Week Sixteen
A New Adventure
By: Warrior Seadra
Disclaimer: I do not own pokemon.
Adrian and Duck walk uphill towards a stage. Between them they push a skateboard that carries some large block like letters. Adrian glances at the duck tape wrapped around the skateboard and asks, "Man, are you sure this is going to hold?"
"Dude, relax." Duck rolls his eyes at his friend. "We're almo-"
"Hey, you guys!" Kagome waves from the stage. She jump down and dashes to meet them. "We already finished hanging the lights. What took so lo- why did you change before returning?"
"No reason." Duck waves his hand, dismissing the concern.
"That is so not true." Adrian glares at his friend.
"Really? Tell us then, what happened?" Whitney asks as the three reach the stage.
"When we were crossing the bridge, the skateboard snapped in half and all the letters fell into the water." Adrian responds as he and Duck place the multicolored letters on the stage. He pauses and looks around. "Hey, where's Erika?"
"She feel asleep when we were half-way done hanging up the lights." Kagome replies. She gestures to a figure lying under some tree shade.
"You should make like prince charming and wake her up." Whitney nudges the dark haired teen.
Adrian shakes his head, while trying to suppress a smile, and turns to go, but stops. Duck is already at Erika's side prodding her shoulder with a twig. "What's he doing?"
"He really shouldn't do tha-" Kagome's sentence remains unfinished as a cracking sound echoes through out the area. She, Whitney, and Adrian wince and watch with amusement as Erika again slaps Duck and tell him off for his rudeness.
"Erika-sama can be a bit... cranky when awakened." Kagome explains.
Rubbing his face, Duck returns to the group. He walks up to Adrian and whispers, "Dude, your nature loving princess should change her title to karate master."
Adrian scoffs at Duck's comment and leaves to greet Erika. Together, the two return and help arrange the letters.
"Please, continue with your tale, Adri-kun." Erika says as she tries to balance the letter P into standing.
Adrian, deciding not to question how Erika knew he was telling a story earlier, continues, "As I was saying, first we fished them out. That was actually the hard part. We then got some ducktape from a hardware store, taped Duck's skateboard, re-stacked the letters, got some dry cloths, and came here."
"Whatever, dude." Duck lightly pushes Adrian's shoulder. "Besides, we're finished."
"Great." Everyone else cheers.
"Everyone, places please!" Kagome shouts from in front of the stage where she connects two cables. She rejoins her friends behind the letters as the light's blink on and off. Just as she darts through between the letters Y and B and takes her place within the group, the letters begin to light up.
From left to right, they blink on and then off. One by one, the letters are revealed to be H-A-P-P-Y-B-I-R-T-H-D-A-Y. They all turn on at once and the five shout. "Happy Birthday Leaf!"
They laugh amongst themselves and chorus, "And on with the story!"
…..
"As always, we'll be discussing anything that happened over break." Adrian's homeroom professor, Hibiki, announces to the class. Her happiness stabs Adrian in his heart. Already hunched over and clutching the edges of his desk, he sinks even lower and squeezes his eyes shut in hopes that his instructor's voice will cease.
"Caitlin, why don't you go first this time?" Adrian hears his teacher ask a model student.
"I'd love to," Caitlin replies from beside Adrian. Sighing at the memory, she says, "Like I've mentioned before, I have a trainer friend. Well, we met up and traveled to the Seafoam Islands. It was so much fun. We even had an encounter with a gyarados. That was easily the scariest moment of my life. But, things got weird soon after that. For one, we came across piles of fainted pok-"
Adrian, still hunched over his desk, tenses and recalls how he depended on Bell throughout his experience through the Seafoam Islands. Whispering "Bell..." to himself, he blankly gazes at his desk top.
Adrian gasps out from a sudden pain at his side. He squeezes his eyes shut, trying to force himself to forget the pain when it flares again from a nudge to the side. He finds himself breathing haggardly as he returns to his senses. He looks from his tears that sprinkle his desk towards Caitlin who whispers, "Adrian, quit spacing before Hibiki actually gets mad."
Still not paying attention to who's speaking, Adrian wipes his eyes with a finger and hears, "Because I'm strong-"
The fragment stops Adrian. Still holding his hand before his face, he does nothing else but listen.
"I can trust them to protect me no matter how dangerous it gets. Weak incompetent trainers only endanger their pokemon. Until they learn how to properly interact with and take care of them, they shouldn't be allowed to train any."
'Bell,' Adrian pictures how he failed his Victreebell.
"No pokemon could ever be happy under such a trainer either. They'll only suffer hundreds of hardships."
Adrian recalls the dejected expressions of surrender his pokemon wore at Erika's mansion. They laid lifeless in her garden simply waiting for the day to pass. No longer able to cry, they just remained in place. Occasionally, they would drink some water, but then they would return to their spot and continue gazing at nothing.
"There's no way they could ever love their trainer."
Adrian's eyes sharpen. Even though he's staring at his desk, he understands... Everyone is looking at him. Samuel is speaking about him. "'Victree tree!" Victreebel's cheer echoes within Adrian's mind.
"If it comes to it, they'll probably abandon each other when it's most critical."
Adrian rises, knocking his desk over in the process. Unable to face anyone, he keeps his gaze downcast on the ground. The Latino clenches his fists, his nails threatening to pierce his skin. "Shut up," He declares. The desk rebounds off the ground and the teen repeats himself, "Just shut up."
"A-Adrian, what are you doing?" He hears his teacher cry out.
Adrian steps over his desk towards Samuel, focusing his attention only on the teen. His growing anger allows him to raise his head and face Samuel as he moves closer. "Your right, worthless trainers can't protect their pokemon..." With blood dripping from his clenched fist, Adrian rushes the final few meters, easily closing the distance in two steps.
Samuel, stares at Adrian in surprise. Before he can react, Adrian cracks him across the jaw. Samuel falls back, he and his chair knocked over from the punch. As the teen rolls over his shoulder and back onto his feet, Adrian cries, "But an arrogant prick like you doesn't know anything!"
Samuel leaps over his desk towards Adrian. Adrian steps to the side to avoid him and punches him once more while shouting, "People like you should just die!"
Samuel turns, allowing the attack to slide in front of him. He roundhouse punches Adrian in the face, knocking him to the side while shouting "Shut up!" Adrian stumbles and falls over instructor Hibiki's desk. His well hidden bandages, now stained red, unravel and hang from his uniform. Screaming from frustration, the teenager stands, the blood from his reopening wounds drip about as he grabs a meter stick. Ignoring the pain, Adrian steps forward. He wields the stick like a katana over his head and lunges to strike. Just as he's to pull his makeshift blade down, Adrian finds himself frozen in air.
Adrian snarls while struggling to move. Unable to break free from his invisible restraints, he clenches his teeth and screams. No longer fighting to break free, he shouts with spit and blood flying from his mouth, "No, no, no, no! What the hell, just what the hell do you know? Sure, I'm completely pathetic and worthless, but that's still more than you! All you do, everything, it's pointless! What does it matter how good your grades are? Does that really make you the best? You're worse than garbage! All of this, it's a waste of space! Burn it, all of it just needs to burn completely! Then everyone, everyone wil-..." Adrian stops screaming and his head rolls limp on his neck as he's made to sleep. The tear trail on his face glistens, reflecting sunlight entering through the window.
…..
Adrian groans, regaining consciousness. Rubbing his face with his hands, he feels a damp cloth on his forehead. "What?" He questions, opening an eye to examine the towelette as he peels it off. Despite his drowsiness, he uses his free arm to push himself up.
A pair of hands press down on Adrian and prevent him from rising. "Hold still, the hypnosis hasn't completely worn off yet." an annoyed, yet familiar, voice states.
Adrian drops back on the bed, closing his eyes while letting out a weary sigh. He reopens his eyes and glances from where the hands came from, "Kagome?"
The young maid sighs, bringing a hand to her forehead. "She was very worried after you left. So worried that she asked me to come check up on you under the pretext of seeing my sister. Well what do you know? It's been less than a day and you've already reopened your wounds. Who do you think I am, your nurse?" The girl snaps, slapping Adrian's chest.
A gasp of pain escapes Adrian. He takes a few deep breaths and turns back to Kagome. Before he can say anything, she cuts him off, "Don't complain. As the nurse, I've determined this to be the best treatment for your stupidity."
Adrian stares at Kagome, his jaw slowly dropping lower. He shakes his head once and breaks the silence by exclaiming, "Wh-What? How? You don't even work here." Adrian immediately regrets the out burst as he bites his lips in pain.
Kagome shrugs her shoulders as though resigning herself to her current predicament. "It wasn't my idea. Apparently, the actual nurse is having trouble getting back due to pokemon running a bit wild where she is. Upon my arrival, my sister brought me to the administration where they approved me without a moment's hesitation."
"Are you even certified for this?"
Adrian cries out in pain as Kagome slaps him across the chest again. She chides him by saying, "Who do you think's been helping change your bandages? And I'll have you know that basic nursing is a requirement for all maids."
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Adrian groans.
"Darn right you're sorry. First thing I see when they bring me to the infirmary is you bleeding all over the place, again!" Letting out a sigh, Kagome leans forward and places her hands on the bed. "Seriously, Adrian, you need to take better care of yourself."
"Sorry, but I'm not feeling too well!" A student shouts from the entrance.
"Another one..." Kagome grumbles under her breath as she turns away. Before she steps beyond his bed's curtains, Adrian over hears the maid say, "These student's are just wasting my time."
"Sorry, move!" Adrian hears Jarod shout and the first student cry out. "Emergency, Sam accidentally got hit with a stun spore during training!"
Kagome gasps, her footsteps rushing back into the office "Quickly, bring him inside and place him on the bed." A cabinet squeaks open and various bottles clink against each other as though they're being shuffled around during a frantic search. "How long has it been?"
"I'm not sure, ten to fifteen minutes. We were out in the forest."
"Hold him down, I've got medicine!"
The sounds of Samuel thrashing about on a mattress drifts over to Adrian. As it dies down, he hears Sam gasp out for air and thank Kagome.
"Don't worry, don't worry, it's why I'm here." The maid reassures the teen. "I'm sorry to say this, but you'll have to spend the night here."
"No, that's completely fine, thank you." Sam thanks Kagome.
Adrian hears her light footsteps get fainter and then the door to the office shuts.
"Nice man," Jarod congratulates his friend. "Risky, but I think it's working out just fine."
"Something like this, it's completely worth it if I can tap that." Adrian can picture Sam's grin as he overhears him. "Just, make yourself scarce once she comes back out, alright?"
"Dude, don't worry about it. And I've borrowed a bulbasaur. He's right here."
"Awesome, man. Listen bulbasur, later tonight when I give the signal, use vine whip and pull her feet from under her so that she falls on me." Adrian hears Samuel says to what must be bulbasaur's pokeball. "Man, this is perfect. Once I catch her, all she'll see is me."
From his bed behind the curtain, Adrian glares at Samuel and Jarods' direction in disgust. He looks to his clenched fists and tries to remember the lay out of the infirmary. As he recalls where everything is positioned, he declares to himself, 'Tonight.'
Samuel's voice breaks Adrian from his trance. He squeezes his eyes shut and shakes his head once. They snap open at Kagome's amused giggle and he remembers what he needs to do. Gently, he rises from his bed and places his feet on the cool, tiled floor. Not wanting to make any noise, he glides himself forward, not once breaking contact with the ground.
Kagome cries out in shock and reprimands her patient.
Adrian's heart pulsates within his chest. Using the moonlight entering through the window, he quickly makes his way to office and enters through the open door.
A bed creaks from a sudden change of weight and Kagome says, "Sorry, sorry, I sli- don't!"
At the change of her tone, Adrian takes the scissors atop of the desk. Emerging from the office, he sees Samuel pulling the struggling maid to himself to give her a kiss. With a roar, Adrian lunges forward, ready with the scissors.
Samuel pushes Kagome to the side. He rolls off in the opposite direction and Adrian punctures the empty mattress. Before Adrian can pull out his weapon, a pair of arms wrap themselves around him from behind.
"Adrian, stop!" Kagome shouts.
"Let me go, Kagome!" Adrian growls. Despite his furry, he tries to remove the girl from himself as gently as possible by opening his bound arms.
"I won't! Erika-sama would never forgive me if I did." Kagome pleads. The more she resists, the more aggressive he becomes.
"Kagome, release me!" Adrian forcefully separates her arms. He dashes forward, leaping over the bed and plucking up the scissors in the process. His eyes lock on Sam's who appears to be standing in place out of shock.
Adrian lunges forward and thrusts with his weapon, but is tackled to the side. From atop of the teen, Kagome shouts to Sam, "Get out of here already!"
"Get off of me!" Adrian roars and attempts to shove the girl aside.
"How will you face Erika-sama again if you do this? Adrian!" Kagome shouts over the teen's voice.
"I have to do this! I have to end this! All of this! I have to! I have to!" Just as Adrian is about to succeed in flinging Kagome aside, the two fall into unconsciousness. The last either of them see is a small pokemon escaping into the hall.
Adrian awakens. A pair of gengar stand at his sides watching him. A third gengar at the foot of his bed vanishes as he sits up. As he looks around to recollect his barrings, hurried footsteps echo down the hall. The door slams open and his bed curtains are flung aside. His mother shouts, "Just what is the matter with you, young man? What are you thinking, attacking one of your friends like that?"
"Mo-mother..." Adrian trails off, lost on how to react.
"Don't you mother me! Do you have any idea about what you've done? First I get a call saying how you attacked a student in class. Then, when I get here, I heard you attempted to kill the same student! And for what? To protect a temporary nurse? A hussy like her was leading him on, Adrian."
"Mother!" Adrian raises his voice.
"Don't you raise your voice at me, young man." His mother steps back and points at the door where the third gengar stands. "Go to your room and pack your bags. We'll talk about how to deal with your suspension afterwards meeting with the head master."
Adrian rises from the bed and storms from the room with a limp. The three gengar follow him down the hall and out of the building. He steps out into the courtyard and, ignoring the stares from his school mates, walks to his dorm. Upon reaching his room, the teen turns to the gengar and asks, "A little privacy?"
The gengar nod and step back. Alone, Adrian retreats into his room.
Leafeon jumps from his bed and purrs as she rubs against his leg. Picking up the pokemon, Adrian sits on his bed and sighs. "Looks like I'm suspended..."
"Eon."
"Yeah, well, it'll make for a nice break."
"Leaf?"
"I know, I know. But I attacked a student, so what else would you expect?"
"Leafeon."
"Yeah, come on, I've got to pack." Adrian rises from his bed and Leafeon leaps from his lap. As he kneels down to grab a bag, he says, "So help out, will ya?"
"Eafe."
With all of his belongings packed into a pair of suitcases and a large backpack, Adrian surveys the barren room. He returns Leafeon into her pokeball, hides the ball on his belt, and leaves with his belongings. The gengar trio meet him in front of his door and they escort him back to the main building. Along the way, he sees Samuel being escorted from the premises with his parents. The scowl Samuel wears gives Adrian a small feeling of satisfaction.
As he reaches the entrance to the main building, he sees Kagome waiting for him. "Kagome," he pauses, uncertain on what to say.
"Adrian-san..." She bows and quickly adds, "I'm very sorry."
"What, why are you apologizing?" Adrian panics, "Stop, if anything, I should apologize to you. Who knows what would have happened if you weren't there."
As Kagome rises from her bow, she says, "No, that isn't how the school officials are seeing it. Oh, I've brought shame to Erika-sama's good name."
"What, why? What's going on?" Adrian asks. He attempts to place his hands on the girl's shoulders, but is interrupted by his mother.
She pulls her son away and scolds Kagome, "Stay away from my son!"
Adrian pulls himself free and shouts, "Mother, that's enough! What's going o-" He gets cut short from the slap across his face.
"You've said enough already. If you don't understand, fine, I'll explain it for you. This-This woman attempted to seduce that other boy last night. But, as he explained to us, before anything could happen, you interrupted in a fit of jealously. Now, I don't know about him, but this is not how I raised you! You know better than to interact with- with animals like this."
A suppressed sniffle and a sob. Unable to hold back, Kagome turns away crying. Adrian tries to reach out to her, only to again be slapped by his mother. Unable to do anything, he says, "I'm sorry, Kagome. Really, I-"
"Don't apologize! Because of this thing, one promising boy was suspended for what he almost did and your suspension's going to be raised. Now let's go, the principle is waiting inside!" Adrian is told off. He can only watch Kagome cry as his mother mercilessly drags him inside and into the main office.
Adrian takes a seat as the principle and his mother exchange greetings.
"Now, about your son, Mrs. Kappa. As you've been informed, he has disrupted class work and attempted to stab his year's most promising student. You must be well aware that this behavior isn't acceptable here or anywhere else for that matter."
"Yes, I've very sorry about this. I really don't understand just why he'd do something like this. Has he been exhibiting any changes in behavior recently such as a drop in grades or attendance?"
The principle studies Mrs. Kappa's expressions for a moment and continues. "Mrs. Kappa, I'm sorry to be the one to tell you this, but Adrian's grades are amongst the lowest of his year."
"No..." Mrs. Kappa gasps.
"Here," The principle turns the monitor on her desk around. On it, Adrian's portfolio is displayed along with a timeline of his time at the academy. "If you look back a few months, you'll see a change here and his grades pick up. But if you follow the time line, you'll see that they soon drop to being worse than before. Mainly, as his professors make various comments about, because of a drop in focus during class."
"He never mentioned a word." Mrs. Kappa replies, glancing at her son.
"Yes, well, we must understand this from his perspective, which is where I believe I failed as an educator. You, your husband, and his sister have all graduated from this school with top honors. His sister, Skye, is especially note worthy seeing as she held the rank of number one for all four consecutive years and has claimed the pokemon league championship. Now this... for anyone, this is a great burden to live up to. I'm sorry to say this, but I don't think your son was able to with stand this pressure. Then last night, he attacked the number one student in his grade. Now, I don't want to be rude, but this important to look into for your son's well being, so I will say it regardless of how painful it might be for you, his parent, to hear.
"No please, continue. Right now, you know my son better than I do."
"Thank you, and I really am sorry to say this, but it relates to Adrian's lack of focus during class. After considering everything that's happened, I can't help but fear he may have turned to... substance abuse. This would explain his behavior last night. As for his injuries, I-"
"What injuries?"
"Oh, I'm sorry. With all the confusion, you must not have been informed. Your son is currently riddled with cuts, bruises, burns, and fractures under his uniform. Considering that his face shows very little damage, this mostly likely stems from self infliction..."
"Yes, yes, your right. It makes perfect sense. My son must believe that the current number one student stole his position. Then, after himself falling to that woman's charms, sees her seducing the current top student. Considering what his mental state must be, this must have been enough for him to snap."
"Yes, I do believe tha-"
"Oh, shut up!" Adrian stands, slamming his hands on the desk. "That is completely off. First off, I am not taking any drugs or self mutilating myself! More importantly, Kagome did no such thing! That was all Sam's doing, I heard him say it! This is com-"
"Adrian, sit down!" Mrs. Kappa tries to slap her son, but he blocks the attack.
"No, mother! You don't know her, but Kagome would never do anything like that. Sam's lying to you, to all of you! He's-" Adrian slumps back onto his chair, still awake but unable to move.
"Thank you, Gengar." the principle says. "Now, Mrs. Kappa, because I do feel responsible for this out come so I don't feel comfortable expelling Adrian. However, I cannot risk the safety of my other students. Therefore, as long as he's clean, I believe a three week suspension should be enough time for him to calm himself for a fresh new start. However, he will need to take supplementary summer courses."
"Yes, thank you." Mrs. Kappa shakes the principle's hand and pulls Adrian from his seat.
Adrian finds himself able to move again and is dragged out the door. He passes by Kagome who's being comforted by her older sister who gives him a sad, but grateful, smile at having over heard him defend her younger sister. Unable to respond, Adrian is taken from the room, the building, and the academy where a car waits for him and his mother. Once Adrian's belongings are stored within the trunk and he and his mother are in the back with their seat-belts strapped on, the car begins to drive.
"To the hospital, please." Mrs. Kappa says to the driver. She turns to her son and stares at him with disappointment the entire journey.
A/N: Wow, this chapter got dark. I honestly was not expecting to write anything like this when I first started the chapter. Maybe it's some pent up frustration from a previous writing assignment I turned in for my fiction writing class? Well, either way, this is a lot shorter than what I normally do, but considering how the next chapter is going to be, I think it's better this way. It's also been a really long time since I last updated, but college has been keeping me really busy. That, and I'm also trying to write a novel. The title is still undecided though. Now, more importantly, happy (delayed) birthday Leaf! This chapter is dedicated to you! Yep, all the gloom, anguish, etc, it's all for you! I know, I know, not the best chapter to dedicate to someone, but it's not like I could just skip this one. It needs to be told and your birthday just happened to fall on today. Everyone, please wish Leaf a happy (delayed) birthday today!