#* kieran

He'd been staring at her in disbelief after witnessing what he did.

Ever since that incident with that Zorua he found, Nene was acting a little off whenever he was around her. He didn't know why, and maybe he was the last person to complain about that considering how he was acting when she first showed up to Blueberry Academy... But it sucked a lot more than he wanted to admit, and honestly, maybe it was what made him realize the way he was acting.

Her dad showed up back then so he had no idea what happened afterward, he was kind of forced out of the Terrarium afterward. He didn't want to go back up, but it was hard to say no to a well-known Champion; especially after he was reassured that Nene was safe.

But he felt bad about leaving the Zorua...

Flash forward to the here and now, Silky fetched him. For what, he had no idea, but the last time this happened she brought him to that Zorua...so maybe it was in danger again? Without thinking, he followed the Sylveon. But it wasn't taking him to the Terrarium, it was taking him to... Nene's room?

「 H-Hey... Silky, I don't think I should be going in there.. Not without her permission at least — 」

Though he protested, the Sylveon wasn't having it. It pushes the door open (with the help of Kieran actually turning the doorknob himself), and as Kieran crosses the threshold between the door and the actual room, Silky's ribbons push the door shut behind him.

On Nene's bed was the Zorua he was thinking of, the very same one. There was no mistaking it, he'd only ever seen one shiny Zorua, and that was it.

「 Oh... She caught you? That makes sense.. That's kind of a bummer, I really wanted to catch you.. But you're in really good hands now. 」

It's as he finishes that he realizes that he's being stared at in both shock and horror by the Zorua, and as if comedically on time with an audible "POOF!", the Zorua disappears and Nene is left in its place — panicking and pleading at him that she wasn't a monster.

Wait... Nene was the Zorua? Everything started to make complete sense to him. It's why Silky was so desperate that she'd resort to getting him involved to help the Zorua, and why the Champion of Galar (who he only just then found out is Nene's dad) was personally involved too. After a lengthy stare with Nene's terrified pleas in the back of his mind, Kieran's eyes lit up brighter than they ever have before.

「 Wowzers!! That's so cool! How could I see you as a monster?! You're just as pretty when you're a Pokemon too! 」