Subject: [PW] Rokeben! A good meal for Murasaki Date: Sun, 11 Jul 1999 15:06:07 GMT From: Shimarisu <shimarisu@my-deja.com> Organization: Deja.com - Share what you know. Learn what you don't. Newsgroups: alt.games.nintendo.pokemon Any email replies to - rachel.r@scotland.com At the dawn of the next day, a young woman awoke from a night spent sleeping rough on the streets of Celadon. It was not the birds singing that had woken her, nor was it the heat of the sun as it rose in the sky. No, there had been a storm the night before and so neither of these things had happened. The birds stayed silent, and the morning was cold. So Murasaki awoke instead to the voice of an unwelcome stranger. A stranger that was by now leaning over her, possibly trying to gauge whether or not she had expired in the night. She looked up, and the person standing over her seemed more glad of the event of her awakening than she'd ever been glad of anything in her life. "Isn't it a great day? It's such a wonderful morning." enthused the stranger. "No...." Murasaki replied, a little confused. She wasn't used to people telling her to have a nice day. She was even less used to people suggesting that she might already be having one. She gazed past the figure to take in the strange surroundings - the area she had found herself in looked different by night. A black cloud hung heavily over most of the sky, threatening to burst any minute with a combination of heavenly elements. Water and electricity - it did not mix at the best of times. The storm last night had been one of the worst Murasaki had encountered in years. And today would not be much better - her visible breath on the air was an indicator of the cold temperature. "Say…" The stranger was trying a new approach. That of hesitant monosyllabic prompting. Murasaki gazed at the person for the first time. He was in all respects little more than a boy, and looked as if he would remain that way forever. But he could easily have been as old as Murasaki herself. His face glowed with dumb, bright optimism - an unwillingness to accept the world for what it really was. And that was the secret elixir. This guy would remain youthfully, happily stupid for years. But other than that, he was average in every respect. His dull brown hair was cropped short in a basic style, excepting the fringe which was parted in the centre to flop over either side of his forehead. His eyes were also dull, in the sense that they were of a greyish-blue hue. But they were continually opened wide, and bright like those of a newborn's just taking in the wonders of life. He had to be the most gullible person in the entire world. And the garments he wore seemed to reflect that, it couldn't have been much later than 7 in the morning and he was already clad in the attire of a pizza delivery boy. The picture was completed by the square-shaped box that he clutched in his hand. Murasaki smiled to herself - he probably thought that delivering pizzas at this hour was the best job in the world. She watched him as he shook off the uneasiness that an inspection from Murasaki invariably caused. He tried again. "Listen, I know it's really cool, but…" "What is, really 'cool'?" Murasaki countered dismissively. "Well, it's excellent really. It's so great, getting to wear these cool outfits in public. I always want to as well, but you have to stop yourself." He paused, not quite familiar with the experience of having to chide somebody. "Well, you see, it's not allowed really. Unless you're on certain missions, you aren't supposed to let people see you wearing it." He stopped, emotionally drained. Those words had been a real challenge for him. "Then why," said Murasaki, "did they give it to me to wear at all?" She was not about to question why this kid knew so much about Team Rocket. That didn't matter to her, not in the slightest. "Um, I really don't know… I guess the uniforms are just… really cool, and it's so great being able to wear them." Murasaki was beginning to get the hang of the stranger's dialogue. It appeared to consist purely of over enthusing about completely mundane things. She wondered how she could break this barrier down and get through to the point of exactly why the kid appeared to have developed such an interest in her. She would have got up and marched swiftly away, but she also didn't see why the presence of the strange person should cause her to deviate from what she had wanted to do in the first place. Which was to wait in the shop doorway and rest until the time she had to meet her partner at the Pokecentre. "Anyway," the stranger interrupted her musings. "I'm in disguise, which is cool, and you should be too!" He smiled brightly. "And I brought you some food, which you really look like you need, and the food's in disguise as well! Isn't that great?" He shoved the box in front of her. Murasaki really couldn't deal with this. It was too bizarre to possibly gauge. "Have you been taking something funny?" she asked. "Um… no." Her words had probably gone over the stranger's head. "But anyway, it's really good food!" he enthused "It's Rocket Bento, or Rokeben for short. Technically, I should only deliver this to senior members, but you seem pretty hungry, and I figured, well. Anyway, here." He pushed the box in front of Murasaki, and when she failed to take it, leaned over and placed it on the floor. "Anyway, I have to go.", he announced. "Keep having a really nice day!" Murasaki watched the stranger as he happily walked off down the street. And then she considered the box. Technically, she shouldn't eat the food, it probably had hallucinogenic drugs in it if the stranger's mood had been anything to go by. But the meal the previous night had left her in mind for more indulgence, and she was beginning to get used to the idea of pampering herself. She could always share the meal with the Ivysaur at least. So she opened the box, and perused the contents. What lay before here was a plastic tray divided into compartments, each containing different types of food, the components of a staple diet - all arranged rather fussily in an interesting pattern. Some compartments contained vegetables, others were filled with rice and meat. The main section was composed of a bed of rice with strange arrangement of meatballs laid purposefully over the top. Murasaki subconsciously fingered the red logo on her tunic. She was getting used to seeing this unfamiliar symbol on everything that had entered her life since she had joined Team Rocket. She traced her finger around the identical symbol formed by the meatballs. It must have had some significance. And then she had an idea. That boy had told her not to wear the uniform, but surely all she had to do was adapt it. It was the logo that people took notice of the most. So she decided that after finishing the meal she would find a public convenience in which to change, then turn the tunic inside out and wear it the other way around. It would certainly halt the unwelcome stares that met her at every turn. And Murasaki really hated other humans looking at her. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Later, after enjoying a thoroughly good meal (which the Ivysaur had once again declined to eat) and having effected one ingenious transformation, a thin young woman in an inside-out Team Rocket uniform strode purposefully up the steps leading into the PokeCentre. It was here that she'd meet her new partner. Of course, she was going to tell him to leave her alone within seconds of their first meeting - it was hardly Murasaki's prerogative to engage the new stranger in a lengthy explanation as to why she couldn't possibly work with another human being. But that hardly mattered. She was beginning to feel that she'd found some kind of purpose. Maybe it was the food in her stomach that made her feel this way, but she hadn't noticed. It was the start of a new day. And the start of a new, productive life for Murasaki. TBC.... Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/ Share what you know. Learn what you don't.