Hey all! So here it is. Chapter 38. I have been so excited to post this chapter for over a month now. I really hope you enjoy it! I hope it will be a good three parter for you all. I wonder what could possibly happen!
This chapter was beta read by my regular beta reader Killer_Squids. You can find their work on AO3 here ( /users/Killer_Squids). They can also be found on tumblr under the name land-banana. They have done a wonderful job with betaing for me so if you have time please give there page a look.
Any Artwork you may see associated with this fic (on AO3, or Tumblr) has all be created by my good friend SlothyClaws. That is their instagram also have a website ( .com). They do commissions and their commissions are open to anyone that is interested. Go and give their page a look if you are interested.
Meteorite: Part 1
Yamaguchi and Tsukishima walked in mild peace along the path that led them towards Geosenge Town. They had since left the path that bordered the coast and now found themselves once again in a forest. Yamaguchi knew that this particular forest wasn't too far from the coast, for one could still smell the salty sea breeze of the nearby ocean. If the two carried on as they were they'd make it to Geosenge Town by the next day.
On this particular day, Tsukishima had insisted that Yamaguchi lead the way. Yamaguchi had babbled on and on about how it wasn't a good idea, only for Tsukki to ignore him.
"You'll never get better at finding your way if you don't practice," Tsukishima had said that morning.
Yamaguchi couldn't argue with his best friend. After all, he was correct. It wasn't fair to anyone else if Yamaguchi relied on his Pokemon team and Tsukki to get him around for the rest of his life. With that being said, he had begrudgingly taken the lead.
Yamaguchi led the way with the map the two had been using to get around the region thus far. Tsukishima held Eevee in his arms as he followed a step or two behind Yamaguchi. Not only would this exercise give Yamaguchi practice reading a map but Eevee practice being away from he beloved trainer's hold.
If Yamaguchi was being honest, he was only half sure he knew where they were on the map. He assumed they mustn't be too lost, for Tsukki didn't seem bothered. Yamaguchi hoped that Tsukki would say something if he seriously leads them astray.
"I hope we didn't need to turn back there," Yamaguchi nervously commented as he looked at the map. He glanced back to see Tsukki give a small shrug. "Yeah, it probably doesn't matter," Hei carried on with an anxious laugh. They had just passed a fork in the road not too long ago. From what he could tell, that path and the one they were on should eventually meet back up.
Silence hung between the two as they carried on walking. Yamaguchi's full focus was on the small map. They were bound to come upon other forks in the road, and he wanted to be ready to know what way they needed to go.
They were passing a small clearing when it happened. A large figure jumped from a bush and blocked their path.
"You shouldn't be here!" The figure roared causing Yamaguchi to release a loud 'eep' as he jumped back into Tsukki.
Shaking from head to toe Yamaguchi looked up to see that the figure was a Trainer. He had short black hair and horrifyingly sharp eyes that stared daggers at both Yamaguchi and Tsukishima. The trainer wore a white lab coat over a blue T-shirt and black jeans. Dirt smudged his clothes, giving the impression that he had possibly been digging not too long ago.
"And why is that?" Tsukishima replied as he bravely pushed past Yamaguchi.
"This area is off-limits to travelers," the dark haired trainer spat back. "What are you doing here?"
"We're just passing through to get to Geosenge Town," Tsukishima replied, not sounding sorry or the least bit afraid. "Besides, it wasn't marked on the map or on the path that this area is off limits."
All the while Yamaguchi peeked out from behind Tsukki nodding his head furiously in agreement. He did his best to look brave, but had a feeling it wasn't coming across as so.
The stranger scowled at Tsukishima. He looked as if he didn't believe their story.
"You two are going to have to come with me," The trainer eventually grumbled.
Yamaguchi felt his heart stop. What had they walked in on? Was this place really off limits?
"Why should we?" Tsukishima retorted stubbornly.
"Officer Jenny is on sight and I can call her if you two decide to give me any trouble," The dark hair trainer spat back.
"O-Officer J-J-Jenny!?" Yamaguchi yelped. Were they going to be arrested?
"Whatever," Tsukishima mumbled, giving in to the other trainer's demands.
"This way!" The dark-haired trainer said, motioning for them to follow.
Yamaguchi looked to Tsukki before making a move. It was only after Tsukki followed after the stranger that Yamaguchi moved as well. He could feel his heart about to burst from his chest. He never should have been put in charge of navigation. Now he and Tsukki were going to be arrested for trespassing.
It didn't take them long before the stranger brought them to what looked to be a small excavation site. Was this trainer an archaeologist? Was this dig site why the area was closed off? The dig site wasn't terribly big and from the looks of it, all they had dug up was a large black rock.
"Iwa-chan, you're back!" Oikawa sang as he approached the three.
Yamaguchi couldn't help but jump back as he released a loud gasp. What was Oikawa doing here?
"Oh, I see you found some trespassers," Oikawa giggled evilly as he looked upon Tsukishima and Yamaguchi.
Yamaguchi unconsciously hid behind Tsukki. He didn't like the way Oikawa's sharp eyes examined them both.
"Shut up, Oikawa," the dark hair trainer, Iwa, shot back. "Where is Officer Jenny? These two need questioning."
"Oh my, so they really are convicts?" Oikawa gasped in feigned horror.
Iwa shot Oikawa a sharp look, not bothering to answer his question.
"Iwa-chan is no fun," Oikawa pouted like a child. "She is over at the tents," he said as he begrudgingly pointed towards a few large tents.
Iwa motioned for the two to follow after him as he led them to the tents.
"Be careful, Iwa. These two look super dangerous," Oikawa called after in a mocking tone.
Yamaguchi felt his heart almost stop as they entered the tent. Officer Jenny was currently talking with none other than Professor Sycamore. Upon seeing the Professor Yamaguchi felt his heart leap with joy. Perhaps they weren't in as much trouble as he expected.
Iwa cleared his throat then spoke up, "Sorry to bother you both."
Both Officer Jenny and Professor Sycamore stopped their current conversation to look at the newcomers.
"Iwaizumi, you're back already?" Professor Sycamore greeted with a large smile.
"Yes, Professor," Iwaizumi replied stiffly. "When I was searching the perimeters I came across these two here," he explained, stepping back to reveal Tsukishima and Yamaguchi.
It seemed to take Professor Sycamore a long moment to recognize them both, but his eyes lit up as he recalled who the two were.
"Yamaguchi and Tsukishima from Alola, correct?" Professor Sycamore casually asked. "What brings you two to this neck of the woods?"
"The roads near here should have been blocked off," Officer Jenny added on, clearly suspicious.
"We had no clue it was blocked off," Yamaguchi replied in a desperate plea. "Honestly, we are just on our way to Geosenge Town for the Showcase that will be held there. We never meant to trespass on anything," Yamaguchi carried on, his desperation to prove their innocence very apparent.
"I'd like to believe you two but the path was blocked off just this morning," Jenny replied, her eyes still full of suspicion. "What's not stopping you two from lying to us?"
"We aren't! I swear!" Yamaguchi cried again. This won him a very annoyed look from Tsukki.
"Sorry, but we can't just take your word for it," Officer Jenny said with a shake of her head. "We have reason to believe that some people with very bad intentions are after what we are researching here."
If Yamaguchi wasn't so afraid of being tossed in jail he'd be interested to find out what it was they were researching.
"Please don't throw us in jail!" Yamaguchi begged. Tsukki released a small 'tch' from beside him for his lack of tact.
Yamaguchi's outburst seemed to catch Officer Jenny, Professor Sycamore, and Iwaizumi all off guard.
"Jail?" Iwaizumi echoed in confusion.
"No one here is going to jail," Professor Sycamore laughed, and Yamaguchi felt his cheeks go bright red with embarrassment.
"But this doesn't mean you two are free to go!" Officer Jenny cut in. "This research is very sensitive, so until we are 100% certain that you two are innocent you are not leaving this research site."
"Officer Jenny, I can assure you that these two are not here to steal the meteorite," Professor Sycamore insisted.
"You can't say that for sure, Professor Sycamore," Officer Jenny retorted. "And until we are sure of it, they are to stay here.
Professor Sycamore gave a small sigh before he looked to Yamaguchi and Tsukishima with a small shrug.
"We will be packing up tomorrow anyways, so I hope you two didn't have anywhere you needed to be today," Professor Sycamore sighed.
Yamaguchi couldn't help but sigh in response. They were probably still close enough to get to Geosenge Town by tomorrow night if he had been reading the map correctly.
"Well, if you two are going to be here until we pack up tomorrow, we may as well make you useful," Iwaizumi cut in. "We could use some more manpower getting that meteorite out of the ground."
The mention of the meteorite piqued Yamaguchi's interest once more. At least they had something interesting to do for the day, though he should have been focusing on his next showcase.
Iwaizumi led the two out of the tent and back to the large rock that was sticking half out of the ground. The large space rock looked to be about the size of a watermelon.
"What're your names?" Iwaizumi demanded as he handed the two a shovel each.
"Tsukishima," Tsukishima grumbled in reply as he took the digging tool. Though Tsukki gave off an annoyed tone, Yamaguchi could see a spark of interest in his golden eyes as Tsukki looked at the meteorite.
"Y-Yamaguchi T-Tadashi," Yamaguchi said as he took his digging tools from Iwaizumi.
"You two can call me Iwaizumi," Iwaizumi gruffly replied before turning to the rock.
"Welcome back, Iwa-chan," Oikawa sand as the three approached the meteorite. Oikawa still hung by the meteorite with digging tools of his own but it didn't look like he had made any effort to help. Iwaizumi sent the beautiful man a sharp look.
"If you're not going to help us dig up the meteorite than you should just go, Oikawa," Iwaizumi scolded, an angry vein popped on his forehead.
"Iwa-chan, no need to be so angry. I am helping," Oikawa replied with a pout.
"You're tools don't have a single speck of dirt on them," Iwaizumi snapped back.
"I'm just trying to find the right angle to dig," Oikawa insisted airily.
"Whatever," Iwaizumi grumbled before addressing Tsukishima and Yamaguchi. "We have to try to get this rock up by tonight but be careful not to nick it with your shovel," Iwaizumi strictly instructed. "You'll work with Oikawa and myself to extract the meteorite."
Tsukishima gave a curt nod while Yamaguchi did his best not to shake like a leaf as he nodded in understanding. With that, he placed Eevee down his shirt before getting on his knees to help dig. Iwaizumi wasted no time in bossing them around as they began to dig up the meteorite.
It wasn't long before Yamaguchi and Tsukishima begrudgingly helped Iwaizumi dig around the meteorite. Oikawa hung beside the three, claiming he would pitch in with the work in 'a moment' but never made to touch his digging tools. He instead blabbed on and on about anything, and Yamaguchi could tell Tsukki, as well as Iwaizumi, were becoming annoyed.
"So what were you two going to do with the meteorite once you stole it?" Oikawa asked in a mocking accusatory tone.
"We were never going to steal anything," Yamaguchi shot back with a small pout. "I accidentally took the wrong path."
"How does one accidentally walk over a roadblock?" Oikawa laughed.
"There was never a roadblock!" Yamaguchi insisted. "Right, Tsukki?"
"We don't have to explain anything to you," Tsukishima grumbled, sending Oikawa a challenging glare.
"Isn't that cute," Oikawa replied in an overly sweet tone. "We have Mr. Sweet and Mr. Salty."
"Tsukki isn't salty," Yamaguchi barked like a Rockruff defending its trainer.
"Aww, your little guard dog is so scary," Oikawa laughed, not showing even the least bit of fear.
Yamaguchi could feel his cheeks go red with frustration. From beside him, Tsukki looked as if he was going to shove his shovel down Oikawa's throat.
"Shut the fuck up, Oikawa," Iwaizumi scolded. "If you're not going to help, then go away."
"Iwa-chan is always the killjoy," Oikawa whined with a pout.
Iwaizumi's stare lingered on Oikawa, daring him to say more. Oikawa refrained from talking for several minutes, though his pout never went away.
"What are you guys digging this meteorite up for? A museum?" Yamaguchi asked after almost 30 minutes of silent digging.
"Wouldn't you like to know, thief," Oikawa mocked, stopping short after Iwaizumi shot him another glare.
"See how this meteorite has these little blue stone embedded in it?" Iwaizumi replied once he'd confirmed that Oikawa was finished with his taunting.
Yamaguchi looked closely at the watermelon-sized stone to see that it did indeed have veins of blue stone running through it. Even in the afternoon light, the blue stone looked as if it were glowing "Wow, what is it?" Yamaguchi hummed as he ran his finger over one of the veins. He felt a very odd sensation tickle his fingertip.
"We aren't 100% sure," Iwaizumi said. "We think perhaps some sort of energy."
"Alien energy," Oikawa cut in.
Yamaguchi looked to the beautiful trainer expecting him to be joking once more but was surprised to find Oikawa stone serious. "Alien?" Yamaguchi echoed.
"Not this again," Iwaizumi sighed.
"Yes! Aliens," Oikawa repeated his tone sounding very important. "I know something like this can prove that some Pokemon have come to our planet from outer space."
Yamaguchi didn't know how to reply to that. His mouth half hung open in shock. He had heard that some people think Pokemon like Clefairy and Staryu came from the stars but that was just a myth. Did Oikawa really believe this, or was it just another one of his tricks?
Oikawa looked to his audience noticing their skepticism. "It's true! Some Pokemon have come to this planet from beyond the stars," he pushed, talking like one of those crazy religious people you see on street corners.
"That's enough, Oikawa," Iwaizumi sighed. "There is no proof that any Pokemon have come from 'beyond the star'."
"Extraterrestrial Pokemon are real!" Oikawa spat back like a maniac. "How do you explain Jirachi!?"
"Jirachi is a myth, Oikawa," Iwaizumi spoke as if this was a conversation topic they'd been over many times. "Jirachi has only been depicted in ancient art. There is no proof that a Jirachi has ever existed."
"Just because no one has seen a Jirachi doesn't mean it isn't real!" Oikawa retorted with a heavy pout.
"Listed," Iwaizumi mumbled, sounding like he was on his last nerves. "You are either going to help us dig, or go away."
Oikawa pouted like a child as he looked to Iwaizumi. "Fine, I bet Professor Sycamore will agree with me about extraterrestrials," He spat as he stood up and made for the tent.
"Finally," Iwaizumi sighed to himself.
Yamaguchi's eyes followed Oikawa. He never expected the seasoned Showcase contestant to be so childish. He wondered if this was public knowledge or not.
Yamaguchi and the others spent a good few hours digging at the meteorite. They all mostly dug in silence only exchanging small chat whenever Yamaguchi began to feel antsy. As time passed it seemed as if Iwaizumi's suspicions towards them became much milder. He stopped glaring at them and by the time they had completely dug up the space rock he talked to them quiet normally.
The sun was only starting its descent over the horizon by the time they finished digging up the meteorite. Yamaguchi's knees and back ached from being bent over for so long. He felt sticky from sweat and dirt cracked his hands. He wished for nothing more than a hot shower.
Iwaizumi released a satisfying sigh as he stood up. "Nothing better than a good dig," he said with a smile. "You two were a lot of help today."
"Is that why you wouldn't let us go?" Tsukishima grumbled in reply.
"Nah. Keeping you two here is proper protocol," Iwaizumi said as he gave Tsukishima's back a hard pat.
Patting Tsukishima's back so familiarly like that was a brave action. If Iwaizumi wasn't so intense himself, Yamaguchi would fear for his life.
"But you two did a great job! Thanks for the help," Iwaizumi said with a kind smile.
"N-No problem," Yamaguchi replied with a nervous smile of his own. He could feel Tsukishima send a scowl his way.
"Well, why don't you two head to the tent and wash up before dinner," Iwaizumi insisted as he motioned the two towards one of the many large tents. "When you're done washing up, you can help collect a bit more firewood," he called after as Yamaguchi and Tsukishima headed for the tent.
"I can't believe we're stuck here all night," Tsukishima frowned, his sharp eyes landing on Officer Jenny as they passed her.
"Sorry, Tsukki," Yamaguchi apologized, feeling like it was all his fault.
"You didn't do anything wrong," Tsukishima mumbled, his voice much more gentle. "It's not your fault if the trail wasn't properly marked off."
"Yeah…" Yamaguchi hummed in thought as they entered the tent Iwaizumi had pointed them towards. "I wonder what happened with the trail block."
"Who knows," Tsukishima shrugged. "Maybe the wind or a wild Pokemon knocked it down."
"Maybe…" Yamaguchi replied in uncertainty.
There wasn't much in the tent for the two to use to wash up. Just a few wet wipes and two damp towels. It was nothing near a warm shower, but Yamaguchi supposed it was better than nothing.
Once the two had cleaned up and joined the others they found themselves being split up. Iwaizumi instructed Tsukishima to stay behind and help him with packing up the meteorite while Oikawa and Yamaguchi were sent into the woods to gather some wood. Yamaguchi couldn't help but feel nervous being sent into the woods with Oikawa, and from the looks of it Oikawa was also not too thrilled.
"Iwa-chan," Oikawa whined like a small child. "Why can't I help you here with the meteorite?"
"You haven't done a single useful thing all day," Iwaizumi snapped. "Besides, I can't trust you with the meteorite. You'll just break it."
"Will not!" Oikawa wined back.
"Don't start this, Oikawa," Iwaizumi warned, his aura becoming so dark that Yamaguchi jumped behind Tsukki.
Oikawa released a small 'humph' as he pouted in submission.
With that, Yamaguchi reluctantly bid Tsukki a farewell as he entered the woods with Oikawa. He left Eevee behind with Tsukki since carrying her would make it hard to gather wood. As he entered the thick brush with Oikawa he felt his back stiffen. He really didn't know what to say to the older trainer.
"There is no need to look so scared," Oikawa had said after several minutes of them poking around the woods. "I'm not going to eat you or anything."
"O-Oh, s-sorry," Yamaguchi stuttered in reply.
Oikawa rolled his eyes, obviously already done with Yamaguchi.
"Listen, how about we split up to cover more ground," Oikawa sighed, he seemed to want to get away from Yamaguchi as fast as he could.
"Split up?" Yamaguchi gasped back in horror. The sun was going down, and the woods were getting dark. There wouldn't be any way he'd find his way back on his own.
"That's what I said," Oikawa replied in annoyance. "I want to get back to camp as fast as I can, so let's just split up so we can collect more wood faster."
"B-But-," Yamaguchi sputtered.
"I'm not asking. I'm telling," Oikawa sassed. "I'll go this way and you go that way."
"But-" Yamaguchi tried once more.
"I'll see you back at camp," Oikawa cut in, not even giving Yamaguchi a moment to gather his thoughts. With that, he turned on his heel and headed deeper into the woods.
"O-Oikawa!" Yamaguchi called after in horror.
"Don't follow me," Yamaguchi heard Oikawa yell as he disappeared behind a tree.
Yamaguchi stopped in his tracks. He was sure his face must have been pale by now. He tried his best not to panic. There was no need to do so. He had his Pokemon team with him, and with Popplio and Swirlix by his side he was bound to find his way back on his own.
With a shaky breath, he turned in the direction Oikawa has insisted he go. He stepped carefully through the woods as he picked up branches large enough to be suitable for a campfire. The suitable branches were few and far between, and by the time he came across an armful it was already mostly dark.
Yamaguchi had done his best to figure out where the camp was in comparison to where he was. He'd try to retrace his steps best he could, and if he came up empty he'd seek out the aid of Swirlix and Popplio. He had to at least try on his own first.
With his arms full of dry old branches, he headed in the direction he expected camp to be. He walked for what felt like several minutes, doing his best not to drop the firewood in his arms. It took him by surprise, but as he turned the corner of a large tree he saw what looked to be the faint glow of a campfire. He felt his shoulders loosen in relief.
With much more purpose in his stride, Yamaguchi made for the campsite. He could hear the faint mumble of people talking. He felt his chest loosen with relief. He had actually found his way back. Why had he even been worried?
Feeling much better and even proud of his work Yamaguchi strode past several bushes and into the campsite.
"I'm back!" Yamaguchi announced loudly.
"Who the heck is this guy?" Replied a voice Yamaguchi had never heard before.
Yamaguchi felt his heart sink. He looked around the camp and was met by three very unfriendly looking individuals. There were two large men who wore strange matching outfits. On top they wore a black long sleeve with golden detailing around the collar and arm cuffs. Upon the chest of the shirt was printed two red eyes and what looked to be large white fangs. Below they wore tight black jeans and black boots. Beside them, on the ground, sat two purple masks that resembled an Ekans. Both were glaring right at him.
Between the two strange men sat a woman with brown hair that hung just past her shoulders. She wore a purple blazer top and a fitted matching purple suit skirt. Under the purple blazer was a black button up shirt and around her neck tied a golden neckerchief. On her feet, she wore bright red high heels that demanded respect, and in her lap she held a mask that was similar to the other two men's but hers resembled an Arbok. She too started daggers at Yamaguchi.
Yamaguchi couldn't help but feel as if he had seen the woman before, but he couldn't quite remember where.
"Well now, what do we have here," The woman hummed, her eyes looked to Yamaguchi as if she had found very interesting pray. She smiled in a way that frightened Yamaguchi.
Yamaguchi's knees shook as he stumbled back. "S-Sorry, w-wrong c-camp," he somehow got out. He took another shaky step backward towards the forest.
"Catch him!" the woman commanded, her voice full of venom. Her eyes were fixed on Yamaguchi.
Yamaguchi felt his knees buckle as he tripped over a tree root. He tumbled to the ground, dropping the branches he had collected. Before he could so much as get up, the two male trainers called forth their Pokemon. Yamaguchi felt his heart stop as he came face to face with a Hypno and an Ekans.
Still on his butt, Yamaguchi stared death in the face as the two Pokemon approached him. His heart raced as he made a failed attempted to back away, his back hitting a tree. He had never felt more like prey then at this moment.
"You won't be going anywhere," The woman hissed as she walked between the two angry Pokemon and loomed down over Yamaguchi.
Yamaguchi shook from head to toe. His limbs were stiff with fear. Even if he wanted to call for Popplio or Swirlix, he couldn't find the will to do so. At that point, he had even lost the will to speak. All the while, his mind screamed for Tsukki.
Author's Notes:
Oh, no! What has Yamaguchi gotten himself into? Who are these people? What are their intentions? What will they do with Yamaguchi? Maybe they aren't bad people? You can find out this and more in the next chapter!
Hey all, as always I love to hear feedback from my readers so do leave a comment or review down below. Let me know what you think of the story thus far. Also I'd like to thank everyone for their kinds follows, kudos, bookmarks and so on. It's another great way to let me know what you're all thinking about this fic. It's getting kind of long and will only get longer from here on out so the more feedback the better fuel for me to keep on going.
Well, this is all for now. I hope everything is going to turn out okay for Yamaguchi. See you all next chapter.