Krystal Regi - Regice

Tyro and I exited the house after breakfast. I've been outside the mansion before, but I just don't think school is a good option for me. Still, it's good that Tyro's met a human he wants me to meet.

"She didn't say where to meet, but I assume we meet at the school," Tyro says, his hand touching mine.

I feel myself blush as I say, "I'll bet so. I still think your feelings about her aren't well-placed."

Tyro sighs and says, "If you're right, you can at least say you told me so."

I smile and say, "Oh, I won't rub it in too much."

Tyro messes my hair up slightly as he says, "You lie too much."

"I know," I say, "And I'm proud of it, too."

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A girl is sitting on a bench when we arrive at the school. She seems calm, with her dirty blonde hair tied back with a small ponytail.

"Maybella," Tyro says, waving.

Maybella stands up and says, "Tyro! And his girlfriend!"

Maybella said this last part with just as much warmth as Tyro's name, which causes me to feel somewhat better. She did seem to think of Tyro as a friend.

"So what are we doing today?" Maybella says.

"I was thinking about shopping a bit, watch a movie, maybe get some ice cream," Tyro says, although I notice that he seems a bit agitated.

"Sounds good," I say. I hadn't thought about what we'd do, but it seems as though Tyro has it handled.

"Yeah," Maybella says, "Where do we stop for shopping?"

Tyro shrugs and says, "No idea. You two are girls, why don't you figure it out?"

I roll my eyes and playfully punch Tyro's arm, saying, "You know I'm not exactly a genius in shopping matters, right?"

Tyro laughs. We both knew that we rarely conformed to human stereotypes, but we sometimes did it because we felt like it.

Maybella seems amused, despite our lack of explanation. She merely smiles calmly, but her eyes make me cringe inwardly. Something about her didn't seem right with me.

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The shopping is actually pretty fun. We didn't buy anything, because we didn't want to get weighted down. Maybella did write down a list of stores she'd want to return to, though.

We stop in front of the movie theater and Maybella looks at each of the movies listed.

"Have either of you seen Indigo Eve?" Maybella asks, "I saw a sneak peek of it once, but I didn't get a second opinion yet."

I avert my eyes. Yes, I saw that movie with Kara a while back. It was awful, and I watched two people try swallowing each other's faces after about an hour of sleeping. What a waste of money.

"Oh, that bad?" Maybella says, "Well, there's not much good movies out, so maybe we should continue shopping before we eat."

"Sure," Tyro says, "How about that store across the street?"

Tyro points at a clothing store I went to once. I remember that it was pretty good, with some bangles that I'd've loved to buy.

"Sure," I say, "but let me get a drink first. I know there's a water fountain nearby, so you two can go ahead and I'll be there in a sec, okay?"

"All right," Maybella says, taking Tyro's arm and dragging him. And I said she respected us?

I sigh and begin walking, when I hear a scream.

"Look out!"

From what I saw after turning around, Tyro and Maybella were in the middle of the street, apparently the last two people to be in the street. The stoplight had turned green, and an eighteen-wheeler sped over in their direction.

One moment, Tyro looked shocked, maybe slightly confused. The next moment, he and Maybella were on the other side of the street, Tyro carrying a surprised Maybella.

Tyro sets Maybella on her feet, and I notice that only one person other than us is paying attention: a girl with messily cut black hair.

I shake my head and murmur the two words that I never thought I'd say again.

"Shadow Force."

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The rest of the day went by smoothly enough. We avoided the topic of Tyro randomly using a move to save a girl we just met, and even then, this is his second time using Shadow Force in general. We just kept our mouths shut.

We dropped Maybella off once the sun began to set. She said that she enjoyed the day very much, and would love to join us again.

Only later, at the mansion after dinner, did we discuss it.

"Why was that eighteen-wheeler aiming for you guys?" I say, "You guys were in the middle of the street, and he could've at least seen you!"

"No idea," Tyro says, his eyes showing the obvious chagrin on his mind.

I sigh. I must be getting anxious again. Stupid human hormones or whatever they call it.

"Yet…your Shadow Force was triggered," I say, "Last time…you were captured by the Experiments, remember?"

"Yeah," Tyro says, "I guess it was instinct. Besides, she's just a human."

I smile a small smile as I say, "Yeah…just a human. She's not dangerous to us, nor will she be. She's…just there."

I laugh as I add, "Sorry. I guess with Maybella around, I thought you'd dump me or something."

Tyro rolls his eyes and says, "Do you really think I'd dump you for her?"

"No," I say, but my mind says otherwise. Maybe.

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We didn't tell anyone else about it. We wanted this to remain secret, mainly because we didn't want any of the others to worry.

I lie in bed, staring at the ceiling. I'm remembering each detail that caught my eye. The girl with the messily cut hair keeps coming back to me.

She'd seemed aware of everything. Her face was in a neutral expression at that moment, but her eyes revealed an awareness I hadn't considered from a human, unless you count Maybella.

Thinking about Maybella makes me ponder about her a bit. Ironic that she comes a few months before Tyro's out of the human school for the summer. Heck, it's ironic in the first place, going to the same school as Tyro and, as he'd mentioned, in most of the same classes.

Maybella had only been here three days. I look at the clock on my side table and note duly that she'd've been here four…in only a few hours.

I shake my head and scold myself for thinking like this. Is this how humans act whenever someone else comes into their lives? Good Arceus, I must be jealous.

Still…Maybella did show interest in Tyro. However, she seemed distant, as though she knew bonding with us would give her away…but in what? What does she have to hide from us?

I remember Maybella's face. She'd been wearing a nice pair of earrings, which I noticed twice during our trip. Maybe I should ask her what brand those earrings were, even if they did look like a thousand other pairs.

My last thought before drifting to sleep was merely me wondering if Maybella and the mysterious girl were connected in some way.