Chapter 2: Psyduck in the Bath.

The Onsen was perfect. Rei was right – a long bath that wasn't a river or pool was just what I needed.

The pre-wash areas were split between men and women – I stripped off my clothes and chucked them into a washing basket, before gratefully scrubbing down the dirt from my body. I extended my legs gratefully, stretching my newly-pink and clean toes. Wrapping a cover around myself, I tiptoed out into the steamy exterior.

A high bamboo fence surrounded the hot spring. It hadn't been here before; Pokémon and workers had created a peaceful and natural looking area that was heated by a friendly Torkoal and the water replenished by some helpful Buizel.

The cobbled stones were slippery, and I kept an eye on my feet as I progressed through the thickening steam towards what I assumed was the water.

I moved onwards, confident that I was finding my footing, until I almost trod on a lost Poliwag. I squeaked nervously as I hurriedly lifted my leg back up and out of its way – in doing so I lost my footing and tumbled down into the water which was (thankfully) nearby.

I hit something soft as I plunged in. The warm bath was a welcome experience, but concern rose for the poor creature I'd seemed to land on.

I emerged from the water, choking and coughing. I wiped my eyes with the backs of my hands, my linen cover-all lost in the cloudy, mineral-filled waters. I looked around for what I assumed was now an unconscious Pokémon.

Instead, a young man emerged from the bath in front of me. His dark blue and blonde hair now fell to his shoulders in wet waves, and his dark brows were creased in a familiar frown. My eyes glazed over his sharp jawline and fell to his pronounced clavicle, progressing down his muscular torso and abdomen until—

"Akari?" he peered at me through the steam. "Are you alright?"

I blushed, suddenly aware of my own nakedness. I squeaked, crossed my arms over my front and ducked into the water into a foetal-position. Adaman was wringing the water out of his drenched hair.

The leader of the Diamond clan pushed his wet locks back from his eyes with both hands, standing tall in all his naked glory. He had several scars, I noticed, on his flank and a large burn across the forearm of his right arm, progressing just past his elbow. His legs muscles became more pronounced as he squatted in the water, his brown eyes looking into mine.

"Are you alright?" he repeated, looking over my head for any possible lumps or causes for concussion. "Are you hurt?"

"No!" my voice squeaked again. "No! Go over there, Adaman!"

He laughed at my embarrassment, a carefree and relaxed sound that made me breathe out. He complied, turning his back and leaning out of the circular spring. He rested his chin on his crossed arms, and spoke over his shoulder to me.

"When did you get back?" he asked, running another hand through his hair. "It's been a long time. You're… well, you look good... Well! Healthy, I mean!"

I'd become interested in the muscles between his shoulders and descending down his back towards his—

"I only arrived this afternoon," I clarified, searching around for my cover-up. "I wanted to wash before I meet Rei at the Wallflower."

Adaman nodded. "I see. If it's not a private gathering, I may join you."

He stood then, and turned to look at me. I stared back at him, my cheeks reddening from the heat of the bath and from self-consciousness. He held out in his hand a dripping cloth – my shift!

I took it eagerly and wrapped the material around my body hurriedly. It clung to me, sticking to my skin and every groove, thanks to it being drenched with water. Despite the comforting warmth of the water and the moisture of the steam, I was covered in goosebumps, and I was acutely aware that my nipples had hardened in the chill of the evening air. I could see it was now Adaman's time to stare.

"Stop it!" I gripped myself again.

He grinned at me. "See you later."

He hopped out of the bath with ease, and I sunk into the water, embarrassment heating me up from the inside out. Except, there were other feelings stirring.

I shook my head vigorously – hoping to banish inappropriate thoughts with them. Pretending I wasn't the slightest bit inclined to imagine my lips running down the straight lines of Adaman's jaw, I tried to relax and clear my thoughts. My priorities were definitely askew.

I rubbed my eyes with my hands, as if trying to rub some sense into me. I let them splash back into the water, and jumped as I noticed a Psyduck sitting in the water, opposite me. Something didn't quite seem right about it – it was making a lot of eye contact for a normally shy-natured Pokémon. Its feathers looked a little damaged, and its eyes were bloodshot.

"Hey little guy," I cooed, holding out a hand towards it. "Are you doing okay?"

It made a strange noise like a hiccough, never breaking its gaze away from me. It began to sway from side to side, and an odd growling noise began to emanate from its chest.

"Psyduck…?" I tried to back away from it slowly; I'd never seen a Pokémon acting like this. "Are you alright?"

My back hit the rocky sides of the spring, and I found myself being splashed by the flowing spring that filled the baths. As I wiped the water from my eyes, I could see the Psyduck's eyes rolling back in its head.

It moved faster than I expected. The weight of its feathery body was denser than I would have guessed, and as it slammed into my chest, I felt the air leave my body.

"What?!" I gasped, choking on water and what I assumed were broken ribs. "Psyduck! What are you doing?"

"Pssyyyy!" it shrieked, opening its beak to reveal a discoloured, green tongue. It raised its wings, forming a large orb of water that I knew would be heading straight for me.

I scrambled towards the edge of the bath; my eyes locked on the curtained exit leading to the changing rooms. With such a big town, how could there be nobody else in the Onsen?

As I stretched forward to clamber onto the nearby decking, a black shadow darted out from inside. Umbreon's red eyes were focussed forward, a determined growl growing in its throat.

He stood over me, his body poised for the attack. He was faster than Psyduck, and managed to knock him back with an accurately timed Growl.

Espeon appeared next, her lilac body slinking out of the doorway, more cautious than her brother. Her violet gaze pierced the frantic Psyduck, who made another hiccoughing noise. The red gem on her forehead glowed brightly, and a wave of psychic energy hit the mad Pokémon, who collapsed into the warm waters of the bath.

I heaved myself up onto my knees, finally out of the water. I could see Psyduck floating about – unconscious.

"Get them out, guys," I gestured to my Pokémon, who had approached to see if I was breathing. "We need to take them to the Galaxy Hall… something's not right."

Cyllene crossed her arms over her chest, frowning.

The injured Psyduck was tucked into a bed next to the other patients in the Medical Corps' wing. It had a damp flannel folded over its forehead, and was snoozing sweetly following a draught of Nurse Pesselle's potions.

"It's very odd, Commander," Pesselle was inspecting a feather in a glass test tube. "The Psyduck's illness isn't unlike what we've seen the villagers going through. Even Professor Laventon's tests came back very similarly to this Pokémon."

"What does that mean?" Cyllene liked to have all the fact at her disposal. I could see her thoughts turning over in her head.

Pesselle shrugged. "At present, it looks like we could have a sickness that transfers between Pokémon and humans."

I frowned. "Surely not? We're different species."

Pesselle passed the tube to Cyllene, who began to look carefully at the specimen. "To be sure, it's too soon to confirm. But we live so closely with Pokémon now, we can't rule out that we could possibly get each other sick."

My scowl deepened; this would only damage human-Pokémon relations and harm years of work from the Galaxy Corps.

"We need to investigate further," Cyllene confirmed. "Pesselle, use the lower level of the halls for any patients you receive. I feel this won't be our only Pokémon patient, and I'd rather we be prepared."

She turned to me. I straightened my posture, which was something Cyllene's gaze had always prompted me to do.

"Well? Can we count on you to investigate?" she was direct, as usual. Cool and collected in a crisis.

I nodded. "Of course, Commander."

She smiled. It was a rare occasion when this happened, and I naturally mirrored her expression. She squeezed my shoulder encouragingly. Without a word, she left the medical wing, leaving me to contemplate the mess I'd become embroiled in.

I sighed and made my way outside from the Galaxy Hall. I stood on the steps, breathing in the evening air hungrily. Delicious scents wafted over from the nearby Wallflower, which had grown in size and customers since my departure.

Umbreon and Espeon were waiting for me at the base of the steps – they'd been playing with Beauticia during the examination of the Psyduck. They purred and chittered at me in unison as I gestured for them to follow me to our evening rendezvous.

Rei was sitting outside at our usual bench – it hurt my heart to see him there without Laventon by his side. Adaman was there, seated with a young woman with shoulder-length blonde hair. As I approached, her identity was unmistakeable.

"Irida!" I grinned and held my arms open for an embrace as she giggled and threw herself at me.

"Oh my gosh!" Irida was laughing. "Akari! You're taller than me, now!"

I was – I hadn't realised.

"All grown up," I beamed at her, and caught Adaman's eye.

"Indeed," he smirked, sipping nonchalantly at a cup of green tea.

I blushed, and hurriedly took my seat next to Rei, who was chattering about something he was auditing for the Security Corps – apparently Zisu wasn't thorough with her numbers.

Adaman continued to watch me piercingly – I pulled my jacket tighter around myself and felt conscious of my thin tunic.

"So of course, I had to do it all," Rei sighed dramatically, throwing his hands up in the air.

"That's leadership for you, buddy," Adaman reached forward for one of the potato mochi that sat in a big dish in the centre of the table. "Hard work, no thanks."

Irida made a noise like a snort and nodded, her own hand reaching for the food. "You can say that again!"

"Is everything alright with the clans?" I asked, tearing up a mochi and feeding each half to Umbreon and Espeon under the table. They were purring at Rei's over-zealous Pikachu.

"Oh yes," Irida nodded, trying to swallow her food quickly. "Definitely, if anything, maybe too alright."

I raised an eyebrow, and she exchanged a look with Adaman, who rolled his eyes and shrugged.

Irida turned back to me, leaning forward. "The clan elders want us to join our clans together."

I was stumped. Irida shook her head at my inanity.

"Join together… permanently…" she coaxed.

I shook my head. "Aren't you already friends?"

"Marriage, dummy," Rei snorted.

Adaman watched my reaction carefully. I began by nodding slowly, unsure of how I should react. How I felt about the news and what I was entitled to feel were very different – after all, I'd abandoned them all on my little journey of self-discovery without a second thought. It made sense things had moved on; the village, the clans, my friends…

"Wow, congratulations!" I feigned enthusiasm, and it was poorly executed. Adaman sat back in his seat, seeming almost satisfied.

"Eurgh, no!" Irida began to laugh heartily. "No way! Akari, please-," she snorted again, and choked on her laughter when she attempted a sip of tea. "No offence to Adaman – I mean, we get along a lot better nowadays – but the thought of marrying him," she shuddered dramatically. "Makes me want to puke."

Adaman finally took his eyes from my face to object to such a vehement dislike of the possibility of a future with him. Irida laughed even harder at his objections and pushed a mochi into his mouth.

"See?" she winked at me. "It would be doomed. Our clans' peace would be ruined!"

I could feel the tightness in my chest start to reduce, and the heat in my cheeks start to cool. I smiled again, and Rei began to laugh and tease Adaman that he'd have to marry warden Calaba to unite the clans at this rate. Irida joined in, stating she was sure Calaba was a great kisser.

Now that the jokes had turned on him, Adaman began to laugh with them, turning in his seat in mock outrage, crossing his arms and sticking his nose in the air. Rei grinned at me.

"Are you glad that you're home?" he asked earnestly.

The question caught me off guard, as since I'd arrived home, I had experienced nothing but trouble. My friend was unwell and the Commander wanted me to usurp his job; Pokémon were becoming infected with a human virus and it was making them rampage; the leader of one of our clans had seen me naked and now I couldn't stop thinking about him.

"Of course," I smiled, blushing at the lie.

"Your house is still in the same spot," Rei confirmed enthusiastically. "I made sure it wasn't disturbed. Although one of the Bidoof managed to nibble a hole in the wall – we patched it pretty well though."

"The Bidoof have always been naughty," I chuckled. At least something stayed the same.

"I know, right? We've had to ask some Bibarel to help us keep them in line, otherwise they'd chew up all our building supplies."

Irida yawned, stretching her arms over her head. "I promised Lina that I'd visit her and Iscan tomorrow in the Coastlands, it'll be a long trip. Rei, walk me back to my quarters?"

Rei nodded eagerly, always happy to please. He paused to look at me again, and suddenly planted an unsolicited kiss on my cheek, before linking his arm through Irida's and frog-marching her back to the Pearl building.

Adaman raised an eyebrow at me. I ignored him, tearing another mochi for the Pokémon under the table. I could hear the friendly trills of Adaman's Leafeon as it reunited with Umbreon and Espeon by our feet.

"You must be tired," he stood suddenly, his gaze moving over to the small terraced house by the Galaxy Hall. "Shall I walk you home?"

"You don't have to," I reassured, though I'd already stood by this point, also. "It's only over there."

He smiled at me, and my heart skipped a beat. "It's no trouble. I'm staying next door."

I nodded – the Diamond Building was a tall, narrow structure next to the Hall. It was different from the Pearl Clan's hub, which was shaped not unlike a Duosion. As much as they were similar, they displayed the differences between the separate groups, with the Galaxy Hall nestled inbetween.

"We can walk together, then," I agreed. "As it's not out of your way."

His smile widened, flashing white teeth at me. We walked slowly, side by side, with our Pokémon playing around our feet. They were a welcome distraction; I was becoming fed up with how much my cheeks were reddening throughout our encounters that day.

"I'm sorry about earlier," he broke the silence as he drew nearer my home. "I hope I didn't embarrass you."

I swallowed – unsure if he meant my blatant gratification of his body, or the potential that he saw all of mine.

"No," the pitch of my voice betrayed my discomfort. "Not at all. It's just bathing. Just a bath! I'd already forgotten…" my lies tailed off, and I found myself looking at my shoes. We'd stopped by my front door.

"I see," Adaman's tone was deep and gentle.

I looked up at him then, unsure what he seemingly understood, because I wasn't sure myself.

He took my chin in his hand and bent down to put his lips gently to mine. I froze, becoming rigid from top to toe. My chest began to heat up, and the warmth spread to the ends of my limbs. His lips were soft, but firm. They tasted like green tea and mochi, but also a comforting sweetness, like vanilla.

He released me, and I blinked stupidly. Backing up slowly, I nodded, my hand fumbling for the handle of my door.

"Yep… well, thank you for… Good night, Adaman," I squeaked, almost falling back into the house as the door slid open.

He smiled at me. "Good night, Akari."