Secrets of the Night

DISCLAIMER: I Do NOT own Pokemon!

Chapter 66: Finding One's Place

The sun rose solemnly in the east, bringing a fresh wave of sunlight to stir the shadows of the dark pagoda. Kiba moaned irritably as the light shined into the room. He groggily opened his eyes silently wishing he had drapes to cover the windows. Looking around the room the first thing he noticed was Tyrant sleeping peacefully in the opposite corner of the room while Champ was leaning on the wall beside his bed struggling to stay awake from his shift on guard.

"Slow night?" Kiba asked with a yawn.

The Hitmonchan replied with a yawn of his own as he slumped slowly to the ground ready to sleep now that his trainer was awake. Returning Champ to his pokeball to rest Kiba stood from the bed and looked around the room for Yue.

"Umbreon…" Leiko's dark-type was up and about, strolling around the room while casting an unamused look at Kiba and the sleeping purple giant.

"Well, someone's an early riser for a dark-type," Kiba muttered as he put on his vest, deciding to forgo the stiff shirt for the moment.

"Yue's just a little upset that you didn't trust him well enough," a familiar voice came from the door which was slightly opened. Kiba turned to notice Leiko standing in the doorway wearing a black turtleneck and denim shorts and looking at Kiba with a flirtatious smile as she watched him wake up.

Kiba took little heed as he went to Tyrant and woke the Nidoking up with a simple pat on its right shoulder as the purple giant shot up immediately awake. "I've always been a paranoid sleeper," Kiba explained. "And I wasn't sure if your Umbreon would have even wanted to stand guard if I had asked."

Leiko strolled in and scooped up her pokemon. "It's more like it wasn't needed, hubby. I sort of forgot to tell you a law here."

"Oh?" Kiba asked curiously as his Nidoking stood up with a little more dignity than when he had woken up.

"Yup. It's against Semira's code if you hurt one of your own," Leiko explained with a friendly smile. "Assassins don't kill assassins or other members of the other divisions. Even if you are a newbie, no one's gonna come in and kill you in your sleep."

"No, just rob you blind while they threaten to feed you to a horde of Joltik," Kiba muttered angrily thinking back to the blonde haired boy Kirian from Trickster's Labrinth.

"Oh~? Did you lose something, hubby?" Leiko asked playfully.

"Just most of my balls," Kiba muttered not realizing the hilarity of what he said.

Leiko laughed and looked him over. "I think they're in their right place, hun. Anyway, have a fun first day. Master Tristan says you're free to roam around the tower or the island itself. Think of it as an observation period. For now, I'd suggest you hightail to Sedgwick Valley or Battle Plains of Callan. Like all assassins, you need equipment. Think of what suits you and pick one out. You can add it to my tab." She gave a wink and raced out of the room with her Umbreon in her arms.

Kiba pondered at the task at hand before his stomach rumbled. Leiko apparently didn't explain where they get their food. Deciding that that was the first thing he'd have to do (especially after not eating anything the day before) Kiba went off in search of food while Tyrant followed in suit taking Champs place as pokemon tag along.

They followed the hallway until they reached another stairway. It went on like that for several floors, making Kiba agitated and hungry. At the very least, he was thankful that the place was strong and sturdy enough to hold his Nidoking.

After rounding another hallway, Kiba ran into a fluttering purple bat. The one he had met that night before. It chirped happily to greet him and fluttered passed, without caring to get a greeting back from the boy and his huge pokemon.

"Wonder what's got him in a hurry," Kiba muttered aloud before he continued on for his search for food.

After a couple more floors, he found a wider hallway with teens and pokemon walking about. They were all dressed in black and seemed to give off an eerie vibe. Kiba found himself out of place as he looked at his Nidoking who was apparently attracting attention because of his sheer size.

"Its like they've never seen one before!" Kiba complained as the duo finally found the banquet hall where they could eat. Kiba immediately got in the surprisingly short line and immediately ordered enough food for him and his pokemon.

With Tyrant's help he was able to carry all of the needed food to an empty table before releasing Champ and Bane. Bane and Tyrant both actively began eating while Champ's motions were slower and more concentrated, still tired from his night watch; deciding to cut Champ a break he quickly returned the boxing pokemon to his pokeball after it had eaten.

The people continued to wordlessly look at him oddly, their pokemon also eating beside them. Murmurs reverberated in the heavy atmosphere but Kiba shrugged it off for the moment, recalling Leiko's assurance that assassins wouldn't try to do anything to him. Once he and his pokemon were content with their meal Kiba returned Bane to his pokeball as he and Tyrant went off in search of one of the areas Leiko had mentioned earlier for equipment.

Kiba made his way out of the tower and gazed at the vast blue sky that greeted him. He then looked ahead and was met with a dense forest. He lowly cursed the fact that his Fearow was taken from him, leaving him with little choice for transportation.

Just then the purple bat appeared for the third time. He gave a huff when he exited the tower and was about to fly over the forest when he caught a glimpse of Kiba and fluttered towards him.

"I'm starting to think you're following me," Kiba murmured, already used to the pokemon's constant presence as it flapped happily around Tyrant's head before perching on Kiba's messy locks. It let out a chirpy screech and tilted its head curiously. "I don't suppose you'd be generous enough to lead us to Sedgwick Valley or the Battle Plains of Callan?" He asked as the Noibat hung from his hair.

The purple bat beamed with a wide grin and fluttered overhead, seemingly forgetting that the boy couldn't follow him in the air. Kiba quickly called him back and the Noibat stopped and pondered for the problem. It seemed to have dawned on him and he flew to another direction.

Kiba couldn't tell if the Noibat was helping or just trolling him. He decided to follow it nonetheless. Ending up at the beginning of a forest path, he trekked the woods with Tyrant following close. He then ended up at what appeared to be a huge stable. Fierce roars came from inside, leading him to think otherwise.

It was then that a tall brunette walked out with a metal staff in hand. Behind her was a Hydreigon with a saddle. The two turned towards him upon noticing his presence. The girl coldly glared while the dark dragon growled lowly.

"Why is it so hard to get a warm welcome in this place?" Kiba muttered as Tyrant seemed to grunt in agreement.

"Be thankful that you weren't gutted." The woman in a single braid commented coldly. "Makino, I presume?

"Uhh, Yeah," Kiba responded in surprise that the woman knew his last name.

"Hydreigons are on the left, Honchkrows and Mandibuzz are on the right," she plainly pointed out and mounted on the dark dragon and promptly flew off.

"Uhmm, ok?" Kiba asked confused as to where the woman was getting at. He watched her and the dragon's form grow smaller in the sky before he felt a familiar fuzzball glomp at his hair. "Do I look like a nest to you?!" Kiba finally snapped as he tried to brush the Noibat away.

The purple bat huffed and attempted to fly off once again but Kiba called it back, realizing that the Noibat was threatening to leave him. With a reluctant sigh, Kiba removed his headband and patted his head invitingly before the Noibat excitedly flew back down and landed with another soft plop.

"Can you tell me why we're here now?" Kiba asked pleadingly.

The Noibat motioned to the door of the building and Kiba unsurely entered. Caws and squawks sounded at one side of the place and snarls sounded in the other. The purple bat then looked down at Kiba expectantly.

"I just… take one?" Kiba asked in surprise. "And they'll take me where I want to go?"

The Noibat rolled its eyes and sighed in exasperation as if he thought the boy was too slow to understand. Flying off, he tilted his head to one side, gesturing to the stalls and then to the opposite one with the perches.

Understanding what the Noibat was getting at, Kiba returned Tyrant momentarily as he looked over the available mounts in the stable. He stayed away from the Hydreigon, not trusting a dragon after the previous night's flight and looked curiously at the Honchkrows wondering if they could even carry a person in the air. Finally he decided on a docile looking Mandibuzz that didn't snap at him on approach. He located a saddle and securely strapped it on the vulture-like pokemon. Surprisingly enough, it made its own way out of the stable and waited out in the open for Kiba. Hesitant for a moment, Kiba mounted atop of the Mandibuzz as it looked towards him expectantly, and it took Kiba a few seconds to realize that it was waiting for a destination.

The Noibat fluttered in front and glanced at Kiba. With a grin, it took off southeastward, over the forest. Kiba took that as a cue and took off in pursuit of the Noibat's lead. As the Mandibuzz flew after the Noibat, clearly knowing where it was going, Kiba took the chance to get a good look at the island below him.

The black pagoda was clearly the main building for the assassins. Everything else around it seemed like dense woodland. He wondered where the other facilities could be. There was some sort of serpentine river dividing Senka Island between the mainland, making it look like a second island indeed.

As they continued to fly ahead, Kiba noticed they were headed towards the canyon they crossed last night. It was a mineral canyon, probably a great place for rock and steel types to live in. The Noibat fluttered down to the ravine where people where going about their business.

Kiba dismounted at a less crowded area and turned around to take a closer look at the place that he thought was referred to Sedgwick Valley. It was then a blade whizzed through the air and planted itself halfway through the wall of rock behind him, nearly cutting parts of his hair in the process.

"Does everyone on this Arceus forsaken Island want a piece of me?!" Kiba asked angrily.

The Noibat simply shrugged and perched on the hilt if the embedded blade. An Absol soon walked towards them, casting a curious look at Kiba before turning its attention towards the weapon. The purple bat tried to pull it out but it was too far deep. With a sigh, the Absol leaned against the face of the canyon and forcibly yanked the black short blade out before once again leaving Kiba and the Noibat to their business.

"Great, an already scary pokemon using weapons," Kiba muttered to himself as he checked his head for any small cuts. "At least I know I'm in the right place though."

The Noibat snorted as if proud of itself and fluttered ahead towards the caverns where smoke from a furnace was coming out. Kiba followed behind watching the islanders and their pokemon roam around. He noted many of them had swords and various blades, while their pokemon either had long claws or bladed appendages.

"WAIT TILL I GET MY HANDS ON YOU!" A girl screamed angrily as she dashed out of a turn, chasing a guy with a Linoone.

Kiba immediately tried to get out of the way of the oncoming chase but it seemed that the boy and his Linoone were intent on using him as a human barrier to protect themselves from their chaser.

The brunette stormed towards them, black dual blades in hand and a fiery death glare to go with it. The Absol that Kiba saw earlier followed behind nonchalantly.

Pointing the tip of her weapons in front of the two, she snarled. "Think hiding behind a random guy is gonna save you? Think again! I can skewer you both!" She brandished each of her swords in preparation.

"Now, Aspen... be reasonable," the guy behind Kiba pleaded.

Kiba scowled immediately after hearing yet another person trying to end his life for no reason other than he had been standing there. Grabbing Tyrant's shrunken pokeball in his hand for a precaution he clutched his hand over it completely as he pointed at Aspen angrily.

"That does it, that frickin' does it! I'm not on this Arceus forsaken island for twenty four hours and I've already been threatened, considered a meal, robbed and now deemed suitable to be made into a pincushion! You want to play rough girly? Because I've had it up to here with playing nice!"

The brunette turned her unamused glare towards Kiba, unfazed at the slightest by his threat. "Did you just call me girly?"

The temperature in the air plummeted. The guy behind Kiba quickly jerked away and stood between them, despite becoming an open target for the girl's fury. "Now. Now. Let's not be too hasty here..."

"I don't remember stuttering, or are you just deaf along with temperamental?" Kiba taunted shooting one of his infuriating cocky smiles.

The girl was already at her breaking point, her hands gripped tightly around the hilt of her blades. With an unfeminine growl, she nearly lunged at him but the boy grabbed her around her torso and lugged her over his shoulder.

"Put me down! I'll turn him into mincemeat and feed him to the Rattatas!"

The guy who was holding her cast Kiba an apologetic look. "Sorry about Aspie here, she's got a temper. It only got worse when her first kiss was broadcast all over the island." At that comment, a knee was driven right into the guy's gut, doubling him over but he staggered back and endured the blow with a forced smile. "S-See?" His voice slurred due to the hidden pain.

Kiba wasn't sure what to make of the poor guy getting beaten on by the psychotic girl brandishing the dual blades, but the one thing he did understand was that he was the only person so far who hadn't tried to assault him and even apologized for his friend. Taking a deep breath, Kiba tried to calm himself as he looked over to Aspen's dangling form.

"Look, I'm sorry alright? It's been a rough couple of days for me. Can you put her down pal? I won't start anything," he offered as he looked back to the guy.

"You might not. Not sure with the Hitmonlee here," the guy indicated to the flailing female who once again tried to land another blow but was stopped by the guy holding on to her leg. "New are you? Well, the name is Corentin, call me Ren. I'm a senior at the Sky division."

"Name's Kiba," he replied about to offer his hand to the new trainer but decided against it since it meant that Aspen's leg would be free. "And I have no idea where I'm ranked yet. I was just told to pick up some equipment and explore the island for my first day," Kiba explained hoping Ren could point him in the right direction.

"I see..." Corentin opened his mouth to inquire more but the Noibat flew over and perched on his free shoulder. He cast a smile and ruffled the purple bat's head with his hand after securing both of the girl's legs with one arm. "Hey Noir, whatcha doing out here? Are you and Aeron out on an errand?"

The Noibat shook its head and flew over to Kiba, landing on his head. He chirped happily while Kiba just rolled his eyes at what had apparently become a regular thing.

Corentin laughed. "Showin' the new guy around, huh? Well, that's nice of you. Just be sure to get back to your partner soon. You know how he is when you go missing for too long."

The Noibat nodded and motioned onwards with his little claw. Kiba took the indication to get going and brushed past the unusual couple, waving farewell nonchalantly.

Kiba soon found himself in a Blacksmith's store. There was a burning furnace, an anvil, several hammers, a wide display of swords and daggers and piles of ores and other raw metal. He stuck his head further in just as a huge bulky man with an ash stain apron came in from behind him.

"See anythin' ya need, kid? Speak up now. I'm a busy man."

"I was told I could pick up some equipment here?" Kiba asked to clarify. "I'm kind of new here."

"Well, take a good look around. If ya fancy anythin' just say so," the Blacksmith replied impatiently.

Kiba nodded, grateful that someone was speaking in terms he was used to as he looked over the weapons that were hanging and resting all along the cave's walls and shelves. There were numerous different types of weapons, some as simple as a Katana or broadsword, while others were more complex in design like Leiko's chakrams and a number of other weapons that he couldn't even name if he had tried.

"If ya can't find anythin' yer used to, there's always the custom orders but they're gonna cost ya."

"Do you have anything more... blunt?" Kiba asked hopefully. "I'm not much of a blade person... and usually I do my fighting with my fists."

"Hand-to-hand combat is more of the other division's specialty. If you're lookin' for lighter material, you can get the stuff from there. Any upgrades then can be added here," the man explained. "You can add claws, spikes of single daggers to gauntlets. A pair of Cestus, perhaps?"

"Where would I go to look in to that?" Kiba asked.

"Continue eastward, towards the Battle Plains of Callan," the Blacksmith answered. "You'll know it when ya see the huge coliseum, but I'd recommend ya head ta the dojos instead. The fighters are usually there. They'd know where they get their stuff."

"Thank you for the information," Kiba said gratefully with a bow as Noir adjusted himself on Kiba's shoulder. "I hope I won't have to waste too much more of your time today."

"Yeah-yeah…" He waved him off and grabbed a hammer to continue his work.

Kiba wandered back towards where he left his Mandibuzz. He found the vulture-like pokemon in the exact place where he left it. For a pokemon who might not have trainers, they were well trained.

You've got to respect a place where the pokemon are well trained, Kiba thought to himself as he settled himself into the Mandibuzz's saddle before looking back to Noir. "Are you going to be in any trouble if you take me to this dojo place? Or do you need to return to your trainer?"

The Noibat turned its head quizzically at the trainer's words but shrugged. It then let out a lazy yawn and settled more comfortably on the guy's shoulder.

"Alright I get it," Kiba said with a sigh as he actually wrapped his bandanna around the Noibat to prevent it from falling off as they flew. He then looked over to the Mandibuzz who looked up at him expectantly. "What about you? Do you know where the dojos are?"It gave a squawk but didn't take off. It merely waited for instructions. "Alright fine, take me to the dojos!" Kiba insisted as he pointed to the skies.

The Mandibuzz took to the air but relied on Kiba to steer it in the right direction. Kiba recalled the Blacksmith mentioned east so he navigated the avian to the opposite direction of the assassin tower of where he initially came from.

Kiba found himself returning to the familiar forest to where he first arrived in. A morning mist had formed in the vast woodland, making it more eerie looking. He steered the Mandibuzz high above the strange fog, hoping not to get caught in the illusions that may ensnare him.

He continued onwards in the partially visible airspace. It took him a long while but he finally reached the end of the mysterious forest. He found himself flying overhead a vast savannah with an ancient coliseum built at the far end, a stone city across it and a large building in between.

"That must be the dojo," Kiba said to himself while gesturing for the Mandibuzz to take him down. Obediently, the vulture Pokemon descended down towards the large building where it landed on the side of the building off of the main road. Their landing earned them a few glares from some of the passing trainers however Kiba deftly ignored them as he dismounted.

He guessed he was in the right place given all the fighting-types that the trainers around him had as well as all the standard training equipment. Wordlessly, he proceeded to the main building, hoping to meet someone who wasn't giving him the stanky eye. He walked past a door and heard a sparring match going on. Based on the sounds, there shouldn't be more than two people inside. Deciding it was best to try his luck, he opened the door and peered inside.

A teen with dark tan skin and black dreadlocks was doing a series of backflips as he moved away from a small blue jackal pokemon. Once he landed into a crouch, he lunged for the Riolu who quickly sidestepped to avoid the punch, before closing in to counter with an uppercut move. The guy caught the pokemon's fist with his own and drove his free arm for a follow up punch. The Riolu reacted by raising his other paw, blocking the attack but was knocked back by the force, once again creating distance between the two.

"You really need to get bigger soon, Ryu," the teen commented. "Your size is not gonna do you any good when we're up against bigger and tougher opponents."

"I wouldn't say that," Kiba spoke up as he opened the door into the training room, gaining the attention of the boy and his Riolu.

The teen fighter and his pokemon looked at Kiba warily. "Who are you?"

"Names Kiba," he replied as he looked back down at the kids Riolu. "It's important that you work on his guard but at that size he's better off avoiding an attack rather than trying to block it. If he fails he hurts himself and the opponent gains an advantage. If you dodge and get in close you'll be able to inflict some heavy damage before your opponent can retaliate. Thus the disadvantage of larger Pokemon."

"Seems like you know a thing or two about fighting." The teen shifted to a more relaxed stance. "Honestly, Ryu and I have got speed and flexibility covered. We're working on endurance and close range. My father has a Lucario and he's very well trained in each aspect." The Riolu nodded in agreement with a proud smile.

"I'm not surprised," Kiba said looking back to the trainer. "Lucario are some of the strongest fighting types out there- even if they are weak to their own kind. But even the sturdiest pokemon can be whittled down over time. An agile pokemon that can't get hit can't fall down."

"True. But one has to be prepared. You don't know how strong your next opponent is gonna be. A real fighter has to be prepared for any opponent." The black-haired teen patted his pokemon affectionately. "That means Ryu and I will just have to get stronger every day."

A small smile formed on Kiba's lips at the kids words as he remembered his purpose for coming to the dojo in the first place. He then explained why he had come to the dojo to the boy and his Riolu and asked if he knew someone who could help him.

"So you're looking for one of these?" Corbin, as he had introduced during their conversation, gestured to the brown leather armbands that he wore. "If you want, I have a few extra pairs lying around."

"Are they leather as well?" Kiba asked surprised at the boys generosity.

"I have various pairs depending on the situation. For training, I simply use Bouffalant hide. It's lighter and durable. For hard hitters, I've got Steelix encrusted ones, Haxorus and Garchomp scaled. If you're looking for defensive, I've got Bastiodon hide and Aggron. Got any preference?"

Kiba thought about how he fought and, considering how most of the people he had met already carried blades around with them he put that into consideration as he thought of a design. "I'd like something that could be used as a weapon: sharp and precise for the finger tips but strong and sturdy if I need to fend off an attack from blades. But at the same time it needs to be flexible to work with… that'd probably be a custom order though wouldn't it?"

"Hmmm…" Corbin hummed thoughtfully. "You can upgrades later on but we can maybe get the base gauntlet first... So Haxorus it is?"

"Uhm… yeah, I guess that would work," Kiba said unsure if the material Corbin was suggesting was even any good for his needs.

Corbin took out a wrapped item from his duffel bag at the far end of the room. Unraveling it, he showed Kiba a pair of armored arm guards with dark yellow green plating, the red knuckles formed into jagged points. "Haxorus are very territorial. They fight a lot so their hide is well built for defending against their bladed tusks which is as hard as solid steel."

Kiba looked at them in awe at the obvious craftsmanship put into the gauntlets as he held his arms out along them to see that they were approximately the same length.

"Are you sure its ok to just give these to me?" Kiba asked suspiciously. "They had to of cost a small fortune."

"From one fighter to another." Corbin cast a respectful smile. "My mother works on the island. She goes out on field jobs often so we don't have much problems with money, and it'll be a while before I can actually use them in the field." He eyed the older boy observantly.

"As strange as it sounds… I don't think I can just take them," Kiba said awkwardly. "Is there anything I can do for you in exchange? I don't have any money on me but maybe I could help you with something?"

"I can't think of anything at the moment," Corbin replied. "Maybe I'll save that favor for another day. I have to get going soon. One of my partners is waiting at home and she's not used to her surroundings yet."

"I owe you one then," Kiba said with a smile as he shook Corbin's hand. "Hopefully you come to claim it when I'm in a good mood."

Corbin raised a brow at that but shrugged it off. He bounded out of the dojo with his Riolu following close. Kiba followed behind and saw him take off on a reddish brown avian. A Braviary. After watching him fly off into the sky Kiba remounted his Mandibuzz and urged it back to Sedgwick Valley.

It was another long uneventful flight back to the rocky canyons, Kiba glanced at the Noibat still snoozing on his shoulder. It was then that he noticed a rolled up note tied around the collar that was partly hidden in his furry neck. At the corner of the note was an emblem of the Black Scythe, making it even more intriguing. As the Mandibuzz reached the beginning of the canyon, Kiba steered it to land in order to check on the unknown note.

When he dismounted unto solid ground, Kiba quietly untied the note as the Noibat stirred slightly. Once he retrieved it successfully, he unfolded it and read the contents.

Meet me at the Main Fortress before sundown. It's time you 'remember' my end of the deal.
-Tristan Fenikkusu

The message was short but something told him that the message held some sort of significance to the Noibat's owner and silently wondered to himself if it was something worth investigating. Before anything else though he gently put the message back into the snoozing pokemon's collar, noting the small white stone embedded in the middle, and making it as if the message had never been moved before having the Mandibuzz fly back to Sedgwick Valley.

From there it was a relatively short flight back down to the forge as the Mandibuzz flapped down gracefully as Kiba dismounted. He looked around warily and was relieved to see that Corentin nor his psychotic girlfriend anywhere around and hastily made his way into the forge. He found the burly man from before as he explained in detail what he wanted added on to the Haxorus hide gauntlets as the man listened while he continued to work.

The Blacksmith cast Kiba a suspicious brow when he received the gauntlets but worked on them nonetheless. He told him it would be done in a day or two so Kiba decided to leave and continue his little exploration of the island, but not before telling the smith to charge any expenses to Leiko's account.

When Kiba finally exited the Blacksmith's store, he found a familiar black-haired teen with silver eyes standing outside. Beside him was a Flygon with blue and orange coloration instead of dark green and red.

"Oohh, Shiny," Kiba mocked with a smile as he looked at the Flygon with a bit of scorn as the shiny insectoid dragon reminded him of Scourge.

The teen ignored him and focused his gaze on the sleeping purple bat on his shoulder. "Noir."

The Noibat's ears perked and its eyes shot open. Turning its head, it spotted the silver-eyed boy and flew over to him with glee. It then clung to his chest, its little claws clinging to the teen's shoulders.

The boy gave a sigh and cradled the bat in one arm before casting an apathetic glance at Kiba. "If my partner has caused trouble, I apologize. He has developed a strange habit of clinging to people who aren't from Semira."

"Yeah I noticed," Kiba said with a small chuckle as he put his head band back where it belonged. "But the little guy showed me around today so no harm done."

"Alright then…" The kid showed little reaction as he fingered the collar around the Noibat, glancing shortly at the note before plucking it and shoving it into his pocket. He then mounted on his shiny Flygon who shot a glare at the Noibat as the purple bat returned the look with a snort. "By the way, your Fearow is still resting in the eastern forest." He tossed Kiba an empty pokeball. "He'll come back on his own."

"I'm sure," Kiba replied catching the ball as he was silently thankful that Arrow was alright. He approached the boy and was immediately snarled at by the shiny Flygon which Kiba ignored with a roll of his eyes now used to other people's pokemon disliking him on sight. "I do have one piece of advice for you though- Aeron isn't it?"

The boy narrowed his silver eyes as he stared at Kiba observantly. "...What?"

"From what I can tell in my whole 18 hours of being on Semira I've learned that, for whatever reason, a few people of power find you interesting." Stretching up so his mouth was by Aeron's ear he added in a stern whisper, "So if you're going to have your pokemon deliver messages to and from people, you may want to tell him not to fall asleep on someones shoulder. A dishonest person may decide to take advantage of his trusting nature." Kiba returned to the ground with a smile looking up at Aeron's look of annoyance on his face as he added in a cheery tone, "Just my advice anyways- do with it what you will."

"And my advice to you… Mind your own business," Aeron answered back with restrained agitation as his Noibat lowered its ears apologetically. With an inward sigh, he placed a hand on Noir's head, settling him down while keeping his stare focused on the older boy.

"Temper. Temper," Kiba scolded playfully. "Otherwise I may let my intrest get the better of me. Anyways, I'll see you around Aeron; thanks for your help today Noir, I appreciate it."

With his final words, Kiba turned around and walked back towards his awaiting Mandibuzz as he was no doubt aware of the silver eyed teen staring at him angrily. When he mounted on the vulture-like pokemon, he suddenly found the bird not wanting to take off.

Aeron, on his Flygon hovering overhead, looked down on him. "Good luck walking, " he said up and with that he took off.

"Well gee, aren't you a ton of fun," Kiba muttered to himself as he dismounted the Mandibuzz and looked to her doubtfully. "You're really gonna make me walk back to the tower aren't you?"

The Mandibuzz didn't reply but it did take off into the sky where Kiba assumed she was returning to the stables.

"Good to know, piss off the kid and walk everywhere. Maybe I should catch a Ponyta or something," he added absently to himself as he started the long trek back to the tower.

By the time he crossed the river and conquered the dense swampy woodland, he found himself tired, hungry and muddy but back to the foot of the towering pagoda. He muttered curses at the brat for messing with his flying mounts for a second time.

As he walked up to the door, he spotted Leiko practicing her Chakrams in the woods. She had just performed an elegant backflip as she caught her weapon in midair before landing in a neat crouch. Readying to let fly her weapon once again, she noticed Kiba watching and beamed in his direction.

"Hello hubby~ How was your day?"

"Oh no it was going pretty well at first," Kiba said with an aching smile as he pushed on his back until he heard a cracking sound. "I found the dining hall today where I was the main attraction to the kiddies there, managed to get a Mandibuzz to show me around the island while I picked out the main piece for my weapons. Was nearly made into a pincushion by some crazy chick with an attitude problem and… Oh! That's right, some brat gave my mount an attitude adjustment and convinced it to make me take a walk back from that Sedgwick place. So overall darling, it was about average."

"Sounds like you've had quite the adventure." The redhead tucked away her Chakrams on her hip and skipped towards Kiba, coming up from behind him and teasingly massaged his shoulders with her hands. "Y'know hubby. It's not like you're not quick to fit in. You still have a lot to learn the difference between the outside world and the ways of Semira. You'll understand eventually when training starts."

"And when'll that be?" Kiba asked as he let a small moan of relief escaped him as Leiko pressed a particularly stubborn knot in his shoulders away.

"Right now… Master Tristan has other priorities." Leiko answered thoughtfully. "My companions and I would try but I don't think you'd be happy unarmed. So right now, it's best that you get into the role of being a part of Semira. For one, you may have noticed that we don't refer to our pokemon as our minions and the like. We call them partners. At the moment, you rely on them too much. You have to stand on your own. If we fight, we fight alongside them and not behind them. That's our major difference from trainers."

"I see," Kiba replied plainly suddenly wondering how much Tristan and the Black Scythe division actually knew about him, but he decided not to press into that for now. "Well I guess that's why I'm here, isn't it, darling? To learn?"

"Yup!" Leiko abruptly threw herself behind him, her arms coiling around his neck. "You'll do great... in due time. I can guarantee it." She then released him and whistled for her Umbreon who came bounding from the woods. "Yue and I are going to continue practicing. You can explore the tower or go back to your room and rest-and yeah, that room's yours to keep."

"Thank you, but I think I'm going to train a bit with Tyrant. He just evolved yesterday and I haven't had the chance to test his prowess yet. I'll probably get some rest afterwards though." Kiba bid farewell to the redhead assassin and turned to leave as he suddenly froze and turned around with one of his charming smiles. "Oh before I forget, I heard a couple of people talking about a main fortress and, I have to admit, it peaked my interest. Where could I find it so I can get a look at it later?"

"That's easy. It's in the middle of the island. It's built against the mountains. Kinda hard to miss if you ask me," Leiko answered pointing somewhere northeast. "Trainees and new recruits usually train there first but seeing as you're a special case, you skipped most of that. Anyway, any particular reason why you're interested? No one really goes there during this time."

"Oh, no reason," Kiba said with a smile. "Just something I heard in passing and thought it'd be worth a visit later on, nothing fancy."

"Okay then~" Leiko waved goodbye and raced to the dense forest with her Umbreon running alongside her.

Kiba waited until Leiko was well into the forest as he walked to the opposite side of the black pagoda, hidden by a group of trees, as he tossed one of his pokeballs onto the ground. In a blast of light Bane appeared looking around expectantly until he looked to Kiba and nodded as he awaited orders.

"I have a job for you," he said plainly as he approached the Scizor and began removing the mega-stone armor from its body much to Bane's confusion. "There is a boy," Kiba whispered so quietly that Bane himself could barely hear him standing directly in front of him. "With black hair and silver eyes who should be flying a shiny Flygon and have a purple bat like thing on his shoulder. He's supposed to meet with our… new friend," Kiba declared unsure of what to address Tristan as. He took the armor and mega stone and stored them inside his bag. "They're supposed to be meeting near a fortress in the center of the island built into a mountain. Listen to what they're saying and report back; do not be seen."

Understanding his mission Bane raised one of his pincers and made several tapping sounds like Morse Code on a tree beside him as he looked to Kiba expectantly.

"No- don't try to kill them if you're found out, I don't know if you could anyways on your own. If you do get caught act like a wild and get out of there." Bane nodded solemnly before making several more tapping sounds before disappearing into the tree tops. Waiting a few more moments after his disappearance Kiba grabbed Tyrant's pokeball and sent him out. "Now to see what you're made of," Kiba said with a smile as his Nidoking growled readily.

End of Chapter 66

Kiba has met a lot of the OCs~
He got along with a few, including Noir.
People change their perspectives when they see a lovable bat on the head. xD

The next chapter is the moment Aeron has been waiting for.
For the good? Or for the bad? Wait and see! I mean Review and see!

Thanks again to my loyal readers, reviewers and especially to Dead Bones Sam to help write this.

The last chapter hit 300k words and 301 reviews! Thanks everyone!

Also, today (in my time) is 09/03/15. And I've turned 22! Digital cake for everyone! Lol.