A/N: It has been a while, but finally a new chapter. It has been a busy couple of months for me. I'm sure I have plenty of excuses, but at the moment, they seem very insignificant. Hope the wait was worth it!

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon.

First to Victory: Chapter 25

After seeing Lance off, Blake headed back toward the fields where he knew Marisa would be. He predicted she would be training since she had left with a foul mood. It was clear that she did not like to be told to stay behind. This battle was more hers than anyone elses. She had every right to participate, but Lance was right to keep her back. If Lance had not said something, he would have. This was not something for average trainers, though he did have to admit that there was some trill in chasing after a criminal organization, but that was beside the point. The important thing was to keep Marisa safe.

Blake stopped at the door leading to the fields. Was there anything he could do for her if he followed? Did she even want him around? His own silence when Lance told her to stay put had basically shouted "I agree" and he was well aware that Marisa would not hold back hitting him. Of course, Lance had included him in that order to stay put, but that was a given. He was not going to leave Marisa. If she was staying, so was he. He would be her shadow if given the option.

Blake pushed open the door and took a few steps outside before stopping once more. This was his chance to get close to her, but he had to do it the right way. First step would be to calm her down, which was probably the hardest of all the steps and yet… an idea formed in his head. The male trainer shrugged. It had worked once before. Maybe it would work again.

"Nidoran, Poison Sting!" Marisa called out. The blue Pokemon jumped into the air and shot purple needles toward Bulbasaur. Bulbasaur jumped out of the way. The training was simple. Bulbasaur was to dodge while Marisa worked with Nidoran's attacks. She had nothing else to do since Lance ordered her to stay put. Of course, training was what she would be doing anyway. Yes, she was one badge away from the Pokemon League Competition, but that was still a ways off and training now was better than doing nothing and it helped her burn some of her rage.

"Double Kick!" Nidoran jumped at Bulbasaur and launched kicks at it. Bulbasaur tried to dodge, but Nidoran was much faster and managed to knock the grass Pokemon back. Bulbasaur quickly shook it off and readied for the next attack.

"How about a real battle?" Marisa looked up surprised. She thought Blake would stay away for a while, but to her surprise, he was there and casually leaning again a tree. When he arrived, she had no idea, but it was clear that he had been there watching her for at least a few minutes. It was a bad sign when she let her emotions get to her enough that someone like Blake could come up without her noticing.

"Are you challenging me?" Marisa asked not sure she heard him right. It had been a while since they last battled. A slight blush crept onto Marisa's face as she remembered the last time. The battle had ended in a draw, but she had let him kiss her. The memory of the kiss flooded her mind forcing her to look away.

Blake smiled lightly. "That's right. A three Pokemon match and I'll give you the advantage. You have access to all of your Pokemon to choose from and I'll show you mine first."

"Is this your way of saying I can't beat you on equal terms?" Marisa shot back slightly annoyed that he would be so confident.

"Not at all," he replied moving from the tree. "It just sounded like fun."

"I have to question your definition of fun," the female replied avoiding looking at him. "Besides, I'm training right now. I don't want a battle."

Blake knew training was not what she wanted to do. She wanted to be out with Lance hunting down Team Rocket. Training was just a cover up. "Then lets train," the male replied releasing his Pokemon.

Marisa was not surprised to see Blake with a different team than he had spoken of in the Seafoam Islands. Though she did have to wonder when he managed to swap out Lapras. She could not recall him making another phone call to Professor Elm other than when they were in Fuschia City. His current team consisted of Typhlosion, Skarmory, Scizor, Xatu, Ampharos and one Pokemon she had yet to meet. Clearly he had chosen to change to his stronger team after the incident with Team Rocket. The sight was actually comforting in a way.

Marisa pulled out her Pokedex. The new Pokemon was familiar to her though she was not sure where she had seen it before. It was black, with a red, feather-like growth coming out of its head. It stood upright and had sharp claws. The Pokemon looked fast.

"Sneasel, the Sharp Claw Pokémon. Sneasel can extend or retract its claws instantly during attack".

Marisa returned her Pokedex to her back pocket. "Is that your best team?" she asked slowly.

Blake looked at them for a moment before shrugging. "Maybe, but that depends on the opponent."

"Then… is that the team you used against Cassandra?"

Blake went silent and looked down. "Even if it was, that wouldn't matter. I was not strong enough then to beat her," he slowly looked up and met Marisa eyes. He smiled then. "But it wasn't that bad of a loss. If Cassandra had to resort to Attract, then I almost had her." Marisa was at a loss. Was Blake upset about the loss or did he accept it? He did not seem to be the type to take a loss easily. Blake slowly closed the distance between them and put his hand gently against Marisa cheek. Marisa held back the urge to knock him back. "But you know, if I had won, I wouldn't be here now."

Marisa blinked a few times. "What do you mean?"

"Uh… nothing…" he quickly said backing away leaving Marisa very much confused.

"Hey, don't say something like that and then take it back," she replied trying to grab him.

Blake backed away quickly. "Just forget I said that."

"No way!"

Before either of them realized it, they were running around the fields like a pair of little kids. Marisa was determined to catch Blake and Blake was determined to stay away. The Pokemon just sat around and watched their humans act foolish for a while. Before either realized it, laughter entered the chase and soon Bulbasaur and Nidoran joined in, which led to the rest of the Pokemon running or flying around.

Time went by quickly as it usually does when people or Pokemon begin to play. Marisa completely forgot about being upset and thoroughly enjoyed playing with Blake and the Pokemon. It had been a long time since she was able to forget about her troubles and just laugh, but that did not mean she forgot that she was chasing Blake. With one last sprint, she moved toward him. They were both getting tired. Neither was sure how much time had passed, but it was enough to wear them out, so naturally, Blake did not think Marisa had anything left.

Marisa's sprint surprised the male trainer and actually caused him to stumble over his own feet. Seeing an opening, the female trainer jumped through the air. Blake turned slightly knowing what was coming and did his best to catch her. With a clumsy catch, the pair fell to the ground laughing. The Pokemon continued to play ignoring their trainers.

"Caught you," Marisa managed to say with labored breathing.

"Yes… you did," Blake replied wrapping his arms around her waist. Marisa blushed deeply as she realized their positions. She was on top of him. Pressed up against him. It was one of those positions that was dangerous to be in with a man like Blake. Slowly Blake ran a hand up her back until he reached her face. Gently, he rested his hand on her cheek. "And what are you going to do with me?"

Marisa blushed deeper, if that was even possible. How could he sound so natural after all the running? And even worse, he left her with a loss of words. "Uh… uh… um…"

Blake gave her his trademark smile. "Perhaps I should help." Before Marisa could refuse, Blake took advantage of their situation and flipped their position. He then made things even more uncomfortable for Marisa by bringing his face closer to hers. "Now, I've caught you." Marisa could feel her heart pounding in her chest as she anticipated Blake's next move. Slowly, he moved closer until she could feel his breath on her lips.

"I must ask something," he said holding his position. "Am I risking getting hit?"

Marisa blinked a few times trying to clear the fog from her head. What did he mean by hit? She was completely lost. He was so close and she could feel desire holding her. He was cruel to ask such a question in the current position. Thinking was not something she could do well at the moment.

"Huh?" was all Marisa could get out.

Blake chuckled lightly. "You have a habit of hitting me if I get too close," he replied continuing to torment her with the slight distance. His thumb gently began to stroke her cheek.

Marisa's eyes began to drop slightly at the feeling, while a part of her mind tried to yell at her. She still had no idea what he meant by hit him, but the rational part of her mind wanted her to back away. Being with Blake was dangerous, it always was, but her heart was beating so fast and he was so close.

"Blake…" His name came out so softly that Blake was unsure if he heard it or imagined it. It was so beautiful coming out of her mouth as he knew it would be and it broke the last of his restraint.

Softly, he pressed his lips against her hers. Just a featherlight touch. A brushing of lips while he waited for a reaction. As he hoped, Marisa pressed back urging him further. All worry washed away as he deepened the kiss. If she chose to hit him afterwards, it would be worth it. The feeling of having her in his arms and kissing her was one he would take any amount of pain for.

Closing her eyes completely, Marisa found her hands moving up Blake's back as she kissed him back. Being with him seemed to dispel all her fears and left nothing, but happiness. His lips were soft and warm and touched her to her very core. He made her want for things she never thought she would want again, but more than anything, he made her forget.

Blake's hand stroked Marisa's side gently while sliding his other hand to her neck. Softly, he drew circles to keep his hands from doing something regretful. The kiss was tempting him to go further and the still sane part of his mind was screaming at him to stop while he still could. There were too many eyes watching to make going further truly meaningful… wait… eyes?

Blake forced himself to pull back against his desires. Marisa's hands had found there way into his hair and were doing interesting things to his brain cells, but that was not important at the moment. Something was wrong. He could have sworn someone was watching them. Painful as it was, he managed to tear his eyes from Marisa's newly opened ones so he could look around.

What he saw felt like a bucket of cold water had fallen on him. At some point, all of the Pokemon had stopped playing and were now staring at them, watching them like they were the most interesting thing in the world. Marisa seemed to have noticed as well. Slowly, she pulled her hands from his hair and pulled away from him as best as she could with him still on top of her. Blake got the message and removed his hands from her body while backing off.

"It's gotten late," Marisa managed to say only glancing at the male trainer.

Blake stood up and offered his hand. "Yeah," he agreed not knowing what else to say. The Pokemon were still making him uneasy. He had the bad feeling Umbreon was ready to attack him.

Marisa released a small smile as she took his hand and accepted his assistance. "We should head back to the lab," she suggested reluctantly releasing Blake's hand.

Blake nodded. Words were suddenly not coming easily to him. He could not even find the strength to gather his Pokemon, but not Marisa. She knew exactly what to do to get the Pokemon to head for the lab, where dinner was most likely waiting. She was functioning normally, or at least seemed to be. He had a hard time believing she felt nothing from what just happened. They would need to talk about it, or at least that was what he wanted, but that would come later. The Pokemon would come first and then once they could have some time alone… Blake allowed his mind to wander into the realm of "what ifs."

A hand rested on his shoulder. "Are you going to stay out here all evening?" Marisa asked looking slightly concerned though Blake was not sure if that was true concern or his mind's desire to have her concerned about him.

"Uh… no…" he replied slowly. Blake quickly took hold of Marisa's hand and gave her an easy smile. "Let's go." Marisa stalled for a moment before letting him lead them back to the lab.

Awkward days passed between the two trainers. Blake was in denial about Marisa having any feelings for him, while Marisa was simply talking herself out of there being anything between them. Both wanted to write off the whole incidence as a mood thing and forget about it, and yet… neither wanted to forget. Instead of discussing, they spent most of the time fighting with each other. Not verbal fighting since that risked leading to a discussion about the kiss, but Pokemon fighting.

Blake's idea of training together had taken off the next morning when Marisa had caught him running Typhlosion through some warm ups. Glances and small smiles passed between the two during training, but both denied anything. Training kept their minds occupied, yet allowed them to spend time together.

Marisa was more than aware that it was a false sense of security she had when she was around him. Blake was a player. He did not care who it was as long as it was female. One kiss or three… it did not matter to him and it should not matter to her, but she could not deny that she felt safe with him. He promised his protection to her, but she was the one that should protect him. She knew Team Rocket better than anyone else and if Benett or Maxwell realized what was going on between the two of them… she did not even want her mind to process that information. Blake was in danger and pervert or not, she had to keep him far away from the entire mess. She could not allow herself to have any kind of special feelings for him and he should know better than to feel anything for her.

The female trainer looked out over the darkened fields from her window. She had to get away. The longer she stayed in one place, the more dangerous things would become. Lance should never have left her in Pallet Town with the risk of Team Rocket so close. Yes, it had been safe before, but she had disappeared from their radar… now… now she was putting the people close to her at risk as well as all the Pokemon in the lab. How long was she going to have to wait before Lance finished the gym investigation?

With a sigh, Marisa headed out toward the fields. She could not sleep no matter how much she wanted to. Her mind always drifted back to the kiss and caused Blake to fill up her mind. At her side was Umbreon, who had chosen to be her constant companion. She was sure Umbreon was picking up on her mood. Arcanine was the same way, but Arcanine was willing to let her have some space. Umbreon still had not learned how to do that, which seemed to fit in well right beside his habit of breaking out of his Pokeball. The act made her wonder if Pokemon relationships were as confusing as human ones.

The lab was dark, but that did not matter. Marisa knew her way around even with no lights. If she needed light, Umbreon would provide. As quietly as possible, Marisa unlocked the door and slipped into the night. She knew Professor Oak and Tracey would sleep through some sound, but she did not know about Blake and did not want him waking up and following her. Being alone with him in the middle of the night was the last thing her heart could take. She could just see him with the moon behind him, looking mysterious and very handsome.

A sigh escaped Marisa's lips. How much longer could she manage to ignore her feelings for the other trainer? It was easy to ignore the feelings that came from the first two kisses, but the newest one… she had not known a kiss could feel that way. Blake had been more than gentle with her even though she knew he wanted more. She could feel the way his body had tightened, or maybe his muscles had always been that hard. A part of her wanted to explore those muscles and find out how they moved and if they were really as hard as they seemed. Blake made her long for something normal in a life that was far from that and in doing so, he made her want to protect him. Something had to be done. She would not leave Kanto without taking care of Team Rocket and she did not want to admit anything about the possible relationship being Blake and herself. How had a simple gym badge journey turned into such a massive mess?

Marisa slid down the trunk of a tree and began to stroke Umbreon. The longer she spent with Blake, the harder it was to see herself alone. The thought was frightening to her. She had always been alone even when she lived with her father. Benett was there at times and she saw him as a childhood friend, but she was basically all alone. Benett had eased her loneliness, which had made her feel like she loved him, but in the end, he was only using her. Was Blake doing the same thing? Did he sense that she was lonely and was trying to make her feel better by being close? There could be a paralle drawn between the two males, but one thing was sure, Benett had not even come close to making her feel the way Blake did when being kissed. Marisa was not even sure a fake kiss could cause such an array of feelings.

Marisa shook her head and attempted to get Blake out of it. Even when she was not sleeping or anywhere near her, he still managed to take over her thoughts. "I should have hit him," she mumbled. He had put her in such a trance that she had not even understood his comment about getting hit until well after the kiss had taken place. The moment was so long passed that it had not felt right to hit him, so she took out her frustration in training. Her Pokemon did not mind the extra push. In fact, they liked getting the tough workouts, or at least it seemed that way. They might have just liked getting the chance to fight against Blake's highly trained Pokemon. One thing was for sure, Blake was a very skilled trainer, not that she had ever questioned that. She should embrace his skills and accept his help with everything going on, but that was not going to happen. Relying on Lance was hard enough at times; she was not going to put reliance into another male… and yet, she already had. The moment she agreed to go to Seafoam Island, she had accepted his help. Maybe even before that. They had gone through Mt. Moon together and he had even helped her at the Pokemon Expo. At some point, he had managed to creep into her life and become a steady companion.

The female trainer looked over at the lab. "How do you see me?" she whispered to the night air, a part of her hoping it would reach Blake's ears, yet scared to find out. Did she dare risk being hurt once again?

Blake groaned as light filled the bedroom. Another restless night had come and gone. Sleeping in a warm bed should have made sleeping easier, but being so close to Marisa made it feel more like hell. A loud yawn escaped his lips as he climbed out of bed and into the shower. He had to admit, Professor Oak's place was nicer than Professor Elm's. Oak gave his guests their own bathrooms. Professor Elm did not even have guest rooms. Not really. They ended up with experiments in them that left them virtually unusable.

Warm water slid down his body as he stood in the shower. He had a plan for the day. It had taken all night, but he knew what he wanted to do with Marisa. Kanto was not safe and it was taking Lance far too long to get back. He wanted Marisa to go with him to Johto until things smoothed over. Once away from all the trouble, they both could figure out what was going on between them and get over the awkwardness that being near caused. He could not imagine she could possible lose any sleep over him, but he sure was and that was enough to make him want to do something.

Rejection was an unknown term in his mind. She knew the threat better than he did and yet, he had never heard her talk about leaving. He had to believe that she would not reject his suggestion. Common sense dictated that they should go hide away from the enemy. However, Blake would have to admit, common sense would have also sent him far away from someone as prone to violence as Marisa.

Blake pressed his forehead against the cool tile of the shower stall, while the warm water flowed over him. Thinking about taking her to Johto was a lot easier than building up the courage to actually ask her. He was nervous, a rare occurance for him. Would she see things the way he did? He wanted her safe and far from harms way, but carrying her away like a caveman, while tempting, would not score him any relationship points. He had to be careful with her if he wanted to stay in her life.

With a sigh, Blake turned the water off and stepped out of the shower. He rubbed the towel through his hair, but decided not to bother grooming it. Looking his best had not scored many points with the lady he wanted anyway. His skills with Pokemon, however, were a different matter. Marisa had failed to hide the fact that she saw him as a good trainer, which was the only thing that seemed to keep him on her good side. She liked training with him and he was aware that it had all to do with picking up on his training secrets. He had tossed aside the possibility that she accepted training with him for him a long time ago.

The male trainer glanced at the clock while he dressed. It was after eight. Marisa would be out training already. He was fairly sure that nerves were causing Marisa to train so much. She was worried about what Lance would find and did not like staying put. He could not imagine that she would train her Pokemon so much for any other reason. There were hardly any breaks in the training and she was really pushing them. The Pokemon did not seem to mind, but it really looked unnatural to him.

A knock came on his door. Blake strapped on his Pokeballs before heading to the door. "What is it?" he asked opening the door. Blake was unable to miss the worried expression on Professor Oak's face.

"Have you seen Marisa today?" he quickly asked after taking a quick glance around the bedroom.

Blake shook his head. "No, last time I saw her was at dinner. Is something wrong?" The male trainer felt like he had a rock stuck in his throat. He did not like where the conversation was leading.

"She was going to help me with taking Pokemon samples this morning and never showed up."

Blake took a deep breath and willed himself to calm down. Marisa was not the type to fall back on a promise. "Did you check her room and the fields?"

The Professor nodded slowly obviously coming to the same conclusion Blake had. Marisa had gone after Team Rocket or was running from them again. The male trainer turned back into the room and grabbed his backpack. There was no way of knowing when she had left, but he would find her. He was going to need some help to find her though.

"I need to borrow one of Marisa's Pokemon," Blake said taking Ampharos' ball from his belt and holding it out to Professor Oak. "I'll have an easier time finding her with a Pokemon that knows her well."

Explanations were unnecessary. They were both worried that Marisa was about to do something reckless. Blake pulled out his Pokegear as they headed to the lab to do the Pokemon swap. Lance needed to be notified and for once, Blake was thankful the Dragon Master had thought to give him a means of reaching him quickly. Time was growing short.

Next Chapter: Tracking Marisa

A/N: This is actually the longest chapter I have written for the story so far and it basically wrote itself.