Pokemon - From the Brink

Chapter 12 - The Eagle Takes Flight

The next morning, a panic was raised in the dorms when Zhang went into the meeting room to check on Poipole, only to find that it had disappeared. Within minutes, everyone had left the dining hall to gather. We were all confused, with no idea how Poipole could have possibly gotten out.

"The windows were shut, right?" Skyra asked.

"They were when I locked the room last night." Kudou nodded.

"Maybe it went through a wormhole?" Hikaru suggested.

"You think it woke up and ran away?" Carmello wondered.

"But I never even got to say hello..." Zhang sulked. "Or goodbye..."

"I wanted to play with it too..." Yu sighed.

"This is strange..." Nelly said, away from the others.

"How so?" I asked. "You don't think it escaped through a wormhole?"

"Well... Think about it – you were there when it showed up outside a few days ago. When it came through that wormhole, I mean. The wormhole made a loud noise when it opened, right? Then... Don't you think someone would've heard it if it did leave through another one?" She explained her thinking.

"Huh..." I thought about it. "That makes sense... Then, what happened...?"

Off to the side, away from the speculative discussions, Kiria stood with her arms folded. Her eyes were fixed on the makeshift bed that Poipole had occupied just the night before. Her gaze shifted slightly to a hidden item that nobody else had noticed. Tucked in the corner on top of the locker next to the bed was a spare blanket. And just barely peeping out from that was a tiny camera that you likely wouldn't notice unless you were looking for it. She had placed it there when she had spoken with Megan just the other day. With any luck, it would shed some light on what had occurred overnight. She would review the footage in secret later, away from prying eyes.

"This isn't fair..." Zhang sniffed, clearly emotional. He had been looking forward to perhaps befriending the little creature, since he had helped to take it in, after all.

"Life isn't fair." Caleb scoffed. "Get over it already."

"Hey!" Hikaru growled. "Leave him alone, you jerk!"

"What you gonna do about it?" The delinquent straightened up and bore his fangs.

"Teach you to shut your mouth, that's what." Hikaru frowned.

"You want a fight? Huh?!" Caleb took a step towards her.

"Ah..." Shu-ling retreated, frightened of the tension.

"Akio! Hasama!" Kudou barked.

"Bring it!" Hikaru hissed, paying the coach no mind. "Your foul attitude really pisses me off!"

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Kiria shift her stance, ready to pounce if needed.

"Both of you, stop!" Midorima placed himself between the two just before they leapt at each other's throats. He put a hand on each of their shoulders, keeping them back.

"Move, Specky!" Caleb warned.

"Get out of the way, Midorima!" Hikaru said. "Let me give this punk what he deserves!"

"Absolutely not!" Midorima stood firm. "Stop this infighting! What use is it to attack one another?"

"He made fun of Zhang!" Hikaru pointed at the Chinese boy, who was clearly on the verge of tears.

"Be that as it may," Midorima shook his head. "I cannot condone such violence! Hikaru, you are better than this. Are you not the former captain of Japan? Keep your head."