[attr="class","text"]
Kouji wasn’t sure as he looked at his partner, she was cold; which wasn’t the worst thing he had dealt with, but she was even younger than he was. A real member of rocket too, rather than just being a parent’s tagalong. It was a sad state of affairs in some way, that he wasn’t in the same position as her.
[break][break]
He was ready to fight, yet he was stuck in this position.
[break][break]
”Just tryna be friendly, but whatever, suit yourself.”
[break][break]
As they arrived, Kouji placed the backpack on the ground carefully, and leaned against the wall, his eyes went to the snake that wrapped itself around the younger girl, maybe only a year or just above younger than him, but he couldn’t tell at all.
[break][break]
There was a thought that played at his concerns as he was eyed up for a moment, but he shrugged it up. ”Nice Seviper, she’s protective of ya.” It was different to Absol, who he wouldn’t bring out right now. The king of his team, the king of the forests around Fortree, the tyrant that ruled his trainer; he hadn’t even considered bringing him into it.
[break][break]
As he stood there, he looked at the bag for a moment as a runner came, it was a small dog pokemon, a Poochyena that held something around its throat, an envelope that contained a letter. Kouji went to grab the letter, opened it, and read it, before he sighed.
[break][break]
”New location for the cargo, we’ll have to…blow up the warehouse nearby, it used to be used for…Fertilizers? We’ll place it there, and set it off.” Even Kouji could understand that it was a bomb, as dumb as he was. He figured it out now, just what it did.
[break][break]
”But that place is currently being used as a shelter.” It was obvious what kind of operation this was, even a child would be able to tell.

[attr="class","fakebqooc"][break]

[attr="class","credit"]

[attr="class","text"]

Kouji laughed at that mental image.
[break][break]
”Guess with those muscles they would just pop out huh?” Kouji had more lean muscle, he preferred it for his ways of fighting, whether with his knife, a sword, or his preferred grapples.
[break][break]
”I’ll figure something out, but I doubt that can go on forever, even that Doug was beginning to get exhausted.” He considered it, but then again he didn’t need to against Bryan, he was on his side. A fellow ally, and his superior, he knew not everyone’s goals aligned with rocket, but looking for shadows in every corner would be exhausting, he had no interest in doing that.
[break][break]
”Maah, well, you’re already one of my bosses, and I can’t really say no to your orders, so don’t I work for you anyway?” It was an innocent enough question, maybe there were some powerplays going on where he couldn’t see it. But then again, Kouji had his own thoughts about this.
[break][break]
”So I can’t really say yes to that.”

[attr="class","fakebqooc"][break]

[attr="class","credit"]

[attr="class","text"]
Kouji didn’t really agree, he had big thoughts about it. ”Quid pro Quo, you’re lucky I sometimes understand the fancy words you big wigs wanna use…But it’s not the same thing.” He said as he tapped his pockets for a moment and dug for his knife, not his favored one; he had broken that one.
[break][break]
He threw it over to Kaname. ”Here, now give me something for it. Nothing special, no expectations. I do something, you do something, I do something.” He said as he gave that option. ”There’s no expectation there.”
[break][break]
”I don’t like ya Fujihara, so I won’t stick my neck out for you. I don’t want you sticking your neck out for me. If that ever changes, well, who knows. But as it stands, I don’t want your resources, and skills, I don’t want you to use mine. Any chance of a partnership are dead.” His expression was neutral, his smirk was nowhere to be seen.
[break][break]
He almost looked to walk away before he tilted his head to both sides, and then turned back on his feet before he walked up to Kaname. The pace of his steps increased with every one he took. His eyes were locked onto Fujihara’s own, shoulders squared, his focused, and then he rapidly extended his hand.
[break][break]
”But if you’re willing to pay for a job, or are willing to owe me, well, I don’t mind that kind of arrangement. I don’t need to trust you for that.” He extended his hand, palm open, ready to shake the hand of Kaname.
[break][break]
”That’s the only deal I’ll offer you.”

[attr="class","fakebqooc"][break]

[attr="class","credit"]

[attr="class","text"]
Kouji did savour the taste, the mellow sweetness that he associated with Sake, if there was one thing the two of them shared, it was that Kantonian taste.
[break][break]
Still, as he handed it back, and listened to Kaname, his gaze didn’t move, watching every part of the man’s body language, instead of moving back; he gave a smirk as Kaname moved closer. There was an edge to it like before, but it did soften, it wasn’t predatory, but he was evaluating the man in front of him.
[break][break]
It was a petulant little stare, one that tried to find the true worth of the one standing in front of them. ”You’re good with your pretty little words, and those promises. But, you don’t even know what I want. For a man who wants everything, that just means you’ll have to fight everyone at some point, even your partner.” As he finished saying that, Kouji turned on the spot.
[break][break]
Having walked three paces, he spun again, his smirk was a grin, as if he was holding a secret nobody else knew, one that he would let out into the world. ”I’ll go to the death for rocket, but I won’t let us win. I want a world where war never ends, whether it’s those weirdos from the other dimensions, legendaries, or against the league.” It wasn’t a stalemate.
[break][break]
Because he would win in such a case.
[break][break]
”Everyone is already a springboard for that, winners or losers. So, what are you really offering? Will ya really just go and mirror what I ask, and expect the same in turn, just sounds like plain ol’ co-dependence to me.”

[attr="class","fakebqooc"][break]

[attr="class","credit"]

[attr="class","text"]
Back into the loop.
[break][break]
Another day, another simulation, there was almost something addictive about it; Kouji had to admit that. After his last jump into this place with HItoshi, he had found himself more excited, maybe he’d get to see another grand sight?
[break][break]
It didn’t seem so the moment in which they loaded in, Kouji could see the abandoned workshop they were placed into, some kind of garage, maybe a shed, or some other kind of room. A singular pokegear stood as the center of attention in this strange room.
[break][break]
”Haah, guess it’s my turn to touch the strange thing that could turn out real bad, huh?” He didn’t pay enough attention to realize it didn’t bare the Silph symbol, not that he cared too much for brands, he always preferred the cheap Johtonian knock offs.

[attr="class","fakebqooc"][break]

[attr="class","credit"]

[attr="class","itemcolicon"]

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

[attr="class","lgdcol"]

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

[attr="class","itemcoltext"]You enter a messy workshop. Various material, tools, and machinery surround you all and a workbench. On the workbench is a broken PokeGear. It does not bear the Silph symbol; instead, it bears an odd logo instead:[break][break]

[break][break]

What do you do?

[attr="class","text"]
Kouji ran a hand through his hair.
[break][break]
He’d leave it to Hitoshi, but that didn’t mean he was exempt, the psychic shockwave that passed through was strong, straight into their minds. It almost felt like the time with the Gardevoir, but this time it was different, as they were back ‘home’. Sootopolis, their home base, yet everything was on fire, water rushed over the very edges of the dome that protected them, shells fell into the city.
[break][break]
It was chaos.
[break][break]
Fires broke out in every corner, people screamed and ran. ”Oi oi oi, the hell is going on here…” Was this the future, or was it the past? Kouji couldn’t quite tell. But there was something going on here.
[break][break]
Sootopolis was under raid. Legendaries battled, men battled, pokemon battled, and the people stuck between all of that suffered. Kouji didn’t care for that, for them, he cared for the fight itself. Only the strong would survive.
[break][break]
It sounded like his kind of future.
[break][break]
”As Rockets, this sucks. But, I could get used to simulations like this.”

[attr="class","fakebqooc"][break]

[attr="class","credit"]

[attr="class","itemcolicon"]

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

[attr="class","lgdcol"]

[attr="class","itemcoltexttit"]MYSTIC POKEMON 1-B

[attr="class","itemcoltext"]Your granted a vision of the future. Everything is played out in stunning clarity. Though the setting and involved persons may be unfamiliar (or familiar), there is an eerie sense of logical connectivity. In other words, you feel like this future is possible... despite your current state and no matter how outlandish the divination may be.[break][break]

However, you're still uncertain whether this future is real or inevitable.

[attr="class","text"]
What greeted them was a really odd sight, Kouji couldn’t help but notice it as they exited out the other side of the rift.
[break][break]
Was it part of the simulation or something else? It was strange, watching that bird sit there, Xatu; a psychic type. It’s eyes finally turned towards them, which put Kouji on edge. He didn’t trust psychic types, it always felt as if they were aware of something that no-one else was. Some truth, some horrible truth that should stay locked away in a high-level brain without the ability to communicate.
[break][break]
Pokemon.
[break][break]
”Keep on guard HItoshi, the little fucker freaks me out.” Just as its eyes began to glow, just what the hell was this thing going to show them now?

[attr="class","fakebqooc"][break]

[attr="class","credit"]

[attr="class","itemcolicon"]

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

[attr="class","lgdcol"]

[attr="class","itemcoltexttit"]MYSTIC POKEMON 1

[attr="class","itemcoltext"]You find yourself in the AKALA OUTSKIRTS of ALOLA. Here, a Xatu stands by the cliffside, rooted in place. It is clear that it has been here for a long time, perhaps for many days and nights.[break][break]

Its vacant eyes continuously track the sun... until all of you arrive.[break][break]

Psychically, it casts a vision of your past or future to your minds. Is it accurate? Truthful? Real or false? It is hard to shake the unnerving feeling as the Alolan winds whip past you.

[attr="class","text"]

Kouji was surprised, weirded out, and well glad that it was almot-
[break][break]
His head turned, before turning back to the man, his jaw dropped, but at the same time he shook his head. ”Yeah, Lily, make sure to catch sight of that shit.” He was sure this part had been viewed many times over, but to begin with…
[break][break]
”The hell did he mean by original?” Wasn’t this the original, could there even be an original? It was something that he didn’t understand, this round was far more complex than any of the others.
[break][break]
So, in this case, Kouji sighed aloud; his eyes were stuck onto the rift. There really was just one way out.
[break][break]
”Let’s follow that freak.”

[attr="class","fakebqooc"][break]

[attr="class","credit"]