Chira sighed. Finding her family wasn't supposed to be this hard. How was she supposed to persuade Lance that she was who she said she was? She frowned and followed him down the hall, emerging back into the main area. Trainers were all over, and it didn't take long for Chira to realize the arena had emptied. She simply stood, unsure as to what to do.
"Chira!" She turned as her name was called. She smiled at Chris.
"Hey," she said. She spotted Jordan right behind him.
"So you did come," Jordan said. He eyed her. "You okay?" he asked.
She nodded. "I guess."
Insight yipped. "No you aren't, now tell them the truth."
Chira shrugged. "I guess I'm just lost. I've never been to anything like this, so I have no idea how to go about things."
Jordan smiled. "That's easy. Just stick with us. Have you gotten a room yet?"
He led the way back to the front of the building. "No," Chira told them.
Insight growled at her, and she stuck her tongue out at her when her company wasn't looking.
Chris tugged on her arm. "Did you see me in the arena?" he asked excitedly.
She nodded. They approached the main desk right on the other side of the doors, and Chira bit her lip as she saw the person talking to the receptionist.
"Actually, I think I'm going to sleep outside," she said, halting them. "I really don't need a room. Besides, I doubt they'll let me have Cami out in a room." Lance left the desk and headed away from them. She breathed a mental sigh of relief. He probably wouldn't be too keen on seeing her again so soon.
Jordan stared at her. "You would rather sleep on the frigid, hard ground than in a soft, warm bed? Have you lost your mind?!"
Chira smiled sheepishly. "I'd rather be able to spend time with my pokemon than have a comfortable place to sleep."
Chris laughed. "You are really devoted to your pokemon, aren't you?"
Chira just smiled in response. "When does the first match start tomorrow?" she asked.
"8 O'clock." Jordan said. "But I still don't get-"
Chira cut him off. "Then I'll find you two then. Save a spot for me, Jordan!" She waved and ran outside, smiling the whole way.
She let out Cami. "C'mon, Cam, let's find a place to sleep, and I'll fill you in on what's happened since you returned."
Lance strolled the halls of Indigo Plateau. He couldn't forget that girl's sincere face as she told him she was his cousin. Of course, she acted like she didn't realize that was what she was saying. He shook his head. Stupid fan girl. Just because I've captured dragonite and I'm well known… But how did she find out about Luke and his wife? I've never been that close to Luke. Maybe someone from their funeral told her. But then where did she get that picture? None of this makes sense. But I know she isn't who she says she is. Their daughter was on the ship with them when it went down. Everyone knew that. Of course, there is the fact that her body was never found…
He pushed open a door off the main hall, entering a foyer crawling with people. None of them turned at his entrance, but then they were all well known trainers. A lot of them were also his friends. Drake turned at his approach.
"Hey, Lance. I was starting to think you had gotten lost." Drake was Lance's cousin and a well known pokemon trainer in his own right. He was the Orange Crew Supreme Gym Leader. He, too, was a dragonite trainer. Very few people, though, knew the two men were related. They had only found out themselves at the funeral of their mutual uncle, Luke, another Gym Leader from the Orange Islands. Since then, the two had become very close friends, and had worked hard to keep the outside world from knowing they were related.
"Hardly, I ran into a lost trainer." Lance said, struggling to keep his voice under control. Drake had fifteen years of practice in reading his cousin, though.
"What happened?" He asked nonchalantly.
"She tried to claim she was my cousin, albeit indirectly."
Drake raised his eyebrows. "Oh?"
"She even had a picture of Luke, his wife, and their daughter in front of the main entrance here. She said her parents found her on their porch with a note and the picture. My question is if she's telling the truth, which is highly unlikely, how did she survive the shipwreck? No one else did."
"Interesting," Drake said, thinking. The two men sat on one of the couches in the room. "Maybe you'll just have to ask her that. Why are you so certain that she isn't telling the truth?"
"You believe the story?" Lance was shocked.
"Weirder things have happened, you know." Drake shrugged.
"Well, here's something that will convince you she's lying. I found her down the hall to the suites. Don't tell me you don't think that's not fishy? It's impossible to end up lost down there unless you've been exploring or something."
"Maybe you were supposed to meet her."
Lance laughed. "Oh, sure. Like I'm going to believe that."
Drake smiled. "You're right. There is no way she can be who she says she is."
Lance paused. "There was something about her though… I think I want to talk to her again." Drake gave him a puzzled look. "After all, what's the harm in talking, right?"
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Heh, heh. I am loving this story more and more. Oh, and by the way. I took Drake out of the manga bit of pokemon. Hope you like where I'm headed with this!