Disclaimer: I own nothing here.

Peacekeepers

AN: This chapter gave me so much trouble! I think I had to rework it three times! It still feels klunky to me but I must move forward to save my sanity. -_-' Also, since defining clothing is not my strength, the ninja outfits are basically what Koga wears but without the greaves or the scarf. :3

Chapter Eight - Training

"Don't we get to eat breakfast first?" Steven wanted to know, having dealt with his grumbling stomach throughout their tai chi session. He didn't think it was unreasonable to take a break and eat before the more intensive training.

Aaron made a gesture at the campfire and cooking rig, then offered up a knowing smirk. "I noticed the both of you didn't seem to care for the soup last night, so I had Lucario find some more ingredients to make it more palatable."

Abashed, Cynthia and Steven both hung their heads a little. They hadn't said anything aloud but clearly their guide had noticed their distaste for the meal.

"Don't worry about it," Aaron told them with a dismissive wave. "You come from a different time, it's only natural that your tastes would be different."

"With respect, Master," Lucario cut in, blatantly. "Last night's soup was not your best dish."

Aaron practically wilted in response. "Aww you too Lucario?"

"It is the truth, Master."

"Yes, yes," Aaron finally gave in with a sigh. "Anyway, the fresh ingredients will take some time to cook." He gave his new students an encouraging gesture. "Now begin those movements again, but with your bokkens this time."

Steven breathed out a sigh of his own but obediently moved a safe distance away. He wasn't sure how to feel about this. He had only ever practiced hand to hand combat with Brawly; this weapons training seemed a little too dangerous to him, even if it was just a wooden training sword.

At first it was tricky converting the forms into a two handed sword hold, but once they were half way through the set Steven began to grow accustomed to the new weapon, almost feeling empowered by it.

By the time they finished, however, his muscles were burning from the new exertion. With a glance at Cynthia he could see that she was just as fatigued as him, though to be fair she had been at the exercise longer.

"Amazing!" Aaron praised with a clap. "I would go so far to say that you both have the skill level of a seasoned foot soldier." He made an inward sweeping gesture with both his hands, indicating for them to face each other. "Now try sparing like that."

Startled by his suggestion, Steven and Cynthia turned to gawk at each other in obvious trepidation. They had only just started to familiarize themselves with the weapons and now he wanted them to start whacking away at each other? Certainly not!

"I'm sorry Aaron, but I'm not comfortable with that. Not yet," Steven replied with a respectful dip of his head. Out of his peripheral he could see Cynthia nodding her agreement.

"Hm, very well," Aaron conceded and stepped forward to take their bokkens. "How about sparing without the weapons then?"

To that suggestion Cynthia merely tipped her head in what appeared to be deliberation, but Steven felt his heart rate surge in response. Hand to hand combat training with Cynthia? That was not an option.

For one thing he was positive he would get trounced, considering how rusty he had become at the art. For another, it went against his morals about invading a woman's personal space, despite that being the very nature of a spar.

Cynthia and Aaron were both staring at him expectantly when he finally looked up to answer. "I'm not... comfortable with that either." He couldn't think of anything better to say, for some reason both his reasons sounded pathetic when he thought about saying them aloud.

"I see..." Aaron sighed, probably a bit frustrated as he brought a hand to his chin in contemplation. "Am I to assume this is about your... morals again?"

"...Yes." Steven winced as if he were a child again and awaiting a scolding from a teacher. He stole a glance at Cynthia to see her ashen gaze fixed back at him, her expression was somewhere between fascination and suspicion. He felt like her piercing scrutiny could somehow see straight through him.

He didn't want to give the impression that he was condescending her, or the opposite, that he was intimidated by her more attuned martial skills. To be honest, he didn't really care which of them was more proficient at it, the main issue being the close proximity required.

"Morals? Do you mean that rule about not touching a lady without her permission?" Cynthia finally questioned, to which Steven nodded hesitantly. Without waiting for him to elaborate, she offered a complacent smirk. "Then while we are sparring, I give you permission."

Inwardly, Steven blanched with dread. He had just spent the previous night fortifying those boundaries with figurative steel walls and she had basically just handed him a hammer with a pat on the back and a good luck.

"... As you wish," he replied with a respectful nod and a stifled sigh. Things were quickly becoming much more complicated than he had expected.

"Wait," Aaron cut in, clearly confused as he blinked between them. "It was that simple?" He focused on Steven. "You simply require her permission?"

"Well, for this matter, yes," Steven answered pointedly. He didn't feel like rehashing the whole sleeping arrangements debate again.

If Aaron intended to argue, he was promptly distracted from doing so when he realized his soup was boiling over. "Blast it all!" He waved a dismissive hand at them to carry on without him and rushed over to tend to it.

Steven tried to brace himself with a deep breath as he moved to the appropriate distance to face Cynthia and she to him. "Would you like to lead the offensive for the first round?" he asked as they exchanged the customary fist-to-palm bow.

Idly in his peripheral, he noticed their four Pokémon, along with Lucario, had taken up curious positions off to the side, as if intrigued by the entire display.

"I haven't sparred with Maylene for at least two months," Cynthia admitted in a hesitant tone, as if it were a warning for any blunders that might ensue.

"I haven't sparred in two years," Steven replied as he eased into his defensive stance and Cynthia into an offensive one. He could only hope that the forms would come back to him as he moved through the paces.

After nodding his relative readiness, Cynthia launched into a basic offensive set, one they had clearly both been taught as beginners. He managed to block, deflect or sidestep all her strikes until she nearly caught him off guard with a low sweep that sent him staggering back.

Wordlessly, they switched roles and Steven regrouped to mirror her earlier strikes, which she parried in tandem. As he had hoped, his former years of training came back to him as he moved.

He still didn't like the idea of throwing punches and kicks her way, but by the time he finished the basic offensive forms he felt like they had formed a unique rhythm. It was unlike anything he had experienced with his other sparring partners in the past, but he was too distracted to put a name to it.

So very distracted... With her graceful, concise movements. With both her eyes, glinting for an instant when her hair swayed from a sidestep. With her mouth angled into the slightest smirk, as if she were enjoying the exercise.

So mesmerized by her and this new dance of theirs, Steven was unaware of when his attacking set ended and hers began. Without thinking about it, he allowed his former sparring tendencies to take over, which meant performing a reversal in the middle of Cynthia's offensive.

He didn't realize his mistake until he noticed her startled expression. Then, all in one fluid instant, she ducked low, pivoted and neatly slung him over her shoulder, promptly depositing him onto the ground with a thud.

"...I guess I deserved that," he huffed, waiting for the world to stop spinning.

"Sorry Steven, you surprised me and I panicked!" She offered a hand to help him up and proceeded to pat the dirt off his jacket; she clearly had no reservations about casually touching him.

Steven laughed, dusting off his pants. "If that was panic then I don't want to know what happens when you're angry!"

"I think you know as well as I do that anger has no place on the battlefield," Cynthia replied as Aaron waved them over to the campfire, signaling the end to their training. "A cool head will always win the day."

"Yes, I agree." As they moved to join their guide, Steven nodded, unable to withhold a mischievous smile. "And I was joking, of course... mostly."

Cynthia's own playful gaze snapped to him, looking as though she wanted to engage with his banter but was deterred by Aaron.

"Once again, outstanding!" the Aura guardian praised. "With martial skills like that, you both should have no problem defending yourselves, at least from average soldiers."

Both champions noticed but paid no heed to the commotion their Pokémon were making after the spar, since it didn't necessarily sound like aggressive noises. In fact, it sounded more like a heated debate of squawking and grumbling. Lucario seemed to be involved as well, as if serving as a mediator.

They both graciously accepted a bowl of soup from Aaron and sat on the ground by the campfire to finally eat breakfast. "Where did you learn that reversal anyway?" Cynthia wondered, offering a sheepish look. "I barely had time to adapt."

"That was just one of my counters against Brawly. I had to get really creative and unpredictable to have any advantage against him." Steven gave her a curious look in turn. "Did you learn that shoulder toss from Maylene?"

"Yeah, I've only ever sparred with her."

"I've only ever sparred with Brawly and Bruno," Steven admitted.

"You've sparred with Bruno?"

"Only once." He didn't bother to hide an unpleasant shudder. "Never again."

Cynthia couldn't restrain a giggle at the mental image of that huge body builder tossing poor Steven across the ring. "I can't imagine why."

"You know that saying about 'the bigger they are' and all that?"

"Yes..."

"Not true," Steven deadpanned. "Not in his case anyway. Although he did share some techniques with me for dealing with bigger opponents. None of which work on him, of course."

"Of course," Cynthia concurred with a smirk.

Ignored their chitchat, Aaron summoned his Pidgeot down from the sky and beckoned Lucario over. "It looks like we'll have extra food. Lucario, hand these bowls out to the other Pokémon."

"Yes, Master." Lucario did as bid after Aaron poured the remaining soup into six bowls, one he set down for Pidgeot and another for Lucario after he finished his chore. "Here, friends. Cease your argument and eat instead."

Skarmory and Togekiss had stopped their squawking and chirping moments ago, but Garchomp and Aggron were still grumbling at each other up until the bowls of food were presented to them. Then they were reduced to simply glaring.

The scene quickly drew Cynthia's attention with a sudden realization. "Lucario, you can understand them!"

The Aura Pokémon sent her a quizzical sidelong glance and a hesitant reply. "Yes?" He seemed to be waiting for the four to finish so he could collect the empty bowls.

"Well that would mean you could tell us why Gar and Aggron bicker so badly!" Cynthia replied earnestly. After all, that was the whole reason Celebi had brought them to the past. It only seemed fair that they knew why.

Lucario turned back to the two titans, as if he were deliberating or perhaps speaking to them both privately. In response, first Garchomp shot a snarl at Aggron and then he to her. A moment later Lucario appeared to try and mask a chuckle with a deliberate cough. "Oh, well, that's very complicated. I can't say, exactly."

Steven's icy gaze narrowed. "You can't or you won't?"

Lucario's only response was an amused huff as he collected the empty bowls and returned to pick up his own and eat.

Aaron's gradual smirk was not lost on either trainer, as if Lucario had divulged his findings with his Master alone. "I suspect you'll realize the problem soon enough," was all Aaron chose to reveal.

"That's basically what Celebi told us already," Steven said through an annoyed sigh.

"At any rate," Aaron said, conveniently changing the topic. "We should get moving. It's about another day or so before we reach Kenshin's camp."

After wordlessly breaking camp, the group fell into the same formation as the day before. Aaron and Lucario led the way, while Steven and Cynthia followed some paces behind, their bipedal Pokémon tromping alongside and the avians gliding overhead.

"It's so strange," Cynthia thought aloud. "Throughout all my years as a trainer, as a champion, I've always had this sort of natural authority over Pokémon. Even other trainer's Pokémon obeyed me, sometimes with just a stern look."

Steven turned to listen intently, choosing not to reply until she got to the point.

"But this issue with Gar and Aggron." She sighed out in frustration. "I just don't understand it. She's always obeyed me without question, ever since she was a tiny Gible. All except for this."

When she finished, she seemed genuinely upset, almost as if the issue caused her more distress than their current predicament being stuck in the past. Steven thought carefully for a moment, nodding in understanding before choosing to reply tentatively. "Perhaps, we've both just grown complacent in our years as champions?"

Cynthia shook her head no. "If you remember right, this all started when I first became champion. No, this is something else. Almost as if their families were at war before they were even born."

Steven chuckled in response. "I highly doubt it's anything so petty. There isn't a single entry in the Pokédex that claims any innate rivalry between their species."

"Then what could it be?" Cynthia grumbled with a frown. "I really wish Lucario would have told us what he knew about it."

"Yes, that would have been helpful," Steven admitted. "But if you ask me, I think they are just so equal in strength that until one overpowers the other, well, this will probably go on forever, sadly..."

AN: Instead of Pokémon battles, can we just get the masters 8 to compete in a martial arts tournament? Cynthia trouncing all the dudes is something I just realized I needed in my life. Hah.

/o/o/ Bonus scene:

Garchomp: "Go on Master, use Brick Break!"

Togekiss: "Yes, you can do it Master!"

Skarmory: "Nonsense. Our Master is clearly stronger."

Garchomp: "Ten berries says you're wrong."

Aggron: "You're on."

- After the spar -

Garchomp: (grin) "Ha, we win!"

Aggron: (grumble) "No way, our master was just going easy on her."

Garchomp: (snarl) "You take that back!"

Lucario: "Now, now friends. Let's just settle down and eat."

Garchomp: (eats angrily while glaring at Aggron) "You still owe us berries."