The Wake Mount University library was almost entirely abandoned with the exception of the
Jynx librarian and a Hitmonchan sitting at a table in one of the rear cloisters. That wasn't all that
surprising really. After all, students are still just now returning to campus and getting settled in.
Classes won't start for another day and the library wouldn't start seeing any real action until the
second week of classes.


The Hitmonchan turns the page of the book he was studying casually, resting his head on an
ungloved hand. He glances over the words on the page, barely even scanning them. He found the
material incredibly boring; after all, it was just a math textbook, and they weren't exactly known
for being exciting. At the sound of footsteps, the Hitmonchan looks up to see a Garchomp
woman dressed in a loose pair of black slacks and a white button up dress shirt. He makes as
though he is going back to looking at his textbook but continues to look the woman over out of
the corner of his eye.


Her loose clothing is less than flattering to her figure and on a lesser woman might have hidden it
completely. The Hitmonchan finds his eyes drawn to her broad hips as the Garchomp bends over
to get a better look at one of the books on the middle shelves. She selects a book from the shelf
with her long claws and opens it as she turns back towards the Hitmonchan. He quickly looks
down again at his text book.


She slowly makes her way over to the table and sits down in a chair across from the Hitmonchan,
her eyes glued to the pages in front of her. The Hitmonchan however has his eyes glued on her
chest, the red pattern on her chest showing faintly through her white shirt in places. The way the
fabric falls across her chest hints that there is more here than one would assume at first glance,
the Hitmonchan estimates about a handful and a half each at least. The Garchomp sets her book
down and the Hitmonchan lets his eyes drift back down to his own book. Without looking up the
Garchomp chuckles, her smooth voice marked with an unmistakably Unovan accent, "Get a good
look Bonehead?"


The Hitmonchan's tan face flushes darkly as he looks up in surprise. There are very few people
who know him well enough to even know of that nickname. One of which was the one who had
given it to him in the first place. "Ty-Ty?"



The Garchomp smirks at him and shuts her book, "Surprise."



The Hitmonchan laughs and shakes his head, "I can't believe I didn't recognize you from your
choice in men's clothing. Which I see hasn't changed since last semester."



She smiles, "No, but I figure that the other changes were drastic enough to throw you off. So
how have you been?"



"Well enough." Jack replies with a shrug, "How was your flight over?"



Tanya makes a face, "Horrible. I didn't think to get a business seat after I evolved. The coach seat
felt a lot smaller and much more cramped this time over." She rolls her eyes, "And then I was
delayed in Johto customs because of the recent attacks by Unovan isolationist radicals on the
Johto embassy. The bastards made me miss my connecting flight into Kanto. The airline
wouldn't give me a refund and I still had to book another flight at midnight. I'm so full of jetlag
right now."



The Hitmonchan frowns, "Why would you be detained because of Unovan radicals? I thought
you lived in Sinnoh."



"I have dual citizenship because my father is an Unovan citizen." Tanya growls, "Of course they
ignore the fact that he is a high ranking member of the anti-isolation party and the current
ambassador to Sinnoh."



Jack chuckles, "Why the hell would an ambasssador's daughter ride coach anyway? Surely you
have enough money to fly first class."



"My father is a... frugal man. His view is that if I am going to insist on taking classes
half way across the globe from family, then I will pay for getting myself there." Tanya smiles,
"I'm pretty frugal myself."



"So have you gotten used to your new body yet? I know it took me a while to get used to mine,
and mine didn't change all that much."



"No, I still have some trouble balancing when I spar. I also keep closing the door on my tail and I
get a lot more bounce running down the stairs that feels really uncomfortable."



The Hitmonchan leans forward with a grin, "You know, I've heard of this thing that's supposed to
help with that sort of thing." He tilts his head to the side and taps his chin thoughtfully, "I think
they called it a 'bra', I'm not really sure, never really needed one myself, but you might want to
look into getting one."



"Hush, Bonehead." Tanya laughs, playfully swatting Jack upside the head, and knocking him
clean out of his seat. Tanya curses in Unovan and stands up to look over the table at Jack who is
sitting on the ground with a dazed expression. "Are you alright?"



Jack chuckles and shakes his head a couple of times, "Heh, looks like you still haven't figured
out your own strength yet either. It's going to really smart if I let you get close enough to smack
me in the ring." His eyes light up, "Do you have your schedule with you, Ty-Ty? We should
compare schedules. Maybe we share some classes again."



Tanya sits back down with a relieved smile, "Yes."



Jack stands up and straightens his plain white muscle shirt before digging in a back pocket of his
baggy cargo pants and fishing out a crumpled sheet of computer paper. He flattens the print out
on the table, smoothing it with the palm of his hand so that the printed Kantonese letters become
almost legible. Tanya pulls a crisply folded sheet of stationary from her pocket and unfolds it on
the table. Unlike Jack's, her schedule is written by hand and in Unovan script. Needless to say, to
Jack it may as well have been written in the in Unownic runes. They stare at each other's
schedules for a moment before looking up and saying in unison, "I can't read yours."

They laugh and Jack comes around the table to stand next to Tanya as they translate their
schedules for each other.



"It would seem we share four classes, but only one in the same room." Tanya observes dryly.



Jack just nods, hiding a slight smile. "Physics 2."



"Why are you even in that class? It's part of the engineering track. You're a battler."



"I like math."



"No, I mean it isn't even available as an elective to not engineers. Even the engineer track
students have to test into it."



Jack shrugs and smiles, "And? If I remember correctly, I was helping to tutor you in math for the
last three semesters Ty-Ty."



"That is only because I have trouble with the word problems." Tanya retorts stubbornly, "It's the
third language I've had to learn to read and it isn't easy."



"You speak it very well though." Jack says, smiling broadly. "Have you moved your stuff into
the dorms yet?"



"No, not yet. I am not looking forward to it though. I mailed most of my things in boxes and they
are all still in the post waiting to be picked up."



Jack shoves his schedule back into a pocket and claps his hands together. "Well, I'll help you get
everything up to your dorm. Then you can sleep off that jetlag and be ready for tomorrow."



"Thank you, Jack."



~0~



Jack sits down with a cup of assorted berries and a plate of macaroni and cheese, the only thing
that the cafeteria produced which was any good in his opinion. The entrée is sprinkled
generously with crumbled bacon from the salad bar. It was an odd combination that Jack had
discovered last semester by accident, but had found he liked it. He looked around the cafeteria at
all the gathered pokemorphs, hoping to see one of his suitemates. The others had gotten in late
last night and he hadn't had a chance to compare schedules with them yet. The students in the
cafeteria were mostly Kantonese and Johtans, but he could see Sinnoan or two as well as a crowd
of Hoenn students over in a corner. Nobody he knew though.



He begins to eat and continues watching the lunchtime crowds. A glaringly pink banner towards
the back of the cafeteria catches his eye and he sits up straighter to get a better look. When he
finally makes out what it says he laughs. They are already selling tickets to the Valentine's Dance, and they seem to be playing to the cliché by having a Luvdisc sell the tickets.


What a waste of money.


Jack had never been to a dance before, and he didn't really know why anyone would pay to go
dance. Though, maybe if he actually had a date he might buy tickets to a valentine's dance. Part
of why he was so good in math was that he hadn't had a social life to interrupt his studies. Who
knows it might actually be fun. But who would he ask?



It wasn't like he knew a lot of girls in the first place. Pretty much just Trace's sister Ali, an
umbreon battle track student with a hot body and a temper to match, and May the miltank, sure
she was a bit on the heavy side but she was a sweet girl. She was also taken, which left Tanya
Tolstoy.



The Hitmonchan actually laughs aloud at the idea of him and Tanya going to a dance together.
She was the daughter of a high ranking Unovan diplomat. He was a nobody battling student who
started his life in a basket on the steps of a Kanto hospital. She was in a different league from
him. He was lucky to be friends with her at all, but what if...



Jack shakes his head and checks his watch. It's almost time for Arena 1 class to begin. He scarfs
down the rest of the macaroni and shoves his berries into his mouth before washing it all down
with a glass of water as he hurries out of the cafeteria. He hopes he isn't going to be late for class.



~0~



Tanya looked out over the scattering of students that had gathered in the stands of the indoor
arena, currently set up in a rock type scenario with boulders and a couple pillars of stone thrown
up. There weren't many students there besides those in her class. It was the afternoon, so most
students were more interested in eating in the cafeteria than watching other students spar.

She turns back to her opponent, a dragonair boy in a loose orange jump suit who is openly
leering at her. Tanya adjusts the top of her skintight unitard self-consciously, suddenly
reconsidering her decision to keep the same battle uniform style she wore as a Gabite. What had
felt conservative before was suddenly feeling a lot less so now that she had more curves to cram
into the spandex one piece.



"Are you both ready?" the Arcanine instructor calls out to them from the sidelines. Tanya and the
dragonair both give her a thumbs up, "Good. Remember, we are starting out this semester with
flat matches. This means the focus is on plain physical attacks, melee weapons are allowed, and
moves are restricted to normal type."



Tanya adopts a crouched ready stance as the Arcanine lifts her whistle. At the sound of the
piercing tweet, she launches herself forward and rockets low over the ground. Loose gravel flys
up in a rooster tail behind her as she quickly cuts the distance between herself and her opponent.
The dragonair's eyes go wide and he dives out of the way of Tanya's stabbing claws. He turns
quickly and lashes out with the spheres on the end of his tail. Tanya gyrates, snatching the tail
and continuing to spin like a hitmontop. The dragonair lets out a startled yelp as he is yanked
towards his opponent.



Tanya's tail catches the dragonair across the face, knocking him right back. Tanya is still
spinning as she leaps into the air, lashing out with a heel. The dragonair rolls out of the way at
the last second, Tanya's heel sending gravel flying as it impacts the ground with a loud bang. The
dragonair darts back in with a wild left hook that catches Tanya in the jaw. She stumbles
backwards holding her hands up in front of her face defensively. The dragonair tries to press his
advantage, lashing out with his tail again like a whip. Tanya lets out a yell as the dragonair's tail
wraps around her arm and throws her to the side.



Tanya stumbles back against one of the stone pillars. The dragonair laughs and his tail whips out
again. His tail wraps around her wrist and he begins to pull her back towards himself when
suddenly Tanya jumps straight up and spins while holding onto the dragonair's tail. Tanya uses
Strength to kick off the pillar as the dragonair is lifted off his feet. Tanya's rotational momentum
slings the dragonair across the arena and into the opposite stone pillar with a loud crash.



The Arcanine's whistle blows even before Tanya lands in a crouch, "Match over! Victory goes to
Ms. Tolstoy." The instructor checks her watch, "That's all we have time for today, so head to the
showers and get yourselves cleaned up."

Tanya smiles as she walks out of the arena and the dragonair gets up and limps off the other end.
Her grin only gets wider when she sees the Hitmonchan clapping in the first row of the stands.



"Off balance my ass!" Jack laughs as he adjusts his gym bag, "You had that dragonair on the
ropes almost the entire time. If that had been a Major League match he probably would have had
to be wheeled off."



"He has the lowest ranking in the class." Tanya replies dismissively, but then she laughs, "What
are you doing here, Bonehead?"



"Well, I have Arena 1 next period, and I figured it would be good to have a friend cheering you
on."



"Isn't this your only chance to eat lunch?"



"Already ate."



"Well, thanks for coming by."



"My pleasure, but you better hurry to the showers if you wanna get to your next class on time."



"What time is it?" Jack shows her the time with his watch, her eyes widen and she sprints for the
girls' locker room. Just as she grabs the door handle she turns back and shouts, "Good luck!"



Jack waves and walks over to the Arcanine, pulling his schedule out as he goes. "Excuse me,
Ms.... Miller?"



"Yes?"



"Hi, my name is Jack Kennedy." Jack says holding out his hand, which the Arcanine takes in a
firm grip of her own and shakes it warmly.



"Nice to meet you. How can I help?"



"Well, I am in the Arena 1 session that meets here with you next period. I was wondering if you
wanted me to change out now, or to wait somewhere for everyone to arrive."



She nods and points to the stands, "Just take a seat there in the first row and we will get things
started as soon as everyone gets here."



"Thank you, ma'am."



Ms. Miller watches Jack as he returns to the stands and takes a seat. She smiles to herself; it was
nice to meet a Hitmonchan that didn't fit the bitter, macho stereotype that so many of the
Hitmonchan she had taught seemed to fall into.



As more and more students showed up the Arcanine continued to direct them to the first row of
the stands. The row very quickly filled up with students who mostly gathered in groups of four or
five as they chatted. The Arcanine checks her watch, it is time for class to begin, and blows her
whistle.



The conversations all stop and the gathered Pokemorphs turn to look at Ms. Miller. "This is
Arena 1. I am Ms. Miller, your instructor. If either of those do not line up with the information
on your schedule, you are in the wrong place and should probably hurry to wherever it is you
should be." She waits for anyone of the students to take off, but none do. "The premise of this
class is simple. It is here that you will learn how to fight in the variety of environments that you
will encounter in your future career as battlers. We will also begin learning how to use a variety
of moves legally and how the environment will affect their power or usability. For
instance, you will learn very quickly that using electrical attacks in a very wet environment is a
bad idea." She gestures to the battle area behind her, "As you have probably gathered by looking
at today's set up, we will be learning to fight in a rocky environment. It will be a flat match
today, so only normal type moves will be allowed."



This last announcement is met by a mixed chorus of groans and cheers. Rock, steel, and ghost
types have a natural advantage in flat matches.



Jack raises his hand, "Excuse me, Ms. Miller. Are weapons allowed?"



The Arcanine nods, "Yes, weapons are allowed, Mr. Kennedy. Are there any other questions?
No? Good. Go change out."



Jack heads to the men's locker room with the rest of the guys, hanging back a bit. Once inside he
heads to his locker from last year. After spinning the combination lock a few times he opens it
up. Inside is a pair of red boxing gloves. He stares at the gloves for a bit and the slips the gym
bag around so he can open it up. He takes a pair of long bones out of his bag and sets them on the
bench behind him. Next he slips out of his clothes and straps on a large athletic cup. He'd learned
the hard way that you do not want to be caught without one long ago. It was not a lesson that was
quickly forgotten. Once he was sure his jewels were protected he pulls on a padded pair of white
pants and a white chest piece. The last piece of equipment he slips on is a pair of white gauntlets.



The other guys are all taking their time changing out, chatting and trash talking each other. Jack
glances over at them briefly before he starts to walk out of the locker room. But then he hears
what they are talking about and he stops in his tracks.




"Did you see that hot piece of ass that was battling last period?"



"Which one? There were a couple."



"The Sinnoan in the spandex."




"Yeah, she had some nice knockers."



"Yeah, and I'm gonna be cumming all over them tonight."



Jack turns to see the speaker, a big Rhydon, as a Graveler laughs, "You're joking right? You
think someone like that is gonna put out for you in one day?"



"Of course." The Rhydon laughs, "Sinnoan women are all whores. One of my buddies told me
about this one Sinnoan chick that was putting out for like five guys at once. Besides, once she
sees what I'm working with, there ain't no way she gonna turn me down."



Jack hurries out of the locker room and onto the arena field. After a quick look around to find the
instructor he hurries over to her. "Excuse me, Ms. Miller? Are the match-ups already made or
can we pick our opponents?"



"I was just going to go down the list." The instructor admits, "But if you already have a match-up
in mind, sure, you can pick it."



"I'd like to go first against the Rhydon. I didn't catch his name in the locker room though."



"Well, there is only one Rhydon in this session so I know which one you are talking about. Mike
Bright." She looks at her list of students, "Are you sure you want to fight him though? He is
already ranked pretty high in the Minor Leagues for the short time he has been competing."



Jack nods, "Yes, I'm sure."



"Okay, go ahead and get yourself warmed up because we'll start as soon as everybody gets out
here."



Jack jogs around the field once and then takes a position with his bone clubs at one end of the
arena where he begins stretching as he waits. He doesn't have to wait long. It only takes a couple
minutes before everybody has made their way back out.



The Arcanine blows her whistle once to get everyone's attention. "Okay the first match will be
between Jack Kennedy and Mike Bright. Remember this is a flat match, so no moves are allowed
besides normal type moves. The use of any move that doesn't fit this description will result in the
user being immediately disqualified and that will be reflected in their grade. You only have to
fight if you want to pass, but if you want to get better than a C you will have to win your
matches."



By the time she is finished talking the Rhydon has made his way onto the field and is loosening
up. Jack picks up his bones and adopts a ready stance.



"Are you both ready?" both boys give her a thumbs up and the Arcanine blows her whistle.

Mike charges in, beginning with a Horn Attack as Jack runs towards him. As they draw closer,
Jack kicks off a boulder, throwing himself to the side out of the way of Mike's attack. Jack
quickly reverses direction by kicking off another boulder and pummels the Rhydon's unprotected
head with a flurry of lightning quick bone strikes. Thanks to the ground type nature of the
weapons, they are surprisingly effective. The Rhydon stumbles forward before turning with his
arms up to protect his face. Jack stabs out with the blunt end of the bone, aiming for Mike's
throat.



Mike, however, catches the bone between his hands and drives his knee into Jack's gut. The
Hitmonchan's chest piece takes some of the blow, but it still hurts as Jack is knocked backwards
to stumble over a large stone. Mike attempts to Body Slam Jack as he falls to the ground, but the
Hitmonchan rolls backwards and narrowly avoids the attack. Jack fires off a flurry of barely
visible strikes that pummel the Rhydon's head as he tries to get to his feet. The Rhydon stumbles
forward, swinging blindly.


Jack pulls back, spinning his arms as the Rhydon lifts his own arms to protect his head again as
he charges Jack once more. To the Rhydon's surprise, Jack steps forward and strikes upward with
both clubs. Both strikes reach their intended destination, Mike's crotch, and the Rhydon crumples
to the ground clutching his battered jewels. "Oh god! Why?!" he wheezes as he curls around his
wounded pride.


Jack doesn't reply, instead he merely begins to pulverize the Rhydon's back with his clubs.
Somewhere in the background he can hear the Arcanine blowing her whistle, and he stops. He
crouches down next to the Rhydon and taps him on the head lightly, "If I ever hear you call my
friend a slut again, you'll be shooting blanks for the rest of your life."



"What?"



"That Garchomp whose tits you were gonna cum all over." Jack growls, "She deserves a hell of a
lot more respect than that, do you understand me?"



The Rhydon stares at Jack for a moment, then groans, "You know, 'shut the fuck up about my
girlfriend' would have been about as effective."



Jack shakes his head and grabs the Rhydon by the shoulders and lifts him up, "I doubt it. I've
found that blunt trauma really adds emphasis to a point. Besides she's not my girlfriend, just my
friend. Now let's get you to the bleachers, and maybe get you some ice."



"Just a friend? You'd castrate a stranger for a girl who is just a friend?"



"Yes."



The Rhydon shakes Jack off, "You are either psychotic, or in denial about how you feel. Either
way, you are damn good. Where'd you learn to use bone clubs like that?"



"Ever heard of the Camelot Dojo? Run by a couple of Marrowaks?"



"Yeah, it's fairly well known for being downright brutal and having a devastating dropout rate,
but it's one hell of a badge of honor to be able to say you graduated from there."



"Yeah, the Marrowaks that run that dojo were the ones that raised me."



"Well fuck."



"Yeah, I've been swinging bones since I could walk."



"What was your name again?"



"Jack Kennedy."



"Mike Bright." The Rhydon says, extending a hand.



Jack takes the offered hand and they both sit down. "I'm surprised you're not pissed I nailed you
in the nuts."



"Oh, I'm pissed alright." The Rhydon says rolling his eyes, "But I can't hold it against you
because if someone had insulted my girl, I'd probably kick their ass too."



"I told you, she's just a friend."



"And I told you that if you actually believe that you are in denial."



The Graveler Mike had been talking to in the locker room walks over with a bag of ice, "Hey
Mike, you want this right?"



Mike snatches the ice from him and presses it to his crotch, "Thanks Frank." The Rhydon
gestures to Jack, "This is Jack from the Camelot Dojo. He's in love with that Garchomp from
earlier. So don't diss her or he'll kick your ass."



"I'm not..." Jack starts then sighs and rolls his eyes, "Whatever."



~0~



Jack kicks open the door to his dorm and pitches his gym bag onto the top bunk. He leaps across
the room and tackles the golduck sitting at one of the two desks. The two pokemorphs are a blur
of flailing limbs for a moment before they shoot apart again. Jack rolls head over heels, coming
to a stop upside down with his back against the foot of the bunk bed. He gives the golduck a
huge shit eating grin.



The golduck sits back and shakes his head, "What the hell is wrong with you? It's 7 o'clock on a
Monday. You should be groaning about homework, not trying to put me in a headlock.
Especially since you know I'm the better grappler."



Jack laughs as he gets himself turned back upright, "I know, and I will, but the weekend was so
boring being here all by myself and you were dead the moment you stepped into the room last
night."



"Whatever." The golduck says, standing to his feet and adjusting his 'It's All Good under the Big
Top" shirt, a sure sign that he was not expecting his girlfriend to be coming over this evening.
"So what is your schedule like this semester? Did you fill up your elective slots with math
again?"



"A couple math classes and Physics II." Jack says, fishing the abused sheet of computer paper
out of his pocket yet again. "What about you? What electives are you taking, Eric?"



"Sinnoan Literature, Ancient Civilization, and Creative Writing." Eric replies as he turns to sit
back down, but then he whirls back around again, "Wait, Physics II?! That's a fucking
engineer track core class!"



Jack shrugs, "I like math."



"No, you are insane." Eric replies falling back into his chair with a sigh, "You are a battler,
Bonehead. Why can't you just play to the dumb jock stereotype? I swear, Hornsucker looked like
he was about to explode when he found out you got a better grade than him in Algebra last year.
If you so much as match him in physics, the poor guy is probably gonna rape his
boyfriend without lube or something stupid like that."



"It's not rape if he asks for it!" is the faint response from the other half of the two room suite. The
connecting door opens and a bespectacled Nidorino sticks his head into the room, "But what
reason would I have for not applying lubricant before anal intercourse?"



Eric and Jack look at each other and shrug. Eric chuckles, "I don't know. What do you do
when you are all pissed off and need to unwind?"



"I calculate pi until I get bored."



Eric points at the Nidorino and gives Jack a pointed look, "That is a man who loves math. You
are not such a man."



Jack chuckles, "I said I like math, not love it. It's easy for me."



Hornsucker sighs, "What, pray tell, did he enroll in this time?"



"Physics II."



When he hears this the Nidorino steps into the room. He adjusts his glasses and his dress shirt.
Ironically, the gay Nidorino has the same taste in clothes as Tanya, but he wears it much neater.
"On a different subject, how is Ty-Ty?"



"Doing pretty well I think. She evolved over break, I think so she could keep up in the battling
classes she takes for her electives. We have a few of the same classes this semester, but the only
one that we will be in the same room for is Physics II."



Hornsucker snaps his fingers, "That is the reasoning behind his enrolling in Physics II.
The man is in love."



"I am not in love with Ty-Ty!" Jack exclaims shaking his head, "Why does everyone keep saying
I am in love with her?!"



The other two pokemorphs glance at each other. "Who else is expositing such a fact?"



"It's not a fact!"



"Who, damnit!?" Eric demands impatiently.



Suddenly an Eevee in green scrubs bounces into the room with a worried expression, "What did I
do?"



Jack chuckles, "You didn't do anything, Trace. A Rhydon in my Arena I class was calling Tanya
a slut, so I clubbed his nuts up into his throat in the ring. Since then he's been warning people not
to disrespect her because she is my girl, and I'd kick their asses if they did."



"Is that even legal in the ring?" the Eevee asks with a grimace.



"That's why I wear a cup, Dr. Hu."



"So what's wrong with saying you are in love with Tanya. It's obvious to all of us. Hell, I
wouldn't be surprised if Tanya knew."



Jack is about to deny it again when there is a knock at the door and a husky, but definitely
feminine, voice calls, "Eric? Are you in?"



Eric gets a panicked look, one that is shared by the other males as well. Eric strips off his shirt
and throws it to Trace as he hisses, "Hide the shirt!"



The Eevee hurls the shirt through the connecting doorway and shuts the door quickly. Eric makes
his way to the door and opens it. The doorway is filled by a stacked Snorlax woman in jeans and
a black tee. She grins and picks Eric up so that she can give him a kiss on the beak. "I missed
you ducky."



The golduck blushes purple as his friends laugh. "I missed you too, Sandy."



"How was your break, Big Top?" Jack asks from his seat on the floor.



"It was nice, but it would've been better if Eric had been there with me."



"It is an improvement to most situations when one's mate is present." Hornsucker agrees. The
look on Eric's face as he is held tightly to Sandy's very generous bosom implies that this
particular situation may be one of the other ones.



Sandy finally sets Eric down with a smile, "Well, I was just dropping by to see my boyfriend, but
it looks like he's busy. So, I'll just be on my way."



"No, no. I'm not too busy for you." Eric says hastily, "Just let me get on a shirt and we can go
somewhere private and talk."



Sandy snatches Eric up again as he turns to go get a shirt from his chest of drawers. "Don't
bother, sweetie, you wouldn't be wearing it long anyway." As she turns to leave with Eric she
waves to the other boys, "Thanks for sharing your friend with me."



The boys stare at the door as she shuts it behind her in silence for a long moment. Finally Jack
speaks, "It looks like Ringmaster isn't the one running the circus."



The other boys laugh as they return to their own room, leaving Jack to work on his physics
homework. However, no sooner does he sit down than there is another knock at the door. Jack
laughs as he gets up again, "Geez Eric, you just left! I wasn't expecting you back so- Oh! Ty-
Ty!"



Tanya smiles at Jack, "Is Eric not here right now?"



"Yeah, Big Top came by just a minute ago and whisked him away for some private time
together. Did you need him for something?"



Tanya shakes her head, "No. I need some help with my physics. The word problems are
troubling me. I was wondering if you would be able to help me?" she giggles, "And if he isn't
here that means I can steal his seat."



"Sure, come in and take a seat, I was just about to get started on physics myself."



Tanya takes Eric's seat and drags it over to Jack's desk. She laughs as Jack takes a seat next to
her, "Did I mention how weird it is being taller than you now? I'm used to looking up at you
when we study, but now you look up at me."



Jack glances up at her, "I don't think you did mention it. I don't mind having you look over my
shoulder, so it shouldn't change much."



The two open their physics books and begin to work on the assigned homework problems. The
connecting door creaks as it opens slightly, distracting Jack for a brief moment.



"What is it?" Tanya asks curiously, following Jack's gaze to the slightly opened door.



"Nothing, I think." Jack says before they get back to their physics.



However it isn't long before familiar cords begin to drift from the other room, followed by a deep
bass voice singing. "There you see her, sitting there across the way... She don't got a lot to say,
but there's something about her.... And you don't know why, but you're dying to try. You want to
kiss the girl."



"By the bones of my ancestors!" Jack exclaims as he hops to his feet and bursts into the other
room.



"Yess you want her, look at her you know you want to. Oh, hi Bonehead, what's up?" Trace asks
from his seat on an amp that is hooked up to the microphone in his hand. The short Eevee has a
surprisingly deep singing voice. But the fact that he can sing deep doesn't make the sight of the
tiny Eevee standing with all the much larger males in the bass section any less funny.


Hornsucker chuckles from his keyboard, "Do you find our song selection offensive?"



"I like it." Tanya says from her seat at Jack's desk.



Jack's angry response dies in his throat and he stands over the Eevee, his lips moving wordlessly.
Finally he leans down and whispers in the Eevee's ear, "I will get you for this, both of you."


Hornsucker starts playing the keyboard again and Trace just smiles as the Hitmonchan returns to
his room and shuts the door, "Have fun studying."


~0~


The days quickly fell into a routine for the Hitmonchan. Physics II in the morning with Tanya,
Gym, then grab a quick lunch so he can cheer Tanya on in her Arena I class. After that, kick
some ass in his own Arena I class, then math and battling ethics classes until dinner time. After
that, he and Tanya would study in the library, to avoid Hornsucker and Dr. Hu with their
attempts at subliminal messaging.



During this time, Jack couldn't help but start to examine how he felt about Tanya. After all, his
suitemates and Arena I classmates were all dead set on believing that he was in love, even as he
continued to deny it. The answer to 'do I like Tanya?' was a no-brainer.



Of course he liked her! What was there about her not to like?! She was a wonderful person! She
was smart, kind, optimistic, enjoyed battling, and she didn't shun him like so many other girls
did. As a battler she was a wonder to watch. The way she moved was like watching a dancer ply
her trade on the stage, every motion was graceful. Even when she didn't win her match, she left
him breathless.


Eric was right about physics too. The only thing that made that class tolerable was the fact that
he got to spend time with Tanya. The same went for the other math classes. He was good at
math, but it was not something he loved. So today, as he sat in the cafeteria staring at the
valentine's dance ticket table, he had to admit it. It wasn't math that he loved, it was Tanya
Tolstoy, and, damn it, he was going to ask her to the dance. But first he had to get the tickets
before they sold out. He had been watching the box of tickets grow steadily emptier and emptier
with each passing day. If he was going to do it at all, he had to get his tickets now.

Jack stands up from his seat and hurries across the cafeteria to the table. However, just before he
reaches the table, a small crowd of seniors cut in front of him to buy tickets. Jack's heart
hammers away in his throat. He had caught a glimpse of the box with the tickets in it. He could
see the bottom of the box under the few tickets that were left. Time seems to stretch, seconds
turning to minutes and minutes to hours as he waited to see if there would be any tickets left.
Finally, the last of the seniors walk away with a pair of tickets in his hand, and Jack steps up to
the table to look inside the box.



Empty.



Not a single pink ticket is left. Jack's face falls and his shoulders slump in defeat. The dance
would have been the acid test to see if he had a chance at all. If she had said 'yes', than he would
know that he had a chance with her, and if she said no, then it would be clear that he didn't.
Without that test to direct him, he couldn't help but feel like he was rushing into a battle
blindfolded.



"Why the long face, kid?"



Jack looks up at the Luvdisc, "There aren't any more tickets."



The Luvdisc lifts up the box to reveal two more tickets underneath. Jack's eyes go as wide as
saucers at the sight of the pink slips of paper. The Luvdisc laughs, "I've seen you watching this
table for the past few days. I figured you were just too nervous to come up yet, so I've had a pair
hidden under the box since yesterday in case I 'ran out'."



Jack stares at the Luvdisc in shock, the extreme shifts in emotion over the past minute and a half
nearly overwhelming him. He hated to admit it, but he was on the verge of crying. The Luvdisc
chuckles as he takes a step back from the table, "Don't you dare kiss me. I had a Vileplume guy
do that to me last year in this same situation, and I never heard the end of it from my buddies. It's
hard enough having to be pink, you know?"



Jack laughs and wipes his eyes as he fishes out his wallet. "Thank you. Thank you so much."



~0~



"Fuuuuck!" Jack exclaims as he bursts into his dorm room.



Eric, who had been leaning back on two legs in his desk chair, topples backwards in surprise. He
scrambles to his feet as Jack slams the door behind him and begins pacing the small room. He
watches the Hitmonchan go back and forth for a bit before asking, "What the hell is up with
you?"



"You guys were right, okay?!" Jack exclaims, waving his arms wildly, "I love Tanya!"



"And the truth shall set you free, brother!" Trace bellows from the other room in his best
imitation of a southern evangelist.



"And I bought two tickets to the Valentines Dance!" Jack adds as he continues to try and wear a
rut in the carpet with his pacing.



Eric stares at Jack as he moves back and forth across the room, "You haven't asked her yet, have
you?"



"No." Jack says flatly before darting over to grab Eric by the shoulders, "How the hell did you
work up the nerve to ask Sandy?"



Eric gently takes Jack's wrists and pulls the Hitmonchan's hands from around his shoulders,
"Well, I kinda just waited until I couldn't take it anymore then came up to her after class one day
and told her I thought she was the most wonderful person I had ever met and the most beautiful
woman I had ever seen. Then I asked her to be my girlfriend."



"I don't have that sort of time!" Jack hisses as he goes back to pacing, "Valentine's day and the
dance are next Tuesday! It's fucking Friday!"



"Well, on the bright side there are plenty of opportunities to ask her since you see her a couple
times every day." Eric checks his watch as he rights his chair and takes a seat, "Speaking of
which, you'd better hurry over to the library or you are going to be late."



Jack fires off a stream of obscenities as he looks at the alarm clock on his desk. He snatches up
his physics textbook and flies back out of the room. Trace peeks his head into the room, "Does
he qualify for intervention yet?"



Eric laughs, "Dr. Hu, if you intervened anymore than you already have, then I'm pretty sure he
would strangle you."



"Good point." the Eevee says with a nod before disappearing back into his room.



~0~



Tanya looks up to see Jack standing across the library table from her. "You okay? You look
upset."



"I ran... into a hang up." Jack gasps as he collapses into the seat across from Tanya, "Sprinted all
the way over."



Tanya nods, "I hope the hang up doesn't cause you too much trouble."



"Thanks."



Jack throws his textbook onto the table and starts to pull out his notebooks while Tanya
continues to work on her problems.



After a bit Tanya comments, "I saw that they sold all the Valentine's Dance tickets this evening."



Jack's heart, which had just been starting to slow down, suddenly jumps right back up into his
throat and starts pounding like a jackhammer. "Yeah." He says slowly, "I think they sold out
during lunch today."



"Did you get any?"



"No. I've never been to a dance and didn't think it was worth the money." Jack replies quickly,
the lies coming out so quick he didn't even realize he had spoken them until he was done.



"Why would you not want to go to a dance?" Tanya asks with a laugh, "I went to a bunch back in
Sinnoh. They were a lot of fun. You get to dress up, eat desserts, drink punch, have fun with your
friends, and, of course, dance!"



"I never had anyone to go with. I still don't." Jack replies with shrugs, shifting uncomfortably at
the same time due to the dance tickets burning a hole in his back pocket.



"You know that you don't have to have a date to go to a dance." Tanya says with a smirk.



"Well it's too late now." Jack replies with yet another shrug, "Besides, it's a Valentine's dance.
That you need a date is implied in that alone. I don't think they even sold tickets in anything but
pairs."



"True." Tanya says nodding slowly. Then she turns her textbook around for Jack to read, "I'm
having some trouble with this one. Can you help me figure out just what the hell they are
attempting to tell me?"



Jack nods, trying to keep his frustration with himself off his face as his tickets continued to
torment him with their presence. The overwhelming evidence of his lie. "Sure, let me take a
look."



~0~



Early the next morning, Jack stumbles into the dorm room a sweaty mess. Eric sits up in bed and
rubs his eyes, "Jack? Is that you?"



"Yeah."



"I take it things went well." Eric says with a smile as he lays back down, "Looks like she rode
you damn hard."



"No." Jack growls as he collapses into his desk chair. "I told her I wasn't going to the dance. That
I didn't want to and I didn't have anyone to go with."



Eric sits up again, "You what?!"



"You heard me!"



"Why the hell would you tell her that?"



"She brought up the dance! I choked! I didn't even realize what I was saying until it was too
late!"



"Where the hell have you been since the library?!"



"The gym, beating the shit out of every bag in there."



"You got out the gloves? Shit Jack! You hate those damn things!"



Jack doesn't answer. Instead, he gets up and walks over to the bathroom door. He steps inside
wordlessly and shuts the door. A few moments, later the sound of running water can be heard.
Eric lies back down again, knowing there isn't anything he can do or say to help the situation.



~0~



Come ten o'clock, the shower is still running. Eric pounds on the door. "Jack? You still alive?"

When he gets no response, he groans, "Fuck." He turns the doorknob and opens the door, "I
swear, if you've gone and killed yourself, I'll kill you. Find a goddamn medium to summon your
soul from the afterlife just so I can kick your ass."



"I'm not dead."



Eric stares at Jack, "You didn't get the gloves out."



Jack is sitting fully clothed in the shower holding his hands out into the streams of falling water.
The skin of his knuckles and the backs of his hands is ragged and torn up. Although they aren't
bleeding now, there are plenty of pink runs on the tile that say that they were not too long ago.
He looks up at Eric, "I told you, I'll never use those gloves. They are only there to remind me of
my oath."



Eric sighs and drops the lid on the toilet before sitting down. "So what are you going to do now?"



"Hell, if I know."



"I have a suggestion."



"Yeah?"



"Start by having Trace come over here and clean your hands up. Sound like a good place to
start?"



Jack nods, "Yeah. That sounds good."



Eric sticks his head out the bathroom door, "PAGING DR. HU! YOU'RE NEEDED IN THE
BATHROOM!"



A few moments later Trace is standing outside the bathroom, "Jack! What the hell happened to
your hands?"



"He choked last night with Tanya, monstrously, and took it out on the punching bags. Without
gloves of any kind and for hours on end."



Trace shakes his head, "I'll go get my first aid kit, but if he abused his hands for several hours he
may have to still go down to the infirmary."



A few minutes later Jack is seated on a couple towels in the bathroom floor while Trace wraps
the Hitmonchan's hands. Eric leans back against the wall with his arms crossed. "The question
remains Jack, what are you going to do now?"



Jack looks up at the golduck, "What do you mean?"



"You blew it last night, but today's a new day."



"Nothing I do will change what I said last night."



"And what the fuck did you say?" Eric asks stepping away from the wall, "You choked and told
her a lie. I do believe that Trace told you something very important yesterday. Do you
remember?"



Jack stares at Eric in confusion, "I didn't even talk to Trace yesterday."



Trace seems similarly baffled, looking up from his work with Jack's hands, "I'm lost too. What
did I say?"



Eric can't keep a small smile off his face, "Well, you were teasing when you said it, but that
doesn't change how important it was. You said that the truth will set him free. Tell her the truth!
We're not machines, Jack."



Trace chuckles, "Hornsucker might be."



Eric shrugs, "Yeah, but Jack isn't asking Jamie to the dance, he's asking Tanya. And she
is not a machine. I don't think she will hold your mistake against you. Especially if she likes you
anywhere near as much as you like her."



Jack doesn't reply, looking back down to his hands. Eric sighs, "Listen, I've got a date with
Sandy for lunch today. We're going to the dance and she wants to discuss what we will be
wearing. I have to get ready for that and I think I've given you as much help as I am able to."
Eric begins changing out of his bed clothes, "Whatever you choose to do now is up to you. You
can either wallow in your mistake, or you can try to fix what you've done wrong and move on.
Either way, you better not go out and assault any punching bags."



Trace nods, "If you abuse your hands before they've healed, I'll have my sister kick your ass."



Jack rolls his eyes, "I won't be punching anything until my hands heal. I'm not stupid."



"Tell that to your hands." Trace retorts, tying off the bandages and claps his hands. "Well, I've
done all I can here, disinfecting and bandaging to the best of my ability."



"Thanks." Jack says standing up, "I need to go think." Jack stands up and turns to head out the
door but Trace grabs him by the wrist. "What?"



"You should probably change first."



Jack looks down at his drenched clothing and chuckles, "Okay, maybe I should start thinking
before I go. Thanks."



"Hey, if you can't count on your friends, who can you count on?"



Jack smiles at Trace, "Yeah."



~0~



The next time anyone sees Jack, the sun has long since set. The Hitmonchan slowly climbs the
stairs in the rear stairwell of the girls' dormitory, water running in rivulets from his drenched
clothing. At the top of the stairs he stops and steps to the side to wring himself out a bit before
making the final leg of his trip. After he is satisfied that he is no longer dripping he begins
walking down the long hallway. He ignores the odd looks he gets from the girls that are still
wandering the halls at this late hour. Eventually he comes to the door he is looking for. Jack lifts
a bandaged hand to knock but then jumps backwards in surprise when the door flies open. His
wet feet slip on the linoleum floor and he falls on his ass with a yelp.



"Wow. That was graceful." The abra that opened the door observes as she leans on the
doorframe. "What do you want?"



Jack rubs his face, "I'd like to speak with Tanya."



The abra stares at Jack. "Oh, you're that Hitmonchan she always ditches us for during the
weekdays. I'll get her." The abra shuts the door again leaving Jack sitting outside.



"We'll things seem to be going splendidly so far." He grumbles as he climbs back to his feet.



"Jack? Why are you all wet?"



Jack looks up at Tanya standing in front of him in her loose nightgown. "You know that
waterfall in the center of campus?"



"Yeah?"



"I was sitting under it all day." Jack replies.



"You know you're not supposed to be swimming in that pond. It is decorative."



"I think best when sitting in waterfalls." Jack replies, "And I needed to think about something
very important. I know it's late, but there is something I need to know."



"What was it?"



Jack takes a deep breath, "Would you go to the Valentine's Dance with me?"



Tanya stares open mouthed at him. For Jack, the moment seems to last for hours. Finally Tanya
tilts her head back and groans, "You told me you weren't going to the dance! You told me you
didn't have anyone you wanted to go with!"



"I know." Jack says quietly, "I lied. I wanted to ask you, but I was too nervous and I choked
when you started talking about the dance. But I'm asking you now; will you please go to the
dance with me?"



"I can't." Tanya replies quietly, "I already told Walther Dean I would go with him."



"Walther? As in The Walther? The Destroyer?" Jack asks in a mixture of disbelief and
more than a little fear. Walther was a monster of a Machamp at a towering 7'2" and weighing in
at a hulking 372 pounds of solid muscle. He had dominated the intramural circuit ever since he
arrived as a freshman. He was now a senior, and had a reputation for taking whatever he wanted
and going through women faster than... well faster than a Hitmonchan could throw punches. "He
asked you? And you actually said yes?"



"Jack, I'm not supposed to say no. Not unless I have a very legitimate reason."



"He's a womanizing monster! Isn't that reason enough?!"



"No! Technically it isn't! A woman's 'opinion' does not matter in such things!"



"This isn't Sinnoh or Unova, or wherever the hell such a ridiculous concept got ground into your
head! You are allowed to say 'no'! I'm sure there were plenty of girls that he has his eyes on and
could have asked if you said no!"



"You think I didn't try to find a legitimate reason the moment I heard that he was looking to ask
me to the dance?" Tanya asks grabbing Jack by the shoulder and jabs him I the chest, "Fuck! I
practically asked you if you wanted to take me to the dance and you said
NO!! You and I both know that if I stiff him now, and show up at the dance
with you, he will put you in the hospital."



Jack can't bring himself to meet her gaze. After a long silence, Tanya sighs and releases Jack's
shoulder, "Then again, who's to say that he wouldn't have put you in the hospital just to spite me
for saying no? I had no choice. Please don't hold it against me."



"Hold it against you? I'm the one who fucked up." Jack says, finally looking up to meet Tanya's
golden eyes with his own. She is surprised by the determination she finds there. "I swear I'll
make it up to you. I'll find a way to make things right."



Tanya grabs Jack as he turns to go, "Don't do anything stupid, Jack. Getting yourself killed
getting into a fight with someone like Walther won't fix anything."



Jack grins crookedly, "There is nothing I can do about the dance. I know that. Even with all my
gear, bones, and a legal release to use all my Moves I couldn't hope to beat him. Not yet anyway.
But, if you'll accept it, I promise to give you an evening, no, an entire day that will make
you feel like a queen. My treat."



Tanya tilts her head as she stares at the Hitmonchan in confusion, "Are you asking me on a
date?"



"Yes. Yes I am."



"You're on, Bonehead." Tanya says with a toothy grin, "Let me know when and I'll be there."



Jack bows deeply, "Thank you very much."



Jack hurries off back down the hall and the abra steps into the hall to watch him go, "I can't
believe you're stooping that low."



"What is that supposed to mean, Janice?"



"He's a Hitmonchan." The abra huffs, "I shouldn't have to explain beyond that."



"I don't see what-!" Tanya starts to say but is interrupted by a shout followed by a loud thud that
can be heard even this far down the hall from the stairs.



"He also doesn't seem to be the brightest bulb in the box either." Tanya starts running down the
hall towards the stairs and the abra shouts after her, "Don't you be an idiot too! The floor is wet
because of that idiot!"



Tanya slows down as she approaches the stair well. She stops at the top and looks down to the
next landing to see Jack sitting up with a dazed expression. "Are you okay?"



The Hitmonchan chuckles and gives her a thumbs-up, "I'm not called Bonehead for nothing!"



Tanya shakes her head, "Go back to your room and try not to kill yourself on the way. I
recommend you take the elevator."



"Yeah, I like that idea." Jack says with a chuckle before he gets up and makes his way down the
stairs. He stops just before he disappears under the top landing and looks up, "Goodnight Ty-
Ty."



"Goodnight Bonehead."



Tanya walks back to where Janice is shaking her head, "I can't believe you are even
contemplating dating a hitmon'."


"What is wrong with being a Hitmonchan?"


"They are always obsessed with battling, invariably self-absorbed, and chauvinistic bastards."



Tanya stares at Janice, "Jack isn't any of that. He comes from a good family of marowak, he is
taking several of the same math courses as me, and he's been nothing but polite to me. Well,
except for that one time when he was checking me out, but I was trying to get him to do that so it
doesn't count."



Janice frowns, "Tanya, all hitmon evolve from tyrogues. All tyrogue's come from ditto
'mothers'."



"Jack is different." Tanya replies stubbornly. "I know him. He is not a bad person. He is certainly
ten times the man that Walther is. Even if he is the son of a bigendered whore."



~0~



Eric looks up from his computer to see Jack walking in with a huge grin on his face. A matching
grin spreads across Eric's face as he says, "It looks like somebody has a date to the dance this
Tuesday!"



"Nope." Jack says with a chuckle as he begins to strip down, "But I did get something better."



Eric leans back in his chair and steeples his fingers, "Oh really now? How does that work?"



"Well, Walther asked her to the dance, and she didn't feel she could say no. Which is partly due
to my screw up last night." Jack says stuffing his wet clothes into his laundry sack. "She couldn't
say yes to me after that because it would put me in danger. I promised I would make it up to her,
and she asked if I was asking her out on a date. I told her yes and she told me yes!"



"Hell yeah." Eric says leaning forward and holding out his hand for a high five then frowns and
drops his hand, "Wait, Walther? As in The Destroyer? The defiler of virgins and bane of
underclassmen?"



"Yep." Jack replies as he pulls on a fresh pair of boxers.



"Dude, this is bad."



"I know." Jack replies as he climbs onto his bunk, "Which is why I will be going to the dance. To
keep an eye on him and make sure he doesn't do anything to her."



"You think you can stop him if he tries something?" Eric asks incredulously, leaping up onto his
bunk so he can get a clear view of the Hitmonchan laying with his face in his pillow. "Are you
insane?"



"I can't stop him, but even the Destroyer bows to the faculty. He wouldn't endanger his diploma
by fighting a faculty member." Jack says, turning his face out of the pillow so he can be
understood. He reaches out and shoves Eric's face back away from his. "Now leave me alone.
I've been cold, wet and miserable most of the past twenty-four hours, and been up for the past
forty-eight at least. I'm going to sleep."



Eric laughs as he falls backwards, arms windmilling. "Okay, Okay! Just making sure you weren't
planning something stupid." Jack mumbles something unintelligible. "What was that?"

The only answer he gets is a loud snore. Eric smiles and sits back down at his desk.



~0~



The following days fly by in a whirlwind of pre-valentines activity. When Valentine's Day
finally comes, the campus is awash with pink and red decorations. Everyone seems to have
something they need to do or somewhere they needed to be in order to be ready for either a date
with their special someone or for the dance being held in the James Morrison Auditorium, which
was a long walk from campus.



Back at their room, Jack and Eric are making their final preparations for the evening. Eric is still
ironing his blue dress shirt while Jack is already buttoning up his own red shirt. Eric glances over
at Jack as he pulls open a desk drawer and sets a steel handled rib bone on the desk. When the
Hitmonchan goes into the bathroom to stand in front of the mirror so that he can tie his white tie
the golduck moves to take a closer look at the item.



The bone is about five inches long and has some unownic runes carved into it. The handle has a
pattern of Celtic knots etched down it. When Jack returns Eric holds up the item, "What the hell
is this?"



"A bone dagger, a very old bone dagger." Jack replies, reaching to take back the small weapon.



Eric pulls the weapon out of Jack's reach. Pointing to it, he says, "This is a sign of something
stupid on a number of levels. This is a school function, it won't get you expelled, but it could get
you suspended. Also, you don't need a dagger at a dance. Not unless you plan on getting into a
fight, and we both know there is only one person you could be interested in fighting tonight."



"I have no intention of fighting tonight." Jack says, walking past Eric to take his black coat off its
hanger. "However, that knife has always been my good luck charm. I carry it when I feel I need
more than just my own skill to make things go well. They usually do."



Eric sighs and rubs the gem in his forehead as he holds the knife out to Jack, "Just don't get
caught with it okay?"



"Don't worry, you'd be surprised how easy it is to conceal." Jack says as the golduck puts his
dress shirt on. Jack slips the dagger into a coat pocket. "Well, I'm ready whenever you are,
Ringmaster. Just in case you need to be reminded, Big Top is not known for her patience."



"Yeah, yeah. I'm coming." Eric says throwing on his coat, then he laughs, "But you know, she's
cute when she's impatient."



Jack rolls his eyes, "Name one time that you didn't think she was cute."



The boys start walking down the dormitory hall and Eric adopts a thoughtful expression. When
they reach the stairs at the end of the hall, Jack clears his throat, "I'm waiting."



Eric shrugs, "You got me. The only times she wasn't cute to me, she was sexy, and I'm not about
to share any of those with you."



Jack smiles, "Fair enough."



"What about Ty-Ty?"



"What about her?"



"What made you love her?" The two boys step out into the crisp, night air. As they begin
walking towards the student parking lot, Jack sighs.



"I'm not entirely sure."



"Well, you started taking all math electives second semester. So it was probably not long after
you met her. You never did fully explain how you ended up becoming friends with a foreign
student. The first time I met her was when she got lost in the guys dorm looking for you."



Jack grins as they enter the student parking lot, "Well, she came up to me in the cafeteria and
asked me in broken Kantonese what was good to eat."



Eric gives Jack an incredulous look, "Really? She came up to you?"



Jack pulls a key ring out of his pocket and spins it on one finger as he walks around to the
driver's side door of a plain white van, "Yep. She recognized me from algebra. I had seen her
already then, but thought she was a guy because of her clothes until she actually spoke to me."
Jack unlocks the van and hops into the driver seat while Eric takes shotgun position. "I told her
'Not much.' And she laughed. Maybe it was then that I fell for her."


"Love at first laugh." Eric chuckles, "Nice. Thanks for driving Sandy and me by the way."


"No problem. I've got a huge ass van; you've got a huge ass girlfriend. It makes sense, a hell of a
lot more sense than you taking her in that clown car of yours." Jack chuckles, ducking under
Eric's halfhearted swing. "I still remember the first time you saw her during lunch second
semester. You looked like a goddamn idiot, missing your mouth with the French fry you were
trying to eat. It was quite an accomplishment actually, considering how wide your mouth was
hanging open."



"Yeah, it was like cupid hit me with a sledgehammer or something." Eric chuckles.



Jack pulls the van around to the front of the girl's dorm and Eric hops out. "Be right back."



Jack puts the van in park and reaches into his coat pocket to fiddle with the dagger there. He
quickly pulls his hand back out when the van's rear passenger doors are thrown open. He turns
around to see Eric and Sandy. The van dips a little as Sandy climbs in and takes a seat on the
middle row. She smiles at Jack as she smoothes out her low cut blue dress, "Hey Jack, thanks for
driving us."


Jack grins and gives her a thumbs-up, "My pleasure, Big Top." Eric climbs in next to Sandy and
shuts the doors. Jack puts the car in drive and glances in the rear view mirror to see if Eric and
Sandy are buckled up. They are, and Jack eases the van out onto the street. "Next stop, James
Morrison Auditorium."



~0~



It was nothing like Jack had expected. He had expected something much more formal or at least
romantic. He had definitely not expected the clublike atmosphere and pounding beats complete
with a dance floor crammed with pokemorphs dancing... or maybe it was an orgy with clothes
on, it was hard to tell sometimes in the dim lighting.



He had been wandering the auditorium, trying to find Walther or Tanya, for the past fifteen
minutes or so. He hadn't found either of them yet so he made his way over the snack and drinks
table. He poured himself a glass of punch and turned around to look over the entire auditorium.
He could see the crowd moving and pulsing with the music in the dim light of the dance floor, as
well as the couples who didn't feel like dancing in the crowd. Those were either dancing to their
own beat away from the main crowd, sitting together at one of the numerous tables, or making
out by the walls and corners. The faculty chaperones were around, he could see one here and
there. They were only there to prevent fights and to catch people trying to sneak in alcohol.



"This is far from romantic, isn't it?"



Jack nods, lifting the fruity punch to his lips as he turns towards the person talking. When he sees
her his eyes go wide as saucers. By the bones, she is wearing a dress.



Tanya laughs as Jack spills his drink on his shirt in shock from seeing her not only right beside
him but wearing a tight fitting backless dress with a slit in the side up to her thighs. The black
fabric sparkles in the light as Tanya moves, grabbing up some napkins from the snack table
behind them. She starts drying the spill on his chest as she continues chuckling. "You look like
you just saw a ghost, Bonehead."



"You're wearing a dress." And you're the most beautiful thing I've ever seen.



"What? You didn't think I would wear a dress to a dance?"



"No, I expected you to wear a tuxedo actually."



Tanya laughs, "Really?" Jack nods and Tanya punches him in the arm playfully, "So what are
you doing here?"



"You better not be trying to cut in on my girl, tramp." A deep voice growls behind Jack.



Jack turns to look up at the Machamp in all black cracking his bottom pair of knuckles
menacingly. Jack can feel his hackles rising and he fights to keep his voice level as he replies,
"No. Just talking to her. This really isn't my kind of music to dance to."



"Good." Walther says as he pushes Jack out of the way with one hand and grabs Tanya's
shoulder with another, dragging her away forcefully. "It's time we left for somewhere more
private."



An icy chill runs up Jack's spine when he hears Walther say that and he curses under his breath.
There was a very good chance that things were about to get messy. Jack stood by the table
quickly weighing his options. He could go to a faculty member and tell them that he thought
Walther was about to hurt someone, but if that wasn't the case when the faculty member arrived
then Walther would eventually find him and beat the stuffing out of him. That and he would
probably still have his way after the faculty member left. He had to be sure that Walther was
indeed doing something wrong, but by the time he could get a faculty member to the scene it
would be too late to prevent it. Jack slips his hand into his coat and fiddles with the bone dagger,
tracing the runes with his fingers. "Fuck it."



Jack hurries out of the auditorium, ditching his cup of punch as he goes. The ratticate at the door
waves, "Have a nice night!"



Jack is about to sprint off, but realizes very quickly that he doesn't know which way Walther
went, or if he even left the auditorium at all! He turns back to the ratticate. "Hey, did Walther
just come by here?"



"The Machamp? Yeah, he went that way." The ratticate says pointing out into the parking lot.



"Thanks." Jack says sprinting out into the parking lot, searching the dark lot for Walther's bright
yellow sports car. Fortunately it wasn't too hard to find, it was yellow after all, and it was also
shaking.

Jack hurries over to look inside, his fears being confirmed when he sees Tanya struggling with
Walther. She manages to rake his face with her claws and Walther snarls. "MY FACE! BITCH!"
Walther lifts one fist, using his other arms to pin her before hammering her face. Tanya
immediately goes limp. "Damn bitch." Walther mutters, rubbing at his face.


Jack doesn't wait to see what Walther is planning to do next. He tries to open the car door, but
without success. The door is locked. Walther hears the noise and twists around in surprise, a look
of fear on his face. The frightened expression is quickly replaced by a confident smirk when he
sees who is outside the car. He unlocks the door and throws it wide. He laughs as he steps out of
the car, "Well, well, someone looks like they wanna be a - FUCK!"



Jack quickly jumps back away from the Machamp, holding the bone dagger in front of him as a
red stain begins to spread over the big pokémorph's shirt. The Machamp fingers the hole before
looking back up at Jack, his face contorted in rage. "Do you have any fucking idea how
expensive this shirt is?! I had to have it custom tailored! AND YOU JUST FUCKING RUINED
IT!"



Jack shrugs as he slowly moves so that the tail of the sports car is between him and the
Machamp, "Tough shit. Guess you'll have to buy a new one."



The Machamp starts walking around to follow the Hitmonchan, "You'll be buying new limbs by
the time I'm through with you." Jack hurls the dagger away from himself and the Machamp stops
and stares at him. "What the fuck? You wanna fight me without a weapon?"



Jack grins as he continues to back away from Walther, holding up his fists defensively, "Better
than having it turned against me." His fists darken and become hard.



The Machamp laughs, "Bullet Punch? Really?" he lowers himself into a ready stance, "Bring it
on."



There is a crash of breaking glass and shriek of twisting metal. The Machamp's mouth hangs
open in shock as he looks at the way the windshield has been shattered and the front corner of
the car has been smashed inwards. Jack shakes one hand, the move itself protected it from most
damage but it still hurt to punch a car without gloves. He suddenly remember's Trace's threat,
"Fuck, Ali is gonna kill me."



"My car! You little shit! You punched my fucking CAR?!" the Machamp stares in a mixture of
confusion and rage.



"You hurt someone I care about, so I hurt someone you care about." Jack says with smirk. He
had been hoping the car alarm would begin screaming and draw attention, but unfortunately it
seemed there was no alarm.



"Fuck you!" Walther exclaims, charging Jack. Jack leaps backwards out of the way of his first
swing, and then leaps forward with a Hi Jump Kick that catches the enraged Machamp under his
lower left arm. Jack tries to jump back out of reach again but Walther manages to snag the
Hitmonchan's coat. Jack finds himself being swung up over Walther's head and then flung back
down again. Jack hits the ground hard, sending powerful tremors through the hardened asphalt.
A column of earth rises up sharply under the Machamp, striking him in the solar plexus. Walther
stumbles backwards away from the Hitmonchan for a moment, the wind driven from his chest.



Jack grins as he rises to his feet. His vision may be swimming from hitting his head on the
asphalt, but the car alarms going off all over the parking lot are music to his ears. His coat and
shirt are torn and he is bleeding from a gash on the side of his face, but he laughs. "You're done
Walther. Done."


Walther finally finds his breath again and roars as he throws himself at Jack glowing with a
charged Superpower attack. The Hitmonchan doesn't stand a chance of dodging the attack, and
only throws up his arms defensively. The blow sends Jack skidding across the asphalt and into
the grass. Before he can even try to get up, Walther is on top of him, pummeling him furiously.
Jack can actually hear his ribs snapping under the ruthless barrage. The pain is like nothing he
has ever experienced, but he mercifully is struck in the face and darkness envelopes his
consciousness.



~0~



Jack slowly opens his eyes, wincing at the bright light that greets him. If this was heaven, he was
going to have to ask God for a pair of sunglasses, damn. Slowly, his eyes begin to adjust and he
can actually make out his surroundings. He is not in heaven; he is in a hospital. With that
realization, comes another revelation: he hurts, a lot.



He groans, "Fuck you, Walther. Fuck you, and your pretty car too."



"You're unconscious for three days and those are your first words when you wake up?"


Jack turns his head to look at the speaker, "He didn't get you did he?"



"No, thanks to you he didn't do anything but ruin my dress and give me a black eye." Tanya
replies with a smile as she tenderly touches the bruised skin around her right eye.



"You did good, Jack."



Jack looks to the other side of his bed and smiles, "Hey Aunt Magnolia."



The elderly Marrowak smiles, "It's nice to hear you've found yourself a good girl." She laughs, "I
never doubted that you would find a girl to love you. Though I have to admit, a foreign
ambassador's daughter was not who I expected you to end up having fall for you."



Jack turns back to Tanya with an incredulous look on his face, who smiles as she says, "It seems
falling for a local of a foreign country is becoming something of a family tradition."



"You told her the secret?"



"What is the phrase you Kantonese have? 'The cat is out of the bag'?" Tanya chuckles, "The
school notified my parents of what happened and Dad made a huge fuss. It kinda made the
papers." Tanya holds up an amulet in the shape of three intertwining serpents, "My father sent
you this as his thanks. It's our family symbol."



"Well damn. I'm sorry it had to end up with everybody finding out who your father is. I know
how hard you were trying to be 'normal'."



"Don't apologize. I'm not the one with twelve broken ribs."



"That boy who beat you up is going to jail by the way. With charges of attempted murder,
unlawful use of Moves, battery, attempted rape, as well as a number of rape charges that are
coming to the surface now that he has been taken into custody, I do not believe you will have to
worry about him ever again." Aunt Magnolia says sternly. "Though with the way Mr. Tolstoy
has been reacting to this, I wouldn't be surprised if that boy is grateful to be locked up, safely
away from him."



"That's a relief." Jack chuckles, "Any estimates on when I'll be able to get back to battling
class?"



"Good grief Jack!" Aunt Magnolia exclaims, "If you rush back into battling you'll only get
yourself hurt again! This sort of injury will take at least till next semester to heal!"



"But if I have to drop out of my battling classes, I won't have the hours I need to remain even an
independent student. And, well, you know..."



"If you're not a student, you're worried you might not be able to see me." Tanya smiles, "Might I
recommend switching into Sinnoan I and Unovan I and maybe a culture class or two?"



Jack chuckles, in spite of the pain that causes, "Yeah, that's probably a good idea."



Tanya checks her watch, "I have to be going now, but I'll definitely be visiting."



Jack chuckles, "Thanks, I'm gonna need your help in Unovan and Sinnoan."



"You also owe me that date. I'll be holding you to it." Tanya says as she stands up to leave. She
leans down and kisses Jack on the cheek and then walks around the bed to stand next to Mrs.
Kennedy.



Mrs. Kennedy give's her son's shoulder a squeeze, "Get better soon. You have a lot of good
things ahead of you, and you should be able to enjoy it."



Jack smiles as the two most important women in his life walk out of the room. He sighs and
closes his eyes, he needed the rest. After all, he had just entered a whole new league.