bridgescribble | don't be afraid,

Shota blinked, frowning at the meal before he realised where the problem lay. "Don't eat that part, then." He handed her his napkin with a shrug. "You can wrap it up if it bothers you."

The rest of the meal would hopefully be fine once the meat was gone, but he put his tub of salad on her tray as well, just in case. Going hungry wasn't such a concern for him. There was one other member of their group whose diet also hadn't been considered though.

Gesturing at Snowy, he asked, "Or will she eat it?" The fox-like creature certainly looked like she should be carnivorous or omnivorous like a fox.

Lillie couldn't eat the rest of that meal, as the juices of the meat were mixing into the rest of it, but at Shota's suggestion, Snowy happily barked, waving her tails.

She certainly could eat it!

"I usually carry Pokemon food in my other bag, but yes, Snowy could eat it," Lillie brightened up a bit, thinking it wouldn't go to waste like that—if it'll feed a Pokemon, it's fine! "Thank you for sharing your food... um, you can have the vegetables or the egg, if you'd like."

She finished eating her salad and began eating part of his too, but soon slowed down, stopping at only half of it, so he'd think she's full and not offer her anything more. He needed to eat too, after all!

Lillie placed the meat in a napkin, where Snowy happily licked at it, but didn't seem very good at ripping it. Lillie proceeded to cut the meat up for Snowy. Omnivorous though she might've been, she didn't do much in the way of hunting or ripping into meat on her own, used to kibble-like meals! She had the hunting instincts for it, though, which was why she'd been able to sense what was underground so well...

"Sure." Shota took the offered remains of Lillie's meal without argument. Unlike her, he wasn't still growing and could more readily skip meals, but he was fairly hungry after everything that had happened and wouldn't turn it down now that his charges were taken care of. Even if he suspected Lillie could stand to eat more.

He quickly finished off his own meal, watching Lillie feed the meat to Snowy with a quiet amusement in his eyes. Like this, she reminded him a little of a spoiled housecat. It was completely different to how well she'd defended Lillie and helped him with their captors a few short hours ago. The Pokemon was attracting some attention from the other passengers, too, with a few comments on how well-behaved she was.

Curling back up in his seat, he closed his eyes, prepared to doze off again. One eye cracked open as he told Lillie, "Wake me if you need anything." Since after seeing her shiver, he suspected she wouldn't disturb him otherwise, even if there was a problem.

“Mm-hmm, I will,” Lillie said, but truthfully, the cozy sleeping bag made her feel more comfortable, as did having food in her stomach, so she felt like going back to sleep, more comfortably this time.

Lillie, too, would hold Snowy close and rest after both had finished eating.

The flight would be safe and uneventful (mild turbulence at one point aside) until landing.

Shota had woken a couple of hours before they landed and caught up on some reading, mostly in regards to what was publicly known about Lillie's family and what he could expect on the island. His hero licence only counted for so much in another country, so he needed to tread carefully if he wanted to be able to catch whoever on the island was involved in the kidnapping ring.

Once they landed, he'd gotten Lillie to call her home so they could be picked up. He didn't know whether it was her parents or a driver behind the wheel of the car that pulled up in front of them, choosing to stay, waiting quietly behind her and Snowy to see who came out and what she had to say to them.

Lillie's family are conservationists and researchers, the Aether Foundation both acted as a Pokemon reserve, as well studying phenomena such as Ultra Holes...

They are quite wealthy, owning at least two mansions on record, as well as private jet, ship, helicopters, and various other vehicles, as well as trained Ride Pokemon. They employ an entourage of maids on their estate, headed by an elderly butler who also acts as Lillie's caretaker in the absence of her parents.

As Lillie had mentioned in her story, an accident with an Ultra Hole led to the disappearance of her father years ago, who was assumed dead until he was recently found by Lillie and her family, as she'd explained. A second Ultra Hole was kept secret from Lusamine and nearly being drawn into that one by a Ultra Beast trying to prey on her caused Lillie's trauma, but when the staff member responsible who had apparently commited such crimes as stalking, breaking and entering (into then-runaway Gladion's home), and tried to use a Pokemon's powers to erase Lillie's memories when she'd recovered them as they incriminated him, he was to be punished, but Lillie had formally and publicly pardoned him. He lost his position, but was kept working at the Aether Foundation, doing rather menial tasks and repetitive paperwork. He continued to design and experiment with various things in his own time, once testing out an experiment on Lillie and her friends when he was sent there by Lillie's mother as a guest lecturer, although it went a bit awry unintentionally. Otherwise, he has comitted no further crimes, although he had reason to begrudge Lillie.

There had been an incident where a greedy land developer (President Viren of Rainbow Happy Resorts) tried to cheat a family out of their land, using underhanded tactics, although the victim of a fabricated deed was a native Alolan classmate of Lillie's at her school; a boy named Kiawe whose family runs a farm on Akala Island, Lillie and her friends helped Kiawe's family. Athough the land developer had been arrested for fraud and forgery, reported by Kiawe's father, and was caught red-handed while trespassing and attempted to destroy the farm, it's unclear if he remains imprisoned. Before his imprisonment, his company had expanded in suspiciously short time and their underhanded tactics were infamous, but could never be proven with hard evidence... Kiawe's family was not his only victims and were, comparatively, luckier than his previous targets.
A grudge against Lillie personally is possible, as she and Kiawe's friends banded together to protect the farm when he tried to have his men bulldoze it, right before the police arrived... or perhaps, he was also after her family's land.

There is a (technically disbanded) gang of wayward youth who previously caused much havoc in Alola, although they haven't caused any crimes for quite some time. No personal grudge against Lillie or her family.

There is a very lazy and corrupt police officer who is, nonetheless, holding the respected role of Island Kahuna, chosen by the island's guardian deity... rumours of a connection with the underworld, but nothing concrete. A pathological liar and almost terminally lazy and avoidant of any kind of responsibility. No personal grudge against Lillie or her family.

An elderly, mistachioed limousine driver in a grey suit and hat was driving, the people in the back of the limousine appeared to be Lillie's family, as they all shared her straight platinum blonde hair and green eyes, from her father, mother, to her brother. The mother and father were all quite finely dressed, although Lillie's brother favoured black clothes with red accents and strategic rips, had pierced ears, and looked almost comically out of place between his trousers-and-suspenders donning father and dress-and-heels-wearing mother.

The very moment the car arrived, the worried mother ran out, tears streaming, crying for her baby, which clearly embarrassed Lillie somewhat, but she was also clearly in need of comforting and clung to her just as tightly. The father seemed a bit unsure on his feet, looking quite dazed and overwhelmed, yet also relieved to hold his family. The boy simply drew closer and stared suspiciously at Shota, as thought trying to determine if he were a suspicious person standing to benefit from this situation. It seemed Shota was right to think his appearance didn't exactly inspire confidence in anyone unfamiliar with his deeds.

The reports had Shota upgrading his assessment of Lillie's family wealth, a fact he was sure promised trouble for him. He had never done well when dealing with the rich and powerful, having little patience for the type of people who expected to be treated with respect whilst offering none in return. But Lillie was kind and undemanding, so maybe he was wrong, and her parents would be the same. Or she learned her manners from her caretaker.

The list of possible suspects wasn't all that long, and there was an easy first choice to look into in the developer Viren. Given what they'd seen of the organisation, he seemed to most likely suspect. In tracking him down, Shota would need to speak to the police officer as well so he could see if the Island Kahuna warranted further digging as well when he did.

It had been a while since Shota had done this sort of work, given how much of his time was taken up with teaching. He was eager to put those skills to use again - and to find whoever would send a child off to die and show them how much of a mistake they'd made.

That was all for later. First, Shota had to ensure Lillie was safely reunited with her family and inform them of what had happened.

He stood back silently, watching the reunion. Meeting her brother's eyes impassively, his face half-hidden behind the coils of his capture weapon. He didn't care if they thought little of him; it wouldn't be the first or last time he was dismissed based on his appearance.

After giving the family a few minutes to reassure themselves that Lillie was unharmed, he stepped forward and spoke up, offering a shallow bow in greeting. "Your daughter is unharmed, but I need to speak to you both about the events leading to her disappearance. My name is Eraserhead; I'm a hero from Japan. Lillie was kidnapped and smuggled over as part of an operation I have reason to believe is still present on the island. That's why I'm here."

He had no intention of telling them the whole story - particularly his intended role in their daughter's fate - but a broad overview would surely be enough to get them on board with finding the culprit.

The officers Jenny are often seen patrolling and seem to take their job quite seriously. Nanu, on the other hand... seldom left his home, where he spent much of his time lazing about with his many, many Meowth... and if he wandered out, it was quite aimless, though he might claim to be patrolling.
While it would be very hypocritical for such a punk-looking teenager to judge anyone's looks, Gladion was mostly suspicious because he was deeply protective of his sister. He listened with wide eyes to Shota's story.

Lusamine's tears stopped rather quickly and she clapped her hands together, standing straight up, giving poor Lillie a bit of whiplash. With childish joy, Lusamine squealed, "A hero!! That's so cool, I've heard of you!!! You're not as flashy as the other heroes—"Lillie looked mortified by her mother again, Gladion blinking and burying his face in his palm, Mohn's relieved, but dazed, expression didn't change—"Can I take your picture?!"

Lusamine was incredibly childish and whimsical. Yes, a lover of (decidedly more theatrical) superheroes.

"Mom, Lillie?" Gladion said, irritably, as he joined his, at this moment, abandoned sister.

"Ah... right! Oh, you're so right, Gladion, how did I get so easily distracted...?"

Edited (Formatting!) 2023-04-26 10:53 (UTC)

Lillie wasn't the only one who experienced whiplash when her mother shifted moods so abruptly. Shota blinked at her, surprise quickly replaced by a flatly disapproving stare. "No."

Parents were always the worst part of both his jobs, whether they were his students or someone like Lillie's. He'd happily never meet any of them if it were possible. Lillie and her brother were equally exasperated by the outburst, so this was nothing new, it seemed. Good thing he hadn't brought along one of the flashier heroes, or who knew how much worse it would be.

Lusamine at least remembered what was important after her son prodded her in the right direction. Sighing, Shota tried again, interrupting her. "As I said, your daughter was kidnapped and smuggled out of the country. I suspect the main operation is based in Japan, but there are collaborators on the island I need to bring to justice. I need your help in identifying how they were able to access your daughter so I can track them down."

He hoped Lusamine and her husband didn't need him to spell out that Lillie could still be in danger until the culprits were caught. She needed to be careful until the danger was gone, but he didn't want to completely ruin her sense of security in her own home, that would already be suffering after being kidnapped.

“What could they want with our daughter?” Lusamine asked, sounding distraught.

“On this island? It’s usually such a peaceful place,” Mohn commented, gently placing a hand on Lillie’s shoulder.

“Maybe it’s best if Lillie goes inside to rest, after such a long flight,” Lusamine said, helping her daughter into the limousine, seeming to finally grasp the situation at hand. “Hobbes will be waiting for you with a meal, okay? Gladion! You stay with Lillie, alright?”

Her voice was sugary sweet, but Gladion looked ready to protest, wanting to help take down the threat.
“If you and dad are staying here—” he began, but Lusamine gave a very cold look, smile still in place, that seemed to force Gladion to behave, although he still looked annoyed.
“For Lillie,” Gladion insisted as he walked back to the car; it seemed he preferred to think of himself as protector than protected… Lillie gave him an apologetic little smile and he seemed to go from indignantly angry to taking watching over her very seriously, alert for threats.

This left Shota alone with Mohn and Lusamine.

Shota had his suspicions as to why Lillie had been targetted but her parents didn't need to hear them. It wouldn't help anything and could taint their recollections.

He was relieved when her mother realised she'd been through enough and staying for the discussion would only add to her stress. Watching the children climb into the limousine, he waited till the car had peeled away and left him alone with their parents.

First things first.

"You need to see who had contact with Lillie the day she disappeared. It's possible someone who works for you was involved in her kidnapping." They wouldn't act again so quickly but it was something that needed to be investigated.

"I have a few leads to follow but anything you can give me will help me track the culprit down faster." He might not look like the best choice for tracking down anything, his hero outfit well-worn and rumpled from the flight and making no attempt to take notes as he stood slouched with his hands jammed in his pockets but he was what they had.

"She was only at school and home," Lusamine said, brow creasing with worry. "Aside from her teacher, the Professor, her classmates, the maids and butler, she shouldn't have encountered anyone..."

"Someone who works for us...?" Mohn asked, also looking confused.

Aside from lower-ranking staff, the ones close enough to know the Aether family's children personally were all (mostly) trustworthy people they'd known for years! The only one with any reason to begrudge Lillie had been...

"... Faba?" Lusamine asked, expression darkening. "... but, why?! She'd even forgiven him and he was absolved of his crimes. I even sent him to teach at her school o—"

She went silent, blinking as she realized she'd only added to the reasons to suspect Faba. She sighed heavily and held her head. "Could it really be him again...?"

"It's possible. I'll need to talk to him and all the staff that were at your home that day." As much of a motive as Lusamine had just offered for the man in question, Shota couldn't allow himself to become fixated on a single suspect without evidence.

The family might not think it was any of their maids, but statistically, many crimes were committed by people close to the victim. He couldn't dismiss the possibility it was someone they didn't suspect.

"If you can bring together everyone on your staff who had contact with her that day, I'll come by later to talk to them. Don't let them know why they're being questioned. I'm going to follow up another lead first."

Stepping back, he picked up his luggage, ready to leave and do just that; there was just one thing he needed to do first. "Keep an eye on both your children; we don't know the culprits won't try again. I'll give you my number. You can call me in an emergency."

((Sorry for the loooong delay, I got caught up in stuff, both work (ER shifts and on-call days) and rp-related (focused a lot on my other muses in the Pokemon dressing room I have... way too many characters in, despite not being very good at juggling characters), I also wound up delaying things so much because I was too picky and wanted to see the later eps he's in, fff. Then, I also lost my reply that I had in the comment preview page, so I had to start over... ^^;;;; So! If you still wanna complete the thread, we can, if not, that's okay too and maybe we can play again some other time! ^_^/))

Lusamine and Mohn listened carefully to Shota's instructions and followed his advice, thanking him.

Should Shota follow up on the Viren lead next, he'd have little trouble tracking him down, as he's opened up yet another business in addition to his Pokebase (Pokemon baseball, effectively) stadium and Viren Tower which he even broadcasts from... he'd also built ever more gaudy golden statues of himself (slimmed down and sculpted to be far more conventionally attractive, of course, much like idealized portraits of the wealthy elite). It would seem he'd gotten all the richer on very short notice, yet again, in ways that don't quite add up with the businesses he ran...

It would be very easy to track him down, just follow the money (and garish golden statues), but perhaps more challenging to reach him past his rough and burly ~~goons~~ employees, but Shota could probably take them on easily. They aren't even that loyal, so they might balk with intimidation or sell him out!

don't be afraid,

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[after they disembark, they’ll be just a phonecall away~]

I'm sure this will go just fine...

[1/2; things for Shota to come across during his reading--with perhaps too much detail, sorry!]

[2/2; things for Shota to come across during his reading--with perhaps too much detail, sorry!]

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[enter Lusamine, self-absorbed childwoman, but!!! Genuinely loving mother trying her best now]

ha, alas I don't know he'll have too much patience for her but maybe we'll get there

[Lusamine can be a bit more serious when it calls for it!]

and she cares about her kids so that counts for a lot!

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[... yet another, MUCH longer delay, sorry!]