A/N: Finals wore me out, so I haven't had much time to work on the story. I'm thinking I'll wait until after Christmas to post chapter 10, but I haven't decided anything. Anyway, I hope everyone enjoys this chapter. Thanks to everyone that's been reading the story. Not sure what the numbers are, but thank you.
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon.
First to Victory: Chapter 9
"Jolteon, finish it with Tackle!" Jolteon charged at the orange mouse Pokemon.
"Raichu, get outta the way!" Lt. Surge, the Vermillion City Gym Leader yelled, but Raichu was too dazed from the combination of Flash and Pin Missile to move.
Jolteon's Tackle hit hard, knocking Raichu into a wall, rendering it defeated. The match had only been one on one. Lt. Surge had made the fight that way to save his Pokemon. He used his own gym, which made it easy for trainers to find him, so he did one on one fights to give his Pokemon time to rest between battles. As a result, Jolteon's victory over Raichu gained Marisa the Thunder Badge, which put her badge count up to four.
The battle had been hard. Raichu was a strong Pokemon, but Jolteon was faster and that had given Marisa the advantage. Marisa also had been lucky not to have been caught by Raichu's Static ability. Paralysis would have ended the match for Jolteon if it had happened.
With a new badge in her case, Marisa headed for the Moonshine Café. The café was a small building located outside the main Expo area. Misty had invited her to have lunch with her there following the match with Lt. Surge. Though Marisa had never been there before, Misty had given her really good directions, so that it would be easy to find.
Each day, more and more people arrived at the Expo. Marisa found herself grateful for the increase. She felt safer in the large groups of people, especially since she no longer had Blake shadowing her. Marisa hated to admit it, but she felt safe when Blake was around. He might be a pervert, but she could not deny that his skill with Pokemon was great. However, she had not seen him since his battle with Lance and that had been three days ago. Ash told her that he was leaving the camp early and showing back up late, which explained why she had not seen him there.
Did she miss him? Not exactly, but she could not deny that she wanted to see him. He showed during his battle with Lance that he trained a variety of Pokemon and Marisa wanted to see more. If she was going to stand a chance against him, she needed to know what he had. There might also be a bit of loneliness there. She had spent very little time away from him since starting the journey. They do say that if you take care of a dog for a few days, you'll grow attached. Marisa figured that that was how she saw Blake, though in his case, he was a very perverted dog with some good tricks.
Marisa turned down an empty alley that served as a shortcut to the café. Since there was no one in sight, Marisa chose to run through the alley. She did not have any real reason to do so, but running seemed like a good idea at that time. As it would turn out, the alley was not empty. From the shadows, a man stepped in front of her. Marisa managed to dodge him, but tripped and hit the ground hard. She mumbled a few select words as she slowly rose to her feet.
"I don't remember you being that clumsy."
Marisa froze as a rough, masculine voice echoed through her head. She knew it. She knew it far too well. It was a voice that had once whispered seductive phrases in her ear.
"Any of these trainers look good to you?" Blake asked looking at his Typhlosion. Typhlosion shook its head causing Blake to sigh. "There must be a good trainer around here somewhere."
Blake suddenly caught sight of a familiar black ponytail moving quickly into an alley. It was the very female he had been avoiding for the past few days. Lance had forced him to realize just how he felt toward the female trainer. He had never acted that way with any other females. Normally, he would just walk away and find someone new, but he did not want to do that with Marisa. The truth was that he was embarrassed by his actions. He could not put his feelings into words exactly, but he knew he felt something different than ever before. It was a strange sensation and it made him stay away from her.
Blake looked over at his treasured partner. Typhlosion had been by his side since he started as a trainer. Professor Elm had allowed him to choose one of the three Johto Region starters just like any beginning trainer. For Blake, Cyndaquil had been the obvious choice.
Having studied the starter Pokemon alongside Professor Elm, he felt that Cyndaquil's powerful flame attacks suited how he wanted to train Pokemon. Cyndaquil had also been the first Pokemon he caught. He had not known who was to receive the newest set of starters, but did not hesitate to do as the Professor asked. It had been his first time out in the field to catch instead of study. He had found it unusual that the Professor asked him to catch the starters when there were people that specifically breed Pokemon to be given to starting trainers, but he accepted the task. Since he did not have a Pokemon of his own, he borrowed the Professor's Corsola. Obviously, Corsola had a type advantage against a fire Pokemon like Cyndaquil and the catch should have been easy. However, Cyndaquil refused to give up and made Blake fight for victory. Out of all the starters Blake caught then, Cyndaquil had been the only one to show such strength. As a result, the choice of starter was clear for Blake.
Typhlosion grabbed Blake's arm and pulled on it. "What is it?" Blake looked at his Pokemon. Typhlosion moved its head in the direction of the alley Marisa had gone in. "Is there something going on?" Typhlosion nodded and moved toward the alley. Blake did not really want to go into the alley, but he followed Typhlosion anyway.
Marisa slowly raised her head to look at the man. She found herself staring into his deep brown eyes and remembered a time when those eyes were all she needed. "B… Benett? Marisa hardly heard herself as she whispered the man's name.
The male smirked as he moved closer. "I'm glad you remember me. Makes things easier." Marisa unconsciously stepped back only to find a wall. She was not sure where the wall had come from, or how she had been backed into it, but it forced her to remember her situation. She was not safe.
Quickly, Marisa scanned the man before her. Other than his jacket, he dressed all in black. Black shirt, black pants, and black boots. His jacket was a dark grey and she was sure his Pokeballs were attached to the liner. In terms of body form, he was just as fit as she remembered. He was built enough to hide his fat with muscle, but not overly so. His face had specks of facial hair like what would appear if someone did not shave daily. With his light brown hair slicked back, he looked more dangerous than Marisa recalled.
"Why are you here?" Marisa asked almost timidly. She was not feeling her usual, confident self in his presence. Not really surprising when one considered that she was backed into a wall. It was hard to be confident with nowhere to run if things went bad.
"I came… with Executive Maxwell," Benett replied slowly. "We knew you would be here."
Marisa froze up once more. The two men she wanted to avoid the most were at the Expo and one of them was standing right in front of her.
Benett moved closer and leaned in. "Marisa, you could end this foolishness right now. Give your skills back to Team Rocket and become my wife. Your punishment will be much less if you do what was originally planned."
Marisa locked eyes with him. The very thought of doing as he suggested irritated her. "I would rather die than be with a man like you or return to that place."
Benett moved in so that he was only about an inch away. "You used to enjoy the attention I gave you. Perhaps I should help you remember." Before Marisa could stop him, he grabbed her arms roughly and forced them above her head keeping her from grabbing any of her Pokeballs. Marisa tried to pull her arms away, but he held them far too tight for her to do so.
"You think that if you force me, I'll submit to you?" Marisa frowned as she watched him. "Aren't your orders to capture me? This doesn't look like the kind of capturing you would have been ordered to do, or have rules changed?" The female trainer followed up her remark by stomping on Benett's foot. Benett reacted, but not enough to loosen his grip on her arms. Physically, he was much stronger than she was and he had taken away her only defense by pulling her hands away from her Pokeballs.
"Heh heh, even if you manage to get away, sooner or later, you'll run into Executive Maxwell," Benett said leaning close to her ear. "He's acting as a Gym Leader here… you'll have to face him for one of your badges."
Marisa swallowed hard. There was a rumor that Team Rocket owned a gym or at least influenced the workings of one. If there was an Executive taking the Gym Leader's place, then that would mean that the rumors were actually true. Battling a substitute Gym Leader would be her safest option, but she knew she could not beat Executive Maxwell easily and she would put her Pokemon at risk if she tried. Things were starting to look very messy.
Suddenly, Marisa felt something cold around her wrists. The metal feeling was not something she frequently encountered, but she did not have to look either to know what had just happened. Benett had put handcuffs on her while she was distracted. The female trainer frowned and kicked Benett in the shin. The male growled, but refused to release her. "I guess that means you aren't coming peacefully. Perhaps you'll be more loyal once I remind you of a few things."
Marisa hated the situation. She could not believe that she was unable get away from him. Here he was about to remind her that she did once have feelings for him and she could do nothing to stop him. He had her cornered. His face kept coming closer to her. She could feel his breath on her face. Marisa moved her head away, but he swiftly removed one hand from the metal clasping her hands together and forced her head straight. The female trainer closed her eyes tightly. To her surprise, Blake's face flashed through her mind.
"That is not how you treat a lady." The voice came loud and clear, just like the feeling of Benett suddenly being torn from her. A much more comforting presence took his place. Slowly, Marisa opened her eyes and started at the man she had just thought about. A blush showed clearly on her face.
"You are not involved with this. I suggest you leave," Benett said harshly as he got up off the ground. Marisa did not know how he ended up there, but she suspected that Blake's growling Typhlosion had something to do with it.
Blake smiled and pulled Marisa into his arms. "That is where you are wrong. This woman was coming to meet me, so it is my business."
Marisa knew he was lying and he knew he was lying, but Benett would have no idea what the truth was. She had been heading to see Misty, not Blake, but at that moment, she did not really care. He was protecting her, holding her, and it was causing her heartbeat to rapidly increase.
"Meet you?" Benett moved his eyes between Marisa and Blake. "Well, isn't that nice, but I won't let you take her." Benett threw out a pair of Pokeballs. "Nidorino! Muk! Teach this guy a lesson!" Both Pokemon were purple in color, but Nidorino had horns and claws, while Muk was a large pile of sludge.
Blake released Marisa and stood in front of her. "Two on one? This will be easy. Typhlosion, Flame Wheel!" Blake sounded very confident and even a bit bored as he issued the attack.
"Nidorino, Poison Sting! Muk, Sludge!" Poison needles and balls of sludge shot toward Typhlosion. The fire Pokemon's body was surrounded by flames as it ran toward the other Pokemon. The attacks from the others did nothing to Typhlosion as a result of the flaming shield the attack created. Typhlosion charged at the other two and slammed into them doing massive damage and knocking both Pokemon into their trainer.
Benett growled and threw off the Pokemon. "Nidorino! Muk! Return!" Benett was clearly angry at the loss. "Fine, you win this time, but we are not through!" Benett got off the ground for the second time and stomped away.
"Challenge me whenever you want!" Blake called as he waved Benett good bye. Marisa stared at Blake's back and wondered if she was dreaming. It really had felt like a dream. She had let Benett get the best of her, found out that Executive Maxwell was nearby, and was even saved by Blake. To make things even more complicated, she had been extremely happy that Blake had shown up. At that moment, she wanted to toss everything aside and climb into Blake's arms. Of course, that was not something she was willing to openly admit and she figured it was probably from the shock of all that had happened and not some feelings for the male before her.
"Was I wrong to assume you needed rescuing?" Blake asked in a serious tone. He refused to even look at the female he had helped. Marisa unconsciously grabbed the back of Blake's shirt softly. More than anything, she wanted to make sure he was really there and that she had not suffered some kind of head injury and was not hallucinating.
Blake's heart began to pound wildly in his chest as he felt Marisa touch him. This was the first time she had done anything other than hit him. The action gave him some hope that maybe he had a chance with her, yet a similar thought to Marisa's passed through his head. What if all of this was just an effect of the situation and not real? The very thought disheartened Blake, but since he was with her, he did not want to waste an opportunity to make his image better. Besides, he had already broken his resolve to stay away from her, so he might as well make the most of things.
"Thank you," Marisa whispered. Her grip on his back remained.
"Thank Typhlosion," Blake replied almost sadly. He wished he could take all the credit, but he would not have showed up if Typhlosion had not decided to walk away from him. "He's the one that came after you."
Marisa released Blake and looked over at the fire Pokemon. Typhlosion was staring blankly at her and Blake. "Thank you, Typhlosion," she told him with a smile. The Volcano Pokemon walked over and stared at the handcuffs still around Marisa's wrists.
Blake looked over at his Pokemon and then followed its eyes. He could honestly say that he was surprised to see the handcuffs. He had not noticed them before. Suddenly, he wished that he had not let the man go. Blake could not imagine Marisa voluntarily getting handcuffed, so that left one option in his mind.
"Typhlosion, carefully Slash through those handcuffs," Blake ordered. Typhlosion wasted no time in following the order and Marisa was freed.
The female rubbed her wrists. They were bruised, but they looked more like those from a hand then from the handcuffs. "Are you going to ask?"
Blake turned to her. Marisa kept her head down. "That man was with Team Rocket, correct?" he asked placing a hand on Marisa's shoulder.
Marisa said nothing indicating that Blake was right. He had suspected as much, but just knowing that did not explain everything. The male trainer used his other hand to raise her head, so that he could look at her. He thought she would be crying, but Marisa was stronger than he thought. He saw disappointment in her eyes. She was upset with herself, yet that disappointment seemed to go away as he looked at her. He could not identify the new emotion, but since it was not fear, he was not upset by it.
"You don't have to say anything." Blake took hold of her hand and gently rubbed her bruise with his thumb. "Come with me."
Marisa did not hesitate to go with Blake. She had not expected him to be so gentle with her. His actions were making her rethink her opinion of him.
With a sudden ring of a Pokegear, the mood was broken. This ring also forced Marisa to remember that she was supposed to meet Misty. The female trainer fumbled to get her Pokegear out. Blake watched in amusement. He was not used to seeing her so lacking in composer. Without warning, he grabbed the Pokegear from her. Glancing at the name, he answered in her place.
"Hey, Misty, Marisa is a bit preoccupied at the moment," Blake told her. Marisa glared at him, but it had very little power.
Neither trainer could tell what Misty thought, but she sounded amused. "Well, tell her we'll do lunch another day."
Misty was gone before Blake could respond. He handed the Pokegear back to Marisa. "You must be feeling better. You're starting to look more like your usual self."
Without waiting for a response, Blake wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her close to him. He half expected her to hit him, but instead she stared at him. In fact, he could almost swear that he saw desire in her eyes. His heart sped up at the thought that she might want him. "Have lunch with me," he whispered thinking about the phone call.
Marisa stared at Blake. He had cancelled her meeting with Misty, so she no longer had plans for lunch. He had also saved her, so she did own him and lunch seemed like a small price to pay. However, more than both of those, she did not want to be separated from him just yet. At this moment, she was comfortable with him. Her heart was beating fast and she was almost sure that her face was red, but she did not care. She had no idea if Benett was still nearby and for safety reasons, staying with Blake would be a good thing. At the same time, she knew that he deserved to know what he had walked in on.
Blake had never denied that he was interested in her. His reason for asking her to lunch was probably selfish, but for this one time, she was willing to deal with it. "You're paying," she replied after moments of silence.
Blake smiled at her before releasing her. "Come on, let's get going." He held out his hand to her. Hesitantly, Marisa accepted it and the pair went to find a place to eat.
Next Chapter: Marisa vs. Blake
A/N: Please Review.
