Chapter 2: The First Day

“Fusion... Hey, wake up.” 

Fusion groaned and rolled over. “Not now mom. I’m tired.”

“I’m not your mom, now get up. We’re gonna be late... C’mon!” the voice whined while poking Fusion’s back.

“Dad?” Fusion rolled back. “Wha-” He suddenly remembered where he was upon seeing Anko. “Crap! What time is it?!” 

“Fifteen minutes till ten. Don’t you have to go all the way to the Volcano den?”

“Ahh!” Fusion jumped to his feet. “I gotta get moving! I don’t even know how to get there!” He rushed over to his chest and began strapping on his treasure bag. “We shouldn’t have stayed up so late... even then I couldn’t fall asleep... Alright, I gotta go!” He rushed out the door, with Anko leaving just behind him. 

He walked down the ramp next to Santana’s shop to the forest floor. From there, he went west along the dirt paths until he found a map. It showed the paths leading from all the locations. Most paths converged in a center point between the dens and the main buildings to the north, so he went north before going off west along the main path.

It took about ten minutes alternating between running and jogging to make it to the base of the mountain. If his sense of time was right, he’d make it just as it started. He had to stop to look at the directions once he arrived at the Volcano Den. Following some signs, he went into the caves and entered the room marked on his schedule. It was already full of other  pokemon, Fusion moving into the group and sat behind an empty desk. The desks were just carved and smoothed stone blocks with cushions behind them. On every desk was an inkwell.

“Alright guys, it's time to start,” the darmanitan at the front called. “So, this is your first class. You’re lucky, grehehe,” he chuckled. “This is a fun one. I’m Daruma and this is Battle training. Pretty self-explanatory, yeah? No matter what you decide to do, wild pokemon are a risk. Not all of them are dangerous, but many that occupy the world’s dungeons are territorial. You have to be able to defend yourself, whether exploring, rescuing, bounty hunting, looking for treasure... You will get in a fight no matter what path you walk. One important thing to remember though. Wild pokemon are still pokemon just like us. While they might not be as civilized, they still think and feel. Very few will actually attempt to kill, they just want to force you out of their home. You only have a right to kill if your life is also at risk. Treat your opponents with respect. Now, let’s get started.” He turned around, dipping a finger into a bucket of white paint. He used it to begin making drawings on the flat stone wall. “Hopefully you already know your type matches. If not, I have handouts up here to remind you. But you also need to know your own advantages. Pokemon with certain personalities are naturally aligned with combat attributes. Everyone come up and take a quiz. Don’t worry, it’s not graded, grehehe. It’ll tell you what nature you are, then you can use this chart,” he pointed to the square shaped chart he made, “to find your strength and weakness.”

After waiting in a line of about thirty, Fusion grabbed one of both sheets, stored them in his pack, and returned to his desk. He took them back out and went through a simple personality quiz. When he compiled all his scores he was left with his answer: brave. He was naturally strong with physical attacks and slower than average.

“Once you finish, pack up your things. We’re headed to the combat arena,” Daruma announced. Shortly after, the group left the classroom and travelled through the caverns to a much bigger room with several thick supports of rock and a high roof. “Alright, pick a partner and have a mock battle. For now, try to focus on your strengths.”

Fusion looked around but didn’t recognize anyone. 

“Hey hot stuff,” a voice said from behind him. 

Fusion jolted and looked behind him. “Oh, Nina. Hey. You wanna team up?”

“Well, we’re a team already. Come on,” she motioned with her head to follow as they left the crowd, going to one of the far ends of the chamber. “Right, so, you ready?” 

“Yeah, I’m good with physical attacks, so...”

“Well, my nature’s sassy. Know what that means?” she didn’t give him any time to think as her stance lowered and dark energy began to form around her. Fusion could only ready himself before a wave of darkness shot towards him, battering his body while it knocked him down. 

“Agh!” He cried out, more in surprise than pain, but it was still a powerful attack. “Alright,” he growled while standing back up. “You asked fo-” She was gone. His head whipped around trying to find her with no luck. A yelp left him as his tail was pulled on. When he spun around, he was met with a barrage of claws. He grit hit teeth and scrunched his eyes, holding out until it ended so he could counter attack. The moment it did, he opened his eyes, body already moving for a tackle. He immediately saw her trick, as only a tail remained in the air, before fading away. “Illusion fox...” he growled as he pounced on nothing but air. He quickly regained his footing and raised his nose, sniffing at the air. It was a bit harder, with all the other scents in the room, but hers was the clearest. “Flame wheel!” He called out, charging right for her. Fire wrapped around his body as he jumped and started to roll. She tried to move out of the way, but he was locked onto her, crashing into what felt like her side. He landed on his feet to see her falling onto the ground, now visible. She remained completely still, not even breathing. “Nina? You okay?” he asked, rushing over to her. 

“Hya!” she cried out as she rolled over and smacked him with a paw. He went flying and landed prone. “Hah, you should have seen the look on your face!” He grunted and looked up at her when she planted a paw on his side, holding him down. He was greeted with his own face, looking down at him with a panicked expression. “Just like that,” she told him, her face going wavy before returning to normal. “That didn’t even hurt. And what kind of dummy calls out his attacks? I saw it coming a mile away.” 

“S-shut up!” he said, blushing in embarrassment. 

“It was a smart move to sniff me out. That canine sense of smell was made to find my kind. All I can do is fool your eyes.”

“Yeah, see? If you hadn’t pulled that cheap shot, I would’ve won.” 

“Don’t think so pup.” She pressed down when he tried to squirm away. “I’m stronger than you.”

“Time’s up!” Daruma called. “Find new partners everyone!” 

“Well, it was fun playin’ with you hotty.” Nina let him go. “See you around.” She left and went looking for a new partner. 

“You, weakling,” someone growled. Fusion looked over to see a bagon glaring at him. “Next target.” 

“Who-”

“Rex,” he growled, lowering his head and charging forward with surprising speed. Fusion barely had time to react, let alone dodge. He took a powerful headbutt directly to the face, getting knocked to the ground a few feet back. Before he could get up, he was washed in purple flames, making him cry out in pain. The assault didn’t end though, as he opened his eyes to see Rex coming again, this impact to the side sending him rolling along the smooth stone floor. “Runt stay down.” 

Fusion tried to stand, but his legs were too weak to lift his body. He was completely beaten, not only by him, but Nina too. “Ugh...” he groaned. He was sore, but not injured. He had to lie there, panting and recovering before he felt okay to move again. Rex had already moved on, leaving him alone.

“Everyone!” Daruma called out. “That’s enough, gather round. So, you probably know there are more ways to fight than just your ‘moves’. Moves are just standard ways to use our powers. They’re simple and easy to perform. But pokemon power has tons of uses, far beyond the standardized ways. The problem is it’s tough to improvise in the heat of battle. You gotta practice it ‘till it becomes second nature. So for next week, come up with a new trick. It can be offensive, defensive or even a support move, be creative, come up with something that fits your style. No need to master it, just come back with something cool to show me. That’s all, you’re dismissed.” 

+++

“Hey Fusion! I’m back! How was your... Are you okay?” Anko said as he came into their room, stopping when he saw Fusion lying face down on his bed. 

“Yeah... just...” he groaned.

Anko came closer, sitting just in front of him. “Look at me.” He waited until Fusion raised his head. “What’s wrong?”

“I got my butt kicked at training today. Back home... I was the toughest around. I made bullies behave themselves. But I was helpless.” He dropped his head back down, letting out a frustrated growl.

“And how did that make you feel?”

"Worthless. Nina just played around with me, like I wasn’t even a worthy fight. And some bagon beat me down and mocked me. I thought I was strong...”

“Well, maybe you aren’t strong, so what? That’s why we’re here, to learn and improve ourselves. So you just have to work harder than them. Train your heart out and prove you’re not worthless.”

“Yeah... you’re right.” Fusion stood up, eyes burning with passion. “That was... Are you sure you’re the same Anko as yesterday?” 

“Of course I am. Who else would I be?” he asked, tilting his head in confusion. “I’m hungry. Are you hungry? We should ask Nina and Lee if they wanna get lunch.”

“Sure. I want to talk to Nina anyways.”

They left their room and crossed the bridges to the girls’ room. “Nina! Lee!” Anko called out before poking his head through the curtain. “Nope, nobody home.” 

“Sneaking a peek at a girl’s room?” They both turned to find Nina at the connector, smiling at her own joke. “Is Lee in there?” 

“Nope. We were just looking for you both. Wanna get lunch?” Anko asked.

“Yeah. Lee will just have to miss out. I was looking for her, but I can’t find her anywhere.”

“That’s too bad. Come on, let’s get some food. I’m starved,” Anko said exaggeratedly.

The group traveled across the den, back to Santana’s shop, where they ordered meals before going to sit.

“Hey, Nina,” Fusion said eventually.

“Huh?”

“I’m going to get stronger. Stronger than you, or your sister. Just you watch me.”

“Ohhh kay. Anything else you wanna tell me?” she asked in confusion. “Wait, is this about training today? I was just teasing, don’t take it seriously.”

“So when you called me dumb...”

“Yeah, I didn’t mean it. If I knew it bothered you that much, I wouldn’t have. Sorry if I upset you.” 

“Oh...”

“Yeah.”

“The only fights I’ve ever got in was with jerks. They’d just give up after one hit,” Fusion said.

“That’s your problem. My sister helped me train. An hour every day, we’d practice moves together.”

“I’ve never trained... I just pounced and growled, maybe bit a little.”

“Everyone else has probably been training hard too. So you’re pretty far behind.” 

“I just never thought about it... I feel kinda stupid now...” Fusion set his head on the table sullenly.

“Hey, cheer up, both of you. It’s only day one, too soon to be all mopey,” Anko said loudly.

“He’s right. Let’s both work hard,” Fusion said. 

“Yeah.” 

“That’s great,” Anko said with a beaming smile. “Now, how was your day Nina?”

“Fun. I finally got to test out all those cool moves my sister taught me. And we gotta come up with a new move for next week. I’m thinking something that mixes in my illusion ability... What’s on your mind Fusion?” 

“Well, I need to train, that’s for sure. For my move... I’m slow but strong physically, so maybe like a fire tackle... wait that's already a move...”

“Your food,” a pansear holding a tray said, setting it on their table.

“Oh hey, I was wondering about you!” Anko said excitedly. “Who are you? What do you do?”

“Huh? Oh, nobody usually asks about me. Sorry, but I’m busy, so I have to make it quick. I’m Trevor. I’m not a student, I work as a chef and assistant for Santana. Hope you guys like my food,” he explained before hurrying off. 

“His food is pretty good,” Anko said. “So, who’s excited for tomorrow? We have teamwork class.”

“Me and Lee are in that one too,” Nina told him. “Probably the whole Forest den is. Makes sense.”

“I’m more concerned about getting that badge. I can’t wait to start doing missions,” Fusion said. “Best way to train is with the real thing.”

“Good luck with that. My sis told me you start off with really simple stuff. You’ll fight caterpie all day while gathering oran berries. You gotta train on the dummies they have instead. More boring, but it works.”

“Oh, I might go do that then.”

“I think I’ll spend the rest of my day exploring. Get a feel for the island,” Nina said.

“Oh oh oh! Can I come?!” Anko asked excitedly.

“Sure. Sound’s fun.” They both ate quick. 

“Alright, I’m done! See you later Fusion!” Anko hopped off the bench and hurried off.

“Hey! Wait for me!” Nina called. “See you later,” she told Fusion before following.

Fusion sat there for a moment, watching them go, before looking back down at his food. He finished up his meal before leaving to find the training grounds. According the maps, there were several scattered around the forest floor. He memorized the way before going down the ramp. The place was close by, almost enough to be seen from their elevated room. As he approached, following the dirt path, he heard noises. At first it was an explosion. As he got closer, he heard grunts and growls, along with the sizzling of flames. When he finally rounded the corner and could see the field, a lone fennekin was fighting fiercely. 

Lee leapt from one straw dummy to another, delivering a fiery tackle to one. She turned and leaped off of it, landing on the ground, then spun around and shot three balls of fire rapidly. Each one exploded in a shower of embers, hitting their targets dead on. She turned again and focused on the first target. A spiral beam of psychic energy shot out from her and collided with the dummy. She then looked upwards and let out a howl, panting in exertion. 

“Wow! Lee, that was awesome!” Fusion cheered, running up to her. 

She turned, looking almost ready to attack, which made him skid to a stop. “Oh... It’s just you... F-something, right?

“Fusion... we’re teammates, you should know my name...” he muttered. “Anyways, hey you’re pretty strong.”

“Humph, of course I am. I’m not a weakling like you,” she said dismissively and looked away.

“Why does everyone keep calling me that! I might not be as strong as you, but that doesn’t mean-”

“It does mean that. I can tell just by looking at you. You don’t belong here. The only reason you made it is luck. Some of us worked hard.” She scowled angrily at him.

“Listen, I know I’m not strong. But I want to get better. I’m willing to work hard too! That's why I came down here. I need to train, so will you help me?”

“Why should I?”

“Because I want to be friends. We’re a team, we should get along and work together,” Fusion tried to negotiate.

“No way, I don’t need friends. I’m leaving, so,” she started walking past him. “Do whatever you want.”

“Fine. I’ll show you. And everybody else. I’ll get strong! Really super strong! Stronger than you.” 

“Why you-” She turned back and glared angrily. “Whatever!” She growled loudly before turning and leaving.

“Wow... she is really high strung.” Fusion looked away and surveyed the destruction she left behind. A large amount of the dummies were scorched black and leaking straw. He felt a slight pang of guilt, as most of them would need replaced, but that was likely the cost of training. They were still usable, but not for much longer. A few had even been reduced to ash, only a burnt wooden pole remaining jutting from the ground. ”So... what should I...” he wondered aloud. “I guess I’ll just try to fight one.” 

He readied himself, before charging right at a dummy. In his usual fashion, he leapt into the air pouncing at the dummy. But instead of toppling it like he would his usual neighborhood foes, the sturdy dummy just absorbed the tackle. “Ugh!” he grunted, falling to the dirt. “Alright..." He reached forward and batted it with a paw, hurting himself more than the stiff mass of dried plants. “Not very receptive...” He frowned in thought as he looked around. “Oh, I get it! It’s like Mr. Daruma said, practice. Like building muscles. These aren’t for combat practice, they’re for exercise. Before I can fight other pokemon, I have to sharpen my moves and body so I don’t get beat up.”

“So, just like Lee.” He braced his body, breathing deeply a few times. Then he took in a long gulp of air, building up the heat in his lungs and mouth before spitting out a burst of weak flames. The embers of the attack scattered all over, several landing on the dummy. They burned for a moment before flickering out, leaving black marks behind. “I should probably focus on physical moves for now. I need something to win fights. And that unique move...”

He readied again, building up the heat in his fur until it burst into flames. With the set up, he ran forward to perform his best move, flame wheel. Before reaching the target, he leapt and spun, slamming his fiery body into the dummy. For a split second, he felt it give, the wooden post bending, before it bounced back and slammed him to the ground. “Gah!” he cried out in pain. “Again!” he told himself, getting up and building heat once more.

+++

“Where are we going? Huh? Huh?”

“To-”

“Where?!” Anko shouted excitedly, eyes bulging at the possibilities. 

Nina waited a moment before speaking. “To the main buildings. And the Ocean den after that.”

“Oh, I went to the Ocean den for class today! It was cool!” 

“Well keep your mouth shut. I wanna see for myself.”

They were well past the crossroads now, still heading north. In a short time, the roof of the manor that was the administration building was visible through the trees. Besides the largest one, there were three smaller, but still large, buildings in the area, which held classrooms and staff facilities. 

“Wow... Didn’t really have time to look with all the commotion but this place is huge!” Nina exclaimed. The mansion of a building was three stories tall and stretched out into wings on either side and to the back. The architecture was unique, built with far more care and detail than the majority of pokemon buildings. It likely cost and took a lot to construct. Nina led the way inside, pushing open the large wooden doors on the front. As they both entered, the doors drifted shut on their own. As they saw earlier, the inside was just as ornate as the outside, making the entire building seem like a work of art. “C’mon, let’s look around.”

“Are you sure we’re supposed to be here? There’s no one else...” Anko said cautiously.

“It’s fine. Where’d all that excitement go?”

“I just don’t wanna get in trouble.”

“What’s the point of a building if no one can go in? Besides, we were already here earlier.” She started walking further in, moving towards the right-side hallway. “Don’t be a baby.” Anko hesitated, but followed shortly after. The hall they entered was large, wide enough for two large pokemon to walk side by side and tall enough too. Down the length were many doors. Nina made a beeline for the first one and pushed it open. 

“Please tell me there aren’t any more!” a voice inside begged. “Oh, sorry,” he quickly apologized upon seeing the little zorua poking her head inside. Behind a desk inside was a luxray, sitting next to a large stack of papers. The light blue sections of his fur were darker than normal. His piercing red eyes quickly studied over her. “And you, behind the door, don’t be shy, come on in.” He motioned with a paw. 

Both Anko and Nina came inside. “Who are you?” Anko asked.

“I’m Phantom, the headmaster. I was the one who founded the ARE.”

“Oh wow!” Anko said, moving forward excitedly. He put his paws on the desk and looked up at the larger male. “You probably have some great stories!” 

“You’re right. You probably got the message already, but I made this school because I wanted the next generation to have an easier time than we did,” he explained.

“Phantom? Got some more,” a female voice called from outside. A moment later, a ninetales stepped around the corner, holding several bundles of papers in her tails. “Oh, hi there,” she said when she saw the two young pokemon. “I’m Mystic, nice to meet you. Sorry but, we’re really busy. Could you come back later?”

“Yeah, sorry. We’re just exploring,” Nina said. 

“But-”

“Come on Anko. Let’s go.” Nina turned and walked past the ninetales.

Anko looked over at Phantom expectantly. 

“Don’t worry. You can come back any time. I promise.”

Anko nodded and followed after Nina. “Man, it’s cool that he and his mate founded this place together,” he said upon catching up.

“Mate? I thought she was just his secretary. How can you tell?”

“The way they look at each other. They’re in love.”

“Didn’t see it. He’s gotta be legendary to be able to run this place though. Wonder if he teaches any classes?”

“He seemed busy. But he did promise to talk to me again, so...” Anko trailed off, his tail waving happily. “What were we doing?”

“Now? We’re going to the ocean den. After that, I think I’ll take a break, maybe do a little training later, and that’s a day.” 

“Oh, yeah. Kinda forgot,” he said plainly.

“It must be nice being dumb,” Nina muttered.

“Huh?”

“I said, let’s get moving.”

+++

“I can do this!” Fusion shouted, running forward on shaky legs. Tiny, barely visible flames floated around him, sputtering in and out of existence. Before he could pounce, his front legs buckled, sending him tumbling to the ground. He rolled head over heels several times before coming to a stop on his back. He tried to get up, but his aching muscles wouldn’t respond. “Ughhh... This is way harder than I expected,” he groaned. “Didn’t think I would get this wiped out.” He looked down over his belly to the dummy, the same ones that Lee had decimated. After giving it all he had, it was only somewhat burnt and leaning backwards. Even trying hard, he didn’t measure up. He had to improve, and fast. The others were still training and wouldn’t wait for him to catch up. “Five minute break!” he announced.

+++

“So is this it?” Nina asked.

“Yep. My class was in that one over there,” Anko told her. They were on the border of the Ocean den, which stretched across the beach that made up the island’s east side, where it was at its lowest. The bigger buildings were mostly on the dirt and rocks, but lots of small huts were built both in the sand and over the water, being held up by thick wood posts. Various pokemon were wondering around all over the place.

“Hello there. You aren’t from the Ocean den, are you?”

Anko and Nina turned around to find a riolu approaching them. Two eevee were nearby behind her, but seemed more concerned with wrestling in the sand. “We’re just looking around,” Nina said. 

“Hi!” Anko greeted happily. “I’m Anko, she’s Nina.” 

“Layla. Nice to meet you both. They’re Marie and Bree, twins, but,” she glanced over to them and shrugged. “So where are you from?”

“Forest,” Nina told her. 

“And we already made a team with our friends! Team Union!” Anko announced excitedly.

“You too huh? Team Fluff. Those two convinced me into it on day one,” she admitted, rubbing the back of her head. 

“Yep, same boat here,” Nina said, motioning with her head towards Anko, who just keep smiling.

“Seems there’s plenty of friendly pokemon here,” she said jokingly. “Well, just thought I’d say hi. I just got back from exploring the island myself. Good luck!” she wished them well and went back to her teammates.

“She seemed nice,” Anko chimed in. 

“You say that about everyone.”

“Well it’s true.”

“You don’t even know her.”

“And? That doesn’t mean they aren’t nice!” Anko argued.

“Whatever, let’s go home.”

+++

“Fusion?” Anko asked as he came into their room. “You home?” 

“Ungh...” his voice groaned from inside. 

Anko looked over to see Fusion lying on his bed, face down and limbs splayed out. “Are you okay?”

“Sore. Tired. Can’t move anymore.” 

“Okay, seems like you were busy while we were gone. Nina and I are going to go do some training before sunset.” 

“Kay, have fun,” Fusion muttered without looking.

Anko left the room and went back to Nina waiting on the bridge. “He’s done for today.”

“Alright then. Lee is nowhere to be found, as usual. Just us this time.” 

“Let’s go, it’s always more fun to train with others,” Anko stepped around her and led the way, running off ahead only to wait for her to catch up. He repeated this a few times until they reached the closest training field. 

“Geez, somebody went to town here,” Nina said, looking over the damaged dummies. “Well, we did a mock battle in class today, so how about we spar?”

“Okay. Just... Let’s be careful. I don’t wanna hurt you.”

“Obviously, ready?” Nina took a deep breath and braced her legs for combat.

“Here we go.” Anko stood across from her and looked up, closing his eyes while he took a big breath.

“Oh, one last thing, call out your moves, that way we can recognize each other's attacks in a team fight. Thank Fusion for that idea.” Her fur waved as dark energy built up around her. “Dark pulse!” A wave of darkness shot across the ground, rapidly moving for Anko. 

He turned around and kicked up some dirt. “Sand attack.” The wave of Nina’s energy only pushed along the ground, sweeping the cloud of dust into the air. She closed her eyes as it washed over her, blocking her from seeing if her attack hit or not. 

Her fur sparkled a bit as she began to manipulate the light around her, forming an illusion of invisibility. Even though he was a canine and could probably sniff her out, it would give her a moment of respite to counterattack. She ran sideways, out of the dust cloud. 

Anko dug his paws into the ground, pulling up a chunk of rock for his next attack. The dirt and rocks formed into a spherical shape, highlighted with his brown energy. But he didn’t launch it yet. He set the head sized rock down on the ground and began to form another as ammo. His ear twitched as he heard footsteps approaching, swiveling to face the sound. He set down the second rock and looked closely. 

As Nina moved closer, she stepped in the dust falling on the ground, creating a paw print. Suddenly, the ground around her burst open and wedges of rock raised and surrounded her.

“Oh, uh, rock tomb.”

Nina grunted as the rocks pressed tightly against her from all angles, becoming more of a dome. 

“And rock throw.” Anko lifted one of the rocks then launched it towards the cocoon holding Nina.

While Nina was preparing to break out with another dark pulse, a boulder suddenly crashed through and hit her in the side. It launched her with enough force to crash her through the other side. She coughed as the impact knocked the air out of her, sending her rolling across the ground. She eventually came to a stop on her side, not moving. It wasn’t because she was planning to use faint attack, it was because she couldn’t move without pain. 

“Nina!” Anko cried out running over. “Did I hurt you?! I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to! This always happens, I knew it. We shouldn’t-”

“It’s alright,” Nina grunted, taking a few deep breaths and coughs. “Whew, damn, you’re really strong. Reminds me of my sister.” She cleared her throat and rolled over onto her belly, grunting at the soreness in her muscles. 

“Yeah... Every time I’ve fought with my friends... I always ended up hurting them. Even if I hold back. 

“I’ll be okay, don’t worry. Hey, so... don’t tell anybody else how strong you are.” 

“What? Why?” Anko cocked his head in confusion. 

“You can be our secret weapon,” Nina smiled deviously.

“Oh, that does sound fun. Okay.” That cheered Anko back up, his smile returning. 

“Hey, so, you mind carrying me? You kinda wiped me out.”

“Sure.” Anko laid down. “Here, climb on my back.”

Nina shakily got to her feet and nearly collapsed on top of Anko’s back. 

“Hold on tight.” He stood up, straining a bit under her weight. 

As he started walking, Nina looked at the torn up rocks on the ground. “Hey, I’ve never fought a rock type before. Do you have to have access to the ground or something?”

“Well, I can make rocks out of nothing but my power.” A brown ball that looked similar to a rock, but somewhat see-through and smaller than the real ones, formed in the air beside his head. It then faded away as he released the power. “But it’s easier and stronger to just use what’s already there. Though it always makes ugly holes in the ground.”

Anko trudged his way back up into the trees. The sun was well into setting and it was getting dark quickly, the dwindling light unable to penetrate the trees. As they got closer, Nina started to rub his rough neck fur with her arms wrapped around his neck. It was only a short time before they made it back to their rooms. “There you go. Sorry for beating you up,” Anko told her as he knelt down for her to climb off.

“My hero. Thanks. See you tomorrow,” Nina said, going back into her room. She wasn’t surprised to see Lee not there. “That girl...” She moved towards her bed and unpacked her things. After that, she stumbled stiffly over to the water barrel and put some in a bowl. First she drank from it then used her paws to clean herself up. Ready for bed, she went back over to her bed before falling over onto it. “Whew,” she sighed.

As she laid there and relaxed, she thought about her assignment from class. She had formed her fighting style from Mio’s, her sister. She taught her the incredible versatility of their ability. Maybe she could make a new attack with it, instead of using it for ambushes and tricks. Something big and flashy...

The curtain moved aside as Lee came in wordlessly. Barely even glancing at Nina, she walked over to her bed and sat down. 

“Welcome home,” Nina said. After Lee didn’t respond, she said, “it wouldn’t kill you to say hi or something.”

“Why bother?” 

“I dunno, maybe because I’m your roommate and we’re gonna live together for the next year?” Nina said sarcastically. “What is your problem?”

“My ‘problem’? This team crap for one. You’re all just weight I don’t need. That growlithe in particular, he’s worthless.” 

“His name is Fusion. Why are you such an asshole?”

“Hmph,” Lee grunted. “Whatever. I’m going to sleep so keep it down.”