Chapter 28: Soldier of Love

Ash pursued May through the park as the two of them giggled. He had to admit that May was much faster than he remembered; this time around he was the one who would get a bit worn out. Rattata and Pidgey drew themselves away from the duo, to wanting to get in the way of their little game.

"Come on Ash, I thought you were faster than this," the brunette recalled her friend's speed.

"May be you just got faster," the black-haired teen stated as he went after her.

"Oh, so you admit that I'm better than you," the sapphire-eyed girl teased him.

"What? No way, I'm going to get you!" the raven-haired trainer told her as he began to increase his velocity.

May turned to see that he was finally catching up and this is as fast as she could run. Then she tried to slow him down through the playground by crouching and jumping at every turn in the playground. She swung through the bars and saw that Ash was still right behind her.

"No use May," the trainer gave her a sly smirk.

"We'll see Ash," the coordinator gave him a cocky grin.

She jumped down from the structure from, which she was on and approached another. If turned back she might slow down just because of taking a glance of his position. The Hoenn native speedily climbed the ladder of the structure and saw a slide on the other side of the structure.

Her eyes were tempted to identify Ash's location though, and took a look down to see the boy hurriedly climbing the ladder. Her blue eyes widened as he was very close to catching up. Without a moment's hesitation she ran to the other side of the structure and swiftly landed on the slide. She slid quite fast and thought with that boost she could've left Ash in the dust.

When May landed she heard swift movement and without even getting a second to locate it, Ash had tapped her. "Tag you're it," the messy haired teen laughed and ran off to the grass.

"Oh darn, I'm going to get my revenge," the girl frowned and clutches her fist due to her loss and without wasting another second began running towards the boy.

She was more determined than ever to get him, and boosted her speed to catch up. Her speed was getting so high though, it felt as if she couldn't stop. Ash was just right ahead and ran towards a tree.

"Watch out May!" the auburn-eyed trainer warned her as grabbed on to the tree's trunk and made a quick turn.

"I've lost control of my legs," the brunette squealed as she felt as though she couldn't stop running to turn.

Ash stared from behind to see her inches away from bumping in to the tree trunk, "Come on May, get it together!" He told his friend to find the strength to stop her acceleration from getting the best of her.

May was just a few inches from running in to the tree, she had accelerated so much that it felt as though she was skating or surfing on the grass. She only thought of one thing to do and grabbed on to the tree to make a 180 degree turn. Her arm held on to the trunk and due to her velocity instead of smoothly turning she flew off her feet and turned to the opposite side of the tree, nearly slipping.

"That's it May!" Ash cheered her as she managed to avoid a crash.

"Watch out Ash Ketchum because I'm going to come after you now," the brunette's eyes were blazing with determination.

The Kanto resident saw how eager she was to tag him. May slowly began to accelerate again. She was catching up with him and he had to do something to escape her reach. He tried to outrun her, but May hurriedly rushed to be in range of Ash.

His Hoenn friend declared, "You are mine Ash!" She was now just a few inches away from him and she began to extend her arm to tag him.

"Not yet," the Pallet Town teen announced and put all his energy in to running.

He was beginning to outrun her and May was shocked at how close yet so far she was tag him. There was only one thing to do and it was her last resort. May put all her energy to catching up with Ash and even though she wasn't at arm's reach she had other plans.

"You can't catch me May," the boy felt assured of being free from her touch, she was nowhere near tagging him from that distance.

"Just watch Ash," the brown-haired female smiled and accelerated a bit more to get in the correct range.

When Ash still saw her out of his range, he smiled. Truly believing that he had won the game, but then May got a bit closer and leaped at him with her arms out. Ash had to time to react and saw her come at him like a homing missile.

Ash felt himself lose balance as May ended up holding on to his back. She was hanging on to him like she was a little two-year-old girl. Then he realized that she had tagged him just like she said she would.

"What were you saying Ash?" the brunette raised an eyebrow while holding on to Ash.

"Never mind, you win," the Pallet male smiled at her as he turned his head a bit to tell her she was the winner.

"I knew it," the coordinator smirked confidently at her victory, but she still held on to his back.

Ash wondered why she was still on when the game was over, he couldn't but blush as he held on to her legs so she wouldn't fall off her back. "May, you can let go now," the teen said as he was unable to face her with his red-colored face.

"But I don't want to, let's see if you can take me on a ride while I hold on to your back," the brunette challenged him.

Her Kanto friend blushed even more at her dare. "Ummm, but what if you fall? Are you sure you wouldn't even feel uncomfortable?" the teen tried to find excuse to avoid carrying her like this for some time.

"Nope, don't worry about me. I just want to see if you can do it," the girl assured him.

"But…" before Ash could finish talking he was interrupted.

"Oh come on Ash, let's just have fun with this," the Petalburg coordinator kept insisting her friend.

There was no way of getting out of this, so there was no choice, but to do it. Misty had told him in the past that he would encounter moments where he would just have to give in the female's demand. This is what she meant, Ash thought. Nevertheless, he had already been told that being in situations such as this would be challenging, but there was no choice except accept it. Now he was just supposed to relax and have fun with May like he normally would.

"Ok, let's go!" the raven-haired trainer tightened his grip on May and pushed her further to his back.

"Let's go!" the brown-haired girl cheered.

Ash then began running as fast as possible. May's full weight wasn't exactly light weight, but he would have to manage. He took her on his back around every corner of the park and began to enjoy himself. This was kind of funny, May held on to him from his neck and her legs were wrapped on his waist. He felt warm and didn't want this attachment to end, it made him feel secure that May would never leave him for anything. This was becoming the best day of his life, never before did he enjoy an event as much as hanging out with May.

May also felt great, the instant she wrapped her legs on Ash waist and put her arms around his neck she felt like she died and gone to heaven. Taking this little piggyback ride made her relax, admiring nature with Ash carrying her made her feel completely safe and cozy in her embrace with Ash. It was unlike her to offer a childish thing like a piggyback, but it was her test to see if Ash was truly willing to do this. The boy was reluctant at first; however he eventually gave in to her desire. When Ash put his hands on her legs to carry her she felt a second of revelation. Her mind spoke to her, telling her that this was so right and her greatest day. Why did she feel so great? Was she actually falling in love with him?

The wind brushed their faces as they embraced the serenity of the park. They were in complete balance with Mother Nature until May felt Ash's grip on her legs loosen up and she became alert, "What's going on Ash?"

"My arms are getting tired, I'm sorry May," the raven-haired boy apologized as his hold began to loosen more and more.

"Its ok Ash, I'm sorry about making you carry me for this long. Thank you though, for the ride," May smiled happily as she got off Ash's back.

The aroma of that great feeling faded away inside Ash and May when the ride has stopped. Each other's embrace was broken and the two now had to now move on to a different activity.

Ash returned her gesture, "So what do you want to do now May?"

May no clue when her best friend asked her, she didn't want to tell him that run out of ideas because she didn't want this wonderful afternoon to end. She looked around for ideas and then she saw a bush rustling with a Rattata approaching. The scavenger called out to the bushes and another Rattata emerged from bush. The two normal-types then went off to a place beyond the park. Her fingers then snapped, signifying that she had come up with a brand new activity.

"Let's play Hide and Seek!" the brunette suggested the fun, classical game.

"Whatever you want May, let's go," the messy haired teen was glad they had come up with something else to play.

"Great, I'll hide, you seek," the brunette told her friend.

"Alright, May get ready to hide," the messy haired teen hid his face with his hands.

May, then started to analyze any good hiding spot. Then Ash had begun counting, "1…2…3."

The brunette ran around anxiously for a hiding spot. The playground was out of the question because it had been too open and that would allow finding her quickly. She rushed to a log with a hole to hide in; alas it was too small for her to hide in. If she hid in the tree tops, it'd be one of the first places Ash would check since it was a good hiding place.

"6…7…8," the teen counted as May became more alert and rushed through whole park until she came across a tree with a little place to hide. It was on the exterior part of the park and the tree was well hidden so this would serve her a good hiding spot.

"10!" Ash announced so that May could know that he was coming after her.

"Where are you May?" the teen looked around and murmured.

The park had various amount of places to hide in, and May could be in any of them, but that would just make it all the more fun for Ash. He decided to check the playground first, he checked underneath the slides to see if there was anyone hiding there. He checked the structures, but found no one there. When checked by the see-saw there was still no one there.

All of a sudden, Ash heard footsteps coming from behind and heard leaves rustling. He turned around to find nothing, but he sought the location from where the sound had come from. Ash stepped out of the playground to locate the sound and because he hadn't found May there. More sounds were heard and Ash could now easily identify the source of the sound. When he reached a part of the park covered in bushes and trees, he assumed this was where it was coming from. May, might be the causing those noises, Ash thought and smiled at how May failed to be discreet.

Ash made turn to a group of bushes that seemed like a perfect place to hide in. The final assumption Ash made was that this could definitely be a spot where May would hide. He turned to the lush part of the park and yelled "Found you!"

Much to his disappointment though, it was revealed the one committing the sounds was just a Rattata playing in the leaves. When the rat-like Pokémon saw Ash it quickly leaped in to the bushes to hide.

"I could have sworn she was here. She's a better hider than I thought," the male sighed and continued his search.

The next best location May could hide in was the treetops. He took a careful look at the treetops to see any sign of May. When leaves dropped down, Ash would at first believe the leaves to have fallen from a hiding May, but when Pidgey had revealed themselves in the trees, it was yet another futile attempt to believe that it had been May.

Following that was checking behind the trees. Ash swiftly yet discreetly searched for any sign of life in the trees. He turned to the side of the tree to find nothing, but Pokémon yet again.

"Come on May, where are you?" Ash looked around and failed to find May.

There was still the exterior part of the park that he hadn't check. When he walked there he found it very dense with some moss covering the trees. The trees were thicker than the ones in the interior part of park. Ash wouldn't be able to see through the density if he kept walking so he climbed one of the trees. He climbed one that was tall and easy to climb and once Ash reached the top he held on to the branch while standing on the wood to try to spot May from this height. His bird view, however didn't allow him to find anything. All that was spotted was Pokémon, the playground, and the entrance.

"Guess I won't find anything like this either," Ash dropped to the grass and then took a quick look around.

"Where could she be?" the raven-haired boy in Sinnoh clothing looked around eagerly. He just hoped he could find her soon because he started to get worried about her whereabouts.

After a couple of minutes walking in the dense exterior part of the park he came across various trees with hollows in them. This was good place to hide in as well, Ash assumed to himself. The trainer began to crawl in to the hollows to search for May; there were dozens of them so the black-haired youngster had a lot of ground to cover.

When the boy crawled in to hollows he found various things from mushrooms, some berries collected by the local Pokémon and nests that might have also been possibly built by the local Pokémon as well. Ash didn't check some of the hollows because of their small size and due to May being bigger than some it was impossible for her to fit in there without sticking out, this would make things easier for Ash.

"I've checked ten of these so far and still no sign of May, I hope nothing happened to her, if not then I think I'll consider her the best hide and seek player I have ever met. I might as well just keep searching, there are still plenty of hollows left and she could be hiding in any of them," Ash spoke to no one in particular as he searched around the hollows.

Then he came across a few larger than average-sized hollows and figured this would be one of the spots May would most likely hide in. He searched in a few of them, and found them empty then he heard heavy tree rustling and Ash instantly became alert. The anxious raised he head quickly, but forgot that he was still in a hollow and the boy hit himself in the head.

"Ouch, why is it always my head that gets hurt? Where'd that rustling even come from," the boy complained about his recent gag with getting hurt in the head since he arrived in Pallet Town from Sinnoh.

Ash exited the hollow while holding his hand on the back of his head and got up too identify the source of the rustling. Since he was too busy complaining about getting hit in the head though it was too late to locate the sounds and would have to keep searching. He went straight ahead to see if anything came from there. When he turned to analyze this part of the trees he found nothing, but then heard the sounds of rustling once gain.

The Pallet trainer instantly turned around to locate the sound and saw some leaves gently falling down while in the air. "Hmmm, wonder if it's May doing that? If she's moving place to place and trying to be discreet then she's going to be favoring me, I better check out before she starts hiding again," the auburn-eyed trainer presumed about his friend's activities.

He began running towards where he heard the rustling when he caught up he heard louder rustling from the left and saw a figure dressed in red, Ash smirked cunningly, "Gotcha!"

May ran as fast possible to get anyone from Ash and heard him approach her at a fast velocity, "Since when can you run in this game May?"

"Since I wanted to make this game more interesting, try and catch me!" the brunette told him as she ran.

"You can run, but you can't hide anymore May!" the raven-haired teen told her.

"You can't catch me!" the brunette ran even faster and ran in to the interior part of the park where the playground awaited her.

"Just watch me get you again!" the teen said as he prepared to end the little game.

At least she wasn't in any danger, Ash let out a sigh of relief. He quickly smiled and began to catch up to her, his friend couldn't outrun him forever, "May, after this I'm done running for the day!"

May giggled at her friend, "Fine, but let's see if you can catch me this last time!" When she saw a pole in the middle of the playground she made an announcement, "Ash, if I touch that pole before you catch me I win!"

"Good luck, but I'm going to get you before you reach that pole," May's mentor spoke confidently.

"Right, let's see you stop me now!" the blue-eyed girl began to accelerate to reach the pole and she was just a few meters away from it. She didn't bother looking back to spot Ash because he would be unable to catch up to her now. "Just a few more steps," the brunette stated and went out to reach for the pole, but somebody had intercepted her before her fingers that were few centimeters away from the pole had been stopped.

His arms grabbed her waist and stopped her from reaching her target, "No, you don't! Ash grabbed her waist to stop her.

"Oh Ash, I was so close," the brunette complained.

Ash laughed, "You should've just kept hiding."

"Yeah, but I was going to win anyway, if you hadn't intercepted me," the sapphire-eyed teen told him.

May and Ash laughed at how silly their game had turned out, May wasn't even supposed to run in the game, after all it was just hide and seek, not hide, seek, and run. She then took note of how Ash had been holding her, his arms holding her entire waist and she blushed as red as the blouse. No one ever held her like this before, and by now she would've freak out, but for some reason she didn't mind Ash holding her this way. As a matter of fact she liked because it just made her feel untouchable by nobody else, except her former traveling companion.

Ash quickly realized her behavior and saw that he had his arms across May's entire waist as if she were something more than his friend. He freaked out and instantly let go, "May, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to grab you like that!"

The brunette grabbed his arms and put them back around her waist, "No Ash, its fine. I think I kind of…like it."

Not only was her friend surprised, and blushing, but had asked, "Why?"

"I'm not sure, I guess you just make to feel safe," the brunette lowered her head to hide the tint of red on her face.

"Oh, so you don't mind if I hold you like this?" the black-haired teen also turned red, but tried to hide under his hat.

May nodded at him while still hiding her red glow, and suggested "Why don't we go rest under a tree."

Ash let go of her and said, "Sure come on."

The trainer wearing the hat walked to the tree, still finding it a bit awkward to hold May like that. They were just friends, and right now it felt like they were slowly crossing the friendship boundaries in to stranger lands. When he turned around he May still standing, not moving. Ash ran back to her and took a good look at her.

"What's wrong May?" the auburn-eyed trainer questioned her.

May raised her head an seemed kind of drowsy, "I'm really tired Ash, can you carry me to the shade?"

Ash looked at her for a second, "Don't you want to head back to my house if you want to rest that badly?"

"No, I just need a quick nap and I think it's more peaceful to sleep in nature, under the shade of a tree," the girl's eyes showed signs of exhaustion.

Her Pallet friend just put on caring eyes, "Ok then."

"Thank you," the coordinator smiled and wrapped her arms around Ash's neck and hid herself in his chest.

"You're welcome," the trainer smiled sweetly and got her legs, then he began to carry in to a nice shady spot to rest, Ash himself was also feeling rather drowsy and thought he was in need of a nap. He'd fall asleep next to May for a short while until he decided when it was time to mobilize and head back home after a long and great afternoon with his longtime friend.

Once he got each other under the shade of a tree he put May gently down on the grass. When he did this, she had already fallen asleep rather quickly in his arms. To Ash she looked like an extremely peaceful looking angel. Ash sat right next to her as he leaned on a tree. The girl then began moving and ended up near Ash, she laid her head on his side.

"She must think I'm a pillow," Ash smiled as the girl laid her head there. She put her hands and really did treat Ash like a pillow; her friend could only chuckle quietly at her silly antics while she slept.

Ash then slowly began to touch her hair and gently moved it. He kept moving his hand smoothly down May's brown and silky hair. It was soft, warm, and Ash just kept touching it as he admired nature and its gifts. He then let out a deep breath and lowered himself a bit, and his head ended up next May's.

Their heads were serving as the pillows for this nap, and Ash quickly looked at May then spoke, "Take a good nap May." He slowly closed his eyes and leaned his head against hers as did she, then gradually fell in to a slumber.

Turbulence began, and the Pokémon in the park were starting to wander away from the park. The sun had become a deadly red from due to the sunset and it had been a few hours since Ash and May had fallen asleep. However, one of them was about to be awakened by a disturbance. Pidgey and Rattata fled the park as the winds created a mini tornado covered with leaves.

Ash opened his eyes and inquired, "What's going on?"

He got up and saw that May was still sleeping; she put him gently against to tree to continue sleeping as he saw how strong the wind had gotten. Just ahead he detected the tornado that had been formed.

"Where'd that come from?" the boy's eyes grew as he saw the tornado form.

During the next second it split in to two and dispersed. A black figure then landed in front of Ash quietly. The harsh winds vanished and the mysterious stranger stood there. His arms were on his sides, his face hidden by a black hood.

Ash was shocked at who he saw before his eyes, his voice got stern and aggressive, recalling the horrible things he had heard about this person, "Who are you? Are you that person I've been seeing on the news?"

The person did not speak, but instead spoke to him through telepathically. "I'm familiar with that person." His telepathic voice was emotionless and dead, there seemed to be no tone of joy, sadness, or anger in it.

Ash stood there stunned, he didn't know people could even manage to speak like that, but then again he remembered this guy being a phenomenon with the ability to leap at great heights and run at the speed of an Arcanine.

"What do you want?" the raven-haired teen spoke hostilely at him.

"You look just like him," the stranger made a remark telepathically again.

"What?" Ash stated in confusion.

The man did not say anything, but released a Pokeball that revealed a horrifying Pokémon. This fierce Pokémon towered over Ash fiercely and made him look like nothing.

His auburn eyes were terrified at the powerful beast that had always caused him trouble, but he managed to say something, "Wait a minute, Tyranitar? Man in black? You're the culprit that attacked Drew!"

"I know nothing about any Drew. Now battle!" the man in black demanded telepathically.

"I don't even have any Pokémon," the boy retorted.

"Pity, then the girl perishes," the man stated through his mind and pointed at a sleeping May.

"You wouldn't darn," Ash glared at him intensely.

"Tyranitar, Dragon Pulse," this enigmatic man ordered psychically.

Ash got in front of May, willing to give up his life for her own. He just glared at the mighty Tyranitar and this ruthless stranger. "You'll have go through me first."

"Impressive, I think I'll you both for a longer time, but when we meet again we will battle. In some place, someday, I have very important news for you," the enigmatic figure stated through his mind.

"Why are you doing this?" the messy haired teen demanded to know.

"It is all, but part of a mere shell. You'll learn," the person said through thoughts.

"Why'd your Tyranitar attack us? Why did you hurt our friends? What do you want?" Ash exclaimed as he spread his arms out and expected an answer.

The man took his Pokeball and returned Tyranitar. Then he looked at Ash and finally stated something through words, "Sleep…"

"Huh?" the Pallet trainer was puzzled, but then the man dashed right through him and the boy fell backward, as he closed his eyes. He was slowly going back to sleep, but not before thinking about how the stranger said his last word, it was unsympathetic, emotionless, and heartless.

He dropped on the grass like a leaf and rested there. The winds had calmed down once again while all was peaceful in the park once again.

Ash woke up suddenly; he inspected the whole place and saw that it was night. He was leaning against the tree with May's head lying on his just like he remembered. Everything was completely normal, he let out a sigh of relief, and he spoke "It was just a dream."

His attention then turned to May, her arm ended up wrapping itself around his own. Her eyes were still closed as she slept peacefully. Ash hated to disturb her, but it was late and they didn't even know what time it was so it was best to head back home. It was a shame for him to not get everything done though; he reached in to his pocket and showed the sapphire.

"May be tomorrow," the trainer thought. Ash figured out how he could actually put this sapphire in to use and he just looked at May. He started shaking her gently, "May, time to wake up."

His friend only moved a bit and gained a tighter hold of his arm. Ash laughed quietly and began shaking slightly harder this time. "May, we have to go."

The Hoenn coordinator eyes slowly started to open this and saw that it was night. She let go of Ash's arm, not noticing that she had held on to it this whole time since she still appeared half asleep.

"What's going on Ash?" the brunette asked drowsily.

"We have to go May, it's nighttime and I think everyone might start worrying about us," Ash explained to her about the time.

May groaned, "But I'm too tired to walk, can you do me one last favor?"

"What's that?" the Pallet native stared at her curiously.

"Can you carry me home, while I sleep in your arms?" the sapphire-eyed girl half-smiled as it appeared that she would go back to sleep any second.

Ash rolled his eyes and laughed, "Oh fine."

"Thank you," May giggled as she slowly let the weight of her eyes make her go back to sleep.

Ash slowly lifted May up and carried her the same way he had held her when he carried her in to the shade. The brunette wasn't light, but he just thought of pleasing May for today so that was what he was just going to dedicate himself too for now. Ash begun started walking forward with May in his arms as the blades of grass made sounds when rubbing against Ash's shoes.

"Wonder what I should do for tomorrow?" Ash wondered to himself.

There were many things to do, but Ash had just a few on his mind. "I should probably hand that sapphire to the local jewelry store to see what they could do with it, the clock is ticking. I wonder if we should just head to that other place too instead of training, except with Gary and Misty this time. I sort of felt bad after leaving them hanging like that, but I'm sure tomorrow will make up for it."

The trainer looked down at May who was soundly sleeping his arms and leaned her head on Ash's chest for a pillow. A lot of strange things have happened today, but most of them were good, Ash opinioned. After everything May had done with him, from eating ice cream and playing games, to embracing with him made him feel infatuated with her for the day, but he also couldn't, but feel that also felt this way too. That especially included when the brunette allowed him to hold her in a way not common for friends to hold each other like.

Then he thought about his dream, "My heart was focused on today, but looks like my mind was interested in the Drew mystery. He said we would meet again, but I don't even think that was real. It was all just a dream, but I couldn't ignore the fact that he had a Tyranitar and tried using it to hurt May and I. Wonder why he spared us though? What did he mean that he looks a lot like you?"

Was it a premonition or something? Ash also thought about. It was best to just conclude that it was just a dream, he had heard enough about Pseudo Pokémon, strangers, and mysterious occurrences. There was thing he needed to discuss with himself before dismissing the topic, "When will I finally decide about searching for Drew? I'm sure May's expecting me to allow it, but I just don't know. I said it just to calm her down, but I cannot disappoint my friend either. All I hope is to end the big mystery once and for all."

The night was a bit chilly, but Ash would survive. He passed the Ice Cream Wonderland and saw that it had already closed, that wasn't a good sign for starters because it meant that it was rather late and this store had a habit of closing at either 8:00 or 9:00 pm.

"I better get going fast, before I get in to trouble," Ash became alert and started running, but still tried to keep May comfortable in his arms. The trainer ran passed Oak's Laboratory, the place had its lights out and when he reached town all lights there were out.

"This doesn't look good, but at least I can already see the house," Ash commented as he saw the Ketchum Residence straight ahead. He gulped and wondered what everyone would think for coming this late.

When arrived on the front lawn the door was open and inside, on a chair was a sleeping Misty. The red-head looked very tired and seemed to be enjoying her sleep. Ash looked around and found one except for her. His only assumption was that his mother had gone upstairs to sleep while Misty decided to wait for him.

Ash slowly put May on the bed that he was going to sleep in tonight, the brunette hadn't woken up once since they left the park. His attention then turned to the sleeping Misty, the girl would be too tired to walk upstairs so there was no choice, but to take her himself.

He lifted Misty and made her put her arm around his neck. The teen carried her normally, by making her look as if she was walking herself, but with Ash's assistance. She had her gentle eyes closed as Ash made her resting body walk forward as he pulled her.

Misty hadn't woken up, she didn't notice anything. Ash smiled at her, but sighed also, "I don't remember being the one who took people to bed every night."

Apparently, it seemed as though nothing could startle the sleeping gym leader that is until she felt Ash. She opened her eyes, they were exhausted indeed and she looked at him an frowned a bit.

His Cerulean friend spoke a few words, "We have a lot to talk about Ash Ketchum." The cerulean-eyed girl stared at him and fell back to sleep, while making her head lie on Ash's shoulder as she walked lifelessly to the bedroom.

Ash just laughed at her statement, and then whispered, "We sure do Misty."

The duo slowly entered Ash's bedroom and he put Misty there on his bed. Her sleeping self just lay on the bed peacefully with no disturbance whatsoever. Ash got the covers on top of her and tucked in her in warmly. He positioned the pillow just right for Misty and then looked at the time.

"11:11," the boy let out a deep breath, he had arrived really late. At least he was here now though; he walked towards the light switch next the door.

He put his finger on the switch then flicked it. The room became dark when the lights were out, and all that he had left to do here was gently close the door, before doing that though he said one last thing to the person inside his room, "Sleep well Misty."

Ash closed the door to his room and walked downstairs to see May in the same position he had left her in. He walked towards the bed and just stood in front, he was puzzled as to what he should do next.

"Now where will I sleep? I guess I'll just have to setup the floor bed," the auburn-eyed teen sighed and before he walked to get the stuff needed to make his bed, he heard stretching and turned around.

May was the one stretching slowly opening her eyes, they seemed sleepy, but her body had requested her to wake up for this time. She turned to face Ash and saw that he was leaving.

Her face seemed puzzled and exhausted, "Where are you going Ash?"

"To get the stuff needed to setup the floor bed," the black-haired trainer explained to her.

His Hoenn friend frowned at him, "But you can sleep on this bed with me. It's much better than sleeping on the floor."

"Again?" the teen asked her.

"Yes, again, is there a problem with it?" the blue-eyed coordinator got a bit cranky.

Ash looked at her, "What will you tell me mother if she catches us?"

"Same thing I planned to tell her if she caught us," the coordinator half-smiled.

Her Kanto friend had his doubts, he looked at her, then the room, and after that at the stairs that led upstairs. He let out a deep breath, "Alright, but first let me get in to night clothing."

"Forget that, just come sleep now. We've had a long, fun day and we need the rest," the Petalburg resident demanded.

Ash noticed how demanding she sounded right now and knowing May, she would just keep insisting. One battle he could never win was whenever he argued with a girl, whether it was Misty, May, or Dawn.

"Ok May, but this will be the last time we sleep like this," the teen told her.

May nodded, but until Pikachu recovered, she would sleep with him for company and she needed someone like him next to her right now for her own reasons. Whether he liked it or not! "Come in to bed," the brunette tapped the mattress.

"Yeah," the messy haired teen slipped off his sneakers and put his hat on the sofa. He slept with the rest of his Sinnoh attire on, even with his socks on.

His former traveling companion thought she should the same and took off her bandana and threw it next Ash's hat. She slipped off her sneakers like Ash did and went in to bed with her socks on. She stared at Ash as he turned off the lights and slowly slipped in next to her.

He laid on his back as he put the covers over the two of them. May turned to face him as the boy put his hands behind his head and just looked up.

Ash noticed her staring at him and just smiled at her. May returned his gesture and then spoke, "Thank you Ash."

"For what May?" the Pallet trainer looked at her.

"For today, it was the best day I have ever had. I got to see you battle, you took me to the greatest ice cream parlor and I had tons of fun at the park, it's a day to remember," the brunette grinned at him sweetly.

"Oh well, that's the sort of things friends do with each other. We can do it again whenever you like," the raven-haired trainer smirked at her innocently.

May smiled at him tenderly, "We will."

She seemed slightly disappointed when Ash said friends though. After everything that happened between them today, the ties of friendship hadn't broken she would've liked to. Ash appeared like he could be the one, May thought. Every second of today made her feel great with him, it was a major improvement from yesterday's saddening experience. Ash made her feel so much better, in so many ways, he had been so sweet and caring by carrying her all this way, everything about him urged her to try to break the bond of this friendship and take it somewhere else. To the feeling she slowly began to give more and more focus.

Her train of thoughts was forgotten when Ash spoke, "Night May."

May didn't answer and just saw the boy closing his eyes, then placing his arms on top of his stomach. He gradually let himself get consumed get by sleep as she just gazed at him with interest. Temptation then made her get closer to him and put his arms around her waist like he had done at the park.

Ash quickly noticed and opened his eyes the moment he felt his arms being pulled, "May what are you doing?"

The brunette put her finger on her mouth, "Sssshh, just do it and hold me tight without any questions."

Her friend just looked at her and let his arms get pulled by May. He got warped by her gaze and felt like he lost control of his actions, his emotions were taking over and he put his arms tightly around May's waist. The girl got closer to him and wrapped herself around him, then hid her face in his chest. Her head was leaning on it and Ash stared at passionately. He placed his head on top May's and just held her there.

Even though he was enjoying this wonderful experience, he felt trapped in his own emotions and wondered, "What am I doing, what's going on with me? This has never happened to me before."

Every second he thought of it though, made him fall asleep faster, his eyes felt heavy and he closed them steadily. May did herself in Ash, but like him she also thought about what was going on.

"What's wrong with me? I've never done anything like it before, but now I'm just letting my best friend hold me as if he were more than my best friend as if I just wanted that, but do I? I just don't know about this anymore, it feels like my heart is slowly sinking in to a sea of feeling," the brunette thought to herself in her mind. She didn't let go of Ash for one minute, because she enjoyed every minute of it.

She raised her head and opened her eyes to find herself at a long majestic hall. There were petals flying everywhere, with long benches on the left and right. Many people were seated, there were also many Bellossom dancing, and throwing roses in to the air. The people seated were wearing clothing that would only be worn on special occasions.

There were men wearing tuxedos, whom were facing the front. Women also wearing magnificent dresses that would be worn just for a special event and like the men they also faced forward as if they were staring intently at something. On the ceiling there were drawings of angels with Arceus resting on a cloud on the sky. It sat regally on this cloud and even though it wasn't real, May felt as though it was watching her.

Many legendary Pokémon were also on the ceiling like Rayquaza, the Lake Trio, the Bird Trio, the Beast Trio, Lugia and Ho-oh. When she turned to face the hall again a voice called out.

"Are you ready May?" the man in front of her stood with his hand out.

"Dad? What's going on?" the brunette stood confused.

"No need to be afraid May, this is your special day sweetheart," Norman assured her that everything was going to be alright.

The girl took a look at herself and saw that she was dressed in a white dress. It went down to her feet that were pearly white with tiny gems on them. Her gloves were also white with sparkling yet tiny shards of sapphire. She turned around to see what was behind her and saw a mirror. It showed her appearance.

She was with a crown similar to the one she had used in the Wallace Cup and her white dress tightened at her hips. Her dress had a V-shaped neck with rubies on the outline. The dress also had a unique design that had various figures that resembled the cross-like wheels on Arceus' abdomen. The wrists and wrist had golden stripes on them.

After she finished gazing at herself, she realized how beautiful she looked in it. She turned around saw far ahead, her mom, her brother, Brock, Misty, Gary, Dawn, Tracey, and Professor Oak standing there. They were all dressing very fancy and when she took a closer look she saw the back of a person with raven hair who faced an old priest that was just a few steps ahead of him. This person also happened to dress very fancy, he had an elegant tuxedo, but May didn't get good view of that person to fully identify because unlike the others, she was facing his back.

May then turned to face Norman, who smiled at her and nodded. The coordinator gave her hand to the gym leader and let him lead the way. As she walked past the many people sitting on the benches, all these people were people she had met in the past. They were smiling happily at her and May just turned to face forward again. Her father and her were walking on a beautiful red carpet and when she got closer to the end she saw that all her friends as well as her mom and brother were smiling so cheerfully at her.

Her eyes widened though, when she realized who the person she tried to identify earlier was. "Ash," the girl whispered and her face started to make the largest smile ever.

She put all the clues together and realized what was going on. The young girl was at a wedding, and someone was getting married. Pretty soon, she noticed that it was she that was getting married and she was getting married to someone. That someone was Ash!

May's eyes shined like sapphires and felt so much excitement inside her. She was getting married to Ash! The boy she had cared about so much when she was younger and traveled with him.

When she was just a few footsteps away from the boy hiding his face, she laughed. Her assumption was that he was nervous about this; he would be stunned at how she looked when he saw her. Within just a few seconds, she would hold his hand like he would hold hers in holy matrimony.

The coordinator began walking the stairs and then heard everyone begin to clap; her friends at this end were also clapping as well and smiling in a way she had never seen before. Gary and Brock also whistled at the bride, and May only giggled at their silly antics.

She felt her dad let her hand go and the Petalburg native faced him, "You're free to go May, I love you and enjoy a wonderful life with him."

"I will dad, I love you so much," the sapphire-eyed teen embraced him and began forming a few tears.

May let of him and he nodded at her. She had the greatest smile on her face, she never felt this happy before in her life. Her hand reached out for his and touched Ash's own, but the boy hadn't turned around just yet.

"Ash," the girl called at him to make him turn around.

Ash turned his face, but something happened and it became a completely different person. "Yes May," the man smiled sadistically.

The brunette's eyes widened in fear and she quickly let go of his hand, then took a few steps back, "Drew…"

"Yes, that's right May. The boy you abandoned, the friend you never really cared about. I only served the purpose of your rival until you left me after you won the Grand Festival," the boy scorned as his eyes were deep black and his dark aura encircled him.

With every step May took backwards, Drew took one forward to her. Every step he took started to make the scenario dissolve. All her friends, her family, the church, everything dissolved, leaving nothing, but a black realm.

She began to cry, "It wasn't like that! You abandoned me, why'd you do it Drew? You left me hurt?"

"Save me the excuses, you cheered the moment I left your life. You enjoyed every last of it with Ash Ketchum, and now I'm back here so why aren't you happy to see me?" the LaRousse coordinator exclaimed as his tuxedo turned in to a black coat.

"No, it isn't like that. Ash just managed to do, what you failed to do, that's be a friend! You aren't Drew!" the brunette shouted at him.

Drew's eyes had black fire on them and he let his rage be known, "How dare you! I'll make you pay!"

The rival screamed as black substance emerged from his body and charged for May. The darkness began to revolve around May, and the brunette felt as if she was suffocating. She started coughing and fell her knees; she was losing her will to live. She took one last glance at Drew through the darkness. He just stood there in his black coat and stood menacingly, all May was able to say after that though was, "Drew…" and the girl dropped.

May, opened her eyes, they wide and afraid, she saw that Ash had still held her and was fast asleep, unlike her. She started shaking him, "Ash, Ash, Ash, Ash."

Ash started to open his eyes and saw May shaking him. Tears wanted to exit her eyes, she was very afraid and she wondered what was going on. "May, what's wrong?"

"I had a bad dream, the worst dream, please Ash. Hold me tight, don't let go, I'm scared," the girl whimpered to him.

"Sssshh, stay calm May. I'm here with you, I won't let you go, and I won't let anything hurt you. What was the dream about?" the auburn-eyed trainer comforted her and then questioned her.

"It was about Drew, he was in it. He had the same look as he did when he left us. He said horrible things, like I abandoned him on purpose and I didn't care. But that's not true, I do care about Drew. He's my friend, but he didn't believe me and suffocated me," the brunette said between tears.

Ash was horrified at he heard. Drew would never do this to her. It must've been that dark Drew that last saw because the real Drew would never do this to May. "It was a dream May, go to sleep. I'll be with you the whole night and hold you tight, just go to sleep and I promise that everything will be alright."

May held on tight to him and Ash just held on to him. Ash pulled her closer and looked at her with assurance. She was very frightened, according to the look in her eye.

He didn't know if he should do this, but it was the best he could do. Ash leaned towards May and gave her a peck on the cheek. His lips against her cheek were warm yet because of tears, but it felt like the best thing to do. Everything that happened right now would have to be thought about in the morning.

"Go back to sleep May and have sweet dreams," Ash smiled at her.

May looked at him and touched his cheek. He just looked at her, waiting for her to close her eyes. Their gazes met and the two blushed one last time at one just happened. Ash kissed me on the cheek, May thought. She held on to him and just thought about how the dense kid had pulled that off.

She grinned at him, "Goodnight Ash, I'm glad you're here with me." Ash smiled joyfully at her and shook his head, then closed his eyes at the same moment May did.

May felt her cheek one last time and put on a small smile, her tears dried up. The two then went back in to their deep slumbers as the night carried on.