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During the drive from the airport to her family's estate, Yumi stared out the window, watching the cityscape of Goldenrod surge past. Every building, street, and landmark was so familiar to her, touching memories that had long faded and bringing them back to stark vividness. Like she had never left.[break][break]

At the same time, she saw new buildings and storefronts. Construction along their route forced them to take a detour; Yumi passed through a residential area that she'd never seen before. Perhaps it had always been there, or perhaps it had been built in the last five years.[break][break]

Eventually, the car pulled into the long driveway leading up to the Hasegawa manor. As they slowly made their way over the carefully maintained road, Yumi's eyes lingered on the trees in full bloom and the enormous Magikarp in the front lawn's pond.[break][break]

Surely some of them were new additions, but she recognized the blemishes forming a spotted pattern on the scales of one.[break][break]

The more things changed, the more they stayed the same.[break][break]

The car pulled to a stop in front of the manor. Several guards stepped forward, their MACHAMP AND MACHOKE partners hanging back. One of the men opened the car door for Yumi. She stepped out and craned her neck to behold the massive, ancient house that had been her home for her entire life.[break][break]

She exhaled slowly, blinking back the tears that threatened to fall as emotions welled in her chest. "I'm back," she murmured. The house embraced her in its familiar silence.

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"So you came after all."[break][break]

The new voice cut through Yumi's contemplation of the ancient house that stood before her. She turned in the direction of the voice, unsurprised to see her mother standing in the doorway. The older woman, barely twenty years Yumi's senior, wore a navy kimono embroidered with Johtonian cranes and chrysanthemum flowers.[break][break]

Yumi felt Hitoshi tense beside her. Before he could bark, however, she smoothly cut in. "I am glad to see you in good health, Mother."[break][break]

The other woman, who looked so much like Yumi's older DOPPELGANGER, snorted with derision. "You haven't been glad of anything in your entire life, except when you were spoiled by your grandfather's gifts."[break][break]

She narrowed her eyes at her daughter.[break][break]

"Why have you come back?"[break][break]

Yumi did not bat an eyelash at the hostility. She'd expected it over a warm welcome. "I came to do my duty," she said evenly. "Grandfather's funeral is tomorrow."[break][break]

Though her mother's mouth soured with a frown, she turned toward the house. "Come inside, then. Your father is finalizing preparations, so do not bother him," she instructed before disappearing beyond the threshold.[break][break]

Yumi took a deep, steadying breath. Hitoshi's eyes flickered over her face as he tried to judge the emotions beneath her perfect mask. He rested a reassuring hand on her shoulder. Instinctively, she reached up to cover his hand in hers, giving it a gentle squeeze before following her mother into the house.

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Yumi did go bother her father.[break][break]

She found the old man in her grandfather's office, though she supposed it was her father's office now. But not for long, she promised herself as she walked through the door.[break][break]

"I heard you were back," Haruichi Hasegawa said without looking up from the email he was writing.[break][break]

Yumi strolled through the room, affecting an unbothered air. She ran her fingers along the spines of books upon a shelf. On her wrist, her MEGA ACCESSORY bracelet caught the light from the nearby window and glittered brightly.[break][break]

"And you did not bother to greet your only child and heir when she arrived."[break][break]

"I don't have an heir."[break][break]

The words would have turned Yumi's blood cold, but she had expected to hear them from the man who had not once contacted her since her exile. Both her grandfather and mother had reached out to her—just once, of course, but once had been enough.[break][break]

It was the only way she'd found out about her grandfather's death and funeral.[break][break]

Her father sighed and finally looked up. "Why are you here, Yumi?" he asked, tone and expression severe.[break][break]

"To pay my respects to Grandfather," she replied, stopping in front of her father's desk, "is what I would say, except that's not entirely true. I'm here to deliver this to you." With a decisive flourish, she placed a slim, black folder in front of him.[break][break]

Suspicion entered Haruichi's face. He whipped open the folder and scanned the paper inside. Instantly, his face reddened until it was almost purple.[break][break]

"What is the meaning of this?" he demanded, standing with such abruptness that his chair shrieked against the wooden floor.[break][break]

The door to the office opened. Hitoshi Inoue stepped inside, his hands on the sword at his hip.[break][break]

Yumi continued to stare at her father, unfazed. "I met with the Board of Directors and the Boss of Team Rocket's Johto branch yesterday. They unanimously agreed that you are unfit to run the family business and have agreed to support me instead."[break][break]

Haruichi's eyes flashed, and for a moment, Yumi wondered if he would hurt her. But Hitoshi had taken three more steps into the room, and Haruichi's eyes flickered with uncertainty.[break][break]

An unexpected serenity settled upon Yumi. She had always been gloating when imagining this moment, but instead, she offered her father a pleasant smile.[break][break]

"You and Mother can keep the house. I believe Grandfather left it for you in his will, anyway. I have a luxury condo downtown, in the business district." She turned as if to leave, then added, "By the way, I have the official copy of that statement, so don't think you can harm me by burning it."[break][break]

Hitoshi fell into step behind her as she left the room.

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At the end of it all, Yumi had everything she wanted.[break][break]

She had returned home to Goldenrod. While she no longer lived at the house of her childhood, the trauma that unfolded within its walls a relic of a closed chapter in her life, she surrounded herself with things which brought her certain fondness.[break][break]

She had seized power over her family's business. No longer under the control of men who would use her as their pawn, she navigated entrepreneurship with a cunning and sensible mind. The skills she gained in Hoenn served her well.[break][break]

Yumi thought she knew happiness. At the very least, she was satisfied. But between the boardroom and exclusive parties and designing for her fashion line, an emptiness existed. One that could not be filled with the family and friends she had gathered to her side over the years.[break][break]

She did not know what to do with it, so she stuffed it into an unused drawer of her heart to be forgotten, like a MUMMY consigned to a dusty tomb.[break][break]

Then he appeared one day, entering her life as if by chance. Handsome, rich, well-connected, lethal, he was all the things she admired—and desired. They shared many things in common: interests, amusements, visions.[break][break]

But Yumi was not an average woman with average standards; plenty of men possessed the same qualities as he and disappointed her in some way. She steeled herself, ready for more of the same.[break][break]

Much to her surprise, however, he did not seek to compete with her. He recognized her ambition and encouraged it. He did nothing to obstruct her; in fact, he did the opposite, pursuing his own goals while supporting her efforts. He neither patronized her nor depended on her.[break][break]

He was his own man, and he saw she wished to be her own woman.[break][break]

One day, Yumi looked at him and realized she did not wish to be apart from him. Later that evening, over another of many dozens of dinners they'd had together, he confessed the same.[break][break]

When they kissed, the dark space in her heart bloomed with vivid color.

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