A/N: I made it. I finally made it. A fic for my favorite Pokémon pairing!! XD Yep, that's right, AbsolxNinetales. Although I still have no idea what it's called. -.- Anyway, this was written for a contest on another site (You guys know who you are), so I hope that you all read it and enjoy it! ^^

Dark: Hey.

*Gasp* Dark! What are you doing here? You aren't supposed to exist on this site!

Dark: Well, don't blame me. I'm not the one who wrote a shipping fic and forced me to participate. So, technically, I DO exist on this site now.

Ergh…Well, as long as you don't appear in my A/Ns for other fics, it's fine. Care to do the disclaimer?

Dark: Sure. Clover doesn't own Pokemon. I shudder to think of the possibilities if that were the truth…

Oh, just get on with the fic!

Loners

Dark's POV

I was burning. At least, that's what it felt like. My legs, my face…Everything hurt. Why? Why did I hurt so much? No…Don't think. Thinking would lead to consciousness, which would only bring more pain.

"…Right? Are you alright?"

A voice? No…It was an illusion, a mirage. A voice like that wouldn't worry-not about a guy like me, a guy who didn't have a reason to live. And why should I? Life sucked either way. That was the truth.

Not that that understanding didn't stop me from wishing the voice would say more. The first voice that didn't speak in of me in disdain, or hatred. A voice that contained friendship.

The voice, on the other hand, said nothing. Of course it wouldn't. If it was Cresselia, it would never care for me, for I was Darkrai, and they were destined to battle. That was what my life had and always would have been.

I woke to find myself on a leaf bed, which was surprisingly comfortable. Well, it beat sleeping in trees, that was for sure.

I sat up, looking around. I was in a cave, which was dark, though fairly large. It was also light enough to see due to a weird, purple flame floating close to the roof of the cave. A ghost Pokémon, perhaps? Not that they would mess with a Dark Type, of course.

Deciding that the matter wasn't worth investigating, I started to get up - only to collapse painfully back onto the leaves with a low hiss. Ow. Better not to move, at least for now. I turned my head to try to get a better look at my injuries, but then realized that they had been cleanly bandaged-I hadn't noticed before due to the fact that the color of it blended in with my fur. I gave the cloth an experimental sniff — it smelled of Oran Berries.

"You're awake?"

My head snapped back around and squinted at the light. There, standing in the cave entrance, was a Ninetales.

She stepped forward, out of the sunlight, allowing me to see her clearly, and I noticed was that her appearance was very different from what I had heard of other Ninetales. While I had been told that most Ninetales had rich, creamy fur, hers was a flecked grey color, and her chest, paws, and the tips of each of her tails was white. Her crimson red eyes met my own.

"It seems your injuries weren't as bad as I feared. Good." she said.

She approached me, her tails floating mysteriously around her. I edged away nervously, and she stopped, looking at me reproachfully.

"Are you afraid of me as well?" she asked.

I blinked. "No, but…I'm not really used to other Pokemon approaching me. I'm an Absol, so..." I looked away.

She gazed at me, but what I saw in her eyes wasn't sympathy. It was understanding. "Yes…I see. Being forced to live alone…Is something I also have experience in. Is that how you got your injuries?" she asked suddenly.

"I guess you could say that. A group of humans saw me and decided I was too 'dangerous' for their village." My eyes narrowed at the memory. "They called out their Mighteyena and attacked me when my guard was down. If it had been a fair match they wouldn't have stood much of a chance."

"Did you hurt them in any way?"

"No, all I did was stray too close to where they lived. That stupid legend," I growled, "will be the death of my kind." I paused, trying to calm myself. No use getting worked up here. Once the fur on my neck had flattened again, I looked back at her. "Why am I telling this to you, anyway? I don't even know your name."

"Oh, forgive me. Living alone for so long must have deprived me of my manners." said the Ninetales, and bowed her head. "My name is Kaine. Yours?"

I hesitated. I didn't know anything about this Pokemon — not that many did when it came to Ninetales — and giving my name could cause trouble later. But something about Kaine…Maybe it was the aura that came from a Pokemon said to live for a thousand years. Maybe I had injured my head in the battle against those Mighteyena and lost my common sense. Not that it mattered, at this point. I turned to her.

"Dark. My name is Dark."

"Dark…Isn't that a fairly — forgive me — unoriginal name, especially considering your type?" Kaine said, and I saw a hint of a smile on her face. My face grew hot.

"Well, excuse me for being unoriginal, since I'm the one who came up with the name. " I said, resting my head on paws. "And what about you? Kaine doesn't seem like a name most wild Pokemon would have."

I saw Kaine look away, her eyes sad. "That's because I wasn't a wild Pokemon, before."

"You lived with humans?" I asked, surprised. "But I thought Ninetales-"

"Are feared by humans, yes." Kaine said, turning back to me. "I lived with them when I was a Vulpix, and I was supposedly considered rare, because of my appearance. But one day," she looked down, "My human decided that he wished to see me as a Ninetales. He evolved me, and, although my powers grew in strength, it caused most humans to fear me. My appearance didn't help much, either."

"So you were forced out?" I asked.

"Not at first, no. As I said, my powers were strong, and the other humans that lived in the village thought I could be useful in protecting them. My human was a kind one, as well, and he took care of me. He was good of heart."

I scoffed — I couldn't help it. "A human, good of heart? Kind of hard to believe."

"For you, perhaps. Certainly, I don't blame you for your decision; you have good reason for it. Believe it as you will, my human was good to me. But my powers continued to grow, as is the custom of our kind, and the other humans grew fearful. They began to threaten my human, and I decided it would be better to leave. So that's why I live in this cave." She sighed, then walked over to a pile of Oran Berries I hadn't noticed before. "You'll be hungry, I think."

Kaine took one of the Oran Berries in her mouth and brought it over to me. "Eat. It will help you recover."

I eyed the blue berry hungrily, but I held back. "I couldn't. You've already treated my wounds, but taking your food-"

Kaine glared at me. "I helped you because you needed treatment. Now you need food. Eat."

I grudgingly bent down and bit into the berry; it was juicy and sweet. "Thank you."

She smiled. "You're welcome."

There was silence for a while as we sat together as I continued to munch away on the Oran Berry. Eventually I broke the silence by asking the question that had been on my mind, "Why?"

Kaine glanced at me. "What?"

"I mean, why did you tell me about your past? Not that I mind, but…"

"I don't really know. Maybe it's just because I saw you when you were injured, or maybe it's because you were like me, since your kind often live alone. But something about you…" She looked away, looking embarrassed. I felt my own cheeks grow hot again. Maybe…If it was Kaine…

I looked down at the remnants of the Oran Berry between my paws, then said, "I did, too."

Kaine looked at me. "Excuse me?"

"I lived with humans too, once. In that small capsule that some of them carry around."

"You were a Trainer's Pokemon?" Kaine asked, a shocked expression on her face.

I growled. "Yes, and it was the biggest mistake I ever made. My human forced me into battle. I didn't mind it, not at first, but as time passed the battles grew more and more brutal. Both the Pokemon and humans I fought despised me for being what I am, and that caused them to try and fight me even harder, but my human didn't care. Finally, I was injured in a battle against a stronger opponent, and I nearly died. I escaped from the building that they took me to and lived on my own from then on."

I looked away. Recalling those memories wasn't something I liked to do in my spare time. Not like I did anything anyway — I'd focused on surviving most of the time.

For a while, Kaine said nothing, and there was silence again. Then I heard a rustle, and before I could make a move Kaine was beside me, nuzzling my shoulder. I stared at her, shocked, but not just by her actions, but also at myself for liking her actions.

Kaine continued to nuzzle me for a few seconds, then seemed to realize what she was doing and pulled away, and I knew her face was red, this time. "I…I'm sorry. That was…Silly of me, especially when you are so badly injured."

I found myself shaking my head and saying, "No, that's fine. Actually…" I paused, then said, "I liked it. It's weird, but…I enjoy your company, Kaine."

She looked back at me, and smiled. "Really?"

I looked down, my face heating up again. "Yes. If…If it's alright with you…Would you mind if…I stayed here? It's been a long time since I spent time around other Pokemon, so I know it wouldn't be very interesting for you, but-"

Kaine cut me off by nuzzling me again. "Of course I wouldn't mind it. But…I have a favor to ask."

I looked at her, surprised. "Anything."

Kaine lay down next to me, and said, "Would you come with me to my village? To meet my human?"

"I thought you said you left the village." I said uneasily.

"Yes, but I still go back to meet my human sometimes, in secret. I think he'd like you."

I considered it, then said, "Alright. I'll go if I can stay."

"Thank you." We lay there together, and as the sun went down and lit the cave up in a dark shade of red, I felt surprisingly happy.

Thank you for giving me a reason to live…Cresselia.

A/N: Looking over it…Oh, geez, this was so cheesy. And cliché. :/ I also found it was extremely difficult for me to get into the characters, it was really short--it didn't even make 2000 words-- and the beginning was…Well…Dark. –shot for unintended pun-

But well, I hope that the FC members don't mind! (Again, you know who you are) ^^;

Dark: Wow, way to write a really pointless oneshot.

It wasn't pointless! It was shippy! *Pouts* So yeah, I know this oneshot is really bad, but please tell me what you think so I don't write horrible oneshots like this anymore! I thank you for doing so!^^