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Hisui had been no stranger to pirates, even prior to the arrival of the Galaxy Team Expedition. It was an island with many inlets and bays—plenty of places to hide. The Diamond and Pearl Clan settlements were too far inland to be reasonable targets for thieves by sea, though, so little mind was paid to them.
Now with an abundance of resources funneling in from other regions and new treasures being found within Hisui itself, pirates were becoming far too common to ignore anymore.
Iscan had come from the Cobalt Coastlands to warn Adaman as much shortly before the Diamond Clan leader received a notice from Commander Kamado. One of the ships bringing supplies from Johto had been ransacked with all of its valuables stolen before the sails were slashed and the crew set adrift at the mercy of the currents and wild sea pokemon. Normally, this would be a matter the Diamond and Pearl clans would tackle together with the Galaxy Team, but after having already lost their Lord of the Isles once to the ocean and almost a second time to bandits, the Pearl Clan decided they would not involve themselves in the matter—yet.
Adaman wanted to grumble but he could hardly begrudge Irida the hard decision to withhold assistance at the insistence of Palina and the rest of the Pearl Clan's Counsel.
Instead, Adaman was having to call a meeting of his own clan’s Counsel to address the issue. The sun was barely cresting the eastern sky, and he knew it was going to be a long day.
"You should be careful thinking so hard. I think I can see smoke coming out of your ears," Akari teased from the doorway, a pack in one hand and her shoes in the other.
Leafeon gave an excited trill, leaping from her perch at the foot of Adaman’s bed to greet their guest. Akari shut the door behind her—long past the time where she needed to knock to enter—and knelt to Leafeon’s height to return the greeting.
“Hello, beautiful girl. Has Adaman been taking good care of you? I have a troublesome Eevee that I’m trying to train right now. Do you think you can help me?” Her eyes were bright and a carefree smile graced her features as she spoke to the leaf pokemon.
Adaman’s heart tugged in his chest at the sight of Akari with his Leafeon. He looked forward to the day that she was there to greet them both every dawn, ideally from his bed and not his door.
Slate grey eyes found his gaze, a sly smirk slid across her lips as if reading his mind. “Good morning,” she greeted, hands full with a Leafeon demanding belly rubs.
He leaned against the post of his bed, giving her his best attempt at a casual smile. “Good morning. Safe travels, I presume?” he inquired, but they both knew that travel through the wilderness could be very unsafe no matter the precautions taken. She was here, in one piece, however, so the trip must have been mostly uneventful.
Akari scowled, lowering her gaze back to Leafeon. "Safe but too bloody early."
Adaman hummed but knew Akari was far from a morning person. He decided to inquire about her new pokemon troubles, instead of her displeasure in traveling across Hisui in the twilight hours. “What’s this about a new Eevee?”
Akari didn't bother looking up from where she was showering Leafeon with attention. “Another distortion appeared in the Highlands. I rescued and caught an Eevee that had fallen from a cliff. There’s something different about it, though. I don’t think it’s wild, at least not in the typical sense. It’s being especially…” she paused, considering, as if trying to find the right world. “...stubborn. In truth, it reminds me a bit of the pokemon from my time. The ones that had been raised from eggs. Spoiled, haughty. Doesn’t seem to know a thing about fending for itself.”
That peeked Adaman’s interest. “Pokemon act differently in your time?”
Akari looked at him oddly. “I mean, yeah? But they sometimes act differently here, too. Haven’t you noticed?”
At his confused look, Akari hummed thoughtfully, all the while petting on his Leafeon—the little traitor.
“Think about Mai’s Munchlax. They’ve been together since her childhood, right?” she asked. Adaman nodded in agreement. “So think about her Munchlax, and then think about any other Munchlax you’ve ever come across in the wild. They act completely different, right?”
“Yes, I suppose so,” he agreed, seeing what she was getting at. “So pokemon who have been raised around humans act differently than those who have lived in the wilderness.”
“Exactly.”
“So you think your new Eevee has been displaced from a time close to yours, where humans and pokemon live together?” Adaman summarized.
“My time or around there.”
There were still moments when Adaman marveled that this amazing, loving, beautiful woman was from another time. That a being even more powerful than Dialga had reasoned to bring her to this time. That Adaman would be blessed to meet her, fall in love with her and her with him, and one day soon be able to call her his wife.
“How long do we have before we need to leave?” Akari asked, standing from the floor with a dejected whine from Leafeon. She giggled and dusted off her shirt and pants. “I’m sorry, girl. I can’t look like I’ve rolled in every field between here and Jubilife. There’s a saying,” she glanced at Adaman, giving him a wink. “Dress to impress.”
After learning of how seeing her in Diamond Clan regalia affected him, Akari made a point of wearing shirts that had the clan's insignia on proud display either across the chest or back. Only recently had Adaman found out that Akari had taken all of her clothing to Anthe in Jubilife Village to be embroidered. While Mai had done the embroidery on her Harmony Festival yukata, Akari simply had too many articles of clothing for the Warden to be able to do them all.
Currently, she wore her normal Galaxy Team uniform, though the standard shoes were replaced with studier boots that could handle the wet soils of the Mirelands. While above the left breast was the Survey Corp insignia, the right side had the Diamond Clan’s insignia in bold red—the same red as her scarf.
Adaman pulled his eyes away from the design, remembering that Akari had asked a question, and found amusement dancing behind her slate grey eyes. She gave him a smile that was almost a smirk. “See something you like?”
Rubbing the back of his neck with a pointed clearing of his throat, he ignored her second question in favor of answering her first. “We have about half an hour before the meeting starts.”
Akari laughed at his embarrassment but didn’t press any further. Bless her.
“So plenty enough time to spend a few minutes laying in bed?”
Nevermind. Curse this woman. She was going to be the death of him. “Weren’t you just saying how you needed to dress to impress? I don’t think laying down and getting your clothes wrinkled will help any,” he replied dryly. For good measure, Adaman gave her his Not Impressed™ look, which—per usual—only sent her into a fit of laughter.
“I’m teasing,” she smiled wider, coming over to give him a large hug. He eagerly wrapped his arms around her in return. Her frame was deceptively small, but Adaman knew that there was a fierce strength lingering beneath her uniform. He’d seen this woman dodge Scyther attacks, climb boulders to collect King’s Leaves, trek through snow drifts taller than huts. Akari was a terrifying force of nature.
“Thank you again for coming as Ambassador,” he said, pulling away slightly from the hug. He kept his hands at her waist and hers drifted to his forearms. “I know it’s a change of pace for you. Hopefully we’ve not pulled you from your ‘sabbatical’ too soon.”
After a near death experience when a Space-Time Distortion appeared over the Diamond Settlement, Akari had realized that she was becoming too careless and wanted to step down from the Survey Corps. When she approached Cyllene with her resignation, though, the Captain had told her that under no circumstances would Akari’s demission be accepted. She was placed on indefinite sabbatical and instructed to take as much time as was needed to sort herself out. There was also the lingering threat that if she ever thought to resign or retire again, that Cyllene would immediately throw her to Commander Kamado for him to deal with.
Adaman thought that an extended paid vacation was the least the Galaxy Team could do for Akari after all that she had done for them. Professor Laventon’s pokedex wouldn’t be even a quarter what it was, Jubilife Village would be a desolate place void of pokemon companions, and these were assuming the entire Hisui region wouldn’t have been shredded during the war between the Almighty Dialga and (less) Almighty Palkia.
Akari, however, found that while she was enjoying time off from running across the entirety of the continent to survey pokemon or complete requests, she was restless without some daily objective.
When Commander Kamado had sent word about the pirates and requested a meeting, there was also the sudden suggestion (after almost a decade of interactions) for the Galaxy Team to establish envoys to the Pearl and Diamond Clans. The Commander told Adaman that he had suggested Rei to Irida as the Galaxy Team Ambassador for the Pearl Clan, and wanted to know Adaman’s thoughts on having Akari act the same for the Diamond Clan. There was a glint in the old man’s eyes, almost like humor, but his features were otherwise as hard as they would normally be. It seemed the Commander had heard of Akari’s almost-departure despite Cyllene’s intentions and had taken to being supportive in his own bizarre fashion rather than gruff.
Adaman hoped that he had not agreed to the proposal too quickly or too eagerly, but the Commander’s smirk afterwards said otherwise. He knew Akari hadn’t hesitated when offered the position, as there had been a loud ‘ whoop ’ of excitement less than a minute after the Commander’s door had closed. Adaman, Rei, and Professor Laventon easily heard it from two floors below where they had waited in the lab.
“To be honest, I’m a little nervous,” Akari replied. “I was excited about accepting the position, but I’ve never done anything like this before. I know it’ll be a whole different kind of battling than I’m used to,” she replied, her teeth worrying her bottom lip.
Adaman lifted one hand and traced his thumb against where her teeth had split the skin. It wasn’t bleeding but there was some redness and swelling. At her wince, Adaman gave her a gentle smile and leant forward to place a soft kiss next to the sore.
“You know a kiss won’t actually make it better,” she sassed when he pulled away.
“What?” he asked in confusion and a little bit of hurt.
“Oh,” she paused, considering. “Sorry, something from my time. They said that if something was hurt, a kiss would make it better. Obviously that’s complete nonsense. I didn’t mean you couldn’t kiss me.”
Nodding in understanding, Adaman smirked. “I don’t know. I’m not sure we’ve tried enough kisses to make a valid opinion regarding that statement.”
Akari flushed and gave him a playful shove. “How about you show the Galaxy Team Ambassador around this fine Settlement? Where’s my grand tour?”
Adaman rolled his eyes before offering his arm in an exaggerated flourish. “Of course, I forget that you’ve never been here before. You poor thing, of course you must have gotten lost to wander into my humble abode,” he emphasized every other word, sharp with sarcasm. “Where are my manners?”
“Sorely lacking, I’m afraid.” Akari smiled as she took his arm—too demurely—before trying to immediately poke his side. Her vice grip on his elbow kept him from pulling away from her pointy finger tickling his side.
Changing tactics, he used her strength against her and leaned into her grip, dropping low to swoop her knees out from under her. His arm twisted a little uncomfortably as she used his elbow to steady herself with a startled shriek as he hoisted her over his shoulder. Finally, she let go of his arm to brace herself against his back, and he kept her firmly in place by wrapping both arms around her thighs.
Humming in satisfaction, he turned toward the door.
“Adaman, set me down,” Akari said.
He ignored her and strolled forward.
“Adaman.”
A self-satisfied grin made its way across his face, but again, he didn’t say anything.
“You can’t carry me outside like this! Adaman! Put me down now!” Akari demanded now, but there was laughter in her voice.
Just as he was about to reach for the door knob, she started kicking and flailing her arms. Finally, Adaman dropped her to her feet with a boisterous laugh. Her face was flushed and her hair was in disarray from being tossed around and hung partially upside down.
Smiling, Adaman reached forward to tuck a few stray strands behind her ear. Instead, Akari surged forward on her tiptoes and placed her lips squarely against his, pulling a grunt of surprise and satisfaction from his throat.
Her lips were chapped but warm. He could smell and taste honey cake, which he knew was her favorite snack when on the go. With how early she had gotten up, the Wallflower was probably closed so she likely had a honey cake for breakfast on her way to the Settlement.
Adaman felt Akari’s small hands grip the front of his haori, pulling him closer, and he let her. He sunk into the kiss, into her, letting his arms wrap around her waist to support her weight. She was light in his arms—again, deceptively small for someone who had held so much responsibility for as long as she had.
They stayed like that for at least a full minute, before pulling away.
“I missed you,” Akari breathed against his lips, before turning her head slightly to place a gentle kiss against his jaw. He had just shaved that morning, so the skin was smooth and he could feel goosebumps along his back and arms from the light pressure.
She must have felt the shiver because she smiled against his skin then kissed it again.
Adaman inhaled deeply, the pressure of his grip increasing. “You…” he paused, squeezing again. “...are a menace.”
Akari looked up at him with an impish grin. “ Your menace,” she reminded him.
Adaman chuckled deeply, resting his nose against the crown of her head to breathe her in. Akari responded with a similar shiver. “We can’t skip the meeting, can we?” her voice was a little wobbly.
He responded with an even deeper laugh, lowering his face to brush his lips against her temple before pulling away slowly. “No, I’m afraid we can’t.”
There was a definitive pout across her face now. “I can’t wait until after the wedding, when I can just stay here and I can spend all the time I want kissing you everywhere I want.”
Adaman felt his entire body flush at that, running a hand through his hair until he was sure it was as disheveled as hers. “At times, you are surprisingly brazen regarding matters of…intimacy.”
Akari grinned at him. “Adaman, dear. I’m from the future. If you knew what’s talked about openly in that time, you’d likely combust.”
“ Okay , and with that, we are leaving for the meeting,” Adaman promptly fled his own hut, disregarding his frantic appearance, with Akari’s laughter echoing behind him.
She caught up with him easily despite the significant difference in their height. Her appearance was already smoothed over, no rougher than expected for someone who had been trekking hours already to get here from Jubilife Village. Before they entered the communal hut where the Council always met, Akari pulled him aside long enough to run her fingers through his hair to put it back in place.
He grasped her hand as she went to pull it away and gave it a quick squeeze. “I missed you, too. By the way,” he told her, giving her hand a quick peck while no one else was around. “Now come on. Let’s introduce you to the Elders.”
Akari blinked, expression suddenly on alert. “The who?”
They entered the hut together where there was a circle of cushions, all facing one another. There was no table in the center so as to not block one’s view of another—a remnant of war times long passed. When the Diamond Clan and Pearl Clan were still warring, the first peace talks had started with circles like this, where everyone was seen as an equal and hands held no hidden weapons. Most of those meetings ended abruptly and poorly but never in bloodshed.
Now, the Diamond Clan’s Council sat in a circle where Elders, Wardens, and Clan Leader could talk on equal footing. While Adaman had the final say in all clan matters, he heard the others' opinions with open eyes and ears. He was not so foolish to think he didn’t need counsel…he just wished his Council could get along more frequently than not.
Iscan and Sabi stepped in shortly behind Adaman and Akari, Sabi talking Iscan’s ears off about playing tag with ghost pokemon, which had the darker man going worryingly pale. Suddenly, Sabi turned her round, too wise eyes to Akari and smiled. “Don’t worry! I know you’ll do great. I saw it.” Then as quick as she arrived, she was walking away to take her seat in the circle.
Iscan somehow looked both relieved and concerned all at once to no longer have Sabi’s attention on him. “H-hello, Akari. It’s really good to see you.” She greeted him in turn, then he too was going to sit down.
Adaman appreciated that Akari could easily get along with his Wardens and their idiosyncrasies.
Every Warden was present, leaving only two seats open for them now. Three figures sat amongst the circle of Wardens. Each wore garments with the Diamond Clan insignia and more adornments than the standard clansman. Giving her a small nudge, he stepped forward.
"Akari, may I have the pleasure of introducing the Diamond Clan's esteemed Elders," Adaman spoke with his usual flourish. What were the perks of being clan leader if he couldn't enjoy being extra sometimes?
"Enmei." The first man Adaman gestured to was about Beni's age, but he had few of the sharp angles of the chef/retired ninja. Enmei was far from overweight, though, just thick-boned and his features were worn away with time like a stone. He nodded in greeting, and Akari returned the gesture.
The next figure was a taller man, even taller than Commander Kamado, but he had a head full of white hair, slicked back to his shoulders, and delicate features. "Jiro, Melli's grandfather."
Adaman saw the subtle flinch only because he knew Akari.
Again, she nodded her head in greeting, but a weary glance was cast to Melli from the corner of her eye that Adaman caught. He resisted the urge to grimace—there was no love lost between Melli and Akari. Even years between the two did little to ease the strain on their interactions. Not that Adaman could begrudge Akari her reservations on befriending a man who was as eccentric as he was pretentious and patronizing.
While Melli was no longer openly hostile towards Akari in recent years, he remained very passive aggressive, often 'forgetting' her name and calling her 'Galaxy Team grunt' or something similar. Thankfully, the other Wardens' admiration for Akari more than made up for Melli being a little shit.
Finally, the third figure was a petite woman with a rim rod straight back, as if gravity avoided its influence out of fear. There were hard lines around her eyes, pointing to a strong and shrewd character. "And you already know our beloved medicine woman, Baba."
The harsh expression suddenly melted and Baba smiled kindly at them. The old woman had a soft spot for Akari after she had saved Baba's great-granddaughter several summers ago from an Ursaring that had been in a frenzy. Since that day, Baba made sure to sneak her treats when she visited the village, and Adaman always pestered Akari until she shared them. He never felt bad for it, though, because she always gave them to him with a smile despite her complaints.
"Welcome to the Council, child," Baba greeted with a syrupy voice.
Akari gave the older woman a broad smile, the kind that lit up her eyes and made them gleam like polished stone. "Thank you for letting me attend. It's good to see you, Baba."
"You as well, child. I'm glad to see that you have healed fully from that terrible wound. Though I don't know if I should say it was in thanks or in spite of our boy's attention," Baba heckled, as if she hadn't walked into Adaman's hut with Akari draped over his chest—both asleep. The medicine woman immediately went about scolding them about appropriate levels of exertion while mending cuts or recovering from poisons.
Adaman laughed in the current moment at the blush that blossomed across Akari's cheeks, but at the time of the 'not-incident' the both of them had flushed and insisted to the grandmotherly woman that absolutely nothing requiring exertion had occurred.
While Akari chatted idly with Baba, Adaman glanced at the other Elders. Enmei sat with his eyes closed as if in meditation, which was often the norm for the old man. He had been a sentry for the clan during his prime, required to stay focused at all times to watch for oncoming threats, such as wild pokemon, bandits, or seldom attacks from the Pearl Clan.
While the Diamond and Pearl Clans had not been at direct war for at least two generations, skirmishes had been common until a few years before Adaman had taken the mantle of leader. Now, thanks to the wonderful woman next to him, he and Irida had been able to better forge a bond between the two clans. While it was far from complete harmony, it was the closest thing to peace the clans had seen since their founding.
Meanwhile, Jiro was looking at Akari with a poorly concealed scowl. Adaman thought he looked much like he had eaten a piece of Apicot berry, lips puckered sourly.
Adaman tsk -ed to himself. That simply wouldn't do.
He waited until Akari wrapped up her conversation with Baba before placing his hand in the small of her back. She didn't startle at the sudden touch but turned to look at him with an inquiring brow. He gave her a wide smirk and leaned forward to whisper in her ear.
"I think Melli may have competition as your biggest fan."
A nervous laugh escaped from her lips. She quickly tamped the noise down, but not before Jiro's frown deepened at the two of them.
"I feel whispering like this isn't doing me any favors," she mumbled back, with a grin gracing her lips.
Adaman really wanted to kiss her right now, but doing so in front of the Council would definitely not do Akari or himself any favors. Then he'd get scolded by Mai later about propriety and appropriate conduct as a Clan Leader, then Irida would somehow hear of it and hold it over his head for all of time.
There was a subtle clearing of a throat from next to them. Mai wasn't looking directly at them, but she was smirking lazily in that way of hers that said she knew where his thoughts were going. He fought the urge to flush and pulled away from Akari, giving her arm a quick squeeze before going to his seat at the ‘head’ of the circle.
As he knelt onto the cushion, Adaman looked back at Akari who stayed at the entrance of the hut, looking at him curiously—cautiously. With a reassuring smile, he gestured for the spot next to him.
He had requested Mai to place a spare seat at his right. It was the spot meant for the clan leader’s second-in-command or their partner. Normally, Mai would be found there as his older sibling and voice of reason, his counselor. Today, Akari would be there as his intended. Not that Akari knew the significance of the gesture. Unless Mai had forewarned her, of course, which he wouldn't place past his sister.
With a quick glance at the others in the room, lingering only a fraction of a second longer on Jiro and Melli, Akari took a slow and deep breath. There was an almost imperceptible change in her demeanor. Her expression shifted to one he had seen many times—during her Lake Trials to forge the Red Chain, on Mt. Coronet before facing Dialga or Palkia, and prior to many of her battles—and she walked the short distance to his side.
A hush fell over the room as Akari sat on his right.
He grinned at her, but she was focused entirely on the room at large. She may not know what the right-hand seat meant, but the rest of the Council did. No one dared to say anything, though.
Letting her seriousness rub off a little, Adaman reigned in his humor and took the mantle of somber Clan Leader. "I suppose we should start this meeting." There was a mutter of agreement amongst the majority of the clansmen. “I’ve been told by Commander Kamado of the Galaxy Team that there’s been an uptick in attacks on ships traveling to and from Hisui. We suspect pirates. The Commander has asked the Diamond Clan to look into this matter, especially since it regards the home for one of our Nobles—Lord of the Sea, Basculegion.”
There was a rumble of displeasure from Jiro. “Pirates have always been about Hisui’s shores, namely the Coastland. I don’t see how that’s much of an issue or why we should involve ourselves.”
“According to Commander Kamado,” Adaman spoke, “There’s a new, more aggressive group that’s disrupting supply lines, stolen goods meant not just for the people of Jubilife Village but for the Clans, as well.”
“Goods that we never asked for,” Jiro replied snottily, looking down his nose as if better than the rest of the world. “Those Galaxy Team folks think to come in and traipse all across Almighty Dialga’s sacred land in exchange for nothing and with no regard.”
Adaman felt Akari tense next to him, but she remained silent as she watched those speaking carefully.
“Not for nothing.” Instead it was Arezu who spoke. “They trade their goods and knowledge of medicines, textiles, machinery—that makes it easier to survive our harsh winters and scorching summers—for information on how to safely and efficiently travel the land. They may not understand the land like we do, but most of them are respectful. They’re just trying to make a home here like we have.”
Baba, Iscan, Mai, and Enmei nodded their agreement. Sabi was watching the whole procession with her too-wide, all-knowing emerald gaze.
“What of the Pearl Clan?” Melli countered, pointedly looking at Iscan and knowing his connection to Palina. Melli was scowling, but he had neither agreed nor disagreed with Arezu’s point. Instead, he went his own direction in the conversation, as he was known to do. Adaman knew he wasn’t intentionally being difficult—he was just being Melli. “What assistance are they willing to provide?”
Adaman answered in Iscan’s stead. “The Commander and I have already spoken to Irida regarding the matter. The attacks have only been at sea, and at this time the Pearl Clan’s Lord of the Isles—who was only seated eight years ago after his father drowned at sea—would be unable to help effectively in this situation.”
“Unable or unwilling?” Enmei asked, not unkindly, but skeptically.
“Unable,” Adaman repeated, though the word sat sour on his tongue. He had to respect Irida’s decision as a Clan Leader and wouldn’t openly disagree with her in this type of setting. “Even a Lord like Arcanine would be suited terribly for a fight on the water. Basculegion is at home in the sea, however—on his throne .”
Baba interjected at this point. “And what are your thoughts on involving your Lord, Warden Iscan?”
Iscan shifted in his seat, not looking up to meet anyone’s eyes as he spoke but his posture held firm by years of practice (and mild scolding about confidence from Palina, Adaman knew). “Basculegion is troubled by the attacks. He and I have rescued some of the merchants stranded on rocks too far out from the cove to swim. I think that stopping the pirates, even if it means by more aggressive means, would be the quickest way to put my Lord at ease.”
At this time, Akari finally spoke up. “It likely will take aggressive measures. These pirates aren’t adverse to attacking and looting ships, leaving their crews adrift with slit sails and cracked rudders. I don’t think they will leave Hisui unless made to by force, now that they’ve gotten a taste of the prey here.”
“Such barbaric measures,” Melli laughed haughtily before sneering at Akari as if she was mud on the bottom of his shoe. “Talking of prey. You’d have us attack these pirates in return, when they’ve not killed or shed any blood? Why, I would say that you’re worse than them!”
A growl made its way up Adaman’s throat but it was drowned out with Mai’s noise of disagreement and Arezu shouting, “That’s not true, Melli, and you know it!”
Akari didn’t respond at first. She just looked at Melli, her brow furrowed like he was an injured Stunky that she wanted to help. Finally, she spoke pointedly, almost pityingly. “The crews were left adrift. At sea. Without supplies . The pirates didn’t have to kill them. Starvation is the slowest death sentence in the world.”
There was silence around the room as her words sunk in. She had laid before them an unwanted truth, one that no one else had wanted to voice but she did so plainly. Adaman wondered during times like these if it was Akari’s experience in the past or the future that had exposed her to the cruelties of man.
Adaman wanted to wrap her in his arms, ideally with them in his bed and Leafeon at their feat, and never let go.
“We can hardly take the advice of an outsider on matters of import for the Clan," Jiro finally spoke up, seeming affronted that the new envoy had upstaged his grandson. "A foreigner of no significant background, at that. I don't mean to offend," except he most certainly did, from Adaman's perspective. "I just don't see where you can speak about pirates. Unless, before you fell from the sky, you lived in the ocean? Hm?"
Adaman nearly bit his tongue to keep from saying something he would regret. He had known there would be a risk having Akari act as Galaxy Team Ambassador. He may be the Clan Leader, but he couldn’t show favoritism here or he’d never hear the end of it from his Council. Plus, as his intended and an envoy, Akari had to hold her own. He couldn’t jump to her defense every time someone disagreed or insulted her. Adaman just thought Jiro would try to do so more subtly than this.
His worries were unfounded, however.
There was little to no change in Akari’s posture to his right. She regarded the old man in front of her with hard, flinty eyes and a neutral expression. There was a purposeful pause, like she was calling the elder out on his attempt to get an emotional rise out of her. She refused to give him what he wanted.
Finally, Akari gave the entire group a broad smile. It didn’t reach her eyes. “You’re absolutely right, Sir Jiro. I have no experience dealing with pirates to speak of. I've only successfully fought bandits before. You may recall one of them, she had been from your clan. Clover?"
There was a subtle wince from most in the room at the reminder that one of their own had abandoned the clan and turned to a life of thievery. Jiro looked like he was about to retort, but Akari continued before he could.
"I've fought bandits, I've fought captains and commanders. I've traveled this land, when I was hardly older than a child, and quelled the frenzied Nobles. Some of you may say that it wasn’t my place, but that’s neither here nor there now,” Akari shrugged.
“When the sky turned red,” she paused dramatically, her smile slipping into something far more serious, "We discovered the Almighty Gods Dialga and Palkia were warring and tearing the fabric of reality apart. So I subdued them both. I am the God Tamer. Was that not what the Clans called me?”
“They still do,” Azeru chimed in, cheekily. She was leaning back on her cushion, enjoying their interaction far too much.
The old man turned red—in anger or embarrassment, it was impossible to say—as he floundered for words like a Magikarp out of water.
"I am skilled at stopping threats, therefore I think I can speak on matters of pirates," Akari finished.
Almighty Dialga , Adaman loved this woman. He never wanted to let her leave his side.
Baba was the first one to break to silence. “I believe the Council’s first order will be to vote on the matter of involving ourselves with these pirates. Akari, my dear, as the Galaxy Team’s Ambassador, even if you are our Adaman’s intended, I think it may be best that you sit this vote out.”
Adaman could see the logic in the old woman’s suggestion, but it didn’t mean he had to like it. Melli and Jiro looked as pleased as a Glameow that got the Chatot at the suggestion, though.
“Of course, Baba,” Akari ascended, an easy smile gracing her lips.
There was little concern regarding the decision, however, because the vote landed an easy seven to two in favor of the Diamond Clan helping to deal with the pirates. Almost everyone understood the importance of stopping them. Melli and Jiro scowled at one another from across the room but knew better than to try overturning the vote.
“Now,” Enmei spoke, his voice deep and commanding attention. “Let’s discuss how we’ll be settling this matter. And please,” he cast his gaze briefly to Jiro at his side with a heavy sigh, “let’s make it a true discussion.”
By the time Akari and Adaman made it back to his hut, the sun was low on the horizon. Their stomachs were grumbling in protest after only finger foods that had been brought to tide everyone over during the arduous meeting.
As soon as they crossed the threshold, Adaman had Akari wrapped in his arms, her back against his chest and his head on top of hers. A sense of peace washed over him.
“Marry me.”
“I already said yes, you goofball,” she reminded him, leaning back into his hug.
“Marry me soon. That way you can stay and kiss me everywhere you want,” he teased, repeating her words from that morning.
Instead of getting embarrassed, she hummed sleepily in agreement and turned to burrow her face in his chest. “How about a peck on the cheek now and a nap in your bed before dinner?” she suggested, her arms coming around him beneath his haori. “I didn’t realize that there could be meetings worse than Captain Cyllene’s annual budget report.”
Adaman laughed. “Oh, they get even better than this. No one was thrown out, Sabi didn’t give any cryptic visions, and Melli only said one snide thing every thirty minutes. That’s practically a record.” He smiled softly down at Akari, who was swaying on her feet. She had to have been exhausted, awake hours before the sun rose to make it by time of the meeting. “I’ll collect the kiss later, though. Let’s get you dinner first, then you can sleep in my bed through the night.”
“M’supposed to go over to Mai’s after dinner,” she grumbled sleepily into his shirt.
After they had announced their engagement, everyone seemed intent on forgetting that Akari had already stayed in Adaman’s hut for several days during her recovery. Not that anything beyond sleeping and the occasional kiss had occurred during those times—Adaman respected Akari too much for that and she had been injured . Regardless, Akari had told him that she was fine to stay with Mai for a short time if it meant she got to keep him forever.
“I don’t think Mai will tattle. She may hate her little brother’s guts sometimes, but I know for a fact that she absolutely adores her future sister-in-law.”
“Yeah, I am definitely her favorite,” Akari teased, pulling away to grab her bag from by the door. Adaman fought a frown, thinking that she was going to leave now even before dinner, until she turned back to set her things at the foot of the bed. She glanced at him, grinning. “Pouting doesn’t suit a Clan Leader.”
Adaman brought a hand to his face as he laughed.
Akari ended up staying the night. Mai absolutely did not tattle, but she did heckle them endlessly the next morning.