Something More
Something More
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon. I do, however, own this story.
Note: This story contains some spoilers for DP episodes that have yet to air outside of Japan, so if you don't want to be spoiled don't read the fic.
The waves gently lapped against the shore of the old port city. If one listened closely one could hear the faint sound of boats blowing their horns as they pulled into the harbor to unload their cargo (or, in some cases, passengers). The distant smell of sea salt permeated the air, and a sea breeze tussled the perfect hair styles of the many women actively strolling about the city (much to their chagrin, of course). Such was life in Canalave City, Sinnoh...
"I'm hungry! When are we going to get something to eat?"
Ash Ketchum leapt to his feet, nearly knocking down his Pikachu in the process. The small mouse Pokemon sparked its cheeks threateningly, but Ash, quick to see the signs of an angry Pikachu and all too aware of what could happen when he had an angry Pikachu on his hands, apologized before any real damage could be done.
"Ash, we just got here! Can't we at least take some time to enjoy the sights and sounds of the city before we go off to get something to eat? The sea breeze smells wonderful!"
Ash noticed that Dawn, his blue-haired traveling companion, was looking at him sternly. Did he want to press the matter? After all, an angry Dawn was almost as bad as an angry Pikachu, although neither was as bad as an angry Misty...
Misty. Why did he always find himself thinking about Misty? It seemed as though no matter what he was thinking about, Ash's mind almost always turned to his friend and former traveling companion back in his homeland Kanto. Why was that? He never used to think of Misty like this when he was traveling with her. It was strange, so very strange...
"Hello! Ash?!"
Dawn's voice snapped Ash back to reality, and, blushing slightly at having been caught thinking about Misty (not that Dawn knew he was thinking about his redheaded friend, or that the fact that he was thinking about her meant anything—they were just friends, after all), although he wasn't sure why he was blushing, Ash turned towards his friend and realized that he had no idea what they had been talking about.
"Yeah, Dawn? What is it?"
"Well, one minute we were talking about food and the next you were completely spacing out," Dawn explained.
Food! That's right! They had been talking about food! Was he ever hungry!
"Yeah, can we get something to eat? I'm starving!" Having remembered how hungry he was, Ash was now determined to get some food into his belly.
"Ash, didn't you hear what Dawn said? We just got here and it would be nice to, you know, enjoy the atmosphere a bit," Ash's older friend and longtime traveling companion Brock reminded him.
"That's just it, Brock! The salt in the air is making me hungry!"
As Ash finished his statement a loud growl suddenly erupted from his stomach, proving his point. His friends sighed and decided to give in and to go get something to eat.
"Last one there has to pay!" Ash challenged, rushing off towards the nearest restaurant and, for the time being, forgetting all about Misty...
"Ash, that's your fifth bowl of rice!" Dawn exclaimed in horror, looking at her friend's swollen abdomen in shock.
"Sowhat'sittoyou?!" Ash replied incomprehensibly, his mouth full of food.
"Say that again?" Dawn tilted her head towards the raven-haired boy, her deep blue eyes sparkling with laughter.
"I said, 'what's it to you?'" Ash stated angrily. Why hadn't Dawn understood him the first time he had spoken? What was she deaf or something? "Didn't you hear me the first time?"
"I heard you, Ash, but I couldn't quite make out what you said considering all of the food you had in your mouth," Dawn said with a cocky grin, glad to be able to tease Ash. It was one of her favorite pastimes.
"So what? I'm a healthy growing boy, you know!"
"The only things about you that are growing are your stomach and your ego—"
"OK, that's enough!" Brock knew he had to interrupt the argument before it got out of hand. Jeez, it was almost as bad as having Ash and Misty together...almost. Nothing could be as bad as having Ash and Misty together, which, unfortunately, was about to happen, Brock suddenly remembered.
"So, Ash, when is Misty getting here?" The aspiring Pokemon breeder decided to change the subject before more fighting could ensue.
"Oh! Misty should be here any minute now," Ash stated with excitement. He had forgotten all about Misty! (After all, Ash forgot about everything but food while he was eating.) Boy, was he excited to see her! Ash hadn't seen Misty since before he had left to travel throughout Kanto to take on the Battle Frontier challenge, and that had been some time ago. After all, he had successfully completed the challenge and traveled through a good portion of Sinnoh since then.
Ash sighed. Misty, who was a gym leader in Cerulean City and a water Pokemon expert, worked so hard that she rarely had time to take off. Because of this he was quite surprised when she wrote to inform him that her sisters had decided to take over the gym for her for a week as a gift for working so hard for so long. When he called her later that night she had asked, quite sheepishly, Ash had noticed, if she could come see him during her time off.
It was so very strange, though; she seemed almost embarrassed to be asking, and her face was slightly red when she did. Were her sisters getting her to wear makeup? He knew that his mother was known to wear some stuff called rouge from time to time that would make her look as though she were blushing. Misty wasn't really the type to wear makeup, though, but why would she be embarrassed to ask him if she could come visit? Girls...who would ever understand them?
"It'll be really nice to see her again, won't it, Ash?" Brock questioned, bringing Ash back to the conversation.
"Huh? Oh, yeah. I can't wait to show her Buizel and all of the badges I've earned!" Ash exclaimed happily.
"Don't you think we'd better head over to the inn where we said we'd meet her?" Dawn reminded her friends. They had planned to meet Misty at an old inn near the Canalave City harbor.
"Oh, you're right! Last one there is a rotten Togepi!" With that Ash dashed out of the restaurant, rushing towards the inn so that he could finally see his good friend.
"Dawn, what time is it now?" Ash whined, looking at his friend with an expectant expression on his face.
"Ash, how many times are you going to ask me that?" Dawn seemed rather annoyed by Ash's question.
"Well, you're the one with the Poketch!" Ash responded, as if the fact that Dawn had the digital watch made it OK for him to constantly bug her about the time.
Dawn sighed. "Well, it's been three minutes since you last asked me. You do the math. Why are you so anxious for her to get here, anyway?"
Ash was growing increasingly impatient. Misty had promised to meet them at the inn half-an-hour ago. What was taking her so long? Sure, Ash enjoyed watching the boats come in, and Canalave certainly was easy on the senses, what with the sound of the waves crashing against the piers and the smell of the salty air. Still, Ash couldn't help feeling bored and antsy. After all, he hadn't seen Misty in a very long time!
Despite all of this, even Ash was surprised by the intensity of his feelings. It was as if his whole body was tingling with excitement. Every time he thought of Misty (which was quite often at the moment) Ash felt as if his old Butterfree was flitting around in his stomach. Why would he feel like this? Sure, he was happy to be able to see Misty, especially because he hadn't seen her in such a long time, but why would he feel like this? This was something quite new. He had felt it when she met up with him in Hoenn to attend the Togepi Festival and again when she was waiting for him back at his house after he completed the Hoenn league, but the feeling seemed even stronger than it had those times; in fact, it seemed to become more intense with every time he saw her. Maybe it was just because he had gone without seeing her for so long this time. Yes, that must have been it.
"Pikachupi!"
Ash whipped his head around to see what his beloved Pikachu was making a fuss about, recognizing Pikachu's name for Misty. It couldn't really be her finally, could it? After waiting for her for so long (well, it hadn't really been that long, but to Ash it felt like it had been forever), the fact that she might have finally come seemed too good to be true, but when Ash looked in the direction Pikachu was pointing, he noticed a slim figure with a familiar lopsided ponytail making its way towards them.
"Hey, Misty!"
"Hey, Ash! Hey, Brock! Oh, and you must be Dawn!" Misty quickly approached the group of three, a big smile on her face. Ash couldn't help but feel his face growing warm at the sight of his friend. Why would he feel that way? It must have been his excitement over seeing Misty again. Gosh, it was so good to see her!
"Aren't you going to say hello back to me, Ash?" Ash noticed that Misty was standing with Brock and Dawn, and that each had a confused expression on his or her face. Ash realized that they must have been talking and that he had spaced out and missed the conversation...again.
"Hi, Misty! It's so great to finally see you!" Ash exclaimed happily. He knew that he would be glad to see Misty, but he hadn't expected to feel this excited about it. He felt so good then and didn't want the feeling to ever go away.
"It's good to see you, too, Ash. How have you been? What have you been up to?" Misty seemed genuinely interested in what was going on with Ash, which made the Pokemon trainer especially happy for some reason. What Misty thought of him had always been important to him, but now it seemed especially so.
"Well, Misty, we just got here from Hearthome City, where Dawn won her third ribbon and where I won my fifth badge. Fantina, the gym leader, and her ghost Pokemon were really tough, but Turtwig really came through with its Bite attack. Now we're here in Canalave so I can challenge Sinnoh's sixth gym leader, Byron," Ash explained.
"Wow, Ash, it seems like you've really been up to a lot," Misty began, "and congratulations on your third ribbon, Dawn. I saw how you won the Wallace Cup on television and can tell that you're a really great coordinator."
"Thanks, Misty," Dawn stated rather shyly. "I mean, I guess I'm OK. Ash did really well in the Wallace Cup, too, though."
"Ash? I thought Ash choked against that Lanturn!" Misty replied with a laugh.
"What? I did not!" Ash responded indignantly.
"Did so!" Misty countered.
"Did not!"
"Did so!"
"Did not!"
"Did—"
"Alright, that's enough!" Brock managed to interject. "Will you two cut it out? You've only just met again and you're already fighting!"
"Well, she started it," Ash stated simply.
"Sorry, Ash. I guess I shouldn't have made that comment about you choking. I hope you know that I didn't mean it. I mean, I know that you did really well in the Wallace Cup, too. I saw what a great appeal you and Buizel made," Misty replied.
"Yes, you did—what?" Ash couldn't help himself; he was ready to retaliate and argue back at Misty when he heard the tail-end of what she had said. Did she really say what he thought she had said?
"I said that I'm sorry, Ash. I shouldn't have started an argument because you really did do well in the Wallace Cup," Misty repeated.
"Oh, um, thanks, Misty." Once again Ash felt his face beginning to grow hot. Why did receiving a compliment from Misty make him feel that way? What did that mean? She had been sorry for starting the argument, too; that was very different from the Misty he knew. What was going on with her? Before Ash had much time to ponder this question Misty interrupted with a question of her own.
"Ash, can I see your Buizel? I know it's a water Pokemon, and you know how I love water Pokemon. I'd like to see your Piplup, too, Dawn, if that's OK," Misty finished.
"Sure, Misty!" Ash exclaimed happily, his thoughts now on Pokemon and the strange feelings he was beginning to associate with Misty long forgotten...
Misty greatly enjoyed playing with both Piplup and Buizel. The two Pokemon competed for Misty's attention (each thought of itself as the best); Piplup showed off the Whirlpool attack that won its master the Wallace Cup and Buizel demonstrated the Water Pulse attack that it had learned to gain Ash a victory against Maylene in Veilstone City. Soon, though, everyone agreed that it was getting late and decided to go inside the old inn and call it a night.
Ash stared at the inside of the old inn in awe. What looked like Spinarak webs dotted the corners of the ceiling, and ancient portraits of old seamen hung along the decaying walls. The old floorboards sighed underneath his weight as he walked, causing Ash to gleefully walk back and forth across them until he received an angry glare from Misty. The whole place seemed at once both dilapidated and spooky. Ash figured that Misty would hate it, but he thought it was just plain cool.
"Excuse me, sir, but we've booked a room for four for the next week in this inn," Brock began, addressing an elderly man at the inn's front desk. The old man grinned at the group of four, a funny, almost sympathetic grin that gave away the fact that he was missing many teeth. His scraggly white beard hung low over his chest, and his head was completely devoid of hair.
"Ahh, yes, you have room twelve. You should have an, ahh, interesting stay," the old man replied.
"Sir, what exactly do you mean by that?" Misty questioned. Ash could sense the anxiety in her voice and smiled at the fact that he was right in thinking that Misty would hate this place. The thought of being able to tease Misty about her fear of the inn for the next week almost made Ash giddy.
"Well, miss, it's just that there are stories about room twelve, particularly about the bed to the right of the window," the innkeeper responded.
Ash could hear Misty gulp. He was going to have a great time!
"What do you mean by stories?" Misty stated softly.
"Well, they're just stories, little lady," the old man began, "but some people who have stayed in room twelve have disappeared and never been heard from again not long after they have left the inn and finished their stay in room twelve."
"They just disappeared?" Brock questioned, his head cocked to the side in curiosity. "That's all there is to the story?"
"Err, not quite. You see, the friends of the people who have disappeared claim that those who have disappeared spoke of dreaming of a strange Pokemon; this was especially true of people who slept in the bed to the right of the window," the innkeeper explained.
"I don't think I like this at all," Misty confessed, a look of dread spreading across her face. "Can't we stay in another room?"
"I'm afraid not, miss. All of the other rooms are occupied at this time."
"Maybe we should stay at the Pokemon Center instead," Misty offered, fear still apparent in her face.
"No way, Misty! We already paid for this room! Besides, I think it sounds cool!" Ash exclaimed.
"You would," Misty retorted.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Ash was ready for a fight if Misty wanted to start one.
"Guys, not now, please," Brock pleaded. He then turned towards Misty. "I hate to say it, Misty, but Ash is right. We did already pay for the room, and I don't want to have wasted our money. Besides, these are just stories; I highly doubt they're true."
"Fine," Misty pouted, "but there's no way I'm sleeping in the bed to the right of the window."
"That's perfectly OK, Misty, because I'm going to be the one to sleep in that bed!" Ash stated boldly.
Everyone else just sweat dropped. No one wanted to argue with Ash, mainly because no one (even if Misty was the only one to admit it) really wanted to stay in that bed.
Ash settled into his bed, Pikachu asleep by his side. The wind howled outside of the window, and it felt good to snuggle under the warm covers. Ash smiled contently and looked over towards his friends. Both Brock and Dawn had already fallen asleep, he noticed, but Misty lay awake in her bed, wide-eyed and obviously frightened.
"What's the matter, Misty? Afraid of a little story?" Ash whispered across the room to the gym leader.
"Me? N-n-no, of course not!" Misty stated, although her voice certainly betrayed her.
"Yeah, right. Goodnight, Mist. Don't let the bed bugs bite!"
Misty stuck her tongue out at Ash, who rolled over and fell asleep.
It was then that he began to have the strangest dream...
Author's Note: It's been a while since I've written anything for this website, and it's good to be back. I'd been working on some personal writing, but became somewhat disenchanted with it (read: started to dislike it), so I decided to start a new fanfic instead. I'm not too pleased with how this chapter turned out, but I'm pretty excited to be writing this fic, and I think it'll get better as it goes along. (Oh, and don't worry; there will be plenty of AAML in it.)
I know this fic isn't what I said I was going to write, but the idea came to me while I was lying in bed last week and I decided I just had to write it. I'm sort of focusing on Ash's point of view of things like I have in the last two fics, so that's still kind of new to me. I find Misty much harder to write (so I guess you could say I'm just being lazy) and am afraid that I always make her sound too "emo," so I'm hoping that by taking a break from writing her I'll be better at writing her when I go back to it (if that makes any sense), which I ultimately plan on doing.
Please review if you read and enjoy. :) Oh, and happy summer to those of you who have finished school!
