Okay, first, DON'T KILL ME!. I know I was more than very late, but I have a good and whole hearted excuse. See, I was having these stupid things called midterms. Heaven knows why they exist... -_-
Also, do you guys think that I should turn on Anonymous filter? Cuz a friend told me that someone's been spammin my reviews. Just need your opinion. :3
Also,o_O I would have thought you might have guessed who the person was. :) I'm REALLY uncreative, so my stories tend to lack appeal. :( This chapter, well, could be said a little advanceshipping-ish if you stretched it, but would all end in PEARLSHIPPING! ^_^ Please forgive any mistakes, I didn't have time to edit this as I got math extra class in about 8 minutes.
P.S. Kendell is the guy from Pokemon Summer Academy. You know the big muscular guy that hit on Dawn. He has a similar role here. I can honestly say that I had a Lot of Fun writing this one although it's not my personal Best. Next chapter will probably be better as that's when the POVs will kick in. Hope you like reading it too. ;) This chapter is when the characters open up somewhat. The real story plot will start to unfold from Chapter 7. This Fic may seem a little Happy go lucky at first but around Chapter 7 or 8 introduces the Dark Part.
No more spoiling. On with the Fic!
Ash raised his eyebrows in surprise. The man before him was none other than... the familiar bald, tanned figure with slit like eyes.
"Good to see that you made it." Spencer smiled. Whatever surprise there was on Ash's face was replaced by an extremely annoyed look when he saw Gary snickering at his expression.
"What the- Gary!" Ash yelled at his companion in exasperation.
"What? I thought you liked surprises." Gary smiled. Ash facepalmed.
Numerous students had gathered around Spencer. Most of them were big and husky seniors,but few of them Ash recognized as juniors; from their drooping shoulders and weak and fragile looking bodies. Spencer grabbed Ash's shoulders and presented him to the people like a door salesman would.
"Students, this is Ash Ketchum. He will be joining us in our efforts against the Dark Lord. Do help him with anything he needs to know please." Spencer explained to the class.
Ash just smiled nervously at the people before him. He didn't even notice that Spencer had said his name. The juniors seemed alright as they were either smiling encouragingly or paying no attention to him whatsoever. On the other hand, a gang of seniors were growling deeply. The leader of the pack was staring Ash down menacingly. Ash had a feeling that he would somehow manage mess up his class, an his day again but, nevertheless, put on a brave face as he spoke.
"Hi there, I'm Ash from Pallet town." Ash fake smiled. Spencer nodded approvingly and Ash turned towards him. A senior's hand was halfway to his sword.
"So, uh.. Spencer. What's this class about. I mean would we like, battle huge monsterous shades and kill bad guys and stuff?" Ash inquired.
Spencer tilted his head in amusement and frowned. A few of the students snickered.
"We are here merely to train you, child. This academy is a safe ground for students of Aura. We cannot bring shades in here. That's a challenge that you must face in the outside world." Spencer said calmly.
"Oh, right... Sorry Spencer..." Ash said as he pulled down his hat in embarrassment. Spencer smiled for a second and then hardened his expression like the coaches at regular schools sometimes do.
"You will not call me by my name, Ash. While you are here, you must speak of me as Sir or Teacher only!" Spencer said sternly. Ash was completely dumbstruck by Spencer's sudden change in behavior.
"Yes, Spen- Sir." Ash probably said in total honesty, but as usual, it came out wrong.
"Insolence will not be tolerated here, Mr. Ketchum." Spencer growled.
Spencer narrowed his eyes . Ash felt like he would melt away from the bald man's intense stare.
"Well Ash, I'll give you a moment to acquaint yourself with your new classmates. Meanwhile, I need to speak with Gary here." Spencer said. He looked like he was unsure of something.
Ash sweat-dropped nervously and mumbled something that sounded like don't l-leave . Gary and Spencer walked out of the room as Ash was left with a group of complete strangers gawking at him.
"So, you're the Ash Ketchum eh? Son of Elder Samuel Oak, and brother of the invincible Gary Oak himself. Kinda bratty aren't you?" The senior who was staring Ash down before, spoke up. He seemed to be telling Ash rather than asking him.
The juniors were looking horrified and some of the seniors were too. Ash figured that the big guy held some weight here. Literally.
"Well, yeah I'm the same Ash Ketchum. You're calling that big oaf of a brother invincible? You must respect him a lot " Ash chuckled at some old memory.
"Gary is no ally of mine, I assure you of that, Ketchum. Where did you get that Augar?" The senior growled.
"That Otter? But I don't-" Ash was interrupted by the senior's irritated gesture towards Ash's blade. Ash noticed that a lot of students were staring at Icarus.
"It's name isn't augar. It's Icarus," Ash said indignantly.
"Fool! Augar is Bla – Oh forget it, just tell me who gave it to you." The senior urged.
"My dad did." Ash frowned.
"You lie... Elder Oak would not have been allowed to carry such a powerful weapon!" The senior said. Ash was getting increasingly irritated by this guy's behavior towards Ash's family.
"He said someone gave it to him to pass down to me. He never said who that was. Why?"
"No matter. It's time for your inauguration now." The senior grinned stupidly. All the others of his pack followed, but the juniors' faces turned white as if they've been through it before.
"What do you mean?" Ash asked cautiously, his hand on Icarus's hilt.
"Drop your pants." The senior ordered in a commanding tone. Ash gaped.
"Sorry?" Ash asked
"You heard me. Show us underwear dancing skills." The senior smirked. Ash would have laughed at this, if he wasn't so confused. This sounded really weird to Ash and it took him a while to realize that the senior was trying to rag him. Once he did however, he looked quizzically at the senior.
"Dude, that's totally... you know... " Ash smiled nervously. Uh-Oh, he said something stupid... again.
That ticked the bully him off, big time. He had a vein pulsing in his forehead and a mouth resembling an ogre with indigestion . He walked up to Ash, and grabbed him by the collar harshly. He was so tall, Ash's head could barely reach up to his neck.
"Listen, Ketchum, you may have been a big fish in your home-town , but things work our way in this weaponry class. Everyone's gotta job in this world." For a second, the senior got a pained look on his face. Then he regained his composure "Your job here is to get beat up by us in front of Spencer. Make one mistake, one little slip in that job and you'll find your head halfway down the academy gutter." The senior threatened.
Anger flared inside Ash. He was not one to be pushed around by a bully. In fact, he hated them, always picking on the weak. No, Ash had been in WAY tougher spots than this. He couldn't allow himself to be beat up.
"Look, I don't know who you are big guy, but release me now. I'll do things my way and I'd like to see you guys try to change that. Bullying people just for gaining rep is a form of pure cowardice and frankly, I'm not surprised that you would try it." Ash growled. The Big Guy's pimpled face grew red with rage. He tightened his grip around Ash's collar. Ash quickly grabbed the senior's fist and twisted his wrist with a sharp jerk. The senior winced. A tiny part of Ash wondered where the courage came from. Maybe it was because he was so angry at the senior.
The room was completely quiet.. The only voices which could be heard were of the juniors silently praying to Zeus for this new guy's survival. Apparently, he was listening.
"Do you know before whom you stand? I could crush you effortlessly. You don't stand a chance with your puny body." The senior yelled in anger. The voice echoed in the hall.
"That's all you have to say?" Ash smirked "A guy told me that once, when I was on the run. He changed his mind soon enough." One of the other members from the pack stepped up.
"This before you is the great Kendell, Conqueror of a Dark One himself. You'd better show some respect, Ketchum!" The guy ordered.
"Hmmf, Like I care. I'll respect him if I deem him worthy of it. How do I know he actually defeated a Dark One. He could just be faking it, as do all the cowards of his level." Ash waved off. This seriously annoyed Kendell. He placed his hand on the hilt of the war hammer on his back. Ash instantly raised up his guard, as he stepped back in defense. The other students edged further from the two.
"So how about I prove it? Let's battle, Ash Ketchum!" Kendell roared as he drew out his war hammer and charged head-on at Ash, ready to strike his head down. Now, under normal circumstances, Ash would have sidestepped and struck Kendell from behind with the butt of his sword. But Kendell charged from a really close range, and Ash barely had time to unsheathe Icarus and block the impact of the hammer with the sword's flat side. Kendell kept trying to break through the sword as the clash between the two weapons started to emit some sparks and Icarus, despite being larger was no match for Kendell's sheer strength. The force at which Kendell was pushing was unbelievably strong. Due to Ash's disadvantage in size and weight, Ash fell back a bit, but never stopped defending against Kendell's efforts to break through the Sword barrier.
Ash knew he couldn't hold out much longer. His hands were starting to buckle from the incredible force at which Kendell was smashing his blade and his legs were already feeling as if they were made of jelly. He carefully and slowly ducked down without ever breaking eye-contact. Just then, he quickly slid from between Kendell's outspread legs, thus withdrawing his sword from the clash. He was about to release a spear cannon at Kendell from behind, however, after reaching Kendell's other side, he knelt down and started breathing heavily. He had miscalculated his own stamina. Keeping up the Blockade really tired Ash out. The hammer meanwhile, struck the wall behind without Ash as the source of the blockade. The walled shattered into pieces with a loud bang. Of course, this just made Kendell even angrier.
"You don't even know how to use that blade's power. And yet, YOU got it? It should've been me! I was destined to wield that blade! Maybe I should just snatch it away!" Kendell growled.
"No one's taking my Icarus." Ash growled back and spat at him.
"I will pulverize you!" Kendell roared in anger as he prepared for another charge attack. Kendell's hammer started to glow red and the student's faces turned pale.
Ash knew better than blocking Kendell. He was WAY too strong and yet, Kendell was coming in with another angry charge. Ash braced himself and just at the last moment when Kendell was about to strike, Ash jumped high. And I mean REAL high, he was ten feet above the ground. Before Kendell had time to look up, Ash planted a kick, full in Kendell's face. The big guy roared in anger yet again until something broke in his conscience and his eyes turned red.
Ash landed beside Kendell, but immediately fell back. Blood was dripping from Ash's shoulder. Kendell had got him after all.
Kendell recovered from the face kick and looked at Ash. Ash gasped at what he saw. Kendell's eyes had become pure red, and there didn't seem to be anything behind them. He wore a completely calm expression and overgrown canines. His face seemed to be... bloodthirsty... He walked towards Ash and swung his hammer wildly that would have killed Ash had he not dodged in time. The hammer hit the floor, creating a huge crater in it. Kendell seemed to have lost control. He was roaring just one word, 'kill' in a voice that was a raspy version of the original.
Ash analyzed his current position. Whatever crazy dude spirit or thingy had got into Kendell, had given him a lot more strength. On the other hand, his judgment and speed seemed to have gone way down. He was wildly attacking Ash, hardly caring for any defense or strategy. What was freaking. Ash out was that Kendell seemed to be emitting a faint reddish Aura that matched his red eyes. It was slowly engulfing his body.
"By the gods, that's an angry bull." Ash muttered. He had seen that transformation only once, and he didn't want to encounter it again... He knew it would not last long and if Ash just managed to confuse Kendell long enough, he might actually escape with his neck intact. Ash did have an idea to defeat him, but he would be seriously hurting himself. But then again, it would cool Kendell down for a while.
Kendell seemed have given up on randomly charging at Ash. He threw his hammer away and grabbed a sword from someone. Ash had hoped for a fair hand to hand swordfighting and therefore was not at all surprised when Kendell used the sword as a throwing knife and aimed it at Ash's head. He ducked just in time and the sword went whoosh past him and smashed into the wall behind. Kendell picked up a whole barrel of throwing knives and threw about 10 at a time. Ash had difficulty dodging every one of them with an injured shoulder and sprained ankle so naturally, many knifes managed to give him quite the painful scratches.
Just when Kendell ran out of knifes and started looking for another barrel, Ash concentrated his Aura. He gently willed it to freeze around his eyes and it did. Kendell snatched a knife from a nearby junior. He threw it ruthlessly on Ash's defenseless position. The blade struck Ash's shoulder. Ash winced in pain but didn't break focus. Kendell grabbed a kind of blunt club from a nearby weapon wall, and launched it at Ash's stomach. The thing struck Ash with so much force, Ash stumbled back and coughed out some blood. When the energy finally fixed itself on Ash's eyes, he opened them, with the same extra sensory vision he had hoped for.
Kendell seemed to have calmed down a little from his strange red anger thingy when he saw Ash's blood. He prepared for another charge and lifted his hammer up from the floor. Ash meanwhile picked up 8 knives that Kendell had thrown earlier and sat down on his knees. Then he swung Icarus in an arc, towards Kendell's feet and screamed, "Celestial Tide!" while he forced Aura into Icarus. A 3 feet tall blue wave erupted from the sword tip, passing beneath Kendell's feet and tripping him on the way. Ash then placed his Icarus on the smooth marble ground, and stood on the flat side. Then he did something that left some juniors with hanging jaws. He Bladeskated... Literally, he started skating around Kendell standing on his blade on the smooth marble. He revolved around Kendell and with every few meters, he threw a knife at Kendell. After all the blades were used up, Ash came to a halt triumphantly.
Kendell was completely immobilized. None of the knives had hit his flesh, they were aimed at binding him, so now he was glued to the ground by some knives holding him down by his clothes. The red aura dissipated and Kendell's eyes returned to normal but still wore the completely bloodthirsty look.
"That's using your blade, Kendell." Ash smirked but his face looked strained. It was covered with gashes with blood and bruises.
Spencer and Gary slowly stepped into the room. Gary seemed to be biting back his anger. Spencer on the other hand looked as if he was inspecting their fight. With a jolt, Ash realized that Spencer had left them on purpose. Whether he was testing Ash, or Kendell, he would never know. But one thing he did know was, not to ever trust the bald man's tests again...
Ash's vision suddenly blurred and he dropped and collapsed to his wounds. There was blood dripping from scratches on his body and his shoulder looked like it was seriously dislocated, slashed and then crushed. Kendell at the same time freed himself. He was about to charge at the helplessly lying Ash and rip him to pieces when Gary suddenly appeared before him and punched him in the gut. Kendell groaned as he got a fierce Aura Sphere in the chest by Gary. Kendell flew back.
"How DARE you strike my brother! Don't you have ANY respect for the Code of War? Picking on a new student like that! He could have died!" Gary yelled as he grabbed Kendell by the collar. Spencer put a hand on Gary's shoulder, trying to calm him down.
"Go check up on him and see if he's alright. I'll deal with him." Spencer said, staring Kendell with stern eyes.
Gary nodded, glaring at Kendell all the while. He threw Kendell on the floor roughly and stomped on his arm as he rushed to Ash's lying body. Spencer turned to Kendell with a grave expression on his face.
"Kendell, I did not expect this from you. I had thought that you were one of the few students that possessed the potential to become a truly great warrior. I had hoped that one day you would become an army centurion or maybe even an elite. Clearly, my expectations are crushed..." Spencer said in disgust as if he couldn't believe he had hoped for something like that.
"But- But Master! I AM a great warrior! I'd have defeated that punk if Gary didn't interrupt! And as you said, there is no place for the weak at Sinnoh Academy!" Kendell argued back.
"Kendell, what made you think weak means physically weak? A truly great warrior has to have a pure heart as well. You may be stronger than Ash, but you will never possess the qualities of a warrior, unless you gain control over yourself! You released the Devil Gene without thinking of the consequences. You could have killed your classmates as well as Ash." Spencer hardened his glare at him. "Your behavior has greatly disappointed me Kendell, so I hereby relieve you of your status of a Prefect." Spencer said, turning away from the senior.
Kendell's eyes widened at Spencer's last sentence struck him. He frantically shook his head at the news and pleaded with Spencer not to do it.
"It's a trick. That freak is faking it, don't believe him!" Grendel was pointing at Ash.
Spencer however, was a man of his decision. He ignored all of Kendell's efforts to regain his post as Spencer walked towards Ash and Gary. The other students were watching Kendell's half-madness from a distance.
Meanwhile Gary was feeling Ash's pulse. He relaxed when he heard the faint thumps. The other students had formed a circle around Gary and Ash while Kendell's pack rushed to their disgraced leader.
"How is he?" Spencer asked.
"He's alive, barely. He really gave his all to defend against Kendell." Gary smiled in relief.(A/N He just cares about him. No Palletshipping going here, people. -_-)
"Alright. Take him to the Medical wing. I'm sure he'll be back to his old self soon. I will excuse you both from class until then." Spencer smiled.
Gary nodded his approval as he picked up Ash on his shoulder and dashed towards the Medical wing. It was behind the 11th door up the atrium's Victory Road.
He walked into a Pokemon-Center like place. It was where the crash had been heard earlier. It wasn't very big, but Gary knew that behind the various doors there, the Patient hall was considerable spacey. It was painted red and Chanseys were moving around with stretchers and bottles and syringes and whatnot. Gary ran up to the Pink haired lady at the counter wearing a nurse's cap.
"Nurse Joy!" Gary practically screamed as he lay Ash's half dead body on the nursing bed. Nurse joy gasped at the young teen's bloody body.
"Oh Dear... Chansey, take him to the healing room as fast as possible" Nurse joy spoke kindly.
"It was because of Kendell." Gary told her bitterly as two Chanseys put Ash on a stretcher and took him to the healing room.
"What do you mean, Gary?"
Gary narrated the story in brief. Nurse Joy's eyebrows traveled up and up her forehead until at the last part, on which her face grew pale.
"Oh no... This is bad... not again..." Nurse joy said.
"Why? Ash's going to be alright, isn't he?" Gary asked nervously.
"Oh sure, Ash will recover soon. It's Kendell that I'm worried about." Nurse Joy said.,
"WHAT? You're worried about HIM! He deserved being demoted. If he can't control his own anger, why control others?" Gary said darkly.
"No, that's not what I meant. See, last year, there was an incident. A freshman insulted Kendell in front of the whole class. A week later, the same freshman's body was found in his room, dead from a hammer blow to his side. Everybody knew that the only person with a hammer that big was Kendell but he wasn't considered involved as no one had a solid proof against him... There have been various cases of Kendell's enemies mysteriously dying or disappearing ever since he GOT admitted to the Academy." Nurse Joy frowned.
"Hm... I see. So are you saying he may try to take revenge on Ash too?" Gary asked.
"Yes, there are strong chances that he might. Meanwhile, Ash must tread with caution... Kendell is known to have a special Berserk like trait. His Body gains incredible strength at the cost of Kendell's Reason. The Devil Gene.** " Nurse Joy darkly as if the word shook her to the core.
"What do you mean? What's the Devil Gene?" Gary asked curiously.
"You don't know? You see, the Devil Gene is a trait that exists inside every Aura User. It had long been a mystery, as only a man with incredibly strong physical and Mental state could master it. One Clan, called the South Forest clan found a way to unlock the Devil Gene at the cost of giving up their thought and decision. And Kendell is a descendant of the South Forest Clan. Therefore he knows the Berserk technique... " Nurse Joy said worriedly.
"Wow, I didn't know that, but don't worry about that, I'm always with Ash. If Kendell tries to go ape on him, he will have to go through me, which, is practically impossible." Gary smirked cockily. Nurse Joy sweat-dropped.
"Here we go again~..." Nurse Joy sighed.
Gary tortured Nurse Joy for another 15 minutes after which he laid down on a couch and fell asleep. He dreamt that he Kendell was on a flying pignite and running away. Gary was on hot pursuit with a Magic Carpet. He was armed with pitchforks and devil warding voodoo charms. Just then, Kendell glanced back and where his eyes should have been, were two hollow holes.
Gary woke with a start. Two Chanseys were talking to Nurse Joy.
"What is it?" Gary demanded.
"Oh, Ash's fine now. You may see him. He's in room no. 865" Nurse Joy beamed.
"Thank you, Nurse Joy. Now if you'll excuse me," With that he dashed off towards Ash's room.
He entered the room to see Ash with a plaster over his shoulder and bandages over his body. He found him exercising?
"Hi Gary. How's it going?" Ash said as if they were meeting for dinner. Needless to say,Gary sweat-dropped.
"Well, I'm fine but how about you? You really shouldn't exert yourself you know. You just fought a Tauros!" Gary said.
"Oh Kendell? He's just an annoying bully that I felt that I had to defeat." Ash said, matter-of-factly.
"But that's just it. You didn't, and got yourself almost killed!" Gary said.
"Well, I could have defeated him if he hadn't put me in a hard position. I didn't use much Aura you know, or I'd have beat the pants off that guy. And besides, I need to exercise. I wasn't as strong as him, and that was why I was thrown aside." Ash spoke.
"But Ash, you don't understand, Kendell's a really, really ruthless warrior and he will kill all that stand before him. And now, he's after you," Gary said.
Gary explained what Nurse Joy had told him.
"Well, if he wants to try and kill me, let him try! I ain't scared of him." Ash said with childish bravado. Gary Sweat-dropped.
"The first day of the Academy and you end up in the hospital. Man, Granpa's gonna kill me..." Gary sighed.
"Maybe you could convince him with some of your tofu. You know how much he loves that stuff." Ash said. Gary seemed to be considering that idea.
"Whatever, now do you wanna come back to the Aura Weaponry class or not?" Gary smirked.
'Sure I do!" Ash smiled.
They ran back to the weapon handling classroom back in Corridor 10. Ash's shoulder still hurt like hell, but at least, it was getting better. Ash was welcomed by a familiar bald figure.
"I see that you have recovered Ash. How are you feeling?" Spencer asked.
"I'm great, thanks." Ash beamed.
He now saw that the room was pretty crowded. It seems that they were early the first time. Everybody was talking about the Kendell incident which reminded Ash something.
"Where's Kendell?" Ash asked.
"He's been dismissed for today. I have also excused the class today. No one needs to practice as the wall and floor is being repaired." Spencer informed him. He had an irritated look on his face and Ash decided to drop it. He had almost forgotten the wreck they'd caused because of their little 'tussle'.
"That's great. We have 2 free periods next. Maybe we can grab something as a quick snack." Gary smirked evilly. Ash sweatdropped.
"Well, off you go then. Your training will start tomorrow, Ash." Spencer explained.
Ash nodded and then noticed his friends. He bowed to Spencer and took his leave.
Ash started walking towards his friends' group with Gary. Each person was giving him different looks. Some were hateful, some loving, some insulting, some respectful, and some were even challenging. Ash grew red from embarrassment as he sped up his walk.
There were only a handful of Ash's friends here. Apparently, you could skip class if you wanted to, and most of them preferred to skip it for some practical battle training.
Kenny, Drew, Dawn and May were talking among themselves. As Ash and Gary arrived, they all quieted down.
"Ash! Dude, you took on Kendell!" Drew said in astonishment.
"Well, yes, kinda. Why?" Ash asked.
"Just look at the mirror. You look like you've been trampled by a herd." Drew replied.
"Kendell feared by everyone here 'cuz of his cruel demeanor." Kenny replied sourly. He looked, kinda, ticked off by Kendell. The way he said his. It reminded Ash of the way Misty sometimes spoke in one of her rampages.
"Yes, it was kinda foolish for you to take him on alone, you know." May scolded.
"Wait, Guys, you got it all wrong. I wasn't the one who challenged him. He charged at me, so I defended myself. That's all. And besides, I hate bullies like him." Ash said nonchalantly.
"Yeah, but he did almost kill you, why didn't you try to surrender?" Dawn spoke up. Kenny got even more ticked off.
"Well, first thing, I don't surrender anything, especially battle... and food... and Pokemon. Second, how could I, with the big fella practically sitting on me." Ash smiled nervously
"Okay can we PLEASE stop discussing Kendell!" Kenny suddenly yelled.
"Gee, what got into you?" Ash sweat-dropped.
Gary smirked at Kenny, who shuddered. He knew that smirk.
"Oh no... You wouldn't..." Kenny mumbled.
"Well, Ash. You see, Kendell has this crush on Dawn, and since Kenny-" His sentence was interrupted by Kenny stuffing his sock in
Gary's mouth and then dragging him out of the scene. Dawn seemed completely unaffected by the conversation, so Ash figured it was a regular thing.
"Um... Right. So, how have you guys been with this class?" Ash asked.
"Pretty good." Drew smirked, flashing his short sword and Sabre.
"Me too. But I kinda have difficulty with small weapons, so I use a Mace or Hammer. They are heavy and strike hard." May smiled. Ash had chills over the back of his neck when he imagined an enraged May beating the crap out of Drew with Kendell's warhammer yelling something about Drew forgetting her Birthday.
"Alright. What about you Dawn?" Ash asked when he noticed that the blue haired teen hadn't said anything.
"I use a Custom-made weapon." Dawn replied as she hesitantly drew out a sword from it sheath.
It looked like a normal sword, it was red at the hilt, had a crimson blade and pointed tip. It was also kinda thin compared to Ash's Icarus. What impressed Ash was that the flat side of the sword was actually a metal crossbow, making the weapon a long ranged AND mid ranged weapon. A symbol with two leaves and a bud between them was engraved on the hilt.
" That's an Augar..." Ash said silently. Then he suddenly wondered how he knew that. Dawn looked alarmed.
"What? I mean- Uh... It's name is not Augar... It's Alamos." Dawn said nervously.
"Wow, that's a really cool weapon, Dawn. Did ya customize it yourself?" Ash asked. Dawn shifted uncomfortably and started looking beyond Ash's shoulder.
"No... It was given to me by my... Mom." Dawn said weakly.
"Oh, I see. Well, tell her it's a really good make, and ask her if she could customize my Icarus too." Ash laughed.
"Okay, I will." Dawn tried for a smile. She failed miserbly.
"Why ask her if I can come to dinner sometime and-. Hm... Where does your Mom live, Dawn?" Ash asked politely.
These words, Ash said out of common respect, therefore, he was naturally surprised when Dawn broke down into tears and ran out of the room, sobbing loudly. None of the other students noticed this as they were too busy talking among themselves.
"Uh.. What... just happened?" Ash said in confusion.
"Ash, Dawn's mom is..." May said worriedly.
Reality dawned upon Ash as he realized his mistake. He shouldn't have mentioned Dawn's mother... She was already having difficulty talking about her weapon, why did he have to push it? Ash mentally cursed himself.
"Shit.. Where did she go? I have to apologize!" Ash asked frantically looking around even though he saw her run out of the room.
"Hm... Probably to Zoey." May said sadly.
Ash was about to follow her when he heard May's last word and froze.
"Wh-Who?" Ash asked in an extremely scared voice.
"Zoey, she's her best friend." May explained.
"Uh... May, can you come along with me?" Ash asked with chattering teeth.
"Sure, why not." May said, knowing Ash's cause of fear. Zoey could get pretty out of control sometimes.
They both ran off to follow Dawn. Great. His first day and he already managed to mess up a possible friendship.
"You really outdid yourself this time..." Ash muttered to himself angrily.
"Wait. What am I gonna do here ALONE?" Drew yelled to no one in particular. "I need a companion too you know!"
A Gloom came wandering to Drew, and started nuzzling his leg. Drew froze, knowing that the slightest movement could make gloom feel threatened and release it's stinking gas.
"The gods hate me..." Drew groaned.
"Um... Where do you think she is?" Ash asked while running.
"Probably in the girls dorm..." May said matter-of-factly.
Ash stopped dead in his tracks.
"But, wait. I can't go in there! I mean, I'm a guy!" Ash said desperately.
"Well, that's why I'm gonna dress you up as a girl." May informed wickedly. Ash's face lost its color.
"Dress who as a what?" Ash said in complete horror, hoping he had misheard.
"Dress you as a Girl. Seriously, what is up with you not hearing stuff." May complained as she dragged a dumbfounded Ash to the Laundry room behind the 17th door on the Victory Road.
After 15 minutes of haggling with washed clothes, she dressed Ash up in a Black and White maid costume complete with a hat on top and black sandals which heaven knows how appeared in a Laundry room. May led Ash to the mirror.
Ash barely looked his former self. His previously glorious look was snatched and torn apart and replaced with a gay look, really forced smile and sunken cheeks. Only one who really knew Ash well could recognize him under this... Cover.
"Done! See, no one would be able to tell you're a guy!" May said as she showed Ash himself in the mirror.
"I'm starting to doubt it myself..." Ash said, Anime-Tears pouring out of his eyes.
"I love this stuff! A hero in disguise coming to rescue a maiden in distress. It's So~ Romantic!" May's eyes turned to stars while Ash just sweat-dropped.
"I wouldn't actually call this a heroic disguise..." Ash mumbled. May shot him a glare.
"Whatever. Now you can enter the girls dorm and talk to Dawn!" May said.
"Yeah, maybe. So, should we begin the plan?" Ash asked.
"Sure. Let's go to the girls Dorm." May agreed.
With that, they marched off to the girls dorm in corridor 6.
"Oh Seriously C'mon! Where ARE Gary and Kenny..." Drew groaned, still having his leg cuddled by Gloom.
Speaking of the devils, Gary and Kenny arrived.
"-Kay, I won't then. But seriously Kenny, chill out a little, it's not like she noticed it yet. She's as dense as my bro." Gary was saying.
"Guys, I'm so glad that you're her-" Drew was interrupted by Kenny, who was apparently too into the conversation to notice Drew's words.
"Oh Drew! Where'd Dawn, May and Ash go?" Kenny asked him.
Drew explained all the recent happenings. Gary looked troubled while Kenny looked kinda annoyed.
"Oh no, I gotta save Ash from May's wrath..." Gary sped of in the direction of the laundry room.
"Ash? What do you mean by that! I gotta kill the guy for making Dawn cry like that!" Kenny growled as he to followed Gary with an angry face.
"Guys..." Drew wailed."Forgetting something?"
"Where is her room?" Ash-y asked May as he ran past yet ANOTHER pink door with Hello-Kitties on it.
"Almost there..." May mumbled as she kept her eyes open for room no 525.
Door after door, pink after white, blue after green, 523 after 524 and then finally.
There it was, a pinkish door with pictures of famous bands stuck on it clearly had the numbers 525 on it.
"There!" May cried as they finally reached their destination, panting and gasping.
"Alright! Let's go in." Ash-y smiled. May nodded. They burst into the green japanese-styled room. It was mediocre sized with windows and a ventilating system at the top.
"DAWN! I'm sorry,I'm sorry,I'm REALLY REALLY REALLY sorry!" Ash-y cried with closed eyes. When he opened them however...
A girl with pink hair was gobbling down noodles with a meowth. She and the Meowth looked up lazily as they saw the newcomers.
"Who's the new girl, Jess?" The Meowth spoke. Wait, what?
The pink haired girl only shrugged as she continued eating the noodles. Ash-y and May had their jaws to the floor.
"THE MEOWTH SPOKE!" They said in unison.
"Yeah, what about it? See Jess, I could go to Hollywood you know but I choose to stick with ya guys. I mean, ladies love me!" The Meowth stated happily.
"Shut up, Meowth. You know the last time you tried acting." Jessie said gesturing towards a sunflora . Meowth shivered and obliged. Jessie shot a questioning look to May and they both stared at each other. Then, she regained her composure.
"Uh. Sorry, we seem to be in the wrong room. We'll take our leave now." May said nervously.
"No, it's completely fine. C'mon here and sit." Jessie said gesturing them forward.
Ash glared daggers at May. How could she forget what room her best friend was in! Nevertheless, they both did as they were told. Ash-y a little nervously as he feared they'll get caught.
"Now, why were you apologizing to Dawn right now?" Jessie asked Ash-y.
"Well, I uh..." Ash-y looked around and his eyes fell on the noodles. "Spilled noodles on her new dress?"
May facepalmed and Jessie's eyes narrowed.
"Oh really?" Jessie said peering into Ash-y's eyes.
By now, Ash was seriously sweating bullets. Those evil little blue eyes seemed to extract the information they need right out of Ash's soul.
"I know you are lying so fess up." Jessie said as she drew back into sipping her noodles.
Ash-y sighed as she looked at May who nodded.
"Well, I kinda am a guy." Ash-y confessed.
"WHAT!" Jessie screamed.
"Yeah, please don't tell anyone. I need to remain undercover." Ash-y pleaded.
Alright but on one condition. You tell me what happened with you and Dawn," Jessie threatened.
Ash sighed yet again. Seemed like he won't be able to get out of this...
"Alright. I didn't know that Dawn's mother is not anymore and I kinda mentioned her in front of Dawn. Then she ran off crying and here I am, trying to work out a way to get to her." Ash explained. Jessie nodded understandingly and then looked up.
"I see. And what exactly are you gonna say when you DO get to her because I don't think yelling I'M SORRY a hundred times would work out." Jessie said. Ash sat dumbfounded. She was correct. Ash didn't think they'll make it this far, so that's why he didn't think up an appropriate apology.
"Well, whatever comes to the mind I guess..." Ash trailed off.
"WRONG!" Jessie yelled. Ash flinched." Apology has to come from the heart, not from the mind. You're only apologizing because you think you should, just try and imagine yourself in her position right now."
Ash thought over it. It was true... He only wanted to apologize to Dawn because he thought that he shouldn't have done that.
"See?" Jessie said. May smiled from behind her. Her plan may work out after all. Jessie's eyes glowed blue and Ash looked through it.
Ash went over to the second part of Jessie's sentence. Imagine yourself in her position He didn't remember his mom much, that memory seemed to be rubbed right off his mind. So, he imagined Professor Oak dying battling a Dark One. How the blood dripped off his age-stricken face, how the life slowly left those grey, old eyes, how he struggled to bid Ash goodbye with the final breath of his broken body...
"NO!" Ash screamed in agony. He couldn't take it any longer. Just imagining it brought pain to his heart. Jessie eyes stopped glowing.
"Exactly." Jessie nodded, glad her point had gone through Ash's thick head.
Ash realized it. Previously, Ash had wanted to apologize to her for his behavior. Now, he really NEEDED to apologize to Dawn.
"I must go. I must find Dawn..." Ash said.
"If you think you can, sure, do it." Jessie smiled.
"May, what's her room number. Her REAL room number." Ash asked May a little reproachfully.
"No. 530. Now go get her soldier!" May smiled. Ash smiled back.
"I will," Ash prepared to go out of the room, but then smirked at May "And by the way May, if you really wanted me to talk to Jessie, you could have just said instead of tricking me."
May blinked and Jessie smiled. Meowth just stopped his sulking and threw a glance at Ash.
Door after door, number after number until finally!
A black door stood out between all the pink and white. It had a simple picture of a Nightingale and dove and the numbers 530 emblazed upon it.
"Alright. Here we go." He braced himself as he pushed open the door.
"-about it and-" A red haired girl was saying to a blue haired crying one. They both froze at the newcomer.
"Who might you be?" Zoey asked in contempt. Ash had momentarily forgotten his disguise.
"Um... Hey. I'm Ash-ley. Yeah, My name is Ashley. Can I talk to Ms. Dawn for a sec?" Ash-y said in as feminine a voice as he could muster.
"No you can't. She's not in the mood." Zoey said flatly. Ash face-faulted. Dawn lifted her head.
"No...Zoey. Let her speak." Dawn said between sobs.
"Would you mind for us to talk alone..." Ash-y said to Zoey.
Zoey seemed to disapprove but agreed when she got a tug from Dawn. She walked out of the room all the while glaring at Ash-y. Dawn regained her composure as she stopped sobbing somewhat.
"What is it that you want, Ash." Dawn said in a hateful tone.
"Huh? You recognized me?" Ash said in disbelief, trying to ignore her tone.
"Yes. So, your reason?" Dawn demanded. Ash took a deep breath.
"Well Dawn, I'm... I'm sorry... I didn't know about your mother. I understand that living with such pain is excruciating and talking about it hurts a lot. What I'm trying to say is, if you can, please forgive me, I really shouldn't have mentioned your mom. " Ash apologized sadly
They stood in silence for a while. Ash was half expecting a full on slap to the face that would leave him rubbing his cheeks for months. Then finally, Dawn sighed deeply as she motioned Ash to sit on the chair which Ash did, taking it as the first sign of friendship.
"No, it's alright. I shouldn't have snapped at you." Dawn said apologetically.
Ash grinned back which was pretty stupid considering the situation.
"I bet I can defeat your Alamos with my Icarus." Ash said smirking.
It was such an unexpected question, Dawn gaped at Ash as if to see that it was the same person she was talking to. She slowly smirked back.
"I bet you can't. I've had two lives of practice you know." She said. Ash looked confused. Dawn suddenly realized her slip and cursed under her breath. Thankfully, Ash was too much of an idiot to notice it.
"Whatever. I'm still a ton better than you." Ash smiled. Wonderful. Another Rival. Just what he needed.
"Maybe." Dawn smiled.
Ash felt good to talk to her normally. He was glad that he wasn't a new guy to her anymore.
Another awkward silence fell over them both as neither had anything to say. They hadn't really talked before this. Just then, Ash remembered last night.
"Dawn? What were you gonna say yesterday, at the New Students Meet?" Ash asked curiously.
It probably wasn't the best thing to say considering the situation, and Ash regretted as soon as he spoke. Dawn started sweating as she nervously started to stammer unmeaning words.
"I'll tell you what she was saying." Zoey said, reentering the room. Ash cringed a little.
"You aren't gonna blow me up with explosives for what I did?" Ash asked dumbstruck.
Dawn sweat-dropped but Zoey merely smiled. Ash grew even more confused. He couldn't figure the her out. One moment she wants to rip Ash's face off and another she smiles calmly as if they were long time buddies.
"No Ash. At least, not yet..." Zoey smiled evilly. "I have been eavesdropping on your conversation with Dawn. I now know that you will not bring Dawn any harm, physically or mentally. So, in short, I trust you."
Ash sat there, dazed. He didn't expect Zoey to EVER say those words. ESPECIALLY those words.
"Um.. Thanks, I guess..." Ash trailed off.
"Now, listen carefully, Ash. Whatever we are about to say, must NOT escape this room. You are not to tell any creature about this. It is very important that it remains a secret." Zoey warned.
"Kay, then I won't tell." Ash smiled but then added worriedly. "But I can tell Pikachu, right? He's my best buddy. He won't spread it."
Zoey sighed and nodded while Dawn shifted. Ash breathed in relief.
"Alright, but none else. Now, do you know about the Leaf and Snow Clans that used to rule over the northern Sinnoh?" Zoey asked.
"Yes, I do." Ash nodded
"Good, that'll make it a lot easier." Zoey said as she put a hand on Ash's forehead. Dawn copied.
"Oh great, another one of those memory flashback..." Ash muttered as he slipped into Zoey and Dawn's memory chambers.
_Flashback_
Kinda mushy and short chapter ain't it. -_-; Well, that's what happens to me during mid-terms.
I'm sorry if I depicted Girls behaviors and and mannerisms wrong. I am a guy, so I don't know stuff like that. :/ This chapter was a lot cheeseh to say the least, but what can I say, it needed to be done. Ash's apology= way too much. I've never been in this kinda predicament before so I don't know what I'd say or think. :/ As I said, I write down stuff that happens with my life.
I wanted Pearlshipping to progress a little while I think of the story beyond chapter 9 (Yes, I have planned it. XD) So, how was it. ^_^
Now you guys may think Ash is kind of a soft, no death and over-sensitive person right now, correct? Well, you're in for a surprise in this story. ;) Sorry for Jessie's part and the random ''need and want'' thing. I just did it to introduce Jessie's powers as they'll play a larger part ahead.
**Guess from where does the phrase "Devil Gene" comes from. ;)
Any questions about the story would be answered in a PM, and please do let me clear out your doubts cuz I don't want anybody missing anything. I know I have spun a lot of mysteries, but it's what I do. XD Reviews are always appreciated and looked forward to. Which reminds me, constructive criticism is something that I seriously need. I still am a new writer, so, yeah...
With all due Respect,
SOLAD,
Signing off.