Hi everyone! Sorry for the very late update. I've been so busy with my schoolwork... I'm in a bit of danger with my grades, so I'll be updating less... but I'll still do my best to post a better chapter. :3
Slight shootsdownshipping (KennyxZoey). Add just a little bit of contestshipping for this chapter as well. Just a warning.
Anyways, I've done my best for this chapter. I hope no one is OOC nor would anyone get disappointed with this chapter. :D
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon.
Unworthy
Chapter 1: Not Yet
"Hikari, can you help Nozomi with the groceries?"
"Sure, no problem!" the dark blue-haired girl smiled happily at the speaker, who happened to be Kengo, and went over to her red-haired friend.
It has been four years since Hikari had been able to smile as wide has she had used to.
Of course, it had been very hard to do, for memories of him still haunt her, even while she was awake. Though it may mean that she had truly loved him, it meant some more as well. It simply meant that she was still not over him. For a strong-willed woman like her, she found it impossible to forget a man. More so if she had been honest and sincere when it came to her feelings for him.
But enough about that. You've almost recovered. She told herself happily.
It was all thanks to her two friends for helping her recover. During the times she had felt so lost and alone, both Nozomi and Kengo had been supportive. They had even offered her to live along with them in their modest house in Hearthome City, which she had gladly accepted. Even if the pair had told her that she need not pay for anything, she still insisted on having the share on the bills and food expenses. They let her be; since both knew they need a bit of extra help. The couple had two children, a two-year old girl and a 6 month old boy, and they've got their hands full just taking care of one. Luckily, Hikari knew a thing or two about taking care of kids, so she was in-charge of the baby.
When the two girls finally sorted out the groceries, Nozomi smiled at her. "Thanks, Hikari."
"No problem!" after saying such, her Pokétch suddenly lit up and began to alarm. "Oh, that's right. I'll be taking out Haru for a stroll. Will that be alright, Nozomi-chan?" she asked.
"Of course, of course." said the red-head. At this, she bowed. "Doumo sumimasen." Sorry for the trouble, she said.
"No worries! Besides, Haru is just so adorable!" she then ran off to one of the rooms in the house where the said child was located. After putting Haru in a stroller, she bid the couple goodbye and went out to the city.
She finally felt a sense of peace.
Where had he gone wrong?
Was it at the beginning, the middle, or the end?
Wait, there had been no end.
He was stubborn; he would not let it end so easily.
Up until now, he was still searching for his missing wife. As far as connections would go, he had contacts all over Sinnoh, as well as in Hoenn, Kanto and Johto. Such was the perks of being the Sinnoh League Master, but despite having such a huge back-up, it had not been successful. It has already been four years since she had gone missing, and not even one of his contacts had managed to find her. Probably it was because she was not a trainer like himself, for she was a coordinator before they got married. And so, he tried his luck with the Pokémon Contest Association, of which he knew his wife had been part of, as well as the elite club for coordinators, which was the Ribbon Syndicate group.
For some reason, even they did not know where she was.
How could they have been so incompetent?
As much as he wanted to rage over that fact, he knew it would not solve his current problem.
But then again, she might have had contacts there as well…
He sighed.
This is the first time she's given me a hard time…
"Otou-sama! Are we going out today?" when Hikari's husband nodded, he cheered. "Where are we going today?"
"Let's go to Hearthome City, Jun. I heard there is a contest to be held there later. Do you want that?"
His son nearly shouted in glee. "OKAY!!! I mean," the young boy suddenly recomposed himself. "I'd like that, otou-sama."
He resisted the urge not to roll his eyes. His son, for the love of Arceus, had somehow turned into a small version of his wife, though a young kid this time. He suddenly regretted the fact that he left Jun under her care. Not only was he becoming like her, but he also wanted to be a coordinator, a fact which irritated him. He wanted his son to follow his footsteps of becoming a League Master (any region would do, but his bias for the Sinnoh region was slightly higher than the rest), but that was impossible now.
Jun, being the smart boy that he is, suddenly told him in the dinner table a few years back, "Otou-san, can't I be both a coordinator and a trainer?"
"… Choose one."
He shook his head. "No, daddy, I want to be both. That way, I can make both you and mommy happy!"
Though he tried hard not to care, inwardly, he flinched.
He mentioned his mother yet again.
"Make me and her happy, huh?"
"So… can I?"
"I'll think about it."
Jun may not know of it, but he approved whole-heartedly of his son's plan.
He was confused.
Why had he allowed it anyway, when he had always been against coordinating?
Was it because of her?
Had he become so desperate to see her again that he was now using his son just so he could keep his memories of his wife alive?
Maybe.
Maybe not.
He still did not know.
When Jun turned eight years old, the League Master knew that he had to start preparing for his son's future of becoming both a coordinator and a trainer. One year was not enough, so he took necessary preparations to ensure that his son would have best of both worlds. While he took care of the trainer part, he had to concede with the fact that he was not familiar with how coordinating worked, nor does he even have an idea how it went. With that, he hired a master coordinator from the Hoenn region to teach his son once a week for three hours about the basics of coordinating.
The person he had hired turned out to be a woman named Haruka, who was a two-time Grand Festival winner, as well as one of the very few members of the Ribbon Syndicate group. When the older man asked her if she knew his wife, the brown-haired woman shook her head. "I've only recently joined the group, so I really have no idea who's who… except for the Sinnoh Gym Leader here. Melissa, was it?"
"I see."
Unknown to him, Haruka happened to be one of Hikari's best friend, and for a year, she served as Jun's mentor, as well as the latter's eyes and ears when it came to her son…
"Hikari, I've met him."
The blue-haired woman raised an eyebrow. "Who are you referring to?" she asked.
"Your… husband. Or is it ex-husband now?"
The Hoenn coordinator flinched when she saw her best friend wipe her eyes discreetly. Despite the fact that she had already left the household three years ago, she had still not gotten over him. Who couldn't easily forget him? Being a League Master was enough to make him have television appearances every other day, as well as being interviewed for magazines. And everyone in the household had televisions, and all that everyone could talk about was him
They spoke of him with admiration.
Some spoke of wanting to be like him
A lot spoke of wanting to marry him
The last statement was almost always enough to make Hikari cry.
That was one factor that hurt her the most.
No one in Sinnoh, except for a chosen few, knew that the Sinnoh League Master was married. He had a son, but he never spoke of his wife, nor did he even acknowledge her presence during the interviews. Even Hikari's now former neighbors didn't know that she had a League Master for a husband.
"I… I see." She recovered fairly quickly. "W-why are you working for him now, Haruka?" her tone was calm.
"Well… he's paying me to teach Jun the basics of coordinating."
Hikari nearly fell off the chair she was sitting on. "W-what? H-he allowed Jun… he allowed Jun to be a coordinator?"
The brown-haired woman's blue eyes were sparking now. "Wait 'til you hear the best part! He allowed Jun to be BOTH a trainer and a coordinator!"
"Ah. How unusual of him." Hikari commented.
"Why so, Hikari?"
"He hates anything that has to do with Contests."
"Let's get going now, Otou-sama. Haruka-sensei said that she and Shuu-sensei are going to have an exhibition battle!" he was referring to his female teacher's husband, who had also taught him the basics of coordinating. It only happened because Haruka had gotten pregnant during the time she was to teach the young boy, and with a little bit of compromise with Jun's father, Shuu had taken over.
Shinji grimaced. He never really liked that Shuu fellow…
Nodding, he took his son's hand and set off to Hearthome City.
"W-What? Momoan-san can't be the announcer for today?!"
Kengo was panicking. He may be one of the three man member of the Rules Committee of the Pokémon Contest Association in the Sinnoh region, but he knew that without a master of ceremonies for the contest… no official contest will even be permitted to be held. He was one of those who made that new rule.
However…
If any Pokémon Contest Association official was to sub for the master of ceremonies of the region…
"What's wrong, Kengo?" asked Nozomi as soon as she saw her husband looking so distressed.
"Momoan-san can't host the contest for today…"
"No, you CAN'T make me the host." The couple knew what had happened when Nozomi tried to sub for Momoan… the crowd went unruly at the sight of the former tomboy in a sexy outfit. Kengo had to restrain himself from doing any bodily harm against anyone. Hikari was much better at handling such; once, she told some men to back off and even threatened to send out Empoleon against them. The brown-haired young man was thankful for such. It was fortunate that the Pokémon Contest Association was not able to know of this incident, for Hikari was also a member of the Rules Committee, as well as the head of the Logistics Department.
"I know… but who should be the host?"
"Hey there, you two! Have you greeted Haruka and Shuu? They've just arrived." The blue-haired young woman suddenly came strolling in, Haru in her arms. She then handed the baby boy in his mother's awaiting arms.
Nozomi suddenly grinned. "I think we've found our replacement."
"Eh? What?"
Thirty minutes later, an angry Hikari came out of the dressing room, dressed in her old cheerleader outfit, but this time, the top part of her outfit now reached her midriff. The skirt was shorter and underneath the skirt, she wore bloomers. "I can't believe you had forced me to do this!"
Her red-haired friend smirked. "Either that, or you sleep outside, Hikari."
She cursed under her breath. "Hmph! Don't expect ME to take care of Haru for one whole month!" she told them angrily as she walked towards the waiting audience.
The couple suddenly felt like the life in them got sucked out.
That would mean sleepless nights again…
Maybe it wasn't a good idea to have asked Hikari to be the master of ceremonies…
"Oh, yay! Front row seats! Arigatou, otou-sama!"
The said young boy made a mad dash for the seats, but not before giving his father a big hug. Jun grinned toothily at him and ran towards the seats that had been reserved for them.
"Jun, stay put. I'll be going out for a little while. Stay with Shuu." He gave a brief nod at his son's coordinating teacher and walked off before his son could say anything.
He hated contests.
It reminded him too much of her.
He walked out of the stadium just as soon as Hikari finally made her appearance on stage as the temporary master of ceremonies…
Fate had still not wanted them to meet…
Soon, perhaps.
But not now.
Mini Glossary:
Doumo sumimasen - said when you are asking for a favor, and you think that you are troubling the person whom you've asked the favor from.
Momoan - Marian's Japanese name.
Otou-sama - formal form of 'otou-san', but not the highest in the hierarchy in formality.
Kengo - Kenny.
Nozomi - Zoey.
And... we're done. Please do review. :3