Chapter 43: Breaking Free

The distance stretched to a hundred meters.

Baimu confirmed that the person was Otsuka, that unlucky fool, and not some bad actor running a sting operation.

"Someone running around in the middle of the day instead of hiding and resting shouldn't be too common."

He recalled the radar he'd seen earlier — this area, including his own spot, had not a single red dot; most were clustered at the far west, as if deliberately avoiding his side.

They really know how to play it safe.

A brute like Ken is rare enough — how much did they have to pay him to be that diligent?

Baimu truly couldn't believe this man had come all this way just to fulfill his promise of breaking Baimu's leg; someone who only casts when they see the rabbit must have been offered a reward he couldn't refuse.

"Otsuka!"

He called out directly, hoping for a response.

Unfortunately, there wasn't one.

The kid was most likely unconscious. Baimu couldn't help but have Kadabra pick up the pace, to go check out any traps that might be there.

Nothing in this world is certain — better stay alert.

One minute later.

Having done battle of wits with the air, he arrived at Otsuka's side, quickly checking the latter's breathing and heartbeat. He then took out the headband he'd snatched back, soaked it with water, and wiped the blood and dirt from his face, paying special attention to the mouth, nose, and eyes.

After that, he took a small pill from his pocket and helped him swallow it down with water.

The pill was mainly for saving lives, without too many other effects — it could stabilize some of the injuries for a period, buying time for rescue.

The price was a bit steep, but for staying alive, that little bit didn't matter.

Looking at it now, it really did come in handy.

After doing what needed doing, Baimu checked Otsuka's injuries again — the only word for it was gruesome. Even by the medical standards of the Ore region, this guy would need to lie around for a month or so before recovering.

"As long as he's not dead."

He let out a slight breath of relief.

Not long after.

A faint, almost-there moan escaped Otsuka's lips, and his tightly shut eyelids twitched slightly.

"Ugh…"

"Are you awake? Give me a response."

"I… am I already dead? To think I'd dream of you." Otsuka's voice was unusually hoarse, and his eyes gradually opened, seeing Baimu sitting beside him.

He pulled at the corners of his mouth, revealing an utterly ugly expression.

Baimu's expression didn't change. He waved his right hand and said, "If I'd delayed any longer, you really might have died. How many fingers is this?"

"I… it looks like two…"

"Brain's not broken. Congratulations."

This kind of cold joke — Otsuka, in his current state, couldn't appreciate it at all.

He shifted his gaze back to the azure sky and murmured, "…I'm really not dead… woooo…"

A suppressed whimper squeezed out from his throat, and tears quickly spilled from his eyes.

The relief of having survived a disaster left Otsuka so overwhelmed he couldn't breathe. He even started coughing, then dry heaving, crying and laughing in the most wretched state.

But he couldn't care less about any of that.

As long as he was still alive, he was overjoyed.

"By the way, the man's already dead. If you want to go stab him, your current condition probably isn't very realistic," Baimu said in a low voice. "Can you move your arm? If not, I'll help you call for rescue."

The wristband was monitored — it only worked if the wearer themselves was willing to use it. Annoying as hell.

And compared to rescue, Otsuka clearly cared more about that earlier sentence.

"You… killed Ken?"

"To be precise, he was baked to death by the sun. I just beat him into critical condition," Baimu said with a smile, trying to cheer him up a bit. "Stabbing him dead in one cut would've been too easy on him."

"Hahaha… you're so vicious."

Otsuka indeed squeezed out an ugly smile and tried to lift his arm to tap the wristband.

Unfortunately, besides making himself grimace in pain, it didn't accomplish anything — he still needed Baimu to help operate it.

Beep.

Rescue call successful.

Both of them breathed a sigh of relief, and the atmosphere became much more pleasant, even though it was still very hot.

Taking the opportunity, Baimu asked, "Speaking of which, why didn't you expose my location? You could've just made something up. I don't think you're the kind of idiot."

From the very first day they met, one could tell that Otsuka actually backed down pretty quickly — he wasn't the type to stiffen his neck and refuse to admit fault.

A perfect demonstration of what it means to bully the weak and fear the strong.

So when he heard Ken say that Otsuka absolutely refused to talk, Baimu was genuinely surprised.

"Why, you ask…"

Otsuka stared blankly at the sky. "Actually, I don't know either…"

"You don't know?"

"Heh, maybe I just had a brain fart, or figured that whether I talked or not, I wouldn't be let off the hook… heheh." Otsuka laughed to himself, even though there was nothing funny about it.

But actually.

He did have an answer in his heart.

Why, even when nearly beaten to death, did he refuse to reveal Baimu's whereabouts — not even a made-up one?

The reason was simple: that last scrap of pitiful self-respect.

When his life hung by a thread, Otsuka found many memories flashing before his eyes — from birth, to babbling his first words, to obtaining his first Pokémon, to shouldering the entire family.

He thought it over and felt that his life had been so barren, that he had given up too, too many things for the sake of certain things, that there were too many regrets, and too many things he had wanted to do but never managed to.

Setting aside externals like Pokémon, his entire self was empty — he had nothing.

No pursuits of his own, living just to live, his life had always been one of repression.

"Your world and mine are both too small. I hope that one day we can break free of the shackles of Iron Town, rub our eyes open, and see what the real world is really like."

The real world — what is the real world?

Did he, who had nothing at all, even have the right to go and see it?

That moment.

Ōtsuka clung to the last scraps of his self-respect like a drowning man to a lifeline, and he understood too that he would never be able to see the real world All Baimu spoke of.

But he truly, truly did not want to die so pathetically.

"Hey, All Baimu, are you going to leave Iron Town?"

He struggled to turn his head and looked at the person who was right before his eyes yet hazy and indistinct.

That person replied, "One day, sooner or later."

"Then…"

【Can you take me with you?】

Ōtsuka found himself as if struck mute, unable to speak for the longest time; he knew it was because, deep down, he felt he didn't deserve it.

The dregs of a gutter should stay in the gutter forever.

And then.

That hazy, indistinct person suddenly leaned in; Ōtsuka felt his vision swim, and All Baimu became sharply clear, as if some illusory membrane had been pierced.

The other lifted his eyelid, then forced him to stick out his tongue, performing the sort of motions only a doctor would.

"What, gone dumb? Want some water?"

"No…"

"What were you about to say just now — take you along?"

"Uh."

"You want to travel together? Personally I'm not big on partying up, forget it." All Baimu waved him off in distaste. "I'd actually recommend you head out on your own."

The matter-of-fact tone left Ōtsuka somewhat stunned.

"On my own?"

"What else? Or call your sister, call your parents, whatever — the whole family go travelling together."

Travelling together, the whole family going on a trip.

The unfamiliar words left Ōtsuka a bit dizzy and dazed.

In All Baimu's tone, leaving Iron Town, or even leaving the Ore Region, sounded like an utterly simple thing — or rather, a perfectly ordinary one.

He muttered to himself, "On my own…"

"Right. While you're young, get out of Iron Town and see what other places are like. Don't just stare at this one little patch."

All Baimu said with a touch of feeling, "This world is far, far more wonderful than you think."

Ōtsuka: "…"

The two gradually fell into silence.

The next second.

He suddenly asked, "Should I be going to school?"

"Stop talking nonsense."

All Baimu cursed offhandedly, "If you can't even read, you won't be able to read a map! Travel where — with your head?"