Special Chapter 2: Imperfect
"Morning, Kit!"
"Looking nice today, Kit!"
"Love how your fur looks today, Kit!"
"Yeah, yeah, whatever"
I always hated getting showered like this everytime I entered the school. It was one of the consequences of being one of the 'cool kids' as everyone put it, something I still didn't understand.
You see, I was more of the class nerd, always getting the best grades on the tests, but since I was 'funny' and 'not as isolated as the other nerds', I always had company with me.
"And then she- Oh, hey there, Kit!"
Michael was talking to a small group of three students, which consisted of a Murcrow, a Nickit and a black and white Zigzagoon, who were listening to the story that the Scraggy was telling, all the while Onyx (not an actual Onyx, but a Stunky) stood listening next to Michael. The only one I truly knew was the Nickit. His name was Jacques. Despite that, all of them moved away to let me pass.
"Sup, dude. Already telling everyone one of your stories?"
"Sure am!"
"Which one is it?"
"The one time when I beat the ass of some Munna that thought she was better than me. She didn't expect what was coming"
"Come on, Michael! Keep telling us!" Jacques yelled.
"Yeah! Class is about to start and I don't want to wait until break time!" The Murcrow added.
"Alright, alright! So the thing is that after I told her to fuck off, she started attacking me! But she was so dumb that she didn't know that her attacks wouldn't do anything to me. Long story short, she lost, and she never dared to talk to me again"
A small round of applause followed. "That's cool!" The Zigzagoon exclaimed.
"Who would even dare to fight you out of all Pokémon!" Jacques added.
The bell rang, which meant that it was time to go to class. Everyone in the group grumbled.
"Guess it's time to head to that boring hole of a class" Michael commented.
"Following behind you" I sighed.
The three of us entered our classroom. I walked to my seat behind Michael and Onyx when I noticed an empty table next to me that I was sure wasn't here yesterday. A few more students walked in and after some more time, Mrs. Florges did too.
"Good morning, my dear students!"
"Good morning, Mrs. Florges!" Everyone yelled.
"I got some news for you!" The teacher said, smiling. "Today a new classmate is going to join us! She has moved from a whole different continent to our little town, so I want everyone to treat her with respect, okay?"
"Yes, Mr. Florges!"
"Good. Then, give a warm welcome to..." She started, pointing at the door.
A Zorua walked inside, her face denoting nervousness and possibly a bit of fear.
Now, I'm going to make a little pause here. That Zorua wasn't the same as me.
You see, a few Pokémon in this world hatched as what is called 'Alternative forms', which is a really weird phenomenon to which not even the smartest scientists know the cause.
Being an 'Alternative form' Pokémon isn't going to cost you your whole social life, or anything like that. It's just a really weird thing that happens, and everyone has thankfully internalized already.
For example, the black and white Zigzagoon I mentioned earlier? That was an alternative form Zigzagoon, dark and normal type instead of pure normal type.
In this case, instead of one of the handsome, intelligent and funny dark type Zorua like the one that's telling you this story, the Zorua that walked through the door was instead a normal and ghost type, which is the only known Pokémon to have that type conbination.
Fascinating, isn't it?
"H-Hello. I'm Lilith" She timidly said.
"Hi, Lilith!" Everyone yelled back, which made her jump in shock.
"We've got a new introvert in class..." Ironically whispered Michael.
"That's what I like to hear! Now, Lilith, dear. Why don't you go sit in that table next to Kit, over there?" Mrs. Florges told her, pointing to the empty table next to me.
"S-Sure"
As she made her way to her new seat, all the eyes were fixed on her, which made her even more nervous.
Something told me she didn't do too well around a lot of Pokémon at the same time.
Luckily for her, I did. "Hey! I'm Kit, nice to meet you!" I greeted her as soon as she arrived.
She turned to face me with a look that clearly stated that she didn't expect to be adressed. "Hi?"
"Anyway, class has started, so I want everyone to open their textbooks at page 96, please! Lilith, you can share Kit's textbook"
I nodded and moved the now open book a bit closer to Lilith.
"Today's lesson will be about Mega Evolution, so let's start!"
"And finally, who can tell me three Pokémon that can mega evolve?"
"Lucario, Beedrill and Swampert!" I replied.
"Well done! I see you know a lot about this!"
*Ding Dong, Ding Dong!*
"Alright class, it's break time!"
Loud cheers erupted around the class, and everyone left as quick as they could. Before I could even see her, Lilith was already gone.
"Kit! Come on, nerdy! We've got a break to have!"
"Going!"
The back playground was big enough to hold all of the children in the school, despite being a lot of them. Most, however, were piled next to Michael, Onyx and me, wanting to hear more amazing stories from the Scraggy.
I already knew most of those were fake, though. After all, I could literally change my form to whatever I wanted, so I was the expert at lying in this school.
Almost the whole break had passed and I was beggining to grow bored of hearing the same made up stories once again. That's when I spoted someone in one of the corners of the field, sitting by herself, reading a book.
"I'll be right back"
"Sure, dude"
I walked away from the crowd, headed towards the lonely Zorua that sat on the grass. She didn't even realize I was there.
"Hey"
Lilith instantly tensed, but then relaxed a bit after she saw it was me. "H-Hey"
"Mind if I sit here?"
"What? Uh, I-I mean, sure!"
After I had sat down next to her, I took notice of what she was reading: 'Myths and Legends, Vol. 5: All about humans'.
So she likes those kind of things, huh...
"Watchu reading?"
"It's uhh, nothing really"
"Oh, come on! I just wanna know"
"...It's just a book about humans. I-I'm really into legends and all of that, even if it's stupid"
"And why would that be stupid? It's a cool subject"
"Y-You really think so?"
"Of course! Plus, it's what you like, so why does it matter if it's stupid?"
"I... don't know"
Some silence followed after that, so I decided to break it as soon as possible.
"I wanna know more about you. What brings you here?"
"You want to what?"
"That I want to know more about you"
"...Really?" She looked away. "No one... ever asked me that"
Huh? "Well, there's a first time for everything, isn't there?"
Lilith seemed like she was thinking hard about what to say. "Me and my parents moved from the Mist Continent. My dad was offered a new place to work here and my mom thought getting away from our old home was the best for me"
"And... do you mind if I ask why?"
Lilith stood silent for a long time. "The kids in the other school. They were... very mean"
"That's why you were that nervous this morning and why you are all alone here?"
She weakly nodded. I smiled and patted her back. "You have nothing to worry about, then! Those kids won't bother you anymore! And if you need something, anything at all, just tell me!"
"You... mean it?"
"Of course!"
Lilith smiled. A smile that made me feel happy. A smile that made me feel glad that I chose to come here. "Thank you"
*Ding Dong, Ding Dong!*
"Can't believe break's over so soon..." I sighed.
"I thought you liked class? You certainly knew a lot back then"
"Yeah, I'm kind of a nerd, you see" I added, rubbing the back of my head.
"But you are with that Scraggy there. Isn't he 'cool'?"
"Yeah, I still don't really know why"
"You don't need to be with me in the breaks if you don't want to. I don't want to take you away from your friends"
"Pfft, take me away? I was the one that walked to you, remember? Don't worry about it, I'm getting tired of his stories anyway"
When we entered back inside the classroom, we were the first ones to sit down. Next came Michael and Onyx, followed by the rest of the class. The Scraggy walked to me.
"Dude, where were you?"
"Don't worry, just welcoming our new classmate. It's not like I missed anything I didn't know"
Michael looked at Lilith and then back at me. "Why you speaking with the newbie?"
"Because I want to? Not like you should care about what I do anyway"
"Hello, my dear students!"
Michael was forced to sit down, not without first throwing an angry look at me. I winked at Lilith, and I could swear she smiled a bit.
"For the last two periods of the morning and day, we are going to talk about... mythology! More specifically, about something you kids all seem to like... humans!"
"Hey, look! Didn't you like this a lot?" I asked Lilith.
"Yeah, but... I'm not good at speaking in front of people..."
"Don't worry. I'm just beside you! Just relax and answer the questions. And remember, if you need anything, just tell me. No one is going to say anything to you for answering the questions"
"Are you sure?"
"I'm sure"
"...O-Okay. I trust you, Kit"
"So let's begin with today's lesson! Firstly, who can tell me how humans are said to look?"
No one seemed to know the answer, except for one 'mon. "Come on, Lilith"
"Umm... They say that they are bipedal, and that they have furless body?" Immediately, she winced, as if she were expecting something thrown at her.
"Good! Of course, no one knows how they really look, but that's the closest description we have. I see you really know about this things?" Mrs. Florges replied.
Lilith sighed. "See? No one said anything. You can answer without any worry. I'm not really good at mythology, so the stage is all yours!"
The ghost type gulped. "Okay. I'll try"
"Last question of the day! What are the devices human use to, as they say, enslave Pokémon, and why are they dangerous?"
"They are called Poké-Balls. They are some sort of metal spheres that capture Pokémon. They are dangerous because if you get caught inside one, you have little to no chance of escaping from it"
"Correct again! Nice job, Lilith"
*Ding Dong, Ding Dong!*
"Alright, class. This all for today! Now go home and don't forget your math homework for tomorrow! Have a great evening!"
Everyone stood up from their seats and headed to the exit. I tried to find Michael and Onyx, but they apparently were in a hurry, as they didn't even wait for me.
Whatever. I mentally sighed.
"Umm... goodbye Kit!"
"Oh, wait up Lilith!"
"Hm? What do you need?"
"Mind if we walk back home together?"
"What? But... don't you want to walk back with your friends?"
"They left already, so that's why I'm asking you. Maybe we could talk about something? Or maybe I could give you some ideas for the math homework"
"Oh, speaking of that..." She looked away, and her cheeks flushed with embarassment. "Would you mind coming to my house later in the afternoon and... explaining it to me? I didn't really understand"
"Then why didn't you ask the teacher?"
"I... don't know"
"Oh, I get it, don't worry. Sure, I'd love to go and explain it to you! I've got nothing else to do and then we can do homework together!"
"So you will?" Her face seemed to lighten up a bit.
"Of course! But it'll have to be after we are done with lunch"
"You can come with me so you know where I live! I-If you want to, of course"
"Yeah, sure!"
On the walk back home, we talked about Lilith's experience coming here and how she had to get used to the different timezone.
I realized that she didn't look anything at all like the Zorua that I first met a few hours ago.
"Honestly, the worst part was that my sleeping schedule got completely ruined"
"Geez, that sucks. Honestly, that's the worst part of traveling to a very far away continent"
"True"
Before we had even realized, we were already in Serene Village, and after a few more minutes, in front of what I assumed was Lilith's house. It was just in front of the exit to the hill with the big tree.
"Well, here it is!"
"Alright, I'll be sure to remember! See you later!"
"S-See you!"
Waving goodbye to Lilith, I made my way towards the plaza in Serene Village, saying hello to all the shop owners and the other Pokémon walking around there.
When I finally arrived, I entered my house and I saw my mom washing the dishes. My dad was still at work, since he was nowhere to be seen.
"Moooom! I'm home!"
"Hello, dear! How was school? Anything we should be aware of? Tests?" The Zoroark asked.
"Not yet! But today a new girl came to school, and I'm going to help her with her homework later in the afternoon!"
"That's great, honey! But remember not to come back too late so that you can study!"
"Okay, Mom!"
"Now sit down. It's time for lunch"
I walked to the kitchen and sat down. I ate the berry salad I was given as slow as I could, just to enjoy the delicious flavour my mother's cooking had.
Once I was done though, Mom wasted no time in telling me to go to study. I stood in top of the chair and grabbed the biology book.
Two hours or so had passed before I deemed it was enough for now. I grabbed a small ruler and a compass and after that, I headed outside and towards Lilith's house.
I walked through the village, once again greeting all the Pokémon that were around, and finally I arrived to the turn just before my destination. That's when I accidentally bumped into Lilith herself.
"Ow!"
"Oh, Arceus! I-I'm so sor-! Wait, Kit?"
"Yeah, it's me. What are you doing here Lilith? I though you needed help with your homework!"
"Y-Yeah, I do! I was just... going for a walk"
"A walk?"
"They... help me clear my mind off things"
"Huh? Are you stressed?"
"No, it's just... I thought you weren't going to actually come..."
"And why wouldn't I?"
"I... don't know"
We stood a few moments in silence, looking at each other. "Should we go to your house now?"
"Oh, y-yeah! Let's go"
I followed the ghost type to her place. Once we arrived, Lilith knocked on the door. "Moooom! I'm home!" She yelled, almost exactly as I had done, which made me chuckle a bit.
Not too long after, the door opened, revealing Lilith's mother, which unsurpisingly was an alternative form Zoroark.
How did some researchers call them? Hus- No, His... Hisuian? What does that name even mean?
"Hello, honey! How was the walk?"
"It was... just what I needed"
"Oh, really? Glad to-" She then looked at me. "Who is this?"
"I'm Kit! Nice to meet you!" I told her. "I'm Lilith's... uhhh..."
"He's the friend I told you about. He's gonna help me with my math homework" Lilith finished for me.
Her mother widened her eyes hearing that, but quickly replaced it with a warm smile. "That's great! Nice to meet you, Kit! Come on in, make yourself at home!"
The two of us entered the small house and got inside Lilith's room. "I'll make you something to eat in a moment. Good luck with your homework!" Her mother told us.
"Okay, Mom!"
"Thank you!"
The Zorua's room was not too different from mine. Her bed had some plushies on it and a small desktop to its side. A small poster about some of the Legends with something written in Unown was hung above the table. Through the window, the evening sun was shining into the room, which made it have a warm atmosphere.
"Woah! Your room looks a lot like mine! Wasn't that poster a limited edition, with only like a hundred being made? I remember you had to send some postcards from some cereal boxes in order to win"
"Really? What a coincidence, then. And yeah, that poster was hard to obtain"
"I tried sending a postcard, but I didn't win..."
"One? I sent like a million of them!"
"I see why I didn't win, then..."
She giggled. "That's called dedication!"
Lilith and I sat on the chair near the desk and Lilith opened her book, while I took out my ruler and compass.
"So what exactly do you need me to explain?"
"I don't know how to do... algebra"
"Algebra? I could swear that yesterday's lesson and the homework are about geometry..."
"I know, and I understand that very well, but... I never knew anything about algebra before I moved, and I doubt that your teacher is going to explain it again just for me"
"Ah, I get you"
"So would you please help me? Please!" She begged.
"Woah, don't worry! Of course I will! You don't need to ask as if I was going to kill you for making me do it!"
"I-I'm sorry..."
"Nah, don't apologize. Just tell me what exactly you need me to tell you"
"I don't know how to... hold on, it'll be easier if I just show you"
She picked a pencil and started scribbling an equation: '(29-2)/3 = X(5-3)'
"I don't know how to leave the letter alone so that I can do the equation!"
"Oh, that's easy! First of all, you know the order of operations?"
She nodded. "Good. So do it until you don't know what to do next"
After some more writting, the equation was left as: 9 equals X times two.
"I just don't know what to do next!"
"Well, this is very easy! You just need to leave the letter in one side of the equal sign, and the numbers in another"
"...And how do I do that? Do I just move them?"
"When you pass a number to the other side, you have to invert its sign. For example, in the situation of X plus 5 equals 10, you'd have to do X = 10 - 5"
She seemed to think for a bit, and then spoke. "So... If the equation was something like X x 2 = 8, I should put it like X = 8/2?"
"Yeah, exactly!"
"So this example I put... should be..." She wrote more on the paper.
"9/3 equals X?"
"That's it! Nicely done!"
"Woah, that's so easy!"
"I know, right? Anything else you need to know before we start with our actual homework?"
"What about when there is more than one letter?"
"Oof... that's tough"
"No need to explain if you don't want to..." She instantly answered.
"Don't worry. It's that it's just going to be a bit harder"
"Oh! Alright"
"Alright, listen up, pupil Lilith!"
I spent the next twenty minutes explaining all about the different methods to find out the value of the unknowns. She had a hard time understanding them at first, but after a few tries, she managed to do it amazingly well.
"Amazing! Congratulations, you already know how to do algebra! At least the basics"
She left the pencil on the table. "I... woah! I just... I can't thank you enough! I never would have done it without your help!" Lilith answered.
"That's what I'm here for!"
"Thank you so much, Kit! I... just can't thank you enough for everything you've done for me until now!"
"Come on, we've known each other for less than a day... Honestly, I'm surprised you invited me to your house so soon" I added, rubbing the back of my head.
"It doesn't matter! You..." She hugged me. "You are the best! No one has ever cared about me enough to do something like this I... I'm glad I can call you my... friend!" She added, tears appearing in her eyes.
"I'm also glad I decided to talk to you today!" I replied, hugging her back.
"Guys! Food's ready!" Lilith's mother yelled, entering the room. The moment she saw the two of us in an embrace, she grew a mischievous smile. "I see you've made a really good friend, didn't you honey?"
Lilith immediately pushed me away, knocking me off the chair, her face red as a Tamato berry. "It isn't what it looks like!"
Meanwhile, I was trying to stand up, my head swirling. "Ugh..."
"Sure, honey. Come on, food is ready"
Lilith grabbed my paw and we walked out the door, her mother still with that smile. We sat down on the stools next to the table and Lilith's mom brought us some pancakes.
"Thanks, Mom!"
"Yeah, thank you, miss!"
"Oh, please! Just call me Danika, sweetie!"
She walked away and into the living room, leaving me and Lilith alone. "Sorry for knocking you off the chair..."
"Don't worry about it, really. Let's just eat!"
I grabbed one of the pancakes and took a bite. They were simply delicious. I had never tasted something like this ever before.
"You like them?" Lilith asked.
"Yeah! Dei arr delifious!" I replied with my mouth full of food.
She giggled at that. "You are funny, you know that? The recipe is from the Mist Continent"
"Well, then I'll have to move there to eat these pancakes every day!"
Once we had finished, we headed to Lilith's room once again, but suddenly, a Goodra with what looked like a big metal shell on his back walked inside through the door and into house. He had a tired look on his face, but something told me that was natural.
"Hi, Dad!" Lilith greeted him.
"Hey, sweetheart! How have you been doing? And who's that little fellow next to you?" He asked, pointing at me.
"He's a friend! He helped me with some school things and we are going to do our homework together now!"
"A friend?" He asked, with the same face her mother had put before. "That's great! I shouldn't disturb you any longer, then! On you go!"
"Umm, actually... Kit, can we talk with you in private for a second? Sweetie, you don't mind, do you?" Danika interrupted.
"Huh? Guess not..." She said shrugging, not to convinced.
"You can start without me, don't worry. I'll catch up with you in a minute!" I told her.
That seemed to be enough for her, as she smiled brightly. "Okay, then! Don't take too long!" She added, walking to her room, and closing the door behind her.
"Sweetie, can you come here for a sec?"
"Sure, but why?" The Goodra asked.
"It's nothing important. And, Kit. Don't worry, you haven't done anything wrong. In fact, quite the opposite"
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"Sit down, please"
I took the left-most seat on the sofa, and Danika and Lilith's dad sat to my right.
"Alright, so I think we should start by introducing ourselves. My name is Danika, as you already know, and this is Tom, my husband" The Zoroark said.
"Dani, honey, why are you doing this?"
"I think we should tell him why his friend is so socially awkward, don't you think?"
Both of them turned to look at me. "Kit, did Lilith tell you something about why we moved?"
"She told me that her dad was offered a place to work around here, so that's the main reason she had to move" I paused, and looked at Danika. "She also told me that you thought it was the best for her"
"And why is that?"
"She said that... the other kids at school were really mean"
"They were, that's for sure" She sighed.
"What does that mean?"
"Kit, was it?" Tom asked me. "Our dear daughter was bullied at school"
"What?!"
"That's the main reason I looked for another job. I couldn't stand seeing Lilith suffering every day without being able to do anything"
A long pause. "And why are you telling me this?" I asked.
"Because words can't express how thankful we are" Tom replied.
"Huh?"
"Without exaggerating, you are the first real friend she has ever had. You are the first Pokémon in this world her age that has helped her, or even cared about her. And because of that, we can't thank you enough" Danika explained.
"Oh, come on! It's not a big deal..." I added, rubbing the back of my head.
"It is for her, and it is for us. We'd never seen Lilith so happy with another kid"
"And she has never hugged anyone except her family" Danika commented.
"She did what?" Tom questioned.
"Doesn't matter. The point is, Kit, we can't thank you enough for being her friend. She really appreciates it, I can tell"
"I just can't wrap my head around how someone could bully Lilith. She's so... innocent and pacific!"
"We don't know the answer ourselves, Kit. But we will ask you something: Please, don't stop being her friend. We don't know how she could react"
"I'll never do that, that's for sure!"
"Thank you, Kit. Now you should go back to your homework. I'm sure you can't stay the whole afternoon around here, can you?"
"Nope! Thank you for telling me this, guys!"
"You deserve to know it, after all" Danika added.
I walked away and entered Lilith's room, where she was with her pencil, writing in a sheet.
"Oh, hey Kit! What did my parents want to talk about?" She asked.
"Oh, nothing really. They just asked me some things to know me a bit better, but nothing else"
"That's weird. Well, anyway, wanna sit here and do homework together?"
"Yeah! Let's get right to it!"
It was around six PM by the time we finished everything. I began tidying my things, all the while Lilith gave the finishing touches to her work.
"It was harder than I thought..." She commented.
"Yeah, but it was fun doing it with you!"
"R-Really?" She looked away. "I thought I was just slowing you down..."
"Nah. You did it a lot better than I thought you would!"
"R-Really?"
"Yeah!"
"Th-Thank you!"
We exited the room, and we were met with Lilith's parents sitting on the sofa, playing a game of chess.
"Oh, hey kiddos! Are you already done?" Tom asked.
"Yeah!" Lilith answered.
"How did it go?"
"It was fun! A pitty I gotta leave now, though" I sighed.
"Well, you could always have dinner with us if you want" Danika offered.
"Yes, yes!" Lilith exclaimed, doing a small hop around while her tail wagged. She suddenly stopped, blushing in embarassment. "If you want to, of course"
I laughed at her antics, which only made her become even redder. "It's not funny!"
Once I managed to stop with the laughing fit, I remembered I had other things to do, which saddened me.
"Sorry! I'd love to, but my mom isn't going to let me stay in the middle of the week..." I sadly answered.
"Aww..." Lilith's ears dropped. "B-But maybe you can come tomorrow! O-Or maybe on the weekend?" She begged, small tears in her eyes
"Lilith, I don't think you should-" Her mother began.
"Friday should be fine. I don't have anything to do and I'm sure I can convince my parents to let me" I interrupted her.
"Kit, it's fine if you can't" Tom replied.
"It's not a problem at all. I usually have Friday nights free, since my friends don't normally do anything too appealing to me, so it's not a bother, really"
"Please, Mom! Please, Dad!"
Her parents seemed to look at each other for a moment before her mother sighed. "Fine. But if you have anything you need to do, just tell us" She then looked back at the board and moved a piece, knocking the Kingambit out. "Checkmate"
"You are too good at this, Dani, dear"
"So does that mean he can come?" Lilith asked, with the same eagerness as before.
"As long as his parents let him, he can"
"Yayyy! I can't wait!"
"Well, I think I should go now. Goodbye, guys!" I said, going towards the door.
"Goodbye, kiddo!"
"Bye, Kit!"
"See you at school tomorrow, Kit!"
When I exited the house, I couldn't help but feel happy. Happy as I had never been in a very long time.
I don't know why, but helping Lilith today was... fulfilling, somehow. The Lilith that I helped didn't look at all like the Zorua that walked inside that classroom this morning. And to think she's like that because she got bullied... it's sad to see. I thought, walking back to the house.
Once I arrived, I knocked on the door. "Mom, I'm back!" I yelled, entering inside.
"Hello, dear! How did it go?"
"Perfect! Lilith is the best studying partner. She's smart, even if she doesn't show it"
"That's good, honey. Now, go study for a bit in your room. I'll give you a shout when dinner is ready"
"Actually, Mom, there's something I need to ask you"
"It better not be skipping your learning again, because you know that's a no"
"No, it's not that. You see, Lilith's family asked me if I wanted to have dinner with them, and I said I couldn't today because I had to study, so they asked me if I wanted to go another day. Would it be okay if I have dinner with them this Friday?"
The Zoroark pondered her answer for a minute, before going back to her book. "Your grades have improved a lot lately, so I think you deserve a night out, but you'll spend double the time reviewing the contents of your next test on Saturday, did you understand me?"
"Yes! Thank you mom!" I yelped, hugging her.
"Yes, yes. Now go to your room, my dear"
"Okay!"
I ran to my room and closed the door. The book about Pokémon biology was as unattractive as when I had left it, but I knew that there was no other choice.
Can't wait for Friday night! It's going to be the best night of them all!
Little did I know, nothing was going to go as planned.
The next morning, I woke up and quickly had my breakfast. After I brushed my teeth and said goodbye, I grabbed my things and quickly made my way to the school.
For some reason, I was more eager to arrive today.
On the entrance, there stood vice-principal Watchog, with a clipboard on his hands. "Good morning, Kit! How is one of the star students doing?"
"Pretty good, vice-principal!"
"Glad to hear that! Now go to school and learn!"
"Okay!"
Entering the classroom, I saw that I was one of the last ones to arrive. Only Michael and Onyx were missing. I made my way to my place and sat down next to Lilith, whose nervousness seemed to falter the moment I arrived.
"Hi, Kit!"
"Hey, Lilith! Guess what? I've got permission to go to your house on Friday! Isn't that great!"
"Really? That's great! I'm so glad!"
Just then, Michael and Onyx hurriedly entered the classroom and sat down on their seats. The Scraggy turned to face me. "Dude, we were almost late because we were waiting for you for so much time! And turns out you are here! What were you thinking?"
That's when I remembered that I normally walk to school with them. "Shit! I completely forgot! Sorry"
"No problem dude, but be more thoughtful next time" He sighed.
"Hello, my dear students!" Mrs. Florges greeted.
Morning class consisted of correcting the math homework, and some more mythology, this time about a Pokémon called Mew, in which me and Lilith were the best, respectively.
Before long, lunch break time had arrived, and everyone was walking outside. My two friends approached me. "Let's go. There are some 'mons waiting for us"
"You are going to tell another story again?"
"As always. Why?"
"Dude, I'm starting to get so bored of them. If you aren't gonna tell anything new, I just can't stay still for the whole break, listening to you"
"What? But I'm not repeating myself, am I?"
"Umm, actually, you have told your stories so many times I almost know them by heart" Onyx commented, before getting punched by Michael.
"Ughh, fine! Do whatever you want. I know how to catch a hint" He said, turning around and walking away. I could swear I saw him glance at Lilith a bit angrily.
Apparently, she had noticed it too. "D-Did he just...?"
"Don't worry about it. He can be a bit of a prick when he wants to, so just ignore him. Let's go outside"
"O-Okay. If you say so"
Lilith and I walked outside and away from the crowd that Michael had attracted and sat down under a tree. We spent the time learning about each other better while we ate our packed lunch.
"So what do you like to eat?" Lilith asked me.
"Well, I'm a big fan of those juicy Tauros steaks, but I wouldn't say no to some Torchick wings"
"So you are a big fan of meat, huh?"
"Oh, absolutely!"
"Honestly, I don't really like it. I'd much prefer some fresh berries on my plate, but I wouldn't say no to some Torchick wings either"
"Spicy?"
"Yes, please"
"Finally someone who has some taste!" She exclaimed, to which I giggled.
The next questions all revolved around our personal tastes in drinks, books, etc. It was a fun way to pass the lunch break.
"Honestly, I still don't know how some people have never heard of 'Harry Polteageist and the Philosopher Stone'. It's such an amazing book!" I told her.
"I liked 'The Order of Ho-Oh' more than any other. It was the one with the best plot, in my opinion"
"Wasn't that where Ronald Weavile's dad almost died?"
"Yeah"
"Honestly, that's not a bad book at all"
*Ding Dong, Ding Dong!*
"Welp, break's over. Time to get back to class"
"Aww... but it's so much fun being with you talking like this!" She whinned.
"Come on, we are classmates! We sit next to each other! It's not like you aren't going to see me again"
A pause.
"Kit"
"What?"
"Thank you"
"You are welcome! Now we should go back before Mrs. Florges gets angry!"
"I can't picture her like that"
"And you best be thankful for that! Last time she got angry, we had a ton of homework for the next day!"
The afternoon's periods consisted on a short class of philosophy, and biology, in which it was announced an exam.
In no time, the bell rang again, and everyone bolted away from the classroom. Michael once again walked to my table. "Kit, tomorrow night we are going to go have some take out from a restaurant. Wanna come?"
"Really? No nightclubing or anything like that?"
"Nope. This week is a break week"
"That's amazing! I'd love to go!" I then looked at Lilith, who had a sad expression on her face, but tried covering it with a reassuring smile that tried to say 'go on, it's fine'.
"But I already have plans for tomorrow. Sorry"
Michael gasped, and then looked at Lilith too. "I knew it. You are leaving us for her? You are leaving your friends for someone you met yesterday? "
"Dude, she was first, you were second. It's that simple. No need to make a scene"
"Oh, sorry! I didn't know that it worked like that!" She took a few steps to Lilith's direction. "What does she have that we don't have, huh?"
"Don't touch her, Michael"
"Answer! What in 'Tina's domain do you have that I don't, huh?!" He yelled at Lilith. She had begun to tremble a bit.
"Get the fuck away from her, dude!" I yelled back, pushing him away.
He didn't expect that, as the Scraggy looked at me dumbfoolded. He didn't add anything else, as he motioned Onyx to follow him out. Just before he exited the room, he turned to look at me. "You'll both remember this" And then he went away.
"Asshole" I huffed.
...
"I-I'm sorry"
"What?"
"I'm sorry!"
"Sorry for what?"
"Look at what just happened! That was your friend, wasn't he? You had a discussion with him because of me! I... you should have never even talked to me..." She cried.
"HEY! Stop with that bullshit! Nothing about this is your fault! If Michael can't cope with me hanging out with you, he'll have to look for another friend. I don't want you to blame yourself because he's fucking stupid. Got it?"
"But-"
"No but's!"
She seemed to calm down a bit, and weakly nodded. "O-Okay then"
"See? That's much better. Now let's go home. And don't worry about him. He'll just forget about it by tomorrow" I told her, exiting the door.
"I-If you say so..."
Trying to take her mind off what just happened, we resumed our conversation from before, so by the time we were at home, Lilith was giggling with my jokes. We parted ways in front of my house.
"Mom! I'm home!"
"Hi, Kit! How was school? Any tests?"
"Biology, I think next Thursday. Just that"
"You know what you have to do, then?"
"Yeah, I do. I'll get right to it"
"Have some food first. You can't learn with an empty stomach. And if you are looking for your father, he's at the backyard, cutting the grass, so go say hello to him when you are done"
"Okay, sure mom!"
I quickly ate the small amount of berries, and then walked to the backyard, where my dad was using his attacks to cut the grass.
"Hey, Dad! How was work?"
"Very well, my child. How was school?"
"Good. I suppose you already heard about the new student?"
"Yes, the one whom you helped yesterday, correct?"
"Yep"
"That's good. You have to build relationships with as many Pokémon as possible. Now go study to your room. You have to keep those perfect grades of yours"
"Okay! Good luck with the grass!"
In hindsight, I was grateful I had decided to look at the biology book yesterday. The test looked like it was going to be tough, and I had to get a ten, so having studied something already was definitely good.
I have to be perfect. That's what they always say.
I spent what was left of the afternoon and a bit more time after having dinner studying. I knew this was just the beggining of a boring week, just like always. Luckily I was going to be with Lilith tomorrow afternoon.
And nothing was going to change that.
After doing my morning routine the next day, I spent some time waiting for Michael and Onyx, but they never came. I almost arrived late at school, and I found them seated there once I arrived, so I wondered if they were just taking revenge on me.
Both were whispering to each other and gave me angry looks when I passed next to them.
Ignoring that, I took my seat next to Lilith, who smiled once she saw me. "Good morning, Kit!"
"Hey Lilith! How have you been doing?"
"Pretty good! I'm so excited for this evening! I can't wait!"
"Well, we still have a few hours of class ahead, so you'll have to wait"
The door opened and Mrs. Florges walked inside. "Hello, my dear students! I hope you are ready for today's lessons!"
"Yes, Mrs. Florges!"
"Good! So now let's begin with... geography!"
Today's class was ultra slow. Every Friday's classes were, but today's were excruciatingly so. It was as if the clock on the wall didn't tick at all.
Finally, it was time for our break. Michael and Onyx hadn't stopped whispering to each other and looking back and forth all the time.
I was starting to grow worried, as the target for their glances was Lilith. Luckily, she didn't seem to have noticed.
"What's wrong, Kit?" She asked.
I didn't realize I had been staring at nothingness for quite a while now. "Nothing, don't worry. Let's go out"
"Sure! I brought something to eat today! Want a bit of my Oran berry sandwich?"
"Yeah, sure!" I exclaimed, picking the half sandwich she offered me. "This is delicious!" I exclaimed, taking a bite.
"My mom made it"
"Well, she's an excellent cook! I can't wait to go to your house tonight and try her food!"
"Well, I'm sure she will appreciate your enthusiasm!"
Today's break was faster than usual, which I really appreciated. I couldn't say the same about the remaining classes, though. It didn't help that the two remaining periods were history and math.
When the bell rang, everyone ran away from the classroom, screaming loudly.
It was finally the weekend.
"Finally! I can't believe we survived!" I exclaimed.
"Yeah. Class is so boring when you aren't worried about being scared of your classmates" Lilith sighed.
"See how you had nothing to worry about? You just had to believe in yourself"
"Thank you for everything, Kit. I will never be able to repay you"
"How many times have you told me that?"
"Definitely not enough yet!"
We bursted into laughter, and we didn't stop until Mrs. Florges walked towards us. "Hello, kids. Everything alright?"
"Yeah, teacher. Just enjoying ourselves" I answered.
"That's good! Lilith, would you mind if I talk with Kit alone for a moment?"
"Oh, not at all!"
"Wait for me outside the classroom. I'll be outside in a minute"
"Sure!" She didn't look nervous at all. It was a great thing to see.
Once Lilith went outside, Mrs. Florges looked at me and kneeled down. "Kit, you know why I wanted to talk to you?"
"Because of my grades?"
"Well, yes and no. I wanted to congratulate you on your grades lately, but that's not the main reason"
"Is it because of Lilith?"
She nodded. "It is. I'm sure you have noticed a change on her behavior, as I have. I just wanted to commend you for talking to her that day. I'm sure she needed it"
"Would you believe me if I told you that this is the second time someone someone speaks to me in private about her? Her parents also thanked me for being her friend. Her first friend"
My teacher was clearly confused after I said that. "She got bullied back where she came from, Mrs. I just can't let her go through something like that again"
Both of us stood silent for a few moments. "I see. Then there's nothing else we need to discuss at the moment. You can go now"
"Alright, Mrs."
"And promise me one thing, Kit"
"What?"
"That you will never let Lilith be alone"
"I won't, Mrs. I promise"
"Great. Now enjoy your weekend, Kit!"
I began making my way to the door. I'll never let her go through something like that again.
When I exited the class, I felt how my heart stopped for a second. Lilith was nowhere to be found.
Where could have she gone to?
I ran around the whole hallway, shouting her name over and over again, but there was no answer.
No... where is she? I... did she just go home without me? No, that can't be. Something must have-
"Gah!"
My train of thoughts was interrupted by the same Nickit from two days ago bumping into me.
"Sorry, sorry!"
"What's wrong with you, Jacques?" I asked him, a bit annoyed.
"Don't you know, Kit? Something's going on outside!"
"What exactly?"
"I don't know, but I think Michael has picked a fight with someone!"
He what?
Jacques and I ran towards the front door of the school as fast as my legs could carry me. Outside, there was a huge crowd gathered around something.
I made my way through the huge amount of Pokémon, fearing to see the scene that was going on.
"...cool, huh?!" I managed to make out Michael's voice over the murmurs.
My face went white the second I heard what was said next. "P-Please..." Or more importantly, who.
I quite literally tackled the remaining Pokémon out of my way, and used Agility's speed boost to knock the Scraggy away from Lilith.
"Well, well, well. If it isn't our little Romeo coming to save his precious Juliet..." Michael commented, recovering from the blow.
"What the fuck do you think you are doing, dude?!"
"I'm going to show this bitch that messed with the wrong Pokémon. Now, get out of the way before I beat your ass too"
"Are you FUCKING CRAZY?! What's wrong with you? She hasn't done anything to you!"
"Oh, so you are defending the newbie instead of siding with your friends?! I see how it goes!"
"Why are you doing this?"
"Because she's going to regret ever becoming your friend"
"Are you jealous? You don't need to beat her up because I've been hanging around with her instead of with you! And honestly, it's been the best decision of my life! You haven't even been real friends to me! I've had a lot of time to think about it. You have just been letting me tag with you, and why? Because I'm smart! Because having a nerd by your side gets you free help with school shit! And I'm sick of it! If I've been hanging around with her it's your fault, not hers! So I'm going to ask you to go fuck yourself and leave her alone without violence!"
That made the Scraggy burst with laughter. "You are smarter that I thought, nerd. I wanted to make this quick, but I guess I'll have to beat you up too!" He added, cracking his knuckles.
"Why don't you come and say that to my face?"
Michael attacked first. He charged with a Low Kick that almost knocked me to the ground had I not dodged it.
I used Agility to tackle the petrified Lilith out of the area. She landed in between a few Pokémon that were spectating, where she managed to look at me with a look that clearly said 'Don't do it'.
I couldn't even put a reassuring face before another Low Kick knocked me back. And it hurt.
I knew my strongest attacks weren't going to be effective on him, so I mustered my strength and ran towards the Scraggy preparing a Fury Swipes, which managed to hit twice before I got pushed away.
"You are stronger that I thought, nerd. But don't think this is over!"
His fist glowed with a white light, and he charged at me again. I managed to dodge his Brick Break in the last second, before I used Knock Off on him, which didn't hurt him much, but knocked him back.
At this point, I was starting to get a bit tired. I had endured a Low Kick, and dodged and used two attacks in a small, which wasn't exactly good for my stamina.
I knew that I had no chance of winning, not with my attacks doing so little damage. But seeing Lilith's terrified expression while Onyx fought to keep her from running gave me the motivation I needed to keep up.
The moment Michael was close enough, I concentrated all of my emotions into a Night Daze, which I used to send the attacker flying before using Agility to give him a blow in his stomach.
He landed on his back while I landed perfectly on the ground. Suddenly, a jolt of pain erupted inside my whole body. Using an attack I had not yet mastered and one of the most energy consuming moves at the same time after being hit by a super effective move may not have been the brightest idea.
So while Michael was standing up with just a few bruises, I was already nearing my limit, and feeling every single muscle of my body strained.
I was not going to last much longer.
"Dirty trick..." The Scraggy growled.
"You haven't seen this one, then" I replied, creating a few clones of myself around Michael.
All of them used Agility to hit the confused Scraggy while he tried to Brick Break the illusions.
The strategy was working perfectly. I managed to score a few hits on Michael, and he seemed to be growing worried, as his attacks were becoming more random and less precise.
And just when I thought I could win this battle, my body decided it could take no more and the illusion disappeared while I was in the middle of an attack. Michael reacted quickly, and turned around to score a perfect Brick Break on my jaw, sending me flying back onto the ground.
"Kit!" I heard Lilith yell.
I was panting. My nose had begun to bleed and I felt like if I had been ran over by a Rapidash.
But it was far from over.
"You thought you could win against me?" He shouted, walking towards me. "Against the one that has won so many battles?!"
"Your stories... are fake... as fuck" I managed to say, in between breaths.
"And who the fuck do you think you are?!" He yelled, kicking my face. "You are just..." Then my stomach. "A stupid..." My face again. "NERD!" A final Low Kick to my gut sent me flying against a wall.
I lied still on the floor, without being able to move a muscle. My face was covered in blood, and my ribcage and front right leg felt awful. I was barely holding onto consciousness.
The Scraggy then turned around towards Lilith. "You..." He began, taking a few steps towards her. She was shaking in a way that shouldn't even be possible. "You are so lucky your boyfriend wore me out, or else you'd be just like him. Onyx, get this bitch out of my sight"
The exact moment she was free, she ran to were I lied, and began shaking me. "K-Kit! Please, say something!"
"..."
Once Michael had left, most of the crowd had dispersed, save for a few students who were a bit too stunned by my injuries to move.
"D-Don't stay there looking! P-Please someone, get help!" She begged, and got back to shaking me again. "Please, Kit! Say something! Whatever!"
I finally managed to allow myself a cough full of blood, which hurt a lot, confirming that at least my ribcage was broken.
"I-It hurts... s-stop that" I stammered.
"Sorry! B-But you are alive! Thank Arceus!" She then began to cry, and I felt her tears fall onto my body. "W-Why? Why did you do it? You could have just left me, but you didn't! W-Why risk yourself just because of someone you met two days ago?"
Why?
"L-Lilith, you are one of the best things that happened in my life. You have been through horrible things back in the Mist Continent, and despite that, you still kept going. You helped me realize that a real friend doesn't have to be popular or cool, but has to care about you. Y-You are strong, Lilith. Never forget that"
I felt my vision slowly become blurry, and I feared the worst. "Can I ask you a favor?"
"O-Of course! Whatever you need!"
I felt my eyes slowly close. "Don't leave my side, I beg you"
"Kit? No! S-Stay with me! Please!"
I couldn't hear or feel anything else, as everything went black.
...
My eyes slowly fluttered open and I found myself blinded by a bright light coming from the ceiling.
Where...?
Once my eyes adjusted to the light, I looked at my surroundings and found out I was in a hospital room. One of my legs and my ribcage were completely covered in bandages, as well as half of my head. I also noticed a chair on my left side, and sleeping on it, all curled up was Lilith.
Safe and sound.
My happines was immeasurable. She suddenly opened her eyes and stirred, yawning before immediately stopping when she saw me looking at her.
"K-Kit..."
"Good morning, sleepyhead!"
Tears formed in her eyes as she jumped onto the bed and hugged me tightly. "You are alive! Oh, for Arceus' sake, you are alive!"
"Alive and kicking! Also, can you not do that? I think my ribcage is broken..."
"S-Sorry!" She exclaimed, immediately letting go of me. I chuckled at that.
"Sooo, what did I lose?"
"Kit, you've been in a coma for two days"
"Huh?"
"The doctors said there was a chance you wouldn't wake up, and I... I couldn't..."
"But you stood by my side, just like I asked you, even after you knew what could have happened"
"Y-Yeah but...!"
"That's enough for me. Even if I didn't wake up, just know I would have been happy. And hey! Maybe I could have become a ghost, just like you!"
"Shut up!" She yelled, gently slapping me. "How can you be joking at a time like this?" She added, with a mixture of crying and laughing, before she hugged me again. "I can't believe you almost died because of me"
"I didn't almost die because of you. I almost died teaching that bastard a lesson... even if it didn't end too well"
"But why? Why did you do it?"
"I don't know. I just knew it was the correct thing to do. You are my friend, you know that? Well, probably my only friend now, so of course I wasn't going to let you get beaten up!"
"Kit, I..."
Just then, the door opened suddenly and both my mom and Lilith's parents entered the room, but this time, Lilith didn't push me away. "Hey, kiddo! You are up!" I heard the Goodra exclaim, followed by hurried steps towards my direction.
"You had us all worried!" Danika added.
"Kit, dear, what happened?" My mom asked.
Lilith finally let me go and I managed to get a look at them. Everyone seemed worried, but I could swear my mom's expression was forced.
"A guy was going to beat up Lilith at school. I stepped in and lost the battle, so I got beaten up instead. I don't care, though, as long as Lilith is fine"
Mom seemed to frown to the word 'lost'. "Where is Dad?"
"His boss didn't allow him to come to the hospital"
"Oh"
Some silence followed. It was interrupted by an Indeedee with a clipboard entering the room. "I see you are already here. Don't worry, he's fine. He just needs a few days of rest so that his ribcage heals up. No movement, and definitely no going to school for some time. Your teacher has already been notified" She proceeded by walking closer to the bed and motioning the adults to get away.
"Hmm, everything seems stable" She said, before using Heal Pulse on me. "Congratulations, you survived, but just barely. A few seconds more and you most likely wouldn't have woken up. That was a huge beatdown you took"
"It doesn't matter, as long as Lilith made it out fine" I replied.
More silence. The doctor kept using Heal Pulse, and I felt how my injuries slowly began to hurt less. In no time, I was able to move my paw, but not my body.
"That should be enough. As I said, you just need to rest now. In about a week, come back here so that I can check your progress, and I'll tell you if you can resume regular activity. In the meantime, don't move from your bed, alright? No one can teleport you, since you are dark type, so I need your mother to carry you back. Is it alright, miss?"
"Absolutely" Mom answered.
"Good. It's around noon now, so I assume you must be starving. We'll bring you some food, and if everything goes smoothly, you'll be out of here this very afternoon. Miss? I need to discuss something with you, so if you could come outside for a minute...?"
Mom nodded and turned to look at me. "We'll have a talk about this at home" She added before standing up and following the Indeedee.
I sighed the moment the door closed.
She doesn't even care that I've saved someone, does she? She just cares about the fact that I lost.
"Kit"
I looked at Danika. "Please, don't. I don't need any thank you's"
"Kiddo, you took a beatdown that put you in a two day coma for our daughter. The least we can do is thank you" Tom sighed.
"Seriously, don't. I don't need anymore thanks. The only thing that I care about is seeing that Lilith is perfectly fine. That's everything I need" I said, leaning back, before looking at Danika again.
"I wanted to say this during dinner, but since some unforeseen events made me not be able to attend, I'll say it now. Your cooking is amazing, Danika"
The Zoroark giggled without losing her serious expression. "Thank you!"
"You are something else, kiddo, you know that? Even in this situation you manage to make us laugh" Tom added.
"I can't thank you enough for everything you've done for our little Lilith, Kit. You really are a very good Pokémon" Danika said, wiping a small tear.
"Kit..."
All three of us turned to look at Lilith, who was still sitting on the bed next to me. "I... I can't..." She stuttered, before jumping on top of me and hugging me again.
Now, though, she was crying as if a dam had just broken inside her eyes. "I don't deserve someone like you! I can't even begin to think how I'll ever repay you! I... I..." She couldn't finish, as she was overpowered by her own sobs, and buried her face in my neck fur.
"You don't need to repay me, Lilith. Being with you is enough. You just need to promise one thing"
"What?" She asked, looking at my eyes.
"That you will always be my side"
A few seconds of silence followed.
"Always"
"True. There is no place in this house for useless children"
Almost two weeks had passed since I made that promise. The biology test had already passed, and they had handed it to us today. Apparently, a nine out of ten is not enough to 'be perfect' as my parents say, and so, they had sent me to my room on my birthday, and they were eating my cake.
I hate them! Not even on my birthday I am allowed to make the slightest of mistakes! I'm so sick of it!
The sadness I had felt before went away and gave way to anger. I was furious, but not even that went on for long, as the sad feeling creeped back to me.
Do they even care about me?
What I needed most at that moment was a hug, or at least someone to talk to. Unfortunately, my parents were not the ones most appropiate for the job at the moment, but again, when were they? So taking an impulsive decission, I opened my window and jumped out of it towards the outside.
It wasn't later than six PM, so trying to look as good as possible, I quickly made my way to Lilith's house. The streets had some Pokémon running around them, and some of them even turned to look at the pathetic looking Zorua that was bolting down the street for a second before resuming their activities.
Finally, I stopped in front of Lilith's house and knocked on the door. "Hey, Lilith? It's me, Kit"
After some seconds of silence, the door opened, revealing the light grey Zorua with a confused look on her face. "Kit? What are you doing here?"
"I need to talk with someone, so I came here. Do you mind?"
"N-No! Absolutely not!" She stammered, before smiling. "Come inside!"
The inside of the house hadn't changed a bit. Lilith led me to the sofa and I sat beside her. "My parents told me that they'd be at work longer than usual, so we've got the whole place for ourselves!" She exclaimed, smiling.
"Cool..."
She immediately stopped and looked at me with concerned. "Something wrong?"
"Yeah. I need to talk to someone so badly about something"
"About what? And why didn't you talk with your parents?"
"That's the problem..."
She stood in silence for a little while. "It doesn't matter then. You know you can always tell me anything"
"You promise?"
"Of course! I'll listen to anything you need"
I sighed. "Alright. So remember the last test we had?"
"The biology one?"
"Yeah. And remember how I told you that my parents always want me to be perfect?"
"Something about that, yeah"
"Well, I got a nine out of ten in the test"
"What? That's great! I almost didn't pass it, cus I really suck at biology" She chuckled.
"Well, for my parents apparently it's not enough!" I yelled, making her jump. "They say that I always need to have perfect grades, or else I'm gonna be a failure in the future!"
I couldn't hold the tears any longer. "They grounded me in my room until tomorrow without dinner! Today's my birthday, and they didn't even tell me anything! They even ate my cake! I... I really feel like they don't love me at all..."
The moment I finished my rant, I broke into sobs, and I felt how Lilith slowly hugged me. "That's horrible! They really are doing that?" I weakly nodded, leaning on her. "Kit, I... didn't have any idea about that..."
"It's not like you would be able to do something..."
She scowled at me for a second, and she broke the hug. "Wait here just a bit" She said, jumping from the sofa and walking to her bedroom.
I stood there, looking at where she had just vanished, and thought. Why did she go away? Did I say something wrong?
Just before I could overthink things any longer, Lilith came back, carrying a small box in her mouth. She jumped back on the sofa and placed the object near me.
"Happy birthday, Kit!" She exclaimed. "I may not be able to help you with your parents, but I can at least make you feel loved on your day!"
I looked in awe at the small box and then at Lilith. "You... You remembered?"
"Of course I remembered! What type of friend would I be if I didn't? I was going to visit you later, but I guess you beat me to it!"
Once again feeling tears appear in my eyes, I tackled Lilith into a hug, all the while my tail wagged like crazy.
"Thankyouthankyouthankyou!"
"Hey, calm down! It's not such a big deal anyway!" She added, blushing while her tail also twitching slightly.
"It is to me!"
We spent a little while embracing each other, until I decided to pull back and smile at her. "Come on, open the box!" She said, returning the gesture.
I quickly did as she told me, and looked inside, and found a small pendant that resembled a Zorua head with a smirk.
"I just thought it looked cool and wanted to give it to you. It's okay if you don't like it..."
"Are you kidding me?! This is amazing! I'm never gonna take it off!"
"Wait, really?"
"Yeah! Thank you so much, Lilith!"
"Wait, you are thanking me? I should be the one thanking you for caring about me in the slightest!"
"You are the best! Of course I would care about you! What type of dumb question is that?"
Her smile grew even wider as she picked the pendant. "Here, let me help you putting it on"
Once the pendant was around my neck, she backed away and widened her eyes as she looked me from top to bottom.
"So? How do I look?"
She seemed to struggle thinking about the perfect words, but she finally answered. "You look... cute" She didn't seem to have thought too much about it, as her face reddened instantly. "Cool! I meant cool!"
I felt my face go a bit red too after her compliment. "T-Thanks!"
Awkward silence filled the room as neither of us wanted to talk about what just happened.
At last, she sighed. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make this awkward"
"It isn't awkward, Lilith. Don't worry about it. You should worry about how sick this thing looks on me! This is the best gift anyone has given me! You just made this shit day a thousand times better!"
She chuckled before looking away again. "I'm happy I helped you"
The silence returned, this time for a bigger while than before. Does she really think I look cute with this?
"Hey, Kit"
"Yeah?"
"There's another present I wanted to give you"
"Really?"
"B-But I don't know if you are going to like it!" She added, blushing once again.
"I don't care about the gift. The important part of it is the 'mon that gives it to you and the intention behind it"
The ghost type pondered my answer a bit and nodded. "Alright then, but promise me one thing"
"Yeah?"
She got closer and looked at me dead in the eye. "Promise that you won't get mad, or anything like that"
"Of course! Why would I get mad?"
Her answer weren't words. Before I could react, she jumped at me and gave me a big kiss in my mouth. Widening my eyes was the only thing I could do before she backed away, red as a Tamato berry.
"I... I think I love you, Kit"
Too many things came to my mind at the same time, yet I couldn't word any of them. Lilith had been acting weirdly this past few days, but I never would have thought that she would say something like that. I could feel my breathing start to rush as Lilith's face grew concerned.
"K-Kit?"
"I... what? You really mean it? You... love me out of all Pokémon?"
"W-Well, yeah! It's not like I know anyone else..."
"B-But it can't be! You... I...!"
I could almost hear her heart shatter when a few tears appeared in her eyes. "I knew this was going to happen. I just screwed everything, didn't I? How could someone like you love someone as boring and dumb as me! I'm so sorry you had to hear that... I should have kept my mouth shut, just like always" She said, trying to hold her sobs.
I felt my face go red too, but it wasn't love. "ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!" It was anger. "Boring? DUMB?! You are the best Pokémon that I had the pleasure to meet! And you are saying that you are dumb?!"
The Zorua was stunned by my sudden outburst. "You are not dumb, Lilith! You are the best friend someone could wish to have! You are so kind and understanding... I will not tolerate those words coming from your mouth because some asshole kid from another continent made you feel like that! You are my friend, my best friend, and you deserve to be treated like a living being, not like trash! Don't you ever forget that"
I almost ran out of air, but judging from her face, I got my point across. "But... What I just told you..."
"What about it?"
"You are not upset?"
"Upset?!" I scoffed. "I'm glad"
"G-Glad?"
"I'm glad that you think of me like that. I'm glad that even though we met not too long ago, I was able to get so close to you as to make this much impact on your life. So, do you want me to summarize my whole messed up thoughts?"
"Summarize? W-What do you mean?"
I grabbed her shoulders, making her eyes widen even more. "I love you too" I simply stated, kissing her back. Even with her widened eyes, she slowly gave in and leaned in for it. This time, we spent a larger amount of time like this. When we pulled back, we were even redder than what Lilith was before.
Silence filled the air as we looked at each other, just thinking. After a while of just nothing, Lilith began to chuckle, which then turned into a full laughter attack. I couldn't help but join her.
"I can't believe I did it! You have no idea how long I've been waiting for this!" She said, crying from sheer joy.
"Is that why you've been acting weird this past few days?"
"Kinda! Oh, I took a huge weight out of my shoulders! And you said yes! You freaking said yes! This is the best day of my life!"
"Mine too, Lilith. Mine too. And to think I came here because I wanted to vent about my problems and I ended up like this!"
Lilith stopped laughing and jumped on top of me, pinning me down on top of the sofa. She followed it by giving me a really tight hug. "You are the best thing that happened to me! I love you so much, Kit!"
"Oof! Can you warn me next time! You knocked the air out of me!" I chuckled, looking away and blushing again. "I love you too, Lilith"
We stayed like that for what felt like an eternity, before Lilith turned to me. "Can we..." She went slightly red again. "Can we do it again? It felt so good"
"Do what? Kiss?"
"Y-Yeah..."
"You are my girlfriend now. You don't have to ask that!"
"I know! But... it feels weird to... have a boyfriend, you know?"
"Yeah, I gotchu. So, are we gonna do it or-?" I couldn't finish the sentence as I was interrupted by the big furball on top of me giving me my third kiss today. I didn't complain at all though, and just accepted the gesture.
The door suddenly opened. "Hey honey! We are home!" Came Danika's voice.
"How have you-" Tom tried to ask, but was cut off when they witnessed the scene happening on their sofa.
The moment we realized we weren't alone anymore, both of us scrambled to take the most normal looking position we could, but our faces gave away everything.
"Hey, Kit. Nice to see you" The Goodra told me.
"L-Likewise"
Meanwhile, the Zoroark's grinned from ear to ear, and looked at her daughter. "How have you been doing? Missed us? I see you called Kit to congratulate him on his day, hmm? By the way, happy birthday, Kit"
"Thanks"
"Well, he was the one that came here to... vent about something" Lilith answered her mother.
"I see. Any problems roaming your mind, kiddo?" Tom questioned.
"N-No. Everything is alright now"
"C-Can you guys cut it out already? W-We know you saw us" Lilith suddenly interjected.
"See you? I don't know what you are talking about. The only thing I see is that you gave your friend his birthday present. Looks good on you, boy" Danika shrugged, still grinning.
"You were not supposed to catch us like that! We were going to tell you later, I promise!" Lilith blurted out, once again, completely red.
"It's not like we are going to forbid you from seeing each other ever again, kiddos! In fact, congratulations to you two! You were made for each other, if I may say so" Tom finally said, messing with the fur on our heads.
"I can't believe our little Lilith managed to fall in love! And with his first friend, that is! Oh, they grow up so fast..." Lilith's mother commented.
The two adults then fell into a conversation about us and some more corny romantic stuff, but I stopped paying attention to it not too long after it started. Lilith sighed beside me. "I think I'm starting to regret telling you"
I laughed and gave her a small nudge. "I'd never regret becoming your boyfriend. Now we are even closer than before! Arceus, where have you been my entire life?"
"Rotting in a classroom full of bullies!" She chuckled. "Always by each other sides?"
"Always, babe"
"Hey, it's too soon to call me that!"
END OF S.E. 2
Funny chapter about Ember's past: Done.
Funny chapter about Kit and Lilith's past: Done.
Funny chapter about Jake's past: ???
POST UPDATE A.N.
I extended the chapter! Now I have a whole scene where Lilith and Kit become a couple! I hope it's not too cringe-y or repetitive, cus I really liked writting it! Honestly, writting at night has to be the best thing in the world...
Also, I now just remembered Kit is supposed to be wearing a pendant, lmao. I'll edit a few details in the past chapters to fit that.
Thanks for all the reviews you guys posted! They keep reminding me there is actually someone reading this silly story!
See you next time and remember to leave a review!
P.D.
Hermione is a Granbull in this cannon ; )