A/N: Thank you for reading and here's another chapter! Also, we hit 400 reviews :D Thank you so much!
Days
The day with the witness
Misty
Tuesday, February 18th
"Thank you all for joining me," Leaf started the League meeting. It was an actual meeting in person, for a change, and that conveyed the seriousness of the situation to Misty.
The Champion looked around the table, catching the eyes of all attendants. Misty followed her gaze. Lance, his facial expression dark as he nodded; Lorelei, giving a short smile; and Bruno, his thick eyebrows drawn together in a frown.
"I will get straight to the point," Leaf said. "Thursday, February 13th, Rick Barlow, 53 years of age, has been found dead in his home in Slateport City, Hoenn. He lived alone with his three Pokémon, Zigzagoon, Sandshrew and Sableye. He was working as a mason, and when he did not turn up for work that day and no one could reach him, his colleagues went to investigate."
Leaf paused, letting the information sink in. Misty nodded, having heard some of it before already.
"Barlow was a healthy man. Nothing was found on the body, or around it, that could point us to the cause of his death."
No one responded to Leaf's words. Misty knew they were all thinking this same.
"So, in short, we have another mysterious death… Another possible murder, to add to our list," Leaf concluded. "The area was thoroughly searched, though nothing concrete was found. However, we do have the report of one possible witness."
Misty looked up sharply at those words, probably just as Leaf had intended with that statement.
"A witness?" Bruno asked, sounding hopeful.
"A Coordinator from Hoenn who's participating in the Grand Festival," Leaf said, nodding. "I have her statement on record. We will watch it together."
Without waiting for further questions, Leaf turned to her laptop and on the screen behind her, an image came to life.
Misty choked on air.
Brown hair decorated with a colorful bandana and wide, blue eyes stood frozen on the screen.
"This is May Maple," Leaf said. "She was questioned yesterday."
Leaf looked around the group for a moment, and then allowed the video to start. A voice from someone they could not see on the video spoke up,
"So, you were walking outside in the southern district of Slateport City around 1.30 AM on February 13th, is this correct?"
May nodded.
"Why?"
"Ah, well..." May was blinking quickly and shifting on the screen. "I couldn't sleep, you know." She laughed nervously. "So I decided to take a walk, that's all."
"Describe your route and what happened," the voice offscreen demanded.
May seemed to pale somewhat. "I don't- I don't remember exactly how I walked. I just started walking away from the Pokémon Center, towards the Grand Festival Stadium, and when I saw that in the distance, I turned back to the Pokémon Center. That's all I did, I swear."
The voice did not react in any way to May's words, but just asked the next question. "Did you notice anything unusual during the walk?"
"N-no-" May halted in her denial. "I mean, I thought I saw something, but I was probably just tired, you know…" May let out another nervous laugh.
"Miss Maple, it is important for the investigation to know everything. If you even think there was anything unusual that night, tell us. Anything out of the ordinary could be a possible lead." This time, the voice seemed to sound a bit more empathic, even though it didn't lose its demanding edge.
"Well, I… I didn't see anything strange on my way towards the Stadium, just some people walking from cafés, some cars, a few Pokémon… But… on my way back, well, I was walking pretty fast, because it was cold and dark and I wanted to go to bed." May was talking in a rush. "Then, when I passed a side street, I thought I… well, I thought I heard something. At first, I didn't see anything, but then I thought I saw a human in the shadow… and, and-"
May stuttered to a halt, shaking her head.
"Yes?"
"I probably just imagined things, but I thought… I thought I saw glowing eyes."
May looked uncertainly at some point left from the camera, probably where the investigator was sitting. "But, well, like I said, I was tired."
"Did you notice anything else?"
"No, ma'am, that's it," May said. There was no lingering doubt in her voice, not like before.
"Thank you, Miss Maple-"
The video stopped there. Misty blinked and then looked around the group; all of the faces wore similar thoughtful expressions, though Leaf's held more expectation.
Lance spoke up first. "Was she intoxicated?"
Misty felt offended on her friend's behalf, but she pushed the feeling away; it was a reasonable question.
"She said she wasn't," Leaf answered.
"Hm."
"I know May Maple," Misty spoke up after a moment of hesitation. "She is a friend. I have no doubt that she's telling the truth."
Lance gave her a look that was almost pitying and Misty felt her hackles rise. "Just because she's your friend doesn't mean we can trust her."
"Lance," Leaf interrupted sharply before Misty could respond. "May Maple is not a suspect here."
Leaf's words were said to the whole group, but her brown eyes flashed in Misty's direction, and Misty forced herself to relax back in her seat.
There was an awkward pause before Lorelei decided to break it. "So, she saw a human and glowing eyes."
"A shadow of a human," Bruno said, softly. He was leaning forward on the table, his head resting on his big hands and his brow shadowed.
Lorelei glanced at Bruno at his correction, but then nodded.
"The Hoenn division is already researching this matter further, of course," Leaf said. "However, it would not be amiss to let more minds think about this. There are enough Pokémon who have a human-like form and whose eyes can glow, after all. If you have a possible theory about how a Pokémon like that could kill without leaving a mark…"
Leaf looked them all in the eye and then nodded shortly when she apparently thought her words had gotten through.
"Good," she said. "Now, the League is coming up, and we all have enough preparations to make-" She glanced at Misty; she was the only one who actually had a Gym to run, after all.
"Will the press be notified of this?" Lance asked.
"The Hoenn division will release a statement to the press," Leaf answered. "Any other questions?"
Silence was her answer and Leaf then broke up the meeting. "Keep your eyes open, people. Continue with your previous activities, keep track of the reputation of Ghost Pokémon, and stay optimistic. Have a safe trip home."
Misty was the first to rise and she hurried out, her mind still whirling. Poor May. And she shivered at the suggestion May's report had opened up: what kind of Pokémon would act like that? Alakazam? Hypno? Mr. Mime?
The journey back to Cerulean City went smoothly, and it allowed Misty to let go of her haunting thoughts. It was nearing the end of the afternoon when she came home, the sun already low on the horizon when it finally broke through the rainy clouds. It had been wet all day.
Misty entered through the front door of the Gym, and found it was empty of challengers. Instead, Daisy – who had been looking after the Gym for today – was, surprisingly enough, training with Ash.
They paused when they saw Misty enter, and Ash happily came running in her direction. Misty pecked him on the lips, and Daisy made cooing sounds in the background.
"It's so cute to see my little sis' so happy!" she gushed. Misty rolled her eyes. Daisy must have seen this a dozen times already, but the blonde would never change, she supposed.
"Hey, Daisy," Misty greeted her, giving her a quick hug. "Thank you for looking after the Gym today."
"You're welcome, of course," Daisy said easily.
"And, how did the meeting go?" Ash asked eagerly.
"It went well," Misty responded shortly. Ash looked at her expectantly.
"Oh, come on, Ash, you know I can't say more about it," Misty said, the words coming out sharper than she had intended. But he always did this!
Ash pouted overly dramatically, and Misty looked away from his accusing brown eyes. He knew she couldn't tell him anything, and yet he kept asking.
"So, Daisy, tell me about what happened at the Gym today," Misty said, trying to change the topic. "Maybe we can do that at the computer, then I can make the reports right away."
She doubted Daisy had done that already, and then she would have to take care of the Pokémon, clean up-
"Sure!" Daisy said. "Do you mind, Ash?"
Whoops, they had been training, of course.
"Sorry, Ash," Misty said distractedly. "I've got to borrow Daisy for now, but maybe you can get in some training later."
"Sure," Ash said, sounding resigned, and Misty felt a twinge in her stomach at his reaction.
"Sorry again, Ash," she said, this time turning to look at him, and then pulled Daisy along with her. "Maybe when we're done, I can train with you, alright?"
Misty gave him her most convincing smile and Ash smiled back, but the heavy pull at her heart didn't quite go away.
A/N: Thank you for reading! This chapter was difficult, for some reason, the interactions between Misty and Ash didn't come so naturally for me this chapter. But look, we have some more plot! I'm excited to hear what you think about it!
Thank you!