Reiji was not the only one people wanted to talk to. Ash and Gary had Professor Oak behind them, and that alone made half the crowd suddenly friendly.
Gary handled it like Gary. Polite, clean, perfectly mannered—and cold enough to keep away anyone he did not care about.
Ash was the complete opposite. He had no idea people were trying to network with him. He just thought everyone here was weirdly nice today. They all sounded pleasant, much nicer than Misty, at least.
The dinner lasted all the way until midnight.
People gradually left as the gathering wound down. Danny was still steady on his feet and walked back by himself. Rudy had drunk himself stupid, so the Trovita Gym apprentices had to carry him away.
By the fire, only Reiji and Brock were left.
Brock was gone. Completely gone. He lay sprawled on the grass, drunk enough that a stampede probably would not wake him. Reiji still had a little sense left, so he sat beside the fire and watched Lokoko silently stay by Brock's side.
She was only using an illusion, so she could not touch him. She just sat there, staring at the face that looked almost exactly like her old master's.
"Master…" Lokoko reached out. Her fingers passed straight through Brock's cheek. "You really do look like him."
Unless she showed her real Ninetales body, she could not touch him.
Then she remembered what Reiji had taught her. Psychic power had no solid shape, but that was what made it useful. It could hit, block, push, pull—anything, if the control was good enough.
So she wrapped psychic power around the hand of her illusion and tried again.
This time, her fingers brushed Brock's cheek.
"He really does look like him," Reiji said. "Like someone copied the same face and changed the hairstyle."
He knew the real answer was lazy character design, but there was no reason to start breaking the fourth wall here.
"Lokoko," he asked, "you're sure about this?"
"I'm sure." Lokoko gently lifted Brock's flushed, drunken face and settled his head on her lap. Her fingers moved lightly over his cheek. "I want to stay with my master for one more life."
"All right." Reiji had already worked out the setup with her. "After I finish the preliminaries, we'll arrange it. You get chased, Brock saves you, and then he catches you."
The plan was simple, and they had gone over it before, but Reiji still reminded her of the important part.
"Don't rush the illusion. That has to wait. Telepathy is fine, though. You can start with that. Call Brock for help that way."
"Give him time to get used to you. Let him accept that you can talk to him through telepathy. Then start helping him with little things—cooking, cleaning, chores, whatever makes his life easier."
"Once he's used to having you around, then you let the illusion appear. By then you'll know what kind of person he is and what he likes. Show up looking like the woman from his dreams, and he'll be finished. Got it?"
"I understand." Lokoko looked up at him. "You really do understand humans."
Humans were complicated. That much she knew.
But this human understood them too well. That was scary in its own way. With a plan like this, her master would be led along step by step and probably thank them for it.
Good thing they were not enemies.
"I've seen a few things." Reiji scratched his head with an awkward laugh.
He had met all kinds of people in his previous life. Men, though? Men were not that mysterious. Brock, especially, was not exactly a locked vault.
"Brock! Brock, time to go!"
Before Reiji and Lokoko could say more, two voices called from the distance. Someone was heading toward the fire.
Lokoko turned and saw Brock's traveling companions.
Her illusion vanished on the spot.
Brock's head dropped back onto the grass.
He still slept like a corpse.
"Brock got drunk again?" Ash said as he reached the fire and smelled the alcohol on him. His face immediately turned helpless.
Luckily, Tracey had come with him. Between the two of them, they could drag Brock back to his room.
"Ash, sorry about this," Reiji said, laughing a little awkwardly.
He was the one who had talked Brock into drinking. Now someone else had to haul him away. There was no clean way to pretend that was not his fault.
"Haha, it's fine. We're going the same way anyway." Ash grabbed Brock's legs, then let go with one hand to scratch his head.
Tracey suddenly had too much weight on his side.
Brock hit the grass again.
Still asleep.
"Ash!" Misty snapped, storming over like a tiny Dragon-type with anger issues. "Can you two be careful?"
After scolding Ash and Tracey, she looked around the fire with a puzzled frown.
"Wait… wasn't there a girl here just now?"
"Haha."
Reiji gave her his best drunk idiot laugh and said nothing.
Misty narrowed her eyes, but Brock was still on the ground, so she had bigger problems. In the end, Ash and Tracey lifted him again, much more carefully this time, and the three of them dragged him away.
The grass was soft, at least. Brock had been dropped more than once and still slept like a rock, with a faint smile on his face.
Whatever he was dreaming about, it seemed to be going well.
Only after they left did Reiji hear a soft sigh in his mind.
Lokoko had finally relaxed.
"Rai."
Cissy came over once her side of the gathering ended. Senta was with her.
"Brother-in-law, you drank?" Senta stared at Reiji like he had caught a criminal. "If Dad finds out, you're dead."
"Senta, don't call me that." Reiji stood up, wobbled, and Cissy caught his arm before he could embarrass himself. Even so, he still reached out and messed up Senta's hair. "And don't tell your dad. Or I'm spanking you."
Bratty little brothers were made to be bullied. Reiji had no moral burden there.
"Hmph."
Senta called him brother-in-law because he had once secretly followed Cissy to the cabin by the lake. He had seen the two of them eating together, way too close for "just friends."
Neither Reiji nor Cissy had admitted anything, but Senta had already decided for himself.
At the time, he thought he had found blackmail material on his sister and tried to report it to the family.
Then came the mixed doubles.
Cissy and Reiji, versus one bratty little brother.
Senta lost badly.
Reiji could only feel sorry for him. Sorry, brat. He was on the sister's side now.
After warning Senta, Reiji let Cissy help him back to the room.
The rooms were for two people each. Reiji shared with Senta. Cissy's parents had their own room. Cissy would room with Misty. Men and women were being kept separate.
Cissy helped Reiji onto the bed. He caught her hand before she could leave and was just about to say something when Senta walked in with that sour little face of his.
Reiji looked at him.
Then gave up.
He had planned to use the alcohol as an excuse to get away with something, but the brat had ruined it again.
Bratty little brothers really did deserve a spanking.
"Sleep early. I'll wake you tomorrow morning." Cissy pulled the blanket over him.
She knew exactly what he had been thinking. Reiji looked proper most of the time, but he was not nearly that well-behaved underneath.
Not tonight, though. Tonight was not the time.
Once the door closed, Senta climbed into the other bed and stared at Reiji with bitter, accusing eyes.
Reiji lowered his voice.
"Hypnosis."
"What hypnosis?" Senta thought he was mumbling drunk nonsense.
Then his vision blurred.
He passed out, slid neatly into bed, and the blanket lifted on its own before settling over him.
Reiji watched until Senta was asleep, then finally let himself crash too.
No way was he leaving a little watchdog awake in the room.
Besides, Senta would be in the hospital soon enough. After that, Reiji would have the room to himself.
The only question was when the assassin would move.
Maybe they wanted Cissy's father to know what losing a child felt like.
[End of chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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