"Natsume, I'm afraid we don't have much time left. I sent Pidgeotto to scout earlier, and the Wu Neng Family is currently sealing off the mountains and searching each peak. They'll be here soon, so we need to leave as quickly as possible."
Hearing the young woman's explanation, Icarus thought for a moment and decided it would be better to actively search for a rendezvous. Otherwise, something unexpected might happen.
"Alright then, I'll trouble you, Icarus." Since Icarus had said so, Natsume did not argue and nodded in agreement.
"Oh, what trouble? I'm your closest friend, Natsume!" Icarus, of course, would not miss any opportunity to gain favor, so he immediately replied while carrying the young woman on his back.
As for why he did not let Weepinbell use its vines to carry her—how could he give such a good opportunity to gain favor to Weepinbell!
Moreover, Natsume was still wearing that pink and white vacuum JK uniform. If he carried her on his back, his hands would have to support her. At this moment, Icarus already felt the softness and elasticity against his hands and could not help but laugh "hehehe~" in his heart.
"Mmm~" With Icarus's hands supporting her buttocks, the formerly cold and aloof Psychic Queen's face flushed, but she said nothing. After all, this was to be expected. In fact, she did not even want to leave Icarus's back, because his broad back gave her a strong sense of security, and for the first time, she felt like she could rely on someone.
On the other side, on a mountain peak even farther from Icarus and Natsume, Alakazam, Mr. Mime, and Hypno—the three Pokémon under Natsume's command—had already gathered through successive teleports. They were sweating profusely as they continued to calculate Natsume's location, completely unaware that in the young woman's heart, they had all been relegated to second place.
"Let's go, Pidgeotto, Houndoom. I'll trouble you to scout ahead." Carrying Natsume, Icarus called out to the ready Pokémon.
"Beep beep~" Pidgeotto flapped its wings and flew ahead, leading the way, as its eyesight was the best.
Houndoom walked beside Icarus, occasionally lowering its head to sniff. After all, there were some Pokémon with very strong stealth abilities that Pidgeotto might not be able to see, but scent was different. This was something no Pokémon could completely erase.
As for Weepinbell, it walked on Icarus's other side and discreetly poked him with a vine. After seeing Icarus look over, it let out a "Moo moo~" sound, meaning, 'How about I carry her instead?'
In its impression, it had always been the one to carry people with its vines, so it did not understand why Icarus wanted to carry her himself this time.
"Ahem~ Weepinbell, it's alright. Natsume is very light, and she also needs a flat and stable place to recover properly. As her friend, I definitely have to help her."
Though he seemed to be answering Weepinbell, he was in reality speaking to Natsume on his back. He knew that Natsume, who had recovered to Elite-level, would definitely hear him even if he spoke softly at such a close distance.
At the same time, while his face remained righteous, his hands did not stop, continuously kneading.
"Mmm~" The cool and aloof young woman on Icarus's back had a flushed face. She pretended not to hear, but her face grew even redder and her heart felt sweet. She did not dislike Icarus's large hands supporting her.
Natsume, having recovered from her mental breakdown, had actually come to regard Icarus as her spiritual support. Or rather, Icarus was Natsume's greatest obsession and inner demon. At that time, the small final corner of her sea of consciousness was the core of Natsume's spirit. If the blood-colored ghost had invaded there, the young woman's personality would have undergone a huge change, becoming dominated by the blood-colored ghost and turning into a cruel and murderous demoness.
But because of Icarus's words—"I want to be your closest friend"—these words had made Natsume stand up again and regain her clarity. Thus, she overcame her inner demon of over a decade but also actively accepted Icarus's spiritual projection into it.
In other words, in the most core part of Natsume's spirit, there were currently two people: one was Natsume, and the other was Icarus. Natsume had even actively allowed Icarus's part to occupy more of the core, because she liked the feeling of being cared for by a friend.
Of course, Icarus was unaware of all this, and Natsume would not tell him directly. So although Icarus knew his status was relatively high, he never imagined it would be this high (after all, who would have thought that after only knowing each other for a day or two, his status in Natsume's heart was already more important than Natsume herself!). He was still slowly probing, step by step.
After a strong burst of sunlight, led by Pidgeotto, the two finally reached the surface.
"Indeed, we're no longer around the main mountain range," Icarus sighed, looking at the lush green bushes around them, devoid of any battle traces.
If they were still near the main mountain range, it would be impossible for there to be no battle traces at all. One must know that it had been the main battlefield for Gym Leaders and Elites, and there was also the self-destruction of an Elite Four-level Golem. The Wu Neng Family could not have cleaned it up so quickly.
"En. Icarus, please help me find some clothes and pants first." Natsume on his back replied, her pretty face blushing as she spoke.
"Ah! Why? That's not easy to find, Natsume." Hearing Natsume say this, Icarus smiled mischievously, asking knowingly. He knew that during that stretch of road in the tunnel, his hands had never stopped, and he had felt his back get wet twice already.
Hearing Icarus ask this, Natsume's face turned so red it seemed to steam. Perhaps following the principle that "the colder and more aloof one is, the more sensitive one becomes later," she felt that every second in the tunnel had been an ordeal. Icarus's supporting hands were simply too…
"Mainly, it's because of you like this that I can't concentrate on sensing anymore~" Finally, the young woman replied softly, her face flushed.
"Ah, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. I mainly wanted to make you more stable on my back, and that undeveloped mountain path was too difficult to walk."
Hearing Natsume say this, Icarus could no longer keep pretending. His hands, which had not stopped, finally did.
"Houndoom, Pidgeotto, go look for human corpses."
Having stopped, Icarus immediately directed the two Pokémon to go find clothes first, to show his care for Natsume.
"Beep beep~"
"Woof~" The two Pokémon glanced at Icarus with slight disdain, then dispersed to search.
They, birds and dogs, also needed to reproduce. Their bloodline inheritance contained this information. Of course, they saw Icarus taking advantage. Perhaps they both understood more than Natsume, as the descriptions in their bloodline inheritance were very direct!
"En~" Seeing Icarus send the Pokémon to find clothes, Natsume took a breath and nodded slightly.
She did not actually dislike Icarus treating her that way. In her opinion, it was precisely Icarus's intimate expression toward her. However, the bigger picture was more important. She could not sense, and relying solely on Alakazam and the others to calculate and find her would probably waste a lot of time.
Icarus also honestly stopped his little movements and followed behind Houndoom, walking slowly.
Because he did not understand Psychic matters, he also felt a bit regretful. If Natsume had told him earlier, he would not have kept taking advantage of her like this, causing her to be unable to concentrate and sense. He had thought that with Natsume's strength, it should not be a problem.
In fact, Natsume at her peak would indeed have had no problem, but now, still severely injured and not fully recovered, it was a different story.
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