Thank you to my friends for beta reading this fic, especially to Sofia from twitter! Thank you, buddy ;v;
I'm not sure how I managed to write this but yet here it is! Haha. First time writing a full corrupted one-shot so don't expect much. ^^;
Also I'm using Faitsu = Whi-Two and Rakutsu = Lack-Two 'cause I was in a mood to write their names like that sfhds
I.
Faitsu took a deep breath. One hand was clenched and placed on her chest while the other was struggling to reach the doorknob. Her heartbeat was fast. Sweat trickled down her cheeks.
She was anxious.
She knew he let her free—free to have a normal life and free to be herself. She didn't need to be cautious whenever she was alone; she no longer had those chains that were holding her down. She sighed, dropping her hand. Foongy, her Foongus, was on her right shoulder, observing her. She bit her lip.
"I don't even know what I'm doing, Foongy," the girl confessed. She felt like doing this, but she was a bit frightened to do so. She couldn't tell if she and the Superintendent were friends, but based on his childhood story, he really needed one.
Foongy just stared at its trainer, patting her cheek, encouraging her to continue. Faitsu just gave the mushroom-like creature a smile.
"I'll do what I can, Foongy."
With another deep inhale, Faitsu held the doorknob and slowly twisted it, opening the door to Rakutsu's office. Her eyes widened when she saw boxes of different sizes placed on the floor.
Wait, did that mean...?
"S-Superintendent?" she stuttered, hoping to grab his attention.
Rakutsu placed a paper down on the desk to look at her. He bore the same expressionless face. "What are you doing here?" he asked in a monotonous tone.
Faitsu gulped. "I-I wanna visit you. I-If that's alright."
Rakutsu just nodded and proceeded to grab the paper on his desk.
Faitsu stood with Foongy silently, watching Rakutsu grab whatever items he had then placed it in a box. Should she ask why he was packing his stuff? She didn't want to come out as too nosy.
"I'm sure you came here with a reason," Rakutsu started, closing the box. He turned around to face her with his arms folded across his chest.
Faitsu swallowed another lump in her throat. She breathed. "I-I just thought that you need company, Superintendent."
Rakutsu didn't know how to react. Company? He only thought people do that when they needed something from the other or whenever they were required to do so.
"I-I understand if you're busy packing stuff," Faitsu laughed nervously, her hands were now clasped together on her chest. "B-But if you need anything, t-then I'm here."
Rakutsu was speechless. What should he say?
Faitsu bit her lip. "I-If you don't mind me asking, why are you packing your stuff? Are you moving to another office."
Rakutsu slowly shook his head. He somehow felt his stomach twist, but why? He swore he ate breakfast. "I'm fired, remember?"
Faitsu frowned. "Oh..." Didn't he help save Unova? Why was he still fired? She thought that it was unfair.
Rakutsu paused. He didn't know what else should he say. Should he ask her to stay or to leave? He didn't have anything else to do with her since his job was done. "I'll be taking these boxes out," he spoke, breaking the ice. "You can stay here until I took all my stuff out, though."
She smiled, and the knots forming in his stomach returned. "Sure. Do you want me to help?"
Rakutsu breathed, looking at the box he was holding. It was an odd sensation for his chest to be this light and full of joy, but he liked it. His lips couldn't help but curve up on purpose. "Sure."
II.
"Here you go, sweetie," an old man uttered. He placed a tray of food in front of Faitsu with a smile.
Faitsu removed her gaze from the students sitting on their chairs then sighed.
"What's wrong? You don't like mixed berries?" the man asked while the girl just shook her head.
"I like them, sir. Don't worry," she replied before getting her tray and proceeding to find a seat. Her eyes wandered the place. Every seat seemed to be occupied except one, and that alone caught her attention.
Rakutsu was sitting alone while eating a sandwich, which was odd. Girls around her age usually accompany him during lunch, but now, he was eating alone and she felt sad about that.
Ever since their classmates found out about Rakutsu's purpose of being a student, they were all shocked and seemed to be...avoiding him. She didn't quite understand why but they were probably still surprised or too nervous to approach him.
She took a deep breath. She knew she couldn't just let him sit alone. Maybe if she sat beside him, people would do the same and treat him like a normal person as well.
"Huh?" Rakutsu perked up once he noticed a tray in front of him. He watched Faitsu sat in front of him with Foongy climbing her shoulder.
"I hope you don't mind," Faitsu quipped, grabbing a fork from her tray while Foongy just grabbed a berry from it.
Rakutsu didn't mind, but why did she need to sit with him? He thought she had friends and what was the reason for sitting with him during lunch?
"Aren't you eating your sandwich?"
Rakutsu blinked, snapping out of his thoughts. "Yeah," he mumbled, taking another bite. Even if he was fired from the Interpol, he still didn't understand why he needed to stay at school. He thought his graduation at the academy was already enough.
"H-Hey, Faitsu," their classmate called. The two stopped to look at their classmate, who happened to be Leo. "I didn't hear when's our homework due. Do you know when?"
Faitsu placed a finger on her chin, tapping it. Observing her made Rakutsu furrowed his eyebrows. She looked so...endearing...? He couldn't describe it well but he liked that gesture of hers.
"I think it's due next week. I'm not sure. What do you think, Superintendent?" she asked, looking at Rakutsu. He blinked.
"Next week," he replied as-a-matter-of-factly, taking another bite of his sandwich.
"Ah, I see. Thanks, guys!" Leo said before returning to his table. "Hugh, it's next week!"
"See?! I told you!"
"Geez, no need to be so loud! I'm eating here!"
Faitsu just giggled as a comically large bead of sweat fell from her temple. Her classmates sure were something.
"Cafeterias are always loud, woman!" Yuki yelled at Hugh.
Rakutsu sighed, grabbing his drink. He just listened to his classmates talking about next week's assignment. Faitsu later joined them (or the girls rather dragged her with them) and the whole cafeteria was now louder than before.
The chaos sounded like a nuisance, but it was peculiar that he found his lips curving into a smile.
III.
Faitsu didn't know whether or not she and Rakutsu were friends, but she worries about him. She didn't see him at school today and it was enough to stir her concern for the Superintendent.
She opted to go to his dorm room just to check on him. She just hoped that he wasn't sick with a fever or something.
She heard a voice when she was about to touch the doorknob.
"Black No. 2, I have news for you."
She didn't know to whom that voice belonged to, but it seemed like it came from a man in his thirties. If not, older. Should she visit him later? This seemed like an important conversation where one shouldn't eavesdrop.
"It's not like you're fired but after what you did..."
Faitsu should've left but their conversation intrigued her. She knew that he's fired, and somehow, it didn't seem like it affected him. Rakutsu didn't know anything about feelings and emotions; that's her conclusion as to why he didn't feel anything after knowing he was fired, but something in her had a hunch that he was actually hurt, confused and just lost his sense of purpose.
She wanted to ask him about it, but she didn't want to make him uncomfortable. Plus, they weren't exactly friends despite she considered him as one. She bit her lip, clutching her fist tightly. What should he do?
"Let's continue this talk tomorrow, Black No. 2."
Faitsu gritted her teeth, inhaling through it. She took a step back, her eyes inspecting the place. Now, what should she do? She didn't want them or Rakutsu to know that she heard their talk.
Nothing happened for the last minutes. All Faitsu ever heard was silence and the vague conversations of other students bouncing through the hallways. It made her uncomfortable. Why was it suddenly quiet?
The door creaking open made her jump off. Her heart rate increased and she felt a small tap on her cheek. She moved her eyes, only to see Foongy patting it. She didn't notice that the Grass-Poison Type was on her shoulder the entire time.
"Why aren't you knocking?" the voice asked, and Faitsu knew it belonged to Rakutsu.
She gulped. "I just...I came here to visit."
Rakutsu remained silent. He opened the door widely and gestured her to go inside, but she shook her head.
"I just wanna know why you didn't go to class today. Our teachers didn't give any homework, don't worry. I'm just worried that—"
"You don't have to worry," Rakutsu intervened with his left arm raised. He didn't understand why she was worried in the first place. She knew his skills. She had seen what he was capable of. "I'm fine."
"I-I'm sorry," Faitsu choked. She bit her lip. Rakutsu gave her a confused look. "You don't look alright."
He didn't look alright? What did she mean by that? He was in good health. His body wasn't aching either.
"You'll probably be mad at me, but..."
Rakutsu didn't even know how to get mad at someone. Getting mad was an emotion and he was taught to suppress things like that. An angry police officer would perform poorly with their job, after all.
"When I look into your eyes, I feel like I see something. I don't know what it is, but something is wrong with you. You don't have to hide it."
He didn't know if he was actually feeling something. His chest suddenly became loud like a beating drum in a concert. He also found it hard to breathe as well. His eyes...his eyes were nothing. How could she even tell something's wrong with someone just by looking into their eyes?
"Superintendent, I know you won't speak anything about it, but you can go to my room any time and tell me what's wrong." She gripped the fabric of her shirt before nodding at him. "I-I'll be in my room. I'm sorry if I went too far."
Rakutsu watched Faitsu slowly walk away from him. The sensation he felt earlier was still present, however, and he couldn't understand why. Closing the door, he leaned on it and folded his arms across his chest.
He suddenly felt...welcomed when she told him that. It was weird to even feel something, but the smile on his lips proved that he kind of liked it.
IV.
It wasn't like Faitsu disliked her seniors, Black and White, but it was quite overwhelming to be with them. Aside from the fact that they seemed to be focused more on each other (who could blame them for being apart for two whole years), she really thought they needed some time alone.
She stopped on her tracks when she saw Rakutsu sitting alone. It reminded her of that time at the school cafeteria.
"S-Superintendent," Faitsu called, standing in front of him.
Rakutsu opened his eyes to look at her. She always looked so tensed every time he looks at her. He didn't know why she would be since he wouldn't be arresting her and he had no plans to. "What is it?" he asked in a flat tone.
"May I sit with you?"
Rakutsu only bobbed his head, his arms still crossed on his chest.
They sat there in silence, observing every employee of the BW Agency talk about business-related stuff. Neither paid attention to it, however, for both were busy enjoying the silence emanating between them.
Rakutsu sighed, dropping his arms. "I thought you're with them."
"Hmm?" She hummed, but later got what he meant. "Ah, I think they needed time on their own. I don't want to get in the way."
"I'm pretty sure they didn't invite you to make you think like that," he quipped. Though despite his tedious tone, she could feel that he was trying his best to cheer her up in his own Rakutsu sort of way. She appreciated that he was trying, nonetheless.
"You're right," she responded with a smile.
Rakutsu didn't know what he was feeling. He was like in heaven. He was free to fly. He was...happy? He stopped to think about it. Was that even the right word to say?
"Hey, Faitsu!" White waved while Faitsu perked up. "Come here, quick!"
"Also, tell Rakutsu too if he wants to!" Black yelled, his voice almost hurt her ears. With that volume, she was certain that Rakutsu heard him clearly.
"R-Right," she replied, standing up. She looked at Rakutsu. "We should go."
Rakutsu stared at her before nodding. He stood up and watched her approach the older Pokedex Holders. Watching her interact with Black and White was enough to make him smile.
He knew they called her for a reason.
V.
It was strange for Rakutsu to go outside without anything in his mind. He felt like going and somehow, staring at the ocean was quite a peaceful hobby. He was probably pressured with his homework, which explained why he decided to go outside his room.
The ocean looked nice, he guessed. It was...blue, had flocks of bird Pokemon flying in the air and the sunset looked good. It was like a painting one could see in a museum.
His eyes kept on scanning the open view of the ocean close to Aspertia City, but stopped when his eyes met a pair of twin hair buns. Curious, he gripped the handrails and went down from the second floor.
It seemed like she didn't hear him. Should he tell her that he was right behind her or should he just stand beside her until she noticed him? He brushed those thoughts off and just decided to approach her.
"What are you doing here?"
Hearing his question made her flinch. She hugged Foongy tightly before turning around to face him. "A-Ah, Superintendent!" she exclaimed. "I didn't notice you. Y-You can sit beside me if you want."
Rakutsu just nodded and sat several inches away from her. Foongy just looked at him while he stared back. He furrowed his eyebrows. "Why do you still call me that?"
Faitsu tilted her head. "Call you what?"
There it is the same endearing look. He sighed. "Superintendent," he answered.
"Ah," she giggled nervously. "I just...like calling you that. That's all. It's really impressive that you earned that rank in such a young age."
Rakutsu's lips formed a thin line. He remembered all those training he went through just to get to where he was now. And in the end, were they worth it? He still couldn't comprehend that. "I worked hard on it. That's the truth."
"That's really amazing," she said, her eyes returned to the ocean.
Another silence went by. The two just stared at the ocean and the sunset. It was calming and neither bothered breaking the silence until Rakutsu breathed.
"Rakutsu."
"Huh?" Faitsu turned and gave him a puzzled look.
"You can call me Rakutsu if you want," he explained, his lips forming a small smile.
Faitsu had never seen him smile before, if she didn't count his undercover days. She knew the smile he was wearing at that time didn't seem genuine. She always thought he was just an arrogant, charming boy who loved to smile, but seeing a real genuine smile from him was enough to make her stomach flip and warm her heart.
"I like that," she replied, hiding the small blush painted on her cheeks.
I really had a hard time writing them but I had a lot fun too, hehe. Also, to Ley, I hope you like it! This is like my "thank you gift" for the commission. ovo/