Disclaimer: See Prologue
Author's Note: Again, names used in this story are the original Japanese names of the characters. Pokemon names will remain in English. Examples are as follows;
English / Japanese
Solana / Hinata
May / Haruka
Ash / Satoshi
Brock / Takeshi
Max / Masato
Solidad / Saori
Chapter 2
It was just another day in the Johto region as four young Coordinators made their way into Olivine City after several days of hard trekking from the other side of the region. All four had plans to attend the launching of the new cruise liner, the St. Ives and all of them already had their VIP tickets, the spoils of their recent victory at the Johto Grand Festival.
The four Coordinators reached the edge of Olivine City, where all of them decided to call a short break while they refilled water bottles, escaped the heat of the day, and relaxed for a few minutes. The two girls of the group, Haruka of Petalburg City and Saori of Pewter City lounged together in amicable silence while their traveling companions, Shu and Harley quietly discussed whatever it was guys discussed.
As she and Saori lounged in the mid-afternoon sun, her thoughts drifted back towards her recent experiences preparing for the Johto Grand Festival. She had even gone so far as to journey all the way to the distant Sinnoh Region and reunited with Satoshi and Takeshi for a few days while most of them had signed up for the Wallace Cup. Though she hadn't won, she had enjoyed the time she'd had with her old friends and the chance to meet a few Coordinators from Sinnoh.
And on that note, her spirits took a hit from the fact that she had, yet again, finished as the Runner-Up, losing by a measly six points to Saori herself. Blaziken had brought her A-game to the Grand Festival, as had all of her pokemon, but Saori's Lapras had surprised her in its resistance to fire-based attacks or at least more resistant than she'd ever seen from a Lapras. It didn't help the shear frustration she felt at having been so very close to winning her first Grand Festival only to make a stupid assumption and lose because of it.
"Penny for your thoughts Haruka?"
"Oh, uh ... nothing really," she replied, looking away as she felt the same disappointment begin to build in her gut.
"You're still not hung up on losing, are you?" The older Coordinator asked, raising an eyebrow. Haruka had been distant and quiet around her even more than usual lately, now that she thought about it. Of course, it hadn't helped matters much since every Coordinator in Johto it seemed now wanted her autograph or a picture with her.
"You really do need to let it go Haruka, it's not the end of the world just because you lost. There's always next year's Grand Festival. For crying out loud, you're not even sixteen yet! Stop acting like an old maid, brush it off, and get on with your life!"
Haruka's eyes were wider than normal after that outburst, but she couldn't shake the feeling just like that. Saori sighed heavily before she continued.
"Look, you finished second out of nearly ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY Coordinators! You're beating the PANTS off of people TWICE your age with FOUR TIMES the experience! You even had ME against the ropes in the final match, though I didn't show it at the time, so you have NOTHING to feel ashamed about. You keep doing whatever it is you're doing, and next year it'll be YOU in the winner's box with YOUR name on that trophy."
"You ... really think so?" Haruka asked timidly. At this, Saori smiled gently and patted her on the shoulder.
"It was a solid nail-biter from start to finish Haruka. I doubt ANYBODY could have guessed the outcome of our match before the clock ran out. You went toe-to-toe with me and you hardly missed a step; so you made a mistake, big freaking WHOOP. You learned from it, hopefully, and won't repeat it since it cost you the win this time."
Haruka's smile returned for the most part as she took Saori's words to heart. The older girl was right; she doubted her abilities when she had no real reason to worry about such things. This too would pass and inspire her to work that much harder to fulfill her dreams.
Doubts eased, her face brightened considerably as she broached the hot topic of their group as of late, their upcoming Victory Voyage aboard the brand new S.S. St. Ives.
"So, got any plans for after our cruise?"
"Maybe. I haven't seen my folks in a while, so I figure I might jump ship in Kanto and drop by Pewter City for a week or so before I get back into the training grind. Hell, with this winner's purse, I can afford a little time off!" Saori happily exclaimed, looking at the check in her pocket one more time, marveling at all the lovely zeroes.
Haruka nodded, as she herself hadn't been at all disappointed with her runner's-up check. She knew she'd be putting a large chunk of that into savings for a rainy day. At Saori's mention of family, Haruka briefly wondered about how hers was doing lately. She hadn't seen her parents or her brother in nearly a year now, though she talked with them regularly on the videophone, so it was almost like they'd never been apart for longer than a week.
When they got to the Pokemon Center, she'd have to give them a call and see if they were available for dinner or something when the St. Ives docked in the Hoenn Region. Petalburg was a little far from the region's port city for her to make it there and back in one day, but it would be within reason for them to meet her there and make a half-weekend of it, if things all worked out.
For the moment though, she satisfied herself with a brief moment in the sun before she reluctantly got back to her feet as Shu got back to business.
"We should go check into the Center here and see about getting our itineraries for the trip. It's gonna be fun seeing what the cruise line's gonna do for us since we're among its first guests of honor."
"I'm sure they'll probably roll out the red carpet. We are in the spotlight a lot these days," Harley replied, grinning.
"Ugh ... MEN," Saori groaned. Shu and Harley had been soaking up the attention generated by their third and fourth place finishes, respectively. Seeing as how the top two finishers had been girls, Shu had brazenly called himself Johto's Number One Guy on-camera in a post-Festival interview. Saori had nothing against Shu personally, but she didn't like being around him when his head was the size of a large beach ball.
Normally, Saori would call Shu 'somewhat charming' and a 'diamond in the rough', but when his head swelled, so did his ego and his over-the-top masculinity. She'd personally seen him collect no less than eight phone numbers from girls who seemed all too willing to indulge his male ego. It also didn't hurt that he was pretty easy on the eyes; even SHE admitted to that.
"Whatever. Let's get moving, no telling how crowded the Center's gonna be with a ship launching this weekend."
The four shouldered their packs as they headed down a semi-familiar street towards the Pokemon Center.
Haruka hit her bunk like a sack of potatoes, thankful for the air conditioning and finally being out of the heat. The boys had decided to head towards the dock and get a firsthand look at the St. Ives while she had opted to stay at the center and take a nap. Shu had looked like he wanted to call her on it, but she'd turned her back on them without giving him the chance. Saori said that she would look into getting their itineraries and do a little shopping before promptly leaving for parts unknown.
After nearly thirty minutes of tossing and turning, Haruka succumbed to the fact that sleep wasn't going to find her, despite her exhaustion from the journey to Olivine. Noting the day of the week, she decided that the call to her parents was in order and proceeded back down to the lobby and sat down at one of the phones where Shu and the others wouldn't interrupt her should they get back early.
Dialing the number from memory, it only took a few rings to bring her mother to the phone at the Petalburg end and she greeted her eldest with a heartfelt smile.
"Haruka! Your father and I were wondering when you'd reach another center just this morning at breakfast. And Congratulations! We were rooting for you all the way sweetie! Before too much longer, it'll be YOU winning the trophy!"
"Thanks mom, me and the others got in a little while ago. We're in Olivine right now and we've all kind of gone our separate ways for today before the maiden voyage of the St. Ives."
"The others and I, Haruka..." her mother reminded her.
Biting down on her tongue, Haruka simply nodded. Her mother was a stickler for proper grammar sometimes, but it did little good to argue about it over the phone when she hadn't spoken to her family in over a week.
"Anyway, I'm excited about this trip! It's not often you get to be a guest of honor on a brand-new cruise liner!"
"Isn't that the truth; live it up within reason young lady, because I doubt another opportunity like this one will present itself anytime within the next several years," Mitsuko advised her daughter.
"So speaking of the others, how are you all getting along?" Mitsuko asked after a brief silence.
"As well as can be expected I guess since I'm more used to traveling on my own here in Johto, so it's been kind of nice to have someone to talk to again. Saori's almost like a big sister, so she's helping to keep the guys in line when they get too rowdy," Haruka explained.
"Rowdy how?"
"Well, Shu finished third, as you know, so he's lately taken to calling himself the Number One Guy of Johto and so we've had to deal with his ever-expanding ego since the Grand Festival. Normally, it's bearable, but lately, it's like he's almost throwing caution to the wind..." Haruka continued.
"Who's throwing caution to the wind?" Her father's head suddenly popped into view, a suspicious gaze in his eyes.
"Oh, nobody special Dad, just a guy I know who's trying to play up his own importance, despite the fact that the Grand Festival Champion beat him into the middle of next week."
"Oh, well then I guess there's really no reason for me to start thumping him again, now is there?" Senri asked, his eyes silently questioning his only daughter on the issue.
"Not really, Saori's been able to pop his bubble every time so far. You should see the look on his face when she takes him down a few notches in front of his doe-eyed lady friends..." Haruka fought hard, but couldn't help the giggle that escaped her remembering how speechless Shu got when Saori put him in his place.
"So these guys aren't giving you any trouble?" Senri asked, his gaze steady.
"Harley's actually been pretty cool about it. He's the one I beat to enter the Finals, but surprisingly, he hasn't held a grudge over it. After the match, he just congratulated me on my performance and told me he looked forward to facing me again next year. He used to be a real pain in the butt, even going so far as to cross-dress as me for a contest, but lately he's stopped all that. I can honestly say I consider him more of a friend now than ever since I met the guy."
"Well, it's good to know that you're winning over the naysayers young lady, I'm proud of you!" Senri congratulated her.
"Your father's right dear, if you can win over your competition, then you're definitely headed in the right direction," Mitsuko added, smiling brightly.
"Thanks Mom, that means a lot to me. You too Dad, you're the greatest! By the way, is Masato around? I haven't seen him on the phone in ages."
"He's downstairs in the gym, taking care of Slaking. Would you like to talk to him, I could go get him?" Senri asked.
"That'd be great Dad, thanks."
"Anything else we need to talk about before your brother gets on Haruka?" Mitsuko asked.
"Oh, yeah, the St. Ives will be stopping over in Hoenn for a day, but Lilycove City is pretty far to make it home and back in one day even on a bike, so I was wondering if it would be too much trouble for you, Masato, and Dad to meet me in Lilycove City for the day when the St. Ives docks there during the trip?"
"I'll ask your father, but I'm sure neither of them will mind. The last time we saw you in-person was as you set out for Johto over a year ago now, so we're overdue as it is! You must have grown so much this past year," Mitsuko thought aloud.
"Oh, MOM, you're embarrassing me!" Haruka blushed, quickly looking around to see if anyone who knew her was around and sighed in relief when she didn't recognize any familiar faces.
"Well I have good reason to ask sweetie; after all, your brother's started his first growth spurt and believe it or not, he's already put on a full FOUR inches since you left and shows little sign of slowing down! Your father and I are having trouble keeping clothes on him, he's growing so fast! You're both early bloomers, just like your father was," Mitsuko explained.
Haruka's eyes went wide as dinner plates upon hearing her little brother wasn't so 'little' anymore. She mentally saw him when she'd left for Johto, the top of his head had pretty much been chin-level for her. She wasn't sure how much growing SHE had done, but another four inches for Masato would pretty much assure him that he could look her in the eye, no doubt smirking at how fast he was catching up.
"You gotta be pulling my leg Mom; NOBODY grows four inches in one year!"
"Sweetie, I've got all the receipts to prove it. He's growing like a weed and there's nothing we can do to stop it, though I wish I could."
"HARUKA!" Masato's face appeared over his mother's shoulder as if to prove what her mother was saying. Giggling a little herself, Mitsuko stood up to leave the room and let her two children get reacquainted after their long separation.
"Hiya Little Bro, what's going on?"
"Taking a break from all the chores here at home; I've been helping Dad out with keeping the Gym up, but even that's not gonna last much longer. Sis, I FOUND HIM!!" Masato positively beamed at the declaration, holding up a pokeball to the camera.
"He's resting right now, so I don't wanna disturb him, but it's so COOL! He even refused to evolve so that I would recognize him when we met again!"
Haruka inhaled sharply. The day before she was to leave for the Johto region, Masato had confided in her that he was going to take some time off to pursue 'other things', among them that during his time off, he had talked their father into taking him 'camping' so he could travel back to an area in the middle of nowhere to search for the Ralts he had promised to come back for when he became a trainer.
On his tenth birthday, Masato had shocked them all by stating that he was taking some time off from his dream of becoming a trainer to enter and finish a specialty prep-school for Pokemon Researchers, hoping to serve as a Field Intern for Professor Birch when he finally started out on his journey.
"It's so I have something to fall back on in case there isn't a gym for me to lead when I get to that point. It took Dad years to get the position here at Petalburg according to you and Mom, so I want to have something to do in the meantime." Masato had explained a few years ago.
Masato had truly shown that he was serious about the idea when he crammed nearly three years of material into only half as much time. Her brother was bound and determined to excel in whatever he did, and while she was jealous sometimes at how he could learn new material almost immediately, she was happy for him and almost as proud of him as their parents.
Masato had gotten his Trainer's License long ago and she had had little doubt that he would find that little guy, even if he had to search every square foot of that Route twice over.
Haruka smiled genuinely, happy that her little brother would be able to keep his promise made so long ago when he was only seven years old. Grammer school, Prep-School, and searching had taken him almost six years, to his current age of thirteen.
"Awesome Masato! So does that mean you're going to be paying Professor Birch a visit soon?" Haruka asked.
"Already done! I start in a week, and the first place he's sending me is Sinnoh! I'm pumped! Maybe I'll even run into Satoshi and Takeshi while I'm out there! Have you heard from them at all since the Wallace Cup?"
"Can't say that I have, it's hard to catch up to those two unless Satoshi enters a televised contest or the Sinnoh League. But they're traveling with someone new who might be a little easier to track down since she signs up for pretty much every contest she happens across. Remember the girl who beat me in the Wallace Cup?" Haruka asked.
"That girl with the Piplup ... Hikari, right?" Masato concluded, snapping his fingers as the name popped into his head.
"Yeah, that's her. I've seen her name a lot more often than Satoshi's in the Sinnoh news, so you might try looking for contests that she's been in or is entering if you want to meet up with Satoshi and the others."
"Alright then, thanks sis. I'll see if I can't fit in a visit to them on my way to the assignment for Professor Birch. If not, I'll just hope they happen to cross my path at some point."
"Alright then, good luck tracking those three down. Is Dad still around?"
"Let me check, just one second..." Masato set the receiver down on the counter as he backpedaled towards the gym. He came back a few minutes later, a sheepish look on his face.
"Sorry Sis, a challenger just started a battle with him and this one looks like it's gonna take a while. You might try calling back later tonight..." Masato trailed off, uncertain what his sister's schedule was like.
"Sure thing, I'm at the Pokemon Center in Olivine City, in case Dad wants to leave me a message or a time to catch up to him. I'll hopefully get to talk to you guys again before the St. Ives leaves port, so I'll see you later."
"I'll be sure to tell Dad where you're staying just as soon as he creams this guy, Sis."
"Sure thing, bye Masato," Haruka waved, smiling.
"Sayonara, Haruka," Masato returned the gesture as they hung up almost simultaneously.
Her spirits significantly lifted, Haruka stretched and glanced at the clock, noting that she'd spent over twenty minutes on the videophone.
Wondering what she could possibly do with the rest of the afternoon, she decided on grabbing a bite to eat in the cafeteria, followed by a shopping trip of her own to restock her shrinking backpack. A new bathing suit couldn't hurt either as she WAS about to go on a cruise.
Smiling to herself, Haruka stood up after thoroughly stretching the kinks out of her muscles and joints, heading towards the promising scent of food and running down her mental list of stores in Olivine City that were nearby.
Shu had to admit it; that was a BIG ship.
Typically, he rode on smaller vessels and ferries that ran express voyages between regional port cities that were within a few days' journey of each other. The biggest of said ferries never reached lengths any greater than perhaps four hundred feet. This particular vessel was over twice as long and, if the press release was to be believed, could travel over ten times that distance in about the same amount of time. The S.S. St. Ives could probably make it to Australia and back in a mere three weeks at full steam.
Harley seemed to be in a similar state of mild shock.
"Well Spank Me ROSY," Harley uttered quietly, taking in the sheer size of the St. Ives with eyes that wouldn't have believed a ship could be that big and still float, if the evidence wasn't right there in front of them.
"They're really going to GIVE us FREE Staterooms on a ship like THIS?!" Shu was dumbfounded. He'd seen some of the people who were hanging around town, and every single one of them seemed to be walking around with a five-figure sum of cash hanging out of their pockets. Not only that, but others who were present included Active Grand Marshalls, former League Champions, and even some former Grand Festival Winners, including last year's Festival Champion. Whatever the price their staterooms would have been for anyone else on this trip must have cost a few small fortunes.
The ship wasn't slated to leave for another few days and already people were arriving to see if they could board early and look around the first of such massive and luxurious cruise liners. Of course, everyone was turned away to ensure that no one could inadvertently sneak aboard and do something catastrophic, like plant a bomb. That had been the reason they themselves had been turned away, and both were glad that such measures were being taken. That fiasco a few years back between Team Magma and Team Agua in the Hoenn Region had made many in the world fearful of traveling on planes, large boats, and other such forms of mass transportation.
"I guess it can't be helped. It must have been outrageously expensive to build the ship, so they want to make sure that it makes an outstanding first impression so that they can keep it booked year-round and make a profit on their investment. It's the kind of thing any smart businessman does," Harley explained.
"I wasn't aware you were a businessman at all Harley," Shu remarked, rolling his eyes slightly.
"I'm not, but my Uncle Wolf is one of the best in Lilycove City."
"I thought you were from Slateport City?" Shu thought aloud, slightly puzzled at how such a thing was possible.
"My Dad's a trainer who co-owns and manages a shop in Slateport that Uncle Wolf originally started up in Lilycove. It's not that he moved the shop, he just opened a second one and called it the same thing. More shops equal more customers which equals more revenue and potentially greater profit. Business one-o-one, as Uncle Wolf called it," Harley continued.
"OOH." Shu's eyebrow rose appreciatively at Harley's explanation.
"But enough of that, it's obvious the ship's not letting anyone on for a sneak peek, so I suggest we head to the local market and see if we can find anything that'll make our trip more enjoyable, memorable, or preferably a little of both."
Shu only nodded and turned to follow Harley as they made their way towards Olivine's nearby open-air market.
Along Main Street, down the center of Olivine City's business district, a young woman with striking carmine hair wearing a business suit strides along with clear purpose, giving off the impression that she knows exactly where she is going and will not be deterred or delayed in getting there.
She wears a pair of stylish sunglasses to protect her eyes from the midday sun as four other people follow her lead down the street, blending into the crowd almost seamlessly. None of them talk, although a few of them sparingly make eye contact and almost seem to communicate without words.
They eventually enter a non-descript building with spaces rented out to several companies and proceeded towards the stairwell near the back of the lobby. There was no check-in desk or a security guard in sight, as this is an area of town that has lower crime rates and thus the owners can't justify the expense to the tenants, who all have their own security measures in place.
They proceed downstairs two levels into the building's sub-basement, below the machinery that services the building's needs, and key in a ten-digit code that opens a panel where all five of them then swipe a keycard and place their palm flat on a green panel that then scans their biometrics before a heavy steel door slides open to admit them.
They all remain quiet until all five are present in the room and the sound-proof door has slid shut for the last time. The young woman who led the way heads over to a large desk laid into the wall where she places her briefcase and clicks open the locks. The inside of the briefcase contains a sophisticated communications hub, complete with cutting-edge encryption software and even a widescreen monitor. She quickly powers up the device, enters all the proper access codes, and links up with the mission planner for the final rundown and gear preparations.
The hub connects and the young woman begins the transmission.
"This is Sears, we're ready on this end Commander."
"Right on schedule; Excellent work Emma. I take it there were no problems with the insertion?" An older woman appears on the screen; her dark eyes and midnight blue hair already make her appear somewhat threatening.
"None ma'am. We've reached the depot and are ready to assemble everything we'll need. Are the other teams in position?"
The older woman nods with an unmistakable gleam in her eye. Any seasoned fighter knows that such a look means only one thing, a twisted mind gleefully at work. She continues without missing a beat.
"Alright then, as this is the final rundown for your first mission as a Team Leader Emma, give me the mission plan step-by-step to ensure that there aren't going to be any foul ups," the older woman orders.
Emma only nods and mentally runs through the plan for what must be the five-hundredth time, but she knows that it's been drilled into her so that she could almost run this mission blind-folded. This way, she won't have to waste time thinking about what she's supposed to doing at any point, she'll simply act like she's running another drill.
"Yes, Commander Watson." As ordered, Emma proceeded to explain the plan to her Commander, going over each step in sufficient detail to prove that she knew what to do backwards and forwards, even answering a few wildcard questions that Watson threw in there simply to test Emma's ability to think on-the-fly.
"Well then, it would appear that the mission planners made the right decision when they appointed you to lead this mission Team Leader Sears. Very well then, pack your gear and move out when you're ready, you've got a boat to catch," Watson ordered.
"Aye ma'am; but won't The Board be upset about the mission? They've never approved of anything this big before..." Emma trailed off, unsure how to word the feeling in her gut that something ... just didn't feel right about this mission.
"Which should serve as proof that Team Galactic is changing its tactics in order to achieve its goals; it would do you well to remember your place Team Leader. The Board knows what it's doing and has a much better view of the big picture than you or I," Commander Watson immediately answered.
Emma shook her head, dismissing such thoughts of nonsense.
"Yes, I understand Commander. I don't know what came over me; I apologize." Emma snapped off a salute to emphasize her point.
Commander Watson nodded.
"Good. Prepare your team. Move out when ready; Watson out," the commander said, terminating the connection from her end.
Emma let out a long sigh after the screen went black, exuding relief from almost every pore in her body.
"Won't the Board be UPSET ... have you LOST your MIND?!" One of the men on Emma's team stepped forward, grabbing her forearm roughly, a move which cost him dearly as Emma swiftly grabbed his wrist, twisted in a dizzying array of movement, ending with her team member on his back, fiercely glaring at her.
"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Emma hissed.
"I asked first..." The young man countered, grunting as Emma held him firmly in a position that was considerably painful.
Emma released her hold and helped him up, it was a fair question.
"I don't know Johnny ... something feels ... OFF," Emma replied.
Johnny was stopped in his tracks at the declaration. Emma's instinct had saved them on more than one occasion already, and if she was getting a funny feeling, then it was more than likely worth some extra attention.
"Off HOW?" Johnny asked.
"Not sure just yet," Emma replied, turning to face the rest of her team.
"Until further notice, stay frosty. Be on your toes as much as possible, report anything out of the ordinary, and assume someone we don't know is watching us. Until then, we keep to the plan, got it?"
The rest of Emma's team nodded silently, equally aware that Emma's feelings weren't something to be easily dismissed.
"Let's pack our gear and get it to our mole. He's gonna need time to ferret it all aboard without a hitch, so we need to give him as much time as possible before the St. Ives sets sail."
Everyone nodded and broke up to seek out various pieces of equipment from the secret weapons depot and pack it amongst their everyday items as efficiently as possible.
Several hundred miles away in the Sinnoh region, Commander Watson idly swirled a snifter full of brandy in a dark room as she watched a glowing grey monitor with an almost forlorn look, as if she couldn't decide whether to feel regretful or not.
"Make me proud ... Emily."
Hinata had honestly never felt this uncomfortable on an assignment in her entire six-year career as a Pokemon Ranger.
She adjusted her clothes for what felt like the one-thousandth time as she arrived in the Olivine City open-air market where she was supposed to meet her contact. She'd been called in on her week off just as she'd been heading out the door to head for the beach to deliver a small package to another Ranger who was also between missions. She'd reluctantly taken the mission, seeing as how no one else was available, and brought her packed bag with her to HQ.
She was really glad she did when her handler had told her that she needed to be in plain clothes to make this delivery so she had promptly changed, reviewed the mission documents, and headed to pick up the package. The 'package' turned out to be a small jump-drive no bigger than her thumb and she'd frowned when she'd first seen it. Yet she'd forced down the minor feelings of outrage that threatened to grow and break loose and left HQ intent on completing the mission as quickly as possible so that she could salvage her own travel plans and enjoy the rest of her vacation.
As per the orders for her mission, she had ditched her usual Ranger uniform for civilian clothes. Her outfit consisted of a modest pair of slacks, a white t-shirt underneath a navy blue blouse that somewhat resembled her uniform jacket, and her traditional bandana. Under her arm, she was carrying today's newspaper with the jump drive nestled securely in the section her contact would be looking for it, the crossword puzzle.
Hinata had been wondering why this type of meeting was taking place since her contact could have just as easily arrived at HQ to pick up the mission file herself. She sincerely hoped there was a good explanation for all of this, because as much as she enjoyed being a Ranger, she was starting to dislike all the hours she was putting in lately. She acknowledged that times were tight for the Ranger Corps though, so she would grit her teeth and bear with the fact that her private life was practically nonexistent, if only to keep up morale in the rank and file. Idly, she adjusted her shoulders and ruffled Plusle's fur, glad for the energetic little mouse's company on a day like today, when everything seemed just a little too unfair.
Her unasked question's answer appeared to her some minutes later as a young woman idly grabbed her wrist as she walked by a random table.
Hinata's eyes were instantly drawn to the very attractive brunette sitting at the table with a heavily marked crossword puzzle sitting in front of her. Her legs were off the side and crossed in lady-like fashion.
"You look lost, why not sit down for a while until your party arrives?" The brunette said while looking up at Hinata through the rims of her sunglasses.
Hinata was suddenly examining the brunette much closer than she had originally. She must have passed by this woman twice or more, and yet she hadn't noticed anything out of the ordinary about her, although she did fit the general description of her contact. Maybe that was why this woman couldn't be seen in or around Ranger HQ, it might very well have compromised her own assignment. Hinata made it appear that she was considering her offer before she pulled out the chair opposite the brunette and proceeded to sit down. She personally had no idea what to say, so she let the brunette make the first move.
"So what's the craziest thing you've done lately?" She asked, eyes twinkling.
Hinata's eyes widened a bit more; this was the randomized code phrase that she was told would be used by her contact. Such code phrases used by the Rangers Corps were typically hand-picked by the contact from some randomized set of codebooks that were all very specific editions of common literary works available at most local bookstores. Of course, the interpretation of these codebooks changed frequently, so unless someone was 'in-the-know' about how to interpret an encoded set of instructions, it would simply come across as harmless small talk or a really vague and complex riddle.
"Went out to a REALLY crazy party, if that even counts..." Hinata replied, telling a half-truth.
"Sometimes it does," the brunette replied.
"But lately, just catching up with an old friend, but they don't appear to be here yet," Hinata replied, winking at her supposed contact as she idly twirled her fingers, discreetly tracing the letters R – A – N – G – E – R on the table's surface, the sign that she was the contact this person was supposed to be meeting.
"Just as well; I'm feeling charitable today, order something. I'll pick up the tab," her host responded, blinking her eyes in a semi-flirtatious fashion.
Hinata blushed slightly, not quite prepared for such a blunt approach as she waved a waiter down and placed an order for a sandwich and a drink.
"I don't even know your name…" Hinata nearly stuttered as she grasped her ice water that had initially been set on the table.
The woman's flirtations abruptly dried up as she leaned forward, extended her hand, and shook Hinata's outstretched palm firmly.
"Chang; Reiko Chang."
Hinata's eyes nearly turned into dinner plates. This name, she'd heard before. Reiko Chang was something of an underground celebrity amongst the Ranger Corps. She supposedly took long-term undercover missions that normal Rangers balked at for various reasons. It took a special kind of nerve to join the Undercover Ops Division, especially if you were a woman. Rumors abounded about how she routinely slept with men in order to get information amongst other ... less conventional ... things.
"Hinata, pleased to make your acquaintance," Hinata replied, her palms beginning to sweat.
"Is that current?" Reiko asked, pointing towards her newspaper.
Hinata suddenly remembered her mission and carefully tried to see if anyone was looking.
"It's clear, don't' worry about it Hinata. I'm between jobs at the moment so there's no one keeping tabs on me, at least not while I'm wearing THIS face," Reiko answered Hinata's unspoken question as she handed the paper over.
Hinata had tried to keep an eye on the jump-drive as Reiko opened the paper straight to the crossword section, but the young woman must have been a sleight-of-hand artist as Hinata never saw the drive or if Reiko had hidden anything on her person while opening the paper. She'd been watching the paper so hard that she hadn't heard Reiko's last remark, otherwise she might have wondered about the 'face' comment.
"So how's life treating you Hinata?" She asked.
"Well enough I suppose. There certainly isn't a shortage of work in the office, let me tell you." Hinata sighed, recalling how much more often Rangers were getting called out on missions these days. She herself hadn't had two consecutive days off in nearly two months before she'd requested time off for her current vacation.
"Nature of the job I'm afraid, Hinata," Reiko replied, the amusement clear in her voice.
"Do you guys get time off? I mean I've always wondered if there were any perks to working the riskier sections of the Corps..." Hinata trailed off.
Reiko put her crossword down and stared over Hinata's shoulder blankly, as if seeing something that no one else could.
Reiko knew that Hinata was, of course, referring to how the Undercover Ops Division had come by its name. It was common knowledge now, given that a few years back, one of the their more renowned agents inadvertently had their cover blown and the Rangers had made a public statement confirming the existence of what was then called Section 7.
S-7 had been a collection of specially trained Rangers whose goal was to combat Organized Crime from the inside-out. Once they'd gone public, they were renamed the Undercover Ops Division, and got some decent press in the process. Reiko had joined them quite a while ago if all the stories were to be believed. Hinata didn't know much about her dining companion, but she admitted that what they did was crucial in keeping Pokemon safe around the world, as well as humans.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I must have zoned out there for a minute," Reiko answered, shaking her head and smiling again as the waiter delivered Hinata's order.
"Yeah, we get vacations every now and again. I'm actually under orders to relax for the duration of my travels to my next assignment. All told, it's ten days of R&R, but then I just got finished with an assignment that took nearly five months to complete."
"Five MONTHS?!" Hinata squeaked, her shock nearly palpable.
"Yeah, that's why they try and give us time off when they can. We've had operatives burn out on us before, and the job is high-stress-high-maintenance. You get used to it after a while, or you have a psychotic episode," Reiko trailed off, a mischievous grin on her face.
"Is it worth it? I mean, lately even I've noticed how every time we manage to put somebody away, three more pop up to take their place."
Reiko looked off into the distance once again as she appeared to seriously consider the question.
"When I was a kid, I met a guy, BRIEFLY, who put that kind of question into the proper perspective for me. He said that 'Ernest Hemingway once wrote that the World is a fine place, and worth fighting for. I agree with the second part.' I was maybe eight at the time," Reiko explained.
"He must have been quite a guy, insightful if nothing else," Hinata noted.
"Oh trust me, he was more than insightful," Reiko said as her face turned grim and her gaze seemed to land smack in the middle of the table.
The two continued their friendly discussion for nearly another thirty minutes after Hinata's sandwich arrived before a small gathering of people outside the café drew Reiko's attention. Hinata followed her line-of-sight and saw a pack of young ladies nearly swarming around two guys she thought looked familiar, but she couldn't place where she might have seen them before.
Their mutual question didn't remain unanswered for long as another young woman suddenly sat up from her table, asking her friend loudly,
"HEY! Isn't that Shu?! 'Johto's Number One Guy'? Oh, I've GOT to get his autograph!"
"And Harley too! WOW!!" Her friend replied excitedly as they hastily threw a few bills on the table and nearly ran out the door, joining the growing throng around the two young men.
Hinata slapped her forehead, remembering the two from the awards ceremony for the Johto Grand Festival she'd caught on TV. To her surprise, Haruka's familiar face had been in the Runner's Up spot, representing Petalburg City. She was happy for the young woman; already attaining international success despite being only ... how old was she now ... fifteen? Regardless, it was an impressive achievement considering all the competition she had from other Coordinators.
"You know anything about that?" Reiko asked Hinata.
"Yeah, those two are the third and fourth-place winners from the Johto Grand Festival this year," Hinata replied.
"I fail to see how that makes one of them 'Johto's Number One Guy' when he only won the Bronze Medal." Reiko thought aloud, her eyebrow rising questioningly.
"First and Second place were both won by girls, so I guess to a guy's ego, that would technically make him Number One Guy."
"Huh ... GUYS and their EGOS; will they never learn?" Reiko thought aloud.
"Hey, don't count them all out. I've met some nice young guys along the way," Hinata countered, remembering Haruka's former traveling companions.
"Yeah, well in the UOD, we don't get many of the egotistically NAÏVE sort. We tend to go straight for the jugular and cut right to the criminals, who are simply fantastically egotistical. It was great meeting you. I'm gonna get going; best of luck to you and your Plusle," Reiko said, scratching the little mouse behind the ears as she gathered up her bag and left a few large bills on the table to cover the check with a generous tip.
"Thanks, good luck to you too. Chances are you'll need it a lot more than I will."
Sister, you have no idea. Reiko thought to herself as she waved goodbye to Hinata and proceeded back to her hotel. It was time to let her pokemon out for a while and pack her bags. She had a ship to catch in a few days.