Pokemon: Blood Curse

Chapter 15: Secrets.~

Confused, she was, when she turned around and saw Torch's stare linger for the longest time. His one eye open and intently watching her return the same, quite literally closing one eye to mimic him.

"It's kind of weird to see through one eye, isn't it?" She did her best to hold in her giggle. The smile crept on her lips just barely as she opened and closed one eye at a time. "You know... One eye can see better than the other. My left eye looks kind of blurry," This time she was actually curious now, testing both eyes to see through one at a time, noticing how one was more filmy than the other. That's so freaky. Her thoughts echoed with amusement and shifted her attention to the floor.

However, her words made both of Blaziken's hues widen and his body stiffen up from embarrassment. Awkwardly he looked to the side and sweatdropped at her strangely adorable, childish curiosity. I never knew that. It's just a human thing. In his poke' language he answered, before giving her a peek in his peripherals.

"Well- I mean... I'm not entirely human, but I'm sure despite that, this applies to Pokemon too. Want to try it?" Nervous, piqued, Marceline blinked and watched the Pokemon grumble on the cushion.

His pride was too much to bear, for he sat up straight and leaned back against the sofa with folded furry arms. It looks stupid, but if you're interested then I guess I can. He was thankful, for the red feathers and fur on his face, because awkward red tints brightened it when his eyes began to open and close.

Astonished, he was when he tried it. She was telling the truth that it could apply to even Pokemon, one of his blue hues was more blurry than the other and signs of unease replaced his embarrassment.

"Weird right?" This time Marce didn't hold back her giggle. They escaped her lips as soon as she wandered to the sofa with the water in her hand and sat down.

"Heeeeey, Marceline! Hops is here! Hops- this is Marceline shade!" Booming, in came Meigu with both arms practically busting the doors open with a loud bang and excitedly yelling.

Both she and Torch nearly fell off of the sofa when he barged in. Marce was grateful for Blaziken's quick reflexes, he used his leg to keep her from falling off after he managed to prevent himself from doing the same. Carefully, slowly, he pushed her back up and pulled his foot back to himself with an arrogant huff.

There stood a female Breloom with her red hands waving at the brunette, greeting the woman. It's nice to me you! I'm sorry for the long wait, but my trainer got mad at me. He told me you can understand our language right? Curious, her question echoed through her poke' cry. Despite her strong voice, she sounded rather young as though she were in her adolescent age.

"Yes, actually... Um, it- it's nice to meet you too," Nervous, Marce's fingers shyly scratched at her cheek after her hazel hues found the floor interesting for no real reason.

"Great! Now that you met Hops, I can introduce you to Wrestler! He's usually flying around a lot or wrestling other Pokemon. He's uh... Quite the troublemaker usually," An awkward laugh escaped when he mentioned the last part, unaware that Hops shook her head at his words. "Actually, in fact, I think I'd rather wait on introducing him to you. He can be a handful," When he sighed and dropped his shoulders, it was easy to tell that the very thought of the said Pokemon would be stressful to him.

"How... Bad is he?" Curious, Marce's hand lifted and stepped forward a little. To see him in such a state just by the mention of the trouble, made worry spread across her face.

"He's like a kid. In human years, I'd say he'd probably be around thirteen or younger. At least- that's his mindset," This time Meigu gave himself a face-palm with obvious annoyance radiating from his frame.

"It's fine, I can wait," Now a little more concerned for his well-being, a sweatdrop trickled down the brunette's head with a reassuring wave of her hand. "Besides, It's probably best that I get going now anyway. I can't leave my tree house unattended," The thought of no one at her tree house keeping it safe, made her want to hurry and leave. Her frantic actions hadn't gone unnoticed when she picked up her things and attempted to leave the Lounge room.

"Hold on! You said you wanted to eat some snacks first, right? I'm sure your Treehouse will be alright," Meigu had nearly forgotten that she wanted to eat the snacks. He couldn't help but notice something inside one of the bags that caught his interest, making those brown hues blink curiously.

"O- Oh! Yeah," She felt so stupid that she forgot the main reason why she carried bags around. Her internal facepalm would've become real if her hands were free, so without any hesitance, she moved back to the couch.

Like an excited child, Matsuo sat beside her with the biggest open mouth staring in awe at all of the goods. Inside sat Poke' puffs, bottles of Dr. Pepper, various small bags of chips, Chocolate bars, small and colorfully decorated cakes, and some other beverages in the other bag to her side. "Whoa! So much!" Meigu was beyond happy at the sight. The chocolate bar really seemed to make him drool, for he hadn't noticed the bit of saliva almost dripping onto the girl's shoulder.

"Yeah, I figured I'd pick out a lot since you'll have your Pokemon with you and mine too... Ah- but... Don't touch too much of the poke' puffs, especially the chocolate ones. Um... Mel really likes them and..." Awkwardly she explained and trailed off in thought. I can't tell him, it'll be so embarrassing! Panic rose in her mind when she pondered the idea of telling him. However, when her gaze shifted to one particular poke' puff, the girl began to feel more nervous and eager to grab it. Its plastic wrap only complimented the lovely coated chocolate as its colorful sprinkles made it all the more appetizing.

"Got it, say no more! There's plenty more to choose from and I don't eat Pokemon snacks, hahaha! Wait..." After his little bit of reassurance, completely unaware of the look on her face, he paused for a moment.

His laughter seemed to have snapped her out of her poke' puff trance when she flinched and whipped her head toward him. "What?" Curious and worried, her hazel hues blinked. She watched how he grew closer to her nervous face and did her best to gain some distance, by leaning back.

"Since you're technically a Pokemon... Doesn't that mean, you like Poke' snacks too?" With a lift of his brow and a bit of a mischievous grin, he couldn't help but notice beads of sweat on her forehead.

"Um... I- well," From side to side her attention moved to avoid eye contact with him. Things have become rather awkward, especially from their close proximity and her tiny guilty pleasure at risk. I can't tell him! Only Mel knows about my hidden love for that particular snack! Her internal, panicked thoughts echoed. Although, despite the exposure of her love for that poke' puff, she felt herself heat up from how close they were.

As red as a tomato, above her where he gazed continued to lean closer, she saw all of the fine details in his muscles. The defined features of his strong jaw and his mischievous, teasing smile. The angle he sat only complimented the rest of him, for thoughts began to fill her mind that most would find mature. He's... He's too close! In her mind, she yelled. However, the woman screamed just before accidentally using her Psychic power to push him off of the couch and across the room.

From her force, Meigu crashed into a wall near the door and a hefty but comical grunt filled the room, followed by some dust particles in the air. Torch and Hops both watched in horror at the sight. They knew she was still training her Psychic power and figured she was still pretty weak with it, but, at that moment they felt uneasy.

Mel, who sighed, shook her head and leaped onto the sofa to sit next to her. Her lengthy, curly tail coiled around her form like a lion on a perch and cuddled close to soothe any discomfort. There, there Marceline. You shouldn't be using your power on people... Her head softly brushed against the woman's knees when she watched her curl up and try to hide her crimson cheeks.

"I know, I'm sorry... I just- panicked!"Quickly, the woman shook her head and without hesitation, she bolted off of the sofa to check on him. Through the dust that her hand waved away, she was about to reach out to him but he strode out with a rub of his neck.

"Wow, how did I survive that? Hahaha! Well- I shouldn't question it then!" Faintly blushing from embarrassment, Matsuo quickly went from awkward to excited. "You did it! You used your Psychic force on me when you could hardly move Mewtwo! How'd it happen though?" It didn't take long for his happy outburst to calm down and leave a concerned frown on his lips.

"I- I don't know! I just... Freaked out when you got too close. I'm sorry! I'm so sorry- you're not hurt are you?" The sheer worry on her face astonished the bulky man, that was until she saw him place his hands on his hips and smile.

"I'm fine, really. Don't worry so much. Look, not a scratch on me, strangely enough!" He found it rather amusing how durable he was from that impact but dared not ponder too much or his brain would explode from all of the thinking. Quickly, with an arm wrapped around her shoulder, he guided her back to the sofa without a single glance back at her stiffened form.

Yeah, our Trainer has strange durability. I guess that's why he's able to go head-to-head with a Machamp and take hits from a lot of the other fighting Pokemon. Torch mumbled in his poke' language with a fold of his red arms and a close of his eyes.

"Hold on- Meigu can... Fight a Machamp?" Dumbfounded, she was, with her mouth agape and nonchalantly reached into her bag for the Chocolate coated poke' puff she wanted so bad. The woman was too taken aback by the news that she hadn't noticed the delicate puff and began to unwrap it, without so much as looking at it.

"Machamp? Is that what Torch said?" When Matsuo asked, he watched the brunette give him a simple nod, and the poke' puff in her hand was now unwrapped. "Ah, then yeah. I train Pokemon myself and I use other Pokemon to spar with the others. But personal training such as combos in Martial arts and the like are all learned by me manually. I don't believe in training Pokemon through just battles alone, because even Pokemon need to learn the basics of martial arts before they can even put it into a fight," Suddenly, his once happy expression fell into seriousness when he explained.

Marce was even more astonished, to know he did it personally instead of letting Pokemon battle it out to gain combat experience, was shocking. It didn't help the situation when she saw Torch's head nod to almost everything he said.

"That's insane... I don't think anyone would do something that dangerous. It's no wonder you're durable." Speechless now, the brunette stared at the approaching man who was laughing at the awkward situation.

"Is it really?! I didn't think it was that dangerous! When it comes to learning, Pokemon are not that much different than Humans. We all learn in similar ways," Rather embarrassed, colored tints showed on his cheeks before he sat down on the other side of Mel. "Is that Chocolate bar taken?" With his eyes twinkling and his lips almost drooling, he gave her bag the longest stare. He didn't pay the poke' puff much attention when the Chocolate bar became his main focus.

"I- It's not! Here," Nervous, Marceline lifted the bag for him to reach in and watched his hand grab it, as quickly as a child would at a candy shop. I hope no one sees! Shyly the woman looked away, in hopes no one noticed, and carefully brought the Puff to her lips. Her head was turned away from everyone but Torch saw her.

Blaziken knew what she was doing and kept his beak shut to hide any potential smile that may or may not be visible; he didn't want to risk it. His trainer was too busy opening the wrapper on his Bar to even notice the woman hiding and he couldn't help but find it a little cute. She likes Poke' Puffs? Quickly, he looked away so he wouldn't have to cover his beak. That was certainly news to him. I guess it's because she's a Pokemon too, but in a human body. Rather amused, his mumbled thoughts echoed.

Time passed as Hops, Torch, and Mel munched on their snacks. Meigu was so busy licking the chocolate off of his wrapper that he didn't realize he had some of it around his lips.

"Um-" Marceline's hand quickly shoved the Puff's wrapper in her bag without him seeing, in hopes of hiding the evidence. The use of her sleeve made for an excellent rag when she wiped her mouth of its remaining chocolate. After she peeked at the buff man, she couldn't help but giggle at the mess on his lips. "You... You have chocolate all over your mouth.~" It was difficult to stifle her giggles, nonetheless, she used her jacket's sleeve to do the same for him.

Her action made him stiffen, for his astonished hues moved to meet her amused ones, and could feel his entire face heat up. So close, so cute, her beautiful eyes and her soft lips. Caring, kind, and shy, which made him turn red even more. He found himself almost leaning in, dazing into her pools of yellow, green, and blue.

Marce was so focused on the chocolate on his lips that she barely saw how close he was leaning, until, the door to the Lounge slammed open and revealed a very excited blonde woman. They both squeaked and jumped back into their seats, unaware of a snickering Mel who hopped down off of the sofa.

"Matsuo!" Laughter echoed like a giant bell from Bell Tower, however, it was more obnoxious than lovely to hear. "Matsuo, my Pokemon are ready for their next private lessons! One more time with my Machamp, then I want some lessons with my Lopunny, alright? I'll be sure to pay you like last time!" Bright red and as energetic as Meigu, came in the blonde who waved her pokeball from side to side.

Marce took notice of the bright yellow workout bra and a loose white tank top over it. Her white short shorts and sunny sneakers all screamed that she was an outdoorsy woman. Especially how tan her skin was and the abs that could be seen just barely under her loose shirt.

Green eyes sparkled with eagerness, just for it to almost fall into curiosity when they landed on the brunette. "Who's she? Another pupil of yours?" Her large smile sort of twitched at the sight of another girl. She wasted no time walking up to her and offering a greeting hand. "The name's Avel Magnolia!" With a large smile that nearly seemed fake, she watched the woman grab her hand and shook it.

"M- Marceline... Shade," She could see it. The pretend look in her eyes, distaste, Marce wasn't a fool to believe she was actually being friendly. She knew that facade' all too well from her many experiences growing up and it certainly made her nervous.

"Miss Magnolia, don't you remember? The next lesson will be in a couple of days, so why did you barge in so suddenly?" Meigu felt rather annoyed because of the blonde invading his Private Dojo, her loud outburst seemed to have even startled his Pokemon.

"Barge in? Because I'm paying for the lessons and I'm allowed to come and visit! You owe me. My sweet Togekiss gave you a ride when you needed one! Besides, I should probably come over more often, especially since you brought in another pupil. Are you showing her around your Dojo? You've never done that for me," Angry, both of her hands clamped onto her hips when she grumbled at the strong man. She felt like a leash had been put around his neck, for she knew that he wasn't going to be able to get out of owing her.

"You're as much a friend of mine as Marceline is but she's..." Matsuo trailed and pondered on his next words carefully, he didn't want to slip up her secret to someone she didn't know and it'd be disrespectful. "She's going to train with me personally! Not right now of course, but when she has time she'll be able to! She and I are kinda close, you see. I can't tell you why exactly, it's kind of private," Awkward was what he felt, as he rubbed the back of his neck and laughed.

"Oh, so you're keeping secrets? Well then, I'll find out sooner or later. Either way, you still owe me, so the least you can do to owe me is make the next lesson free," With that, the blonde marched out and ignored the brunette who gave her confused glances. Even Torch, Mel, and Hops were puzzled by her behavior.

However, Blaziken's confusion was quickly replaced with anger, as his sharp claws comically began to rip and tear at the air in front of her. He was lucky that the blonde didn't notice it, for she slammed the door shut as soon as she left.

"I'm sorry about that, guys. Magnolia's a bit..." Again, he paused to think of the right word, however, it was as if his Pokemon already knew what he was trying to say and agreed with him in their languages.

"Pushy? Obsessive almost? I don't know... Anyway, I should be going too. Hornet is probably still asleep and Mel's waiting for her snack," When she handed Mel's snack after unwrapping it, she nearly jumped, from her eagerness to eat.

Roughly ten minutes had passed after they ate their desired snack and downed their drinks, alas it was time to leave. Marceline wandered towards the Eatery Center to find Hornet and couldn't help but giggle when she found him. Mel, Matsuo, and the others, all stifled their laughter when they saw a Heracross threatening Beedrill high in a tree.

I'm just sleeping here, so why are you getting angry?! Hornet's poke' cry reached the Heracross who kept cornering him. His red bug eyes panicked as his stingers poked at the air in front of the other Pokemon, unaware of the nervous sweat on his face.

Because, it's MY sleeping spot, that you stole! Sleep somewhere else! Heracross huffed with his deep voice and nudged his head as if to threaten him. There were other Pokemon watching the fuming beetle, some appeared to be concerned while only a few had snickered.

"Hornet! I have some snacks for you, I was waiting for you to wake up so we ate ours already! Can you come down here, please? You can have your snack on our way back home!" So far above everyone's head, high in the tree, Marceline had no choice but to raise her voice. Despite her embarrassment for needing to resort to such a thing, she did her best to ignore it. Anyone that's like her would feel embarrassed, and because of that she had gained a lot of the surrounding Pokemon's attention and felt her cheeks heat up.

Yes, snacks! Thank you so much! The Beedrill may have grown since he was a tiny Weedle, but his childish personality still remained. Like a flying bullet, he flew, zipping past the Heracross and nearly knocking him off of the branch he sat on. Really close to her now, he can already smell something delicious. Honey? When he asked the brunette in his poke' speech. His curiosity caused him to hover on top of her head, as he used to do when he was a Weedle, and cuddled into her hair.

"H- Hornet, stop, you're going to..." Giving up, a sigh of defeat escaped her lips. She tried to keep him off of her before but it felt useless at this point and who knows how many times, she would have to tell him in the future. "Whatever... Anyway- yeah, I got you something. Berry Juice and Honey Fillets," Into the bag her hand went and pulled out a Berry Juice bottle. With a twist of the cap, she handed it to him, which she nearly dropped when Hornet grabbed it quickly using his stinger arms. "Careful, now! You almost spilled it on me," This time she reached into the bag and took out the Honey Fillets, being cautious with her steps after she began to head across the large field.

Will you ever learn to drink and eat properly, Hornet? Mel's one eye twitched after she asked, clearly annoyed by his lack of manners and how he sat on her friend's head. Her cat hues gave Marce a quick glance until she spotted the buff man who caught up to her side.

Torch, on the other hand, followed behind her and next to Hops who skipped happily with a delighted smile. He looks like a baby, drinking like that. Amusement glinted in his blue eyes and if he had lips, he would smirk at the display.

He practically is considering he clings to Marceline as if she was his Mother. It was hard for Liepard to prevent a sigh when she answered in her poke' language. Though it wasn't long until Prince came along and stood on the other side of her.

Are you leaving? Curiously questioned Prince as he followed, his reddish-orange eyes never left the two next to him.

Yes. We can't leave the Treehouse unattended. I'm more worried though if her old friend is going to cause her some trouble.; she said she was going to hang out with him later tonight. Concern filled her feline senses when she answered, it was pretty easy to remember that creepy friend who she still believes isn't human. His strange transparent parts and the large grin reminded her of only a few Pokemon, even the smell he had.

If you're really that worried about it, you could look into it more for Marceline. Concerned, Prince blinked his amber hues as he kept a good pace behind his trainer and the brunette.

Yes, I already have some plans for that. His name is Kuro, but I can still tell something is off about him. He feels like a Pokemon... Suddenly, from the mention of Kuro's name, her feline eyes sharpened dangerously like a territorial beast. Even Torch shivered from the look on her face, despite the fact that his type was her weakness.

It didn't take long to get across the large field and through the double doors that led inside the Private Dojo. "I'll see you tomorrow, take care!" With a friendly wave, Meigu said goodbye while his Pokemon, including Hops, did the same and watched the woman return the gesture. They were some feet away so he needed to yell to be heard.

His gaze lingered on her backside when she continued her way to the forest's location, the sun was already on the horizon and he could see Hornet still on top of her head. "Haha, she's got quite an interesting group. A dark-type Pokemon and a bug-type. What's next, a Zubat or Noibat? Hahahaha! She's so cool and mysterious!" He couldn't prevent the large blush across his cheeks when he admitted it. It was like telling the whole world around him that she was the most interesting creature alive, he didn't care though.

~~~~Marceline~~~~

Down the forest path she, Mel, and Hornet wandered. The brunette ignored the strangely light Beedrill on her head that kept cuddling and buzzing his wings in content.

Marceline? Since we're practically alone right now, can you sing to us? You've always sang me to sleep when you were in school and you haven't for a long time now. I'd love to hear your voice again. Sweetly, carefully, Mel rubbed the side of her head along the brunette's leg and asked. It has been such a long time since her best friend sang.

"M- Mel, I... I don't know. I always sang at night but... I'll try," With a clearing of her throat and embarrassment on her face, she gave Hornet a quick peek to see if he was asleep or not. Funnily enough, the bug Pokemon was expecting her to sing as much as Mel was since his red eyes shimmered with awe.

Ignoring the stares she received, Marce closed her eyes and opened her lips to bring out an old tune she had nearly forgotten over time. "You are my sunshine, my only sunshine... You make me happy, when skies are gray," She began slowly, as her hauntingly beautiful voice gave away a soft lullaby. "You'll never know dear, how much I love you. Please don't take my sunshine away," A moment's pause left a calming effect upon the two Pokemon. The weight of Hornet became heavier the more she sang and could tell by just how relaxed he was that Mel was feeling the same.

"The other night dear, as I lay sleeping, I dreamed I held you in my arms. But when I woke, dear, I was mistaken..." For a minute, she trailed, to swallow saliva that pooled in her mouth. Images of her childhood resurfaced as she continued to sing, where she woke up crying in the middle of the night as a child and was rubbing her eyes. "So I hung my head and I cried," She sang and sang, and remembered the sweet moment when Mel as a Purrloin crawled onto the bed with a pat to her curly-haired head. Calming her, making her lay down under the thick blanket, and snuggled her with a soft purr.

"Sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy when the skies are gray.~ You'll never know, dear, how much I love you. Please don't take my sunshine away. Please don't take my sunshine away- Please don't take my sunshine away..." Sadly, tears began to bundle up, she could feel her throat tighten after she finished the song and stopped in her walk. Carefully, she peeked up at the now sleeping Beedrill on top of her head, it was hard not to smile at the cute sight. However, she felt someone missing by her side... When she looked to her left, a couple of feet behind her she saw Mel fast asleep in the path.

"Oh, Mel... Seriously," With that, she walked over to the feline and did her best to carry her without waking Hornet; albeit difficult with the bags in her hands. Though, she did feel a pair of eyes on her from somewhere and it caused a sense of concern to wash over her.

It didn't feel threatening, or comforting, if anything it felt more spooky. Probably just my paranoia! Yeah, my paranoia's kicking in. That's it. From a huff of air leaving her lips, carrying Mel, she had no idea that a particular silhouette hid in the shadows of the trees.

Red eyes pierced through the shade in the branches above her, as a hardly noticeable frown fell with an emotional turn.

Quickly, behind the brunette, fell Kuro from the leaves and landed without so much as a sound from his feet. Marceline, you look like you could use some help! Out of the quiet came his worried voice and he saw how she almost jumped upon his outburst. Sorry, I didn't mean to... Spook you. Here. Carefully he took Liepard from her arms and easily lifted her with a smile exposing his clamped teeth.

"Thanks. I didn't expect you to show up here, I thought you were coming to visit a little later?" Careful to whirl around, she gave him a welcoming smile that any close friend would be happy to see. "Don't mind Hornet, he... Fell asleep," Awkward, was what she felt. All because of the odd accessory she received atop her head and how a snot bubble kept changing sizes each time he'd snore. Her nervous laughter and a scratch on her cheek made it obvious that she didn't intend any of this to happen.

I can tell. Come on, I'll help you put them in their sleeping spots.~ Creepily a grin grew, exposing his pearly whites and passing her when he saw the dangling rope just ahead.

"Again- thanks, really," From a sigh of relief and a half-hearted giggle, she followed her violet-haired friend. Those hazel hues carefully watched his backside as they strode and took note of how odd his feet seemed to fade into the ground almost. Mel was right... She's always or usually- right. Kuro... Have you been lying to me this whole time? Who are you, really? Thoughts echoed, suspicion rose when she came close to the rope and took another mental note of how strange his hand almost fazed through her best friend. "So, what sounds good? Popcorn like old times? Or some Soda? I bought Dr. Pepper while I was out, so we can share," Just for a moment she ignored those abnormalities and tried her best not to show her suspicion, for another friendly smile grew on her lips.

I would love that! Sharing a drink with you and eating the same snack, is nostalgic. Ah, hold on... It was but a second when he turned around swiftly and pointed behind Marce, just to watch her look to see.

"What? Is there something behind me?" Curious, and careful, she was. The brunette peeked behind her and found nothing, however, when the woman returned her gaze to the front... Kuro wasn't there anymore. "W-..." Dumbfounded, widened eyes proved her confusion before his voice rang through her ears.

Up here, Marceline! Kuro called out when he stood on the platform just an inch away from the knot of the lengthy rope. He could tell even from their distance, that she was astonished, nonetheless, he saw her eyes change and her body float. Gradually, his own red hues grew wider at the sight.

Never in his life had he seen her fly before. It left him speechless, stunned in place. Not only did that power surprise him but also her beauty he seems to be mesmerized by. Her flowing, wavy, dark brown hair and the sudden change in her beautiful hues to another lovely color and how graceful she seemed as she flew. He could feel his own breath get stuck in his windpipe, only for the moment to be ruined when she called out his name.

"Kuro! Um, can you take him please, I don't want to drop him!" Marce had trouble keeping Beedrill balanced on her head, so, swiftly, she leaned her head over just in time to let Hornet fall into his hands. The woman was lucky he placed Mel down in time to grab him, if he hadn't, the bug-type Pokemon would've plummeted to the ground. "I seem to be making this a habit, but thanks- again," This time, with gentle hands, she picked Hornet back up and did her best to hold him as if he was a baby; being mindful of his delicate wings. "I'll... Explain inside about what you saw. I can't keep secrets from friends," With a displeased frown, she made her way to the door and used her power to open it. She knew Kuro would carry Mel inside so it didn't give her much worry over her safety.

Yes... I never saw you fly before. Did you just recently learn? Or have you kept this a secret from me this whole time? Disappointed, his own mouth copied hers when he asked and hauled Liepard inside as he strode behind the brunette.

Onto a soft cushion, Hornet was placed and when Marce turned to watch her friend, his demeanor was different. She knew he wasn't aware that she was looking, so she took advantage and watched him a bit closer.

His frown, those red eyes glinted something ominous, something far more strange than what she was used to growing up. However, when a mischievous grin replaced his downward lips, Marce could feel a cold chill down her spine. Kuro- I don't like this. You've been keeping secrets from me all of these years, haven't you? I hope someday you'll tell me. Marce's monologue wafted through her mind. Her eyebrows knitted together with concern and unease, for she never believed him to be more than anything but a friend.

To her Mel was like a sister, their bond was far deeper than any ordinary Pokemon and human. For Kuro though, he felt more like a good friend who remained as mysterious as ever and never spoke of their family. A good friend she cared about and wanted to help, but she knew... Deep down, it was something else far more than simple family issues.

As time moved, the sun sat and the moon rose. There on the couch, they both sat, sipping at Dr. Pepper together after a long explanation about what happened to her and avoiding any mentions of Mewtwo. "So yeah- ever since I was in school, I could fly for a short period of time. But... It always gave me unbearable pain in my head. I've been training it recently and I think I've gotten better too. What about you? Any secrets you'd like to tell me?" Hopeful, with her eyes downcast and her head low in shame, she peeked at her friend who had a relieved grin that she didn't quite understand.

Yes, I do, but I can't tell you. Not right now, Marce.~ Thank you, though, for telling me! From now on... I'll make sure... You don't hurt yourself when you're flying.~ His gaze moved to meet hers at that moment and ignored the flashes from her Television screen. Subtle, softly, his hand inched and his fingers barely touched hers on the couch but it only backfired when she retracted her hand to reach for the remote.

"Heheh, alright. Here-" From a bag, Marceline pulled out some Popcorn with a couple of chocolates on the side. "Let's watch this movie," Swiftly and with excitement, she clicked play on the remote. The title of the movie was 'Fantasia', an old cartoon film she hasn't watched since she was very small. It brought nostalgic memories of when she sat and watched it with Mel in their living room.

My... I haven't seen this in a very... Long time. Mumbled Kuro as quietly as he could, after he sighed in contentment and listened to the start of the movie's opening. He thought his words were quiet enough for her not to hear, but clearly, he was wrong. Kuro wasn't aware of Marceline's confused and astonished stare, for she even paused in mid-chew to ponder.

Ah, I know he's strange and mysterious but- he must've seen this movie too, it was pretty popular back then. In her mind, the brunette pondered. Again, she ignored the feeling of suspicion and continued to watch the movie. Although, at the back of her mind, somewhere deep within her subconscious, something kept gnawing at her and it was something she didn't want to open her eyes to.

Something, that made the little voice in the back of her head scream out to her, that she was stupid.