At the lady's side trots a dog. He's all smiles today. It's just the two of them. No casino, no Rocket. Just a lady and her bodyguard, enjoying whatever joys this place holds.[break]
His amber eyes widen and marvel at all the intricate treats, the games, the trinkets. All Yumi has to do is mention a prize and a fire's lit under his tail. For a perpetual loser, this creature has a competitive streak.[break]
"Let's catch some Magikarp!" He says as he pays a passing vendor for a funnel cake. Taking a bite, he stifles a laugh.[break]
"Man, this has gotta be the sweetest thing I've ever eaten. No wonder some of the people around here complain about their figures." He says through a mouthful of doughy perfection.[break]
"Want some?"

When he's set to a task, it becomes his whole world. The net sways through gentle water. Magikarp are looked down on as the lowest of all Pokemon. Feeble, unfit to even be consumed. Whoever dubbed them such is a fool. They're swift in the water. They flit around his net, sensing the presence of a predator. A Magikarp's survival instincts are keen. They must be, if they are to survive long enough to ascend a waterfall.[break]
A man approaches Yumi while Hitoshi is focused. The man is nothing special, no one important. The sole thing significant about him, it could be said, is his courage. He leers at her. Smiles, opens his mouth and spills verbal garbage.[break]
"Damn, baby. What's someone like you doin' with a loser like that? Come with me, lemme show you a real good time." A carnie opens his mouth to reprimand the man.[break]
Hitoshi doesn't look up from his fishing.[break]
"Talk to her again and I kill you."[break]
Whatever other faults this man has, he can hear. Hitoshi's voice is cold. It carries the threat the Magikarp sense. Like them, this man is prey. He backs away. Even the carnie handing out nets clenches his jaw in surprise.[break]
"Creep..." The man departs.[break]
When he's set to a task, it becomes his whole world. He was put to the task of defending Yumi a decade ago. Even now, nothing else matters.

"Yeah, don't mention it." He says, more embarrassed than dismissive. He's been with her for so long that he should be used to how she treats him, but he's not. Apprehension always reigns that one day, the gratitude won't be there. It is not some notion that one of them owes the other anything that spurs the fear, but a fear of the cold. After basking in the warmth of the shining sun, what animal would not fear the cold?[break]
Going back to the task at hand, they all swim away. They're terrified of him, so much so that he realizes he has the power to direct them with his net. Time's almost up. He has a choice. Swaying his net through the water, he guides one of the Magikarp right into the net of the frustrated little girl.[break]
"Hey!" He beams like a little boy, proud that his trick worked. "You caught one! Good job, kid." Alas, he himself has failed. Handing the net back, he steps back, turning to Yumi expectantly.[break]
"Bet you could get a gold one." Hitoshi speaks with absolute ironclad conviction and belief.

His amber eyes watch as the net sways through the water. It's his turn to sit back and observe. Her conduct in this game, to him, is nothing short of stellar. It's a continuation of what he sees as an endorsement of character. There are creatures which are feared by all around them, and for good reason. Hitoshi himself can provoke that fear. A Lycanroc among Mareep has that effect.[break][break]
That the Magikarp lands in her net is proof, ultimately, that the Pokemon wishes to be caught. Studying her heart, the fish lets himself slip into the net. He fell into it once, so long ago, seeing the same worth in the heart that beats within her chest.[break][break]
She dances between the letters of the law of man. She exploits. She demands. But she is not, in this creature's view, a bad person.[break]
Or at least that's how Hitoshi sees it. When she catches the Pokemon, he cheers like a kid watching a sports game.[break]
"Yeeaaaaaaaah!" Hitoshi cheers.[break]
"HAEEEEEEEEY!" Kusanagi, the first of the Kartana swarm, slips out of his pokeball and mimics the cheer.[break]
"S-Sir, is that an ultra beast?!" The carnie managing the stall says. Hitoshi hastily slips it back into a ball.[break]
"What's the big deal?" He asks, his voice harder than it was before Galar. Twenty years tempers what would have been a happy confession into a bristle. Having seen the stakes, he keeps his best blade on him at all times.

He grins like an idiot. She has this trick down to a science. Better men than this, far better men, have been ground to dust under her heel. Words are weapons, the same as swords. He enjoys watching her wield her weapon of choice. There's artistry there, in the words she uses and the tone of voice she takes.[break]
"Heh...I never get tired of you doin' that." He admits, and not for the first time. The delightful thing about being him, one of the few perks of her favor he truly delights in, is the privilege of watching her command. It's the samurai blood in him.[break]
Nearby, some cowboy wannabe is riding a Tauros. A man would have a harder time staying on that bucking beast for more than a few seconds than matching wits with her.[break]
"Hmm...wanna ride the Ferris wheel? Bet we could see the whole city from up there." He says with the same pensive, distant expression he always gets when he talks about going somewhere high up. He picked up this habit from old samurai movies and it stuck.[break]

The song and dance makes him smile. It doesn't hold a candle to the kabuki shows back home, but few things do. At least this isn't wordy like all those Galarian plays. Hitoshi doesn't know what forsooth means but it sounds like a dangerous weapon.[break]
They're ushered into the carriage. Alone together with nothing save the other's company and a gorgeous view. She's right. That, too, makes him smile.[break]
"No kiddin'. Kickin' weirdos out of the casino's a full time job, too." It's one he's taken to well enough. Since coming back from Galar, he's been able to show much more restraint with unruly patrons. The customer is king, after all, even if kings are prone to throwing temper tantrums.[break]
"Oi...if you could've been born as anything...wouldja want anything to be different? Do you think we'd still meet?" Despite twenty years of waiting, twenty years of training, and all the grief that goes along with it, he can still speak with a child's innocence.[break]
"I think we would. The red string of fate's just like that."

"So pretty..." He marvels at the fireworks, even if the noise makes him jump. A whole galaxy of colors swims out in the sky, leaving trails of smoke and glimmer dust in their wake.[break]
He wishes this could last forever, that they wouldn't have to go back down. Staying like this sounds like a dream. Simply being Hitoshi and Yumi, free of Rocket's obligations, free from the way society sees them...[break]
That's not how life is. Those just aren't the cards they've been dealt, like she said. Hitoshi has been given his hand and he must play it. For her. For himself.[break]
"The red string kept me sane in Galar. Pulled on it for twenty years until it brought me back to you." Unbidden, the smiling faces of pupils return to him. They all laughed and called the way he talked about her so romantic. It makes him feel empty. He can't remember their names.[break]
"I'm gonna keep my promise, you know. People talk like things're 'bout to get crazy...but I'm gonna come home to you every time, Yumi. No matter what happens."