To Be The Best - Chapter 11: Gifts (X)

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#11 of To Be The Best


Fusion the Growlithe

Anko the Rockruff

Nina the Zorua

Lee the Fennekin

Chapter 11: Gifts

Fusion awoke with a groan, rolling over after being disturbed in his sleep. For once, it wasn't Anko waking him up early. The rockruff was out cold, snoring loudly on his back on the other side of the room. Last night was spent training until late. He must have been exhausted. Fusion was too, but it was already light out and the snoring would make it even harder to get back to sleep.

He stood up and walked over to the back of the room, splashing some water from the barrel on his face to wake up. With a big yawn, he walked over to the calendar hung from the wall. It was the first day of the last week of December. Which meant it was also the first day of the Shaymin Festival. It had been about four months since he left home. Since he met his team and since he had started training. They'd been so tired last night that they didn't mark off the past day and notice the holiday week starting.

They'd already discussed gifts. Fusion and Nina were to get gifts for each other and Lee and Anko were paired as well. He walked back over to his bed and opened his chest. On the bottom, hidden among some berries, was the gem he had found. That would be his gift. They'd been "dating" for a while now. They hadn't done anything sexual, though she maintained her flirtatious attitude. The eevee twins had propositioned him a couple times, and though he wanted to have some fun with them, he turned them down. He and Nina had been hanging out a lot and they got along fine. But their relationship was not really different from that of the rest of the team. He wasn't sure if he loved her, but she was fun to be around.

He woke up from his daydream and shut the chest. He then walked out of the room. Snow remained on the ground and in the trees, but the paths were always clear. Decorations for the holiday had been placed around the forest last week. Ribbons of green and pink clung to the bare branches and ornaments in the shape of gracidea flowers were hung from the trunks. He walked over to the shop, hoping it was open so he could get some early breakfast.

The place was almost deserted, a pair of flying types sitting at one table. The shop's counter was open, Santana sitting behind it. The only other pokemon there was a zoroark. Fusion had never seen a fully evolved pokemon out on the edge of the den before. Most of them lived in the center and stayed around there, as they were upperclassmen. She was sitting alone and reading from a big scroll.

Fusion went over and ordered some bread before going to sit. Still groggy, he just sat there until the fresh baked bread came out. He ate slowly at first, but food in his stomach helped wake him up, giving him the energy to continue. He'd probably take it easy today. It was a holiday, so he could celebrate by taking a break. Lee might not be okay with that, she had been driving them pretty hard, but they all deserved it. Good grades, good missions, they deserved some time off.

His breakfast finished, he stood and went back to his room. Anko was still sleeping, so he went back out and over to the girls' room. He didn't poke his head in, but listened at the curtain. Nothing. With no friends to hang out with, he settled on a walk.

Down on the forest floor, he headed south to the seaside and then east. The weather was nice, at least for him. The temperature was right around freezing, but there was little wind. His inner heat easily kept him comfortable. The sun was still low, casting a shining streak along the ocean. He just walked for a good while, simply enjoying the peaceful morning. Eventually, he came to the Ocean den.

As he walked the downward slopping path, he heard an explosion. Curious, he followed the sound to a rocky formation. A path led into a cave, revealing a cavern with a big opening to the ocean. A lone blue pokemon sat in the middle. With a grunt, her fur stood on end and blue light danced around her, but only for an instant. The energy faded just as suddenly as it manifested. As Fusion got a little closer, he recognized the other pokemon. "Layla?"

She looked up in confusion, then realized who it was. "Fusion!" She ran over to him. "Hey, it's been a while. How've you been?"

"Working hard. We're up to D rank."

"Team Fluff is too." She got even closer, looking him up a down before frowning.

"What's wrong?" he asked when she didn't say anything.

"You've put on some muscle. You were cuter when you were all fur."

"Oh, well..."

"Relax, I was just kidding. You look good." She walked over and put a paw on his head, scratching right around the base of his ears.

Fusion couldn't help but let out a quiet noise of appreciation. That spot felt so good.

"Oh, you like that?" She pulled away just as suddenly, leaving Fusion wanting more. He couldn't reach that spot behind his ears by himself. "Maybe come by later if you want more. Speaking of, what are you up to for the festival?"

"My team is going to a party. We got presents for each other too."

"Sounds fun. We got something similar here. And the den is organizing some Ball games for spring."

"Maybe forest has something too. I could use something to relax. It's been nothing but missions, classes and training for me."

"Exactly. Now, if you'll excuse me, today's a busy day."

"I should probably head back too," Fusion said. "See you around."

She returned back to training as he walked off. He went back towards his den. It would be about 30 minutes later by the time he got back. As he got to the bridge to his and the girls' room, he heard voices.

"So what's the most dangerous place you've been?" Lee asked.

"Hmm... A dungeon called Grand Sea. It's on the ocean floor, if you can-" The zoroark speaking stopped as Fusion poked his head through the curtain. "Hello. Are you one of Nina's friends?"

"He's on my team, sis," Nina told her. She, Lee, and Anko were all sat in front of the larger older pokemon. "Fusion, this is my sister Mio."

"Oh, so you're that cute boy she wrote about."

"Sis!"

Mio snickered.

"But wait," Anko asked, "how did you go to the bottom of the ocean?"

"You need a special orb, one that lets you breathe water. But even then, it's scary down there. Dark and cold."

"Wow, that's cool!" Anko exclaimed. "What's down there? Is it like up here or is it completely different? Oh, do they have cities and towns like us? Are there forests of coral? What kinda food do fish pokemon make? And wha-"

"Slow down there," Mio stopped him. "Uhh, it's cooler if you find out for yourself," she said, sounding uncertain and scratching her neck.

"Oh, ok," Anko responded calmly.

Lee leaned over and whispered to Nina, "wow, she's good."

"So, what's the plan? We gonna do anything fun?" Mio asked.

"Well, we're doing gifts tonight," Anko told her.

"Aw, that sucks. I'm only here for a couple hours. I've got a mission at noon, so I'll have to leave around then."

"What's your team like?" Lee asked. "You're gold rank right?"

"Heh," she smirked. "Nope, we're up to diamond now. Team Night Raiders. We're all dark type. Gives us some flair, but makes some jobs harder."

"Flair?" Fusion asked. "What do you mean?"

"Well, being a successful team isn't just about doing jobs. Once you get higher rank, public image starts getting important. A famous team gets more requests. And high rank missions are usually direct requests, not posted to job boards. So you gotta build a brand."

"And how do you get around fighting types?" Lee asked.

"Strategy. Items and tricks mostly. Now come on, enough work questions. Let's do something fun!" She jumped to her feet, standing much taller than all the four legged pokemon.

"Play in the snow?" Anko suggested.

"Bor-ring," Mio groaned.

"Train?" Lee asked.

"Ugh, this chick," Mio shrugged.

"Oh, I heard the ocean den is starting a sports team. We could play ball."

"There we go," Mio clapped. "Let's rock." She led the way out and to Santana's shop. "Yo, bird man."

Santana frowned. "Wait... Mio? Is that you?"

"Yep."

"I haven't seen you for years, since you were a rookie zorua."

"Yeah, couple years ago. How's business?"

"Excellent, as always. What brings you back?"

"My sis. She's a student now."

The delibird looked past her to Team Fusion. "Ah, Nina. What a coincidence."

"We're looking for a ball."

"Of course. And I can give you a 10% discount, for the festival."

"10%? That's it?" Lee complained.

"I'll take it. Best you're gonna get from this guy." A short walk later and they were on the forest floor. "Alright, this pair of trees is a goal, that one is the other. Ball goes through, team gets a point," Mio explained.

"Wait, we have five, so how will the teams be even?" Anko asked.

"Well, to keep it fair, how about you four against me," Mio said with a smirk.

"But-" Anko started, only to be interrupted by Lee.

"Bring it then."

Mio set the ball down in the middle and walked to her side. "Ready whenever you are." She leaned forward, stretching her back and arms.

Lee suddenly charged forward, aiming straight for the ball. Mio took off at the same time, sprinting at full speed. "Anko! Nina!" Lee shouted. "Flank! Fusion, with me!"

"She's taking this a little serious..." Fusion muttered. Anko was already off running around the side. "It's just a game..."

"And we'd better win if you don't wanna get yelled at," Nina complained before going the other way.

Fusion started moving forward, but more slowly, ready to play defense. Mio was the fastest and gave the ball a running kick, sending it in an arc towards their goal. Lee didn't hesitate, even when the ball flew over her head. She charged forward and leapt for a tackle at Mio. Fusion jumped up and caught the ball with all four limbs, falling back down curled around it. Once he untangled himself, he headbutted it towards Anko, to the outer edge of Mio's side.

"Oh, you wanna play rough, huh? Trying to keep me away from the ball?" Mio asked, dodging Lee's first pounce. Lee then turned and spat some embers. Mio leapt into the air, flipping to the side as the sparks of flame blew past. Once she landed, she was off running to intercept Anko. He had caught the ball and was pushing it as he ran towards the goal. She leaned down and did a sliding kick, perfectly aimed to take the ball. It rolled towards the edge, coming to rest against a tree. Anko reacted quick, turning and running for it.

He only got a few feet before his head was forced down to the dirt, Mio standing on it, then using it to jump forward. She herself only moved a bit before she was tugged back and fell to the ground. Lee had ran up and bit onto her tail, pulling with all her might. Nina came running past them, going for the ball.

Mio stood again, dragging Lee behind her, then spun, Lee holding on tight. Using the fennekin like a flail, Mio bashed her into Nina, knocking her away from the ball. She then grabbed Lee and threw her at Nina for good measure. Then she reared back and kicked the ball, hard, towards their goal. It flew on a slight curve, arching towards the middle of the field. Fusion made a jump for it, but it was too high, his swiping paws coming up short by only inches. The ball flew past, hit the side of the goal tree, then bounced through.

"One point!" Mio called out.

Lee and Nina were picked themselves up, while Anko was brushing dirt from his eyes.

"She's not going to let us win, no matter what," Nina told Lee.

"I don't care. We'll find a way."

+++

"Six to nothing," Mio announced. "I think that'll do it. I have to get going." She looked over the others. They were all dirty and breathing hard, while Mio herself was untouched. "That was fun though. Do your best sis."

"Hah... ye-yeah," Nina struggled to say. As they picked themselves up, Mio walked off quickly.

"Damn!" Lee shouted, stamping her paws angrily. "Damn, damn, damn!"

"Calm down..." Nina muttered. "I've never beat her. Not once. She's competitive and stronger tha-"

"Shut up! We've been working our asses off and we got humiliated again." She growled through clenched teeth.

"Hey, it's okay," Anko told her. "We'll get there."

She grunted and took a deep breath. "If it kills me... I guess we should go check out the festival. We probably already missed the start."

Back up in the trees, at the absolute center of the den, was a large hall, built hanging between several large trees. Inside was a big fir tree, decorated with shiny baubles and flower shaped glass ornaments. They were colored the green, pink and white of a gracidea, a rare flower associated with the namesake of the festival, the pokemon Shaymin. Plenty of pokemon were there, eating sugary baked food. Attending to the food spread was Vespa, handing out whatever was asked with a smile on her insectoid face.

Lee, Nina and Fusion entered and took some seats by the entrance, where there were less others. Anko had split off to get the gifts from their rooms. Fusion then was assigned to get snacks.

"Fusion, welcome. I haven't seen much of your group," Vespa greeted him.

"You know my name?"

"Of course, all of my children are dear to me. What would you like? I made them myself."

"The sweet berry cake, the lemon tart and uh... the gingersnaps."

She took some of each and put it all on a big platter. From above, a pair of combee buzzed down, picked it up and carried it for Fusion as he led them back to their spot. By then, Anko had returned, with four nondescript boxes, with the names crudely written on the lids.

"Hey! Are you ready!? What did you get for Nina? What do you think I got? Letsgoletsgoletsgo!" He reached out and grabbed his.

"I guess we're doing it now then," Nina said, taking hers.

Anko opened his before Fusion or Lee even reached for theirs. He took out a sizeable scroll of paper and rolled it out onto the table. It was a map of the world, continents and oceans drawn out over it. Nothing was marked besides the continents however. "Wow, I love it, thanks Lee."

"I thought you would."

"I'll hang it up in our room and mark the dungeons we explore! Now open yours!"

Lee reached out and opened her box. Inside was a belt. She started to take it out, having to put in much more effort than she expected. It was weighted, pretty heavily, and had a couple blue glass squares. "Is this...?"

"It's a power lens, to help you train your special attack."

"That's... actually perfect. Thanks."

"Okay, my turn," Nina said. She cracked the box and her eyes widened as she got a glimpse at what was inside. "Fusion..." It was all the way open and she reached in to pull out the gift. "Are you serious?" In her paw, she held a small crystal, reflecting a rainbow of colors in the light.

"I found it-"

"Do you have any idea how valuable this is?!" she shouted.

"Is that really an awakening emera?" Lee asked.

"It is. You ding dong!" Nina shot him a glare.

"Sorry..."

"No, no, it's fine. We would have been loaded if you sold it. But thank you. I'll keep it."

Fusion took his present and opened it. Inside was a set of berry ID cards, with flavor profiles and effects.

"I know you struggle with berrys. So I got you those to help," Nina explained. "But it seems kinda cheap since you gave me this."

+++

Later that night, after they had all gone to bed, Fusion was awoken by a whisper and a poke. He rolled over to see Nina standing beside his bed. "W-" he started to ask but she pushed his mouth shut.

"Shh. Come with me," she whispered.

Still groggy, he stood and followed her out of the room, across the bridges and towards the ramp down. "Where are we going?"

"Just follow me, you'll see."

"Can't this wait until morning?"

"No, just... zip it," she told him, without looking back.

He did so, but with a begrudging groan. They continued down to the forest floor and into the woods.

"Alright, this should be fine."

"So what is it? You're acting weird."

A grimace was firmly on her face. "Shut up! Gah, sorry." She took a deep breath. "This is really embarrassing, okay? So just... let me do my thing."

"Alright..." Fusion said, still confused.

"Phew... okay. Uhm, so I like you, and you gave me such an expensive gift, so I felt bad. So I thought about what would be good enough to make us even... and I decided you can have my virginity."

"...what?"

"My first, my cherry, you know,"

"I know what you meant, why? We haven't really been dating seriously or anything?"

"What, you don't want it?!" She growled angrily. "You'll bang the first eevee you see but not me? I thought boys bragged about taking-"

"Woah, woah, I never went that far with those girls. And I was taught that was supposed to be special..."

"Well, you're special. Not many growlithe are black."

"That's not what I meant!"

"I don't feel like my first time is all that special. I already decided I want this, so are you in or am I pawing off tonight?"

Fusion would be lying if he said he didn't want to, but he was still concerned. "But, what if you get pregnant?"

"Just pull out when you get close."

"And this is just for fun then, right?"

"Yeah, duh. I'm too young to find a mate." She shrugged. "We're just good friends."

"Okay, let's do it."

"Took you long enough." She turned around and raised her tail. "I'm assuming you know what to do?"

Fusion stood there as he took in the sight. It wasn't the first, but it was still a captivating sight. He'd seen faint glimpses of her, but now she presented her cunny completely and unrestricting. His eyes couldn't help but follow the subtle swaying of her hips as she waited. Her lips were canid in shape, puffy and with a Y-shape opening, black in color and already having a sheen of moisture. A faint sliver of red was visble in the middle.

He moved forward and climbed up onto her back, pushing her tail aside. His member was rapidly emerging and he pressed the tip against her backside. He dragged it up, trying to get the lay of the land. He had to be close...

"To the left, then back down a little," she told him anxiously. Both of them let out a gasp as his tip brushed over the top of her vulva. He shifted atop her to bring his hips in line, his tip resting at her opening. With a deep breath, he slowly pushed inside. He couldn't help but let out a shuddering groan. Her lips wrapped around his shaft greedily and her folds quivered at his entrance. His red member parted her equally red insides ever so slowly. When he hit it, he froze. A barrier, preventing him from pushing deeper.

"Are you sure? Cause-"

"Yeah, do it."

He started pushing forward with his hips, tip pressing against her virginity. Trying to use as little force as possible, he pressed a little harder. Under him, she tensed. She was the one to do it, pushing back against him. With a hiss and a jitter from her, the barrier broke and he sunk to the hilt in her.

"Damn!" she shouted. "Just... hold on a second. Phew..."

"You okay?" He considered licking her ear, something to comfort her, but it felt wrong, too romantic.

"Stings," she whispered.

Fusion shuddered atop her, doing his best to restrain himself. It felt so good inside her, the warmth of her passage, the wetness, the tightness, how silky soft it felt as she quivered around his meat. His hips twitched as he held back the urge to hump into her. He wanted to go wild, just pound her, but he couldn't, not just for her comfort, but for both their sakes. The chances were low out of breeding season, but still, the risk of getting her pregnant worried him. He had to pull out before he came, no matter what. But how good it felt, this was so worth the risk.

"Hey, you listening?!" Nina shouted.

"Oh, yeah, what, sorry," he stuttered.

"Get to it already."

He couldn't be more eager, pulling back too fast and causing his member to slip from inside her. When he thrust forward again, he ran along the underside of her lips.

"Hey, do you know what you're doing?" she asked angrily.

He growled lightly in frustration, slowing his hips down. Once he realigned, he thrust back inside her. That took the mouth off her, causing her to give out a cute gasp. He quickly fell into a rhythm, unable to restrain himself even if he wanted to. His hips worked like clockwork, pulling back slightly then thrusting forward, sawing his cock in and out of her tight pussy. Her walls rippled around him, grasping desperately at his member.

Nina lowered her front end and covered her muzzle, trying to stop the quiet moans that kept leaking from her. Her back legs shook from the pounding she was receiving. Was he secretly a pro? Because she was already about to cum from his furious rutting. No, he was running on instinct, there was no skill or practice to it. She bit her lip. No, not so soon. She asked for this, she couldn't cum so fast.

Fusion could feel his knot swelling. How could he not? It felt amazing pressing against her soaked cunny, the bulb sensitive beyond belief. How good would it feel to tie her? No, no way, he shouldn't even think about that. He let out a yip as she pushed back into him, pushing him in deeper. His knot slipped in and he pulled it back out. Luckily it was still small enough. He forced himself to not thrust as hard, grinding only the furthest inch in her.

"Ah, F-fusion," she groaned. He was rubbing his tip against just the right spot, over and over. She couldn't hold it!

Fusion gasped as a gush of her hot juices splashed out over his crotch. At the same time, she clenched hard around him and pushed back. The sudden tightness, his knot grinding against her cookie, the warm gooey feeling of her insides. His eyes went wide and he yanked his hips back. The sudden cool air stung his previously cozy shaft, enough to put him over the edge. His cock throbbed and shot a string of seed up, right into her tail. He lazily dismounted her, simply rolling over to the side.

Nina couldn't stand any more, the afterglow sapping her strength. She flopped out onto the ground, limps splayed wide. A smile was plastered on her face as her eyes stared at nothing.

Fusion was just as exhausted, his mouth open, tongue hanging on his cheek as he panted rapidly. His member shot again and splattered along his chest fur. They both laid there for a while.

"That was awesome," Nina eventually said.

"Yeah..." Fusion muttered absentmindedly. "Hey," he rolled his head towards her. "Why did you really want to date me?"

"What, I can't just do it?"

"So you'd just let any male do that?"

"Ugh, fine. My sister had a boyfriend when I was growing up. She'd always talk about how good of a guy he was. So, I see you chasing tail, then you're nice, so I thought, my turn."

"You're really all about your sister, you know?"

"Yeah, cause she's awesome."

"So what happened to the boyfriend?"

"Dunno. One day she just stopped talking about him."

"That gonna happen to me?"

"Thought you wanted this casual." She stuck out her tongue at him.

"At least until we graduate. We're too busy to worry about relationships."

"Agreed." With a grunt, she stood up and stretched. She flicked her tail back and forth a few times. "Did you really have to shoot in my tail?"

"Didn't really have a choice." He rolled over and stood up, rubbing at his sticky chest with a paw. "We should probably clean up before we go to bed.