VGS2's notes: Y'know, I don't usually consistently do my author's notes at the top of a chapter... but hey, ravengal's original Questing For Respect™ did 'em, so why not, eh? XP I'll have comments at the bottom, too, of course, so no worries there!

All the same, hope you guys are ready for a fun little bonding chapter in a place you'd never expect! :D


Chapter Two: The Questionable Meetings


Now on the bottom floor, Buneary couldn't stop bouncing on the balls of her feet in excitement. Ooh, when was Snorlax going to get here? The second he did, it was time for her first adventure here in the guild. She couldn't wait!

Deciding to distract herself to kill some time, she looked around the floor she was on. Aside from a small alcove filled with chopped wood, for some reason, it was mostly just rugged, rocky walls. That said, there was one passageway.

Hmm, this was apparently the floor that the toilets were on, as well as the… showers, had Snorlax said? She'd never tried a shower before. Only baths in hot rivers, and the like. She'd heard about them on her travels, though. They sounded interesting!

She wouldn't lie… she was very curious. So curious, in fact, that she decided a little peek inside wouldn't hurt too much. Even if it was a lot colder on the bottom floor than she would've liked…

Still, she was sure the water would warm her up!

She wandered down the hallway. After a short time, she was inside a very moist-looking cave-like corridor, with brown walls and gray floors. The sounds of dripping water were constant, and she could see it dribbling down the walls in some areas. Despite that, though, the place seemed free of mould and mildew. A sign that it was probably cleaned regularly.

At the end of the hallway, she could see a large door, not unlike the one at the entrance of the guild. The entrance to Drenched Bluff, maybe?

On the left hand side of the corridor, she could see stone cubicles with wooden doors. The toilets, she guessed. One of them seemed to be in use, so she decided not to pay too much attention.

Looking to the other side, she saw hundreds of leaves growing on the vines stretching across the walls. It looked like those yellow-green leaves that people liked to use as a cheap alternative to soap. Close to them, carved into the wall, she saw a long basin with water flowing through it. Like a tiny river with water coming from one hole, flowing into another. Because of the way the basin was shaped, the water flowed downwards in a slope, possibly to be convenient for pokémon of different sizes.

A little further along the hallway, she found them. The showers!

She could tell it was them. The floor - which took up a big chunk of the room - was colored a lighter shade of gray to the rest the room, drain-like holes were dotted across it, and most notably, odd patterns could be seen on the ceiling, above. They also looked like holes, though currently covered up.

She could also see a big cubicle next to the showers, also with holes above. Huh, so... could people use the showers together, as well as in private?

Well… as long as she wasn't uncovered, then that was okay, she guessed. She would have to watch herself whenever she needed a more 'thorough' wash, though.

Speaking of having a wash… she was even more deathly curious about what it would be like than ever, having a shower. She was only used to bathing in warm rivers and hot springs, due to where she used to live.

She moved over to the public shower. Seeing a lever on the wall, she eagerly tugged on it.

The holes in the ceiling opened up, allowing water to rapidly sprinkle down on her.

Cold, cold water.

She shrieked and danced around in a frozen panic. Oh, lord Dialga, it was cold to the freaking boooone!

She leaped out of the shower like a woman possessed. She heard a bang afterwards and twisted around in surprise. She saw a pink and white block-shaped pokémon coming out of a cubicle. She looked distinctively female and had loads of strange antlers coming out of her head. As well as a sheet of tissue paper stuck to one of her four feet.

"W-What's going on!? Where's the fire!?" the pokémon yelled in a very feminine voice.

As Buneary realized what had happened, her face warmed considerably. Oh, great. She was already causing commotions... "Um, I'm... really, really sorry," she said, fidgeting awkwardly. "I, er... the shower was... really, really cold."

The pink pokémon stared at her, blinking every now and again. After several seconds, she snorted loudly in amusement. "Ah, I... I see," she said, seeming to be forcing down a grin. She burst into a fit of the giggles.

Buneary pouted as her face burned with embarrassment. "H-Hey...! I'm used to really warm areas, so this cold water was nasty..."

The pink pokémon waved her stubby hands in dismissal as she tried to catch her breath. "S-Sorry, it's... it's understandable, it truly is."

Buneary pouted even more. "You don't sound like you mean it, much..."

The pink pokémon smiled sheepishly. "N-No, I do..." She turned around. "Anyway, um... please give me a sec. I'm almost done~" She walked back towards the cubicle she'd come from.

Buneary huffed in displeasure. Her eyes widened considerably when she noticed that the pokémon wasn't covered up at the back, meaning the rabbit could see her... um... whoops.

Buneary's face scrunched up something fierce, trying as hard as she could to stop herself from laughing. Once the pokémon closed the door, Buneary lost the fight and started to giggle loudly.

"Hm? What's so funny out there?" the pokémon called out from inside her cubicle.

"Oh, n-n-nothing...!" Buneary called back, not wanting to cause a scene. Well, another scene.

"... Er... okay...?" A flushing sound came from the cubicle. Shortly after, shuffling noises were briefly heard until the pokémon gasped. "Wait... oh no..." She squealed. "I didn't cover up before coming out, did I!?"

Buneary's giggles went louder against her wishes. "It's, um... I-I didn't... see anything!" she lied.

"Ohh, but you're giggling..." the pokémon mumbled. Buneary could just feel the embarrassment radiating through the cubicle.

Buneary finally felt her giggles die down. In their place was a small amount of guilt. "I'm sorry... it really doesn't matter, though. It's alright."

The door slowly opened and the pokémon's head poked out, now looking more red than pink. "It sort of does matter if you saw my tush, though. So embarrassing..."

"Well... I won't tell anyone," Buneary replied with a sheepish smile. "Um... it'll set us even, right?" She let out an awkward chuckle. "We both embarrassed ourselves!"

The pokémon blinked. She joined in with a little giggle of her own. "Oh, you're so charmingly nice, aren't you?" The redness in her face seemed to die down somewhat. "Sure, we'll, um... put this behind us." She cringed lightly. "... No puns intended."

"Sounds good!" Buneary replied with amusement.

The pokémon walked out of the cubicle and made her way over to the soapy leaves. Buneary noticed that her backside was covered up, meaning that her cheeks and... everything else was out of view. To be honest, the rabbit had no idea how she'd managed to cover up with her awkward biology... or what she'd covered up with, having no fur... but Buneary wasn't about to pry, so it was anyone's guess.

After grabbing a soapy leaf, the pokémon smiled at Buneary. "So, then... are you new?" she asked.

"Oh, um, yes. I am! I haven't gotten a team, yet, though."

"Ohh, okay then." The pokémon began to wash her stubby hands in the wash basin. "I'd invite you over to my team, Team Cuties... but I don't think it would work, sadly."

Buneary's ear dipped. "Oh, that's a pity... Am I not cute enough?"

The pokémon cringed in surprise. "Huh? Oh, no, no, no way, that's not it! It's more like... my teammate, Whimsicott. She's a very... particular pokémon with things. She's told me that she would prefer a loud, 'cheerleader' sort of pokémon on the team. So that we can be more like Team Charm, the legendary treasure-hunting girl gang. They're Whimsicott's heroes, and they're practically a cheerleader squad in everything but name, so..."

Buneary sighed. Oh, she'd heard of that team. There was no way she'd be up to their standards… "Ah. Well, fair enough. I'm, er... not very loud."

"You don't really seem loud, no..." The pokémon smiled at her. "Don't worry, though! Someone as precious as you is bound to find a partner or two~"

Buneary smiled back at her. "Thanks!"

The pokémon looked back at the shower, which still had water pouring down from the ceiling. "Whoops! Still running," she said.

"Ah. S-Sorry…" Buneary mumbled awkwardly.

"Not to worry. It comes straight from the bluff, and goes back into the sea, after. Then the bluff gets more water from… er, elsewhere. Nothing's wasted!"

"Oh, well, that's not so bad…" She blinked and glanced at the toilets with a concerned frown. "Um… where does…?"

The pokémon followed her gaze. Her eyes widened in realization and she giggled. "Oh, I know what you're thinking! Don't worry, all that goes to a place where farmers can come and collect it. Y'know, for berry growing and all that."

Buneary's concerned frown stayed, though for different reasons. That was… sort of an embarrassing thing to think about. "Er… okay." Forcing herself not to think about that too hard, she looked back at the shower with dread, eyeing up the lever within the sprinkling cold water. "Well, I… guess I should turn this thing off, shouldn't I?"

"No, no, I've got it~" the pokémon chimed, walking through the cold shower towards the lever, and flipping it upwards. Buneary noted, while trying not to be too jealous, how the pokémon didn't seem to mind the cold water at all.

The holes closed, stopping the water from coming down. Buneary sighed in relief, hoping she never had to go through that again.

As she relaxed, however, she suddenly became aware of how cold she still was, no thanks to the shower. Shivering, she jammed her paws into her fluff for warmth. Because it was cut so short, though, she could only dig it into the top, which she'd kept poofy for style.

"Oh dear. That shower did you no favors, did it?" the pokémon asked, looking at her in concern.

"I-I came from a really hot place where the water's always hot. So I sort of expected the water to be… not cold."

The pokémon snorted quietly, though frowned sympathetically. "You poor thing, you." She gave her a curious look. "But wait… your fluff?"

Buneary looked down at her short fluff, which was barely thicker than her brown fur. "Oh… I keep it short, because of where I came from, so…" She made a mental note to let her fluff grow out after saying that.

"Ahh, good point. It sure is shorter than a normal buneary's, huh?" the pokémon frowned sympathetically. "Well, that's certainly a pickle. Being one of those ocean water-types, my body's really used to being cold, so it's no issue for me. Can't imagine how bad it is for you."

"So lucky..." Buneary stared at her. "Wait. You're a... water-type?"

"Hm? Oh, yep!" The pokémon grinned. "I'm a corsola, so I'm part-water, part-rock~"

Buneary's eyes widened in awe. "Ooh... I've never met one before! You're so pretty, but you're rock-type?"

"Such a flatterer~. Well, I'm made of coral, which, when I harden my body, is sort of rock-like." The pokémon - who Buneary could guess was called Corsola - walked closer on her four feet. "Here, give my branch a squeeze~"

Tilting her head, Buneary moved over to Corsola and lightly pinched the water-type's antler-like branch. It was somewhat squishy, but rough at the same time, with just a hint of being rubbery. It was the weirdest feeling to describe, but it was really interesting.

"Wow..." the rabbit mumbled.

Corsola grinned proudly. "And... as promised, I can do this, too!" she started.

The branch hardened drastically in Buneary's grasp, surprising her. "Whoa, yeah, it's gotten hard!"

Corsola's grin grew. "You got that right~! I can control most of the cells on my body, so I can go really soft..." She allowed her branch to droop, "... or I can go stiff as a rock!" Her branch sprang to life, becoming hard again.

"Ooh, that's so-!"

It broke off in Buneary's paw.

She blinked. She stared at it.

"Oh, haha, whoops," Corsola said. "That always-"

Buneary's face fell in horror. "Oh, lord Dialga, it broke!" she screamed.

Corsola yelped. "Oh, er, i-it's okay! It's just-"

"I'm killing you, I'm so sorry!" Buneary squealed hysterically.

Corsola waved her hands in a panic. "P-Please, really, it's okay!"

Buneary tried to forcefully reattach it to Corsola's head. "Hang in there, I-I can put it back!"

"N-No, you can't, Buneary! It doesn't-"

"Hold on, I'm coming to save you!" a voice called from outside the bathroom, sounding high-pitched, yet boyish.

Buneary yelped and twisted to face him. He tackled her onto her back before she could tell who it was.

Dazed, she tried to push herself up. The boy put his hands onto her chest and pushed her back down.

"D-Don't move, you!" the boy shouted. Looking at him, Buneary saw that it was some wispy black pokémon with red eyes. "I heard everything! Y-You're an outlaw- No... you're a nasty renegade who's trying to kill Corsola!"

"W-What!?" Buneary yelped, frightened. Oh no... for hurting Corsola, she was really going to get it, now, wasn't she!?

"Yamask, c-calm down, please!" Corsola cried out. Looking up at her, Buneary saw her frantically waving her stubby hands in a panic again. "Buneary here just made a mistake, and it scared her silly. She's far too nice to be killing anyone!"

The boy, who was apparently called Yamask, stared at her. "... Um... really?" he asked nervously.

"... Really?" Buneary also asked. Oh... had she done something dumb?

"For sure!" Corsola said. "Now, please, don't freak out, and, um..." She looked down at Buneary with an awkward expression, "... don't let anyone catch you in that position, Yamask. They'll think you're the renegade."

Yamask gave a confused murmur and looked down at Buneary. As she looked back at him, she realized where his hands were comfortably resting.

Buneary squealed, face becoming red hot. She held her arms up to protect the soft mound on her chest that, while covered and constrained by fur, she didn't want him anywhere near.

He squealed just as loudly and flew away into the air. His face was bright red, to the point where she couldn't tell where his eyes were, anymore. "S-Sorry! I'm sorry! Oh, legends, I'm so embarrassed! And..." He gasped in horror. "O-Oh no, oh no!" He pulled the golden mask on his tail off and held it over his face. "P-Please don't scream and hit me and threaten to call the police, like Salandit did that time I didn't know she was in the toilet, and I walked into the cubicle, and..." He squealed again in terror. "Oh, this is it for me! I'm finished!"

Buneary could only stare at him as he rambled. Wow... wasn't she supposed to be the mortified one? Instead, she couldn't decide if she felt amused or felt bad for the black wisp.

Looking at Corsola, she saw an awkward look on the coral's face. Noticing her, Corsola gave the rabbit a sheepish look, which she was all too happy to share.

Buneary hopped to her feet and faced Yamask. "H-Hey, don't worry! It was just an... honest mistake, right?" she called up to him reassuringly.

Yamask stopped shivering and peeked at her from behind his mask. "You're... not angry?" he asked carefully.

"Not really, no. In fact, um... it's really me who should be apologizing, because of the screaming, and... all that." She chuckled awkwardly.

"... Oh. Okay, then." Yamask reattached his golden mask to his tail, which fell back into place under him. He smiled, albeit a bit nervously. "Well... thanks." He chuckled just as awkwardly. "Yeah."

"Aww, she's such a cinnamon roll, isn't she?" Corsola asked, giving Buneary an adoring look. "If she doesn't fit right in here, then I don't know who would~"

Buneary's face warmed bashfully. Gosh, now who was flattering who?

"She's a lot nicer than some of the girls here," Yamask agreed. "I haven't been yelled at, or gotten punched, so that's a good thing."

"Definitely~." Corsola replied. She let out an amused hum. "Look at you, though. Rushing to my aid, even when you think a renegade's around. Maybe, just maybe... you're a bit of a cinnamon roll, yourself!"

He looked at her in surprise. Shortly after, he bashfully rubbed the back of his head. "W-Well... it's the right thing to do, y'know? Anything to help out!"

"How sweet~" She grinned lightly. "Though, um... maybe next time you should use one of your moves if you see a renegade, and not just tackle into 'em."

His face gained a red tint to it. "... I panicked."

She giggled. "Yamask, you're so rash~"

Buneary smiled at the pleasant atmosphere. Something occurred to her to ask, though. "Say... I've heard of, um... outlaws, before. I've never seen one, but... um, yeah, what's a 'renegade'?" she asked.

Yamask and Corsola seemed to cringe lightly. The reaction perplexed the rabbit.

"They're, um..." Yamask started, "... some pokémon are, um... very rarely, they're really-"

"Heyyy, Buneary?" a voice called out from within the guild, interrupting him. It was a bit gruff, yet goofy, so it sounded like Snorlax.

Down the hallway, Buneary saw him slowly making his way down the stairs, looking around for her. "Um... I-I'm in here, Mr. Snorlax!" she shouted to him.

He looked down the hallway and smiled upon seeing her. She saw a bag by his side, attached via a strap. His treasure bag, maybe? "Ah, there you are, miss!" He did a light jog down the hallway, greeting everyone as he arrived next to them. "My, my... making friends already, are ya?"

She beamed. "I... I guess so!" she said happily. She paused and looked back at Corsola and Yamask. "Um... that is... we are, aren't we?" she asked meekly.

"You bet, Buneary!" Corsola replied, smiling widely. "Even if we're not on the same team, I'd love to do some more meet and greets with you~"

"Er, s-same, I guess!" Yamask agreed, smiling awkwardly. "... Won't lie, though. I'm more than a little awkward around girls. If you're alright with that, though, then..."

Beaming again, Buneary let out a pleased hum. "Thanks, guys!" she chimed.

"Well, isn't that swell?" Snorlax said, smiling warmly. He gasped lightly, as if something occurred to him. "Hey, you know what? Why don't you two come with us and show Buneary here the ropes?"

"Ooh, why not?" Corsola chimed. "On a nice morning like this, Whimsicott likes to go for a float on the breeze towards Capim Town, before any exploring. So I'd say I've got a good hour or two~"

Yamask nodded. "My teammates probably won't even wake up until way after we've finished, so sure! Sounds good," he said.

"There you have it, Buneary!" Snorlax said happily. "Does that seem hunky dory to you?"

"Oh, y-yes, definitely!" Buneary said, beaming. "Thanks, everyone!"

Everyone gave her an eager response.

The rabbit's smile widened further. She had so many people who were willing to help her out, already. And just for her sake, too. She'd never felt so important!

She wouldn't let them down!


"... Why are we even doing this, again?" Bradley asked, heaving a sigh. "I don't understand it at all."

Currently scaling a slope leading higher into the caves they'd just entered, the pokémon he was with stopped to glance back at him with his usual placid smile. "Oh? Why, you ask?" he said. "Did I not mention why enough, yet?"

Frown deepening, Bradley's gaze trailed the huge spike-covered walls of the cavern. "... I still don't get it," he replied guiltily.

Ben let out a drawn out hum. "I don't follow. What's confusing about punishing the guilty?"

"... Are they guilty, though? They never felt guilty when I had to do this in Small Sand Dune..."

Ben clicked his tongue. "Oh you. By now, I'm sure even you should've caught on." He glanced to his side, head tilted upwards. "Whether they seem guilty or not is irrelevant."

Bradley's frown deepened in confusion. "... Because... why?"

A doduo suddenly leapt down from the ceiling, previously hidden by the cave's darkness. The beaks of both its heads were viciously swirling, powered by Drill Peck. "Get outta here, outsiders! You're not welcome here!" she shrieked with both heads, sounding feminine.

Letting out a sharp breath, Bradley made a move to do something. He stopped when Ben's brown paw shot up, catching one of the rapidly spinning beaks head on against his palm. He jerked his head to the side, avoiding the other one which had aimed for his face. As it went past, he clamped down on her neck with his own neck and shoulder, holding it in place.

She squawked loudly in surprise. "W-What the-!?"

Ben murmured out a chuckle, the look in his eyes growing more intense. "Well, what do you know? An example, as if on cue~" He grabbed the ostrich's beak in his palm, stopping her Drill Peck. She tried to yank herself free, but was stuck fast.

Bradley watched the spectacle with a mix of confusion and displeased apprehension. "An... example?" he asked.

"Mm-hmm~" Ben replied. He opened his mouth, revealing a bright glow building inside. A second later, a thin beam of energy poured out, slamming into the doduo with a small explosion, sending her sailing out of his grip. She flew into a wall, becoming skewered on the copious amount of spikes lining it. She quietly fell to the floor after, bruises coating the side that had hit the wall, and a large scorch mark on the other side.

"Heh... there are no innocent pokémon," Ben finished in a breathy voice. "They're all... fucking guilty~!"

Bradley frowned in concern at the fallen bird. She'd only fainted, thanks to natural pokémon durability, but it was still distressing. "... I guess," he mumbled.

Ben let out a long breath and shook off his paw that had blocked the attack, earlier. "Hmm, you know, that was satisfying. Laughably easy, but still very fun~" He glanced at Bradley, his usual smile as big and empty as ever. "You lucked out. I think I'm up for punishing a few more pokémon before you take the reins."

Bradley let out a small huff, frown lightening. "Oh. Okay."

Ben used one of his front paws to tap his chin. "... That said... I'll let you engage whatever we see, first. It's better practice, that way, isn't it, little monster?"

Bradley's frown deepened. "Ugh... do I have to?"

Ben's eyebrows furrowed lightly. "Yes. Yes, you do." His usual expression returned and he turned to face the slope once more. "Anyway, let's 'get it on like Donkey Kong' as Ignatius would babble."

"... Alright." Bradley followed behind, eyes trailing the stone floor.


TO BE CONTINUED!


Finished: 28/04 (April)/2020

Word count: 3,856

Old chapter title: The Embarrassing Meetings

VGS2's notes: None of them appeared in the fic yet ('cept for a quick mention for one of 'em)... but I may as well mention 'em! I actually asked two pals of mine, PokeMaster64 and MewLover54, if they wanted to donate a team of OCs, each. Generously (and knowing me, possibly unwisely), they actually went ahead and made some up for me to use! :D

I won't say who those OCs are just yet, but considering ML54 and PM64 were nice enough to lend me their imaginations, I definitely think they deserve a bit of a shout out. Go read their stuff, and drop some nice reviews, too!

Ah, and on that note... this doesn't mean that I'll be doing OC submission requests, because I know how crazy you guys get with 'em. Seriously, admit it, when I mentioned 'OCs' and 'submissions', you got a bit excited, didn't you? XP That said, no promises, but who knows what the future might hold?

Today's shameless promotion: Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Legends

Author: MewLover54

Universe: Mystery Dungeon

Main species: A buneary, a pikachu, an oshawott and a snivy (plus many more!).

Summary: A human ends up turning into a buneary with amnesia! Though with no task set to her, all she can do is join an exploration team with a grouchy pikachu and hope for the best! Here's hoping she doesn't run into any life threatening danger...

Romance: Very yes!

Wackiness: A fair amount!

Lewdness: A little bit! (Sort of...)

Action: Very yes!

Grittiness: Quite a bit!

Length: Rather long!

A fun fic, indeed! For those that like fluffy romance, and quirky shenanigans (and a fair bit of drama, to boot), I think this is a pretty good read for ya! It benefits from feeling like an actual Mystery Dungeon universe in plot, tone and feel, too! (More than some PMD fics I've read over the years, anyway.)

Please go read and review it! Especially since the latest chapter (37) wasn't reviewed much, even though it was super revealing on a lot of stuff. Ya bloody lurkers. XP


Fun mistake/s of the day:

#1: "They looked also like holes, though currently covered up."

(Ugh, I hate it when fics use this sort of language all the time. It's sort of pretentious, like a Shakespeare play, or something. XD)

#2: "Such a flatter~.

(That's a rude thing to say to a lady.)

#3: 'He again in terror.'

(Yamask duplicated in his fear. )

#4: "so that's a god thing."

(Buneary becomes a god.)

#5: "You lucked out. I think I'm up for punishing a few more pokémon before you take the reigns."

(Well done, Bradley! Once Ben is satisfied, you can become a king! :D)

Alrighty, that's that! 'Till next time, when Buneary's first adventure goes underway... tata for now! c: