Torn chapter 3: Pack

Our hero is allowed to catch a breath, as his combusken partner persuaded him to join her in the ferris wheel on the park they were at. Somewhere in the shadows, a man stood, patiently waiting for our hero & his partner...

I looked at the line to the ferris wheel & sighed contently, seeing as trainers were mounting the wheel along with their pokemon. Soon, it was our turn, so I helped Mia to get on our spot & then the operator closed the entry hatch. After a few seconds, the wheel started getting higher off the ground.

"Riley, look!" Said Mia, pointing outside the window. I saw it. The beauty of the world. The same beauty I had sworn by, vowing to preserve it, by blood if necessary...

"It's very... beautiful." I said, sighing, expecting something to go very wrong. I've always felt comfortable expecting everything to go sideways in the most unexpected of ways. But now... Is having a partner making me regain my fear? I never thought I'd be as afraid as I am right now, not wanting anything bad or otherwise fucked up happening to my partner...

"Riley, are you ok? You're frowning. Did I say something wrong?" Asked Mia, snapping me out of my famous trance.

"Everything's fine, it's just... Can you promise me to keep this a secret?" I asked, making Mia feel slightly uncomfortable, for various reasons...

"Uh... Sure... What did you want to say?" She asked, curious as to my intentions.

"I... I've been thinking... About us... You're my partner, same as I am your partner. Recently, I've had a few resurging emotions that I can't explain..." I said, with a visible blush on my face.

"Oh!" Said Mia, hiding her own furious blush...

"I'm sorry... This most be so embarassing." I said, backing up slightly to my side of the ride, when someting unexpected happened. I felt the ride's mechanism stop, with us at the highest point. The irony of it is, the instant jolt made Mia lose her balance, as she was standing up when the ride abruptly stopped. causing her to tumble strainght into me, causing us both to fall on the floor of the ride.

Time seemed to stop entirely, as I saw her, the same way that she saw me. The sun only seemed to intensify her colors, which shone unlike any other jewel... I had fallen in love with my partner... again...

Mia's pov

I landed on him, I could've sworn it was by mistake. I would've gotten off him, but he was... staring at me. At first I thought he was in another trance, then, I started staring, right into those golden eyes of his. It was like staring at two yellow precious stones, each one an entirely different entity, yet only becoming whole with one another. I took my right wing & stretched it out to touch his hair, when he stopped me with his hand...

Back to Riley's pov

I saw her reaching for my hair, but I stopped her with my hand. I almost regretted doing so, knowing as her wing was still unhealed. I thought I was insane when I saw my left hand glowing a light shade of white-blue. Before I knew what happened, Mia's wing was completely healed, even her splint was gone.

"Your wing..." I said, which made Mia look at her right wing, then back at me.

"Riley, I... I think I..." Mia was at a loss of words, blushing & inching ever so closely to my face. I stopped her mid-thought, by planting my lips on her beak, to which her pupils shrinked, then she closed her eyes. I did too, enjoying what felt like an eternity. I suddenly felt the ride begin once more, to which I cursed mentally.

"Fun's over." I said after retreating from our embrace & sitting on the bench. Mia sat next to me & extended her left claw, to which I responded by holding it with my right hand & we both looked at each other, smiled, then stared at the sunset, as our ride slowly stopped on the ground. I removed my hand from her claw.

"Is something wrong?" She asked, sounding a little disapointed.

"Pokemon & human relations are... very bad... at least here in Kanto. I'll explain later, for now, I need you to look happy, but just normal happy ok?" I said, then she nodded.

"Did you enjoy the ride, sir?" Said the operator.

"I've had better. But the view was nice." I said, with a slightly blank expression.

"We hope you'll come again." He said, waving goodbye as we did so.

I looked at my watch (6:42 pm) & stretched, feeling today's events starting to weigh me down.

"What now?" Asked Mia.

"The pokemon center's nearby. They've got a few rental rooms, very cheap, I might add." I said, then Mia & I headed to the center. When we got there, the reception area was empty, save for a man reading a news print. I sat on the chair next to him, then Mia sat next to me on the floor.

"You wanna rest in your ball for a while?" I asked Mia, to which she nodded silently. I unsheathed the aforementioned object & withdrew Mia, leaving only me & the man at the area.

"Pssst." I heard, then looked at the man, who didn't take his eyes off the news print. He, however, set down a pokedex on the table in front of us & continued to read the news.

"What's this?" I said, getting a 'shh' as a response, then the man folded up his paper & left without a word.

I picked up the pokedex & saw that it was registered to me & already had a few entries on it, followed by three poke-ID's:
1: Sycamore (Important)
2: Service & assisstance
3: (Unknown recipient)

I then pressed '1' & waited for the tone to end.

"Hello?" Said a male voice.

"This is Sycamore, correct?" I asked.

"Indeed. I went through an awful lot of trouble to find you. One of my assisstants gave you the pokedex, which means we can begin." Said the voice, now me knowing that it was a man named Sycamore.

"Begin what?" I asked, dreading the answer.

"Your journey as a trainer, of course. My team's been observing you for some time. I must say: a trainer that has no need for pokemon to defend them, that's something unusual..." Said Sycamore.

"Where do I begin?" I asked.

"You already have. Your starter is a combusken. You'll need more pokemon to be able to challenge any arena champions. I've already sent a package to you. You'll be traveling to Hoenn, from where you'll take a fairie to the Alola region. I'll be waiting by the docks. You have two weeks to get there. I'll exlplain more & make it worth your while when & if you get there." He said.

"Sure... Count on me to be there... Bu it better be worth my time." I said, making my point clear.

"Don't worry... I know how you mercenary types are." He said, hanging up.

'If he knows I'm a merc, I wonder who else knows.' I thought, heading to the reception desk.

"Hello, how may I help a trainer in need?" Said the nurse, bowing to me, to which I responded by bowing as well.

"My combusken's wing is better, but I want you to scan her for any other injuries, just in case." I said, then gave her my luxury ball, which she took & placed on a scanning device. The device took four seconds & responded with a 'ding'.

"No injuries. Are you here to stay the night?" She asked, noticing the bags under my eyes.

"Yes." I said, then gave her the expected fee of 50 pokedollars.

"Thank you. We hope you'll enjoy your stay." She said.

"Chansey-chan!" Said the chansey behind her.

I think I will. Thanks for the tip." I said to the chansey.

[He understood me?] Said the chansey.

"Hmm. That's a very rare thing to see in a trainer." Said the nurse, then being distracted by a man with an injured starly cradled on his arms. The man had on a black trench coat with red accents. He was being followed by a lucario & a chimchar.

'What's that?' I thought, sensing something... strange, in the air. Like, there was someone or something that was projecting very strong aura. I took a quick glance at the desk, to find a man in his early thirties perhaps, with an injured starly he placed on the desk. I also noticed his lucario & chimchar partners.

'A well versed trainer.' I said, noticing the blade he was carrying, then gulping slightly. The blade was a Murasama... What was a hero from the 100 year war doing around these parts? Unless he stole the blade... That, or it was an heirloom. I took the latter option, seeing as the designs on the blade's sheathe were mostly faded, the result of aging. I then walked silently to the room I'd rented & was met with an unpleasant surprise. There was only one bed, but next to it, there was a fairly large couch. Opposite those items, was a small coffee table with a book on it. The walls had small lights. Next to the table was a box-tv, with a few antennae sticking out. Next to that was a door. I opened it & saw the shower, with a small toilet next to it & nothing more. The shower had a new bar of soap, which was frankly a relief.

"Alright. Time for bed." I said, releasing Mia from the luxury ball. She yawned slightly & looked at me.

"Should we not bathe first?" She said, which made me blush slightly , remembering the events of 'last time'.

"Uh... Yeah, sure." I said, then led her to the shower. I turned on the knobs for a 'slightly colder than before' water & Mia got in the shower. I lathered the soap on my hands & started lathering Mia on her head, then I slowly made my way down.

'Head, done. Next, the shoulders... Done. Wings... Done. Chest & upper back... Done. Waist & lower back... Done.' I was using my thoughts to distract myself. Mia didn't mind at all that I wasn't humming my tune. In fact, she was standing completely still with her eyes closed, enjoying every second of her wash. I reahced a little lower & began lathering her thighs. She moaned lightly, which caught me off guard like a sudden explosion from under my feet. I dared not freeze, so I kept going & finished lathering up her thighs & talons. Once I was done applying the soap, I sat down on the toilet & watched her rinse herself off. I couldn't help but smile & blush.

"See something you like?" She asked, making me literally snap my head the other way.

"I uh... yes.. Fuck, I mean... uh, maybe... Shit, no, I mean... dammit." I said, realizing speaking was only making things worse for me, so I stayed quiet.

Mia chuckled & then gave me a towel. I got up from the toilet & dried her off, making extra sure that I avoided narrowly any areas that would get me a noose & a swift stump. I finished drying her feathers, then kissed her forehead instinctively, which mad both Mia & me blush profusely.

"Sorry..." I said, then was greeted with a jumping hug & a peck to my lips. Mia got off & landed, then spoke.

"It's ok... Good night." She said, then headed to the bed & got on it, falling asleep shortly after.

'This is all feeling too familiar. Dammit, if we weren't in Kanto... No, I've got to be strong. I've never had problems dealing with women... or female pokemon... What's changed? I mean, sure, Mia's headstrong, trusting, humble, cute, noble... Oh for fuck's sake, I'm not complimenting her, I'm PRAISING her. Shit, this is not good... Not fucking good in the slightest... I'm not against this type of relationship, but, not here... I can't... I won't let this happen again.' My thoughts swirled, causing me to look at the tattoo of an umbreon on my left wrist. I couldn't hold back, so I shed three tears on the tattoo, then I took off my clothes/weapons & stepped in the shower. I noticed my injuries were also healed, which was odd. The injury on my right arm was comepletely gone, without a trace. The scars on my body were still present... I don't get it... Why is this happening?

I remembered my left hand was glowing, then I remembered two teachings I recieved as a merc:

"When a certain level of trust is established amongst partners, they establish what is known as a 'pack'; much like the word would hav you believe, the system is very basic: The alpha male, being either the strongest, bravest, or fiercest male in the group. The alpha female, while being the alpha male's mate, is also the strongest amongst the females."

"Humans have the capability to learn the intriguing ways of aura... However, there are multiple ways this could manifest, if at all. The person begins to hear voices... Or what could be called 'echoes', the first signs of aura. The person goes through a very traumatizing event, such as the death of a friend, the torture of an individual, or a near-death experience, to name a few. Finally, the person could be experiencing high amounts of adrenaline, caused by exherting actions, excitement, or, shit, even love."

'Love... Is that it? More importantly, now that I'm a trainer, will I have to get used to the concept of a pack? Hmm... ' My thoughts were mixed. I wasn't sure what to think, to be honest, so I stepped out of the shower, put on my boxers & proceeded to get on the couch. I set my other belongins on the table, then slowly started drifting asleep. My last concsious thoughts were of the strange man that entered the center & of Mia. 'Does she really love me, the same way that I love her? There's only one way to find out...' I opened my eyes & looked to my right, to see Mia, sleeping on her right side, leaving ample room on the bed. I silently crept up & laid down quietly next to her on the bed, swiftly & silently spooning her with my left hand, as I laid down in the same position as her... I heard a soft moan & a content sigh, then a small shift, seeing Mia cuddle up to my arm & hold it a litttle tightly.

I then smiled & laid my head on the pillow next to hers, enjoying this very loving moment. At once, my thoughts were clear: I love her. Now the only question is: Does she love me? I don't think it'll matter. As long as my concsience is clear, my life will soon start to spin back in the direction of the wind (basically, with good tidings).

I was woken up by a distinct scratching on the door. I looked through the peeking hole & was greeted by a strange sight: A poochyena was wandering about. I opened the door, startling the little dog-like pokemon, then it looked at me & whined something... Strange, I should be able to understand it... This was probably a hatchling. I took out my pokedex & scanned it. A male, level 1, confirming my suspicions. I picked the little bugger up & nuzzled his cheek, to which he responded my licking my nose. I wiped it off & set him on the couch, where he moved around slightly, then laid down in a sort of ring & fell asleep, snoring very slightly. I sighed, knowing full well I had another mouth to feed, but also knowing that this was the life of a trainer. I then got back to the bed with Mia & fell asleep rather quickly, thinking about the whole 'pack' thing... Still, if this is my path to follow, then I shall do so with pride.

And so, our hero has finally acepted one fact: His life as a killer has abruptly come to its end, to which he now sleeps peacefully, accepting it completely. What else lies in store for our hero, knowing that the lead investigator & proffesor is looking forward to his aid? Also, what dangers would he face in a place he secretely resented, for various motives..?

A/N: Hey guys & gals. Third chapter (fourth page) in this story & I'm already showing the softer side of Riley. Will he make a new life with his partner, knowing fully well what happened to his old mate? Or will he simply resent these feelings & dissappear, over fear of hurting another who gave him their all?
That aside, I'm so excited to be back after what could only be 'self-forced exile' for almost three years. I'm glad I came back with a story like this. As always feel free to leave a review. Your thoughts do not go unheard, believe me. I'm always looking to better myself in any way, that includes recieving tips & ideas. Also, for those who didn't know, the man with the lucario, chimchar & starly are from another story called 'Wolf: The Legendary Hybrid'. It's actually a very nice read. That was a foreshadow, but I won't spoil anymore...
Till next time,
-Blood Moons