Every day was a reminder that Kanto's fall had been due to luck and circumstance. Theo could bleat of his conquests all he wanted, but all that today proved was that he led lesser criminals into believing that they were wolves instead of sheep. That lesson had stuck until this precise moment.

This moment, where wolves were reminded that they could bleed like livestock. A the end of the day, that was what Kanto consisted of. A handful of kings leading pawns. Hoenn was similar, but Hoenn was familiar and Kanto was alien.

"For now." For the first time, Admin Fox is unmasked next to Hitoshi. His eye is red and vindictive, not the darker color of blood but something far more distinct. "This will suffice. Good work, Black Dog."

Still, Howard let the masquerade go on. If Hitoshi still thought he was Admin Fox, then the admin would not deny him that luxury. Perception was a funny thing.

"But it will not last for long. We cannot enforce law and order with those we have present. priam conrad is not enough."

No matter how hard Priam tried, one man could only do so much.

---

Hitoshi Inoue

"I know. I've executed a handful."

Kouji Matsubara was dead, his fate now tied to the tunnels that stretched beneath the region. They whispered of a steel titan that had escaped the admin's grasp when he fought it in the desert. Kouji was dead, and a shadow sat in his place as a specter doomed to wander. Yet it was an opportunity, and the only way to save him from death.

The Kanto Rocket member had fought for a purpose. He was better than the average lecher, and that meant that he continued to draw breath. It was a luxury few would give him.

"And the day Monroe answers my calls is the day hell freezes. I've never loved declan walsh, but he runs a tight ship."

There's a glimmer of respect for the Obfuscator. In this position of command, the admin understood the boss's thought processes.

"If I were to give you a hundred men, how would you instill order in Petalburg without enraging our allies from across the sea?"

---

Hitoshi Inoue

It was a good plan.

"I like it." The admin nodded to himself as he looked away, silently musing on Hitoshi's stratagem. It was harsh and ugly and cruel, but it was what was required in this hellish space. There was no better way to defeat the devil than to become a bigger one. "It will suffice in the short term."

These next few weeks would become hell for Petalburg, but it was what the city required.

"Since it's your idea, you should be the one to act it out. Yet Kanto has little reason to listen to you." The admin chewed his lip slightly, before an idea came to mind. "Give me your sword."

---

Hitoshi Inoue
BINGO: SPACE

There was no ceremony to ascension. Howard knew from experience. He had been raised to admin due to his contributions in seizing Regice, but it had not been done with decorum. One day, he had simply become one of Rocket's most influential members. Now, he sat in a ruined city and pretended he was a conqueror.

The only thing Rocket had conquered was cooked meat and bones buried in the rubble.

"I'm not asking you to kneel. I'm asking you to serve and protect. A sword is an instrument meant exclusively for slaughter." He had heard stories and accounts of swordsmen who chased perfection as a form of enlightenment. That did not apply to Hitoshi. "But a sword can be used to block and parry as well."

The blade squirmed in the admin's hand. He weighed it, thoughtful. He cut his palm on the cursed sword and allowed it to drink.

"Do you think yourself strong, Hitoshi Inoue?"

---

Hitoshi Inoue

"Then we shall make new beasts."

The boldness of the words surprised him. Cillian Quinn would call it bold. THEO BECKETT would call it overstepping. Elisabeth Fiorelli could rage from whatever corner of hell she was curdling in. Yet Bryan's seat had lost its last traces of warmth, and Hitoshi would fill the vacancy nicely.

Order would be fulfilled, and weakness would bloom into strength. Intimacy was not required for ceremony.

"Then become strong, Hitoshi. Become the strongest." The admin knew little of strength. He could not comprehend it. His blood was poison, yet the blade supped from the toxic chalice. "Help me raise a Petalburg that we can be proud of."

He returned the blade to Hitoshi.

---

Hitoshi Inoue