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"I have something important for you to take care of for me." Corbeau leaned forward in his chair. "Can I trust you to take care of the job?"
Tsukasa nodded. "Of course! Why wouldn't I?" He sat opposite to Corbeau, not quite making eye contact. "What kind of important thing is it...?"
"There's something in the sewers that needs...taken care of." Corbeau let the words sink in. "Do it, along with a few other jobs, and I'l consider your friend's debt paid."
"What does that mean?" Tsukasa tried to hide how badly he was panicking, a forced smile on his face.
"Get rid of it."
"I'M ON IT!" Tsukasa stood up, a bit too fast. "The sewers, right? I'll go there now! Hahaha!"
Corbeau also stood. "I'll know if you run."
Tsukasa walked as fast as he could out of the building. He was considering running away.
But he didn't exactly have a choice. "Why the hell did Taunie get involved with HIM of all people?" Tsukasa said out loud as he walked over to the sewers.
Mentally, he was thinking about how he was probably going to kill someone. Or torture someone. Or it was a trap that would lead him to be tortured and killed.
Tsukasa stood outside of the entrance to the sewers for a good few minutes. He took a deep breath in a failed attempt to calm his nerves, and entered in.
The sewers were covered in those mega crystals he always saw around Lumiose. A guy with purple hair, wearing the uniform of the Rust Syndicate, stood nearby, an Eevee by his side.
"Hello?" Tsukasa slowly shut the door. "Corbeau sent me to take care of something-"
"Ah! You're the help the boss sent! Tsukasa, right?" The purple haired boy walked up to Tsukasa, a smile on his face. "I'm Rui, and you'll be helping me with cleaning this place."
"...Cleaning? Oh thank goodness." Tsukasa let out a breath of relief. "I thought I was going to be commiting a crime."
Rui chuckled. "Of course not! Corbeau just wants to appear all tough and evil. You'll just be doing charity work and community service."
"This is the biggest relief of my life." Tsukasa grabbed one of his poke balls, and tossed out his Meowstic. "This isn't a trick, right?"
"No. Just smashing some crystals." Rui snapped his fingers, and his Eevee wacked one of the clusters with its tail.
"Alright, Meowstic! Psyshock!" Tsukasa pumped his fist in the air, and the Meowstic destroyed a few clumps of the crystals. Tsukasa picked them up, and extended them towards Rui. "Did you want these?"
"I'm good. I have a lot of them." Rui continued to help his Eevee smash crystals. "Too many, really. I help with the mega crystals a lot."
Eventually, the entire sewer was clean. Rui turned to Tsukasa. "You can go now. I do have a little...reward, for your willing participation." Rui smirked, and pulled out a poke ball.
"Huh?" Tsukasa caught the poke ball as Rui tossed it at him. "What's in it?"
"Don't open it until you're back at wherever you live. It's a very special Pokémon from my home region. " Rui winked, and pulled out another poke ball, an Alakazam coming out. "I'll be seeing you tomorrow."
In a flash, Rui, the Alakazam, and the Eevee were all gone.
Tsukasa arrived back at the hotel, poke ball still in hand. Naveen walked up to him. "Did the job go well?"
"Extremely well! The guy I got to work with, Rui, even gave me a Pokémon! I wonder what it is." Tsukasa got ready to throw the ball, but hesitated when he heard Naveen sigh.
"What if it's a big Pokémon? You could destroy the hotel." Naveen shook his head. "But go ahead. Get us in more debt."
Not hearing the sarcasm in Naveen's tone, Tsukasa opened the poke ball.
Out came an Applin.
"It's so cute!" Tsukasa picked it up, hugging it in his arms. "Rui said it was a special Pokémon from Galar! Isn't it cool, Naveen?!"
Naveen's eyes widened ever so slightly. "...Is this Rui from Galar?"
"Yeah. Why?"
Naveen looked away. "Tsukasa. I think he was flirting with you."
Tsukasa's jaw dropped. "Say WHAT now?!"
"Giving someone an Applin is a declaration of love in Galar," Naveen explained. He sat down. "If he mentioned it to you, he must have wanted it to be obvious."
Tsukasa looked from the Applin, to Naveen, back to the Applin, in pure shock. "I thought he was just being nice! Naveen, help me out here!"
Naveen picked up a cup of tea. "This is your issue. Good luck."
Tsukasa took the Applin into his room.
He sat it down on his bed, and stared at it. Eventually, he smiled. "I'm gonna name you Rui."