"Keep your weight evenly distributed between both legs, and when someone strikes at you, lean forwards into the block, don't take a step backwards, that's an easy way to get pushed off balance or herded towards uncertain terrain." Hitan said, waiting a few seconds for Greg to absorb the information before striking hard sideways with his wooden sword, right for Greg's midsection.

Greg blocked it easily, but the force of it pushed his own wooden sword against his side, the bluntened edge digging in painfully.

"If that was a dual-edge sword you'd be dying right now. Twist your sword to the side and push, be a rock in the stream, let the water flow over and around you, or you'll be swept away in the rush." He said, striking again, this time from the other side.

He blocked again, pushing and twisting, stepping forwards, almost smiling as Hitan's strike was deflected harmlessly, his momentum carrying him till he was back-to-back with Greg.

With a quick turn and strike, Greg was on the ground, his legs collapsing as the sword-blade caught him across the back of the neck.

He groaned softly and rubbed at his neck, looking up at his new mentor. "Tell me again why I have to be beaten up by a mad ninja wielding a wooden sword?"

"Because too many people think that their pokemon are the only thing that can protect them, and then lose their pokemon when they fall in battle and the trainer is unable to held fend off the ensuing attacks." He replied calmly, holding out his hand for Greg to take, to help him up.

Greg grabbed his arm and yanked backwards, rolling his body backwards, his feet on Hitan's stomach, pushing him up and away as he rolled back to his feet.

Hitan landed squarely on his feet, and then launched himself backwards at Greg, sword scything through the air, but was blocked by his smiling adversary. "Am I getting better, Sensei?" He asked playfully, and received a whack square to the back of the leg for his troubles, dropping him to one knee.

"Slowly." Hitan replied, striking again and again, hitting more often than being blocked.

Cindyr watched from the sidelines, smiling slightly, watching her love being beaten senseless was actually quite funny. To think that she owed her life to someone who was so clumsy! She shook her head slightly and went back inside to lie down, taking up all the space on the bed they shared at the pokecentre.

* * *

Greg stumbled back into the room some time later, sighing and dropping onto the bed, quickly being thrown off onto the ground as he laid on Cindyr's tails by accident. "Sorry." He mumbled, giving a soft groan as he lay down besides her, his whole body aching from repeated blows of the wooden sword. He meant to ask Cindyr about the orb again, if only to be shut up by a hot lusty sex session, but fell asleep almost as soon as he hit the pillow, Cindyr murring softly and curling up next to him.

* * *

He was awoken some hours later, in the middle of the night, by a soft whimper from Cindyr.

Greg leaned over and rubbed at her neck gently, trying to sooth her, but she just whimpered louder and then gave a slight yelp as she sat bolt upright, lupine eyes staring around the room in a scared way. He pulled her back down gently and kissed her neck, pulling her close and rubbing her side gently. "It was just a dream love, it's all right."

Cindyr whimpered softly but quietened, licking the back of his hand a few times before curling up to him, burying her muzzle in his neck. "It was that trainer..." She murmured.

Greg rubbed at her forehead and ears gently, "He can't get you here, I won't let him." He said fiercely, stroking her soothingly, picturing the face of that young trainer, and feeling a strange sense of familiarity, as though he had seen him before somewhere.

"Did he look familiar to you?" He asked, laying his head on her neck and kissing her gently.

"Yes..." She said gently, licking him in return.

Greg game a soft 'hmmm' and stroked her gently, soothing her to sleep, making sure she wasn't awake before he crept down to the PC and started to search through the old video clips stored in the pokecentres data vaults, trying to remember where it was he had seen the young trainer.

Three hours later he was no closer to finding out who he was and started to randomly surf through the old battle records, wondering if they could somehow help him and Cindyr battle better.

"A hundred wins and only two losses" "The mighty little Mightyena takes down the powerful Pinsir" "Raging bulls: the Tauros championship" Titles and names popped out at him randomly, though few of them meant anything to him.

"League tragedy: a trainer's pokemon killed during battle, foul play suspected" Greg frowned. He had seen that battle; it had been the battle for the 26th pokemon league rank, a Dragonite vs. a Charizard. He clicked the link and read the news report.

"Just seconds into the 26th ranking pokemon league battle, the power to the stadium was cut, casting all into darkness. Due to the continuation rule number 43 of the pokemon league battle guidelines, the fight was to continue. The Dragonite was in obvious trouble, it's wing torn and shredded from steel wing and iron tail attacks, running for cover from an adversary that was in a strategically stronger position, when the power was cut. It is not known what happened next, but when a quick-thinking trainer in the stadium used flash, the Charizard was dead. Rumours of foul play are rife, though the only ones who know what truly happened are the trainers themselves. The funeral for Mark Mayor's Charizard is expected to be attended to by several hundred people, and Mark Mayor himself is said to have withdrawn from the competition."

Greg clicked the video link and stared at the screen, watching the whole sorry spectacle. There was no camera footage of when the Charizard had fallen; the power outage had disabled the camera's, one of the big denominators in the theory of foul play. But either way it hadn't mattered, an anonymous female trainer had knocked him out in a battle not three rounds later.

He clicked the video link again, this time not focussing on the pokemon, but on the trainers. His blood ran cold. The trainer that was suspected of foul play, the one who had disappeared after the pokemon league tournament was over, was the one who had so ruthlessly tried to kill Cindyr so many times.

* * *

"Cindyr, I know who that man is." Greg said as he returned to his room, waking her up.

"Hmm?" She answered groggily, blinking up at him a few times.

"He was in the pokemon league a month or two ago, he killed a Charizard during the competition." He said excitedly.

"I already knew who he was." Cindyr said bitterly.

"You did? Why didn't you say so?" He asked incredulously, looking her up and down.

"I was afraid you'd leave me..." She said sadly, looking up at him.

"But why would I-" He was cut off by Cindyr.

"You don't understand, he wants to kill me for killing his Dragonite." She said sadly.

"You killed...?" He asked, blinking a few times.

"It was an accident. I flamed his Dragonite, and he hadn't bothered to heal its wing properly. It was diving when I flamed, and pulled back and up to strike again when it's wing failed. It fell back to the ground, landing on its neck..." she said forlornly.

"So now he wants revenge?" He asked, blinking and sitting besides her, "And I'm not going to leave you for anything." He said, pulling her close and kissing her gently.

"But he won't leave us alone until either of us is dead..." She said, looking at him and whining softly.

"Well then, we'll just have to make him good and dead then won't we?" He said, steel in his voice. "Though I could just let Hitan take care of that for me, he hates him."

Cindyr sighed and licked his knee, laying her head on his leg. "Come back to bed, you'll need all the sleep you can get, we'll go and challenge Faulkner again tomorrow, I think I can do it." She said, pushing him onto his back forcefully and lying on his chest, making him give a soft gasp of mock-pain. "God you're heavy...and are you the trainer now hmm?"

"Well you choose then? Should we beat Faulkner and then have good long celebratory sex? Or have me sit in the shade while Hitan beats the crap out of you with a piece of wood again?" She asked innocently, smiling at him and licking his nose gently.

"In my infinite wisdom I think Faulkner would be best." He said, nodding firmly and kissing her.

* * *

"Back for another beating huh?" Faulkner said confidently, smiling as he saw Greg and Cindyr walk in the gym's doors.

"Shut up and draw." Greg said, walking over to the part of the floor that was reserved for battles.

Faulkner nodded a few times, smiling and pulling a pokeball from his belt. He snapped it open, his Pidgeotto erupting from it in a flash of red.

"Fire spin." He said calmly, and the Pidgeotto flapped it's wings a few times, gaining altitude, before diving forwards towards Cindyr, attacking without any warning, flapping it's wings as it passed by close overhead.

Cindyr yelped and ducked as fire erupted from the flapping wings, spilling over her, barely hurting her at all, but surprising her enough that she wasn't prepared for the bird pokemon to drop straight onto her back, spinning it's body in a drill-peck, driving her into the ground and sending her spinning across the floor like the bristles on a street-sweepers cleaners.

"C'mon, fury swipes!" Greg called, stalking down the sidelines of the pokemon arena, watching from as close as possible.

The ninetails growled and dragged herself to her feet, launching forwards with a long swipe of her right paw, followed by a long strike with her left.

The Pidgeotto jumped backwards like a pigeon evading a cat, dodging the first and second strike with infuriating ease.

"Cindyr, stay calm, fire strike." Greg called.

"Pidgeotto, Ice shield." Faulkner said, with a smug smile.

The Pidgeotto swirled backwards through the air with a flap of it's wings, long strands of ice and misty air coalescing in front of it, forming a sort of barrier, just as Cindyr's fire strike struck, a concentrated blast of fire that struck in the centre of it and started to sear right through it, droplets of water spreading as the shield started to melt.

"Blizzard spear!" The Pidgeotto dropped straight down at the shield failed and the javelin of fire speared by overhead, spinning as it went, then spreading it's wings, a long spear of ice coalescing from the point backwards with every flap of the bird pokemons wings, until with another flap it was sent spinning towards Cindyr.

"Iron tail!" Cindyr growled softly and squared off, watching the staff get closer, one of her tails taking on a sheen of light as it hardened into something close to iron.

The spear shattered as Cindyr swung out and around, her iron tail catching it perfectly on the tip, forcing it downwards as the shards spread across her fur, bouncing and thudding into her.

The ninetails shook herself off, the spear fragments clattering to the floor and already starting to melt.

"Those are some new moves." Greg said loudly, intending for Faulkner to hear it.

"I was made an offer I couldn't refuse." He replied, smiling slightly. "Beak drill!"

The Pidgeotto dived suddenly, in what looked like a drill-peck, but both Greg and Cindyr knew that she wouldn't want to be hit with that particular move.

Cindyr flamed once towards it, before Greg could give her a command, but her flame was deflected by the whirling action of the bird pokemon.

"Cindyr, hold, don't move, trust me..." Greg murmured, and Cindyr whimpered softly, going still, staring up at the whirling mass of feathers that got closer by the millisecond.

"Quick dodge!" Greg called, just before the Pidgeotto struck.

Cindyr whirled, her entire form seeming to disappear and reappear a metre behind where she had originally been. "Iron tail fury swipes!"

The ninetails leapt forwards, all nine of her tails acquiring the shine that signified their hardening into iron as she rolled onto her back, her rear swinging out to the front as the Pidgeotto hit the ground and bounced backwards onto it's ass, momentarily stunned.

Cindyr swung her body back onto its feet, and her nine tails followed the motion, the heavy tips smacking repeatedly into the defenceless bird pokemon. Only five of them connected, but that's all that was needed. The Pidgeotto was catapulted into the air nearly a metre before crashing down onto it's back, wings spread, a soft "Piiiiiiiiiii" echoing from it's throat as it went still.

* * *

Faulkner wasn't happy about giving up the badge, and even less happy about the damage that had been done to his pokemon, slamming the badge into Greg's hand as if he wished he could slice his throat open with it.

Greg and Cindyr just smiled as they walked out, Greg slipping the badge into his pack, next to the one from goldenrod. He sighed softly. Two down, five to go, six if Nevyda didn't allow him the use of her badge.

Cindyr murred softly and rubbed against him, letting her tails rub their soft fluffy length along her legs and hips. It was enough to make him speed his pace a little, and Cindyr giggled softly, keeping up with him easily.

* * *

"You said you would win..." The voice from the shadows said. Faulkner shivered softly and took a step to the left, the fifth one since he had arrived at the small cave on the outskirts of town. The three legendary pokemon staring down at him from his side were not exactly the most assuring things in the world. Suicune's two tentacles [she has tentacles right?] waved slowly from side-to-side, almost threateningly, Entei, on her right, merely sat and watched, brow furrowed, snorting softly, while Raikou sat on her other side, lightning crackling slowly around him in an aura of anger.

"I thought I could...it was easy last time, and with your move-maker I thought it would be impossible to lose...but that ninetails defeated me..." Faulkner said, head bowed. He didn't want to seem subservient, but if he appeared threatening in any way to the person in the shadows then he was sure that he wouldn't like the result.

"Ah, Cindyr...yes, she is quite a problem." The voice sighed softly. "Now all that is to be decided is what to do with you, and your pokemon, as he is payment for a job that you didn't complete. I needed Cindyr to stay in this town for as long as possible, but you have failed me. Give me your pokeball." The voice commanded.

Faulkner held out the ball with shaking hands. "Please, don't hurt him, he didn't do anything wrong..." He pleaded.

"He didn't defeat the ninetails, his one true objective, even with the whole new armament of moves I granted him. I think he has done something wrong. And don't worry, it might not even hurt, I wouldn't know, death is not something I run towards. But if you believe in pokemon heaven, maybe you can ask him when you join him there." The voice said, the anger in it only evident now, and then a hand waved imperiously from the darkness, and the three legendary pokemon leapt on the opening pokeball.

In the flash of light of the Pidgeotto appearing, before the crackling of lightning and the spray of feathers obscured it, the face of the young trainer could be seen, watching from the shadows with anger as he commanded the legendary pokemon to destroy the bird pokemon that had failed to do his bidding.

Faulkner gave a strangled sob, helpless to do anything as several bloodied feathers spilled across his feet, sticking to him in a ghastly glue that used to be his beloved pokemon. "Don't worry, I'm not going to kill you. Killing people is far too problematic, and attention seeking. But should you tell anyone that you saw me here, or what our objectives are, I will hunt you down and make what happened to your dear pokemon look like a peaceful, easy way to die."

* * *

Cindyr basically pushed Greg onto the bed in her eagerness, her front paws on his chest, tails waving back and forth furiously as she kissed him, murring lustfully as she lowered her body and rubbed the length of her underside along his in a seductive movement.

"Something tells me you really want to celebrate?" Greg said slyly as his hand ran down her side, his fingertips tracing through her fur gently, caressing the sin under the concealing layer of fur.

The ninetails growled lustfully and tore his shirt off with a long, raking movement of her claws, licking his chest eagerly as it was revealed, the look in her eyes answering his question with more eloquence than a thousand words.

Greg grabbed her sides and rolled her over, accidentally rolling her off the bed.

The ninetails stared up at him petulantly, growling softly again as she grabbed his leg in her teeth and yanked him down to the floor with her, her tongue descending on his face as she lapped at his nose, straddling him again, her tail wrapping around his ankles and her forepaws resting lightly on his wrists, not enough to hurt, but enough to hold him down.

He struggled slightly, and then a bit harder, finding himself totally immobile. "Um, Cindyr, no mean to be rude, but I can't do anything to you if you don't let me at least get my arms free."

Cindyr murred loudly and leaned in, kissing him lustfully, pressing down on his wrists a little harder. "I like this position, it makes me feel so powerful." She said, licking his chin and neck. "I think I'll let you go after you tell me how much you love me and how much you want to lick me until I howl your name." She said, smiling down at him, laughing softly at how powerless he looked under her like that.

"Now, now love, confessions made under duress are inadmissible as evide-" He gasped as Cindyr's tail slowly snaked up his leg and began to brush lightly along the bulge in his pants, cutting him off.

"I'll make it worth your while..." She whispered seductively, leaning in and giving him another gentle lick.

"I'm just trying to work out whether this is blackmail or bribery..." He murmured, and then gasped against as her tail tickled at him. "Well, I think under the current circumstances that it would be best to take the settlement...now do you want it in writing? Or is oral enough?" He asked, a mischievous smile on his face.

"You do know I hate lawyers right?" Cindyr said, nipping gently at his neck, leaving a slight red mark, though not hurting him.

"They're no worse than politicians..." Greg said with a half-shrug, a movement made more complicated by his immobile position.

"Well, I've never been one for paperwork, so I think your end of the settlement will have to be oral..." She said with a deep murr and a mischievous smile as she turned around, her weight leaving his wrists as she lifted all nine of her tails into the air, revealing her lightly moist entrance to his gaze. Now make sure it's done good and proper or the settlement will have to be revoked, and of course, anything you say will be held against you during our next argument, you have the right to remain silent, but only if you're tongue is otherwise occupied." She said with another deep murr, inching back against him as she felt his hands gently rubbing at the base of her tails.

Greg made a sound of confusion, as she had said it a little too fast for him, and he was quite distracted by the droplet of moisture that was sneaking through her fur.

"Shut up and lick me or I'll start playing 'bad cop'" She said threateningly, pressing back against him, giving a soft yip as his tongue found her sensitive flesh.

She let out a long, happy murr, tails slithering back and forth as she felt her human start to lap at her slowly, making her close her eyes and pant softly, her chin resting between his legs.

Greg licked at her gently, at first just lapping at her outer lips, and then using his thumbs to hold her open as he delved his tongue into her, smiling at her depths convulsed against him.

Cindyr murred even louder at this treatment, leaning in and pressing her cold, wet nose under the band of his pants and pressing it against the tip of his length, making him gasp and jerk under her, though he couldn't get far, not with her weight so firmly atop him.

He gave a soft moan as the sudden cold was just as suddenly replaced by the feel of her hot moist tongue caressing over his length, twirling lightly over his hardening member as she shifted, moving further down him to bring her muzzle closer to his length.

It took her only a few seconds of prodding and pushing at his pants to get them far enough down so that she could wrap her hot mouth around his length, starting to slowly bob her head on it, holding it still with her teeth just below the tip every now and again, her tongue eagerly caressing his head.

Greg moaned softly and began to lap at her harder, knowing that he wouldn't last long under the assault her tongue was putting on his body, his cock already starting to pulse and throb in time with her licks as he thrust a finger deep into her body, nibbling at her clit.

Cindyr gave a muffled yip around his length as she came, a splash of hot liquids spilling back across her humans face as she pressed her tongue hard against his tip with every lap she gave him, feeling it throb and jerk in her mouth under her expert tongue.

The ninetails murred loudly and pressed her tongue firmly against the tip of Greg's cock as he came, feeling and tasting the spurts of hot seed as they pulsed directly against the expanse of her tongue, spilling up over it like a wave cresting the shore, filling her mouth with the thick creamy cum, making her tilt her head and gulp eagerly, the spurts that didn't end up going down her throat cascading off her tongue to run down his length in thick white streams.

She murred loudly and wrapped her tongue about his cum-streaked length, drawing him into her mouth and suckling messily at it, cum seeping from between her lips as she smiled contentedly and tried to swallow as much of the mess as she could.

Greg sighed softly and stroked at her sides and back, watching her tails move back and forth as she lapped eagerly at his over-sensitive length, cleaning it of the cream that she had missed the first time around, her tongue working right to the base to collect any that might have spilled from his member to there.

Cindyr smiled at him, as she turned around, licking his face gently, cleaning up her own liquids as she murred. "What would you like to do now?" She asked, knowing full well, one of her fluffy tails caressing the length of his cock, which was shining slightly with her saliva.

"Well...one of the witnesses has yet to get the full thrust of the issue at hand..." He said, kissing her and smiling slyly.

"She might have to be pumped for information..." Cindyr replied, grinning mischievously as she lapped at his neck and chin, rubbing her soft entrance over his rapidly hardening cock.

Greg smiled at her and rolled her onto her side, rolling over her body so that his belly was pressed against her back, her nine long tails caressing his knees and ankles as he started to guide his hard cock to her dripping entrance.

Cindyr yipped and stiffened as she felt the head of Greg's cock part her sensitive lips and fill her cunt as he thrust upwards, sealing his hard cock hilt deep in her soft depths.

She yipped again as he started to move in her, and she moved with him, pressing her hips back against him lustfully, turned her head to lick at his chin as he filled her again and again with his hard cock. They started off slow, but it was only a matter of moments before they started to thrust harder, delighting in the feel of each others body as they pressed close against each other, working their hips to a rapidly accelerating rhythm.

"You know what I want..." She whispered to him breathlessly, working her hips against him, her depths quivering around him in strong muscular contractions as she orgasmed.

Greg smiled at her and kissed her neck, holding her close as he slowed his thrusting. "Developing quite a fetish aren't we?" He whispered back in her ear.

"I don't care about fetishes, just give it to me." She growled, pressing back against him, her depths massaging at his length.

He smiled and gently pulled his slickened length from her tight cunt, pressing it against her even tighter tailhole and starting to gyrate his hips, pressing his hard length against her but not yet penetrating.

Cindyr growled and thrust against him, managing to get the tip of his length into her and murring loudly, closing her eyes and giving a contented groan of pleasure as she started to work against him, trying to get the rest of his hard cock into her hot body.

Greg was only too eager to help, thrusting against her, making them both moan as his cock filled her completely, making her arch and gasp softly. "Harder." She whispered over her shoulder to him, lying completely still as he started to thrust harder and faster into her, working his cock deeper and deeper with each thrust.

She gave a little moan of confusion as he stopped thrusting and gently withdrew from her. "On the bed love." He murmured, rubbing his right hip, where he was starting to develop a carpet-burn.

Cindyr nodded and hopped up on the bed, bending over submissively and lifting her tails, whimpering softly.

Greg smiled and grabbed her hips, pulling her rear down onto the floor again, taking a hold of one of her tails as he gently thrust back into her tight tailhole. "Iron tail." He murmured, and Cindyr complied without thinking, the tail in his grasp becoming hard, but not much heavier.

The ninetails looked over her shoulder, wondering what he was going to do, eyes narrowed as she stared at him, before she closed them again under the pleasure of a deep, hard thrust into her hot depths.

She yipped loudly and arched her back as she felt the iron tail thrust deep into her cunt, Greg's hand still on it moving it back and forth as he started to thrust harder and deeper, kissing the back of her neck as she groaned loudly with pleasure and tried to relax, her whole body tensing up with the threat of sudden orgasm.

Greg thrust the tail as deep as he could, thrusting just as deep at her tailhole as he started to pant, filling both of her holes with quick, sharp thrusts, pushing Cindyr over the edge once more, making her howl his name as he lost his grip on her tail and it flopped to the floor with a soft thud, her liquids soaking into it as it lost its metal composition.

He took the moment to wrap both hands around her hips and start moving as hard and fast as he could, pounding into her repeatedly, feeling her tight depths convulsing around him, his ninetails no longer needing or wanting the stimulation in her cunt as the thrusting of his cock in her tailhole forced her into another climax, making her howl again and pant raggedly, arching her back to receive him as he thrust hard one last time and spilled within her, rapidly filling her tight tailhole with thick spurts of his hot creamy cum.

Cindyr's howl slowly dropped off as she shuddered, feeling her human thrust against her a few more times, his thick, hot seed filling her with a delicious warmth as she murred contentedly.

The ninetails back legs started to shake as she rested, contented, and Greg pulled her to the side, settling her down next to him on the floor before she could fall, kissing the back of her neck gently, happy.

Cindyr gave a soft moan as Greg pulled free from her tight depths, rubbing at her haunches soothingly, smiling and kissing her neck. She curled up next to him, resting her head on her belly as a pillow while Greg did that same with her tails, both of them giving each other one last, loving look before drifting off to sleep.

* * *

Both awoke to the sound of tapping at the door, and Greg hurriedly dressed, gently pulling Cindyr's head off his chest and laying it on the floor, though she was already awake. "I'll get it love, you just go back to sleep." He murmured, opening the door.

"What do you want? A rematch?" Greg asked, staring at Faulkner, who stared back, his eyes rather red, as if he'd been crying. A feather was clutched in his right hand, slightly bloodied.

Faulkner looked him up and down, and then past him at Cindyr, who was yawning and gaining her feet. "I understand you're on the wrong side of Ben, I want to help you kill him."