Chapter 15.
"Come on, jump down! I'll catch you."
She jumped over his head, and landed in a crouched position, Eevee still in her arms.
She stood up and turned to face him as he turned to look at her. She put a hand on her hip,
"From the trouble you had getting over the wall, I should've been the one saying that!"
Tal scoffed, then smiled. Rukia smiled and motioned for him to follow her.
. . .
"...So that's what happened..." Silver replied after Xavier and Andrew finished their story.
"But where did Rukia go? Didn't you two think maybe, she'd be going off to get into MORE trouble? Why didn't you follow her?" Alex asked Xavier and Andrew. They looked at each other, then back to the rest of the group, and sweatdropped.
"I, uh...We just figured she was going to wander around the garden. She said she needed some time alone! She would've figured out we were there soon after anyway." Andrew replied.
"Well, have you tried using her Eevee to see where she is?" Mia asked.
"Noo...Guess I should now." He said as he closed his eyes.
Moments passed, "Well?" She asked,
He opened his eyes, "She's heading this way. But...I heard two voices, hers and one I don't reconize."
"Who the heck could she be bringing with her?" Key questioned.
"Guess we'll see." Xavier replied as he looked at the entrance.
"Speak of the devil-" Alex said as she entered the Waterfall Paradise, Tal following close behind.
Rukia smiled at everyone. "Hey, Rukia...Who's the guy trying to hide behind you?" Xavier questioned.
He stepped out from behind her, "Hello. I'm Tal."
"You guys probably don't remember, but he was one of the kids who got kidnapped back then! He got left behind I guess, when you guys escaped and he just found out who he is. He quit Team Plasma and came to find me! So here he is" Rukia summerized.
Awkward silence. Seconds passed, then minutes.
Xavier suddenly yanked Rukia away from Tal by the wrist, and Xavier, Andrew and Alex stood infront of her.
Jason and Silver tackled Tal to the ground.
"Wha-?! Guys!" Rukia yelled at them. Xavier looked over his shoulder,
"Really Rukia, your so gullible sometimes!"
Rukia narrowed her eyes, "What? what makes you think that?"
"Oh sure, some random guy pops up out of nowhere, claiming to be one of us, and claims to have left Team Plasma. He directly told you where he came from! And you don't get the slightest suspision that he's lying?!" He shot back.
"No! It's because he told me where he came from that I trusted him! And he knew all about what happened to you all when you were younger!"
"Oh please! Any random grunt-Heck, scratch that. Any random guy pulled off the street and payed enough money will be told what to do and say, and easily trick you with their lies! You can't trust anyone but your friends!"
She scrunched her nose in anger, "Need I remind you, that I didn't trust any of you when you came back! If I gave you that chance, why shouldn't I him?!"
Rukia then pushed Xavier out of the way, and stood infront Tal, staring down at Jason and Silver.
Tal sighed, "I didn't plan on doing this for awhile, but-" Then suddenly, fiery red wings bursted out of his back, knocking Jason and silver off. He stood up, retracted the wings and walked over to Rukia. She turned around to look at everyone as Silver and Jason joined the group.
"See? I told you! I believed him because he told me the truth! I could tell whether he was lying or not, and he wasn't. Now, apologize to him." She said as she crossed her arms.
"...That's alright, Rukia. I can understand why they didn't trust me." Tal said as he looked down at her.
She turned to face him, "No it's not! They still tackled you to the ground, and that's not okay!"
"Sorry." Xavier said simply, then walked past them all and out of the Waterfall Paradise.
Rukia looked past Tal, "Xavier...What's gotten into him..?"
"Nevermind him, Rukia. Me and *ahem* Tal, have some things to discuss." Andrew said as he stared at him. Alex looked between the two guys, Andrew signaling him to come aswell.
"I'm coming too, then." Rukia said as she started toward Andrew and Alex, only to be stopped by an arm out stretched infront of her, belonging to Hope. He looked down at her, and lightly shook his head.
"It's alright, Rukia. I'll be fine on my own. I'll be back soon." Tal said as he followed behind Andrew and Alex.
Silver, Mia and Jason walked over to her, Key continued to just silently watch. Rukia looked at everyone's faces, but she was unable to tell what they were thinking from their expressions. She looked off toward where the three guys had walked off.