[attr="class","hitoshi-hdr"]

[attr="class","hitoshi-dvdr"]

[attr="class","hitoshi-cont"]

He’s always been good with his hands. Had he been born a century ago, perhaps he would have made a fine watchmaker. The world has moved on.[break]
Ironic that it takes this place, which exists only in simulated dreams, that brings Inoue Hitoshi and Hasegawa Yumi back together. Kyogre’s fury drowned even the stars, and now the one he pledged his life to has to pick up the pieces. He feels guilty, but this is the place they have both decided they must be. She thrives in Hoenn her way, he in his.[break]
His hand works steadily on the task. It twists screws into place with delicate precision more suited for a surgeon or jeweler than a killer. He focuses, but he has time to think. Time to look up at her. Time to speak as they tumble through this what-if.[break]
“Is Starlight as much of a mess as Petalburg is?”

[attr="class","hitoshi-notes"]❖ notes go here
❖ more notes go here

[attr="class","hitoshi-pkmn"]

[attr="class","itemcolstr"]

[attr="class","hitoshi-hdr"]

[attr="class","hitoshi-dvdr"]

[attr="class","hitoshi-cont"]

“…”[break]
The more Yumi goes on, the more Hitoshi wishes he hadn’t finally begun to grasp the value of a dollar. Hundreds of thousands. He wouldn’t even know what to do with that much money, and Rocket’s priorities shifted elsewhere.[break]
“Shit.”[break]
One word sums up his thoughts on that. His mind starts to turn at solutions when an unfamiliar voice plays its message for them. Inoue Hitoshi has been cursed with knowledge. He who speaks represents the end of the world as they know it.[break]
“Shuddup, we’re talkin’ here!” He shouts, throwing the device and shattering it into dozens of little pieces. Its destruction makes the simulation shudder. They’ll soon move on.[break]
“I could talk to Admin Fox ‘bout compensatin’ you out of Rocket’s co-”[break]
The simulated universe shifts before he can finish the thought.

[attr="class","hitoshi-notes"]❖ notes go here
❖ more notes go here

[attr="class","hitoshi-pkmn"]

[attr="class","itemcolstr"]

[attr="class","hitoshi-hdr"]

[attr="class","hitoshi-dvdr"]

[attr="class","hitoshi-cont"]

“Mmm.” She’s always been self-reliant. Yumi’s eyes are clear enough to see that it is foolish to take money from a crooked honeypot. It’s a strange notion, imagining the conflict of interest that might arise should she take him up on that and run afoul of Declan Walsh and his cabal of killers. Best to not venture down that road.[break]
“Then how can I help?” Hitoshi counts himself lucky to get the question out before a mysterious interloper interrupts them. Having seen how this plays out, how they’re always right about the coin toss, he does the equivalent of betting on green at a roulette wheel. The absurdity of it all lightens his mood, if only a little.[break]
“It’ll land perfectly on its side. That’s my bet.”

[attr="class","hitoshi-notes"]❖ notes go here
❖ more notes go here

[attr="class","hitoshi-pkmn"]

[attr="class","itemcolstr"]

[attr="class","hitoshi-hdr"]

[attr="class","hitoshi-dvdr"]

[attr="class","hitoshi-cont"]

“I…”[break]
The coin flies up, cutting a golden arc through empty space. Father Winter looks between them with empty eyes. Either he does not process the decidedly human drama, or he simply doesn’t care.[break]
“I’ve just been…”[break]
How human it is to make an excuse. A dog obeys without question. It falls to heel. It does what it is told. To be human is to make one’s own choices, and suffer the consequences.[break]
“Just been busy, Yumi.”[break]
The coin falls. Father Winter holds out his hand and it bounces off his palm, falling into a crack on the pavement below. Just as Hitoshi called, it lands on its side.[break]
“W-what with the war n’ all.”[break]

[attr="class","hitoshi-notes"]❖ notes go here
❖ more notes go here

[attr="class","hitoshi-pkmn"]

[attr="class","itemcolstr"]

[attr="class","hitoshi-hdr"]

[attr="class","hitoshi-dvdr"]

[attr="class","hitoshi-cont"]

So you have.[break]
Just before she turns, he looks at her as he has never looked at her before. Inoue Hitoshi’s eyes are empty, distant, innocent in a way no one with that much blood on his hands has any right to look. His lips open to apologize, and the apology is stolen from him by the sudden change in environment.[break]
He crawls towards humanity, tries to stand on two legs instead of four, but still he stumbles. His words fail him. Yumi gives him cool words that spark an old memory and he fidgets like a child.[break]
“I’m sorry…” The dog’s eyes tilt down, fixed on the ground instead of the woman to whom he speaks. Having been here before, he knows how this is supposed to go. Xatu turns its eyes upon them…[break]
And the clock turns back, again and again and again, until it is a time long ago.[break]
The house of pleasure sits in the shadow of a burned tower. Wealthy travelers and powerful locals alike flock to this place. Men pair off with painted women, each taken off to their own room. Inside, they forget the world for a little while.[break]
None of them think about the world beneath their feet. The children are corralled to the basement while their mothers work. They busy themselves with games, movies, and sport. Even here, in this microcosm of the world above, they find a runt.[break]
See the pup, who sits alone in a corner. His eyes fix upon an old black and white movie. A samurai wanders across the screen, a silver screen hero whose style will influence the pup as he grows into a dog.[break]
“Hey Hitoshi. Heard somethin’ ‘bout yer mama.” Says a boy. The pup does not turn his head. His eyes are for the screen. “They say she lays with dogs.”[break]
“Paldeans may as well be dogs.” They learn the bigotry of their parents young. Every pack needs its runt. Inoue Hitoshi is their runt. Only when his mother is insulted does his head turn. Young eyes flash with anger Yumi has rarely seen mar their light in his tenure as her sworn sword.[break]
Even at this young age, he is a surgeon. His hand strikes with precision upon the offending child’s nose. One punch frees a flow of blood. Screams follow. Women and half-naked men come running.[break]
The story grows, as all stories grow when fiction mingles with fact. Hitoshi attacked them unprovoked. Hitoshi called them whoresons. Hitoshi stole their food. By the time he’s sent to his mother, he has been declared a villain.[break]
Inoue Minako sits alone in the room where she sleeps at night. She’s beautiful, though her beauty does not reach her eyes. What light once lit them is dead, an echo trapped in old amber.[break]
“Your father was violent, too.” She says, disappointed.[break]
“Mama. I-”[break]
“Stop.” She raises a hand, speaks with far too much force. “It would be one thing if you were just stupid. There’s lots of stupid boys here. Stupid and violent? You really are just like your father.”[break]
“T-They were insulting you.” He fights through his own apprehension to shout the words. “I was defendin’ yer honor.”[break]
“So you have.” She says, turning away.

[attr="class","hitoshi-notes"]❖ notes go here
❖ more notes go here

[attr="class","hitoshi-pkmn"]