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[attr="class","itemcolname"]science event

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[attr="class","itemcoltexttit"]TINKERING 1-A

[attr="class","itemcoltext"]Together, you eventually find the necessary parts and painstakingly repair the device. After a little while, a voice rings out from the machine. It's like a walkie-talkie: "maldacena here. are you having fun? isn't the simulated universe fascinating? however, i'd be careful if i were you. you never know who's watching!"[break][break]

Regardless of your level of familiarity with this member of the DRK Triad, it does not make what they say any less unsettling.

Yumi had a dextrous hand as well, trained on flower arrangements and calligraphy. But for something as technical as the PokéGear, she was more than happy to let Hitoshi handle its repair. Instead, she looked around the workshop, curiosity leading her from object to object. [break][break]

She didn't understand why she was hooked up to that machine again, forced to go through preset scenarios, when the real world demanded her attention. Of course, she knew intellectually how important the RKS simulations were for Team Rocket; she also knew better than to refuse leadership when they assigned her a task. [break][break]

Still, it seemed so pointless, in the face of recent destruction. [break][break]

"I don't know. I haven't seen Petalburg." Yumi replied, her irritation coming through easily in her voice. She'd never held back her emotions from Hitoshi before, and there was no reason to start now. [break][break]

"But the casino is a total wreck. We had to throw away so many slot machines, computers, and even furniture that were submerged and destroyed. My accountant is still calculating the cost of damages but it's probably in the hundreds of thousands." [break][break]

She raised a hand to her forehead, already feeling a headache. [break][break]

TAGS – Hitoshi Inoue[break]
NOTES – the rks simulation

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When Kyogre attacked Sootopolis, Yumi was far away in Slateport, safe in her new apartment. Though the news reports were unable to capture live footage from the battle, videos and photos taken by fleeing civilians spread across social media. Yumi herself received a stream of texts and calls from her staff at Casino Starlight as they evacuated. [break][break]

Never had she imagined that the ocean would rise until it swallowed even her towering casino. She watched the videos over and over through tears of rage and helplessness. [break][break]

Days later, she had collected herself to survey the damage herself. Sootopolis' emergency services were working overtime to address repair needs throughout the city. Yumi paid extra for expedited service, sparing her pocketbook by using insurance she'd set up when she'd first inherited the building. [break][break]

She stood amidst the waterlogged machines of the casino's main floor, gazing about with an air of despondency, when an approaching figure drew her attention away from overseeing the repairs. A grateful smile spread across her face, though lines of fatigue and overwhelm remained. [break][break]

"Nabi, there you are. Thank you for coming," Yumi said. Her shiny Vaporeon meowed at the pink-haired woman in greeting. "What a mess this place is!"

TAGS – nabi park[break]
NOTES – mission

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The suggestion came unexpectedly. They hadn't gone to an arcade in years, not since Yumi graduated from Wyndon University and started actively participating in her family's business. There had simply been no time for childish leisure. [break][break]

But there, in Hoenn? She'd been busy—they both had—but no one there could judge them for childishness. [break][break]

"Why not?" Yumi said with a laugh, her eyes sparkling with mirth. "But if we play Street Brawler, then we also have to play Dance Rush. And you can bet I'll trounce you at that."

TAGS – Hitoshi Inoue[break]
NOTES – mission

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Yumi had to believe Nikkari. She had to believe in people's despair and desperation, leading to explosive market growth and profit. The Hasegawas had built power and legacy on the backs of the less fortunate, and she was not about to change that. In fact, she knew nothing else. [break][break]

The conversation returned to its flirty nature, and she hid her smile behind a sip of wine. The flavor was robust but pleasant, and she hummed with delight. Bright eyes regarded the vintage with amazement. [break][break]

"You're very right, but what's that old cliché?" Yumi cast Nikkari a sly, sidelong glance. "'Absence makes the heart grow fonder'? I think a little fondness makes things exciting." [break][break]

Her smile widened into a cat-like grin, and she took another sip from her glass. [break][break]

"I know you like games; I've seen you trounce plenty of amateurs at the casino. But what else excites you, Nikkari?"

TAGS – nikkari hect[break]
NOTES – mission

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Yumi paused at Hitoshi's confession, just long enough to let the impact of his words sweep over her. Then she resumed packing, taping up a box and labeling its contents with a marker. [break][break]

"It wouldn't have been fun," she corrected, her tone matter-of-fact. "You would have been born with expectations that would have pitted us against each other, even if you were the younger sibling. We might have despised one another." [break][break]

Raising her head, she gazed out the nearest window in the direction of Johto. [break][break]

"And if you were the same as you are now," violent, simple-minded, and struggling with names, "they would have hated you and treated you like shit. You saw how they treated Sen." [break][break]

Abused for his failure to live up to their high standards. [break][break]

Yumi shook her head and glanced at Hitoshi as she picked up another empty box. "I prefer that we met and got to know each other the way we did. That was fun. We were allowed to be happy kids."

TAGS – Hitoshi Inoue[break]
NOTES – mission

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Perhaps Yumi had trespassed too far over the line. Pursing her lips, she traced the guilty slope of Hitoshi's shoulders with indigo eyes before averting her gaze entirely. [break][break]

"Sorry. It was a long time ago, so of course you don't remember." [break][break]

She resumed packing her box, filling it to the brim and taping it shut. The temptation to move on from the topic was great, but since he was the one who'd brought it up, she'd let him be the one to change it. [break][break]

Yumi had long grown used to the stretches of silence that occasionally filled the space between them.

TAGS – Hitoshi Inoue[break]
NOTES – mission

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Talk of Mt. Chimney's worrying eruption and the increasingly violent ocean storms curbed Yumi's flirtatious mood. As she poured wine into their glasses, she nodded and gave an exasperated sigh. [break][break]

"I have. The local Rangers have erected barriers along the beach in an effort to keep the ocean back, but I don't know how much help they'll be," she admitted. [break][break]

She handed Nikkari his glass. [break][break]

"Then, as you know, there's talk about upcoming battles. Team Rocket is mobilizing. I imagine much of the funds they take from the casino are going into their war effort." [break][break]

Yumi could hardly imagine what an all-out war would look like. When the Kanto War happened, she'd still been in Johto, watching from afar. It'd been a surreal, detached experience. This one felt no different, the reality of it not yet sinking in. [break][break]

"So, in terms of where to live, I'm not really sure there's a 'best' option, just 'better' ones." She looked up into Nikkari's eyes, indigo meeting gold, before musing, "I have always considered Lilycove attractive."

TAGS – nikkari hect[break]
NOTES – mission

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Sensing the tension in Hitoshi's emotions, Yumi grew still. She watched him from across the room, observing his body language, listening to his tone of voice. Limbs and words carried the subtle mark of a painful unmooring. [break][break]

"And you never saw or heard from her again," Yumi observed quietly, guessing at the outcome of such a tragic tale. [break][break]

Maybe his mother found an opportunity for a better life with one of her clients. Or maybe she'd been trafficked, or kidnapped, or killed. Either way, Yumi felt there was no point mulling on the possibilities, least of all out loud. [break][break]

"What was her name?"

TAGS – Hitoshi Inoue[break]
NOTES – mission

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A parent's dislike of her child was not an uncommon sentiment to Yumi. She had witnessed it often when her cousin Sen Hasegawa fucked up over the years; his father and their grandfather had always been quick to express disdain. [break][break]

When she was young, it had never occurred to her that she could ever be the target of such feelings, but her family had proved her wrong. So when Hitoshi revealed that his own mother didn't like him, Yumi felt a pang of sympathy in her chest. [break][break]

"So what happened to her?" she asked, keeping her hands busy with packing up a smaller box. "I don't think you've ever left to go see her since you found employment with my family. Is she still alive?"

TAGS – Hitoshi Inoue[break]
NOTES – mission

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At Hitoshi's glib comment about her possessions, Yumi paused to glance around at everything. She didn't consider herself a hoarder by any means, but she was materialistic. Beautiful paintings hung on her walls, while unique art pieces decorated her shelves and tables. [break][break]

"When we first got here, we came with nothing but a couple of suitcases," she said, her voice heavy with nostalgia. "I really collected all this stuff in such a short time, didn't I?" [break][break]

Memories of their arrival to Hoenn came hand-in-hand with Mei Liu. Her advertisement for a roommate was an immediate opportunity for Yumi to secure a roof, bed, and warm meals. The friendship that followed had been wholly unexpected but not unwanted. [break][break]

"I'm going to miss her, too, but I don't begrudge her leaving. She's going to have the time of her life traveling through Kalos." [break][break]

Mention of Hitoshi's mother, however, stilled Yumi's hands once more. She looked over at him, eyebrows raised. [break][break]

"You've mentioned your mom a few times, but you've never really talked about her. What was she like?"

TAGS – Hitoshi Inoue[break]
NOTES – mission

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Yumi glanced around the main living space of her apartment, the one she had once shared with Mei Liu. Ahead of her departure to Kalos, Mei had packed away most of her things, leaving only what she didn't need to bring with her. Awkward, empty spaces now pockmarked the apartment, filling Yumi with a sense of unease. [break][break]

She had to leave, too. [break][break]

"Thanks for coming by to help me pack," she said to Hitoshi Inoue. They stood surrounded by cardboard boxes, most of them empty. "The movers will come by next week to take care of the furniture and other large items, but I want to handle the small stuff myself." [break][break]

She couldn't trust strangers with her more precious belongings, which was why she'd asked for her oldest friend's assistance that day.

TAGS – Hitoshi Inoue[break]
NOTES – mission

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