No, but Daniel Does.

Given your recent track record, you’re hesitant to ask Daniel anything else at the moment. Who knows whether or not whatever you ask will somehow end up digging into some other painful memory or piece of trauma. It feels more likely than not at this point, you think slightly bitterly to yourself. So rather than ask him a question, you say “Well you had your turn at questions, then I had mine. So I guess we’re back to you.”

“Oh yeah? Hm, then…” Daniel closes his eyes, before reopening them after a moment of silent contemplation. “There is actually something important I need to ask you, something Kay and I have been wondering.”

His tone shifts away from his usual casualness, causing you to raise an eyebrow. “Alright, what is it?”

“So, uh…” The blonde boy starts, but trails off and falls into an uncharacteristically awkward silence. He clicks his tongue a few times, seemingly searching for the correct words, leaving you wondering just what the hell he wants to ask and why he’s hesitating so much. After all, you had just asked him what turned out to be some uncomfortable questions, so it’s not likely that anything he might ask would be out of bounds in your eyes.

Still, odd as it is to see Daniel so cautious about speaking his mind, you wait patiently, letting him take his time to figure out how to say whatever he means to. After several seconds of this he sighs, then shakes his head. “Eh, there’s not exactly a delicate way to put this, so I’ll just say it flat out; would it upset you if Kay or I wanted to challenge Blueberry to a battle?”

Ah. That explains the hesitance. Because of course he’s not just asking about battling your rival, but about what would come after should she be defeated… Your friends really do think Blue means a lot to you, even if you can’t be entirely sure yourself. You know you don’t hate her, and she’s certainly on your mind a lot, but she’s-

With a sharp shake of your head you pull yourself out of your thoughts, not wanting to get caught up in the same confusing loop that’s been plaguing ever since your journey started. Free for the moment from thoughts on your perplexing relationship with your rival, you give the blue-eyed boy a wry grin. “Daniel, I don’t know how many times I have to say this before it sinks in, but Blue isn’t my girlfriend or anything. Okay?”

“I get that, I get that. Just… We wanted to check with you anyway, ya know? Just in case.” He replies, returning your smile.

“I appreciate that, but even if I put aside the complications between her and I, and admit that I do worry about her sometimes… I’ve already accepted the fact that she’s a trainer. She’s going to battle, and sometimes she’ll lose. It happened with Nate and Diane, and it’ll happen again. So don’t let me hold you or Kayla back. Besides, I wouldn’t put it past her to challenge one of you if she gets pissy enough, and you aren’t guaranteed to win either. I wouldn’t underestimate her if I were you.”

The muscular young man chuckles, looking far more relaxed than he had just a moment ago. “Fair, fair. If she’s good enough to beat you, she’s no pushover… Probably.” You roll your eyes and his teasing, and he laughs once more before continuing to speak. “I’ve got a couple more questions -related questions - if you don’t mind.”

“Related questions?”

“Yup.” You motion with your hand for him to go on, and Daniel asks “First; how do you think Sunshine would react? Would she get upset with us, even if you wouldn’t?”

“Sunshine…? Oh, Daisy?” Your friend confirms your suspicions of his nickname for the elder Oak sister with a nod and a grin. Having gotten used to his nicknaming habit, you just roll with this and continue. “Hmm, well…” You cast your mind back to when you first beat Blue, a mere ten days ago that feels so much longer… “She wasn’t angry with me when I beat Blue. She said she was prepared for it, since Blue wanted to be a trainer.”

“…So basically what you just said to me?”

“I, uh… yeah. Basically.” You reply sheepishly.

Grinning, the Vermillion boy says “Man, you and her really are two peas in a pod. No wonder she likes you so much.”

“Yeah yeah, I get it.” Speaking hurriedly in an attempt to move the conversation away from Daniel’s teasing insinuations about you and your neighbor, you say “Look, the point is; Daisy should be just fine with you guys battling Blue. As long as you aren’t cruel to her or anything, I doubt you have anything to worry about from her or me. Now, you said you had a couple questions, right? What else is there?”

Smirking at your rushed attempt to change the subject, the golden-haired young man nonetheless obliges you. “Yeah, one other big one… Who do you think’ll snap first and challenge the other; Kay, or Blueberry?”

“Oh? Oh man…” You both erupt in laughter, the sound of it echoing in the large bathing chamber. “That’s… That’s hard to say! They’re both at each other’s throats already.”

“Right? I’m really curious. Part of me thinks that Kay might just go straight for it once she hears you gave the go-ahead… But a bigger part of me feels like she’s just gonna keep poking the Blue-bear-ry until it explodes, until she gets challenged, ya know?”

“I could definitely see that.” You respond. “Then again, I could also see Blue trying to be on her best behavior with her sister here, that could be why she didn't blow up on me in the Pokécenter earlier… They may actually be locked in a stalemate for now.”

Daniel shakes his head. “Nah, I got a good feeling one will crack, sooner rather than later. And I’d bet on Blueberry, personally. Girl’s got the shortest fuse I’ve ever seen.”

“Kayla’s patience isn’t infinite though.” You counter. “ She’s only gonna be able to take so much patented Blue bitchiness.”

“True, true… Looks like we’re divided then. But there’s one thing we can definitely agree on though.” A wide smile splits the blue-eyed boy’s face. “Whoever wins, we are in for quite the show afterwards.”

A matching grin crosses your own lips as you respond. “Oh yes. That is going to be fun.”

After that, the conversation shifts away from the topic of battles and forfeits, away from any serious discussion whatsoever. Neither of you seems to want to broach any heavier topics, both having gotten your fill of that type of talk when discussing your families earlier. The two of you continue to trade questions, but only about simple things, ways to get to know each other better. Conversation about common likes and dislikes - TV shows, foods, music, etc. - eat up most of the rest of your time in the bath. Once you realize you’re running low on time, you split off, each heading into separate stalls to take much needed showers, scrubbing off the several days of travel that clings to your bodies. Before too much longer, a buzzer sounds, alerting you that it’s time to head out.

Reconvening at the door that leads back into the changing room, both far cleaner than when you entered, you make to exit the bath. You make it to the door first and, as you pull it open, are stopped in your tracks.

Standing right in the entryway, hand reaching out as if to turn the knob of the door you just opened, is a nude young woman, looking to be in her early twenties. Her smooth skin is incredibly pale, and in her pretty face are set a pair of cold steel-gray eyes. Her silver hair, slightly wavy, flows down to her mid-back, long and kept clear of her face. She’s quite slim, the only real curve to her being at her hips, as her chest sports nearly flat A-cups. Between her pale skin, silver hair, and gray eyes, she almost looks drained of color, like a monochrome drawing of a woman.

She stares up at you in silence from her height of 5’7”, no expression on her face nor emotion in her eyes. Your gaze locks with hers, and for several seconds you just stand there, face flushing as you stare awkwardly at this naked woman standing less than a foot away from you, feeling locked in place. If she notices your reaction, she does not show it. She merely stands quietly in front of you, refusing to break your gaze.

“You might wanna move, Casanova. Let her through?”

Daniel’s voice cuts through the silent, odd tension between you and the pale girl, helping your snap back to reality. “Oh, right. Sorry about that!” You step back to make room for the silver-haired girl to enter, still holding open the door. Another moment of awkward silence passes, before the young woman decides to step into the room. She keeps her eyes on you the entire time, turning around to continue facing you once she’s made it past the threshold, her emotionless stare permanently fixated upon your face. “Um…” You shift in place awkwardly, not sure what to do in this situation, not sure how to react to the naked girl’s blank, unending stare…

“Soooo… What’s your name?” The Vermillion boy asks, once again trying to **** his way through the uneasy quiet in the room.

For the first time, the gray-eyed girl speaks. Her voice is soft, so much so that you almost don’t hear her reply. “Alice.” She says, still refusing to look anywhere other than at you even as she responds to the blue-eyed boy’s question. Your heart rate starts to pick up, this is getting a little creepy…

Another period of silence follows her answer, prompting Daniel to once again try and move the conversation along. “Well, Alice, nice to meet you. I’m Daniel, this is Red - or Casanova - aaand our bath time is up so we have to get going. Haveanicedaybye!”

The blonde boy quickly shuffles out of the room after his rushed words, grabbing you by the shoulder as he does and dragging you along with him. “Goodbye.” The quiet girl says as you leave, still staring at you right up until your friend shuts the door to the changing room.

As soon as the door shuts you gasp, releasing a breath you hadn’t realized you were holding. That was… intense. Her stare was so… empty. Empty, yet completely focused on you, unwavering. Why!? Was she mad that you had almost bumped into her, or that you maybe stared at her for a little to long? She didn’t seem angry, hell she didn’t seem anything! Just… blank. Cold. Unattached.

“Well, that was fucking weird.” Your friend says, a shudder running through his body. “You know that girl or something Casanova?”

“No, I’ve never met her before.” There was something familiar about her though, something tugging at the edge of your mind that you can’t quite place…

“Okay then, she was just being creepy. Cool. Got it. Creepy, pale, quiet girl just staring into your eyes and not saying anything. I think you’re being haunted, man.”

“Very funny.” You reply sarcastically. Bringing your hands up to your head, you rub your temples briefly, trying in vain to make sense of what just happened.

“Or maybe she was just instantly drawn to your many charms, Casanova. She probably wants a piece.” The blonde boy quips, apparently managing to quickly shake off his own feelings of unease.

This actually manages to make you chuckle, and you shake your head a bit to try and help clear your nerves. “Somehow I doubt that… Man, between her and that tattooed girl earlier, we’ve had rough luck with bathing partners today, huh?” You say, doing your best to add levity to the strange situation.

Daniel sighs, slumping his shoulders dramatically. “Yeahhh, wasn’t the best case of cutie-watching… Though I guess they were both pretty cute, come to think, rudeness and weirdness aside.”

“You’re incorrigible.” You reply in mock disdain, getting a grin from your friend. “Alright, enough of this. Let’s get dressed and get out of here. We need to meet back up with the girls.” And with an agreement from Daniel, that’s exactly what you start to do, swiftly pulling on fresh clothes and doing your best to simply not think about the strange event that marked the end of your time bathing here. But even as you dress yourself and try to put Alice out of your mind, you can’t help but feel uneasy, like those steel-gray eyes of hers are still boring a hole through you…

And as you exit the changing room alongside the blue-eyed young man, ready to meet back up with Kayla and the Oak sisters, one last shiver runs down your spine.

Author’s note: Hello everyone, hope you’re all doing well! Just wanted to take the time to point out that Daniel’s nickname for Daisy has finally been revealed! And I went with Sunshine, as suggested by yeahyeahyeah1234! Thank you very much to everyone who suggested names, I really appreciate it and hope to do more things like this in the future :D