Previously on Oranges to Grapes: The Tree of Masks...
With the second signpost photo out of the way, Pico is free to participate in a game of Ogre Offering (which is actually Ogre Ousting with a repaint) before he regroups with the others to watch the stage show...
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With the time for the show drawing near, everyone at the Festival of Masks was finding a place to watch the show, and the gravel was getting crowded with people sitting down, which Pico and Balto noticed.
"Sure is a big turnout this year," Balto commented.
"It's bigger than last year, I can say that much," Samuel confirmed.
Finally, taiko drums were beating to signal the start of the performance, quieting the audience. As the beat increased in tempo, the caretaker stepped forward to take center stage alongside a gruop of kuroko; people dressed in black robes and hoods that covered them all over. Finally, the group took a bow as the final "clink" of the hyoshigi rang out. "Ladies and gentlemen," the caretaker addressed, "welcome once again to the annual updated and historically accurate Festival of Masks! Is everyone having a good time so far?"
The audience gave out an enthusiastic "OU!!!" in response.
"Splendid!" the caretaker praised. "Then before the night is over, the time has come to regale you all with our stage show of the legend of Ogerpon and Pecharunt, courteousy of our very own performing company!" The kuroko bowed in response, and then dispersed to take their places. "Now, then, gather 'round and sit right back, and I shall tell you all the tale of two Pokemon who visited the land of Kitakami long ago. One as a visitor, one as an invader, both in search of a personal treasure; a goal that would bring both parties... to blows."
The caretaker then stepped up to a large drawing pad on an easel, and flipped to a page that said "Act 1" in painted letters. The kuroko then brought in paper cutouts of houses and trees, creating the backdrop of what looked like an old village. "Once upon a time," the caretaker narrated as the story unfolded, "a small patch of land was gaining its first settlement. People would come from miles around to live there and provide their services to help it grow and develop: merchants, smiths, appraisers, builders, farmers, all of which eventually founded a small town for people to live in. That town was known as Mossui Village... in the land of Kitakami."
As the characters were acting out their roles in the play, two odd characters then came in from stage left: a man in brown clothes with a small bag on his hip, and what looked like a young girl in a green poncho. "Later down the line," the caretaker continued, "word of Mossui Village reached the ears of two visitors from a faraway land: a man... and a Pokemon, both of which were hoping to find a place to settle down and make names for themselves. However, the inhabitants of Mossui were wary of the new faces, for they had heard rumors of foreign marauders that would ransack their settlement for everything they had, and didn't want all their groundwork to go up in smoke like that."
"Look, Ogerpon, a market!" the man in brown said after the soliloquy. "Looks like the perfect place to get some provisions to start our new lives here with, wouldn't you say?"
"Pon pon!" the girl in the poncho said happily.
"Excuse me," the merchant character said, "we are officially closed for the day." He then placed a "closed" sign on his stand's counter and punctuated the motion with a huff.
"But sir," the man in brown started, "can we-"
"I said we're closed!" And with an angry finger, the pair was sent away.
"Pon..." the girl said sadly.
"Don't worry, Ogerpon," the man reassured. "We can always find another market to purchase from. Surely the whole town can't be so cold and unfeeling to visitors."
"But, sadly, they were," the caretaker narrated. "The pair tried every market, stand, and roadside shack they could find in town, but everywhere they went, they were sent away with closed signs and angry fingers without so much as a reason why or a proper schedule of business hours. But when the pair was out of their sights, the stores were opened back up to the populace as if nothing was out of the ordinary. And once the stores opened up... rumors were spread about the pair in hushed tones."
As the merchant was muttering something to a background character, a gray-haired figure in a green kimono took notice.
"But not all the residents of Kitakami had their hearts closed off to the strangers," the caretaker continued. "One in particular was disappointed in the distain, and decided to give the newcomers a chance. At first, all seemed lost for the pair, but one day..."
The kuroko showed up again and changed the scenery to the inside of a woodworking shed, where the man in the green kimono was pretending to shave strips of paper from a wooden plank. Later, the man in brown and the poncho girl were covered in X-bandages and limping towards the door.
"That clinches it, Ogerpon," the man in brown said in exhaustion. "I thought we could start a new life here in this land, but if this last house tells us to go away, we can just write off coming here in the first place as a huge mistake and go elsewhere... if we don't die here first."
"Pon..." the girl moaned as the man knocked on the door.
"Who is it?" the man in the green kimono called out, pausing his work.
"A weary traveler and his companion hoping for a chance of human compassion," the man in brown responded.
Recognizing the voice, the former got up from his seat and rushed to the door. "By any chance, are you the man and Pokemon who had no luck with the shops in town?"
"We are," the latter confirmed.
"Pon," the girl chimed in.
Taking over the narrative again, the caretaker spoke. "As the pair was ushered into the man's home for tea and hospitality, the man, revealed to be a woodworker, explained the situation. Grateful for his kindness, the traveler asked if there was a way he and his Pokemon could repay him. An idea came to the woodworker, and he decided that the best way for the pair to interact with the populace of Mossui... was in a disguise. So, he got to work carving wooden masks for the two to wear, and the traveler suggested adding a personal touch: a bag of gemstones he brought from his homeland, which still remains a mystery to this day. The next day, four masks were crafted for the pair, and they decided to test them out..."
The kuroko swapped the scenery back over to the village setting, and the traveling pair entered the scene from stage left again... but this time, they were each wearing a prop mask: the man wore a Cornerstone Mask prop, and the girl wore a blue poncho and a Wellspring Mask prop. They approached the same market as last time, but this time, the merchant welcomed them with, "Ah, welcome to my humble market. How may I help you?"
"Yes, my partner and I would like to purchase from your wares, if we may," the man said.
"Of course, anything for a potential customer!" the merchant said happily.
As the man selected a few items for himself and the girl, he decided to ask, "So, I couldn't help but notice that two other people were here yesterday, and they didn't get to buy anything from you because you sent them away. Similar with the other shops in the village."
"Oh, that was just part of a test," the merchant explained. "We here at Mossui Village have been getting visits from hustlers who come here to purchase our wares, only to leave and flip them for a profit. So we were putting that pair through a test to see if they were hardy enough to try the same stunt. But so far, we haven't seen them return, so they must have given up."
"Oh, I don't think folks would think to try something so depraved," the man said as he counted out the money to pay for his order.
"You'd think wrong."
"Well, I can assure you," the man said as he placed his payment on the counter, "I would not do anything of the sort to a business as legitimate as this one."
The merchant carefully scanned the money that was placed before him... but, finding no fault, widened his eyes in realization. "For some reason... I believe you."
"Good, because here's another thing," the man said as he and the girl removed their masks, revealing their faces. "We are the pair who came here yesterday, and we were only trying to buy some supplies to put down roots in this land, but you wouldn't have it."
"Pon pon," the girl punctuated.
With an astonished gasp, the merchant said, "Oh, heavens! My profoundest apologies to you both! Is there anything I could do to make it up to the both of you?"
"Perhaps you could," the man said, "but what about everyone else?"
"Pon?" the girl pressed.
"Of course, allow me to rectify the situation presently," the merchant said before calling out, "Everyone! We snubbed a pair of customers yesterday, and now they're here to try again!"
"And so," the caretaker narrated, "as an apology for their earlier mistreatment, the people allowed the two travelers to purchase from as many of their wares as they needed, and with the money they earned, a big party was arranged to officially welcome them to the land of Kitakami. This festival was celebrated by having everyone wear a mask of their own as games were played, treats and toys were sold, and shows were performed in the travelers' honor. This... was the first-ever Festival of Masks." As the kuroko came and changed the scenery again, the caretaker walked up to the easel and turned the page, revealing the words 'Act 2.' "As time went on, the travelers decided to live in Mossui Village for good, cementing their status as celebrities since the Festival of Masks was held in their honor every year since. Word of the land of Kitakami spread across the globe, including where our story takes us next..."
By the time the kuroko cleared out, the scenery was that of a small house, where an elderly couple were sitting cross-legged on tatami mats. "It is here, in the residence of an old man and woman, in a land lost and forgotten to time. But, little do they know that their lives are about to change..."
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To be continued...
