"Sooner or later, I'll make you pay for this!"
After handing Raticate over to the medical staff, the more Aoi thought about it, the angrier she became. In the end, she headed toward the resting area, preparing to confront Icarus.
Of course, this confrontation wasn't going to be some impulsive outburst. She was no longer the naïve girl she once was.
The innocence she once had had long since vanished during the process of her family's assets being swallowed up. What remained now was only maturity beyond her years and a sharp instinct for self-preservation.
She wanted to confront Icarus to see if she could extract some useful information from him. After all, they were now both members of Team Rocket—technically colleagues.
Moreover, they were both Trainers from the same town. Honestly, this was the first time she had ever met another Team Rocket member outside of her own family.
Back then, she had joined in a daze. She swore the oath, followed her patriarch back home, and received a uniform, a badge, and a black identity card, but no one explained what any of them were for.
The person handling registration had only told them they would continue following the patriarch's orders as usual. They also mentioned that the card contained 100 contribution points, but gave no further explanation.
At the time, Aoi had been completely focused on helping Rattata break through. Even after successfully advancing to the Ordinary Level, with only a low-tier Ordinary Level Raticate, she still wouldn't dare venture deep into the inner forest, let alone approach the Team Rocket base in the inner zone.
Asking the patriarch directly was impossible.
Ever since returning, the patriarch had been in seclusion recovering from his injuries and restoring his strength. He hadn't had the time—or interest—to explain anything to them.
So despite technically joining Team Rocket, Aoi actually knew almost nothing about it. Her understanding was still mostly based on Alliance propaganda.
All she had received was a uniform, a badge, a black identity card… and 100 contribution points.
Still, having completed Alliance missions before, Aoi immediately guessed that contribution points were probably Team Rocket's internal mission currency.
Unfortunately, without access to the base, it was meaningless to her.
As for the others in the family… well, they were still following the patriarch's orders and were just as clueless.
Of course, she suspected the patriarch would eventually explain everything once he emerged from seclusion. But now, she had already encountered another Team Rocket member.
This was the perfect opportunity.
If she could understand things earlier than the others in her family, she would gain an invisible advantage.
People might think becoming top of her class as a freshman was impressive, but only Aoi herself knew the truth: she had sold off the last inheritance left by her parents just to achieve it.
Now that she had reached the Ordinary Level, training costs had increased dramatically. She also needed to prepare a second Pokémon.
The direct descendants of the family received additional resources on top of their normal allowances.
But she, an unsupported collateral branch member, received nothing.
If she didn't keep struggling upward, it was entirely possible she would be surpassed by others and lose even the little status she currently had.
So although she was furious with that man, the harshness of reality had already taught her to prioritize benefits above emotions.
After searching through the resting area for a while, she finally spotted the bored Icarus sitting alone in a corner.
"Why am I always the first one done? Airi and Stone are still competing. Hopefully they finish soon."
Sitting on the bench, Icarus looked rather bored.
Just like the first round, Airi and Stone had both been scheduled two rounds after him.
They had chatted briefly earlier before heading off to their matches, leaving him alone waiting around.
"Tap tap~ Hello, Icarus~"
A pleasant female voice suddenly sounded beside him.
Looking up, he saw a delicate face smiling sweetly at him. His opponent from earlier sat down across from him with a graceful smile.
"Hm? Miss Aoi from earlier?"
Although he had no idea why this woman's attitude had suddenly changed again, if she wanted to pretend, then he would play along.
Besides, this was still inside the Gym's public resting area. He doubted she would do anything reckless here.
"Yes, Icarus, your Pidgeotto is just as strong as ever."
The moment Aoi saw him pretending not to recognize her, the anger in her chest surged violently again.
"You bastard! You stole all my valuables and touched me all over, and now you're pretending not to know me?!
You scumbag! You robbed me of both my money and my dignity, and now you want to act innocent?!"
Inside her mind, she cursed him viciously.
But on the surface, she maintained her smile, only subtly emphasizing the words "from before."
She understood perfectly well that this was a public place. Sensitive topics couldn't be discussed openly.
Still, a few veiled hints were acceptable.
Even if passersby overheard them, they would simply assume the two had met before or that she had watched his earlier match.
"Ahem… not at all, not at all. Miss Aoi's improvement speed is actually incredible. You've already reached the Ordinary Level, and your Pokémon evolved too."
Hearing her words, Icarus immediately understood that she had recognized him.
Still unable to figure out her intentions, he chuckled, complimented her casually, and tossed the conversation back to her.
"But I still lost to Icarus~"
Aoi immediately put on a pitiful expression and continued softly,
"Icarus, your growth speed is amazing. Could you give me some pointers? The competition is over for today anyway, and tomorrow starts the Top 100 qualifiers."
Clearly, she understood this wasn't the place for a deeper conversation and was suggesting they meet elsewhere.
"Hm, alright. Let's exchange contact information first. I still need to wait for my companions, so I'll contact you after I get home."
Although he still didn't fully understand what she wanted, her behavior didn't seem openly hostile, so Icarus nodded in agreement.
Besides, he also wanted to learn more about the family factions from her.
"Okay. My number is 1354…"
"I'll wait for your call tonight, Icarus~"
Hearing this, Aoi immediately understood it wasn't convenient for him to leave right now. After leaving her number, she stood up and walked out of the Gym alone.
"She's a pretty smart woman~"
Watching her retreating figure, Icarus picked up the note from the table, smiled faintly, and slipped it into his pocket.
This woman gave him a feeling somewhat similar to Luna.
He knew Luna had her own little schemes, but she lacked power and could only rely on him, so he was confident he could control her.
But Aoi was different.
She came from one of the Four Great Families and had already reached the Ordinary Level herself.
Trying to dominate someone like her by force would probably be difficult.
But cooperation… or mutual exploitation… that might work.
After all, they were now both Team Rocket members, and Aoi's identity as a family faction Trainer could definitely be useful to him.
"But she does seem taller than before… and her figure's become a lot more balanced too. Is that the physical feedback from reaching the Ordinary Level?"
Watching Aoi leave, Icarus suddenly recalled the scene of removing the ite from her back then.
At the time, her figure definitely hadn't seemed this developed…
"Uh… guess I'll have to call Luna over again tonight…"
As he thought about it, a certain part of his body immediately reacted.
Annoyed, he pulled out his phone and sent a text message to his little maid.
"Same time. Bring the black set."
Meanwhile, Luna, who was currently working the night shift at the Pokémon Center while secretly gaming, saw the notification pop up on her phone.
Clang!
Her phone slipped from her hand and smacked against the table.
"Ugh… isn't he supposed to be busy with the tournament?! Why again…"
Luna rubbed her sore backside miserably.
Honestly, she felt like it might be better to just go all the way already rather than keep suffering like this.
Slumped weakly in her chair, she imagined what awaited her tonight… and instantly lost all desire to keep playing her game.
"Okay, Master~"
Still, she had no choice but to obey. She quickly sent back a reply.
"Hm~"
Seeing her response, Icarus nodded in satisfaction, put away his phone, and continued waiting for Airi and Stone to return.