A/N: I'm gonna come out and say I dig conflictingshipping/oldrivalshipping/whatever you want to call it because I'm a huge weenie an d I just… whoa… Gameverse especially is…. *puts on shades* nice
This is just a short little oneshot I had a strong urge to write and decided to publish. I don't really know how to write either Leaf or Blue that well so this is practice!
Enjoy, R/R, thanks for reading!
Team Rocket Hideout, B4F
"I hope we will meet again."
Giovanni's words were smooth and deliberate, and in the same manner that he spoke, the Rocket Boss stood from his leather couch and strode out of the office, head held high. Once Leaf heard the doors shut, she lifted her head, observing the empty desk. His papers and his computer… Why did he leave them here, I wonder…? Still in a form of shock after coming face-to-face with the menacing man and somehow defeating him in a battle, Leaf turned towards the door and slowly made her way out.
Then, she stopped, quietly observing her surroundings.
The guards were gone.
Had they followed Giovanni? Somehow, Leaf felt that something was wrong. With each light breath she took, she felt more and more uneasy, unsafe, despite the threat of the Rocket Boss being no longer present. Swallowing, she stepped forwards, grip on her bag tightening.
Leaf rounded another corner and called up the elevator, bracing herself as the doors rolled open only to relax in finding it empty. Pulling out the Lift Key, she stepped inside and clicked the B1F button. With a deep, mechanical groan that seemed to echo through the halls of the underground hideout, the elevator lurched upwards.
The first two floors seemed to crawl by, gradually, making Leaf even more on edge, and it wasn't until the lift was approaching B1F that she noticed the small sheet of stationery folded in between the key panel and the elevator. She took it, hands shaking as it unfolded, and read what was undoubtedly a message from Giovanni.
It's a shame you had to compromise our base of operations. Being Rocket, it wouldn't be in character not to go out with a 'bang'. I trust you'll be able to escape unscathed, however.
Leaf's hazel eyes scanned over the words two more times, and then suddenly, she jumped, gasping. The paper was shaking with her hand now, and she crumpled it up before jamming the B1F button again and again.
The smell… The air… This feeling… All of the things he left behind, here… Leaf bit her lip as the doors leisurely rolled open, revealing yet another empty, abandoned floor. And the grunts that disappeared… Oh, no, no, no, no, no…! The trainer took off down the hallway, leaping over tables and sliding around corners. Alarms blasted to life around her. T-this must be the only way they could get rid of all their top secret information…! In any other case, I would've gotten to the police before they could clear everything out and it'd be searched and… and…!
The dark, narrow stairway leading into the casino was visible, now, at the end of a long, quiet corridor. The air was visibly shimmering, heavy with what Leaf could only guess by the smell was gas. She sprinted forwards, coughing, struggling to keep a level head. Suddenly there was a loud crash! from below, causing the floor to shake wildly, and the trainer, out of both imbalance and shock, fell to the ground.
In the few seconds following the hallway grew warmer and warmer, setting off more alarms in Leaf's brain. She struggled back up to her feet, eyes wide, and flew towards the stairs. Crash! Another explosion from below, closer, this time. The already dim lights flicked off, and one deep yellow emergency light flicked to life off to her right.
Leaf rushed into the stairs and scaled them as fast as she could, nearly tripping numerous times. Somehow they felt so much longer, now. Another rush of heat hit her back, followed by a third and fourth boom, and by the time she was facing the light of the casino a blast of air blew the girl right out of the staircase and tumbling onto the scarlet carpeting.
The trainer recovered quickly to find the casino already empty, with the same blaring fire alarm going off. And worse – the air was starting to shimmer. In a complete panic, Leaf let instinct take over as she dashed across the building, plowing through chairs and leaping across tables still decorated with playing cards, sending dozens of coins all over the floor, and was within fifteen seconds pushing open the front door.
At that exact moment the explosion reached its finale and the interior of the building was set aflame. The few windows the casino had shattered loudly, contributing to the mess of noise that already included the fire alarms, gas alarms, and screaming sirens coming from a few blocks over.
Leaf tumbled forwards across the pavement, gritting her teeth, eventually skidding to a stop at the side of a road. She lay there for a while, listening to the sirens and staring emptily into the night sky, wishing she were somewhere else. Viridian Forest, maybe, or somewhere on Route 4. Anywhere but in the middle of this loud, obnoxious city full of horrible, deceitful people.
There was a dull aching in her leg, indicating that she had twisted something, and various other scrapes from her big fall lining her knees and arms. She winced in pain as the pressure in her right ear increased, then decreased, and suddenly she seemed to be able to hear much better. Her hat lay a few feet away, near a small, murky pond that ran beneath a populous bridge. Using the precious item as motivation, the trainer pulled herself up on all fours and moved sluggishly towards it before collapsing again. It's too far, she thought, and was surprised to see tears pouring from her cheeks onto the dirt below. I can't reach it…
With a sigh, she reached one hand down to grab for a Pokeball, but in the process ended up fading out of consciousness.
What a day! Blue Oak thought to himself as he exited the Celadon Café with a full stomach. That was an understatement; he'd got up at 7AM, fought and defeated the Gym Leader, Erika, at 9AM, then hit the Game Corner until noon, then cashed in and bought a Porygon, and gone over to Route 7 to train some, then taken a short siesta before finding somewhere to eat. He made a face as he checked the time; it was nearing midnight. Looks like I got a little carried away, there! Can't say no to all you can eat! He'd also taken the time to brag to some out-of-shape tourist about his wins – the man had bet and lost nearly everything on games, and was drinking himself to hell in the corner of the café.
Blue mentally gave himself a pat on the back. "Not everyone can be a winner," he said to no one in particular. Still, this has gotta be the last free-time day for me for a while. Can't go slacking off all the time like that Leaf does. His smirk grew as he thought about the girl. I bet she hasn't even been to the Gym yet! No, scratch that – I bet she's still stuck on Surge! Hah!
The boy continued down the street, off in his own little world. He took his time heading for the Pokemon Center, not feeling any bit tired after the meal he'd eaten. It was when he turned onto one of Celadon's craziest, brightest streets – the one the Game Corner was located on – that he was drawn out of his daze.
The sidewalks were crowded with people, all looking disgruntled, scared, angry, or all of the above. Blue was about to take the long way around – crowds like that weren't his thing, after all – when he noticed what the commotion was about.
"Whoa…"
The Game Corner… The Game Corner was surrounded by fire trucks and police cars, flashing lights more distracting than the rest of the neon signs the street was decorated with. And though it was difficult to see through the commotion, the building itself definitely had something wrong, and there was a cloud of smoke rising up above it – was there a fire? Frowning, Blue crossed the street and made his way towards the department store, feeling slightly unsettled.
After all, it was just hours ago that he'd heard some nasty rumors about the place. The adults at the diner were fond of gossiping – something about Team Rocket owning the place, scamming people out of their money. Blue had brushed the rumors off as pure spite by those who'd lost money at the casino, but no one could deny that Rocket had a presence in the city. It wasn't as bad as Saffron, which wasn't even accepting travelers because of the crime problem, but Blue had nearly gotten in a few fights with the gang's underlings while he'd been exploring the city.
Feeling slightly exhausted, the trainer quickened his pace and approached the bridge crossing into Celadon's shopping square. He held his breath as the stench of the 'river' below sifted up onto the street. Gross. The food in his stomach stirred restlessly. Without a doubt, the pond was infested with Grimer, and for a moment Blue found himself wishing he was far away from the city.
"…Huh?"
That person… At first, he'd dismissed the figure lying on the side of the road, outside a dark building, as a passed out drunkard, but… That kinda looks like…
Grinning sheepishly, Blue sauntered over to the railing at the side of the pathway and crossed his arms over it. "Well! If it isn't Leaf!"
Another fire truck blazed by behind Blue, obviously heading for the Game Corner. He glanced at it curiously before looking back over to his rival. Still, she was lying in the grass. The quiet part wasn't necessarily out of the ordinary, but what the hell was she doing there, in the dirt?
"Hellooo? Earth to Leafy? If you miss tree-hugging so much, you should get outta Celadon. Me, personally? I love the city!"
Still, no reply. Not even a movement of acknowledgement. At this point, Blue assumed she'd get up and leave out of irritation.
Somewhat irked at her behavior, Blue waved one hand in the air and shrugged. "Whatever! Smell ya!"
With that, he marched onwards across the bridge, and the foul smell seemed to worsen with each step. At the center of it he paused again, turning back, and furrowed his brow at what he saw.
She was still laying there.
Why? Was she asleep, or something? There's no way she coulda got knocked out or anything, not with all those Pokemon she's got at her side. Something about the sight rubbed him the wrong way but he did nothing except lean against the side of the bridge and stare accusingly.
"Blue, make sure you keep an eye out for Team Rocket, too."
For some reason, a conversation he'd had with his grandpa was echoing through his thoughts.
"Yeah, gramps, okay. I'm not gonna let any low life thugs mess with me."
"Not just yourself, Blue. I mean Leaf, too."
"Huh? Her? Give it a rest, gramps, she'll be fine. She may be weak, but not as weak as those Ekans-loving saps."
"Yes, but she's just a girl, Blue, and you're just a boy. Without your Pokemon, there's only so much you can do. You have to be wary, especially in big places like Celadon and Saffron. Leaf is rather shy and passive, and I don't think she has as keen an eye for danger as you do… Which is really something in itself."
Grimacing, Blue found himself heading back towards the first side of the bridge, keeping his eyes on the riverbank. Geez, what a pain. The group of what he assumed were long-since defeated gamblers standing a block away, that kept sending predatory gazes in her direction, wasn't exactly making the situation any less annoying for him, either. When they started moving, faster than Blue was, the situation definitely became a major pain in the ass. By the time he reached the foot of the bridge, they were nearing the shoreline, and the trainer had broken into a jog, teeth gritted and one hand on the Pokeball of Charmeleon.
After a moment the group seemed to notice the teen walking rather angrily in their direction and quickly backed off, moving further down the road, relieving some of the stress plaguing the boy. The stench of grime was ever present on the riverbank, and Blue cut across the grass over to the still unmoving body of the girl. Upon closer examination, she wasn't in as good condition as she'd seemed from the sidewalk. In the dim lighting there were some obvious flaws across her skin, and the way she was laying face-down in the dirt wasn't very appealing, either. Out of the corner of his eye, Blue spotted her hat, about to go under into the nasty water, and he hurried over, picking it up.
"Oh, yuck," he muttered, waving the object in the air and holding it a good distance away from him. "It reeks." The smell of gas emanated from it, mingling with the garbage smell coming from the pond.
With a face of disgust, Blue moved back over to Leaf and disdainfully nudged her with his foot. "Hey, Leaf! Wakey wakey!" Getting no response, he kneeled down and pushed her shoulder harder. "C'mon, quit sleeping in the road! I don't wanna be seen with a hobo!"
The worry that'd gradually been growing in the back of Blue's mind came to a head, and, hesitantly, he reached over to her neck to check for a pulse. Embarrassed, he looked around as he did this, muttering angrily to himself. "Ugh, quit playing around. It's like I'm on a crime show or something."
Sure enough, there was a pulse, if not a bit faint, and Blue withdrew a little, mentally slapping himself for overreacting. What the hell happened? Did she lose a Pokemon battle or something? Even for that, this is kinda extreme. It was clear she wasn't going to be moving any time soon. Blue looked around once more; they really weren't that far from the commotion at the Game Corner, just downhill some, but most of the crowd was gathered around the trucks and facing away from this dark section of the street. The vagueness of the situation set Blue off even more.
"Whatever… I'm only helping you out since you're so pathetic, Leaf, and since gramps'll get pissed if I just leave you sitting out here," he mused, carelessly lifting up the girl and finding a carrying position that wouldn't be too awkward. "Heh… just like when we were kids, right? 'Cept the setting's a little different…" He tossed the foul-smelling hat onto his own head, knowing it would just fall off again if it was on Leaf, and started back on his intended path to the Pokemon Center.
As he walked, Blue dubiously observed the girl he was carrying. It was near impossible to tell in the dim lighting the street lamps provided, but she seemed paler and worn down. The smell of gasoline and smoke nearly enveloped him, even as they moved out of range of the river and the Game Corner, which brought on more questions. Even taking a bad loss in a battle didn't leave you in this shape.
Once they were over the bridge, the trainer faced reality – the Center was still a ways away and Leaf was either much heavier than she looked, or he was weaker than he thought. Blue assumed the former and called out Charmeleon. He tugged Leaf's bag from her shoulder and tossed it to the small but powerful Pokemon, which then started ahead of them, providing slightly more lighting with its tail.
Two more police cars drove by as Blue passed the city's famous Department Store, and as curious as he was, he knew he couldn't just walk in holding some passed out chick. No, he couldn't even walk beneath a street lamp like this. I have a name to uphold, dammit!
The night wore on and after growing increasingly red-faced at what he was doing, Blue made it to the Pokemon Center.
"Yo, Nurse Joy."
The woman was dozing at her desk, and looked up cheerfully at the visitor. "Hello. Blue, was it? Do you- oh, my!" Her eyes moved to the girl he was lugging and widened.
"Ah, yeah." Casually, the boy approached the desk. "You got two rooms available? Boy, I'm tired."
"E-erm, I'm afraid not. There's only one, on the hallway to your right, but there's always space in the lobby – but, is she okay? Does she need to go to a hospital?"
"Her?" Blue glanced down at the girl in his arms. "Nah. She's just a friend of mine, so I'm not gonna go too out of the way for her. Besides, knowing her she'd probably freak out if she woke up alone in a hospital. This'll do."
Still gaping, the nurse hesitantly nodded. "Well, okay. If you change your mind, please tell me!"
Blue was about to keel over and was trying his hardest not to show it as he turned towards a hallway and made for a door, Charmeleon tailing him. He lazily kicked the door shut behind him, approached the single, plushy bed, and dropped Leaf down onto it before letting out a sigh of relief.
"Gee, have you gained weight since we were little, or what?" The trainer said to her unconscious form, leaning against the headrest. "Talk about a chore. This'd be even more confusing to explain to you tomorrow, so I guess I'll just have to let ya off and not make you pay up for all this."
Charmeleon leaned the bag up against the side of the bed and gave a great big yawn.
"You said it, little guy!" Blue withdrew the Pokemon and took one last look at Leaf. Despite how shitty she'd looked earlier, on the bed she appeared rather peaceful, breathing softly, bangs scattered lazily across her eyes… But the bruises on her arms were obvious. He winced at the scratches, which had stopped bleeding but were still red and swollen, cursing again at how much of a chore it was to be rivals with this idiot. At the same time, it was strange and somehow nostalgic seeing her in such a vulnerable state; for the past few years Blue'd only seen her reclusive side, always semi-aware of her surroundings, either never meeting his eyes, or casting him glares. Admittedly, they were well-earned, but still, this new side of Leaf he'd accidentally discovered was kind of cute.
Snorting, the trainer turned to leave, settling down on the comfortable leather couch in the lobby. It was no king-size bed, but it was a lot better than napping on the side of the street, with the city stench choking you with each breath and the sirens drowning out your thoughts and the hungry eyes of drunk gamblers following you. Sitting back and propping up his feet, Blue was suddenly happy he'd dragged the girl all the way over here. Rival or not, Leaf didn't deserve a fate that cruddy.
The lobby itself, at this hour, was uncomfortably quiet, so in order to add some background noise to the silence Blue flicked on the large TV his couch was facing and set the volume to the lowest setting. He had been planning on finding a movie or some late-night anime to doze off too, but instead, his interest was piqued by the special late-night news report that was on; specifically, the headline.
The Game Corner – it was about Celadon City's Rocket Game Corner.
"A gas explosion, huh…?" The boy muttered sleepily, eyes straining to read the font on the bright screen of the television. "That's pretty messed up."
Yawning, he continued watching, the program being the only thing holding Blue on from the clutches of sleep – and gradually he became more and more concerned.
The explosion was still being investigated, but was rumored to have been done on purpose – to cover something up. The anchors talked about rumors spreading across Celadon saying that the base of Team Rocket had been beneath the Game Corner; Blue wasn't too unfamiliar with those rumors himself. If it was true, he thought, it'd be pretty weird and surreal to have been only a few blocks away when the Team Rocket headquarters was blown up.
It was when the program switched to commercials and Blue flicked the TV off that it hit him; Leaf. She was right near that accident, lying on the ground unconscious, despite there being no wild Pokemon or trainers around. And that smell… had undoubtedly been gas.
Holy shit, thought Blue, laying back and running one hand through his hair, could she have been there…? Leaf… That quiet girl…? After entertaining the thought, he couldn't help but laugh. Yeah, right.
But in spite of all of this, as he dozed off, the exhausted boy couldn't shake the thought of his rival trainer getting caught up in the affairs of a gang like Rocket, and that the reason that she had been lying unconscious in the mud could've been because she'd narrowly escaped the blast. Suddenly, his worrisome old grandpa's words started to make sense.
The mid-morning Celadon sun poked through the thin blinds of the Pokemon Center, settling on the face of a still unconscious and very dirty young trainer. Her eyelids twitched in annoyance before she stirred and pulled herself awake. For a moment, the girl sat upright, recollecting the events from the previous night, when a dull pain from a number of spots on her arms and legs woke her the rest of the way. She sighed; the wounds were nothing but scratches, mostly around her elbows and knees from tumbling onto the pavement, but they had swollen into big, nasty red blotches overnight and needed cleaning.
As if it were a chore, Leaf went through her extended morning routine, which included showering, thoroughly brushing her hair, and digging out a new pair of clothes. Throughout this she did nothing but think about Team Rocket. And how did I get here…? Hmm… The paramedics probably found me. Assuming this, Leaf continued on in planning her day.
However, as she arrived back in her room and finished said routine, a bigger problem revealed itself; her hat was missing. And even more importantly, her Pokemon were missing. Not good. Definitely not good. Swallowing and clenching her fists to stop her hands from shaking, Leaf slung her bag over her shoulder and stepped out into the lobby. C-could Team Rocket h-have…?
"Oh, miss! You're awake," greeted the nurse from her desk upon seeing the trainer, as though she'd been waiting. There were slight gray circles beneath her eyes and Leaf took a moment to appreciate the work the women did for Kanto.
Then, noticing the tray of Pokeballs sitting to the right of the Nurse's counter, Leaf's pace increased and she spoke up. "U-um, my Pokemon… Are they…?"
The woman nodded in understanding. "Of course! They were badly injured, but they've been fully healed, now." Smiling, she handed the object to the girl, who, despite remaining quiet, was obviously very anxious.
Leaf's expression lightened after seeing the familiar set of Pokeballs and she hurriedly returned them to her bag, nodding at the nurse. "T-thank you very much!"
"Of course! Take care!"
The girl had only taken a few steps when she stopped, and, nervously, turned around. "By the way, um… When I was brought in, yesterday… Was, u-um…" Her eyes flicked to the ground. "Was my hat with me…?"
"A hat…? Hmm…" Raising an eyebrow, the receptionist shook her head and cast an apologetic look at the trainer. "Sorry, I didn't see one, miss." She shrugged.
Leaf tried to hide the downtrodden expression that came to her face at this but couldn't, and, looking down, continued over to the entrance. The glass doors zipped open in front of her when, again, she stopped, blinking. Wait a minute…
The figure lying on one of the couch's had caught the trainer's attention; or rather, the thing lying on top of it. As Leaf peered over the bright yellow object, she furrowed her brow and felt a tug of annoyance in her chest. Without a doubt, the person sprawled out here was Blue Oak, and without a doubt the object which was barely atop his head and more laying half on the pillow, half on his face was her favorite hat.
Huffing, Leaf fished the object from the couch and pulled it securely around her head, suddenly feeling her confidence return. Geez, why did this guy have my hat…? As she turned to leave, the girl cast one more unreadable look at him and then hurried over to the doors before he could wake up and challenge her to a battle.
Outside, the morning sun brightened the city that had seemed so gloomy and terrible the night before, and Leaf pushed any thoughts of Rocket to the back of her mind, instead focusing on her main goal. "Time to challenge the Gym!"