ShipperFag is writing MangaQuest because I... have seventy gajillion other projects I have to work on but this idea has been swimming in my head for so effing long that I had to just get it down. (Then again, I've also had a major FranticShipping moment just plain bothering me this whole time... but since I'm the worst writer in history I can't seem to word it properly and I am STILL in the process of writing it) So, since I was listening to Renai Circulation by Nadeko Sengoku/Kana Hanazawa, I thought this was a nice title. Except that Crystal's situation with Gold matches (Staple Staple by Hitagi Senjogahara/Chiwa Saito) Hitagi's and Koyomi's a bit more than Nadeko's with Koyomi... well, whatever! (The majority of people are probably like 'WTF' at this note, sorry! *Bows a dozen times*) I shall kindly stop rambling right now... so, here's your hopefully satisfyingly long one-shot by me! :D
Love Circulation o1
One-Shot
Professor Oak watched as Crystal scurried about his lab, nonchalant of any sign of worry he showed. Over the past few weeks, Oak had noticed a considerable change in the teen's attitude. Instead of being the usual composed and cheerful lab assistant she usually was, she was somewhat irritable and seemed distressed. Multiple times he had confronted her about what was wrong, but she just waved him off and continued being a busy-body as usual.
"Am I presenting you with too much work, Crys?" he asked in consideration to her. She stared at him for a moment, then gave a forced laugh.
"Of course not!" she told him cheerfully. "I'm fine! Why do you ask?" Obviously, she wasn't fine.
One day, Oak was surprised to see Crys come in with blotchy, red eyes. Once again, he asked if she was okay. Her voice was cracked as she replied with 'yes.' He crossed his arms and looked at her for one long moment.
"Crystal, I understand that some sort of drama is going on at home or wherever else, am I correct?" Oak asked. Slowly, hesitantly, she nodded. "Would it be too much of a bother if I asked you what was wrong?"
"No. It's fine..." she murmured. "It's just... Mom is in trouble... she's gone missing while on her catching spree... and I'm seriously worried about her. I'm sure she's fine... but you know, I can't help worrying..."
"I'm sorry," he told her. After that, he didn't pester her any longer, for she gradually started to get better, but as she slid back into her normal attitude, her health started to drop. She was spending too much time indoors. Her legs maintained their strength, but Crystal herself? Oak started to worry once again. After a report on a mysterious egg found and given to Gold, an idea sprung into Oak's head.
"Thank you, Crystal," he told her one day. "For always helping out in this messy lab."
"It's no big deal!" Crystal said with a genuine smile. "I'm always happy to help out!"
"I have one request though," Oak said. She nodded, waiting for him to tell him the request. "Gold is currently in Johto, and recently he has found numerous eggs among many Pokemon. So my request is... will you do me a favor and go to Johto and help him out, give me a report, and all that?" Crystal looked shocked for a moment, and Oak was frightened that she wouldn't accept. Was it too tedious for her to travel all the way back to Johto, which is where her home in Violet was located?
Then she grinned. "Sure!" Oak sighed with relief, but quickly perked up again.
"Good! Good! I've called Gold and told him of the news! You'll help him raise the Pokemon well, I trust, and give me reports on their behaviors, what their names are, etc." Oak assigned. Crystal smiled tentatively, somewhat afraid of the idea of having to spend long hours with Gold. "Oh... and one more thing... You'll be staying in his house." Crys's eyes widened.
"WHAT?!?!?!"
Okay, so perhaps Crystal had been expecting a normal house, but the house that stood in front of her at the moment could barely be called a house. It had about five floors, and had vines wrapping around it. It looked as if someone with absolute elegance lived in this house, but definitely not someone like Gold.
She hesitantly rang the bell outside the gate. Gold immediately came tromping down the stairs.
"YO!! It's Super-Serious Gal!" was his greeting. She made a face.
"Geez, what a host you are," she muttered. He laughed, a sound filled with pure joy, making Crys go slightly pink. The gate opened, and she walked in. As she walked into his house, she realized this was her first time in a guy's house. Humiliating as it was, as she was 14, she faced the truth.
"So. The old man sent you here?" Gold grumbled.
"Yes," Crystal said sharply. "And you need to quit it with the nicknames! Really, 'this strict woman'?!" He pretended to flinch. "And you're teaching bad manners to Emerald!"
"He likes me!" Gold protested. Crys rolled her eyes. "You can't deny it!" She sighed. "And speaking of which, what's with those clothes? I got new ones!" Gold struck an exaggerated pose. Crys laughed in spite of herself, which made Gold sneak a smile.
"Come on, you're getting new clothes!" he grabbed her by the wrist (again) and dragged her off towards the nearest clothing store.
"Gold!" Crystal scolded. "I'm here on a job! Not to buy garments!"
"Sheesh, lighten up, Super-Serious Gal!" he shot back. He grabbed a red shirt. "Hm..." Then he grabbed a pair of overalls. Crystal looked offended at such 'cutesy' clothes.
Finally, Gold got a pair of stockings to match. He handed them to her in a blunt fashion. "A-are you kidding me?!" Crys shouted at him. There was no way she would ever wear THAT!
"Oh come on!" he shoved her into a dressing room. He didn't close the door, so she slammed it shut.
"Don't you DARE try to look!" she shouted at him from the inside. She heard him scoot away from the door. She still changed with her back facing the door, just in case.
When she finished changing apparel, Gold had returned to his previous post and had a hat in hand. He glanced up at her and a sheepish grin appeared on his face. Crys resisted the urge to kick him.
"You look nice," he complimented, which took her by surprise. But then he said, "You look closer to Mario now!" Crys hit him on the head lightly. "Ow! Why are you so mean, Crys?" he moaned playfully. "I bought those clothes for you and this is how you repay me?"
"Who's the one who said I looked like a Mario cosplayer?!" Crystal muttered. Gold grinned cheekily, his trademark way of smiling.
"I bought this for ya too!" he held up the hat. It was white, large, and had a bright red bow fixated on the side. Crystal made a face.
"And why did you buy all of this for me again?" she asked suspiciously.
"Hmm...? Because your old clothes were too serious. These suit you better," he told her. She turned red, and was just about to hit Gold on the head when she realized his words were kinder than he made them out to be. He was usually fractious, but he was actually taking time to buy some clothes for her, a suspicious act, but Crys guessed it was his way of expressing his friendship. She grabbed the hat from him and (painfully) put it on her head with a blush. Gold watched all of this with a surprised expression on his face. The hat was a bit large, so it covered her eyes a little and pushed her bangs to the side. Crys peeked up at him with a smile. Gold stood stunned with a blush spread on his face, but just waved the sensation off quickly.
"You look nice," he told her once again. Her smile broadened a bit. "Come on, we're fixin' your hair now!" The smile melted straight off her face.
"Hey!" Crystal protested as Gold ran his fingers her hair. "Don't touch my hair if you don't know how to brush it!" This time, it was Gold's turn to roll his eyes, an unusual act for him.
"I ain't like Prissy Boy, I don't do that stuff, but I'm pretty sure I know how to do pigtails," he said confidently. Crys was still uneasy about the idea, especially considering he stole the brush from Ruby, but sighed and let him comb. If she didn't like it, she could just brush her hair again and make it go back to the way it was before.
His fingers were cold, but perhaps beneath that frostiness, there was warmth. Crys tried not to think about it too much.
Gold was done within fifteen minutes, which definitely was not a good sign. But... she pretty much looked the same afterwards. The only noticeable difference was her pigtails didn't 'bend' any longer, they curved.
Gold braced himself for some scolding, but Crys just sighed and turned around. "Thanks," she said dubiously. His face reddened for a short and subtle moment, but then grinned once more.
"No prob, Super-Serious Gal!" he told her. She made a face at the nickname. Silence ensued.
"Ah! We have to get to work!" she reminded him. The two immediately jumped up, Gold in the lead.
It was kind of an awkward sight.
In the sunroom, there were many, many eggs. They had different patterns on them. Pichu and Totaro were basking in the gentle sunshine, both with peaceful expressions and unaware of all the baby Pokemon waiting to be brought into the world that were sitting right behind them. The only Pokemon that Crys didn't know was a Bonsly, which was fast asleep.
Gold scratched his head as Crys looked at all of them with surprise.
"I dunno why none of them seem to be hatching lately," he lied. Truthfully, he knew that he had to have strong emotions at the moment, but he didn't want to look like a heartless bastard. (Of course, Crys never would have thought that in the first place, but still...) He picked an egg up, and it started to shake, glow, and eventually crack open. Surprise surprise.
Out hatched a Mantyke. Crys stared at it in awe. "Hey, this looks like Mantaro!" Gold said excitedly. Crys smiled at the baby Mantyke. It looked at both of them with intelligent, questioning eyes.
"So what do we do now?" Gold asked.
"Well... I suppose the only way we'll be able to research it for now is to play with it..." Crys said uncertainly. Gold lifted the little Pokemon up. His eyes seemed to brighten at the suggestion of playing with the little baby. She sighed. "You really ARE a child, aren't you?"
"Hey, hey! It'll be fun!" Gold assured her. He dragged her by the wrist to... an indoor pool.
"Go figure," Crys muttered under her breath.
The baby Mantyke seemed right at home in the water. Her thoughts were interrupted when Gold splashed water on her.
"HEY!" she protested loudly. He laughed and continued splashing water on her. She did the natural thing, she splashed right back.
Finally, she dragged a nearby bucket right, filled it with water, and chased Gold around. The Mantyke seemed to laugh with glee.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
When a Budew hatched, Crys and Gold also played with it. They still played with Mantyke and gave it the attention it needed, but it one day after a rain shower, the two decided to go take it outside. They encountered a garden patch that acted as a basin. Flowers from a nearby cherry tree floated down and seemed to stand on the water.
They caused light ripples. Budew smiled happily and let out a small, nostalgic whimper.
Crys carefully picked up a flower and gave it to the Budew.
The two Dex Holders smiled. Gold named it Mietaro.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Mime Jr. soon hatched later. It was surprisingly strong and loved playing human games, such as baseball. It sounded crazy, but Gold and Crys loved playing with it.
Crys had Totaro with her on her team, while Gold was teamed up with Mime Jr. Crys kicked the soccer ball while Gold frantically kicked it back. Totaro attacked the ball with Metronome, and an attack sent it flying. A whoosh! could be heard as the ball lost air.
Mime Jr. used Mimic, and sent the ball flying back at Crys and Totaro while shredding itself to bits.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Gold named it Bontaro.
It seemed to cry a lot, so Crys was forced to rock it to sleep, and if the situation was extremely bad, she would have to sing. She requested Gold to not listen, in fear he would make fun of her voice.
He listened anyway. He liked the sound of her voice.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Chingling and Happiny had hatched by now, and it was nearing Christmas. Crystal had stayed with Gold's family for about two months now. There was still one last egg to be hatched. It was aqua-blue, and had a red jewel seemingly planted into it.
Chingling and Happiny preferred indoor activities, unlike most of the others. So the two 'Dex Holders stayed inside for the day, playing childish games with the Pokemon like Hide and Seek (although the sunroom didn't exactly have a whole lot of hiding places). But gradually, they grew tired and exhausted. Both Pokemon and trainers fell asleep.
Crystal's head was propped on Gold's shoulder, while Gold's head was propped on top of Crystal's head. The two were dozing, and the scene was heart-warming to behold.
xoxoxo
Gold's Mom had gladly agreed to allow Gold's friends over for Christmas dinner. Silver arrived first. He greeted Gold's mother courteously.
"Where's Gold and Crystal?" Silver asked her politely.
"Oh? Those two? I swear, they act like an old married couple!" Gold's mom giggled. Silver secretly agreed. "Walk to your right and you'll see a corridor. Just continue walking and the second door on your left will be where they are. You'll find them in the sun-room, playing with Gold's Baby Pokemon."
Silver thanked her and walked towards the sun-room. He didn't hear any noise. Perhaps they had gone elsewhere?
He knocked, but there was no answer. Somewhat irritated at Gold's laziness, he opened the door and found Crys and Gold sleeping, using each other as pillows. (No, not like that!)
He smiled at the scene, watched the two for a few seconds more. Then he turned off the lights and closed the door, sun-light still leaking through the windows, but just enough to add a luminous glow to the room.
Gold was the first to wake up. When he discovered Crys sleeping right next to him, and him using her head as a pillow (and her using his shoulder) he yelped and backed away, only for Crystal to fall towards him. A blush crawled up his face in spite of himself.
He rose up just in time, for the Hoenn 'Dex Holders entered the room.
"Yo, Gold!" Emerald greeted loudly. Gold pat him on the head.
"Yo! What's up!" he said. Sapphire looked around the room.
"Wow! There's so many cute Pokemon here!" she said excitedly. Ruby smiled.
Emerald noticed Crystal, still asleep. He glared at Gold. "You didn't do anything to her, right?"
"NO! Me and Super-Serious Gal?!" he yelped. All he got was suspecting stares. Thankfully, Crystal was still asleep. It wasn't as if he opposed the idea, Gold thought to himself. Shaking himself out of the temporary trance, he decided he'd never tell that to anyone.
Later that day, Sapphire was helping Crystal with the Pokemon.
"They're so adorable!" she squealed. Crys smiled.
"Yeah, it's kind of unbelievable that Gold of all people is in charge of these cuties," Crys said. Sapphire grinned her trademark grin.
"You sure talk about him a lot," Sapphire noticed. Crys looked at her in shock and awe. "You, uh, like him?"
"WHAT?!" she shouted, blushing all the way to the roots of her hair. "I do NOT!"
"Didn't they used to call it something way back when?" Sapphire recalled, squinting while trying to remember. "Wasn't it something like tsun... tsundira? No... tsundane? Tsundire?"*
"NOT A CHANCE!" Crys shouted, throwing a pillow across the room. Sapphire laughed and caught it. "What about you and Ruby then, huh?" It was Sapphire's turn to be flustered.
"W-well you see..." Sapphire tried to explain about how Ruby had totally 'forgotten' about her confession.
After a few phone calls, it turned out Silver, Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald were the guests for Christmas. The Kanto Holders were currently busy occupying their posts, Green at his gym, Red training at Mount Silver, and Blue... doing whatever she was doing.
But it was a worthwhile Christmas Eve.
When dawn finally broke, after Gold had gotten about 3 hours of sleep from over-excitement, it was time for the childish pleasure of opening gifts.
Sapphire blushed at a new set of attire Ruby provided her with. (And it was even more embarrassing, since she had bought him a random item she had seen in a store)
Emerald grinned at a certain Snow Globe that had the design of the first ten Dex Holders inside the glass.
Gold held up a cap and a bag he had triumphantly received from respectively Silver and Crys.
He snickered when Crys made a face at the 'cutesy' shoes he had provided her with for the new outfit. She glared at him, and he laughed.
"Idiot!" she huffed indignantly and put on the shoes. Silver smiled knowingly, and admired the black attired he had received from Blue.
It was one day after Christmas Day when a certain magical egg started to crack open. Gold and Crys gasped and wandered over to it.
"It's hatching!" Emerald shouted out the door. Gold and Crys stared at it, then grinned at each other, knowing they were thinking the same thoughts.
And slowly, the shell broke off little by little. Ruby, Sapphire, and Silver rushed in and surrounded the egg.
Out it hatched. Perhaps this phosphorescence that filled the room was not just from the new hatchling about to be born. Crystal gave a sideways glance at Gold. The friendship and love circulating around the room emitted a sort of light of it's own. Thank you, God, even if this was just a prank of fate.
END.
*Tsun...jire? = this scene was originally from To Aru Kagaku no Railgun, but because I'm such a n00b who has no imagination, I put it in here.
Sorry everyone! The ending was kind of subtle, but obviously I am not the best writer, but my goal was just to convey a bit of fluff. Sure, the Christmas scene and the 'Sleep Cute' was a bit offhand, but I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless. Oh, and for those of you wondering why the bleep I didn't put in Munchlax, it's because I believe that Dia's Munchlax Beh is from Gold. Yes, I believe Gold and Dia have connections and somehow Gold gave Lax and Rald's Snorlax's child away to Dia. Also, I was kind of rushing to finish this since I gotta get to class! ShipperFag has had her shipping fill for the day! See ya! :) [P.S. - this will be edited later! Make sure to check back when it's done being edited!]