Author's note: It was time that I started working on a REAL story. Recently I've been attached to my Dusknoir OC, Nox. So, to satisfy myself, I shall write his story which leads up to the present time. The reason for the title will become more clear near the end of the fic. For now, I hope whoever reads this story will like it. If there are any mistakes or corrections that are required, please let me know! I'd like my writing to be as enjoyable as possible.


The playground of the ghost schoolyard filled up once recess had begun. The dark pitch black skies reigned overhead, only being viewed as beautiful by the very civilians of this land for ghost types. The most noticeable of the ghost children would be the small little group of a litwick, a frillish, and a golett, all playing a game of catch. Various ghost types came to this large school, which would help them grow up to be powerful and frightening ghosts in the future. All of them looked normal... Except for one.

A dark colored duskull sat on the sidelines, watching everyone else have fun, while he pictured what it would be like if he wasn't avoided by others. His grey eye depressed whoever gazed directly into it, since it was devoid of color and emotion. His dark mask also unnerved others, giving off terrible vibes from its awfully negative appearance. Upset and lonely, he floated away to the edge in the back of the playground, hiding by a dead tree so no one would stare at him.

The frillish child looked over once he caught the ball. "Well, at least the weirdo is gone..." He frowned, nervous. His gaze looked to his two friends once again, his expression questioning them. "He's kind of creepy... What do you guys think?" The blue jellyfish asked to the candle and set of armor.

"Well..." The female litwick tilted her head. "He is a ghost like us..." She trailed off, mumbling the rest of what she was going to say nervously. The golett shuddered. "She's right... But... Something about him freaks me out. I don't know what."

The frillish glanced back at the mysterious hiding duskull again, seeing that it was actually staring at them from the shadows once again. "Uhm... I think we should play somewhere else..." He suggested. The other two in his group immediately nodded in response, following the jellyfish as he floated to another end of the playground.

"..." In silence, the duskull sat against the tree, feeling tears start to form in his eye. "What's wrong with me...?" He asked himself, shuddering as he tried to hold the waterworks back. "What did I ever do...? All I want is to be a friend... Even I can't do that right..." He shook his head in shame, still sniveling and bawling to himself as a few other kids stared at him from where they stood. It seemed that his sobbing was loud enough for them to hear. The bell rang, and immediately, as if their lives depended on it, the other kids rushed back inside the school facility. The duskull child didn't budge, taking in the silence. It wouldn't be long until he was noticed.

A cofagrigus floated out of the building, all four of his arms at his sides. Quietly, he scanned the playground until he found a dark lump hiding behind blackened wood. Sighing, he made his way towards the child, unaware that the little tyke was crying previously. The sarcophagus immediately recognized the duskull the minute he laid his scarlet eyes on him.

"Nox, what're you still doing out here? Recess is over." He stated, staring down at the kid. Quivering, the duskull turned, staring up at the counselor. "S-s-s-sorry, Mister Hapu..." Nox fiddled with his arm flaps. "I..." He wiped his eye, almost as if he was napping. "Just needed some time for myself... I-If that's okay..." The school staff member shook himself since he lacked a separate head to shake itself, and he held one of his shadowy hands behind the child to pat his back. "Well, alright. You still have to get inside. Come on." Gently, led Nox back inside for class.


Every class went by awkwardly for the reaper child. Whenever he tried to answer a question, he'd usually be interrupted by another classmate who would answer it instead, just so they didn't have to hear his unplesantly chilling voice. Whenever he spoke, many would cringe or shudder in fear. Usually this would be a good thing, but not at a young age.

What was even worse was that the teachers even seemed irked by his presence. Just remembering the faces other ghosts would give him made the child want to hide away and possibly bawl his eye out. Nothing ever seemed remotely right with him, at least, that's what he figured.

Each class passed by agonizingly slow, to the duskull's dismay. Most of them were supposed to be fun or interesting to a little ghoul, but most activities were a group effort. Nobody ever wanted to work with him. Eventually, he'd be paired with a couple of 'unfortunate' children who couldn't manage to nab a third teammate. The only class that seemed remotely bearable would be 'Ghost Legends', or so to say, stories about famous ghost Pokémon who had good reputations for scaring humans to death. These stories always seemed to calm him down.

Finally, the child's last class arrived, however would not be better than any of the rest. He already became antsy once he floated in through the doorway. Quietly, he took his place on the back of the carpet, so no one would freak out if he tried to sit next to them. Human language was always the slowest class of the day, unfortunately. Nox fidgeted where he sat, paying attention to the teacher. He could hear the clock ticking nearby, further testing his patience and taunting him. The whole time, he remained quiet, and it seemed that he had finally started to zone out. Many minutes had passed rather quickly due to not focusing. Finally, he was noticed.

"Nox?" The driftblim teacher called on the duskull's name. Immediately, he perked, shooting up a bit from his seat. Some of the children jumped or scooted back, afraid if he was going to attack them. Not amused in the slightest, the teacher raised an invisible brow. 'Was he even paying attention...?' The giant balloon thought, puffing up slightly in irritation. Carefully, to be rid of his anger, he inhaled, then slowly let out some air, making sure he wouldn't blow himself back. Nox blinked, looking up nervously, and the students stared at him expectantly.

Clearing his 'throat', the driftblim refocused himself on the little duskull he called on. "Could you please try and read the word written on the board?" He pointed a large, flat arm to the English word written on the board in a bold red essence. Nox nodded timidly, floating up to the front of the room while the others made a path for him so they wouldn't 'catch anything.' Nox squinted his eye slightly, unnerved by what was considered to be a long word for his age.

The word spelled out as 'C-E-M-E-T-E-R-Y.' The duskull shuddered. Taking a small breath and releasing it, he tried to read the word aloud. "K-k-key..." The teacher already looked doubtful. "Key...mee..." Some students started to giggle at his struggling. "Keymee... tear...ee? Keemee-" He immediately felt warmer than he should be, unhappy that everyone else was laughing when they had the same troubles as this before. "Key-mee-tee-ree! O-or something... Like that... N-no..." He shook his head in shame. His teacher placed one of his arms at his small waist and used the other to pat the child's head. Nox stared, a bit worried about how well he pronounced the word. The teacher gestured him to get back to his 'seat.' Nervously, the duskull did so, drifting between the clear row the others had made to avoid being touched by his small cloth arms accidentally. Once again, he sat at the back of the rug, and the others went back to their normal place on the mat.

"Very good, Nox. You were pretty close. The word is pronounced 'ceh-meh-teh-ree.' Now, does anyone know what a cemetery is?" Hands, tendrils, and flaps went up, except for Nox's own. He mumbled to himself, feeling embarrassed. Some of the students grinned, finding it silly that a reaper child didn't know what a cemetery was. The teacher called on the golett from the playground. "Apollo?"

"A cemetery is a graveyard, pretty much. To break it down for others-" Nox cringed, knowing that this bundle of metal was referring to him, "-a place to bury the dead." Quietly, a few of the children giggled once again. Feeling slightly intimidated, Nox covered his eye with one of his cloth flaps.

The teacher nodded in approval. "Good. Very nice way to put it. Someday, maybe some of you ghosts will live in a cemetery! It's a pretty swell place to spook humans, especially at a certain time of the year." A few 'oohs' and 'ahs' escaped from the ghost children's mouths. "What time of the year?" A misdreavus asked excitedly. "Yeah, what time?" A shuppet repeated. The driftblim hushed the class.

"Now, now, that's for another time, and possibly for another class. For now, class is over. I apologize." There was a chorus of 'aww's coming from the entire class except for the duskull in the back. A freakish bell rang, signaling the day was over. "Now, go on home, everyone." All of the students made their way out of the class, except for Nox yet again, who hesitated.

The driftblim sighed. "Nox, you did fine today. Don't be discouraged by the other kids. Go on, I'm pretty sure your family is waiting for you." Slowly, Nox nodded.

"Okay..." He replied quietly.

With that, the little dull duskull was out the door.