Diantha awoke to find her girlfriend still sleeping. Before she got out of bed, she decided it'd be best if she didn't bring up the conflict they had again, even if it harmed their communication.
She knew Cynthia was a proud woman, and ultimately guessed that she had hurt herself in some embarrassing accident and bloodied her hand, which was why had freaked out when asked about it. Reassured in her theory, Diantha got up.
Checking the clock, she had a little more than four hours to get ready. The annual festival in Coumarine City was an important affair, and if she didn't make an appearance, it wouldn't be well received.
Knowing she had plenty of time, Diantha hopped in the shower, turning it on hot. Her legs were still a little sore, but much improved compared to yesterday, and she hoped the steam would work out the tension further.
The shower kept whistling; even though the home was relatively new, it wasn't uncommon for an earsplitting shriek to emit from the pipes. Being distracted by it was part of the reason she didn't hear the other woman come in.
Bending down to fix the noise, Diantha pushed in the stopper in the spout, then pulled it back out. When it was quiet again, she pulled herself up, only to jump back as she heard someone speak. "Good morning."
"Oh christ!" Cynthia showed off a pouty lip. "Sorry, you just scared me." "Have room for one more in there?" Diantha nodded, trying to hide her excitement. It seemed they were back to normal.
Cynthia got in quickly. She gracefully slipped behind Diantha so the Kalosian woman was between her and the showerhead. "Excited for the festival?"
"You could say that…" Being with her in a well-lit environment as they were both nude made Diantha feel a little inadequate. She had a nice body, but her bust and curves were very modest compared to Cynthia's.
Even so, the taller blonde adored her without a doubt. She was lathering her in body wash with her hands, not explicitly, but giving her a playful squeeze now and then. "Let's make sure you're looking your best. It's your first time visiting the pledging tree as champion, after all."
Diantha felt her tension dissolve as Cynthia began running her fingers through her hair. "You're right…" "Plus, I'll be joining you." "Wait, you will?" Cynthia smiled even though she was still facing away from her. "Why not? We don't have to go as an item or anything."
"Unless you want to." "Diane, that's awfully forward of you." She asked under her breath if her partner was shampooing. She said yes, and Cynthia grabbed the bottle of expensive designer rinse, filling her hands with a moderate amount.
She resumed normal conversation as she began massaging Diantha's scalp. "I wouldn't mind. My image has been tempered for quite some time. But you're a fresh new champion. Are you sure you want your region to find out you like girls?"
"Hmm… think they'll crucify me?" Diantha moaned as Cynthia's fingers worked her head. "Maybe just a whole witch hunt." "Honestly, Cynthia, it's about time, isn't it? People have been spreading rumors. I was asked about it on Live in Lumiose."
"It's up to you, darling. I'm happy either way." Diantha sighed. "Let's see how we feel when we're there." Cynthia pushed her forward, rinsing out her hair. "Conditioner, too?" "Sure."
The Looker thought someone was approaching him in the lobby, but he didn't pay much attention thinking it was a passerby. Sure enough, the person stopped, staring as if they recognized him.
He couldn't tell their expression behind the glasses and scarf. He glared back, hoping his stature would be enough to get them to back off. But they didn't.
Getting up, he closed the distance between them. "Can I help you?" The person chuckled a little. "Elliot, it's me!" "Wait, Elesa?" He examined her. She was so bundled up, it was impossible to tell her age, let alone who she was.
"This is what I do to get around in public. Otherwise I'm just swarmed by people." "Ah, of course. A smart precaution." She spun, showing off the ridiculous ensemble of layers. "Shall we get going?"
They took a cab to the city library. Upon arrival, there was hardly anyone inside. Elesa undid her excessive disguise, leaving on her glasses to retain some anonymity. "Pokémon battling, competitive Pokémon battling, contemporary Pokémon history, foo, bar, one fish, two fish, red fish, oh!"
She stopped reading off of the directory. "Geographical Pokémon dispersion sounds like our category. You go there, and I'll see if I can find an encyclopedia profile for Spiritomb."
Elesa headed off quickly. The detective was curious as to how a woman like her found this even mildly entertaining, but he enjoyed her company and saw no reason to complain.
Opposite the direction she had come, the Looker climbed a stairwell, wrapping around a circular area before arriving at the series of shelves he was looking for. He wandered the aisles for a minute, trying to find a title that suited his needs.
And he did, eventually. It was a thick book, obviously part of a series. It was titled The Global Distribution of Ghost-type Pokémon, Third Edition. He flipped to the table of contents, looking for Spiritomb.
He found an entry rather quickly. Upon arriving at the page, he noticed it was brief. It talked about the mysterious nature of the Pokémon, and that it was once believed to be fictitious, until multiple sightings were correlated and corroborated from eyewitness accounts.
I don't need more controversy, dammit. He put the book away, seeing it had no information on where Spiritomb would occur naturally. The Looker continued to search shelf after shelf, finding only books with less verbose entries than that in the first one.
He was about to gave up when he saw Elesa climbing the stairs. He went to meet her. "Hey. I couldn't find much, aside from this." She held out a small, pamphlet like book called Spiritomb: Fact or Fiction? It was written almost thirty years prior.
"My findings weren't that great, either." "I checked the dex too. It's like, the only Pokémon I've ever seen that doesn't have a native region listed, save legendaries." The Looker sighed audibly. "Not to mention, it's really creepy, too."
"I did find something cool, though." "Oh?" "Check it out!" She showed off a picture heavy title, featuring a beautifully drawn Emolga on the cover. It was written in Kalosian. "I don't even speak the language, but I love Emolga!"
Her youthful excitement made the Looker laugh. "Come, I have an idea." She followed him to another side of the library, riddled with mythology and folktales. They walked up and down the aisles as Elesa reminisced about her first time catching an Emolga.
A few minutes later, the Looker found something. It was a big book of compiled Sinnoh folklore, featuring all sorts of authors and contributors. Elesa raised an eyebrow. "Why Sinnoh of all places?" "Just a hunch."
He let Elesa continue talking, doing his best to engage with her as he skimmed each entry. Maybe two thirds into the book, a story caught his eye: "The Hallowed Tower." He read it. It appeared to be a poem. The book noted it was found transcribed on an old papyrus, dated over a hundred years ago.
With the souls of few,
The hallowed tower will weep,
As the zealots bring more,
The hallowed tower completes.
Sacrifices grow,
The darkness looms,
Until the zealots,
Find themselves entombed.
Attached to the entry was a small photograph, depicting a foundation about a meter tall, wide and constructed out of various crumbling rocks. An odd shape was carved from the middle, as if it awaited something to be inserted. The caption said it was a structure found on Route 209 in central Sinnoh, though it didn't mention its correlation with the poem.
The Looker felt uneasy looking at the entry. He wasn't sure why. It didn't seem to be explicitly related to Spiritomb, but even still, he decided it was worth researching further.
"Are you alright?" Elesa prodded his arm. "What? Oh, yes, quite fine. This book is… mostly useless. It seems there's barely any documentation on Spiritomb, after all." "Well, too bad for your sister."
"So, are we done here, then?" "I suppose we are." "How would you feel about a trip to Coumarine?" The Looker was confused. "Coumarine city? Why?"
"Well, we still have a few hours before the annual festival begins. It'd probably be fun. But… if you don't want to accompany me, that's just fine." Elesa walked away, flaunting her figure in an obviously suggestive way.
As she faced away from him, the Looker slipped the small folklore into the pocket of his jacket. Though morally incorrect, he swore to himself he'd return it. He couldn't afford evidence of any part of his investigation on record, even at a library.
"Now that I think about it, Coumarine could indeed be fun. It is not that far, anyway." Elesa smiled at him, almost touching him, but stopping herself due to their degree of familiarity. "Then let's grab a bite, and get going!" The pair smiled at the woman working the desk as they left the building.
It was well into the festival, and as the sun began setting, the beautiful pledging tree glowed wonderfully with its brilliant lights, as did the rest of the city. Fireworks exploded overhead as Diantha and Cynthia both ate sugary snow cones.
"Look up, don't miss it." Cynthia was buried in the treat, and her girlfriend needed to get her attention to ensure she saw the fireworks. "Oh, wow! Quite brilliant. Hey, doesn't that mean it's your time to go on soon?"
"I suppose it does." Gym leader Ramos was wrapping up the last of the history of the ceremony to the crowd. When he finished, Diantha would have to walk her way down from the balcony she was on, onto the stage, and give some sort of speech commemorating the event.
As one of the young staffers came and got her, she knew it was almost her time. But she decided to bring Cynthia along. "Come on!" She pulled on the blonde's sleeve, reluctantly getting her up. "Wait, what? I'm not going on with you!"
"We're going on together." "You mean, you actually want to?" "Mhm." Cynthia was all smiles. For a woman like Diantha to reveal to the public their relationship meant that she was truly all the way in. "Okay! Let's do it!"
Diantha was nervous, too. How much backlash would she face for being in a gay relationship? She had no idea. However much it was, she remarked, would be an acceptable trade if her and Cynthia didn't have to keep a secret anymore.
As they walked onto the stage, the crowd boomed. It was a rare sight to see two regional champions at a festival like this, and Cynthia was legendary in her own regard. Ramos shook Diantha's hand, smiling, and also shook Cynthia's, though he didn't smile, caught up in surprise at seeing the legendary battler here.
Elesa was basically wasted. The Looker was tipsy, still well in control of himself. He was enjoying the evening air as him and Elesa watched the event from a good while away, atop a large hill directly up from the pledging tree.
"Oh, look, look, the champion's coming on!" She got his attention quickly. "Wait, what? Diantha?" "Yes! On the stage!" The Looker watched as she emerged, and did a double take as he saw Cynthia.
"WAIT, WHAT? CYNTHIA!?" Elesa was drunk, but even so, sounded like she had seen a ghost. "That is most definitely champion Cynthia." "Why the hell is she here? In Kalos?"
"Something tells me we're about to find out." The two listened as Diantha rambled a generic speech, talking about how each and every person there that day contributed to the great spirit of Coumarine.
"And now, I have something personal I'd like to share with you. I know many of you had heard rumors, theories, whispers about the nature of me and champion Cynthia…"
"Oh my god. I-I know I'm drunk, but is this really happening?" The Looker, too, was questioning that. "It's hard to believe."
"It brings me no greater pleasure to announce here, at the festival celebrating blossoming loyalty and faithfulness, that I clarify those rumors. Me, and champion Cynthia, are dating."
Elesa gasped, as did most of the audience members. After, an awkward silence hung in the air. The Looker was quiet himself. He knew they were an item ever since his interview with them in Sinnoh, but never expected them to announce it publicly.
Deciding the audience needed an icebreaker, Cynthia took the microphone, looking at her partner. "We're not just dating. We're in love." She dropped the device, grabbing Diantha's head and forcefully kissing her. With that, the audience erupted into a generally positive cheer. Other couples there kissed as well.
"I-I-I can't believe… what I just saw. That was the corniest thing I have ever seen. Oh my god. I feel like I'm going to die. This is… I can't. I just can't." The Looker said nothing, and Elesa kicked him lightly. "Come on! Don't you agree?!"
"This was… most unexpected." "Most unexpected. Yes, indeed, good sir. Most unexpected! Most fucking stupid! I'm… I don't even know how to process this." She stood up, pulling him by the coat.
"Come on, giant man! Let's go find a hotel or something. I'm about to pass out." The Looker followed her, doing his best to ensure she didn't trip in her heels.
Just as they set off, he got a phone call, the number indicating it was work related. "Oh, Elesa, give me one minute." She waved him off.
He answered, not saying anything. "Looker, you're in Kalos still, I take it." "Indeed I am." "I'll be sending you an address tomorrow morning. You're to meet with a police department liaison in Coumarine, who'll escort you to a secured medical facility."
The Looker furrowed his brow. "I'm not quite sure I follow." "We received reports of an assault in Kalos. Upon reviewing the material, it fits the profile of the perpetrator; the only anomaly is, the woman's still alive." "Still alive, you say?!"
"Indeed. She was transferred to a secured hospital almost immediately after." "I see." "You will receive more information tomorrow morning. Keep your phone on, Looker."
The call ended immediately after. His mind was racing with possibilities. A victim in Kalos changes everything. Not to mention, one that's alive. This could very well be the turning point.
As he stared at the climax of fireworks thinking about the case, Elesa got his attention once more. "Hey! Can we please go get a hotel? Or find a bar or something? I need somewhere to get drunk!"