[X] My Assistant

[Master Houndoom]

Jaima's heart had been pounding as he run, barely acknowledging that Darryn was still behind him. He pratically burst through the door, spotting Shadow with two drinks in his hand (and, on reflecting on it later, that should have set him at ease), and had nearly sprinted to the lucario when Darryn stopped him, offering to take his fainted and tired pokemon. Jaima forced himself to relax a bit, pulling Ember, Tsunami, and Fang's pokeballs from his bandolier (when had he put that on?) and offering a smile of thanks, one he could tell hadn't come as brightly or thankful at the time, but he wasn't worried about it overly. Tuesday had been hurt, and he had to get to her.

He made his way to Shadow and took the drins, both boy and pokemon moving quickly to the room. Outside of it, he found himself oddly hesitant to go in. Shadow looked at Trainer Jaima, and motioned for the drinks, laying his paws flat. Jaima didn't get it at first, but then set the drinks on the lucario's upended paws. They balanced perfectly with a moment's effort. Then the lucarion nodded to the door.

When Jaima didn't move, Shadow kicked him, firmly in the rear, and glared. Jaima got the message.

He opened the door to see Tuesday sitting up, and was surprised to watch the girl's eyes fill with tears. She set her head on her knees and wept, and Jaima, swallowing thickly, went and held her.


Even when she'd started to apologize, he had no idea what to say. Was she apologizing for running off? For missing his match? For being hurt in the first place? None of that mattered in the face of things. Was she delirious? He looked at Meiko, who looked from Tuesday's back to Jaima's face, then back at Tuesday, seemingly also confused.

"Where's Shadow," Meiko asked, in a whisper, and Jaima felt Tuesday twitch, almost jerking out of his arms. She was too weak with her grief to make any headway.

"He's in the hallway, holding some drinks." Jaima, somehow, managed to look amused. "Kicked me in the rear when I hesitated."

Tuesday was struggling a bit more, so Jaima let her loose a bit, trying to see her face. What little he saw as her head whipped around was incredulous, and filled with such dread, yet also relief that Jaima was more confused. He didn't see it very clearly, however, because Tuesday's curls struck him in the face.

Meiko was leaning out the door. "Shadow, would you please watch over Tuesday? I need to have a word in private with Jaima."

The lucario stepped in, and for a confused second, when Tuesday screamed and leapt from the bed, Jaima thought the girl was attacking his pokemon. But she clung to him, sobbing, and Meiko was pulling him away with a firm, powerful grip that he didn't even know she had.

"Meiko, what is wrong with you?!"

Meiko didn't stop until they were out the door, which she closed gently. The next thing he knew, she was glaring at him, pointing at his face, and hissing, "Don't!"

Jaima blinked. So many emotional responses today, he didn't know if he could take much more. His hands were shaking. "'Don't' what," he snapped.

"Don't tell her you're going to pull out of the League Challenge, or stop fighting, or that we'll all go home if that's what she wants." Jaima blinked, and Meiko scoffed a bit. "You have the exact same look on your face you had when you told me you weren't going on your Trainer's Journey!"

Jaima scowled. "Look, maybe if I'd been more careful-"

"Jaima, I was here, too, OK? She wasn't talking to anyone! I didn't know something this bad was happening, Darryn didn't know, how could you?! You're not Superman, Jaima! You can't fix everything just by watching!"

Meiko pointed directly at his nose. "Trust me on this one, if you tell her you'll give up on your Challenge, she's going to blame herself, and then she might shellder up worse than she did now!"

"Meiko, I didn't do anything, I mean, we talked, but--"

"Jaima, she's not four! She's twelve, and she obviously thinks she can take care of herself for the most part, because I doubt you've been with her all this time..." Meiko began rubbing the bridge of her nose. "Jaima, you're a onee, I believe in you for that, but you've given up six years for your sisters. And they feel guilty over it!" Jaima opened his mouth, but Meiko, pleading now, held up a hand. "You did the right thing then. You did what you had to do. But that situation is different, way different than this one. Please trust me. Talk to her, encourage her, but don't give up your life, because it's just going to make her feel like a burden!"

Jaima stared at her for moments, then looked away. "I just.. I don't know what to do, and I don't know how to fix it."

Meiko offered him a tremulous smile. "I know. I know that feeling. Sometimes you have to let them come to you, and hope they trust you enough..."

Jaima sighed and leaned against the wall, giving Meiko time to peek in the room. "We should give her more time," she whispered, and Jaima nodded.

"What happened?"

Meiko told the story as concisely as she could, but she could see Jaima's face tense when she mentioned the houndour, and more when she mentioned it's evolution. Jaima shook his head. "Shadow's part steel now... weak to fire..."

Meiko made a face, as if he might have dropped his head, and she was too polite to mention it. "Yeah," she said, trying to keep the sarcasm out of her voice with little success. "But dark is weak to fighting." The duh was implied, and Jaima felt, his mind whirling though it was, that he fully deserved it.

"Yes. I knew that..."

"You forgot." There was a hint of their old, playful selves breaking through.

"Ah... yeah, yeah I did," he said, ducking. Meiko chuckled, then reached for his hand. She seemed to think better of it.

"Um. I saw.... when I brought Tuesday back, I saw your friend..." the emphasis wasn't intended, but got Meiko's point across. "She was... Jaima, she was flirting with another guy."

The admission came hard for Meiko, but Jaima blinked at her. "So?"

Meiko's jaw dropped. "'So?' Jaima, she's... she's.. I mean..." She spluttered, trying to keep her comments within the bounds of civility.

Jaima blinked. "Yeah, well, I didn't expect her to stay single forever. It might look a little soon, but we broke up a while ago. We just weren't around each other enough to tell each other." He took Meiko's stunned expression as a need for more information. "She's a nurse, and I'm... well, it looks like I'm still taking my Challenge, so..."

"So you're not..?"

"Not for a while."

Meiko stepped in front of him, confused, which it seemed was making her angry. "I saw you kissing in the garden!"

Jaima blinked. "Meiko, we haven't kissed... I mean, there was once in Lenoilia, but then I left to find Ember... Wait, why were you watching us..?"

Meiko blushed. "I... never mind..."

Jaima looked at her as she slumped against the wall next to her. She was still red, and holding her forehead in one hand as she crossed the other in front of her. She... she was really cute.

"I haven't said thank you yet, have I," Jaima asked, changing the subject.

"For what?"

Jaima kicked the floor a bit. "For showing up. And helping us... and..." He swallowed thickly. "And staying."

Meiko looked at him, looking away when he looked back at her, but there was a soft smile on her face. "Pikachu Ranger missed Houndoom Ranger, that's all."

Jaima chuckled, too, then Meiko looked at the door. "Think it's safe?"

"I hope so," Meiko quipped. "Shadow's got the moo moo milk I was going to feed to Precious."

Both began to chuckle when behind the door, and angry "Ny!" sounded.

[Umbrae Calamitas]

When Jaima had come into the room and immediately scooped her up into his arms, Tuesday had curled up and sobbed into his shirt. Her crying, however, was not loud enough to keep her from hearing Meiko's words, and so when the girl asked where Shadow was, Tuesday jerked, trying to pull herself away from Jaima. Because, of course, once he remembered what had happened to Shadow, he wouldn't want to be anywhere near the creature that had caused his death.

"He's in the hallway, holding some drinks."

Tuesday thought that her heart actually stopped. It couldn't be. She had watched Shadow die. In fact, she had watched him die several times. Could... was it possible that it had all been a dream? Could she dare to... to hope that...

"Kicked me in the rear when I hesitated." Jaima actually sounded somewhat amused, though Tuesday could hear an undercurrent of lingering concern.

She fought against his hold and he finally released her. Tuesday whipped her head from side to side, looking from Jaima to Meiko, seeking out truth in their eyes, as well as looking for Shadow. But he wasn't here... were they lying, to make her feel better? They wouldn't... would they?

Meiko got up and walked to the door, leaning out of it. "Shadow, would you please watch over Tuesday? I need to have a word in private with Jaima."

Tuesday drew a deep, shuddering breath, her heart pounding. The same line kept repeating in her head - an involuntary plea. Don't be lying, don't be lying, don't be lying...

When Shadow stepped into the room, Tuesday didn't quite know what happened. It seemed like her heart started pounding hysterically at the same time that it stopped. Her breath caught in her throat, and then she was near hyperventilation.

She couldn't speak, but she did scream. She didn't know why she screamed. If it was a cry of fear that she was hallucinating, or one of glee that Shadow was here, he was all right.

She burst free of the bed and leapt at Shadow. Part of her was frightened that she would fall right through Shadow, and wake up to a reality where he was dead.

But then she slammed into him, knocking the wind out of herself but not caring. She wrapped her arms around him and clung as tightly as she could, sobbing, afraid to let go. Distantly, she heard the sound of door shutting softly, and then the quiet popping-swish of a pokeball opening. And then Shadow was wrapping his arms around her and holding her tightly.

Tuesday didn't know how long she cried, but eventually, she calmed enough to pull away from Shadow, sniffling and rubbing her eyes. She stepped back and looked at Shadow, embarrassed, but with a great deal of relief.

She felt like she needed to give some sort of explanation for her behavior. She rubbed her right arm, looking away from him for a second, before meeting his green eyes again, her own filling again with tears. "I... I thought you were dead," she said, though her voice came out in a broken whisper. "I kept dreaming it... over and over." She shuddered abruptly, wrapping her arms around herself and looking down, half-wanting to sink to her knees but fighting it. "Promise me, Shadow," she whispered, "you won't ever give up. No matter what." She met his eyes. "Promise me... please?"

Shadow stared at her for what seemed to be a long time, their eyes locked. He blinked, as though surprised at what he saw in her gaze and Tuesday looked away, disturbed at what he might have seen within her. A moment later, however, she felt one of Shadow's paws reach out and tilt her head up until their eyes met again. When he was certain that she was paying attention, he nodded, as though he understood what she meant and was promising that it would never happen. Tuesday swallowed thickly, and couldn't help but hug him again. Her arms were wrapped around his torso as she stared off to the side, watching with exhausted pleasure as the nightmare was cut into ribbons of might-have-beens, before fading away entirely.

~*~

Zorro had burst free of his pokeball mere moments after he heard his hermana scream. He appeared just in time to watch the door close to the room, leaving Tuesday and Shadow inside, the former attempting to hug the life out of Zorro's hermano mayor.

The lucario was holding two drinks in his paws. Or rather, balancing a drink on each paw, though it was a hazardous circus performance, with Tuesday clinging so tightly too him. He had moved forward swiftly, but silently, taking the drinks from Shadow - one at a time so he could use both paws and not drop them - and leaving the lucario to hug his hermana.

Seeing her cry bothered Zorro, but there was something different about the way she felt this time. The tears before were always accompanied by a ferocious and rapid crashing of presence around his hermana. This time, the... presence around her was still crashing, but softer, and not nearly as ferocious. It seemed to be calming. Tiring.

Finally.

Zorro listened to her speak to Shadow, and as she mentioned dreaming it, he remembered the dream, or nightmare, that he had been having not long ago. The fact that she spoke in what he knew to be reality - consciousness - about dreaming of Shadow's death brought to light the idea that he had not made the entire thing up. He had not simply dreamed up that she had been constantly dreaming of Shadow's death.

Had they actually shared that dream?

"Little brother."

Zorro looked up from where he was balanced on the bedpost, meeting Shadow's eyes over his hermana, once again hugging the lucario. "Si, hermano," Zorro replied, inclining his head gently in acknowledgment.

"What has caused this?" Shadow asked, removing one hand from the girl's back to indicate her precarious state.

Zorro tilted his head, concerned on how to word it, and whether he had the vocabulary to do so. "Mi hermana is having nightmares," he said slowly. His tail dropped slightly. "For while now. Mal pesadillas." He cocked his head to the side. "We had same dream... creo que." His eyes narrowed, still disturbed by the images he had witnessed within that dream, and the reactions he had seen in his hermana. "Que murió." He growled softly.

"What happened in the nightmares, little brother?"

"In one I see," Zorro explained slowly, "you was... pisoteado por vacas."

"Vacas," Shadow repeated.

Zorro bared his teeth in mild annoyance, though not at Shadow. "Vacas... cows. Tauros y Miltank."

"A stampede, then."

"Sí."

Shadow tightened his grip around Tuesday, holding her close. "I wasn't fighting, was I?"

Zorro hesitated, but Shadow met his gaze with a look that demanded he answer, and truthfully. "No," Zorro said in defeat, seeming to sag on his post. "You give up. Ask for death. Wait for it. No disputa. No fight left." He looked at Tuesday, his eyes pained. "Mi hermana cry... every time."

Shadow was staring off into space, lost in thought. He came back after a moment, looking up at Zorro. "Tell me, little brother, do you see the ripples around Kohai Tuesday?"

Zorro's small ears twitched. "See? No. No with eyes. I sentir... feel. Like lluvia on skin."

Shadow nodded. "Can you tell what she is feeling now, little brother? Her aura?"

"Aura..." Zorro had never thought to use the word before. He had always called it a "presence," because it seemed like something that was beyond Tuesday. "Presence... not so crashing, like olas... waves. Calmer."

Shadow nodded. "Pay attention to the ripples, little brother. Feel them, all the time, so you always know where she is and how she is. She is yours to protect, little brother. Never let her out of your sight, and always protect her."

Zorro met Shadow's eyes and nodded. "Sí, hermano. I will."

[Living Arrow]

Darryn had never felt so awkward in all of his life. On one side, Jaima and Meiko were having a heart-to-heart and on the other Tuesday was having a baby fit with Shadow and her Riolu in the ward room. If there were two things Darryn hadn't been very good with it was loved-up heteros and kids. After he heard a tiny cry, however, he inwardly sighed and made a quick decision.

"Oooh! Precious!" He hurried to the doorway and admitted himself, focused on getting over to where Meiko's darling little Happiny had spilled moomoo milk all over itself and the floor. He took one of Romeo's headband accessories from his pack and moped up the spilled milk which he berated the pink Pokemon for crying over before lifting her into his arms and rocking her slowly in one arm. With the other, he fished a Pecha berry out from his pack and held it over the half-glass of drink that was still left. He squeezed hard and let the sweet juice drip into the white infusion before holding it back to her mouth.

"Piny!" Precious wriggled with delight, her tears dry, at the taste of the sweetened milk and struggled to drink more, reaching with her stubby arms towards the glass.

"Ahem..." Jaima and Meiko both watch Darryn with raised brows. Tuesday's face was blank with confusion and the two Aura Pokemon simply stared.

"Uh, what?" Darryn looked around quickly. "She spilled it so I just thought..."

"That. Was. Great." Meiko said with awe. Her eyes werre still wide. "Precious never lets anyone feed her - she insists on doing it herself for some reason..."

"Must have been lucky..." Darryn quickly off-loaded the baby onto Meiko, embarrassment flooding him. "Spilled milk aside I was hoping to talk to you guys about something. Y'see..."

~

"So you want to be a Co-ordinator now?" Jaima asked patiently. Darryn's story had been long and he didn't want to leave out the fact that he was being forced into teh COntest rather than choosing to go for it.

"I wouldn't say that exactly, but I'm going to give it a go to see what it's about. Well, if we have time that is. I don't want to slow us down on leaving for the next gym and-"

"You're not trying again here?" It was Tuesday's turn to interrupt.

"No - I'm not ready for this one yet. But I'll come back one day. I just wanted to run this Contest idea past you before I made a decision. Y'see, Troy says he'll show me what a Contest is all about and-"

"So you're doing it for your boyfriend?" Meiko piped up.

"Not my boyfriend! Anyway, yeah, erm, I was wondering if you guys would come with me and maybe even take part, too?" Darryn finally finished. He could practically feel Troy's eyes bruning through the wall and into his back for keeping him waiting so long. Those icy, cool, bright eyes...

[Master Houndoom]

Meiko stared in wonder as Darryn calmed Precious (she hated that name as much as the happiny did!) and enticed her to drink what was left of the milk with the simple addition of berry juice. As much as she teased him, she was really growing to respect Jaima's friend. He could battle, he could take care of pokemon (Jaima himself had gone on about that the night they'd arrived in Arasam), and he was, she had to admit, very handsome. If he had been straight, Jaima might have had some competition.

She looked over at Jaima and hid a smile. Naaaaah.

She grinned at Darryn, praising him, and grinned more when he handed Precious (she had, had to find an onomancer as soon as she could!) to her and shuffled back, blushing like a sunset.

It wasn't long before he launched into his explanation of his "not-boyfriend"'s invitation to compete in the local Contest scene. She grinned. Troy sounded pushy, bossy, and suave. In other words, perfect for Darryn. When she mentioned his obvious attraction to the young man, and Darryn protested, she got a look from Jaima. At first she was annoyed. Yes, she liked him, but he shouldn't be warning her off. After a little thought, she figured maybe he wasn't. Maybe he was just amused.

He rolled his eyes but said nothing, and Meiko thought there was a hint of a smile on his face. She couldn't help but grin a bit.

"Well, it's not my thing, Darryn, but I'm willing to watch. It's not like Petropolis and Fidona are going anywhere." Jaima grinned at his friend easily. "Besides," he said, a hint of his own teasing in his voice, "who am I to get in the way of romance?"

Meiko giggled, surprised, and Darryn squeezed his eyes shut. "He is NOT my-- You're impossible, the lot of you!" With a huff, Darryn opened his eyes. "I'd like to have at least one of you competing with me. Meiko?"

She shook her head. "I have no interest in it. My mom's all after me to be a coordinator when the contests finally come to Johto, 'like a proper young lady'," she finished in a nasally voice. "Well, no thank you, I can be a proper young lady and kick your butt in the battle arena, thank you."

Darryn nodded, understanding but concerned. "Tuesday?"

"I'd rather not," the girl said, tired and a bit drained, and as quiet as she could be and still be heard. "I'd rather sit out and watch before I try."

Again, Darryn nodded, but his frustration mounted. "Jaima, you're my last hope."

Jaima smiled sheepishly. "I just got through with a battle-"

"So did Darryn," Meiko piped up. Her eyes were twinkling. Jaima scowled at her.

"And my other pokemon are tired--"

"Shadow's just been to see the nurse, Mercury's been sleeping all day, Grondir just needs to cool off a bit, and I can let you borrow Desertdancer if you're really worried about it." Meiko grinned, eyebrows raised.

"And," Jaima said, pointedly, "I have nothing that's contest worthy to wear."

Meiko pulled out her wallet with a flourish. "I have a credit card, a bank account because I never spend anything on myself, and a keen eye for fashion." She scowled at Darryn when he snorted, but chose not to make comment. "Give me an hour, and you'll be the handsomest man there."

"Ahem."

"After Darryn and his boyfriend."

Jaima held up his hands. "No. No, no, no, a thousand times no!"

Meio sighed, pitifully, and put her wallet away. She turned to Darryn and leaned in to him, seemingly consoling him. "Don't worry, we can convince him together," she said conspiratorally. "Go tell your Not-Boyfriend you're in."

* * * * *

Meiko left on an errand, and Darryn left to seek out Tryo, leaving Tuesday and Jaima alone. Tuesday was looking at the bedspread of her bed, picking at it nervously, and Jaima sat next to her. He put a hand on her back and sighed.

"Want to talk about it, Tuesy?"

She shook her head, and Jaima sighed a bit. "I think you should, if you want to know."

"I don't..." She had stopped, had been about to say more, but a convulsive swallow stopped her. "I don't want to be a burden."

Jaima was silent for a moment, then scootched closer. "I don't know what your homelife is like. In my home, hugs are given very generously, and anyone can talk to anyone about anything. It's how I treat my sisters, always." He paused, unsure of how the next thing might be taken. "I've said it, but I don't know if I've let you know, for ultimately sure, Tuesday... but I think of you as one of my little sisters."

She looked up, then back, over her shoulder. "Y-you do..? Really?"

He nodded, solemnly. "I know we've only known each other for a short while, but that's how I feel. Maybe I needed one around. Or maybe you needed a big brother around. Or both. But I have a feeling if I'd met you in Johto, where my sisters already are, I'd feel the same way."

Tuesday smiled, tremulously, and turned, hugging Jaima. She held on for a long time, and neither spoke for a bit. Finally, she opened her mouth.

"Ever since we went through... when we met Celebi..." She sniffed, and swallowed again. "I have nightmares. They happen over and over. You..." She swallows. "You died. Or something. And Mercury. And Shadow tried to save you, but... when it happened, he just gave up. And I watched it!" She began to weep, tears streaming from her eyes. "I watched it, over and over. I wanted to stop it, but I couldn't, and I watched it!"

Jaima pulled her close again, stroking her hair. "It keeps happening," she continued, her voice soft, and only the higher pitch warning of her distress. "And then Zorro came, and Tempest... she hates him! She really hates him, and she kills him over and over in my nightmares, too!"

She finally composed herself, but made no move to lean back. "When... I ran away. I'm sorry, but I got this feeling that if I wasn't around, nothing wuld try to kill my friends. It was like I was being targetted, or manipulated, or something. I just... I had to get out of there. So..." She looked up, wincing. "Two houndour found me when I stopped. And I didn't have any of my pokeballs. But one tried to stop the other... Oh!" She saw the great ball on her nightstand, where Meiko had put it after retrieving Rockclaw and Shadow, along with this ball, from the Nurse. "I must have caught him..."

Jaima waited, patiently, as she looked thoughtfully at the ball. "I think I hit my head, but I saw Shadow, and I remembered he's steel now, and houndour are fire types..."

Jaima chuckled, and Tuesday looked at him, wary that he was teasing her. "Yeah, I... I remembered that, too. Meiko reminded me that they're also dark, which is... pretty weak to Shadow's main type."

Behind Tuesday, unnoticed, Shadow rolled his green eyes and Zorro snickered.

Tuesday stared at Jaima, then put her face in her hands. "I'm stupid."

"Far from it, imouto." Jaima smiled a bit. "Just confused."

"I'm sorry, Jaima. I know, I'm being a big baby..."

Jaima looked at her. Protests may not work, and Meiko's words hit him harder than he'd let on. She wasn't four, like his sisters had been when he'd first taken responsibilities for them, and, more importantly, he wasn't ten. He nodded.

"Mercury dies in mine." Tuesday's eyes snapped up, widening. "And you. And Shadow leaves, angry that I couldn't save any of you." His heart dropped as he recounted it. "And like you, it happens over and over. And like you, it's not always them. Mercury's crest is a lot like my sister's hair, and sometimes she wears these little red berettes on either side. So sometimes it's not Mercury, it's Natsume, and it's not Shadow leaving it's Meiko, and it's not you getting trampled, it's Mariko..." He let out a shaky breath.

"How do you handle it, Jaima?" Tuesday leaned in, putting her head on his shoulder.

"Ah... I wake up. And there's Mercury, and there you are, and there's Meiko and Shadow. And I kind of accept that Mariko and Natsume are safe, because Mr. Postman would tell me, or Mom, or Professor Elm. And it sucks, but..." he shrugged. "I never really scared all that easy, anyway."

"So I'm the only one..." Tuesday sighed, "I'm the only one who lets it get to her."

Jaima pulled her head up to look at her. "Yeah, well... you're not me. You have a much better imagination. And you're..." he winced. He didn't like to bring it up, but a fact was a fact. "You're younger. That doesn't mean your feelings are invalid, it just means you haven't had as much time to deal with them as I have."

Jaima could see he needed to get to his point. "Tuesday, this is what I'm trying to say: If you are bothered by anything, anything at all, you can talk to me. If you feel like you don't deserve to, I'm not doing my job as a brother properly." He smiled, a little sadly, but rubbed her head. "You can talk to me."

"And me." Meiko stepped into the room. "Because I know, there are somethings boys are just useless at." She knelt by the bed, looking Tuesday in the eye. "And Darryn'll do in a pinch."

Jaima looked at Meiko, and she beamed at him, so brightly his heart couldn't help but lift.

[Umbrae Calamitas]

Why don't you take a nap, Tuesy. I'll wake you in about an hour and a half.

Zorro was pretty sure that if anyone else had suggested Tuesday go to sleep after just explaining how she suffered from continuous nightmares, she would have blatantly refused. But she trusted Jaima, and she trusted his judgment, and so she did as he told her.

Of course, it probably helped that Shadow stood behind him with his arms crossed, nodding in agreement.

So now Tuesday was lying in her bed, the covers pulled over her. Zorro was perched upon the bedpost, as was swiftly becoming his customary place. He was balanced perfectly, watching over his hermana and contemplating... there was a conversation that needed to occur, but he wasn't looking forward to it. Not at all.

Still, it couldn't be avoided any longer. It was unsafe to continue to put it off, and the silence had gone on for too long as it was. With a sigh, Zorro leapt from the bedpost, flipping in midair to land with graceful silence upon the bureau at the end of the bed. He slipped his paws into Tuesday's messenger bag, sniffing the pokeballs he pulled out until he found the one he wanted.

It was red and white, like his pokeball and the other he had found. The smell surrounding it was like burnt fur. Zorro would know the scent anywhere. It was disgusting.

With a curl of his lip and more than a little reluctance, Zorro let the smelly pokeball roll from his paw and clatter against the floorboards. There was a paff! sound, as the pokeball opened. When the red light faded, Tempest sat on the floor, looking around curiously, ears twitching. Her nose twitched and she looked up. When her eyes settled on Zorro, she crouched low, her fur puffing out, and growled at him.

"Rata," Zorro said, matching her gaze, "I do not wish to fight. Only talk."

Tempest's ears flattened against her head. "Well I don't want to talk, mutt," she snarled. "I don't want to be anywhere near you."

Zorro's teeth clenched together. He didn't like this anymore than she did, but there were more important things than this rivalry they seemed to have.

"Listen, Rata. I no fight you. It will hurt my heramana, y I will not."

Tempest snarled. "Why don't you speak English, you stupid dog?"

Zorro's eyes narrowed and his teeth clenched, but he didn't want to take the bait that Tempest had dangled for him. Fighting would hurt his hermana, and he didn't want that. Above all else, it was important that no harm ever came to her.

"I know you no like me, rata," he said, holding back a snarl, "but we have same intención. We protect mi hermana... Tuesday. We protect."

Tempest growled softly, as though she wanted to say something but was refraining so that she could listen. It must have taken a lot of self-control.

"I no like you, rata, and you no like me. Not necessary. You not mi amigo, but... ally? For mi hermana... is important, sí?"

Tempest's fur seemed to settle, though not entirely. Her eyes were still narrowed, but she regarded Zorro with a thoughtful expression, considering his words.

"I hate it," she said finally, "but you're right. We're both here to protect Tuesday and despite my better judgment... she likes you." She huffed. "I don't know why."

"I tell you it mi charm, but you no believe me. Además de, we no friends. Allies."

"Yes," Tempest admitted with bitter reluctance, "and that is all we will ever be." She turned and walked back to her pokeball, reaching out a paw to tap the button on the front and recall herself.

"She think you hate her."

Tempest paused for a long moment, before looking back at him, still watching her from his seat upon the bureau. "What?"

"Mi hermana. She think you hate her. She scared... y solitario."

Tempest glared. "Why should she be lonely? She has you now."

Though Zorro was curious, he didn't bother to ask how Tempest had come to learn Spanish, since she obviously understood him when he spoke. He didn't think he would get an answer.

"Mi hermana have mal nightmares. About mi hermano mayor, me, y you." Tempest narrowed her eyes in confusion, and Zorro answered her unspoken question. "She dream you kill me, over and over. You may want to, but not wise. It scare her. Hurt her."

"I wouldn't ever hurt her like that, mutt!" Tempest snarled.

Zorro sighed, rolling his eyes softly. "I no say you do. She have nightmares. Y you hate me and no be with her. She think she lose you."

Tempest snarled defensively. "I won't hurt her, and I don't hate her!"

Zorro eyes narrowed and finally, he did snarl. It was low and too quiet to wake Tuesday, but intimidating nonetheless - enough that Tempest actually jerked back in surprise, eyes wide.

"Prove it," he snarled. He pointed to the bed but kept his eyes locked to Tempest's face. "She suffer nightmares every night. Wake up screaming. Wake up alone. You care for her?" He growled. "Then no leave her again."

Tempest, crouched low the ground with an uncertain expression on her face, glanced briefly at Tuesday sleeping on the bed before looking back at Zorro. After a long moment, she finally huffed and annoyed sigh. "Fine. You're right." She growled. "But don't get used to that! I still don't like you!"

"Ni yo," Zorro said, sitting back, his expression evening out and then returning to that mischievous half-smile he almost always wore. "Well? Why you wait?"

Tempest spared him one final look, before turning and heading toward the bed.

"Y, rata."

Tempest rolled her eyes, getting sick of Zorro's voice. "What?" she snapped, and turned just in time to see a pokeball flying toward her face. She managed to cry out in surprise, before the ball struck her and she was sucked into the red light.

Grinning widely, vowing never to forget the look of surprise on the pikachu's face, Zorro made his way back to his perch on the bedpost. He sat comfortably and watched over Tuesday, ignoring Tempest when she escaped from her pokeball and glared at him, before leaping into bed with Tuesday. He did let a smile show when she curled up against Tuesday's back, only to have the girl roll over and wrap her arms around the pikachu.

He snickered quietly, but looked away before the pikachu could see him watching. Smiling as she closed her eyes and let herself slip off to sleep, he stared at the door, wondering what the others were up to and planning what to do to Tempest once the pikachu woke up again.

After all, they were allies. Not friends.

~*~

Tuesday awoke to a hand on her back and a face full of fur. She blinked, pulling away slightly only to see that the fur was golden, with brown streaks. She only knew one pokemon who had fur like that.

"Tempest?" she whispered.

The hand touched her back again and Tuesday rolled over slightly, her legs tangling in her blankets and her curls falling over her face. She shook her head, tossing the curls away, and saw Jaima smiling down at her.

"Time to get up, Tuesy," he said softly. "The contest starts in half an hour." He grinned. "Darryn's freaking out, so I'm going to go make sure that he and Meiko haven't killed each other yet. You waking up?"

Tuesday opened her mouth to speak, but instead fell victim to a yawn. Jaima chuckled and she nodded. "I'm getting up, bro," she mumbled, not even catching her slip on his name, and not seeing the smile that curled over his lips as she rubbed her eyes. "I'll be up."

"Okay, then. We'll be in the lobby, unless I have to separate those two." He shook her head as he walked out of the room, muttering, "Honestly, they're worse than Mariko and Natsume ever were..."

With a groan, loathing the process of getting up no matter what time it was, Tuesday rolled over. She fought the blankets for a few minutes, before finally dragging her legs free, and then crawled out of bed. When that was done, she took a moment to stare at the lump of golden and brown fur on the bed, staring back at her with deep brown eyes.

"Pest," she said softly.

"Chu," Tempest replied, sitting up and gazing at Tuesday, her ears twitching.

"You're... not mad at me anymore?" Tuesday asked, her voice softening to a whisper.

Tempest's ears fell flat on her head for a moment, before she ran across the bed and leapt onto Tuesday's shoulder, nuzzling her head. Tuesday shut her eyes and giggled, before hugging the pikachu tightly.

"I'm glad you're okay, Pest," she said into the pikachu's fur. "You had me worried."

"Pi."

"All right," Tuesday said, changing her clothes quickly as Tempest sat on the bed watching her. "Let's hurry up and get going. I can't wait to see what this contest is all about. I bet Darryn's going to do great!"

She swung her messenger bag over her shoulder and grinned, before turning back to the bed. "All right, you two," she said, motioning to Tempest and Zorro, sitting on the bedpost. "Come on."

Tempest leapt up onto her left shoulder, and Zorro ran over and jumped onto her right, crossing his arms over her head and practically laying down.

"Zorro, you lazy jackal, sit up straight," she said, as she walked out of the room.

Grinning, Zorro leaned over further and poked Tempest in the side. The pikachu squeaked in surprise and leapt onto Tuesday's head, as Zorro moved quickly to Tuesday's left shoulder. Her tail twitched in annoyance and she growled out a low, unhappy, "Chuuuu..." but made no move against the riolu.

As Tuesday walked into the lobby of the pokemon centre to the sounds of Meiko and Darryn arguing over whether or not Troy was Darryn's boyfriend, Zorro couldn't contain a smirk. Knowing the right buttons to push was an important weapon in any prankster's arsenal. He was going to have a lot of fun with Tempest, and what could she do? - they were allies.

This post has been edited by Umbrae Calamitas: Aug 16 2009, 01:16 AM

[Master Houndoom]

Mercury travelled on Jaima's shoulder, larger than when she used to, but still too tired to float. Her aura, which had been dark lately, as evening out the the light blue it had been, and she felt relieved, she had said. Even her actions toward him were much more serene.

The Little Brother and Tempest resided on Kohai Tuesday's shoulders, glaring at each other but at rest, having formed a temporary truce. The red, blazing aura from Tempest's anger was moderated with cooling golden streaks from her affection, and a deep green of shame. Still, there was much more rest with Kohai Tuesday now, and Shadow could now see that she would be all right, her blazing Aura merging with both the Little Brother and Tempest for short times.

Sensei Jaima, too, was content, as was the girl who wished to be his mate. It was odd that she didn't admit it as soon as she knew, but humans had a way of hiding things, even from themselves. It wasn't his place to force anything, just to watch and protect. Mercury agreed with him, however; She even believed it was a mutual desire, but Jaima, as yet, seemed unaware. Humans, he thought with an inward chuckle.

Sensei Darryn alone seemed agitated, but it was to be expected; He was going to another competition, and did not feel ready, if Shadow was interpretting the aura right. There was something else, something that made this event much more important than it might have been otherwise. It would either trip him up or spur him on. Shadow did not know.

All of the friends were laughing and teasing, save for the nervous preener, and there was such a lack of tension that Shadow was very nearly relaxed off his guard. But a Lucario could never be that, and when he noticed it, or when it was shown to him, he felt it more keenly thanks to the relaxation in the air.

They were being stalked.

He saw the Little Brother's ears twitch, and sent him a warning to stay behind with the others, just in case. He also touched minds with Mercury, warning her to be on alert. She tensed, but also sent him affirmation. Her worry was nearly overwhelming, but it was for him, not for the group, and he tried to send reassurance to her.

He, Shadow, had been hanging in the back of the group as it was, so he was unnoticed when he slipped away, or so he thought. But Mercury was now friends with Lady Foxtrot, and asked (nicely, which was a sign of how worried she truly was) for the vulpix to cover him, emphasizing that danger to the group was danger to Darryn.

Shadow slipped into alleyway, using his aura sense rather than his eyes to see. The aura he could feel was stronger than his, and instead of the peaceful blue he always perceived just under his own skin, it was a malevolent, blood crimson color.

<<Vell vell vell...>> The voice came as a soft purr, deep and throaty, and almost seductive, if not for the aura it eminated from. Shadow stopped, dropping, slightly, back into a stance. <<Ve haff heard off you, off course, but ve did not sink you vould sense us so soon.>>

From the shadows, moving with a grace Shadow had seen in very few pokemon, came a near mirror of him, but in many ways opposite. Even her coloring, her chest blue, her arms covered in tawny fur, and the places where he was black covered in a light smoke grey, seemed to set her apart. But the worst was the look on her face, the red eyes matching her aura.

She was cruel. And she enjoyed her cruelty.

<<Why do you stalk us,>> Shadow said, his tone calmer than his mind. His muscles were locked, waiting to spring, though he could tell he couldn't hope to defeat her. Not yet.

<<Your band of humans haff caught ze attention of mein gebeinterrin and her employers. I haff been sent to test. Ze tiny one, she iss intriguing, nein?>>

<<You will leave her alone!>> Shadow found himself close to leaping despite the odds, but instead of a snarl and challenge, the female clucked her tongue.

<<Oh, she hass passed ze test. For now. And zere iss no sport in fighting you. You vill nefer hope to defeat me.>> She grinned, and held out a paw, pads facing him. <<I should use you as an example for ze ozzers...>> A ball of red energy formed at her palm, and she grinned, even as Shadow braced himself.

<<Escuse me, perra, but I no think that is verra good idea,>> Came a new voice, and Shadow spared a glance back.

<<You were to stay with the Kohai.>>

<<Sí, sí, but la bella Mercury say I should be here. Mi hermana is safe enough from la perra.>> Zorro grinned. <<Y we are no alone.>>

<<I can defeat both off you easily,>> yawned the female, but another voice, and a large shadow, made even her pause.

<<They are not alone,>> came a delicate purr, that, if Shadow had not known better, had not watched the changes, would have taken for a match for the cruelty in this female.

Another voice, surprisingly gentle, spoke but one thing, but stood in the mouth of the alley like a wall. <<Go.>>

The female looked, then snorted in amusement. <<It iss not my problem to deal vith you now. Vhen the time comes, you'll all see how foolish you are beink. And ze girl will be ours.>> She stepped back into the shadows, leapt up a fire escape, and was gone.

Shadow relaxed, looked at Ramhorn, Lady Foxtrot, and the Little Brother in turn. He could see in their auras that they all agreed with his assessment; that their troubles, though quiet for now, were far from over.

Together they made their way to the group, slipping into their customary places. None of them, save for the Little Brother, who'd filched a little pirate hat to make his excuse, were missed. Even large Ramhorn was silent in retaking his place behind and to the left of Sensei Meiko.

Shadow watched, and waited, and vowed that he, and the rest of their team, would be ready when the time came.

But, for now, let there be a little fun.

The RP is done and locked, and a grading post will soon be made!