Chapter 38: Chilly Revelations
Pokemon Center Meeting Room…
Aria and Cherry sat in silence as they thought about what to talk about as Hibiki, Echo, and Sigma waited for the adults to speak. "So, I guess you're going to start at the beginning?" Hibiki asked curiously.
"I guess that's as good a place to start as any. Ok, so a little bit of background on the two people we're going to be talking about. First off is Solion, who you three have met already. He was the previous Pokemon Professor of the Alaria Region, a researcher into the emotions of Pokemon and a relatively nice guy. I actually learned under him for a few years before taking over after he decided to leave the region for personal reasons, at least according to him." Cherry began.
"Huh, former Pokemon Professor. Honestly didn't see it as something he had on his resume, but that field of research makes sense given where he is now. Why did he leave the region?" Sigma commented.
"Well… just because he was a Pokemon Professor doesn't exactly mean he had the best of intentions with his researching methods." Cherry said with a sad sight. Sigma didn't initially understand what Chery had meant, but quickly leaned forward and pinched the bridge of his nose with a heavy sigh.
"For the love of Arceus, why can't people just leave Pokemon alone?" Sigma asked in a very disappointed and somewhat angry voice.
"Yeah needless to say that when the exact methods of his research got out, not going to say exactly what he did because I still despise it, he was very much forced to resign from his position. Also should note that even I didn't know what his researching methods were until I walked in on them myself." Cherry said, her mouth forming a hard line as she recalled that day to herself. Aria put a hand on Cherry's shoulder, comforting her for a bit as she calmed herself down.
"So yeah, he is very much scum." Aria commented.
"And grandma went on an expedition with the guy?" Echo asked, a bit blown away by that information.
"It was five years before that stuff came out, there was no way we could have known. Yes, the IPP did look into him, but basically everyone did just believe he was doing research for the good of the region." Aria explained.
"Makes sense that background checks weren't exactly the best back then, especially if it was the regional professor." Hibiki said.
"Yep, now moving on from Solion, I'll talk about our other person of interest. Her name is Shika, someone I told you two about before. A bit of backstory on her, Shika was one of the IPP's top agents at the time, at the age of 23. She was a good negotiator, a very skilled trainer, and somehow always knew the right direction to go in for a case." Aria began to say.
"Oh, so a little Ms. Perfect?" Sigma commented.
"Very much so, though she was respectful to those around her, even her enemies. That being said, her methods were definitely a bit heavy handed, nothing too bad mind you, mostly just a bit of roughing up. Symphia and her were the top two of the IPP and were both the main members of the RED division, in fact they both created it." Aria continued.
"Wait, grandma created a division in the IPP?" Hibiki asked, stars in her eyes.
"Yes, not something she talked about much, but it was something that did happen." Aria told Hibiki.
"Wow, and that division is disbanded now?" Hibiki questioned.
"More that it's inactive than disbanded. There really hasn't been a need for it recently as it's mainly for exploring uncharted regions and seeing what the people there are like." Aria explained. Hibiki nodded in understanding as Aria thought about what to talk about next. "Moving on, Shika was a part of the expedition into Eastern Alara, as you two are well aware of with the journal. What I didn't say is what happened after the expedition ended as there was some tension between her and your grandmother. I only know this because I do remember her venting about some of the frustrations about the whole expedition to me after she had come home, most of it being about Shika." Aria elaborated.
"Oh that sounds like a bubble that was just waiting to pop. Given that Shika isn't with the IPP anymore, I take it that it did?" Echo asked.
"Yep, and not in a very pleasant way. Truth be told, I don't remember much about the incident that caused her downfall, but the aftermath of it all was not pretty in the slightest. It turns out that a lot of IPP agents and some of the board at the time were incredibly corrupt, taking money from the evil teams still active at the time and various other things. If you couldn't guess where I'm going with this, Shika was one of those agents." Aria said.
"My god, who was the one who found them out?" Sigma questioned. Aria and Cherry both looked at each other before they both pointed to the ceiling. Hibiki, Sigma, and Echo all tiled their heads in confusion before Hibiki got what they were talking about.
"Adagio did?" Hibiki guessed.
"That is correct, our dear champion did that shortly after taking the crown from your grandmother. I won't get into all the specifics, but let's leave it at some people up top, specifically Looker, hinting at Adagio to check out the IPP agents and that led to a whole cavalcade of reveals. The end result was several of the corrupt agents and board members getting captured while the rest flead the region never to be seen again, including Shika." Cherry explained.
"The aftermath was a mess, to put it lightly. Several vacant seats in management and on the board, some of the best IPP agents being exposed, and just a shit show all around." Aria continued.
"I can imagine, that sounds like a horrible mess to sort through." Echo commented.
"Yeah, it was not pleasant. Then the Surge happened 5 years later, which I don't even think I need to say much else about." Cherry finished. The group nodded as Aria looked at her watch before getting up.
"Have to take care of gym duties?" Hibiki asked her mother.
"Sadly yes, as much as I would like to talk more. That being said, I expect you all to make use of that information I gave you to see if you can come up with some theories about the leadership of Neo Cypher." Aria said with a warm smile. Hibiki and Echo both got up and hugged their mother as she waved goodbye to the group as she exited the room.
"Your mom is nice." Sigma commented.
"We know." Echo and Hibiki said simultaneously. Cherry giggled a little at that exchange before noticing a photo where Aria was sitting, which she picked up and examined closely.
"Looks like she left us an old photo of your grandmother." Cherry told the twins. Hibiki turned and dashed up to look at the picture, a tad surprised that her mom had left it here.
"Wow this is old, dated about 22 years ago. God she looked young then." Hibiki said as she examined the picture.
"I think this actually might have been in the journal she gave us. It probably fell out and neither of us saw it." Echo told Hibiki. Hibiki nodded as she stretched and handed Echo the picture before she looked at her phone.
"Speaking of time, do you think we can make it to the Blizzard Terra Dome today?" Hibiki asked Cherry.
"Yeah, it'll probably be night by the time we get there, which won't be fun depending on if there's a simulated blizzard going on." Cherry said.
"Simulated Blizzard?" Sigma questioned.
"We'll talk about it on the way, come on." Hibiki said. The group simply nodded as they all gathered their stuff and left the Pokemon Center.
After two hours of travel…
The group had traveled to the Blizzard Terra Dome in near complete silence, only broken up by the occasional question from Sigma asking about things. "I take it we're all just thinking about the information we were given?" Hibiki spoke up. Everyone simply nodded yes in response to that question as Echo shook her head and she looked at Hibiki.
"Honestly, it's a lot to think about, especially given the fact that we know Solion is Brain. That could potentially mean that Shika might be Intel, which makes sense given how they've been able to avoid the IPP up until now." Echo commented.
"Why would she be Intel or even a part of Neo Cypher at all? I get why Solion is there, he's a brilliant Scientist with a background in researching the emotional state of Pokemon." Sigma pondered.
"Couldn't it simply be revenge?" Hibiki suggested.
"While that could be a very good reason, there's something about Shika being Intel that rubs me the wrong way. Sigma, am I correct in assuming that Intel is the commander in charge of gathering intelligence for whatever the current operation is at a given time?" Cherry responded, putting a hand to her chin.
"That is correct. As far as I understand, considering I've never seen them, Intel usually infiltrates the region and gets information about the movements of law, trainers to keep an eye on, local crime movement, stuff like that." Sigma told Cherry.
"I see, so that would mean that they could disguise themselves amongst the public to get information." Cherry said.
"It is true that if she was Intel, she could be wearing a disguise and in the region somewhere. That being said, she would be walking a very fine line on staying hidden as I imagine she is on the regional Wanted List." Echo commented. Hibiki was listening to the conversation and thinking about adding something of her own when she thought back to a conversation she had at the Desert Terra Dome. Her train of thought was interrupted by the group arriving at the entrance to the Blizzard Terra Dome.
"Oh, we're here." Hibiki said, a tad surprised.
"Well the hard part isn't getting to the dome, the hard part is getting to the town in the dome." Cherry told Hibiki.
"There's a town in the dome?" Sigma asked as he was guided to a side room besides the entrance. This side room was a locker room that had various lockers and a pile of winter clothes with a second door on the far wall that led into the dome. "Also, is this room for people who don't have winter clothes?" Sigma asked.
"Yep, mainly for people who aren't acclimated to cold weather. You can still go in without these, but why would you want to?" Cherry said as she grabbed some of the clothes. Sigma nodded as the group got changed into various sets of winter clothes before approaching the entrance to the Dome. When the door opened, the group was blessed with a burst of cold air as a ferocious blizzard was raging outside.
"Hey Cherry…" Hibiki said in a somewhat smug voice.
"I know, I spoke it into existence." Cherry responded, a hint of annoyance in her voice.
"Ok everyone, stay together. This is a strong blizzard and if we get lost, it probably won't be nice out there til it fades." Echo told the group.
"Can't we just stay here till it fades?" Sigma asked.
"Sadly, this is one of the daily weather patterns. It won't fade til midnight and I don't think we want to be in here that long." Cherry responded. Sigma sighed as the group stepped out into the blizzard, the door closing behind them as Echo led the group.
"So what was that about daily weather patterns?" Sigma questioned.
"It's something that I don't entirely get myself, basically just that the domes simulate various weather phenomena to make the days not always seem dull and very samey. Most of the time it works well, sometimes a few unexpected events happen." Hibiki told Sigma.
"What kind of unexpected events?" Sigma asked in a worried tone.
"Just some weird ones, like rain in place of snow or snow in the Desert Terra Dome. So far, nothing crazy has happened." Echo elaborated. Sigma nodded as the group continued through the snowstorm, Echo turning back to make sure everyone was following her.
"Are the snow storms usually this strong?" Sigma asked, putting an arm in front of his face.
"No, that's why I'm saying we get together. Seems this one is unusually strong and it's not a good idea." Echo yelled, the wind getting stronger.
"Maybe we should have waited." Hibiki commented, regretting her eagerness.
"Well, we're here now and I doubt we're just going to walk back to the entrance. Less talking and more moving." Cherry told Hibiki. The group continued as the wind got worse, blowing hard enough to cause Hibiki to stop as she nearly fell down. "You ok Hibiki?" Cherry asked as she helped support her.
"Yeah, just not used to this kind of weather. Hey Echo, are we even going the right way?" Hibiki responded.
"I'm positive we are, but I wouldn't be surprised if we're a little off the mark." Echo responded.
"Why do you have to bring up that possibility?" Sigma groaned, now a tad more worried.
"Don't worry too much Sigma, we do have someone out there waiting for us." Echo told Sigma in a confident tone. As Sigma was about to ask what Echo had meant by then, when they saw someone approaching in the distance.
"Hello there, are you travelers looking to get to Aurora City?!" the person called out.
"Yes we are, it seems like we came at a bad time!" Echo responded.
"Lucky that I'm always out for these situations. Come on and follow me, I'll lead you to a place where you can warm up." the person responded. Echo motioned for the group to follow and they all went after the figure as they ventured deeper into the snow storm. Eventually, after what felt like an hour of travel, faint lights appeared in the distance.
"Oh thank god, we're almost there. Remind me to always check the weather in the domes before I suggest something like this." Hibiki told the group.
"I would say something snarky, but I agree with that." Echo responded. Hibiki gave a small smile as the figure they were following stopped and waited for the group to catch up. The person in question, now that they could actually see her, was a woman wearing goggles over her eyes, a purple scarf, a heavy, blue jacket, black snow pants, and purple snow boots.
"Ah, Professor Cherry and Symphia's kids. Suppose I should have expected you to come along at some point." the woman said in a happy voice.
"I was wondering if that was you Yukina." Cherry called out.
"Yep, you know how I work on days like this. Just making sure that people who come during this weather make it to the town safely." Yukia said as the group finally reached her.
"You come out in this weather?" Sigma asked in shock.
"Hey, someone has to do it. Sadly no gym battles today, but feel free to head to the gym to rest up for now." Yukina said as she walked back into the blizzard. The group simply nodded and continued to the gym, Hibiki sighing as they finally got to safety. As they entered the gym, they all saw various groups of people huddled together with blankets, chatting with each other, and just relaxing as they warmed up.
"Wow, a lot of people traveled here today." Sigma said as he looked around.
"Guess they wanted to get to the town today like us. Come on, let's find a place to set up." Hibiki commented. They nodded and walked around for a bit before finding a relatively empty corner of the gym to set their stuff down and finally relax.
"At least we made it to the town. The strong blizzard was a bit more than I expected, but at least we got through it ok." Echo told the group, breathing a sigh of relief.
"Yeah same here and speaking of that, I'm going to see if they have any blankets or hot chocolate. Anyone want to come to help?" Sigma asked. Echo raised his hand while Cherry and Hibiki simply nodded no, leaving the two of them with their stuff while Echo and Sigma went off to go get some stuff for their stay. After they left, Hibiki let out a sigh and immediately began to slump forward before being caught by Cherry.
"Are you really ok Hibiki?" Cherry asked in a concerned tone.
"If I'm being honest, not really. Guess the storm affected me more than I would like to admit." Hibiki responded in an exhausted tone. Cherry simply nodded as she put a hand to Hibiki's forehead to check if she had a fever. "Trust me, I think I just need to rest for a bit and I'll be fine." Hibiki insisted.
"...Ok, if that's what you think. At least stay up til the others come back, I don't want to worry your sister more than necessary." Cherry told Hibiki. Hibiki simply nodded as Echo and Sigma both came back with their supplies for the night.
Several Hours later…
Night had fallen across the dome and the storm outside had stopped, leaving most of the occupants sleeping in the gym a peaceful night's rest, all except Hibiki. Hibiki had awoken to walk around the gym and stretch a bit, making sure she was completely fine after the scare she had given herself. "Still not at 100%, but I should be good for tomorrow if Echo goes first." Hibiki thought as she walked down the halls of the gym.
"Well I didn't expect to see anyone else awake at this hour." a voice said from behind her. Hibiki jumped slightly before turning around and seeing Yukina standing behind her, still wearing her winter gear. "Sorry about the scare." Yukina apologized.
"It's fine, just didn't expect to see you up. Did you just get back in?" Hibiki asked.
"Yep, finished my scouting and thankfully no one else was out there. Figured I would come get some shut-eye before the morning comes and I start with my duties. What are you doing up though? Thought you would be resting considering you didn't seem the best when you arrived." Yukina said.
"Hey, I'm mostly better. I'm just up because I wanted some time for myself." Hibiki responded, a hint of nervousness in her voice.
"Something tells me that's not the only reason." Yukina told Hibiki. Hibiki stayed silent as she looked around for an exit before Yukina smiled and put a hand on her shoulder. "Come on, I want to show you something." Yukina requested in a friendly tone. Hibiki simply nodded as Yukina led her down the hall and up a flight of stairs to a viewing area above the gym, before being motioned to stay put as Yukina rounded a corner. As Hibiki waited for Yukina, she looked down on the battle area where everyone was sleeping and felt something in her chest.
"I can do this… I can do this." Hibiki whispered to herself. As she was speaking to herself, she felt her pocket shack as a Pokeball fell out of her pocket and popped open, releasing Melody next to her.
"Hey." Melody said casually.
"Do you always have to do that?" Hibiki asked, a small smile appearing on her face.
"Only when you're feeling bad about yourself. Speaking of, stop doing that to yourself." Melody told Hibiki as she floated up and lightly hit her arm.
"Sorry, just thinking about some things." Hibiki said sheepishly.
"Thinking about what?" Yukina asked as she returned. When she did and saw Melody with Hibiki, she paused for a moment as Hibiki turned to face her with a smile on her face.
"Nothing really… ok, maybe a few things." Hibiki responded as she was waiting for Yukina to say something. Instead, she saw Yukina walk up to Melody and look over her for a moment before stars appeared in her eyes.
"Oh dear." Melody thought to Hibiki before being patted on the head by Yukina.
"I held my breath when Looker had sent that notification to us about you having a Meloetta. I thought he was pulling our legs til Myth told us about you two." Yukina said as she continued to pet Melody.
"Oh, you're a Meloetta lover as well?" Hibiki asked with a smile.
"Very much yes and I would be all over her more, but I do have to respect social space." Yukina said.
"Looks like you have another fan, Melody." Hibiki said in a playful tone. Melody blushed with a small huff, but simply accepted the headpats, enjoying the feeling of being patted by someone else. "Anyway, you said that you wanted to show me something?" Hibiki questioned curiously.
"Yes I did, follow me." Yukina said, walking back in the direction she came from. Hibiki and Melody followed Yukina down a side hallway that led to a door with a hand scanner next to it. "This is a special place to me, one where I promised something to your grandmother." Yukina told Hibiki as she reached out to unlock the door.
"Are you sure you're comfortable with showing me this?" Hibiki asked.
"Absolutely." Yukina replied, scanning her hand and opening the door. The three entered the room and both Hibiki and Melody were stunned to see a small observatory that showed the virtual sky above with a few telescopes and a bench.
"Woah." Hibiki said, marveling at the stars above.
"Like it?" Yukina asked.
"Yes I do, did you make this?" Hibiki said.
"I did, but it wouldn't have been possible without your grandmother." Yukina told Hibiki as she walked beside her. Hibiki looked at the gym leader as she tilted her head in curiosity as Melody floated over to one of the telescopes. "She was the one who provided the money to build this little place, said it would be nice to just take a break and relax from time to time as well as console any challengers who are nervous." Yukina told Hibiki in a knowing voice.
"...Am I that much of an open book?" Hibiki asked, rubbing the back of her head.
"A little bit." Yukina said. Hibiki sighed and rubbed her face as she took a seat at the bench, with Yukina joining her. "Now the thing I don't know is if you're nervous about the gym battle or something else." Yukina admitted.
"Well good to know I can at least have some secrets to myself." Hibiki said in a playful voice. Yukina giggled at that before Hibiki took on a more serious face. "Truth be told, I think I'm just unsure about myself." Hibiki told Yukina.
"Unsure about what?" Yukina questioned.
"Unsure if I can live up to the image of my grandmother." Hibiki sighed, her head hanging in shame.
"Oh, you're still in that mindset?" Yukina asked.
"Huh?" Hibiki responded.
"Sorry if I came off as a bit crude, but I feel like I'm just stating the obvious." Yukina said as she put a hand on Hibiki's back.
"No, I get it, trust me when I say that. I've realized it a bit ago and have been trying to do some of my own things, but it always feels like I'm mentally comparing myself to grandma." Hibiki told Yukina, with Melody listening in.
"Ah, mental issues with that sort of thing, I get that. How have you been dealing with that exactly?" Yukina responded in understanding.
"Just kind of putting it to the back of my mind and not dealing with it. I have enough to deal with at the moment, so I haven't really had to think about it too much." Hibiki said. Yukina nodded as she heard that, knowing what Hibiki had been doing thanks to various reports from Looker to keep the gym leaders in the loop.
"That does sound like it sucks." Yukina told Hibiki.
"Yeah it does, have any ideas on things to help with this?" Hibiki questioned.
"If you're just talking from my experience, I do have some advice. Bit of forewarning though, this advice is going to sound very dumb." Yukina responded.
"Can't be dumber than not doing anything about it." Hibiki said.
"Ok then, the piece of advice I have is this: Just accept it and deal with it." Yukia told Hibiki with a knowing smile. Hibiki paused as she absorbed that information and processed it before looking at Yukina with a dubious face. "I know it sounds dumb, but do you understand what I'm trying to say?" Yukina asked.
"...That I shouldn't be putting off the comparisons and just accept them?" Hibiki said.
"Exactly." Yukina told Hibiki confidently.
"That sounds so dumb, but at the same time it sounds exactly like what I need." Hibiki commented as she massaged her temples.
"Hey, sometimes the simplest solution is the best solution." Yukina said in a happy tone.
"Yeah it is, how did you figure that out?" Hibiki asked.
"Well, from personal experience." Yukina responded nonchalantly.
"Oh… Ooooooh." Hibiki said, realizing what Yukina was getting at.
"I don't talk about it much, but yeah I've gone through something similar in the past." Yukina told Hibiki.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Hibiki inquired, not wanting to push Yukina away.
"It was nothing big really, just a similar situation to yours. Me being unconfident in living up to my expectations of being the next gym leader, my mother being the gym leader before me. Not exactly the same, my mother is just retired, but it's still something I think about." Yukia told Hibiki as she leaned back and looked up at the stars.
"Ah." Hibiki said, somehow being sympathetic.
"Oh yeah, that piece of advice I gave you? Well, your grandmother was the one that told it to me." Yukina commented.
"Really?" Hibiki questioned in surprise.
"Yeah, I acted the same way you are right now when I heard this information if you can believe it." Yukia told Hibiki.
"Yeah I can imagine, I remember grandma leaving me like that a few times." Hibiki said. The two girls laughed a little before going silent as they enjoyed the silence and sparkling night sky. Eventually, the silence was broken by a slight cough from Melody, who looked at Hibiki with some intent.
"I'll leave you two alone to chat. Need to go grab something anyway." Yukina said before getting up and leaving the room, leaving Hibiki and Melody alone.
"So, what did you want to speak about?" Hibiki asked.
"You're worried about me, aren't you?" Melody asked.
"Oh what gave you that idea?" Hibiki responded.
"Because I know you." Melody said. Hibiki sighed before sighing as the two smiled at each other and Melody floated over to Hibiki, taking a seat on her shoulder. "You know, we've probably had this conversation before, but just to make sure, why are you so worried about me?" Melody questioned.
"Because you're my friend!" Hibiki answered, quickly and loudly. Melody was surprised by the quick and emotional response as Hibiki covered her face with her hands. "I'm sorry about that, but I mean what I said." Hibiki apologized.
"Yo-You're fine, but I didn't expect that answer in the slightest." Melody said, a bit caught off guard by the response.
"Hey, can you guess that I didn't really have a lot of friends growing up?" Hibiki told Melody.
"I would have thought the opposite given your somewhat outgoing personality." Melody responded.
"I mean, you're not wrong in that aspect. There were a lot of people who hung out with me and did enjoy my personality, being the champion's granddaughter made that easy. For me though, I didn't really feel like most of them actually wanted to be my friends." Hibiki explained.
"Ah, the whole wanting to be friends with a famous person's relative thing. I never understand why people with greedy intentions do that, it just seems like a very low move." Melody commented.
"Yeah, me and Echo have had a lot of that in the past, though that did stop for the most part after the Surge. A few actual friends that we've made over the years have still kept in contact with us, but it mostly went silent." Hibiki said.
"Why me though? It's not that I don't appreciate it, don't get me wrong, I'm a mythical Pokemon that you just met in the wild before you started your journey, not an actual human." Melody told Hibiki in an honest tone.
"If I'm speaking honestly, it's because you're the one that I've confided in the most in this journey. Yes, I have my sister with me, but there's something about you that just gives me comfort aside from the fact that you're part of my favorite species of Pokemon." Hibiki responded.
"... Honestly maybe it's just the fact that I am a Pokemon and I can't exactly talk to people. Can't exactly talk about your problems to others if you tell them to someone who can't speak to humans." Melody told Hibiki in a playful tone. Hibiki smiled as Melody said that, laughing as she realized that.
"Maybe that is it." Hibiki said with a grin. Melody smiled before pausing as she thought of an idea and put a hand to her throat.
"Don't know… might still tell…" Melody said in a clear voice. Hibiki looked at Melody before smiling and patting her on the head, Melody blushing and laughing a bit. The two sat in silence, enjoying the silent company of each other, until they heard the door open and Yukina walked back in.
"Did I come at a good time?" Yukina asked, not knowing if she was interrupting something.
"No, we finished our talk." Hibiki told Yukina with Melody nodding in agreement.
"Looks like I came back at the perfect time then as there is one last thing I wanted to show you." Yukina said. Hibiki tilted her head in confusion and was about to ask when she saw a glow coming from the window. She and Melody looked outside as they saw motes of light floating up to the ceiling, gleaming and dancing as they did so.
"Woah." Hibiki said as Melody floated up to the window to get a closer look.
"Phantom Snow, that's the term the town has coined for this phenomena. It happens after particularly strong snowstorms like the one we had today." Yukina explained.
"It's beautiful." Hibiki told Yukina, getting up and walking forward a bit. Yukina smiled at the reaction of the two before reaching behind her and pulling out a pair of flutes.
"Hey, mind joining me in a little ritual I do?" Yukina requested.
"What is the ritual?" Hibiki responded.
"Well, I'm a bit of a superstitious type and whenever this event happens, I always try to play a farewell song to anyone I might not have been able to save off. Might not be in the greatest taste, but it's something that I can do." Yukina explained, her face taking on a sad smile. Hibiki looked at the flutes for a second before thinking about her grandmother and nodding with a sad smile of her own.
"I'm more than willing to join." Hibiki responded in a knowing tone. Yukina gave an appreciative nod and handed one of the flutes to Hibiki. "So, what song are we going to play?" Hibiki asked.
"Oh right." Yukina said before reaching into her pocket and pulling out a folded piece of paper. Hibiki unfolded the paper and looked at it for a moment before getting a very big grin on her face.
"You have good taste in music." Hibiki told Yukina. Yukina simply nodded in understanding as Hibiki read the paper for a moment before putting it to the side, signaling that she was ready. The two started to play, closing their eyes so they could concentrate as their music reverberated through the room. Melody, upon hearing the music, turned back and saw the two playing the music as she kept quiet and listened to the somber yet beautiful music. As she did, she eventually started to hum along to them, eventually joining with a soft yet meaningful voice to add to the music.
Yukina opened her eyes and gave a small smile before mentally noting that Melody seemed to glow with a vibrant energy, her hair changing from a bright aqua blue to a dazzling silver similar to Hibiki's hair color. After a few minutes of music, the lights outside faded and the two stopped playing as Yukina gave a loud yawn. "I should go get some shut-eye before morning." Yukina said.
"Yeah same here, thanks for the talk and showing me the place." Hibiki said. Yukina simply nodded as Hibiki returned Melody to her Pokeball and the two left to go rest, eager for the next morning to come.
AN: Just wanted to post the song Hibiki and Yukina played: watch?v=YHCH3bagd74