and nagi deflates.[break][break]

he knows it’s true: he could have ignored that alley. he could have gone home. he could, in fact, go home right now. follow the path straight down until the boardwalk leaves the beach, and consign theo to the bogeymen of his nightmares. [break][break]

what is he still doing here? [break][break]

the wide, blue back of a wailord cresting out of the sea provides a brief distraction. nagi turns his attention away from theo to watch its approach, fumbling for his pokeballs to switch his gossifleur out for his dragonite. smaug hangs back, beaded eyes narrowed on the stiff set of nagi’s shoulders, until nagi jerks his chin at the wailord. [break][break]

the sea crackles with the sound of a thunder punch. nagi counts the grains of sand dotting the grain of wood beneath his feet. he stands still on the boardwalk. [break][break]

“how many people have you killed?” [break][break]

it's asked in a tremulous, child's tone — but he's not going home.

[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] THEO BECKETT [break]
catching wailord![break]


[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-litwick"]

words are silenced in time as a young child and their parent passes by, the latter being dragged towards a snow cone stall not too far away. he waits until they are out of earshot before responding.[break][break]

"why are you asking?"[break][break]

is it out of curiosity or something else, he wonders?[break][break]

a comfey's PETAL DANCE sweeps past them, disturbing the grains of sand beneath them.

[attr="class","ooc"]nagi miwa[break]
skipping![break]
water/fairy[break]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-alomomola"]

let's say it's curiosity, comorbid with a death wish. [break][break]

there are lines nagi won't cross. cannot. but not because of principle, any sort of deep-seated goodness or sound moral reasoning.[break][break]

say that theo was telling the truth: the man in the alleyway was a bad man. gang leader, druglord, scum of the earth. someone whose absence from hoenn is a blessing. handed a gun, nagi wouldn't — couldn't — have pulled the trigger.[break][break]

what kind of person could, again, and again?[break][break]

the question sits like an anvil at the back of his throat, the forefront of his thoughts, ponderous and cold. he shrugs, one-shouldered. [break][break]

“it didn’t seem like jack was the first.”

[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] THEO BECKETT [break]


[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-litwick"]

"nor will he be the last."[break][break]

he says it with absolute certainty as there are already others since their previous encounter, and while theo might not have had a hand in all of them, he's certainly aware which makes him partially responsible.[break][break]

"when the system fails to bring justice, is it wrong for us then to step in and make it right? is hoenn not a safer place without jacks?"[break][break]

froakie's GROWL cries out from the corner as it finds itself leaping across the still-warm sands of slateport beach.

[attr="class","ooc"]nagi miwa[break]
skipping![break]
water/fairy[break]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-alomomola"]

is it?[break][break]

if he never steps out of line, he would have nothing to fear from rocket, nagi supposes — but where is that line in the sand drawn? the rules girding rocket’s system are a black box.[break][break]

how far can he toe the line, before he finds out?[break][break]

beside them, a gyarados cuts through the water, its dorsal fin a flash of white against blue as it swims against the current. nagi blinks, and all that's left of its presence is a trace of foam among the waves, crashing in their ceaseless rhythm against the shore.[break][break]

a world trading jacks for theos; a utopian vision of hoenn without senseless evil and needless suffering, forged in gunpowder and blood on asphalt. it might be worth it, maybe, if the vision comes to pass, but —[break][break]

“what if your system fails?” [break][break]

what justice awaits them, then?

[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] THEO BECKETT [break]


[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-litwick"]

"then things can be no worse than they already are."[break][break]

a tall inteleon leans against a nearby lamp post, acting real cool and sly only to blow a WATER GUN over their way. it splashes against theo's foot, though he finds that he does not care enough to bother with it.[break][break]

he ignores it, focusing on the young man before him.[break][break]

"any interest in joining us?"

[attr="class","ooc"]nagi miwa[break]
skipping![break]
water/fairy[break]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-alomomola"]

as theo's attention turns on him, nagi's own turns inwards. half-lidded gaze unfocused — neocortex collaging sensation and memory. the weight of metal, warming in his hand. a chance to fix what the system left broken. a corpse with wide, staring eyes, jack's gaping mouth a wet slash of red in the dark. finger on the trigger; blood on asphalt.[break][break]

would a world trading nagis for theos be a better place?[break][break]

maybe.[break][break]

could he do it?[break][break]

“... no.”[break][break]

he blinks the visceral afterimage away. his fingers, dangling by his side at the edge of his vision, are clean save for a dusting of sand.[break][break]

drawn by the residual scent of his shampoo, a cutiefly nestles up against his skull, spindly limbs sifting through his hair in search of pollen. nagi raises his hands, and gently, softly cages it between cupped palms. it nudges at the join of his fingers, curious and docile. fragile.[break][break]

red hair, a whip of fire in the wind. salt flecked on his lashes. a resolution made at sea.[break][break]

(his answer might have been different, if theo had gotten to nagi before PENELOPE LIVY had. but —)[break][break]

"no," he repeats, firmer. "i… don't believe rocket's is the only way."[break][break]

not yet.

[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] THEO BECKETT [break]catching cutiefly![break]


[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-litwick"]

nathan's denial is expected which is why no disappointment stems from it. the way the young man seems to be unsure, though, is telling enough. it reminds him of PENELOPE LIVY where both are questioning their morals and beliefs but neither are willing to compromise.[break][break]

to take the final step to what they truly desire.[break][break]

"you will eventually."[break][break]

he says it as though stating a fact.[break][break]

"as will everyone. i can only hope that it isn't too late by then."[break][break]

with a gentle sigh, he turns, noticing something sticking out of the sand next to them. he lowers to a knee, then digs the sand around the blue fin to reveal a palafin. why was it buried?[break][break]

after checking for a pulse, he taps a pokeball against it, saving it from further harm.[break][break]

"humans can be so cruel."

[attr="class","ooc"]nagi miwa[break]
catching palafin![break]
water/fairy[break]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-alomomola"]

what can nagi do, but nod?[break][break]

silent once more, he watches as theo unearths the palafin from the sand. methodical, gentle care, from the self-same hands that by theo’s own confession were responsible for the deaths of many and will continue to be responsible for many more. it’s a duality that should be discomfiting — and it still is. and, yet.[break][break]

nagi squats down and reaches a hand out to a nearby igglybuff, frantic over its injured friend’s sudden disappearance. its shivers slow under his fingers as he pets it.[break][break]

“they can be kind, too.”

[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] THEO BECKETT [break]catching igglybuff![break]


[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-litwick"]