Ignoring Oleana's assertion, Jason continued holding out his hand for Chairman Rose to accept. If he allowed himself to be told off or deterred by a Secretary, it would needlessly diminish his status in the eyes of the many people observing the exchange. Thus, he maintained a calm smile and resolutely held his position.
"Oh? I was wondering where you had gotten off to, Chairman Rose. Did you have some business with my son-in-law?" asked the familiar voice of Lusamine, carrying effortlessly as she breached the previously inviolable proximity around Chairman Rose, Jason, and Lillie with a markedly short, well-dressed man with spiky grey hair, a slightly hunched figure, and pale grey eyes.
"After all, Macro Cosmos has a vested interest in associating itself with up-and-coming talents," Chairman Rose responded, looking away from Jason's hand to meet Lusamine's challenging gaze with an unchanging expression. Then, as if to reinforce that he had no intention of accepting Jason's handshake, he placed his hands behind his back.
"That can be said for all major corporations," expressed the man next to Lusamine, stepping forward and extending his hand to Jason with a smile as he introduced himself, stating, "Alexander Stone, President and CEO of the Devon Corporation. President Lusamine speaks highly of both you and her daughter."
"I have followed you and your son's exploits, Sir. It's a genuine honor to make your acquaintance..." Jason responded, his smile broadening as he offered President Stone a respectful, appreciative nod.
"It's a shame that my son couldn't be here to meet the two of you himself. But, as you can imagine, his duties as both a Champion and my successor keep him rather busy..." President Stone stated casually, failing to prevent a slight but genuine smile from spreading across his face.
Releasing Jason's hands, President Stone offered Lillie a courteous nod before Lusamine stepped in to propose, "This is a good opportunity. Shall we temporarily relocate to the sitting room?"
"What say you, Chairman Rose? Will you be accompanying us?" President Stone questioned, saving Chairman Rose some face by drawing him back into the exchange.
"It would be remiss of me to refuse," Chairman Rose responded flatly, his eyes alone briefly shifting to Jason before he took the lead to depart with Oleana, who sent him a comparably withering stare.
'I guess even the world of Pokémon has these inhuman-seeming scum...' Jason thought glumly, contrasting the composed smile and slight nod he offered the woman before she turned to follow her boss.
"President Stone, if you would be so kind..." Lusamine hummed, raising her right hand in a delicate, poised manner.
"Ah, it would be my pleasure, Lady Argyle..." President Stone responded, bending his left elbow and presenting it to Lusamine so she could link her hands around it. Then, with Jason, Lillie, and about a dozen people in dark suits and shades following behind, he readily escorted her to sitting room, where Wicke and several other scientists awaited...
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prumpf
After one of his longest days in a while, Jason plopped face down on his and Lillie's shared bed. The tour and presentation had gone well, but the researchers from the Devon Corporation and Macro Cosmos had insisted on taking measurements and collecting samples of their own. To facilitate that, he needed to stay inside with them, placing him at the mercy of their questions and curiosity.
taptaptapshfssffsh
"Auwadinn~"
Witnessing Jason's actions from her usual sewing spot, Audino set aside the sweater she was working on, waddled over to the bed, and carefully climbed onto it. Then, as she used to when they cohabitated, she sat on his lower back and began massaging him with her soft, deceptively strong hands.
"Thanks, Dinah. You're the best..." Jason sighed wearily, simultaneously wondering what Korrina was up to. He had hoped to find her waiting when he reached the room, but even Lillie was absent. This led him to conclude they were together, likely with Iris.
While imagining the trio arriving in their pajamas or less, Jason nearly fell asleep. Before that, he needed to release Ren from her Poké Ball, so after submitting Dinah's ministrations for what could have been five to as many as twenty minutes, he reluctantly groaned, "I need to get up..."
"Auwa dinn~" Dinah hummed, planting two soft smacks on Jason's right shoulder before dismounting his back and eventually hopping down from the bed. As she did, Jason rolled onto his back and used his feet to turn his body until he could dangle them from the bed. Only then did he sit up, prompting Dinah, who had stopped to observe him, to shake her head and exhale faintly from her nose.
"Yeah, I know..." Jason sighed, inhaling deeply and exhaling with a huff before rising to his feet and making his way over to a portrait of Lusamine and Lillie. A mechanism hidden within the faux golden frame caused it to rise, revealing a safe—within which was a compact version of the machine used in Pokémon Centers to heal and promote Pokémon rest.
As he hadn't wanted to parade her around or subject her to the scrutiny of people like Chairman Rose and the researchers, Jason had secured Ren's Poké Ball within the safe alongside Runa's. His vision contracted, and his temples began buzzing when he saw both were missing. But since Dinah had remained in the room all evening and hadn't been in a panic when he arrived, he assumed Lillie or Korrina had taken Ren with them to wherever they had gone.
"Dex. Please message Lillie's or Korrina's Rotom to confirm that they have Ren with them..." Jason petitioned, causing his Rotom phone to jolt awake atop its charging station and exclaim, "Of course! Just leave it to me~!" in its usual energetic tone. In hindsight, Jason realized he could have simply asked Dex if it had seen the duo take Ren's Poké Ball, but his brain felt like a lead weight after the evening's events.
As Jason waited for Dex's response, Dinah made her way over to him with a small piece of embossed paper in hand. He immediately recognized the neat handwriting on its surface as belonging to Lillie, causing the tension that had accumulated within his body to dissolve away as he read what it said. She had evidently taken Ren to observe an unofficial battle between Korrina and Iris. After that, they planned to review WCS matches in one of the hotel's private theaters, where they would be awaiting his arrival until 10 PM.
Checking the time and seeing that it was already fourteen minutes past ten, Jason wasn't surprised when Dex chimed, "I have successfully made contact with Miss Lillie's Rotom! Ren is indeed with them, and they're on their way back as we speak~!"
"Thank you for checking, Dex. I really appreciate it..." Jason expressed, offering a curt nod that caused the impish smile on Dex's face to grow to its limits. It had been surprised when he had given it a name, but since he felt odd addressing it and Dinah as their species, Jason had asked both if he could name them. Dinah was initially hesitant, but with a bit of coaxing from Lillie and support from Korrina and Ren, she relented with a sigh and a smile.
"No problem! Feel free to rely on me even more~!" Dex exclaimed, looking very proud of itself as it puffed out its screen like its chest. At nearly that same moment, the door to the room abruptly opened, followed by a high-pitched, naturally husky voice shouting, "Jason...!" before Ren barreled at him like a bipedal missile.
'Oh, Gods...' Jason thought, bracing himself the way he had seen Korrina and others receive Ren's running hug. To his surprise and relief, while Ren did embrace him, she slowed down at the last moment and wrapped him in a notably restrained, exceptionally warm hug.
While cupping and caressing the back of Ren's head, his fingers gently digging into the fur near the base of her ears and antennae, Jason turned his attention to the entrance, where Lillie entered with Runa, Korrina, and, much to his relief, no Iris. He had fully expected her to appear, so the fact that she hadn't had, once again, improved his impression of her.
'I'll need to express my gratitude to her for warning us about Chairman Rose...' Jason thought to himself, outwardly smiling as he said, "Welcome back. How'd the mock battle go?"
Catching Jason off guard, Korrina adopted a toothy, uncontainable smile and revealed, "Luca and I managed to get some revenge for you and Ren. It was far from easy, but Luca's resistance against Dragon-type and Dark-type energy gave us the edge we needed."
"That's...really amazing..." Jason responded, his slack-jawed expression and the brief pause in his words making his shock apparent. He was well aware that Luca was a beast, but if Korrina had avenged them by taking on Iris's Haxorus, the latter's Ace Pokémon, it implied he was at the level of a Champion.
"Korrina and Luca are amazing!" Ren reiterated, her tail wagging behind her as she nearly, unintentionally, squeezed Jason tight enough to force the air from his lungs.
"I also won both of my matches today, so feel free to praise and reward me~" Korrina hummed, making double peace signs and snipping them like scissors.
"It's reassuring to have such a powerful Trainer and her Pokémon on our side~" Lillie appended in a sing-song tone, simultaneously carrying Runa over to and setting her down at the foot of the bed. What followed was a casual, clothes-changing conversation about what had transpired outside while Jason was forced to stay in his Sanctum. Both President Stone and Chairman Rose had expressed an interest in investing in the Akala Island Beachside Resort Project, but the extent of their investment had yet to be determined. Projects of such scale demanded oversight from the League and its executive committees. And since all parties would want to protect their investments, one of the many things that needed to be decided was who would be in charge of the project long-term...
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Rousing early the next morning, despite going to bed late, Jason briefly considered how he might extricate himself from between Lillie and Korrina before resolving himself to wait for them to rouse. He needed to pee, but the urge wasn't so bad that he couldn't hold it.
'I get to see Maeve and Nanahoshi today...' Jason reminded himself, a faint smile adorning his face. He wasn't particularly close with the latter, but he missed the former greatly. Her appearance aside, the vulnerability she seemed to display only when they were alone had left a profound and lasting impression on him.
Recalling his final moments with Maeve before their parting, Jason was unable to prevent a certain part of his body from reacting. His sedentary sleeping position had already triggered a partial reaction, but now he was ready and raring to go.
'How troublesome...' Jason sighed internally, simultaneously exhaling from his nose. He had gotten much better at controlling his reactions, but some things simply couldn't be regulated.
Fortunately for Jason, Ren hadn't climbed into bed while he was sleeping, likely because there wasn't room for her. She could have tried sleeping on top of him, but with how dense her body was, he would have immediately awoken. After all, there was a considerable difference between the 10kg weighted blanket he required as a child and her 135kg. Then there was the fact that she radiated heat like a furnace...
"Jason...?"
Hearing the familiar voice, Jason involuntarily tensed before raising just his head to peek past Lillie's sleeping face. Ren had evidently sensed he was awake, prompting her to sit up from her cozy circular bed and stare at him with curiosity. He thankfully had a blanket covering him, but that did little to prevent him—
Contrary to what Jason knew to be true, he abruptly discovered that he wasn't covered by a blanket at all. Even more disconcertingly, he wasn't flanked by a sleeping Lillie or Korrina. Instead, he had Laani caressing his chest and rubbing her thigh against him to his right and a Gardevoir to his left. Then, startling him awake, Ren was abruptly on top of him, producing sounds that sent shivers through his body...
"Jason? Is everything okay...?" Lillie questioned, stirring awake and rising to a seated position to stare at Jason with confusion and concern. Korrina had also awakened from his sudden jolting. But since it was barely past 3 AM, he shook his head, reassured them that he had just had a nightmare, and encouraged them to return to sleep while he briefly got up to relieve himself and wash his face...
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