[FIN] Talk to the Pokemon 'Cause the Trainer Ain't Listenin'

[insidiousEnigma]

lZAYA ORlHARA

He gave a little sigh and resisted the urge to frown, "I don't know...I'd just like to get to know you." He muttered with a slight shrug. "Things that you like, dislike...hobbies?" He cocked his head thoughtfully before nodding firmly. "Yes, I would like to attempt a friendship with you." He said seriously, cheeks turning a faint shade of pink at the declaration. Had he ever actually asked someone to be his friend? He couldn't recall doing so...it either happened naturally or it didn't happen at all. Though he supposed Izaya was a bit of a special case.

That must have been what Kuroko had been up to...and why he had chosen to go back into his pokeball so suddenly.

Zacharie stared down at Izaya, surprise clearly written all over his face. "A-Are you okay?!" He finally stuttered out after a moment of stunned silence. "Here...ah..." He shuffled a bit closer and bent to offer the dark-haired man a hand.  

[lZAYA ORlHARA]

insidiousEnigma

"Haven't you already gotten to know all you need to about me from the other Rockets around here?" the black-haired man asked with thinly-veiled irritation, removing his socks to pick debris off them and check his feet for injury. "I'm sure my former roommate can certainly tell you more than enough. I'd have thought he already would have, but on second thought, perhaps he'd rather not discuss me at all."

At Zacharie's confirmation of wanting to 'attempt a friendship', Izaya stopped what he was doing and looked up at the tall, purple-haired Rocket with a searching look. His mouth was a thin line until he opened it again. "...You remind me of someone I knew back in middle school," he muttered, going back to cleaning his socks before putting them back on. "He had asked to start a Biology Club with him. His reasoning was that the one he loved would have wanted him to make friends to be more sociable and to start a club with someone was the best way to go about doing it.

"And...he knew about my hobby of observing humans. So he suggested a Biology Club." Izaya smirked. "Too bad he didn't meet you instead. I'd imagine that'd be something you'd have genuinely enjoyed even though he and I neglected our specimens. Ah...he also always wanted to find out how people worked by taking them apart and dissecting and analyzing them just like you."

"I'm fine," the informant insisted, ignoring the hand as he replaced his boots on his feet. "By the look on your face, I'm guessing you weren't the one to put your little monster up to that. Well, whatever~ Perhaps he was jealous I was intruding into your quality time together."  

[insidiousEnigma]

Zacharie blinked owlishly, "Why would I ask others about you?" He asked, his eyebrows furrowing a bit. "The best way to get to know a person is by talking to them directly...I can't see why asking other people about you would be helpful. I would like to form my own opinions about you." Was that a difficult concept? He didn't think it was. He didn't care what other people thought...well, except for Jerome. But he was fairly certain that his friend would support him in his desire to find things out for himself.

Jerome was cool that way.

"I...don't understand what any of that has to do with my desire to be your friend." He admitted with a slight shrug before crossing his arms over his chest. "I feel as if you're attempting an avoidance technique..." He said slowly, a small frown tugging at the corners of his lips. "Why?" He asked honestly. He wouldn't let the jabs at his interests bother him. Izaya had made baseless comments about them before and he was fairly certain it was meant to distract him. Or to get some sort of reaction out of him. He knew what he did and was not ashamed by it, so why should he be bothered?

"Kuroko," He stressed his pokemon's name though he doubted that the other would use it. "Has a mind and will of his own and doesn't particularly like it when people talk down at him. So I imagine that annoyance was his motive."  

[lZAYA ORlHARA]

"I didn't mean from asking about me; I meant from all the hearsay, rumors, and gossip that goes flying around as isolated and secluded a place as the base," Izaya clarified. "And some people may not give any value to second-hand information about someone, but as an informant, I've found it quite useful."

He looked up from his boots. "Suppose people went around saying some guy was horrible but also a sweet-talking, persuasive, manipulative mastermind actor. If you disregarded them and met the guy on your own and he treated you with the utmost kindness and care, wouldn't that be walking right into his hands?" He scowled and stared back down at his boots before pushing himself back up onto his feet. "You may have grown a little, but you're still so very ignorant, Zachie-chan. You need to be more careful and less trusting, especially as a Rocket."

"Getting to know someone may be all well and good, but it's still only part of the whole picture; just part of what they want you to know or see. And human beings lie all the time, including about themselves. That's just their nature. A small trace of a smirk came to his lips. "Just one of the many reasons I love them. But also why you can't completely trust what anyone says regarding themselves just because they were the ones who said it. After all, only seven percent of actual communication is verbal. The rest is tone of voice and body language."

The man frowned and was silent for about a minute after Zacharie's question, his gaze distant as he tried to determine how much to say or whether or not he should even say it. "...It has to do with it because that man you remind me of, for all his absurd ways and messed-up reasoning, was the closest person I had to a friend before I joined Team Rocket. He took a stab-wound for me in middle school."

Izaya shrugged. "Granted, he didn't die from it. And he told me that he honestly did it for the sake of his beloved instead of for me because the one he loved wouldn't have wanted him to just stand there and let someone else get stabbed." He sneered, though there was no amusement in his eyes. "And yet he still considers me a friend to this day despite my sharp remarks and jabs toward him. He never really seems shaken by them...like he thinks he knows more about me than I do." Crimson eyes analyzed Zacharie's face again.

"I just thought it was funny that you, who seem similar in your lack of usual ethics or common sense, would also claim to want to be my friend. Neither you nor him seem to know what's good for you, but you don't seem to care, either, and you both show a lot of guts." He offered another half-hearted smirk. "Not that showing guts or courage is ever wise or smart. That's why people with sense realize that bravery is pretty much synonymous with stupidity. It's likely to get you killed someday, so don't take it as a compliment. It was merely an observation."

"At least I called it a 'he'. Can't you be satisfied with that much?" Izaya teased. "'Black child'...any reason you chose to call him that, assuming you were the one who named him? He didn't look very 'kuro' to me...though if his actions are any indication of his personality, I suppose that explains things." Damn...there he went saying that pokemon had personalities, again. He glanced at Namie out the corner of his eye. Well...since these were Psychic-types, perhaps they were an exception due to their slightly higher intelligence than other pokemon. Assuming Kuroko was a psychic type. But since Zacharie claimed to understand psychics and that he could understand that pokemon, it stood to reason that it fell under that category.  

[insidiousEnigma]

Zacharie had, of course, heard the rumors whispered in the halls...so to speak. He knew what sort of person those rumors painted Izaya to be...but he couldn't help but feel that there was something...off about it. "Your advice on the matter is fully noted and appreciated, Izaya." He nodded his head a bit but crossed his arms over his chest stubbornly. "But in this situation I would like to see how it 'plays out', if I'm using the phrase correctly." He bit nervously on his bottom lip as he debated over what to say next. "I hope that a day could come that you could trust me enough to show me who you actually are." He ducked his head in embarrassment. "But I do realize how personal that is and would not blame you if it didn't happen." The boy murmured, face flushed despite his best efforts. "It's just..." He paused, looking everywhere but at the person he was speaking to. "I understand how lonely it can be to not have someone to consider a friend."

He shrugged and shifted his weight from one foot to another anxiously. "To be frank, he doesn't sound much like a friend...at least not from my understanding of what a friend is." He smiled a bit self-deprecatingly and picked at the sleeve of his shirt. "Not that I am an expert on such things..." He glanced at Izaya for a brief second before averting his gaze again.

Oh thank all things green and growing, a change of subject.

"Actually...he reminded me of a character from a manga..." He laughed lightly. "Though now that I know the meaning I suppose you're right, his name really does suit him."  

[lZAYA ORlHARA]

Izaya stared at Zacharie through half-lidded eyes, looking unimpressed and incredulous with one brow raised. Finally he sighed and looked away. "Fine; you hope all you like. I can't stop you. But if you end up being let down in any way, it's not my fault. I warned you. And if it turns out that 'who I actually am' turns out to be someone you wish you'd never met, it'll be your fault for disappointing yourself because you let your hopes get too high." He frowned. "And the higher hopes are, the farther they can fall when expectations aren't met."

At the grunt's last remark about understanding how lonely it could be to not have a friend, the informant looked back up at him sharply. "...Do you, now?" he murmured. "Forgive me for not seeing how. Aren't you the type to befriend even plants and animals - no, worse; mold and monsters?"

Zacharie's remark concerning Shinra made Izaya smile again. "Perhaps he wasn't considered a friend by society's usual standards. After all, other than the one time I was nearly stabbed, he doesn't worry too much about my well-being. And I have a pokemon that belongs to his beloved girlfriend even though neither he nor she knows it's with me." He winked.

"But as far as having friends goes, he was the closest thing I had to one and I to him. We were too different, peculiar, and selfish to be considered friends with anyone else." He paused in thought. "I suppose he considered Shizu-chan to be his friend too, but that was just because he had very, very lax standards of friendship."

"That, and I think he mostly just stuck around Shizu-chan out of scientific interest for the neanderthal's freakish body." His eyes narrowed and he took a moment to calm himself as he realized he was getting worked up just talking about the ex-bartender; his nemesis of sorts. "Anyway...as I was saying, Shinra Kishitani was probably the closest thing I had to a friend prior to Team Rocket."

The black-haired man, feeling Zacharie's awkward demeanor was becoming contagious, pouted and moved closed enough to reach up and tweak the younger man's nose. "You're acting like a shy, crushing schoolgirl again. Have you been reading too much shoujo manga or watching too much anime? Knock it off."

At the mention of Kuroko's name origin, he rolled his eyes up to the sky and gestured widely with an arm. "Of course it's from a manga. No wonder you have all these weird ideas of friendship and romance. You know what? No more manga for you, mister. I'm going to get my pokemon to seek and destroy all your relationship research material. They're a bad influence on you."

Namie, who demurely pretended she was minding her own business, barely managed to conceal a giggle snort.  

[insidiousEnigma]

"I will keep that in mind." Zacharie knew that this could blow up in his face, but he would prefer to learn and make mistakes from his own choices and he chose to give this a try. He had grown not just in height but also mentally since high school, he could handle this.

"I thought you knew all about me?" The purple-haired boy frowned, made a little uncomfortable at just the thought. He glanced down at the pokeballs attached to his thigh-holster and heaved a near silent sigh. "...I didn't find Jabari until I was 14 years old...he was my first friend." He muttered with a shrug. "It's true that I am comfortable with surrounding myself with plants and pokemon but you are not me." He stated obviously.

Quietly, he mulled over what Izaya was saying. He supposed what someone considered a friend would vary from person to person. So while he thought that the friendship sounded a bit...shallow, perhaps this Shinra person was what the other grunt needed in a friend. He wouldn't judge, it wasn't his place. The boy blinked owlishly, jarred from his musings with a start as he immediately reached up to grab Izaya's wrist. "I don't mean to act like a 'crushing schoolgirl'." He muttered, face heating up any more. "But I don't get my ideals for friendship from manga, I have textbooks." He said, tone matter-of-fact. "And...I honestly have no concept of romantic relationships. So kindly leave my recreational reading materials alone."  

[lZAYA ORlHARA]

insidiousEnigma

"If I knew everything about everyone, it wouldn't be any fun to watch them," Izaya answered nonchalantly, plucking a stray leaf off his sleeve. "What about your brother? He didn't keep you company prior to that?" He held out his arms in an open gesture. "And yes, you aren't me, so I don't think you quite understand my situation.

"Unlike you, I choose to keep my distance from people; to be friendless. It's my decision, so don't you mistake it for a reason to pity me." He put a hand to his head. "I mean, look what happened to that poor teenager who deluded herself into thinking we were friends. She had a very promising career as a Rocket - an agent at the tender age of seventeen - and now she's dead for that one mistake she made. Do you want that? I don't think so."

The man tensed instinctively when his wrist was grabbed but he managed not to whip out his knife before he realized that Zacharie meant no harm. He stared from those sea green eyes to the hand at his wrist and back again. "Ne, it was just a joke. Do you think, after all I've done, they would let me get away with any sort of destruction of materials like that, much less a Rocket's property?" He held up his wrist with Zacharie's hand still attached. "No need for this. Or did you just want an excuse to hold me?"  

[insidiousEnigma]

"Andre was living in Grande Isle with our grandparents." He said slowly before furrowing his brow. Andre was a fairly reclusive man, was it alright of him to talk about this with Izaya? Well...it was no secret that his older brother had been there...so he figured it should be okay. "He said that he left our parent's house when I was three...making him about fourteen years old." He shrugged a bit. It wasn't as if he blamed Andre for not being there, how was he to know that his life would turn out the way it did?

"But you're right." He conceded with a slight nod. "That's presumptuous of me. Everyone has a different way of living their life..." Zacharie lowered his gaze to the ground and frowned. He felt as if he'd never get anywhere with Izaya...which is probably what the older man wanted. "But I won't let you dissuade me from trying." It was then that his gaze snapped over to where he was holding on to the other. "I didn't-!" He immediately dropped the dark-haired man's wrist and took a step back. "It was reflex...I didn't mean to..." He fidgeted. "I didn't hurt you, did I?"  

[Kitomyx]

insidiousEnigma

"I see. Come to think of it, I don't remember him mentiong you in school, either," Izaya recalled. "Siblings are overrated, anyway. But you have plenty of people and...other...entities to call your friends now, so there's no longer need for you to dwell on what it was like to be lonely."

Crimson eyes regarded Zacharie for a long time in silence. Eventually the ex-Rocket heaved a deep sigh. "You stubborn brats just never know when to quit, do you? You only seem to learn and understand things when they're taught to you the hard way." Then he cast the purple-haired grunt a half-hearted smirk. "You? Hurt me? As if."

Izaya gestured to his Gardevoir. "Come on, Namie. Let's go find somewhere else to train so we don't unnerve this grunt any more than we already have."  

[insidiousEnigma]

"School...?" Zacharie repeated slowly, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion. Did Izaya actually know Andre? That raised a few questions in his mind. His brother had never mentioned knowing Izaya before.

"Ah...well I'm glad I didn't." He smiled a bit, the corners of his mouth twitching up a bit self-consciously in response to the others smirk. He hadn't thought he hurt the other, but since he had moved reflexively he could have grabbed him with some actual force. His gaze darted down to the Gardevoir to give her a small smile as well. "I hope to see you both soon." He nodded his head a bit as he took another step back. "But you can have this clearing. I should go inside to finish up the notes I took today." The boy waved a bit awkwardly as he continued to back away. "I'm glad we could talk." He tacked on as an after thought before all but sprinting away through the bushes.  

[lZAYA ORlHARA]

"Oh, he didn't tell you? Andre-senpai and I were a year apart in high school. Not that we really interacted all that much, but we knew of each other at the very least. Enough for him to come visit me in jail asking about you when he found out I was a Rocket. I hadn't realized you two were related until he started interrogating me and the family resemblance became clear."

"Hm...thank you, but I'm not sure I want to be around here in case your little Kuroko set any other little traps." He raised a hand in farewell. "See you around, I suppose, Zachie-chan."