Rocket Gang Reunited

Part Three

Hours later, after Mewtwo had given up and gone inside the cavern, Musashi and Kojiro jumped out of the tree. Kojiro stared into the dark cave. "You think we should go back for Nyase?"

Musashi shook her head. ‘I don’t know about you, but I’m not risking my life for that stupid cat!"

"I suppose you’re right," he agreed.

Musashi shivered, realizing that it was now nightfall. "Great. No place to stay tonight."

"You could stay at my house," he offered. Musashi shot him a strange look. He blushed and waved his hands in front of him.

"N-Not like that!! I meant--er--well, you know what I meant!"

She sighed quietly. "It’s too late to go back home now. I guess I could."

Kojiro nodd ed. "It’s in Cerulean City, only about a mile from here."

Soon they arrived at a small white house with red trim on the edge of town. Kojiro turned his key in the door and opened it. "Sorry, it’s kind of messy..."

Musashi looked into the room. She nearly fell over as she saw it was completely spotless, aside from a few pizza boxes stacked neatly in a corner.

"He’d think my house was a pigsty," she thought, an image of her own ill-kept apartment coming to mind.

"You want something to eat?" Kojiro asked, pressing a button on his telephone labeled "Pizza".

She nodded and looked around the room. Along the walls were pictures of various Pokemon, dressed up in different varieties of outfits and make up. She followed the pictures up the stairs into a small room at the end. She glanced at the door and saw it had Kojiro’s name on it. She wandered in cautiously.

His room was almost completely covered with Pokemon. Three of his four walls were plastered with Pokemon photos and such, and the fourth was covered in photos of the Rocket Gang. As she sat on the bed she noticed a photo in a frame on the desk. She picked it up. It was a photo of her and Kojiro, posing in one of the strange poses they used to do when they made their speech. She smiled, remembering their motto. She was still looking at it when Kojiro walked in with the pizzas.

"You still like pepperoni, right?" he asked, then saw what she was looking at. He sat down beside her, setting the pizza on the table. "You still remember that speech?" he asked softly, looking over her shoulder.

"How could I forget?" she whispered back, looking in his direction.

He sighed. "It’s been so long, Musashi..." He closed his eyes and hugged her. "We were such good friends. How could we lose touch with each other for so long?"

"Were, Kojiro?" Musashi leaned against him as he hugged her. "We’ve always been friends. We never stopped, we were just separated for awhile."

He nodded, smiling to himself. "I’m gonna go take a shower, he told her, grabbing a couple slices of pizza. "There are blankets and pillows in the closet."

Kojiro came back a few minutes later to see Musashi curled up on his bed, asleep. She had set up a couple blankets and a pillow on the floor, apparently for him. A few more pieces of pizza were gone, and her Rocket Gang shirt was tossed over a chair.

He shook his head. "Thanks, Musashi," he muttered as he flopped down on the blankets and went to sleep.

**********

Musashi awoke to a burning smell coming from downstairs. She hopped out of bed and walked to the kitchen, where Kojiro was desperately trying to put out a flaming pan. She grabbed a box of baking soda off the counter, tore the top off, and threw the box, covering both Kojiro and the pan with soda. The fire died out.

"Uhm..." Kojiro reached into the pan and pulled out a stiff black disk. "Pancake?"

She lowered her head. "I take it you don’t cook very often."

He pointed to the corner full of pizza boxes. "What do you think all those are for?"

Musashi picked up the pan and hit him over the head with it before she stuck it in the sink to wash it. "Here, I’LL cook."

Kojiro barely had time to recover before the doorbell rang. "I’ll get it," he said as he stumbled towards the door. He opened it and a familiar Persian flew in at him, knocking him to the floor.

"What’s the big idea, leavin’ Nyase in the cave like that?!" the cat yelled, drawing its sharp claws.

A frying pan suddenly struck Nyase in the head, and he fell over. Musashi swung the pan over her shoulder. "Baka."

Kojiro sat up and looked at her, suddenly noticing something different. "Musashi-san! Your hair!"

"My hair?" She looked around desperately for a mirror. "What is it? Is it on fire?"

He stared at her. "No, it’s hanging down!"

She blinked and pulled a lock of hair in front of her, staring at it blankly. "Oh. I just haven’t fixed it today."

She started up the stairs with Kojiro close behind, leaving Nyase in the doorway. Kojiro just kept staring at her hair. "But I thought it was naturally that way!"

She shrugged. "You thought wrong," she replied as she walked into the bathroom. She began to brush her hair out when Kojiro stopped her hand.

"Let me do your hair, Musashi-san!" He looked so eager that Musashi gave in reluctantly. "Okay. But if you mess it up, you’re dead!"

"Great!" He opened up a closet beside the counter, full of hair supplies. "Ever consider cutting it, Musashi?" A pair of scissors flew just over his head, embedding themselves into the closet door. "I say that’s a no."

He took a simple hairband and tied it around her hair in a ponytail. "Hmm...not you." He grabbed another hairband and parted her hair into two pigtails. "How about that?"

"There is no way in hell you’re getting me to wear pigtails!" she screamed.

Kojiro winced. "All right, all right!" He put the hairbands away and took out some curlers. Carefully he pulled a bucket of water out of the closet. "Please don’t kill me, Musashi-san!" he pleaded as he dumped the water over her head.

"EEEEEK!" She froze in place, wide eyed and dripping wet. Kojiro quickly put her hair in curlers while she was in shock and began blow-drying it. A few minutes later he pulled the curlers out, leaving her hair in ringlets. "Not bad, eh, Musashi?"

She stared in the mirror and a very large sweatdrop formed on her head.

"Well...maybe not." Kojiro brushed out the curls. "I have one more idea." he led her away from the mirror and sat her down in a chair. Musashi sat impatiently as Kojiro worked on her hair for nearly an hour. "Aren’t you done yet?" she snapped irritably.

"Almost, Musashi-san!" He put the finishing touches on her hair. He pulled her back to the mirror to get her approval. Her hair was pulled off to the side in her normal hairstyle.

"It’s perfect!" she exclaimed, turning around and hugging him.

"Are you two done playing beauty shop yet?" Nyase asked from the doorway, sounding annoyed. Kojiro and Musashi jumped back, startled.

"You always have to ruin our fun, don’t you," pouted Kojiro.

"We should be going anyway," Musashi interrupted.

The others looked at her with blank expressions. "Going...where?" Kojiro asked.

She looked back at them. "To get that Mewtwo, of course!" Her associates nearly fell over.

"Are you crazy?" Nyase growled, baring his catlike teeth at her. "We can’t beat that thing!" Kojiro nodded in agreement.

Musashi sighed. "Look, you two, we were given a job to do. That’s what we’re getting paid for, and personally, I think it’s great to do this again. If you two aren’t with me then I’m going without you."

"I’m not risking my neck to catch a stupid Pokemon! Not even for the boss!" Nyase announced, and walked off in a huff.

Musashi turned to her best friend. "Kojiro?"

Kojiro turned away. "Nyase’s got a point, Musashi-san," he answered quietly. "There’s no way we can beat it. Going after it again is suicide."

"Fine," she said coldly, walking down the stairs to the door.

"Musashi-san!" he yelled, running after her. He grabbed her shoulders and held her tight. "You’ll be killed of you go fight it alone!"

Musashi suddenly whirled around and slapped him across the face. He staggered back, letting go of her. He stared at her in shock, slowly bringing his hand to his face. "Musashi-san.."

She glared at him. "If you’re so worried about me, why aren’t you coming with me?" Kojiro was silent. "I thought so," she muttered, and she turned away, walking out the door before he could respond.

Part 4

 

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