Where I belong

Chapter 4

I hurried back to my new house, and once inside, I kicked off my shoes and locked the door behind me. I was thrilled to be officially part of the team and no longer feared getting kicked out. I hurried over to my futon, where Opal's egg was lying, and picked her up.

"Opal, I did it! I did it!" I exclaimed while jumping with excitement. I hugged and kissed her on the top of the shell. My little celebration stopped when I saw her egg, which broke my heart because she wasn't here to celebrate with me. But I couldn't linger in sadness; I needed to get ready.

Placing Opal back on the futon, I removed my old clothing. I was excited that I would no longer have people judging me for how I dressed. I faced the mirror to see my reflection and saw just an average woman, nothing too special. With navy blue hair and dull gray eyes, my body was slim, and my chest was normal.

Yet, everything felt odd to me, like this body didn't belong to me at all. I ignored those thoughts for the time being and unfolded the clothing given to me. It was the same as Rei's blue yukata and pants, with a tight black long-sleeved shirt underneath. I rushed to put everything on and was ready to leave when I had an idea.

What if I left one of my newly captured Pokémon to care for Opal? It would be hard to choose, so I grabbed a random Pokéball and threw it out. Shinx was the one that was released. From the moment it came out, it found a nice corner to hide in and trembled. I thought it must be because of the new environment, as I wanted to hide myself when I first arrived.

I kneeled for the Shinx to see me, but I could sense the poor thing was about to attack if I made any wrong move. So, I had to take it nice and slow. I reached my hand towards him, but he growled. I paused, waited for a bit, then tried again; urging Shinx to trust me, but he scratched me. I jolted back a bit. I'm not a danger.

I kept my hand there and didn't move. The scratch was deep and started to bleed a bit. I needed to find a different approach. Shinx wasn't giving me a chance to get close to him. I hummed and looked around before my eyes landed on the answer. I looked back at Shinx and smiled a bit.

"My name is Akari, and I have a favor to ask," I began calmly and as nicely as possible. "I have an egg to look after, but I won't be here to take care of it. Do you think you can take care of the egg for me?" I asked. I moved back slowly and walked towards Opal once again. Shinx lifted its head to look at her egg.

"If you take care of it, I promise to get you a nice treat as a thank you," I said. The Shinx's confusion went away a bit. Its body relaxed, letting its guard down at the promise of something to eat. It just gave me a little nod as confirmation that it understood.

"Thank you." Even though I wasted some time, it didn't matter to me. Opal's safety will always be my top priority. I walk very slowly so that I won't scare the Shinx. I do not want to get electrocuted right now. My hand is still bleeding a bit. I looked around the room quickly before deciding to pat the blood away with my old shorts.

"Be safe, alright," I told the Shinx and left. When I returned to the building, I saw Rei inside.

"Hey! Look at you! You are one of us now!" he grinned.

"Now that I am, will you stop being a little brat?" I smirked.

"Are you sure you are not talking about yourself," he smiled back.

"Why, you little! I'm going to kill you!!"

"Aww, is the little kid going to have a fit!" he smirked and continued laughing. I raised a hand, wanting to punch him, but we both knew I wouldn't.

"I see you've changed." I hear Rei squeak again in fear. Hey, he should learn to be quiet when near the officials. That's basic knowledge. It's funny, though. I see Rei, a tall man, having a high-pitched scream when someone scars behind him.