CHAPTER TWENTY: HIDDEN AGENDAS

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Stormy blue eyes burned into Alice's back as she floundered about the bathroom. She rummaged through her polka-dotted cosmetics bag, pulling out bottle after bottle. The brunette ended up dumping its contents all over the sink. Her shoulders sagged once she scanned the labels, and she shook her head.

"Sorry, Ken," she apologized, "but I don't have aloe."

Ken sighed. He would've massaged his temples in exasperation if his fair skin wasn't painted rogue. His mild sunburn coated his face and neck even though he'd taken special precautions to prevent it. It was no wonder that people mistook him for a Snowpoint City native.

"We can go to the corner store," Alice suggested. "I don't think it's that far away. It'll only take like ten or thirty minutes."

He raised his brows. Hadn't he been in pain, he might've grinned in amusement. "That's a vast difference."

She gave him a sheepish smile. "Yeah. Like I said, I'm not really sure how far away it is."

"We'll learn the truth shortly."

The two departed the hotel in search for the convenience store and the aloe vera. Much to Ken's relief, the merciless sun had set and the once sweltering, midday sky was replaced by the inkiness of the cool night. Street lights flickered on, and the city's commotion quieted. He gladly welcomed the gentle breeze that ruffled their clothes.

Ken blocked out the stinging sensation irritating his tender skin by listening to Alice. She explained everything her parents told her via phone call in vivid detail, becoming so involved in talking that she nearly ran into strangers. More than once did he have to tug her out the way of trainer herds itching for last minute battles. They'd both blush in embarrassment—Ken due to the physical contact and Alice because she couldn't walk straight—then continue on.

Alice's stories finished before they reached the shop, allotting him time to think. Ken kept her in the corner of his eye, watching her look around the city with wide, curious eyes. She perked up whenever she spotted a Pokémon and parted her lips as if she were going to call out to it only to shut her mouth and grin. His lips twitches upward, but he remained facing forward.

Ken acknowledged that he enjoyed her presence. She was a breath of fresh, clean air. Quiet yet kind, optimistic and sensible, plus adventurous while staying mindful. Unless she was Gogoat racing, of course. For the first time in his life, he was grateful that he had someone other than a Pokémon who he could rely on during a journey.

Alice and I have a substantial friendship, he mused, a tad bit proud. Experts might even label us 'best friends'. Does this entail that we must buy matching items because Alice is female? Or is that sexist? Jay should know; he's resourceful in comradery.

Alice noticed Ken's thinking face—lightly furrowed brows, pursed lips—and queried, "What're you thinking about? Aloe?"

"Our relationship," he deadpanned, immersed in his thoughts. He didn't detect her stunned, panicked reaction. "Your favorite color is green, correct?"

"Ye-yeah. Green's a super color," she stammered. She jumped to conclusions faster than she flew to the internet when a new drama series was announced, imagining several scenarios in which Ken could use that information. Flowers? No, flowers can't be green! Can they? Are there green flowers? Get a grip and be quiet! You don't even know if he likes you!

Ken continued to think aloud, "Green... Dirty greens, in particular. You wear them often."

In the blink of an eye, all romantic speculations dissipated in the brunette's head. "It's not dirty green. It's called olive green."

"My apologies," he said, catching her slight rise in voice. "If an occasion were ever to arise in which an olive green-colored item wasn't available, which color would you prefer?"

He is buying something for me! She bit her lip, suppressing a silly grin. "My second favorite color's yellow."

"Squash yellow?"

She giggled. "Not all my favorite colors are based on veggies."

Ken returned the chuckle despite his cheeks hurting. "You never fail to disprove logic."

They turned the corner and found the minimart tucked between a glitzy nail salon and a bustling café. Alice glimpsed a familiar face in the eatery and skidded to a stop.

"I'll be right back," she announced.

He nodded. "My purchase won't take long."

Goosebumps surfaced on Ken's arms as the air conditioning of the mart nipped his exposed flesh. The blinding, white artificial light made him squint, worsening his naturally stoic expression. He saw no other customers in sight save for an old man carrying a box of granola bars. It would've been silent if it weren't for the lights' dull buzzing, his footsteps, and the muted beeping of the scanner.

Ken chose the first bottle of aloe vera he found, which was in the very back, and ambled to the cash register. Doubling back, a large tray of vibrant bracelets caught his eye. He walked past it only to pause, turn heel, and inspect it. Carefully, as to not draw attention to himself or break the plastic beads, he touched the pieces of jewelry.

He pursed his lips, disappointed. Violet, blue, pink, and white. How is there neither green nor yellow? His fingertips grazed the pink bracelet. She wears pink pajamas...

A worker, a middle-aged lady too curious for her own good, spotted Ken frowning as he weighed each dainty trinket. "Do you need help, sir?"

"Yes," he admitted. "My friend's favorite colors are green and yellow, but I cannot find any bracelets in those colors."

She peered into the container and sucked in air through her teeth. "Yeah, I don't see any, either. Does it have to be one of those colors?"

"Yes. She wears them daily."

A knowing look shone in her gaze. "Oh~ I see. Your friend—" Ken didn't trust the way she stressed that word "—might like these over here."

He followed her to the next aisle where an enormous wall of Pokémon plushies were on display. They came in all sorts of shapes in sizes, ranging from palm-fitting Wishcash to one meter tall Emolga. The dolls were stacked meticulously atop one another, reminding him of fitted jigsaw puzzle pieces. He feared if he touched even one, then the entire mountain of fluff and cloth would transform into an avalanche and bury him.

Ken took a cautious step backwards. He criticized, "This is extremely haphazardous."

"Go on and pick one," the associate chirped.

Taking a page from Alice's and Jay's book, he put faith into her words. Ken crossed his arms over his chest and perused the shelves. He grimaced as he found a dopey Alolan Exeggutor hidden among the Grass-type section.

Ken found a small toy with a patterned eggshell that fit snugly in his palms. It reminded him of weeks ago when he lowered his defenses around Alice. To him, it seemed as if it were an eternity ago.

Already knowing what the worker was going to ask, Ken cut her off and explained, "Her first Pokémon was a Togepi."

"Mine was a Snubbul." She winked. "Let's ring that up."

* * *

Late in the evening as the moon climbed the sky to rest in the blanket of stars, a café came to life. Night Noctowls poured in through the doors, ordering teas and pies to satisfy their needs. China clicked china, standing out from the sound of crisp biscuits being bit into and gentle talks taking place.

Jay hid the discomfort he felt by casually sipping his iced coffee. He hissed when the ice cubes clacked against his teeth and cupped his chilled mouth. Casper, who was seated across from him, scrutinized the teen's every move. His intimidating presence was borderline oppressive with his cold, cyan glare sizing up everything Jay had to offer.

"So," Jay began, bothered by the silence, "why'd you pick this café? I thought you only drank rich people tea."

Casper's disdainful stare lowered to the teacup placed in front of him. "The Pokémon Center was much too rambunctious for my taste, and this is the only restaurant in the vicinity that doesn't serve hamburgers and fries."

Jay's mouth watered, and his evil iced coffee couldn't cure it. "Burgers and fries sound good to me. You need to get over your anti-junk food policy. It's annoying."

"You'll think differently once you mature," Casper replied coolly, taking a sip of his green tea.

How are we related? Jay frowned. "Whatever. Tell me the real reason why you came out here. You never want to visit me."

Annoyance flickered in the blunet's visage — it was nothing Jay hadn't seen before. "I haven't had the time to visit you until now. You know I'm occupied with our family's projects."

"Oh yeah. The projects nobody tells me about because I'm the black Mareep of the family. Those ones." An uncharacteristically dry and bitter laugh escaped Jay. He raised his brows. "Let me guess: you came out to talk to me because of them."

Casper said nothing, opting to down half of his teacup instead. Jay scoffed and shook his head.

"Shit, you could've at least acted like you came for something else," he complained.

"Be sophisticated now," Casper chided. "This is family business. You need to cooperate." His voice deepened, and his pale face turned taut like marble. "Your traveling companions, for example, interest us deeply."

Jay tilted his head. "Why? I told you they're not country people."

"I presume that Ken's family is tied to our business. You have one simple task." Casper leaned towards him, mindful not to be overhead. "Keep Ken close to you."

Jay hadn't the slightest clue what the 'family business' was; his mother told him that his grandfather worked as both a philosopher and scientist. Once he passed away, his uncle followed in his footsteps and became the company's leader.

Come to think about it, Ken has never mentioned his family to me before. Not even once.

Jay hated being stuck alone in the dark. He wasn't a kid.

"What type of mission is that?" Jay snorted, pushing his uncomfortable feelings to the side. "Be friends with Ken? Done and done. It's a piece of cake. I thought you were going to tell me to do something cool or crazy like break into Sassy."

"Who is Sassy?" Casper asked, bewildered.

"Dan's car, but screw that. Tell me what the project is."

"I'll spare you the details. Essentially, our family wants to create a perfect universe, and we require specific people with extraordinary abilities to do so. Your friend is one of those."

The bell to the café chimed, unnoticed by the half-brothers. Alice lifted her hand to wave at Jay, but she faltered when she saw Casper. She bit the inside of her cheek and chose to wait in line to order a drink instead of greeting them right away.

Regret sprouted within her as she read the menu and struggled to pick a hot beverage. As of late, she would pick whatever Ken had since he made decisions quickly. She figured she could order what other people were drinking and scanned the eatery.

Not him! she internally shrieked.

Sitting at a booth in the rear of the café was a middle-aged man donning a trenchcoat she would recognize anywhere. He shoveled cake into his mouth as he stared at Jay and Casper, ignorant to Alice's gaping. She shifted a tall, potted plant so it covered her from the man's line of sight and began tugging on her hair.

Why is he here? I thought he worked in Sinnoh! she thought.

"Ma'am, what would you like to order?" the cashier asked, causing Alice to almost jump out of her skin.

"Uh, I'd like, a, um, a chamomile tea, please," she sputtered.

Two awkward exchanges later, Alice received her refreshment and Ken entered the building. He carefully blocked the Togepi plushy from her view. She rushed to his side as quick as she could without spilling her tea.

"I have the aloe vera," he informed. The scent of her drink reached his nose, and a ghost of a smile appeared. "I didn't know you liked chamomile tea. It's my favorite, too."

"Er, yeah," she agreed. In reality, it was the first tea that came to her mind so she spat its name out. "Want to say hi to Jay?"

Jay heard his name and looked in their direction. Relief flooded him, and he more than happily shouted across the otherwise quiet café, "Hey, guys!"

Secondhand embarrassment hit Casper, Alice, and Ken at the same time. Dirty glares were shot at Jay who chuckled and apologized for his excitement. The two walked to their table, Ken plastic bag in-hand and Alice trying to ignore the stare of the man in the back who she wanted to avoid.

"Cas, this is Ken and Alice. Guys, this is my brother, Casper," Jay introduced.

"We've met before," Ken informed, no signs of friendliness visible.

Casper tucked his long hair behind his ear and sent Alice the same charming grin he gave her weeks ago in Lumiose. "It's a pleasant surprise to cross paths with you two once again. Congratulations on winning the tournament. I believed in your partnership since the beginning." He gestured to the chairs. "Please do join us."

Alice sat down first, saying, "Oh, uh, thank you." She shifted her gaze between the blue-haired man and his impatient kin who couldn't stop bouncing his leg. "You guys don't really look alike."

They didn't. Jay dwarfed his lean brother with his tall, brawny stature and was several shades darker with golden, sun-kissed complexion. Casper's features were sharper and more defined, resembling a stone-cut statue versus Jay's sporty, boyish image.

"We're half-brothers; we have the same mother, but different fathers," Casper explained.

Ken adjusted the aloe vera in the plastic bag to cover the Togepi doll. He yearned to leave the establishment to soothe his aching face then find a ribbon to decorate his gift. "Are you going to force your way into the tour, as well?"

Alice closed her eyes upon identifying the blond's all too familiar rudeness, and Jay cracked a smile since it was directed at Casper rather than him.

The callous jab had no effect on the man sipping out of his teacup. "I have no intention of joining your group."

Both Jay and Ken breathed out sighs of relief in unison, albeit the latter hiding his better. The upbeat, tinkling song of a phone call interrupted Casper who'd opened his mouth to speak again. He drew his phone from his coat and rose to his feet.

"I'm afraid our time must be cut short by my work. All three of you take care, and farewell." Casper left, denying anyone the chance to get a word in edgewise.

The moment he was out the door, Jay ran his fingers through his messy, black hair and grumbled, "Things were 'bouta get ugly if he said he was joining us."

"I'm not fond of him, either," Ken inputted, honest to a fault.

"You think he's stuck up now? Get a load of this. When we were younger..."

Alice zoned out as Jay recounted stories of him and his half-brother in their youth. She tapped her fingernail against her teacup and bit her inner cheek, completely aware of the eyes targeted on the three.

Alice's restless fidgeting earned Ken's attention, and he scanned the café for her source of anxiety. He eyed the ladies gossiping at the table next to them, the trainers loitering outside, and the cashier cleaning out the treats display. None of them raised suspicion in him. He was about to ask her outright what was bothering her until he made eye contact with a shady man in the eatery's corner. His gaze hardened into a scorn, and the stranger looked away.

"What's wrong?" Jay asked, wary of how Ken cast a death glare over his shoulder. He glanced behind him and found nothing wrong.

"There's a man sitting in a shadowy corner staring at Alice," Ken described, his grim voice matching his tense posture.

Jay turned around, making everyone cringe as his chair scratched the floor and created an ear-grating noise. "Is he old?"

"Guys, stop," she pleaded, covering her ashamed face.

"What beef do you have with that guy?" Jay snapped his fingers. "Lemme guess: you broke his walking stick."

"Arceus, please lower your voice. I'll tell you if you stop staring at him." She frowned. "Ken."

The blond unclenched his jaw and grudgingly obliged. "Fine. Explain yourself."

Alice began playing with the ends of her hair. "So when I was twelve, I was traveling in Sinnoh with Rosie and our friends. And, well, I was kind of bad back then. My group was in Floaroma Town when..."

* * *

Four years ago...

"Stop right there!"

Alice blinked, hesitated, then obeyed. Her brows furrowed together as a man wearing a tan trenchcoat stormed her way with one hand on his belt and the other pointing a finger at her. She shot Rosie a look that asked what was going on, and her friend shrugged. Neither had a clue what was going on.

"Do you want to battle?" Alice guessed. She reached for Togetic's Poké Ball and smiled mischievously. "Just warning you that I'm a lot stronger than what I look like."

"Yeah," Rosie piped up. "She's like the strongest in our group by far."

The man halted then scowled. "I don't want any battles. Put your Poké Ball back and raise your hands in the air."

"What?" Alice and Rosie cried in synchronization.

"Not you," he said to Rosie. He fixated on the flabbergasted Alice. "You, the girl with brown hair,"

"I didn't even do anything!" Alice whined, following his orders. She bristled as he rummaged through her bag. "Hey! What are you doing? I have rights!"

"You have the right to remain silent." He let out an 'a-ha!' and held up a pearly sphere with a red band. "Just what I suspected: you shoplifted this Poké Ball from the Poké Mart."

He launched into a loud lecture about the horrors of prison and why no one should commit crime. Crowds stopped as they heard what was going on, and strangers watched the scene unfold in front of them in mild interest. Whispers rose and phones were drawn to record the 'arrest'.

The irritation and fear Alice embodied ripened into mortified fury. "That's a Premier Ball, and I didn't shoplift it!"

"Hand over your receipt," he demanded.

"I don't have a receipt because I wasn't the one who bought ten Poké Balls."

"You admit you're guilty."

Whispers escalated into rowdy jabbering. Words such as 'thief' and 'criminal' met the blushing girl's ears.

"No, I didn't. Rosie—" Alice exaggeratedly motioned at the pinkette "—bought ten Poké Balls, and she gave me the bonus Premier Ball that came with it."

"Do you have proof?"

The thin strand of patience holding Alice together snapped. Her dark eyes lit up akin to coals crackling from flames, and she started yelling, "What do you mean 'do I have proof', you—"

* * *

"...a Poké Mart worker finally came outside and explained the whole free Premier Ball policy to him, and he let me go," Alice concluded.

Jay's obnoxious laughter attracted glares from everyone in the establishment. He muffled his giggles with his hand, but it did little to ward off annoyed grumbles. Even Ken rolled his eyes and snickered quietly.

"There's no way!" Jay gasped out between chortles. "You were a troublemaker?"

"Oh Arceus, shut up! You make me sound like I was a delinquent, and I wasn't! I just had a really bad attitude problem," Alice huffed, embarrassment sweeping her head to toe.

Ken pointed out, "True, but you did cause trouble. Floaroma Town's famous for its tranquility. You must've left quite the impression on the natives."

Alice stood up abruptly and left, unable to deal with the Sinnohvian boys' teasing any longer. Ken followed swiftly, calling out her name so she didn't run off before he reached her. Jay addressed yet another apology to the café goers. He spared one last glance at the faulty 'officer' and made eye contact.

He looks familiar, he thought. Have we met before? Eh, probably déjà vu.

Jay threw away his iced coffee container then jogged to catch up with his friends.

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Author's Note

This chapter was fun to write with Ken's ridiculously proud reaction to him realizing he has a best friend and the whole Alice flashback (it's easy to guess who the trenchcoat man is haha)

Question of the Chapter: Who's your favorite character as of right now?

P.S.: You might've also caught me using a new cover for Bonds lately. It was made by the lovely ImberLapis!