emerging from behind. mateo, like the sharpedo that he was, spawned to deliver a hitmonchan punch. "sharp bite!" he shouted, emerging from behind and punching kyle square in the back of his head. a devilish grin, he'd let out a chortle after his assault.

swimming backwards as he cried with laughter. he'd float, saying, "look who we got here. come off to wash the smell of a dog, finally!" as he swam backwards without a care in the world. mateo took time out of his peace to bully the dog tamer.

"i was practicing my underwater breathing techniques, only to find the penis of a man dangling before my very eyes underwater." with a grin that resembled a banette, he'd add, "nice ekans you got there."

he takes the hit squarely having not anticipated an attack. peace was disturbed in a single moment. the next thing kyle knows is that he plunges face first into the water, almost hitting the floor from the force of the impact.

he immediately pushes himself up to the surface, standing up and then kicking water on mateo's face. "you do that in a regular ass pool, not a fucking hot spring!" he wonders what kind of constitution mateo even has if he can stay underneath the hot spring water long enough for kyle to enter and ease himself in a comfortable position.

calming down, he gives one last splash before settling back to being half submerged. he looks straight to mateo's eyes, raising a brow and putting on a smirk. "liked what you saw?"

"in the words of CHANCELOR MCQUEEN , you were definitely lettin' it 'thwap'!" mateo responded, poking fun at kyle. it was nice to have some form of rest and relaxation. it was rare he obtained these moments, they were to, and should, be savored.

"there's no noelle here, no chance. my biggest headaches are far from me. unaware of my location..." he swam like a poochyena, peddling like a dog. "oh!" it just came to him, "by the way, you were there during that invasion on from team airship, right? i heard you're the big hero of hoenn, talk about jealous!" mateo squealed with envy. "we need to get you a cape soon. then you'll really complete the look, just imagine it!" he already imagining it. face half-hidden underneath the water as glistening eyes sparkled like a child.

"good to know that i finally graduated from being a headache."

he probably shouldn't have mentioned it in case mateo revokes it.

settling once more on the edge of the pool, he collects the wooden bucket that floated around nearby. the bottle of sake, something reminiscent of johto, toppled over from the commotion earlier, but remains capped for the most part. a sigh of relief escapes kyle.

"i didn't even do anything significant back then." the words sounded like regular kyle trying to be modest instead of saying the truth however. "can't say i don't like the fame though."

he unseals the bottle of alcohol and pours himself a cup. he drinks the entirety in one go.

"the cape's more your thing though." he points out. kyle tries to think of something else less flashy, but he throws the question to buy him time to think of something for him. "do you really want us to have the same thing?"

as much as he got on kyle's case. he thought of the blonde as the brother he never had. he was the levelheaded type, whereas mateo the raging storm. in a sense, they were the calm before the storm. where mateo had power and busted his way through things, kyle, meticulously, thought out his actions.

"of course the capes my thing. but, every now and then, what's a mightyena without its pack." as much as he'd hate to admit. being here, in hoenn, wouldn't be much fun without the knucklehead. he preferred hanging out with him more than chance, anyway. at least he didn't try to fight all the time. "you should really stop doubting your feats. you were on the frontlines fighting against the big honcho," mateo commented. in his opinion, that was a big feat.

ooh!" looking over to find that he was carrying sake, he'd swim over. "pass me some!" he asked, reaching for the bottle. while doing so, he'd ask, "you don't like the fame? oh come on, you must have a lot of people wanting to interview you right now. talk about kickass, idjit!"

"it's not like i doubt them," he groans. "it's more like i don't see it as an accomplishment when i lasted like three minutes tops. you don't see me complaining about my ten badges, right?"

he sinks himself deeper in the water until only his head is exposed above the surface. he pushes the wooden bucket containing the alcohol until it floats to mateo's direction. "the seller told me it's from mahogany. dunno if it's true though." the taste and alcohol concentration did seem authentic when he tried it.

"eh. i bet the interview's gonna end up like one of those times where you say the first thing that comes to your mind, and then five minutes later, you form something on your head that ends up sounding better, you feel me?"

kyle does well under pressure, though he cannot say that he doesn't actually panic during those times. unsolicited interviews give him the same kind of stress. it's why he has avoided them for the longest time since that event.

he did an AMA on the internet though, albeit just on communities he was a part of. everyone just posted memes and inside jokes. it was fun.

"where were you even when that happened? missed the party again?"

drinking straight from the bottom. mateo listened as kyle spoke, all while drowning himself in alcohol. with a big, and loud exhale, he'd say, "ten?! you got lucky with half of those!" he'd heard half of the gym leaders he received those from quit, so he never got his chance to obtain twice as kyle. it was infuriating that he had more then him.

"screw those gym leaders. half of them took forever to accept my challenge, so i just said screw challengin' those idjits, idjit." and screw him he did. those gym leaders needed work to begin with. "no wonder rocket was able to take sootopolis." he took another swab. looking toward kyle, mateo would come to rest his back upon the edge of the onsen. an arm propped as he rested his chin upon it, his other hand with the sake.

he slowly turned red in the face.

"that's me all the time!" he totally knew where he was coming from! arms swung to the side as he showed great expression. he'd take another swab of the sake. "gah!" he was then asked a question, "i wasn't around at the time!" slamming his fist into the water, splashing, a fist tightened. "i was off training!" to think he missed such an opportunity. "the one time i'm nowhere near either of those places, it sucks so much." he wanted to cry himself to sleep. it was frustrating just to think about. "so jealous!!" he'd slam his head into the water.

the sake was kept above water. mateo slowly, and secretly, drowned himself due to shame and anger.

"yeah, ten." a face of contempt is evident on his expression. he tilts his head up as he wears his smirk along with smug eyes.

despite hoenn being his home, he does little to defend it from mateo's statement. he does contradict one part of it. "slateport," he corrects mateo amid his rant.

kyle grabs the bottle of sake as mateo gets himself underwater, quickly pouring himself a shot and chugging it down. it was quickly followed by a few more shots, as many as he could before mateo loses air in his lungs.

he waits for him to get up before continuing the conversation.

"what if i'm actually the main character of this show? the main hero or something cause i was there! you'll be, like, the main supporting character, yeah! too bad you're not a childhood friend or love interest or villain turned ally or something though. that's fine. they do cool stuff too."

upon returning to the surface above. mateo, irritably, stared toward kyle. "first off, you'd be a totally lame protag. people prefer the underdog, you're more of a..." he refused to end his statement with the words 'top dog'. he was trying to insult him not compliment. so, he'd briefly pause for a few seconds. clicking his tongue the next and directing his sights elsewhere--until it hit him and he sharply turned his head back, "stupid dog!"

"secondly," he cheekily grinned, a curve within his pearly smile. mateo, moving in closer as he swam in a circle around kyle, poking fun at the blonde all the while, "love interest? as if someone like you would have the capability to make someone head over heels for you! " though, he thought about it, did kyle have a girlfriend? there's no way someone with such a stoic face had the capability for romance.

mateo halted briefly upon coming to a pause. he'd float in place, then stood. he'd lean in from the side, examining kyle with a curious look. mateo, red in the face, asked, "oya, oya? tell me somethin', have you ever kissed a girl?" an impish grin formed right after.

he places the bottle of sake back to the water bucket, letting it float idly as they talked.

"oi. firstly, i'm underdog material!" kyle wasn't sure why he wanted to be one, but he's defending his point just for the sake of having an argument. "mightyena versus dragonite; who'd ya think people expect to win?"

just having an aerial advantage makes the dragonite the clear winner. mightyena do not even have anything special about them that distinguishes them from other dogs. anything they do, the other dog pokemon can do better.

"and secondly...!" the realization hits him. his hands grip deep into his scalp, frustration rising as he couldn't find a counter argument against it. "fuck, you're right!"

he stifles, until mateo speaks again. he quickly turns to him, feebly pointing a finger at him. "no... a-a-and that's unfair coming from you! you've got either bry's or noelle's, i bet!" he has that unexplainable charm and charisma to get people to like him. kyle doesn't have those.

has he kissed another girl? no. has he received one? yes, and on the cheek, and probably just a gesture of affection between close friends. girls do that all the time.

he was a bit tipsy. listening while simultaneously suffering from early intoxication. a dragonite vs. a mightyena? he thought about it briefly before answering. folded arms and a serious expression showed how deep in thought he was with the question. "considerin' that its you. if i didn't know you, the obvious answer would be dragonite. but you're a tricky bastard. you'd have to be the biggest idiot or cockiest son of a bitch to take any pokemon--especially a dark-type like mightyena--lightly." he knew what kyle was capable of.

"especially in a double battle..." mightyena's were pretty dangerous when it came to team-based combat. solo on the other hand? that's a different story.

mateo stared at kyle as he became flustered from mateo's own question. droopy eyes stared at the finger that pointed at him. a drunken chuckle was all mateo could muster.

wet hair befell over mateo's eyes, hiding his expression. it wasn't until the minute after kyle spoke his next lines, mateo grabbed the blonde by the hand with which he pointed with. brute strength overpowered the blonde, shutting off any chance he had of escaping.

mateo would tug the blonde into him using the palm of his right hand, and with his left arm he'd place it around kyle's neck the next. hugging the male with just a single arm, there they were together within the steamy hot waters. the alcoholic breath escaped past mateo's lips as they slightly opened, just inches away from kyle's ear, he'd whispered, immediately, something softly within it, "...between me and you, i've never kissed anyone." mateo informed him, continuing, "...if you want..." mateo spoke, pausing briefly, "...you could be my first..."

he'd then maneuver away from his ears. placing his forehead upon kyle's own, "i won't tell if you won't..."

kyle freezes when mateo grabs his hand, startled. had he not been inebriated as well, he'd have something to say.

the contact between their bare skin had him weak. he could feel his heart race as mateo's breath blew on his ears. alcohol made his body hot had the waters haven't done so yet. kyle would blame his flushed appearance on them instead of other more evident reasons.

getting pulled closer to mateo with an arm around him made him unable to move. he starts to evaluate his impression on the dragon master within the few moments that the position was maintained. was he pitying on him? is this a joke or is he actually serious about this. kyle's mind did not have enough energy to process this thoughts.

"i won't."

he sticks to his nature and goes with the flow. he moves his lips closer to his aggressively, his free hand going to the back of mateo's head and pushing it against his, holding the position until either of them breaks free.

"how's that?" the tone was challenging, or complacent, or anything similar to that nature.

hues were widened in shock. surprised by the action kyle had taken. it was like the world fell into a moment of silence, his inebriated state dismantling his equilibrium and the world around him. those once widened eyes narrowed during their forbidden contact.

did it feel right? did it feel wrong? he wasn't sure. it just felt...numb. he didn't hate it, nor did he like it.

the pair, then, severed themselves. asking as to how he performed mateo, chuckling, patted the blonde's face. "ask me again when i'm not tipsy." hiccuping, mateo would take his leave. grabbing his towel from the side and wrapping it around him. he'd leave the onsen, waving as he continued walking forward without looking bad. spurts of hiccups were heard as he entered the bathhouse and his silhouette faded off. just what was rummaging around mateo's drunken thoughts?


[ e x i t ]