After making their way through the woods and to the guys camp, an extremely confused and angry Haruka stomped her foot in frustration.
Hikari still hadn't woken up and Shinji hasn't bothered saying anything to her about why he was even there in the first place. She was reaching the peak of her patience and couldn't hold it in anymore."I need to know what happened. Right now!"
Turning his attention away from the still unconscious bluenete long enough to glare at the obnoxious girl, Shinji growled before snapping himself. "You need to shut the hell up."
The hateful tone in his voice caught Haruka off guard and she flinched back at the ferocity of his words.
Shuu, knowing how his cousin could get, decided to step nineteen the two heated trainers though he wasn't happy with the hostility in Shinjis voice. "Shinji what the hell man?"
But the violet haired man didn't calm down like he normally would when his cousin talked to him. Instead his hateful glare became even more harsh.
With a hint of disgust in his tone, he let them know why he was so furious. "While you two were out doing who knows what, Hikari was left alone, with no pokemon to fight off some rapist psycho! Neither of you fuckers get to tell me anything right now."
The relief that washed over Haruka was immeasurable. Unfortunately, she hadn't explained to anyone her particular worries. The obvious happiness on her face was met with confusion and hostility.
"What the fuck are you smiling about?!" Shuu started to say something, but Haruka was too fast for him.
"It wasn't her dad. That's good." That answer gave Shinji absolutely no clarification and served to only further infuriate him. He was actually speechless for a moment for the first time he could remember. The absolute absurdity of onsense that spewed from this girls mouth made Shinji not only wonder what his cousin saw in her, but why the woman of his affections would waste her energy traveling with her.
"Why the fuck would her dad attack her?" When Haruka looked down and refused to answer, Shinji sighed in frustration and turned back to Hikari. He didn't realize it yet, but he had already made the decision for everyone in that moment.
The girls weren't safe traveling alone anymore. The man he saw looked like he was wearing some kind of uniform. Which meant there was an organization somewhere with the initials TC, and that"It was some black haired prick in a yellow jumpsuit."
Shuu suddenly understood why Shinji was so upset. If it was who he was thinking of, the girls were in extreme danger. So were they. Opening his mouth to make a wild suggestion, he was cut off by a weak groaning that caused everyone to stop and stare in silence.
"Ugh... What happened?" Shinji couldn't hide the relief on his face and Haruka definitely didn't miss it. It confused the hell out of her, why would a heartless jerk like him be so happy the girl he constantly called stupid was waking up.
Ignoring the building annoyance, she turned to her groggy looking beat friend and fell to her knees wrapping the girl in her arms. "Hikari! Are you okay? I3m so sorry!!"
"Would you stop yelling?!" Since Hikari was still laying in Shinjis lap, Haruka had basically tackled him in her jump to the bluenete. Wiggling his way out frim the pile of emotional females, Shinji growled and glared at the brown haired trainer. "Arceus you're so obnoxious."
Either not hearing him, or just ignoring his remarks didn't matter. All shinji cared about was that Hikari was awake and talking, plus she was keeping the annoying loud mouth occupied.
Feelimg a strong clasp on his shoulder, Shinji rolled his eyes in annoyance. He was getting a headache and was just ready to cook dinner and go to sleep. "Dude, you gotta relax man."
Smirking in response, Shinjis ears perked up hearing a distressed voice. "Seriously, what's going on? What happened, where are we and why are the guys here? I'm so confused."
"What's the last thing you remember?" Haruka asked carefully.
"I was getting ready to eat my lunch when a pokemon stole it and then captured itself digging through my bag." Looking to Shuu for support, Haruka sighed in relief when he jumped in the conversation.
"You caught a Pokemon? That's awesome!" Shinji was impressed. Hikari had managed to catch a Pokemon without the aid of another, not many people could say that. Hikari smiled weakly but looked down deep in thought.
"Ya but... I don't remember anything else. Why are we here and not at our camp? And who's sleeping bag is this and..." looking down at herself, the blunette nearly screamed in horror. "Who changed my clothes.!"
XxX
After an hour of discussion, Hikari had been caught up on the events of the afternoon by a now calm Shinji. Haruka and Shuu were out gathering more firewood for the now dying flame while the two antisocial trainers sat in the boys camp.
A few minutes of silence passed and Hikari was drowning in contradicting thoughts. She knew what she wanted to ask but was afraid of what he would say.
Shinji wasn't known for being a caring person. Sure he had a soft spot for her, but she was terrified that if she overstepped he would no longer tolerate her and instead shun her like he did everyone else.
That wasn't what she wanted. But she was terrified and knew if she didn't ask, it could be trouble for her later on. Taking a deep breath, she straightened her shoulders and turned to the man who apparently saved her virtue. "Shinji?"
"Hn?" He was sitting with his back resting on a large boulder. His right arm was tucked under his thick violet hair while his left arm rested on a single propped knee. Opening one if his closed eyes to a knowledge she had his attention, Shinji waited to hear what was bothering her so much.
"I..." All the confidence she had felt only moments prior seemingly vanished the moment his dark eyes met hers. Unsure of how to proceed, she paused and thought for a minute. When Shinji cleared his throat and shot her an expectant look, she looked down and went for it. "Haruka is my best friend and I love her but,"
Still unable to find the right words, Hikari nearly cried out in relief when Shinji opened his other eye and turned fully to her. Shooting a knowing look that Hikari didn't quite understand.
Shifting his body slightly, Shinji leaned in so he was inches from her ear and finished her thought for her.
"You're afraid of traveling alone with her?"
"It's not that... exactly." Shinji gave her an expectant look and she took a deep breath to continue. "I'm in, I have been in danger. There are people coming after me. Back in Veilstone I was relatively safe, but here... Haruka and I can't protect ourselves from the people chasing me."
Normally, he would be struggling to hide his pleasure in the fact that Hikari was opening up to him. But all that registered in his mind was her saying she was in danger.
"Who's after you?" He didn't mean to snap but he was unable to make his primal anger. Someone was threatening one of the only people he cared about and he was not ok with that.
"I..." Instead of answering, Hikari moved to get up. But Shinji stopped her by grabbing her wrist and pulling her back down to sit next to him.
"Look at me." When she refused he gently grabbed her chin and pointed her face to his. The unshed tears in her eyes sent a physical pain through his heart. Letting go of both her wrist and face, Shinji pulled her into a hug and whispered in her ear. "I can't protect you if you don't tell me the truth. Who's chasing you?"
Silence fell between them. The only sounds that could be heard over the low crackling of the fire were the occasional sniffing and sob coming from the distraught bluenete.
After what felt like hours but was probably only twenty minutes, Hikari finally looked up into Shinjis eyes and answered almost breathlessly.
"My father. The leader of Team Chaos."
XxX
Hey monsters! Sorry for the late update. The next one wI'll be more Contest Ikari moments, I promise!!! I really hope you guys enjoyed the last few chapters. I'm trying really hard to branch and try different plot twists. We're going to see the first gym in a few chapters... I'm hoping for 2 more chapters then the first gym battle.
Seeing as the first battle is an electric gym... Do any of y'all have any requests for pokemon you'd like to see the gym leader have? She's got 2 open spots on her team.
Until next time monsters!
