Angel of a Girl Named Kokoro

Chapter Twelve
Rewind

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It's time for Time to go back and rewind
I certainly hope you all won't mind

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"Hey! Where are you going?" Paul called after the blunette as she abruptly pulled away from him, running deep into the forest with the fire continuing to burn with life, crackling and hissing and popping.

Dawn didn't reply, panting heavily as she dodged anything burning or falling. It was like her body was guiding her to where Kokoro was. She wasn't sure what it was, but she knew something was wrong. Everything was a blur as she ran by, running to the place she knew she was heading to; she just didn't know where exactly she was heading to yet. It was like her instincts were guiding her…

"Hey! Dawn!" Paul called after her, running after the blunette. He grunted slightly in annoyance and slowed down some as something burning almost fell on him. "Stupid girl…" He growled, beginning to chase after the girl once more.

Dawn was only slightly relieved when she saw a crack of sunlight peeking through a few tall trees. Only slightly relieved because she still had no idea where Kokoro was.

She stopped for a few seconds in order to catch her breath. She was about to take off running again when something caught her eye: a tree-branch that looked as if it was on top of something, crushing it.

Dawn rushed over to the tree branch and gasped when she saw that the tree branch in fact was crushing something — or somebody, actually, Dawn concluded as she pushed at the tree branch.

She panted, her tongue hanging out, as she slammed against the tree branch, managing to knock most of the tree branch off the person. She dragged the person the rest of the way out by the scruff of the boy's jacket.

She was ready to collapse on the boy after exhausting work, but managed not to do so… yet. First she had to make the sure the boy was alright.

The boy, Dawn noted, was around her age, a year or two younger maybe. She turned the boy over so she could get a good look at his face.

Dawn gasped. Her heart dropped. Tears stung her eyes as she saw the boy's face.

Just then, Paul ran out of the forest, twigs in his hair and some soot smudged across his cheeks and clothing. He looked out of breath, having been looking for the blunette and ended up making a wrong turn once in a while, having to retrace his footsteps.

"Dawn!" He yelled as he spotted her, and he ran towards her, still panting heavily.

Dawn still had her eyes glued to the face of the boy in front of her though. She blinked, salty tears falling on the boy's already stained clothes, slowly turning her head up to look at Paul. She flinched, as if the sight of him has stung her. She turned her gaze back on the boy that had been crushed by the tree branch.

Midnight blue hair… fair skin… just like her, but… he looked exactly like Paul. Same face features and everything.

'A single decision can change destiny…'

Dawn's head snapped up as she stared with wide-eyes. The wind whispered the words to her… or the words had come from nowhere.

"AHHHHHH!"

Dawn's eyes widened as the scream echoed throughout the forest and the clearing in front of the forest. The scream wasn't in the forest, but it came from ahead. Kokoro was still alive… but why did she scream?

Suddenly from up ahead came a bright white flash that was blinding, followed by a deafening roar that was like millions of people screaming all at once!

"Dawn!" Paul grabbed Dawn's hand, his eyes wide in fear; something Dawn doesn't remember ever seeing Paul express, as the scream grew louder.

"AHHHH!" Dawn screamed, clinging to Paul as there was another bright flash and another deafening roar to join in with the other roar.

"What is happening?!" Dawn managed to yell over the piercing sound.

"I don't know!" Paul yelled back, wrapping one arm around her waist and hugging her close to him so she wouldn't get separated from him for one second.

Dawn peered out of one eye into the blinding whiteness. She gasped as she realized the flashing light was coming from the body of the boy that looked so much like Paul! The light began to flash, a white blinding light that she could still see even as she closed her eyes.

Dawn screamed and she could feel Paul's protective grip around her. The light seemed to scream at her too. What was going on? Suddenly there was another bright flash, the brightest flash of white yet, and then the world went black and it felt as if she was on a roller coaster… up and down… up and down… there was now a dizzy, nauseous silence. Her eyes fluttered close and she fell asleep.

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Darkness. Silence. Emptiness. That was what Dawn's dream was made of. Darkness, silence and emptiness. A lonely emptiness.

Suddenly there was a sheer white light that peeked from the lonely darkness, glaring at Dawn and hurting her eyes. A shadowy figure emerged from the white ray of light. No… two figures. One of them looked like a pokémon. The other was a human… with wings. The pokémon looked blue and dragon-like with a long neck, a blue jewel shining on its chest. The pokémon - could it be? The legendary Dialga?

"Time will be altered
One will die for another
And the balance of time is disrupted
The order of time makes no sense
So it's time to go back
And give the two one more chance"

The shadowy angel-like figure sang as it approached with the legendary dragon pokémon. Dawn's eyebrows scrunched together as she peered into the light before murmuring, "Am I dying?" But how?

"Now it's time for time to rewind
And see who will survive."

And once again Dawn was surrounded by darkness and silence, but this time she felt fear. This time she felt wind on her back, as if she was flying. But she wasn't flying. She was falling - into the darkness and the unknown.

"AHHHHHHH!"

"It's up to you to keep me and my brother alive…" A voice murmured one last time before her voice was drowned out by Dawn's screams.

---

"Torterra, stand by for battle!"

Dawn was startled to find herself in a grassy field which was flanked by forests on all side, the pine trees swaying gently in the breeze, and the sky was dark gray and filled with clouds, evidence of a brewing storm.

It felt like déjà vu.

Dawn glanced around, her eyes wide as she witnessed Paul standing there in a battling position with his Torterra out. Ash stood a few meters separate from him, an angry scowled on his features as he got ready to call out his pokémon.

Wait! I though Ash and Brock went to Snowplowing City without me! And weren't Paul and I accompanying Kokoro on her way to Veilstone to make sure she didn't get lost or nothing bad happened to her? Wait – where is Kokoro?

Dawn stared at Paul in a questioning away. He wore an equally confused expression as if he was wondering the same thing.

"Go!—" Ash's voice was drowned out by a deafening roar and Dawn's eyes widened along with Paul's night black ones. They knew what was going to happen next.

Ash and Brock however had no clue what was about to happen and questioned, "What was that?!"

"Kokoro!" Dawn screamed as she raced towards the deafening roar that was followed by the terrified shriek of an eight-year old girl. "We're coming!"

"Mommy! Daddy!" A purple hair girl with onyx black eyes came into view, tears running down her dirty face as she sobbed. "Help!"

Dawn engulfed the terrified young girl in a hug, standing in between her and the outraged Rhydon that the girl had startled and angered somehow. Paul stood in front of the two girls in a protective stance, as if he was protecting them.

"It's okay, Kokoro…" Dawn soothed the girl, rubbing her back in circles to calm the upset girl.

"Go! Ursaring! Hyper beam, now!" Paul threw another red-and-white ball as a big bear pokémon materialized in front of him, bellowing it's name as it was released.

A gold-orange ball began to form in Ursaring's mouth, the ball sizzling as Ursaring prepared to attack the angered Rhydon, the ball soon turning into a beam as it was shot. The attack was a direct hit, hitting the Rhydon in the chest and knocking it backwards. The Rhydon was slammed into a tree where it then became unconscious, little swirls replacing it's eyes as it fell forward.

"Rhydon…" It mumbled.

This time Paul did not capture it. Instead, he turned to Dawn and Kokoro, going down on one knee and asking quietly, "Is she okay?"

Dawn nodded her head. She tore her eyes away for a second to look at Paul. Their eyes connected and Dawn's cheeks heated up slightly, a small blush painting her cheeks. Meanwhile Paul looked sheepishly away, his own face a few degrees warmer.

"Hey, what happened?" Ash questioned as he and Brock approached the three.

Paul stood up, brushing the dust off his pants and jackets as he replied quietly, "She was almost attacked by a Rhydon." He pointed with his thumb at Kokoro.

"Is she okay?!" Ash cried in alarm, now bending down on one knee also to make sure the girl was alright. "Are you okay?" Ash questioned the girl as she stopped crying into Dawn's shoulder and gazed thoughtfully up at Ash.

She nodded shyly. "Uh-huh… My mommy and daddy protected me."

Ash frowned. "Your mommy and daddy protected you? Where are they?"

The girl gave another shy smile as she pointed at Paul and then wrapped her arms around Dawn, snuggling into Dawn. "Them!"

Needless to say, Ash and Brock were very shock.

"What happened?"

Dawn was in the room Paul was staying at in the pokémon center, pacing around anxiously, her forehead scrunched up together and her eyebrows furrowed.

"What happened? Weren't we in a burning forest? And weren't we looking for Kokoro?" She tugged at her blue locks, frustration and confusion getting to the better of her.

"Would you sit down!" Paul demanded quietly, heaving an exhausted sigh. "I don't know what happened! It was as if… we were sent back in time."

Dawn stopped. A brief memory of a dream she had flashing through her mind. She quickly shook her head though, the memory gone as fast as it came. With a sigh, she flopped down on Paul's bed.

"What are we suppose to do then?" Dawn questioned, staring at the room's ceiling without really seeing it. She sighed again, sitting upright on the bed now with her legs crossed.

Paul shrugged. "Attempt to take her back to Veilstone, I guess."

Dawn sighed. "I guess. Except this time lets not go into the forest that ends up catching on fire…" Dawn grabbed Paul's hand, shocking Paul slightly, but not enough to make Dawn notice his surprise.

Suddenly the two were staring into each other's eyes once more. Blue met black and the night sky met the ocean's waves. A small smile tugged on Dawn's lips as she leaned in, her eyelids fluttering close as their lips connected.

Paul deepened the kiss, letting his hand run through her tangle-free hair, stroking the blue locks. The kiss lasted about fifteen seconds before they both pulled apart, once more gazing into each other's eyes. Dawn sighed contently, leaning on his chest.

"It feels so peaceful right now…" She mumbled into his chest, pulling him closer to her as she shivered slightly from the cold that the night brought.

"Hn." Paul grunted in agreement, wrapping his arms around her tiny waist.

.x.

"Dawn? What were you doing in Paul's room?" Dawn flushed as she heard Ash's voice.

"Oh. Um, I just… I just figured Paul deserved a thank you after he saved Kokoro, that's all!" Dawn said sheepishly, a sweat drop trickling down the side of her forehead as she smiled falsely.

"Where's Kokoro then?"

"O-oh. Um… she went to bed. She wanted me to tell Paul thank you though but she was too tired to do it herself," Dawn added quickly.

"Oh! Okay! Well, I suppose Paul saving that girl from the Rhydon was sort of a… knightly thing to do," Ash grumbled reluctantly. "Not something I would have expected from him, but then again, maybe I don't know him as well as I like to think."

"Yeah…" Dawn mumbled, making her way back to her room.

After getting dressed into her pajamas, Dawn climbed into bed, but not before opening the curtains so she could gaze out at the night sky. As Dawn tucked herself in bed and under the cover, she gazed longingly outside at the blackness.

Dawn smiled. The night sky reminded her of Paul's eyes and the stars reminded her of the glint she would see in his eyes ever so often…

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Dawn woke up that morning sweating more than usual, beads of sweat dripping off her sweaty forehead and onto the bed that already smelled like a gym locker from her sweat. Dawn scrunched her nose up at the smell, feeling somewhat embarrassed.

She sighed as she recalled her dream. It was her usual kind of dream – ha dream about Kokoro, but this time it was different: this time she was Kokoro!

She dreamed about being Kokoro, being surrounded by a wall of fire that threatened to engulf her and swallow her. The flames had flickered and dance, whispering and singing in that creepy crackling voice of theirs. Dance, flicker, crack! Dance, flicker, crack! Dance, flicker, crack! Crack, crack, crack! The crack echoed in Dawn's, or Kokoro's mind. Again and again. Crack, crack, crack! A sickening crack that reminded Dawn of bones crunching for some odd reason.

Then Kokoro was running. Running and dodging. Running through the smoke-filled woods, her heart thudding painfully inside of her as she struggled to keep on running in order to escape the whispers of the fire. She dodged burning debri, burning branches and burning trees that moaned in agony. Kokoro's emotions were like a hurricane; a tornado of panic, a tsunami of fear, a flashflood of confusion. Emotions that weighed her down.

Dawn shook her head to shake the dream off. She pulled on her clothes for the day and made sure to put on plenty of deodorant so she wouldn't reek of sweat when she came out.

She sat next to Paul who currently sat alone finishing off a piece of toast; ignoring the confused glances she received from Ash and Brock as she passed their table. Let Ash and Brock be suspicious, it didn't make a difference to her.

And indeed, Ash and Brock were suspicious, especially the wiser of the two, Brock. He wasn't sure what, but he just had a gut-feeling something had happened between the two… something that changed the way they spoke and acted around each other… Why else would Dawn be speaking to him like she was talking to a friend of hers when she never talked to him like that before? Why else would Paul look as if he actually enjoyed her presence when he never even bother to talk to her or even acknowledge her before?

"Mr. Ketchum! Mr. Ketchum! Hey, where's Missus Ketchum? Isn't she usually with you? And where's Shelly?"

Ash blinked in confusion at the purple hair girl who had just woken up. "Shelly? Who's she? And Missus Ketchum? Are you talking about my mom, because she's back in Pallet Town…?"

Kokoro snorted. "Silly goose…" She muttered. "Noooo, I mean your wife! And Shelly, your daughter!"

Ash's frown deepened. "Wife?! My daughter?! What are you talking about? I'm only a kid! A KID!"

"I'll let you have your breakfast now, Mister Ketchum. Maybe then you'll remember," Kokoro rolled her eyes playfully. "Coocoo brain… Hey, Dawn! Paul! There you are!"

Kokoro raced over to the table the two were staying at, flopping herself between the two as she grinned eagerly at them. She already knew the two's names because she claimed to have remembered and recognized them from somewhere after realizing they weren't her parents.

Brock watched the three from the corner of his eyes, watching them observantly. Kokoro had her hair exactly like Dawn does, but her hair color is the exact same shade of Paul's hair. And then there was the girl's eyes, which were also the exact same hue of black as Paul's. The girl looked like both Dawn and Paul, a combination of the two. Like…

Could it be…? Brock shook his head. No, it can't be… unless… but how? Hmm, maybe, just maybe… Brock glanced at the three once more. He sighed. Only time will tell…

Ash frowned at the three, mumbling something under his breath before he walked over to their table, asking Kokoro, "So where do live, Kokoro?"

Kokoro smiled at the raven hair man, replying cheerfully, "Veilstone City!"

"Ah…" Ash nodded his head thoughtfully. "You live in Veilstone City too, don't you Paul?"

Paul nodded. "I could escort her there since I'm heading in that direction."

Ash huffed to himself, crossing his arms in front of his chest as he said, "No offense, but I don't really trust you to escort her to Veilstone… you would probably find her too 'troublesome' if she can't keep up with you. Maybe someone should go with you just in case…"

"I could go with him!" Dawn volunteered cheerfully.

"Perfect! We can all go and escort Kokoro to Veilstone! It can be a five man squad! Me, Ash, Dawn, Paul and of course, Kokoro!" Brock clapped his hands together happily as if to close the case.

Dawn's eyebrows furrowed together. What…? This didn't happen last time! Ash and Brock went to Snowpoint City on their own!

Dawn turned her gaze onto Paul, frowning unhappily while he just stared the other way, an unreadable expression on his face.

What else is going to change?

---

It was night once more with the stars twinkling brightly in the ink black sky like usual. The pearl white moon was full and shining brightly down on Dawn as she made her way to Paul's tent. Dawn crawled on her knees and hands as she made her way to Paul's tent, careful not to make any noise that would alert Ash or Brock, or even Kokoro.

"What are we going to do now that Ash and Brock are joining us?" Dawn questioned as soon as she entered through the flap, picking out burrs and twigs that had gotten stuck in her midnight blue hair.

Paul just shrugged. "Doesn't matter. We just have to make sure nothing happens to Kokoro, that she doesn't die or anything; we mainly just have to avoid that fire in 'Angel Forest'."

Dawn nodded in agreement, a thoughtful expression her face. "Don't you think it's kind of weird, or odd anyway, that Kokoro 'recognized' us from somewhere? Do you think she remembers about the forest fire or anything?"

"Maybe… she may just think the fire was a dream and thinks she has nothing to worry about. And she may not have anything to worry about just as long as we aren't in that forest when it catches on fire."

Paul sighed before telling the girl in a surprisingly gentle tone, "You should probably go before somebody wakes up and begins to wonder what you're doing in here…"

"Right…" Dawn murmured. She was about to crawl out for the tent but stopped abruptly. She turned around again and planted a quick kiss on Paul's lips.

"See you in the morning!" She whispered with a faint blush on her cheeks, wearing a shy smile.

Paul nodded, a faint smirk on his features. "Yeah, see you in the morning…"

I'll stop here now. So Dawn, Paul and Kokoro went back in time and now Brock is starting to get suspicious about the two now that Dawn is hanging around with Paul (xD) and now Ash and Brock are also traveling with the three. And sorry for the late update, I had Writer's Block for some time…

Also for anybody who was wondering why Dawn, Paul and Kokoro went back in time it was because Hiroki died. Hiroki only went back in time so he could save Kokoro which he succeeded in doing, but since Kokoro never died and he died in her place, there would be no reason for him to go back in time and save the eight-year old Kokoro. So yeah, hopefully you get why they went back in time now if you didn't already. Review please, and I'll try to update sooner next time, 'kay? xD (Also vote on my new poll! Please? xD;)