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rionaleonhart) wrote2022-11-14 05:12 pm
rionaleonhart) wrote2022-11-14 05:12 pm
Entry tags:
Fanfiction: Negi Ramen Blasts Off (Full Moon wo Sagashite/Pokémon)
It's time for another fic for a twenty-year-old fandom!
I hadn't really registered until just now, but, between Utena, Final Fantasy VIII and Full Moon wo Sagashite, I've written for a surprising number of twenty-year-old fandoms over the past three months. This is the most dormant yet; the last fic posted to AO3 for Full Moon wo Sagashite was in September 2021.
(The Do Revenge fic in the midst of all the older fandoms has resulted in some wild variation in my AO3 stats. Kudos counts for my last four fics, working backwards: one, seven, 513, eleven.)
Incidentally, this is the first self-indulgent Pokémon crossover I've written in six years. I'm losing my touch.
Title: Negi Ramen Blasts Off
Fandom: Full Moon wo Sagashite/Pokémon
Rating: G
Wordcount: 6,000
Summary: Takuto and Meroko are struggling Team Rocket members, but maybe their luck is changing. If they can deliver this Mitsuki girl and her rare Pokémon to the boss, all will be forgiven. Everything’s going to be fine. You know, so long as they don't get attached.
Takuto lies on the grass, his hands behind his head, and stares up at the sky. It’s a beautiful day, the perfect temperature, a couple of wispy clouds drifting lazily across the expanse of brilliant blue, and he can’t enjoy it.
Four weeks. Four weeks without stealing a single Pokémon. It’s been a bad month in a bad six months in a bad year, and he doesn’t even want to think about the boss will do to them at their next evaluation.
“Um... excuse me?”
Takuto raises his head, blinking in confusion. A girl’s just come into their clearing, maybe twelve or thirteen. Her dark hair is done up carefully at the sides of her head, and her expression is bright and open, and hovering beside her...
Hovering beside her...
Takuto stares. He glances over at Meroko for an instant, just to check that she’s noticed, and then looks quickly back. He gets to his feet. He stares.
“Oh,” the girl says, laughing, “I like your hats!”
Takuto touches the Meowth ears of his hat, suddenly feeling selfconscious. “Uh,” he says, “thanks.” He doesn’t take his eyes off the Pokémon.
“Do you know much about Pokémon?” the girl asks. “Because I found this one. Well, it found me, really. I want to know what it is. I tried a Pokédex, but it couldn’t tell me anything.”
For a moment Takuto almost loses his mind and tells her what she’s found. He’s only silenced by Meroko shooting him a glare so intense it somehow breaks through the strange trance he seems to be in.
It’s Meloetta. This girl is wandering around with a mythical Pokémon.
He’s itching to launch into the Team Rocket motto, and he can see that Meroko’s feeling the same way. But they can’t risk it; the stakes are too high. They have to get that Meloetta, and this girl doesn’t seem to be wary of them yet.
“I don’t know it,” Meroko says, at the higher pitch she often slips into when she’s being insincere. “But it looks cool, right?”
The girl nods enthusiastically. “And it sings really well! That’s how I found it – I was singing, and it joined in.”
“Let’s take a closer look,” Takuto says. He takes a few steps towards Meloetta, but it pirouettes away from him, its eyes sharpening.
Takuto freezes. He doesn’t want to pick any fights with a legend; he doesn’t know what it’s capable of. He glances back at Meroko.
Meroko cautiously approaches the Meloetta herself. But it starts to glow, and she backs off quickly.
She and Takuto look at each other for a moment. They’re so close; they can’t let this opportunity go by. But they can’t get killed trying to get their hands on this thing.
“I have a great idea,” Meroko says, clapping her hands together as she turns to the girl. “Our boss knows a whole lot about Pokémon. If we bring you to him, he can probably tell you what that Pokémon is!”
The girl beams. “That sounds great!”
Takuto nearly blows up at Meroko right then and there, but he can’t exactly shout at her for her Pokémon-stealing technique in front of the person whose Pokémon they’re trying to steal.
“Hold on, kid,” he says instead. “I need a word with my teammate.”
He drags Meroko into the undergrowth without waiting for a reply.
“You’re volunteering us to babysit some kid?” he demands, as quietly as he can manage in his indignation.
“Do you have any better ideas?” Meroko demands. “That thing won’t let us near it, but it follows the girl around. If we take her to the boss, we take Meloetta to the boss. He can deal with actually getting it, and we’ll be promoted for sure.”
Takuto wants to keep arguing; it’s not in his nature to drop a disagreement. But he’s unhappy to realise that what Meroko is saying actually makes sense.
“Fine,” he says. “But she’s your responsibility.”
He wheels and stalks back into the clearing.
“Okay,” he says. “We’re going to see our boss. Let’s get moving.”
“You said you’re teammates, right?” the girl asks, gesturing between him and Meroko. “What’s your team called?”
Takuto twitches. Glances over at Meroko. He’s never needed to perform the motto so intensely in his life. But they can’t do it right now.
“Our team?” Meroko asks, with a too-loud laugh. “We’re called – um, we’re – we’re called Negi Ramen.”
“We’re called what?” Takuto demands.
Meroko shrugs helplessly at him. I’m hungry, she mouths.
The girl laughs in delight. “It sounds delicious! And what are your names?”
Meroko strikes a pose. “Meroko!”
Takuto strikes his own without thinking. “Takuto!”
It feels wrong not to follow their names up with Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light.
The girl looks confused for a moment, then widens her stance and displays a peace sign across her face. “I’m Mitsuki!”
It takes Takuto a moment to realise: she’s assumed from their Team Rocket poses that she’s expected to pose while introducing herself as well. He has to stifle a laugh.
“I’ve never been in a team,” Mitsuki says. “Can I be part of Negi Ramen, too?”
Takuto looks for a moment into those wide, earnest eyes.
“Fine,” he mutters. “Welcome to Negi Ramen.”
-
It’s a long way to headquarters, and they don’t have the money for rooms. Plus it’s best to stay away from other people; if anyone else recognises Mitsuki’s companion as Meloetta, it’ll cause a stir. Which means they’re camping.
They also don’t have a tent, after that incident where a stolen Skarmory got out of its Pokéball and shredded the canvas, which means they’re camping out in the open. At least it’s warm and dry.
Takuto takes first watch, then wakes Meroko to take over. It’d be nice to have Mitsuki take a shift, give them both room to get more rest, but they need to keep an eye on her and her Pokémon; they can’t risk her realising what’s going on and sneaking off while they’re both sleeping.
It feels like no time at all has passed between Takuto lying down and Takuto realising it’s morning. There’s sunlight glowing through his eyelids, and he can hear his own name coming from somewhere. He tries to focus.
“Takuto,” Mitsuki is saying, in a loud whisper. “Takuto!”
“I’m sleeping, kid,” Takuto mumbles, keeping his eyes closed.
“Sorry! It’s just that I got you a present.”
Yeah, he’ll admit it: that gets him to open his eyes. Who doesn’t like presents?
“What is it?” he asks, sitting up in his sleeping bag.
Mitsuki beams at him. She’s crouching beside him in a way that looks uncomfortable, her elbows on her knees and her arms crossed, but it doesn’t seem to bother her. “Okay, so Fullmoon went off into the bushes, and—”
“Fullmoon?” Takuto interrupts.
“The singing Pokémon that was with me. I didn’t know what to call it, so I named it Fullmoon. Its face is so round; it looks kind of like the moon, right?”
“It left?” Takuto demands, struggling out of his sleeping bag and leaping to his feet. He looks around the camp. Meroko’s not keeping watch; she’s fallen asleep sitting down, and he is going to have some strong words for her.
But Meloetta is still there, and Takuto lets out a quiet breath of relief.
“We came back,” Mitsuki says. “I just didn’t know where Fullmoon was going, so I followed it. And it led me to a Pokémon!”
She takes out a Pokéball and presses the release button. A Meowth appears and launches straight into grooming itself. Takuto looks blankly at it.
“So I thought you might like it,” Mitsuki says. “I mean, it matches your hat.”
Takuto looks at her. “What?”
Mitsuki rolls the Pokéball towards him. “I don’t know if you have a Meowth already. But you can have this one, if you want it.”
Takuto stares at her. Stares at the Meowth. Stares at the Pokéball at his feet.
His first thought is that a Meowth isn’t a valuable Pokémon. This isn’t going to get them any points with the boss.
His second thought is that, if the boss wouldn’t be impressed with it... that means he really could keep it for himself, right? He has a Zubat that Team Rocket assigned to him, but he’s going to be expected to return it eventually; he doesn’t have any Pokémon that are really his.
“Are you sure?” he asks. He immediately feels stupid for asking. They’re planning to steal a mythical Pokémon from her, and he wants to make sure she really wants to give up her Meowth?
Mitsuki nods. “Mhm! I wanted to thank you for helping me.”
That doesn’t make Takuto feel great. But he picks up the Pokéball anyway.
“Thanks,” he says.
-
“You caught a Pokémon?” Meroko asks.
“Uh, Mitsuki gave it to me,” Takuto says, watching his Meowth burrow into his unoccupied sleeping bag. He tilts his head, taps one of the Meowth ears on his hat. “I guess she thought it suited me.”
Meroko doesn’t say anything in response to that. He turns to find her frowning.
“What?” he asks.
Meroko glances over to where Mitsuki is packing up her things. Drops her voice. “She’s a mark. It’s dangerous to get attached.”
“Who’s getting attached? I’m not giving her presents. And I’m not the one who was napping on guard duty.”
Meroko folds her arms. “I guess a Pokémon is a Pokémon. Are you gonna give it to the boss?”
“No,” Takuto says. “It’s mine.”
-
Mitsuki and Meloetta are duetting a little way ahead, a passionate and energetic song that feels somehow familiar. Takuto catches himself humming along as he walks, hands in his pockets, his Meowth a warm weight on his shoulder.
They’re good singers. Well, yeah, obviously Meloetta is a good singer; that’s what it’s known for. But the kid is holding her own against it.
The two of them seem pretty attached to each other. What’s Meloetta going to do when they take it away from her? If it fights back, it could probably cause some real damage.
What’s Mitsuki going to do when they take Meloetta away from her? It’s probably not something they need to worry about; she doesn’t exactly look like a fighter. But somehow the thought bothers Takuto anyway.
-
None of them are exactly expert chefs, but Takuto’s probably the best cook of the three of them, so he’s been doing most of the meal preparation. This evening, as the shadows of the trees lengthen, he’s making negi ramen on the fringe of a small wood.
It’s a stupid idea, and he’s annoyed with himself for attempting it in the first place. Negi ramen is not campfire cooking. It’s not like it can’t be done, but he’s making things needlessly fiddly by using a recipe that involves a lot of chopped vegetables.
But Mitsuki laughs when he serves it to her – “Oh, like our team!” – and, with an uncomfortable jolt, he realises that on some level he might have been making it so he could hear that laugh.
-
“Where’s Mitsuki?” Meroko asks, back from her training session with her Team Rocket-issued Grimer. Technically, they’re expected to train with their assigned Pokémon for at least an hour a day, although neither Takuto nor Meroko have been strictly observing that requirement for a while. There isn’t always a Pokémon Centre nearby, and it’s stupid to wear their Pokémon out for no reason.
Takuto shrugs. “I don’t know, in the bushes somewhere.”
Meroko plants her hands on her hips. “You’re meant to be watching her.”
“Pretty sure she just needed the toilet,” Takuto says. “We probably don’t have to watch her all the time, anyway. She hasn’t exactly been trying to get away.”
He doesn’t like the way Meroko is looking at him.
“What?” he asks, after his efforts to ignore her fall through.
“I need you to stay focused,” Meroko says. “We’re partners. Don’t forget what we’re doing here.”
If he’s completely honest, yeah, maybe there’s a reason he’s relaxing his watch. Maybe he’s kind of hoping Mitsuki will figure out who they are and get away from them.
Takuto takes in a deep breath, lets it out slowly. “What do you think the boss will do to her?”
Meroko says nothing.
“We’re going to walk her straight into Team Rocket’s headquarters,” Takuto says. “She’s going to know exactly where we’re based. Do you think she’s going to be allowed to leave?”
More silence.
“I know you’ve thought about this,” he says.
“Like I said,” Meroko says at last, raising one shoulder in a shrug that doesn’t feel casual. “We need to stay focused.”
“Meroko!”
It’s Mitsuki’s voice. Takuto turns sharply.
“Meroko!” Mitsuki comes running up to them. “Um, I didn’t want to just give Takuto a Pokémon, and I wanted to get you a Buneary if I could – you know, to match your hat – but I don’t think you can find Buneary around here, so, um...” She tosses a Pokéball onto the grass, struggling to get her breath back. A male Nidoran bursts out of it in a flash of light. “I thought you might like this? It’s got big ears as well, and I know you have a Grimer, so I thought maybe you liked poison Pokémon.”
Mitsuki picks up the Nidoran and holds it out to Meroko. After a moment’s bewildered hesitation, Meroko reaches out for it, and the Nidoran clambers into her arms.
Meroko stands there, holding the Nidoran against her chest, and Takuto knows far too well what she looks like when she’s about to burst into tears.
-
“We haven’t actually told the boss to expect a Meloetta,” Takuto says. He’s lying on his back on a slab of rock, his Meowth curled up on his stomach. “If we didn’t show up with it, he wouldn’t know the difference.”
They’ve stopped by a lake to wash and replenish their water supplies. Meroko’s leaning against the rock formation Takuto is lying on. The last time Takuto checked, Mitsuki was down by the water, drawing patterns in the sandy ground.
They’ve both become less careful about watching Mitsuki and Meloetta, making sure their unknowing prisoners don’t escape. Takuto knows Meroko won’t thank him if he points it out.
“We don’t have any money,” Meroko says. “If we don’t bring him anything, we won’t get paid.”
Takuto sighs. “I know.”
It’s warm enough to camp in the open, but it’s not going to stay that way forever. If they don’t make enough to start taking rooms before winter sets in, they’ll freeze. Bringing in Meloetta would probably earn them enough to get them through at least the next couple of years.
But then there’s Mitsuki.
“We could tell her to wait while we show it to the boss,” Meroko suggests. “That way she doesn’t have to go into the base herself.”
And maybe she’ll be safe, Takuto’s mind fills in.
Are those their choices? Betray Mitsuki, or betray her and get her killed or imprisoned?
They’ve never actually got to know any of their victims before. Lately, Takuto’s found himself wondering about the other people they’ve stolen Pokémon from. How their minds work, what they might have felt with their Pokémon gone. Whether it still hurts for them. What they sound like when they sing.
“Do you ever think about leaving Team Rocket?” he asks.
“And going where?” Meroko asks. “We’re sixteen. Not a lot of legal work out there for a couple of teenagers.”
True. In theory, as they’re under eighteen and don’t have guardians, the government should put a roof over their head if they appeal for help. In practice, Takuto’s been working with Team Rocket for two years and Meroko for four, so there’s a good chance the roof over their head will be a prison one.
He sits up, dislodging his complaining Meowth, and rests his arms across his knees. Watches Mitsuki for a while, as she looks out over the lake.
“Maybe we could be freelance thieves,” he says.
“What’s a freelance thief?” Meroko asks.
“You know, we’re not employed by Team Rocket. We just steal for ourselves.”
“That’s just a thief.”
He shrugs. “Fine. Maybe we could just be thieves.”
Meroko lets out a hard sigh. “Team Rocket doesn’t accept resignations, you know. We’d be unemployed and on the run.”
She’s right, of course. Takuto’s toyed with the idea of leaving Team Rocket before. But he knows it’s never been a real option.
“I guess there’s no chance for us,” he says. “But we could let her go.”
Meroko looks down at the Pokéball in her hands.
-
They leave in the night while Mitsuki is sleeping.
Takuto wanted to leave a note, something to make sure she wouldn’t just wake up alone, with no idea where they’d gone or what had happened. But, in the end, he couldn’t think of how to explain.
The note he left, in the end, just said It’s called Meloetta. There was a Sorry on the paper as well, but he thinks he managed to cross it out thoroughly enough to make it unreadable.
-
“A Meowth and a Nidoran?” the boss demands. “Two common field Pokémon that could be caught anywhere? Do you think this is an acceptable month’s work?”
Takuto says nothing. Usually, he’d keep his focus on the boss while being lectured, but right now he can’t take his eyes off his Meowth. Or... not his Meowth, any more.
It looks confused.
“Still,” the boss says, “at least you’ve actually brought a couple of Pokémon in, which is more than I can say for some teams. You won’t get a commission out of this, but I suppose we won’t withhold your salary for this month.”
-
Their work as Team Rocket agents has picked up considerably since they established a travelling Pokémon grooming service. Grooming earns them a little money on the side, and, if the occasional rarer Pokémon ‘runs away’ in their care, well, these things just happen sometimes.
Takuto sometimes finds himself wondering whether they could just work as legitimate Pokémon groomers, drop the illegal side of the business. But there’s no chance it could work in the long run. Sooner or later the thefts are going to come to light, and this whole thing is going to implode.
“You know a girl was looking for you guys?” their latest customer asks. Madoka something; she called earlier to book in a spa treatment for her Spoink. Probably not worth stealing.
“Hm?” Takuto asks, looking up from their appointment book.
“I mean, she was asking if anyone had seen a guy with Meowth ears or a girl with Buneary ears,” Madoka says. “I’m pretty sure there can’t be that many people who fit that description.”
Takuto and Meroko exchange glances. Probably a former victim of theirs. It might be time to move on to the next town.
“She was at the Pokémon Centre,” Madoka says. “And... you’re not going to believe me, but I swear it looked like she had Meloetta with her.”
Takuto and Meroko look at each other again, considerably more sharply.
“Sorry,” Takuto says. “We’re closing for the day.”
“What?” Madoka asks.
“Takuto!” Meroko protests.
Takuto bolts out of the van, with Meroko in close pursuit.
“You can’t do that!” Madoka calls after them.
-
“What are you doing, Takuto?” Meroko demands, breathless. “What are we meant to say to her? It’s been months!”
Takuto keeps running. He doesn’t know what to say to Mitsuki, after everything. But the way they left things has never sat right with him.
He reaches the Pokémon Centre just as Mitsuki and Meloetta are coming out of it.
Takuto slams to a halt. Mitsuki freezes, her eyes widening.
“Takuto?” she asks. “Meroko?”
Takuto hunts for words and comes up with nothing.
“Hey, Mitsuki!” Meroko says, with an uncomfortable laugh. “It’s been a while, huh?”
“Where were you?” Mitsuki demands. “Where did you go? Why did you go?”
On reflection, Meroko was right; this is a bad idea. But they’re here now.
Mitsuki’s outrage is giving way to awkwardness. She kicks restlessly at the pavement, glancing between them. “I was asking if anyone had seen you, and... a couple of people said you were members of Team Rocket. It’s not true, right?”
Ah.
Yeah, that’s the danger if you wear extravagant hats while you’re robbing people. Meroko made their outfits herself, and Takuto didn’t have the heart to refuse his. If he’s honest, he kind of likes it.
“Team Rocket?” Meroko asks, with a startlingly high-pitched laugh. “Of course we’re not in Team Rocket! We’re Negi Ramen, right? The three of us.”
Mitsuki frowns. “Are you sure? I asked a lot of questions, and they seemed really sure it was you.” She looks over at Meloetta. Its eyes are fixed on Takuto, unsettlingly intense. “But everyone says Meloetta is really rare, and you never tried to take Fullmoon away.”
Takuto glances along the pavement. “Can we talk somewhere else?”
-
There’s a park nearby, and they head there, find a patch of trees with no one else around. Takuto doesn’t usually try to get people alone unless he’s trying to rob them. He can feel his muscles tensing as they enter the shelter of the trees, his adrenaline spiking.
He turns to face Mitsuki. She’s heard they’re bad news, but she still came here with them. That girl really needs to take better care of herself.
Takuto takes a deep breath.
“We’re in Team Rocket,” he says.
“Takuto!” Meroko hisses.
Mitsuki takes a step back.
“That’s why we left,” Takuto says. “We were going to take Fullmoon to our boss. We changed our minds.” He shrugs. “Do you understand now?”
There’s a long silence. Takuto feels strangely detached from his own body, like he’s watching someone else have this conversation without him.
“N-no!” bursts out of Mitsuki at last. It’s so fierce that it startles Takuto back into himself. “No, I don’t understand! You were nice to me! We were friends!”
“It was a trick,” Takuto says. He’s shaken; he tries not to show it. “You should stay away from us. And you should keep Fullmoon out of sight. If any of our colleagues find out you have Meloetta—”
Mitsuki’s expression has softened in a way that makes him lose his train of thought.
“You’re worried about me,” she says.
Takuto folds his arms. “It’s just frustrating to see someone making such bad decisions.”
“You are nice,” Mitsuki says. “I knew it.”
“We’re in Team Rocket,” Takuto reminds her.
Mitsuki makes a face. “That’s not great. But we’re still friends, right?” She turns to Meroko. “Right?”
Meroko looks startled to be asked. “Um, most people don’t want to be friends when they know who we are.”
“But I know you,” Mitsuki says. “I like you. We’re all part of Negi Ramen, right?”
Negi Ramen doesn’t exist, Takuto thinks. Negi Ramen is just another way we tricked you.
He looks at Mitsuki’s face and he can’t say it.
“I guess so,” he says.
Mitsuki claps her hands together. “I’m glad I found you again! I was looking for you for so long.”
Takuto has to look away. But he catches himself smiling, maybe, just a little.
Meroko’s right; people don’t normally want to be friends with them. Having someone outside Team Rocket know who they are and still want to associate with them...
It’s probably a stupid, impossible dream. But it makes a life outside Team Rocket seem a little easier to picture, somehow.
-
“What happened to your Meowth?” Mitsuki asks, as they’re walking back to the park entrance.
Takuto’s steps stutter to a halt.
“You always had it out of its Pokéball,” Mitsuki says, frowning slightly. She looks at Meroko. “What about your Nidoran?”
Takuto sends Meroko a desperate glance. Somehow, telling Mitsuki about this feels worse than telling her they were originally planning to steal from her.
“We turned them in to the boss,” he says. “We had to give him something, or we’d have run out of money.” He hesitates. “Sorry.”
Mitsuki looks horrified. “But they were yours!”
“I didn’t want to,” Takuto says, bristling. “We didn’t exactly have time to train that Meowth to use Pay Day. We hadn’t stolen anything in a while. We needed food.”
“Okay,” Mitsuki says. “But... you’re thieves, right? Why don’t you just steal them back?”
Takuto stares at her for a moment.
“What?” he asks.
They only travelled with Mitsuki for a week or so. Takuto will freely admit that there are things he doesn’t know about her. But he still wasn’t prepared to hear her openly endorsing theft.
“I think they must be missing you,” Mitsuki says. “And stealing from Team Rocket is better than stealing from normal people, right?”
“Not if they’re your employer,” Meroko says. “This is a really bad idea.”
But Meroko’s always been bad at hiding her thoughts, and Takuto’s surprised to realise that she’s tempted.
If he’s honest, so is he. He misses his Meowth. But they can’t just blow up their employment when they don’t have any other options for work.
“They’re not exactly rare Pokémon,” Meroko says. “We could catch new ones.”
But they wouldn’t be the ones Mitsuki gave to them. Takuto can tell Meroko doesn’t believe in what she’s saying.
“We can’t cross Team Rocket,” Takuto agrees. “We need to keep our income.”
Meroko nods. “Exactly.”
They look at each other for a long moment. Waiting for someone to crack.
“Sorry,” Mitsuki says. “I guess it was a bad suggestion.”
Meroko slams her fist into her palm. “Okay! Let’s do it.”
-
Meowth and Nidoran are both common Pokémon, so they probably won’t have been sold. It’s more likely that they’re being put through intensive training, powering them up so they can be assigned to new recruits, or until they evolve and their value increases.
Meroko spent her early time with Team Rocket helping with training, before she and Takuto were partnered up, so she knows exactly where they need to go: a warehouse down by the Vermilion docks. Looking up at it, it’s hard not to think about what a bad idea this is.
But they’re here, and they have the perfect distraction.
“You’re gonna be okay?” Takuto asks, glancing over at Mitsuki and Meloetta.
Mitsuki nods. “Mhm! I’m ready.”
“They might get Fullmoon, you know,” Takuto points out. “It’s not a great trade for a Meowth and a Nidoran.”
“I mean, I don’t really own Fullmoon,” Mitsuki says. “It just follows me.” She looks over at it. “Are you still okay to do this, Fullmoon?”
Meloetta sings a high, clear note. Takuto has no idea what that means, but Mitsuki seems to take it as a confirmation.
Meloetta never seemed to like Takuto or Meroko, back when they were bringing Mitsuki to the boss. It seems strange that it’d be willing to help them get their Pokémon back now. Maybe it can tell that they’re not planning to harm Mitsuki any more.
-
Meroko raps on the warehouse door in a quick rhythm. There’s a long pause before it’s opened.
“Meroko,” Izumi greets her, leaning against the doorframe. “It’s always a pleasure to see you.”
Izumi’s the one on training duty? That’s not good news. Izumi’s smart, and they won’t be able to appeal to his compassion. He’s ruthless and manipulative enough to have driven away every other Team Rocket member he’s been partnered with, and now he works alone.
Well, not entirely alone. His Gastly, Jonathan, is hovering just behind his shoulder.
“The boss sent us to relieve you,” Meroko says, keeping her voice impressively steady.
“Your knock is two years out of date,” Izumi says. “If someone sent you, it wasn’t the boss.”
This already isn’t going well. Takuto steps in. “We found a rare Pokémon. We’re just bringing it here because it’s closer than headquarters.”
Izumi raises his eyebrows. “I already know you lied to me a moment ago. Why would I believe you now?”
“Maybe the fact that you can see it right there?” Takuto suggests, waving Mitsuki and Meloetta over.
Plan A was to make out that Meloetta was just passing by, get Izumi to chase it away from the warehouse. It doesn’t feel good to switch to plan B this early. It’s less defined, and they don’t have a plan C.
But Izumi’s eyes widen; for an instant, he actually looks taken aback. It’s not something that happens often. It’s pretty satisfying.
“Is the girl a new recruit?” he asks. “She doesn’t really match your style.”
“I just haven’t made her outfit yet,” Meroko says. “I think Pachirisu ears would suit her.”
Takuto glances over to check on Mitsuki. She looks nervous, but strangely excited. Maybe she likes the idea of having a Pachirisu outfit.
“Nice to meet you,” she says, with an awkward wave to Izumi. “I’m Mitsuki.”
They should probably have told her not to use her real name.
Izumi just smiles, in a way Takuto immediately wants to punch off his face.
“Anyway, you gonna let us in or not?” Takuto asks. “I’d hate to be the one to tell the boss I let Meloetta get away because I was busy asking stupid questions.”
Izumi steps back from the door, gesturing them inside. “By all means. I’ll call the boss and arrange to have it picked up, shall I?”
“We’re not letting you take credit for this,” Takuto says, walking inside the warehouse. Casting his eyes over the glass-fronted Pokéball cabinets around the training arena, willing himself to recognise his Meowth’s ball somehow. “I’ll call him.”
“Of course,” Izumi says, holding the door for Meroko, Mitsuki and Meloetta. Jonathan weaves around them, laughing quietly.
It looks like the Pokéballs are filed alphabetically by species, which means Takuto’s Meowth and Meroko’s Nidoran might be in the same cabinet, at least. That should make things easier.
Once everyone’s inside, Izumi closes the door.
He padlocks it.
“Hey, what are you doing?” Takuto demands.
“Being sensible,” Izumi says. “As you pointed out, I’m sure the boss wouldn’t like it if Meloetta escaped.”
He tucks the key into the pocket of his waistcoat as he’s speaking. Takuto makes a frantic mental note.
“Although it doesn’t seem to be making any efforts to escape,” Izumi observes. “Isn’t that odd? By all accounts, Meloetta is an intelligent Pokémon, and we haven’t exactly been subtle about the fact it might not want to be here.”
The situation is feeling increasingly dangerous. “Mitsuki caught it already. It’s loyal to her.”
Izumi folds his arms. “If you’d caught it, you wouldn’t be worried about it escaping. Or, if you were, you’d be keeping it in its Pokéball. Why don’t you tell me why you’re really here?”
The sensible thing to do would probably be to keep up the pretence. They locked in, and they’re comically outnumbered; Izumi has an entire warehouse full of Pokémon loyal to Team Rocket. This is a situation that calls for cunning, not force.
The problem is that Izumi always drives Takuto up the wall, which makes it a lot harder to do the sensible thing.
He punches Izumi in the face.
Darkness billows out from Jonathan in an instant, whipping around Takuto, engulfing him. Takuto turns, breathing hard, looking for Meroko or Mitsuki, looking for a way out. There’s nothing to see but black smoke.
No. Meroko’s standing next to him; he has his hand on Mitsuki’s shoulder. He—
He pushes Mitsuki forward, and she stumbles to her knees in front of the boss.
“The Meloetta follows her around,” Takuto hears himself saying. “If we wanted to bring it here, we had to bring her. You can dispose of her.”
No.
“Takuto!” someone calls.
“I’ll have Izumi deal with her,” the boss says. “Meloetta is an impressive find. You’ve done well.”
“No!”
The boss’s face dissolves into light, and an instant later Meroko is dragging Takuto out of the smoke.
“You were screaming,” Mitsuki says, pale and anxious. “Are you okay?”
Takuto’s shaking. It takes him a moment to make sense of what just happened. Night Shade. It was an illusion.
He didn’t hand Mitsuki over to the boss. Mitsuki’s here.
“Keep it together,” Meroko orders, more worried than angry, and he grips her wrist briefly in thanks.
The smoke is starting to dissipate. Izumi walks through it towards them, hands in his pockets. “You’re smarter than this, Meroko. I’ll give you the opportunity to take my side before I deal with the others.”
There’s a strange sound above his words. Somebody is starting to sing.
Mitsuki makes a wordless, alarmed exclamation and presses her hands over Takuto’s ears. He’s startled, twists away, and only then realises what she’s trying to do; it’s not just singing, it’s Sing.
He quickly claps his hands over his own ears, and Mitsuki does the same for herself, now that her hands are free. Izumi and Meroko aren’t fast enough; they’re asleep in an instant, and so is Jonathan when Takuto turns to check.
He looks at Meloetta, which seems to have finished singing. It takes a short bow.
“Thanks,” Takuto says quietly, letting his hands fall from his ears. He hurries over to the Pokéball cabinets. When he glances at Mitsuki to give her instructions, he sees she’s beaten him to his thought; she’s already hunting through Izumi’s waistcoat for the padlock key.
One ball labelled Meowth, two Nidoran. They don’t have time to check them here. Takuto grabs all three and clips them to his belt, then hurries over to lift Meroko into his arms.
Her hat’s fallen off. It’s stupid to waste time here. But...
“Mitsuki!” Takuto calls, in a loud whisper. “The hat!”
Mitsuki gets the warehouse door open, then hurries over, grabs Meroko’s hat and puts it on her own head. Takuto’s used to it on Meroko, but somehow it looks ridiculous on Mitsuki. He has to resist the urge to burst out laughing; this definitely isn’t the time for that.
They head out into the evening light: Meloetta, Mitsuki and Takuto, carrying Meroko asleep.
He was hoping to avoid attention, but some people glance over; he guesses they’re not exactly an inconspicuous group. Someone’s probably going to check the warehouse and find Izumi unconscious, along with several cabinets’ worth of stolen Pokémon. They should probably avoid Vermilion City for a while.
Still. Maybe this means the Pokémon will be returned to their original owners. It’s not a bad thought.
-
There’s no doubt that they’ve retrieved Takuto’s Meowth, even if it doesn’t stay still long enough for him to get a good look at it; it’s barely out of the Pokéball before it chirps in delight and jumps up onto his shoulder. Meroko’s Nidoran runs over and butts her leg.
The other Nidoran is a female, and it seems confused to be out in the open rather than in that warehouse. It tests the grass cautiously with its paws, then gives it an experimental nibble.
“You should keep it, Mitsuki,” Meroko suggests.
Mitsuki frowns down at the Nidoran. “Won’t it belong to someone?”
That concern hadn’t really crossed Takuto’s mind. He guesses Team Rocket’s philosophy has left its mark on him.
“You can look after it for now,” he says. “We can start asking around about a missing Nidoran if you want.”
Mitsuki crouches to stroke the Nidoran. She doesn’t look entirely convinced. “We should take it to the police, right?”
Takuto and Meroko exchange an uncomfortable glance.
“Maybe not the police,” Takuto says. They should probably stay off that particular radar, even if...
Huh.
Takuto turns to look back across the fields, towards Vermilion City, towards the docks. His Meowth’s claws are a gentle pressure on his shoulder, a reminder of what they’ve just done.
“I guess we’re not Team Rocket members any more,” he says.
This was probably a stupid decision. They’ve destroyed their employment; they’ve made enemies of a criminal organisation; they’ve burnt their bridges with no plan for how they’re supposed to live out the rest of their lives.
It feels good.
Maybe the three of them can figure out something new together. He has no idea what Negi Ramen is supposed to do, but they’ve got time to make it a real thing.
I hadn't really registered until just now, but, between Utena, Final Fantasy VIII and Full Moon wo Sagashite, I've written for a surprising number of twenty-year-old fandoms over the past three months. This is the most dormant yet; the last fic posted to AO3 for Full Moon wo Sagashite was in September 2021.
(The Do Revenge fic in the midst of all the older fandoms has resulted in some wild variation in my AO3 stats. Kudos counts for my last four fics, working backwards: one, seven, 513, eleven.)
Incidentally, this is the first self-indulgent Pokémon crossover I've written in six years. I'm losing my touch.
Title: Negi Ramen Blasts Off
Fandom: Full Moon wo Sagashite/Pokémon
Rating: G
Wordcount: 6,000
Summary: Takuto and Meroko are struggling Team Rocket members, but maybe their luck is changing. If they can deliver this Mitsuki girl and her rare Pokémon to the boss, all will be forgiven. Everything’s going to be fine. You know, so long as they don't get attached.
Takuto lies on the grass, his hands behind his head, and stares up at the sky. It’s a beautiful day, the perfect temperature, a couple of wispy clouds drifting lazily across the expanse of brilliant blue, and he can’t enjoy it.
Four weeks. Four weeks without stealing a single Pokémon. It’s been a bad month in a bad six months in a bad year, and he doesn’t even want to think about the boss will do to them at their next evaluation.
“Um... excuse me?”
Takuto raises his head, blinking in confusion. A girl’s just come into their clearing, maybe twelve or thirteen. Her dark hair is done up carefully at the sides of her head, and her expression is bright and open, and hovering beside her...
Hovering beside her...
Takuto stares. He glances over at Meroko for an instant, just to check that she’s noticed, and then looks quickly back. He gets to his feet. He stares.
“Oh,” the girl says, laughing, “I like your hats!”
Takuto touches the Meowth ears of his hat, suddenly feeling selfconscious. “Uh,” he says, “thanks.” He doesn’t take his eyes off the Pokémon.
“Do you know much about Pokémon?” the girl asks. “Because I found this one. Well, it found me, really. I want to know what it is. I tried a Pokédex, but it couldn’t tell me anything.”
For a moment Takuto almost loses his mind and tells her what she’s found. He’s only silenced by Meroko shooting him a glare so intense it somehow breaks through the strange trance he seems to be in.
It’s Meloetta. This girl is wandering around with a mythical Pokémon.
He’s itching to launch into the Team Rocket motto, and he can see that Meroko’s feeling the same way. But they can’t risk it; the stakes are too high. They have to get that Meloetta, and this girl doesn’t seem to be wary of them yet.
“I don’t know it,” Meroko says, at the higher pitch she often slips into when she’s being insincere. “But it looks cool, right?”
The girl nods enthusiastically. “And it sings really well! That’s how I found it – I was singing, and it joined in.”
“Let’s take a closer look,” Takuto says. He takes a few steps towards Meloetta, but it pirouettes away from him, its eyes sharpening.
Takuto freezes. He doesn’t want to pick any fights with a legend; he doesn’t know what it’s capable of. He glances back at Meroko.
Meroko cautiously approaches the Meloetta herself. But it starts to glow, and she backs off quickly.
She and Takuto look at each other for a moment. They’re so close; they can’t let this opportunity go by. But they can’t get killed trying to get their hands on this thing.
“I have a great idea,” Meroko says, clapping her hands together as she turns to the girl. “Our boss knows a whole lot about Pokémon. If we bring you to him, he can probably tell you what that Pokémon is!”
The girl beams. “That sounds great!”
Takuto nearly blows up at Meroko right then and there, but he can’t exactly shout at her for her Pokémon-stealing technique in front of the person whose Pokémon they’re trying to steal.
“Hold on, kid,” he says instead. “I need a word with my teammate.”
He drags Meroko into the undergrowth without waiting for a reply.
“You’re volunteering us to babysit some kid?” he demands, as quietly as he can manage in his indignation.
“Do you have any better ideas?” Meroko demands. “That thing won’t let us near it, but it follows the girl around. If we take her to the boss, we take Meloetta to the boss. He can deal with actually getting it, and we’ll be promoted for sure.”
Takuto wants to keep arguing; it’s not in his nature to drop a disagreement. But he’s unhappy to realise that what Meroko is saying actually makes sense.
“Fine,” he says. “But she’s your responsibility.”
He wheels and stalks back into the clearing.
“Okay,” he says. “We’re going to see our boss. Let’s get moving.”
“You said you’re teammates, right?” the girl asks, gesturing between him and Meroko. “What’s your team called?”
Takuto twitches. Glances over at Meroko. He’s never needed to perform the motto so intensely in his life. But they can’t do it right now.
“Our team?” Meroko asks, with a too-loud laugh. “We’re called – um, we’re – we’re called Negi Ramen.”
“We’re called what?” Takuto demands.
Meroko shrugs helplessly at him. I’m hungry, she mouths.
The girl laughs in delight. “It sounds delicious! And what are your names?”
Meroko strikes a pose. “Meroko!”
Takuto strikes his own without thinking. “Takuto!”
It feels wrong not to follow their names up with Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light.
The girl looks confused for a moment, then widens her stance and displays a peace sign across her face. “I’m Mitsuki!”
It takes Takuto a moment to realise: she’s assumed from their Team Rocket poses that she’s expected to pose while introducing herself as well. He has to stifle a laugh.
“I’ve never been in a team,” Mitsuki says. “Can I be part of Negi Ramen, too?”
Takuto looks for a moment into those wide, earnest eyes.
“Fine,” he mutters. “Welcome to Negi Ramen.”
It’s a long way to headquarters, and they don’t have the money for rooms. Plus it’s best to stay away from other people; if anyone else recognises Mitsuki’s companion as Meloetta, it’ll cause a stir. Which means they’re camping.
They also don’t have a tent, after that incident where a stolen Skarmory got out of its Pokéball and shredded the canvas, which means they’re camping out in the open. At least it’s warm and dry.
Takuto takes first watch, then wakes Meroko to take over. It’d be nice to have Mitsuki take a shift, give them both room to get more rest, but they need to keep an eye on her and her Pokémon; they can’t risk her realising what’s going on and sneaking off while they’re both sleeping.
It feels like no time at all has passed between Takuto lying down and Takuto realising it’s morning. There’s sunlight glowing through his eyelids, and he can hear his own name coming from somewhere. He tries to focus.
“Takuto,” Mitsuki is saying, in a loud whisper. “Takuto!”
“I’m sleeping, kid,” Takuto mumbles, keeping his eyes closed.
“Sorry! It’s just that I got you a present.”
Yeah, he’ll admit it: that gets him to open his eyes. Who doesn’t like presents?
“What is it?” he asks, sitting up in his sleeping bag.
Mitsuki beams at him. She’s crouching beside him in a way that looks uncomfortable, her elbows on her knees and her arms crossed, but it doesn’t seem to bother her. “Okay, so Fullmoon went off into the bushes, and—”
“Fullmoon?” Takuto interrupts.
“The singing Pokémon that was with me. I didn’t know what to call it, so I named it Fullmoon. Its face is so round; it looks kind of like the moon, right?”
“It left?” Takuto demands, struggling out of his sleeping bag and leaping to his feet. He looks around the camp. Meroko’s not keeping watch; she’s fallen asleep sitting down, and he is going to have some strong words for her.
But Meloetta is still there, and Takuto lets out a quiet breath of relief.
“We came back,” Mitsuki says. “I just didn’t know where Fullmoon was going, so I followed it. And it led me to a Pokémon!”
She takes out a Pokéball and presses the release button. A Meowth appears and launches straight into grooming itself. Takuto looks blankly at it.
“So I thought you might like it,” Mitsuki says. “I mean, it matches your hat.”
Takuto looks at her. “What?”
Mitsuki rolls the Pokéball towards him. “I don’t know if you have a Meowth already. But you can have this one, if you want it.”
Takuto stares at her. Stares at the Meowth. Stares at the Pokéball at his feet.
His first thought is that a Meowth isn’t a valuable Pokémon. This isn’t going to get them any points with the boss.
His second thought is that, if the boss wouldn’t be impressed with it... that means he really could keep it for himself, right? He has a Zubat that Team Rocket assigned to him, but he’s going to be expected to return it eventually; he doesn’t have any Pokémon that are really his.
“Are you sure?” he asks. He immediately feels stupid for asking. They’re planning to steal a mythical Pokémon from her, and he wants to make sure she really wants to give up her Meowth?
Mitsuki nods. “Mhm! I wanted to thank you for helping me.”
That doesn’t make Takuto feel great. But he picks up the Pokéball anyway.
“Thanks,” he says.
“You caught a Pokémon?” Meroko asks.
“Uh, Mitsuki gave it to me,” Takuto says, watching his Meowth burrow into his unoccupied sleeping bag. He tilts his head, taps one of the Meowth ears on his hat. “I guess she thought it suited me.”
Meroko doesn’t say anything in response to that. He turns to find her frowning.
“What?” he asks.
Meroko glances over to where Mitsuki is packing up her things. Drops her voice. “She’s a mark. It’s dangerous to get attached.”
“Who’s getting attached? I’m not giving her presents. And I’m not the one who was napping on guard duty.”
Meroko folds her arms. “I guess a Pokémon is a Pokémon. Are you gonna give it to the boss?”
“No,” Takuto says. “It’s mine.”
Mitsuki and Meloetta are duetting a little way ahead, a passionate and energetic song that feels somehow familiar. Takuto catches himself humming along as he walks, hands in his pockets, his Meowth a warm weight on his shoulder.
They’re good singers. Well, yeah, obviously Meloetta is a good singer; that’s what it’s known for. But the kid is holding her own against it.
The two of them seem pretty attached to each other. What’s Meloetta going to do when they take it away from her? If it fights back, it could probably cause some real damage.
What’s Mitsuki going to do when they take Meloetta away from her? It’s probably not something they need to worry about; she doesn’t exactly look like a fighter. But somehow the thought bothers Takuto anyway.
None of them are exactly expert chefs, but Takuto’s probably the best cook of the three of them, so he’s been doing most of the meal preparation. This evening, as the shadows of the trees lengthen, he’s making negi ramen on the fringe of a small wood.
It’s a stupid idea, and he’s annoyed with himself for attempting it in the first place. Negi ramen is not campfire cooking. It’s not like it can’t be done, but he’s making things needlessly fiddly by using a recipe that involves a lot of chopped vegetables.
But Mitsuki laughs when he serves it to her – “Oh, like our team!” – and, with an uncomfortable jolt, he realises that on some level he might have been making it so he could hear that laugh.
“Where’s Mitsuki?” Meroko asks, back from her training session with her Team Rocket-issued Grimer. Technically, they’re expected to train with their assigned Pokémon for at least an hour a day, although neither Takuto nor Meroko have been strictly observing that requirement for a while. There isn’t always a Pokémon Centre nearby, and it’s stupid to wear their Pokémon out for no reason.
Takuto shrugs. “I don’t know, in the bushes somewhere.”
Meroko plants her hands on her hips. “You’re meant to be watching her.”
“Pretty sure she just needed the toilet,” Takuto says. “We probably don’t have to watch her all the time, anyway. She hasn’t exactly been trying to get away.”
He doesn’t like the way Meroko is looking at him.
“What?” he asks, after his efforts to ignore her fall through.
“I need you to stay focused,” Meroko says. “We’re partners. Don’t forget what we’re doing here.”
If he’s completely honest, yeah, maybe there’s a reason he’s relaxing his watch. Maybe he’s kind of hoping Mitsuki will figure out who they are and get away from them.
Takuto takes in a deep breath, lets it out slowly. “What do you think the boss will do to her?”
Meroko says nothing.
“We’re going to walk her straight into Team Rocket’s headquarters,” Takuto says. “She’s going to know exactly where we’re based. Do you think she’s going to be allowed to leave?”
More silence.
“I know you’ve thought about this,” he says.
“Like I said,” Meroko says at last, raising one shoulder in a shrug that doesn’t feel casual. “We need to stay focused.”
“Meroko!”
It’s Mitsuki’s voice. Takuto turns sharply.
“Meroko!” Mitsuki comes running up to them. “Um, I didn’t want to just give Takuto a Pokémon, and I wanted to get you a Buneary if I could – you know, to match your hat – but I don’t think you can find Buneary around here, so, um...” She tosses a Pokéball onto the grass, struggling to get her breath back. A male Nidoran bursts out of it in a flash of light. “I thought you might like this? It’s got big ears as well, and I know you have a Grimer, so I thought maybe you liked poison Pokémon.”
Mitsuki picks up the Nidoran and holds it out to Meroko. After a moment’s bewildered hesitation, Meroko reaches out for it, and the Nidoran clambers into her arms.
Meroko stands there, holding the Nidoran against her chest, and Takuto knows far too well what she looks like when she’s about to burst into tears.
“We haven’t actually told the boss to expect a Meloetta,” Takuto says. He’s lying on his back on a slab of rock, his Meowth curled up on his stomach. “If we didn’t show up with it, he wouldn’t know the difference.”
They’ve stopped by a lake to wash and replenish their water supplies. Meroko’s leaning against the rock formation Takuto is lying on. The last time Takuto checked, Mitsuki was down by the water, drawing patterns in the sandy ground.
They’ve both become less careful about watching Mitsuki and Meloetta, making sure their unknowing prisoners don’t escape. Takuto knows Meroko won’t thank him if he points it out.
“We don’t have any money,” Meroko says. “If we don’t bring him anything, we won’t get paid.”
Takuto sighs. “I know.”
It’s warm enough to camp in the open, but it’s not going to stay that way forever. If they don’t make enough to start taking rooms before winter sets in, they’ll freeze. Bringing in Meloetta would probably earn them enough to get them through at least the next couple of years.
But then there’s Mitsuki.
“We could tell her to wait while we show it to the boss,” Meroko suggests. “That way she doesn’t have to go into the base herself.”
And maybe she’ll be safe, Takuto’s mind fills in.
Are those their choices? Betray Mitsuki, or betray her and get her killed or imprisoned?
They’ve never actually got to know any of their victims before. Lately, Takuto’s found himself wondering about the other people they’ve stolen Pokémon from. How their minds work, what they might have felt with their Pokémon gone. Whether it still hurts for them. What they sound like when they sing.
“Do you ever think about leaving Team Rocket?” he asks.
“And going where?” Meroko asks. “We’re sixteen. Not a lot of legal work out there for a couple of teenagers.”
True. In theory, as they’re under eighteen and don’t have guardians, the government should put a roof over their head if they appeal for help. In practice, Takuto’s been working with Team Rocket for two years and Meroko for four, so there’s a good chance the roof over their head will be a prison one.
He sits up, dislodging his complaining Meowth, and rests his arms across his knees. Watches Mitsuki for a while, as she looks out over the lake.
“Maybe we could be freelance thieves,” he says.
“What’s a freelance thief?” Meroko asks.
“You know, we’re not employed by Team Rocket. We just steal for ourselves.”
“That’s just a thief.”
He shrugs. “Fine. Maybe we could just be thieves.”
Meroko lets out a hard sigh. “Team Rocket doesn’t accept resignations, you know. We’d be unemployed and on the run.”
She’s right, of course. Takuto’s toyed with the idea of leaving Team Rocket before. But he knows it’s never been a real option.
“I guess there’s no chance for us,” he says. “But we could let her go.”
Meroko looks down at the Pokéball in her hands.
They leave in the night while Mitsuki is sleeping.
Takuto wanted to leave a note, something to make sure she wouldn’t just wake up alone, with no idea where they’d gone or what had happened. But, in the end, he couldn’t think of how to explain.
The note he left, in the end, just said It’s called Meloetta. There was a Sorry on the paper as well, but he thinks he managed to cross it out thoroughly enough to make it unreadable.
“A Meowth and a Nidoran?” the boss demands. “Two common field Pokémon that could be caught anywhere? Do you think this is an acceptable month’s work?”
Takuto says nothing. Usually, he’d keep his focus on the boss while being lectured, but right now he can’t take his eyes off his Meowth. Or... not his Meowth, any more.
It looks confused.
“Still,” the boss says, “at least you’ve actually brought a couple of Pokémon in, which is more than I can say for some teams. You won’t get a commission out of this, but I suppose we won’t withhold your salary for this month.”
Their work as Team Rocket agents has picked up considerably since they established a travelling Pokémon grooming service. Grooming earns them a little money on the side, and, if the occasional rarer Pokémon ‘runs away’ in their care, well, these things just happen sometimes.
Takuto sometimes finds himself wondering whether they could just work as legitimate Pokémon groomers, drop the illegal side of the business. But there’s no chance it could work in the long run. Sooner or later the thefts are going to come to light, and this whole thing is going to implode.
“You know a girl was looking for you guys?” their latest customer asks. Madoka something; she called earlier to book in a spa treatment for her Spoink. Probably not worth stealing.
“Hm?” Takuto asks, looking up from their appointment book.
“I mean, she was asking if anyone had seen a guy with Meowth ears or a girl with Buneary ears,” Madoka says. “I’m pretty sure there can’t be that many people who fit that description.”
Takuto and Meroko exchange glances. Probably a former victim of theirs. It might be time to move on to the next town.
“She was at the Pokémon Centre,” Madoka says. “And... you’re not going to believe me, but I swear it looked like she had Meloetta with her.”
Takuto and Meroko look at each other again, considerably more sharply.
“Sorry,” Takuto says. “We’re closing for the day.”
“What?” Madoka asks.
“Takuto!” Meroko protests.
Takuto bolts out of the van, with Meroko in close pursuit.
“You can’t do that!” Madoka calls after them.
“What are you doing, Takuto?” Meroko demands, breathless. “What are we meant to say to her? It’s been months!”
Takuto keeps running. He doesn’t know what to say to Mitsuki, after everything. But the way they left things has never sat right with him.
He reaches the Pokémon Centre just as Mitsuki and Meloetta are coming out of it.
Takuto slams to a halt. Mitsuki freezes, her eyes widening.
“Takuto?” she asks. “Meroko?”
Takuto hunts for words and comes up with nothing.
“Hey, Mitsuki!” Meroko says, with an uncomfortable laugh. “It’s been a while, huh?”
“Where were you?” Mitsuki demands. “Where did you go? Why did you go?”
On reflection, Meroko was right; this is a bad idea. But they’re here now.
Mitsuki’s outrage is giving way to awkwardness. She kicks restlessly at the pavement, glancing between them. “I was asking if anyone had seen you, and... a couple of people said you were members of Team Rocket. It’s not true, right?”
Ah.
Yeah, that’s the danger if you wear extravagant hats while you’re robbing people. Meroko made their outfits herself, and Takuto didn’t have the heart to refuse his. If he’s honest, he kind of likes it.
“Team Rocket?” Meroko asks, with a startlingly high-pitched laugh. “Of course we’re not in Team Rocket! We’re Negi Ramen, right? The three of us.”
Mitsuki frowns. “Are you sure? I asked a lot of questions, and they seemed really sure it was you.” She looks over at Meloetta. Its eyes are fixed on Takuto, unsettlingly intense. “But everyone says Meloetta is really rare, and you never tried to take Fullmoon away.”
Takuto glances along the pavement. “Can we talk somewhere else?”
There’s a park nearby, and they head there, find a patch of trees with no one else around. Takuto doesn’t usually try to get people alone unless he’s trying to rob them. He can feel his muscles tensing as they enter the shelter of the trees, his adrenaline spiking.
He turns to face Mitsuki. She’s heard they’re bad news, but she still came here with them. That girl really needs to take better care of herself.
Takuto takes a deep breath.
“We’re in Team Rocket,” he says.
“Takuto!” Meroko hisses.
Mitsuki takes a step back.
“That’s why we left,” Takuto says. “We were going to take Fullmoon to our boss. We changed our minds.” He shrugs. “Do you understand now?”
There’s a long silence. Takuto feels strangely detached from his own body, like he’s watching someone else have this conversation without him.
“N-no!” bursts out of Mitsuki at last. It’s so fierce that it startles Takuto back into himself. “No, I don’t understand! You were nice to me! We were friends!”
“It was a trick,” Takuto says. He’s shaken; he tries not to show it. “You should stay away from us. And you should keep Fullmoon out of sight. If any of our colleagues find out you have Meloetta—”
Mitsuki’s expression has softened in a way that makes him lose his train of thought.
“You’re worried about me,” she says.
Takuto folds his arms. “It’s just frustrating to see someone making such bad decisions.”
“You are nice,” Mitsuki says. “I knew it.”
“We’re in Team Rocket,” Takuto reminds her.
Mitsuki makes a face. “That’s not great. But we’re still friends, right?” She turns to Meroko. “Right?”
Meroko looks startled to be asked. “Um, most people don’t want to be friends when they know who we are.”
“But I know you,” Mitsuki says. “I like you. We’re all part of Negi Ramen, right?”
Negi Ramen doesn’t exist, Takuto thinks. Negi Ramen is just another way we tricked you.
He looks at Mitsuki’s face and he can’t say it.
“I guess so,” he says.
Mitsuki claps her hands together. “I’m glad I found you again! I was looking for you for so long.”
Takuto has to look away. But he catches himself smiling, maybe, just a little.
Meroko’s right; people don’t normally want to be friends with them. Having someone outside Team Rocket know who they are and still want to associate with them...
It’s probably a stupid, impossible dream. But it makes a life outside Team Rocket seem a little easier to picture, somehow.
“What happened to your Meowth?” Mitsuki asks, as they’re walking back to the park entrance.
Takuto’s steps stutter to a halt.
“You always had it out of its Pokéball,” Mitsuki says, frowning slightly. She looks at Meroko. “What about your Nidoran?”
Takuto sends Meroko a desperate glance. Somehow, telling Mitsuki about this feels worse than telling her they were originally planning to steal from her.
“We turned them in to the boss,” he says. “We had to give him something, or we’d have run out of money.” He hesitates. “Sorry.”
Mitsuki looks horrified. “But they were yours!”
“I didn’t want to,” Takuto says, bristling. “We didn’t exactly have time to train that Meowth to use Pay Day. We hadn’t stolen anything in a while. We needed food.”
“Okay,” Mitsuki says. “But... you’re thieves, right? Why don’t you just steal them back?”
Takuto stares at her for a moment.
“What?” he asks.
They only travelled with Mitsuki for a week or so. Takuto will freely admit that there are things he doesn’t know about her. But he still wasn’t prepared to hear her openly endorsing theft.
“I think they must be missing you,” Mitsuki says. “And stealing from Team Rocket is better than stealing from normal people, right?”
“Not if they’re your employer,” Meroko says. “This is a really bad idea.”
But Meroko’s always been bad at hiding her thoughts, and Takuto’s surprised to realise that she’s tempted.
If he’s honest, so is he. He misses his Meowth. But they can’t just blow up their employment when they don’t have any other options for work.
“They’re not exactly rare Pokémon,” Meroko says. “We could catch new ones.”
But they wouldn’t be the ones Mitsuki gave to them. Takuto can tell Meroko doesn’t believe in what she’s saying.
“We can’t cross Team Rocket,” Takuto agrees. “We need to keep our income.”
Meroko nods. “Exactly.”
They look at each other for a long moment. Waiting for someone to crack.
“Sorry,” Mitsuki says. “I guess it was a bad suggestion.”
Meroko slams her fist into her palm. “Okay! Let’s do it.”
Meowth and Nidoran are both common Pokémon, so they probably won’t have been sold. It’s more likely that they’re being put through intensive training, powering them up so they can be assigned to new recruits, or until they evolve and their value increases.
Meroko spent her early time with Team Rocket helping with training, before she and Takuto were partnered up, so she knows exactly where they need to go: a warehouse down by the Vermilion docks. Looking up at it, it’s hard not to think about what a bad idea this is.
But they’re here, and they have the perfect distraction.
“You’re gonna be okay?” Takuto asks, glancing over at Mitsuki and Meloetta.
Mitsuki nods. “Mhm! I’m ready.”
“They might get Fullmoon, you know,” Takuto points out. “It’s not a great trade for a Meowth and a Nidoran.”
“I mean, I don’t really own Fullmoon,” Mitsuki says. “It just follows me.” She looks over at it. “Are you still okay to do this, Fullmoon?”
Meloetta sings a high, clear note. Takuto has no idea what that means, but Mitsuki seems to take it as a confirmation.
Meloetta never seemed to like Takuto or Meroko, back when they were bringing Mitsuki to the boss. It seems strange that it’d be willing to help them get their Pokémon back now. Maybe it can tell that they’re not planning to harm Mitsuki any more.
Meroko raps on the warehouse door in a quick rhythm. There’s a long pause before it’s opened.
“Meroko,” Izumi greets her, leaning against the doorframe. “It’s always a pleasure to see you.”
Izumi’s the one on training duty? That’s not good news. Izumi’s smart, and they won’t be able to appeal to his compassion. He’s ruthless and manipulative enough to have driven away every other Team Rocket member he’s been partnered with, and now he works alone.
Well, not entirely alone. His Gastly, Jonathan, is hovering just behind his shoulder.
“The boss sent us to relieve you,” Meroko says, keeping her voice impressively steady.
“Your knock is two years out of date,” Izumi says. “If someone sent you, it wasn’t the boss.”
This already isn’t going well. Takuto steps in. “We found a rare Pokémon. We’re just bringing it here because it’s closer than headquarters.”
Izumi raises his eyebrows. “I already know you lied to me a moment ago. Why would I believe you now?”
“Maybe the fact that you can see it right there?” Takuto suggests, waving Mitsuki and Meloetta over.
Plan A was to make out that Meloetta was just passing by, get Izumi to chase it away from the warehouse. It doesn’t feel good to switch to plan B this early. It’s less defined, and they don’t have a plan C.
But Izumi’s eyes widen; for an instant, he actually looks taken aback. It’s not something that happens often. It’s pretty satisfying.
“Is the girl a new recruit?” he asks. “She doesn’t really match your style.”
“I just haven’t made her outfit yet,” Meroko says. “I think Pachirisu ears would suit her.”
Takuto glances over to check on Mitsuki. She looks nervous, but strangely excited. Maybe she likes the idea of having a Pachirisu outfit.
“Nice to meet you,” she says, with an awkward wave to Izumi. “I’m Mitsuki.”
They should probably have told her not to use her real name.
Izumi just smiles, in a way Takuto immediately wants to punch off his face.
“Anyway, you gonna let us in or not?” Takuto asks. “I’d hate to be the one to tell the boss I let Meloetta get away because I was busy asking stupid questions.”
Izumi steps back from the door, gesturing them inside. “By all means. I’ll call the boss and arrange to have it picked up, shall I?”
“We’re not letting you take credit for this,” Takuto says, walking inside the warehouse. Casting his eyes over the glass-fronted Pokéball cabinets around the training arena, willing himself to recognise his Meowth’s ball somehow. “I’ll call him.”
“Of course,” Izumi says, holding the door for Meroko, Mitsuki and Meloetta. Jonathan weaves around them, laughing quietly.
It looks like the Pokéballs are filed alphabetically by species, which means Takuto’s Meowth and Meroko’s Nidoran might be in the same cabinet, at least. That should make things easier.
Once everyone’s inside, Izumi closes the door.
He padlocks it.
“Hey, what are you doing?” Takuto demands.
“Being sensible,” Izumi says. “As you pointed out, I’m sure the boss wouldn’t like it if Meloetta escaped.”
He tucks the key into the pocket of his waistcoat as he’s speaking. Takuto makes a frantic mental note.
“Although it doesn’t seem to be making any efforts to escape,” Izumi observes. “Isn’t that odd? By all accounts, Meloetta is an intelligent Pokémon, and we haven’t exactly been subtle about the fact it might not want to be here.”
The situation is feeling increasingly dangerous. “Mitsuki caught it already. It’s loyal to her.”
Izumi folds his arms. “If you’d caught it, you wouldn’t be worried about it escaping. Or, if you were, you’d be keeping it in its Pokéball. Why don’t you tell me why you’re really here?”
The sensible thing to do would probably be to keep up the pretence. They locked in, and they’re comically outnumbered; Izumi has an entire warehouse full of Pokémon loyal to Team Rocket. This is a situation that calls for cunning, not force.
The problem is that Izumi always drives Takuto up the wall, which makes it a lot harder to do the sensible thing.
He punches Izumi in the face.
Darkness billows out from Jonathan in an instant, whipping around Takuto, engulfing him. Takuto turns, breathing hard, looking for Meroko or Mitsuki, looking for a way out. There’s nothing to see but black smoke.
No. Meroko’s standing next to him; he has his hand on Mitsuki’s shoulder. He—
He pushes Mitsuki forward, and she stumbles to her knees in front of the boss.
“The Meloetta follows her around,” Takuto hears himself saying. “If we wanted to bring it here, we had to bring her. You can dispose of her.”
No.
“Takuto!” someone calls.
“I’ll have Izumi deal with her,” the boss says. “Meloetta is an impressive find. You’ve done well.”
“No!”
The boss’s face dissolves into light, and an instant later Meroko is dragging Takuto out of the smoke.
“You were screaming,” Mitsuki says, pale and anxious. “Are you okay?”
Takuto’s shaking. It takes him a moment to make sense of what just happened. Night Shade. It was an illusion.
He didn’t hand Mitsuki over to the boss. Mitsuki’s here.
“Keep it together,” Meroko orders, more worried than angry, and he grips her wrist briefly in thanks.
The smoke is starting to dissipate. Izumi walks through it towards them, hands in his pockets. “You’re smarter than this, Meroko. I’ll give you the opportunity to take my side before I deal with the others.”
There’s a strange sound above his words. Somebody is starting to sing.
Mitsuki makes a wordless, alarmed exclamation and presses her hands over Takuto’s ears. He’s startled, twists away, and only then realises what she’s trying to do; it’s not just singing, it’s Sing.
He quickly claps his hands over his own ears, and Mitsuki does the same for herself, now that her hands are free. Izumi and Meroko aren’t fast enough; they’re asleep in an instant, and so is Jonathan when Takuto turns to check.
He looks at Meloetta, which seems to have finished singing. It takes a short bow.
“Thanks,” Takuto says quietly, letting his hands fall from his ears. He hurries over to the Pokéball cabinets. When he glances at Mitsuki to give her instructions, he sees she’s beaten him to his thought; she’s already hunting through Izumi’s waistcoat for the padlock key.
One ball labelled Meowth, two Nidoran. They don’t have time to check them here. Takuto grabs all three and clips them to his belt, then hurries over to lift Meroko into his arms.
Her hat’s fallen off. It’s stupid to waste time here. But...
“Mitsuki!” Takuto calls, in a loud whisper. “The hat!”
Mitsuki gets the warehouse door open, then hurries over, grabs Meroko’s hat and puts it on her own head. Takuto’s used to it on Meroko, but somehow it looks ridiculous on Mitsuki. He has to resist the urge to burst out laughing; this definitely isn’t the time for that.
They head out into the evening light: Meloetta, Mitsuki and Takuto, carrying Meroko asleep.
He was hoping to avoid attention, but some people glance over; he guesses they’re not exactly an inconspicuous group. Someone’s probably going to check the warehouse and find Izumi unconscious, along with several cabinets’ worth of stolen Pokémon. They should probably avoid Vermilion City for a while.
Still. Maybe this means the Pokémon will be returned to their original owners. It’s not a bad thought.
There’s no doubt that they’ve retrieved Takuto’s Meowth, even if it doesn’t stay still long enough for him to get a good look at it; it’s barely out of the Pokéball before it chirps in delight and jumps up onto his shoulder. Meroko’s Nidoran runs over and butts her leg.
The other Nidoran is a female, and it seems confused to be out in the open rather than in that warehouse. It tests the grass cautiously with its paws, then gives it an experimental nibble.
“You should keep it, Mitsuki,” Meroko suggests.
Mitsuki frowns down at the Nidoran. “Won’t it belong to someone?”
That concern hadn’t really crossed Takuto’s mind. He guesses Team Rocket’s philosophy has left its mark on him.
“You can look after it for now,” he says. “We can start asking around about a missing Nidoran if you want.”
Mitsuki crouches to stroke the Nidoran. She doesn’t look entirely convinced. “We should take it to the police, right?”
Takuto and Meroko exchange an uncomfortable glance.
“Maybe not the police,” Takuto says. They should probably stay off that particular radar, even if...
Huh.
Takuto turns to look back across the fields, towards Vermilion City, towards the docks. His Meowth’s claws are a gentle pressure on his shoulder, a reminder of what they’ve just done.
“I guess we’re not Team Rocket members any more,” he says.
This was probably a stupid decision. They’ve destroyed their employment; they’ve made enemies of a criminal organisation; they’ve burnt their bridges with no plan for how they’re supposed to live out the rest of their lives.
It feels good.
Maybe the three of them can figure out something new together. He has no idea what Negi Ramen is supposed to do, but they’ve got time to make it a real thing.
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