It wasn't until Matsubusa had put some considerable distance between himself and Team Aqua did the redhead realize that he had left all his belongings at the hotel, from his clothes to his laptop. The only thing he still had was his Pokédex, the device sitting in his pocket as he hid in a dark alley behind a convenience store, eyeing the shadows warily as he caught his breath.

Dante stood on top of the store's dumpster, giving him the advantage of height as his glowing red eyes scanned the darkness diligently for any sign of their pursuers.

Matsubusa wanted to lean against the wall for support, but knew better. The last thing he needed was alley filth on his clean clothes, leaving foreign stains and smudges. Instead, he simply crossed his arms and hunched his shoulders forward. "...At least I have my Pokédex, but Homura's going to kill me for losing my laptop." He had absolutely no doubts that Team Aqua was looting his room at that very moment, taking everything of value – including his laptop. Thankfully, they wouldn't find anything incriminating on it. He wasn't so stupid as to keep anything Team Magma related on it, and the laptop was password protected and would log him out after ten minutes of inactivity. He was certain the trip to the reception desk and back was more than enough time for the laptop to lock up. "Bastards..."

Dante let out a small rumble of agreement, but kept his attention focused on scanning their surroundings.

Matsubusa tilted his head back as he closed his eyes. "So, now what?" The rather obvious course of action would've been to contact Homura and tell him of the situation, but he was very reluctant to do that. He could already hear his personal assistant launch in to a lecture, especially since he had been proven right about Team Aqua retaliating against him. Matsubusa hated it when Homura was proven right.

The second option was to go to either the police or even Sakaki for assistance, but much like Homura, neither were truly an option. Somehow, Aogiri had figured out his identity. The last thing he needed was to involve outside parties and risk Aogiri retaliating by mentioning his connection to Team Magma. Even if he had no proof, the mere suggestion would be enough to jumpstart an investigation. Matsubusa knew the pirate well enough to know that so long as he kept other people out of their 'games', Aogiri in turn would do the same. That meant Matsubusa had to resolve the situation internally, and that meant he had to solve the situation himself.

"...I just need to get myself back to Hoenn," Matsubusa said as he finally opened his eyes, turning to look at Dante. "Then we can figure out what to do about... the rest of it."

Dante's eyes met Matsubusa's as he let out a short bark to denote his agreement before he returned his focus to keeping his trainer safe.

Matsubusa sighed as he reached up to wipe at his chin with the back of his hand. The tender touch of the pirate against his skin had long since worn off, but he couldn't help his mind drifting back to it before forcibly shoving it back on topic. "First order of business, a taxi. It'll put more distance between us and that bastard, and there's no way in hell I'd walk to the airport anyway."

An unmarked semi-truck thrummed along the highway in the dead of night, its dinged exterior masking that it was actually a cleverly disguised transport vehicle carting the members of Team Aqua along in style. In the front cabin, Shelly sat at the wheel in dark clothes instead of her signature uniform, with Izumi similarly dressed at her side. The only lights were the occasional headlight flickering into the cabin and the bluish glow of the stolen laptop screen shining on Izumi's face as she broke into Matsubusa's files.

"Shelly," Izumi called, her eyes focused on the laptop. "Take a look at this."

Shelly took a quick scan of the long stretch of highway before she leaned over to catch a peek at the laptop screen. "Found something juicy?"

"Something like that," Izumi said with a sly smile before she clicked on a file, bringing up a picture. Shelly was immediately greeted by the sight of Homura in casual clothes, wearing a red apron as he worked at an outdoor barbecue grill. He was quirking his eyebrow at the photographer, his expression deadpan.

Shelly scanned the face, committing it to memory. She matched the build of the man with the members of Team Magma and the thought of the person who fit the best sent a thrill through her. "Bird Boy."

"The file name has 'Homura' in it," Izumi said. "There are a ton of pictures on here, and videos."

Shelly took a moment to check the road before looking back at the screen as Izumi helpfully brought up a few more pictures of Homura. "Oh yes, the way he stands and moves, that build... That's got to be him."

Izumi grinned. "His face anything like you imagined?"

"Oh yes," Shelly practically purred as she squeezed the steering wheel, almost caressing it. "He's got exactly the type of face I always pictured wiping the smug smile off. I can't wait to do it to him without that mask in the way."

Izumi giggled as she continued clicking, then stopped. Her eyes widened as she got to a picture of Tabitha, which captured him at an apparently unguarded moment. His face was lit up with laughter as he brought his hand towards his smiling mouth, as though he had intended to stifle the reaction but was too late to avoid it being recorded for posterity. The fluffy red sweater he wore, along with the slight rumpling of his hair all added to soften his features, making him seem surprisingly gentle. "It's Puffball!"

Shelly caught a glimpse of the man on screen, as well as his name. "Tabitha, huh? I'm surprised. His name is as cute and cuddly as his face." She flashed Izumi a grin. "It's like he was tailor made for you."

Izumi giggled as she reached up to clasp her cheeks with her hands. "He's adorable~!"

The door to the sleeping cabin at the back of the slid open so that the two men using the bed as a bench could look into the front seats. "I hear laughter," Aogiri said eagerly. "You find something good, Izumi?"

Shelly returned her eyes to the road, keeping watch for anyone that might chance to peek inside and see Aogiri and Matt in their obviously Team Aqua clothing. "More like verifying she found someone good, Boss."

Izumi looked up to smile brightly at Aogiri. "There are a bunch of pictures, the whole team might even be here!"

Matt leaned forward to peer over Izumi's shoulder. "Oh, that guy's Puffball, right?"

"Has to be," Izumi said, gleefully. "He's perfect~!"

Aogiri glimpsed at the screen and laughed. "Congrats, Izumi! Looks like you've got a cutie pie there."

Izumi nodded as she giggled before she flipped back to the picture of Homura at the grill. "We think this is Bird Boy."

Aogiri let out a low hum as he examined Homura's face. "If he isn't, then Masky must love surrounding himself with guys who cram sticks up their butt for fun."

Izumi went on to check more pictures, coming to a stop of a picture of Kagari. She had a sly smile on her face as she stood by a tree, wearing a very flattering sundress of white with rose trim. What really made the picture was a couple walking in the background, the man outright gawking at Kagari as he craned his head while his girlfriend gave him the ugliest stink eye Izumi had ever seen.

Matt cocked his head slightly at the picture. "Legs. Gotta be."

Aogiri let out a low whistle. "That lady knows how to use her looks like a deadly weapon."

Izumi let out a hum before she scanned the thumbnails of the other pictures for someone they hadn't seen yet. She immediately spotted something and clicked on it, blowing up a picture of Courtney wearing, of all things, a felt Torchic hoodie. Her expression could be most kindly described as deadpan as she stared straight into the camera, holding what looked to be a marshmallow Torchic with the head bitten off. The overall effect was somehow unsettling.

The admins and captain of Team Aqua stared at the picture for several moments before their voices united as one. "Smiley."

Aogiri leaned against Izumi's chair, feeling a rush of excitement. "Now that we know their faces, we'll catch those suckers in no time!"

Izumi continued to root through the seemingly endless supply of photos before she clicked on a video, causing it to pop up on the screen. It was the shot of the park that the other pictures seemed to take place in, a vertical shot caught on a Pokédex. Tabitha, Courtney, and Kagari all sat around a picnic table as the scene panned across them before finally settling on Homura as he approached the table with a tray full of grilled meat – hamburgers, hotdogs, and steak. As the personal assistant set down the tray, he turned to look at the photographer, his expression exasperated.

"Really? Are you going to put that thing down at any point?" Homura asked.

The Pokédex shifted to focus directly on Homura's face, zooming in. "Are you going to stop complaining at any point?" Matsubusa's voice came from somewhere off-screen, implicating him as the one taking the video.

Homura rolled his eyes before he reached over to the Pokédex, swiftly taking it from the man's hand and turning it sideways before handing it back. "At least do it landscape, so you can get more in the shot."

"Oh, leave him be," Kagari said, with a chuckle. "You know how excited he gets. If he wants to take pictures the whole time, that's fine."

"I-I'm not excited!" Matsubusa protested as he focused the Pokédex on Kagari's face, capturing her knowing smile as she clearly didn't believe him. "I'm testing the camera!"

"For over an hour now," Homura said, his tone bemused.

Courtney suddenly appeared in frame leaning in too close to Homura for comfort as she peered at the grill. "Is the bacon ready yet?"

Homura paused to look at Courtney, then wordlessly picked up a bowl beside the grill before extending it to her.

Courtney accepted the bowl and plucked a crispy piece of bacon out before walking off camera munching on her prize.

Suddenly the video jerked around wildly before it focused on a close up view of Dante as he tugged on Matsubusa's sleeve. He let out a friendly growl, his tail wagging hard.

Matsubusa chuckled. "You want to get recorded too?"

Dante released Matsubusa's sleeve and snatched up a plastic disk from the ground beside him. He hopped up onto his hind legs and spun around in place in a comedic little dance before he landed in front of his trainer, nudging the redhead with the toy.

"Hoh? I wonder what Dante wants," Matsubusa said, his amused tone ruining his feign of innocence as he shifted the view from the frisbee to the Houndoom. "What could it be?"

Dante raised his ears as his eyes widened in an incredulous look. He then made a show of tossing the frisbee up into the air above his head before doing an impressive back flip, catching the bright pink plastic disk before it could hit the ground again. Once back on the ground, he pawed at the grass and nudged Matsubusa with the frisbee again.

"Stop teasing him," Homura said, his tone amused. "Or he might start spitting fire and melt it."

"Alright, alright," Matsubusa laughed. He looked at the frisbee for a moment, the video acting as his eyes as he examined the plastic disk, before the screen panned to Tabitha. "Tabitha, will you throw it? I want to record it."

Tabitha set down his drink, looking quite comfortable in his sweater despite what appeared to be a rather warm day. "Sure thing!" He accepted the frisbee from Dante and opened his eyes, flashing a twinkling red look to the Houndoom. "You ready for a good run, boy?"

Dante barked and did a quick circle in place before he crouched in a ready position, going completely still save for his wagging tail.

Tabitha considered the frisbee for a moment and the horizon before pulling it back. "Get ready... Go!"

The plastic disk hurtled through the air as barely more than a pink blur. Dante bolted after it in an instant and within seconds both shrunk to dots in the distance.

The camera zoomed in, attempting to follow the Pokémon and his toy, but eventually they were completely gone from view. The redhead paused before he turned the camera to Tabitha. "...Um."

Tabitha rubbed the back of his head, suddenly looking uncertain. "Maybe I threw it a little too hard."

Homura laughed, crossing his arms. "If we hear a news report about a Houndoom suddenly showing up in Unova to catch a frisbee, we'll know you threw it too hard."

Izumi let out a little 'squee' as she clasped her hands over her mouth, then squirmed in place. "Strong and adorable~! I just want to hug him~!"

"Kagari, do you-?" Matsubusa began as the camera shifted over to Kagari and Courtney to get their input on the situation. The view suddenly stopped on Courtney. In front of her was a plate piled high with hotdogs, hamburgers, and steak in a mountain of meat – all of it topped off with bacon. "...What are you doing?"

Courtney regarded the camera and the precarious tower of grilled delights she held in her hands. "I haven't eaten all day. It's a meatastrophy."

Tabitha gave Courtney an odd look. "A meat... what?"

"A meatastrophy," Courtney said. "Worse than a meataster, but not as bad as a meatpocalypse."

Tabitha stared blankly at Courtney, unsure of how to respond.

"Smiley is weird even without her mask," Matt muttered.

Aogiri chuckled and felt disappointed when the video ended there. "They seem like a close bunch. Kinda like us. We should show Ushio all of this when we get to the next stop. He's missing out sitting way in the back with the rest of the crew."

"His own fault for being built like a bulldozer," Izumi said, with a sly smile. "He couldn't even fit through the door."

Shelly let out a thoughtful hum. "Yeah, they seem like a fun group. Hard to imagine that they kill people."

Aogiri's mouth curled like he tasted something sour. "Bad people, but yeah. That's something me and Masky are going to have to have a heart to heart on as soon as we snatch him up."

Izumi nodded before she paused, the laptop chiming. Her eyes darted over to the program she was running, a rather handy tool she designed that she used not only to get in to the laptop but to gain access to the rest of Matsubusa's information. "Speaking of which, guess who just bought a plane ticket at the Kanto National Airport."

Aogiri shook off the somber taint to the atmosphere and his eyes took on a predatory glint. "Well, well, looks like we've got a plane to catch."

The airport was fairly empty, with only a couple people sitting around as they waited for their planes. Quiet and still almost like a graveyard, most of the numerous seats were empty. For that reason, no one complained when Matsubusa took up several seats for himself, curling up on them as he rested against Dante, using the Houndoom like a pillow. The redhead's eyes were closed as he snuggled with his Pokémon, trying to rest as much as he could. He was fairly exhausted and the discomfort of the chairs prevented him from getting too comfortable. At the very least, Dante's body was soft and warm, allowing him some comfort.

Dante wasn't bothered by being Matsubusa's cushion as he lay curled up on one of the hard plastic chairs. He yawned, fatigue catching up to him now that they were in an area with enough people and security for him to deem it safe to relax his guard a bit.

As time went on, the quietness of the airport and Dante's fluffy fur managed to offer just enough comfort that Matsubusa's exhaustion began to overtake the discomfort and the redhead began to drift off. He wasn't asleep by any means, but his awareness had still dropped considerably as his surroundings disappeared in to soft fur and hard plastic.

It was hard to tell how long Matsubusa lay in that dreamy half-asleep haze before he was snapped back into awareness by the feeling of Dante going rigid beneath him. Matsubusa's eyes fluttered open as he lifted his head, grimacing as his neck protested the motion – as well as the position he had been sleeping in. The sound of a commotion filtered in through the haze, and the redhead glanced over the back of the plastic chairs to find the source.

Security staff were on the move towards one of the gates that before had been virtually empty but now was overflowing with people and Pokémon battling. To Matsubusa's horror, he recognized the men and women in predominantly blue outfits.

Matsubusa sat up with a jerk, grasping at the back of the chairs as his eyes widened. "Is that-!?"

With a roar, Leviathan burst in to the airport lobby, tossing aside two security guards with ease. She landed hard on her feet, the tiles cracking underneath, as she gave a mighty sway of her body that sent people scurrying in all directions. Behind her, Matsubusa could see Aogiri striding forward through the doorway, a large smirk on his face.

"Yo, Kazan!" Aogiri shouted as he scanned the area for a familiar mop of red hair. "You didn't think we were done playing yet, did you?"

Matsubusa yelped and ducked down beneath the back of his seat, sliding out of the plastic chair until he was crouched on the floor. "D-damn... how!?"

Dante moved to Matsubusa's side, keeping a low profile even as he peered cautiously between the seats at the invasion.

"Might as well come out now!" Aogiri bellowed. "We know you're here!"

Matsubusa grimaced but kept his head low, crawling along the floor towards the nearest exit – a fire exit. While he was thankful that Aogiri wasn't calling him 'Masky', he took it more as proof that his earlier thoughts were correct. So long as Matsubusa didn't involve anyone else, the pirate wouldn't out him. And the unspoken threat was, naturally, that the moment Matsubusa did think of seeking outside help, the nickname would be shouted loud and clear for all to hear.

The redhead had no choice but to deal with it himself. And the first thing he needed to do was escape as quickly as possible.

Dante crawled low on his belly after Matsubusa. The redhead might have found it adorable in less precarious circumstances.

Slowly, Matsubusa made it to the fire exit and reached up to open the door. He moved slowly, using the chaos and fighting near the doorway to his own benefit. The sound drowned out the creak of the door as it opened and the redhead widened the exit just enough for him to slip through before holding it open for Dante. Once the Houndoom was through, he carefully closed it.

Now with a door as a barrier between him and Aogiri, Matsubusa got on his feet and broke out in to a run. They had to hurry, as he imagined he only had minutes before Aogiri figured out where he went and came after him.

Unfortunately for Matsubusa, it seemed that he underestimated how much Aogiri had planned the event. Just as the redhead rounded the corner, he slammed in to something hard and fell against the floor in a crumbled heap. Grimacing, the redhead reached up to verify his nose hadn't been broken before a rough laugh made Matsubusa jerk and stare up in alarm.

Crossing his muscular arms, Ushio grinned like a shark down at the redhead. "Oya, oya... where d'ya think yer goin'?"

Matsubusa sucked in his breath through his teeth as he scrambled back, scooting his rump against the floor.

Ushio barked out a laugh before he flexed his arm, slapping the firm bicep with his other hand. "Ya picked the wrong exit, asshole. You ain't goin' nowhere."

Dante charged before Ushio could grab Matsubusa, bowing his head so that he could use his horns like a battering ram aimed directly for the most vulnerable spot to make the mountain of a man fall.

Ushio could barely make a sound before all the air was forced out of his body, his eyes widening as his hands immediately went to cover his goods – though the damage had already been done. Stumbling forward, Ushio dropped to his knees before he hunched forward, coughing violently.

Matsubusa gaped at the fallen man for a moment, then snapped out of it when Dante barked at him. He swiftly scrambled to his feet and rushed past the fallen admin of Team Aqua, his Houndoom hot on his heels. "...Tell that stupid boss of yours that it'll be a cold day in hell when I let you thugs get the upper hand on me!"

Ushio could only let out a croak before he pressed his forehead against the floor, a tremor running up his spine.

Team Aqua scoured the airport terminal for Matsubusa, but found no sign of him. Instead, Matt came across the fallen Ushio and called the attention of their leader and the other admins, who rushed to their fallen comrade's side.

Aogiri knelt down beside Ushio, assessing the damage. "Masky got the drop on ya, huh?"

"Right. In the. Balls." Ushio wheezed out, from his crumbled state on the floor.

Aogiri and Matt hissed, cringing in sympathy.

Shelly rubbed her temple as she looked Ushio over. "No offense, but I really hope you don't need me to look over that particular injury for you."

"Looking over the security footage, and it's the Houndoom that did the actual deed," Izumi said, her voice coming in over their ear pieces as she worked at her computer back in their travel truck to track the redhead's movements. She could see him slinking away to the fire exit and slipping out before literally running in to Ushio, and the consequences of that meeting. "Not that it helps any."

Aogiri muttered a curse as he looked off in the direction Matsubusa must have fled before a wry chuckle escaped him in spite of himself. "Masky just keeps making this more and more interesting."

Izumi followed the redhead out of the building. She alternated between the various outside cameras to try and find the redhead, then stopped and stared at what she was seeing. Before her very eyes, she watched Matsubusa climb in to an unattended shuttle bus and, after several moments, it came to life and took off down the road. "...He hotwired a shuttle bus."

Aogiri let out a bark of laughter. "Of course he did. Masky is just pulling Buneary after Buneary out of his ass!"

"I'm starting to see why he's the leader of Team Magma," Izumi said, with a shake of her head as she leaned back. "I thought he was just an idiot, but this goes well beyond luck."

"Masky's only an idiot whenever Aogiri's there to scramble his brain," Shelly said as she looked sideways at their leader. "The guy's got it bad."

Leviathan turned her head to Aogiri and rumbled her agreement, her brow wiggling.

Aogiri broke out into a broad grin. "Well then, that just means I need to handle Masky personally, doesn't it?"

It wasn't until he had put quite some distance between himself and the airport that Matsubusa finally felt safe enough to ditch the shuttle bus. It was slow and drew too much attention, but it at least served the purpose of allowing him to get away much faster than his legs could carry him. Once that was accomplished, he ditched the shuttle bus in a parking lot and took off on foot once more, disappearing behind the convenience stores and in to the heart of the city. He ran for several blocks, Dante obediently following him, before the redhead finally had no choice but to stop, nearly collapsing behind a Pokémart.

Stumbling on his feet and unable to resist the urge to lean back against the dirty wall of the building, the redhead trembled and clasped his hands over his chest. "Damn it... damn, damn, damn it..."

Dante let out a sympathetic whine as he nuzzled his muzzle against Matsubusa's leg, ears drooping.

Matsubusa fumbled down to touch Dante's head, awkwardly ruffling his ear. "What do we do now...? Is there another airport...?"

Dante had no answers to give Matsubusa, only silent support as he leaned against his trainer's hand.

Matsubusa opened up his Pokédex to check, and cursed. The only other airport was roughly twenty miles away, in the exact opposite direction of Hoenn. He wanted to get closer to Hoenn, not further away from it. "Damn it..."

The redhead tilted his head back as he closed his eyes. His only real options to get back to Hoenn were by airplane or boat. There weren't any roads to cross the ocean, nor were there any tracks for trains. Flight and ferry were the only way to travel to the island. "If Homura were here, I'd just take the helicopter back..."

Dante lifted his paw and placed it lightly on the hand Matsubusa used to hold the Pokédex as he met his trainer's eyes.

Matsubusa turned to his Houndoom and offered the Pokémon a weak smile. As he opened his mouth to say something, he was immediately interrupted by his Pokédex beginning to ring. The redhead let out a squeal as he jerked, fumbling with the Pokédex before he dropped it. Matsubusa watched as the Pokédex hit the ground as it continued to scream the musical ringtone to him – a rough techno beat that belonged to Homura.

Dante obligingly picked up the Pokédex with his mouth and held it out to his trainer.

Matsubusa looked at Dante, then at his Pokédex. Grimacing, he reached down to accept the device before answering the call. "H-hello?"

"You missed my call," Homura said, his tone accusing. "Three times."

Matsubusa blinked before he frowned. He hadn't heard the Pokédex ring at all, though it was possible he simply hadn't noticed as it was muffled in his pocket. "...Is... is that so."

"More than that," Homura continued, his irritation quite evident in his tone. "What the hell are you doing at a Pokémart at four am in the morning!? Especially one so far away from your hotel!?"

Matsubusa jerked, startled. He was about to demand how Homura knew when he stopped, then noticed the GPS tracking icon in the corner of his screen. He blinked, then rolled his eyes. He should've expected Homura to track him, especially after trying to call three times and getting no response. The first time, he'd assume Matsubusa was sulking. By the second or third time, however, the personal assistant would've been tracking him down without hesitation.

"Well?" Homura pressed, cutting in to Matsubusa's thoughts. "You should be in bed right now, not prowling around a Pokémart! There's nothing there you should be eating, anyway!"

Dante made a show of rolling his eyes.

"...I'd like to be in bed right now." Matsubusa grumbled, more to himself than Homura.

"Then why aren't you!?" Homura demanded. "What are you thinking? You're not a child anymore, you can't just-"

Matsubusa tuned Homura out again as he chewed on his lower lip. He knew that logically, he should tell Homura what happened. Homura would be able to help him, save him from the pirate. And yet as bad as Homura was scolding him now, it'd only get worse when he found out what was really happening. Matsubusa truly did feel like an errant child, helpless and yet afraid to get help. It wasn't a feeling he particularly liked.

Dante noticed the worry pass over his trainer's face and nuzzled his nose against Matsubusa's wrist as he let out a tiny, plaintive whine.

Matsubusa's hand trembled slightly before he reached to scratch Dante's chin, the redhead grinding his teeth as the negative feelings churned inside of him.

"...Matsubusa?"

The anger was gone from Homura's voice, which startled the redhead out of his thoughts. He lifted his head to stare at the phone, wondering if he had imagined it. "H-huh?"

"What's wrong?" Homura asked. His accusation had been replaced with barely restrained concern. "What's happening?"

Matsubusa felt taken aback, unprepared for such a direct question. "Uh, I... it's..."

"Are you hurt?" Homura asked, the concern increasing in volume. When the redhead didn't respond immediately, it spurred the personal assistant onward. "Matsubusa!"

Matsubusa shifted awkwardly, his hand moving to grasp at one of Dante's horns. It was more for support than for Dante, as he needed it at that moment. "I'm... something happened."

Dante pressed his side into Matsubusa's leg, not minding the hand on his horn in the slightest.

"What? What's happened!?" Homura demanded, standing up sharply so that he knocked over his chair. He glanced around sharply at his desk before frowning as his eyes fell on his landline phone. He wanted to call Tabitha immediately, but it was hard to talk on two phones at once and he didn't want to hang up on Matsubusa. "Are you safe?!"

"I was... chased out of my hotel," Matsubusa said, slowly. His grip tightened on the horn. "By Team Aqua."

Homura's eyes widened as his eyebrows shot straight up. After a moment of stunned silence, he grabbed the phone off his desk and quickly pressed the button with his left thumb, his other hand still holding his Pokédex. "I'm calling Tabitha. We're coming to get you."

"They... they chased me to the airport," Matsubusa said, his voice shaking. "I just escaped again. I... they have my luggage and... a-and the laptop."

"...I'll have Courtney remote deactivate the laptop, and revoke its access," Homura said, his voice forcibly even. He was thankful Matsubusa couldn't see his hand shaking as he gripped the other phone tightly, holding it to his ear as he waited for Tabitha to answer. Four am in the morning or not, he wasn't going to wait for anyone to wake up normally.

Matsubusa felt a wave of relief that Homura wasn't screaming at him after his admissions, though his body had begun to shake from the stress of the situation. "I-I can't go back to the hotel, and I can't go back to the airport... so what... what do I do?"

"There's a ferry, but that's obviously not happening," Homura said as he sat down at his desk again. When Tabitha didn't answer, he let out a sharp curse and hung up the phone before dialing the number once more. He set his Pokédex down on the table, switching to speaker phone so that he could type at his computer. "Answer the Arceus-damned phone, Tabitha!"

As if on cue, the phone connected with a click. "Homura, what is it?" Tabitha asked, his voice thick with sleep.

"Get the helicopter," Homura barked. "Team Aqua is after Matsubusa."

"Wait, what?!" Tabitha accidentally shouted into the phone, suddenly sounding wide awake. "Team Aqua?"

"They chased him out of his hotel, and attacked him at the airport," Homura said before he glanced over to the Pokédex. "Matsubusa, are you still there?"

"I... yes," Matsubusa said, with a slight nod of his head despite Homura not being able to see it. "I'm... just a little tired."

A variety of curses and the sound of fabric brushing against the speaker was all that came from Tabitha for several minutes.

"I'm booking you a different hotel room," Homura said. "I want you to wait there until we come and get you. It's in a heavily populated area, and there's a police station nearby. It should keep those idiots away long enough for us to come and get you."

Matsubusa had his doubts, but he didn't voice them. He was just too tired, mentally and physically, to argue at that point. He'd just have to put his faith in Homura. He had been right so far, so the redhead may as well see if the personal assistant was right again. If so, he'd get some rest and would be home free. If not, well, at least he wouldn't be the only person screwing things up that night – whatever consolation that would be.

Rather than trust the police, he'd have to put his faith in Homura and the hope that Aogiri had at least some common sense somewhere in that addled brain of his, however faint that possibility might be.