"Yeah," he agrees with less vigor than he so often puts in every syllable, "sounds good t'me. Udon." It's always Udon. Udon or steak, if they're eating something western. Her dog has ever been a creature of simple tastes. Sitting down, he props up his arms on the table and his lips open, speaking...[break]
Silence. Like, he's stumbled over a stone in the road and he's trying to regain his footing. Only after a few awkward moments does he weave together words.[break]
"How's stuff at the casino been going?" That doesn't feel quite right, but the words have been spoken. Bells can't be unrung. If things had been as they had been, he would be present enough to know.

"Bank...roll?" She knows him well enough to call that he will not grasp the deeper meaning of these complicated words, meant for humans in high administrative offices. The words are said slow, like a child trying to spell it out. His cheeks flush red. He is rarely embarrassed, especially not around her, but this brings boyish shame to his cheeks. Even sitting, he looks up at her.[break]
Why the hell do banks get special dinner rolls?[break]
He doesn't voice the question. Somehow, it doesn't feel appropriate.[break]
Instead, he focuses on something he does understand: expansion. She's building power for herself, mastering the world as he always knew she would one day. Shame's dark cloud is broken by delight and excitement.[break]
"Dunno how people can play that damn game, but they'll sure line up to letcha take their cash." There's a sucker born every minute, especially in this society of losers. At least the money's going into their pockets, not that money has ever held much appeal for him.[break]
"Keep makin' moves like that and I bet Wash would make ya Johto's boss, after we take over Hoenn. How cool would that be? Boss Hasegawa and God General Hitoshi comin' home to take back some turf." Already, it is we.

Some part of him, that growing kernel of humanity, understands a frightening implication in Yumi's words. A dog of the streets has a good nose for leaders. They do not suffer fools, and Yumi is far from a fool. Equally, those who lead this region and Kanto are not foolish. As his eyes open, he grasps that lesson well. Even the wise, it seems, do not recognize the rising tide of Rocket before it is too late.[break]
After the tomb, after seeing so many gods take to the field, he does not have the luxury of being blind. What suppresses the grimace that briefly plays across the dog's maw is one thing: jayden cross.[break]
"I never really had friends, back in Johto. Even when ya let me have downtime, I kinda just wandered 'round Goldenrod." He's never made a habit of talking about the past, or even the future. All that has existed for him, for so long, is the present, and that which is right before him. Though Yumi shall always be Amaterasu, he understands more and more that there are other planets in her orbit.[break]
"Most of yer Grandpa's goons weren't much fun to be 'round. These Rocket guys, though?" He scratches the back of his neck, like some schoolboy with a crush. "I love hangin' out with Senpai, or tryin' Blondie's patience, or quizzin' that stupid rookie that Admin Fox keeps 'round on history. Feels..."[break]
His smile is warm, warm in a way once reserved for her alone.[break]
"Nice."

“You have!” He insists with a smile, but it’s a quiet smile, deprived of bombast. “Yer the Yumi you wanna be, not the one the old man wanted to see.” Her dog nods at his own statement, the smile broadening as if impressed by his own words. It’s a habit of his, smiling like this whenever he thinks he has done well. It’s adorned his face when he kills for her, or when he’s managed to stack a particularly tall stack of bags when they’re out shopping. Rarely does it happen for matters this quiet.[break][break]
“Y’seem happier. I like it when yer happy.” There are some who can only find happiness in grand pursuits, or perfection, or any number of things out of reach. Such esoteric wells are beyond the comprehension of dogs. Which is why, when he truly sees her face, his smile drops just a bit. Dogs are nothing if not tuned to their master’s moods.[break][break]
“You alright?”

“Yeah.” His eyes follow hers, out the window. Lights turn on in other buildings, painting a mosaic of lives not theirs, lives they’ll never know. Only a year ago, he would have paid no mind to such lives, never have the imagination to even conceptualize their existence. Growing up is complicated, just as learning to walk on two legs instead of four is complicated.[break]
“I miss kickin’ yer ass at those arcade fighters.” Even know, he feels a twitch of muscle memory. One half circle, forward. A careful block. Victory. Human boys gawking that he could compose himself around her, much less treat her so jovially and play without a care in the world.[break]
“I’m afraid, Yumi.” It comes out of nowhere, but in the grand scheme of their lives, the statement is a long time coming. “This region’s gonna be the death of us. The death of Senpai.” He does not know about the sword of Damocles hanging over the heads of certain people on Hoenn’s center stage, but he knows this: you let sleeping dogs lie. No one in Hoenn can do that. Not him, not Yumi, and not Team Rocket.[break]
“But we can’t leave.” Not when their hearts and fortunes have taken root upon this strange foreign soil. “Adult life is complicated.”