My goal is to finish this story soon. Then I'll finish Things Money Can't Buy while periodically working on My Word 2: Johto. I also have a pokeshipping story I'm excited for, so sorry for the Pokemon Leaders Academy lovers. I will get to that, but I'm not too sure what direction I want to take with it. This story is pretty easy for me to incorporate all 4 shippings because I know I want to focus on Ikarishipping. However, I'm too sure which shipping I want to focus on in PLA. I'm thinking pokeshipping though since a lot of the good school drama fanfics are mostly contestshipping and oldrivalshipping with very minor pokeshipping. And like I've said, I'm a strong pokeshipper! Anyway, enjoy!~
Chapter 23
"Found them!" May shouts excitedly, which causes Misty and Drew to look at her curiously.
"You found Ash?" the raven harried woman hopefully asks.
May frowns and shakes her head before saying, "I found Leaf and Gary."
Although Misty is disappointed there are no new leads on Ash, she is surprised at hearing her old colleague's name. Why are May and Drew looking for Gary? And who's Leaf? "Gary?"
The brunette seems to remember that she didn't tell Misty about Gary and Leaf, even though she should've since Misty knows Gary. However, May was worried that Leaf and Gary may have fled or been dead, so she didn't want to take away Misty's attention from rescuing Ash. "We've been looking for them too."
"Why?" Misty inquires because she doesn't see how Gary can contribute to rescuing Ash when he doesn't even know Ash.
Drew answers, "Leaf is an ex-assassin who fled after failing to kill you." May hits him, causing Drew to glare at her before continuing, "Gary tried to kill her but we heard they've been working together lately."
"We need Leaf since she's our best fighter." May adds.
"And we think she wants to save Ash too."
"Wait!" Misty interjects the two because she's trying to grasp all of this new information. So Leaf was the assassin sent to kill Misty two weeks ago? And she wants to save Ash? No wonder why Misty lived after saying Ash's name. However, Misty is starting to wonder what kind of relationship Ash has with this assassin. Actually, she's curious about what Ash has done in the Haydem Family to have this many people who want to help him?
Grinning to herself, Misty thinks about his dense goofiness. Despite all of his obliviousness, Ash is a very caring soul who really tries to get to know people. No wonder why he formed friendships with so many different and dangerous people in the Hayden Family.
Shaking her head, Misty tries to focus on the current situation. Okay, so this Leaf assassin wants to save Ash, and she's traveling with Gary? Why is Gary with her? Did they become friends while he was in the Hayden Family? Did Gary manage to sleep with her? Misty inwardly groans at this thought. "Why Gary?"
While Misty was silently thinking, May had explained to Drew that she caught Leaf and Gary on a camera in a residential neighborhood a few minutes ago. Using what she remembers of the two, May is pretty sure the figures in the footage are Leaf and Gary. Besides, who would be walking around a neighborhood at 3 in the morning? May could also notice that the individuals were injured with one being a woman and the other a man with spiky hair.
"We were trying to find him first since we thought he could lead us to you and Leaf." Drew tells the woman.
May takes a deep shaky breath before adding, "Leaf killed Gary's sister years ago."
Misty's eyes open wide as everything starts to click. It's not like Gary is traveling with the assassin, but he must know she's his sister's killer! No wonder why he's with her; however, Misty is confused as to why Gary is willingly with her.
When Drew sees Misty piecing the information together, he turns to May. "Why'd you tell her that?"
"You said we all need to trust each other!"
Sighing, the green haired man puts an arm around May's shoulders, making her blush. "I hate when you quote me."
"Maybe you should stop hanging out with me."
"Not a chance, June." he smirks as she turns to give him an angry look.
"Let's go find them!" Misty's voice breaks the two apart since they now return their attention to her. She doesn't care that the two are flirting because she's trying to rescue Ash. "We know where they are, so let's drive there and search!"
"It's nighttime." Drew tells her. "Leaf knows how to hide."
Before Misty can try to convince him otherwise, May chimes in. "I know where they are." She recognizes that neighborhood because a certain purple haired man had asked her to make sure there's no data tying it to him. It's why she's been keeping an eye on the cameras in that neighborhood in case Hayden Family shows up, so she can warn him to escape.
Paul's Second House
"Andddddddd you're dead, Paulie."
Dawn shrieks as she clings onto Paul, and he closes his eyes in frustration before turning around to see the laughing Leaf. "You should've knocked." he mutters in annoyance.
"It's more fun this way." Leaf snickers at the blushing purple haired man while putting her gun away.
A man walks in from the hallway and switches on the light, making Paul glare at him. "Get out, Oak."
"Tsk tsk, Paulie. He's with me." Leaf smirks at him.
"Then you get out too." If Leaf's here, that will only bring Paul more trouble since she's on top of the Hayden Family's hit list right now. Gary Oak is second, which is only making things worse.
Shrugging, the brunette sits on the ground away from the window's view. "Don't be like that."
Dawn recognizes the man as the famous Gary Oak, so she assumes the woman must be the assassin May and Drew told her about last week. Leaf was it? The way the assassin is interacting with Paul makes Dawn feel like she's not a threat. However, Dawn is annoyed with all the flirting and the nickname the woman has for Paul.
The brunette turns her attention from the scowling man to smile at Dawn. "Hey. I'm Leaf." She then points to the man sitting beside her. "That's Gary. We're friends of Paulie's."
"I don't have friends." mutters the annoyed man as Dawn nods at Leaf and Gary.
"Don't be like that." Leaf teases him, making him groan.
Gosh, this is so annoying and dangerous! Plus, Leaf just interrupted his alone time with Dawn. Damn it, Paul! Stop thinking about unnecessary things! Paul stands up and continues to glare at them. "Why are you here?"
Leaf gives him a knowing look. "Why are you letting your guard down? You and your little girlfriend would've been dead by now."
"She's not my girlfriend!" the flustered fighter tells Leaf, which only makes her smirk grow. "Why are you here?!" He shouts. With the talkative Dawn, and now the embarrassment, today has been too much for the exhausted man.
Leaf shrugs. "We need help."
"No." Paul glares at them. Why are people always coming to him for help? It's annoying. First Ash, then this troublesome woman, then May and Drew, and now Leaf? Paul doesn't need any help, so these people need to figure out their own solutions to their problems, except for Dawn. He likes helping her with her problems if it means staying by her side.
Leaf smirks at Dawn who fearfully looks at her because of the gun at her side. "Relax, honey. Paulie won't let me kill you."
"Stop calling me that." the purple haired man annoyedly says.
Leaf rolls her eyes. "Hey. You owe me a favor. Let's make this your favor."
"If I recall, you owe me a favor for making sure Matthew didn't kill you years ago!"
"And now you owe me a favor for keeping the Hayden Family busy so that they can't come after your little girlfriend." Leaf winks in Dawn's direction, making her uncomfortable as Dawn moves closer to Paul.
"Fuck no."
Before anyone can react, Leaf it beside Dawn with a knife to her throat. "C'mon, Paulie." Dawn gulps back a sob. She won't show tears now. Not for these people. Not for this assassin. She's just upset that she let her guard down thinking Paul could protect her. She needs to start protecting herself and stop relying on him, else she'll end up in this situation.
"You're not with Hayden Family anymore.." Paul glares at Leaf. He's also kicking himself for letting his guard down around Leaf. Once a killer, always a killer.
Leaf, however, seems to be amused by the fearless bluenette she's holding captive. Releasing Dawn, Leaf laughs. "I see why you like her, Paulie. She isn't scared of you." Leaf then walks over and grins at Paul. "But neither am I." she winks.
"Okay, Leaf. Enough teasing. Let's get down to business." Gary interrupts. Leaf has been taking way too long to get to the point, and Gary likes to be on the move right now. The longer they stay here, then the more likely they'll be putting Paul and this woman in danger.
Rolling her eyes, Leaf sits back down by Gary after turning off the lights. The room is only illuminated by the moonlight. "You're boring, Gary."
"And you need to stop doing things that'll open your wounds again."
"Are you worrying about me, cutie?" she gushes at him, making him roll his eyes.
Looking back at the annoyed Paul, Gary says, "We need Drew."
Paul narrows his eyes at the ex-cop. "I don't work with spies."
"I was only there to find my sister's killer." Gary replies. "Not to spy on you or Matthew or anyone. I just wanted answers."
Paul eyes Leaf curiously, so she sighs. "He knows it was me, Paul."
Whenever Leaf calls him by his name, Paul knows she's serious. Frowning, he asks Gary, "So now what?"
"Huh?"
"What are you gonna do now that you know Leaf killed your sister?"
Leaf and Gary haven't thought much about this after their first day of traveling together. Mostly it's because they have been relying on each other for survival, but now they've formed somewhat of a bond where neither one wants the other to die. Leaf expectantly looks over at the auburn haired man who lets out a breath. "We're gonna take down Hayden Family."
Even though Gary isn't so sure he should tell a current Hayden Family member this, he decided it was the better option that saying he doesn't want to kill Leaf anymore. He doesn't want to see her suffer or die, and a part of him is angry at himself for that, which is why he opted for the other truth. Besides, why else would Leaf bring them here if Paul couldn't be trusted?
Before Paul can speak, though, Dawn pipes in. "Why would we help you?"
This makes Leaf smirk as she turns her attention to the fearless bluenette. "We didn't come for your help, sweetie. Just Paulie's."
"His name is Paul." Dawn narrows her eyes at the assassin. So what if Leaf can kill her? Dawn will not allow herself to be disrespected like this.
Sighing, Paul interrupts the women. "You know where Drew is."
With one final smug look at Dawn, Leaf returns her gaze to Paul. "Duh, but I'm here because we all know I can't get to Drew's."
"Fine!" Paul exclaims in frustration. This is all very annoying, but he has to take care of it, like always. He grabs his phone from its charger and dials the number of the other annoying man he works with. To his dismay, he hears ringing out in the kitchen of the house, making him groan while everyone else directs their alertness to the bedroom door.
"Well, I guess Drew is here." Leaf grins.
"Or someone with his phone." Gary mutters defensively while standing in front of the assassin, causing her to blush slightly.
"What's going on?" Dawn whispers hesitantly, but she sees Paul and Leaf aren't too fazed by the ringing getting closer.
Soon, the bedroom door opens and someone says, "What do you want, Paul?"
The purple haired man glares at the people at his door. All he wanted to do was get some sleep, and he was just starting to get close to Dawn. This is all because of Ash, so Paul will kill him later. "Why are you all here?" groans the homeowner.
"Aw, that's no way to speak to your guests." Drew snickers and flicks on the light. When he takes in the sight of everyone in the room, he lets out a relieved breath on Leaf.
Everyone else takes notice of the other person with him and May, causing Gary to beam happily and tackle her in a hug. "You're safe, Red!" Although Misty normally doesn't like physical contact, especially from Gary Oak, she's relieved to see him alive. She gives him a warm hug back, which Leaf finds bothers her for some reason. Pulling away from Misty, Gary chuckles at her dyed hair. "Or should I call you Black now?"
Misty narrows her eyes at the playboy before walking past him and sitting down away from the window. "It's detective to you."
Rolling his eyes, Gary follows her. "We're not with the police anymore."
"Fine. Then call me Misty."
"Misty?" Dawn raises an eyebrow at the raven haired woman who nods. So this is Ash's friend who they've been searching for. They've also been looking for Leaf and Gary, and now that everyone is found and gathered, that must mean this is their team. Dawn excitedly looks at Paul where she holds his arm. "We have everyone!"
He sighs in annoyance, even though she's right. "Now we can bust out that dumbass."
"I'm still trying to find exactly where Ash is." May admits. Hayden Mansion's basement is huge, and there may be hidden rooms. Therefore, they don't have time to search through the whole basement.
"I think I may know!" Dawn chimes in. "I heard something when I was there."
"And you didn't think to tell me?" Paul groans at the troublesome woman.
"Well, things happened and I forgot!"
"What happened?" Drew suggestively asks with a smirk, causing May to hit him.
Dawn ignores him while rolling her eyes. "I overheard a man angry about how people weren't caught yet. Then I heard his footsteps, so I panicked and ran, but I never heard a door open or saw anyone leave that room."
"So he walked around his room." Paul replies.
Shaking her head, Dawn says, "No. I think there might be a secret stairway or elevator in his room."
"What makes you say that? This isn't a movie!" the purple haired man exclaims in frustration.
However, Drew speaks instead, "I think she's right. I remember my…" he takes a deep breath as all eyes turn to him. "I heard there's many secret rooms and passageways in the Mansion, so there's gotta be one in Matthew's office."
May leans into Drew's side since the two are sitting on the ground by each other. She knows he was about to speak on his parents, but Drew doesn't like talking about them. He tells her some times, though she's never heard him speak about them to others. "I don't have camera access to Matthew's office."
"Okay, so we sneak into this office and find the passageway to Ash." suggests Misty, making Gary put an arm around her.
"Relax, Red. You're gonna get us killed being that reckless."
Leaf narrows her eyes at the two. Just how close is this woman to Gary? They can't just be coworkers, right? And how come this former detective is so bent on Ash? "Why are you here?" Leaf questions her.
Gary smirks at the women glaring at each other. "No need to fight over me, ladies. There's enough Gary Oak for everyone."
"I will kill you myself, Oak." Misty snaps in annoyance.
"Then I'll kill you." Leaf tells the raven haired woman.
"No killing amongst us!" Drew exclaims. As much as he likes a good cat fight, now is not the time. They need everyone they can get on their team since they'll be going up against the Hayden Family soon.
"Why is this detective here?" Leaf asks Drew and May because she knows she isn't going to get a response from Misty.
"She knows Ash." May replies.
"Ash wouldn't talk to a cop." The assassin knows about Ash's mother, so he wouldn't risk her safety by speaking with the police.
"You don't know Ash." Misty snaps at the woman who tried to kill her weeks ago.
Leaf turns her attention back to the angry woman, causing Gary to get between them. While he does enjoy women fighting over him, seeing them now argue over this Ash guy isn't worth his time. Besides, Leaf needs to calm down before she reinjures herself. "Who cares about this Ash guy? We're just taking down the Hayden Family!"
"I care!" Misty exclaims to her colleague, which makes him flinch from her tone. "I let you go undercover as long as you helped me find my friend, remember?"
"But I couldn't find anything, and then I had to run!" Gary tells her.
Misty knows Gary wasn't in the Hayden Family long enough to search for Ash, especially since Matthew suspected Gary the whole time. "Ash is my friend, Gary. He's the one I've been looking for!"
Sighing, Gary looks around the room at all of the other faces because he remembers Misty asking him to search for her friend. She seemed very worried about this friend of hers, so Gary has to help her find him. He did promise her. His eyes finally rest on Leaf. "So we're gonna bust out Ash and take down the family?"
"I don't like working with cops." Paul reminds everyone, but Dawn grips his arm.
"I thought you said the police work for you?" she teases him, making his scowl deepen.
"We need to stop arguing!" May yells to the group as Dawn and Paul are bickering, Leaf and Misty are continuing theirs, and Gary is trying to figure out how to stop the women. Drew can't help but smirk at the technician taking charge, especially since May is the one who found everyone. Once they all stop talking and turn their attention to May, she says, "We have everyone, so we need to think of a plan to get Ash out!"
"You work on trying to hack into the cameras, May. We'll think of a plan." Drew tells her, and she smiles before taking out her laptop to type away.
"I'll go spy on the office." Leaf stands up, but Gary grabs her wrist.
He gives her a concerned look while saying, "You're in no shape to do that."
Before Leaf can retort, Drew chimes in, "He's right, Leaf. Matthew's got plenty of people in the city searching for you, and if you do make it to the mansion, he's got even more people there."
"And I'm pretty sure he has a lot of security in that office." May mentions from her computer.
Leaf shakes her head though and pulls her arm away from Gary. "We all know I'm the best at sneaking around."
"You're hurt!" Gary reminds her, causing her to face him as green glares at viridian.
"Even with my injuries, I'm still the best."
"Not good enough to come back and report to us though!"
"Why do you even care, Oak? You should want me dead the most!"
"You can die after we take down Hayden Family, but we can't afford to risk losing anyone when we don't have many people as is!"
Having heard enough, Paul angrily exclaims, "Shut up!" When all eyes are on the frustrated man, he says, "We're not gonna do anything until tomorrow. Everyone should rest."
"And what if Ash turns up dead tomorrow?" Leaf asks him, causing him to glare at her.
"He deserves it."
"Paul!" Dawn slaps his arm while Misty angrily looks at him.
"The only person killing Ash is me." She says.
"Get in line, pig." Mutters the annoyed purple haired man, which makes Misty more furious.
"Paul's right, guys!" Drew intervenes the arguing group. If they can't work together, then all of this will fail. They need to put their differences and judgments aside so that they can rescue Ash and take down the family. "We need to trust each other to rescue Ash!"
"What can 7 people do against a large gang?" Misty skeptically asks, even though she likes her odds now from when it was just her trying to rescue Ash.
Sighing, Drew nervously rubs the back of his head, which gets Paul's attention. "What'd you do?" He asks the Hayden man.
May looks up curiously from behind her laptop as Drew replies, "I got Galactic Gang to help."
"They killed your parents!" May angrily exclaims because she doesn't get why Drew would work with his enemy. Yes, it'll help with manpower against Hayden Family, but is it really worth it when Galactic Gang killed his parents?
With a frown on his face, Drew shakes his head. "No they didn't."
"And who told you that? Cyrus? He could be lying just to get your help!"
"Think about it, May! The way my parents died, only someone on the inside would've known where they were! It's all very suspicious the more I study it!"
"All of you need to go." Paul huffs while standing up. The arguing is getting to be too much, and he's not in the mood. "Let's meet tomorrow and talk about this. It'll also give Leaf more time to heal."
Winking at Paul, much to Dawn's annoyance, Leaf replies, "Aw. Is big bad Paulie worried about little old me?"
"Not a chance." he gruffs out.
"He's right." Gary tells the group. "We need some rest and shouldn't be acting rashly."
May gives Drew a concerned look as he walks out of the room. She quickly follows him after the group decides to meet at the same time tomorrow night. "Drew!" shouts the brunette to the man briskly walking ahead of her. He doesn't stop though, so she sprints until she's next to him. Seeing that angry pained expression on his face really hurts her. "Drew…" May whispers while trying to keep up with him.
They soon reach his car he had parked hidden a few blocks from Paul's house. Slamming the door shut, Drew drives off with May in the passenger seat. May really hopes Misty manages to find somewhere to hide since Drew isn't waiting for anyone. "Drew." May tries again to no avail. She just can't get his attention, so she opts to make sure they safely drive back to Drew's apartment.
The whole car ride, May isn't sure what to say. Yes, she is upset that Drew is working with a rival gang who killed his parents. Even if Drew believes they didn't, May thinks they did. They fessed up to it years ago, and they may just be denying it now because they want Drew's help in taking down his family. Drew can't be clouded or taken advantage of, no matter how much they may need Galactic Gang's manpower.
Once inside the apartment, May catches the door before Drew slams it shut in her face. He really must be upset if he doesn't realize she's still with him. Sighing, May follows her friend worriedly because she's never seen Drew like this. In the past, whenever he'd be upset about his parents, he'd just hug her tightly. Maybe a few tears would slip out, but Drew was always in control of himself. However, this seems different. This seems very intense, like Drew can't see anything except his pain.
Closing and locking his door, May walks into the scene of Drew destroying furniture. He's already broken two chairs, and she watches him throw another into a wall with many holes in it already. When May finally reaches Drew, he's punched another hole in the wall. "Drew!"
Of course he pays her no attention as he reaches his fist back, so May stands in front of him. She can't let him hurt himself, especially since he's one of the top fighters to help their mission. However, would he hit her? He wouldn't, right? She closes her eyes as she gets ready for the impact, but when she feels warm arms around her, she opens her eyes.
Drew's face is buried in her hair while hers is in his chest, and he's crying. He's sobbing uncontrollably, which she's never seen before. It pains May to see him like this because the Drew she knows is playful and carefree. While he is responsible when it comes to professional scenes, he is a very fun person to be around when he's himself. However, May has always known that, behind all of his teasing, is a lot of pain. She's just never seen how much pain until today.
Clutching him tightly, May whispers, "I won't let anyone hurt you again, Drew."
Her words seem to make him cry more as he squeezes her in his embrace. Everything just sucks, and he doesn't know who to believe about his parents' deaths. It's like all the emotions from when he found out about their deaths are coming back to him. It's why Drew rarely dwells on his parents because he doesn't want to deal with the pain.
Now, with everyone concerned about Ash and taking down the family, Drew feels scared. He can't lose anyone else he cherishes. "I like you, May." he whispers to her, making her tense up. "It's not a joke. I've always liked you." He won't regret not letting others know how much he cherishes them. He's already been regretting it every day with his parents gone, but he definitely won't repeat the same mistake with May. This dangerous mission calls for his full honesty, and like he's said lately, they all need to trust each other.
Instead of responding, May just holds him while taking in his scent. She can hear the rapid beating of his heart, but she's not sure if that's from his confession or the fact that he was breaking furniture. It doesn't matter though because her own heart is beating just as fast while her face is a dark red.
After Drew's first confession, May had been thinking more about her feelings towards Drew. Yes, she believed he was joking, but the thought was still in her mind. She's since come to terms that she has feelings for this usually arrogant man who is only caring towards her. Although, this is not the time for feelings since they might not make it out of this suicide mission.
"I'll give you my answer when we take down the Hayden Family." May has never referred to the gang as Drew's family because they never treat him as family. Plus, she finds it hard to believe that this kind man can be related to those sinister gang leaders.
"That's fine. I just wanted you to know." Drew softly says as his hold on her doesn't waver.
"Let's just stay like this for a bit." suggests the brunette since she also enjoys his hug. With Drew still emotional, he doesn't plan on letting her go. Even when he'll have to once he calms down, he doesn't want to. If anything, he wants to run away with her, but they need to save Ash and make sure the Hayden Family doesn't ever come after them, which means they need to take down his family. Taking in a whiff of May's hair, Drew continues holding her tightly.
Outside
"Where are you going?" Gary exclaims towards the brunette walking away.
"Me and her clearly don't get along, and we know I can take care of myself." Leaf points to Misty who is standing behind Gary. The three had left Paul's house together after Drew and May had gone. However, it seems like Drew and May are long gone, leaving Misty behind.
"I've been taking care of you!" Gary tells her. "We'll all be safer together!"
"I'll take my chances alone."
He grabs her wrist to prevent her from running. Normally, Leaf can fend off such a grasp, but she likes Gary's touch. "C'mon, Leaf. We need to check on your wounds anyway."
"I'm fine."
"I can go." Misty chimes in. She's always been fine alone, so she will continue to be okay. Besides, Misty is pretty sure she has a better chance of survival away from these two since they're at the top of the Hayden Family's hit list.
Gary now turns to her. "No! We're sticking together!"
"Don't wanna." Leaf crosses her arms over her chest as she glares at Misty.
"Same." The raven haired woman responds.
Groaning, Gary tells them, "We're staying together and that's final!" he then grabs Misty's wrist too to drag them both off into the shadows. Misty pulls her arm away so that she reluctantly follows, but Leaf still keeps hers in Gary's grasp. The assassin will allow Gary Oak to get his way just this once. She likes when people aren't scared of her, and she likes that Gary is taking charge for once. With a pink tint on her cheeks, Leaf smiles at the man in front of her.