Linkage

9

Wes sat on the Canalave City drawbridge. A soft breeze blew his unkempt hair. He was still crying, the meeting with Cynthia having shook his morale. There was nothing worse than reliving that memory. Wes was so young at the time, only a teenager. There was something about Rui that was magical. It wasn't her ability to read auras, either. She kept his spirits alive and going, and gave him a chance to feel like he was redeeming himself for the bad he had caused. Wes was a criminal. He belonged once to a gang of Pokémon snatching thugs, but she saw past that. Rui loved Wes, and he let her down.

He let her die.

On the day that Rui died, Wes vowed never to get close to anyone again. Everyone he'd met over his journeys had known it too. He couldn't afford to get close anyone. Wes found that death followed him like his own shadow. First it took his mother, and then it took Rui. He couldn't let it take anyone else. Now Cynthia was tampering with that, trying to get him closer. He could feel that sick feeling of determination and caring still. How she tried to invade his mind.

"Hey Wes!" someone shouted from the distance.

Wes knew immediately, that it was Byron, leader of the Canavale City gym. He pretended not to hear, and stared off into the distance. He didn't have time for idle chatter. However, the gym leader came and sat down next to him in silence, much to his surprise.

"It's a nice view, isn't it?" He asked.

Wes nodded. "It is."

Byron asked, "What are you doing here Wes?"

"What do you mean?" asked Wes, avoiding the question. He suppressed a sniffle while he spoke.

"I mean, you never leave work unless you must, and I certainly didn't ask for any files today," said Byron.

"I'm just looking at the view," the vigilante responded.

Byron nodded and the two sat in silence for a while longer.  It felt odd to Wes to have this man sitting next to him. Silent tears streamed down his face as he looked at the ocean sparkling, clouds casting shadows to make the water appear different colors. He'd seen many views like this in Hoenn, but they never failed to take his breath away. Rui would have loved all of them.

She loved the lush green and rivers of Agate village, but had never seen the ocean before. And he knew she would love it. The ocean would remind her of her home. His home. But was Orre really his home? Actually, was anywhere really his home? He didn't know what it meant to have a home. Even though he had lived in Sinnoh the longest, he still couldn't fathom the concept. To him, it was just a workplace. Somewhere he was before he was going to flee again. Wherever he was needed. But he was needed here now.

Wes thought more about Cynthia. She was headstrong, tough, and he knew champions made good allies. She  needed him to find the issue. And then there was the fact they were linked. It hurt for him to admit to that, but he shared a bond with her that he couldn't break. There was no way around it, so he had to engineer another solution. That meant working together. He just had to make sure she didn't pry too much. If he could focus her on the tasks, then maybe it would work out. But she could never ask about Rui again.

"So you gonna tell me what the issue is?" Byron asked, as Wes determined to work with Cynthia.

The man chuckled. "The past is a real damn shame. I'm on cold case for a reason, you know?"

"I would suspect that you would be," said the gym leader. "I've read your qualifications. Hiding in plain sight. You should be SWAT."

Wes backed away a little. "I have enemies."

"All good men do," said Byron. "Which is why I'm looking out for you. That, and the mining tech. You got anything new for me and my boy?"

Wes laughed. "I'm sorry. Funds have been tight lately. Cold case doesn't pay much, you know?"