Ok, so here it is, guys! I'll be working on Growing Up and Jar of Hearts in alternation, so expect the next chapter of Growing Up to appear half way through January. The background of Ash's incubus nature will not be directly stated, but rather hinted at as the story goes on.
This will, as I've said before, hold closely to the anime, but not necessarily in order wise. I will leave out some episodes, while I might just summarize or blend others. Just for convenience sake. What parts of Ash's past I will reveal, I have no idea, since, again, I'm winging it. Development between Ash and Iris will be present in this chapter, but don't expect any sweet stuff for a while!
I don't have much to say, so here goes nothing! Or something...I have no idea...
Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon. Not at all. Nope. Nada.
Let's see if Ash can woo, here in Chapter 2!
Chapter 2: Heartbeat
"Oh, yeah!" Ash exclaimed with an excited tone. He acted like as if he had forgotten what he was doing, just as Iris would probably expect.
Iris, crowned with luscious palatinate purple hair, brightly giggled. "You didn't even remember what you were here for! Only a little kid would be so forgetful," she teased, trying to get under Ash's skin. She was trying her best to keep her blush down, wondering of what he was hinting at only a minute ago.
Ash's face contorted into an irked expression, creating the illusion of irritation. He didn't feel irritated. He didn't feel at all. "I'm not a kid!" Ash retorted. A cute smile spread across Iris's rosy lips as she took a stance.
"That doesn't matter right now. My 6th sense is telling me that the gym is that way!" Iris proclaimed, pointing down the crowded street. Vendors lined the edges of the lane, occupied with multitudinous customers. The Pokemon master trainee sweat dropped.
"You're 6th sense isn't the best..." Ash muttered. Sadly for him, or not since he had no emotions under his cheery exterior, Iris's keen ears picked up on that little quip. Her smile faded.
Dropping her arms to her side, she walked right up into Ash's face, shouting, "I heard that!" Ash shrunk away in mock fear, eliciting an accidental laugh from the wild child. Pikachu, perched on Ash's shoulder, cocked his head. Iris's Axew simply giggled along with his trainer. Taking him by the wrist, Iris dragged Ash through the packed street. "Come on, Ash! It's this way!" Her face warmed at the contact, but she held on to him any ways. It was a free, innocent opportunity for physical touch, so why not?
Stumbling over his feet as he was man-handled (or is it woman-handled?) by Iris, said, "Hold up, Iris! I think I saw it that way!", flailing his free arm in a general direction down a side street.
"That's not what my 6th sense says!" Iris scoffed, weaving past shoppers and clerks alike. Pikachu was holding on for dear life to Ash's shirt, stiff as a rock.
The two rushed through Striaton City, constantly following Iris's so-called 6th sense, only to end up outside the city in the lush forest.
"Um...Iris?" Ash questioned cautiously. He was pretty sure Pikachu and Axew were thinking the exact same thing as he was.
Sweeping her eyes across the forest in vain, Iris asked, "Yes?"
Taking a step back for protection, yet still held in the grip of Iris's hand, Ash continued, "I don't think the gym is outside the city."
Sweat dropping and letting go of Ash's wrist, Iris replied, "Yeah, yeah...My 6th sense must've had some interference from something, then!" Shaking his head with a smile to show how silly he thought all this was, Ash was now the one taking Iris's wrist as he began to run back into the city. "Ash!"
Glancing behind him at the Dragon-type trainer, Ash shouted, "I want to get to the gym! Plus, this is payback!" He let Iris see his smirk as he continued dashing back into the city, pumping his legs as hard as he could. If he were to give Iris any challenge, he would have to go as fast as he could. It was without a doubt that Iris was definitely quicker than he was, despite his being an incubus. Another strange thing about Iris...He could always run faster than anybody he had ever met, whether or not if they were trained sprinters didn't matter, being a demon and all. Not that anybody knew that. Iris, however, was apparently the exception...If he was practically a blur to others as he ran by, then Iris was just a flash of color...The question was why?
Their attempts at searching the city for the gym were futile. They found practically everything else, from the shopping center to an extravagant restaurant (hmm...), but the gym wasn't in sight. The companions made their way back to the grocery mart, scratching their heads in confusion. Well, Ash couldn't get confused. Only considerate of possibilities. At least, he thought so.
Ash was the first of them to burst. "Where the hell is the gym!?" They'd spent all day searching for it, and now the sun was already a couple hours from setting. If they didn't find it soon, he'd have to act frustrated and crazy, something that the incubus believed he'd find tiresome due to all the thinking going on that was required to fool Iris. Tiresome? He found something tiresome? That's not right...
"Oh, calm down Ash, it's just a gym battle! It's not like you're going to starve to death!" Iris pointed out, narrowing her eyes at him. He had constantly reminded her that her 6th sense wasn't necessarily spot on all the time, especially today. Cute as his zigzagged face was, he still got under her skin. Just like a little kid.
Ironically, her little remark was related to him more than she had thought. "But I want a badge!" Ash retorted. He felt a light tap on his shoulder. Turning around, he was met by a young adult waiter with spiked, yet rounded, absinthe green hair. He wore a crisp white dress shirt with a black vest with large gold buttons on it. His lower half sported black slacks and shined, ebony loafers (yes, loafers...). In his left hand, holding on by a strap, was a grocery bag full of various greens, vegetables, and fruits.
"I'm Cilan, a Pokemon connoisseur, at your service," the waiter now know as Cilan greeted, bowing slightly. Ash cocked his head.
"A Pokemon connoisseur?" he asked.
Iris snickered. "Only a little kid wouldn't know what a Pokemon connoisseur is," she jabbed. Ash was about to say a comeback when Cilan cut in.
"That's okay. A Pokemon connoisseur is an expert in evaluating the strength of the relationship between Pokemon and Pokemon trainer," Cilan clarified.
"Oh...Well, then you should see how well me and Pikachu match up! I'm Ash from the Kanto region and I want to be a Pokemon master!" Ash enthusiastically said.
"Pika!" Pikachu joined in. Iris crossed her arms, a smile tickling the edge of her lips.
"You said the exact same thing to me..." she mumbled. "What a kid..."
"That explains it! Pokemon connoisseurs are mostly here in the Unova region and are just starting up else where, so it's quite understandable that you didn't know what they are. See, I'm an A-Class Pokemon connoisseur, and from looking at you and your Pikachu..." Cilan paused here, intently observing Pikachu and Ash. "...it appears to me that you two have the strongest of relationships!" Internally, Ash was relieved. Cilan's skill level, as an A-Class Pokemon connoisseur, could've been a threat to his identity. Relationships require feelings, but he had none, so it was a good thing that Ash's cunning was stronger. Relief.
"Awesome! How about it, Pikachu?" Ash asked his electric mouse Pokemon.
"Chu!" the Pokemon answered excitedly. Iris unknowingly smiled at the close-knit kinship.
Cilan smiled warmly before saying, "I know where the Striaton Gym is, if you need help finding it." At this, a thought came up in Ash's mind.
Nudging Iris in the side with his elbow, lightly, of course, Ash shot, "If anybody needs help finding things, it's this girl here." A playful smirk on his face was met with a frog in the arm from Iris. "Ow!" Iris's eyes, narrowed to a sliver, were glaring threateningly at him, though her lips said that she was enjoying the talk.
Chuckling, Cilan noted, "You two seem to have a wonderful aroma together!" A blush threatened to blow up Iris's face as her cheeks heated up. Ash, on the other hand, gave a blank stare.
"What does that mean?" Ash innocently asked. He knew what it meant, but he decided to stay naïve. Just for character...he really needed an Emmy...Iris fell anime style whilst Cilan sweat dropped.
"See, what I meant was..." Cilan started before being quickly interrupted by Iris.
"Anyways, we have to get to the gym, don't we, Ash?" Iris queried hurriedly, trying to ricochet the conversational topic to another subject. A less tensile, disconcerting subject, to be exact.
"Oh, yeah!" Ash exclaimed, seemingly remembering what he came here for.
"Not this again..." Iris mumbled. Right then, she saw a gleam of silver twinkle on Ash's chest. Craning her head to take a closer look, she asked, "What's that?" Looking down, Ash reached up with his gloved hand to hole the object in question. There, in the palm of his hand, was a pendant attached to a silver chain that was concealed by his jacket. It was in the shape of an infinity symbol.
"Just...just an old little thing I thought looked cool," Ash answered. To be honest, it was his only clue to who his father was. See, whilst incubi and succubae can create other incubi and succubae, he was different. He had a father, but who that was, he had no idea. On the back of the infinity symbol, etched into the metal, was the letter "S"... "But that's nothing right now, I have to get to the gym!"
"Then follow me," Cilan instructed as he turned around and began walking.
Cilan led the two trainers across Striaton City, by all of its towering multistory buildings that shadowed the streets, to a rather lavish restaurant establishment. Ash and Iris recognized it as soon as they laid eyes upon.
"Wait a minute, that's the restaurant me and Iris saw," Ash pointed out, rubbing the side of his tan neck.
"It's 'Iris and I', Ash..." Iris corrected, acting as the Grammar Neo-Nazi at the time. Her arms were crossed over her chest, sleeves drooping down to her midsection. The normally purple hair she wore was now a red-violet in the light of the setting sun. Clouds lined the sky in streaks, accentuating the bruise-like color pattern imprinted into the scenery.
Ash arched an irritated eyebrow, partially hidden by a lock of raven hair, and verbally dismissed the fix, saying, "Whatever...I thought we were going to the gym?" He set a questioning expression upon Cilan. The waiter simply smiled.
"Before rushing to conclusions, like one would try to rush cooking a burger by squeezing it, let me show you inside!" Cilan said blithely. Ash and Iris glanced each other, blinking in bafflement. Ash was the first to look away, shrugging and shoving his hands into his jacket pockets as he followed Cilan up the steps, under the patio, and through the mahogany double doors (if you haven't noticed, I have a thing for mahogany...).
Iris stayed close to Ash's side. Lately, she'd noticed that quite of few of the females had been sneaking peeps at Ash with a sense of...lust in their eyes. She didn't like that at all.
Ash himself was still wondering how long it would be before he could take Iris. Well, take her soul. All of his other female companions only took a couple days before succumbing to his desires, due to not only his techniques, but an aura that he emitted that attracted females. Aura's the wrong word for it, though, considering it was more of a web of ropes that latched onto women around him, and not an atmosphere. It would take some tugging and distance to rid themselves of the rope, and the closer they were, and more he wanted them, the thicker the rope. Iris was very close to him, but she wasn't coming under his will as easily as others, sometimes running away from him and others standing right next to him. It was like she didn't have any relations to his ropes...
Strolling right into the restaurant and onto the soft, alizarin crimson carpet, Ash and Iris's jaws dropped. Crystal chandeliers that hung from the high ceiling glittered in the lights, while masterfully crafted chairs and tables with rich tablecloths lined the floor. Female customers sat in most of the chairs...that was odd. Why was there mainly just female diners? One of the girls, wearing a green bow in her hair, piped up.
"ERMAHGERDIT'SCILANHE'SSUCHAHOTTIEHOTTERSONSHOT!" she shouted, anime hearts taking the place of her eyes. All other girls with green bows in their hairs followed suit, stampeding over to surround Cilan. They tried grasping for him, yanking him this way and that, shouting words of praise and lust into his ears. It was a wonder he didn't go deaf.
He sweat dropped. "Now, now, let's all just sit down, eh?" Cilan suggested, forcing a smile. Ash leaned over to Iris, right next to her ear.
"What's up with all the fangirls?" he whispered, holding up a hand next to his lips to hide his inquiry from prying ears.
Purple anime streak lines appeared on Iris. "I have no idea..." she whispered back, somewhat annoyed with how all the girls were acting. Not helping the stereotype, are they?
Other girls sat around in the restaurant, chatting and gossiping over exquisite meals. Thing is, there was a section of girls with blue bows in their hair and a section with red bows. Quite a few of them, including the ones around Cilan, glanced at Ash with interest, some of them even quieting down. A vein popped in Iris's temple.
Cilan's fangirls settled themselves down into their respective seats, staring lustfully at Cilan, making Iris and Ash throw the odd creeped out glance at them as Cilan directed the two to a table.
Pulling out wooden chairs for the two to sit in, Cilan said, "Please, do have a seat! Would you two like a freshly made lobster-topped steak?"
"Um...No...I thought I was going to the gym..." Ash muttered. Iris shook in her head in denial, noticing that the fangirls were staring at them. Then two more waiters popped up next to Ash. One of them had fiery red hair stylized to look like...well, fire. The other had longer, flowing blue hair that covered one of his eyes.
Ash couldn't help but notice that their souls, radiating their indigo light, were all very similar to one another.
"Could I interest you in some 5 star fusilli or Kalos capellini?" the red haired waiter asked politely, though he was in Ash's personal space bubble. In fact, they all were.
"No, but..." Ash started before the blue haired waiter cut in.
"Or how about a nice soda pop?" That waiter put extra emphasis on the "pop".
"No, see..." Ash tried to explain, but Cilan began to interrupt him.
"What about..." Cilan said when Ash slammed his fists into the table, rattling the set silverware. Gasps were heard from all of the fangirls.
"I JUST WANT A DAMN GYM BATTLE!" Ash yelled at the top of his lungs, his last nerve broken. More gasps were elicited from the fangirls. Whispers went around the tables.
"He wants a gym battle?" one asked.
"OMG, that means the triplets are gonna battle!" another exclaimed.
"I want to see how that cute trainer fares against them!" said a Cilan fangirl, in a more hushed tone. She was a brunette with thin-framed glasses, pearly skin, and a fluffy ponytail that reached down to her lower back. Her hourglass figure, shown off by a tight, pink dress that cut off just above her knees, suggested she was a health nut.
Eyeing her closely, Ash thought to himself. Well, well, I have a snack tonight...
Acknowledging Ash's focus, Iris felt a drop of jealousy flood her mind. Her lips slightly pouted as she sighed in frustration. She was falling for him a little bit TOO easily...That made her a bit suspicious. Sure, Ash was a nice, childish, attractive, charming, handsome, kind, heartfelt, understanding...okay, a bit too much there. It wasn't like she was drawn to him by some unknown force...she didn't know, maybe it was just that she never met a guy like him before. Legitimately. She was very observant of her guys. She had a crush on Ash, for sure, but there was something off about him...
"A gym battle?" questioned Cilan. "In that case, let us formally introduce ourselves! I am the grass-type gym leader of the Striaton Gym!"
The blue haired waiter spoke up next. "And I am Cress, the water-type gym leader of the Striaton Gym. It's nice to have your acquaintance."
Then it was the fire-haired waiter. "Saving the best for last, I am Chili, the fire-type gym leader of the Striaton Gym!" The three took on rather cheesy poses as spotlights focused upon them.
Iris whispered to Ash, "Who's managing those spotlights?"
"No idea..." he muttered back. Cress shoved Chili out of his pose.
"You should stop being so hot-headed, young brother," Cress said with a smooth, cool tone.
"Oh, hush up, Cress! You're head's underwater!" Chili shot back. The fixed each other with a death glare before light laughter leaked out of the two.
"Wait, so you're triplets?" Iris asked. Now that she looked at them, despite the different hairstyles and colors, they all had very similar facial features.
"That's right, Iris," Cilan answered. Ash now understood why their souls all were comparable to each other. They were of the same blood. "Now, do you want a gym battle or not, Ash?"
Ash's naïve grin spread across his face as he stood up, adjusting his hat. "Let's goooooo..." Ash began to accept until he collapsed into a heap, unconscious. He had knocked his head into the corner of chair, creating a gash in his forehead.
"Ash!" Iris shouted in worry. Nimbly exiting her seat, she held Ash's head. A black drop of liquid slipped out of the wound...
Ash's Vision
"Ash!" shouted a familiar voice. Ash himself was apparently floating, viewing a scene in the third person POV. Blinking his eyes, he attempted to focus upon the situation, but to no avail. It was all blurry, like that of a fogged glass shower door. "Ash!" the voice yelled in despair again.
Squinting his eyes, he made out a mocha-colored girl with large purple hair. His eyes widened. Iris! Surprise flooded his body, making him feel like he was being torn apart. He was feeling something! This wasn't supposed to be happening!
She was sobbing uncontrollably, hunched over a body that was set in a pool of blood. Next to the corpse was a boulder. "Ash!" Iris yelled again. Tears flowed out of her eyes, dripping down into the dirt ground.
To Ash's amazement, the blood that filled the dirt slowly receded, leading back to the body...
Out of Vision
Ash opened his eyes, blinking them until they focused. Looking around, he noted that he was in a queen-sized bed, covered by a thick blanket. Groaning, he threw off the covers as he swung his legs over off of the bed.
"Ash!" a voice exclaimed. He looked over to the source to see Iris rushing towards him. She tackled him into a tight hug, burying his face in her hair by accident. "You're okay..."
"I-I'm good..." Ash mumbled. She didn't surprise him...Odd...
She released him from her grip, still holding onto his shoulders. He had to ask.
"What happened?" Ash asked. Iris bit her bottom lip.
"You passed out..."
There we go! A little bit of plot development here, a little bit of romance there, and a whole-lot-a mystery everywhere! I have something big planned, something I probably won't start until 2016, it's that big! I'll have to finish a bunch of fanfics before I initiate it, and I'm only saying this to mystify you guys. Hints at what it will be will be present, however...
Well, that's all I have for now, so...
Favorite it, Follow it, Review it! Until next time, stay awesome!
FanFicLash signing off.