This world is inhabited by creatures that we call pokemon. People and pokemon live together by supporting each other, but now the scourge threatens the safety of the entire region. Kohaku has become a dangerous place, where children stay at home and only brave souls go adventuring.
Welcome to KOHAKU. Come for the nightmares. Stay for the tea and crumpets.
The season is SUMMER. It is easy for survivors to forage for food from the land, as there are entire abandoned farms ready for harvest. On the downside, you can smell the corpses.
swarms
GRAND OPENING !
Welcome to KOHAKU REGION's grand opening! If you're interested in joining, come check out our grand opening giveaway!
nerio city was a city for the rich and privileged. the poor had no place to stand in the city -- they were relegated to the slums, where they lived in poverty and chaos and in crowded environments. iskander was careful to avoid those areas, but he didn't manage to rent anywhere upscale.
it was a small room, nothing particularly grand, but at least it came equipped with a bathroom and fridge. a small window allowed light to filter in. by then, it was already late evening; the lights of nerio city started to light up, and until iskander flipped on the lights, it was the only light source.
"it's small, sorry," iskander apologized as he held the door for neo, then shut and bolted it. "it's also a dangerous place." he sighed, as glass broke outside and a fight broke out between several people. he flinched at the sound of fighting, steeled himself, and staggered over to the bathroom.
The last time she stayed a while in Nerio City, she'd stayed with a flock of Bacchus refugees sleeping in tents and tin shacks. "It has a proper roof and a shower. Makes it better than the last place I stayed."
The sound of fighting made her glance to the door bolt and the window. "You'll be alright?" she asked just to check. "I could leave Phoebe out here to keep you company. She's very sweet."
It'd be safer to leave Leto, but Leto was not very sweet.
iskander smiled. "i'm glad to here that," said the agent, nodding. the room rent wasn't cheap. anything better would have cost exorbitant amounts, especially after more refugees started filling in. "you could stay until the lease expires. if you want, that is," he said, shrugging as he went to boil some water to make -- coffee, tea, something. no hot cocoa though, that costed a lot, too.
"phoebe?" it was a name he hadn't heard before, or at least, iskander didn't remember neo mentioning a phoebe. "could she fight several thugs if they barge in?" iskander set the kettle to boil, and heard more broken glass outside. he shuddered, resisted the urge to flinch, and turned back to face neo. "i should ... shut the windows," he muttered, shaking his head at the sounds below.
Neo searched her bag for the canister of tea she and Regina had shared. There was still at least a week or two's worth of dragon pearls remaining. She offered it to Iskander. "Tea, if you're putting water to boil. White, nothing terribly strong."
Phoebe could take out thugs, probably. There was charm, failing that there was confuse ray. Failing even that, there was reflect and hidden power fire until kingdom come. "Provided they don't come in with a horde of dark pokemon, then probably, yes." Neo released the reuniclus--aka gooey green thing--and Phoebe was quick to smile at a stranger.
She looked to Iskander without much expression, but she was concerned. More about him than about the questionable safety of the neighborhood. "I won't be long," Neo promised, ducking into the bathroom.
Not long was about ten minutes and a bit longer because she decided to brush her teeth while she had the monopoly on bathroom time. With a towel wrapped around her, she cracked open the door to ask, "Do you have a shirt I could borrow?"
"okay," iskander said, "tea will be ready once you're done." he lifted the canister with a smile, and moved to the kitchen.
the kettle had started to hum, and iskander lifted it up; outside, the people grumbled and shafted and there was a massive fight until a window broke, and the door trembled. he didn't know if he could give phoebe orders, or if he could even do anything. his hand shook as he tried to ignore the voices, pour himself a cup of tea so he could calm down.
without rolling for success, iskander failed. he dropped the kettle, scalding himself with hot water as the door shook against the weight of a human being thrown against it. despite the pain, he managed to reach out to the sink and start running his scalded hand under running water.
as neo poked her head out of the bath, she would see iskander's back to her, as he was still running his hand under cold water. the kettle laid on the ground, thankfully out of view. "yeah," he replied, in as cheerful a tone he could muster, and stepped over the hot water. he gestured to phoebe to keep things quiet, and offered her a smile. "give me a second, 'kay?"
he ruffled through his bag's contents again, and found a light green shirt with white trim, which he passed to neo. "here," he said, using his good hand to hand the shirt over before he made a quick troop over to the sink. the fridge didn't come equipped with an ice pack.
the hot water was still spilt on the ground, steam rising from it quietly.
Phoebe helped a bro out. She searched the apartment for paper towels or anything else, and settled on old newspapers to mop up the spilled water. The reuniclus wasn't entirely sure what was worrying the man; seemed like everything was fine for now, if a bit noisy outside.
In hopes that it would reassure him, the reuniclus laid a subtle reflect over the apartment's windows and doors. Looking at it just so revealed a psychic sheen over their side of the door, a barrier to the outside world. Phoebe sat down in front of the door, arms crossed, her ever-present smile absent. She wasn't the ideal guard dog, but against some burly thugs, she'd do just fine.
For her part, Neo took the shirt and closed the door. "Thanks."
With the bathroom door shut and Neo out of earshot (not that the reuniclus even communicated aloud), Phoebe said telepathically, <There's a vending machine outside. I could go fetch you a lemonade. But maybe you have a potion?>
"thanks," iskander said, thanking phoebe when the reflects were up. he felt safer, even though he didn't know what else could have happened. he had spent most of the week out of the house and in the safety of the casinos and clubs at night, just to avoid the place. he came back to sleep in the mornings; afternoons and evenings were spent outside searching for trainers in need of help. it wasn't a perfect schedule, but as long as he avoided the physical fighting, he was fine.
"no, stay," iskander said to phoebe, "don't go." his eyes on the reuniclus were almost pleading; he didn't want the pokémon to leave while neo couldn't get her other pokémon out as a guard. "i have some soda pops, but not a burn heal. it'll be fine," he said, grimacing as he tried to move a lobster-red hand. not good. no burn heals, either. he ran out of them, and full heals too, treating cameron's latest victim.
he shut the running water, and stepped over the old newspapers to peek into the fridge. he was grateful for phoebe mopping the spills up, really. it was good to have a hand, psychic or otherwise. "let's see," he said, sighing as he gave the fridge a once-over. nothing in particular jumped out at him, except for the previously-mentioned soda pops.
iskander grit his teeth, nearly jumping out of his skin when outside, the thugs started beating someone up again.
<It's okay. If trouble comes, I will go find Tiresias' pokeball.> That was a horrible idea. That would result in the entire apartment complex burnt to cinders. This is why no one should ever have tea in the pokemon world.
Neo stepped out of a bathroom, towel now at her shoulders and a comb running through her hair. "Thanks. I needed the shower," she said, not sounding particularly revitalized, but she was. The hot water had washed away a lot more than just dirt.
The sound of someone taking too much punches outside was pretty hard to ignore. Perhaps that was for the best, because the commotion distracted her from noticing anything amiss with Iskander for now. "Is it always this loud at night? I have half a mind to tell them to keep it down."
Moving stealthily for a green blobby thing, Phoebe grabbed the wet newspapers and shoved them under the bed.
iskander mouthed a word of thanks to the reuniclus. phoebe moved fast and sneaky for a blob of green ectoplasm. the agent shrugged, closing the fridge door and passing neo a soda pop. he hoped she wouldn't question the lack of tea, and as he placed a can on the counter and tried to open it single-handedly, he paused. "it is," he said, "regrettably. i couldn't find another room where it's quieter. sorry." he smiled apologetically.
his hand slipped, and he knocked the can of soda pop off the counter. shit, he thought, moving to pick it up with his good hand. opening a can wasn't easy when one hand was disabled. "if i could send them away, i would," said iskander, "but as soon as one group leaves, another seems to take over. maybe there's some sort of turf war going on, i don't know, but this place isn't exactly glamorous vesta city square."
the soda can, slightly dented, rested atop the counter untouched. iskander had given up on opening it and went to sit on a stool after offering neo the couch. it was a better seat, but not by much. it was old and worn; some of the fabric was torn by previous tenants. it also smelt slightly of growlithe, but only faintly.
"are you feeling better now, though?" he asked, rolling the canister of tea over to neo.
"Not your neighborhood to apologize for." It was still better than her neighborhood, which was quiet and debatably peaceful, but also literally toxic.
Neo sat primly down onto the couch and brushed her hair. "Much better, yes. It feels like a new day."
Phoebe, who was rapidly proving to be the bestest bro, picked up the soda pop--and retrieved a second from the fridge just to not look suspicious--and popped them both open telekinetically. She delivered one to Neo, who was bemused but took the can anyway, and another to Iskander.
<He apparently lives on soda pops like J lives on bitter powder,> Phoebe commented, intending only to poke gentle fun.
iskander was grateful for the can of soda pop. phoebe was a great pokémon. he sipped the drink, feeling much better after a couple mouthfuls, but the cold drink did nothing to alleviate the burn. he let the cold drink rest against the burnt skin. he figured it would help somehow. he could probably rotate soda cans to make them work like ice packs. "thanks, phoebe," said the agent, raising the can in thanks as he grinned at the green blob.
"nah, not really," he replied, laughing, "i just have a lot stocked up. i like sandwiches, and i mostly live off that." magikarp sandwiches were only one of the many he could make, but with only an old rod to use, he didn't have much choice. it was always magikarp, and if he was lucky, goldeen. but that was a rarity that happened when he lucked out. "how the heck does this J person live off bitter powder?" iskander pulled a face.
"that stuff's nasty." iskander shook his head. honestly, if he didn't know that bitter powder was a type of herbal medicine, he would have thought that whoever this J was, he was a stoner. or some sort of zen monk. something very distant and odd, something along those lines. who in their right mind would use bitter powder as a food replacement, honestly.
The green blob thing would opine that it was the best pokemon. Obviously. Because who else was as cute and spunky and capable of telekinetically opening soda pops? You know, besides every other psychic pokemon out there.
As always, Neo found it downright strange to see expressions move freely across Delta's face, just because it bore that uncanny resemblance to J's. One of these days, she'd get used to it and stop thinking of the face as anyone but Delta's own.
<Makes sense. Similar genetic structure, similarly limited eating hab--> Phoebe was cut off as Neo picked her up and set her into her lap with a bit more force than necessary. The reuniclus never finished her sentence.
With a shrug, Neo replied, "I've never tried bitter powder, but I suspect it's called that for a reason. He hasn't starved to death yet, so I guess something's working out there."
iskander blinked at the sudden thought that had entered his mind. a similar genetic structure? as far as iskander remembered - or wanted to, anyway - he was an only child. he did have a brother, but that wasn't something his family talked about. he didn't know what else it could mean, though, and decided to let the topic drop.
"... he's seriously surviving on that?" iskander flinched; the action lacked fear, but held disgust. so this was why the medicine shop continued to survive despite a lack of trainers wanting to subject their pokémon through torture. someone had been buying bitter powder in bulk off the merchants, it seemed. and that someone was this J guy. okay, that made less sense than expected, but it was the truth. "if he's your friend, you may want to make sure he eats something else. maybe some bread, or pasta. ramen, too."
At least the idea of eating bitter powder seemed to distract him from, well, whatever was going on outside. Turf wars, maybe; violence, certainly. (Note to self: she should mention the concept next time she ran into Batin, see how the not-a-bad-cook would respond.)
"And hot cocoa," she added, although Neo wasn't sure if that made it better or worse. Worse, in her book, because didn't that mean he operated entirely on energy stimulants and sugar? Surely that'd cut down on one's life expectancy. "I don't usually mention it. I'm not his mother. In theory, as long as he's battle ready, there's nothing for me to complain about."
She changed the topic, because she didn't really want to talk about J's dietary habits. "You've got two more days on this place, you said? Where are you off to next?"
iskander really had no idea, nor opinion on J's dietary habits. he didn't know this person, similar genetic makeup or not. he was glad for the change in topic -- had neo not done so, he would have, for the sake of conversation and keeping things going. he seemed to have forgotten the violence outside, as he was distracted by the interesting conversation, or something along those lines. (was a conversation about bitter powder interesting? iskander didn't know.)
"well, yeah," he said. two more days wasn't a very long time. tomorrow, he would be saying one more day, and after that -- no more days. he'd have to leave. "i'm probably taking your advice, neo." he finished his soda pop, and let the empty can sit by his side. "i'm going home to juno until my application is approved, or rejected. there's nothing much i can do other than that -- i don't even have a pokémon, anymore."
outside, glass shattered, but iskander ploughed on.
"and then i guess it's goodbye, neo. we're probably never going to meet again after today." he didn't know if he ought to ask her to join him at one of the clubs in the casino's many floors. a party, or something like that -- he had connections, or rather, zahir was a good connection. "or after tomorrow, depending." he rose from his seat, and accidentally brushed his scalded hand against something.
