FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

It wasn't just art. It was tradition. It wasn't about expressing. It was about acknowledging. Acknowledging that he is part of the family. That one was of worth carrying the Safleur name. The family in which dancing was a must, and those who cannot shall leave in shame. Grace and poise was all that matters. Emotions were set aside. These were the dances of the Safleur family. Precise, graceful, elegant, but with no emotions. The son of the Safleur family, Lou Safleur, sadly did not meet the Safleur expectations. Why? He lacked grace. He lacked poise. His emotions overpowered him. The family was ashamed. Ashamed that they had such a horrible son, they would say. They were forced to keep a son that would ruin their reputation, they would say. He isn't someone to give time to, they would say. He was nothing, they would say. He hated his life, he would say.

On the bustling street of Kroywen City, everyone was rushing to go to work. The honking of horns was an obvious sign that there was traffic in every corner. Everyone was busy, going to their destination in such a rush, that they'd sometimes forget there's traffic. Luckily, the city was filled with kind Pokemon that any unfortunate events are avoided. Well, mostly avoided, but it wasn't actually the traffic's fault. A Rhydon was dashing through the streets in a hurry that he collided with a car. The Rhydon even complained on why there's even traffic and how cars were even possible in this world. Who knew what he meant and why he suddenly said that, but in the end the Rhydon just shrugged and apologized for his mistake.

Meanwhile, amongst the busy sidewalks of life, a Gallade with a backpack was rushing through the thick crowd, gasping and panting as he pushed through the crowd to speed up his pace. With precise movements and grace, he was able to move faster than those who just walked like machines, squeezing himself through the spaces he's able to squeeze into, sliding under larger Pokemon, and spinning around if needed.

"Gah! I'm late! I can't believe I overslept!" he said as he somersaulted over a Buizel, surprising him before he continued to walk among the crowd again. "Seriously, I can't believe i--aht!" he accidentally tripped on something, or someone in that matter. He closed his eyes and braced for the impact, but he didn't feel the hard floor to his face.

"Sorry Lou," the young Roselia was able to use her flowers and stopped the Gallade before he fell. "What's the rush?" she asked as she pushed the Gallade on his feet. Either the Roselia was very strong or the Gallade was just very light.

"I'm kinda in a hurry, sorry. I'll see ya around! And thanks, Lea!" the Gallade said, waving his hand at the Roselia as he continued to dash through where he's heading.

"Where is he going in the middle of the day?" the Roselia muttered.

He continued to dash through the crowds until he finally reached his destination. Panting and gasping, he slowly leaned on the automatic sliding door of the Eleven-Seven convenience store before he realized that it opens automatically and fell on the ground. He entered the department store crawling like in those horror movies you see on TV. He even greeted the cashier on the smaller counter with a failed grotesque-ish voice.

"Good morning, Roy," the failed attempt made the unamused Meowstic raise an eyebrow as silence dominated the store for a mere five seconds.

"So, was that supposed to scare me or something?" Roy, the Meowstic, asked sarcastically.

"Maybe," Lou said with a straight face as he pushed himself up. "I mean, I was doing that effect since--"

"You didn't want to be embarrassed since you fell to the ground, so you acted like you did that on purpose so that you wouldn't look like a fool. Well, either way, you'll still end up looking like one," Roy bluntly told Lou.

"Hey, it was a rough start." Lou let out a nervous smile, and the Meowstic just sighed.

"I knew you'd be late on the first day of your morning shift, but I never thought you to be this late," he looked at the wall clock nearby and pointed at it. "It's 10:30, man. I mean, 2 hours and 30 minutes late."

"I know, I know. I just overslept, no biggie, right?" Lou replied as he stood up and dusted himself. He produced an apron from his bag and put it on. Lou used to work on the afternoon and night shift where there are lesser customers. "It's my fault for oversleeping, so don't be so harsh on me today. After all, it's my first day." he rubbed the back of his neck, slightly embarrassed.

"But you don't have to do this, you know. The morning shift, I mean," the Meowstic said as he looks outside the store window, looking at other Pokemon passing by before turning back his attention to Lou.

"Well, I need the money. The morning and afternoon shift gives more than afternoon and night," he replied as he went to the empty counter. The second counter was implemented because of that one Christmas incident. The counter Rou was assigned to was for the smaller Pokemon while the counter Lou was on was for the medium to large Pokemon. The incident happened like this, an Eevee's tail was accidentally stomped by an Aggron, making the Eevee use Roar on the Pokemon in front of him. That Pokemon then Tackled the Pokemon in front of him, and later on everyone started to fall like dominoes. It was caught on camera and even showed to the media. Even to this day Lou still cracks up when he sees it. It was more like seeing the faces of the falling Pokemon that made him laugh. But to decrease any further injury, another counter was made a few weeks after. It seemed redundant at first but was actually a great help on busy days. The chances of that happening will be slim now.

"Do you? I mean, you haven't even checked in."

"Oh, shoot!" Lou said as he immediately shuffled the inside of his bag. "Dammit, where is-- aha!" he raised the card triumphantly in the air, dashed towards the card machine in the employee's room, and punched it in. He later comes back, and gives out a sigh of relief. "Thanks. I wouldn't want to waste the day working here without getting paid."

"No thanks necessary. I'd be sorry if you've been working all this time and you weren't even checked in," he said with a smirk. Roy was a calm and collected, yet sarcastic type of Pokemon. He'd always tease Roy whenever he did something wrong, but he never went too far as to annoy him. He is actually very kind and thoughtful to others, sometimes giving them advice on what they should do. "But, being two hours late will hurt your paycheck."

"Ugh... you don't have to remind me," Roy mumbled. Those words were like stones being dropped on him, very heavy and very hurtful.

The time passed by and Lou did his work fine. The department store was surprisingly not that busy. It was one of those day when there were only five to ten customers coming in, looking for stuff and only end up buying a few items. Well, that's always been in most convenience store, but there are times when the store is flooded. Usually when there's an event or stuff. It was finally 12PM after what seemed like more than six hours of boredom. It's the end of the morning shift and the start of the noon shift when they change shifts with other Pokemon. Their next shift, the afternoon shift, would be at 2PM

Lou and Roy went to the employee's lounge to eat their lunch. They were the only employees inside, mainly because there aren't many working here. It's not like the convenience store has many people working in it.

"So, what do you need the extra money for?" Roy asked as he opened his lunch box containing an apple and a ham and cheese sandwich. This was his usual lunch from day to day, everyday. At least, when Lou and Roy ate together, that's what Lou would always see.

"Extra? You know I'm barely living in an apartment with mostly these food to satisfy my stomach," Lou replied as he opened his cup noodles and poured hot water on it.

"Yeah, now I think you do need the money," he said as he watched Lou continue to fill his cup noodles with hot water. Lou then placed the cup on an empty table.

"I mean, I'm okay with this but... I'm... saving money for something," the Gallade said, looking at the the cup with a downcast face. He seemed to be thinking about something

"None of my business to ask?"

"None," the Gallade said nonchalantly.

"Okay," he said as he took a bite of his sandwich.

"Hey," the Meowstic looked at Lou, "can I have some?" Lou pointed at the sandwich.

Roy looked at his sandwich and raised it with his one hand, showing it to Lou. The sandwich looks so delicious that Lou was drooling. He doesn't get to eat something as delicious as that everyday. Roy continued showing off before took a large bite off it and continued on until it's all gone. Lou watched the horrific scene of not savoring such delicious food and it broke his heart.

"Sorry, all out," Roy shrugged before he closed his lunchbox. Lou kept his stern gaze at the lunchbox.

"Can I... atleast have the apple?" Lou's eyes were determined on having it. Roy raised an eyebrow and just shrugged. He opened the lunch box, picked up the apple, and threw it at Lou. "Thanks," he said as he took a bite off it and sat beside Roy.

"It's just an apple."

"Hey, as long as it's food, I'm not complaining."

"Well, whatever. Your cup noodle is probably done by now, so get ready."

"Get ready for what? Our shift won't end until 2PM, right? What's the hurry?"

"I gotta go somewhere and I need someone to accompany me," he said, a bit uncertain of his words. This surprised Lou a bit since Roy would usually just do things on his own. Though Roy did ask Lou some favor back then, it's still rare for him to do so.

"Yeah, sure. But where do you wanna go?" Lou said as he slurped the noodles and took another bite off the apple.

"The bookstore. I wanna buy something," he sounded different. It was like he was indecisive of something. "And seriously, why are you eating like that?"

"As long as it fills my stomach, there's nothing wrong with it."

"Yeah, but it's just gross." Lou remembered that Roy was a bit of a clean freak. He decided to eat the apple first before the noodles.

"Well, sorry if I grossed you out. Well, I'm almost done here," he said as he flinged the apple core to the air, kicked it upwards and making it land inside the empty noodle cup.

"Show off," Roy said. Lou lets out a bragging laugh.

They arrived at the bookstore at 1PM. Roy loved reading books so it's no wonder that the cashier knows him. Roy and the cashier talked a bit before Roy started to lead the way. There were only seven customers in the bookstore including the two. The other five were all at the Otaku section so they were probably just a band of friends, or Otakus, hanging out. Lou never understood what was so great about these things called "anime". Nevertheless, he just shrugged and continued to follow Roy. They then reach the section where the rack is filled with "How to love a girl right" titles that made Lou's eye twitch in disgust.

"What is this?" Lou asked. Roy went silent before he let out a sigh and talked.

"I got a new neighbor at my apartment. She just lives next door. She's a... very beautiful Meowstic, but... I don't know what to do in front of her," he said as he picked up a magazine. His voice was cool, composed, but his blush says that he's very embarrassed in talking about it. "Anyways, I'm trying to find tips on asking her out. Maybe I can find some here."

"That's unusual of you," Lou said, crossing his arms, "I mean, you don't share these types of things unless you're really serious. But seriously, resorting to these things?" he picked up a magazine labeled 'Love Her Right' with a cover of a Roserade touching the chin of another Roserade, who was blushing. This disgusted Lou a bit as he put the magazine back in the rack. "I mean, you could just talk to her, y'know?"

"Are you kidding me?!" he shouted. He realized that the other five customers were staring at him and he lowered his voice, "I work in a department store, living in an apartment, and my father sends me money from time to time for my needs and my night school tuition. I'm just a commoner in this society! But her... I dunno where she works, I don't know anything about her but... she's beautiful, and also very kind. I mean, gosh, who would even date someone like me, huh? And what more if asking her?" he leaned on the side of a bookshelf, covering his face as he let out a deep sigh, "I'd just look like a fool won't I? And I thought that, maybe if I could change, get some tips, I thought that..." Lou looked at him with furrowed brows and pat his shoulder to comfort him.

"That's why you just talk to her. I never told you to date her immediately. Things start with a casual relationship, you know?" Lou said. Roy looked at the floor, his eyes were a bit teary, but his voice was composed.

"Yeah... Yeah, I guess... you're right for once," his voice sounded irritated that Lou was right. "I shouldn't rush thing, and I should wait for the right opportunity to ask her out. But I think I'm just gonna buy one just in case--," he extended his paw in attempt to get the magazine, but Lou blocked it with his arm.

"Rather than that, maybe you could give your money to charity. I know of this Gallade who's having a financial crisis." The Meowstic's brows furrowed.

"Or, I could just not buy this, so that I won't give you any money," he said sarcastically, retracting his paw before crossing his arms.

"Fine, be that way, you scaredy-cat. Good luck on trying to get the girl." Lou stuck out his tongue childishly.

"Shut up," Roy used Psychic and did a friendly punch at the Gallade's arm, "Anyways, thanks for spending time with me. I really appreciate it." the Meowstic smiled. Another rare occurrence that could happen!

"Well, any tip from my love tips? I mean, I did stop you from spending a few bucks, eh?" Lou asked.

"Don't push it, money-face," Roy jokingly pushed him aside.

"Hey, I'm saving money, not spending them," Lou replied. The two laughed together. The other five customers stared at them, but the two didn't mind. Lou just wanted to cheer Roy up, and he was glad it worked. They left the bookstore with a smile on their face as they walk back to the Eleven-Seven store. They arrived just before their shift started and then their work continued.

Meanwhile, at the train station, a train just pulled up. Among the crowd, a Gardevoir emerged from it along with a Bellossom. The Gardevoir was carrying a large backpack filled with stuff, stuff, and more stuff. What's amazing is her strength to be able to carry something so large. The Bellossom, on the other hand, was just carrying a humble handbag. The two just came back from a tour and were very happy to have arrived.

"Aah! The scenes were so wonderful. I've never danced in such a wonderful stage before! It was amazingly awesome," the Gardevoir said gleefully as she danced around and her gown flutters, causing some Pokemon to distance themselves from her.

"Well, I'm glad that we had a chance to dance together, again. It was rather fun, but I have to go now," the Bellossom said in a calm yet charming voice.

"Aw, leaving already, c'mon! We still have lots to explore here!" she said as jogs in place.

"I'm sorry, but I'm going to my mother's house. I'll be staying there for now on, so I'm stopping on becoming a dancer," the Bellossom closed her eyes as she put her hands to her chest. "She was the reason I aimed for this. But I won't forget that she was the one who tended me back when I was still an Oddish," she turned towards the Gardevoir, "That's why I have to repay her kindness."

"Wow, that's so nice," the Gardevoir's voice was shaky, like she was about to cry. "I wish... I could have a mom... or a dad," a deep silence between the two.

"I'm sorry, Mel," the Bellossom used Vine Whip to lift herself up and hug the Gardevoir.

"It's okay. I did got you, even though you're leaving right now. I also did other collaborations, so I wasn't that lonely. And I still do have my fans, even if I do have to hide my identity, and y'know," she said, winking and giggling, but underneath she felt very lonely and did her best to look happy.

"Hmhm, you're so fun, Mel. I do hope we'll have another chance to dance again," the Bellossom said as she let go of the hug.

"True. Well, you're going to your mother's, right? You shouldn't keep her waiting. Shoo, shoo," the Gardevoir said as she flailed her hand, ushering her to leave. The Bellossom gave her a giggle and a smile.

"You truly are one of a kind. Very well then, I bid you farewell, Mel," the Bellossom said as she bowed and afterwards, took her leave.

"Goodbye, Belle! And tell your mom I said hi!" the Gardevoir said as she waved goodbye to the Bellossom until she disappeared in the crowd of Pokemon. She felt a pang of loneliness, but it didn't make smile disappear from her face. With a straightforward mind, she pumped herself up. "Alright, time to get some snacks. If I remember correctly, an Eleven-Seven is nearby. So, time to... transform!"

The Gardevoir start to twirl around like a ballerina as she produced a pair of sunglasses from the inside of her bag, using Psychic to get it for her. With the sunglasses at hand, she equipped it and thus, finishing her, what she deemed an awesome transformation. With that done, she crossed her arms and spread her legs, smirking as she had this "like a boss" thing going in her heaf.

"Transformation, complete!" she said with a deep, cool sounding tone (in her opinion), clicking the middle of the sunglasses as an added effect. She lets out a deep laugh, giving her some glances of worry from passing Pokemon, but she didn't care. A female Meowstic then goes near her. She was a beautiful Meowstic, and her aura really gives off an aura of kindness that the Gardevoir can actually sense it.

"I feel like I have seen you before, miss. May I ask of your name?" she was formal in asking.

"Haha, you must be mistaken," she said with a fake, deep voice, "I am a stranger and thus, I am not known by anyone. And a stranger does not just tell her name!" the Gardevoir said as she points at the surprised Meowstic. "Now, it is time for me to take my leave. I shall bid you adieu," she said with a salute before walking away like a robot. She could hear the Meowstic giggle, which made the Gardevoir smile. At least she made someone else laugh. "Ahahahahahaha!" she bursted out a fake, annoying laugh as she continued.

"She's like the pearl of the sea, so majestic, so wonderful, yet so rare. You won't be seeing anyone like her for a long time to come," the Meowstic swooned as he punched in his card.

"You're disgusting me with those corny lines." Lou shuddered as he punched in his card.

"I just can't help talking about her. Like, there was this one day when I saw her in the children's playground playing with the little Pokemon with a smile on her face. She even read a book to them and told them some of her stories." Roy said as he put on his little apron that was fitting for him

"Wait, so you've been stalking her? Man, I didn't know you were such a creep!" Lou said as he also put on his slightly larger apron that was fitting for him.

"Shut up! I just happen to be passing by the playground that day!" he stammered. It was obvious for the Gallade to know that he was just trying to reason it out.

"Yeah, sure you were. The next time you see her, you'll probably not be peeking by the bushes and not listening to her stories." Roy flinched at Lou's response. "Did I hit the head on the nail?"

"Sh-Shut up! And you said it wrong!" the Meowstic stammered before he marched to his counter without saying a word. The Gallade smirked and followed him afterwards. They both went to their respective counters as the amused Lou looked at the angered Meowstic.

"You look funny when you're angry." Lou snickered. A vein popped on the Meowstic's forehead before he used Psychic to punch the Gardevoir's cheek. "Hey, what was that all about?!" Lou yelled before as he rubbed his now swollen cheek.

"You better just shut up and don't say another word. And it's 'hit the nail on the head!'" Roy emphasized his last sentence, like it was a big deal.

"Damn, just because I accurately said what you did, you're losing your cool. That's unlike you." Lou said. Roy glared at him before letting out a deep sigh.

"Dammit, I am losing my cool, huh?" Roy let out another deep sigh. "I can usually keep my temper, but... dammit, you're just so annoying." Roy put the blame Lou, making him have a vein pop.

"Hey, I'm not the one who's going on and on about a girl like a creep!" Lou retorted.

"Tch... you're right..." Lou was shocked at Roy's sudden admittance of defeat. "I have been talking like a creep. After listening to myself, I realize that," Roy let out another deep sigh. "Yep, I'm planning on changing for the better."

"Uh... that's good... but you better change your split personality first," Lou said with a mix of worry and mockery. It was the first time for Lou to see Roy act like that, that he is opening himself up. The Roy he knew acted perfect, calm, collected, someone who's not angered easily. I guess Lou could say that Roy's starting to change himself by being more expressive. That's the only scenario Lou could think of, or maybe Roy really does have split personalities.

"I don't have split personalities. I'm just trying to correct my flaws," his tone was back to his calm self. Lou couldn't help but chuckle. It really felt like Roy really had split personality.

After a few minutes of having no customer, they see a silhouette of a small Pokemon on the door. The door slid open and a familiar Roselia went inside the store and greeted Lou and Roy.

"Good afternoon, you two."

"Oh, hey Lea. How's it hanging? Oh, and sorry for what happened earlier this morning," Lou apologized to the Roselia.

"There's really no need to apologize. I was spacing out, myself. Besides, I'm just here to get some Colas for my brother." Lea replied.

"What're the Colas for?" Roy asked.

"Oh, my older brother drank two whole bottles last night without me nor our parents knowing. It's to keep it a secret since they don't allow us drinking more than one glass a day. Our parents are on a trip for two days since yesterday, so my stupid brother decided to drink the two whole bottles. I'm here to cover it up," the Roselia said.

"Wow, such a great sister," Roy said with a bit of envy.

"Hehe, I just can't bring myself to hate my older brother. He may be a pain sometimes, especially when he gets us in trouble, but it's because of him that things are a bit more... fun," the Roselia said with a smile before leaving to get the two bottles of Cola she needed. She then came back with the two 500 mL bottles.

"Why didn't you just buy it this morning? Busy schedule?" Roy asked, and Lea nodded back.

"Mhm. Today's schedule was quite hectic without our parents. I still have lots to do, and my brother's still drunk from the Cola." Lea said. The other didn't have any objection, they knew how lazy Lea's older brother was. After Lea bought the two bottles, she said goodbye to Lou and Roy and left.

"She's a great little sister. I'm amazed there are still some of her kind left," Lou said bluntly.

"Gotta agree to that. It's rare to see someone like her," Roy replied.

Time passed by as Lou looked at the clock. Looking at the clock would always feel like things go slower, but he just couldn't help watching the hand of the clock turn because of boredom. It was no different during his night shift. In fact, the night shift was more boring because Roy doesn't work at night. Roy has night school, so he'd just be alone for the night shift since there aren't many Pokemon buying during the night. Though, it did made him wonder who was replacing him during the night... Well, it didn't really matter to him. What mattered more was money.

While Lou was busy staring at the clock, a Gardevoir with sunglasses entered the store with a comedic sassy look. Lou took a good look at her and, yep, she was a weirdo. The Gardevoir searched around, mumbling some stuff that Lou didn't care. She went from lane to lane, picking something up and mumbling something before putting it back down. After a while, the Gardevoir went to the Gallade's counter along with two large bags of potato chips and a 250mL bottle of Cola.

"I'd like to buy these, please. Um... Mr... Safleur?" the Gardevoir went silent as she continued to stare at the nametag on the Gallade's apron. Lou felt uncomfortable being with, what he thought was, a weirdo. She then started to jog in place while childishly squealing. It left Lou feeling really uncomfortable that that weirdo was in front of him with an ear piercing squeal. "A real Safleur?" she asked, leaning closer to the Gallade's face with sparkling eyes.

"Uh... sure...?" Lou's reply was hesitant, but he was sure he was a Safleur. The Gardevoir then start to jump up and down energetically like a little kid having a sugar rush, still squealing. Her squealing is starting to hurt Lou and Roy's ears. "So, is this all?" Lou asked hesitantly, looking at the two bags of chips and bottle of Cola. It was uncomfortable with this Gardevoir in front of him, but he's got a job to do.

The Gardevoir stopped her jumping and squealing and leaned near Lou's face again, making Lou distance himself from her. "You..." her voice was serious, deadly serious, as she removes her sunglasses and gives the Gallade a death stare. "You... gotta show me your dance!" she yelled, her voice became very light and excited. She then grabbed Lou's hand with hers. "I really loved the Safleur's style of dance! So elegant, so wonderful, so amazing!" With every description, the Gardevoir leaned closer and closer as the Gallade distanced himself farther and farther.

"Uh, how about no? I already left dancing behind me." Lou said with a straight face as he slid what the Gardevoir bought through the scanner.

"Aw, what? But even so, you should know how to dance, right? Can't you exhibit it, even by just a little bit? I just really want to see a Safleur dance in real life," her persistence was amazing, but Lou just ignored him. "Come on, the floor is big enough," she did a jazz hands at the floor.

"I believe I've told you, and my answer was no," Lou was running out of patience, a vein popping on his forehead, but he did his best to keep a straight face as he put the two bags of potato chips and bottle of Cola inside a plastic bag. "Anyways, that'll be--"

"There's no way a Safleur would not showcase his or her dance. They were famous for being perfect in their movements! So stop lying and just--" after those words, Lou snapped. He then slammed the counter with his fists, his face was downcast

"I CAN'T DANCE!" he yelled. "I'm not lying that I am a Safleur, but I was the first and the last Safleur to ever be a disgrace of that name! I wished I was never a Safleur to begin with!" Lou went silent. The Gardevoir was shocked at his sudden outburst, and she felt guilty about it. The atmosphere was silent and tense, and neither of the two said a word for a few second. Lou starts to talk again, but this time, his voice was shaking, "Maybe it was just a lie, that I was actually part of the Safleur. It should've been a lie, otherwise I wouldn't be here. If I was actually a Safleur, I could still be with them right now, carrying the pride of the family name... but I'm not. I'm just a failure..."

The Gardevoir didn't know what she should say. Should she comfort him? Cheer him up? She was never good at these kinds of situation. When something like this happened to someone nearby, she'd just walk away from the scene as if nothing happened. It's not that she was insensitive, rather she just doesn't like these sort of stuff and rather avoid them. And now, to have that happen to her, it gave her a big shock. She just stared

"I'm sorry," Lou breathed in deeply, and said with a forced smile, "That's not how you're supposed to treat a customer. Now, will this be all?"

"Yes... here," the Gardevoir put the money on the counter, grabbed the plastic bag, and rushed to the door, only to stop there for a moment to say, "I'm sorry... for causing you trouble..." before exiting. Roy was biting his lip while looking at Lou worriedly. Lou just stared absent-mindedly at the door where the Gardevoir exited, without saying any word. The whole store was silent, and it was not the silent one would want. The atmosphere was tense, awkward, sad, confusing, all mixed together. Neither of the two enjoyed the store one bit afterwards, as none of them even said a word to each other about what happened.

After work, which was just waiting around until someone wanted to buy something, Lou went back to his apartment emotionally tired. He wasn't expecting something like that to happen. It really drained him, especially since the mood didn't lighten one bit, and it didn't help that the bag he was carrying felt heavy with all his energy drained.

Dragging his feet, he finally arrived at the apartment with sullen eyes, but quickly changed to surprise when he didn't see the Kanghaskan landlady, Mrs. Kan, on the reception desk. Normally, she'd be there knitting and would greet the Gardevoir home, and it wasn't like her to leave the reception desk empty. Maybe she just went somewhere for a while, Lou thought, so he just shrugged it off and went to his room. As he walked up the stairs to his room, he could hear chatter from the inside.

"I see. Well, the dancing thing is a pretty touchy subject for him. I asked him about it once, and he said he didn't want to talk about it. It's best to not mention that." Lou heard Mrs. Kan from inside his room. Who was she talking to, he wondered.

"Yeah, but I really thought that I could see a Safleur dance with my own two eyes." Lou heard a familiar voice from the inside.

Lou crept slowly and peeked inside his room. The Pokemon Mrs. Kan was talking to was none other than that Gardevoir he met at the store. He could feel his temper rise again, but he knew better than to make a scene. He let out a sigh and went inside the room with a straight face.

"Oh my, were you listening, Lou? I'm sorry," the Kanghaskan apologized.

"It's okay. It was wrong for me to yell at her, anyways. After all, that's now how you should treat your customer," Lou said with a straight, professional looking face. "But what is she doing here?" Lou asked.

"Well, you see, Mel here needed a place to stay. Since the apartment is full, I was hoping that you'd share rooms. Is that okay?"

"Um, I can just find another apartment to stay in. I don't want--" before the Gardevoir could finish her sentence, Lou chimed in.

"That's fine with me. The room you've given to me was spacious to begin with, and I feel guilty that you'd give me this room and I only pay less than what is needed. We will just put a line to determine our territory." Lou bluntly said.

"That's wonderful. Then I shall leave it to you two to decide that. In the meantime, I'll get another mattress," the Kanghaskan smiled as she left the room. Once she's gone, Lou gave a sharp glare at the Gardevoir that made her flinch.

"I haven't introduced myself properly. My name is Lou Safleur, I work at the Eleven-Seven convenience store and I shall be your roommate for now," Lou said as he bowed gracefully. The Gardevoir stood up, a bit flustered.

"I'm Melanie Floria, Mrs. Kan gave me that name. You may call me Mel. It's a pleasure to meet you, and I hope that we can be friends," Mel gracefull curtsied. "Though, I must say, your bow was graceful. Are you sure about the thing that you don't dance?" Mel said with a hint of insensitivity.

"Yes, I am sure," Lou said as he goes to his bed, which was on the leftmost part of the room. "Anyways, I shall draw the line here," he drew an imaginary line with his feet. The line was just a few inches from the bed, taking around only one-fourth of the room.

"Wait, that's unfair! You only have a small space! The line should be at the middle," Mel retorted.

"It was already unfair that Mrs. Kan gave me this whole room by myself. Besides, I'm fine with just this much room. It's not like I have much to do that needs a large space," Lou said as he put his bag on his bed. "I'm gonna go help Mrs. Kan. You do whatever you want here," Lou went out of the room without looking back.

Mel looked around. The room was spacious, but she thought it was really unfair to have their room split like that. If there's anything she knew, it's that she didn't like things being unfair. But she didn't want to anger Lou again, so she'll let it slide for now. Maybe the next few days, she's going to slowly adjust the line so that it'll be in the middle. "But ~ since Lou isn't around, maybe I could peek at his stuffs," Mel said with a mischievous grin. If there's anything she also knew, it's that she likes messing around with people. "Wonder what we'll see under his bed ~"

Without Lou knowing about what Mel is doing, he went to Mrs. Kan and helped her carry some bed sheets while the Kanghaskan was carrying the mattress. There were some limits to Lou's ability, and he knew that Mrs. Kan would do much better carrying the mattress than him. They arrived at Lou's room, where they saw the Gardevoir currently unpacking some of her stuff. "Here is the mattress, deary. And Lou even came to help carry some bed sheets," Mrs. Kan said.

"Thanks a bunch!" Mel thanked merrily, that made Lou shudder. Lou didn't know why, but the way she thanked was... menacing, like she's just acting all merry. Mrs. Kan placed the mattress on the other side of the room, unaware of Mel's disguised-as-merry voice.

"Are you fine with this for now? I promise I will have the bed frame here by tomorrow, before you get home from your activities."

"It's fine. I just needed a place to sleep, is all," Mel said.

"Then I shall take my leave. Hope you two'll get along," the Kanghaskan said with a smile before she left the two alone in the room.

"So ~" Mel creeped in on Lou's shoulder with a menacing grin. He knew it, she was hiding something, "care to explain this ~ ?" she showed Lou something that surprised him.

"Where did you get that?!" Lou yelled.

"Oh, it was just under your bed. And you said you put dancing behind you," Mel said with a mocking tone as she distanced herself from Lou, waving around the dance coupon she was holding. "I'm upset, I didn't find any porno in there, but at least I found something else," she had a wide, mischievous grin on her face. She was anticipating Lou to start yelling at her and chase her around as he desperately tries to grab the coupon, but it didn't happen.

"Well, now that you know about it, then you know about it," Lou said as he put the bed sheet on top of Mel's mattress. "If you're not gonna give it back, then don't," he went to his side of the room and produced a cup of noodles from his bag. "I'd prefer that you don't mess around with more of my stuff," he went to the kitchen without saying another word.

The Gardevoir was speechless. She didn't anticipate that. She was hoping that things would go her way if she did that. But it didn't. Rather, it was the complete opposite. She thought that Lou would easily get upset and that he'd try to get it back, but he was calm about it and didn't even force her to give the coupon back. He was... different from when she first met him at the store. Mel spent a few minutes pondering. Lou, with the cup noodles in his hands, came back afterwards and let out a sigh.

"Look, I'm sorry for what happened earlier. I acted like a child, making a scene in front of a customer. I won't do it again," Lou said.

"Uh, sure..." Mel looked at the cup noodles and pointed at it, "you eat those everyday?"

"It's the only food I can afford if I want to save money for dance classes and for paying for the apartment. I'll probably be able to attend a class in six months or so, if I continue to save like this," Lou said with a forced smile as he put the cup noodles on the table in the middle of the room. "Uh... what's wrong?"

Mel sternly glared at Lou for a couple of seconds. It made him feel uncomfortable. After a while, Mel closed her eyes, crossed her arms, smirked, and let out a loud laugh. "Bwahahahaha! That's all that is, huh? I should've know. Well then, save no further for I shall teach you!"

"Not a chance," Lou said bluntly, making Mel lose her balance.

"What do you mean?"

"I don't want to be in anyone's debt."

"That's it?"

"Yes, that's it."

A long, awkward silence followed afterwards. The aroma of the cup noodle filled the air, but it didn't help get rid of the tension. The two just stared at each other, the Gallade was staring blankly while the Gardevoir was staring with mixed emotions. After choosing words, Mel broke the silence.

"Look, I'm not doing this so that you'll be in my debt. I'm doing this because I want to. And what I want is what I'll get, because I am that type person. So!" she jumped up on the table, toppling the cup noodles in the process, "Whether you'll like it or not, I'm going to teach you to dance! You got it? No objections, no interjections!" she said strongly as she pointed at Lou.

"Ack! My noodles!"

"Forget about your noodles! You will NOT be eating noodles anymore! Not only are they unhealthy, they are also unhealthy!"

"But my noodles," Lou cried weakly. Mel jumped off the table and produced a pack of bacon, "Just so you know, this is a world where there are also livestocks, so don't be shocked if you see something like these used in the stories." Mel suddenly said.

"What?"

"I'm saying, that you're not gonna eat any more unhealthy food because I will provide them. Today, we're having bacon!" Mel said. Lou could've sworn she said something different. "Alright, let's fry this baby up!"

And the day ended with Mel on the lead. Lou didn't have any other choice but to follow her, but he didn't really hate it. Sure, he did find Mel annoying and, to some extent, a bit forceful, but all in all he thought that Mel is a nice Gardevoir. This meant that he'd be able to save some money for something else. And it also meant that he'll finally be able to make them proud.