Naoki came back into the villa with rain still clinging to his coat and a few damp strands of hair stuck to his forehead.
"Boss, it's done. The rain's started."
Reiji nodded from the couch, then glanced toward Keith, who was still standing against the wall serving out his punishment. The kid probably thought Reiji was being unnecessarily harsh, but that was fine. Everyone had to learn where recklessness stopped being brave and started becoming a liability.
"Is your Gengar awake?" Reiji asked. "Have it follow Miki. I'll need it later."
"Yeah, it's awake."
Naoki tapped his shadow, and a dark Gengar slowly emerged from the floor. He crouched and gave it a few quiet instructions, but before leaving, Gengar glanced uneasily toward Reiji's shadow.
Something much stronger was hiding inside it.
The pressure was not directed at Gengar, but it could still feel enough of the difference to know better than to linger. It quickly sank back into the darkness and slipped away after Miki.
Reiji stood and rolled his shoulders. Spending most of the morning riding on Blastoise's shell had left his back stiffer than he expected.
"Get dinner ready. We'll have guests tonight. Anything unusual happen while I was gone?"
"Nothing around here." Naoki scratched his head. "Gai's the only problem. I can't reach him. I've sent message after message and he hasn't answered once."
Reiji immediately remembered what he knew about Gai's future betrayal.
There was a very good chance the idiot had gone straight to Tai intending to expose Spider and gotten himself caught instead.
Reiji patted Naoki on the shoulder. "Don't worry about him. Just focus on tonight."
"All right. I'll order from a hotel and pick everything up this evening. You know I can't cook for this many people."
Reiji started upstairs, then glanced back.
"Tell me about Miki. What exactly happened to her?"
Naoki thought for a moment before answering. "I only know what Keith told me. She's a Trainer from Johto. Her family lost their businesses, then her parents and the rest of her family were killed. The people chasing her were only hired muscle. Whoever actually ordered it is still out there."
Reiji clicked his tongue.
"Troublesome."
It sounded like the work of either a powerful local faction or Team Rocket. Maybe Miki's family had owned something somebody wanted, or perhaps they had simply stood in the way of the wrong people.
Either explanation meant trouble.
Halfway up the stairs, Reiji stopped again.
"When the rain has soaked her long enough, give Keith an umbrella and let him go bring her back. As for tonight's guests, you'll pick them up personally. Make sure they're disguised before they come anywhere near the villa."
"Got it, Boss."
Naoki watched him disappear upstairs before heading back down to arrange the food. Through one of the windows, he happened to spot Keith outside, still facing the wall while rain ran down his hair and soaked his clothes.
He did not interfere.
A punishment was a punishment. Naoki had people under him too, and when one of them created unnecessary trouble, consequences were part of keeping everyone alive.
Once Reiji went upstairs to rest, the villa became much busier.
Naoki stood in the middle of the living room with the list Reiji had given him, organizing the room and checking the names of everyone expected that evening. Tonight was not simply a reunion. New people were coming in, old members were being brought together, and there was another matter Reiji clearly intended to settle in front of everyone.
Naoki had a good idea who the example would be.
Several people cleared the furniture away and carried in a long, heavy wooden table large enough to seat more than a dozen people. Black leather chairs were arranged around it, glasses and tableware were laid out neatly, and the entire room gradually took on a much more formal atmosphere.
Keith remained by the wall while everyone else worked around him.
Daishi entered carrying a large arrangement of red flowers.
"Naoki, where do these go?"
"Middle of the table. Make it look decent."
Daishi carried them over while Naoki continued directing the preparations.
The evening gathering had another purpose beneath all the food, introductions, and conversation. Spider had grown enough that Reiji could no longer rely entirely on personal trust and informal promises. Everyone needed to understand that the organization had rules, and that betraying the people who had protected, trained, and supported them came with a price.
Reiji had helped these people obtain things they could never have reached alone.
In return, loyalty was not optional.
...
Itsuki finally reached Mandarin Island North after the long flight from Cinnabar Island.
He landed on a stretch of beach and let himself breathe for a while, exhausted after pushing his Flying-type almost continuously across the sea. Reiji's message had only told him where to go, not where the actual meeting would take place, so he sat down on a rock near the shore and waited for further instructions.
More than half an hour passed before his phone rang.
The number was unfamiliar.
Itsuki frowned but answered anyway. "Who is this?"
"Itsuki?"
The voice on the other end was low and deliberately distorted.
"Yes."
His posture tightened immediately, one hand already moving toward a Poké Ball.
"Go into the city. Find the bus stop near the broadcast tower—the biggest landmark around. Look for a car with plate number XXXX and get in. Boss sent me to pick you up."
The caller hung up before Itsuki could ask anything else.
He stared at the phone for a moment.
Very few people knew he had come to Mandarin Island North, and fewer still knew why. Whoever had called knew his name, his arrival, and referred to someone as Boss.
That was enough.
Itsuki released his Flying-type again and headed toward the city.
The broadcast tower was impossible to miss. It rose high above the surrounding buildings, and once Itsuki found a place to land, he made his way to the nearby bus stop and began searching the passing cars for the plate number he had been given.
...
Shun had arrived by sea.
After traveling from Kinnow Island to Mandarin Island North, he had been waiting at the harbor with no further instructions, watching passengers come and go while wondering whether he had somehow missed a message.
Eventually, a black car pulled up beside the bench where he was sitting.
The window lowered.
Naoki leaned toward him with a faint smile.
"Nice Poliwhirl doll on your backpack."
Shun immediately tensed.
He did not know this man, and a stranger opening with a comment about his belongings was hardly reassuring. His hand closed around the battle-ready Poké Ball he always kept accessible, and he was already considering moving somewhere more public before calling Reiji.
Naoki saw the reaction and decided the joke had gone far enough.
"The person who gave you that doll sent me."
Shun stopped.
Reiji had given him the Poliwhirl doll.
"Who are you?"
"Get in first."
Naoki raised the window again, clearly trying not to draw attention at the busy harbor.
Shun hesitated for a few seconds, then trusted Reiji enough to open the door and climb inside.
Once they were moving, Naoki glanced back at him.
"You're Shun, Boss Reiji's little brother, right?"
Shun relaxed slightly. "And you are?"
"You'll know soon enough."
Naoki checked the traffic ahead before continuing.
"You brought black clothes? Full set. And a Ditto mask?"
"Yes."
"Put them on. Once you're changed, I'll explain the organization."
That removed most of Shun's remaining doubt.
He opened his bag and pulled out the same black stab-resistant clothing he had bought for the dirty work he used to do with Reiji. After changing, he released Ditto and let it spread across his face, forming the familiar thin disguise.
Strangely enough, the mask made him feel safer.
Naoki watched through the rearview mirror and nodded in approval. Reiji had already told him that the people he was collecting tonight were trusted, which meant there was no need to hide Spider from them anymore.
As the car drove through the city, Naoki started from the very beginning.
"You know, Spider started with only two people. Boss and me."
Shun leaned forward in the back seat, suddenly much more interested.
Naoki told him how it had begun, what Spider had originally been built for, and how the organization had grown while Reiji operated behind several layers of deception. He even told Shun about the night Reiji finally revealed the truth to him.
Naoki had never resented being kept in the dark.
If anything, learning the full story had only made him more determined to stay. Reiji had kept the promise he made to him years ago, and Naoki still had one debt of his own left unpaid: revenge.
Compared with that, everything he had done for Spider so far felt like little more than running errands.
Shun listened without interrupting until Naoki finished explaining how Spider had deliberately destroyed its own public reputation.
"So that's what Spider actually is?" Shun said. "I thought it was just a bunch of low-level gang Trainers pretending to be dangerous."
Naoki laughed.
"That was the point. We were attracting too much attention and needed time to grow, so Boss buried the real organization under a pile of bad rumors. Even the League eventually removed the bounty."
Shun nodded slowly.
"That does sound like Reiji-nii. He's never cared much about what strangers think of him."
The Reiji he knew cared about his Pokémon, his friends, and enjoying his own life. Tournament rankings, gossip, and public approval had never seemed especially important to him.
Naoki chuckled. "To be fair, Spider didn't exactly have a wonderful reputation to ruin."
They continued talking as the car crossed the city, and by the time Shun had heard most of the story, the broadcast tower had come into view.
A lone figure stood near the bus stop, scanning every passing vehicle.
Naoki slowed the car and pulled up beside him.
Shun looked through the window.
Naoki tapped the horn.
Itsuki had arrived too.
[End of chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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