No One Special

Chapter 3

LDR: Y'all must think I don't have a life outside of writing for you. Three chapters in less than three days? What is this witchcraft? Yeah, for anyone who doesn't know, this is pretty unusual for me.

Holy crap guys, this has been up for less than 48 hours and I had to close the character submissions because I have so many. To everyone who managed to submit a character in time: You're the best. Really.

Kalama stayed in bed all that morning, moving no more than was necessary to feed herself from the rapidly dwindling pile of snacks. There was a busted looking clock on the wall that she had been assured still worked accurately. So she laid there as she ate and she watched the hands tick ever closer to noon.

It was shortly after eleven that disaster struck.

Her eating had been constant. There was never a period longer than five minutes that she wasn't chewing something. If any more time than that went by, she began to feel as she had back on the streets of Hau'oli City, starving to the point of near death. She knew she wasn't actually hungry, and she'd tried to tough it out, but when the sharp spikes of pain began to drive her to tears, she had decided that enough was enough. Unfortunately, her stomach couldn't keep up. As soon as she'd felt the urge rising, Kalama had clamped her hands over her mouth and fought with the bedsheet to get up and make a dash for the door. She didn't get far before it became impossible to hold back. Dropping her hands away from her mouth, she hugged herself and doubled over, emptying the partially digested contents of her stomach onto the floor. Rockruff watched from the bed, whimpering. At one point, the door slammed open, the sound followed by a male voice for someone to "Go get Nora," before the speaker hurried over to the retching teen and laid a hand on her back.

Once her stomach had finally quit its violent upheaval, Kalama straightened up, trembling from head to toe. "Aw man, that's nasty. Hey, you're shaking. Come on and sit down." She looked at the male, doing a double take as she took in his appearance. Short stature, shoulder length blonde hair, nothing too odd about that. But his skin was even paler than Nora's, and his eyes were a light red color. And in addition to the Team Skull uniform, he was wearing a lot of rings, plus an unfamiliar wooden necklace. He helped her back over to the bed, where she sat down gratefully.

"Thanks. Sorry 'bout the mess..."

"Don't worry about it. Someone'll clean it up." Kalama nodded, looking down as something bumped her leg. Whatever it was, it was covered by a yellow rag with a face scribbled on, a wooden tail sticking out from beneath the rag. Curious, she leaned down, reaching for a corner of the rag. The male grabbed her wrist, stopping her. "Don't you know the legends? Looking under a Mimikyu's cloth will kill you."

She yanked her hand back. "I know the story. Just didn't know it was a Mimikyu. Ain't ever seen one before. Yours?"

"Yeah, she's mine. My best friend. Right, Mimikyu?" The Pokémon responded with a happy sound. "Oh, I'm Akalani. Some people call me Grim, cause I'm into the occult. You can call me whichever. Your name's Kalama, right?"

"Yeah. Uh...c-can I ask about..."

"Why I'm so white? Albinism."

"I was going to say your necklace."

"No you weren't."

"You some kinda psychic?"

"I don't need to be. Everyone asks."

"I still wanna know 'bout your necklace. What's that Pokémon on it?"

"It's Giratina."

"What happened here?" Nora was standing in the doorway, looking between the pile of partially-digested food on the floor, the sea of snack wrappers and bags around the base of the bed, and then finally Kalama herself. "What have you been doing? Eating constantly since breakfast?" Kalama nodded. "You should have stopped once you weren't hungry. Akalani, would you mind cleaning that up?"

"Help a bro out, Mimikyu?" Akalani stood. A shadowy hand emerged from beneath the rag, clutching at it as if Akalani were going to take it off the Pokémon and use it to mop up the mess. He chuckled. "I'm going to get paper towels, don't worry. Come on." The two of them left the room.

Nora closed the door once they were gone, coming to sit on the edge of the bed next to Kalama. The woman reached out to fondle one of Rockruff's ears. "Why didn't you stop when you got full?"

"I tried. But if there ain't something getting chewed up every few minutes, I start feeling like I'm starving again, no matter how much I ate. I tried to ignore it, honest, but it hurt so bad. Sorry..."

Nora slung an arm around the teen's shoulders. "It might take you a while to get over your experience. But we can't have you throwing up every few hours because you're eating too much." She smiled. "But I think I have an idea. You don't need to actually eat something, do you? Just chew?"

"Far as I can tell."

"I'll send somebody to get you a few packs of gum. Will that work?"

"Gum? Maybe. Guess we can try."

Akalani chose that moment to return. "You want gum? I got a pack on me. I can spare a piece." He set the roll of paper towels he was carrying onto the floor, pulled a pack of mint gum out of his pocket, and tossed it towards the two females. Nora reached out to catch it, pulling out a piece and handing it to Kalama. The teen muttered her thanks and stuck it in her mouth. Nora threw the pack back to Akalani, who snatched it out of the air and put it back in his pocket. Then he turned to Mimikyu, who had grabbed a wad of paper towels and was using them to poke at the edge of the mess on the floor. "Let me help you out." He grabbed a wad of his own and squatted down.

"I can help."

"Bed," Nora said firmly, laying a firm hand on Kalama's shoulder and pushing lightly. Sighing, Kalama changed her position from sitting on the edge of the bed to laying down on it. Rockruff came over to curl up against her side. "Is the gum working out for you?"

"So far. But it ain't been long enough to tell. Do I still get a tour this afternoon?"

Nora shook her head as she knelt down to help Akalani clean up. "No. I think you need to keep resting."

"But Nora! It's family movie night! She can't come? I'll carry her if she can't walk," Akalani protested. "We're even watching The Pyroar King!"

"I ain't ever seen The Pyroar King before. I wanna watch it," Kalama said.

Nora put her hands on her hips, thinking it over. "We'll see how you're feeling after dinner, alright?"

"Alright." Kalama sat up, grabbing the pillow and propping it up against the wall, then leaned back against it. "Lemme guess. You want me to sit around and do nothing some more."

"You're recovering from a near death experience, Kalama. We don't have anyone with real medical experience here, so we have be very careful when someone is recovering from an injury or, in your case, from a near death experience. No one's really sure what to do for you except to have you rest, so you're going to rest until you're strong enough to walk out of this house without any help," Nora replied.

There was a knock on the door, a male voice calling, "Is Grim in there?"

"Yeah, I'm here," Akalani called back. "That you, Aster?"

"Yeah. It's my turn to stand guard. Can I open the door? Are you and the new girl decent?"

Kalama's face flushed, while Akalani spluttered something incoherently. Looking like she was holding back laughter, Nora opened the door. "That's not why he's in here, Star, and shame on you for jumping to that conclusion."

"Hey, all I heard was new girl was kinda hot. And you told us we're supposed to stand guard outside the room. What else was supposed to think? I mean, I'm not interested but who knows about Grim," teased the male standing in the doorway. If Kalama had to guess, she'd say he was about the same age as Luka. Like the others, he wore a uniform, with the bandana around his neck, but his looked a little different. Despite the climate in Alola, he wore pants instead of shorts, as well as a black jacket with white lining. Its left sleeve hung by his side, empty, and on his right hand he wore a fingerless black glove. He also didn't have a hat on, leaving his wavy dark purple hair hanging free. His eyes were red, like Akalani's, but nowhere near as pale.

"Asterios," the albino male whispered, leaning closer to Kalama. "But every calls him Aster or Star. Don't ask about his missing arm. It upsets him." He straightened up, holding a wad of dirty paper towels by a clean corner. Mimikyu did the same with her own wad, and Nora reached down to grab hers. "Nice meeting you, Kalama. Even if you were puking while it happened." He grinned.

Kalama grimaced, but soon smiled back. "Yeah, same." She watched Akalani leave the room, Aster stepping out as well and closing the door. She looked at Nora. "Everyone I met so far seems so normal."

That comment drew a laugh from Nora. "Of course they're normal. What were you expecting? People covered head to toe in tattoos and piercings, smashing things to bits with baseball bats?"

Kalama felt her cheeks flush for a second time. That was exactly what she had imagined. Even after meeting Nora. From the other side of the closed door, she should hear Aster cracking up. "W-Well," she stammered, "I kinda expected them to be more...I dunno, edgy? I mean– I just–" Embarrassed, she decided to just stop talking. Though her mouth didn't get the memo as quickly as she hoped. "They're all lots nicer than I thought too."

"You've only met a small handful, Kalama. The less nice members are being kept away for now. Unfortunately, I doubt they would be trying to bother you right now anyway. Not with Gladion in town. Poor boy," she sighed.

"What d'you mean? Who's Gladion?"

"Well, usually when members of Team Skull are being unpleasant towards other members of Team Skull, Gladion is the one being bothered. We've tried our best to put a stop to it, but some people refuse to quit. Guzma isn't willing to kick anybody out just because they're being an asshole to one person. Of course, Gladion's attitude doesn't help matters. He's a bit of a loner. He hasn't tried to make any friends. Generally, everyone in Team Skull treats each other well. But like a true family...we have our exceptions." Nora headed for the door. "The gum seems to be working. I'll make sure I bring a whole pack for you with your lunch. Remember to stay in bed. I'll be back soon." She left, and Kalama was alone again with nothing to do but pet Rockruff.

Lunch had been a grilled cheese sandwich and some soup. Then the afternoon had been more laying in bed and resting, chewing gum to keep herself from overstuffing on snacks. Now it was dinner time, and Nora hadn't come alone. "Kalama, this is Wolfgang. Wolf for short," Nora said as she set the same lid-tray that breakfast and lunch had been delivered on down on the teen's lap. This time, it held a bowl of pasta, with a smaller side bowl of salad. But Kalama wasn't looking at the food. She was staring at Wolf.

Over six feet tall, with an athletic build and a fair amount of muscle, those features combined with the scar across his face that was probably the result of a Pokémon's claws to give him a very intimidating appearance. There were more scars on his forearms, visible against his slightly tanned skin. Somewhat shaggy black hair hung to his shoulder, and unsettling dark eyes met Kalama's yellow ones. He smiled politely, though looked away as if disinterested. "Hello, Kalama."

"Um...hi."

"Wolf was the one outside your door. I asked him to come in with me, in case you need help getting around after you eat."

"Gonna take me to the movie night thing?" Kalama asked excitedly, grabbing the fork beside the bowls, spitting her gum out into its empty wrapper, and digging into the salad first.

"Eat your dinner and we'll see," Nora laughed.

"M'kay," Kalama replied, scarfing down her food as if it were the last meal she'd ever eat, ignoring the older female's warning to slow down. It was only a few minutes until she set the lid-tray aside, pulled away the bedsheet to free her legs, and swung herself around to plant her feet on the floor. "I'm done. Eating and lying around." She grabbed her pack of gum, unwrapped a stick, and stuck it in her mouth, beginning to chew.

"Let's make sure you can stand up first," Nora cautioned. "Take it slow, Kalama."

"If you feel like you're going to fall, steady yourself against me," Wolf offered, stepping closer. He still wasn't looking her way when he spoke though.

"I got this." Kalama stood up, going slow like Nora had told her to. She took a step. Then another one. And a third. "I'm fine! See?" Moving more confidently, she headed for the door. Rockruff followed, tail wagging. Both Trainer and Pokémon were clearly excited about being able to get out of the room and move around. "Which way?"

"Follow me. Wolf will be behind you, just in case you fall."

Nora took the lead, Kalama and Rockruff going after, With Wolf at the rear. Whatever house they were in (along the way, Nora explained that most of the Grunts called it either Shady House or just the Manor) was pretty big. Turning corner after corner, moving through numerous different hallways, Kalama was well and truly lost by the time they arrived in the rec room. It wasn't much. Along one wall was a bar, and set up around the room were a few small tables. There were also a handful of tables for shooting billiards or playing foosball, and some old, dinged up but still working pinball machines. A TV hung on a wall near the bar. A crowd had already gathered, and she glanced back at Wolf to see a grimace on his face. Not a people person then. "I'm going to leave. If you need help getting back, ask someone to come find me." He turned on his heel and left.

Kalama looked at Nora uncertainly. Nora smiled at her. "Go mingle. Meet some of the other members. Make some friends," she encouraged before turning towards the bar, where the adult members of the gang were gathered. There didn't seem to be many.

Picking up Rockruff, she looked around the room. A pale red pair of eyes caught her gaze. Akalani smiled and waved her over. She smiled back and headed over to sit with him and his Mimikyu. A few seconds later, Aster plonked himself down on her other side. "Hey Kalama. Hey Grim."

"Hi Aster. Nice to see you could make it, Kalama."

Kalama idly tickled Rockruff's ruff. "Hi Akalani. Hi Aster."

"Alright you little shits, quiet down!" The noise in the room quickly subsided, all eyes turning towards the wall with the TV on it, where Guzma was standing. "We're watching The Pyroar King tonight. Been around twenty years, so hooray for it."

"Makes you feel old, doesn't it Boss?" someone in the crowd snarked.

"Shut up and watch the movie, JD," he shot back, heading for the bar. "Oh yeah, any of y'all start sweating through your eyes, tissues are in the back. Use them! Someone turn off the lights."

A Grunt jumped up to flip the switch as the TV was turned on and the movie began.

"Can't believe I actually had to get some tissues when Mufasa died," Kalama muttered, leaning against Aster for support. He was showing her the way back to her room.

"I know, right? Scar sucks."

"Yeah. Felt bad for those three Mightyena though. They just wanted food. I know what that's like."

"You got a point. Here's your room."

"Thanks Aster. I'm good now." He nodded, waving goodbye as he headed off down the hallway. Kalama opened the door, Rockruff following her into the room. Having nothing to wear besides her uniform, she got into bed as she was, rolled over onto her side, and promptly fell asleep.

LDR: Guys. Lion King's twentieth anniversary. I had to do something! And then I remembered this cute comic I found online where Plumeria was trying to convince Guzma to attend a movie night that the Grunts has planned... Well it was perfect. Also, I chose Mightyena for the hyenas because Mightyena was the most hyena-like Pokemon I could think of. If anyone has a better suggestion, you should let me know.

So we officially met Wolf this chapter (his creator was mentioned last chapter for anyone who, for some reason, missed that) but now we also have Akalani/Grim and Aster. Akalani belongs to AZW330 and Aster was made by PainX65.

JD, the one with the tiny cameo near the end, was made by Amelia Earhart5 and might or might not make a larger appearance next chapter.

Okay, I think that's it for now. Hope you enjoyed. As always, feel free to drop a review. Oh, and for anyone who submitted a character, if I ever do something with them that feels wildly uncharacteristic, just send me a PM and I can edit that.

LDR out!