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 Posted: Thu Apr 14, 2011 6:53 pm
The literary reference center, aka the library, wasn't exactly an awesome hang out for most Rockets. Which would make sense, since this was an organization of criminals. Most didn't really care, but there were some exceptions, and naturally there were instances when a bit of research was mandatory for missions. Although perhaps the less scholarly chose to search the internet instead.
Despite it all, there were a few souls in the area. Including one blonde agent who just happened to be leaving with a couple books under her arm.
As she walked toward the door, there was yet another agent with hair almost as long as hers, but a rich red color. The both paused to glance at each other, then discreetly passed each other through the doorway.
He had some odd clothes, that one, Nikki thought to herself. But that didn't really detract from his good looks.
Asch was tempted to ask about the feather dangling from the woman's ear, but decided it wasn't really all that important. Instead he started going up and down the rows of books, searching something out.
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Posted: Wed Apr 20, 2011 3:53 pm
 One could only hope that this day's field trip to the library would be unlike all of the other times that Lilith could think of when she had uncomfortable encounters with a certain teal-haired pyromaniac. This day promised to be different, somehow, and Lilith made her way to the library with a goal in mind. A certain something had been troubling her as of late, and it would do no one any harm if she took some time to research it. Lilith walked down the hall to the research center with an agenda, walking briskly, but not in a rushed manner. As she approached the literary center, she caught a glimpse of a red-haired person disappearing through the doors and a certain blonde-haired woman walking out. With a slight growl, Lilith recognized the woman as the Agent Nikki, whom Lilith was not exactly fond of. Trying not to make eye contact or make herself conspicuous, Lilith hurried past the Agent as she got to the doors. After a few breathless moments, it seemed like she had safely passed the threshold without incident, and so Lilith proceeded to begin her search. It was an unfortunate fact that Lilith had no real idea of where to start her personal crusade, and as such, she spent a good few minutes simply walking about and browsing some of the shelves. This soon grew tiresome, and she had little evidence to continue on with. It was then that, out of the corner of her eye, she spotted the same red hair that she saw earlier before she entered the library. It belonged to a very handsome man who was, like Lilith, perusing the aisles of tomes. Lilith made a split-second decision and decided to ask him if he knew. She wasn't sure if the man was Grunt, Agent, Elite, or what, but it never hurt to ask. "Um, excuse me," she began, approaching him shyly. "Um, would you happen to know where the reference books for the Team Rocket missions and raids are?"
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Posted: Wed Apr 20, 2011 4:43 pm
Having already selected a book, Asch was thumbing through it when a girl entered the same aisle as he. He paid her no mind, simply noting her presence and going about his business. The book he held in his hand was labeled, "Known Pokemon Species in Kodo." It seemed to be like a field guide of sorts. The agent thought it best to study what sorts of Pokemon he would likely encounter on this island that he had never visited previously. He had just transfered from Orre after all, which was decidedly lacking in wild Pokemon. Perhaps here, he could actually capture some useful Pokemon. He really hadn't had the opportunity to gain any more since acquiring the two he did have.
The girl nearby then spoke up, asking a question. Since there wasn't anyone else nearby, he could only assume that she was addressing him. Not looking up from his book, he gave her a polite although stoic reply. "The reference section, under Team Rocket."
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Posted: Wed Apr 20, 2011 4:55 pm
A small twinge of regret and embarrassment flickered in Lilith's heart as she saw that the man she had addressed had been in the middle of reading something himself. She couldn't take back the words, though, so she would just have to push past the inevitable awkwardness that came along with speaking to strangers. The reference section. Duh. And why exactly could she not figure that out for herself in the first place?! Sometimes, Lilith wondered if she had any sense at all. Her eyes darted away from the man and stared at the floor as the next wave of embarrassment swept over her head. "Oh, y-yeah, huh... That would make total sense, heh. S-sorry for bothering you..." Turning around on her heel, Lilith speedily walked away from the man before she could manage to make herself sound any more stupid. Mid-stride, she stopped and looked about her. All of the shelves seemed to be somehow... unfamiliar. Had she never gone to this section of the library before...? That must have been the case, because she felt completely and utterly lost at the moment. Glancing around, she couldn't even find any signs directing her to more familiar sections of the center. Frowning, Lilith pondered her options, and, after recalling no other plausible options, opted to ask the man again. Still looking away from him, she walked back to the man and meekly spoke. "Um, I'm so very sorry for interrupting you again, but... Could you show me where the reference section might be? I seem to have lost my sense of direction..." Lilith trailed off, unsure of what else to say in her pitiful defense. The fact that this guy was damn handsome did not make this task any easier, mind you.
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Posted: Wed Apr 20, 2011 5:11 pm
Asch didn't so much as bat an eye at the awkward reply from Lilith before she hurried off. He just continued looking through his book. That is, until she returned and asked where the reference section actually was.
Now... if one was to take a look into Asch's mind, they would discover that the boy himself didn't actually know where the reference section was. Nor if the reference for Team Rocket's missions and raids were actually there. Nor if there was a reference section at all. He'd never been in this library before. Naturally he wouldn't admit to this. He simply came up with an answer that made sense.
Heaving a sigh, eyes closing in what could be interpreted as annoyance, he snapped the book shut. The agent then looked up to direct his green gaze at the girl he didn't even know, mouth turned down in a frown. He then looked away as he started walking down the aisle. "Come on," he told her. He couldn't very well refuse or tell her he didn't know. Instead he opted to find this mysterious reference section.
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Posted: Wed Apr 20, 2011 5:23 pm
It was a complete mystery to Lilith if this man she was bothering so much was an Agent or an Elite or - Arceus forbid - an Executive, but he certainly did not seem to be one to suffer fools well. Too bad Lilith was making a fool of herself in front of him right now. In any case, she had no choice but to give him her respect and obey him and whatnot, given the high possibility that he might be her superior. Lilith took a chance and glanced up to look at the man again and was startled to see his brilliant green eyes meeting her own glassy ones. A small blush formed on her cheeks, and she brushed a piece of her dyed-red hair behind her ear. Gracious, he was good-looking! If only she were single... Ah, yes, that small thought sobered her up and forced the girlish daydreams out of her head. He began walking, and Lilith brought herself out of her mental rut and followed closely behind him. "Thank you," she said, fingering with her long brown hair nervously. Her eyes flitted between staring at the ground beneath her and looking up at the back of this strange but pretty man's head. What was with him, anyway...? He didn't seem familiar at all to Lilith. He definitely wasn't new to Team Rocket, whoever he was. "What's your name," she asked suddenly, before she had a chance to consider asking or keeping her trap shut. Bad luck for her, then, that her mouth was moving faster than her mind. "I've never seen you around the HQ before now."
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Posted: Wed Apr 20, 2011 7:22 pm
Long red hair swayed slightly as he moved down the aisles, glancing one way and then the other. Eventually they emerged from the shelves of books to where they could see the whole of the library more clearly. Now... where was it? Lilith's words of thanks falling on deaf ears as Asch glanced around in mild agitation. Surely it couldn't be all that hard to find the reference section.
He started moving again, randomly choosing a direction and walking as if he knew exactly where he was going. That's when she asked for his name, and the boy glanced over toward her briefly. "Agent Asch," was his simply reply if not a little curt. His "uniform" didn't mark his rank, and he knew by now that people often couldn't tell and were curious. Thus he had made a custom of putting his rank before his name when asked who he was.
"I'm a recent transfer from Orre," he went on, tacking on the location since it would inevitably be asked if he didn't. That would explain why she'd never seen him around before, anyway. A man with long red hair such as his, was pretty hard to forget or not notice.
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Posted: Wed Apr 20, 2011 7:35 pm
Lilith's eyebrows lowered ever-so-slightly when word "Agent" hit her ears. Grand... just spectacular. So he was an Agent: higher rank than her. That meant that she couldn't be casual or terribly friendly with him or anything... N-not like she was thinking about such things, of course! She was spoken for! She wasn't that kind of person, to just go and stab someone she cared about in the back like that! ...Then again, wasn't that precisely what he did? But that was beforehand, anyway; it's not like he knew then that he would be lying about it. Oh, what was she thinking? That would be far too much trouble for her to bother! It was a shame, yes, but it was safest. It was just her luck that the first person she could find for help would be as handsome and mysterious as Asch. Asch... what an odd name. Lilith could not recall hearing such a name before. It sounded almost... foreign. Her thoughts were interrupted by Asch speaking to her, and it took a moment for Lilith to process what was just said. "Orre, huh...? Wow, that must have been quite the trip. I've never been to Orre before. Um... W-what's it like there?" Lilith wasn't entirely sure what she was trying to prove with her pitiful attempt to make small talk. Part of her wanted to strike up a conversation with this Asch, perhaps even make friends with him, and part of her genuinely wanted to know more about him. Of course the pretty ones come along when you're already spoken for!
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Posted: Wed Apr 20, 2011 8:15 pm
Rank didn't stop Kofuku, but that girl had been a bit... obvious, and now Asch was avoiding her like the plague. Little did he know she was doing likewise now. He had little interest in getting involved with any girls, though, so it was better that way.
"Boring," Asch said as he continued to lead the way to nowhere. "It's very remote and there's not much out there. The towns are few and far between." Reeeeally far between like... a country mile definitely had meaning out there. Walking just wasn't practical in that region, you had to have a quicker mode of transportation to get anywhere in a decent amount of time.
The agent muttered something under his breath as he turned a corner to view another section of bookshelves. It wasn't a huge library. There was only a handful of rooms. So where were the references, dammit!?
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Posted: Wed Apr 20, 2011 8:31 pm
It probably wasn't the best of ideas for Lilith to be talking up this Agent, but when did she really have good ideas? For Arceus' sake, it was her who agreed to go with Sorano up to the Agent's rooms! Not the best of judgments, this one had. Still, an innocent attempt to make friends with someone - even if it was just a casual acquaintance - would do no harm to anyone. Lilith blinked in surprise at Asch's blatant remark against Orre. Surely it wasn't that bad, was it? His unconcealed dislike of it, if one could call it that, was amusing either way; enough so that Lilith chuckled softly before replying. "Heh, well, you certainly don't make it sound like a prime vacation spot. It'd probably be in their best interests not to hire you on as a real-estate agent, mm?"Okay, honestly: what was she trying to prove by making herself look so stupid?! He wouldn't be swayed by little girlish remarks, no! She wasn't approaching this right at all, was she...? Lilith took some time to look about her and Asch in an effort to determine where in this maze of a library the reference section was. When she did, she could see almost nothing familiar, and she frowned slightly in annoyance. ...Did Asch even know where he was going?
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Posted: Wed Apr 20, 2011 8:55 pm
Of course he knew where he was going! ... Except... he didn't, really. But he looked like he did. With the exception of the occasional pauses and glancing around. But he was very discreet about that.
At this point, most of his attention span was being put into locating the reference section. Because of that, he was only paying half attention to what Lilith was actually saying. "Why would I want to?" He asked, his agitation starting to grow as the reference section was not appearing like it was supposed to. And why on earth would she think he'd ever consider selling real-estate?
Some more shelves were passed, and the reference section was not in view anywhere. Grunting to himself, Asch turned another corner and started heading for the front counter. This was just getting ridiculous.
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Posted: Thu Apr 21, 2011 2:49 pm
Lilith's lips firmed as she frowned at Asch. She knew that her pitiful excuse for a joke wasn't that funny, but... he could at least mildly chuckle instead of being a negative-Nancy! Her arms crossed in front of her chest as she shot a small glare in Asch's direction. "It's not... it's just a jo- never mind." She sighed, defeated. Okay, that was one quality she absolutely needed in a guy that this one apparently didn't have: a sense of freaking humor. Another quick look at their surroundings and Lilith was becoming more and more dubious of Asch's navigational skills. Seriously: was he even trying? "Okay, do you even know where you're going? This doesn't look to be anywhere near the reference section." How could one section of one library of one evil crime organization be that difficult to find?
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Posted: Thu Apr 21, 2011 4:20 pm
Asch didn't completely lack a sense of humor, but he did have dense moments where they went right over his head. Like this time. Although had he been listening better, he might have picked up on it. However, Lilith's accusation caused the agent to stop dead in his tracks.
Folding his arms, the red head turned around to frown at her. "If you have an idea where the reference section is, then why did you ask? Would you rather look for it on your own?" His voice raising a little in his impatience, which was quickly squelched by an admonishing "SHH!" nearby. This drew an irritated grumble.
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Posted: Thu Apr 21, 2011 4:31 pm
The sudden angry outburst from her handsome guide startled Lilith, and she jumped a bit in surprise. She instantly felt guilty for pestering Asch about the stupid reference section when he was so kind as to help her find it, but... on the other hand, their aimless wandering was getting them absolutely nowhere. Her own patience was beginning to wear thin, but she controlled herself and exhaled slowly. Lilith didn't exactly think that asking for help from this particular Agent was the greatest of ideas on her part, but it would be rude of her to just leave him now. Besides, she still had yet to properly befriend him - or rather, to properly acquaint herself with him. Having an ally in him might be beneficial, after all. ...That is, if she could manage to get on his good side and stay there for more than five seconds. "No... Sorry. Lead on." She winced a bit at the shush from nearby and discontinued her own talking, hoping to not draw too much attention to herself as they pursued on their crusade.
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Posted: Thu Apr 21, 2011 4:41 pm
Giving a sigh, Asch turned back around and started on the quest for the reference section once again. Had he less pride, he might have approached the librarian, as Lilith probably should have, and asked her. But well, this was just not the case.
Something did catch the agent's attention out of the corner of his eye though. A sign hanging from the ceiling that said "references" right near the door. How... surprisingly and obnoxiously obvious. Stepping over in that direction, Asch suddenly paused and scowled at the wall of books marked as dictionaries and encyclopedias.
... Well now. That wasn't exactly what she was looking for now, was it?
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