Journey to a Faraway Place

Reflection - Stardust Beach

To those in Ultern, Buson might be gone for about nine days, give or take. He didn’t show up for work on the cargo ship, without excuse, but as one of the drifted, suddenly leaving was as expected as suddenly arriving, and life went on…

To Buson, he’d been gone months (or was it nearly a year?), returned to complete the ill-fated Raikou mission, as well as many more successful ventures, even capturing another Legendary Pokemon for Team Rocket. He watched the seasons change and lost the deeper tan he’d gained in the rice terraces and on the sea. His more relaxed and friendly expression had regained a sharper, crueler edge, but to his credit, he never lost his sense of humour! _{Alright, so, maybe he'd started cracking even more jokes than usual as a coping mechanism, but—}

He had kept the souvenir bottle of sand he'd bought the last time he was in Ohritori and taken it with him to Johto, and back again. It was the only thing that convinced he hadn't dreamed it all. There were a number of times he thought of casting it out into the sea or otherwise disposing of it, and he often kept it out of sight, since it seemed to taunt or shame him for how easily he returned to old ways, but he still found it impossible to abandon.

The hope he might return also had him catch another Pokemon to keep with him, so his Bandolier now has two more pokeballs clipped to it.

He now found himself once more, on Stardust Beach, in Ohritori, at night, and stayed watching the dark sea in silence. He felt nostalgic, jaded, apprehensive, and relieved. He felt so many conflicting emotions, that he could only sit and wait to see which would be the victor, as he regained his bearings and fully accepted he had truly returned.

He might search for familiar faces after that...

Hiding in Plain Sight - Turnbloom City

—But first, a place to purchase a change of clothes, as he'd arrived in his silver Team Rocket uniform once again, as his appearance was known to at least one officer in Ohritori. He considered traditional Ulternian clothes, this time. The brighter, bolder colours, particularly the reds and oranges, caught his eye and they weren't as restrictive as kimono, even worn properly... but all the colours he liked seemed to be more restricted to women's clothes!

So, with some disappointment, he opted for kariyushi instead. Picking the loudest, reddest kariyushi shirt with the busiest, boldest pattern and swapping his sunglasses for... another pair of sunglasses (but tackier, star-shaped, even), he also grabbed a pair of shorts, and even a fisherman's bucket hat.

He took one look in the changing room mirror, all decked out, flashed a grin, and said, "They won't know what hit 'em!"

He paid and left, whistling a tune, hanging onto his bundled-up uniform, at least long enough to find a good place to hide it. Part of him wanted to burn it, but he knew it could come in handy. You could never have too many disguises!

Touching Base - Chura Island

He wasn't sure if they would still have that place in Gukuru House. Was Bashou paying for the inn? Would he have moved away? How long had it been for him? Perhaps... Bashou might have even returned to his own world? Buson would search for him all the same, just in case.

If there's anyone he can't find, he could always ask around and follow their trail to track them down... that's a skill he never lost.

Attila had taken to living in Chura for quieter, more private living arrangements, but that meant leaving the ranches and rice terraces of Gilterrace behind. Fortunately, Attila had many kinds of jobs open to him and decided to try working for a cargo ship for a change, so he could more easily travel between islands, as he'd had plenty of experience with that sort of thing...

(Not all of them wholesome, but hey, regardless of transporting captives or goods, a lot of the same principles applied for ships and planes, so his skills transferred over very well... except that that unlike with planes, ships travelled a bit more slowly, and he had to be present with the cargo for loading, shipping, and unloading, so he'd spend about a week at sea, going from island to island, before he'd return home.)

He won't be selling anything himself, that's what the merchants did, Attila just loaded things in and out, made sure everything was as safely and neatly stored, and that the ship remained up-right and well-balanced.

Turnbloom City + Stardust Beach, Ohritori

While he had some free time while the ship was docked and restocking, after unloading cargo to be sold in Turnbloom Market, Attila decided to look around and see if he could spot any familiar faces... and eat some udon. Hey, he missed the food while he was away!

He also decided to call up Manzana, both to update him on how things were going (great!), but also to casually ask where he was (not wanting to bring up where he was first, so he won't make him feel like he should go out of the way to visit him or anything...!).

Attila could even be found purchasing trinkets, like a little jar of the star-shaped sand to take home.

Sun and Palssio

At some point, before leaving port, Attila had a bit of an accident, slipping on a newly waxed surface and nearly falling overboard, right over the railing (he's tall and top-heavy enough he could still fall over!)—but he's pushed backwards, back to safety, but his eyes never seem to get used to the light...

"N-nife..." Atilla managed weakly, squinting at the bright sunlight, before realizing the reason things weren't just too bright just from a shock that hadn't worn off, but from the light shining off gushing Water type moves from some friendly, playful Passio that shoved him back on board with strong streams of water. His head and shoulders were drenched, but more importantly—he'd lost his sunglasses!

He swore as he tried to reach back for them between the bars, but the Palssion were too busy playing with them, passing them back and forth like a ball.

"H-hey, my sunglasses!"

Port Opportune, Chura Island

He was finally home! Attila would head back to Gukuru House soon enough, where he lived with Bashou, at least for now, but he could be caught walking around port before that!

It's been two weeks since Attila's started living with Manzana and his wife. Four months and a half, more or less, since he'd arrived here and caged Electric types in large numbers using the Crystal System, even threatening a boy's Pikachu with death. For about as long, he'd been lying low, gathering intel (particularly on a researcher studying Mega Evolution, although he was tight-lipped about the details of his research...) that could benefit the organization, waiting for some order or communication from Team Rocket that never came.

He'd been posing as 'Akira' publicly, for a taste of normal civilian life... the kindness of the people here was undeniably moving, they accepted him as he was (even with his completely out of place disguise that felt more at home in Johto, particularly Ecruteak), but playing at being an ordinary, upstanding man felt dishonest, especially if he might have to return to his old home and old ways as suddenly as he'd been thrust here, and he didn't know how he would handle that or if he could go on, knowing he could happily live another way.

... well, it's not like him to dwell too much on the future! He'd better focus on the moment, that's more comfortable and natural for a guy like him, anyway.

A. Gilterrace Town

Buson had been helping with Manzana's herb garden in Gilterrace for these past two weeks, but he can also be found helping out around various the rice terraces, helping plant rice. The straw hat'll definitely come in handy, here!

B. Turnbloom City

Today will be the first time Attila wanders back out into the city without the straw hat, kimono, and geta sandals. In fact, he's not hiding his identity at all right now, although he isn't in Rocket uniform, he's still wearing his usual sunglasses. He's simply more comfortable wearing those all of the time. That said, he should still cut a very familiar silhouette for anyone who's crossed his path earlier unless, you're as face-blind as Ash Ketchum. He's a bit more tanned, but still as recognizable as ever, particularly in jeans and a tank top.

He expected the possibility of being recognized. He definitely didn't want to be chased by wild Electric types again (... they probably know him by scent, anyway), but if he had to face some retribution for his actions, so be it. He wanted, at least, to stop hiding from folks he did get along with here, so if the truth got out later on, he wouldn't be accused of deceiving anyone. It's better that he be the one to let them know, right?

There is a bit of the issue of possibly being a wanted man here, too, given that one officer called by that snake got a good look at him, but... at least he's only committed one crime here and hadn't actually gotten away with anything. It'd be a different story back home.

((4Kids wrangler Attila real, sorry, I mostly play based on the original's characterization, but for a repentant Attila, I felt like working on farms really would be putting his muslce to good use! A mechanic is also an option, of course. He'll probably be doing various odd jobs for an honest living. So, yes, a dairy farm also works, he could totally be a ranch hand, MooMooMilk has to come from somewhere, right?

Of course, that doesn't mean anyone has to believe he's sincere! Feel free to nurse a grudge or view him with suspicion. It comes with the territory!))