While gradually acclimating to Laani's presence in his lap, Jason listened attentively to Korrina recounting the events of their time apart. She made a point to exclude any information related to the Island Challenge, as she wanted to allow him to experience it organically, but she happily engaged Maeve and Nanahoshi in their own recountings of Alola's many sights and sponsored, community-driven events.
"And then I participated in Melemele Island's Sharpedo Circuit! I knew that Sharpedo were fast, but riding on the back of one as it sped through obstacles above and below water was really exciting~!" chimed Korrina, pumping her fists excitedly as she recalled the experience. She had only gotten fourth place, but as it was her first time competing and she had to borrow someone else's Ride-Sharpedo, she felt like she had done well.
"Oh, right! I totally remember that event...!" exclaimed Maeve, matching Korrina's energy as she glanced at Nanahoshi, who was already avoiding her gaze, and playfully asked, "Isn't that the race where you lost your top midway through and had to retire early? I had to coax you out of our room with your favorite dessert."
"Maeve...I don't particularly appreciate you bringing up embarrassing events from our past..." muttered Nanahoshi, cutely puffing her reddened cheeks before noticing that Jason was staring directly at her. Instead of sporting a playful or teasing look, however, he was staring at her with an expression halfway between sympathy and understanding.
Not wanting the conversation to be derailed by Nanahoshi's admittedly cute standoffishness, Jason, gently scratching the sides of Laani's head behind her ears, revealed, "I once slipped and fell into a pool while I was trying to show off to a group of older girls. After that, and until recently, I never went swimming again."
"Is that true?" reacted Korrina, her brows shooting as she remarked, "But before I left, you seemed to really enjoy snorkeling with Ellaine and taking photos with her. And then there was that time when the three of us made out after I flipped you off your board. If I hadn't given you Ren, I wouldn't have been surprised to see you turn out as a Water-type Trainer."
"There's nothing wrong with that. There are some really cool Water-types, and my personal Water-Ride Pokémon is a Tentacruel," contended Maeve, crossing her arms.
"I wasn't trying to imply there was," countered Korrina, shaking her head before smiling and pointing out, "I grew up in a coastal city, so I really like Water-types. And though we're rivals, I'm good friends with Nessa, one of the Galar Region's Gym Leaders. I'm sure the two of you know her."
"I'm not a fan..." stated Nanahoshi, her expression flattening and her eyes narrowing slightly as she revealed, "She was one of my opponents in the Great Class last year. She was nearly an hour late to our match, and when she finally showed up, there were a ton of people obsessing over her and taking photos. I won, but it was completely glossed over, and she went on to enter the Ultra Class after arranging a WCS promo event. It was totally uncool, and it threw off my vibe for the whole series..."
'That does sound pretty inconsiderate of her...' thought Jason. However, as he knew very little about Nessa outside of her being a Gym Leader, a famous model, and Korrina's friend, he concluded it was probably for the best if he remained silent.
"You say that, but your preliminary rank was sixteen positions higher than mine last year..." noted Maeve, looking slightly annoyed—not because of anything Nanahoshi had said but because she was frustrated by her poor performance. There were plenty of excuses she could provide, but had it not been for having a larger fan club than six other Trainers who tied with her for the 99th spot in the Ultra Class, she would have concluded her run in the Great Class, which would have tanked her ratings and possibly led to her fans and sponsors abandoning her. Coincidentally, that was what led to her employment at the Aether Foundation...
'I guess it wasn't the worst thing that's ever happened to me...' thought Maeve, shifting her gaze to Jason and smiling, prompting him to blink in surprise and adopt a clearly confused smile.
"Should I introduce the two of you so you can air out your complaints directly?" asked Korrina, brows raised as she posed, "Nessa is actually a very serious and conscientious person. If you confronted her, there's no doubt in my mind she would apologize and offer to battle you seriously. Maybe even on the spot."
"Mmn...I'll consider it..." responded Nanahoshi, going from frustrated to feeling embarrassed. Unfortunately, with Maeve and Korrina seated to her left and across from her, her attempts to avoid their gazes unfailingly led her to glance at Jason. And each time she saw him meet her gaze, staring at her as if he were eagerly but patiently waiting to hear what she had to say next, her heart beat a little quicker.
"Do the two of you maybe need a moment...?" asked Maeve, trying to be supportive of her best friend and rival. In response, Nanahoshi shot her a look before immediately changing topics, her gaze focusing on Korrina as she questioned, "Speaking of the WCS, I'm guessing your next destination is your home, right? If I remember correctly, Shalour City has a regulation stadium right outside of it."
"Actually, I'm glad you brought that up," said Korrina, her eyes becoming especially glossy as she looked to Jason and revealed, "If you're up for it, I wanted to invite you to come and accompany me for the duration of this year's WCS. There are many amazing Trainers I want to introduce you to, and it would be a good experience for you and Ren. And I'm sure Luca will be happy to see how much she's grown."
"I'm definitely willing, but we'll need to discuss it with Lillie, Ellaine, and a few others first," responded Jason, unable to keep a broad smile from his face as he revealed, "I was actually planning to run it by you if you hadn't brought it up, so I guess we're on the same page."
"Well, before Lillie appeared, I was your number one girl~" teased Korrina, winking playfully. When Jason promptly blushed because of it, she wasn't the only one to find it amusing. Maeve followed her bell-like giggle with a soft, husky laugh, and though she didn't laugh, Nanahoshi contributed to the warmth in Jason's cheeks with a mischievous, sidelong, narrow-eyed smile.
Fortunately for Jason, he knew the girls' teasing wasn't mean-spirited, so, sporting a smile of his own, he smoothly countered, "You'll forever be my life's savior and my first love in this world..." while massaging the back of the faintly purring Laani's neck and shoulders with his thumbs.
"Oh, snap..." muttered Maeve, shifting her gaze, along with Nanahoshi's, to Korrina. For several seconds, the latter just stared wide-eyed, visibly stunned. Then, as the gears in her brain began to turn, her face became increasingly red to the point she had to stand up and mutter, "I...I need a moment..." before walking off with her hands on her cheeks.
"Lo...?"
Hearing Korrina get up to leave, Laani opened her contentedly closed eyes and stared at her Trainer's retreating figure in confusion. Her first instinct was to chase after her and ensure she was okay. But with Jason kneading her shoulders in a way she had never experienced before, she found herself hesitating—albeit only for a moment.
Nearly knocking Jason over, Laani surged up from his lap to catch up to Korrina without further hesitation. This was actually pretty timely on her part, as the more comfortable she got, the more audible her purring and the more she wiggled her butt. Were it not for his single-minded focus on the discussion between the three girls, Jason may have had to do a bit of explaining when she got up from him naturally.
Catching Jason off guard and helping to prevent his eyes from wandering someplace they shouldn't, Nanahoshi and Maeve both gave him a thumbs up with opposite hands, the former being the one to remark, "Jason used Counter. It was super effective against Gym Leader Korrina's heart. Jason wins the battle~."
"Hahaha! Good one, Nana...!" bellowed Maeve, throwing her head back and performing an uninhibited belly laugh with her hands tightly gripping the knees of her crossed legs. The truth was that she had taken collateral damage from Jason's comment, her heart skipping a beat and then racing in her chest as she envisioned him uttering similar sweet nothings directly into her ear...
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After cooling her head and returning to Jason, Maeve, and Nanahoshi, Korrina, having regained her usual bubbly self, spiritedly suggested that they make their way to the hot spring. Ordinarily, Nanahoshi would excuse herself around that time, so Jason was a little surprised when she agreed to accompany them, giving him his fourth glimpse of her slender and very athletic body as everyone undressed in the same area.
"Haaaaaaaaa...Ula'ula Island's hot springs are great, but this one beats them all..." sighed Korrina, forgoing a shower to sink directly into the hot spring. Nanahoshi's eyes narrowed slightly when she witnessed this, but instead of saying anything, she silently occupied the bath stool to Jason's right in the shower area, leaving Maeve to sit to his left.
Lacking Nanahoshi's subtlety, Maeve glanced back at Korrina and openly asked, "Aren't we supposed to shower before we get in? I didn't take you for a rule breaker, Korrina."
"I traveled a long way to get here as early as I could, so I'm certain that Jason will forgive me, just this once~" hummed Korrina, sinking up to her shoulders in the hazy hot spring with her golden-blonde hair secured in a white towel. In response, Jason glanced back at her, repeating, "Just this once..." in what he intended to be a casual tone before returning his focus to Ren, standing in front of him atop a friction mat so she didn't slip as he lathered and cleansed her body. Doing so had become second nature to him at that point, but with Laani directly behind and watching him with her hands on his shoulders, seemingly wanting to reciprocate his massage, he felt tense rather than relaxed.
"So, what do you want to do after this?" asked Maeve, helping to distract Jason as she casually mentioned, "If you've got nothing else planned, you can come hang out at mine and Nana's place to watch a movie. Tomorrow is our day off, so we can stay up later than usual..."
Since it was his leisure day as well and he didn't want to make things awkward for Maeve by refusing her invitation, Jason didn't hesitate too long before responding, "Sounds good. I'll need to return by lunch, but that gives us three to four hours to hang out."
"Nice! I've actually been bugging Nana to let me invite you over for like three weeks now, so let's turn it into a proper watch party once we head over~!" chimed Maeve, sporting a rare, full-faced smile. She had expected and would have understood if Jason had declined due to Korrina's sudden return, so his acceptance made her stomach do several backflips and her heart pump its nonexistent fists.
Hearing Maeve casually throw her under the bus, Nanahoshi's eyes briefly narrowed before she glanced back over her left shoulder and met Laani's gaze, prompting the Lopunny to stare back at her curiously. Korrina and Maeve might not have noticed, but she had definitely keyed in on the fact that Jason was feeling on edge due to the fluffy Pokémon's apparent and growing fondness for him. Ordinarily, she wouldn't think much of this, but given Jason's unique physiology, she couldn't resist lowering her gaze to Laani's modest but shapely breasts, her tight waist, and her partly hidden, almost human privates...
"Hey, Nana, are you listening to me? What movie do you want to watch...?" asked Maeve, causing Nanahoshi to startle from the trance she had fallen into. After that, she smoothly segued into talking about movies, but while her expression was calm, her mind was racing with possibilities she hadn't considered...
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