The room quickly becomes silent, as the girl's face remained sour and twisted. Her arms are crossed, as if her words and rough voice did not indicate enough that this girl's attitude was poor. All of the students are at a loss for words, confusion written all over their faces, but Kukui gently chuckled. It's unknown if the laugh was forced to lighten the heavy feeling that has entered the room, or if he found the scene slightly cute and amusing.

"Everyone, I know you'll treat our next new student as warmly as the last." Kukui gestured towards the girl, presenting her. "Now, I would like you all to meet Saki."

"Saki? That's a weird name! But it's weird in a cool way-" Ash began to say. However, his words were cut short by a glare from the girl's sharp eyes. He joined the rest of the students in their silence.

"I didn't ask for anyone's comments." The girl, now introduced as Saki, brushed a bit of her brown hair from her face as she snapped. "You should all do yourselves a favor, and not talk to me. I don't want to be here, and I don't want to be around any of you. Make this easier for me, please."
Saki, with a slouched back, walks over to the only free desk in the back right beside Bob's. She kicked up her two feet onto the desk and leaned back, her face remaining disgusted and grumpy. Kukui continued to stand at the front of the classroom, with a sweat bead rolling down the side of his face. "Now, there's no reason to frown, Saki." However, the man played it off by trying to use the same positive attitude he used with Bob. "You're in the beautiful Pokémon school! And you are surrounded by new friends to meet, right in this room!"

"Yeah, right." She turns her head away from the teacher in a quick movement, rejecting his words and keeping herself drowned in pessimism.

Kukui keeps on a smile, though he knew he had a potential problem on his hands when it came to the girl. However, he can not fix the issue right in this instant. He decides to go on with his class, and he would try to pick up her spirits gradually as the time passed.

"Okay, so today we are discussing Pokémon types-" Kukui begins to discuss typing for the student's morning lessons. Most are fairly attentive, Sophocles raising his hand to answer every question Kukui asked the class. Lillie takes constant notes, scribbling all over her notebook's pages. Saki does nothing of the sort, as she lays her head down and closes her eyes, not bothering to listen.
Bob took notice of this. His gaze curiously turns towards her and he makes a quick analysis of her. Accompanying her bad attitude was bad attire, looking like she did all of her shopping at the nearest consignment shop. The cheapest section of that shop, to boot. She also has bandages wrapped around her elbow and her knee, giving her a rough look. She seemed like the exact type of person his old friends used to laugh at.

But there was no need for such a rude laugh, not in the shining region of Alola. And there was no need to mope, either. Bob's new found positivity was beginning to blossom, as he began to gain a liking to the six people he has begun to befriend. Alola and this school, it also gave him a chance to befriend Rowlet, who's volleyball shaped body sat on his foot. Maybe he could help this girl blossom into the same bright attitude he was just beginning to find.

He reached his hand out to her and nudged at her shoulder, as Kukui continued to teach his lesson in the background. Saki's head jerked up, and the same annoyed eyes she wore earlier looked back at him. "What?"

"Look," Bob began to say, his hand still resting upon her shoulder. "I was kind of... er... unhappy when I first came here yesterday, too. Really unhappy. But in the course of the day, my outlook changed, even though I determined that wasn't possible and it was not going to happen. So, maybe you should take my example and-"

"Shut your trap." With a sudden and quick gesture, she smacked Bob's hand away with a grunt of disgust. It wasn't a silent action, as the sound of the smack echoed through the room and everyone's attention was caught. Their heads turned, as Bob gentle fingers touched the new red mark that has appeared on his hand.

"Saki. That was very rude. Please, won't you apologize to Bob?" Although his words attempted to sound strict, they weren't. Kukui's words were the gentlest a teacher could have in such a situation, and his expression was extremely soft.

"Whatever." Saki's face hid back into her arms as she laid her head on the desk. Kukui sighs a heavy, defeated breath. As for Bob, the muggy goggles he looked through on his first day began to reappear as he stared at the girl.

"She said to not talk to her. She doesn't want our attention or presence, that's very clear." Kiawe took a sip from his water bottle with a collected exterior. "So let's respect her wishes, and just leave her alone."

"But, maybe there is something we could do to have her warm up to us" Mallow said, her hands folded together in her lap as she looked down. "We have to try, at least."
"But... it seems kind of hopeless" Lillie said with a frown. "I don't think she likes us..."

"But we're pretty cool! How could you not like us! We're the stars of Alola!" Ash tried to lighten the mood with a grin and a jokeful attitude, but it was failing.

"I mean, maybe she doesn't like anybody" Sophocles declared, before beginning to lightly shiver. "And... I don't want to mess with her... she kind of scares me."

Lana shook her head as the conversation continued. "Yeah, I foresee a problem developing here."
The six were huddled together at lunch time, almost in the same way you would find football players huddle before a game. Saki was off eating on her own, her lunch offering her nothing more than an apple to munch on. She paid no mind to the six, but the six paid mind to her. And soon enough, the huddle of six turned into a huddle of seven.

Bob approached them, the round Rowlet now sitting atop his head. The six exited their huddle to welcome him into the conversation.
"Bob, are you alright? You... seem to be a little less bright in the way you carry yourself...." Lana asked him with a caring look in her eyes.
"Heck no!" Bob nearly shouted, though not loud enough to catch the loner Saki's attention. "All I was trying to do was get her to warm up to this place? And she acts like that to me? What a jerk she is! What a jerk!"
The boy took out a handful of potato chips from the bag he was holding, and angrily slammed it into his face. Lillie cringed at the sound of angry crunching that followed.
"I know that was terrible of her but-" Mallow began.

"It was... what a total jerk!" Bob half grumbled, half snapped through his chewing, cutting Mallow's sentence short.

"But," Mallow continued, a slightly annoyed expression coming across her face after the interruption. However, it softened as she spoke what was on her mind. "Maybe we should try to look past the rudeness and, well, act nice to her. Who knows why she acts the way she does. Maybe if we try and get to know her, she will open up."

"Bounnnn!" Bounsweet jumps into Mallow's lap, and nods it large head agreeing with her. However, Kiawe shook his head.

"We shouldn't force ourselves onto her. I know you have good intentions Mallow, but you'll wind up getting yourself hurt." Kiawe spoke firmly.
"You mean like I did?" Bob grumbled yet again. He would showcase his red mark, but it had already begun to fade back into his normal skin tone.

"E-exactly like Bob did!" Lillie nodded her head to his words in support of the idea. "I....guess. I just.... I just.... I just think we should follow Kiawe's advice."

"Well... I'm not saying Kiawe's advice is bad at all. Because it isn't. But, we are going to be this girl's classmates for the rest of the year. Since that is to be the case... we should really try to become friendly with her. Or at least reach a point where we are on good terms." Mallow says this with a warm voice, one that syncs perfectly with her personality.

"Hm... Ash!" Sophocles's head turned from Mallow to Ash, who happened to be right beside him. "You're good with girls, aren't you?"
Kiawe raised an eyebrow. "Ash? Good with girls?"

"Yeah!" Sophocles answered. "He said he became good friends with plenty of girls! So, is there anyway your girl experience could help us in this situation. I may be a genius and all, but girls are far too alien for me to understand." All three of the girls gave Sophocles a strange, salty side glance due to that comment.

"Sophocles... aliens is an entirely different subject. They could come any one of these days, and you guys should really prepare yourselves." Ash said this is a completely serious tone, which made Kiawe roll his eyes and Lana facepalm. "Anyways," Ash continued. "Uh... I guess with girls uh... you just got to act... nice?"

"Yeah, like I didn't try that..." Bob mumbled yet again through his chewing. "Listen guys, she's just a hopeless emo-"

"Wait!" Lana interrupted. "Maybe! Just, maybe! She has a soft spot!"
"A soft spot?" The other six asked simultaneously.

"A soft spot!" Lana repeated. "Even the harshest of people have soft spots! Something that makes them smile, something that melts away their rough masks for maybe just an instant. If we could find out what this new girl's soft spot is, maybe it could help us all become friends in the future."

"Yes! Yes Lana!" Mallow happily clapped her hands together with a wide grin, ecstatic to finally have someone at her side in this situation. Her bounsweet once again made a little cheer, seeing Mallow's spirit pick up. "We will find out what makes her happy! And it could help us become closer to her."

"Yeah, good luck with that." Bob's gaze turned away.
Before another word could be said on the subject, the student's heard Kukui's voice call out to them. Lunch time was over.

"So children, I have a surprise for you!" Kukui said, standing in front of the classroom with a tall, confident posture. "We're going on a field trip this afternoon!"

Excited gasps echoes throughout the classroom, almost everyone excited for the sudden twist of the day's expectations. Almost everyone. Saki continued the same cynical sulk, while Bob's mood went through a massive downgrade after the earlier events. Despite the powerful bleak aura the two projected into the room's atmosphere, Kukui continued to speak with that sunny smile of his.

"We're going to go out into the Melemele woods! Now everyone, our goal is to spot as many different Pokémon types of as we can. Saki," Kukui called. He walked over to her desk, as her head peaked up from her arms to stare at the man. "I have an exciting offer for you. I, as well as your classmates, would love to help you catch your first Pokémon."
Once again, the class was silent, waiting to hear Saki's answer. It was about as welcoming as they all expected.

"No way... I don't want anyone to help me with anything." Saki tried to use the same tough voice she always did, but, something was different this time. Her tone of voice, it wasn't as genuine as before. "Go on your field trip on your own, let me sleep. I didn't get any last night, so how about you stop bothering me!"

There was silence once again, until Kukui kneeled down on one knee, and met her eyes directly. "Misaki." His voice was delicate and smooth. "I could tell you don't mean that."

"Don't tell me what I do and don't mean!" She turned her head away from his glance, a frustrated grunt escaping her lips.

"Are you really going to turn down this chance?" Kukui didn't flinch, he maintained his position despite the girl's shouts. "You could get your very own Pokémon and-"

"FINE."

Kukui jumped a little in surprise, and the rest of the class held in their breaths from a sudden escape. He never even began to reach the main point of his argument before Saki interrupted with seemingly hesitant acceptance.

"Um..." Kukui slowly blinked twice. "What was that?"
"Are you deaf? I said fine!" Saki sat up in her chair with her teeth bared, her fists clenched. "I said fine, okay?! What more do you want from me?!"
"Er... nothing, Saki. Thank you, you won't regret this." Kukui once again showcased a lively grin, and stood back up. Walking away, he did not hear Saki say these words under her breath:

"I... Always wanted my own Pokémon..."
Mallow, however, did hear these words. Her face picked up at the sound of them.

It was a mere week before, and Saki frustratedly gripped the phone.
"What? Why would you sign me up for that? I have a job!" She screamed so loud, her throat began to feel hoarse.

"Yurrrr my wife's daughter." The man's voice was much weaker in comparison, but emanated it's own sense of power. "And that mak's you my respon...bility...."

"I don't care what you think, I'm not your responsibility!" She countered with a continuous outburst of her pent up anger. "And I'm not going to go to some stupid school because you all the sudden want to pretend to be a father!"

"Listennnn..." The man became quiet for a moment, as did the phone line. But quietness was never built to last. "Yur Mothur said kids like you should get edu...edu...cation. So I just doin' what she would want."

The sound of the man breathing in cigarette smoke echoed through the girl's ears, as her hot head boiled hotter than the lighter that lit it. "Who cares?!"

"I caree... an' if you want me to leave ya be, then youuu better' have perfect atte...attendance."
The man hung up on her, leaving her to scream into a pillow.

The field trip was going by as planned. Lillie continually shrieked as the wild yuungoos would attempt to nip at her feet, Ash continually pranced around looking for the next cool Pokémon, Kiawe continually walked with his back straight and his attitude cool, Mallow continually grabbed at wild berries that happened to appear along their path, and Sophocles continually used a self made gadget that analyzed the population of wild pikipeks. Rotom floated around Sophocles, spouting out data that proved the gadget that Sophocles made was incorrect about the population. Sophocles shook his head and declared that Rotom's wiring must be off.

Kukui led the way, and he didn't realize Saki wasn't in anyone's sight. Nor did he realize the conversation Lana and Bob had as they walked in the back of the group.

"I hope she didn't completely ruin your new Alolan spirit..." Lana's face dropped into a childlike pout, like her ice cream cone had just dropped onto the floor. This made Bob's heart begin to bleed a red ooze.

"No! No no no! See! Look how happy I am! Look!" Bob put on the most forced and painful of smiles as he put two thumbs up high into the air. "Go Alola! Woo!"

Lana's pout continued, Popplio's face beginning to match hers. "You don't have to pretend your happy Bob, your not, I could tell."

"Oh Lana! Lana Lana! Don't give me that look!..." He looked down to the sea lion. "You don't give me that look either, okay?"

"Popppp..." The Pokémon in Lana's arms looked up to it's trainer's face. Surprising, Lana wasn't wearing that same expression. She stopped in her tracks, her head turned directly to the left.

"What is it?" Bob asked.
"Saki." Lana said.
"Oh, joy" Bob said with huff.
"Mallow! Mallow!" Temporarily ignoring Bob and how upset he was with Saki, Lana ran over to Mallow who was slightly ahead, picking at the wild berries.

"What is-" Mallow began to ask.
"No time. Stay silent." Lana grabbed her hand and rushed her over to where she and Bob were just standing.
"Lana, what has gotten-" Bob began to ask, as he was standing in the exact same place.
"Shush." Lana put a finger to her lips, and began to creep towards the bushes that were right beside them. Mallow and Bob followed, and from behind the bushes, they could see the silhouette of a girl kneeling down into the grass. Her voice, it was Saki's, alright. But is sounded like that of a whole different person.

"Come here. It's okay. Come here."
She called out softly, almost in the voice you would use when talking to a newborn child, and placed her hand out in front of her. It wasn't long until a shy little Pokémon... a mimikyu... came creeping out.

The three watched as the girl convinced the little Pokémon to come into her arms. They saw her grin, and the Pokémon nuzzle against her.
"Akemi. You look like an Akemi. May I call you that?"
"Kyuuu!"

The mimikyu, or Akemi, approved of the name, as the two became instant friends. It wasn't long until the girl took out a pokeball, given to her by professor Kukui, and placed it against Akemi's head. The ball shook once, and clicked, and once it was caught, she wasted no time releasing it from the pokeball.
"Kyuuu!"
"Heh.... my Akemi..."
Saki's smile was sweet, as the three watched in utter amazement.
So, she does have a soft spot.