Honor
It had started with him "waking up" from his unconscious state. Though part of him seemed well aware that it was all a twisted dream, he couldn't keep himself from getting much more involved in it than he should have; everything from rubbing his eyes in hope to shake off the sleepy feeling to taking in the world around him as if at any moment something might leap out of the shadows and attack him. But nothing was, not that he could think of. It would be awfully hard to find any shadows in the empty infirmary. Several empty, white sheet beds were to his left, everyone had to be as uncomfortable as the one he was laying in. The sheets were stiff and cold, he guessed he hadn't been in them for long, and the pillow made a crinkling sound when he turned his head. There was a white wall to his right, and grey stone beneath him. Medical equipment was all around as well, not hooked to him, but scattered more like a hospital than a school nurse's office.
Something lightly brushed the back of his hand, and he bolted upright, surprised to see Pikachu curled at his feet and Misty near his hips. Her legs were pulled up on the bed, leaning on one hand, causing her to lean over the newly awakened boy. His face was only a few inches away from hers, and he immediately recoiled, falling onto the sheets. Pikachu scampering through the cave Misty's arm made and poking her cold nose into his cheek calmed him down a bit, letting the dream world stabilize.
She smirked at him, leaning over his face, but still staying a good distance away. "You dork. Do you know how long I've been waiting for you to wake up?"
He stared up at her, shifting uncomfortably under his sheets. "I'm sorry I fainted. I got stressed. It was a long night and…this friend of mine stopped by. Her friend, her boyfriend went missing. He's probably just wandering around in another town. She told me she was pregnant. It was a joke but, she led me to believe it for a moment and it really freaked me out. If she was pregnant it wouldn't be safe and, you know. Pregnancy is really stressful. And, I mean, other stuff was going down that really scared me. Then this gelato girl, well, it was before the pregnancy thing but she was hitting with me and I don't deal with that well. I just wanted to run but I really wanted gelato."
The girl smiled, a real, wide smile that he'd never seen her give before, lifting her hand to press it down on his black shirt covered shirt. She leaned in close, close enough for her breath to mingle with his. "You're kidding me? All this time I've been yelling at you and screaming at you and threatening to kill you, and all I had to do was pucker my lips? I feel stupid. So what's the arrangement? A kiss keeps you away for a week or a day or something? Because if I have to kiss you once a week to shut you up I'm completely willing to hold my part of the bargain. But…that could be for completely different reasons than what I'm suggesting." She lowered her chin and narrowed her eyes in a sexy manner. "Maybe I've got a crush on you."
"Very funny! That stuff really does freak me out!" He sat up again, attempting to throw her off, but only succeeded in bring her smug, taunting lips closer. The breath seemed to rush out of his chest, and the next few words were hard to push out. "You're not the gelato girl, so get off. I'm not going to stop talking to you because you pretend to hit on me. You're not cute enough to be sexy." He chuckled at that, feeling confident that this would throw her off. At the very least, he expected a blow to his head before she stormed off.
He was startled to feel her press on his chest, laying him out flat and pressing heavily against him. Pikachu scampered to the side leaving Misty room to drape the entire upper half of her torso along his. Their foreheads touched, almost casually as she let her fingers trail downward, under his shirt and smooth the taught muscles she found. His breath was coming in heavier and heavier gasps that he tried to hide, wishing he knew how to stop his blush.
"I know you like me, Ash," She whispered, lips dangerously close but never touching. "I could tell by the way you looked at me last night right before you passed out. You were afraid I'd notice. I'm almost sorry that I did. Sorry for you, but you know it's all your fault. If you were better at hiding your emotions you might not be in this mess. Or maybe if you weren't just so scared of liking someone. Maybe that's why you and your old girlfriend broke up. You were afraid of the romance and she didn't know how to bring out the heat. Such a pity. And it's strange, since you're so open and all, that I can't even tell if you're lusting after me or if you're afraid I'm going to rape you."
"Misty, can't you just drop the topic?" He gulped nervously. "I don't like this at all and your hands on my, uh, stomach is really distracting. Besides, someone could walk in at any moment and catch us. That'll be embarrassing, right? You'll end up ruining your reputation instead of saving mine."
She drummed her fingers against his stomach; smile turning wicked when he shivered under her. "You're cute, Ash. I don't know if you know that you are, but I promise you that you're very cute. I can't imagine why you wouldn't have a girlfriend. Maybe you're not a good kisser. I don't suppose you would mind me testing it, seeing if you were…as stupid at this as you are when it comes to common sense? I'm just a curious creature and I really want to know why anyone could give you up. From what I could tell you're sweet, understanding…" Her fingers brushed against his chest again, roaming up and down. "From what I'm feeling you've got a nice body too, so that couldn't be it."
He laughed lightly. "Funny, Misty, but I think the time for jokes passed when you did…you know what to Butch."
"Who said I was joking?" She smirked. "I'm anything but. Argue now, Ash Ketchum, tell me that you don't want a kiss and you'll be off on your merry way, look me in the eye and tell me that you don't want to kiss me, that I'm just a friend, that you don't find me the least bit sexy. I bet you can't." She shuffled closer to him, closer than he thought any person ever could and tilted her head sideways. "Just kiss me, Ashton."
"It's Ash," he blurted, right before leaning up and-
-finding himself in that very same infirmary, only much more realistic. Misty was not over him, or on the foot of his bed, but sitting in a chair nearby with virtual reality glasses on and Pikachu on her lap. Noticing him wake, the mouse moved its ears forward and scrambled to his bed. She nuzzled his cheek, showering him with licking pika-kisses and clutching to him with little claws. He absently reached a hand up to pet her, head on pillow and back on bed, wondering what to say.
"You fainted because of the shock. Nearly scared the shit out of me. I thought you had a heart attack or something," she said, not bothering to remove the virtual glasses. "These betas suck. You don't really get into the game. It's the Orre region or something. This crazy girl keeps following me around. I'm trying to find a glitch to get her off my trail and…there we go. She can't follow me if I jump off the stairs. I'll pick her up later if I need her. I probably won't. She seems pretty pointless." She took off her glasses and tucked them in the front of her uniform. "Any question about your fainting spell?"
"Boys don't faint," he muttered, staring up at the ceiling. "They get knocked unconscious or something, but that don't faint. Girls faint."
"You fainted," she retorted. "It's a symptom of shock. You fainted. Nobody swung a bat at your head or stoned you. Your little blue haired friend, Dawn, I think it was, she told you that you were pregnant, some ice cream girl hit on you and I told you my dirty little secret. I don't know what you're so embarrassed about. It'd be perfectly normal to faint under the circumstances. I might have if I hadn't gone into a sort of survival mode. I bet it's the years of Rocket training. If you promise not to try and move or take out the IV in your arm, I'll tell you what's been going down these past couple of days. Your speech is still a little muddled by the drugs, so lift your hand up in the air if you agree to the conditions."
He did so, raising one hand only to have it plop back down on the bed when he realized there was an inconveniently placed needle. She sighed and scooted her chair up next to his bed, running her hands on her thighs once, twice, and one more time before leaning close and beginning to whisper the tale.
"I brought you down here a few hours after you fainted. You weigh more than a snorlax, by the way."
"It's all muscle," she shot back, noticing the speech was a little garbled by whatever drugs were wearing off.
"Shush," she scolded. "Don't talk. I can barely understand you with that country boy accent of yours let alone with drugs. Anyway, I led you down here because I was worried that if might not have been shock, that you might have a heart problem. I don't know your medical records. Thankfully, they confirmed that it was just the shock. Unfortunately, you kept waking up and thinking you were in a war or something, having a freak out every time you woke up. I wasn't here and you thought they had arrested me for murder. To be accurate, you said manslaughter, which is incorrect because it wasn't an accident. If it's an accident, it's manslaughter. If it's on purpose, it's murder."
(If you can't finish the story without getting off on these tangents, I'll finish it for you,) Pikachu suggested jokingly. She nuzzled deeper into Ash's palm which was rubbing her head. She was too excited at his sudden waking to be mad, and skipped the usual bitter snap to her sarcasm.
"Alright, picky," she snapped. "They kept you out for three days. The first was at my recommendation. I thought you needed a good night's rest from the stress. I noticed you hadn't been sleeping a lot lately, except for when you got sick, but even that was fretful. The second and third days were…" Misty breathed in and out, fiddling with the glasses in her shirt. "And this is painful to say, so don't you dare ho0ld this over my head. I'll shoot you if you do, but…I wasn't here. I had a work day because…because some people around the school were saying that you fainted because you couldn't handle the stress. I got in an argument with…" She gulped and put her head in her hands. "Damn, I fought with Jessie over it. I punched her right in the jaw. James wasn't around and she didn't have her pokémon on her. It was an easy fight, but James came in right at the end and told the teacher on me."
He smirked. "Fighting for my honor."
"I was not," she argued hotly. Her head suddenly turned up, and her hand shot out to pinch his bicep to make him cry out. "I was not fighting for your honor, you dork. I was…I don't know what I was doing! I was fighting for factual accuracy, to keep your reputation up since you refused to boost it yourself the other night. And don't talk; I can still barely understand you. It's too much work to figure out what you say."
(There's more to the story,) Pikachu accused, sitting comfortably on Ash's chest. (He deserves to know the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.)
"Clever rat. Maybe I don't want to tell him the rest of the story because I know what he'll do and I think it's in his best interest that he doesn't. He just woke up. For all we know any more stress could send him into a second overload and he could faint on us. I don't want to take the risk. If you were a good pokémon who cared for your master, you would be kind enough to keep your trap shut and stop Ash from putting himself in more trouble than he's already in.""
"What's going on?"
"I think you said what's going on. Not that I can tell with the drugs. If that is what you asked, the answer would be that Pikachu ran off with a Meowth to the basement. She only spent a few minutes with me," Misty dismissed him quickly. "Shame, shame, Jazzy. What's that short for anyway, Jasper?"
(Tell him or I will. You don't want your lover to hate you, do you? Oh, no. I don't think you do. You two are friends now.) Pikachu seemed to smirk at Misty, her tail swishing back and forth through the air above Ash's chest. He was happy that she managed to keep it from hitting him in the face, since he had been ordered not to move on penalty of not knowing what had been going on. (So hurry up and tell him! He'll be fine. The boy knows how to take care of himself.)
Misty glared at the opposite wall. "Alright. Ash, Paul has challenged you to a match later today. I tried to battle him for you, but he wouldn't let me. There was something about your pride and ability as a Rocket agent and a trainer on the line. Boys and their big heads are so annoying. I know you're going to rush into battle, but you shouldn't. You've just recovered from sickness. You're terribly stressed. You're going to be in a lot of trouble if you don't at least try to take care of yourself. If you have the slightest bit of intelligence in you, and I'm sure you've got to if you made it this far without killing yourself, you'll take another shot of that sleeping elixir and just wait to battle over something like this."
"You wouldn't," he said. "You wouldn't, if it was your honor on the line. You would fight him the second you heard. So would all of my friends. Honor is more important than health."
"It may be for you, but it shouldn't be."
"Of course it should!" He declared, sitting up slowly. "What's the point of living if you're just going to be boring and stupid and a nothing? What's the point if you don't, what's the word, contribute to the human race? Part of who I am if being a big headed boy. I like my pride. It makes me feel good. I don't have a girlfriend so I need something to make me feel better. So, we've got two options: you can kiss me right now and I'll forget about the battle or I can fight and keep my big headed ego. Do we have a deal?"
She got to her feet quickly, beginning to stride away. "Kill yourself, how about that, you ass?"
He grabbed her wrist, pulling her back. "I was joking. I'm not serious. But I am serious when I say I'm going to fight, and I'm going to win. I don't care about boosting my reputation but I don't want people lying about me." Ash moved over and gave a small tug, urging her to sit next to him on the bed, which she did (though she still refused to make eye contact). "Unlike you, I don't like being underestimated. I have to fight for this, just like you fought Butch for Team Rocket. It's your moral code, Misty. It's a huge part of who you are. And it's not like we're playing Russian Roulette. We aren't making this a matter of life or death. It's a pokémon battle."
"But it could be," she mumbled. "With you the way you are. You haven't been healthy lately. Things are getting weird and…and I don't need you getting dragged off and asked about what happened with Butch. You're the only one who knows about it. Besides, your mom sounds like a real crazy person and I don't need her coming in and killing me because you're dead."
"Oh, Misty, you do care," he teased.
She flushed in return. "Stop that. I do not. Go and fight in the battle for all I care. Get yourself killed. It's not like anyone will mind your absence. In fact, most people will enjoy you being gone you self centered, big headed, inconsiderate…" She cocked her head to the side. "Why the hell are you rubbing my hand with your thumb? It's not a game controller. Unless I'm dying and for some weird reason that's the only way you're keeping me alive, you better quit."
He scrunched his eyebrows together. "What were you doing that your hands are so cold?"
She tugged it away, rubbing them together to try and warm them up. "It was my punishment. I just got off. We were putting meat and food in the freezer. It's negative something degrees in there and I'm still shaking. It was better than yesterday's. I had to scrub the floor of Jessie's room with a toothbrush. I stole some of your pills to keep me calm enough for that job. You don't mind me taking them, do you? There's still plenty left and you can get refills whenever you like."
"I don't mind. Take all the pills you want." He shrugged and arched his back, cracking it with a happy moan. "They didn't take care of my body at all, some hospital this is. The beds suck, the pillow's uncomfortable. Whoever made this should be ashamed. Just like whoever thought up those punishments. That's cruel and unusual. Did she watch?"
"The whole time. That's why I needed the pills," she muttered. "Your best friend thought up the punishments."
"Brock?" He joked.
"Earl."
"Ouch." He winced in sympathy. "Alright, here's what we'll do. We'll get me to the room. I'll change. I can try and stretch a bit. Then I'm going to get that book about Satoshi and I'm going to read until it's my challenge time. Then I'm going to kick Paul's ass. I think that's a great plan. But first you have to grab my hands and help me up. I haven't stood up in three days and I'm still kind of sleepy. What'd they knock me out with? Pokemeds?"
"Nah, it's nothing heavy. It's just long lasting." The girl stood and turned to him, holding out her hands and hoisting him up. She was only a little surprise when his momentum tossed him forward and his heavy weight into her. It did surprise her that the only thing he could do was grab her shoulders and tell her how sorry he was that he couldn't stand up on his own. "Are you sure you don't want to stay here a little longer? You can't even stand up."
"Can too," he argued. "I just need your help. My legs aren't working right. And you smell like bacon. Why do you smell like bacon? I thought everyone got those damn foodcubes. If other people get bacon for breakfast I should get bacon." His bacon rambling continued on while they twisted and turned so he could lean on her shoulder and they could limp their way back to the room, which wasn't an easy task.
"There's no bacon for you, dammit," she snapped, beginning to walk with him down the hall. "It's for the pokémon. The rich people's pokémon that visit sometimes. They have parties every so often. They invite all the big shots; sometimes they even invite rival teams. Though rival teams don't show up too often anymore, not after what happened to Team Psychic. Apparently they couldn't see the future very well. All the major team officials had showed up for a ball. Their food was poisoned and anyone with an immunity to it, it wasn't a very strong poison, I guess, but they were all slaughtered before they were out the door of the cafeteria. The Rocket Supremes had knives that they chucked. Most of them hit right in the heart."
"Like those shuriken Japanese things?" He asked.
"No, like blades. Like normal knives you use to cut steak with. They picked them up and threw them. It's something you can do if you get the hang of it. They weren't perfectly balanced, so they might land at a weird angle, but they all hit their targets. I think I was…ten? Yup, probably about ten at the time. I was hidden by the girl who brought me into the Rockets. She was the only Rocket casualty that night. One of the psychics had managed to draw out a pokeball." Misty looked at the floor. "They were aiming for me."
"Why would they aim for you? You were just a kid."
"That's why they aimed for me. I was the youngest. They figured they'd be able to capture a kid for ransom. Like Team Rocket would care." She rolled her eyes. "Giovanni said it was her own fault. She dragged me everywhere, like I was her puppy. If she hadn't been so attached to me, he said, we would have had a clean night. Instead she got sentimental, so one of us had to go. He said that she had done the honorable thing in dying instead of me, since I might be worth something one day but she was going over the hill. I don't think she was going over the hill. But I guess she died for nothing, because I didn't turn out that good of an agent. All she had is her honor."
Misty glared at him. "And what good is your honor if you're dead? Giovanni asked me that too, and I didn't know how to answer. Then he walked away." Her gaze softened on Ash. "You look a lot like him, you know. You're different though. Your face is more…it's gentler, rounder. He's dangerous and rough and you're cute. Sort of fluffy. You're like a marshmallow. It sounds insulting, but people do like marshmallows. I've never had one, but some of the kids around here see a fire and start muttering about them. What do fires have to do with marshmallows?"
"Ya roast 'em," Ash explained. "Add chocolate and graham crackers and you've got yourself a s'more. You don't think I'm tough?"
"What a question," she snorted. "I'm sure you're plenty tough, macho boy. Don't go getting your masculinity insulted. I'm just…I've had a lot of time to think since I've been scrubbing floors with toothbrushes and punching Jessie in her weak, bony jaw-"
"All in the name of honor," He pointed out cheerfully.
"Yeah, yeah, in the name of honor, but here's the thing. You, dear Ash, aren't anything like Giovanni. You're not ruthless or strong, in that rugged sense, or anything that would make you a good team leader. You're weak in that sense. It's nice to see someone human but I can't help wonder what you're doing here. Your mother didn't want you to come. You don't seem like the type of boy who would be interested in fighting." They stopped at the door and she patted herself down. "Shit, I forgot the key. That means the room's been unlocked. I hope no one got in. Shit. If you'd lean against the wall I can open the door."
She supported him as he shifted his weight to the door, then went and swung it open, cursing again. Nothing was too bad, but both hers and Ash's clothes had been flung on the ground. She called out to him what had happened, then began to clean up. Her things were tucked away in a drawer and his were neatly packed (as they had been all these months) back into the suitcase he had when he first arrived. When that was finished she brought him in and set him on the lower bunk.
"Can I have the book?" He asked sweetly, giving her his best smile. "See, I left the book somewhere in the room but I can't remember where it is and I feel guilty, especially after you've cleaned up the whole room and hauled me up and down to the hospital."
She sat on his bed and glared at his face. "First, you tell me why you're in Team Rocket."
"Your beautiful teal orbs sparkle like the ocean at sunset," Ash said poetically, grabbing one of her hands in two of his. He was about to raise it to his lips and kiss it when she snatched it away and slapped him across the back of his head.
"Moron. I bet you can't handle being bored, can you? I'll annoy you and keep that book away until you tell me what's going on." She smirked and propped her chin on her fist. "You said yourself I'm fast. You won't be able to beat me in a game of keep away so…are you going to give me the answer or am I going to have to lock you up and watch you lose your honor when you don't show up for that match with Paul?"
"Well, I thought it might toughen me up a bit," Ash shrugged. "My whole family's been fighters, so I guess that was part of it. I just wanted to be something. My dad was something, my uncles, my cousins, my grandfather was too. Everyone was something in my family besides me. I don't think it's too much to ask. I think I should get to ask a question in return, hmm? Even out the score? I think that's fair."
"Shoot."
"Do you really think that girl who cared for you, the one who brought you into Team Rocket deserved to die for protecting you?"
She sighed and walked to the desk, picking up the book and tossing it into his lap. "Here's your book. You've got about halfway through. I'm pretty proud. Have you got to the part where Satoshi dresses up like a girl to get into the gym?"
Ash chuckled. "Yeah. I can't believe he would do that for a badge. I might, I guess, if I wanted to become a master. But he trusted the criminals to dress him up and get him in safely! That was a stupid mood. I wouldn't have done that."
"I think you would have," She said, tapping the book cover. "There's a striking resemblance between you and Satoshi. Now, I don't know what the guy looked like, because the sites that give you pictures of fictional authors have been blocked, but your personalities are practically identical. You're more alike than you and Giovanni are. You two just look alike physically. You know…You have to promise not to tell anybody, but I don't really like Giovanni. I love Team Rocket, don't get me wrong! I think it's wonderful! That hasn't changed, and he's a great leader, and I fear and respect him, but he's ruthless. It might not be better to be feared than loved, because one day you're going to find someone who won't fear you, someone brave and strong, and they'll take you down. There will always be people who don't like you, but it's the people who don't fear you that do you in. That's always the way it works."
He put the book aside and leaned close. "Well, Misty, are you afraid of Giovanni?"
She ducked her head. "Well, I guess I should be but…whenever I see him doing something against Team Rocket code…like Butch did. When he keeps the same six ground type pokémon and demands that ours all have to be different. When he sleeps with women and makes sure all the illegitimate kids are killed when they're only six or seven." Her eyes met his, a vicious light inside them. "I can't be scared. I'm too angry."
He grinned, meeting her bright eyes with ones just as vibrant. "Want to know a secret?"
She nodded, heart rate rising in her chest.
Ash's voice dropped to a whisper, and with words crazy enough to make her shiver he confessed, "I'm not scared either. I'm just mad enough to do him in."
"That's Rebellion talk," she murmured. "You could get in big trouble for that. Destroying Giovanni could crumple Team Rocket. There's no one to take his place. He never had any children and everyone here has been on the pill to long to do anything but take orders. It would be wonderful to get a better leader, someone who would carry out the original Rocket dream and make everything alright again."
Silence fell between the two, until Misty picked up the book and flopped it open to the page he had folded. "Chapter 64: Mr. Mime Time. I love the books, but there really is something lacking in these titles. They're all so punny. And if you say puns are funny, I may have to chuck this book at your head." She eyed him carefully, as if to make sure he wasn't about to make a pun or say something equally stupid. "Anyway, Satoshi began to dial his phone number on the vidphone, hoping his mother would be excited to see him again after such a long visit apart…"
There was something about walking down the corridors with her that were seeming more and more like home. There was something about their swinging arms, close enough to touch if either one dared, and their footsteps falling into place, into time with one another's that seemed to calm him. Maybe because he felt safe in a group, maybe because he finally felt that he knew her about as well as he knew Brock or Gary or anyone down in the Rebellion. There was something about her that seemed like he was home again.
"There's nothing I can say to talk you out of it," she murmured. "Not a thing. I've been thinking and trying and wondering but…you're a stubborn boy. I could try but, well, after a certain point there's nothing I can do. Not a damned thing. If you weren't so fucking stubborn I'd…damn it Ash!" She stepped in front of him and walked backwards, and though her steps fell heavier, she didn't fall out of their rhythm. "I'll drag you to the room kicking and screaming."
He smiled and shook his head with a chuckle. "You don't know what I'm capable of. I'm a really good battler, Misty. If nothing else, that is what I'm good at. That's how I got such a high Battle IQ. Alright," he amended, "Maybe that's a lie. A big lie. I studied for that. But I've been battling since I was ten. I've got the heart of a warrior inside me! Pikachu, you'll battle your butt off for me, won't you? He's insulted our honor! It's time to fight!"
(Yes, yes. I'm for honor as much as the next guy. We'll fight.) Pikachu dropped her voice to a whisper into Ash's ear, making it look like she was nuzzling him to any outside viewer. (But you know the second you win or lose we're splitting. You better make the decision about Misty quick. You know you won't have any time to think during the battle. And you better not let your emotions cloud your judgment. The only reason I'm considering her is because she spent so much damn time with you she's a huge risk. Plus, she seems like a good agent they aren't using. See the logic? See how the words 'pretty' or 'cute' or 'charming' aren't used?)
"Yeah, I know," he chuckled, swinging her into his arms and scratching her behind the ears. His eyes flicked up to Misty. "For someone who doesn't consider me a friend, except to get her out of hell, you're pretty concerned."
She had to turn her head to hide the faint blush crawling on her cheeks. "I hope you're not assuming I care. It's all about the guilt. Team Rocket loyalty! You get the Team Rocket loyalty, you're a member! I mean, well, if you screw up your reputation is completely ruined! Accepting his challenged completely ruins you! Completely! It's insane! You can't do it, Ash! I guess you can, I've never seen you battle but it's better if you don't. It's better if you stay home. It's so much better, dammit, Ash, please."
"Maybe if you say you care about what I do," he suggested, slipping past her and yanking her ponytail as he went, "I'll be kind enough to let it go."
She followed him quickly, and he heard her dragging her feet. He head was hung low and she was nibbling on her lower lip, trying not to moan at the thought of what she was about to do. "Well, I…I guess I might care. A little. About what you do if you're going to kill yourself and your reputation. I'm not all buddy buddy with you. I don't care about everything you do. I could mostly care less. I care for you like I care for any kind of Rocket agent. Nothing more, nothing less."
Ash wrinkled his nose. "Can you say it without all the denial?"
She groaned allowed and fell into step with him. "Alright, alright. You're a real pain in the ass but…I'd have to consider you, by definition, a friend."
"Sweet!" He beamed. "I told Pikachu I could get you to say it. So, do you think a lot of people are going to be watching the match or do you think it's going to be a private thing? I think it's going to be all the people who hate me. They'll be watching and hating and it's just going to be really shitty if I lose. I won't lose though. I've got my original team with me. No replacements. Nothing's really evolved but they're pretty strong."
Misty's nails grabbed his shoulders and dug in with a vengeance, seeming absolutely terrified as she leaned close to whisper, "You're fucking with me."
"About what?"
She grabbed his shoulders tighter, making him wiggle at the pain though his shirt. "You are not fighting Paul with a team of…of baby pokémon! It's not even bad enough that you haven't evolved Pikachu in to a Raichu but you're…you're fighting with unevolved baby forms! Babyface was the perfect nickname for you and…shit!" She dropped his shoulder and slapped her forehead. "What is wrong with you? Why wouldn't you evolve your pokémon?"
"They don't want to," Ash shrugged, rubbing a special spot on the mouse's cheek to get her limber. "Pikachu doesn't want to evolve, because Pikachu just wants to be who he is. He doesn't want to become someone else. Why sacrifice your personality for power? Then, we've got bulbasaur, and I don't know why she doesn't want to evolve. I guess she just doesn't feel like it. Pigeot, now he had no problem evolving. Neither did Charizard, but he likes to fry me so I hope it's not six on six because I really don't want to use him. Squirtle doesn't want to evolve because he's anti-weapon. He doesn't like the cannons. It's weird. And…oh shit." His eyes went wide. "Snorlax."
"What about Snorlax?" She asked through gritted teeth.
He rubbed the back of his neck self consciously, grinning like an idiot. "I might have accidently forgotten him at my home. I've only got five. Maybe it is a bad idea to fight in this match. It's a sign from the gods."
She closed her eyes, hanging her head and slowly reaching inside her pocket. Her hand slowly came out, shaking a bit. "She's my first, you hear me? My very first. If you…if you mess this up and you hurt her you're dead, Ketchum. I trust you enough that I…Ash, if you don't think you can win this match, don't take this pokémon. But if logically, reasonably, honor in mind, can you honestly tell me that you believe you'll win this battle and you're not sending in my pokémon to be killed?"
"I won't take her if you don't want to."
"Just tell me," she urged, turning her blue-green swirled eyes on him. "Just tell me the truth. No lies."
"I think I can win," Ash consoled her. "I think I could win with only five. And if you do give me…?"
"Starmie."
"Starmie," he nodded, running through the pokémon attacks in his mind. "Good pokémon, and if you do give her to me, I promise I will do everything I can to keep her out of battle. If it's up to me, she'll stay in the last notch of my pokebelt and won't even see the field. I'll hide her. If I do have to use her, and at any point I think it's getting out of hand or I can't win, I'll pull out and I'll walk away. She's not mine, and I won't let her faint in battle. That shouldn't be my choice. But Misty, you have to promise me you won't say anything. Don't show any kind of emotion when I'm battling. You've never seen what I do before and you're going to think I'm going to lose. With every pokémon I send out. But I usually win."
Misty nodded slowly, breathing in and out, and if he didn't know her better he might have asked if the glisten in her eyes was restrained tears. "Ash, just take care of her. She the closest thing I've got to a mother and I know it's sentimental and stupid but please, just remember that you've got one of the six, no," she paused, "eight most important things to me in this whole wide world. It's not a big number of things to hold dear."
He nodded shortly, and they resumed their walk down the hallway. "So, you've got six pokémon, but what are the other two that you hold dear."
She gave a tiny smile behind him, scratching Pikachu under the chin as she leapt to Ash's shoulder. Ash seemed unaware of his pokémon's reason for climbing backwards on his shoulder, but he didn't seem too concerned about it. The girl was nearly touching him, from another angle this time, and he felt her breath on his neck when she said, "Well, Pikachu is number seven and number eight is Butch. And the bell's about to ring for the last period."
He laughed. "You know, with the way you joke I could almost swear that you're proud of killing him."
The giggled turned to shivers, of lust and an almost delicious fear when she held his shoulders, gently this time, and breathing into his ear, "Not of killing him, but of living me. Through the guilt, through the emotion, logic dictates that I should do the same damn thing."
"What about emotions?" He asked, strangled voice barely above the whisper.
"Worse than honor. Emotion can only be used against others, not for one's own gain." She paused, her voice a bit lighter and not nearly as dangerous (or sexy) to his ears. "You're shaking like a hairless glameo under the southern pole. You getting sick, or just nervous for your upcoming fight?"
He swallowed thickly. "Nerves, nerve endings, toe-may-toe, toe-mah-toe. Let's go kick some purple haired ass."
It was an empty affair, not a single person but Paul anywhere to be seen. The arena was a plain dirt style, nothing fancy, with the traditional white lines on the floor. He wanted to use some of the other arenas, as he had spent a lot of his time playing with the more elaborate battlefields that he didn't get down in the Rebellion. Grass field would be best for him, as that was the kind of field he grew up on, the kind of field his pokémon had practiced on. They'd have a rougher time gripping their paws into the shifting dirt, slide back farther, though his Sand-Attacks would be more effective. Aside from that, well, he hoped his wasn't at too big a disadvantage.
"Scared?" Misty asked, putting her hand to the glass. "I know you don't like this field."
"I'll be fine." He shoved his hands inside his pockets and glanced at her. "How worried are you? You know, do you think I can do it?"
"Never seen you battle before," she returned, drumming her fingers against the glass. "But, I know how you are and I've heard of your Battle IQ. Not to mention some of the kids around here have been gossiping. You're a great trainer, a great battler, and they said you even dabble in contest like moves. That's risky but they're not going to stop you. Well, not unless you try and start contests in this region. But, judging by how I know you, and since apparently your only talent is battling-" Her eyes narrowed teasingly. "-it sure as hell isn't schoolwork, you've got to be extra good at this to balance it all out."
"You scared to come in, Ketchum?" Paul called from the sidelines.
Ash glanced his way and back to Misty, grinning. "You know, part of me wants to stand here and make him wait until he finally freaks out and comes to get me. Isn't that the proper way to have a date? The man's supposed to come all the way up to the door. He doesn't honk or call. That's just impolite. My daddy's going to come out with a shot gun and nail him right between the eyes if he doesn't show the proper respect."
She rolled her eyes with her small, unpracticed smile. "You're a dork. The longer you delay this, the more he'll brag when he wins."
"Hey!" Ash exclaimed, his mouth dropping open. "I thought you said you had confidence in me! I can't pull through this if you don't have confidence! I need your support. Pikachu's supporting me, but he'll be in the battle and battling for my honor! Right, Pikachu?"
(If you don't stop joking and take yourself seriously, we're going to lose this match. You know how I feel about losing,) the mouse jumped elegantly through the hole and glared up at him, tail shooting back and forth with anger. (I will shove a lightning rod up your ass and send every ounce of electricity through my body if you lose a match that doesn't need to be. If he's a good fighter, fine, but if he send out a level two caterpie and you lose because you've got your head up your ass you're getting butt zapped.)
Ash blanched and gulped, taking her very seriously, and Misty smirked. "You know, I absolutely love that pokémon."
"You would," he shot back, walking quickly through the door before it closed. "Listen, Paul, Misty told me you were saying I couldn't handle what was going on. That I fainted. For your information, I was sick, and school was the last thing on my mind. A friend of mine told me she had an illegitimate bastard child, thankfully, it was a joke but it still freaked me out and I'm still not sure if she was joking. If you take it back, we can drop the whole thing and not have to go through this battle. We'll both keep our dignity."
He nodded. "Alright, I take it back."
Ash grinned. "Awesome."
"I was joking, you retard," Paul snorted, grabbing a ball off his belt and tossing it forward. "Let's just get this started."
The big, teal blue bird appeared to be wearing a fedora hat, the same blue color as the biggest part of its body. A sort of huge, feathery ascot cascaded around its neck and halfway down its feathery chest, and a bright red plume on the underside of its wing set off its appearance perfectly, giving it an angry edge to its dark and deadly appearance. It didn't look overjoyed, with red irises slit. It didn't come out with a joyful cry or an angry scream, but controlled, fatal fury.
"Two birds in one battle," Ash joked, tossing out a pokeball of his own.
His bird was lighter, more natural and elegant in its own way. Its pelt was cream, a earthy color for its torso. A bland brown topped off where the wing connected to its body and went about halfway down the arm, where the cream resumed once more. A long red on the outside yellow on the inside mane like thing fluttered from between its eyes, right above its beak, down to its bright red tail. Black streaks went from its eyes down to its neck in a dangerous war paint. This creature cawed with joy, happy at being released for battle, and flew up in the air, spinning to the top arena before dashing back down and sending up loose dirt from the ground.
"Wait!" Misty cried out, stepping to the side of the arena. She had stripped off her shirt, revealing a one piece bathing suit underneath and using her shirt as a flag. "First things first, how many pokémon are each of you planning on using? Is this a six on six, or a three on three, or even a one on one? Double battle, or single? You need to specify things before you just rush off! Not to mention I'm the referee, something you need to have if you're going to determine a winner of a clean battle."
"I don't care," Paul snorted. "A battle's a battle. What are you prepared for?"
Ash glanced at Misty, then back at Paul. "Are you okay with a five on five battle?"
He glared, minimizing the pokeball and tucking it into his belt, taking special notice that Ash's pokeball was not Team Rocket made, but bought in a store. "Go with the rules and regulations, farm boy. It's bad enough you haven't been able to kick that damn accent yet, now you're trying to change the rules. You know what; I have made up my mind. Single battles. Six on six. I don't know about Ash, but I can do a clean battle. I don't need to pull any crap to win. Ash, though, he may pull some dirty trick to win. Do you agree to play fair, Ketchum?"
"I always play fair," Ash growled. "It's six on six, but I'm not going to have to pull out every one to beat you!"
"Calm down, farm boy. It's not like you're fighting for anything important. Just your pride." Paul crossed his arms over his chest and looked him up and down. "Judging by the clothes you're wearing you don't have much pride left. You've got your pokémon outside your pokeball, who doesn't look very impressive, and you're hanging around with that. Red haired freak from Arceus knows where. Probably crazy. Probably Eggborn."
"She's not the one on trial here," Ash said through gritted teeth, clenching his fists at his sides. "Why don't you back off, Paul? This argument is between you and me."
"Dropping the accent a bit, very nice," Paul smirked. "And I don't see why it shouldn't involve her. I'd battle her if she was smart enough to own a pokémon. You can cover her too if you want. Battle for her sake and yours. I don't care. As long as I get my battle. I'm about to go on my first mission and I could use a good warm up."
"Take it back, Paul," the boy continued to snarl. Pigeot began to flap its wings, feeling its master's rage along with Pikachu, who began to spark at the cheeks and growl threateningly. "If you don't take it back, I'm going to-"
"She's a stupid, redheaded, genetic mess. She's a waste of flesh they should have killed when they had the chance. She's basically useless, and they keep her around to calm the people and try to prove Team Rocket has a heart, when we're really only concerned with what matters: power. She's not strong or smart. In fact, she's a lot like you." His smirk grew wider and he let himself chuckle. "You know, I'd go after you but you don't seem like the kind of guy who cares about that. You're the kind who defends his friend with his dying breath. Sweet, poetic kind of thing, but completely pointless in real life. So, why don't you stop acting so sentimental and act like an agent. Your sentimentality is one of the reasons I'm sure I'll win this battle. That, and it's pretty easy to get you mad. All I have to do is make you see the glassiness in those pretty eyes."
As Ash's temper flared, Misty snapped at him. "I've heard worse, you moron. He barely cusses! I get plenty of bad stuff all the time. Most of it was while you were unconscious and it was pretty insulting. I don't care what people think. Don't fight for my honor, because I'm not the kind of person who can lose it with a few cutting words! My honor is based on standing up for what I believe in. It's holding to my own set of moral codes, and doing what's right despite what they say. That's how I keep my honor, and that's why I think it's pointless to fight for yours. But you're here, and you can't run away. So fight for yours, because you need this. I don't. Pikachu told me what your mom did, and you know what I say to that? I think you knew, deep down, and you screwed around. Well you're on your own no! Step up to the plate and take care of yourself."
He looked at her, then back to the battlefield, and considered her words. Because, perhaps, she never had a reputation to start with. Her honor wasn't in what they said, but what she did. Maybe because her honor could only lie in her beliefs, her intelligence, because that was all he had. But he had battling, something he held over everything else. A battle was what he was, all his goals and dreams, his spirit, his fire. He wondered if she got that. He wondered if Paul understood, or Pikachu, or any of his pokémon.
Ash Ketchum was fighting for his reputation, his good name, his faith and his honesty to never cheat, to be fair, to take care of all his friends, whether they were human or pokémon.
Yes, as he listened to Misty cry out for the match to begin, he was ready to fight for his honor.
I figured it'd be much to long if I went into the battle, so there you go…I'm also afraid to attempt and right my first real length battle. Wish me luck!