AN:
Hey guys! Sorry, I know this took WAAAAAAAAAY more than a couple of weeks. I finished it in about 1.5 weeks? But my beta-er took a little while. *throws a narwhal at Anggun*
Just kidding! I can totally understand, because school is rather hectic here. In fact, I don't know if I'll get Chronicles 11 out by this month! Or even the next one!
Hence I would like to make this announcement: I won't be updating this until late October/early Novemeber. I'm really sorry! But its like the exam period now, and everyone is rushing, so I don't want to bother anyone, including myself.
The good news is that by the time I release Chronicles 11, it'll probably be a really FAT article. I'm thinking of just coverng the whole Henesys arc in Chronicles 11, who knows. :P
Anyways, so sorry guys! Hope you enjoy this chapter though. Btw, no Q&A today because I'm in a hurry right now. See ya!
Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon, Gamefreak, Maple Story, Dragon Nest, yadayadayada ok done k bye
Chronicles 10
Yellow's POV
After my breakdown at the gym, the group decided to go back to Oak's place and rest. I blacked out the second I climbed into the softness of my bed, only to wake up in the middle of the night.
I struggled to get up, my head feeling like a heavy block of lead. My cheeks were drenched with tears. I dried them with my shirt sleeve.
Red was asleep on the other end of the bed. He had fallen into slumber in an upright position. His breath was steady, his chest moving up and down ever so slightly. He had trenches for eye bags; dark rings that encircled his closed eyelids. His hat had fallen off his head and onto his lap, revealing that the back of his raven-black hair was somewhat flattened from wearing his signature snap-back for so long.
He had been looking out for me the whole time.
The dams were filling up again, but I immediately blinked them away. The pillows were wet enough.
I silently crept out of the room on Meowth's feet. I felt my way through the darkness, not-so-quietly stumbled down the stairs, and somehow ended up in the leathery arms of the sofa.
The lights in Oak's study were still on, but I could hear loud snoring from inside. The living room was illuminated only by the light streaking out from the bottom of the study door.
"Why do I have to be so weak?" I muttered to myself.
The tears were coming again, but this time I couldn't even be bothered to blink them away. They trickled down my cheeks shakily like salty streams of sadness.
I recalled the time when Red had to rescue me from that Cofagrigus. Sure, it had been a weak enemy. But what if it had been stronger? Red would have been hurt bad, or even killed. Because of me. Me and my weakness.
I'm not his partner, not even his friend. I'm a burden. A waste of space. Perhaps I would be of more use to him if I wasn't even here.
"Do you really think you're weak?" A deep voice that came from the darkness said. I was startled, and instinctively dried my cheeks with my sleeve again.
A pair of green irises stared back at me in the corner of the room, like a Liepard. He was shrouded in the shadows; barely visible.
"Green?" I had to squint a bit to make out the rest of his body. "How long have you been here?"
He refused to answer me, and instead settled in the sofa opposite of mine. His fingers interlocked as he brought both hands up to his chin. He let out a sigh, creating a puff of mist from his breath. Only then did I realise how cold the night was, and began wrapping my arms around myself.
After a long pause, he continued, "You're not weak. Nobody is. It's just that some people are strong in other ways. You, for instance, have that healing power that others would kill to have." The boy tried to comfort.
That didn't really make me feel much better. "But, I need to be strong. I don't want to be a burden to Red whenever there's a battle."
"Then train." he replied in a matter-of-factly way.
"I already did, but-"
"That just means you didn't train enough. Sure, you may not have been born as a fighter, but your actions are what decide who you are. The circumstances of one's birth are irrelevant. It is what you do with the gift of life that determines who you are."
There was a deep silence for the next few minutes.
"That was... a little corny." I couldn't help but say. And for the first time, I saw him smile. Just a small glimpse of two neat rows of pearly whites.
"Alright then, let's go." The brown-haired teen got up and headed for the door.
"Go where?"
"Training. Now." His voice turned deep and serious. He opened the maple door, and a chilling gust of wind rampaged the room, sending chills down my spine. Green seemed unfazed by it, however.
I grabbed my belt of balls, following the orders of my new master without question, and began the ten-mile jog, under the midnight sky.
Red's POV
The Professor said there was nothing for us today either, so we had another day off.
It seemed that Yellow had gone off with Green before I woke up, for there was a note on the breakfast table in Yellow's neat handwriting.
It read: "I've gone out to train with Green at the gym. Don't come!"
Misty was looking over my shoulder as I read the note.
"It looks like they've left us alone, huh?" She said.
"Yup."
"Hey I've been meaning to ask you something..." Her voice trailed off, and a slight blush began to form on her cheeks.
"Do you... w-wanna be my boyfriend?" She asked, after a long pause, her voice almost inaudible. I was stunned by her proposal. She avoided my incredulous gaze.
"It's okay if you say no. I... I just thought, y'know, we could... go on a-a date, today?" she added, not even looking at me anymore. Her face was almost as bright as her hair.
I couldn't explain what I said next. "Sure, why not?"
She stared at me for a long moment, and then gave a whoop of joy. "Yes!" She pumped the air, before pulling me into a tight embrace. "Thanks Red!" I could practically smell her happiness.
"Alright so I was thinking we could go catch a movie first, and grab lunch after that. Then we'll see where the day takes us. Sound good?" She inquired. She was already halfway out the door. I merely stood there for a little while, not sure whether I had done the right thing.
Yellow came into my head. What was she to me? My partner? Friend? Girlfriend? I wasn't quite sure myself. But I knew she was a fragile girl. She has had a horrible past. I didn't want to force her into something she couldn't handle. Perhaps it would be best if we just remained friends.
Misty seemed happy though. Perhaps I just had to get to know her a little better, and I would develop some feelings. Who knows? This might work out after all.
"Hey Slowpoke! You coming?" she called. She had already walked to the centre of the road.
I couldn't help but chuckle to myself. "Alright, alright, I'm coming!"
I half-jogged out the door, and the house was an empty shell again.
Normal POV
The next few weeks went rather smoothly. Oak, upon knowing that Green had taken Yellow as an apprentice, allowed the two to continue their training.
Red and Misty, on the other hand, were put to work.
The work did not dampen the duo's new relationship, though. They found ways to constantly work together. They did inventory for Lt. Surge, counting every arrow in the armoury, and helped Erika collect herbs and mushrooms in the outskirts for her medicines.
Misty was elated to be together with Red. Red was happy too, although he admitted he could never reach Misty's level of energy. Misty promised to calm down for her boyfriend's sake. No signs of improvement have been seen, however.
It was only a matter of time before Yellow learnt of Red's relationship with Misty.
She had just finished mopping the floors of the gym - part of her training - when she saw the duo. She was hauling a pail of dirty water out of the gym doors, when she spotted them coming out of the mart. She would have called out to them, if Misty hadn't hooked her arm around Red's lower torso and pecked him on the cheek. Red chuckled but did not reject the gesture.
Yellow froze, then quickly turned around and re-entered the gym, refusing to witness the rest of it. She felt weird on the inside, a pain much worse than anything she had felt before. Her heart ached, like someone had just plunged a dagger into her.
She didn't understand why she felt this way. Red had the right to choose his partner. She had no say in that. And she knew she would always support Red, no matter what.
"Then why..." She thought to herself as tears clouded her vision.
Green has seen everything too. He could read her like an open book. Anyone could, actually.
The master put a strong yet supporting hand on the student's back. "We can stop training for today if you'd like."
Yellow quickly brushed the tears from her eyes. However, she did not take him up in his offer.
She stood upright, fixed a loose strand of golden hair, and turned to look at Green with newfound determination.
"Master, let me take the gym challenge. I need to get stronger."
If Green was surprised, he didn't show it. He hit her on the head lightly with his knuckles, deflating her of all her built up resolution. "You can't even finish mopping the gym, and you want to do the challenge? Fat chance." He tossed her her mop and a bunch of keys.
Yellow caught the mop - surprisingly. But the keys soared through the air and landed on Yellow's forehead, causing the blonde to stumble back and trip, falling bum-first into the bucket she had just filled.
As Green walked towards the door, he dismissed her with a wave of his hand, not even bothering to check if she was okay. "Lock up when you're done cleaning. I'll be heading back first."
Yellow was dismayed, to say the least. She pulled the red container off her behind with an embarrassing 'pop' sound. She sighed to herself. Perhaps she was getting ahead of herself.
She noticed her master's shadow had remained on the wooden floor for quite a while now. She looked up, to see that he had stopped at the building's doors. He stood there, quiet for a long time, staring into the vermillion sunset.
Finally, he added before leaving "We'll start training using the gym challenge tomorrow. Rest well. If you break down again, you're no longer my student." And with those final words, the brown-haired teen left.
Yellow was stunned for a second, but eventually put two and two together. She would have ran up to hug him, but she quickly stopped herself.
From two and a half weeks of training, she had developed a newfound respect for her master. She had a better understanding of him, and she knew he could be a little sensitive with physical contact. So instead, she muttered under her breath "Thank you, Master."
Another month flew by in a flash. Red and Misty's relationship has deepened so much, they were practically known to be a couple throughout the village. Wherever they walked, there would be people pointing, or smiling in their direction. Misty seemed oblivious of her new fame. On the other hand, Red was struggling to cope with it.
Speaking of struggles, Red wasn't actually sure how he felt anymore. The feelings for Misty he had hoped would 'come naturally' were running late. He began to question the purpose of this relationship in the first place.
He hadn't seen Yellow for such a long time, but he found himself missing her presence more and more. She always returned later than him, so he could never see her.
For a period of time he stayed up until she arrived at the house. But she would always come back exhausted and too tired to even speak. She would collapse on her bed without a word. Red couldn't blame her. He reminisced of the time he trained under his own Master, and shuddered at the harshness of it. He didn't think Green was wrong, but he did feel a little sorry for the blonde every time she came back.
On the other hand, Red also knew he was very blessed to have a great girlfriend. She was talented, she had a great personality, and she was clearly very beautiful. He was thankful, but he still couldn't help about thinking of the blonde every once in a while.
"I wonder how Yellow's doing..." Red unconsciously muttered to himself. Misty and Red were trying to herd the Lieutenant's Voltorb into their 'cartridges'. Lt. Surge had a special, canon-like weapon that shot out Voltorb at high speeds, like bullets.
Misty frowned, upset that Red was thinking of another girl. "Oh I'm sure she's fine. She can take care of herself, I'm sur-" Misty didn't get to finish her sentence, as Erika came into the armoury.
"Morning Red, Misty. Yellow told me to hand you this." The kimono lady handed Red a small slip of yellow paper with both sleeved hands.
It was Yellow's neat handwriting again. "Red, Misty, come see the fruits of my training! I'm in the gym now."
Red and Misty looked at one another in curiosity. Erika seemed excited, however. The mature medic had been replaced by a squealing schoolgirl. "Well, what are you waiting for? Let's go!" she grabbed both of them by the wrists and pulled them towards the gym.
When they reached the gym, they noticed how much cleaner the gym looked. It seemed polished. Red swore he could see his own reflection in the floorboards.
In the fighting field stood Green and Yellow. The first thing Red realised - besides the gym - was how different Yellow looked. Sure, she was the same height, she had the same hair colour. But she had grown into a completely different lady. She stood upright, with spirit and determination, completely unlike the petite and meek Yellow he knew from before. Her back no longer hunched, her eyes were sharper, and her stance was more confident.
Today, she wore the original attire she had worn during the journey from Perion to Henesys: A black turtleneck and a sleeveless yellow tunic, black tights and purple boots.
"Hey Yellow!" Red called out enthusiastically. A little too enthusiastically, for Misty frowned. She greeted Yellow too, but she wasn't exactly elated to see the blonde. Yellow did not respond immediately, only acknowledging the duo with curt nods.
"So what's the occasion, Yellow?" Red asked cheerily, walking towards the master and pupil. Yellow looked at Red, then, said quietly but audibly.
"Red, I challenge you to a duel!"