Work Text:
for raihan, there’s no greater joy in life than the roaring applause of the crowd after a victorious battle. the string of love ridden comments that come pouring in, the fan letters, the explosive headlines, the interviews endlessly praising him and his duraludon, all of it made him feel as if the world was his stage. they say it’s better to be feared than to be liked, but who says you can’t be both?
well, raihan wishes that was the case, because the world is unforgiving and more than willing to kick you when you’re already down.
another loss against the champion and all the love suddenly turns into hate, no, no, perhaps hate is too much of a strong word, because no one in this universe cares that much about raihan to hate him. suddenly his social media is filled to brim with people mocking him, calling him a loser, a good for nothing who will never win against leon—leon, that damned leon—headlines are questioning his skill as a trainer and a gym leader, interviews that only humiliate him and his team. he takes it all with his signature smile, because maintaining a good image is all part of his job or else the chairman will surely come for his neck. there must be no bad press at all.
when there are no cameras around, raihan cries, screams, curses and punches. it was pathetic (maybe) to get so worked up over a loss. perhaps on the surface that’s what it seems like. but raihan’s sensitive, despite what others say. almost too sensitive for the kind of job he has. and every time the world comes crashing down on him to remind him that he’s nothing, he feels the brunt of the loneliness that he tries so hard to ignore.
people just don’t care about him.
he’s repeating a recording of the match on his rotomphone, going through every single one of his commands in some frantic attempt to figure out where he went wrong, because that’s far easier than admitting that leon is just naturally much stronger. if he can blame it all on an ill timed earthquake or breaking swipe then he’ll rest easier at night, because that surely means he still has a chance and that next time he’ll win and people will finally respect him.
for sure.