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Right, chapter two...I have honestly, nothing to say right now.

Anyhow...ADALANTE!

---

I sat at the table in an interrogation room of the Violet City Police Department, tapping my fingers impatiently.

Two hours...they kept me here for two hours without so much as asking me a question. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if no one was on the other side of that one way mirror.

Why were they keeping me here, anyways? I know I was interfering and everything, but if I hadn't, they would have gotten the wrong guy...er...dog. If anything, I should be getting commended, not arrested.

Finally, the door opened and a familiar overweight jackass stepped inside. I was tempted to start calling him out, but figured that would only hinder me, so I bit down a long list of weight related insults, and leaned back in my chair.

He sat down across from me and tried to give me an intimidating glare which, in all honesty, was amateurish and didn't do anything but make me want to laugh.

"Do you know why you're here?" he asked in his best tough guy voice.

I blinked. "Before I answer that, I have to ask, are you trying to be intimidating?"

He cocked an eyebrow, but didn't say anything, so I took his silence as a yes.

"I won a staring match with a lucario once, so glaring isn't going to do you much good...and no, I have no fucking clue why I'm here."

His eyes narrowed, "Number one, you're an obnoxious asshole, number two, you're the lead suspect."

That got my attention. "Lead suspect...for the case that I helped you solve?" I asked, trying to show him just how ridiculous he was sounding. However, it seems that he completely ignored my question.

"How'd you know it was a houndoom?"

"Excuse me?"

"Don't play dumb with me. There was no way you could have known the species of the pokémon that killed that kid unless you were there when it happened."

I blinked in disbelief yet again at his stupidity. "You _saw _me look at the body."

"I saw you glance at it for less than two seconds, not enough time to make that kind of assessment."

"Yeah, maybe for you." I said with an eye roll. "Have you done any research on this theory of yours? Because I'm pretty sure I've indirectly helped solve cases for this department in the past."

He nodded. "Yeah, I've done my research. For instance, I know that you, as well as a close family member, have a criminal record."

My eye twitched a bit. "My mother has nothing to do with this, and...so I trenched someone's yard when I was a teenager, I hardly think that contributes to a murder case."

"You'd be surprised." fat cop said with a grin. "Now, can you give me a plausible explanation of how you knew that the houndoom was the killer?"

"Well...there is that little fact that...I SAW THE DAMN BODY!"

"Please, forensics examined that body for an hour and could barely tell the difference between those two canines, how could you tell that by looking at it for half a second?"

I figured it was pointless to argue with him, so instead I took a deep breath and scanned him over for a second; making a quick analysis of him the same way I had done on Allan earlier. "You just recently got divorced from your wife, most likely because she caught you cheating on her with a much younger woman. Dating said woman has sent you into midlife crisis so you've been trying to lose weight lately as well as trying to learn to play guitar as way to impress her. You broke you're nose when you were three, give or take a year, and you're currently having construction done on you're house which caused the power to go out this morning...any more questions?"

I noticed that his jaw had dropped right around the time I mentioned him playing guitar, so I think that I had proved my point.

He closed his mouth and crossed his arms as he leaned back in his seat. "Ok...I'll bite...how the hell did you know that?"

"You have a white circle on you're ring finger that's starting to fade so you must have stopped wearing your wedding ring about a month ago. You also have a hot pink lipstick smear on your collar, and no girl your age ever wears that color. I'm also fairly certain this was the cause of you're divorce because I don't think anyone would be able to bounce back that quickly unless the affair was what caused it in the first place. The watch you're wearing is brand new and it doubles as a pedometer, so you've obviously been trying to work out lately...emphasis on trying." I said, desperate to slip at least one fat joke in there, but continued before he had a chance to comment on it.

"You have calluses and blisters on the tips of your fingers which suggests that you've just started playing a string instrument and the only instrument anyone would be trying to learn at you're age in life is a guitar because it makes them feel younger and cooler than they really are. You're plastic surgeon gave you a terminus paralateral scar after breaking you're nose, which is only given to children under the age of six. You have white dust on your shirt, which seems to be from some kind of dry wall, and the stubble on your face is only half gone which means you're electric razor suddenly stopped working this morning."

We stared at each other in silence for a bit longer before I chose to add one more thing. "If you need any more evidence that I was not involved, you can check with my manager at the gas and gulp, which you really should have done in the first place before coming in here and having me humiliate you in front of your colleagues who are no doubt trying not to laugh their asses off behind that mirror over there."

He furrowed his eyebrows, obviously pissed at me, but I couldn't care less. Why should I when he nearly had me arrested? After his face turned a very bright shade of red (Whether from anger or embarrassment, I'm not really sure), I felt it was the right time to ask. "Am I free to go now, officer?"

---

I walked out the door to the police station with a smug grin on my face. Not only had I beaten a cop at his own game, but I completely humiliated him. That two hour wait was definitely worth it.

I was just about to step into the parking lot when I heard someone calling after me. "Hey, Jace!"

I turned to see a familiar green haired girl rushing out of the station. Why her family kept dying their hair that color, I'll never know, but she was friendly face, so I lightened up a bit. "Evening, Officer Jenny."

She frowned a bit as she caught up. "Would you drop the officer thing, we've known each other since preschool and when you call me Officer Jenny, you make me feel like my mother."

I chuckled a bit. "Sorry Jen. Just a reflex."

I may not like cops, but Jen and her family were exceptions. Like she said, we've been friends since we were kids. Also, they actually cared about helping people, a factor which most officers seemed to lack these days. Hell, her mother even helped me out that one time I trenched my neighbor's yard.

And by 'helped out' I mean she somehow found a way to keep my parents out of the loop. Don't ask me how, but she found a way.

"Need something, Jen?" I asked.

She shifted uncomfortably for a second, but whatever was bothering her was soon shrugged off. "I want to say thanks. Jenkins needed to be put in his place for once."

I chuckled a bit, assuming she was talking about fat cop. "No problem, he was pissing me off anyways." I turned to leave, assuming that was it, but she grabbed my arm to hold me in place.

"I'm sorry, there's on more thing...about that arcanine..." She trailed off assuming I would know what she meant, however, I didn't.

"What about Rori?" I asked, raising my eyebrow in curiosity.

"Well, she's gone into depression."

"Her partner just got flayed alive. I'd be surprised if she didn't. Don't worry about her, she just needs some time, maybe some comfort. Leave her with one of Allan's friends, she'll come around eventually." I tried to leave again, but her hand tightened into a death grip.

"There in lies the problem, Jace. He just moved here, the only relationship he established was with his uncle, who is the REAL lead suspect in this murder. We can't leave her with the people from the daycare until we have them all checked out, and you seem to be the only other person who was friends with him."

I groaned, knowing very well where this was going. "I met him this morning, we weren't exactly that close."

"Even so, that doesn't change the fact that you're the best person to take her in."

"I don't have any place to put her."

"Bullshit," She said, finally releasing me and crossing her arms, "I've been in your house before, you have a perfectly good guest room and it's just for a few days. Hell, I'll even pay for expenses if that's what you're worried about."

I shook my head. "Not what I'm worried about. I just don't want her becoming attached. I can't keep her."

She raised an eyebrow. "...And why not?"

"Because I don't want to." I stated bluntly.

She rolled her eyes. "Look, I know you're not huge on the whole pokémon thing. I'm not sure why, but I accept it. You may not see it, but you're her only friend in this, especially after you saved her life."

I sighed, knowing she was right, but not wanting to admit it. Anyone who knows me will tell you I have no problem with pokémon...and I don't.

Quite the contrary, I was raised to believe that humans and pokémon are equals. But there in lies the problem. If I start housing a pokémon, I don't feel like I have a pet, I feel like I have a slave. The whole thing just makes me extremely uncomfortable.

Not to mention that pokémon are a tad...affectionate. They like close contact, hugging, cuddling, all that jazz, and I have HUGE personal space issues. You may think I'm crazy, but look at it from my perspective. If a human came up to you, wrapped their arms around you, and started rubbing his or her cheek against yours, you would feel pretty damn awkward right?...unless you're a perv like that.

Regardless of that, I agreed and followed my childhood friend back into a place I had fully intended to never set foot in again, earning me an annoyed glare from fat cop...er...Jenkins.

I brushed it off as she led me into a room in the back where I found Rori curled up in a corner. She perked up a bit when I came in the room, but I could see that her eyes were bloodshot from crying. She sat up as I approached her and wasted no time in burying her muzzle into the crook of my neck.

I tensed up a bit, feeling extremely uncomfortable, but she didn't seem to notice. I awkwardly brought a hand up to her mane in an act to comfort her further, but she pulled away as I was raising my hand, making me feel even more awkward than I already was.

"Er...right...how you feeling?" I asked, really not knowing how to start this kind of conversation.

She furrowed her eyebrows and I'm not exactly sure what she meant, but I think the loose translation was "...really?"

"Right, stupid question. Sorry. Listen...um...under the...circumstances...I think you need a place to stay, right?"

She dropped her gaze to the floor and gave a slight nod, making me feel a little bad. Why is it whenever I try to do something nice, I make things worse? So far my attempt to be a comforting friend wasn't going so well. So, instead, I just decided to go with being my blunt and honest self.

"Look, I'm sorry, I'm not good with words, so I'm just going to jump straight to the point. Would you feel comfortable staying at my house until everything gets figured out?"

He ears pricked up as she lifted her head and looked into my eyes, like she was trying to figure out if I was lying or not. Then, without warning, I was tackled to the ground in a canine version of an attack hug.

Before I had any chance to throw up a defense, my face was being covered in slobber as she licked my face repeatedly.

"GAH, OK, OK, I GET IT! YOU CAN GET OFF NOW!"

She let up a bit, but instead nuzzled her face against my cheek as her next way of saying thank you, which helped dry off my face a bit, but still made me feel oh so uncomfortable.

I let it continue, thinking it wouldn't be polite to shove her away, but I did have to pat her head a few times to get her to stop, as it was going on much too long. I stood up to see Jen doing her best to hold back a giggle, but failing completely.

I said nothing, but rolled my eyes as I gestured for the oversized canine to follow me.

She smiled at me as if nothing had happened. "See ya, Jace."

"See ya, Jen." I said, not even looking at her, which may seem a bit asshole-ish, but I really couldn't care less after she kind of screwed me over.

...well...ok...she didn't really screw me over...more like...I minor inconvenience. I give it about three days, a week at the most before this case is closed and she'll be out of my hair. If not, I'll just come back here, talk to Jen, and get her to put Rori up for adoption or something.

The walk home was somewhat awkward. Rori was slowly slipping back into that depressed demeanor that she was in back at the police station and I felt way to uncomfortable to do anything more than put a hand on her back and run my fingers through her fur.

Maybe that was for the best though, as it did seem to brighten her up a bit and I figured trying to comfort her in any other way would just end as bad as it did back at the station.

So I continued to do so until we reached home, at which point, I had realized that I still haven't eaten anything. Rori must have been hungry too, because the moment I had thought about food, I heard her stomach growl.

I glanced in her direction. "You hungry too?"

She shook her head no, but her stomach growled again, telling me otherwise.

I smirked. "Oh really? I highly doubt that. Listen, it's no trouble at all, I've got some burgers in the fridge and they don't take that long to cook."

I know burgers aren't what you would normally feed a pokémon, but I didn't exactly have any berries or poke chow and I figured they hunt for meat in the wild anyways, so, why not?

She hesitated for a second but agreed in the end.

Honestly, it felt a little weird grilling burgers at ten O'clock at night, and I definitely got some odd glances from the neighbors when they saw me standing outside cooking while an arcanine they'd never seen before sat sobbing on the edge of the porch.

However, I was used to awkward glances. It's the curse that comes with my 'sparkling personality'. So I was easily able to shrug them off.

I like my burgers pretty raw, so it wasn't long before it was time to eat. I didn't even bother with buns because...well...I didn't really have any. Besides, at this late at night, I was really more concerned about getting some food in my body then adding any toppings.

As I figured, Rori ate most of them. She ate three by the time I had finished my one. I'm just lucky she was minuscule compared to a fully grown arcanine, otherwise that never would have been enough.

I finished off my meat patty with a belch, which incidentally got an amused snort out of Rori. "What, I'm not allowed to burp in the privacy of my own home."

She rolled her eyes with an added smirk and head shake. I recognized that look anywhere. It was the look Jen gave me almost every time we meet up. I wasn't sure of the exact translation, but in past experience it meant something like 'you're an idiot'.

Whatever the comment was, I ignored it as a huge yawn snuck up on me. "Alright...I think it's more or less time for bed, how about you?"

She gave a short nod as I stood up and I gestured for her to follow me. Leading her upstairs, I showed her to the guest bedroom. "Ok, As long as you're staying here, you can sleep here. It's queen-sized so I'm sure it's big enough. If you need anything I'll be right down the hall, ok?"

She seemed to be a bit worried about something, but nodded anyways. Normally I would press on this type of subject, but I was too tired to care at the moment. If it was really all that important, she would tell me.

I left the door to her room open due to the fact that she didn't have thumbs, or even hand for that matter, to open the knob. I closed my door, leaving a crack open in case she needed something and changed into a pair of sweat pants and a loose t-shirt.

I shut the lights off and sprawled out over my bed, not even bothering with the covers. I began to thinking over the day's events as I slowly drifted off into a peaceful sleep, but just as I was about to fall asleep, I heard a whimper.

Not one coming from Rori's room, one coming right next to me. I half opened an eyelid to see the canine looming over my bed with a nervous look in her eyes.

I propped myself up on my elbow. "Hey, need something?"

She looked at me for a few seconds but then averted her gaze.

"Well, you didn't come in here for nothing." I pressed further

She glanced at me for a split second, but then resumed her staring match with the floor.

Giving a deep sigh, I sat up and combed my fingers through her mane. "Listen, you don't have to be nervous or scared about anything. Just tell me what you need."

She looked me in the eyes, giving me another whimper and then pawed at the side of the bed.

I thought for a few seconds and then it clicked. I really hoped she was going to say no to this, but... "Do you...want to sleep here?"

She didn't answer, but instead hopped up onto the bed and curled up beside me.

...damn...I ain't sleeping at all tonight.

I laid my head back onto my pillow and she proceeded to snuggle up next to me making me feel, possibly, the most awkward I've ever felt in my life. I knew she was probably waiting for me to reciprocate and cuddle her back, but my body just went completely tense and I couldn't move.

Screw what I said earlier about close contact feeling awkward, I completely and utterly hated it. Especially with people like Rori whom I hardly even know. Call me insane, I just like my space. Still, the guilt I felt when I heard her start to cry again snapped me out of my selfish space issues.

I closed my eyes, convinced myself that she was a gigantic fluffy pillow and wrapped an arm around her. Almost immediately, the sobs stopped and a few moments later, I heard a content sigh, causing me to relax a bit.

...actually...it wasn't that bad if I didn't think about it, which normally, for me, is impossible, but as tired as I was, I assumed my brain was finding any excuse at all to try and put my body to rest.

So, with my brain in a comatose like state, I pulled her even closer as she curled up into my chest as best she could, and soon after, I was asleep.

---

Ok, so, questions, suggestions, problems, solutions...anything at all for the good of the cause? Seriously anything I need to know, whether it be trivial or humungous in proportion, I want to hear about it.

Anyways, until next time, see you later

-Morris