Chapter 4: Cynthia Shirona

"Cynthia?"

Cynthia froze. She stared into those gorgeous dark, blue eyes as a million questions raced through her head.

Ash turned around slowly and waited patiently for the shock to blow over. He couldn't believe it at first either.

"Ash?" she asked quietly, unable to say anything more.

He nodded as her Lucario came in, aura sphere at the ready. Glancing around, its crimson eyes rested on Ash before widening. It had only seen Ash's face change, not his eyes or his body. Now he looked like a true Aura Guardian. Approving, it nodded its head and pulled his trainer away giving Ash some space.

Cynthia sat on the bed; shell shocked at the boy, no man that she saw in the bathroom. His spiked hair lay flat on his head except for a few strands that covered some of his left eye. The blue streaks were the first thing she noticed when she walked in, they were smoothly blended into his original raven black hair which appeared to be darker than usual. The hair definitely enhanced the blue in his eyes, his deep blue eyes that seemed to stare into her soul. His cheekbones were higher and the z's on his cheeks disappeared. Then there was his body. Oh dear god. She could see that the change had toned every bit of him. His biceps were just the right size and you can definitely see the slowly forming six pack abs through his tight shirt. She noticed that he had grown significantly taller as well, almost a head taller than her.

"Perfect height to kiss him," She thought wistfully. She widened her eyes at the sentence that ran through her mind and shook her head once or twice for good measure. "I can't be thinking about him like that, not when he is going to be my apprentice." Slapping her cheeks to clear her head, she waited quietly. She heard the tap go on for a few seconds then stop. Her video phone finally rang breaking the silence. She guessed it was Riley checking in.

She answered the call and sure enough the aura user's face appeared. "Hey," she rasped weakly.

"I take it he woke up?" he replied amused at Cynthia's expression.

"Yeah." She answered still numb.

"Is he fine?"

"Yeah."

"Does his aura seem stable?"

"Yeah."

"Do you want to tie him to the bed and have your wicked way with him?"

"Yea- wait what! No!" She yelled at him cheeks beet red, shocked out of numbness.

Riley cracked up at the other end of the line. "I bet you do!"

"Shut up Riley!" she whispered harshly, afraid that Ash could have heard him.

Shaking with laughter Riley managed to wheeze out a question "Is he there?"

"Yeah, he's in the bathroom." Cynthia said still blushing. "Do you want me to get him?"

"All right, I imagine that he is panicking?'

"No, he seems pretty calm about it"

"That's good; can you get him for me?" Cynthia nodded once at Riley before getting up from the phone.

"Ash?" When she got to the bathroom, she gasped. Ash was breathing heavily and was holding the marble sink so much that he was making an imprint on the marble, molding it to his hand shape.

"Ash, are you okay?" she asked quietly. He didn't turn around, but she could hear his breathing get heavier and more ragged as he struggled to inhale on a steady count. He gave out cry of pain as he clutched his head and sank to the floor. Cynthia's eyes widened and she pulled him out of the tiny space. Ash got the message and stood up shakily, stumbling his way over to Lucario by the bed, who steadied him and laced its paw with his hand. Ash held it up and let the excess aura flow to Lucario.

Cynthia sighed in relief as his breathing turned regular and the light around him faded.

"Ash, Riley wants to talk to you."

"I know, I heard him say that he wanted to see me." Ash replied after a moment with a cold, hard voice. Cynthia's eyes widened. The Ash she knew wouldn't have spoken like that.

He turned to the video phone and watched as Riley's eyes widened.

"You sure have changed," he stated a little shocked at the now mature looking Ash.

"I know."

Cynthia decided to put in her own two cents. "What the hell was that? What in the four regions happened to you Ash?"

"Aura," both boys answered.

"What is it? Why did it happen to Ash only?" Cynthia knew a little bit about Aura due to her Lucario but was not as educated in it as the other two.

"Cynthia, it's going to be a lone explanation, sit down." Cynthia complied and looked to Riley and Ash for answers.

Ash started it off, "Aura is the living force of all things, you have it, I have it and everything else that exists has it. But few people have the ability to harness the aura and manipulate it. Such as Riley, Sir Aaron and now, me."

"You can harness it?" Cynthia asked eyes wide.

"He can now, that is." Riley informed her. "Ash is a little bit special, Ash is Arceus's chosen one, which would explain all the legendaries he has met during his travels. That would make his powers a little more amplified."

"Riley…" Ash growled not wanting to discuss the subject.

"All right, all right. So picky." Riley muttered.

"Now back to the subject," Ash commanded sternly glaring at Riley who froze at the intensity of his dark blue eyes.

"Aura is essentially living, it chooses who it wants to give its gifts to. At least that's what Sir Aaron told me."

"Sir Aaron?" Cynthia inquired. Riley but in explaining.

"He was one of the most powerful Aura Guardians of all time. Sir Aaron sacrificed himself to safe both of the kingdoms at war. He resides dead at the tree of beginning."

Ash snorted at that. "He isn't dead." Everyone looked at him. "He's preserved in that godforsaken tree aching to come out. Think of him as its play toy." He mused.

Then, a violent but brief flash of light suddenly surrounded him as if reminding him about something. He let out a gasp of pain and clutched his head once more as the pounding returned. Lucario made an attempt to go help him but Ash waved the jackal Pokémon away.

"Ash! Are you okay!" Cynthia shouted as she went to go help him again. She forced him up from the crouched position he had and sat him on the bed. Garchomp let out a small whine, nudging him back to lie down.

"No, I'm fine." Ash wheezed out. "My Aura is just reminding me to get a mentor." He stood up suddenly and a smile took over his handsome face. "And I know who to go to. Riley explain everything to Cynthia. I'll be back tonight or tomorrow."

"Tomorrow!" Cynthia Shrieked. "I don't want anything to happen to you! You mister are staying right here where I can see you and make sure you are not going to kill yourself!" She yelled clearly worried about him.

"Relax Cynth I will have my mentor with me. You got nothing to worry about." Ash replied calmly gathering his things. Unbeknownst to him, Cynthia was blushing heavily at her new nickname.

"I still refuse!"

"Well it's a good thing I'm not going to listen." He gave a lopsided smile to her.

"Oh god, he's looked so damn sexy when he did that!" She thought. Snapping out of it she grabbed his arm before he opened the door. "You are not going anywhere with those clothes." She stated laughing at his attire.

"Oh yeah." He mumbled dejected, as if someone took his candy away right as he was about to eat it.

Cynthia grabbed her wallet and recalled her Pokémon before kissing Ash on the cheek. "I'm going to get a new outfit but until then, you stay here." She let out her Milotic to guard the door and left.

Only when she closed the door, she had realized what she had done. "Oh my god." She muttered while blushing. She touched her lips "His skin was so cool and soft." Shaking her head to get rid of those thoughts she went down to the strip mall in trainer's village to accomplish her goal.

Ash froze as her soft lips gently kissed his cheek. He immediately glanced at the video phone with Riley's face holding a wide grin. He was bright red obviously because of holding his laughter in. Ash glared at him just as the door closed. A Milotic stood by it, daring him to come closer to open the door.

"Ash, you are one lucky guy." Riley said between fits of laughter.

"Shut it!" Ash exclaimed with a mild blush which only made Riley laugh harder.

"All right, Lucario has been waiting for me to get off the phone."

"Good bye!" Ash stated before hanging up on him. Shaking the thoughts out of his head he went to the bed with his partner still sleeping on the bed.

He checked his watch and his eyes widened when it read 8 a.m. He was up really early talking to everyone. Making his way around the bed to his faithful Pikachu, he sighed. He didn't know how Pikachu was going to take his change or his mother's death. A wave of sadness washed over him. His mother was dead. Breathing heavily, Ash got on one knee to be in level with his Pokémon's sleeping face.

"Pikachu, wake up buddy." He said softly, nudging him before the onslaught of tears escaped.

"Pika…" The small electric rodent groaned. Pikachu must have remembered what his master was going through because it was up and alert looking around for his best friend. When its eyes caught sight of the mysterious man standing by the bed, it growled, with its cheeks sparking dangerously. Pikachu inhaled once to determine the stranger's scent. The little mouse stumbled back with its eyes wide.

"Pikapi."

"Hey Pikachu." Ash said while smiling. The rodent cried tears of happiness and launched itself at its trainer. They cried together enjoying the feeling of being united once more.

Ash sat down and put Pikachu on his lap. He stroked it while saying, "I know you're wondering what happened right Pi?" The little Pokémon nodded once enjoying the feeling of being rubbed on his tail. "Mom died. Pi. Mom's gone." With that sentence, the trainer started sobbing while Pikachu looked up shocked at the revelation before crying as well.

Ash started to explain everything to his faithful partner. Starting from the morning of his and Paul's battle.

Cynthia was just about to finish purchasing Ash's new outfit when she heard her name get called out.

She turned around only to see Paul with his usual stoic expression. Although now he seemed to be a bit worried.

"Cynthia, where's Ketchum?" He said a frown etching onto his face. "He's gone missing and you certainly look worried. Also, coming out of a men's store doesn't help your case either,"

"My shopping is none of your business, I just happen to be shopping for a friend,"

"Who? Lance? Wallace?"

Cynthia rolled her eyes and replied, "Again, Paul," she sneered his name. "My life is none of your business,"

"Dawn and Brock are worried sick, an-"

"Why would you care? If you didn't care about your Pokémon, why would you care about a non-relative that's missing?"

Paul pursed his lips, "I want my battle, and you and I both know that he didn't try. That was unfair to me."

"Not everything matters about you Paul. Did you know his mom was killed by mysterious people the morning of yours and Ash's battle?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Oh yeah, you didn't know. While you were out there abusing your Pokémon, Ash was getting informed by Professor Oak that his mom was murdered!" Somewhere along the conversation, Cynthia had started yelling. Looking at Paul now, she noticed his wide eyes. He backed off slightly at her furious face. "You may have the win, but Ash is a much better trainer that you will ever dream to be." With that, Cynthia called her Garchomp and flew back to her champion suite.

Landing on her balcony, Cynthia recalled Garchomp, giving him a word of thanks, and unlocked the screen door. She found Ash sleeping, still stroking Pikachu subconsciously. She smiled and gave him a soft kiss on his forehead and shook him lightly. He shifted and remained asleep. Cynthia refrained from trying to wake him up again, seeing he had a highly emotional two days. She walked into her master bedroom and softly closed the door behind her. She laid his outfit down on her bed and admired her handiwork. She had bought him a slightly dressy black sleeveless vest with a navy blue shirt underneath, black jeans and a black and blue fedora. She thought it would work with his gorgeous blue eyes and raven black hair.

She heard the door open behind her and a few footsteps.

"Is that my outfit?" A still slightly cold voice said. Cynthia swiveled around to see the sixteen year old yawning behind her. "Not bad. Cynthia, I would like to apologize for being a bit cold when we spoke before, I'm still dealing with accepting my mom's uh-"

"It's okay, well go on! Try them on! I want to see them on you!" Cynthia stated pushing him toward the master bath after shoving the clothes in his arms. After she had shooed him off, she heard her door being knocked.

"Hi Cynthia, "A red eyed Dawn weakly greeted. Brock had tear stains going down his cheeks and didn't even try to flirt with her!

"Did Ash come here, "she asked, her voice raspy. Then she spotted Pikachu on the armchair snoring softly. "He is here!"

"Sorry Dawn, that's my friend…um…Shadow's Pikachu!"

"Shadow huh? May we see him?" By this point, Dawn's tone had turned into an annoyed argumentative tone.

"Yes, you may, "A deep voice answered behind Cynthia answered. She pursed her lips and opened the door wider to reveal a man.

Dawn's eyes widened. There stood a man much taller than Cynthia, which was not an easy feat considering Cynthia was incredibly tall, with striking blue eyes. He had a muscular body and a jaw-dropping face. Before she could say anything, she felt the heat rising to her cheeks as she stared at his now cocked eyebrow.

Brock stepped back at the highly intimidating man and looked at Dawn's flustered face. He smirked slightly at her awestruck expression before remembering why he was here. "Paul just told us to check in with you because you were acting suspicious. I'm sorry if we intruded." He bowed slightly in apology and dragged a love struck Dawn down the hallway.

"That was a close one." Cynthia sighed closing the door, "But why did you lie to your friends?"

"I can't have them worrying while I'm training, it would only get in my way and theirs. They need to continue with their careers, I will only slow them down by making them wait for me for many years." He replied looking at himself using the mirror in the bedroom. "I like it Cynth."

"Thanks" she said beaming, her cheeks turning slight red at the nickname "How long will your training take?"

"I don't know, depends how fast I learn," he replied waking up Pikachu. "Hey Pi, were going to get an old friend. Remember Riolu?"

"Pi Pika!" The mouse cried joyously while jumping onto the teen's shoulder.

"Great to see you remember him, he's going to be with us for a while."

"Ash, I've been meaning to ask you something, but with all this aura business, I haven't got the chance. But here's the thing, will you be my apprentice?"

Ash's eyes widened considerably. "Your apprentice?"

"I know you have great potential, I want to bring it up front. You have been traveling and helping your friends too much that it had lessened your own training. I admire your courtesy but that's got to end. If you accept, your Pokémon are going to be rigorously training alongside mine to become stronger. If you accept, that is."

The words died in Ash's throat, after a while he managed to say a breathless yes. A chorus of yes's followed getting louder by each word. Soon he was smiling and hugging Pikachu, "Pi, you know what this means, we're getting trained by one of the world's best trainers!"

"Pikapi!" Pikachu squealed rubbing his cheek with Ash's.

Cynthia smiled at the heart warming scene and spoke up again, "You'd better go get that Riolu before you aura makes an appearance again."

Ash gave her a firm nod and spun a Pokéball on his finger, "Ready to say hi to an old friend Pi?" Pikachu recognized the Pokéball and let out a whoop of joy.

Ash walked onto the balcony and leaned on the railings for a breath of fresh air. Straightening up, he tossed a Pokéball with a flick of the wrist. With a deafening roar, a massive orange lizard appeared.

"Hey Charizard, give us a lift?" he said coolly.

Charizard grunted, and was about to turn around and give the customary flamethrower greeting to the face, when it had realized something. Ash wasn't Ash anymore. He had changed. Checking the sudden appearance change to make sure it was it's trainer, it turned back around and gave a curt nod and signaled for him to get on.

"Thanks bud," He replied patting the lizard's head. Stretching his arm out, he sent a pulse of aura out and pinpointed Riolu's position. "Head northeast Charizard." He finished his voice still cold and hatred at the ones who killed his mother still looming in his mind.

Paul was bits shaken up, he's never seen or heard about Cynthia lose her demeanor before. With her calm manner, he thought it was impossible.

Snapping out of his thoughts, he waited in the hotel lobby, checking the elevator doors once in a while to see if Brock and Dawn were returning from their trip to Cynthia's champion suite. Ash had to be there, although Ketchum didn't seem like the one to go to champions for encouragement. Sure he had lost his mother, but he had time with her. Unlike Ketchum, Paul barely knew his parents. They died before he was even three.

Soon enough, the elevator opened revealing brock supporting a dizzy looking dawn.

"Well?" Paul questioned looking expectantly at them.

"Ash wasn't there, although there was a man, "Brock had replied. "Dawn's got all flustered just at looking at him and hearing his voice," hearing this, Paul felt a stab of jealousy, but pushed it away. He didn't have time for love, especially not with troublesome. Paul nodded at the response and turned to leave.

Outside of the building, he couldn't help but notice the man leaning on the railings of a champion suite's balcony. Cynthia's to be exact. He was too high up to notice any features properly, although he did have dark hair. He released a powerful looking Charizard before taking off.

"Must be the guy Brock was talking about," he though walking away.

"What game are you playing at Ketchum?" he voiced.

Cynthia sighed at the retreating figure of Charizard.

"Hopefully he returns to normal, it wouldn't be the same without that optimistic fire." She thought retreating back into her Champion suite to succumb to the horrors of paperwork.

"Ash, where are you," Dawn and Brock thought as they roamed the roads of Trainer's village once again to find some clue about the trainer's whereabouts.