#bell fic

Emmet paused in the middle of an ornately caved wooden bridge, one of the many that connected the various buildings of the place he now called home, lifting a hand to greet the small, pure white swablu that landed on the hand rail. It had been quite a shock the first time he saw one; Emmet hadn't even known they could be any colors other than blue or the rare golden ones. But there were easily at least ten pure white swablu that called the clouds that crowned the mountain tops here home. And, he'd learned, they had a very important mission. They delivered delicate scrolls written in shimmering ink, swirling script expressing the wishes of the people that were under his care.

He supposed that was the only part of the ritual that had gotten it somewhat right. Unexpectedly, he'd been given the ability to fulfill some wishes, instead of merely carrying them to the Black Dragon.

And that was just it, he thought. The ritual had made him believe he was to be consumed, an unwilling and powerless participant who'd been offered as a sacrifice for the prosperity of others. But instead, he was being given a great duty. Yes, he'd been told that he should be proud, that he was being bestowed a great honor. But an honor and a duty were two different things - he could be in control of his duty. His duty could *be* an honor.

After he accepted the scroll, the swablu fluttered off to go about whatever business it had. Emmet was sure they did things other than simply deliver him scrolls. Though, he did wonder if they were writing the wishes down? Or perhaps the words appeared magically, and the swablu were simply tasked to bring them to Emmet. Either way, he tucked the missive into the large flowing sleeve of his hanfu.

When he'd been sent up here, the clothing had felt almost stifling, hiding him behind glitter and sparkling jewels. He felt overwhelmed with all the layers of clothing, unable to feel comfortable in his movements, and with the ever present urge to hike up his sleeves or shrug the upper part of the garment off in its entirety. But the outfits he wore on a daily basis were somehow the complete opposite of that. Sure, the sleeves were long and flowy, and he could definitely feel the layers, but it was like night and day. Perhaps it was because the clothing was made for him in mind, instead of a broad sweeping idea of what would make a good bride.

Actually, for being the Bride, he'd seen suspiciously little of the Dragon in the few months he'd been here. He expected to be eaten right away, or absorbed some other way, or even struck down with unimaginable powers. Instead, he'd been greeted, swept off his feet by the reserved and somewhat mysterious man who called himself the dragon, and then mostly left to his studies.

Yes, studies! Endless scrolls of poetry from scholars long forgotten by humans, manuals by esteemed generals, even a few songs composed by some king he'd never heard of from a prosperous kingdom he had. There were other people who lived in these buildings up in the clouds, but they felt more akin to tutors and attendants than deities like the Dragon. They didn't speak to him much, except for the lessons they were teaching him, and did not linger once those lessons were finished for the day.

Only one bothered to chat with him, a young man whose eyes were covered by a very nearly sheer cloth, but he never told Emmet his name. The little bit of conversation that Emmet was afforded mostly focused on how excited the others here were that he was 'finally here'. It created more questions than it answered, but Emmet supposed he was happy that people were glad he was there?

"Happy, huh?" Emmet thought out loud as he continued crossing the bridge. Faint pink gathered on his cheeks as he thought about the last time he'd run into the Dragon. Well, he kept calling him The Dragon, but in reality he'd been given his name: Nobori. Anyway, the last time he met with Nobori, the man draped in entirely black and silver had called him "my beloved."

That sort of thing shouldn't have effected Emmet at all! It was the sort of thing that girls in his village gossiped and giggled over, dreaming of a noble that would come and sweep them away to a life of glamor. Or the young men that sighed and waxed poetic about elegant wives that they would sweet talk every day. But Emmet had never felt that strange fluttering in his stomach when he overheard the others in his village talking about it. Why now?

It was probably the fond warmth in Nobori's expression and voice when he said it.

Even thinking of it now made him flustered and nervous, and that was with barely seeing him. Supposedly, once Emmet finished his studies to a satisfactory level, he would begin to learn 'special' things from Nobori. Absolutely no context clues had been given, as he'd been told such a thing from one of the more expressionless attendants here. If the one person who spoke to him was any indication, though, the others might open up more if he proved himself to be worthy of their time and attention.

Which, frankly speaking, was okay with Emmet. He wanted to stand on his own, and show them that he could be trusted with this duty. Whatever it might entail, that is. He only knew of being entrusted with the wishes of the people, but even if there was more than that! He would serve his duty with his full abilities, and be proud of the job he was doing.

However, Emmet's eyebrows had knit together in frustration as he stood before the mirror. Giving his twin a quick up-and-down glance, he couldn't figure out what the trouble was. It was mostly white, which Emmet usually liked. Ingo was confident he'd selected the correct size, further encouraged by how nicely it hung on Emmet's shoulders. In fact, Ingo was certain he'd been staring appreciatively at how good his twin looked for much longer than was seen as appropriate in public.

Realizing this, Ingo flicked his eyes back to Emmet's displeased expression, which had only deepened as he continued to stare at the mirror. "Is the size not correct? Or perhaps the fabric is uncomfortable?" Perhaps Emmet considered the cut of this shirt to need different sizes, or the insides itched terribly at his skin. There weren't many other reasons he could think of to cause such a concern.

"No. This!" Emmet made a short chopping motion in front of himself, palm towards his body, and then as if to toss his disdain made a similarly brief flip of his hand to the mirror.

Ingo's eyes slid to the mirror, which seemed without blemish. it was straight and clear, and didn't warp or distort Emmet's reflection. The lighting in the store wasn't the best, but it was surely better than in the dressing room. It would never match the sun on the beach they were planning to wear it to. So, even if it looked a bit off here, the sunlight would banish any perceived imperfections.

Aside from all that, Ingo thought Emmet looked very handsome even in the mirror.

Before Ingo could ask what his twin meant, Emmet huffed in annoyance. It was hard to tell if the annoyance was at him, or the situation Emmet found himself in until his twin continued. "It makes it too obvious!" A hesitation and then, "Our bodies. They're too different. And these clothes just highlight it."

Realization swept over Ingo in waves. When he'd first returned from Hisui, he'd found their uniform style had changed slightly. Emmet introduced a structured vest into their uniform along with adjusting where the flare of their coat started. It was very crisp, and gave off the impression of an established gentleman! Of course Ingo found it to be an excellent improvement and immediately got a matching uniform tailored. It had never occurred to him that it was Emmet attempting to retain something he felt he had lost.

As Emmet grew older, of course his body had changed. But, Ingo had returned much the same, if a bit more physically fit than when he'd left. With the structure of the uniform, their physical differences were less obvious, especially when they did their signature stances and points. People still asked for photos of them, people still cheerfully greeted them both, people still complimented how cool their Subway Master uniforms were. There had not been a single word about them looking slightly different (and Ingo had even checked online, though he would likely never tell Emmet about that...)

Being given too much silence after his statement, Emmet huffed again and unbuttoned the shirt, his chest and stomach revealing themselves. Locking his eyes with his reflection, he frowned again. "This is worse." Ingo heartily disagreed in his head, the words to do so caught in his throat as he became momentarily distracted by the sight. When he pulled his gaze up, though, angry tears had begun to collect in Emmet's eyes, frustrated at the thoughts in his own head.

Before the tears could begin their fall down Emmet's cheeks, Ingo stepped around him, opened the dressing room door, and tugged Emmet inside with him. He silenced Emmet's surprise with a kiss, which his twin melted into.

After letting the kiss linger for a brief but sweet moment, Ingo pulled back only to then slip his arms into Emmet's open shirt. Emmet prickled just slightly at the tickling sensation of Ingo's fingers as they slid around him to wrap entirely around his torso. They were still the same height, more or less, so Ingo couldn't rest his head tucked into the crook of Emmet's neck like he would have preferred, so he just pulled his twin against him. Without hesitating, Emmet also wrapped his arms around Ingo, closer to his shoulders.

Ingo vaguely wished he'd already been in the matching outfit already. But, it probably would have riled him up too much, pressed bare chested against his brother in the dressing room after kissing him. Maybe they could do it on their vacation, if Emmet was willing to get these outfits. Then again, they could do it with any of their button up shirts at any time...

"I think you look wonderful, Emmet. No, more than wonderful." Emmet pulled back slightly to see his face, but not enough to remove Ingo's arms from around him. Ingo could see Emmet's eyes flick all over his face, searching his expression for sincerity. Of course Emmet would see that, but then he would also see the mischief as it spread across Ingo's face. "Though, I do wonder why you're worried what others think of your body. Only my eyes should be on you. I don't want to see someone else caressing you with their eyes long enough to see any differences."

Emmet's cheeks lit up red, and he dipped his head to put his forehead on Ingo's shoulder. "Nii-san!" His arms tightened around Ingo, pulling a chuckle out of him. His younger (older) brother was too cute. Even now, he was easy to tease and absolutely precious for it.

"I mean it! We do not have to get these outfits if they truly make you uncomfortable, but I would like to get something nice and new to wear for our vacation. It will be quite warm there, so we need lighter clothes!" Finally releasing each other, Ingo nodded as he made his case for the clothes. Emmet was cute, he could hopefully look cute for Emmet. It would be a win-win in his mind. "Now then! Let me convince you of my case by trying the outfit on myself. You can see what I mean when I speak about the appeal of you in this bravo shirt and shorts combo!"

They were currently stuck in their uncle's walk-in closet, having wandered inside out of curiosity. It had been a few months since they moved in with Drayden after their parents' passing, and they were still finding interesting things around his house. When they'd proven themselves responsible, Drayden decided they were able to be left to their own devices when he went off to meetings.

"Aw, it's okay Nii-san. Uncle will be home soon and he'll get us out."

The crushing realization that upon finding them, this would ruin Drayden's good opinion of them burst to the forefront of Ingo's thoughts and he firmed his mouth to not groan in despair. What if their uncle would now think they were rapscallions? Troublemakers! Ne'er-do-wells? He might not let them go out on their pokémon journey. He might revoke their permissions to go around town without escorts. He might want them to leave lest they tarnish his own excellent reputation. It was too much to bear, and he couldn't hold back on a small "augh..." as he sunk to the floor on his hands and knees.

Emmet just laughed at what was surely his gloomy expression and spun on his heel to admire himself in the mirror. He wiggled his hips from side to side, turned this way and that, stuck his arm out in a point. At no point did he try to roll the sleeves up (the way Drayden actually seemed to wear all his shirts and jackets), letting the overly long end continue to flap.

"Nii-san you should enjoy our closet adventure. Uncle has verrrry cool clothes. Maybe he has hidden treasures."

Ingo's head perked up, instantly pulling him out of his dramatics. "Treasures?"

Emmet turned back around, hands out slightly from his sides. "Yeah! Uncle has cool stuff in the rest of his house! why not in here? We should search!" He all but marched over to the side of the closet, hands on his hips. "Hm! Hm! Hm!" he said as he leaned forward to mimic searching. Then he popped back up and returned to facing Ingo. "Like that!"

Well, Ingo wanted to point out that it wasn't exactly good searching without using your arms, but he supposed embracing their inability to get out by doing what they came to do wasn't a bad idea. It could help distract him from his worried thoughts, and clear his head to figure out how to get the door open. And maybe they could manage it before their uncle got home, and he would be none the wiser. Though, he would probably feel too guilty to not tell their uncle.

With that in mind, he stood up and joined his brother in actually searching. Emmet tried to search properly with the sleeves over his hands, but gave up after a few minutes. He put the coat back on the hanger he'd tugged it from, and instead put on a bolo tie with a large gem on it. The tie strings came down almost to his belt but it didn't seem to deter him from searching.

They poked around the closet together for some time without finding anything that would qualify as treasure. In fact, for Ingo, this was probably the most uninteresting part of their uncle's entire house. As they were deciding if a secret hatch could be found behind all the clothing, the handle of the closet rattled and a firm pull tugged it open.

"Well now, here's where you boys got off to!" Drayden said with surprise but no obvious anger.

"Uncle!" Ingo said in unison with Emmet, though his twin sounded more cheerful than his own surprise.

As they scampered over to Drayden, he patted their heads affectionately. "Were you stuck in here? I should have warned you that the door can be difficult to open this time of year."

"It's okay, Uncle! I am Emmet. I was having an adventure with Nii-san."

Ingo straightened up, waiting for a lecture. But it never came.

"I see. Did you find anything exciting on your adventure?"

"No!" Emmet said bluntly. "There was no treasure in here at all!"

"Treasure, hm?" Drayden scratched at his beard with the hand that had previously been on Emmet's head. "Perhaps I have something that might fulfill your wish for treasure."

"Yippee!" Emmet threw his hands up and bounced from foot to foot with barely contained eagerness. "Let's go get it right away." Stepping around Drayden, Emmet ran off into the rest of the house, despite not even knowing what Drayden had for them, or where he had it. They had no choice but to follow Ingo's excitable twin, and Drayden instructed them to sit on the couch.

Emmet bounced eagerly as he sat, kicking his legs. When Drayden returned, he sat between them with a large book which, upon opening, turned out to be a photo album. It was filled to the brim with all sorts of photos of their uncle when he was a young man and of people he knew. And then, of course, photos of their mother as a child, no older than they were now. They flipped through the pages, watching their mother as she grew older, getting details that only Drayden could know until they came upon photos of themselves.

It seems their parents had always dressed them slightly differently, so there was no difficulty identifying who was who. Though, Ingo knew that he could always recognize Emmet, just as Emmet would always recognize him. That was the bond they had, and Ingo hoped it would continue forever.

"He's been a bit spacey, yeah. It's like he didn't get enough sleep or something."

"Usually, he's running circles around me when we clean the office together. But today, he just kept stopping."

"It could be because they have the Mayor coming-"

Ingo passed by them both with a wave, returning their nods of acknowledgment. He'd caught all he needed to hear so he stopped listening once they began making their guesses. It was unlikely that they would have the insight to truly determine what was causing Emmet to "act off" as they called it. But the fact that they had noticed any issue with Emmet was quite troubling. The issue they described did not sound as though they had realized the truth, but it was enough of a deviation from Emmet's normal pattern that it had caught their attention.

Reviewing their schedules, they were still the same as this morning. No extra challengers had made last minute reservations to battle them, and the trains were all running as scheduled. That meant there was free time in Emmet's schedule and he hadn't come looking for Ingo. It wouldn't have been difficult to find him; Ingo always followed the schedule very strictly, and he had just finished up his audit of the security systems in the surveillance room. That alone added a great deal of weight to what Jacky and Cameron had been saying.

Something must be wrong with Emmet.

It was important to stay calm in moments of concern, so Ingo stopped walking. Without thinking, he'd headed to the hallway that held their office and the staff rooms, so perhaps that was the best place to look. It wasn't often that he acted on impulse or instinct, but this time it came in handy.

Reaching out to press down the handle, it lowered before his fingers managed to touch it, and the door opened to reveal Emmet. His perpetual smile had not dimmed, but his eyes were half closed. It really did look as though he was on the brink of falling asleep. In passing, Ingo thought the expression would be cute if it didn't raise such concern for the cause.

"Hi Nii-san," Emmet said, voice pitched lower than usual. He shut his eyes completely to soften his smile. "Is your audit done? I am happy you are here. I feel sleepy. I am Emmet."

Ingo lifted an eyebrow slightly. Along with the lower pitch, he spoke slower. Truly, Emmet acted like someone who had not gotten enough sleep the night before, and perhaps had just been woken up from a nap. But, there was no reason for Emmet to "feel sleepy." He recharged his battery every night when Ingo slept, sometimes even heading to his charging station before Ingo went to bed. And, just for good measure, Ingo checked his charge before they left for work each day. It had become an intimate little ritual between them, like straightening a husband's tie before he went to work. He was one hundred percent certain he'd verified Emmet's charge level was maxed out before they left.

"Sleepy, are you?" When Emmet nodded, Ingo guided him back into the office. "Whatever could you be doing today when I'm not around?" To anyone else, it would have sounded like a pure chastisement. But Emmet knew there was so much fondness in the tone and his giggle proved it.

"Not joltiks this time!" he chirped, though it sounded almost laced with a yawn.

Ingo made a considering 'hm' as he stepped over to his desk that encouraged Emmet to continue. Being unprepared was against his personal rules, so of course he had something for this situation.

"A passenger had a dedenne with them today. The sounds of the station were too exciting. My energy got eaten." Emmet recounted his time away from Ingo with a laugh. The image of Emmet with a nervous dedenne burrowed into his arms slipped into Ingo's mind, followed by a more fanciful vision of the dedenne sitting atop his hat pulled out a chuckle. Emmet took the chuckle as further encouragement and he plopped down onto the couch to continue his story. "I learned that dedenne can eat energy without touching your battery. It tickled."

"You should be more careful with letting your energy be eaten, Emmet. It would have drawn a lot of attention if your battery had been drained too much and you 'fell asleep' somewhere." Emmet kicked his feet on the couch but did not answer. He was probably taking in Ingo's words and processing them. Still, Ingo wanted to be sure that Emmet didn't think he was mad.

So, once he found the emergency charger he'd hid in his desk, he brought it over to Emmet and sat down next to him. "The agents were worried you weren't getting enough sleep." A pause, then he continued, softer, "I worried that your battery had faulted."

"Sorry, Nii-san," Emmet said as he held the charger. Ingo gently attached the wires to the appropriate spots, and a little jolt ran through Emmet. The charger was a bit more crude than his normal charging station, but it would have to do for now.

Ingo placed his gloved hand against Emmet's cheek and rubbed his thumb against the false skin there. "No need to apologize. Next time, let me know earlier so I can help you." Dropping his hand, he scooted closer to Emmet and leaned against him so their shoulders were pressed against each other. "I want to be sure you're feeling your best at all times."

Emmet's smile felt brighter then, and his voice already sounded stronger. "Okay Nii-san! I will!" His chirp was more natural, less slowed down.

Although he'd told himself to remain calm, Ingo was also starting to feel a bit drained. Perhaps he'd worked himself up a bit more than he'd like to admit. It seemed he also 'felt sleepy.'

"May I join you for this nap, Emmet?"

That being said, there were definitely things in which he had a fairly high level of confidence. Now that he was back, he was confident that soba was a favorite food of his. He was confident that Chandelure was his first and best pokémon partner. He was confident that he loved to wear black and that it wasn't just a fluke he happened to arrive in Hisui that way. Nimbasa City was his home, certainly, and completely losing the feeling of being homesick proved that.

As a more current and pressing example, he was fairly certain that Emmet never used to stare quite so intently at him.

At first, he thought it a mirror of his own longing, for he also graced Emmet with lingering glances as they went about their day to day life together. He wished only to carve Emmet's expressions, motions and habits back into his memory, deeper than even before, so that he could never lose them again. Emmet was also quite cute, which only further encouraged Ingo to look his way.

But he understood now why some people had said his own stares had been unnerving. The expression was so far removed from all the other expressions that Emmet had given him upon his return. It held wariness, distrust, and hesitation. Sometimes, he would catch Emmet staring and even after being noticed, his twin would often let the stare linger until Ingo said something to break the silence. In those moments, those almost as if glowing reflective silver eyes would pin him in place, slowly raking over his face and body. Perhaps he was looking for something, but in those moments, Emmet felt far away in a place Ingo wasn't sure he could reach.

There were patterns to this behavior, though Ingo was still trying to figure out exactly why it manifested specifically as those patterns.

Firstly, it happened whenever Ingo got up without waking Emmet, doubly so if he took it upon himself to make breakfast. That was easy enough to figure out; Emmet feared that once again he had disappeared. Ingo wasn't exactly certain why him making breakfast exacerbated it instead of comforting Emmet when he heard the sounds from the kitchen. But it was mostly easy to remedy - if Ingo woke up before Emmet, he either went back to sleep or held his twin until they were both awake.

Secondly, there were times where Emmet would start to trail behind him on their walk home. When Emmet stopped varied, but he must have been measuring somehow, as Ingo would usually end up stopping under a streetlight, fully illuminated and casting a shadow. This was when Emmet responded the quickest to Ingo calling out to him, and more immediately returning to his good cheer. Ingo wasn't sure how to combat this other than to try and notice sooner that Emmet was starting to slow down. Perhaps he could risk holding Emmet's hand in public.

The third most frequent pattern was the one that Ingo couldn't find a solution to. Sometimes, the train schedule would allow their separate trains to stop next to each other. When Ingo first noticed this, it brightened his day and he resolved to always make eye contact with Emmet whenever it happened. He learned the timing of the stops, and made sure to always be watching out the correct window. Stopped at the main terminal, where they first got on, Emmet would always wave cheerfully, smile like the sun. But if they passed or stopped in any other place, Emmet just watched him, regardless of what gesture Ingo gave him.

If Ingo hadn't experienced that intent stare at other times, in other places, he might have thought it was the work of a zorua or other such trickster pokémon. In a moment of weakness, during a night where Emmet had stared at him from the train and on their walk home, Ingo had doubted that he'd returned home at all. The thought crossed his mind that maybe this homecoming had been the illusions of a particularly furious zoroark drawing him into a blizzard with something he desperately wished for.

But that idea melted away when Emmet returned to normal once they got home, happily making dinner with him, and then cuddling on the couch. It had still given him enough emotional whiplash to begin pondering the whole occurrence, but he stopped worrying that it was all a trick. Emmet was Emmet, and as best Ingo could figure, he wasn't doing any of this on purpose. They'd had a talk the first time Emmet had acted off, but it had resolved with the idea that Emmet had stressed himself out so heavily during Ingo's absence that this was his body readjusting.

Maybe, this time, Ingo had to come to the conversation with all that he'd witnessed from Emmet. Maybe, he had to approach it like a pokémon battle, with strategy meant to break down the defenses of his opponent and get to the heart of the problem.

It had been a hard decision on where he should visit today. Ingo said he was going to the town in the north, the largest of their neighbors. It would allow him the greatest range of jobs, he said. He could also scout out large places like that easier than Emmet, who tended to wander and get lost in human made locations. So that left the neighbors to the west and to the south for Emmet to visit, because he wanted to let Ingo work.

As he was peeping at Ingo's map of the area, he noticed some notes on the side that said the town to the west had lovely cobblestone roads! Ingo said it was like walking on a mountain side covered in rocks. Emmet very much wanted to try that! He had always been better at walking across grass and logs and dirt paths, but the clack of his hooves on stones that occasionally popped out on the paths made such a nice click sound.

And so his destination was decided. They both set off in the morning after breakfast, helping each other get ready. Emmet made sure Ingo brought the delicious berries they picked the day before along with his work gear, and Ingo made sure he was prepared as well. Ingo even gave him a kiss on his nose and he nuzzled his knight happily.

It was an easy trot to the village, and he only stopped twice on his way there; once to chat with some bumblebees, and the other time to enjoy a bubbling spring where some new froglings were playing. Ingo would definitely like coming to this village! Emmet would be sure to show Ingo all the best sights, since he had learned much from the bees and froglings.

It wasn't long after that his hooves tippy tapped against the cobblestone road that marked the beginning of the small town. Ingo always told him to not enter town in his true form, so much so that Emmet could practically hear it now. And of course, he knew that being a unicorn in a human town did not always have the best outcome. But he loved the sound of walking on cobblestone, and couldn't help himself from tapping out a happy little tune before he transformed. There was no reason to not enjoy oneself, after all!

The pack that had formerly been slung across his back slid to the ground as he changed from standing on four legs to only two. Plopping down into a cross-legged sitting position, Emmet dug through the soft leather bag to find his human clothing. He didn't enjoy wearing it, but Ingo insisted it was a must when he was in human filled areas. Still, Emmet tried to minimize what he had to wear, limiting it to a shirt, pants, and shoes.

That was, of course, in addition to his wonderful and lovely coat that Ingo had given him during his daring rescue from the Queen. He draped it over his shoulders with a satisfied smile, marveling at how it had become even more comfortable as he'd continued to wear it. It seemed some human clothes could be pleasant to wear. Emmet even wore this when they were home, if he was in his human form. It allowed him to tolerate the other clothes for as long as he needed to wear them.

Finally tugging on his shoes, his smile wavered just slightly. Shoes were probably the worst human clothing that he had to tolerate. There were all shapes and sizes that he'd seen while traveling with Ingo, and even some he had tried on for himself. A shiver of 'ew bad' ran up his whole body when he tried on most kinds, and it was worse when he tried to walk in them. Eventually, Ingo brought him to a nice man who seemed to make shoes, and they were able to make something that didn't completely distract Emmet at all times. The nice man tried his very best and Emmet bestowed a kindness onto him for the effort.

He stood up, tap tapping a heel against the ground. The shoes didn't sound as nice on the cobblestone as his hooves, but it still provided a pleasant rhythmic sound when he walked. Finished changing, he flipped the bag he'd held his clothes in around and draped it across his shoulders. It was light now that all the clothes were out of it, and he could put fun things he might find in it. Ingo also gave him some money to pay the humans if he wanted something from their shops.

Whenever he came to visit the neighbors, he had no real goal in mind. Humans were very interesting! There were all sorts of things they could be doing, and Emmet wanted to see as much of it as he could without distracting them. Already there were so many sounds and smells, some of which Emmet had never experienced before. He stopped at an open circular area and just sniffed for a bit, trying to pick out what he knew and what he didn't. Someone not too far away was making a savory stew like Ingo enjoyed. Emmet could hear the muted snap of someone pulling the wrinkles out of laundry being hung to dry. A group of small humans ran by, paying no attention to him as they raced off on some sort of small human adventure.

After a short while of just casually observing, Emmet thought maybe he should do a little bit more exploring. But that was when he overheard a group of older humans chatting amongst each other. They were having quite the exciting time if the level of their voices was to be trusted. As they all burst out laughing, Emmet decided that he too would like to listen in to whatever was so funny.

No one stopped him from joining their circle of chatting, and it seemed like more than one conversation was going on at once! Some of them circled back to topics they must have been discussing earlier without breaking the flow at all. It was very impressive and Emmet found himself nodding along when a speaker he was listening to asked for agreement.

As the conversations continued on, the people in his section of the circle dropped their voices low, and some of them brought their hands up to make a half circle by their mouths. Emmet leaned in slightly to hear better.

"Oh, but did you see that new face around town? He's only been here a few times, but he's so handsome!"

Another answered with "I know! And so polite! Why, if I were just a bit younger..."

Emmet tilted his head in confusion. None of that sounded like things to lower your voice over. He was distracted from their conversation as he thought, losing track of their voices.

"-hung like a horse for sure!"

Emmet's head jolted up, eyes wide and startled. Like a what? Oh.... that seemed quite ominous for the humans to say. Half expecting eyes to be on him, Emmet lowered his shoulders, making himself shorter as he glanced around. None of the people talking looked away from their partners in conversation. It gave him the perfect chance to slip away. If these humans wished to hang horses, he could not let them know he was close in shape to one.

He tried to not let the odd phrase trouble him too deeply - he looked like a human right now, after all - but even as he continued his exploration of the village, he couldn't stop thinking about it. The people here all seemed so very nice. Why would they want to hang a horse? Wouldn't that be uncomfortable for the horse? How would they hang it? By the tail? Suspended with ropes or slings? Was it like when humans hung their laundry?

Eventually, Emmet decided that it would be best if he headed home. Ingo was there when he arrived, sitting at the table they had outside and drinking some sun brewed tea. It was Ingo's turn to look confused as Emmet, still in his human form, sat down next to him.

"What is wrong, love? Was their trouble on your way from town?"

Emmet thought for a moment in silence. As he waited, Ingo lifted the mug of tea up to his mouth for another drink. "Ingo? How would someone be 'hung like a horse'?"

Ingo must have also been quite shocked too because he spit his tea out! Wiping at his mouth, Ingo turned a lovely shade of red as he tried unsuccessfully to speak. He would shut his eyes, exhale deeply, then open his eyes again only to lose his words as soon as he saw Emmet's curious smile. It must have been a truly terrible thing to describe!

After watching Ingo fail to stammer out an explanation, Emmet decided it wasn't worth Ingo being upset over as well. So he leaned towards Ingo, putting their shoulders together.

"It's okay! You don't have to tell me. I just think we should go to that town together from now on!"

The concept was beyond Nobori, if he was being honest. He spent much of his energy and passion on making Gear Station a place that everyone could visit. Whether they were making use of the clean, efficient nature of their subway, or to raise their battling skills, Nobori and Kudari welcomed all passengers. It had the added bonus, of course, that Nobori and Kudari could raise their own battling skills to the greatest heights without having to travel the world. Creative, strong trainers traveled to their Subway just to challenge them, each bringing their own perspective to battle.

But those good things were vastly outweighed by whatever Emmet had gone through. And to make matters worse for Emmet, Nobori looked suspiciously like the person who had instilled such a terror in him that he couldn't face Gear Station.

Nobori was used to being told his expressions were severe - even when smiling people thought he looked at best stoic. He was also used to people finding Kudari more approachable. Teachers would applaud Kudari's good cheer and friendliness, but seem completely unaware of Nobori's downright bubbly demeanor! It was common to have his expressions be misunderstood. But he'd never had someone be outright afraid of him.

It was a relief, then, that Emmet had become more comfortable with Kudari. Most of the things that Nobori learned about Emmet came from Kudari relaying it to him. Up until recently, Emmet would fidget and even sometimes leave if Nobori was the only one in the room with him. Emmet would not go to bed until both Kudari and Nobori were in their room, and he was confident they were asleep. He nearly shook himself apart when he first found out their pokémon partners were not in their pokéballs at night. He'd not been back to Gear Station since they found him there.

But despite all of his past struggles, Emmet had been doing his very best and these were the times that Nobori didn't need to have relayed to him by Kudari. Just last week, Nobori came home separately from Kudari to find Emmet dozing on the couch with eelektross draped across his lap. A few days ago, voice wavering slightly, Emmet asked to go with Nobori on an errand to the pokémart. It had not been asked of him, but Emmet decided he wanted to help with the chores around the house, and frequently cooked dinner for them when they worked late.

Nobori was exceptionally proud of him!

Also, Kudari apparently had many discussions with Emmet over pokémon battling, and while Emmet had some strange ideas, Kudari had found them most invigorating. They both had a strong preference for electric type pokémon, and their methods for studying strategies were mostly identical. Emmet was comfortable with joltiks and Kudari had given him a slightly larger one to pet while they talked. Nobori was surprised, and pleased, to find out that Emmet and Kudari had small, one-pokémon-each battles on occasion. Kudari even said that Emmet smiled brightly when he won!

Which was why Nobori had brought up the idea that Emmet could join them as a third Boss or perhaps an agent in the Subway. It could help him be more comfortable with going out more often. The walk from their home to Gear Station was most pleasant, with fun and lovely shops. Kudari loved a particular bakery that was only a moment out of their regular route, and Emmet would surely love it too. He could meet new people. Nobori was certain Emmet would get along great with Cloud and the other agents. He could even decide on his own pokémon team instead of having to adjust to Nobori and Kudari's partners. And, as an added bonus, Nobori and Kudari would be nearby so he would always have someone to talk to.

Kudari thought it a good idea as well! But when they brought the idea up to Emmet, he jolted as if nipped by an irate tynamo. As he and Kudari exchanged glances, Emmet gave out a nervous laugh and said something like "O-oh. Well. I can give it some thought!"

It was not a Bravo! reaction at all. He and Kudari had left it at that, and Emmet excused himself to his room. And that was how they found themselves now. The idea was sound, they were sure of it. But it was heartless to try and force the issue when Emmet's reaction had been so obvious.

"He is being polite. But he definitely meant no."

"Indeed. I could never bear to force him to do something when he was so obviously shaken by the suggestion. Perhaps that is not his track to follow."

"What about Elesa?"

Nobori straightened up at Kudari's suggestion. That's right! Elesa ran a Gym based around electric pokémon, didn't she? They never had a reason to visit -they ran their own battle facility after all- and whenever they met up with Elesa, it was always outside of work. Obtaining gym badges was also not really something they had ever engaged in; over-coming a challenge was excellent but if they were to start wearing badges for that, you wouldn't even be able to see the color of their coats beneath the badges! So, Nobori often forgot there was a gym nearby.

"Oh, what an excellent idea, Kudari! I do not know the requirements of working at her Gym, but it would not hurt to ask her. Emmet could embrace the fighting prowess of whichever electric pokémon he wished."

"He will use joltik for sure," Kudari said, giving a firm nod.

Nobori laughed in good cheer. "Ah, but we mustn't put the caboose before the engine. We can speak to Elesa for details, but in the end it will be Emmet's choice. But I think he will consider this a most bravo idea!" It had most of the perks of working at the Subway. While Nobori would always consider their Subway *the* institution of Nimbasa to visit, he had the utmost confidence in Elesa to run her own station with excellence. Emmet would be safe there, and able to pursue his happiness.

"I am Kudari. I am excited. We should go to Elesa now."

Truth be told, Nobori was excited at the idea as well. There was nothing wrong with going right now, he supposed! They would tell Emmet they were going out so he could relax some, head to the bakery that Kudari liked, and bring Elesa a gift for their impromptu visit. And if Elesa was excited for the idea as well, they could bring home good tiding to Emmet. Would she want to battle Emmet first? Would he need something special to bring to the gym? Nobori was abuzz with questions, and he was sure Kudari was too. It was impossible to be patient when such an energizing idea was possible.

"Alright Kudari! Let us go full steam ahead to speak with Elesa! For Emmet's sake!"

"Yeah!"

~~*~~

In his room, Emmet wondered if Nobori and Kudari realized that he could hear them with little effort on his part. Nobori always spoke rather loudly (which thankfully contrasted with his brother so much that it helped separate them, even when Emmet was feeling extra anxious), but Kudari would sometimes get excitable to the point of joining his brother. The outside perimeter of their home seemed sound proofed to not bother neighbors but the same could not be said for the interior.

As for their idea... Well, he'd never really thought of going to Kamitsure? She seemed like a distant figure, a unrelentingly beautiful model of high stature and skill. And that was even if he could manage to slip out of their house without Ingo noticing, or escalating the situation in odd ways.

Maybe in this world, she wasn't so unreachable?