"Perrrr~sian?" The Pokémon's soft call made his trainer look down at him, his own ruby hues looking into her contrasting seafoam ones, understanding that look in her eyes. She was worried about something he had felt long before she did. The meteor shower scared all the Pokémon in their pokeballs that night, but Luppi was the only one that truly felt the effect the shower had. He, simply being an intuitive feline, knew something was wrong with his trainer, but he doubted it could be the meteor shower. Humans were stupid in the sense of meteorology when compared to Pokémon. Even before Pokémon existed, the animals of the prehistoric people were much better at interpreting the weather. 'What's wrong, Chessebelle?' Luppi thought to himself as he tilted his head slightly, practically sitting in his trainer's lap to keep from falling off the Aerodactyl's back.
Chessebelle's fingers danced along Luppi's diamond-encrusted collar, barely grazing the diamonds that spelled out his name, mostly doing it subconsciously as her mind was way too caught up in what was happening below her. The red-head stopped her hand movements and reached for Luppi's luxury ball, pulling it off her belt and tapping her Persian's forehead gem, returning the Pokémon, who had no complaints for once. It was safer anyways. She slowly put the pokeball back onto her belt, her eyes vacantly staring down at the spine of the Aerodactyl, his wings flapping slowly and leisurely as they made their way towards somewhere a bit safer, or so they thought. Chessebelle lifted her leg from one side of Hozukimaru's neck, causing the Aerodactyl to look back quickly, concerned with the sudden weight shifting and movement, and watched the red-head swing her whole body around, switching her legs places so she was facing Ikkaku now, the bald man's brown doe eyes looking at her like she was crazy because of what she just did.
"I'm so sorry."
Those were the only words she spoke before reaching her arms out and hugging the bald bodyguard, Ikkaku looking at her awkwardly from the side of her head, but hugged her waist to him as well. "It's ok. We're headed to Indigo Plateau right now." He whispered into her hair, closing his eyes as one of his hands slowly moved up, massaging her back comfortingly. A jerk made Ikkaku open his eyes once more, looking into Chessebelle's as she arched a brow.
"The Indigo Plateau? I'm going to need makeup…" She trailed off, thinking about what to do. The champion of the Johto / Kanto region being there might be better, but she also had to lay low during this time. She was only supposed to come out in public for specific events where she was requested or demanded; the champion was much like Blue, never making her voice heard unless it was demanded. That's probably what made them some of the more popular of the champions that grace the regions. Cynthia was famous because of how cool she was, granted, but a lot of the time the silent heroes were the ones that were more liked by the common people, if you will.
The journey to Indigo Plateau wasn't to be more than half an hour, at the most, but as they traveled southeast, the clouds began to lighten up, revealing more clear skies, despite the metaphoric rainfall down below. The red-head glanced down at her outfit and looked at what Ikkaku had put on before he had left: a dark red long-sleeve button-up shirt with a black army-like coat on over it, with simple grey jeans. "Ikkaku, give me your button up and put my jacket in one of the bags." The red-head said as she took her signature jacket off and held it out to Ikkaku, waiting for the bald man to take off his jacket and give her his shirt like she asked. "Uhm.. Ok.." He replied with an arched brow, his little red makeup marks scrunching up from his facial expression.
"I'm not crazy, I promise, I have a reason to my rhyme, baldy." She teased softly, still in a slightly serious mood. Ikkaku did as she asked, fidgeting slightly as he tried to put the jacket in the bag like she asked, handing her his red-button up first, now only wearing a black wife-beater. The red-head pulled the shirt on and looked down, quirking her mouth slightly, before taking the ends of the shirt and tying them in a knot right below her chest, nodding slightly. "Looks good, eh?" She waited for confirmation with a half-hearted smile, before glancing down at her wrists, grabbing one of the hair-ties she had and pulling her hair back, putting it into a low bun. She had pulled all of her hair straight back but left her bangs out, switching them to the other side of her face, despite the hair's reluctance.
Ikkaku smiled back at Chessebelle when she was done. She was never going to look different o him; she was always the beautiful Chessebelle he loved with all his heart and wished she could just see that. Yachiru continually teased him that he was forever in the friend-zone, and he truly wished he could tell her she was wrong, but he couldn't deny it.
While Ikkaku contemplated his relationship status with his employer, Chessebelle turned herself back around, Ikkaku's arms reaching out to keep her on Hozukimaru as he flew. The red-head noticed, during her turn-around, that Yumichika and Kenpachi had been flying below them a few hundred feet this entire time. Yumichika was slightly ahead of the group; Yachiru was usually the scout, but Clover was a much faster flyer than the dragonite. The champion sighed as she leaned her back into Ikkaku's chest and closed her eyes, planning on trying to relax while she still could. This might be the only real time of peace they'll have from here on out.
It felt like only seconds before Ikakku was shaking her awake, Hozukimaru already on the ground next to the Indigo Plateau, multiple trainers around and piling into the Elite Four's building, and her rightful playing field for the past few years. Chessebelle yawned as she groggily got off of the prehistoric Pokémon, getting her footing back as her belt readjusted itself and landed on her hips off-centered. Yumichika, Kenpachi, and Yachiru were around, but not near Chessebelle, finding it to be a better strategy to be spread out during this meeting. The crowds entering the Indigo Plateau were ridiculously large, Kenpachi's height the only thing making it easier to find him in the crowd of ace trainers and hikers.
"C'mon, they're starting soon, babe. Put these on." Ikkaku ushered her as he gave her a pair of black sunglasses, no doubt from Yumichika, as he recalled Hozukimaru after some praise, attaching his pokeball back to his belt. The champion-incognito put the sunglasses on, wondering what they were for considering they were about to go inside; it was sunny outside, but only douchebags wore sunglasses inside. At least that's how she thought—but at the moment she was too tired to really ask questions.
Chessebelle, Ikkaku and the rest of the civilians and gym leaders from the Johto / Kanto regions were slowly herded into the Indigo Plateau. Now she realized why she needed the sunglasses; the roof of the Indigo Plateau was ripped off, sunlight beaming down on the large crowd. Ikkaku held Chessebelle's hand as he pushed his way through the crowds with groans, grunts, and grumbles from the more rude people. Chessebelle figured it would be better if Kenpachi was with her; he would've made a much bigger pathway for her to get through the crowd, but Ikkaku did the job well enough.
"Excuse me, everyone, please stop moving and stand where you are. We're going to start the meeting now." Cynthia's superior voice still echoed throughout the building, despite the roof being completely gone. Ikkaku's hand managed to push people out of the way and get Chessebelle a spot on the counter of Nurse Joy's station, the pink-haired doctor nowhere to be found. The champion took her perch on the counter, crossing her legs as Ikkaku stood at her side with his arms crossed, like a Granbull protecting his property. The red-head looked over the crowd, the slight height advantage helping with the surveying of the crowd through her tinted glasses.
There were people on the rails of the stairs, the balconies all over the building; literally everyone was shoulder to shoulder on the ground and third floors. Some people had their Pokémon out, the companions of nature looking stressed out as they fidgeted and refused to sit still. The platform for the second floor was cleared in the middle, the various champions and well-known figures standing in the center while the lucky people got to stand to the left of right of the center circle. Blue was standing to the far left, closest to Chessebelle, then it was Claire of the Blackthorn City gym, Cynthia from the Sinnoh region, Wallace from Hoenn, and Steven from the Hoenn region. Cynthia was standing more towards the front of the group as they did a V-formation. Blue was surveying the crowd with crossed arms, look as bored with life as he usually did. Claire looked like she had a stick up her ass, which was also the usual look for her. Wallace and Steven were conversing with each other, both of them having a look of stress on their faces. Cynthia, however, looked as calm as could be, her hair accessories bouncing slightly as she took a step forward, breaking the formation just a tad.
"People, please!" Another shout from Cynthia and the crowd grew silent, a wave of solemnness washing over them rather quickly. "Thank you," She proceeded. "Now I know that Lance's broadcast has frightened many of you, but there is no reason to be scared. As you heard, there are shelters for you to go to and be protected. Under the supervision of your fellow gym leaders and the champions, why would you be worried? We promise to be here for you. The Elite Four will be setting up shelters in Kanto for the Gym Leaders there as well, but so far, Johto has been the only true region affected with this… disease." Cynthia paused at the end of her sentence, saying the last word with an underlying bite of venom.
A murmur broke through the crowd, gradually growing in decibels as people began to sweat and panic. Chessebelle lolled her head to the side, resting her cheek on her shoulder as she looked at Ikkaku, arching a brow that was hidden by her sunglasses. "Well, you can't blame them." Ikkaku muttered under his breath at the girl's look towards him. She nodded curtly before her head moved back to its original position, watching the champions up above her. Blue seemed to be looking in her direction, his brows furrowed in concentration, it would seem. 'I think he knows..' Chessebelle thought to herself as she reached up, making sure her bangs were on the opposite side they were usually on, trying to make sure the former champion wouldn't call her out.
"Now your current champion's whereabouts are unknown, but once she is found, she will be in charge of a safety shelter as well. If you are a gym leader of the Johto region, we're going to need you to please step forward. Everyone clear the first stairs; or at least make room for the seven gym leaders." Cynthia continued, Ikkaku nudging the red-head at the mention of the champion and how she'd be in charge of a safety shelter.
"I can't even keep myself safe, how am I supposed to keep everyone safe?" The red-head groaned to her bald companion, getting a few looks from the people around her, the girl immediately closing her mouth at the sight of their eyes on her. "Oops…" She murmured as Ikkaku couldn't help but smile at her comment.
After the short dialogue, Falkner, Bugsy, Whitney, Morty, Jasmine, and Pryce all stepped forward.
"Where's Chuck?" Cynthia questioned, more in an annoyed mother tone if anything. The gym leaders looked at one another before Pryce stepped forward with his cane, looking much older than he should have. "Chuck decided it'd be better to stay put on Cianwood; he thought it'd be redundant to come to a meeting about safety when the shelters you have set up are being unattended." Pryce, the little old man, stepped down once more, wobbling on his cane. "I see." Cynthia said with a condescending look before she jerked her head to the side, looking at Claire and nodding towards the roof. The dragon master nodded and threw a pokeball, releasing an enormous Dragonite, much large than Yumichika's. The tan dragon grabbed Claire and the two vanished after a few moments into the sunlight streaming down from the heavens.
"Gym leaders, you were put in charge of a city because you are trustworthy, respectful, strong, and most of all you have heart. You are to do rounds in your cities for any outside threats. You may use your gym apprentices, but do not enlist any civilians to help you and then get killed. We do not need any more deaths." Cynthia's last sentence made everyone grimace, the leaders included. How could she be so candid about this? "You are to report back to your nearest champion to your city as soon as you get back and begin your rounds. You will do rounds from now until this emergency situation is under control, or at least understood." Cynthia finished, turning fast enough that her coat billowed out beneath her from the sudden rush of air. "Dismissed."
That was the last word that Cynthia said as she left for the Elite Four chambers, the rest of the champions releasing their own flying types and leaving the Indigo Plateau without another word. A panic seemed to sweep through the crowd, everyone yelling, pushing, and shoving to get out of the crowded place. Ikkaku grabbed Chessebelle, putting her over his shoulder gruffly as he began to push his own way through the crowd. No one seemed to say anything about the situation; Chessebelle wondered if anyone would think this was a kidnapping. Apparently, if they did, she wasn't a priority at the moment. The red-head took the time to lean up a bit, fixing her bangs the right way and letting her hair fall out of her bun, the hair cascading down from her head and hanging at either side of her head, the crimson waterfall reaching the top of Ikkaku's thighs.
Chessebelle put her sunglasses on the top of her head now, finding the sun not that bright, clouds slowly rolling by now to regulate the sunshine. Her sea-foam hues blinked, slowly getting used to the light, before she noticed that Ikkaku had already gotten them outside now. "Well now where are we going?" She questioned, Ikkaku putting her down on her feet, the champion fixing her tank top and tied up shirt, before her eyes flitted up to Ikkaku. "We have to wait for Yumichika and sensei. From there? Well, we'll probably head to Goldenrod. We can see if your parents are alright."
"They are." Chessebelle corrected the bald man, who looked at her oddly, her face now turned to the side, a stubborn look on her face that he had seen only a few times in battles against challengers in her Champion room. "Right, yes. . . Well," Ikkaku started before Chessebelle interrupted him with her own interjection.
"I'm serious, don't take me for a joke, Ikkaku. My parents may be older than most, but they're not stupid. My dad was a detective for thirty years, and he has strong Pokémon with him. My dad may be disabled but he wouldn't let anything happen to my mom or himself. Don't act like you don't know, Ikkaku. They're not feeble old people." She finished with a look towards Ikkaku from the corner of her eye, looking him up and down as if assessing whether he was taking her seriously or not.
'God I love her.' Ikkaku thought as he stared at her, before he realized she had stopped talking, shaking his head with a curt nod in response to her short speech. The couple stood outside and watched the crowds pass them, waiting for Yumichika and Kenpachi patiently, before a few people continued to look at the red-head with arched brows, as if they recognized her. It was only a few more of these weird looks before someone said something. That someone happened to be the former Champion, mister Blue Oak himself.
Chessebelle had her arms crossed, leaning on one leg and kicking the grass nonchalantly with the other one, before someone grabbed her shoulder and turned her around.
"What are you doing here?! Where have you been?! You may be the champion to everyone else, but you're still nothing to me. You have responsibilities to fulfill during emergency situations, you know everyone looks up to you to be such a hero. I know how you are, but you need to do this shit, Chessebelle Blair." Blue whispered angrily to the girl, his face practically next to her's as he scolded her, people now seeming to stop and watch the spectacle of the former champion. The red-head was surprised herself; unsure of how to feel about the treatment she was getting from Blue. Ever since she had beaten him, he didn't respect her, insisting she beat Red before she gained the title of 'Champion.' She knew who the infamous Red was but when she went to challenge him, she lost. The red-head never went back to mount Silver, always stopping at the entrance and staring at like it was a nightmare. She never told Blue about her loss, of course, worried he'd take her title away from her, or something.
Ikkaku turned to look at the male that never seemed to like Chessebelle, looking him up and down as he held Chessebelle's shoulder to make her look at him. The male's eyes slowly grew to slits, glowering at the other male. It wasn't long until Blue noticed her bodyguard looking at him. Blue almost let her go to start a fight with the male but she opened her mouth too soon, catching his attention.
"Blue, I'm sorry. We can't do this here. Aren't you supposed to be at the National Park?" She managed to stammer, looking into the male's brown eyes. They didn't even remotely resemble the soft brown eyes Ikkaku had when he looked towards her; Blue's were harsh and critical as they glared at his replacement. However, they flitted to look at the people staring at him, realizing he was holding her shoulders tightly; his knuckles were almost turning white. Her face showed her surprise and fear of the male, unsure of how to react towards him still.
Blue let the girl go, turning his face away from her with disgust before he gave an irritated sigh. "You meet me at National Park after you check on Goldenrod. I suggest flying over the other towns as well. You never know what's out there. Being the so-called champion, you need to watch over the people that idolize you." Blue finished before walking off, pushing his way through the crowd to let his Pokémon out and go to his safe zone, like he was supposed to.
"Why is he such a dick head?" Ikkaku questioned as Chessebelle shook her head, watching Blue stalk off and disappear into the diminishing crowd. "I don't know…" Chessebelle lied, sighing as she turned to face Ikkaku with a frown, before she quickly changed the subject.
"Where are they?!" She pouted, kicking the grass more as the crowds slowly began to even out, Kenpachi and Yumichika still nowhere to be found. "Chessebelle, maybe we should just go. They'll meet us in Goldenrod. You have your headset don't you? We'll be ok on our own." Ikkaku murmured his opinion, hoping not to upset her by the idea of splitting up. She hated when she wasn't with anyone; she loved them all and if anything happened to her bodyguards, God Forbid, she'd never let herself let go of it.
"I guess we could…" The red-head mumbled with another pout, looking at Ikkaku with her puppy eyes, the sea foam hues twinkling in the sunlight. Ikkaku's hands sluggishly reached for Hozukimaru's pokeball but stopped in his tracks when a scream resonated throughout the Indigo Plateau, the people that were still there looking around at each other with eyes the size of dinner plates. Ikkaku's eyes met Chessebelle's and they nodded, running hurriedly to the creator of the sound, unsure exactly of where it came from. More screams, of both men and women started up in a symphony, leading the couple around the corner of the Indigo Plateau to find why the people were screaming bloody murder.
Ikkaku rounded the corner first, the scene before him making him stop and turn around quickly, Chessebelle running into his broad chest, his arms immediately wrapping around her and petting her hair down. "Don't look, please, don't look." Ikkaku whispered as he held her, looking over his shoulder at the scene once again, his lips pursed into a thin line as the screams were suddenly muted in his ears. It was almost like a scary black-and-white silent movie.
There were pokefans, hikers, ace trainers, and even pokemaniacs being ripped to shreds by the local Pokémon of the area. There were mainly spearow and fearows, but there were even some primeape, arbok, sandslash, golbat, rapidash, rhyhorn, donphan, graveler, and ursaring. Trainer's Pokémon would try to save their lifelong master and companion, but they only ended up being eaten and torn apart too, blood splattered all over their faces as their memories flashed before their diminishing eyes. While that in itself is nightmare fuel, the worst part about was the condition of the Pokémon. Rotting flesh coming off of the bones, muscle tissue hanging out of what was left of skin, eyes dangling by threads of tissue and tendons, lower jaws torn off completely with tongues hanging out.
Chessebelle was tempted to look over Ikkaku's shoulder as well, but that would involve getting on her tiptoes, and if she did, Ikkaku was sure to notice. However, the sound of bones snapping, the screams, and loud, obnoxious chewing was enough to make her stomach tie up in knots. The screams caused a few other brave people to run over to the scene of the crime, immediately having a reaction like Ikkaku's. Some people let out a scream of their own, some doubled over and gagged a few times before having to puke up what they had for lunch, and some even ran back the way they came.
Ikkaku closed his eyes for a moment and kissed the top of Chessebelle's head before leaning down to look at her, but keeping his broad shoulders in the way to shield the sight from her. "Go back to the place we landed. Don't let anyone stop you unless it's Kenpachi or Yumichika or Yachiru. Don't look back and don't do anything stupid. Take Hozukimaru and wait for me. . . If things start to get bad, then leave without me."
Chessebelle looked into Ikkaku's frightened eyes with panicked sea foam ones, but swallowed her usually snarky replies and nodded softly. Ikkaku held her dainty hand out and put Hozukimaru's regular red pokeball into it before putting his hand on her face. "Please don't hesitate to leave without me." The red-head shook her head in response and choked out, "I won't leave without you or any of the others…" Ikkaku gave her a smile and nodded softly, stroking her cheek lovingly. "Such a pretty face shouldn't cry, Chessebelle." Chessebelle let out a choked sob and smiled as tears began to well up in her eyes, before Ikkaku nodded his head in the direction from where they came. "Please leave." Those were the last two words Ikkaku said to her before he grabbed her face a little roughly and kissed her on the lips.
All the sexual tension that had built up between them for the past years was released, by some amount, into the kiss. Ikkaku reached under her ear and put his hand into her hair, deepening the kiss as she reached up with her free hand, stroking his cheek like he had done to her, her tears drying on her cheeks as she squeezed her eyes shut, trying to stop the waterworks. The kiss only lasted a few moments, but it felt like only a second for Ikkaku before he pulled himself away. "Don't look back." Ikkaku whispered as he pushed a strand of hair behind her ear and smiled softly.
"I love you." Ikkaku's voice resounded throughout her mind as she turned and trotted away from the scene, shaking her head as she looked down at her feet, watching them as she ran from the horrifying sounds. Once she was completely on the other side of the Indigo Plateau, she let Hozukimaru out of his pokeball, the Aerodactyl spreading his wingspan before looking down at Chessebelle curiously, wondering where his trainer was. Chessebelle motioned his head down to her, the prehistoric Pokémon perking up at the sounds of peril, but coming down to eye level with the girl. "It's ok… Ikkaku is just a little busy right now…" She whispered to the Pokémon as she put her cheek on his nose, cooing softly to make him less scared. "We're waiting for him right now, he'll be back, I promise…" She put a fake smile on her face as she pulled away from the Aerodactyl, who looked back at her skeptically, his eyes squinting a bit.
The red-head thought about what Ikkaku had said to her, the three words that only family members and her fans told her, the three words Sevastian said to her once or twice and only after they had sex. She sighed and gestured for the Aerodactyl to lean down, pulling herself up and onto the Pokémon, and sitting at the base of his wings with her legs on either side of his neck. Hozukimaru leaned back up, Chessebelle balancing herself on the Pokémon's shoulders, looking around with the new height advantage. The champion closed her eyes as she reached up, her hands fidgeting with the end of Ikkaku's shirt, forgetting she had put it on in the first place.
Her eyes snapped open when growling came from behind her, her head quickly turning to look over her shoulder, letting out a whimper, the best she could produce when she saw the source of the sound.
It was a large Marowak, at least five foot, much larger than the average species. "Hozukimaru, get in the air, right now!" She stammered out loudly, the Pokémon turning to look back at the Marowak, getting ready to pounce on the Aerodactyl's back. Hozukimaru let out a roar of distress before flapping his wings, pulling himself into the air and swinging his tail about, knocking the Marowak off its feet and landing into the wall of the Plateau, a large crack running up the side. Hozukimaru got about seven feet off the ground before turning to face the forest where the Marowak had seen to come from, an Arbok slithering out with its body segmented into different parts, tendons and venom leaking out of its body from all parts of it, along with a Machamp and Primeape, the fighting types looking just as gruesome and rotted as the Arbok had.
Chessebelle didn't know what to do with the Aerodactyl, unsure of what kind of commands she should give him other than dodge and attack, since she had never gotten Old Amber to own an Aerodactyl of her own. The red-head started to hyperventilate, holding onto the Pokémon's neck to keep herself up, her eyes flitting from each of the Pokémon coming at the Aerodactyl, before they searched for any straggling trainers willing to help. They had all left, it would seem, and she was left with herself and Hozukimaru. Where were Yumichika and Kenpachi?!
"Asch, use Psybeam." A voice made her look up, a large Salamence was hovering on the opposite side of the Aerodactyl, a few feet above her. There were two males on top of the dragon-type, a blonde male with short blonde hair was standing on one side with a creepy grin on his face, while an Alakazam, presumably Asch, was standing next to him with his eyes glowing blue. On the other hand, there was a male with a white eyepatch on his left eye, sitting on the Salamence's shoulders, long, silky black hair hanging on either side of his face, a large ominous grin on his face, reminiscent to the his companion's facial expression.
Chessebelle watched as circles of blue glowing 'matter' soared down from the Alakazam's eyes and landed on the Primeape and Machamp, the two Pokémon looking up angrily, letting out cries of pain and anger, some of their bodies coming apart from the sudden movements.
"What are you doing, you dumb broad? Get out of there, stupid." Her sea-foam hues looked back up at the two males, the black-haired one looking down at her like she was stupid, grin turning into a frown, his teeth still showing. "Now Nnoitra, be a little nicer to the pretty lady." The blonde chided, looking over at Chessebelle and winking. "C'mon, love, you're in good hands if you come with us."
Chessebelle wasn't sure if she was hallucinating or what, but she knew she shouldn't follow the pair. They looked like rapists, to say the least. The champion shook her head as she looked down at the decaying Pokémon before her attention returned to the blonde and his companion. "C'mon Hozukimaru. Let's get out of here." She whispered, the Aerodactyl letting out a cry of acknowledgement before flapping his wings a bit faster, gaining altitude much quicker than before.
After they were around twenty feet in the air, Chessebelle pointed in the direction of Goldenrod City. She had an obligation as champion to visit the other towns but she had forgotten Ikkaku, Yumichika, Kenpachi and Yachiru had her bags, and now all she had was her Pokémon, Pokedex, Xtransceiver, and her blue-tooth headset that helped her get into contact with her bodyguards.
