A Zekrom for Iris
And hereby I declare another story as completed.
This story hasn't got the attention I hoped for (though it got the attention I expected), but that just makes me more thankful for the people reading it. You're the best, fellows!
My next project is a fanfiction following the events of the manga, because it seems like it'll take a while before it gets officially continued.
I don't own the characters, places or pokemon itself, and I have no intention to make money with this story in any way.
Chapter 4: Dreams and nightmares
It was a beautiful night for the guests of Fennel's dance evening in the Dreamyard. The sky was enlightened by countless stars that seemed to shine even brighter than usual. Looking at the slowly, tightly dancing couples, one would most likely notice the hostess dancing with one of the local gym leaders, Cilan, next to his brother and an extraneous scientist. But especially, the champ and the model would catch this person's gaze. Only someone searching for Hugh would end up disappointed.
He had tried to distract himself from his latest failure by tracking down the Shadow Triad and making them lead him to Ghetsis, but when he found them in Icirrus City, they were easy to beat, so he had too much time left while the police interrogated them. He didn't want to go to the Dreamyard. Any other place would have been more comfortable for him. But Zekrom had other plans, and as the young trainer called it out to fly him to a calm place, it carried him directly towards Stration City, traveling to high for him to contradict.
At the party, Fennel's assistant suddenly jumped out of the bushes. "There's a wild Musharna over there!", she cried exited. Immediately, some of the guests ran towards her to get a glimpse on the rare Pokemon. "Would you mind if I went there for a minute and tried to catch it?", Rosa asked her boyfriend hopefully when the song ended.
Nate sighted amused and nodded. "I'll get us a drink in the meantime.", he promised.
"You're the best!", the girl cheered as she planted a quick kiss on his cheek and ran of.
While the hero gazed after the beautiful model, another girl lurking behind a wall of the ruins saw her opportunity. She jumped up and blocked the path as the boy wanted to leave the dance floor.
Zekrom just dropped Hugh on the roof of the nearest building to the Dreamyard. From up there, he was forced to watch the people have fun down there. "Why did you bring me here, Zekrom?", the young man groaned. "Did I offend you in any way?" The legendary dragon roared. Maybe the roar was supposed to answer the question, but he hadn't listened. His attention got caught by his childhood friend who just seemingly wanted to get a drink, but he got stopped by a girl. Hugh made a sinister face: The girl wasn't Rosa!
"Iris, what are you doing here?", Nate wondered surprised as she pushed him back smirking.
"I was told you'd show up here, and I thought we could have a little fun.", the girl with the violet hair teased. The music started again, and she forcefully tried to make him dance with her.
"I really don't want to...", he protested, but the champ cut him off.
"Can't you just be quiet and give in?", she asked with faked annoyance.
"What about...", Nate tried again, actually annoyed.
"Shut up and dance!", Iris ordered, but with this she went too far. He pushed her away with full force, making her crash onto the ground hard. The surrounding crowd gasped at this act of disrespect, as did the girl.
She looked at him with wide eyes in sudden realization. Snapping out of the hopes she had entangled herself in, she brought herself back up, fixed her garment and showed a face of disappointment, mostly about herself. "I understand.", she whispered silently, so that only he could hear it. Then she ran away.
Just as the dragon brought its trainer to Stration City, it abruptly dragged him and took him to the middle of the dance floor, allowing a heroic entrance. That distracted the guests, and now they all applauded for the famous guest. Hugh would have called his newest Pokemon a backstabbing monster if he hadn't known it got the ability to see into his heart and figure out what's best for him.
"How much did you see?", Nate asked a little embarrassed after he made his way through the crowd.
Hugh pressed his eyes together and suppressed his anger about this betrayal. He told himself that his friend was a victim just like him. "I saw enough.", he said with a voice as neutral as possible.
Nate nodded knowingly. The blue-haired boy wanted to say something nice like 'It's good to see you!' or 'I'm glad you're okay!', but the words couldn't escape his lips. He could only think of Iris, running alone in the forest. "I need to deal with that first, I'll see you later.", he finally apologized and ran into the direction she left the place.
It took him about ten minutes to find her. In the end, he followed the sounds of her quiet whining echoing through the woods. She sat on a big stone, buried her face in her hands and didn't look up when she heard his footsteps. As he stormed down the small trail between the trees, he thought about what he would do to her if he found her. Screaming at her how unfair that was seemed like a possible solution. He contemplated if it was appropriate to slap her for defrauding him like this. Maybe he would just haul her back to Nate and Rosa – the girl would surely not go easy on her as well...
At last, he did non of these things.
"What was that all about?", he asked with a very calm voice. He didn't even know he could be that calm in any situation, especially this one.
She finally raised her head and looked at him with incredulity. "Why are you still talking with me?", she inquired bewildered.
Hugh searched for an answer in his head, but he honestly didn't know himself. It just felt like what he had to do... Had Zekrom foreseen that? "I'm here because I care!", he ended up saying what felt like the truth. He cared deeply, but he didn't understand those feelings.
"I just...", Iris had no idea how to express this. He would never understand. Nobody would ever understand! So she simply said it, expecting an uncomprehending face that would make it easier for her to shorten the conversation. "I'm just not used to knowing that there's nothing I can do to get what I want!", she stated.
"I know how that feels.", he says nodding.
She almost cried out 'You do!?', but restrained herself. He couldn't know, he was talking thoughtlessly.
He read her doubtful expression. When she didn't make a move to speak herself, he explained it further. "The feeling of being completely powerless and exposed when you know you are simply unable to reach your aims for the first time... I just recently had to deal with it.", he mentioned.
The champ looked at him with wide eyes. She needed a moment to get what he said. He actually understood her... She needed another moment to get what his last sentence meant. She actually hurt him... "I-I'm sorry.", she muttered almost too silently for him to hear her words, and he knew she meant it.
"It's fine, that's part of growing up.", Hugh replied wisely. He didn't know if it was fine, but bothering her with his own worries now seemed discourteous to him.
She finally managed to brush away her tears. "I guess you're right.", she agreed. As she felt the following silence drawing her back into agony, she tried to fill it with some kind of excuse for her treachery. "I was sure you would stay away from the Dreamyard after I rejected you. I never wanted you to see that, I thought you would be over it in no time. I wanted... I wanted...", she stopped. What was it she had t wanted? Was it about Nate or just about knowing she got what she wanted? Or was it about something else?
"You wanted to ensure you won't be forgotten, now that several trainers, even trainers in your age, defeated you.", the boy ascertained. He surprised himself again and again this evening. He had never been able to read people like he read her now before.
And she could do nothing more than nod in agreement. Her eyes were tired of getting opened wide. In fact, her entire body was really tired from the events. At least it was already night. "I just feel so lost at the moment. Maybe I looked for someone strong who could help me find my way.", she declared.
Almost falling asleep at the comfort he gave her, she laid her head on his shoulder to rest. Maybe she didn't notice what she was doing. But he definitely did! And he allowed her to. And as Hugh was left alone with his thoughts, he figured out that Zekrom had been right with his actions. They weren't dancing, but it was a start. The start of a new journey that would show them another way to get stronger...