Chapter 9 is here!

Yep, school has kept me pretty occupied, but I just couldn't help but want to write this.

I sort of ran out of good anime to watch, haha. I'm still waiting on some of the 2015 anime to air.

Any suggestions?

So, again, thank you for reading and supporting my story. Especially if you've been cycling school, reading, homework, etc!

Thanks, thanks!


Disclaimer:*

Yo, I don't own Pokemon.


Chapter 9:

'Holy shit.'

Eyes wide, Paul sat there, petrified. Although, Drew noticed that he did not quiver or shake even in the slightest. This guy was pretty tough.

"What is it?" He nudged Paul gently with the blunt end of his stick. The violet haired boy said nothing in response, simply pointing to his nose. What? This was too confusing even for Drew to comprehend.

However it was then when it hit him. Blood.

His nose twitched just a little as a foul, metallic scent filled his nose. It was as if a pile of rotten flesh were sitting right in front of him. Clutching the stick close to his body, Drew made his way forward.

"Stop." Paul warned, slightly coming to his senses. He mentally smacked himself. Times like these were always things that frustrated him the most. Just like when he and Dawn had encountered the girl, he had frozen up for a good minute or so. A minute that could have cost him his life if Dawn hadn't lost it.

"Why..?" Drew stopped after a couple steps, turning around to face him. His breathing was steady and his shoulders were tense, as if he were waiting for something to come. There was even more curiosity eating away at him than before.

"Trust me. I'm protecting what little innocence you might have." Paul's eyes narrowed as he slowly stood up.

"Innocence? Paul, look man, I've had the sex lecture before." Drew was obviously trying to boast as he began to run his hands through his hair. "And I've also ma-"

"That's not what I'm talking about!" He snapped angrily, clenching his fists.

"Well than what is it, Paul?! Huh?" The chartreuse haired boy frowned.

"You know what, go look. It's not my problem if what's there upsets you."

"Of course. Because I, Drew Hayden, need no one to 'watch over' me."

Whipping around, he stormed ahead. His blood was boiling. That guy. He had the nerve to try and tell him what to do? Unacceptable. An audible sigh with clear irritation was made from behind him. Was this really something so disturbing that it startled someone like Paul? No. The dude was probably just screwing around with him.

It was dark. Drew could only make out a few unidentifiable shapes in the shadows. Aside from the scent of blood, it wasn't really that scary. Maybe Paul was afraid of the dark or something?

Oh, how wrong he was.

As his eyes adjusted, Drew nearly screamed. Which was very odd because he usually found screaming extremely girlish and wimpy.

In front of him was a decapitated pig, blood sloppily smeared across the ground as if someone were trying to draw with it. Although, they looked more like scribbles from a kindergartener's notebook. Just above the body, hanging from the tree was a rotting head of a man. Drew shivered as he observed the man's features. The face was almost tattered to bits, like something had viciously came at it.

It's eyeballs were missing leaving empty, gaping holes in the head. His scalp was a whole different thing. Hair from the man's head stuck out, however most of it was violently ripped out of his skull, causing blood to trickle down his already torn up face. It was hung with a fairly thick and worn out looking bloodied rope. There was way too much blood. Too much for Drew to handle. Too many unbearable scents.

Drew could feel violent shaking and cold rushes pulsing through him. Something was definitely coming up, probably the fish from earlier. He'd seen many horror movies in his time back home with his parents, but to experience the real thing? This was way scarier than it looked on a screen.

A burning, scorching hot pain took over the back of his throat. Falling onto his hands in knees, he threw up. His body was trying desperately to get rid of the food from his stomach. Vision blurring, the chartreuse haired boy fell backwards after he finished extracting the vomit from his stomach and mouth and began to grasp at clumps of rusty brown grass.

"Paul... What is this supposed to be?!" Drew inhaled loudly, as if it were to be his last breath. Standing up, he began to back up until he stood back at Paul's side.

"There's something very strange about this place..." Shifting and rustling sounds filled the air as Paul finally stood up. The stony expression was about as terrifying as the sight before him. Although somehow, a sense of reassurance and trust overwhelmed Drew. This guy, who he had thought was about as emotional as a robot or rock, had showed him signs of humanity. Fear. Which was shocking as he did not seem like the type of person to react at all. And the fact that Paul found something like this terrifying meant that in no way would he do something as violent as this, right? Certainly not. Although, this probably wasn't the time to worry.

"We need to go and report this to Red, can you stand?" He grunted casually, as if nothing had happened. Which was one of the things Drew didn't like about him. He hadn't known Paul long, but he definitely could see that he was trying to play tough. However, Drew smiled softly, realizing that the Paul was practically hugging the wood spear. Yes. Definitely human.

"Certainly. It would be quite sad if someone as great as me couldn't." Puffing out his aching chest and wiping his mouth, Drew gave a small hair flick. He rushed ahead, although he had a lot of pride, even Drew did not want to be in the shady, bloodied clearing of the forest anymore. A small huff, just barely audible from behind him was what his ears picked up. Quivering slightly from the shock from earlier, Drew continued onwards back to the edge of the woods. This experience was not one that he would forget easily.

Paul walked steadily behind him, almost as if he was expecting something to jump out and assault them. Deciding to stay quiet and not try to make a joke of it, Drew looked forward, walking in silence. He seriously doubted that Paul would want to talk with him anyway.


"I-I got it!"

Leaf accidentally squealed in delight. She gasped, realizing how loud she was being before nervously glancing around. Deciding that no one had heard her, she turned her head back to a flopping fish with beautiful silver scales. It was still early morning, however the sun was partially up, sunlight glistening on the ocean waters.

Picking up the fish with delicate care, Leaf quickly identified it to be a spotted sea trout. Smiling proudly, she whispered a low thank you to her father. For he had been a bit of a fisherman himself and took it upon himself to teach her a little bit. Small amounts of blood began trickling from her hands, down the rock she sat upon, and into the water below. Fish like these were usually in deep harbors and oyster reefs, however, since it was the early morning, drop offs and slightly shallow areas were simply perfect.

"You're beautiful.." Locking eyes with the dying fish, Leaf gave it a pitied look. "But I'm afraid I must take you because I am hungry... And I can't rely on the others forever. I need to contribute too." She murmured as if she were talking to a young child. With one swift movement, Leaf slid a thin rock with rugged edges across it's head.

"You're quite the fisherman, aren't you."

"Whu-ah!" The brunette jumped in surprise, hair and fish blood flying up as she almost lost her balance and the dead fish. However, Leaf quickly clasped onto a rough yet dull edge of the rock which was sticking out just a little bit. Looking up, she saw Red approaching her, wading in from the sandy shores.

"I didn't expect you to be up so early after you fell asleep so abruptly last night." The man gave a warm laugh. A laugh which warmed Leaf's heart. She twitched a little, getting a sudden urge to run and hug him. His personality was almost exactly like her father's, which was frustrating yet comforting.

"I-Is it that strange?" Leaf herself had no idea why she was stuttering. This man was probably the easiest to talk to of all the other survivors she had met so far. Clutching the fish close to her chest, she inhaled and exhaled before looking back up at Red.

"Not at all. It's just that I would have never expected to find you out fishing first thing in the morning. But then again, I really don't know you kids that well." He laughed, tilting his cap upwards. Was that a little habit of his? She faintly blushed. If Red were her age than she just might be falling head over heels in love with him. But unfortunately, Leaf knew that it would be a little bit weird with the age difference and it would be like dating her father. Shivering at the thought, she opened her mouth to reply.

"I guess so. Have you been feeding us all this time? Ash, Paul, and Drew didn't help fish?" Leaf quietly murmured, admiring her fish's scales once more. She closed one eye and held the fish up to the sunlight to examine it's beauty.

"I trusted them to explore just a little bit. There are some pretty important things we've discovered already, actually." He watched her with a soft smile on his face.

"Really? Like what?" She internally smacked herself. It was then when she took notice of how childish and shy sounded the tone of her voice was. Confident. Be more confident she scolded.

"I don't think it is important for you to know right now. Although, when the time comes, I'll have explanations ready for you and the others." Red leaned forward and reached down to roll up his black pants just a little. Climbing down from the rock where she was perched, Leaf strode past him, fish in hand, heading for the campfire.

"What are you going to do with those fish scales?" He called out, following after her at his own pace. Or at least, that's what she thought he was doing. Turns out he had left a wooden spear on shore. Just how many of those did he make? And how observant can this man get?

"I don't know yet." Leaf quietly replied, just barely audible enough to be heard over the gentle waves of the ocean. A skeptical look flashed across her face as he began to walk towards her. On instinct, she began backing away as he became closer. Even if she knew he wouldn't hurt her, trust was one thing Leaf had almost none of. Especially for men. She closed her eyes, even she did not know what to expect.

After a couple moments of silence, nothing but the wind and the soft repetitive sounds of the sea, Leaf opened her eyes. There, in front of her, was Red with his hand reaching out. It extended and opened up, almost as if the hand itself were asking her to take it. She tilted her head in confusion, looking up at the man who continued his friendly smile.

"Leaf, do you like jewelry?" It really did feel like she was talking with her father. Blinking back a couple tears, Leaf nodded slowly, clutching the fish she held firmly.

"Here." The man reached out a bit farther, making her jump. However, he quickly pulled back. "Am I frightening you? Did I do something wrong?"

"N-No! That's not it!" Her hazel brown hair flicked sparkling droplets of water as she shook her head swiftly to deny it. She realized that her actions may have come across as wild and out of control. Pausing, the only thing she could do is wait for a response and just go with the conversation.

"Well." Red stretched his hand out and paused mid air for a split moment. Realizing that Leaf wasn't going to pull back anymore, he ran his fingers around the fish until his face seemed to almost light up like a child. She stared at him in confusion as he gently pulled off a fairly large scale. It shimmered in the morning light and stood out from all the others. Even though it was bigger than the others, it looked just as fragile.

"I bet this was his prized possession, right?" He winked at her before closing his hand around it. "Let me take this and I'll make something real nice for you."

"Really?" Now she couldn't help but be a bit curious now. Leaf's jade colored eyes seemed to brighten up a little bit more. Again, she mentally scolded herself for acting and looking a bit too childish. Although she couldn't see her reflection or anything, she could see it on his face. The look that says, 'how cute'. But, this time, she didn't mind all that much.

"What will you make?"

"You'll just have to see later." Red hesitated before patting the top of her head softly. Had he noticed Dawn doing it last night? He really was sharp.

"Anyways, shouldn't you get cooking that fish?"

"O-oh!" Leaf almost dropped her catch, scurrying over to the campfire. The four logs laid out around the campfire were still there. However, she felt like something was a little bit different. Looking around, Leaf realized that Red had moved another short log near the fire. It's sides were partially smoothed out and skinned of it's bark. Perfect for cutting things. On top of it was a fairly long rock which looked as if it had been worked at for hours. It reminded her of a fillet knife without much of a handle. Had he made this too?

She set the fish down and smiled softly. They really did have a capable leader. Even if Red hadn't made the knife, he was probably the smartest one of the group. The group... Right, there were two others. That sleaze bag and the ginger. Were they conscious? Were they faking it? No. Why would they fake it?

Turning around, Leaf made her way over to where the giant oak was. A little peek at the two wouldn't hurt, right? Or was it an invasion of privacy to watch someone sleep? She fumbled through her memories to remember what her father had taught her. Inhaling, she walked a bit faster.

Just a peek wouldn't hurt.


So chapter 9 has come to an end, hasn't it?

Was it good? Was it bad?

Haha, so yeah.

This chapter was actually really fun to write and I love writing from Leaf's POV.

I have to remind myself over and over again that the main ships are Contest and Ikari. But I just can't help myself when it comes to developing Leaf's character.

Uuuuh.

So was Paul and Drew's discovery interesting enough?

I wasn't so sure when I reread it, but I guess that's why we have reviews

If Gary had switched places with Red for this scene than it probably would've been cuter. But, he'll have his moments later on, haha.

Thanks again to anyone who has read this fanfiction!

So Yeah!

Please feel free to write a review!

Help make this better c:

Thanks again!

Bear