route_1065 | a satisfying reunion

Who:

Kyosuke Kiryu
Where: Violet City
When: Evening of February 19th
Summary: The long-awaited reunion of Team Satisfaction! Which includes BROTHERLY BONDING and DRAMA afterwards. Do not expect cherishing memories. ~~Expect bloodshed.~~
Rating: S for Satisfactory.
Log:

The last few months of Crow's life had been eventful. Scratch that, they had been full of batshit crazy things he had never expected to happen back home, much less in Johto. So wouldn't a perfect solution to all his life problems be a meeting an old friend?

... Probably so, if only the said friend wasn't currently a slightly insane servant of a Wicked God.

Crow sighed heavily, leaving the Violet City's PokeCenter for a stroll, aware that he would bump into Kiryu sooner or later. He'd always been good at looking at the bright side of whatever situation he was in; the only one he'd found so far was that, this being Johto, the residents of Violet weren't going to be sacrificed to Ccapac Apu when they finally met. Sadly, that also meant Crow had absolutely no idea what to expect of Kiryu and in all honesty, wasn't in a hurry to find that out. He didn't even have the patience needed to deal with the former team leader like that!

At times like this, he kind of wished Yuusei and Jack - yes, even Jack - were still here. Not that it would make things any easier, but Crow would definitely feel better with them around.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

After the initial shock and confusion had finally worn off, or at least decreased to manageable levels, Yuusei and Jack had quickly come to the conclusion that, maybe, they'd have a much greater chance of figuring out just what was going on if they took the obvious path before them. The fact of the matter was that they were stuck here, there was no sign of any of the others just yet, and - as however-many people Yuusei questioned along the way had been quick to point out to him - what else could they do? It hadn't been an easy thing to accept, especially given how dire the circumstances were back home with Ark Cradle's descent, but their options were limited. They had to use what they'd been given, press forward, and hope.

It hadn't seemed like a terribly difficult proposition, really, but it was definitely counter-intuitive -- because how did training these animals to fight and earning badges for the effort relate to anything? That had been the first among Jack's ever-increasing litany of complaints, and although Yuusei agreed, it was pretty much inarguable. The mechanics of battling had seemed relatively simple in theory, and while the Pokemon Jack had been given seemed to take to it naturally, Yuusei's own-- well. He figured there had to be something he wasn't doing right, so Yuusei had agreed with Jack's insistence that heading immediately for the closest possible gym was their best bet.

Nearly two weeks of travel (and waiting out snowstorms) later, and they'd finally made it to the Violet City gym, only to discover that Falkner had them completely outclassed. Yuusei hadn't expected to defeat him easily, but it would definitely take time to get anywhere near his level. Regardless of how things worked here, time wasn't something Yuusei was entirely sure they had to spare. Daunting though it may have been, in his mind, coming all this way and having to reassess their approach wasn't inherently a bad thing. Convincing Jack of the same was another matter.

"It wasn't a waste," he said, voice firm, drawing his jacket closed as they stepped out into the open air. The cold had been a constant since their arrival, and although Yuusei was getting used to it, it was always a bit of a shock after being indoors. "We've seen what he's capable of. This way, he can't surprise us later." Fighting blind would have only gotten their Pokemon injured needlessly, after all.

Hmph. There was something wrong about seeing an opponent's strategy beforehand and planning afterward. But Yuusei had a point, these Pokémon were living, breathing creatures. Going into something completely unprepared would get them hurt. That wasn't something Jack was going to do or be a part of; he had come along way since being that kind of person.

"We'll travel until we're ready to face him and the other leaders." Jack was still feeling obstinate about the whole situation, his demeanor and voice reflected that.

It was completely logical to Jack that they face all of the gym leaders in one go. It would take so much less time, and the sooner that was over with the sooner they could go home and stop Neo-Domino City from utter destruction.

Since it was too late to start traveling again tonight, Jack headed towards the Pokémon Center.

There weren't many people around at this hour, but Crow wasn't really paying attention to them, too busy thinking about whatever was on the minds of duelists-turned-trainers in winter evenings. He figured he might pay Falkner a visit while in Violet, so he turned and headed to the gym, hoping the leader would spare him the talk on how awesome his father was.

In the meantime, two figures appeared on the horizon and actually managed to catch his attention. Mostly because they looked familiar. So very familiar.

Crow stood shock-still in place, his eyes widening and jaw dropping. There were only about three possible explanations he could come up with: first, he somehow went back home. Which was out of question, seeing as the buildings around still looked tiny compared to Neo Domino. Two, he had been much more tired with the journey from Ecruteak than he'd suspected and fell asleep outside and was dreaming now. Still impossible, a quick pinch on his cheek proved that. And the last option -- the most possible one, probably -- he finally went nuts and was having hallucinations. Wouldn't be his first time, after all.

Well, one way to find out.

He raced towards the two, only stopping right in front of them, desperately trying to catch his breath. Then he opened his mouth to say something. And closed it. And opened it again. And closed it again, all of which must have looked incredibly silly, but heck if Crow gave a damn at the moment.

"What the hell are you two doing here?!"

That was probably the most awesome way to greet his best friends Crow could come up with.

Yuusei nodded, knowing it was as much of a concession as Jack was going to make on the issue, and acknowledging that as the best course of action under the circumstances. As he fell into step beside him, his mind strayed to what all he could accomplish before they set off for the next city. There was no point in staying longer than they absolutely needed to, but it was worth asking around just in case any of their friends had come through already. There was also the matter of supplies; although he'd never been as attentive to that as Crow typically was, Yuusei figured that they'd run out of money soon enough. He'd have to do something about that, too.

Lost in thought, Yuusei was a little late hearing someone running towards him, and it took him a few seconds to properly register who it was. He was relieved to see Crow at least looked all right, if extremely agitated, but before he could say anything-- well. That reaction wasn't at all what he expected. "... we've been looking for everyone," he said, after an awkward silence, because he couldn't really answer that question properly. "What's going on?"

"Hmph. Why are you acting surprised? Of course we're here!"

Jack didn't say it, he didn't have to; the implied insult was still there. He wanted to mention something about how he was the one who was going to beat all the gym leaders to return them home, but the way Crow was acting towards them... It was almost like he didn't expect to find them. Odd.

"Looking for everyone? Of course you're here?" Crow repeated, his voice dangerously bordering astonished and pissed off now. Which, not surprisingly to anyone who knew Crow, led to him using some over-the-top unnecessary hand gestures that included pointing at their faces, flailing and throwing his fists in the air. Not that his complicated body language would be any hint in figuring out what he was so worked up about.

"You want to tell me you've been here all this time and not even bothered to let me know?!" He practically yelled at them in an accusing tone, apparently ignoring his friends' confusion. "Is it so goddamn hard to make a single call?!"

Of course, he was happy and relieved to see them. It was just the fact they hadn't found the time to announce their presence that unnerved him so.

There was another there, one unseen and unheard, who was watching the reunion with a disdainful glare. Of course, Yuusei and Jack would return. Kiryu had always figured they would (they always turned up like cockroaches). And of course Crow would meet with them, and not bother with the pretense of being a friend to him.

Even if it was revealed to him that Crow didn't know ahead of time the two were in Violet, Kiryu's crazed mind had already convinced itself that the opposite had to be the truth. After all, Crow had been the first to leave, the first to be dissatisfied with their friendship, the first one willing to throw it away. Well. He didn't have his god with him, but he was more than determined to show his former friends - as they clearly were showing themselves to be - how foolish their decision had been.

With that, a Snover suddenly sprang from nowhere, right out of the bushes, its shadow growing on top of Yuusei as it began to pepper the air around him with a Powder Snow.

a satisfying reunion

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