United Front

Chapter 7

Luke tugged at the bandages wrapped around his head, following behind Andrew, Rai, and Zuri. He looked at the Zorua with a slight blush before clearing his throat. "So Zuri, Rai, what are your guys' families like?"

The Zoura shrugged while giving of a tiny sting. "Nuclear family. Two Zourark are my parents, and I have an adopted brother, who is a cute Vulpix. Grandpa and Grandma are also Zourark." She turned around while grinning. "Before joining the guild, it was common we fought before dinner."

"Hm... That's really nice of your parents to adopt." The Eevee gave her a smile. "I've thought about how hard it must be to grow up without parents..."

Andrew slowly started walking backwards while placing a paw behind his neck. "Heh, trust me; it really was..." Everyone stared at the Pikachu confused. "Oh, my parents are alive, they just never gave me the proper 'bonding' time like regular parents do." His ears dropped while sighing. "I shouldn't talk about it."

"Don't worry about it, Andrew." Luke gave an apologetic smile, "You're not the only one with a questionable childhood."

The Pikachu only gave a thumbs up before looking at the Riolu. "Rai, what's your family like?" He asked while placing his head on one of her arms.

"Well I have an average family, too." She answered, swiftly picking the Pikachu up. "There's Brandy, my mom and dad, then there's my grandpa who lives with us, too. He has the best stories!"

"That's an understatement!" Zuri responded while wagging her tail swiftly. "I went for a sleepover one time, and heard the best story ever, minus Type Reluctant of course!" A wink could be seen coming off of her to Luke.

"I bet he hasn't heard any human stories before...," the Pikachu mumbled while blushing at her carrying him.

"Nope, just Pokémon ones. Some of them are even true!" The Riolu exclaimed happily, a shining smile on her face. "I hope to be able to tell stories like that to my grandkids when I grow up!"

He slowly nodded while nuzzling into Rai's waist. "Well, I kinda wish that as well then...!" It seemed like the smile was infectious, because Andrew started following her lead.

Zuri suddenly stopped to place a paw on her muzzle. "Hmm..." She looked around to notice no one around. "How are we gonna introduce you two? We can't just barge in and reveal you two being human."

"Easy." Rai remarked happily. "I just say, 'Mom, dad, this is the boy I'm interested in! Not really a boyfriend, but we'll see!'"

"Rai!" The Pikachu's cheeks turn into a red hue in embarrassment. "W-We shouldn't go for that! Stuff might go wrong..."

"I don't think it's bad." Zuri placed a paw on Luke's paw. "At least we can be up front about it."

The Eevee blushed embarrassedly, shuffling away from the Zorua. "M-Maybe we should go for a different approach..."

"Fine..." The Zoura's head dropped before continuing to walk. "We could just say that they're a part of our team, and they wanted to know our family up close."

Rai put Andrew down, giving Luke a soft, yet sharp sideways glance. "...I think maybe you should talk to him." The Riolu whispered to him. "I don't want him messin' around with Zuri's heart."

Andrew was completely confused with her statement, making him nod in confusion. Zuri started running towards Rai, making him sigh. "Luke how are you doing emotionally?"

"Kinda rough, I'm not gonna lie to you." Luke looked away with a nervous smile. "Why do you ask?"

"Well..." He gave a sideways glance at the two females. "To be honest, I have no idea."