#i have a thing for denials and hot villainous ikemen

[sexysilverstrider]

A Foolish Punishment 2/END (Volokari)

  Oh, what a foolish girl.

  A gasp choked out of pale lips. The bleeding didn’t seem to stop, instead gushing and flowing down the side of her waist. Her left hand squeezed her waist, fingers digging into the open flesh in hopes that the bleeding would stop. Crimson liquid stained her Survey Corps outfit, though her mind was clouded with something else entirely.

  She should know better than to underestimate her surroundings.

  This wasn’t the future. This wasn’t her timeline. Pokémon were crueller, scarier, far more territorial than she had ever met from her world. From the moment she was exposed to the ancient lands, Akari knew better than to underestimate the Pokémon that were sometimes larger than life.

  She hated this. She hated this so much.

  Tears ran down her face. Endlessly. Painfully. She wondered if this was how it would end. She wondered if this was some sort of sick punishment from Arceus himself for disrupting space and time in her own world.

  Was it her fault that she was too late to stop Cyrus from summoning Dialga and Palkia? Was it her fault that she forced Giratina to intervene? Was it her fault that she had to stop the Renegade Pokémon from tearing Cyrus apart, and then possibly the world?

  Was this her fault? Was this her punishment?

  Was…

  Where…where did she go wrong?

  More and more tears streamed down her face.

  “It hu…rts…” Teeth ground as she withstood the pain. “It…h-h…” Her vision was a blur. Her voice was a croak. “Mom…” Ah, this was unfair. “J-Ju…n…” This was extremely unfair.

  Dark, hazed eyes lingered to her satchel. It splayed not far from her, her Pokémon tucked inside their Pokéballs. To her dismay, her new team of this time didn’t know how to let out of their capsules unlike her Pokémon from her time. The mechanics were different, a bit sturdier than she thought. Akari opened her mouth, tried to scream out any of her Pokémon’s name.

  Hestia.

  Beidou.

  Mustafa. Ayato. Liliana. Sariel.

  None of them peeped from trembling lips. It only echoed in her mind, one that hyper-focused on the gaping wound that slathered across her right waist. Another weak groan slithered between clenched teeth. The girl laid on her back, then regretted immediately as the agonizing pain punctured deeper into her skin.

  This was her fault. She should have known better. She was told time and time again that Alpha Pokémon were extremely dangerous. While she did take that note seriously, there were times that the reminder left her mind completely, especially during battles.

  And especially when she was fighting a Parasect.

  It was a simple, easy battle. Nothing more. Akari bumped into one of those Mushroom Pokémon when she accidentally stumbled into his nest. She wasn’t even near him or his swarm, but the Survey Corp member should know better that the Pokémon were needlessly aggressive. Luckily, she was able to let out Hestia to deal with the problem. Despite a few had them surrounded, Akari knew her Tyhplosion had no problem burning them to the ground.

  Alas, she herself had a few problems, one being not as sharp as her starter.

  Slitch—skritch!

  She remembered unbearable pain on her right waist. She remembered her eyes going wide. Her mouth gaping a hollow scream. As the girl turned to the side, a Paras had slashed her, dark eyes noticing deep red stained on one of his claws.

  She then noticed something else—something purple and oozing.

  While the human froze and staggered in her place, the Typhlosion only gaped in utter shock.

  First came shock.

  Then came fear.

  Next came fury.

  Gone were the sleepy expression she always wore. Pupils shrunk to tiny dots, Hestia flared her mighty flames around her neck and exhaled bright blue flames. The excruciating fire took the Alpha off guard, immediately burning his flesh before he could cry for help.

  Over and over and over again Hestia released her fire, washing the land with bright flames of blue and red, cleaning the land dry from any nearby Paras.

  While the corpses burned in place, Hestia spun around and released a ghostly parade of purple fire against the one who dared lay its claw on her beloved human. The shrieking balls of demons engulfed the tiny Paras. And before he could burn to a crisp like his Alpha, Hestia took him in her fangs and ripped the Pokémon into pieces.

  Rrrip—slitch—skrrritch! was all Akari heard. As she dropped down to her knees, her blurry vision focused on the malicious Typhlosion. Fear began to root in a manic heart. Fear at the Pokémon that were capable of murder. Fear at the Pokémon who might one day take her life before she had a chance to reunite with her world.

  Instinctively, she returned Hestia back to her ball. And once the starter was returned, Akari finally dropped down, her satchel thrown a step away from the impact.

  Thankfully, the fire had died down the moment it swallowed every living Paras and Paresect around her.

  Unthankfully, the poisoned now bubbled in her wound, causing unimaginable pain that stung tears in such blood red eyes.

  “Hel…p—” More and more tears trickled down squeezed eyes. “Help…m-me…” She was forced to be strong. She was forced to face this deadly world.

  Mom… She was alone.

  Jun… Utterly…

  Cyn…thia… Completely…

  V-Vo…lo—

  Alone.

  “Now what do we have here?”

------------------------------

  Truly, life works in mysterious ways.

  At sunrise, he decided to have a little walk, to find more mysteries and relics that would help him achieve his grand dream. At noon, he cooked some stew for him and his Pokémon. They really enjoyed it. His Togetic couldn’t stop pestering him for seconds, anyways.

  Near sunset, here he was, standing before a person who was at death’s door.

  A person who had long invaded his mind. A person who had long wrecked his thoughts. A person who—as Volo continued to believe—had no right haunting his slumber.

  A person, from the moment he saw her in such a state, who caused him to mentally scream and panic at the realization.

  He didn’t know when his legs brought him to her. He didn’t know how he was now standing before her who was lying in a pool of blood. Once Volo stood before her, he kept his mask on. He kept his wits about.

  But his heart screamed. How it screamed and shrieked so madly at the sight.

  He hated this.

  “Now what do we have here?”

  He hated her.

  Luckily, as if some stupid mercy, her eyes closed the second their eyes met. A flinch. Then a jolt happened from him. How badly he so wanted to fall to his knees and tend to her. How badly he so wanted to hold her in her arms, to check her pulse—

  He hated this.

  No. Instead, with fists tightly clenched, after momentarily confirming that she wasn’t moving nor awake, Volo slowly squatted down. Grey eyes observed at her breathing: ragged and choppy. His vision then darted to her waist, to the gaping wound that continued to trickle blood. He spotted a hint of poison, which then made his throat clench at the thought of her life chipping away.

  Why would he care?

  “Stupid girl…” Lifeless eyes stared at the fallen corps member. It was her fault, was it not? If anything, she deserved it. He had no part in this. He had his own dreams to seek. And if anything, she was only a pawn—

  Pupil shrunk inside dim irises.

  Grey eyes then darted to her satchel.

  If anything, she had the remaining plates.

  For a second, his breathing stopped. For a second, his heart skipped. There, placed within arm’s reach, was her satchel that miraculously could fit quite literally anything—including the plates. He could take them. He could finally collect all the remaining pieces and left the corpse to rot. No one would know. No human would get a chance to find her remains by the time they reached her.

  He was close. So close.

  A sniffle was heard, causing him to flinch a gasp he didn’t know he was holding.

  Grey eyes slid to the dying person.

  Blood still pooled under her. Her eyes were still closed. Still squeezed shut. Her grasp on the open wound loosened, letting him see such a disgusting sight that pierced the attire and skin. Judging by her staggered, weak breathing, she only had a few minutes left.

  Just a few minutes. That’s all he needed.

  His breathing hitched tightly inside a dry throat.

  Volo then snapped his neck towards the satchel. That’s all she had left. That’s all he needed. Squatting still beside her, the young man reached for her satchel.

  He stretched his hand towards it… Finally…

  Closer… Finally…!

  Closer… Finally—!

  “I…like…seeing you around, you know.”

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  Vision was a painful blur as eyes squinted open.

  Slowly. Carefully. Vision a blurry haze before adjusting to the dim light of her surroundings. Her mouth parted open, breathing out quiet gasps and short groans instead of incomprehensible words.

  Her mind was numb. Her thoughts were jumbled. As seconds felt like hours, memories of time ago knocked the back of her head.

  The Paras. The poison. The fear.

  Realization hit her like a truck, and Akari shot up straight.

  Or tried to, anyways.

  “Ahh!” Sharp pain stabbed the side of her waist. Immediately she plopped back on her back. One hand went straight to the gaping wound, only to then freeze at the feel of something soft and slightly wet.

  “What the—?” Dark eyes moved to the wound, pupils then shrunk at the sight of her state. The Survey Corps jacket was nowhere to be seen. She still had her black shirt on, though the ripped material allowed her to feel another piece of cloth wrapped around her stomach.

  Before thoughts could compute the situation, Akari then flinched at the burst of sunlight in her eyes.

  “I’m sorry!” A Survey Corps apologized, voice rattled and soft as she realized what she had done. “I heard your voice and came to check and—oh, I’m glad you’re awake!” Guilt bitten in her heart to see such a poor state, the member kneeled by the tent’s entrance. “Do you—can you remember who you are?”

  What a stupid question to give to someone who was almost half blind and nearly poisoned to death.

  The bitter reaction was bitten back as Akari slowly lowered her arms. “I’m Akari…” Her voice felt dry, coughing once or twice that led the member to quickly reach out a bowl of water near her. Seeing the water she sorely sought for, Akari slowly tried to sit up, cringing every now and then at the numbing, piercing pain in her waist.

  Gulp, gulp, she drank, throat feeling refreshed and heart feeling relieved that she still had her sense of taste.

  Once the water was finished, Akari handed over the empty bowl. “Thank you…”

  “Welcome!” the member replied. Relief slowly washed her face to see the fellow mysterious outsider feeling more and more…alive. Kneeling by the entrance still, she checked on the bandage around her. “How do you feel, by the way?”

  “Still in pain.” The answer was given quite apathetically. Though a smile graced Akari’s mouth, knowing that she should feel grateful that Arceus gave her another chance. Black eyes looked around the tent. She then sighed heavily to see her satchel in pieces and her Pokémon safely tucked inside their balls.

  One hand caressed the bandage around her stomach. “Thanks for finding me and patching me up.” Truly, no words could describe how thankful she was. “If you guys were a bit late…well…” Shivers ran down her spine.

  “Well, I would like to say no worries, but we weren’t the ones who found you, though.”

  Akari ceased her caress.

  “I’m sorry?” Widened eyes gazed at the concerned member. The blonde-haired woman didn’t seem like she was bluffing, and this only stumped her even more.

  “You were brought in by someone. By the time you came to our camp, you’re already patched up but still fainted so we assigned you in a tent for medical observation.” A small smile graced the woman’s lips. “We were shocked to find out you were poisoned. Thankfully, you were already given an antidote to dissolve the poison, but it still scared us.” A sigh popped out of her lips at the thought of nearly an hour ago. Once the Survey Corps relayed the message back to headquarters, they received a quick reply from Professor Laventon who was clearly in a fit of panic and on his way.

  “Who…?”

  Akari’s voice—taut and meek—brought the member back to reality. The woman looked at her, eyes widened with bafflement and mouth agape in shock. The sight alone almost seemed funny.

  “Oh,” Finding the situation amusing, the member continued, “it was a blonde Ginkgo Guild member. I believe his name was—”

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  One man stood by a cliff. One man observed the camp that was hustled and bustled with people about. Judging by the sight, something must have happened. Something about the girl.

  Breathing hitched momentarily.

  Pupils widened at the sight of black hair coming out of the tent.

  Fists clenched tightly.

  She seemed better. Alive. The professor then came pouncing towards her, giving the startled outsider a hug before immediately releasing and apologizing constantly. He saw as the girl stumbled, then waved her hands as an act of reassurance.

  What a nice girl.

  He hated it.

  He hated this—!

  ‘Volo.’

  Breathing was released in shaken sighs at the sound of a chirp.

  He shou—he hated her.

  The wind flapped quite roughly on his side. Volo then looked to the right, mouth pursing a smile at his ever so loyal Togekiss.

  The Happiness Pokémon could sense his friend’s distress. His numbing pain. ‘She’s fine now!’ Togekiss cheered, hopping in place before taking flight once again by the wielder’s side.

  Volo’s smile tightened.

  The wind blew again, shielding his eyes from the horror that gleamed each iris. Memories of an hour ago still reeled in his mind, still taunted him deliriously as some sort of punishment for his bastardly actions.

  He remembered clearly how he madly rummaged through his backpack for the antidote. He remembered clearly how he held her in his arms, cold and shivering, leading him to shiver and stifle a scream. He remembered clearly how he ripped her coat open and lifted her torn, black shirt, causing his jaw to strain at the sight of her scarred skin. He remembered clearly how fast he acted, disinfecting the wound and wrapping her stomach with white gauze.

  He remembered clearly, so vividly, how he brought her close to his chest, nuzzling her head as he locked his arms around her weak shoulders.

  He hated how blurry his vision was.

  ‘Volo?’

  Once again, his voice dragged him back to reality. Volo looked at Togekiss, seeing nothing but a frown that graced his friend’s face.

  That never suited him.

  “I’m fine, dear friend.”  His voice was calm, low, hinted with gentle care that he so forced himself to remind that it was for his Pokémon—never her. “Come, let’s make a move, shall we?” Hesitance still plastered the Pokémon’s face, so Volo patted the top of his head and spun his heel.

  Togekiss knew Volo so well. The simple action was enough to tell him that the conversation was over. Releasing a sigh, the Happiness Pokémon looked at the lively camp one last time before flying to his friend’s side.

  Volo walked away. Away from the camp. Away from her. Away from the memories.

  Pink lips pursed tightly at the memory of her forehead. At the reminder of how sweet, how soft her skin tasted.

  Ah, what a truly foolish man.

END