Yay, new chapter! Wow, I'm really churning them out, huh?
Thief King... Ninetails?
Chapter Eleven - A special surprise
Ryou had been released from the small city hospital after an overnight stay. The nurse on duty had removed all the glass and his various cuts and scrapes healed up overnight – much to her surprise.
Kaguya had later learned that Ryou had an enhanced rate of healing, a part of his being half Pokémon.
"Would have been good to have known that earlier," she had grumbled.
"But you didn't ask," was his wide-eyed, innocent reply.
The two were just wandering down the main street, looking at all the shops. The Ring was tucked out of sight beneath Ryou's shirt.
The objective of their shopping trip – clothes. Ryou's clothes were ripped and torn beyond repair thanks to his flight out of Kanto. It was slightly bizarre – Even though he was in his Ninetails form, his clothes were still affected by the environment. If a thorn tugged at his fur, it tore his shirt, for example.
It was also expensive. The few clothes shops they passed had exorbitantly high price tags, and though Ryou had his wallet, and therefore his bank card, he wasn't sure he wanted to share this fact with Kaguya.
After buying a few cheap shirts and jeans from Pokémark (The cheapest shop he could find), and a light blue backpack to store it in, the duo headed to a coffee shop.
Ryou emptied his wallet buying Kaguya a black coffee and a Danish pastry and himself just a tea.
After emptying six packets of sugar into her coffee, Kaguya spoke. "We really need to get you a Pokémon."
"Huh?" Ryou almost spilt his tea at the unexpected announcement. "But… Kaguya, in case you hadn't noticed, I… uh… am a Pokémon?"
"Yeah, I know, but so am I, and I still need protection." Kaguya smiled and pulled out the little red ball that contained her Eevee. "After all, it's a cruel world out there."
Ryou swirled his tea, watching it slosh around the take-away cup. "I don't know, Kaguya… I've heard stories from Pokémon that have been caught, and I don't really want to subject any Pokémon to that…"
Kaguya chuckled. "You won't have to, silly. There's an adoption centre just round the corner from here, which abandoned Pokémon are taken to. We'll find one for you there – no need to subject any more Pokémon to the 'torture' of being caught, hmm?"
Ryou nodded. "Uh… sure." He stood, and followed Kaguya down the street.
"Psst. Hey."
Ryou stopped. Kaguya, unaware of this, kept going.
"Come over 'ere."
Ryou looked around him again, locating the figure in a dark alley. It was hooded, the darkness in the alley hiding its face and figure.
"Who are you?" Ryou stepped closer. Not a wise move.
The figure lunged forward and grabbed him, pulling him into the alley. Immediately, he was surrounded by half a dozen men, who pulled out glinting knives.
The figure released him. "Now, hand over all yer money, kid, or we'll hafta get real nashty."
Ryou backed away, instantly frightened. Knifes do that to a person. "I'm sorry… I don't have any…"
The men moved closer. "No, I think you do," said the hooded man.
Ryou shook his head. "Really, I don't…" He remembered the cup of tea in his hand. In a split-second decision, he threw the boiling liquid over the man, turned and fled.
He didn't get far, though. One of the men with knives caught him in a flying tackle, bringing him down.
He rolled over, stunned. His head had hit the floor pretty hard. The man who had brought him down slashed him on the arm with his knife and Ryou howled with pain.
The Firemark Ring flashed, and the thug was as surprised as hell when the knife was knocked out of his hand, snatched up and used on him.
Within seconds, the man's face was a bloody mess. Bakura shoved the thug off him, ignoring his screams of pain. With a grin, he licked the warm blood off the knife, enjoying the salty taste and the other thugs' horrified expressions.
"Yum. Who's next?"
The men scattered, leaving Cloak – the original guy – behind.
Bakura advanced on him, twirling the knife. "Now, I'll do you a deal. I won't kill you… If you give me all of your money."
The man backed away. "Oh Uxie, please, don't hurt me! I'll give you anything!"
Bakura raised an eyebrow. "You worship Uxie? Pah! A worthless god and a powerless one at that." He grinned and stuck out a hand. "Hand it over."
The man dug out a pretty full leather bag and flung it at Bakura's feet. Bakura stepped aside and he fled.
Bakura grinned. "I must be getting soft," he said, and scooped up the bag, depositing it in a pocket of his backpack. He stowed the blade in his jeans pocket, after discovering he could retract the blade.
Humming to himself, he wiped the blood from his hands and face and strolled out of the alley.
Kaguya was waiting for him on the corner, looking anxiously into the crowd. He returned Ryou to control as soon as he saw her, and she dragged him away. "Ryou! What are you like! Come on, I asked you to follow me, not just get sidetracked or something!"
Ryou shrugged. "Sorry, Kaguya… I guess everything is just really interesting. I've never been to Takato before."
In truth, he couldn't remember what he'd been doing. He didn't want to worry Kaguya, though.
The Cresselia-girl dragged him round the corner to a large grey building, the words 'Adoption center' printed above the doorway in red. He frowned slightly. "This is it?"
"What were you expecting? A Day-care Centre layout? Nah, this is it. It's amazing inside, though."
She gently pushed him through the door.
They emerged into a spacious lobby, A small old man with a Chatot on his shoulder looked over to them. "Kaguya?"
Kaguya smiled. "Yep! How're you doing, Grandpa Peter?"
Ryou raised an eyebrow. "Grandpa?"
The old man smiled benignly at them. "I am like a grandfather to all the Pokémon here, so the name stuck. What can I do for you today, Kaguya? Are you looking for a companion to Kallinda? We've got three Eevee at the moment… Left in a cardboard box on our doorstep, bless them. They're up on floor 3, if you want to see them."
Kaguya shook her head. "No, thanks, Grandpa. We're actually here because Ryou wants a Pokémon, but he doesn't want to catch one… Could you lend a hand?"
"Lend a hand?" The Chatot squawked in an imitation of Kaguya's voice. Grandpa grinned. "Just ignore old Metronome here. You get used to it after a while."
"Get used to it!"
Grandpa cast a piercing look at Ryou. "Hmm. Does he have a Trainers' License?"
Ryou shook his head. "No, sir."
"Well, then… I can give you a Pokémon, but you can't battle with it until you get one. Okay? You can register for a License at any Pokémon Center."
"Thank you, sir." Ryou smiled.
Grandpa bustled over to a desk at the far wall, picking up a small envelope. "Here – your adoption forms. Fill them in when you choose your Pokémon."
Ryou took the forms, and looked around. "But where are they?"
The old man smiled. "Why, in the Complex, of course. I and my staff have managed to simulate every kind of environment that Pokémon live in." He picked up a map and handed it to Ryou. "Kaguya knows her way around here pretty well, but you might need this if you're to wander."
Kaguya dragged Ryou to the elevator. "Come on, Ryou! Let's go!"
The next hour was a whirlwind for Ryou. They visited the Tower section – the haunt of Ghost- and Dark-type Pokémon. They visited the Volcano – the Fire-type home.
They passed quickly through the Foggy Forest – Bug- and Poison-types weren't really Ryou's thing.
When they emerged, Ryou was cradling a tiny Eevee in his arms. When they'd reached the Sunshine Plateau area, the little furry bundle had attached itself to him and not let go.
"It's a good choice," said Kaguya. "After all, he'll get on well with Kalli!"
Ryou smiled at the sleeping Pokémon. "Yes… I like him too. What should I name him?"
Kaguya shrugged. "Your choice, Ryou."
Ryou handed over the forms to Grandpa, who was stood behind the desk. "What do you think? I'm not really very good at making up names."
Grandpa looked at the tiny Eevee. "Well, it depends on what you want it to evolve to. 'Blaze' is a popular Flareon name… Then there's 'Luna', for Umbreons, but that's a female name… How about 'Star'?"
"Hmm…" Ryou chewed his lip, thinking. "I think… Does 'Ace' sound like a good name? It's neutral, because I'm not really sure what I want him to evolve to."
"Sounds good to me." Grandpa carefully inked 'Ace' onto the form. He reached down below the desk and pulled out a small green Pokéball. "Here."
Ryou looked at it. "I haven't seen that ball before… What kind is it?"
Grandpa chuckled. "Well, it's just a Pokéball painted green, is all. I thought it would remind Trainers where they got their Pokémon."
Ryou smiled. "Okay… But, uh, I can't accept it…"
"Why not?" Grandpa raised an eyebrow.
Ryou chewed his lip again. "Uh… Well… I just can't."
Kaguya took the ball instead. "Thank you, Grandpa. He's just a little sensitive… Doesn't like keeping them cooped up, is all."
"Oh, alright. Well, I hope to see you soon, Kaguya."
"You too, Grandpa." Kaguya gave the old man a hug, and rubbed Metronome's head. "See you!"
And the duo walked out of the Adoption Centre, with Ryou holding his new Pokémon.
"So. Where should we go next?"
Next chapter - we find out what's happened to Joey, and Seto gets an unexpected surprise. Laters, everyone!
Bakura: And remember to review. Otherwise I could do to you what I did to that thug. That's right... I could insult your god and steal your money! Ha!
