Back-to-School Blues

Mission Description:

Phosphor hadn't really been expecting any of the missions available to newbies like him would be anything special. Pick up a lost item, maybe escort a couple to the Luvdisc Lochan. That was the type of thing he was expecting. And he wasn't complaining about that! It was honest work. It was just that when he saw a mission where he could actually make a difference... of course he'd jumped to it. He was regretting it now, though. He hoped he was ready for something like this. The more he thought about it, the more he'd worked himself up, until the tension was tangible in the air and he swallowed his pride. He'd ended up begging asking a more experienced guild member for help. Better safe than sorry, right?

He hoped he was ready for this. He could usually sense pokemon before they arrived, with their emotions intruding into the Ralts' mind. But this time, they were in sync, and Phosphor had no warning before the client finally poked her head out from the other side of the school gates. He wasn't sure whether the ball of worry in his mind was hers or his or both. He offered a polite wave, feeling a bit unsure as to how he could reassure her. He was the guild member. He'd have to figure it out.

"Hey there." He managed a bit awkwardly, hoping she couldn't tell how unsure of himself he felt.  "My name's Phosphor, and I'm the leader of Team Daybreak." He offered the shiny badge for the Fennekin to inspect, an awed smile crossing her face as she observed the winged badge.

"Woah." The girl stared at the badge for a long while. She was impressed and daunted, but... a little bit set at ease. "You're a guild 'mon. You're really here!" She squeaked, her tail wagging as she spoke.

"'course we came." Phosphor said with a small smile, patting the fire type on the head. "'Another guild pokemon's on her way to help, too. She's real strong and smart, so you've got nothing to worry about." He didn't exactly consider himself either of those things, but at least he knew his limits and asked for help, right? If nothing else, another pair of eyes wouldn't hurt.

A Honedge floated through Grassveil Town. He did not currently have anyone to protect, so he was trying to find a new Pokémon to guard. It seemed that the nearby building was a school - in itself, that would not significantly interest him. He felt that he knew enough to do what he was meant to do. However, he could see two Pokémon talking nearby - a Fennekin and a Ralts. This was, of course, fairly normal in Grassveil, but he noticed the Ralts showing the Fennekin a badge.

A guild badge? Are they a team? Tatsu thought, not knowing that the Fennekin was actually the client. He had heard something about guilds - how Pokémon would form teams to take missions and help others, and he knew there was a guild here, in Grassveil. He hadn't really planned on joining - he preferred to stay dedicated to a single master at a time instead of having to divide his services among multiple Pokémon. If these two really were a guild team, they probably didn't need a bodyguard. Nevertheless, he was curious enough to wonder how they would go about their job. And there might be another Pokémon who needed help - perhaps even help beyond a single mission? Therefore, although Tatsu did not really want to seem like a spy, he decided to stop his wander for a bit and watch from a distance to see what the two Pokémon would do.

The dark clouds overhead certainly didn't lift his spirits any, even as a light rain started to drizzle on the two, but the Fennekin's nervous smile was bright as the sun. He wished he'd brought an umbrella, for her even if not for himself. Her smile was slowly fading, though, her gaze drifting past the Ralts and to... something else, in the distance. "H-hey. Um. I think that guy's watching us..."

Phosphor turned on his heel, standing protectively in front of the Fennekin. She had been watching for longer than he had, and the poor kid had probably gotten into the habit of looking out for when she was being watched. He was opened to it being a bout of paranoia - not that he could blame her, really - but at the same time, if this was their culprit, he wasn't going to let it slip through his fingers. Just in case, he wrapped a Special Band over his arm, idly tying the knot as he observed the stranger. If this did go badly, he'd want the extra power that the item would give him.

"Hey. Come over here." He called, flashing his guild badge again and keeping his gaze trained on the Honedge. "I'm Phosphor Arcadio, Team Daybreak. I'm on a mission and I'd like to ask you a few questions."

(The clouds decided to help set the mood! The weather is now rainy.)

It had started raining - not very pleasant, but Tatsu could deal with it. It wasn't very heavy rain, anyway. There was something that was of more concern to the Honedge, though. The Ralts' statement had confirmed guild membership, and now, Tatsu would be asked questions. What could the reason for this be? he wondered, Perhaps this is some sort of investigation, like police might do? Guild members can catch outlaws, after all... But... they could see me looking at them, couldn't they? Well, whatever they asked, Tatsu knew exactly what he was going to say - the whole truth, of course, to the best of his abilities.

The Honedge floated over. "Greetings, I am Tatsumasa," he said, "What do you wish to ask of me?"

The Fennekin stared for a long moment through wide orange eyes before finally shaking her head. "N-no. I was wrong. Sorry." She managed quietly. "The blue color's the same, but my stalker definitely has two eyes." She cast an apologetic glance at the Honedge, and with her slightly more at ease, Phosphor let his guard lower, too.

He managed a brief smile, if somewhat tense. It was hard not to be on guard when you could be stalked... he couldn't help but wonder where his backup was. Did he have to do this alone? He wasn't sure he was strong enough for that, this mission was too important to mess up... shaking himself from his thoughts as best he could, the Ralts put away his badge, suppressing a quiet sigh as to not worry his client. "Nice to meet you, Tatsumasa." He said instead.

"We've got a bit of a situation here, as you may have gathered. Some strange pokemon's been following my client home after school. I don't suppose you've seen anything suspicious lately?" With that asked, he turned back to the Fennekin, a thoughtful frown creasing his face.
"Hmm. Before that, though... do you have any other information on who your stalker might be? Anything could help." He encouraged gently.

She tilted her head in response, clearly deep in thought. "No, not really... um, I saw their eyes. They were bright blue. And about twice my height, I think, and probably on four legs like me. There's a Sylveon in my class, it might be him, but I'm not really sure." She managed, looking back up at the Honedge - apologetically, yes, but also with a bit of hope that he might just be part of the solution to her problem.

That was some quite interesting information. The Fennekin wasn't actually a guild member, but the client. But even more importantly, she was worried because a Pokémon was stalking her. Just the sort of situation for which someone would need protection, in fact - and the fox Pokémon was looking at him. "I do not believe I have seen anything that could be relevant to this, unfortunately," Tatsu said, "but if you desire my help, I will guard you to the best of my abilities."

Were they alone? the Honedge wondered about the Fennekin and Ralts. Well, they were together at the moment, but he knew guild members generally didn't permanently stay with their clients. Guild members also formed teams - did Phosphor have teammates? If so, why weren't they here? Tatsu would certainly help out if the others wanted it, but he did wonder about some details of the situation.

The Fennekin perked up at the sound of that, giving an enthusiastic nod. "Oh! Um, that would be perfect, if you wouldn't mind!" She chimed, her tail wagging faintly as her spirits lifted. "I'd feel a lot safer if you wouldn't mind sticking around." Phosphor took a hard look, trying to decide if he could trust this newcomer - but it wasn't as if he would be very far, if anything went wrong, and the Fennekin had confirmed herself that this definitely wasn't her stalker.

Despite her saying she didn't remember much else, she had quite a bit more information. Noticeably taller than a Fennekin, two blue eyes, likely a quadruped. With how many species of pokemon there were, that narrowed it down quite a lot. Enough to the point that Phosphor would say that Sylveon was one of the only ones that fit the bill. "I do have an idea, if you two would be open to it." He mused, tapping his hand against his bag in quiet thought.

"Maybe you could stay beside her to keep her safe?" He wondered, glancing at Tatsumasa. "I'll be nearby if anything goes wrong, but one idea is that I could hide nearby and catch this stalker in the act." He paused briefly, though, a faint hum escaping him. "But I'm open to other ideas. This is a bit of an unconventional mission."

... Phosphor couldn't help but be a bit glad the Honedge had agreed to help. It bruised his pride a bit to rely so much on a civilian, but, well, this wasn't the time to get overly proud and do something stupid. He needed the support.

"I believe your idea is good," Tatsumasa replied, "I admit that I find it difficult to think of a better one at this time." He did not have much else to say, but he was thinking about a few other things. What Pokemon species was the stalker? Were they really the Sylveon that the Fennekin had mentioned, or was it someone else? Why were they following the Fennekin around in the first place? Perhaps to kidnap them and hold them for ransom? He supposed that they did not know or even have much of an idea of the answers to those questions yet, or it would have been mentioned already. All he could hope for now was that if the stalker did appear, the Pokémon would not be too strong for the group to handle.

"Okay, sounds like a plan, then." Phosphor said with a nod, glancing down at the Fennekin. "If you're comfortable with it, of course." The fiery fox stared at Tatsumasa for a long moment, as if trying to judge the sword's character. She stared at him for a long moment with a suspicious squint, before finally, she nodded back at the Ralts.

"Yeah. I can do that." She decided, scrounging up all her bravery to nod. "Nobody's gonna mess with us if I have a cool sword!"

Phosphor chuckled softly to himself. If the Fennekin was feeling braver, he decided that was a good thing, even if she was a smidge off the mark. "And I'll be nearby, so just yell if you need backup, okay?" He added, giving the fox a little pat on her head before he turned. He didn't like the feeling of sneaking around. Reminded him too much of being a little kid. But it meant catching the culprit, so he'd put up with it. Sneaking sure would be easier if he could teleport, though...

As the Ralts was walking away, the girl looked up with wide eyes to Tatsumasa. "This is a little weird, but, I don't think you're a bad pokemon." She managed, swallowing hard. She squinted, clearly trying to figure something out, before she gave up and just asked. "So, uh, how do we do this? Do you ride on my back, or...? Do you use that ribbon to hold on? I could, uh, carry you, but it'd be pretty weird to put another pokemon in my mouth."

"I would sincerely hope that I am not a bad Pokémon. I have dedicated my life to helping others," Tatsu said, "And as for your question, I am fine with being held in a hand. As you have no hands to carry me with, I had been thinking I would float by your side. You seem to want me to ride on your back, however, so I will do so." He began to rest on the Fennekin's back and looked to see if there was anything suspicious nearby. So far, he could not see anything as the Fennekin walked on.

The Ralts had drifted off from their little group, lingering near the school gates. The last few pokemon were streaming out - Togetic and Natu hopping side by side, an oddly-small Dratini slithering off from the rest of the pack, and... there. A Sylveon. Was that the one? Phosphor snapped quietly to attention, idly following the trio of the Fennekin, Honedge and Sylveon from a bit further of a distance. He would need to watch carefully to know for sure, but the Ralts managed a sideways glance at him, suspicion honed on the stranger.

The Fennekin, for her part, froze, looking over her shoulder to glance up at the Honedge on her back. "T-that's him. Uh- mister Tatsumasa, what should I do?" She asked in a quiet, shaky voice, looking up at the blade for guidance. She walked forward slowly, reluctant to get too far away from the Ralts. He... he said he'd stay nearby, right? If either of them called, he'd come running. She swallowed hard as she stepped forward, keeping her gaze set firmly on the ground. "I... thought maybe having a sword would scare him away..." She muttered quietly, somewhat discouraged that her plan didn't seem to work.

"Do, we, uh, do we confront him, or- do we just keep walking?"

Tatsu turned. Indeed, there was a Sylveon! So it seemed that really was the stalker, at least if the Fennekin was correct. "I will confront him. Stay behind me and you should be safe," Tatsu told the fox. He wasn't scared of the Sylveon, even if it came to a fight. Sure, he didn't know Steel-type moves, but he still resisted Fairy-type ones.

Tatsu floated off the Fennekin's back and towards the Sylveon. "Why are you following us?" he asked, looking straight at the Fairy-type. Although, while he wasn't really afraid... he did hope that Phosphor would show up soon.

The Fennekin nodded quickly, scampering behind Tatsu and staring out at the Sylveon with wide, orange eyes. As long as she stayed behind him, she should be - would be safe. She tried to breathe in and out slowly, trying to remember if those were the eyes she saw by the moonlight that night. It seemed about right, but... was it really? She didn't know for certain, and that seed of doubt was gnawing at her.

The Sylveon stopped, tilting his head. "Uh... I just was heading home. My house is this way." He blinked, seemingly genuinely uncertain. He sounded quite young himself, a bit gangly in his taller body, as if he hadn't quite grown in to the length of his legs. "What's up, was something wrong?"

Phosphor was still standing a good distance away, ready to step in if something seemed amiss. Though he kept his gaze alert, watching as still more pokemon streamed out from the school, watching for one that might match the Fennekin's description.

Denying it... The Fennekin could be mistaken, but then again, the Sylveon could be lying. Or could it be that his house really is that way and the following was accidental? Tatsu wondered. "If that is really so, I must apologize to you. I thought you were following us for some unknown reason, so I was worried. But what you say might explain it," the Honedge said out loud.

Hopefully, if the Fennekin really was mistaken, no harm was done. If the Fennekin wasn't mistaken, either the Sylveon would stop following as they moved on and danger would be averted, or the Sylveon would continue following, proving that he was the stalker. But when Tatsu left... would this continue? Would this be his opportunity to become a permanent bodyguard?

He slowly floated back towards the Fennekin, twisting his body just a bit to occasionally keep his eye on the Sylveon.

The Sylveon stared awkwardly for a long moment, scraping a paw against the ground. "I, uh... don't want to freak you out more, but my house is still this way." He managed, shooting an apologetic smile at the duo. Phosphor was just close enough to make out his words, and he couldn't quite tell if he was being truthful or not. He supposed if this really was another student, he couldn't just... not go home. Still, it was awkward, the way it lined up. Was this their stalker, intentionally or otherwise? "I take a right at the dojo." He explained, tagging along with their little group.

Hmm. Phosphor didn't like that. Still, he waited, walking quietly along. It was an art that he had some practice in, whether he liked it or not. The trick was to look as generic as you could, nothing to draw attention, just move in a ripple with the rest of the crowd. He swallowed hard, watching his client carefully.

The Fennekin, for her part, was shifting uncertainly, certain unsure about this turn of events. "Hi." She managed coldly, her pace picking up a tad. She said nothing beside that, clearly ill at ease, and occasionally glancing back at Tatsu for comfort.

"Did you make a friend, Clover?" The taller pokemon asked with an eager swish of his tail - an innocent attempt at making conversation, or something more? "I'm happy for you!" He said with a smile, trotting along without a care in the world.

She swallowed hard, not quite sure how to respond. "I, uh... I guess so. Thanks." She answered halfheartedly, hoping Tatsu would step in. She knew that carrying on awkward conversations wasn't exactly a bodyguard's job, but... it sure would be nice.