Rivals Chapter 6:

Sadness

About a month after Emiko made a welcome cake for Pikachu, she noticed that Pikachu was looking sad sometimes. One day, she saw Pikachu staring out the window, and came over. "Pikachu, what's wrong? You look sad," she said.

"Believe it or not, I miss Ash," Pikachu said. "I wonder how he's doing."

"Should I check?" Emiko asked in the same language. Pikachu nodded, so she closed her eyes and concentrated on Ash. To her surprise, he was sitting on a bench in a park, looking very down. Then he buried his face in his hands. Emiko stopped watching, and said, "Doesn't look like he's very happy. I think he's crying."

Pikachu looked horrified. Emiko noticed and said, "Do you want to go see if he's changed his mind about us?"

Pikachu nodded. "Let's go talk to Kisshu," Emiko said.

Pikachu jumped onto her shoulder, and Emiko teleported to Kisshu. He looked up and asked, "Is something wrong?"

"Pikachu misses Ash," Emiko said. "I checked on him for Pikachu, and it looked like he was crying. I'm thinking I should go back."

"What if he hasn't changed?" Kisshu said.

"I had an idea," Emiko said. "I'll cast an illusion over myself, turn Pikachu invisible, and try to find out what's up. If it doesn't work, I'll come back. Can you let the others know?"

Kisshu sighed, but said, "Okay, but if he hurts you again, tell me, and I'll go talk with him."

"Fine," Emiko said.

She got her boots on, and said, "Pikachu, I'm going to turn you invisible, so you have to stay on my shoulder, and not make a sound. If we think it's okay, I'll reveal who I am. If not, we'll come back, okay?"

Pikachu nodded. Emiko cast an illusion over herself. Now she had long black hair, normal human ears, and was wearing a blue shirt with black jeans. Pikachu got on her shoulder, and she said, "Fukashi." Then she focused on the park near where she had seen Ash. She arrived behind a tree, and saw Ash on the bench. His friends weren't with him, and he was crying. "Remember, stay quiet," she whispered to Pikachu, and walked over to the bench.

"Hey, are you okay?" she asked Ash.

Ash looked up, startled, and quickly wiped his tears away. "Yeah…" he said.

"You don't look okay, is something wrong?" Emiko asked.

"Who are you?" Ash asked.

"My name is Yuki," Emiko said. "I like helping people with their problems. What's bugging you?"

Ash sighed and said, "I lost my best friend. He was mad at me for getting angry with the girl I love, and he went to live with someone else. And soon after that, the friends I was traveling with got sick of my problems, and left as well. The only one who stayed was my friend Brock. He went shopping though, and I kind of got sad sitting here."

"Do you regret what you did?" Emiko asked. "If your best friend came back, what would you tell him?"

"I regret what I did more than anyone can imagine," Ash said sadly. "I shouldn't have said the things I said, and if my best friend came back, I'd tell him that I never meant to hurt him or the girl I love. I really miss him- and her. I know I hurt her by attacking her boyfriend, and I wish I could turn back time and do this over again."

Emiko was really touched, and she made her decision. She let the illusion spell drop, and said to Ash, who was looking at the ground glumly, "Look at me."

Ash looked up, and his jaw dropped. "Emiko…" he whispered. "Is it really you? Or is this just another dream?"

"It's me," Emiko said. She tapped her shoulder, and Pikachu appeared. "We both decided to see if you had changed," Emiko continued. "I figured disguising myself and turning Pikachu invisible was the best way to find out what you were thinking."

Ash suddenly threw himself at her, hugging her and burying his face in her shoulder. Emiko hesitated, then hugged him back, feeling his shoulders shaking. "I'm so sorry!" Ash cried.

"After hearing how you really feel, I forgive you," Emiko said softly. "And I'm sure Pikachu will as well. You're getting my shirt wet."

Ash quickly pulled away. "Uh… sorry about that," he said.

Emiko smiled and said, "It's fine." Then she turned to Pikachu and said, "How do you feel about this?"

"I'll forgive you too, Ash," Pikachu said, jumping into his lap. Ash picked up Pikachu and hugged him tightly.

"Thanks, guys," Ash said. "I think this is the happiest I've been in weeks."

Emiko smiled and said, "You're going to be even happier when Pikachu shows you what he learned. Pikachu, do the routine."

Pikachu nodded, then jumped to the ground, and stood on one paw. Then he stood on both, and started walking around that way. Next he flipped back onto his back feet, and jumped into the air. He did two backflips before landing and bowing. "Whoa…" Ash said. "When did you learn all that? It's amazing!"

"Pikachu wasn't sure what he wanted to do, so Ichigo suggested that Pudding teach Pikachu gymnastics," Emiko explained. "Pikachu's been working really hard."

"That's great, buddy," Ash said. Pikachu smiled and jumped onto his shoulder.

Suddenly they heard a voice shout, "Emiko!?" They turned and saw Brock running over.

"Hi Brock!" Emiko said.

"You don't have any idea how happy I am to see you," Brock said. "Ash has been walking around with an aura of gloom around himself. Nothing I could do or say would cheer him up, and he's even stopped battling. But what made you come back?"

"Pikachu missed Ash, and when I checked on him, he was crying," Emiko said. "I talked to Kisshu, and he said it was fine to come back. So I cast an illusion over myself to appear human, turned Pikachu invisible, and told Ash my name was Yuki, and I like helping people with their problems. It worked, and he told me everything. That's the reason I revealed myself, because I could see that he had changed."

"Well, it's good to have you back," Brock said. "How long are you staying?"

"Not long, I should get back soon," Emiko said. "I really came to see if Ash had changed enough to bring Pikachu back. To be honest, I was starting to miss you guys too."

"Well, thanks for coming back," Brock said.

"You're welcome," Emiko said, smiling. "I should get back though, I told Kisshu I'd be back soon. I don't want him to come looking for me."

"Why?" Ash asked.

"Because he's worried you would hurt me again," Emiko said. "He's the overprotective type."

"I swear, I'll never hurt you again," Ash said. "I realized it's like hurting myself."

"Thanks," Emiko said softly. She stood up, and Ash did the same. The two of them hugged, and when they broke apart, Emiko said, "I have to go. Don't forget to show Brock Pikachu's new routine."

Ash laughed and said, "I won't."

"And call if you need me," Emiko said. Pikachu nodded, so Emiko teleported back to Kisshu's dimension.

She found Kisshu pacing around the living room, and said, "I'm back!"

"How did it go?" Kisshu asked.

"I left Pikachu with Ash. He really did change, and Brock said the same," Emiko said. "I'm glad we worked it out."

"I'm glad he didn't hurt you again," Kisshu said. "It's good you worked it out. Pudding's kind of sad about Pikachu leaving, but she'll get over it."

"Oh, well," Emiko said. "So what should we do now?"

"Make out?" Kisshu asked.

Emiko chuckled and kissed him.

I think this chapter was really cute, and now this story's over. I'll try to think of something new after I finish Melody of the Flute.