Chapter 1

Quick authors note: Sure, they're called the Gijinka but that's because I couldn't think of a better name for them. Just keep these few guidelines in mind, 1) there less like humans and more pokemon than human so they would have a humanoid body but still keep the base pokemon's traits. Think of Zootopia or Sing. 2) to make things interesting the characters can use more then 4 attacks, more on that latter. 3) All pokemon can use all Normal and basic fighting type moves, with some exceptions, providing they have the correct body part and training for it. 4) I'm using pokemon but I'm trying to be subtle so generally I will describe characters with great detail but not naming what pokemon they are, same with battles. 5) enjoy ^_^

Kira traveled up the road on her way to classes at the local Academy for Future Citizens, or The Academy as its named by everyone. She was, as most people would say, a cute girl. She was around normal height just a couple inches under average. She was wearing an over sized brown sweatshirt, a skirt and knee high socks. That, a round face with blue eyes and shoulder length black hair all together gave her the look of a cute cuddly panda augmented by the black heart shaped birth marks on her cheeks Signifying her as part of the Awazu clan.

As she walked a buneary and a snubbull passed her. "I'm so pumped for the final tests! Were finally going to get to show our stuff!" the buneary cheered as she ran by "Come on Percilla were gonna be late."

"No were not we have an hour to get there and its only fifteen minutes away!" protest the snubbull apparently named Percilla. Kira realized with a start that end of year finals were today. The semester had been over battling, oddly, not something she loved, but something she was good at all the same. After the finals the students would be assigned groups of three with an Elite, a gijinka capable of any mission. They would learn from the leader until they were ready to take the exam that would allow them to lead missions and become a team leader themselves. It was a daunting prospect.

As she approached The Academy she saw Rikku sitting under a tree. He always dressed plain, black shirt and pants with a black jacket zipped up to his collarbone. He was long and scraggly, but quite strong. His black hair with its blue tips looking unkempt and untamed but he still looked nice, Something only he could pull off.

His face was longer than hers which made him more intimidating, but it rather suited him. As She watched him his black glossy cat-like ears twitched and his flat staring hazel eyes opened. He had an uncanny way of knowing when he was being watched. He got up and walked towards her slinging a gray messenger bag over his head. "Ah, there you are. I was waiting for you." Kira inspected his clothes and hair, it looked like he just arrived himself. "Oh, I'm sorry did you have to wait long?"

"Nah, its fine, besides we're not late yet, but we should hurry." He said as he walked passed.

Rikku was one of the few students that actually saw her as a person. She wasn't bullied or put down, just that no one saw her as anything interesting, to them she was just the quiet panda in the back of the room, plain and boring. She didn't have large breasts or a huge butt, in fact quite the contrary. She didn't have a beautiful face or stunning hips, she was just, normal.

She remembered the day she met Rikku. It was the beginning of this semester and most of the desks around her were empty. Until one day a new student arrived. His hazel eyes had the look of the purest disinterest in being in the room. He scanned the crowed as the teacher was talking.

"Class this is Rikku Biao and he will be joining us for the rest of the year. Please take a seat wherever you like Rikku." As he said this Rikku's eyes settled on Kira.

She looked back and the uninterested stare was gone, replaced by a look of what could only be described as absolute decisiveness, and he walked over to her and took a seat in the desk right next to her. Setting down his bag he stared at the board with an uninterested stare that seemed to look right through you and know everything you ever hid from him and everything you were going to.

"Hi" he said in voice that was relatively deep for a person of his age. "My name's Rikku whats yours?" She looked at him startled

"Who, me?" she squeaked.

"You're the only other person for..." he looked around "two desks in every direction." Kira didn't answer for two minutes after she should have, no one had ever actually asked her name before. His left eyebrow rose slightly in question.

"It's… Kira" she whispered hesitantly. No one had ever been interested enough to know or care to talk to her as more then a tool for directions or formal greetings, thus she wasn't used to caring about how a conversation would end up and the suspense was killing her. Fortunately for her he replied, "Cool, pretty name." and continued looking ahead. Her curiosity spread wings and soared. She realized that he didn't sit there to be alone he sat there because she was there, and she wanted to know why. Mustering up what little courage she had she asked timidly, "why did you sit here?"

"what do you mean?" he asked without looking.

"Well…all the popular girls have open seats next to them for once, and so do the guys. You cold have sat next to Cassandra or Evanlyn or even Kami. I'm just the little nobody that people don't notice. I'm pretty plain and I don't have any popularity. So you wouldn't gain a social benefit. You're talking to me so I assume you didn't want to be alone, so I can't think of any reason to sit next to me." He looked over at her, his flat stare meeting her inquiring one.

"Simple" he said "you're plain. I think plain girls are cute." and with that he turned her whole world upside down. She went through the rest of the day in a daze, with one word rattling through her mind causing chaos disrupting her basic gijinka functions. Cute! No one had ever called her that! Ever sense she could remember no one had looked at her with more than sibling of parental affection. Few people noticed her and even fewer said anything and even then it was only a passing "good-morning" yet someone randomly showed up in her life and, without even knowing her, said she was cute.

She went home in a daze and when her father asked her what was wrong all she could reply with was "huh?" She had a restless nights sleep and dreamed many strange things. Little did she know this boy would be a catalyst in spurring on her future and that many adventures were sure to come.

It was now the end of the year and she still hadn't asked him to elaborate on what he had said on that fateful day. They walked into the classroom together to find Cassandra, a tall girl with tan skin and a pink low-cut long sleeve shirt, a tail with a forked pink end jutting out from he pink shorts. She laughed at one of the jokes her friends were saying and as she did so she leaned back, digging her claws into the wood of the desk.

Evanlyn a small girl with green skin and white hair in a white dress was seated next to her, Ethan a her brother sat next to his sister and was a splitting image of her, and Daphne a girl with green pants and a white blouse and a red flower shaped umbrella above her head, was lounging on a desk to Cassandra's left. They all sat in their little group, looking up, Cassandra glared daggers at Rikku.

They had been at odds sense the beginning of the year. Their personalities just didn't match, Rikku was reserved and cool while Cassandra was a short-fused hot head with a large stock pile of pride to protect. As they passed by Cassandra whispered with an evil smile,

"You're going down Kitty. I'm gonna cream you" Instantly he froze, and turned his head to face her. The look in his eyes had changed, they weren't bored anymore, they had the look of an assassin: cold, hard, and uncaring whether you lived or died.

"No, you won't" he replied his voice flat, cold, and devoid of all emotion. "I have far more combat experience then you which more than makes up the difference in typing. Don't think that just because you deal more damage you will beat me. I have more than one trick up my sleeve." He was growling now and Kira was getting nervous, she hated violence. She hated the way it made her feel, the way she acted when "it" happened.

"Rikku, please don't." She whispered almost in-audible. His ears twitched and his tail swished back and forth twice. Their secret communication method, twice meaning yes once meaning no. His posture relaxed, she hadn't realized that he was getting ready to spring into an attack, she really dodged a bullet there. If she lost herself now in front of him she might lose her only friend. As they walked to their desks and the rest of the class filed in a woman with shoulder length loose pink hair, a hair band with a single pink flower placed neatly above her bangs. She had kind pink eyes and a warm smile. The Principle, Mrs. Etoile, walked in wearing a plain purple dress with pink fringes on the sleeves and bottom.

"Hello class 3-B" She seemed to sing a lullaby with every word, calming even Cassandra with her voice.

The school was small so each class was broken up into two parts if they were over nine students in members. This class, the third years, were evenly split between class 3-A and 3-B each class having nine students. The two from before must have been from 3-A.

"Today as I'm sure you know is the day of the finals, where we will judge your skills and combat ability to decide which Elite we should put you with and who your group will be. So please do your very best in the up coming tournament!" Everyone but Rikku and Kira cheered as they all pushed and shoved out the door till only Kira and Rikku were left.

Kira was frozen in fear, she hated violence and the emotions it brought out of her. Then Rikku's voice cut across her mind startling her out of her trance.

"Hey, do your best out there ok?" He winked and walked toward the door Kira nervously following him. She couldn't do that if she did she might loose the only friend she had. She might loose more than that.

They walked out and saw that a dirt rectangle the size of a basketball court was cleared out in the middle of the brown wooden school. A deck with railing surrounded the arena with stairs leading down to it and a screen on the wall behind a the seats for the judges. Obviously this was the arena that they used for finals.

"Listen up, you all are still young and your energy should not be wasted!" It was Mr. Hero one of the Elites that would be running the final. He had brown skin, bowl-cut black hair, a skin-tight blue suit with leg and arm weights, and teeth whiter than the Sun.

"We are now gonna make the roster for our little competition here!" and with that he pulled a lever and the screen on the wall and the nine students names started flashing across the screen.

"While its deciding ill explain the rules, it will be a single battle between you and your opponent, maiming is expected but not required and killing is absolutely forbidden! If a match gets two out of hand it will be halted." A sigh went through the crowd and everyone looked over at Cassandra, by far the most violent and volatile of the class.

"The fight ends when one or both of you is unconscious or unable to battle. So go all out!" And with those words the pairs were chosen.