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It was late.
Stars twinkled in the blackness of the night sky, leaves, grasses, and twigs crunched and shuffled under AZ’s feet, and the full moon lit up his way.
He took a deep breath, inhaling the special air of this part of the woods. It was his favorite place to go to escape his duties.
He wandered a bit far tonight, but that was fine. It’s not like he didn’t have his best friend with him.
"Kyuu~"
AZ smiled softly over at Floette. He loved her sweet little face and adorable voice more than anything.
"Yes, I know, I can smell the sea nearby too. It seems we went a bit far tonight, huh?"
"Kyuru!" Floette chirped.
AZ chuckled, it seemed like they had the same idea.
But before they could do anything more, they heard a rustle. Out from the bushes emerged an injured Pokémon, a Gallade.
He trudged onto the path and looked over at AZ. He looked battered, with sand on his limbs and small cuts and bruises all over.
Being who he is, AZ approached. Slowly. Cautiously. He wasn’t sure if this Pokémon was wild and going to attack, but he didn’t feel right just leaving the guy.
Floette tugged on AZ’s robe, trying to keep him from doing anything too reckless, and let out distressed cries. Of course, AZ didn’t really listen, he set his mind on things and didn’t take 'no' for an answer.
The Gallade looked the young man in the eyes, deep into his soul. He looked tired, and he clearly wanted help.
AZ quickly crossed the rest of the distance, and he looked to inspect the Gallade’s injuries.
"Hold on there, warrior, I can get you help-"
Once his hands neared the Pokémon, the Gallade turned and darted off back where it came from. But before he left, he looked back at AZ, as if to make sure he was following.
—————
Twigs crunched beneath his feet as AZ ran after the Gallade, who frequently looked back to make sure he followed.
It wasn’t long until they reached the beach, and at the shoreline, an unconscious figure lain in the sand, cracked boat close by.
The Gallade sat down by the figure, clearly worried about them. It must be his trainer, AZ thought.
Floette rushed over first, with AZ kneeling by the figure soon after. He gently nudged them, trying to see if they’d wake up, but quickly moved to inspecting their condition. He made sure they were breathing (which they were, thank Arceus) and took a look at their pulse, so he turned them over onto their back.
His breath hitched.
This was a woman.
A gorgeous, foreign woman.
She had long, inky black hair, pale skin, and a strong jawline. She was also… well, massive. She was taller than AZ, and had the build of a warrior, which her strange robes didn’t do much to hide, even with how thick the material was.
AZ slowly leaned over her, captivated by how she looked. Her long lashes, high cheekbones, and the slight parting of her lips. And when her eyes opened?
She grumbled a little, her voice gravely from disuse.
"な、なんだこれ…?"
Na, na nda kore…? (What the…?)
Her eyes shot open and she scrambled up, making AZ yelp in surprise.
"ACK-"
Within seconds, she had him pinned on his back with a sword pressed to his throat, those crimson eyes of hers furious as she yelled.
"お前は誰だ！？ 私に何の用だ！？"
Omae wa dareda! ? Watashi ni nani no yōda! ? (Who are you?! What do you want with me?!)
AZ couldn’t respond, just held his hands up as he stared into her eyes. They were red as blood, shining like rubies, and her eyelids were hooded.
She grunted and pressed the blade into the skin slightly, increasingly irritated with AZ’s lack of responding.
Floette flitted around the two, panicking and quite oblivious to her trainer’s enamored behavior.
The woman’s Gallade however, frantically tried to get her to calm down.
They seemed to be speaking to each other, not that AZ could understand any of it, but he could assume the Gallade was trying to tell her that he was trying to help.
The woman’s eyes widened a fraction, and she let out a startled "Eh?"
She scrambled back, finally letting AZ breathe as he slowly sat up. He saw her bow deeply, hands on the ground as she frantically said something in her foreign tongue.
"申し訳ありません！"
Mōshiwakearimasen! (I am so sorry!)
AZ lifted his hands, trying to placate the woman.
"Hey, hey! It’s alright! I… can see why you’d be weary of a strange man."
She buried her face in her hands, groaning in embarrassment at her overreaction.
AZ, in turn, also groaned a little bit, but it was at the realization that they didn’t seem to understand each other.
"Kyu! Kyururu!"
AZ perked up as Floette voiced her concerns.
"I’m fine, Floette, don’t worry about me-"
He let out a small grunt as Floette whapped him on the head with her flower.
"Hey! That was not necessary, I’m fine."
Floette didn’t seem to believe him, her arms crossed and tiny face scrunched up in a pout.
With a sigh, AZ patted her on the head before bringing his attention back to the foreign woman. He knelt in front of her and tried to speak to her once more.
… of course it didn’t work, the language barrier made sure of that.
Both looked frustrated at the lack of communication, and AZ didn’t really want to just… leave this woman.
Even if she did kind of just try to kill him not even two minutes ago.
He sighed and tapped his chin, trying to think of a way to help, to get her to safety.
The woman stared down at the sand and rubbed her temple.
Until-
"A… Z…"
She tilted her head.
"Ay… Zee," he said, pointing to himself.
The woman hummed a little.
"Ei… see?"
AZ lit up. Her accent was adorable!!!
He nodded and tapped his own chest, "AZ." He gestured towards her, trying to imply that she does the same.
"Ei-see!" she replied, pointing at him. When she spoke again, he couldn’t understand very well. "血食。"
Now it was AZ’s turn to tilt his head.
"Huh?"
She chuckled and spoke again, much slower this time as she placed a hand on her chest, "Chee… sho… koo."
AZ got it that time.
"Oh, Chee-sho-koo?” he asked, definitely messing up the pronunciation somewhere.
The woman nodded and patted her chest, "Chishoku."
The king smiled, his Floette hovering lower to rest on his shoulder. "Chishoku!" he replied with a wide smile, pointing at her.
They both had ridiculous grins on their faces, equally proud of their achievements in communicating. They had each other’s names now, that was big!
In a spark of genius, AZ started to draw shapes in the sand. Just doodles, really, but it was his attempt at further communication. He pointed to himself, then at a drawing of a house in the sand, then in the distance.
He repeated this action once more as Chishoku nodded, then he pointed at her and then at the drawing. He wanted her to come with him, he just hoped she would understand that.
It seemed like she did. Chishoku pointed at herself, then the drawing, then at the distance where he pointed before. AZ nodded.
He stood up and extended his hand, offering to help her up.
Chishoku… she seemed to tense a little. She looked at the sand, then at the distance, then back again as she subtly fiddled with her fingers. But then she took a deep breath, and hesitantly took AZ’s hand.
He pulled her up to her feet, amazed at her tall stature. Now, AZ wasn’t the tallest man, but he didn’t think he was that short compared to everyone else in his court, maybe just average, but he felt short next to her. AZ flushed just a little bit at the feeling.
Chishoku pulled away for a moment to look through the wreckage of her boat, Gallade helping to collect what remained of her things into a woven basket that could be slung over the back.
Once she came back and hesitantly took his offered hand once more, he linked their arms like a gentleman would, then began to lead the way to his home - the castle.
—————
AZ was thankful it was so late, he didn’t want to deal with the stares and whispers. He brought Chishoku to the castle gates, where two guards bowed at the sight of their king (even if they were confused by the strange woman he was with).
Inside, AZ led Chishoku through the halls, staring at her as she looked around in wonder. It wasn’t long until he came across one of the few servants who worked into the late night.
"Go ahead and draw up a bath for my guest here," AZ told the maid, who nodded and walked off to do as asked.
AZ opened a door for Chishoku, urging her to go into the guest room he picked for her.
Once she did, her eyes widened. It was extravagant, but most importantly it was new to her. The most familiar part of any of it was the wooden furniture, but even then it was built in a way that was new to her.
There was a special kind of smitten look in AZ’s eyes as he watched her run her fingers over the furniture, the walls, and inspect the decor. Floette gave him a light smack on the head with her flower to snap him out of it.
AZ stepped aside as two maids came through to start the bath, which sat in a chamber off to the side of the room.
He sighed, because no matter how much he wanted to keep watching Chishoku, he knew she probably wouldn’t appreciate him peeking in on her bath. So he gently brought her towards the bathing chamber, nodded once, and left.
"Make sure she gets comfortable clothes to sleep in," AZ instructed one of the maids before stepping out into the halls.
With a soft sigh, he made his way to his own chambers and sat down on the bed… then fell backwards.
"Kyuu…?"
He chuckled, "I’m fine, Floette. She’s just…"
Floette tilted her head and hovered closer, then perched atop AZ’s chest.
"She’s so… pretty? No, that’s not right. Maybe 'beautiful' is closer to what I’m thinking."
Floette smacked her flower against AZ’s face, making him grunt. It’s not like it ever really hurt badly, but it definitely got her message across…
"… ow."
AZ lifted his head, then reached up and began to gently rub the little fairy atop the head with a finger.
She tried to stay mad, but it wasn’t easy when he started to pamper her like this.
But AZ’s thoughts strayed.
His thoughts strayed from his adorably pouty Pokémon partner to Chishoku.
His thoughts strayed to her face, her hair, that intense stare she wore when she pinned him down, and the way her voice sounded when she said his name.
His thoughts strayed for seconds, then minutes, then hours. He couldn’t focus very well on anything he did, whether it be reviewing documents, reading, or even paying attention to Floette, which she very much did not appreciate.
By the time AZ laid in bed, he stared at the ceiling in silent confusion.
Why am I feeling like this? he wondered. What is going on with me? I’ve met beautiful women before. What’s so different about Chishoku?
He wasn’t sure. She was just a woman, wasn’t she? A very fierce warrior woman, but still.
He nestled into the bedsheets and blankets, his thoughts continuing to drift even as his mind became hazy with sleep.
—————
In the morning, AZ dressed himself in his robes, barely glancing at Floette as she flitted by.
"Hm… I wonder what Chishoku likes to eat in the morning…" he caught himself murmuring.
"ACK-"
Floette smacked him atop the head with her flower.
"Kyu!"
AZ frowned a little, "Hey, I’m just trying to be a good host here!"
—————
Over at the dining hall, AZ ate slowly, mind preoccupied. Floette was perched by a plate of her own, nibbling on her favorite berries when-
"Ei-see."
AZ perked up at the voice, quickly looking over to see Chishoku. He felt his heart stop - or maybe it was just beating too fast to feel.
She looked even more gorgeous in the daylight. Her skin like porcelain, her black hair was long enough to reach mid-back and looked silky and clean, and her eyes - her eyes - they really were like rubies. Precious jewels that almost sparkled.
Chishoku wore a loose white tunic, much like his own, with very wide legged pants, sandals, and a sash had been tied around her waist.
AZ stammered a little, before pushing some of the food that was on the table towards her as she sat, her Gallade following behind.
She looked curious at the Kalosian food she was presented with, it was very different from the food she was used to, but she hesitantly took a bite of some cured meats.
Chishoku’s eyes widened.
She began eating like mad, and her Gallade was pleased with the berries he was presented with.
…
"…Wow, she really can put it away, huh?" AZ said to Floette as they watched Chishoku grab her third plate. Floette just giggled at the comment.
Though, when Chishoku noticed AZ staring, she flushed. She wiped her hands, then put them together and spoke.
"いただきます！"
Itadakimasu! (I humbly receive!)
… and then she began to put even more food away. She must have been incredibly hungry, possibly not having eaten in several days.
It… worried him, for some reason. Why did it worry him? She was a stranger. A pretty stranger, but still a stranger.
He just chalked it up to being a host, concerned for a likely injured and starved guest.
—————
It’s already been a few days. AZ has tried (keyword tried) to become closer with Chishoku, but it was hard with the language barrier.
They had been trying to overcome it, but the most progress they’ve had is just word associations.
"This is a Pecha berry. Pe-cha," AZ said, holding out the pink berry.
Chishoku took it and slowly repeated the word in her accent, "Pe-cha be-ri." Then she spoke in her language, "モモンのみ. Mo-mo-no-nami."
He tried to repeat after her, "Mo-mo-no-nami?"
Chishoku nodded and smiled. This was progress, however small it was.