Author's note: Howdy! No, I've not given up on this fic. You must be joking! Ha. Never. There is still so much to be written.
Also, there is a point to these characters having 'the' in front of their names, when thought about by each other. That shall eventually be addressed. Just thought I'd let you know.
Lastly, the chapter title is a song by Loft. I have no idea why I continue to do the song title thing. Lol. It's a bit of a challenge, I guess.
Chapter Eleven: Life Is A Game
Buneary couldn't be more embarrassed about her behaviour that morning; she'd actually hit her beloved Pikachu! She deserved to be kicked out and fed to that mother Ninetales for that! Apologising for the thirtieth time, she still didn't feel like she'd done it enough, despite how the Pikachu was waving her off.
"I told you, it's fine, Buneary," he said with a tired smile, as he dried off his fur.
"No, it's not fine!" she replied frantically, her face still lit up in a blush from earlier. "I'm really sorry... I'll never do it again. I promise!"
The Pikachu sighed. "It's alright. You were tired and grumpy. I can understand that. Now, stop worrying, okay?"
More embarrassed than ever, she shrunk into herself, fiddling her paws. "I'm sorry..."
The Pikachu walked over and patted her on the shoulder. "Don't worry! It doesn't matter..."
Finally, she gave in. She was never one to resist his charms, anyway. "... Okay..."
There was an awkward pause, with the Pikachu retracting his paw. Buneary stared at her foot, as it shuffled around on the grass.
"So... Buneary..."
She glanced up at him. "Hmm?"
"Why were you so tired, anyway? Did you not sleep well last night?"
Her blush deepened. She wasn't quite ready to tell him the exact reason for her morning crankiness yet; she wanted to improve a bit first, to both impress and help him. "Um... no, not really..."
"Aww, that's a shame. Do you need more sleep? We can go back to the burrow, if you want."
She giggled; he was so cute when he was being thoughtful! "No, I'm fine. Let's go gather some berries for breakfast!"
He eyed her warily. "You sure?"
She nodded. "Of course!" She began walking away. "Come on!"
"Hey, wait up!" He shuffled over to her and began to walk alongside her.
Pikachu had decided that, today, he felt like having Oran berries for breakfast, so he and the Buneary were busy gathering them up to take back to the burrow.
Honestly, he was starting to crave meat. It had been a while now, since he'd last eaten an invertebrate, and an omnivore like him needed meat alongside the fruit in his diet. However, he was still wary of the Buneary's feelings on the matter of Pokemon consumption. There was no way he was leaving her alone to go off and eat something, just as there was no way he could bring something back to the burrow and eat it in front of her. If only she was strong enough to defend herself, he could satisfy his craving...
He shook his head of such selfish thoughts; no, if the Buneary couldn't defend herself, then it was his job to protect her. That was just the way things were, so there was no use complaining about it.
He turned, with a smile, to ask the Buneary if she'd collected her berries yet, when he paused at the sight of something rather peculiar; there she was, a pile of Oran berries at her feet, while she hopped up and down and punched at thin air, a look of intense concentration on her face.
He blinked, unsure what to make of this odd behaviour; he'd certainly never seen her do that before, so what was going on? It wasn't as if it was part of her morning ritual, or anything. He knew that she was already pretty weird, but this was strange, even for her.
He walked over to her. "Buneary?" he asked.
She jumped in shock, coming to a stop and spinning to face him. "P-Pikachu!" she cried.
He tilted his head in confusion at her. "What are you doing?"
"What am I-? Oh!" She blushed, then glanced down and fidgeted with the fluffy fur around her waist. "Um... well..."
"Is it a new morning workout, or something?"
"Um... yeah, I... I guess you could say that..."
He straightened his head and beamed at her, feeling rather proud of her. "Oh, cool! Well, good for you! Keep up the good work, okay?"
She nodded meekly in reply. "Okay..."
"Now, come on. Grab your Oran berries and let's find a good spot to eat breakfast."
Buneary bit into another Oran berry, feeling determined to cram as much training into each and every day as possible. No more loafing around; she was going to toughen herself up if it killed her. The Pikachu would be so impressed with her progress that he'd declare her able to take care of herself, allowing her longer periods of time alone and, eventually, he'd announce her strong enough to leave his burrow!
She paused mid-chew, horrified at her train of thought; okay, maybe that wouldn't be such a good thing, after all. She re-evaluated the situation, as she continued chewing. Okay, so the Pikachu would be so impressed with her progress that he'd allow her to fight alongside him, so that he could protect her and she could protect him! Then he'd fall madly in love with her, ask her to be his mate and they'd live happily ever after, creating a new clan of Pichu, Pikachu and Buneary! She blushed happily and giggled; yes, that was the kind of ending she wanted.
"You okay, Buneary?" the Pikachu asked.
She jolted for the second time that morning and looked over at him, slightly embarrassed. "Oh, uh..." she replied. She swallowed the food in her mouth. "Yeah, I'm fine, Pikachu!"
"You sure? You seemed to be giggling to yourself." He took a bite of his Oran berry.
"Oh!" She giggled harder, hiding her face behind her half-eaten berry. "No, I'm fine! It's nothing!"
There was a pause, where she could hear the Pikachu chewing, then the noise stopped. "Well, if you say so." She heard him take another bite and continue chewing.
Buneary sighed, willing her heart to calm down. It would always beat so erratically fast if the Pikachu so much as spoke to her. She always ended up looking like a fool in front of him, too... She couldn't help it, though! He was just so... so... amazing.
She lowered the berry and took a good look at her knight in shining armour, the Pokemon that she adored so much, and contemplated other reasons for his greatness. Well, his body was certainly very well toned; it was rather muscular, as though he'd spent his whole life battling and exercising... then there was his yellow fur, which was rather shiny and well groomed. He obviously led a very healthy lifestyle. Lastly, she looked at his face, which lit up with an adorable smile, as he swallowed his food. She beamed at him; he really was perfect.
He glanced back at her. "Something wrong, Buneary?"
She squealed in embarrassment, hiding her face behind her berry again. "It's nothing!"
"Right... okay..."
Pikachu had gotten the weirdest feeling earlier, like the Buneary had been staring at him for no apparent reason. As much as he liked the girl, he feared that he'd never understand her. She'd said that nothing was wrong, but he'd gotten the impression that she'd been deep in thought about something... Well, maybe it wasn't his business to pry, anyway. He'd learned his lesson well enough the last time.
He glanced around the forest. "I spy," he said, "with my little eye... something beginning with... 's'!" He turned back to the Buneary with a smile on his face, only to pause; she was doing that weird exercise again. "Buneary?"
She stopped and turned to him. "Hmm?" she asked.
He chuckled awkwardly, really not sure what to make of it all. "Exercising again?"
She blushed. "Oh! Um... sorry... What did you say you spied, again?"
"Something beginning with 's'."
"Oh, okay." She glanced around, one paw resting on her chin. "Um... 's'... 's'... Sun?"
"Nope."
"Oh... Um... sky?"
Pikachu grinned. "Nope."
"Um... sunbeams?"
He laughed at her unique answer. "Nope."
"Um..." She glanced into the trees. "Starly!"
"Correct!"
She hopped up and down, both paws underneath her chin. "Yay!"
"Okay, your turn."
She stopped hopping and lowered her paws. "Hmm..." She glanced around again. "I spy, with my little eye... something beginning with... 'l'!"
"Hmm..." Pikachu glanced around. 'Lake?"
"Nope!"
"Um... light?"
The Buneary giggled. "Nope!"
"Um... uh..." He looked back at her. "Argh, I give up."
She pointed to his tail. "Lightning bolt!"
He blinked, then chuckled. "Oh, ha ha."
"Wanna tell jokes, now?"
"Sure. You go first. Best joke wins, like usual."
"Okay! Hmm, let's see... Oh, I got one! Did you hear about the blind human who went bungee-jumping?"
"No."
"He loved it, but it scared the heck out of his Growlithe!"
Pikachu laughed. "Good one. Okay, my turn! Hmm... Oh, I know! A pair of Ambipom had twin Aipom, but couldn't keep them... so, one was given to a pair of Infernape and was named 'Amal'... and the other was given to a pair of Primeape and was named 'Juan'."
The Buneary was focusing all of her attention on him. "Uh huh..."
"Years later, Juan went back to meet his Ambipom parents... and the mother Ambipom said that she'd like to meet Amal, too."
"Uh huh..."
"But the father Ambipom said to her, 'Honey, they're twins. If you've seen Juan, you've seen Amal'."
The Buneary blinked at him, then burst out laughing. "Oh, that was great! You win!"
Pikachu felt his chest swell with pride. "Thanks!"
After a few moments, the Buneary calmed down again. "Speaking of which... if humans were supposed to have evolved from Ambipom, Infernape and Primeape, why do we still have Ambipom, Infernape and Primeape?"
Pikachu blinked at her, then sniggered. "Hey, you've got a good point, there. Maybe, when Mew created humans, she realised she made a mistake?"
The Buneary giggled into her paws. "Maybe."
Pikachu was having yet another lovely afternoon with the Buneary; it was so nice to have someone to tell jokes and play games with every day. He wasn't sure he ever wanted it to end.
Currently, the two of them were playing hide-and-seek. As per the rules, he was holding his breath, so as not to pick up her scent and end the game too quickly. Hopefully, nothing would harm her while she was out of his sight. There was another rule, which stated that she had to run straight back to him if anything attacked her, but he still worried about her safety. However, he couldn't simply shelter her all day and night; she needed some time alone every so often.
Exhaling through his mouth, then inhaling again and holding his breath, he couldn't help but think how dangerous this game actually was; what if something attacked him, while his sense of smell was dulled? Not that he'd allow anything to hurt him, of course. Anything that tried to would be flattened in an instant. It was still a slightly worrying thought, though.
Shaking off the anxiety, he looked around for his target. Honestly, it wasn't all that easy, looking for brown fur against brown tree bark, so his eyes scanned the area for the cream-coloured fur on her waist, ear-tips and feet.
"'Sup?" a voice asked.
He looked to the side of him, to see a male Starly land on the ground next to him. Although he couldn't currently smell him, he knew that he was male from the large semi-circle on his forehead. He also had a strange feeling that it was the same Starly that he'd targeted in his game of I-Spy earlier.
He puffed out the air in his mouth. "Sorry, can't talk right now," he replied. "I'm playing hide-and-seek."
"Ohhh, with that cute rabbit from earlier?"
Pikachu nodded. "That's right." It suddenly dawned on him that he was probably talking to the offspring of a pair of Staraptor. He quickly started scanning the sky for any sign of them.
"You looking for my folks?" The Starly chuckled. "Don't worry, they won't be back for a while. They've gone to get me some food!"
This didn't make Pikachu feel any better. He looked back at the Starly and chuckled uneasily. "Ah..."
"Anyway, your bunny friend is over there, see?" He pointed a wing.
Pikachu looked in the direction the Starly was pointing and saw a large tree. Squinting at it, he could just make out a small brown and cream figure behind it, hopping up and down.
"Uh... thanks... though this does count as cheating, you know."
The Starly chuckled again. "My bad."
There was a flapping of small wings and Pikachu turned to see that the Starly had taken off and flown away. He turned back to the figure that he assumed was the Buneary, perplexed as to why she was still exercising. She had to be pretty determined to accomplish something, that was for sure; this was the third time today that he'd seen her doing this.
Cautiously, he walked over to the tree and around it, coming to a stop behind her. He watched silently, as she continued hopping up and down, punching at thin air. Just what on Earth was she doing, anyway? And, for that, matter, what on Earth was it doing it for? It would make more sense if they were warm-up exercises, but she never seemed to be warming up for anything.
"Found you."
Buneary shrieked, spinning around in mid-air and landing on her backside. She blinked at him and blushed. "Pikachu!" she cried.
He was beginning to think that what she was doing was embarrassing. Why else would she react that way every single time he caught her at it?
He nervously scratched the back of his head. "Aheh..."
"S-Sorry..." She stared at her paws, as she fidgeted them. "Guess you found me... G-Good work!"
He sighed, lowering his paw. "Well, technically, a Starly ratted you out, so it doesn't really count."
"Oh..."
He looked at her, deciding that he'd ask her later about what the heck was going on. She was obviously keeping him in the dark about something, if she was going to freak out every time he saw her exercising. Maybe she was just surprised? She always looked so focused on the exercising that she could simply not have heard him coming. Perhaps it was both.
Buneary sat next to the Pikachu in his burrow, the two of them munching on their dinner of Persim berries, and contemplated her training over the course of the day. Honestly, she had no idea if she was improving or not, considering that she had no idea what she was doing. Not to mention, she'd been so focused on the training each time that the Pikachu had scared the living daylights out of her when he'd spoken to her. Not only did he keep scaring her, but he kept catching her in the act of bettering herself, for his sake! How embarrassing.
"Say, Buneary?" the Pikachu asked.
She turned to him, swallowing the food in her mouth. "Yeah, Pikachu?" she replied.
"I wanted to ask about the exercising you were doing today."
She tensed. "Uh huh?"
"Well..." He glanced down at his berry, then looked back up at her. "Is everything okay? I mean, this exercising seemed to come out of nowhere..."
She looked down and fidgeted with her half-eaten berry, feeling rather embarrassed; not only was he going in for the kill with his questioning, but he was calling her training 'exercising'.
"Well..."
"I mean... it's not like there's anything wrong with what you're doing... I just wondered why you're doing it so randomly."
"Um..."
"You did it while we were getting breakfast, you did it while we were playing I-Spy... and you did it again while we were playing hide-and-seek."
"I... guess they weren't really the times to be doing that, were they?"
"Not really, although I'm not complaining."
Buneary sat in silence for a few moments, pondering what to say. She eventually decided on the truth. She sighed. "I was... training."
"... Training?"
She couldn't bring herself to look at him anymore, she was so embarrassed. "I was... trying to get stronger..." She waited for him to speak, but he said nothing. "I decided I need to toughen myself up... to protect myself... and to protect you..."
"... Protect me?"
She looked up at him and noticed that he seemed to be staring at her in awe. She blushed, her ears drooping slightly. Would she ever stop feeling embarrassed today?
"Yeah... After... after that last fight..." Her throat tightened at the mere memory. "I realised I needed to help protect you, as much as you protect me... so I'm trying to train, to get stronger..."
"Buneary..." He paused. "Was that why you were so tired this morning? Were you training in the night?"
"Uh huh..." A silence followed, with the Pikachu continuing to stare at her. Oh, this is so awkward! she thought, wanting to look away, but unable to.
Eventually, he smiled brightly. "Well, thanks, Buneary... I really appreciate that." She brightened up at his kind words. He grinned awkwardly. "But, if that's really what you wanted to do... then you're kinda going about it the wrong way."
Her face fell, her ears also drooping. Oh no... I've been doing it wrong? Figures. I really am useless...
"Hey, don't look so down..." He paused for thought, then smiled. "Hey... I have a fair bit of experience in battling... How about I help you train?"
Her ears rose again, as her heart pounded happily. "Really?" Her face lit up in a huge grin. "You'll help me train?"
He nodded. "Sure! I'd be happy to. We can start tomorrow, if you like."
She squealed in delight, throwing her berry to one side and lunging at him. Almost sprawled across the nest, she enveloped him in a hug. "Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!"
"... Sure... no problem..."
Buneary grinned to herself, as she snuggled into his fur. Look out, world! I'm gonna be strong before you know it!
