Twinleaf Cafe

Using his fork, Arashi played nervously with the scrambled eggs he had ordered. Shiiro watched his work curiously as he munched on a slice of slightly overcooked bacon. After a while he finally confronted Arashi about his unsual behavior. "Eh...something on your mind?" Shiiro wasn't great with words, but he usually got his point across decently. He had a very straightforward, yet sometimes unemotinal way of speaking. Arashi stooped for a moment to look up at the boy who sat in the booth across the table, then resumed his fiddling.

"I'm not hungry." Arashi mumbled without looking up again. "Impossible." Shiiro responded. "Your stomach was growling before. You wre the one who made u come here! Now tell me what's up." Arashi was astonished by his carelessness. He usually avoided inconsistencies such as this when maing up excuses, but there was somehing else occupying his mind today. "It's nothing really. I just feel kind of uneasy today."

Arashi looked up at Shiiro and contorted his lips into a fake smile. To further lure his friend into the lie, he scooped up a forkful of broken eggs and popped it into his mouth. Satisfied, Shiiro spoke in his normal egotistical tone. "Well there's nothing to worry about. You got me with you; I'll protect you if your scared. And my Shinx too!" As he mentioned the Shinx, he revealed a pokeball from the flap of his jacket. He clicked the button once to enlarge it, then again to release its contents. A cheerful Shinx appeared on the red-and-white checkered floor of the cafe. He jumped up onto Shiiro's lap and purred before curling up into a ball.

The duo exited the cafe about half an hour later, once Shiiro had paid the bill. "Thanks for the meal." Arashi said, genuinely thankful. "You didn't really have to buy me food. I was just joking." Shiiro blushed and looked away at the show of respect. "Ah, it's fine. Just a small favor for a friend. I'm actually surprised they were still selling breafast. It's pretty late!" The two laughed joyously.

The next morning Arashi sat alone in the same small diner that he had eaten in with Shiiro the day before. Except for a tall glass of chocolate milk which was now empty, the majority of Arashi's breakfast still remained untouched on the chipped white plate that sat in front of him. He had his shoulders drawn up around him in a way that isolated his body from the rest of the world, and even his Pokemon were of little help in bringing cheerfulness to his face. The soles of Arashi's feet rested on the red leather of the booth he sat in, pulled up close to his body and his arms wrapped around them to bind them into place, one of his sharp teeth sinking methodically into the hard surface of his kneecap through his jeans. His head was tilted downwards and staring blankly at the sizzling omelet and slightly burnt toast in front of him, and his long black fringes drooped solemnly over one of his eyes.

Shiiro had spent the night with Konorai and her group in Sandgem town, and left Arashi to travel back to Twinleaf alone. Although his short journey had reaped the benefit of a new Pokemon in Arashi's arsenal, a stout and courageous Zubat which Arashi decided to name "Lieutenant", he was appalled that Shiiro would abandon him so easily. For as long as he could remember Arashi had done everything with his childhood friend, and now the two seemed to be growing apart from each other. Arashi had to admit though that he had not gotten home until almost sunrise and could not fall asleep even though he was incredibly tired. This lack of sleep showed in his emotion this morning, and in the way he lazily moved and slumped about. His senses also seemed to be all jumbled today.

Then Arashi raised his head quickly, a sudden realization overcoming his face. "I should take a visit to Sandgem Town and check how Shiiro is doing!" he thought to himself excitedly, reaching for his fork to down the rest of his breakfast before slamming down a handful of change upon the wooden surface. He had already counted out the money three times while he was sitting in the booth, and the amount was exact; Arashi was very thorough like this. Then he rose to his feet and dashed out of the door, his long blue scarf trailing in a freely flowing line across the top of his shoulder. However as he exited the diner, his body collided with a young girl who was passing by. Her clothes were quite baggy and a there seemed to be a Cyndaquil closely to her feet. Arashi flew backwards and fell to the ground into a small puddle created from the dark clouds above on this particularly dreary day. He was dripping wet and momentarily stunned, incapable of speech.

Miharu was strolling down the streets of Twinleaf. Her head was tilted back and her eyes closed, relishing the feeling of the rain. It rained often here but it was still a relief each time it did, it reminded her of rain in the forest. her and mama and kyu had gone to play in it each time it had rained. Until that was all torn from her. She wimpered and swiped at her eyes refusing to let tthe rain to become a bad memory for her.

Kyu walked besides her master and friend. She was always amazed at how joyous Miharu became each time it rained but Kyu knew that Miharu was imaging her mama. Kyu glanced up at Miharu to see and saw that Miharus mind had drifted towards death rather than happiness. At Miharus whimper Kyu yipped and flooded Miharus senses with concern letting her know she was here for her.

Miharu looked at Kyu telling her it was okay shed gotten past it. She was glad it was raining noone could tell she had breifly cried. Kyu spotted a puddle and went to it ready to play. Miharu threw a resounding NO out mentally. Kyu paused before reluctantly slinking back to Miharu. "Kyu, you can play later im not letting you get dirty when weve only been gone from the house for 10 minutes!! Besides shops wont let in a muddy pokemon to ruin there shops. ......Later i promise" she reassured her that they could play later so Kyu wouldnt pout.

Miharu closed her eyes again trying to relax. She heard a flutter and steps coming from her side and she opened her eyes to look. The boys eyes widened as he saw it was tooo late to move. He slammed into her going flying into the puddle Kyu had wanted to play in. Miharu stumbled a step but regained her footing. Kyu pounced to stand in front of the boy, her flames going bright and huge. She hated when people attacked or were mean to Miharu. Miharu assesed the boy wondeering how he couldve misssed her. His face was speechless and he looked dazed. She slinked over to stand in front of him glancing at Kyu and deciding to let her be.

When Arashi finally wandered back into reality and observed his surroundings, a young girl around his own age was looming over top of him. Between her legs and and a few inches in front of her stood a Cyndaquil with the flame spikes on its back blazing wildly; it seemed to be angry at Arashi for some reason. Then Arashi looked down at the ground and the pool of water he was reclined in. It had soaked his clothes to a point wear they became heavy and uncomfortable. He pulled himself to his feet and stared into the girl's eyes, a color almost matching the hues of her Pokemon's flames. Suddenly Arashi remembered that he bumped into this girl just a few seconds ago and lifted his hand behind his head to scratch the back of his hair nervously. Streaks of red appeared across his cheeks as he faked a chuckle. "Uh, sorry about that. Is this your Cyndaquil?" Arashi directed his gaze towards the Pokemon at his feet and knelt down slowly so he would not startle her. Then he gently placed his palm on the fire Pokemon's head and rubbed it back and forth to show that he meant no harm.

"She's beautiful!" he said with a smile, looking back up at its trainer. "I also have a Pokemon!" Arashi stood back up and took a few steps to the side in an open space away from the girl and the cafe behind him. He reached down to his belt an unattached one of the pokeballs secured there. Then he threw it forward and, from a beam of light, Arashi's Squirtle Robert appeared next to the Cyndaquil. Robert blushed shyly and looked back at his owner for a sign of encouragement. Arashi smiled again, and the water Pokemon nervously shuffled over to the Cyndaquil and gave her a big hug. "My name is Arashi Kyuuketsuki, expert breeder!" he beamed and placed his hands on his hips as a heroic gesture to impress the girl in front of him. "And how about you? What's your name?"

The boy stared up at her. Miharu watched his eyes gaze over her and eventually rest on her eyes. She was used to it, and had grown very confident of her beautiful crimson eyes. They made her unique and were a part of her family taht she carried on. She brushed her damp white hair out of her eyes. the boy now stared at Kyu quizically. Miharu hoped he didnt stare long or he;d learn the hard way that Kyu didnt like to be stared down. Ignore it, Miharu spoke to Kyu not wanting to start another fight witha stranger.

The boy hopped to his feet, his wet clothes hugging his body. He glanced at her through his long hair, scratching his head. A blush covered his cheeks. Miharu was taken aback. She hadnt ever seen a boy blush before, not that she had experience with people in general. On him, the blush was rather adorable. had she really just though that?

"Uh, sorry about that. Is this your Cyndaquil?" he spoke bending down too pet Kyu. Noone petted Kyu but Miharu. Miharu could feel the anger and annoyance seeping off kyu. relax, she said. sending waves of happiness to kyu. Pokemon dont attack people remember what happened last time, she threatened. Miharu flinched and knew what would come next. "uhh.." she bagan to warn him but he cut her off. "She's beautiful!" He said giving her an beaming innocent smile. A shock ran through her. How long had it been since Miharu had smiled or even been able to smile like that? her eyes burned. Dammit no i just stopped crying im not starting again. She bit her lip, using teh pain as a buffer.

The boy stood up, Miharu sighed. She was becoming annoyed with him he was doing too many things to her emotions. But Miharu couldnt remember the last time she had spoken to someone that hadnt been trying to hurt or degrade her. She wasnt sure how to act or speak. "I also have a pokemon!" he announced loudly posistioning himself and throwing his pokeball. A squirttle appeared. She didnt know wat to do. was she supposed to show off Kyu now? all she knew about interactions was what she had seen on TV. she fidgeted nervously tugging on her sleeves becomeing self concious of the scars even though nobody couldnt see them as they were hidden.

The squirttle looked up then shuffled forward giving Kyu a hug. NO she yelled but it was too late."My name is Arashi Kyuuketsuki, expert breeder!" He practically scrreched snapping her attention from the pokemon. he put his hands on his hips in what she wondered was supposed to be cool.

"And how about you? What's your name?" he looked at her expectantly and eagerly. He really wanted to talk to her she wondered. she opened her mouth to answer when she felt a tinge in her mind. She whipped down whisking Kyu in her arms just as she was about to scorch the squirtle. She stood back up hugging Kyu to her chest as she continued to fume and burn scolding miharu for saving the stupid squirtle. She looked at the boy. "Hello. My name is Miharu Yumi, expert......." she trailed off not really sure what to say. she wasnt an offical coordinater. all she knew she was an expert at was being an outcast. She felt Kyu begin to burn through her top. again? now shed have to go home, well at least it was raining. She walked close to the boy. what should she do? what she seen on TV? She blushed as she remembered what a girl and aboy her age in a deserted street should do. "PERVERT" she pushed arashi away.

Miharu realized what she had done. Oh well.....you couldnt blkame her for being socially awkward. "why would you letthat rapist squirtle of yours touch Kyu???? God couldnt you tell she was already annoyed at ypu???" She got in his face refusing to back down, still not sure what he was up to. "what do you want from me anyway?" miharu spat out. She put Kyu at her feet who immedaiatley glared at the squirtle. she inspected the red mark on her chest glad it was that severe of a burn, she was used to it it seemed to faze other people more than it did her. she tightened her singed shirt around her. she let the rain cool the burn as she waited for arashi to answer.

Arashi was an innocent child and never wanted to hurt another person physically or emotionally. He took care with every phrase he said that nothing would blurt out that could be taken offensively and always tried to make friends with any new person he encountered. This was why his first partner Pokemon, Robert the Squirtle, suited him well. Both had the same shy yet innocent personality and Robert would frequently run up to give new Pokemon small hugs to show friendliness and appreciation. Both Arashi and Robert followed their normal routines when they had met Miharu and her partner Jyu the Cyndaquil, however this girl did not seem to be as socially adept as Arashi and everything had gone terribly wrong. From the moment Arashi first spoke up and red had rushed forward into his cheeks, he could peer into the girl's eyes and see her hurting emotionally. He tried to show he was harmless by petting the Cyndaquil gently, but that had only mad her very upset. And on top of it all she had called him a pervert!

"Why would you let that rapist Squirtle of yours touch Kyu?! God, couldn't you tell she was already annoyed at you?!" she yelled, pushing Arashi away from her. He stumbled backwards awkwardly and pressed against the wall of the cafe behind him, his long fringes bumping upwards and settling in front of his eye. He was stunned again for just a moment, unable to decipher whether he should stay around a little while longer and make things better or to just walk away and forget about her completely. "So Kyu is her name?" Arashi pressed onward to change the girl's feelings about him. "You should cover her up from the rain. Here, I'll lend you my jacket if you want." Arashi quickly took Robert's pokeball and held it out in front of him to return the Squirtle back to its home. His Pokemon's presence was obviously angering both Miharu and her Cyndaquil. Then he scrambled to unzip his deep blue jacket, which was already halfway unzipped already as he usually wears it, and slid it off his back to hand to Miharu.

Then Arashi figured he would get out now while the situation was a little less hostile and hope to see her out again tomorrow. Maybe he had just caught her in a bad mood? "Well it was nice to meet you Miharu! I have to head home now, but maybe I'll see you around again," he said with another smile and turned in the direction of his home. Arashi drew his arms up around his chest and gripped both of his arms in a tight bundle to retain his body heat. The rain that fell from the sky was rather chilly and he did not have a very high body temperature to begin with. As he began to walk away, he wondered where he had gone wrong in the encounter. Arashi was a very lovable person and the vast majority of the people he met instantly fall in love with him. But not this girl, she was somehow different from the rest. Still he longed to have anther chance and not mess things up the second time around.

Mihau stared arashi down as he pressed against the wall. She didnt mean to push him that hard she just never touched people unless she was protecting herself. She wasnt sure if she should apologize or what. She pushed her hair into her eyes trying to hide her questioning look not wanting to look weak.

Arashi stood up and looked up at her. "So Kyu is her name?"She was suprised expecting him to lash out with violence like all the others. Maybe he didnt want to hurt her after all? "You should cover her up from the rain. Here, I'll lend you my jacket if you want." He wanted to help her. Miharus eyes widened. She just pushed him into a wall and insulted him and his squirtle, and he still wanted to help her. Noone had evr helped her. She had always been alone since the incident.

He returned the squirtle to its pokeball. Arashi unzipped his jacket before handing it to Miharu. She took it carefully and didnt know what to say so she just stood there staring. He looked at her foor a second before saying "Well it was nice to meet you Miharu! I have to head home now, but maybe I'll see you around again." He flashed her that beautiful innocent smile that she was envious of. He turned and walked away. Kyu looked up at her master confused by what had just happened. But to her dismay her master was much more confused and was staring down at the piece of cloth the boy had given her.

Miharu looked at the jacket in her hands. It was still filled with warmth from its owner that had just left it. She hadnt had time to explain that Kyu like the rain. She hugged the jacket to her chest absently petting the soft material. Noone had ever called her Miharu in this tgown. Only things like orphan and worthless and many others that shouldnt have been directed towards a helpless child. He thought f her as a....person. She looked up to see arashi halfway down the street. Her body started moving before she even knew what she was doing. She quickly walked to catch up with the boy. As she neared she saw that he was shivering. Miharu realized the rain wasnt as pleasnt to most people as it was to her. not to mention she had high body temperatures. She slowed to a walk as she came level next to the boy.

Miharu glanced down at the jacket rather than at arashi not sure if he would still be as courteous. "Uh.....its raining." Well that was smart she thought to herself. "I mean um...its cold, i can see you shivering. And kyu would just burn it like she always does my clothes. Besides the rain brings good memories to us....." she trailed off not wanting to go down that road. "Its just....i dont want you getting sick just because you gave your jacket to some undeserving girl who attacked you." I felt myself start to blush "So..." Miharus sped up stopping in the boys path forcing him to stop or collide, turning around and holding the jacket out to the boy. She looked down at her boots that were soaking and glistening in the downpour. "Im sorr...."she whispered. She didnt look up at arashi. "did you maybe want to get some tacos? I mean if you dont want to then...." she asked which had been where she had been headed before all of this. She stood in the cold rain holding the jacket out hoping the boy would respond soon.

As Arashi walked away from the quaint cafe located close to the north edge of the town, his hands were drawn and crossed across his chest to retain as much body heat as possible. The back of his hand brushed up against one of the three shrunken pokeballs which were latched firmly onto his belt. He wished at the moment that he was a Pokemon and could lay safely within the warmth and comfort of his own pokeball home. Droplets of water still hailed from the low gray rainclouds above and moistened the black strands of Arashi's hair to plaster it against his soft cheeks. Though his jacket was no longer with him, he still possessed his cherished scarf which draped loosely around his neck and hung down in front of his upper body. He could feel its slight warmth emanating and absorbing into the pale color of his skin.

In just a short amount of time Arashi heard the soft patter of footsteps rushing up behind him. He twisted his neck to the side to observe the girl he had just met who had apparently followed him along the path in order to catch up with him. Arashi did have a tendency to walk fairly quickly so the girl must have had quite a bit of trouble matching her own pace with his. It was not something he intentionally did, but rather his legs seemed to move more quickly than the average person. His eyes caught the last glimpse of the cafe along the horizon as his head was turned, just before he turned it to face froward again. The small shop was already so far away already! "Uh.....its raining." Miharu blurted out suddenly that left Arashi with a confused look on his face. "Well, yeah. Isn't that obvious?" he thought to himself however he did not want to seem rude especially after she had approached him again, giving him a second try at becoming friends.

"Uh, yeah! i suppose it is," Arashi answered back sweeping his long fringes out of his eye, and they surprisingly stuck to the side of his damp face to reveal, for the first time in forever, both if his crystal blue eyes. "I mean um...its cold, I can see you shivering. And Kyu would just burn it like she always does my clothes. Besides the rain brings good memories to us.....Its just....I don't want you getting sick just because you gave your jacket to some undeserving girl who attacked you. So..." Arashi listened carefully as the girl next to him mumbled and rambled on nervously. Once he glanced over at her and could clearly see the vivid red color which had swept into her cheeks fro embarrassment. He wanted to do something so that she wouldn't feel so awkward, but he hadn't worked out what he could do yet.

Suddenly Miharu stopped and pivoted her foot around to block Arashi from walking any further. With his delayed reflexes, the boy nearly crashed straight into her, and had to pull backwards with all his might to stop his momentum. His eyelids bulged upward in surprise at the sudden action this girl had just performed. Her eyes were directed downwards at their feet, not wanting to look up and face his analyzing eyes, but although she could not tell they were also filled with compassion and empathy. He had been in a similar situation before where he was afraid to look his conversational partner directly in the eyes. Arashi couldn't help but to feel a bit sorry for the girl, and then those exact words began to slip out of her mouth. "I'm sorr...." she began and then stopped in mid thought and paused for a bit. After rethinking what she was saying, she changed to "Did you maybe want to get some tacos? I mean if you don't want to then...."

The shy girl's arm was outstretched in front of him and his jacket swung freely from her clenched fist, the blood rushing out and leaving her knuckles white. "Tacos, eh?" Arashi replied, his mouth beginning to salivate at the thought of his most favorite food. He remembered that he had not touched much of his breakfast this morning even though he was hungry and would love to sink his sharp teeth into a warm taco right about now. However something much more important was on his mind right now. He stared straight ahead at the mildly worn deep blue jacket that was being offered to him. "I knew I was irresistible! Not a single person can resist giving into my charm!" he thought within his own mind and gave a slight wink with a twitch of his eye. "I'd love to," Arashi finally replied and reached out to take back his jacket, then slipped his arms into the sleeve openings and zipped it up halfway.

That was when Arashi realized that he was incredibly late meeting Shiiro at the Pokemon Center in Sandgem Town. His jaw dropped and he turned his upper body around to peer off in the direction where he knew from memory that the town exit was located. It was in the complete opposite direction he was walking! "Um, I just remembered that I need to meet someone in another town!" he exclaimed after turning back to Miharu. Arashi did not want to leave this girl hanging after he had come so far from breaking her out of her tight shell, so he added in, "Do you mind coming with me to Sandgem and we can pick up some tacos there for lunch?" He looked towards her excitedly to urge her into tagging along. "I'm sure your Cyndaquil is more than enough to protect you out in the wild. Actually I should say more than enough for the both of us!"

Miharu stood in the cold rain, droplets pouring off her outstretched arms. She clenceh the jacket even tighter. God he probaly thought she was crazy like everyone else. Why did i even think he might be different. She was about to throw the jacket at the boy and walk away when he spoke. "Tacos, eh?" Miharu looked up into the boys face. he had pushed his black hair back to reveal his eyes. They were pretty a beautiful shade of blue. But that wasnt what made them special they were so full of .....life. Her eyes were dead, she knew it, she stared enough at herself in the mirror to see that. While she stared into his eyes he continued "I'd love to." She snapped her eyes from his.

He reached and finally took the jacket from her outstretched hands. Arashi pulled the jacket on, zipping it to its previous posistion. Miharu let her hands drop to her sides, clenching her hands she could still feel the warmth in her hands.

Suddenly Arashis whole demeanor changed, He whipped around to stare the opposite way, obvioudly remembering something important. Arashi turned back around his face now anxious, showing most fully through his eyes. "Um, I just remembered that I need to meet someone in another town!" he explained. Miharu felt crushed. Now he had to leave, the one person shed ever regarded in years. Was there even a friend? Was he just making an excuse to get away from her? She didnt blame him. She sucked in air ready to play off the whole encounter and act like she wasbt dissapointed. Why did she care what he thought anyway. Miharu opened her mouth to speak when he blurted "Do you mind coming with me to Sandgem and we can pick up some tacos there for lunch?" Miharu was shocked. He wanted to travel with her?! Why? She stepped back not sure what to do. She wanted to talk to the boy but she didnt know about traveling.

Miharu closed her eyes and reached for Kyu. She felt her in her mind and asked her opinion. It was pretty obvioud Kyu like this boy to an extent as long as he kept his distance. And she was yearning to go somewhere, they used to travel around alot with her family and sinc ethey had joined the town they hadnt gone out. Secretly Miharu knew she also wanted an excuse to leave this place. She looked up at him, tugging on her sleeves suddenly self concious.

"I'm sure your Cyndaquil is more than enough to protect you out in the wild. Actually I should say more than enough for the both of us!" He said, obviously aware this would ensure Kyu was in. Miharu felt Kyu flare up at her ankle singing her calf. She hissed covering her pain. "Okay. That sounds okay. um.. when should we go? now?" She tugged hard on her sleeves, her scars feeling weird all of a sudden.