Author's Comment: Had some more difficulties with this chapter, mostly for how to end it. Yes, this is the last chapter of this story, but worry not as these cast of characters will continue on in the next installments of the Sokudo and Kowai series. Thank you guys so much for the support throughout this story, as I doubt I would've gone far without you! I hope you guys continue to stay with me for further adventures with our ninja bug duo! Special thanks goes to: Miaomii, Psychotic Ralts, Thewinkingme, and ASiriusWriter!

Chapter 21: Another Chance?

There's a definite chill in the air now. Although things have been fixed between them, Sokudo can tell that the husk is still angry at him. With the cuddles no longer sedating it, it has secluded itself in the kitchen and hasn't really talked to him since. Usually, he would enjoy the peace and quiet, but this felt... different, unpleasant. He reassures himself that the husk just needs a bit more time to recover from this trauma before returning back to normal and at least it isn't attacking him in the meanwhile.

Curled up on his bed, he keeps his guard up just in case, not feeling tired in the least despite the approaching late hour. The Ninjask rarely feels guilt for such a prolonged period of time and he shifts a bit in discomfort, not sure how to deal with it. He can hear the Shedinja muttering to itself from the kitchen, and occasionally breaking out into more cries. Every now and then, the husk would halt those cries to let out a mournful shriek as if trying to communicate its distress to the rest of the world. He's sure the thing is just trying to guilt trip him now, and it's working.

But eventually, the Shedinja goes silent, and Sokudo keeps his eyes on the door warily. He still doesn't trust that he's off the hook so easily, although that can just be his own paranoia. Surely if Kowai is going to hurt him, it would've done so by now. Or maybe it's just waiting for him to be vulnerable...

A soft knock comes to the door and he keeps in a sigh, knowing who it is right off the bat. Sitting up a bit, he hears Kowai restarting its activity and it speaks up to him for the first time in hours. "Brother, someone's at the door. Can I eat them?"

"No," Sokudo makes no hesitation in saying, flying off his bed and out of his room. He glances at Kowai as he passes the kitchen, the Shedinja staring back at him unfalteringly. The Ninjask ignores the chill running down his body as he approaches the door and opens it. Floating there is Yams, the little ghost's sad eyes meeting his with a spark of hope, holding something he can't quite make out as she hides it behind her back. Sokudo glances over his shoulder at the kitchen before whispering. "It's still feeling the sting, but it forgave me, so..." He shrugs. "Maybe it'll forgive you too?"

Yams only nods, and she takes a deep breath as Sokudo turns away.

"Kowai! Come here real quick!" he calls out, automatically expecting its voice to respond. But there is only silence as the Shedinja flies out of the kitchen and floats towards the door, Sokudo quickly moving out of its way. Seeing Yams, Kowai says and does nothing, just staring at her. Clearing her throat, Yams hugs her mask a bit before she speaks up as softly and gently as she can.

"Hello, Kowai," she mutters. "I... I just want to apologize for what happened. I didn't... mean..." She trails off, a little unnerved that she isn't getting any reaction from the husk. Kowai remains unresponsive like this for another minute before a soft hiss begins to emerge from it, said hiss very quickly escalating into a shriek. Yams cringes and barely manages to dash off when Kowai lunges to bite her.

"Kowai!" Sokudo reprimands, only to be ignored as the Shedinja chases the Yamask away until they're several yards from the door.

"GO AWAY!" comes an enraged screech, the underlying tones of sorrow barely discernible. "MY TERRITORY!"

Yams turns back to it, tears beginning to form in her eyes at this rejection. It's worse than a rejection, she feels. Kowai is treating her just like a stranger, as if it's never seen her before, and that hurts her more than anything. Choking on her breath as she whimpers, she tries to keep her voice steady. "Kowai... Don't you remember me...?" It is a very silly thing to ask, but she can't help it. And it certainly doesn't put her in a better position as the Shedinja growls savagely at her.

"Of course I remember you, you wretched female!" it barks sharply. "How can I forget the betrayal?! Forget the pain YOU caused me?!"

Taking another shaky breath, Yams tries to keep from breaking down completely, hiccuping softly. "I... I'm s-sorry..."

"I'm sure you are," Kowai hisses skeptically, turning away to float back to the house.

"Kowai... please... I... Just let me explain..." she implores, slowly inching after it. Kowai glances back at her before snarling and lunging for her again, Yams jerking back quickly enough to miss a Shadow Claw by a mere centimeter. Hissing at her in warning, it refuses to let her come any closer to the house. Floating close to the ground, Yams tries her hardest to appeal to the shed. "Please... Just... please..."

"You don't need to explain anything, girl," Kowai grunts, its hostility not melting away in the slightest despite her display. "As far as I'm concerned, everything that comes out of that mouth is a lie."

Yams feels the stab of those words physically within the depths of her chest, and she begins to sob almost uncontrollably. "I'm... I... Please..." She doesn't know what else to say to that, how she can get the Shedinja to hear her out. Thoughts come and go in her mind to try to help, and she decides to just go for it. "I'm n-not lying... Please... You have to believe me..." It doesn't seem to be working as Kowai again turns away and starts floating back to the house. She can't keep herself from shaking at this, only managing a whisper that is barely audible. "I l-love you..."

At this, the husk stops, its growls falling quiet. Glancing at her over its shoulder, it gives out a snort before responding in a toneless voice. "Why should I believe you? I recall you saying that to me before, and look where it got us now..."

"Kowai," Yams hiccups, wiping her face although it does no good in ridding the tears. "You have t-to believe me... I came back here, knowing you'll probably hurt me, b-but doing so anyways... That has to mean something to you..."

Silence comes over them for a few minutes before Kowai turns to her, glaring down at her before whispering darkly. "No, it doesn't. You had your chance with me, and for a while you had me fooled..." The Shedinja trails off, beginning to whimper softly. "But I'm not so stupid anymore... and I'm not falling for it again..."

"Kowai," Yams takes the opportunity to interject. "I..." She sniffles and again wipes her face. "Please listen to me: I-I wasn't..." She sighs. "I really did like you, and yes, I did grow to love you, genuinely love you. Even now, I..." She coughs a bit, forcing herself to push on through her tears. "I was wrong, taking this whole thing as a job to help Sokudo... But the more time I spent with you, the more I realized just how wrong I was. That's why I helped you settle that fight with him, that's why I let you stay with me. Because I cared about you, I loved you... And despite what it looks like, I lost all intentions of driving you and Sokudo apart, very early on in our relationship..." She holds her mask close to her, her eyes glistening with tears as she looks at it pleadingly. "And if you'll just give me another chance... I'll prove to you that it's for real... Please..."

More silence fills the atmosphere, the Shedinja beginning to shudder a bit, its growing sorrow obvious. Staring at the Yamask, it tries to figure out what its next course of action should be and after a few moments, it speaks up softly. "Tell me when... When did you actually start to love me...?"

"I..." Yams pauses for a moment, thinking back through the times they spent together to pinpoint when her fond feelings began to intensify. It is a very difficult task and she can only make a rough estimate, but she soon settles for it. "When that Mightyena hurt you... When I risked my own life to save yours... The time I spent with you at the doctors... I'm sure that's when I gave in to my feelings for you..."

"So everything before that, was just lie." Kowai presses, a faint tone of sharpness re-entering its voice. Yams chokes on her breaths and shakes her head desperately.

"No! I liked you well before that... I..."

"This whole thing was built on a lie... A lie to get rid of me, to break my bond with the only Pokemon I can ever truly love..." Kowai interrupts. "Even if I'm to believe you now, believe that you're doing anything but damage control-"

"This is not damage control, Kowai, please..." Yams tells it, her voice breaking a bit with her sobs. "I just wanted to tell you how sorry I am... And I came with the hope that maybe we can do things properly this time..." She forces herself back into the air and inches closer, and this time, Kowai doesn't chase her off. Looking at the small object she holds in her hand, she allows a tender smile to grace her features. "And to give you this, to show how sorry I am..."

She holds out a dark purple rose, and Kowai remembers the first time she has given it a present, how unimpressed it was by the rose and its so-called symbolism. But this time, it feels different and it slowly reaches out to take the gift, staring at it.

"Please, Kowai. Let's start over... please..." she whispers, hoping with every fiber of her being that the Shedinja would believe her words to be genuine and accept her gift, her apology. The husk certainly seems to be contemplating it and she bites her lip anxiously as she waits in suspense. Finally, she gets a response...

Kowai drops the flower and turns away. "I don't want your stupid plant, Yams, and I don't want anything more to do with you. I have enough pain to deal with without your help."

Another stab goes through her heart and she feels her body shaking upon hearing this. "Kowai... please..."

"Just leave..." Kowai whispers back shakily, and she swears she hears the tone of sorrow in its voice again. "I'm not interested at the moment, so stop wasting my time, Yamask..."

"But-" Yams can't say more before Kowai savagely turns on her with a shriek and lunges for her again. She almost wanted it to hurt her, but her body's self-preservation instincts were strong enough to deny that desire and jolt away. Then she is sent into a full on retreat when Kowai presses the attack, chasing her away from the house like it would a stranger and staring after her as she disappears into the distance.

Forcing out a snort, it lowers its eyes to the ground, whimpers replacing its growls at what it had to do. It doesn't understand why it pains it so to chase her away like that, to reject her. She deserves it for hurting it so much... right? Glancing at the discarded rose on the ground, it makes a soft choke-like cry before floating off back to the house where Sokudo waits inside, perched on the window ledge.

Looking up at the Shedinja as it re-enters the house, the Ninjask is silent for a while, letting his sibling cuddle to him for a few minutes. He is thinking about making a sharp comment about its behavior, but he then notices the husk's shivering body and knows Kowai is still hurting. Taking a breath, he feels that uncomfortable pitying feeling rising in his chest again and he clears his throat.

"Y'know, Kowai," he starts softly, his wings twitching a bit. "I'm not going to rush you out of this grieving process thing, but I think that if anyone deserves a second chance, it's Yams."

"Brother, I-" the Shedinja tries to object only to be cut off.

"It was mostly my fault anyway..." Sokudo admits. "I pushed her into it, and I'll tell you first-hand that she's cared about you from the very start." He sighs, giving his shed a few more extra minutes of cuddling before opening his wings and hovering off towards his room. "Just something for you to think about, Kowai..."

Watching its sibling leave, it turns back to the still-open door and slowly floats into the warm night outside...

The purple rose sits undisturbed on the ground, its dark petals moving slightly in the wind. And then, a small delicate sliver of black mist slips around it and tenderly takes it into the house. Kowai stares at the flower, paying no heed to anything else around it like that rose is the only thing to exist in its world. After a moment, Kowai takes the plant to the collection of previous gifts neatly arranged on the shelf and it places it up front and center. Remaining silent for a long while as it continues to stare at the flower, it tenderly caresses the rose before turning and floating away.

"Stupid plant..."

THE END