Shorter chapter compared to the last but I promise its full of feeling, emotion and you may be relieved at a certain aspect at….know what? Go on and read, review and enjoy! See for yourself!

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Late night; Almia was ushered into a cool, clear night with stars and the glowing moon. Keith escaped the hecticness of the ranger base, climbing up to Breeze Hill. His head was too full of thoughts for the usual joking around with the others. And when he was distracted, there was only one thing to do.

First, quick check to see if anyone else was around. Keith relaxed his muscles and let the light course through his veins. Clothes changed to white and wings unfolded from his back. Yes, he changed to his angel form. With a running start, Keith took off and started to fly in the sky.

Oh how he missed the feeling of flight. High in the air, floating among the clouds, the wind brushing past him…felt amazing. Used to be able to do it during spare time. But what with the current assignment, Keith hadn't gotten to fly for awhile.

Current assignment…..Kate. Spenser's words still stung at Keith.

"You like Kate."

Over and over, Keith heard those words. Damn Spenser…

"He think he knows everything just cause he's Kate's 'brother'." Keith thought, somersaulting in the air. "Yeah right."

There was no spark or chemistry between him and Kate. Whatever it was Spenser saw or thought was nothing more than his imagination at work. Pfft. Why does everyone want him and Kate to be a pair? It wasn't going to happen! Nada! Nothing whatsoever!

Keith is an angel. Kate? Human. Every angel knows that not only is love, let alone like, is physically/emotionally impossible. Not to mention it's the number one law with the penalty being death. And the most painful one at that. Every angel, even the toughest ones, feared dying that way. Keith was no exception.

What was so darn appealing about Kate anyways? She's a stubborn, quick tempered, impatient girl who could land a hard hit on his skull. It's almost as if she didn't need protection. And yet…Keith felt his heart race thinking about it. Kate did look cute when she was mad. The way her face turned cherry-red, angry or embarrassed, made Keith smile. Made her big blue eyes flare up. Oh those eyes…Keith could read any sort of emotion through them. Such perfect eyes. He hadn't seen anything like them.

"…oh…arceus….NO…" Keith froze. "No way! It can't be! I'm not thinking this!"

But he was. Keith was thinking it all, picturing the shining face that belonged to Kate. Every little detail, redhead was perfectly made aware of. Keith knew how perfect Kate's mouth curved into a smile, how she laughed and the way she saluted. He watched her care for pokemon of all kinds, be it the pokemon at base or wild ones. Kate had a sense of humor that was her own, unique. Even when she showed her orange hair, her true colors, Keith thought she was gorgeous.

All of it because….

"I like her." He whispered, the realization dawning.

Keith had a gigantic crush on Kate. He liked her a lot. And that feeling was growing. But how? How did this happen? Angels don't like humans that way! Never! Not once has this ever happened. Now here was Keith, suddenly liking Kate in a whole new way. What would the counsel say if they found out?

"Hold on! Get it together, Keith…" He muttered under his breath. "No one has to know. No one's going to find out."

He could keep quiet about it. Sure the other rangers would have their own ideas about things but Keith wouldn't say a damn thing about it. Keep up the denial and make sure the assignment, aka Kate, wasn't being kidnapped by this…Din Storm?...whats-their-face team. No problem. It'd just take more resistance and inner strength but Keith was totally ready to tackle it head on. Besides, this was just like. Keith wasn't in love with the girl. Heck no. The rules never said anything about liking a human. So he wasn't breaking the rules at all. No harm done.

Making sure the coast was clear once more, Keith gracefully landed on Breeze Hill once more. He shifted back to human form. All that thinking and flying made him hungry. He'd sneak inside the sleeping base, grab some pizza from the fridge and then get to bed. Keith hopped down the hill and went over to Nabiki beach.

"Spenser?"

The green haired leader was looking out onto the ocean. He noticed Keith coming right away.

"Hey." Spenser greeted calmly. "You missed a wild party."

"Needed some time alone." Keith shrugged.

"Same here." Spenser agreed. "Had to get a walk in before I hit the hay."

Silence. The ocean waves softly crashed to the shores as wind rustled the trees.

"You were right." Keith mumbled.

"Hm?" Spenser didn't tear his gaze away.

"I said you were right. About Kate." Keith sighed. "I like her. A lot. I won't be telling her quite yet. But I thought you should know, since she's like a sister to you. And I trust you can keep a secret."

Spenser smirked. "I can. No need to worry."

More silence. It was a relief off Keith's chest. One person knew and Spenser seemed like the type who'd keep his mouth shut. No one else would ever know. Not an ounce of danger at all.

"If you can tell me your secret, I'll tell you mine." Spenser said. "It's about the reason I came to Almia."

"You're not here to congratulate Kate?" Keith blinked.

"It was an excuse." Spenser confessed. "Did….did Kate ever mention a particular incident?"

"The Fiore Child Experiment from eleven years ago? Yes. She told me." Keith answered.

"That incident…it was a nightmare." Spenser's eyes turned dark. "Worst time of my life…."

The leader sat down on the sand; Keith following pursuit. Spenser was quiet, struggling to find the right words to say. It was obvious he, himself, was emotional over this.

"I remember everything. The last time I saw her, Kate was excited and going to adventure in the woods. Then, sometime at night, her mom comes to me in tears saying she's gone missing. I didn't believe her at first but searching every inch of Lyra Forest myself…she was right. Kate was gone." Spenser retold.

He paused, taking a deep breath.

"The other rangers joined in, even Joel put aside our rivalry to help me. None of us could find her. Not even the pokemon." Spenser continued. "Soon enough, a lot more kids went missing without a trace. Dark figures were seen briefly, abducting these kids…and I was terrified that Kate was a victim."

Keith listened patiently and intently. Even as Spenser kept stopping, regaining himself.

"We launched investigations, continued searching. Didn't sleep or eat at all during the entire time." Spenser went on. "But…but in the darkest hours, when everyone felt like giving up hope, something happened. We were given, how do I say it, 'directions'…almost as if some other force was telling us to do this and go to a certain place…"

Redhead tried hard not to smirk, knowing fully his kind was behind those signs.

"We were led to this supposedly abandoned factory, tucked away somewhere. Barged in and…and….aw arceus, the sight was horrifying. A dark, cold, blood-stained room where kids shivered in cages and cruel men conducted science experiments. And Kate…" Spenser gulped. "She was in critical condition. Carrying that small, nearly lifeless body almost killed my spirit. Thank heavens Kate lived and didn't get experimented on."

"I…I'm sorry. That you had to go through that." Keith quietly apologized (not telling him Kate did being experimented on or the powers)

"It hurts from time to time. I got over the initial shock, seeing her recover. Kate was charging back into Lyra Forest after a month." Spenser responded. "But every year, around that day, Kate goes into traumatic shock. She'll have nightmares, freeze up and become emotionally unstable."

"And you're here to help her through it?" Keith assumed.

"Bingo." Spenser flashed a small grin. "I was worried that Kate would still be suffering from those horrid memories. She's been kidnapped, held prisoner and witnessed other children being brutally murdered…it's scarred her for life. Poor girl. I couldn't stand knowing she was in another region, dealing with this all alone."

"She's not alone." Keith assured.

"I know." Spenser sighed. "She has many friends here in Almia. And there's you. I know you'll make Kate happy and keep her safe. If those bad memories haunt her again, you're going to be the one by her side."

"I will. You can trust me…I promise." Keith vowed.

"Thanks." Spenser smiled, relaxing. "And I'm still completely serious on that threat. If Kate gets hurt, you will be answering to me."

"Y-yeah. Got it." Keith trembled.

Despite being an angel who could kick butt, Keith felt it wouldn't be good to witness Spenser's rage.

"Let's go back to the base. I'm beat…" Spenser yawned.

"Same here." Keith agreed.

The two guys walked off the beach and back into the sleepy town and its ranger base.

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Keith FINALLY admits to liking Kate. Just to himself and Kate's brotherly figure. Step in the right direction I suppose.

More coming to you! Not that far ahead in the future!