Predilection - Chapter One

by taitofan

Rated T

Disclaimer: I don't own NDRv3 or its characters.

Author's Note: Because of course I had to inject my otp into Pokemon. Of course.

I wrote two other Oumasai fics, but they're mature and thus I can't post them here. You can find them on AO3 or my tumblr under the names Ride (a two-shot) and Bad Ideas (a one shot that takes place after Ride).

If you have any CC, please share and I'll listen. Please read, review, and enjoy! Finished 01-27-17

The region of Dangan wasn't terribly dissimilar to his home region of Sinnoh, Shuuichi supposed. There were children and adults who loved pokemon, who battled and bred and showed off their skills in various contests. There was also the fact that just as Sinnoh had to deal with Team Galactic years ago when Shuuichi was a child, now Dangan was facing its own crisis in the form of Team Despair, whose motives were unclear, but certainly nothing good.

The International Police had been called in to investigate, and with Looker already away on business, Anabel had decided he should head to Dangan and find out more about the threat of Team Despair. He'd protested—he was still too much of a novice detective to do this on his own! But Anabel had just smiled and told him he'd be fine, and that was that. He'd immediately headed to Dangan with his faithful pokemon at his side, ready to bring justice to Team Despair. Or, at least, to gather more information so a larger team could be sent if needed.

Now he wondered if Anabel's judgment had been sound.

"What's wrong detective?" The two grunts before him smirked and sneered and really didn't look old enough to be traveling on their own, let alone belonging to a group of criminals. The redheaded boy had a bandage across his face, and the girl had pink pigtails, and he swore they couldn't be much older than ten. But regardless of their age, there were two of them and only one of him, and the odds certainly weren't in his favor. "Not so hot when we work together, are you?"

"Maybe we should change that!"

All three of them turned to the newcomer, a short boy who looked around Shuuichi's age. His white clothes were a bit dusty and a little tattered, yet despite looking as if he'd been living in the forest for a week, the grunts looked rather nervous at his arrival.

"W-whatever!" the girl sputtered, looking as if she wanted to run. "You'll never ever beat us! We'll take you on and the leader will promote us!"

"Is that so?" the stranger asked, giggling as he made his way to Shuuichi's side. He turned to him and smiled sweetly. "You don't mind having a double battle, do you? I think these kids need to be taught a lesson."

"I… I don't mind." He wanted to be cautious, but he'd been in that forest chasing down grunts for information all day, and he was getting tired. Besides, it wasn't too strange to think this boy could just be in the right place at the right time. How could he turn down help? "Thank you."

"Thank me after we win, Mr. Detective." No if, when. Shuuichi admired his confidence. "Now, Espurr, let's go!"

A tiny Espurr popped out of the pokeball, a little collar around its neck with a tiny gem shard within it. It looked like an everstone. What an odd choice, Shuuichi thought, if that's what it actually was. Espurr looked excited to see its trainer though, so he didn't doubt that this boy was at least nice to his pokemon, no matter how strong he was.

The grunts sent out their own pokemon—two Zubat, which was fairly despairing considering how many Shuuichi had already seen that day—and he released his own pokemon as well. The boy turned to him with his eyes practically sparkling.

"Ah, an Umbreon? That's so cool, Mr. Detective. You have good taste!"

Shuuichi flushed at the compliment, pulling his hat down in the hope the boy wouldn't notice. Judging by his giggle, he probably did.

"Ah… Thank you. But my name is Shuuichi Saihara, if you wouldn't mind…"

"Okay, Saihara! I'm Kokichi Ouma." Kokichi stuck out his hand, and Shuuichi reached out to shake it. Therefore, when Kokichi grabbed his hand and pulled it up to kiss the back of it, Shuuichi's face flushed even more. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Hey! Are you two gonna flirt all day or are we gonna battle?"

The irate boy gave Shuuichi the perfect opportunity to take his hand back and turn to his Umbreon. His face burned and he had to stop himself from looking at Kokichi. Was he being serious? Was he like that with everyone? He had so many questions, and he was relieved that he had a battle to focus on.

"Let's beat them, Ouma."

"That's the spirit, Saihara!" Kokichi giggled and threw his hand out towards the grunts. "Espurr, psychic!"

"Thank you for your help." They had indeed won, leaving the grunts in the forest—bickering back and forth about whose fault it was they lost so badly—as they headed back to town together. Umbreon walked at Shuuichi's side, while Kokichi held Espurr against his chest. "I was getting tired of dealing with them."

"I should be thanking you for being so entertaining!" Shuuichi glanced over to him, not knowing how to react to such a statement. What in the world had he done that was entertaining? "You would think being the champion would be exciting, right? But it's really not when everyone who challenges me is so weak. But even though you looked so tired, you were so determined. I like that! You defied all my expectations!"

"Champion…?"

Admittedly, he'd been too busy to look much into the region. There were gyms and an elite four and a champion, but he didn't know who any of them were. Was Kokichi, a boy his age, really the champion? Considering ten-year-olds had been champions before, it wasn't impossible. And Espurr was strong for such a little pokemon. Why, if he had the champion on his side, maybe—

"…Just kidding!" Kokichi giggled and Shuuichi felt a wave of annoyance flow through him. Not just at Kokichi for lying, but at himself for believing it so easily. What in the world would the champion take interest in him for? "I fooled you, didn't I? I'm just a trainer. The rest was true though. You really did look cool out there."

"Thanks," he muttered, turning his gaze back to the road before him. Kokichi's impish smile was too much for his tired mind to handle. He just wanted to get back to his hotel and rest before setting out to where his next lead was, not wonder if Kokichi was always like this, or if the grunts had been right about the flirting. The idea of someone he'd only just met being enamored with him was just too far-fetched to consider. "Regardless, you were very helpful, and I appreciate it. I hope I'll meet more cooperative people such as yourself while I'm investigating."

They reached civilization just Shuuichi said that, and Kokichi's response made him miss all of the stares and whispers coming from the trainers around town.

"What do you mean? I'm coming with you!"

And that was how Shuuichi Saihara, detective for the International Police, found himself with Kokichi Ouma as a traveling companion, like it or not.