[FIN] Between a Rocket and a Hard Place

[lZAYA ORlHARA]

Izaya knew he probably shouldn't have been out...but he needed some time to think about recent events. Sometime alone off-base. He knew he couldn't afford to leave his partner alone for long - who knew what she'd do locked up in herself after her pokemon's death - but being confined to one place for too long just didn't sit well with the informer.

There was also the fact that Asch had told his twin brother about him being a Rocket. While there was still no definitive proof on that, he couldn't put it past Luke and his friends to have reported it to the police, which could potentially warrent an investigation. As someone who had dabbled quite drastically in underground business with the mafia and gangs, Izaya liked to think that he knew a thing or two about avoiding police suspicioun. He'd certainly managed to pin the blame on Shizuo enough times.

Still, this matter was serious and involved more than just himself. If the criminal organization were to have found out about his little escapade into Camphoreon City while the knowledge of him being a Rocket was out, he could have been demoted, thrown in the bring, or worse. This was why, although confident in his abilities, he needed to be back soon. This was his last taste of some fresh air before being confined to the building in the middle of a desert for an indefinite amount of time.

He strolled about with his hands in his pockets, his hoodie up to hide his face. That night he wore his long coat as opposed to his usual parka; it was less recognizable to those who were familiar with the sight of him. However, he didn't expect too many trainers to be out and about so late. Everyone knew the city wasn't a good place to be out once the sky got dark.  

[Tori Honoo]

Dove, having risen early in the morning, now found herself sitting outside a small cafe inside the main of the city, Lovey in her lap and a cup of tea on the table as she scanned over the words of her journal, pen in hand, under the soft glow of the tiny lanterns strung along the building. She stifled a yawn as she dotted a few i's and dated the next page, moving back in her chair to relax a little further, finally caught up on her writings, except for today's entry.

For a moment, she glanced up, determined to find something new to write, anything to set a contrast between her last entry and now. Though only little progress had been made in the way of finding friends, the terrors had seemed to stop for now, and her mood was finally mellowing. With the day gone by successfully, now seemed to be the perfect time to record her thoughts, as she rested and did her best to unwind after the days activities.

The eevee in her lap watched the streets, offering a small confused sound as a man in a long coat came strolling down the streets. She, of course, had a coat of fur, and only extreme temperatures bothered her to any full extent, but her trainer had chosen an outfit much lighter than this man's... A light sweater over a sparkling tank seemed perfect for the spring weather, and the man's appearance only frightened her.

Dove took her pokemon's cue, her eyes also rising to the man in suspicion, though with human eyes, he was a bit hard to make out in darkening setting. Her hand slowly fell to the ball at her side, opening it and releasing the typhlosion which surveyed the street and laid alongside her chair, watching the man as he passed.  

[lZAYA ORlHARA]

"Whoa! Kind of a big pokemon to suddenly bring out like this, don't you think, my lady?"

An average-looking young man dressed in layers of thin clothes was frozen in a startled pose by the door of the cafe, his coffee having spilled down the front of his suit. When he turned to smile at the girl, what was visible of his face under his straw fedora was bandaged, layers wrapped around his forehead. Reddish-brown hair was visible between them.

Wiping the liquid off the front of his shirt, he peered out at the street where she had been looking, his eyes hardening for a moment. "Did some sight out there offend your lovely gaze? Just say the word and I'll set 'em straight."  

[Tori Honoo]

Dove turned her gaze back and up at the man, startled when he spoke to her, her eyes falling to the coffee on his shirt, and her eyes widening. "Oh, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to startle you!" She bit her lip, her eyes widening a little as she looked him over, forcing her expression into that of casualty-- bandages? And he looked almost as secretive as the man on the street had been.

When he looked to the street, she did as well, though Sparky's eyes stayed on the more immediate threat--were this man to become one. "Oh, no sir, I just... was watching. It seems a little warm, but I guess fashion is to each their own, hm? And it is a little chilly now that the sun's down..." His hardened gaze did not escape her notice, however, and she continued to watch the man walk down the street. At least this new man was polite.  

[lZAYA ORlHARA]

"No need to be sorry! The fault was all mine," the chivalrous man assured her. "Rokujo Chikage, at your service. But you can call me 'Rocchi' if you like," he added with a tip of his hat. "All the ladies do."

Looking back at the figure in the coat, Rokujo frowned. "He does look suspicious. Hey!" He called to the figure. "You, in the coat! I'm betting you're a man from your gait. What are you doing scaring this beautiful young woman, here?"

If the figure heard, he gave no indication. He promptly turned a corner into a small dark street and was gone.

"Tch." Rokujo's eyes narrowed. "Don't worry, lovely lady. We'll get him for you." He pulled out a phone, texting a message to someone. "In fact, why don't we accompany you home? Just in case." He smiled at her and her Typhlosion. "You never know what dangerous hooligans are out ans about in this city."

As he spoke the words, a band of bikers came ripping down the street, hooting and calling among the sounds of their revving engines.  

[Tori Honoo]

Her brows furrowed in confusion at the man as he introduced himself. "It's nice to meet you...Rocchi..." she offered him tentatively, if only to humor him. What on earth...?

When he called out at the figure, however, her eyes went wide and she waved her hand at the man, shaking her head. What was he thinking, calling out to someone like that??? "Oh, no, he wasn't bothering me. I just happened to see him and--"

Her shoulders relaxed a little as the man disappeared, though she immediately tensed again as the sound of bikes tore up the darkened street. "Oh, no, that's really not necessary..."

Sparky rose to full height, his hackles raised as he watched the bikers arrive, heat already rising from his neck. Lovey shrunk further into the girl's lap, watching everything with widened eyes.  

[lZAYA ORlHARA]

"Relax, they're with me, big guy!" Rokujo assured the Typhlosion, patting the large pokemon on the shoulder as he came forward to greet the bikers. "HEY! Over here!" he called, waving his hand.

The men brought their bikes around until they had surrounded Dove, Sparky, and the man she was with. There were a good number of them; not fully adults wearing sterotypical leather biker jackets. One of them tossed a jacket to Chikage, which he caught and switched out the outer layer of his coffee-stained suit with.

"Thanks," he told the man before turning to grin at Dove. "No, please; I insist. I could never let a young woman walk home alone at night, particularly at such a late hour and with strange people running around. We're not from here, but we've come around before. You're in good hands, I promise."

Turning to his fellows, Rokujo pointed the way Izaya had gone. "There's a guy who just walked that way who scared this fair maiden," he told them. "Go after him. Find out what business he has skulking around like some creepy stalker. Hold him until I get this girl home." He punched a fist. "That b*****d's gonna pay."

Walking around to where his own bike was parked just outside the cafe, he brought it around to the front and gestured to Dove to sit on the back of it. "Come on! Ever been on one of these before?" Meanwhile, about half of the biker gang went tearing off around the corner that Izaya had disappeared behind.  

[Tori Honoo]

The typhlosion resisted the temptation to burn the man's hand off, though left his fur blazing hot, it's neck radiating a searing heat and it's eyes narrowed at the man as he talked. A low growl rose in his chest as his trainer rose to her feet and moved closer to the building, hoping to stay more in the light.

When the bikers had surrounded her, she tightened her grip on Lovey as her eyes widened, her heart beating fiercely im her chest. This man didnt sound that bad--a bit silly, perhaps, like one of her friends from high school-- and though the bikers didnt look too frightening, there were so many of them, and they certainly hadn't sounded like collected gentlemen when the had rounded the corner with enough noise to wake the city. 'Rocchi's' reasoning made sense, though she shook her head as he instructed them to find the man who had since disappeared--he could be completely innocent! "Please, he didnt--"

She broke off in frustration when the man disappeared mid sentence, then backed closer to Sparky as he reemerged on his own bike, her eyes wide and hesitant, her hands up, palms out to him. "R-Really, there's no need--I'll be okay, I promise!"  

[lZAYA ORlHARA]

The obvious leader of the biker gang looked at the girl in surprise. "What's the matter?" he asked. "Don't tell me you feel sorry for that low-life scum. Or are you worried he'll come after you even worse after we question him?" He tilted his head. "We don't have to be rough with him if you don't want us to, but there's really no need to protect him," Rokujo assured her. "If you want, we can fix things so that you'll never have to see so much as his shadow again." The gang members looked between Rokujo and Dove, awaiting orders.  

[Tori Honoo]

She shook her head, her expression now showing serious alarm and concern for the stranger. "I appreciate your chivalry, but that man didnt do anything to me... I just thought he looked a little odd, in a coat with so much fur in Spring when it's so warm..." Did they plan to kill whoever it was?! "R-Really, there was no harm done, sir, so..."  

[lZAYA ORlHARA]

Rokujo laughed. "As kind as she is beautiful. That's what a true woman is like, guys," he told the other bikers before turning back to Dove. "But he did, in fact, do something to you, even if it was just scaring you enough so that you wanted to let out a protective pokemon. I can't let him get off for doing something so dastardly. He's a man; he should know that it's his responsibility as one to keep ladies feeling safe and secure; not afraid."

He patted the back of his bike again. "But don't worry about him, he won't be your problem any more. The Toramaru gang will - "

A few shouts were heard from the street that the men had followed Izaya to. Rokujo and the other gang members looked up sharply. Their leader frowned as they looked to him, peering into the darkness. "What the hell...?" He glanced to Dove. "I can't leave you here alone. Do you want to come with me, or should I send the rest of these guys to deal with this moron?"  

[Tori Honoo]

She tensed visibly at the sound and his ultimatum. Go with him and risk her own safety or let this poor man--who again, had done absolutely nothing to her-- be mauled by this group? After a few short seconds, she called both Lovey and Sparky back up their pokeballs, ignoring the growl the typhlosion gave her for her decision, and nodded to Chikage. "I-I'll come with you, just don't... Hurt whoever that was..." Or me, please, please, please....  

[lZAYA ORlHARA]

"Alright, hold on tight, now," the young man told her as he waited for her to mount his bike. When she was settled, he called to the others and led the way towards the small, dimly-lit street.

In the vague street lamp light, limp bodies of groaning men littered the ground, their bikes abandoned off to the side. The only two left standing were the figure in the fur-trimmed coat and a predominantly black Absol standing before him. As Rokujo and the rest of his gang approached, Izaya had been inspecting the fellows on the floor with a frown, pulling back his hood to see them better and kicking at an arm or a leg in his way.

"Mm?" When the other bikes began to surround him, he regarded them calmly with his hands in his coat pockets, his frown reverting to an emotionless smile. The absol before him began to growl, noticing the asymmetrical bandages covering the leader's face. "Well hello there!" Izaya called cheerily to Rokujo. "I'm sorry, is it your custom to outnumber and ambush travelers where you're from? Because you're obviously new to Camphoreon City."

"Heh," The young man in the straw fedora glared with a nasty smile at the other. "Not usually. But you committed a horrible offense that I absolutely cannot permit, no matter where or what the custom in that place. You scared this lovely young lady here into calling out her Typhlosion because of your suspicious attitude." He jabbed a thumb over his shoulder at Dove. "What are you, some kind of stalker or something? Fess up."

Izaya bent to the side a little, peering over to catch sight of Dove sitting behind Rokujo. His chuckled when he recognized her face. "Ah...I see. Well, I prefer the term 'human observer', but I guess you could call me that if you like. I can assure you I was doing nothing of the sort just now, though." He beamed. "You know that, don't you, Dove-chan?"  

[Tori Honoo]

Dove did, indeed, hold on tightly, her mind running a thousand miles an hour and her hear pounding as the gang ventured away from the safety of the light she had put herself in. As they slowed and stopped, her heart sank to the pit of her stomach, her eyes darting to each of the men laying around the street, flashes of her and Luke's kidnapping--more vividly, Yuri's rescue-- jumping to the front of her mind.

Though the appearance of the absol gave her even more reason to fear, her eyes narrowed and the feeling of ice settled along her spine when she was addressed by a familiar voice. She simply looked at him, already regretting her decision to try to stop the men, though deep down she knew she wouldn't have chosen the other, even if Izaya was a threat. Watching him carefully, she stayed quiet, all too uncomfortable in the situation.  

[lZAYA ORlHARA]

"'Dove-chan'? You know him?" Rokujo asked the girl, turning in his seat to look at her. When he noticed her expression, he turned back to Izaya, fuming. "Doesn't seem like you're any friend of hers," he growled, hopping off his bike. The info broker had already withdrawn his pokemon, who hadn't seemed certain who to attack first.

However, Rokujo didn't seem the least bit pacified; if anything, he was angrier than before. From under his shirt he unsheathed a Kabutowari which he brandished at his opponent. "Apologize to the young lady and we'll let you go. Disobey and suffer the consequences. My other men might have gone easy on you before, but now you're severely out-numbered; do the math."

Izaya grinned, seemingly amused with the situation. "Now now, no need for violence," he stated, though contrary to his words he brought out one of his hands from his coat pocket to reveal a drawn flickblade. "I'm sure we can settle this peacefully. Isn't peace one of the many things doves are supposed to stand for, after all?"

"You have no right to talk to her if she doesn't want you to," Rokujo snapped. "Speak out of turn again and I'll cut out your tongue first, I promise you that."