7 – Ready?

As it turned out—according to Cece, anyway—Poochy had fallen in love with a stray Mightyena and bred with her in one of the alleys not far from Rosine's house. Looker had figured out that Poochy was a loyal dog and would never have gone too far while attempting to keep his family safe, a thought process Serena had lauded. Secretly, she thought it would have been embarrassing if he hadn't thought of it, given how he and the dog's owner had spent so much time discussing the facts of the case over dinner. But the Champion considered herself kind, so she held her tongue.

Rosine was gracious about the whole thing. She loved her Furfrou so much that she accepted the mother Mightyena and her litter in her large Lumiosian home, almost the size of Diantha's. She was the daughter of the owner of some trading company, but a businesswoman in her own right. Serena felt a little guilty for disliking her so quickly—Rosine was intelligent, kind, generous, and brought in new clients for them thanks to her strong recommendations.

Another two weeks saw a new case for the Bureau: a number of children had begun to choose to spend their time playing in back alleys for reasons their mothers couldn't decipher, and their task was to figure out where exactly in the city their children were. The client herself was especially unhappy because her son would soon enter an elite school for Ace Trainers and this distraction was unwelcome.

"I don't know what the big deal is about Ace Trainers," Serena huffed, reading Looker's case journal and going through the photos of the client's child. (This was as opposed to his real diary, which she promised she would never read again. No matter how tempting.) She sat on her desk, lowering the journal only to show him her displeased expression. "None of the current League was ever an Ace Trainer. We all learned from experience, not sitting in the classroom."

Looker glanced curiously over at Serena, already shrugging on his coat for the search. "Did you not finish school in Unova prior to migrating to Kalos, Serena?"

"Yes," she sighed. "But that was regular school, not school for competitive battle. Those schools claim to be elite, but I'm not seeing any practical results. I mean, they're top-tier trainers, but…still not the best."

"I understand your point," her partner nodded emphatically. "One can be a detective in only five steps, but a true hard-boiled detective requires time on the field!"

Serena stared at him for a beat. Two months ago, she would have rolled her eyes inwardly at all this hard-boiled business, but now she could only laugh. His enthusiasm was uplifting, and she'd been feeling a little lacklustre over the past week. "Exactly!"

Looker smiled. "Well, shall we?"

"All right. Flamiche, I choose you!" Her Braviary preened its feathers as it appeared in the office, then squawked at them in acknowledgment.

"Wait a moment," said Looker, awkwardly raising his hand. "Why must we take Flamiche?"

"Um…because we can't search every alley on South Boulevard on foot?"

The detective looked rather stumped at that. "Ah—well—" he stumbled, then easily saved with, "a detective's work isn't always easy. No stone unturned, Serena! No alley unexplored!"

"No time un-wasted," she reminded him. In truth, Looker would have been proud if he weren't disappointed. Noticing the uncomfortable expression on his face, Serena patted him on the shoulder. Not everyone was into flight by Pokemon, but this was way more convenient. Even though she wasn't sure if flying low over the city was entirely legal. "Trust me. A Braviary can carry a car while flying, and Flamiche has used Sky Drop on a Gyarados."

"Drop?"

"Well, not us. I promise. Right, Flamiche?"

The Braviary chirped indignantly at the very thought.

"…Wait!" The detective snapped his fingers desperately. "I have an idea!"

"Looker, I refuse to take Gogoats around the city."

It was his turn to look offended. "Not that, Serena. We follow our client's son on his way out of school! But it may be difficult to do that with the crowds at this hour…"

"And that," the Champion stroked her Braviary's crest, "is why we have Flamiche." More silence. She really didn't know why he was being a drama queen about this and wanted to remind him that fearing flight by Pokemon did not a hard-boiled detective make, but he had allowed Cece's pride about finding directions to get to a new restaurant the other day get them a little lost. For half an hour. Without a single comment. "All right, all right. Here. Cece?"

Devouring a set of Galettes, the Meowstic appeared from behind the room divider with an inquisitive glare.

"I'm taking Flamiche above the city to see if any South Boulevard alleys are occupied by children—will you follow the client's kid from school with Looker?"

Cece ducked behind the divider once more. When she stepped out, her box of Galettes was empty. She wiped the crumbs from her face and nodded.

"Good." Serena picked up the two-foot Pokemon and handed her to her partner, who gingerly received the Meowstic. "Looker, once you spot the boy, Cece can establish a link with his mind and location. Call me on the Holo Caster if you reach the alley first?"

"I will. Ah, Serena, wait."

On her way out with Flamiche, she glanced back. "Yeah?"

Looker paused, opening his mouth, but said nothing. He seemed confused by the action, himself. "…Good luck."

She grinned. "You too."

"You big bully! You made Lily cry!"

"You killed my Igglybuuuuff!"

Serena exchanged awkward glances with the male Pyroar sitting obediently next to her. Despite having flown past several alleys and taking their time arriving at this one, Serena and Flamiche had found the 'suspicious alley of children' long before Looker and Cece—who were on their way, since the client's son hadn't been spotted leaving school.

Meanwhile, from above, she had spotted a few children—one schoolgirl and a few preschoolers—headed deeper into a dark little crevice between buildings. There was no seeing past the entrance because clotheslines and laundry blocked her view from above, but when she landed and asked the children what exactly they were doing there, nicely, they challenged her to a battle instead.

On second thought, Pyroar may have not have been the best choice to ingratiate herself with kids. But Venusaur was much too wide for the alley for Sleep Powder! The Fire-type had a particularly harmless move when controlled, too: Echoed Voice. Not even Hyper Voice.

"No, I didn't, I promise," Serena said, crouching down and patting the girl's shoulder. "Pyroar just knocked out your Igglybuff."

It hadn't seemed possible, but the girl wailed even louder. For Pyroar, it was worse than his own attack.

"Really, I promise," she tried harder. "It happens all the time in Pokemon battles. This just happened to be a really, really intense one. You and your Igglybuff are so tough that I didn't even know which of us was going to win. But fainting happens to everyone at some point. Especially to this Pyroar. Right?" she nudged the Pokemon.

Lily glanced up, having calmed a little at being praised, and watched the Pyroar expectantly. He whimpered a little, understanding the mood, and gently nudged the child's head. Accepting a Max Revive from his trainer, he set it down beside the girl with his mouth.

Serena smiled. It had taken a lot of hard work for her to acquire the Pokemon's trust, and she hadn't quite had the chance to test it until now. "That'll wake up your Igglybuff in no time, and heal any injuries it might have sustained from our battle. It'll be like brand new."

"R-Really?"

"Hey!" cried a voice—still breaking with puberty. "What's going on here?"

Footsteps padded in from deeper into the dark alley, revealing a boy—Macon, the client's son—a girl with tattered but patched-up clothes, utterly shabby compared to that of her companions, and an angry-looking Espurr. Serena covered her ears and returned the Pyroar to his Pokeball as the small, lavender Pokemon shrieked out in what appeared to be fury at their presence.

Her eyes darted between the Espurr, which looked almost rabid—or was it the dirt that mired its fur?—and the boy. "Macon," she decided, "Your mom is looking for you. Did you skip class today?"

"She sent you? Hmph!" He crossed his arms and turned away. "You can tell her I don't want to go to that elite school! I want to play with my friends and learn about Pokemon here!"

For a teenager who was into Pokemon battles, she was surprised he didn't recognize her. Then again, she had been platinum blonde in the League's last official photoshoot, and she doubted he paid attention to celebrity gossip enough to know she'd changed her hairstyle. "Listen, that's actually not a bad idea, but you can't just—"

"Serena!"

Looker came running into the alley with Cece, and Serena was impressed that he wasn't panting in exhaustion given that he always seemed to just be sitting in his office when they weren't out on cases or eating. "Pardon, pardon," he said. "It took a while to find you—ah, Macon! There you are!"

The boy huffed. "I said I don't want to go!"

The Espurr shrieked again, and Serena frowned at the girl between it and Macon. Hair tied into two messy braids, she was watching the Champion with the same—what was it? Hostility? Caution?—as the Pokemon. "That Espurr needs help. Is it in pain?"

"I don't think it is pain," said Looker. "But it…appears none too gentle. It may consider this area its territory. Have you never met Pokemon like this, Serena?"

Serena didn't know why she hadn't thought of that one. "…You're right. But I've never seen an Espurr so—noisily protective. Cece was quietly threatening."

"She's only like this with bad people!" yelled Macon.

Finally, ignoring the boy, the shabbily-dressed girl spoke. "Yup, you got that right, old man."

Looker noticed the difference between her and the rest of her friends as well. Serena shrugged when he shot her a questioning glance. "And who are you, young lady?"

"Nobody special," she snapped. "But this little sweetie right here is Mimi. That's what I named her, anyway."

The Espurr—Mimi—growled at Looker. Cece maneuvered out of the detective's hold and glared threateningly at the Pokemon herself.

"Cece, don't," Serena called.

Looker cleared his throat in surprise. Had the Meowstic actually come to his defense? "Then this is your Pokemon? In which case—would you mind returning it to its Pokeball for a bit?"

"What Pokeball?" the girl frowned. "I'm not a Trainer! Mimi's my friend. I have no money to buy Pokeballs, so I can't be a trainer, get it? Anyway, Mimi and I don't need a Pokeball to be friends!"

Behind Looker, Serena eyed the girl curiously. Cute with thick, dark hair, but dirty old clothes and shoes with bad soles. Pokeballs were only 200 Pokedollars, but it wasn't unbelievable that she couldn't afford one. While she didn't like the way the girl talked to her partner, Serena was starting to get an inkling about her situation, and it wasn't good. If the Espurr was the same way, then that would explain the attitude.

Looker understood, too, judging by the compassionate furrow of his brow.

"Of course. I…" He nodded, glancing away. "I get it. Please forgive my error. My name is Looker. I work as a detective. May I introduce my partner, Serena, and our friend, Cece."

"Hi," Serena smiled. Cece continued to watch the Espurr blankly. The girl eyed the older woman suspiciously, but not unkindly. More like she wasn't used to trusting anyone, hard as she tried to hide it. It was a look the Champion had grown accustomed to seeing since two years ago. The other children and the two teenagers seemed to take cues from her, and looked upon the two adults with the same distrust. "What's your name?"

"It's not important," she muttered.

Looker raised a hand to silence his partner. Serena would have been offended if he hadn't been right. Looker? Better at handling a teenage girl than she was? Her pride suffered a blow at that, but if he was on a roll, she wouldn't get in his way.

"If you will permit me to ask, Mimi's friend," said the detective, "we are interested in what you are all doing here."

The girl pursed her lips, deciding whether or not it would be best to talk. Macon said don't, but she waved him away and shrugged. "Well, we're all playing, that's all. Everybody here is a friend of mine. What are you asking for? Do you want to join or something?"

"What!?" said Natalie, Lily's sister. "No, no, no-o-o-o! Don't do it! This is our secret base—kids only! And that lady made Lily cry!"

Mimi stomped her feet and huffed in agreement. Cece gave an exasperated sigh. Some ways from them, Lily had already forgotten about it and was playing with a newly awoken Igglybuff.

"Oh, put a sock in it!" The shabbily-dressed girl yelled all of a sudden. "Play nice, both of you! How would you like to get left out just 'cause you're old and stuff?"

Serena had never quite been called that, but she guessed there was a first time for everything. Sadly. Looker seemed used to it, sharing a smile of approval with her at the girl's kindness. "You seem to have a good group of friends playing together here. But why did you pick a dark alley like this one to play in? Lumiose City is filled with plazas and open spaces and sunny corners. Flowers can't bloom without sunshine, and neither can young folks, you know. Ask Serena here."

"Why? She's old," huffed Macon.

"Only by a few years," Serena said, having trouble putting on the same patient smile as Looker. "Besides, that's debatable. You're only—what—thirteen? Ten years. And you're already taller than me! And yes, sunlight is pretty good for us growing humans. And Pokemon."

The teenage boy blushed at the compliment on his height and fell silent, still trying to glare.

"Mimi and I have always lived in alleys," said the girl, doubtfully. "I don't know much about sunshine." The Espurr murmured in agreement, and Cece glanced back at Looker and Serena. Even she found this odd, having been born in the wild before joining her trainer's team.

"You live in an alley?" asked Looker, trying not to look bewildered. "And…your family? They—"

"They're gone. I'm alone. Well—but Mimi is sort of my family. We stick together."

"Indeed…" the detective nodded, eyes downcast. Serena knew that look. He was in deep thought, and the result was really a gamble. Sometimes he had great ideas, and sometimes he had suggestions like a wardrobe change is in order. She and Cece watched him carefully until he gasped. "Indeed!"

"Indeed what?" asked Serena.

"I, Looker, have struck upon an idea! A genius idea. And here it is…" He grinned at his partner before turning to the girl. "Friend of Mimi! I invite you to stay at my office, the Looker Bureau. You may work as assistant to myself and Serena, and in exchange, you may live at the office. We live in the building as well, but it would be perfectly easy to furnish you another room to yourself and Mimi!"

Mimi's friend stared at Looker, mouth agape in shock. Cece and Serena were doing the same. This was an entirely different ballpark from a wardrobe change.

"Uh, Looker… Can I talk to you for a second?"

Looker seemed thrown off by Serena's interruption, but nodded. Cece accompanied them as her trainer dragged him aside, smiling at the shocked children before facing Looker incredulously. "What are you doing? You can't just adopt a girl from the street!"

"I am not adopting her," he frowned.

"My mistake," she snapped. "Picking her up off the street. I know what you're thinking, and I'm all about flaunting the law when I can" –he quirked a brow at her for this, but said nothing– "to help someone, but this is something that's going to genuinely affect a life or two. Do you understand? My dad didn't agree to take in Siebold until he knew my mom was ready for it."

Looker appeared perplexed now. "…And are…you…ready for this, Serena?"

Nobody noticed Cece's eyes widen at that. Serena, confused, had to think about the question long and hard before she gasped. "That's not what I meant! Do we look like we're married?"

"Then what did you mean? You must admit your flow of thought is..." he gestured at her general direction again, "…very baffling."

"Whatever," she grumbled, face suddenly feeling hot. "What I mean is that if you're going to take this girl in, you'd better be ready to treat her the way no one obviously has since she lost her family."

Suddenly, her partner looked guilty, eyes darting away—but only for a moment. She didn't know what was going on in that head of his, but when he met her gaze again, he was determined. She knew that look, too, and that he wouldn't be persuaded otherwise. "I am. And will you help me, partner?"

Putting her on the spot. Great. "This is probably some kind of crime... The League publicists are going to kill me if I'm named some kind of accomplice..." she murmured to herself, then lifted her eyes to him—a glare matching his hopeful gaze. To her disappointment, the latter was starting to overcome the former. When had that begun to happen? "But since I don't think detective skills include knowing how to raise a teenage girl... Fine."

"Wonderful!" he smiled, squeezing her by the shoulders. He wasn't usually the grabby type. Serena froze and stayed that way as he took her by the wrist and dragged her back to the children.

The detective, meanwhile, chose not to be distracted by their conversation and addressed the children again. "Hello again. Back to the subject of my—our—proposal…it is not to imply that anything's wrong with a free life in the alleys, but…to have a home to shelter you from the cold and the rain… There is joy in having work to do each day and your efforts seen and appreciated. As for you," he told Macon and the other children, "you are welcome to visit the Bureau at any time after school." Then he smiled, taking a deep breath. "The idea is genius, even for me! And Mimi," he turned to the Espurr, "are you on board, too? It wouldn't be the same without you."

Mimi's friend gave the Espurr and encouraging glance, but all the Pokemon did was step back as though cornered. And then she ran off.

"Wait!" Serena called, ready to tell Cece to stop the Espurr in her tracks, but that would only upset her further. She turned back to Looker and the children. "Why did she run away? Espurr are intelligent. She would understand Looker's offer."

"I know where she went, but...Mimi gets scared pretty easy," her friend murmured. "Afraid of humans, I guess. Especially grown-ups." She sighed, then glanced between them and at her shoes as she spoke next. "Hey…um, Mr. Looker-guy, and…Ms. Serena… For a moment there, I was kinda happy that you invited me to stay with you… You're pretty cool. But—I can't. Mimi likes it here. I can't leave Mimi behind. We stick together."

Serena remembered Looker's words about being a detective at that—and his Croagunk. The girl's voice had wavered as she spoke, though she stood tall, and the Champion was never more adamant about a plan formulated by the great detective Looker than at that moment when she knew the girl needed this.

"Hold on—"

"Wait—"

Both Looker and Serena stopped to glance at one another. "Go ahead. No, you—"

"Okay," the detective accepted. "Just as Mimi was conditioned to fear adult humans, she can still be taught that not all of us mean her harm."

"He's right," said his partner. "If we can convince Mimi that we're not like the other adults she's met, and she agrees to join you, will you come live with us at the Bureau?"

"Definitely," the girl nodded hopefully.

"That's it, then. Flamiche!" Serena tossed his Pokeball in the air and caught it in her purse again once he was free, inspecting the dark alley and its curious children. "But first we'll need a location. Mimi's friend, can you think about where you said she went for me so that Cece can read your mind and know where to go?"

She looked surprised at the request, but nodded. That done, Serena climbed atop her Braviary's back with her Meowstic in her lap. "Flamiche—"

"Serena, wait!" Looker took hold of her wrist before she could give the order to take off. "I will join you."

The woman blinked. Did he not understand what she was about to do? Leaning closer so that the others wouldn't hear, she whispered, "I thought you didn't like flying?"

He looked like he very much agreed with her statement, but once again—that look of determination. "If Mimi and her friend stick together," he replied, "what more must partners do? And Mimi would live with all of us, would she not? I can't send you alone, Serena. No hard-boiled detective would."

Actually, thought his partner, all of this had very little to do with detective skills. But that didn't make the warmth in her chest or the grin on her face lessen at all—she was proud, and more impressed than she'd been in a long time. "I understand, Looker. Only one thing left to ask," she said as she offered him her hand. "Do you trust me?"

Looker was proud of himself, too, but no less afraid. He forced his hand not to shake—and it must have worked, given that Serena made no attempt to tease—as he accepted hers and climbed the Braviary behind her. "Yes."

"Okay," Serena said carefully, glancing back to make sure he hadn't leapt off in the opposite direction yet. "Then hold on!"

Looker wound his arms tightly around her waist, head lowered against hers as if that would protect him from the winds high above the city. This wasn't at all what she'd meant, and she was surprised Cece wasn't moving a muscle to get him off at once, but they had a job to do.

That, Serena realized, and she didn't really mind it as much as she thought she would.

LOOKER'S MOST SECRET DIARY

Th——th day of ———onth

(The few words written on this page are messy and can barely be made out.)

Partner,

It'—— very difficult to—— while—

(A few more scribbles appear to be an attempt to write, and the rest of the page is empty.)

Finally, Emma! Well, almost. Obviously they don't know that, yet. Sorry I've been gone for so long! School has been a killer. I used a lot of the in-game text here, but I couldn't really help it since this is Emma's "recruitment" scene. I also included the Looker's Diary bit here since it's so short, which is what happens when you try to write in the middle of flying.

Silkmouse, I already PM'ed you this, but to anyone else who's been wondering, kingsrockshipping means the Lysandre/Serena pairing! The Looker/Serena pairing is called detectiveduoshipping, apparently. Again, really happy that you like the fic's take on Serena! I really like to see her as the physically tougher one of the pair, though of course Looker isn't too far behind. She's just roughed it more times than he's had to despite his being a global agent and everything. XD

Isis the Sphinx, Hi and thank you for that! I was unsure of how to proceed with Looker since he sort of has a set personality (I got especially confused with his language proficiency change across regions) as opposed to Serena, an MC. Hope you'll enjoy this and future chapters!

Tell me what you think, everyone!

Next chapter: How do Serena and Looker convince Mimi to come along?