Chapter 18: The Great Stakeout

  The days and weeks after the Festival of Veils had a strange sort of calm to them. Decorations still hung in odd corners of Newleaf Village, paper lanterns shaped like ghostly flames swaying in the morning breeze, strings of carved gourd shells clattering softly against doorframes. The faint smell of incense clung to the air in the mornings, drifting from a few households that hadn’t yet packed away their festival offerings.

  Yuki loved this in-between time. Things were quieter, but definitely not boring! She could wander through the marketplace without getting bumped into every two steps, or sit by the training field and watch the guards run their drills without uncle Kaen barking at her to move along. It was easy, comfortable… or at least, it should have been!

  Except lately, Auri's behaviour had become weird. Or at least, not what she had come to expect of him.

  The first sign came on a cool, crisp morning when the sign-up board for the monthly sparring tornament went up. It was always a big deal, uncle Kaen liked to turn the whole event into something between a tournament and a celebration, complete with cheers from the sidelines and the occasional berry tart for the winners. It was also the one and only guaranteed way for anyone not yet an adult to prove themselves in front of the guards and get to join one of the Dungeon-Expeditions.

  The crowd around the board was loud, full of kids elbowing for position and shouting out names. Mina was already bickering with Neku over who’d beat who, while Lio and Tama had gone into some kind of quiet but intense discussion about strategy.

  Yuki stood on the edge, having put her own name on the list earlier already, until she spotted Auri walking past. Not toward the board, but past it.

  "Uh... Excuse me?" she called, hopping down from her perch and darting in front of him before he could get too far. "Aren’t you going to sign up?"

  He glanced at her with that calm, unreadable look of his. "Not this time. I would've told you not to join as well, but I'm probably already too late, aren't I?"

  Her beak opened and closed once before words tumbled out. "Not this-!? You were literally talking about it last week, like it was your big chance to practice again! 'It’ll be good experience,' you said! You can’t just skip it! And why would you want me to sit it out as well!?"

  "Just a recommendation," he said simply. "And I’ve got other things to focus on."

  Yuki’s feathers fluffed. "Other things like what!?"

  "Nothing important," he replied, sidestepping her without breaking stride.

  She watched him head towards the far end of the training field, her head tilting suspiciously. Auri wasn’t one to brag about fights, but he liked testing himself. She knew that for sure! And he didn’t just drop plans he'd made without a good reason either. That was weird, even by his standards. Really, really weird.

  That might’ve been the end of it, and Yuki would've accepted it as her friend needing some downtime, something that wasn't all that unusual for him, though it never had shown in form of a lacking interest in training. Except over the days she had started noticing other things as well. Subtle at first, but by the forth or fifth time it happened, she couldn’t just continue to ignore it!

  Sometimes, in the middle of a casual walk or when they were running errands together, Auri would suddenly glance at the sun or the shadows and excuse himself. Always vague about it and always heading off in the same direction, towards one of the quieter side paths that wound between the houses and out toward the less-traveled parts of Newleaf Village.

  It wasn’t random wandering, either. It was clearly deliberate! He left at nearly the same time every few days, and when he came back, there was this distant look in his eyes, like part of him was still wherever he’d been.

  It happened again that afternoon. They were making their way toward the marketplace, talking about nothing in particular-! Well, she was. Auri mostly listened and threw in the occasional 'hm' or 'maybe', but didn't participate further in the conversation. That was when his ears suddenly flicked towards the sky. "I need to check something," he said suddenly.

  She slowed her step and looked at him suspiciously. "Check what, exactly?"

  He didn't answer, already turning down a narrow side lane. Yuki stopped dead, watching him disappear between the houses.

  "…Uh-huh," she muttered under her breath. "Totally normal. Not suspicious at all. Nope!"

  She tapped her foot, her eyes narrowing. First he skipped the tournament without an apparent reason and wanted her to not participate as well. Now he was vanishing like clockwork, meeting someone, or something, and not telling her. And Auri didn’t exactly have a long list of people he hung out with. Mainly only her and maybe Neku or Lio. Which meant…

  Her feathers puffed a little more as she stood there, the spark of determination igniting in her chest. This called for answers! And answers meant it was time for a stealth mission!

  She could already feel the rush of it, the thrill of following him without being noticed, slipping through alleyways and market stalls like some kind of master spy! The way she imagined it, she’d have him cornered by the end of the day, blurting out some dramatic secret like he was living a double life! Maybe he was in a romance! Or part of a secret guard operation! Or...

  Her mind paused on the most dramatic option. Maybe he was involved in some dangerous plot and hadn’t told her because he thought she couldn’t handle it!

  Her beak set in a firm line. "Ohhh no Auri! You’re not wriggling out of this one, mister!” she announced to herself.

  She glanced toward the direction he’d gone, already plotting out where she could perch without being seen. This wasn’t just simple curiosity anymore, it was a mission! And she didn’t fail missions!Whether it took the rest of the day or the rest of the week, she was going to find out exactly what Auri was doing! And with that, she quickly ran after Auri.

  The most tricky thing about following Auri was that he wasn’t loud. He didn’t hum or mutter to himself like some Pokemon did, and he didn’t leave an obvious trail of paw prints to follow. He moved with this quiet, measured pace that made him blend into his surroundings if you weren’t looking straight at him.

  Which of course meant Yuki had to work twice as hard! She started by keeping her distance, darting between berry stalls and ducking behind the occasional stack of crates. Her head poked out every so often just far enough to spot him rounding the next corner.

  "Okay, this isn’t so bad," she muttered to herself, slipping along the edge of the path. "He’s not looking back. He probably doesn’t even know I’m-!"

  Auri’s ears twitched. He paused mid-step and glanced behind him.

  Yuki slammed herself flat against a wall, heart pounding. "Not suspicious. Totally natural Torchic behavior. There's not even a Torchic here for you to find Auri," she whispered to herself. She waited a full ten seconds before peeking back around the corner. He was walking again and Yuki let out a breath. Crisis averted. She obviously couldn't have him find out that she was spying on him! That would be soooo embarrassing!

  From there, Yuki shadowed Auri through the quieter end of the market, where the noise of hagglers gave way to the softer sounds of the faint breeze, the steady clink of someone hammering metal in the distance, and other quiter sounds. The streets here were narrower, with more blind turns, perfect for a master spy like her! Except for the part where she unfortunately wasn’t really a master spy. And where Auri was now much more unlikely to overhear certain suspicious sounds.

  Halfway down one lane, her wing clipped an empty bucket. It toppled over with the loudest CLANG in recorded history and instantly she froze.

  Auri stopped again, his tail flicking once. This time, instead of looking behind him, he scanned the rooftops, the alleys, and even the shadows under the nearest laundry lines before continuing on at the same steady pace.

  "Too close," she muttered, sticking to the rooftops of her imagination from then on, though in reality she just hugged the walls like a suspiciously fluffy shadow.

  Finally, she spotted him turn down one of the old paths that led toward the edge of the inner village. Here, the houses thinned out, replaced by small gardens and patches of overgrown grass. Yuki slowed, crouching behind a low fence, and watched as Auri moved with purpose toward a stretch of path that seemed to lead nowhere in particular. No guards posted here. No shops. No obvious reason for anyone to be out here unless they lived in one of the few scattered houses.

  He stopped for a moment at what looked like an unremarkable bend in the trail, ears lifting slightly as though listening for something she couldn’t hear. Then, without a glance behind him, he continued onward, vanishing into the tall grass.

  Yuki’s eyes narrowed. "Alright, mister mysterious," she murmured under her breath, "let’s see where you’re going!"

  She hopped the fence and followed, carefully this time, every step measured, as to not be seen. Only that the moment she wove past the grass, Auri was just gone. Not just a little gone, but completely gone. No pawprints, no flicker of movement, not even a rustle of grass where he might have passed.

  "What!?" Yuki hissed under her breath, scanning the path. She darted around the grass patch to see if Auri maybe just left it somewhere else, but there was nothing.

  For the next twenty minutes, she prowled the area in an ever-widening loop, checking gardens, side alleys, even the rooftops just in case he’d suddenly learned to climb like a Treecko, but again, nothing. By the time she slunk back towards the marketplace, the only thing she’d caught was the faint echo of her own muttering.

  "That was just the first try! I was just warming up! Next time, Auri, I'll get you, you'll see!"

  Only a few minutes later, she spotted Auri again, strolling into the square from completely the opposite direction with the most unbothered, if maybe somwhat aloof, expression in the world! And most definitely done with whatever he'd actually done in secret!

  The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  Yuki narrowed her eyes. Oh, it was on now! She would find out the truth!

  The next morning, Yuki was up early. Not the 'I woke up naturally' early, but the 'I asked my sister to wake me up extremely early and jolted awake like my tail was on fire' early! Today would be different! Today, she would not fail! She just knew it!

  Her plan was already completely mapped out in her head! Pick a good vantage point, track Auri from the moment he stepped out his door, stay at least three houses back, and for the love of all things feathered, no distractions!

  She even skipped breakfast for this! She was already tucked behind a low wall near the training field, peering at Auri’s door with the intensity of a seasoned spy. The moment the door creaked open and he stepped out, scarf neatly tied, expression as unreadable as ever, she grinned. It was showtime!

  After looking for her, because normally she would already wait for him, Auri just shrugged and moved on. She slunk after him, matching his pace, ducking behind posts and trees whenever he glanced around. Her claws barely scraped the dirt, her breathing steady. So far, so good!

  "Yuki?" The voice came from way too close. She nearly squawked aloud before whipping her head toward the sound. Lio was leaning against a fence, head tilted, wearing the kind of look that said he was already halfway to figuring her out.

  "What are you doing?" he asked.

  Yuki froze. "…Nothing, absolutely nothing you have to think about!"

  "Uh-huh," he said, not buying it for a second. "You’re spying on Auri. For whatever reason."

  "I am observing Auri, not spying!" she hissed back. "For science!"

  Lio’s mouth twitched like he was holding back a laugh. "Well, in the interest of science then, he just turned left."

  "What!?" Yuki spun around, saw only empty path, and scrambled to catch up. "Thanks-! Wait, no! Stop talking to me! You’re distracting me from spying on Auri!"

  "So it really is spying," Lio muttered, but Yuki didn't hear him anymore. No, she was doing her very best to catch up to Auri, weaving between startled villagers, until she spotted him again up ahead, heading toward the herb gardens. Perfect. She slowed, took cover behind a stack of berry crates, and peered over the top.

  That’s when Mina’s voice chimed in. "Why are you crouching behind my mom’s stockpile?"

  Yuki nearly toppled over. "Uh, stretching!"

  "…With your beak nearly in the dirt?"

  "It’s… advanced stretching!" Yuki said quickly. "Great for flexibility!"

  Mina narrowed her eyes, clearly unconvinced, but before she could press further, Yuki darted off. Auri was still in sight, strolling like he had nowhere urgent to be. Yuki shadowed him again, hopping from fence post to rain barrel to half-collapsed cart. Every time he glanced around, she ducked just in time. She was getting closer! Victory was within talon’s reach!

  Until Ayra spoke up. "You know," her sister said casually from behind her, "for someone trying to blend in, you’re standing out like a Torchic at a Snow Warning festival. Well, you are a Torchic so it's fitting I guess."

  Yuki nearly jumped out of her feathers. "Ayra! Don’t sneak up on me while I’m sneaking!"

  Ayra leaned against the wall, smirking. "I wasn’t sneaking. I was just standing here, having a great time watching you bumble around like you’ve never heard the word stealth."

  "It’s called strategy!" Yuki hissed back.

  "Sure," Ayra said, clearly unconvinced.

  Yuki whipped her head toward the path, only to find it empty. Auri was gone. Like, completely gone.

  Panic kicked in. She darted ahead, scanning every side street, checking behind sheds, even peeking into a storage hut. But nothing. The street felt emptier for it, like he’d been erased from it entirely.

  The icing on the cake was that when she retuned home, Auri was waiting there for her and asked where she'd been! But three time's the charm, and she would make sure her third try succeeded! No matter the cost!

  For the next week, absolutely nothing happened. Auri acted completely normal and didn't try to sneak away at all. But then, finally, the day came. Just two days before the next sparring tornament Auri slipped away again, while they were running a small errand. It didn't take a genius to figure out that Yuki's third chance had come!

  Yuki slid ghosted after him, keeping her steps light, breath quiet, and eyes locked on her target.

  Auri took the same route as when she followed him the first time around. That was more than enough to confirm her suspicions already. So she took a shortcut to the area where she'd lost Auri last time.

  Minutes passed. Yuki stayed ready, every muscle coiled. She even worried he went somewhere else after all, but no. When Auri finally came to the same grass formation she'd lost him in, she saw him leave towards a small alley that she knew led nowhere and quickly followed. Auri didn't go much further as suddenly, a shimmer appeared in the dark alley and a shadowy Pokemon that Yuki had never seen before stepped out.

  The Pokemon’s posture was relaxed, their body completely concealed by shadows, but there was nothing casual about the way those eyes flicked briefly, exactly towards where Yuki crouched!

  They knew! Yuki had no idea how, but they absolutely knew! But instead of calling her out, the shadowy Pokemon turned their attention back to Auri, a faint smirk playing at their mouth. "Auri. Right on time," she said, a distinctively female voice.

  "Sia. I didn’t know we had a schedule," Auri replied dryly, but there was no real bite in it.

  "Doesn’t mean you don’t try your best to keep it," the Pokemon apparently called Sia said, leaning one shoulder against a worn fence post. "So, how’s your week been? Any interesting stories for me since last time?"

  Yuki narrowed her eyes from her hiding place. The tone. That smooth, easy back-and-forth. Auri didn’t talk to her like that unless she dragged it out of him!

  They kept talking, nothing overtly romantic, but Yuki’s brain was filling in the blanks whether she wanted it to or not. Sia teased, Auri parried, and every so often, Sia’s gaze flicked just slightly past him… to Yuki. A subtle little game that told Yuki exactly that Sia could call her out whenever she wanted. It was infuriating!

  "…and that’s when Elder Ilyra nearly dropped the whole bundle into the brew," Auri was saying, lips twitching in what almost passed for a grin.

  Sia chuckled low. "You’ve got a way of finding trouble without even looking for it, you know that?"

  "Some would say it finds me. And I have Yuki as a trouble multiplier as well," Auri replied.

  Yuki’s feathers puffed slightly. "Or maybe it’s led to you by mysterious shadowy Pokemon I've never seen before," she muttered below her breath. And what did he mean by her being a trouble multiplier!? That wasn't-! Okay, it was maybe true, but still!

  Eventually, Sia straightened, the shadows of her form curling faintly around her legs. "Well, I should let you get back before your… partner notices you’re gone." There was it again, that glance past him and towards her, just a little too knowing. "Just to be sure, you didn't sign up for the next sparring tournament, right?"

  "You told me multiple times not to and that under no circumstances I am to join the guards next expedition, because it would be specifically dangerous to me. For whatever reason. So no, I have not, though I would've preferred if I had managed to warn Yuki in time as well," Auri retorted with an eye-roll.

  "That's good then. Yuki participating is not optimal, but it shouldn't truly be dangerous for her either, I think, so no worries about that. I'll see you around, Auri.” And with that, she simply sank into the shade of the garden wall and was gone, like she’d never been there. Auri stood there for a moment, as if collecting his thoughts, before turning back toward the village interior.

  Yuki ducked low, letting him get a good head start before slipping into the path behind him again. Her mind was a swirl of smug satisfaction, confusion, and something she couldn’t quite name. Now that she knew what was actually going on, it was time to swoop in, drop the questions on him and finally get answers now that he couldn't evade anymore! After all, there had to be a reason why Auri hadn't just told her!

  She trotted down the narrow lane, weaving between a stack of old barrels and a berry cart, keeping his yellow ears in sight. Just a few more paces and then-!

  "Lost, little Torchic?" Yuki almost tripped over her own claws. The voice came from the shade at her side, low and amused. From the dark wedge between two buildings, Sia emerged as if the shadows themselves had decided to take a walk. She stepped neatly into Yuki’s path, a faint smirk curling her mouth.

  "Or," Sia went on, tilting her head, "were you perhaps following someone you shouldn't?"

  Yuki froze. "…You’re Sia."

  Sia strolled a step closer, easy and unhurried, like they were old acquaintances meeting by chance. "So. You’ve been on my trail for a while now. Care to explain why?"

  "I was following him," Yuki shot back before she could stop herself.

  Sia tilted her head, all mock thoughtfulness. "Hmm… Auri... yes, I suppose you were. Very determined, too. Except you’re not half as sneaky as you think you are. Adorable effort, but definitely not enough."

  Yuki’s face heated. "You knew!?"

  "Since the first time you tried," Sia said, as if it were obvious. "You rustle like an overexcited Pidgey in a berry bush. The first time I decided to interfere, but then I figured I’d let you keep at it. See how long it took you to catch up."

  Yuki spluttered. So that's why she had just lost Auri like that! "Then why didn’t you say anything!?"

  Sia’s grin widened. "Because it was cute."

  That, somehow, made Yuki even more indignant. "Cute!? I was conducting important reconnaissance!"

  "Oh, is that what you call it?" Sia stepped around her, making no move to block her way back into the inner village, but somehow still controlling the flow of the conversation. "And what was the plan, hm? Burst in, demand explanations, maybe accuse Auri of some grand conspiracy?"

  "I was going to ask," Yuki said stiffly. "Nicely! Probably."

  Sia chuckled, a low, warm sound that made Yuki bristle without knowing why. "You could always just ask me. I’m faster at answering, I'm sure."

  "Fine!" Yuki snapped. "Then why are you meeting with him!? What’s going on!?"

  "Oh, nothing dramatic," Sia said breezily. "Just talking, becoming friends maybe. He’s interesting. But you know that already, don't you?"

  "That’s it?" Yuki narrowed her eyes. "No secret plots? No dangerous deals?"

  "If there were," Sia said, brushing an invisible speck of dust from her arm, "do you think I’d tell you right here in the middle of the street?"

  Yuki opened her beak… then shut it again. "Fair point."

  Sia leaned in just enough for the shadows around her to still somewhat blur her form, but nothing more. "Relax, little Torchic. I’m not stealing him away from you."

  "I’m not-! That’s not-!" Yuki’s voice pitched higher, and she realized far too late she’d stepped right into the trap. Yuki hesitated, beak tightening. "…You enjoy this, don’t you?"

  Sia outright laughed this time, straightening. "Immensely. But go on, he’s almost out of sight. You wouldn’t want you to lose your chance for that 'nice' talk."

  Yuki muttered something under her breath and stomped past her, doing her best not to look back. But she could still feel Sia’s grin like a hot [Ember] on her back all the way down the lane.

  Yuki spotted Auri just ahead, standing at the edge of the path with his ears tilted slightly back, as if he’d been waiting for her.

  "You… expected me?" she asked, narrowing her eyes.

  "I noticed you weren’t trailing me anymore, like you did the last week or so," Auri replied with a shrug, calm as ever. "Did something happen?"

  Her beak dropped open. "You knew!?"

  "Of course I knew," Auri replied dryly. "Do you really think Sia wouldn't have told me when you started trying? I just told her that I have no problem with you following me or finding out."

  "Well... Sia wanted to talk to me," Yuki admitted.

  He didn’t flinch, just gave a small nod. "Yeah. I thought she might do that."

  Yuki stared at him for a beat, feathers puffed in faint frustration. "Okay, so who is she, and why have you been meeting her? Because this whole sneaking-off-at-set-times thing is starting to feel… I don’t know. Weird."

  Auri exhaled softly, not defensive, not evasive. "She’s just the Pokemon I met in the Windshear Hollow Dungeon on my Dungeon-Expedition. The one in the Core room. Stronger than everyone I've run into except the Mythicals. She helped me out there, and… I guess we’ve been meeting from time to time ever since."

  "About what?"

  "Mostly the Umbral Abyss. Things she’s seen, places I might want to know about. It’s nothing secret or dangerous," he said evenly. "She’s not part of the guards, not part of Newleaf Village, just… a local who keeps to herself, I guess? And in exchange, I just tell her a few things that happened to me. And sometimes I get some cryptic hints like not joining the next Dungeon-Expedition. Stuff like that."

  Yuki studied him, searching for the little signs that meant he was holding something back. But his gaze was steady, voice firm, no hint of guilt or discomfort. "She’s not… trying to rope you into something, is she? Because while we do have a handfull of loners in the crater, they normally really don't want to socialise."

  "No," Auri said simply. "If she was, I wouldn’t keep meeting her. She’s been honest with me or outright told me she wouldn't answer, and I’m returning the favor. That’s all right now."

  Yuki let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. "…Alright. I guess that’s fine. You could’ve just said that from the start, y'know."

  "I could have," Auri admitted and gave her a cheeky grin. "But it really isn't anything important, and you told me I should talk to some other Pokemon from time to time as well. That's just what I'm doing."

  The indignant squawk Yuki let out was so loud that two passing Pokemon glanced their way. Auri just kept walking, clearly amused.

  "Of course if I tell you to talk to other Pokemon, you talk to someone who hates socialising just as much as you do. You're unbelievable," she muttered, trotting to catch up, but the corner of her beak curled upward all the same. Somehow she just wasn't surprised about that at all. It just sounded way to much like something Auri would do.

  Important characters in the chapter:

  Pikachu (Auri) – Level 14

  Ability: Lightning Rod

  Battle Nature: Lonely

  Stats:

  TE Pool (Health/AP): 66

  Attack: 44

  Ranged Attack: 39

  Defense: 45

  Speed: 51

  Total: 245 (Strength Level: Kid)

  Moves:

  Close Combat Moves: [Nuzzle], [Tail Whip], [Quick Attack], [Brick Break], [Thunder Wave], [Feint]

  Ranged Combat Moves: [Thunder Shock], [Electro Ball], [Swift], [Thunder Bolt]

  Utility Moves: [Nasty Plot], [Charm], [Double Team], [Growl], [Agility], [Dig]

  Torchic (Yuki) – Level 15

  Ability: Speed Boost

  Battle Nature: Hasty

  Stats:

  TE Pool (Health/AP): 69

  Attack: 37

  Ranged Attack: 40

  Defense: 44

  Speed: 35

  Total: 225 (Strength Level: Kid)

  Moves:

  Close Combat Moves: [Scratch], [Quick Attack], [Feint], [Fire Spin], [Flame Charge], [Aerial Ace], [Counter], [Slash]

  Ranged Combat Moves: [Ember], [Sand Attack]

  Utility Moves: [Growl], [Detect], [Dig]

  ??? (Sia) - Level ???

  Ability: ???

  Battle Nature: Quirky