"God, Dez, I'm so sorry, I just... I-I didn't want to make you-"

"Why are you apologizing to me? You've got nothin' to apologize for... if that's, y'know, how you feel, then that's fine. Thing I don't get is, why not just... tell me earlier? Why'd you think you've gotta keep actin' like-"

"Because I didn't want to disappoint you, okay?! You're one of the only people that actually makes me feel like I'm even an actual human being, a-and not just some... some kinda status symbol. And, I mean, I guess I'd kinda convinced myself that if things just stayed the way they were, then... maybe..."

"Asuka, look, just... take a sec, yeah? You know I hate seein' you get like this... I just want you to know I'm not mad at you or anything."

"How can'tyou be?! I... I fucking lied to you! This entire thing was just a huge goddamn charade I only kept up to delude myself into thinking I wasn't... Scheiße, please, just... tell me you hate me and get it over with. Don't think you've gotta be nice to-"

"I don't hate you. I really don't. I'm still your friend."

"...Promise me you won't tell anyone. And please, please, pleasedon't let my dad know. He can'tfind out."

"You say that like it's somethin' I'd even consider. Not a chance in hell that happens. Trust me."

"...Vielen Dank."

"Asuka. Asuka, are you... is everything okay?"

It was only upon hearing Rei's voice that Asuka became cognizant of the death grip she had on her steering wheel, of the rapid rhythm of her heartbeat, of the vast expanse of desolate parking spaces surrounding them on all sides.

Had she even stopped the car? Asuka rolled the window down, peered over, and - yeah. Yeah, she did. Knowing that satisfied her enough to push worrying why she'd even needed to check to the back of her mind.

Asuka took a moment, steadied herself, or at least made a vague attempt at doing so. "I'm fine," she lied, and she knew Rei could tell it was a lie the instant she turned her head. "Just... comin' here reminded me of something, y'know? Don't worry about it."

Rei, thoroughly unconvinced, furrowed her brow. "This seems like something I should worry about."

"You can worry about it later." Irritation began to seep into Asuka's tone as Rei probed further, which definitely wasn't doing her any favors. "Priorities, Rei. We've got more important things to deal with."

"...If you insist."

Blaring lights creeping into the corner of Asuka's vision did little to settle her. The knowledge of just whose presence they heralded had her actively fighting to keep the meager meal she'd eaten beforehand where it belonged. God couldn't have picked a worse place for them to meet if given a year and a map of Nimbasa city limits.

Well, if there was one thing she could give Dez credit for, it was that he didn't keep them waiting. If history was any indication, the less time Asuka had to dwell on the stupid shit she was about to do beforehand, the better.

"Asuka." She felt Rei's hand rest atop hers, in turn resting atop the shift knob. Her touch, in defiance of the muggy sweatbox Asuka's car was slowly devolving into, remained as unmistakably icy as ever. "You're absolutely certain that you're prepared for this? Because if not... I do not wish to force you into it."

Rei had to have known the answer to that question before she'd even asked it. Who wouldn't in that situation? Even the barren husk her mother had become would've realized Asuka was not and would not ever be ready for what they were about to do. This had to have been Rei's own backhanded way of drilling that fact into her head.

Or, you know, interjected the tiny chunk of her subconscious that managed to somehow stay rational, she could just want you to be safe.

"I'm absolutely certain that I'm not," she answered, weaseling her sandwiched hand free and twisting the ignition to shut the car off in one swift motion. "But it doesn't really matter if I am or not, nicht? Like hell if I'm gonna let those slimebags infiltrate my school." It wasn't an answer she expected Rei to be satisfied with.

Asuka expected the smile that crept onto Rei's face even less. "I... find that very commendable. I feel the same way."

Maybe Rei was rubbing off on her in more ways than she cared to realize. There was no shot a younger her would've put herself in this position - at least, not unless she stood to siphon another fifteen minutes of fame out of it. She could hardly give less of a shit about that now. Priority number one was getting Plasma the hell out of Bludworth High.

Asuka took a deep breath, exhaling emphatically enough to envision smoke coming out of her nostrils. "You ready, Wonder Girl?" she asked, fingertips on the door handle. She hadn't called Rei that in a while. Shame. It was too cute of a nickname to let die.

"I am. Let's begin."

Asuka flung the door open, climbed out, and immediately realized the unrelenting humidity wasn't just confined to the interior of her car - even this close to midnight, it was disgusting outside. Maybe if she'd remembered to bring water, it would've been a non-issue, but leave it to her to take every possible opportunity to make things harder for herself. The fact that she'd fucked up putting her hair into the ponytail - ponytail, singular - it was in wasn't helping matters either, leaving her with the lingering sensation of three or four rogue strands about to rip out of her goddamn scalp, she could already hear the incessant buzzing of a mosquito or three or seven sizing her up, she was still running on the maybe four hours of sleep she'd managed last night, and her eyes hurt, and her wrists itched-

Dez was approaching her. She steeled herself.

"Man, seein' you with a straight-up ponytail's real strange." Kind of weird that he'd chosen to comment on her hair before anything else. The words sounded forced as they came out of Dez's mouth, which only reinforced Asuka's gut instinct that he'd also realized exactly where they were.

"I mean, you're the one that said to dress differently," she retorted, eager to latch onto any topic of conversation that wasn't the one looming in the back of her head. "Figured I might as well change up my hair, too."

Seemed like she wasn't alone, either, considering Dez had elected to hide his hair beneath a hat she'd never seen him wear. Actually, she'd never seen him wear any part of his outfit before. His reasoning had admittedly been pretty sound - the less likely they were to be recognized, the better - but Asuka struggled to shake the feeling that he might've been a bit too paranoid.

Then again, if there was anyone who deserved to be, it was him.

Not that she was in much of a position to speak, given what she'd thrown on. She followed Dez's gaze down towards her own outfit - a dandelion-hued sundress paired with simple white sandals, not a single drop of red in sight. If Asuka really wanted to look different, she sure as hell accomplished her goal, because she looked almost nothing like herself from the neck down. Aside from the myriad of freckles littering her skin, anyway. Among other markings.

Asuka didn't wear dresses, let alone pastel ones. The only reason this one had even earned the privilege of wasting away in her closet was because Mom hadn't gotten that memo before her last birthday, and it wasn't like she was going to throw out a gift from her. Especially not now.

Actually, she had worn this one before. Once. To the hospital, back before they'd decided Mom could come home. Her father had told her she looked good in it. It was the only genuine compliment he'd given her in recent memory, and something Asuka fell asleep every night praying she could unhear.

Christ, how long had she stopped talking? A full minute, maybe even longer?

"Sorry," Asuka apologized, "I'm just... not really sure what to say. Lotta nerves, y'know?"

Dez nodded, reaching up to adjust his hat. "Yeah, I get it. I ain't really lookin' forward to it, either, but I'm sure it'll turn out alright in the end."

Asuka absolutely wasn't. "Y-yeah, probably."

The only thing she could take any solace in was that Dez was equally as uncomfortable as her. Her eyes wandered, towards the city skyline in the distance, towards the facade of the arena looming over them, towards her car as she silently begged Rei to get over there and put this agonizing conversation - if it could even be called one - out of its misery.

"...Hey, uh, Asuka. I'm really sorry 'bout this."

Her response spilled out before she even realized her lips were moving. "Sorry for what?" She knew what. Of course she knew. "I've got no clue what you're talkin' about." This was just her clinging onto the false hope that maybe he was just referring to how late it was. "Did you mean- nevermind." Which was especially rich, because she knew he was fully aware of her fucked-up sleep schedule.

No, of course it wasn't that. It was the one thing she wanted to avoid discussing under any circumstances. "About, y'know... bringin' you here. Didn't realize what it meant 'til I got home. I was just thinking, y'know, it's close enough to the skatepark, so..."

There were always a few things Dez had been better than her at, and ripping off band-aids was one of them.

"...I know you didn't do it on purpose, if that means anything." Asuka straightened herself, though still failed to meet Dez's eyes. "Besides, it's not like... this isn't your fault, y'know? None of it is."

"Is it anyone's?"

It was such an obvious softball of a question, yet one Asuka wanted nothing more than to swing at with all she had. Wasn't it obvious? Which one of them had ghosted the other for a solid month after it happened? Which one of them was on the verge of lying face-down on the asphalt and letting the mosquitoes take them right then and there? Which one of them had built the entire foundation of their bond with each other on a selfish lie?

Asuka gave no response.

"Listen to me," Dez pleaded; Asuka remained silent as he came closer, and resolved to remain so as long as he didn't touch her. "I get why you waited so long to tell me, and I get why you've been makin' yourself sick over it. It just... it hurts to see you're still doin' it, 'cause you really don't have to. I've told you, over and over... I don't hold anythin' against you. At all."

Asuka squeezed her eyelids shut. "I still don't understand how."

"'Cause it helped you, didn't it? I mean... I guess it didn't work, but... the fact it didn't helped you realize who you really were, yeah? That make sense?"

She silently reiterated that question to herself. Did it make sense? Well, Asuka had realized who she really was. She'd done so a while ago, and by this point, dwelling on what that meant about her or what other people thought of it was pretty far down on her list of concerns. That wasn't what was eating at her. What was eating at her was the fact that she'd used Dez to try - and fail - to convince herself she was something she wasn't.

But it wasn't eating at him, was it? He'd forgiven her - hell, he'd done so the moment she'd confessed. He was still her friend.

Maybe this wasn't worth tormenting herself over after all. It never had been, had it?

Somehow, Asuka found herself smiling. "Makes enough sense, I guess."

"What does?" Rei cut in, and- Scheiße,where the hell did she come from?! Asuka spun around to face her, focus immediately shifted to wondering just how much of their conversation she'd heard. "Apologies for interrupting... I just wanted to let you know it's getting close to midnight."

She was right. There was a reason they were there in the first place, and it was way more important than ruminating on the symbolism of a parking lot. Asuka gave her phone a quick glance. "11:54. I'm sure we've got plenty of time."

Asuka then turned to Dez, patiently awaiting his response. He met her eyes, briefly, before turning towards the overpass in the distance and clenching his fist. "Better not to waste any more," he returned, starting off with a determined urgency that took Asuka by surprise. Before she knew it, Rei had followed suit, leaving her with the task of catching up to them - which was right about when she started to regret her choice of footwear.

She remained fixated on Rei as they trekked towards Franklin Park. She had also eschewed her usual attire, sporting an oversized red shirt Asuka had specifically lent her because of its color, as well as a beanie that did a mostly-sufficient job of hiding her unmistakable hair. Probably wasn't actually doing all that much to disguise her, admittedly, but it was dark enough out to keep Asuka from worrying. Much. Besides, Rei pulled off red better than she'd expected.

I haven't told her yet, have I?

She'd just kind of assumed Rei had figured it out by now. Hell, she probably had. But Rei was way too close to her by this point for Asuka to feel comfortable leaving her to draw her own conclusions.

If there was anyone who deserved to know, it was Rei Ayanami.

It had been two months, more or less, since Rei had first encountered Team Plasma. It wasn't a memory she particularly cherished; had anything gone even slightly awry, she had every reason to believe her ransom photo would've been the last anyone saw of her. Yet, she'd somehow managed to fend the unit off on her own, rescuing Beheeyem from their clutches.

Perhaps that was why, as she traversed the deserted Franklin Park alongside Asuka and Dezmond, Rei found herself far less perturbed than she'd expected. Perhaps even less than she should've been.

The same could not be said for Asuka, whose insistence on leading the way despite her very visible discomfort continued to puzzle her. Rei could only suspect she had done so as some kind of show of fortitude, but were that the case, it would've been for Dezmond and Dezmond alone. Even then, she struggled to believe he bought it, especially after their prior conversation. Whatever it had been about.

Briefly, Rei considered asking, but found herself agreeing with what Asuka had said earlier. There were more important things to deal with at the moment.

It was Asuka who broke the silence between them, coming to a stop so abruptly that Rei very nearly ended up with a faceful of her ponytail. "There," she announced, raising a finger that Rei's eyes followed towards the overpass - or, rather, the so-called concrete waves beneath it, their years of accumulated graffiti bathed in a flickering orange glow from somewhere within. "There's a fire... you think that's them?"

"Can't imagine who else it'd be," answered Dezmond, folding his arms as he joined up with them. His tone proved equally as stoic as his expression, one that had remained unchanged since they'd set off from the parking lot. It fascinated Rei, enough to give her an idea of why her own standoffish demeanor drew so many looks.

Asuka, by comparison, seemed to come from an entirely different planet. "How, uh... how many of 'em do you think there are?" Her inflections made it patently obvious that she was looking for a specific answer.

"It can't be very many," Rei replied, and not simply as an empty estimate to assuage Asuka's fears. "They're here to recruit new members, first and foremost, and teenagers at that. We can't rule out the possibility that there's only one."

Asuka's counterpoint, as expected, held significantly less optimism. "Well, we can't rule out the possibility there's ten, either, can't we? I-I mean, like... I know you said earlier we can't attack 'em, I get that, but what if there's three of 'em for each of us, y'know? Do we just let them-"

"We do whatever is necessary." Rei rested a hand upon Asuka's trembling shoulder; however Dezmond chose to interpret the act was of little importance to her. "If we're attacked, we fight back. What we cannot do is initiate. Hopefully, it doesn't come to that."

"But why can't we initiate? It's not like anyone's gonna have a problem with us attacking Plasma, are they?!"

"I apologize, but I... simply don't want to see you get hurt."

Asuka's body tensed up the instant the words left her lips. Rei had never really bothered to wonder what stepping on a landmine might've felt like, but in that moment, she imagined she'd gotten a pretty close approximation.

When the redhead whipped around to face Rei, she did so with a glare that skewered straight through her. "So that's what you're getting at, then," Asuka deduced. "That's what it comes back to? You think I'm not strong enough to deal with them?"

The very notion offended Rei nearly as much as it did Asuka. "Of course I think you're strong enough. You're a far stronger trainer than I am, likely more than I ever will be. What I'm trying to say is that... if we confront them and immediately begin attacking, not only is it possible that one of us gets hurt, but... I doubt Plasma would simply let something like that slide. Antagonizing a group like them in such violent fashion is a terrible idea."

"So you think the solution's to try reasoning with them?!" Asuka snarled back, composure unraveling at record pace. "You don't reason with these people, Rei. You should know that better than anyone. And, y'know, I don't want you gettin' hurt either, which is why if you ask me, the best course of action's to make sure there's nobody left to hurt us."

"Asuka-"

"Save it."

Slowly, Asuka backed away from Rei, who never once imagined she'd be this terrified of a girl in a sundress. Her attention turned towards Dezmond. "You're with me on this, nicht?"

The very fact that his stone-faced scowl had weathered their entire argument spelled out Dezmond's answer before he even spoke. "If I'm recallin' things right, weren't you the one tellin' Rei not to do anything reckless? You ask me, I think you should start followin' your own advice."

Rei did everything she could to brace herself for the ensuing explosion. Instead, Asuka said nothing - no furious diatribe, no aimless string of German swears, not even so much as an insult muttered under her alarmingly rapid breath. Asuka simply turned her back to them, ripped a Timer Ball out of her bag, and stormed ahead on her own. Before Rei could even consider calling after her, she'd vanished into the concrete sea.

There was a lot to be said about Rei's feelings for Asuka, but she couldn't remember the last time anger had been one of them.

Asuka could hardly believe the sight before her. That this, of all things, was what she'd turned herself into a nervous wreck over.

The would-be recruits, of which four had the gall to show up, were the least of her concerns. She wasn't in a position to be putting names to faces, but the faces Asuka saw were more or less exactly who she'd expected, up to and including the scumbag the note she'd found earlier had been directed towards. As it turned out, her attempt at a disguise proved to be just as useless as she'd feared, because the sheer terror that filled their eyes upon seeing her was unmistakable.

Asuka's focus wasn't on them. They weren't why she felt her blood boiling. The one responsible for that was the single black-clad figure standing among them, a middle-aged man sporting the kind of physique only a cardboard cutout could be envious of - and who Asuka immediately clocked as Bludworth High's custodian.

"Are... are you fucking kidding me?" were the only words she could muster. Really, what else did she need? What else could have possibly conveyed how unbelievably infuriated she was that she'd ran herself ragged over a confrontation with a goddamn janitor? Her grip on Houndoom's ball tightened to the point where she half-expected the thing to shatter in her hand - and if it did, it barely would've made a difference. She didn't need Houndoom for this. She didn't need anyone for this but herself.

She lurched forward before she could even formulate a plan beyond sheer, unbridled violence. The other students wanted absolutely none of it, throwing up their hoods and scattering into the wind; Asuka couldn't have cared less. They were a symptom. Her focus was on the disease.

Without a moment's hesitation, Asuka swung her right leg forward the moment she was within striking distance - and promptly smashed her foot straight into the nigh-on invisible wall of psychic energy that had emerged between herself and the recruiter.

"SCHEIßE!" Blinding pain instantly shot through Asuka's leg, leaving her helpless to stop herself from crumpling onto the concrete in a heap. With her luck, she'd probably just broken several toes because she somehow couldn't fathom that a member of Plasma would have Pokemon backing them up. All that was left now was for whatever Psychic-type he had lurking in the shadows to swoop in and finish the job. She probably had it coming.

She didn't register the Beheeyem looming over her as familiar at first. She wasn't even really sure it actually was there. It was only when Rei's voice entered her ears that it clicked. "What did I just say about not initiating?" she hissed, and Asuka wanted nothing more than to never have to hear that kind of venom in her voice for as long as she lived.

"Rei, why would you... w-why the fuck would- god, FUCK!" Yeah, even if she hadn't just obliterated her own foot, there was no way Asuka was talking herself out of this one. Not that it would've done much good either way, because Rei had already begun to move on to more pressing matters.

The idea of imprisoning something - or someone - within Beheeyem's Reflect barriers hadn't crossed Rei's mind until mere hours prior, and she wasn't exactly sure how. Her number one priority was avoiding any unnecessary combat, and there weren't many options better than forming a nearly impenetrable blockade between their target and themselves.

The added benefit of deterring Asuka's unnecessarily rash approach to the situation hadn't crossed Rei's mind until she saw the redhead clutching her foot in agony.

"My apologies." Rei meant what she said, but the words came out a touch too half-heartedly for her liking. Was she still irritated with Asuka? Of course - in just about any other situation, her charging ahead like she'd just done would've spelled disaster. That didn't mean Rei wanted to see her get hurt.

If nothing else, the injury proved to be manageable enough for Asuka to pull herself off the ground. "We'll... ngh, we'll talk about it later," she grumbled, wincing as she shifted her weight onto her left leg. "Let's just deal with this Arschloch so we can go home."

Rei tried not to wonder about what awaited her when they did. "Right."

The recipient of Asuka's insult didn't seem particularly eager to wait on their questions. "Some united front you kids have," he snarled, gloved fingers drumming against the psychic barrier holding him back. "Me, I figured playin' hero would've been more important to you than-"

"I don't recall asking for your opinion on anything," Rei snapped. This man wasn't Dr. Graziano. He wasn't Coach Woj, Mr. Langley, or anyone else who held any semblance of power over her. That he considered himself to be in the same position to talk down to her, to infantilize her, to trivialize her every action, filled her with a kind of revulsion not even she could constrain. "What I want is an explanation. Are these really the lows you're willing to sink to? These are children you're attempting to recruit - you do comprehend that, don't you? You're putting lives that have barely even begun at risk with the promise of... what, exactly? Money, power... purpose? What is it?"

No response. No verbal response, anyway; all Rei received in return was a look suggesting she was somehow the one being unreasonable. As if, somehow, she wasn't owed an explanation.

As much as she didn't want to resort to pure intimidation, it didn't seem like that was her choice to make. Rei put a hand on one of the Dusk Balls clipped to her belt. "I'm asking you a very simple question. Answering it shouldn't be giving you this much trouble."

The recruiter's answer came after a few more seconds, just when it seemed like Rei might actually lose her patience. "I need you to understand that what I'm doin' isn't out of ill intent or anything... truth is, I'm tryin' to protect these kids. See, Plasma's-"

"What kind of batshit logic is that?!" Asuka butted in. "How's joining some kinda terrorist cult gonna protect-"

It hurt to do so, as she shared the sentiment, but Rei threw a hand up. "Let him finish," she cut off. "And I need you to be taking pictures, at least if anything's actually to be done about this."

"...Fine."

"Thank you." Rei's attention shifted back to the recruiter. "Keep going," she ordered; her eye twitched as she did. She failed to recall the last time it had done so.

The recruiter continued, now serenaded by the occasional click of the camera on Asuka's phone. "Look, here's what I'm gettin' at: Plasma's the only way to get a real future anymore. Kids're gonna die if they go against us, and that's not somethin' I wanna see. I'm sure none of you wanna see that, either. Way I see it, joining Plasma... it's the safest thing you can do. I get it's a tough pill to swallow, but, well... the truth's the truth."

Rei crossed her arms. "Exactly why do you think the only path to a 'real future' is through Plasma?" The most maddening part was that he made these claims as if they were an inevitability. "Kids will die if they go against you - go against what? What is Plasma's end goal? Do you even know?"

"What's there to know that I haven't told you?" retorted the recruiter. "There's a storm coming, and it's comin' soon. And if you, those Bludworth kids, or the rest of Unova don't wanna find yourselves caught out in it... not like there's nowhere to stay dry. You've just gotta decide to step inside. Him, he should know what I mean."

It didn't concern Rei that their so-called disguises had ultimately been useless, or that the recruiter recognized at least one of them. What worried her was where he'd recognized him from. "Dezmond...? What is he... were you-"

"Not me." Dezmond's eyes did not meet Rei's. "My mom."

Before the opportunity to ask him to elaborate even arose, Dezmond stepped forward and began to do so himself. "Don't know if you know the full story, Rei, but... Plasma used to have a real different way of doin' things," he started, reaching up to remove his hat. "Used to make themselves out to be some sorta activist group. Called themselves the Plasma Foundation. Long story short, they went around convincin' people being a Pokemon trainer was immoral, an' that getting rid of 'em would mean you were 'liberating' them. Lotta people took the bait. Mom was one of 'em."

"So... a cult, then," Rei concluded. "You're describing a cult."

"At least you know one when you see 'em, I guess."

Dezmond was right up against the barrier now, staring the recruiter dead in the eyes. Rei glanced towards Beheeyem to find their arm still outstretched, still enveloped in its familiar muted green glow. If the pit in her stomach was any inkling of where this was going, she could only hope it stayed that way.

The recruiter's continued silence was not lost on her. Perhaps he knew how this story ended.

"'Course, she found out what was really goin' on after a while," Dezmond continued. "And god bless her, when she did, she dropped that shit like a bad habit - burned the robes, went out an' found her Trapinch, all that." Something vaguely resembling a smile crossed his face. "I remember her comin' home with him one day, actually, talkin' about how she made a huge mistake and all that. And Trapinch, don't know if he had any idea what was goin' on, really, but... I knew he was happy she came back for him."

Dezmond looked to the overpass above, perhaps a bit further. "Point I'm gettin' at is... Mom never antagonized anyone. Never ratted anyone out or nothin' like that. She just... wanted to move on, y'know? She realized she screwed up an' wanted to put it behind her. That's all. So, please, explain somethin' to me." His voice did not falter. His hands did not tremble. Rei comprehended the question, but utterly failed to fathom the tranquility with which it was uttered. "Why'd I have to find her lyin' in her garden with bullet holes in her back?"

All of the oxygen in that skatepark may as well have shriveled up right then and there. Rei discarded any intentions of grilling the recruiter further, even despite the myriad of mysteries that had yet to be resolved. Uncovering the truth about Genesect suddenly didn't seem to be where her priorities were meant to lie.

Dezmond leaned forward, the psychic barrier his only support, pressing his forehead against clasped hands. The recruiter shrunk away from him to the best of his ability, and likely would've continued to do so down to nothingness were he able. "Here's what's gonna happen," Dezmond asserted, making it abundantly clear that what followed was going to happen. "When this box here comes down, I ain't gonna hurt you. Should I? I mean, probably, but that's not my scene. I'm gonna let you run off an' enjoy the time you've got left as a free man, because I'm tellin' you right now, it's not much. Those photos, and that note you cooked up? They're gonna get out, you're gonna get your ass thrown outta Bludworth, and provided you don't got any buddies on the force, that's the last anyone's gonna see of you for a while. And it will be, 'cause if I ever see you pullin' this same kinda shit again... I'm just gonna say, that Trapinch, he's a Flygon now, and I don't think he'd be your biggest fan. We clear?"

The callousness the recruiter had previously displayed had become a fleeting memory; little remained in its absence beside the sight of a man whose only remaining place to hide had just been razed to the ground. His attempt at a response to Dezmond only came out in unintelligible stammering, further cementing that he had nothing left to say.

"Beheeyem," Rei called, permitting the extraterrestrial to allow the psychic prison they'd raised to come down. Her decision to call on Beheeyem in particular for this task had been a conscious one, and as the recruiter scrambled off into the night, she swore she caught the slightest glint of satisfaction in their eyes.

Rei returned Beheeyem to their ball with hushed gratitude. She took note of Dezmond, still staring solemnly in the direction the recruiter had fled, and simultaneously thought of and shot down a hundred different things she could've said to him in the span of two seconds. Cautiously, she tried stepping towards him. "I'm... I'm sorry. I was unaware that your mother had..."

"...It's fine," he assured. "Wasn't something you woulda known." Only now did Dezmond allow his voice to break; he brought his jacket's sleeve to his face, doing what he could to keep his eyes dry. "And hey, I'm sorry if I kinda flew off the handle, i-it's just... didn't think that'd come up."

It didn't dawn on Rei that she'd begun backing away from him until she stumbled over a rise in the concrete. It took her longer still to process why she'd done so. Could she really call herself Dezmond's friend if she couldn't console him at a time like this? Would it even help if she tried?

Asuka was approaching. Maybe this was a task best left to someone who'd known Dezmond for years, as opposed to roughly thirty-six hours.

"...I'm... going to start heading back," Rei muttered. "Take as much time as you need." As she made her retreat, she grasped her beanie and pulled it as far down as possible. If only vanishing into it entirely were an option.

Asuka's foot still hurt. It was probably going to hurt for a while. Considering what had just transpired, to say she didn't deserve every last second of pain she had ahead of her would've been ludicrous. That they'd actually accomplished their goal was barely any consolation.

She made no effort to go after Rei as she left the scene, because knowing her, it would've sent things from disastrous to catastrophic. Giving her as much space as she needed, as tenuous as their friendship felt in that moment, was likely for the best. It'll turn out okay, Asuka reassured herself; bonds as strong as theirs wouldn't sever so easily. She just needed to look at herself and Dez to be sure of that.

If there was anyone who needed her at that moment, it was him.

"Hey, uh... I'm... sorry about all this," Asuka apologized; she approached Dez slowly, hands folded behind her back. "Especially about going in without you guys, that was really stupid of me. You're... are you gonna be alright?"

Dez took a couple more deep breaths, then swallowed. "...I'll be good, yeah. Appreciate it." A pause. "Mom's probably pretty proud of us, if that means somethin' to you."

Asuka willed a smile out of herself. "Yeah, I'm sure." Would Mom have been proud of her, too? She liked to imagine so. "I mean, hey, you said you were gonna put the fear of god in 'em. I'd say you followed through."

"Hah, yeah. Motherfucker looked like his life was flashin' before his eyes." Dez was smiling too, now, but there was a certain hollowness to it. "Gonna be real nice to get him out of our school."

Both of them fell silent for a moment; Asuka shifted her focus towards the barrel beside them, its crackling flame a soothing respite from the heavy atmosphere. She could've done without the added heat radiating from it.

"Rei probably thinks I'm an idiot." She reached up to let her hair down, silently apologizing to her scalp for not doing so sooner. "I mean, she's right, I just... I hope I didn't ruin it, y'know? Like, I probably scared the shit outta her with what I did, and on top of that, I never told her about... y'know. But... I just... I hope she's okay. I hope she isn't... I don't want her to hate me."

Dez's response didn't come immediately. No delay would've been lengthy enough for Asuka to prepare herself for it. "Because you love her, right?"

Asuka felt like she'd just been punched in the mouth. "I... yeah. Yeah, I do. Guess I've done a pretty shitty job of hiding it. Can't believe she still hasn't figured it out."

"When do you think you're gonna tell her?"

The first thought that crossed Asuka's mind was that Dez had a hell of a lot of confidence in her to make that a "when" and not an "if." The second was that she wasn't even sure telling Rei would do anything. "Well, what if she doesn't see me like that? What if... Scheiße, I don't even know if she's into girls in the first place! Like, I think she is, but what if she isn't? So like, what, do I just straight-up ask her? But if I do that she's immediately gonna realize why I'm asking, and at that point I might as well just tell her-"

"Wait, wait, wait. Wait. Stop." Asuka did so. "Does... does she even know you are?"

"I mean, I was gonna-" Asuka cut herself off upon the realization that "she will eventually" was not a valid answer. "I've... never told her, no. I've been meaning to for a while, but... it's like I said, y'know? I confess that to her, she puts two and two together right away, and... verdammt, I'm sorry. Guess I'm just... not ready to tell her. About how I feel about her, I mean."

"You don't gotta tell her that right now, no," Dez clarified, putting his hat back on. "Look, here's my advice: when you two get home... or if that doesn't work, whenever she's willin' to talk... just let her know, y'know, 'hey, by the way, I like other girls.' I'm tellin' you, she's not gonna take it like you're proposing to her or anything. That's just a basic fact someone'd tell someone they're friends with."

Rei was going to have to know sooner or later. All things considered, ripping the band-aid off now was probably the better option.

Asuka let out a sigh and nodded. "Alright. I'll tell her tonight."

"You're gonna feel way better after you do, trust me."

Hugging Dez didn't really feel right, especially not after the conversation they'd just had. Asuka also couldn't think of anything else that would've come even remotely close to expressing her gratitude. "Vielen Dank," she thanked, embracing him as platonically as humanly possible.

Dez placed an arm around her in return, but quirked an eyebrow as he did. "You're welcome, but... I don't want you feelin' like you've gotta-"

"You're still my friend."

"...Alright, fair point."

They separated well before the hug had any chance of becoming awkward, and deep down within her, Asuka felt some form of closure. "Anyway, I think I've kept Wonder Girl waiting long enough," she said, fully aware of how many ways that statement could be taken.

Dez unclipped an Ultra Ball from his belt. "I'm gonna have Seismitoad put this fire out, and... well, it's not like I've got anywhere to be tomorrow, so good a time as any to do some trainin' with Gligar, I guess."

It took every last inch of Asuka's willpower, plus the knowledge that she was Rei's ride home, not to suggest a battle between them. "You said you found a Razor Fang, right? Well, hey, good luck with that... I'll, uh, I'll see you Friday, nicht?"

"Yeah, see ya then. And... take care of yourself."

Asuka had already begun to make her way back before Dez had finished. It was a strange thing to hear as she headed off - the words carried such finality, yet that obviously wasn't the intent behind them. Just a few months ago, she likely would've taken offense to them.

Now? It just sounded like good advice.