#not only did akari get back earlier than ingo did

[salsa-di-pomodoro]

About the ingo-Arceus roadtrip!

LOVE the idea of them sometimes ending up in the wrong timelines. Could you maybe give some instances of this?

FUCK i didn't answer you huh

Well it's not quite right to say they end up in a wrong timeline if they're doing it on purpose. The thing is Arceus is doing the equivalent of the sprint for your life that one does when they turn off all the lights in the middle of the night and have to go back to bed except the danger Is not an imaginary monster but the sheer incomprehensibility (to Ingo) of the not-place they are in, and they have to find the nearest safest planet/timeline/dimension possible once Ingo communicates that he can't take it anymore in the void between timelines. Cause yeah Arceus' presence is gonna help him a lot in not losing himself again or dying by reminding him of what's real and sorta anchoring him to himself and them but that's not going to last forever. So really, they may end up anywhere that has an atmosphere similiar enough to that of the world of Pokémon, drinkable water and food compatibile with a human body. Within those criteria, anything is possible :)

I haven't thought of any specific places yet, but i do have The Vibes. Think of somewhere like rainworld, in the beginning. Obviously not exactly like that otherwise it would be a crossover but i'm thinking of something like that. The closer he gets to his own timeline and dimension, the more similiar the world, most of the time.

He may also end up further in the past of a different timeline, say, if whatever happened 3000-2500 years ago in the canon universe didn't happen (it's hard to tell what it was but everything happened in those years. I think there might have been a recession if they were able to do the thing AZ did with the weapon and then thousands of years later they were still in the 1800s.), the timeline would already have gone somewhere completely different. What if Ingo visited somewhere like that?

Maybe a different dimension also, where humans didn't evolve to be humans, but another species became something similiar? (it would be a Pokémon obv.) Somewhere with a biosphere different enough to have a different species thrive.

Towards the end i was thinking he first meets the (ultra? Gotta refresh my knowledge of the timelines) Sun & Moon protagonist in one of the more faraway ultra wormholes, but can't go back with them because he doesn't have the equipment necessary to go inside of a wormhole without consequences for the amount of time needed to go back home. (Arceus and Ingo have been traveling via distortions and rifts and such. I'll get back to that in another ask probably). (Ultra probably) Sun & Moon protag can't go back to this particular world because. Well have you tried to get past 10000 light years with the ultra warp ride its hard af. They're way past that. I can't imagine how hard it would be in-universe, even with years of experience. Also there's so many different dimension to choose from, they might not find the right one, just one similiar enough to believe it's the one, if they go back and try to bring an additional suit fitted for him. Also there is a reason they know it's the right universe, Arceus can tell from a specific signature in the soul/aura of a person. It's kind of difficult to recognize among all the different universes and such but when in front of someone it's far easier to compare the two and see they they're the same signature. Ingo asks the child to bring back a few trinkets and foods he brought from other worlds, bring them to Emmet. He may not remember him completely yet, but he thinks he would like them (he would), and wants to know that he's almost back. (There's a specific event i thought of, that would shake some memories loose. But this post is already long enough. Ask me about it if you want to know please :))

The very last place he goes to before getting home is a city few hundred years forward from his time. People recognize him, which surprises him. He doesn't wait too long to leave, just a couple days or three (he usually stays more time in order to recover from void travel. [Well it's a void to him but to Arceus it makes far more sense]. He doesn't want to know the future, especially his future. That's why he leaves so soon (along with just being hella impatient by now lol). This will have consequences [not too bad tho. Just a minor setback :)]), when ideally with the amount of travel he did this time he should have stayed about a week. Historians everywhere are extremely dismayed, but they weren't going to gain much out of him either way and they suspected that anyway so.

Ingo does not always have a great time (see rainworld-type worlds), but that's something Arceus can help with. Most times.

There are many more worlds they visit, and the roadtrip lasts months, but this is all i can write for now. I'm tired af lol

As always extras in the tags because i cannot shut up

Well shit i guess this is the post i should have made later now. I'll make another one going in depth where i didn't go in this one when i get another ask lol

Grr i wish i could draw i have so many cool ideas. Maybe i'll ask my friend. Or someone. Hmm

Reblogs are very encouraged and appreciated :)

[waywardstation]

You know in the Papa Ingo au I always assumed it was like from them collectively completing the protags mission or the og protag akari/rei showing up and just instead of being a part of Jubilife be in the time travelers group and complete their mission and save the region anyway. And by that way too, just everyone ends up home and knows that everything happened because of some dude from the past that looked like Cynthia

Papa Ingo asks masterpost part 1 (most of these are for the lord of the flies variant)

I would assume that any kids who show up would just begin helping Akari with her tasks as well, though there are some who would rather help in Jubilife’s pokemon pasture, or assist Beni at the wallflower!

In regards to Team Rocket’s involvement in this story

I do like the thought of them being kids themselves more like what the first anon says, specifically for what the second Anon says haha.

Orre kids are certainly built for hardship, I think they’d be the most ready out of anyone when they’re thrown out of the village!

I think people have suggested that we alter when Kamado kicks everyone out of the village and have it happen earlier on; I don’t think the kids would hate everyone, though! Some would definitely be more upset than others at the treatment, of course, but I’m sure there would be a lot of conflicting feelings.

If kids would start getting sick when everyone is trying to take care of Ingo and get him better, then that would certainly be concerning! I could see kids forcing others who are sick to go lie down. Both to get better, and to keep the sickness from spreading to the whole group. They have work to do!!

Oh that is an interesting thought! (Silver probably would not understand that, despite…also living through the same events too? Someone did suggest at one point silver is also here haha. He would unknowingly be seeing how problematic his dad was as a kid)

Like above! I bet Giovanni would meet a lot of people as kids, before they all grow into the characters we know them as, and as the people they know each other as.

It is certainly a mind bender, I’m having a hard time properly comprehending that haha.

That would be so sad!! Can you imagine finally getting the medicine you need to help take care of the person you’re trying to save, only to be thrown back to the time you originally came from right before you could give him the medicine? Ouch!!

It would certainly be hard to explain what happened, since everyone would return to the times they were pulled from, which happened way before Ingo actually disappears! Only after he disappears would it probably become easier for people to believe them.

Oh man I’m sorry! I could see them especially wanting to visit the subway after all of this happened at some point, especially after hearing about how “some subway boss disappeared suddenly.” As they look into it, they all desperately realize that it sounds an awful lot like what happened to them. And the subway bosses’ name…Some might come close to gear station out of morbid curiosity, and some might do it at the same time.

[ghostypetrainer]

Prompt thingy.

Ingo as a Zoroark carrying Emmet, Elesa and Akari through a rough patch in the highlands

"Lord Zoroark."

Tilting his head, Lord Zoroark- or rather, the individual once known as Ingo- cast a glance down at his warden. Akari was pointedly looking behind them, so he turned his gaze in said direction.

Ah. Right. It was not once known any longer.

"I am Emmet," his brother gasped out between breaths, "-and I cannot walk that fast."

"Yeah," Elesa agreed, weakly holding up a hand, "-me neither. Especially not on this terrain."

Lord Zoroark- Ingo- let out a slight huff. Standing up tall, he linked his arms behind his back, cocking his head curiously at the pair. "I thought the two of you would be used to this by now. You've been doing Survey Corps work for over four months, correct?"

Emmet and Elesa merely exchanged a tired glance between them. Ah. He was not so out of practice reading them that he couldn't gauge what that look meant.

"You've been using the other Nobles to get around all this time, haven't you?" Ingo asked.

If he had eyebrows at the moment, he would have raised one.

"They always were whenever I saw them!" Akari cheerfully chimed in.

Emmet shot her a dirty look. Akari stuck out her tongue. Ingo just huffed, lightly resting a paw on his warden's head and ruffling her hair until she squeaked. His brother and Akari might bicker, but there was no real fire behind it. With enough time, he was certain the two would get along well enough to turn their two car train into a three car one.

He was still amazed his brother had chosen to reattach him.

Shaking the thought off, Ingo's lips merely twitched upwards in the faintest hint of a smile. It was much more difficult with his current facial structure than it had been with his human one, but he managed at times. He had spotted Emmet and Elesa many times making their way through Hisui by asking for the aid of the Nobles, unable to help but spy on them even as he avoided them both. Even if he did not, he'd still heard of them from the other Nobles. Lady Sneasler would often complain that his brother had nowhere near half the endurance he did.

That was to be expected. Emmet was only human. His own endurance had not been much better when he'd still had his own human body. If anything, he suspected that after five years of absence, it would be even worse, no matter how valiantly his brother and Elesa had tried to exercise said body while its occupant had been absent.

He still couldn't believe they'd gone that far.

"I still don't see why we can't call upon them now." Emmet said. "It would be faster."

"The other Nobles are quite occupied at the moment," Ingo informed them, "-and you were the one who said that they wanted to take the fastest route to Lake Verity."

"It sure was!" Akari helpfully chimed in.

Emmet shot her another look. Akari stuck out her tongue again.

Ingo ruffled her hair further.

"I told you we should have taken the easier path." Elesa said.

"I am Emmet. I stand by my decision." Emmet huffed, folding his arms stubbornly in front of him. "We must resolve this situation quickly so we can return to Jubilife. I do not trust Kamado with the care of Ingo's body."

"I don't either," Elesa agreed, "-but I trust Captain Cyllene."

"It's still so weird to think about Lord Zoroark having a human body." Akari said.

"And not as weird as a talking Zoroark?" Elesa arched a brow.

"No, I got used to that part already." Akari shrugged.

"I wish you had mentioned the talking earlier," Emmet said, "-we would have found Ingo much sooner. Before he frenzied."

"And I already apologized for that." Ingo said. "Lady Cogita treated your Pokemon. I believe they are all back to full health."

"They are all verrry healthy again, yup!" Emmet agreed. "But that was verrry stressful, brother."

Ingo shifted somewhat uncomfortably on his feet. Yes, he'd imagine. As much as he'd tried to downplay it a moment ago, the situation had been very stressful. He'd barely been in his right mind, of course- but the moment his senses had returned to him, and he'd realized the extent of what he'd done and who had stopped him…

…well. He was still amazed they were both back to calling him Ingo so easily.

"Regardless," Ingo cleared his throat, "-we should press on."

Elesa groaned, but something actually seemed to twinkle in his brother's eye. Ingo caught it, tilting his head slightly. His brother could not read his current face as well as the one that mirrored his own, but he still knew him well enough to pick up on the silent question.

"You are a Noble, brother," Emmet began, "-you can carry us."

Elesa perked up at that, her eyes nearly sparkling. "Oh yeah! Like you carried us down the mountain yesterday!"

Ingo would have flushed, were he capable. "Surely that's not-"

"You know," Emmet began, "-it would be verrry bad if we reached Mesprit and did not have the energy left to face its trial."

"Ooh, you've got a point." Elesa nodded. "It would be bad."

Ingo just stared at the two for a long moment, before heaving a defeated sigh. Once they got started, they would not stop. Best to admit defeat quickly.

"Very well," Ingo said, "-you may board this carriage once again."

Emmet and Elesa high fived. Ingo sighed again.

Scooping the pair of them up was simple enough. With his current ten foot frame, he could easily hold them with one arm. He suspected they were simply enjoying the novelty of it… which did not explain Akari clambering up his back, perching herself on his shoulders and digging her hands into his mane, holding tight.

"Wha-"

"If everyone else is getting on the Lord Zoroark Express," she said, "-I'm not getting left out. Besides, I can't keep up with you when you run."

Hm. Fair enough, he supposed.

"Wait," Elesa began-

"-run?" Emmet weakly finished.

Ingo ran.

[imfluentinfangirlandgay]

Reconnecting the Lines - Pt 3

Emmet saw things when he slept last night. Things he could not understand. Despite his confusion, there was one verrrry logical conclusion to this dream.

Ingo was alive.

Word Count: ~2000

Emmet had already caught on that he could see what Ingo saw when he slept. This meant he was getting more sleep than he had… maybe ever. He continued to go to the Subway, but he would always make sure to come home at a decent time so he could get a full night of sleep. Every night became more soothing to him than the day, as it was his time to be reminded that Ingo was somewhere out there.

Some nights he saw that girl again, Akari. He would just be sitting with her, watching the sun. Other times he sat alone. Still others he was walking around the foothills of a mountain, which Emmet could only assume was Mount Coronet. Ingo did not talk as much as Emmet remembered. He got the true shock when there was a time Ingo had looked into a pond as he kneeled to drink the water and Emmet had seen his reflection.

Ingo had a beard now. His frown was still as prominent as ever, but there were slight wrinkles on his face now that Emmet did not remember. His eyes were striking, almost glowing under his cap. It was nearly imperceptible, but Emmet could have sworn he saw Ingo’s eyebrows knit together before his hand struck the surface of the water, shattering his reflection into a thousand small pieces. Emmet felt a wave of longing, followed by dull confusion. What was that about?

Emmet closed his eyes again tonight, wondering what he would see. His breathing slowed down, unconsciousness overcoming him.

He was sitting outside, the soft wind making his sideburns tickle his cheeks. His legs dangled off a cliff face. His eyes were turned up, watching the night sky stretched out over him like a blanket. Stars twinkled over him, the moon shining brightly as it slowly trekked through the sky. He was leaning back onto his palms, simply taking in the scenery. He heard quiet footsteps behind him.

“Uncle Ingo?” He turned, seeing Akari. She looked at him, a little concerned.

“Thank you for coming, Miss Akari. I… had a premonition earlier.” Emmet knew there was more that Ingo was not letting on. Akari came over and sat beside Ingo, cuddling close to his side. He took an arm and wrapped it around her, pulling the girl into his side. “How is the Pokedex coming along?”

“It’s nearly done. I just need to finish the last of the entries, and then the task set for me is complete. I finally get to go home.” Emmet felt Ingo feel several emotions: sadness, fear, guilt, empathy.

“I wished to discuss that with you.”

“Will you come back with me?” she asked immediately.

It was silent for a moment, the emotions warring inside Ingo.

“I have been having… odd dreams. Where I am not myself. In fact, I am someone else entirely.” Emmet’s attention was snagged by this. “I see through the eyes of someone else, feel someone else’s feelings. It was not until last night that enough of my memory returned to me that I could grasp who it was and what I was seeing.” Emmet filed this information away for later. Ingo had his memory wiped?

Akari turned her gaze to him. “You’re remembering things? About who you were before Hisui?” Emmet felt an excitement building that did not belong to him.

“Yes. It seems my foggy memory has finally decided to come back to me. I remember some things now. You were correct, I am from the future. I lived in a different region, far from here. I ran a Subway of my very own. I lived with someone who looked just like me. He always had the biggest smile on his face…” Ingo trailed off, Emmet riding out the crescendo of pure melancholy that wracked his body. “I have been having these dreams every night since you were first banished. I watch him in his battles, commanding his team, I see him at home, I see him out with others. And he always feels so sad. It did not jog my memory, however, until I saw him in the mirror. It was me, but younger. And he was still smiling, though it did not reach his eyes…”

Ingo choked up. Akari tightened her grip on him, still watching him with concern. Emmet’s vision was getting clouded. He could feel warmth seeping into his face. Ingo was crying.

“I cannot remember his name. Oh, almighty Sinnoh, how badly I want to remember his name. He is my brother. My twin brother. And he misses me. He hardly speaks, but when he does his voice has no inflection. The one time he did discuss me was with a close friend, a woman I wish I recognized, and the pure sadness I felt from him as he said my name-” Ingo cut off again, taking a deep breath.

“I need to find him. I need to return to my brother. Miss Akari, may I join you on your ride back to the future?”

The girl looked up at him, tears in her own eyes. She wiped away the wet from Ingo’s eyes, her touch soft. “Of course, Uncle Ingo. Of course.”

Emmet roused quickly, running to his desk and grabbing a paper and pen. He had an idea about what to do. He was going to help Ingo get back to him, somehow. He had only managed to make some vague notions so far about how to bring him back. Maybe he could help Ingo come to him.

—----------------------

It was the weekend. Finally. Emmet sat at his desk and wrote sentences onto one half of a piece of paper. He did not know when Ingo would be asleep, so he tried to keep it short.

Dear Ingo,

I see through you when I sleep, too. I am waiting for you.

We live in Unova, Nimbasa City. Meet me in Gear Station. I will bring you back.

Love,

Emmet

He spent the day at home, lying around, the paper always in his peripheral vision. He made sure it stayed within his line of sight. He cleaned up around the apartment, watched some old reruns of some game show, and rounded out the evening by eating a simple sandwich from whatever was left in the house. He was in a rush to get to sleep until there was a strong, harsh knock on his door.

Fighting down the irritation, Emmet moved to the door and opened it, paper still in hand. Elesa stood there, hands on her hips. She regarded him with narrow eyes. “We need to talk.”

“Um.” Emmet felt anxiety curdling in his stomach. He opened the door wider, allowing Elesa in. She strode into the apartment, her eyes darting around. Emmet knew that she could tell how clean it was. She took a seat at the table, beckoning for Emmet to join her.

“Emmet, what is going on? You’ve been acting weird for over a week. People have been saying you aren’t taking battling as seriously anymore and you run home as soon as you can. You’re really closed-off and you talk even less than you used to… Are you doing okay?” Elesa scrutinized him, raking her eyes over his face and his messy hair. She then took note of the paper he held in his grasp. “What’s that?” Without reason, he held it out of her reach.

“I am Emmet. I am fine.”

“Emmet, please! I can tell something’s up! I’m really worried about you!” Elesa did not shout, but she sounded exasperated. Like she was talking to a child. “We haven’t talked at all this week. Usually you at least respond to my messages, but you haven’t even been doing that. Are you… is it getting bad again? If it is, you know I’m happy to stay with you and ride it out! I don’t want you to hurt yourself…”

Emmet shook his head. “Nope, I’m doing alright. Really. I am. Verrry alright.” Emmet smiled, trying to show that he was telling the truth.

“Then tell me what caused it, at least. Please. You know I won’t make fun of you.” She paused, considering. “I mean, I might, but in a big sisterly way. And not seriously, just to tease you a bit.” Emmet rolled his eyes.

“It is a lot. Verrry odd.” Elesa looked at him.

“You’ve been acting under the weather ever since he vanished. I don’t know what to think of this. Please. I need to know.”

Emmet sighed. “Alright. But I warned you.” He shuffled in his seat, placing the paper back in his peripheral. “I dreamed last week. It was not the nightmare. It was different. I was not me. I was walking through an empty landscape and saying odd things. It was not my voice. It was Ingo’s.” Elesa knitted her eyebrows. “I woke up. The next time I slept, I saw other things. I was with a young girl. She was crying. I said other things I did not understand. The girl called me Uncle Ingo. I saw my clothes. It was a black coat, just like mine, but shredded into pieces.” Emmet stood, grabbing some things from the living room. “I wrote down names and things I remembered into this book. Then I researched. And I found him.” He handed the notepad over to Elesa, who read it. Emmet continued talking.

“He is in the past. In ancient Sinnoh. I can feel what he feels as I dream. And he can see me. He was talking about it to the girl. Akari. He has seen me in his dreams, like I have with him.” He pulled out the paper. “So I wrote things down. I have been keeping this in my vision all day, in case he is asleep.” Elesa read through his note, her eyebrows knitted firmly together.

“Emmet-”

“Please do not cross the yellow line,” he cut in. “I have proof. I have seen photos of him in this time period. I have seen accounts and descriptions of him. There is no doubt in my mind. My brother is there. And he intends to come home.”

Elesa looked up at him, confusion across her features. And, also, some form of understanding. “How? If he’s stuck in the past?”

“I do not know. Last night, I saw him talk with Akari about it. She said she was now allowed to return, and Ingo asked to join her. She is also from the present time. Ingo mentioned he had no memory of this time, too.” Emmet paused. He breathed out. “He cannot remember my name. I believe he could not remember me at all until recently.” Elesa’s eyes softened as she scooted closer, patting him on the shoulder. “I want him home, Elesa. I miss Ingo.” He had not realized there were tears on his face until Elesa was wiping them away.

“I won’t lie and say it’s not a little out-there, but somehow I think it makes sense.” She reached around him and hugged him, gently patting his back. “I miss him too, Emmet. He’s coming back. He’s looking for you.” Emmet nodded into her shoulder, smiling.

“It’s late. Do you want me to stay over for tonight?” Emmet nodded. He would like that very much. Elesa and Emmet curled up in Emmet’s bed as he yawned. “At least those bags from under your eyes are gone, you don’t look as completely drained as you did.” Emmet grinned, allowing himself to slip into unconsciousness again.

[Start] - [Previous] - [Next]

[waywardstation]

It’s Nothing Personal, It’s Just Business

Ingo and Akari have a fight after Ingo finds out Volo wants to assist Akari in gathering the remaining plates; the warden has grown distrustful of the merchant. But Akari vehemently defends Volo and leaves to go off and collect the plates with him, against Ingo's wishes. As time goes on however, she realizes Ingo's concerns about Volo might not have been wrong. She wishes she hadn't been so harsh with him.

If you’ve been wondering why there haven’t been many Minutes drabbles coming up lately, this is why! I decided to put a little bit of time into this every time I needed to warm-up write instead of a drabble. I based this off of this fic concept people seemed to like, as well as some requests for something angstier between Ingo and Akari, like an argument.

OR read here on AO3!

Enjoy!

————

“Do you not trust him? Is that it?”

Akari stared intently at the cracking fire that clung to the logs, unable to look any longer into the eyes of the man who sat across the fire from her, gently washing his coat. Normally, she would only have to glance up at her side to meet his gaze, leaning into his warm, comforting side to fend off the cold night temperatures.

But not tonight. The night was cold in the highlands, and a small part of her wanted to be warm against his side, but the larger part - the upset part - wanted to keep her distance, to express how frustrated she was. She hugged her knees tighter to compensate for the missing warmth herself. Not even the fire seemed temperate enough.

On the other side of the fire, Ingo sighed as he dropped his own gaze, the brim of his hat hiding his features. It was a heavy sigh, but it didn’t alleviate any of the stress that weighed down on his shoulders.

“Miss Akari,” He cleared his throat, rubbing the back of his neck. “Is this about the earlier events today?”

When an elated Akari had come to see him at the training grounds after a long day, bleeding from several scrapes and sporting developing bruises, he had immediately fretted over her. When he learned that she sustained her injuries from a rather aggressive attack with an Alpha Vespiquen, his concern only grew; she normally didn’t get this scraped up from Pokemon encounters.

When she pulled out a grey plate and told him that Volo had brought her out there to retrieve it from the enraged alpha, he barely even processed the following bits of information - that the merchant had wanted to take her with him back to that isolated woman Cogita, living out in the wild, so that they could retrieve more plates for a recent fieldwork assignment he knew nothing about.

It quickly became apparent that she had only come to him to say goodbye, and let him know where she was going to be for the next week or so.

The information had grabbed a handful of the guts in his chest and tugged down hard, painful and distracting. Volo had dragged her out to the wild, and had let her get hurt fighting an alpha while she retrieved this plate for him? She was so scraped up; did he just sit back and watch? And now, he wanted to take her back to that secluded area to do it again? And Akari was going to go?

This train was moving far too fast, and Ingo was worried it would derail if he let it be. So he pulled the emergency brake immediately. With more command in his voice than he had meant to express, he told Akari she would not be going out there with Volo.

Not that he didn’t want her to. That she couldn’t.

He had even surprised himself with the firmness of that sentence, and it clearly dampened Akari’s attitude. At her reaction, Ingo had quickly backpedaled, rethinking his words - who was he to tell Akari what she could and couldn’t do?

It wasn’t like he was her actual family, despite how much it felt like it sometimes.

However, when Volo showed up a few minutes later, saying he had been looking everywhere for her and asking if she was ready to leave, Ingo quickly reverted to his previous stance. He could sense a miffed disposition hidden beneath the merchant’s cheery attitude, and it was clear why, once Akari explained she knew Volo wanted to leave immediately, but couldn’t leave without saying goodbye to Ingo first.

Volo had wanted to take Akari away without even letting her tell him where she was going first.

Had he not let her tell anyone? That set alarm bells off in his mind, and had once again told him to pull the emergency brake.

Interrupting their conversation before it could go any further, he had told Volo that Akari would not be accompanying him.

Ingo was glad it had been his turn to stay behind and clean up the training grounds, so that Zisu did not have to see this. The conversation had quickly turned into a severely-strained, barely-restricted civil argument, and it ended rather bitterly.

“Akari, please come find me if you ever decide for yourself that you’d like to move forward with my help.” Volo had told her when he finally turned to exit the training grounds, having seemingly lost the argument. Ingo’s disposition only darkened towards the merchant with how layered that sentence was, both accusing Ingo of being wrong and overbearing, as well as encouraging Akari to go against him and ‘do the right thing’.

And the thing was, it seemed to sway Akari. She was considerably upset after that conversation and left the training grounds not soon after, rather than sticking around to even ask Ingo why he did that. Ingo was relieved that she didn’t leave to follow after Volo, having watched her instead head into the Galaxy Team Headquarters, but he once again asked himself if he had overstepped.

But Ingo had quickly realized his issue didn’t lie with not letting Akari make her own choices, it lied with Volo’s concerning behavior. Something about that man was deeply unsettling…

Ingo had later left the training grounds with the setting sun, only feeling comfortable enough to leave once he saw the Ginkgo Guild start to pack up and depart from the village, sure to return the following morning with newly stocked goods. Passing by the headquarters, he stopped by to try and find Akari, so he could explain to her his concerns, but he could not find her.

Perhaps she was trying not to be found. Perhaps it was best not to discuss such things in public around others anyways, and…he was not her parent.

So he had been surprised when Akari showed up at his highlands site well after dark, in the middle of him carefully scrubbing the day’s dirt out of his coat with cold riverwater. And from her expression as she approached and sat down by the fire, she was clearly still upset over what happened.

“Look, Ingo,” Akari tried to release some of her building frustration with a sigh, grasping at a stick on the ground. “I know you care a lot about safety and everything…but sometimes…I don’t know-”

Akari seemed to have lost her courage to continue, opting to start drawing mindless shapes in the dirt with her stick as she rested her chin on her knees, still hugging her legs with her free arm. The position took on a more defensive quality now.

“Miss Akari,” Ingo stopped scrubbing his coat for a moment, checking over it as he attempted to pick up where she left off. “The safety of other passengers is of utmost importance, and when called for, it’s imperative I conduct procedures to ensure-”

“-But you don’t have to! Sometimes you don’t need to!” Akari realized he wasn’t understanding what she was talking about. “I mean, like today? Volo was trying to help me with an assignment Cyllene sent me on! It’s not like he’s dragging me out in the middle of nowhere for no reason, he wouldn’t do that!”

Ingo glanced at Akari as she talked, again observing her cuts and scrapes from her earlier encounter with the alpha vespiquen…all of that, for one plate. He could agree with the former part of her statement, at least; Volo definitely seemed to have his reasons. But what was he after..?

“I mean, you don’t do this with anyone else, You never have.” Akari’s tone lost some of its steam as she snapped the stick in her hands absentmindedly, tossing the halves into the fire. “I haven’t said anything about it, but, I notice how you act differently around him, like you don’t like him or something. Why is it just with Volo?”

Ingo was silent for a moment, contemplative. His thoughts on this matter flowed freely in his mind, overwhelming almost every time he had seen the merchant interact strangely with Akari. But now that he was trying to put them into words for her, he was cautious not to let the same thing happen, instead beginning to carefully pick out choice thoughts.

It wasn’t that he was intimidated; certainly not. Ingo was a gentle person, but he was not a doormat. However, he knew the odds were stacked against him, as Akari was clearly in Volo’s corner. She was defending him, set on her own perspective, and this had become painfully more obvious in the days leading up to this current moment. Ingo knew he’d have to be attentive with his words if he wanted to get her to consider taking off the rose-colored glasses.

He supposed he would have liked to prepare for this more; he had told himself he would have this conversation soon, but he didn’t think it would be like this. The moment had sprung upon him sooner than he would have liked.

“...Volo’s behavior concerns me.” Ingo started, looking up from his now-clean coat to give Akari all of his attention. In return, he could see Akari giving her all of his. Good. “He seems like, well…”

Deep breath, in and out. Tread slowly and carefully with the words, and surely, she would understand.

“…like he hides his true intentions behind purposely-disarming behavior. His habit of gift-giving must be rather costly, and, well… it only extends to you. And, I have noticed he does not particularly involve himself in conversations unless it is about mythology, it seems…or if it is with you. Miss Akari, he worries me with how much he steers his conversations with you towards your origins, and how he had often seemed to group you and the rift together as the same thing…isn’t that a little concerning to you?”

Ingo searched Akari’s face for signs of understanding, or thoughtful contemplation, but he wasn’t quite sure that was what he found, with her features just as tight as her grip on the stick in her hands.

“That’s it?”

Akari still wouldn’t look at him, eyes glued to the fire with those two words. His speech had deflected right off of her, and Ingo realized he had not won her over. Had she even truly considered what he said?

“Ingo, Volo isn’t hiding anything. He does those things because that’s just how he is - he’s a nice person! I’m not surprised he’s interested in where I came from; I mean, I fell from the sky! And I like talking to him about it, he seems like he already knows a lot about this stuff! He likes to give me things because he wants to help me! Because he’s my friend!”

She hadn’t considered his words at all, viewing it purely as hasty, unfounded distrust, rather than repeated, worried observations. The tone in that sentence was exactly what he wasn’t hoping for. He had upset her instead of making her understand.

“Ingo, If he’s hiding something, what are his ‘true intentions’ then?” Akari challenged him, snapping another stick and tossing it onto the fire. “What would he be trying to hide underneath this ‘purposely-disarming behavior’ of his?”

This was a question Ingo had asked himself many times, but he didn’t know the answer. Truly, what Volo wanted was a mystery. He suspected all of the free gifts were to win Akari over, but for what? And why was he so interested in Hisui’s mythology? And now that the rift above the mountain was closed, Volo couldn’t possibly still be chasing after that - there was nothing left to chase! Ingo did feel like Volo talked about all of this to Akari specifically due to her coming from the sky…he recalled the one time Volo had asked himself about these experiences, but as soon as he had revealed he remembered nothing about his origins, Volo completely dropped interest in him, turning back to Akari.

But, he still had no idea why.

“…I don’t know.” Ingo finally admitted, sounding more than a little guilty as he let go of his coat, letting it crumple in his lap. “But-“

“-You don’t know?” Akari interrupted, genuinely appearing frustrated that he couldn’t back up his claims.

“Volo is not to be trusted.” Ingo tried to wrap up his previous thoughts quickly and get to the point, throwing out the first absolute he had ever contributed to this conversation. He gazed intently at Akari through the fire, trying to emphasize how seriously he felt on the matter.

Why couldn’t she understand?

“You barely even know him! You can’t judge someone based on suspicions, Ingo! Don’t you know how unfair that is?”

Indeed, Ingo did know, and he was a bit taken aback at the fact she would possibly bring that up. She knew very well the stories of how, as a stranger, the members of Pearl Clan were slow to trust him just because of how naturally he could wield even the strongest Pokémon. How some of the villagers’ kids at Jubilife were still a little wary of him based purely on his intimidating appearance, and how it sometimes disheartened him, even if he outwardly played it off.

On the other side, Akari didn’t fully understand what she had dug up until the words left her mouth. She had meant for it to only appeal to Ingo’s sympathetic side, not immediately realizing how much it would seem like she was trying to stir up his empathy instead.

“I just don’t want you to get hurt.” Ingo grounded his point, his thoughts focusing back on Akari’s wounds sustained from the alpha vespiquen.

But apparently, that was the wrong choice of words. It forced Akari to leave the misunderstanding unaddressed, moving past it in order to confront the new wave of anger that had flared up at the statement.

Did he think she couldn’t fend for herself?

“What, like this?” Akari pointedly held her arm up, presenting where a shallow but long gash marred the soft flesh. It had since been tended to and cleaned up, but it still looked rather painful. “Volo didn’t do this! An angry vespiquen did! I can take care of myself, Ingo, but Volo would never hurt me!”

Ingo had not implied that, but now the worrying thought was added to the pile that jumbled up in the back of his mind, pressurizing against his skull like a headache.

“As the adult who conducted you out there, Volo was responsible in that situation.” Ingo attempted to correct himself and clarify his statement, trying to keep the situation calm as he wrung his hands in an attempt to self-soothe. “Yet your injuries express that no one was performing needed safety checks. I do not want these events to be repeated, leading to worse consequences.”

“It’s not like he took me out there purposely trying to get me hurt! The alpha just jumped out at us!” Akari was not as calm as Ingo was, not even stopping to think about how it really had been risky, and at the least, she should be reconsidering the dangers moving forward.

“Ingo, I’ve known Volo a lot longer than you have; he’s always been like this! He’s just a nice person, that’s it! He’s not hiding anything, or secretly wanting to hurt me, or, or-“

“Miss Akari-“ Ingo attempted to slow things down; Akari was working herself up, and anger never got any problems solved.

“-I’ve even known Volo longer than I’ve known you!” Akari threw out, continuing to try and make her point. It had come purely from a place of reasoning; statistically, she had known Volo for quite a bit longer than she had known Ingo. Before she had even met the warden, Volo was really a primary source of support - encouraging her, gifting her with free presents, and offering her friendliness. She was just trying to emphasize how long she really had known him. But she couldn’t deny that statement had sounded emotionally charged.

“I mean…he’s the one who ended up coming to help me when I was kicked out, and everyone else turned their back on me!” She tried to back up her statement. “How could that be suspicious, when he had nothing to gain by doing that? Doesn’t that mean anything?”

Even though it wasn’t casting any blame on Ingo, she knew that wasn’t entirely fair to say. She knew he had wanted to go after her, and had fully intended to until Kamado stopped him and kept him in the village, making sure he would not go after her. He had threatened to cut ties with the clans if any of them helped her, but it was a threat he had not intended to go through with, hoping the empty words would be enough. So when it wasn’t, he took preventative measures to ensure he wouldn’t have to cut ties, something ultimately worse.

Of course, Akari hadn’t learned that until after she had gone through the agonizing process of pained rejection from everyone she had approached. After Volo had found her and graciously took her to Cogita. After he had set up a system of support that, if she was being honest, saved her life just as much as her reputation.

Ingo hadn’t done this because he was literally barred from doing so. But Akari didn’t know this until she had returned to the village to find him confined there, worried out of his mind but overjoyed that she was alive.

But she knew what she had said was not fair. If anything, Ingo was the first person to try and help her, days before Volo had come across her.

A deep sigh escaped Ingo as he hung his head, his shoulders slouching. This had not gone the way he wanted it to go at all.

“My point still stands. I do not want you to follow Volo out to the east.” Ingo kept his head down, his tattered hat completely obscuring his features - he did not want her to see how conflicted he felt with the compromise he was about to bring up. “…I do not trust him with you. You will not go out there. Not unless I accompany you.”

Maybe it was the fact that he had embarrassed her today in front of Volo and anyone else who could have heard the argument in the training grounds today, making choices for her as if she was a child who needed guidance.

Maybe it was the authoritative words he used, repeatedly overriding her options and limiting them to his conditions.

Maybe it was the fact that he still showed no trust towards her friend, and didn’t apologize for his upsetting, serious accusations.

Or maybe it was simply the anger that had flared up and urged her to automatically push back against any boundaries he set, jumping to conclusions that he thought she couldn’t handle herself.

“Are you really this paranoid, that I can’t do this by myself? Ingo!” Akari immediately pushed back, standing up from her spot - she felt like she had to move, or she would combust. “You can’t tell me what I can and can’t do, you’re not my…p-parent!”

Ingo knew that just as well as she did. He was not her family, not literally. But as the months had gone on, he couldn’t deny his relationship with her very much felt like one. And with the way she choked on the word as she took it and condemned it, it seemed she did too.

“I’ve done so much; I quelled the nobles! I closed the rift! I went against Dialga and Palkia! And look! I’m fine!” Akari kept going, her features expressing more distress than anger as she went on. This wasn’t about Volo anymore. She felt like the air was growing thin with how absorbed she was becoming in trying to express her feelings. “I did all of that, I can do this too! Stop…just stop suffocating me! Please!”

Ingo frowned as he always did, but the eyes were the window to the soul, and if Akari was paying attention to them, she would have seen his heart crack.

Amongst all of the hurt, his brain scrambled to conduct a sentence made up of messy apologetics and repetitive reassurances. But he swallowed them as Akari pulled out her flute, and forced out a quick, angry note, summoning Lord Wyrdeer. The majestic Pokémon would be here in moments to whisk her away into the night.

“I’m sorry! I didn’t go today because you said you didn’t want me to, and I…respect your decisions,” Akari said, putting her flute away as she brushed the dirt off of herself. “But I’m going tomorrow morning, with Volo! I have to do this!”

Before Ingo could say anything else on the matter, Wyrdeer arrived with thumping gallops to take her back home.

He let her leave, and gazed back at the clean, drying coat in his lap with a distant stare. He felt like he had been punched in the gut a few times over, with the choice words Akari had used against him.

Paranoid? Suffocating? Is that what she thought of him? He admitted he sometimes felt a little concerned that maybe he performed too many safety checks, or perhaps was overbearing with his desire to extend this to others - especially those he cared about, but…

Why had he let things devolve to this?

————

Akari yawned as she closed the door to her unit, the cold morning forcing a shiver out of her. The sun was still behind the mountains, casting a weak glow over the sky; Akari never usually got up this early.

But, she wanted to get out of Jubilife before Ingo came for his shift at the training grounds. Last night’s events had been so upsetting that she struggled with getting to sleep. She was still angry with him, and didn’t want him to catch her on her way to Volo and make her turn around, or insist he go with her again. Just the thought of that happening made her frustrated.

Though there was a small bubble of regret floating under the surface of that sea of frustration. She thought back on the words she had used against Ingo more than a few times last night, and each time had brought an uncomfortable, warm flash of shame.

Why did she say those things to him? She knew anger could make people say things they don’t mean, and last night, she certainly let her anger get the best of her. But she had still said them…what if Ingo thought she meant them?

However, Ingo had said awful things about Volo, when he wasn’t even there to defend himself. How could he say such things! She replayed his accusations in her mind, calling him suspicious, and careless with her…and looking for something else.

Volo was not like that.

The bubble of regret popped.

Suddenly noticing Zisu enter onto the road from across the bridge that led to Jubilife’s homes, heading for the training grounds, Akari realized Ingo’s appearance would follow soon after.

She wiped the tiredness and stress from her eyes and quickly headed for Jubilife’s gates, both to escape a potential meeting with Ingo, and to find Volo.

————

When Ingo arrived at the training grounds barely on time that morning as opposed to his usual early arrival, Zisu had immediately noticed something seemed wrong, but didn’t know what had happened.

“There you are!” She greeted him as he entered through the gates, mid-stretch. “I was beginning to wonder where my workout partner was! I thought you were going to let me do this all by myself! You doing alright?”

“I apologize, Miss Zisu,” the warden told her as he slipped his tunic off after his coat and tied it around his waist, preparing to join her in her routine. His look was apologetic, but she could see a distressed quality to his features that he was trying to hide. “I seemed to have lost track of the time on the way over here this morning.”

Another short stretch of silence, save for soft cracking of Ingo’s back as he began to fall into her routine of stretches with her, much more than usual.

“Crackly this morning,” Zisu attempted a lighthearted jab to poke fun at him with his tense back. “You’re not skipping out on those massage sessions with Pesselle, are you?”

“I ah, did not sleep well last night.” Ingo admitted, his features tight as he recalled the night before. His chosen sleeping position had been upright on the hard ground, his back against a rock wall by Lady Sneasler’s cave. He had been so stressed out over last night’s events, that heartburn had flared up and kept him from finding a more comfortable sleeping position. Ingo had meant it simply as an explanation, but Zisu took it as a sign to stop joking. Even without the more worrying details, she knew something was troubling him.

Another pop as Ingo followed her lead and stretched his shoulder.

“You know if the kid’s going to stop by today?” Zisu changed tracks, a more genuine quality entering her voice. Ingo always brightened when Akari came and had a battle with him, or showed him something interesting she had found during her fieldwork. And it seemed like he needed some of that. “I saw her leaving with a lot of supplies to go somewhere pretty early this morning!”

“No, I imagine not. She has departed for a few days.” Ingo responded, his frown deeper-set than usual - Zisu had confirmed that indeed, Akari had left to most likely go find Volo, and had almost certainly left early to avoid seeing him.

After a few moments of waiting for more, Zisu realized that was all he had to say on the matter.

Zisu knew the warden always grew a little concerned when Akari left on longer trips, but it was never anything like this. And Akari was fine; when Zisu saw her leaving Jubilife early that morning, she was perfectly healthy and packed to the brim with supplies…now the detail of a trip had made sense.

But now that she thought about it, she considered it odd that Akari had left so early, not even waiting to bid goodbye to Ingo. The kid was normally glued to the warden.

…Had something happened between them?

She focused back on Ingo as they continued stretching, his worried gaze fixed somewhere in the distance by the Coastlands, over a particular edge of Mount Coronet.

“...Ingo, is everything alright?”

————

“Ah! My favorite customer! I was hoping you would show up at some point! Have you come to take me up on my offer?”

Volo gave Akari one of his signature bright smiles as the girl approached him, pleasantly surprised to see she had managed to find him on the way back from one of his delivery trips through the Fieldlands. His happy disposition slightly comforted her, despite the thoughts that troubled her.

“Yeah…I um, look, I’m really sorry about yesterday,” Akari apologized to the merchant as she met his gaze, pushing through the tallgrass to reach him. “About Ingo, he’s just…concerned, is all-“

“Oh, I gathered as much.” Volo’s tone lost some of its cheeriness as he crossed his arms, recalling yesterday’s altercation. “‘High-strung’ or ‘insecure’ might fit him better…honestly! What does he think is going to happen? I’m glad you’ve come to your senses, and found me!”

“Yeah…” Akari brushed it off, not wanting to comment, but also not wanting to disagree for the sake of avoiding another altercation - she had had enough of those. “Anyways, um, how many deliveries do you have left? I’m ready to go when you are.”

“Oh, deliveries? Those can wait,” Volo waved a hand off to the side, disregarding his own work. “Finding the rest of those plates and uncovering Hisui’s mysteries for the sake of that wonderful pokedex project of yours is a much more pressing matter! What’s the importance of a simple ginko merchant’s chores, when there are legends to unravel? And if anyone can unravel them, it’s you! Come; if you’re ready as you say, we can leave for Cogita’s home immediately!”

With a wave of excitement washing over the deeper currents of trepidation, Akari followed after Volo as he changed course from Jubilife Village, pressing into the wild tall grass towards their destination in the distance.

————

It had been four days now.

Every morning, Ingo showed up to the training grounds just as troubled, and every morning, Zisu was growing more and more suspicious that something had happened between him and Akari.

Ingo worried intently over Akari’s well-being; Had she gotten hurt again? Was she eating enough, sleeping enough? Did she feel safe? Ingo was yet to see her himself, but Zisu’s reports of seeing the girl still leaving her unit early every other morning quelled his worries some. She was alright (at least he thought she was, Zisu never mentioned she ever looked upset), but for how long? How long until Volo let her get hurt again? Or hurt her himself?

…or maybe she was still fine because things really were alright. Maybe he really had just been paranoid about Volo? Maybe he really had been smothering Akari?

The thought did not make him feel any better.

He did not seek out Akari though, or send his Pokemon to go check on her; her words to him clearly asked him to give her space. Who was he to go against that, after she had already said he was suffocating?

Maybe he had grown more expectant of her company than she had of his.

Though Ingo greatly appreciated Zisu’s offers to spend time with him, and invite him to join her at The Wallflower after workdays. He knew it was spurred by concern and pity, her having noticed his troubled disposition, but she insisted it was so he could at least enjoy a meal and some time with someone before embarking on a long, lonely trip back to the highlands.

However, whenever she asked how he was doing, he was careful with what he disclosed.

He was constantly worrying about Akari, and admittedly replaying the things she had said to him in his head more than he should have. And while Zisu always reassured him she was open to listen, Ingo felt he could not talk about the troubling events; it was not proper to share such things about others. Besides, words from one side could never properly express the event from a neutral standpoint; he didn’t want to risk accidentally making Akari look bad to Zisu.

Instead, he shared with her his concerns regarding himself over their breaks and dinners, when she asked. In the least embarrassing way he could, he opened up a little about his insecurities - regarding how he worried he was paranoid, and projected his safety concerns onto others, to the point where it was annoying rather than appreciated.

While he was sure that over the days, Zisu was piecing together a narrative that was rather close to what had actually happened between him and Akari (She had from the moment he first spoke up about himself; it became painfully obvious very quickly), she never brought it up. Instead, she did her best to solely focus on genuinely reassuring him of his troubling thoughts without blindly complimenting him.

And it was somewhat reassuring.

Ingo appreciated her friendship immensely, and how she did her best to help him feel better, even when she didn’t fully know what was going on.

However, it didn’t quell his worries over the fact that in the last four days, Akari still hadn’t come to see him.

He fretted that Akari was still upset with him.

————

Akari was upset with herself.

As the days had gone on and she continued working with Volo and Cogita, some…concerning things had started to surface.

Maybe it was due to the fact that Ingo’s words about Volo had clung to the back of her brain, speaking up incessantly to give reason to the things Volo did, or pointing out actions that Ingo had shown concern over, emphasizing them. But something about Volo had seemed to start slipping, and matching up more with Ingo’s views of the man.

He no longer joked with her, or asked how she was doing. He wasn’t mean to her, he never had been - however, it seemed he was simply becoming more fixated on the number of plates she was collecting.

He never asked to see them, or hold them, or anything strange like that; that would have concerned her that maybe he wanted to take them. Instead, he simply began to talk about them constantly with her. So much so, that she thought the word suffocating applied better to Volo.

It hadn’t started like this.

She got plenty scraped up during her different trials in retrieving the plates, as Ingo worried she would. But when she retrieved her first plate, Volo had fretted over the damage she had sustained from the battle, offering her free medicinal balms to apply to the cuts and burns. The first thing he had asked was how she was doing, and if she was alright after such a scuffle. This behavior had reminded her of Ingo, in a way.

…and then he moved on to ask about the plate she had retrieved, and if it was in good condition.

But as she collected more plates, his caring behavior fell to the wayside. The free gifts to help her along began to wane (He had stopped showing up for work at the Ginkgo Guild entirely), and there was no more expected cheerful smalltalk or encouraging words about her skills. Now, it was always about how many plates she had, and asking how soon she thought she would have all of them, or what power she thought they held.

What she thought would happen after she collected all of them.

It was all he talked about anymore.

He actually seemed to be getting impatient for something he was expecting to happen, if she was being honest.

Ingo would not have acted like this with her, dragging her around and insisting she hurry onto the next mission quickly. He would have slowed down if she felt things were moving too fast, and would have checked how she felt about the situation.

Proceed with speed, but not haste, as he would say. A passenger’s comfort is just as important as their safety, he would say.

She missed his presence.

Having initially avoided Ingo out of anger at the start of the week, she now avoided him out of shame whenever she returned back to Jubilife for quick restocks (Which she hadn’t wanted to do, but with Volo’s flow of free gifts having dried up, she was forced for retrieve medicines and bandages for herself and her growing list of injuries back at her unit). Zisu had seen her though, and she was sure the woman had shared this with Ingo. Which in a way, made it harder to imagine facing Ingo now.

How could she possibly talk to him now? The frustration had long since burned away into something more akin to humiliation, and reluctant acceptance…that maybe he had been right, and she had hurt him for no reason.

Something was definitely going on; the thought had sprouted somewhere along this blur of collecting plates.

But now it was clear as day, with Volo leading her up to the crumbled ruins at the top of Mount Coronet. The ruins she had destroyed in her battle with Dialga and Palkia, now left to decay in its damaged state, sharp and jagged as it scraped the heavens.

The seventeen plates she had collected hung heavy in her satchel as she followed behind the man who insisted she bring them all, the setting sun’s bright light reaching over the mountaintops forcing her to squint. Her hand never strayed far from the pokeballs at her side, the atmosphere heavy with suspense as she took Ingo’s earlier words into account.

Would he hurt her?

She had been preparing for it the moment he asked her to follow him up here to this secluded area - the request was rightfully sketchy, when lumped with all of his recent behavior.

But why? What did he want?

“I must apologize, Akari,” Volo broke the heavy silence as he continued up the steps, not even looking back at her as they climbed higher and higher. “I do suppose I must seem to be behaving strangely.”

The admission did nothing to diminish Akari’s concerns. In fact, it only intensified and confirmed them. She said nothing as she reached the top of the steps with him, the wind rushing between the busted remains of the columns before them.

“I daresay you deserve to know what I’m really after by now.”

Volo’s following speech concerning the pursuit of Arceus, and the plates, and how unfair it was that the mighty deity did nothing to reward his efforts was barely processed by Akari. About how he made her follow through with the process of collecting the plates just so he could meet this all-encompassing deity.

She was too focused on replaying Ingo’s warnings in her mind, matching up every concern the warden had voiced with the words Volo had said.

When he pulled out the coveted eighteenth plate from behind his back, going on about using Arceus’ power to create a new, better world, and demanding her to give him the plates lest he use force on her, the static that filled Akari’s mind momentarily dissipated, being replaced with anger.

Now was not the time to freeze up, and let him win.

Ingo had been right about Volo, she finally allowed herself to freely admit. And she had called Ingo paranoid, and wrong, and suffocating for it. She thought back on all of the times Volo had talked distastefully (but subtly) about Ingo; initially feeling like justified assumptions in response to Ingo’s rigidness with him. But now, she recognized them as venomous words meant to pit her against Ingo’s concerns, and doubt any mistrust the warden expressed towards him.

She had fallen into his trap, and it pained her that it took her this long to see things as they were.

Akari would apologize to Ingo the moment she saw him again…if she ever would. She wished he was here right now, up on this lonely, isolated relic of a temple that Volo had dragged her to. So that he could comfort and encourage her like he always did, and so that she could apologize to him immediately.

Seeing the angry, pained look that made its way onto Akari’s face, Volo shook his head.

“You know, I didn’t set out to have things end up like this from the start,” the man told her. “I do like to think we had good relations. I enjoyed helping you, even before I saw that device you had been gifted with, resembling the deity. It was incredibly difficult accepting the growing realization that the all-encompassing Arceus simply favored you.”

He took a step closer to her, his frame towering over hers, but Akari did not back down, already grasping for Ember’s pokeball. Her recently-evolved companion would protect her, the phantasmic Typhlosion’s pokeball already heated with restless, enraged energy.

“Arceus only bestowed his attention upon you. How else could you calm all of the nobles so easily? Or Become such a force with your Pokémon? You collected multiple plates so easily, in a smaller time than it took me to unearth just one. There was a clear favorite, I’d say. So after you closed the rift up here on this mountain, I knew I would have to utilize the only thing they seemed to care about, if I wanted to finally meet them and receive even a fraction of their power. So believe me,”

Volo’s gaze bored into Akari’s soul, the look of a resilient man desperate to reach the goal that he had pursued for so long, now mere inches from his reach with only Akari standing in his way.

“It’s nothing personal, it’s just business.”

————

Passing under Jubilife’s gates and entering the fieldlands, his mind trying to focus on Zisu’s most recent reassurances from the dinner he had just finished with her, Ingo kept his eyes focused on the road in front of him.

It had now been almost a week since he had last talked to Akari. And while he was not one to actively seek out company, he missed her’s. He had not realized how comparatively lonely or detached he had felt here in Hisui, until the day Akari had approached Irida and himself looking for an escort. Now, he was starting to remember what it felt like.

He had continued to miss her when he came for his shifts at the training grounds, and had twice seen her passing through the gates from his station at the training grounds, but he stood firm on his decision to let her approach him first. Give her time.

Do not suffocate her.

His eyes drifted to the direction where he knew that secluded, mysterious woman lived, on the other side of Mount Coronet. Where Volo had taken Akari- no, where Akari had gone with Volo. She chose to go, he hadn’t forced her. He needed to let go of such a paranoid narrative. She was fine-

However, he was quick to notice a vibrant red glow up at the top of Mount Coronet from the corner of his vision. Obscured by clouds rolling in, and dimmed in contrast to the setting sun’s own light, he had almost missed it.

The slight tremors that ran under his feet a moment later made Ingo pause reflexively, but bursts of vibrant purple accompanying the steady red glow set a fire under him.

Flames of that hue only belonged to one Pokémon he knew, here in Hisui. It was impossible to forget them after seeing them flare to life, the day he had congratulated Akari for taking her beloved companion to its final stop on the tracks of evolution.

Ingo’s legs almost gave out from under him as he took off through the tallgrass, deviating from the beaten path in the direction of the mountain as he pulled out his flute to urgently call Lady Sneasler.

————

Akari wobbled as she tried to make her way to the edge of the temple, nearing the steps leading down the mountain, the badly-beaten (but triumphant) Ember resting within her pokeball, along with the rest of her team. Blood trickled freely from nasty cuts and scrapes where it didn't pool under the skin to form sensitive bruises, but her attention rested solely with the chipped, scuffed purple plate in her unsteady hands.

Volo was long gone, having left in apparent shame, and leaving that last plate behind. That thing was long gone, having torn the atmosphere open like a wound and writhing through it like the leech it was, once its symbiotic host had fled. The sun was long gone, leaving stars in its wake as the waning warmth of the day died with the light.

She had fought them both back, even being at a disadvantage - even being deliberately put at a disadvantage. The fresh events were already a blur, despite their culmination being no older than half an hour.

Everything had long left the razed ruins on top of that lonely mountain, except for her. She had lingered amongst the rubble until she realized it was dark, and the temperature was quite literally freezing, with the wind picking up and a light snowfall starting; she would need to leave soon unless she wanted to succumb to the cold up here.

But making her way down the steps was hard. She could have tried to convince herself that it was all of the pain from her injuries slowing her down. But realistically, it was hot, burning shame that chained her to this ruined temple.

How could she go back? More specifically, how could she face Ingo?

After those awful things she had said to him? Gone were the desperate wishes she had earlier, wanting him to be by her side so she could apologize to him. Those had evolved into a nauseating realization that told her she had irreparably damaged her relationship with someone who cared very much about her. Why would he want her around?

He had been right, and she had hurt him for it, and told him he was wrong.

Akari only made it down a few more steps before she crumpled, putting her aching head into her bloody hands as she sat down and slumped forward on the stone staircase.

Why did she do that? Why did she let Volo manipulate her like that?

As she pulled out the sickly purple plate Volo had left behind to inspect it, the drifting snowfall clung to her hair and stung her open wounds. The sharp edges of the plate dug into the sore flesh of her hands with how tightly she was holding it.

She dreaded the possible thoughts he had about her now.

“Akari-!”

Akari’s attention snapped back to reality, to the familiar voice that called her name over the gentle snowstorm.

That voice belonged to the man she had once called paranoid, now full of justified worry.

Through tear-obscured, blurry vision, she spotted Ingo, the man she had once called suffocating, now heaving to catch his breath as he pushed himself to keep going up the temple’s steps.

“Akari-!” He repeated again, finally reaching her. His hands were shaking, both from overexertion and the surge of excess adrenaline, as he dropped down on the steps to check over her. Akari’s tremors mirrored his, though hers were caused by prolonged cold and intense grief.

“I saw the- the…a red light- and shaking, and…are you alright? You’re bleeding! What…what did he do-?”

He was terribly wheezy, drowning in his own gasps for air, yet all he wanted was to know if she was alright.

He had come for her. The love, the care, and the compassion were all still there, just like always. After everything she had said to him, and after disregarding his warnings, and going off to do something he asked her not to do, leaving him behind…

There was driven concern in his voice as he used it to try and confirm she was alright, instead of harshly admonishing her or saying ‘I told you so’. There was warmth in the rough hands that tried to clean the blood from the fresh cuts on her cold cheek, numb from the frigid mountain atmosphere. And there was comfort in his presence instead of contempt, like there always had been.

Tears spilled anew over Akari’s cheeks as he checked over her face, still fretting over the bleeding cuts and signs of forming bruises that overlapped over older injuries sustained over the week.

“-I apologize, I know- give you s-space, but I could not- where…where is he? Is he still here-?” With anger seeping into his voice, and rough hands moving to her shoulders to brace her, Ingo’s worried ramble switched to other safety checks. The chipped plate in her hands led Ingo to assume Akari had overpowered the man (which ran a passing swell of pride through his chest), but that didn’t mean the merchant was gone. Ingo quickly glanced around the vicinity of the ruins for any sign of the merchant. If he was still around, Ingo wanted to get them both out of there quickly. He was not a violent man, but after finding Akari in such a state, he was not sure what he would say or do to Volo if he saw him. Lucky for everyone, he seemed to be long gone.

“You’re sorry? Ingo…I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!” Ingo’s questions went unanswered as Akari choked through her throat, words bottlenecked by the emotions squeezing it as she leaned forward to grasp for him. She buried herself into his tunic, her head pressed against his shoulder as hands grasped at the layers of fabric around him. The words came out almost automatically, taking the chance to follow through with the silent promise she had made. “I really messed up!”

“Miss Akari-” Ingo stiffened at the contact so as not to be pulled off balance; his legs still felt like jelly after running up all of those steps, and leaning on crumbled stairs was not the most stable position to begin with. Though, receiving a hug from her after such a long period of stark avoidance made his voice stammer with a spark of emotion.

“You were right about him!” Akari sobbed, her voice muffled as hands pulled his tunic close to her, tugging him closer - she could feel his chest still heaving, and his heart still racing. “Volo- he, he tried-“

“You didn’t know.” Ingo tried to justify the situation, short sentences between breaths that were finally starting to regulate. She felt his arms finally wrap around her and hold her back - he had been hesitating before, unsure if she wanted it at this moment until she initiated it. “No one knew, or even suspected, what he was doing. You did not know, and no one should expect you to have known.”

You are just a kid, Ingo thought, leaving it unsaid. But one who always tries to see the best in people.

“But you did!” Akari continued sobbing into his tunic; why was he being so humble? “You knew! And you tried to tell me! And I just- I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean what I said! You’re not overbearing, or, or paranoid, I don’t know why I said those things, you’re not-”

That was all she could get out before her throat closed up again, and she retreated back into his tunic, curling up to further escape the cold.

Ingo’s heart ached at the display, both out of empathy for her, and the tired relief that filled in the cracks at her remorseful exclamation. She was still just a teenager, and he knew he had upset her at the time. He had known not to take hurtful words to heart in moments of frustration, but…having jabbed at pre-existing insecurities of his, they had still left a hollow, admittedly.

But the hollow would mend. It already was, with Akari’s apology. But she was clearly still torn up about things, and was beating herself up far more than he wanted to see. She had already been deeply hurt by someone who used her. Why would he turn around and add to that?

“I know your words were not…reflective of what you felt,” Ingo sniffed, disregarding the uncomfortable wet spot that began to seep into his tunic from Akari’s own tears. He didn’t even entertain the thought of how much blood she was probably smearing onto the white fabric, and he ignored the way that the sharp plate in one of her hands awkwardly dug into his belly. “You were upset. At that time, what I said went against what appeared to be true, and I could not even back up my claims. And, I apologize for being…suffocating. About it. Regardless, I should not have tried to make your choices for you. I will do better. So, given the circumstances, it is…”

He stopped himself from finishing his go-to sentence of reassurance. If he said ‘alright’, surely she would feel inclined to disagree again and start up another string of disputes, and he didn’t want to inadvertently make things worse.

“...understandable.”

Akari sniffed, and he felt her nod agreeably against his chest, taking a deep breath to reset herself.

“Stop, you’re not suffocating. You never were…I’m really glad you came.” Her voice muffled into the fabric again, the weariness apparent. She wiped at her eyes with the back of sleeve as she finally pulled away, the flow of tears finally slowing. “But I’m still…really, really sorry.”

She finally set the plate down beside her, having held onto it so tight it left red imprints in her frozen fingers, and reached up to gently wrap her arms around Ingo’s neck in a proper hug.

“Thank you for coming for me, after…everything.” She muttered into his shoulder.

“I’m only sorry I was not here sooner to help you,” Ingo replied, carefully wrapping his arms back around her, so as not to irritate any possible injuries across her back that would be hidden under her uniform. His eyes fell onto the plate she had set down. “Though I am not surprised to see you took care of it yourself. You’ve always been able to handle anything that’s come at you; bravo, Miss Akari.”

The warm breath from Akari’s soft, weary laughter tickled against his neck; he had no idea how much she had missed his expected phrases, or how much his encouragement meant to her - especially one that directly contradicted what she assumed he had thought about her the week before..

Though Ingo could also feel her shivering against him amongst the soft laughter; Akari felt a warm weight drape over her shoulders as he pulled back, removing his weathered coat and wrapping it around her. It instantly protected her against some of the weaker winds and snowfall, and was already warm from absorbing Ingo’s own body temperature.

It comforted her almost as much as the firm hand that patted her shoulder.

“Now, we should depart before both of our engines freeze up here. Lady Sneasler is waiting below, let us return to her. We need to get you back to Jubilife and warm you up,” He helped her stand up, keeping her steady as he led her down the steps with him. She leaned against his side, clutching his coat tightly around herself as they left the crumbled remains of the temple behind them. “I will make us both some tea, and tend to your scrapes as best I can, until Miss Pesselle is able to see you…if that is alright of course, Miss Akari.”

Even now, he only wanted to help her, trying to put everything painful that had happened behind him. He still loved her as much as a parent could possibly love their child, and the sheer amount of concern he held almost made her cry again. She winced at the way Ingo paused at the end and asked for confirmation, now seemingly conscious as to whether he was being ‘suffocating’ again or not.

But she would make sure she’d always reassure him that she appreciated everything he did for her. Never again did she think she could even possibly find it suffocating. He had always had her best interest in mind, and was always looking out for her. She would look out for him too.

“Yes,” She held onto his arm for support as they continued to trudge down the steep steps together. “…Thank you, Ingo.”

[waywardstation]

Loosen Up

Akari uses one of Ingo’s weaknesses against him in order to get him to go to the Wallflower with her.

Another drabble I wrote yesterday. I used six prompts for this one; four asking for more of Ingo smiling/being tickled (you all really want this man to smile haha), and two asking for more Zisu.

Might be my last drabble for a little bit, cause now I’m focusing on art for chapters 3 and 4 of HFBE!

OR read it here on AO3!

Enjoy!

————

“Come on, Ingo! Zisu’s fine with cleaning up on her own! Right Zisu?”

The tall captain barked a laugh at Akari’s straightforwardness; she wasn’t offended by it. She put her hands on her hips, a big smile on her face as she glanced over at Akari and Ingo.

“Of course I’m fine with it!” Zisu went along with it. “Look Ingo, Akari really wants you to go! I won’t tell Kamado that you left half an hour early; no one’s even been here for the past hour anyways. Loosen up a little and go enjoy some time with Akari, it’s fine!”

She motioned to the sunset-washed training grounds of the dojo, just as empty as it had been for the last hour. The familiar flock of starly that always circled overhead at this time trilled in the distant sky, flying among the orange-tinted clouds.

“I do appreciate the gesture Miss Zisu, but I feel I would be errant if I departed from my post earlier than scheduled.” Ingo held his ground. “And Miss Akari, I would love to accompany you to The Wallflower, but if you could simply wait another half-hour-“

“-We don’t have to wait half an hour though!” Akari interjected, tugging on one of the sleeves of his tattered coat, half joking, half genuinely attempting to get him to cave. “Come on, The Wallflower’s right there! Like Zisu said, no one’s coming, and Kamado won’t know!”

Ingo simply shook his head, allowing her to continue pulling on his sleeve. It was no use, she could not budge the larger warden. Moving behind him and pushing against his back had the same outcome, with Ingo just standing there and letting her try her best.

“One should wait at their platform to help board any later passengers, even if the station seems empty.” Ingo stood stiff as he raised one arm in admonishment, attempting to appear as unmoved as his words, while Akari still pushed against his back in vain. “I insist on maintaining a good work ethic; I will not depart from my platform until my designated shift has ended, lest Kamado stop by and notice I am missING-!”

The finger that suddenly jabbed into Ingo’s side caught him completely off-guard, cutting his lengthy speech off with an odd noise as he reflexively jolted at the sensation. Quickly, Ingo looked over his shoulder, turning to the side to see Akari standing there, the offending finger still held out, and a mischievous grin on her face.

“Hey! That did something!” The excitement in Akari’s voice told Ingo this would most certainly be his undoing. Off to the side, Zisu was already laughing.

Ever since Akari had discovered that the warden was rather reactive to tickling, she found it amusing to pester him with it, though thankfully it was not relentless. But still, Ingo was not fond of how easily he reacted to it - especially in situations like this, it only ever encouraged Akari to continue such pestering.

“Miss Akari, please, do not resort to this-” Ingo preemptively reached out to defend from the dangerous fingers extending towards him again, but he was not quick enough. “It will not wORk!”

Another jab into his side proved his statement wrong before he could even finish it, and Ingo’s voice jumped as he winced back a snort, an involuntary smile tugging at his frown. But this time, Akari followed him as he pulled away, relentlessly poking above his belt to try and nudge him in the direction of the training ground’s exit.

“Come on! I’ll stop when you come with me to The Wallflower!” Akari told him over his awkward, poorly-stifled snickering.

“Yeah! Come on Ingo!” Zisu’s voice joined in off to his side, and to Ingo’s absolute horror, another, stronger set of hands started tickling him.

Betrayed! They were ganging up on him!

The situation quickly jumped from tolerable to unbearable - while Akari just stuck to incessant (but relatively tame) poking, Zisu was much more vicious and unforgiving, and Ingo’s awkward sounds quickly collapsed into laughter.

This was hopeless, and absolutely not worth it.

“Ok, OK-!” Ingo choked on his own words in his desperation, trying to shield his torso from all of the invading hands - his thick coat protected him from the cold well enough, but it didn’t much dull these sensations on its own. “I will go! Please cease-!”

“Yes!” Akari cheered, immediately pulling away from him to throw her fists up in a celebratory display. “Finally!”

Ingo heaved a tired sigh, slouching forward to regain his breath.

“…surely, there are better ways to handle such conflicts of interest.” He lamented.

“Well, I bet none of them get you to change your mind as quickly as this!” Zisu joked, pulling him up and hooking an arm around his shoulder to support him. Ingo pulled the brim of his crooked cap over his face to hide his embarrassed tint, not really able to argue against that.

“Now come on! Let’s hurry before Kamado looks out his window and sees you leaving!” Akari grasped Ingo’s hand and once again started tugging him towards the training ground’s exit. This time, he didn’t resist. “His window’s open, I think he heard you yelling!”

[waywardstation]

I'm still in love with the idea of both Akari and Irida getting to know how highly he truly thinks of them in the Train of Thoughts AU.

That earlier ask went into depth with Irida's side and how much he respects her and feels indebted and grateful towards the Clan.

I also think Akari has a fair share of surprise waiting for her. No bitter feelings for her brushing off his warnings towards Volo (pretty sure this is AFTER Volo's betrayal and after fulfilling Arceus request) Also a fair share of protective and parental feelings. Gratefulness towards every battle, her looking out for him and him teaching her a few things. Also parental pride in her accomplishments but also worry about her sometimes slight recklessness.

I can also feel like in both cases MG!Emmet will summarize everything in a single comment. (Proving also MG!Emmet's feelings because knowing how important these people are he's also willing to risk everything to keep them save!)

In regards to this ask

You know Anon I am too ;v; I LOVE THIS

Ingo is a verbose person and often expresses gratitude, but not even that can get the point across as thoroughly as actually getting into his mindscape, and feeling/experiencing his thoughts on these situations and memories.

Her argument with Ingo is something Akari is still haunted by; she hated how she actually said those things to him and technically put Volo above him. (This would be set after all of what happened with Volo and Arceus, so yes!)

She is worried it hangs in Ingo’s mind the same way it does with her. And indeed, it is there. But when she enters the traincar (they HAVE to at some point), she is surprised to find the associated feelings towards the event aren’t anger or bitterness (if anything, it’s worry that maybe he did overstep). In fact, that’s not even the focus of the event stored away. Most of the traincar’s memory is about how overjoyed he was to have her back in his arms alive, and how her apologies to him were certainly relieving, but excessive; he knew she was sorry. And he did feel anger then, but mostly with himself for actually giving her space and letting her go off with Volo. He was not upset with her.

And her realizing just how extensive his parental feelings are ;~; she is touched by how often memories pass by with thoughts of how proud he is of her, and how grateful he is that she tries to look out for him too (she was worried sometimes that he might not appreciate a kid doing all of this stuff for him, even though he assured her he did. Words are one thing, genuine feelings are another). And even how he thinks about how things were in Hisui before she came to him looking for a highlands escort; he was rather lonely and unsure of who he even was before, in comparison.

And about MG Emmet, him summing everything up in a single comment is great haha. It’s always only a single comment at a time, but he always expresses everything perfectly. MG Emmet would care just as much as Ingo does. MG Emmet is an extension of Ingo’s mind, and after regulating all of his thoughts and memories, he knows better than almost anyone (besides Ingo!) just how much they matter to him!