#Ingo and Akari are babysitting | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

waywardstation · 2 years

Text

What’s In a Name

Akari is helping Ingo take care of Lady Sneasler’s kits while he gets over a cold, and decides all of the little sneasels need names.

After so long, I wrote a continuation to It’s Just a Cold !You don’t need to read that first to understand this fic, but it can help a lot with understanding some of the context. I wrote this after I wanted to flesh out the rest of Lady Sneasler’s kits with names of their own (which my audience helped name! Thank you everyone!), and just write something fluffy, no angst haha.

OR read it here on AO3!

Enjoy!

————

“When do you think they’ll be able to leave the nest?”

“I cannot say, but I believe they will be ready for that within a few weeks to a month, if they keep on the correct track of development.”

Akari trekked up the mountainside with Ingo, the early-morning sun cold and unable to penetrate the thin veil of mist. Akari made her way ahead of the warden, having traveled up to Lady Sneasler’s den so many times now, that he no longer had to guide her up every step of the way. Though, Ingo’s lethargic pace also contributed to him taking up the back; he was still getting over a cold, and trekking up a mountainside in a thinning atmosphere wasn’t the easiest thing for him at the moment. He coughed to dislodge a tickle in his diaphragm, and readjusted the thick scarf around his neck; Calaba had given it to him to keep the frigid air from irritating his lungs too much.

Ever since Lady Sneasler’s eggs had hatched, and she presented nine new adorable babies to the world, Ingo had been doing his best to help care for them. As a solitary species where it was uncommon for mates to stay together, Lady Sneasler needed someone to care for the kits and protect them while she was out hunting - a job that had naturally fallen onto her warden, Ingo.

But seeing as how Ingo was still recovering from the nasty cold that Akari was helping him through, the teenager had insisted she come up with him to the den, so she could assist him with managing the nine growing kits. He was doing much better now compared to a week ago, but he was still sluggish, and his voice remained a bit thick with the lingering (but waning) cough that sat in his chest. He never would have explicitly asked for help, so Akari had offered her assistance instead, knowing he probably needed it. The need was smaller a week later, but she enjoyed spending time with Ingo…and she’d be lying if she said the best part of her recent days weren’t seeing the adorable little sneaslets.

With the potato-sized kits now being over a week old, they could now open their eyes on their own and crawl around on their bellies. They were still sleeping a lot, but were beginning to grow more active, having started gently playing with each other in small, short bursts of energy. Their baby teeth were quickly coming in as well, and they were starting to nibble on solid foods, which meant Lady Sneasler could be out for longer periods hunting, and Ingo and Akari could tend to their feeding times while they watched over them. Yesterday was the first time they tried berries; it had been…messy, but they digested them well, and seemed to like the fruits for the most part. Today would simply be a repeat.

“Well, when they get big enough, I want to be there with them when they come outside for the first time!” Akari called back to Ingo as she took a right turn off the mountain path into a patch of thin underbrush; they were almost to the den.

“I’m sure they’d be glad to have you there.” Ingo added as he followed after her; having come up with him to the den every day since the late hatcher had emerged from her egg, the kits had grown just as fond of her presence as they had of his own. They were very attached to Akari.

Akari pulled herself out of the foliage and onto a rocky ledge, before moving back so Ingo could make his way up. He pulled himself up a bit slower than he usually did, the residual lethargy still sitting heavy in his aching muscles, but with some effort, he finally joined her on the cliffside.

“Hey, I didn’t have to help you up this time!” Akari turned to the cavern mouth behind them, but kept her gaze on Ingo with a big smile on her face. “See, you’re getting better every day!”

“You are correct, though I do wish the tracks to recovery were a little faster.” Ingo coughed around some of the gunk in his chest as he readjusted his cap, heading into the cavern with Akari. A few more days, and he’d say he’d finally be able to shake this itch in his lungs, and recover completely. Though, his recovery had been remarkably slow compared to Akari’s; she had indeed gotten sick due to contact with him (as he worried she would), but after just a few days, she was already running around again with just as much energy as ever, acting like she hadn’t even been sick in the first place.

He was aware of how stressors strained one’s immune system, and slowed its tracks considerably. Perhaps…

“My Lady? We’ve returned, albeit a little behind schedule; I hope that is not too inconvenient!” Ingo called out to his noble in the darkness. The cavern narrowed some as they moved further in, but this was meant to deter bigger predators from entering, and discovering the spacious den that opened up in the back.

Lady Sneasler’s chirp of greeting was heard from ahead, as well as a few muffled, but excited squeaks, piping up at realizing someone was arriving. That alone was enough for Akari; with her own sound of excitement, she left Ingo to hurry ahead and meet the kits.

“Careful,” Ingo warned her, wary of the uneven cavern floor in the dim cavity; being taller than her, he had to duck slightly under sections where the ceiling bowed, and suck in his chest to compact himself and shuffle sideways where the walls narrowed, whereas Akari could hurry right through. An inconvenience, but again a protective one.

Finally the walls opened up, and Ingo made it into the warm, safe cavity of Lady Sneasler’s nest. Akari was already kneeling in the many layers of nesting materials that covered and softened the hard earthen floor. She was busy petting the tiny bundles of fur that had crawled to her, mewling happily. Lady Sneasler was beside them, but standing upright as if waiting for something.

She was waiting to leave the den and go hunting, of course.

“Good Morning, Lady Sneasler,” Ingo greeted her with a nod of his head, squinting slightly to make her out in the darkness - his eyes would adjust soon enough, though. “I once again apologize for our late arrival. You may now leave to do your hunting; we will take good care of your young until you return.”

Lady Sneasler chuffed quietly. Ingo felt the sharp blades of her paw delicately pat him on the head - she could tell he still wasn’t feeling 100% but was doing his best - before they clicked subtly against the wall as she moved for the exit; the cavern darkened even more as she momentarily blocked the light in the narrow opening, but in an instant, she was gone.

“Well, we should get to feeding them,” Ingo immediately reached into his pockets, feeling for the berries that he had packed away for the kits. “We are behind schedule, so I imagine they are hungry.”

Akari didn’t hear him over her own laughter, now lying on her back in the nesting material as the nine tiny sneaslets assaulted her face with licks and kisses from tiny tongues.

————

“Ow! This one keeps biting my fingers.”

“Ah, have you fed that one yet?” Ingo looked up from the two tiny sneaslets nestled in his arms, snuggled closely against him as they chewed on soft bits of pecha berries. “They’re probably just hungry.”

“Yes! I already gave him an entire oran berry!” Akari pulled her hand away to inspect the fingers and see if the plump kit in her lap had broken the skin. Luckily they hadn’t, though it did leave a red mark in the skin. “I think he just likes biting. It’s all he’s done since his baby teeth came in!”

“Perhaps he is teething, and trying to relieve some of the pressure in his gums.” Ingo hypothesized. Their tiny, needle-like baby teeth were not their permanent set, but they might still be in the process of coming in, and that could be uncomfortable.

“Maybe,” Akari muttered in an entirely unconvinced tone as she readjusted the sneaslet in her lap to keep it from biting her again.

Reaching into the nesting material scattered around them, she searched for another sneaslet to pick up and feed next. She couldn’t help but smile when she found she had uncovered the runt of the litter, the late hatcher that Ingo had personally taken care of as an egg when he was sick. She was a little partial to this one, as she had been there with Ingo when she had hatched (And she was quite timid compared to her siblings; Akari always had a soft spot for the shy ones).

Gently grasping the tiny sneaslet in her hands, Akari placed them in her lap, next to her bitey sibling. The runt mewled quietly, her warm body leaning into Akari’s gentle hands as her sibling tried to nip her feathered ear; thankfully, Akari moved her hand to protect her from the sharp teeth.

“I’ve been thinking lately,” Akari started as she reached for the pile of gathered fruit between herself and Ingo, grabbing onto a sitrus berry. “I think this one should be named Powder.”

“Hmm?” Ingo reached for a third kit from the pile to start feeding them as well, with the previous two sated in his lap. He knew his head was still a little foggy from his cold, did he hear her say something about names-?

“Powder,” Akari reiterated to clear up any potential confusion. “Like powder snow! You know, because it was snowing outside the night she hatched, and she’s really soft and white!”

“Ah, no, apologies Miss Akari,” Ingo shook his head lethargically. “I understand it, but, names…I am unsure if the kits of a noble are really fit for names-“

This was the first litter of Lady Sneasler’s that Ingo had found himself caring for. He didn’t know the proper customs of it all yet, concerning such matters; were you allowed to give names to a noble’s young? Lady Sneasler herself certainly didn’t have a nickname, and neither did the other Lords and Ladies…(did Lady Sneasler already have her own version of names for her kits, though?) Ingo had never thought to ask the other wardens, or Lady Irida. Though, the thought of naming them didn’t immediately occur to him; he didn’t give nicknames to his own team of Pokémon. He understood Akari’s incentive, though - on the contrary, she loved nicknaming her own Pokémon, and would often share what she came up with when showing him a new creature that she had caught. But he’d have to ask Irida before he could allow Akari to name his noble’s kits. If that broke a rule he was unaware of, and the Pearl Clan discovered someone had taken it upon themselves to name his noble’s kits, and he let them…oh, Sinnoh forbid Calaba have another reason to disapprove of his position as warden-

“-Well of course they need names!” Akari retorted, misunderstanding the reason for Ingo’s hesitance. “It’s about time, it’s been over a week now since they’ve hatched! There’s nine of them here, how else are we going to keep track of them all? Otherwise, they’re all just ‘the kits’ or something!”

Ingo blamed his cold-induced brain fog for stalling his mouth long enough for her to keep going.

“And I say we name this one Powder!” She gently held the fluffy runt close as she tore off a small chunk of sitrus, and held it up to her soft mouth. The kit made a sweet sound as she sunk her tiny teeth into the fruit and sucked on the juice. “It’s a good name for her, don’t you think?”

The soft, downy kit snuggled against the teenager mewled timidly around the berry in her teeth, as if agreeing she liked the name.

“It is rather fitting, I admit,” Ingo sniffed, rubbing at his nose…still sort of runny. “But Miss Akari-“

“-Ow!”

Ingo paused at the disruptive exclamation, his train of thought derailed as he quickly glanced over. Akari noticed the concern.

“Sorry, he bit me again!”

Sure enough, when Ingo looked over, he observed that the plump sneaslet had gotten greedy and latched onto Akari’s hand, in an effort to snatch away the sitrus berry from Powd- from the runt.

“Perhaps consider giving him half of another berry if he’s still hungry.” Ingo advised, derailing from the previous topic to address the current issue. He was almost ready to ask if Akari wanted to hand the bitey sneaslet to him.

“There are better ways to let me know he wants more, like saying ‘please’.” Akari half-joked as she gently coaxed the kit’s mouth from off her hand, before proceeding to feed the runt the rest of the fruit chunk that had been unsuccessfully stolen. But she did grab another berry and divided it, giving chunks from one half to Powd- to the runt to see if she’d like more, and the other half to her bitey sibling.

The runt quietly nibbled on her pieces, while her sibling snatched his up quickly between his teeth.

“We have to name this one Chomp.” Akari promptly concluded, watching him eat.

That’s two names now.

Two kits were named, and you couldn’t take back names once they were given - it was practically impossible, and he could see Akari was already set on naming them all. How could he possibly tell her she couldn’t?

“Ahem,” Ingo peeled off a chunk of pecha to feed to the third sneaslet still waiting patiently in his lap; a little lady, judging by the stunted feather. “It is difficult to say this Miss Akari, but…though I am a warden, I am new to this, well…aspect, of my position. I am unfamiliar with the customs that entail naming a noble’s young and whether it is appropriate or not, and as such, I ask that you refrain from…”

Ingo’s already-tired voice weakened even further as he watched the lighthearted joy fade from Akari’s features, a sort of seriousness replacing it as she listened to him explain himself. Did she think she was in trouble? Oh this was hard, and he didn’t know for sure if this was an issue or not. Perhaps he was just being overly cautious again…

“…letting the Pearl Clan know that they’ve been given names, until I can officially consult Lady Irida on the matter.” The warden caved as he slumped back against the cavern wall, ending the sentence with a stifled cough as the kits in his lap readjusted themselves against him.

He was unsure if he really should have said something like that, but seeing the cheeriness return to Akari’s eyes at the statement was worth it for him.

“Oh, yes! Of course! I won’t say anything!” She smiled as she handed the last chunk of sitrus to the run- to Powder, who gratefully took the soft fruit and nibbled on it, content. Chomp was staring at her the entire time with a look of envy in his big eyes.

“So if this is Powder, and this is Chomp,” Akari’s gaze drifted over to the three kits Ingo currently had nestled in his lap. “Then what would their names be..?”

She first focused on the tiny sneaslet that Ingo was currently feeding. He was holding out a chunk of pecha to the tiny bundle of fur just like he did with the others, but she didn’t seem satisfied with that; Ingo kept having to move her back onto his lap, as she was repeatedly ignoring the small piece in favor of trying to crawl to the large berry he was taking chunks from. She wanted the whole thing at once!

“That one’s Pecha!” Akari pointed at the greedy sneaslet. “Because she seems to really like pecha berries!”

“Once again, a rather fitting name, I’d say.” Ingo agreed as he handed the last fruit chunk to Pecha. She scarfed it down rather quickly, before grasping onto his sleeve with her sharp claws, and chirping as if asking for more.

“And, um,” Akari moved her focus to the two other kits resting on Ingo’s lap; they had long since finished their meals, and were now sleeping warm against the warden’s free arm, held around them to keep them from falling out of his lap. A boy and a girl, again judging by the lengths of their feathered ears. The boy was as quiet as ever, curled into a tight ball, with the girl draped a little more loosely over him.

“Maybe, uh, Balm for the boy; he’s so calm! Every time I see him, he seems to be sleeping! And the girl…”

The little lady yawned, revealing her tiny, needle-like teeth for a moment, before rubbing at her face with her small purple claws, and scratching at her short purple feather.

Lavender flashed through her mind for a moment, comparing the purple in her pelt to the shade. But ‘Lavender’ was awfully close to ‘Laventon’, and that felt a little…weird.

“…maybe Lilac? She’s got a really pretty shade of purple.”

Ingo could see why Akari liked to nickname all of her Pokémon; she was very good at it, and picked very fitting names. Perhaps she was so good at it because she nicknamed so many Pokémon.

“And now,” Akari picked up another kit, snuggled under the insulating nesting material next to her. “A name for you!”

The fluffy kit instinctively snuggled up to Powder for warmth as Akari placed them together in her lap (and away from Chomp), which made the runt squeak quietly and squirm half-heartedly, latching back onto her warmth-seeking sibling.

“Hmm,” Akari pondered as she picked up an oran berry from the pile and began to peel it. She noticed the kit was a male, judging from its longer feathered ear, but what caught her eye was that the feather seemed to be bent; it appeared almost like the leaves of a few plants she had seen on the mountain before. Perhaps the feather would correct itself with age, but for now, it was a recognizable feature.

“I think Nettle fits for you!” Akari concluded as she gently nudged an oran slice towards the kit’s mouth. He sniffed it for a moment, before nibbling on the edge, trying to grip it with his tiny claws. “Your feather looks like one.”

Quiet, but incensed yowling from her side caught Akari’s attention, and she turned to see Ingo had picked up a fourth kit to feed, except they seemed upset.

“Not every passenger is satisfied with our selection today, it seems,” Ingo retracted his hand from the kit, which had been offering her a cheri berry. The picky sneaslet continued to make sounds of displeasure, even going so far as to half-heartedly swipe at his hand. “I believe this is the kit that was rather selective with what she wanted yesterday.”

Ah yes, the picky one. Akari remembered how yesterday, all of the kits happily gobbled up all of the berries they had brought, thoroughly enjoying the new treats for the first time. All of them, that was, except for her. She had stuck her nose up at just about everything that had been handed to her. Ingo had been worried he wouldn’t be able to get her to eat anything, until she had scrambled into his coat, having caught the scent of cake lure base in his pocket, and gobbling that up.

She had a “rather refined taste”, as Akari had put it.

“Hang on, I think I still have some of my muffin from this morning,” Akari used her free hand to fish through her satchel, in search of the breakfast leftovers she hadn’t finished. She had made them for herself and Ingo that morning, but seeing as all of the ingredients were simple and organic, it should be alright for the kit to eat.

“We shouldn’t make it a habit to feed her these things,” Ingo commented. “Lest she become spoiled and influence her siblings.”

“It’s fine, it’s fine; I bet she’ll grow out of it when she’s able to have meat.” Akari brushed it off.

She successfully retrieved the half-muffin from her bag, and held a piece out to the whining kit. The sneaslet stopped yowling at the sight of the treat and sniffed the air cautiously, before accepting the piece. One hesitant bite turned into many quick ones, and Akari handed her another chunk as soon as she finished it.

“I don’t think she realizes this is basically made up of what she was just crying over.” Akari snickered at Ingo; she had baked double the berries into the muffin, just the way herself and Ingo liked it, and the kit apparently had no problem with the berries like that.

“Perhaps she prefers to simply make a fuss and be tended to.” The warden guessed, moving a hand to keep the kit in his lap; she was now unsatisfied with the small chunks, and was trying to make a grab for the rest of the muffin in Akari’s hand. In truth, when he put it like that, this kit’s behavior reminded him of Lady Sneasler, in a way. She could also be quite huffy about certain things if she didn’t get her way.

“Ok, she’s gotta be named Duchess, then!” Akari handed her the last of her muffin, before sitting back and dusting the crumbs off of herself.

“Duchess? What brought you to that stop?”

“Because you’d think she’s royalty with how high her standards are! And, she kind of reminds me of Lady Sneasler with how picky she is…she needs a title name to match!”

It seemed he wasn’t the only one who saw the comparison between her and her mother then, Ingo thought.

“It’s a suitable name for her.” Ingo agreed as Akari reached for one of the last two kits still bundled in the nesting material.

“Another girl!” Akari commented as she held the chubby kit in her hands, petting her carefully on her little head as she gave a startled chirp - she had apparently fallen asleep in the soft nest. Akari placed her in her lap between Powder and Chomp, the latter of whom immediately started biting on her playfully. The kit didn’t seem to mind, thankfully too drowsy to care.

“Hmmm…” Akari pondered as she grabbed a cheri berry and started separating a chunk of the fruit flesh for her. What would she name this one..?

The kit chirped amongst her siblings, waking up as she was handed the cheri berry to chew on. She stuffed the sweet fruit chunk into her mouth, rather than nibbling off a little at a time like the rest of her siblings.

“What do you think of the name Mochi for this one?” Akari continued to gently pet the sneaslet as it worked on the cheri chunk.

“A good name, like the rest of them,” Ingo remarked, learning forward slightly to search for the last kit hidden in the nesting material. “What supplied the inspiration for that one?”

“You!” Akari grinned with the reveal, laughing a little. “She eats the same way you eat Beni’s mochi at The Wallflower!”

Ingo’s ears warmed up at the comparison as Akari laughed; surely, that was an exaggeration. But looking at the kit as she ate the berry, she…sort of did.

“Yes, well…” Ingo cleared his throat as he resumed searching for the last kit in the nest. “Still a fitting name, all the same.”

His hands finally found the kit he had been searching for, and carefully, Ingo lifted it out of the warm material; a boy, chirping as it gripped onto Ingo’s fingers for support. Lady Sneasler had had a rather balanced litter, he thought, with four boys and five girls.

“One left, Miss Akari. Do any names come to mind for this one?” Ingo asked as he placed the kit amongst the other siblings in his lap; they all grouped together, a warm bundle against his arm.

The teenager seemed to ponder the question momentarily, before she sat up straight with a great idea, poking him in the arm. “Wait, no! You should name this one!”

“Me?” Ingo’s first instinct was to discourage it. He was not the best with names; it’s entirely why he didn’t really subject nicknames to his pokemon.

“Yes, you! I’ve named all of them so far, you’ve got to name at least one of them!” Akari urged, continuing to nudge his arm. The jostling caused some of the kits in her lap, now drowsy with their full stomachs, to shift and mewl in protest. “Come on, Ingo!”

“Well,” Ingo’s frown pulled as he looked down at the unnamed kit in his lap. He wasn’t sure he would be any good with it; he’d probably take forever to think of one, compared to Akari. “...I suppose I can try.”

“Yes!” Akari cheered; Ingo was at least grateful to know she had more faith in him, than he did himself.

Now let’s see, a name…even with his mild, cold-induced brain fog, a few words definitely came to mind when he thought about it, looking at the kit.

Caboose, Shuttle, Ballast, Signal, Trolley…

They were the names (he) always suggested whenever (Emmet) urged (him) to help name some of his newly (hatched)(joltiks), whenever his (sweet)(galvantula) presented more (eggs).

(Ugh, the memory had holes, like the rest of them…)

They were the names always suggested whenever the other urged for help naming some of his new ones, whenever it presented more…

…but, Ingo didn’t know what any of those names actually were, like much of the other strange vocabulary that floated around in his brain, words without definitions. And no matter how hard he tried to remember what those terms actually were, he couldn’t quite recall. Ever since he had fallen sick, it had become even more difficult to recall things with his lagging brain.

Ingo reached back to rub at the spot on his scalp that began to ache dully. It saddened him in a way he didn’t fully understand, but maybe it’d be better to avoid terms like that.

His thoughts then drifted to the names that Akari had already picked out; perhaps he could come up with something that matched what she was doing. Several of the names had to do with food, and one was even based off of a plant. And another two were for the kits’ colorations, weren’t they?

“Do you believe the name ‘Taro’ is suitable for this one?” Ingo proposed after his short session of contemplation; he had been peeling a pecha berry all the while, and handed a chunk to Taro, who took it quickly.

“Taro?” Akari blinked at the warden. “Where did that come from?”

Ingo was partially thankful he hadn’t gone with one of his initial, mystery terms; he wouldn’t have been able to explain if she had asked that about one of them.

“Well, taro is an edible root, and the flesh inside it white, with purple speckling - Beni’s served the root a few times at The Wallflower. It just seemed rather similar to a sneasel’s coloration.”

Once Akari understood it, she smiled and gave him a thumbs up. “Oh, that’s a perfect name! I like it!”

Ingo returned her encouragement with one of his small, thin smiles; a part of him appreciated the affirmation that he had done well with picking a name. “Good to know it’s got your approval.”

Taro squeaked with satisfaction as it finished off the last berry, and much like the rest of his siblings, he retired to snuggling against Ingo and taking a nap.

“We’ve gotta show Zisu the kits when they get big enough to leave the nest,” Akari told Ingo as she leaned against his arm to rest along with the sneaslets; they only had about an hour or so to rest before they’d wake up and demand to be fed again. “She asked about them again this morning when I left to meet up with you, and wanted to know how you were doing with your cough and everything.”

Ingo recalled how a week back, he and Akari had gone to the training grounds to let Zisu know he had been gone for the last several days due to an illness, and to apologize for leaving her with no notice, but he would need more time off.

Akari had piped up and told the captain he needed maternity leave, which immediately sent Zisu into a fit of loud, continuous laughter. With a face as red as a pop pod, Ingo had to hastily explain that Akari was thinking of paternity leave, and even then, it was just him taking care of his noble’s newly-hatched kits, part of his duty as a warden. But it was too late; Zisu would never let that go, and Ingo’s flustered explanation had made it even funnier.

“Take as long as you need,” Zisu had told him as she wiped a tear from her eye, a big smile on her face. “But I’m hoping I can see these kits soon!”

“Perhaps this next week or so, I can bring a few of them down when I resume my schedule and return to my station at the dojo.” Ingo thought out loud, repositioning himself slightly to make it more comfortable for Akari to rest against him.

Sneasels were rather energetic creatures, and they grew fast, as all Pokémon did. He suspected that within a week or so, they’d be running around on their back legs and play-fighting, no longer the sleepy, generally-calm bundles of fur they were now. And they were wild too, and meant to stay that way; Ingo at least knew you were not allowed to catch a noble or their offspring. Irida and Calaba had made that very clear to him the moment they found out he liked to utilize the ‘barbaric and cruel’ pokeballs that Jubilife Village and its inhabitants had brought with them. He wasn’t sure he’d want nine wild, uncontrolled (and venomous) sneasels running around the village, when he was trying to do his job.

Perhaps he’d start with one or two, three if Akari wanted to help.

But a part of him was excited to show them to Zisu, names and all. While he was still wary about whether or not they could actually have names, he couldn’t deny names brought character and personality.

Sure, maybe Chomp would grow out of his biting habit. Perhaps Duchess could develop to be the most humble, agreeable one. Maybe Balm would become the most energetic, wired sibling, and Pecha could outgrow her apparent love for the sweet fruit. What was in a name anyways? But Akari was right, names helped set them apart as individuals, rather than just “Lady Sneasler’s kits”.

He looked forward to when they could all meet Zisu.

Ingo coughed again into his scarf. Perhaps bringing more kits at a time would feel manageable once he got over this lingering achiness as well.

But he’d worry about that next week. For now, he settled against the cavern wall and allowed himself to rest, with Akari against his shoulder, and the five sneaslets sleeping in his lap.

164 notes · View notes

waywardstation · 2 years

Text

Until Then, Don’t Worry

While Akari is gone on an expedition into the Icelands, Zisu does her best to keep Ingo from worrying about her, and bets that she can get him to smile. It is a process of trial and error.

HUGE FIC! I mashed together four prompt requests for this; slice of life, Zisu interacting with Ingo, Ingo Babysitting Lady Sneasler’s kits, and ticklish Ingo/ Ingo smiling/laughing. And huge thanks to CW Anon for the huge list of Pokémon puns you sent, I used a ton of them! Thank you!

I struggled with writing this, it’s so big and I feel like it’s hard to read at points (and I worry about some points of characterization) but I do hope it’s still engaging!

OR read it on AO3 here!

Enjoy!

————

“Bravo! Excellent!” Ingo signaled the end of the battle as he congratulated the victor. As the dust cleared from the sunset-tinted battlefield, Ingo brushed off some of the kicked-up dirt off of his coat. His roughed-up Gliscor settling on the ground as it indicated it was still conscious, but could no longer fight.

The air cleared to show Akari on the other side of the battlefield, who had run over to hug her overgrown Purugly.

“Great job, Missy!” Akari hugged the large Pokémon around their neck, who was purring happily despite her scuffs and scrapes.

“You are becoming quite strong, Miss Akari!” Ingo called out from across the battlefield as he tended to his Gliscor, handing them an oran berry and a reassuring head pat. He then walked over to talk to Akari within speaking distance, as opposed to shouting distance. Gliscor stayed behind, munching on the berry happily, despite the many scrapes it’s carapace had sustained.

“Even your newly caught Pokémon are proving to be exemplary opponents, very in sync with your battles!”

Missy noticed Ingo approach, and moved to brush up against one of his legs in an expected cat-like fashion. She purred as Ingo reached down to pet her head, not minding the fur she was getting all over his pant leg.

One of Akari’s newer Pokémon she had caught, the young survey corps member had brought her to Ingo, to train her up with a few one-on-one battles. As a strong Alpha (which explained its considerable size), Akari was eager to integrate the large cat into her team.

“She was already super strong when I found her!” Akari told the warden as she stood up, brushing some of the dust off of her knees. “But training with you has made her even stronger! She’s going to be a big help in tomorrow’s expedition!”

The overgrown cat let out a meow of agreement as Akari pulled a homemade potion out of her satchel. With a flick of her tail, Missy promptly returned to Akari, and she began to apply the potion to the large Pokémon’s scrapes.

“I am glad to be of service and help with training!” Ingo beamed, and he meant it. “Anything that will help better prepare you for tomorrow’s trip.”

Both he and Akari knew full well that she could have just taken Missy into the wilderness outside of Jubilife, and worked up training against wild Pokémon. But Akari enjoyed spending time with Ingo much more, and Ingo enjoyed battling with Akari more than anyone else. (no one else could battle quite like here…yet. With time, hopefully the rest of Jubilife village could become more accustomed to proper battles.)

So, Ingo was usually Akari’s go-to for training when she caught a new Pokémon, and he was more than happy to help.

“Thanks for doing this all day by the way, I know it was a little last minute,” Akari put the now-empty potion bottle back in her satchel as she glanced at the orange sky, the setting sun dipping below Jubilife’s mountain-line. “They didn’t tell me Rei got sick and had to drop out from Professor’s survey trip until this morning, so I’ve been rushing trying to get ready to take his place.”

“It is not a problem!” Ingo replied, a smile still on his face, being on the topic of battling. “I enjoy our battles. Though I know your expedition work is important, your presence here at the training grounds will be missed. How long will this trip last?”

“Well, we’re going to be stationed out there for a few days. Professor told me it should take around four days, five or six if the weather gets bad…which he says we should count on. But we’re going to do our best to avoid it!”

Ingo’s gaze flickered behind Akari momentarily, to focus on the distant mountains of Hisui. He could see what Laventon was talking about…dark clouds could be seen rolling in from across the ocean. It was still a considerable ways off, but it was coming, and seemed like it would indeed hit most of Hisui within the coming days.

Why did they have to do this trip now of all times?

Akari scratched Missy behind her ears one last time before recalling the large feline back into its pokeball. “He said the Zorua we’re going to observe are hiding away in the Iceland’s caves by the time we get there. They come together like that right before storms, and they have to be approached very carefully. It could take some time!”

“Well, I do hope you arrive at your destination safely and on schedule, and I hope your friend Rei recovers quickly.” Ingo readjusted his cap, trying to get the thoughts of the approaching storm out of his head.

“I do too! He was upset he couldn’t go, he told me to enjoy it for him,” Akari recalled as she readjusted her satchel, Missy’s pokeball now inside, and glanced out at the sky again. It was now a more purplish-pink color, as opposed to the orange.

“I should get going, I need to get up early for tomorrow,” Akari told Ingo as she turned her attention back towards the warden, before holding her arms open.

“So…hug?”

Ingo mirrored her and held his arms open at her request, and Akari wrapped her arms around his torso in a hug. She squeezed him rather tightly, enough for Ingo to swear she finally cracked a bothersome crick in his back. But regardless, he smiled and returned her hug.

“I’m going to miss you, but I’ll hurry back soon so we can do more battles!” Akari told him, voice muffled against Ingo’s thick tunic.

“The days will fly by on their own, but I will be here awaiting your arrival. The Icelands are dangerous, and safety is important! The weather can turn very fast this time of year, so proceed with speed, but not haste! Follow your safety checks!” Ingo reminded her as she let go of him.

“I will! And I’ll bring you back something too!” She told him as she headed for the training grounds exit, waving to him. “Goodbye!”

“Goodbye, Miss Akari!” Ingo waved back at her, a smile still on his face, keeping the worry hidden behind it.

That was, until a booming “Goodbye!” joined in, purposely loud to make sure it was heard, sounding from behind him. Startled, Ingo turned back to see Zisu exiting the dojo with haste to also bid Akari goodbye in time, waving her off with one hand. She had two brooms in the other. “Have fun on your trip!”

The young girl returned the wave with a smile and a “I will! Goodbye Zisu!” As she went down the hill towards her unit.

And with that, Akari was out of sight, not to be seen again for the better half of a week.

“Ah, Miss Zisu…I didn’t know you were still present! You have usually departed by this time,” Ingo admitted as he adjusted his coat, turning to address the captain once Akari was out of sight. Zisu got a glance at his rare smile before his usual frown replaced it, but warmth still carried in his voice. “I was just about to sweep up.”

Ingo had thought several times before that perhaps a more solid ground to battle on than packed dirt would be better in the long run. A layer of dust always settled on everything from all the dirt that battles always kicked up, meaning at the end of every day, Zisu or himself were left to sweep up. And today was Ingo’s day to sweep.

“I figured,” Zisu grinned at him, a contrast to his neutral expression, holding the brooms up. “But I thought I’d stay later and help you with that. Things are always a bit more messy once Akari’s done here. That girl knows how to battle! About as good as you!”

The captain took one of the brooms she was holding and tossed it to Ingo with no warning, not even letting him process her compliment. With an “oof!”, the warden barely clutched it against his chest, caught off guard by the sudden throw. He readjusted the broom in his hands to see Zisu was already sweeping dust out of the dojo’s entrance.

“Plus, the work will get done faster if I help. So it won’t be too dark when you have to walk all the way back home.”

Zisu’s selfless hospitality tugged on Ingo’s heart. While she tended to joke around with him a lot, and he often found himself on the receiving end of many of her antics, she was always so friendly with him - even from the first day he had begun hosting battles at the training grounds at Kamado’s request. He was technically taking over her space, but she never expressed irritation with him. In fact, she had been quite excited to have someone else stationed there with her!

Apparently it got lonely, which Ingo understood - before he was requested to be stationed at the dojo alongside her, it was just her there, all day every day. And barely anyone even used the dojo before Ingo came, besides the lone survey corps member Kamado would send her way for required training from time to time.

While clan relations had been getting better lately, maybe Ingo had gotten a little too used to seeing the Diamond and Pearl clans subtly clashing and talking against each other. He did not behave this way himself of course, instead showing members of the Diamond Clan (as well as anyone else) his best hospitality and respect, but had grown not to expect the same treatment from everyone in return.

However, having Zisu initiate such kindness, especially unprompted, in many of their exchanges was a nice change of pace. Ingo had welcomed it, quickly opening up and returning friendly gestures to her.

Just as much as Ingo had welcomed Zisu’s casual kindness and friendly demeanor, Zisu had taken quite a liking to Ingo’s agreeable nature and unique lingo, even if she didn’t fully know what he was referencing most of the time.

In short, Ingo had a friend, and Zisu had a workplace buddy who put up with her jokes.

“…your help is much appreciated, Miss Zisu!” Ingo replied after taking a moment to ponder accepting her help or not. Ingo knew she was going to help either way. “I am most grateful!”

“Don’t mention it,” the tall woman returned, sweeping the last of the dust out of the doorway. “…also I’ve told you before, just Zisu is fine! No “miss” is needed!”

“Apologies. I will work to keep that in mind…Zisu,” Ingo told her as he began sweeping the dust off of the battleground’s wooden platform.

Zisu knew the shortened title still wouldn’t stick just yet though. When the two had first met, it had taken a lot of reminding for Zisu to get Ingo to refer to her as “Miss Zisu”, instead of strictly “Captain”. But it was progress, and Zisu was currently trying to shorten it even more from “Miss Zisu” to simply “Zisu”.

It felt more casual to her, and solidified that their relations were also one of friendship, not one of just strictly a workplace business.

It wasn’t that Ingo didn’t want to, or deliberately didn’t retain the requests, but it was very clear that the warden valued formalities and politeness, and it was hard to let go of something that came so natural sometimes.

Zisu didn’t entirely mind that though, she thought.

With a smile, she returned to her work, moving on to brushing off the dust that had accumulated on the walls of the dojo.

Ingo was quiet as he swept, keeping his head down so the brim of his cap could protect his eyes from the glare of the setting sun.

He opted to listen to Zisu as she began to hum a tune to help her along with her work. It was vaguely familiar to him, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

The warden’s thoughts started to drift, wondering where he had heard it before. Getting so caught up in his mind, he didn’t notice Zisu had stopped humming.

“Smiles from you are rare, aren’t they?”

“Pardon?” Ingo stopped sweeping momentarily, still standing on the battlefield’s platform. He squinted in the sunset’s glare as he looked up to face the captain.

“It’s just not often I see you with big grins like that!” The captain referee to his earlier exchange with Akari as she halted her sweeping, one hand in her hips, the other gripping her broom as she met the warden’s gaze with a grin.

“Oh,” was all Ingo said after a moment, looking down to break the gaze as he rubbed at the back of his neck sheepishly. “I apologize, Miss Zisu, if I often appear cold. On the contrary, I-“

“-no Ingo, not at all!” Zisu hastily corrected herself in an attempt to rephrase what she was getting at. Did she offend him? Maybe she had been a bit too straightforward with this, she wondered. “Everyone who knows you knows how friendly you are! It’s just that you…hmm… nothing seems to get you to smile more than that sweet kid that just left, or tough battles, it seems.”

“Ah,” Ingo understood what she was getting at despite the rocky correction, and now a bit more relaxed, he turned back to finish sweeping the last of the dust off of the platform. “They both remind me of my previous station, before my arrival to Hisui. The memories may be slow to arrive, but they give me feelings of…familiarity.”

Ingo paused his speech a second, as if hesitant to be so vulnerable to a coworker. But this wasn’t just a coworker! This was Zisu, a friend. And Zisu would show empathy, not pity, he concluded.

“…And it is comforting to know my mind has not forgotten the sense of familiarities, despite the loss of remembrance.”

Zisu had known a bit about Ingo’s memory loss situation, with it being brought up when Kamado first introduced him to the dojo, but she never really asked about it much. However, she understood how important anything that connected him to his past was to him.

“…I suppose it does evoke a lot of smiles,” Ingo pondered further over Zisu’s initial comment as he swept the last of the dust off of the platform, a small smile tugging at his mouth again as he reflected.

Looking over his work to make sure everything had been cleaned to his standards, Ingo brought the broom back into the dojo and put it away. Poking his head out of the dojo’s doorway, he extended an arm out to take Zisu’s broom as well. Zisu handed it to him, and Ingo disappeared back inside for a moment, before reappearing to close and lock the dojo doors.

“Thank you for assisting me with maintaining the training grounds, Miss Zisu!” Ingo thanked the captain again, nodding his head in acknowledgement. “Tomorrow I will return the favor!”

“I’ll be counting on that!” Zisu half-joked with the warden, clapping him on the back.

With the sun having fully set, the two headed home for the night.

Zisu considered Ingo and reflected on what he had said. Smiles looked good on him! But with Akari gone, there wouldn’t be much of that for the next few days, would there?

Ingo’s mind drifted towards Akari as he looked at the distant storm clouds, a small seed of worry beginning to plant itself in his thoughts.

————

“Good morning, Miss Zisu!”

The captain looked up across the training grounds to see Ingo entering through the gates, one hand behind his back with the other extended up in a wave of greetings; his loud voice had carried quite far. Behind him, the early morning glowed a cool purple, the warm sun just beginning to climb over Hisui’s mountain line. The distant storm clouds were ever-present behind the mountains, still crawling closer.

“Good morning Ingo!” Zisu waved back to him, having been in the middle of arranging satchels of grit dust to grit rocks. “How goes it today?”

“As usual,” Ingo hid a yawn behind a fist as he approached, automatically going to help Zisu pack away the various grits she had assorted. “The engine is slow to startup.”

Unlike Zisu, Ingo was not a morning person, and it hadn’t gotten any easier for him as time went on. But day after day, morning after morning, he always arrived on schedule to his post at the training grounds.

A moment of silence as the two assorted and packed away the grits for the day, before Ingo broke this silence with another yawn.

“It could be a slower day today,” Zisu spoke up, putting the last of the grit away and dusting her hands off. “What with Akari being on that trip.”

“That seems most likely,” Ingo agreed, taking his position at the side of the dojo, seeing that Zisu’s chore was done. “I do hope she reaches her destination safely.”

Zisu could hear the slight disappointment in his voice. No Akari today, and that meant none of those breakneck battles that he loved so much. They both knew that this was just the first day of several like this.

But concern also accompanied the disappointment, and Zisu noticed Ingo glance at the distant storm clouds.

As someone who tended to always emphasize the importance of safety checks, it came as no surprise to Zisu that Ingo was thinking of Akari’s safety. The Alabaster Icelands were dangerous, and while she was with the professor and a travel party, she was still just a kid.

“Aw, she’ll be back before you know it!” Zisu attempted to console the warden, patting him on the shoulder. “You prepared her and that big ol’ Purugly pretty well for the Icelands.”

That seemed to quell Ingo’s worries for a bit. His frown softened as he straightened his cap that Zisu had knocked crooked.

“I suppose…you’re right. Thank you, Miss Zisu.”

The two stood in their respective positions for half an hour before anyone had come to the training grounds.

The visitor was a single village boy, asking Ingo if they could battle for a few rounds to help toughen up his buizel; his father had suggested coming to Ingo for pointers before going out into the Fieldlands surrounding Jubilife.

Ingo obliged, and went a couple rounds with his Tangrowth, all the while giving tips to the boy about type advantages and disadvantages, and the pros and cons to agile and strong style moves.

Zisu watched the whole time. She could see just how much Ingo was holding back, for the sake of teaching the kid the very basics of battling. The rounds dragged horribly, with Ingo having to stop every time and explain something. His smile was not there throughout the whole battle, nor did it make an appearance when the training finished.

“Bravo! Excellent!” Ingo congratulated the boy and his buizel after the pair had managed to successfully initiate both an agile and strong style move. Ingo’s Tangrowth clapped alongside him in encouragement as well, before returning to its ball.

“Thank you for the training Mr. Ingo!” The boy hugged his buizel. “Now Dewey and I can go into the Fieldlands!”

“Indeed! Though, might I suggest departing for Miss Zisu first? Consider purchasing some grit dust for Dewey; it will make him even stronger.”

“Really? Thanks Mr. Ingo!” The boy cried again, his buizel barking happily alongside him, before the two ran over to Zisu to exchange some of the boy’s meager allowance for grit dust.

Zisu handed the boy a few pouches of the stuff, and as he ran for the training grounds’ exit, his buizel zipping after him, Zisu glanced back at Ingo.

The whole time, he had not smiled; neither in the conventional way, or his own way. Hospitality and kindness had been there, present on Ingo’s face the entire time he had been training with the boy - Ingo was always pleased to help others when he could- but that was not the same as enjoyment.

And for the rest of the day, nothing much had happened to change Ingo’s disposition.

The sun had risen higher in the sky as early morning crawled closer towards midday, before it began to dip lower. Very few people had come to the training grounds during this stretch of time. Ingo was always there to assist with training and tips, much at the same level as the village boy and his buizel from earlier. And Zisu had gotten a few requests to teach a new attack to a Pokémon, or exchange grit. But that was it.

All the while, the distant storm clouds rolled closer.

Come sunset, it was all quiet, and had been for the last hour and a half. Zisu had taken to re-wrapping the bandages around her wrists, tightening them, as she had nothing much else to do. Ingo had started to doze off, his head tipping down as he stood against the dojo in his stationed position.

Today was a very slow day indeed.

As Zisu finished tightening the wraps around her left arm, she glanced back up at Ingo. Leaned against the wall of the dojo with his arms crossed, the brim of his cap protected his closed eyes from the setting sun, and his neutral frown was set deep in his features. Even, heavy breaths indicated he had drifted off.

That frown…Zisu had noticed the warden had been largely dismal today. With how many times she had caught Ingo glancing in the direction of the Icelands, calculating the distance of the storm clouds, it was clear as day that he was still fretting over Akari.

She couldn’t let him do this to himself for the better half of a week! He needed something else on his mind, and the slow days at the dojo weren’t doing him any favors.

He needed something that could bring him the smiles that Akari could usually give him so easily.

“Ingo!” Zisu came up beside the warden and dropped a heavy arm over his shoulder, waking him up with a start.

“Miss Zisu!” Ingo reflexively replied, quickly rubbing the sleep from his eyes as he slightly slumped under the weight of her arm. “Is something wrong? Did I miss a challenger? Apologies, I-“

“No, no-“ Zisu assured him, halting his worries as she patted his shoulder reassuringly. “You didn’t miss anybody, don’t worry; but you’re right, something is wrong!”

Ingo gave her a quizzical look; her playful tone indicated it wasn’t something serious, and it left Ingo more curious on what she was up to than anything else.

“Which is..?” Ingo initiated.

“I haven’t seen you smile once yet today!” Zisu finished.

Ingo’s look of curiosity quickly gave way to an unamused expression, but it wasn’t entirely one of annoyance.

“They’re quite rare, I hear,” Ingo sarcastically told her, relaying her own words from the day before.

“Hey! Let’s make a bet! I bet…I can get one of those big smiles out of you before Akari comes back!”

Zisu had been mindful to infer that Akari would indeed be coming back fine, to subconsciously smooth Ingo’s worries.

“There doesn’t have to be any ‘bet’,” Ingo reassured Zisu, putting his hands up to halt her train of thought. “I can present a smile for you right now. See?”

Ingo gave Zisu the best smile he could, but it was tragically stiff and scripted, not at all authentic and warm like they always were with Akari.

Zisu crossed her arms at the sight of the gesture, but her features were lighthearted; she was entertained at her peer’s attempt.

“That’s not the smile I see when you’re battling with Akari!” She retorted, laughing as Ingo’s scripted smile wavered slightly. “I’ll get you a real smile; after all, a smile a day keeps…the, uh…frown lines away!”

Ingo shook his head at the cheesy impromptu saying with the beginnings of a laugh.

“What do you get if you win this…’bet’?” Ingo questioned, hypothetically. He felt like no matter what, Zisu would following through with this whole ‘bet’ idea.

All Zisu really wanted was to cheer Ingo up, and help him do something else other than worry over these next several days. That would be reward enough for her.

“Just a big smile from you!” the captain told him, before flashing a playful grin. “They’re rare you know!”

Zisu’s bad saying may have started up a laugh for Ingo, but her good-natured ribbing continued it.

“I’m not sure that’s how bets work,” Ingo commented after a quiet huff of amusement. “It seems a bit one-sided-“

He was cut off by Zisu; He wasn’t outright rejecting this, and that was enough for her.

“-Now, It’s been a bit quiet around here for a bit too long. What do you say you and I have a battle? One of those with Akari always gets a big smile from you!”

Ingo’s eyes brightened at the proposition.

————

On the second day of Akari’s absence, Ingo entered the training grounds, right on schedule as usual, to see Zisu.

The captain was currently sitting down on a bench next to the dojo, with a box in her hands.

Yesterday’s battle with Ingo had been exhilarating…for Zisu at least. She knew Ingo was quite literally one of the best battlers in Hisui, but she never fully understood to what extent until she had a battle with him herself.

Zisu had much more experience battling than almost every other person in Jubilife, and that shown through well - she lasted quite a bit longer in a battle with Ingo than most other people would, and used lots of techniques.

Agile and strong moves were relied upon heavily, seeing as Zisu had worked hard to perfect these styles to teach others, and she got a few successful dodges in; she did her best to stay on top of typing matchups as well. Zisu had managed to last about seven rounds with Ingo before her last Pokémon crumpled on the field (which wasn’t bad, considering she only had four Pokémon!).

Of course, Ingo had followed it up with the most genuine and excited “Bravo, excellent!” She had heard from him all day. The amount of encouragement and entertainment in his voice, along with his clapping, had made Zisu almost feel like she was the victor instead of the loser!

Did Ingo do that on purpose to lessen the blow of defeat for every challenger he battled, it was he just that supportive of others?

Zisu guessed the latter, as she saw the pride and joy for her efforts apparent in his features from across the battlefield.

But what she didn’t see was a smile.

It was clear Ingo had thoroughly enjoyed the battle, as it had required more strategic thinking than he was used to here at the Jubilife training grounds, but it wasn’t enough to bring out that Akari smile.

Though, the point of the battle wasn’t to win, it was to make Ingo happy. And that was a start.

She would keep trying.

“Good morning, Miss Zisu!” Ingo broke Zisu from her thoughts, greeting her as always with a predictable wave. His other hand held onto his cap by the brim as a cold wind stirred, blowing through the training grounds. A darkening sky accompanied the brisk breeze today. “May I ask what is in the box?”

“Good Morning Ingo!” Zisu returned the warden’s greeting, before shifting the box in her hands. “I brought some potato mochi for us to share today!”

Zisu opened the box to present crisp, hot potato mochi to Ingo. The wind that was kicking up did nothing to diminish the scent of the mochi.

Ingo pressed a hand against his stomach to suppress a grumble; he always had breakfast in the mornings (it’s important to keep your engine running!), but the trip over to Jubilife always burned through a lot of the calories.

“Fresh from Beni’s kitchen!” Zisu plucked out a mochi for herself, before holding the box out to Ingo to let him take one. “I figured, with slower workdays ahead of us, we could take some time to enjoy some mochi together!”

“I am most grateful, Miss Zisu! Thank you!” Ingo pulled a mochi out of the box and bit into it. The subtle look of worry on Ingo’s face lessened as he sat down on the bench with the captain, finishing the mochi in a second bite. Zisu put the box between the two of them, for them both to enjoy as they pleased.

From the expression Ingo wore as he entered the training grounds, it had been clear on the trip over that he had been thinking about Akari’s safety again. Zisu was glad she had picked up some mochi that morning; she knew Ingo greatly enjoyed it, and had hoped that at least for a little while, it would distract him from his worries.

Plus, she still had a bet to win.

The potato mochi was finished quickly between the two of them, and Ingo sighed with contentment as he finished his last piece.

Zisu stole a side glance at him to see how she did. The look of satisfaction on his features couldn’t have been more apparent, but still, there was no Akari smile there.

“Not even Beni’s famous potato mochi wins an Akari smile, huh?” Zisu joked. She wasn’t disappointed; it just meant she would keep trying!

Ingo turned to her with a look of confusion, before it dawned on him what she was talking about. The bet!

“Miss Zisu, is that what this potato mochi was for? Thank you, but I have already satisfied the bet!” Ingo reasoned. He pulled another one of his scripted smiles to prove a point.

“Nice try,” Zisu elbowed him in the arm lightly, “but that’s not the smile I’m looking for!”

Zisu found it amusing that Ingo was actively trying to help her win this bet ‘against’ him, but it was even more amusing that it wasn’t really working.

“And you’re welcome, I know you enjoy Beni’s mochi.” Zisu smiled as she stood up, dusting her hands off on her clothes as she took the empty mochi box.

“I will repay you for the mochi! Tomorrow, I will bring a box for us when I arrive.” Ingo offered in a hurry, standing up and mirroring Zisu as he brushed his own hands off on his coat.

“Ingo, you don’t have to!” Zisu argued against it. “That was just a nice gesture from me!”

but Ingo was always keen on repaying others for their kindness.

————

On the third day since Akari had left, Zisu and Ingo started their morning with again finishing off a box of mochi that Ingo had brought this time (despite Zisu’s protests).

The day before had been tragically empty of visitors, even more so than the last. Only one or two people had come by the training grounds.

Perhaps it was due to the worsening weather.

Yesterday had been cold and windy, but today was rather dreary. The sky was dark and foreboding, threatening rain (but so far, this was an empty threat). A chill seeped into the bones of anyone that wasn’t wearing enough layers for the weather, and thunder rumbled in the distant sky every once in a while.

The hot mochi that Ingo had brought for Zisu and himself was thankfully keeping them both warm enough for the time being as they sat on the bench.

Yesterday Ingo had seemed a little worried. But more or less he had been in relatively good spirits. Today, however, he couldn’t seem to take his eyes off of the foreboding clouds hovering above the Icelands, behind the mountains in the distance. In his stress, he had seemed to forget his sense of manners, and was absentmindedly cramming a whole mochi into his mouth at a time.

Zisu sat in silence, staring at the half eaten mochi in her hands as she let Ingo take piece after piece from the box.

What could she do to cheer him up? Nothing she had done yet had brought a smile to his face…

“Hey Ingo?” Zisu spoke up. The warden turned to her, mouth full of mochi. In a moment, he remembered his manners and quickly wiped his mouth.

“Hm?”

“…how about a joke?”

The question caught Ingo a little off guard, and he swallowed his mochi in surprise.

“I’ve been practicing,” Zisu added, a bit more of a playful tone seeping into her voice. And indeed, she had been practicing.

If deeds weren’t successful in getting Ingo to smile, perhaps something a bit more direct would work.

“Alright then, what’ve you got?” Ingo turned slightly to better face Zisu on the bench. Once again, a look of worry was overshadowed by intrigue. This was a good start, Zisu thought.

“Alright! How did it go…Ah, what did the Pokémon say when it sneezed?” Zisu started, trying to remember one of the many jokes she had prepared for today.

This was a simple one! Surely he could get this.

“Hmm, a sneeze…” Ingo thought for a moment, scratching his head under his cap. “Sneasler’s kits make sounds akin to sneezing a lot…hmm…’Sneeze-el’?”

That was not the answer Zisu was looking for at all, but it still worked in its own way, she supposed!

“No, but that is a good guess!” Zisu corrected him. “But what I had in mind was ‘Pik-achoo’-“

“-bless you.” Ingo cut her off, a look of amusement in his eyes as he huffed a small laugh, satisfied that the captain had fallen into his trap.

It took Zisu a moment to see what Ingo had done. He had known the answer! He was just messing around with her, playing his own joke!

“Hey!” Zisu drowned out Ingo’s quiet chuckle with a much louder bark of laughter. “That’s not how that was supposed to go!”

“Well, you have a lot of chances to tell more today,” Ingo dusted off his hands, having polished off the mochi as he stood up and stretched his back. A lighthearted disposition was heard in his voice, despite the ever-present frown.

Well, Zisu took every chance she got, and with no one at the training grounds, she had a lot of chances. Every time she could manage to cram in a joke, one-liner, or pun, she did.

Ingo would ask her to do a task?

“Miss Zisu, could you please hand me the broom? The dojo’s entrance is a little dusty today, and I don’t want rain to mix with it and make things muddy.”

“I’m On-ix!”

“…while I do that, could you bring those boxes inside?

“Abra-lutely!”

Ingo would tell her he was going to skip his lunch break?

“You’re going to dew-wott??”

“Miss Zisu, I had a lot of potato mochi this morning!”

Ingo was caught with a little too much time on his hands, glancing at the Icelands for a little too long?

“Hey Ingo! Which Pokémon makes you sigh every time you mention it? Scyther!”

sigh!

“Don’t get so Hera-cross with me, I’m only trying to Cherrim you up!”

“Miss Zisu!”

And if Ingo tried to appease her bet with yet another smile, still as forced as ever…

“That’s not the smile I’m looking for Ingo, but don’t worry, the day’s not sn-over yet!”

Zisu personally thought they were great, but a lot of them were pretty terrible; the cheaper they were, the louder Ingo groaned as he shook his head. But it was good-natured, and Zisu could tell it was keeping him occupied; she caught him laughing quietly to himself several times as he would walk away.

But still, there was no big Akari smile.

As the day wound down, and the sun had made its way lower to meet the mountainline, Ingo and Zisu had decided to close up the training grounds early. No one had come by for the last three hours, and a light drizzle was starting to fall; the dark heavy clouds had finally followed through with their threat.

Zisu shut the doors to the dojo, keeping her back to the gust of wind and rainfall. Everything was dark, save for a single lantern hanging near the dojo’s door, illuminating the two. A flock of starly flew in the distance, silhouetted by the dark clouds as they made their way back to the safety of their nests in the Fieldlands.

“It looks like the weather’s gonna get worse before it gets better. I don’t think anyone will be coming up here for training anytime soon…you won’t be coming in tomorrow, will you?” Zisu asked.

“I must maintain my duties at this station, even if there are no passengers waiting to board,” ingo secured his cap on his head against the wind, the other holding his coat closed to keep the rain from soaking his tunic. “I will arrive tomorrow on schedule.”

Zisu would have questioned this decision otherwise, but she knew why Ingo wanted to come in to the training grounds tomorrow.

He wanted to be here when Akari’s expedition returned, and he probably didn’t want to be without company right now, left to his own thoughts of worry.

Zisu knew that Ingo had Sneasler and the kits, who he had been returning to every night in the highlands to check up on, but she liked to think that perhaps her efforts to keep him happy and distracted were helping, and he was seeking out more of her company.

“Roger that! You’ll see me here tomorrow as well then!” Zisu announced, pulling on the dojo doors once to make sure she locked them.

In the darkness and the drizzle, Ingo’s cap was pulled down over his eyes, his pose stiff and tight against the cold rainfall, but his eyes softened, as did his frown.

————

On the fourth day since Akari had left, Zisu was already at the training grounds, inside the dojo and doing her morning stretches by the time Ingo arrived, walking through the gates to the training grounds. The sky was dark as ever, rain coming down hard and steady.

“Good morning, Miss Zisu!” Ingo waved a greeting to her as he approached the dojo at a brisk pace, instead of stationing himself where he always did outside of the building. While outwardly expressed a frown, soaking wet as he wrung water from his coat just outside the door, Zisu could still spot the warmth of the greeting in his eyes (Amongst the morning tiredness, at least).

Satisfied with how much water he was able to wring out of his clothes, Ingo finally stepped through the entryway of the dojo, a crack of thunder rumbling loudly as he closed the doors behind him.

“I promise, it’s really fine if you just use Zisu!” The captain quipped lightheartedly as she finished her stretching, getting one last crack out of her shoulder. “But, good morning to you too…I hope you’re ready to smile today!”

And with that, the lingering warmth in Ingo’s eyes were quickly replaced with something akin to ‘I should have expected this’.

“Jokes yesterday, potato mochi the day before, and a battle the day before that…What should I be expecting today?” The warden rhetorically asked as he shook the water off of his hat, already mentally preparing himself.

“Hey, I haven’t gotten you to do your smile yet!” Zisu told him. “And Akari is coming back within a day or two!”

Ingo followed this up with yet another half-hearted stiff smile, like he did every time, in an attempt to appease her…as if this time would somehow be any different, and she’d finally let go of this bet.

“That’s not it!” Zisu lightly elbowed him in the arm, finding each attempt as endearing as the last…he was trying at least, and she found it amusing.

Zisu turned her attention to the inside of the dojo, getting a good look at the room as she gestured to it.

“Anyways, seems we’re stuck inside for today…and the dojo is in need of a good interior reorganizing.”

Ingo glanced around the inside of the building. Zisu was exactly right, a good reorganizing was in order. Boxes of grit and mastery seeds were stacked in a disorderly fashion, and various items Zisu used to help teach new attacks to Pokémon were haphazardly strewn about in piles.

The room was an absolute mess, to put it bluntly.

“A disorganized station is a station bound for accidents,” Ingo mused as he browsed through one of the boxes. “Seeing as nothing else is on today’s schedule, we will take care of this post haste!”

A squeak near Ingo got Zisu’s attention, and her eyes drifted to behind him. However, nothing was there.

“What was..?”

“Ah, you have yet to meet my passenger for today,” Ingo changed tracks, and pulled his coat back for Zisu to see.

A tiny sneaslet had secured itself to Ingo’s side, pressed tightly against his tunic, and chirping happily at its reveal to the woman, waving a little claw out towards her. From under Ingo’s coat, it had managed to stay perfectly dry.

“We have arrived at our destination, little lady! You can now let go.” Ingo instructed the little Pokémon.

With another chirp, the tiny sneaslet dropped out of his coat and onto the dojo flooring, but still stuck close to the shoes of the warden as opposed to exploring. Even for her age, she seemed a bit small, and in turn seemed more cautious of the new settings of a building interior, quite different from the mountainous terrain of the highlands, or her cozy cave.

“She’s so cute!” Zisu exclaimed at the sight of the baby. “Is this the late hatcher you and Akari took care of?”

“She is,” Ingo confirmed, thinking back to that time a few weeks back. He had been lucky Akari had been there to help him with the egg. “Lady Sneasler is starting to teach her kits to hunt for themselves. The last few times made it apparent this one isn’t ready however. Her siblings are prone to take advantage of her smaller nature, and it has…not been good for her developmental skills, or her confidence. Especially with such weather conditions, I have decided to bring her with me today while her siblings hunt, and watch her myself.”

A very small quirk of a smile, a genuine one, tugged at the edges of his mouth. “…Akari opted to name her Powder.”

“Such a perfect name!” Zisu doted over the name as she bent down to be more level with the sneaslet, still hiding Behind Ingo’s legs. “Little Pow-Pow!”

Zisu exaggerated the nickname with two little playful punches, as if the name was an onomatopoeia for punching, and to her surprise, Powder half-mimicked the action, half-heartedly punching the air with one little claw and a tiny chirp.

“So cute!” Zisu exclaimed, before Ingo fished something out of his pocket and held his hand out to her.

“Powder is quite bold when she’s comfortable, but she leans a bit on the shy side. She is partial to these; you can give her one, if you would like. It will help her warm up to you.”

Ingo kept his hand held out patiently, and when Zisu cupped her hands under his to receive it, Ingo dropped a plump bean pod into them.

“I have quite a bit of these today,” Ingo told Zisu as a hand went back over his coat, presumably over the pocket where the beans were held. “I intend to use these to help her practice hunting today.”

Zisu inspected the bean pod momentarily, before holding it out to Powder. The sneaslet was still obscured behind Ingo’s leg, but at the sight of the bean pod, her eyes lit up and she took a step out from her hiding place, making her way towards the captain.

Tiny claws grasped at the bean pod, and carefully lifted it from Zisu’s hand to begin peeling back the pod layers, and get to the beans inside. However, powder ran back to the safety of Ingo before she actually began to nibble on the treat, tiny teeth munching on the beans as wide eyes stared at Zisu in admiration.

“Powder is such a sweet thing,” Zisu professed, affection apparent on her face as she brushed her hands off on her clothing. “It’s a shame her siblings are leaving her out.”

“Indeed,” Ingo tipped his cap as Powder finished her treat and tossed the empty pod aside. “Siblings should be there to help one another, not set them back.”

Ingo reached into his coat pocket again, and pulled out another handful of beans. Powder’s eyes lit up at the sight.

“Which is why we will assist Powder in improving her hunting skills! If her siblings won’t help her reach the intended station of improvement, we will!”

————

The morning had gone incredibly well.

With yet another day of barely any activity at the training grounds, Ingo and Zisu quickly cleaned up the inside of the dojo, the rain pouring down outside the entire time. With that done, they spent the rest of morning with Powder, helping her hone her hunting skills.

Zisu hadn’t known the extent of her stunted skills until Ingo had started taking out bean pods and hiding them around the inside of the dojo. Ingo’s Tangrowth, meanwhile was distracting the sneaslet and playing with her just outside of the building, still dry and safe from the rain under the dojo’s extended roof.

“Won’t Powder be hunting things that are, you know…moving?” Zisu questioned, curious as Ingo tucked a bean pod into one of the many boxes against a wall, full of mastery seeds.

“Her siblings have severely stunted her,” Ingo explained. “Developing hunting skills with sneasel always starts with sniffing out stationary food, such as plump beans. However, Powder’s siblings would always reach such food before Powder could ever sniff any out. We have to build up this skill first before moving onto prey.”

Ingo tucked another bean away into a currently-unused lantern. While these were certainly not places Powder would find beans in the wild terrain of the highlands, it was the best he could do, within the confines of the dojo.

“While this isn’t the ideal place for hunting, it’s a good place to start, as Powder will have to differentiate the scent of food among the scent of the other people and Pokémon that have traversed here.”

Ingo sure knew a lot about Pokémon development, Zisu concluded as she followed him back to his Tangrowth, who was still busy distracting Powder just outside the door, the pittering of rain coming down stronger now.

“Alright, little lady!” Ingo addressed the sneaslet as Tangrowth detangled one of its limbs from her and placed her in Ingo’s arms, before taking a step into the rain to bask in the drizzle; Powder had taken to using the vines as a swing of sorts. “Are you ready?”

The sneaslet chirped in Ingo’s arms quietly. Ingo could see she was not confident in her hunting skills at all, and nervous about how well she would do. Ingo knew however that it was because all she had ever known was failure, due to her siblings stunting her efforts…this time would be different.

Thunder sounded off in the distance, and lighting lit up the sky over the Icelands momentarily. Powder gave a quiet, uncertain chirp and snuggled deep into Ingo’s tunic as he looked back at where the lightning struck, holding the tiny Pokémon reassuringly; Powder would much rather just be held, and Ingo wished he was holding a certain person safe in his arms right now.

Akari was already on her way back by now, far away from that place, surely…

“You can do it,” Ingo encouraged her as he scratched behind her ear, before setting her on the ground. “Find the beans!”

Powder let out another chirp as she hesitantly started sniffing the air. She turned her head in one direction, towards the dojo’s entrance; cautiously she entered, still sniffing for a stronger scent, and turned to face a table with some cloth on it. After a moment though, she shook her head and changed direction to approach a box in the corner, full of mastery seeds.

“Good job Powder!” Zisu whispered quietly next to Ingo, not too loud as to give away Powder’s success before she would find the beans herself.

The sheer joy that glowed off of Powder’s scrunched muzzle as she dug around in the box for a moment, before pulling out a single bean pod between her claws was infectious enough to spread to Ingo and Zisu.

“Bravo Powder!” Ingo clapped loudly, the pride visible in his eyes despite his ever-present frown. “Excellent!”

“Good job!!” Zisu reiterated to the tiny Pokémon with a thumbs up, as the sneaslet peeled back the pod layers and scarfed down the beans. With a slightly more confident chirp, Powder once again sniffed the air and headed for one of the unused lanterns, quicker and more sure of herself this time.

It had taken about an hour for Powder to find all of the hidden bean pods, but as she plucked the last pod from its hiding place and held it up triumphantly, Ingo counted it as the 15th one he had hidden, which meant she had found all of them!

“Bravo Powder!” Ingo once again congratulated the tiny Pokémon as she popped the beans into her mouth, discarding the pod with a squeak of happiness. “You found all of them, excellent work! I was certain you could do it!”

With a yelp of joy, the tiny Pokémon ran for Ingo and leapt into his arms, snuggling into his chest as he caught her and picked her up. Thankfully, his thick coat and tunic protected him from her small (but potent) claws that latched onto him.

“Oof! -perhaps, no more beans for you, though!” Ingo commented quietly as Powder continued to nuzzle into him, responding to his encouragement. The beans themselves were not too heavy, but with all of that now packed into a tiny body such as Powder’s, she was quite a bit heavier than before.

“She did really well!” Zisu commented, coming closer. She wanted to give Powder an encouraging head pat, but refrained from doing so, in case the little Pokémon wasn’t used to her yet.

“I knew she would, she just needed a fair chance.” Ingo placed Powder back down on the ground, and she chirped happily, but stuck close to his feet - most likely in hopes she would get more beans. “If we keep practicing, her skills will rival her siblings’ in no time, if not surpass them entirely!”

A louder peal of thunder split through the sky outside, deep enough to grab the attention of everyone inside the dojo. Powder gave a small mewl and gripped Ingo’s pant leg, as Zisu and himself glanced at the dojo’s doors.

Reminded of the condition of the weather outside, Zisu could see all the worries that had crawled to the back of Ingo’s mind return in an instant.

He moved to slide open one of the dojo’s doors and gaze out to the Icelands, as if looking to see if the weather out there had at least mellowed out. The colder atmosphere from outside chilled the inside of the dojo.

“She’s going to be ok,” Zisu tried to reassure Ingo, coming up next to him. “I’m sure she’s on her way back right now; she said she’d be back in four to six days, right?”

“Correct.” Ingo verified, rubbing at the back of his neck. “It’s just…I know how severe the weather can get up there.”

Ingo’s gaze did not leave the distant Icelands.

“I’ve been up there when it gets rough, and I don’t want her to be caught up in that.”

Ingo thought back to when the Pearl Clan had found him. He remembered nothing much of anything before the incident, apparently having been caught in a raging snowstorm and found in a snowbank amongst the aftermath. But he remembered how he felt coming out of it; an aching body and numerous severe injuries he felt for weeks after, all while staving off a bad case of initial frostbite.

It was one of the first things he remembered in terms of his time here in Hisui. He did not want Akari to have to go through that, especially for some expedition trip she wasn’t even supposed to go on.

Akari had a travel party and a strong team of Pokémon to protect her, yes, but she was just a kid, and there were certain situations where simply having a strong team would not have been enough.

Flash blizzard, avalanche, getting snowed in…

“But you are right.” Ingo concluded, trying to self-assure himself. “I am sure Miss Akari is on her way back right now.”

Ingo was interrupted to feel a sudden weight tugging on one side of his coat, and he glanced down just in time to see Powder let go of his coat pocket, several beans in her tiny claws.

How could she possibly want more?

Having been caught red-handed, the sneaslet promptly ran off to hide in one of the boxes in the room to quickly peel and scarf down the beans, as if Ingo would take them away.

Instead, he just shook his head at the sight, standing within the open doorway of the dojo.

“Oh, smart little lady! It seems I can no longer keep them in my coat pockets.” Ingo considered. When Powder was not watching, still invested in her stolen treats within the box, Ingo tipped his cap back and tucked the rest of the plump beans away under it.

Surely she could not reach them all the way up there, he thought as he readjusted the cap.

“She loves her beans,” Zisu commented as she watched Powder poke her head out of the box, trying to steer the subject away from the ongoing storm, onto something less heavy.

“A bit too much, it seems,” Ingo added as the tiny sneaslet made her way out of the box, sneaking over back to Ingo’s shoes in an attempt to try and get more beans. “Perhaps I should not have brought so many extra beans aside from what was needed strictly for hunting practice today.”

“I would agree, that seemed like a bit of an…Overquil.” After some hesitation, Zisu attempted another pun in an effort to lighten the mood even more. Plus, she found Ingo’s groaning over her bad puns to be entertaining.

However, she was pleasantly surprised to notice Ingo flinch with a snicker, a small smile on his face. It wasn’t what she was trying to get out of him, but it was the most authentic smile she’d seen from him in days.

Could this lead to what she was pushing for? Perhaps she was finally on to something!

“First time I’ve seen you smile like that at my jokes before!” Zisu shot Ingo a side glance, a look of amusement on her face. “It wasn’t even one of my good ones, I used all of those yesterday! …are you one of those fellows who enjoy really bad jokes? Should I tell more?”

“Ahem- apologies! It was not the joke, Powder is the- ah, cause of that.” Ingo jolted again slightly, breaking up his speech, and reached across himself, pulling his coat back to grab at something under it.

With his coat pulled back, Zisu could see Powder was no longer at Ingo’s shoes, but now climbing up his side. Having already investigated the inside pockets of his coat and finding them empty, she had started looking elsewhere. Each time the tiny sneaslet readjusted her little claws for a new grip, or nuzzled her face into the thick fabric of his tunic, sniffing in search of something, Ingo winced.

Zisu would have thought the claws were actually hurting him, if not for the fact the warden seemed to stifle a laugh every time he flinched.

When Ingo reached to pull Powder off of him, she made a little squeak, quickly moving out of reach and behind his back.

“She is searching for the beans; Miss Zisu, would you be so kind as to assist me and retrieve Powder? I cannot reach her,” he requested as he extended an arm back to grasp for Powder unsuccessfully.

“You wanted her to go hunting for them, didn’t you?” Zisu joked as she simply crossed her arms at the sight, not answering Ingo’s question or moving to help. She found the situation entertaining.

“I would have hoped she didn’t go looking for them so uRGEntly!“ Ingo’s voice wavered as a tiny claw gripped around at his other side. Powder’s face popped out of his coat with a squeak as she tried to climb her way up and across Ingo’s chest, nearing her goal, but the warden took the chance to finally grab her up and pry her off of him. Powder was chirping excitedly and trying to wiggle out of Ingo’s grip, reaching in vain for his cap.

“It seems she has figured out where they are, though. And her claws are rather ticklish,” Ingo stated matter of factly, traces of a smile still on his face despite his voice regaining its composure. He gently closed his hand around her outstretched poisonous claws, moving them further away from his face before she could accidentally scratch any bare skin, and he placed her back down at his feet.

Powder immediately dashed away a distance to hide in a box of grit dust, stewing in her thoughts as she waited for another chance to climb for the beans.

“You’re ticklish?” Zisu questioned the warden. The thought amused the captain; while he was certainly kind and friendly to anyone he interacted with, Ingo outwardly gave off a rather stoic appearance. The thought of him being ticklish never crossed her mind, and it seemed like quite a contrast against that persona.

The simple inquiry made Ingo turn his head at her a bit too quickly. It seemed he knew what she was considering.

Zisu’s grin only widened when he cleared his throat, adjusting the brim of his cap in a nervous manner as he looked back away from her.

A very dry, not at all confident “I suspect most everyone probably is, to some degree. Now, I think-” was all he vaguely answered with, before quickly trying to derail Zisu’s train of thought. However, he was unsuccessful at this.

“Ingo, I think I know how to win that bet!”Zisu interrupted the warden, keeping the current train of thought going. The way she raised her hands up drained Ingo’s face of color.

“I can assure you Miss Zisu, there is no bet! There never had to be a bet!” Ingo tried to reason as he started to pull back from the tall woman, but it was no use. He pulled another smile in a final attempt to appease her, but this time it was nervous and pleading. “See? …Miss Zisu? Please do nOT-!” Ingo’s voice jumped as he felt a finger jab into his side, right under his ribs.

Despite half-expecting it, the sensation made the warden practically leap out of his skin with a sound of surprise, and he reflexively moved away, But Zisu followed him as she continued to playfully poke at his torso. The uncharacteristic sounds Ingo made were humorous, especially when she got a particularly good jab at his stomach or his ribs, which caused him to snort.

“GAHah! Z-Zisu!” was all Ingo could choke out through his clenched teeth, finally disregarding the formal ‘miss’ title he always added in his desperation to push her hands away from any ticklish areas. But with Zisu being the taller and more fit one between the two of them, it was futile - each time he moved his hands to protect one spot, Zisu simply jumped to a spot he left open. With not much room to move in the crowded dojo, Ingo started to crumple in a fit of poorly-contained laughter, but Zisu kept him upright, holding him up by his coat.

“ZIsu! GaH!! NoT thERE!!”

“Come on, I’m not stopping until you give a big smile!” Zisu warned him. One hand held his coat secure while the other continued to tickle at his stomach, causing stutters of laughter to spill from Ingo’s mouth.

Even with his eyes shut tight and the brim of his hat obscuring his expression as he faced downwards, Zisu could still see a wide grin tugging on the corners of Ingo’s mouth, laughter spilling through clenched teeth. Even if it wasn’t exactly voluntary, it was an authentic smile!

“There it is!” Zisu announced heartily, barely heard over Ingo’s loud, awkward bouts of laughter.

As the warden was in shambles, Powder saw her chance and zipped out of her stewing spot to Ingo. Grasping at his pant leg, she began to climb up the warden again in pursuit of the reward under his cap.

“Yeah! Go for it Pow-Pow!” Zisu encouraged the sneaslet as it chirped excitedly, spurred on by the encouragement. She had already grasped onto the edge of Ingo’s tunic, and was making rapid progress towards his hat.

“P-Powder!” Ingo urged the Pokémon to stop in a miserable attempt to dissuade her. He put an arm up to hold onto his hat, but quickly snapped it back down against his side when Zisu tickled into his underarm, taking advantage of the opening. “Z-Zisu! Do nOT encourage this beHAVior!”

“Oh let her have them!” Zisu laughed instead, beaming as the tiny Pokémon finally clambered onto Ingo’s shoulder with a yelp of happiness, and slipped her claws under his cap, grasping at the beans.

Quick as a flash, the little lady had snatched the reward up in her paws, and pounced off the warden, dashing out through the dojo’s open door and into the rain, under the training ground’s platform to enjoy her prize in relative peace.

Ingo’s Tangrowth, who had still been outside soaking up the rain into their roots, shot a quizzical expression towards Powder, then Ingo and Zisu, wondering what had happened.

As soon as Powder had her treats, Zisu let go of Ingo, and he he slumped forward protectively, using his hands to rub the lingering sensations out of where Zisu had tickled him.

He was out of breath, and wearily readjusting his cap and coat between wiping a few stray tears from his eyes, but some soft laughter still lingered, and Zisu could see a smile left behind on his face. It was small, but it was authentic and it was there.

“…p-please refrain from doing that again, Miss Zisu!” Ingo wheezed as he picked himself up and leaned against the dojo’s doorway, still getting his breath back. He pulled his coat closed as if to protect himself from further attacks. “I find the sensation…unbearable!”

“Well then, don’t smile so big when you’re tickled!” The captain laughed at the display, putting a hand on his shoulder again as she always did, but this time to steady him.

“It is…not exactly voluntary!” With a flushed face, Ingo glanced out to Powder through the rain, still nice and dry under the protection of the training ground’s platform. She was happily using her claws to peel back the treats’ outer layers, eager to get to the beans inside and scarf them down. A small pile of empty bean pods already laid strewn about next to her.

With a mischievous glint in her eyes, Powder chirped with delight as she made eye contact with Ingo, knowing full well that she had outmaneuvered him, despite his best efforts.

“I can only hope now that Powder does not get sick eating so many. Let us hope she does not relay this to her siblings either, lest they expect this kind of behavior to be acceptable as well! Lady Sneasler would not be pleased with me, encouraging such habits with her kits,” The warden brushed himself off a final time, straightening out his coat.

A hand went up to straighten his cap, but grasped at air. After a moment, Ingo felt Zisu situate the previously-missing cap, which had been knocked off, back onto his scruffy hair.

“Oh lighten up Ingo, she’ll be fine!“ She reassured him. “And I won our bet! I got to see that authentic Ingo smile!”

“We didn’t have a bet,” Ingo insisted once again with the same amount of patience in his voice, as if he was reminding her of this for the first time, not the twentieth, “I had smiled for you several times!”

“None of them were the smiles that Akari can get out of you so easily though, and I made sure you had a good time instead of worrying while she was away!” Zisu laughed. “And speaking of that wonderful girl, looks like I won the bet right on time!”

Ingo had no time to process that indeed, Zisu had kept him from excessively worrying, and he had actually had a good time overall (even if he still didn’t understand the bet…he had voluntarily smiled for her several times!). He would have thanked her, but Zisu pointed across the training grounds, and Ingo’s gaze followed to see Akari was standing there at the entrance, in the rain.

She clearly had just gotten back from her expedition, and from the looks of it, had managed to avoid the storm in the Icelands! Ingo was flooded with relief to see this!

In her hands was a container of sorts, full of materials from the Icelands (most likely things she brought back to give to Ingo as presents), and pokeballs (probably containing Pokémon she had caught on the trip that she wanted to show Ingo). Her clothes were scuffed up and muddied, and she looked a little worse for wear herself. A rufflet, one of her own Pokémon she had presumably caught on her expedition, was perched upon her head with extended wings in an effort to keep her dry. But behind the weary exterior, her ever-present energy and friendliness still shown through.

Though her current most prominent feature was the obvious look of awe on her face.

How much of what just happened with Zisu had she seen?

“Miss Akari!” Ingo called out, his voice strained with several emotions. He was absolutely overjoyed to see that Akari was back, safe and sound! Relief visibly snuffed out the worry that had accumulated in him over these last few days. But…how long had she been there, watching them? “You’ve arrived back at the earliest scheduled date! Er, welcome back to the station! I am glad to see you have arrived back safely! …How was your trip?”

A moment of agonizing silence.

“You’re ticklish?!” Akari yelled back to him across the training grounds as she dropped her box of trinkets, loud enough for anyone in the general area to hear, much to Ingo’s dismay.

The devious look in her eyes as she took a step closer told Ingo all he needed to know.

Zisu’s laughing off to his side, and Powder’s snickering under the platform didn’t help the situation. Ingo didn’t even want to look at his Tangrowth at this moment, given the circumstances.

Of all things for Ingo to expect from Akari when she got back…it was something akin to a tight hug, or an hour of blurting out the details of her trip! Not this!

“Miss Akari, please no!”

369 notes · View notes