Chapter 3 Melody of One's True Self

Koji growled under her breath, she wasn't aware that Jubilife didn't have a gym. The place she wanted to go to was the next city, Oreburgh. She glared at Paul who simply shrugged. He wouldn't say it out loud, but he did find this little outburst of anger to be quite entertaining.

"I wish someone would have told me sooner that we were at the wrong city…geez. I would be on my marry way to the second gym by now, but nooooo… someone decided to have a battle with me."

"Koji, you have no one to blame, but yourself for your ignorance. There's this creation they have called a map for a reason," Paul mused. She was easily tempered and from what he could see wasn't all that bright, but he was kind of digging this. He clinched his fists together in his pockets for he was confused as to why all of a sudden he was feeling like this. He was beginning to wonder if she was a pokemon in disguise using attract on him or something. Every time he glanced over to her, his heart skipped a beat. The sound of her voice made his insides melt; it was as if everything inside slipped out of his body throwing away the balance that kept gravity from sending him face first into the ground. This was unfair in kinds of degrees. Just who did this girl think she was coming in uninvited and messing up his world? He gave up; his eyes just kept falling back onto her face each time he tried to look away.

Koji who had been noticing his actions felt that odd feeling from the first time they ran into each other. It was like he was staring into her soul; it was making her uncomfortable, but at the same time made her jump inside for joy. Joy? It struck her hard. She was enjoying that look in his eyes. The confusion and yearning for things unknown to her that swirled through his mind. She wondered how such an attractive face could hold such intensity even while feeling the strain of doubt.

"So this gym leader, what kind of pokemon does he use?"

"From what I heard rock… you should be fine with your larvitar." Paul stated with confidence and a small smirk curved along his face. "Just change around its move base strategy…"

"Hmph," She wasn't surprised by this compliment. However she couldn't help but sit and rethink her move set strategy for Mitch. Thrash was cool and all, but when it comes down to it it's dangerous and leaves you confused. Leaving yourself wide open like that is dangerous in its self. She stood up suddenly. "I'll be back, going to go and check my computer for TM's see what I can do about Mitch's moves."

"Sounds good, you want some advice?"

"Nah, I'm good." She shrugged the conversation off, walking towards the pokemon center. Paul stood there stunned. It was the first time he has ever had such an attraction. Everything she did left him breathless. He took in a deep breath, watching as she trudged off.

"I guess we'll meet up at the gym then Koji," He silently smiled and turned to face Kody who had been quietly over hearing their conversation. The air suddenly filled with tension as he remembered the last conversation he and Kody had a few days ago before they arrived to the city. He said some pretty harsh things, but this was Paul. The only sibling he had was a brother, who was older than him. So, he's never really had the time to deal with girls. His hand brushed the back of his head as the silence hovered above them. Kody remained silent.

"So, um… K-kody, you want to go and get a bite to eat?" He was trying to work out some kind of connection with her, but she just shrugged his shoulders. Ever since they left Jubilife, she hasn't said a single word and Paul was beginning to feel like it was his entire fault. "Look, I didn't mean to upset you, but I just don't understand what's holding you back. As a trainer, it depends heavily on your own personal skills and self-confidence to lead your team to victory. If you can't even so much as keep your emotions in check how do you plan on ever becoming a successful coordinator?"

"I don't know," Her voice was harsh from all of the crying she's been doing lately. Most of the tears she kept hidden until everyone were asleep. She meet Paul's gaze whom softened upon her face.

"Just forget about it, come on." He grabbed her hand, the embarrassment flustered across his face.

'Just what am I doing getting myself caught up in girls? I must being going soft or something.'

"I don't quite understand why you're being so nice to me." Kody pressed on, Paul had taken her to a small café it had just opened and seemed perfect for the occasion. Honestly his heart wasn't in it at all, he desired someone else, someone who had left to go and figure out her battle strategy. He cursed under his breath, why did he have to play the nice guy in the end. Why? Cause he happened to be the ass that made her cry in the first place. If he wanted to score some points with Koji he was going to have to get in good with the younger sister it looked like.

"You haven't said a word really, figured this would be the best way to get something out of you… was I wrong?"

"I'm not quite sure why you would think so, but I guess it's not half bad of an idea." She mused; a soft smile appeared on her face along with a soft blush. She wasn't quite sure how she was supposed to respond to this for she could tell he had a thing for her sister. Softly she let out a puff of air. This was awkward beyond belief, but she couldn't just turn him down. He seemed to be genuinely apologetic and wanted to make it up to her. She was just about to follow behind him as he led the way, but something caught her attention. The color was fading from baking in the sun. Filthy and torn in areas; showing that it had done a lot of sightseeing. If it wasn't for the zippers that attached its arms and mouth area, she wouldn't have known the familiarity that was bestowed upon her memory.

'It's the guy from the forest.'

"I have something I need to do, so um… excuse me." She bowed, rushing off in fear of losing him. Paul shook his head in confusion. Were all girls this fickle?

"Whatever. I guess I should go and find Koji." He slipped his hands into his pockets, nuzzled deep. Eyes closed, nothing seemed to faze him as he passed by many different trainers, but one thing did stand out. A deformed figure rushing through the crowd, its head poked as moved along; behind trailed little Kody who was desperately trying to keep up. This was becoming interesting. What could she be following this freak for? He wasn't dumb, he could tell from the seams that held its body together that it was a costume. A poorly made one from his standards of what appeared to look like a pokemon. Maybe it was possible she knew this person. For whatever reason, he found himself following behind the duo.

"I don't quite understand why I'm following her, but I don't like the way things are starting to look."

Someone else was following behind him; it took him a few seconds to figure out who it was. But due to the fact he recognized the angry flail of profanities and the flow of midnight that shown throughout each strand of hair. He realized Koji was also following after her sister.

"Koji," He called out to her, she stopped briefly as she passed him. Letting him catch up to her, he was confused as to why she was running with such fierceness. "What's going on, do you know who that clown is in the costume?"

She clinched her teeth briefly before answering, she was still sore at Yuuki for the battle they had. Seeing as she had no choice, she explained the situation to Paul. He was shocked to hear that she had lost to him, considering she dominated him. But, he could see it in her eyes that this genuinely bothered her. "One thing still bothers me though… why the fuck would your sister be interested in a guy like him?"

"That is what I want to know!" Sensing he was hitting a button, he fell silent. This was a side of her he hadn't seen too much of. He could see how much she cared for her younger sister; a feeling he was struggling to understand. There was a part of him that felt acknowledgement towards his older brother, but due to the lack of bondage between the two it was almost a distant memory of the last time he and his brother spent time together. A time he was beginning to yearn for. Something about seeing how close Koji was to Kody made him envious.

Kody pushed herself, each step she put more strength into to push her farther. Once they were away from the crowds, she decided it was okay to call out to him.

"Yuuki! Yuuki wait up…" She wasn't sure if he heard her at first, but to her relief he stopped in his tracks. Turning to her, she felt her heart skip a beat. It was only for a split second, but she could have sworn she saw more than just the face of the pokemon he dressed as. He waited for her to catch up, holding a sense of confusion.

"I remember you from back in the forest." He was startled there was no doubt about that, but he kept his gaze firm. Unsure as to why this little girl was following after him in such haste. "Can I ask why you're following me? And what of that loud mouth sister of yours?"

"She's n-not with me…I came on my own." Heart racing, she didn't know what to do. She noticed the way he was gazing upon her; the confusion was there in his eyes. He was waiting for her to state her purpose. Problem was she didn't have a particular reason. "I-I… just wanted to see you again."

This shocked the figure before her, she instantly regretted letting it slip. But it was true. Ever since their last meeting in the forest, he's been on her mind.

"You wanted to see me… why?"

"That I'm not sure, but that's why I had to see you again. To find the answers to why every night you're always creeping into my dreams. How just one meeting can have such an impact on me."

He was glad for the hood; it would have been embarrassing to let her see what her words had done to him. His cheeks were burning uncontrollably. Before he could gain control of himself she spoke once more. That sweet innocent voice trembled as she introduced herself.

"The last we meet… I never got to tell you my name. It's K-kody. It's very nice to meet you Mr. Yuuki."

He sighed softly, his eyes held softness in their gaze. "First off Kody lose the Mr. It's just Yuuki, but it's nice to meet you too."

She smiled; it was warm and full of life. The sight of it causes Yuuki to glance at something in the clearing for he knew not how to deal with it. It was bad enough she had his heart pounding hard, but now she was trying to catch him off balance with her cute innocence. It seemed hardly fair. He searched for something to say, but that smile faded in the same breath in which it came as she fell to her knees crying.

"K-kody… hey what's wrong?" Before he could get anything else out of his mouth he was sent crashing to the ground by an impact to the chest. He opened his eyes in pain, searching for the attacker, but was none the less shocked to see it was Kody's sister. She jumped in front of Kody who was staring at her in shock.

"WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO TO HER!" Koji screamed as she glanced back at her sister, tears streaming down her cheeks. Paul stood beside Koji; his gaze was fixed harsh towards the fallen boy before them, who pulled himself together.

"I didn't do anyth…" His voice trailed off, Koji had sent out her Mightyena once again. He was beginning to see that there was no reasoning with this girl. He shook his head, pulling out a poke'ball but what happened next no one saw coming.

There she stood in between, ball in hand pointed towards her sister. There was a sense of doubt in her eyes, but she wasn't budging. The sight shocked Koji, just what was going through her sister's head. Was she really going to protect this stranger?

"Are you trying to piss me off Kody? Like what the fuck is going through that head of yours?"

"He didn't do anything wrong, ever since that battle you two had back in the forest. You've held nothing but resentment towards him. He doesn't deserve it. I-I… don't know why, but I can't stand there and watch you guys fight like this. Especially not over me, so if you need someone to take your anger out on… then I challenge you to a battle Koji!"

I'm sorry guys for taking so long with this chapter. I've been busy lately, but I promise to try to be faster with the next chapters. :3 Hope you enjoy this~