Case File 001 [Video | Action]

[bokukotantei]

Video

[Residents currently on the Warp Band network would be greeted by the face of a sharply dressed young person over the feed. With the quirky hat and the short hair style, the person had an equal chance of being male or female-- the clean lines of the dress shirt and tie didn't help matters either. The sun was bright that morning, and it took the stranger a moment to adjust their angle to account for the glare flashing off the lens.]

Good morning, Union.

[The stranger nodded briskly in greeting, offering a smile that was equal parts friendly and professional to the people tuning in.]

I imagine that we're all busy getting started with the day, so I'll keep this brief: I'm Naoto Shirogane, a detective from Caldera. I've just arrived, so does anyone else from the north mind filling me in on what's been happening?

Also-- I'm still in business if anyone wishes for my services. Just contact me on the network.

[And, promptly, the young detective closes the signal out.]

Action

[That afternoon would greet people in Union with one of two sights: the first is that of a young Ralts who had gotten separated from his trainer, staring longingly at the freshly baked buns that were cooling off within sight of the bakery window. He knew that humans like that green, papery stuff to trade for food and goods-- and he didn't have any-- but that didn't dampen the longing for the buns any less.

The second is that of Naoto herself, walking briskly down the streets in her platform boots, ignoring the smack of leather on concrete as she searched the streets. Some of the noise was intentional-- she wanted her target to know where she was, if they were to find her first.

On occasion she might peer at an unfurled map to get an idea of her general location. Other times she could be found staring down the street with a crisp, analytic look in her eyes. Anyone wandering close by might here her murmur something under her breath:]

Where could he have run off to this time?

Comments

[punchesyu]

[Leading her over to a table, he sits, placing the drink down. He shouldn't be surprised that Naoto is cutting right to the chase, he's a detective after all, so he sighs.]

Getting right to it. Alright. [Taking a breath, he starts with a fairly serious tone-]

See, this is what's happened since I got to Union, and from what I've learned from others.

[He goes on to tell Naoto about Sanctuary, the Homunculi, his and Yukiko's meeting with Suicune, the little he knows about the Enhanced, and the attack on Citadel months ago and how he finds it mysterious that so many legendary pokemon have shown up lately. He also mentions going out to find Gigas's city.]

And that about sums it up...

[bokukotantei]

[Naoto quietly sipped at her drink while she listened, scratching out notes in shorthand in a little pocket sized paper notebook that she kept on hand just in case something like this came up. She chimed in in occassion, either with dismayed commentary or questions to get further clarification on the details, but the entire picture as Yosuke understood it was laid out before her.]

...as I suspected, a great deal has been happening in such a short period-- and it really does sound like Union is at the center of it all. The prospect of an actual war with Gigas is problematic, as is many of the othe things that you mentioned.

No wonder some people here seem unsettled. And, after hearing all of that, who could blame them?

[punchesyu]

No kidding. I'm sure the last thing anyone was expecting was the possibility of war. [He'd learned of the war with Caldera and Gigas too- and knew that Naoto probably knew this concept far too well.]

But Union isn't like Citadel, or even Caldera, and I wonder how everything is gunna hit the fan. I gotta admit, the culture here is pretty different- some of the crap Gigas has pulled would result in death if the people of the plains and Citadel had anything to say about it.

[bokukotantei]

The same can be said about Caldera.

[And she wasn't joking. While she was far from the front lines due to the nature of her skills, she had seen everything that had happened during those battles in closer detail than she had ever wanted. A full on melee was no place for a slender steel-type who specialized in ranged combat...but, it wasn't as if she was without support.]

I personally am curious about how Union will respond to everything, which is part of why I've decided to throw my lot in here instead of in my home. This is a fascinating city, wouldn't you say?

[punchesyu]

Well, there is a lot to do here, and the people are way friendly. Who else would let a bunch of dangerous experiments and psychopaths in for rehab?

[Let alone let Sanctuary just keep doing what they were doing.]

[bokukotantei]

[Naoto simply smiled at that question.]

Clearly, the only sort of people who would allow those things are people from a culture that has yet to become jaded. They were Isolationist for most of the last five centuries, from what I've heard. Everything here, good and bad, must be strange and new to them.

[punchesyu]

I guess holing up for that long does change your perspective on things... But without their help, I guess we'd both be in serious trouble right now.

[Or possibly dead.]

So what, you think this place might hold the key to "saving the world" or something? [He questions, given the gravity of the events that have been happening recently.]

[bokukotantei]

[Or, in Naoto's case, potentially a fate worse than death-- if Gigas had won that war, there was no telling what they would have done to the high ranked military officials or free agents of notoriety like herself. It was chilling to ponder over.

Naoto calmly sipped at her drink, mulling over Yosuke's question.]

I honestly don't believe this place holds the key to anything, to tell the truth. However, there is no denying that the Gods have chosen to interact with the citizens of this establishment. If anything, I merely believe that Union is going to be the place where everything unfolds. In light of that, I would rather be here than in Caldera.

[punchesyu]

[He listens to her, and lets his head come to rest in the palm of his hand.]

Yeah, but why? Why not somewhere else? Is it because of the people who live here? The gods wouldn't just choose Union out of the blue, would they? There's gotta be a reason for it.

[bokukotantei]

Their stories about the Savior probably have something to do with it.

[She folded her hands together now, carefully watching Yosuke while she painted this picture with words.]

No other city has a story quite like that, where the reasons for the city's survival during that calamity centuries ago hinged on the act of a single person asking for forgiveness. It's unique, compared to everything else that I've heard of, and is a story that is grounded in selfless acts and altruism.

It also fits with how Union presents itself as a whole, wouldn't you agree? It wouldn't be a stretch to imagine that, if those stories are true, something is already expected of the people who were born inside these walls.

[punchesyu]

I mean, some freaky shit happened a while ago when people got sent back in time or something. Maybe it would be worth asking some of those people what happened. I think it might of been during that time when everything collapsed.

[He hadn't even thought to do that, even though rumors spread- maybe he'd ask around himself on that one.]

But when you put it that way, it does make a lot of sense. We always believed the Great Tree provided for us when we needed it, and I'll be honest, I don't know what stories Caldera has about that. But the gods have been contacting people who aren't native to here too. Y'think it might be because of the influence of this place...?

[bokukotantei]

Quite possibly, [Naoto said, making a further note about the time travelling incident so she could proceed with further inquiries either.] People across the land are travelling and adopting the customs of this city-- I assume that the Gods themselves don't particularly care where we come from, if we're acting within Union's influence.

Then again, in Caldera we never held much faith in the Gods. There's stories about them, but we kept our people and culture alive through our own individual efforts. No one saved us, and no one protected us-- in fact, it was a God who nearly destroyed us in the first place.

[She made a soft, thoughtful sound.]

...I'll work on keeping my own biases out of this, since we are dealing with beings of this calibur. But, there's really no such thing as an unbiased report.

[punchesyu]

[He nods. Caldera being nearly destroyed by a god too...it makes him wonder a lot about Union. Were they really the only ones that weren't almost destroyed by one of the gods?]

Well, you definitely came to the right place if you're looking for information on them...and since it seems they've got their own opinions on humans, I hope they're all trustworthy. I don't really want to end up as some angry god's lunch-! You can't even reason with some of them!

[He grimaces. That was the last thing he wanted, to die horribly by consumption...]

Anyway, I think that's all the info I've got for ya. It's not always that exciting around here, so while you're in town, why don't you come hang with us? No offense or anything, but you look like you're younger than me.

[bokukotantei]

[Naoto nodded in agreement with Yosuke. While she hadn't personally experienced an encounter with any gods, she had read enough headlines to know that they were on the cusp of something huge. Like Yosuke, she only hoped that the future would come as smoothly-- and painlessly-- as possible.]

...I'm fifteen years old, [she said in reply to the second question.] That's not much younger than you are right now, correct? I don't see why my age has any relevance here, but...

Thank you. This is a big city to not have any friends in.

[She offered a small, somewhat embarrassed smile at those words. Friends for a person in her particular circumstances were few and far between. She barely had any personal contacts outside of her immediate family, but she had travelled to Union alone. Beside Ichiro and possibly a few other Calderans in town, she knew no one.]

[punchesyu]

Well! Usually detectives are a lot older! I don't think I've ever met someone as young as you working on the police force. [He only smiles back, unaware if he's being especially rude or not.] I wouldn't ask some detective that's a lot older than me to come hang, how weird is that?

[He takes a sip of his drink, continuing.]

I just turned eighteen a few months ago, so it's not that big of a gap. And you sure as hell sound way more mature than any fifteen year old I've ever met. We'll show you around! See the sights! Check out the laaaaadies!

[bokukotantei]

[Oh god, he was one of those sort of guys. Naoto sighed, momentarily tugging at the brim of her hat as if to hide her discomfort.]

Thanks for the offer, but I'm not particularly interested in dating anyone. Just being friends is good enough.

[She took a breath, and a sip of her drink.]

As for my age...I don't see how it's terribly unusual. Skill is what's looked at in a person first in foremost in Caldera, not necessarily age or gender-- although those are important factors to consider. If a person is skilled enough, there's no reason not to work with them.

I come from a long line of detectives as well, and I've been helping my grandfather on cases since I was very young. There's really nothing weird about it at all.

[punchesyu]

[He didn't think there was anything wrong with just looking, but shrugs. If Naoto wasn't interested in dating, it wasn't a big deal. But he'd do his best to hook the guy up if he ever did find a chick he liked.]

So that explains why. Huh. You must be pretty good at it then. They give ya a gun and handcuffs too? [That's what cool detectives have right? They get to have all the neat police crap to help them with their jobs.]

[bokukotantei]

[Naoto chuckled. Though she wasn't psychic-typed, she had a few guesses about Yosuke's current thought process.]

I do have a gun-- though, no cuffs. I work privately, you understand. Handcuffs are specifically used by the authorities who can arrest people. That isn't something I do for my job.

[punchesyu]

Bummer. Well, that part seems like a huge pain in the ass anyway, especially if you had to wrestle them or something to arrest them.

[But Naoto got a gun and that's cool as hell]

[bokukotantei]

I'm a Steel-type from a city dominated by Fighting-types. That sort of deal just isn't a good match for me, so I'm not going to complain too much about it.

[Besides, she had plenty of freedom to act without the umbrella of the Rock Legion to act under.]

[punchesyu]

Heh, yeah, you'd totally get rocked from here all the way down to Refuge and back!

[Definitely sounded like a bad situation for Naoto.]

Don't worry bro, I got your back.

[bokukotantei]

[That wasn't even considering her secondary typing, either-- there was a distinct reason why she had agreed to befriend a Ralts, and it wasn't just because she tended to get so caught up in a case that she forgot the emotional element to it.]

Thanks-- I appreciate it. And, when the time comes, I'll help you out however I can as well.

[punchesyu]

Hey, don't sweat it! I think it might be about that time though...

[He checks the time on the wall.]

I gotta head out, but we'll hang again soon. Welcome to Union.