The first sign that it was Hideo's room was the sheer volume of Pokemon that occupied the area - not just inside the room itself, but outside as well. One assassination attempt was all it took for an Orbeetle to keep an eye out in the air whenever Hideo was around.

It would be the first thing Cass would notice on her flight over. The only reason there hadn't been any resistance (other than an annoyance look from the Orbeetle) was Azelf's early arrival heralding her entrance, an open window making it easier for her voice to reach Hideo.

And it would've been hard for Hideo to sleep through their commotion, or the smell of pizza in the morning.

"Yeah," Hideo said, "I'm up."

Several Pokemon looked over at Cass: an Indeedee, a Blissey, and a familiar, tired-looking Hatterene. And of course, a "Ralts" who was eagerly digging into the pizza that was brought in.

Hideo himself was visibly better than the last time they'd met; he was dressed in lighter clothing, simply shorts and a striped t-shirt. There was a cast on his left arm, as well as a bandage around his chest (though it was less visible).

"Wanna come in? Dunno if your Pokemon'll fit through the window, but you might be able to."

Cassandra Kubrick

It's a relief to see several of Hideo's pokémon posted up as guard, and it's also a relief that Azelf went ahead and announced their arrival. Else, she isn't sure if the other trips have been enough to mark her as "safe" - and she really doesn't want to test it. She smiles (a bit awkwardly) and gives a wave at all the pokémon before nodding and replying, "Yes, if you don't mind ... I think I should ..." She carefully makes her way from Effie to the window, which is definitely harder than all the movies make it seem.

In the end, Azelf had to quickly teleport her in just before she could lose her footing - after all, the Talonflame can't really fly too close, and while she does adore Cass, her pride would not allow Cass to step on her head unless absolutely necessary.

Once she's inside, Azelf settles next to Uxie enthusiastically eating up the pizza, feigning disinterest in the cheesy treat that its sibling devours with glee. Cass walks up closer to Hideo, looking - seeing if she can recall what wounds have been there, what might have healed. But the biggest ones are those she can neither see nor heal.

"How are you? I lost you in that storm ..." she asks. And after they parted ... she shakes her head, hair rustling quietly.

Hideo Kino

Hideo could tell that Cass tried to enter through the window by sound alone. He would've asked his Pokemon to help her in, as none took the initiative - but Azelf had that covered.

None stopped her when she approached Hideo.

"I'm…doing alright," Hideo sighed. "Got some bruised ribs and a cracked arm, but those'll heal."

He raised his casted left arm to show off. "Closest I've gotten to a broken bone. Thought it'd hurt more in the moment…but I guess I was kinda out of it for a while."

He paused - those were the least worrisome injuries.

"But I still gotta stick around here for a week. I got a brain injury from something messing with my head too hard. I can't really remember what caused it, but I was told it could've been a lot worse."

With his healthy arm, he pulled up the hair over his temple - showing her the sutures.

"Docs said they were lucky they could find it so fast. Helped that my Pokemon gave me first aid, but if the pressure started building up, I wouldn't even be awake."

He let out another sigh. "Guess I gotta add that to the pile of near-death experiences."

A small chuckle escaped his lips, but his attending Pokemon were not amused.

"Gotta avoid any Psychic Pokemon doing stuff to my head for a while though. Can't even get their Telepathy 'til the docs say it's safe. Don't wanna risk any more damage…they don't even want me doing any Gym Challenges for a while."

The frustration in his voice seeped through his smiling facade. He could hardly celebrate his time off considering the circumstances.

"...what about you? I'm guessing you got off better than I did, since you can sneak in through people's windows."

Cassandra Kubrick

Cassandra "Hm-mh,"s along as Hideo describes what has happened to him, the slightly horrified expression on her face lost to him as she takes in the amount of injuries ... but the worst one is the one not visible to the eye. She thinks back on the feeling of being unable to help, and she finally puts get a small firstaid kit and learn how to do first aid into her mental notes. Though this might have to wait until she also confronted her mom once more ...

"I'm really glad you're recovering from ... all that. It really looked bad," she says, her tone quiet as she tries to fight off the resurging feeling of helplessness. Not now. Not right now. Not in this moment when there's maybe not even anything to do. But in the future ... she'll worry about that later.

"The evergrowing list, yeay," she remarks with weak sarcasm about the list of near-death experience. As long as it's not ... . "Hey, take it easy, it's been. Really crazy," she returns as she hears the frustration, adding a bit more certainty to her voice than before, "Focus on reovery, then there'll be plenty of things to do ... but it won't do to have you there haphazardly."

It's frustrating, but she really hopes Hideo listens to the docs for now, at least some more days until he'd probably go and prepare. She knows in his shoes, she might do that, too.

"I'm ... physically fine, circumstantially on the run from my mom, so that's ... why the window." The paranoia she has whenever she enters a city ... she really needs to talk to her mom. But she doesn't feel like she can, not yet. "But in Petalburg, besides the whole things ... ... ..." She starts and stops - not wanting to worry him further, but maybe. She only saw Munkidori. "I met Munkidori again. Did you ... did you see any of the others?"

Hideo Kino