Last edited on: 2021/12/28


The school bell rang, and the classroom filled up with Lucas' classmates. When everyone got to their seats, Sir Darian came into the classroom.

"Good morning. Good morning," Sir Darian said, and yawned. "Sorry about that. I didn't get much sleep last night."

"Oh, Sir. You know, you can take the day off and go to sleep," Hilbert suggested and thumbs-upped. If Lucas said that, he'd be grounded for the rest of the week.

Sir Darian just smiled. Uh oh. "Please, no jokes right now, Hilbert. You're lucky I'm not that strict with you all unlike," Sir then scratched his head, "nah, nevermind." Whew, good thing he didn't get mad. Lucas didn't want to see Sir Darian ever explode. He's scary when he does it!

"So anyway, children. I'm sure all of you know already, but I'd like to introduce to you your new classmate." Sir looked to where Mes was. "Mary?"

"Yes, Sir!"

Mes stood up and walked to the front, passing by Lucas' seat.

"If you would, Mary?" Sir asked.

Mes nodded. "Good morning, classmates. My name's Mary Tabangon. You can call me 'Mes' if you want!" Just hearing her nickname made Lucas feel uneasy. "And I'm from Twinleaf Town, where that boy's from." She pointed to Lucas.

Oh c'mon, Mes!

It's like a two-hit combo of words from her, and it even felt like all eyes were on him, again. Lucas blushed at what she said and looked away. He heard Dawn laughing from behind. Dang, this was embarrassing, but at least he could call her 'Mes' without breaking their promise.

And why'd you have to do that to me, Mes? Mes only giggled at Lucas. Oh, boy…

"Psst, Lucas!" Barry called out.

"Not now, Barry," Lucas quietly replied, knowing that Barry had a lot of questions for him later.

Sir smiled. "I see. Welcome to your new family, Mes. Any special talents, likes, dislikes, or anything in particular you'd like to share with your new friends before we start?"

Mes put a hand on her chin. "Well, not really, Sir. I'm kind of shy~"

At that moment, Lucas just felt like he had to look at Ruby. When he did, Ruby looked like he's gonna ask her a lot of questions. He even had this weird smile on. That girl-magnet wannabe. If only Ruby knew who she really was, he'd probably back off before any trouble started.

"Very well. Thank you for introducing yourself to us, Mes. Before you return, however," Sir took out a piece of paper from his desk, "may I ask everyone to stand up and collect yourselves and your things to the front, please?"

Must be the seating arrangements.

This usually happens when classes start for the first term or when a new term's come. When everyone got to the front, Lucas wondered where he'd be seated. He just hoped he was nearer to the front, and maybe a little closer to Mes and farther from that annoying Barry. Not that he liked her, though.

"Children, as you might've guessed, we'll be having our formal seating arrangements from here on. Afterwards, I'll have some more announcements before we begin our class in English. Are we clear, children?"

"Yes, Sir," everyone replied.

When everyone got to their new seats, Lucas was seated between Mes and Barry behind the first row and nearer to the right of the room, when looking at the board.

Oh boy, Lucas did NOT sign up for a hyper-seatmate menu for the rest of the first term. At least Dawn was in front of him, and that's enough to balance out these two hyper seatmates. Mes didn't seem to like how Lucas looked at Dawn, though, or maybe it's just him. Lucas was also near Ruby, Sapph, Hilbert, Nate, Hilda, and Rosa. He wasn't that close to the last three, though.

Huh, looks like we'd make a pretty behaved group. He sighed at that.

"Children, once you're ready, I have some announcements," Sir Darian said before getting a small notebook. "By the way, I was meaning to announce this yesterday, but it felt better to say it when you all are here."

"Looks like I'm a celebrity, Lukey!"

Lucas sighed. I… don't really think that's for you, Mes.

"Alright. First off, even if it's still a long way to go, I want to congratulate you all for making it this far. You all are graduating from elementary this June," he said with a smile, and the class started clapping. Some were softly cheering. "That is if you don't have any serious or grave cases that might ruin your record here in school, but I wouldn't worry about it. You all are good students, right?"

Even though Lucas and his classmates said 'yes' altogether, he could've sworn some of them weren't really… true to their word. Heck, he heard some of them giggling, and it's no wonder Barry's one of them.

Sir Darian just yawned. Huh, he really didn't get enough sleep last night. "Second, we'll be talking about your final exams before you march to your graduation. I hope you all will listen to this very well."

This was it, the moment Lucas was waiting for. It's been his dream to get that 'Top 1' and to be one of the very best out there. That finals was gonna be a hard hitter.

I gotta pay close attention. Lucas got his pen and flipped his notebook open. He's definitely gonna write down everything Sir said just to get that 'Top 1' title.

"As some of you might know, the Grade 6's and Grade 12's exams are similar to each other, making them stand out from the rest. In fact, you might as well enjoy it." Sir started to write on the board. "But of course, there are certain rules to follow. For those who don't know what I'm talking about, it's this."

The board read 'Practical Exams: Pokémon Battling'.

Almost all of Lucas' classmates were cheering. The quiet ones just clapped their hands. Who could say 'no' to pokémon battling? Heck, this was gonna be one cool exam.

"Settle down, children. Settle down." Sir lightly tapped his desk. "Let me first explain the rest of it before you get any wild ideas."

Basically, they were still gonna get the same pen-and-paper exam for the rest of their subjects, major or not and with the exception of PE, to which some groaned 'Aw man!'. It's just that the practical exams were added, and the weight of those exams were a teensy bit bigger than the major subject exams, namely English, Maths, and Science.

Heh, I'll ace all of 'em!

The mechanics were explained next. Sir Darian said that they get to have a max of three pokémon for battling: only one can be their own, as long as it's registered by the in-charge, while the others have to be borrowed from the handling teacher. There'll be two pokémon for each pokémon type that they could borrow from, too. That makes it 36 pokémon available to use. Only one poké ball got to be picked from each type. They'll also get a chance to train or get used to the pokémon they borrow from the school a month before at max.

Oh, and there were some pokémon that weren't allowed to be used. Most of them were ones that could evolve or could literally hurt them real bad without meaning to. "Your safety is our responsibility," Sir said.

"Um, Sir!" Nate butted in. "Can't we just use the pokémon we have for all three slots? And why does it have to be three?"

Sir sighed. "I'm sorry, Nate, but rules are rules. This is also to make you get used to other types, to develop a bit of skillfulness, and to account for time constraints. Only when you're able to take the Grade 12 version of this exam can you be able to fill in the slots of all three pokémon with your own team. Please understand." Nate just grumbled at that.

"Also, I would request your silence for now, children. You may ask questions later on, and I hope you all listen very attentively," Sir Darian said.

Sir said that the 36 available pokémon will be different from the next session, and there would also be at least one of them may be a dual type. If Lucas guessed it right, that'd automatically go to the flying-types. The bottomline was that the same pokémon won't definitely appear in the next battle choices to pick, he said.

Next up, the stuff about the battling. Since they didn't want battles to take up a lot of time, the whole match shouldn't go beyond 30 minutes. With only three pokémon each student, there's a cap of ten minutes for each battle.

"But it's flexible," Sir said with a smile. "Meaning, if you manage to knock the opponent's pokémon out before the ten-minute mark, you get to add the remaining time to your next round, and so on if you still do it quickly."

Also, no one's allowed to use any healing stuff for their pokémon throughout the whole match, but a pokémon could hold an item beforehand. It just needed to be checked so that cheating won't happen.

Oh, and cheating was a big no-no. If anyone got found out cheating, they'd get the yellow card: they'll be disqualified for the rest of the exams. Also, Sir added that helping out the cheater or cheaters would also end up in the same thing.

Kinda extreme, but I won't cheat.

"I'll give you a list of what's not allowed later on," Sir said.

To wrap up the battling part, Sir said that they had the choice to call the quits anytime midgame, stopping all points from being added to both students and giving the win to the opponent. A no-show without an excuse also makes it an auto-win to the other guy, this other gets to be rematched with someone else. He added, with a pretty serious face, that doing either was not a recommended thing to do.

I mean, who the heck would just give up like that?

The last part of the explanation was the grading scheme. "You might think that if you win, you get a perfect mark. End of story, right?" Sir tapped the desk with his hand. "There are certain criteria to be met."

He said that winning's just 30% of the score. Losing, from giving up midgame or not, was gonna automatically earn the student more than half of the winning points, but a disqualification or an unexcused absence was an auto-zero. The other 70% was pretty much how you played the whole match out.

The part about reaching the time limit with kinda-okay pokémon was a big question mark for Lucas, but that was answered by the rest of the points. Namely, these were the:

Movepool — 25%

Successful Attacks Made — 20%

Successful Misses — 10%

Super-Effective Hits — 10%

Conduct — 5%

With the winning percentage, it all added up to 100.

"The final grade will be the average of all the results in the matches, but the last one will be of a higher weight. Well, that's your practical final exams. Any questions before I move on to the last announcement?" Sir asked.

Lots of questions came pooling in, especially from Nate and Sapph. A lot of them were just useless info that Lucas didn't need or requests to repeat some parts of the explanation. Two questions that caught his attention was if there was gonna be some guide, paper, or something that's gonna be given to them about this and how many matches were there gonna be.

"As for that, there'll be one given to each one of you before your recess, and the other part, we're still making the final decisions. Again, you'll also receive the news in paper before recess" he answered. "Alright, I think I've entertained more than enough questions. Onto the next and last announcement: the additional awards for this year's batch of 'Top 3' achievers during the graduation ceremony." Oh yeah, this was what Lucas was waiting for!

Sir laughed for a moment. "You get to keep one of the pokémon you've used in all your matches. Also, the 'Top 1' gets a ribbon from one of the school's founders." Sir drew a small smiley face on the board and then smiled. "I also hear that when you graduate from Grade 12, the 'Top 3' gets some rare pokémon from a pokémon research professor before you get officially registered as a trainer. Exciting, right? You'll all get what you're due in time if you work hard," he added with a smile.

Lucas' classmates started talking to each other. He could hear them saying their fave pokémon and asking what their plans were gonna be.

"Ha! Two birds with one stone, Lucas," Barry said. "I'm definitely gonna get another one, and you know it!"

"You really need to learn when to tone down, Barry," Lucas said. He even heard Mes and Dawn laugh with him.

"Aw, don't be like that, Lucas. I'm pretty sure all of us here want one," Dawn said. "Do you, Lucas?"

Was that even a question? "Heck yeah! I'm gonna build up my own team even before I get that sweet trainer's card."

Dawn giggled. Dang, she's really cute when she does… Wait, what the heck, Lucas? "How about you, Mes?" Dawn turned to her. "Do you want one?"

Mes shook her head. Of course, she's a legendary. "Not really. Actually, I already have what I need."

"Oh! Like, a partner or something?"

Huh, didn't know Mes had one. Mes put a hand under her chin. "You could say that. I pretty much don't need anything else in this world." Dawn looked so interested at Mes.

"I think you need me. Right, Miss Mary?" Ruby said from behind Lucas.

Uh oh, Lucas swore he saw Mes' eye become black for a sec. "Lukey, who's that annoying little human friend of yours?"

That's Ruby. Please don't mind him. He's… a bad charmer, but he's a good guy deep down. And so did Mes ignore him. She just turned her head away from him.

Sapph snorted and laughed. "Nice going, Ruby. Real smooth," she added. Lucas heard a low grumble from Ruby.

"Settle down, children." Sir yawned while getting a book. "It's time for English, now. I hope you've noted down the important parts I said." Dang, just what time did he sleep?

"Lucas?" Barry, Ruby, Hilbert, and Nate looked at Lucas. Dangit, he knew what those lazy butts were gonna ask.

Lucas rolled his eyes. "There'll be a paper given later. Jeez, write your own notes some day." All of them, except Barry, hmphed and turned to Sir Darian. Weird, Barry'd usually do it with them.

"I just need the grading scheme, Lucas," Barry said, smiling. "Won't be long, promise!"

Dang him. Barry'd always act all kind and sweet just to get stuff. "Fine, fine." Lucas handed over his notebook to Barry, which Barry gave him a thumbs-up. There's no use saying 'no' to that airhead.

"Now, it looks like you're the celebrity for tabulating data, Lukey."

Lucas felt she was smugly smiling at him. Oh, quiet you…

The rest of the English class went pretty okay. As usual, memorise and look up the meaning of some words before the real lesson. Today's topic was about reading comprehension, so they just read some stories and news and talked about the proper way to answer questions given.

Recess was up next after English, and the class did get the papers promised from the principal who went around the Grade 6 area. Lucas decided to have a change of place to relax and eat somewhere else besides the classroom and the cafeteria for both recess and lunch. He wanted peace and quiet to study up the paper given to him.

Oh yeah, the open field. There's one part there where there's a big tree. That's where Ruby, Sapph, Hilbert, Nate, and some others would hang out every recess and lunch. Barry and Dawn would go there sometimes. Around it was a quiet place where no one really knew where. That's where Lucas'd go to study and relax without anyone bugging him, with a breath of fresh air as a cool bonus.

The best part's that Mes was being crowded by pretty much his classmates, especially a questioning Ruby, by the time the bell rang. Lucas took that opportunity and quickly escaped, hoping Mes or anyone wouldn't find him. He really didn't like all those popularity-thingamajigs, though.

"Alright. Peace and quiet as usual," Lucas said to himself when reaching his spot and then taking out his sandwich. "Now, let's read this paper."

It's just as Sir Darian said. Everything's in it, so having it would've been pretty useless if it wasn't for the 'Please inform your parents about it' part.

Lucas frowned. Well, I hope Mom's at home tonight.

Also, the number of matches were put in there. "Six matches till June, huh. Starting from… next month. Then, there's two for June. There's even a practice run in… dang, a week." It seemed kinda unreasonable for him, but it said that they're gonna borrow one or two pokémon by dismissal time. That's a relief.

But wait, reading the front page one more time, the grading scheme wasn't there. Crud, not even at the back page: just a calendar. Dangit, it's like that Barry knew it's not gonna be there. Lucas hoped that his friends wouldn't ask him for his notes again 'cause he really couldn't say 'no' to them.

Biting the sandwich, took a look at the school calendar of events next. Huh, that's neat. There's an upcoming Quiz Bee contest, field trip to a farm near Solaceon Town, and a lot more. The first two were the closest, and the contest was in a month.

"Hey, it's a regional contest for schools coming from the whole Sinnoh, and it's gonna be held in this school, too!" This was neat. Lucas always loved showing off his smarts in a not-so Barry-kinda way. "Yeah, I'm joining this. There's gonna be a sign-up sheet posted in the bulletin board later at dismissal, too."

That's all to it.

Dang, he just wished everything'd go so easily in school, but maybe Dad's right about stuff being hard and all. Getting the 'Top 1' wasn't gonna be an easy game, but it sure as heck was gonna be worth it. Huh, it didn't really look so—

"BOO!"

Lucas nearly lost his balance at that fricking yell. "Oh sh-sh-shoot!"

Dangit, I nearly cussed!

"Found you, Lukey~" Oh no, it's Mes. "Were you trying to get away from me?" She sat beside him and then inched closer. Urgh, this was so uncomfy.

"I just needed peace and quiet, and how'd you find me? I don't think anyone knows this spot but me."

"Oh, Lukey~ Lukey~ Lukey~ You really forget who I am, and that's so~ cute of you." Crud, she's right, and now, she's poking his cheek. "And, you said that no one but you knows this place, right?"

"T-try something, and I'm gonna call a teacher or an adult!"

"I'm as old as teacher, Lukey."

Yeah, this was his chance to bite back. "No, you're an oldie. You're like 100 plus years old!"

Heh, she's blushing and pouting now. Serves her right! "I-I knew I shouldn't have told you my real age, meanie."

"Well, can you do me a favour and please, please let me enjoy my peace and quiet?" Lucas begged.

"C'mon, Lukey." She frowned a bit. "Can't you at least try to hang out with your human friends? I don't really like them, especially that lecherous human and your yellow-haired friend, but they seem alright to be with. It's perfect for you."

What the heck does lecherous even mean?

"I don't feel like it, Mes. Not right now, actually."

Mes sighed. It looked like she's calmed down a bit. "Well, you can at least tell me all about it. Why?"

Lucas started explaining that he really doesn't wanna hang out with anyone besides Mes, Barry, and Dawn. He said that he didn't really wanna talk much 'cause maybe they won't have the same stuff to talk about, making him a bit different. Also, he's not quite used to the noise and rowdiness, and he wanted at least some peace and quiet to keep himself cool.

"I see. You're a lot like me, but here's what I realised." She looked at him with those serious golden eyes. "You should go hang out with your friends more. I know I can make you way, way happier than them, but I admit, it's better if you get it from your circle of friends, especially if you're still a child. Don't worry if you won't really share 100% the same ideas. There'll be ups and downs in it, I guess, but it's probably for the best. I want what's the best for you, Lukey, and your social life development is a start."

She really does sound like a mom and big sister.

"How're you so sure about that? I bet you had a lotta friends when you're as old as me." Lucas needed to know. His dad's passing really changed him, so he needed it.

Mes looked up to the sky. "I'm sure because I didn't have many friends at your age. You won't see it yet, but I can tell you for sure that trying to leave yourself alone more than usual isn't good. I know how bad it is if you don't try to socialise, or hang out, with your friends at your age. I kinda envy you 'cause your childhood's alright." She held her chin and looked down. "M-maybe except that part when your father passed away, but you get my point," she turned to him with a sweet smile, "right, Lukey?"

He's gotta admit that she's right. It's getting kinda boring if he'd always stay away from his friends, and maybe they might stop talking to him one day. Dang, he didn't want that.

But there's something about Mes that Lucas wanted to know so badly.

Her past… She never really opened up about it.

She'd always change the topic, ignore him, or do something to not answer if he'd ask. Just what was in it that made her like that?

"Yeah, I guess you're right, Mes. I guess I should hang out with them more often." She lit up when he said it. "But, can I ask one more thing before we go to them?"

"Go on, Lukey."

Here it goes. "Just how was your childhood? You never really told me about it."

Suddenly, she bit her lip and looked away. Maybe she's thinking of another excuse.

"Lukey."

"Y-yeah, Mes?"

She paused for a moment. She was still looking away from him. Uh oh, maybe he didn't ask at the right time. He could feel that there's this weird air around her. The wind blew past them, and the bell rang before it died down.

"Please understand, but you're still not at the right age for me to tell you." She looked back at him, and she had… teary eyes. "C-can you please stop asking that question, Lukey? Please… can you pinky-swear me that?" She held up her pink at him.

Crud-crud-crud. Not good, not good!

Lucas realised that he was asking some pretty sensitive bits of her past. Dangit, how could he not realise that? He felt so ashamed that he made his friend and a legendary cry, but there's only one thing to do.

Tying his pinky to hers, he said, "I pinky-swear, Mes. I'm also sorry for asking stuff off the bat, too."

Please don't cry, Mes…

She wiped her eyes with her hand and went back to the smiling Mes he knew and loved. Whew, that was a close call.

"Thanks, Lukey. You're the best!" She hugged him. Urgh, she's really emotional, but he's not gonna say 'no' to free hugs. "I'll tell you when you're older, alright? Now, let's go. What's the next class, Sir Lukey?"

Thinking hard, he answered. "It's Maths."

Wait a minute, Maths!

"What's wrong, Lukey? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"I-it's the teacher, Mes. She's really strict!" Dangit, he did NOT wanna get locked out for being two minutes late after the bell. If he only got his watch! "C-c'mon, let's go!" Lucas quickly grabbed her hand and ran back to the classroom.

Crud-crud-crud… I hope we could still make it before the second!

"Sorry if I'm tugging you like this, Mes." Dang, this was gonna be really awkward if his friends saw him, but the time's still ticking!

"I don't Lukey. It's like we're on an escape adventure!"

Dang, the open area's kinda far from his classroom. Reaching there, he saw some of his classmates outside. It looked like two minutes had gone by.

"Dangit, we're too late!" Lucas groaned. Crud, and it's his first time to be ever locked out!

Why, Miss Cassandra? Just why?

"If you didn't hang out all alone, we'd all be inside, you know?" Mes said, sassily.

Hang on, the ones outside were Barry, Hilbert, Nate, Ruby, Sapph, and even… Dawn! Oh shoot, not Dawn, too!

"Just where the hell did you run off, Lucas?" Sapph asked. "I don't care if I get stuck out for ten minutes, but just so you know, we've been looking for you to tell us more about Mes! What a dick move, Lucas."

"Sapph, please. I think Lucas had his reasons," Dawn said. Oh boy, it's embarrassing to be saved by her… "But where were you, Lucas?" She suddenly paused for a sec. "And why're you holding Mes' hand?"

"Huh?" Oh shoot, he didn't notice he's still holding her hand! He quickly stopped gripping her hand. The rest of them were laughing and teasing Lucas and Mes as a couple, except Ruby. Dangit, double the embarrass!

"I loved the way you held it, Lukey. It felt so ma~gical." Oh c'mon, triple the embarrass! Not you too, Mes…

"How dare you make the first move, Lucas?!" Ruby said, acting all dramatic like those weird TV actors. Mes just rolled her eyes on him, and Lucas did the same. "Oh, my fragile heart!"

"Hey, since Lucas is here, maybe we could continue what we're talking about," Barry said. "I really didn't know I had a new neighbour. Like, really! I'm kinda curious about her, too…" Okay, that's kinda creepy.

"Oh yeah! Barry's right, Lucas," Hilbert said, with Nate nodding his head. "I'm actually wondering how you guys knew each other."

"We all are," Nate added.

"And how you became friends with someone so puh-retty, too!" Ruby butted it.

"Shut your trap, Ruby!" Sapph almost yelled. "I'm pretty sure we all wanna know the juicy deets." Sapph said while wagging her eyebrows. Urgh, maybe all tomboys natural teasers.

All eyes were on Lucas right now, and it's making him pretty uncomfy. Especially that Dawn's looking at him, he's kinda shy to answer.

Oh boy, what to do…

"Lukey and I knew each other six years ago when I first came to the United Regions for vacation. We met each other when I was playing in Lake Verity" Mes happily said outta the blue, making Lucas sit straight.

"You're welcome, Lukey~" She sent a mind-wink at him. Dang, Lucas didn't know if he was gonna thank her for that.

Almost everyone wooed, except for Ruby and Barry. Ruby looked like he wanted to jump off a cliff, but Barry raised an eyebrow.

"Well, well, Lucas," Hilbert said. "Don't forget about us when you get married." Lucas blushed hard at that.

Oh, dang you, Hilbert!

"You never told us about her, Lucas," Dawn asked. "Why's that?"

Oh crud, that's a good question. Lucas tried to answer her, but Mes butted in again. "We'd only meet in the summers before, but just yesterday, my parents and I moved from the Pinas to the United Regions. We kept a promise not to tell our friends 'cause maybe we'd never meet again."

"Never meet again?" Barry asked. Oh boy, he looked pretty police-y.

The time passed with Lucas and his friends talking to each other, and teasing. Lucas got a chance to speak, but Mes saved his butt at parts he couldn't answer. Suddenly, the door flew open, and Miss Cassandra looked kinda mad.

"Alright, alright. Ten minutes are up. Please come inside, all of you," Miss said with a yawn. Dang, she looked sleepy too. "And don't make the same mistake again, all of you." She turned to Dawn, Lucas, and Mes. "Especially you two and you, Ms. New Student."

Oh crud, Lucas forgot to say 'sorry', especially to Dawn 'cause it's also her first time to get locked out! When he did, Dawn just smiled and said that it really didn't matter. She even said that it was pretty cool to break the rules, too! Oh boy, he did NOT wanna hear that from her.

With that gone, the day went by pretty normally. Maths was just some algebra stuff (with the usual Barry finishing seatworks in the blink of an eye), Science started out with some basic Chemistry, History was about Asia's starting people, and Battling was Sir Darian's talk all over again.

Lunchtime was pretty different with Mes. There were some guys who got near Lucas just to ask about her. It's also during lunch that Lucas got to borrow a pokémon from Sir Darian for next week's practice run. It's probably the advisor who got to handle them, Lucas thought.

But what really caught Lucas' eyes was Barry. He's acting like a police, and he's trying to get to know Mes a bit more. Lucas knew Barry wasn't doing it for pervy reasons like Ruby's 'cause Barry was more serious-looking. It started to look like it when Barry asked if Mes had sisters, which pretty much weirded out Lucas and Mes. Mes'd give him not-so straight answers, but Barry was still insistent, especially during lunch. Dang, maybe Barry's cooking up some genius plan, again. Urgh.

When they're all dismissed, Mes said she wanted to explore the school herself. Lucas was kinda bummed out she wasn't gonna be with him for a moment, but he just let her. She's the fricking Lake Guardian, after all.

Next, Lucas got to sign up for the quiz bee. There's a lotta names that the paper got filled. He even saw Barry's name up there. Good thing Lucas was there before there wasn't any space left.

Well, Mes didn't look like she's gonna come back yet, so maybe he could sit at the same place he did during recess. He really didn't wanna see those two dang bullies again.

"I guess I could just study and do my homework while I can," Lucas said as he got his pens and notebook out. "Mes said we'd meet up at the gate. Sir Darian and Miss Cassandra were also gonna meet me at the gate at around 15:30 after their faculty meeting."

He placed his borrowed poké ball beside him. "And, I'll get to know who you are after I finish my homework, pal," he said with a smile.

Just who's gonna be my new mystery partner? he wondered with a smile.


She hesitated to do this, but if it was to shake a pest off her trail, she had to do it.

20 minutes after dismissal, Mesprit had to meet up with that blond-haired human at their rendezvous point: a room in the third storey, as per request of that human. Hmph, how childish.

As if meeting that lecherous human wasn't enough.

When Mesprit reached the entrance to that room, Spare Room 305, she noticed that there was a scarce number of students around her. They looked a bit older than her classmates, and they were off attending to their own devices. There weren't even any teachers around, too. She noticed that the translucent windows to this room were closed and that the interior was dark, but she felt a presence inside. Sunlight was also scarce here.

It's that reckless human who's been causing mayhem in our lake. Just what could he possibly want from us? When he asked us about having sisters… Well, I wanted to shake him off. How about you?

Relax, we'll deal with him soon. I personally don't really like actions left without its dues, and his questioning just adds it up. If only the most mature personality was here, she'd have done something already.

But no. Mesprit had to leave a clone and imbue it with her most mature self to fill her physical spot in the Verity Cavern, as per Chief's orders. Then again, she was able to act all mature in front of her Lukey without that one, so maybe this meeting with his closest human friend would yield no blood shed, hopefully.

Entering the room, it was pretty dark, but the human prepared a table and chairs for him and her.

Just then, she felt a very familiar air around him, just like how she did around this Dawn-human. No, don't mind it. They're just human kids. They don't have anything special in them.

And I'll make sure this female human won't get our precious Lukey~

"Oh hey, Mes! Come on in," he said and waved. It appeared that he was wearing gloves. Maybe the weather was becoming too chilly for a frail human. "Ah, and please lock the door. I really don't want nosy dudes barging in on us." He added with a disgusting chuckle. Locking the door, she never broke her stare at the human.

"Hi! Did you need anything, Barry?" she said with a fake cheerful tone, holding her hands on the table. "Lukey's waiting for me, so can we make it quick, please?" Urgh, she really hated putting this persona in front of individuals she hated.

The human chuckled. "Well, let's just cut to the chase, Mes, 'cause I know that you're," he looked at her straight in the eye, "not one of us."

Shit, she knew what he meant by that. Her eye and a finger twitched. C-calm down, Mes. He's just a kid. It's probably their juvenile imagination.

Mesprit put on fake tears. "Y-you're a meanie, hu—Barry! How could you say that? I… I don't wanna be your friend anymore!"

"Don't gimme that crap, Mes!" He suddenly banged the table. "I know it, you're not like us. You're not human!" Mesprit suddenly felt her danger metre rise, and the need to escape pinged in her.

As much as she wanted to eliminate this human, the setting was too inappropriate. It was dangerous for her to engage with him using her powers beyond a certain level. Why?

One, Darky and Cressy were in the premises. The latter one was a bigger problem with her well-trained extrasensory skills. Damn that high-blood bitch!

Two, even with the training for memory removal over the week, she's still inexperienced with handling memories that a small mistake might cause the human to act strangely, alerting that lovey-dovey couple to be onto her. If only it was back at her lake, then it'd feel a lot easier…

This… is bad news! I-I've got to get away just to be sure.

"You meanie! I hate you, Barry!" She briskly walked towards the door. "I'm going home!"

"Hold it!" the human yelled. "If you're gonna go away now, I'm gonna bully Lucas till he cries like a baby! I'm even gonna make sure he's not gonna get his 'Top 1' award."

Bully… my Lukey?

Suddenly, her head started aching. She instinctively held her head in pain, but she quickly put it down. Fuck, that's gonna give her off, but it's too painful! She tried her best to keep her composure.

HE MUST DIE. HE MUST DIE. HE MUST DIE.

N-no, keep it down!

"And I have proof!" that disgusting human added. Damn you, human!

Seeing that there were no opportunities to escape with the least suspicion, she returned to the chair and rested her hands on the table again with a semi-teary face. An opportunity to strike or to escape might just pop up, and she had to take it fast!

"F-fine. Y-you're a meanie, Barry. I'm gonna tell Sir Darian and my mama if you do something bad to me!"

"I won't, Mes! I'm a gentleman." The human put forth a disgusting smile.

The fact that he had this 'proof' was dangerous, but she had to play along with this farce. If not, she'd reveal more than what needs to be known. Fucking hell, he shouldn't even have anything on her, so it could be a bluff. No matter, though, for this will pass soon.

"First, you found Lucas when we couldn't earlier this morning. He's the best hide-and-seeker, but even if I'd win against him in the last second, he's like a ninja!" That's true, and she admitted deep inside that her Lukey was good at hiding given enough time. If she wasn't a psychic, then finding him would be hell.

"Second, I keep seeing your eyes change from golden, amber, yellow, or whatever-the-hell colour to black. That's pretty much impossible, and I know I'm not seeing things!" Shit, how the hell's he able to tell with just a few hours of interaction? Calm down, just calm down. He's got a good eye, that is, if he did, but can he even prove it?

"Third, you seem to stop before you say all our names. It's like you say 'hyu-' before you do!" Good ears, too. Was this human even a 12-year-old? "I heard this in all of us but not Lucas'. Heck, you even call him Lukey. What a stupid nickname!" He did NOT just call it STUPID! Her head's starting up, but this time, it's even stronger.

KILL THIS FUCKER. KILL THIS FUCKER. KILL THIS FUCKER.

Dammit, stop! It's the end of us if he finds out!

FINE!

"So, whaddaya think?!" the human yelled and banged the table. "These are why you're not human, Mes!"

No. She was not going to have it. These were just unusually on-spot details, but not hard proof! Dammit, this human could've gotten her, but she's not too dumb! She quickly peered into his mind, but that seemed to be it. He had no further proof or whatever stupid ideas up his sleeve.

Okay, since this human was spouting nothing but harsh words to a young girl, she had all the reason to do her next move. This was her chance to escape his childish games.

She covered her face, and she started sniffling and groaning. She sensed Barry's curiousity grow.

"U-uh, Mes?" Heh, human males would always fall for these sorts of traps, and it looked like he's taking the bait. "A-are you…?"

"UWAH!" Mesprit let out her fake tears and stood up. "WHY'RE YOU SO MEAN?! I'M GONNA TELL MY MAMA AND SIR DARIAN!"

"W-wait, M-Mes! I-I'm sorry I didn't mean it!"

He's paralysed in shame, and this was the opportunity! Now's my chance to get out, and tell everyone—dammit, you don't know when to quit!

She suddenly sensed a pair of scissors thrown behind her back when she was about to get out. By her instinct, she stopped it with her powers.

Wait.

Oh fuck.

"And lastly," the disgusting human coolly said, "you were able to react to my good 'ol scissors I threw at you." But she didn't even sense him planning this! HOW?! "Oh yeah, I placed my bets on you being a psychic, so I blanked out my thoughts every now and then! Hah, I'm a genius!"

That human.

That deceptive and demonic human. Was he even human to begin with?

How could she have fallen for this insolent being's bluffs and schemes?

This human quickly reminded her of a certain someone, a certain liar and know-it-all. Even if this human was loud and impatient unlike her, she manifested in him for some reason.

Yux. So, that's why it's so familiar.

She quickly shook her head. Impossible, that pompous know-it-all won't waste her precious time for humans.

Even so, she felt such an aura. She slowly turned around. Huh, Mesprit saw the human holding a strange device… Oh no, it's a human camera!

"It's all on tape, Mes. I'm way too lucky I saw this in my bag." The pair of scissors was still held midair in a pink glow.

I got found out…?

"My genius plans never fail!" he said as he bolted towards the other door.

Time seemed to slow down for her. Mesprit knelt down in defeat, and the scissors were released.

It really was like Yux was manifesting this human. He cornered her and caught her off-guard in just his first try, the norm of Yux. It's true he's a human in and out, yet he really was something else.

More importantly, she was really going to get it from the Hall.

Was this it? Was she gonna get the boot from the Hall?

Are you seriously gonna go without a fight? Remember, Lukey's on the line.

Lukey?

If he gets out, we might not get to see Lukey anymore. You know what to do. Hell, you're even stronger than that deceptive human! With or without psychic powers…

You're Mesprit of the Hall of Origins.

The human was nearing the door, but the sprawling tables around slowed his escape. She wasted no time; she grabbed the scissors just as it hit the floor and flung it in front of his shoe. The human tripped and crashed on one of the tables. The camera also was released from his hand.

"Ow-ow-ow!" he shrieked in pain.

The human seemed to ignore her and rushed to the door. No, you won't.

Mesprit was essentially faster than a hurt human and a psychic, so outrunning him in this dimly lit room was a cinch. She immediately grabbed him by the collar and pinned him down on the floor.

The human tried to grab the scissors near him, but she slid it away from him first and then quickly pressed her arm to his throat. To restrict his movement a bit more, she locked his wrists, knees, and ankles with little psychic power. That way, that strict-as-hell Cressy won't detect any significant traces.

"W-what are you doing, Mes?" the human said, trying to break free. "P-please lemme go! I was just trying to—uwargh!" Mesprit slowly pushed her arm some more.

"Ah-ah-ah~! You should've gotten off my tail when you had the chance, filthy human!" she said, smiling at him sadistically. "I could've used your own tool to silence you forever, but my Lukey wouldn't like that idea." Her face turned serious. "Now, talk. I want to know why you're tailing me and trying to profile me."

"A-are you even a—ugwaragh! Stop it!"

"I'll run my arm even more if you try to avoid my questions. Let's try this again, talk!"

The human explained that he really noticed what he told her a moment ago, and that he was certain that she wasn't one of them, as in she wasn't human. He also wanted to know her and her family background, saying that he wanted to know if she had any sisters. She was suspicious with that unusually specific line of questioning, but he said that he was under the impression she didn't have any brothers.

He insisted that it's for his putrid learning, so he tested his hypothesis through his so-called 'genius plan'. "I want to learn a lotta things, a-and being hands-on was the best way to do it!"

Hmph, he's not lying, but…

Hang on, she had to settle the dues of this human, for all that he did in the lake and for endangering her Lukey. Maybe she could utilise his very eccentric way of learning to lure him into his retribution. Before that, she still needed to clear some doubts in her head.

"You know, I've been interested in how you act so… strangely. You don't even appear human to me." Hell, his fear was unnaturally low. There were traces, but not as high as those two bullies from last night. "Tell me, why are you like this?"

"I swear, I just wanna learn a lotta things. I wanna be a genius and a cop: a genius cop! Dad's always away, so I wanna act all manly, but with a brain, too. That way, I can protect my friends and family. That's why I gotta learn a lotta stuff hands-on. Heck, I'd even practice those self-control whatchamacallit! I'm like a yoga-daredevil, yeah!" He suddenly chuckled. "Heh, and I wanna also help Lucas overcome that wussy ass of his!" She didn't like that description, but he's unfortunately correct.

This human boy… could he be of use to me? Silencing him forever seemed to be a waste for her Lukey's growth and potential development, two of the things she ever so craved, but this human was still scum in her eyes. Maybe she was destined to meet this disgusting human, to which she despised.

"I also noticed you call him by that stupid nick—uwargh!"

"Filthy human." Mesprit angrily pressed his throat. "Do. Not. Ever. Say. That. Watch your words, or you may lose your ability to feel emotions forever."

"Okay, okay! Stop hurting me, Mes!" Hmph, he was a lowly human in the end. "I just wanna know if you're human or not! I promise I won't tell!"

The bell suddenly rang. If she remembered the bell-sounding schedules correctly, it's half past three o'clock. Shit, she promised to meet with him by the school gate!

"Time's up, human. Get lost." She immediately released him. The human quickly shook her off and ran to the door, grabbing whatever materials he had brought with him. "Before you go, human, I have a deal for you."

"W-what the hell do you want? Hurry up and say it!" He really was impatient more than he was energetic, according to her Lukey.

But whatever. This was the time to lure him into her own game. "Lake Verity. 22:30. I'll answer all your questions to broaden your worthless learning. Make sure you keep your filthy mouth shut about our scuffle and this meeting later on, and don't even dare show anyone the contents of your camera. I can easily track you down, remember that."

For some reason, he smiled when he nodded. The loudmouthed human quickly vacated the room.

That human was really different from the rest. Then again, no two humans share the same disgusting features.

And his wits sure reminds me of Yux… All the more reason to hate him, she thought before teleporting to the girls' CR.

Getting her bag from the classroom, she navigated her way to the gate, passing through familiar faces. She even came across those two bullies from last night, but they appeared to be avoiding her. Heh, insolent humans.

Once she met up with her Lukey by the gate, she came across some unexpected individuals: the lovey-dovey Lunar Duo in their human forms. Her Lukey forgot to tell her that Darky and Cressy were actually going to accompany him back home for this week, as per his mother's stupid request. Mesprit didn't like that idea, but she conceded to it. It's just one week, anyway. With a little bit of stalling, especially from a very skeptical Cressy, they left for Twinleaf.

On their way back, her Lukey was accompanied by Darky and Mesprit by Cressy. The pairs distanced from each other, and it looked like Cressy was trying to stop Mesprit from even going near her Lukey. The nerve of that woman! Cressy even started saying things about not laying a malicious finger on her students. Hmph, she's really gone that low to side with humans.

They reached Twinleaf in almost an hour. Damn, her Lukey had to be really patient to endure a not-so arduous yet time-consuming walk.

As expected from our Lukey~ Ah~

Just then, Cressy whisked Mesprit away from the other pair's eyes for a moment. Just what the hell could she want?

"I've a message from the country supervisor for you, that's why. A short one at that, but she specified that it's for your ears only." Oh, that workaholic Yux seemed to be growing more apathetic by the day that she's starting to send messengers. "She said, 'Don't even think about it, Mesprit No. 100601.' That's all."

Really? That was worth their moment of privacy? "Very cryptic, Cressy. Is that all there is to it?" What a useless message. Ignoring it was the best option.

"I'm afraid so." That know-it-all liar thinks she could waste my precious time? Asshole! "I have to go now. I've matters to attend to, Mes."

Darky appeared from behind. "Done with your girl-talk already? 'Cause we're done with ours." He chuckled at the last word. "Alright, Mes, we've got to get going now. Stay safe with your Lucas." At least this guy was easygoing. Darky dematerialised into black dust, while Cressy teleported in a flash of pinkish-yellow light.

Mesprit and her Lukey went back to his house since the house she and Chief were going live in was still undergoing preparations. That annoying blond-haired human wasn't in the vicinity either. The four had dinner when the sun had set, and the night went on with Mesprit conversing with her cute, little Lukey~

Once the agreed-upon time drew closer, Mesprit quickly changed into her casual clothes, the pink sweater-shirt and a light gray knee-long skirt. She decided to go shoeless, giving her human feet some air.

Kinda useless wearing this apparel since we'll be transforming in front of that annoying human.

Whatever you say. If we went sans clothing, I'd still be alright. Well, she was a legendary, so she had to show decency. Still, that thought made her blush. Then again, I don't want to reveal this body to some random human but Lukey.

Oh yes~ Reveal ourselves… in front of Lukey~

Okay, that's enough mental soliloquies. She had to meet up with her Lukey's friend at the lake. Giving a small kiss to her future mate's cheek, she teleported beside the sign near the entrance.

But it appeared to be a bad idea to do that.

Something crashed into her at high speed with a loud 'thud!', and she knew what—rather, who that was. The human then landed on top of her.

"What the hell?!" the human said.

"Get off me, filthy human!" Using her powers, she threw the human a few human metres away. "Don't you DARE tackle me again!" she added while walking into her abode.

Now… It begins.

A tense atmosphere ensued. The two of them soon stood face to face on the grassy field near to the entrance. The night air felt cool around her, and the moist grass under her feet relaxed her senses.

Mesprit had to find the right time where she could punish this insolent creature for his acts of disrespect and recklessness. She was going to go easy on him, unfortunately, since she needed him for her Lukey to mature.

No matter. Since those lovey-dovey duo aren't here, I could erase his memories as freely as I want now. Home court advantage, what Lukey would say.

"Ask away, human. That's why we're here, right?"

The human arrogantly chuckled. "Thanks for inviting me here, Mes. I'm really honoured. But!" He pointed his poké ball at her. "Can the antics, Mes. I know you aren't human!"

"You really are interesting… I never thought I'd find another interesting human after six years." Mesprit glared at him. "Very well, I'm not human like you. Satisfied?"

"Not yet! Show me. C'mon, show me what you really look like, Mesprit!"

"And just what makes you think I'm Mesprit, human? By my pink and light gray apparel? By my erratic display of emotions? By my amber-coloured eyes?" Mesprit held out her arms. "Tell me, what is the basis of your putrid brain?"

Suddenly, she felt his confidence dwindle. "I… actually dunno. I just… have a feeling, yeah! But, but!" He stomped twice. "The truth's that you're not human, and Lucas might be in trouble 'cause of you!"

Oh, so he actually cares about him? She sensed that this was genuine. "How can I be a threat to my Lukey? I never saw and will never see him as my enemy. You, on the other hand, deserve to be ridded of."

"Lukey this, Lukey that. Just what are you gonna do to him?!" He sent out his pokémon, a chatot. "I don't like the sound of that, too!"

"What am I gonna do to him?" Mesprit felt her head aching. "Ah~ Yes… what will I do to him… Oh yes~!" She knelt down and clutched her head. The thoughts of doing passionate things to her Lukey danced in her head, and it made her tremble in pleasure.

"Crap! I didn't wanna do this, but Chat, Mud-Slap!"

Mesprit was alerted by this and quickly snapped out of her cloud nine. The chatot turned around and kicked up clumps of dirt at her. Just before it landed on her, she muttered, "Come."

All of a sudden, a pink light flashed in front of her, and the clone of Mesprit's pokémon form appeared. A light green screen was summoned in front of the clone, stopping the clumps with a splat.

"It appears that you've lured the transgressor to our domain. Commendable." the clone commented in her tongue.

"What the double hell?!" the human and the chatot yelled at the same time. "It's Mesprit, the Mesprit of Lake Verity! Wait till they get a load of this!"

The human quickly took out his camera, but the clone snatched it away from him.

"H-hey! Give it back!"

"Pardon me," Mesprit said. "This is something you can't have in your possession." The clone tossed it up in the air, and in unison with the real Mesprit, they crushed it flat with a clap of their hands. All that was left was a plate of useless metal.

"NO!"

"Before stepping into this territory, you should have been resolved, human," Mesprit said as-a-matter-of-factly. "What's wrong, human? Lukey told me that this 'genius' was one of the best. Heh, what nonsense." The human was just growling with anger. "Oh, I know! Maybe…" Her eyes suddenly turned black, and she put up a sadistic smile.

"You're a failure?"

O-okay, maybe that was a tad bit—

Quiet. Let me handle this.

"Why you…!" Anger was exponentially rising in the human. "That was… Dad's GIFT!" The human was also tearing up. She knew that her taunts hit a delicate spot in his psyche.

"Your move, human," the clone muttered as it went into its battle stance. The clone also discreetly summoned an impassable barrier around them. It wasn't Trick Room, Wonder Room, or any in particular—just a regular barrier preventing entry or escape.

Then again, the wind started blowing, and the trees rustled. How fitting for what's to come, Mesprit thought.

This is it. Our meeting's come to the climax.

"CHAT, ONE!"

The chatot started to let loose an ear-piercing sound wave concentrated at the two of them, causing them to shut their eyes and cover their ears.

When it stopped, she saw that the human was charging towards Mesprit, and the chatot was already harassing the clone with little resistance. Just before she could react, the human lunged himself at her and pinned her down.

"I told you not to—!" No use. A fist stopped her before she could finish. Damn, his anger really powered him up. "I said, hands OFF!" Mesprit forced him away once more and assuaged the pain in her cheek. Humans can hit hard, it seems.

Unfortunately, the clone had no time to prepare its next attack and continued receiving a barrage of speedy pecks.

The human managed to scream something before he landed.

"TWO!"

Just then, the chatot flew up and whipped up a strong gust of wind to Mesprit and the clone, and it was scratching her entire body by the second. The clone set up a Light Screen around it, to which she made her way behind it, but the wind managed to make its way past it, too. Once more, she held up her hands to protect her face.

Dammit, this human's really something else!

"AND, THREE! CRUSH IT!"

The razorlike wind still lingered, but Mesprit saw the chatot diving towards them. The clone tried to strengthen the screen around it, but the wind also made its setup harder.

Shit, that bird's way too fast!

Unable to repair the protection in time, the chatot broke through the screen and collided with the clone, with Mesprit behind it.

She didn't know why, but for a split second, she swore she saw her Lukey's Munch figure as the chatot crashed into them.

Dammit, déjà vu…?

But well done, human. I think… I'll hitherto call you by your name.

With its momentum, the clone and Mesprit were literally sent flying all the way to the barrier's end. The clone dispersed with a poof, and Mesprit felt something entering her psyche.

She heard Barry running towards her but stopped midway. Maybe he's picking up his chatot… Chat, was it? Meanwhile, Mesprit discreetly healed her wounds to prepare for the denouement of this farce.

"Chat… We did it. We executed Strat A!" he said before calling back his partner to rest. He then rushed to a fully-healed Mesprit. "And you, where'd you put Mesprit? I'm gonna catch it!"

"Mesprit?" she quickly held her hand at an unexpecting Barry, freezing his limbs in place. "Catch it?"

"W-what the hell? I-I can't!" Barry then shot a desperate glare at Mesprit. "W-what did you do, h-huh? L-lemme out!"

"Oh, Barry~" She cupped his trembling chin and ran her hand on his cheek. "You're looking at the very Lake Guardian Mesprit," she whispered into his ear. Right after, she slapped his cheek "That's for causing disorder in my peaceful abode."

"G-get me outta here, M-Mesprit! I-I'm gonna fine you! I—" She cut him with another slap to the other cheek.

"And that was for endangering my Lukey. Believe me, if you weren't his friend… well, just imagine the worst I could possibly do," she said with a smile. "My turn to ask, do you know what happens next?" Barry gulped and slowly shook his head. "Oh, and here I thought you were smart enough to know the legends surrounding the Lake Guardians of Sinnoh… Even Lukey knows it, so take a hint, Barry."

Barry's fear levels shot up. She didn't even need to take a peek into his head to find out that he knew what she was talking about. "No! NO! GET AWAY FROM ME! GET AWAY FROM ME!"

"Oh, don't be like that, Barry!" She took a step back and started unbuttoning her shirt to prepare her transformation. "Don't miss out on the piece de resistance of our fated meeting, now!"

Well, unbuttoning this is pretty much just to add some pizzazz…

Shut up! Don't ruin our moment!

Unbuttoning the last one, her human body glowed pink before transforming into her pokémon form while her clothes dropped to ground.


"Kya-yun~!" Just what the hell was she saying and doing?!

"Ta-da~! Are you enjoying it so far, Barry?" a voice in his head asked. Crap, telepathy! It really was Mesprit!

"Hell no!" This was too much! "P-please! LEMME GO! I WON'T DISTURB YOU AGAIN! I WON'T PUT LUCAS IN DANGER!"

"It's a bit too late for that, Barry," she summoned two orbs on her hands and smiled at him, "and I think I've talked too much. YOU know too much, too!"

Dammit, he's come this far, and it's just gonna end like this?

HELL NO!

This was golden knowledge! He's gotta tell Lucas about this. Crap, he knew she's gonna do something bad to him, and he didn't want anything to happen to his only best friend!

He tried moving his arms and legs, but it's no use. She's too strong! Dammit, just why'd he have to fricking tail her like an undercover cop? This wasn't what he expected!

"It's been nice knowing you, Barry. Don't worry, I'll be gentle." The last thing Barry saw before shutting his eyes were a scary pair of black eyes and a creepy-as-hell smile like in those horror movies. The sounds of the spinning psychic orbs were getting louder, dammit! "Just continue being a good friend to my Lukey, alright?"

T-there's gotta be a way outta this crap. Something's there, just waiting to be found by his genius head!

Think, Barry, think! You've always gotten your ass outta crap like these!

Then, it hit him.

He could call her. That's the only way, but she's on the other side of this region, literally!

Oh crap, I don't have a choice! Barry silently prayed for her to come.

I… I know you're there! You promised you weren't gonna leave me alone in this kinda stuff! Remember our promise! Please, hear me!

The orbs were already ringing in his ears, and he already felt something being dragged out in his mind. He tried his hardest to keep in his head, but it's like it's being pulled by some sumo dude!

No… I'm not… giving up! You… you'll come for me! You… you're here… I know it…!

D-dammit… He's feeling sleepy… already… But no… she's gonna come… He can't go… out cold… yet! Yeah… She pro… mised…!

You… pro… mised… right…? You… you… you…

You… you…

Coo…

She…

"KYOU—N!"

All of a sudden, it got silent, and he didn't feel that sleepy anymore. Cool, he didn't feel frozen anymore, too!

When Barry opened his eyes, he's back in his room. Woah, he's even on his bed, and he looked clean. Chat's poké ball was on the desk near him. W-were his prayers heard?

"Would it be alright if you stay awake, just for a moment?" a soft voice went in his mind. "I haven't the luxury of time, too."

"Y-Yux!" Barry said. "Heh, of course, you remembered our promise." Getting up, he saw a pixie with a yellow helmet-looking hair-thing floating in front of him.

"I thought we agreed not to call it that." Yux said, then shook her head. "Anyway, you're safe from Mes, for now. I'll make sure that her attitude is in check, so as to prevent any more things like this." Oh yeah. That Mes had gotta take her chill pill! "Congratulations on finding her identity through deceptive tactics, too." She smiled when she said 'tactics'. "How was she?"

"You really saved my ass, Yux, and thank you, too!" Save was an understatement. Jeez, that's one hell of an explosive girl! "Your sister sure is weird, and she's like that one manga girl I read!"

"Now, now. Stop demeaning her. It's not nice. Also, I'm only here for a few minutes, Barry." Typical Yux, always in a hurry with everything. She slowly crossed her arms. "To start off, what you did was very irresponsible, Barry!"

Uh oh, Yux was already giving him a mini-lecture about his responsible ass and how he shouldn't wander off into literal danger zones. She's even pointing out at his genius plan to unmask Mes' mask. Dammit, and didn't she just give him a 'congrats' just a few seconds ago?

"Just remember not to further endanger yourself and not to… become an undercover cop trying to profile her, or any other potential non-human beings. Think about your parents. Be the responsible boy I envision." She poked his forehead. "I understand your thirst for knowledge, but please be wise enough to not act so foolishly and cockily next time."

"But Yux, my genius plans!"

Yux shook her head. "No, I won't have it. Act more maturely, Barry, and apologise."

"Right, right. I'm sorry, Yux…" He looked away in shame. She's always busy and serious. Hell, time with her was even faster than making instant noodles! More importantly, Barry knew why she was here. "Just get on with it. Erase my memories, Yux," he added, frowning.

Suddenly, he received a hug from Yux. Huh, this felt… good. "I'm sorry if I'm too strict with you, but this is for your own good, Barry." She looked, or faced, Barry with a smile. "How about a deal? If you're behaved, I'll make time for you. Alright? Winter break, I promise." Dammit, he hated waiting, but that's pretty much the best he'll get, ugh. "If ever, we'll even meet sooner if my work isn't toiling."

Well, this was a good deal! He held out his fist, hoping she'd do their fist-bump. Oh hey, she did it! "Just don't break that promise, alright? And, please fix Dad's camera, too! If you don't, then I'm gonna—!"

"Okay, that's enough, Barry. I'll keep my promise and ask a good technician friend of mine," she said, tapping his cheek. Ugh, he hated it when she'd stop him like that.

But then, Barry smiled back. He kept telling himself that she was a busy 'mon, even though he really didn't like it. "Aw yeah, you better! But, one last question, please?"

"Make it quick."

"Do I still get to know that my classmate's a Hall member? A-and, where's Mes?"

She nodded. "She's fighting my Double Team clone right now. Alright, enough talk for real. I'll just erase all those unpleasant memories that you've experienced. Now, look into my eyes." Barry didn't like how she's always rushing to the point, but then again, Barry's like that, too. "Do not utter any of this night's events or any private information to a single soul, or your throat will constrict as usual. And if anyone, especially Mes, tries to harm you, do not take any chances and notify me ASAP."

"Yeah, yeah. I promise."

Jeez, what a worried mom Yux is, always fussing and time conscious.

It always amazed Barry when he got to see her amber eyes. When he did get to see it, it's like something went into his head, trying to go round and round while sparking some stuff in it.

After staring at her eyes, he felt very sleepy again. Yux helped him lie down on the bed.

The last thing he saw before drifting off to dreamland was her cute little smile and her pretty eyes.


Innocuous: Don't worry about that. I've edited those parts. I'll be sure to keep the content within bounds next time.

Guest: No. She will. Find out soon!

Greninjaten99: Thank goodness indeed, whew! Heh, thank you, too!

Mallory S. Nocturne: Oh hey, that's a nice reference you've picked up! Thank you, and stay safe, too!

Anon Omega: Yup. Don't worry, for she'll be sure to control herself in the coming chapters :D

Icastfireballatthedarkness: Heh heh, cheers, ma'am/sir!