Kai
This... isn't what I was expecting…
I was standing on one of the many dirt fields that surrounded the entirety of the Nest. Usually, I just aimlessly wait for the next day to proceed so I can do whatever mission I need to do for this place… Along with a task for my… Other bosses.
I sighed at the thought, but knew that there wasn't anything I could do to resist at the moment. Instead, I brought my attention back to the piece of paper at the base of my paws. All of the leaders at the Nest got a paper of who they would be training starting tomorrow. The paper also had a small description of what the pokemon's strengths were, as well as any additional information thought necessary. Most of the time this section was blank, but in my trainee's case, it wasn't.
'Kuro/Umbreon'
'Has exceptional battling potential, more effective at close range, but can fend for himself at far range as well.'
'Seems to have excellent analytical and strategic abilities, can read his opponents.'
'Has a tendency to injure himself during battles, but has abilities that encourage him to do so.
'Additional data:'
'Has a direct connection to some of the Void's members, but we are unsure as to who. This will be further investigated as he spends more time here.'
I definitely wasn't expecting my student to be the one who admittedly got the better of me during a battle. However, this made it easier for me to see what exactly his problems and strengths in battle are. His data didn't really state anything I didn't already know through our battle, as well as his other battles in the applicant's tournament.
That is, until I got to the end of the sheet.
He has a direct connection to the Void… I wonder that that could be…
As much as I didn't want to be, I am a member of the Void. I was forced into it from a young age and never had an opportunity to escape it. Being the rival organization to something as big as the Nest, the Void truly was a terrifying entity. It holds so many pokemon that are ready to kill at a moment's notice. It holds so many pokemon who get a rush from killing innocents, so many pokemon that are evil to the bone, all led by a sadistic Umbreon.
Her name… Is Luna. Really doesn't sound all that threatening, but she has killed and abused thousands of innocents… Just because it gives her pleasure. She finds killing endlessly entertaining and does it whenever she pleases. Due to this obsession, she started an organization known as the Void, one that does nothing but kill and torture innocent pokemon, as well as capture them and force them to join the Void, using threats and further torture as incentive to kill. She also doesn't have a single completely trusted companion, other than the emotionless tank of a Flygon that follows her around, as well as a few stragglers here and there who she may have just a bit of faith in.
Allegedly the Flygon, Aven, was her first partner in starting the Void as an organization. Since then, they almost never separate, and Aven became the one and only pokemon that holds Luna's trust. She truly is the biggest threat to the Nest, and I wish I could do something about it… But I don't have the power to do anything. I've been at the mercy of Luna for years among years. She knows I hate the whole place with a burning passion, she knows that I hate all of them enough to kill them on the spot due to the things I've been forced to do.
And yet… She knows I can't do anything about it. She knows that she's strong enough to do anything she wants.
I inwardly sighed... Realizing that further chastising myself for being useless isn't going to solve anything. I started to walk around the outward area of the Nest with nothing in particular on my mind. However, something caught my attention in one of the dirt arenas in front of me.
I saw a few glowing rings, all surrounding an Umbreon.
Kuro
I took in the night air and obtained a euphoric feeling throughout my body, letting the moonlight brightly reflect off of my golden rings, which began to glow brightly. I had woken up in the middle of the night, obviously a side effect of the large amount of sleeping I've done the past few days. I didn't really view this as a negative though, as I almost forgot the way I feel while taking in the moonlight. My entire body felt so energized, I felt like I could do anything. I had to come outside in the first place in order to get my emotions in order. After the talk Naru and I had with Myra, and the mentioning of my parents, I felt upset due to the exchange, admittedly a lot more than I thought I'd be. My demeanor also worried Naru, which I really didn't want to do. In order to make sure my emotions were in order, I needed to step outside, and fill my body with the night air.
To be perfectly honest, as soon as my parents were mentioned, I got the worst feeling in my stomach. I felt sadness begin to build up inside of me, and memories began flooding my head. I ended up getting pretty close to tears, but I knew that I was standing in front of the one who thought I would be worthy as a Raven. This pokemon saw potential in me, and if I had an emotional breakdown right in front of them… I can only imagine what her impression would have been. So, I tried my best to put on an iron mask, and hid the negative emotions that were building up inside of me.
I may have convinced Myra that I wasn't upset… But Naru was another story…
I sighed, wishing I could have put up a better facade. I knew that hiding and bottling up your emotions wasn't a good idea, and I knew that it would come back to bite me later, but I thought it was necessary at the time. In order to cope with the emotions, I took a huge breath, and took in more of the moonlight, raising my mood and filling me with energy.
All of that energy soon left me as soon as I saw a familiar Absol approaching me.
I completely froze as soon as I made eye contact, and a large hesitation and fear began to engulf me. I struggled to keep myself from shaking, and memories were rushing back into my head. I shook my body harshly, trying to compose myself. I took in a large breath and mentally scolded myself.
You've already faced him once before… Stop freezing up!
I stopped my emotions and thoughts from going haywire and looked at Kai, who was now about five feet away from me. He was looking at me with a strange gaze, and I was returning it.
"Kuro, is it? It looks like I'm going to be your mentor starting tomorrow, so be prepared for that." He simply told me.
Wait… He's a leader?
"My boss assigned mentors to the new members that match their type in order to maximize the potential between mentor and protege. We don't have very many dark type leaders, so it looks like I'll be teaching you." Kai continued.
I nodded my head in affirmation to Kai, but I didn't know what to say to him. I didn't really get the point of this conversation in the first place, did he just happen to see me and decide to tell me my trainer early?
"While I'm here, what exactly are you doing out here in the dead of night?" He asked. I tried to compose myself and get the brick out of my throat.
"I-I was just getting some air. I woke up and couldn't fall back asleep, but I think it's time I go and actually sleep for the night." I told him, wanting to end my interaction with him as soon as possible.
He gave me a small nod and then walked past me. I stood there for a second, thinking about the exchange had just had with Kai. I didn't know what the point of it was, or why he decided to approach me in the first place, but it didn't end violently. He didn't try and attack me or make any threats of any kind.
"Make sure you prepare for your life here. You were chosen for this, make the most of it." Kai finished, before walking away, leaving me stuck in one of the training fields.
It was almost like… I had a normal conversation with a killer…
Quickly turning my thoughts away from the exchange, I headed back to Naru and I's room and tried to actually sleep.
I woke up the next morning feeling immensely better than the previous night. My emotions felt like they were under control, and I didn't feel the need to put on an iron mask. Strangely enough, I think me talking with Kai actually helped me. Something about interacting with what you fear makes it easier control your negative emotions. Either that, or I need to see doctor for my mood swings.
Naru and I had woken up early, as instructed, and both of us were now walking down to the dirt field in which we were told to meet. Today was most likely the day we would start our training, to which I didn't know what to expect. Right after we both woke up, I told Naru about the night prior. She was very surprised both at the fact that Kai was a leader, and that he also happened to be the one that would be training me. I was surprised at everything as well, but I suppose it wasn't the least likely thing that could happen due to our boss wanting to stick trainers with the same types as their trainees.
Naru and I made it to the end of the staircase that led to the balcony that held our room. We began to walk towards some of the dirt fields when we saw a group of pokemon gathered at one not far from our room. At first, I thought it was a group of the Nest's members, as we did see quite a few of their members just walking around, going about their business. However, upon closer inspection, they weren't just a bunch of random members.
Wait… Isn't that…?
As we got closer to the group, we realized who they were.
They were the other fourteen recruits.
We closed in and stood next to them, but we were only noticed by a few of them, while the rest kept conversing with one another. While I had the opportunity, I decided to dig into my memory and see if I could distinguish all of them by name.
Let's see...
The Honchkrow is Cole… The Frogadier is J… The Charizard is Sylph… The Gabite is Lucas… The Electrode is Eric… The Metang is Mace… The Zoroark is Vero... The Scizor is Scythe… The Dusknoir is Force… The Seviper is Mara… The Shuckle is Shell…. The Altaria is Aria… and the Manetric is Blitz…
I somehow managed to name all thirteen of the pokemon that were in the group, but I did take note of the one that was missing. It was fairly easy to know who was missing, it's pretty hard to forget the one that not only won the whole tournament, but also the one that put me unconscious for an undisclosed amount of hours.
As if on cue, someone approached Naru and I from behind and greeted us.
"Hey! Kuro and Naru! You finally made it!" I turned around to see a familiar Luxray greet the two of us with a smile.
Almost instantly, Naru responded with her usual enthusiasm.
"Hi Kage! Congratulations on placing first! Maybe you'll get some recognition from the members as the number one recruit!" Naru exclaimed.
"That would be nice, but I doubt all of the members of the Nest know the placement." Kage responded. "By the way, I'm sorry for going a bit overboard with our battle Kuro… I didn't mean to make you pass out for so long." Kage said, bowing his head slightly.
I was a bit confused by this gesture, as not only was he explicitly told not to hold back, but also… I kind of jumped into his attack.
"You don't need to apologize, after all, I really did that to myself." I told him, awkwardly twitching my ears. "Plus, wasn't the point of that tournament to give it your all? I don't think you did anything wrong." I assured Kage.
"Not to mention… It was quite the spectacle to watch!" Naru chimed in. "I was on edge the whole time! You two really went back and forth constantly, I had no idea who would come out on top!" Naru then looked at me. "But… It was kind of decided by you jumping into a super-charged thunderbolt."
I slightly rolled my eyes at the comment, but also smiled. I knew what I did was not exactly the smartest idea, but I didn't have many options. Kage smiled at the comment as well, and Naru let out a chuckle.
"Actually, Naru, didn't you do the same thing?" I turned my eyes to her. "You blinded Kage, and then got a bit overconfident because he couldn't see, not really taking his range into account."
Naru looked at me with a questioning look, and then seemed to search her thoughts for a second.
"Well… You got me there…" Naru simply responded in defeat. "Although the one I jumped into wasn't strong enough to put me out for hours on end." She gave me a small smirk, once again prompting me to slightly roll my eyes.
Kage was watching the exchange between the two of us and seemed rather amused by it, as he kept letting out small laughs every time Naru and I would point out something the other did wrong.
Naru, Kage and I then decided to continue in idle conversation for a little while. Or, more accurately, Naru and Kage continued the conversation, while I added a comment every now and then. I could never think of something to say, or at least, not often at all. I had no idea how other pokemon could always have another topic to go to, always have another thing to say.
Maybe I just think too much before I speak…
My thoughts were cut short when we heard a whistle of some kind coming from the field that we were standing closest to. I looked over to see our boss standing there, along with a lot of other members of the Nest, more accurately, leaders of the Nest. Out of all of the leaders there, I was able to pick out two that I recognized.
Kai was standing right behind our boss.
And close to Kai's left… Stood a Flygon.
The same one that I knew all too well.
Once again, I felt distressing emotions fill me, but I couldn't show them. For the same reasons that I held back emotions when we first arrived at the Nest, I couldn't show my fear and uneasiness. I ended up digging my claws into the ground, and I hoped that nobody noticed. Luckily, it didn't look like anyone did.
Just… Calm down… Focus on what you need to do…
I took a deep breath and focused on our boss once more.
She was looking at all of the recruits with what looked like an excited grin, and then she started to announce why she had fifteen leaders behind her.
"Good morning to you all. As you know, today is the day you will all be introduced to your mentors, and also the day in which you will start your training. However, I'm here to announce two more things all of you must do before you continue."
All of the recruits gave a somewhat questioning look, seemingly not knowing what she was talking about. I knew what one of the things we needed to do were, but not the other.
"If you remember, you not only swore to secrecy when you joined here, but you also agreed to have your Minds read." After she finished that sentence, a Gallade stepped up from behind her. "This is Gale, and he will be checking each of your minds to make sure that you don't have any association with the Void." Once again, there were many confused faces given.
"For those of you that don't know, the Void is an organization of pokemon who do nothing but murder innocents. They directly rival the Nest, and almost all sixteen of you have at least one experience with them in the past, whether you know it or not. The purpose of the mind reading is to make sure we don't have any agents from the Void trying to infiltrate our organization."
As soon as Myra finished talking, I was fairly confused. However, this confusion was limited to me, as well as Naru.
How did Kai and that Flygon get past this type of security…?
In the end, I assumed they had some way to manipulate their minds in order for their connections to not be recognized by whoever read their minds.
Maybe they have a psychic in the Void that can do that…
I wasn't gaining anything by continuing on my train of thought, so I turned my attention to the Gallade that was going to each one of the recruits and reading their minds. After each pokemon, he would just nod his head to Myra, signaling that they were clear. However, before he got past the first three, he was interrupted so Myra could tell the group something.
"Oh right, for those of you who are dark types, Kuro and Vero, Gale needs to use a different method of reading your minds than usual due to your normal immunity to psychics. Just as a warning, this process is a bit painful, so make sure you expect it."
Right after Myra finished notifying everybody, Gale continued to go one by one, reading all of their minds, until he got to me.
He placed one of his blades on top of my head, and it began to glow. Soon after, I felt a strong pressure in my head. This pressure soon gravitated to my entire body. At first, I thought that was what Myra meant when she said it would painful, but as soon as that thought passed through my head, a sharp ache expanded throughout my entire body. I grunted slightly and dug my claws further into the ground. The pain continued to slowly increase, until I felt it stop. It was strange, one second I was getting the worst headache of my life, the next didn't have any pain.
My claws' grip loosened, and I gave a small sigh of relief.
"Are you okay? You looked like you were in a lot of pain just now." Naru asked me.
"I'm fine, it didn't last too long. However, it was pretty intense for a few moments." I told her.
Gale then read the minds of everyone in the group. Vero had a similar reaction to mine when she got analysed, which was to be expected. Nobody ended up having any connection to the Void, which was a positive of course. At least, nobody allying with them. I thought about the fact that I had just gotten my mind read and realized that now Myra will most likely know the truth of my parents not being alive. She'll also know that I played it off as if they were alive, and I hoped that I wouldn't get approached about that.
"Now that everyone has checked out, I have one more thing that I need all of you to do. As you may know, we, as Ravens, have an insignia to show our membership. You may have seen it on some of our doors or on the rooftops. You need to have that symbol imbedded somewhere on your body. It doesn't need to be visible if you so choose, but you do need it to be on your body somewhere. It also is going to be a permanent branding, so make sure you really know where you want it to be. There is a Bisharp that I'm sure many of you have already met that is in a small building right next to our main lobby. He will handle your brandings. After you finish that, come back to this field and find your mentor. Once you do, you will start your training. I will inform you that we only have one electric-type leader, so Kage and Blitz, you will have the same trainer. That is all I wanted to talk to you all about, I wish you all good luck!" Myra then returned to her office.
Naru, Kage and I all stayed in a group while walking to the designated building where we would get our brandings. Naru was practically shaking the whole way there because she was about to have a symbol burned into her. Because she was an ice-type, she wasn't so keen on the idea. Since I had already been straight up lit on fire recently, I wasn't very worried. Not to mention, I was too distracted to pay attention to the fact we were going to be branded in the first place. My mind was still with the group of leaders we saw earlier, and the fact that a certain Flygon was present.
The presence itself was enough to give me questions, after all, this meant that not only was Kai a leader of the Nest, but that Flygon as well. This rose the question in my mind; What about the Umbreon? I now knew the location of two of the pokemon I've been looking for. Because it seemed they were in a group back then, I would think they'd be in a group when I next encountered them, but being at the Nest proved me wrong. I encountered Kai twice without seeing the other two, and now I had encountered both Kai and the Flygon without any sign of the Umbreon.
I guess there isn't any guarantee that the Umbreon isn't here… But there isn't anything telling me they are either. All three of them have the symbol of the Void, meaning they are all connected. Maybe they don't regularly work in a group? Maybe Kai and the Flygon are giving information to the Umbreon who is still at the Void? Maybe the Umbreon couldn't join the Nest for some reason? Maybe…
"Kuro, are you okay? You're kind of spacing out." I was snapped back into reality by Naru. I turned my head to see both her and Kage giving me a concerned look, as I had been staring at the ground mumbling to myself almost the entire walk to the building where we were to be branded.
"I-I'm okay, just kind of lost in thought is all." I responded, putting on a somewhat forced smile.
"Whatever you say…" Naru said, slightly unconvinced, as we made it to the door of the building.
The door was a large, plain, wooden door. Kage knocked once on the door, waiting for a response. Soon after, the door opened, and we found a familiar Bisharp.
"Ah, I remember you!" He said as soon as he opened the door. "You're the one who won the tournament, and you two are the ones who joined last second...Kuro, Naru, and Kage, right?" He asked, prompting a nod from all three of us separately. "Great! My name is Core, nice to officially meet all of you!" He said before pausing.
"Now, I'll have to put our symbol on you one at a time, for safety reasons. So, Kuro, can you come in first?"
I nodded my head and stepped into the room. I was somewhat grateful that I was getting mine done first, as I wanted Naru to have as much time as possible to prepare herself, after all, she seemed legitimately scared to get the symbol embedded into her.
Just hang in there… You'll survive…
I entered the room that Core guided me into, instantly taking note of my surroundings. All of the walls sported no color other than a light brown from the smoothed out wood that they were made out of. The walls were filled to the brim with different types of tools, many of which I didn't recognize. There was a small tank in the middle of the room, and before I even fully stepped in, I could feel the heat coming from it. The floor under it was also wooden, having the same coloring that reflected off of the walls. As far as I could see, there was also only one chair in the room, and it was against the back wall, behind the tank and in a small space in which there weren't any tools.
Core walked across the wooden floor to the chair on the other side and sat down in it. I stayed on the other side of the tank, the floor creating a rather foreign feeling to my paws. I've seen plenty of walls that had the same wooden decor as this floor, but I had never felt them before. It was a rather pleasant smooth feeling. Before I could think about the floor any more, Core acknowledged me.
"So, before I permanently brand a symbol on your body, I need to talk to you about something."
Interesting wording…
I nodded to Core.
"What do you need to know?" I asked him.
"Well, after the psychics read everyone's minds, I get relayed the information. I understand that you had a rather… Troubled eight years before you came here." He told me.
I was slightly taken aback by this. I knew that, due to this mind reading, they would know something… Maybe my parents not being alive, but I didn't think it was this thorough. He specifically mentioned the amount of years from the time they did die, to the time I decided to leave. It didn't feel like my mind was read, it more felt like someone looked into every event of my past.
I realized that I had not said anything in response to Core in about twenty seconds, prompting me to slightly shake my head and gather my thoughts.
"How come you need to know our past events?" I asked him, not wanting to lounge around the subject for long.
"For some pokemon, they may not want the branding in a certain spot for a reason they may not want to talk about. I get notified of any of these occurrences. It helps with the comfort of the recruits." He told me. "Now, I understand I'm doing the complete opposite with you right now, but I have a reason for it. Do you want to hear a story?"
"A story..?" I was confused by what Core was trying to say.
"You see, I actually associated with Storm and Blade quite a bit when they were Ravens. I was pretty close to them. I may not look it, but I'm also pretty old." He told me with a slight smile.
I had to admit, he had me intrigued. I usually didn't like staying on the subject whenever my parents got brought up, but this wasn't revolving around their deaths. Core most likely wanted to tell me a story from when they were Ravens, a story that I admittedly wanted to hear.
"I'll listen." I told him.
Core smiled and then cleared his throat.
Blade
I never thought my heart would ever be beating so fast...
I stood in a plain-looking waiting room, waiting for a red light above the exit to turn green. A little while back, I learned of an organization known as the Nest, one that has the purpose of helping pokemon that need it. There isn't much crime around where I live, but whenever I went out to a city or somewhere I wasn't too familiar with, I did notice the occasional mishap. Nothing as extreme as murder, but crimes that can put less fortunate pokemon in bad places. Even know I lived far away from all of this, I wanted to help with it. There was one town that I visited frequently, it's name is Myriad, and lately, I've noticed a lot of crime there. I thought if I applied to join this group, I may be able to help out a town that is already close to my original home.
However, this application… Was a 'maybe' sort of thing… Not a 'I'm about to be in the finals' sort of thing.
I took a deep breath, steadying my heartbeat. I already knew who my opponent was. It was a Vaporeon that went by the name of Storm. I tried my best to watch the way she fought in the her match prior, knowing that she was the most likely candidate for me to battle in the finals. She fought very elegantly, not missing a single step on a dodge, not missing a single opening for an attack. I, on the other hand, had quite sloppy victories on my first two battles. After I adapted to the arena, I improved, but I don't believe I've really grasped using my environment to my advantage yet. My opponent certainly has, so I knew I was in for a tough battle.
I heard a small ping, and looked to the top of the exit. The previously red light had turned green.
I took a large breath, readying myself for the battle ahead.
Without hesitation, I stepped into the rocky arena.
I heard loud cheering from all around me the second I took a step in, it has been the same for all of the battles. Even know a majority of the crowd include pokemon who already lost in the tournament, they were always excited to see another battle. I loved the energy of all of the pokemon around me, but it made me all the more nervous.
I looked across the arena's scattered rock to see my opponent, Storm. Both of us were almost guaranteed to be accepted at this point, as our past two victories were against a Magmortar and Electivire respectively, both of us being at a disadvantage. That combined with our making it to the finals put us at a fairly large chance to be accepted into the Nest.
This is a battle of who will be number one...
"Alright! Are both sides ready?" Asked a Bisharp that had been announcing the whole tournament.
I gave a firm nod, as did Storm. I was trying to read her emotions, but coming up blank. It was strange, she didn't have an emotionless face, but I couldn't pin exactly what she was feeling. It was something between anticipation and eagerness, almost like she just wanted to get the battle over with.
"Then let's get started! Three! Two! One!"
"Begin!"
As soon as the battle had started, Storm had sprayed a powerful stream of water at one of the biggest rocks in the arena. The rock exploded into many pieces, flying through the entire arena. Some of the rocks landed close to me, but none actually made contact.
Paying attention to those rocks… Was my first mistake.
My focus was loosely on both the rocks and Storm, but I couldn't react to the rainbow colored beam that flew towards me, directly hitting the side of my body. I felt a very uncomfortable cold rush through my body, and a sharp pain to follow. I almost didn't realize that Storm was rushing me, not giving me a chance to make a plan. In order to try and take her off guard, I rushed directly at her, preparing a leaf blade. I seemed to have succeeded in taking her off guard, because a panicked expression overtook her features. I swung the leaf poised on the top of my head down at Storm, but she created a purple shielding around her body just as my attack was going to make contact. My blade did slam into the shield, and Storm let out a small grunt, signaling that my attack did do damage, but it was greatly reduced by Storm's acid armor.
Storm then quickly retaliated with another aurora beam, but I was able to react to it this time, sidestepping out of the way. I then lept back, creating a lot of space between the two of us. I wanted to charge a solar beam, but that was going to take a lot of time. Because of this, I decided to keep my distance, and keep Storm on guard, since she most likely wouldn't know what I was planning.
This was my second, and fatal mistake.
Storm read me like a book, immediately pushing me after I jumped back. The next thing she did completely caught me off guard. She looked like she was going to launch a hydro pump at me, but instead she shot a stream of water lightly, and then controlled it to be raised over her head. The water now looked like a tentacle coming from her back. I tried canceling my charge, and attempting to hit her with a leaf blade, but she quickly shot the tentacle at me, and it promptly wrapped around my body, lifting me into the air. She then immediately flung me at the wooden wall surrounding the rocky arena, and I slammed into it.
The battle was over, and I had lost.
Despite losing in the finals, while listening to the crowd cheer after the battle, I wasn't upset in the slightest. I was, more than anything, intrigued by the Vaporeon that I had just battled. Not only did she have the best battle instincts I've ever seen, but she pulled out a technique that I hadn't thought was possible. She somehow controlled a stream of water after she had shot it, and even turned it into a tool to use in battle. That, to me, was the most unique battling style I had ever seen.
The Bisharp announced Storm's victory, making the crowd cheer and shout even louder. Storm looked rather flustered at the cheering, which made me lightly smile in amusement. However, I wasn't expecting her to stick around in the arena. She hadn't moved from the spot she threw me into the wall from. It was almost like she was frozen because of the attention on her. I decided to approach her near the middle of the arena.
"Good battle Storm!" I told her. "What exactly did you do with that water? I've never seen anything like it!"
Storm looked at me with an intrigued gaze. I saw her expression change from the anxious one she had held for a second. She looked a very small bit more comfortable than she did a few seconds ago. I didn't understand why, but I was glad she wasn't frozen anymore.
"I-I just controlled the water." She told me. "A-Also, Good battle!" She tried to make her tome more energetic.
I gave her a smile and both of us walked out of the arena.
Soon after that, Storm and I stayed close to each other, making conversation and waiting for the results to be announced. She was nowhere near as stiff as she was out in the arena, and I had a fun time talking to her. She was also the first person I actually talked to since I arrived at the building, so it was nice to finally have met someone.
Once the results were announced, Storm took first place and I took second. I congratulated her, making her become flustered. Following us on the rankings was a Magmortar and an Electivire. Storm and I found these two and began talking to them. We made a nice little group that we stuck with all the way to the Nest.
Once we started working for the Nest, Storm and I began getting a lot closer. We went on almost every mission with each other, and were almost never separated. We didn't associate with many of our teammates, other than the Bisharp who announced the tournaments and the Electivire and Magmortar who were now in a relationship, we kept to ourselves.
After a few years of doing tasks for the Nest, I proposed to Storm, to which she happily accepted. We worked at the Nest for quite a bit longer, as of then, I had spent more than half of my life at the Nest.
After I had this revelation, Storm and I decided to have a child. After Storm became pregnant, we both retired as Ravens. We moved to the place I used to live, a peaceful little cove near the forest. There, we began to raise a small Eevee named Kuro. After we started to live away from the Nest, the two of us stayed in contact with all of our fellow Ravens, talking about our new lives away from the Nest. We would even go in and occasionally take on missions they were short-handed for, but that made our son uncomfortable, so we tried to lay off of it as much as we could.
Although, we didn't know we'd only see him until he was eight.
We still made the most of our lives, and both of us knew that Kuro would live on and make us proud.
Kuro
I smiled to myself multiple times as Core told me about events that both my parents and of himself participated in. I was also very grateful that Core told me how my parents joined the Nest, as well as how they met each other. It gave me a clear picture of events I never asked about, and I was very happy to know.
It was also the first time my parents were talked about and I didn't want the conversation to end.
"Your parents were a very lively couple, and I was the one who branded both of their Nest symbols. They most likely hid them before you were born, that's the only way I could think you didn't know about them being Ravens. If you want, I can put your symbol in the same spot I put theirs."
I perked my head up at the suggestion.
"I… Would love that." I told Core. "Also, thank you, Core. You told me a lot of things I didn't know about my parents, and I greatly appreciate it." I told him, bowing my head.
"Not a problem. If you ever want to hear some… Interesting stories I have with your parents, let me know." I laughed at Core's statement, and then he prepared to burn the Ravens' symbol into my body.
I let Core do his thing, and I felt closer to my parents than I have in a long time.
I exited the small building, and Kage and Naru greeted me with smiles. Surprisingly, they didn't question why I had been in there so long, but I didn't complain. Then again, they may have been too distracted by the symbol itself to ask why I was with Core for so long.
I now had an addition to my pure black fur. On the left side of my body, above my stomach and under my back, there was a shining white star, all five points shaded in. In the middle of that star, there was a talon.
"Wow, that symbol makes a great contrast with your fur Kuro!" Naru told me cheerily. "You picked a great spot!"
Naru's enthusiasm made me blush slightly.
"She's not wrong, it looks good on you, Kuro!" Kage then commented, also flustering me a bit.
Soon after Core came out and asked for Naru to come in. She made a nervous shudder. She reluctantly walked into the building, leaving Kage and I behind.
"Arceus have mercy on her…" I commented.
"Hopefully she'll be okay…" Kage then said.
A few minutes later, Naru came out of the building while rubbing a paw on the left side of her body.
"It burnnnnnnssss…." Naru said with a tone as if she had just went through a war.
Her tone almost distracted me from the fact she got her symbol in the same spot I got mine. It almost wasn't visible, as Naru had light fur, and the symbol itself was white, but it wasn't too hard to spot if you were looking for it.
"I thought it looked great on Kuro, so I got mine in the same spot, how does it look?" Naru asked, still rubbing around the symbol.
"I think it looks great Naru!" I told her, trying to mimic her enthusiasm.
"It does look good, but it's a bit hard to see…" Kage commented.
"Yeah… I didn't really think of how the color would look on the lightest part of my fur, but I'm sure it-ow!" Naru was cut off by more burning. "Sometimes I wish I wasn't an ice type…"
I laughed at Naru's comment, and Kage also let out a small chuckle.
Kage was then called in to the building by Core, leaving Naru and I outside to wait for him. Naru was closely inspecting the symbol on my body, and by closely inspecting, I mean she was literally two centimeters from it, staring intently. It started to make me a little bit uncomfortable, so I tried to make conversation, as socially inept as I am.
However, before I could try and embarrass myself, Naru asked me a question.
"Why did you decide to put the symbol there?" She asked. "I mean, It looks great, but is there a reason?"
"According to Core, my parents both had their symbols here when they were Ravens, and he asked me if I wanted mine in the same spot." I explained. "That's also the reason I was in there for so long, he was telling me how my parents met, and a few things they did here as Ravens."
"Really? Your parents had good senses of style!" She exclaimed, making me smile. "That makes me glad mine is in the same spot. It gives it reasoning beyond the way it looks."
I nodded at Naru, keeping my smile. She returned the smile, and we stood there, staring at each other's eyes for a few seconds. Neither of us moved, or made a sound. We just stood there, mesmerized by each other.
The silence was broken when we heard the door of the small building next to us open, prompting both Naru and I to avert our eyes from each other, trying to not let embarrassment cloud our faces.
Kage walked towards us, and held out a paw. On the top of one of his front paws was the Nests' symbol, making a similar contrast on his fur as it did on mine.
"It looks great Kage!" I told him, using enthusiasm to break my earlier embarrassment.
"Y-Yeah, it does!" Naru said after me.
All three of us then started to walk back to the dirt field we came from.
It was time to meet our mentors.
Hello readers!
So I ended up having a lot of extra time during my internship, all of which I used to type this chapter. I wasn't expecting to have this time, but I'm not going to complain.
Also, let me know what you think of the flashback part of this chapter, I kind of decided to do that on a whim, so I have no idea how well it will be received, but let me know for future chapters, it would be really helpful!
Finally, I want to thank all of you who have given me constructive criticism or kind PMs regarding this story, it really makes my day when I'm trying to listen to a professor rant about entrepreneurship for five hours!
See you all next chapter!