Back at the Mikan Gym, Reiji didn't go out for another run. He sat down and tried to work out how to get out of this mess.
He really only had two options.
Option one: put distance between himself and the Gym. If he wasn't here, he wasn't standing in the middle of whatever power struggle was brewing.
Option two: explain things to the guy shadowing Cissy. If that man still wouldn't let it go, then Reiji would have to remove himself from the center of it all anyway.
What else was there?
He couldn't strike first. For one thing, the other guy was quasi–Elite Four tier; Reiji wasn't confident he could take him cleanly. For another, there was the man's identity.
If something happened to him, Reiji would be the first suspect. Officer Jenny wouldn't even need to show up—Mikan Gym would come for him first.
It happened on Mikan Island, and the man was a distant relative of the Gym's family. At minimum, the Gym would have to answer to relatives over in Kanto.
Once he accepted that, it came back to the same two choices: come clean or leave. Either way, he needed to make it clear he wasn't a threat, and he wasn't pursuing the Gym Leader. If the other guy believed it was all a misunderstanding, he'd stop watching Reiji like a hawk.
With that settled, Reiji finally let out a breath. It was already noon. He told his Pokémon to pause training, and the kitchen auntie brought lunch out from the back.
Halfway through the meal, he decided he couldn't drag this out. The longer he waited, the more chances there were for something to go wrong. He went straight to Senta and asked, "Can you call that guy back? The one hanging around your sister."
"Rai-nii… why do you want him?" Senta had been joking before, but now his face changed. The way Reiji said it made it sound like his sister and those two had something messy going on.
"Stop fishing for gossip. Can you call him or not?" Reiji ruffled Senta's hair hard, a clear warning to keep his nose out of it.
"I can. I'll have my driver call." Senta headed to the back entrance. His driver was eating there as well—the man who chauffeured him everywhere.
After hearing what Senta wanted, the driver pulled out his phone and called one of that guy's subordinates. He didn't have the man's number, only the number of someone under him.
The call connected. The driver passed along Senta's message. The other side said they were at the port and would come over right away.
The driver relayed the answer. Senta returned to Reiji and said, "He's on his way…"
"Not bad, Senta." Reiji had expected trouble, but thinking it over, it made sense. If that man was still trying to win Cissy over, then Senta was the little brother. When the little brother asked for something, the would-be brother-in-law would bend over backward.
Reiji and Senta finished lunch while they waited. By the time they were done, brakes squealed outside the Gym, followed by a car door slamming shut.
"Senta, you dragged me over here in a hurry. What's so urgent?" The young man was still in formal clothes. He didn't even glance at Reiji as he walked straight up to Senta.
"Cousin, it's Rai-nii who wants to talk." Senta pointed at Reiji and blinked, as if to say: I've done my part.
"Let's talk somewhere else." Reiji turned and walked out of the Gym. Whether the man followed was his choice.
The young man did follow. If Reiji had used Senta to call him back, then Reiji clearly had something to say.
"Fine. Here's good." He tugged at his collar. He'd rushed over and was sweating, so he stopped in the shade of a coconut tree. "Say what you need to say. You have five minutes."
"Want one?" Reiji didn't bring up Cissy right away. He pulled out a cigarette and offered it.
"No." The young man flicked his eyes over Reiji's cheap smokes and dismissed them. He was used to the kind that cost a small fortune.
Reiji let out a quiet laugh. The contempt was obvious. To him, these weren't bargain-bin cigarettes—he'd paid decent money for them, and he'd smoked the same range in his previous life.
"You've got four minutes," the young man said, impatience sharpening his voice.
"I heard you hired someone to kill me." Reiji didn't bother with roundabout talk. If they could talk it out, they would. If the man refused to talk, then force would be the last option.
"You know?" The young man's eyes hardened. Since Reiji had already found out, there was no point hiding it. He glanced at the Poliwhirl and the Scyther beside Reiji, while his hand clenched around a Poké Ball—Charizard's.
"Relax. This could be a misunderstanding." Reiji's gaze dropped instantly to the Poké Ball. He lifted a hand and quietly signaled his Pokémon to hold.
They hadn't even talked yet. If words failed, they could battle then.
"I don't think there's any misunderstanding." In the young man's eyes, Reiji was the third wheel—and a dangerous one. They were rivals.
Cissy's behavior hadn't been subtle. He'd known her for a long time, and he'd never seen her drift off into thought so often. Sometimes she'd even punch and kick her pillow. Anyone could tell she had someone on her mind.
Reiji cleared his throat. "Cissy wants payback. We had a small misunderstanding before. Otherwise, how do you think I joined the Gym so easily? Other people can't just walk in."
He rubbed his nose and left it at that. If he explained the misunderstanding, it wouldn't just be awkward—it might make the guy want him dead even more.
"A misunderstanding? What misunderstanding?" The young man frowned. He'd never heard about it, and Cissy had never mentioned anything to him.
"I can't say. Just… a small misunderstanding. That's why she wants revenge, and why she brought me into the Gym. You can ask her. I'm not the one who can talk about it."
"Fine," the young man said after a brief pause. "Two minutes."
The more he thought, the more questions he had, but one thing was becoming clear: Reiji didn't look like someone trying to chase Cissy. If he were, he wouldn't be laying it out this bluntly.
If Cissy really had Reiji here to get back at him, then the daydreaming and the pillow abuse started to make sense. Still, he'd have to confirm it.
"There's another reason I joined," Reiji added. "I have a deal with Cissy's grandfather. He has something I want."
He didn't mind letting that old fisherman take the blame. The old man had played him first—Reiji could use him as a shield now. Besides, this guy wasn't going to march up to a retired powerhouse and demand answers. He didn't have the standing. Reiji didn't either. If anyone could do it, it would be the young man's parents—and that was only if marriage ever became real.
"Cissy's grandfather…" The young man had met him once as a child. Afterward, his parents had warned him: that old man was strong. When he was younger, he'd been a renowned Elite Four–level trainer.
A deal with someone like that wasn't something he could verify. He couldn't interrogate a retired veteran—especially one he wasn't even qualified to speak to.
If Reiji was here because of a deal, then it was hard to argue Reiji had come to pursue Cissy. Otherwise, why would he be stuck here doing the dry, thankless work of an acting Gym Leader instead of hovering around her and playing the devoted admirer?
He could still ask Cissy whether Reiji had met her grandfather. If the answer was yes, that would be proof enough.
The truth was, he'd also misunderstood something else. Chasing a girl didn't mean following her around every second. Not everyone could stomach acting like a clinging yes-man, day in and day out. Do it long enough and the girl starts getting annoyed, then disgusted, and then she wants you gone.
That was why Reiji refused to be anyone's lapdog. Let things fall where they fell. In his previous life he'd already been an older man who'd stopped forcing things, content to spend his days fishing and keeping his peace. This world was even bigger and brighter than the last one. He wasn't about to chain himself down.
The world was huge. He wanted to see it.
"I'm done explaining my side," Reiji said, a crooked smile on his face as he looked at the young man. "So are we going to talk about the assassination attempt?"
"A misunderstanding," the young man said slowly, and then again, as if the word finally fit. "It really was a misunderstanding."
The more he turned it over, the more he realized he'd been paranoid. Reiji didn't look like someone chasing Cissy at all. If he were, he wouldn't have come out and said everything so directly.
And if Cissy was plotting revenge, then of course she'd space out, thinking about what to do. The pillow beating, too—now it looked like venting, taking her anger out on something soft after Reiji had pissed her off.
Looking back, it all lined up.
He'd been stuck on one question for days: how could Cissy, the Mikan Gym Leader and a famous beauty on Mikan Island, possibly like some random kid from the sticks?
Now he finally had an answer.
"A misunderstanding?" Reiji chuckled. Funny. Now the word was coming from the other side.
"Sorry. It really was." The young man swallowed his pride easily enough. Seeing Reiji still smoking, he pulled out an expensive pack, offered one, and even lit it for him.
"If it's a misunderstanding, then we're done," Reiji said after a drag, waving it off. What else could he do?
His goal was already met. A major threat had been defused without a fight. Whatever the young man's real agenda was—whether he simply wanted to marry Cissy, or he was a Team Rocket mole planting roots in the Gym—it had nothing to do with Reiji.
Reiji's reason for joining the Mikan Gym was simple: he wanted that top-quality Water Stone. If he couldn't get it, he'd leave in six months at the earliest, a year at the latest, and find another path.
He was only sixteen. Time was the one thing he had plenty of. He didn't believe he'd be unable to get a top-quality Water Stone somewhere in this world.
"Hah. You're a straightforward guy. When you've got time, let's have a couple of drinks," the young man said, loosening up at last.
He still didn't think much of Reiji personally, but that old man behind him changed the equation. If Reiji really was someone the old man had brought into the Gym to train, then it was smarter not to throw attitude.
And if he married Cissy one day and became the Gym Leader himself, Reiji would be useful muscle. No need to grovel, but no need to make an enemy either. He'd really been blinded by jealousy.
"Sure. Being acting Gym Leader these past few days has been exhausting. Dealing with those kids is murder," Reiji said, rolling his shoulders. He'd battled nonstop lately. The soreness was real enough, even if he played it up.
"Two more days," the young man said, laughing. "Once the citrus harvest is done, things will calm down."
"Yeah. Gym Leader Cissy assigned me all the fun work," Reiji sighed, making sure the hint landed.
"Rai, right?" The young man hesitated, then spoke more carefully. "I misunderstood you before. I'm sorry. Another day, I'll treat you to a meal. I'll drink three cups as punishment—call it an apology. Deal?"
"Deal," Reiji said. "You're older than me. I can call you 'bro.'"
He wasn't going to keep digging at the knife. People like this smiled while plotting. If the guy offered an apology, Reiji would accept it with a grin. Keep things friendly first. Keep him calm. Then move on.
"Then it's settled." The young man was thrilled. The misunderstanding was gone, and he'd gained a trainer stronger than his own men—someone he could pull into his orbit later.
Then his expression turned serious. "Rai—because of what I thought before, I already put the job out there. That person might still make a move soon. Don't leave the Gym for a few days. I'll cancel it."
"That's… really kind of you," Reiji said, forcing an awkward smile. It was strange—minutes ago they'd been enemies, and now this guy was acting protective.
"It's nothing. I was in the wrong. Let me make it up to you." The young man glanced at Poliwhirl, then pulled a light-blue stone from his shoulder bag and placed it in Reiji's hand.
"A Water Stone?" Reiji looked down and brought up its info screen. Mid-quality.
He didn't want it.
Worse, the intent was obvious. Handing over an Evolution Stone like this wasn't generosity—it was bait. If Reiji evolved Poliwhirl with a mediocre stone, he'd be stuck with the result.
Any trainer with standards wanted the best for their Pokémon. Nobody serious used bargain evolution stones when better options existed.
"Your Poliwhirl's close to evolving, isn't it?" the young man said brightly. "Use this Water Stone."
"Thanks," Reiji said, smiling politely while pocketing the mid-quality stone.
"Hey, we're on the same side now. No need to be formal. If you run into trouble, come find me."
"Alright. I'll remember that," Reiji said. At this point, refusing would only slap the man's face—and Reiji had no interest in seeing how fast that smile could turn.
"Good, good—" The young man was about to keep talking when his phone rang. He saw the number, answered immediately, and the sweetness in his voice was unmistakable.
"Yeah, yeah. I'm coming. I'm on my way right now." He hung up and apologized to Reiji. "Rai, we'll talk another day. Cissy wants me over there. I'll go cancel the job—then that person won't move."
"Alright. I'll be here waiting for good news," Reiji said, waving him off.
The moment the car pulled away, Reiji's smile vanished.
The Water Stone sat cold in his palm. Even when the guy gave gifts, he was still digging pits for people. Nothing about it was clean.
Reiji wasn't about to use a low-end stone on Poliwhirl. Still, a mid-quality Water Stone was worth over a million. Free was free.
"Free stuff is great," he muttered, amused despite himself. "Free stuff all the time is even better."
Humming under his breath, Reiji headed back into the Gym, his steps lighter. If the sky fell, that fishing old man could hold it up for him.
As for men like that, they smiled to your face and cursed you behind your back.
At best, they could be drinking buddies. Nothing deeper than that.
Reiji was only trying to stay out of trouble. The other guy, though, looked like he wanted to put Reiji to work for him.
Disgusting. Shameless. A damned lapdog.
And if you really are a Team Rocket mole… we'll see.
[End of chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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