Chapter Text
Kokichi was practically giddy with excitement as he crossed the final few yards of the forest into Stow-On-Side, taking in the ways the town had changed with wonder-filled eyes.
Admittedly, it hadn't changed much, but that was just how Stow-On-Side worked. Despite having two gyms, it was a small town at heart.
"So, this is Stow-On-Side?" Kaito asked, walking just behind Kokichi.
"Yep!" Kokichi turned to face the purple-haired teen, spreading his arms open wide. "This is the birthplace of many things, including ghosts!"
Kaito paled at the mention of ghosts, but Kori just sighed in disappointment.
"There are no ghosts here, Kaito."
Kokichi tilted his head at Kori, smiling menacingly. "You know that's a lie, correct?"
"Alright, cut the bullshit out." Kaito grumbled, while Kokichi smirked at Kori. Kori just looked thoroughly unimpressed.
Kokichi cut the usual Pokecenter stop out from this town, heading straight to a broken and worn building on the edge of town. While he walked, he could hear Kori fill Kaito in on the history of the town, all things repeated from Kokichi or Allister.
Kokichi knew that Kori and Kaito had talked about something a few days ago in the middle of the night. Kori snuck out, but Kaito was much louder. Kokichi had been too tired to anything about it, but when he woke up, he was somehow sandwiched between Kaito and the floor, with Kori laying over his arm.
He had wanted to yell at Kaito to get off, to leave him and Kori alone, but then he saw Kori's face. The mask had been pulled off in his sleep, and Kori was smiling.
Kori clearly trusted Kaito to not do anything to him in the night, so Kokichi sucked any feelings he had up. Kori trusted Kaito enough to be at his most vulnerable, a position where he had been exploited before.
Kokichi was dragged away from his thoughts when he heard Kaito remark something about a abandoned building, and Kokichi grinned.
Indeed, standing tall and covered in vines before him, was Allister's gym.
"Alright, this is the guy I want to meet, Allister, the ghost type gym leader." Kokichi informed Kaito, watching at the space idiot did a double take at the idea of Kokichi knowing a gym leader.
Oh the sweet summer child, he really didn't know.
Kokichi took a deep breath, as Kori groaned and covered his ears. Kaito looked confused, until Kokichi opened his mouth.
"ALLISTER! OPEN UP BITCH!"
The trio stood in silence for a minute, before a door hidden by ivy creaked open.
"You don't have to be so loud..." Allister mumbled, somehow looking tired even with a mask covering his whole face.
"Hey Allister!" Kori called, waving from behind Kokichi. Allister perked up at the sight of Kori, opening the door a bit more.
"Hey Kori, good to see you."
"Awwwww, am I not enough for you?" Kokichi pouted, crossing his arms. "Do you prefer my underling over your own brother?"
Allister gave Kokichi is signature unimpressed look, even from behind his mask. "Considering Kori actually sends me letters, yes."
"Kokichi and Allister are siblings?" Kaito's tone of voice was somehow both loud and quiet, as if he had been trying to speak to himself but his words escaped him.
Kokichi giggled, slinging an arm around Allister's shoulders. "Yep! Al's my biological brother, even though he isn't nearly as out going as I am."
Kori just shook his head fondly as Allister pulled away slightly, still letting Kokichi rest an arm on his shoulder. "I couldn't believe it myself, when Kokichi first found Al and dragged me here, but they are brothers."
"Allister Oma, at your service." Allister offered, waving slightly. "You are?..."
"Oh!" Kaito's eyes widened. "I'm Kaito Momota!"
Allister nodded, turning his head towards Kokichi. "Do you wanna head inside?"
Kokichi sighed in exaggerated exhaustion. "Yes, it's been such a long travel!"
"Only because you insisted we take the long route." Kori grumbled.
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Once inside and past the giant open gym area, Kokichi flopped onto the couch in the living area with a sigh. He stretched his arms out, managing to take up most of the couch with ease.
Kori rolled his eyes at the sight, letting Bonds out of its pokeball and walking into the kitchen. Kaito, looked around in puzzlement and wonder, not sure where to sit.
"So, what happened this time?" Allister asked, leaning against the wall next to Kokichi's head. His Chandelure fluttered around, playing with Kaito's Togekiss and Espurr.
"How dare you assume something happened!" Kokichi gasped, glaring at his brother.
"Because last time you contacted me was because the Holy Salvation Society found you again." Allister mustered up an entire weeks' worth of sarcasm for the quip, and all Kokichi could do was glare at him harder. How dare Allister reveal such an important part of his past without asking!
"Kokichi is bored, so we're setting out aimlessly." Kori poked his head in from the kitchen, a pot and a knife in his hands. "He wanted to head here first, in case you had any ideas."
Allister tilted his head, absentmindedly scratching the shiny Mimikyu by his side. Why was it Allister who had three shinies? and without even trying!
"Are you looking for the others?" He asked softly, trying not to gain the attention of Kaito, who was invested in browsing the bookshelf.
"That easy?" Kokichi asked drily. "But... yeah. Don't know where they went after me 'nd Kori ran."
"Well, D.I.C.E. were last headed towards... uh, I forget the region..." Allister trailed off, before resuming his sentence. "And you never showed me to the others."
Kokichi stared into Allister's eyes, through the mask. "D.I.C.E. left the region?" He hissed, more in shock then anything.
"Y-yeah, after you didn't show up, they started making trips to other regions to find you..." Allister shrunk back at the fire in Kokichi's eyes. "I think they headed towards either Alola or Unova this time?"
Kokichi wanted to scream into a pillow, but pointedly didn't. "And when will they be back?"
"In about a month, if things go according to plan." Allister told him, scratching his head. "They've got some smart heads, they'll be fine."
"You say that like Diamonds hasn't almost been sent to jail before." Kokichi groaned, knowing that Allister was correct. Didn't mean he had to like it.
"Dinner!" Kori called, causing Kaito to jump where he was examining the bookshelf as if he had been burned. Kokichi and Allister look at each other and shared a silent chuckle. Dinner time indeed.