Pokemon - From the Brink

Chapter 16 - Trapped in Slumber

"Are you ok?" Nelly asked as she closed the curtains.

"Yeah... My legs are really sore though..." I said, laying on the bed. When Grovyle and I had swapped our bond and he had filled me with his strength, I had tapped into his incredible speed. I had moved so fast that I didn't even know what was happening at the time. Moving so fast had put a real strain on my legs though – understandably so, since I was pretty sure no person had ever run that fast before.

Jordan had been recording the battlefield with his laptop's camera, and, although I had gone straight to bed to rest my legs, he had shared the footage of what had been captured with everyone else.

Nelly told me all about it, how in the footage there was little more than a blur and what looked like a gust of wind, before I appeared at the other end of the field out of nowhere. Jordan slowed the footage down as much as he could, and you could barely make out what resembled legs as I ran past.

"Well, that makes sense..." Nelly nodded. "Coach Kudou said you used up all your energy. You pushed it all into your legs, but even then, moving so fast... You must have a lot of lactic acid in there now."

"Yeah... No person is meant to move that quickly." I winced as I shifted my weight. "But I'm glad I did."

"Me too." She laughed. "You really do amaze me sometimes."

"Hey, I do it to myself too." I chuckled.

"Still... Who knew the Bond Phenomenon could be reversed like that? That was insane... But if it takes so much out of a person, is it worth it...? Of course – it was worth it this time. I saved her... But why was such a thing even possible? ...Coach Kudou told us what happened. He must know more about it – I'll have to ask him after the match tomorrow..."

"I'll go and bring you something from the cafeteria." Nelly said, walking towards the door. "Try not to move too much, ok?"

"Thank you. I won't."

*

"He knows a lot about the Bond Phenomenon..." Kiria thought to herself as she strolled through the hallway. "Why is that? Kudou doesn't have a battling background. Or one in research, for that matter. Why does a man like that have so many mysteries? First he won't talk about the Prime Minister's disappearance, then he comes out with all this information that a person couldn't possibly pull out of thin air... Well, now that I have this equipment on me, I think it's time to interview him again."

Before joining the Asian team, Kiria had interviewed Kudou regarding the situation around Japan's Prime Minister. He had remained tight-lipped, and as a result, Megan struck a deal with the coach to allow Kiria to join his team to keep an eye on him, just in case a lead on the Prime Minister's whereabouts came up. Another condition laid on the table was that Kudou would have to be open to interrogation periodically throughout Kiria's time watching him.

It was now that Kiria decided to enact that privilege, knocking on his office door as the Sun began to set outside.

"Come in." His voiced floated from inside.

Kiria opened the door and saw him sat at his desk, reviewing the data Xene had printed for him. "Kudou, I'd like to ask you to come with me, please."

"That time, is it?" Kudou stood without argument. "Very well, but I'm telling you, Miss Kurono, my answers will remain the same."

"We'll see about that, Sir." She held the door open and he came out into the hall. "There's a building I had commandeered when we arrived. It's property of my department and a short walk away. As you know, our conversations are to remain highly confidential."