Chapter Text
High above Lumios City and all of its people, Harmony ran along the rooftops after a successful morning in zone 10. Hayley, her scrafty, trotted alongside her with her shed skin held up out of tripping range. Whipping around a corner without breaking step, Harmony grabbed the ladder she’d seen from the other side of the building and swung herself up the rungs. It was their first time on this roof, and they were having a blast exploring. At the top of the ladder, she finally stood on one of the tallest buildings in the sector, excited to see the city from a new perspective. Panting and wiping sweat from the edge of her beanie, she looked around to see - lush green?
The building ahead of her was covered in a thick bamboo forest. Its towering stalks blocked a majority of her view, and she couldn’t spot anything on the buildings to the sides of her that she recognized. Most of the buildings in Lumiose had gardens on their roof, but none of them compared to this. A normal person would have potted plants and a patio table for tea.
Confused expression trained to the bamboo, Harmony stepped to the side as Hayley reached the top of the ladder. The scrafty paused for a moment to look at the out of place bamboo forest with her human before shrugging and trotting off. Unless it was food or a fight, Hayley never really cared what they were doing. It was up to Harmony to figure out where they’d finally stopped.
Quick as an Abra, Harmony pulled out her rotom phone and tapped open the map app. She zoomed in on the little dot that represented her until it showed the name of nearby cafes and shops. She read the name of the building in front of her, blinked, and read it again. Never in a million years would she have guessed the Rust Syndicate supported a small bamboo forest, but maybe she should have. The owner of the building had done nothing but surprise her since she was introduced to him.
Curiosity getting the better of her, Harmony tucked her phone back into her pocket and spun around. She found Hayley crouched in a corner of the roof, poking through a forgotten and rusted toolbox. A curious fletchling sat next to her, large eyes blinking slowly as it gave encouraging chirps. The little bird startled into flight and landed a few feet away with an indignant chirp when Harmony walked over to join them. Unbothered, Hayley handed over a pretty feather and a super potion without turning away from her investigation.
“Oh, what a lucky find!” Harmony said as she accepted the gifts. She gently poked Hayley’s tail with the round toe of her shoe as she slipped the items into her pack. “I wanna check out the bamboo before we hop down and look for lunch. You ready?”
Hayley dropped a screwdriver back into the box with a loud clang and stood up. She gave a quick tug on her shed skin and looked at Harmony. “Scrafty?”
“Sandwiches sound fantastic,” Harmony agreed. “We’re not too far from Cafe Gallant, if you’re cool with that.”
Hayley nodded and walked to the edge of the building.
Harmony took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Eyes locked onto the Rust Syndicate, she bounced on the balls of her feet a few times and shook her hands out at her sides. Hayley looked at it, bored. Yeah, it wasn’t the biggest jump they’d made this week, they’d be fine. Adrenaline rolling through her, Harmony flung herself off the edge of the roof.
For a single shining moment, Harmony floated weightless through the air. Then gravity caught hold of her and she hit the white gravel with a tuck and roll. A loud crunch beside her confirmed Haley made the jump as well. Together they stood and stepped into the cool shade of the bamboo. A breeze passed through, sending the tall stalks to swaying. Harmony slid her hand up the smooth side of one of them and watched as they moved, gently bumping into each other with soft clicks.
Harmony had recently completed her first job for Corbeau, and she was more confused by the man than she had been when she met him. She’d been so nervous about the kind of job a man handing out predatory loans to teens was going to give her, and boy had he surprised her. It was days later and she still couldn’t stop thinking about how she’d gotten away with nothing but a bit of community service. There hadn’t been anything nefarious or illegal about it even though he made it sound so scary while explaining it.
Harmony happily helped with the gengar and haunter causing trouble in a studio. After, she’d been chatting with the man who owned the space and was thanking her for her hard work when lo, his highness Corbeau walked through the door like he lived there too. She’d been so mad to see him - was he stalking her? Did he not trust her to get the job done? She’d fumed at the thought of him believing her sloppy or rude or too weak.
Maybe running an organization was easier than it looked and he had nothing better to do.
There hadn’t been any snide remarks when he walked in. Instead, the three of them discussed the influx of pokemon in the city and how to make space for them. It had been a good conversation, and the man who owned the studio decided to try sharing the space with one of the gengars that lurked in the corner.
Harmony wanted it on record that she had successfully sent all of the ghosts away. It wasn’t her fault one of them snuck back in while they were talking.
Still, she couldn’t shake the feeling that the Rust Syndicate really did have dirty back alley deals and money laundering schemes that occasionally required kicking in kneecaps. The vibes of the place and the people running it just felt like the kind of thing her mother warned her about as they hugged goodbye on the train platform. Now, sitting in the shade of his bamboo forest, she had the new feeling that even if it was true he wouldn’t ask her to help with anything like that.
Something shiny caught Harmony’s eye through the moving bamboo stalks and pulled her from her thoughts. She pushed her way through the maze to the front of the building. Hayley noticed it too and was looking at it with a curious tilt to her head. Tucked carefully into the space where the roof went from white gravel to black brick was a TM case. Harmony dropped down to the dark brick, letting her legs dangle and the heels of her green shoes bump off the building as she dug out the case. A quick scan with her phone showed it was dragon pulse. She’d be keeping that for Jinu, thank you very much.
What an odd place to hide a TM. Then again, this was an odd garden owned by a very odd man. He was so intense. Even the guards below her were intense; every single one of them glared at the people walking by on the sidewalk. Watching them, Harmony began to question the legality of using a noivern as a guard inside the city.
The view though. The view from the roof was stunning. Sitting in the shade on the edge, she had an uninterrupted view of Bleu Plaza. Its water feature was one of her favorites in the city.
Harmony made a decision.
She switched her phone over to the message app and pulled up her short string of messages with Corbeau to read through them. She hesitated for two seconds before her fingers flew across the keyboard.
Hiding TMs on the roof?
Seems like a questionable business practice.
***
Pinching the bridge of his nose, Corbeau leaned back in his desk chair and sighed. He knew there would be repercussions for every interaction he had with the SBC, but this was ridiculous. Jacinthe didn’t usually push so hard outside of her own sector. Of course he could afford the increase in rent to maintain the battle court, but Jacinthe buying it just to spite him was a step too far.
His phone buzzed on his desk and then it buzzed again. Heaving one last sigh, Corbeau sat up and picked his glasses up from where they hung against his chest. The lunch hour was blocked off on his calendar today, and everyone knew better than to bother him with trivial matters when he did that. This had better be important.
The message app opened for two new messages from - Harmony? Corbeau frowned and tapped the messages open. He frowned harder as he read through them. Hiding TMs? Actually, an even better question was - What are you doing on my roof?
He didn’t have to wait long for a reply.
Nothing.
Was running the rooftops with Hayley when I found a bamboo forest IN THE MIDDLE OF THE CITY and was surprised when my map app told me where I was. I can’t believe I never noticed it before.
Then again, I’ve been a little distracted by the massive zen garden at the front gate.
The little he knew of Harmony and the company she kept made no mentions of a Hayley, but he would make sure to find out who they were. Quickly. There would also be an immediate upgrade to his security system. If the rest of the city wanted to invite randos onto their roofs, Corbeau had no problem with that, it was their business. That said, he’d be damned if he allowed it on his own property.
He had a feeling he knew who hid the TM as well as how they did it, and they would be handled as needed. What he couldn’t figure out was how Harmony managed to make her way up there to find it. Not only that, she did it without anyone noticing.
Another message flashed onto his phone. I’m keeping the TM, btw. Finders keepers and all that.
Corbeau snorted. The girl was certainly fearless. The way she’d walked into his office last week on behalf of her friend, he was sure she’d been ready to fistfight him right then and there if they couldn’t settle things peacefully or with pokemon. She was certainly an interesting person and so far had proven herself capable of taking care of things.
He thought a moment more before responding. As you say, hiding something on my roof would be a very questionable business practice. It doesn’t matter to me if you keep it, the person who chose to leave it there will have to live with their life choices.
A few quick clicks on his laptop pulled up his security system. He flipped through the different cameras outside until he found one that showed a pair of legs swinging off the edge of the roof above his front door. The building was five stories tall.
Fearless.
His phone buzzed with a new message. Damn. Here I was hoping to be a nuisance.
Slowly, Corbeau’s lips pulled back into a smile. No. You can rest easy tonight in the knowledge you’ve been a nuisance. My lunch hour was blocked off for personal use today, and it is well known that I do not like to be disturbed when I’ve done that. There are typically consequences for anyone who bothers me. He hit send and waited.
That makes me feel much better about all of this. Thank you for letting me know!
The ridiculous message was immediately followed by a picture. In it was a healthy looking scrafty snacking on sitrus berries in his bamboo garden. The picture came with its own message - Hayley says thank you for the snack. Although, I have a feeling the thanks actually belongs to a pidgey and not you.
That was one mystery solved; Harmony named her pokemon. It was a relief to know there wasn’t a second person finding interesting ways onto his roof.
I’ve already confirmed I do not store things on my roof, Corbeau replied. He watched the feet swing above his door and waited.
Yeah, I’ll take back the thanks then. I don’t know why I offered it in the first place, it ruins my goal of being a nuisance.
I imagine you offered it for the same reason you told me about stealing a TM. Theft is generally frowned upon and considered at the very least a nuisance. Corbeau hit send and checked the time. He was enjoying this surprise conversation, but he really did have other things to do. He only had twenty minutes before he was opened to general interruptions again.
Will you be leaving my property of your own free will, or will I need to provide an escort?
The legs stopped swinging. He wondered if she was scowling at her phone. It sounded like she was having fun causing trouble, maybe she was smiling.
Alright, alright. I get the picture. No need to send your henchmen to get me.
The legs disappeared from the camera and Corbeau smirked. Who said anything about henchmen? I take trespassing quite seriously and will not hesitate to handle it myself.
A crudely animated sticker of a laughing pancham filled the message app.
Yes, he would guess she was smiling.
Right. And that’s why you were immediately up here to throw me out.
Anyway. Let me know when you have the next job lined up!
Corbeau shook his head and rested his elbows on his desk. I fear you don’t understand the type of organization and person you’re causing problems for this afternoon.
An animated sticker of pancham holding its hand up in a peace sign flashed into the message app.
Thirty minutes later, Philippe returned from his lunch. He set a coffee from Cafe Gallant on Corbeau’s desk and sat down with his own on the couch. He was quiet for a moment, watching Corbeau work instead of pulling out his tablet to handle his own projects.
“You look happier,” Philippe finally said. “Jacinthe backing down on the trouble she’s causing?”
Immediately the smile melted from Corbeau’s face. “No. In fact, she’s being worse than anticipated.”