Chapter II – A Bunny and a Shadow
By this time, Louis had arrived at the orphanage, which was run by Nurse Chansey. Known as "Chansey's Orphanage," it was next to Café Connection, and was fashioned from brick rather than mud like most of the other buildings. Being two stories tall, and housing a few dozen orphans, it was quite large.
He was just about to enter when he heard a voice behind him. "Looking for someone, Louie?" Louis turned, though he already knew who it was. It was his friend, Flopsy. She was a Buneary, a rabbit Pokémon. Her fur was dark brown, and she had cream-colored fluff on the tips of her ears, which also had pink undersides. One of her ears was rolled up, while the other wasn't. Fluff of the same color also covered the bottom half of her body. She had questioning eyebrows and a small pompom-like tail, both the color of her fluff (though Louis couldn't see her tail because he was right in front of her); she possessed a pink triangular nose and big, brown eyes. She was about sixteen, like Louis.
The Pikachu shrugged. "Not anymore."
Flopsy tilted her head. "So that means you've already found...whoever it is you're looking for?" Louis nodded. "Is that someone...me?" Again, he nodded, bracing himself for what he knew would inevitably come. The Buneary smiled broadly and leapt at him, clutching him tightly. "I knew it! You are so predicable!" He blushed, and looked around nervously, checking if anyone was around. Luckily, there was no one in—
"Don't forget about me," a voice in the shadows reminded him. Knowing who it was, Louis's blush deepened, and he gently but firmly pushed his affectionate friend away from him.
"Shade, why do you always have to wait for the most embarrassing moment to make yourself known?" he questioned.
"Because it's more fun that way," Shade replied spookily, revealing himself. He was a Duskull, a small ghost-type Pokémon that resembled the Grim Reaper (minus the scythe). His robe-like body had two bone patterns on the back, and he sported a skull-like mask covering a single red eye that looked through one of the eye sockets. Like Flopsy, he was an orphan and lived at the orphanage. However, he was practically the bunny's opposite. While Flopsy was friendly and carefree, Shade was cynical and, well, not carefree. Thought he was only slightly older than Louis and Flopsy, he appeared to be more than both of their ages combined. "Besides," he added, smirking, "this isn't the first time Flopsy has hugged you."
"Well, in my defense—"
"So, Shade, Louie and I are gonna play hide-and-seek," Flopsy interrupted. "Do you wanna play too?"
"I never agreed to—" Louis began, facing her, but before he could finish, she covered his mouth with one of her paws.
The requiem Pokémon grinned eerily (or at least that's what it seemed like; Louis never could tell). "Of course. Who shall be first?"
The Buneary returned a joyful smile. "You can. Count to fifty, please." Shade nodded and stood in front of the orphanage, and, covering his eye sockets, started to count. Flopsy hopped quietly into some bushes close by.
That silly bunny, Louis thought. She usually wants to play tag. I mean, hide-and-seek is Shade's favorite game, especially at night, but still...she's got some sort of plan. He darted in the opposite direction as his friend, trying his best to make as little sound as possible. However, because it was nearly dark, the Pikachu was having a difficult time finding a place to hide (being a ghost-type, Shade had night vision). Finally spotting a large burrow underneath a tree, he crawled into it. The hole was large enough for two, and since he was the only one, it would indeed be quite suitable for him. Inside, it smelled like a wet Poochyena (a dog Pokémon), but he honestly didn't care. Suddenly, there was a rustling nearby. Wait, is that Shade? No, it can't be; he doesn't make any noise when he moves. Who is it, then? Then the noise outside ceased, as quickly as it had come. Huh. Must've just been a wandering Pokémon or something—AHHH! He inwardly screamed as something softly brushed him.
"Oh, I'm sorry for frightening you. Is this your hiding place?"
Quickly composing himself, he hissed, "Flopsy, what are you doing here? You scared the living daylights outta me." Unperturbed, Flopsy scooted closer to him and, despite himself, he blushed.
"I didn't like my initial hiding spot very much, so I chose this burrow instead," she explained. "It smells a little funky, but it'll do."
"Probably because I'm here," Louis mumbled under his breath.
"What was that?"
"Nothing," he murmured. An awkward silence followed. It was so quiet one would be able to hear a pin drop.
Then Flopsy asked something that made him do a double take. "Hey, Louie, how about we have a sleepover, like we used to, but here?"
Oh, as if all the hugging and affection weren't enough, now she wants to sleep with me! Louis thought frantically. No...I can't do it, no matter what. "Flopsy, I—" He was suddenly hushed by his companion.
"There's someone coming." Her eyes widened. "And that someone is not Shade."
Words: 874
Published: Nov. 16, 2019
