Because there isn't enough VoiceMailshipping in the world. (Kellyn/Hajime X Rhythmi)
Chapter One: A Rhythmic Angel
(Kellyn)
First day of Ranger School, nothing to worry about right? That's what I keep telling myself anyways. I passed the initial capture challenge easily, yet I still feel a little nervous. Oh well. I guess that's just a natural reaction. Kind of like a little kid on their first day of school, only I'm seventeen, and going to Ranger School.
Opening the door to my assigned classroom, Ms. April begins to introduce me. Right now she seems nice enough, but earlier was a completely different case. The person who ran the capture test began to joke around, saying something about world domination. Ms. April didn't take too kindly to this, and began to fuss at him. I couldn't help but smile because his reaction to her yelling at him was next to priceless.
Ms. April then leads me to the front of the class, where I introduce myself a bit. I decide to be simple and just state my name, that I moved here from Fiore, and all the basics. The whole time though, I kept scanning the two rows of desks, wondering where she was going to seat me. There's a desk in the back completely empty, but the blonde girl in the front row also has an empty seat at her desk.
I don't mean any offense to her, but I almost hope I don't have to sit by her. To me, she looks like she could be very chatty. Not something I would exactly like on my first day. Not to be stereotypical though. "Why don't you go sit next to…" she pauses to scan the room. Something tells me I'm not going to get the seat I want. "Next to Rhythmi." She said, motioning towards the blonde.
I smile, but it's a silent loss for me. Oh well. Maybe Rhythmi will prove me wrong.
Ms. April is quick to go into a lesson. The lesson is over something I already tested over back in Fiore, so it quickly bores me. I let my blue eyes wonder around the classroom. The guy with spiky, auburn hair next to me also seems very bored. However, my eyes land on Rhythmi. She too looks bored.
I watch as she continues to doodle something on her paper. Her long blonde hair falls from its spot, blocking my view. I decide to look back up at Ms. April again. I at least have to let her think that I am paying attention. When I decide that she won't be suspicious, my eyes wander back towards Rhythmi.
However, she catches me looking at her, or is it I who has caught her staring? Her deep yellow eyes lazily return to her paper. I find it funny that she doesn't seem to be too worried about me catching her staring. I also find it odd that her eyes seem to interest me. I've never seen such a deep yellow before.
When I look back up at Ms. April, she finally seems to have taken notice of how bored everyone seems. She gives us an apathetic smile. "You all really need to calm down now. Seriously." She said sarcastically.
A few of the bored faces turned into slight smiles. It wasn't a great joke, a little on the overused side, but it's better than this I suppose. I decide that it's time to give her a sarcastic remark. "Well, normally I would give a joke like that a low B, but I'm gonna give you an A for effort." I say aloud.
A few snickers fill the air. That went over a little better than I thought. I slightly look over, and I even see Rhythmi giggling a bit. Strange, I call success on this one. Her laugh seems to have a very angelic, pardon the pun, rhythm to it. Eh. It's probably nothing. I do tend to be a bit of a class clown, so making people laugh has always been a victory for me.
"Well, this is a tough crowd, so I guess that's a compliment." Ms. April says with a smile. "I guess since we've already covered this, we can skip this. I'm going to go talk to Mr. Lamont about something, so until then, feel free to talk amongst yourselves." The brunette teacher says before leaving the room. She sure must have a lot of trust in everyone to not go wild.
Suddenly, attention seems to turn on me. I get bombarded with questions, all ones that I already answered. "Geez, do you people even listen?" The voice of Rhythmi asks. Her voice is soft and innocent, like an angel…why am I comparing her to an angel? Weird.
I turn to look at the blonde, noticing that she has turned in her chair to face me. "You're one to talk Rhythmi. Do you even know his name? You weren't even paying any attention when he was talking." The guy with spiky hair challenges.
A smile appears on Rhythmi's lips. "His name is Kellyn Hajime. He is seventeen, moved from Fiore, has a little sister, and has aspired to be a Pokémon Ranger since he was five. Now, who wasn't paying attention, Keith?" She asks.
The guy known as Keith just grumbles something inaudible, and Rhythmi begins to giggle. "Thought so," she commented, moving some her blonde hair away from her eyes.
I can already tell she's not going to be a Ranger. "You're not going for a Ranger position are you?" I ask her. She gives me a questioning look. "What makes you think that?" She asks.
"Well, based on everything I've gathered so far, you're obviously able to multi-task easily, you seem to have a good memory, and something just screams to me: Operator." I explain. She smiles at me. "Right on target." She says.
Everyone continues talking to me, and soon Rhythmi goes back to doodling on her paper. Once I am not longer of much interest, I lean forward on the desk to see if I can see what Rhythmi is drawing. Once again, her hair is blocking most of my view. The bit I do see seem to be just words. Probably song lyrics. Her handwriting seems to be nice though. Granted, don't most girls have nice handwriting?
Finally, lunch period. I thought our classes were never going to end. However, I have decided that I like this school more than my one back in Fiore. I seem to be a little more popular here, but it's not like social status really pertains any interest to me. I'm a new student, so as of right now, I'm completely on the market.
I've got it down to a science. Whenever there is a new student, just about everybody is interested in them. Why? Simple really. They just want you to be on their side. They want to know if you're friend material, and suitable for their friendship needs. Once they've figured you out, and either befriended you, kept you as an acquaintance, or decided you weren't worthy, you're yesterday's news.
While walking aimlessly around the halls, I realize that I have no clue where I'm supposed to be going. I've somehow managed to end up by the library. I guess I can ask someone around here.
Walking inside, I begin to wander through the vast shelves of books. I didn't realize how large the school actually was. I must have been blind to not notice this place.
"Say Rhythmi," a male voice says, loud enough for me to hear. Looking through the gaps in the shelf, I notice Rhythmi talking to some other blonde boy. She's standing with one of her legs crossed behind the other, and she seems very interested in what he has to say.
I guess I can assume that this is her boyfriend? They seem like an odd couple, but who am I to judge?
"Yes, Isaac?" She asked. Huh. Her tone is a lot brighter than earlier. I almost feel…upset by this. Now I'm determined to get her to speak with a bright tone all the time. This Isaac guy can't be the only one who brings out that tone. He just can't.
Grabbing a random book, I quickly turn the corner to interrupt them. "Oh, hey! Could you tell me how I'm supposed to checkout a book? Every school seems to do it differently." I ask, doing my best to appear innocent.
They both go to answer me at the same, but Rhythmi ends up letting Isaac talk. "Just take your book to the main desk, hand the lady your book, show her your student ID, and you're good." He answered.
I thanked him before heading my way back to the front of the library. They resume their conversation, Isaac saying something about a project. Sure. I'll believe that's all he wanted to talk about.
I place the book on the counter, while digging in my pocket for my ID, and while looking back in the direction of Rhythmi and Isaac. It still bothers me to see them talking together. Eh. Aren't I the jealous type? I blame the Almian air.
When I turn back to face the brunette receptionist, I notice her odd look. I hand her my ID, and begin to wonder why she is giving me this look. Please don't tell me that I picked a girls book.
She hands the book back to me, and all of my fears are realized. I just hold the book. "The Daring Book for Girls". I start to laugh. "Well, I could lie to you and say that I'm just getting this for someone, or that I'm just trying to understand girls better, but this is humorous enough as it is." I say, continuing to look over the aqua colored book.
She smiles at me. "At least you're honest." She says. I continue to grin. "This is just what I get for listening in on peoples conversations. Thank you again." I say, walking off with the book. This could provide a few laughs.
But right now, I should keep this out of sight. It could cause a few unpleasant rumors. Stuffing the book in my backpack, I head out of the library.
I notice Rhythmi walking a few paces ahead, so I hurry to catch up with her. "Rhythmi!" I call. The blonde turns around, waiting for me with questioning eyes.
Once I've caught up to her, I give her a smile. "Would you do the honors of escorting me to lunch? Because I have no clue where I'm supposed to be going." I ask, my tone sounding a little too hopeful. "Sure," she calmly answers.
We begin to walk, Rhythmi taking a slight lead. I hate silence, especially the awkward type. I have to fill it. "So, who was that guy you were talking to?" I decide to ask, even though I already knew his name at least.
"Isaac? He's like the smartest guy in the whole school. He's most likely going to be the Valedictorian. Most people tend to think he's a total nerd, but he's actually pretty hilarious. You just have to understand dry humor." She explained, a small smile on her face.
Well, if they aren't dating, I think she certainly likes him. I don't know why, but this makes me…jealous? I swear, my first day in my Almia school and I'm already going insane.
But it's good to know that Rhythmi enjoys dry humor. This could prove useful later on. However, right now, I'm still curious as to if she and Isaac are dating. "Is Isaac your boyfriend?" I ask. She giggles at the question.
Did I say something funny?
"Me and Isaac? Don't be absurd. He's a great guy, but he always talks about how he'll never fall in love, all because of some stupid theory of his." She explained.
Okay. Well, their not together, but something tells me that isn't the whole story. I don't know why, but that just doesn't seem like the whole thing.
Besides, Isaac sounds like he's still in the whole, 'girls have cooties' stage. He'll never fall in love; that's the most ridiculous thing I think I have ever heard! Maybe not right now, but never? I don't believe that it's possible to not fall in love. It may be odd hearing this from a guy, but that's just what I've always been told.
We continue to make light conversation until we reach the cafeteria. Keith and a few others invite us to join them. I accept their offer, but say that I would like to get my food first. Keith joins me in the line, but I notice that Rhythmi stays behind.
Odd.
When I return to the table, I notice Rhythmi sitting away from everyone, staring out the window. I sit on the seat next to her, making her jump a bit. "You look a million miles away." I comment. She gives me a half-smile.
"That's Rhythmi for you. Always has her face buried in a book or her head in the clouds." Keith comments, sitting across from us. "Say what you like, Keith. It's…whatever." She says in a yawn, resting her head on her hand.
The whole lunch hour, she doesn't eat anything. It worries me. When I asked her about it, she only told me that she wasn't feeling well. I call B-S on this one. Oh well. Maybe I'm just overthinking this. Maybe she actually doesn't feel too good. I'll wait and see tomorrow what she does.
The rest of the day drags by slowly, and whenever I listened in to some of the people around me, I always heard them whisper something about 'initiation'.
By the end of the day, well past when all the teachers have left, I realized that I wasn't just hearing things.
"Dare I ask what all of this is about?" I ask, looking at everyone surrounding me. Just about everyone from my grade, and maybe a few of the juniors, seem to be in the dorm's common room. "It's time for initiation for our newest student. Everyone had to do it." Keith says, his arms crossed.
"Okay, what do I have to do?" I ask, my voice brimming with confidence. Keith smirks. "You have to go back to the school and gather the Stylers we hid. We do realize that you still don't completely know your way around the place, so Rhythmi has agreed to be your guide." He explains.
This could be interesting.
The blonde girl steps forward, a grin on her face. "If we're not back by eleven, he's failed." She said, looking at everyone around us. We head out of the dorms, Rhythmi leading the way.
We stop at the corner of the senior's building, scanning the field ahead of us. The school building is just within reach, but getting caught is something we obviously want to avoid. Though I wonder, who are we avoiding? I thought all the teachers left for the night.
Rhythmi suddenly sprints off, leaving me behind. I hurry to follow her, and I cannot help but notice once thing: the way the moon reflects off her hair is really pretty. It just seems to give her a slight glow, and she just looks…pretty.
Okay, that was odd. I still blame this Almian air for my odd thoughts. Different levels of chemicals, and different elevation, it can cause a person to go crazy…right?
Once we got inside the school, the first few Stylers were easy to find. Rhythmi said that I only had one more to find, and that she doubted that I would find it.
"Oh come on, have a little more faith in me Rhythmi." I said in a false begging tone. I watched as she rolled her eyes. "Just hurry up. You've probably got about thirty minutes left, and you better not screw this up." She said.
Wait…why is she so concerned about if I complete this or not? "What happens if I don't complete this in time?" I asked, stopping in the middle of the dark hallway. Rhythmi bumped into me, and quickly jumped away, pretending to dust off her skirt. "You'll end up like me, shunned from everyone." She said bitterly.
What…she didn't seem shunned. I blink my eyes, confused. "What do you mean 'shunned'? You seem to be in, I guess you could call it this, but with the 'popular' crowd." I babble. This just doesn't make sense.
Everyone was talking to Rhythmi today, making jokes and everything…what?
She gives me a dry laugh. "Only because of you. Why do you think Keith and everyone else pick on my whenever they get even the smallest chance? Why do you think Isaac is the only person I really talk to?" She asked, her tone almost sounding disgusted.
"What do you mean I'm the reason?" I ask. None of this is making any sense. This school was more wrapped around popularity than I had assumed. "Everyone is always interested in the new student, and since you were hanging around me, they probably felt obligated to talk to me." She explained.
I could just barely see her cross her arms. "Rhythmi, I don't think that's the case. I do realize that the whole 'new student' title makes me of interest for everyone, but if they didn't want to talk to you, they wouldn't have. They did, so I think you're just overthinking this whole thing." I replied, taking an unintended step closer towards her.
She looks towards the ground. "Just keep looking for the Styler. The sooner you find it, the sooner Keith redeems me." She huffed.
So, Keith is behind her misery. He's just lost all respect from me. What a jerk. If I do find that he is the reason for Rhythmi behaving like this, he and I will have a few problems.
I was about to ask her another question, but my voice is overshadowed by a much louder one. "Who's down there?" Somebody yells, making us both freeze. I think it's that teacher next to our class, Mr. Kincaid.
"Run!" Rhythmi hisses, grabbing my arm. Running past the computer labs, we make a sharp turn down one of the halls. It's a dead end.
I can still hear footsteps down the hall, and being so close to the computer labs, the darkness is less likely to cover us. If we're caught, I doubt the punishment will be light. After all, it's me, a male, sneaking around the school with Rhythmi, a female. This cannot look good by any stretch of the imagination.
Looking around, we try to find somewhere to go. Most of these hallways look like they lead to dead ends. Then it hits me, the library. "Come on!" I whisper, now being the one to grab Rhythmi's arm. She follows me without hesitation, and we soon reach the doors I was looking for. Locked.
Well…isn't this perfect. At least we're completely encased in the shadows now. This gives me one final idea as the person's footsteps draw even closer. I grab Rhythmi once again, but this time, I pull her close to me. I can feel my cheeks burning at our close proximity, but that's something I'll have to think about later.
Pressing against the wall, we try to remain as unnoticed as possible.
My arms are wrapped around her as if I'm trying to protect her from something, and I can't help but like it. I've never actually held anyone this close before, and I must say, it feels nice.
The person appears at the end of the hall, making Rhythmi press herself even closer into me –if it were even possible.
When the footsteps begin to fade away, I know that we're safe. Thank Arceus we avoided that.
We continue to stand like this for a few more seconds. I wish it had lasted just a little longer.
She pulls from my grasp, her tone nervous. "S-sorry about that." She whispered. I told her that it was fine, and also apologized. After waiting a little longer to make sure that the teacher wasn't coming back, we headed back towards the computer labs.
Rhythmi told me not to tell anyone, but she led me to the final Styler. It's good to know that she doesn't want me to be a social outcast, but as a part of my stupid pride, I wish I had found it myself.
We return back to the dorm rooms, just in time. Keith certainly seems surprised that I found them all, but when he decides to congratulate me, I cannot help but feel anger towards him. What Rhythmi told me still echoes.
Heading off in separate directions for our separate dorms, I quickly fall asleep once where I will be sleeping is decided.
My dreams are restless. I keep replaying my 'initiation' over and over. When I finally wake up, I realize that I'm the first awake.
Light just barely filters in through the curtained windows, and the smell of food being cooked wafts through the air. Shifting on my side, the clock on the wall says I have about forty more minutes till I actually have to be awake. There's no way I'm going to lay here for that long.
Once I'm awake, there's no going back to sleep. Getting out of bed, I grab some of my clothes, and leave the room to go change.
In the common room, I bump into Rhythmi and a few other girls. Rhythmi looks so tired, it's pretty adorable. Her hair seems to hold a lot of volume to it, and she just has an overall look of weariness.
She looks up at me with her yellow eyes, glaring. "Comment, and you die." She threatened. I think that threat was cute, so I just have to reply. "What? I was just going to say that you look beautiful this morning." I reply, my tone completely void of any sarcasm.
Her look of anger changes over to confusion, and a small smile tugs at her lips. "W-whatever." She dismisses, continuing her way to the girls bathroom. I hear a few giggles from the girls that were surrounding her, and some whispering too.
Sorry if that comment causes you any trouble, Rhythmi. But I cannot lie.
She does look beautiful, even when she's dead tired…wait….
Why am I constantly thinking like this? Almian air, I swear…
A.N/ Well, this was the first chapter to my newest fiction, 'Shadows of My Heart'.
Kellyn X Rhythmi is probably one of my all-time favorite parings. And, there just doesn't seem to be any of it out there.
Well, I plan to change that! ...Hopefully!
What I plan to do for this story is, not go completely through with the story line, because obviously a lot happens while Rhythmi and Keith are stationed in Fiore till you become a Top Ranger. I do plan to go into a few of those missions, but I also plan to give Rhythmi's perspective on being separated from Kellyn. If I could explain it better, I so would.
But yes, I'm giving this a different feel from the games. Rhythmi, I'm planning for her to have a few issues. A few have already been revealed, but in the next chapter, we'll find out about them a little more. Also, unlike the games, she's a little more serious, and not so...girly. But yes, I have changed her hair style just a little. When I first started playing the games, I didn't realize how poofy her hair was. o.o
Keith, yes, he's a jerk. I don't think I'll keep him like that for long, but who knows?
Kellyn...I feel like I've made him a sissy...I dunno. What was with that girly book? Oh, we haven't seen the last of it. I plan for that to become some comedy relief for the beginning of the story.
Well, thanks for taking the time to read. Comment if you wish, but I won't complain if you don't.
The next chapter will be in Rhythmi's point of view, so until then.
~Victoria.
