Wandering Hearts

[Creator_Drake]

It's all about practise really. The more you write, the more experience you get in all areas, pacing being the subject here. But regardless, another awesome entry! Also, not every portion of the story can be a high point, there has to be a build up. If there wasn't, the high points would lose meaning.

[Unsealed]

Yay~
If it makes the readers feel any better, I do have experience with action scenes and a fairly eclectic range of story aspects. Grimdark, Nightmare Fuel, Erotica (including Fetish Fuel), Slice of Life, Suspense, Mystery, Horror, Comedy, and a few others. However, I'm still relatively new to fanfics, as this is only the second major project I've done. Oneshots aren't my thing, so much as writing novels is.

Once the story really gets going, you should get a nice mix of events to keep most of the readers happy. However, one of the things I wanted to do with this was to attempt a slightly more 'realistic' take on the Pokemon setting and incorporating more mature elements, while still keeping fairly true to the spirit of the original.

And ofc Monster Girls.

[Feathers]

Well you have a natural aura of a skilled writer in my opinion and I never would of guessed that you were new at it. O_O I really enjoy reading your posts in general as well.

[Creator_Drake]

Oneshots aren't my thing, so much as writing novels is.

I feel the exact same, only I don't have as much experience in writting different scenes like you have

[Unsealed]

I say new but it's a little... Odd. I only really have the one fic. But it's been ongoing for a couple of years now. I do have a horrible flop of a fic that barely made it through a couple of posts, but that's actually my second attempt. And the main reason it died was becuase, between work, a long running RP, and the first fic, I didn't have the time to work on it.

I rarely update the first fic now, and my readers have become used to it, so I don't feel quite as bad. Tbh, one of the main reasons I don't update it is due to a hatred of the way vBulletin's system butchers the typesetting of my chapters. Every time I post something on that Forum from Word, I have to go through it and fix the spacing that seems to randomly run words together. Since all of my chapters for Wandering Hearts get posted there first, though, I can just fix it once and drop it on three sites via copypaste.

[Unsealed]

[Replay]

I find myself waking up to a very worried Doctor Mills. Mills, whose first name I don’t remember, has been responsible for my care. Apparently. Mostly, he’s been a bit too clinically detached, since he’s barely spoken to me.
Right now, he’s saying more to me than he did over the course of the entire past two days.

I guess it’s understandable. His job is done way too soon, and he has no idea why.
It’s not like I can tell him ‘Hey, I took a wonder drug for animals last night, and now all of my injuries are gone.’ Sequoia wouldn’t be the only loon wanting to study me then. So what they get out of me is this:
“I don’t know. Maybe I’m just a fast healer?” In hindsight, that might have gotten me stuck in some kind of study as well.
This has absolutely no effect on their actions whatsoever. The Doctor and the nurses are running around making phone calls, organizing papers, and generally not leaving me alone for five seconds.
Maybe I should have said it was an Aura healer? Or an Esper?

Next time something like this happens, I’ll tell them a wizard did it.

Before they can ship me off to some research lab, I tell them I’ve already made arrangements with a one ‘Doctor Sequoia,’ and make a call to my mom on this new Moedex thing to see if she can’t pull some strings.
Like I said before, her family has a lot of pull in the medical, pharmaceutical, and veterinary communities. Apparently, it’s enough pull to keep this quiet. I give her the details in as vague a way as possible, and before long, they’re removing my stitches and I’m on my way home in my dad’s car.
“What I don’t understand is how you managed it.” My dadwasn’t told what happened, apparently. It seems like mom just told him to pick me up.
That’s not really unusual. Mom basically rules thehousehold. The office is dad’s domain, the home is hers.
“You’re not going to believe this, but…” I give him the gist of what happens. Even from the side view I can see his eyes bulge.
“So…”
“Yeah, so apparently I’m some sort of mutant freak that can use things that normally only work on Moemon. Or at least Potion Spray.” Actually, that makes me think. They make a lot of weird products for Moemon, right? Something about Technical Machines that can give them special abilities and super vitamins that can dramatically increase their abilities permanently.
“I wonder…” Then again, that might be pushing my luck. It’sprobably just some weird reaction to the chemicals in that spray.
“Why do I have the feeling your mother has something to do with this?”
“I had the same impression, but it’s not like I can prove it. I’d like to ask her, but prying into the Joy family…”
“Discretion is the better part of valor, son. The Joys are not people you want mad at you.”
“Yeah, no kidding. Just thinking about how fast everything cleared up with a single phone call scares me.”
If they can do something like that with a case that could revolutionize the treatment of injuries for the entire human race, just make it all disappear, what would happen if they decided you were poking too much into their secrets?
I’m pretty sure mom is involved in this somehow. Just what’s been inferred, and what I can see for my own eyes every time I go to a clinic s cares me.

There’s no way that many people can be that perfectly identical, even if they’re in the same family, without some serious genetic abnormalities.
Or modifications.

It’s scary to think that I might be some kind of genetically modified experiment, or the child of something like that. If that’s the case…
Do I really qualify as human?

This spring break sucks. Really sucks.

When is something going to go right for me? Ah, well, right without some kind of insane catch, anyway.

The rest of the drive is in silence. I see lots of people my age walking along the streets. Sure, there are others, older people, younger, but it’s the ones my age that really stand out.
They have Moemon beside them.
All different shapes and sizes, male and female, in lots of different outfits. It’s like this every year. Like a festival of color and race. And still, I don’t know how to feel about it. Should I feel jealous of them? Should I feel afraid of what’s to come? Should I feel happy for them?
How many of them have had sex with their partners? How many were virgins before?

What are those people thinking, I wonder?
The city of Fall’s Ridge eventually gives way to highway, lined with deep forests and hills. I wonder how many wild Moemon live in those woods, hide in those hills. The mountains loom high and close, putting everything in shadow, and after only about ten minutes, my dad turns off. It really feels surreal sometimes, how close the city is.

Beech Wood, the town where I live, is a suburb of Fall’sRidge. It’s a mountainous area around here, filled with natural beauty. It’s a great place to live. The wildlife would agree. At least, assuming you’re not afraid of said wildlife, anyway. The mountains here are old and quiet and peaceful. The hills hide old ruined cabins and mines, limestone caverns, and ruins from ancient civilizations. There are plenty of nature trails, and during the winter the mountains and towns are blanketed with snow. It can get pretty hot during the summer and spring, though.
Despite being a mountain town, where almost everything is built on slants and following the hills and valleys, we’re surprisingly modern. I’ve seen other towns that look like nothing’s changed over the past forty years. Beech Wood, though, everything is modern convenience. Partly it’s because there’s a large University in town. There are also several active mines in the area, so there are two major sources of income and a major public draw. The town’s proximity to Fall’s Ridge helps keep it relatively small. Ah, and there’s also the dam to the west that feeds off of a large river that flows out of the mountains. That’s a major source of income too. I almost forgot about it since it’s so far out there.

Twisting mountain roads bring us back home, a shortcut that avoids most of the city traffic. It actually takes us past the Research Center that brought so much pain the other day.
Soon enough the car pulls into the drive of our simple, two story home. To this day I don’t know who put forth more money for it, my mom or my dad. I just know that they paid for it jointly and bought after years of payments.
It’s a nice house, I think. Wood, rather than those brick ranches you see so often in suburbs. Though really, that’s not uncommon around here. There are quite a few wood houses in the neighborhood.

It feels good to be home. It may not have been that long, but when you can’t get back on your own... Then it really makes you miss it.
“Ah! The power’s back.”
“Did you think we’d leave it like that?” My dad laughs as we head inside.

I sit at the table and just rest. It’s strange. Just sitting here feels good for some reason. Relaxing. Before long, mom comes back, a slightly sour look on her face.
Apparently, she’d been discussing the situation with her relatives. Her look says there might be trouble, or there might not. That conflicted face of someone worrying about something.
Both my dad and I look at each other.
We know that look. That look says someone in her family isn’t happy right now, and that it could turn into a nasty problem. That look also says we won’t find anything out about the problem until she knows we’re going to have to deal with it for certain.
There’s no point in asking. It’ll only stress her out more.
Sometimes, I really wonder about her. The only time I’ve ever seen a woman of the Joy family who wasn’t a Nurse, Vet, or Doctor, it was my mother. She completely left that behind, even if she was trained for it. I’ve never learned why. No, I’ve never been able to learn. Something stops me before I ask, like an invisible wall. She may be my mother, and she may be a slave to the color pink, but…
Miranda Joy Birch is a mystery.

She heads off to her room without looking up, her chin in her hands, deep in thought.
The best thing to do is leave her alone for now. Besides, my dad knows better than I do how to turn her mood around.
Speaking of which, I look over at my old man.
We communicate without words, knowing what the other’s thinking. When she’s like this…

“Cup Ramen.” We say it in unison.
Mom loves to cook, surprisingly, and hates it when we eat this junk. But we also know it makes her feel better to think we wouldn’t take care of ourselves if she wasn’t around.
So when she’s down, we eat junk food as a way to stoke her spirits. She’ll see the cups later, and chew us out for sure. Which is exactly the kind of fire we want to see in her.

After a hearty meal of staple college food, dad heads off to see what he can do about mom’s state, and I’m left to find something to do with myself.

It’s been a while, but I don’t feel like going back to my room just yet. Instead, I feel like feeling the fresh air, so I go back outside. There’s a screened deck at the back of the house and a folding sports chair that’s easy to take in during bad weather. I plop down in that and just look, and listen.
I can hear the air conditioner running in my parents’ room. The light’s still on in there, too. They must be talking. I look out and see the woods, deep and dark. Is that where she came from? That dark place? Or was it further, those deep blue mountains in the distance, with their white peaks?

I wonder about that strange girl that was only a part of my life for a single day. I wonder about the strange sense of attachment I have to her. I wonder if I’ll see her again, if I want to see her again. I wonder what the future holds as a cooling breeze makes the leaves dance on the distant trees. The wind carries the faint smell of rain, a promise never far off in spring.

In this moment, a sense of calm and peace washes over me. I don’t have the right to feel that. My body’s caused problems for my parents, and soon enough I’ll have to give that blood sample to the pervert. I’ve made them worry about my health, not to mention racked up a nice hospital bill.

But right now… Right now, it just feels nice. I can smell the scent of flowers on the breeze, the scent of coming rain, the scent of life itself. I can hear the birds in the trees and the song of crickets and frogs as the sky turns shades like autumn leaves. Night draws over the town, and people get ready for sleep.

I breathe deep. I drink it in. I smile. It’s a sad smile, but it’s a smile.
There’s a lot I don’t know. A lot of uncertainty. I still feel like I lost something.

But there’s still tomorrow.

I listen to the silence. I listen to the song of life. I breathe the scent of life.
I listen to the silence. As if obliging me, the air conditioner in my parent’s room grows quiet. The light flickers off, and it’s just me and the coming night. Fireflies dance in the yard.

As the sun gives up the sky to the moon, I look up and sigh. It’s a good night. My eyes adjust to the darkness and I watch the dancing lights, look at the sparks that compete with the moon and stars in the heavens.

How long I sit there, I don’t know. I just enjoy it for a time. But even then, I still need to go to sleep. Heaving another sigh, I rise out of the chair and head inside, flipping the lights.

Nothing happens.

No light.

“Eh?” The lights won’t come on. The fridge is silent. I glance at the DVD player in the living room, my eyes already adjusted to the dark. There’s no display.

Didn’t the AC and light shut off at the same time earlier?
No way.
Can’t be.

I grab a flashlight from the kitchen and one of my bats, and I’m in the yard before I can even think about it.
I already know where I’m going.

The latch is open again, the door ajar. The space under thef looring beckons.
I turn on the flashlight and go in, bat at the ready.
I’m not so stupid as to assume it’s her just because it’s a similar situation. Or for that matter, even if it is her, that she won’t try to cook me again.
I sweep the light around the space, but I don’t see anything. The nest is still there. Looks like no one actually cleaned this thing out yet.
I take my first tentative steps into the darkness, looking for the broken wires, and the true source of the problem.

I feel it a split second before my balance is robbed. Something thin, like a whip, knocked my feet out from under me.

I lose the bat immediately as it skitters off into the darkness. The flashlight bounces and rolls, the beam swinging crazily through the crawlspace. I can only see a little by its light. The beam’s pointed the wrong way.
I roll over, trying to see what hit me, raising my leg to kick.

There’s something small and pale on my thigh. Two points that glow red in the darkness stare at me.

Neither of us moves.
Is it her? Is it the same one, or another? If she came from around here, it could be another one. The small foot on my leg… It’s sitting down, with its foot holding my leg down. The strength from it is absurd. I can barely shift my leg at all.

Was the one I had before this strong? If she was, couldn’t she have just snapped that collar?

Two glowing lamps, like embers. They stare at me in silence. But…
I don’t feel any fear from this. It’s not normal for me. I should be afraid of this. Afraid of being pinned down in the darkness by something like this.
By a monster.

But there’s no fear.

“It’s you, isn’t it?” I know the answer even before I say it. I know there will be no answer.
The red eyes close slowly. Eyes made to drink in the light even in the depths of night. Eyes that are green like emeralds come the dawn.
The small foot slides off of my leg.
There’s a sound in the darkness, and a presence.

Two red eyes open right in front of me. They hover in the space between my legs, even with my own eyes.

She leans closer, until her face is right in front of mine.
Those eyes. I can’t read those eyes. I can’t tell what she’s thinking, feeling. Those eyes, like rubies at night, emeralds by day, stare at me.

There is a sound in the darkness, faint and soft. A feminine sound. Three small noises, so fragile they could be lost in the silence.
“I’ll do it.”

My breath catches in my throat, my eyes widening. My mouth is hanging open. She’s so close now I can feel her breath on my tongue.

“I will be your Starter.”

[Drazzimyr]

Oh my god, I'm loving where this is going. I also like how you factored in the weirdness of the Joy family and how you brought 'Chu' back. Can't wait to see what comes out of this next

[Creator_Drake]

Ooooh, I just can't sit still! This is getting so good!

[Unsealed]

[Morning After]

I wake up slightly stiff and slightly sore, and very hot.
It seems like the AC’s still out from last night. I sigh and lever myself up out of bed. Looks like I shucked my sweat pants in the night again. And my boxers.
The hell did they end up way over there?
Ahhh… I guess last night really was that hot, wasn’t it? And wet. And noisy. I didn’t sleep well at all.

Heh. What perverted things are you thinking right now?
There’s no way in hell I did any of that. Fucking storm front moved in last night. Rained cats and dogs all last night, the humidity shot up, the heat stayed the same, and there was lots of thunder and lightning.

Speaking of lightning, Chu should be in the guest room right now.
Hrm… Should I wake her up first, or go get cleaned up?
Ahhh… Damn. I just realized the shower’s going to be cold as hell with the water heater out. Why’d she have to go and kill the power again? I should make her shower in that. Though… Yeah, she’d probably kill me if I did that.

I still can’t believe it. The little rat could talk the whole damn time. Knew every word we said.
Shit.
Me, mom, dad, even the Ero-Prof and his staff, all of us thought she didn’t understand a thing. In hindsight, it was pretty obvious. The way she acted, and the looks she gave us, she knew way too much. She was just playing dumb the whole time. We guessed, sure, but you can’t prove it unless you can catch her in it.

I sigh.
So this is going to be my partner on my pilgrimage, huh? I have a feeling I bit off more than I can chew.

I decide to get cleaned up already. The water won’t warm up enough in the pipes to make any difference, even if I wait. Besides, I’ve got a lot to do today, too.
After braving the sleeting shower and changing into some casual clothes, I decide I should talk to my parents first.
Believe it or not, they were already asleep by the time that mess under the house ended. And no, I haven’t screwed the mouse.
So anyway, I now have the pleasant job of informing my parents that last night I snuck a naked girl into the house. Who also happensto be a mouse. And is responsible for our current lack of electricity.

Ah! It seems I have perfect timing. As I walk into thekitchen, I find my mom giving my dad his lecture about eating right. Good ol’Cup Ramen. Does the trick every time.
Bracing for impact.
“And you! How many times have I told you that eating right is the first step to good health? You know better than to eat this… this…filth, when there’s food that’s both good and good for you in the refrigerator! All you have to do is reheat it. There’s even a nice spinach salad in there that doesn’t even need that much effort! What is it that possesses you two to eat this?” This could take a while. However, there’s a plan forming in the back of my mind.
My dad and I share a look.
We shrug in unison.
“You don’t know? Really? Is it just male stupidity? You went to more trouble to fix this junk than to eat a salad. And you have nothing to say for yourselves? Am I really going to have to explain the importance of balancing nutrients and the impact of diet on the immune system, development, and overall health? Do you really have nothing to say?”
“There’s a mouse.” Dad gives me a confused look. This isn’t according to our traditional pact.
“…… What?”
“There’s a mouse in the house. I saw it last night after the power went out. Actually, it might be a rat. It was pretty big.” Yeah. Like the size of a person.
“Oh good grief. One problem after another.”
“I think I can go get some traps at the store to…”
“No, no. The ones at the store won’t do. We can’t kill it after all. I’ll go get the humane traps out of the attic.”
“Be careful, it might be up there.” Like hell. I’m gonna be so dead when she figures this out, but at least she’ll be mad at me and not worrying about things she can’t control.
She’s gone just like that.
“You know, it’s not a good idea to lie to your mother. She can be…” The word scary is left unspoken.
“I didn’t lie. There really is a mouse. Sort of.”
“What do mean by ‘sort oh…’” I look at him after that odd ending. His eyes are kind of big. What’s he staring a…
Oh.

There’s a mouse.
In the doorway.
She’s naked.

“So that’s what you meant.” He blinks a couple times, but his eyes don’t move.
“Had fun last night, did we?”
“Uhhh, No. Not really. Apparently, she took out the poweragain last night.”
“So you brought her inside instead? Your mother’s not goingto like that.” He glances at his coffee cup, then at the camping percolator on the counter. What can I say, dad likes his coffee.
“Yeah, well… There were some unusual circumstances. Hey, why are you digging through the garbage over there.” She’s bent over the garbage can looking in. Not that I mind the view, it’s showing off her little breasts from here. Even if I don’t know about actually having sex with her, I can still appreciate the show. Does this make me a bad person?
“Hungry.” A small voice.

Suddenly I’m wearing coffee.
“Ah! Shit that’s hot dad!” Did you really just do a spit-take on me!?!
“She can talk!?!? I thought she was wild!!! Why isn’t shewearing clothes!?!?”
I’m busy using paper towels to mop the hot coffee off me.
I sigh.
“I’m pretty sure she is wild. I don’t think she’s a runaway. She might be abandoned. And she’s not wearing clothes because the only clothes that will fit her are Laurel’s. I don’t think I’d survive stealing her clothes.”
“But, if she’s wild, why can she talk?”
“I’m right here you know. You could just ask.” We look at each other.
“Okay, why can you talk?”
“Besides picking up a lot of words just listening to people chatting with these ears of mine? You people teach others to talk and then set them free or abandon them. More of us understand you than you think.”
“Wait, you mean other Moemon? One’s people abandoned or returned to the wild?”
“Mmm. Sometimes they teach.”
“Ah, hey, wait a minute. You know, you don’t have to dig through the garbage for food. We’ll feed you. It’s not like I brought you in here to starve you. There’s food in the refrigerator. Not like we can eat it after the power went out.”
She looks at me, and then at where I’m pointing.
“This thing? Ah, you must have refilled it. So it’s called arefrigerator.” It seems like she knows the words, but might know what they refer to. Huh. I wonder if she can read.
“Yeah. That’s a refrigerator. We store food and other things that need to be kept cold in it so they last longer.”
“Mmm. Useful. But it’s not very cold.” She moves in front of the door.
“Hmmm. I wonder why that is.” She glances back at me with a confused look. Then focuses on the fridge again.
She opens the door with her back to us. She looks inside.
And then she bends over to check the bottom shelves.

I can see…

Everything.

All conversation around the table ceases. A naked girl has just bent over in a room whose only other occupants are men.

There is a moment of silence.

Two men appreciate the scenery.

“I found the traps!”

Two men prepare to die.

Oh.
Shit.

“Oh.” The only sound out of mom’s mouth. Our eyes are lowered in shame. My father stares a hole in the bottom of his coffee cup. I attempt to see the broken wiring through the floor.
She looks at our flushed faces. At the naked girl looking around the fridge door at the newcomer. Then she looks at my dad.
“Muuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu…” This sound, it’s the banshee. A banshee just called our names.

I remember the wise advice of Professor Sequoia. ‘Run. Run fast.’ Unfortunately, this is an enemy I can’t hope to outrun. Like gazelle before the graceful cheetah, we meet our deaths in the early morning.
“GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!”
……………
………
…

[Unsealed]

[Ready Set]

My ears are ringing. After over an hour of lecturing that I know my dad will experience when he can no longer use the ‘I have to go to work honey’ excuse, I manage to get out of the house. Beside me is a now clothed mouse girl.
Amusingly enough, mom was more pissed at me for stretching the truth a bit than she was for the naked Moemon. Maybe that’s because she was trained to work in the medical field? Or maybe it’s because I managed to get in edgewise that she was a wild Moemon, and that she’d agreed to be my Starter.
Once mom found that out, she insisted I take her to the Clinic as soon as possible. She’ll need to make sure she has her vaccinations and has a thorough cleaning and parasite check. After that, I need to take her to a boutique and buy some clothes for her. That way, she can stop wearing my sister’s and actually get some underwear. Seems like having a tail restricts what you can wear just a bit.
After that, I need to take her back to the Research Center and let them run an aptitude test. If she fails that, even if she’s willing to be my Starter, she won’t be certified and I won’t be able to compete in a Gym. Apparently, they do that as a way to ensure that no one cheats the system in order to get Badges, and also to help make sure that the individual Trainers are treating their partners properly.
It seems a little unnecessary to me, though.

After she passes the aptitude test and I show proof of he rvaccinations and health, they’ll give her the seal of approval, and I’ll be able to start my epic Quest of adulthood.
And here I thought all I’d need was a Starter. Though ,according to mom, all this stuff would have already been handled with an official Starter. They basically just give them to you.
Actually, all this makes me wonder if my parents did this when they were younger? Did they go on Quests of their own? What were their Starters? What kind of adventures did they have, and where are their partners now?

Maybe I should ask when I get back home?

I walk down the road towards town. There’s a bus stop down there, our gateway into the center of town and the Clinic there. I’ll need to see the Nurse Joy there. I think she’s one of my aunts. Apparently, they can give a discount to family members on vaccinations.
My mom and dad have money. I, however, do not, and this is coming out of my travel expenses.
I’m going to need that discount!

“So, you learned to talk from an abandoned Moemon?”
“Mmm. Deep in the mountains there’s an old Alakazam. No one’s really sure how old he is. He’s kind of a legend to the locals. They say he was once the Starter of a girl who went on to become a great wise-woman. But supposedly, he outlived her. Some people say she became a guardian spirit to all the peoples of the world, others that she sacrificed herself to seal agreat evil. Whatever the case, he’s supposed to carry her blessings and her teachings. Everyone calls him Guru. He teaches anyone who’ll listen how to speak, and can even teach us how to read a little, though his memory’s a little… rusty.” She rubs her nose as she finishes talking about this thing.
“Guru huh? So Moemon have things like that? Ah, hey, do you have a name they call you?” I look over at her. The idea that they really do have names for each other reminded me.
“Ah, nothing a human could say.” She puts her hands behind her head.
“Really? Let me hear it.” She quirks an eyebrow at me. There’s a smug smile on her face.
Suddenly her cheeks turn an odd red and sparks dance from them. I take a step back.
I wait a bit, but she doesn’t say anything, she just looks at me as we keep walking.
“Well, are you going to tell me?”
“I just did.”
“Eh?”
Her face lights up again just like before, like a blinking pattern of neon lights.
“That’s my name.” Huh?
“Wait, you mean that pattern of sparks?”
“Mmm.” No way. There is no way in hell I can do something like that.
“Ah. What does it mean?”
“Hmmm… It translates roughly into something like ‘Daughter of Great Wind and Thunder.’”
“Ahh… Wow. Would those be the names of your parents?”
“No. My people name our children after the world around us. I hatched during a big storm, so my parents called me that.”
“Huh. And here I was just going to call you ‘Chu.’”
“Hmph. That’s mostly just a battle cry. It’s really just a negative word. A denial or a refusal. It means a lot of different things depending on what we’re talking about.”
“Ah, so does this mean you were talking to me when I first found you?”
“Something like that.”
“Ah, so… What were you saying back then?”
“’Get out of my house.’ But not as nice.”
“Why didn’t you just talk to me in English then? I mean, there’s no way a human could understand that spark-speak there.”
“It’s common among the peoples of mountain and forest to not speak to humans. Humans do strange things. They unnecessarily complicate things. They’re cruel to each other and to our peoples. They destroy our homes,t ake our food, hunt us, capture us, kill us. They steal the eggs that are our children. The come into our homes with peoples from distant lands they’ve enslaved and they attack us. Guru teaches us that not all humans are bad. He tells us that there are those who are kind, those who are gentle, those who are wise. But he also tells us that there are those who are not, just as there are those among the peoples who act differently from one another. Even so, for the most part, your people are dangerous to us, so it’s a great taboo for us to speak to you.”
“Ummm… So in other words, you did something you really weren’t supposed to do. Is it okay for you to tell me this? And… Did you just burn your bridges?”
“Burn my bridges? I don’t have any bridges?”
“Ah, it’s a figure of speech. It means that you can’t put your relationships back to the way they were because you did something unforgivable.”
“Hmmm. I wouldn’t say that. It’s possible to go back. I think, if I went to see Guru, he would acknowledge it. But it’s true that I did break the taboo, and that telling you about it, and Guru, was probably not wise. But…”
“Hm?”
“Guru once said that the humans hold a tradition that leads to much pain and suffering among the free peoples. It is a long journey, one which he took part in as a youth. Though he said it could bring great suffering, he also said that it could bring great understanding; of all the peoples of the world, of oneself, and even of humans. He said that though it could bring great evil, it could also bring great good. Such was the price, light and darkness, good and evil. He said that the key to it was in the human with whom one journeyed. I wanted to see this for myself, but I do not trust humans. And then you were there before me. Even though I fought with you, even though I hurt you and you captured me…” She pauses for a moment.
“You healed me of the wounds you caused. You fed me when I was hungry. You set me free even though I was your prey. And when I was in danger, you stood over me. You are not like the others. So, with that traditionb efore me, I made a choice. I chose you.”
“Ahh… Ummm. What do I say to that?”
“’I’m honored to travel with you,’ is fine. Just make sure not to disappoint me.”
“Uhhh. I’m honored to travel with you, then.”
“Idiot.”
“Huh……. So… Can I call you Chu then?”
“That’s fine.” She rolls her eyes. “Since you’re giving me a name in your language, I’ll give you one in mine.” Her face crackles with electricity.
“So… What did that mean, exactly?”
“Your name means ‘The Idiot I’m Traveling with.’”
“Please don’t introduce me as that.”
“Then tell me what you’d like to be called.”
“Ah! I guess I never did tell you my name. But wait, you’ve heard it already!”
“I refuse to recognize the name of someone who was beneath my notice.” Huh.
“Fine. The name’s Aurum Birch. Just Aurum is fine.”
“Aurum. And what does it mean?”
“Ah, that. My first name means ‘gold’ in an old language,a nd the last name is a type of tree with peeling bark.”
“Gold… That is a sacred color to many of the peoples. It’s a good name.”
We reach the bus stop and sit down in the covered stall. At this time of day, we’re the only one’s here. Everyone else is already at work or in town, or heading out on their Quests.
“What is it we’re going to do today?” Her way of talking is a little stiff, almost old-fashioned. Maybe it’s because of where she learned it?
“Ahh… Well, in order for us to start a pilgrimage, we need to go through some things first. First, I’ll need to make sure you’re in good health and have had your vaccinations against things like rabies and such. Then they’ll need to give you a thorough cleaning and make sure you don’t have any parasites.”
“This sounds troublesome.”
“It is.”
“What is a ‘vaccination’?” Urk! This… Could be bad.
“Ummm… Well, there are a lot of diseases that people and Moemon can pick up, so a long time ago, humans came up with a way to prevent people from catching some of them.”
“Mmm. That’s a good thing.”
“It’s a kind of medicine, like that spray we used on you the other day.” She gives me a look that says she’s not entirely grateful for that.
“It doesn’t hurt as much as that stuff does, but it does sting a little. Instead of a spray on an open wound, they take a small needle with the medicine in it and inject it into your arm.”
“I do not like this idea.”
“Yeah, most people don’t. They do it to children before they’re allowed to go to school, that way they don’t catch and spread dangerous diseases. But I’ve been through it, or at least the human version of it, and that involves a lot more shots than what you’ll be getting.” She gives me a dubious look.
“Just… Please don’t fight them. They’re not trying to hurt you. And we won’t be able to go on that journey without it.” I slap my palms together as if praying as she looks at me oddly.
“We shall see.” Oi. I have a premonition.
“And after that? What else with this Clinic require?”
“Mostly, I think they’ll just give you a bath and maybe spray you with something to kill any fleas or ticks you have. They might give you a tablet to chew or swallow that’ll clean out any other parasites. I don’treally know. I’m not used to this kind of thing myself. Ah! But once they’re done, they’ll give me a certificate and a temporary registry card, and we cant ake that to the place I took you before. Then we’ll be one step closer to the Journey!”
“There’s more?” She sounds annoyed.
“Ehh… Yeah, unfortunately. We can’t have you running around in my sister’s clothes all the time, so I’ll need to buy some specifically for you.”
“Why do you humans needlessly complicate things? Clothing such as this,” she gestures at the dress she’s wearing, “serves no real purpose. It interferes with movement, doesn’t protect the body from nature, and doesn’t blend with the environment. It’s not even suitable for intimidation or attracting a mate. In fact, it almost seems to do the opposite.” Erm… That’s actually kind of the point of dresses, I think. Or at least a one-piece thing like that.
“It’s mostly to preserve modesty. Girls wear that to help keep men from staring at them or assaulting them. It’s kind of meant to reduce the attention from the opposite sex.”
“Such an absurd thing. I want to take it off.” She tugs at the hem of the dress.
“Ahhh no, that’s bad. It’s not good to go around in public naked like that. Human males aren't used to seeing things like that, so it can cause problems. But at least when we pick clothes for you, you can get something that fits your interests, alright?”
“Hmph. And is there anything else?”
“Ahhh… Yeah. One more thing. Once we’ve taken you to the Clinic and gotten your clothes, I’ll have to take you back to the place from before. I said it already, but we’ll need to take the certificate and registry card there, and then they’ll test you to make sure you know how to interact with human society safely.” That’s something I’m worried about. She can talk, but I don’t know if she can read, if she knows road signs or traffic laws, common symbols, or even things like how to use basic utensils or a bathroom. No, it’s pretty safe to assume that she doesn’t know most of that, I think.
“What will this test involve?” Hmmm. How to put this?
“Basically, they’ll separate you from me, and check to make sure you know what a bunch of different symbols are, if you know how to talk and read, if you can follow traffic laws, and if you know how to use certain things like eating utensils and bathrooms. I don’t think they’ll require you to be able to write, at least.”
“………”
“It’s a lot, I know.”
“I don’t know a great deal of what you just said.” Shit.
“Mmmm… Yeah. I was afraid of that. Really, it’s kind of amazing that you can talk. Anything else would be too convenient, wouldn’t it? Things are never that easy.”
“Hm?”
“They probably have some kind of training program and classes. They might have a crash course we can get beforehand. Otherwise, we might not be able to get everything done today.”
“As I said, you humans overcomplicate things.”
“Ahhh… Yeah. Ah! But at least it’s a new experience for you! Just think of it as learning something new.”
“Idiot. I am learning something new.” She looks at me with an annoyed expression. I kind of set myself up for that.
“I suppose this isn’t a bad thing, but I expected the Journey to begin quickly.”
“You know what they say, ‘Nothing worth doing is ever easy.’This is just another one of those things.”
“I suppose that’s true. Now if only you could speak such wisdom all the time.” Hmmm. Now it’s my turn to look annoyed.
“Aurum.” She’s looking straight ahead as she speaks, not even glancing at me.
“Hmm?”
“About what that man said before. At the place you took me before.”
“The Research Center? What about it?”
“What was he saying? I understand he was describing the traditional journey and its origins, but he used words I am not familiar with. Can you explain it?” Oh god. She wants to know what that pervert said. Oh shit.
I take a deep breath. This… This could be really bad.

“Basically, he said that the Journey was originally a way for people to grow and develop, learn how to interact with others, and see the world.”Do I leave out the stuff about sex? Do I tell her? Will she notice if I skip it? What will happen if I tell her?
I sigh… I make my decision. I start over.
“Well, what he said is this. The Journey was a way to teach people how to be adults. How to fend for themselves and how to rely on others. It was about learning about yourself and the partner you traveled with and put your trust in. You helped each other, learned about each other, and deepened your bonds. You traveled to holy places against the hardships of the road. Along the way, you learned about yourself and grew stronger, and you learned about other peoples and cultures.”
“Mmm. That is a good practice.”
“There’s a few other things though.”
“Hm?”
“The partner you traveled with… You were supposed to deepen your bonds with them. You shared the journey with them, and everything on it. I guess. Including each other’s… erm… bodies.”
“………” She just looks at me silently. I don’t know if she knew that to begin with or not. “I see.” After a while, she says this.
“And this is normal?”
“Ahh… It seems that way. That’s why we had to wait for them to have a female Starter for me.”
“I see.” She pauses for a bit, then continues.
“We are expected to mate.” There’s no emotion that I can tell in her voice.
“You don’t have to if you don’t want to.”
“Obviously.”
“Honestly, I don’t know how I feel about that myself. I didn’t realize that was the case until that pervert told me.”
“Guru told us that such a thing was often part of thet radition.”
“Ah.” So you knew, huh? Or at least had an idea, even when I didn’t. I can’t help but feel a little annoyed.

A mouse from the woods knew something major like this even when I didn’t.
In hindsight, I realize that I’ve been making some very big mistakes.
There were a lot of questions I should have been asking, instead of just assuming everything would work out naturally.

I look at the girl beside me. Honestly, I don’t know what to say in this situation. That emotionless voice she used… She didn’t let me know either way if that was something she wanted to do, or if it was something she refused to do.
She won’t look at me, so I can’t tell from her eyes. She just stares ahead, not moving closer or further away, even as I turn to look at her.
It’s an absolute defense of neutrality.

Is she telling me it’s my choice? Or is she telling me not to try?
Shit.

As I think these things, the bus arrives. I sigh.
“Come on. This is our ride.”
“Mmm.” She follows me obediently, despite giving the transport a wary look.
“Never seen a bus before?” There’s no sarcasm in that question as I pay the fare. In her case, it might really be true.
“No, I’ve never seen one. But when you were injured, you were placed in something like this, and now you’re healed.” Ah, there’s something much too simplistic about that. She’s drawing connections that don’t exist.
“And also, Guru told us that humans make devices that allow them to travel great distances quickly with little effort. He called them ‘cars.’” Ah, maybe she’s not making a mistake then?
“Yeah, it’s like that.” We take our seats near the front of the bus. At first she doesn’t seem to like the idea as I let her take the window seat, but she stops resisting after a moment and sits. I slide in beside her. “Most people prefer the window side. You get to watch the scenery as you go.”
I’ve seen it all before, but she probably hasn’t even on foot.
“Mmm.” That sound she makes, that vague answer. The tone she used sounded noncommittal this time.
I sigh again. I feel kind of like I’m leading her around again on the first day right now. That empty expression turned away from me is like that. Maybe if I say a bit more?
“You’re right though. This is like a car, but it doesn’t belong to just one person. Anyone can use it for a little money.” She looks at me with the mention of money. I wonder what her Guru told her about that?
“Anyway, the bus moves around to specific locations at specific times, picking people up and dropping them off, that way you can use it to get closer to where you want to go. It’s usually faster and easier than walking. A lot of people use the bus because of that.” Even though there aren’t many in this one right now. At this time of day, people heading back home are pretty rare. As I look around, I can see a couple of pairs of what are almost certainly pilgrims on their Journeys, young people with Moemon beside them.
I can feel my heart beating faster just looking at them. My mouth feels a little dry.
Oh god, I’m going to be stuck here, on a bus, with unknowns like that? I take a couple of deep breaths. Don’t notice me, don’t notice me, don’t notice me.

Someone notices me.

A small hand touches my arm.
I look over to see emerald eyes looking at me with a confused expression. For a second, it surprises me, and I can feel my breath catch. But… The hand stays on my arm, and I calm down. I breathe deeper.
“Are you alright?”
“It’s nothing.”
“…” She looks at me for a moment with a concerned face, but then turns away again. Her warm hand slides off of my arm.
“You’ve had many injuries.” She says it without looking at me, her face reflected in the window as the town flows by slowly.
I know she’s talking about my arm. They’re old, and hard to see, but feeling them is easy. Smooth patches of skin, a different texture from the rest of my arm. Scars.
Some of them, no, most of them were from people. Children can be cruel when they sense weakness. And adults can be cruel when they sense strength.
Once you start fighting, you can never really stop, or you’ll be crushed by the weight of the karma you make. It’s something a child couldn’t understand. Not without experiencing it.
But besides the cuts, gouges, and scrapes of more fights than I can count, there are marks, once deep, like small crescent moons. Anyone could see that they’re bites.

“Why do you fight?” It’s not something I expected to hear from her. She’s still not looking at me, that warm hand resting on one of her thighs. She leans on the window, her chin resting in her other hand. Her look ,I don’t know if it’s sullen or not.
I think. Why do I fight?
When I was young, I fought for myself. Zoned for a school much closer to the center of town, I had to put up with people who didn’t see me anywhere else, people I had no relation to. People who saw a little boy with a strange fear and funny scars. I fought because they thought it was fun to hurt me, to set me aside and make me different. To make me an outsider so they could fit in. I became some petty villain so they could be a hero.
I fought back because it hurt. I fought back because I was angry. Because I was sad and lonely and tired and ashamed. I lashed out with my fists and my feet. I fought like an animal.
And I was beaten down like one. One person alone can’t fight the majority.
I fought because there was no other choice, and I fought dirty because it was the only way. I picked up whatever was on hand and made it my weapon. It just so happened that the first thing on hand at that time was a baseball bat.
Children learn. But they also bear grudges. Once you fight, you can’t stop, or the fall that comes after will never end. So I took on the grudges of the children and became a monster worthy of being beaten by a hero.
Eventually they learned, but when you’re strong, people notice. It doesn’t matter if it’s a bitter, broken strength or not. And that…That leads to more fights.

It’s kind of funny. That’s actually how I met Chris, come to think. He wanted to be a hero and take down the big, bad monster. I beat the crap out of him. Funny thing was, he just kept getting back up. And he started laughing after a while.
Shit, he looked like such an idiot back then. Hell, I couldn’t help but laugh at him, and he was just laughing like a dumbass, and we kept beating the crap out of each other. Yeah… Now that I think about it, maybe he really did…

I think maybe he really did beat the monster that day.
I think that was when I started sticking up for people besides myself. That idiot was trying to protect the dumbfucks that always messed with me from… me. He made me realize I was just like those idiots, taking out my own insecurities on them.
“You’re smiling.” Soft words again.
“Yeah. Just remembering something.”
Why do I fight?
“I have to.”
“Mmm?”
“I fight because I have to. Because there are things I can’t leave alone, and things I want to protect.”
“I see.” Is it my imagination, or is there a hint of a smile reflected in the glass?
……………
………
…

[Creator_Drake]

Nice, very nice. Love the interaction!

[Unsealed]

[Drazzimyr]

Oh my god this is getting awesome, can't wait to see what comes next.

[Unsealed]

Next up should be breakfast, iirc. It should be a short chappie, since I don't think it covers the actual Clinic visit...
After that, it's clinic and then the mall chappie, which features the first Moemon other than Chu to actually get any details about. Fargo will appear, too. But that's what, three chapters away?

[Unsealed]

Finally got around to continuing this thing. Sorry for making you folks wait.

[Breakfast]
We get off the bus three blocks from the Clinic. It’s the closest stop. It’s hot, and the air is humid from yesterday's rain, making me wish I could take the bus’s air conditioner with us. The streets are quiet at this time of day, even though Beech Wood is mostly urban.
Everyone’s at work or at home right now, so most of the people on the street are pilgrims with their partners or loafers. I can feel my shoulders tighten as I see the people with their Starters.
I feel that warm hand on my arm again, reminding me to take a deep breath.

“Why?” Her voice is quiet as we stand beside the bus stop.

“When I was little, I got lost in the woods, far from home.I was attacked by Moemon, and almost eaten.” She looks at me in surprise, a finger tracing the curve of an old bite. The indentions from the teeth are still there, just slightly, revealing that it wasn’t a human mouth.
“I’ve been like this ever since. One’s I don’t know.”

“I… See.” Her voice sounds both surprised and sad.

“Then why Journey?”
“To get over it.”
“Mmm.” She nods her head faintly. Her hand falls away.
But every so often, as we walk towards a place that will be filled with things I fear, her hand brushes mine.

A reminder.
…………….
……….
…

The Clinic is crowded.
Needless to say, it’s an unpleasant feeling. Even for someone without my problem, being stuck in a crowded room with a lot of strangers, all in a place that’s primary function is to take in the sick and injured, can be an immensely uncomfortable experience.

The air is cool in here, almost uncomfortably so, but I’m sweating.
I try not to look at the people here directly.
I check in with the receptionist. Unsurprisingly, it happens to be Nurse Joy. In any other profession besides law enforcement, having a nearly identical woman working at every facility, all part of the same family with the same last name, would immediately make anyone suspicious.
I have long considered the fact that no one seems to notice this when it comes to Nurse Joys and Officer Jennies to be highly suspect. They all have the same height, build, skin tone, hair color, eye color, facial features, and they even sound alike. There’s almost no difference between them, even when moving to regions with dramatically different environments. Literally, there are fewer differences between the Joys than there are between Moemon of the same Breed. The same is true of the Jennies.

It’s not natural.

“Welcome! How may I help you?” The cheery woman who looks just like my mother, but with longer hair and nurse outfit, opens with that line.
“Ummm… I’m Aurum Birch. I think I should have an appointment scheduled?” Mom said something about that following the lecture of doom this morning.
“Ah! Miranda’s son! It’s a pleasure to finally meet you! Let me see here…” She checks the computer screen behind the desk.
“It seems you’re a bit early. Your appointment is at nine, I’m afraid. Would you like to wait?” Hrmm. What time is it, exactly? I take out the Moedex thing the pervert gave me yesterday and flip it open. Not quite eight yet… Hey, wait, is this thing accurate?
“It’s about ten till eight, right?”
“Yes!” Such enthusiasm.
Hmmm. There was a café on the way here… And I wound up skipping breakfast because of hell lecture… Chu ate something out of the fridge. Not sure what exactly, but something, but she might still be hungry.

It’s an expense I don’t need, but I’m hungry.
And I don’t want to stay in this room any longer than I have to.

“We’ll come back in an hour.”
“Okay~! I’ll mark that you checked in.” Just then, someone comes out of the back room, a patient being dismissed.
“Ah, excuse me. Mr. Mercer! It your turn~!”
“Uhh… Yeah. You seem busy, so we’ll just get out of your way.”
“Ah, see you later, cousin~!” Ah, so that’s how this one is related to me. Must be the daughter of an older brother or sister if she’salready a Nurse.

I think.

It’s messed up, but they all look alike. I can’t tell my relatives apart.

“Come on Chu, let’s get something to eat.” Her eyes light up at those golden words.
As we walk back down the street though, she tugs on my arm.
“That woman…”
“Looks like my mom, right.”
“Yes, but… Even under the smells she wears, she smells the same.” Smells she wears? Perfume? Or maybe she smells like chemicals and antiseptic?
“Well, they are related. She said she was my cousin, so she’s the daughter of my mom’s brother or sister. Actually, to be honest, I don’t think I’ve ever met that one before. I didn’t really have a reason to go to the Moemon Clinic until now, so even though I see it every time I’m on the square, I’ve never really gone in.”
“Mmm.” A questioning sound. “But smelling so similar…”
“Let me guess. It’s not normal, right?”
“Mmm.” Figured as much.
“They’re all like that. My mom’s from a really big family. Each and every woman from it looks exactly the same. You almost never see differences. My aunt Janice is the only other one I’ve seen that doesn’t follow the mold. She lives up on the coast, and has a deep tan. Even related to them, I think it’s weird.” I pause and sigh.

“But no one ever seems to say anything about it.”
“Humans are strange.”
“In this, I have to agree.” No, strange doesn’t cover it. There’s something going on there.
“It seems like it’s been that way for a long time, though.”
“What about the men of the family?”
“Heh. We all look pretty normal. I don’t look that strange, do I?”
“Mmm. But…” She leans in close, and I feel her soft bodypress against me in the middle of a public street. “Uhhhh…” There’s a faintsound coming from her, and then she pulls away.
“Your scent is… different.”
“Did you just smell me?”
“Of course.” She says it like it’s not strange at all. Maybe it isn’t. At least, not for her, anyway.
“Wait, are you saying a smell weird?”
“Mmm. A little. But it could be normal. I don’t know human smells that well yet.” Huh. I wonder what the significance of an odd smell is? It can’t be awesome sex pheromones, or I’d have gotten laid already.

“Hey. Do I stink?”
“No. You smell… Comfortable.” Comfortable has a smell?
“What does that mean?”
“You smell like people.” Plural? I smell like different people? Should I worry about this? Does it mean my smell changes?
“And what does that mean?”
“You smell like people. Family.” Huh. I guess… That’s good? Whatever.

We stop at the café. Rather than going in, I lead her to an outdoor table and we sit. There are already laminated menus held in place with a magnetic clip stuck to the wrought iron table. A wide umbrella stationed in a hole in the table’s center keeps the sun off, a light breeze making it’s cloth tassels shift.
She’s poking the magnet. It’s cute, but why is she… Oh.

“Is it weird?”
“It feels strange. Kind of tingly.”
“Heh. It’s a magnet. Do you like it?”
“Maybe.” I wonder if something like that might make a nice gift? I think there might be a shop in Fall’s Ridge that sells special stones and gems. I’d have to ask Chris or Fargo. They’d know more about that kind of thing.

I take the menus out and take a look. We’re still well into breakfast service, so… Hmmm.
Ahhh… There’s a meal mom could agree with. I’ll get that a sa silent apology for the Cup Ramen. It doesn’t hurt that it looks good, too.
“Do you have any idea what you want?” I look up from themenu.
Uhhh…
“It’s upside down, Chu.” She flips it around.
“You can’t read at all, can you?” She blushes and glares at me.
Shit.

How the hell is she going to pass that test? No, how would she even study for it?
“You humans complicate things too much!” Ah, she’s mad.
“Maybe… I should order for you?” She liked eggs, so maybe that’s a good way to go. They probably have something with eggs on here… Ah! This should work. And, since she seems like she eats a lot, maybe an extra egg? I’ll get an apple, too, just in case. If she doesn’t eat it, I will. I like apples, after all.
We wait a bit for a waitress, and I give the order when one stops by. Chu looks kind of sullen. She keeps poking the magnet, even after I put the menus back. I guess she doesn’t like it when she finds something she can’t do.

“Eh… We’ll teach you to read.” It might take a while though. That’s what’s worrying me. She seems like she’s a quick thinker, so I don’t think it’ll take too long, but… Learning to read isn’t something you can just pick up overnight.
I sigh and lean back, looking away from her to look at the city. A simple metal fence separates the café’s patio from the sidewalk and the paved road. Maybe it’s that boundary that makes it a little easier for me to relax?

People walk by in the warm morning sun. A cool breeze whisks away the heat. The air feels damp and heavy. The vivid green of trees and grass, the bright hues of flowers and the fluttering of butterflies. Theplanters around the square look lively. The sound of voices and quiet talk, the rumble of engines as cars drive by. The people pass by with their own places to go, their own lives. The courthouse with its big clock dominates it all, but it’s an old building from a bygone era. The whole square feels old, like someone plucked it from a sepia-toned photograph. And yet it’s definitely modern. The color and sound, the movement…

“This place is alive.” Her voice finishes my thoughts.
“Not like the forest. But it is alive.” It’s a statement. I just nod to her without turning my head. This place… This place is my home. If we start this Journey, how long will it be before I come back? Will I be able to return? There’s always a danger with traveling.
And there’s always a chance that I’ll find some reason to stay somewhere else.
There’s a sense of loneliness there, a premonition of homesickness. I wonder if she feels that.

“Do you think you’ll miss it? Your home that is.”
“Mmm. I might. But I cannot expect great change to come to me. The mountain does not change. The forest does not change. Only the people change. If I wish to see for myself, then I must see for myself. Anything else is foolishness.”
“Hmm. You’re right. I can’t expect things to change for the better on their own. If I want something, I should do it myself.”
“Mmm. Ah!” I turn back to see the waitress come back withour orders. That was fast…
Not that I’m complaining.
She leaves our orders with a smile and takes off to wait onthe next customers.
I look at our orders while I think that the service hereisn’t too bad.

A bowl of oatmeal smelling of maple and brown sugar with slices of apple, cranberries, and walnuts, a few links of breakfast sausage, a small wedge of soft white havarti cheese flecked with dill and a big glass of orange juice for myself. Fruit, grain, dairy, meat, it’s fairly well balanced.
Her meal is a bit heavier on the protein. Both scrambled eggs with melted cheddar cheese and a light chipotle seasoning and a side ordered plain fried egg, for one, a half-dozen strips of applewood smoked bacon, hash browns with onion and ham chunks, a sliced apple and a large buttered croissant. There’s a big glass of milk with her meal. I ordered a pair of Sets on the menu and added a fried egg and an apple for hers. She seemed to like the ham sandwiches the other day, so pork seems like an acceptable choice. Though maybe I should have ordered her the spinach omelet instead? I don’t know if she likes greens.
Hers looks like a lot of food, but I have a feeling she’ll eat it all.

“You seemed like you liked ham and eggs, so I got you that. Not sure if you’ll like it, though.”
“Mmm. We’ll see.” She picks up a strip of the thick cut bacon and takes a bite. Her eyes pop open in surprise as she chews it. Seems like she likes that, at least.
“Ah, while I’m thinking about it, do you know how to use the silverware?” Not that it’s actually silver. It’s probably stainless steel.
“…”
“I guess that’s a no. It’ll probably be on your test, since it’s a sort of common etiquette.” I show her the fork, knife, and spoon. I’m no genius when it comes to more elaborate setups. It’s not like I deal with salad forks and soup spoons and shit. I can tell the difference between a regular knife and a steak knife. Ask me the difference between forks or spoons, and you’ll get snark. Maybe, if she fails, I can bug Fargo about that stuff but at least I can show her the basics and how to use them. Actually, now that I think about it, the meals we have work pretty well for this. The fried egg can be cut, and the oatmeal demands a spoon.

It doesn’t take her long to get the hang of it. Like I said, she’s a quick thinker, and it looks like it carries over to learning, too. Heh, I even remember to show her how to use a napkin to keep food out of your lap.

She may not eat like a lady, but it could be a lot worse.

The meal itself is pleasant, if uneventful, and the check is only slightly painful. She seemed to like the scrambled eggs a lot, which makes me wonder if she likes spicy food. The hash browns looked like they were the biggest failure, and she still ate them.
The milk was probably the biggest surprise. Apparently, she likes milk quite a bit.

I can also now say that I’ve seen a mouse with a milk mustache. And that I also taught said mouse how to use a napkin.

By the time breakfast is finished, we need to start heading back. I tipped the waitress as I felt appropriate and we headed off.
“Money again.”
“Hmm? Yeah. Pretty much everything in human society is connected with money one way or another. It either makes money, consumes it, or does both to some degree.”
“It seems like another complication you humans made.”
“Ahhh… Yeah. It probably wasn’t like that originally. I think it was more about making trading easier between people who had different goods or skills. But then people kept trying to find ways to get more of it than other people.”
“Greed.”
“Unfortunately. They say that money is the root of all evil.”
“Guru said that it was the form of greed.”
“Basically. It’s not really evil, I don’t think, but people have made a lot of ways to use it to abuse other people for their own benefit.”
“Mmm.”
“Anyway, let’s get back. They should be about ready for us.”
……………
………
…

[Unsealed]

[Seasons]
I find myself back in a cold, crowded room that makes me tense. I don’t know any of the people here, and I certainly don’t know their Moemon.
Let’s just get this over with.

Nurse Joy takes us into the back room. If I was just here to have Chu healed, they have machines for that in the lobby. It can’t deal with everything, sure, but they’re supposed to be capable of analyzing the genetic structure of the patient with a computer file of their unique traits, like tattoos, scars, or piercings, and perform a full structural repair.
How do I know this? Fargo once explained it to me, believe it or not. Apparently, they’ve looked into ways to adapt the technology to humans, but there’s a theoretical wall or something there that prevents it fromworking on us. I’m reminded of what that pervert said about scientists simply not knowing how Moemon work.

But still, how did we develop technology like this if we don’t understand them? I don’t get it.

We walk past rooms that look a lot like they belong in a hospital, filled with the smells of antiseptics and metal. It’s all very clean. Most of the rooms are full, which strikes me as a bit odd.
“You have a lot of patients.”
“Oh my, yes. This time of year, we’re always quite busy.”
“Something to do with the pilgrimage rite?”
“Yup~! There are often complications when Starters and their partners first pair off. Many people are requested by the Research Center to come in for a check-up just to make sure everything’s going well. Others need to have specific information regarding unique medical conditions their new partners may have, so they’re sent here to receive the proper medicines, information, or training.” I see. There were a lot of people around my age in the waiting room.

“Right this way now~!” She leads us into an empty room withthat same enthusiastic voice.
“The doctor will be with you shortly.”
“Ah, thanks.” And then my cousin is gone.
One of these days, I’m going to find out just what’s up with my mom’s family.
I sigh and sit down in a chair while Chu looks around theroom. Is she sniffing things? I can see those big ears of hers twitch as she moves around the room. I wonder why she’s doing that here? You’d think she’d check out my house first, but she didn’t.
“Hey, why are you smelling everything like that?”
“This room… There’s almost no smell to anything here.”
“Ah. That’s probably because they sanitize everything here. That way, if someone’s sick and being treated, it won’t spread to the next room or the next patient. And also probably so the smell of one Moemon won’t upset another one.” As I witnessed firsthand the other day, not all breeds of Moemon are compatible. Some will try to kill and eat others, as disturbing as that thought is. The idea that something with a human shape is eating something else with a human shape fills me with a deep sense of revulsion. Even so, it seems like it’s pretty common.
Different Breeds compete for food, resources, habitat and territory, mates, and the like, or even try to eat each other outright. It’s survival of the fittest.
Or at least, that’s what I thought, but with Chu’s Guru and the way she talks about the peoples of the mountains and the forests, that might not be the case.

But is that something I’m allowed to ask her?

There’s a lot I don’t know about the way the world works. I guess… That’s part of the point of the Journey, isn’t it?
There’s a knock on the door, and it opens to reveal a tall man with thinning red hair and a hawk nose. “Good afternoon Mr. Birch and…”
“Chu.” He chuckles at my answer.
“I see. I’m Doctor Anthony. A pleasure to meet you. Well then, let’s get down to business, shall we? It seems like you wanted to have her through standard adoption procedures?”
“I guess.”
“So I take it she’s wild then?”
“Yeah. Umm… Chu.”
“Mmm?”
“Please cooperate with him, alright. We’ll get through this faster that way.”
“Mmm. Alright.”
“Ah, she can speak a little. That’s good. That makes things easier.” Eheheh… A little? Yeah…
“Now then, first I’ll check your eyes, ears, nose, and throat. I’m going to use this little thing here, and there’s going to be a light.” He holds up a device that I don’t know the name of. It’s a little magnifier with a light on it and a cap to focus where it’s looking.

He checks her eyes, even though she flinches back a bit, looks in her nostrils, raises her ears and looks inside them, and along their long inner surface, paying special attention to her eartips, and has her open up and stick out her tongue as he checks her mouth, throat, tongue, and teeth. She gags a little as he takes a sample from the back of her throat with a long swab. That ends up in a plastic baggie.
He takes her temperature with an ear thermometer and takes her pulse with an armband. He has her describe pictures in detail from a wall scroll he unfurled. It takes me a second to realize thathe’s actually using it to check her vision, a test designed for Moemon that might not be able to read. He turns off the lights and has her do the same to another scroll, checking her night vision. He has her sniff various sealed jars taken from a cabinet and writes down her descriptions on a clipboard, then has her compare them to another set. After that, the lights come back on.
He places a special set of headphones on her head and has her raise her hand when she hears a noise from that side.

It’s a lot more complicated than I thought already. It’s like a physical. Really, it is a physical.
After a while, he turns the lights back on and has her take off her dress and checks her breathing directly with a stethoscope, both from her chest and her back. I remember the pervert trying that, but this man doesn’t seem to have any ill intentions at all. Even when he checks her genitals and I turn red, he seems unfazed.

I wonder how many times he’s done something like this? Is this something you just get used to?

He has her turn around and checks her back, her tail, and even her anus. I’m honestly amazed she hasn’t fought him, but the worst that’shappened so far is that she’s squinted her eyes closed and blushed. No thunderous doom has befallen this man.
He’s used swabs to take samples and even trimmed small bit of hair, all of which have gone into individual plastic bags. He’s checked her joints and fur, around her eyes, everywhere.
“You can put your dress back on now.” He says it with a gentle smile, and she climbs back in. It’s strange, she didn’t like it before, but now she seems more comfortable in it. Maybe this experience is teaching her modesty? That’s probably for the best, even if it means I don’t get scenery like this morning anymore.
“How old is she?” He asks me this thing. How am I supposed to know that? Oh, right. Ask her. Durr.
“Uhhh… How old are you?”
“I am sixteen seasons.” Seasons? As in spring, summer, etc…?
The doctor looks like he’s unsure, too. Does she mean years,or…
“Do you mean years?”
“Seasons. This is the season of growing. Soon will be the hot season. Then the season of feasting, and after that, the cold season.” So she really means seasons. So, sixteen by four is…
“You’re only four years old!?!”
“Sounds about right.” Doctor Anthony seems to think this is normal.
Chu looks at me like I’m an idiot. Holy crap, she’s four. That’s not right. That’s… Oh god, I was getting turned on by a four year old.
“You seem surprised?” Doctor Anthony looks at me with a smile.
“Well, I thought that since she looked… you know… human… I just thought she’d be around the same age.”
“It’s a common mistake for people who don’t deal with Moemon often. Their life spans are much shorter than a human’s, even though they appear similar. Or, well, some of them are shorter, anyway. It varies a great deal from one Breed to the next. The Pichu family usually only lives for about forty years or so, less if they don’t Evolve to a Pikachu. Though I’ve heard Raichu can live to be quite old, sometimes twice that age.
“And how many seasons are you?” Her voice surprises me a bit. Hmm… Seventeen times four is…
“Sixty eight?” Her eyes bulge.
“Ah.” That’s all she says. I guess she made a similar mistake. Heh.
The doctor chuckles again.
“Now then, I’m going to need a blood sample. Once the lab results have come back, we’ll see about your vaccinations. I might as well get the blood sample now.” He preps a needle, cleaning it with alcohol. He has a small, wrapped alcohol pad on the counter and a long rubber tube.
He wraps the tube around her upper arm and has her pump her fist a few times until a vein stands up, sanitizes the area, and then he draws a blood sample.
I worried about how she’d react to that, but she seems fine. He did warn her there’d be a small pinch, but you never know. Soon enough her arm's untied, the site’s wiped, and he’s got a small bandage over it. Seems liket hey don’t bother with that Spray for something that minor. I wonder how expensive that stuff is.

“Alright, time for the urine sample.” He fishes out a small plastic cup from the cabinet under the sink. I have a premonition.
“Pee in a cup, huh?”
“Basically.” Crap. I don’t even know if she knows how to use a bathroom yet. Actually, why do I have the sudden worry that she may have used a corner of the guestroom? Mom’s going to kill me if she did that…
“Uhhh…”
“If she’s still unsure about restrooms, you can help her. The bathrooms here are handicap compatible, so there should be plenty of room.” He says this with a completely innocent face, but I’m blushing.

“R-right. Come on, Chu.” This… Is going to be awkward as hell. I sigh. This was something that definitely would be on that test, so I have to make sure she knows it anyway.
He tells us where the nearest restroom is, and I lock us in.

This big bathroom makes me think of a prison cell.

“Do you know how to use a bathroom, Chu?” She tilts her head at me with an odd look.
“I bathe there?” Oh god, literal translation.
“Ummm. A toilet?”
“No.”
Oh hell.
“Hrmm… How to explain this… What do you do when you need to relieve yourself?”
“I rub myself.” You… Wait. Oh god. Now… Now I have a mental image, and…
“Calm down, calm down… Deep breaths…” She looks at me strangely.
“Not… Not that kind of relieving yourself.” Hey, wait, does this mean she’s actually experienced? Uh…
Ask later. Not now.
“When you have to piss or shit.”
“Ah. I find an out of the way place or a communal site. Something with a bush, tree, or soft grasses nearby, and release there.” Ah. Bear in the woods, huh. This might not be so hard.
“Ok. A bathroom, toilet, or water closet, whatever the hell people want to call it, is like a communal site. It’s an out of the way place where you can do that kind of thing. You release into that.” I point at the porcelain throne in the corner. “When you’re done, you use this paper to clean yourself instead of leaves or grass, and you put it in that thing, too. You push this lever, and a jet of water washes it down a pipe.” I push the lever and she blinks at it weirdly.
“Noisy.”
“Uhhh… Yeah. When you clean yourself, don’t put too muchpaper in before you pull the lever, otherwise it’ll clog and there’ll be trouble. Most people have these in their own homes. My house has two, one on the top floor and one on the bottom. Anyway, you need to keep your clothes and, uhh, tail, out of the way, otherwise they’ll get wet or dirty. After you’re done, you need to wash your hands here, using soap and water.” I demonstrate the sink.
“That’s basically it.”
“Why do you humans insist on complicating simple things?”
“This one’s for convenience and cleanliness. Deal with it. Also, this time, the doctor needs a urine sample from you.” She quirks an eyebrow at me.
“Basically, you need to piss in this cup instead of in that toilet over there, but you need to do it there to avoid making a mess on the floor. Also, you need to avoid overfilling it. See, it has this little fill line here? Anything more than that goes in the toilet.”
“Tch.” Don’t give me that look, we have to go through this mess.
“I hope you need to, because otherwise we’re going to be here until you do.”

“It’s fine. I haven’t released since last night.”
“Ah, you did that before coming back to my house.”
“No.” Uhhhh… Wait a sec.
“You didn’t do that in my house, did you?”
“Under it.” I blink. Repeatedly.

I ain’t cleaning that shit. Literally.
“Please use the bathroom and toilet from now on.”
“Mmm. So long as I am in your cities.” Ah… Actually, she has a point. I might end up doing something like her method out in the woods…
That’s a slightly uncomfortable thought.
“Anyway, let’s get this over with so we can get out of here.”
“Mmm. This will be in the way.” She promptly pulls the dress over her head and drops it on the floor. While I’m too stunned to do anything, she takes the cup from the, grabs her tail in her other hand to pull it out of the way, squats over the toilet, and pees in the cup.

Why am I staring at this scene like a pervert, and why does she not seem to care?
“Here.” She hands me a cup filled with light yellow, body temperature liquid as the rest noisily drains into the toilet bowl.
Some primitive instinct allows me to simultaneously watch her and unerringly cap the cup in my hands. She wipes herself, flushes, and washes her hands like I showed her while I still stare at her.

And only afterwards does she put the dress back on.

Normally, people pay for this kind of show.
After some modicum of sense returns, I wash my hands too, and we leave the bathroom that now has a magical feel to me.
“Didn’t that bother you,” I say after giving the sample to the patiently waiting doctor. He leaves as the conversation starts.
“No. Why should it?”
“Um… Most people aren’t used to having others watch them do those kinds of things.”
“Mmm. But that’s only something natural. There are no ‘bathrooms’ where I come from. We release when and where we must. That’s common sense. It’s not unusual to have another watch us. In fact, sometimes, it is apleasant feeling for both. It’s safer if someone is watching you than if you were alone and unprotected.” Huh. I hadn’t thought of it that way. I guess… We aren’t really used to having to worry about our safety while we use thebathroom. But… It’s not like your defenses are up when you’re taking a shit. Unless you’re Batman. Then your defenses are always up.
“Mmm. Besides, some of us enjoy watching others, or being watched.” Ehhhh!?!
“Th-that’s what we call a fetish.”
“Hmmm. So it has a name among humans.”
“Sort of. There are a lot of different fetishes. Those are just two of them.” Oh god this conversation is going in a weird direction. I am seriously not qualified to talk about this shit.
“Maybe… Maybe you should tell Professor Sequoia about that kind of thing. I have a feeling he’d appreciate it.” Not to mention know more about it than I do.
“Mmm. I see no reason to.” YES!
“Anyway… Hopefully we won’t have to wait too long. I think that’s everything they’ll need. Next up would be the shots and pills I think, and then a de-lousing and bath.”
“De-lousing?”
“Ah, like I said, where they kill your fleas and stuff.”
“Mmm. I’ve never had a problem with parasites.”
I quirk an eyebrow. But… Come to think of it, I haven’t seen her scratching, either. Is it possible she’s clean?

After a while, the doctor comes back with a sheaf of paper in hand.
“Good news! Chu’s in good health. No signs of serious healthconcerns, or long-term conditions. Actually, her scent recognition is above normal for a Pichu. It seems like she might not hear as well in her left ear asher right, but it’s not a major concern.” Her ears twitch in surprise at that. So… She has a good nose, but she might have some minor hearing problems? With those rabbit ears?
“Her fur is in good condition, so her diet’s healthy, for the most part, and it doesn’t look like she has any long term injuries. No damage to her reproductive organs.”
“Damage to her… Is that normal?”
“You see that sometimes in wild ones. They’ve mated with something that has too much of a size difference or was too violent with them. Usually, the handler, that would be you, prevents that kind of thing in tame Moemon.” Ah… Whoa. That’s not something I even considered.
“She doesn’t show any signs of infectious diseases, and the few scars she has are superficial. Really, the only oddity is that ear of hers. Not that it's anything to worry about.” He points at the tip of her left ear, the black fur there splitting into three small tufts. I guess that's unusual?
“What about parasites? Fleas and stuff?”
“Ah. Electric types almost never have external parasites.Their bodies generate enough electricity to discourage or kill biting pests.The tests didn’t show any signs of ringworms, heartworms, tapeworms, or other internal parasites either, but I’d suggest having her take the cleansing medications anyway, just in case.” The hell did you manage to live in the wild and not end up infested? Hell, I found you hiding in the dirt under my house!
Maybe Mickey really is watching out for this one?

“The nurse should be here shortly with the vaccines and medications. Once she’s finished with that, you should be ready for a bath. So don’t worry, you’re almost done here. Once you’ve finished, you can pick up your temporary registration card and your certification at the front desk. Is there anything I’m forgetting?”
“Ah, no. I think that’s it.”
“Great! Then, if you’ll excuse me…”
“Sure.”
And the doctor’s gone. He seems like he’s busy, so I guess he can’t help having to run off. I quietly wish the Professor was more… professional, like him.
Shortly thereafter a nurse who is not named joy comes in carrying a tray with four syringes and ampoules, a glass, and two small pill bottles.
“Huh. There are more than I’d expected.”
“More of these things?” She asks me.
“Yeah. Those are what prevent you from catching diseases.”
“I see.”
She doesn’t resist as the nurse draws the vaccines and injects her, two shots in each arm.
“Does she have to swallow those things?” I look at the pills.
“Unfortunately. She’ll need to take two of the first one, and one of the second.” The nurse runs a glass of tap water as she says this. I know some people are revolted by the stuff, but, well, water is water to me. I don’t think Chu would disagree here, either.
Chu swallows the medications obediently and finishes off the glass of water anyway. I guess neither of us has had much to drink today.

After that, the nurse leads Chu off deeper into the building while I’m ushered back into the waiting room. I tense up immediately, wishing I could just wait in the office. I sit in a corner and stare at the floor, focusing on it, blocking out everything around me.

I can feel my hands shaking slightly. I close my eyes and block it out. I just sit there, not listening, not looking, trying to block myself off in my own little world.

Before… Before I could stand it. I had support. Now…

I want to get up and run, but my body feels like it won’t move. I can hear the sound of feathers ruffling. A voice with an in human tone. I smell something animalistic. I smell smoke and ozone and something that reminds me of mountain snow.
I take deep breaths, try to force myself to relax. How long have I been like this, sitting here? How long will I be here? My sense of time distorts.

I jump when a small, warm hand touches my shoulder. Her hair is damp, her skin a rosy pink color. It seems like they gave her some slippers. I wonder if they gave her underwear. I feel some of the tension leave me at her touch. She’s not smiling, but she’s looking at me with those emerald eyes. There’s something gentle in them.

I don’t think she understands. No, I’m sure she doesn’t. But she knows. She listened to me, and I start to realize that I trust her already.

I feel like that’s something that happened too quickly.
But maybe that’s a good thing?

I let out a sigh and rise. We check out at the front desk. Nurse Joy gave me a good rate, like my mom said she would. We pick up the certificate showing she’s had all of her shots and is in good health, and the temporary registration card, and we leave. It seems like she can keep the slippers. To be honest, since she had been running everywhere barefoot, I didn’t really think shoes were needed. The foot that had held me down in the darkness last night was callused and strong, even if it was small.

Altogether, it’s been about an hour and a half since we came back, between the examination, testing, and her bath. The next stop is the local mall. There’s a boutique in there that specializes in clothes for Moemon.We’ll need to take the bus again, but we shouldn’t have much of a wait.
Still, while I’m thinking about it…

“Did you like getting a bath?”
“Mmm… It wasn’t bad, but…”
“But?”
“I am not certain about being submerged.”
“Eh?”
“My people do not get along well with water. It interferes with speech, so I find it inconvenient.”
“Interferes with… Oh, the spark-speak thing. But I’m assuming there wasn’t anyone to talk to like that, right?”
“Well… No, but it still makes me uncomfortable.” Huh. Sounds like she just doesn’t like getting wet to me, but maybe I’m wrong. After all, from what I’ve seen, she manages to stay clean somehow despite being wild. It’s not like she was filthy and mud-covered when I met her. I wonder how she does that.

“Whatever. Now we just need to wait for the next bus again.”
“Mmm. What’s next?”
“Next is shopping. We’re going to pick up some clothes of your own.” And I pray that you don’t have expensive tastes.
……………
………
…

[Unsealed]

[Fargo says Hi]

I spend the bus ride trying to explain street signs and traffic laws, about stop lights and crosswalks and everything else I could think of about the road. I can’t do anything about her reading situation, but at least I can help with this. She learns quickly, so long as I explain why the laws are needed. It helps that the city traffic is slowing us down and we can actually observe reasonably well.

About a half hour after leaving the Clinic, we arrive at the mall. The bottom floor consists of mostly clothing shops, bookstores, electronic and media shops, toy stores, and the like. The top floor has lots of specialty shops, music and art stores, and more clothing shops. There’s a large department store at each of the four corners of the building, with the food court strategically placed in the center of the second floor, that way no matter where you go you can smell the food.
Even in the middle of a work day, it’s packed in here. Actually,t hinking about it, it’s probably because of Spring Break. A lot of the people in here are around my age or younger.
“What…Is this place?” She looks around with her eyes bulging.
“It’s a mall. A place where people come to spend money on lots of different things. There are lots of really specialized shops in here that would have trouble finding business on their own. By making a sort of 'community’ here, they can help attract customers for each other.”
“I… See…”
The shop we’re looking for should be on the second floor, I think. I think it’s just off the food court, but I can’t remember exactly.
“This way.” I head to the elevator. I only realized that this might be a bad idea after the doors have already closed. It’s a glass case powered by electricity. And it now has a wild electric generator in it. Please don’t blow this up.
“Why are we standing here?”
“This thing is powered by electricity. In a second, it’ll lift us up to the next floor.” I say this as we’re squeezed into the tiny space with other people.
Suddenly the thing lurches into movement and she stands stock still, her eyes going wide. I can see a bulge in her skirt that must be her tail standing out. Little sparks dance on her cheeks. Oh god please don’t blow up.
“I can feel it. Like it’s talking to me…” Huh.
“What’s it say?”
“Nothing, it’s just gibberish. But it has a voice.” That’s just weird.
“Hey, that reminds me.” We get off of the elevator with everyone else, sticking close so we can talk over the din.
“Why did you chew on those wires under the house?”
“Wires?”
“The things with electricity in them.”
“Ah! It feels good to do that, and it sounds like they’re talking to me when I do. It’s really hard to hear them when they’re wrapped up like that, but they just say gibberish when they’re out in the open. It’s really annoying though. When I can’t hear what they’re saying, it’s like someone’s whispering and I can’t make it out, but they won’t be quiet either.”
“Ah… That’s… Huh. I guess that might get annoying after a while. You said it feels good?”
“Mmm… It’s pleasant to feel it.” I think most humans would die, or at least get really seriously hurt, if they did what she did.
As we round the corner, we come onto the food court. The pleasant smells of different ethnic foods mix in the air. Gyros, stir fry, sausages, the smell of peppery spiced dishes, the rich smell of soy sauce on a grill, the smell of garlic and tomatoes, of sweet fruit sauces and exotic cooking oils, the sizzle of food cooking, it’s a place that will make you hungry, even if you just ate.

But food comes after we buy her clothes. Everything here will be expensive, be it food or clothing, but if I want to get her clothes that can stand up to a lot of wear and tear, including those massive static shocks, and are made to deal with her anatomy, I have to shell out the money. Mom said that clothes for Moemon are built to different specifications than human clothing, simply because they’re meant to take physical punishment and act like body armor. Not to mention deal with the extreme capacities of their wearers.

Many people use Moemon for bodyguards, traveling companions, security, or other dangerous jobs because of their superior physical abilities and natural weapons. That said, there’s a market for clothes for them, both for utility and cosmetic value. Their clothing is often made to emphasize their appearance, sometimes making them more appealing or threatening, and it’s usually made with special reinforcements through specially made artificial fibers and materials. Dad recommended the shop, saying that several of his coworkers had gotten good product from them before he headed off to work.

I won’t be getting discount here, but at least I’ll be getting my money’s worth.

Naturally, there are many people my age in the store, accompanied by Moemon. I’m gripped by the sudden fear that there may be nothing left in Chu’s size. All Starters are Stage One. From what I understand, this means that most of them are physically around the same size and build as a ten-to-fourteen-year-old human.
Actually, I wonder if that might be one reason why the Moemon that can be Starters are all Stage One? Didn’t the Ero-Prof. say something about that being the age kids traditionally started their pilgrimage?

Whatever. It’s not like it’s important.

I take a deep breath, steel my nerves, and step into the shop with Chu.
“Here we go…”
“Mmm.”
We thread our way through the racks and around the tables. Everything’s well organized, or at least it was, but it looks like a storm hit it now. They seem to be having seasonal sales on equipment for Starters. Outfits that look like they were for little kids and young teenagers are in high demand. People are discussing the pros and cons of specific items.
Apparently, these things have some sort of indexes fordetermining their protective values and mobility ratings. I glance at a tag on a blue vest that looks like someone watched Tron right before they designed it. Besides the standard size measurements is a separate tag with odd little symbols and letters.

I don’t understand shit.
Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu…

Time to find a clerk!

Ah! I think I see one over… There!
“Over here, Chu!” I grab her hand.
“Eh! What!” She jumps in surprise. Apparently, she was looking at a white visor. It comes with her, so I suspect I’ll be buying it.

As we head towards the employee, I notice that she doesn’t look happy. At all. It seems like she’s dealing with another customer, but I can’t see who because of the angle.

Seems like she’s having a rough time. I can hear the sound of an angry woman’s voice over there, and it’s not the salesgirl.
“What do you mean it’s reserved!? We are here, ready to pay the full price up front!”
“B-but, I’m afraid an order was placed for the last of our stock this morning.”
“W-wait. W-we can just come back t-tomorrow. Can’t we?” That voice…
“We most certainly cannot! Not after going to the trouble of coming to this place, and most certainly not when our goal is within reach! Be more confident. And don’t slouch!” It can’t be.
I step around and finally get a clear view of the people the salesgirl is dealing with.

A pale complexion that needs more sun. Dark, sad-looking eyes. Black hair worn straight and long. He’s maybe a head shorter than me. He has thin features, and he looks genuinely scared. It looks kind of strange sinc ehe’s covered from head to toe in black. That long coat of his is too much int his weather, but he always wears it. I should know.
I think this might be the first time I’ve seen Fargo outside without Chris.

And that woman.
A skin tone that’s definitely a shade of light blue. She’stall, with a figure worthy of a black plastic-wrapped magazine. She’s wearing a Chinese dress, what’s it called… A cheongsam? At first I think it’s black, but it’s actually a shade of red so dark it’s hard to tell. There are places on her body that seem to flow and swell, like wax running down from a melted candle, only to reform back into that slender shape. Where it bulges out like that, it’s a dead white. Her legs and feet are like that, so they end up lookingalmost like piles of melted wax below her calves. Her eyes… They’re the samedead white as that swelling flesh of hers. Instead of irises or pupils, there are tiny blue-white flames flickering there. What I at first thought was long white hair hanging down to her waist is actually another flame, also blue-white, though in places it’s completely transparent, and around the edges it flickers red.

I shudder involuntarily.
Not only have I never seen this Moemon before, I realize what she is.
Litwick.
It’s my first time seeing an actual ghost.

The hell do you react to this? I hear those things eat your soul!
I also realize that this thing is a lot bigger than most of the other Starters I’ve seen. No, really. Most starters look like they’re in their early teens. This thing… It’s almost as tall as I am and has a grown woman’s figure. She has to look down to look in Fargo’s eyes.
“Ah! A-Aurum! Umm…”
“Yeah. ‘Sup Fargo?”
“C-Chris said you were in the h-hospital…”
“Ehehe… It wasn’t as bad as it looked, I guess. Or…something like that.”
“T-that’s good. Ummm… M-maybe you c-could h-help?” While we’ve been chatting, the ghost keeps pressuring the salesgirl.
“Urrr… Probably not. Actually, I came over here to ask her a question and, well…” I look at this situation again.
“What happened anyway?”
“Ah… Umm… We came here to get a F-Focus for Agni. Ummm… A S-skullstone Necklace. B-but the only ones they had left were put on h-hold this morning.” Ah… In other words, they made a special trip, but didn’t check first, and now this Litwick… Agni? She’s going off.
“I get it. I think. Except for the Focus thing. But couldn’t you just order something like that?” Fargo is rich. I don’t know how rich, but I’ve seen him picked up by a chauffeur more than once. To be honest, I’ve never even visited his house, even though I’ve known him since middle school.
Chris refuses to tell me, but I know he’s been there. To be more precise, I met Fargo through Chris. They apparently went to the samee lementary school. I have a feeling there’s a story behind that, since I know Chris went to a public school closer to Fall’s Ridge. I was under the impression that all rich kids were privately tutored or went to high-class private schools.
Eh. A mystery for another day.

“W-we could… But then we’d h-have to wait for the sh-shipping, and it’ll cost more.”
“Unless they have one at one of the shops in the city.”
“I-I-Idon’twannagothere.” Oh god, he looks like he just witnessed a murder.
He’s always like this. Large groups of people freak him out. Actually… That might be why he’s back in the back of the store, away from the sales tables and racks. Now that I look at it, the scene that Litwick of his is causing has created a discreet no-man’s land over here.
He probably came in here, the store filled up, and now he’s too afraid to go through the crowds to get out.

You’re stuck, aren’t you, Fargo?
Eh… Maybe I can take your mind off of it? And my mind off that monster you call a Starter.
“Hey, Fargo. You said something about a Focus earlier. What’s that?”
“E-eh? Ummm… I-It’s an item that can i-improve the power of some abilities. M-mostly just Moemon use them, but some people, l-like Espers and Aura Users, and even some martial artists, use them too. T-they’re a-attuned to specific types of abilities, like Ghost, Psychic, Fire, Electric, umm…Things like that.” The more he talks about this stuff, the less he stutters. I bet if I can keep him occupied, he’ll stop altogether.
“Okay. So what exactly does that do?”
“Ummm… W-when you use an ability with the same type as the Focus, it improves the accuracy and magnitude of the effect. T-there’s a scale for it, but I don’t have it m-memorized. Sorry…”
“That’s fine man. Hey, do you know anything about this stuff?” I hold up the visor Chu was looking at. The tags on it have the same symbols and numbers as that weird vest. Actually, now that I look at it, it looks like there’s some kind of metal band built into this… The hell is this thing?
“Ah. Ummm… Y-you don’t know what these are?”
“…”
“R-right. Iguessyouwouldn’thaveaskedifyouknew.”
“It’s fine. Just slow down and tell me.”
“Ah… Okay. Ummm… This ‘AR’ mark is the Armor Rating. I-It represents how much impact the item can absorb if it’s hit. After that is the‘MR,’ or Mobility Rating, which represents how easy it is to move in. Ummm… F-for example, something that’s really stiff has a low MR. The ‘DR’ is the Durability Rating. That’s an estimate of how much wear and tear it can take before it affects its performance. I-I guess those are the basics…”
“Ok. I think I get that. I heard this stuff was supposed to act like armor, so I guess rating it makes sense. What about these symbols and letters here?”
“T-these are how the item’s rated against abilities from specific Moemon Types. I-It’s not perfect, but they try to design equipment that can deal with the special abilities of the wearer and things they might fight. L-like making clothes for Fire Types out of heat resistant and fire-retardant materials.”
“Makes sense.”
“Y-yeah. Umm… T-the symbols… This blank square is for Normal Types. The fist is for Fighting Types. The Skull is Ghost Types. The flame is Fire, the drop is Water, the snowflake is for Ice, the lightning bolt is Electric, the little roach-thing is for Bug, the Feather is for Flying, the one with the horizontal line through the square is for Ground. The eye is for Psychic Types, the black square is for Dark, the octagon is for Rock, the biohazard sign is for Poison, the crossed swords are for Steel, the leaf is for Grass, and the egg is for Dragon. And then each of them has a letter rating showing how resistant it is to abilities common to those types. Ummm… Some of them also focus or improve those abilitie sin the user. L-like the Skullstone Necklace… That… We probably can’t get.”
“So, about those ratings…”
“Ah, um, the Type ratings are from ‘E’ to ‘A.’ A is the best, E is the worst. Um… Those things don’t mean that they stop attacks from those Types, though. It just means that the clothes are resistant to the way several abilities from those Types work. B-besides making the equipment last longer, it can also help reduce the effects of some of those abilities. The higher the rating, the more effects it can protect against in that Type. F-for example, this thing…” He swings the visor a bit.
“T-this is made for an Electric Type to use. I-It looks likeit has a magnetic band it that might improve electrical flow and magnetic abilities. And it feels like it’s made out of some kind of rubber, so it won’t conduct electricity if it’s hit directly. The rubber probably absorbs impacts too, so if they get hit in the forehead, it can absorb some of that. Not tomention it protects their eyes. Since it’s a visor, it was probably made fort hings with big ears or stuff like that. Ah! L-like that Pichu over there!”
He’s pointing at Chu, who’s been looking around at the shelves while we talk. Even so, those aforementioned big ears probably heard everything we said.
“Ahuh… So that’s how it is. Hey, what happened to that salesgirl?” The Litwick is standing there smiling. At… Us… Those eyes are creepy, man.
“Well done, master. I very fine explanation. I always adore your shows of charity to those less capable than yourself.” Uhhh… What did she just say? Did she seriously just say that?
“Ummm… Agni… This is my friend, Aurum Birch. Aurum this is Agni.”
“I see. If you are my master’s friend, then you must be a person of exceptional merit. A pleasure to meet you, Aurum Birch. I am Agni Anima Geistlich the Eighth. It is a pleasure to meet you.” Okay. What the hell kind of name is that? There are like, three different cultures in there. Maybe more if you count the number. And not one of those matches the clothes you’re wearing.
I’ll have to ask Fargo later if he named her, or if she came with that ridiculous thing attached already.
“Uhh… The same… Ms. Geistlich?” Please tell me I don’t have to recite her full name.
“C-can he just call you Agni?”
“You should not even need to ask, Master. I will abide by your commands.” Yet the way she says this is itself a command. “And don’t slouch.” Ah. I’ve heard her say that already. Seems like it might already be a recurring thing.
I wonder if she realizes he slouches to make himself less noticeable?
“It seems like you’re making friends, Aurum.” Chu speaks up from behind me. When did she come back over?
“Ah, it’s that Pichu. D-do you know her?” He misses obvious things sometimes. Like name dropping.
“Uhh… Yeah. I guess you could say that.”
“Hmmm… And where were you raised? What ranch and breeder? Your manner as a Starter is lacking.” Chu quirks an eyebrow at Agni.
“Ranch? Breeder? These things aren’t related to me. I was raised in the forests and the mountains to east of this place.”
“In the fore… Do you mean to say that you are a wild Starter!?!”
“Basically, yeah, that’s what she is.”
The ghost’s mouth hangs open. I get to see the strange sight of a girl with flames for eyes blink. Repeatedly.
That’s fucking weird to look at. How they hell does that even work?
“W-wait… So… Y-you have a Starter? But Chris said…”
“Ah, yeah… Some stuff happened yesterday. One thing led to another, and, well, she kind of volunteered for the job. I guess.”
“Wow… T-that’s… That’s great! I-I didn’t think you’d actually do it!”
“Yeah, well… Things are still kind of up in the air here. Today we’ve been running around getting her shots and certificates, and now we’re picking out some clothes for her. After that, though, we have to take her to the Research Center and have her tested.” I sigh.
“I don’t think she’ll pass it, though.”
“Why should I need the approval of unrelated people in order to travel? I stand by the truth that you humans love to complicate simple things.”
“Umm… W-what do you think she’ll fail? She seems to have speech down fine…”
“Haaah… I’m not worried about that. I think she can pass the traffic stuff too. It’s the symbols and reading that I’m worried about.”
“Hmmm… Y-you might try one of the department stores here in the mall. Some of them carry Technical Machines that can teach a Moemon a skill really quickly. S-since people try to catch wild Moemon often, they probably make something like that. O-otherwise, I don’t see how they’d be allowed to keep them.”
Fargo, you are the shit. I owe you, little dude.
It’s right then that the salesgirl from before comes back.
“I’m sorry about the inconvenience. My manager says that we ‘can’t break the trust of a contract with a valued customer.’ I’m afraid I can’t sell the necklace you wanted.”
Agni is already glaring at this girl. And… Her eyes and hair… The red in them is spreading. Is this a sign that she’s angry? If I were you, I’d run girl.
“Ah, b-but he did tell me I could give you a discount on a Grave Ash Choker! I’m allowed to sell it for the same price as the necklace you wanted!” Ahhh… She came armed, it seems. The look on Agni’s face softens to something smug as she turns to Fargo.
“Is this acceptable, master?” Fargo, meanwhile, looks like a deer in the headlights.
“Ah, um, s-sure. T-that sounds g-great.” The salesgirl looks pleased with herself, but…
“Be more confident, master! You are a young man of breeding,g ifted, capable, and the worthy handler of an exceptional Starter such as myself.” She puts her hand on his back and pushes while holding him in place.
“Stand up straight and speak with confidence. Now, again!”Uhhh… Good luck, Fargo?
I can see people moving away from us again.
I see. So this is the fear inspired by the undead.

“…” What do you say in this situation? If I stick my nose into that, I have a feeling I’ll just make things worse.
Discretion is the better part of valor here. I should comeback later and see if he needs help leaving… For right now though, we need to finish up shopping.
I wave to a Fargo who’s currently being forced to stand at attention and tell him I’ll see him later.
“Hey, did you want this?” I hold up the visor as I ask Chu.
“…” What’s this? Why isn’t she looking at me?
“Well?”
“It will require money.”
“Well… Yeah. Most things do.”
“…” Ok… So what’s the problem here? Does she not want me to spend anything on her, or what?
“And this is a problem because…?”
“I do not like this… money. You said that it was a way to exploit the needs of others.” Hrmmm…
“You do know that I spent money at the Clinic too, right? And we did come here just to buy you things.”
“Such things aren’t needed. I have always lived with just my body before. I can continue to do so.”
…
Are you saying you intend to walk around the country with me… naked? All the time?
I don’t know if I should be happy or sad, but either way, it’s definitely not going to happen. There is no way in hell I’m going to parade this girl around naked everywhere I go.
I’ll definitely be labeled a worse pervert than the Ero-Prof. then. And around the whole country, too.

We’ll probably be arrested before we even leave town. As soon as a patrolman realizes she’s registered under me, I’ll be so screwed…

Wait a sec… There’s something wrong with this picture. I stop myself from imagining things that give me complicated feelings.
She’s been looking at the things the whole time. The visor, the stacks of clothes on the tables and the completed outfits hanging on racks. She even clung to this thing in my hand when I dragged her across the store.
It’s not that she doesn’t see things she wants. And she wasn’t averse to me paying at the Clinic. It was something we had to do.
She sees this as unnecessary, and she knows I need to watch my spending.
She’s holding back because she doesn’t want to feel like she’s imposing on me?
“You do realize that making sure you wear this kind of stuff will make things a lot easier for me, right?”
“…”
“You might have to fight. No, actually, you will have to fight. Against people with this kind of advantage. Not to mention there’ll be a lot of trouble if you just run around in public naked.”
Wild Moemon that do that in towns end up attracting a lot of attention for obvious reasons. They’re considered to be disturbing the peace and are treated as dangerous animals. They’re usually caught, though what happens to them afterwards varies depending on their other actions.
Tame ones, however… Their owners are held responsible for any misconduct on their part. In a way, they’re treated like minors.
“…”
“You’re not being a burden here. This is something else we have to do for the Journey, so don’t hold back.”
“…Mmm.” She finally nods after a moment.
And then she’s gone faster than I would have imagined. It’slike she teleported.
Uhhhh… I think…
I think I just made a fatal error.

Can I reload my game from a previous save? No?
She comes back moments later with an armload of stuff and a big smile.
Shit.

It seems this is a universal trait of females.
Oh god, her eyes are sparkling. How much is this shit goingt o cost? Some of this isn’t even clothing… What the hell is this? Some kind of bracelet?
Is that a backpack? It’s tiny!

I start looking at the price tags. Then I start looking at my wallet.

WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!?!?
Oh my god! Is this what having a girlfriend is like!?!

Sonofabitch.
And the worst thing is, my pride as a man won’t let me go back on my word.
Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiit…
I think I’m going to cry.
No. No. I will not. I steel myself and head to the counter.The sad thing is, I’ve realized by now that I don’t actually know this girl’s sizes, and I very much doubt she can guess right just by looking.

When I reach the counter, the first words out of my mouth are “Do you have a measuring service,” and “Where are your fitting rooms?”
The clerk at the counter is nice enough to direct me to the back rooms. We have to wait for a bit, since they’re in use, but soon enough an attendant opens up one of the rooms and takes her back in. I let the staff know what we need and then I get out of the way.

The measuring is finished quickly. I think. I just kind of stare at the merchandise on the shelves in order to keep my mind off things. Various… things. When I ask what her sizes are, the attendant leans over and whispers something to her, hands her a small slip of paper, and then leaves.
“So, what sizes are we looking for? We might have to swap some of this if it doesn’t fit.”
“I was told it was dangerous to tell men that information. I was told just to check the symbols on this paper against the symbols on the tags.”
…
Conspiracy. It’s an unjust conspiracy!
I will uncover this information. Just… Not when she’s around. Otherwise I’ll be eating volts again.

“So I’m guessing they won’t let you try anything on, right?”
“Mmm. The woman said it was forbidden if I did not have something called ‘underwear.’” Ah shit. She didn’t get any in this pile, either. No bra, no panties, or anything else like that.
I make her go back and pick some out that fit the sizes she’s guarding. Once she realized it was on the packaging, she stopped letting me see that, too.

The hell am I supposed to do now? I don’t even know how much those things cost. And mom says bras are expensive…
Shit.

She takes the pile from me and fishes through it, comparing the sizes to what she needs, and handing the ones that don’t match back to me.
And then she goes off again. Probably looking for replacements.
She comes back after a bit with an armload that’s as big… No, maybe bigger than what she started with.

I hate you.
I’ll have to make sure mom doesn’t find out I’ll be living off of Cup Ramen on this Journey. I’ll never live it down.

We go to the checkout counter and buy the things we need. I feel like a piece of my soul passed over the counter with my money.
And she still won’t let me see the damn tags.
I go back to see if Fargo needs help getting out, but he and that ghost are already gone. I wonder where they headed to?

Eh… Whatever. He’ll be fine. I think. That girl can probably keep the scary people away just by existing. Actually… I find it odd that Fargo likes the things that most people are afraid of or uncomfortable around, but can’t handle normal shit.
Then again, that’s just Fargo.

Anyway, I take his advice and head to the nearest department store. There’s one here that sells general goods, so I figure it’s the best bet for that Technical Machine he suggested. After asking around, I find out that they keep those in the electronics department on the border with the pet supplies.
Or so I thought.

When I get there, it’s a big, garish, pink touch-screen computer. There’s a little book chained to the machine that explains how to use the computer, the machines, stuff like that.
Apparently, these things are single use. That’s how they get you. You buy it, but once you use it, it’s just junk. I wonder how they manage that. There’s a little thing in the back that says you can apparently recycle the used machine after the fact and get some money back.
There’s a strict no return policy. Looks like they don’t give refunds, either, unless you can prove it’s defective. It gives the manufacturer’s number and URL so you can file complaints, ask questions, shit like that.
I realize at this point that these things are all made by one company, Creatures, Inc. They have a monopoly on the industry, apparently.

I know the company.
Its CEO is Rebecca Joy.

My great-great-grandmother.
I’ve never met her, but I’ve heard she’s over a century old and still going strong. Remember what I said about the Joy’s being scary?
This also explains why the computer’s Magical Girl Pink.

I’m going to pretend this is completely unrelated to me.
After digging around, I find a ‘TM 682: English Language and Symbols” in the machine’s database. I fiddle around with it, take a look at the information that pops up. Apparently, there are some in stock on site. I just need to print out a ticket for it and go pick one up at the counter.
I guess this is meant to discourage theft.
It seems like this thing costs about twenty dollars. It’s specifically stated ‘Only for use with Moemon.’
Needless to say, I wonder if this will work on me. Then again, this thing might fry my brain… The guide says it takes advantage of the Moemon Evolutionary Process, or MEP, in order to accomplish growth and learning at an accelerated rate.
It does not say how.

I print out a tag and go buy the thing.
They apparently store these things in a locked room in back, since the clerk had to go find the keys.

At least the machine wasn’t as expensive as I expected. Something like that for humans? Fuck. That Rosetta thing costs like, six hundred, and you still have to do all the work yourself. Something like this is better than a college course.
They need to make these things for people. Now.

After that, we head back into the mall.
“Hungry.” She sniffs the air as I glance over. I figured this would happen, to be honest. It’s been several hours since we ate by now. She’s not the only hungry one, either.
“Yeah. Let’s get something.”
I introduce her to lo mein and yellow curried chicken. She liked the chipotle eggs this morning, after all. I get her lemonade while I get fried rice and pepper steak, and a nice spring roll with some sweet tea. Hopefully this stuff is pretty fresh. It didn’t look nasty in the hot plate, but with mall food…

It’s not too bad. Not the best I’ve had, but not the worst. She seems to like the mix of things in the curry. Most of what she had at breakfast was all separated, but there she’s got carrots, snow peas, onions, bamboo shoots, and water chestnuts all mixed in with chicken and yellow curry seasoning. Since it’s all cooked together, the flavors mingle.
It’s actually pretty entertaining watching her eat. I haven’t tried to show her how to use chopsticks, yet. I hadn’t actually thoughtof it until now, but… Next time, I plan to have a show.
“So, when we get done here, you want to go home first and try this stuff on, or do you want to go straight to the Research Center?”
Her plastic fork pauses halfway to her mouth. She stops andt hinks for a while, but I don’t get an answer out of her. Instead, she goes back to eating.
The hell kind of reaction was that?
Wait, I think I just saw something like this before.
“Even if we go to the research facility immediately, we won’t be able to start the Journey today. At least, not unless we want to travel at night.” I’ve heard that the Moemon that come out after dark are often a lot stronger than the ones during the day. Though… How exactly do you keep them away while you’re camping out?
That’s something to ask my parents, and probably the Professor, too. Actually, Chu would probably know a thing or two about that as well, considering where she’s from.

She looks like she’s deliberating. Then, after a bit…
“I would like to return home first.” Thought so.

“Okay then. After we’re done eating, we can pack up and take a look at the loot.”
“You are forbidden from observing the tags.”
Hrmm… Just what did that woman tell her exactly?
“At least let me see the one that describes all those Type things and Ratings and shit. I want to see what kind of stuff you bought.”
“That’s fine. I will remove them first for you.”
…
Persistent about this, are we?
This is something to come back and check up on later. After she’s forgotten. Or when she’s not around.
“Why exactly did she say that telling men those numbers is a bad thing, anyway?”
“I was informed that they will attract perverts, and that revealing the information may damage my chances of securing a mate.”
“Uhhhh… Wut?” Wait, she’s looking for a mate!?! Is this some secret reason she wants to go on this Journey?
“So… You’re looking for a mate?”
“A prospective one, yes.”
“Aren’t you a little…” I want to say young. She looks like a little kid, and she’s four. Is this normal?
“Hmm?”
“You just seemed a little young for that.”
“Mmm. My people can't breed at my stage, and we do not even have the desire to until we are at least eight seasons. However, life can end quickly, so it is to our advantage to find a suitable partner as soon as possible, and breed if we are able to reach the neccessary development.” Kids… Don’t try that at home. No… Just wait until you’re older.
“Soo… Does that mean you’ve done it before?”
“Mated?”
“Uh, yeah. I guess.”
“Mmm. No, not yet. There weren’t any partners that were suitable. They were either too different from myself, too weak, or too unreliable to father my young.”
“High standards?”
“Mmm. Perhaps. But the peoples hand down power from the blood of the parents, especially the father. If the father is very skilled, the young may be born with those same gifts. Doubly so if the mother shares those talents as well. I wish for my first children to successful.”
“Skills… As in, not things that you were born with… But things that you learn?”
“There is a difference? One may be born with skills that they could also learn.”
“W-wait, hold on here. For example… This TM thing here. Are you saying that if you used that, and learned to read and write with it… Yourc hildren would be born already knowing how to do that?”
“Mmm… Perhaps. The blood of the father is more important. If he also knew those things, then yes. Any child we had would be born with those skills.”
…
THAT’S NOT HOW HEREDITY WORKS!!!
Darwin, Mendeleev, they’re rolling over in their graves right now. What the fuck!?!?
“There’s no way that works. No way in hell does that work.” Why is she giving me a look like I’m an idiot?
“The people have carried on the skills of our forefathers since time immemorial. It is only when one pairs with a mate of inferior quality that the power of the ancients is lost. A mate who does not prove themselves worthy through their ability will produce inferior offspring. That is the way of the world.”
… Yeah, no.
Genetics do not work that way. Fuck. I’ll prove it! I’ll ask the pervert when we go back! He studies mating rituals and breeding and shit, right? I bet he knows. Hell, it’s his job to know this kind of shit.

This whole thing pretty much kills the conversation. Me not believing her pissed her off, it looks like, and let’s face it, what she just said completely defies my understanding of this subject. My grades may not be the best, I admit, but fuck if I miss a point that big in biology!

[Unsealed]

Due to suckage in regards to a similar site, in other words incompatibility with the table in this chapter, I opted to make a mediafire link to this one instead. Here you go, folks: [New Things].

If you don't feel like Downloading this thing to read it, you can alternatively stop by the Beast's Lair Type Moon forum and look it up under the same title in the Doujin Projects section, since the Lair's formatting isn't so disagreeable on this point.

Even though I have to go through and fix the bloody spacing on it every time I copy/paste stuff from Word.

[Unsealed]

[Got Woods?]
After a bit, I ask mom how to clean the clothes. She happily informs me that she’ll prevent me from seeing the tags for Chu’s sake, but she’ll tell Chu how to wash them. I, in turn, will refuse to take responsibility for this.
Basically, the girls are making sure I’ll never even be able to guess what Chu’s sizes are without cultivating my eyes into ero-vision like an eroge pervert.

I head back into the kitchen in defeat. Chu… Why’d you have to murder the wiring last night? It’s too damn hot in here. Mom’s probably staying cool with that cold bath water, but I’m steaming to death here. The rain last night pumped the humidity up, so the air feels like it has substance.

Two hours… This sucks. Boredom always sucks so much more when it’s hot. The heat saps your energy, so you just want to lay there, but then you feel even more bored, and you just end up in this absurd cycle of suck.
“Blargh.” I don’t even think I’m thinking straight anymore. I idly wonder if the heat might be the reason why I’m a little more irritated than normal.
I decide it’s time to change the scenery. I head outside to the backyard, grabbing my new ‘phone’ and a baseball bat. I’ll see if I can’t find a nice shady spot out here where I can catch a breeze. The house is too stifling. I know mom must have called the electrician, again, on her cell, so I won’t bother with that. She’s really reliable when it comes to keeping the house going.
I settle for sitting under the tree line at the edge of the property. Pretty much everything beyond this point is going to be wilderness. There might be an old wall, foundation, or maybe even a shack out there, but nothing civilized people have lived in for generations. You hear stories about inbred mountain men and half-Moemon, ghosts, undiscovered Breeds, and sorts of other silly legends, but that’s just because people can’t really venture into those places alone.
I sigh.
Maybe coming out here wasn’t such a good idea. It’s cooler, sure, but now I’m thinking about what Chu wants me to do. She wants me to go see Guru, somewhere in the mountains. There aren’t any Routes out there, no city streets or roads. Not even hiking trails. The only paths will be the ones made by Moemon and animals, game trails cut through the brush by things that wear fur, scales, and feathers instead of cloth.
It’s something I did once before, a long time ago. When I was a child, I went somewhere I shouldn’t have. I followed a path that wasn’t made by things that wear clothes. That was how I earned my first scars.
I look off into the dark woods, the secret byways hidden beneath a canopy of spring green and shadow.
I wonder if I can handle this.

“You’ll be fine.” I didn’t hear her walk up, but at least I didn’t jump. Chu’s beside me, and soon enough, she sits down. She’s within arm’s reach, but not pressing against me. Maybe she’s as hot as I am.
“Maybe.”
“If it isn’t, I’ll protect you. That’s the duty of a Starter, yes?”
“Something like that. But it’s kind of strange to me.”
“Mmm?”
“Being protected by a Moemon, and by a girl.” I’ve always been the kind of person who protected himself and others, not the one that needed protection. The one time it was the other way around, what I needed protection from was what’s protecting me now.
“Mmm. If you wish to protect me, I do not mind. You have already done so, after all. But I don’t believe you are strong enough to protect yourself from everything. Certainly not both of us all the time.”
“Heh. So you’re saying I’m weak.”
“Mmm… No. I do not think so. If you were weak, you would not have beaten me in the first place, or been able to help me. But you are not strong, either.”
“You know, I’m pretty confident in my abilities as a human being.”
“And there is the problem. Yours are the abilities of a human. Mine are not.” I turn my head and click my tongue.
“Oh? A male’s pride is wounded. But that’s good. If you can feel like that, then you’re not useless. Just improve, and that feeling will go away~” She says it with a smile that reveals understanding. She knows that’s a lot easier said than done.
“I see. So I’m going to be traveling with a demanding girl like this.”
“Mmm.” She smiles at me.
Shit.
I lean back against the tree and close my eyes. I just listen to the sound of the birds in the trees, the wind in the leaves, the cries of the insects and the rustling of clothes.
Wait a sec.
Rustling of…
“What are you doing?” I look over to find Chu…
“The cloth catches on my fur a bit. It’s itching.” Scratching herself.
“…”
I have nothing to say to this. Her pants and panties are pulled down, and she’s scratching the patch of yellow and black fur just above her crotch. It’s both somewhat disgusting and somewhat appealing at the same time.
“You really don’t care, do you?”
“Mmm?”
“That you’re exposing yourself in front of me.”
“Should I?”
“It’s not really something you should do. Definitely not where people can see.”
“Why? Modesty?”
“Er… Well, yeah. But not everyone wants to see you naked, so you shouldn’t do that in public.”
“Hmm… Alright then.” She continues to ruffle her fur. No sign of pulling her pants back up.
“You’re not going to fix them?”
“No.” She looks like that’s obvious.
“May I ask why?”
“Because you want to see me naked.”
“…” I see. So if everyone present wants to see her naked, then she thinks it’s alright. Logically, that works, but… I think it’s missing the point somehow. Also, a part of me would like to deny her statement, but it’s overridden by the part of me that admits it’s true, and knows she’s aware of it. This morning especially was proof. The fridge, the bathroom, the doctor’s visit, even the bus stop and talking about mating. I can’t really say I’m not interested now. But…
“You know, if you do that, it’s like teasing me.” If I can’t deny it, then I’ll try another tactic.
“Mmm~” She nods.
I see. So it’s intentional. She’s intentionally teasing me after she said she didn’t want to fuck. You’re evil.
“Are you done yet?”
“No~” I sigh. This is a kind of torture. If I touch her, she’ll just shock me. She’s already told me she doesn’t want to right now. The only things I can do are sit there and let her play around like that, or walk away.
If I walk away, it’s either going to be out into the sun in the yard, deeper into the woods, or back into the furnace of a house. The house is out, and so is the yard. And I have no intention of heading deeper into Moemon territory.
Maybe if I sit here and ignore her, she’ll get bored.

I lean back, close my eyes, and try to tune out the sound of her playing with her fur. After a while, I stop hearing the sound of her fingers scratching her soft fur.
Wet.
I’m hearing a wet, squelching sound instead. I can hear her gasping quietly, and there’s an odd smell.
Chu…

YOU’RE EVIL!
Mustering my willpower, I stand up, keeping my eyes turned away from her, and walk off into the woods. I walk through some spaces in the trees, bat in hand, before finally settling on a limestone outcrop. And yes, I checked for snakes and such first.

Just what is that girl thinking? Is she really just teasing me? Or is she telling me to act? She said she wasn’t interested before, and that I needed to prove myself, but then she goes and does that right beside me. Is it because that kind of thing is normal where she’s from? Does she just finger herself whenever she wants out in the woods? Even if there are others around? Or is she trying to entice me?
Shit.
Shit!

Why do women have to be so complicated? No, even more than that, that girl isn’t even human! If that had been a human, there’s no other way to look at it but an invitation, but Chu’s not! Like I understand what she’s thinking! She always goes on about humans complicating things, and then she goes and…
Oh.
Shit.

I made a mistake, didn’t I?

Wait. Maybe I can turn this around… I look at the outcropping. Ideas, ideas… I set the bat down and head back. I didn’t walk for very long, so…
When I get back, she’s still going at it. Coming up from behind her, I see the posture she’s in for the first time. Her shoulders pressed up against the tree, her hips are up in the air. Her knees are bent as if she were crouching and she’s resting on the balls of her feet and her left hand. Her shorts and panties are slid down to her knees. Her right hand is resting on the gold and black fur, and I can see her knuckles flexing as she moves her fingers. I can hear her heavy breathing, see her big ears twitching. I guess she didn’t want to stop, even after I left.
Looking at her like this, I realize she’s completely visible from the house. If mom came to one of the windows or the enclosed deck, there’s no way she’d miss this view from the front. I don’t think you can see her from the road, though, and not from the neighboring houses.
I look back down at her, at her big ears shifting while her hand struggles between her thighs, hear the wet sound of it. I take a deep breath to calm my nerves, but all the air I inhale is filled with her smell and the woods. I can feel my heart pounding.
Needless to say, I’m ‘ready.’
I reach out a hand and slide it along her soft ear. Her body wriggles a bit, her panting changes for a moment. I squeeze her ear lightly, still positioned behind her. I have to reach around the tree to touch her, so I move around beside her.
She turns her head to look at me, her ear hiding all of her face except for those emerald eyes. Their moist, shimmering, half-lidded. I can feel her hand slow down, stop moving. Her eyes feel like they’re asking me what I’ll do.
I slide a hand behind her back, curl the arm around her body, and the other beneath her knees, gathering them up. It’s a little awkward because of her posture, with her knees spread out like that, but I don’t care right now. I pick her up and carry her into the woods. She’s heavier than I expected. Heavier than she looks, at least. I kind of forgot about that. At least she’s supporting herself now, though. I head for the stone outcrop again. It was flat enough, and out of sight of the house. Her body feels hot in my arms. Her ear falls away, showing me a cheek that’s a bright pink color. It doesn’t look like a human blush. Those spots on her face that store electricity are sparking again. Is she talking, or something else?
She shifts her legs slightly in my arms, opening a space between her thighs again. It makes it harder to hold her. Her right hand moves back to her crotch and starts plunging again. I can hear it, every time her fingers slide in and out, there’s a wet sucking sound. Her smell, sharp, tangy, a smell faintly acidic and like ozone at the same time gets stronger with every move of her hand, with every jostling step I take. Her gasps are speeding up, and I can see little beads of sweat forming on her brows as they knit. Her smell becomes something that reminds me of a storm coming, the smell in the air before it breaks. I can hear the pattering of drops on the loam, like the first spatters of rain.
The trip that took only minutes before seems to take an eternity.
I see the outcrop. I see the bat, fallen from where I left it leaning. Almost there!
And then she thrashes in my arms. Her eyes squeezed shut, the pink ‘blush’ turned red and sparking, her mouth opens.
“PIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!” The hell!?! My arms go numb instantly, but my ears clearly hear the sound of something splattering. The numbing sensation spreads through my body and…

My arms stop working. Chu drops like a rock. My legs stop working and I unceremoniously join her in the dirt.

Why me? Why? I almost made it…
Note to self… Chu shocks things when she comes. The numbness is fading slowly, my body tingling all over. Chu, meanwhile, points at me accusingly.
“You dropped me!”
“Couldn’t help it. My arms stopped working. So did my legs. I don’t think I can move.”
She looks at me with teary eyes. “Good!” She stands up and pulls some leaves off a nearby bush, wipes herself, and throws them aside before pulling her clothes back on. Then she introduces my ribs to the toe of her metal-reinforced shoe.
Stars… I see stars…
As my vision swims and Chu walks away on unsteady legs, I contemplate the error of my ways. In hindsight, even though I realized she was allowing me to touch her at worst, actually have sex with her at best, I complicated things again. If I had really understood the message, I wouldn’t have tried to move her. That was the deeper meaning behind the look, I’m sure, and why she continued to do that while I carried her.
The point was to just take her right then and there. She comes from an open society, right? She already told me that they shit and stuff in public. Of course they’d fuck in public, too. I wasn’t supposed to take her anywhere. I was just supposed to not care that we were in view of the house or anything else.
It might have gone better if I had been less ambitious, or if I hadn’t tried to hide the mistake I made at first. If I had only taken her a little ways into the woods and just done it in the dirt, or up against a tree…

Shit.

To make matters worse, I have a feeling that electric shock had an effect on me. I can’t really tell due to full-body numbness, but… I may need new pants.

Shit.
……………
………
…

[Unsealed]

[Pervert, Again]

After I recover enough to move, I pick up the bat and head back home. Chu’s probably lurking somewhere, waiting to give me an earful for that disaster.
I get out a change of clothes and have a shower. As embarrassing as it is, that shock pushed me over the edge. Besides, she was dripping on my pants while I carried her. The icy water clears away my lust brutally.
I get out of the shower shivering, towel off, and change, then make my way back downstairs. I drag out a chair at the kitchen table, the legs scraping on the floor, and sit down to sulk.
I made a mistake. Thinking things through… Shit. Hindsight is twenty-twenty, but I wish I had that on the spot. If I had really thought about what she was doing, when she was doing it, that wouldn’t have backfired. I’m sure of it. I rest my head in my hand as I lean on the table.
So… What do I need to do now? I basically just made myself look like an idiot, ruined her afterglow, and generally pissed her off. I feel like I should be pissed over this, especially that parting kick and the nice big bruise on my side, but the only person I can really be mad at is myself. I sigh.
I guess the first thing I need to do is apologize. I just have to find her.

Realistically, if she came back to the house, she’s probably in the guest room or talking with mom. The second one makes me worry. On the other hand, she could have gone back under the house, since she was living there for a while.
The other option is that she’s somewhere in the woods. I don’t particularly want to go in there alone looking for her. Not only do I not think I’ll find her if I do, there’s a chance I’ll find something that I don’t want to.
The only other places around here are the windmill and generator in the backyard and the tool shed.

First things first, I check in with mom. She’s still washing clothes and hasn’t seen Chu. I can validly use the excuse that it’s getting to be around time to check on her reading ability now.
After mom, I decide to check the guest room. The room is mostly clean, but the bed looks like an animal slept in it. There’s black and yellow fur on the sheets, and the blanket and top sheet have been pulled up and wadded into the center of the bed. It makes me think of the ‘nest’ under the house. She must sleep curled up in the fetal position or something. I poke the mass of cloth, but there’s nothing in there besides some fur.
Since she doesn’t seem to be in the room, I decide to head back outside. I check in with mom again as she’s finishing up the wash. Still, she doesn’t want me to hang them up outside. Apparently, she’s being pretty serious about hiding the sizes Chu wears, too. It’s kind of annoying, but I don’t feel like protesting right now.
I sigh and head out, bringing the flashlight and a bat, just in case I have to check under the house and in the woods. The first place I check, besides a cursory glance over the main yards, is the windmill generator. Chu likes electricity, right?

I walk up to the thing, which is fairly quiet right now. The air is hot and still, so it’s only slightly turning. What sits in the back of almost every yard in town is a turbine and battery array the size of a small car, attached to a slender white windmill on a rotating axis.
This is the device that generates electricity for a home. A long time ago, people experimented with electricity provided by wiring in and above the ground. That didn’t work out for very long, though. The wires attracted electric-type Moemon and were easily damaged. Even roving Moemon sometimes would damage them by accident. Putting the wires underground didn’t work, either, since there are many types of Moemon, like Diglett and Sandshrew, that burrow underground. Eventually, with the need for electricity great, people developed a process of allowing individual citizens to generate their own power.
Specifically, we lease the equipment from the electric company, who’s responsible for the maintenance and repair of the windmill, the generator, the storage batteries inside it, and the wiring in the house. Really, the last one’s mostly our own business, but there are situations where the electric company is held responsible, such as damages incurred by wild Moemon. In other words, Chu.

Anyway, the thing can be pretty noisy, so most houses have it at the edge of their property, with a short wire running from the generator to the house. Said wire is then run through the back wall and under the house, keeping it out of sight and out of the way.
With something like this, there’s no need for major power installations to supply the ordinary citizens with electricity, so big constructions like the dam at Falls Ridge are only needed to power government facilities and major factories, all of which end up removed from the private sector due to the difficulties in drawing power over long distances.

Unfortunately, my wonderful understanding of the windmill in my back yard does not miraculously make Chu appear there.
I check the shed next, which is a simply the place where we store odds and ends that we don’t usually need and keep the gardening and yard supplies. It’s dark, and smells funny, but there’s no Chu. Stands to reason… The shed was locked to begin with.

And now for under the house. The door is once again open. Oi.
“Chu…”
“…” Silence, but I can hear her breathing in there, and a rustling sound. Sounds like cloth. Is she undressing? My mind starts running through images of naked Chu…
No wait, why would she be undressing? I just pissed her off, and then left her. Or, well, technically she walked away from me, but I didn’t chase her until now, so…
I turn on the flashlight and check the space. I find her almost immediately.
“Bright!” She complains as the light hits her full in the face. She blinks as I turn it to the side. She’s sitting on her nest, the source of the rustling sound. She’s still fully clothed.
“Did you come down here to beat me?” She says it with a hint of worry in her voice, which confuses me.
“Uhhh… No. Why would you think that?”
“… That,” she points at the bat. “And I kicked you.”
“Ah.” So that’s what it was. “No. I just brought this in case I had to go looking for you in the woods.”
“Idiot.”
“Look, about earlier… Sorry.”
“Idiot! Did you think about your mistake?”
“Uhh… Yeah.”
“And what did you learn?”
“That I shouldn’t have worried about being seen.” At least, that’s part of it. “And in the first place… I… I should have just accepted the invitation.”
“A little bit, you understand.”
“Eh?”
“You’re still too complicated.”
“Oh.”
“Hmph. Some progress is better than none. You should know better than to drop me now, too.”
“Ah, hey! I couldn’t help that! You shocked me!”
“Hmph. That’s nothing but a feeling of pleasure. If you intend to mate with me, you’ll learn to savor it.” Uhhh… Well, it didn’t hurt at least. But savor the total loss of the ability to move, or even support my own body? I question that. Doesn’t this mean I’ll be paralyzed if she comes?
“Anyway… It’s about time to check on your reading ability.”
“Mmm? It has been long enough?”
“Ah, yeah… We were kind of messing around for a while.”
“Mmm. Then let us see!” Her mood seems to have turned around. It’s kind of amazing, really. Is it because she has something else to focus on, or is it just part of her personality?
I’m reminded that I don’t really know this girl.

We head back into the house, and Chu immediately starts looking at the same boxes and cans as before. I can’t help but feel skeptical about the Machine’s ability to work, but, well… If it’s from the Joy’s…

“Sinnoh Potatoes.”
“Eh?” She’s looking at a sack of potatoes stored in the cabinet. They’re Russet spuds from a company that takes its name from the Region.
“Mmm… White Gold brand Rice.” A sack of rice.
She goes on to list off several other bag items stored in the shelves under the counter, bags of dried beans, peanuts, vegetable oil, salt, sugar, and other items. She reads off the names and contents of boxes of cereal, banana chips, crackers, cans of soup stock and vegetables, and then moves to the cleaners under the sink.
I can feel my eyes widen as she reads off ingredients, then explains what some of the weird-ass chemicals actually are.

This is ridiculous. She actually recognizes the chemical names on the back of foods and cleaners. She… She has a bigger vocabulary than I do…
Did she inhale a dictionary!?! Was that what was in that little can!?!
Shit!

“I don’t think you’ll have a problem with that test now…”
“Heee….” She smiles at me, her tail flicking happily. Why do you remind me of a cat right now? Her ears are even perking up, the big pointy things standing up almost straight. It’s really cute.
“I guess we can go see that Professor now.”
“Mmm.” She nods happily and puts the bottle of dish soap she’s holding back under the sink. I grab a bottle of water for each of us, let mom know we’re heading out, and pick up my bat again.
“You’re bringing that weapon?”
“… We’ll be going by that field from before.” To be honest, I want to grab a second bat. As absurd as it sounds, I’m not bad with two at once. When no one has your back for years, you learn ways to make up for it.
“Ah… Mmm.” Actually, it might not have been a bad idea to get her into that combat gear, but… I have no idea how long that will take to dry, or how bad it will chafe her if she walks around in it while it’s wet.
“We’ll just stick with what we’ve got.”
“Mmm?”
“Ah, sorry. Thinking out loud. Anyway, let’s go.” She nods and we head out. A breeze has started to blow, so maybe it won’t be too bad. It’s a shame really. Buses don’t run out to the Research Center. I guess, in order to be near the Moemon, you need to be a bit away from civilization. It’s really inconvenient though.
I don’t really need to guide her this time, at least. It’s the third time we’ve walked this road together, after all. I let her read the certificates she earned at the Clinic this morning. Seems like she wants to read, now that she knows how. Modern technology really is an amazing thing. I’m still having trouble understanding just how it’s possible to learn something instantly like that.

Yet she continues to prove, time and again, that she really can read. She reads me her own certifications, and every road sign we see along the way. The first time she does that, she turns to me with a beaming, sparking smile, puffs out her little chest with pride, and informs me that we’re currently on Route 781 at the half-mile marker. It’s a medium-sized blue sign of machined metal imbedded in a thick wooden post standing above my head. The writing is in big, clear letters. It’s probably been coated with some sort of stain-protection, since I’ve never seen the front of one of these things dirty or marked on.
Of course, the post and the back of the sign have become works of art, sort of, since whatever protects the front of the sign doesn’t do shit for anything else. The post is carved with names and shapes and figures and symbols. From Runes to a little sign that says Eric <3’s Mia. I silently wonder which one of them scratched it into the wood. If either of them did. The back of the sign is covered in tags. Most are pretty small, but there’s a big one in black and maroon, a capital ‘T’ with two smaller capital ‘R’s flanking it, sharing the vertical bar of the ‘t’ as their own vertical stroke. It goes without saying that the first ‘R’ is backwards. I can’t help but frown when I see that thing.

“Mmm? Did I read something wrong?” Chu apparently noticed my look. I feel kind of bad now.
“Ah, no. You’re right.” That thing isn’t something I particularly want to think about. Time for a topic change. “So, why exactly are you so proud of being able to read this thing?” She didn’t exactly inflate like that for any of the other things she’s read so far. I mean, it’s just a road sign.
“Hmhmm!” She smiles brightly again. It’s actually really cute to see. Except her cheeks are sparking, which makes it kind of scary at the same time. I’m been fried enough times already, thanks. “I have often seen these signs, including this one, but until now I couldn’t read them!” Ah, I see…
“So you’re feeling like you’ve improved a lot.” Even though, really, it was the Technical Machine that did all the work.
“Mmm!”
“I guess that means you got something good out of talking to me, at least.” Well, besides the clothes. My poor wallet…
“Among other things, yes.”
“Your clothes were expensive, you know.” You should repay me in some way. Like not cooking me from now on. Maybe I should add this as a stipulation on our Quest at some point? Assuming she passes this exam thing, anyway.
“Mmm. Those two, but you’ve given me better things than that.”
“Eh?” Like hell. Those are the most expensive things I’v-
“You’ve given me memories. Experiences that I could not have had without you. You showed me Guru’s wisdom. You welcomed me into your home and gave me your food. You gave me freedom when others would not have and you shed your blood for my sake, to buy my safety. These are more valuable things.” She says it with a gentle smile that makes her almost look angelic.
“Ah.” I guess, looking at it like that…
What do you say to that?
“S-sure.” I think I’m probably blushing right now.

We walk for a time in silence from then on, punctuated only by her reading road signs and mile-markers. It makes me think she’s assuring herself that she won’t lose her ability to do so. Like she doesn’t really believe it worked.
Needless to say, we stop at the small rest stop on the way to the Research Center. It’s not to buy food, though we do get some water and use the restroom. And yes, she seems to have taken the short lesson at the Clinic to heart. Mostly, though, she just wants to read the signs and packages in the store. She wanders up and down the aisles, picking up various items and reading labels while I try to occupy myself.
I end up wandering the store. I probably look like some kind of shoplifter.
It’s only when I walk past the small section of office supplies that I realize she might be required to write for the test, and that she has no experience with it. I vaguely remember learning to write when I was little, and that it took a while to learn how to make the characters look right.
I add a small notepad and a pen to my purchase while she’s wandering around. That TM was supposed to teach her how to read and write, in theory. But I don’t know if it actually worked on the writing aspect, since that’s at least partially muscle memory at work.
After she’s gotten her fill of reading, we leave the store.
“Hey, come here.” I direct her back to the table we sat at last time and take out the notepad and pen.
“Mmm?”
“I want to see if you can write, since it will probably be on the test.”
“I should be able to. The Machine granted that ability.”
“Yeah, but at least part of it’s muscle memory. I want to make sure you know how to do it. Do you know how to hold a pen?” I hand her the utensil and push the notepad over to where she sat down. Her grip is… horrendous. She grabs it in her fist.
“That’s… Not going to work right. Like this.” I show her how to hold the pen. “Here, try writing the letters of the Alphabet on this thing.” She blinks at me and then starts moving the pen.
Her movements are awkward at first, clumsy. But surprisingly, she picks it up quickly, and by the time she’s reached ‘z,’ her movements are completely fluid and natural. I have her go back through with the capital letters, which she completes with the same fluidity.
“… Damn.” It’s an unnatural action, but she picked it up quickly. Is this the effect of that Machine? Even so it’s not a movement she’s used to, so she’ll probably end up with hand cramps before long.
Still, she proves she can form sentences as well.
‘Aurum Birch is an idiot.’
“…” She smiles at me with a smug look.
“Fine. So you can write. Try something a little more complex. How about writing about what happened today?” She quirks an eyebrow, but she does it. As I watch, she fills two pages and then some with a reasonable description of the day’s events.
Fine, I see. You’ve got it down. But honestly, I don’t know if I should be more impressed with her, or that Machine. That’s some insanely efficient stuff right there. Makes me want to see if I really can learn things from them. I mean, the Potion Spray worked, right?

Note to self, scrape up some spare cash and see if one of those things works on me.

Should I try something that’s easy to pick up, like a language, or should I go for something more… Me?

Ah screw it, I’ll think about it later. Right now, we should probably get going. I point out as much and we head continue on. After a while walking up and down twisting mountain roads, we reach the Research Facility. Nothing much’s changed since the last time I was here. The same receptionist greets us, though she seems a little surprised to see Chu with me again.
“So you didn’t let her go?”
“I… Guess you could say she followed me home?” Chu gives me a quirked eyebrow, but doesn’t say anything.
“That outfit looks cute on her. So you like sporty girls?”
“Actually, she picked it herself, so…”
“Eh? Hmmm. She has good taste.”
“Mmm. Thank you.”
“Ah! Ah. I see, so you must have given her a TM! Planning on keeping her as a pet, then? You’ll need a Trainer’s License. Ah! Is that why you’re here?”
“Sort of.” On pretty much all counts there.
“Mmm. I will be his Starter.”
“Oh. Oh! So then you’ll need the license and ummm… And I’ll need to see her health certificates and your Temporary Registration.” I take out the papers and registration card as she rummages around in some manila folders in a cabinet behind the desk. Finally, she pulls out a form with two carbon copies, and a small packet of papers. “You’ll need to fill this out to complete your registration,” she hands me the form, “And this for your Trainer’s License.”
Shit.
Was not expecting paperwork. At least I still have a pen!
“Yay…” My enthusiasm has successfully been curbed. “Do you have somewhere I can fill this out?”
“There are some tables right around the corner on the left. I’ll buzz the Professor and let him know he has an applicant for the Eligibility Testing.”
“Thanks.” We walk over to the tables and sit down. I find myself glaring at unwanted paperwork. It reminds me of homework. I wasn’t supposed to have to fill out this kind of thing for the whole rest of the year, damnit.
I sigh and start filling it out. Basic info, mostly. Name, address, home phone, the new cell phone number I have to look up on the Moedex, birthdate, contact information, social security number, gender, ethnicity, and…
Oh hell, there’s a personality quiz. Damnit, this is going to take a while. I sigh again. While I’m working on that, one of the Professor’s Assistants takes Chu back to the testing room for her written and oral exams. She explains before she goes what’ll be involved, and that, to prevent cheating, I won’t be allowed to observe. After the first two tests, she’ll be given a practical exam to test her ability to interact with people and civilization, and some basic exercises to test her physical capabilities.

As I’m finishing up the personality quiz, Professor Sequoia sits down across from me. He’s got a strange smile on his face, not disturbing or anything. Just kind of… I don’t know, caring?
“So it looks like things worked out, huh?”
“I guess.” I glance up from the test.
“I wondered about that. I had a feeling she’d be willing.”
“Really? Is it even okay for a scientist like you to rely on something like a feeling?”
“Heh. Of course, Mr. Birch! Of course! Theory is nothing more than idea, feeling, and belief until it’s tried and tested! Besides, it’s not like psychic powers don’t exist.” I suppose he has a point there.
“Anyway, this means I can take you off the waiting list now. At least, so long as she passes.”
“How’s she doing?” I really want to know, but I manage to stay calm.
“Pretty good so far. She seems to not like money though. It doesn’t hinder her basic functions, but… I have a feeling she might not understand arithmetic that well, either.” Oh shit! I can feel my eyes bulge, as my jaw drops.
I’m an idiot!!! I totally forgot numbers, math and shit! Son of a bitch!
“Hey, don’t worry. So long as she does well on the rest, she should be able to pass. Just make sure you either use a TM on her that will teach her some basic math, or teach her yourself.”
“Ugh.”
“Don’t worry. She seems like a bright girl. She should handle most of the tests fine. I wouldn’t be surprised if she even learns from it. Though it’s not like I see very many wild ones in here these days.” He keeps talking as I finish up the last of the quiz.
“Done? Greaaaaaaat! Let’s get this thing processed, then!” He grabs the registration forms as soon as they’re done and starts walking to the back room. “Hey, you can come along as well, you know.” Eh?
I get up and follow him into a back room. The Research Facility is larger than it looks at first. There seem to be several small labs that remind me of chemistry class, meeting and lecture rooms, a small room with a white screen and a projector, and a computer lab. Not to mention several bathrooms and a break room. There’s even what looks like a sort of operating room. I wonder just what on earth goes on in this kind of place.
Eventually we reach a hall ending with a pair of heavy double doors. Instead of going through them, though, the perv heads through a small door on the left. Inside is a small, clinical looking white room. There’s a PC in the corner on a small, tidy desk, and a long, narrow table up against the wall on the right. Above that wall is a long window that runs almost the whole length of the room. As I look out the window, I can see a small, paved lot, marked off like a road and parking lot. There’s a few faux buildings alongside a couple of actual structures.
“What’s that?” I ask him as he takes the paper clip off of the packet of papers and begins feeding them through some kind of scanner for the computer. I didn’t even notice him turn it on.
“That? That’s the rudimentary practical.”
“Eh?”
“It’s not really to my liking, honestly. But we have to do it like that. We should really take applicants into Fall’s Ridge and have them walk around under supervision, perform some basic tasks and such. But we’re just too far out of town for that, especially if we’re only handling a single applicant.” Uhhh…
“Wait… So… I’m not supposed to walk around with her until she passes this test or something?” He glances over his shoulder at me.
“Not really, no. Technically, it’s illegal. But the law is pretty lax, honestly. I mean, how exactly do you expect to get a Moemon certified? It makes it illegal to have a wild one certified up until it actually is certified.” He sighs as he finishes feeding sheets into the scanner.
“So… I could have…”
“Maaah… Not really. Unless she did something like attack someone or disturb the peace, most of the time no one asks for registration. It’s mostly just an additional fine the police tack onto other tickets. I mean really, people catch wild Moemon everyday and bring them into civilization. If they carded everyone, well over half the country would be in trouble.”
“Heh. So I’m fine then.”
“Of course.”
I look out the window at the mock city block as I hear voices pass by the door. I hear the double doors in the hall open and see people start entering the set. It takes me a moment to realize that they’re probably there to serve as part of the test; either as judges or as people to interact with. Maybe both. Just looking at this, though, I’m starting to feel more and more confident in Chu’s success. At least with this part of the test, anyway. She didn’t have any problems when we went into the city, after all.
I guess it’s not time for her to take this part just yet, though, since I don’t see her anywhere. So instead, I turn to the perv.
“So… I thought you said I wasn’t allowed to watch the testing?”
“For most of it, yes.” He looks up from his work. Seems like he’s through entering my application, and has moved on to processing the data. Mostly, it just looks like he’s verifying things on the computer. “It’s sometimes easy to distract a person, Moemon or human, if someone they want to impress or otherwise feel strongly about is watching them test. Especially the written exam. So we can’t allow a Trainer to be in the same room, or be where the Moemon can notice them. Of course, that also prevents would-be Trainers from giving hints to the applicants, too. Anyway, it helps keep their stress low, usually. But this room is soundproofed and the glass is one way. A Pichu won’t be able to detect you through that.”
“I see. So… What exactly is she supposed to do here, anyway?”
“Hmm? Mostly just interact with people, show she knows how to handle basic traffic laws, that she can deal with being in an enclosed space with a lot of people, you know… General things that happen in everyday life. She should be fine.” I nod. “Can you stand against that wall for me?”
“Yeah. Sure.” He pulls a digital camera out of his pocket and takes a photo of me. I guess that’s for my Card. I move back to the window once he’s done.
“Oh, by the way... I’d like to get that blood sample from you today.” Urk. I was afraid that’s how this was going to be. I can already see the gleam in his eyes. That evil smile.
“Uhhh… I guess.” Quick, subject change now. Become a test subject? DO NOT WANT.
“Uh, yeah. While I’m thinking about it, Chu said something weird earlier that didn’t make a lot of sense to me.”
“Hmm?”
“She said that Moemon can inherit the learned skills of their parents. But that’s just…” I was going to say stupid, but before I can even finish, he responds.
“They can. Abilities learned like that are called Egg Moves.”
“THAT’S NOT HOW HEREDITY WORKS!!!” What the fuck!?! He looks at me sideways like I’m an idiot.
“You do know that… that’s actually how heredity works for Moemon, right?” No. No. This is a troll. This is a joke.
“Moemon aren’t like most other organisms. Their genetic structure is mutable. It’s why they can Evolve, and even Devolve, in a single organism, instead of over the course of generations. Where most organisms just have variable genetic expression, the genetic structure of a Moemon can actually change in response to external stimuli. So when a Moemon learns what we call a ‘Move,’ it becomes ingrained in their genetic structure and can be passed on to future generations.”
“Wha… What the hell!?!”
“Ah… I see. That’s fairly common knowledge in my field. Sorry about that.” He looks sheepish as he apologizes. “I forget that the specifics of Moemon aren’t covered in compulsory education yet. Give it a few years.”
“So they seriously… Things they learn are inherited by their children?”
“Sometimes. It has to do with compatibility, really. If you’re dealing with different Breeds mixing, then sometimes you can get oddities, but for the most part if it’s the same Breed, the offspring will know all of the Moves that are shared by both parents. If they don’t share Moves, then the offspring is more likely to be the same Breed as the father, and to have his Moves. Of course, there are other things that can modify Egg Moves, too, like time of day the breeding took place, location, and certain objects carried or in the immediate vicinity. Even during gestation, if the mother has regular contact with certain materials, then it can sometimes alter the Egg Moves learned.”
“That’s ridiculous.” IT IS! The hell do you explain that!?
“Eh. Doesn’t change the fact that it’s the way things are. I did tell you that my profession exists to try and understand things like this, yes?”
“Then explain it.” Please.
“Honestly, we don’t really know. Current theory suggests it’s similar to why some Moemon will spontaneously Evolve when exposed to certain minerals, and Devolve when the mineral is taken away. We think that the genetic structure of some Moemon might be susceptible to alteration by the vibration frequency of certain crystal lattices. For example, if a Pichu is bred while the parents are exposed to yellow quartz, or if the mother has regular contact with it during pregnancy, the Pichu will hatch with the ability to channel electricity through their entire body, what we call the Move Volt Tackle.”
“But… Why would that cause them to be able to do that?” I’m reminded of Chu trying to charge into me when we first met, sparks dancing… Was that Volt Tackle?
“Like I said, we don’t know. There’s no real correlation between quartz and electricity to my knowledge, let alone the specific mineral array that produces yellow quartz. Mineralogy isn’t my specialty. For whatever reason, though, it causes changes in the fetus. Really though, that kind of thing is part of what I study. Mating, breeding, development of the fetus, and the early stages of nurturing and child rearing. It’s quite interesting, really.”
“Wai… Wait. So then, random objects and stuff can cause a Moemon to Evolve?” I think about what my mom said, about her Starter and a Dawn Stone.
“Sort of. It’s really more Professor Elm’s specialization than mine, but certain types of Moemon Evolve when exposed to specific crystals. So far, we’ve only observed those relating to gemstones, usually semi-precious ones. Oh, and sometimes metals. Of course, there are other things that can cause a Moemon to Evolve as well, like sufficient levels or endorphins in the blood stream, or sufficient physical and mental development. Even the presence of other specific hormones, like melatonin, can have an effect on Evolution.”

This is messed up.

“So you’re saying that they can basically randomly change species?”
“Sort of. The line between Breed and Species is a bit blurry with Moemon, since a lot of the different Breeds can, well, interbreed. We classify them into ‘Egg Groups’ to represent which pairings are viable and which aren’t. So long as the Breeds are in the same Egg Group, they’re basically the same species, even if they have dramatically different appearances or capabilities, and can produce viable offspring. Further, in most cases, even if you were to pair two Stage 3 Moemon, like say, two Raichus, the resulting offspring would always be a Pichu. Which really makes the Evolutionary Stages look more like life-stages. However, since there’s an actual genetic difference between the Stages, we can’t consider them such when compared with other organisms.”
My head is starting to hurt.
“So basically, Moemon just look like people and animals. But genetically, they’re something completely different. And we don’t know why, or how.”
“Pretty much. The genetic instability that results in Moemon Evolutionary Process is what defines a creature as a Moemon rather than another organism. It doesn’t really matter what it looks like, so long as it has that trait. After all, there’s even one Egg Group that can breed with all of the others, regardless of what type, so again, it’s not like we can really consider them to be different species.” Moemon Evolutionary Process… That was something mentioned on the computer I used to get the Technical Machine. And he mentioned Moves and learning them earlier.
“So… I guess you’d consider learning a whole language a Move?”
“Hmm? Are you talking about those TM’s Creatures, Inc. makes?”
“Yeah. I got one for Chu this morning so she could learn to read and write. So, that would be a ‘Move,’ and she learned it by going through some sort of… micro Evolution?”
“That’s my guess. That stuff’s all copyrighted though, so the information on how it really works hasn’t been circulated, even in the scientific community. Honestly, the medicines they make for Moemon, like the Potion Spray, probably use a similar mechanic, but I don’t really know.”
“I… see.” So that’s why he wants to study me so much. He thinks I might have this genetic weirdness. Shit. I turn away from him and look out the window again.
“Do you think I could use one?”
“Hm?”
“A TM.”
“Ah! I don’t know. It might be that you’ve just got some kind of abnormality that responds to the chemicals in the Potion Spray. Honestly, I’ve never heard of a Moemon that could appear to be wholly human though. I mean, it would have shown up in medical examinations and blood tests consistently if you were an actual Moemon, even one belonging to the Human-like Egg Group.”
“…” I don’t look at him, instead just staring at my ghostly reflection in the glass. Just what am I? That doesn’t really sound like something a random mutation would be able to do. I mean, he’s talking about me being able to use a medicine that’s custom tailored to work only for creatures with a genetic anomaly that modern science doesn’t even fully understand.
I think back to the weirdness of my mom’s family. The Joys. A family of people who have naturally pink hair, and who all look almost perfectly identical. Or at least, all of the women.
It’s natural to think this is related, right? I want to ask mom, but… I’m sure she won’t answer. Just thinking about the way she was after the phone call yesterday, and how quickly the whole mess with my sudden recovered just vanished.
Not just ‘what am I,’ but… What are the Joys? Should I be afraid for my life here? I swallow, thinking about what might be ahead of me.
At some point during the conversation, Chu entered the practical testing site, and has started interacting with the various staff members involved. I can see her talking to some of the people who helped get her off of me the other day. As she goes through various scenarios, I mull the conversation over in my head. Professor Sequoia has already left the room, presumably to get my completed Trainer Card.
I sigh, alone in the room, wondering. Chu seems to be doing well, at least.
Before too long, Sequoia comes back with a small, green, laminated card. It has my picture on it, probably entered in the computer while we were talking. My personal information is listed on there, and…
“Quirky?” It seems I have an odd personality. I wonder if I should feel insulted by this?
“Yup. Don’t put too much stock into it. After all, mine described me as Perverted.” He says this with a straight face. YOU DON’T EVEN REALIZE IT!?!?!
I realize this means I’m Quirky. Hrm.
“Anyway, it looks like she’s almost done, so if you’ll follow me, we’ll go ahead and get the blood sample.” Great…
We head back to one of the rooms we passed by earlier. It looks like an examination room at a doctor’s office. Collecting the sample from my arm doesn’t take long, but I wish he’d just put a bandage over it instead of using more Potion Spray.
“You just had to do it, didn’t you?”
“I still can’t get over it.” There’s not even the slightest mark on my arm. Apparently, it’s not a fluke.
“Do I at least get something out of this?” I mean really, this guy’s basically asking me to volunteer for his research.
“Compensation? Hmmm… I guess we could pay you? We don’t really keep cash on hand here, though. I should be able to make some arrangements by tomorrow, if that’s okay with you. You can stop by here in the morning, or call. Maybe I’ll even have some information on your blood sample then.” Ah. Wait, you can do something like that so quickly? Really? Doesn’t lab work normally take weeks? Maybe it’s because they’ll be doing it on site, and don’t really have anything else to do? He doesn’t really seem busy at all.
I nod and agree to it. At least if I get paid for it, I’ll have a little extra money to spend on the trip. It might help compensate for buying Chu’s clothes and all this registration mess.
It’s probably about time to check on Chu now.
Did she pass, or…