> "Flight 207 to Nerima from Saffron City, now arriving at Gate
>17."
> Her head resting in her hands, Emiri looked up through
>half-slitted eyes at the steady stream of people trickling out of
>the gate. She stifled a yawn and glanced at the clock. 12:30.
>*Musashi told me this plane would get in at 11:00. I've been here
>an hour and a half!* She scraped her boot idly against the carpet,
>disgusted with the realization she'd been tricked again. *I shoulda
>just asked Kojiro...*
> "Pika," chirped the little Pikachu sitting at her feet, as if
>in reply to her unspoken thoughts.
> Emiri glanced around the Nerima airport, trying to guess which
>one of the multitude of strangers was Giovanni's son. It being her
>first time this far from home, she would be grateful for the company
>of this Eric, whoever he was. She picked up her rucksack and pulled
>out a crumpled sheet of paper on which was scrawled, in his familiar
>sprawling handwriting, a letter from her brother back at
>Headquarters. This inspired a small pang of homesickness. She
>comforted herself with the thought that in Nerima she didn't have to
>put up with Musashi's hazing.
> A young man all in black caught her eye suddenly. She stuffed
>the letter back into her rucksack and stood up for a better look.
>The stranger was tall, dark, and handsome, with a cool, collected
>expression accented with a smile just bordering on imperious, and
>dressed in a black Team Rocket uniform exactly the opposite colors
>of Emiri. He had a commanding, foreboding presence that Emiri
>recognized from her glimpses of the Boss. There was no
>question--this had to be his son.
> She approached him with a certain degree of timidity. (wow, is
>that legal?) "You must be Eric." *Well, considering you're the only
>one in a TR uniform around here, I'd think that would be a clue.*
>"I'm Emiri Fushigi..." She trailed off, not wanting for some reason
>to say "I'm your partner," not sure if she even wanted to be his
>partner.
> Eric's dark eyes swept over her, inspecting her. It was easy
>to see she and Mondo were twins--she looked disturbingly like her
>brother, with her brown hair and big blue-green eyes, except for the
>fact that she wore glasses and was perhaps a shade taller. "So
>you're Mondo's sister."
> "Yes." Emiri cringed under the inevitable label. Teamed with
>Musashi and Kojiro, she had a fairly high position in Team Rocket,
>but her brother was technically--or at least thought of as by
>higher-ranking members--no better than a kitchen scullion. After
>all, he didn't try to capture rare Pokémon. He just made food or
>repaired equipment for the Rockets who did.
> Emiri tried cheerfully to change the subject. "Uh...welcome to
>Nerima!"
> Eric nodded absently and looked around. "So, this is Nerima.
>Nice place. We should be able to stir up a lot of trouble here.
> "Yes, especially with that big tournament coming up," Emiri
>agreed. "First prize is a Chansey."
> "Really?" Emiri thought she saw him smile a little. "Excellent
>timing."
> Emiri nodded and suddenly remembered her Pikachu. She looked
>down at it, hiding self-consciously behind her leg and peering up at
>Eric. She took a Pokéball out of her rucksack.
> "Hmmm," mused Eric as he watched Emiri call the Pokémon back.
>"A Pikachu. A potentially powerful Pokémon." He looked back up at
>Emiri with a big smile. "Try saying that five times fast."
> "A potentially powerful Pokémon, a potentially powerful
>Pokémon, a Pokéful powermon pika...oh never mind."
> "If you can add that Chansey to your collection, you'll be on
>your way to becoming a very powerful trainer."
> "Yeah, but that's not the only reason I want it..."
> "Err...what's the other reason?"
> Emiri sweat-dropped. "Cause it's just so darn *cute!*"
> Eric coughed. "Well, Nerima is known for its fighters. You're
>going to have to work hard to get it." He turned from her and began
>walking away from the gate.
> Emiri stared thoughtfully at her single Pokéball as she
>followed him to the baggage claim. *Nerima is known for its
>fighters, he says. I wonder how much of a chance I have with just
>one Pikachu.*
> Eric picked up a large duffel bag from the conveyor belt. He
>set it down on a nearby bench and rummaged around in it, surfacing
>with five Pokéballs, three red and two blue. He picked up one of
>the red ones and threw it. "Machoke, you can come out."
> "Machoke?"
> The Pokéball emitted a stream of light that solidified into
>the hulking frame of a Machoke.
> Emiri blinked. "Oh."
> "Yes, this is Machoke," Eric explained. "He's my oldest and
>most powerful Pokémon, not to mention my best friend. We trained in
>China together."
> Emiri looked at Machoke curiously, but still with a certain
>degree of caution. Working for Team Rocket, she'd never seen a
>fighting Pokémon that wasn't about to clobber her, Musashi, and
>Kojiro. Machoke looked back at Emiri with its large red eyes and
>said insightfully, "Ma-choke."
> "Machoke," said Eric to the Pokémon, "this is Emiri, my new
>partner." Emiri smiled somewhat shyly and nodded her head once in
>greeting.
> Eric shouldered his duffel bag. "Well, let's get going. I want
>to see this tournament."
> "Furinkan's quite a while from here," Emiri put in as she
>followed Eric and Machoke out of the airport. "How exactly are we
>going to get there?"
> Eric smiled. "My father arranged for transportation." As if on
>cue a black car pulled up in front of them, driven by a Rocket
>henchman in a black uniform. Eric opened one of the doors and
>gestured for Emiri to get in. "After you."
> Emiri was impressed. *I guess it never hurts to have
>connections.* She climbed into the car, followed by Eric and the
>ever-present Machoke, and the Rockets sped off toward Furinkan.
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