route_1065 | ouka 001 ⇒ people here are morons

Entry tags:

isaac mcdougal | fullmetal alchemist

ouka 001 ⇒ people here are morons

Who: Ouka and Isaac
Where: Route 35, close to Goldenrod
When: Thursday evening
Summary: Ouka tells Isaac about the stupid person she spoke to a few days ago
Rating: G
Log:

It's been two days since her conversation with that anonymous Team Rocket member. And Ouka's been a bit on edge since. Sure, she'd sounded confident over the 'Gear, but it was one thing to spout words, and a whole other thing to actually be doing anything about it.

And she sure as hell wasn't going to let this person think that she's just going to sit idly by and allow them to continue whatever they're doing. As such, she's spent every day training. But training outside of Goldenrod is starting to lose its appeal. And she really doesn't know a thing about this anonymous stranger.

It's creepy, but somehow she gets the feeling he knows her. Or at least, knows of her... how else would he be able to know that she's just recently arrived? She's training her newly evolved Gloom right now, and keeping Mamoru's Persian close by her person, just in case the level 100 Pokemon is needed.

And she's also called Isaac a little while ago, asking him if he'd meet her outside. The sun looks as though it's about to set, and she really doesn't want to be alone.

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Isaac doesn't like spending time in Goldenrod City. It's not as large as Central, but it's still a huge city with plenty of hiding spots. It would be easy enough to blend in there, but he'd really rather not spend any amount of time around a lot of other people. Goldenrod City seems to be full of trainers - probably because it is the biggest city in Johto (at least, it's the biggest he's seen). He's been perfectly content training outside, occasionally wandering through the city and up to the routes on the other side, but never straying too far. The next Gym is here, and he doesn't want to leave without obtaining the badge.

After all, what else is he supposed to do here?

At least, that was his thoughts on things prior to a message sent out a few days ago. He'd seen the first one - an anonymous member of Team Rocket had harmed a civilian - but he thought that had been taken care of. There are plenty of trainers here; surely someone would have taken this guy out.

But they didn't. Or if they did, a new one took his place. A member of Team Rocket sent out another text and pictures - this time attacking several women and stealing their Pokemon. He's not familiar with the Kimono Girls outside of what little he's heard, but just talking to this guy was enough to solidify just what Isaac needs to do here.

He needs to put a stop to Team Rocket. He needs to make up for what he did back home, and this is the best way to do it.

Ouka called him not long ago, asking to meet up. He should have sought her out earlier, but he figured that she was fine since she hadn't called him. He finally locates her in the outskirts of the city. Isaac doesn't have any of his Pokemon out, but he has his higher leveled ones with him at the moment.

"Hey." The greeting is simple enough and he slows down as he approaches. "What is it you wanted to talk about?"

She's glad to see a friendly face. It's mostly just been her and Tot here in Goldenrod, and she doesn't really get along with any of Mamoru's friends, even if they did know each other from back home.

And so, the moment he greets her, she's running over for a giant hug.

"Isaac-san! Have you been here long?" Pulling away, and giving him a small pout. "You should have told me when you arrived."

Her smile falters a bit at his question. It reminds her of exactly why she'd called him, and why she felt so unsafe remaining here. There's Tot, of course. But what could two girls do? Plus, she's still... unsure what to think of the other girl.

"Have you... seen what that organization -- that Team Rocket -- did recently?"

Isaac is a bit startled by the sudden hug, but he lets her hug on him, feeling quite awkward about the whole thing. It's been a long time since someone was this happy to see him. It feels nice and his expression relaxes into something closer to a smile.

"Sorry, I should have called. I've been here for a little while. I'm training to go up against the Gym Leader here." He awkwardly runs a hand back through his hair, avoiding eye contact for the time being.

But then Ouka comes to the main point and Isaac's frown returns. "You saw that too? Did you try to get in contact with him?" He's not sure just what to think of that; Ouka's certainly brave if she did, but on the other hand, he really doesn't want her putting herself in danger. He's not sure if she's been training her Pokemon quite as hard as he has, and even so he doesn't think he can defeat this member of Team Rocket on his own.

She's used to awkward, actually. But Ouka was never one to mind other people's personal spaces, so she sticks close by him regardless of the awkward. He'll just have to deal.

She nods, and takes her 'Gear out from her bag, scrolling through it to find the string of text messages.

"Yes, he was horribly rude and immature." Nevermind the fact that she'd been pretty rude and immature in return. But she doesn't think so, anyways. She hands the 'Gear to Isaac so he can read it.

"I don't think he had anything very well planned out."

He doesn't really mind having her in his personal space; Isaac has been out of direct human contact for quite awhile. Well, besides the NPCs, but they don't really count. It's nice to be able to talk to someone who doesn't say the same thing over and over again.

Isaac takes the Gear offered to him and examines it. His frown deepens the more he reads. This doesn't sound like the same guy at all. He's not only stooping to insulting Ouka right back, but he doesn't seem to have any real idea what he was doing here at all, blaming it on "orders" when the Rocket Isaac had talked to specifically said it wasn't orders.

"I think we talked to two different people."

He hands the Gear back and searches for his own, finally locating the conversation. Isaac holds out his Gear for Ouka to take.

"They don't sound the same at all. The biggest issue I'm having is the fact that one said it was orders, while the other said it wasn't. There must have been two of them."

That's... not something he really wants to consider. There were two people this horrible? One of them must have given the other orders, then. But why? What the hell was the point?

She tucks her 'Gear back into her pocket, and takes his. A quick read-through proves that... no, this doesn't sound like the same person at all. At least Isaac's seemed way more mature. And a little bit more frightening.

... She's almost kind of glad she got the one she did, actually.

"Maybe mine was taking orders from yours." She frowns, handing Isaac back his 'Gear. This makes things a lot more complicated. And a bit more scary.

"This organization is mostly made up of just petty thefts, isn't it?" She'd never have thought they'd go to this level just for thefts though.

"That's what I thought. But if they're attacking well-known figures here in Johto, they must be looking for something else. It could just be as a way to spread fear about their organization but..."

But something about that doesn't seem right. Why would they go after a whole group of people? They could have got a Gym Leader alone and taken them down. Wouldn't that have spread the message easier, while proving that they're stronger?

"I don't know what they're trying to do. But someone has to stop them."

"They were strong enough to overwhelm a group. From what I've heard, those girls were also Pokemon trainers, too. So... it's possible this was a group effort, even."

She nods in agreement at Isaac's words. "Yes, they need to be stopped."

The way those girls had been brutalized, though. She shudders at the memory of those photos. How heartless it had been reminds her of something in her past. And it's not really something she cares to remember. Ouka falls silent, trying to push those memories from her mind. It isn't possible that something like that would happen here, is it...?

"I'm sure there are people here who are looking to take care of it. We can't be the only ones who want them stopped."

Isaac falls silent though. What if the other people who want to stop them can't stand up against them? He knows he's going to step in at some point, but right now he's not strong enough. He has to be able to rely on his Pokemon and he still doesn't. They're not strong enough.

Ouka's silence is troubling. "Is something wrong?" A pause. Of course something's wrong; those girls were just attacked. "...Is anything else wrong, I guess?"

"N-no... I just... the attack reminded me of something. From home. A little while before I came here, Omi-kun and I were... taken. And these people set a bunch of us out into the woods and hunted us."

"It's just... people are so horrible, sometimes." She's frustrated. It's very clear that she's frustrated. Frustrated, and scared. She doesn't want anything like that to happen again. And right now, she's not sure she can trust that Team Rocket wouldn't come up with something like that.

But such things are in the past. It's probably more useful to focus on things in the present. "But if they're such a big organization, how do we stop them? We don't even know how many people there are in the organization... Or what they want."

Isaac is silent, taking that in. Did she come here directly after that? Is she dead back home? He runs a hand through his hair, expression troubled. "I'm sorry to hear that. It's a shame that happened." But there's nothing that can be done about it now.

"Yeah, people really can be horrible." He drops his gaze to the grass, expression turning solemn very quickly. Yes, he knows that first-hand. He's a horrible person. But now isn't the time to dwell on that either, and Isaac glances back at Ouka.

"I'm sure there are plenty of people willing to work together to stop them. If they've got a group, fine. I'm sure we can form one of our own. We'll work together to stop them and make sure they don't pull anything like this again."

Thankfully, she didn't die from that. Omi had been the one who'd saved her from it all, though Ouka really isn't clear on the details of how it all happened.

"I don't really know anyone here, though. Just Tot-san. And I guess Youji-san and Ken-san too, but... we don't really get along." She feels horribly useless in this situation. "The man that pays for our housing might be willing to help, though. I've never met him, but Tot-san says he's a good person." What was his name again...? "Hughes-san?" It was something not-Japanese.

She shrugs a little at that. "But I'm sure we could spread the word, somehow. Others must be just as outraged at how horrible those people are."

"Hughes?" What a small world! "He's from Amestris; where I'm from. I'm sure he'd be willing to help. He's a good guy." That said, that's... only a few people. Isaac doesn't know very many people either - at least, not very many people he'd trust enough to help in this situation. "I can ask a few people from my world. Mustang and Armstrong would probably help. Maybe..."

He trails off there and shakes his head. Hell no, he's not going to Kimblee for help with something again. He was turned down flat last time; he's not risking that humiliation again. "I'm sure there's something we can do. It's probably better not to broadcast to the entire network though - there must be Team Rocket members monitoring it."

That's a horrible realization. Everything they do or say on the Gear could be watched closely by Team Rocket. Isaac frowns. "It might be best to avoid using the Gear as much as possible." He'll certainly be avoiding it. Texting is probably safe enough, but anything else...

"Oh! Well, you can ask him, then." She's already kind of taking his money and freeloading off of him, so asking him for this as well would be kind of awkward. That and the fact that she'd never actually met the man. Just heard about him from Tot.

"Why? Do you think they're monitoring our conversations too?" She shudders at the thought, and can't help but take a look around them, just to make sure nobody else is watching them from the shadows. Ouka doesn't see anything, but sidles up closer to Isaac, just in case.

"How do we know, though... who's Team Rocket, and who's, I don't know... Spies?"

"I don't know. They could be." Isaac follows her lead, glancing around them. He's used to being paranoid like this - nothing has really changed since he died in Amestris. All the same, he's currently standing out here with a girl who more likely than not would need protection. He's used to taking care of himself and only himself. Having that kind of pressure on him is terrifying.

"I don't know. I don't know much about Team Rocket. I guess the first thing to do is learn more about them. Maybe there's some way we can identify who's in the organization. Other than the outfits, I mean."

She can take care of herself, actually. But it's nice to know that someone is there.

"Well, there's that... Cobra Commander. The one that threatened to gas the Pokemon Academy and then gloated about how nobody could catch him." She frowns, remembering that conversation as well. It hadn't ended all that well. Are all Team Rocket members smug and immature?

"So really, we should look for anyone that is rude and immature." ... Other than herself, of course.

Rude and immature, huh? That... could probably describe a lot of people here. "I think they're probably older; at least the one I was talking to was. He seemed pretty cruel too - that shouldn't be that hard to spot."

But there are a lot of people in Johto. Who knows just how many of them are Rockets? "How do people join Team Rocket anyway? They must be approached somehow. Maybe it would be best if someone worked from the inside to get information for awhile."

...He really doesn't like the idea of working for an organization like that, but Isaac's done worse. A lot worse.

~~He should try talking to Hughes-san.~~

"I don't know, but recruitment must be hushed, because I've never heard anything about it. I wonder how they choose who gets to join and who doesn't..."

She'd volunteer to be the mole, but she's already verbally assaulted two Team Rocket members. "But it'd probably be good to figure out more about the organization before we do anything."

Ouka's just a spoiled little girl. She's had no experience with anything remotely similar to this. So she's really just reacting based off of what she's seen on crime shows and mystery novels. But at least she gets points for trying.

"That's a good question. Someone must know, but figuring out who's in the organization is probably going to be easier than actually joining it."

Isaac folds his arms. He doesn't like this at all. The fact that someone in Team Rocket would threaten Ouka - a child - isn't sitting well with him at all. It's possible they didn't know who she was, or haven't seen her face, but they implied that they did know of her at the very least. It's troubling.

"We'll figure this out. Don't worry."

"We could send someone to join it and infiltrate from the inside, right?"

... Yes... she is letting how sheltered she is show just a little bit. (Just a bit...) But Ouka is rather excited about her own plan regardless. It couldn't possibly fail; works all the time im the movies, and it sounds like it'd be a good plan.

She pauses, and then glances up at Isaac. "Can I stay with you?" It's less of a question than a statement, actually. Once Ouka's made up her mind about something, she's pretty much not taking no for an answer.

~~Don't worry, Isaac... Mamoru is going to show up in a week or two...~~

"Yeah, that's what I'm thinking. It could be really difficult, but I'm sure we can find someone who would be good at it."

Don't worry Ouka, Isaac is ridiculously idealistic and this sort of thing would totally work! It was what Mustang was doing back in Amestris, after all!

The question comes out of nowhere and Isaac stares blankly at Ouka for a moment ~~while his whole brain cries~~. "That's... You're probably better off staying in town with Hughes. I'm..." Isaac glances over his shoulder and then shrugs. "I haven't been staying in town." He doesn't offer an explanation as to why - but it should be obvious that staying with him is kind of a horrible idea. Unless Ouka really likes sleeping outdoors.

She dislikes sleeping outdoors. But she still does have that nifty tent that Ken ~~let her borrow~~ gave to her when she first arrived, and that's not actually as bad as she'd thought it would be.

Plus, she doesn't know this 'Hughes' person, and she's not sure she feels safe around him, even if Tot does think highly of him. "He's got Tot-san to take care of, too." She pauses, and then shoots Isaac an intimidating glare. "Do you not want me around?"

... It would be wise for him to choose his words carefully.

...How does he always get himself into situations like this? Say the wrong thing and suddenly he's risking pissing off the wrong person.

This normally only happens when he's dating though...

"No, that's not it. I just figured it would be easier to stay in town. I mean, that's where you've been staying, right?"

Ouka, you're pretty intimidating.

You don't get your way by being passive. She's had to fight for what she has, and so Ouka's not afraid to be ~~a little~~ aggressive.

"Right, but... that wouldn't exactly help me fight against Team Rocket, would it?"

But he'll need to defeat the Gym Leader here, so it isn't like this is a decision that needs to be made right now. Not that Ouka hasn't already decided for him, regardless.

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ouka 001 ⇒ people here are morons

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