GUESS WHO'S A WEEK LATE AGAIN? MEEEEEEEEEE!
BUT GUESS WHO MADE THE CHAPTER LONGER THAN USUAL HOPING THAT IT'LL MAKE UP FOR BEING A WEEK LATE? MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
Yeeeeaaaahhhh... just read the chapter and enjoy :P It has more than one POV in it, and I'll make it clear when the POV changes!
OH side note, so I think in the past chapters I've been using "chap" for Masello when he refers to his friends, but I've been mixing that up with "chum." Oops lol. goodthingnobodycalledmeoutonthatKOFF. I'll fix it in the other chapters later...
OH AND ONE MORE SIDE NOTE! New cover art! I drew it and it's on my DeviantArt. I have the same username there, so you can check out my drawings if you want. theyrenotthatgoodbutithinktheyreprettydecent
Sorry for any typos or grammar errors. STARRYISWEARIPROOFREADTHISKOFF
Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon!
Auburn's POV
The next day before class started the seven of us all gathered around my table group, with Mint sitting next to me and Tea sitting in front of Mint. Cobalt, Tangelo, and I explained what happened to our other friends.
"What? You guys played in the forest yesterday?" Maple said, completely ignoring the main subject of our conversation. "Aw, I wanted to go too…"
"And you Aika there collecting berries you say? Interesting…" Mint nodded, deep in thought.
"Yup! That's right! She was rude like always! But Cobalt thinks she's just super shy, so we're gonna befriend her!" I explained.
"Befriend her? How are you going to do that if she never shows up?" Maple asked.
"She said something about being able to go to school this week so I think we can do it!" Tangelo said enthusiastically. "She did seem a bit sad and lonely, so I kinda wanna do something!"
"Oh, my good chum would never say something like that about a girl just last week!" Masello cried. He even wiped a tear away! That Numel can be so overemotional! I giggled in my head.
Tangelo nudged his best friend with his face slightly red. "M-Masello, shut up!"
"Well I'm down with making friends with her! The more the merrier, right Auburn?" Maple winked at me, catching me off guard.
"Y-Yeah, hehe…"
"But…" Tea said quietly as she looked at the empty seat next to her and in front of me, "I-It doesn't l-look like she's going to s-show up…" The rest of us quietly started at Aika's empty seat, our optimism slowly depleting away.
"There's still some time before school starts. Maybe she's just late?" Cobalt said, trying to cheer us up.
"Even if she does show up, how are you planning on befriending her?" Mint questioned. "Whenever anyone tries to talk to her she just brushes everyone away. And she just sits under a tree and writes in her notebook instead of playing at recess!"
"Did you think of a plan? You said you were going to yesterday." Tangelo reminded me of what I said back in the forest.
"Hmm…" I thought to myself as I placed a paw under my chin. "We'll just have to keep bothering her until she caves in and agrees!" I answered straightforwardly with a smile.
I was slightly expecting everyone to agree and be all like "Wow Auburn that's brilliant!" but instead everyone gave me silent glares and looked at me as if I was stupid.
"W-What?"
"Really?! That's the plan you thought up of?!" Tangelo shouted.
"Well do you have any better ideas?!" I argued back. Tangelo flinched back at my response.
"Err, w-well no, but…"
"Hmph! Just as I thought!" I raised my snout up haughtily.
"I have one!" Maple raised her paw up excitedly, "Maybe Mint can just snap at Aika like how she did to Auburn!" Maple grinned, reminding both Mint and I about that… embarrassing moment.
Masello also raised up his foreleg in agreement with Maple. "Ooh! Ooh! I concur! It was such an unexpected side of Mint we saw that day! Perhaps the shock of it all will make Aika play with us!"
"W-Wha?! I-I...umm…" Mint's composure instantly broke and her face was completely red. "I-I-I…AHEM" She coughed and regained her composure. "No. I refuse," she stated bluntly. I'd rather not see Mint angry again anyway.
"Look, we'll just try talking to her more and maybe she'll eventually agree! Got that Mint? Tea? She sits with us so we have the best chances at befriending her!"
"Well it's worth a shot I guess... Why not? We can do this Tea!" Mint said optimistically.
"U-Um…I-I'll do m-my best…" Tea stuttered as usual.
"Hehe, that's more like it! I'm sure it'll work out! I'll do my best to be friendly to her too." Cobalt said enthusiastically. The rest of his table group nodded in agreement.
"Haha, thanks guys! This is totally gonna work!" I smiled happily as all my friends agreed to go with this. However our happy moment was cut short as the school bell resounded. As if on signal, the classroom door opened suddenly and Ms. Luna walked into her class.
"Alright everyone, settle down! Class is about to start!" Ms. Luna ordered as she headed to her desk in the front of the class. Soon everyone in class, including my friends, was at their assigned seats. However, there was one empty seat in front of me. Is she not showing up? I thought sadly as my ears drooped down.
"Auburn…" I heard Mint whisper quietly as I lowered my head.
"Let's start with attendance. Hmm, I'll just skip Aika like usual. Hmm, Aub—"
"I'm here." The door suddenly opened and a small, black Pokémon with messy fur walked in. Everyone gasped as their attention was fixated at Aika.
"She made it!" I whispered happily, my ears back up to their original position.
"A-Aika! Y-You're here!" Ms. Luna practically shouted, her expression showing that she was in complete shock. "Where have you been?! It's been almost a month since you were last here!"
Aika quietly glared at Ms. Luna and responded with a quick "Hmph!" before heading to her seat. My full attention was on her the entire time as she sat down, a wide smile stuck on my face. When Aika noticed me, she flinched and jumped up slightly, her face slightly red.
"W-What?!" Aika snarled.
"Nothing!" I giggled, "I'm just glad you're here!"
"H-H-Huh?! W-Whatever, you dumb princess!" She immediately turns her head away from me, only to receive another giggle from me.
"…And it looks like everyone is here today! What a rare treat!" Ms. Luna giggled, "Why don't we start off the day with a little pop quiz? Time for a spelling quiz!" W-what?!
Suddenly the room was filled with groans and complaints, the loudest ones coming from Cobalt's table group because of Maple. "Sis, what gives?! You didn't tell me we were having a quiz!" Maple shouted out at our teacher. More shouts resounded as everyone agreed with Maple.
"Yeah, that's not fair!"
"Maple's right!"
"Hey, hey, quiet down everyone! It wouldn't be a pop quiz if I told you ahead a time now would it? And Maple, I TOLD you to call me Ms. Luna!"
"I'll do it if you cancel the quiz!" Maple grinned mischievously.
"What, no! I'm gonna tell Mom if you continue to misbehave!"
"What?! Sis you're so mean! I'm gonna tell Dad you're being mean to your students!" Maple stuck her tongue out.
"Why do you have to be so difficult!? Ugh I knew this would happen if you were in my class too! Why didn't they put you in the other class?!" Ms. Luna shouted, obviously frustrated from Maple's complaining and teasing.
The two of them often have these silly arguments, and usually half the class would just sit there quietly, shocked that their teacher is fighting with one of her students, and the other half would giggle because they know that Maple is just messing with Ms. Luna, me usually being one of those kids.
"Um… Ms. Luna?" Cobalt tried to meekly calm down our frustrated teacher.
"Wha…O-oh!" Ms. Luna finally returned to her senses and a deep red blush flushed her entire face. "Not again…" She sighed in defeat as her sister laughed hysterically. Is this what it's like to have siblings? I'm glad I'm an only child…
Once Maple had stopped laughing and Ms. Luna had calmed down completely, we all got a piece of paper out and prepared for our pop spelling quiz. Crap, I am SO not ready for this! I started to sweat nervously as Ms. Luna slowly but loudly announced the words we needed to spell. I began to panic and my eyes started to shift around, secretly trying to look at Mint's, Tea's, or even Aika's paper but with no success.
After the quiz was over Ms. Luna instructed us to sit at our desks and do something productive like get a head start on our homework while she quickly graded our quizzes. Of course, the majority of the class didn't do that and instead discussed the quiz. I noticed Aika pull out a notebook and started scribbling in it, while Tea takes the chance to take a nap. That girl always tries to fit in naps throughout class. I guess sleeping can be kinda fun…
"So how'd you do Auburn?" Mint asked me intently. "Those were some hard words, but I think I got them all!"
"Well of course you probably got a perfect score! You're like the smartest kid in class. I mean you study for fun! Who does that?" I said with a somewhat bitter tone. But in the corner of my eye, I could've sworn I saw Aika's ears twitch when I said Mint was the smartest kid. Aika also gets pretty good grades, whenever she's here for a quiz that is…
"Ah, well I wouldn't say for fun…" Mint said bashfully.
"Okay everyone, I finished grading! The results…could've been better." Ms. Luna announced in a rather disappointed tone. "There was only one perfect score and it goes to…" I looked at Mint, who has a grin on her face. Oh what a surprise, Mint got the perfect sco— "Aika! Good job!"
"Oh, Mint you didn't get the perfect score! Haha what a surprise huh?" I teased.
"Ah—" Mint muttered as her jaw dropped on the ground.
"Aika's the only one that was able to spell 'indubitably' correctly!"
"What kind of word is that anyway Sis?! We're only in 3rd grade!" Maple shouted angrily, though if she's really angry or not is a mystery to me.
"A word that I wanted to see if anyone was most indubitably able to spell correctly. Mmhmm!" Ms. Luna flipped the fur that sticks out of her ears sassily, obviously taunting back at her sister. "Anyway," Ms. Luna turned around and looked at me. The papers are always in alphabetical order so I would be next. "Here you go Auburn. Like always, you fail!" …I really wish she wouldn't do that to me.
I looked down at the paper that sits in front of me and see a big "3/10" with red marks everywhere. "Ah—" I muttered as my jaw dropped on the ground. "Crap Mom's gonna be so mad!"
"Maybe that'll motivate you to do better next time. Honestly, I would expect our princess to earn better grades." Ms. Luna scolded as she walked passed out the rest of the quizzes.
"A-Ah… 'indubitably' was the only word I got wrong…" Mint sighed, but then looked up intently at Aika. Aika noticed and flinched back.
"W-What do you want?" Aika asked nervously as she closed her notebook.
"Aika! How did you get a better score than me?! How are you so smart if you don't even go to school half the time?!"
"H-Huh?!" Aika said loudly as her face turned red. "I-It's not like I g-get g-g-good grades or…a-anything…"
"What?! You always get really high scores!" I argued.
"T-that's because I'm not stupid like you! G-Geeze, you stupid princess!" Aika spat as she opened her notebook and went back to scribbling.
"How rude!" I shut my eyes tight angrily and turned my head away.
"Now, now…" Mint said quietly with her hands up, "Let's not argue…"
"Y-Yeah…" Tea actually spoke up, causing my eyes to widen slightly, "We should be f-friends…" Tea managed to say as she leaned towards Aika, who was still busying writing something in her notebook. "W-What are y-y-you writing? It looks like a s-story or a p-poem…I like to write poems t-too…"
"Tea…!" Mint and I said simultaneously, surprised at Tea actually making an effort. "I thought she kept that hobby a secret?" I asked Mint, while she responded with a shrug.
"Ah! N-N-Nooooo! D-Don't loooook!" Aika practically screamed as she quickly closed her notebook and tried to hide it with her body as she leaned over it. She looked like she was about to start crying. Man, how shy can someone be?!
Tea practically jumped out of her seat at Aika's sudden screaming. "S-Sorry…"
"N-No…I…" Aika mumbled under her breath, "noimsorryistartledyou."
"H-Huh? I-I couldn't hear y-you…" Tea said with a confused expression.
"Did…did Aika just apologize?" Mint said, dumbfounded.
"What?! N-No! D-Don't get the wrong idea! G-Geeze!" Aika's face was once again completely flushed with red.
"Ahaha, you sure do get embarrassed easily. But you can be kind and friendly! Say, why don't you come join us during lunch and recess?" I decided to take the chance and ask. C'mon say yes! I know you want tooooooooo!
I didn't even think it was possible, but Aika's entire face somehow became ever redder than it already was. "W-W-W-What?! N-No! What makes you think I want to be friends with you?! You stupid princess! Hmph!"
"Ah…!" I gasped and then lowered my head in defeat.
"Re-jec-tion." Mint said playfully.
"S-Shut up, Mint."
"Ahaha…"
Tangelo's POV
"Ah, there she is!" My cousin Auburn pointed at the lone Poochyena sitting at the lunch table in the back corner all by herself. "C'mon guys, if she doesn't want to sit with us, then we'll sit with her!"
"Umm, aren't you being a bit too forceful with this Auburn?" Mint said with worry in her voice.
"Nah, we gotta be aggressive if she keeps refusing!" She shook her head and started heading to the back of the room.
"Come on Mint, let's just go along with Auburn. At the very least, this is kinda fun!" Maple patted Mint on the back to cheer her up. Mint smiled back at her and the rest of us went after Auburn.
"Hi Aika!" Auburn greeted cheerfully to the small Poochyena with messy fur. The rest of us gave Aika similar greetings and joined her at her table.
Aika raised her head from that notebook she always has. "W-What are you all doing here?!" Her face slightly red.
"Why, joining you for lunch of course!" Masello said in his foreign accent.
"I've always wanted to get to know you better, so what better way than joining you at the lunch table?" Auburn said kindly, a warm and gentle smile radiated from her face.
Aika's eyes widened and her face instantly became a bright red. "W-Whatever, do what you want…" She lowered her head and went back to her scribbling in her notebook. I noticed that besides that notebook the only other thing she had was a single berry. She didn't seem to have an actual lunch.
"Uh, Aika?" I asked nervously.
"What do you want?" She replied back, rudely as ever.
"Is that all you're eating?" Cobalt asked. He seemed to have also noticed that Aika was only eating a single berry for lunch. Cobalt's a pretty smart guy. He and Mint were the only ones in class that got only "indubitably" wrong on that stupid pop quiz, earning a 9/10, while Auburn and I both got the one of the lowest scores in class.
"Yes, is that a problem?"
"What?! Just a lone berry?! How do you survive?!" Masello practically screamed. Aika however seemed to flinched when Masello said that. Maybe he shocked her with his random outburst, or something. Either way, she looked very upset... I decided to do something I almost never do. Desperate times call for desperate measurements!
"Do…" I gulped nervously, "D-Do you want some of my...f-food? My parents made it; they're pretty famous cooks in the city and even the kingdom!"
"H-Huh?!" Aika's face became completely red and she slowly looked away. "I-I…um—"
"WHAT?!" Masello and Auburn shouted simultaneously, cutting off Aika. Mint, Maple, and Tea also gasped, but Cobalt did a confused head tilt. "Y-You're offering your food?! You never share your food with me!" Masello complained.
"Yeah what gives Tangelo?! I want some of Uncle Arc's cooking!"
"S-Shut up!" I retorted.
"I am so confused right now." Cobalt commented quietly. "Why is everyone freaking out over this?"
"Tangelo almost never shares his food anymore. Everyone used to bug him for some because it's from Royal Diner, and he eventually got tired of it." Mint ended up explaining for me. And I'm glad I made that decision. I would end sharing so much of it there was none left for me!
"W-Wow…" Cobalt managed to utter, completely baffled. "Well I guess I don't blame them. Royal Diner has some delicious food after all."
"I KNOW I KNOW AND MY BEST FRIEND WORKS AND LIVES THERE AND HE CAN'T EVEN GIVE ME JUST A TINY BIT OF ITTTT!" Masello continued to complain loudly.
"I FEEL YA, MASELLO! LIFE CAN BE SO CRUEL!" Auburn cried.
"Auburn, Uncle Cain can cook too y'know! Dad learned from him! And you have chefs and stuff! You don't need my dad's cooking!"
"IT'S NOT THE SAME!" Auburn pouted, her cheeks puffed up.
"Will you two please stop yelling?! Everyone's staring at us!" Mint angrily scolded the two whiners.
"Eep!" Auburn hid her head under her paws at Mint's scolding. "S-Sorry Mint!" Huh, that's new. Maybe Mint's outburst on Saturday really got to her.
"Guys…?" Cobalt said quietly.
"What?" Auburn said, peeking through her paws.
"She left."
….
"Whaaaaaaaaat?!"
Cobalt's POV
Almost two weeks have passed and Auburn has still failed to get Aika to be friends with us. She and everyone has tried their best to converse with Aika, but every attempt ended with her telling us to "mind our own businesses" or to just go away. It's left all of us tired and annoyed by her sassy and rude attitude, and some of us even think it's not worth all this work to befriend her.
"Auburn..." I said sadly as I walked up to her table group. Aika was putting away her stuff into her backpack, while Auburn had her head on her desk, exhausted from all her attempts to try to befriend the Poochyena.
"Ugh, why does she have to be so stubborn?" Auburn sighed.
"Hey now, I don't want to hear that from you!" Mint teased. Auburn made a pouty face while Tea and I made a soft chuckle.
"So are we giving up yet?" Tangelo asked as he and the other our other friends from my group joined us. "That girl has been nothing but a huge pain!"
"Indeed, these past days have been quite bothersome!" Masello added, "But at least it's the weekend finally. And Cobalt's birthday tomorrow too!" Masello said trying to cheer us all up. That's right… tomorrow we're all going to Homura Family Park for my birthday party!
"Aika!" Ms. Luna shouted suddenly from the front of the classroom. The six of us looked up to see Ms. Luna trying to stop Aika just before she tried to leave. "May I please have a word?" Aika glared at our teacher for a second before reluctantly turning back to our surprise. They then began to speak quietly, making it difficult to eavesdrop on them.
"Oh, this sounds like it could interesting!" Auburn suddenly got up from her defeated state. "Maple!"
"I'm on it!" Maple saluted and closed her eyes. Apparently Maple has impressive hearing due to her large ears, even if they're covered with fur, but it requires her to focus and concentrate.
We all stood there silently, letting Maple concentrate and try to hear what Ms. Luna has to say to Aika. Based on their facial expressions and gestures, I would say that Ms. Luna is probably concerned about Aika and her not showing up. Aika's expressing was especially interesting; she looked… really sad and like she was about to cry. However, that soon turned into a face of annoyance as she swiftly raised her snout to the side and left the classroom.
"Aika, please wait!" Ms. Luna shouted, trying to stop her but with no success. "…And she's gone." Ms. Luna sighed. "What am I gonna do with that girl?" She placed a paw on her forehead and shook her head, obviously annoyed.
Soon Maple opened her eyes again and sighed. "Well, that was sort of boring."
"What did they say? What did they say?" Auburn asked excitedly.
"Basically Sis kept asking Aika why she doesn't show up and how she does so well on quizzes even though she's never here. Sis even tried asking where she lives so she could talk to her parents. All Aika said was 'it's none of your business' and walked out."
"Where she lives huh? Ooh! Oooh! I just got an idea!" Auburn jumped up and down.
"No." Mint said coldly and bluntly.
"Whaaaat? You didn't even hear me out!"
"I don't need to. You're going to suggest that we stalk her and find out where she lives right?"
"What the—how'd you know?! Are you a psychic or somethi— …never mind." Well at least she caught herself… "Come Miiiiiinnnnntttt! Pleeeeaaasssse?"
"No! I don't agree with stalking her! And besides I need to get home. I'll be on my way now, good-bye." Mint bowed and headed out.
"I need to get going too. There's probably a huge stack of dishes waiting to be washed." Tangelo sighed but then smiled, "But I also need to help get all the food ready for tomorrow! Later!" Tangelo said excitedly and left.
"I'd love to go on your stalking adventure, but you know I always have to wait here for Sis." Maple shrugged.
"That just leaves you three then. Are you in? You're in right Cobalt?" Auburn looked at me intently with her blazing red eyes, practically begging me to go.
"Er…well, I guess…" I reluctantly agreed.
"Oh, that does sound quite fun. Allow me to accompany you!" Masello said happily.
"U-Umm…I-I…"
"Oh! Tea! You DEFINITELY have to go! You can make yourself invisible and stalk Aika! Come on, come on, let's get going before Aika gets too far away!"
Before Tea even had a chance to protest, Auburn grabbed her by the hand and started to drag Tea out of the classroom. "W-Whaaaaa h-h-help m-meeeee!" Tea cried loudly.
"Wait for me chums!" Masello ran out after the crying Litwick and excited princess. I sighed and shook my head at Auburn's energy and forcefulness.
"Ahaha, man now I really wish I could go!" Maple laughed. "You should get going too Cobalt. I'll see you tomorrow." She winked and headed the opposite direction to hang with her sister. I nodded and chased after my friends.
"Geeze, just how far away is her home?!" Auburn complained in a whispered voice. The four of us have been secretly following Aika for quite some time now. She's led us into the not-so-nice side of town, where the homes are definitely for families of lower income and the shops are on the shady side. "Luckily this side of town doesn't have many Pokémon walking around so no one has stopped to greet me yet."
"Well you've had us try to huddle around you while we were on the move so no one would notice you anyway…" I stated.
"As much as I enjoy playing spies with my friends, I'm starting to get really hungry! Are we almost done yet Auburn?!" Masello whined. He was really excited and into it at first, but Masello really does start to get grumpy when he's hungry.
"Y-Yeah A-Auburn… Can I go home now? I want to take a n-nap…" Tea yawned.
"Will you guys please shut it? I didn't think it would take this long!"
"Oh, look guys! She stopped!" I pointed out. Aika finally stopped walking and stood in front of an alley between two buildings. She turned her head left and right several times before hesitantly entering.
"Oh my, that is very suspicious!" Masello exclaimed. "I definitely do not want to enter that alley!"
"Very suspicious indeed! Tea, now's your chance! Go use your Ghost-type abilities and follow her closely!"
"D-Do I h-have t-t-to…?" Tea stuttered quietly.
"If you want to go home, yes!" Auburn ordered her.
"…F-Fine." Tea answered back quietly and head to the entrance to the alleyway. She stood there for a moment before taking a step in before we lost sight of her due to her using her invisibility.
"Wow, someone's a bossy princess!" Masello snorted. Auburn glared at him, causing the Numel to flinch. "Sorry please don't hurt me!" Masello responded quickly, earning a cheeky grin from Auburn. I couldn't help but chuckle softly.
"Come on, let's slowly follow too."
The three of us stood behind the buildings and poked our heads to see what was going on. The alley was quiet long and became dark deeper in. Aika was quickly becoming out of sight, especially since she her fur was dark and blended in.
"I can't see her anymore…" Masello commented.
"Let's go in then." Auburn entered and motioned us to follow. I nodded while Masello did the opposite and shook his head frantically.
"I'll stay by your side, so it'll be fine. I'm honestly a bit freaked out too, but we have Auburn here after all." I tried to cheer up my friend.
"C-Cobalt…thanks." Masello nodded and together we followed Auburn in, but not for long because all of the sudden a loud noise came from up ahead. We all looked to see Tea on the ground, face down, and a garbage can tipped over in front of her.
"W-Who's there?!" Aika shouted as she turned around from the sudden noise behind her. "Tea is that you?!"
"W-Whaaa please don't hurt me this was all Auburn's idea!" Tea cried as she got up and ran back to us and hid behind me and Masello.
"Tea, really?! You tripped over a garbage can?!" Auburn shouted in frustration.
Aika grunted, obviously angry at us following her. "Ugh this would be your doing, you stupid princess! Why are you here?!"
"I could ask you the same thing!" Auburn shouted back sassily.
Aika's eyes widened as she flinched back. "W-Whatever! It's none of your business." Then she turned around so her back was facing us. "Just get out! And never come back!"
"Make us!" Auburn stuck her tongue out.
"I said," Aika turned back toward us, slowly approaching and growling, her fangs sticking out as if she was going to attack us, "GET. OUUUUUUUUT!"
"W-WHAAAAH!" Tea screamed at the top of her lungs and was quickly gone.
"D-Don't hurt me!" Masello jumped back and tried to run away, but ended up tripping and falling on his side. Lava started to spew out from his hump.
"PFFT—AH MASELLO NOW'S NOT THE TIME FOR THAAAAT!" Auburn ran back to us and together we helped Masello back up. He thanked us before the three of us were out of the alley, where Tea was panting heavily and waiting for us.
"Ah, t-that was…s-s-so scary…" Tea managed to stutter out while she caught her breathe. "I-I'm never doing t-that a-again…I'm g-going home now…b-bye."
"I-I do believe I should b-be on my way now too. I shall see you all tomorrow." We all waved at each other good-bye and soon it was just me and Auburn.
"Well, now what do we do?" I asked.
"Hmm…" Auburn closed her eyes to think deeply.
"I'm kind of worried for Aika." I said worriedly.
"Why's that?" Auburn asked as she opened her eyes.
"Do think maybe…" I turned back so I was looking at the alley, "Maybe… she lives here?"
"W-What?!" Auburn shouted, "What makes you think that?!"
"Think about it. She was scavenging for berries, her fur was a mess both times I saw, she barely had lunch, and she almost never shows up for school. And she obviously didn't want us to see what was in that alley." I explained. Auburn's eyes widened, her face covered in shock.
"…Let's go back in." Auburn whispered.
"Huh?"
"Let's go back in! I need to know for sure if she's really living in there!" Her voice sounded desperate and her eyes looked a bit glossy, as if she was about to cry.
"Auburn…" I said slowly, slightly shocked at Auburn's new tone, but also happy for how much she cares. If there's one thing about Auburn that I admire, it's her compassion. "Yes, let's go back!"
Auburn and I turned around and entered the alley once more. It was as dark and creepy as ever, but as we got deeper in it looked like something was shining at the end. Auburn and I looked at each other before nodding and walking at a faster pace towards that light. When we got closer, there was a blockade of cardboard boxes and garbage cans, with that light shining above the wall and between the cracks. This must be Aika's doing. She doesn't want anyone to come any further…
"Should we move those boxes and stuff? Aika's definitely behind them!" I whispered to Auburn, trying to be as quiet as possible.
"Hmm, honestly we could probably just climb over them. It's not like this wall is high or anything. Heck, I bet I could just jump over it!" Auburn took a step back, got into a running position, and started to charge towards the wall. Just before making impact, she jumped swiftly and over the wall.
I was sort of speechless at how rash Auburn can be, but I did the same and easily jumped over the wall with my running start. When I landed I gasped at what stood before me. It was a small space, lit up by a few candles. The ground was covered in dirty blankets, and there were several stacks of books and notebooks. Many berries were piled up in one corner, and the other corner were a bunch of pillows piled together to make a bed. And on that bed was a small, messy, Poochyena with her eyes wide and her jaw dropped.
"W-W-Wha…WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!" Aika shouted at the top of her lungs. Her face was complete red from a mixture of probably anger and embarrassment. "I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU TO LEAVE!"
"A-Aika…? W-What is this?!" Auburn stuttered, completely shocked.
"Aika, do you live here? Where are your parents?" I asked with concern in my voice. She didn't answer. "Answer me, please…"
"…So what if I do? It's none of your business anyway!" She looked away, advoiding eye contacted from us. "…Why are you here? I told you to go away…"
"Because we were worried about you. No kid would ever go into a creepy alley like this. Not even an adult would!"
"Worried? Hah, yeah right, nobody cares about me."
"Are you kidding?!" Auburn suddenly shouted and walked up to Aika, looking at her straight in the eyes, "Do you not realized what we've been trying to do these past two weeks?! I've been trying to make friends with you!"
"Friends? I don't need you guys! I don't need anybody!" She shouted in Auburn's face, causing Auburn to flinch back. Aika gasped slightly, then looked away. She placed a paw on that notebook she's always writing in and looked down at it sadly. "I already have tons of friends…"
"What?! No you don't! You're such a loner at school! You snarl at anyone that tries to talk to you! All you do is ignore everyone and write in that notebook! How could you possibly have any friends?! Where are they?!"
Aika stood there speechless, still avoiding eye contact and looking down on her notebook. "…They're r-right here."
"Huh?"
Aika squeezed her eyes closed, tears starting to form. With her face completely red, she looked back at us and showed us her open notebook, which was filled with words and paragraphs. It looked like she was writing a story. "They're in here!" Then she pointed at the books that fill her living space. "And there! These are the only friends I need!" Aika shouted, tears pouring down her face. "I-I d-d-don't need a-anyone b-but them…"
Auburn and I stood there speechless, frozen in place from what Aika just explained to us. "Y-Your friends…are in these s-stories?" I managed to say, despite how shocked I was. Aika looked at me with tear-filled eyes and nodded. I felt like my heart was shattered after that. I couldn't help but start crying as well.
Before I could say anything, Auburn suddenly embraced Aika tightly. Aika gasped and her eyes widened. "You… You've been alone all this time, haven't you? It's okay now, just let us in your life. I'll be your friend. We'll all be your friends…" Auburn said softly as she cried.
"I-I…" Aika stuttered. To both mine and Auburn's surprise, she suddenly broke away from Auburn's hug and her expression turned into a slightly angry, but still sad one. "I-I told you I d-don't need anyone! I…j-just…leave me alone…" She growled lowly.
"Aika...why?" Auburn spoke softly with wide eyes, dumbfounded that Aika still refused to accept us.
"Aika," I said slowly as I wiped a tear away and approached her, "Why don't we be friends?" I held my hand out, offering my friendship. Aika glared at it with teary eyes. She hesitantly tried to grab it, but then held back and looked away.
"I-I…I…"
"Aika…" I closed my eyes and pulled back my hand, "Tomorrow is my birthday, and I'm having a party at Homura Family Park tomorrow afternoon. Why don't you join us?" I opened my eyes and invited her with a warm smile.
"H-Huh…?" Aika looked at me hesitantly, then back at Auburn. Both Auburn and I had kind and gentle expressions, and Aika gasped and looked away. "I-If I go…will you guys keep t-this a secret? Don't tell anyone that I'm homeless…and have no parents…"
"B-But…! T-That's too…" Auburn gasped and looked down sadly.
"But why?"
"Just promise me!" Aika shouted with her eyes shut tight, "Promise me that you'll tell no one…and that you'll never come here again. T-Then m-m-maybe I'll go…" Aika looked away sadly, her face still completely red and her eyes still teary.
"Fine…" I nodded slowly. I really wish I could do something, but I also don't want to lose Aika's trust.
"…Good. What about you, Princess?"
"I'll do it if you call me Auburn." Auburn looked at her straight in the eyes with a serious expression.
"F-Fine…A-A-Auburn…" Aika managed to stutter. She then walked past us towards her wall of boxes and opened one of the flaps, revealing an exit. "…Now leave. P-Please…and don't forget o-our promise…" She said quietly without looking at us.
"Aika…"
"…Let's go Auburn." I said quietly and headed out. Auburn followed my lead and soon we were back at the entrance of the alley.
"Aika…why…?" Auburn cried with her head down. Tears began to fall down her face again, and I couldn't help but try to cheer her up, so I did the first thing that I could think of and hugged her.
"C-Cobalt…!" She gasped.
"It'll be fine Auburn. I'm sure once she accepts us she'll let us help her… so for now we just need to be patient."
"Y-Yeah… y-you're right Cobalt!" Auburn broke the hug and smiled at me warmly, her face slightly flushed red, "I can't wait for that day! Then we can tell my parents and Cream and they'll think of something!" Auburn nodded and giggled, "Hehe, thanks Cobalt!"
The trees and grass radiated a bright green color as they swayed slowly with the gentle wind blowing in the bright blue sky. My birthdays are always on bright, warm, and beautiful days due to it falling at the beginning of spring.
"Ah, spring really is in the air!" Cream took a deep breath as she set up one of the gazebos in Homura Family Park. "The perfect weather for a birthday party in the park! Are you excited Cobalt?"
"H-Huh?" Oh, yeah…"
"Hmm?" Cream looked at me suspiciously, "That wasn't a very enthusiastic response! What's wrong dear?"
"Well…" I took a deep breath, inhaling the fresh spring air, "This is my first actual party. And I guess I can't help but think about my parents and Plum and everyone…" And I'm also worried about Aika…
"Cobalt…" Cream said slowly. Suddenly I felt a warm hand placed on my head, petting it. It actually felt very comforting... I looked up at Cream who was smiling, though I could sense a bit of sadness behind it. "I'm sure that your parents and everyone from Miner's Town is watching over you. And I'm especially sure that they're all extremely proud of how much you've grown. Remember, they're never truly gone!"
"C-Cream…" I stuttered. I felt tears starting to build, but I quickly wiped them away and smiled happily. "Thanks… Hehe, thanks for everything you do! I love you!" I giggled and suddenly hugged her tightly.
"Ah, Cobalt, now you're gonna make me cry! I love you too dear!"
"Awwww isn't that just the sweetest thing you've ever seen?" Cream and I looked up to see a grinning Ninetales. Behind her was a big Arcanine with a huge smile and a small Vulpix who looked like she was about to cry.
"Oh, Arylide! And Cain and Auburn! You're early!" Cream said happily to her friends.
"Cobaaaaallltt!" Auburn yelled and came running towards me, grabbing me into a tight hug. "Aahh that was so touching and adorable! You can be so cute!"
"A-Auburn… t-too tight…"
"Oh, sorry! Hehe." Auburn let go and giggled sheepishly. "I can't help it sometimes, you're just too cute! Right guys?" Auburn turned her head. I didn't notice before, but it looks like Mint and Tea was also with her.
"T-That w-was pretty cute…" Tea commented quietly.
"C-C-C-C-Cute?! W-W-What d-d-do you m-mean?!" Mint panicked, her face completely red. "I-I mean I-I g-guess Cobalt is c-c-c-cute! We're a-all k-kids right? K-Kids are c-c-c-cute! Ah…ahahah!" Mint laughed in a…very strange way.
"Umm riiiigght…" Auburn looked at her with a creeped out expression. "Anyway, happy birthday Cobalt!" Auburn cheered happily. Mint and Tea also wished me a happy birthday.
"Haha, thanks!"
"You're 9 now! Man, everyone's birthday is before mine! Why do I have to be the youngest one?" She playfully complained, but I have a feeling she is actually sort of bothered by that.
"Aw, don't feel bad Auburn! That just means we're saving the best for last!" I tried to cheer her up.
"…Y-Yeah! You're right! Haha, you gotta save the best for last!" Auburn instantly cheered up and puffed her chest up proudly.
"Heeeeey!" Someone called out loudly from a distance. It was Tangelo and his parents! Mr. Arc and his wife, who I found out from Cream was Ms. Nina, were carrying trays of food. Along with them was Masello and his father, and even Maple and Ms. Luna! They were all also carrying utensils and drinks, all provided by Royal Diner. "Hey everyone! Big bro, it's been awhile!" Mr. Arc said loudly.
"Arc, it's been too long! Like, maybe a week! Haha!" Mr. Cain laughed loudly as he and his brother exchanged greetings.
"So this the birthday boy!" Ms. Nina walked up to me and introduced herself. "I'm Nina, Tangelo's mother. It's nice to finally meet you!" I bowed politely and greeted and thanked her back.
"Looks like everyone is here and early!" Cream laughed. "Well I'm almost done anyway! We just need to get everything all set up then we can get this party started!" Cream clapped her hands happily. Auburn and I looked at each other worriedly.
"Everyone is here huh?" I questioned Cream's words quietly.
"Except for one…" Auburn whispered.
"I hope she shows up." I whispered back sadly. I looked back at Mint and Tea who also looked somewhat worried.
"Tea told me what happened yesterday." Mint stated.
"A-And Auburn told me that you guy's invited her…" Tea added, "Umm, e-even if she sort of s-scares me now, I do hope she c-comes…" It looks like Auburn didn't tell them about Aika's home situation though.
"Ah, I just love parties!" Masello said loudly as he, Maple and Tangelo walked up to us.
"Happy birthday Cobalt!" The three of them said simultaneously.
"Thanks guys…" I said quietly.
"Whoa, what's up with that response?" Tangelo said with concern.
Maple looked at us with worry and added to Tangelo's concerns. "Are you guys okay? You all look kinda down."
"Indeed! This is a party! All my chums should be happy! There's gonna be so much delicious food and fun times! So much excitement!" Masello cheered in his foreign accent.
I looked at my friends and explained what happened. It looks like Masello didn't tell Tangelo and Maple yet, so Auburn and I explained everything, purposely leaving out the part about Aika being a homeless orphan and keeping our promise with her.
"I see. Cheer up guys, I'm sure she'll show up!" Maple said enthusiastically.
"She better! We put in way too much effort these past few days." Tangelo sighed.
"Still, I cannot help but wonder what she was doing in that alley." Masello said with his eye closed, trying to think of what Aika could've been doing in there. "Are you two sure you don't know what she was doing?"
My ears perked when Masello questioned how much we really knew. I started to sweat nervously, but Auburn thankfully remained calm.
"No idea. She was being all secretive and stuff and refused to tell us. Right Cobalt?" Auburn looked at me intently.
"Y-Yeah…" I stuttered, "S-She wouldn't tell us." I sighed. Ugh I was never going at lying… Plum and Mother were always able to easily see through all my lies!
"Huh. Oh well! Maybe she'll tell us one day!" Mint said in somewhat odd tone, looking at me. I may have been imagining it, but I think she's onto me…
"Kids! Everything's all set up! Time to start this party! Let's eat!" Cream yelled out, excitement and happiness obvious in her voice.
"Oh boy, I am STARVING!" Masello shouted and ran to the table containing the food. The six of us all laughed and joined our gluttonous friend.
The gazebo was now completely decorated with balloons and a banner that said "Happy Birthday!" There were three tables in the gazebo: one of them was covered in trays and platters containing delicious food made by Tangelo's parents. It also had a several different pitchers of drinks. The second had a colorful cake in the middle, surrounded by balloons and presents. And the last table, which was the biggest, had plates and cups and served as our dining table.
"Come on everyone, dig in! Help yourselves, we cooked a lot!" Mr. Arc announced happily. Everyone cheered and we all took turns in filling up our plates.
After everyone all had a chance to grab their food and drinks, the dining table was quickly filled with chatter and laughter. Comments on how delicious the food was were plentiful and resulted in cheeky and proud grins by Tangelo's parents. Mr. Cain would say how much his brother has improved while Ms. Arylide would scold the king and princess on their terrible table manners. She even scoled Mr. Bubbington and Masello for eating like they've never eaten before! It was overall an enjoyable time, and I couldn't be more thankful to share it all with everyone.
"By the way," Ms. Luna said in a more serious tone, "Your Majesties, and Mr. Arc and Ms. Nina as well, I'd like to discuss Auburn and Tangelo's performance at school." Tangelo's ears perked up and their eyes widened. Auburn was taking a sip of her drink and she almost coughed it all out after hearing Ms. Luna.
"Are they fighting again in class?! They just made up too!" Ms. Nina shouted worriedly.
"No, no, they have fine behavior. I'm more concerned about their grades. Seeing as Auburn is the princess and Tangelo is technically royalty, I would expect them to do better. Granted they are still only in 3rd grade, but it's never too early to do well."
"Oh I agree wholeheartedly." Ms. Arylide nodded, "Just how bad is Auburn doing? Every time I ask her about her grades, she quickly runs up to her room!"
"Well we recently had a pop quiz an—"
"O-OH!" Auburn yelled, cutting off Ms. Luna, "My, w-would you look at the t-time! We b-better get out there a-and start playing b-before the sun sets! Aha…HAHAHA!" Auburn stuttered nervously, but also loudly.
"Y-Yeah! Y-You couldn't be m-more right cousin! Let's GO!" Tangelo also said nervously and loudly. He grabbed Masello and forced him away from his plate and towards the playground, Auburn following them.
"W-WAAAAAAIIIIIITTT MY FOOOOOOOODD!" Masello shouted, trying to reach out for his food. His voice faded as they got further away.
"…Really?" Ms. Luna face palmed. Mint joined her in her frustration with a face palm of her own, while everyone else laughed at the royal cousins running away.
"Ahaha, they're so stupid!" Maple laughed. "I guess we should go join them! Let's go guys!" Maple jumped off her chair and headed after our friends.
I looked at Mint and Tea and shrugged, "Well, what can you do? Shall we?"
"I guess we don't really have a choice." Mint sighed as she took one last bite of her food, completely cleaning off her plate. "You ready Tea?"
"S-Sure…" Tea replied.
"Have fun kids!" Cream called out.
"And tell Auburn she's definitely in trouble!" Ms. Arylide shouted playfully.
"Tangelo too!" Ms. Nina added. We nodded back at them and jumped off our chairs to go join the rest of our friends.
"Ah, to be young again!" I heard Mr. Bubbington laugh just as we left.
I spent the next few hours playing and running around the park with my friends. We played just about everything, from playing tag on the playground, to role-playing on the hill again, to running around the field and kicking a ball around. Auburn even had us play hide-and-seek, but with twist where we actually had to run away from her and reach a base. We used the entire park for hiding and the gazebo as the base. Auburn wanted to be the seeker since she was the fastest out of all of us, and she even threw in some role-playing and pretended to be an evil, vicious Luxray hunting for prey, and we as the hiders were her preySurprisingly, the only one caught was Maple, while I was the first one there. I have some bad memories involving Luxrays back when I just ran away from home, so I think that may have been why I was the first to make it to the base safely. All the teasing commenced at Maple and Auburn made jokes on how even Masello and Tea beat her. Maple got all embarrassed and Ms. Luna even teased her for being the only one to lose.
After that game of hide-and-seek, since we were all back, Cream decided it would be a good time to have the birthday cake and pass out the presents. I stood in the middle and was surrounded by all my friends that I loved as they all sang happy birthday to me. It was a very joyful moment for me, and I couldn't have been more happy, even though there was still someone missing…
"Time to pass out the presents!" Cream announced after we finished eating the cake.
"Oh, OOOH! Me first!" Auburn jumped up and down excited. She grabbed a small box wrapped in fiery red wrapping paper and gave it to me. "Here you go Cobalt! Happy birthday!"
"Thanks Auburn!" I smiled at her and opened the box to reveal its contents. Inside the box were some books that look barely used.
"I know how much you enjoy reading, so I decided to give you some of my books. They're practically new since I never read! Haha!" Auburn laughed, while Ms. Arylide shook her head, probably disappointed that Auburn never read these books. "Look, I even added the book that has Strom and the legendary sword powered by Zekrom!"
"Wow, thanks Auburn! These will definitely see some use from me! And I've been wanting to reread that after last week!" I thanked her happily, with her responding with a bashful and cute giggle.
Everyone else proceed in giving me their gifts. Tea wrote me a poem, but said to read it later because she'd be too embarrassed to have it read in front of her. Tangelo and Masello both gave me some new toys to play with and had me promise to them that we'd all play with them together, to which I of course agreed to. Maple revealed that the birthday cake was actually my present, and that she and Ms. Luna made it together last night.
"Wow, you made that cake?! It was so good!" I said, shocked at how well of bakers they were. "I've never had such a delicious and moist cake before!"
"Hehe, I'm glad you liked it! I actually really enjoy baking, so I thought this was my chance to put my skills to the test!" Maple puffed her chest up proudly.
"And by that, she means she helped me grab the ingredients and decorate it. I did most of the work!" Ms. Luna grinned.
"S-Sis! You said you wouldn't tell him that! You meanie!" Maple complained as she lightly hit her sister several times. Laughter filled the gazebo as we happily witnessed their sisterly bond.
"Umm, I guess it's my t-turn…" Mint took a deep breath and walked up to me. "H-Here you go. I-I k-k-know it's not much, but I-I put a lot of e-effort into it…" Mint stuttered shyly as she presented me a pale-green envelope. I opened it to find a folded piece of paper, which I proceed to unfold to reveal a drawing of a Riolu, Vulpix, and Ralts.
"Wow, this is so well done! Did you draw this? Is this supposed to be us?" I asked, amazed at the drawing I held in my hands.
Mint nodded slowly, her face covered in red. "Y-Y-Yeah… Um… do y-you like it?"
"Like it? I love it! It's an amazing drawing! I'm impressed!" I smiled happily.
"I wanna seeeee!" Auburn ran up to and stood closely, "Wow, you really outdid yourself this time Mint!"
The rest of my friends came up to get a look as well. "Aww I wish we were in it too!" Maple whined, with Tangelo and Masello agreeing with her.
"S-Sorry...I-I'm not that good of a drawer. I ran out of room…" Mint looked down, her hand behind her head.
"Don't feel bad chum. It is truly an amazing work of art! I look forward to the day that you draw all of us!" Masello tried to cheer Mint up, which worked as Mint looked back up and smiled at us.
"Well, looks like it's finally my turn!" Cream announced as she walked up to me with a thin, rectangular box wrapped in light pink wrapping paper. "Here you go dear!"
I thanked her and accepted the present. I opened the box to reveal an empty picture frame inside. "Um, it's empty?"
"I know. That's because we're going to take the picture right now! Everyone gather around!"
"R-Really?!" I exclaimed happily. Everyone else shared my excitement as the gazebo was quickly filled with chatter. I didn't know Cream owned a camera! How exciting! This would be my first picture in Homura City!
Cream set up the camera as we all huddled up in front of all the decorations. Soon the camera was ready and Cream quickly joined us as we all smiled and posed happily at the camera. Soon a bright flash was omitted, signaling that the photo was successfully taken.
"You better make extra copies of that!" Ms. Arylide teased playfully at her best friend.
"Ahaha, I'll make one for everyone, don't worry!" Cream winked.
"Cream!" I shouted as I ran to the Audino and jumped on her, giving her a tight hug. "Thanks Cream, I love the present!"
"Oh!" Cream gasped at my sudden hug. "Hah, I'm glad you love it!" She smiled and returned the hug. I looked behind and around me to see everyone giving out smiles, grins, and looks that said "Aw how adorable!" I also noticed that it was starting to get darker and the sky was starting to turn orange.
"The sun is starting to set; I think it's about time we headed home." Ms. Luna stated, also noticing the color of the sky. "Let's go Maple." Ms. Luna waved and started heading out.
"Aww, okay then." Maple whined. "Bye guys! This was super fun!" Maple waved and chased after her sister.
"Oh no, I better go too before Mother gets angry at me! Good-bye everyone! Thank you for inviting me to this wonderful party!" Mint bowed politely and ran off.
"A-Ah, I am getting p-pretty sleepy… I think i-it's nap time…" Tea yawned, "Bye everyone…"
"Shall we get going too Son?" Mr. Bubbington asked Masello, his accent thicker than Masello's.
"I suppose so, but first let us pack some of this delicious food to-go!"
"But of course!" Mr. Bubbington laughed hardily as the two of them walked to the food and began packing it to bring home.
"Ahaha, less leftovers for us to worry about." Ms. Nina laughed as she and Mr. Arc cleaned up the rest of the tables. It didn't take long for them to finish packing everything and soon the gazebo was left with me, Cream, and the royal family.
"She never came…" Auburn looked down sadly.
"Maybe something happened. Let's ask her about it on Monday…" I placed an arm around Auburn to cheer her up. She looked at me with her blazing red eyes and smiled, giving me a nod.
"Your Majesties!" Someone shouted suddenly from a distance. It looked like one of the Infernapes that guarded the castle. "B-Big news!"
"What is it?" The king asked calmly.
"We finally caught it! The thief that's been stealing lately!" The Infernape guard answered enthusiastically. "It turns out the thief was just a child! A small, female Poochyena with messy fur! We currently have her contained at the castle!" The Infernape explained.
"S-Small, female Poochyena w-with messy f-f-fur?" Auburn gasped and stuttered. She looked at me with wide eyes, sweat on her face, and completely mortified.
A-AIKA!
Whaaaa Aikaaaaa ;A;
JUST WHAT SECRETS DOES SHE HOLD?!
So something has been bothering lately. I feel like I've made the characters too... mature for their age. Like...I dunno I feel like the way everyone talks and interacts with each other seems too mature for 3rd graders. It's a little too late to do anything about it, but... what do you guys think? Am I just being paranoid?
Anyway I wanna give a shout out to all you guys that review and even follow and fave the story! I never would've dreamed that I'd reach this many reviews and followers! I appreciate it, I really do! Thank you all! :D