Between training and duty, the months after the battle have proved a pleasant blur. Tomorrow becomes today. Today becomes yesterday. Yet the players in his life remain the same. Yumi and those friends he has made within Rocket make this existence seem brighter than it once was, even as doubts plague his mind.[break]
Growing up's hard. Trying to be human even harder. It's why he welcomes the distractions when they come.[break]
His own reaction to the name Marilyn Hasegawa is a cock of the head. It is a stroke of luck that his brain translates the name into his preferred format before he can say something silly. His lips were moments away from commenting how Hasegawa wasn't a personal name.[break]
Then it hits him.[break]
Hasegawa.[break]
Reflexively, he takes a step closer to Yumi. His Kartana, all three of whom had been floating about the room and laughing, sense his mood. They converge around Yumi, forming a shield of swords.[break]
"Hasegawa, huh?" Not knowing the woman by name, he expects a fight.[break]
"Sure, let's go, Yumi." And so, he follows.

If he had a tail in fact as well as spirit, it would be wagging. All the fierce tension that held him deflates at the sight of this woman. A wide, toothy grin breaks out across the dog's face. When he is embraced, he returns the embrace just as fiercely.[break][break]
"Yoooooo, Granny! It's been so long!" Whether she is or is not his grandmother by blood matters little to him. She treated him with kindness, and for that he would kill for her.[break][break]
"Yumi, this is Granny. Your old man had me take stuff to her whenever I got a day off. Granny can run through cigs and booze like nobody else." Reaching into his breast pocket, he pulls out a pack of cigarettes. Unovan slims are hard to come by in Hoenn. A good dog is always prepared.

"Let me get that for ya." A little known intricacy of the Rocket grunt ecosystem is that many carry lighters. Most of them treat their lungs like coal mines. The grunts react like well-trained dogs, each hoping to be the one who offers a helpful light. This one takes the form of a zippo. Keen manual dexterity brings the lighter up, scorching the tobacco cherry red.[break][break]
It's the least that a loyal stray can do for those who took him in.[break][break]
What comes after isn't much of his business. Yumi's family is, after all, her family. What the women choose to say or not say is their luxury. Without much fanfare, he adjusts from keeping one safe to two.[break][break]
There's only one thing he can really add.[break][break]
"All the goons were more scared of you than the old man." Words punctuated by a smile and warm tone.

He listens, his apt attention given to both of their words. Amber eyes settle on the older woman, listening to her talk with a child's jovial reverie. His lips part to give her an affirmation, only for Yumi's unspoken command to bring him back down. Her word is law, and if she does not wish the old man's death, then the old man will not die. Even the reaper would obey her word.[break]
"Yumi's right, granny. These Team Rocket guys are legit. Booze, cigs, money, a blank check at the poker table? Anything you want, they'll give ya. Just gotta stick it to the man when the bosses say you gotta." Words of truth are spoken, even if they understand no underlying principles. The dog does not know who the man is. All he knows is that the monsters on top of this monolith point their fingers and demand death. He delivers, for a hunting hound who cannot draw blood is a useless thing. There is no room for useless things in this world.[break]
"You'll go far here, Granny! Maybe I'll finally get to see you in action!" A thought which brings him joy, enough to wag his proverbial tail.

"You know me, Granny. Don't got many needs. Just so long as I've got food in my belly and Yumi's happy, I'm happy." He lies without knowing he does so. Though the red string of fate will forever bind Yumi and her dog together, its thread has grown tangled with other lives. Though her dog may not remember jayden cross or Cillian Quinn's names, he knows the fire of kinship they kindle in his heart the way most Hasegawa grunts never did.[break]
So, it is with an all too human smile, one painted with just a hint of sadness, that he takes what he thinks is a hint from Yumi. With a wave, he starts to turn away, tightening his sword belt and starting off to prepare for the party. She'll be safe here in this city of sin. This is their kind of town, and someone would have to be a fool to try anything in the heart of Rocket territory.[break]
"Thanks for the reminder. I gotta check in with Senpai and the beasts. Those League bastards'd be dumber than a pile of cinderblocks t'try anything, but ya gotta be sure." He nods, as if he speaks profound wisdom. "I'll make sure stuff runs smooth 'round here for the rest of the day, Yumi. Granny, let's go take out some League goons when ya get settled in."[break]
With those words, thinking nothing of it, he waves and starts walking off, back to the upper floors of the casino.