Author's Note: WOW! It's been MONTHS since I've last updated this story! I am sorry to all of those who have read this story. I've finally gotten over my writer's block (music helps) and I've been cooking up ideas for future scenes. I do realize that the story is going pretty slow, but it's only build up until I can finally start skipping ahead to his high school years, then university.

"speech"

'thoughts'

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.

Zane's eyes scanned over the terrain as he began sprinting towards a thick group of trees, his breath coming out in pants and sweat staining the collar of his white sleeveless shirt and his iconic bandana tied around his. His silver canteen was bouncing around and more than once he had to grab it so that it would stop hitting his side.

Unsheathing his red claws, Zane jumped onto a thick tree and began climbing up into the thick cover, his tan combat boots giving him a better boost.

After getting to the top branch and making sure he wouldn't fall, Zane took a moment to catch his breath and take a quick swig of water from his canteen.

Now able to take a breather, Zane began to think over his current situation. 'Okay, I'm about five miles from my house if I haven't gotten lost already. I still have plenty of water, and...' Zane looked at his watch 'it's only 3:00 PM.'

The Zorua groaned as his left leg began to hurt. 'Damn. That's definitely gonna be a problem.'

As he began to lightly massage his leg, Zane continued to contemplate his situation. 'Is this endurance training, or survival training? It's only been a couple of days since I got let out of the hospital and already Sawyer is pushing me to my limits. I know he wants me to get stronger and better coordinated, but this is freakin' ridiculous. The only comforting thought is that he is doing the same thing to my friends, but that's not a very nice thought, either.'

Once he was finished rubbing his leg, Zane's thoughts began to drift over to his new friends. A small smile crept onto his muzzle as he thought over each one of them. 'Xander's pretty nice, a little quiet, but still nice, Brandon seems like the strong silent type, but he carries so much emotion in the rare moment he does talk, Maria is...' a small blush could be seen through the gray fur on his face '...a little affectionate, but knows when to stop, and finally, there's Nina.' His smile came back. 'Outgoing, carefree, open with most of her feelings, she's the perfect friend. How can someone like that want to be friends with a shy Zorua?'

The sound of bark being scraped and the rustling of leaves signaled the Zorua that someone was climbing up the tree he was on. Using his better sense of balance and scooting towards where the branch met the trunk, he reeled his arm back, a Shadow Claw ready to be used, and prepared for the worse.

The sight of a light black hand that had black claws digging into the bark and the sight of long gray hair gave Zane a sense of relief.

It was only Maria.

But then he began to panic slightly. Whenever he was left alone with her, she kept giving him these mischievous smiles and looks that would make him blush and turn him into a stuttering and sweating wreck.

He dissipated the energy in his hand and began to slide down the branch as the Poochyena finally made her appearance. When she faced the Zorua, she gave a big smile. "Hey Zane! I thought I smelt something familiar when I was walking through here."

Zane only gave a weak smile as Maria crawled onto the same branch he was on and sat beside him, her smile not shrinking the slightest.

Maria reclined against the tree trunk and gave a small sigh, her smile disappearing. "This endurance training is rough. I didn't know your uncle could be so lenient and yet driving at the same time." She shifted her gaze towards the Zorua. "What are we supposed to be doing again?"

Zane shrugged. "I guess we're supposed to get back to the house before sunset." His gaze turned the terrain. They were on one of the highest trees in the forest, so they could see a good distance without anything blocking their view.

Zane stood, reached upward, and pulled himself onto a branch that was parallel and above to the one he was currently on. He then reclined against the trunk and let out a content sigh. Maria watched his actions with a smile of amusement. "You sure that you're a Zorua? You seem more like an Ambipom with the way you climb trees."

Zane let out a small laugh. "Being a Zorua means that I have great nimbleness. You need to be nimble on your feet when you're battling with the use of illusions and the dark." Zane then expressed a worried look. "Man, I sound like some kind of predator when I say it like that."

Maria gave a light chuckle. "A lot of people seem to think that way of us Dark-types. Until I met Nina, Xander, and Brandon, I didn't have a lot of friends because of my type. A lot of admirers, but not any true friends."

Wanting to change the topic to something more cheerful, Maria spoke up. "So, you excited about trying out for our band? Nina said you sing and play guitar." Zane smiled. "Yep, taught myself how to play and have been playing for a few years. Never got a chance to play for a band though. You know, with the abilities to create illusions and what not." The Zorua turned his head looked down at Maria. "What about you? What kind of instrument do you play?"

The Poochyena smiled a little more. "I play bass. Nina and Xander play guitar while Brandon plays the drums. We all practice lyrics for different kinds of music. I usually sing backup while Nina leads, Xander, despite being pretty quiet, has quite the talent to sing hard rock and backup for much louder music, and Brandon's deep voice is good for country."

Zane chuckled. "Wow, somehow that doesn't surprise me." He then looked at the sky and then frowned. "We've been sitting too long. We better get going." Maria nodded and she began her descent towards the ground. Zane soon followed after her.

After dusting themselves off, they began a light jog towards the direction of the house, a map clutched in Zane"s hand.

All of a sudden, Maria slapped Zane on the shoulder and then began sprinting. "YOU'RE IT!" Zane regained his balance and then began sprinting after her with a playful grin. "You are so on!"

Their feet were kicking up dirt as they both jumped over roots and swerved past trees, laughter echoing across the forest. Their breathing became ragged gasps as the running began to take it's toll.

Suddenly, Maria's foot caught an exposed root and she fell forward with a loud yelp. "MARIA!" Zane slid to a stop and quickly rolled the downed Poochyena onto her back.

Zane sighed in relief. Despite a bloody nose, her head wasn't hurt. He quickly began to check her over for injuries. Rolling up her pant leg, he cringed. Her right ankle was swollen and a slight purple color could be seen through her fur. It seemed she had badly twisted it.

Sighing, the fox picked her up and laid her on his back, her head next to his, her arms draped over his shoulders, and his arms were snaked down her sides and his hands were now underneath her, gripping each other in a loose piggyback ride. He blushed lightly because his hands were touching her bottom, but he dispelled the thoughts and began walking, hunched forward so that she wouldn't fall off. Every once and a while, he would hear her mumble something in her unconscious state, but most of it was unintelligible.

It was starting to get late as the sun started to set, it's orange glow casting it's rays across the top of the trees. Zane began panting as he kept up his light jog, being careful not to bounce Maria around too much. It seemed that all of the jostling was all that was needed to wake Maria up from her sleeping state, because when Zane hopped over a couple of rocks, he heard and felt a yawn against his neck.

"Mmm...Zane? ...What's going on?" The said Zorua stopped his jog and turned his head as best as he could so he could see the awakened Poochyena. Her eyes were half-lidded and she was lightly rubbing away the now dried blood on her nose. "And why was my nose bleeding?" "You took a bad fall and knocked yourself out." Zane then took a good look into her eyes. "You don't seem to have a concussion, which is good."

Maria smiled and lightly wrapped her arms around Zane's neck in a hug. "Thank you for helping me Zane." She then leaned over and kissed his cheek, which made Zane's eyes widen and a blush formed on his face. Maria only giggled before resting her head against his neck. "Seriously, though, thank you for helping me. I've never felt more safe than being around you." Zane's blush disappeared, only to be replaced by an small smile. He then began walking again. "Thank you. That's the nicest things anyone has ever said to me." Maria closed her eyes, her smile not diminishing in the slightest. "You're welcome." The Zorua walked the rest of the miles with a lightly dozing Maria on his back and a grin on his face.

After he broke through the foliage, he used the rest of his energy to carry Maria to the house. Her grip tightened when he took one his hands away to open the backdoor. After walking through the kitchen, he made his way to the living room where a worried Brandon and Nina were waiting. When they caught sight of the dirty and exhausted Zorua with an injured Poochyena on his back, they quickly took Maria and carried her to the couch. Brandon quickly left to find Sawyer and Xander while Nina pressed her hands against Maria's ankle.

The Vulpix turned her gaze to Zane. "What happened?" Zane sat down on the couch near Maria's head. "She tripped over an exposed tree root and twisted her ankle. Other than the ankle injury and a bloody nose, she didn't get hurt." Nina nodded, accepting the explanation.

Nina kept shifting her gaze between Maria and Zane. Something didn't seem right. Maria was giving a soft look at Zane and Zane wasn't blushing or getting nervous from the attention. In fact, he was actually returning it.

The Vulpix suddenly stood up. "I gotta go check up on something." She then left and walked into the kitchen. Unknown to the Zorua and Poochyena, there was a knowing smile on Nina's face.

When she left, Zane got up and kneeled by Maria's side. Maria smiled even bigger. "Thank you again Zane. I really appreciate it." Zane smirked and sat down. "Hey, us Dark-types gotta stick together, right?"

He held up a fist to her, which she bumped with her own fist. "Right."

to be continued