Chapter 4: Lunch, Period Five and Period Seven

As Caden walked out of the classroom, he let out a dramatic sigh. "...I hate class." The Zorua whimpered, "Makes me exhausted." He put a paw on his forehead.

Nora quickly followed behind, her eyes somehow gleaming. "Cade, that was amazing!" She quickly ran circles around the male Zorua. "We've never learned anything like that before."

"W-Well I over studied that one night before a test, and found that." Caden answered, smiling at the sight of Nora's wide smile. "It wasn't that big of a deal…"

"It was a big deal with everyone else, though!" The female Zoura slowly stopped running and started walking alongside him. "...I've never seen you this happy before."

"I'm happy because you are." He replied, looking down with a blush. "It makes me feel good to see you so excited and bubbly…"

"Thanks." Nora smiled in response. "At least I can keep my hopes up for the next class we have…"

"Lunch, right?" Another voice spoke, startling the duo. When they looked over, a familiar Eevee sat there, reading over Caden's schedule.

"Huh? How'd you get that?" The male Zorua asked. "And aren't you that Eevee from last class? Hina?"

"That's me." She replied cheerfully. "So… Do you want your schedule back?" The female Eevee tilted her head slightly.

Nora moved towards the two of them. "I think Caden would want his schedule back," the Zoura responded. "U-Unless you have something else to share."

"Well I wanted to know how Caden here did that thing in class so easily." Hina smiled enthusiastically, moving closer to him. "That was really cool, you know?"

"I didn't really think it was that much. Just an answer to a question." The male Zorua blushed softly. "It's not like I was training my whole life just to say those three sentences…"

The female Zoura started nugging Caden's shoulder. "I told you it was a big deal," She whispered toward his ear. "So Hina, do you have lunch like us?"

As Caden blushed in embarrassment, Hina nodded with a smile. "Yeah I do. I'm starving…"

"I guess it's lucky that I have lunch for everyone then!" Everyone turned around to see a familiar Pikachu biting on a large bag. He was dragging it across the floor before placing it down on the grass a few feet away.

"Oh, hi Sam!" Nora started waving at him.

Sam was smiling at everyone before looking at the Eevee. "Hina? What are you doing here?"

"Oh my Arceus, hi Sammy!" Hina gave a bright smile, running over to him. "How's everything been lately?" She gave the Pikachu a cheerful hug.

She couldn't see it, but the Pikachu was giving a light blush. "I-I'm doing fine," he simply responded. "J-Just helping out Nora and Cade over here with lunch."

"Wait," Nora hopped on the grassy floor to tilt her head. "You two know each other?"

"Yeah!" The female Eevee smiled, now nuzzling into Sam. "He's been my friend ever since he moved to Japan a while back."

"You do realize a while back was three weeks ago, right?" The Pikachu glanced at Hina, blushing harder.

"Three weeks, a while, whatever." Hina shrugged dismissively. "Doesn't matter." The Eevee quickly leaned closer before pushing her nose against his. "Boop!" Everyone kept silent after she did that to Sam.

"...What's for lunch?" Nora tried to break the ice. "We're starving."

"Hold on." Sam quickly pulled the Eevee next to him aside. "I just wanted to let you know," He whispered to her. "They're from America… So I'm sorry in advance if some Pokémon here treats you the wrong way."

"Hm?" Hina tilted her head confusedly, giving a deadpan smile. "Whaddya mean?"

The Pikachu sighed. "Nevermind." He started to take out an arrangement of fruits. "Alright you two, time to eat the food you'll never stop eating." Sam grabbed a yellow, pineapple shaped fruit. "Hina, I have your Pinap berry!"

"Yay!" She cheered enthusiastically, grabbing the berry from his paw before nuzzling her cheek against his. "You're the best, Sammy!"

"You're welcome, 'Na," The Pikachu smiled at her. "Caden, Nora, your pick…" He took out two blue fruits. "Oran Berry or Oran Berry?"

"Arceus…" Caden began to breathe dramatically. "...This could be a decision that affects the rest of my life. A single decision that will lead on the path of the butterfly effect. I choose…" His paw went between the two berries. "...Oran berry."

"Okay, I'll take Oran Berry." The female Zoura placed a paw on the other fruit, and started to bite into it. "...That's not bad."

"Not bad?" Caden asked, having already taken a bite out of his berry. "This is the fruit of gods! I've been missing out all my life!" His tail began to unconsciously wag as he smiled brightly.

Nora was trying her best to keep it in, but bursted into laughter a few seconds after. "We've been missing out on all of our lives," she corrected. "But seriously, these berries are amazing."

"Yeah." Caden smiled, his tail wagging quicker, making a bit of wind. "I kinda want to try all the berries, and see what they taste like."

The Pikachu passed the two napkins before looking down. "I don't wanna be a party pooper, but our next class is in five minutes, and it's far from here… We should get a move on." He placed a paw on Hina's shoulder. "...Hina, they don't know how to use moves like I did at first."

"Well that's not good…" The Eevee put a paw on her chin. "How 'bout we help them out like I did you?"

"That would be nice!" Sam grinned at her. "But I think it's gonna wait. We have gym now."

"Gym?" The female Zoura tilted her head confused. She dropped her head while sighing. "Oh, no. I'm terrible at gym."

"I love gym." Caden smiled while putting a paw on Nora's back and petting it. "And don't worry, we'll all be there to help you out." He blushed softly. "And besides, you're not the one to hurt or embarrass yourself. That's more my thing."

He couldn't see his counterpart slightly blushing while started to walk. "Thanks, Cade…"

"Alright!" Sam started stretching his arms in multiple directions. "Time to act like a wild Pokémon!"

"Yeah, I'm so ready for gym! It makes me feel so great!" The male Zorua exclaimed. "And besides, it'll be fun to watch you try and impress Hina."

"Yeah, I can't do that." The Pikachu tried to give a fake smile towards the Eevee in the distance. "When we're actually doing these types of challenges, she always finds a mistake I do and emphasizes it."

"What do you mean?" Caden asked, secretly looking at Nora. "Hina doesn't seem to be the type to nitpick."

Sam immediately laughed quietly in response. "Trust me, it's like she has an alter ego when it comes to fighting."

"Hm… Yeah…" The male Zorua nodded, now barely paying attention to Sam. "Have you ever mentioned it to her?"

"...Nope!" The Pikachu stared in the direction he was looking at. "Caden, I think our teacher's approaching."

"Huh? Oh yeah…" Caden dismissively replied, a soft blush on his face as he continued to look forward. "...That's cool, dude." Meanwhile, Nora and Hina were talking silently as the class went silent.

"Um… No one has arrived yet." The female Zoura whispered "Why are we silent?"

"I dunno." Hina answered with a shrug. "But you need to stop bein' so paranoid about stuff all of the time."

"That's kinda hard to do…" Nora moved her head up to see Caden peeking at her. "Especially since he's around."

"What's so wrong with Cade? He's your best friend." The Eevee tilted her head slightly. "Do you secretly hate him or something?"

"What? No!" She shouted in a low voice. "I don't hate him… I can't share it in here though."

"Why not?" Hina walked closer to her. "We're all friends here, right? Well… Aside from just getting to know each other… You should be sharing your grievances."

The female Zoura placed her paws together while coming closer. "Well, me and Cade are not siblings. We're best friends and have been living with each other for the past few years." Nora leaned in so no one else could hear him. "Is it bad to say that I like him?"

"Not at all." The Eevee gave a sweet smile. "It's a good thing to like him. But why is he living with you if you two aren't related?"

"Um…" The female Zoura looked at Cade, who was yawning once again. "He never told me what happened. I didn't even realize that he wasn't my sibling until I asked about it." She quickly sighed while turning back. "Sometimes I feel like he's gonna try to keep the door shut on that for the rest of his life."

"I'm sure he'll tell you if you just ask about it." Hina put a supportive paw on her back. "When I first saw Caden, I knew he only trusted one person. You." She let out a sigh. "I'm not sure he'll tell you. I know he will soon, because he has you to tell it to."

Nora smiled for a few seconds before giving a hug towards Hina. "Thanks for talking," she said while hearing the bell ringing in the distance.

When Caden heard the next bell ring, his eyes widened and instantly darted over to Nora in concern. "I hope this doesn't hurt her…"

"Ah…" The female Zoura groaned while covering her right ear. "I'll never understand this bell…"

"Your ears hurt from the bell?" Hina broke the hug confusedly. "That's weird…"

"Yeah," Nora nodded while getting back into four legs. "I guess I'm not used to the high pitched noise."

"Alright everyone, on the bleachers!" A demanding voice echoed through the gym. "Hop to it!" The students obliged and started running towards the metal stands in the distance.

"Seriously?" The female Zoura shouted while looking at the distance. "...Cade, let's go!" Caden nodded shakily before following behind her. It took a couple of minutes, but the two of them arrived at the top of the bleachers about a hundred meters away.

Once every student was on the bleachers, looking down at the gym teacher, an angry-looking Lucario, Caden began to shake and hug Nora tightly, stuffing his head into her neck fur. "W-What d-d-did we even do?"

Nora took a few steps back toward the end of the metal stairs. "I-I d-don't know!" She whispered in response. "I think we did everything right."

"It's not them, it's not them, it's not them, it's not them…" Caden closed his eyes tightly, letting a few tears fall from them. "Please… Stop…"

"...Cade, calm down…" The female Zoura closed her eyes to take deep breaths. "Maybe it's not us."

"I can't stop remembering them…" The male Zorua thought, tuning Nora out. "Stop…"

"Newbies, front and center!"

Nora started gulping loudly. She was about to take a step forward before realizing Caden was still on her. "C-Cade, come on," She tapped his shoulder. "Face your fear. We need to."

"Nora… I need to leave." Caden shook his head. "I just need to…"

"Caden!" Nora quickly released him from her grasp, and tried to shake him awake . "Cade, stop. This isn't your old life! This is a new one!"

The male Zorua's eye twitched as his ears lowered, simply shaking his head. "...No matter what version of life it is… It's always mine." Caden began to back away slowly.

She could mentally feel the pain the male Zoura was feeling right now. "That's it." She turned around and ran towards the Lucario. A stern face came upon her for the very first time. "I hope you're happy!" She shouted sarcastically. "You made Caden re-experience a trauma!"

"What…?" The Lucario asked with a deadpan expression, looking down at the livid Zorua. Nora proceeded to continue shouting at her, ignoring the confused expression of her teacher.

"Holy crap…" Sam mumbled to himself and the Eevee next to her. "She's really bringing it to Ms. Lucario… Should we check on Caden?"

"Yeah, we probably should." Hina nodded with wide eyes, still looking down at Nora. "Who knew that she was so… Territorial over Cade?" The Eevee turned to look over to Caden, who was still shaken to his core.

"I was gonna say that she sounds terrifying, but nevermind." The Pikachu quickly glanced down at Nora before running to the male Zoura. He quickly started glowing white, and started weaving and dodging Pokémon in the distance. "Cade, are you okay?" Sam asked when finished getting through everyone.

"No…" He shook his head, curled up into a ball. Hina approached and began to pet Caden's back softly.

"And if this was a joke," Nora was about to finish, "it wasn't funny at all!" She took a few deep breaths, still livid in front of the Lucario.

"It was a joke, I just couldn't get to the punchline." She replied, looking down at Nora with a deadpan expression. The female Zoura's ears perked up.

"Wait, what?" She responded while looking up to her. "W-What was the joke in all of this?"

"I do this with all new students, but I never had one to react like that…" She looked over to Caden, who was still being consoled by Sam and Hina. "But I guess I had that coming. I'll let those… Colorful… Choices of words slide, since you were in the right."

Nora took a step back before nodding. "O-Okay… Caden!" The female Zoura ran up the stairs with twice the regular speed of a four legged creature. "Please say something to me."

Caden's ears perked up at the sound of her voice before he quickly shot up and hugged her, once again burying his face into her neck fur. "...Thank you."

His counterpart was frozen solid to Cade's hugging. "Y-You're welcome, buddy," She responded while returning the hug. "You know I'm always with you. By your side."

Caden began to unconsciously nuzzle her and softly lick her cheek. "I know… I'm still scared, though. I hate being like this." He tightly shut his eyes.

"We still have other Pokémon looking at us," she quickly reminded him before closing her eyes and unconsciously nuzzling him. "...It's gonna be fine, okay? You told me we're gonna be the best."

"M-Mhm…" He quietly agreed, letting out a shaky, yet content, sigh. He finally stopped shaking, his head now rested on Nora's. "...The best." Caden then suddenly felt a different paw touch his head, making him flinch.

Caden flipped around, still hugging a content Nora, to look up to a Lucario. "...Sorry about that, kid. Are you doing okay?"

The male Zorua looked down to Nora, petting her head softly. He looked back up to his teacher with a smile. "Now I am."

"Hmm…" Nora sat against the wall of their final class, Creative Writing. "I hope he gets here soon…"

The Pikachu right next to her sighed while looking around. "I thought you were gonna mention Hina as well, because she's gonna be with us as well."

"Guysss!" An enthusiastic and somewhat childish voice shouted through the hallway as a familiar Eevee approached. When the Eevee got to the two, she gave the two a somewhat disappointed smile. "So… Ms. Lucario wanted Cade to be there for a few minutes longer to really iron things out."

"That's nice of her," Sam responded while nodding. "Especially since… Well, we experienced it." He noticed a familiar Zoura walking along the shiny hallway. "Oh, there he is now!"

He wore a shaky smile as his eye twitched slightly. Despite the visible action, he still seemed happier than he was earlier. He finally approached the group before looking between the three nervously. "H-Hey guys…"

"Hi, Cade!" The female Zoura waved while standing up. "Our favorite subject is coming up! Get your creative mind pumped."

"M-Mhm." He nodded, giving a weak smile. "It's been a while since we worked on something."

"Um… 'Work on?'" Sam titled his head confused. "What are you two talking about?"

"Well… We would always work on stories together." Caden replied quietly. "We started doing it just to pass the time, but now I really enjoy it."

"We enjoy it because the system works in the style we fit in." Nora moved right next to the male Zorua. "Cade's usually the Pokémon who makes almost all the characters, and gives the movesets for every Pokémon. I work on world building, and have a tendency to imagine how each battle and conversation plays out." She smiled at Cade. "Yeah, we make a good team."

As Caden smiled and sheepishly nuzzled his cheek against hers, Hina nodded. "You two sure make a good team, alright." The Eevee sPoké, giving a bright smile.

"Well, despite all of that, I still have no idea what this class is," Sam took a few steps inside the door. "Just wanted to throw that out there."

"It can't be that bad, right?" Caden asked, his cheek still on Nora's. "This is our last class of the day. Our teacher can't be that bad."

"Let's hope not." The female Zoura's muzzle opened to yawn for a few seconds. When the four entered, they could see two desks conjoined with one another, confusing the four of them.

"Well, it looks like we have new students!" A female Audino approached the two Zoura, startled slightly.

Caden flinched for a moment before looking up to the Audino. "So far so good…" He thought to himself. "Um… Yes. I'm Cade and that's Nora." The male Zorua shook slightly.

"H-Hi there," The female Zoura raised a paw.

"Well, you two find yourselves a seat. We're just about to get started."

"Started?" Caden hesitated, his legs stuck in place. "No, no, no, no. You're fine, Caden. You're fine."

"Relax…" Nora started dragging the Zoura towards a desk. "It's not gonna be like last time."

"Oh… About that…" Caden grabbed her paw, peaking her attention. "I'm sorry for making a fool out of you back there… You basically cursed out the teacher for nothing but my insecurities…" He sPoké quietly to let only Nora hear.

"I don't care if my reputation was shattered," She whispered back while sitting down. "Even if it made everyone hate me, I would have done it anyway."

The male Zorua sat down on the chair next to her, putting his head on her shoulder. "I don't know what I'd do without you, Nora." He softly nuzzled her. "I'd probably be too scared to leave my room."

As she responded to that, Ms. Audino stood up in front of the class. "Alright class, today we are going to start our class." She started writing down the subject name. "Now can anyone tell me what 'writing' is?"

Cade raised his paw, his head still on Nora's shoulder. He wore a nonchalant expression as the Audino's eyes scanned the room for a raised paw. "There can't be any wrong answer, right?"

"No there isn't." A different voice interrupted Nora speaking.

"Nora?" The male Zorua asked, looking up from her shoulder to look at her. "Was that you? Because that voice seemed a little different."

The female Zoura shook her head. "You know as well as I do that the voice wasn't me."

The Audino sat down on her teacher's chair. "Well, Caden?" She responded while looking at the two of them. "What's the answer?"

"Umm… An articulation of thoughts and emotions typed or written in certain structures to make different forms of expression." Caden answered nervously. "...Is that right?"

"Well…" She thought for a moment. "That's the complicated way to say it, but yes." She stood up to write emotion on the board. "You see writing is about putting emotion on paper to create a story." She turned back to the class. "Now, this class has only one assignment for this entire school year. Write a story that interests you. It can be about anything, real life, past history, it could be about humans for all I care." She took a few deep breaths before passing sheets of paper. "By the end of the school year, I want the final edit typed, printed in class, and turned in… You may work in duos; you may get started."

In front of the two Zorua, Sam and Hina looked at them. "I guess this isn't so bad," Sam responded while moving his chair. "I think."

"Yeah… This is really nice." Caden remarked unconsciously, his head rested on his best friend's shoulder. The male Zorua began to purr with content. "...I feel a lot better."

"Cade, you're taking it the wrong way, even though I like it," Nora responded while looking at the Pikachu and Eevee. "So do you guys have an idea already?"

"Wait, you want me and Hina to work together?"

"It sounds pretty fun, Sammy." Hina smiled enthusiastically. "Let's do it!" The Eevee threw her paws up happily.

The Pikachu was frozen solid from her behavior, but he eventually nodded. "Alright, fine. We'll leave you two alone to think of an idea." Sam turned away to start whispering to Hina.

"Want a berry while we brainstorm?" Caden asked, softly nuzzling Nora. "And do you have any plot ideas?"

"I would like one," Nora placed her head down on the desk. "...Not really, 'cause we both are rusty since our main stories." She groaned softly before licking the male Zoura's nose.

Caden softly blushed and pulled an Oran berry from his tail before placing it on the desk and licking the female Zorua's nose. "I guess you're kinda right, but I think we've improved since then."

She nodded before blushing back in response. "Okay, we know Pokémon are in real life now," She said so no one but the male Zoura could hear her. "So why not revolve around that?"

"That could be a decent idea." Caden smiled, playing around with Nora's fur. "Maybe it could be about both species?"

"Alright." The female Zoura nodded while grinning at Caden. "Maybe one species lives in the other species' house, and the other species has to protect them from being taken away?"

"That's good." The male Zorua nodded with a small blush as he managed to style the fur on Nora's hair differently. "Maybe the human's protecting the Pokémon?"

"Yeah, that makes better sense," Nora quickly agreed and grabbed a pencil. "Let's get started!"

"Now…?" Caden whined, putting his head on top of hers. "No, I wanna sleep now. It's been a long day."

"Oh… Fine." She placed her head on the desk to start closing her eyes. "Just promise me that we can get started after we finish Biology's homework, okay?"

Caden hugged the female Zorua softly, nodding. "...Fair enough." He let out a sigh. "I owe you for this, anyway." He softly nuzzled her.

"...Cade?" She said mentally while being pulled into sleep.

"Hm?" The male Zorua began to doze off.

"...Caden, I have to let you know that I love you."

"...I love you, too."