(Rena's POV)

I layed on my bed cuddling Mightyena, and Rhythimi sat at her desk across the room. Eevee was sitting on her head, watching Rhythimi write a letter. For once, he was actually awake! It was a rainy Sunday, so everyone pretty much was staying inside. I was feeling anxious, hoping this rain wouldn't escalate into a thunder storm.

"What are you doing?" I asked Rhythimi, sitting up in my bed a little. Mightyena flashed me an annoyed look because I moved. "What a spoiled little brat." I thought to myself with a laugh, ruffling the fur on his head.

"Oh!" Rhythimi beamed at me, jumping up from her desk and sitting down next to me on my bed. "I'm writing a letter to my sister, Stacey! She's thirteen, and she's coming to Ranger School next year!" Rhythimi grinned, clearly proud of her little sister. "She's going to be a Mechanic, just like Dad. I miss her so much... She's back in Floaroma Town. That's in Sinnoh." Rhythimi explained, continuing to write her letter on the clipboard.

I just gave her the 'are you stupid?' look. "But isn't today visitation day...?" I asked her, laughing a little.

Rhythimi dropped her clipboard and sweatdropped. "Oh yeah... Whoops! I bet they're here already!" She yelled excitedly, jumping up and dashing out the door with Eevee right behind her. "See yah later, Rena!"

I just laughed and shook my head, closing the door behind the blonde.

Visitation day is a day we have once every other month for families to come visit us students, since this is a boarding school. I know that she was looking forward to today for weeks, and she completely forgot! What a scatter brain...

I think I'm starting to like Rhythimi, and I need to be careful. I have to leave these people in the end. Remember that, Rena. It's just another job. What makes this one any different from all your other jobs? Nothing. Nothing at all.

KNOCK KNOCK!

Someone knocked on the door right as I sat back down on my bed. It's probably just Rhythimi coming back because she forgot her phone or something. I just shrugged and skipped over to the door, opening it. You wouldn't believe my surprise to see that Janice, our caretaker, was there.

"Janice...?" I blinked back my surprise, not expecting to see her today.

"Hello, Rena!" She smiled at me. "I'm sorry to inform you that we ran out of spare classrooms to use for visitation day, so you and your brother will just have to catch up with each other in here." She apologized, and I just dropped my jaw.

"My...brother...?" I shot her the weirdest look ever, startling Janice just a little bit.

"Yes...your brother is here to see you for visitation day, remember?" She asked warily, starting to get suspicious.

What the hell is she talking about!?

"Oh! Of course!" I lied, flashing her a sheepish grin. "Send him on up!" I plastered a fake smile on my face.

"Oh...okay!" Janice shrugged, turning to face someone beside her. "Go on in, Mr. Deveraux!" She led a guy in his early twenties into my room, then left us be.

He looked to be nineteen, maybe twenty. Or maybe he's twenty two and just looks young? Oh who knows. He had icy blue eyes and...hair? Blue hair. That's a new one. He wore a white and blue patterned coat and blue pants. He was dressed very warm, which I found a little odd, given the season. Looking into his icy blue eyes I could see years of experience hidden behind the soul that lied within.

He shut the door behind Janice, stepping inside.

"Wait a minute..." I shot him a skeptical look, and he started to smirk. "...Ice!?" I gaped at him, shocked to see him here.

"The one and only!" He smirked arrogantly, inviting himself further into my room. He made himself comfortable on my bed, putting his feet up and placing his hands behind his head. Mightyena was cautious at first, then quickly grew to like Ice.

"What are you doing here...?" I asked, shaking my head to snap me out of my trance.

"Babysitting you." He grinned like an idiot, and I just facepalmed. "Oh I'm just teasing you, noob. I came here to give you this." He pulled a rather large file out of his jacket, slapping it down on my nightstand.

Curious, I walked over and picked it up. I quickly flipped through the pages, skimming its contents. "Is this...is this what I think it is!?" I dropped my jaw at Ice, who seemed content with his work.

"Dirt on everyone in the school? Why yes, yes it is!" He laughed, clearly amused. "I'm a bit of an insomniac, and I got bored last night." He explained, giving me his excuse.

I put my hands on my hips and shot him a skeptical look. "So what, you just did background checks on everyone at the school because you were bored!?" I asked him, just amazed at how weird Ice was.

"Yes I did." He smirked, crossing his arms. He looked me up and down, smirking a little. "Well, you're quite prettier than I expected."

WHACK!

"OWW!"

I slammed the file on top of Ice's head, and he winced and quickly grabbed the throbbing spot on his skull. "Oh shut up." I rolled my eyes. "I already deal with one pervert on a daily basis; don't give me another one to put up with."

He stood up and waved his arms in defense. "Alright, alright. Chill, chill. I wasn't trying to make that sound like I was hitting on you." He apologized. "But you were right to be skeptical, the file wasn't the only reason I came here today." Ice admitted.

I knew it.

"Called it." I laughed, and we sat down on the bed again. Mightyena took his place in between us, and Ice petted him a bunch.

"I came here because I was bored and felt like getting to know you." Ice grinned like a spoiled child.

Well that certainly was unexpected.

I just dropped my jaw and went wide-eyed, making Ice laugh. "Are you kidding me!?" I asked him, half laughing and half being serious.

"I'm being serious!" Ice laughed, playfully punching me in the shoulder. "We've been doing nothing at the office lately---"

I quickly cut him off. "Because Joseph Dazzle stole those blueprints from you guys?" I guessed, finishing his sentence.

Ice hesitated for a moment, then recovered. "Uh....right..." He continued. "Like I was saying, there's nothing to do at the office as of late."

"What about your other colleagues?" I asked, catching Ice off guard with my question. "Can't you talk to them instead of me?"

Ice just pouted. "I'm wounded that you don't want to talk to me, Deveraux."

"Oh!" I dropped my jaw, immediately feeling guilty. "That's not what I meant, I just---"

Ice laughed and covered my mouth with his hand, successfully shutting me up. "Oh relax, noob. I'm just messing with you. I know what you meant." He uncovered my mouth and I just pouted, crossing my arms. "And to answer your question, no. I can't talk to my colleagues."

"Why not?" I asked, a little intrigued.

"Because..." Ice huffed, as if it was obvious or something. "My only two colleagues close to my rank in the---er, company, are a short-tempered woman and a blundering oaf of a man." He rolled his eyes, and I just laughed.

"So what? You came to talk to me instead?" I asked, and Ice nodded his head.

"Yes. You seem more interesting than my colleagues. I immediately took a liking to you after reading your file." Ice explained, and that last part piqued my interest.

"My file?" I asked, a little paranoid. "I have a FILE!?" I started to stand up, but Ice placed his hand on my shoulder and quickly shoved me back down into a sitting position.

"Oh relax, it's the boss's personal collection of information on you. Only him, me, and my other two colleagues know of your true identity." Ice explained, and I relaxed a little.

"That's more people than I'd like..." I mumbled under my breath, but I'm pretty sure Ice heard me. I got up and started to pace around the room. "So...what exactly is in my file?" I asked, already regretting the answer.

"Well..." Ice began, standing up from the bed. "The police reports on all of your previous jobs and heists, and your life up until the age of nine, when you went off the grid." Ice frowned, suddenly slipping into a more grim mood than before.

I went wide-eyed at that last part. "Wait...so you---you know?" I asked, and I felt a lump form in my throat.

"Do I know what?" Ice asked, avoiding eye contact. "How you're an orphan who ran away from the orphanage at age nine?" He pushed the glass door open and stepped onto the balcony, and I followed right behind. "Yes, I'm quite aware of that." Ice spun around on his heel and stared at me with a harsh glare, gripping my shoulders tightly. "Why did you leave?! You were safe there!"

I winced from his grip, and Ice immediately let go. I could tell that he felt bad, but I couldn't figure out why he was being so over protective. "Why I left is none of your business..." I pulled my sleeve back up onto my shoulder (it had slipped down a little when Ice grabbed me).

"You're stubborn as ever, Deveraux." Ice rolled his eyes, a little ticked off. He leaned on the railing and looked out at the sunset, and I did the same. Huh, I guess the rain momentarily stopped.

"Why do you keep calling me Deveraux?" I asked, changing the subject. "You can call me Rena, you know." I smirked, shooting him a sideways glance.

He visibly flinched, and snapped his head around quickly to look at me. "Really? I can?" He asked, almost as if he was asking for forgiveness. "I mean... I can?" He cleared his throat, restating the question in a more professional manner.

I just laughed. "Of course... Wow you're strange!" I laughed again, playfully punching him in the arm.

Ice cracked a slight grin at this, and we went back into the room. He continued to look out the window, and I sat on the bed with Mightyena. I stared at Ice for the longest time, studying him. I don't know what it is... But there's something about this guy that is...off. I'm not sure... Huh. Maybe I'm just over-thinking things. Then again, living as a thief for nine years of your life causes you to develop some trust issues.

"What are you staring at...?" Ice chuckled, catching me in the act of staring at him.

I just smirked, crossing my arms. "I'm trying to figure out how old you are...my guess is early twenties... Hmm...twenty two?" I asked, making my guess.

Ice just laughed. "Try thirty two." I just dropped my jaw and nearly fell off the bed in surprise.

KNOCK KNOCK!

"Rena? You there?" Keith's voice was as clear as day. He was on the other side of the door.

Ice and I exchanged nervous glances with one another, hoping Keith wasn't about to walk in. Ice stuffed the file into my bag and walked up to me, whispering his next few words. "Remember what you're really here for, Rena." He looked over at the door, then back at me. I understood what he meant. "These people aren't your friends, and they're certainly not your family. Don't put your trust in people, because you never know when they'll turn their back on you." Ice warned me, patting me on the arm.

KNOCK KNOCK!

"Rena...?" Keith spoke through the door again, and I turned to face the door to my room.

"One second!" I called out, then turned back to Ice. Except...he was gone.

I caught a glimpse of something blue jumping off the balcony, and the glass doors were wide open. The rain had started back up again, and raindrops and wind was starting to pour in. I quickly shut the door and locked it, then answered the door Keith was knocking on.

He looked around the room suspiciously for a moment, then brushed it off and turned to me. "Rena, who were you talking to?"

I just scoffed as Keith pushed past me, inviting himself in. "No one. And what are you doing here?!" I asked, a little on the defensive.

He raised an eyebrow at my tone, but dismissed it. "I came to check on you. You know, because of this." He pointed out the window at the storm, and memories from the test of courage came rushing back. "I remember what happened to you the other night, so I wanted to see if you were okay."

I just turned away in a huff. "Forget it! It was a glitch. A once in a life time moment of weakness." I stared at the wall in front of me, refusing to turn around.

"You're so damn stubborn..." Keith sighed in annoyance, and his words caught me a little off guard. "It's okay to be afraid of something, you know."

"No, no it's not." I bitterly retorted, spinning around on my heel. "Fear is weakness, and weakness leads to failure. I will not and will never be a failure."

Keith threw his hands up in defense, a little surprised at my outburst. "Relax, will you? I never said that! Goddamn, you frustrate me so much..." He groaned and rubbed his temples, trying to rid himself of his headache.

I quickly caught myself and corrected my behavior, choking out an apology. "Sorry...I'm just a little on edge today, I guess."

"No kidding." Keith joked, and I laughed.

I should probably do something quick to make up for my momentary slip up. "So...I hear Janice is preparing a little movie night for after all the parents go home." I shuffled, rubbing my arm and looking down at the floor. "I've been cooped up in here all day... Do you maybe want to go with me?" I asked, looking up and making eye contact.

"Well, that entirely depends on one thing." Keith spoke to me in a completely serious tone, looking me dead on in the eyes. "Will there be popcorn?"

I just laughed and facepalmed. "Gosh, Keith... Is there ever a time you're not thinking about your stomach!?"

Keith just scoffed. "Of course! When I'm eating!" I just fell over anime style. "Now, let's go, shall we?" He asked me, offering me his arm in a comical manner.

I just laughed and shook my head, gladly accepting it. "We shall."

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For those of you who've played the game before, I bet you guys are starting to put together what's going on :D...... This is so exciting!!! I can't wait!

Fan art by @HetalianDemigodex :)

Read, comment, vote, and enjoy!