Hello and welcome back to Touko/Hilda/White's version of events from "Uninvited". I hope everyone's enjoying the story as it unfolds, it's been a lot of fun writing this for me! As with "Uninvited", I'm sorry for the centered format, I tend to write with it and then forget to reformat. I'll definitely try to be better about that this time and for the following chapters. This is part one of the events, what happened leading up to the events that N saw in the second chapter of his side of the story. It got a little... long, so I stopped it and chose to do a two parter for it. /laughs sheepishly.
Fun Fact: A certain series of sounds a zebra makes is called a 'bark'. Isn't it fun researching the animals some Pokemon are based off of? You learn so much!
Things were going well, Touko thought happily to herself as she stretched her arms towards the sunny, unusually warm sky with a happy sound slipping from her lips. Her mother, and probably Professor Juniper as well, had been less than surprised with her decision to choose Snivy as her starter. Probably because we both love the sunshine and warm weather. She thought with a grin, looking down at the stuffy looking snake Pokemon she'd let out to enjoy the warm weather along with her.
"You did so good, I'm totally proud of you." She praised him again, unable to help herself and giggled in delight when the brown eyes closed in pleasure, the little serpent's back straightening just a little and the walk becoming more of a strut at the praise. "Chili didn't even see what hit him, and that Panpour came in handy too, I hope he's happy back with his trainer."
Said trainer had offered to allow her to keep the aquatic ape, but one look and a gut feeling told her that, while he'd had a lot of fun with her... he'd be happier with his original owner. And she'd told him as much too, surprising the older trainer but getting a shy, 'Thanks.' in response.
"Such a blue sky," The long haired girl murmured admiringly, staring up at the pure expanse above her and letting the slight breeze brush against her. "I remember how it totally sucked being all cooped up during class, glad I have an excuse not to be there." Not for a little while, anyways. As long as she passed the quizzes and tests sent to her by email, she'd be allowed to take time out of her normal school schedule without it proving detrimental to graduating.
...she wondered how Bel was going to do, the girl would probably need her or Cheren to remind her of all the tests, maybe even do a study group if they could meet up in a Pokemon Center somewhere to give the girl a little extra help. Cheren, as always, worked his ass off and wound up with straight As every term. She... didn't work that hard, though her mother would probably celebrate if she did, and managed to come away with a solid B average when it came to grades.
Bel tended to get test anxiety and overwhelmed by the pressure to succeed, either failing or getting a C- in the majority of her subjects if she or Cheren weren't there to support her. Personally, Touko thought the girl was a lot smarter than she gave herself credit for and just needed to quit worrying about what that asshole of a father thought and said.
An inquiring noise from her shoulder caught her attention, startling her as she blinked, staring into the mildly concerned, curious face of her first Pokemon who'd managed to climb on her without disturbing her thought. "Holy- wow, you're a little ninja, aren't you?" She asked, unintentionally impressed by the serpent's stealthy movements as she gently scratched the scales above his eyes. "I'm okay, I just don't like Bel's dad very much, that's all. He's not very nice."
Total understatement but, she never quite knew how much a Pokemon could pick up. There was that one rumor that someone's Pokemon had started repeating phrases it heard frequently... and what she called Bel's dad was not something she wanted repeated. Snivy gave her a sidelong look, as if suspecting he knew what she wasn't saying and made a note that was rather agreeable sounding as he arched his neck, encouraging her hand to scratch further down.
"Y'know, I don't think I ever asked the Professor if you shed like normal snakes do," Touko informed her partner as she continued walking west, glancing over at the patches of grass occasionally while she was there. She'd fought at the Gym two nights ago, winning her first badge and was on her way for the second one after a day of rest for both of them and a day of just general exploring the area around Striaton City. In that time, she'd not only helped Snivy get stronger, but the Purrloin N had left behind had also chosen to come with her after being defeated in battle a second time. Poor guy's always looking for that N guy, I'm gonna give him a piece of my mind when I see him next. It's a jackass move to just leave them there.
So she was a little worked up about that, just a little. Touko puffed out her cheeks in annoyance, knowing full well it made her look like a Patrat but didn't care anyways. It hurt seeing how unhappy the feline had been after being caught, poor thing didn't even want to come out of the Pokeball most of the time now, always looking at her for reassurance... making sure she wasn't going to just suddenly disappear on him again.
"We're gonna get 'im, aren't we?" She said, raising a fist and pumping it into the air as she felt anger heat her blood. Her mother always said she'd inherited the temper of both parents, something she wasn't really sure she wanted to think about, due to the circumstances her mother was still pretty close lipped about surrounding the divorce back when she was five. Snivy hissed in agreement, straightening up as if he were pumping his own tiny fist into the air as well.
It felt good to have someone understand her even if they couldn't exactly talk back, though sometimes she had the odd feeling if she just tried a little harder, did... something, she didn't know what, differently, she could understand them the way they seemed to understand her. She sent a sideways look to her friend, adjusting her baseball cap and grinned. "Hey, you wanna go for a run? I think Amalthea would be okay carrying you, if you don't mind."
Snivy shook his head, he clearly didn't mind and seemed amused at the idea that she was going to race against the Blitzle they'd added to their team less than a day ago.
Happy that she was going to finally get some real exercise, Touko's hand sought and immediately found which Pokeball she kept the zebra-like Pokemon in, tossing it into the air as the beam of light released the small equine pokemon. With a short bark, the small black and white Pokemon reared up on hind legs and lashed the sky with her hooves, mane flashing all the while. Her blue eyes glanced about, landing on the area close to where she'd been originally caught at and moved back to her Trainer out of curiosity.
"Hey pretty girl," She cooed softly, watching Amalthea's body language carefully to make sure the Pokemon wasn't going to act frightened or aggressive, especially since she'd really only worked with her for a few hours total. Her ears were erect and the Pokemon's eyes were directly on her, seemingly waiting for her to give a command of some sort. Good sign, meant she was friendly or in a good mood at the moment, hopefully it'd last. "It's a gorgeous day out, wanna come for a run with me and Snivy? He needs a partner, d'you mind?"
At the mention of a run, the small equid tossed her head, eyes rolling in excitement as she pranced in place. Snivy leaped smartly from his trainer's shoulder and on to the striped Pokemon's back, carefully entwining a couple of vines to hold himself in place and seemed to chatter a moment with his 'partner', as if discussing something important. "You guys ready?" Touko asked with a laugh, finishing up her warm ups with eyes that shone with eager energy. She'd heard that Blitzle weren't ridiculously fast, but they had major endurance when it came to speed and she was looking forward to seeing that for herself as a former track team member.
Standing beside her, the Blitzle pawed at the road with one hoof, bobbing her head impatiently as Touko took her position as well, muscles beneath the short coat shuddering and rippling with excitement. "Ready... get set..."
Both of them tensed up, Touko's foot arched as if pressed against a starting block, a look of intense concentration on her face as the two of them waited for something. A grin slipped on to the young woman's face as she nodded once. "Go!"
"Ugh, I don't know how you do it, Touko." Cheren complained as he recalled the dazed Tepig back into its Pokeball, shoving his glasses back up the bridge of his nose afterwards. "I study like crazy and I know you; but I still can't win." Their health was back up, he'd made sure to invest in berries and some other much needed healing supplies when he'd dropped by the Pokemart.
She gave him one of her dazzling smiles, the one that usually made guys really uncomfortable when it was directed at them and she was as flushed and excited as she was right now. He shifted a little himself, scowling at her to keep himself in check and not be like one of the goons who tried asking her out and prancing around like a bunch of idiots to impress her. "Just got lucky, I guess. You'll get me next time, I'm sure." She chirped happily, giving him a wink that had his cheeks heating up.
Stupid girls.
Two figures barreled past them at high speed, something that sounded like metal links clinking together passing in their wake. Touko's eyes narrowed, the look on her face not one that Cheren was fond of back again. Crap. Speaking of goons. He thought to himself in dismay, turning to see one of the little kids from that daycare running up with...
"Oh no," the dark haired boy groaned out loud as Bel came up, her hands protectively on the tear-streaked girl's shoulders. "Bel, what happened?" Just when he was getting ready to pick Tou's brain too, this kind of crap always seemed to happen to him. How was he supposed to learn how to defeat her when the whole world conspired against him?
Especially Bel.
It was like the girl has a sixth sense regarding the three of them; if it was only he and Touko, she'd be there in five minutes, guaranteed. ...but it also worked the other way around; she and Touko were never together for very long before Bel immediately sought him out and the three of them were together again.
"It's terrible, those guys just, like, stole this little girl's Pokemon. It's a total outrage, we have to do something about it, Cheren!" Her green eyes were snapping with anger, also welling up with sympathy tears for the little girl crying next to her. She was going to make a great mother one day, he thought to himself, though she was going to need a husband good enough to keep an eye on her and make sure she didn't fall and hurt herself, or made her get there on time or a lot of other things.
...he would have to make sure this guy was good enough for her, Bel was way too trusting for her own damn good sometimes and he did not want her in the same situation her mother was.
"It's okay, sweetie," Touko said softly, kneeling next to the little girl with a kind look in her blue eyes and a gentle, soothing voice that she'd used more than once even back when they were all kids. "Big brother Cheren and Big Sis are gonna go get him back for you, okay? So you gotta wait for us with a smile, or he'll be really scared when he gets back." Another smile, this one less big sisterly and more reassuring and energetic, trying to get the girl to perk up a little. "Can you give me a big smile?"
"'k-kay... will you really bring 'im back?" The little girl asked, big eyes slightly puffy already from all the crying as she wiped her snotty nose on her sleeve. Bel fretted, pulling a few tissues out of her purse and held them to the little girl's nose. "Now now," Bel told the child briskly, filled with nervous energy and agitation. "Touko and Cheren never break a promise, they're good guys, like super heroes! They'll, like, totally kick butt and get your friend back."
The child looked up at Bel, eyes already beginning to well up again and her lower lip trembled. "W-Will I be by myself while you g-go get him back?"
Cheren and Touko watched, silently counting down the time that it took for Bel's defenses to fall and shook their heads, trying to hide a smile when the curvy blonde threw her arms around the little girl and hugged her tight. "Never! I'm gonna stay here and protect you in case those big meanies come back." She looked over at her two friends, pleading silently with them not to get mad at her for staying behind this one time.
Touko, as always, smiled at her and readjusted her hat, getting into business mode. "That's right, we're gonna leave the strongest member of our superhero team with you, is that okay? Big Sis Bel will kick anyone's butt who even comes near you and wants to get mean." She grabbed Cheren's arm and began hauling him off with a wave. "We'll be back soon, keep an eye on Big Sis for us, okay?"
Cheren stumbled, managing to finally keep his balance as he was dragged along by the headstrong brunette. "...and just who is the strongest member of this 'superhero' team?" He asked, an annoyed, disbelieving note in his voice as he watched her expression darken with anger.
"When it comes to kids and being comforting, she's the best and you know that, Cheren." She gave him a look over her shoulder. "And I really didn't want wind up in another squabble if I sent you two together while I stayed behind."
He frowned at her, not liking the tone in her voice or the implication that he and Bel would fight. "Who says we'd squabble? Isn't that a little presumptuous of you?" Cheren couldn't help it, the way she looked at him combined with that tone made him more than a little defensive. "And why didn't you just ask me to stay with the kid? I could have done that."
She pinched the bridge of her nose, something she only did when someone or something was really getting on her nerves. "Going off of experience, for one, that's how I know you'd end up fighting. And for the other? Come on, Cheren. You can't even really handle your little sister, Bel and I'd have to come rescue you and play with her while you studied."
He opened his mouth to argue that one, insulted by the implication that there was something he couldn't handle, much less something as ridiculous as just babysitting his baby sister and Touko interrupted him, raising a hand and pointing to the cave. "They're in there, you good to go?" With a nod, and a promise he was gonna argue with her later, Cheren resigned himself to focusing on something else for a little while and narrowed his eyes at the cave. "Let's go, I've got your back."
Touko paused before entering the cave, shooting him a brilliant smile that nearly killed his resolve to be mad at her. "I know you do, I'll never question that."