Legal Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon. Pokemon is the property of Nintendo Entertainment.

A/N: While this is not my first fic (I actually intended Book II to be the starting story, and for this 'prequel' to be released after it had been finished), it was created so that their would be a back-story behind the main events which follow in Book II. This fic follows the rekindled relationship of Ash and Misty, after Ash's journeys in the Sinnoh region have been completed. This fic assumes that instead of going on to the new region of Isshu, Ash returns permanently to the Kanto region.

A/N2: There's a few songs I included in this story to make the emotions flow better. You don't necessarily have to listen to the songs, but I strongly recommend that you do, so that you can get the proper feel behind the reason the song was used.

This is the first 'Book' of a total of six in this series.

Note: Text written in italics symbolizes the character(s') thoughts. Also in various times, the story will be written alternatively between first and third-person. Brackets with ((character name)'s POV) will be added to represent this. This was done, so that the more emotional moments which the characters experience could be expressed in a more emotional manner.


Chapter 7

Heart for a Heart

(Ash's POV)

My hair fluttered against the wind, as Charizard now flew over Mt. Moon. My heart was still pounding as I hoped that Misty would be alright, and that nothing bad had happened to her. But as the rainclouds gathered and the thunder started to roar, I became desperate to get to her all the sooner.

The rain grew heavier and heavier, as the thunder started to roar.

"Pikachu! Get under my jacket, now! Charizard, fly closer to the ground, just above the tree line!" I ordered.

Pikachu scurried from my back to the inside of my jacket, in order to avoid attracting the bolts of lightning which crashed down from the sky, while Charizard slightly descended towards the ground.

Even though we were blinded by thick fog, drenched by torrential rain and bombarded by merciless gusts, I was determined to reach her. Nothing would prevent me from doing so. Then, as the city gates of Cerulean became visible in the distance, my lips cracked a smile. But it disappeared altogether soon after, as Charizard began to waver in the air.

The flame on his tail was growing weaker. He had been feeling the full effects of the torrential rain for a good 15 minutes now as his eyes became dreary, and his breathing was now little more than light pants of air. As powerful and mighty a dragon Charizard was, he still had one weakness which he could never escape from: he would die if the flame on the tip of his tail was extinguished.

"Come on, Charizard, don't give up! It's just a little farther, we're almost there!" I cried.

But it was useless. I panicked as I realized that Charizard would not make it through the stormy weather. I quickly ordered him to land, recalling him into his Pokéball as he did so. After touching down on the ground, I decided to run the rest of the way with Pikachu. The street lights of Cerulean City dimly illuminated the path to the place where she resided, as we drew ever so closer to the doors of the Cerulean Gym…


(Misty's POV)

I lied on my bed as I reflectively looked through a photo album containing pictures of me, Ash and Brock, during our journeys together. While I recalled many of my old memories of him while flicking through the pages, the rain poured gloomily outside my window as the thunder boomed with a crashing roar, frightening Marill who was sitting beside me (*).

"Shh…calm down, Marill. It's alright, I'm here," I said softly, holding her tightly in my arms to make her feel secure. I continued to stroke her sides softly, as I peered over to the clock on my desk.

10:45am. It had been a little over an hour since Daisy came to my room with the news that brought life back to my heart. Finally, after many years of waiting, I would get the chance to see him again.

He's coming closer. I can feel it. He'll be here soon, and then finally, I'll get to tell him what I really feel about him…I just hope that he, Pikachu and Charizard are alright in all this rain…

I began to worry about him as the minutes passed, and the downpour of rain became even stronger than it was before. I missed everything about him – his passion, his warmth and his courage… even his possessive eating habits, which I had learned to accept as a part of him, long ago. But the more I waited, I found myself unable to stop thinking about him. I walked over to my desk and looked out the window, as I began to sing.

###

He drives me crazy,

All of the time,

He drives me crazy,

He drives me out of my mind,

So why do I worry 'bout him, why do I care?

I don't know why I let it faze me,

But he drives me crazy.

###

Just go off in your own direction,

And see if anybody cares,

Just don't come runnin' back to me, Ash Ketchum…

(from 'He Drives Me Crazy' – sung by Shauna McCoy)

(From the 'Totally Pokémon music CD)

I stopped midway through my song, as a peculiar figure outside came into my view. I leaned forward and looked more closely, rubbing the glass to erase the whiteness of the condensed water which formed upon it. Far away, I could barely see a figure of a boy running towards the gym, as he continued to be soaked by the endless rain.

Oh, it must be another trainer looking for shelter. Guess I better tell my sisters.

I walked out of my room and down the corridor to look into Lily's room, to see her lying on her stomach on her bed, talking on her mobile phone.

She must be having yet another conversation with her boyfriend again... How often could they possibly talk to one another during the day?

I then walked further down to check Daisy and Violet's rooms. Daisy was also lying on her bed as she watched TV, and Violet was innocently asleep while her radio was on.

"Great help you three are around here," I sighed, as I walked back to my window to have another look at the boy making his way to the gym.

I placed my hand upon the windowsill, leaning forward to catch a closer glimpse of his figure. He was wearing a white sweater and t-shirt underneath a long, black trench coat with holsters for his Pokéballs, as well as blue jeans and a pair of white sneakers. His uncovered head of raven-black hair was dampened by the rain, as a Pikachu scurried behind him.

Raven-black hair…a Pikachu…It couldn't be him…could it?

I rubbed my eyes, not believing who it was that I saw. But as much as I wanted to doubt it, there was no mistake.

It's Ash…

I could feel my heart skip several beats as my hand dropped from the surface of the window and down to my side. Then, without a second thought or even any consideration for the rain, I dashed downstairs to open the door, and greet the love of my life who had finally returned to me.


(Ash's POV)

"Come on, Pikachu! We're almost there!" I yelled, my voice almost drowned out by the relentless rain.

"Pika!"

My heart was racing as I continued to run to the entrance of the gym, which was now barely meters away. Then, to my surprise, the door swung open. Standing at the front porch was Misty, still wearing her night clothes as I stood looking in shock. Suddenly, she ran from the door and wrapped her arms around me in a tight embrace, crying as she buried her head in my chest. I hugged her back, stroking her head with my right hand, not saying a single word as I became overwhelmed by emotion. As freezing as my body felt from the icy-cold rain, I had never felt warmer in my entire life as I held her in my arms, treasuring every second of our reunion.

After a few moments, we broke from our hug, placing our hands on the side of each other's arms. She pulled me gently towards the house, after peering over my shoulder to find Pikachu shivering in the rain.

"Come on, Ash. I'll take you inside…" she said, as we moved inside the gym. After she closed the door behind us, Pikachu and I were relieved to get out of the rain, water dripping off of us down onto the carpet below.

"Here. Let me take your coat for you."

I looked behind me as I felt Misty's hands gently pulling the right arm sleeve of my jacket. I blushed as our eyes met, turning my head forward again as she smiled at me.

"Since when did you grow so tall, Ash?" she asked. It never occurred to me while we hugged, but as I looked at her again, I realized that I was now taller than her by a head-length. I blushed and smiled again at her compliment, as I replied.

"No idea, Mist. It must've been all the food that Brock cooked for us during our travels."

She lightly chuckled as she removed my coat and hung it on one of the pegs that lay on the nearby wall.

"Wait here, I'll get a couple of towels and a pair of slippers for you," she said, before walking down the corridor.

A few seconds later she returned, towels and slippers in hand. After handing us towels each, she bent over to place the slippers at my feet. Not wanting to put strain on her, I leaned forward to take the slippers in my hands, our eyes meeting as I did so, causing both of us to blush. She spoke, as we stood up straight again.

"Well, make yourself comfortable in the living room. I'm gonna get changed, and then I'll make some hot chocolate for both you."

"Thanks a lot, Mist. But don't hurry yourself."

"Pikachu-Pi."

"Good to see you again too, Pikachu," Misty smiled at us, before turning around to ascend the stairs to her bedroom.

"Come on, Pikachu. Let's go in," I said softly. Pikachu nodded at me, before trotting ahead in front of me into the living room. I warmed my clothes by the heater before sitting down on the sofa, as we waited for Misty to return. The soft sloshing of the gym's pool could be heard indistinctly, as I closed my eyes and relaxed on the cushions. Then, minutes later, Misty entered the living room holding a small tray which contained three mugs of hot chocolate, as she wore a red furry jumper.

"Here you go," she said, handing us our mugs.

"Thanks, Mist."

"Pikapi."

She set her own mug down on top of the coffee table as she sat down on the couch next to me, making me feel slightly uneasy as she did so. We had never sat alone beside each other so close, which currently made me feel slightly short of breath. I looked at her face as she looked at me with another warm smile on her lips.

She looked so beautiful. Even more so now that I was sitting next to her in person, than when I saw her on the video phone at the Indigo Plateau. Her hair was fragrant with a strawberry scent, and her crystal-like cerulean eyes shined brighter than diamonds as I was enthralled by their beauty.

My eyes averted from her as a round, blue Pokémon made its way towards us from the door.

"Marill!" it cried, happy to see me and Pikachu again.

"Pikapika!" Pikachu replied, taking one more sip from his hot chocolate before running off to play with Marill. The two of them joyfully played with one another with a small beach ball by the side of the pool, as Misty and I looked on smiling.

"Ash…" she spoke softly.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for coming all this way for me…I really appreciate it."

"Don't mention it, Mist. You were always there for me when I needed you. Now it's my turn to look after you in return."

She smiled at me before resting her head gently upon my shoulder, closing her eyes as I hugged her softly with my free hand, perching my chin lightly on her head.

"Mist," I said in a more serious tone, as I set down my mug on the coffee table in front of us, "the truth is...I came here…to tell you something very important."

"…What is it, Ash?" she asked, looking up at my face from my shoulder.

"Remember last night, when I said that I cared about you because you're my best friend? ...Well, the truth is, now that I think about it, it may be for a different reason altogether," I told her. She looked at me with confusion, as I continued to speak.

"Do you also remember what you said on the day that we separated and you returned to Cerulean, when your sisters had announced their world trip?" I asked.

She looked away from me and down onto the floor, as she recalled her memories of that day.


*Start Flashback* (3rd-person)

Misty strolled her bike along the dirt road leading away from Viridian City, as Ash and Brock walked alongside her. The warm afternoon sunshine beamed upon them, giving little comfort to the three trainers who knew that their time together was soon to come to an end. Misty smiled as she looked at her newly repaired bike, memories of the day she met Ash vivid in her mind.

"It's because of this bike that I met Ash!" Togepi, it was a coincidence that you and I met, too!"

"Togiii!" the small Pokémon cried.

"Ours wasn't coincidence," Ash said, as Misty turned her head to look at him in surprise, "I don't believe it could be just a coincidence that I met you, out of all people!"

"What do you mean, Ash?" Misty asked.

"I guess what I mean is…even though that happened," he replied, looking at her in the eyes, "I think that we were meant to meet and become friends!"

*End Flashback*


(Ash's POV again)

"As we talked last night on the video phone, I remembered the time when we had to go our separate ways. But during that night, something finally dawned to me…" I murmured.

"…What?" she asked, placing her hand gently on top of mine on the sofa.

"After I spoke to you, I realized that the one thing I was looking for my entire life had always been right in front of my eyes, yet I couldn't see it. Something that I longed for and loved, more than any victory or any title – even that of Pokemon Master."

Her eyes widened as I looked at her face again. A single teardrop glistening on her eyelid, as my fear of expressing my true feelings for her vanished altogether. I held her palm with my left hand and raised her chin softly with my right, as I looked her in the eyes and spoke to her.

"You."

A shocked expression was on her face as she slowly broke away from me on the sofa, her entire body starting to tremble.

Oh no…what have I done? What if Brock was wrong? What if she feels differently about me now, after we had so many years apart? This was a bad idea to begin with…I shouldn't have told her that.

I looked down in disappointment, burying my head in my hands. Then, deciding that the best thing for me to do was to leave, I got up from the sofa and turned away.

"I'm sorry, Mist. I didn't mean to confuse you with all the stuff that I've said to you. Maybe it would be best if I just…leave right now," I said, before walking off slowly towards the pool to call Pikachu.

But then, I was given the surprise of my life, as I could feel Misty tugging my arm hard from behind. The force was so great that I landed dazedly next to her again on the couch, looking at her in confusion. The tears were still rolling down her cheeks, but her lips formed not a frown, but the happiest smile that I had ever seen her make in our lives. She raised her hands to my face, gently caressing my cheek before pulling me softly towards her. It was then that our lips locked together, for our very first kiss…

(End of chapter 7)


A/N: Well, that's it for Chapter 7! Sorry if the ending seemed a bit 'rushed', but I put the stuff that was originally gonna be here in the next chapter, so that this chapter would end with a cliffhanger. ^^

(*): Although Misty has an Azurill which hasn't evolved yet in the anime, I'm stating that it's a Marill in this fic and its planned sequels, as it has been a few years since Misty was on the anime, and her Azurill would've certainly evolved by the time she's 18.

Note: I'm really struggling to find time to work on this story, now that my school term has started again. I'll try my best to upload a chapter or two each week, though.

Please leave your reviews, and if you would be so kind, also put this story in your Communities/C2s if you like it!