Author's Note: I'm pretty surprised I've only written one other fic involving Ryme, and none with Grusha, since they're both pretty great. And since they have a DLC conversation, I used that for two purposes here. First, as an excuse to get them to interact more, and second, to work out some issues I have with another DLC conversation. (Namely, Ryme's with Geeta makes no sense if you start thinking about it too hard.) But that's a whole other ramble, so suffice to say these two need all the conversations, and Grusha could probably use a hug or two, also.

On Sushi, and Other Things

"Ugh, I'm already feeling that."

Grusha groaned as he shuffled out of the Sushi High Roller. Ryme was right—that had certainly been an adventure. He didn't mind sushi, but that was…well, it was something.

He'd just take a Flying Taxi to Kofu's joint if he needed some kind of fish anytime soon.

"Yeah, but now you can say you tried it, can't you?"

Ryme raised an eyebrow as a light smirk crossed her face. She didn't look any worse for the wear… Maybe you just got immune to horrific things like that when you were constantly surrounded by ghosts.

Or…something.

Still, Grusha couldn't help the tiniest of grins, though he pulled his scarf up to hide it as he glanced aside. Anyone who could crack jokes at a time like this was admittedly impressive.

"Sure, I guess. It'd just be a little uncool if I threw up on Geeta's shoes at the next inspection, you know?"

Ryme chuckled. "C'mon, it wasn't that bad. You're not gonna be sick in a year, kid."

Grusha stopped mid-step. "…What are you talking about? The next inspection's next week, isn't it?"

It had been nearly three months since Juliana came by to do the last round of Gym Leader tests, after all. He'd gotten an e-mail from Geeta last week saying that he'd be inspected again soon—and she was coming by in person this time. No added pressure, or anything. Juliana, he could handle; she was just some cheerful kid who could make battling look fun again. Going from her right back to Geeta was—

"…Hey, you okay?"

There was enough of a buzzing in Grusha's ears that it took him a few seconds to realize Ryme had said anything. She was looking at him with a mixture of confusion and worry, and…maybe a tiny bit of annoyance, if the furrowed brow was any sign. Deep breaths, Grusha told himself. He pulled his scarf up even higher, taking a slow breath in, then another one out.

"You don't…get examined multiple times a year?" he finally said, not quite looking at her.

Her eyebrows somehow managed to pull even closer together. "No. You do?"

All right, this whole "deep breath" thing wasn't working. There was a churning in Grusha's stomach that wasn't from the sushi (or at least not entirely). Why was he getting inspected multiple times a year when Ryme wasn't? Was anyone else getting off easy? What was he doing wrong?

Finally, Ryme's expression softened into a sympathetic frown. "Let's get you out of the cold. C'mon, you can sit down in the lobby and tell me what's going on. All right?"

Grusha nodded slowly in lieu of a verbal response. He pulled his arms tightly around himself as he followed her towards the Gym, trying to ignore the dense pounding in his head.

Breathe.

Grusha tried again when he was sitting down and (slightly) warmer. He loosened his scarf and pulled his hands up to his face. Altaria would've been nice right about now—he wanted to bury his face in those thick, warm wings and listen to the steady, gentle humming—but this was already embarrassing enough.

Ryme watched him silently, though she kept a firm grip on his shoulder. It was…kind of an odd feeling. Grusha really didn't want someone else to watch him freak out like this, but her hand was a steadying presence anyway.

Eventually, he glanced up slightly, though he still didn't look directly at her. "Geeta comes by several times a year. She says the inspections happen every few months. She doesn't come to see you that much?"

"Oh, spirits, no." Ryme snorted. "I've only been inspected twice. This time it was Juliana, and the time before that—not too long after I got the Gym—it was that other Champion girl. Nemona."

Grusha swallowed. "O-only once a year?"

It was a dumb statement; obviously she meant only once a year. But why…?

Ryme finally moved her hand so she could fold her arms. She huffed indignantly as she leaned back in her chair.

"Mm-hm! And La Primera couldn't even bother to come herself either time. They're both good kids, of course, but making them do her work for her? Right after they got their titles? Well, that sure ain't fine."

Grusha sighed and slowly leaned back as well. He…wasn't sure if that made him feel better or worse. On the one hand, he wasn't the only one dealing with something 'unusual.' But on the other, he could do without the extra stress.

"It's not cool," he mumbled in agreement. "I just wish I knew if I was doing something wrong."

"You and me both, baby." Ryme rolled her eyes. "What, is ol' Ryme not even worth her attention?"

Grusha cracked another unintended grin. She was clearly trying to make him feel better, and he appreciated the effort.

"You are pretty hard to miss. But if I'm doing fine, then she shouldn't have to check up on me so often. Right?"

"For what it's worth, I heard Geeta's checking on Brassius twice a year…though it could be she's trying to make sure he hasn't killed himself on that windmill yet."

It really wasn't fair, Grusha thought with an internal groan. He had one tiny slip and couldn't even stay on his board for more than a few minutes anymore. How did Brassius keep managing to do that jump, anyway?

Though he realized he was probably supposed to have laughed at that, and managed a "Yeah, probably."

Ryme gave him a rather scrutinizing look. "You know, you could just ask the lady. Speak up, stand up for yourself, baby."

A mini-rap performance for the sake of motivating him. Typical Ryme—and again, he appreciated the gesture. But…

"What, and lose the only other thing I'm good at?" Grusha couldn't help the bite in his voice. "If I speak up too loudly, I'll get kicked out of the Gym."

"It's that or end up like Larry," Ryme pointed out. "He never says anything and gets taken advantage of. Besides, I bet you'd make a much better sushi chef than the poor lost souls we got out here if it does happen."

"…Well, I'll think about it." He snorted. "At least if you come along and speak up, too. Maybe you can beg for some of my inspection times instead."

"That's fair enough. You know I'm up to snuff—and getting us balanced out might be the good stuff."

She grinned and elbowed him lightly, and Grusha let out an amused breath. Really, he hadn't been too serious with that; he doubted Geeta would consider it a fair trade. But, hey, it was worth a try.

"Sounds like a deal to me. Are we gonna set up a time for that, or what?"

"Guess we better. But you know you can come talk to me even when you don't want something, yeah?"

Grusha really needed to get better at speaking up in general, honestly. And if she was making the offer, then…

"Yeah, maybe I will. Sounds pretty cool."

Maybe this whole sushi disaster hadn't been a disaster after all—and when Grusha finally left Montenevera, he felt better than he had in a while.