A/N: So for my first stab at fan fiction, I thought I would try my hand at the Ash/Misty dynamic. I have some ideas about possibly using this as an opening to launch a longer story, but for now, I think I'll keep it as a one-shot.

Disclaimer- I do not own Pokémon.

Useless?

"Ash, are you sure about this?"

Misty's voice was layered with concern and nervousness, with a subtle hint of annoyance. They had now been walking through the winding, dark woods for nearly three days, and had yet to even glimpse an end to the forest.

"Don't worry Mist, I'm positive." Ash Ketchum had a little spring in his step and seemed particularly smug at the moment. If he was right, any minute now he, Brock, and Misty would be clear of this thick forest and reach civilization. And thanks to his shortcut, they would get there almost a week sooner than if they had taken Route 32! Ash closed his eyes and smiled to himself. Sure, he had been directionally challenged in the past, but it seemed he had finally gotten the hang of this "traveling" business. He couldn't wait to see the look on Misty's face! Oh, they were all going to think he was so smart for suggesting they go through the woods instead of taking Route 32 around…

"Ash, I really think we should have taken Route 32 around," Brock stated bluntly. "We're way off the beaten path."

Ash opened his eyes and glared at his two companions walking behind him. "I know what I'm doing! We're almost there, and if you guys stopped complaining, maybe we would be there faster! Isn't that right Pikachu?" He glanced down, seeking encouragement from his furry yellow friend. However, something else had grabbed Pikachu's attention. He was sniffing the air curiously, his tail twitching a little. Suddenly, he took off, sprinting ahead of three very puzzled humans. They took off to catch up with him, but Pikachu had already stopped just ten yards up in the woods. His nose was low to the ground, sniffing intently.

"What's he doing?" Ash asked quizzically, giving his electric sidekick a sideways stare.

"He must have picked up a trail he recognized" Brock speculated. "But what kind of Pokémon or human that Pikachu knows is around here?"

"Hey look, footprints!" Misty exclaimed. She pointed at several shoe prints across the dirt, along with much smaller set of what appeared to be Pokémon paw prints.

Brock knelt down next to the tracks, chin in hand, observing closely. "Well, looks like three different kinds of human tracks. And the others look like a small Pokemon, maybe a rodent type. Like a…like a…" Brock's voice trailed off a bit.

Pikachu's ears fell a bit, as he sighed with a disheartened disappointment. "Chuuuuu."

There was absolute silence for almost a minute, which was broken sharply when Misty screamed "Oh, you've REALLY done it now!!"

"Done what?" said Ash, who had a bad feeling he knew what had happened, but was desperately hoping there was another explanation.

"Done what??? DONE WHAT!!!??? We've been going in CIRCLES you moron! For THREE DAYS!!! Now you're going to have us stuck in these woods FOREVER! I honestly can't believe you're THIS DENSE!!! I guess I should have known better after the first THOUSAND TIMES YOU GOT US LOST!!! Oh, I cannot BELIEVE…"

As Misty screamed on, bearing down harshly on Ash, Brock had already gotten up and walked away. They obviously were not getting out of these woods tonight, so they would need wood for a campfire. He didn't feel a need to criticize Ash for his lack of direction. Misty was doing more than enough of that. As Brock plucked a few choice twigs off the ground, he tried to block out Misty's screams. This turned into a rather tricky task, since this time, she was really letting Ash have it.

"...always ends up being a WASTE OF OUR TIME! I swear, Ash Ketchum, if you could just make yourself USEFUL for once..."

Ash could not take another word. He had stood there, staring at the ground and gritting his teeth, but finally, after Misty had hurled a full arsenal of insults, Ash felt the need to fire back.

"I'M the one who's useless!? YOU'RE the one we don't need! All you ever do is just follow us around, complaining about what's happening but never doing anything to change it! Maybe YOU'RE the one who should try to be USEFUL!"

Pikachu cringed, looking from one trainer to the other, hoping desperately that they would stop. But Misty's eyes were alive with rage.

"Oh, I don't need to hear this little speech from YOU Ash Ketchum! Ever since you wrecked my bike, you haven't done a THING for me!"

"MAYBE THAT'S BECAUSE I DON'T WANT YOU AROUND!!!"

Ash's sudden, screaming declaration cut through every silent corner of the woods. Misty's mouth hung a little. She clenched her fists and closed her eyes tightly. For a full ten seconds there was dead silence, and Ash was sure she was going to take a swing at him. But suddenly, she turned around and ran, tearing off into the forest. Ash felt shocked. He turned to Pikachu, and the Pokémon suddenly backed away, as if frightened by the whole exchange. Ash sighed and plopped down on a rock. She's probably just mad, he thought. She'll run, blow off some steam, and then come back. It's not like we haven't yelled at each other before.

What Ash didn't realize was that Misty had not run just because she was mad. Sure, she was angry, and very upset. But most importantly of all, Misty Waterflower could not, and would not, allow Ash to see her crying.

Misty ran, ran as fast as she could, tears streaming down the side of her face. I knew it, I knew it all along, and I just kept pushing him towards the edge! She ran until she could feel her heart pounding in her chest, ran until the pain in her lungs managed to distract from the knot in her stomach. He hates me. He HATES me. He doesn't even want me around. She finally slowed down to a complete stop, breathing heavily. She felt one teardrop after another slide down her cheeks. Maybe I can go back, maybe I can apologize, maybe this will all work out. After all, it usually does, right? Misty sighed, and then sucked in a deep breath, trying to calm herself. She wiped away her tears with two quick brushes of her hand, and then slowly turned around. She took several determined steps forward, hoping that Ash would not be gone by the time she got back, hoping that things were not as bad as she thought.

And then she stopped cold in her tracks, paralyzed by fear.

It was just a small Weedle, minding its own business as it crawled up a tree trunk a few feet in front of her. The little larva noticed Misty, and stopped to glance over at her. She made eye contact with the bug, the terrifying, threatening menace to all society, and felt her face break out into a cold sweat. The caterpillar Pokémon seemed intrigued by this strange girl, and turned to climb back down the tree.

"AHHHHHHH!!!"

In a sudden movement, a shrieking Misty seized a small stone at her feet and hurled it with violent velocity at the Weedle, who was still too far away to have reached her easily. But the redhead's overwhelming fear of bugs defied all other logic that might have been used in that situation. For instance, the logic that the Weedle was climbing on a very large tree trunk, which seemed to have several large holes in it, giving the impression that the tree was hollow. If it was hollow, one could logically deduce that a family of Pokémon must be living in it. And one might further conclude that this family would probably be Weedle's evolved form.

But Misty had not thought of this. Instead, her rock missed the Weedle and hit the tree with a loud thunk. And, following a sudden rustling and buzzing sound, one large, angry Beedrill after another flew out of the tree, until Misty faced a whole swarm swirling in the air above her. Her pulse quickened. Her hands shook uncontrollably. And suddenly, before she could think, she had turned to run, her feet flying off the ground as the enraged swarm bore down on her. The crazed buzzing filled her ears, and gripped by dire panic, she closed her eyes and screamed the only thing she could think to scream, as loud as she possibly could.

"AAAASSHH! HEELLLP!"

Ash's head shot up from his hands. Was that Misty's voice? Calling for...help? From him? Pikachu had perked up too, his ears and nose high to the wind. "Pikachupi!"

Ash glanced around quickly. Brock had not yet returned, but there was not time to wait. He looked down at Pikachu, nodded in determination, and jumped up from the rock, taking off in a flat sprint towards the sound of Misty's voice, his loyal Pokémon close behind.

Misty ran as fast as she could, flying between the trees. She could hear the roar of the advancing swarm behind her, and in her mind she could see their massive stingers, their gleaming red eyes. Don't look back. Don't look back. Just run. The terror gripped and propelled her all at once. She was pulling away, she could get away, she could escape... and then she stumbled.

The root caught her foot, and she went flying forward. Her knees scraped the ground, her palms slid across dead leaves. She scrambled to get up, rose to her feet, her knees shaking. She stepped forward to run again, but the vicious swarm was closing in, stingers pointed forward...

"PIKACHU, THUNDERBOLT!"

With a blinding flash, bolts of electricity filled the air. Beedrills crumpled and fell to the ground, legs and wings twitching. Misty closed her eyes and ran forward, the faint buzzing of the retreating swarm slowly fading from her ears. Her eyelids were shut tightly, she could not see a thing, and even though she had only heard his voice and had not yet seen him, she still managed to propel herself forward into Ash's arms. She pressed her face hard into his shoulder, her warm tears pooling up on his blue vest. She wrapped her arms tightly around him, listening to his voice as he whispered, "It's okay, don't worry, they're gone now." Her breathing started to ease, the trembling in her hands faded away. When she could finally speak, her voice choked and stuttered through tears.

"A-Ash? Tha-thank you. Thank you...so...m-much."

Ash did not respond at first. He just stood there, holding her, his chin tucked over her red hair. "Mist?"

"Y-yeah?"

"I do want you around."

Neither of them said anything. Neither of them needed to say a word.