Second Day. [video/action for goldenrod.]

[laplaceattorney]

[Keisuke is woken up by something rather...interesting. It's not an alarm, a voice, or even a Pokemon.

It's a tinny, electronic tune. Doo do doo doo doo doooo~

...What.

He picks up the gear, staring intently the the screen because now he's awake for sure.]

~*~Happy 18th Birthday Keisuke Takagi~*~

[Oh. May 2nd. He guessed it really was his birthday--which makes the next thing that pops up on the screen all the more disheartening. Happy Birthday, Keisuke! Here's a mission to do for the evil organization you've been placed in.

It isn't until later in the afternoon, when he's finished driving around (somewhat poorly and noticeably by a certain intelligent woman in red.) and piling up garbage for the day, that turns on the video function. He's looking a bit tired, with a smear of grimy dust on his cheek and bruises along his arm from an overenthusiastic Shellder. Keisuke's back in plainclothes and sitting on a bench somewhere in Goldenrod.]

Worst birthday ever almost seems like an understatement. Doesn't even feel real...

Hey, Atsuro. Are you busy?

Comments

video;

[laplaceattorney]

Oh, Yagyuu.

[Nope, not used to that face just yet.]

Thank you. But I'm not quite sure I'm ready to be an eighteen-year-old just yet--it's not for a while, back home.

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[usedlaserbeam]

[Thank goodness Yagyuu has plenty of experience with seeing his face on someone else. He doesn't even find it strange anymore — though it does occasionally tempt him to forget which one he's supposed to be.

...Also, wow, you really do not look eighteen there, Takagi-kun. And even though courtesy would probably dictate that he shift to Takagi-san with this new revelation, switching it up now would involve admitting he was wrong before, and hahahaha, no.]

It does take some getting used to, the differences in the passage of time here. And I doubt anyone will force you to celebrate today, if you're truly not so inclined.

[A pause.]

Though I imagine you've been busy today, even so.

[This is Yagyuu's polite way of saying you look like death warmed over, bro.]

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[laplaceattorney]

[Why must you look older than him, when you're much younger... He's still convinced they're right around the same age.]

Hmn. [--is his way of showing some doubt on that situation. He's been forced to do quite a few things on his birthday already. Why shouldn't celebrating be on that list?

In response to Yagyuu's observation, he nods.] That's one way of putting it. I'd prefer staying away from that subject, though, if you don't mind.

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[usedlaserbeam]

[BECAUSE TENNIS MAKES MEN OUT OF BOYS. Or something. Who knows.]

Not at all. I merely hope whatever endeavor kept you busy was a successful one.

[Yagyuu, if you only knew.]

Are you in Goldenrod City?

video;

[laplaceattorney]

[THAT MAKES SENSE.]

...Went off without a hitch.

[Unfortunately. But he tries not to look any more beat up about it than he already does.]

I am, yeah. How come?

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[usedlaserbeam]

My congratulations, then.

[Because he's up to something, obviously. But since he's not going to show that, he just shrugs effortlessly instead.]

There are worse cities in which to spend a birthday. Goldenrod is the biggest in Johto; I could recommend you a nice cafe, if you'd like.

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[laplaceattorney]

[Keisuke isn't all too suspicious. It's been a long day, and Yagyuu's explanation seems reasonable enough. He offers his facetwin a tiny, weak smile.]

That's nice of you, thanks. I'm afraid I haven't gotten around too much, yet. I did get a job two days ago, but that's about the extent of my exploring.

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[usedlaserbeam]

[Poor facetwin. Yagyuu remembers being that exhausted once — after the Week of Punishment that he generally tries not to think too hard about anymore.]

A block or two down from the Pokemon Center, there's a cafe between a shoe store and one that sells custom Pokemon supplies. I'm fond of the coffee, and the pastries aren't bad, either.

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[laplaceattorney]

[Had it only been a matter of working hard, he wouldn't nearly have looked so bogged down. His feelings on the work add a whole new layer of exhaustion.]

I'll keep that in mind. Do you know this area well, then, or are you just familiar with some parts?

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[usedlaserbeam]

I live there. When I'm not traveling with my teammate to complete the gym challenge, that is; we have a house next door to Seta-kun's Breeding Center.

[One that's depressingly empty these days, where it once held around a dozen people and now only houses two.]

It's the one with the tennis court in the back.

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[laplaceattorney]

I've seen it.

[He's heard of people settling down, so he supposes he shouldn't be all too surprised.]

I guess you must like tennis, then?

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[usedlaserbeam]

We're two of the regulars from our school's tennis club.

[Which still demonstrates a little of his lingering homeworld bias, because if he'd said "I'm one of the Rikkaidai regulars" back there, the street cred would have been instantaneous — instantly identifying him as one of the eight most terrifying tennis players in the formerly best school in the nation. Here...not so much.]

So I suppose you could say we're fond of it, yes.

video;

[laplaceattorney]

Ah... A bit of an understatement, then.

It must be fun, being a part of something you love. Especially if you have friends there.

[Hi, he's not a joiner. He does seem a bit wistful about it, though. His high school experience was very...incomplete.]

video;

[usedlaserbeam]

[Oh, he notices. Enough, evidently, to remark upon the obvious.]

You don't have a favorite club or activity, Takagi-kun? I'm sorry to hear that.

video;

[laplaceattorney]

Not...exactly. I mostly stuck to myself during school.

[High school, anyway.]

I wasn't exactly anyone's favorite person.

[And now Keisuke's looking a bit awkward. It's not a subject he particularly wants to approach again--it was hard enough admitting it to Atsuro back home, and that was after he and the others had saved him from his justice streak. Not to mention dying, according to his death clock. He had owed them that much.]

video;

[usedlaserbeam]

[There's a pause here, in which Yagyuu keeps his face carefully schooled into a calm expression but still catches himself thinking back to what school was like before tennis, before Niou sauntered into his life and crept under his skin and dragged out all the things he'd always wanted to be but refused to ever let show...and he wonders, briefly, what might have been, and if this is how he would've ended up if it had.]

Have you ever played tennis?

[The smooth diversion of subject is Yagyuu's way of being considerate.]

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[laplaceattorney]

[And when he's not pressed to continue, it's just enough to relax him again.]

Sure, a few times. When I was younger. Probably nothing compared to you and your friend, though.

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[usedlaserbeam]

Let's play a match sometime, once I'm back to Goldenrod.

[Because all of life's problems are addressed through tennis, obviously.]

video;

[laplaceattorney]

[Have a tentative smile, Yagyuu.]

Alright. [It's a date.] Sounds like a plan.

[...Wow, he is going to get slaughtered.]

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[usedlaserbeam]

[Oh, no doubt he's going to get destroyed. Yagyuu doesn't believe in pulling punches, especially not when it comes to something as important as tennis.

Of course, in Yagyuu's perspective, there's more to tennis than just the actual tennis, and so maybe this time the outcome doesn't matter as much, anyway.]

I'll look forward to it, Takagi-kun.