[Part 1]

It took Inabayama a few minutes to patiently, slowly and woefully metaphorically tear through the thumping veil of crimson red to be able to see what was happening around her again. And wow, the Gardevoir was patient enough not to leave in the meantime! That was exceptionally great. She kinda half-expected that not to be the case,

"Bloody hell, that's SO messed up" the Goodra finally managed, her voice uneven "And it ain't gonna stop at that, is it? Who's to say my kin ain't gonna get all mutated next?!"

Rather than reply, Hiei just stared at her flatly. It took the dragon a few moments to realise what that means.

"T-they didn't… They… What… What did they do?.."

"Some hundreds of years ago, your ancestors had a large steel shell where your tail is. It was nigh impenetrable, and was used to hide from threats"

"I COULD'VE HAD A SNUG AND COMFY TAIL HOUSE ALL THIS TIME?! JUST… JUST ATTACHED TO MY TAIL?! AND THEY TOOK IT FROM ME?!"

It felt like the world was crumbling around Inabayama, things she believed to be true turning out to be shoddily cobbled together facades. Her life- no, the entire Universe suddenly made even less sense than it did just a minute ago. Yes, she was probably emotionally exhausted and almost definitely overreacting, but just that tiny speckle of knowledge was enough for her to realise what she did not know she was missing.

"Is… Is that why I used to like hugs so much?" the Goodra whispered.

"That would make sense. Ensuring physiological and psychological dependancy is par for the course with humans. Their skewed 'aesthetic sense', or simple convenience could also be the deciding factor" Hiei sneered, then giving the dragon a pondering look "'Used to' like hugs though?"

"Don't know if I still do. It's been a while" Inabayama shrugged and looked to the side, feeling a pang of embarrassment. Then she gave herself a hearty, headclearing smack on the cheek, and looked back at the Gardevoir "Okay, I think it's only fair if I share something about myself as well. Wanna hear how I got on the humans' shit list?"

[Part 2]

A thought crossed Hiei's mind not to tell the dragon about her ancestry, but its reasoning was not solid enough. So she did. Hiei could not deny that she found mild amusement (and a bit of concern for some reason?) in the way the Goodra reacted to this information.

Either way, Inabayama took the news as well as she possibly could. And she also, apparently, hadn't been hugged in a while? Yet another thought crossed Gardevoir's mind - that she could possibly remedy that by hugging the Goodra - a thought that left her confused for a bit. She technically could, but why would she?

She was not in the habit of doing things that did not make any sense.

Also, unlike the dragon, she didn't know if she liked hugs in the first place. There was never an opportunity to find out. Hmm… Maybe she could hug Inabayama once, and see if both of them liked it?

Hm… Why the bloody hell was she even thinking about it?

"Wanna hear how I got on the humans' shit list?"

Pulled out of her mildly confusing thoughts, the Gardevoir took a few seconds to ponder that. She still wasn't tired enough to fall into a deep slumber the moment she blinks, so might as well get this over with. Maybe Inabayama would stop pestering her for a while after that.

"Okay, so my first memory is of that human that used to be my trainer playing with me. If I think about it now, pretty sure she was some kind of a rich brat, judging by that house we lived in. She wanted to be the Champion. It's like a King for humans, and they're chosen in a Pokemon battle for some reason. And since I was her first Pokemon, she spouted all that nonsense about becoming the Champion with me because of friendship and all that junk" Inabayama scowled "And I used to believe her too. After all, that human was my BEST FRIEND, I couldn't let her down! So I pushed myself harder and harder, every day. Trained for years, without any care for my own wellbeing, for the pain I was in or for the nights my everything hurt too much to sleep. I've trained until that human told me that I couldn't get any stronger, and even THEN I've trained some more, because how could I not? And I guess she was somewhat competent at bossing critters around, because one day, we DID get to the Championship"

So far, it was roughly what Hiei would've expected from a runaway Pokemon. Inabayama was probably a present to that human kid from her parents, made in some elaborate breeding program, ensuring that she was the best for the job of making the brat the next Champion. Though the Gardevoir had to wonder where Inabayama was leading with that.

"So, at the Championship, they put those metal circle thingies on you, that tell the humans that you're okay, how strong you are and all that. You know, to make us beating the shit out of each other look more like a fun game. So, it's my second match, I'm the last one standing in my team, and some sort of a big, hairy thing with giant tusks nearly knocks me out with an ice avalanche. I'm reeling, ready to pass out, but suddenly remember that I'm that human's last hope and she's relying on me. I couldn't let her down! So I try to push myself just a little bit harder. Just one more attack to at least take the wooly asshole down with me. And that's when I got second wind"

The Goodra paused for a few seconds, collecting her thoughts. Seems like whatever she was leading towards, was next, and it was NOT pleasant.

"So I grit my teeth, clutch my fist, take a step forward, throw a punch with as much force as I can muster, and somehow send that huge hairball flying into the corner of the arena. So I won, that's great, right? Apparently not! Because nobody cheers. Everyone just looks in shock. The huge picture thingie that shows if I'm okay is acting weird. The human that used to be my trainer looks at me in FEAR."

Oh.

"And I don't understand what's happening. We won, right? I did good, right? So I try to come to her, only to have the Champion guy, along with several others, jump me. And not one at a time, like they're supposed to in a tournament, the assholes let their entire teams out at the same time! All attacking me, from all sides! I cry for that girl to stop them, to help me, but she just starts bawling while glaring at me in terror, like she's been tortured, like I'M torturing her!"

She could see the snarl on the Goodra's face, and the hurt in her emerald eyes. Despite all the time that passed, this wound was still raw.

"That's when I realised. All her platitudes about being best friends, about being a family, about being there for each other? They were all lies. From the very beginning, I was just a tool, a toy for her. She never was my friend. My entire life up to that point has been a lie. My blood and tears spilled over the long, gruelling years were all for the sake of a lie. And the moment I needed HER? She wouldn't be there for me. She didn't care for me. And the moment I realised that, I snapped. I snapped, and fought my way straight to her. Not the tame kind of fight where you try not to harm your opponent too much, no. I was paving my way to her with bodies. Pretty sure I killed a few people, and most of the Pokemon in my way. Didn't really care to check. And when I finally got to her…" Inabayama's snarl suddenly transformed into a wide, cruel smile "I gave her the biggest, tightest hug I possibly could. Now THAT gave her a new reason to cry. Not for that long though. And sometimes… Sometimes I still hear the sounds she made when we parted ways. It always makes everything else feel like it was worth the hassle…"

It took a few seconds for that smile to drop, after which Goodra tiredly looked to the side.

"And after that, I fled. Had to stay on the run ever since, hid wherever I could, fought whenever the humans discovered me, all of that. At this point, I've been free for what, twice as long as I was living with that rich brat? Maybe three times. Either way, that's about it, I guess. Sorry it took so lo-"

Before the Goodra could finish that sentence, and before Hiei understood what she was even doing, she threw herself forward, and held the dragon in an embrace.

It was warm.

It was nice.