Work by: KitsCade (Cadeyrn/KitsuRo)
12/21/10
I Ran From You To Be With You
-CHNK
The pokeball-shaped alarm clock suddenly snapped shut, a pair of fumbling hands tossing it to the ground.
I really wish I didn't ask for that clock for Christmas. grumble-thought a young adult by the name of Ash Ketchum.
2 years has passed since he was crowned Pokemon Master, and was now a young man in the ripe age of 21.
The young man tossed and turned in his bed until he rolled off completely, hitting the ground with a loud THUMP.
"Ash! Hurry up or you'll be late!" a woman's voice echoed from downstairs.
"Merrrph!" grumbled back the floor-planted boy.
...
Minutes passed before Ash climbed into a standing position, and he did so with even more grumbling. Grabbing and placing a gray baseball cap onto his head, Ash checked himself thoroughly on a wall-pasted mirror slightly left of his unattended bed. He tilted and turned his head with interest, judging his appearance carefully in his reflection. Not too bad. he thought to himself with a sense of accomplishment.
"Today's the day." the Pokemon Master said to himself confidently.
"Pika?" A yellow mouse with red cheeks and a lightning tail crawled out from Ash's bed.
"Morning Pikachu! Just take the tag and my pack for today, I've got somewhere to go."
Pikachu sighed in annoyance as he grabbed the dreaded Absent Pack from behind a counter. The Absent Pack was a Ash Ketchum original, a large bag that carried his entire identity. From personal items, to certificates, to IDs, to anything needed to prove that Ash Ketchum truly was the Pokemon Master.
"Just make sure you go easy on the kids." Ash reminded the yellow rodent, "I don't want their parents coming up to me to complain about how I shamed their children for losing to trainer-less Pokemon."
"Pikapi." Pikachu nodded in agreement, slightly embarrassed for the many moments his partner and master had been cornered by angered parents and officials.
As a Pokemon Master, it was Ash's duty to accept any challenge brought to him by other trainers. And as much as he loved the constant battles, he suddenly felt overwhelmed by the amount of challenges he received daily. To counter this problem, he created the controversial Absent Pack.
Being the Pokemon Master, he was allowed to create rules for other trainers to follow in order to challenge him - and his Absent Pack was the most unprofessional rule anyone within the Pokemon Battle Committee had ever heard of: As long as one of his Pokemon held the Absent Pack, trainers had every right to battle his Pokemon without having their trainer by their side.
Outlandish as it was, there were no specific guidelines that prevented this kind of rule from Pokemon Masters. Not only that, but no one could prove that this outlandish rule was counterproductive - as not a single trainer or gym leader has defeated any of Ash's Pokemon wielding the Absent Pack.
Confident that Pikachu could handle himself for the rest of the day, Ash began changing into some new clothes before heading downstairs for breakfast.
"Now if I were a boy with a Pikachu, where would I hide?" slyly pondered a young woman as she snuck around the bushes of a beautiful park.
Suddenly she felt hot breathing on her neck, with a dark tone to its whispering voice, "Who are you looking for...?" Her eyes widened.
The young woman jumped out of the bushes with a yelp of fear.
She was getting ready to run until she heard the dark tone suddenly turn light as it began to laughed. Irritated for being made a fool of, the young woman glared her blue fire eyes into the bushes.
"What's your problem?" she yelled furiously, demanding that the prankster show his face.
A gray cap popped out, the head still obscured. "I dunno, maybe I'm just trying to catch a stalker." the voice joked from the bushes with a snicker.
"Ash?"
"Admit it. I got you, May." the young Pokemon Master popped out victoriously.
May sighed in defeat. "What the heck were you doing in the bushes? And where's Pikachu?"
"I could ask you the same thing. The bushes, that is. Pikachu's doing Absent duty."
"Again? Ash, that's so irresponsible! What if someone steals that bag? Or worse, what if Team Rocket steals your Pokemon?" May tried to lecture the boy, though she knew she'd never be able to get through his thick skull.
"Relax! I'm the Pokemon Master, remember? My Pokemon can handle anything anyone can throw at them!" the boy boasted. May responded with a roll of her eyes.
"Oh right!" Ash exclaimed as he reached into his pocket and pulled out two crumpled tickets, "I was going to ask you if you'd want to go with me to see that movie!"
May sat down by a nearby bench, motioning Ash to do the same. "Which movie? Not another monster flick. I'd hope you would've figured out by now how I hate those movies."
"Actua-" Ash was suddenly interrupted by May.
"The Haunter? Gengar Gengar? Darkroar? Blood Jynx? 4-faced Aipom?" May sighed deeply as she knew her choices, "Or are we going to see another meathead action movie? Rocket Twins? Hitmon? De-" this time it was May's turn to be cut off.
"No no no no no!" Ash quickly said as he sat next to May on the bench.
In truth, he was looking forward to those movies and was heavily disappointed he'd have to wait until they were released on PokeDrive.
But now wasn't the time for that kind of thinking. "It's actually Restless In Your Arms."
...
"What's restless in my arms?" May asked confusingly as if the boy didn't finish his sentence.
"No, that's the movie. Restless In Your Arms." the Pokemon Master blushed, feeling ridiculous having to say that name over and over again.
The young woman's face couldn't decide on what to express. Excitement? Shock? Confusion? Shyness? Disbelief?
...
...
"May?"
In her deep thoughts, her face was left blank - staring off into space. "W-what?" the young woman snapped out of her thoughts, her face suddenly turning redder every second.
Ash, embarrassed to say the cheesy name again, simply waved the tickets in front of her face.
Not knowing what to do, May slowly reached for and grabbed one of the tickets.
Victorious, Ash winked at her, exclaimed, "It's a date!" and ran off.
...
...
A dazed and confused brown haired woman was left sitting on a bench in the middle of the park. Her face was completely flushed, and her fingers shook so much that she dropped the ticket. She placed her hands onto her face, hiding her blush from no one but herself, "D-did he just ask me out on a date?"
Today was her day.
"Ash... Ash-" her foot slipped, and the woman with the ruined red hair fell onto wet ground.
Her eyes blank, her clothes worn and drench, and her skin cut and bruised, and her lips quivered.
The rain continued to pour onto her defeated body.
Her heart pained. She curled into the position she had become so used to. Sobbing desperately.
A fishing pole in her hand. No catch to be found.
