usedlaserbeam | 017 | Goldenrod City

Entry tags:

017 | Goldenrod City | Video / Action;

[It may seem like an odd endeavor, wandering the snowy streets of Goldenrod in such relatively unpleasant weather, but sure enough, that's precisely what Yagyuu's doing today. It's not the first time he's gone over these streets and it almost certainly won't be the last; he's not so much exploring today as he is just walking the familiar byways, his breath making translucent clouds in the chilly air.

There's a Vulpix riding along with him, curled around his shoulders and supported atop his backpack, nuzzled in close to his neck like an oversize, furry, Fire-type scarf. If the weight or the awkwardness of ferrying her in that way bothers him, he certainly doesn't show it; his own scarf is draped light but snug from his neck to his chin, and the collar of his heavy winter coat is turned up as added protection against the cold.

He's carrying a few bags with him, of varying sizes, all unmistakably from the Goldenrod Department Store—evidently, he's been out shopping. And perhaps he still is, because at the moment he's stopped in front of the frosted glass window of a jewelry store, peering in at the display and watching the light catch the facets of the gemstones as they glitter against their black velvet backings.]

Another four days and you'll be six months old, Masako. It is strange how time flies, isn't it?

[He's speaking quietly, more to himself than the little fox on his shoulders.]

And strange, too, how much can change in seven months.

[And he seems to dwell on that, lost in thought, as the jewels gleam bright in the window and the fine mist of his condensing breath drifts and disperses in the cold afternoon air.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Ask me if I think you'd encourage the Pokemon to do it in your stead.

I don't really need to ask. Your confidence in me is always astounding, Yagyuu.

I'm trusting that I'll have a house to come back to, aren't I?

For now, anyway. [Summer might be different, depending on how hot it gets.]

It only needs to last another few hours. I won't be out that long.

[He remarks, as he glances back toward the glittering jewelry in the window.]

I'll bring coffee.

[He's not going to tell him this, but his Pokemon are outside at least. He's just. Still going around and getting used to everything while he's on his own for a bit. Another reason why this is just audio.]

It'll be fine.

[He doesn't mention anything about the coffee really, Yagyuu knows what type he likes, he's already said he's not going out in this weather, so it's just a matter of finding him in the house when he gets back.]

[And as promised, it does take a little while, but sooner or later Yagyuu makes his way back to the Tennis Haus, Masako still draped around his shoulders, his bags from the department store in one hand and a cardboard carrying tray with two takeout coffees in the other.

How he manages to get in the front door with a balancing act like that is a feat in itself, but such are his talents.]

[It's obviously a skill developed from tennis. Obviously. See, this is why tennis > golf.

Yagyuu will find the place completely as he left it as well, minus a few things shuffled around as he's looked to see what there is. When he notices all the bags Yagyuu's got though, he leaves him to deal with them all on his own. Such is life.]

Yo.

[He's decidedly cold, and the sudden warmth of the house is making his glasses fog over, but he still manages to maneuver his way to the table and set down the drinks before attending to the bags, Masako, and his coat and scarf, in that order.]

Hello, Niou-kun.

[The tone of his voice is, perhaps, just as warm as the interior of the house. It's still something a little new, a little fond, to walk into the house and hear Niou's voice greeting him in a place other than his own mind.]

[All he gets is a raised eyebrow at all the bags. He's not really trashed the place, but he is a little busy going through stuff at the moment, that and he's still getting used to this we all live under the same roof thing.

It's kind of nice to hear the warmth in his voice though, because he does notice these things.]

Coffee? [He may be just holding his hand out for it...]

The one with the star on it.

[No, he will not be indulging that unspoken request, thank you very much. No help with the bags, no favors with the coffee. Fair's fair.]

You've been busy.

[Damn. Don't mind while he drops something on the floor then. It wasn't breakable, but it makes a loud thud! noise.]

So have you.

[Yup, glancing at those bags that he didn't help with. He'll take his coffee though now he's standing up.]

[Really, Niou? We're going to be that childish? Really.]

I have a job. It's to be expected.

[Masako, on the other hand, looks scared witless at the abrupt thud, and scampers down and off to the nearest hiding place, squeaking all the way.]

[Only because he knows it'll annoy him. He's just a little bored okay? Snow doesn't make for fun things.

Though he didn't actually mean to terrify Masako at all.]

Puri.

[Whether that's at the Vulpix running and squeaking or Yagyuu having a job is left to interpretation though. Instead he'll just sip at that coffee.]

[Such are the hazards of keeping the world's shyest Vulpix in your roster. Yagyuu's mostly used to it by now, frankly, which is also why he's largely unfazed by her hiding. She'll come back out eventually, once it occurs to her that there was never any danger at all.]

I hope it's not poisoned. The waitresses at my usual coffee shop seem to have adopted an unusually fervent investment in the goings-on of my personal life.

[He remarks, deadpan, as he opens the department store bags and begins to unpack his spoils—shirts, ties, sweaters, a Fire Stone...]

[Poor thing, let's hope Pokemon don't have heart attacks... otherwise her lifespan will be very short.

He glances at him, mouth poised over the coffee after he's taken a sip.]

Guess it isn't. [That is kind of weird though. Last he remembered, not only did coffee shops not exist in the games, the NPC's that worked there didn't care either. Don't mind him while he picks up the odd things that Yagyuu's bought, especially the Fire Stone.]

[She's always been a skittish thing, ever since the day she hatched. Quite possibly that's part of the irony (and Yagyuu's sick sense of humor), that her name would seem so ill-fitting when held next to her demeanor, but she is nothing if not a Significant Fox, and perhaps that's why Yagyuu tolerates her shyness, when he otherwise demands so much from his team.

He tries his own cup, momentarily entertaining the idea of faking some death throes of his own—but no, he's not the theatrical one of the pair. That's someone else's role to play.]

Be careful with that, please.

[He rolls the stone over in his hand, eyeing it, before he just puts it back. The game didn't exactly show the stones, but he can guess well enough as to what it is.

He wraps both hands around the cup instead, blowing over the steam before taking another sip.]

Isn't she a little young to be growing up so soon?

She is six months old this week. I don't train her as hard as I do some of the others, and I won't send her into battle, but she's stronger than she looks.

[And now it's his turn to pick up the Fire Stone, mimicking Niou's motion of turning it over in his fingers.]

When she evolves, though, it won't be my choice. It's Kirihara-kun's.

[Don't worry, he's only joking. Though the fact that it's Akaya's choice makes him look at him properly, slightly curious.]

It is~?

[By now, Masako has begun to creep her way back out of her hiding place, nose twitching, sneaking carefully back toward Yagyuu's legs.]

Why not? They're both the baby of the team.

[That's such a weird logic, Yagyuu.]

Didn't you name her wrong then?

[He tilts his head, peeking down at her, then looking back up at him. He's a little amused.]

[Soon she is close enough, and laser-fast, Yagyuu scoops her up, holding fast as she wriggles and squirms and finally settles in his arms. He's careful not to let the Fire Stone touch her, replacing it in the bag once he's sure he won't drop her by freeing one hand to do so.]

That's something you ought to ask Fuji-kun.

[He pets her fondly.]

It'll be easier for him to accept his own evolution if he has someone else's to control in the process. We won't be his third-year senpais forever.

[He just scratches his head at that, shrugging the whole thing off. Mainly the part about asking Fuji about the name.

...Though he does let his eyes flicker to watch Yagyuu's hand - just for a split second - before they move back to his coffee.]

Y'sure leaving him in charge of another living thing is a good idea?

[It's amusing to him, the thought of that scenario, of Niou seeking out Fuji to discover what his partner was playing at all along. And it is, in a way, a trick of his own, but it's one that would play out as much on Seigaku's genius as on Niou, and perhaps that's what makes him find it so palatable after all.

A little prince once met a fox and learned a bit of wisdom from it as a parting gift: "You become responsible, forever, for that which you have tamed."

Most people were aware that this little fox ended up with the name Masako. Few would have the capacity to realize just how close she came to being Fujiko, instead.]

Only in charge of her evolution. Appraising her skill, deciding when to take her to the next level—it's good practice for a future captain, isn't it?

[audio]

[audio]

[audio]

[audio]

[audio]

[audio]

[audio → action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]