Chapter XXXVIII: I hate promises…
Well, I hope I can speed things up eventually. It feels like as time passed I get more interested in character development… as if there was any to begin with.
I will be trying something very risqué in this chapter. I would appreciate whether this may or may not be a wise idea…
Flash's eyes fluttered open as she was waking up from an uncomfortable night's sleep. When her vision cleared, she realized that she rolled off her bed. That explained the slight aches in her back. She sat up and rested her back against the hay bed.
"Good morning, Miss Flash," Francis greeted cheerfully. Flash yawned and stretched her arms, hearing a few pleasing cracks in her joints. She rubbed her eyes and then saw the Rattata walking about in her house, dusting off walls, edges and making sure everything looked fine and dandy.
"Morning, Francis," Flash replied tiredly, smacking her lips. "Gee, you're busy," she then remarked.
Francis nodded once. "Indeed. Everything must look perfect for the traditional… well, I am afraid this is confidential," he said to her, keeping a neutral look at her. "I would greatly appreciate it if you remain silent about what I will use this base for."
Flash rolled her eyes. She had already agreed to let him use her house for whatever he was planning. She did hope he wasn't planning any ancient ritual. "Eh, it's fine. Just don't make a mess."
"Miss Flash!" came Francis offended outburst as he paused his cleaning. "What kind of Pokémon do you take me for?" His purple fur bristled as he sent Flash a glower.
Flash chuckled. "Heh, I was just asking," she replied as she stood up, looking around at how Francis had cleaned up. She suspected he had much more to do after that. "I trust that you'll keep this place tidy."
Francis picked up the feather duster and resumed cleaning. "Or what is left of it," he huffed. Flash rolled her eyes while Francis was humming a cheery tune for himself. She looked towards Loopy's bed to see that it was empty. She sighed; had he gone out by himself again?
"Francis, did you see Loopy while you were cleaning?" she asked him. The Rattata didn't take his eyes of the table he was dusting.
"He was not around when I woke up," he informed her, "he may have gone outside to train. After all it is a tournament, and he does seem excited about it."
Flash turned to head out through the doorway. She could use the fresh air anyway; she had had a bad dream about being beaten up by that jerk Zilea. As if yesterday hadn't been too much already. She wasn't too concerned about that Tyrogue Tyke's threat; if they would try poisoning them with poisonous thorns they'd all wake up right away and kick their sorry asses.
When she stepped outside she saw there was not cloud in the sky. Despite being greeted by the warm morning sunrays, it was also a little chilly. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, feeling the cold morning air enter through her nostrils. It wasn't comfortable, but it was a way for her to wake up. Better than being woken up by having water poured onto her.
When she opened her eyes, Loopy was nowhere to be found. She looked around briefly, trying to see if she could spot him nearby. "Huh, where could he be?" she wondered. This got her worried. Why would he take off so suddenly like that without telling her? Was he still considering her suggestion about ending the Rescue Team the other day? She knew she had agreed to one last mission after the tournament was done. Or worse, what if Zilea had snuck inside and kidnapped him in the middle of the night?
She walked towards her mailbox to see if he was in the surrounding area, but there weren't any signs of him. She turned around; she had to tell Francis about this. Maybe he knew something. But the moment she turned around she saw someone she absolutely didn't want to see.
"Morning, Flashie. Were you looking for me?" Don suavely assumed as he was resting his elbow against Flash's shack. The Charmeleon smirked and winked at her. He didn't seem angry at all, so Flash quickly figured out he had probably not been around to see Loopy. Had that been the case she'd be in for a verbal treatment from him.
"D-Don, what are you-"
"Just in the area, figured I could visit you," he interrupted her with a shrug, "I remembered you had started that Rescue Team. Explains why you've been busy here and there."
Flash gulped; it seemed he was already on to her. "Y-yeah, you know, debts and stuff," she replied. Why did he have to be here at this time? Why couldn't he have chosen some other day to show up? She saw him look into her eyes, as if he was reading her mind. She had to come up with something quickly. "My partner's Francis!" she blurted out, suspecting he'd ask the question. Seeing him narrow his eyes, she added: "He's a Rattata!"
The Charmeleon's frown faded away as he stood straight, not leaning against the wall anymore. "Well then, are things going alright in your team?" he then asked her while he approached her slowly.
Flash, noticing his movements, edged away. "Sure, it's going alright," she replied, "helps me keep from stealing, and it also helps me from being reminded about you!" she spat at him. She tripped over her feet and landed on her bum.
"Aww, why are you being like that, Flashie?" he said to her softly. When he was in range he reached out with his hand to help Flash stand up.
Flash slapped his hand away. "Because you're a jerk!" she shot back as she scrambled to her feet. But before she could get any distance, her wrist was grabbed firmly by Don. "Let go! Why don't you go back to your other girlfriends?"
Don let go of her wrist and put his clawed hand on his hip. "Apparently they have more important things to attend to," he told her, glancing away as the frown seemed to return. "Juggling between them is fun, but now they're apparently more interested in that stupid tournament that's coming up."
"So you came here in hopes of any 'fun' with me?" Flash retorted, clenching her paws.
The Charmeleon looked back at her, a smirk forming. "You know, I always liked you the most, really." Flash knew he was just saying that to trick her. "We really had something back then," he continued, approaching her some more. "But I guess this rescue thing really does take your mind off me. Unless you met someone else…"
Flash didn't back away, unable to take her eyes off Don's. "No. You'd have known if I had," she mumbled back. Don reached out with his clawed hand again and rested it on her shoulder. She could see a warm smile on his lips. She knew he wasn't going to leave anytime soon.
"How about we meet this Francis friend of yours?" he suggested, rubbing his claws carefully against Flash's shoulder.
"S-sure," she agreed, fidgeting slightly when he felt his claws on her shoulder. If she could get him inside he wouldn't at least spot Loopy should he come back. She shoved Don's hand away. "I guess it wouldn't hurt." Despite the fact that Loopy wasn't around, she was still nervous he'd show up.
Flash led Don inside, making sure to stay slightly behind. To ensure the Charmeleon wouldn't mind, she put her paw on his back to be a little more insistent. She saw him look over his shoulder and smirk. "Don't get your hopes up, you're just gonna say hi to him and then you can move on with your own business," she hissed. He just rolled his eyes.
"Back already, Miss Flash?" Francis said when he heard the two come in again, "did you-" He stopped as he turned around to see that she hadn't returned with Loopy. He eyed the Charmeleon, sizing him up. "Well, you are certainly not Loopy, I say," he then stated. Flash could feel her heart jump up in her throat.
Don's eyescales rose in confusion of Francis's statement, but kept his smirk. "No, I'm not exactly loopy or anything," he replied.
Flash frantically gestured towards Francis to shut up by moving her paw across her mouth. She tried to mouth to him not to mention the actual Loopy to Don. Seeing Francis look at her, slightly confused, it seemed he was getting what she was going at.
"So you've already been saying things about me, Flash?" Don assumed as he looked over his shoulder. He raised an eyescale when he noticed her tense demeanour. "I swear you look a little bit redder than before."
"A-am I?" Flash quickly replied. She was glad Don hadn't caught her gestures towards Francis. Still, she had the constant feeling of worry that Don would see through her. "I m-mean, sure, I'm a bit nervous since you're meeting the team."
Don chuckled and put his claw on Flash's shoulder. "Well, it's not much of a team with only one partner, is it?" He spotted the hay bed in the corner of his eye. Flash followed his eyes and could feel herself hiccup with fear. "I see you're already setting up for a third member, aren't you?"
"M-maybe, yeah." She couldn't get her uneasiness off her. She realized she was fidgeting and looking around frantically. Her eyes focused on Francis, who had stopped minding them and resumed to his cleaning. At least he played along her act. While her breathing remained at the increased pace, she hoped that Don would just leave already.
Don moved her shoulder to get her attention. She let out a yelp in surprise.
"Hey, hey, is there something wrong?" he asked softly with a smile this time. It was almost as if it was a caring smile. "You're shaking as if you got licked by a Haunter." He let go of her shoulder and moved his claws towards her cheek to stroke it.
Flash tried to come up with something to say that'd make him leave, but her fear of him realizing Loopy lived here was overcoming her. She had to do something. She felt a shiver down her spine as Don's smooth claws made contact with her cheek scales. If he wouldn't leave on his own, she'd have to do something she'd regret.
"I… n-no there's nothing wrong. There, you've met Francis, now c-can you leave?" she blurted.
Don just shook his head, eyes closed. "Not until you tell me what's wrong," he replied, his smile suddenly gone. "Is there someone that's after you? Someone giving you a hard time?"
Flash knew she had no choice; she could see in his now stern eyes that he wouldn't leave until she'd fess up about what was troubling her. She knew she could blame the Scyther in Sinister Woods, but then that'd cause him to come back more regularly, if not even later this day. "N-no, I mean…" she said without thinking. She cursed herself for even replying like that.
"Then what is it?" he inquired, his claws still caressing her cheek.
"Can't you just leave?" she spat at him.
Don's eyes narrowed. "You really want me to leave, don't you?" he growled. "But I won't until you tell me."
Taking a deep breath, Flash made her decision. She knew she'd hate herself for it and that Francis wouldn't let her live it down. "…I…I…" She swallowed once. "K-kinda g-got to l-like you again…" she told him as she grabbed his clawed hand to lower it from her cheek. She could feel her stomach churn at her realization what she had said.
Don blinked at first, and then smiled. "I knew you couldn't resist my Charmeleon charm," he replied, lowering his gaze towards Flash's paws. "You wanna have some fun for today? I'm sure the other gals wouldn't mind since they're busy, as I said."
Flash gulped. "I m-meant I just got to like you, not your other girlfriends," she said quickly before getting pulled into an embrace by the larger Pokémon. She realized she was trembling less once she felt his claws softly rubbing against her back. She was wondering whether he really liked her for real or if it was just another act so he could get to first base.
"I'd break up with them if it meant I could be with you," he whispered as he neared his head to her.
Flash knew he was lying; there was no way he could stay with one female for more than a week. She felt him reaffirm his embrace so she could freely move her arms. Not wanting him to get suspicious, she returned the embrace. "Really?" she asked, trying to keep up her act.
Don closed his eyes. "Yes, really." He raised his hand and held it against the back of Flash's head.
Flash embraced Don and rested her head against his chest. It was just now she realized that her anxious jittering had completely gone away. She felt almost safe her her head against his warm scales. She closed her eyes and drew along sigh. If she was to develop actual feelings for him again, she'd hate herself when he'd eventually cheat on her. And then there was the incident a few days ago. She really wanted to slap him for that, despite not being in the best position to do so at the moment.
She felt Don's clawed hand slide its way from the back of her head to under her chin. She looked up to see him closing in to kiss her. "Wait!" She quickly put her paw in front of his mouth to stop his advance. He gave her a look of disappointment. "Look, I… now's not the time. I need to… you know, do rescues and such."
Don let out a sigh and slowly let go. "Comes with the job, I guess," he muttered, looking away.
Flash felt relieved upon being let go. Finally he'd leave so she could attend with her own business.
"But," he then said, glancing at her with a smirk, "how about a date tonight by the town square?" he requested.
Taken aback, Flash took a step away from him. She knew she couldn't just say no after how she had behaved towards him. "Well… s-sure. What time?" she asked.
Don put a claw to his lower jaw. "Around when the sun's about to set," he replied as he started walking towards the door. "Or slightly earlier perhaps. Sunsets can be beautiful, you know." Just as he passed her, he leaned forward to quickly press his scaly lips to her cheek in a swift kiss.
Flash yelped and quickly swung her paw at him. It was quickly caught by the stronger clawed hand of Don's. "DON!" she yelled.
The Charmeleon chuckled and let go of her paw. "Couldn't resist," he admitted. "You're getting stronger, though. Keep it up and you might evolve, Flashie." And with that, he turned around to leave. Before he left, he winked at her.
Flash huffed as he left, and then turned to face Francis who was now giving her a judging look. "What?"
"I do hope you are perfectly aware that this will have unforeseen consequences."
"Whatever… it'll just be one quick date," she retorted. "And besides, he didn't want to leave. Had to come up with something."
Francis narrowed his eyes. "A foolhardy plan. Do you even have feelings for that Don fellow?"
"No, I don't! He's a stupid jerk!" she quickly spat back at him. "I didn't want him to know about Loopy. I knew getting him to a date would get his mind off of that. He has some problem with fighting types; he don't like them."
Francis tugged his whisker. "You mean 'doesn't'," he corrected, earning a blazing glare from Flash. "I do see your point in trying to avert his attention, but you have to ask yourself if that really is a wise idea."
Flash clenched her paws. "If I know him right he'll just come up with an excuse not to see me after tonight… And besides, why don't you mind your own damn business?" She snorted out a puff of grey smoke out of her nostrils to make her point. Seeing the Rattata roll his eyes, she continued. "I suppose Don's far away enough now, so I'm getting back out to look for Loopy."
"You are aware of your idea to disband the Rescue Team, are you not?" Francis reminded her as she was heading outside. He saw her stop. "Although I see you could use some spare time with him," he then remarked.
Flash spun around, baring a furious snarl. "You watch your mouth, or I'll see to it that my claws will pierce your gums!" And with that, she stormed out.
Francis just huffed and went back to cleaning.
Upon entering the small town, Flash wondered if Loopy had already snuck into the Dojo. She wasn't aware of exactly when he was supposed to be there before the tournament begun. She'd hate to realize he'd be late and miss it all. One thing she was looking forward to was to see him beat that jerk Tyke to the ground.
She lost herself in the thoughts of how she should handle the date with Don. She'd have to keep it as brief as she could; what would Loopy think if he assume she was quitting the Rescue Team for the Charmeleon that beat him up a few days ago? She hoped that he'd have to rest after all the fighting, so he'd at least go to sleep earlier.
Still, she knew that if she was to watch Loopy during the fighting tournament, she had to make sure to stay clear out of Don's sight. Heck, she even had to stay out of his sight most of the day itself unless she wanted to end up explaining why she wasn't on a mission. While she could pull a fast one by saying there weren't any missions available, that'd only lead to him wondering why she didn't pay him a visit earlier instead.
"There you are!" a familiar voiced shouted. Flash quickly recognized the voice as Kangaskhan's and turned toward the Kangaskhan Storage building. She saw an upset looking Kangaskhan standing by the side of it, gesturing Flash to come over. "You have something to explain. Now." She was already tapping her foot impatiently on the ground.
"What, you've seen Loopy?" Flash quickly asked as she approached the large Pokémon. Kangaskhan said nothing as she crossed her arms, narrowing her eyes at Flash. "Did anything happen to him?" Flash proceeded to ask. Kangaskhan broke eye contact with the Charmander to roll her eyes. She walked around the corner of the storage where the back entry door was. Flash followed, although not really sure if she'd get another verbal lashing from the storage owner.
"Is this some kind of a practical joke?" There was a tense tone in her voice as she awaited Flash to round the corner as well.
Flash unawareness was answered the moment she saw what Kangaskhan was referring to. She saw Loopy sitting next to the door. He waved towards her and smiled.
"Hi, Flash!" he greeted, "fix door but Kashkhan angry still."
Flash realized how events had gone through. Loopy had apparently gone up early to fix the door he tore out a few days ago and had wanted to fix it. While she was angry that he hadn't told her beforehand. When she turned her attention towards the door to see what he had done, she instantly realized why Kangaskhan was so upset.
The door was upside-down. And by the looks of it, it had been forcefully jammed into its place, unable to be opened.
"Well?" Kangaskhan crossed her arms. "What do you have to say for yourself?"
Flash bit her lower lip, trying to hold back a grin that was about to form after seeing the door. As if piercing the mailbox through the pole wasn't enough. "Well, uh, you see, Loopy just wanted to help," she tried explaining.
Kangaskhan took a powerful step forward, causing the ground to shake slightly. "Help me with what? Being unable to run my storage?" Her voice was getting louder for ever sentence as her stern gaze sharpened. "While I do appreciate that you paid back all the Poké to compensate for the items you stole, this takes it to a whole new level! I have gotten complaints from other Rescue Teams because they haven't been able to get their items, for something THAT IS OUT OF MY CONTROL!"
"Why didn't you fix the door yourself?" Flash retorted, backing away. Her urge to grin had already faded.
Kangaskhan's eyes widened out of suppressed rage. You wouldn't believe how hard it's been to find someone to get the door back to its usual state." The words weren't loud, but Flash could easily hear they were tense. "One does not simply put the door back in place, I'll have you know," she informed her, clenching her paw. Flash could swear she was seconds before punching a hole through the wall.
"Door no hard open!" Loopy said as he got to his feet. Before Kangaskhan had time to let loose a verbal lashing on him, Loopy grabbed a hold of the handle and pulled the door open in one quick yank. The result of pulling the door open so forcefully was the left half of the door being torn off. Loopy's assuring smile slowly went to a wide eyed stare of shock when he realized he was holding the half piece of the door in his hand.
Flash bit her lower lip again. To see Loopy realizing his rash mistake he had just done was getting priceless, but knowing that laughing would cause Kangaskhan to explode on the two of them, she tried her best no to let out any laugh.
Kangaskhan's arms dropped down as she stared at the now ruined door, flabbergasted at what the Machop had done. "Y….you…. you…door…" she managed to utter as her claws slowly clenched into powerful fists. Her arms began trembling with the urge of wanting to punch Loopy's head off. She bared her gritting teeth, breathing through them at an increasing rate.
"Sorry, sorry, no mean crash door!" Loopy apologized as he dropped the door on instinct. " Kangy no angry be, please. Try help! No want door broke!" He looked genuinely worried about Kangaskhan's increasing rage. He looked down at the broken door and then back up at Kangaskhan.
Kangaskhan's anger suddenly went disappeared as her shoulders slumped down. She looked down at the ground and appeared to be silently counting to ten. Her snarl faded away as well as her claws unclenched. She drew a long sigh before she looked Loopy dead in the eye. "Maybe it's best if you leave." Her voice was very tense, but controlled. "This day can't possibly get any worse."
Loopy broke the stare and looked down at the broken door. "…Yes, we leave…" he mumbled.
"Look, I'll try to pay back for the door somehow!" Flash tried to assure, but was met with Kangaskhan pointing away with her claw dismissingly. She knew it'd be better idea to comply. "Alright, let's go, Loopy. You don't wanna be late."
"...Kay-o," he replied as they began to leave the storage building. He looked over his shoulder to see Kangaskhan picking up the broken half of the door, trying to sort out the mess.
Flash lightly smacked him upside the back of his head. "That was really stupid!" she hissed at him as they walked towards the Dojo.
"Try help. No want Kashkhan be sad or anger of door," he said back, not acknowledging the smack at all.
Flash looked at him, and then looked ahead towards the dojo. "You could've at least told me before you went there."
Loopy's shoulders slumped a little. "Want Kaskhan surprise," he mumbled.
The Charmander said nothing. Despite being upset with him for what he did, she was also aware that thanks to him doing that, Don hadn't seen him. She didn't know whether to tell Loopy about his visit or not, but the longer she could keep him and Don away from each other, the better. Flash could almost see it in front of her how everything would turn out. Loopy'd do kinda well in the tournament, they'd split the winnings, she could pay Kangaskhan off to help fix the door, and he'd join Team Juvens. It was perfect.
"Well… you're excited for the tournament?" she asked, trying to move on with the subjects. She'd rather see him a bit more cheery than feeling constantly guilty of what he did.
Loopy face brightened. "Yes, very!" he replied, punching the air twice. "Will fun be."
Flash chuckled. At least that seemed to cheer him up a bit. "Yeah, I'll be rooting for you."
"What be rooting?" he asked, tilting his head.
Flash put her paw on her forehead, sighing. "It means cheering, kinda," she told him. They continued onwards towards the dojo.
Upon reaching the Makuhita Dojo, Flash and Loopy saw that the front door was locked. On the big door they could see a note saying: "Tournament starts at noon. Participants enter by the back door." Flash looked at the note, but was not sure what the time really was. She could hear a lot of activity going on inside, but it sounded mostly like things being moved and such.
She gestured towards Loopy to follow her around the corner. She hoped they weren't late. What an embarrassment that would be if they were. The building itself was big, so she quickened up the pace to ensure that they'd be there on time.
"Flash hurry?" Loopy wondered as he kept up with her pace.
"I don't want you to be late. Who knows what Spathi will say? Or yell?" she said back to him, sounding a little bit worried. She really didn't want to be at the receiving end of that Makuhita's rants again. They both reached the back door and saw an Alakazam standing next to it. Flash knew the Psi Pokémon was aware of their presence, even though he looked like he was staring into a distant. She glanced towards Loopy and saw he was staring with bewilderment at the yellow-brown psychic.
"If you must know," the Alakazam suddenly spoke up, his voice being very low and slightly menacing, "These spoons are for aiding in control of my psychic abilities." Flash quickly put two and two together and realized the Alakazam had read Loopy's mind, thus answering the question he was going to ask. Then again, it was slightly understandable. She herself always found it weird why a Pokémon would carry a pair of spoons.
Loopy, however, jumped back, raising his fists. "What? I no ask question!" he blurted. "Me just wonder and-"
"I answered you wondering thought," the Alakazam firmly replied, narrowing his eyes.
Flash stepped in front of Loopy to try diverting the psychic. "Look, we just came here for the tournament." She quickly assumed that this Pokémon had been assigned to identify the participants of the tournaments.
"Name?" he simply asked. Loopy looked over Flash's shoulder, not really feeling trusting towards the larger psychic. He eyed him with great suspicion. The Alakazam sighed and rolled his eyes. After giving Loopy a quick straight on stare into his eyes, he gave a nod. "There is no need to feel any fear, Loopy, I have been tasked to control so no false contestants enter." His eyes glowed a faint blue as the door opened by itself. "Go on, you don't want to be late for Spathi's review of the rules, do you?"
Loopy stepped forward, not being as suspicious towards the psychic. "Know rules. Remember," he said, still not sure if he could pass him so he could go into the door.
"Come on, Loopy, get in there. Maybe there was something you didn't catch." Flash gave him a light push from behind to encourage him to pass the Alakazam. He still seemed reluctant, but didn't resist too much. As she passed the Alakazam, she gave him an apologetic look. "I'm sorry if you took offense."
The Alakazam let off a hearty chuckle. "Ohohoho… I know innocent curiosity when I see it. It would be most unbecoming of a Rescue Team member to take offence for such a minor assumption." For a brief moment, he looked a little bit amused. "It is rather common for fighting types to be suspicious of us psychic types. It's in their nature."
The left side of Flash's mouth curled up into a smirk. "Heh, yeah, kinda like water and ground for me, right?" she replied as Loopy headed inside. Casting a quick glance at him, she waved. "Alright, good luck now, Loopy!" she called as he waved back to her with a smile. The Alakazam closed the door after Loopy, still looking down at Flash.
"What?" she wondered, "It's not as if I was going to try and sneak inside or anything." She didn't like the studying gaze the psychic was giving her.
"Your father is quite concerned about you," he simply told her, his gaze not leaving her.
The realization hit her like a brick. That Alakazam was Horatio, the leader of Team ACT. That team was a gold ranked team, and the most recognized team in this region. Flash knew them as much as the other townsfolk did. All the tales of seemingly nigh impossible rescues they had done, how they had helped preventing the ever increasing natural disasters.
"What of it?" Flash snapped suddenly, getting defensive, "It's none of your business!" She knew it was probably not the smartest thing to snap at an Alakazam like that, but she was slightly using the fact that Horatio wouldn't lash out at her with any psychic attacks.
Horatio's eyes narrowed just slightly. "I am aware that Ignatius and you aren't on the best of terms, but do keep in mind I am also aware that you have been eluding him for a lengthy time."
"Whatever! I don't want anything to do with him! I'm not gonna be around and have him tell me what to do!" she exclaimed, her tail burning brighter for every word. "Or is he going to try to give me some lectures about Rescue Teaming? Well you can tell him I'm about to quit after one last mission! I got my debts sorted out already!"
The Alakazam shook his head and sighed. "So, you are telling me you formed a Rescue Team solely to earn money, did you not?"
"Yeah? What of it?" she spat back at him, "If you're going to preach to me about 'being in it for the money', then you can take it to Kangaskhan. She and Persian made me do it!"
Horatio stared at her dead on. "A Rescue Team's main concern is for their clients' best, to help others out in these times where natural disasters seem to be more common as we speak. Unfortunately this spawns bad eggs that…" He halted in his ramble when he noticed something. "Are you mimicking me?"
"Do you really need to ask?" Flash replied after having been caught in her act. She felt it was weird that that Alakazam had to ask these rhetorical questions.
"Perhaps you would rather have me point Ignatius to the direction where you currently live, then?"
Flash's eyes widened at the threat. She instinctively took a step away from Horatio. "Look, no, just don't. I really don't want to deal with him."
Horatio rolled his eyes. "Nonsense. You will have to deal with it inevitably," he firmly said back to her. "Now be off with you. You wouldn't want to miss out on seeing your Rescue Team member fight in that tournament, would you?"
Flash kept an angry glare at the Alakazam. She knew she could do nothing to stop him from telling her father about her whereabouts. "Yeah, yeah…" she muttered as she turned to leave. A new feeling surged through her body, a feeling of dread. She knew it was inevitable that her father would pay her a visit soon.
"One more thing, Flash," Horatio's voice called out to her, sounding rather agitated. Flash looked over her shoulder to look at him. "My spoons. Would you please hand them to me?"
The Charmander's gaze slowly went from the Alakazam to her paws, where she saw she was holding a spoon in each paw. "Oh… I… it was an accident, I didn't-"
"Simply amazing," Horatio mused as he used his psychic powers to lift the pair of silver spoons from Flash's paws. The spoons glowed with a faint blue light as they hovered in the air, making their way towards Horatio's clawed hands. "I do have to admit your peculiar talent of pilfering items closely held by other Pokémon."
Flash rolled her eyes. "I dunno, it just happens without me noticing it." She kicked the ground out of restlessness. "It has come in handy sometimes," she added to justify her annoying habit that happened from time to time.
Horatio just nodded, keeping his eyes peeled on his pair of spoons should Flash somehow snag them from him without noticing. "Do make sure you return the things you happen to steal and there will be fewer consequences," he advised.
Flash shrugged. "I guess," she muttered. She sighed faintly and glanced away again. Horatio seemed to have a point after all. It was just that she didn't like the angry Pokémon berating her over something she really didn't have control over. "Well, I guess I'll leave you to your duty," she then said to him, earning a nod from him. With heavy steps, she walked away, a little deep in thought about her father.
"Hey!" Flash was snapped out of her thoughts as she wandered the town square. She looked around and spotted a familiar Pichu waving at her. "Why're ya looking so down, buddy? You're a bit rich too after that mission yesterday, yanno?"
Flash saw the sprightly Pichu Zapi walk up to her, keeping his face as cheery as he could. "I was… thinking about things," she told him. "And besides, most of that share we got was used to pay back a debt."
"Well, you know how the saying goes. 'He who is in debt is not free'…. Or something like that. So you can consider yerself a free Charmander, right?" Zapi walked up to Flash and gave her a light nudge with his elbow, although it looked a bit awkward considering his short arms. Still, it was a friendly gesture.
Flash half grinned back at the Pichu, flinching slightly after having been nudged. "I guess," she muttered. The slight grin then widened to a full. "You know, you're right," she then admitted, putting her paw on the Pichu's head to ruffle his fur a little bit. Zapi had a point. She did feel a bit freer when she thought about it. To not be under Kangaskhan or Persian's pressure to get that money.
"Hey, quit it!" Zapi yapped, slapping Flash's paw off his head. "Don't treat me like a li'l kid." His ears twitched slightly as Flash withdrew her paw. Zapi on the other hand huffed. "Eh, sorry for snapping like that. Dun like when some assume I'm just a runt because of my size. I'm a rescuer too, dammit!"
"Well, you did show those Poochyena after all," Flash acknowledged.
"Yep, I can't wait 'til I evolve. Then I'm gonna use some of that money to buy myself a Thunder stone to be a Raichu. No one's gonna make fun of my size after that!" Zapi rubbed his paws excitedly, complete with a childishly evil grin. His ear suddenly twitched. "HEY! Get yer paws offa my scarf!" he suddenly yelled out as he grabbed a hold of his scarf that Flash had taken off his ear.
Flash let out a startled gasp and quickly let go of the Pichu's scarf. "Oh, how… sorry it just happened!" she excused. That was twice this day she'd accidentally stolen something. Maybe Horatio did have a point. What if she'd end up in debt again? And if she had disbanded the team how would she convince Loopy to reform the Rescue Team?
"Eh, I guess it's alright since I caught ya in the act," Zapi muttered as he tied the scarf around his ear. "Don't go touchin' it again, alright?"
"ARR!" a familiar gruff voice barked. Flash looked over to see both Dieter and Inza approaching. "Ye lassy scoundrel be thieving again, no?" the Totodile accused, waving his wooden sabre at Flash.
Flash rolled her eyes. "Not now, Ditter, not in the mood for this," she grumbled.
"It be DIETER!" he retorted, not caring what Flash said. "Be this the thanks of fattening ye wallet?" He swung his sword in front of Flash's face several times to make his point.
Flash sighed loudly, repressing the urge to straight up chomp down on the wooden toy and shattering it I front of that moron. "Yeah, yeah… sorry about that. Cool down your jets, will you?" she replied. Seeing how Team Juvens were around she decided to ask them what she was planning. "By the way… I was talking with Loopy earlier about something…
"Where is your matey?" Dieter interrupted, seeming to have accepted Flash's haughty apology, "Is he feelin' ill today?"
Flash let out a quiet grumble, not liking to be interrupted. "Well, he's off to the fighting tournament and-"
"Cool!" Zapi exclaimed as he hopped up onto the Totodile's head. "I'd really like ta see how he does in that tournament! It starts pretty soon, doesn't it?" he assumed as Dieter tried to shake him off him.
"Get off, matey! No time for that now!" he barked, managing to grab a hold of Zapi. He pulled the Pichu firmly off his head and dropped him on the ground. "ARR, I shall have ye walk the plank for that!"
Inza put her claw on Dieter's shoulder. "Hey, we're rich, h'w 'bout we h've some fun and w'tch the tourney?" she suggested. "Th't okay with you?" she then asked Flash.
She shrugged; she would probably not mind some company watching the tournament. She then gave a nod as a smile came forth on her face. "Yeah, if you can spare the time, that is. Francis is up to important stuff back at the base… so, yeah, you can help me cheer for Loopy!"
"Of course!" Dieter shouted, raising his wooden sabre to point it at the sky. "We have plenty of spare time thanks to the booty we found and tharfore can spare a day of working for arr plesures!"
"…sounds a bit unorthodox…" Zapi muttered.
"Gah, nonsense! There be many otharr Rescue Teams that will be busy!" he rebutted.
Flash's smirk remained. At least she could use a little company. "It's really nice of you, guys." She was about to ask them about Loopy joining their team but felt no was not really the time. There was the risk of them starting to accuse her of having used Loopy. And that was something she really, really didn't want to deal with. Not today.
"Well, I guess we better get some seats then," Flash suggested.
Both Zapi and Inza gave Flash a funny look. "You haven't been to that tournament before?" they both asked. "It's seldom packed, and you pretty much can come and go whenever you want. Though the earlier you get there the less you have to worry about getting a bad spot."
Flash didn't know of this since she hadn't really given much of a care of that fighting tournament. It was just fighting types trying to prove themselves. Sure, she could earn a few extra Poké if Loopy performed well, and there was the chance of him meeting up with someone that'd know him. "Oh…. Yeah…" She looked at Dieter. He seemed to be slightly unaware as well.
"Well then, mateys!" he exclaimed, "While we await the event, let us have some rum and rusks!"
Flash blinked as Zapi approached her. The Pichu gestured her to bend down so he could whisper something to her.
"He means some light Oran juice. I have no idea what this rum is," he told her. Flash just grinned.