Chapter 2 : Shade

Lumiose city was never known for its cold weather but surprisingly winter was quick to come this year as the people took out their sweaters and jackets.

Her boots clacked on the sidewalk as she walked past strangers, her short blue hair held by a pin, not wearing her ranger jacket but a set of plain civilian clothes consisting of a brown coat with a white tee and blue jeans.

"Big sis you sure getting her involved is a good idea?" the person on the other line spoke.

She on the other hand found a quaint outdoor cafe and sat on one of the chairs only when comfortable did she reply.

"The champion or the contact?"

The voice on the line paused briefly before changing their question.

"Okay. Do you think involving both of them is a good idea?"

Rain chuckled as she asked the waitress to bring her a cup of coffee.

"Are you worried, Spark?"

"Worried no.."

"I see well Diantha has enough pull in Kalos so keeping her on the same page as us will give us more freedom to operate here as for the contact he trusts her so we do as well."

"But is the contact ready?"

Rain thanked the waitress for the drink as she brought the cup close to her face to gently blow on it. "That is something only she can tell us."

"I hope Leader is right about this."

"What about the others?" Rain questioned in turn.

"Stone and Ember are going to leave by tonight for Kanto and as for the other two they are on the plane right now."

"Hmm keep me posted."

"Will do… eyes up the contact is here."

Rain looked up from her coffee as a young maroon haired woman wearing grey joggers quietly joined her on the table.

Rain smiled at the young woman who looked a bit uncomfortable to be there.

"Right on time."

"Ma'am this is a surprise I thought I was supposed to meet with Senior?"

"Yes you were but there was a slight change of plans. I hope you can make do with dear old me for this one."

The younger woman's back flinched straight as she quickly replied

"Of Course Ma'am no problem whatsoever." clearly not fully warmed up to Rain.

"Good then let's get to work Ranger I hope you don't disappoint."

Alex the ranger in question gulped.

"Yes Ma'am"

"Are you really alright with this Ember?"

The woman in question turned to face her colleague.

"Is it really you who should be asking that question? Idiot. And for the last time I am fine with teaming up with you." she snarled.

Her crimson hair swayed as she focused on her backpack and Stone still could not believe her words. Earlier in the week Frost told them about the upcoming plans that included splitting the team into three groups. While Rain originally planned to go with Stone she was abruptly told to change her plans and go to Kalos instead of their leader working with Spark as her pair, thus Ember was given a choice to either go with Frost or with him and much to his surprise she chose the latter.

"Ember, this was your chance to team up with Frost. Why'd you miss it?"

Sighing deeply she stopped packing her bag.

"Whoever we are against knows Leaf's past and she was pretty shaken from the Kalos incident so I figured if she stays with Leader she will not let her fear get the better of her."

"Oh." was all the aura user could muster at the moment that was very thoughtful of someone who was as vocal as Ember.

"So yes I am fine going with you. But that doesn't mean I ain't pissed, after all Leader is going to that place." she said as she shoved another pair of pants inside the bag.

Stone smiled warmly as he folded his own clothes neatly into a pile.

"Wake up… Onii Sama" her voice cut in as his eyes slowly fluttered open at the odd way Leaf addressed him.

Checking his surroundings they were on a plane.

'What time is it?' he thought as his mind focused again.

"Are we there?" he asked

"Not yet but we are very close so I figured it was time you woke up." her tone was as chirpy as always.

"Thanks." he replied as he stretched his arms.

Leaf looked out the window and saw the shimmering lights of the city beneath. Meanwhile he stared blankly through the window. Coming here was a risk considering his current situation and the switch that he made with Rain wasn't going to buy him enough time, he needed to ensure that his stay however short it might be needed to bring conclusive evidence and convince the Corps to let him stay or better remove his ban from this region altogether. Frost didn't particularly hate this region, it's just that it all went south for him while he worked here, his teacher dying, Mist's betrayal and consequent death at his hands nonetheless a lot happened here.

He adjusted his grey overcoat and drank some water while resuming his thought.

'Convincing the corps to let me stay has to be my main priority, going against all of them will leave us cornered, but then again we need to gather solid evidence to follow up the intel I have been gathering for the past few years.'

"Are you excited to meet her again?" Leaf broke his thoughts with the sudden question.

"Huh….? Oh yes, there is the case of her as well." he smiled shyly.

"Well it's your fault for not approaching her. I heard you did help her get acquainted with some of the rangers running operations here, she's doing great from what I have heard." she said as she rested her gloved hand on the armrest.

He'd heard it as well, he was worried for her after all but he knew all too well to carelessly throw her into the deep end of missions although he didn't doubt her abilities his reasonings were selfish as he just wanted her to be safe.

"The Champion is a hard worker isn't she."

He smiled softly as he replied

"She is."

"Ladies and gentlemen, we welcome you to Jubilife City. We are going to start the landing process shortly. For your safety and the safety of those around you, please remain seated with your seat belt fastened and keep the aisle clear until we are parked at the gate."

As the announcement rang Frost just sighed.

'Ring of smugglers, his ban on working in Sinnoh, the limited time, lack of evidence and Cynthia.'

"... I promised." he whispered to no one in particular.

Author's Notes:

Not much to say this early on and I do apologize for the slow starts but I will try my best to stick to this fortnightly upload schedule the best I can. Also I have been quite lazy with checking my PMs recently so again sorry for that. Next chapter will focus on Cynthia and her elite 4 so keep an eye out for that as well. If you have any questions feel free to PM and as always.

Untill Next Time

PEACE