By: Kat of Pokemon: The Hokubu & Nanka Trek
The young redhead stepped to the basement door, flicking the switch to ensure the disappearance of cockroaches before she opened the door. Kasumi was never one for bugs of any sort; Pokemon or insects. She opened the door and jumped to the side as a moth flew past her face. She nearly fainted at the sight of a centipede walking along the railing of the basement steps and opted to walk without getting near it. She jumped down and stomped twice to intimidate anything around her and kept walking. "Why did I even come down here?" she asked herself in a low whisper, "I can't even remember what I was looking for now." She continued into the second room and stared blankly at a box of old newspapers, most from years before.
"That seems to click," she muttered and walked to the box as she decided that was what she was looking for, even though that was not the box of streamers she had entered the bug-breeding basement for in the first place. She kicked the box once or twice to chase the 'friendly' critters away and stepped carefully over to investigate the contents more closely. Newspapers upon newspapers upon newspapers flooded the box entirely. She dug around, examining each newsprint for a bug, and sat them next to her on the damp basement floor. She came across one that caught her attention and she paused to look even closer at the front cover.
It was a picture of her, from about four years before, and three boys about her same age. One she recognized, or she believed she recognized, as Kenji; the Pokemon Watcher she met a few years before in the Orange Archipelago. Who knows where he was now. Probably still with the Professor in Masara Town. The next she knew was Takeshi; the now semi-famous, girl-crazy Pokemon Breeder. That was when it hit her what she had really gone into the basement for in the first place: the decorations for Takeshi's birthday party. She jumped up and threw the papers back in the box, again burying the one she had been focused on, and dashed to the other room. She now knew what she was looking for and found it quickly, then tromping up the stairs and never looking at the third boy on the front page.
Kasumi jumped around the room and basically threw the decorations up, leaving them wherever they happened to land. She really wished she hadn't offered to have the party at her house; it was too much trouble and way too tiring. Supposedly, Takeshi 'promised', to bring her two surprise guests. The question she asked when he said that was, "It's not my birthday. Why am I the one with the surprises?"
The answer she received was less than thrilling, "You'll see."
She flopped down on the couch with a tired huff and debated on taking a short nap, but shoved it away for another time. She had only a few hours to get the last few preparations done and was also pondering some Pokemon assistance, then remembering they were at the Pokemon Center. She frowned long and hard and stood up, stretching and walking back to the bug-ridden cellar. She knocked on the door calling, "Hello down there!" She hit the light and again descended the steps.
She made her way across the room and into the next one again, this time determined to get that box of junky papers out of the way. The first few were boring and she slid them away without a second glance. She then came to the same one as the first visit to bug-central; the front-page with her on it. Finally looking to the fourth and final figure, she had no idea who she was looking at. Her mind was totally blank. She scratched the back of her head and tried to place the identity, but she had no clue. She was sure she'd kick herself for not knowing, but just slid it away into the boring pile.
She finally finished and was just trucking the box outside when the horn of a car scared her six feet into the air, "Hey, Kasumi!" Came the shout from the car window, "What's up?"
She panted heavily and straightened up, "Nothing but the decorations, Takeshi." She blinked a few times as she noticed two other shadows behind the cars tinted windows, "New girlfriends?" She snickered.
He gave her a very brief scowl, "No. New boyfriends for your sisters," He retaliated slightly nastily, "What's with the papers?"
"Junk." She gave him a flat answer to the flat question, not realizing how much not-junk that one paper was.
"Where are the two from the car?" Kasumi stared around the room, "What'd you do? Leave them out there?"
"No!" He shook his head. "They're coming right now."
"Hey, Kasumi!" someone burst around the door.
Kasumi stared blankly for a moment, "Uh…Kenji?" She tilted her head to the side, trying to guess just who it was.
He nodded once and slapped Takeshi on the back, "Takeshi told me about this little get together and I insisted on coming over."
"Great." She smiled slightly and brushed it off.
"Hello, Kasumi." A deeper voice from behind Takeshi caught her attention.
She spun and looked at him overly blankly. "Uh…" She trailed off, having no idea who he was.
"Don't you remember me?" he asked, sounding a bit rejected.
"Um…Sure I do." She answered him carefully, trying to sound truthful even though it was a total lie.
Takeshi stared between them, knowing she was lost as to his identity, "Let's go into the other room." He tried suggesting moving away to get them away from the lost-looks staring contest they were having. "Did you make cake, Kasumi?"
"Uh, yeah. I did, but you've always been the cook, so don't expect too much." Kasumi followed along, leaving the un-named guest sighing at the floor.
Kasumi was staring out the window, just looking overly glum with her elbows on the back of the couch, when the cushion suddenly tilted to the left. She looked to the side and saw the still un-named guest sitting next to her, staring at her. "What?" She leaned away as she asked.
"Tell me, Kasumi. Who am I?" His eyes narrowed slightly as he awaited her answer with overly present anxiety.
"Uh…" She looked side to side, hoping to catch Takeshi or Kenji mouthing his name to her. "Well…"
"That's what I thought." He said with a forlorn tone. "You have no clue who I am. It hasn't been that long. What's changed, Kasumi? Why don't you know me anymore?"
She looked at him like the expression on her face had been erased. "I'm sorry. My life is hectic. I honestly don't know who you are." She shrugged, figuring he'd just brush it off. Boy was she wrong.
He stood up and stared straight away at the opposite wall. "Whatever you say, Sumi." He said this hoping that old nickname would kick-start her memory into gear. Unfortunately he had no such luck.
"Sumi?" Her head fell to the side. "Sumi…" She stared around, thinking she knew that name somehow.
"You know what, just forget it." He turned and walked away, shoving past Takeshi and Kenji as he left. "Try reading the news once and a while, Sumi."
Takeshi and Kenji's glances fell from him to her repeatedly as she stood up and shrugged. "I don't know him." She said flatly, then seeing her friends' jaws drop as they too turned to leave. "What'd I say?"
Kasumi was standing around after picking up after the three men when they had all left. She was silently pondering what the un-named visitor had said when he was leaving. "Try reading the news?" She was asking herself out loud now. "What in the world does that mean?"
She then thought of the picture on the paper she'd thrown out to the curb; the picture of Takeshi, Kenji and herself along with that still unidentified boy. Was it at all possible that these two were the same? That had to be it. She jumped up and ran out the back door, rushing past the bugs and Pokemon swooping about the backyard. She skidded to a dirt scuffing halt beside the box and tore it open, digging down into the muddle of papers. She found the one she wanted and started in with reading the front page.
Masara Town Trainer Makes League Champion
By: Furuura Melody
Early this morning, a 16-year-old trainer from the Town of Masara in Kanto made history by defeating the Orange Islands' undefeated Champion, Draco. Seen here with his traveling partners, this trainer proudly displays his Orange League trophy. He has no reason not to, as even Draco has admitted he's a strong opponent.
"I know I've made the folks back in Masara proud!" Said the spunky young trainer. "I'll take anybody on! You name the place and set the rules and I'll be there!"
It's plain to see this boy has a strong attitude for battling and will stop at nothing to reach the status of Pokemon Master. Now this small town hero is heading back to Masara Town, most likely heading for a new quest and maybe even a new victory.
Kasumi stopped reading there, realizing they didn't even give a name on the front page. No matter who he was, she wasn't going to open that paper to come across bug central. She just looked to the caption under the picture: From left to right; traveling partners Kasumi, Kenji, Takeshi, Pikachu & winning trainer Satoshi.
"Satoshi!" She nearly suffocated. "Toshi. How could I forget Satoshi?" She felt as if she'd blown up the world. All she was thinking of was how she could have managed to forget Satoshi so easily. Satoshi was her traveling partner for years, just as the paper said, and she'd gone and wiped him clean from her memories. She couldn't quite remember why, but it finally hit her like an axe through wood.
"Look, Satoshi!" The younger Kasumi pointed up at the fireworks above the Orange League Stadium. "Aren't they so pretty?"
"Whatever." The childishly annoying Satoshi continued staring at his trophy. "If you want to sit and stare at colors in the sky, do that and leave me out of it."
Kasumi's gaping smile faded quickly to a scowl. "What was that for?"
"Doesn't it look like I'm busy here?" He kept his eyes glued to the trophy.
"You insensitive jerk!" She stomped and cracked him in the back of the head.
"What? Why?" He actually managed to pull himself away from the gold-plated award sitting on the table in front of him as he spiraled around, rubbing at the now sore and bruised back of his head.
"Oh!" She burst and started turning red as she growled. "I try to make one simple comment and you brush me off like a piece of dust on an old book!"
"What are you talking about?" He shook his head blankly.
"Just, just, just…Never mind!" She stomped away and barked back at him. "Forget you, Satoshi! That's what I'll do! Forget you!"
"Sumi! Sumi, wait! What'd I say?"
The entire trip home, all she did was ignore him, muttering snide comments under her breath as the boat skimmed across the water. She'd tried for years to get his attention and when they were finally alone with those beautiful fireworks and she'd taken a shot, he'd given her the cold shoulder. So, she did the same to him. If he tried to talk, she walked away. If he tried to apologize, she'd spit out her tongue and huff away. Once he tried to hug her, but she smacked him across the face and stomped away, leaving him red and rejected.
Her plan to forget him had obviously worked, as she hadn't the foggiest who he was until she'd read his name. She couldn't believe she'd actually forgotten him. "How?" She kept muttering out loud. "How in the world did I forget him?"
"Forget who?" Someone asked from behind her.
"Yah!" She spun around like a mad woman and panted heavily. "Oh, Hiroshi. You scared me." Then it pained her even more. "Hiroshi, how could I forget Satoshi?"
"Satoshi?" Hiroshi couldn't even find an answer to that, as he lived next door to Kasumi and he and Satoshi were very close. "I don't honestly know, Kasumi."
"Well, you're not the only one, because neither do I."
"He's been at my place a few times. You never saw him?"
"No. I guess not. I don't spy on my neighbors, Hiroshi. It's not my favorite past time."
Hiroshi shook his head and helped her up. "When did you see him that you realized you didn't know him?"
"He came over with Takeshi and Kenji for Takeshi's birthday party."
"Birthday party?" Hiroshi looked overly confused. "Don't you remember, Kasumi? We had Takeshi's party at my house two months ago. Satoshi was never there. Only Takeshi and a few others. Satoshi took Takeshi to the bar afterwards instead."
"You're right. I forgot about that." Kasumi nearly smacked herself silly for forgetting that. "He just brought them over so I'd see them again. That's why they left so quickly when I said I didn't remember Satoshi."
"Just call Takeshi." Hiroshi shrugged and headed back to his own house.
"Why do I have the strangest inkling Hiroshi was in on this?" Kasumi muttered and headed inside.
Kasumi barreled around the room, digging through piles of notes and stacks of phone books and notepads for Takeshi's number. She actually had it memorized, but with all the names and wild memories flooding her head, she couldn't remember it. She finally found the address book with his number and juggled it and the cordless phone while trying to dial the number. There were two long and low pitched rings before Takeshi picked up. "Hey, Takeshi!" Kasumi blabbed, obviously sounding too cheerful.
"Kasumi. Hi." Takeshi didn't exactly sound thrilled.
"Listen. I figured out who he is. Where is he? Where is Satoshi?"
"I don't know. I didn't keep track of him. When Kenji and I went to the car he was already gone."
"He didn't go home with you?" Kasumi's voice sounded a touch frantic.
"No. Neither of us knows where he is. Don't worry, Kasumi. He's probably just wondering around somewhere."
"Yeah. But where is the question."
"Forget me, huh?" Satoshi muttered bitterly as he threw a rock into the lake. "Fine. Then I'll just forget you too." He ran his hands through his black hair and shook it up to build its usual never-brushed look. He knew he couldn't forget Kasumi, but wasn't going to let it on. He remembered the day she'd been talking to him and he'd been staring at his trophy too much to listen. He could swear he still felt the pain of where she slugged him in the back of the head too. "She was right all along." He thought out loud in a somewhat loud tone. "I was an insensitive jerk." He suddenly burst and fell backwards on the grass. "How could I have been so stupid?! How could I have just let her walk away?!"
Both Kasumi and Satoshi sat and watched as the blue sky slowly faded to its usual sunset orange and then to its reddish hue and finally to the star filled midnight blue that showed no signs of clouds. Kasumi remembered dozens of times that she made remarks about the romantic sunsets and how every time Satoshi either ignored them or made some stupid comment about how the sky was less important than Pokemon training. She'd smacked him numerous times for that one, but he always recovered quickly and went back to his sleeping bag to snore all through the night.
Satoshi, on the other hand, remembered ever single time she'd said such things and he'd just played around like the idiot kid he was. He was still sprawled out in front of Ikari no Hanada (Lake of Hanada [Cerulean]) when he started to doze off. Then it hit him he used to do the same thing to Kasumi. One second he'd be acting as if listening intently to every word she said, and the next snoring away. He'd been socked in the head with a pillow for that. Still, he held a deep affection for the bossy redhead that had followed him for payback for her bike. Of course, only a few months later while traveling back to Tokiwa City for his eighth Sekiei League badge, she had no idea why she'd really started to follow him. Then he'd headed off and made his place in the Sekiei top some-odd trainers and continued into the Orange League. That was where Dan and Jigii helped to make him realize just what it was that Kasumi was around for now. Not for bikes or someone to protect her from bugs or lead her out of a forest, heaven knows how many times he'd gotten her lost in the forest, but for something more. But now, only a few years later, she didn't even have the slightest clue who he was. He huffed a bit to himself and rolled over, staring off in the direction of her house as it started to drizzle.
"I can't believe I held such a grudge," Kasumi muttered as she walked into the kitchen to fix herself a cup of hot cocoa. "I must have been one bratty little kid." She paused and shook herself straight. "No! It was his fault for being so incredibly unromantic!" She blew a strand of pesky red hair from her face. "If he wasn't such a huge jerk, I wouldn't have left!" She got her drink and sulked down in the couch, snatching the phone as she did so. "Takeshi!" She barked a bit more than she wanted to as she hit the redial button. "Is Satoshi with you yet?"
"No, Kasumi. He isn't. I don't know where he could be. All I can think is he's floating around in Hanada somewhere."
"I guess so." Takeshi could tell by her tone that Kasumi was at least a bit worried about Satoshi. "I'll call you tomorrow, Takeshi."
"I hate rain." Satoshi muttered as he hid under the awning of the Hanada Poke'Mart. "It's water, like Kasumi's Pokemon." He squinted hard, thinking there was enough water around from the rain; the world didn't need his whining and crying. He was trying to figure out where to go. His Pokemon were at the Pokemon Center and he didn't want to seem anxious to get them back, Takeshi's place was miles away, and Kasumi was still angry after years of holding a grudge.
"Come on, Satoshi. Please be alright." Kasumi muttered. "I'm not that angry with you any more. Please just call me or Takeshi so I know you're not in trouble."
"This is nuts." Satoshi shivered as the lights of the Poke'Mart and Pokemon Center went out. "I'm gonna freeze to death out here. I'm sopping wet and the nights in Hanada are like ice." He pulled his coat closed. "I should've just gone to the Pokemon Center when it was open and stayed dry and warm when I had the chance."
"Please tell me Satoshi's alright. I never meant to really forget him. It was just a stupid grudge." Kasumi sat looking out the window, pulling her nightgown around to keep herself warm. "If I'm this cold he must be freezing."
"I can't stand it!" Satoshi burst and started walking. "I'm going to go give that girl a piece of my mind!"
Kasumi cringed at a rumble of thunder. "Forget it." She shook her head and headed for her room. "I can't do it anymore."
Satoshi raised his fist to the door to knock but hesitated. "Do I really want to do this?" He was asking himself silently. "Do I really want to knock?" He didn't really answer himself, just hit the door twice and decided if he didn't get an answer in a few minutes, he'd leave.
Kasumi was just setting into bed when she heard two quick hits on the front door. She snorted and stood up, tromping to the door. "This had better be important." She cracked and pulled the door open. "My God! Satoshi!"
His head shot up at the sound of his name. "S-s-so. Wh-who told you?" He shivered with his hair dripping in front of his face.
"Nobody. You look like a waterlogged rat! Get in here!" She waved him in the door and jumped the growing puddles dripping from his clothes.
Satoshi sat quivering on the couch as Kasumi walked to the phone. "Hey, Takeshi. Satoshi's here with me."
"He is?" Takeshi sounded as if to jump. "Is he alright?"
"Yeah. He's just, uh," She looked at the trail of water on her floor. "wet."
"I'll pick him up tomorrow afternoon and get him back to Masara."
"Um, Takeshi. No rush." She hung up quickly to avoid idiot remarks. "Toshi."
The only response she got was a half laugh and, "What, Kasumi?"
"You're a jerk." She partially snorted.
"Excuse me?" His head fell to the side. "What's that about?"
"It's true, Satoshi. You're a jerk. I tried my best for years to get your attention and you just played your idiot games."
"Get my attention?" He shot to his feet. "What are you talking about, Kasumi?"
"Just forget it, Satoshi, all right? Takeshi will be here to pick you up tomorrow afternoon and then I'll just go back to forgetting about you again." She clenched her fists at her sides.
"Kasumi, don't say that." He pried her left fist open with his right hand and held it firm. "I know I ignored you. I was a kid then. I'm not that stupid little boy anymore, Kasumi."
"But that's the thing! It's the stupid little boy that I-" She stopped and swallowed. "Never mind."
"What, Kasumi? Finish what you were saying." He studied her face carefully and noticed a red tinge come into place. "Please."
"It's the stupid little boy I fell in love with." She acted as if to be examining the rug.
"Kasumi, I don't know what to say except," he shrugged slightly, "thank you."
"Thank me? For what?" She looked up with a kind of scowl. "I rant away at you for years without even knowing it and you come here to thank me?"
"Yes, Kasumi." He was suddenly right on top of her. "Thank you." He took both her hands and threw them behind his own back, putting his arms around her shoulders and on her back. "Thank you for being there." He took her lips in his, noticing she stiffened, then loosened.
Her eyes fluttered frantically then slowed to a steady blinking and then completely closed. He was the one to pull away, staring nervously into her bluish-green eyes. "I guess I got your attention after all." Kasumi half smiled and reddened.
"You had my attention long ago, Sumi." He pulled her closer and held her in his arms for a few moments.
She pulled away slowly with a slight laugh. "Come on, Toshi. You're getting me all wet."
Takeshi stopped in Kasumi's driveway around three in the afternoon. He stepped out of the car and knocked on the front door, expecting a young redhead to answer, but instead he got a young man with think, pitch-black hair and damp clothes. "Satoshi?" His head fell to the left. "What happened?"
"Sumi!" Satoshi didn't even bother to answer him. "Takeshi's here!"
The redhead he'd been expecting jumped up behind Satoshi. "Hi, Takeshi!" She said in an overly happy tone. "What's up?"
"I came to take Satoshi home," Takeshi paused and smiled wide as he noticed Satoshi's hand on Kasumi's back, "but it seems he already is."
The grudge was held for over three years, all because of a relationship and a yearning that was never really expressed. Some people just are that way; hiding feelings and shoving emotions away. It seems Satoshi of Masara and Kasumi of Hanada are no exception. There's no way to prove a passion for another will last forever, but in this case, I'd say it's true. Hiroshi was in on this, by the way; he'd helped persuade Satoshi to go along with Takeshi's plan.
Sakura, Ayame, and Botan always said Kasumi's life was perfect. Being youngest, they said, she got the best of everything; including the husbands.