Okay, so I have another update, which actually makes me happy, as I updated fairly recently anyway. Yeah, I sort got caught up in writing last night while working on my other stories, and it ended up being five thirty before I finally stopped. Yeah, I think I may be an addict some times. Oh well, that just means more updates for you guys. :)

I Guess We Just Let It Play Out

I was walking through the woods outside of the school's fence, just listening to the sounds of the Pokemon in here, as they went on with their everyday lives. It was the first weekend of the school year, and I had discovered a piece of information that was, for some reason, omitted from the handbook, but it made me happy all the same. I discovered that, while the book says that we can go into town on the weekend, we could also go out and explore randomly, if we preferred that. All I had to do today was show the vice principal that was at the gate my student ID and he waved me off to do one of two things, either join the crowd of students that were waiting to get on the buses that would take them away from the school, or I could just wander around on my own. I obviously chose the latter. I honestly felt happy for the first time in a long time. I mean, why wouldn't I be? I was able to just wander around in the woods, not having to worry about any other people mocking me or bullying me, and the only restriction was that I had to be back on campus by ten. It was truly great. I just continued walking through the trees, enjoying the peace and quiet, until it was suddenly interrupted by a loud scream.

"Help!" The voice yelled.

Fuck. I quickly took off towards the voice, using Extreme Speed to cover ground quicker. I quickly came to a clearing in the trees and saw that girl, Mei, curled up into a partial ball at the base of a tree, with a large Scyther towering over her, slowly moving towards the girl. Without thinking, I looked at the ground and found a few rocks. I quickly picked them up and sent one flying at the Scyther, nailing it in the back of the head. It spun around, its rage filled eyes searching for its assailant, before they rested on me. I looked behind the Scyther and saw Mei's eyes stuck to me, as well.

"Well, if it isn't a little freak." The Scyther taunted. "It's been a while since I've seen one of you, furball. So, what's with attacking me, eh? This girl mean something to you?"

I obviously kept silent, choosing only to drop the remaining rocks and take up a battle stance.

This caused the Scyther to burst out laughing, before saying, "Oh, so you really are gonna fight me, eh?" I was, once again, silent, so he said, "What's the matter, freak, am I not special enough to warrant a response from you? Am I below you because I'm actually normal?" I didn't reply, so he said, "Oh, fuck this."

As soon as he said this, his wings started fluttering like mad, and he lifted himself into the air. He dashed towards me, one blade arm sticking out to impale me, and the other under it, hanging horizontally to catch me of I tried to roll out of the way. Seeing nowhere else to go, I bent down, before launching myself into the air, doing a back flip over the charging bug. As I landed, we both whipped around, he with a surprised expression on his face, and me with a determined one.

"Why you little fuck!" He exclaimed.

The Scyther charged again, but this time I decided to take the offensive, so I grabbed his blades, stopping him in midair. I felt a sharp pain in my hands as the blades dug into them. I grunted quietly, but fought through the pain and pushed him back roughly, sending the Scyther flying backwards through the air, and causing to collide with a tree, before falling down to the ground, dazed. It quickly regained its footing, though, and flew back at me. Tiring of the fight, I decided to show off what has made me be hated for my whole life. As I began concentrating, the Scyther froze in midair, surrounded by a purple psychic aura. Mei let out a gasp of shock, and the Scyther started flailing around wildly, but to no avail.

"Hey, buddy." The Scyther said, fear evident in his voice. "Y'know, I'm sorry about that whole 'freak' comment. Trust me, I truly am. So, how about you let me go and we call it even, okay?"

I released my grip on him and plummeted to the ground, where he landed, kicking up a large amount of dirt in the process.

"Thanks." He said, coughing up dirt.

As he rose to his feet, though, he was greeted by a sight that filled him with fear all over again. I was holding a fully charged Shadow Ball in each hand, both of them ready to be launched at a moment's notice.

"Hey, man," the Scyther said, backing up, hands in front of him defensively, "I thought that we had a deal."

Sorry, but I don't take very kindly to attempted murder of an innocent person. I let loose both attacks, and they flew straight towards the Pokemon in front of me. He was barely able to get ready to jump, before the devastating orbs collided with him. They exploded on impact, creating a large dust cloud. When the dust cleared, it revealed that the Scyther was barely able to stand, as he was currently rocking on his feet. Without another word, he used the last of strength to lift himself up into the air again, before flying out, into the trees. I turned around, to see Mei still sitting on the ground behind me, a shocked expression on her face. I went over to her and crouched in front of her, wanting to make sure that she wasn't hurt.

I noticed rip in the sleeve of her shirt, and I reached over to inspect it, but she stopped me, by grabbing my wrist and saying, "No, don't worry, I'm alright. He just got my shirt." I nodded in response, and she said, "Wait, your Cloud, right? The mute?" I nodded, and she said, "Well, thank you for saving me. I imagine that, had you not shown up, I would currently be chopped into little bits."

Despite her reassurances, I was still worried about her, so I pointed to her, and then back in the direction of the school, meaning to ask her if she wanted me to help her back to the school.

She seemed to understand what I meant, as she responded, "No, trust me, I'm fine. And besides, I actually came out here with my friends, and I imagine that they will be here soon. Although, I do advise that you get your hands checked out when you get back. They don't look too good."

I looked down, and saw that she was right. Both of my hands had large cuts, going across the width of my palm. I nodded in response. Suddenly, I heard the surrounding foliage begin to move followed by two voices that I recognized to be Skyler and Mackenzie, yelling Mei's name. I quickly leapt up from my position and, taking Mei by surprise, took off running to the other side of the clearing, where I leapt up into a tree. With one final look back at the confused Mei, I took off through the trees.

P.O.V Change: Mei

I was still sitting on the ground, dazed, staring at the place where Cloud had disappeared, when Skyler and Mackenzie burst through the foliage. I quickly thought of what to say, and I ended up coming to the conclusion that I would lie about seeing Cloud. Why do I feel the need to lie about this?

"There you are." Skyler said, the worry evident in his tone, as the rushed towards me. "We heard you scream and we got worried."

"Oh, yeah," I said, standing up, "sorry about that. I just fell."

"What's with ripped shirt?" Mackenzie asked me.

"I don't know," I said, shrugging, "I must have snagged it on something as I fell."

"Alright." Skyler said, but I could tell that he didn't believe me. "Anyway, do you wanna keep wandering around, or do you wanna head back?"

"Let's just head back." I said. "I'm slightly sore from falling."

They both nodded, and we started back towards the school.

P.O.V Change: Cloud

"So, are you going to tell me how this happened?" The school nurse said, as she was wrapping up my hands. I was silent, so she said, "Yeah, I didn't think so."

I was currently sitting in the nurse's office at the school, and she was wrapping up my injured hands. I had discovered earlier this week that the nurse, thankfully, had no issue with morphs, which made my Wednesday a hell of a lot easier. Allow me to explain; on what was obviously the first Wednesday of the school year, a few of the upperclassmen had decided that they should give their friendly neighborhood freak a welcoming gift, so they went after me after school let out and decided to say hello. With their fists. Yeah, everyone here is extremely kind and welcoming. They had ended up busting my nose up fairly badly, so, not able to think of anywhere else to go, I did the obvious: I came here. She had me clean the blood up in the small bathroom in her office, before making sure that nothing was broken, which, thankfully, nothing was, as that would cause me to have to be brought to the hospital in town.

"Alright, kid," she said, "that's about all I can do for you." I got up from the cot that I was on, and she said, "I advise keeping those bandages on for at least three weeks, as those are pretty deep and need time to heal." She reached into a cabinet next to her and pulled out a roll of bandages, which she handed to me, saying, "Here. Change them every time you shower. You know how to put these on correctly, right?" I nodded, and she said, "Alright kid, now please don't let me see you in here again. You don't need to be getting into trouble, especially if you always come out of it hurt."

I nodded my thanks, and left the room. I turned and began walking down the hallway. Hey, I'm just happy that I was able to keep that girl from dying, as she was right, unfortunately. Had I not found her, she would most likely be sent to her parents in a body bag. I continued walking down the hall, until I heard a voice yell my name. I turned to the source, and saw that I had been walking by Mr. Kynth's room, and he was currently sitting behind his desk, a concerned expression on his face.

"Cloud, come here." He said, motioning for me to enter.

I did as told, and he stood up from his desk and came over to me.

"What happened to you?" He asked, motioning towards my hands.

I merely shrugged in response, and he let out an exasperated sigh. He went over to the door and shut and locked it, confusing me.

"C'mon, Senth," he said, coming back over to me, "you and I both know that you aren't really a mute. I know it's just an act. Just speak to me, and no one else has to know."

I looked at him, shocked. How the hell did he know?

"Well, are you going to speak up?" He asked.

I sighed, before saying, "How did you know?"

"I just did." He said. "Now, will you answer my question? How did you get hurt?"

I sighed again, before saying, "I had a run in with a pissed off Scyther in the woods. Someone yelled for help, so I helped."

"Really?" He said. "You decided to play the hero?" I nodded, so he said, "You do realize that you're extremely lucky that those cuts are the only injuries you have?"

"What does it matter if I got hurt?" I asked. "I mean, I'm just a freak anyway. You act as if I have something to live for, or anyone that would miss me if I died. And, besides, it was either me getting hurt or the girl."

"Well, congrats on saving a life." Kynth said. "But what makes you think that no one would miss you?"

I scoffed, before saying, "As I said, I'm a freak. I mean, hell, my own parents abandoned me, so why would anyone else care about me?"

"Because they have no reason not to." He said. "Now, you need to stay out of trouble."

"Why should I?" I asked, raising my voice slightly. "Why the hell do you even care so much?"

"Because I just do." He said, obviously fighting to remain calm.

"Well stop it." I said, heading for the door. "No one else gives a shit about me, so why the hell should you?"

"Because I care greatly for you." Kynth said, raising his voice. "I see all of my students as my children."

"Well stop treating me like your son." I said. "Because you're sure as hell not my father."

With that, I opened the door and left, slamming it shut behind me.

P.O.V Change: Kynth

"No," I quietly said, as I heard Cloud's footsteps start down the hall, "I'm damn sure not your father." I sighed, sitting down in my chair, saying, "But that doesn't mean that I wasn't."

I reached into the back pocket of my pants and pulled out a worn leather wallet. I opened it and found what I was looking for. A picture. The only picture I had of my family as a whole. On the right, was a younger version of myself, a grin spread across my young face. Next to me, was my wife, a beautiful woman named Jennifer, a smile on her face as well. And, cradled in Jennifer's arms, was the sleeping form of a young Umbreon-morph. The very same morph that just stormed out of my room. I sighed, touching the worn piece of paper. This wasn't the first time that I had just sat and looked at this photo, and I knew that it wouldn't be the last. I began doing it more often over the week.

"Oh, Cloud." I said, to myself. "If only you knew why we did it, or how much we've regretted the decision since. But would that really make a difference in your opinion of us?"

I don't know how long I sat, holding the picture in my hands, but I was jolted back to reality by my phone buzzing in my pocket. I pulled it out and saw who it was. I should probably answer it, or she'll start to worry. Sighing, I hit the 'answer' button.

"Hello, honey." I said, trying to hide how exhausted I was.

"Hey," the voice on the other end said, "so, I was looking, and I saw that that new burger restaurant is opening up in town today. Do you wanna go there for dinner tonight?"

It took me a second to reply, as I was barely concentrating on the conversation.

Jolting myself back to the voice on the phone, I said, "Oh, yeah, Jenn. That's fine with me, whatever you want."

"Is something wrong?" My wife asked, through the speaker. "You sound really tired. Are they working you too hard up there?"

"No." I said, sighing. "It's not that."

"Then what's wrong?" She asked.

I sighed, debating whether or not to tell her about what just happened. I came to my decision, and braced myself for whatever reaction I got.

"Sorry, it's just that I recently had a rather exhausting conversation." I said. "One with our son."

I could hear her breath catch over the phone, followed by a gasp of shock.

"Wait," she said, "what do you mean by 'our son'?"

I sighed, saying, "Yes Jennifer, I meant him. He's one of my students here."

"Holy shit." Jennifer said, taking me by surprise, as she rarely cursed. "Does he know?"

"I'm not sure." I said. "He doesn't appear to, but he is apparently really good at hiding things, as he's been able to get people to believe that he was mute for his whole life."

"Well, do you think you should tell him?" She asked.

"I'm not sure." I said, sighing. "I mean, it'd be wonderful to have him be a part of the family again, but at the same time, I'm frightened that he may hate us for it."

"Well, would you blame him?" Jennifer said, sighing. "I mean, no matter what our reasons, we still left him on those orphanage steps. I'd hate us, as well."

"I know." I responded. "But, Jenn, what should I do?"

"I guess we just let it play out." She responded, once again sighing. "If he finds out, we try to explain ourselves and keep him from despising us, and if he never discovers the truth then so be it. I mean, would it really benefit him any to know that one of the reasons his life has been how it was is his teacher?"

"I see what you mean." I responded. "I guess that I'll see you when I get home."

"Alright." She replied. "I'll see you then. I love you."

"You too." I said, before hanging up the call. Looking at the photo again, I sighed, before saying, "I'm sorry for what we did to you, Cloud. And if I could go back and fix it, I would, but that isn't possible."

With that, I pocketed the picture, and put my head in my hands, suddenly having a large headache.

P.O.V Change: Cloud

I was walking across the school yard, still slightly seething about the previous conversation. I don't fucking need him caring for me. No one ever has before. As I was walking, I passed Mei, Skyler, and Mackenzie, and I glanced over to find Mei's eyes following me, focused on my hands. She noticed that I was looking at her, and she quickly looked away. I continued walking, until I finally got to my room. I dropped onto my couch with a sigh.

"Fuck." I said, sinking lower into piece of furniture.

Yay, plot development! I really enjoy writing chapters like this one, ones that add major plot points. So, I bet no one saw that coming, and if you did: bravo. So, yeah, this chapter was slightly longer than the previous ones, hitting the 3k marker that I try to get with all of the chapters in my stories, so I hope that that is acceptable. I hope that everyone enjoyed this chapter. Goodbye.