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As with Yokai Rider Ghoul, this is a Trial One-Shot, and will only become a true story if i receive 10 smile smilies in the reviews.

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:TEASER!:

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A quiet dusting of snow fell silently on the small planet of Kollin. It was winter, and everyone was rushing to finish their work so they could hurry home to their families. All except for three people, who walked down the man-made metal: a boy in a patrolman’s uniform, with large white headphones on, from which you could clearly here EXACTLY what he was listening to; a pink-haired girl in an open white vest and headset, looking completely down; a tall, middle-aged man with a long, scruffy facial hair wearing a long, brown trench coat. All three were wearing winter coats and had an aura emanating from them of the worst holiday blues you’d ever seen.

“So, what are your plans for the holidays, Aldous? You have no home world anymore, and you have no one here, so I was just wondering…” the boy said, pulling one of his large headphones off his head, turning down his music so that he could hear the response.

“Honestly, Rallen,” the girl said, turning to the boy and smacking him across the back of the head, “could you be any MORE carefree? You don’t have to remind the poor guy!” She turned back to face the older man, and nervously said, “Sorry about him, Aldous. Apparently he still hasn’t grown out of childhood. Please, just ignore him like I do.”

Aldous shook his hairy head, saying, “No, no, Jeena, It’s quite alright. I’m just surprised that Rallen still hasn’t learned about common courtesy. Anyway, to answer your question, Rallen, I have no plans. I was going to find myself a good hotel room and just sleep the holidays away.”

Jeena gasped, putting an arm around Aldous’ large frame, then said, “Well, why don’t you crash at my place? Though it’ll be annoying, cause RALLEN’S gonna be there…” she moaned, hoping Rallen hadn’t heard that.

“Don’t worry, Jeena, I didn’t hear a word of that. I’ll find a hotel this Christmas, so you won’t have to put up with me,” Rallen said, his emotions finally getting the better of him as he turned and ran off.

“Wait, Rallen, where are you going?” Jeena called after him, starting to chase him. If it weren’t for Aldous laying his hand on her shoulder to stop her, she might have caught him.

“No, Jeena, don’t follow him. Right now all Rallen needs is some alone time. I’ll gladly bunk with you. And don’t worry about me, I’ll sleep on the couch.” Aldous smiled a big, furry grin, cheering Jeena up slightly.

Jeena started laughing, making Aldous ask, “What’s so funny?”

“You look like a big, cuddly teddy bear, Aldous!” Jeena squealed, jumping on him like a schoolgirl. Aldous stumbled back a bit, surprised at the sudden action of his young friend.

Jeena smiled, then said, “The only thing that bugs me is what Rallen said a few months ago, after he beat Krux. You know, that thing about Krux being part human? And how he escaped? I wonder what Krux is planning…”

Aldous stopped smiling and took on a more serious tone when he said, “Well, whatever it is, that might be one contributing factor of Rallen’s stress. He’s had to deal with the Krawl threat on two separate occasions, and the last time he found out he’s facing a Krawl-enhanced meta-human. There’s a high chance that Rallen’s thoughts were on when another attack would occur, or something quite similar. But, for now, we should let him be. He needs time to get himself together.” Jeena simply nodded as she led the way to her small, two-bedroom apartment.

“So, I never really got to know much about you and Rallen. Why are you and Rallen not spending the holidays with your own families?” Aldous asked. He quickly realized that he may have hit a tender spot when Jeena’s eyes widened, then darkened.

“I’d rather not talk about it,” she said, a cloud of gloom hanging over her head. Aldous decided to stay off the topic until he could talk with Rallen, the joy that would end up being. Aldous’ eyes rolled as he thought of talking to Rallen. Speaking of which, where had the boy run off to?

~ELSEWHERE…~

Rallen sat amongst piles of boxes, releasing a slow, steady stream of tears. Even though it was strictly against his style, he couldn’t help but let it out.

“Come on, man! STOP CRYING!” he shouted to himself, smashing his left hand into a particularly strong box, smashing the crystal-like object embedded in his armour. “Oh, great, now I’ve done it. Why’d I have to get like this? Now I’ve gone and broken my Prizmod. I don’t think this’ll work as well now. I’d better bring this to Aldous. He should be able to fix it.” Standing up, he walked back down the alley to where he’d left Aldous and Jeena, only to find that they weren’t there.

“Aw, great, this is just wonderful. At least I know where they’d be headed to. I’d better get to Jeena’s place,” Rallen sighed, turning in the direction of his destination. However, he remained oblivious to the set of dark black eyes that watched him walk away.
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