Chapter 6

It wasn't at all pleasing to feel the feather cut through his skin and even worse to feel the warm splatter of blood on my face. But it worked.

The thief backed away, clutching his arm with his uninjured hand. At first he thought he was dreaming. He blinked a few times, looked around, and then gently squeezed the wound. When he came to the realization that it wasn't fake, his eyes rolled into the back of his head. He dropped to his knees and then flat on his face. I had to scramble backwards to avoid being crushed.

"Rui," I heard Wes call from outside. He stepped into the room. "Are you al-" He came to a stop. The giant that I had defeated was still on the ground out cold. At first Wes couldn't believe it. But when the giant moaned, he came to. "Get Sherles," he snapped to the construction worker that had just come to and climbed to his feet. "Get him and tell him to bring bandages."

"U-u-uh, yes. Ok!" He darted out of the room, stumbling over his own feet. When he had gone, Wes pulled me aside.

"Did he attack you?" he asked. My mouth didn't work. My tongue was dry and my thoughts were scrambled. His words didn't make sense to me. He noticed I wasn't able to reply and started looking me up and down, checking for any sign of damage. When he found none, he pat my cheek, gently bringing me to.

I blinked. Oh, man. I had really cut that man open, hadn't I? His blood was everywhere, even on me. It wasn't my fault, though. He was going to kill me. He even said so himself. I had done what was right.

"Rui," he said. "Can you hear me?" Had he been talking to me for long? He must've, because he was beginning to pat my cheek harder.

"Y-y-yeah." I was holding the bloody blade so tightly my knuckles were turning white. I dropped it on the ground and backed away. Wes had to step away to avoid being hit by it. My hands trembled. Had I killed him? Was that man going to die because of me?

My thoughts were so distracting and rapid that I didn't notice that Wes had stepped forward right in front of me and took my hands in his. He cupped the both of them in his gloved hands and held tight. His grip was warm and soft. He was sure to hold them gently, almost enough to where I could easily slip out. But I wasn't going to do that.

It felt so right.

I wanted to keep my gaze off his. I couldn't look at him without blushing. But I failed. It was impossible not to meet his gaze. For the first time since I'd met him, his gaze was soft and calm. He didn't look like that tough, angry trainer anymore.

The gold in his eyes were enticing, almost hypnotic. Mine must have been the same, because he lost himself in the moment. The two of us just stood there, hands touching, as the time passed. What was he thinking? Did I look ugly, covered in blood and panicked? I hope I didn't. For him, I wanted to look at least a little pretty.

"You're going to be fine," he said suddenly. His voice was a whisper. "You did the right thing. It was either him or you, and I'd much rather it be a criminal than you." My heart skipped a beat. He did care about me. Maybe it was just my safety, but it was something. Something that made me feel so much better.

"Wes." A man with spiked grey hair caught our attention. He was standing beside the Mr. Johnson, the man who had confronted Cail earlier about the menacing pokemon. Judging by his outfit and the badges on his vest, he was a cop, a much more experienced cop. Behind him, a team of two girls were assisting the fallen villain. Already, his arm was wrapped and the bleeding had stopped.

"Sherles," Wes greeted, squeezing my hand before releasing it.

"I suppose I owe you a thank you for stopping him." The officer straightened the larger badge on the left side of his chest. "The colosseum doesn't do well without power. It's still a mystery to me why they'd want to shut if off, however."

"It was probably just a way to isolate those inside so they could steal their pokemon," Wes assured. Sherles nodded. Was that really it? Just to keep some trainers in the dark in the middle of their battle? That couldn't be it, it was too dumb of a plan. Wes had said it, but when he had, the look on his face changed. Now he was beginning to doubt it himself. Then, "It wasn't me who stopped him."

"It wasn't?" Sherles looked towards me. There was no way he wasn't going to believe it wasn't me. I was splattered with blood and the weapon that had did it was at my feet. His eyebrows raised in surprise. "You?"

"Um, yeah."

"Hm. Well, thank you."
"Sir, he's regaining consciousness," one of the female doctors reported.

"I should take this. You two see if you can find any other signs of Team Snagem nearby."

"Yessir," Wes replied. I was fully ready to chase after him before he marched out of the room, but this time was different.

He actually waited for me to pick up my weapon and step up to his side.

When I was ready, he nodded at me and we stepped outside. It had gotten dark, not because the day was ending and night was starting, but because dark clouds were covering the sun. More of them were on the way and the sound of approaching thunder boomed in the distance. Just as it hit our ears, the first few drops of rain began to fall from the sky. It was a gentle drizzle, but the action that had taken place today began to wash away under the cold shower of weather. I found myself closing my eyes and opening my arms to the sky. I loved rain. There was nothing better after being splattered by blood to have to washed off by something as soothing as this.

For a brief moment, I opened my eyes to see if Wes had left me behind, but he hadn't. He was standing beside me, chin inclined to the sky slightly. His eyes were closed, and even as the rain hit his face, he didn't flinch. In this weather he looked like a statue, a handsome, cute statue. It made me smile to see that he loved the rain just as much as I did.

The square that Wes had battled in was empty. Every thug, goon, and misfit had disappeared to avoid the upcoming storm. The buildings in the city began to shed their rust, their graffiti, and their dust. The street began to show itself from under the heavy buildup of dirt and garbage. Though it was still cracked and old, it was a lot better than the latter.

Now the buildings were turning on their lights, inside and outside. The storm was getting thicker and the rain was hitting harder. It was dark and it was only bound to get darker, for a thicker cloud was approaching in the distance.

"Let's get to the hotel. We can check out the colosseum tomorrow." I followed him across the square and towards the entrance to the city. The hotel he was about to enter had a neon sign on the outside that flickered faintly. Even I could tell from the inside that it was pretty full already.

A familiar song started playing in high-pitched mockery. Wes reached into his pocket and pulled out what must've been his PDA. Though it was his, I was surprised to see it was covered in pink pokemon stickers. He flipped it open and held it up to his ear.

"Yessir?" he said, leading me to the overhang that kept us at least a little bit drier. I heard a voice that sounded like the mayor's on the other end of the line. The words were drowned out by the sound of the rain as it hit the ground. While I waited for their conversation to stop, I adjusted the scarf. Wow, Wes really knew how to keep this comfortable but tight enough to stay in place. And it was the perfect color, too. How had he managed to buy something so perfect? WAs he secretly into fashion? "I can do that. See you in a few." He flipped the phone shut.

"Everything alright?" I asked.

"It turns out that Team Snagem isn't the only organization we need to worry about. Now there's Team Cipher to deal with. They're even worse than the ones I had to deal with."

"How so?" I asked.

"They're making a grab for Ho-oh." What? The Light Pokemon? What would they want with that? Wait, that was obvious.

They were going to either kill or convert it.

"There's a few of them stationed here in Pyrite," he continued. "And by a few, I mean enough that we can't take them on alone. We have to wait a while for some backup."

"Backup? There's more of us?"

"Not much, but enough to work." He typed a few things into his PDA. It looked like an old flip phone to me, but who was I to judge. All I had growing up was a track phone, and most of the time it was turned off because my parents forgot to pay the bill every other week. I wondered why he had so many jigglypuffs and bunearys. "Do you like it, or does it seem weird that I carry it?" I turned red when Wes spoke. Oops, probably shouldn't have stared too long.

"Um. I'm not sure." He held it up and flipped it open for me to see.

"I suppose you don't have a younger sister, then." Oh, was that it? His little sister had decorated it? He used something that girly even though he worked hard to keep up a badass reputation, that meant he wasn't as mean as I thought. "You have any family?"

"Yeah," I responded. "A mom, dad, and older brother."

"Hm." He held the phone out to me. "Go ahead and put in your number so I can call you if you're not nearby." I didn't take it. He blinked in surprise. "Did you not want to give it out?"

"No, I just don't have a cell phone." He paused.

"Then how do you keep in contact with your family?"

"I don't."

He went silent. For the first time since I met him, he appeared embarrassed. Only in the inclined eyebrows, though. His mouth and eyes were forced to portray no emotion.

Then, "I'll have it arranged so you have one of your own. If you're going to be on a team with me, you're going to need to stay in communication with me."

"Alright, that'd be cool." I smiled faintly. "Thank you." He nodded. "How long is it going to take for backup to get here?" Wes glanced up at the sky, scanning it.

"They can't get through the storm, so a little while after it ends." Thunder followed his words. It was louder than before. Now the rain was pouring harder and lightning was lighting up the sky.

They weren't going to arrive any time soon.

"I suppose we can get a room inside and wait until the storm passes." I followed him inside. There, a bulky man was sitting at the counter reading a book almost too small for him to hold. When we entered, tracking dirt and water with us, he sighed. He was probably the one who had to mop up.

"Welcome," he said, bored. "Would you like a room?"

"Yes," Wes said.

"We have one open. It has one queen bed. Is that satisfactory?" No, it wasn't. I wanted to rest just as much as Wes did, but not in the same bed. That was just too much. Way too-

"That'll be fine," Wes confirmed. He pulled some money out of his pockets and set it on the counter. The man took it and slid it messily into a drawer before pulling a key out from one next to it. It was almost nothing but rust; you could hardly identify it as a key in that shape. "Thank you." He looked to me, making sure I was by his side, then lead me through a door to the right.

The inside of the hotel wasn't made of wood or drywall. It was metal. The tables, the floor, the ceiling, and the lights were made of it. Now that it was cold and wet outside, it was chilly in there. I found myself shivering.

They hadn't bothered to decorate much, either. Sure, there was a painting here and there, but the walls were almost always bare of anything but dents and rust. The whole way we walked to our room, there was only rug on the floor, and it had been worn heavily by the feet of many people. The only nice thing about it was that it was well lit by warm light. It made me feel a touch warmer, if anything.

"Here," Wes said, stopping at a section of wall that was cut poorly to resemble a door. He put the key in the hole and opened it. With the exception of a nightstand, a desk, and a bed, it was nothing but a slightly larger version of the hallway. Man, this town was a dump. Why hadn't it been knocked off the map yet, or at least fixed?

I stepped inside. Wes had already thrown his belt on the bed. Jeez, he had at least ten Shadow Pokemon on there. He must've worked up a storm while I was fighting the thug who wanted to steal the cog. Which was still a mystery to me. Why take the power to a large stadium, moderately inconveniencing a few trainers?

"You going to rest?" Wes asked.

"Hm? Oh, sure."

"Do you mind the light on? I want to read." Read? Him? Where did he even keep a book on his person? As I thought about it, he pulled a book out from an inner chest pocket. Wow, he must carry that thing everywhere.

"I don't mind." I took off my boots and set them near the door, where Wes had already set his. He adjusted the lamp next to the bed before sitting on it and leaning against the headboard. I slipped under the covers on the opposite side. For a crappy hotel they still had a soft and unusually clean bed. It would've been easy to fall asleep, but I wanted to catch a glance of what he was reading.

That was weird. The cover of the book was on the wrong side. He was even working through the pages from right to left. When I looked a little closer, it was just a comic book. A comic book called Kaitou Jeanne. It looked sorta girly; there was a boy and a girl holding each other on the front. He must've been reading it for a while because it was volume eight.

"Never heard of manga before?" he asked. Oh jeez. I had been so busy looking at the cover I hadn't noticed he was staring right at me. I tried not to blush. "They're Japanese, so you read them right to left. Sometimes they have an animated show, too. It's called anime." He held it out to me after slipping a bookmark inside. I took it and flipped through a few pages.

"Don't you get confused about which way to read?" I asked.

"No. When you've read enough it comes naturally. I can switch between manga and other books just fine." He paused when I flipped onto a page of the two people on the cover kissing. I blushed, but he chuckled. "I know, I'm not the type of person you'd expect to read romances."

"It's not a bad thing," I said quickly. "I used to read romances when I was younger. Not manga, but you know."

"Why'd you stop?"

"Uh, ran out of money." He blinked at me. Great, now he knew I was lying. What do I say now? He was probably going to think I was such a jerk for not telling him something as simple at that. Maybe I should just lay back down and-

"You don't have to be shy." He smiled at me. "I'm not going to judge you whether you want or don't want to tell me." Oh my god, that smile! He was so handsome! Look at him! If only I could take a picture of it and keep it in my wallet to open every time I got upset. What a big, sweet, cutie! I found myself smiling back.

"I left them at my parent's house. And I haven't really gotten the money to buy some more, let alone the place to keep them." He smiled a bit more when he saw that I had decided to share it with him.

"Well, I can teach you how to read mine, if you'd-"

"Yes, I'd really like that!" I interrupted him, but instead of pausing, he chuckled again. This time, it was a little louder. I was blushing wildly now. You got too excited, Rui, too excited. But it looked to have paid off.

"Good. Next time we drop by my place, I'll give you a couple."

"Wait, you have a place?" He met my eyes.

"Yeah. My parents thought that I should be able to handle my own finances by at least twenty." He's twenty? He looked my age, how could he be two years older than me? "You haven't finished high school yet, have you?" Did… did he think I was still in high school?

"No, I finished just this year. I'm eighteen." That took him by surprise.

"You are?" He leaned a little closer to get a better look at my face. Try not to freak out, I told myself. Try not to freak out! "You look younger than that. My apologies if that offends you."

"N-no, it doesn't." I didn't tell him, but I loved the way my features made me younger than I really was. Maybe when I grew up, it would work to my advantage. I guess the same went for him, because he was twenty and looked fresh out of high school. "How can you afford your own place?"

"Team Snagem Admins get paid pretty well," he said, opening his book back up and absently checking out one of the pages he had already read. Admin? This guy is quite the trainer and, even more so, a great actor and spy. "But now that I'm outta there, the mayor pays me. Don't know what to expect, but he's pretty generous. If things get tight, I usually just battle." He flipped a page. "How do you make money?"

Oh great, another question that was a harder to answer. But that was ok. It felt good to talk to someone about this kind of stuff. When I arrived in the Orre Region and spent all my time at Outskirt Sand with Willie, he had been the only real company I had. I wasn't willing to tell him much, though. He was more about himself than anyone else. Not the type to feel bad for others because, guess what, they had him to talk to.

"I do chores for people," I said.

"Chores…?"

"You know. If I see someone struggling with some boxes or notice a dirty car I offer to help." He believed me, but only because it was true. It was obvious he didn't like the sound of it.

"You're getting paid to do all this stuff with me."

"When did that start?"

"Right now." I blinked at him, but he was too absorbed by a crinkle in one of the pages that he probably didn't notice. Was he going to pay me? Or was he going to talk to the mayor about it? Either way, why? "I think that putting your life in danger like you did today was enough of a reason to earn some income." It was like he read my mind. "You might want to get some rest. We're going to need you as soon as the storm passes."

"Right." I situated myself under their covers again. These beds were so soft and comfortable. I fell asleep right away.

The storm was getting heavier. As Wes continued to read, it became harder and harder to focus. It didn't look like they could start taking on Team Cipher today. It was already three in the afternoon and there was no sign of sun. The thunder shook the hotel and everything in it. The clattering of metal and the sound of rain was deafening. When he looked outside, the square was beginning to flood. It was black as night. There was no sun nor were there stars. Just the flickering neon lights of buildings as they were pelted by the heavy rain.

For a while, Wes considered sleeping as well. It was easier for him to fall asleep during harder storms, but this one made him uneasy. There was a chance it could begging to flood or shift into something larger, maybe a tornado. So he rested against the headboard and leaned his head backwards. The gentle sound of my breathing was soothing. It was the only calm sound in the entire hotel. People nearby were walking around, eager to look out the front door to get a close up of what was raging beyond it. They were chatting, and though they were nearby, Wes couldn't make out what they said.

He looked to the door. I had locked it on my way in. That made the uneasiness in his chest lift slightly. But it was still unnerving to be in a town filled with Shadow Pokemon and Team Cipher. He wouldn't be able to sleep like this.

"Mmf," I muttered. Wes looked over to me. I was still asleep yet my fists were clenched. "Nnf..."

She looked like she was having a bad dream, he thought. Maybe the storm was annoying her.

"Wes..."

The pokemon trainer stared. He was about to ask what I wanted, but I had fallen back asleep. My hands were loose and my eyes were no longer squeezed shut. The breaths I took were full and slow. The nightmare had been lifted.

Maybe, Wes thought. Maybe I can get some sleep.

He lie down, too tired to pull the covers over him, and turned away from me. His robe wasn't exactly the best sleepwear, so it took a short while of shifting before he was comfortable. I paused my breathing for a second while he did so. When he had finished, I fell back asleep.

Then, without knowing I was doing so, I scoot a closer to him until my back was pressed against his. Wes knew he wasn't under the covers, but he could still feel my warmth. So warm, he thought.

Now he was more than able to fall asleep.

Wes Is Drowsy!

Saving Game…

Game Saved!