Chapter Text
The ocean breeze felt nice on Kirishima's face. He took a deep breath and sighed.
"Reminds you of home huh, Riot?" Kirishima said while looking down at his partner Pokemon, Rockruff.
Riot was sniffing at a pile of ropes that where laying on the deck. Hearing his name he looked up at Kirishima and tilted his head. Kirishima smiled and crouched down next to him. Riot started to wag his tail and lifted his ears. Kirishima laughed and rubbed his head gently. Riot barked and started to run around in a little circle. He staggered and sat on top of Kirishima's feet. Riot yawned and leaned his head against Kirishimas leg.
Kirishima stood up and leaned against the railing. Looking out at the sea before him, he could see something hidden behind the fog come up on the horizon but couldn't quite make it out. Soon they would be at their destination and start a new life together. Kirishima shivered a bit and pulled his jacket around him a little tighter. The idea of new things excited him, but he was also a little scared if he was being honest. He had just started his career as a Pokemon Ranger just a month ago in his home region, Alola. They transferred him though because they didn't need as many rangers. Nothing ever really happened there any ways.
Alola was a region made up of a chain of islands. The weather was tropical in the majority of the region except on the island that had the tallest mountain where it did snow. Kirishima's family had moved there from a different region long before he was born. They had lived there since. Kirishima was the first member of his family to leave the island since they arrived all those generations ago. His moms where sad to see him leave but understood being a ranger had been his dream since he was a young. The bag they had packed for him was so over stuffed he actually struggled a little with lifting it, and Kirishima was no stranger to heavy lifting.
The ships horn blew loudly, snapping Kirishima out of his thoughts. He looked back out at the ocean and finally saw their long awaited destination. Five days, 9 hours, and 36 minutes and they where finally here. The Herojin Region.
The Herojin Region was one of the largest regions. The climate varied from one end of the region to the next. They town that they where docking in was the more coastal area. With sandy beaches and moderate temperatures it was the closest climate to Kirishima's home in the whole region. Sadly this wasn't where Kirishima be stationed. The was going further inland where it was a bit cooler. Nothing a manly man like him couldn't handle.
Kirishima looked down at Riot and smiled. Riot had fallen asleep against his leg with his little tongue sticking out. It was a habit that he had since Kirishima had found him. It made him look soft even though his body was hard like a rock. Kirishima leaned down and picked him up gently. Riot squirmed a little and laid his head on his shoulder. Kirishima rubbed his back and started to his room. Most of his stuff had been flown here already, so he just had a bag of his clothes and some extra stuff. Riot had his own little backpack he would wear to carry his stuff as well. Kirishima had to find out the hard way that Riot had wanted his own backpack after a few of his had been destroyed by those little sharp teeth.
Opening the door to his room, Kirishima set Riot on the bed. He wagged his tail slightly but didn't stir. Trying to be as quiet as he could, Kirishima started to pick up the mess that he had made of the room. Even with only a few things on him he still managed to make a mess of the room. Clothes and food wrappers littered the room's floor. Picking up his trash he tossed them in the little trashcan by the door. The clothes where next, getting shoved in his backpack. Riot wasn't innocent either because a few of his toys and bones where in random places. He picked up Riot's small backpack and put his stuff in it. The only real neat thing in the room was their new ranger uniforms. Kirishima had put them on the desk in the room so they wouldn't get wrinkled. Kirishima's old ranger leader, Taishiro Toyomitsu, had given it to him right before he left. Taishiro, also known by his nickname Fat Gum, had explained that the rangers from Herojin wore different uniforms so he needed a new one.
Looking at the uniform a shiver ran through Kirishima. This was a the beginning of a new chapter in his life, and this was the first piece of it. Slipping out of his clothes, he sighed. It's now or never. Taking the shirt in his hands he slipped it on over his head. The colors where different from his region that was for sure. The Alola regions uniform where blue with yellow trims and accessories. The blue didn't look to good on Kirishima, in his opinion, but he didn't mind. He hated the scarf they made him wear though. What was the point when it was usually hot? The Herojin region's uniform, however, was much nicer. The shorts where black with a yellow belt. The shirt was black as well but it had the rangers symbol right over the heart. It was silver and shaped like the capture styler with an H in the center. The jacket was the crown jewel of the uniform though. The jacket was red crimson red with blue cuffs. The back said Herojin Ranger in silver cursive. The collar popped slightly making it have a more stylish look. The jacket also had pockets which was a bonus. The jacket could also zip up which was more then his current jacket could do.
After changing into the shirt and shorts Kirishima held the jacket and looked at it. It was finally happening. He slipped it on slowly and looked at him self in the full length mirror. The jacket fit perfectly even when he flexed the jacket didn't feel to tight. It was like it was tailored exactly for him. The sleeves came down to his wrist and the jacket stopped at his hips. His other jacket was short sleeve and was more of a crop top style. He hadn't hated it, he actually liked crop tops, but the outfit never looked right on him. But this outfit? It looked perfect on him.
He opened the smaller bag that had Riots jacket in it. Not all partner pokemon wear the uniforms, most usually wore little scarves if they wore anything. But Kirishima had figured out a long time ago that Riot liked to have things that Kirishima had. He opened it and walked over to the bed. Riot was still fast asleep, right where Kirishima had left him. He sat next to him on the bed and scratched behind his ear. Riot started to shake his leg and perked up his ears. Kirishima laughed and stopped. Riot sat up quickly and barked at him. He stopped when he actually got a good look at Kirshima. He spread out his arms and gave a big grin.
"What do you think? Do you like it boy?", Kirishima said. Riot waged his tail and started to yip. Kirishima laughed and pulled out the jacket from the bag. Riot grabbed on to it and started to tug on it.
"Hey no! You're gonna tear it if you do that!", Kirishima said and booped him on the nose. Riot latched on to his finger instead and gently chewed on his finger. His teeth where sharp but Riot wasn't gonna hurt him. Kirishima lifted him gently and slipped his paws through the jacket and fixed it around him. It looked perfect. "There you go boy. You look very manly!" Kirishima flexed his arms. Riot barked and took a defensive stance, making a slight scowl. It made him look more cute than anything.
Kirishima laughed and hugged Riot tight. He started to lick his face and rubbed his neck against Kirishima's neck. He winced slightly and squeezed him one more time then put him on the bed.
"Come on boy the ship is gonna dock soon," Kirishima said. He stood up and grabbed his backpack. He put it over his shoulders as Riot jumped off the bed. He trotted over to him and sat down. He knealed down and put his little backpack on. Riot ran around his feet and wagged his tail. Kirishima opened the door and Riot ran down the hall almost running into a potted plant.
"Riot behave please!", Kirishima shouted as he ran down the hall after him. The hall led straight on to the deck so it was sort of convenient but also a disaster in this situation. Riot would probably run into someone head first and being a rock type his head is hard. Kirishima should know from first hand experience.
When Kirishima emerged on to the deck he forgot about his partner pokemon temporarily. The sight before him was something like he hadn't ever seen in real life. They where pulling into a large port where there where many ships of different size and shape docked. The ship was one of the more medium size ships in the dock but it was by far not the largest. Kirishima had thought that the ship they had been on was large because most of the ships he had seen where small passenger boats. But a ship that they where passing by was a huge cruise ship that was at least two times bigger then the ship they where on. Kirishima had to tilt his head up just to sort of see the top deck. But the real sight was what was behind the massive ship. Just the sheer size of the buildings was enough for Kirishima's jaw to drop. On his home island the largest building was maybe 4 stories, and even then the top floor was a tiny attic. He had seen pictures in books and on his social media of what cities look like but this was something he hadn't seen in person. Most of the buildings close to the port weren't that tall, just warehouses and construction equipment. But beyond that, what he could see, where the sky scrappers. Since it was cloudy and the clouds where lower then usual, the tallest buildings where hidden in the clouds. He could hear the sounds of cars honking and sirens in the far distance. If he squinted he could see what looked like a train snaking its way between buildings.
Sudden barking snapped him from his dazed state. He looked around and spotted a small curled tail slip into a small crowd of people. Kirishima walked around the group and saw Riot with his paws on the railing. He walked over and scooped up Riot. He held him close to his chest and started to make his way to the walkway. They where about to dock.
When Kirishima finally made his way over to the walkway there was already a group of people waiting to unload. The ship finally stopped and blew its horn. They had officially made it. Kirishima looked over the railing and saw people tieing up the ship and other things he wasn't sure about. Riot squired a bit in his arms and seemed very excited. Kirishima pet him gently.
"Just a few more minutes. Once this crowd clears I can put you down. Don't want anyone to step on you.", Kirishima whispered to Riot. He settled at that and rested his chin in the crook of his arm. He had a lot of energy but knew when to behave.
They wait for about 10 minutes before they where able to get off the ship. Kirishima held Riot the whole time, he just relaxed in his arms. Once his feet touched the solid ground he put Riot down and let him walk beside him. Kirishima pulled a piece of paper from one of the side pockets from his backpack. It had the information he needed to meet up with the ranger who was suppose to pick him up. It was someone name Ochaco Urarka. He was suppose to meet her on the main road heading into the city.
After stopping to ask for directions Kirishima began walking toward the direction the woman had indicated. Riot walked right next to Kirishima with his nose in the air, sniffing excitedly. Looking around Kirishima did recognize some of the pokemon sitting around the port. There where Wingull, Pellipper, Machoke, and a couple more he knew. There where a few he didn't recognize. Like a tall rabbit looking pokemon. It was brown with long floppy ears and held its arms close to its chest. Kirishima didn't remember seeing that pokemon around his region but he did mostly stick to the first two islands.
Eventually they found the road and looked around. There where a good amount of people and pokemon walking around so he wasn't sure who he was exactly looking for. There was no photo or description of the person who was picking him up. Suddenly Riot started to bark and Kirishima turned. There was a Kirlia standing next to Riot. It looked at him with curiosity and poked his nose. Riot yipped and began running around it in circles. The Kirlia started to twirl in a circle, keeping an eye on him. It did it so gracefully Kirishima was wondering how it did it.
"You must be Kirishima," said a random voice. Kirishima looked up and noticed it came from a young girl. She seemed to be about his age. She had a round face with rosie cheeks. Her hair was brown and cut into a bob. It complimented her face.
"Yeah that's me. How did you know?"
"The jacket kind of gave it away. It's brand new so you are defiantly a fresh recruit." She smiled and pointed to a pick up truck. "You ready to head to base?"
Kirishima smiled. "Hell yeah dude!"