:: for flashbacks.
—
Words or phrases in Japanese will be used occasionally by their respective characters.
—
Ayame stood in front of her mirror while running a brush through her long black hair at 9 a.m. She couldn't keep her mind off of Friday. She'd be inducted by her father, its founder, into Unovanish in three days upon turning eighteen. It's a company that keeps Unova clean— more so the streets of Castelia City, where she resided.
How is this done? To Ayame, in an inhumane manner. Her father signed a contract a decade ago with its mayor to establish headquarters and rid of wild pokémon occupying the massive metropolis they'd lived in for countless years.
Not to mention the corruption and increasingly heartbreaking practices taking place the longer Unovanish stayed in power. With the majority of citizens standing with the company, they could get away with more without notice or significant pushback.
Ayame realized the pokémon started getting out of control prior to Unovanish when a loud minority damaged residential and store property and stole regularly, among other horrible things like assaults, but it was nothing worse than what humans did to each other. Castelia had a high rate of crime either way, being a massive city.
Plus, the majority of pokémon co-existed, but all were being punished unfairly.
She set the brush down and heard a knock at the front door. Ayame left the restroom and entered her room, jogging to her dresser to throw on a gray tee that matched her shorts and happened to match her eyes as well.
She lived at headquarters amid Castelia and had the best room in it, consisting of a white canopy bed, a spacious walk-in closet, and a TV hanging on her wall. Ayame also had a mini-fridge and full kitchen but never had the motivation to cook, and she was an exceptional one since her mother had taught her well. She barely had any to decorate either.
However, Ayame did have an art section on her wall consisting of multiple paintings of popular landmarks throughout various regions, and one of them was her own from two years ago. It was a detailed and framed display of Nacrene City's museum, one of her favorite places in Unova. She didn't paint nowadays but valued that piece.
She walked to her door and looked through its hole. "Mhm." She knew it was Katie. Ayame opened it and went to the other side of the room to brush aside the transparent white curtains blocking her window. She lived on the fourth floor, so she got a decent view of the city.
Katie entered and shut the door, then went to sit on Ayame's bed. She was in a white jacket and jeans with dark shades atop her head, its temples through her hair. Katie usually sported urban wear while Ayame took a cute and casual route.
"Excited to clean the city?" Katie was nineteen and typically fit with wavy blonde hair and brown eyes. She was slim, although toned, while Ayame was thin but frailer and slightly shorter in comparison.
Ayame rolled her eyes. Katie was never supposed to be involved in this line of work. Ayame's father told her she had to stop hanging around Katie at fifteen out of fear since Katie started getting curious about the side she felt Ayame hid from her.
Katie accidentally found out about Ayame's ties to Unovanish a year afterward when following her to headquarters because Ayame always wanted to walk home alone. A high-class restaurant was present before the headquarters' lobby to shield its location from the general public, although Kado revealed Unovanish's location to the public two years after founding it for transparency and when he felt it was safe to do so. No one knew of his existence or that he ran it for his and Ayame's safety, however.
Katie saw Ayame walk through the restaurant's kitchen one evening and was met with an ultimatum soon after. Katie could either work for Unovanish in secret— contract and all or be silenced permanently. So, you know, it wasn't really an ultimatum.
Ayame turned around. "I guess." Katie had worked here for two years and was one of the only people allowed around Ayame by her father for safety reasons. Katie also had impressive results on the field. Ayame saw a rank-up coming her way soon.
"What? Nothing to be nervous about. You've spent years in training for this day."
"I'm not nervous." She went and sat beside her. "I'm hesitant, but it's not up to me."
"What for? It's not like we murder em'." She lay back.
Ayame wasn't sure how to approach this. She couldn't be herself around Katie sometimes. "Just… How things are done now. We capture and send pokémon to other habitats or regions entirely. We tranq and separate them from their families with no care. It wasn't always run like this."
Katie eyed her, smirking subtly. "Soft…"
"What?"
"You're soft."
This was why she couldn't talk to Katie. Ayame shook her head and started getting up but felt Katie grab her wrist.
She sat up, her eyes holding regret. "...Sorry." Katie didn't realize it was affecting her so deeply. Ayame hadn't brought up this subject in such detail before. "But it's difficult for you to feel this way when so much is expected of you, you know?"
Ayame sat again. "Of course I do." She did have a sweet spot for pokémon. "The last straw was when we forced pokémon to work under us or else they were threatened to be sent to a region they'd never stepped foot in."
Katie kept silent. Ayame had a point, but this job paid well, and Katie tended to ignore its negative aspects. Maybe she shouldn't.
"Do you enjoy doing this?"
"I enjoy the pay, I guess, and it's not like I have a choice. I barely talk to my parents now because of this." Katie stood from the bed and checked the white watch on her wrist for the time. "Why don't we walk? This is depressing."
Ayame nodded. "Sure." She changed into a casual black skirt that cut off at her knees and put on matching running shoes, following Katie out the door after grabbing her key off of her dresser. The door locked automatically to ensure safety. Ayame stayed in room 420, a corner one. Nineteen more doors lined the marbled gray floor west toward the elevator.
Katie went and looked over the railing down at the open lobby, whose design resembled that of an open mall. There were three more floors with rooms beneath them and another four across from them on the north end.
The grounds were busy with human and pokémon employees alike. Unovanish worked at night, so everyone was dressed in their choice of clothing at the time. There was a specialized outfit every employee wore while on active duty.
There was also armed security wearing black outfits patrolling the perimeter in shifts, all humans, as pokémon weren't eligible to work security.
She watched for a moment longer before jogging to catch up with Ayame, who was halfway at the elevator.
"Where exactly are we going?" Ayame called the elevator via its button. Its walls were transparent.
"We could grab breakfast somewhere."
"That works."
They took the elevator and stepped into the populated lobby in less than a minute. The entrance to the restaurant's kitchen was ahead down a long flight of stairs.
"Feels freeing when I'm away," said Ayame while walking down the steps.
"Damn, might just want to ditch for your birthday, then."
She grinned. "And leave you? It's kind of my fault you're stuck here." Ayame opened the door to the kitchen and walked through the hot environment. The smell of cooking food told her she had an appetite.
Katie followed and took a side door to the left with her, leading to more stairs that took them down a short and dark hall so as not to alert dining customers of anyone going back and forth potentially.
The restaurant closed at 7 p.m. to reduce traffic surrounding the area, and during the night, employees tended to use more secretive exits. Although Unovanish's location was well known, employees still had to use safety measures so no one could easily scout exits.
"Running away does sound exhilarating, though," Katie said.
"You're trouble, Katie." Ayame took more stairs up at the end of the hall and through another door locked from the outside requiring a four-digit code, stepping into an empty alley. It was closed in by walls on all sides, so no one walking by could see them exit initially. An employee had to slip past the western wall into civilization.
They were encompassed by people, owned pokémon, shops, and skyscrapers in every direction after they exited the alley. Unovanish headquarters was in the midst of its central business district, where tourism flourished. Restaurants and stands sold food and overpriced valuables from regions worldwide.
"This way." Katie grabbed her wrist and started south.
"Where to?" Ayame stumbled briefly against her pull and walked with her past a few crowds. She looked up at what would be a sunny day if an overcast wasn't present.
Katie looked back at her. "I was thinking we could revisit some years ago. It's been a while, and it could take your mind off of Friday for a bit."
Ayame knew what she was referring to. They used to use Café Sonata as a hangout spot, which was one of Castelia's central cafés. "Hopefully..."
Katie felt her demeanor dim and eyed her slouched posture, reaching her free hand and pressing her lower back. "Up straight."
Ayame grinned slightly and raised her shoulders. Katie had always pressed her about her diffidence.
"Two small coffees and two watmel muffins, please," Katie said to the employee behind the counter. She glanced over at Ayame sitting at a table to save a spot for them, though only a few tables were taken as the café wasn't packed. It was busiest during rush hour.
Being here always calmed Katie, and with Ayame more so. The red carpeting and low lighting made the environment feel cozy. She paid for their order and went to sit with Ayame. "Got us coffee and muffins."
"Thanks. I remember you used to get two just for you."
"Used to." She grinned. "You know I stopped eating more than I should like years ago." Katie still felt awful about her comment towards Ayame. It hadn't left her mind. "Also, I know I said it already, but I'm really sorry I called you soft earlier. It was insensitive, and I've gotta work on seeing things from other people's perspectives and not only mine… Especially my closest friend's."
"Yurusareta… Forgiven." Ayame grinned. Everyone has bad habits.
A female employee brought their order on a tray just after that, which they thanked her for.
"You're growing up so fast. Can't believe you'll be eighteen." Katie smirked and took three sugar packets from the container on the table, tearing one open for her coffee. She handed Ayame one.
Ayame giggled and took it. "Shut up. You're only one year older than me."
"Two, basically. Really though, how's it gonna be a few years from now?" Katie took a sip of her coffee.
She shrugged. "We'll still be friends. That's what will matter most, right?"
"Mhm."