Chapter 211: A Living Mask
Xiu watched impassively as the security guards efficiently subdued the guy. "He disrupted public order," Xiu stated calmly to the guards, his voice carrying clearly in the suddenly quiet cafeteria. "And he openly threatened everyone. Given the current situation, I suspect he might be involved in something more. Take him for an interrogation." He released the young man's wrist as he spoke.
The line-jumper, suddenly deprived of Xiu's support, stumbled backward and landed hard on the floor. Before he could fully process what was happening, the two guards hauled him roughly to his feet and began frog-marching him towards the exit, ignoring his increasingly panicked protests.
"Wait! No! I didn't do anything!"
"I just cut the line! That's all!"
"Let me go!"
Xiu simply watched them go, the faint sounds of the man's wailing fading down the corridor. 'Some people never learn.'
"Hello, sir. What can I get for you?" The staff member behind the counter addressed him with a warm, grateful smile. She and the other staff nearby clearly recognized him from his previous supply deliveries.
Xiu returned the smile with a polite nod. "Thank you for your hard work," he said sincerely. He quickly ordered a standard meal tray and carried it over to the corner where Professor Oak was already eating.
Oak looked up as Xiu sat down, a distinctly amused twinkle in his eyes. "Well, well," the professor teased lightly. "Since when did you become such a champion of public order? I don't recall you being quite so concerned with queues before."
"I just don't like bothersome people, Professor," Xiu replied with a wry shrug, unpacking the small container of fruit he'd saved from his own supplies and offering some to Oak. "Besides, someone had to say something."
"Indeed," Oak chuckled, accepting the fruit. "There have certainly been times I wished I could intervene in such situations myself. Alas, the burden of reputation…" He sighed dramatically, though the smile remained firmly in place.
Xiu smirked. "Please, Professor. With your status? If you took off that mask and frowned, the entire queue would probably snap to attention. No need for messy confrontations like mine."
Oak laughed heartily at that, the sound genuine and relaxed. The tension of the past few days seemed to be lifting, not just for them, but for the city as a whole. They ate in companionable silence for a while, the simple food tasting surprisingly good after the recent stress.
Xiu found himself 'sharing' more of his fruit stash with the Professor, who seemed to have developed a sudden craving for fresh fruit.
"You're like a greedy Pachirisu, hoarding all the good stuff," Oak joked, popping another berry into his mouth.
"Hey, I've been subsisting on stale bread and nutrient paste while running around," Xiu retorted good-naturedly. "Forgive me for keeping a few luxuries aside. I assumed you professors dined on gourmet meals prepared by private chefs."
After finishing their meal, they headed back upstairs together. Xiu decided to check on Xiaochun before returning to his own room, feeling slightly guilty for leaving her alone for so long after the intense conversation with Xiaoyuan.
He found Xiaochun sitting quietly on her bed, gently stroking a small, amorphous purple blob resting in her lap. Ah, the Ditto.
"Sorry, I completely forgot," Xiu said, realizing his oversight. "I left food for my Pokémon, but didn't think about yours." He rummaged in his backpack, pulling out a few different types of standard Pokéblocks. He approached Xiaochun, curiosity piqued. "Mind if I take a closer look?"
Xiaochun nodded silently, allowing Xiu to gently scoop up the Ditto. It felt cool and slightly viscous, like a dense water balloon, yielding yet resilient. Its only discernible features were two tiny black dot eyes and a thin line of a mouth, almost invisible when closed.
It pulsed slightly in his hand but showed no resistance, seemingly docile. Xiu offered it a Pokéblock; it simply flowed around the offered food, engulfing and absorbing it without any visible chewing motion. Fascinating. He tried interacting with it, but its responses seemed minimal, instinct-driven.
"Can it… transform into something for me?" Xiu asked Xiaochun after a few minutes of fruitless poking and prodding.
Xiaochun didn't reply verbally. Instead, she put two fingers to her lips and let out a short, sharp whistle. The Ditto in Xiu's hand immediately responded, flowing out of his grasp and onto the nearby table next to a ceramic teapot.
Then, the magic happened. The Ditto's purple form shimmered, rippled, and began to shift. Its color rapidly faded, morphing into a perfect, porcelain white. Its shape solidified, stretched, reformed, until, seconds later, an identical copy of the teapot sat beside the original.
Xiu stared, momentarily speechless. He carefully picked up both teapots. They looked identical in shape, color, even the glaze seemed perfect. He lifted them; one was noticeably heavier – the Ditto.
Peering inside the spout of the Ditto-pot, he spotted the two tiny black eyes looking back at him shyly from the inner wall. Incredible. He found that if he stared directly at the eyes, the Ditto-pot would subtly shift, angling the spout away as if trying to avoid his gaze. Restricted by its current form, the attempt was awkward and strangely endearing.
"Amazing," Xiu breathed, genuinely impressed.
Seeing his fascination, Xiaochun seemed eager to demonstrate more. She whistled again.
The Ditto-pot in Xiu's hands instantly lost its rigidity, melting back into its amorphous purple form, flowing over his fingers like thick slime. Xiaochun gently scooped it up. The Ditto flowed up her arm like living fluid, disappearing under the collar of her shirt.
Xiu watched, puzzled, wondering what it was doing. Then, the purple substance emerged from her neckline, spreading thinly upwards, enveloping her face like a living mask. The process was unsettlingly smooth.
The featureless purple mass began to shift and reshape. Colors bled into it, matching her skin tone. Indentations appeared, sharpened, forming distinct facial features – eyes, nose, mouth – completely different from Xiaochun's own. The transformation continued, subtly altering the shape of her jawline, the width of her shoulders, even seemingly adding slight contours beneath her shirt.
Within moments, the person standing before him looked completely different. Still roughly the same height, but with a different face, a different build. Arceus above… it's not just transformation… it's full transfiguration.
"Can I…?" Xiu asked, his voice filled with a rare, almost childlike awe, gesturing towards her altered face.
Xiaochun nodded slightly, her expression unreadable behind the Ditto's mask.
Hesitantly, Xiu reached out and touched the transformed cheek. The texture felt remarkably like real skin, warm and pliable, though perhaps lacking the usual imperfections, the pores barely visible.
He gently pinched the skin, then touched her shoulder, feeling the subtle difference beneath the Ditto layer compared to Xiaochun's own lean, trained physique. Convincing at a glance, maybe even a casual touch, but prolonged or close contact would reveal the difference.
Still, for disguise purposes…
"This is incredible," Xiu murmured, looking from the transformed face back to where Xiaochun's real eyes would be beneath the mask. He felt a jolt of understanding and a spark of inspiration.
He'd been focused on Abra's psychic potential and Scizor's combat prowess, but this… this opened up entirely new avenues. Pokémon abilities weren't just tools to be commanded; they could be integrated, synergized with human ingenuity in ways far beyond simple battles or utility tasks.
Developing psychic probes with Abra was one path; Xiaochun and her Ditto represented another, completely different but equally potent form of innovation. Every Pokémon holds unique potential, waiting to be unlocked not just through training, but through creative application.