(Rena's POV)
I was sitting on the plane reading over the file, doing some research on the mark while I had spare time. Mightyena was resting in his Pokeball for now, a little tuckered out from last night's heist. I, however, was wide awake and needed to focus my mind on something.
"Mark," is basically just another way of saying, "the target." So, Keith Dazzle is the mark.
He's nineteen years old, six-foot two-inches tall, has vibrant red eyes, is lightly tanned, and is very well built. I've been reading up on his life, personality, family, friends, and school grades. All of this information will help me make an impression on him. I need to catch his attention if I'm to be his new best friend, after all.
So, let's start from the top of the list.
His life. Not very eventful, but there were a few things that stood out. His mother died in a car crash when he was ten; just old enough to really remember her. His father is a total jerk and a workaholic, so the kid's been neglected pretty much his whole life. I bet this guy has a bunch of mental issues because of this, giving me some leverage to work with. He's also lived your classic rich kid life. Lucky bastard... I had to work hard for everything I ever got...
His personality. He's arrogant and conceited; totally full of himself in every way imaginable. He's not entirely self centered when it boils down to it; he actually does care about his close friends, but that's pretty much it. Keith is a cocky jerk who picks on the weak, but isn't mean enough to be considered a bully. Reckless pervert: that stands out a lot. Pranking master, candid, mischievous, attention hog, adventurous, brave, cunning, daring, boastful, brash... But of course, he has his faults. He has quite the uncontrollable temper. Oh joy, I'm so looking forward to that. Oh, and would you look at that? He's a ladies man, too. How wonderful... Well, I am fairly attractive; I suppose this will make it rather easy to catch his eye, just...not in the way I was originally thinking....
His family. Dead mother; seems like she was the best parental influence in his family. Father might be a rich, billionaire genius, but he's a terrible father from what I can tell. No siblings; he's an only child. Hmm... I can work with this. I can relate to the only child thing, being one myself.
His friends. Not many from what I can tell. He's a popular kid, so naturally he's got a bunch of fangirls, but not too many friends. Hmm...the fangirls may pose a problem in future. If he's not friends with those girls, I need to step up my game so he chooses me to join his exclusive friend list. From what I can tell, he's got only two close friends: a wannabe Operator named Rhythimi, and a boy genius and wannabe Scientist named Isaac. He doesn't really have too many friends, but he does have a lot of wannabes that will pose to be competition for me. This Rhythimi girl sounds easy enough to befriend, and Isaac is an intellectual like myself. It's almost boring how easy it will be to win them over just to get to Keith.
His school grades. Not too great, actually. Slacks off a lot, turns things in late (...if at all...), sleeps in the Library practically every day... Wow, talk about lazy... I am sort of a genius myself, so I suppose I could tutor him... I could definitely take advantage of that angle for the grift. He sounds like a bit of a slob to me, and yet all of those girls are falling over him? I don't really understand.
"ATTENTION, PASSENGERS. ATTENTION, PASSENGERS. WE HAVE LANDED IN PUELTOWN'S AIR STRIP. PLEASE BEGIN DEPARTING THE AIRPLANE NOW."
...Huh?
I briskly looked out my window as my curiosity took over my thoughts, noticing that we did, in fact, land the plane. I guess I was so lost in thought looking over the boss's file that I didn't even take notice of us making our decent...
I quickly shoved the papers back into the file, then stuffed it into my carry-on bag. I rose from my seat, and made my way off of the plane. I'm supposed to be looking for some teacher guy that came to pick me up and guide me to the school, but I'm not really sure who I'm supposed to be...looking...for...
There was a man dressed in a ridiculous maroon and gold suit with short blonde hair styled in a ridiculous curl in the front that defied gravity in every way possible. He reeked of hairspray, holding up a sign that read Deveraux in big bold letters. Well, I think I just found my guide.
I stopped right where I stood and stared straight ahead of me unbelievably. "You have got to be kidding me." I huffed and grabbed my suitcase, blowing my bangs out of my face before beginning to stomp over to the teacher.
The blonde, curly-haired teacher pointed his index finger at me accusingly with a peculiar scowl on his face. "Are you Rena Deveraux? The new student?" The teacher practically radiated stupidity with the pompous air surrounding him.
"Yeah, that's me." I held back a laugh, looking him up and down questionably. "What's up with the ridiculous hair? I didn't think anyone with a Ninetales' ass curled in front of their face doubled as a teacher." I laughed at my own joke as my eyes wandered over to his teacher's badge, which read, "Mr. Kincaid."
Mr. Kincaid just glared harshly in my general direction, sneering at me with every fiber of his being. "And what is up with your painfully obvious lack of intelligence, class, and maturity?"
I felt something in me snap as I glared at him with my harshest glare, completely infuriated as steam shot out of my ears.
Lack of intelligence!? Why you... Oh, it is SO on!
________________________________
Mr. Kincaid walked me through the rest of the bustling port city called Pueltown, into the Vien Forest that connected to it, across the little farm town named Vientown, over the bridge that connected Vientown to the school, and to the front gate of the Ranger School.
Wow, that was a long walk... And with a freakishly weird teacher who's obsessed with his hair. I think we pretty much fought and bickered the entire way there, which was all of twenty minutes.
Worst twenty minutes of my life, if you ask me...
He lectured me on and on about why I should respect him and never run in the hallways. Seriously, how can one person have that much to say about running in the hallways? Now I'm going to do it on purpose just to piss him off. Plus, who honestly has the time to walk patiently in the halls? Yeah, I don't think so. I'll run if I want to. Want to stop me? You'll have to catch me first. And good luck with that, because no cop has ever even accomplished that. Not even this one weird guy called Looker who's been trying to find me for years.
"And this is where I take my leave of you." Mr. Kincaid opened the gate before shooting me one last sharp glare. "A student should be with you shortly to guide you to your entrance exam." He walked right through the gate and just left me standing here.
Ugh... What an arrogant, condescending ass---
"Oh, hello there!" A blonde-haired girl waved this way, running down the steps and over to me. She had glittering grey eyes and bushy blonde hair, and I know she looks familiar... Where have I seen her before? "Hi, you must be the new student! My name is Rhythimi Valentine!" She held out her hand for me to shake, waiting for me to say something.
Rhythimi Valentine...oh! She's one of Keith's friends! I better make her one of mine.
...
Er... How do you make friends again? I think you're supposed to be nice or something as preposterous as that.
"This is bullshit," I mentally thought to myself as I forced myself to say something to the perky spazz before me. "Hi, I'm Rena Deveraux." I smiled, returning the hand shake. "Excuse me, but uh... Could you help me with these?" I sheepishly asked, pointing to my bags.
"Oh, of course!" Rhythimi sweatdropped as she abruptly lunged forwards to help, not really knowing what she was thinking. "Let me take that for you!" She took my carry-on bag, relieving my shoulder of the forty-pound bag.
It's up to you to decide whether that was an exaggeration or not.
"Thanks." I flashed a fake smile, getting a grip on the handle of my suitcase.
"Oof!" Rhythimi nearly dropped my bag as she took it in her hands, surprised by the weight. "What's in this thing? It's so heavy!" She laughed, revealing to me her somewhat playful nature.
What's in it?
...
A few pistols, a grappling hook, a vest, a few bungee cords, Keith's file, a stun gun, pain medication, a first-aid kit, a set of throwing knives, six ace bandages, a Pokepuff case, a few blocks of C4, seven detonators, a case of liquid nitrogen, plastic explosives, a lighter, a lock-picking kit, a safe-cracking kit, my laptop, a bag of ninja stars, some rope, a camera, brass knuckles, a flamethrower, a hammer, a few motion sensor bombs, smoke bombs, stink bombs, an ax, my jumpsuit and boots, my favorite katana, my collapsible/extending mechanized staff, and a few grenades of various types.
How do I even answer that? "Oh, just girl stuff!" I faked a small giggle, brushing off Rhythimi. I tried not to sweatdrop at that painfully obvious lie.
"Oh, okay!" She chuckled, not realizing that I was flat out lying to her about that.
We began walking towards the school, and I think Rhythimi was just itching to make conversation, giving how fidgety she was being right now. "So...Rena!" She grinned, turning her head to look at me. "Ready for your entrance exam?" She asked, practically radiating friendliness.
There's an entrance exam...? Oh great. I'm supposed to learn to be a Ranger, and I have no idea how to be one. Or what a Ranger does, exactly...
Nice going, boss. You couldn't even give me a basic run down of what a Pokemon Ranger does!? IT'S NOT LIKE I WOULD KNOW.
"As ready as I'll ever be..." I nervously answered her question, running a hand through my bangs.
I think Rhythimi picked up on my nervousness pretty quick. "Hey." She stopped walking, placing her hand on my shoulder to stop me as well. "Don't worry about it, okay?" She smiled, relaxing me a little. "I'm going to be an Operator someday, and I passed the exam with ease. You're actually training to be a Ranger, so you'll pass with flying colors. I'm sure of it!" Her glittering smile was bright and infectious.
I caught myself giving her a genuine smile all , and I was quick to wipe it off my face. "Uh...thanks."
"Come on." She smiled, wrapping her arms around my shoulders. "You're gonna do fine!" She led me inside of what looked like a Training Gym of some sort. "Now, hand me your bag, and I'll take your stuff up to our room." She grinned again, taking my suitcase from me.
"Our room?" I inquired with a raised eyebrow, completely caught off guard by that little statement.
"Yep!" Rhythimi piped up, as cheerful as ever. "Starting now, for the rest of the school year, you're my new roommate!" She clapped her hands together, clearly excited.
"Oh, great..." I replied, completely in shock. Well...I didn't see that coming. Wait, Rhythimi is Keith's friend, so maybe... "That's great!" I faked a smile, causing her to be more excited. "Maybe you can introduce me to your friends later, and we can get further acquainted!" I suggested, having a different motive for meeting her friends. It's not like she'd pick up on that, though.
Rhythimi seemed all for the idea. "That sounds great! I can't wait! I'll see you later, Rena! I'll tour you around the school later, okay?" Rhythimi smiled, taking her leave of me.
I just now took a look around, noticing that I was, in fact, in a gymnasium of some sort. Most of the lights were off, but there was one light fixture on that dimly lit the room. I heard footsteps, and a shadowy figure began approaching me. I couldn't see his face, but I could tell he was wearing a baseball cap of some sort.
"Catch." The man spoke sharply, throwing a strange device in my direction.
I caught it with no struggle, having extremely quick reflexes. It was a strange green device that had a strap that goes around the wrist, and it had a few buttons and a small screen on the front. "What is this thing...?" I asked curiously, just staring at the odd device.
"Umm, it's a School Styler..." The guy sweatdropped. "You know, the thing that allows you to capture Pokemon, become a Ranger..." The guy trailed off. "You do want to be a Ranger, right?" He asked, glancing at his clipboard. "You are the new Ranger student Rena, right...?"
I vigorously nodded my head. "Oh...right! Sorry, I'm just tired from the long plane ride here...ahah hah...hah..." I made up an excuse, awkwardly scratching the back of my head.
Clearly, I'm off to a GREAT start. (Pfft...not really. I couldn't even think that with a straight face...).
"Okay then..." The guy sweatdropped again. "Your entrance exam is to capture this Pikachu with that Styler as fast as you can." He pointed to a small electric mouse Pokemon that suddenly scampered in front of me. It was getting ready for a fight.
I just gulped nervously. How do I even use this thing!?
I took a guess, slipping the Styler over my right wrist, given that I'm right handed, and I quickly turned it on. A bunch of options popped up on the screen, and I'm not really sure what happened from there. There was the sound of a whistle blowing, and I released the capture disc from the Styler.
I somehow looped the capture line around the Pikachu at an impossible speed, and I felt like I was making a connection with the Pokemon. My heart raced, and I felt it throbbing insanely in my chest. I was feeling... I was feeling...what is this feeling? It's like excitement beyond words! I only feel something like this when I'm stealing something---wait...no. Don't get too attached to this. You're a thief and a grifter, not a Ranger. You're only pretending to be one.
Bad guys don't get to be the good guys.
It was over within a second or two, and the Pikachu curled up next to my leg. He seemed perfectly content.
"That was quite impressive, young lady..." The man slowly emerged from the shadows, tilting his head up so that I could see his face under the brim of his hat. I found something about this man to be very suspicious, and I stood my ground, slightly tilting my chin up. "Congratulations... You've passed the Ranger School's entrance exam with flying colors... You're now the latest member of our army, the inscrutable team school. Together, we shall rule the world..." The teacher gave an evil laugh, and I saw that his teacher's badge read Mr. Kaplan.
I raised an eyebrow at first, then just busted out into an uncontrollable fit of laughter. Mr. Kaplan shot me a confused look, and I just patted him on the shoulder. "Nice joke, Mr. Kaplan! You really had me going there for a second!"
Mr. Kaplan just beamed at me with boundless excitement. "Oh really? You think so? Yay!" Mr. Kaplan cheered, enthusiastically punching the air. "Finally, someone who doesn't smack me for my insane jokes!" He cheered, displaying his obviously drastic personality change.
I just laughed, and another teacher suddenly walked in. She hit the light switch, illuminating the Gym in an instant. I winced from the brightness change, as did Mr. Kaplan. The woman walked up to us, shooting Mr. Kaplan a skeptical look. She had medium length auburn hair and was dressed in a green blouse, white pencil skirt, and maroon high heels.
"Kaplan...were you teasing my students again?" She glared into his eyes, giving him that classic angry mom look.
Mr. Kaplan was this close to cracking under pressure, nervously darting his eyes between this woman and the floor. "Uh, I---"
"Not at all." I quickly interrupted with a step forwards, surprising the both of them that I was actually defending the male teacher. "We were just laughing at a hilarious joke he made." I patted him on the back, and Mr. Kaplan just grinned and decided to go with it.
"Yeah, Ms. April! That's all that we were doing, honest!" Mr. Kaplan sheepishly replied, and Ms. April's skeptical look softened.
"Oh all right..." She sighed, directing her attention over to me. "Hello there! I'm your classes teacher, Ms. April. Your classmates are anxious to meet you, so why don't you follow me to the classroom?" She smiled, leading me towards the door.
"You're going to take my Gym class, right?" Kaplan shouted to me as we left, grinning brightly.
It was clear that I'm now his new favorite student, and the feeling was mutual. He's a pretty cool teacher.
"Of course!" I shouted back, waving good-bye to him. "Gym is my favorite class. I wouldn't miss it for the world!" I told the truth for once, turning my back to the teacher.
"Enjoy your school life!" He smiled and waved, and Ms. April shut the door behind me.
I quickly got an idea and released Mightyena from his Pokeball while Ms. April's back was turned. I jerked my head in the direction of the school, giving him the silent signal. He quickly ran away as Ms. April turned around, and she never even saw him.
Perfect.
"Okay. Let's go, then!" She smiled, directing my attention to the school.
It was a rather large building: two stories. From the looks of it, it has to have a basement somewhere. Ms. April led me inside, taking me over to a classroom door on our left. There was a lot of chatter and shouting coming from the other side; it sounded like everyone was goofing off to their heart's content.
"Wait right here, and wait for my signal. I'll introduce you!" Ms. April smiled, walking into the classroom. (Why is everyone at this school so smiley...). She shut the door behind her, and the class immediately fell quiet. "Class, I have an announcement to make! We have a new student joining our class today!"
...
"What? This late in the year? We're already two weeks into the school year!" Someone complained, and I pressed my ear against the door to listen for more.
"Is it a boy, or a girl? Which is it?"
Girl.
"Are they smart? Cool? Cute? Popular? Look like a celebrity?"
All of the above. I'm pretty awesome, after all.
"I bet it's another boy. Probably another Mechanic or something."
Well, you're in for a surprise.
"Oh yeah? Well what if it's another girl Operator?"
Nope. Wrong again.
"SILENCE!" Ms. April yelled, successfully shutting everyone up. "Why don't you just see for yourselves? Come on in!"
She must be signaling me now. Okay Rena, don't screw this up. First impression on the mark means everything. EVERYTHING. You blow this and you blow the whole mission.
I reached for the doorknob, pushing the door open and stepping inside.
The girls just stared at me wide-eyed, probably shocked at how pretty I am. Scared of the competition, girls? Good. A little fear is always welcome.
The guys all whistled and followed me with their eyes the entire walk down the aisle, and I stopped at Ms. April's desk. I spun around on my heel with all my grace and beauty, making my long dark hair spin with me. It fell down to my lower back, and my crystal blue eyes locked themselves with a set of dazzling red ones.
There he was: Keith Dazzle. He sure was a lot cuter in person. He was staring at me, and I could tell that I had my hooks in him. He was clearly interested in me. Get the mark's attention? Check. Now it's phase two: personality display.
"Here she is, class!" Ms. April smiled, placing a hand on my shoulder. "Why don't you introduce yourself---"
She was then cut off by the abrupt screeching noise of a chair skidding backwards. I looked up to see that Keith had shot straight up from his desk, staring at me intensely.
Keith wore a large smirk that grew from ear to ear, only making my confidence grow. "Age?" He asked, staring straight into my blue eyes.
"Seventeen." I smirked back, crossing my arms and returning the stare. Everyone else in the classroom was at a loss for what was going on.
"Name?" He asked again, stepping out from his desk this time.
"Deveraux. Rena Deveraux." I held my smirk, my confidence only growing by the moment.
"Personality?" He asked yet another question, stepping closer and closer to me.
I just grinned. "Cunning, daring, thrill seeker, brave, adventurous, feisty, sassy, sarcastic, willful, quick-witted, athletic, competitive, confident, intelligent, and so much better than you." I sassed him, earning a loud "BURN!" from the other classmates.
"Oh great, she's another Keith." Rhythimi groaned, slapping her forehead and sinking down into her chair.
Keith seemed to recover from my insult almost immediately, not showing any sign of weakness. "And lastly, future occupation?" He asked his final question.
We were face to face at this point with our lips only inches apart. I smirked, proud that I succeeded at this part of the job. "Ranger." I whispered in a hushed voice with my hot breath hitting his cheeks.
Keith grinned immensely, very excited about that. Ms. April was shooting us the weirdest look ever along with the other classmates, except for Rhythimi. She must have been expecting this.
BOOM!
CRASH!
THUD!
I stifled a laugh, knowing fully well what that loud noise was caused by. Keith seemed intrigued, while everyone else was confused. I stood up on my tip toes, whispering into Keith's ear. "Did I also mention that I'm a prankster?"
"RENA DEVERAUX!" Mr. Kincaid's angry voice echoed throughout the school, making everyone jump out of their skin.
Keith smirked and went back to his desk. He leaned back in his chair, placing his hands behind his head as he watched what was about to unfold. I leaned against Ms. April's desk casually and pretended to look at my nails as Mr. Kincaid slammed the door open, storming in. He was clearly bruised and banged up. Did I mention he was also very pissed off?
"YOU!" He shouted, pointing a finger at me. His face was red and I swear I saw steam literally shoot out of his ears. "YOU DID THIS TO ME, DIDN'T YOU!?"
"What are you accusing her of, Mr. Kincaid!?" Ms. April asked in disbelief, not able to believe that I would really do something mischievous. Which I actually would.
I smirked as Mr. Kincaid got all up in my face, furious as hell. "You unscrewed all of the screws from my desk and chair, making them collapse as I sat down!" He layed out the accusation, and the class busted into an uproar of laughter.
I peeked around Mr. Kincaid's angry face, stealing a glance at Keith. Based from his amused facial expression, I can already tell that I'm so in. I turned my attention back to the angry teacher, putting on my innocent angel face. I held my hands together behind my back, and I began pacing around him in a circle.
"Mr. Kincaid... I am wounded, truly wounded that you could think so ill of me." I flashed him an innocent pout, making him even more furious. "I couldn't of done it. It's impossible." I shrugged with a casual smile decorating my lips.
"Oh do enlighten us, Miss Deveraux." Mr. Kincaid growled, crossing his arms as a vein bulged from his forehead.
I smirked, gaining the upper hand here. I continued my pacing in a circle, relaying the facts. "If what you say is true, and someone sabotaged your desk, I couldn't have done it. I have no motive nor opportunity." I smirked in Keith's direction, making sure he was listening. Oh he was alright, and was very intrigued. "After I got off of the airplane, you walked me all the way over here. Then, I was guided by Rhythimi to the Gym." I smiled in her direction, earning a grin and a hand wave from the perky blonde. "I took my entrance exam after that, then Ms. April took me straight here. So where and when could I have done it?" I asked him, shooting him a fake confused, puzzled, yet sympathetic look. "Did I also mention that I'm not even aware of the location of your classroom? I did just get here, after all."
Mr. Kincaid froze. He clearly didn't think of that. "I, uh..."
I was quick to cut him off. "And besides..." I stopped my pacing, taking a seat on the edge of Keith's desk. I held my gaze with Mr. Kincaid. "I've known you all of twenty minutes. Don't you think that's a little soon to develop a grudge against you, sir?" I asked the rhetorical question. "It makes your accusation almost sound...ridiculous. Stupid. Outrageous, and utterly insane. Doesn't it?" I put emphasis on the two 't's' in those last two words, successfully enraging the teacher even more.
He thrashed about and yelled as Ms. April kicked him out, and the class all applauded me. Keith gave me a slight head nod, and I knew that I had been approved.
"Well..." Ms. April cleared her throat, regaining control over the room. "We better get you seated, Rena. You can have the seat next to Keith." She pointed at the empty desk next to Keith in the aisle, and I happily took my place.
Ms. April began a lecture of some sort, but I wasn't really listening. Keith wasn't either, from what I could tell. He smirked and leaned over to me, and I smiled and raised an eyebrow.
"So...how did you do it?" He asked, and a Buizel jumped up on his lap. That must be his family Pokemon.
The classroom door quietly opened just a crack, and Mightyena slipped in, undetected. He made his way over to me, taking a seat on the floor in-between Keith and I. I smirked and high-fived him.
"They always forget to interrogate the partner." I looked over at Keith.
He flashed me a charming grin, and I just grinned back.
I'm definitely, most certainly in.
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:D so how's the story so far? Is it interesting enough? This is my last chapter for tonight, because I want to gradually update this. Not too gradual, obviously. I hope you guys really like this so far!
And because I forgot to do this in my first author's note...
Disclaimer: Serena Daniels doesn't own Pokemon, nor its characters. Also, I don't own any aspects of the cover. I just photoshopped it using existing pictures from Google.
Claimer: I own all OCs and basically the entire plot of this book.
It's loosely based off of Pokemon Ranger: Shadows of Almia :D anyways, that's it!
Fan art by @NyxAbsol. Thank you so much for the fan cover!!
Read, comment, vote, and enjoy!