Ash x Elisabeth

If Ash had manged to separate himself from Saiki, and toss his ancestor back into the gate before it closed, therefore preserving himself; how would things have panned out between he and Elisabeth?


Ash Crimson stood on top of a grassy hill that overlooked Elisabeth's residence with two of his old comrades. It was a grand mansion; one that Ash had never planned on returning to. "I can't believe I'm doing this..."

Shen Woo clapped the French man on the back. "Come on man, God knows she's the only girl you'll ever have a chance with! I mean, everyone else already thinks you're a girl when they first see you..."

A little burst of green flame was enough to silence the man. "Seeing how you two are now colleagues with Betty, I can't possibly imagine how this is not a bad idea."

Shen put on the most sinister smile Ash had ever seen; excluding Saiki, of course. "Aw, come on, don't you trust us?"

Ash looked over his other shoulder to look at Duo Lon and his neutral features. "I trust Duo Lon far more than you, Shen."

"Ouch. Well fine then, since you trust him so much, let Mr. Bendy-Straws here explain it!"

That nickname garnered a miniscule amount of irritation from the Hizoku assassin. "Don't call me that. Anyway, Ms. Elisabeth will most likely have one of two reactions when she sees you, Ash. One, she will be very happy, and hug you, and cry, and tell you how much she missed you, and you'd better feel guilty, because if you don't, Shen and I will have to hurt you."

Ash twirled the longest lock of his blonde hair. "Right... and what is option two?"

Duo Lon maintained his neutral expression. "Two, she will be ferociously livid and beat you to pulp. In which case it will be our job to feel guilty for bringing you here."

"You two have gotten awfully close with Betty, yeah?"

Shen shrugged. "Maybe. Why, jealous?"

"Pfft. No way. Betty is way too uptight to hang around on a regular basis."

Duo Lon cocked an eyebrow at Ash. "I hope you abstain from making that remark when you first see her, or you might as well just bring option two on yourself."

Shen elbowed Duo Lon. "Quiet, Bendy-Straws, here she comes!"

The trio watched as Elisabeth's personal car drove up to the mansion. It parked in front of it, and Jacques, Elisabeth's butler, aided his lady in getting out of the car. It didn't seem like Ash's old companion had spotted him yet. Unfortuantely, Shen was in the mood to remedy that situation as soon as possible.

"Hey, Elisabeth! Look who's here to see you!"

His loud shouts caught the attention of the person he wanted, but Elisabeth, as she raised her eyes to give Shen an irritated look, only focused on the one person she hadn't expected to be there. "A-Ash?"

Ash did his little customary wave. "Hey, Betty. Long time-"

"Ash!"

Elisabeth began running up the small hill that separated her from Ash, who just smiled and waved, while making a quiet comment to Duo Lon and Shen. "Looks like option one, huh?"

Duo lon gave a very, very slight grin. "Don't be so sure..."

Ash retruned his attention to Elisabeth, but he wasn't feeling so confident now. "Is it just me, or is Betty looking slightly angrier with every step she takes?"

True enough, Elisabeth's face was slowly transforming into an unbridled storm of anger. "ASH!"

"...oh Merde..."

Shen thumped his French compatriot on the back. "Run dude. Run fast, run far."

Ash wasted no time in heeding Shen's advice, and he turned and ran back down the other side of the hill, away from Elisabeth's approaching onslaught. Shen and Duo Lon satyed right where they were, and said woman blew past them as she withdrew her signature riding crop.

Shen waited until she was out of earshot, which didn't take long at the speed she was going. "Ten bucks says she'll kill him with that thing."

Duo Lon's grin grew slightly wider. "Half-dead with a broken nose and a huge bruise on his face."

"Ow, Betty, stop! Ow, hey! Ow, ow, Betty! Cut it out! Whoa! Stop it already!"

Shen let out a little chuckle. "Well, I still owe him a fist to the face too. but eh...I'll let her handle that. Either way, you're on."


"I can't believe you tried to forget the mission! Of all the things you could have done..."

Ash sat in one of the Blanchorte mansion's many comfortable and expensive lounge chairs, with his head propped against his hand. He was supposed to be listening to Elisabeth rant, but his focus was directed more towards the various welts and bruises he now had thanks to Betty's beating. That being said, Ash barely heard anything Elisabeth was saying.

"...and more than anything, you hurt me the most!"

Despite Ash's lack of focus, those words registered quite easily. He finally decided to actually direct his gaze towards Elisabeth.

"...did I? I guess I never... no. I guess I always knew. I knew you were hurting because of me. But I pushed that thought away whenever it surfaced. I'm sorr-"

"Do you think sorry changes anything!?"

Ash was startled by the sudden outburst. Elisabeth had emotions just like anyone else, but she rarely showed them so passionately.

"Do you think sorry just erases everything? Ten years Ash... an entire decade! I was suffering that whole time, and not because your personal goals were more important than our mission! I suffered because... your goals were more important... than me..."

Ash very rarely felt guilty about anything, but Elisabeth was doing a very fine job of making him feel that way now. He knew it would be hard to mend his relationship with Betty after all of this... but he would definitely try. She was one of the few people in this world that genuiely cared for Ash... and one of the few people Ash genuinely cared about.

Although Ash's resolve to go through with this recovery process was solid, he was also glad that neither Shen or Duo Lon would be able to witness it. They would never let him live it down.

Before Elisabeth could burst out in tears or anything, (Or smack Ash in the head again) she found herself encompassed in Ash's embrace.

"...this doesn't make things better either, Ash."

"I know that Betty. I know. Nothing will ever really make up for it, right? But I'll still try."

Elisabeth thought that Ash's words were sincere, but she still felt like testing him.

"You're usually so apathetic about other people's emotions."

"You're not just another person, Elisabeth. Not to me."

He used her full name... almost everyone did that, but never Ash. Not unless he was deathly serious. Not unless he was being truly honest with her. Elisabeth stayed silent as Ash continued.

"I know you'll find it hard to forgive me. If you never do, I'll understand. But I want you to know that I'll do everything in my power to make it up to you. Anything and everything that I can..."

Elisabeth allowed herself a somber smile, and finally reciprocated Ash's embrace by wrapping her arms around him as well.

"Well... as far as making it up to me goes... I guess this is a pretty good start."


Alright, next we'll have another K' and Kula chapter, and then one for Mai, and perhaps a Kensou and Athena chapter... Anyway, if anyone has an idea for a short of their own, feel free to tell me! As soon as I'm done writing all of my pre-planned ideas, I move onto reader ideas.

Also, a thanks to Kein Sylvan and zzk'zz for giving me their feedback. I always appreciate the reader who takes the time to give the author his/her opinion. Another update in a week or so!