A/N: This fanfiction is entirely fanmade just to let you know; this is my disclaimer people. This is a pretty random fanfic that just popped in my head. The first chapter is sort of like a prologue, so there will be a fairly large time skip. My story will most certainly not revolve around a ten-year-old girl. Reviews are welcome and flames are considered, though I don't see why you would blame me for your opinion or taste. The entire story is about a bunch of OCs, but some of the characters from the show will pop up every now and then. Enjoy.
Mitsukai gazed out the window, watching bullets of icy rain spray the glass mercilessly. The world she saw beyond her walls of refuge was dark and windy. Without wincing, she let her near white eyes follow a streak of lightning; she found it beautiful. A loud ear-splitting crack of thunder shook the gray sky; Mitsukai described the sound as music.
A hand reached up to touch the freezing glass, chilled by the events on the other side. For the amount of time she had been looking out her window, Mitsukai had yet to see a sign of movement in the courtyard. She sighed at how dull it was outside, not taking the time to think that it was raining. Now there was nothing she could do. All of her indoor things were useless now.
Glancing over her shoulder, Mitsukai looked at the stack of old books and word games towering beside her bed. All were either read or completed, giving her absolutely nothing else to do. Everyone else in the home was asleep and she would get into quite a bit of trouble if she were to wake anyone else, deliberately or not. Sighing, Mitsukai stood and walked over to her things.
Having nothing else to do, she took a seat on her bed and picked up a book of sudoku puzzles. Her nimble fingers then proceeded to flip through the pages, searching for a page she might have missed or didn't complete. In a matter of minutes, she picked up a magazine with crossword puzzles in it. Setting the other aside, Mitsukai continued her task of finding something to do in her many books.
And then she heard it.
It came as a faint sound, easily mistaken as something heard subconsciously or possibly from somewhere in the house. But, being cautious and slightly paranoid, Mitsukai took the noise as a possible threat. Carefully setting the last book she went through on the top of the stack, Mitsukai rose from the bed and stepped silently to the window, her bare feet remaining quiet against the wooden floor.
Her hand met glass once more as she peered out, catching a glimpse of a small figure darting in the rain outside. She pressed her forehead to the window, repressing a whimper as chills swarmed through her blood stream even faster. But Mitsukai didn't retreat from her position, squinting in order to get a decent look at the mysterious figure outside.
She could tell that it was most likely not human from its size. Even if it had been a small child, they would have had to have been pretty fast on all fours. Her excellent eyes provided her with noticing two pointed ears, a tail and strange horizontal lumps protruding slightly from the back of the creature. Still not one hundred percent positive of herself, Mitsukai found the shadow quite familiar and had an idea of what it was.
A flash of brilliantly close lightning proved her theory correct.
Wasting no time in marveling at her discovery, Mitsukai jumped to her feet and spun around. She ran to her bed, grabbing a well-sized blanket. She sprinted to the door, using this time to hurriedly stuff the blanket up her shirt. Out of her small room, Mitsukai raced time as she made her way through the large complex and out the back door.
She shivered violently when water met skin, but Mitsukai continued to run toward her window, knowing she'd be able to spot the creature from there. Ignoring the bullets of ice-like liquid, Mitsukai approached her bedroom from outside. Her eyes quickly scanned her surroundings, but Mitsukai couldn't find the poor Pokèmon from her position. Still paying her burning skin no heed, Mitsukai dodged from one corner of the courtyard to the other. Her pearly eyes searched every possible spot a two-foot Pokèmon could hide.
Her luck turned up good when she found the pathetic dog Pokèmon hiding in a hole in the building's wall. Smiling sadly, Mitsukai slid the blanket from under her shirt and wrapped the still warm garment around it. The Pokèmon gave no fight, either too weak or very trusting. Having trouble picking up the nearly twenty-five pound animal, Mitsukai managed to clutch it to her chest and jog to the door, leaning over the Pokèmon to keep it as dry as possibly.
As soon as she was in the warmth of indoors, Mitsukai glanced down and grinned inwardly at her close encounter with an actual Pokèmon. Not to mention it was quite rare. She gently set the black, white and orange dog on the ground and began drying it with another blanket. When she thought it wasn't wet anymore, the dog not having very thick fur, Mitsukai carefully lit a fire in the hearth of their fireplace. She giggled as the Pokèmon's eyes grew wide at the sight of fire and it squirmed towards it, lying down only an inch or two away from the blaring heat.
Mitsukai then moved silently through the dining room and into the kitchen. Not wanting to waste much time, Mitsukai grabbed a small container of meatloaf and a bottle of milk out of the large refrigerator. Dumping all of the leftover meatloaf onto a plate and pouring the milk into a bowl, Mitsukai put both in the microwave. Setting it on high and punching in a few minutes, Mitsukai walked back to the common room.
When she walked in, the Pokèmon drew its head up immediately. Thinking back, she remembered that this pokèmon was called a Houndour, having only one evolved form. Its ability was supposed to either be Early Bird or Flash Fire and it was of the Fire and Dark type. She smirked, knowing that its actual classification was a Dark Pokèmon. It had a pretty good, 50-50 percent chance of being either a girl or a boy. She tilted her head as she thought back on reading a book on them. The book had said that they usually lived in the mountains, not to mention in packs.
Mitsukai sighed, realizing that this was just a stray Pokèmon, probably coming from some cruel owner. She heard a soft growl come from the Houndour and looked down, finding that the Pokèmon was now sitting and wagging its tail. She smiled at its actions. A Houndour usually makes sounds to indicate its feelings, emotions, or thoughts, Mitsukai thought.She took the friendly rumble a sign of companionship. Leaning down, Mitsukai scratched the Pokèmon behind the ears. A sudden beeping sound made both jump, but Mitsukai quickly shuffled out of the room.
She came back with a steaming platter of meat and a bubbling bowl of milk. She put both down and watched in satisfaction as the Houndour began eating greedily. Knowing the she had made quite a mess in running back in the room; Mitsukai went back and cleaned all the milk she had spilt. As soon as everything was as before, Mitsukai walked calmly back into the living room and sat down on the couch.
Her eyes fell upon the Pokèmon near her, still chewing on the meat, occasionally lapping up small portions of milk to wash it down. She smiled faintly, but the happy gesture was haunted with her inner thoughts. She knew that this entire situation wouldn't work out well. Mitsukai wished that she could, but plain and simple orphans don't keep Pokèmon.
For one thing, her caretakers, the main workers of the orphanage, would never allow it. They would say that it was unfair, too expensive, and much too troublesome to keep a Pokèmon. Mitsukai frowned and stared at the brightly flickering tongues that licked the stone of the fireplace. Fire had always had a strange impact on her. She had been told multiple times that it was probably fear, but Mitsukai knew that it wasn't.
It was admiration.
The way the fire could endure anything, with the exception of water, and grow to be a weapon of mass destruction was an entertainingly sick thought. But Mitsukai didn't care. She was awe struck by flames of any kind and naturally assumed that her parents had also fell victim to fire's awesomeness. She had easily understood that this was why people expected her to fear such an amazing element of nature.
Finally, Mitsukai closed her eyes. She had never met her parents, and didn't really feel the need to. From the looks of it, they were just two people that told you to do whatever they wanted. She had figured it would be the exact same as it was now, just with less children and more money. Deciding at a very young age that she could deal with that, Mitsukai made no effort in finding out anything about her background or past. All she knew was that fire had made her an orphan, and she was grateful for that.
The only downside was pity. Most people would either ignore the fact that she had no parents, or they would feel sorry for her loss. She had tried to explain that it wasn't really her loss, but they would always look at her sadly and shake their heads before passing on. To put it simply, Mitsukai liked the heartless people better. Everybody had a burden or something to deal with, and this was what God had chosen for her.
And Mitsukai lived with it without a single complaint.
Shaking her head furiously, Mitsukai led her thoughts back to the problem at hand: keeping a Houndour in an orphanage. When dealing with Amai, Mitsukai thought she had a pretty fair chance in keeping the Pokèmon. But when she realized how quick Kibishii would react to the situation, she knew that making the Houndour a part of the family would be much harder than previously decided.
Amai was the gentler of the two who ran the orphanage. She was Kibishii's older sister and seemed to be able to keep her in check often. Despite her age, her hair was sweet honey colored hue and her eyes were a soft brown. Amai seemed to enjoy having fun more and often bent the rules in flexibility where responsibility and order were still used.
Kibishii was completely different. It was either the rules or outside you go. Her hair was gray and her eyes were a piercing misty blue. She had a need for regulations and always kept everyone in check. She had no room for new ideas or disobedience. It was easy to say that she didn't have many friends. But Amai would probably agree with her in this situation.
It came to a solid conclusion that the Houndour would simply stay a secret. Mitsukai smiled, having no problem with this idea. The Pokèmon would sleep under her bed and she would give him her food, seeing as how she was often allowed to eat dinner in her room for the sake of studying. She knew that taking care of it wouldn't be a problem. The only thing Mitsukai studied was Pokèmon.
Being an orphan, she had never gotten close to one, but had seen them often in the streets when she went for walks. Never had she even thought of getting the chance to feel one underneath her fingers at such a young age. Not to mention the fact that she had the privilege of nursing one back to health. Her head jerked as she cleared her mind once more. She just had to keep focused and make sure she knew where the Houndour was at all times. It would be no problem.
Her confidence was shattered and white eyes snapped open when she saw the Houndour putting its two front paws on her knees, barking in order to grab her attention. Eyes twice as large as before, Mitsukai clamped both small hands around its mouth, but it was too late for silence. She could already hear people beginning to shift about upstairs, asking questions and yelling answers.
For a vague moment of curiousity, Mitsukai wondered how a Houndour's soft bark could wake them and the continuous clashes of thunder didn't. Mitsukai just sighed, leaving the question to answer itself one day, and picked the Houndour off the ground. It curled up almost immediately after contact with her lap, shifting to get comfortable. She then proceeded to wait, which didn't take much time at all.
It was quite an understatement to say Amai was shocked to see Mitsukai, their quietest child, sitting casually in an armchair, Pokèmon in her lap. She walked over, bare foot, and stopped directly in front of Mitsukai. Kibishii soon followed her sister, jaw slacking when she saw the Pokèmon. Then the questions and accusations came.
"Honey," Amai said softly, "Where did you… well…"
"Where in blazes did that thing come from?" Kibishii yelled as she stormed over. Her eyes flashed angrily, but Mitsukai gazed up calmly without a word. "It should not be in here and will leave immediately."
As if to prove her words, Kibishii reached over to take the Pokèmon, but pulled her hands away sharply when teeth snapped just inches from her boney fingers. The Houndour then growled, the soft rumbling continuing to increase in volume until Kibishii stepped back cautiously. Even then the snarls did not cease.
"Well," Mitsukai began, placing a hand on the houndour's head, "I couldn't go to sleep and I was watching the rain, thinking. I saw it outside and decided to help it."
"Why?" Kibishii spat, causing Mitsukai's hurt expression.
"Listen," Amai said, obviously preparing to explain. "Plenty of other Pokèmon have to survive out in the rain. I'm sure it would have been fine."
"I'm sure the chances were unfortunately otherwise!" she yelled in response, causing two equally surprised faces and giggles from above. "Houndour is a Fire Pokèmon and I can tell it's not very old. It was freezing cold when I brought it inside. I'm keeping it, no matter what you say!"
"Sweetie, a Pokèmon is much too expensive," Amai shot back with a sad smile.
"I can work for money, not to mention Pokèmon Centers are free," Mitsukai replied, allowing her voice to settle into its calm demeanor again.
"It'll make too much trouble," Kibishii growled, ignoring the Houndour's piercing glare.
"That's what training is for. You know I'm patient enough to teach it the simplicities of obedience," Mitsukai challenged.
"And it's a big responsibility!" Amai tried again, tone becoming earnest.
"I can handle things in mentally that full grown adults can't get a grip on," Mitsukai finally shot angrily, her tone seeming to match that of the one in her lap. "I think I'll be perfectly fine with the physically as well. I'll grow quickly."
"How do we even know that thing is safe?" Kibishii asked, gesturing with her hand and tilting her head obnoxiously.
"We don't yet," Mitsukai replied simply. "Again, I can take it to a Pokèmon Center and get everything checked out there. The approximate age, gender, and any diseases will be found immediately, most likely to be healed since it's a Pokèmon Center if you forgot."
"Yes, but there is that possibility it could hurt someone," Amai said sweetly.
"I'll train it," she reminded them. "I'm only ten. Imagine what I could do in a period of six months. Think of the possible outcome of vigorous training over five years. By the time I'm fifteen, this Houndour won't be a problem to anyone not looking for a fight."
"Oh, honey, you can't use this Pokèmon to fight others," Amai said almost guiltily, as if taking a bag of candy from a small child.
"It's called battling and people do it all the time to get stronger or test their abilities," Mitsukai said. "The concept of Pokèmon must be harder than I thought if you can't understand that many trainers, an owner of a Pokèmon that battles, use their Pokèmon as companions to collect Gym Badges, go to the Elite Four, or just become stronger. Of course, if a ten-year-old can grasp the concept… But that's not even the problem, is it? You're not the ones with a Pokèmon, so why should you know? I'm sorry if I overestimated your intellectual ability."
"I have half the mind to send that Pokèmon to a shelter," Kibishii snapped harshly. "I might as well ship that smart mouth of yours to a boarding school, too."
"That doesn't scare me; you can't afford one!" Mitsukai laughed.
Through much fighting, Mitsukai's argument finally won out. Feeling pleased with her moment of courage and triumph, she stroked the Pokèmon affectionately. She finally had a friend that could understand her. But when Kibishii turned to follow Amai upstairs, she stopped to look over her shoulder at Mitsukai.
"It has one chance. You have one chance. One mess up and say good-bye."
Mitsukai smiled as her guardian trudged back upstairs, probably heading straight to her bed. But Mitsukai knew she wouldn't be able to go to sleep now. Looking down at her companion, she knew a single chance was all she'd ever ask for. Not that it mattered…
Mitsukai didn't believe in second chances anyway.