The sound of a window being broken awoke the twelve year old boy, immediately alerted to the ski-mask wearing man landing next to him. Before the boy could speak, he pulled out a knife and held him onto the bed. "You better be quiet if you know what's good for you, kid."

The boy was frightened. Having someone jump through your window and threaten you with a knife was a fear no one could get used to. But that was not the only reason for his fright. "U-u-um s-sir…"

"I said shut up, kid!"

"B-but there's something you should know. It's important."

The burglar groaned, already annoyed with the kid."Spill it. If it's not important, I will cut you." He waved the knife threateningly.

The boy always hated this part. "Um…my name is Satoshi."

The man raised an eyebrow, baffled on the strange need for introductions. "So…why the hell should I care?"

Satoshi blinked with confusion. "Are you new to town?"

"What are you…how did you…ah…what the hell!" This was getting weird, too weird. How did that boy know he was new to Viridian City? Suddenly he remembered the rumors he heard on the street. There was one house no burglar dared to enter. It was a very large house owned by a wealthy family, a dream house full of expensive items to steal. However, burglars and thieves avoided the house for what appeared to be a terrifying, legendary rumor. The thief was now getting very worried. "Hey kid…"

"Yes?"

"You said your name was Satoshi, right?"

"That's right."

"…As in, Satoshi Taijiri?"

"Yes."

The knife in his hand began to tremble, his eyes growing wider. "As in, the infamous demon child Satoshi Taijiri?"

Satoshi sighed, hating that title. "Yeah…"

The man began stepping away, suddenly remembering the features of the kid he was warned about. The rumored cursed child had a slim, frail frame, white hair with a very thick and shiny black horn stretching over his right eye, and timid brown eyes. The kid seemed very girly for a ten year old boy, but the rumors defined him as a demon in sheep's clothing.

Trouble began when he took a step back, tripping over a small toy.

With a yell, his back slammed onto the floor, knife flying out of his hands. It flipped dangerously in the air, and to the man's horror, aimed for his face. He luckily rolled to the side to avoid the lethal stab to his face, only to roll right on top of the broken glass he created. He cursed as jagged glass pierced his face, attempting to stand up but accidentally pushing his hands against other broken shards of glass. Now in even more pain, he stumbled onto his feet, using the nearby nightstand as support with his elbows. He felt, for a moment, that he was safe and just a small stroke of bad luck.

He changed his mind when he realized a second too late that one of the nightstand's legs was broken.

He slammed face first into the broken glass again, this time his eyes getting small bits of shards in them. Rolling on his back to avoid getting even more glass in his now shard-ridden face, he forgotten about the toy car on the floor he tripped on previously, receiving highly uncomfortable pain on his back. He rolled over again, further away from the glass and off the toy, but failed to remember the knife stabbed into the floor, the handle somehow perfectly positioned to press into his eye, which already had small glass shrapnel in them.

This was quickly turning out to be his worse morning ever.

"AGH! WHAT THE HELL!" He rolled over it, praying that the danger was over. He weakly stood up, covering his badly injured eye. There was no way that was merely coincidence. The kid really was cursed. Now it was him who feared for his life. "WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU, KID!"

"U-um, sir?" Satoshi reached forward to warn him, but the man recoiled.

"No, stay back! I don't want any more of your curse!"

"But you don't understand! You might not want to turn around. My—"

"Forget it! I'm outta here!" He turned around only to bump into someone and fall back, unfortunately landing on his knife in a very unholy way. His scream could easily be heard throughout neighborhood. He tried to pull it out, but the only way to do so was to grab the bladed side, which he did not think about until after his survival instinct kicked in to take the knife handle out of his butt. His hand now filled with glass and a painful knife wound, he barely managed to pull out the knife.

But to his horror, the knife handle stayed.

"Son of a…!" He was about to make a second attempt when someone tapped on his shoulder. "What the hell do you—" At that moment, he was greeted by two things: An annoyed, pink haired woman with sharp ruby eyes, and a fast flying fist. He was knocked back, only to slip on the glass again and fall out the window, which unfortunately for him, was on the second floor. To make matters worse, he fell on top of a police patrol hover car, falling conscious from the impact.

The policeman in the car turned to his partner, who returned the knowing glance. "…Another sad fool."

"That would be attempt number five, counting Sunday. Think that boy will break the two hundred attempt record this week?"

The other policeman shrugged. "…Fifty bucks says he does."

"You're on!" After locking up the injured burglar, they drove off to continue their patrol on around the large Taijiri mansion.

Back inside Satoshi's room, he and the woman clad in a red and black pajamas stared at each other, the woman's irritated stare versus Satoshi's timid ones. "…Clean up this room. You only got an hour before you start your first day of school."

"Okay, sis." Satoshi sighed tiredly. Cleaning up like this every morning was always bothersome, but he did have something to look forward to. This would be his first time entering public school, and it was junior high at that. His parents always kept him home schooled, but after much pleading they finally decided to let him go to a public school. This was going to be very exciting.

After everything was cleaned and fixed up, Satoshi was ready to head out the door. But before going out, his sister stopped him at the front door, wearing a black, long sleeved school uniform with gold outlines. "Aren't you forgetting something?"

Satoshi blinked, checking out his clothes. It was a white uniform with gold outlines like his sister's. As he checked his pockets, he did not find anything out of the ordinary. "What did I forget?"

The girl rolled his eyes, groaning. "You forgot this, you little twerp!" She tapped his head with a thick metal armband with a rectangular glass piece on the center. Satoshi took it in his hands, examining it. "Put it on your arm, idiot. It's for you."

"For me? What is it?" As Satoshi latched it onto his wrist, he felt several tiny object needle into his arm, wincing from the sharp, but quick pain. A few seconds passed before the machine turned on, personal information he recognized appearing on the screen. His eyes lit up with amazement. "This is so cool! How did it do that?"

"It uses the blood in your body to power it up and keep track of your info. It's called a Personal Assistant Device, but everyone calls it PAD. You use it to tell people who you are and record important info on it. Unlike the cheaper PADs, you can attach this baby to something you want to teleport in later." The older girl waved a small, metal disc with a flashing green orb in the middle. To prove her point, she attached it to a small bento with the words ASUNA written across it. Once attached, the orb turned blue. She attached Satoshi's disc to the bento next to Asuna's labeled with Satoshi's name. ". This model is pretty strong, so even you should not be able to break it. But they are hard to come by, so you better take care of it."

Satoshi continued to stare at his device with wide eyes, never receiving such a thing before. It felt like Christmas all over again. "Wow, thank you so much—OW!" His attempt to embrace his sister ended in vain as she smacked him over the head with her boxed lunch.

"I didn't give you permission to touch me, twerp. We're wasting time, so let's go." Asuna walked out the door briskly, Satoshi following closely behind.

Satoshi enjoyed the air around him. He was rarely taken outside the house, but he always enjoyed it whenever he could. Something exciting always seemed to happen whenever he took a trip outside, though it usually ended up with someone getting hurt; usually him. But this time, he felt lucky. After all, he only had, as he recalled, five robberies since yesterday, which was an all time low. That meant he might be lucky today.

While walking to school, he noticed that no one would get within a meter radius of him, staring with worried, frightened, and angry glances. Parents would hug their children protectively while rushing away, citizens quickly taking alternative routes and some people even whispering under their breaths. Satoshi could hear what some people were saying behind his back.

"That's the demon child."

"Stay away from him."

"He's even with that ruffian."

"Don't look at him, kids."

"IT'S A TRAP!"

Even though he heard all kinds of things before, it was never easy to swallow. "I don't get it. Why does everyone say such mean things? I haven't done anything wrong." He looked up to his sister, hoping she had an answer.

"The hell you don't…" She grumbled, "Bad things happen around you, not to mention you're a little…special." She knocked the back of her hand on Satoshi's sharp horn, which felt like tapping against metal. To the untrained eye, it could look like an especially thick piece of hair, though it stood out from his white hair. She could only hope the kids were dumb enough not to notice. At least Satoshi was dumb enough not to realize it.

"I'm special?"

"Err…yeah, let's go with that. Just don't go telling people. Don't forget to keep the fact we're siblings a secret. I don't want to be associated with you outside, okay? I'm a bodyguard and nothing more."

Satoshi did not understand what she was talking about, but just went with it. "Okay sis—ouch!" The boy cringed as Asuna punched him hard on his head, glaring at him. "I-I-I mean, Asuna."

"Much better." The rest of the walk was quiet, aside from the increased frequency of small accidents around them, including two hover car crashes and an exploding fuel tank in a nearby building. Satoshi considered this as a normal, exciting day. Asuna knew it was a freak of nature, and Satoshi was the king of freaky happenings.

The two arrived at the school twenty minutes later, examining the large three story campus with shocked expressions. The buildings had a beautiful white gloss that was further defined by the trees, bushes, flowers and other kinds of scenery. Finding anything natural was very rare unless you walked into the country side like Pallet town, where Asuna and Satoshi were born. The school was highly respected and considered one of the top junior high schools in the Kanto region.

This was Stardust Academy, Satoshi's first school.

Already, he could feel his blood pumping with excitement. Seeing so many people going to class added to his excitement. "This is so great! I can't wait to start my first class! Right Asuna? Uh…Asuna?" He turned to see that she was already halfway down the block, going to the direction of her high school. "Asuna!"

"Laters, twerp. Don't get yourself killed on the first day." Before Satoshi could say anything else, Asuna had gone too far down to hear him anymore.

"But…I don't know what to do now…" He had never done anything like this before, especially alone. His timidity got the best of him, alone in an unknown, beautiful world. Looking around, there were all kinds of people going inside the school. Most of them were normal, but very few of them were obviously different.

Some of the students stood out from the crowd, their skin displaying a variety of colors. Some had tails, horns, claws, and even oddly shaped bodies. They were truly weird looking, not that he would make fun of them. A student's a student, and if they wanted to learn here then that was just as well. A person was still a person even if they were different, right?

Speaking of weird, many of the regular looking students gave him awkward glances. Just like the citizens he passed by on the way to school. Some were dirty looks while other was frightened. Why did everyone do that to him? What was so special about him that made everyone so afraid? As he tried to ask for directions, he was completely ignored or told off in a variety of rude ways, which was growing more and more annoying by the second. Not only was he confused and alone, but bothered too.

"Is everything alright?"

Satoshi twitched, surprised that someone was actually calling him out, and it was a sweet, feminine voice at that. He turned to see a cute girl smiling at him. Her white school girl uniform suited her cuteness very well, the top half being a flared out long sleeved and the bottom half a skirt. Sparkling blue hair wrapped in two buns, a long ponytail for each one. What truly captured his attention were the pure sapphire eyes that were as clear at the sky. He looked around, making sure he wasn't just making a mistake. "Are you…talking to me?"

"Of course. Are you new here?"

The now nervous boy swallowed hard, finding it a little hard to speak when his heart was beating so fast. "Um…sorta, in a way…ah…y-yes?" It came out more of a squeak then an actual voice.

The girl giggled, which made his heart race even harder. "You don't have to be so nervous. Everyone's nervous the first time around. Here." She slipped her hands into his sweaty ones. His blush was flared. "Come with me, I will give you a tour." Before he could break out of his stutter to give an answer, the girl dragged him around the school. He was not going to complain.

It was a good thing the girl decided to help him out. There was far too much ground to cover alone. It was strange to have someone hold your hand the entire trip. Did people do this normally? He did it with his parents whenever they went outside, but that was all the experience he had. His mind wandered, considering a very important question.

"Excuse me, miss?"

"And this is the registration office. This is where you pick up your schedules for class."

He tried speaking a little louder, thinking she did not hear him. "Hello? Miss?"

The girl pointed out to another classroom, unaware of Satoshi calling her. "And this room next to it is the dean's office. If there's ever a problem you need help with, the dean can help you."

"Are you even hearing me?" He had to admit, it was getting a little annoying. She continued to talk a mile a minute with barely any pause. Did she even breathe? He sighed.

"Any questions?" She finally asked.

"Just one."

"Yes?"

"…Who are you?"

"You mean I didn't already…oh, right? Hehe." The girl flushed, embarrassed. "Sorry about that. I kinda just dragged you around without even introducing myself. I have a bad habit of getting too involved in what I'm saying. Sometimes I even end up forgetting what I was talking about or the question that was asked in the first place…and I could swear I'm forgetting something."

Satoshi blinked; surprised she had already forgotten his question. Without meaning to, he laughed. The girl stood with a confused look on her face as he doubled over with laughter. "You're such an interesting person." The boy continued to laugh, receiving odd looks from other students.

"I'm interesting?" The girl smiled lopsidedly, unsure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. No one ever called her interesting.

He noted the girl's confused expression and cleared his throat. "Sorry, I didn't mean to be rude. I'm—" He stopped himself before he could say anything to ruin the nice girl's mood. What if she would react to his name the same way other people did? What if she started calling him demon child? That made him really nervous.

The girl gasped suddenly, remembering something important. "Oh yeah, I knew I forgot something! I'm Hikari. What's your name?"

'Uh oh.' Satoshi stammered, now put in a difficult position. "M-m-my name? Ah, um…I am….err…"

"I told you not to be nervous. If you won't tell me, then I'll do this." She slipped her hand into his again, this time slipping a cord from her sky blue PAD into Satoshi's chrome colored one. A picture of Hikari appeared on the PAD a message that read 'Hikari Magnis wants to be your friend. Do you accept?' Without thinking twice, Satoshi touched the accept icon. The next screen to appear would never leave Satoshi's memory.

Hikari's name appeared under Satoshi's list of friends, making her his first friend.

"Satoshi Taijiri, huh?"

Satoshi choked, just now realizing adding her to his friend list would do the same thing for her. Was she going to start calling him names now? There was no point in hiding it now. Might as well come clean. "Y-you see, about that..."

"I like that name. It's cute."

The boy froze, his heart suddenly tightening. Did she just say his name was cute? He had to have misheard her. Why would she think his name was cute when no one else had? "R-really?"

"Of course. It's a very cool name." The class bell rang, signaling for the start of class. "Well, I have to get going. Don't forget to head to the registration office first, okay? See ya, bye!" She waved as she disappeared around the corner.

Though Satoshi was left alone again, his smile stayed with him. She was a strange one, but the nicest person she had ever met. His school life was already off to a great start.

After getting his registration done, thankfully without incident, he proceeded to his classes. Unfortunately, he did not get to see Hikari during any of his classes. To make matters worse, no one wanted to talk to him. No student wanted anything to do with him. Even teachers barely talked to him unless it was absolutely necessary. He was always put at the corner of the classroom where he would be least visible, ignored whenever he had to ask a question. Stranger still, the same thing happened to some of the weirder students he had seen before.

Why were they treated so differently from the normal looking students?

That was the one pattern he kept noticing, yet failed to understand.

During the class he had before lunch, he managed to ask his teacher a question. This teacher was different like some of the other students did, her skin being light blue and sleek like a Dratini. The answer he got was not what he was expecting. "That's just the way things are between humans and Pokénoids."

"Ms. Ibuki, What's a Pokénoid?" The entire student body gave Satoshi a combination of pitiful and surprised glances.

The teacher sighed. "I recommend you talk to your family about that first. Come back to me after you've talked to them, okay?"

"Okay." As the day continued, Satoshi started to realize that this Pokénoid thing was serious. During his lunch break, and right before he could summon his lunch, he noticed a lot of the special students getting intimidated by the normal humans. He was about to ignore it when he heard a familiar voice speak up.

"They haven't done anything wrong to you guys, so leave them alone!"

'HIkari?' That voice was more than enough reason to pay attention to the situation the other students shied away from. He slowly crept closer, wanting to hear what was going on. He was not liking what he was hearing.

"What, you love those freaks or something?" One of the boys snarled at the girl. Hikari did not flinch.

"Freaks? Are you serious? Who's the freak here? They did nothing to you and here you are bullying them for no reason! You're the freaks here!"

"I've had enough of you, freak lover!" The boy shoved her into a collection of chairs that collapsed under the force, trapping her painfully in the clutter. A thick silence fell over the cafeteria, everyone staring at the girl covered in heavy chairs. Even the one to push her was worried about the now unmoving student. Everyone feared for the girl.

But none more than Satoshi.

'Oh no, poor Hikari…!' His body was rooted with terror, his heart sank as he looked at the carnage. He never felt like that before, and it was a painful feeling. He willed his body as much as possible to move and see if she was alright, but was lost in his emotions. Two students rushed to check the girl, the others quietly waiting for the verdict. Now Satoshi was sweating with anxiety, which expanded once he saw the worried looks of the students who moved the chairs and checked her wrist and neck for something. What was going on?

"She's…she's not breathing!" The young girl cried.

Satoshi's stunned mind had to slowly process the information carefully. Not breathing was a very bad sign. He had seen some of the movies his parents watched, and when a person stopped breathing, that meant only one thing. That was the last thing he wanted for the only girl who had ever been nice to him. The only person who liked his name.

The only girl he liked.

And it was that boy's fault.

"His fault…all his fault…everything his fault…HIS FAULT…!" His eyes blurred with tears as a powerful emotion began to take control. Everything in his vision turned red and black, his tiny muscles tightened to painful levels. Every sense in his body were pushed to their limits, everything around him standing still as he moved towards the one who took Hikari away from him. He could feel silent whispers echo through his body as he sank his fingers into the surprised child and drove him onto the table, urging him to take revenge. He felt arms being wrapped around him, trying to take him away from his target. He saw the kid's shirt slowly stain with red, enticing him. The kid's tears and pain were strong, fueling Satoshi even more.

No matter what, he would make him pay.

Voices called out to him, but all were nothing more than an echoed cacophony compared to the voice that told him what he wanted to hear: kill him. He could feel himself driving his hands even deeper into the child, a pleasurable sensation driving his actions even harder. More hands tried to pull him back, but they were all too weak. A few more seconds, and he would exact his revenge.

One pair of hands grabbed his, strong enough to stop him in his tracks. The voice that belonged to the hands was louder and stronger than the rest. It was annoying. Very annoying. "Out of myWAY!" Ripping his claw from the enemy, he slashed at the person, clawing the face. But a color other than black and red passed through his vision.

Blue.

But the person did not run, but grabbed his hand again. It was now the only hand to hold him, fear driving the others away. As he slowly began to regain his senses, everything gradually went back to speed. Blue eye were now distinguishable, the other eye closed and marked with a line of blood. There were four such lines streaked across the side of her face, marring her beautiful complexion. Threads of blue hair stuck to her bloodied face, a frazzled mess. Her tears were fused with the blood rushing from her forehead. But through all the carnage, her expression was the pinnacle of concern and determination. His senses finally returned, realizing that his throat burned terribly and his entire body was sore and trembling. Her voice reached his ears passed the ensemble of gasps and calls for peace.

"Everything will be okay, Satoshi. Please calm down!"

His vision blurred even more, this time with more tears than he had ever shed in his entire life. His gaze fell back to his hands. His soiled, evil hands that marked the girl in front of him. Now she was hurt because of him.

Now it was his fault.

He could feel the fear of his peers, worried that he would hurt them too. What happened to him? Why did he hurt the only girl who had ever been nice to him? Why did he injure the only girl he ever liked? Hikari stepped closer to him, but he withdrew from her. This was not right. What kind of monster was he? He could hurt her again, or worse. He never wanted to take a risk like that again.

He bolted away from this place, away from her. People called out to him. Hikari calling out his name was especially clear, but he had to do what was best for her. It was the best way he could think to protect her. To protect her from himself.

Two days passed since Satoshi's outburst in the cafeteria. Going back to school was not an option, too ashamed to face everyone. He felt his PAD vibrate as he stay curled under his covers. Only one person called him, and she continued to call him constantly. He wanted to see her again, to do everything he could to make up for what he did. But how could he face her? Once he saw those cuts on her face again, he just knew his heart would shatter. His souls was shaken.

The bedroom door swung open, revealing a very angry Asuna. "What's going on, twerp? Mom and dad are going to be pissed, which means they're gonna yell at me for not keeping an eye on you." She cracked her knuckles, eying him threateningly. "And if they yell at me, I'm going to mop the floor with your weak delinquent ass."

"I don't want to go to school…"

"Kid, I promised them not to hurt you unless I had to. I'm starting to feel like I have to."

"But I hurt someone."

"Who cares? People get hurt all the time. The sooner you understand that, the sooner you can get your ass back to school!" She ripped the covers off of Satoshi, revealing him curled up in fetal position. His eyes were red from the tears, dark lines under his eyes from sleep deprivation. The girl grew even more irritated. "You're trying my patience…"

"There's something wrong with me."

"Yeah, you were born. Now get the hell out of bed!" She yanked his arm and pulled him out of bed, but his body turned dead weight. Now she was really pissed. She squeezed his cheeks hard and brought his face to hers. "Listen. You got ten minutes to get dressed and go back to school before rip you a new one!"

The boy had no strength to fight, but did not want to move. But he did have one important question to ask. "Hey, sis?"

Asuna did not care, but would at least hear him out before she invoked her punishment. "Make it quick."

"Am I…a monster?"

"What are you talking about?"

"What am I? Am I really just a monster?"

Asuna released him and groaned, mentally preparing for the life lesson she was going to deliver. Though her parents told her to wait, the time to put the kid in his place seemed accurate. They won't be too mad at her. "You're just now realizing that? Did you really think this was just hair?" She tugged on the boy's horn, which felt awkward to Satoshi. "Everyone calls you demon child for a reason. You're an abomination, a curse, and a huge eyesore. You're a Pokénoid."

Satoshi blood froze. Fears and doubt clogged his throat, alerting him that his suspicions were true. He was one of those special kids humans did not like, and the only one who liked him he lashed at. What if he went crazy and started hurting people again. He could feel his hand tingle with feelings of guilt. He did not like this. He wanted to be gone, to disappear. He could hear his sister scream something at him, but her voice faded in the distance as he jumped out the open window. Thanks to his remarkable reflexes, he was able to land without too much pain to his limps, and ran with everything he had. He did not think or cared where he went, just as long as he could no longer hurt anyone.

Life on the streets of Viridian City was tougher than he had ever realized. Being alone was hard enough, especially since citizens, Pokénoid and humans alike, avoided him. But he would often meet hostile humans who would attack him on sight, calling him all kinds of names like devil, anthro, and mutant. The reality of the world outside his home was much harsher than anything he could imagined. Even as the days rolled by, sick, injured, and hungry, he found no one that was as kind as Hikari, who haunt his dreams and PAD calls constantly. He would cry himself to sleep, praying no one would try to kill him in his sleep again. His only solace and truth was sorrow and misery.

After four days of struggling, Satoshi collapsed on the dark streets of downtown Viridian.

"Have you seen this kid anywhere?" Back at Stardust Academy, Asuna was hard at work, carrying a picture of Satoshi and asking students about his whereabouts. Frustration was evident in her actions, cuffing one of the boys by the collar. The poor child was too scared to think, let alone answer. This did not help matters. "Speak up, kid! Where is he!"

"I-I-I don't know! I swear to god I don't know!"

"Don't swear to god! I spoke to god earlier today, and he told me you knew something! Better start talking before I send you to him personally!" She learned towards the boy, whispering in a low growl. "Speak another lie, and I'll send you straight to god on the ass kicking express, got it?"

"Are you looking for Satoshi?"

Asuna turned around and flinched immediately, releasing the terrified kid. Half of the girl's face was covered with a medi-cloth, a white material used for healing deep wounds. She had a nice face otherwise, but whatever happened must have been rough. "Yeah, he's my freak of a little brother. You know him?"

The girl looked down on her PAD, Satoshi's face and name on the screen. She tried to call him again today, but he still would not answer. Maybe his sister would know. "Yes. I'm his…well, at least was his friend. I've been trying to call him since the incident, but he would not answer me."

"Incident? What, he peed in his pants or something embarrassing?"

"No. He got really mad when a boy pushed me and tried to hurt him. When I went to stop him, well, this kind of happened…" Hikari pointed to the patch on her face.

Asuna raised an eyebrow, very surprised. She did not think the boy was capable of doing something like that. "Well, that's what happened when you get yourself involved. You should have let the little freak—"

"He's not a freak!"

Asuna drew back for a moment. No one had ever defended Satoshi before. Her search for Satoshi turned up something interesting. "Oh? Why not? If it walks like a freak and talks like a freak, then it's a freak. I wouldn't even be looking for the twerp if I didn't have to."

Hikari stared at the tall, intimidating girl in shock. How could someone treat their own family that way? "Why do you talk about Satoshi so horribly? What did he do to you that make you say these things?"

The mere thought made Asuna clenched her fist in a silent rage, her lips forming a thin line. "Kid—"

"It's Hikari." Hikari snapped back, thoroughly angry that even Satoshi's sister had nothing nice to say about him.

Asuna took small steps towards the girl, giving her a harsh glare. "I don't know where you get off talking to me like that, but you better watch your mouth before I break it off for you. I have no problem crushing rude little girls like you."

The little girl was intimidated, but she would not surrender to such a thug. "Why so angry? I'm such a little girl, so you shouldn't be getting all worked up, right? What, so tough you're going to beat up a ten year old girl?"

"Now listen here—"

"No, you listen, because I am sick of seeing this!" Hikari had no idea where her courage came from, or when this brutish girl would start punching her, but all the stress she built up worrying and searching for Satoshi was coming out in full force. "Every time I hear Satoshi's name, it's never good. Demon this, curse that, it's always the same! I never hear anything good about him! I hear about all these bad things he does, but I never see him do anything! Even in school, whenever I see him, he never does anything bad and yet the minute one little bad thing happens around him, it's his fault! Everything is always his fault when it really isn't!"

There was now a small crowd looking at the scene, and that made Asuna both angry and embarrassed. A seventeen year-old being told off by a ten year old girl was not good for her rep. "You've only known him for a day. Don't act like you've always been around him."

"But I've always seen him. I live next door and have been watching him for a long time. His window is directly across from mine, and I almost have a heart attack every time I see someone break in his house. Does anyone say anything about that? No. They say he deserves it. There's a fire in the house and fire fighters fight to save his life AND yours. Do they worry about him? No. They he should have died in the fire! Every time he steps outside, whether it's to the park, or grocery store, his favorite flower shop that my parents own, or even in his own backyard, people treat him like a plague! It doesn't make sense! It NEVER makes sense! It's like everyone who sees him turns stupid and blames their problems on a nice, shy boy who does nothing but smile and apologize for things he did not do!"

Asuna stayed silent as the girl ranted. She was listening intently to this little, motor-mouthed girl. She had to give it to her, the girl had guts, and she liked people who had guts.

Hikari continued, catching her breath. "Well, you know what? I'm not going to stand for it! So you, miss tough sister who wants to beat up ten year olds," She pointed, shooting her finger at the now glaring Asuna, "You can just go back home and not worry about the nice boy you hate! I will find him and even take him home with me if I have to!"

Asuna crossed her arms, finding the girl both interesting and frustrating. But she was getting really tired of the girl's rant. It was time to put her back in her place, no violence necessary for this one, much to her regret. "You think that's why I hate the kid? Because everyone else hates him and calls him a demon? I have my own reasons for hating the kid, that bad luck curse of his is just icing on the cake. Now you talk a big game, but let's see you own up to it." Asuna plugged her PAD into Hikari's and confirmed Hikari's friend acceptance without her permission. The girl would have protested has she not been so surprised. "Let's see who finds Satoshi first. You better try hard to find your little boyfriend, because if I find him first, I'll be kicking his ass for a week. Better protect him." Before the blushing girl could object to the boyfriend comment, Asuna darted off. Hikari had no idea what that was about, but she would not let that woman take her boy…err, friend away.

Satoshi's eyes fluttered open, wincing from his splitting headache. His entire body was stiff, sore muscles making it awkward and painful to move. But he was not in a dark, rotten alleyway as he remembered, but an old bed inside an old, worn-out room. The smell bothered him, a combination of burnt material and dust. But it wasn't nearly as bad as the alleys he had to sleep in. "How did I get here?" Getting off his bed, Satoshi made his way to the door, hoping to get a look around and find out where he was.

His blood ran cold when he felt a sharp metal object on his back.

"Where do you think ya goin, mate? We got something special planned for ya."

Satoshi froze, his heart jumping to his chest. The voice sounded menacing, chilling him to the bone. Whenever he met someone with that tone, he was usually attacked, robbed, or both. He barely escaped with his PAD from the last encounter. He had a feeling this person had something sinister planned. "P-Please don't hurt me…!"

"Hurt ya? Maybe, pending if ya stay smart and do what I tells ya. Now keep walking down this hall." Satoshi did what the person said and turned down the hallway. "Let me ask ya a question. Ever had waffles?"

Satoshi blinked, wondering if this person was being serious. He definitely had waffles before, and they were delicious. "Y-you mean the kind for breakfast, right?"

"Breakfast?" The voice chuckled darkly. "No mate. I'm talking about…waffles. This ain't no breakfast waffles I'm talking about."

That was when Satoshi remembered hearing all kinds of new terms while traveling down the streets of downtown Viridian. What if these waffles were not the kind he ate for breakfast, but some kind of special drug people got hooked on? That meant he was dealing with some very dangerous people, and they were probably going to drug him up for some sick game. "N-no…I don't think I've had those kinds of waffles before…"

"That means we're gonna have lots of fun today, yeah?"

'Oh boy…I'm done for.' He at least wanted to say goodbye to Hikari before dying. He should have answered her calls when he had the chance. It did not take long before arrive at a tall, wooden door.

"This be it, mate. Are ya ready for some waffles?"

"Uh…y-yeah…" Satoshi's body trembled as small tears leaked from his eyes. This was it, the end of his life. Maybe it was for the better, for a demon like him.

"Hurry up and open the door, unless ya willing to suffer me wrath."

"O-o-okay." As Satoshi opened the door, beholding a shocking sight that made him speechless.

A large gathering of Pokenoids sat at several large tables, to Satoshi's surprise, eating waffles.

Satoshi felt something hop onto his back and turned to see a younger child bearing a wide toothy grin, bearing his small fangs. The child wore a white hat that complemented his long, pointed ears, and had wide, happy ruby eyes. The child waved a fork in front of his face. "Gotcha good, didn't I, mate? It's the afternoon, so we're having afternoon waffles!"

Satoshi crumpled to the ground fainting on the spot.

The boy glanced at the people who stared in confusion, shrugging. "So…more for me?"

A splash of ice cold water awoke Satoshi with a start, his heart beating a mile a minute. He glanced to see a young girl dressed in old, raggedy clothes standing over him, holding an empty cup. This girl had features like the boy he met before fainting, in terms of ears and fangs. But the girl had long, dazzling red hair that stretched down to her nine tails which matched in color. Cute green eyes stared at him with curiosity. "Are you alright, mate?"

"Huh?" The girl had the same accent as the boy, which he was not used to. It certainly was interesting to listen to. "What…happened?"

"You fainted after me brother pulled a stunt on ya. You're a funny one, mate."

"Fainted? Oh yeah, that boy tricked me!" Though he should have been angrier, he was just glad to be alive and not drugged up or something worse.

The girl smiled, helping him to his feet. "That bloody pest is me little brother Yuuki. He's a fun one when he isn't driving ya nuts." She pointed to the nine tailed boy stuffing his mouth full of waffles, followed by a group of children stopping him from choking. "The name's Musashi. What do I call ya?"

"I'm Satoshi."

"Well, it be a pleasure meeting ya, mate. Why don't we get some waffles in ya tummy? Better eat up before the food is gone."

"O-okay." Admittedly, he was still a bit nervous. He had never been in a room with so many Pokenoids like him before. Then again, he had never seen this many Pokenoids gathered like this anywhere. They were dressed in rags and worn clothes, a few of those bruised and injured. He continued to observe this as he ate with Yuuki and Musashi, learing more about the shelter for Pokenoids.

As he bit into his first waffle, a warm feeling washed over him. He was now very aware of how hungry he was. The quality of the food reminded him of Asuna, who was forced to take care of him since he was born. With his parents frequently out on business, Asuna was the only one in the house to save him from burglars and to help him, though it was clear she was against it. It also did not help that the friendly atmosphere he received from Musashi and Yuuki, who was arguing over who got the last waffle, reminded him of Hikari. He missed her dearly, wondering about her every free moment he had. Satoshi was homesick.

"Oi, Satoshi."

"Hm?" Satoshi looked up from his meal, syrup and crumbs littered across his face. "Yes, Yuuki?"

"I know the food is good, but you don't got to cry about it, mate."

"Crying? But I'm not..."Satoshi glance at his plate, noticing tears dripping onto it. Was he so deep in thought he had not realized he was crying? "I'm sorry, I didn't even realize it. Now I feel silly. You guys gave me food and helped me out, and yet-"

Musashi, who was sitting next to Satoshi, slung her arm around him and pulled him into a hug. "You've been through a lot, haven't ya?" Satoshi said nothing and closed his eyes, nodding in response. He let the small sobs seep out in small burst, not wanting to cause too much of a scene. The boy truly had been through hell and back. Now that he thought about it, this would be the first hug he ever got from someone other than his parents. He missed hugs.

As Satoshi let himself release his emotions, he could hear the siblings talking. "Poor guy. Probably never had waffles before. I feel his pain."

"Shut up, Yuuki."

"No need to get feisty. Just telling it like it is."

"It's not about waffles!"

"Oh. So its about pancakes then?"

"Stop talking ya tard. Get a brain!"

"Me brain works fine, ya stupid fox."

"You're a fox too, stupid."

"I'm a better fox than you!"

"That makes no sense! We're the same!"

"I'm the cooler one, so there!"

Satoshi let himself drown out their banter, focused on calming himself down. The vibration of his PAD surprised him, alerting him to a call. He was about to reject the call when he saw Hikari's name, remembering how much he missed her. It was clear she at least wanted to talk to him. He wanted the same. Slipping away from the two was easy, given they were too involved in their argument to notice him gone.

By the time he made his way out of the noisy dinner hall, he missed the call. His heart sank when he realized he had no idea how to call anyone from his PAD. As a matter of fact, he really did not know how to use any of his functions other than recalling his lunch box, which to his utter disappointment, he just remembered. Heart gripping terror always did terrible things to his brain.

He turned to step back inside when he saw Yuuki and Musashi talking to each other, laughing as though they were not arguing moments ago. He did not understand that, used to having his sister berate him angrily for days until he surrendered and did what she wanted. It hurt to see such an obvious connection when he never had it. He found the perfect reason to explore the building he ended up in.

It took an hour of surveying the building for Satoshi to realize he was inside an abandoned hospital. The operation rooms, decayed signs, and modified doctor offices helped to clue him in. His travels led him to the roof of the building, blessing him a beautiful view of the city. He could see his home all the way on the other side of the large city, a white building that stood out from the beige and burgundy ones surrounding it. The buildings seemed to gradually reduce in quality as it lead to his area, perfectly displaying the quality of life each section represented. It was both a beautiful and sad sight to behold.

Walking to the edge, he noticed someone in one of the alleyways look at him, and then suddenly disappear into the shadows. The thuggish looking man looked familiar, similar to some of the people Asuna hung out with. Of course, there was no way they would go this far, especially for someone like him. "They would never want a monster like me around."

"Monsters? Won't find any around here."

"Wah! I'm sorry!" He spoke quickly out of reflex, spinning on his heels and bowing to the old man who addressed him. He was only a little taller than Satoshi, a frail man wearing a very old looking brown robe. It was impossible to see his eyes through the thick, gray eyebrows.

The old man smiled softly. Something about the smile settled Satoshi, calming his nerves. "There's no need to be so tense. I'm just a friendly old man enjoying the afternoon like you."

"Oh, okay" Satoshi relaxed, his heart returning to its normal pace. He had no idea the old man was on the roof this entire time, his cane, teapot and cups laid out in front of him..

"What's this about monsters you speak of? Surely you don't mean the children who live here. Two of those, as you say, monsters saved your life." The man's tone was not of malice or mockery, conveying an understanding Satoshi could not define.

"Oh no, I wasn't talking about them. If you are referring to Yuuki and Musashi, I am forever in their debt. I was actually referring to myself." He stopped, unsure if he should continue or stop wasting the man's time.

"You? A monster? How so?"

Satoshi sat down, releasing a heavy sigh. He knew he should be feeling more awkward telling someone else his story, but he could not bring himself to refuse someone who sounded so earnest. "Every time I'm around someone they get hurt. I even hurt a girl who was really nice to me. I'm not normal like the other kids, I am a demon child." He stopped, unable to say anymore without getting emotional. It was an emotional scar he did not wish to bring up.

"That is truly unfortunate." The old man's smile dropped, as did Satoshi's hopes of not offending anyone with his presence.

"I understand. I will leave now." Satoshi got up to leave, walking past the old man.

"Would you like to share some tea with me?"

Satoshi stopped in his tracks. No one ever offered him tea before. "Tea?"

"It's a lovely afternoon. It would be a pity to drink this tea alone." He set the extra cup in his hand to his side, not moving from his spot.

The boy had no idea why such a nice man would be kind to him, especially after hearing his story. Did he think he was just joking or exaggerating? He had to be sure. "Y-you know what I said is true, right? I'm not making this up!"

"I believe you."

"Then...why are you being so nice to me?"

"I don't have a reason."

"B-but...!"

"All I did was offer tea. Do you not like tea?"

"I, uh, I like tea, but..." Lost for words, he surrendered. "I'll stay for tea." Taking a seat in front of him, the man pour some tea into Satoshi's cup, his smile unwavering. The two sat in silence, Satoshi enjoying the quiet, mellow taste.

"How is the tea?"

"It's very good, thank you."

The old man's smile widened. "Good to hear. Most kids fine it too tasteless."

"I like this taste though. It makes me feel relaxed and refreshed. The warm weather makes the taste perfect."

"My thoughts exactly. You have a great taste in tea, my boy."

Satoshi blushed, touched by the compliment. "Um, thank you. You are too kind."

The man laughed. "Hardly. You give me too much credit. All I did was offer you tea."

"But no one's ever done that before."

"Such a shame. You're very good company." Satoshi went silent, stunned with the compliments he was receiving. Moments like this he cherished as though his life depended on it. "Feel better, my friend?"

"Yes, very much." Satoshi paused, catching the friend the man added. "I'm your friend?"

"I don't see why not. Anyone willing to share tea with me is my friend. Good friends are hard to find these days."

Satoshi took a moment to think about the statement, recalling Hikari. He should just apologize and make it up to her, but he was so shocked with what he did. It felt awful to consider how she might be feeling now, not hearing from him for days. It would be a miracle if she even wanted to see him again, let alone be friends. But he was so afraid of getting rejected and seeing her slashed face, he could not get himself to even hear her voice. "You're right. Good friends are hard to find."

"If you find a good friend, you should keep that person with you. A good friend will always be one, no matter what happens."

"A good friend. That would be nice." A comforting silence followed, the two sipping their tea.

"You remind me of my grandchildren."

"Really?"

"They came up here like you did, crying their cute little eyes out. I offered them tea and let them calm down. One of them asked me if they were monsters. When I asked why they said that, they pointed to their tails and told me about the kids who made fun of them. That's when I asked them a very simple question: What's wrong with being different? What do you think?"

Satoshi was quiet. He did not really know how to answer that question. He knew for a fact he was very different from everyone else, something they cursed him for. But was that wrong? He had seen so many kinds of people of all shapes, sizes and appendages. Even humans seemed different from each other time to time. This lead to a very startling conclusion, something he never considered until now. "Isn't everyone different?"

The old man nodded. "I think so too. My grandchildren told me the same exact answer. And if everyone's different..."

"Then I should not worry about about being different...!" He finished, getting a better grasp of his insecurities. He always felt so distant from everyone because he was different, because he was considered to be a demon child. He understood that it wasn't that he was a demon or monster, but he was just different. Though he was still downtrodden about the apparent streak of bad luck he seems to cause with his presence, at least now he had a better reason to like himself. But, he did have a question for the wise old man. "But what should I do if I hurt someone, or if they want to hurt me? I don't want to hurt people, but bad things always seems to happen."

"I used to think like that too. I've hurt a lot of people when I was younger, and the same had been done to me. Just when I felt like I should give up and run away, a wise person told me this: The key to victory is to strike with a full heart."

"Strike with a full heart?""

"That's right. I think it's a beautiful expression. How about you?"

He had to admit, it had a good ring to it. But what did that mean exactly? The more he repeated it, the better he felt. He felt stronger just thinking the words, but still had no idea what it meant. "I don't really understand what its supposed to mean, but it does sound very nice."

"It means something different for everyone. What it means to me is probably not the way you might see it. But it's yours to keep, so do with it what you will."

'Mine to keep? It's just an expression, isn't it?' Something about that made the expression even more appealing to him. Feeling stronger, he felt it was time to finally make a decision about his next move. He did not want to stay here forever. After all, he had one thing he wanted to do. "I want to go back home. There's a very nice girl I have to say sorry to."

"I wish you the best of luck. It was a pleasure to meet you."

"I won't ever forget you, sir. I want to come back here again."

"My door is always open."

Just then, Satoshi's sensitive nose picked up a strange burning smell, like something was on fire. As he began to wonder about it, the door to the roof flew open, Yuuki and Musashi appearing with horrified expressions. "Grandpa!" Yuuki yelled, terror in his voice. "A bunch of thugs are setting this place on fire!"

The old man quickly turned serious, standing up. "Evacuate the kids out of the building quickly. We need to get everyone to safety."

"We can't! There's a bunch of them surrounding the place, beating up everyone who gets out! We're trapped!"

"Thugs?" Satoshi rushed to the edge of the building, a horrifying realization hitting him as he observed the dozens of leather wearing thugs patrolling the burning building. He recognized the man who spotted him earlier, who must have called the other thugs to try and get him. "It's...my fault..." Again, people he cared about was going to get hurt because of him. He felt his heart tighten and beat viciously against his chest, panic enveloping his body. His legs already gave in, dropping him on his knees. But what could he do? If he did nothing, then all those kids, Yuuki, Musashi, and the old man would die. But going out there would be suicide. The situation just seemed hopeless.

'The key to victory is to strike with a full heart.'

As Satoshi thought back to those words, he could feel himself gradually regaining control of his emotions, stopping him from bursting into a frenzied panic. At all cost, he wanted to protect everyone. Something about the words he continued to repeat gave him small bits of courage, a very foreign feeling that was powerful and addicting. "...I will clear the way."

"It's too dangerous for you, boy. You have too much to live for, so don't throw your life away." The old man chided.

Satoshi stood at the edge, blazing fire and smoke obscuring his vision. "...The key to victory is to strike with a full heart. I won't forget that. Please get everyone to safety." Before they could say anything, Satoshi jumped off the roof, ignoring the screams of his new friends. The rush he felt was unlike anything he experienced. The wind rushing through his body and clothes, the weightless feeling that coursed his veins, almost like he could fly.

The building was about five stories tall, so the freefall only lasted a few seconds. But it paid off as he crashed into one of the thugs, hearing a sicking sound of chest bones cracking. Amazingly, Satoshi only received a small bruise on his arm that he slammed into the man with. Though he was dazed, he rolled off unharmed. The other gangsters around him gasped with shock, not expecting a kid to jump off the building and slam into one of their men.

"Hey, I think that's the kid we're looking for!" One of them said.

"Yeah, that's him! He just took one of our guys out!"

"Get him!" All of the gang members rushed at Satoshi, who unfortunately jumped in the middle of the group.

'I will protect you guys, I swear!' Satoshi dashed through a small opening and sprinted as fast as he could, dodging all attempts to capture him. The boy was surprisingly agile, slipping out of their grasp with ease. The angered thugs chased him down, leaving the people inside the burning building to their fate.

As strange as it was, Satoshi found primal excitement in getting chased, leading them through tight and difficult terrain. He worried less about why he enjoyed being chased by an angry mob and more on what he was going to do now. Though he managed to escape capture for over ten minutes, his luck ended when a hot stream of white light brushed against his leg, causing him to trip. Fear returned to him in full force as he found himself trapped by twenty angry thugs, his leg burning from a laser wound.

This was going to end very painfully.

Satoshi blurred in and out of consciousness as the men started beating him brutally. Stomping, punching, kicking, stabbing, it felt as though the torture would never end. His entire body bellowed with pain, almost every bone in his frail body broken. By the time they stopped, he could not feel his body or even move. His broken body lay in a sea of his own blood, desperately keeping himself conscious and alive. He did not want to die, hoping they would leave him there thinking he was dead.

"You gave us a lot of trouble kid. But you get the honor of our boss finishing you off. Hey boss! He's ready for ya!"

'Boss?' Satoshi could barely hear the man, his ears ringing with a high pitch sound. Everything seem to glow in a white light and breathing was becoming a chore. His senses were numbed and dulled from the severe beating, the smell and taste of blood dazing him. He saw the thugs move to the side as someone walked towards him. Satoshi was slowly able to make out the features of the person the they referred to as boss.

Asuna.

"Sis...it hurts..." Satoshi tried to reach out for her, but his hands hurt too much to move. Every movement, no matter how small, felt as though it would knock him out from the sheer pain. Even talking felt as though it was a matter of life and death. "Help...it hurts so much..." Asuna showed no expression as she watched him writhe in agony, bleeding to death. She stood up, shoving her hands in her pockets. It was a sign that someone was going to get demolished. "I-I don't want to die...I'm sorry sis..." Anger flashed through her eyes at Satoshi's apology.

"My guys beat you to death, and you apologize to me? Are you that stupid?" She whispered, peaking frustration. Making sure to keep herself cool and collected in front of her crew, she cleared her throat. "Which one of you did this?"

The thugs gave each other confused looks, trying to decide who got to claim their victory in capturing Satoshi. "We all did." One of them said, the others agreeing in unison.

"I remember asking for this one to be brought to me, not beaten to death."

"W-well, it doesn't really matter, does it? Who cares if the anthro gets a little roughed up. You said yourself you didn't care about them anthros, so we helped ourselves to a little fun. We brought him to you alive liked you asked."

"Yeah, I did say all that, didn't I?"Asuna took a deep breath and sighed, slipping on a pair of steel knuckle guards. "I started this gang to take down all Pokenoids, no matter who it was. I made all this happen. Kinda funny, in a way." She smashed her knuckles together, creating a spark from the electricity it produced. "This won't take long, twerp."

Before Satoshi's vision faded, she saw Asuna spin and punch one of the thugs in the face with a deafening battle cry, knocking him out in one hit.

As Satoshi slipped in and out of consciousness, he saw Asuna taking on all of her own gang members, savagely beating them down in ways he was glad he did not receive. Before he knew it, all of the gangsters were on the ground, crying out in pain. Asuna, slightly bruised, walked up to Satoshi and picked him up as gently as she could, placing him on her back. He was very confused. "A-Asuna?"

"I should be able to get you to a hospital in time if I hurry." She began walking briskly, stopping at an empty intersection.

"Asuna?"

"But damn, I don't know where the nearest one is around here. Maybe if I call that girl, she would know."

"Um, A-Asuna?"

"Don't say anything." She spoke through clenched teeth. Satoshi took it as a sign of anger.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize you freaking retard! You did not do anything wrong!" Satoshi could feel her trembling, but could not see her face. "I freaking hated you for so long! You were always so damn weak and annoying, troubling everyone around you. You've been nothing but trouble for me ever since you were born. I could never have the life I wanted because of you, forcing me to play goddamn bodyguard every goddamn day. I had no life because of you, you freaking Pokenoid."

"Oh..."

"And the worst thing of all is that it's not your fault, none of it is!" Asuna screamed, all her emotions leaking through her trembling voice. "The only thing I could do was blame you for everything and take my anger out on you. I kept thinking if I couldn't be happy, then I would make you feel as miserable as me. But then your stupid ass just had to stay happy with that! You couldn't even give me the satisfaction of being unhappy! You made me feel like a sister when I shouldn't. I never did anything nice for you, and I'm fed up with it. My life is already done for, but I'll be damned if I'm going to let you die! I don't care what happens, I'm going to take care of you! You freaking piss me off!"

"I'm sor-"

"And if you say sorry to me ever again, I will kick your sorry ass, got it!"

Satoshi gulped. That was the strangest, yet nicest thing she had ever did for him. "Um...thank you, sis."

"This ain't nothing to thank me for. I'm supposed to do this, like a real sister would." The sound of a click alerted Asuna, who turned around and cursed under her breath. Suddenly, she tossed Satoshi off her back. He crashed onto the street painfully, but watched in horror as a stream of light tore through Asuna's chest.

"Sis!" Satoshi's felt his heart ripped in two as he saw her face contorted in unimaginable pain. He wanted to do something, but could not move an inch. He opened his mouth to speak, but her hand motioned him to keep it closed.

"Don't say it. This...is not your fault." Asuna directed her attention to the thug who was still awake, carrying a deadly plasma pistol. "Stuff like this is gonna happen all the time, but it's not your fault unless you let it be. I'm not letting this be your fault. This is all on me." She clenched her teeth, carrying the visage of a demon spotting her prey. "BRING IT ON YA BASTARD!" She charged at the man, who fired panicked volleys. Some missed horribly, but most of them ripped through her body with ease. But she did not stop, nor flinched as she tackled him onto the ground. The man did not stand a chance, getting an even harsher beating than Satoshi.

"Good. That...takes care of that..."Asuna collapsed on the ground, unable to stand. With every ounce of strength she had left, she crawled her way to Satoshi. "I'm...taking you...to the...hospital...so don't...you die on...me..."

"You're hurt, sis." Satoshi began to cry, knowing those wounds were certainly lethal. Several burned holes in her legs, stomach and chest bled uncontrollably.

"It's...only...a flesh wound...I...will be...fine..." With her last bit of life, she pulled Satoshi close to her and let her arms cover him in a loose hug. She lifted her finger to press a button on her PAD, but her strength gave out. That was all the strength she had left. "Damn. I can't even press the call button...heh, figures."

"Sis?"

"Yeah?"

"Are we going to die?"

There was a long pause before Asuna answered. "Yeah, probably."

"But I don't want us to die. I want to stay with you."

"You are with me, twerp. I don't care if it's heaven or hell, I'm going to stick with ya."

Another moment of silence fell between them, their last moments of life dwindling away. "Sis?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm glad you're my sis."

"Well, you shouldn't be. I'm a terrible sister. But, I am glad you're my brother. No matter what...happens...I...love ya...Satoshi..."

"That means a lot, Asuna. I love you too. Asuna? ...Sis? ...Are you there?" He could feel her warmth slipping away, a cold dreadful feeling cutting through his pain. Asuna felt cold. "I...I don't want to be alone sis...don't...leave me..I'm scared. Hikari...I'm sorry...I'm so sorry..." Too weak to struggle any longer, he let himself go, his vision fading to black.

Satoshi's eyes fluttered open, once again, finding himself somewhere new. His body ached, but only with stiffness. The ceiling light was bright, which gave him a huge headache. He felt something heavy on his chest, which startled him upon sight.

A pikachu.

'Wha...?' The creature on his chest felt heavy, but furry. It was a strange, yet warm and comforting feeling. But he was supposed to be dead, not in a bright room with a pikachu on his chest. This was getting far too strange. "Am I...dead?"

"Good guess, but you are very much alive."

Still feeling weak, Satoshi struggled to look around what appeared to be an advanced medical room. A large glass cylinder stood in the corner of the room, which was littered with tool kits and tables containing strange devices and bottles. There was two beds in the room, the one next to his covered with a curtain. Standing next to a table was a dark haired man dressed in a long, opened lab coat and black shorts, a strange combination of professional and unprofessional clothing. "Where am I?"

"Great question! Survey says...you're in my medical room. How are you feeling?"

"I have a headache and my body feels a bit stiff."

"Sounds like good news to me. You really had me and that cute girl worried for a minute. I came to Viridian just to visit, but I surely did not expect to find you bleeding on the street."

"Cute girl?" There was only one cute girl he knew, and that made him curious. "Did she have blue hair?"

"Oh yes, a lovely shade."

"Hikari's here!" Satoshi jumped with excitement and alarm. He was not expecting her to be here.

"She just stepped out for a moment. You should have seen how desperate she was to save you two. You were fortunate that she found you in time. You should thank her when you see her."

Satoshi smiled, warmth heating his cheeks. Again, that girl helped him out. He truly was grateful for meeting her. "I really need to thank her."

"And I have the perfect idea! When you see her, you need to grab her and go like this!" Turning around, he placed his arms to his side and proceeded to make kissing sounds, which made Satoshi blush horridly.

"I-I-I can't do that!"

"Sure you can. Just hold her real tight on the waist and kiss the heck out of her. Come on, you're a Taijiri for crying out loud. Getting the ladies is our destiny!"

There was only one family member Satoshi could remember that spoke to him in such an embarrassing way. "...Uncle Aaron?"

"Oh, so you finally remember me. I would ask how my favorite niece and nephew are, but..."

"Asuna!" Satoshi exclaimed, fear in his voice. "Where's Asuna!"

Aaron shifted uncomfortably, scratching the back of his head. "Oh...um, wow, this is kinda awkward. Your sister is...over there." He pointed to the second bed.

"Asuna!" Leaping off the bed, and ignoring the Pikachu that fell off his chest, he rushed to the bed and moved the curtains to the side. His heart stopped upon sight of his older sister, cold and motionless. She was long gone. "Asuna...I'm so sorry. I couldn't do anything to save-"

"YOU TWERP!"

The familiar voice was quickly followed by a leaping jump kick to the face, the boy stumbling onto his mattress with a throbbing pain on his chin. Before he could sit up, the same pikachu he knocked down jumped onto his chest, grasping his collar heatedly. Satoshi was baffled. "What on...?"

"I oughta kick your ass for dropping me like that! And didn't I tell you not to say sorry? I'll should beat the stuffing out of you!" The pikachu threatened.

Satoshi blinked, unsure if he was just hearing things. Did the pikachu just talk? And with Asuna's voice? He tossed a confused glance at his uncle, who was trying to hold back laughter. "Uncle?"

That was when Aaron lost it, clutching his sides from the boisterous laughter. "I'm sorry, but I couldn't help it. The look on your face was priceless!"

"Wait, you mean..." Satoshi took another look at the pikachu, who shot an irritated glance that resembled Asuna far too accurately. "You're Asuna?"

"The one and only. This body kicks ass though. I can do all kinds of stuff, like-" She was interrupted by a swift embrace from Satoshi. He could not help the tears that fell, too happy to see his sister again.

"I thought I lost you. I really thought you left me."

Asuna sighed, patting Satoshi on the shoulder. "I ain't going anywhere. As a matter of fact, you're looking at the new and improved Asuna! Built tough and ready for battle." A wicked grin crossed Asuna's face, one that always foretold a sinister plot. "And I got plans for you when we get home. Big plans."

"Uh oh..." Satoshi released a heavy sigh. That had bad news written all over it. However, the fact that Asuna was inside a pikachu was both amazing and rare. He only heard of the technique knonw as mind swapping, and it was both expensive and hard to do. "Uncle? How did you do it?"

"The mind swap process was really difficult, and I couldn't find the right body for her. So...I kinda borrowed one from the military. You're looking at the top secret Raigeki series. Built with the toughest materials possible, combined with many tools and abilities to make her the most versatile machine known to man. Plus, I've added a special function to your PAD so you can teleport her to your location. Nifty, huh?"

"It's amazing. And you did all of this...for us?"

"Of course! I would do the same for anyone I care about. That's what doctors do. Of course, sexy doctors like myself have the ability to get a little something extra, hehehe...!""

Satoshi liked the sound of that, though something about the last thing he said sounded perverted. Aaron was such an amazing and confident person to him. Every time he saw him, the man was always doing something nice or saving someone. Everyone he met was always so grateful to him. He always wanted to be someone like Aaron, but decided to make it a personal, secret goal. It would feel embarrassing if everyone knew who he looked up to. "Thank you very much for saving us, uncle."

"Remember, you have someone else to thank. I just happened to be in the area when she was looking for help."

"I'll go look for her now. Thanks again, for everything." He jumped from the bed, carefully putting Asuna to the side this time, and ran out the door. After everything that happened, he wanted to settle things the right way as quick as possible.

As he rounded a corner, he almost ran into the girl in question, stopping himself just in time. His heart skipped a beat when he saw her beautiful face again, but held his breath once he saw the scars across her face. His scars. "Satoshi, you're-" She gasped when Satoshi grasped her hands into his, his eyes focused on hers.

"I'm so, so, so sorry for everything! And thank you so much for everything you've done! You've been such a wonderful and great person, but I've just been so selfish and mean and stupid! I want to be your friend-no, a good friend-no wait, a best friend. I want to be the best friend you will ever have! And I really, really like-" A quick kiss from Hikari rendered him speechless, ending his rapid fire apology.

Hikari laughed, a blush on her face. "And I thought I had a motor mouth! Looks like we have something in common."

Satoshi chuckled, just realizing he said all of that in one breath. "Yeah. I think you're right. Um, Hikari?"

"Yes?"

"I'm really sorry about your face. It was so nice before I, you know..."

"That's right, you really did mess it up, huh?" A sneaky grin appeared on her face. "That means you owe me, big time. Starting now."

"Definitely! Anything you want!"

"There are four scars, right? I want you to kiss each one."

"HUH!" His entire body went stark red, almost having a heart attack.

"Each. Single. One."

"B-but...!"

"And you have to hug me while you do it!"

"H-h-hug you too!"

Hikari feigned a pout, secretly enjoying this punishment almost too much. "If that's too much, then fine. I will hate you forever!"

"I'll do it! I'll do it!" Satoshi embraced her before she could turn again, burning red in the process. This was both embarrassing and surprisingly difficult. He did not think he hard the nerves to do this. He could not tell if that was his heart or her heart that was pounding so fiercely. Thankfully, she closed her eyes, which helped take off some of the pressure. Sucking in a deep breath, he prepared himself for the task.

Her hair blocked part of her face, which made it awkward to kiss her scar. He decided to start with the top scar passing her eyebrows. Parting her hair, he inched himself closer and closer, trembling with anxiety. 'Strike with a full heart, strike with a full heart...!' He repeated his mantra, pushing himself to make the first kiss. His heart leaped upon contact, and using that momentum he kissed the second scar that was under her eye. As he kissed the third scar close to her nose, he grew increasingly aware of where the final scar was: her lips.

That was where he hesitated.

"Y-you still have one more k-kiss to go." The girl's voice trembled with nervousness.

"I...I..." Even with the mental mantra, Satoshi was too nervous to make the final push.

"If you don't kiss me in the next three seconds, I'm going to start talking, and I don't know when I'll stop. Three..."

"W-wait a moment!" Satoshi had been threatened with many things before, but talking? It was even more disturbing that he believed her, and feared her for it.

"Two..."

"But I don't think I'm ready for-"

"One...!"

"B-but Hikari, I-"

"Ze-" A quick peck on her lips stopped the countdown, surprising both her and himself. He quickly gave a second kiss in quick succession, liking the soft feeling of her lips and the surge of joy that sent a chill down his spine.

Hikari opened her eyes, grinning ear to ear. "You snuck another kiss in there, didn't you?"

"A-ah, well, you had a scar on both lips. So...you know...just to make sure..."

Hikari could not help but laugh. Satoshi was a horrible, but cute, liar. "You're too cute, Satoshi."

Satoshi smiled, glad that the nightmarish events he overcame were in the past. After everything that has happened, he was glad to have a happy moment to himself without any strange mishaps or chaos.

As quickly as that smile came, it left when he heard something from his PAD. Curious, he turned up volume.

"...I told you he would do it, Asuna. You owe me ten bucks."

"Well I'll be damned. Didn't know he had it in him."

But Satoshi and Hikari blushed out of sheer embarrassment. Aaron and Asuna were spying on him. He was about to berate them for it when Hikari stopped him, hinting to listen in on them. It felt sneaky, but Satoshi was all for it.

"So, Asuna, about what we talked about earlier..."

"Don't worry, I gotcha. I'll train him real good. But still, who would've thought he was capable of something that big?"

"No one did. It's the same with my daughter. It's a mystery I'm still trying to figure out. I came to visit the Odamaki family for information, but they were nowhere to be found. The building they lived in was burned down. It's a bad sign."

"Tell me about it. But what's important is to keep my bro's girlfriend close. Which gives me an idea...wait, is this thing still on? I hope they didn't hear anything. I'll cut the link and let them have their lovey dovey time. I got work to do": The sound cut off from Satoshi's PAD, the two blushing deep shades of red.

"L-lovey dovey, time? T-that's just...silly!" Satoshi laugh trembled with timidity.

"I-I know, right?" Hikari laughed too, also nervous.

"But...we did do something like that, just a little bit though."

"Yeah, we did."

"Um..." Satoshi looked away, his face red with embarrassment. "You know, I-I w-wouldn't mind if we...continued. If you want."

Blushing even fiercer, Hikari shifted with anxiety. "I-I don't mind..." Their side glances caught each other, freezing them in place. The sound around them vanished, replaced by their beating hearts as they drew closer. All images blurred out of their vision, only keeping each other in focus. Holding each other tightly out of anxiousness, their lips slowly closed to the distance, making sweet contact.

When a loud ring-tone broke broke their concentration.

Hikari gasped and glanced at her PAD, recognizing the number. "That's my mom! Sorry, but I've gotta get going." She grabbed his hand and placed a small peck on his cheek. "Take care of yourself, okay? I hope to see you at school soon."

"You will. Count on it!" Satoshi waved as the girl left, feeling elated. He looked forward going back to school more so than before.

Days passed by, and Satoshi was finally able to rest comfortably. The recently burglaries in his house no longer scared him as much as they used to, though it was always a surprise. But something about his pikachu of a sister jump kicking them out the window seemed to make the days all the more entertaining. Kids still feared him at school, but he earned a reputation through the school for coming down hard on bullies, which unfortunately, led to more bullies coming after him. But thanks to Asuna's combat training, which Satoshi dreaded every waking moment, he was able to escape each battle mostly unscathed. Spending time with Hikari was always exciting, always eager to see her every chance he got. His days, though still chaotic time to time, was enjoyable.

But one day, something unexpected happened, even by Satoshi's standards.

"Oi, Satoshi! When ya wake up, we got some more training to do!" Asuna's voice echoed through Satoshi's PAD, who was asleep moments ago.

"But its Saturday!"

"I don't give a damn if it's Christmas! You got a new training partner today, so be sure to make it snappy!"

"Ugh, just five more minutes." Satoshi turned in his bed, suddenly feeling something soft and mushy brush against his lips. It was a strange, but familiar sensation. He slowly cracked open his eyes to see what he ran into.

"Good morning." Hikari greeted with a beaming smile.

"GAAAH!" Satoshi jolted, falling off the bed with a heavy thud. Now he was wide awake and very alarmed. "H-H-Hi-Hikari! What are you doing in my bed?"

Hikari laughed, enjoying the priceless surprised look on his face. "Is that any way to treat your new roommate and girlfriend?"

"GWAH?" Satoshi momentarily forgot how to talk, having trouble remembering to breathe. "W-when did this happen?"

Hikari tapped her forehead, trying to remember the details. "Well, my parent's bank account got robbed, so we lost all of our money. But luckily your sister offered us a home as well as some money to save our business. Your parents already gave the okay since they've known us for so long. This means we can stay together all the time! That reminds me!" She grinned even wider, "I'm going to be your new training partner! Uh...Satoshi? Breathe, Satoshi, breathe!" She patted his back, trying to jump start his flow of oxygen.

Satoshi coughed, regaining proper function to his lungs. "But when did all this happen? How did your parent's bank account get hacked?"

"That's the crazy part. It seems like its been happening everywhere for the last few days. The thief couldn't be traced or anything! It's like this person is some sort of super hacker!"

"A super hacker?" Satoshi thumbed his chin, thinking hard. Asuna seemed to be very busy since she got her new body, not to mention she was buying a lot more expensive stuff lately. No, there was no way that could be possible.

Just then, the door opened to reveal Asuna wearing a diamond encrusted baseball cap and shades, adorned with a ridiculous amount of jewelry and rich clothes, especially for a pikachu. Satoshi's jaw dropped. "...What?" Asuna asked innocently.

Satoshi grimaced, pinching the bridge of his nose, extremely frustrated. "Sis?"

Asuna got nervous, rarely seeing Satoshi this upset. "Um, yeah?"

"Where did you get all that jewelry?"

"Internet." She answered quickly. Satoshi was not buying it.

"And...where did you get the money for it?"

"...Uh...also internet?"

"...And what would you know about Hikari's bank account being hacked and her suddenly moving?"

There was a moment of silence as the diamond wearing pikachu scratched the back of her head nervously, once in her life frightened by Satoshi's knowing glare. "W-well...I discovered a neat little function I could do with...things...and...since your girlfriend needed a new home...uh...and that's my cue!" Asuna sprinted away, followed by a heated and thoroughly embarrassed Satoshi.

"ASUNA!"

English/Japanese name translation

Satoshi - Ash

Asuna - Flannery

Hikari - Dawn

Yuuki - Brendan

Musashi - Jessie

Aaron (not changed)

Author note: This is a complete remake of Bushido League featuring better characters, plot, structure and features two main character with their own story arc tied together. However, because of the popularity of the original Bushido League, I will keep it there and begin preparations to continue it.