Chapter 29

"I want in." the redhead narrows her eyes at her ex.

Gulping uncomfortably, he tugs at his shirt collar. "Uh. I don't wanna work with you."

"Too bad. She's my daughter too, so I'm coming with." With that, the woman hops onto Charizard behind him. Just what did he get himself into?

Earlier

"Dad!" yells the girl running inside the house. She had just come back from playing with the Oak's this morning, but the Oak family is leaving for Viridian City for this quarter's gym cleaning day. They dropped off Ariel along the way.

This week is a major holiday, so there's no school for the whole region. Thus, Ariel will be spending the week in Pallet Town with the Oaks and her grandmother. Usually Ash tries to be here for most of the days, but Ariel understands if he has to work. The Oaks will be back tomorrow evening. Misty is still in the town so that she can have dinner with Delia. She'll be headed back to Cerulean City in the morning and returning next week too for Saturday dinner again.

Ariel jumps over the couch and onto the back of the man sitting there. Chuckling, Ash reaches behind him to put her on the couch and tickle her. "What are you doing?" Melody has been throwing a fit ever since she got caught speaking poorly to Ariel. The woman passively aggressively behaves around Ash; thus, she hasn't come to Pallet Town in weeks. Ash spends a lot of time looking up Team Rocket, and he feels like he has a lead now. Thus, he hasn't taken too much notice of Melody's fit.

"Sceptile was teaching me about the element of surprise." giggles Ariel as she tries to fight off her father's hands.

"You can't surprise me, Ariel." Ash chuckles.

"We did for your birthday." she knowingly tells him. Laughing from more of his tickles, the girl exclaims, "Help, Pikachu!"

Pikachu shakes his head with a sigh. Usually, he'd love to help Ariel, but he wants to give the Ketchums' their moment. Ash has been very busy that Ariel spends most of her time in Pallet Town with the Oaks. "Pi chu." Pikachu then runs upstairs to avoid getting dragged into this.

"You're alone now, champ! Give up!" Ash tickles her neck, which is her most ticklish part of her body.

"Never, dad!" Ariel, though, feels like she will have to give in soon. Her father is way too strong.

The front door opening makes them freeze. Of course, Ash knows this must be his mother returning from the grocery store. What he doesn't expect is his ex wife walking in with her. Apparently, Misty called Delia earlier to offer to go shopping with her. Misty wanted a break from the gym paperwork, and Delia loves more company.

Misty and Ash also haven't talked much since their argument at Jace's birthday party weeks ago. They've resumed tolerating each other with very little conversation together. Raising an annoyed eyebrow at him, Misty smugly asks, "What?"

Ash rolls his eyes, and Ariel worriedly looks between them. However, Delia winks at the girl to let her know everything will be okay, causing Ariel to let out a relieved breath. "You can put those over here, Misty." Delia smiles while leading Misty to the kitchen. Fortunately, Ash hates arguing in front of his mother and Ariel, so he kept his mouth shut.

Looking up at her father, Ariel can see his frown, and she knows it's because of her mother. "Dad?"

"Hm."

She hates seeing him upset, so she grabs his hood to swing on his head. "Gotcha!"

Chuckling, Ash loves this girl. She always knows how to make him feel better. Before he can remove his hood and get her back, she tightens the strings around it, blinding him some more. "You're gonna regret that, champ!"

"This is revenge, dad!" she laughs and tackles him on the couch. Being on top of him, Ariel starts tickling her father. Unlike her mother, Ash is very ticklish. Ariel believes she got her ticklish-ness from him. "Give up!"

"A Pokemon Master never gives up!" Ash, being bigger and stronger, manages to use one arm to free himself of his hood. Since he can see again, he's able to get back at his daughter. Moving her hands away from his ticklish sides, Ash picks her up in a tight hold.

"I'm not giving up!" she exclaims.

"Good. No daughter of mine gives up." Ash grins. "But you can't beat me, champ."

Maybe she can't, but she knows someone who might be able to. "Mom!" shouts the girl.

Ash instantly freezes. Just what is his daughter doing? This pause allows Ariel to free herself from him, and she sprints over to the kitchen, but Misty is already in the living room by now. Thus, Ariel hides behind her mother and gives her father an innocent grin.

Sighing, the redhead looks down at her daughter. "What's going on, Ariel?" Misty was helping Delia unpack as well as finishing up their conversation. She knows Ariel and Ash are having fun in the other room, but any time Ariel calls, Misty will drop everything to be there. Ariel rarely calls for her parents unless she needs something, even if her parents know she's safe.

"Dad's too strong. It's not fair." pouts the girl.

Misty now looks over at her ex husband who is avoiding eye contact with her. "Just because she's fully recovered now, it doesn't mean you rough house with her."

Ash rolls his eyes. "She's fine. We were having fun." He shoots her a glare. "I forgot. You don't know what fun is."

The girl now feels kind of bad for getting her mother involved. Crossing her arms over her chest, Misty replies, "I'm very fun."

"Psh! Since when?"

She raises a challenging eyebrow at him. "Want me to remind you?"

He shrugs. "I know you're not fun."

"Your upper right thigh. How'd you get that scar?" When Ash's eyes light up in remembrance as he frowns, Misty's smirk grows. "Thought so."

Flashback

"I don't know, Mist. That's a fast current." the raven haired teen mutters uncomfortably.

Rolling her eyes, Misty tells him, "You've faced legendaries many times, and you're scared of a little current?"

"Well, I had to face legendaries. I don't have to get in this river."

Shrugging, the girl tugs on her vine. "Suit yourself." She sticks her tongue out at him. "Last one to the big rock down there carries everything back!" She then swings out into the river and lets go, falling on a lilypad and surfing it downstream.

Mentally cursing himself, Ash looks down at Pikachu. "Tell mom I love her, buddy."

"Pi…" Pikachu sweatdrops at his trainer. How can Ash almost die saving the world countless times, but he's scared of a river?

Taking in a deep breath, the boy swings into the river where he also lands on a lilypad to surf after his friend. The breeze rushing past him makes him smile. This is very exhilarating. He soon reaches up to his friend who had slowed down for him. "This is fun, Mist!"

"Duh!" Misty replies. "But you're going down, Ash!"

"No way!"

The two teens continue surfing down the fast river. Misty, being a water expert, maneuvers around some of the smaller rocks well. Ash does so too, but with more luck than skill. He's behind her now, causing her to smirk at him. "Get ready to carry our stuff back to the gym!"

He rolls his eyes, but the grin still remains on his face. "You're gonna eat those words, Mist!" As soon as he says that, his lilypad hits a jagged rock, splitting the lilypad, and causing Ash to fall into the water.

Misty hears this, so she turns around. When she doesn't see her friend anymore, she jumps off her lilypad to swim back to him. It's difficult because she's swimming against the fast current. "Ash!" She shouts in fear. Okay, maybe challenging him to a surfing battle in this river wasn't the best idea.

Looking over at the shore, Misty spots their Pokemon carefreely playing. "Help, guys!" Fortunately, they hear her, and all of her Pokemon jump into the water. Pikachu, not being a water type, worriedly stays on the shore searching for Ash. Even Charizard is up flying above the river. Everyone who is not a water type is keeping an eye on where the boy could be.

"Cor!" Corsola shouts, and Misty quickly swims to shore as Corsola and Staryu pull out Ash.

They're glad he's still conscious. He's coughing up some water, but for the most part, he didn't swallow much. Misty's concern isn't on his water intake though. It's on the red substance flowing down his leg. She tries to lift up his swimming trunk sleeve on his right side, but Ash flinches and blushes. "Watch it, Mist!" That's a sensitive area there.

The redhead gives him a worried look. "You're bleeding, Ash."

Now he notices the wound. Sitting up, Ash curiously moves up the trunk sleeve to reveal a deep gash that's still pouring blood. Due to his adrenaline, he doesn't feel the pain yet. Instead, he winces at how disgusting it looks. "I think I need stitches."

Misty is surprised by how calm he is. Does it not hurt? Looking into his brown eyes, she softly says, "I'm sorry, Ash."

"What for? It's not your fault I fell."

"Yeah it is. You're right. This river has too many rocks and the current is fast." she hangs her head low as she applies pressure to Ash's wound with a towel Pikachu brought over to them.

The boy sheepishly rubs the back of his head with a grin on his face. "It was fun though. And I'm okay." He reassures her. "Let's do this again! We never got a winner."

Misty smiles at him. He always makes her feel better. Well, he can make anyone feel better. Ash never blames anyone for anything, especially for his pain. With his wound wrapped up poorly, she hugs him. "I'm glad you're okay, Ash."

His face heats up in a blush, and he hugs her too. "I'm glad it was me who got hurt and not you." He'll take as many sharp rocks to the leg as he can so that Misty can stay safe and happy. She deserves it for being his best friend.

Flashback

"It doesn't count. I'm talking about after the divorce." the man scowls.

Shrugging, Misty knows she's victorious. "Ariel can tell you about all the fun we have." Misty then walks back into the kitchen to resume helping Delia, leaving the Ketchums to themselves again.

"Uh. Sorry, dad. I didn't wanna make you two argue." the girl awkwardly says.

Ash walks over to ruffle her hair. "It's okay, champ. We weren't arguing." This isn't even close enough to be considered an argument.

Ariel looks up at her father's eyes. "You and mom are a lot of fun. I wish we can all have fun together." He sighs. Even though they all spend more time together, he knows Ariel is right. They're not having fun. They're just going through the motions of a family.

Later

"Uncle Brock!" Ariel tackles her godfather in a tight hug. It's been months since she last saw him due to him being in Johto and then busy. Now that she's more mobile, she can cling onto him like she used to.

Chuckling, Brock hugs her tightly. "Heya, Ariel! How are you doing?"

"Good! We're all having dinner together!" She jumps up excitedly. "You, me, mom, dad, and grandma!" Ariel has always wanted a dinner like this, especially without Melody.

"I see." Brock looks up at his friends who are avoiding eye contact. He's glad they've been getting along for Ariel's sake. He's actually pretty surprised they haven't killed each other yet since they hated one another for 5 years. While he knows they claim to still hate each other, they have been behaving themselves.

After Brock greets everyone, they sit down for dinner. He shares that he'll be in town this week working on a project with Gary as well as spending more time with Ariel. He misses the fun they have. Ariel welcomes this. She also wants to include him in on their new plans. As usual, Ash and Misty don't speak to one another.

That night, Misty is spending helping Delia clean. The young woman had caught up a bit with Brock before Ariel ran off with him. She really loves her godfather who she doesn't see often. Ash is in his room working, like always.

"I'm glad to see you and Ash getting along again." Delia smiles at the redhead.

Misty sighs. She knows better than to lie to Delia. The older woman can always read Misty. "We don't talk to each other unless we have to, Delia." Misty frowns. "Once Ariel is gone, we won't be seeing each other anymore." Misty can't wait to stop forcing interactions with her ex.

"I miss having you here, Misty."

"Maybe I'll visit when he's not here then." Misty still sees Delia as a mother figure. Plus, with Ariel traveling, Ash won't need to come to Pallet Town often anymore. Misty has more chances to visit Delia without running into her ex.

"Is it too much for a mother to ask what happened between you two?" Delia hopefully looks at Misty who has finished sweeping.

Shrugging, the redhead replies, "You know why I filed for divorce, Delia. You can ask him why he signed the papers." Misty has an idea since she's had to constantly hear him complain about their past lately.

"Misty-"

"It's getting late." Misty smiles warmly at Delia. "I should get back to the hotel." Delia knows better than to pry any more. It's also why she doesn't know Ash's side of the story for the divorce. Besides, Misty has stayed later than usual today.

Hugging the redhead, Delia tells her, "Have a good night, Misty."

"Thank you for the meal, Delia."

Misty then makes her way upstairs to say goodnight to her daughter and Brock. Brock will be staying in the living room tonight before sleeping at the Oaks' guest bedroom this week. She hears the shower running, so she figures it must be one of the men. Ariel wouldn't shower unless she said bye to Misty. The girl doesn't want to miss her mother leaving if she showers.

When Misty reaches Ariel's room, she spots her daughter talking to Pikachu. "I'll see you next week, Ariel."

The girl looks over to grin at her mother before hugging her tightly. "I'll miss you, mom."

Letting out a breath, Misty kisses the top of Ariel's head. Even though Misty gets the girl most of the time, Misty still doesn't like leaving her alone. "I'll miss you too. Be good for grandma and your dad, okay?"

"Dad isn't gonna be here." Ariel pouts. Her father just came in the room to break the news to her, which is why she was talking to Pikachu. The electric mouse will be on babysitting duty while Ash is gone.

Misty raises a confused eyebrow at her daughter. This better not be what Misty thinks it is. "What do you mean?"

Pikachu worriedly looks between them. He understands Ariel is upset and not thinking, but telling Misty that Ash won't be here this week will just make things worse with the exes. "Pichupi!" He whispers to Ariel, though Misty hears it. The woman now suspiciously eyes Pikachu.

"What's going on, you two?"

Ariel blinks as she seems to understand Pikachu's warning. Grinning innocently at her mother, she replies, "Oh! Dad won't be here until the day before Thanksgiving! He's leaving tonight." Really, though, Ariel isn't sure when her father is coming back. He didn't say, but he did say he'd try to return as soon as possible.

Misty frowns hearing this. So now the broken promises and absences are starting. She knew Ash couldn't commit to all of these dinners and times with Ariel. The woman will give him a piece of her mind before she leaves today. Giving Ariel a fake smile, Misty hugs her once more and scratches Pikachu behind the ears. "I love you, Ariel. Take care of her, Pikachu."

"Pika!" Pikachu salutes. Once Misty is out of the room, Ariel worriedly looks at Pikachu. "I hope I didn't make mom mad at dad again."

"Piiii…" Pikachu's ears go flat nervously. The two wait to hear any shouting, though they thankfully never do.

Misty had tried to calmly exit Ariel's room so as to not alarm the girl. Just to be sure, Misty closed Ariel's door and then walked over to her ex's room. She knows Melody isn't around. Melody hasn't been at a Saturday dinner in a long time, and even Ariel has mentioned Melody's absence. However, Misty knows this doesn't mean Ash and her broke up because that would've been in the tabloids if it was true.

Knocking on the door, she waits for him to answer. If she yells, he will yell, and then Ariel will hear it. Misty doesn't want the girl to hear them argue anymore. Eventually, the door opens, but Misty hears the shower down the hall shut off, indicating that Brock will be exiting the bathroom soon. Thus, Misty slips through the doorway, much to her ex's annoyance.

"What are you doing?" He snaps at her. This is his room! His ex should definitely not be in here.

Glaring at him, she replies, "I heard about you disappearing on Ariel this week."

"Mind your own business." He's shocked she knows about this, but he figures Ariel might've accidentally let it slip.

Misty notices a packed bag on his bed. Closing in on him, she hisses, "This is how it starts! You miss one day, and then you miss all the fucking days!"

"I'm doing this for Ariel! Unlike you just sitting around letting her run into danger!" Ash is irritated with her. Why is she even here? This is his room! It's his private space, and she doesn't deserve to be here.

"That's what you said before our divorce. It's for you! It's for Ariel! Oh please, it is only ever for you!"

"Of course you wouldn't understand." Ash is on a tight schedule, and he doesn't need this right now. With Misty blocking the door, Ash backs up to his open window. He releases Charizard outside on the roof, making Misty's glare on him more intense.

"Look at you! Running away from your problems, like always!" Misty is struggling to keep her voice down. Any more of this, and Ariel will definitely hear them. Mew! Misty is just so upset about Ash acting like this is okay. It is not okay!

Ash turns back to face her with his own glare. "Running away? I'm doing something to protect our daughter! You're the one letting her start her pokemon journey while those assholes who hurt her are still out here!"

"The police are handling it!"

"It's been months! There are no results! The case has gone cold!"

"And what are you gonna do about it? Play vigilante again?"

He climbs out of the window to get on Charizard. "Yeah. I'm gonna find them and make it safe enough for Ariel to travel next year."

To his surprise, her glare disappears as she approaches the window. He expected her to tease him, or say it's a lost cause, or to let the authorities handle it. Instead, what she says is, "I want in."

Gulping uncomfortably while she gets out the window, he tugs at his shirt collar. "Uh. I don't wanna work with you."

"Too bad. She's my daughter too, so I'm coming with." With that, the woman hops onto Charizard behind him. Just what did he get himself into?