Emiyan: I no own Pokemon. There. I said it!

Torakai: Now, onto our revised version!

Emiyan: Since when has this become "our's"? I did all the work and all you did was stay in my head an-- (goes into long speech)

The TM Chronicles

Prelude

"Be careful, Kama!"

"I will!"

"Make a friend, or two!"

The boy didn't respond this time and his grandfather's Dusclops leapt from the mountainside, with him on its back. He wasn't the most social person alive. In fact, he could just imagine the stares he'd get once he told them...

Kamataru looked up, the wind running past and carrying his long bangs on its current. He closed his eyes for a moment and then...

He was at the schoolbuilding, dressed in the proper uniform and saying goodbye to Dusk, who had graciously taken him here. Dusk grunted, then teleported away. Kamataru wasn't as much of a ghost Pokemon-freak as his grandparents, but he felt saddened to watch the Dusclops leave him here.

The morning bell rang and Kamataru collected himself before entering his classroom. And just like he predicted, all eyes were drawn to him.

"I know you!" A girl blurted out, making Kamataru shrink back to the walls. "You're that kid on Mt. Pyre, the one at my Chasey's funeral!"

He did not deny it. His grandparents worked at Mt. Pyre, burying the dead and guarding of the two legendary orbs. But she burst into tears, and a few of the gazes turned hostile, as if he had been the one to make her cry.

The teacher, a woman who looked to young and carefree for this sort of job, turned to him and smiled. "Oh yes," she spoke, "Amui's grandson. Kamataru Ivanov, am I right?"

He nodded faintly, glasses teetering at the tip of his nose. "Yes, you are." His voice was quiet, and it was suprise that she even heard him. The teacher smiled and introduced herself as Miss Attakerd, then told him where to sit. During the journey to his desk, Kamataru could her the whispers.

"His eyes, look at his eyes. They're so... empty."

-

Chapter One: Focus Punch

"You're so tiny."

Kamataru looked up from his work, metallic-purple eyes looking into sea-green ones. A tip of his eraser in his mouth and his pencil dangling from his pale fingers. "So?" He replied, looking annoyed. It was during lunch, and he had hoped to get most of his work done before he ate.

Chijuru, the bearer of sea-green eyes, flailed her hands. "No, you don't understand. I mean... erm... you look girlish."

Kamataru's eyes narrowed.

"I mean-- erm..." Chijuru wasn't sure how to put this, and her pigtails seemed to come loose from the strain of thinking. "You look... you look..."

Kamataru, with his eyes remaining on her for a few more agonizing moments, returned to his work. Mindlessly, he scribbled down the answer to the problem and continued to the next one. Chijuru sighed, defeated. All she was trying to do was help and she was just making him feel worse.

"Um... so, what's it like caring for the dead and stuff?" She asked. But the boy only spat something in foreign language ('Russian?' Chijuru thought) as his pencil snapped in two. Chijuru realized she had asked the wrong question. She stiffened as he let himself up, and moved far away from her.

-

The day was over, and Kamataru ran at full speed away from the school, Chijuru folowing him. Only for a minute, she thought of how foolish she must look, calling after the new kid and waving her arms. "Taru, Taru! Come back Taru!" she called.

Kamataru seemed to run faster, and Chijuru realized, with horror, that he was running into a place that she was unfamilliar with. The trees seemed to twine among themselves and odd, poisonous-looking flowers sprouted from thorny shrubs. The school blouse tore at the sleeves as she passed through, and she felt her legs become heavy. 'Mental note,' Chijuru thought, 'work out after this.'

She felt as if she had run forever when the thorny tunnel had finally opened and she had finally caught Kamataru by the wrist -- panting. "Where... are... we?" She said, tired as she uttered the last of her sentence. Kamataru turned away, glared, then ran off before she could even blink again.

-

He was lost. Horribly, terribly lost.

And he was going to die.

And no one would know because that stalker of a girl was probably too dumb to figure out where she was.

Kamataru sighed and waited. Surely, if he did nothing, someone would come and find him and take him back home. He was a patient person, after all.

So he waited...

and waited...

and... waited... Then, he coughed; the start of his nervous breakdown, which ended up in him leaning over a small puddle of blood. He was shaking, now, and his eyes were wide. So it was no surprise when a voice finally called out from the bushes, unfamiliar to his ears, he screamed and passed out.

- - - - -

Emiyan: that's why it's not ours! Hm... end of the story already? Okay... review, then!