This had trouble written all over it.
Body sore and mind hazy, Satoshi twisted and groaned awake on the hard tiled floor. Finding himself in a humid and dark shower room only served to confuse and worry him. Where in the world was he? Why was he in a shower stall of all places? These questions and more invaded his mind and made him even more worried. Thankfully, his pounding headache kept him from panicking.
Standing up only served to throw a head rush into his already painful migraine, causing him to stumble against the wall. His body felt tired and heavy, clothes damp with moisture and sweat. Whatever he was doing beforehand tired him out, perhaps blacking out from exhaustion. How he ended up here was a story he was both interested in and frightened to find out.
Clutching the wall, he took a deep breath to calm his nerves and gather his thoughts. His attempt to recall the events leading up to this point were halted by the sound of a locker slamming shut just beyond the glass door, followed by voices. Alert, he flattened his back against the wall and held his breath. Not knowing where he was and possibly intruding on someone was not his ideal way of waking up. Especially when he could not even remember how he ended up here in the first place.
With lithe and careful movements he slowly crept to the edge of the stall, peeking from the corner. His jaw dropped, catching an eye full of women busying themselves with getting dried and cleaned up. At this point, he really did not wish to know how he ended up in the women's locker room. As much as his instincts were screaming at him, he could not spot staring with wide eyes and scarlet face. He was not a pervert by any means, but it's easy to catch yourself stunned for a few seconds.
But as he suddenly locked eyes with a red haired beauty, he knew that moment of weakness screwed him over.
"Show yourself!" The woman called. Within an instant everyone froze, tension blanketing the area. He was caught.
Slowly stepping up to the sliding door, he raised his hands in surrender. There was no point in resisting. All he could do was pray they would give him a chance to explain himself before killing him. "I'm sor-RIE!" Satoshi yelped as his foot slid on a wet bar of soap. Speeding forward, he flailed his arms in a panic, grabbing onto a locker to try and stop himself from flying down the large locker room. Unfortunately, that merely changed his direction, sending him crashing into the very woman who spotted him.
Of course, it would his luck that she had yet to put on clothes.
Satoshi felt the horror of the situation dawn on him as he landed on her. "Oh god, are you al...right?" The last word barely came out as a squeak. As he looked down, his eyes widened and face burned bright red. Captured in his hands was a fist full of petite breast, taking notice of a cute star shaped mole on the right. His eyes slowly made their way to hers hesitantly, catching her heated gaze.
She was livid.
Her flaming emerald eyes cut into his frightened brown ones. The tension grew thicker with every second. This woman was about to explode. 'C-calm down. It was only a mistake. All I have to do is choose my words carefully and explain what happened.' He knew it was far easier to think that than put it into practice, but it was far better than stay frozen in absolute shock and fear. He took a deep breath, willing the instinctive alarm blaring in his mind to calm down. "...I-I-" Before he knew it, her fist flew into his face, sending him sliding along the slippery floor.
In a way, he expected that to happen.
"Y-Y-You...why you...!" The woman was filled with so much anger and embarrassment she could barely formulate a coherent sentence.
The rock hard punch temporarily stunned him. Thankfully he was used to taking powerful blows so he was not instantly knocked unconscious. It would be his luck to run into a combat trained, angry woman who he sexually assaulted. It may have been an accident, but the look on her face destroyed any hope he had to end this confrontation peacefully. "P-please wait, I can explain!" Considering how much of the situation he understood, it was more of a lie to buy himself a few more seconds to live.
Jumping onto her feet, she flipped open her locker and slipped on the chrome bangle inside, activating the sophisticated device. Holographic wire frames appeared on her body before materializing into a tight fitting, red and white uniform. It was a cross between a combat wetsuit and a military uniform, red outlines of energy coursing through her body. The clothes came with a small assortment of gadgets and insignias he could not recognized, though the large sword on her back gave him a clear idea of what those gadgets were made for.
The next few words were curt and menacing. "I'm going to kill you!" The other girls lunged after him at the call of his imminent doom, readying to maul him.
Satoshi saw fit to put his best talent to use: Running like hell.
Slipping under the sword wielding woman's right hook, he dashed passed the flock of towel clad women for the glass sliding door that hissed open quick enough to allow him a chance to dodge what appeared to be a glowing combat dagger flying passed his head. It crackled with electricity as it struck the wall ahead, melting into it. That girl was seriously trying to kill him!
There were several women in the area all sharing similar uniforms, calling him many crude variations of pervert and other foul names. It did not take a genius to figure out he was a male in the female dominated zone. His life expectancy began to drop drastically once he noticed the mob of women chasing after him, aptly naming him the 'elusive pervert'.
Thankfully, the hallways were spacious enough to allow him room to maneuver and dodge the lethal projectiles hurled his way. Bright beams of light, followed by several sharp glowing objects were thrown, aiming to either take his life or disable him long enough for them to do so. To his horror, three girls jumped into his path as he spun around a corner. He was about to be trapped.
Thinking fast, he slid under the first woman, rolled onto his feet to avoid a sweeping low kick of the second, and was about to get cornered by the third who wielded glowing knuckle guards. It was as though the entire world was out to lynch him.
"I hate to do this, but you leave me no choice!" Always getting chased by bullies, criminals and would-be murderers aided Satoshi in an unexpected way, training him to move fast and judge attacks to dodge properly. With a forward step he dodged her fist and continued towards her. "Please forgive me!" It was a good thing he remembered to keep his stun needles in the hidden sleeve pockets of his lab coat for emergency use, such as now.
Sliding the thick three-inch metal through his fingers, he inserted the needles into her sides. A quick, but powerful spark went through the woman, temporarily paralyzing her muscles. With fluidity he turned around and threw his arms around hers, holding her wrist to control her arms. The oncoming mob paused but kept their guard. "S-Stay back!" Satoshi stuttered, making threatening notions with the girl's hands. "I-I have..." Looking down, he had no idea what she was actually using, except it glowed blue and would most likely hurt him if he touched it. "Blue, glowing thingies and I'm not afraid to use them!" Using his legs to make the paralyzed woman take steps back, he used the moment to catch his breath and keep the other people at bay. This situation was getting far out of hand, but at least he had everyone's attention.
"Please listen to me! I do not mean any harm! I don't know what I am doing here, nor how I got here. I am sorry if I had offended anyone or ended up seeing things I was not supposed to. Now, if you can let me leave here in peace, we won't have to resort to violence!" The sound of quick movement alerted him. Looking up, he gaped in terror.
"DIE!" The girl from earlier roared, flying over the crowd and towards him with a large, glowing broadsword in hand. Satoshi barely managed to side step the dangerous overhead strike that ruptured the floor, thankfully protecting the girl that he held captive. It was unknown whether she gained her strength through training or fury, but she wielded her weapon as though it was light as a feather, forcing him to parry her attacks with the woman's glowing knuckle guards. Each clash caused an electric spark to explode upon contact, a dazzling but blinding show that made him wince with each occurrence.
As his luck began to prove, the woman he used to defend himself was starting to get control of her body again. Within a few seconds she would have full movement.
"I'm sorry!" Satoshi twisted his body to hurl the girl at the attacker, knocking them both down. At that instant, the chase was on again.
Several minutes of escaping the murderous mob passed before he managed to temporarily lose them. Though there were signs and directions to help navigate personnel to various rooms and exits, he was not foolish enough to do so. It was a miracle he found that window when he did and immediately jumped out of it, realizing too late he was on the second floor. Were it not for the grassy patch he landed on, he would have idiotically broken a few bones.
After catching his breath and waiting for the stars in his eyes to dissipate, he started realizing just how far from home he really was. There were tall buildings and facilities as far as he could see, rich with symmetry and technology. The metropolis he was from was nowhere near as clean or nature-friendly as this place, but there was a gaping issue that grabbed his attention and made him feel truly alien.
There was no sky.
As much as it was a beauty to behold, the feeling of being trapped and helpless grew. It was like he jumped into a science fiction story he could not get out of, a dream he desperately wanted to wake from. He wanted to see sun and clouds, not spotlights and steel beams. Where on earth was he?
"I think he ran down here!"
"For the love of-" Satoshi flipped onto his feet and sprinted. He needed somewhere safe to hide so he could sort out the mess he somehow created.
As he made a break around the corner of the building's wall, he neglected to notice a someone else turning that same corner and collided with into her. As if déjà vu had a personal vendetta against him, Satomi ended up falling on top of this person. It took a moment to realize that this narrowed eyed individual was actually a woman, which he was incredibly thankful for. But unlike the other girl he ran into, his hands did not end up on any fleshy mounds this time, another helpful bonus.
But the same could not be said for their lips.
A powerful chill fluctuated within Satoshi's body, feeling hot contact from the woman's pink lips. Her light blue eyes were wide with shock, also noticing the sensation from their accidental kiss. What truly caught him off guard was the soft, white aura the victim's body began to exhibit. 'Why...is she glowing? What's happening?' In all his years of medical training, he never heard of a kiss so powerful it made someone glow. Judging from her expression she was just as surprised. Speaking of glowing, his body did as well, but with a dark purple hue.
What on earth happened in that one kiss?
The kiss only lasted a few short seconds. They quickly broke it; Satoshi rolling away while the uniformed girl crawled back. Satoshi landed on all fours, staring worriedly at the girl who gingerly touched her lips with a shocked expression. His entire body felt strange, like a part of him just awoke to the kiss. Strange sensations aside, he felt the need to apologize before making another woman fly into a murderous rage.
"Y-you...!" The girl stared at him, utterly stupefied like he was. Her skin burned bright pink, more so than any embarrassed human he ever seen. That was a clear sign she was a Pokénoid, humans born with Pokémon genes. It's easier for one pokenoid to recognize another, carefully hiding their nature from racist humans. It was one of those things that ruined his childhood, forced to dye his white hair black so it blended with the curved horn on his head. The female pokenoid in front of him went from pink to red skinned.
It did not take a genius to realized it was a sign of rage.
"How dare you...ruin me! You stole it! Give back my precious treasure!"
"W-wait, what?" As frightened and freaked out as he was, he wondered less about the precious treasure he stole and more about the dangerous rifle she materialized after consulting the gadget on her arm, similar to the last girl he met, who also tried to kill him. One thing was painfully clear.
This was not going to end well.
With a dive, Satoshi avoided the three-round burst from the woman's rifle, scorching beams of light zipping past his head. A quick survey pointed him to the trees nearby for cover, making a dash behind it. Even with his previous run-ins with violent thugs, he was not familiar with so many people wanting to kill him with such ferocity. Hopefully he could make a plea for peace before he ended up dead. "Stop shooting, please! I don't know what I did that's worth killing me, but we can resolve this peacefully!"
"Don't take me for an idiot. I don't know how you found your way into the female's dormitory, but you're not getting away unpunished!" Satoshi peaked around the corner in time to see her rushing towards him, using the bladed edges of her rifle. He jumped onto the tree's thick branches in time to avoid meeting the same fate as the tree she cut into. The girl stopped halfway through the tree, glaring at the man crouching on the branch. It was a good thing he was light and agile. "Get down here and fight me like a man!" She growled, aiming her rifle.
"But I don't want to fight! I just want to understand why everyone wants to kill me all the sudden!" He gasped as he avoided another three-round burst by rolling off the tree, landing on the ground with cat-like reflexes. 'I need to get her to listen to me, but not with that gun in her hand.' Crouching on all fours, he slowly strafed around the girl, gauging her movements and aiming trajectory. He was not a fighter by any means and hated the idea of hurting anyone, even when forced to. But there were two things he was good at: Running and reading his opponent's moves.
The girl gave him an incredulous glance, baffled. "Do you really think I'm that stupid to believe that? I've never heard of an Arcadian that doesn't want to fight."
'An Arcadian?' He never heard that term in his life, but at least he was fully aware of how far from home he was. "I'm not an Arcadian! I don't even know how I got here!"
"Bullshit!" She fired another burst of laser fire.
Seeing his moment, he bounced side to side with incredible agility while sprinting towards her, using his hands for traction and extra boost in speed. Getting close, he braced the stun needle in his fingers and went in for the attack. When his stun drew close to her side, he felt her hand grab his wrist in a vice grip. He paled upon seeing her gun aimed at his head.
"Goodnight." She fired without a hint of hesitation.
Blinded by the intense flash, the force sent him sliding along the ground several feet from the nine rounds she shot him point blank with. His head nearly exploded from the headache, tossing and turning while holding his head. Lying on the ground, his body pulsed with a cold sensation that seemed to help ease the agony, his vision slowly gaining focus. "W-what...!" Sitting up in a crouch, he noticed the woman staring at him with a face of utter shock, nearly dropping her weapon.
"How did you...but I just...that's impossible!" She was not the only one surprised.
Satoshi was almost positive his head was supposed to be splattered on the ground by now. Perhaps her weapon was made merely to stun rather than kill, but even then, he should have been knocked out or still suffering a major migraine.
In fact, he felt fantastic.
Before he could finish determining if her weapon had a secret heal switch of some sort, a chill went through his body. The girl stumbled back, too surprised to utter a word. He reached out dumbly to her, but in a panic she fired at him again. He shielded himself out of reflex, noticing a black aura around his body. This time the lasers did not even hurt him, somehow getting absorbed into his body. His body responded to the beams of light like a heavy dose of caffeine, filling him with energy.
"What the hell are you!" She continued firing at him, bewildered by this twist of events.
Rather than think about why her weapons were suddenly healing him, he sprang onto his feet, prepared to charge at her while making use of the advantage. Before he could move his vision distorted, blinding him momentarily. When he regained focus half a second later he found himself standing next to her.
How the hell did he do that?
The danger of his situation brought him out of his surprise, making his move. Before the girl could swing her blade, he slipped his palm through her arms and knocked the rifle out of her hands, sending it skidding across the ground. Catching her eyes glancing at her rifle, he found himself moving instantly again, standing over her rifle and away from the girl. Before she could rush him, he grabbed the gun and aimed it at her, halting her advance. He did not know how to use it, or if he even could, but that was not his plan. He just wanted her to listen.
"Will you hear me out now? I'm not trying to hurt you. Look." To prove his case, he tossed the gun to the side, keeping his gaze on her.
The girl shook the surprise off her face, glaring at him. "That proves nothing. You couldn't use it without my identification anyway!"
A dumbfounded look crossed his features as he raised an eyebrow. If that was the case, why did she stop? Either she was bluffing, or she did not want to be on the wrong end of the rifle's bayonet, which was still active. Whatever the case, he was not going to tempt fate.
"That's not the point I'm trying to make here!" He exasperated. Whatever quick movements he did before made him feel exhausted, losing that burst of energy he gained earlier. He planned on figuring that out later, too busy trying to determine what made sense. "Listen, ma'am. I'm very sorry about running into you. But please, hear me out. All I want to do, is figure out where I am and how I ended up here. I don't want to sneak into any locker rooms or try to do anything illegal. I'm lost, confused, and a little scared out of my mind to be honest. I could really use your help."
The woman's glare dropped, giving him an odd glance. "...You're really not from around here, aren't you?" It wasn't a question, a look of curiosity on her face.
"That's right! I-I'm not even sure how I got here at all! I just want to find my way back home. That's all."
"But...that can't be right. There's no way you could just accidentally walk into Arcadia, especially the Guardian's sector. Ugh, what a mess." She ran a hand down her face, frustrated.
Though he had no idea what she was talking about, he made a mental note of being in the Guardian's sector. That way, he would never make the mistake of coming here again. "Trust me, I don't want to stay in a place where everyone seems to want me dead. I just want to get home." Palming his head, he released a heavy sigh. He would kill for a bed right now.
Now that he actually had a moment to rest and collect his thoughts, he was able to remember most of the events that lead up to him somehow ending up in this place. He remembered purchasing something from a store, then bumping into someone, then there was chasing, lots of running, and then entering a chamber... "Aaron!" Satoshi jumped in surprise, the string of events slowly coming together.
The girl gasped at the mention of the name. She rushed up to him, grabbing him by the shoulder. "Descriptions. Now." She demanded, blue eyes burning with anxiety.
Satoshi drew back slightly, startled by her sudden interest in the man. "A-ah...black hair. Brown eyes. Probably around six feet tall, and-gah!" He gasped as she started shaking him violently.
"How do you know him? Where did you see him? Was he hurt at all? Where is he now? Answer me, dammit!" She continued to barrage him with questions, growing more impatient each second.
"P-please s-stop s-shaking m-me!" He pleaded, getting dizzy. When she stopped trying to shake the answers out of him, there was a moment of relief until he saw what she was looking at.
Two men dressed in black heavy combat suits and fiber glass helmets approached him, bearing an air of superiority. He had a feeling they weren't passing by to say hello. "Is this the intruder, Mirei?" One of them asked, their voice sounding hollow through the mask.
Mirei glanced between Satoshi and the guards hesitantly, disappointed. "...Yeah." She sighed, giving him to the two intimidating guards. Not even bothering to resist, he allowed the soldiers to arrest him. He couldn't help but release another heavy sigh.
What in the world did he get himself into?