Stormy Night
A/N: My computer is so screwed up that it's scary... I created this story out of pure boredom. Please don't judge /)_(\
Mei squinted through the haze of rain, trying to make out any type of shelter other than trees that would shield her from the deluge. Her hair was already soaked through, weighing her head down and adding to the massive headache she had already acquired. Her shirt clung to her body, sapping whatever warmth she had left out of her skin.
Mei shivered and sneezed as the gusts of wind chilled her to the bone. Resigned to her fate, she trudged on through the forest, allowing her shoes to get covered in mud.
The raindrops trickled down Mei's back as she scraped her neck against the low-hanging tree branches. It was colder than she'd ever imagined, and the forest seemed to continue on for miles and miles. Mei bashed her shoulder against a tree that appeared out of the dark and swore, gritting her teeth in pain.
Lightning flashed nearby, illuminating a few contorted shapes in the forest. Mei braced herself against the rough bark of a nearby juniper tree as the thunder shook the forest floor. The wind increased in strength. Trembling with cold, Mei took a few shaky steps forward and tripped on a tree root. Her elbow scraped against the edge of a jagged rock as she struggled not to tumble downhill. Mei gritted her teeth and willed her tears of frustration to stay hidden.
The rain beat harder upon Mei's shoulders as the first tear slipped out. A flash of lightning highlighted the area once more. Blearily gazing into the torrent of rain, she made out a tall figure running straight toward her.
Panicking, Mei scrambled up and ran in the opposite direction, hardly noticing the gashes the tree branches opened on her face. She heard the frenzied footfalls of her pursuer and willed herself to run faster. The mud turned slick underneath her sneakers, and she fell face-forward onto the ground. Before she could even try to crawl away, the stranger immobilized her arms and dragged her up to her feet.
Even through the darkness, Mei could make out the person's slanted red eyes. "Hyuu?" she squeaked, shivering.
"What were you thinking?" snarled Hyuu, tightening his grip on Mei's arm. "You could've hurt yourself!"
"I th-th-thought you were g-going to kill me," said Mei in a small voice.
Hyuu sighed and surveyed the state of his friend. "You're a mess," he stated.
Mei looked down at herself. Her clothes were drenched and splattered with mud. Long tendrils of her hair were plastered on her body. Her elbow and shoulder stung, and her hands were grazed from slipping in the mud.
"D-d-do you h-have anywhere t-to stay?" shivered Mei, clutching Hyuu's jacket with her free hand.
"Yeah, just up ahead. It's an old log cabin that families probably use in the summer. We can stay there until the rain stops."
"O-okay," Mei peeped, taking a few uncertain steps forward.
Hyuu released Mei's arm and unzipped his jacket, taking one arm out of the sleeve. "Here."
Mei looked at Hyuu incredulously. "But I'll get you wet!"
"I'm already wet enough. Just share the jacket already."
Mei huddled up next to Hyuu, extending an arm through the sleeve and clutching the side with her free hand. "Thanks, Hyuu."
"Whatever," Hyuu mumbled.
The two walked on in silence as the rain continued to pour down. Mei glanced over at Hyuu, who was staring ahead determinedly. His scowl from before had lessened, and was replaced with a look of weariness. Mei frowned.
"Hyuu, why were you even h-here in the f-first place?" Mei asked, trying to suppress her shivers.
"Training," responded Hyuu curtly.
"In the middle of the n-night?"
Hyuu flushed. "Yeah, sure."
"When it's raining?"
"Just shush, okay?! You're lucky I even found you out here. Just keep walking."
Mei was quiet as she trudged through the mud alongside Hyuu. Suddenly, she stumbled as Hyuu flung his left arm in front of her. "Watch it," he growled.
Mei gulped. She had almost fallen into the stream. It would've been peaceful enough, if not for the gusts of wind and the torrential rainfall. It had swollen up to the size of a river.
"There's a rock nearby that I used to get to the other side. There's probably another way to get to there, but we'd have to walk a long way around."
Hyuu shrugged off his half of the jacket and surveyed the river. After spotting the barely-protruding stone, he gingerly stepped out and braced himself against the stone. His eyes squinted shut as the wind blew droplets of rain and river water into his face.
"Take my hand," Hyuu yelled over the sound of the storm.
Mei clutched tighter onto Hyuu's jacket and reached out to Hyuu. Hyuu grasped her hand and half-pulled her onto the rock. They both sat there, shivering, trying not to lose their grip on the slippery surface of the stone.
"You follow right behind me once I jump over, okay?"
Mei nodded, her teeth chattering. Even with the additional warmth of Hyuu's jacket, the water that had sprayed over her front was starting to numb her skin.
"You ready? One...two...three...Go!"
Hyuu leaped over the final few meters of the stream. Mei allowed Hyuu's momentum to carry her over. Her legs were not nearly as long as Hyuu's, though, and she ended up splashing her sneaker in the river water by accident. She yelped as the cold water lapped into her shoe, instantly freezing her foot.
"We're there, Mei. Come on...just a bit farther," Hyuu huffed, trying to pull Mei along. Her right foot trailed behind uselessly, and her entire body shook from the freezing bite of the wind.
Mei looked up with relief as Hyuu finally swung open the cabin door. Mei stumbled inside, and Hyuu slammed the door shut. The two windows in the cabin rattled as the wind shook the walls.
"Are you all right?" Hyuu asked.
Mei sniffled as she sat down on the wooden floor. "Y-yeah, I-I'm okay. I g-guess we'll j-just have to stick around f-for a wh-while, then."
Mei looked around the cabin. It was unfurnished, with only an emergency kit and a few spare sleeping bags located in the corner. Hyuu's things were already laid out neatly in the middle of the cabin.
"Take off your clothes."
Mei stared at Hyuu in disbelief. Realizing the painfully awkward phrasing of his words, Hyuu blushed and yelled, "I...I didn't mean it like that! You're going to get pneumonia if you don't get those wet clothes off. I won't look or anything. Use the spare sleeping bag in the corner once you're done."
Mei clumsily removed her sneakers and socks and walked over to the corner. The floorboards squeaked as she made her way to the back of the cabin, and she had to shoo away a few Joltiks as she took a sleeping back from the pile.
Mei tried to will herself to stop shivering, but her entire body continued to shake. She hurriedly stripped herself of her wet clothing. She carefully laid Hyuu's jacket across the floor and settled herself in the sleeping bag. Her frozen fingers fumbled around to feel her toes, which felt like blocks of ice.
"Are you injured?" asked Hyuu, sitting down on his bag.
"N-no...just a scratch or t-two..."
Hyuu fumbled around in his bag, removing a thick roll of gauze and a bottle of hydrogen peroxide. He tore off a piece of gauze and swirled it around in the bottle.
"O-ouch! H-Hyuu, that hurts!" squeaked Mei, wincing as Hyuu dabbed the gauze onto the gashes on her face.
"Sorry, but I don't want your cuts to get infected. What about your hands?"
Mei huffed and extended her arms to Hyuu. He gently wiped her scratches and bandaged her wrists, refusing to look into Mei's eyes.
"How are your Pokemon doing?"
"They're too t-tired to f-f-function... I w-would've u-used Swanna to h-help me, but that w-wouldn't be a good idea, wh-what with all the w-wind and the r-rain."
"And I just ran out of medicine... Sorry, but you'll have to wait until we reach the Pokemon Center tomorrow to heal up your team."
"Th-that's fine."
Hyuu stared down at Mei, whose teeth were still chattering. Finally, he sighed and slipped into his sleeping bag, zipping it up just enough so that his arms could still extend outward. He wrapped his arm around Mei and hugged her tightly.
Mei blushed and twisted around. "Wh-what are you doing, Hyuu?! Y-you perv!"
"I swear to Arceus, Mei... I'm not a perv! You're cold, aren't you?! I'm just trying to keep you warm!"
Mei snorted and snuggled up closer to Hyuu. "Still a p-perv."
"Just shut up and go to sleep," Hyuu muttered, a slight tinge of red coloring his cheeks.
"Hyuu, c-could I ask you one more question?"
"Only if you promise to shut your trap and go to sleep."
"Yeah, I p-promise. What's the real reason you w-went out of the c-cabin?"
"If I tell you, you're going to laugh at me."
"N-no, I swear I w-wont!"
"I...uh... I thought I saw the Shadow Triad outside the cabin. I was probably hallucinating, but... I just had to go out there and check. I couldn't stand it..."
"You really do h-hate them..." Mei whispered, staring at the wood floorboards in deep thought.
"You have no idea... You're always so happy and carefree. You're never worried or concerned about anything..."
Mei stiffened, indignant. "Of course I care about th-things! I care for my Pokemon, I care for my family, I care for...f-for you..." Mei faltered, blushing.
Hyuu's face burned with embarrassment as he squeezed Mei tighter. "H-hush, all right?! You promised to go to sleep!"
Mei nodded, letting her eyes droop as she sank into a relaxed slumber.
Hyuu watched his friend drift into sleep. When Mei started to breathe deeply, he muttered under his breath:
"Maybe someday I'll be able to tell you...why being with you is more important than finding my enemies..."
.~*...I don't even. Thanks for reading! Please review and tell me what I could do to improve!*~.
.~*LML*~.