A/N: okay this was written as I shake and shiver wearing a sweat shirt and sweat pants, my fevers about 102.5 ish and I can barely breath for the coughing, and m,y noes won't stop running. I'm waiting for my hero DAY QUILL to save he day before I have to work a 7.5 hour shift (I'm outta sick days ) so please forgive me on this chapter. And Yes the way Nurse Joy speaks is on purpose.

Meika

Chapter 4

Queen Anne's Lace

"Finally the town's in sight!" Kari cheered. She stretched her arms above her head and gave a hearty yawn.

"You better keep your arms down." Ginyuu mutered.

"hmm? Whyyyyyyyy?" she tried to speak but ended up releasing another yawn.

"Because a trainer will-"

"You there!" a males voice called.

"Ah, to late." Ginyuu shrugged.

A boy of eight teen slid carefully down the rocky path reaching Kari and Ginyuu who just stared at he strange guy. "You a trainer right? Let me see how strong your Pokemon are!"

"Don't feel like it." Kari muttered and shrugged.

"Ah come on! It's a rule when to trainers met they have to have a battle."

"When was the rule decided? Ten years ago by ten-year-olds?" Kari snapped.

"With an attitude like that you'll never survive the rough necks in Queen Anne's. They love to battle and are willing to physically crush anyone weaker then them, I'm not going to let small girls into that town less you can beat me!"

Kari sighed and scratched the back of her head, "Just a one on one then okay?"

His eyes lit up and he jumped back several feet to give suitable room for a battle. "Go Hoothoot!" he called, sending out a small round bird balancing on one leg.

"Go Igglybuff!" in a white flash of light Igglybuff appeared jumping around.

"Hoothoot Tackle!" Hoothoot began to charge at Igglybuff

"Igglybuff Sing!" Igglybuff opened its mouth and a soft song started to pour out. Before Hoothoot could reach Igglybuff it started to get drowsy and it feel fast asleep.

"And that's my point, Igglybuff great work, return," Kari retracted Igglybuff and walked on towards the town, nearly falling asleep herself from Igglybuff's song.

Ginyuu however walked up to the loser and held out her hand, "Payment," she growled. The boy grumbled and handed over a couple dollars in cash, she then turned and followed Kari again.

Entering the town many rough men lined grungy alley ways, the sun was starting to set with the red glow reflecting off the shattered glass of empty buildings. Tall hairy men walked by Kari and Ginyuu giving them strange glances. Kari and Ginyuu walked looking straight ahead ignoring the men.

"What a friendly town this is." Ginyuu sighed sarcastically.

Kari slowed the pace of her walking and took a glance at her PokeKey, "According to the map the PokeCenter is about three more blocks a head and two to the right." Bravely the two walked through the men and the dangerous stares as they followed the map and then sharply turning around a single building they noticed a sudden change in atmosphere.

It was no longer gray and dingy but the buildings where a creamy white with well kept yards. Clearly visible was the PokeCenter and a blue building beside it was the local PokeMart. Kari took a deep sigh of relief and walked forward glancing behind her at one of the men that had followed her most of the way but stopped at the corner. The light from the red sunset almost appeared more yellow in this area.

The PokeCenter wore a huge neon Pokeball at the top of it's three stories of windows. A glass turn style door was inviting the two in. Upon entering the PokeCenter Kari noticed the carpet was a soft light blue with pale baby blue walls. The ceiling was with and a dark blue rug led right up to the counter where a nurse with pink hair and a pink uniform waited.

"Hello and Welcome to the Pokemon Center, I'm Nurse Joy," she smiled professionally with a strangely happy pitch.

"Hello," Kari said reaching for her Pokeballs, "Igglybuff's not in to bad shape but I think Geodude needs some help," she handed her Pokeballs to the nurse.

"Okay," she chirped, turning and placing the two Pokeballs on a healing machine and pressing a couple of buttons. In a couple of seconds a light enveloped both the Pokeballs and a second later it was gone. "There You Go, They're Both Better Now."

"That... was fast." Kari grasped both her Pokemon and placed them on her belt.

"Will you Two Be Staying Tonight?"

"Um, yeah," Kari started to fumble for her trainers license.

Nurse joy patiently held out her hand. Soon enough Kari handed her the license, Nurse Joy simply typed a couple of things in the computer glancing at the license. Handing the small card back, Nurse Joy also gave Kari a room key with a hanging red tab. "To Conserve Space the Showers and Baths are Shared. The Womens Bathing Hall is on the Second Floor Next to the Dinning Hall. Enjoy Your Stay," she graciously bowed.

"Thanks. So Gin-chan, we're in room..." Kari pulled at the red tab reading the number, "312"

The room was rather small with a bunk bed, a single study desk, and a small closet. Kari flung her belt and her white shoulder bag onto the upper bunk. "Man am I hungry, lets go eat, bathe and pass out."

"I'm not hungry." Ginyuu stared off into space. She grasped her doll tighter.

"Are you sick or something? I haven't seen you munch on anything séance we started walking together about seven hours ago," Kari reached her hand out towards Ginyuu.

Ginyuu forcefully pushed Kari's hand away, "I'm fine, I have no use for wasting calories on gruel."

"Hey I'm sure the food here's not that bad!"

"Fine, I will go down stares and have some water," Ginyuu sighed, glancing out the single window staring out into the distance and wilderness.

Walking down a single flight of brightly lit stairs they entered the second floor, the smell of food lead Kari to the dinning hall followed by Ginyuu whose noes was tightly scrunched. Before them two buffet tables lines the back wall with twenty or so tables. Only three other people were in the dining hall, two of which sat together.

Ginyuu picked a table in the corner as Kari loaded her plate with the chicken stir fry. Kari grabbed a single cup of water and bottle of soda before sitting down. "Are you sure you don't want to eat? A lot of the stuff up there looks really great."

"I'm sure." Ginyuu muttered pulling the water to her lips and taking a small sip.

Beside the table the neighboring group started yelling their conversation.

"I didn't want to go that way but you insisted we had to go visit the legendary Professor Willow and deliver it."

Kari stuffed another mouthful of stir fry and glanced around Ginyuu at the spectacle and Ginyuu had completely turned her body around, "You mean Professor Willow's not dead?" she muttered.

"Oh give me a break, when that mart lady handed you the parcel you were beside yourself!"

"What kinda CRAP are you spitting at me?"

Ginyuu walked out of her chair and towards the two, "My partner and I will deliver it to the proffessor for you."

"We will?" Kari chocked, violently coughing chicken stir fry.

"You will?" they both smiled.

"Yes but we require the payment which you had received for this duty."

The pair then looked at each other, "What payment are you talking about honey?"

"Yeah he agreed to do it for the lady out of the GOODNESS of his messed up heart."

"Without suitable payment, our offer will be retracted.." Ginyuu spoke and started to walk towards Kari who was still gaging on chicken stir fry and the pop she had attempted to use to flush it down making the problem worse.

"Wait, wait, wait!" one of the boys called, "Here!" he held out a single piece of paper, "Its a voucher for a bike from Galanthus Bike Shop in Snowdrop City!"

"That will work," Ginyuu smirked grasping the small paper reading it throughly, "We accept it, and now for the parcel?" she out reached her hand, the other boy reached into his bag resting under his chair and pulled out a large white box marked, Professor Willow, Daisy Valley. Ginyuu tightly grasped it, holding the voucher in the same arm as her Beautifly doll and the box in the other. "Nice doing business with you."

She then sat in front of Kari, "Great now I have to go BACK to Daisy Valley? By the way, you were good at getting something out of that guy."

"You do realize that the boy you beat this evening never paid you right?"

Kari stared blankly for a moment before lowering her head and pounded the table with her fist.

Ginyuu slipped a couple of bucks out of her pocket, "I picked that up from him as we left. You are careless."

"You know... your kinda scary."

"Anyway do you know Professor Willow?" Ginyuu flicked her hair and took another small sip of water.

"Yeah, and why are you asking?"

She glared over her glass of water, "...Because we now have to find him and deliver this to him."

"Yeah I know him, he's a close family friend. I mean, my big sister and his granddaughter were best friends while he still lived in Wisteria Field."

"Were?"

"Yeah, well you know, history has not been kind to a single family in Wisteria Field." Kari muttered glancing down at her half finished food. "Well, all of a sudden I'm not that hungry, lets take a bath and get to bed, we have an early morning tomorrow." Kari stood and walked off.

Ginyuu glanced at her doll, "So she thinks that history has been unkind to her huh." hugging Memory tighter she walked off towards the room.

In the room Kari grabbed her night things and a towel, "Gin-chan where is all of your stuff?"

"I travel light." spoke sitting on her bed.

"You mean you didn't bring anything?"

"I brought Memory and that's all I need."

"Are you going to take a bath?"

"I will in the morning, night baths are always so crowded."

"Okay then..." Kari trailed off walking out of the room. Closing the door behind her she sighed, "Man that girl is so weird."

After a steamy bath Kari walked back into the room, her poofy gray purple hair straightened by the water rested just below her shoulders, she wore a long pink shirt cutting off just above her knees. The room had no lights on and Ginyuu lied on her bunk with her doll sitting behind her head with the blankets over her shoulders as she wore an under dress. She simply stared into space. Kari took a long stare to make sure Ginyuu was still breathing, before mumbling "Good night," and crawling into her bed. Placing her PokeKey beside her head, the alarm set for morning.

At about 2 am the soft clack of the door and the flood of light stirred Kari. She glanced at the door and stagged out of bed. Glancing at Ginyuu's empty bunk Kari scratched her messy hair and walked out of the room.

The PokeCenter at night was completely different from during the day time, the calming blue glow during the day had become some what ere with only one third the lights. Ginyuu turned into the bathing room. Kari waiting outside for about 10 minutes, spacing out, she then slowly creaked the main door open and sneaked around the locker area to reveal the large swimming pool of steaming water.

Ginyuu sat by herself, the bones of her ribs poking through her pale gray flesh on her sides, the paleness emphasized by large black numbers, 148, she pulled her dark gray hair over her shoulders revealing a black tattoo of butterfly wings. The water had forced most of the waves out of her hair but strange enough two stray hairs stuck up on top of her head like antennas. Squinting Kari was able to tell that Ginyuu had many many faded scares under the butterfly wing tattoos a pale purple in multiple lines and directions, almost like surgical scars.

Kari closed her eyes and sneaked out of the room. Covering her mouth, wincing as she imaged the pain which would have given Ginyuu the many scares. "What in the world was that?"

A/N: and with that this chapter FINALLY ENDS! Oh my god I am shaking I am so cold right now, stupid fever. In the middle of this chapter (about page 2 ish ) I had o go to work and man did that feel abusive, Bleh. I am so glad I finally go to put some of Ginyuu's secrets in here, the next chapter should have even more hopefully some of you can see the plot twist thats coming up the pipe, if you can't then that's all the reason to read more. Xp

okay well good night please review!

Oh before I forget Queen Anne's Lace if a Weed , also considered a wild carrot, native to Europe it was brought to America as an invasive plant. It's traits include white or cream-ish colored small flowers, thus the "lace" portion of the name but the stem and leaves are toxic to the touch (you might get a rash) and poison if eaten (you might throw up ) but it has a tiny carrot at the root. There are so many Queen Anne's Lace's out side my front door over by the corn that it looks almost like a little bit of a white cloud by the road. NOW YOU KNOW -Bill Ny the science guy