I am going to try and write this more frequently with smaller chapters, like I experimented with concerning The Original One.

Instead of 20 chapters, which was originally planned, it may be 30-40. The chapters 1-5 have been broken down and re-uploaded.

For those who read this story before I took it down, Arc I will consist of all the chapters up until Deoxys' castle in space. Everything else will be Arc II, the Soul of Darkrai.

I decided to make this story a tiny bit more explicit than The Passionflower. I've grown up a little bit since I started this story. There will be more foul language and romance.

Arc I, The Heart of Cresselia

Chapter One:

Inside the Shining Big City

"I hate my mother," said Luka. Though he had made the comment in a very straightforward manner, he was pretending to be preoccupied with the scenery outside of the car window. "She was supposed to get me tickets for the concert in Celadon tomorrow night, but she couldn't, just because she was busy."

"Oh, I understand, my father does the same thing."

Luka glared at the brunette girl sitting across the limo from him. "It's not that I'm upset about missing the concert. It's that she wasn't busy at all. She spent the whole weekend with that stupid Richard guy. He's just trying to get with her for our money."

The girl, Cassia, sighed and took her gaze away from the window. "Richard isn't too bad," she said, straightening her posture. "Remember when he took you and your, uh, friends to the water park in Cerulean? That was nice of him. You're just being overdramatic."

And I think you're an obnoxious loudmouth, thought Luka. At least she was replaceable. There were dozens of other girls who would take her place as long as he had his wallet on hand and a DNA-tested relationship with his mother. But he voiced none of these thoughts.

"Whatever," he said, returning his eyes to the scenery outside of the limo.

In the morning, Saffron looked like any other city in Kanto. Even though it was called the "Shining Big City", there were no special lights once the sun hit the horizon. Luka found the whole place to be one large trap, in which there was little to no escape. For him, every day was the same mediocre routine – wake up, attend school, go home. After all, there were only so many things he could do with his mother's vast amounts of money.

Reminder number one: As soon as we get to school, leave Cassia and find someone who's a lot more exciting. Luka exhaled and leaned back against the seats, his arms spread out behind him. When Cassia questioned his smug appearance with one of her 'looks', he only grinned wider and tapped his fingers to the music on the radio.

The moment that the limo pulled into the school driveway, Luka swept himself from the vehicle and stood on the cement, contemplating his choices. Before Cassia could even close the door to the car, he had already left her. He heard her voice behind him, "Luka, Luka, wait up!"

Unfortunately, girls could run faster in high heels than he'd expected, because in mere moments, she'd caught up to him and grabbed his forearm. Mentally sneering at her, he said, "I figured you would catch up. I was just about to…"

He trailed off, his eyes wandering off in the other direction. At the entrance to the school, just on top of the concrete wall by the steps, was a girl in a green sundress. She was standing behind one of the large garden trees, keeping to herself, and waving her hands around a bed of flowers like she was conducting magic.

What's up with her green hair? Are those flower petals around her neck?

In the background, amongst all the noise of the other students, he heard Cassia's whine, "You know, people would like you so much more if you'd at least try and respect them a little. You just walk around here thinking that you own the place and—"

Her eyes are… thought Luka, hardly daring to believe it when he saw the flowers bloom underneath the shade of her palms. They're yellow.

The girl stood up and admired her handiwork, and noticed Luka's stare. When she turned around, she gave him a tiny smile and brought her finger to her lips, like, "Shh, that's our little secret." Then she walked away, leaving behind lush, colorful greenery in her wake.

"Luka, are you even listening to me?" demanded Cassia, shoving herself past the crowd so that she was standing directly in front of him. When he only gave a blank stare in return, she crossed her arms. "Always in another world. All you care about is your stupid neighbor and your stupid wealth!"

My stupid neighbor?

"Don't talk about Nolan like that," said Luka, his voice uncommonly low. He had been so distracted by the girl with the flowers that he had also forgotten his intentions to ditch Cassia. When he spoke again, he had risen to the verge of yelling, "If you ever say anything about Nolan again, I'll—!"

He was interrupted by the bell, and he let himself end there. As the bell continued to gong throughout the school, he gave Cassia his best glare and stormed off. He pushed himself through the halls, finding it increasingly difficult to smother the anger that was smoldering inside of him. Students that noticed his fury stepped aside, leaving him with a vacant heart on a vacant path that nobody wanted to fill.

Luka pressed the back of his head against the concrete, waiting in the shade for the heat in his body to disappear. He tilted his neck, letting the girl on his lap pull on the back of his hair. Managing to browse the internet with his phone at the same time, he stared emptily into Bella's eyes, not at all feeling moved by the hunger and desire he saw there.

"Size seven and a half?" he asked.

"You've got it, sexy," she drawled, lowering herself to his earlobe. Realizing that her performance was not eliciting a reaction, she sat back on his lap, stroking his hair and pushing it from his eyes. She looked defeated. "Is there something I'm not doing right that Cassia did?"

"It's fine. You're a companion, not a damn hooker."

Bella frowned. She glanced at his phone, then her expression lit up. "Those are the Liza Slatcher crystal peep-toes released in the spring! Wait, are they real?" She squinted. When she saw the price tag, she turned red. "Oh my—"

"If we're going to make this a regular thing, try not to do that," said Luka flatly.

She pursed her lips, keeping her words restrained. "It's just that…" She trailed off, having thought better of what she meant to say. "Never mind," she added, nervously laughing.

They were nestled on the east side of the school, where the sun setting behind the west horizon could not reach them, and they were left in the quiet shade. The track and sports field were ahead. Luka tilted his head beyond Bella's so that he could see the students running, some of them alongside their Pokémon. He was even consciously aware of the belt of Pokéballs around Bella's waist. The worn leather looked horrid with her skirt.

He rested his head against the wall again, feeling a bead of sweat roll down his temple. It was too hot to be sitting here with someone on top of him.

"Come on, Luka," said Bella, easing herself back into whatever role she had adopted. Luka wasn't sure if it was working for her. She ran her fingers along his jawline and onto his lips. The painful starvation had returned to her face. "Hey, we should go back to your house."

"Why?"

"There's nobody ever home, right?" Her nails were digging into his ribs. "This is embarrassing — sitting behind the school like this."

Luka continued staring. He almost felt inclined to laugh with how ridiculous she was acting. "Okay, I've had enough of this," he said, standing up. Bella slid to the ground, disoriented. "Let's just — not do this anymore."

"But what about—"

"Keep the shoes," said Luka, exhausted. He dusted off his uniform and shouldered his bag.

Someone shouted from the track field. Two students had started a Pokémon battle and were being surrounded by dozens of other people. Luka pensively watched them, contemplating if he would feel any degree of contentment by participating. Hypothetically, of course — he didn't own a single Pokémon anyway.

"Don't worry," he added with a sigh. "I won't tell Cassia if you don't."

End of Chapter One