FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

---

The rest of the ride was relatively peaceful, requiring only a few stops every now and then to pick up some food. Kyo of course had to stay inside of the car to not bring about any panic. Thankfully, there wasn't anything else to get in their way, and within a few hours, the group was back home. The sun was out and bright as Mia pulled up to the front of their house.

"Kyo honey," she said gently, gently nudging him with her elbow, "we're home." Kyo began to stir, eyes fluttering open as he awoke.

"We're here already?" he asked groggily as he came to, with Totodile following suit.

"Uh-huh," she nodded, taking her keys out of the ignition as the car revved silent, "and your dad's still not home yet, so can rest easy if you were worried about that."

"Actually, I hadn't been thinking about that...till now..."

"Sorry," Mia apologized sheepishly, "but it can't be helped. Besides, at least you remember now, and you won't be caught off guard when he does show up."

"Yeah...I guess..." Kyo shrugged, taking off his seatbelt.

"Mrs. Sakamoto!" a voice called out in the distance, sounding in the direction of the driver's seat. The group turned to see a young man around his twenties running toward them.

"Oh Arceus no," Kyo breathed out, cursing under his breath. Looking at the young man, he had immediately identified him as Eidin; his childhood friend.

"Hey. Language," Mia scolded her son, pointing at him, "and what's wrong? He's your friend, isn't he?"

"Well...yeah," he replies, "but...look at me! I'm not exactly in the condition to be seen right now!" Mia sighed.

"I guess you're right," she replied. "Alright, I'll handle it." Closing the door behind her, Mia stood in front of the car, blocking the glass window. "Hello Eidin," she greets him, giving him a small wave as he approaches.

"Welcome back Mrs. Sakamoto," he greeted her back, "how did your trip go? Mr. Sakamoto told me that you left for some urgent business."

"So he did..." said Mia, awkwardly leaning back on the car. Eidin tilted his head, noticing her strange behavior.

"Umm...are you alright Mrs. Sakamoto?" he asked. "You seem a little...off..."

"Do I?" she replied. "I suppose I'm just tired."

"Oh, will you be alright? I can help you to the door if you need?"

"Oh, no I'm alright," she replies with a wave of her hand, "I'm not that old."

Eidin chuckled. "I suppose that's true, but please don't be shy of asking for help. You know that I'm always willing to do so."

"I know Eidin, thank you." The two of them stood there in an awkward silence, none of them seeming to be willing to move.

"Ummm..." Eidin began awkwardly, "are you...sure you're alright?"

"Yes, I am fine," Mia replied, starting to become irritated by the young man. "Don't you...have a place to be honey?" Eidin shook his head.

"Oh no, I'm completely free today, so I decided to just spend my time walking around in good ol' Olivine." He chuckled, casually putting his hands behind his head.

Is this really my son's best friend? she thought to herself behind a feigned pleasant face, I mean, I suppose I shouldn't judge but...really now. She cleared her throat, standing up straight.

"Listen honey," she began, "I would very much like to rest now, so I think it would be best if you just moved on now."

"Oh..." he replied, "alright... Well...t-take care then." Waving happily, Eidin turned around and walked in the opposite direction. Once she was sure he was gone, Mia let out a long sigh. She opened the door, peeking in.

"Okay," she said, "you're clear. It's safe to come out now." Nodding, Kyo opened his door, and carefully stepped out of the vehicle. After letting Totodile down, the Feraligatr-morph kept looking around, surveying the area. Mia chuckled. "Relax, it's Wednesday, remember? Everyone else is out in the ports today. Or did you already forget?" Kyo scratched the back of his head.

"Hehe, yeah, I guess I have..." With a flick of his tail, Kyo followed his mother over to the front door. Mia reached into her pocket, pulling out her keys.

"Now let me just.....find the right one....." She flicked through the different keys, going by them one by one. Mia hummed a tune as she searched for the house key. Kyo leaned against the door as he waited. After standing there for about half a minute, he began to become impatient.

"Mom...shouldn't you...you know, already know which key it is, considering how long you've lived here?"

Mia let out an irritated sigh. "It's not like I usually use it. Most of the time your dad is in the house whenever I leave, and it's the same situation when he leaves the house."

"Okay...well...why do you have so many keys?"

"Well because-ah...dang it...lost count..." She flipped all of the keys back, and began going through them again. "It's because your dad decided to give every room an individual lock, and that meant making individual keys for those locks."

"We don't have this many rooms though."

"We also have safes and keys for other places."

Kyo raised an eye ridge. "Other places? What does that mean?"

"I don't have to tell you," she chuckled, "now could you stop asking questions for a minute? You're gonna make me lose count..." They stood there in silence for a moment as she shifted through the various keys. After another half minute, Kyo spoke up again.

"You know you should really put labels on the keys, it would make things a lot easier to find."

"We don't have small enough labels honey."

"You could use markers."

"But those fade."

"Well you could just re-mark them right?"

"It would take too long though."

"Prrrrobably not as long as the amount of time it takes to look through the keys. You know, like now."

"It doesn't usually take this long. I just lost count. And besides, I already told you I rarely use these keys." She sighed. "What I would do for that pokemon with keys attached to it. What was its name again?"

"I think it was........Cliff.....keen or something? I dunno."

"Well...regardless, it would be nice to have one of those. Just where in the world would I fi-"

"Mrs. Sakamoto! I almost forgot! I wanted to tell you abo-BY ARCEUS!!!" The three of them froze where they stood. Turning around, they saw Eidin in the distance, standing frozen in shock. "Wha....WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!" Not knowing what to do, Kyo turned to his mother, who could only give a defeated shrug.

He turned to his childhood friend. "E...Eidin?" Upon hearing Kyo speak to him, and calling him by his name, Eidin's eyes widened in complete horror, stumbling back as he tries to scramble away.

"AHHH! AHH! FREAK!!! MONSTER!!!" He pointed his finger at the Feraligatr-morph, screaming wildly in blind panic. Seeing this, Kyo took a step forward, putting his hands up.

"Eidin, wait!" he shouted over him, "please calm down! It's me; Kyo! Your friend!" It didn't seem to help, as Eidin continued to try and scramble away.

"LIKE HELL YOU ARE!" he shouted at him. "I DON'T REMEMBER BECOMING FRIENDS WITH A DAMN FREAK!!!"

Kyo's heart sank, tail sagging with a heavy heart. His arms fell down to his sides, jaw hanging slack as he found himself speechless. Seeing her son's body language suddenly change, Mia decided to step in, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Hey! Eidin!" Mia shouted, making him freeze and silence himself, "You better watch your mouth! That's my son you're talking about!"

Eidin's expressions changed again. "Y...you're son?!" Mia nodded, folding her arms.

"And I'll have you know," she went on, "my son is no freak." She took a step forward. "If anyone is the freak here, it's you." Kyo stood there in awe as he watched his mom stand up for him. "Only freaks judge a person before getting to know them. Look at you. From what Kyo's told me, you two were really close growing up. Now here you are, running away like the rat you are, judging him before even letting him explain himself."

Eidin hesitated. "W-well...it-it's not my fault! I didn't know it was him!"

"EVEN SO!" she shouted over him, "you judged him. You judged him without preference of who he was or what kind of person he was." Eidin was left speechless. Not knowing what to do, he scrambled to his feet and ran off in the opposite direction.

"Eidin!" Kyo shouted, starting for him before he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned around, seeing his mom holding him back.

"Let him go," she told him, "there's...nothing we can do..."

"But..." Kyo let out a defeated sigh, facing forward and watching his "friend" flee. He felt a tug at his tail. Looking down, Kyo saw Totodile standing next to him, holding his tail tenderly. Kyo gave him a sad smile, and nodded. Totodile faced forward as well, blowing a raspberry at Eidin's direction. Kyo chuckled lightly, wrapping his tail around his partner's stomach.

"'He's a jerk,'" said Totodile, "'just forget about him. He deserves better than you anyways Kyo.'"

"Yeah..." he replied half-heartedly, "I guess I should..." He felt the hand upon his shoulder tighten slightly.

"Are you...gonna be alright sweetie?" Mia asked in concern. Kyo shrugged.

"I'm...not too sure..." he looked down at his feet, "I mean, is...is this how it's gonna be from now on? Are...are all of my friends going to treat me the same way ever again?"

"Of course they will," Mia reassured him, "you just need to give them time to adjust to your...new shape."

Kyo turned to her. "You think so?"

She paused. "Given time...yes." Looking at her, Kyo could tell that she was only trying to comfort him, being unable to tell for sure what the future held in store for him. He smiled, thankful for his mother's efforts.

"Thanks mom," he said to her, suddenly moving closer and embracing her in a hug.

"You're welcome sweetie," she replied, "now...c-could you loosen up a bit? It's...getting...hard to breathe." Hearing this, he quickly withdrew, scratching the back of his head awkwardly.

"S-sorry," he apologized sheepishly, "I-I guess I'm not used to my new strength yet."

"That's alright," his mom replied after catching her breath, "now, let's head inside so we can call your father. Better to tell him ahead of time rather than surprise him with the news." Kyo nodded in agreement, and followed her back onto the porch, with Totodile following closely behind. She flicked through the keys a few more times. "Alright, I think I've got the right one." She slid the key in carefully, smiling as it clicked in place, and allowed her to turn it and open the door.

"Got it?"

"Got it." Removing the key, she stepped back as she opened the door for him. "Welcome home Kyo." He smiled, peering through the door. Everything was there; the furniture, the decorations, the household arrangements, everything he remembered growing up with as a child.

Including the memories of his friends.

"...Kyo?" Mia began, "aren't you gonna come in?" Kyo shook his head, snapping himself back into reality.

"Yeah," he replied, "I was just...gonna let you in first." Mia smiled warmly.

"Polite as always. You really are my son." Bowing slightly, she walked through the door and entered the house. She looked behind her. "Just come in when you're ready dear. I'll be on the phone if you need me for anything."

"Okay mom," Kyo replied as she made her way over to another room. He sighed, leaning against the doorframe. He looked down to his partner, unraveling his tail from him. "You can...go on ahead... I'll...catch up..." Totodile hesitated, but he knew he couldn't do very much at that point, so he did what he was told.

Kyo let out another sigh, turning around and facing the small array of empty houses of the neighborhood, watching the harbor out in the distance. All he did was stare for a while, letting his mind just drift and go blank. For a short moment, Kyo forgot why he had to have come home, before reality set itself back in on him again.

Is it really alright to come back here? he asked himself. Did I...make a mistake in coming back? His tail swayed softly behind him. Will I be accepted here? Will I be accepted anywhere_?_ He watched in silence as the waves crashed onto the shore, foaming the sandy beach as it slunk back, before repeating the cycle.

Heh...if only life were that simple... To just go through the motions, guided by the currents and the wind... He let his tail hang limp. Then again...in a way...it kind of is... He leaned his head against the doorframe. I mean...time is like the flow of the current, always spurring ahead without rest... And...the wind is like... He smiled. The wind is like the people that support you, pushing you on and willing you to move forward. He closed his eyes, curling his tail around his leg.

Sure, I may have run into a few rocks, but if I just go with the flow like water, then I'm sure I can find my way around them. He suddenly found it rather appropriate to have become a water type pokemon. He opened his eyes, standing up straight from the door. Either way, that was only one person. Yeah it was Eidin, but so what? He was still just one person, even if he was...a...childhood-ARGH sheesh. He shook the thought aside, turning around to face the inside of his house.

He saw Totodile patiently standing there next to the couch, smiling at him as he turned to face him. Kyo smiled once more, having realized who his true childhood friend really was, and forever would be.

"'Well?'" Totodile began, "'aren't you gonna take me to your room?'" Kyo chuckled, flicking his tail.

"Yeah," he replied, "come on. I'll race ya there!"

***

A couple hours later, Kyo's dad arrived home. Thankfully, he wasn't frightened by him like Eidin had been, and was as accepting of him as his mom. They later found out that Eidin had begun to spread word of Kyo's change, but fortunately, no one really seemed to believe him, arguing that not only was Kyo away on his journey, but such a drastic change just seemed flat out impossible.

However, Olivine was still a rather small city, and eventually Kyo's presence was found out, due to a secretly distributed photo. There had been a brief confrontation by the neighbors, but fortune continued to work in Kyo's favor, as it had not been violent. Their only concern was the safety of the people, what with a lack of pokemon trainers in the area. Kyo eventually showed himself to them, and after showing them that he wasn't some wild beast, the people were at least satisfied, and left them be.

Eventually, the photos of Kyo were sent out to the net. They did manage to grab attention, but most of them were passed off as fakes. Some of the citizens of Olivine did spread word, but it didn't spread very far due there not being much internet access in the area.

While this took a lot of pressure off of the family, Kyo found himself being treated much differently. Everywhere he went, people would stare at him from afar, and would avert their gazes when he looked to them. When walking around, many would try to take a different route if finding themselves walking near him, or keep their distance from him. He did know a few residents fairly well, but even they still tried to stay away from him. When he tried to knock on someone's door, he would hear someone inside the house say that no one was home.

He went through several weeks of this, and soon found himself constantly depressed. He began to stay in his room, only coming out to eat or go to the bathroom. Totodile tried his best to cheer him up from his glum, but all he could really manage was to get him to at least eat in the first place.

Even his parents didn't know what to do. They wanted to seek help, but that would only bring more issues. They had been lucky that news of him had spread so little, if anything it was nothing short of a miracle, but pressing that luck just wouldn't have been a wise decision.

It eventually got to a point where he would have trouble with just getting out of bed. They were beginning to lose hope, being unable to help Kyo in his time of need, until a single call came through Kyo's poke-gear. After being convinced to answer it, he was rather pleased to hear that Nurse Joy was calling to check up on him. They caught up on each other, talking about how their lives were going. They called each other every now and then, going from once in a blue moon, to once every week, to once every other day.

Kyo was finally beginning to show promise of improvement, and things were looking much more hopeful, but even with the constant calls, Kyo still remained depressed. The fact of the matter was; he was still seen as a freak in the eyes of everyone else in Olivine...

***

"Thirty-two credits," the man at the cashier said, looking at Kyo sternly. He nodded in response, pulling out his money pouch and handing him several bills.

"Thank you sir," he told him, bowing slightly.

"Next in line!" the man shouted, turning away from him and waving him off. Kyo sighed, and made his way out of the shop, with his bag of groceries in hand.

I guess I shouldn't have expected any different, he thought to himself, even if it's been an entire month... With his tail hanging limply behind him, Kyo began his walk back home.

I don't get it though... he continued, I should be desensitized from this, and yet it's still getting to me... He looked up at the sky as he walked along. Is...is this how it's gonna be from now on? Am I going to be subjected to this for the rest of my life? He pondered this, not knowing whether he was asking The Arceus, or himself. He supposed that he was asking both, and shrugged it off.

Maybe...maybe it's not as bad as I'm thinking it to be... After all, I usually preferred to be alone anyways... A thought popped in his head, making him smile slightly. Well, until I met Totodile anyways. He let out a weak chuckle, now looking to the ground as he walked.

The remainder of the walk home, he kept his mind blank, silently listening to the sounds of the ocean in the distance and the soft shuffle of his feet padding on the sandy ground. Upon reaching the front door of his house, he knocked twice, standing there silently as he listened to the sounds of heavy footsteps thudding down the stairs. He took one step back as the door slowly opened, revealing his mom to be the one answering it. Seeing him, she smiled, opening the door wider to allow him to enter.

"Come in," she said to him, motioning with her hand. He nodded and made his way in, placing the bag of groceries on the nearby table.

"You didn't run into any trouble did you?" she asked in concern, locking the door and walking over to him. He shook his head in response.

"No, no trouble." He looked over to his left, seeing Totodile lift himself off of the couch and approach the pair.

"Are you sure?" Mia replied, "You look as though there was." He looked to the side.

"It's...just the usual," he began, "people trying to stay away from me, looking at me strangely, treating me like an outcast...the usual..." Mia clicked her tongue, cursing under her breath.

"The nerve of these people..." She shook her head, looking to Kyo. "Listen honey; don't let what they do around you get to you. They don't know what you're really like."

"Eidin did..." Kyo replied, bringing about a long silence among the group. It took a moment before Mia was able to recover.

"Let's...let's not think about Eidin right now," she said, "he...he wasn't a faithful friend."

"'Yeah!'" Totodile piped up, "'he was a jerk! He doesn't count!'" Kyo continued to look to the side.

"If you guys say so..." Hearing this, Mia folded her arms across her chest.

"Alright, next time I'll go get the groceries." Kyo shook his head.

"No, it's okay. Besides, I need to do something useful around here..." Mia let out an irritated sigh.

"Kyo. You're. Not. Useless," she said, forcing him to turn so that she could look him in the eyes. "What you are is someone who needs a stop looking down on yourself. You're NOT a bad person. You're a kind, loving, and over all nice young man. And you're lying to yourself if you think otherwise."

"'She's right Kyo,'" Totodile began, "'and let's not forget, we're partners. You've always cared for me ever since we became partners. You've always thought about me first, and you've helped me become a better pokemon.'" He moved in a bit closer, placing a small hand on Kyo's leg.

Kyo looked from one person to the other. "But...it's true though..." He looked over to Mia. "Mom...I...I left you...to go on some fruitless quest to become a pokemon trainer..." He then turned to his pokemon. "And Totodile...I've had you...for well over half a year...and to this day, you still haven't evolved."

"'Kyo...'" Totodile looked up at him with sad eyes. Mia on the other hand had heard enough.

"OKAY. Kyo, you need to listen," she began sternly, "for one thing, you going on your journey wasn't by any means fruitless. You've made me so proud by doing this." She squeezed Kyo's shoulder gently. "Kyo, do you realize that you're the first pokemon trainer of this family? Not only on my side but on your father's as well?" Kyo's head slowly turned to her, only to quickly snap back away. Mia smiled, putting her arm around her son.

"And...as for Totodile...I recall you saying something about...challenging...wild pokemon...to battle?" Kyo blushed in embarrassment, tail curling around his leg. Mia chuckled. "Now I wouldn't know, but I don't think that's something trainers would normally do." She wrapped both of her arms around him, holding him in a hug. "You're a good person Kyo. Please don't forget that."

Suddenly, they hear someone knock on the door. Mia released Kyo from her hug, and went over to answer the door.

"Who is it?" she asked.

"It's me," a deep voice replied. Mia smiled, and opened the door. Walking through the doorway was an elder man, somewhere in his later fourties or early fifties. His hair was of an auburn color, and his eyes were sea green, much like Kyo's eyes were.

"Welcome back dear," Mia greeted the man, kissing him on the cheek, "how was work today?"

"Oh it was fine," he replied, kissing her back. "Did anything happen while I was gone?"

"No, no, everything was in line," Mia answered him cheerily. She then turned to Kyo. "Honey, come here and say hi to your father." He turned to their direction, meeting the eyes of his dad.

He waved at him nervously. "W-welcome back, dad."

"Why thank you Kyo," he said to him. "So I heard that you went out to pick up the groceries today. Did everything go alright?" Kyo nodded hesitantly.

"Yeah, everything went okay. I didn't run into any trouble or anything like that." He kept his eyes away from his mom, looking to the side awkwardly.

Kyo's dad looked at him sternly. "Is that really true?" The Feraligatr-morph bit his lip, trying to think of what to say.

"He was being isolated by everyone again," Mia replied before Kyo could say anything. The elder man sighed.

"Kyo, you can't keep letting them do this to you," he told him, "they're not gonna stop until you do something about it."

"But...if I do...everyone will start getting mad," Kyo replied, curling his tail around his leg, "and they might get...violent."

"Well you should at least stand up for yourself," said his dad, gesturing with his hands as he talked. "Listen, you don't need to verbally assault them or anything like that, but you should at least let them know that what they are doing is wrong."

"It wasn't that bad today," said Kyo quietly, looking down at his feet. "All anyone did was stay away from me..." The older man sighed.

"Alright, here's what I'm gonna do," he began, "I'm going to hold a meeting with the neighbors today, and I'll try to get them to liste-"

CRASH!!!

Everyone jumped, moving away from the source of the sharp sound. Something had smashed through one of the windows in the next room. Looking through the doorway, they could see the shattered shards of glass scattered across the floor. Holding up a hand and signaling everyone else to stay put, Mr. Sakamoto cautiously made his way over to the other room.

He peeked through the doorway, checking to make sure no intruders had made their way in. Once he had confirmed that it was safe, he turned around and nodded to everyone else.

"What happened?" Kyo asked with a hint of fear in his voice.

"Someone tossed a brick through the window," Mr. Sakamoto replied, muttering something under his breath, "the bastard's probably long gone by now..."

"Shouldn't we call the authorities?" Mia pointed out.

"We can, but I doubt that they'd do very much for us," said Kyo, his tail curling tighter around his leg.

"I'm gonna call anyways. Better than nothing." At that, Mia moved to one of the other rooms to fetch the house phone.

"'Why would...someone do this?'" Totodile asked, hugging Kyo's leg tightly. Kyo could even feel him shivering in fear.

"I...I don't know..." Now he could feel himself shivering, a feeling of dread beginning to envelop him. Mr. Sakamoto let out a sigh.

"You two stay here," he instructed the two reptiles, "I'm gonna go sweep up the shattered glass. Just stay put, alright?" The two of them nodded in response, both apparently shaken up from the scare. "You two'll be alright," he reassured them, "nothing to be worried about."

"Okay dad..." Kyo replied, "if...you say so..." Leaving them be, Mr. Sakamoto carefully proceeded through, minding where he stepped. Kyo felt Totodile tap at his leg, and looked down to him.

"'...Kyo?'" he asked, "'what's...going to happen to us?'" Kyo left speechless, unsure of what to say to comfort his friend.

"It...it'll be okay Totes," he finally said, "just like dad said..." His tail tightened even more, a strong feeling of foreboding coming over him. Somehow, he knew that wasn't true. He tried to shake the feeling away, not wanting to think that way, but it wouldn't leave him. He shook his head, trying to bring himself back into reality. "Stay here," he instructed his partner, "I'm gonna go help dad clean up."

"'O...okay...'" Totodile replied, letting go of his leg a bit reluctantly. "'...Be...careful...'"

"I will." Turning away from him, Kyo walked over to a nearby cabinet, grabbing an extra broom and tray. He closed the cabinet door, and carefully made his way into the damaged room. Once he entered, he met the surprised expression of his father.

"Kyo?" he said, "what are you doing here? I told you to stay in the living room." Kyo shrunk back a bit as he scolded him.

"I...I just...wanted to help..." Kyo's dad sighed.

"Alright, I guess there's no harm in that." He pointed to one side of the room. "I'll take this side, and you take the other. Okay?" Kyo nodded in response, and the two of them got to work. They swept up the glass for about several minutes, none of them saying anything for most of the time. Soon enough, they had cleaned most of the room.

With his tray mostly full, Mr. Sakamoto left the room to dump the glass he had swept up. Kyo quickly gathered up most of the glass that was left, leaving the brick and the area around it to be the only spot left. He placed his broom and tray to the side, and kneeled down to pick it up off of the floor. Straightening up, he stared at the brick, looking at it blankly in silence.

This was...meant for...me...wasn't it? A feeling of dread washed over him once more. The hand that held the brick began to tremble, nearly letting go of the brick. He quickly brought up his other hand to keep it in place. When he did so, he felt something strange. He felt the rustling of a paper. Curious, he turned the brick over.

His jaw fell slack.

Mr. Sakamoto entered the room again, tray empty and ready to receive more glass. He saw Kyo standing there, seemingly frozen in fear over something. "Kyo?" Mr. Sakamoto asked worriedly, "is something wrong?" Kyo's head slowly turned to his direction, fear clearly written over his face. The man looked down in his hands, and saw the brick. Attached to it was a note. He moved in closer and read what it said. His heart nearly stopped.

"I..." he stammered, "I'm going to check on your mother." Without another word, he hurried out of the room to meet with his wife, leaving Kyo once more. The Feraligatr-morph continued to stare at the note, reading the note over and over again. Every time he did, the words cut into him more and more, like a dagger sinking deeper and deeper with every breath. And yet, the message was clear and simple.

Get out. Or else.

_ _