002 | Cherrygrove City | Action;

[usedlaserbeam]

[After a productive (but admittedly somewhat boring) five hours of work sorting and filing papers at the Cherrygrove Pokémon Center, it's finally time for Yagyuu to head for home--or at least, for the room at the Cherrygrove Inn he's been sharing with Kirihara-kun since they both arrived in the city yesterday. He'd gladly work longer hours if they'

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action.

[futariniousama]

[ Niou slides off the Flygon without ceremony, seemingly disregarding his companions as he heads over to Yagyuu.

This is not going to be a hug. Not a hug not a hug not a hug not a hug-

He punches Yagyuu in the arm, and says nothing, because 'hey, loser' is the only thing he can think of, and that's stupid. ]

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[futariniousama]

My cat?

[ Oh, look, Niou's stalling. ]

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[usedlaserbeam]

I assume you named it.

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[futariniousama]

Well, yeah. The only one I haven't named yet is this ghost motherfucker I've got. Not sure about it yet.

[ He knows if he tells Yagyuu the answer, Yagyuu will pinpoint it as a symptom of homesickness. Best to dance around it and make it even more obvious. ]

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[usedlaserbeam]

A cat and a ghost? That's quite an entourage.

[He's just waiting. They both know Niou is avoiding the issue. Now it's just a silent war of attrition to see who bites first.]

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[futariniousama]

And a hybridization of putty and jello with a shit-eating smile. ... And a giraffe with a face on its tail. And a ghost robot that possesses appliances, and a network-hacking robot, and a flying fire-lizard, and a fat little gremlin-ghost named Hirochii.

[ Innocent! ]

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[usedlaserbeam]

[He was about to remark on the giraffe with the face on its tail, given that he's seen one of those with Akaya as well, but--what was that last one.]

Somehow, I'm entirely unsurprised.

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[futariniousama]

I've been meanin' to collect this cute little tentacle monster and this fat pink thing with a giant tongue.

[ A beat. ] Jesus, you could make a porno with those two....

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[usedlaserbeam]

The difficult part would be finding an audience to market it to, I'm sure.

[This conversation. What is it.]

But given the choice, I think I'd take the cat.

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[futariniousama]

Oh, you don't get the cat. That one's mine.

[ Just your standard, run-of-the-mill conversation at Rikkai. ]

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[usedlaserbeam]

And I'm sure she's the most-loved cat in all of Johto for it.

[It's a guess, of course; no one's used a pronoun other than "it" up until this point. But it's a guess that ought to get him an answer, one way or another.]

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[futariniousama]

[ Niou's sure it was a deliberate guess, intended to elicit an answer, so he at least lets that part slip. His own provocation is equally deliberate, leading them back to the original question without answering it. ]

Of course she is. Though Oshitari's got one, too, named Cassandra. Might could give us a run for our money, the way he fawns over her.

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[usedlaserbeam]

[And so they're back to names again--and the continued lack of the one belonging to Niou's cat.]

Do you think so? I can't imagine you'd let Oshitari-kun beat you in anything, Niou-kun.

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[futariniousama]

Oh, I don't. Trust me, if I get seriously worried, I'll kick it up a notch.

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[usedlaserbeam]

Then I'll look forward to being introduced to her sometime. Unless you have her with you now?

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[futariniousama]

Only always.

[ Unhesitating, Niou produces a Pokéball and tosses it off to the side. A Persian emerges, sleek and elegant, and she meowls loudly, immediately bounding to catch up with her trainer, who never stopped walking. She keeps pace with him, rubbing her head on his leg, and doesn't seem to notice Yagyuu immediately. ]