Author's Comment: Fast update, but I already had this one pre-written, so yeah! :) Thank you, Toxic-Cyanide and beanboy21, for being the first to fav and/or alert anything I do and for giving this story some amount of your time! It really lifted up my confidence! And of course, thanks to all my other readers who actually went passed the first chapter!
Chapter 2: Librarians and Mailmen
"Okay, so trying to kill it didn't exactly go as planned. I would've done it, but something weird happened. I saw a hole in the zombie's back, and... I can't really describe it. It's just a hole, but the black mist comes out of it and when that mist touched me, it was freezing cold. Just take my word for it that it wasn't particularly pleasant. So sneaking up on it won't work and a head-on attack is too risky.
Maybe I should learn a bit more on zombies. Maybe there's a better way to get rid of it without too much risk to myself. Death by bug shell is not the way I wanna go. There's a library nearby. Maybe I can do some research. Heh, research... That makes me sound like a nerd. But it's my best chance to learn about the enemy.
Now the trick is to get away from it long enough to actually DO that research..."
Closing his journal, Sokudo cautiously flies out his room, keeping an eye out for the zombie. It is nowhere in sight and he lands on the floor, not wanting the sound of his wings to give away the fact that he's sneaking off. He hates being this scared in his own home, but he is completely helpless to stop it. At least for now.
Clumsily, he walks down the hall, finding that terrestrial movement is far more difficult as a Ninjask. But it'll have to do as he slinks silently towards the front door. Reaching for the knob, he freezes as a chill went up his back. Giving a soft whimper, he turns his head to see the zombie staring at him from across the room.
Clearing his throat in a failed attempt to swallow his fear, he speaks softly. "I'm... I'm gonna be gone for a few minutes... Uh... Stay."
Without hesitation, he throws open the door and flies out as fast as his wings could carry him. The zombie merely floats silently before moving slowly towards the door.
Just what is that Ninjask up to?
A big pile of books thuds heavily on top the checkout desk, earning a blink from the Gardevoir librarian.
"There's no limit to how many of these things I can take, right?" Sokudo mutters, glancing about nervously as if expecting the zombie to appear out of nowhere. That thing always insists on following him everywhere he went and he has no reason to believe that now is gonna be any different.
Looking back and forth between the bug and the books, the librarian clears her throat a bit. "Well, you're only allowed five, so-"
"Look, lady," the Ninjask starts, a note of fear showing even within his irritation. "My job is working as part of the Rogues Guild, so if you're not gonna check these out the legal way, I'm just gonna end up stealing them and you'll never be able to catch me." He shrugs. "The choice is yours, 'cause either one works for me."
At this, the Psychic-type sighs before taking the first of the books. Immediately, she notices a trend in all these books and she glances again at the Ninjask, noting how he is anxiously scanning the place in a rather paranoid fashion.
She couldn't stop a smile growing on her face. "It's not a zombie."
"Huh?" Sokudo grunts as he looks back at her in confusion.
"I'm assuming you only just evolved, right?" she asks, earning a hesitant nod from the bug. A soft laugh comes from her mouth before she carries on. "That bug shell following you isn't a zombie."
"It isn't?" Sokudo chirps in surprise.
"No, it's a ghost."
"Oh, well, that makes everything so much better!" Sokudo hisses sarcastically, crossing his arms.
"I mean a Ghost-type. It's a Shedinja, a Pokemon like the rest of us. It's perfectly natural and nothing to be afraid of."
"Nothing to be afraid of?! That thing is creepy as all hell! I need to get rid of it, so anything you have on that zombie-ghost freak, I need, right now! So hand it over, bitch!" he demands, tapping a claw on the desk as emphasis. Shaking her head at his rude behavior, she opens a file cabinet and rummages through the papers.
Pulling a small packet out, she hands it to him. "This has all the general information on Shedinja. I won't guarantee it will help you 'get rid of it', but it's the only thing we have."
Sokudo eagerly snatches the papers, looking them over before glancing at the file cabinet. "You have every Pokemon in that thing?"
"Yup."
"Including my species?"
"Mm-hm."
"What does it say about me?"
"Only how annoying your kind is, and that hearing your voice for more than thirty minutes will give me a headache. So if you could be so kind as to leave, that would be appreciated." the Gardevoir states calmly as retaliation for the 'bitch' comment earlier.
Snorting with disdain, Sokudo begins to turn before unexpectedly snatching a book and taking off out the door.
"HEY! THIEF!"
Sokudo snickers as he begins heading home, looking over the book he stole before throwing it over his shoulder with no further interest. He got what he needed and he can't wait to get down to business. Sure it means being stuck in the house with that thing again, but that is a small price to pay for finally getting rid of it.
He is about at the halfway point when he notices something in his flight path. His eyes widening, he gives an unexpected yell and forces his wings to come to a halt as a familiar brown creature floats before him. Hovering in terror, he knew the zombie, -no!-, Shedinja has indeed been following him with great intent. Now that it found him, it just stares and he gulps, already shaking heavily.
"I'mheadinghomenow! Bye!" He dashes around it, urging his wings to careen him headlong back towards his house at full speed. Followed slowly by the silent husk...
"I hate libraries...
Anyway, I just got back home and I've been reading this stupid little packet that bitch gave me. Apparently, the zombie isn't a zombie and is a Shedinja. She says it's natural, but I call bullshit. That thing is too creepy to be any kind of natural!
For example, that weird feeling I wrote about in my last passage? Turns out, it was trying to steal my soul! 8( That thing would've killed me if it hadn't turned back around! So not only is it too scary to have around, but it's way too dangerous! What if I accidently look into that hole again?!
But there is some hopeful news for once. Since this thing's a Pokemon, that means I might be able to reason with it. Maybe I should try to talk to it and convince it to leave my house and harass somebody else. The paper says that Shedinja are pretty smart, I guess, so"
He stops for a second as the front door knocks and he quickly tries to finish his passage so he could answer it.
"talking sense into it shouldn't be too difficul"
A piercing scream rings through the air and the Ninjask jumps. Against his better judgement, he flies out his room to the front door, only to freeze in pure and utter horror. The Raticate mailman is staring at the Shedinja's back, the black mist engulfing him almost completely.
Within seconds, the rodent abruptly drops dead as the mist retracts completely into the husk's back. The Shedinja purrs as a shudder passes through its body and the mist reappears to trail after it as it resumed its casual explorations of the living room as if nothing happened.
Witnessing this, Sokudo barely manages to gather his wits enough to zoom back into his room. Taking his pen, he frantically scribbles all over the page to cross out his in-progress entry and tosses the pen aside. Grabbing a red marker, he writes in some new words over it.
"OMG IT JUST KILLED THE MAILMAN! AND IT WAS PURRING! IT'S GONNA KILL ME! IT'S A MONSTER! WE'RE ALL GONNA DIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEE!"
With another whimper, his head falls onto his desk, his face buried in his journal. And to think, he plans to talk to this thing! How he hopes it won't end with him sharing that rat's fate...
He has to do it, for his own sanity and peace of mind. It is nightfall and his now diurnal habits is beginning to kick in again. He hasn't gotten any amount of sleep ever since he evolved and it is now starting to have an effect. But he doesn't want to sleep, not with that thing floating around. Even if it isn't going to hurt him, it's still a disturbing thought when he imagines that thing watching him all through the night.
A shudder courses through his body at that thought and it takes every bit of his strength to head for the living room.
There it is, sorting through his stuff with its black energy. Clearing his throat to catch its attention, he carefully flies a bit closer before halting a couple yards away, instinctively wanting to keep his distance. It is staring at him silently, almost expectantly, before beginning to advance on him. Immediately, he backs up right into a wall and whimpers as the Shedinja begins cuddling against him again. Its hollow purrs are already starting to rise from within its body.
Trying his very hardest not to utterly panic, Sokudo quickly flies up over the creature to avoid its snuggling before facing it again, quickly speaking his words before his fear-filled mind forgets.
"Hey...uh..." His voice snags a bit and he gives an awkward cough. "I n-need to talk to you... about something..." The Shedinja is once again motionless and silent. He takes this as a cue to carry on. "Look... Uh... Y... How do I say this...? You're creepy as fuck, okay? And I would like it a lot... if you can get your ass out of my house..."
Again, the creature is silent, although he did notice that more black mist than usual is beginning to seep from its back. He didn't know what that meant, or if it even meant anything at all, so he continues with as firm a voice as his terror would allow.
"Seriously, um... there's lots of other Pokemon y-you can bother... And a whole world for you to explore... So... um... yeah, get out."
Again nothing but more black mist. The Shedinja's gaze is unfaltering and it speaks not a single word in response. But its position is clear from its lack of compliance and Sokudo finally breaks under its unnerving stare.
"Nevermind! You can stay as long as you want! Just stop staring at me!" Without further ado, he retreats back into his room.
A soft growl finally emerges from the husk's throat...
