Champion's Sword, Galar's Shield (Leon x OC)

10 - Rose

Leon groaned, "I'm gonna kill him, I swear."

"I mean, truth be told... I didn't mind," she replied, as bluntly as she could, and walked on ahead, leaving the young man there in a short stupor. His face burned, and he had to work hard to hide it under his hat and hood as he raced after, all the while, wondering how in Arceus' name he was going to make it through this talk.

As it turned out, they had time to work on that.

Officer Jenny wasn't going to let them in right away. She needed their ID's—all of them—first and then went through a lengthy talk about Do's and Don'ts. She wasn't even supposed to be doing this, but because of the dire situation, she was going to allow it. Cassandra personally thought it also had to do with the sweet words and winks Raihan was giving her, and she pitied all the women whose hearts he'd ruined, because there was no way he hadn't—intentionally or not. A flirty, handsome guy was inevitably a heart breaker, and that smile was a killer.

Still, she liked Leon's smile more. His flirting was better, too.

And there she went again.

Thankfully, things were ready by then, and Officer Jenny had them come with her, first dropping off their Pokémon for safety, and then led all three of them down into a holding facility below, lit by fluorescent light and no windows. Guards with Growlithe were in the hallways, keeping a watchful eye on some of the worst criminals in Galar. In a weird way, she was glad only a few were murderers, the rest were generally gang-related or crimes against Pokémon and humanity.

Like Rose. Ex-Chairman of the Galarian Pokémon League. The man who'd unleashed Eternatus on the world. Even she had noticed that incident and was close enough to town to render aid at the time. Not much, and by then the ordeal was over, but it had been one heck of a day. She hadn't known much of what happened after, but Leon told her enough in their talks. He'd also told her how much it personally hurt him, and she could see his face struggling with that pain. He probably wasn't ready for this, but he had to do it.

She touched his hand just as Jenny began to unlock the door to the room Rose had been brought to. He looked to her, his eyes betraying his uncertainty, but squeezed her fingers with a nod. She nodded back, softly assuring him she was by his side. Raihan was with them, too, though he was quiet as he followed them inside the small room, where the ex-Chairman sat opposite to them at a rectangular table. Three chairs had been provided, which they all sat in, with Leon at the direct opposite to Rose. The man smiled warmly at the purple-haired trainer, as if greeting an old friend. Jenny shut the door and stood at the rear, releasing her Growlithe—just in case.

"Hello, Leon. It's been quite a while, hasn't it? I've heard you've been doing well with Rose—sorry, Battle Tower. Smart using my legacy and changing it to better suit Galar and its people. You always were their man, even after losing your title. I've always admired that about you. That spark you had—the one I saw when I chose to endorse you all those years ago," he spoke, all smiles and pleasantry, but Cassandra knew his type. Businessman. Leader. Schemer. Liar. An Arbok. Only, there was some sincerity there, and that surprised her. He wasn't a Giovanni or Cyrus. He certainly wasn't Ghetis. No, for all the terrible things he did, he did mean the praise. Still, she disliked him already. 

Leon didn't care for it at all as she growled, "You say that, and yet you betrayed me—used me. You could have destroyed Galar!"

"Ah, but I didn't, did I? Because I knew you would succeed... or, well, you were supposed to. You were meant to catch Eternatus, but whether it was you or the girl, it matters not. Things went as was planned, and now that power is available for Galar to use," he hummed, leaning back. Even in an orange jump-suit, he exuded the aura of power, of a man in control. "At least, I assume so. You have Eternatus in the Power Station, right? That was the plan after capture—so that we could use it's wild energy to power our home for an eternity."