High School Union, Chapter 38
EmDrago; Hey everybody, I'm back again and coming with another surprise. So, my popularity has been rising pretty well on this site-
Giratina; Much to everybody's surprise.
EmDrago; Zip it. Now then, I've decided to take a leaf from my good buddy galladefenrir44's book and start doing a story spotlight, along with the ratings of the month for each update! The gang will be giving those out, so now I have use for them again!
Gang starts glaring at EmDrago, making him gulp and back up, holding up his hands, saying
EmDrago; Okay guys, let's not do anything we'll regret.
Giratina (surprise, surprise), Palkia, Mew, and Dialga charge EmDrago in an attempt to kill him. EmDrago shouts out, then runs for his life, screaming
EmDrago; Everybody else take care of business!
Arceus shakes his head sadly, then turns to the (hopefully) expectant audience, telling them
Arceus; Today's story spotlight goes to Legendaries vs Robots, by Scizor X.
Uxie; The ratings are in order from highest to lowest by country.
Azelf; 1st) United States
Mespirit; 2nd) Canada
Latios; 3rd) Singapore
Latias; 4th) United Kingdom
Shaymin; 5th) Philippines
EmDrago comes back, panting but without a scratch.
EmDrago; What do you think? I like it, so I'm keeping it. Before I forget, if anyone out there is an avid reader of A Deal With A God, I have a new poll up which can be found on my profile. If there are those of you who don't know what A Deal With A God is, you have no idea what you're missin' out on! I encourage you all to read it (if you haven't already), then cast your vote on my new poll. The close date is pretty far ahead, so that should give everybody enough time to check it all out. Have fun!
Giratina; There he is!
EmDrago; Oh shit!
Starts running again.
Back To Normal?
It was the beginning of a new semester at the gang's high school, and Giratina, despite what many would expect, was actually quite willing to go back again. She could always hang out with her friends, but there was something about their lunch "meetings" that held a special place in her heart. Although there was an agreement that the order would have to be switched around a bit so everybody could sit next to their respective partners.
Nevertheless, today was one day that Giratina didn't want to miss, if for no other reason than to attend the Sisterhood meeting that was becoming the daily activity to the girls. Fortunately, and surprisingly, everybody held to their vows and didn't let a single thing lose. With the guarantee that their secrets were secure, Giratina wanted to broach the subject of Mew, the newest enigma.
Try though she might, cudgel her brains as hard as she could, she had no luck in divining a reason for Mew's behavior. Now, that wasn't to say she didn't have speculations, but that's all they were, given she had no facts to support or dethrone them. As such, she hoped the Sisterhood as a collective whole could figure something out. But then again, Mew had been deceiving everybody for the better part of, if Arceus' account was taken in, seven to eight years.
In other words, for half of his life, perhaps longer, he had been deluding everybody with a mask. A good one, for sure, but a mask nonetheless, one that had been cracked during the mountain trip.
Giratina, Palkia, and Shaymin arrived at the school, separately since Giratina was now getting rides from Arceus, and when they all came to the meeting place for the Sisterhood, the other three members greeted them excitedly. Giratina, Palkia, and Shaymin all sat down to join them, and Giratina started off.
"Okay, I think at this point we all only have one thing on our minds; Mew." Latias smirked and said
"That's not what I was thinking." Giratina rolled her eyes and said
"Yeah, we all know what you think about, Latias." After a round of giggles, Giratina assumed the speaker's role again.
"Seriously, though, I can't get this mystery that Mew has left us with. I want to figure this out as soon as possible, but I'm getting nowhere." Palkia smirked and asked
"You mean, even with all your brainpower, you can't figure this one boy out?" Giratina threw her hands up in the air and said
"Everything I thought I knew about him went out a closed window after his outburst! And then there was his somewhat serious attitude before that, all leading up towards his birthday. I don't really know what to think about him anymore, except that he's unpredictable at this point."
"Unpredictable? I wouldn't really say that." Everybody looked at Azelf, and she explained further.
"We know so far that he was hiding something for the better part of five years, possibly more! That means that whatever it is, or was, has to be big enough that Mew would worry about what others think of him because of it." Giratina smirked and said
"I think Bookworm's starting to rub off on you, Azelf." She smiled, then Giratina went back into a pondering state. She directed a finger at Azelf and said
"I guess you might have something going on there, but without any facts, this is nothing more than idle speculation. That's not much farther than where I am. I pretty much followed the same lie you just explained, although not that much detail, but I've come up with nothing conclusive."
"And your theories are?" Mespirit asked her. Giratina drew a deep breath before starting.
"Okay, I think at least one of these three are plausible; One, he has a close relative, or even family member, that committed a heinous crime that somehow psychologically scarred him, causing him to take that persona in an attempt to keep a sense of normalcy." Most of the other girls were looking at Giratina incredulously, and Shaymin said
"I think that's a bit left-field, Giratina. The chances of that are highly unlikely." Giratina raised a finger and said
"All the more reason for it to have such a big impact. But since that theory doesn't seem to resonate with anyone, how about this? Theory number two is that he himself committed a heinous crime but managed to get away with it, and only now has the guilt of unsaid crime been eating away at him, breaking through the person we thought we all knew." Everybody facepalmed, and Palkia said in a drone-like tone
"Sherlock Holmes, you are not. Never get yourself into the police force, Giratina. It is unlikely you would actually catch any criminals." Giratina scoffed and flipped her head in the opposite direction, responding
"Says you." She huffed, then said
"Alright, theory three; Mew was involved in a crime-"
"Oh, knock it off with the criminal junk, would ya?!" Palkia shouted at her, and Giratina glared at her. Not the Fiery Gaze of Death, but rather its third cousin… twice removed. Palkia shrugged it off and said
"Look, there's not going to be any criminal record, okay? So just drop it." Giratina grumbled for a moment, then said
"Fine. Anybody else have any ideas?" Shaymin thought for a moment, then raised her hand. Giratina smirked and told her
"Shay, we're not in class yet; you can just speak." She blushed and replied softly
"Old habits die hard. Anyway, trying to think on a more practical level, what about the loss of a close family member?" Everybody started thinking hard, then Giratina waved it off and said
"Nah, I don't think that would be it." Before she could continue, Palkia intervened sarcastically.
"Oh yeah, because your complete and total criminal history theory is sound." Giratina glared at her again, and began to speak again.
"If there aren't any more interruptions…" Palkia merely half-grinned and shrugged; her version of "No promises". Giratina sighed and pinched her nose, then shook her head and continued.
"I don't think that's the cause. I mean, think about it for a second; he's had that act going since before middle school, right?" Azelf and Mespirit nodded, confirming it. Then Giratina said
"Even if he had lost someone close to him, he would surely have gotten over it after five solid years. No one mourns for that long without a damn good reason."
"And if he has one?" Latias asked. Giratina shrugged her shoulders and raised her hands, palms up, in question.
"Like what?"
"Well, maybe someone close to him died and he felt responsible for it. Try to look at it that way from your own perspective. If someone close to you passed away, even if it wasn't your fault, more often than not you'll find a reason to blame yourself. That's simply how humans are, and that may well be the case for Mew." Giratina shook her head and said
"I don't buy it. I'll admit, my theories are way out there, but I don't like considering family death. I mean, I would totally fall apart at first, but I would probably begin to cope after a few weeks. It certainly wouldn't take me over five years, assuming a personality to go along with it. It just doesn't make any sense."
"Well by that logic, it would have to be something so emotionally damaging that it would affect his entire being. Now, I'm not supporting the criminal history theories, but maybe he was directly responsible for something happening to a family member, and it psychologically damaged him." Giratina furiously shook her head, then yelled in frustration.
"Aah! None of this matters if we don't have any proof!" Palkia sweatdropped, then told her
"Geez, calm down. Maybe this isn't helping much, but screaming isn't going to get you very far either." Giratina growled in frustration, then said while turning her head away, eyes closed
"Yeah, but at this point nothing is getting done. If we really want to know, we have to ask the instigator himself. But I know he won't talk." She continued in her mind
"Unless the circumstances work in his favor. I wonder what he could have meant by that. If anything, that's what's really eating at me. But it's innocuous, and I promised to keep it secret. I can't reveal that information in good conscience unless it's a matter of life or death. Which it never will be."
"Well," Mespirit started, jolting Giratina out of her thoughts, "we can always try at lunch. I personally don't think he'll talk, but we should at least be able to say we tried, right?"
Everyone nodded in agreement, but before the conversation could continue, the warning bell rang out. The girls began to stand up, gathering their possessions that they had brought with them for the day. Then she and Shaymin went to their first class with Mewtwo.
It seemed over the break Mr. Mewtwo was a bit more relaxed. However, that didn't make him go any easier; if anything, he was harder since everyone's brains had a tendency to get rid of anything not considered important for the duration of the break. Well, everyone except Shaymin, that is.
By the end of the class, Giratina's brain felt fried like an egg. Groaning and rubbing her temples to ease the headache, she walked into Deoxys' class, meeting up with Palkia. Deoxys, in contrast with Mewtwo, had grown a bit more serious. She was still fairly ethereal, but her lessons had a certain… level of priority that made Giratina feel less like she was in a free period and instead sit up at attention.
Nevertheless, Astronomy was still not in her best interest, and Giratina was up and out as soon as they were excused. She walked toward the choir room, one class she genuinely enjoyed. When she arrived, Miss Reshiram was at her desk, getting the board ready for the day's course. Her head turned in the direction of the door when it was opened, and her face broke out in a wide grin.
"Good morning, Giratina! How was your break?" Giratina shrugged and smirked, saying cryptically
"Pretty good." Miss Reshiram looked at her with her intense blue eyes, and she said
"Something happened, didn't it?" Giratina frowned and asked
"No, why would you say something like that?" Reshiram smirked herself and said
"Come now, Giratina, I'm not an idiot. Tell me, what's wrong?" Giratina sighed, then told her
"Well, a friend of mine has been fooling me and the rest of my friends for as long as we've known him, and we can't figure out why he would do that in the first place." Miss Reshiram clicked her tongue and said
"Well, you know what they say; curiosity killed the cat. Maybe you should just let him be." Giratina frowned but didn't respond. She took her seat, waiting for the rest of the class, particularly Mespirit. If anyone, she should be a major factor in deciding what actions to take, or not to take, against her boyfriend.
In time, everyone arrived. Once the general "how-were-your-breaks" questions were out of the way, Reshiram moved straight into class mode. For the most part, it involved everybody singing a particular piece that was coming up for a sort of "end-of-the-year" rally. Up until her turn, Giratina was focusing more on Miss Reshiram's suggestion; drop the case and let Mew return to his sense of normalcy.
The class ended soon enough, though there were still plenty of people who hadn't gone yet. Miss Reshiram assured them it would be finished tomorrow, and with that in mind, Giratina and Mespirit made their way to the lunch room. They each grabbed their lunches, a little slow on the line since it had been a couple weeks, but they would adjust quickly. Then they walked to their table, and to their surprise Mew was there, but looking rather stony.
Although considering that everyone else was trying to bug him about his behavior, with the exception of Arceus, Shaymin and Celebi, it was hardly surprising. Mespirit sat next to him, somewhat timidly, and asked
"How are you doing?" Mew glanced at her, then turned away. Giratina came to her defense, telling him
"Hey, your girlfriend just asked you how you were doing. Are you just going to ignore her like that?" Mew gave Giratina a glare of hate. Clearly he blamed her for some of this, bringing the issue up to him in the first place. Giratina could understand that to an extent, but she certainly wasn't to take any crap. She returned his hateful glare with her own Fiery Gaze of Death, making him look away. She smirked in triumph, but Arceus shook his head sadly. Giratina ignored it for the time being; she had an agenda to address.
"Alright, can I get everyone's attention here?" One by one, her friends turned to her, even Mew, though he remained wary.
"Okay, for the past week and a half, we've all been trying to bug Mew for an explanation." Mew's expression became dead-set angry, but before he could retaliate, Giratina held up a hand.
"Let me finish" she told him. He sat back down and nodded curtly. Giratina took a deep breath, then said
"It's obvious to me that he doesn't want to say anything, and as his closest, perhaps only, friends, we should respect that. I say we drop the matter. What's done is done, and there's no changing it." Mew's face only registered shock, much like everybody else. Arceus' expression quickly changed to something more like pride; he was proud that Giratina had stepped forward to defend him. Mew managed to loosen his tongue and say
"That would be greatly appreciated." Then the arguments began. It was mostly Dialga and Latios, saying there should be an explanation as to why he acted the way he did, both in deception and his behavior at the condo. Giratina slammed her hands on the table to command silence, and once she got it, Palkia chose that time to make her opinion known.
"Surely you don't expect us to just let the whole matter drop and let him return to the behavior that he's used to deceive us this entire time?" Giratina had been about to give her a death glare, but she abstained when she heard the valid point. Actually, it was a matter she was going to address, but that speech could be shortened now.
"Thank you for bringing that up." Giratina looked directly at Mew and said, in a voice that conveyed a gentle but firm reasoning,
"I think everyone will agree that this matter will be on all of our minds. How about we ask questions other than to explain your behavior? If you're not comfortable with the question, you can opt to pass. It would be great if you answer at least one or two, though." Mew hesitated for a moment, then asked
"So, what's the deal here?" Giratina relaxed slightly and replied
"We will all promise to drop the subject of your strange behavior at the condo, if you will agree to answer at least a few questions, and again you can pass if they're too personal, and you should agree to drop the behavior you used before the trip. We all know at this point it was just a farce, and we couldn't really take you seriously before. It will only be worse if you try to return to that. Do you understand?" Mew hesitated for a moment, then nodded. Uxie sported a sly grin and asked
"Now do you agree?" Mew hesitated much longer this time, and he addressed Giratina again, but with much less hostility this time.
"I can pass on questions I don't want to answer?" Giratina nodded but added
"It would be nice, however, if you would answer at least one, just so we can better understand who you really are." Mew nodded, then said
"I don't really want to go back to my previous behavior. Despite what you might believe, it actually takes a lot of energy, and lately I find I just don't have that. I guess I'll agree to your terms, as long as you guys really do drop the subject. Who's first?"
Everyone was looking around, until finally Uxie opted to ask
"You keep claiming that your grades are horrible; however, if that were the case, the school would have done something about it. My question is, what are your grades really like?" Mew grinned wanly and responded
"Mostly As and Bs. I'm trying to work my way out of the hole I'm in, so the best way to do that is to get the best grades possible."
"What hole are you talking about?" asked Celebi. Mew hesitated before shaking his head, saying
"Sorry, that's personal information that I'm not ready to reveal yet."
"Yet?" Azelf asked, her face confused. Mew nodded and replied
"When the time is right, and the circumstances match, I'll explain myself better. I don't know when it will happen, or even if it will, but if it does, I feel I can help."
"Would it be too much to wonder what those circumstances are?" asked Arceus. Mew nodded, not having to say anything. Then Giratina asked a question that was on her mind, though admittedly not as strongly,
"What about your song choice? Down In The Boondocks? How did that apply to you?" Mew hesitated again, and for a while Giratina wondered if he would simply keep silent. Finally Mew told her
"Some of that requires a lengthy explanation, which would move into personal information. If and when the right circumstances occur, I'll add that with my full story. Does that seem fair?" Giratina nodded and Mespirit asked
"So, what are you really like? I need to know what I'm in for." Mew nodded and began to explain.
"I'm really a caring person. I don't care for bullying, but I love to laugh. Due to my past, I have an appreciation for life and want to get the best out of it. For now, that's about all I've got." Everybody nodded, and Giratina, Shaymin, and Celebi went to their gym class, where nothing of note happened. It was the same case for history, but when Giratina got in Arceus' car so he could take her to work, he said
"That was very considerate of you. I'm proud of you. I'm also surprised. I thought you rather hated him." Giratina looked at him askance and replied
"I don't hate the guy! Sure, he sometimes irritates me, but that doesn't mean I hate him. If anything, I care about him, just like I do all my close friends and relatives." Arceus nodded and told her
"Then you have more compassion than many; just one of the things I love about you." Giratina blushed and said
"But I sure wasn't that way when we first met." Arceus shrugged and said
"Doesn't matter. The past is finished, there's nothing we can do about it. All that's left to do is focus on what's happening now and prepare for the future." They soon arrived at Ziarelli's, and Giratina got out after a kiss with Arceus, leaving him after saying
"See you tomorrow." Arceus waved a hand in farewell and Giratina walked inside. When she got to the changing rooms, she met Angela, who looked at her and said
"Well, look who's back! How are things?" Giratina shrugged and said
"Pretty normal, as far as normal can be considered for me anyway." Angela chuckled momentarily, then said
"Well, I'll want to hear about your adventure, but right now we're packed. It's a good thing you're on shift tonight; makes my load easier." Giratina smirked and remarked
"Lazy." The two ladies enjoyed a good laugh, then Giratina changed into her uniform. Soon she was out taking orders and delivering them. It took a short while for her to get back into her speedy routine, but once she did so, the number of customers steadily decreased, each leaving with a smile.
When at last her shift ended, Giratina changed back and started her walk home. When she approached the area where she had been shot, though, she paused. The memories of everything that happened came rushing back, and she shook her head to rid herself of the horrifying images. Once she recovered, she moved to the other side of the street and continued on her way. Once she felt a safe distance away, she returned to the proper side of the road and finished her walk home.
She took a quick shower, stridently avoiding looking at the scars she would have for perhaps her whole life. Then she went straight to bed, wondering what the next day would bring.
Okay, that about wraps this up! I hope most of you will be satisfied by this chapter, and remember, my other story, A Deal With A God, is worth looking at. On a side note, my beta profile is also up, so if anybody needs any help, please don't hesitate to ask!