Chapter 3: Please Confess
August 11, Route 35, Johto, 7 am…
Platinum slowly opened her eyes as she woke up from her sleep. She could hear someone whispering in the vicinity and she groggily felt around her surroundings for her Pokétch to check for the time. She squinted to see the digital numbers clearly, and noticed that it was only 7 am. She'd prefer to wake up at around 8, or maybe even 8:30.
"Oh, Lady Platinum, are you awake?" came a familiar voice from very close.
Platinum blinked a few times momentarily and soon remembered what was happening. She was currently in a tent shared by three others, and it seemed that White was already awake, and it was probably her who had been whispering moments ago.
Platinum felt around again for her glasses and slowly sat up. She rubbed her eyes tiredly and then put her glasses on so that she could see her junior clearly. "Yes. I am awake. … Though I would have preferred to get another hour of sleep." She now noticed that Y was also awake, but not Blue.
"Good morning, Miss Platinum," Y said quietly with a friendly smile.
"Good morning." Platinum let out a short yawn. "It is still early in the morning. When do you normally wake up?"
"Around 6," White answered. "On most days, anyways. So even during a vacation like this, I just wake up early automatically."
"And I usually wake up around 8. I only woke up early today because someone was bored," Y said grumpily.
"Sorry," White said with a slight laugh. "But there was nothing for me to do, and I didn't want to wake up Lady Platinum so early."
"Then read a book!" Y argued.
"I don't take books with me!" White argued as well. "And I didn't want to borrow Lady Platinum's book without asking her first."
"White, Y, keep your voices down, please," Platinum warned, casting a glance at Blue, who was still asleep.
White and Y quickly clamped their hands over their mouths and looked over at Blue.
The Kanto Dex Holder remained asleep. She mumbled something and lightly tossed and turned. Her mumbles were incomprehensible except for one word, and that sounded awfully like "Red".
Y suddenly perked up and thought intently for a few seconds before she snapped her fingers. She quickly inched her way towards Platinum and dragged White with her, so that they could talk without waking up Blue.
"I actually wanted to discuss this with you," Y said in a whisper. "… Yesterday, on the train, I noticed that Blue sort of… likes Red a lot. And it makes sense too. But for some reason, she's really opposed to the idea. I tried to talk to her about it, but she keeps changing the topic before I can even start."
"Maybe she's just embarrassed?" White suggested.
Y shook her head. "No. She seemed more… afraid, than anything else. She was really quick to… well… shut me up, and I don't think that was because of embarrassment."
Platinum frowned as she recalled all the times she had seen Blue with Red. … She never would've thought that Blue would be afraid of being in a relationship with him…
"I wonder why she'd be afraid," White muttered. "So then someone is going to have to talk to her and find out why, and maybe even convince her that there's nothing to be afraid of."
"Miss Platinum," Y began, interrupting the heiress out of her thoughts. "You're closer to both Red and Blue than either of us. Could you maybe talk to her? Ordinarily, I'd say that this is none of our business, but… I just feel that something might be off."
Platinum sighed. "You are correct. This is none of our business. If senior Blue wishes to not divulge her feelings, we should not intervene."
"But Lady Platinum," White argued. "Nothing's going to happen if we don't do anything. Clearly Blue needs out support and maybe even our help with her feelings. And as her friends and juniors, we should help her out."
"Are we truly helping her?" Platinum asked calmly. "If senior Blue does not wish to discuss this topic, we are being a nuisance and putting her in a very uncomfortable position. We must not intervene in her personal affairs."
"Miss Platinum, Blue seems to be in a bit of a stalemate," Y argued as well. "And if she's really afraid for some reason, then she'll continue to emotionally suffer until this gets resolved. Are we just going to sit by while she suffers endlessly?"
Platinum was about to respond when she noticed that Blue was starting to sit up. "Ah, senior Blue!"
"Morning," Blue said rather groggily. She covered her mouth with a hand and let out a long yawn. "What are you guys talking about?" she asked as she rubbed her eyes. "I woke up because I kept hearing my name…"
White and Y glanced at each other as Blue stretched her arms. Platinum saw her two juniors and realized what was going to happen. They were going to bring up that topic immediately, since she wasn't willing to do it for them. … But were they close enough to Blue to be able to bring up such a topic without risking her getting upset? … No…
"Blue, we just wanted-" White began, but Platinum interrupted her.
"White, Y, would you two begin working on the breakfast?" she asked firmly. "… Senior Blue, I… wish to ask you something… important."
White and Y looked at Platinum in surprise, but soon nodded and left the tent. Y momentarily paused before exiting, as she suddenly realized that White was now involved with making food once again.
Now that they were alone, Platinum let out a long sigh while Blue looked at her curiously.
"So, Platinum," she began. "What did you want to ask me?"
Platinum visibly hesitated, but she knew that there was no turning back anymore. "Senior, please forgive me for my insolence and candor, but… do you have feelings for senior Red?"
Blue almost jumped in surprise. She blinked a few times in rapid succession as she thought of an answer.
"Please be honest, senior. I only wish to assist you."
Blue cast a quick glance at the tent entrance, as she immediately realized that Y had revealed her big discovery to the others already. She bit her lower lip as she wondered if the Kalos Dex Holder had told Red already. … She sincerely hoped that he didn't know yet…
Platinum caught onto her concern. "Senior Red is unaware of this. And if you wish, we will not inform him, either."
Blue narrowed her eyes as she looked at her junior. Platinum slightly averted her gaze, avoiding eye contact, as she wasn't proud of having this conversation. Blue momentarily considered in ending this conversation immediately and maybe even tell Platinum to basically mind her own business, but eventually sighed and lowered her head.
"… Yeah… I do like him…" she mumbled, just loud enough for her junior to hear. She couldn't bring herself to be rude to Platinum.
Platinum put up a warm smile to try to make her feel better. "How long have you liked him?"
Blue smiled a bit as well. "I guess it's been over 10 years now…"
"And you have not informed him yet?" Platinum asked in surprise.
"No," Blue said quickly. "I don't want him to know, ever."
Platinum observed her senior's expression and realized that Y's observation was correct. Blue was afraid. … But why? "… May I ask why you do not wish him to know?"
"… You know how nice Red is," Blue began quietly. "… You know that he deserves the best. … And I'm just not that. He deserves someone far better than me."
"Senior, you are a wonderful person," Platinum argued. "Senior Red would-"
Blue held up a hand. "Listen. You know my past. You know what I've had to deal with my whole life. And you'd know that Red has been the one source of light in my dark life. … I don't want to lose that, ever. There is a chance that he will not like me in the same way that I like him. And there is a chance that if I tell him how I feel, he will be very uncomfortable around me. And if that happens, things will never be the same between us. I will never risk it."
"But senior," Platinum argued. "Senior Red has known you for over a decade. He has been a close friend to you. Why would he not like you? He has invited you to live in his home, and he-"
"That's another reason why I can't tell him," Blue said with a sigh. "If things are uncomfortable between us, I can't stay there anymore. Then I have nowhere else to go."
"But if senior Red had invited you to live with him… does that not mean that he likes you as well?"
"Maybe," Blue said dejectedly. "But… that's yet another reason… … Red has been the one source of light in my dark life, but… I can't be that one darkness in his bright life. Even if he loves me too, I can't allow my bad luck and dark life to harm him. If I'm just living with him as a friend, I can pretend to be cheerful and happy for him. But for our relationship to be anything more, we'll have to let each other into our lives. And if there's a chance that my bad luck and dark life will hurt him, I cannot allow it, ever. I will not take that risk." She let out a long sigh and gave Platinum a bitter smile. "… I've been thinking about this for a long time, Platinum. And I get to the same conclusion every time."
Platinum frowned as she thought of the logic behind Blue's words. There were two choices for Blue: to confess, or not. If she didn't confess, nothing happens and things remain the same. And right now, she was pretty happy. But if she confessed, there were two outcomes: Red could like her as well, or he would not. If he did not like her, then things would be awkward and uncomfortable between them, and Blue did not want that. But even if he did like her, she was afraid that her life would negatively affect him, and she did not want that. So in her perspective, the best course of action was to not say anything.
Platinum didn't like how Blue kept thinking of the worst possible outcome, but she could understand her concerns. Blue was currently happy with her life, or as happy as she had ever been. She would not want to risk a change for the worst.
"I understand, senior," she said quietly. "But I do not agree. … Please forgive me again for my insolence and candor, but… please trust me on this. I believe that you should confess to senior Red. I honestly believe that senior Red likes you as well, which only leaves one concern for you, which is your fear that you will negatively affect him." Platinum momentarily paused as she organized her thoughts. "Firstly, I do not agree with your logic that you will bring bad luck to him. But for the sake of argument, let us suppose that you will bring bad luck. I question which would hurt senior Red more: sharing the burden with you, or knowing that you chose to bear the burden all by yourself." Platinum smiled a bit as she suddenly remembered her friends. "… Diamond and Pearl have taught me about friendship. Friends share both their joy and their burdens amongst each other. They share their joy so their friends can experience it as well, and they share their burden so their friends can help them overcome it. … Senior Red is one of your closest friends, if not the absolute closest. It will hurt him more to know that you are choosing to not share your burden with him."
Blue remained silent for a long while as she thought about her junior's words. "… So, if you're right… then my only concern is if he doesn't like me the way I like him."
"Yes. And I am certain that he likes you as well," Platinum said with a smile of relief. "So please confess to him, senior."
Blue let out a long sigh. "… Okay. … I'll… tell him. … Thanks, Platinum."
"Thank you for trusting me, senior."
"… But I won't tell him now. I… I'm not ready. But trust me when I say this: I will tell him one day. Just… not now."
"I understand." She gave her a polite bow. "And I apologize for-"
Blue waved a hand. "It's fine. … I didn't expect you to bring this up. I thought Y was going to, but… not you." She took a deep breath and took a moment to manage her expression. "Come on, Platinum. We have White working on breakfast now. So let's go out there and take over before she ruins this meal too."
…
Couple of hours later, the 6 Dex Holders finished with the salvaged breakfast, and were preparing to move out again. White and Y were busy cleaning the dishes, and Red and Black were busy dismantling the built tents, leaving Blue and Platinum alone to their thoughts.
Blue leaned against a tree and stared into the horizon with her arms crossed. She occasionally glanced over at Red, thinking deeply about what Platinum had said. Every now and then, she got the courage to walk up to him and confess her feelings. But within a couple of seconds, the courage vanished.
'Maybe I'll wait until we return home,' she thought with a sigh. 'I just… can't risk ruining this vacation.'
Red finished packing up a tent and looked around to see what everyone was doing. Upon spotting Blue and her rather serious expression, he frowned and walked over.
"Hey, Blue," he began stopping right in front of her. "You okay?"
Blue blinked a few times and snapped out of her thoughts. "Ah! Y – Yeah, I'm okay. Just… thinking."
"You seemed kind of sad about something," Red noted. "Is something bothering you?"
Blue smiled and shook her head. "No. It's nothing, really." She slowly rubbed her arm out of embarrassment. "I guess I just… didn't sleep so well last night."
"Why not?" Red asked, keeping his warm smile. "The three juniors giving you trouble?"
"No, but… I guess… I've been sleeping on a bed right next to you for so long, you know?" Blue mumbled timidly, carefully choosing her words. "And suddenly, being in a sleeping bag like that… it's a bit of a sudden change."
Red chuckled. "Yeah, I know what you mean. I didn't get a good night's sleep, either."
Blue perked up a bit. "Oh? You too?"
"Yeah. For me, Black was sleeping in the same tent. And let me tell you, that dude is as loud in his sleep as he is awake."
"Oh yeah, that must've been rough," Blue said with a short laugh.
"I guess we'll just have to wait until we get home to have some good sleep."
Blue's cheeks flushed red for a bit and she quickly lowered her head. "I – I'm looking forward to it…" she mumbled, hoping that he wouldn't catch onto the awkwardness.
Red just gave her a nod and a smile and stood next to her for a bit before heading back to help Black pack up the bigger tent. Blue exhaled the breath she had been holding. Okay… she had gotten quite close there, perhaps close enough to gauge Red's reaction. So far so good. Red hadn't reacted negatively to her awkward comment, and was still so unbelievably sweet to her.
Blue put her hands over her cheeks and tried to suppress the blush. … Maybe Platinum was right. She doesn't have anything to fear, after all. … She still felt nervous, though. Throughout her life, if there was one lesson she learned the hard way was that happiness didn't last long before something terrible happened.
But maybe this was the opportunity for her to change her pessimistic tendencies. Just like how meeting Red was the turning point for her life where she was finally able to escape her dark life, maybe confessing to Red and being in a relationship with him could be another turning point for her, where she would finally start looking forward to what was ahead of her.
… Maybe her luck was going to change for the better.
…
Platinum finished feeding her Glaceon and Altaria and looked up. She could see Red and Blue talking, and did her best to gauge their reactions from afar. So far, everything seemed to be good.
Platinum let out a sigh of relief. Though she hated how she had to intervene with a very personal matter, she was glad that she was able to convince Blue to confess to Red, even if she wasn't going to do it any time soon.
Still, she'd prefer to not get involved with such personal topics from now on, unless the other person initiated the conversation.
Platinum left her Pokémon to eat and walked over towards White and Y, who had just finished cleaning the dishes.
"Ah, all done!" Y exclaimed, stretching her arms.
"Well done," Platinum said, examining the sparkling dishes.
White glanced over at Blue before looking at Platinum. "So… how'd it go? I couldn't ask before, since… everyone was there."
"I have convinced her to confess to senior Red," Platinum answered quietly. "But she will do so when she is ready. And until then, we should remain quiet. And please refrain from intervening in personal matters. I had to do it this time because you two were about to, and I was afraid that senior Blue would have gotten upset." She slightly narrowed her eyes, making her two juniors flinch. "And she would have as well. Fortunately, she is not upset. So do not tempt her, please."
"Are you… upset at us?" Y asked nervously.
Platinum stared at her two juniors with unblinking eyes for a while, making them more and more nervous. Platinum's Glaceon seemed to have sensed its trainer's rising ire and walked over.
White and Y glanced down and saw the water drops on the cleaned dishes beginning to freeze, and shivered. Platinum watched their expressions for a while in amusement before lightening her expression.
"No, I am not upset at you," she said as she crouched and gently pet her Glaceon. She glared at her juniors for a brief moment. "But I will be if this happens again. Am I understood?"
"Yes, ma'am," White and Y said in unison.
Platinum giggled a bit. "Oh, do not be so afraid. I was merely-" she trailed off as she realized her Pokégear was vibrating as it received a call. "Oh? Excuse me for a moment." She walked away to answer the call, leaving White and Y to sigh in relief. Platinum's Glaceon watched them for a second before coughing up a ball of ice and wandered off somewhere.
"Hello?" Platinum said, answering the call.
"Hi, Lady!" came a very familiar voice from the other side.
Platinum's expression instantly brightened."Ah! Diamond!"
"It's great to hear from you again," he said cheerfully.
"Likewise, Diamond," Platinum said happily. "I am sorry for not calling you sooner."
"It's okay, Lady. And oh, I just wanted to let you know and Pearl and I are almost finished with our business here in the Johto Battle Frontier, and soon we're going to be ready to meet up with you."
"Oh, that is fantastic!" Platinum exclaimed. "We are currently in Route 35, north of Goldenrod City. Where should we meet up?"
"We're still in the Battle Frontier. So I guess we'll meet you in Ecruteak City?"
"Understood. Please keep me updated on your positions. Since we are riding the Johto-wide magnet train, we will be able to reach Ecruteak City very quickly. So please tell me when you are close to Ecruteak."
"Will do! We'll see you soon, Lady!"
Platinum soon hung up and smiled brightly as she put her Pokégear away. Now that her friends were coming, the tour of Johto was going to be even better! Especially with Diamond…
The heiress licked her lips, as she suddenly thought about his delicious cooking. She giggled happily and was about to head back to the others when she felt something landing on her head. She looked up and noticed that her Altaria had come to perch on top of her head again. Platinum smiled brightly and reached up to pet its soft wings.
"Good news, Altaria," she said happily. "Diamond and Pearl are coming. Come, we should tell the others so we can reunite with them as fast as possible!"
…
Meanwhile, classified location, Kanto…
…
The division leader gathered his team for the morning meeting. And he was excited. He had searched through the databanks in the main server the previous night, and scored a jackpot. He didn't even get caught or suspected for such a search, which was off-limits to him, which felt like a good omen. He felt that the K3 project was now destined to succeed.
"Great news," he said the moment everyone was gathered. "I searched through the main servers and found everything we need.
"What do you mean, everything?" one of the assistants asked.
"The solutions to our major problems," the leader clarified. "The boss keeps track of a certain group of people, and the bios on them contained enough information to solve all of our problems. For our funding problem, we have a target. We will have to kidnap the only daughter of the famous Berlitz family of Sinnoh. Normally, such a task would be daunting, as the family is unbelievably rich, therefore has all sorts of security measures to prevent kidnapping, but according to our intel, the daughter is not in Sinnoh right now. She was last seen in Vermillion City harbor yesterday, so it's safe to assume that she's still here in Kanto, or at the very least, Johto. This is the best opportunity to snatch her."
"What other details do we have on this girl?"
The leader put up a large picture of her on the board. "This is what she looks like. She's currently 18 years old. Her exact battling proficiency is unknown, however given her record, it's safe to assume that she's really powerful. Attempting to kidnap her with a frontal attack is guaranteed to fail, especially since she's here in Kanto likely visiting friends. So we'll have to track her down and then look for an opportunity to discreetly snatch her."
"She doesn't look physically imposing," one assistant commented.
"Such an impression is dangerous," the leader warned. "There is a girl on the database who doesn't look physically imposing but actually has monstrous strength and physical prowess. Fortunately, the Berlitz girl is not that one." The leader put up another picture. "This girl is the solution to our Rotom problem. Not only does she have a Rotom, but she also has a specially designed Pokédex that the Rotom can enter and freely control. That Pokédex and the Rotom are our priority. We need to snatch them so we can study the interface for our K3 project. According to our database, she is currently in the region of Alola."
"So we'll need to send a small group over, track her down, and steal the Pokédex," one assistant muttered. "How is her battling proficiency? I doubt we can snatch the Rotom and the Pokédex without a battle happening."
"Unknown," the leader answered. "But she should be the easiest target out of all three. Just in case, take precaution." He put up a final picture. "And this… is our volunteer. She doesn't know that she's our volunteer, but that's irrelevant. Based on preliminary matching, she's suitable for the K3 project by 99%. Safe to say, we won't be finding a better candidate than her. However, she's probably the most difficult target out of all three. Snatching her would be very difficult. But again, for now, we should just focus on tracking all three targets."
"Where does this girl live?"
The leader smiled. "Right here in Kanto. She had been living in the Sevii Islands until recently, when she moved to mainland Kanto. Which means locating and tracking her wouldn't be nearly as difficult as the other targets. Now, here are the folders containing information about our three targets. So let's get going, people. Project K3 awaits us!"