#kbtbb ref

___ looks at the package with great curiosity and surprise. The said item is in front of her open and filled with the needed berries for the Contests along with a small box. The card and wrapping clearly shows that it was from the Ichinomiya Corporation... ___ glances then feeds the two Pidgeys who delivered the package to her at the Pokémon Center she's at. Then she realizes that Eisuke recalls her next destination for her next gym battle. But what was inside the box? Reaching out, ___ plucks the plain container from where it sits atop the berries. When she finds a way to open it, ___ cannot help but feel shocked at what she sees. There, nestled within a silk cushion, rests an extremely high quality Everstone. ___ looks at Deino's Poké Ball then lets him out. He happily picks it up and a piece of paper falls from the cushion. ___ picks it up and reads it then giggles. Again Eisuke recalls something that she said. ___ smiles as she thinks about after another Contest with Deino and meeting Eisuke again. At that time, Deino is on a cushion curled up and a brief glow before it goes out. Seeing Eisuke's confusion, ___ explains that after acquiring from Soryu that Deino keeps stopping himself from evolving after several battles with poachers and earning badges. She also supports him in that aspect but the sad thing was that high quality stones needed for either evolving or not is extremely expensive. And now that she has one... "Isn't this great," ___ asks Deino while hiding the stone in his fur. "You won't have to evolve~" "Dein Dein Deino~" the small Dragon Pokémon laughs. ___ joins along with Minccino. ~*~ Hikaru hangs up from a call with Eisuke frowning. Apparently there has been more information to behind his parents deaths and it was imperative that he get to the main corporate building to hear it. For all Hikaru knows, it can't be Akira or Eisuke's birth father as Eisuke had actually recorded the conversation between the two men and himself one day. He even recalls fiddling with the recording to see if it was faked but it wasn't. The recording he'd been given was real. "Did I even tell Mr. Ichinomiya that," he mumbles while fingering his Greninja's Poké Ball. "Not many people outside of Shu knows about it..." Hikaru tries to think about why Eisuke even gave him that recording. He pulls out his laptop and re-runs the recorded conversation. The playback starts after a few seconds of static. The door opens and two pairs of feet enter. Both polite but one softer than the other. Some rustling echoes as someone stands. A subtle meow sounds but none of the feet pay mind to it. They walk then pause. "It's wonderful to see you again Eisuke," Akira greets. "Hello son," speaks Eisuke's father. "Akira. Dad," is Eisuke's blunt response. "Thank you for coming." A series of scrapes scratch against the carpet as the two older men sit down. "You don't normally call us both here at the same time," Akira notes. "Did something happen?" "It's with the Pokémon Hunter F problem," Eisuke frowns. "There have been many problems and I'm going to bring it up to the next board meeting and conference with other business owners. I've also been working with the police on this because he targeted one of my clients' Pokémon. According to them, mysterious deaths have decreased since twenty years ago but the kidnappings and abductions of Pokémon have increased." "I see," Akira nods with his tone frowning. "There has been recent uproars over the poaching thanks to your efforts but that won't be enough." "This is a dangerous game you are playing Eisuke," cautions Eisuke's dad. "Looking at the mysteries of the dead is not something to be taken lightly." "But here's the thing," Eisuke brings up as something whishes across the desk. There was a few seconds of silence before Akira says the names of Hikaru's parents. Hikaru pauses the recording at that. He beings to speculate that this is how Eisuke knows of his parents deaths. At some point before meeting with the Hishikura's, they were working at Ichinomiya Corporation. He pushes the play button to see if his guess is right. "Mr. and Mrs. Aihara have both worked here before and their contact information is still in the system," Eisuke's voice crackles. "Both are excellent workers but their deaths were so sudden," Akira grieves. "What of their son?" "Hikaru is the champion and knows Connoisseur Shuichi," Eisuke includes. "But the answers aren't available are they," questions Eisuke's dad. "... No. From what I heard, theirs and other deaths then have turned to cold cases now," is Eisuke's reply after a worrying pause. "We don't have the resources to supply what the police needs to solve those cases. And I'm going to suggest a small fund to be set aside to help them..." Hikaru stops the recording and puts the device away. Cold cases. That means nobody solved what happened to his parents or other mysterious deaths. He grips Greninja's Poké Ball and frowns. He can't believe that his guess was right about his parents former workplace before meeting Shuichi. His hold tightens then relaxes as the Ball slides back into place on his belt. He looks at a ring then sighs. He'll really have to make that special call to get there faster. Where he's at currently is really far from the corporation's main office. ~*~ Ota finishes the last of his drawing when a sudden splash drenches him. Grateful to have gotten waterproofed equipment and supplies, Otta shakes his head before looking at Milotic. "I'll play with you soon," he sighs. "Let me clean this off. Charcoal isn't your favorite smell." Ota chuckles as Milotic makes a sound that resembles a mix of a sneeze and sound of disgust. Even when Milotic was a Feebas, she always hated the smell that came with charcoal along with the dust that comes with the drawing tool. Ota scrubs his hands and under his nails to rid of any traces that his cloth didn't clean from wiping them off. Once the complete cleansing is done, Ota changes into his swimming shorts and jumps into the water. The jump causes a large splash that hits not just Milotic but earning him a splash back from Sylveon. It wasn't long before an all out water fight breaks out involving all but Ampharos and Smeargle. As Ota prepares to do a sneak attack on Delcatty she starts hissing. It wasn't just Delcatty though. His other Pokémon are reacting with their own hisses or defensive poses. Ota turns to see a large gold hoop with shimmering energy warping the center. And from that center comes out a human and a Pokémon. "Baba... seriously old man? I have said many times not to summon Hoopa when my Pokémon are out," he whines, pushing himself out of the pool. "That's so mean Ota," the older male sulks. "I was hoping that you'd be up for finding a way to pull a prank on Eisuke." "A prank... I don't know Baba... even if you are able to blackmail any of us, Eisuke can be scary," Ota peeps from under a towel. "Maybe it would be more fun to prank Mamoru or Soryu." "How about both," he hears Baba as the towel moves over his hair. Ota internally sighs at that. Of course Baba would take something with a really high risk. A risk of having Soryu's gun in his face... "How about their Pokémon," he smirks. "Ooh I love your thinking," comes Baba's cackle nearby. A subtle swish catches his attention and, with his head still under the towel, Ota sidesteps and grins in quiet relief about not being splashed by Milotic. "That was mean Ota-chan," he witnesses a soaked Baba complain. "You did come in the middle of a water fight," he reminds him. ~*~ Eisuke sighs and tosses the packet onto his desk. The report was not up to standards. The plan for helping the police had been approved but the result wasn't what he expected. A few stocks were already set aside for Team KōriRyu but the trickier part is ahead and now in front of him. "Get the budget manager on this immediately," he snaps at his subordinate. "Yes sir," Kenzaki nods. The second Kenzaki is out of his office with the report, Eisuke retreats to his private office. He lets Ninetails out before dropping onto his armchair in frustration. This is really getting out of hand. The equipment for helping to amplify a Psychic Type's powers for the police to use is already in the prototype stage but the problem is getting the funding right for it. Materials weren't cheap and his lab didn't have the scientists who are willing to break their ethics of harming Pokémon. "What can be done?... Even if I did ask Soryu to spare a person, it would look suspicious," Eisuke frowns. "Nine Nine Nine Ninetails," the Fox Pokémon speaks up after dropping something onto his desk. Eisuke turns to see him and Persian both looking pleased then at the object. He smiles then pets both of them with a smile. Why didn't he think of this sooner? He didn't need his scientists breaking their ethics when he can just call his old senpai. ~*~ Iris looks at her sleeping brother with worry. Day in and out, Luke bustles around with little time to sleep having Marrowak and Chansey both forcing him to rest more than once. She glances at Audino and Wigglytuff to see them doing their Heal Pulse. She knows that both male Pokémon are just pushing themselves at this point. There are the Pokémon that ___ did switch with a few times for some of her battles but Iris wasn't looking at them, the other Trainers' Pokémon nor the many injured Pokémon at that point. Iris is looking at a picture that Luke somehow managed to secure from Eisuke. It was ___ in a cute outfit for her Cuteness Contest. She understands that her brother likes this outfit the most because it shows ___'s collar bones. Her main obsession however wasn't the same spot as her brother's. It may have been just an image but Iris can still see the pleasing and soothing Aura that is ___. The way how it flows from her is like how one describes warm sunlight. Gentle, comforting and soothing. That is what Iris currently needs amidst her brother's crazy scheduling. ~*~ "OI," Hayami yells at a sleeping form. "OI! WAKE UP!" A few heads did turn but then back to whatever they were doing. It wasn't unusual for Hayami, Ayase, or another detective to be hollering and shaking a grumpy Mamoru up. The rookies in the office didn't know that until their superiors or supervisors tell them to focus. But today Hayami wasn't having a good luck waking his fellow detective. It was something to do with a mysterious shape in the sky that many claimed and persistently say it was Rayquaza. What Hayami really needs from a file in Mamoru's desk is an image of Team KōriRyu's mascot. Kyurem is an Ice and Dragon Type as many know. Hayami didn't have time to admire that two of the letters line up but he does have to admit that the team is almost like their namesake. Cold and dragon like with their vengeance and attacks. Yakuza gangs weren't alien but they aren't the teams to really cause chaos.

Author’s Note: Personal issues got in the way of finishing this as well as the good old writer’s block.

Yakuza is what the closest thing I can say about mafia... or Triad in Hong Kong. Interestingly... when I looked up to see what “yakuza” means it’s origins are the three worst numbers one can get in a gambling game: 8,9,3.