Dreaming Finding

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"Hey, hey!"

A pair of eyes clenched shut while Ryo breathed out a groan. "Can you just go to sleep already?"

"I want Dad to tell us a bedtime story," his twin said.

"We're too old for that," Ryo muttered, keeping his eyes closed, his ears discerning their father stepping across the floor.

"And what kind of bedtime story do you want?" their father asked, laughing softly.

"The one about mom!"

Ryo's eyes opened, his mouth pressing into a frown. He sucked in his breath, seeing their older brother peeking in from the doorway, watching, not protesting at all, Takashi's bedtime yet to come.

"I see," their father said, sitting down on the edge of his twin's bed, his attention focused on his twin, who hugged a cyan-gray alien-like stuffed toy with a head more extensive than its body with green eyes and rock-like features that reminded Ryo of a robot more than an alien. "Your mom was an alien."

Ryo sighed, clamped his eyes shut, his mouth twisting into a frown as he covered his ears, not wanting to hear that bedtime story from their father.

Yet, that story resulted in his alien-obsessed twin brother falling asleep, thus allowing him to sleep as well.

...

Ryo's eyes flickered open. He looked out the window, sighing, his head pounding slightly. "I need a vacation."

Tiny paws tugged at his arm, drawing his attention to his blue and white otter Pokémon, Oshawott. He reached out, scratching the top of the creature's head as he recollected his twin's childhood plushie.

"Elgyem, huh? Just because it's rumored to be from outer space doesn't mean it's an alien." He sighed again, closing his eyes, the frustration of not knowing where his twin was hitting before muttering, "I really need a vacation, what with all this worrying. I'm not getting any music done, chasing after that alien conspiracy nut, but I can't help but worry what kind of trouble he's getting into next."

"Then perhaps," his agent said, clicking the buttons on the phone. "I've potentially good news."

"Oh?" Ryo said, scratching the top of Oshawott's head.

"You remember how that cousin of yours, of ours," his agent started.

"Get to the point," Ryo said, sighing, looking at the city as it passed, feeling tired.

"Good news is you can take up Haru's suggestion of vacationing at the resort she works at now."

"How is that good news?" Ryo folded his arms across his chest while his Pokemon pestered for more pets before looking at his agent, a member of one of the branch families. "It's not really a vacation I need, you know, although I admit I appreciate Haru's offer."

"Then, for the bad news regarding the place, I'm arranging for you to take a vacation," his agent said, resulting in Ryo sighing in frustration, knowing that having an agent who was also family meant prioritizing his health if he thought things were ever getting out of hand. "The reason I choose that place." His agent turned his phone so Ryo could see a message that'd been sent. "Your brother may be there, but you might want to check your messages from Haru."

Ryo sat up, fumbling for his phone, pulling up the messages, wishing he'd not decided to forward all of the messages to his agent simply because the man was a cousin and a trusted family member. "How is that bad news?"

His agent cleared his throat. "There's been a rumor in the news since they found the cadets that disappeared that will have the paparazzi sniffing around."

"So?" Ryo said, then let out a laugh. "Not-Ryo? I'd forgotten she'd always called him that." He pushed the message down. "Apparently, Keith didn't recognize her."

"Not surprising, given that the uncle took him away after the incident and left you and Takashi in the care of the grandfather. Hopefully, they won't recognize him as he now uses the family name of a branch family?"

"Uh," Ryo didn't acknowledge his agent. Instead, "She's asking about that. Noticed he used the last name Kagone when he checked in."

"Tell her you'll explain when you get there. It's better to talk to her face to face."

"Him as well," Ryo said.

"Is he even going to want to?" his agent asked. "Last time I checked, your twin—need I remind you Keith was quite adamant the last time you saw him, back at Takashi's funeral, that you were only concerned about him causing a public scandal that could potentially ruin your career."

"That's not," Ryo sighed. "I'm afraid they'll try and stick him into a psychiatric ward somewhere, what with him believing in aliens but also insisting Takashi's alive. He also doesn't get what it's like to have the paparazzi after you because they've sensed a potential scandal. Still, he's more likely to attract their attention than your average extraterrestrial conspiracy nut because of how well-known Takashi and I are."

"How do you plan on handling the situation?"

"I'm honestly not sure yet," Ryo muttered, turning to his agent. "But I guess I'll have time to figure that out between now and arriving at the resort. Have you already made the reservations?"

"Yes. And I've asked for them to be discreet."

"I'd best message Haru then," Ryo said. "That way, she doesn't get an unexpected surprise."


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