Author's Note: Pardon me if "Nadya" shows up anywhere in here. I'm playing the game as well to remind myself of the storyline, and I named my Ranger that. I'm sure I'll get it fixed [hopefully] before anyone notices, ahaha.

Though the school forbade sneaking out of the dorms at night, I couldn't think of a single person who hadn't done so, including the teachers. If we were caught, Janice would scold us and tell our teacher in the morning, who would in turn give out punishment. Most of the time, it was just detention though. Other times, it would be menial work, like raking the schoolyard or doing the laundry for your dorm for a week.

The "Initiation Ceremony" proposed to me my first night of being a Ranger School student was just the beginning of what turned into a bad habit.

Keith and I had walked around, looking for his own, Rhythmi, and two other students' stylers. It was then I'd learned that Keith was "not afraid of the dark, but more afraid of what's in it." Though I didn't blame him, I'd found it really funny to see him turn pale and scream like a girl at the sight of a Bidoof.

"Kate, if you tell anyone, I will end your Ranger career as soon as it starts." He'd told me. He wasn't too fond of Gastly either.

After that, I took to sauntering out to Ascension Square on a mostly nightly basis, simply to sit and look up at the stars. Most nights, I'd be back before anyone would notice I wasn't in bed, but every now and then I'd walk into the dorm to find a startled Rhythmi. There was even one time, I came back to see Rhythmi opening the door to enter the dorm herself. She said to me that she'd only gone for a short walk to look for me, but when I gave her a look she fessed up.

"I went to the Boys' Dorm." She admitted. "It's nice to get some… alone time."

"In the Boys' Dorm?" She looked at me, her eyes indicating a sarcastic tone.

"I wanted alone time with a certain someone." She said. "Plus, you're back from your nightwalking, so we can talk about this in the morning."

:lll:

One of the more recent nights I went out for a stroll, I walked down to Ascension Square and quickly sat, looking to the stars. I had yet to receive another letter from my sister, which didn't surprise me. Sending letters to Fiore took some time, most of all in travel. I sighed, leaning back to grasp the grass underneath my hands. I didn't understand what it was about looking out to sea that comforted me, and I didn't really care to know. It was nice having the gentle breeze touch my face-.

"So this is where you've been." A gentle voice shook me from my thoughts rather violently. Had it been Mr. Kincaid, or Ms. April, I might've just jumped into the water. Instead, I recognized it immediately.

I turned to see Keith, calmly walking towards me. He was haphazardly dressed, and I was a little embarrassed to only be in the standard issue nightclothes.

"What brings you out here?" I asked him.

"Rhythmi came into the dorm. She looked kind of panicky and said you've been gone longer than usual. So me, being the other Ranger-in-training at this school, was asked to come look for you." He shrugged. "I'm not sure why she's chosen now to come tell me about this…" I was a little confused, as I hadn't been out for very long at all. I wondered what Rhythmi was thinking…

"Wait, she came into the dorm? Did she wake you up?" Keith shook his head.

"No, it was just her… walking around… that woke me up…" His expression was almost new to me, a mix of infuriation and him asking himself why he didn't catch onto this sooner. I wasn't expecting he'd catch on to the motive behind Rhythmi's nightly trips so quickly. He sighed.

"Well, I hope they're at least enjoying each other." I mentioned quietly.

"…" He remained silent for a few moments. "Say, let's stay out awhile. We might get caught, but you could call it payback for duping me into believing you've gone missing." He smirked, and I laughed at his ridiculous expression.

"I'm fine with that, though if we fall asleep out here, we'd best say goodbye to any free time!"

:lll:

"Say, Katie…" I looked at him. Only my family called me Katie, but I didn't really mind. "Can I call you that? Katie? I promise it'll only be in private." I shrugged. It didn't really matter to me. "Alright, Katie… What's your last name?"

"My what?"

"Your last name! Haven't you noticed, everyone is called only by their first name here? Heh, I guess it could be considered private information… But how about this!" I looked at him suspiciously. If he wanted to know that badly, I could just tell him… "I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours!" I sighed.

"Hitomi. My last name is Hitomi. In Fiore, the only thing anyone ever called me was Hitomi." I smiled lightly. "I preferred it, I guess." Keith looked a little surprised.

"I was given 'Dazzle' for a last name. It's not much to compare to something like 'Hitomi,' but, ah," he posed, while sitting, with both hands on his hips, "I think it suits me." I laughed, and he smiled. "Dazzle and Hitomi. We're fit for saving the world with these kinds of names!" He stood up, and extended a hand to help me up. I accepted it. "Top Ranger Kate Hitomi saves island from destruction by large ship! Almia Ranger School forever in her debt," Keith dramatically said, mimicking a tidal wave with his hands. I laughed, pausing to think of one myself.

"… Top Ranger Keith Dazzle faces big boss on top of tower! Dramatic showdown leaves Almia breathless!" I did my best to copy his Ranger pose, but settled for a halfway decent backhand spring in place of his usual backflip. He laughed at my attempt, and picked me up off of the ground when I'd fallen backwards. We leaned on each other for support, as we couldn't keep ourselves upright on our own.

Even as we tried standing out our own, we slowly made our way back down to the ground anyway. And even after we stopped laughing, we must have stayed there for at least three hours, talking about everything from Pokémon to back home in Fiore. We'd broached the subject of our current Top Rangers, and how Oblivia would be a nice region to visit. It meant more to me that he was willing to lay there with me, and lay there for hours, with me, the stars, and the school Pokémon who happen to be awake during the night as witness. Not once did I think about Rhythmi, and not once did I think about what would happen if we were caught.

Even as Principal Lamont watched us walk in the door of the Ranger School, his eyes twinking with his usual charm and happiness.