Chapter 9: Where Does the Door Lead?
Rina's eyes slowly open as the muffled sound of her name echoes in her head. She looks around her, picking up small waves of rainbow colored light in her surrounding darkness. A perplexed look forms on her face and in her eyes as she starts calling out Michio's name. She receives no reply and squints her eyes to see in the dark room. A low light begins to materialize in front of her drawing her to it.
Walking towards the dim, white light in front of her, she feels the key around her neck start to radiate heat and pulsate against the top of her breasts. She comes to a halt and reaches inside her shirt pulling the key out from beneath the light cloth. She looks down at it as it glows a light blue in her hand continuing to pulsate. The key levitates, releasing itself from her hand and starts tugging on the back of her neck attempting to pull her forward.
She begins following the key's lead down the path towards the light again. A bright light flashes in front of her causing her to place her arm in front of her face to protect her eyes from the blinding light. She squints her eyes as she slowly lowers her arm to peer over it. The light fades into nothingness as a door replaces it. A silver door stands tall before her covered in black metal accents making swirls around the frame. The key continues to lead her forward heading straight for the door.
Once she reaches the door, the glow on the key intensifies and it pulls her towards the knob. She reaches out her hand placing it on the silver knob. She turns it to the left and the right but it barely nudges. She removes her hand from the knob bringing it up to clasp the key. She leans forward and places the key in the lock turning it. The mechanism in the door clicks loudly in the quiet room.
She removes the key from the lock as she uses her other hand to turn the knob again. This time, the door easily opens, slowly moving and creaking. She places her hand on the door to push it completely open. A familiar voice calls out her name from the darkness behind her. She turns around and sees a silhouette standing in front of her, extending their hand out to her. She walks up to the dark figure and takes their hand leaving the door open.
"Rina-chan...wake up…" The silhouette calls out to her.
"What…?"
Rina's eyes spring open as she looks up at Michio's face staring back down at her. The frown on his face turns to a smile as he watches her awaken. He grips her tightly, her body still in his arms. She coughs as his embrace restricts her airflow.
"Mi-chio-kun...I can't…breathe." She says as a few more coughs escape her mouth.
"Oh. Gomen nasai." He pulls back from her and places his fingers on her face, slowly caressing her cheeks. "I'm so glad you're okay. It looks like you have a lump on your head though."
"What happened? The last thing I can remember is opening a door…" She sits up in his arms, placing her feet on the ground and standing up. She reaches in her shirt and places her fingers around the key.
Michio helps her stabilize her footing, "You're probably still dizzy from the fall. Lets go sit down and set up a small camp for lunch."
Rina nods in agreement as she attempts to remember everything that happened. Visions of a girl with a Victreebel flash in her head. 'Wait. I remember. I was battling a girl. She said she was Team Rocket. I got slammed into the ground. Then, I was walking in darkness. The key was glowing and leading me to a door. I wonder what was behind that door?'
"Did you see what was behind the door?" She asks Michio as they sit down underneath a shady tree.
"What door? This is twice that you've mentioned a door. There is no door out here."
She looks around at her surroundings. The forest is full and the sun is shining bright. It is completely different from the room she was in before. 'Maybe that all was just a dream caused by me fall...it felt so real though...'
"Rina-chan, are you okay?" Michio asks as he pulls an instant ice pack from her first aid kit.
"Yeah...it was just a very weird dream is all."
Michio places the pack on her head where the lump is slowly forming from the fall. Out of the corner of his eye, he notices a flash of tan fur again. Mankey sits down next to them holding out his hands which are full of various berries and leaves from the forest. Visy jumps off of Mankey's back and sits down next to her trainer and friend. She nuzzles up to Rina's leg as Rina looks over at the Mankey.
"Are you the one who saved me?" Mankey smiles and lets out happy chattering noises. "Thank you, Mankey." She pats him on the head as she leans back up against the tall tree behind her. She holds out her hands and happily takes the berries from him. "Michio-kun, can you get something to put these in?"
"Yeah. I have a berry pouch if you want to use that." He pulls a red and white pouch out of his bag. It is about the size of his hand and looks flat.
"Will that be big enough?" She asks skeptically.
"Trust me. It's actually full of berries right now." He opens the pouch as she dumps her handfuls into it. The pouch slowly grows in size only to flatten back out when he ties it shut.
"I swear, the things that my mother comes up with."
She lets out a soft giggle as Mankey lies down in her lap snuggling up to her. She pats him on the head as a gentle smile forms on her face. Michio watches the Mankey carefully making sure it isn't going to try anything funny with Rina again. Clouds form over the sun and the sky turns dark. A small breeze makes its way through their pathway picking up leaves and sand.
Rina watches as small drops of water start falling from the dark clouds. She stands up picking up her Vulpix and placing her on her shoulder. Mankey grips onto her waist until she places her arm underneath him to support him. She hoists him up on her hip and carries him like a small child.
"We need to find some cover. Going back to town would take too long."
"Don't worry. We can always use Abra to get back to town if needed."
She looks around as droplets of water continue to fall on them. A realization hits her. "Where are Daisuke-kun and Seiji-kun?"
~In the middle of the forest~
"Are you sure you know where you're going?" Daisuke asks his older brother as they trek through the woods.
"Yes, I told you already. We're looking for Pokémon. Rina-chan has already caught one. We need to step up and catch our own too."
"We should have stayed with them. What if they get worried about us?"
"They have each other. They won't realize it for a while. It may give them some nice alone time together."
He ducks down underneath a tree branch and stands still as the sound of a bird echoes in the tree branches above him. He looks up and notices a colorful bird above him. The bird has a black head resembling a musical note while its black tail looks like a metronome. Its neck has a white plume of feathers surrounding it. Its chest is a golden yellow with the feathers along its abdominal region donning an emerald color. Its stretches out its royal blue wings and looks down at Seiji and Daisuke with big black eyes. It opens its pink, hooked beak and lets out an unrecognizable sound.
"What is that?" Daisuke asks as he stands next to his brother looking up.
"I don't know. It's perfect to practice on though." He smiles and backs up looking over at his Scyther. "You ready for a real battle?"
The small bird Pokémon tilts its head to the side in confusion. Scyther looks up at the bird and glares. The feathers on the bird become ruffled and start standing up as it puffs its chest out. It opens it pink beak as wide as it can and lets out a loud, piercing shriek distorting the air around it. White shockwaves start emitting from its mouth as Daisuke and Seiji cover their ears.
"That sound is horrible!" Daisuke yells as his hands muffle the shrilling sound.
"Scyther!" Seiji starts to yell, "Use Quick Attack!"
Scyther jumps up the tree quickly using the roots as a springboard up towards the Chatot. He vanishes from their sight and reappears in front of the Chatot. He tackles the Chatot causing it to fall down to the ground below. Daisuke and Seiji jump back out of the way as the two Pokémon land on the plush ground in front of them. Scyther jumps back, moving from on top of the Chatot. Chatot struggles up and glares at Seiji.
He turns his eyes back to Scyther as his beak starts to glow. He starts flapping his wings and quickly flies over to Scyther. Scyther lifts his arms up to defend as Chatot begins repeatedly pecking at him. Scyther pushes the Pokémon back and jumps up into one of the trees. He sits on top of one of the branches looking down at Chatot hovering above the ground. Chatot starts flying up the tree towards the Scyther.
Seiji starts thinking and yells out, "Attack it with Leer!"
Scyther looks down at its trainer confused but jumps out of the tree plummeting head first towards Chatot. Scyther's eyes start glowing as he darts towards the Chatot glaring at it. Chatot's feather start standing on end in fear as it tries to fly backwards. It doesn't manage to dodge the attack as Scyther slams head first into the small, bird Pokémon. Chatot falls to the ground again as swirls form in its eyes. Scyther lies down next to it as well as a large lump forms on his head.
"Great! You knocked it unconscious." Daisuke pauses. "But we don't have any Pokéballs."
"Don't worry. I borrowed a couple from Michio-kun." Seiji pulls a red and white Pokéball from his pocket and throws it at the Chatot. The ball rolls around on the ground multiple times before the center of the ball ceases glowing and stands still.
"Wait...borrowed? When did you do that?"
"He has extra ones. He won't miss them." He walks over to his Scyther, gently patting him on the head, and picks up the Pokéball off of the ground. "Awesome. I actually caught a Pokémon."
"You know, he's going to be mad at you."
"He's not going to know. For all he knows, we bought them from the Poké Mart when we were there last. Besides, I snagged you one as well."
He reaches in his pocket and pulls out a Pokéball and tosses it to his brother. Daisuke grasps the ball in his hand and looks it over. Seiji helps Scyther up off the ground and places his Pokéball containing Chatot in his pocket. He stands up and hoists Scyther up. He pulls an old Pokéball out of his pocket and tells Scyther to return to his ball. Scyther goes into his Pokéball that he rarely ever spends time in. Seiji places the ball back in his pocket after making sure Scyther is comfortable.
"Well, lets go. We need to find you a Pokémon." Seiji places his hand on his brother's shoulder as Trixie looks up at him with a tilted head and a confused face.
The brothers continue to walk down the makeshift pathway ducking under branches and jumping over bushes. Daisuke's foot catches in a small hole causing him to look down and notice tiny foot prints along the ground. He brings it to Seiji's attention and they follow the footsteps until they reach a small clearing. They step out from behind the trees and see a tiny Pokémon picking berries. The Pokémon is about two feet (0.6 meters) tall and has rich brown fur resembling a small bear. The Pokémon turns to look at them showing off a large, tan crescent moon on its forehead.
Daisuke looks it over and then looks down at Eevee, still in his arms. 'Eevee probably doesn't want to fight. She doesn't like getting dirty or hurt. I don't want to risk her getting hurt.' He looks at the Pokéball still in his hands and decides to throw it at the Pokémon. Teddiursa looks at them with an innocent, adorable face as the light from the Pokéball slowly wraps around it and transports it inside the ball. The ball starts moving and at the third shake it bursts back open releasing Teddiursa.
"Damn. That didn't work. I guess we have no choice but to fight."
"I don't have anymore Pokéballs so if you decide to catch it, you'll have to retrieve the one you originally threw." Seiji points over to the ball on the ground next to the small, bear Pokémon.
Daisuke sighs and walks over towards the ball laying on the ground. Teddiursa watches him get closer then stands up and runs through the bushes away from him.
"Dammit. It ran away."
He bends down and grasps the ball in his hands. He stands up straight and brushes the dirt off. He places the ball in his pocket and heads back over to Seiji. Seiji's eyes grow wide as he looks behind his brother. Seiji begins backing away as his brother grows closer. An irritated look forms on Daisuke's face.
"What are you doing?"
Seiji swallows hard and says, "Behind you."
Daisuke turns around to see what his brother was so afraid of. A tall, bear Pokémon stands behind him with an angry look on her face. Her fur is a rich brown color with her muzzle encased in light tan. A light tan circle of fur appears on her abdominal region. She lets out a loud growl making Daisuke and Seiji turn white and scream. Daisuke turns back around and starts running through the woods following his brother. The bipedal Pokémon drops to all fours and begins running towards them anger filling her face even more.
They jump over bunches and quickly duck under branches to make it back to the clearing. Droplets of water hit them in the face as they stand next to Rina and Michio. Ursaring bursts out from trees knocking down branches. She stands back up on her hind legs and lets out another loud growl.
Rina looks over at the two exhausted, scared companions of hers, "What did you do?"
"It's a long story. Can we just deal with this large Pokémon please?" Seiji says in response.
Rina pulls out her Pokédex, "Ursaring, the Hibernator Pokémon. It is the evolved form of Teddiursa. Ursaring searches for honey and berries in a forest daily. To reach its food, it often snaps trees with its four legs rather than climbing."
"You must have been in its territory then." She slips her Pokédex back into her pocket. She looks up at Michio, "What are we going to do?"
"Well, it's in the open so the terrain will be better for us. Battling in the middle of a forest is not easy."
"You're telling me." Seiji whispers under his breath.
Michio's ears perk up at Seiji's sentence, and he looks down at him. His Scyther is nowhere to be seen and two Pokéballs are visible in his shorts pocket. 'Hmmmm…I'll deal with that later. Right now, we have a very angry Pokémon. They must have tried to capture her baby.'
Michio reaches into his bag and pulls out the berry pouch. He grabs a handful of assorted berries and walks up to the Ursaring handing them to her. She stops snarling and looks at him with a confused look on her face. She accepts the berries and eats a few of them as the sound of a small, bear Pokémon crying is heard. Teddiursa comes out of the hole in the trees made by the rampaging Ursaring. It walks up to its mother and tugs on her fur, tears streaming down its face. She picks up her baby and feeds it a couple of berries as it starts to cheer up.
Rina pulls out her Pokédex again and records another entry, "Teddiursa, the Little Bear Pokémon. This cute, cuddly Pokémon is easily frightened and frequently licks its paws, which are usually covered with sweet honey. If it finds honey, its crescent mark glows. A Teddiursa can also make its own honey by blending fruits and pollen collected by Beedrill."
The mother and baby duo walk back into the forest happily as Michio walks back over to the group. Rina smiles at him as the other two stand there dumbfounded. The rain starts to pour down harder and faster slowly soaking the group. Michio summons his Abra to teleport them back to the town they came from. They all huddle together and disappear from under the trees. They reappear in front of the Pokémon Center in Tsubaki Mura. They all dash inside the Pokémon Center to escape the rain.
Nurse Joy looks up at them all and greets them with a smile. When she sees the Mankey in Rina's arms, she rushes over to them and examines him.
"This sneaky guy escaped when I was checking up on the other Pokémon. How did you come across him again?"
"He just showed up when I was in the middle of fighting a member of Team Rocket. He saved me." Rina replies as she softly pets the Mankey on the head. Her Vulpix barks in response to add to the conversation.
"I see. Well, Mankey don't usually go out of their way to help people. He must really like you." Nurse joys smiles and walks back over to her station behind the counter.
Rina sits down on one of the benches, setting Mankey down in the seat next to her. She reaches into her bag and grabs a towel, using it to dry off Vixy. Michio returns Abra to his Pokéball telling his companion to get some more much needed sleep. Daisuke follows suit and sits down on one of the benches in the waiting area. He asks Rina for a towel which she gives him. He starts drying off his Eevee as Seiji walks up to the counter and hands Nurse Joy two Pokéballs. Michio watches him but doesn't say anything. Instead, he focuses on Rina who seems to be lost in thought while she dries off her Pokémon.
"Is everything okay?" He asks in a concerned tone.
"Yeah. I've just got a headache and am curious about a lot of things." She looks over at him as Vixy shakes off to get rid of the excess water. She moves over to Mankey and starts drying him off as well. "You did a really good job with the Ursaring earlier. How did you know she wouldn't attack you?"
He leans back in his seat, water dripping down his face from his hair. He takes out his ponytail holder and wrings out his hair before answering. "Well, I've fought one before. It was about a year ago when I came across one for the first time. I was walking through one of the other forests up north. It was just getting out of the winter and into the spring. I found a small Teddiursa picking berries in the bushes. I thought to myself that it would be a great, easy catch since I had never seen one before.. I battled it and caught one. It wasn't very hard. It only took a normal Pokéball. Well, as I was leaving, a large Ursaring came out of the bushes looking for her baby. She saw me and the ball still in my hand and attacked me. I ended up releasing her baby for her to stop attacking me."
"I see. That really doesn't explain the berry thing though. I figured being attacked once would make you not go near one again." She interjects as she finishes drying off Mankey.
"Your Pokédex entry mentioned mentioned berries, correct?" She nods in response, and he continues. "They don't like to put forth lots of effort in their food findings. They like food handed to them and will accept it if it is offered to them. Also, I wasn't the one she was after so I knew she wouldn't harm me. The berries was a way to satisfy her and deter her from our friends."
He glances back over to Seiji as the teenager still stands at the counter chit chatting with Nurse Joy. He looks back over at Rina and reaches his hand up to her face, pushing the wet hair sticking to her face behind her ear. A slight blush forms on her face as they make eye contact. Mankey looks up at both of them and latches onto Rina's waist placing his face in her chest. He nuzzles up to her breasts through the wet tank top pushing her away from Michio's hand. A scowl forms on Michio's face as his fist balls up at his side.
'That little bastard. If he didn't save her earlier, I would beat him again.'
Michio takes a deep breath as Seiji sits back down next to them pulling out his Pokégear. He looks through the applications on it and pulls up the weather forecast. The radar shows a lot of rain north of them, where they were headed.
"It looks like it's supposed to rain all day and night. We should probably stay somewhere. Outside isn't really an option right now." Seiji informs the group.
They all look at each other and ponder on the situation. Michio stands up and walks over to Nurse Joy. They talk for a couple of minutes, out of earshot to the group. He turns back around and walks back over to his group of friends. He sits back down next to Rina and smiles.
"She said we can stay here since she doesn't have a lot of patients right now. We can use some of the beds as long as we clean up after ourselves. We can also use the showers while we're here."
Rina pets her Vulpix on the head and says,"Awesome! I guess that's where we're staying tonight."
~At the Edge of Town~
A very out of breath Takeshi grasps onto a tree on the outskirts of town. 'Damn that woman. I'll get her back for this.'
Author's Notes: Thank you for reading my newest chapter! ^_^ I apologize for the wait for this chapter. My story may turn into a biweekly thing instead of a weekly one. Weddings are proving to be expensive and difficult to to plan. Plus, working 45+ hours a week doesn't help. Again though, I want to thank my loyal readers and reviewers. You make writing worthwhile and give me a lot of encouragement. I love you all. 3