A/N: Wow, I must really love you guys! Two updates within two days! Enjoy, and I hope you like Granddad! He's a fun character to write.
And thanks to ReLeesand Nanashi Chimera for reviewing! I know that I probably didn't give most of you enough time to review last chapter, so you can just include it in your review for this one. And a very special thanks to TJay-Drag-Latios'of'the'Cookie for being my beta!
Also, on a side note, I think that I found a theme song for my story. It's called Behind Closed Doors by Rise Against. I advise you to go check it out and tell me if you think that it fits the story well or not. And if you don't, I have my ways of finding out, and you won't like what I'll do to you. It will leave you in a state of shock and horror. Kind of like this poor smiley here. O.o
Chapter Four – Granddad
The trail didn't really bring any new discoveries or interesting developments. And if it did, then I didn't notice them. For all I know, a train full of butter and ice cream with a flying pig for a driver could have rushed past me and I wouldn't have noticed it.
OK, so that's probably not true, but you get the idea.
Anyway, I was so distracted from the things around me because of the little bundle of brown and white fluff in my arms. Koyuki was still fascinated by the snow falling around us. It wasn't coming down any faster than it had since I left the clearing, but it was still capturing his attention. And he was capturing mine.
You see, this was my first actual encounter with a real live Pokemon. Sure, I'd seen numerous pictures of them, but half of them had probably been doctored. And seeing a picture is nothing like seeing the real thing.
First off, you can't feel the object in the picture. Second, you can't talk with a picture as well as you can with the real living object. Well, actually, you could talk to a picture, but you'd be marked as a crazy for the rest of your life.
And most importantly, you can't interact with a picture. Stroking the fur of an Eevee is nothing like looking at a picture of one, I'll tell you that.
As I approached my house, I suddenly remembered my next door neighbor, Becky Downs. They were very nice neighbors, her and her husband Bob Downs, and Becky would greet me as I walked through my backyard to the house. However, they were terribly afraid of Pokemon. Not hating of them, just afraid.
If she saw Koyuki as I walked through my backyard, Becky would probably call the police or something. And that wouldn't end well for Koyuki.
I stopped walking, and Koyuki looked up at me curiously. I told him, "My neighbors. If they see you, they might call someone to get rid of you."
He still looked confused, so I shifted him around in my arms so that my right arm was free. With it, I made the universal sign for death: drawing my arm across my throat. He understood that one, and he began to shake again.
"Don't worry, Koyuki, I won't let that happen," I assured him. "But if you still want to come home with me, you'll have to switch spots with my binder in my backpack."
He nodded, and I set him down, then took off my bag and set it down next to him. Pulling open the main pouch, I lifted out my binder and set it on the ground. Then, I carefully picked up Koyuki and lowered him into the pouch. He sat in the front of the pouch, looking up at me.
"Don't worry, you won't have to stay in there for too long," I said, patting his head. He shot me a look that said, "I had better not have to." I smiled and pulled the string tight, cutting off my view of him.
I picked up the bag and carefully slung it over my shoulder, making sure not to move it too quickly. Then I bent down to pick up my binder, and I held it in my hand. I suddenly missed holding Koyuki. I sighed and told myself that he wasn't gone, he was still with me, just not where I could see him or pet him.
I traveled the rest of the trail, which wasn't much of a journey. I was only a few feet from the edge of the woods when I remembered my neighbor. I emerged from the forest and looked over at the Downs' yard. Becky was sitting where she always was, right underneath the large tree in their yard, reading a book and wrapped in a blanket. I smiled. Not even a light snow or chilly winds could keep her from reading outside.
She must have heard my footsteps as I walked through my backyard, since she put her book down and turned around to greet me. "Hi there, Kyle!" she said, cheery as always. "How was school?"
"Oh, it was fine," I lied.
"Why is there fur all over your jacket?" she asked.
"What?" I asked, looking down at my chest. 'Oh, crap, she's right,' I thought, noticing Koyuki's fur covering my entire front. 'How am I going to explain this?'
"Well, we, uh, were studying how, um, similar animals evolved to have different features in Biology, and my teacher brought in some, uh, fur samples of different canine animals. And one of my classmates dumped one of the bags of fur all over my body." Oh, dear Mew please let her buy that!
"What kind of fur was it?" Becky asked.
"Um… I think that it was some sort of fox or something," I said, still praying that she believed me.
"Well, I'm sure that they'll let up on you soon enough," she said. "Just give them some time and they'll get bored and prank someone else."
I sighed. She actually believed that huge lie. "I sure hope so," I said, keeping up the act.
She smiled at me and said, "They will, honey." Then she turned back around and continued reading. I sighed again, thankful that I was able to make it through that close call. Voting not to take my chances and stay outside with her any longer, I hurried into the house.
I quickly walked through the door, which was already unlocked thanks to my Granddad. He always made sure to unlock that door so that I could get into the house without needing a key. I shut the door and locked it, then I turned and surveyed the room.
It wasn't too fancy, just your average living room. Two chairs and a couch adorned the room, all slightly turned in towards the TV. There was an ottoman in front of one chair, and a coffee table sat before the couch. A clock hung from the wall above the wall.
Noticing that my granddad wasn't here, I called out, "Granddad, I'm home!"
"Hey, Kyle, how was school?" Granddad asked as he came around the corner. He was your typical granddad, gray hair, a few wrinkles, nothing much stood out about him. He was around 65, but sometimes he had the attitude of a happy kid. But no matter how he acted, his eyes always shone with some glint of hope and happiness. He was that kind of person who you could never stay mad at, no matter what he did.
"How do you think it was?" I questioned jokingly.
"Ah, I see," he said, nodding. "Not too good, huh?"
"Nope," I confirmed him. "In World History, we started learning about the Grand Revolution. We got as far as the Gym Revolt and the Gym leader of this town," I said, emphasizing the last bit.
"Ah, so you know about your great-granddad," he said as he sat down in his favorite chair, his mood falling slightly. I sat down on the couch, taking my backpack off and setting it down next to me with my binder. "Are you angry that I never told you?"
"Not really angry, just disappointed and confused," I said. Sighing, I asked "Why didn't you tell me about him?"
"Because, if you knew, you might have said something about him during school, and who knows what might have happened," Granddad said. "Of course, I should have known that they would teach you kids about in school. It wasn't my best decision."
"Hey, it was better than your decision to raise me," I joked. "Look where that's gotten you."
We both began laughing at the statement. My Granddad and I could never stay in a serious conversation for very long before one of us made a joke. Usually it was he that made the joke, but finding Koyuki put me in a good mood that day, and that prompted me to be the joker.
Speaking of Koyuki, he chose then to re-establish his existence by yipping loudly.
"What was that?" my Granddad asked, looking around the room.
"Oh, right, I have to ask you something," I said, lifting my backpack off of the couch and setting it on the floor. I quickly opened the pouch and pulled out a very impatient looking Koyuki.
"Is that an Eevee?" Granddad asked. I nodded, and he suddenly got a far off look in his eyes. "I haven't seen an Eevee in so long…"
"Vee?" Koyuki asked, wearing a confused face, and I shrugged. "I have no idea what he's doing," I said, just as confused. I waved a hand in front of his face, and suddenly, he snapped out of his trance or whatever he was in.
"Wha? Where am I?" he asked, looking around. He spotted Koyuki and me, and a look of understanding dawned on his face. "Oh, yes, my grandson has brought home a wild Eevee. I guess that would explain all of the fur on your jacket." He paused, and then sighed. "I knew this day would come."
"Huh? What's that mean?" I asked.
He sighed again. "Well, Kyle, let me explain. Back when your father was around your age, he went out to play in the woods behind our house. There were no dangerous wild animals out there, so we let him go, seeing as he was 15 and could take care of himself."
"So what happened?" I asked.
"He came back after a few minutes with a small bunch of orange and black fur. It was extremely thin and the fur was missing in some places. Before you ask, no it wasn't a tiger cub. Do you remember what a Growlithe is?"
I quickly imagined the small canine Pokemon with its tiger-like pelt and white, fluffy tail and chest fur. "Yeah, I do."
"Well, that's what your dad brought home. He had found a starving Growlithe pup and asked if he could keep it and nurse it back to health. We let him, your Grandma and I, as long as he kept it well hidden."
"And what happened?" I asked.
"Calm down, there, I was getting to that," he said. "Jeez, what is it with kids these days not having patience?"
A moment of silence followed, and we began to laugh again. My Granddad could never insult family, and whenever he did, we all knew that he was joking around. And even if he did make you angry, you couldn't ever stay mad at him.
"Anyway, he was able to keep the little Growlithe secret for a year or so, and every day of that time, your father grew ever more attached to him." He sighed, "Then, sometime in June, the Growlithe was outside, running around in the woods with your dad chasing him around. Our neighbor had overheard the barking that the Growlithe was making and was beginning to grow tired of it. So, he decided to take matters into his own hands. He took a shotgun and went out into the wood, and as soon as he saw the Growlithe, he shot it, killing it on the spot. Your dad was devastated."
My mind was swirling. My dad brought home a Growlithe just to have it eventually killed? I looked down at Koyuki, who was silently taking it all in. I wondered if I could keep him safe if I kept him in the house. I thought of just making him a more comfortable place to stay in the clearing, but then I remembered how happy he had looked when I mentioned him living in the house. I couldn't deny him that.
"So are you not going to let him stay here?" I asked.
"Not exactly," Granddad said. "Technically, since you found that Eevee, it's yours to keep and decide what to do with, not mine."
"Really?" I asked. "Well, I'm pretty sure that I should ask Koyuki here, but I think that I already know that he wants to stay in the house with us."
Koyuki nodded vigorously and yipped his agreement.
"Well, how's that?" my Granddad said. "You've even given him a name. Any specific reason for why you called him Koyuki?"
"Well, I remember you telling me that it meant light snow, and since Koyuki is so interested in snow, I think that it fits pretty well. Koyuki agreed with me, so that's what I named him."
"Ah, I see," Granddad said. "I think it fits quite well, too."
I placed Koyuki on my shoulder and stood up. I walked over to my Granddad and gave him a hug. Yes, I gave him a hug. So sue me for loving my Granddad.
"Thanks for this, Granddad," I said as I hugged him. Then we broke the embrace and Koyuki jumped off of my shoulder, landed on my Granddad, and licked his face to show his appreciation.
Granddad laughed and said, "Hey, OK, I get it!" Koyuki stopped and sat down on my Granddad's lap.
I picked him up and sat him back on my shoulder, and he licked my face a few times as well.
"Just remember to keep him safe," Granddad said.
I nodded, thanked him once more, and ran off to my room.