Forever and Always
Day 1: The Letter
I was being bored in Whirl Islands when my older brother came over to me with a letter in his hand. Ryuujin smiled and said, "You have some mail Ryo!" "How did I get mail if we live in an island with no mailbox?" I questioned looking at the letter curiously. He replied, "Well we do have a house on the main land for when we feel like being with humans!" "I don't remember that. Well can I get my letter?" I said in an annoyed tone as he held it to me out of reach.
He waved it in front of my face a few times and teased, "What? No please? I guess you really don't want this letter! Oh well! Guess I'll just trash it!" "Fine. Can I please have the letter addressed to me?" I replied giving in to him. He handed me the letter and said, "Now was that so hard Ryo?" I snatched the letter out of his hand when he handed it to me. With the letter delivered Ryuujin went back to what he usually does. Whatever his usual was. Anyway I opened the envelope and took the paper out.
The letter read: Dear Ryo,
An exploration team asked for someone who could talk/understand Pokémon, read ancient writing, and who knew some of the steps of exploration. The only person I knew that was qualified for this task was you. So I recommended you. Your job is to assist the leader of this exploration team along with his daughter to unlock the mysteries and secrets of this ruin. I hope you accept this request.
Your Friend,
Omega
Of course Omega the unown would have recommended me for this. We were not friends though. We just know each other a little. Apparently that was enough for him to know I liked exploring ruins. Being only one unown not even he knew all of the secrets of the ruins. "Well I have nothing better to do." I sighed. I packed what I had, told Ryuujin where I was going, and then flew to the ruins.
Night 1: Star Gazing
By the time I got to the ruins it was already dark. I looked around for anyone. There was no one around. Then a little girl who looked 11 or 12 years of age walked out of a building that looks out of place in the ruins. "I guess that's where we're staying during this exploration." I thought to myself as the girl walked over to me. "Excuse me, this place is off limits to the public right now. You have to leave." She said. I replied, "Well I'm part of the exploration team here."
"Really? A kid around my age is finally working with my dad? That's a relief! I thought I was going to be the only one here since my brother Wes was too young to come!" She stated grabbing my hand. I felt some blood rush to my cheek as she took my hand. "My name is Ryo." I said trying to stay calm. She replied, "It's nice to meet you! My name is Mai!" "What are you doing out here anyway?" I asked staring at the ground. She answered, "Well I'm about to star gaze! Would you like to as well?" I just nodded my head. She was very cute and seemed very confidant and friendly. Meanwhile I was shy and sheepish along with being timid. So it was hard for me to talk around her.
A few minutes past and she started leading me towards a spot. About five minutes later she laid a blanket on the ground. "Here we are!" She stated. Right away I laid down since I always found it comfy. She giggled, "You don't waste any time! Do you?" She laid next to me. Then she added, "Is something wrong? You haven't said anything yet." I felt her arm rub on my side since she was checking on me. I laughed lightly, "N-no... Ev-everything i-is... F-fine..." "Is someone's sides sensitive?" Mai asked after hearing me laugh. I answered, "N-no... My sides aren't." I felt her fingers gently run up and down my sides a few times. This caused me to laugh a little more.
"Really? It sounds like they are." She giggled doing it one final time. I let out another laugh. "Your laugh is cute Ryo!" She commented. I blushed a little. "Th-thanks for the c-complement. An-and I gu-guess my sides ar-are a little sensitive." I stammered. Well for the rest of the night we sat there looking at the stars. We saw a shooting star when we were about to turn in for the night. "Ryo! Look! It's a shooting star! Make a wish!" She said as it looked like she made a wish. "Ok, I will." I replied. Then I said to myself, "I wish Mai and I will be friends forever and always." "Did you make a wish?" She asked. I answered and blushed a little, "Yeah, I did. I wished for us to be friends for a long time. What about you?" "Aww! That's so sweet Ryo!" She replied. Then she giggled, "It's a secret silly! If I tell you it might not come true!" "Ok, ok. You don't have to tell me." I sighed.
We left for the lab that the exploration team was staying at. We were short on rooms so I had to sleep in the same room with Mai. We had a lot of fun times ahead at the ruins. But for now it was time for bed.
Day 2: The Ruins
In the morning the exploration team woke up around 6:00 a.m. to start their work early. So Mai and I had to wake up at that time too. Neither of us are a morning person so you could tell we weren't happy about waking up that early. The adults spent an hour trying to solve a puzzle in the ruins that was supposed to open some place up. "I don't get why this isn't working." The head of the exploration team, Mai's father complained. He and the other adults walked out of the ruins. Mai walked over to the puzzle. "What are you doing Mai?" I questioned following her.
"Well I want to see what the puzzle is that they couldn't solve. It looks like there's some writing, but I can't make it out." She commented. I read, "A Pokémon who lived at the bottom of the ocean. It has eyes on its back." "Oh, so it's a hint to what the image is!" Mai commented as she started moving pieces around. After a few minutes she put the final piece in. "And done!" She stated. Nothing happened. "Did I do it wrong?" She questioned. I walked over to the puzzle. It formed a Kabuto. "No, you did it right. I guess nothing…" I trailed off as the room shook.
"Wh-What's going on here?!" Mai questioned as the floor opened up under us. We started falling down to the chamber bellow. I grabbed her to prevent her from getting hurt. I mean that fall could have easily hurt a human very bad, but since I was a Pokémon it shouldn't be so bad, right? The fall only lasted a few minutes. I landed on my right foot first before tumbling to the ground. I held Mai close to me and kind of tightly. "Mai, we're on the ground." I stated. She blushed and struggled to get loose. "R-Ryo…. Y-you're h-holding….. M-me t-too tight…." She gasped.
I let go of her. "Sorry about that." I said. Mai caught her breath and replied, "It's fine, but how did we survive that fall?" "Umm… I guess we're just lucky. Well let's head back to the lab." I answered trying to get up, but I fell back down. There was something wrong with my right ankle. "Is something wrong Ryo?" She asked in a worried tone as she held her hand out to help me up. I took her hand, she pulled me up, and I shook my head. "I'm fine. Don't worry about me." I answered. When we started walking she noticed I was limping. "Did you hurt your ankle when we fell?" She questioned. I didn't want her to worry so I replied, "No, I didn't. My ankle is fine."
"Tell me the truth or I will run my fingers up and down your sides again or maybe I'll use one of the digging brushes. And I'll keep going and increase the speed until you do tell me the truth. Also the amount of time I do it will increase too. You don't want that, do you?" Mai threaten. So I gave in. "I think I might have sprained my ankle when we landed." I replied. She started to go through her bag. "Sit down really quick Ryo." She said pulling a few things out of her bag. So I sat down waiting for her to finish.
"You need to pull your pants up and take your shoe off." She stated. So I did as she said. "Why do you need me to do this? And what are you doing?" I questioned watching each move she made. Mai answered, "Don't worry. I know how to bandage your ankle up." She started wrapping my ankle up. I flinched a few times as she wrapped. She noticed right away that I was and asked, "This isn't too tight, is it?" "N-no, i-it's fine. Are you almost done?" I responded. She finished by tying a knot and kissed my cheek. "Now I'm done. It should help your ankle heal. It looked pretty swollen so we should put ice on it when we get back." She stated helping me up and putting my arm around her shoulders to help keep weight off of it. "Th-thanks for the help." I stammered.
"Well it's the least I could do for my hero! Besides you need to keep weight off of your ankle for now!" She stated. So we started to walk back to the lab. It took us about ten minutes to reach the ladder leading out of the lower chamber. "How are we supposed to get you up the ladder?" She questioned. I replied, "Umm….. You climb up first. I'll be right behind you." "No. You can head up first. I'll stay behind you to make sure you don't fall." Mai stated. So I started climbing and she followed me close behind.
When we finally got back we headed straight to our room. She left me in the room alone to get the ice. I felt a little lonely without her, but she'd be back at any second, so I just laid on the bed to wait for her. About 5 minutes later she came back and tended to my sprained ankle.
Night 2: Fireflies
By the time we got out of the ruins and she tended to my ankle it was night time. We spent more time stuck in the ruins than I thought. "Well you still need to keep weight off your ankle so I guess we can catch fireflies. As long as you sit down while doing it that is." Mai suggested as she finished knotting the bandaging. I nodded and replied, "Sounds very good. And I promise I'll stay sitting while we're catching fireflies." "Good! Because I don't want you to get any more hurt than you already are. And also because I think I love… umm… hanging out with you and spending time with you!" She stated hugging me. I said, "I think I love y… uhh… hanging out and spending time with you too…" I blushed and hugged her back.
"Well let's go then! I already have the blanket in my bag! So we're all set!" Mai stated helping me up off the bed. Then she grabbed my hand and added, "You don't mind this, do you?" I blushed again and grabbed her hand back. "No, I don't mind at all Mai." I answered. So we walked outside. My ankle was already healing since Pokémon have a fast healing right. We found a spot right away. She laid the blanket down and helped me sit down. "You're comfy enough, right Ryo?" She asked.
"Yeah, I am. Thank you Mai." I answered back. Mai smiled and said, "Ok! That's good! I'm glad you are!" I smiled back at her. I hardly smiled though, so how did she get me to? Well it didn't matter, I'm glad she did. I saw her blush slightly though. "Well anyway let's get started! As soon as we catch them we have to let them go so they don't die over night!" Mai stated catching the first one. Then she said, "Open your hand up really quick." "Why?" I asked. She answered, "Just open your hand up!" So I did and she let the firefly walk onto my hand.
It felt a little weird walking all over my hand. Well it eventually flew away. "So how did it feel?" Mai asked. I replied, "Well it felt a little weird. I don't know how to describe it." "Is this your first time catching fireflies or something?" She questioned. I nodded my head in response. "Oh, so what do you think of it so far?" She asked. I shrugged my shoulders and responded, "It's alright." "You don't talk that much, do you?" She asked. I looked at the ground. 'I guess she doesn't like me.' I thought to myself.
I heard her say, "That is fine with me! That's what makes you, you!" I looked up and saw her smiling. Then she commented, "You aren't upset are you? If you are you're going to force me to do something to you!" "M-my sides?" I stammered waiting for her to try as I gulped. She shook her head and answered, "There is more than one way to cheer people up. Like there's this!" She kissed my cheek and hugged me. Then she added, "You're better now, right? If not I'll keep this up! Or maybe I'll have to add something in!" "Wh-what are y-you going t-to add?" I asked as my face turned bright red. We caught more fireflies as we spoke and released them so they could live long lives.
"It's a surprise! You'll only find out if you need to be cheered up more!" Mai answered. I blushed a little more. "Well I think I might need a little more cheering up." I said because I wanted to see what else she wanted to do. She smiled again and commented, "Nope! It looks like you're all cheered up! So you won't find out, this time!" "Darn it. I really wanted to find out." I whispered to myself. She giggled, "I heard that! And you'll find out whenever you need cheering up!"
"Well it's getting a little late. We should probably call it a night." She stated helping me up. I nodded my head in agreement. We packed up the blanket and headed back to the lab. We went into our room and she laid me on my bed. "Thank you and night Mai." I said. She leaned over me. "Good night Ryo and you're welcome." She replied as she kissed me. I blushed very deep and kissed her back. She blushed and went to her bed. A few minutes later she fell asleep. I got up and covered her up since she looked cold. Then I went back to my bed and fell asleep a few minutes later.
Day 3: The Confession
The next morning we got up early again. I wasn't used to getting up this early and I could tell she wasn't either. Well at least we always had the night to look forward to. We always had a lot of fun at night. That was our time to relax together. Anyway Mai and I went into the ruins because the adults were busy with other stuff. I don't see why they called themselves the exploration team when it was Mai and I that did everything. At least that's what it really seemed like.
Like last time Mai went over to the puzzle and I translated the clue. However this time she handed me two ropes which I tied one to each statue. "The ropes are secured, right?" She questioned before solving the puzzle. I nodded my head and answered, "Yeah, they are. If we fall the ropes will stop us." I tied a rope around her waist then the other rope to my waist. "It looks like we're ready now." She stated starting to move the pieces around. A few minutes later she finished. "Ok! And done! Brace yourself Ryo!" She stated. And as soon as she said that the room shook. Even though we had the ropes I still grabbed her.
The floor opened under us and like before we fell. This time the ropes caught us mid fall. "Well luckily we had ropes this time. That fall wouldn't have been as lucky as the last one." Mai stated as we climbed down. I said, "Well I'm sure we would have been lucky again." "It's always lucky with you around Ryo! I'm really glad about that! But how are you climbing and walking around with a sprained ankle?" She questioned with a curious look. I replied, "Well… umm…. I'm a quick healer. That's all it is."
Mai pouted. She looked very cute pouting. "Aww! Come on! Tell me the truth! Please! No one can heal that fast!" She said in a begging like tone. I couldn't say no to her pouting or that begging tone. When we finally got to the ground I untied us, and we both sat down to take a break. Some unown starting floating by as we rested. "Please tell me Ryo. I won't tell anyone if you don't want me to." Mai stated. I gave in. She looked too cute not to give into. "Well, I'm not human. I'm actually a Lugia in a human disguise." I told her. I looked away so I wouldn't see her horrified or shocked face. I wouldn't be able to handle it if she gave me one of those looks. Humans thought that Legendary Pokémon were something to fear, but then control so others would fear them. What reason would a Pokémon have to prance around as a human? It was un-natural and no human really understood that. Well so I thought.
I looked back at her. Mai smiled like always. Her face was unchanged to what I thought it would have been. "That's very amazing! Lugias are one of my favorite Pokémon!" She stated rubbing her hand on my arm. I was in disbelief. She didn't run away from me or try to catch me. She was just rubbing my arm for some reason. "What are you doing?" I asked a little shocked that she didn't react the way I thought she would. "I'm checking to make sure this is real. It's just so amazing that we're friends. And I don't care who or what you are. I love you for you!" She stated. I started to blush again. Did she realize what she just said?
I saw her blush a few seconds later. I guess she just realized what she said. "I love you for you as well. And nothing will ever change that." I responded. Mai blushed a little more. "W-well let's get out of these ruins." She stammered. I nodded my head and stood up. Then I held my hand out for me to pull her up. "Thank you Ryo! You're pretty strong!" She commented as she grabbed my hand. "Thank you for the complement." I replied blushing a little. As we started walking she grabbed my hand. We headed up the ladder like the first time we fell into the ruins. By the time we got out it was around 5:36 p.m. Again we were stuck in the ruins for almost the whole day. Well at least it was summer, so the days were longer.
"What should we do now? It looks like we still have quite a few hours of sunlight." I asked. Mai answered, "Whatever you want! It really doesn't matter what we do as long as we're together!" "Umm… Mai, there's something I want to tell you. I… Uhh… L-love you." I whispered. She blushed and said, "I love you too Ryo" I shyly kissed her on her lips. She kissed me back. "Well let's head to our room! There are a couple things I want to try!" Mai stated walking into the lab as a followed. I was getting a little nervous on what she was going to try. As we got to our room she let me go in first. I sat on the bed instead of lying down.
"You seem a little nervous. Don't worry, I'm not going to do anything bad." Mai commented as she walked in and sat behind me. "Wh-what are you g-going to d-do?" I stammered. She replied, "Nothing much, just this." I felt her hands start going up and down my back. It felt very relaxing. "This feels nice…" I trailed off. She giggled, "That's good! This is a really cute reaction from the person I love! It seems like you really like massages!" I blushed and nodded my head. That was the only thing I could do with how relaxed I was.
Night 3: Training
I felt her lift my shirt up a little. "What are you… Doing…?" I trailed off some more. Mai answered, "I'm taking a little break so you can feel something else really quick. I don't want you to get hurt again, so if you do this is what's going to happen." I felt something go up my side slowly. It made me laugh really hard. And it gave me goose bumps. It was soft and it felt like there was more than one of whatever she was using. "Wh-what… Ar-are y-you… U-using…?" I managed to get out. She immediately stopped. "It was a digging brush. I really don't want you to get hurt anymore because I care about and love you. So if you do that's your punishment." She answered hugging me. "O-ok, I promise I won't get hurt." I said hugging her back.
Mai smiled and responded, "Ok! Good! Just be careful whenever we're in the ruins! Unless you want to feel the digging brush on your side again." "Ok, ok. I will be careful." I said. She went back to giving me a massage. This time she used some lotion that felt really nice and smelled nice too. The lotion made the massage even more relaxing. Even when she got to massaging my sides, it did make me laugh, but it still felt good. After that we talked more and then she went to sleep. I kissed her good night and tucked her in. After she was asleep I went outside.
I thought tonight was a good chance to start training. Even after the threat she gave me. But I figured as long as I didn't get hurt it would be fine. I went into the ruins to train with the unown living there. At first everything seemed fine, but as I gained more experience the more the unown became furious with me. It was not my brightest idea to pick on the unown since they were way under level. After about an hour of training the unown decided to group up and gang up on me.
They surrounded me and started shooting attacks on me. I dodge everything they threw at me. Then I started to get tired and my movements became slower. Eventually I got so tired the attacks hit me. 'This isn't good at all.' I thought to myself as I found a way out and ran to the ladder. Their attacks became faster and the last one that hit me I barely dodged, although it did hit my side. As I climbed up the ladder the unown scattered. They didn't like leaving the ruins, so I was safe when I got out. 'That was a stupid idea. Mai is going to be mad at me now.' I thought to myself as I collapsed in front of the lab.
I heard the door open a few minutes later. Mai walked out, it looked like she was crying at the sight of me. "Wh-what h-happened R-Ryo?" She sobbed. I couldn't look her straight in the eye. "I'm… Sorry…" I trailed off looking at the ground. I couldn't stand to see her cry, especially since I caused it. She helped me up and brought me to our room. She got a few things from her bag. "L-lay on the b-bed." She said still sobbing, but calming herself down.
I kept my eye contact away from her because I had just caused her a lot of pain. Mai sat on the bed and started bandaging me up. Not one word was said during this. It made me feel even worse. Before she got to bandaging my side she hugged me and cried, "D-don't ever d-do th-this again Ryo… I-I don't kn-know… Wh-what i-I'd do without… Y-you…" I hugged her back. "I'm sorry Mai… I didn't mean to get hurt…" I replied. She hugged me tighter. "I-I know, but please… Be more careful…" Mai trailed off. She then tried to bandage my side, but I started moving around. "Ryo, you have to hold still so I can finish." She stated. I just moved around more. I couldn't help it. It was just a reaction I had. So she decided to sit my waist so I couldn't move around as much.
I was still moving too much for her to finish though. "Ryo, calm down so I can finish." Mai said. I responded, "I'm sorry, but I can't. It's just what happens when someone tries." "Ok, I have an idea then!" She said with a smile. She then got off me and helped me sit up. After that she started massaging me like earlier. It started calming me down right away. "There we go!" She commented as she used one hand to massage me and the other to wrap the bandage around my side. She smiled and said, "Alright! I'm all done now! You need to be more careful though."
Then she put her head on my chest and snuggled me. "You don't mind this, do you?" She asked. I blushed a little and wrapped my arms around her. "Of course I don't mind this Mai." I answered as I snuggled her back. "By the way, I'm letting it slide this time. But if you get hurt again that brush will go up and down your side again." Mai stated snuggling me again. I felt a sweat drop on my face. "O-ok, fair enough I guess." I said snuggling her again. We both started to get sleepy. She yawned, "Oh and just so you know you are punished from going to the ruins tomorrow." She fell asleep a few seconds later and then I fell asleep right after her.
Day 4: The Picnic
The next morning we got up when we wanted to since I punished from going into the ruins today. I didn't think she meant it, but it's good to finally get a day off from exploration. Although I wasn't sure what she had planned for today. I didn't care though. I just really liked spending time with her. "Well are you ready to go Ryo?" She asked. I gave her a confused look. "I thought you said we weren't going to the ruins today.