Chapter 2: Smoke and Magma
Sapphire eyes well up with tears. Throbbing pain shoots up from Reimei's ankle with the pounding of her heart. Gingerly, she shifts her injured leg outward, wincing as her heel taps the ground. Through the tears, Reimei looks around. Sheer rock face lay ahead, a steep hill to the left. To the right the chasm opens up, but nothing to indicate if the terrain is safe; especially for one with an injured leg.
"Hey! You ok down there?" The voice was close. Reimei turns her head to see Yuuhi atop of Blitz sliding sideways down the hill behind her. From the corner of her eye, Meditite shakes the dirt from his body as he pushes himself to his knees.
"Meditite seems o-yeow!" A jolt of pain zings up her leg. "My ankle, I...it hurts so badly!"
Black hiking boots hit the dusty ground. "We better have a look then." He carefully rests her thigh on his knee as his fingers press on different parts of her leg.
"Does it hurt when I press here?"
"Not really."
"What about here?"
"A little, not much."
Yuuhi's fingers move to the sides of her ankle. "And what about-" Her free leg swings around, the top of her foot connecting with Yuuhi's ear. He tumbles over, shifting Reimei's bad leg; sending her into a fit of pain. Yuuhi groans as he slides onto his forearms. "Well, the good news is the fall has done nothing to your reaction time, meaning there's no concussion." He mumbles under his breath "for you anyway..." Once seated, he reaches into a black messenger bag slung at his right. After digging around some, he pulls out a small plastic pad and a cloth wrap. "I suspect though you have a sprained ankle. Nothing severe, but we should have my mom look at it. She's a nurse in Lavaridge Town." He squeezes the pad a few times before placing it on the outside of her ankle. "I'm putting an ice pad on your ankle. It'll help with the swelling and a bit of the pain."
Biting her lip, Reimei nods. "I don't think I can put any pressure on that leg."
"Why would you ever try to walk on an injured...?" Yuuhi shakes his head. "I'll have you ride on Blitzbeak back to town." Blitz squawks in protest, but quiets after a few daggers from Yuuhi's eyes. She sits down next to Reimei, bending to help Yuuhi situate Reimei on the center of her back. "Where's Meditite's Pokéball? You should probably call him back."
"Medi? Tite! Meditite!" The Meditite folds his arms, frowning at Yuuhi
Reimei chuckles. "He wants to walk back with us, seeing as you're useless as a trainer."
"I told you I'm not...whatever, we should get going. Mighyena is already on his way back and I'd rather not worry anyone with my absence too long after his arrival." The three make their way to the opening of the chasm, flat terrain sprawling before them. Yet they stop when harsh voices echo from below a ridge.
"I tell you we're wasting our time. I'm sure this place has been picked clean. We should be looking in Meteor Falls."
"There's already ten others looking there. Besides, that'll be even more cleaned through than here. Not a lot of people want to trek up an active volcano, meaning less will be looking for-ahah! I found one!"
Creaping closer, the two teens gaze over the edge of the ridge to find two men on their hands and knees looking over something. Each wears black pants and a hooded red shirt. Suddenly, one turns around, seeing the two. "We've been spotted!" The other turns, grabbing a Pokéball. "Torkoal, smokescreen!" The released Pokémon releases a thick cloud of smoke. The teens stumble back, coughing. Once the smoke clears, the two men are gone. Reimei looks to Yuuhi. "What was that all about?"
"I don't know. I've never seen anyone dressed like that ever up here."
"What do you think they were after?"
"If anyone knows, it'll probably be Flannery." Yuuhi looks back at Reimei's foot. "But that'll have to wait. We have more pressing matters to attend to." He taps Blitz twice on the side. "Let's go Blitz. Time is running short."
