Chapter 01

Geno flipped back up right, landing on his feet, and whirled, his leg coming around to smash against his fellow students block. The throw had been half expected, which was why he had managed to land properly, and he was now going to punish the opponent for his insults to him. Three swift jabs to the chest, followed by a sweep kick. The first punch got through, thanks to his unusual speed, but the other two were soundly and properly blocked. The sweep kick took his opponent by complete surprise, and as he whirled, Geno’s pale blue tail smashed against his opponents head, knocking him unconscious.

 

Geno pulled back to hit him again, his fangs bared, his blood pounding in his ears, when suddenly an arm grabbed his and a deep voice demanded, “Enough, you have defeated him, Geno Rathin. You have won.”

 

Whirling, his rage roused, he hissed at the Amachamp holding his arm. As she narrowed her eyes, and balled her other three hands into fists, his rage drained out of him, leaving him tired and exhausted. He said, “It is alright, teacher Masagi. I am in control again.”

 

The Amachamp watched him for a moment, ensuring that he had truly taken control of his rage, before she suddenly smiled, and said, “That was a good fight, and you did very well. Take a seat for a moment, and relax. You are done for the day.”

 

Geno nodded, and headed to a nearby bench, nodding to the Sensei of the dojo, where all tamers at the Academy were taught unarmed defense. It was the beginning of his second year here, and he was due to graduate at the end of this year, provided he could prove he could control his blood curse of rage, which turned him into an unhonorable beast, that would fight until beaten black and blue. But his control was improving, and he could actually stop himself, some of the time.

 

He flipped his wings and stretched his arms, reaching for the ceiling and grinning when his wings brushed it, twelve feet above the floor. His pale blue tail and wings, the only gift he had to remember his mother, where her blood gifts to him, and he was glad of them. They made him feel better, just by being attached to him.

 

Geno Rathin was another student at the government-sponsored Academy, where he had been sent, from his foster parents, to become a Tamer. He had been sent at the age of sixteen, and he was a prime example of health. Six feet and two inches tall, weighing close to one hundred ninety pounds of mostly muscle. He had brown eyes and hair, a permanent smile, and a lean build. Caucasian descent, the only odd thing about him was the wings and tail. He was stronger and more agile than most humans were and could last a long time in a fight and did not need to rest long on the bench before he was recovered, and ready for more.

 

He looked at the Sensei of the dojo, and moved over when the Master Tamer was correcting his current student, an Asian decent with more than a little Bunny girl in him, for he kept tripping over his shoelaces. Quite an accomplishment, since he was bare footed, like ever one else. The Sensei took his student’s clumsy manner in stride, intent on teaching him at least how to block, and stepped back to watch the student in question begin to carefully spar with another. Geno bowed to the Sensei, and got permission to leave.

 

Taking himself out of the dojo, he headed for the locker room, where he quickly changed into his blue jeans shorts, and a simple t-shirt. Socks and sneakers finished the outfit, and he stepped out, done a good twenty minutes before class was supposed to be done. Smiling, he stretched again in the sunlight, glad he was not further north, else he would be wearing heavier clothing, and not be able to feel the sun on his skin. He hated the cold vulnerability curse, which made even cool air painful for him, but it did give him a dorm room to himself, and he slept comfortably, since he was the only student here at the moment with that particular curse.

 

Glancing at the device that he had put on his wrist, a stripped down pokédex that would only identify the more common pokégirls, as well as the ones nearby the campus and tamed to the teachers. It also served as a map, compass, and watch, and he saw he was in time to get to the mess hall before anyone else. And now he should not have to worry about that prick James Smith, mostly because he should be waking up with a severe headache in the dojo soon, and the Sensei would make it worse by yelling at him for a bit. No student could insult another student in Tamer Kaito’s dojo, he would often set him or her straight, but would let the student try if they wanted. Which was why he had gotten to beat the snot out of the arrogance prick James.

 

Arriving at the mess hall, he quickly got a tray, and sat at his usual spot, in the far corner of the room, where nothing could get behind him, and he could see everyone approaching him. He did not have many or, in fact, any friends, he got along better with pokégirls than with people. So he did not mind that he always ate alone. If he got lonely, he could just head over to the pokécenter and help the Nursejoy">Nursejoy, who’s name was Tiria, something that not many knew, but always seemed to delight her when he called her by her name. He finished his meal, burgers and fries, with a lot of greens to keep his diet balanced, and gave James a jaunty wave when he walked in. He laughed when the prick gave him the finger, and went back to his meal. He got seconds, and returned to his previous position, noting that nearly every second year student was here, when the Head Mistress Dalara, and stepped up onto the stage with her ever present Supe-Bra Genius with her.

 

Tapping the microphone to get the student’s attention, she smiled at them, and all of them smiled back. She had to had some kind of blood gift, Geno figured, to be able to do that, but no one knew what. He watched her glance at her companion, who handed her a clipboard, and she glanced at it, before saying, “Alright, listen up. I have several announcements to make, and I think the last one will be the one everyone wants to hear.

First, I would like to congratulate our Tamer team for taking second place last month at the Academic Tamer’s Competition. For their remarkable effort, they have all earned a five thousand credit to the campus store. Enjoy.”

 

She had to stop due to the groans from the students that had not been on it, Geno included, while the five students in question all jumped for joy. After a moment Dalara motioned for silence, and continued, “Secondly, all second year students will be required to go on a survival tour with several pokegirl Hunters and ex-pokegirl Hunters personnel, so be prepared for that in three months. It will last for a month, after which the personnel will inform me as to your performance, and grades will be assigned from their report. So do your best.

 

Finally, I will confirm the rumor that we have been assigned not one rare pokegirl to allow the top twenty students a chance to Tame, but three, thanks to a nearby ranch that had some … ‘issues’ and was closed down by the Jhoto league. What these three are will not be revealed until the graduation ceremony, but when I say rare, I mean rare.

 

That is all students, but I need to see James Smith in thirty minutes in my office, Geno Rathin in one hour, and Mary Goodrich, now.”

James smirked over at Geno, who was halfway through his second helping, and replied with a shrug, while a rather attractive blond girl stood up, and followed the Head Mistress out to her office. Geno finished, and appeared to ignore the hissed comment ‘pokéboy’ as he left the mess hall, wondering what the head mistress wanted to talk to him about. He had no other classes today, so he decided to go see the counselor, a Ka-D-Bra, named Selene. Geno rather liked her, and did not mind her, as one of the other students put it, ‘rooting around in his head like an animal looking for a snack’. He could understand her, at least. He got along well with nearly every pokégirl he had met, and most of them liked him too.

 

He checked with her secretary, an A-Bra that was training to become a counselor here as well, and would as soon as she stopped sleeping for three fourths of the day. She opened one eye to see him, and then tilted her head to Selene’s office, which meant she was receiving visitors, and not with a student. Geno knocked, holding the thought at the fore of his brain, asking if she minded him coming in, and heard her laugh, before saying, “Enter.”

 

Geno entered Selene’s office, a comfortable, cozy room, with a desk, several stuffed chairs, and a sofa, which seemed obligatory to counselors the world over. He walked around the desk, and gave her a hug, and sneaked a kiss, which made her laugh. She playfully pushed him back with her telekinesis, before moving to sit in her chair, and asked, “So, why seek me out? Normally you are helping Tiria right now.”

 

Geno sat in one of the other chairs, before he looked at Selene and said, “Well, it has been a few weeks since I came by to say hi, and see how you are doing. And I wanted to know how I was ranking in the school, as the headmistress announced that there were three pokégirls up for grabs to the top twenty.”

 

Selene raised an eyebrow, and said, “Oh, so you only come to see me when you want something? Well, I guess I can do that.”

 

Geno laughed, and countered, “And if Dalara found out I was spending more time with you, she might think I was taming you. I don’t need the Head Mistress annoyed with me. Speaking of which, any idea why she wanted to see me?”

 

Selene looked at him, her antennae twitching lightly, and she laughed at what she saw there, before returning to the computer in front of her, and glanced at it, before saying, “Well, I am glad you don’t mind me rooting around in your head, and Dalara will be seeing all of the top fifty students before the week is up, she is meeting the top three today.”

 

Geno perked up, and said, “Really, I am in the top three? Great, now I just have to pass survival training, and I will have a chance to see those pokégirls up close. I don’t suppose…”

 

Selene shook her head at his hopeful expression, and retorted, “You know I will not reveal the breeds of the possible prizes. But I will say that you should try hard to stay in the top twenty.”

 

She winked at him, and a sudden ping on her computer announced the arrival of a message. After reading the message, she glanced at him, and said, “Head Mistress Dalara just sent me message saying you no longer need to see her. Perhaps that was all she wanted to tell you. By the way, you are second in the school, only Mary Goodrich is ahead of you, your GPA is 3.84. Keep up the good work, imp.”

 

A quick bow after standing, and Geno said, “As my lovely counselor commands, so shall I do.”

 

A quick wink, and he was out the door, shutting it carefully behind him, and a single message, without a sender name appeared on Selene's computer, which, upon opening, simply reading, “Thank you for leaving the camera on.”