A/N: And once again, sorry for my long absence! But I won't give up on this story! Camp NaNoWriMo is coming and this story is going to be my project. Real life is just really eating up all my spare time. But your support keeps me going, and so even if updates will be slow, there will be updates! Thank you all very much!

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or the picture used as cover, though I did edit it.

Days

The day with a meeting

Misty

Monday, December 9th

"I say we end it here," Lorelei said, crossing her arms.

Bruno bristled slightly in the League chair that seemed too small for him. On the other side of the table, Lance gave a short nod. Misty pressed her lips together, glancing at Leaf, who was seated at the head of the table. Her expression was unreadable.

They had had this particular discussion multiple times already in the past three weeks, without reaching a true conclusion. Today the last report, from Lieutenant Surge, had come in, and Leaf had gathered them all together at the Indigo Plateau to discuss the newest development.

"There is no concrete evidence," Lorelei continued coolly. "Surge's report proves that."

Lance nodded again and even Bruno had to concede that point, sinking back in his chair. Misty, too, knew that Lorelei was right. Surge's report had been both a relief and a disappointment.

"There is no evidence whatsoever pointing to an unnatural death," Lorelei continued. "Agatha's house has been searched, and no signs pointing towards premeditation of Agatha's passing have been found. And as doctor Tajiri and Lieutenant Surge's reports prove, there are no bodily marks pointing towards her death being caused by either humans or Pokémon."

Bruno leaned forward again and opened his mouth, but Lorelei silenced him with a frosty look.

"Yes, the phone call. I know," she said, and Misty couldn't help but glance at Leaf. She was still as unreadable as before.

Leaf had already extensively told them the details from her video call with Agatha. It had been, as they presumed, just moments before Agatha's death. They had actually been discussing retirement (though Agatha had appeared to be unwilling, as always), when Agatha had appeared to hear something and told Leaf that she was going to check it out.

She had never returned to the finish the call.

Leaf had gone to personally check what had happened, and she had found the lifeless body of Agatha, and the phone still turned on.

No one said it out loud, but Misty knew that they all knew that Leaf had been rattled by the experience.

"But," Lorelei continued. "The door was locked and there were no signs pointing towards a break-in." She paused, and glanced at Leaf, who had been the one to push for further investigation. "And Agatha's Pokémon all claimed they hadn't noticed anything."

Lorelei ended her argument with a note of finality. No one said anything, and Misty bit on the inside of her cheek.

"Doctor Tajiri didn't find any signs pointing to a natural death, either," Leaf finally said.

Again, there was silence. They had all heard that argument before, too. The suspicious circumstances and no signs of a natural death, but still…

Lance slammed a hand on the table. "All we have are dead ends," he said harshly.

He looked Leaf in the eye, who stared back unflinchingly. He continued, "No witnesses. No traces in the house. No traces anywhere. Nothing unusual. Nothing on the body. We have nothing!"

And yet something wasn't right, and they all knew it. Misty swallowed nervously.

Lance relaxed back in his chair, the hard lines in his face softening just slightly. Misty had never truly liked Lance, neither on a personal nor on a professional level. He was cool and distant in general, and in the professional sense he was known to be strict and a stickler for rules. She could read him about as well as she could read Leaf, that was to say, not at all.

Which was unsurprising, since Leaf had been his mentee. Their silent battles of wills dominated the meetings at times, and Misty was glad that she was part of an Elite Four, and not an Elite Two, because she was not sure she could handle them on her own.

She had seen how Bruno usually tried to defuse them by making a joke with his rumbling voice, and Lorelei cut through the tension with a logical compromise in a way that Misty couldn't help but admire. She herself still had to find a way to deal with these kind of situations.

"There is no reason for us to continue researching Agatha's passing," Lance concluded, though sounding more controlled than before.

Leaf's eyes narrowed slightly. "So you want to stop this investigation?"

Lance clenched his jaw. "That is my opinion, yes."

Leaf sat back in her chair and her brown eyes flashed to the others in the room. Misty unconsciously sat up straighter.

"And what is the opinion of the other members of my Elite Four?"

"We have no leads. It is a waste of time and resources to continue," Lorelei said promptly.

Bruno was far more hesitant in expressing his thoughts. "We must have missed something..." he said slowly. "Something... There are enough people, enough anti-League activists, who have a motive to want Agatha gone."

"Misty?" Leaf's voice seemed a shade friendlier when she turned her attention to her, and Misty folded her hands together with a confidence she didn't quite feel.

"I think we should let it go, for now," she said. "Lorelei is right, we have exhausted our leads and we can spend our energy in better ways. Still... It is too suspicious to simply forget about it, and like Bruno, I think there's something not right. I think we should keep Agatha's death in mind and stay alert, and if something happens..."

Leaf was quiet for a moment, before she nodded. "Very well. If new evidence presents itself, however small, we will continue the investigation. But for now… We'll let it rest. After all," she added with a quirk of her lips and a glance towards Lance, "the Conference will be upon us soon enough, and we have enough other things to do, don't we?"

Lance's eyes flashed, but before he could say something, Bruno let out a rumbling laugh, effectively distracting everyone from the emerging tension. "Indeed we do!" he said loudly, laughing again. "We will never have peace and quiet here. Better get ready, Misty!"

Bruno winked at her, and Misty missed half a beat before quickly smiling confidently. "Don't worry, I've got this."

Leaf looked at both Bruno and Misty for a moment, before standing up. "Then that's decided. Dismissed."

Leaf left without another glance at the group around the table, and Lance followed suit. Misty watched them go, before looking at the remaining two members uncertainly.

Bruno gave her a thumbs up, and Lorelei smiled slightly. "Don't worry, you'll get used to it."

In response, Misty raised her eyebrows skeptically. "Let's hope so."

Bruno laughed, and Lorelei smiled approvingly.

A/N: And that's another one! Thank you very much for reading! This was a fun chapter to write, showing a bit more of the plot, though I had a bit of difficulty wrapping it up haha. I'm hoping to have the next chapter up in a week. Please let me know what you thought about it!

Thank you!

Recommendations:

Pokémon: Just a Call Away by Jysella. FFN. Rated M! A short multi-chaptered story featuring, as you might guess, phone calls between Ash, Misty and Brock. It has PokeShipping, advice being asked for and given, and many funny situations. Thank you, anjumstar, for recommending this to me!

Pokémon: Dusk by Snoaz. FFN. Thanks to inklaced for the recommendation. A two-shot about Blue and Green, which beautifully describes their chemistry and how they will always be pulled back together, even if their minds tell them differently. Bittersweet and beautiful.

Harry Potter: Anything by Alohaemora. FFN. A one-shot from Severus Snape's point of view, about the last moments before he kills Albus Dumbledore. Need I say more?

Let me know if you have any stories you'd like me to recommend!