Pokenin 028

“I win. Well fought, Zinnia.” Tekai said as a matter of fact, without any hubris or smugness. 

“Yeah. I guess you did.” Zinnia held out her good hand for some help up, and smiled af him. 

Tekai withdrew his staff, picked her up, then started walking back towards Cynthia. 

“Whew, we'll have to do this more often!” Zinnia exclaimed. 

“Y-yeah. Let's get sensei to check that arm out.” Tekai said in a bit of worry as he eyed the sand covered girl. 

“Nah, I've had worse, it'll be fine after a little sleep!” Zinnia beamed. 

Tekai scratched the back of his head, uncertain how to take such a cavalier approach to injuries. 

Although, this was an anime world with all sorts of bullshit involved. Maybe there was something in their bloodline that accelerated healing for all he knew, or maybe she wasn't as hurt as she appeared. 

Which was kind of crazy, because they had both really started to escalate the power of their attacks, and what he had hit her with, would have punched a hole clean through the krabby in the Dragons Den.  

Really, both he and Zinnia were kinda scarily tough. 

“So~ what'dya want?” Zinnia wriggled her bare toes in the sand, and looked down at the ground in embarrassment. 

“Well, for the first wager, I really would like to see you use the bow. For the second one, hmmm, maybe we can hangout over the weekend during our time off? I haven't explored the city at all, and the villages along the Lake of Rage might hold something interesting too.” Tekai shrugged his shoulders and replied. 

“Eh heh, you're a funny one, Tekai, you know that?” Zinnia raised her head, and cheerily smiled at him. 

“Huh? How's that?” Tekai scratched his chin, and looked at her curiously. 

“Getting me to use a bow, wanting to hangout with me. If I didn't know better, I'd say you were looking out for me. You're a really good friend. I'm lucky to have met you, aren't I?” Zinnia got close to him, and wrapped her good arm around him for a hug. 

“Yeah, guess I've been a little lonely. I thought about maybe having you put on a dress or something, but nah, I'd rather see you improve yourself, and just chill out.” Tekai replied, and muffed the top of her black hair, brushing some sand out of it. 

The moment was broken by the sound of a book snapping. Evidently, they had arrived back at the spot where Cynthia had been reclining. 

“You two sure are energetic. How am I going to train you now?” Cynthia said with a bemused look on her face. 

Looking down at himself, Tekai saw that he was absolutely bedraggled, his hair was messy, and he was dusty with a thick layer of sand. 

“We can keep going, big sis!” Zinnia kept up a strong face, and ran to hug her. 

Colliding with the blonde teen's massive cleavage, Zinnia buried herself in Cynthia's chest as she pulled her in for a tight hug. 

“Oh dear, your shoulder. Let's go inside for some tea, my berry blend will fix you.” Cynthia returned the hug with a warm smile, then took Zinnia by the hand. “You come along too, Tekai, while Zinnia heals, we can conduct our 1 on 1 session.” 

“Yes, sensei!” Tekai was quick to agree, and diverted attention away from himself. 

He was quick to answer, because he was hiding a stiffy in his pants. The sight of Cynthia's creamy cleavage bouncing upon Zinnia's collision had done something for his hormones. 

It didn’t help that Cynthia was dressed in light clothing at the moment suitable for lounging near a beach. 

In a word, Cynthia was sexy. 

Gil was transmitting similar emotions as always, but Tekai tried to calm himself down as he followed behind. 

But of course, he saw her shapely rear, and perfectly sized, child bearing hips. 

‘Man, Cynthia really is the complete package.’ Tekai thought to himself. 

He was a little embarrassed by his behavior, as she occupied a teaching role, but then again, that kind of made the situation even a little hotter. 

As a middle schooler, he had been attracted to a pair of his teachers in their mid 20's. Here, Cynthia was around 17-19, only a handful of years older than him. 

There was a chance! 

Thinking up ways he might be able to impress this mature young lady, Tekai immediately ruled out musical instruments, as that was something he lacked talent in. Similarly, he didn't think she would be impressed by his strength. 

What he did know about her, however, is that she would always compliment the trainer who beat her for their bond with their Pokémon. 

That she had an intense appreciation for ice cream, and was a history buff. 

Tekai had actually made ice cream before as part of a science experiment in school. This was one angle of attack. As for history, he knew a few legends, and maybe could tell some origins of some legendaries sometime. 

But what he was struggling with, was what he could do to start getting her attention early. 

As he was following behind her, eyes glued to her perfect ass, he once again caught sight of that mysterious, ancient book. 

‘That’s it!’ Tekai slapped himself on the forehead in jubilation. 

The book was written in Unknown! Aka, the letters were bastardized versions of English. 

Whatever had Cynthia so interested, Tekai would be able to read it too! By sharing this mutual appreciation, and showing off this skill, he was sure to be able to garner some attention! 

Skipping forward with a spring in his step, Tekai finally entered the mansion. 

Following the two girls into the kitchen, Tekai's nose wrinkled, and he saw a bubbling liquid inside a pot. 

“Here, take a sip of this, it will rejuvenate your stamina, and help recover wounds.” Cynthia said, gently gliding to the pot, and laddled some of the steaming liquid into a pair of porcelain teacups. 

“The teacups are cute, is that a gibble imprint on them?” Tekai complimented with a chuckle. 

“They were a gift from my sensei.” Cynthia said in nostalgia, and looked out a nearby window wistfully. 

‘Good one Tekai, her sensei died saving her life.’ Tekai mentally beat himself up for bringing up bad memories. 

“It's hot!” Zinnia exclaimed, and pounded her chest as she chugged her entire cup in one go. 

“Heu heu heu.” Cynthia covered her mouth, and softly chuckled. 

Tekai put a hand on his forehead, then reached into his cloaked robe to pull out a handkerchief. 

Zinnia looked at him with figurative question marks above her head, prompting Tekai to explain himself. 

“Your chin is all purple again.” Tekai said, trying to keep a straight face. 

“Why didn't you just say so!” Zinnia reached out with her ‘injured’ arm, and wiped herself off.

Tekai's eyes widened, stunned by the berry blend’s effectiveness, or maybe he was surprised by how sturdy the tan girl was. 

“Cynthia sensei, that was incredible! What was in that mix?!” Tekai turned to the demure, busty blonde with an expression full of shock. 

“Mmm, it's quite complicated.” Cynthia took a seat, and put a lump of sugar in her own teacup, then stirred. 

Taking a sip, she patted her lips clean, and stared Tekai in the eyes. 

Trying not to fidget in his seat at her direct attention, Tekai matched her gaze, and stared into her steely, cool eyes. 

“The simple answer, is a mixture of Sitrus, Leppa, and a sliver of Mago Berries. Does that answer suffice? Or are you, perhaps, curious for more?” 

Cynthia took another sip, and kept staring Tekai down. 

“...I am interested in learning about berry blending, but it's a bit much for me right now. Actually, I'm more interested in the book you’ve been reading.” Tekai slowly measured his words as he gauged Cynthia for her reaction. 

“Hoh? Less than 5 Ryu can read the ancient language. It is a difficult, tedious script to learn, much more difficult than berry blending. As your sensei, I cannot in good faith recommend this path to you, Tekai.” 

“Ah-ha…maybe you should update that number to 6.” Tekai scratched the back of his head in embarrassment, but still stared her down, making sure she understood his confidence in the matter. 

“You are full of surprises, aren't you? A Rising Dragon, and hatching a shiny on your first Pokémon. Hmm, it isn't impossible, you are that man's son after all. Very well, can you translate the front cover of this text for me?” Cynthia pulled out the old, frayed book, and reluctantly handed it over the table. 

Tekai took the book, and at the same time, accidentally touched Cynthia's hand. 

‘Smooth!’ 

Smiling wryly to himself, Tekai basked in the brief sensation, then examined the text. 

Written in Unknown, the symbols weren't identical to English letters, but were very similar. 

“Sorry, I'm a little rusty, please give me a minute.” Tekai said, scrunching his eyebrows as he tried to make sense of the words in front of him. 

“Hah! Trying to impress big sis Cynthia, eh?” Zinnia elbowed Tekai in the side, and wriggled her eyebrows. 

“Stop it, I'm being serious here.” Tekai mindlessly swatted Zinnia away as if she were a little sister acting like a nuisance. 

“Take your time, Tekai. I hope you aren't simply trying to impress me. Knowledge of the ancient language is beneficial for both personal, and societal growth.” Cynthia said in a stern tone. 

Tekai began to feel a little pressure from Cynthia's-now eerie-calm. He felt that if he were proven a liar in this instance, Cynthia would cut almost all ties with him. 

To her, this was serious business. 

Tekai scrunched his brows, and began to seriously decipher the text. In total, the title consisted of four words. 

For him, of the available letters on the book cover, A, C, D, E, F, L, N, R, T, & U were all obvious. But there were a few that really confused him, and he couldn't tell what the hell they were. 

By piecing together the broken words, he was able to extrapolate what they translated to. 

When he read the title, he chuckled to himself. Cynthia really was interested in mythology, it seemed. 

After a little less than five minutes had passed, Tekai lifted his head, and gave Cynthia the answer. 

“The Legend of Arceus.” 

“Well done, Tekai. This is quite the accomplishment for one so young, you are the second pre-teen in the clan's history to be so adept.” Cynthia gave Tekai a small smile, and said with a twinkle in her eyes. 

Tekai rolled his eyes at her. Cynthia wasn't sweet out here. It was obvious she was the young prodigy who learnt the language the earliest. 

“Thank you, Cynthia sensei. But what you said earlier about personal and societal growth, what did you mean by that?” Tekai cocked his head to the side in confusion as he asked. 

“Scattered all around the world are ruins waiting to be discovered. Within, ancient tablets record history, and marvels of technology. This berry blending formula, for example, is one such result of a ruins exploration.”

“I see.” Tekai sighed. 

While it was admittedly cool that he could use this language at some point for exploration, and it would act as a bridge and excuse to interact more with Cynthia, he was hoping it may have some other tangible benefits. 

“Your disappointment is immeasurable, and feel as if your day is ruined? How naive! Listen up, Tekai!” Cynthia set her teacup down making a metallic tinging noise, and slightly raised her voice, bringing back Tekai's full attention. 

The steely, fair maiden swept back her long blonde hair, and pierced Tekai with her gaze. 

Frozen in place, Tekai felt as if he were being stared down by an apex predator, and he was lost, naked in the forest. 

It was terrifying. 

Considering how kind she had been up to this point, it was easy to forget that she was a top tier killer on the same level as his older brother! 

Trembling in his seat, Tekai held his breath as Cynthia figuratively held him in place. 

Just what kind of secrets did the ancient script contain, that she reacted like this?! 

Leaning forward, Tekai eagerly awaited her reply.