Chapter 16: Beachside & Bathing

The new morning rose over Brunhild. In Touya's mansion, Renne carried Pikachu in her arms as they headed to the kitchen. "I do want to beat Lucia to the kitchen," she wished. "I wanted to make something special for you."

("That's nice,") Pikachu praised. In Ash's room, the sun's rays started to beam down on Ash and Sue. Ash started to wake up to find Sue so close to him. Since their first date and the adventure to awaken the Divine Beasts, Ash and Sue have never been closer. He reached and petted Sue's head before kissing her forehead. She felt and moaned to the petting, making Ash smile while he felt her arms around his chest. That's when he felt something around his neck. His eyes shifted to another hand on him.

'A hand?' he minded. The hand wrapped around his chin. Ash knew it wasn't Sue's hand. He turned his head to find Yumina's head barely on top of his. Ash gulped at the sight of seeing Sue's older cousin on top of him. 'Yumina!? What the heck!' Yumina moaned with a smile.

"Touya…" she hummed. "Stay inside with me…" Ash seemed to think Yumina was dreaming as Sue woke up. Seeing Yumina, she began to wonder how she wound up in the same bed.

"Yumina?" she gulped. Suddenly, Yumina smothered Ash's lips and kissed him deeply, her tongue pressing firmly against his. Ash's head was frozen while Yumina bobbed her head to get everything inside of him. Sue gasped to how deep Yumina was going to give Ash love. Ash froze, not sure what to do. Yumina started to open her eyes. Seeing Ash, her eyes went from barely to completely wide open. She believed she was kissing Touya when her lips were on Ash. She leaped back with a yelp, falling off the bed and landing back first onto the floor.

"Ow…" Ash and Sue kept staring at Yumina, at least where she vanished to. Yumina rose back up, her face flushed red in embarrassment while wearing a nightgown. "What am I doing here? I thought I was in my room." Seeing Ash and what she was doing in her sleep, her face became even redder before she turned her head away. "I can't believe I did that! I'm a disgrace to be Touya's future wife!" Ash came out from under the sheets, wearing his pajamas. Sue also emerged with her nightgown still on.

"Relax, Yumina," Ash assured.

"How can I!?" cried Yumina. "I did that to you and-" Sue giggled to the scene. Yumina looked to her cousin.

"No one is upset by it," she assured. "Even if it was Linze, we're not worried." Yumina sighed in relief. After that, she and Sue left to change. A couple of hours later, Ash was in the kitchen wrapping sandwiches Lucia made.

"Ash, gather the cups," she suggested. "I'll get the fruit chopped."

"You got it," Ash accepted. He reached the cupboard and pulled down several cups. Lucia chopped some apples and bananas to start.

"You know, this will be my first trip to the beach as one of Touya's people."

"Yeah, mine as well… but not my first time at a beach. There's a funny story about it." The admittance made Lucia snicker.

"Save it for when we get there, okay?"

"Yeah… Some of you would want to hear about it." Yumina entered the kitchen with Renne and Wukong on her shoulder.

"Is everything okay?" asked Yumina.

"Yeah, what's up?" wondered Ash. "Are you still worried about this morning?"

"Can you blame me?" shrugged Yumina. "I proposed to my parents to have Touya as my husband. The last thing I want to do is disobey my vow by sleeping with another man." Ash rested a hand on her shoulder. Yumina noticed.

"Ash knows that he has no interest to take anyone away from Touya," Lucia promised. Pikachu added with a few squeaks of his own.

"Part of me wishes I could take back that proposal that I made to my mother and father," she sighed. "If this is you, I'd probably ask Sue if she would want to share." Lucia, Ash and Pikachu began to laugh. After that, Touya summoned Gate before they reached a beach. Everyone crossed over to see the beach to the ocean. Touya took a deep breath to taste the oceanic air.

"Today is a great day for the beach," he mentioned.

"It's the first time we've ever been to the beach," Duster brought up.

"It doesn't help that it's been 5,000 years since you've seen the outside," Kohaku added.

"It is unfortunate, but at least we can be out to have fun," Tempest beaked. That's when the beasts and Pikachu saw the girls making large tents.

"What are the humans doing over there?" wondered Storm. Linze came over to Touya while holding clothes in her arms. She whispered to Touya. His eyes lit up before he nodded to let Linze go. She entered as Ash exited a different tent wearing blue swimming trunks. Touya was already in black trunks and removed his shirt.

"Okay, everyone!" voiced Ash as he threw up the Pokéballs. "Come on out!" The balls opened before they emerged. The Pokémon saw the beach and became excited. Totodile ran to and dove into the water. He splashed around and swam before Bayleef and Pikachu rushed over. Storm also joined while Bajra and Cyndaquil seemed at peace on the sand.

"Well, I'm not surprised about that," Shadow barked. "Those two are of the Fire Element."

"I don't think you need to push them around," Wukong assured. "Let them lounge." Ash laughed to his Beasts and Pokémon having fun on the water and on the sand.

"Ash?" voiced Elze. Ash turned around to see the girls in their swimwear. Elze, Linze and Yae appeared in bikinis and bottoms. Linze wore a teal-stripe bikini, Elze wore a pink-striped bikini and Yae wore a solid purple suit. Linze and Yae seemed nervous to show themselves to Ash. "What do you think?" Ash simply smiled to the sight.

"They look good," he replied. The three seemed befuddled to Ash's simple judgment.

"Is that it?" wondered Yae.

"What, you wanted me to say more?" questioned Ash. "It's all that needs to be said."

"Yeah, maybe," Elze scoffed."It just tells us that you're hard to convince. No biggie."

"By the way, if you didn't love Sue," Linze pondered. "Would there be a girl that you'd love instead?"

"No…" denied Ash. "And it's got nothing to do with a person's figure. If Elze was the one loving me, only to get worried about her body structure, I'd say it wasn't a big deal." Elze shuttered with a laugh.

"That tells us that you're unaffected by someone's figure," Leen teased as she emerged. Ash turned to find Leen wearing a blue bikini with white frills on them and a blue bottom while holding a parasol. The teddy bear wore a red and white striped swimsuit. Ash wasn't phased by Leen's outfit, but the same couldn't be said about some of the Divine Beasts and Pokémon.

"Is this what women wear on the beach?" awed Bajra.

"Touya certainly has some fine girls to be his wives," Treasure awed. Totodile and Pikachu awed the girls and their swimwear. Ash noticed the parasol in Leen's hands.

"I guess you're not a fan of the sun?" he assumed.

"It's not good for my complexion," Leen admitted. "Just as long as you don't accuse me of having traits of vampires." Ash sighed and shook his head.

"Never crossed my mind…" he refused.

"But would this?" spoke Yumina as she hugged Ash from behind. Ash sighed before Yumina gasped at feeling Ash's torso. "Oh my goodness! Does Sue know about this?" Ash blinked before turning to Yumina wearing a white bikini and bottom.

"About how I stay in shape?" he guessed.

"Indeed," Linze gulped before Lucia arrived, wearing a forest green swimsuit with silver stripes around the cuffs. She gulped at the sight of Ash's firm chest.

'I think I might've declared taking Touya too soon!' she minded. 'He's got that as a bod? And at his age?' Yumina nodded to Ash's words that Lucia didn't hear.

"That makes a lot of sense," she accepted. "After all, your Pokémon can't stay in shape without you in the same way." Ash smiled and nodded.

"I wouldn't be a Pokémon Trainer if I was lazy," he said. Suddenly, Sue and Renne arrived with Charlotte in tow.

"Honey!" cheered Sue. Ash turned to see the youngest girls arriving. Sue wore a yellow one-piece with frills while Renne donned a fuchsia one-piece of her own with a frilly skirt. Charlotte wore a blue one-piece swimsuit of her own. Seeing Sue in her swimsuit, Ash blushed madly to the sight. Sue giggled to Ash's face.

"Sue…" he hushed. "You… uh…"

"I can tell!" teased Sue. "You really think I look cute in this, huh?" Ash surrendered with a giggle.

"You took the words right out of my mouth," he smiled.

"Would you say the same for my swimsuit?" asked Renne.

"I would," Ash agreed with Wukong hopping onto her shoulder, liking what Renne appeared as. Hildegard finally arrived from changing. She wore a strapless red bikini and thong.

"This is a bit embarrassing," she gulped as she covered her chest with her arms. Charlotte came to Hildegard before resting a shoulder with a hand.

"We're all here, and Ash isn't embarrassed with chest sizes," she whispered. Hildegard flustered a sigh and dropped her arms.

"I thought he would be," she believed.

"Now, you've been to beaches yourself, right?" asked Linze.

"Yeah, and the first time was when I was still a few years away from having Pikachu as my first Pokémon," Ash started. "I enjoyed the beach. All I ever wanted to do was swim in the ocean with all of the Pokémon. It did seem as though the ocean and I became fast friends." Some of the girls giggled.

"How is an inanimate object like ocean water friends with you?" questioned Yumina.

"Well, I enjoy the water a lot and it was never a bad time for me when I'm there," Ash shrugged with a smile. "We didn't go there on days with high winds."

"You and your friends or your mother?" wondered Lucia.

"My mom," Ash replied. The twins and cousins giggled more.

"Well, our first trip here was special, especially when Touya came here to find the secret garden," Elze started. "It was the first time all of us had been to a beach, so we brought the royal families out here to enjoy with the rest of us."

"So, Tristwin, Yuel, Ellen and Alfred came by as well?" realized Ash.

"They did," Sue confirmed.

"So, while they had fun," Touya continued. "I summoned Kokuyou and Sango to help me breathe underwater to find the garden."

"And that's where Cesca was, right?" guessed Ash.

"Exactly," Touya answered. Ash awed the tale of the girls and their first time. From that point on, everyone enjoyed the beach. The Pokémon, Divine Beasts, Renne and Linze made sandcastles; Hildegard, Charlotte and Bayleef sunbathed; and the rest swam. Ash and Sue submerged themselves to see what was underwater where they saw plenty of fish. Seeing the sandcastles, Touya came to see their projects.

"Hey, you guys did a great job!" he awed as he brought out his smartphone. "Let me make a quick snapshot of this." Storm became curious to the smartphone.

"What is that, Touya?" he asked.

"It's my magical device that allows me to do a lot with my magic," he tried to simplify. "It can help find enemies that are hidden and can launch surprise attacks, and it can take pictures."

"Oh, can we be in it?" wondered Shadow. Everyone looked to the side when they noticed that Shadow was buried in sand with his head sticking out. He gulped when he couldn't move. "Oh, real mature, you guys!" Pikachu, Kohaku and Bajra laughed to the sight of poor Shadow bunkered down.

"You need to loosen up a little, Shadow," Duster giggled. Shadow growled to the tease as Touya took a picture. As the fun continued throughout the day, everyone ate lunch and lied on blankets while others had their chance to soak. As the sun began to set and change the skies, Ash and Sue were walking down the beach with waves gently pounding their ankles. They held hands during their stroll.

"Today was a great day to get out onto the beach," Sue said.

"It was," Ash agreed. "It was also nice to see everyone relaxing and enjoying the sand and surf." Sue giggled more to the point. "You know, everyone at Touya's household has been pretty kind and considerate to me. Don't get me wrong, it's not that I don't enjoy it."

"Right? The more I see how much love you've given; I wanted to think it was okay for you to love someone else with me."

"Nah… Besides, who else fell for me besides you?" The question made Sue giggle.

"That's true. It also leads me to want to stay by you, whether it's back home with my parents or back in the Pokémon World."

"It would be nice to have both, maybe even bring some of the others to see it for themselves."

"I'm sure everyone would like to see it. Should we also bring Mom and Dad along?"

"Absolutely…"

"Thanks. Maybe tomorrow, we can have another date."

"Okay, we can do that." A smile appeared on Sue before they shared a kiss. Everyone returned to the mansion at night and Ash came to the large bath. He soaked in the hot water as Kohaku and Tempest lied by the bath.

"You and Sue have another date plan?" cawed Tempest. "You must be serious about your relationship with her."

"I'm not sure if it's me being serious or it's her," Ash shrugged. "And besides, what are you two doing in here with me?"

"We're pretty curious about how far you want to take it," Kohaku pondered. "I do feel that what you've been able to do with her, it's only going to improve." Ash had a slight snicker. "I do wonder if you had this with Misty." Tempest blinked to the new name.

"Who's Misty?" she asked.

"She was a traveling companion of Ash's who stayed with him until she got her bike repaired," Kohaku explained. "Before something happened to Ash, Misty said that 'he's too stupid to find love.' I'm paraphrasing, but that's what happened." Tempest shook her head to the detail.

"I could ask about what a bike is," she beaked. "After all, it's been 5,000 years since we've seen humanity… but this Misty is some kind of world-class nagger."

"Hey, don't give her too much flack," Ash eased. "She did help get me on track as a trainer."

"Ah, a supporting role…" realized Kohaku. "If only she could see you now and with your newfound magic…"

"If she did, she'd want to learn how to do some of the magic I performed," Ash smiled. "Don't get me wrong… As happy as I am here, I'm a little anxious to get back to Pokémon Training." He leaned back to submerge his body, but it stopped partway down. A strange bounce made Ash freeze.

"Well, at least we can give you the same treatment we gave Pikachu," Yae teased. Ash jumped, finding Yae behind him in the tub. However, his momentum carried him into Elze's arms, her chest on his back. She wrapped her arms around his body to hug.

"So, this must be how a Pokémon Trainer looks under the clothes, right?" she teased. Ash's face became bright red as the other girls also joined.

"It must be hard to maintain a facade of confidence in front of naked girls," Leen sneered.

"Though, who could pass an opportunity to see a torso like that?" pointed out Hildegard. Ash felt cornered. He had a bevy of girls joining him in the bath join him.

"Why now?" he trembled. "Why without your swimwear?" Finally, Lucia had her hands on Ash's back.

"GOTCHA!" she yelped. Ash blinked before turning to Lucia. "And the test is complete." Ash blinked more as the other girls giggled.

"Wait, what's going on?" he wondered.

"We were testing your innocence throughout the day," Yumina explained. "We did it to Pikachu and he had the same reactions as you." Ash soon realized the ordeal, figuring that the girls were seeing if he was lecherous.

"You wanted to know if I was like Brock, huh?" he guessed. There was some confusion before Linze realized the name.

"That other friend you brought up," she realized. "So, he's one who would go after women and immediately flirt?"

"Yep, and it's embarrassing to see," Ash sighed.

"But you aren't tempted by being near women like us," Leen pointed out. "Let alone without a piece of cloth on us."

"That's a Brock-thing, not something that rubbed off on me," Ash corrected. "When I learned to sleep in my room, I never came close to my mom's room. Besides, I'd rather know what someone does over what someone looks like."

"That's fair," Yae giggled. "Though, Pikachu pointed out one time that you did."

"Oh, you mean the time Togepi uncovered a secret about Cinnabar Island," Ash remembered. "We were looking for the Pokémon Gym there and we waited in a spa when Togepi uncovered a path inside a volcano. It also broke the separation wall where Brock, Pikachu and I saw Misty only wearing a similar suit like Hildegard's earlier today." The girls giggled to the short tale.

"Oh, that little rascal!" laughed Hildegard. Everyone was enjoying the night as Charlotte held Pikachu for the night. Touya was outside to see the picturesque nightly moon.

"Touya!" the Goddess voiced. Touya froze before finding the God of Love.

"You're here?" he gulped.

"Well, I thought that I could finally see those two for myself. After all, no one in the mansion knows of our connections to you." A nervous laugh came from Touya.

"I'm not sure what you have in mind… but you do need a disguise. Ash is wise enough to know something will be fishy."

"Hey, relax… This old girl's got a few ideas… but while I'm here, you can address me as Karen." Touya seemed to surrender to the thought. What could the Goddess have in store?

TO BE CONTINUED...