A/N-Hello again! This is EyeofAmethyst07, back with a new chapter.

Sorry about the wait time, but you guys know: School will eat up your time until you live by the period bell and the alarm clock. There's also the miniscule fact that I'm juggling three chaptered stories now…

Yeah. I need planning skills.

Thank you for those kind people (read: person) who has left a review! Even though I leave a standard "warning" at the end of each of my chapters, that's no reason not to leave a comment! I need all the advice I can get! Please tell me what you think!

Disclaimers in Chapter 1

Now, then. Shall we begin?

Colligate Life: Chapter 3

"Giratina….."

"Wake up…."

"Tick, Tock, Tick, Tock…"

Giratina's eyes snapped open. He was greeted with the sight of a wristwatch swaying over his head. Then Giratina looked at who was holding it, and he groaned.

Kyurem was standing over him, dangling his watch over Giratina's head with a giant grin on his face. Behind him stood Darkrai, who was rolling his eyes. Giratina sat up, and he snatched the watch out of Kyurem's hand. "Give it a rest, will you?" he said. "We need to get going to our next class." Kyurem laughed at this comment, and Darkrai shook his head. "Actually, we don't." he said simply. "Considering how today is Sunday."

Giratina froze. "What?" he said. "I fought Rayquaza on Tuesday!" Darkrai chuckled. "Yes, you did." he said. "But she knocked you out for five days." Giratina drank in what Darkrai had said while he glanced around at the room he was in. The square room was made up of blank white walls, and only a few chairs and operating tables, like the one he was on, dotted the room. "Am I in the hospital?" he asked.

Kyurem laughed again. "No, you're in the campus Recovery room." said the Ice-type. "Rayquaza gave you quite the royal beating." Giratina rolled his eyes as he recalled the fight. "She didn't win." he said simply. "I used Destiny Bond." Kyurem and Darkrai glanced at each other, with widening grins on each of their faces. Giratina's brow furrowed. "What is it?" he asked cautiously. "Did the attack miss?"

Darkrai snorted. "Oh, the attack worked, alright." he said with a tone Giratina couldn't quite place. "But it's really nothing." Giratina raised an eyebrow at his friend's odd tone. "So how did things go for you guys?" Kyurem thumped his chest proudly. "Reshiram and I won our battle by a landslide. Super easy." Darkrai chuckled. "Cresselia and I haven't fought anyone yet." he said.

Kyurem grinned. "Oh, yeah, that reminds me." he said. "Yveltal's making us arrange private training sessions with our partners now. Guess how many hours a week we have to log?" Giratina shook his head, unsure.

"Fourteen hours."

Giratina whistled as best he could from the bed. "That's quite a while. Two hours a day?" Kyurem nodded, then nudged Giratina's chest. The Ice type jerked his head towards Darkrai. "That makes for a lot of alone time, doesn't it?" Giratina smirked as Darkrai punched Kyurem in the back.

"How many times do I need to tell you to shut up about that?" he asked, and Kyurem laughed in response.

"As many as you need to, buddy." said the Ice-type. "You need to step up to the plate and swing, my friend. If you stand there doing nothing, you'll strikeout."

Darkrai scoffed. "You know, I need to find you a love interest so I can annoy you for a change." Kyurem laughed. "I don't think that'll be easy." he said. Giratina groaned, rolling his eyes. "Can you two leave?" he asked weakly. "I need time to think." Kyurem laughed and opened his mouth to comment, but Darkrai grabbed him by the collar of his jacket and dragged him out the door.

The Ghost-type laid his head back against the pillow on the medical bed and sighed. I need to sleep, he thought. The last thing I need right now is more surprises. So of course, the second he closed his eyes, he hears this;

"That's quite the group of friends you've got there."

Giratina sighed before opening his eyes and sitting up to face the speaker. In a small chair in front of him, there sat a girl dressed in a green trench coat. Her green hair hung lazily from her head, and she held an ice pack on her ribs with her right hand.

Giratina raised an eyebrow. "They're friends, Rayquaza." he said. "They have an excuse to be abnormal." Although Rayquaza's deadpan never faltered, her amber eyes reflected light for a second. Giratina readjusted himself on the bed before continuing.

"You are not a friend, however," he said. "Why visit me?" Rayquaza chuckled. "For one, thanks to your Destiny Bond, I'm just as hurt as you are." she said. "And for two, the Professor wants to talk to you once you are feeling well enough. He's waiting outside." Giratina went silent, studying Rayquaza's face. Her amber eyes narrowed in slight suspicion. "Why are you staring at me?" she asked. "The two reasons I gave were perfectly reasonable."

"They were." said Giratina suddenly. "But I'm waiting for you to tell me the third." Rayquaza scoffed. "There's no need for me to voice a reason that doesn't exist." she said evenly. Giratina smirked. "Of course not." he said. Groaning slightly, Giratina sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed. Rayquaza stood up suddenly, her hand still on the ice pack that was pressed against her ribs. "Don't get up." she said quickly.

Giratina cocked his head to the side, giving the female Dragon-type a sideways glance. "Is this concern I hear?" he asked tauntingly. Rayquaza kept her face neutral. When she didn't respond, Giratina rose to his feet, grunting at the pain that throbbed from his ribs at his efforts. He took a step towards the door, then stumbled. As he caught himself on the back post of the bed, he noticed Rayquaza lurching forward slightly. Giratina straightened and raised his eyebrow at his rival's odd behavior. Something clicked in his head in that moment.

"I thought you said you were just as hurt as I was." said the Ghost-type. "So I don't see why I have to stay on a bed for the next week while you can move at will." Rayquaza gave no facial response. "You should know why." she said. "When Destiny Bond is used, the victim of the attack doesn't just succumb to the physical exhaustion of the user. An emotional link is made." Giratina nodded, already aware of how the move worked.

"That still doesn't explain how you were able to recover faster than I did." said Giratina. Rayquaza said nothing in response, simply walking over to the door. Before she opened it, she tilted her head back slightly to leave a parting comment. "I enjoyed our battle, Giratina." she said. Then Rayquaza walked out the door.

Before the steel and glass door had time to shut completely, a hand from outside the room stopped it, and Yveltal walked in. The neatly-dressed professor scanned Giratina's body before smiling slightly.

"Well enough to stand already, I see." he said, and Giratina simply nodded in response. Yveltal, still holding the door with one of his hands, opened it wider. "Care to take a walk with me?"

Giratina put one of his hands on his ribs, and he suddenly wished he could use Rayquaza's ice pack. "Could I ask what this is about?" Yveltal smiled knowingly. "For one, I need to talk to you about your partner choice…or lack, thereof." Giratina chuckled at these words.

"Also, I do need to show you something...I honestly believe it will serve you well." Intrigued, Giratina nodded and followed the professor out the door, wincing a few times as his ribs throbbed painfully. Just before he walked out the door, something shiny caught his eye. Giratina looked over at the seat that Rayquaza had been sitting in. On it were two things; his Griseous Mask and a blue ice pack. A sticky note was on the pack, and written on it in neat handwriting was:

In the quite likely event you get up:

Use this. Don't injure yourself.

–Rayquaza

Giratina slipped the mask over his neck and grabbed the ice pack with his free hand. He could imagine Rayquaza standing in front of him, arms crossed, telling him not injure himself with her deadpan expression. For some odd reason, he found himself smiling slightly at the image. Shaking his head, Giratina followed the Professor out the door.

/-\-/-\

"You knew, didn't you?"

Yveltal glanced at the Ghost-type as they walked across the neatly trimmed grass of the campus. The grass hissed gently in the breeze. "Know what?"

Giratina snorted. "You know what I'm talking about." said the student. "You knew that neither Rayquaza nor myself had partners. Why make us battle each other?"

Yveltal chuckled, but didn't look at his student. "You enjoyed it, did you not?" Giratina winced at these words. That was because of my ribs, he thought. No other reason.

"I must admit that the battle was… more satisfying than others." relented Giratina. "But that is beside the point. Why make us battle each other? What are you trying to prove?"

Yveltal stopped suddenly, and Giratina almost fell on his face trying to stop in line with the professor. He noticed that they'd stopped right in front of the deer-like statue that stood in front of the Battle Hall. Even though it was overcast, the grey stone seemed to contrast sharply against the Hall.

"You are both powerful, Giratina."

The Ghost-type raised an eyebrow at the professor's odd tone. He almost sounded wistful, but that was so out of character for Yveltal that Giratina simply shoved the thought aside.

"Both you and Rayquaza are independent. You need no help from anybody in anything, and if help was offered, you would reject it. You see no need for teamwork when you could simply power through by yourself. Rivalries are not simply born from bad blood, they are born from a challenge to your dominance. You are both immortal, Giratina, and you intend to live forever."

Giratina's eyebrow almost came off his face at hearing these words come from his professor's mouth. Who is this man, really? Giratina asked himself. That is the most apt description of myself that I've ever heard in my life, and from what I've seen of Rayquaza, the same holds true for her.

"What did you want to tell me, Yveltal?" Although Giratina was expecting an angry reaction at using the man's first name, the professor simply smiled with that same wistful expression on his face as before. Looking at the statue forlornly, Yveltal placed a hand on the deer's front leg. He said nothing.

Giratina's ribs throbbed again, and he pressed Rayquaza's ice pack closer to his chest. "Who are you, Yveltal? Really." Yveltal still said nothing, his hand never coming off of the statue. Giratina felt a twinge of something odd, but he quickly shove the thought aside.

"What thing is that a statue of?" asked Giratina suddenly.

"It's not a thing."

Giratina blanched. "What?"

"It's a person." said Yveltal solemnly. Giratina glanced at the statue again. "How can that be a-?"

Yveltal chuckled, cutting off the Ghost-type off. "An alternate form." he said. "And quite a powerful one at that. When I was a student here, I was much like you, Giratina." Yveltal glanced at the student that stood next to him. "I was a powerful loner, without the need of any help. Or anyone."

Giratina said nothing, still shocked by the fact that Yveltal was making what he perceived to be some form of a confession.

"Then I walked into the Battle Hall one night." continued Yveltal. "I was attempting to get some training time to myself. However, when I opened those oak doors, someone was already there." Yveltal sighed as he removed his hand from the base of the statue and thrust it into his pocket. "Her." he said, looking at the statue.

"Her?" asked Giratina.

A small smile graced the front of Yveltal's face. "Xerneas Life." he said strangely, like the name was something sacred. "I ended up training with her for the next three years, neither of us saying more to each other than the occasional 'Nice shot'." Giratina nodded. Sounds like Rayquaza and I.

"That was the worst mistake I ever made."

Giratina blanched yet again. Geez, this guy is one surprise after another.

"Xerneas ended up moving to another district at the beginning of our senior year." continued Yveltal. "After that, I dropped from the Battle program."

Giratina coughed on his last breath. Give me a chance to breathe in between life-changing confessions, alright? "Why?" asked Giratina. "It sounds like you were the top student."

Yveltal chuckled bitterly. "I was. But battling was never the same. Every opponent was too easy, and there was no excitement. Above all, I simply wanted to see Xerneas again." Giratina snorted. "Why?" he asked coldly, ignoring the professor's sad tone. "There are always other strong people that you can battle."

Yveltal turned to face the Ghost-type face to face. The gleam in the Dark-type's eyes made Giratina take an unconscious step back. There was a fire in his eyes, fueled not by rage, but by sadness, desire, and…

"I loved her."

…regret.

Yveltal clenched his fist and pounded the statue's pedestal angrily. "There's only so much that can happen when one is in another's company for three years. I began to love her, Giratina, because she saw the world as I did. The only difference, though…"

Yveltal bowed his head. "She though what you think: There was no need for teamwork. At all. Even to things outside of battle…" Yveltal finally went silent and Giratina tried to ignore the silvery liquid that was making its way down the professor's face. This destroyed him, Giratina realized. But this could never happen to me. It's not possible. I know I don't harbor feelings for Rayquaza. Then that little annoying voice in the back of his head spoke up.

You've only known her for a month, it told him. That leaves 35 months to go before you can be sure.

Giratina prepared to fire back at the voice, but Yveltal placed a hand on the Ghost-type's shoulder, bringing him out of his thoughts. "I'm assigning you to be partners with Rayquaza." said the Dark-type strongly. "Don't do anything you'll regret." Giratina laughed, in spite of himself.

"You think I love the little green snake?" asked Giratina lightly. Yveltal simply straightened his suit in response. "No." he said. The professor then turned on his heel and began marching up the steps of the Hall. Before he closed the oak doors behind him, Giratina heard Yveltal say something.

"Not yet."

/-\-/-\

Kyurem dashed into the Recovery room, throwing the door open. "Giratina, I-." The Ice type stopped short when he looked around the room and realized a miniscule detail:

The room was empty.

I guess the Professor already left with Giratina, he thought. Kyurem looked to a chair that stood next to the door. On it was a yellow sticky note. Kyurem picked it up and read it carefully, noting the fine handwriting. A smirk slowly spread across his face. Kyurem turned around and marched out of the room, the door swinging lightly shut behind him.

It worked, he thought. That's interesting. I wonder how this will play out.

He crumpled up the note and tossed it into a nearby waste bin.

Time for part two.

/-\-/-\

E/N-There's Chapter Three for you! How about Kyurem's smirk, huh? Leave a review and predict what he's planning!

Also, Xerneas was simply added to the story for two reasons: one, to make Yveltal seem human, and two, to effectively slap Giratina in the face. But of course, he just shrugs it off…

There will be a battle scene in the next one, I promise! This was more of an expositional chapter, though.

Favorite, Follow, and Review… AT YOUR OWN RISK :) :) :) (Not really, of course…)

EyeofAmethyst07