CHAPTER 9
SHANA'S POV

"D'you think Flare will be alright tomorrow?" I asked Slick as we carried Zara to the infirmary.

"I sure hope so. Man Spore's tough." Slick said wincing as he remembered the pain.

We arrived at the infirmary and laid Zara down on one of the beds. She was till unconscious which made Slick and I worried.

"Don't worry, she'll come around soon." Nurse Glee, a Blissey, said to us after examining Zara. "How did this happen?"

"Gym sparring match. That's why I'm pretty hurt too." Slick said rubbing his shoulder.

Just then, Flare entered the infirmary. "How're Zara and Slick?" he asked me.

"Slick's fine; Zara's still unconscious." I answered.

Flare turned his head away from me and said angrily: "Damn that Spore."

"Spore...Flare, I changed my mind. You're not fighting him tomorrow. I don't care anymore about what Spore would do to me."

"Yeah well, I do." he answered. "And so do your parents. As your guard and your friend, I won't allow Spore to do anything to you!"

I opened my mouth to say something, anything but I ended up closing it completely speechless. Flare told me that we had to get back to class; leaving Slick and Zara, we headed back to the class room.

"You might have to explain to my Aunt Chi and Uncle Slice." I said.

"They won't be happy." he replied. We were silent for quite sometime.

"So is Zara really sensitive when she's insulted about...y'know..." Flare said.

I looked at him. "Yeah. It all sorta started when we were still really young." I sighed sadly remembering that horrible day for Zara.

"We were both still in kindergarten. It was recess; I was on the slide and Zara was on the swing set. We were just doing fine until this Shinx walked up and wanted to try out the swings. Zara didn't want to so this big argument started up."

"Then what?" Flare asked.

Flashback...

I'd ran over to check up on the argument when I heard Zara yell out: "Y'know, you're just a big mean kid!"

"Well at least I'm a real kid!" the Shinx shouted back.

"What's that supposed to mean!" Zara yelled.

He smirked. "Your daddy and mommy aren't your real ones! My daddy and mommy are my real ones!"

He laughed. "Haha! You don't know your real parents!"

That really upset Zara; the next thing I knew, she was screaming and crying and, to make matters worse, just ran away from school."

End Flashback...

"What happened after that?" Flare asked.

"Well my dad picked me up and told me that Zara just suddenly showed up and ran to her room to cry. The poor thing, I'd never seen her cry like that before. When I got home, I decided to check on her. What I found was her, crying into my Aunt Chi's stomach while her dad stroked her back."

"They said that things were OK, that she should just disregard everything that she heard. And then, she stopped crying and told them that they were the best parents in the world."

Flare smiled. "Well at least it's a happy ending."

I nodded and then frowned. "I hate Spore for reopening that old wound."

"I'm adding that to the list of things I'm gonna beat him up for." Flare said seriously and before we could say anything else, we entered the classroom.


Zara was out for ten whole minutes but Nurse Glee made her stay longer. When we arrived home, the first thing we did was go to her parents' room.

"Zara! Wh-What happened to you!" my Aunt Chi said seeing her battered state. Near her, my Uncle Slice looked alarmed too.

"Sparring; I really took a beating from Spore." Zara answered.

She sat down on their bed and her dad put his hand on her shoulder. "Doesn't that guy know when to take things easy?" he said angrily.

"He said I wasn't your real daughter." Zara said through clenched teeth.

"Oh he is so asking for another beating!" My Uncle Slice punched his hand.

"Sir, ma'am," Flare said. "If you think I'm not gonna let this slide, then you're both wrong. Tomorrow, I will beat Spore and make him pay for everything he's done."

They looked at each other. "You better win." my Aunt Chi said.

"If not, I'll ask Shade to dock your salary." my Uncle Slice said.

Flare nodded and left. "You sure you'll be alright Zara?" I asked.

"I'm alright...I'm fine." she said and I left the room.


I spent the night worrying about Flare and his fight tomorrow and what kind of injuries he might get. Broken ribs, severe cuts, bruises, with Spore, anything's possible. After seeing what he did to Slick and Zara, I bet he'll do even worse to Flare.

I don't want Flare to get hurt. Despite what he said, I'm still willing to give myself up to Spore for Flare's welfare.

I tossed and turned trying to sleep but horrible images of what might happen tomorrow began to pour into my head.


Flare didn't need to wake me up that morning; I woke up on my own. When he opened the door, I spoke immediately.

"Flare."

"Wow, you're up early." he said.

I didn't want to have a pleasant talk so I went straight to the point. "Flare listen, I-"

"No Shana. I want to do this." he said already knowing what I was going to say. "I told you; I'm your friend and your guard-"

"Well them maybe I don't want you to be my friend!" I ended up shouting. As much as I didn't want him to get hurt, I ended up getting angry at him. "I don't want anyone hurting themselves just for my sake! And if I have to beg my dad to fire you to avoid the fight, I'll do it!"

I was panting as if I was fighting; Flare didn't seem angry at all. I didn't know who I was angry at even more, Spore for threatening me, or Flare for throwing himself away for my sake.

"Look, Shana-"

"No, you look Flare! How d'you think I felt when I saw Slick beaten or Zara insulted? Knowing Spore, he'll do 10 times worse to you what he did to them! You said that it's because your my friend, you won't let me be harmed, but I, as your friend, won't let you be harmed!"

"A few moments ago, you said you didn't want to be my friend anymore!" Flare countered; we were both shouting now.

"I meant that as your friend, I want to protect you by making you not my friend!" I yelled back.

"That's really messed up y'know." he said shaking his head and I had to resist the urge to growl at him.

"Well what about me as your guard!" he began. "Keeping you safe is a responsibility I took! I made a promise; I swore in front of your parents that I would protect you at all costs! I have to protect you and keep you safe from any harm despite the fact that I'm a re-"

But he suddenly stopped himself mid-sentence and hastily covered his mouth. "That you're a what?" I asked.

He uncovered his mouth and thought for a while. "That I'm a really bad friend in your eyes. You can't change my mind Shana. Whether you deny me as your friend or get me fired, I don't care; I will fight and defend you from Spore!"

Silence occurred between us as we took in each others words. Before Flare or I could say anything else, the door opened and Zara poked her head in. "Hey guys, it's time for breakfast." And we had no choice but to leave.


I'd been to the park with my parents before when I was a kid but those times, it was for fun and family bonding. Because of the stress and priorities of high school, I hadn't been there for about a year. When I left that time, I had no idea that the next time I would go there, I would end up seeing my friend get hurt.

When Flare and I arrived, we found in the middle of the park a large ring of Pokemon who seemed to have come from school. Knowing Spore, he would've told the whole school about this fight.

"Shana! Flare!" Slick yelled as he ran up to Flare, Zara and me.

His shout caught the attention of the Pokemon that formed the ring. "Well it looks like you're here!" The ring parted revealing Spore standing in the middle.

I tensed up as Flare began walking over there. "Flare," Zara began. "As much as possible, watch out for his kicks. Spore's Mach Punches are really strong but his kicks are even worse. Trust me, I speak from experience."

Flare nodded and started to walk away. "Flare!" I ended up yelling.

He looked back at me but I didn't know what to say- Good luck? Be careful? This is stupid? You don't have to do this? But I was too late; he was already entering the circle. Terrified, the three of us joined in the circle just as it closed when Flare entered it.

"Alright, you know how this ends." Spore told him. "If you win, which I so doubt, I won't bother any of you for a whole week. If I win, well...Let's just say that after I make you scream, I'm gonna make Shana scream too."

"I know the terms of the fight Spore." Flare said taking a battle stance.

Spore took one too. "It's showtime; it's all about you and me now."

Flare glared at him angrily before speaking loud enough for everyone to hear him. "You're wrong Spore."

"Huh?" Spore said and then Flare took a very serious tone.

"You hurt Slick..."

"You insulted Zara..."

"You threatened Shana..."

"This isn't about me Spore; I'm not doing this for me...This is for them..."

He lunged forward. "THIS IS FOR MY FRIENDS!"