so i'm updating again? it's summer, & i'm replaying pokemon white, and little snippets of inspiration for this kept popping up, so i decided to come back & write some more. i'm going off to college in august though, so i predict the updates will be short-lived, but we'll see what i can chug out until then, shall we? :3

i also did some editing on earlier chapters, & i'll come back & edit this later so double-check later, if you're interested. :D mmkay, enjoy the read:

x

"What on earth are you still doing in bed? It's almost noon!"

Black's voice, when heard in the morning hours, never failed to grate on Ivory's ears. Okay, maybe that wasn't applicable for her cousin exclusively; she just wasn't a morning person, alright?

"Shut up," Ivory moaned. "It's like ten!"

"It's 'like' ten-thirty!"

"That's still well before 12, dumbass!" Ivory groaned as she blindly flung her pillow at the door. Beneath closed lids, she dutifully rolled her eyes at the chiding sound of Black's tsk-ing.

"This is no way to behave at the start of your journey, young lady," he clucked.

"Shove off. Bianca and I had a late night."

"And yet, of the two, you're the one still in bed," Black replied coolly.

At that remark, Ivory shot up in bed, but instantly crumpled back down after ramming her head into the bunk above her. "FUUH-"

"BITE YOUR TONGUE, YOUNG LADY!"

"-UUURret..." Ivory tapered off, rubbing her head with a grimace. "That really hurt." With a gratuitous wince, Ivory rolled out of bed and glanced at the top bunk: it was empty. "Bianca's not here."

"I just said that, genius."

"Well, where is she?"

Black shrugged. "Dunno. Cheren mentioned something about her being in the waiting room of the Medical Center since some odd hour in the morning. Apparently those pokemon you guys returned with last night were cleared, so they released them back into the wild. Though I guess the Munna was okay with becoming part of Bianca's party."

Ivory fidgeted uneasily. "I guess I should've been there," she mumbled.

Black's eyebrow raised. "Really? I don't see how it makes any difference who was there."

"I was there when those thugs were abusing them." Ivory shrugged helplessly. "I dunno, I just feel like I should've sent the pokemon off, or something. Guess I feel some kind of obligation towards them."

Black sighed wearily. "I hate to be telling you this so early on in your adventure, but not everybody's suited to be a pokemon trainer. Some just suck at battling, some simply can't tap into that power or elicit it from their partners, and others... just don't know how to treat pokemon properly."

"I know," Ivory began, then faltered. "Or, at least... I know that now."

"Just don't blame yourself, is all," Black continued. "There are some rotten people out there. The only thing you can do is deal with the problems you come to face."

"I guess," Ivory sighed.

She fell into a contemplative silence that Black eventually felt obligated to break. "Well hey now, since you were such a sleepy-head, you've got some catching up to do! It seems our little Cheren went ahead and challenged the Gym this morning."

That distracted Ivory from her reverie. "Really? Did he win?" She cut herself off with a scoff. "Who am I kidding? Of course he did; he'd never challenge a Gym Leader if he wasn't like a zillion percent prepared."

Black chuckled in agreement. "He does have some sort of complex going on there. My point was that he's already beaten the gym. He wants to battle with you before he leaves town, and he refuses to do that until you're on his level."

"On his level?"

"A holder of the Trio-Badge," Black elaborated.

"Oh. Guess I better head on down to the Gym."

"Yup!" Black popped his lips on the 'p' of his reply. "But first, breakfast!"

"Yeah, good idea. I'm starving!"

"Well, that's unfortunate. Here." Black offered her a round, green apple.

"What's this?"

"Breakfast," Black answered cheerfully.

"Really cute, Black. Now let's go to the cafe-"

"The cafeteria's closed."

"...What?" Ivory glowered.

"The Poke Center's cafeteria breakfast hours last from 6 a.m. until 10 a.m." Black recited crisply.

"... You're kidding."

" 'Fraid not," Black chirped. He proffered the apple once more. "Take, eat; this is my apple, which was brought to you and-"

"Alright, you've made your point," Ivory said as she snatched up the fruit. Black made to exit the room. "Wait, Black."

He poked his head back into the doorway. "Yes?"

Ivory smiled sincerely at him. "Thanks for saving me some breakfast." 'And the talk' went unsaid.

"Any time, kiddo." He smiled back.

X

After she emerged from the Poke Center, Ivory insisted on going on a jog to warm up her team members. She returned over half an hour later to meet a dumbfounded Black, sporting brambles in her hair and a wild tale about a biker who'd popped out from the shadows of a tall building and chased her down through a majority of Route 2 in order to explain that he'd only wanted to give her a Dusk Ball. Ivory spent another ten minutes convincing Black to help Bianca remove the twigs from her ponytail, and another ten minutes coercing his Simipour to wash her hair out once she'd somehow conjured a bottle of shampoo from her deceptively spacious travel bag. When all was said and done, it was less than five minutes til noon when they finally entered Striaton Gym.

"Erm, is this the right place?" was Ivory's first response.

The place was dotted with dining tables of varying size, all of which were occupied by people... well, dining. Every now & then a smartly dressed waiter or waitress would emerge from the door opposite the entrance to take or deliver an order.

"Hmm... I don't really remember any of this from when I challenged here." Despite this statement, Black didn't seem the least bit perturbed by the setting.

"Um, we're in a restaurant, Black. A restaurant," she emphasized in a clipped tone. "I thought you knew where you were going! You've been to the Gym before! Heck, you live a whopping two miles from this town, so how the heck did we wind up at a restaurant?"

An older man seated nearby chuckled at Ivory's building rant. "You're here to challenge the Leader, I take it?"

Ivory swiveled around. "Um, yes?"

"Hey, Clyde!" Black greeted congenially.

"Nice to see you again, Black," the man returned.

Ivory glanced between her cousin and the older man dubiously. "You two know each other?" she asked.

"He knows everybody," Black said.

"I know everybody," Clyde agreed. "Fresh water, miss?" he offered Ivory a bottle that she swore he'd produced from thin air. Against her better judgement, she accepted it.

"Er, thank you? Now, about the Gym-"

A new voice cut in. "I'm guessing these are challengers if you're speaking to them, Mister Clyde." The speaker was a waiter with a memorable blue haircut. It cascaded in waves over the majority of his face. The waiter inspected Ivory and Black dully. "Well, we've got a few uniforms to spare. The girl's rather flat-chested, so she'll fit, no problem."'

Ivory bristled at the comment. "Hey!"

Black tilted his head in confusion. "Okay, now I'm lost."

The waiter tossed his hair from his face impatiently, though it settled back over his eye a moment later. "Here's the short of it: you're challengers, the gym leaders run a restaurant, and it's lunch time, A.K.A. the busiest time of our workday. Now if you ever want to challenge the gym, I suggest you lend a hand."

"Is this a usual thing, for you to hire your challengers?" Ivory frowned.

"No, it's only usual for the idiots who try to challenge the gym during restaurant hours," the waiter answered bluntly.

"Ohhh-kay, point taken. We'll help out," Black rushed to answer before Ivory could come up with a suitable retort.

X

"This is ridiculous," Ivory muttered as she scooped up another load of the seemingly infinite plates of expertly-prepared food. "I'm either going to collapse from exhaustion or from heat-stroke." In the kitchen's small storage closet, there had only been a few spare waiter outfits, and a single, rather frilly waitress uniform designed to fit a girl of petite stature. Ivory, trying to prove some point that conveniently escaped her at present time & circumstance, had opted for the male equivalent - she'd always preferred to dress less femininely if she could help it. However, between the inexorable heat from the kitchen and the relentless cardio to and from the tables, Ivory found that maybe she'd have preferred the lacy waitress do-up after all. Not that she'd had a chance to exchange uniforms. The flow of customers at lunch hour was practically never-ending! It was like a strange purgatory of steamy kitchens, gourmet food, and uncomfortable uniforms.

Black giggled, interrupted her inner-raving. He was hunched over one of the kitchen's sinks, where he was engaged in an impromptu dish-washing session. Beside him, Excalibur was hissing at the remnants of spoiled carrots that were swirling down the drain. "With that spiffy waiter outfit and the two tufts of hair you've got sticking out of your ponytail, you're really reminding me of Apollo Justice."

"Ugh, great." Ivory spared a moment for an obligatory roll of her eyes before quickly returning them to double-checking an order. "I guess that would make you Phoenix Wright, huh?"

"Nah. My hair isn't quite that spiky," Black snickered.

Ivory carefully placed a tray laden with dishes on her shoulder with a small exhale of exertion. "Well, if I decide to actually go on strike and demand minimum wage, I'll be sure to exercise my Chords of Steel and yell out an 'Objection!' for you," Ivory said over her free shoulder.

"Atta girl!" Black called after her.

Ivory refrained from fondly rolling her eyes so that she could put them to better use, like focusing on carrying the tray out to the dining area without sending its contents tumbling to the ground. She'd nearly done just that, twice now, but both times a waiter - with quite literally flaming red hair - had appeared from nowhere, steadied the tray, winked at her (of all ridiculous and corny gestures), and then basically dissolved into the restaurant. Which was actually quite a feat, considering his eye-catching hairdo.

Third time was supposedly the charm though, so Ivory made sure to move carefully and not jostle the tray - both of which failed royally as she spotted Cheren and Bianca at the receiving table with a jolt of surprise.

"Really now, this is the third time. Can't take the heat?" the waiter with the flaming haircut had reappeared, taking hold of both her hands to steady her and the the tray. Once she regained balance she shrugged him off.

"Bite me," Ivory replied crossly. "I just stumbled, it wasn't like the tray was going to go crashing down," she bluffed. "And I'll thank you not to demean my competency by imposing it upon yourself to come dashing to my supposed rescue."

"Ooooh, you're a fiery one." The waiter winked. "I like that in a girl!"

"Cool it, hotshot. You might get burned," Ivory returned with excessive sarcasm and a heavy dose of eye-rolling. Years of dealing with Black's goofball antics had taught her to take flirting at face value.

"Ha! She knows the lingo!" He pointed his thumb at Ivory, indicating her with delight to a nearby green-haired waiter. The addressed waiter merely nodded with a long-suffering expression. Flame Head returned his attention to Ivory. "Oh puh-lease tell me you chose a grass-type starter."

"Um, yes? I chose Snivy."

"Oh, excellent! Well, carry on then!" He shooed her back on her original path towards Cheren and Bianca's table. Unable to fathom the waiter's behavior, Ivory continued to the table.

Bianca's eyes found her first, and they widened almost comically before crinkling into a smile. "Aw, Ivory, you look so cute!"

"Ivory?" Cheren spoke, then whipped his head around to see her.

"Since when do you work here?" Bianca asked.

"Since I found out this gym was run by nutcases, which happened to be earlier today," Ivory said as she re-adjusted her grip on the tray. "Anyways, what are you doing here? Cheren already won his badge, and I'm guessing you're not up to the gym challenge just yet."

"Oh. Well, Cheren offered to take me out to eat, since he had nothing else to do until he battled you," Bianca said.

"In that case, would it kill you guys to order less stuff?" Ivory grumbled as she served them their plates. "This stuff's freaking heavy."

"It would be easier if you served the courses properly," Cheren noted coolly. He studied the assortment of dishes as he adjusted his glasses. "Generally the drinks are first served. Then the soup and salad are brought out, and then the appetizers are served, if any are ordered, before the dining proceeds to the main course-"

"Cheren, is there anything you haven't read a whole freaking textbook about?" Ivory complained as she roughly handled Cheren's tea cup. "A.) this isn't actually fine dining, compadre: it's just a restaurant with a snootily-dressed staff, and two-"

"B," Cheren corrected.

"TWO," Ivory continued loudly, "this is my first and only day on the job, so quit your bitc-"

"Aaaaaand, here's dessert," Black cut in, appearing from nowhere. He set down two sloppily-scooped bowls of plain ice cream and grabbed Ivory by her ponytail. "On the house," he added hastily. "Enjoy!" He then proceeded to drag a struggling Ivory back into the kitchen.

X

Their shift felt like it would never end, so Ivory was immensely bewildered that the gym-slash-restaurant's clock only displayed four o'clock when things had finally quieted down.

Ivory hung up the waiter uniform in disgust and then flung herself on the ground against the storage room's door.

"Remind me to never go into the food industry," Ivory spoke to the world at large.

The world at large ignored her, so only Black was left to respond. "I don't think you could make it in the food industry if you tried."

Ivory opened her mouth to retort, then closed it after a moment of thought. She sighed. "Yeah, you're probably right."

"That was a lot of hard work for four hours, huh?" Black said. "Feels good though, doesn't it? All accomplished and whatnot?"

"The only thing I feel is pain in my arms and shoulders," Ivory said. "Mostly because I can't feel much from the waist down. I'm totally suing." With that, she flopped the rest of the way to the ground.

Black chuckled. Ivory always accused him of exaggerating, blowing things out of proportion, not taking things seriously, and just general tomfoolery, but Ivory could be just as comical once she was worn out enough to loosen up.

"And will the restaurant be defended by Phoenix Wright or Apollo Justice?" Black quipped.

Ivory wasn't given an opportunity to reply, as three waiters entered the kitchen right then. The green-haired waiter of the group frowned. "I do hope that was said in jest. Surely, our restaurant isn't stressful enough to warrant such drastic legal action?"

"They were kidding, Cilan. Lighten up!" The flame-haired waiter slapped his companion's back.

"And you need to cool off, Chili, or else Cilan will end up with another dislocated shoulder," the third waiter (this one blue-haired) interjected.

"Sheesh, squabbling like that, people would think you're siblings," Ivory muttered as she eye the three.

"They are," Black said. He scratched just beneath the brim of his hat at his temple. "I'd introduce them, but I get the feeling these guys like to do that sort of thing themselves." With that prompt, the three waiters burst into movement.

"I'm Chili!" The redhead threw his fist into the air.

"I'm Cilan." With a small waved peace-sign, the green-haired waiter introduced himself.

"And I'm Cress," the blue-haired waiter was left to say.

"And we're the Striaton City Gym Leaders!" they chorused.

"... Cilan, you were off by half a second," Cress scolded after a moment.

"Sorry," Cilan apologized meekly.

Ivory recognized Cress as the waiter that had first roped them into this mess and Chili as the redhead who'd she snarked at earlier. Cilan, at least, had gone about his business unobtrusively in the background. These are the Striaton Gym Leaders?

"Oh brother," Ivory groaned.

"Times three," Black chimed in happily.

There aren't even any pokemon battles in this chapter! mostly because i'm like waay lazy.

so, i took some major liberties with the brothers' personalities, and with how a restaurant works in general. this is pretty much entirely filler because 1. i needed to get back into writing this & 2. i wanted to break up the monotony of talking to people and battling, end of chapter.

phoenix wright & apollo justice are lawyers from Capcom's Ace Attorney franchise, & if you haven't played them DON'T TOUCH ME, YOU'RE NOT LIVING. but yeah, they' great games, totally worth checking out.

for anyone who gets the reference, or will get it once i point it out, Excalibur is hissing at the carrots when he's in the kitchen with Black & Ivory. In the episode of Soul Eater where Oxford visits him, Excalibur states that he hates carrots. When oxford agrees, excalibur throws his bento away, scolding him for complaining about food. he then instructs viewers not to waste food. assume something similar happened between Black & Excalibur. :) yeah, i actually don't watch soul eater 24/7, contrary to what these author notes may lead you to believe. but excalibur is a hilarious icon, so i'm going to squeeze in as many references as i can. :P

oh, & if the whole 'She knows the lingo!' line seemed out of place when Chili & Ivory were interacting, it's probably because i'm the only one who occasionally has David Tennant's voice stuck in their head. It's a line the 10th doctor says to Rose a few minutes into the episode titled 'The Idiot's Lantern' & i don't even have an explanation. there was banter, chili & his bros speak in elemental puns generally, ivory joined in, & i guess fancy waiter suits somehow made me think of british pop culture. Whatever, so that's my totally irrelevant explanation/side-note for that line. i'm feeling rambly, because it's like 3 in the morning as i'm writing this. :D

so thoughts? good, bad? lemme hear some feedback. :)