Chapter Start
"Alright, what do we got?" Takibi called out, walking alongside Mizu as the duo approached a man garbed in a red monk-like robe, the hood pulled up to reveal the symbol of an eye with an 'X' etched through it.
"T-Takibi-sama, Mizu-sama! Ma'ams!" the cloaked man straightened up and saluted the two cloaked figures. "We have a code 187S-"
"Speak fucking English. We haven't got all day." Mizu interrupted, annoyance present in her voice.
"U-Uhh, well... first degree supernatural homicide..." the man simplified. "We've identified the cause of death to be, not to sound cliché, a lethal neck snap. It appears there was enough damage done to break vertebral bodies C5, C6 and C7, visible bruising around the neck, hell, it even looks like the esophageal muscle was torn in the process as well. It was a recent kill, too."
"Have you identified the corpse?" Takibi questioned.
"Yes we have, but..." the man muttered.
"But?" Mizu motioned for the cloaked man to continue.
"We've identified the corpse to be the Elder Jeff." Mizu and Takibi froze up at the name.
"Elder Jeff... A-Are you sure?" Mizu questioned.
"There is no doubt." a new, similarly synthetic acoustic voice called out. This figure wore the same cloak as Mizu and Takibi, the only tru difference being that the mask the figure wore had dark purple markings and stood a good eight inches taller than the duo, standing at 5'11". "I verified the corpse myself."
"Shiron, I should have known that you would be here." Takibi stated, annoyance present in her voice.
"Were there any witnesses? Any clues as to what did this?" Mizu asked.
"It was definitely a supernatural creature. We found footprints that were nonhuman, but none of our databases have a match on what creature." the cloaked man stated. "Normally, we'd go to Elder Jeff for this kind of problem, but, well..."
"What about witnesses?" Takibi repeated, only to receive her answer the form of a familiar glowing eyeball appearing in the shadows.
"A Category One creature, floating eyeball by the name of... Argos, was it?" the cloaked man turned towards the floating eyeball, receiving a single blink to indicate its answer. "Yeah, Argos."
"You can understand what it's saying?" Takibi questioned.
"That's the reason why I'm here. Out of all the members of our group, I am the best translator." the cloaked man replied, turning to Argos as the creature began blinking at a rapid pace. "He says that the creature that killed Jeff was known as a... Gremloblin."
"Gremloblin?"
"... Half gremlin, half goblin. He also says..." the cloaked man paused when Argos began blinking at an even faster pace. "... W-What? Could... Could you repeat that again?"
"What is it saying?" Shiron asked.
"I-I-Impossible! That can't be right... can it?" Argos blinked only a single time, causing the cloaked man to sharply gasp for air, stumbling backwards until he slammed into a tree.
"What. Is. It. Saying?" Shiron repeated.
"I... We have to inform Ryu! We have to inform every single member!" the cloaked man exclaimed, nearly running away were it not for Shiron grabbing him.
"What could be so important for you to act like this?!" Shiron questioned.
"Argos said... he saw it."
"It...? Please be more specific."
"He. Saw. Journal 3!"
"What?!" was the collective cry of Mizu, Takibi, and Shiron. The cloaked man turned back to Argos as the floating eyeball began rapidly blinking again.
"He says that the owner of Journal 3 was a... blond teenage boy, accompanied by a...'rather rude blue haired teenage girl'?" the cloaked man stated hesitantly. "He's also saying that they might be nearby still!"
"Then we need to hurry and find them!" Takibi exclaimed.
"You know, you're actually pretty damn good at translating what this thing is saying."
"Thank you, Mizu-sama."
"Just how many languages do you know?"
"You name it, I've learned to read, write, talk, or translate it."
"Damn. Just... damn. If you know so many languages, then-"
"Why am I here? Don't worry, you aren't the first to ask. As for why, well... I just really like my job: Translating and bringing people together by breaking down language barriers."
"Well you know what they say, choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life."
"And indeed I have. Or my name isn't Butch Flowers."
-Rustboro City-
"So where do we go?" Lucina asked, holding one of Naruto's collapsible batons in her hands and swiping at the air.
"I'm not sure." Naruto replied, not even bothering to look up from Journal 3 as they continued walking.
"What?! But you have the Journal thing-y!" the bluenette exclaimed, stomping her foot down onto the ground childishly.
"Which is why I'm searching it for anything useful." Naruto retorted. "Anything that can help, really. Jeff said 'Beware the Cipher' and that this 'Blind Eye' would help us."
"And? So what?" Lucina questioned.
"So this." Naruto replied, showing his bluenette companion the page he was opened to.
"The Blind Eye
W-AT -OES -T _-A-?
C-_'T -E UN-N (SEE NO
EVIL, HEAR NO EVIL, SPEAK
NO EVIL)
? ? ?
Below the etched-out question marks were various symbols that she couldn't understand, and on the left page there was a drawing of a person wearing a monk-like robe with the hood up and the Blind Eye symbol on the top of the cloth.
"This symbol, the crossed-out eye, is what we can use to identify anything related to the Blind Eye." Naruto stated before he grimaced.
"What's the matter, Naruto-kun?" Lucina asked.
"The 'Cipher' isn't mentioned at all. But..." Naruto started, flipping through the pages for a few seconds before stopping. "This is the closest thing I could find..."
"Bill Cipher
Is he watching me?
CAESER
ATBASH
A1Z26
Bill has proven himself to be one of the
friendliest and more trustworthy individuals
that I've ever encountered in my life. What a
guy! I honestly can't trust him more. Not evil
in any way, Bill is a true gentleman.
BILL CAN'T BE
TRUSTED!"
Beware Bill. The most
powerful and dangerous
creature I've ever
encountered. Whatever
you do, never let him
into your mind."
"It is possible to follow
the demon into a
person's mind and
prevent his chaos.
REFLECTIVES
THE LADIES
DOMESTIC
fig. 4
DO NOT SUMMON AT
ALL COSTS!"
The picture on the left was of a strange creature that resembled a triangle with a lone eye, a bow tie, a top hat, and arms and legs. There were red splatters across the pages, presumably blood, which caused Lucina to involuntary shudder.
"The creature is named Bill Cipher, and everything about it all points to one main fact..." Naruto said.
"Which is...?" Lucina questioned.
"Don't trust him." Naruto replied, promptly closing the book and placing it back in his backpack. "But for now, our best bet is to try to find this 'Bind Eye' group."
"Where could that be though?" the bluenette retorted.
"The Journal says that they're a pretty old group, but nothing about where they're situated. So we just need to look at the oldest towns and cities in the region." Naruto stated. "Oldale Town, Petalburg City, Dewford Town, Slateport City, Mauville City, Stoopolis City, Pacifidlog Town, Lavaridge Town, Fallarbor Town, Lilycove City-"
"Why Lilycove City?" Lucian interrupted.
"Huh? What do you mean?" the blond questioned. "Lilycove City has at least six potential locations where the Blind Eye could be situated, including the old Team Aqua Hideout."
"But-" "Look, if it makes you feel any better, we won't immediately go to Lilycove. There are plenty of other places where we can investigate first."
"... Fine." Lucina conceded, crossing her arms and accentuating her buxom. "Where to first then?"
"Well the closest places would be Petalburg City and Oldale Town, but Natsumi would be headed that way as well. That makes Fallarbor Town the best place to start out." Naruto replied. "With Meteor Falls nearby, there's no telling what sort of secrets are hidden in those caverns."
"Okay, so which way do we go?" Lucina questioned.
"We should begin to make our way to Route 115." Naruto answered, listing off the item categories they needed on his fingers. "It will probably be nightfall by the time we reach Meteor Falls, so we'll set up camp there."
"What kind of supplies do we already have?" Lucina asked.
"Let's see..." Naruto mumbled, opening up his backpack and shuffling through its contents. "There's the two collapsible batons, the taser, Journal 3, four Poke Balls, my sister's backup grappling hook, swimtrunks, a box of condoms-" the blond immediately froze up, a stark red blush on his face as his own words finally caught up with his brain.
"..." Lucina opened her mouth to say something, but found the words died on her tongue.
...
"NATSUMI!"
-Route 104-
A certain red haired girl perked up, watching as a few Tailows flew out from the nearby trees, obviously spooked by something that was out of her hearing range.
"Something wrong, Natsumi?" Roxanne questioned.
"No, but I have the sinking feeling that Naruto just found the surprise I packed in his bag." Natsumi grinned.
"What did you leave him?"
"A box of twelve Terrakan Extended Condoms."
"..." Roxanne was stunned to silence, a light dusting of pink across her cheeks. "How... how do you know if they'll fit him?"
"I don't. But I've always had the Devil's luck." Natsumi replied cheekily.
-Route 115-
"Remind me to get revenge on your sister the next time I see her."
"Get in line, Lucy-chan. I got first dibs." Naruto stated, twirling the second collapsible baton in his hands.
"You know, why did you say that we would get to Meteor Falls by nightfall? It's not even midday." Lucina questioned.
"Because-" "Ha! You walked into my line of sight! Now we must battle!" "... that's why." Naruto finished, sweatdropping as a middle-aged man wearing a white karate gi, a red headband and a black belt charged at him with a Poke Ball in hand.
"Battle me! Come on out, Shinken!" A Machop appeared in a flash of red light. Machop was a humanoid, bipedal Pokemon that had gray skin. There were three brown ridges on top of its head, and it had large red eyes and a relatively flat face. Its chest had three, thin, rib-like stripes on either side. Its feet appeared to have no toes, while its hands had five fingers. It also had a short, stubby tail.
"*Sigh* Come on out, Kurama."
"Machop!"
"Shinken, use-" "Extrasensory, Kurama." The poor Machop had no time to react as the rainbow-colored beam struck it, knocking it unconscious before it even hit the ground. "Return." Naruto muttered, Kurama vanishing in a flash of red light.
"I... Wow. Other Trainers aren't that fast." the man mumbled. "Alright, do you take Poke Dollars upfront or can I just transfer them from my credit device?"
"Credit works." Naruto said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his Pokedex. One of the many features of the device that Professor Kagari forgot to mention was that their Pokedexes doubled as multi-function devices. Trainer identification information, electronic Poke Dollar transfers, it was basically a mixture of a phone, an ID, and a wallet.
Did he bother to tell Natsumi though?
... Meh, she'll figure it out. Maybe...
Hopefully.
"By the way, can you point us in the direction of Meteor Falls?" Naruto asked.
"Sure thing." the man replied. "This path should lead you to a tree next to a cliffside. Make a left from there and head onto the beach. Go directly north from there until you reach the waters. If your timing is right, you'll encounter a newish RT and a fellow friend of mine."
"RT?" Lucina questioned.
"It's short for Route Trainer. That's what we call people like myself who train their Pokemon on specific Routes for a long time." the man stated. "I'm getting off topic - hopefully if you meet up with a girl named Cyndy, tell her Ben sent you and she'll understand. You're gonna have to do a bit of swimming, but you'll be on the other side of the cliff and the cave entrance to Meteor Falls will be simple to find."
"Alright, thank you!" Naruto said, bowing slightly to show his appreciation.
"By the way, why are you two going off to Meteor Falls?" the man questioned.
"Oh, no reason in particular. Exploring the caverns, finding and catching new Pokemon possibly." Naruto replied, not noticing the sly smile creep onto the man's face.
"I see... You two remembered to bring protection, right?" Naruto and Lucina became flustered, sputtering as they tried to deny the former's double entendre.
"I-I-It's not like that!" Lucina exclaimed, shaking her head vigorously.
"Mhmm~" the man hummed teasingly. "Good luck you two~! Bwahahahaha!" And with that, the man ran off, laughing like a madman as he did so.
...
"*Sigh* L... Let's get moving."
-Route 116-
"I see... This is troubling news."
"I thought the resurfacing of a Journal would be good news." Mizu commented, communicating with Ryu over a secure frequency alongside Takibi.
"In retrospect, every time a Journal showed up on our radar, we sustained heavy casualties on our own side and with civilian bystanders - all for a chance to obtain that Journal. Need I remind you two that we lost Journal 1 and barely escaped with Journal 2? Or that our enemy is gaining power with each passing day?"
"... *Sigh* What are you orders, ma'am?"
"Track down the current holder of Journal 3 and bring them back to HQ."
"And if they don't comply?" Takibi questioned.
"Eliminate them." the two cloaked females flinched at the response. "Understood?"
"... Understood."
-Route 115-
Naruto and Lucina swiftly made their way down the path Ben told them, arriving at the beachfront with good timing. The sun was high in the sky, and not a cloud was in sight. But...
"Where is this 'Cyndy'?!" Lucina demanded, pacing around in a circle in the soft sands.
"I don't know." Naruto said, shrugging his shoulders before placing his backpack down on the ground and pulling out his two Poke Balls. "Come on out, Kurama, Shunko."
"Eevee!/Vulpix!" The shiny Eevee and Vulpix cried out, eager to stretch their legs and be outside the confines of a Poke Ball.
"Why not let out your Pokemon too? Now's the best time if any to take a break." Naruto suggested.
"A break?" Lucina questioned, the concept foreign in her mind.
"You know, relaxing. You... do know what relaxing is, right?" Naruto retorted.
"Humph! Of course I know what re... lax-ing... is..." Lucina replied, her face red in embarrassment as the sand she was standing on suddenly became very interesting.
"..." Naruto tried his best to remain silent, but he quickly began to crack up, his laughter growing louder with each passing second.
"Shut up! Come on out, Falchion." Lucina exclaimed, pressing the button on her Poke Ball and releasing the Riolu.
"Riolu!" Falchion exclaimed, getting into a fighting stance automatically.
"Eev?" the Riolu momentarily froze up, his eyes scanning the area in confusion.
"... Rio?"
"Vul. Vulpix Vul Vulpix."
"Ri-o-lu? Rio, Riolu?"
"Vee!"
"We're not battling, Falchion. We are... re-lax-ing." Lucina stated, physically straining her mouth muscles as she said the last word.
"Yep!" Naruto chirped, unzipping his hoodie before opening up his backpack, rummaging through until he found what he was looking for.
"W-What are you doing!?" Lucina exclaimed.
"Huh?" Naruto muttered, clenching his shirt in one hand and swimtrunks in the other, the former halfway peeled off his chest, slick with sweat from the heat.
"Why are you taking your s-shirt off?!" the bluenette stuttered, steam shooting out her ears as her blush went from light dusting to supernova.
"It's hot, probably in the mid-nineties. I'd rather not pass out from heat exhaustion." Naruto replied, discarding the black cloth on top of his jacket. "I'll be right back." he said, walking off towards a nearby rock formation.
Lucina huffed in exasperation, turning her head to the side to avoid looking at her blond haired companion...
Only to come face-to-face with curious black eyes.
...
"Wha!" Lucina exclaimed in surprise, falling backwards onto the hot sand.
"Oh! Sorry! I was just a bit curious. I don't see too many new faces here often. Heh... heh..." In front of Lucina was a young woman who appeared just a little bit older than her and stood at 5'3" with straight, black hair that went down to her butt, and light skin tone. She wore a pair of round, thin-frame black glasses, a striped jade shirt, a purple skirt, black stud earrings, and a pink backpack.
The bluenette hated to admit it, but this girl had a nice toned rear, more fine than her own. Of course, she did have a larger bust compared to the glasses wearing girl, she had that going for her...
The score was 1-1 at first glance.
"Umm... Who are you?" Lucina asked.
"Good question." the girls turned to the side and looked away just as quickly. Naruto held his pants, boxers and hat in one hand, having changed into a pair of navy blue boardshorts. But that wasn't why the two girls looked away...
Naruto was by no means a body builder, yet he was in no way scrawny either. Both girls would be lying if they said he wasn't somewhat handsome.
The glasses-wearing girl faked a cough before adjusting her glasses as they drooped down.
"Where are my manners! My name is Cyndy Chiu, but everybody calls me Candy!"
Chapter End