Closing his eyes Jared gives a complicated smile before whispering, "You're right, Gastly, I'm not the only one walking this path anymore, I can't let my feelings keep getting in the way."

.

"Mr Jared, can you hear me?" Finally shaken from his trance by the referee, Jared opens his eyes, and looks around before realizing he's still in the tunnel that leads to the arena.

He struggles to his feet, then dusts himself off like nothing happened, "Yes, sorry about that I'm fine."

"Are you sure? you were out for over two minutes, and muttering to yourself, maybe you should just wait, I called for help, a medic should be here soon."

Not wanting to make a big deal out of it, Jared replies with a reassuring smile, "Really it's nothing, I just er, just got so excited for the tournament that I didn't sleep well for the past two days, so I got a bit dizzy that's all."

Frowning, the referee then pulls out a walkie-talkie then spends a short time letting them know everything is okay.

.

Jared is taken to the end of the tunnel.

Waiting there is the same red ribboned guard from earlier, the referee heads back into the tunnel, while the guard leads Jared back to reception on the first floor.

Jared learns that the round of 480 is not over, and is told his next match should be in approximately five hours.

Picking a spot on the first floor, along with the other trainers Jared soon discovers that the amount of remaining competitors has greatly reduced.

(Hah...)

Jared pats his stomach, (fives hours huh... I haven't eaten this morning, now I'm starving, I'm either going to have to go back home and eat, or find out what I can buy with only five dollars.)

Fishing his phone out of his pocket, he was about to say something to Gastly, but then a thought suddenly hits him, "Oh shit"

(Oh no, I didn't even call the school to let them know I wasn't going to show up, and I don't even have the schools number), "shit shit shit"

Putting the phone to his ear, Jared speaks, "Hey Gastly, I need to run over to the school to let them know what's going on, can you possess me?"

Gastly's grumpy voice appears in his mind, "Just go, I don't want to go out in the sun."

Jared frowns, "You need to recover from your match anyways, so just possess me"

"Stupid human, I didn't even get hit, I don't need to recover"

"Don't lie to me, I know using moves consumes your energy, so stop making a scene and just get in already."

A deep chill begins to pervade Jared's body, and with a shiver, he heads back out into the hot Alola sun.

.

Near the entrance, Jared finds his friend, and when their eyes meet, Hale smiles.

They exchange numbers, and Hale makes Jared promise to let him watch his next match.

Jared leaves in a warm mood, despite the bone-chilling cold from the possession.

.

Thirty minutes later, Jared passed the deadpanned guard and his pidgey, and now can be found talking to Nana the obese receptionist, " Er hello Nana, I just thought I'd drop by and let you know I was skipping school for the tournament."

Noticing a sweaty and shivering Jared, Nana slightly straightens her slouch, then speaks lazier than ever, "Mosta the teachers an students ar over ther on a field trip, why didnit you just go withem?"

Jared scratches his head, "Erm! I have a pokemon so I'm competing."

Rolling her eyes Nana nods, "I'll mark youw as present fer the next three days, go have yer fun."

Still shivering, Jared is back in his alley, there he spots a bruised and battered Kai sitting against one of the disrepaired homes, next to a broken street lamp. he was looking thinner than he last saw him.

Jared stops to chat, "Hey Kai, what happened, you lose a fight?"

Kai just looks away and shakes his head with a lost look in his eyes, all the arrogance and fight in him seeming to be gone.

Jared sighs at the nonanswer, then a memory begins playing back in his mind as the cold is temporarily forgotten, (Isn't this just like me back then? am I now the passerby watching someone else struggling at death's door?)

Noticing Jared look away, Kai lets out a feeble sigh then hangs his head down in thought, (yes, he's just like the rest, just like the rest of them my life is worth no more than a passing glance, as they go on their way.)

.

But, unlike all the others that averted their eyes, Kai looks up to see Jared now standing over him, holding out a warm hand, "Say, Kai, I got some extra food, why don't you come in and have some?"

Kai looks up with surprise, as he instinctively grabs hold of the outstretched hand, and can only utter "Why?" as he gets to his feet.

Jared begins walking away with a shiver, "Are you coming or not?"

Opening up the door, Jared walks in, but Kai hesitates before the entrance, "You're not tricking me are you?"

Jared just laughs, "What reason would I have to trick a dying dog on the side of the road, get in here already."

.

Gastly had since left Jared's body, so the frigid chill disappeared.

Sitting around a pot of boiling rice, Kai licks his lips hungrily.

Jared clears his throat, "Say, Kai, What happened to your friend?"

Kai shakes his head, "He went back to the orphanage"

The older man nods, "Why don't you go back there too?"

"I can't go back, not after what he did to my sister."

Jared stirs the rice with a frown, " Who's he, and what did he do?"

Shaking his head, Kai refuses to speak about it any further, making Jared frown deeper.

While watching Kai hungrily eat, Jared scratches his neck while looking up at the ceiling, "Say, Kai, if you promise not to steal my stuff and run away... would you like to live here with me for a while? I know it's cramped, but it's better than the street."

Looking at Kai for an answer, Jared sees him pause his eating and lightly nod, before continuing to stuff his face.

Jared sighs in his mind, (it seems beneath all that bravado was really just a suffering kid huh...)

Checking the time, Jared notices that there was still plenty of time, but he really wanted to watch more of the live matches, so he stood up, "Alright, Kai, I have somewhere to be now, and I'm taking the key with me, you can stay in here if you want, but you won't be able to get out until I return"

"W-hen will you be back?"

"Hmm, probably eight hours"

Thinking for a moment, Kai puts down the bowl and replies unsurely, "Then I-I'll stay here if it's ok..."

"Alright, but if you use the mattress, clean yourself up first, there's no bath, but there are cloths to wipe yourself off, don't dirty the mattress okay?"

Looking down, Kai replies, "Okay"

Preparing himself to leave, Jared feels the familiar chill of Gastly in his veins.

"Why did you do that human?"

Jared pretends not to know, "Do what?"

"Foolish human, from inside, that boy can easily kick down your door and run."

"True, the hinges on the door won't be able to bear a good kick from this side... but... maybe he will, maybe he won't"

"You risk much stupid human, can you afford to lose all your food?"

With a laugh, Jared smirks, "It's like you said Gastly, I should be willing to lie, cheat, and steal, if he takes my things and runs, we can just steal what we need can't we?"

"Idiot human, you know what I truly ask!"

"Gastly, I'm too focused on running to talk, I'll tell you later okay?"

Gastlys voice can be heard cursing in Jared's mind in his mind with all the insults he can think of," Stupid Ugly Ignorant Idiot Human"