Traversing through town alongside Rin Okumura was turning out to be an extremely stressful experience.

The Piko Piko Hammer incident was not a one-time thing. Even after the oversized gavel was safely stored out of sight, Rin's entrance into any and all battles they confronted was a thing of nightmares. At first, he instinctively fought back with the force of his own feet, kicking and stomping on nonexistent Heartless guts. Halfway into his second skirmish however, he had the bright idea to start conking the heads of the soot monsters with the hilt of his lacrosse bag. For as gruff as the delinquent teen seemed, the sheer resourcefulness he had with turning random objects into impromptu weapons of Heartless murder was almost scarily commendable. He would toss wooden crates, then use the jagged edge of those snapped planks to mimic knives. He would find loose bricks near construction sites just to chuck them hard into the monsters' uncaring eyes of gold. He would trap them helplessly under trash cans and leave them to be slowly crushed into sable mush while he used the lids as mallets.

Forget shoving nerds into lockers; this guy was a straight up demon!

"I don't think I can do this anymore," Cody wheezed with his hard grasped firmly on to his head.

Having just taken down another Heartless schism, Cody's group of four had taken a quick break to sit and rest. Or more accurately, they needed time to process all the brutality they'd witnessed over and over again in quick succession.

"Like, imagine if Kevin from fifth period trig started doing 'roids. This is worse than that,"

"I don't know who that is," Alakazam mumbled, sitting around in a daze.

"What's ''roids'?" Mokona cocked his head.

Loudred was split. He gazed off across the street towards the small plaza where Rin had taken to entertaining a small group of children, all freshly saved from yet another Heartless attack. Here he was acting like an absolute ball of sunshine, yet the main image of the boy that came to Loudred's mind was that of unhinged fury. Still, he had to be the sole voice of reason in this group, and despite everything, he had faith that what he saw before him painted a fuller picture of what this Rin kid was really like.

"Hey, maybe we should give him a chance," he nudged towards his friends. "If we're going to be hanging around with him for a while, we might as well try to get to know him better."

"Are you insane?" Cody's eyes darted up towards him and his glance protruded with the utmost seriousness.

"He looks around your age. He can't be that bad."

"That's what makes it worse!" He bounced right into an accusatory pose with one hand pointed and the other in a tight fist. "You don't know what high schoolers are capable of. You don't know all the messed up shit that goes through their heads!"

"Yeah," Mokona peeped. "Like 'roids!"

"Listen," Al interjected. "He hasn't bothered talking to us, so we don't have to bother talking to him. Let's face it. He's nuts. One wrong move and he'll probably rip us in half. Let's just wait this whole thing out and keep it at that."

"Yeah, exactly," Cody nodded. "We can just pretend he doesn't exist for now and go on our merry w—"

"Hey, you four about ready to head off again?" Rin asked nonchalantly.

Cody yelped like a dog that just narrowly missed a van.

He blinked. "Um, uh, sorry. Were you guys in the middle of something?"

Crap, he's actually talking to us.

"No, no," Cody attempted to regain composure. "We were just, uh, discussing our game plan."

"Cool. So, what is it?"

Four pairs of eyes darted around each other like a box of ping pong balls thrown carelessly on to the was no plan. Of course there wasn't.

But Mokona, master of tact, brewed an idea that he really should have kept to himself.

"You should stop fighting."

The mood between the five was a mess. Cody, Al, and Loudred were left gaping over the fact that their partner would dare to suggest such a thing while Rin was in an absolute tidal wave of confusion, shock, and insecurity.

"Wh-what?!" He choked out. "What did I do wrong?"

"Everything!"

"What does that mean?!"

"Let me level with you," Al awkwardly butted in a he tried his best to hide just how petrified he was on the inside. For all he knew, Rin could probably blow up at any second. "You're way too destructive. It's…distracting."

"Oh, give me a break!" An almost comically audible tremor bounced off the moment Rin stamped his foot onto the ground. Al was forced into a squeamish flinch. "I didn't even mess up any shops or got people hurt or nothing! Those Heartless things are screwing around town and we have to beat them. That's exactly what I'm doing!"

"Could you maybe do it a bit less though?" Cody responded both anxiously and thoughtlessly.

"Huh?!"

Cody was trying his best to keep himself together, but he knew deep down inside, he was ready to shit himself.

"I'm not as dumb as you think I am. I've noticed that you four have been on my case this entire time," Rin continued to fume and grobble. "What the heck did I even do?! Look shorty, just because you're some bigshot doesn't mean—"

This was too much.

Cody's arms flung over his head into a stick thin shield. He looked away and bent over in the closest imitation he could make to an upright fetal position. Rin's rant was put to a halt, now replaced by a conflicted face. He finally put two and two together. Here he was surrounded by three familiars, one who looked around completely unsure of what to do and two in varying degrees of silent panic, and one supposed bigwig exorcist who cowered around as he softly chanted "don't hit me" over and over again.

Shit, he did it again…

Rin gulped and heaved in a deep glut of air. It was his turn to be nervous. His face that was filled with anger and bile just moments before was now timid, tense, and uncertain. He bit his lip and extended his hand over to Cody. His gesture shook just as much as the other teenager's entire body did.

"H-hey…"

"Get out of the way!"

Courtney and Duncan shot right between the two boys and forced any gloom and tension between them to tear apart while they struggled to regain their footing. Even worse, a vile lineup of Bandits and Knights hobbled along in a freakish trail, the thieving duo having apparently angered their lot not long ago. Cody was no longer worried about possibly getting socked in the face by some dude he just met. Something worse would happen to those two if he and his gang didn't do something. Fast.

He made a dashing sprint alongside the bizarre Heartless parade an struck down any stragglers along the way. The rest of his buddies followed along, and Rin was left taken aback at just how quickly the four bounced into action.

"Hey, wait up!"

Rin's cry was completely ignored while the others were already in their momentum. He was just about to join them in their current clash, but a thought put him at a halt. He thought back to the fear that was on everyone's faces, and he thought about just how familiar those faces were. Time and time again, he would screw up and go way too far. So what was he supposed to do now?

Rin just simply ran along on the side while the others paid him no mind.

oOo

Meanwhile, way up ahead, a certain crass couple desperately scrambled around to try to shake the chaos cavalcade off their backs. As if their serial thievery hadn't already screwed around with the townsfolk, their unwilling game of Snake was single handedly distributing the rogue monsters off into every corner and district they trampled off to. If it weren't for the Keybearer and his associates cleaning things up all the way in the back, their little stunt would have doomed the town right then and there.

"Why are there so many today?!" Courtney screeched in frustration, barely stopping herself from tearing apart her hair as she ran and ran.

"Quit whining and run," Duncan barked back.

The young ruffian looked on ahead. The tall gates of the town's prized academy were just up ahead. He remembered when he and Courtney first found themselves in this world and her first instinct was to attempt to seek refuge there. Duncan, the trained truant, was wholly against it. But after being so thoroughly tossed away by the school's security even after the two went out of their way to make it in through completely normal means, he had at one point made it a goal to break in purely out of spite. Now seemed as good a time as any for just that.

Duncan built up a small jump of momentum and leapt right on to the bars, quickly dragging himself to the top. Courtney, ever the fast learner, followed diligently alongside him. She reached for his outstretched arm, and the two quickly bounced right onto the neatly lined pavements.

The Heartless were left wriggling around behind the flimsy barrier, but in the pair's heads, the chase was still on. They continued on their rowdy ruckus. Students were harshly shoved to the side, the odd flowerpots and other menial ornaments were sent shattering on the ground, and of course, any lingering valuable was privy to Duncan's keen and grubby hands.

"For the last time," Courtney's shrill snarl sounded off as they sped through. "Only the necessities!"

"Christ, will you get off my back, woman?" Duncan harshly replied. "You literally just smacked that kid back there into a brick wall. Are you telling me stealing a wallet with 500 yen in it is worse than that?"

While the criminal couple found themselves lost in their lover's quarrel, they neared an unexpected reunion with an old friend. Annoyed and distracted, Duncan's foot landed flat on to the tail of a split tailed black cat. In a snap, the immature bickering was replaced with Duncan's screams of torture. His face had barely recovered from the last lashing, and those fresh scars were sure to grow deeper.

"For crying out loud. Again, Duncan?!" Courtney grasped on to the cat and used all her strength to make him budge even a tiny fidget off his victim. Her efforts were fruitless, but the cat did release himself on his own accord. Just to shift his clawing and mawing on to her instead.

"Hey, get off of her, you mangy cat!"

With screams and cussing mixed with mewls and flailing, it was no wonder the trio couldn't sense the obvious danger that was approaching them. The ground bumped with each pounding stomp of the golem's foot. By the time they finally took a hint, its movements were akin to a mild earthquake. The looming shadow of the six-armed warrior fell upon them, and they could only muster one combined bawl once they realized they were under Kurt Zisa's wrath.

oOo

It wasn't hard for the group to figure out where the duo had wandered off to after the Heartless lineup was caught in an abrupt halt. All gathered around sloppily in front the school gates like a nest of confused wasps, they were easy pickings for the heroes. One by one, the last remnants of the creatures fell, leaving only our four Keyblade companions to pant and croak from their Heartless mowing marathon.

And the one outsider, Rin, was left to launch himself on to the bars of the gate while he climbed and yelled expletives at their two targets who were much too far away to hear him.

"Once I get through these, you two assholes are going down!"

Loudred eyed the act curiously and barely managed to contain a small snort. "You're a student here, right? Why are you trying to break in?"

Rin jolted in shock. He had a point.

"Let's…" Cody coughed and gagged as he still tred to level off his breathing. "Can we take another quick rest before we…"

Al tapped him on the shoulder and spoke to him in a somewhat hushed breath. "Do you hear that?"

Indeed, a peculiar mumble bounced on and off in the background in a tone that felt neither close nor in the distance. Loudred and Mokona, the keenest listeners of the bunch, perked their ears. They couldn't tell where it was coming from, but it was definitely laughter.

Condescending laughter.

POOF!

The Keyblade Quartet let out combined yelps as they jumped back while Rin was sent toppling off the gate bars and splat onto the cobblestone pavement, back first. A new face had popped in right before them. An impish looking man draped in all white stood just above the gates. Or rather, his feet lounged daintility on the very tips of the bars while he sat in the air in a prim and proper manner, legs crossed and tea in hand.

Just the sight of the guy already sent Rin into a fight or flight stance. He effortlessly hopped off the ground and pointed accusingly at the mysterious man. "Mephisto! What the hell?!"

"A pleasure to see you today too, Okumura," he tipped his top hat in a way that read much more snidely than gentlemanly.

While Rin continued to fume, Mephisto's view shifted over towards the four strangers. And of course, a certain Keybearer in particular.

"And who might you be?"

Cody's back straightened, twisted, and cracked all out once at the mere mention of his own name. "I, uh, um, uh." What was it again? "I'm the, uh, an exorcist from the…Vatican?" He continued to stammer as he motioned towards his three non-humanoid companions. "And these three are my, uh…"

"Familiars," Al coughed near inaudibly from behind.

"Familiars!" Cody excitedly exclaimed. "Yes, I've got three of them."

"A Vatican exorcist, you say?"

Before he even had a moment to flub his way further, Mephisto, against all concepts of time and logic, suddenly leered forward right at the boy's spluttering face. His chin in his hand, and his mouth twisted into a sly grin, everything from his expression to his posture exuded the very essence of the word "smug". Cody could feel the man slowly lean closer and closer. His Cheshire Cat smile dared the boy to spout some more nonsense out of his mouth.

Whoever this guy was, he was not falling for Cody's piss poor Vatican act.

"Hey, asshat," Rin cried out. "I know you're not here to help. What are you even doing here?"

It was like being released from a chokehold. Mephisto returned his attention to the haughty lad, and Cody was left to silently gag and reflect on the years of his life that staredown just took from him.

"I heard there was a bit of a commotion in town. I was curious and thought I'd take a peek. Imagine how amused I was to see that little Pied Piper scene back there."

"Yeah, and we took them all down," Rin responded with a firm grunt. "If that's all you're here for, you can beat it now."

"Took them all down, you say?" Mephisto's mocking smirk continued to contrast against his noble voice. "Then what's that large, obnoxious golem that's wreaking havoc on my campus?"

Cody was taken aback. "Wait, what?"

"As we speak, a six-armed monstrosity is tearing apart the courtyard."

Cody and his crew faced each other with worried looks. Did they miss one?

"Why are you acting so calm about this?" Rin asked in outrage. "It's your school, isn't it?"

"Well, I would do something about it myself, but we have a 'Vatican exorcist' here," he waved his hand off flippantly and earned a pained squint from Cody at the mere mention of his so-called profession. "He can take it down, correct? Hopefully he'll be quick on his feet too. Last I checked, that monster was harassing a poor cat and a pair of trespassers."

Cody slapped his head. If the town-wide Heartless march they caused wasn't enough... "Okay, then let's—"

"Wait a minute, that's my cat!"

After all the terror their eyes were subjected to today, this was somehow the most infuriated any one of them had seen Rin. Without even a second thought, the enraged exwire smashed his foot on to the gate with the intensity of a wrecking ball. The metallic bars dented violently forward before snapping off from their main foundation and forming clouds of dirt and dust as they clanged loudly on the ground. Mephisto made some offhanded comments about destruction of school property, but Rin had shot through the newly formed opening so fast, it was doubtful any consequences were mapped out in his head when he vandalized on instinct. This time, the crew was almost too startled and confounded at what they just witnessed to be frightened by the guy's strength. It was now their turn to follow on behind.

As they made their way through the academy's sprawling quad, signs of mayhem slowly piled up one by one. Crevasses and indents caved into the surrounding walls and brick pavements. Books, stationary and various other curios were left abandoned and scattered around; no doubt a result of dozens upon dozens of students fleeing the scene all at once. The antics Courtney and Duncan briefly pulled during their short excursion were now hidden and replaced by the much harsher deeds this new threat had throttled around.

They continued to trudge forward, and each new step was met with increasingly intense tremors. Perhaps what was even more disturbing was how quick in succession the throbs and quakes were. It dawned upon them that those grounded indents they saw were mere footsteps, not the results of Heartless mischief, and it sank in that this thing was not alone.

"Don't drop us! Don't drop us!"

"Watch it, you stupid cat. That thing nearly knocked us off!"

Is that them? Cody thought to himself as they neared the scene of the fight. Cat?

Before them, two behemoths exchanged swipes and snarls, face-to-face. One was just as they imagined; a clay molded juggernaut that swung and exchanged its twin hook-like sword amongst its three pairs of arms. The other, a giant split tailed cat, snarled its demonic face towards Kurt Zisa like it faced death itself. His dark gray fur was dirtied and ruffled and his body swayed along with labored breaths. This massive feline did its damndest to hold off against his foe, but the poor thing already reached its limit.

"Don't yell at him, Duncan. He's our lifeline right now!"

"Well it should do a better job at— HOLY SHIT, WATCH OUT!"

Straddling desperately alongside the massive cat's back were, of course, the inconvenient duo they had searched high and low for. The more the cat continued his harsh endeavors against Kurt Zisa's thrusts, the more Duncan and Courtney's shrieks of terror overcame the noise of crumbling bricks and gravely mews.

The tremors from their steps intensified into a full-on simulated earthquake. Cody and friends struggled to keep their footing, but even worse off were, of course, the two teens who were left flailing around with their wobbling grips that just barely held on to the tips of frayed fur. The cat grew weaker and more ragged by the second, and the screams circled and shook throughout the scuffle.

"Hey," Rin shot daggers over at Kurt Zisa while he attempted to level himself from the shifting grounds by treating his lacrosse bag like a walking stick. "What the hell are you doing? Leave Kuro alone if you know what's good for you!"

No amount of yelling was going to persuade this mindless colossus. Its onslaught continued on without mercy, and soon enough, Kuro the Cat was done. With one final slam of paws, the cat painfully keeled down into a defensive crouch, and the enormous cat monster shrunk to the size of a regular kitten. Duncan and Courtney toppled on to the ground, their addled cries never once letting out. It was a battle lost, and yet, Kurt Zisa refused to relent.

Oh no, oh no, oh no! Cody bugged out at the scene. If they didn't intervene now, those two weren't going to last even another second. He frantically turned over to his team and prepared himself to lead them over to the wounded trio.

Rin however was already way ahead of him.

Cody gasped. Sure, they were constant witnesses to Rin's terrifying might and ferocity throughout the day and knew just how strong he was, but even then, he was just one kid. One angry fifteen-year-old determined to save his familiar was not going to be enough to fend off the incoming slash from a scimitar that was large enough to slice down a small building.

It was a mad dash between the four to save the boy from his own dumb act. Unfortunately, Rin's speed and prowess was far beyond anything Cody and Loudred could hope to catch up to, and the stress of the situation forced Al's telekinetic abilities into an awkward stilt and Mokona's entire being to a frozen and shaken state. The oversized blade drew closer and closer. As Rin rushed to shield Kuro, everyone else could only watch at the horrifying slice-and-dice that was about to occur.

…But the moment the Heartless should've landed its easy strike, something strange happened. A clanging shing pierced the air, and an unusually large cloud of smoke and dust erupted at the impact zone. Azure ashes spread throughout the courtyard as the winds made small dents into the thick dusty storm of debris. The more the dust cloud faded, the more the smell of burning cinders grew and permeated.

Burning flames of bright blue surrounded the spot Kurt Zisa had struck. And standing triumphantly within them stood Rin Okumura, his form now revealing vaguely demonic features. A feral face, bulging veins, pointed ears, and a messy long tail; his current composure fit perfectly with the ferocious fighting spirit he held throughout the day. The lacrosse bag he toted around was laid flatly on the ground and the item it had held, a katana, was cleanly unsheathed and emanated a further blare of pure blue fire. Everything they saw from him today was him just holding back and improvising. This was his real power.

Without a second thought, Rin ran forward and aimed a gashing strike on to Kurt Zisa's confused body. Despite its gargantuan size, the blade managed a deep cut into its clay mold. The heat of the sweltering flames engulfed its wound and forced the giant into distressed delirium.

Rin smirked, thinking he just made an early win. But the golem was not going down without a fight. Kurt Zisa juggled around its scimitars at a rapid pace and created its own personal barrier that prevented the boy from inflicting any further heated fractures. His confident fury switched over to stressed flinches and squeaks, but his stubborn attitude prevented him from pulling back, and he launched himself into a rapid fire flurry of clashing blades that just narrowly missed flesh and body.

Throughout this whole ordeal, the Keyblade Gang gawked at the sight. Their eyes were filled with shades of blue as the flames flared between each hit. Between that and their shock at Rin's sudden change, it was practically sensory overload. Al was the first to snap out of it. With a shake and self inflicted slap, he quickly urged the others to help the dude out.

Kurt Zisa was now up against five fighters. Its artificial barrier could only do so much. Loudred, Mokona, and Al did their usual thing, distracting their enemy with a healthy mix of loud noise, flashing lights, and interrupted movement. Cody slipped into whatever openings he could fit through and landed a small series of scratches throughout its earthen body. It didn't seem much, but it added up where it counted. Rin's flames continued to spread and consume its body, and they only proved to intensify each time he found another moment to strike. Its innards softened and filled up with smoke. The small cracks and gnashes all around itself built up into entire patterns of splitting slits.

The juggling subsided. Kurt Zisa had barely any energy left in itself to hold its body together let alone fight back. Cody and Rin both made their final strikes at the crackling corpse-to-be and sent its remnants into one final explosion of fire and dark energy. A puff of navy blue fizzled out in the wind, and Kurt Zisa was no more.

"We did it!" Mokona squealed at the top of his lungs. The others quickly launched themselves into exuberant victory jumps and celebratory high fives.

And during the commotion, two certain someones tried to make their leave unnoticed.

"Hey, you two!"

With just the sound of Cody's voice, it was Duncan and Courtney's sign to book it. They already managed to survive all this bullshit. Like hell they were going to get caught by Cody of all people.

"Where are you two going?"

Suddenly face-to-face with the Pokemon who could not control his own personal sound volume, it was like they ran straight into a jump scare. Just like that, it was all over. Mokona hopped on through and sent them both straight to the ground as he bounced off their heads while they were still in the middle of their screaming shocks. A floating string of rope, courtesy of Al, wrapped itself neatly around the two like a store bought bow. The two's reign of petty thievery was officially over.

It was a small task in comparison to the prior duel, but their capture called for another quick round of commemoration for a job well done. If only the two captives in question weren't so…verbally resistant over their fate.

"What are you clowns throwing a party over?" Duncan barked. "You think you did a good thing catching us? What are you? Cops?"

"Look, bud," Al replied in a harsh tone. It was obvious they weren't going to get along just based on personality alone. "You two almost wrecked the whole town with all the Heartless you were leading around."

"Oh please," Courtney rolled her eyes. "You're assuming we were doing that on purpose. Which we weren't!" Personality wise, he probably wouldn't be getting along much with her either.

The bickering and blathering continued on. At this point, Cody had found a spot away from the others to give himself time to heave out uneven gasps over all the physical stamina he'd just spent. I swear, I better come out of this adventure ripped, he thought to himself as he barely contained a small baby barf from coming out.

"...Hey, are you alright?... You sure?"

Cody looked towards the corner of his eye. While his buddies had gotten into pointless arguments with those two, Rin tended to the wounds of the split-tailed cat, Kuro. He was used to hearing Rin at his absolute screamiest. It wasn't that he was surprised at hearing him be all soft and caring, but…

…He really messed up, huh?

"Alright, just make sure you rest up at the dorm for the rest of the day, okay?" Rin gave a kind wave and smile as Kuro pranced off into the distance.

"Uh, hey…"

Rin jumped and nervously cocked his head over to Cody with a chilled face. He had put his sword away a while ago and returned to his normal state, but his tail was still out in the open, and it sprung up fiercely like a danger warning.

"Look," Cody began. "I'm really sorry about—"

"I CAN EXPLAIN!"

Huh?

Rin twitched and sweated as if he had stepped into a life or death situation. "Th-that was, uh, something I learned in class, and uh, totally not suspicious at all, and, uh…" His eyes dilated in horror once he noticed his own tail jittering around. He quickly yanked it and stuffed it haphazardly under his shirt and away from sight. He continued to stare at Cody like a deer in headlights, completely unsure of what to do next.

"...Please don't report me," Rin finished with the tiniest of whimpers.

"What? Why would I do that?"

Rin was startled. Was this a lifeline? "Uh…because you saw all that back there?"

"All the fire and stuff?"

Alright, what's going on? "Why aren't you scared?"

"Why should I be? You've got, like, demon powers. That's cool as heck!"

….This was not the response he expected.

"...Hey, hey, whoa!" Cody jumped back. In almost an instant, tears and snot poured out of Rin like a fountain pipe. "Uh, don't cry!" And this was not the response he expected.

Cody scratched the back of his head. "Look, I'm really really sorry about how I was acting around you. Please stop crying. I'll try to make it up to—"

"That's the nicest thing anyone's ever said about my powers," Rin sobbed.

"...Huh?"

Like the turn of a faucet, Rin's tears were capped off. He sternly clasped his hands together and flung himself into an apologetic bow. "I am so sorry for freaking you out! I'm not proud of it, but I guess I just naturally come off as all rough and tough around people, and I'm always messing things up because of that. People always assume the worst, but I really don't mean it. I'll do better next time, I swear!"

This was truly a startling sight. He thought he had Rin figured out the moment he laid eyes on him. Rough and rude with a gangly hunch that forced his towering height into a leered loom; he knew from experience what kind of people that tended to be. Yet this guy was in front of him, stammering and yipping with utmost sincerity like a hyperactive pup. To think this was the guy he labeled a bonafide Heartless Murderer.

Well, he still was, but Rin Okumura was also kind of adorable.

…Is…he laughing? Rin gulped in confusion.

Rin peered upward. The other boy indeed tried his best to stifle back a chuckle. "I, I'm sorry," he choked. "I'm not laughing at you or anything. It's just… Holy cow, I judged you so wrong. Sorry about that."

"N-no I…" Rin was still taken aback. "I'm surprised at how fast you've turned around."

"Look, man," Cody wiped a tear as his little fit subsided. "As long as you don't shove me in a locker, we're golden."

"Shove you in a…?" Rin tilted his head. It was now his turn to stifle back laughter. "Damn, you're starting to remind me of my brother."

Just a few moments ago, Cody and Rin were like a jittering rabbit standing alongside an idle wolf, but now, they hit it off as if they were long time school friends. With their main deed done, their chat trailed off into plain goofing off. Boorish guffaws filled the air while the two dumb boys began to devolve into typical dumb boy talks. It only got more rowdy as the three "familiars" joined in on the fun, having lost all their patience dealing with their two captives. Duncan and Courtney could only look on at the scene in annoyance, seeing the five completely eschew all responsibilities despite the state of both their own situation and the ruined grounds that surrounded them.

Surely they had something better to be doing right now. Right?

"Man, you are a riot, Rin," Loudred howled and enthusiastically slaped against the teen's back; the only back slapping victim who has never winced in pain from the action. "To think Al here thought you were going to tear us in half."

"H-hey, don't just say that out loud," the other Pokemon side-eyed quietly in response.

"To think you didn't eat us!" Mokona chortled.

"What kind of guy did you four think I was?..."

"Uhm, Rin, is that you?"

A meek blonde girl peeped over towards the group and nervously observed the wrecked school grounds as she carefully made her way over. Shiemi poked over behind her friend who proceeded to jump and stiffen in response.

"Oh, Shiemi Moriyama, right?" Cody greeted her.

She bit her lips timidly. "U-uh, yes! Um, Yukio sent me over to get you four. We found a stray familiar while we were patrolling the park, and, well.." She eyed the tied up duo off in the distance who, despite everything, had not shut up even once since their capture. "It looks like you're done with your mission, so maybe you can help out?"

"Maybe. I don't know," Cody frowned as his eyes circled around the area. "Technically we're done, but this place is a mess. Maybe we should stick around a bit longer and—"

"No, no, I think we're good to go," Rin pushed Cody aside with awkward and stilted candor. "We can definitely help out. Just lead the way!"

It was the same kind of hinted panic in his voice that Cody had every time he attempted to pass off that Vatican bull. He looked over at his newfound buddy whose face was equal parts pale and pink. Rin could barely hold back an overeager smile, and the bushy demon tail that had been hidden away under his shirt had leaked out from an earnest puppy wag.

Oh.

So that's what's happening right now, huh?

Gotta support your bros.

"Oh no you don't!" Several feet away, Courtney was sent into a further fury as she overheard the group's upcoming plans. "You're not just going to tie us up and then waltz away like it was nothing. So help me, you are going to let us go right this instant if you know what's good for you. This entire place is swarming with monsters, and I have on good authority that you're liable for negligence if you even step away from here for even a second. You better stop looking at me like that. You are not on higher moral grounds for this. I will have you know that—"

With a quick flick of his wrists, Alakazam sent the two flying through the air, Courtney's endless nonsense replaced with a familiar pair of wailing, and into the firm grip of Loudred's arm and shoulder. Honestly, her release demands grew more tempting by the second.

"How can you treat me like this? How can you treat anyone like this? We were only stealing necessities. Duncan is one thing, but don't you lump me in as a common criminal for just trying to survive. I bet you've all done tons of property damage, swinging your weird little swords around. You have absolutely no right to be manhandling me like this, you pack of hypocrites!"

Stay strong, friends.

Apparently the guy Kurt Zisa was named after is a fellow Long Islander. Bro, that's wild.