Nori skateboarded through the streets of Veilstone City with purpose. He had forgotten what brand the green and black board was, but he got it since it suited his needs, and it could be disassembled to fit in a bag. It was good for getting around quicker, and technically, he didn't need a helmet. Pachi ran alongside him, easily keeping up and stopping at a crosswalk whenever they needed to.
He wasn't too miffed about what had happened. He was sure that word would eventually get out that his next assignment was another infamous Pokemon. Still, as a newshound, he knew this one would be different. The Demon was infamous locally, but she'd never actually killed anyone. Pawniard was a sadistic killer, but he was from across the ocean and old news. This Qwilfish had slain a beloved celebrity less than a week ago. He would have kept it quiet if he could. Why they were giving it to him so soon after the incident was beyond him.
But he was an optimist at heart. Akari Schrader was going to publish a report soon that was going to complicate things. That much was a fact. But after a bit of thought, that inevitability had given him some immediate direction.
Nori slowed down as he approached a small shotengai. It was the closest one to the trailer park where he lived with his mom. He had known about it since he was a little kid who liked exploring the city, but he had never been able to visit any of the stores until he became an official and had money to spend.
The young official flipped up the board, took it apart, and placed it in his bag as he stepped into the plaza. He ignored the people gawking at him and walked up to Daikatsu, a manga café. The sign was decorated with half a dozen different characters, but he only recognized the muscular guy with spiky golden hair. He wasn't interested in reading, though. The place had internet, and that's what he needed to use.
He opened the door, held it for his Pokemon, and stepped inside. The entrance was modest, a simple carpeted lobby decorated with posters of anime and manga characters. There were a few tables and seats for hanging out at. A hallway to the right led to the common areas. The one to the left had restrooms, lockers that could be rented, and the staff facilities.
There was no line, so Nori was able to walk to the front desk unimpeded. The teenager sitting there had slicked-back cream-colored hair and teal eyes. He was wearing a wrestling shirt instead of an anime one, though Nori knew even less about that. But he had picked up enough from anime fans from his periodic visits to the café to understand the shirt's possible appeal. It had a golden design depicting two bare-chested guys in an embrace, saying they were lovers.
The clerk called out to Nori before he had made it in front of the desk. "Konnichiwa, Carino-sama!" he greeted warmly.
"Oss," he replied. It was weird to be welcomed like a friend and not as a customer. The clerk was familiar with him, but not vice versa. Maybe he could? No, now was not the time to get to know people. "I'd like a private computer room, please."
"O-of course!" he replied, fumbling around on his messy desk to find the right papers. "As usual, it's 200P for 30 minutes at the VIP price."
Nori didn't actually have a membership to the place. They just considered him a VIP because of his fame. He wasn't going to complain about getting a lower price though! The crazy thing about it was that cafés across the country had low prices.
He reached for his wallet and retrieved the necessary amount. "Here ya go," he said, handing it over.
"And here's your pass," the clerk said. When he placed it in Nori's palm and held his hand there for a second too long, the young official wondered. He attracted a lot of people, and given that shirt, was this one of them? Well, there was no use making assumptions. "I'm always happy to serve," the clerk declared with a light bow. "So what's the occasion?"
He smiled and shrugged. "Just need to check my email, maybe browse a little."
"EEEEEEEEEE!" someone shrieked with joy. "It's Nori Carino!"
With that, a bunch of people came hurrying over from the hall. Even some of the people who had been sitting idly at the tables in the lobby rose and approached him, albeit not as hastily. Judging by how loud that person yelled, Nori had no doubt that more people were on their way.
"Wow, I never thought I'd get to meet you in person!" said an adult otaku with thick glasses.
A thin teenage boy who was maybe a little older than him grinned. "It's always good to see you!"
"Hi, Pachi!" They even knew his Pokemon by name. The little squirrel waved back to the admiring crowd.
"I…I really like you!" a younger girl he didn't even know straight-up confessed to him.
"Um, er…" No matter how many times this happened, he doubted he'd get used to it. "Sorry, sorry. I really have things to do here, and I already paid." He was sure they'd let him stay a little longer if he needed to, but still. It was an excuse.
"What about after you're done?" one of them pleaded.
"Can we at least talk after?" the girl who was in love with him asked. She was cute, but he didn't know her at all!
"Sorry!" He tried not to yell. "I'm going to see Prema Kannagi right after this!"
It wasn't technically a lie. After he finished his business, he planned to head straight to the Kannagi Shrine to speak with the future head priestess. It wasn't planned in advance or anything, but they didn't need to know that.
Saying her name and his intent was enough to make everyone understand. They wished him well and got on their way. The girl in love with him hung her head as she walked away. Only two teenagers stayed behind, a guy and a girl, leering coldly and hotly respectively.
"Carino," the male huffed, rubbing a hand along his teal crew cut while slipping the other into his black dress pants. Accompanying him was a slender girl with crimson hair done up in a ponytail. She wore a navy blue dress shirt that matched her friend's polo and feminine knee-length denim shorts.
"I wasn't expecting to see you guys here," he commented, genuinely. Something clicked, and he defensively added, "Or were you somehow waiting to yell at me?" His muscles tensed a little.
"Don't flatter yourself!" Mariko Urusai snapped. "You're one of the last people we want to see!"
"Not here, Mari." Louis Trussel placed a hand on her shoulder. They were the same as always, levelheaded and hotheaded. He leaned into her slightly. "This isn't the place, and he's not worth our time right now."
She grumbled and shook her head before she walked off without waiting for him. Louis opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something more, but Nori whistled for Pachi and left the lobby. He did not bother to look back.
Louis and Mariko had once formed an activist/protest group called Youths Against Mistaken Society. It was actually how Nori had met several of his friends. As far as he knew, it was just the two of them left. They had driven everyone else away. It was something of a shame too, because there had been a time when Nori had greatly respected Louis.
Now was not the time to reminisce, he thought to himself. He had come here to send some emails.
He entered his booth, slid the screen shut, latched it, and sat down at the computer. Pachi, for his part, plopped on a cushion that was designed for small Pokemon and began nestling into it. He opened the browser and brought up the ElectronMail site. He typed in his address and password and loaded it.
There were a bunch of messages from someone he had met at his news club in Sunyshore, but he pushed them to the back of his mind. No, not now. As much as he needed someone like that right now. He composed one new message, and then another.
He kept them short, simple, and to the point. For Arumi Schrader, he told her what her aunt had done and asked for advice and help in handling the fallout. She was his bestie, she would help in any way she could. For Volkner Denzi, the one who the Officials had him train under, he briefly explained the situation and asked for advice on training aquatic Pokemon out of water. The Sunyshore Gym Leader had a few of those, like his Lanturn and Octillery. He was an experienced trainer who would've been in the Sinnoh Elite Four if it wasn't for a scandal. If anyone Nori knew could help with Pokemon, it was him.
After sending the last one, he crossed his fingers. If he was lucky, he would get a reply from one or both of them before his allotted time was up. Only then did he check his inbox. Nori figured he might as well do so while he was there.
It was a simple 'how are you?', the words having a still-affectionate tone despite Nori's rejection of him. He sent a similar message to what he had sent to the others: "Bad. I just got a new assignment not even an hour ago. The Qwilfish that killed Pete Stephens. Going to be tough. Not much time to say much more. Hope you're doing okay."
He hit send, and kept the email page open as he went to the search engine. He had done research on his last two assignments, and this time he needed to do that more than ever. News articles, species information, and so on. There was little time to waste. Once his time was up, it was straight to the Kannagi Shrine.
Louis calmly walked out of Daikatsu, Mariko leading the way with powerful strides. They had known that Nori Carino was a regular at the manga café. For his part, he was glad that Mariko had grown enough not to cause a major scene there. However, he was greatly concerned about what she ended up doing.
"Mariko, slow down," he urged, jogging to catch up. She was peering down at the ground while grumbling, walking with a swift and rigid gait.
"Seeing him pisses me off." She did not look up.
"Just the sight of him shouldn't be triggering to you." The encounter was admittedly unexpected and unpleasant for him as well, yet he was not about to let that drag down his mood.
She slowed, but kept her sneer and clenched fists. "I'm sorry," she stood her ground, giving her head a firm shake as she squinted her eyes shut. "I know you feel different. But to me, he's where it all went wrong."
He had to take pause at that. She had always blamed Nori Carino for convincing the Takao twins to leave their now defunct protest group. Louis felt he was only a catalyst at best; disagreements, if not the twins' parents, would have caused it in time regardless. He still had a negative opinion of the Pokemon Rehabilitator, but it was nothing personal, like Mariko had a habit of taking things.
Yet this was new. She had previously blamed a variety of people for each instance of their dwindling numbers. Nori Carino for Yumi and Touya. Prema Kannagi for Nariya's departure, until she reflected and blamed herself. Arnie for not having the courage to continue.
"For the sake of clarity," he started to ask, preparing himself for a blow to the heart. It would be best to clear this up for relationship purposes. "Do you blame me for inviting him to that meeting in the first place?"
"No. You couldn't have known," she assured him, albeit with a bitter edge. She leaned in a little closer, her eyes dropping as she lamented. "None of us could've. Gods."
They walked on in silence. There was an irony as bitter as a cup of coffee that both were well aware of. Nori had befriended everyone else there that day. The Takao twins, Nariya Yaznik, and the other person they had invited. He had at no point expected the future head priestess of the Kannagi Shrine to join YAMS. It was a shock that she even agreed to observe their meeting. Louis did not believe in destiny, but he could not think of any other explanation for their meeting that day.
"And he's headed to see her after," she spat, placing emphasis on the pronoun. "The fuck does she even see in him?"
Louis stood upright. She must have been thinking the same thing as him. Although she had jumped to a strange conclusion in the process. "I don't think it's how you're thinking between those two."
"Not that I care." She waved a wrist. "Just thinking that if it weren't for us…"
"They never would've met," he finished her sentence. Louis had to restrain a laugh in case it was misinterpreted. That's why he fell for Mariko. As different as they seemed on the surface, they were often on the same page. They thought the same things, they liked the same things, and they wanted to do the same thing: make the world a better place. They had their differences, sure, but it was in a way that complemented each other.
"Can't do much about her, though." She grumbled. "Much as I wish we could."
"We shouldn't." Not just because of the futility – they had attempted it before; it only ended in humiliation and Nariya's frustrations with their treatment of her boiling over. But Prema Kannagi truly was a good person, as far as he could see.
"Yeah," Mariko sighed. That incident had shaken her badly. But it also led to a lot of personal growth for both of them. She suddenly stopped and gave a frank look. "Hey. Is it wrong I want to see him go down?"
"Not at all." There were plenty who disliked Nori Carino for far worse reasons. "I would just be disappointed to see it happen. I know how it might happen, too."
Her gorgeous sapphire eyes lit up, sparkling in the sunlight peeking through the clouds. "Oh yeah?" She rubbed her hands together. "Do you have something in mind?"
He crossed his arms. There was a tightness in his chest. "Just one thing," he admitted. "I'm hoping I don't have to be the one to point it out, however."
"What is it?"
He paused in place. After a second to think about it, he shook his head. "I don't want to talk about it here. Or in public at all."
Mariko nudged arms with him. "All right. My parents aren't coming back for another hour." She compounded this with a wink.
He felt himself twitch below. "Let's go, then." Her apartment was in sight, towering over the other buildings in the area.
Louis instinctively reached for her hand, only for her to playfully bat it away with a giggle. Affectionate, just never in public. If only people knew this side of her. But before they got to any of that, they had plans to go over.
He had heard about an incident with Carino's previous assignment. They had critically wounded another Pokemon in a battle. The opposing trainer had signed a waiver absolving Carino and the Officials from any legal liability. But therein lied the means of attack. The Pokemon hadn't agreed to fighting a homicidal monster. They were the one who suffered a permanent, crippling injury as a result of their trainer's ill-advised decision. Louis was somewhat surprised that Pokemon rights activists weren't all over it already. Or perhaps some of them had, but didn't have the courage to speak out.
He already knew what Mariko would want to do. Personally, Louis wanted to leave that part of his life in the past. There were better ways of making a stir than loudly and in public. But if they were the only ones who could make a difference, he'd gladly bear the burden that came with it.