Chapter 7 - Conflict of Interests

"So what exactly is this Expedition Society you mentioned?"

Leah and I were walking back to the village after enjoying the hill's twilight scenery for a just bit longer. The stream flowing into the lake sparkled under the stars, and as we walked along its edge, it painted a beautiful reflection of the valley beyond. I equated it as best I could to a novel reward, though I got the feeling Leah was used to it by this point.

In response to the subject change, the Fennekin drew in a deep breath to build up for her explanation. "The Expedition Society is the Water Continent's capital rescue and exploration organization. They help Pokemon in need and launch expeditions to uncharted lands with the ultimate goal of mapping the entire globe," she recited. It seemed like she had memorized the definition to the dot. I was impressed by how much she knew when she it seemed like she hardly paid attention in class.

I hummed to myself. "So, for all intents and purposes… why do you want to join?"

She needed no time to think, and I briefly wondered if this was a question she'd been asked dozens of times. "I want to explore! Their grand motive involves exploring the whole world. They're basically professional geographers who also make up one of the region's primary investigative forces."

"You really have done a lot of research on them, haven't you?"

She giggled. "Yeah. I'm a big fan, in case you couldn't tell."

The conversation, if nothing else, had helped me recognize just how little I knew about this world. It was to be expected as one of the many conditions of someone like me waking up somewhere like here. Still, it was disturbing, to a certain extent, that I lacked so much common knowledge. I didn't even know what the name of this continent was ('Water', as I'd have never guessed) until I'd asked. I supposed Nuzleaf's plan to put me in school had been rather convenient. Next to basic math and language, I was still figuring everything out one day at a time.

Perhaps this could change if I visited this mysterious Expedition Society one day—presumably alongside Leah?

It wasn't a bad idea, alone or not. I could learn about the world, and hopefully come to understand why I was here and how to get back to where I belong. It couldn't be that rare for someone to wake up with no memories, not if it just spontaneously happened to me. Surely there had to be a system designed to help those particular individuals if this world was truly as developed as I had heard it was. What did I have to lose by seeking it out then? I certainly had plenty to gain.

I glanced to the Fennekin walking beside me, who was lost in an evening daydream. After what I'd experienced in the Foreboding Forest and Gabite's cave, I had to admit adventuring was a blast—a rather dangerous blast perhaps, but a good time all the same. It was definitely something I could get used to doing.

At the crossroads near the bridge leading to our houses, we ran into two familiar faces that were waiting for us. Pancham and Shelmet stood in our path eyeing us expectantly. My pondering of the universe quickly became a controlled hostility as Leah and I came to a stop at the roadblock.

"Hah!" Pancham laughed, scanning the two of us from head to toe. "I knew you'd wuss out!"

"What do you mean?" Leah asked innocently. "We went all the way through the cave and back." She pointed to her ruffled tail that got dirty scraping against the thin walls.

"Thanks for the heads up about the dragon-type," I sneered.

"What do you mean? Did something scare you off?" Shelmet asked.

Whereas my response had been seething with satire, his smirk alone told me all I cared to listen for. Once again, my shoulder extensions tingled with an unspoken instinct to lash out for the sake of self-satisfaction, and I was forced to maintain my composure. I was beginning to grow very tired of this.

"Nope," Leah said, indifferent to their interjections. "We fought mister Gabite and won, but he asked us not to steal anything, so we didn't. I'd personally call it a success… Anyway, I gotta go before my pops gets mad." She smiled at me and jogged off after waving goodbye.

Pancham and Shelmet were dumbfounded.

"Y-you said you'd get the red stones though!" Pancham accused. "No way you fought that monster in there! You're lying through your teeth!"

I stuck my nose in his face and hissed. "Oh, so you did know that a Gabite was down there, huh? Guess that makes you the liar." Pancham was taken aback by my hostility and retreated a step in surprise. I then pointed to my hip, emphasizing where a purple bruise almost an inch wide had formed from the dragon rage attack. "This enough proof for you?"

Pancham didn't say anything, instead just staring at me in defeat. Shelmet couldn't bring himself to speak either. I scoffed at the collapse of their bravado.

"I don't appreciate your lack of communication. But it didn't end up mattering anyway. So with that being said, I'll see you around," I finished with a hearty smirk thrown in their direction as I began walking back to Nuzleaf's house. I didn't turn around, but I could feel their gaze following me as I left them in my wake.

That felt good.

I ate dinner with Nuzleaf (who was indifferent to my late arrival) and turned in for the night feeling content with myself.

My new body still wasn't used to extensive physical activity, so upon awakening following two consecutive days of dungeon exploring, I was too sore to get out of bed by my own will. I felt like lying in bed and basking in the sunlight shining through my window all day.

I know I probably should go to school, but I really don't want to, even if it's my second day…

I saw the sun was already creeping across the floor, so I knew I would be summoned any minute. I awaited Nuzleaf's call from the other room, but instead I heard a different voice call through the window.

"Sage! Time for school!" Leah called from outside.

I forced myself up, stretched my limbs, and strolled into the main room. Nuzleaf was nowhere to be found; instead, a slip of paper on the dinner table sat waiting to be opened. I pushed it aside to read later and popped a cheri berry in my mouth, hoping to ease my stiff muscles. Leah was at the door was a large smile on her face.

"Let's go ya big Slowpoke! Don't wanna be late!"

I stared at her. How… how was she so hyper this early in the morning, especially after our little misadventure yesterday? I could barely will myself to move, and yet she couldn't stop moving. I silently prayed she wouldn't ever try to wake me up too, too early. I had come to learn in my short time as a Pokemon that I was not an early riser.

"Yeah, let's get going," came my response—most of it in the form of a yawn. "Don't wanna have to make a mad dash and put someone out of action for the day."

She rolled her eyes. "You're never gonna let me live that down, are you?"

I smiled and walked outside, where she was waiting. "Wouldn't dream of it. Now let's get going."

After a ten minute walk, we reached the school just in time for first period. The illustrious vice principal was waiting by the gate, his half-asleep daze shifting into wide eyes upon witnessing our arrival.

"Hmm?" he mumbled upon sighting us, giving us a curious look. "It's the troublemaker and the new child… and on time too…?"

"Morning sir," I greeted.

"Maybe his company is beneficial for the problem child…" he whispered to himself.

"Did you say something, vice principal?" Leah quipped, making his eyes go wide.

"Nothing!" Watchog huffed. "Hurry along now!"

We filed into the classroom along with the rest of the students who were all arriving around this time. After taking a few moments to greet and converse with Espurr, I saw Pancham and Shelmet arrive out of the corner of my eye, purposely avoiding me. The urge to go and say something clever about yesterday's victory surfaced, but I suppressed it and let them be.

Class today was not unlike class yesterday, starting with math and spiraling into story time—or as Shelmet liked to call it, "naptime". I didn't blame him. No interesting stories about a human this time.

Concluding our reading lesson, we got up from our chairs and went back to the small field next to the forest where Watchog was waiting. I thought we'd just be having another lecture from our omnipotent vice principal. Instead, he made it clear he wouldn't be speaking much when he produced two bags and sat them in front of the forest.

"Today, we will be having a competition like yesterday, except this one will be a bit more complicated. You will be splitting into two teams to clear the School Forest. When you complete the dungeon you will arrive at the back, where there are two flags planted in the ground. Each team's goal is to reach their flag and bring it back here. First team to do so is the winner and will receive the coveted-wondrous-amazing-invincible Watchog award!"

The whole class stared unamused at the vice principal and his unyielding conceit.

"Sir, there are seven of us," Espurr mentioned. "Is someone going to sit out?"

"Yes, unfortunately," Watchog commented. "Espurr, I'd like you to sit this one out. Goomy, Sage, and Leah will be their own group. Pancham, Shelmet, and Deerling will make up the other."

Deerling looked horrified. "Pancham and Shelmet!? Aw, c-can Espurr take my place?" she pleaded.

"Hush," Watchog scolded her, causing her to grimace. "Don't be so problematic."

"Yesss! We get Deerling!" Pancham fist-pumped.

"Don't worry, we'll keep you safe," Shelmet cooed.

"Test my patience and you'll be the ones who need safety," she replied with a fake smile.

Watchog picked up the two item bags and handed them to each group. "In your bags there are a few items that will help you in the dungeon. Paid for right out of my own pocket I'll have you know! Use them wisely."

I looked inside ours. It contained an apple for each of us, a few different berries, and a seed of some kind.

Goomy slithered over to us. "Are we ready to go?" he asked.

"Yep," me and Leah said simultaneously. Without waiting any longer, we headed into the forest at the same time Pancham's squad did.

The school's forest, compared to the Foreboding Forest and Gabite's mine, was a pushover.

About forty-five minutes in, we stopped for a quick break to let Goomy rest. Goomy was struggling a bit with the dungeon, but Leah and I were blazing through it, no pun intended on Leah's end. She wasn't content with our break however, and was anxious to get going again.

"Come on, they could be passing us up at this very moment!" she argued.

I glanced at the dragon-type, taking note of his condition (was he… sweating?). "Goomy, are you rested enough to keep going?"

"Hah… I-I guess," he panted.

"Then let's gooo!" exclaimed Leah. She bounded away from us, leaving me to clamber after her.

"Chill out, wait for us!" I called after her. I gave chase, praying Goomy would be able to keep up.

Unfortunately, he couldn't.

I would discover too late that he was not by my side when I finally reached the clearing where Leah was.

"Look!" she marveled. "There's the flags over there." She jumped up and down from pure excitement. "And there's still two left, so that means we win!"

"Leah, Goomy's left behind in the forest!" I panicked. "You ran off too quickly for him to follow! We gotta find him!"

"Oh…" she looked a bit concerned before shrugging it off. "Oh well, at least we have the flag. We'll find him on our way back."

The situation with Foreboding Forest still fresh in my mind, I wasn't convinced. "Leaving him like that wasn't—"

"Sage, relax," she interjected with an impatient shrug. "It's just the school forest. He's been here before. We'll find him on the way back, no biggie."

Her attempt at indifference was convincing, almost entirely hiding her anxiety.

Almost.

I sighed and shook my head. We'd better find him, or we're screwed.

We're screwed.

We had looked for him for a whole hour before finally heading back to, reluctantly, get help from the rest of the class. Pancham's team, despite reaching the flag after us, returned before we did due to the extra time we took to look for Goomy.

Watchog was not pleased. "—You what!?"

"We lost Goomy in the forest sir," I mumbled. "Long story," I added in an annoyed tone, casting a sideways glance at Leah.

"Humph," she grunted, mainly at Watchog.

"Unacceptable! Inconceivable!" he screeched. "The activity is cancelled, and we will all go in there to find him immediately!"

"Yes sir," we both muttered.

The look on Deerling's face sent shivers down my spine. She stomped up to the two of us, briefly glaring in my direction before directing her entire attention on Leah.

For a moment—only a moment—I was genuinely afraid a fight would break out. Perhaps if Leah weren't a fire-type, it would have.

"…You're useless!" Deerling seethed before whipping around and storming into the forest.

Pancham and Shelmet snickered in the background, turning after her and strolling into the forest.

We searched for Goomy for another hour before we finally located him camped up in a tree surrounded by wild Pokemon, scared out of his wits. After dealing with the ferals, we headed back with the less-than-pleased dragon type just in time for the end of school.

"You two will do extra assignments to make up for the time lost during our search!" Watchog commanded Leah and I, bending over us for added emphasis. When he was absolutely sure we got the message, the vice principal straightened himself up and waved everyone off. "Now, you may be all be dismissed."

Leah and I nodded somberly and got ready to leave. Deerling and Goomy were already out the gate, the former still furious and the latter stuck somewhere between exhaustion and exasperation. Pancham and Shelmet were right behind them, casting a quick glance at us and laughing about something.

And then there was me.

I was not happy.

Leah and I walked side by side like the day before, but neither of us spoke a word. At some point I stole a glance at her to discover that she didn't seem very distressed at all. Her lively attitude was gone, but other than that she was carrying herself as though nothing was wrong. Just as I was planning to say something, she vocalized her thoughts first.

"That was fun, I guess," Leah said while unsuccessfully holding in a carefree yawn. "Too bad we got yelled at, but that's just Watchog being Watchog."

…What?

"…What?" I scowled, stopping dead in my tracks. "N-no, Leah, I'm pretty sure Watchog of all people isn't the problem here."

She halted too, spinning her head around to stare at me. "What do you mean?"

"Did I not try to tell you that we would regret running away from Goomy like that?" I narrowed my eyes. "Maybe you didn't mean any harm, but that's still on you. Care to explain what you were thinking?"

The glare she returned was impossible to read.

"What's there to explain?" she answered in a casual-annoyed tone. "We did what we had to do to get our flag first."

I had a sinking feeling in my chest that she truly lacked understanding for what she did wrong, and would not be convinced so easily.

I slapped my forehead. Actually full-on slapped myself. "…Do you honestly think that winning that stupid challenge is what matters?"

"We had an objective and we completed it!" Leah snapped.

The air was getting more and more tense with every exchange. "Hooray!" I celebrated with no small amount of satire. "—And we only lost a third of our team in the process."

"Lost?!" She contorted her face into a snarl. "Wh—he was fine! I told you he'd be fine!"

A small voice inside me advised that this was getting out of hand, but I ignored it. It was too late now. "Yeah, after two hours of him hiding in a tree surrounded by wild Pokemon." I balled up my fists and crossed my arms. "You don't play very well with others, huh?"

She huffed loudly and cast a wayward glance to the side, before shaking her head disapprovingly. "You—you just don't get it, do you?"

"Don't get what? How to miserably fail at adventuring?" I spat back.

I could see the hurt in her eyes, but she was too angry to let herself falter. "Y-you care too much about the weakest link! Sometimes you have to make a few sacrifices to accomplish your goals! N-not that I'd expect an incompetent wimp like you to understand…"

I froze. Who did she think she—

"—I dare you to say that again." I hissed, taking a threatening stance as adrenaline started to rush through my veins.

Her voice lowered to match the coldness of mine, but the fire in her eyes remained. "You heard me.

You're just—just a wimp!"

I realized a bit too late that I was in the same position Deerling had earlier in the day: seething, ready for a scrap, and held back by a mere type disadvantage. By mere biology.

I stared her down, my vines twitching impulsively inside my shoulder blades. I felt like I was talking to Pancham, but even Pancham didn't dig this deep. It hurt, especially knowing that I really wasn't going to do anything about it. We both knew I wouldn't attack her. She knew it. I knew it. And it made me even angrier at both of us.

After I didn't do anything, she scoffed at me. "Thanks for proving my point."

In what I knew would probably become a regretful expression of self-control—or lack thereof—I snapped.

"No! No, the only incompetent one here is you," I said. "You're so insecure that you feel like you need to sacrifice someone else's well-being just to win a stupid race!"

She stared at me with wide eyes, expecting me to just stay silent and being entirely caught off guard. She opened her mouth to yell back, but I wasn't done.

"There's a reason why Deerling yelled at you instead of me when she found out Goomy was lost in the forest!" I ranted. "There's a reason why you repel everyone around you! It's because you can't do anything without screwing up! You wanna talk about the weakest link? You're the weakest link of this whole village!"

My rage was reaching a boiling point now. A little voice in the back of my head was again telling me to shut up, but it hardly mattered at this point anyway.

The fire of animosity in her eyes had been snuffed and replaced with a cold empty stare. My words had struck home in a place I had not meant to aim, and the instantaneous sensation of feeling like total shit enveloped me. I stood there, watching her take it all in in slow motion, suddenly conflicted between my lingering anger and my newfound regret that was spawned by the former of the two breaking like a fever.

"Why am I not surprised…" she managed to choke out before taking off down the path, not wanting me to see her break down.

I think I tried to say something. Whether it would've been an apologetic gesture or just another burst of negative reinforcement would remain a mystery to the both of us, as her battered response echoed off of the trees.

"Don't waste your breath! You're just like the rest of them!"

And just like that, she was gone.