Chapter 2
"Ooh, Kai! I know! What do you say we take a shortcut on our way home?!" Nemona cried happily as she walked side-by-side with Kai while exiting Uva academy.
"Last time we did that," Kai said. "You got us lost."
"But it was a fun time, wasn't it?"
"Nemona, you challenged every person we asked for directions to a fight."
"Yeah, but it was a fun time, wasn't it?"
Kai sighed. "Arceus in heaven, please give me the strength to not slap this girl right now…"
"You could totally try slapping me in a battle! But I won't make it so easy!"
Kai pinched the bridge of his nose and groaned in frustration.
"There you are!" The moment Arven's voice reached their ears, both Nemona and Kai spun around to see Arven running out the academy's front doors. Arven had light brown wavy hair with a bang long enough to cover one of his eyes. He had sharp green eyes and wore a large backpack along with his Uva uniform.
"Finally," Kai said. "A normal person!"
"Hey!" Nemona elbowed Kai.
"You know I'm right!" Kai elbowed Nemona back.
Nemona elbowed Kai back, then Kai elbowed Nemona, they went back and forth until the two of them turned to each other. Nemona grinned as Kai glared.
"Hey Kai, we should settle this with a-"
"Don't."
"A battle!"
"NEMONA!" Kai tackled Nemona to the ground and Nemona started chuckling.
"I'm kidding, I'm kidding! I'm sorry- You're just really fun to mess with!"
"You'd better be!" Kai said, pouting a bit.
"I have no idea how you get along with that battle crazed girl," Arven said, sighing and shaking his head.
"Well," Kai stood up along with Nemona. "It's a mix of stockholm syndrome and learned helplessness."
"Boooo! Don't be mean!" Nemona cried.
"Don't BOO me! I'm right!" Kai cried. "You literally came to me on the first day of class with director Clavell, and said 'Oh hi, I'm Nemona, nice to meet you, wanna be friends? I said no as a joke, you said 'awwww, why?' and gave me that sad puppy-dog-eyes look. I apologized because I gave in, then you kidnapped me with that personality of yours!"
"That's your way of saying she has a charming personality?" Arven asked. "Good grief..."
"Nonononono-!" Kai cried. "You don't get it! She literally drives me insane- you have any idea how long I've been held captive by this girl!? Do you know how unfortunate it is to know this girl for four months?! Yeah- I've endured her for FOUR. MONTHS, and I demand compensatio-!"
Nemona suddenly hugged Kai.
"I compensate you with friendship!" Nemona rubbed her cheek against Kai who grumbled. "And infinite access to battling me!"
"Why the heck do I keep you around…" Kai grumbled.
"Okay- this is great and all, but uh- Nemona? I wanna talk to Kai real quick. Alone."
"What're you gonna talk to my bestie about?" Nemona pulled away from Kai and put her arm around her friend's shoulder. "Well, whatever it is, it can wait after our battle!"
"I never said that!"
"Yeah, but don't you know, when trainer's eyes meet-"
"Don't you dare give me that example and use that as an excuse to battle. I swear to all that is holy-"
"Aww, c'mon!"
Arven groaned. "Ugh…" He grumbled. "Just- scram for a second, will you?"
"No way! Besides, Kai said he was going to battle me after class."
Kai sighed.
"NEMONA! LOOK!" Kai shouted as he shot his finger over Nemona's shoulder. "A TRAINER WANTING TO BATTLE!"
"WHAT?! WHERE?!" Nemona spun around, and Kai grabbed Arven by the hand and ran off.
After running as far away as possible from Nemona, Kai let go of Arven's hand. The two of them were at the back of the school campus.
"Nice thinking there, little buddy," Arven said, nodding his head and smiling.
"Yeah, knowing Nemona well has its perks," Kai said. "Like being able to run off from her whenever I want."
"Didn't you say earlier that she 'kidnapped you' and 'held you against your will?' and that you couldn't escape her?"
"...Shut up," Kai said. "Anyway- what's up? "
Arven crossed his arms and closed his eyes.
"Well first, I want to ask, do you still have that Miraidon I gave you 4 months ago?"
"Uh, yeah," Kai said, pulling out the Pokémon in question's ball from his pocket. "I remember getting it from you when you asked me to pick him or Koraidon. It still can't fight, though. Why?"
"Well… first of all… My Mom and Dad called me."
"Uh…" Kai's eyes shifted back and forth in confusion. "Why do you sound all sad? That sounds good. Did they check on you?"
"No," Arven said. "They didn't even ask how I was, or anything. All they said was that a boy with no memory would be visiting me, and that they wanted me to look after him."
"A boy with no memory?"
"Yeah… He doesn't even know his own name," Arven said, scratching the back of his neck. "I have no idea where or how they got some kid, but they gave me no time to ask questions. I've looked after him for about a week or so. The kid's very silent, and he hangs around Koraidon a lot. He didn't say a word for the longest time. Though he finally decided to talk this morning. and you know what he said? He said he wanted to see Miraidon."
"...Huh," Kai said. "So all you want me to do is just come with you, and bring Miraidon with me?"
"Yeah," Arven said. "And since he looks to be around your age, maybe you can talk to him, get him talking more."
"Did you give him a name?"
"I mean," Arven said with a shrug. "It's kind of hard to name someone when they don't respond to a single thing you say."
"Right.. Okay, sure. Let's go and see hi-."
"THERE YOU ARE!" Nemona cried, storming over to Kai and Arven. "There wasn't anyone looking for battles, I asked everyone that I could see and they all said no and by the time I turned away, you were gone!"
"Yeah, yeah," Kai said. "I'm sorry for doing that. I'll repay you with a battle, so don't be mad."
"OOOH! Perfecto!" Nemona's eyes sparkled with delight as she clasped her hands and hopped gleefully. "It's a deal!"
"You're so simple that it hurts…" Arven said, shaking his head.
"But first-" Kai said, raising his finger in front of Nemona. "We've gotta go somewhere with Arven. We're gonna meet someone."
"Oooh, really!?" Nemona shouted.
"I'll tell you on the way. " Kai motioned with his head for Arven to move on ahead. Arven nodded.
"Let's go," Arven said.
After some time had passed, the trio of trainers soon reached Arven's dorm room front door. Arven opened the door, and the first thing they saw was the boy sitting on Arven's bed across the room.
The boy had a blue left eye and a red right eye. He was thin and had pale skin. His short hair was as white as snow, just like the white shirt and white short pants he wore. He was exactly the same size as Kai, who was slightly shorter than Arven and Nemona. Every time he took a breath, a white fog came out, like he was breathing under the cold, despite being in a room that was in room-temperature.
"I'm back-" Arven said, waving his hand in front of the silent boy, who didn't react.
"See what I mean?" Arven said, turning to Nemona and Kai. "Kai, do it."
Kai nodded. He pulled Miraidon's ball from his pocket and tossed it. The ball flashed as it opened, releasing Miraidon who roared upon appearing. The Pokémon's eyes met with the boy's, and the two slowly approached one another. The boy raised a hand silently and patted Miraidon, who smiled and leaned into his patting. The boy then turned his head to Arven as Miraidon lied down.
"Than-," The boy spoke for a moment as he pulled his hand away from Miraidon. He had a soft and tired sounding voice, as though his throat were dry. He coughed a bit.
"Oh jeez-" Arven said. He quickly ran to the boy and pulled a water bottle from his backpack as he knelt to one knee. "Why didn't you say were thirsty?!" The boy took the water bottle from Arven's hands and stared at it. "Go on, drink! You need it, don't you?"
The boy shook his head.
"I swear… You're so annoying, you know that?!" Arven cried. He took the water bottle from the boy's hands and set it on the ground next to the bed. "Fine, I'll leave it here. Eventually, you'll crack and drink it," Arven said.
"Thank you." The boy said.
Arven's eyes widened in shock before he scratched the back of his head.
"Goodness- you creep me out sometimes, you know that?... Jeez. You're welcome." He said.
"All right- Lemme try talking to him," Nemona said, stepping forward.
"Pfft. Good luck trying to get him to talk," Arven said, crossing his arms.
Kai just stared at the boy who slowly cracked a small smile at Miraidon then saw Nemona step forward. She extended her hand at the boy.
"Hi- My name's Nemona!" Nemona said. "Nice to meet you!"
The boy stared at Nemona blankly, then looked down at Nemona's hand, then back at Nemona. Then, the boy stared down at the floor.
Nemona tilted her head and smiled awkwardly.
"Told ya," Arven said.
"Pffft-" Kai snickered. "Looks like your signature move didn't work on him!"
"Hey!" Nemona said, turning and smiling. "I'll get you for that!"
"Lemme try saying hi," Kai said. Nemona made way for Kai as he approached the boy.
"Hey- what's up?" Kai said, waving.
The boy slowly looked up and stared blankly at Kai. "I'm, uh, Miraidon's trainer," Kai said, his eyes darted left and right awkwardly. The nameless child stared blankly at Kai, then looked back at the floor.
"...Uh, ¿Hablas Español?" Nemona asked.
The boy said nothing.
"Hm. Hey, Arven," Nemona turned to Arven. "Didn't you think of bringing this kid to campus or bring him to our classes? Maybe if he enrolls and made some friends, he'd talk more!"
"I thought about that, but then thought it'd be a bad idea," Arven said, crossing his arms. "I thought he might get bullied or something for being too quiet."
Nemona crossed her arms and closed her eyes as she started to think. She nodded to herself as she opened her eyes and uncrossed her arms. "We can't just leave him here to sit around and do nothing, though." She said. "We've gotta show him around! Show him new things. Maybe he'll talk more then!"
"No, absolutely not. Not until we give him a name," Arven said. "What if he gets lost, and we can't find him?"
"Yeah…" Nemona said, turning her head.
"Hmm…" Kai said. "Hey-"
The boy looked up at Kai.
"Do you want us to name you?"
The boy said nothing.
"Just as clear as always," Arven said with a sigh. "Well, listen up, kid! We're gonna name you, like it or not!"
The boy said nothing.
"Gah- it's so weird, it's like I'm talking to a wall! Say something! Blink, darn you!"
The boy blinked.
"Oh, look, he blinked." Kai said, turning to Arven. Arven sighed and turned his head away.
"That doesn't mean he did it because of me. He could have blinked naturally."
"Well, he hasn't blinked at all until you said that," Kai said. "So that must mean he's at least responsive."
"How do you know he hasn't blinked at all?!" Arven cried. "Ugh! Never mind!" Arven marched over to the nameless boy and put his hands on his shoulders. "We're going to name you. Shake your head or nod if you want us to or not!"
"Hey- don't scare him!" Nemona cried, reaching out to the two boys.
The boy nodded at Arven quickly, and Arven sighed with relief. "Jeez…" He groaned.
"...Well..!" Nemona suddenly clapping her hands together frightened Arven and Kai briefly. "Okay! Name time!" She cried. She turned to the boy. "Be sure to shake your head or nod if you want the name or not. Okay? I'll go first. Barry?"
The boy shook his head.
"What kind of name is Barry?" Kai said. "He's not a fruit."
"Hey- apologize to all the Barrys in the world!" Nemona cried.
"I apologize, Barrys of the world, that you are all fruit." Kai said.
"Don't be mean!" Nemona pouted, and Kai sighed.
"Fiiine- I'm sorry for making fun of your names, Barrys of the world," Kai grumbled.
Nemona smiled. "Good!"
"Hm," Arven said. "What about John?"
The boy shook his head.
"Mikey?" Arven asked.
The boy shook his head.
"Miles!" Nemona cried.
The boy shook his head.
"...Aeon?" Kai said.
The moment The boy heard Kai speak, he turned to him. He smiled and nodded slowly.
"...Aeon…" The boy said.
The trio nearly gasped upon hearing the boy speak.
"HA!" Kai cried. "HE LIKED MY NAME! TAKE THAT, NEMONA!"
"Hey!" Nemona cried. "This wasn't a competition!"
"I thought you loved competition!"
"Yeah, but only if we both agree that it's a competition!"
"You're just mad that I won!"
"Oooh- you are so done for when we battle!"
Kai stuck his tongue out and blew on it and started running as Nemona chased him around the room with a giant grin on her face. Meanwhile, the newly named Aeon and Arven exchanged looks. The boy remained silent, staring and looking up at the slightly taller Arven with seemingly innocent eyes.
"What're you looking at?" Arven said in a disgruntled tone. He sighed and crossed his arms. "Ugh... I knew I couldn't just leave you here, but I didn't know what else to do. My parents just dropped you on my lap without warning. It makes no sense! Did they adopt you or something?! Why would they adopt a child when they can barely look after one already!?" Arven shook his head. "It doesn't matter. If you're adopted, that makes you my little brother. So, like it or not, you're my responsibility. So when we go out, you'd better listen to me, understand?"
Aeon nodded.
"You're much more responsive than before." Arven said. "Why is that? Is it because Maraidon is here, or something?"
Aeon didn't say or do anything. Arven sighed and shook his head. "Well, whatever," Arven continued. "You're responsive, and that's what matters. We're going to show you around the school and introduce you to people. So, you'd better at least say or do something around them. Understand?"
The boy slowly nodded.
"Good," Arven said, smiling. "If you behave as well as you are right now, I may not mind having you around."