[PRP] Let's Pretend Nothing's Wrong

[lZAYA ORlHARA]

By the time Izaya had returned to base, he was spent. Nevertheless, he marched himself down to the Tech level in search of his partner, whom he wanted to check up on. They had a great deal to discuss, a lot of it urgent. He wasn't even sure he wanted to disclose such information with the higher-ups before he had spoken to Faleen.

Although he knew this was a trying time for the agent, the grunt didn't trust anyone else just then. She was usually the one who knew what to do and the most easy person to talk to when he had something important to discuss. She would believe him with no questions asked because he knew that she knew that he could behave when things were serious. And things were indeed serious.

"Faleen-chaaan," he called wearily throughout the cooridors, not bothering to lower his voice due to the late hour or the distance between himself and her work station. Part of it was because he wanted to make sure his voice box and wind pipe were still working after Luke had so very nearly crushed it. "Faleen-chan, are you still awake~?" Tired as he was, his typical, over-familiar manner of speaking remained in-tact.  

[Blood_Goddess]

Izaya's assumption as to where the best place to look for Faleen would be was in fact, very correct.
thought the distant voice drifting in from the lab doors went unnoticed the first couple of times, There was a point when the dark blond head inclined up slightly from her work, a soft frown set on her face as she listened, wondering if she was hearing things before she heard it again.

No mistaking, that was her partner alright.

Without a word to call back, Faleen swiveled in her seat, setting her tools down on the table so that she could face the door, arms draped along the arm rests of the chair.
He would find his way into the lab eventually, for whatever reasons he was seeking her at this late hour.

Faleen had not been in the least bit social for the last few days, if she wasn't working, then she was back at her room, sleeping. She rarely talked to anyone unless it was work related, drawing herself into a kind of hyper focused state for most of the day.  

[lZAYA ORlHARA]

Though he knew he probably shouldn't have, Faleen's partner had taken the oppertunity of giving the woman space and used it to his advantage, going to investigate the trainers. Of course that hadn't ended up so well given the fact that he had discovered one or more of them knew his identity as a Rocket, but hey, better finding out sooner than later. At least he had been forewarned and it was his obligation to pass it on to his superior agent.

He hesitated. That would probably mean giving up his freedom for who knew how long. "Hehe...konnichiwa," he greeted uneasily. "Please pardon me for intruding on your very important work time," the grunt apologized, knowing full well how much it meant to her in her state of silent grieving. That's what people like her did - threw themselves into their work so they wouldn't have to think about anything else. "...but I think it would do you some good to step away from that for a bit. Think you could possibly tear yourself away from your terribly imporant projects for your humble grunt of a partner?"  

[Blood_Goddess]

Her eyebrows arched when Izaya came into the lab, like she expected him too, watching him with a soft "Hello. Izaya."
As he stepped in though, her brow furrowed, hazel eyes scanning over him and the state he seemed to be in. This was a bit unusual really, coming to her like this and asking for some of her time.

Though she was initially inclined to get back to work, the agent lingered in her seat for a few seconds, eying Izaya as he spoke and asked her to come with him.
She might have done just that, really not wanting to leave the safety of her project,
"I don't see why not." She sighed after a moment, pushing herself to her feet, though she looked up at him as she stepped over, a soft frown on her face "I am a little curious as to what this is about, you don't normally come down here to pull me away, Has something happened?"  

[lZAYA ORlHARA]

"As a matter of fact, something has," the disheveled Rocket answered, glancing at Faleen's work to avoid her hazel eyes. He was pretty certain that there were still marks around his neck from where Luke's hands had been, but he'd done his best to avoid bringing attention to them by pulling up his hood and zipping up his parka. He'd been outside a while and it was a bit chilly when night fell in the desert, after all.

There was a lot of information he felt his partner needed to know, but the fact that a trainer had almost strangled him was not part of it. "As you've probably heard by now, Agent Asch is dead," Izaya said bluntly, all former pretense dissolved into something serious and urgent. "Unfortunately, it seems his allegiance didn't lie comepletely with Team Rocket before he passed on. He gave the trainers some information on us."  

[Blood_Goddess]

The soft frown on her face did not alter as she stepped up to Izaya, placing her arm on either side of her body as she listened to him, not knowing what to expect when he said that something had happened.

It was not news that Asch was dead, Her, with the rest of the base had heard about it, though the details were very scarce.
Asch was a good, competent Agent, Faleen could not have even fathomed how he could have died, and without a clear purpose, at least she wasn't aware of one. It had hit hard, He was a great part of the team.
Her frown deepened when it was brought up again, but she nodded without saying anything.

It wasn't until her partner had continued that Faleen blinked, her eyes narrowing just barely at this news.
"... Are you talking about his brother?" She asked in a rather dry tone. "What kind of information did he give them?"  

[lZAYA ORlHARA]

"So then you know of Luke Fon Fabre," the grunt acknowledged. "Yes, his brother. The very one he died for. But the main issue we have right now is what he told Luke while he still could. I'm not sure just how much else he knows, but at the very least, Asch told them I was a Rocket." He crossed his arms indignantly. "I knew he hated me, but I didn't think he'd be so spiteful as to go and do that."

It seemed like it was a bigger impediment to the team than to Izaya directly, but perhaps the red-head's primary reason had been to warn and protect the brother whose life he died saving rather than to cause his minor enemies inconveniences from beyond the grave. That seemed a little too petty and childish to be the main reason, even for Asch.

"Whatever the reason, I doubt they can do much with that information as long as I lay low. The problem is what we don't know he told Luke." He looked to her. "As my partner and superior, I realized I was obligated to tell you of this information as soon as I learned it. I know you're in a rather...critical situation at the moment, but I guessed if anyone knew what we should do about it, it would be you. Tell the higher-ups, leave it alone, act on it - it's your call."  

[Blood_Goddess]

At his acknowledgment Faleen simply gave a single nod. She in fact did know of Luke, she recalled actually meeting him once close to two years ago... One of Rosie's friends.
Her lips tightened lightly but she continued to listen to Izaya as he explained a far more troubling situation.
the agent stood there in silence for several moments after Izaya had explained his thoughts, and passed the ball onto her.

Faleen knew that Asch had an intense dislike for Izaya, she had witnessed it first hand, and it wasn't without reason... But she had a hard time believing that he would do anything to jeopardize Team Rocket. Asch was loyal.
The thought crossed her mind that maybe Izaya was toying with her... He did seem to do that, though she couldn't distinctly recall a time he had ever done that with her, and absolutely not on a subject like this.
Still, she watched him closely for a few seconds before she spoke, eyes drifting over his hood a couple of times.

"Laying low is a good idea for now, until we find out what else this Luke might know..." She considered it for another moment, her eyes narrowing. "We should note this, I am going to ask that you submit a report with what you found out. as for what else Luke might know." Another hesitant pause "Regardless, this should be looked into... I might have an idea if how to do that."  

[lZAYA ORlHARA]

There was an almost imperceptible twitch at the corner of the grunt's mouth, but other than that, all he did was simply nod in agreement with Faleen's suggestion concerning the matter of laying low. Yeah, he knew how to lay low and could do so...but he never really enjoyed the idea of having to. So much for having just finished his disciplinary term of confinement to the base.

"Consider it done," he told her. But the second part of her statement gave him pause. "...Oh?" Izaya raised a brow. "And that would be...?"  

[Blood_Goddess]

He was being very understanding about this, she knew he didn't like being cooped up at all, enjoying what freedoms he got, but this was surprising.
Again she glanced over him, wondering for a moment where this came from, and why he of anyone was acting so serious about this...
Why was his hood up? What was Izaya doing?

When he questioned her about what she was thinking she took a couple of seconds to consider it herself, then looked up at her partner.
"My younger sister," She said with a pause "She is friends with Luke, I might be able to talk to her, or see if she, or even if i can get close to him and see if they know anything else somehow." She furrowed her brow, considering how she might go about it... though she was confident she could figure it out. "For all either of them know i'm a trainer for the League in another region anyway." Faleen frowned "Oh their side so to speak."

Why would Rosie have reason to doubt her own sister after all.

"... Izaya, why are you bundled up like that?" Faleen said after a pause, seeming to say what was on her mind since the grunt had walked into the room.  

[lZAYA ORlHARA]

The grunt began to grown nervous at the amount of time Faleen was silent and seemed to be thinking. He did his best to retain his outward composure, however, and patiently listened to what she had to say when she spoke again.

"...You keep in contact with her?" Izaya asked, slightly surprised by the mention of Rosie. He might have been envious of the suggestion that he would have to stay out of sight while Faleen went out into the world but for the fact that he knew his partner probably disliked leaving the base at least as much as he disliked being confined to it.

"That's a plausible-enough plan in theory," the grunt agreed, "but, if you'll pardon my asking...are you sure you're in a right state of mind at the moment to go mingling with trainers, particularly your sister?" He may not have known the exact relationship between the two, but Izaya had gotten enough of an impression to guess it wasn't much better than Asch's and Luke's had been before Asch had died - at least not from Faleen's perspective.

"Not that you aren't adept or capable, Agent," he interjected, "but to suggest that you go undercover out in the field to interact with our potential enemies at a very critical time during a difficult situation...isn't that a little like asking me to make a robot from scratch to disarm a time bomb?"

Uh oh. She had noticed. Hesitation. "Ah, this?" he asked, tugging a little on the fur trim of his hood. He pulled the parka tighter around him as if cold. "When I went out to do some investigating, it was pretty chilly. You know how deserts are - burning by day, freezing by night. I guess I haven't yet adjusted to the indoor temperature."  

[Blood_Goddess]

Faleen's lips thinned a little at Izaya's question about her keeping in contact with Rosie, Though she wasn't at all surprised that he knew about Rosie, and probably the kinda of relationship they had.
"Sometimes, yes." She admitted, "It wouldn't look good if I stopped communicating completely, its easier to just feed her lies so I can keep that resource."

When Izaya started to ask about her state of mind, and dancing around the 'critical time' Faleen's face flushed red, a soft frown tugging at the corners of her lips, though when she spoke it was level and professionally reassuring "Izaya, I know there have been some setbacks, but I can assure you its hardly going to impede my judgment or my ability for this job, or any job." She knew exactly what he was talking about, though she refrained from thinking about Umbreon at this point in time.
"Thank you for your concern, but we'll be able to handle this fine. Besides, this isn't exactly a stranger, this is my sister." She pointed out.

Her frown only furthered when Izaya not only clearly lied, but seemed a bit nervous about the question at first as well, She wasn't buying that. "Izaya." She repeated,  

[lZAYA ORlHARA]

"That never seemed to stop Frost-chan, and I had always been under the impression that you two were somewhat alike socially," he commented, though it seemed more of a casual afterthought than anything. "Smart, though, keeping open your 'resource'."

His tone combined with a little smile implied that Faleen might have kept in touch with her sister for more personal reasons besides as a resource. He didn't bother to dwell on the matter, though, when she chose to move on to more pressing issues.

When Izaya saw the abrupt change in Faleen's expression, inwardly his shock and concern erupted. Her level voice was reassuring enough, but the human observer knew better than to assume his partner was her usual self. Not so long as he had known her had he seen her reveal such a drastic change in emotion; not even when she'd first seen Umbreon's lifeless body if he remembered right.

"...It's because this is your sister and not a stranger that I'm worried," the grunt confessed, his slight smile turning grim. "Maybe you don't spend a lot of time around people, but if there's one thing I know about them, it's that humans react strongest when someone they know is involved. Particularly blood relations - people they feel obligated to care about in some way, shape, or form." He gestured with a hand. "Take Agent Asch, for example. He killed himself and betrayed Team Rocket for his brother - a man whom he supposedly hated."

Whether or not Izaya was ranting because of his love of the topic, its relevance to the problem, or his mere attempt at distracting the agent, it seemed to be in vain. Her pressing him with the simple provocation of his name caused the slender man to sigh and hold up his palms in surrender.

"It's nothing much. I didn't want to distract you from the real trouble we have to deal with right now. They're just a few minor injuries I got from a scuffle with Lukey-chan and his pal." He turned to go, gesturing for her to follow. "Nothing you haven't known yourself before. Come on, let's go somewhere else so we can get this plan of yours in motion. This place is so gloomy."  

[Blood_Goddess]

"Socially similar to Agent Frost?" Faleen repeated "Frost is certainly a refined gentleman, but I would not compare our social so closely I don't thing. For one, if I was more similar to Frost then I would probably have a different opinion of you."
She pointed out.
Having full respect for frost, and while she saw at least a part of where Izaya was coming from, she didn't exactly agree.

There was still use in having an unsuspecting family and their connections that had no idea that she was a Rocket, and she fully intended to keep it that way.

Faleen listened as Izaya elaborated on his worries about the situation a little more, giving Faleen a clear understanding of what he meant, though Faleen's frown didn't fade, shaking her head lightly.
"I can assure you, there isn't anything to worry about, and using Asch as a comparison for whatever bond you think I hold with my family might be a very poor choice. I do not have a remote inkling of care for anyone tied to my blood or the people that are associated with them." She said as plainly as before, though with what might be hinted as a touch of bitterness.
"Rosie is the means of getting information we want from Luke. It is a job. One that I am qualified for. Nothing more, nothing less. Family does not, and will not, mean anything to me."
She folded her hands behind her back "Regardless I will have you at a call away if i need advice or back up anyway, so this is going to be a simple job."

Faleen's eyes narrowed softly when Izaya once again danced around her desire for an explanation, while giving her quite a good hint as to what might have happened.
a scuffle with Luke and another person. She felt a twinge of anger somewhere in her chest, and it wasn't from Izaya calling the lab gloomy.
Saying nothing at first, Faleen took a step forward, her hand shooting out from behind her back to take a hold of Izaya's arm, effectively attempting to stop him from going anywhere.
"...Show me." She added in a low serious voice.  

[lZAYA ORlHARA]

"What are you talking about~?" Grunt Nakura mused. "Frosty-chan loves me!" He grinned at her for three seconds. Then his facade dropped like a curtain. "...Okay, so maybe he doesn't care for me all that much, but if he's said anything to you about his opinion of me, I haven't been privy to that information. As far as I'm aware, there's no proof he despises me any more than the next person, either." The informant chuckled and rolled his eyes. "He may be considered 'refined' depending on your tastes, but I think the term 'gentleman' is stretching it. A lot. You have to know etiquette for that."

"That's what I mean by what you two have in common," he elaborated. "Both of you are fairly skilled at seeming indifferent to others. Whether or not it's your intention and whether or not you think better or worse of someone, it's hard to tell because both of you seem to treat most other human beings with an equal amount of apathy. That makes you both very good at hiding your emotions, motives, and personal opinions of others while adding to your mysterious allure."

The grunt gestured vaguely. "However, from what I've observed, neither of you seem to have much social etiquette - him less so than you, who at least has some amount of tact - which is why I'm thinking you might stick out like a sore thumb in public society." Sighing, he added, "If you noticed, Alia may have been of a serious nature like you and Frost; engrossed in her work and more intimate with her job, pokemon, and things than with other people. But at least she could act normal enough as an undercover agent of our intel-gathering division."

Izaya realized his words may have sounded insulting to the average person, but he believed his agent partner to know better than to take offense to it. He felt she was professional enough to understand it as the constructive criticism it was meant as and as his way of expressing the sources of his concerns. It was for this reason he appreciated that Faleen was not like yours usual emotional female one might encounter anywhere else. Though she was in a situation that would have been emotionally trying for anyone, he was confident in her mental strength for the time being, even with what else he had to say and the subject he had yet to delve into.

Retaining a serious, nearly unemotional demeanor, Izaya went on. "You may have some advantage with your sister, since there's the fact that you two are family. Rosie might think she knows you well enough to trust you despite the time you've been apart," he reasoned. "But what about the rest of the trainers? They'll be paranoid, especially with how many interactions we've had with them and the number of their pokemon we've stolen."

"With all due respect, agent...please give this some more thought." He looked her in her hazel eyes. "You said you don't care about her, Faleen-chan. But to feel strongly toward someone - whether it's a positive or negative feeling - isn't that caring? Isn't that why they say that there's a thin line between love and hate? It's not as if you can ignore her existence, can you? Similar to how you can't ignore even controlled prisoner Lance, if I'm not mistaken."

He quickly moved on, giving no indication of how much or little he knew of Faleen's recent encounter with the former pokemon champion, if anything at all. "While you can calmly state right now what you know about Rosie being just a means of getting what we need, just being a tool...do you really think those words will retain their rigidity and that you'll be able to stick to that practical logic in the face of full-force feelings?" He tilted his head, regarding her but not waiting for a verbal response. It was the type of question he just seemed to want her to think about. "Because if that's so, then maybe you really aren't human."

Some of his usual whimsy returned to his tone. "Whatever your opinion on the matter, I'd like to humbly offer to accompany you in your endeavors." He made a dramatic and mocking bow before righting himself and continuing less humorously, "In all the time I've known you, Faleen-chan, you've been astonishingly skilled with controlling your emotions, so I'll trust your instincts and judgement on this out of my respect for you. All I ask in return is that out of respect for my instincts and judgement, you let me come with you in case anything goes wrong. It may sound silly, but who knows? I just might be able to keep you from doing something you'll regret."

"Because even with your reign on your feelings, it's that kind of unnatural ability that might cause the trainers to suspect something," the grunt warned. "They might not trust me any more than they trust you, but at least I might be able to give you some tips on how to act natural."

He spread his arms jovially. "I won't deny this is partly because I hate being cooped up at base, especially while knowing there's exciting stuff going on elsewhere and not being able to watch. But since I've had experience from before joining this organization, I also know how to keep a low profile even when out and about. I'm not a part of our information-gathering department for no reason." Izaya gave her a winning smile. "And isn't this what partners do? Look out for one another?"

Speaking of, it seemed like she wasn't going to let him get off that easily after all. The narrowing of her eyes was a pretty clear indication already, but he was caught off-guard by her sudden grip on his arm. It seemed that his 'good hint' as to what might have happened wasn't good enough for Faleen. The grunt's smile wavered. Was this the behavior of a concerned, frustrated partner, or a woman whose steel mask was breaking...?

"Eh? Suddenly getting kind of intimate, aren't we?" he jested. "I've been man-handled by a good number of men, but I didn't expect it from you. Faleen-chan."

While he was well aware that she wasn't in a mood to be joked with, this was his usual way of dealing with uncertainty and other unwanted emotions of his. However, it occurred to Izaya that the agent could have just as easily pulled down his hood without his permission without having suffered any repercussions from anyone. In fact, as his superior and partner, she was probably expected to uncover anything a suspicious individual such as himself might have been hiding. Despite all that, though, she had chosen to respect (if not his personal space, which he never seemed to bother with anyway,) his privacy. This impressed him and he gave in without much more of a fight.

"...Well, since you asked so nicely," he answered her serious demand, "and because you didn't rip off my hood like some tantrum-throwing individuals..." With a sigh, the black-haired man pulled down his parka hood and unzipped it, revealing the red marks on his skin where Luke's hands had been impressioned from the strangling. "Like I said, nothing you haven't experienced yourself. It's not a big deal, really. Shall we get a move on?"