I approach the boy slowly. His emerald-green eyes dart around, as if he were expecting someone. But instead they land on me. At first he just looks at me, but then he takes a step toward the large tree, almost like he were supposed to protect it.

I whisper, "I won't hurt you."

He hesitates for at least 5 minutes (or at least it fells that long) before responding in a voice so quiet that I can barely hear him, "How do I know yo're not lying?"

I think about this, having a silent conversation with myself. Should I prove it to him? How would I? Would he believe me if I told him I never hurt anyone unless I have to? Probably not. So What do I do? I just have to take my chances. "I never hurt anyone unless it's necessary. Do you believe me?''

The boy studies me as a tiny grin spreads across his face. "As long as you can keep this conversation secret, then I can believe you. Deal?"

"Deal." We awkwardly shake hands and then sit down to talk.

I start. "So why were you guarding the tree?"

He looks down at the mossy ground, blushing. Finally, he replies,"I was told to. Let me guess. The next question is going to be, 'What does the hole lead to?'"

I nod.

"It leads to the school buildings. All of the core subjects, at least. Also some subjects like art. But some subjects specialize for only one type. Like there's garden class for grass types, acrobatics for flying types, um... That's all I can think of right now. For duel-types like you or me, we usually go to the special class for our primary type. You would go to a dark class, I would go to Grass class. Or, if you really wanted to, or if your grades were low and you needed to boost them, you would take both classes. You would take both Dark and Fire classes."

I smile. "Nice." I then glance around anxiously.

"What's wrong?" he asks.

"I sense someone coming. They could be dangerous."

Right as I say that, 3 huge beasts come out of nowhere, and they're all headed toward me.