Arc 4: Expanding Conflict

It was cited as a rare opportunity to be able to accompany or assist Kaito with any of his study subjects or research-based expeditions. The Togetic was normally rather quiet and reserved, more content to surround himself with books or ancient relics over the company of people or other Pokemon. Whenever he was on-site, he became so immersed in the lore or aesthetics of the site that he blocked out all else, making it nigh impossible to engage him in any other matter.

On the flip side, he was incredibly passionate and excitable when examining something that had acquired his interest, although Lin had to concede that this particular quality of one of the most distracting and irritating aspects of Kaito's personality.

To the Weavile, Kaito was too much of an enigma. Seeing as she was considered the most recent addition to Kaito's group, only knowing them for roughly a year, there had been fewer opportunities to get to know Kaito on a personal level, a matter that was further complicated by his distant personality. Some might consider it ironic that Lin, of all people, would complain about someone being socially distant, but that wasn't really the problem she had with Kaito.

It was true that Lin was rather aloof and serious much of the time, but she had no real objection to social interaction, and got along extremely well with Cecilia, as well as being on solid terms with Force and Iris, despite the minimal one-on-one interaction she had with the Riolu. However, a consistent criticism that the group had expressed as of late was that Kaito was a bit too distant from the rest of them, not only in terms of social interaction, but also in sharing his information or plans with them. Since he was essentially the leader of the group, this was becoming increasingly problematic, with no easy solution in sight.

Part of the reason she had volunteered to come to Johto for the sake of Kaito's research was to try to get more information from him, as well as have more time to get to know him better. From the looks of things, Kaito had a number of acquaintances and contacts willing to do him favors, so he couldn't possibly be completely socially inept, nor was Lin intending to give him that label in the first place.

At any rate, the two of them were currently occupying a small residence on the northern side of Ecruteak City. Kaito had briefly explained that the home belonged to someone he had known when he was younger, but who currently lived in a neighboring city, leaving the place unoccupied. His elaboration was enough to eventually reassure Lin that there would be no objections to them staying at the home for a few days or so.

The small house was comfortable in its simplicity. The floors and walls had been crafted out of simple wood paneling, to the point that Cecilia had instinctively shut off her flame vents before coming inside, despite the reassurances from Kaito that every building in Ecruteak within the past hundred years had either been built or remodeled to consist of fire-resistant materials. Cecilia still insisted on keeping her flame vents off for the short time she had spent indoors before going off on her own, and Lin quickly discovered that the reason Kaito had come to this city was to re-examine some of his research materials that had been located here.

Lin also discovered that she did not share the same passion for the material that Kaito did. She had been born and raised in the historical region of Sinnoh, and although she suspected that Johto history had its own appeal to its lore, she disliked the passive activity of reading through books and notes and the like. It was the curse of her species, in its own way. She could only spend maybe an hour or two of such tasks before needing to break to do something more active. That was why, even in the group's Sinnoh expeditions, Lin was usually one to accompany the others to ruins sites and caves and things of that nature, as opposed to sitting down to study the lore and historical texts that Kaito and sometimes even Iris was more willing to do.

Little wonder, really, that Cecilia had been quick to go off on her own, claiming a desire to reacquaint herself with her home region, or something of that nature. Not that this half-fib actually fooled Lin. The aftermath of the Solaceon Ruins incident had weighed on the Quilava very clearly, and Lin took care not to probe the matter too deeply. Cecilia was carrying a lot of hurt and sadness, and time would need to mend the wound a bit before she would be willing to discuss it, if that desire ever surfaced. No, it was obvious to Lin that part of the problem was centered specifically around the ebony Espeon that Cecilia had taken a shine to.

The Weavile stifled a small snort of amusement, her red eyes flicking in Kaito's direction in the hopes that he wouldn't have noticed the sound, and she relaxed on seeing that the Togetic was too focused upon the book he was paging through, his eyes rapidly scanning the lines of writing before impatiently flipping through another page or two. The room they were occupying was like a private library corner for the house, as a short row of bookshelves sat by the far wall, with a pair of armchairs arranged around a center table, with a desk lamp seated on a stand between the two chairs. Of course, Kaito's first action upon arriving to the room was to search the house for a towel that he could use to dust every visible surface before he could settle in. Lin had been willing to assist with such a mundane task, if only so she wouldn't have to endure him flinching every time he noticed a dirty surface in her vicinity.

Really, Kaito's obsession with cleanliness was incredibly ironic considering the amount of time he spent examining ancient artifacts, dusty old tomes, and outright ruin sites that had degraded over decades or centuries to the point where the entire place would be considered dirt and dust.

Lin snapped her claws mentally, knowing that doing so for real would irritate the Togetic, and she forced herself to refocus on her previous line of thought. How rare for her to need to force herself to stay focused, but no one was perfect. What had she been musing about? Cecilia's issues? Yeah, that had to be it.

The Quilava's eagerness to get away from Sinnoh for a while had been rather transparent to Lin. Sure, there probably was some nostalgic yearnings, but Cecilia had not had a very happy upbringing, from what Lin had gathered, so she was more likely running from something that was bothering her. And there was the fact that Shadow had insisted on being filled in on what Cecilia knew about Diablos, a request that Lin had considered reasonable. The only condition had been that Cecilia not reveal their base of operations as being the Old Chateau, not only because Diablos himself was located within the walls, but because it was such a convenient and private meeting space that the group would not appreciate that information leaking to a potentially hostile party.

Cecilia hadn't shared anything in detail about how that meeting had gone, but she had returned seemingly unharmed, so Lin doubted it had gone TOO badly. Definitely could have gone worse, considering how volatile the Espeon had been acting in the immediate aftermath.

The Weavile's ear twitched, and she froze in place, straining to focus on the distant sounds approaching. Kaito glanced up from his reading, casting a perplexed look in Lin's direction, for the sudden tenseness in her body had actually drawn his attention.

"What's up?" he asked her, cocking his head to the side, his fairy wings fluttering gently. Lin was honestly surprised he really cared, considering she had just been sitting there in one of the chairs for the past half hour or so, no longer actively assisting him with scouring the books for whatever piece of data he was hunting for.

"Excuse me for a moment," Lin replied, rising to her feet and adjusting her scarf. Ignoring Kaito's confused expression, she slipped silently from the room. The stealthiness was entirely unneeded, but being able to move about without alerting those nearby was a valuable skill in combat, hunting, and general survival, so Lin was not about to break a habit that had consistently practical use in her everyday life.

"W-wait, Lin!" Kaito protested, but his call received no response from the dark claw Pokemon. Her attention was too focused upon the flickers of noise and voices that seemed to be approaching them, different from the usual traffic of the city.

There was no real need to be concerned, but Lin had been struggling with the familiar sense of restlessness that was rapidly spreading through her body, overtaking her usual sense of patience and calm. It was an antsy, almost itchy feeling that nudged and nagged at her brain, spurring her body into action. Even the simplest actions might be enough to soothe the symptoms, but right now her senses had homed in on the chatter and background noises, unable to relax until she had identified the source.

The sounds were definitely getting closer, going as far as climbing the wooden steps that led to the residence's door. Lin only had time to furrow her brow in bafflement before something collided with the door with enough force to make the door rattle ominously. Kaito yelped in alarm from the other room, and moments later, the fairy Pokemon emerged from its grotto, clutching his chest with one paw, but looking more aggravated and bewildered than actually pained.

Perplexed, Lin closed the distance between herself and the door and slowly turned the knob before pulling it open. This action was immediately followed by a familiar blue and tan quadruped falling into the doorway from the outside, her blue eyes unfocused for a moment before she shook herself and climbed to her feet, looking incredibly embarrassed.

"...are you serious, Cece?" Lin asked incredulously. "Did you...run into the door?"

"It was supposed to open!" Cecilia protested. Lin quickly discovered that the Quilava was not alone, and instead was accompanied by two other Pokemon, neither of whom she recognized. One of them was a blue bird-like Pokemon with cloud-like wings, and the second was a visibly uncomfortable quadruped with vibrant orange fur and a fluffy collar and tail that reminded the Weavile of clouds, although less so than the Altaria hovering by her shoulder.

"How fast were you moving that you ran into the door without enough time to turn the knob?" Kaito asked, looking less-than-thrilled to discover that Cecilia had been the source of the startling crash earlier.

"She's brought guests, Kaito," Lin stated, opening the door wider so that the fairy Pokemon could see the others present. Kaito gave the Flareon a blank look, but his expression softened when he noticed the cloud dragon.

"Oh. Hey, Sorin."

Lin blinked and examined the Altaria with renewed interest. So, this was the Pokemon that she had heard about numerous times since meeting Kaito, but without ever having the opportunity of meeting him directly. Then again, she always stuck to Sinnoh, and Kaito had even mentioned previously that Sorin disliked traveling long distances, despite possessing the capability of doing so.

"That's about as enthusiastic a greeting as I expected to get," Sorin chuckled. He glanced over at the Flareon, who was fidgeting awkwardly, and glancing back at the city residents with an expression of apprehension. "Er, think we can come in for a while, rather than wait out here looking conspicuous?"

"You may as well," Kaito sighed. Cecilia stifled a giggle and gestured for the other two to follow her inside, and Lin stepped back from the door to better allow for the Altaria's bulk to squeeze through the door frame. The Togetic again gave the Flareon a puzzled look. "Who's your friend?"

"We can do introductions in a bit!" Cecilia chirped, nearly forgetting to keep her flame vents extinguished in her excitement. This was the happiest Lin had seen the Quilava since they had come to Johto, although close inspection of the Quilava's eyes indicated that she was forcing at least a small percentage of the bubbly mood. "Don't forget that Sorin still has to meet Lin officially!"

"I did forget, actually," Kaito admitted, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly with one paw. Lin allowed herself a tiny smirk, closing the door behind the Flareon as she walked inside. Bizarrely, the Fire-type Eeveelution seemed no less uncomfortable indoors than she had seemed when standing outside. As if aware of the Weavile's gaze, the Flareon pulled her fluffy tail tighter around herself like a protective garment.

"Okay, now we can get introductions started," Cecilia chirped, smiling. Lin glanced at the Quilava with mild amusement, but made no objection. Considering Cecilia was the only one who seemed to know literally everyone present, it was only logical that she be the one to kickstart the introductions. "So, this is Kaito," she told her fellow Fire-type, sitting back on her haunches to grandly gesture towards the Togetic.

"He's a long-time friend of mine," Sorin added, likewise addressing the Flareon. "One of my other contacts, even though Cecilia's the one who suggested coming to him. Oh, by the way, Kaito, I'm going to need to have a word with you in a little bit."

"Oh? About what?" Kaito wondered, looking genuinely intrigued, but the Altaria shook his head, wordlessly reminding the fairy Pokemon that now wasn't the proper time to discuss the matter. "Hm...very well."

Cecilia observed the interaction with interest, only to move along with the introductions. "And this is Lin!" she said, making a similarly grand gesture towards the Weavile, who offered a simple, curt nod of acknowledgement. Both Sorin and the Flareon turned their attention towards her, Sorin offering a weak smile, whereas the Flareon only mirrored the Weavile's nod, non-verbal tone and everything.

"And I'm Sorin," the Altaria supplied, realizing that now was an appropriate time to introduce himself. "Er, nice to meet you, Lin. Heard a tiny bit about you, but admittedly not too much."

"Likewise for you," Lin answered. She almost went as far as to extend her paw for a handshake before it swiftly dawned on her that the Altaria was lacking convenient appendages to do so. The Weavile's red eyes immediately flicked towards the Flareon expectantly.

There was a pause, and even Sorin turned towards his companion. Finally, the Flareon spoke, and although it was only a single word, there was an oddly clipped note to her voice.

"Celes."

"Lovely name," Lin stated, seeing as there was literally nothing else provided for her to comment on. "Have you known either of them long?" she wondered, gesturing towards Sorin and Cecilia.

"Sorin for two days. Cecilia since yesterday," Celes replied. Her tone was still rather clipped, but she seemed to be making at least a tiny effort to rein it in, but there was no question in Lin's mind that Celes was not here for the sake of socializing, particularly if she had only known her companions for a bafflingly short time frame.

"That's it?" Kaito asked, furrowing his brow, and casting the other two a perplexed look, which Cecilia didn't seem to notice at all, but Sorin smiled apologetically.

"That's part of what I want to talk to you about," he explained. He paused, and looked over at Celes, a silent question in his eyes. The Flareon averted her gaze for a moment, steeling herself, before looking up at the hovering Togetic.

"I'm looking for my brother," Celes said stiffly. "Sorin's been asking his sources if they've seen him, and supposedly you might be able to help. Though if you can't, I'd hardly be any worse off."

Both Lin and Kaito blinked at the Flareon's downcast tone at the last sentence. To Lin, it was easy to recognize the combination of tone and behavior. For whatever reason, Celes' search had proved fruitless thus far, and she was inching ever closer to despair and depression.

"Hmm...well, I doubt I've seen him personally," Kaito admittedly slowly. "I've spent more time in Sinnoh lately, except during the winter. Could you elaborate a little bit?"

Celes rolled her eyes. It was clear that she had gone through this routine several times already, because her words carried an almost-rehearsed tone to them as she described her brother. Evidently, he was an Eevee going by the name of 'Blaze'. He was originally clan-born, but had left some months previously, and had not been seen since, despite Celes' efforts.

"Hold up," Kaito interrupted, peering at Celes with greater interest. The Flareon frowned, but paused, giving the Togetic an inquisitive look. "Which clan?"

"Does it matter?" Celes asked, unable to hide her irritation.

"Yes, actually," Kaito answered, his body shaking a bit as he considered the Flareon. "It wouldn't happen to be the Violet City clan? Or the Goldenrod clan, even?"

"Why does everyone ask me this?" Celes growled, the frustration evident in her brown eyes. "I don't know the city names, and I don't know landmarks."

"Was your clan ran by an alpha?" Kaito wondered, but Sorin shook his head, catching the Togetic's attention.

"No, I met her near Violet, and she's told me enough about the clan to exclude it as an option. I don't know anything about the Goldenrod clan, but we were in Goldenrod before coming this way."

"Oh. Blackthorn, then," Kaito mused. All eyes swiveled to face the Togetic, all expressions a mixture of baffled or mildly curious. "I've traveled the region a few times," the fairy Pokemon explained defensively.

"Yeah, but enough to know where all the Eevee clans are located? That's weirdly specific trivia," Cecilia giggled.

"I got the info from Kuro," Kaito stated stiffly. "He would know the clans better than I would."

There was an awkward pause following this statement, as the other Pokemon exchanged uncertain looks with one another. From the looks of things, no one seemed to fully understand what the Togetic had meant by that comment.

"What do you mean?" Lin asked finally, flicking one end of her scarf over her shoulder and pivoting her body to face Kaito directly. "Who's Kuro?" she added, realizing that the name did not immediately ring a bell in her mind, undoubtedly a side effect of not being in on all the information that Kaito knew.

"That Zorua, isn't it?" Sorin wondered, although he was clearly talking more to himself than the group. The statement nevertheless gained a small nod from Kaito.

"He's a Zoroark now," Kaito explained with a sigh. "Kuro was an old friend of mine. Emphasis on 'was', because that went sour a long time ago."

"Really? What happened?" Cecilia wondered, her blue eyes shining with curiosity. Kaito looked momentarily pained, but then shook his head, clearly unwilling to address that question now.

"If anyone would know the inner workings and going-ons of the Johto Eevee clans, it'd be him," Kaito said seriously. "But I wouldn't know the first place of where to find him, and there's no way that he'd help on my request."

"Why would he know about the clans?" Celes asked blankly.

Kaito paused, fidgeting with his paws for a moment, but the Flareon's expression was unusually intense, and Lin could see that even with the Togetic's tendency to dodge direct questions or give vague responses, there was little chance that Celes would let such an answer go by without question.

"Kuro was born in the Goldenrod City clan...which is known for being purist. For those who don't follow, Zorua and Zoroark have the ability to create illusions, to disguise themselves or their environment, but an unskilled member of this ability will be exposed quickly, as sometimes all it takes is simple inspection for the illusion to fail, but stronger illusions require more effort. I don't know if it was his mother or his father that was a member of the Zoroark line, because Kuro himself never knew."

"If he was a Zorua, then it had to have been the mother," Celes argued, frowning at the Togetic.

"Not true," Cecilia interjected with a soft smile, her eyes showing a hint of sadness. "Assuming the absence of a Ditto, a cross-bred kit can be the species of either parent, although the odds depend on a number of factors, such as biological compatibility. I imagine a Zorua and an Eevee are definitely compatible enough to produce either species, but this is a more common occurrence in the wild, as breeder-run Daycare Centers have a more controlled environment."

The Quilava blinked, realizing she had everyone's full attention. Celes and Sorin were staring at the fire weasel with blank shock and interest, respectively, and even Kaito seemed intrigued by her knowledge.

"How do you know that?" Celes asked finally.

Cecilia shrugged. "I grew up near a Daycare Center, and spoke to a lot of the Pokemon that came and went. Not all trainers left their Pokemon in pairs, so they sometimes...mingled...with different Pokemon, and I've heard of cases where the resulting eggs hatched into the species of the male Pokemon, but it was more common with very similar species. It makes sense, though. If Pokemon are going to bear offspring, they want their kits to have an evolutionary advantage for their environments. Some think cross-breeding causes more defects, others consider it a healthy way to create a more adaptable gene-pool. As a result, some cross-bred Pokemon end up possessing unusual qualities inherited from their parents, regardless of their species. Like, even non-Riolu descendants of a Lucario might have an affinity for aura."

"That's...fascinating, actually," Sorin admitted. Celes nodded in silent agreement, whereas Kaito chuckled to himself. Lin, however, remained silent, observing Cecilia with interest. No one was fool enough to ever consider Cecilia to be stupid or uninformed, but never before had Lin ever witnessed Cecilia to have such a thorough understanding of a subject. Granted, it was rare to imagine a situation where this knowledge could be applied, which might be why the Quilava was so eager to share the information now that the opportunity had presented itself.

"Anyway, what were you saying, Kaito?" Lin prompted, seeing as this was precisely the type of tangent that often caused Kaito to evade fully answering a question, deliberately or otherwise. While it was a persistent issue, she didn't think Kaito was really doing it on purpose.

"Oh, right, right," the Togetic paused to regather his thoughts. "In any case, the clan wasn't able to figure out Kuro's heritage. No one claimed him as theirs, and the clan leaders probably assumed that the poser was a female Zoroark, who couldn't claim Kuro on the basis that she'd have to reveal herself, and the father either had been deceived entirely and had no idea of his role, or was protecting her by not exposing either of them."

"Was it normal for that clan to track heritage?" Celes wondered, her words oozing with distaste.

"Probably," Kaito answered with a shrug. "If they're as purist as the rumors say, they'd definitely want to be keeping tabs on that. Kuro said they raised him beyond the dependancy stage before forcing him out."

"Whoa, whoa...the clan kicked a young kit out?" Sorin asked incredulously. "Just because of his species, which he had no control over?"

"That's what Kuro claims," Kaito responded solemnly. "As with almost everything he says, one can never tell how much of what he says is factual, and how much is exaggerated. My understanding is that he was taken in by the Violet City clan, and that's where much of his education comes from. He sometimes calls them a 'foster home', up until he was 'adopted' by the Unown."

Celes scowled a little bit. "Well, if he can offer ANY help on where Blaze might be, I'm sure it can't hurt to ask."

"Um...it could, actually," Sorin said awkwardly, earning a glare from the fire Eeveelution, but the Altaria either ignored it or didn't notice the look at all. "Kuro's a Zoroark now?" he wondered, looking over at Kaito for confirmation.

"Yeah, he evolved like...two years ago or so, why?" Kaito wondered. Sorin fidgeted in mid-air.

"Yeah, that's a problem. Uh...Kaito...Kuro's been working with Inferna."

The significance of this comment was utterly lost on Lin, but everyone else reacted as if they had been struck by lightning. Celes flinched, her dark brown eyes widening with sudden realization. Cecilia cringed, whereas the blood seemed to drain from Kaito's face.

"Okay, you guys are looking really freaked out right now, and it's confusing the heck out of me," Lin commented, folding her arms across her chest.

"It's...complicated," Kaito sighed, shaking his head. "I'll explain another time, but not now."

"I'll hold you to that," Lin replied silkily, examining the claws of one paw idly. The incessant restlessness that had been creeping up on her for the past half hour was returning in full force, now that the conversation was beginning to shift into more ambiguity and evasiveness. Unable to endure the sensation in silence any longer, Lin straightened up and adjusted the scarf around her neck. "In the meantime, if I'm not presently needed, I'm going out for a while," she stated.

"Oh?" Cecilia seemed surprised by the abruptness of the Weavile's departure. "Can I come?"

"If you wish," Lin said curtly, but she flashed the Quilava a tiny smile before focusing on Sorin and Celes. "It was nice to meet you, and I expect I'll see you again soon," she told the Altaria.

"Yeah, probably," Sorin replied, offering a smile. Lin again had to remind herself that the Altaria lacked the necessary appendages to shake her paw, and instead settled with a polite bob of her head as she slipped past the two, the ends of her scarf trailing behind her.

"See you!" Cecilia chirped, and hurried after the Weavile as she stepped outside and down the steps leading towards the rest of the city.