Hey - sorry all, college was getting in the way of me writing anything - this one's actually a bit old, but I'll get on chapter 8 soon. Promise. Please remember to comment and review! And thanks to those of you who already have or will review soon!
The exhausted Flareon touched down and dropped to all fours at the base of Mt. Silver, the border between Kanto and Johto.
How many hours had she searched for Galiana?
How much pain had she caused Galiana with this stupid crusade?
Was being the best worth that much to her? Worth more than Galiana?
Galiana. Galiana. Galiana. With each mention of her name, she smashed the mountain wall with her bare fists, sobbing and biting her tongue to focus on something other than the burning in her eyes. It was only seconds before she cracked, reared back and cried out into the night sky, sending flocks of Noctowl and Zubat scattering in a panic.
"Galiana. I'm sorry. So sorry. God dammit." She buried her face into the palm of one of her hands, the blood running between her fingers from her knuckles. She smeared her face as she tried to wipe the steaming, angry tears.
So stupid. So so stupid. So stubbornly stupid. With her other hand, she balled it into a flaming fist and slammed it into the mountain again and again and again. "Son of a bitch! Goddammit! I hate this!" Slowing to another defeated silence, she laid her forehead to rest on the mountain before her, and sobbed. "I'm sorry."
"Hey, Fluffybutt. I thought you weren't going to let your little missy cry."
Inari looked up to find the source of that motherly voice. The Arcanine stepped out of her jalopy of a Jeep with a med-kit - the sort one would find in a gymnasium for students being stupid.
"I'm caught between two dreams. Her's and mine. And I don't know which goddamned dream is the one I want more."
"No you ain't. Y'all are fighting for the same dream in different ways. And gotta say, she's right, hun." She pauses for the inevitable scowl she knew Inari would react with, calmly holding up her paws as she had in years past. "Pokemon are more like machines than we care to admit. We rust if we're not used and wear out and break down if we are used too much."
"No prizes for guessing which I am?" The Flareon mumbled, as Auntie started cleaning the fresh wounds she had made on herself.
"It's what makes you...you." The towering Arcanine finished applying the ointment-slathered bandages, before slapping Inari on the back with all of her usual camraderie, causing the Flareon to lurch forward. As Betty kept her hand there, she continued, rubbing Inari's back gently. "She wants your happiness too, y'know that?"
"I want her's too. And I don't want her to cry, but I don't want to give up on my wants either..."
"Y'know, hun, your father wanted it too. Your happiness."
Inari's gaze snapped to her Aunt's somber smile, staring at it, studying it intently, baffled by the seemingly simple words. "What do you mean?" She leaned closer, balling her bandaged fists to brace herself.
"He told all of his teammates to make sure you were happy with your path in life - to guide you in growing up to be a woman who would succeed in whatever road she took to her goal. Never to let you be bound by anyone's will but your own." She laughed. "He also said 'but wouldn't it be awesome if I could battle Inari one day, as an old grampa? Her all grown up and ready to rock with her old man?'"
Inari's eyes misted over as she pursed her lips, forcing them shut for the moment, not knowing how to respond.
Auntie Betty approached with a gentle smile. "Kamil's probably drilled this into your head. But your father was not a very serious man. He was whimsical, and often did crazy things before anyone could object. It was quite interesting - your father was a very on-the-fly battler, and your mother was more like Kamil in terms of making tactical decisions. The two made a great team because they didn't just tolerate each other's tactics, they utilized the synergy between them." The Arcanine set her massive hand on Inari's relatively tiny shoulders. "That goes for you and Galiana too - you two have different goals, but they don't have to be against each other.
"Inari!"
With that sudden cry of her name, Inari suddenly found herself hugged from behind by a sobbing Celebi. "I'm sorry about running off like-"
"No," she said with a surprisingly steadfast strength. "It's my fault for always being so stubborn - for not realizing how hard it was for you to watch." She smiles. "You're such a bleeding heart. That's why I love you so goddamned much."
Before the Celebi could respond, Inari grabbed her by the shoulders and smooched her right then and there. Possibly the longest 10 seconds in either of their lives. Not that it mattered to them - time seemed to stand still - there was no future to worry about, no burden of past to drag them down. There was only this everlasting point of the present that they would carve into their memories.
As if to defy the tranquility, Auntie Betty hollered, "Lovebirds, save it for your room!"
For once, Inari didn't care. She just kept enlaced and intertwined with Galiana. Training didn't matter. The event didn't matter. The peak of the league didn't matter. Only Galiana and Inari.
