I wouldn’t want to step on Siebold's toes by claiming to be anything but proficient but seeing as he is not here I shall accept and give my best showing!”

Misty wiggled a little in joy before firming her stance. “Right then! Follow us!” she said as she led the group back to the field where Ash and Gary had booked times.

She marched up and found Ash and Gary looking for them.

“Oh, damn! I was hoping you weren’t going to make it so I could fight again! I need to—”

Gary’s hand clapped over Ash’s mouth as his gaze slid past Misty and onto Wikstrom. “You’re fighting him?” he asked.

Misty and Forrest both nodded, and Gary whistled. Then he tilted his head and gained a calculating look. “Come one Ashy boy, let’s book another slot while we can!”

“What? But I w—” whatever he was going to say was lost as Gary dragged him away, leaving Pikachu behind to shake his head and follow along.

“Lively friends you have there,” Wikstrom commented as he strode onto the field with Forrest first. Misty moved to nudge a kid out of the referee’s box, not wanting to miss anything of what was to come.

Forrest nodded, enlarging a pokeball. “Mind if I do a full six on six pokemon battle?”

“I shall only require one of my pokemon at most,” declared Wikstrom grandly.

This caused a few kids to scoff and clamour at the man’s bragging; only Misty got the feeling it wasn’t bragging when he could back it up.

It was a statement of intent.

Forrest’s fists clenched and he locked eyes with Wikstrom. “We’ll see about that!” he growled as he sent out his first pokemon. “Let’s go Steelix!” he shouted.

His towering Steelix emerged with a loud roar.

“A worthy foe!” declared Wikstrom as he sent out a Scizor.

Forrest’s face twitched and he opened his mouth only to shut it. “I know it’s my former pride as a Pewter Gym trainer coming through, but you’re pushing my buttons sending a bug out against me!”

“Steelix Stone Edge!” he ordered to get the fight underway.

“Bullet Punch!” replied Wikstrom with an unhurried tone.

His pokemon blurred across the field. Before Steelix could even raise any boulders to hurl it found itself curled around Sicizor’s pincer.

The powerful pokemon was thrown back and barely stayed within the field before straightening out with a loud groan of pain.

Forrest gaped and a look of dread appeared as he looked around only to shake his head and slap his cheeks. “No! Bad thoughts go! I am here to grow stronger! I don’t care about what people will say!” he said.

“Urgh! If this was a match in a proper arena I’d go for Self Destruct right now, but that’s not a good idea,” he muttered.

Wikstrom nodded. “A valid if dishonourable strategy!” he remarked. “Our restraint is applauded!” 

Forrest gave Wikstrom an annoyed look before concentrating.

Misty hummed, knowing that Forrest was trying to use his bond to give Steelix a sneaky order.

Rather than being caught out Wikstrom’s hand snapped forward and his pokemon blurred into another Bullet punch that saw Steelix down.

Forrest groaned in annoyance. “You can read intent as well?” he growled under his breath.

What followed was Forrest attempting to put up a stand only for Scizor to dispatch all comers with speedy blows.

The only pokemon that it struggled with was Skarmory, but that was due to Skarmory staying high in the air and raining attacks down.

Only for Wikstrom to hum and nod towards Forrest. “You’re keeping your distance well, but not well enough! Air Slash!” he ordered and what followed was a series of slashes being traded back and forth only for Skarmory to fall from the sky as damage built up while Scizor fought through.

“W-winner Wikstrom of Kalos!” Misty announced at the conclusion of the match.

Forrest stumbled a little after having six of his pokemon knocked out but stayed on his feet. He backed up and sat down on a bench while Misty traded places. 

She suspected that she would soon enough be joining him on the bench but until then she planned to fight her hardest.

She was right. Empoleon was an impressive pokemon and was more than able to handle everything she threw at it.

Her team collapsed despite her best efforts.

When she staggered to the bench, another challenger approached with Gary stepping forward with eager eyes. “My name is Gary Oak of Pallet Town! May I have the honour of trading blows with you?” he requested formally.

Wikstrom nodded, his eyes sliding to take in the suddenly eager crowd. “Well, I was looking to enjoy my afternoon. What better way to do so than to experience what young trainers are capable of?” he said with a smile.

The park began to buzz at that as more and more people began to book in slots after to face the foreign Elite Four. Gary fell only for Ash to step forward, followed by Mia and then the other young trainers.

When the sun was starting to set, Wikstrom left without a single loss to his name, leaving behind only crushed trainers with distant expressions. Ash lay on the bench.

“That guy… was seriously strong!” 

“Yuh huh,” agreed Gary. “I was close to winning, though!”

That earned a round of disbelieving snorts.

Then everyone broke into laughter around the park. For all that they’d been thoroughly trounced it had been a good experience for them.

Forrest stared into the sky with a small smile, knowing that if they looked around closely enough there would be other powerful trainers to learn from.

It was an odd thought, but if he grew from this, he didn’t mind spending the week leading up to his brother’s wedding getting beaten down.

He already had ideas on how to get stronger after all, and at the end of the day that would make the biggest difference.

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A.N. Thanks got to my patreons for yoru continued support!

It also goes to Twmmy for proofreading this chapter!