Chapter I: The day I met you
"Give it back to me!" Ran shouted in tears.
"What're you gonna do about this?" the Sneasel asked, tossing her strap bag left and right in midair.
Ran bit her lips, sobbing. She could do nothing about it. She was too weak, and she was outnumbered. Those three Pokemon shared an evil smile. They were feeling satisfied from bullying her out in the open.
"What's the matter? Not so tough anymore?"
The Sneasel knocked Ran at her back. A sharp pain ran through her body, making her stumble over on the cold ground. She stared at them angrily, but those eyes soon changed to surrender. What could she possibly do?
"You might be tough when you're with your sister, but now you're alone and that's a different story."
She cringed at those words. As if these physical torture had not been enough for them. Memories of the past started flowing back, the bitterness tearing down her sanity. Now, it just hurted her heart to realize how vulnerable she could be without her beloved sibling standing by her side, giving her more strength to counter difficulties.
As things seemed hopeless, a deep voice brought hope onto her chest.
"Hey, leave her alone!"
She turned around and standing between her and those bullies was an Eevee with an azure scarf. Stars were spinning around his body, eager to fly straight at the three and pin them to the ground just as what they did to her.
"Look what we've got here!" The Sneasel mocked sarcastically, "Outsiders don't belong here. Get lost!"
"You know what? What you're doing bugs me!" The Eevee replied, taking steps fowards. His eyes turned fierce as the pressure he was exerting even got into her nerves, forcing the bullies to take more steps backwards. Seizing the chance, the Sneasel grabbed Ran's ear and pulled her up.
"Aren't you gonna play a hero and save her?" He said.
"I don't care about saving her or call myself a hero. It annoys me so stop it or I'll stop you," the Eevee replied.
"Big talk, no action! You're j-"
Just before he could finish his sentence, stars flew straight at his minions, knocking right out the consciousness of the first one. The other two could not make a move when the Eevee had already been above their head, slamming straight down an iron tail. Sneasel turned back, charged a ray of ice beam at Eevee but could only freeze his minion into a solid cube of ice.
"What the..."
Right then, he felt a shadow coming at his back and as he turned around, Eevee thrust his fist right into the stomach, sending the Sneasel flying.
"You little brat... I'll smash you..."
"That's too bad... You've already fainted."
With that said, the Sneasel fell flat on his face, immobilized. Ran stared at the Eevee for a long time before decided to speak up.
"How did you manage to defeat them in one move?" She asked, still shivering from both the fight between them and the scare they had induced on her previously.
"Not that hard if your level is high enough," the Eevee replied without hesitation. However, she could sense a strong irritation forming on every words of his.
"I believe this is yours."
The Eevee gave Ran her strap bag. She immediately held it tightly inside her arms before putting it on her shoulders. After all, it was the gift from her parents on her fifth hatchday celebration. She treasured it more than anything else.
"Thanks..." Ran said mildly.
"Don't thank me. I did not do it for you," the Eevee replied, cold as ice. "It only gets my nerves running to see one of my kind was mistreated badly like that."
Ran folded her ears in half, tears emerging from her eyes. Nonetheless, she quickly wiped those away.
"By the way, what's your... name?"
Just as she wanted to ask about his name, the Eevee had disappeared. A sense of lost filled her soul eventually. Picking up the bag, she headed for her house. Twilight was approaching at the horizon. Dim rays of light scattered here and there along the muddy road after the summer rain. She could not get her mind off his silhoutte. Shaking off the thought, she walked home.
...
"I'm home..."
The wooden door opened slowly, but... there was no reply, only a complete silience devoured the former laughter and cheerful greeting. Collapsing right at the doormat, Ran cried out desperately. Why would Arceus make her go through this? Why can't she have a normal life like the others?
There were times suicidal thoughts ran into her mind. Ironically, she could not do it. She wanted it, but the smile, the joy, the promise that she had crossed her paw with her sister swiftly parted away those tragedies.
"Sis..." The family picture came into view. It had been a long time... Ran trekked her paw across the crystallized frame, and stopped at an image of a beaming Glaceon who was looking straight at her with proud eyes.
She could not deal with the reminiscence of that day. It was too abrupt, too violent, too... devastating. There were only a pair of crimson red eyes that haunted her dreams from dreams, and an evil laugh before strings of blood clouded her vision. Her vision went on and off, her head struggling to think straight.
Closing the door, she leaned against the concrete wall. Then, from nowhere, a soothing melody went with the breeze, bringing harmony into her soul before lying deep down inside her heart. Curiosity got it ways. She followed the sound, and spotted a familiar shadow behind a tree. It was the Eevee who saved her previously.
"Hi. What're you doing here?"
"I come here whenever I'm sad," the Eevee replied, seemingly not noticing her appearance right next to him. It lasted for a second, though, before he retaliated with a bit of annoyance, "Wh-what? You again?"
Ran chuckled slightly. She somehow enjoyed his annoyed face rather than the anger that he had shown earlier. Sitting down right beside him, Ran looked down the grass. Her act did surprise the Eevee a little; yet, he went on playing the melody she had heard.
"You still haven't answer me what your name is," she said timidly.
"What is it to you?" he asked back, and there came silence.
"The name's Rei," was the reply the Eevee gave after a while.
"That's a nice name." Ran smiled, "Did your mom name you?"
"I named myself. My mom wasn't around and never was." Rei punched into the tree, breaking its into half. Ran was both terrified and in someway, felt sad for him.
"Do you have a... family?" Ran could not help herself from asking that question. It was sadness in Rei's eyes that somehow bore the same resemblance with the way she had been looking at the world since her sister's death. She just wanted to confirm it.
Rei answered with a bit of confusion, "No, actually yes. I don't know who are my parents, but I used to have a brother and a sister, before they were eaten... alive, in front of my bear eyes."
"E-eaten?" Ran recoiled with shock.
"A beserked Pokemon broke into the treehouse where we lived," Rei lowered his voice, his eyes becoming more depressed. "It got them. I tried to fight back, but I was too weak back then. I could barely make it out alive, but... they didn't."
"That was awful..."
"That monster took everything away from me." Rei stood up, staring soullessly at the sunset going down at the northen mountain ranges. He suddenly held his arm tightly, gritting his teeth together, "Eversince I found myself in this town, I got pushed around like trash. I get it, I'm an outsider. No one wants me."
His words were filled with unjusticed sufferings. Ran could sense that clearly from the way he turned his back at her, facing the ground. Still, what could she say at this point? She once thought that she was the only Pokemon who went through the death of somebody you loved most. No, it was more precisely to say that her parents abandoned her in the first place...
"Look, sorry for all of this. I just don't have anyone to share this with. Sometimes, I wish someone would know my name and I would have a place to call home," Rei said tiredly.
"I'll be your friend," Ran replied bluntly, sincere smile forming on her face.
"You're joking right. I know you're trying to cheer me u-"
"No, I meant it!" Ran shouted, closing her eyes, "How about we meet here everyday before sunset? We can talk and what the sunset together."
Another smile blossomed on her face again. Rei widened his eyes in disbelief at first, but through the way Ran was speaking to him, she really meant it.
"Thanks..."
"Don't thanks me. We're friends now."
"You're right..."
It went on peacefully like that. The sorrows slowly faded away as they spoke in the light of a glorious sunset. Ran smiled more and so did Rei. It all went on so happily that on the day the letter arrived, everything just... changed.
Disclaimers: I do not own Pokemon or any franchises. They belong to their respectful owners and creators.