As the little masked ghost drifted back home, not bothering to rush, he gazed around the blackened landscape, eyeing the Pokémon who kept their distance from him. He fiddled with his cloth-like hands, still feeling embarrassed from earlier during class. Some of the students who were also going home giggled yet again at the memory, and he knew what they were thinking about. Grumbling to himself, the duskull made his way home without getting into any trouble.

The homes in the ghost village mirrored those of a human's, making it feel as if they actually lived in the area. All of them were topped with a roof, had a wooden creaky door out front, and also included a couple of windows. Most of the houses looked fairly dreadful but were actually pleasant to the inhabitants. The child cringed, floating over to the front of his family's house.

At the door, Nox hesitantly knocked on the wood to the best of his ability, however it hardly made any sound due to his weak arms. Nonetheless, the knocking was answered to as it was fairly recognizable to whoever was on the other side.

The door creaked open, and a large hand made itself apparent as it was gripped on the knob. A dusknoir peered down at the tiny ghost at the front of its door, and scooped the child up with its free arm with ease. Nox flustered slightly as he was pulled away from his spot.

"Hello, Nox, dearie, how was your day at school?" The dusknoir's chimed, her feminine and cheery voice defining her gender clearly. She carefully shut the front door, being careful not to slam it or make too much noise, for that matter. At the table in the corner, a darkly colored gengar sat there, engrossed in a novel.

"F-fine, Mom..." The child replied timidly, feeling a slight embarrassed blush creep onto his face. His mother internally smiled. Her child certainly was a reserved one, which slightly amused her, seeing as that made him very different from his parents. She looked over at the table, where her husband was still reading. She released her grip on the doorknob behind her without a sound. "Hon, your son is home." She pointed out, holding the child close to her. Nox sighed quietly, waiting to see what his dad had to say.

The gengar looked up from the dusty book, placing it down with a smile, one that wasn't as wide and mischievous as most gengars' would be. He floated over, taking the child from his mother's arm with care, and holding him in front of his face. "Hey there, kiddo!" The gengar released the boy, so he could float on his own. "You doin' alright, my boy?" He patted the duskull's head, although it was a bit hard to reach. Nox stared, looking a bit uncertain. His father was able to read him just like the book he had sitting on the table.

"...Did something happen?" He questioned, as if he was reading his mind. Nox fiddled with his cloth-like arms.

"W-Well...M-maybe... It's not important..." He trailed off.

Both of his parents stared at each other, then looked back at their son. "We should talk about it, then. Doing that will probably rid you of those ugly thoughts clouding your mind!" His father exclaimed, pointing one of his small fingers at the ceiling in declaration. Nox floated back slightly, staring at his dad quizzically. His father smiled, guiding Nox over to the nearby sofa to sit down. The mother simply floated over to talk with her son from behind it.

"So, would you mind telling us what went on today? You know, whatever made you feel down like this. It's alright, no need to hesitate."

Nox stared at his father blankly, not bothering to speak a word. His mother tensed, seeing that her son was usually difficult when it came to talking about any school day, especially the exceptionally bad ones. "Leon, dear, may I try to speak with him?"

Leon nodded. "Sure." He replied, scooting away from his son somewhat so he can be comfortable.

The female dusknoir bent over a bit, folding her arms to perch them on the peak of the sofa. "Sweetie, we're just trying to help you." She spoke in an assuring tone, "All we want to do is make you feel better, because we love you. You know that, right?"

Her son cringed slightly and unnoticeably. "W-W-Well, yes..." He replied, staring down at nothing to avoid her gaze. "I'm just..." He hesitated, "I-I'm a failure..." Quietly, he covered both of the eye holes in his mask with his cloth-like arms, not wanting to look at his parents. The couple stared at each other momentarily, until his mother spoke again. "Why would you think that? Everyone makes mistakes." She replied, reaching over to gently rub his back in a comforting manner.

Nox removed his hands from his face, looking over at his mother with a shameful expression. "B-but they laughed at me..." He remembered his final class of the day, shuddering.

"W-what...?" His mother replied, in slight shock. She stared over at her husband, who also had a dumbfounded look on his face. The larger ghost type sighed. "That's not right... You never laughed at them, or did anything wrong..."

The duskull stared away. Those were his thoughts exactly, however, he was also thinking about the playground incident. All of the kids in his class avoided him, and no hints as to why were ever given to him. Even though it has always been like that, the child never bothered to speak of it to his parents, for he found no reason to. He hoped that maybe someday there would be someone that wasn't afraid of him and would be his friend.

Finally, his mother pulled her hand away, returning it to her side. Nox stared up at her questioningly. She gave him an invisible, yet heartfelt smile. "You should get some rest," The dusknoir suggested, "Maybe it'll make you feel better..."

"Okay..." Slowly, Nox levitated off of the plush cushion and floated back. His father took great care in getting his feet back on the floor, careful not to injure his small tail on the way down. He glanced over at his child.

"Goodnight, son." He spoke.

"'Night Dad, 'night Mom..." The duskull waved one of his flimsy arms and started heading for the rear ends of the house, to sleep in his room at the very end of the hall. His parents stared at each other.

"...What're we going to do, dear...? He always seems this way." The mother asked, staring down at the floor in defeat. Leon walked over to her side, taking a hold of her hand gently with his smaller own.

"Don't worry, Mila. I'm sure we can think of something. Besides, it's probably just a phase. Hopefully he'll grow out of it." He suggested, a slight glint of hope in his eyes.

"...I hope so..." Mila replied, pulling her husband up into her arms for an awkward embrace. Leon smiled softly, being held close as he was lifted off of the ground. He chuckled lightheartedly.

"I'm sure of it. What's the worst that could happen?"