Hey all! Happy Holidays! I don't know how many of you are off for winter holiday but if you are I hope you're able to get some rest. Here is chapter 63 to help you relax and ease into the holiday. Let's see what sort of insanity Yamaguchi will get involved in next.
This chapter was beta read by my regular beta reader Killer_Squids (they are also back from their vacation). 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 been 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.
I choose you, chapter 63!
The Phone Call
It wasn't long before Yamaguchi and Kageyama headed over to the cafeteria to have a short meeting with an Officer Jenny. Yamaguchi couldn't help but notice the stage hall alive with noise as they passed it. It bummed him out that he'd probably miss the afternoon training today. He didn't want to fall behind again after coming so far.
With Eevee content in his arms, Yamaguchi entered the cafeteria. He found Daichi and Sugawara sitting at a table with Oikawa and Iwaizumi. Kiyoko and Yachi were nowhere to be seen.
Sugawara greeted them with a gentle smile upon seeing them enter. "Good morning you two!" Sugawara greeted with a cheerful smile. "Yamaguchi, how are you feeling today?"
From beside Iwaizumi, Oikawa chose not to acknowledge the two, looking at his tablet instead, but Daichi and Iwaizumi greeted with two with a good morning.
"A little sore, but fine," Yamaguchi nodded, answering Sugawara's question, as he took the empty seat beside Iwaizumi. Yamaguchi couldn't help but wonder if keeping a bit of distance between Oikawa and Kageyama would be best.
Kageyama took the seat across from him. He gave an awkward nod to the group as his greeting.
"It's good to hear you're feeling okay," Daichi said with a smile. "You took quite a beating last night so we were worried."
"I got roughed up a bit, but that berry juice Sugawara gave me fixed me right up," Yamaguchi smiled.
"His berry potion could fix even the worst of injuries," Daichi said with a loud laugh, sounding almost as if he was remembering an incident.
"It's my own secret concoction," Sugawara smiled proudly. "I'm glad it helped you feel better, but just to be sure, maybe you should take one more dose of it," he said as he slid a bottle of the berry potion across the table.
Yamaguchi barely caught it before it slid off the table. Juggling it in his clumsy hands, he mumbled a small "Thank you" before downing it. A bit of juice escaped the bottle and splattered onto his shirt, but Yamaguchi did his best to ignore the blunder.
Oikawa stifled a laugh, causing Kageyama to shoot him a glare and Sugawara to raise a disapproving eyebrow.
"You really are a disaster kid, aren't you?" Oikawa sighed, ignoring both Kageyama and Oikawa.
Yamaguchi felt his cheeks go pink. He couldn't help it if bad things tend to happen to him.
"Oikawa," Sugawara warned like a disapproving mother.
"You're the disaster, not Yamaguchi," Kageyama shot back.
"I'm not the one who keeps getting into messes with some evil group," Oikawa shrugged, sneering at Kageyama.
"The assholes that went after Yamaguchi and Yachi wouldn't have even been here if it weren't for whatever it was at the research facility," Kageyama accused.
"Well, that's not my fault that Iwaizumi is studying important things," Oikawa replied hastily.
"So you're blaming me for this?" Iwaizumi grumbled.
Oikawa shrugged and no one else argued the idea. Whoever these people where they did seem to be interested in Iwaizumi's studies. Yamaguchi had no clue what he researched and he honestly didn't want to know at this point. He wanted nothing to do with whatever it was this evil team was after.
Iwaizumi gave a small shrug. It was obvious that the evil team was after his research so no point in denying it. "I guess we'll just have to up security from now on."
Before any more could be said, Officer Jenny entered the cafeteria. She took the empty seat at the end of the table and pulled out a notebook and a pen. She wasted little time in getting the information she needed.
"In the past month or so, this team has become a thorn in our side," Officer Jenny started. "So please, tell me everything that happened last night. Every detail you can think of."
Being the one who was assaulted by the team, Yamaguchi began his explanation. He told them how they were chased and attacked. He told them about how they mentioned securing items. He told them of how the man they called boss wanted them captured alive.
"So you met the man behind the operation!" Officer Jenny gasped. "We've only encountered a few Admins of the group as well as several grunts. Did they address their boss by any name?"
"No," Yamaguchi said with a shake of his head. "They only called him Boss."
"And I assume he too wears a mask just like everyone else on the team?" Officer Jenny asked as she wrote in her notepad.
"Yes, he wore a Seviper mask," Yamaguchi confirmed. Officer Jenny gave a small hum as she wrote down the information.
"Is that all?" Officer Jenny asked, looking to Yamaguchi.
Yamaguchi felt compelled to also mention how the Boss looked to him with so much want and how he felt like he'd seen the Boss somewhere. He felt like the Boss was after him just as much as the other items they stole from the research lab. This feeling was unfounded and Yamaguchi knew it. Maybe the feeling just came from the fear of the situation. What would an evil team want with him and Yachi anyways? They probably just wanted to avoid murder as much as possible.
"That's all," Yamaguchi said as he shifted in his seat.
Next, Officer Jenny moved onto the others at the table, getting their accounts of the incident. Iwaizumi listed all the items that had gone missing, a few pieces of equipment, some meteorite fragment, and research papers. They talked about how many grunts had been captured and all the Pokemon that had been used against them.
"Thank you for your cooperation today," Officer Jenny said as she finished off her notes. "This team has become a bit of a problem as of recent, so please do take care when traveling. Accounts of their activities have been happening more and more. They are a dangerous group and as you've seen from last night, they are not afraid to attack trainers and Pokemon alike. We will be sending out a general warning all across the region to keep an eye out for this team but it would also be best if you all do not mention what happened tonight to anyone for your own safety."
Yamaguchi felt an odd feeling settle in his stomach. Was this team really becoming this much of a problem? He wanted to believe more than ever that he was in no way connected to the Boss and the rest of this team, but for some reason he felt unsafe. He had run into them more than twice now. Why did this keep happening to him? These concerns settled heavy in his mind but he spoke nothing of them.
With one last farewell, Officer Jenny made her way out of the cafeteria.
"Well, now that that's over, I'm going to head back to the lab to help settle things there," Iwaizumi said as he stood up. "Sorry that you all got mixed up into this mess."
Yamaguchi felt compelled to correct Iwaizumi and blame himself for the events of the previous night, but refrained from doing so. The team was not there for him but for whatever it was that Iwaizumi had in the lab. He had to get this idea straight before it consumed him.
"It was an accident," Sugawara said with a shake of his head. "It's not like we could have predicted this team would strike last night like they did."
"Well with this team at large, you all better watch out while traveling," Iwaizumi sternly said. "Keep clear of research facilities for now since those seem to be their target."
"And I'd advise you to refrain from traveling with freckles here since he also seems to be a target of theirs," Oikawa joked, laughing as he did so.
"They're not after me," Yamaguchi defended, perhaps a bit too aggressively. He was not the target of this team.
"Relax, kid, it was just a joke," Oikawa sighed as he gave Yamaguchi's back a friendly pat.
"You're not funny," Kageyama grumbled.
"Like you have a sense of humor, Tobio," Oikawa sneered.
Kageyama sneered back, ready to take his senpai on here and now.
"Break it up, you two," Iwaizumi cut in. "Let's get out of here before you cause them even more trouble," He said, dragging Oikawa out of the cafeteria.
Yamaguchi watched Oikawa and Iwaizumi leave the cafeteria. Despite how paranoid he felt at the moment, he was not going to let it get to him. So what? He ran into this crazy team a few times but it had all been nothing but coincidence. He'd just have to be careful from now on but he wasn't going to let this stop him from progressing as a showcase contestant. He and his team had come so far in just a few days he wasn't going to let that go to waste.
"Yamaguchi, if you need to rest up a bit more-" Sugawara gently started.
"I'm fine, really," Yamaguchi insisted as he stood from the table. "I'm going to head over to the stage."
Sugawara worked quickly to grab Yamaguchi by the wrist. "You went through quite a bit last night, so a bit more rest would do you well," he insisted sounding very much like a mother.
"I'm fine," Yamaguchi insisted. "I don't need any more rest today."
"I don't need you to overdo it and pass out," Sugawara shot back. "Not under my watch."
Yamaguchi felt compelled to roll his eyes but knew better than to do so. "I promise not to overdo it, but my team and I want to carry on with our training," he insisted, Eevee squeaking in agreement.
Sugawara looked troubled as he glanced to Daichi for support. Daichi only gave him a small shrug. "I suppose you can join in with training, but I'll be watching you and if I think you're overdoing it you'll have to rest," Sugawara ultimately decided. It's not like he was Yamaguchi's actual mother.
"I promise to pace myself," Yamaguchi said as Sugawara released his wrist. Yamaguchi wasn't an idiot. He knew his limits and was smart enough to stop when he needed to, or at least that's what he told himself.
With that argument over, Sugawara and Yamaguchi headed to the auditorium. The majority of the morning training was mostly over. They had discussed stage lighting and do and don'ts of performing on stage. Yamaguchi was disappointed to have missed it but Sugawara promised he'd catch him up on it.
Yachi was still nowhere to be seen. Perhaps last night was a bit too much for her. He hoped she was okay. He'd have to pay her a visit when he found some free time.
Lunch passed by and before Yamaguchi knew it he was on the path up to their routine training area. Yamaguchi was a bit nervous knowing they'd pass by the area where he and Yachi had been attacked. The Boss, Admin Mika, and the grunts were now long gone, but his paranoia was still going strong. Despite this, it didn't scare him as much as he expected. With the sun filtering through the leaves the path seemed like a completely different place from last night.
Sugawara spent a fair amount of the time side-eyeing Yamaguchi in concern. Yamaguchi was well aware of this but chose to ignore it. It was nice to see just how much Sugawara cared for him. He was very much so like a mother hen.
"If you start to feel tired then let me know," Sugawara said to Yamaguchi as they arrived at their training spot.
"Don't worry, I will," Yamaguchi replied for what felt like the 100th time. Sugawara's worrying was touching but was edging on the side of annoying.
"I mean it, Yamaguchi," Sugawara said with a shake of his finger looking more like a mom than ever.
Daichi placed a firm hand on Sugawara's shoulder. "I'm sure Yamaguchi is smart enough not to overdo it," he said with one of his strong father like smiled.
Sugawara's cheeks went pink, perhaps realizing he had gone a bit far with mothering Yamaguchi. "Well, I'll still be watching out for you so…" he mumbled before allowing the topic to be dropped.
"I promise, mom," Yamaguchi joked. This caused Yui and Daichi to laugh while Sugawara went pink in the cheeks. Kageayama seemed confused by the statement.
It wasn't long before Yamaguchi called out Riolu. The small blue Pokemon seemed excited to be starting their routine training. Now that she had Aura Sphere under control they could put their full routine into effect.
Kageyama and Eevee watched from the side as the two began their practice. The routine was going well but when they got to the part with Aura Sphere it took a bit longer for Riolu to collect the energy than expected. Twice in a row she almost nailed Yamaguchi with the attack, causing Sugawara to almost have a heart attack both times.
"Perhaps we need to practice executing Aura Sphere a bit faster," Yamaguchi sighed as he gave Riolu's head a pat.
Looking a bit discouraged, Riolu gave a gruff whine.
"It's okay, I'm sure we will get it down perfectly soon," Yamaguchi cooed as he scratched her behind the ear. Eevee gave a small trill of agreement.
"You two have come along so far in such a short amount of time," Kageyama nodded.
The encouragement seemed to do the trick for Riolu gave a small bark of determination. They just had a few more days left of camp. Soon he'd be meeting back up with Tsukki and he wanted nothing more than to have his routine ready to show him before they met up again. It was something he needed to do, even if it didn't make much sense to others.
Feeling a bit tired and knowing Sugawara could see it, Yamaguchi decided to head back to camp early. Sugawara argued to go back with him but ultimately gave in when Kageyama insisted that he would walk back with Yamaguchi. The walk back didn't take long and with the sun still up the path didn't frighten Yamaguchi.
Once back at the camp Yamaguchi made a beeline for Yachi's cabin. He needed to check on her, since he hadn't seen her since last night and couldn't help but worry about her. Upon realizing this Kageyama backed off a bit.
"You don't have to come if you're not ready to talk with her," Yamaguchi said, knowing why Kageyama was so uncomfortable.
"It's not that… I just have something I need to do," Kageyama lied before heading towards his and Yamaguchi's cabin.
Yamaguchi gave a small shrug. Kageyama was horrible at lying, but he wasn't going to force him to talk with Yachi until he was ready.
Once at the cabin, Yamaguchi gave the door a gentle knock. He heard a shuffle from inside and in a matter of seconds he was greeted by Kyoko. Her face when from curious to calm upon seeing who the visitor was.
"Is it alright if I come in?" Yamaguchi asked.
"Sure, I'm sure she will be happy to see you," Kiyoko smiled, stepping aside to help him in.
Yachi was sitting up in her bed. Beside her lay her sleeping Bulbasaur. Using it's long arm to secure itself to the head board, her Drifloon floated lazily over her head, and in her lap sat her tiny Flabébé, fast asleep. Her face brightened with a smile upon seeing Yamaguchi.
"Thank goodness you're okay," Yachi almost cried as Yamaguchi approached the bed.
Kiyoko brought him a chair to sit in so that he could easily talk with Yachi.
"Yeah, I guess you can say I'm used to take beating nowadays," Yamaguchi replied as he took the seat. He released a small sheepish laugh upon seeing Yachi's horror-stricken face.
"Yamaguchi, that's not funny to joke about," Yachi scolded. "Those people almost killed us last night." She gave a small shiver as she recalled the moment.
Yamaguchi felt a bit bad. Yachi must have been horrified by the incident still.
"S-Sorry," Yamaguchi said, bowing his head a bit. "But they're gone now, so there is no need for us to worry."
Yachi gave a quiet nod. She still looked quite troubled. "I guess we are lucky that Kiyoko and the others came just in time."
Yamaguchi nodded in agreement. Who knows where they'd be now if their friends hadn't arrived when they did. He didn't want to know.
Silence hung between the two for a moment. Yachi shifted uncomfortably in her bed as if she was itching to say something. "I… I was wondering," she began, glancing at Yamaguchi for only a moment. "That lady with the Malamar… She seemed to know you. Do you two know each other?"
Yamaguchi wasn't surprised by this question. Admin Mika showed much aggression towards him last night. It must have come as a shock to Yachi.
"Well, sort of," Yamaguchi began. "I accidentally happened upon Admin Mika and a few grunts once in the woods. They had almost kidnapped me that night," he explained, recalling how terrified he'd been.
Yachi looked horrified. "So this was your second time encountering this team?"
Yamaguchi gave a nod. "I always seem to encounter them around the same time I encounter Iwaizumi and Oikawa. They seem to be after his research or something."
Yachi released a worried hum. "Officer Jenny told me to be careful when travelling from now on."
"We were told the same," Yamaguchi nodded. "It seems this team is becoming more confident as of recent."
"I guess we'll have to be careful," Yachi sighed, she looked extremely worried.
"I'm sure with Hinata and Kageyama by your side, you'll be more than safe," Yamaguchi insisted.
"If Kageyama decided to ever talk to me," Yachi whined, and as she did so a knock could he heard from the door.
Kiyoko didn't waste any time in answering it. Yachi gave a small gasp as Kageyama stepped into the room. Yamaguchi couldn't hide his smile.
"Sorry for dropping by so suddenly," Kageyama said, looking extremely guilty.
"Kageyama," Yachi squeaked, on the verge of crying.
"I think you two have a lot to discuss," Kyoko said, looking to the two.
"I better be on my way as well," Yamaguchi nodded, standing up from the chair.
Wanting to allow the two to talk in peace, Yamaguchi and Kiyoko left them to their conversation. Upon exiting the cabin, Kiyoko headed to where her group often practiced their routines, saying she wanted to check in on them. Yamaguchi decided he'd check in with Tsukki since he seemed to have a bit of time on his hands.
He knew it was a long shot, Tsukki being free mid-afternoon but the second he sent a message asking if he was free to talk, Tsukki replied with a quick 'Yes'.
Yamaguchi sat in a chair in front of the camp's PC. The line rang loudly as he waited for Tsukki to reply. He felt oddly nervous. He knew Tsukki must be upset with him after the number of messages he left him last night.
Yamaguchi practically jumped out of his seat when Tsukki picked up the line. Once composing himself he was greeted by Tsukki's cool gaze. He could see Tsukki's amber eyes staring across the screen as if he were examining something carefully. Yamaguchi felt a wash of relief at the sight of his best friend but his heart nearly escaped his chest upon realizing how closely Tsukki was examining him.
"H-Hello, Tsukki," Yamaguchi nervously greeted.
"It's good to see you're doing okay," Tsukishima cooly replied, relaxing in his seat a bit. It seemed Yamaguchi had passed the physical exam.
"I told you I was fine," Yamaguchi giggled. Eevee gave a happy trill as if to emphasize this statement. "You worry too much," he then teased.
"I wasn't worried," Tsukishima grumbled, going pink at being called out. "Besides, what happened to staying out of trouble?"
Yamaguchi couldn't hold back another giggle at seeing Tsukki pout. He never would have guessed his tall brooding friend could be so cute. "I did stay out of trouble," Yamaguchi defended. "It was Iwaizumi's fault for attracting Admin Mika and those grunts."
"Then you're strictly forbidden from hanging out with those two," Tsukishima demanded, his pout still heavy.
"Like I'd ever willingly want to hand around Oikawa," Yamaguchi laughed. That guy was an ass.
"Yeah, he is a pretty big idiot," Tsukishima agreed with one of his nasty smiles.
"But Iwaizumi isn't so bad," Yamaguchi shrugged. He didn't mind the burly researcher's company so much.
"He's also an idiot for attracting such riffraff," Tsukishima disagreed.
"Tsukki!" Yamaguchi tried to scold but ultimately ended up giggling.
A calm silence hung between the two. Yamaguchi should have known that talking with Tsukki would put him at ease. Tsukki had the strange ability to do that.
"So, what exactly happened?" Tsukishima asked. "How did you end up in trouble yet again?"
"It's not like it was my fault," Yamaguchi defended with a small pout. "Yachi and I were minding our own business walking a very busy path that gets tons of travelers every day."
"Yeah, and…" Tsukishima sent a sceptical look through the screen.
"The path passed by the laboratory Iwaizumi was working at and on our way back to camp we just ran into some grunts," Yamaguchi said in a matter of fact tone. He was unsure if he wanted to go into too much more detail. He didn't want to upset Tsukki.
Tsukishima did not seem satisfied with that answer. "And how exactly did you run into these grunts?"
Yamaguchi opened his mouth to answer but before a single word could leave his mouth he sat horrified as he watched something tackle Tsukki out of his chair. There was a loud bang, as the laughter of Bokuto and Kuroo could he heard from offscreen. The commotion was so sudden that even Eevee sat alert in his lap. The next thing he knew he was being greeted by Hinata.
"Yama! You're okay!" Hinata practically shouted from the other side of the screen. "We heard you and Yachi go into some trouble with some grunts! Is that true? Is Yachi okay? Are you okay?"
A bit overwhelmed, Yamaguchi sat in his chair with his mouth agape and his eyes wide. Once again before he could get a word out, Hinata was shoved from the chair. An explosion of laughter could be heard once again from offscreen as Tsukki reclaimed his seat.
"What is wrong with you?" Tsukishima snapped as he glared at Hinata offscreen.
"Hey, you can't hog the call you jerk. We are all worried about Yama and Yachi!" Hinata barked as he attempted to shove Tsukishima out of the seat.
This time Tsukishima planted his ass firmly. "I don't care! Didn't your mother teach you it is rude to interrupt calls like this?"
"Now, now, children. Can't we all get along?" Kuroo hummed as he took the two boys into his arms.
"Tsukki is being a meanie," Hinata snapped at the same time as Tsukki snapped "Don't touch me."
Yamaguchi couldn't hold it in any longer. He practically fell from his seat at how hard he began to laugh. He couldn't believe how ridiculous Tsukki and Hinata were. Unable to compose himself, his face when red with how hard he was laughing.
"I think we broke Yama-chan," Kuroo said with a large smile.
"Oh no, Yama, don't die!" Hinata cried.
Tsukishima merely frowned, but stopped struggled upon seeing Yamaguchi smile so brightly.
"You guys are just too much," Yamaguchi gasped as he caught his breath.
"Well, it's good to see you're well. We really were worried about you and Yachi," Hinata insisted. "Is she okay?"
"She is a bit shaken, but fine," Yamaguchi nodded.
"And what about those guys who attacked you two?" Kuroo asked.
"A few were caught but it seems most got away.
"Boy if I ever found those guys they better run because I will destroy them!" Bokuto said from somewhere offscreen.
"Yeah, me too!" Hinta chirped in agreement.
Tsukishima rolled his eyes.
Yamaguchi didn't know Bokuto so well, but was touched nonetheless. "Well, I hope I never run into them again," Yamaguchi sighed. He had about all he could take of evil teams and grunts for a lifetime.
"Well we are happy to see that you're fine," Akaashi said from somewhere else offscreen.
"Yeah, if Kageyama and the others had not come when they did, I don't know if I'd be talking with you right now," Yamaguchi sighed.
"Kageyama saved you?" Hinata practically shouted. "I always expected him to be the supervillain."
Yamaguchi laughed at Hinata comment but was more shocked by Tsukishima's reaction. He held a deep frown and averted his eyes from the screen. He seemed quite upset at hearing this, but why?
"Well, it wasn't just Kageyama," Yamaguchi clarified. "Sugawara, Daichi, Iwaizumi and even Oikawa came to the rescue so…"
"Well, we're happy you're safe and sound. Yama-chan," Kuroo hummed. "I bet Tsukki is just itching to reunite with you even more now."
Yamaguchi cheeks went bright red as Kuroo sent him a cheeky smile. Tsukishima, on the other hand, looked as if he could kill the older trainer.
"W-Well, I-I've kept you all long enough," Yamaguchi stutterd, far too embarrassed to carry on the conversation. "And I have to start preparing dinner so…"
"It's a relief to see you're well," Kuroo said with a nod.
"Take care of yourself, Yama," Hinata chirped. "And tell Yachi to call me when she can!"
"No more getting into trouble," Tsukishima mumbled.
Yamaguchi itched to argue back with Tsukki but thought better of it. The last thing he needed was more teasing from Kuroo. "See you all soon," Yamaguchi replied. His eyes lingered on Tsukki.
"Bye!" Came the unison cry of everyone on the other line.
He could tell Tsukki was studying him closely but before Yamaguchi knew it the screen went blank and he suddenly started to miss Tsukki once again.
Author Note:
Well now, this evil team seems to be quite the problem. Will they be a thorn in Yamaguchi and Tsukki's side or have we seen the last of them? Why does the Boss spook Yamaguchi so? Will we ever find out what they are after? Will Yamaguchi and Riolu get their routine down soon? That and more will be revealed if you stay tuned.
Hey all. As always, thank you so much for the likes, follows, bookmarks, kudos, comments and reviews. I love to hear from you all do please leave a comment or review.
I'm unsure if next week's chapter will be up in time. It all really depends on the holiday and availability. That being said Happy Holidays to everyone and Happy New Year in case I don't get another chapter up before 2020.
I don't have much more to say so I hope you all take care and see you next chapter.