[Mr. Game & Watch]

The vacant office was quiet, though the faint sounds of footsteps could be heard arising from the other side of the door. As they got louder, the muffled voices of the walkers became audible and more coherent with every step. What was being said wasn’t clear until the door marked ‘Head Director: Lusamine’ opened, that very same person being the force behind it. Directly behind her was her assistant, Steve. As per usual, he was very expressive with his hands, likely due to his lack of visible face. He seemed to be in a position of persuasion, or perhaps, begging. “It would be a perfect opportunity to commune with the public! There isn’t even that much paperwork to get done today.”

Lusamine continued to step into her office, waving a dismissive hand and not even turning her head to acknowledge him. “Paperwork comes in everyday, Steve. At inconsistent intervals. Ignoring the small pile of work today leaves the window open for tomorrow’s work to be overwhelming and insurmountable. Aether Paradise might be closed for the day, but that doesn’t mean the boss has idle hands. You can go to the Valentine’s Day festival if you think there’ll be important investors to commute with” she answered simply as she paced around her desk and properly sat into her chair.

“Well, I mean, I was already planning to... but, after what happened in Alola, people need to see you. Some people are still skeptical about you being of… sound mind” Steve spoke carefully, his domed face constantly focusing on other things in the room than his boss seated before him.

Lusamine leaned forth, delicately placing her elbows on the surface of the desk. “You could always put a picture of my face over your mask and do your impression of me” she added with a little smirk.

In that moment, Steve froze as if he was hit by an Ice Beam. “… Uh, oh, you heard about that?”

“I don’t know how you think that wouldn’t come back to me” she spoke sinisterly. “Now, it’s best you run along before you give me a reason to address it.”

Steve’s head nodded. “… Right, of course, Miss Lusamine.” Without any further hesitation, he turned and walked right out the door.

Lusamine’s head followed Steve’s movements. “Be a doll and lock the door on your way out” she sweetly chirped just before her assistant closed the door behind him. The click of the lock echoed through the room and Steve’s outline faded from the view of the frosted glass window. Lusamine briefly gazed over the paperwork on her desk, eyeing it for as long as she could remember it took for a person to exit the building entirely. Once that was passed, she set the papers aside and her breathing pattern changed with a sigh.

Calmly, she opened one of the drawers of her desk, retrieving a picture frame and a wine glass, setting them both down in front of her. The frame held a picture of Mohn, smiling with a younger version of herself hanging from his arm. She was caught mid-laugh. She remembered that Mohn had made a joke before the picture was taken, but try as she might to remember, she couldn’t recall what it was he said. She wished she could remember.

She pulled out a bottle of GRAPE JUICE from another drawer, popping it open and pouring herself a drink. She spent more time whisking the drink her hand though, her nostalgic eyes locked to the photo. She took a sip, then set her drink down. “They didn’t leave me until after you disappeared. Gladion and Lillie” she started solemnly. “Makes me wonder if you were the glue that kept us together, or if they just realized how much they hated me once you were gone. Doesn’t matter now. They made their decisions. Their betrayals. They need me more than I need them” she calmly stated with underlying resentment.

She looked away from the photo and took another dainty sip of her drink. Her eyes continued to navigate away from Mohn’s picture, as if it was a real person that was about to contradict her statement, not wanting to hear his counterargument. She eventually gave in, looking back at him. “I know you’d say that’s not true. And I would get mad at you for your dumb optimism. I can’t believe I married such a light hearted fool” she spoke gently with a sting of bitterness. In the end though, her head fell, her chin resting against her desk. “Maybe that’s why you were the better half of me. Don’t know why you ever thought that was true about me.”

With a sigh, Lusamine swigged down the rest of her drink and opened the drawer again. She picked up the picture frame, looking at Mohn longingly. “We’ll pick this up again next year” she spoke resignedly, placing the picture face down and closing the drawer. “Or maybe sooner, you never know who winds up on Li.”

Lusamine sat in silence for a few good minutes, her eyes staring at the wall, but her vision not fixed on anything in particular. As time passed though, she eventually retrieved the papers lying next to her, pulling them front and center and providing the critical eye they needed.