[FIN] Unlikely Adviser

[Akira Midoriyama]

Akira blinked. "I said 'congratulations'. That's...generally what people say when someone announces they're getting married, right?"  

[Tori Honoo]

"Do you remember anything about him?" she asked, again, just spouting the words as they came to her. Pausing, and shaking her head to clear it, she spoke agian. "I'm sorry, that's not...why I called you...I, um...I wanted to ask you... just-- How have things changed for you, since you left? Casting off the name, living on your own merit...those things."  

[Akira Midoriyama]

Akira's brows knitted and his lips pursed. He did not like trying to remember, particularly not anything of the past that wasn't Akira's. "No, I can't say I do," he answered firmly. "Sorry."

More questions - questions he did not have answers for. "Forgive me, I'm not sure what you mean...before I left Camphoreon? Or the hospital?"  

[Tori Honoo]

She stared into space, her end of the line silent for a few minutes. So he didn't remember Damien; that was probably for the better anyway. But his 'confusion' about what she meant almost stung.

"You know that's not what I mean, Roka," she told him slowly, pausing again as if she thought he might hang up on here then and there. "My family is asking me to do something I can't do, and my only other option is to give up the name and walk away." Much, much easier said than done, as she expected she would be met with wall after wall of resistance from them, but that wasn't relevant to the immediate conversation, and she refused to let her mind wander there.  

[Akira Midoriyama]

He was indeed on the verge of hanging up right then and there. That name did not ring well in his ears.

"Tori...I did not come all the way out here with nothing but the clothes on my back, leaving everything and everyone I ever cared about behind me, and spend a small fortune on a new niche in the world - one much more lowly and humble than my previous - just so you could drag me back into that damn cage you call high society. I don't want to hear it. Do you understand?"

Her following words, however, gave him pause. She was, after all, an upset young woman, and had come to him for help. Worse yet, this was a situation he himself had lived through. To turn his back completely and utterly now...that would be more cruel than he believed himself capable of. He'd probably be up nights thinking about it.

On the other hand...he wasn't about to throw away everything he'd worked so hard for over the past few years. Not for her; not for...okay, perhaps 'anyone' was a bit extreme. Still, he could count the number of people he would have done it for on one hand, and Tori certainly wasn't one of them. He hadn't asked her to follow him to this region, after all. Even if she hadn't meant to come here, Akira considered it a nuisance that they'd run into each other at all - precisely because of times like these, when she was bound to try to call up his past.

Finally, a deep sigh came through the phone. "You're right," he said. "We need to talk face to face. But not somewhere we can be overheard." If he couldn't help her as someone she used to know, perhaps he could at least help her out as one empathizing stranger to another.  

[Tori Honoo]

She closed her eyes as he bit at her through the phone; that much, at least, had been expected at some point, and she had been prepared. "I do."

The words, after she had uttered them, drove the side of her fist into a wall nearby, in the corridor of her building.

His acquiescence and demand were accepted with the release of her own shaky breath, and after a few short words of negotiation, she found herself headed toward the department store in which he worked. There he would find her waiting in a simple black coat and jeans, her hair tied back, her eyes dark and her head low as she sat on a bench outside beside her typhlosion, hoping to ward off the cold before the next wave of icy words could hit.  

[Akira Midoriyama]

Akira would soon find her with his hands in his green coat pockets, a scarf around his neck as he stopped and stood before the bench she sat on. He glanced at the Typhlosion, but otherwise did not acknowledge its presence.

"Okay, where's this place you had in mind?"  

[Tori Honoo]

Though she heard someone approaching, she kept her gaze low, trained on the cold slush left on the ground at her feet: Sparky appraised the man, then tilted his head up and away, his eyes meet leaving Alkira.

When he spoke, the woman stood silently, stepping around him carefully as she started walking toward the lower part of the city, Sparky following the familiar path at her side. She knew small talk was pointless and would only irritate him further, though she did offer one soft question. "Sparky's fur won't bother you, right?"  

[Akira Midoriyama]

Akira shook his head. "No, it shouldn't. But I think I'll keep Happa out just in case." Saying this, he called out the Leafeon who promptly decided he'd walk on the side of his trainer that was farthest from the intimidating Typhlosion.

"It's okay, Happa," the brunet assured his pokemon, stroking his ears back. Realizing the grass-type was probably almost if not just as cold as he was, he crouched and held out his arms as an invitation to carry the Leafeon. Happa gratefully accepted as Akira tucked him into his coat before standing to carry him to their destination.

Since Dove didn't seem all that inclined to tell him where they were going, he chose to keep his mouth shut and simply follow, hoping he wouldn't regret not asking.  

[Tori Honoo]

She nodded, then took a brief look over her shoulder to see what a 'Happa' was. At the sight of the leafeon, she softened the smallest bit, looking between it and Sparky, then away again as Akira lifted it and tucked it away in his coat. They really were pretty pokemon. The typhlosion only glanced over at it, decided it wouldn't at all be a threat to his mistress, and let it be.

She stayed quiet as he did, walking carefully through the snow toward the lower end of the city, showing absolutely no change in direction or confidence as the area around them began to show clear signs of neglect. Sparky's eyes scanned their whereabouts, but otherwise, the Typhlosion remained silent and stayed close to his trainer, hoping to let off enough heat to keep the other human and his grasstype at least slightly more comfortable than without.

Finally, the woman would slow, and they would find themselves at a run down community center whose door she moved toward silently, offering a quiet smile as a man opened it for her, having spotted them through the window.

"Hey, Tori! Didn't expect to see ya today!" he greeted.

She smiled and shook her head, looking over her shoulder at Akira and motioning him inside after her. "Well... Just needed a good place to come talk with a friend of mine. Is there anyone in the greenhouse upstairs?"

The man shook his head, beaming and nodding toward Akira. "Nah, no one goes up there, really, in the wintertimes. Only Mary, but she's not around today. You know how she is about things. Y'all take all the time ya need."

With another smile and a parting word, Dove moved further into the building, looking over to Akira again, her cheeks a bit pink. "Is this okay? I felt this was far enough away from everything, Jared's just here to make sure things are ready for tomorrow, and it'll be quiet upstairs... we won't be overheard."  

[Akira Midoriyama]

Akira, who used to live with Taiji in one of the lower ends of the city, didn't seem all too enthusiastic to see somewhat familiar surroundings. They may not have been overheard in a place like this, but if someone decided to mug them or something, that little fact would be inconvenient. He wondered what in the world was going on in Tori's head. Sure, they had pokemon, but it was likely that anyone who decided to attack them would have had some too. Especially if they were in gangs and outnumbered them. He tried not to think about it and stared apathetically at the snow on the ground that he tread upon.

What was this place? Community centers weren't a concept he was familiar with. As he raised a brow at their new surroundings, he nearly jumped as he heard a man greet Tori. Frowning silently, he remained quiet as they spoke. Wow, this seemed so shady...he hope the man didn't think they were coming in for anything other than a talk. Akira had heard weird stories about things like love hotels in the past, though he'd never actually seen one. He hoped this wasn't one of them. "...Mary?" he repeated skeptically. A greenhouse wasn't exactly his idea of an ideal place, but...meh. They were already here.

He followed the young lady as she headed toward the greenhouse. "Jared? Who's that?" Oh. The man who greeted her must have been Jared. "What's tomorrow?" He was also itching to ask just what this place was for, but how ignorant would that have sounded? Besides, that would have taken time and he wanted to be done with this as soon as possible. "How do you know we won't be overheard? Have you tested it?"  

[Tori Honoo]

Dove stayed quiet until Akira posed his questions, actually turning to look at him with a faint smile as she opened the door to the roof. "Mary is just one of the women who lives in the shelter next door. Her children are absolutely precious," she explained, sounding as though she were almost reminiscing. "Jared just takes care of the building, and since it's closed today, he comes to clean. As for tomorrow... " A shake of her head. "I cook dinner--well, help, I guess-- every thursday night, and they have to get things set up for that, so..."

She shuddered as the icy wind bit at them as she stepped toward the greenhouse door. "There's no one else here, and they don't really have the money to install a security system up here... plus I guess there's really not that much use for one..."

The inside of the greenhouse was warmer--significantly so-- than the open air of the rooftop, and once inside, she relaxed a little, looking around at the small plots to either side of the walkway leading down the center of the small building.  

[Akira Midoriyama]

Akira, who looked as if he didn't know quite why Dove felt the need to tell him that Mary's children were precious, simply nodded in response. "So...what is this, exactly? A homeless shelter?" It wasn't as private as he would have liked, but oh well. They were already here.

"You still never know who might be listening," he grumbled. "But nevermind; I doubt these are national secrets we're talking about here. So what is this about, anyway?" As they stepped into the greenhouse, he removed his coat and set Happa down, allowing the intrigued Leafeon to explore the area.  

[Tori Honoo]

"Kind of..." she explained, relaxing slowly now that they had arrived. "The shelter is actually a little ways up the street... This is just where they get together for special events, meetings... The children come here to play after school." She pointed off to the side. "There's a little plot down there where they play with the pokemon. It's just a warm place to go." She turned again, looking toward a few of the plants. "Yuri brought me here last Christmas and I just...kept coming back."

His grumbling drew a look and she shook her head. "I don't know if they are or not. You're the one keeping secrets, remember?" She reminded him. He was the one who had asked for somewhere private to talk face to face, though she had suggested it at first. She would have been fine with a cafe, however, she thought.

She took a deep breath, wondering just how to start, and in her pause, drew two more pokeballs from her belt, releasing her togetic and mew; Sparky wouldn't be much company for Happa, and she felt a bit guilty for frightening the leafeon. Trill, after greeting its trainer as always, gave a soft hum at Akira as well, then hovered curiously toward the unfamiliar pokemon, tipping his head with a happy, childlike Tobi, meanwhile, moved toward Dove, hugging her leg affectionately and trilling as she reached down to pat it's head.

"I know you hate talking about the past, and... I'll try to go there as little as possible," she started carefully, standing again at full height. "You're the only one who understands where I come from, though, and..." She stopped, swallowing hard, still unsure of where to start. With a shake of her head, she started again. "I went home for the first time since I had left over a year ago, for my birthday. I hadn't properly talked to my parents in months, and after what happened with the attack in the desert, I thought it was about time I actually gave them a chance." Not like they would have allowed anything otherwise, considering it was her twenty first birthday, but as severely hurt as she had been and what the outcome could have proved, it had become much more pressing for her to open up again ,even if she didn't see eye to eye with them. "Kazuki came to get me, we went to Kalos, and the end of the week, we went back to Sinnoh and I finally talked with them. They set an ultimatum because they were furious with me for avoiding them for so long. It's complicated, but the bottom line is I go through with the marriage I had agreed to before I left for Kodo or they completely cut me off and forget that I even existed." She was sure they hadn't planned to what full extent they would disown her, as they likely thought she would bend to their will anyway (which...), but she wouldn't put it past her mother's temper to finalize any sort of relationship they had ever held.

"As much as you clearly despise me, you're the only one I know here who understands these people and situations like this. I love my family, as...blind and ignorant as they may be to this part of the world, but Damien is a monster and they won't believe it because that family has them wrapped around their fingers." She had dated him for years and never said a word about what happened behind closed doors. A large part of her hadn't even understood what was happening until she had removed herself from it, all because of a gut feeling urging her to explore, if only for a bit. To the world, however, the world around her, they had seemed happy and sophisticated, the perfect mask of bliss that had blinded even herself.  

[lZAYA ORlHARA]

"What is it, then?" he asked, unsure of why there was a greenhouse in a place that was supposedly for children to play at after school. "So it's just...'kind of' a shelter?" He shook his head. Nevermind; it didn't matter too much to him. He doubted he'd hear of such a place again.

"No, I don't," he answered curtly. "I thought you were the one first wanting to come here to talk privately. How am I to know what about?" Looking at the plants, he added, "I just wanted to make sure we could see each others' faces while talking so I can get a better sense of things because this seems to be leading into a sensitive topic." And if she started talking about stuff only Roka would know, again, at least no one else would overhear and have reason to question why a common young man would know of such things.

He gave her a dead-pan look as she released her pokemon. Really? They were wasting precious time. Was that necessary? He needed Happa around for his allergies, especially with so many plants around, but what were hers out for? Akira was already half-concerned that Sparky would end up burning the place down, cramped as it was. But no, no he wasn't going to waste even more time picking a fight about it with her now.

Happa, who had been inspecting the greenery of the closest foliage, jumped with a start and knocked it over when he heard the Mew. <...Um...hi,> he said slowly, shying away under one of the tables that held all the plants. Carefully he used his vines to right what he had knocked over, watching Trill warily.

Drawing himself up, Akira stuck his hands in his pockets and listened, his coat neatly draped over one of his arms. When she was finished, he raised his brows. He sure wished his parents had given him that ultimatum. But why would they have when he was their only son?

"So cut your losses, then. What's the problem?"