Never the Same
**Note: Okay, I'm confusing myself with the names… All actual names will be Japanese, and their nicknames will be English, or Japanese. Notice how Kasumi calls Natsume Sabrina? That's her nickname for her. (ex. Kasumi, "Misty; 'Sumi-chan;" Ookido Shigeru, "Gary, 'Geru-chan.") Your friends might have a lot of nicknames for you (Ara, Ari, Moose), but you only have one real name (Arianna.) I hope I haven't confused you all entirely.**
Never the Same
Chapter Two-
Somewhere In My Memory
I stared at her in disbelief. What else could I do? My nightmare had returned. After all these years, he was back. And worse than ever, as the newspaper showed.
"Wha- what are we going to do? What if- what if he finds me?" I managed to stumble out. I was filled with sheer terror. I felt like a bug in the center of an empty room, wanting to run but having no safe place to hide. I've been running all these years, I thought. I've hidden, but I'll never be safe. Ever.
Sabrina noticed my reaction and tapped into my brain. She sent a shock wave of calm emotions and pictures. That was the best part of being psychic. You could transmit emotions and pictures as well as thoughts back and forth. As soon as I was calm enough, she answered.
"Don't worry. He won't find you. I won't let him." She smiled at me. Sabrina's smiles were rare, making them all the more beautiful and mystifying. They lit up her pale features and made her eyes shine. I couldn't help but smile back.
"How will we keep him from finding me?" I asked. I couldn't help but wonder what her plan was. My mind was completely void of ideas, so I was depending on hers.
"It's too dangerous for you to stay here," she said. "He'd expect you to be on this path if he's drawing so much attention with the murders. So… I'm thinking Johto would be best." So…looks like I'm on the run again, I thought.
"What will I do once I get into Johto? I can't just wander. He'd expect me to be a loner, so I can't be on my own." I wasn't really too angry about having to leave home. I knew I could return once the threat was over. Of course, that might be months, even years, considering the measures that psycho was going through to catch me.
"Well, you'll have to seem normal. And what would any normal girl your age be doing?" I thought for a minute. I was restricted in my contacts, in case something like this would occur. The only other sixteen-year-old I knew was an egotistical jerk. I shot Sabrina a puzzled look. She sighed.
"Honestly, you need to get out more. Normal girls your age," she said, "would be going to school." I laughed. Me? Going to school? Surrounded by giggling buffoons and macho jerks? Not a chance.
All my life, I had been home-schooled. When I was little, my 'father' was too ashamed to even allow me out of the house, let alone teach me, and as soon as I escaped, Sabrina tutored me. How normal would I seem to the other students when I went to… wherever in Johto I was going?
That brought on another question. "Wait- where in Johto am I supposed to stay? I have to have an address, you know. And if you think for one minute I'm going to stay in an orphanage-"
She cut me off. "Obviously, you'll need an address. I'm not stupid, you know." I glared at her. Sometimes, she was like a mother. Other times, she was like the sister I never had. Either was annoying as hell.
"I'll set your residence up soon. As soon as I ask his permission…" She smirked. Who could this guy be? I thought. Whomever it was, it couldn't be too bad…
A voice called from the stairs, "So, I'm thinking eggs this morning. How 'bout you?" Sabrina smirked. My eyes widened.
"NOOO!" I yelled, realizing just who I'd be stuck with. The owner of the voice stepped out from his spot on the stairs. He raised an eyebrow.
"O-kay, then. How about toast?" I glared. Ookido Shigeru stood there, wearing his heart boxers, "Guess What's Hot," apron, and his trademark yin-yang necklace. I probably would have laughed, had I not been so horrified. I would be stuck with him? Now way in Hell.
He looked at me. "What? Do you not like my beautiful outfit? It's all the rage in Johto," he said, that arrogant smirk eternally plastered on his face. I rolled my eyes, then turned to Sabrina.
"Come on, Sabrina. I'll do anything, just don't stick me with him!" Her eyes glimmered with an evil shine. Obviously, she was prepared. I wondered what had happened to the whole, "Kasumi's life is in danger, let's be serious," part of my day.
"Well…" she started. "We could send you to live with your 'sisters…'" I gulped. My "sisters" were Sakura, Ayame, and Botan Yawa. Although we weren't blood related, they shared the same surname as I had chosen, and that formed a good cover for me. If asked, I could say that I was the fourth Sensational Sister of the Cerulean Gym. They weren't horribly mean, just… extremely annoying.
I glared at her. Shigeru looked back and forth between us, then asked, "All right, what did I miss? And, while I'm asking, toast or eggs?"
Sabrina turned to him. Then, in her commanding tone, said, "Misty here will stay with you when you return to school in Ecruteak. Any problems with this, Shigeru?"
I held my breath. Maybe I could be sent to live with someone else, instead… He shrugged, and I knew my wishes were futile. "None at all. What's the occasion?"
"Misty's father seems to want to track her down. Have you read the news yet?" He shook his head, and Sabrina passed him the paper. As he read, his eyes widened. He was one of the few people that knew my secret.
Back when I was only eleven, I started to work as one of the "warm-up" trainers in the gym. Shigeru was just starting his journey, as cocky then as he is now. The other trainers were off teaching their classes, so I was in charge of battling him. That was before I went off to train, so I only had Tenshi. It was a one-on-one battle. He chose an Eevee against its evolution. It was nighttime then, so Sabrina was off to teach her seminar.
Naturally, Tenshi beat the little furball, and Shigeru trudged off into the night. I felt sorry for him, and offered to let him stay the night. He was probably the only friend I'd ever had in my life. Sabrina allowed him to stay with us whenever he wanted to. During breaks from school, he'd visit. He really wasn't so bad. He could just act like such an arrogant jerk sometimes.
Shigeru was a caring person on the inside, with a strong sense of loyalty and friendship. You just had to look past his mask. I knew he cared about me, as I cared for him.
He turned to me, and said quietly, "So… when do we leave?" I turned to Sabrina. That same question had been on my mind, too. I wanted to know how long I had to explain it to Tenshi… Wait a minute, whatever happened to the fuzzball? I thought.
I looked around. The distinct lavender fur stood out against the plain brown steps. While I was dealing with life or death matters, Tenshi decided to take a nap. Typical feline nature.
Sabrina decided to answer Shigeru's question after my search ended. "Tomorrow, if possible. Then she'll stay for about a year or so. We can't take any chances." She turned and looked at me. "Shigeru and I need to discuss the arrangement further. Go start packing."
I bowed respectfully, as I had learned to do when she went into okaasan mode. "Yes, Natsume. Shall I get my Pokemon, too?"
She nodded, and I left. It was strange, how she had that dominant power over people. Perhaps it was her psychic abilities. As I walked by, I scooped up the sleeping Tenshi. It was strange… My life had been turned upside-down, and it was barely ten AM.
I entered my room, dropped the Espeon on my bed, and dug around for my red-orange bag. The abrupt falling seemed to awaken her. Akuma-koi…? she mumbled sleepily, sitting up. She rubbed her eyes with her paw and yawned. Had I not known the deranged furball so well, I might have thought she was cute.
No, not your beloved Umbreon, Tenshi. It's Kasumi. About time you woke up, I said mentally. My voice was getting tired of being used this morning. She groaned. What's up? I figured I didn't need to hear it then, so I decided to take a nap. I rolled my eyes. All you do is sleep.
I do things other than sleep!
Oh, yeah? Like what?
I battle for you, I chase Akuma-koi-
And that's such a difficult workout. Really. I feel sorry for the poor guy.
Hey! You've never experienced true love like I have! If given the chance, you'd act the same way!
Oh, really? I would never chase after some guy. I'll never fall in love!
Akuma was Shigeru's Umbreon. Tenshi had taken a liking to him shortly after meeting him. Of course, she just glomped him repeatedly, never telling him how she felt. We were constantly arguing about issues of love. She would always tell me that I would fall in love, someday. Who would have guessed that the three-foot-tall furball would be right?
I stared at the crimson sky. I had spent the whole day packing and explaining to Tenshi everything that was happening. She was strangely calm about it. Probably because she gets to spend more time with Akuma, I thought. I hadn't had much to pack, but I had to remove every trace of myself from the house. It looked as though I had never been there. It was strange, feeling as if you hadn't ever been to the place where you had lived most of your life.
I walked out the back door of our house. Behind it was a large garden, planted by Erika before I came. I spent most of my childhood there, wandering through the flowers and plants. It was peaceful and relaxing, and I felt like I could escape all my problems, if only for a little while.
After I passed the roses, I remembered a special place in water. I headed towards it. Lilies and other flowers were surrounding it, making it truly beautiful. It was my secret spot, my secluded getaway from when life got too hard.
In this huge garden, the pond was well hidden from everyone else. I would swim there in the summers, and huddle on the covered bench in winter. Right now, however, I just sat at the water's edge and ran my hand through it.
Memories seeped into my mind. I remembered how I would hide out there when my training got too tough…
I was at the very limit of my strength. Sabrina, however, wanted me to push harder. The pain was unbearable. My body was doing things it wouldn't naturally do if I was someone else. That was something I often wished. To be someone else…
With a final burst of energy, I collapsed onto the gym floor. I was hyperventilating, but Sabrina didn't seem to care. She walked up to me, face emotionless, and said, "You could have lasted longer. Try harder next time. Do you understand me, Kasumi?"
I was in so much pain, I could have laid there for the rest of my life. But I nodded anyway and said, "Yes, Natsume. I understand." She walked out of the room, calling Shigeru to follow. Tenshi came rushing up to me and Shigeru glanced sympathetically at me before following Sabrina.
She nuzzled my cheek. Are you all right, Kasumi? she asked, and I nodded weakly. I stood up, wincing as I did, and walked out the opposite exit as Sabrina. "I'm fine, Tenshi. I'm just going to go for a little walk around the grounds," I called back to her.
I ended up in the garden that night, and the next. I was contemplating running away, but came to a difficult point: I had no where to go. My only home was the gym. No orphanage would want me, and I had no birth family anymore. I was alone. All alone, with only myself…
Why the hell didn't you tell us you were going to be gone so long?!? I was so worried! I thought he got you, and then I-
I smiled gently at the feline. I had learned since the training incident that, although my biological family was long gone, I always had Tenshi and she always had me. Despite our quarrels, we were as close as family could get.
"No need to worry," I said. "I'm alive, aren't I? Come on, let's go. 'Geru-chan will be mad if we're late."
She looked like she was about to say more, but didn't. Instead, she just rubbed against my ankles and walked along beside me in silence. I looked up towards the water-colored sunrise and knew that this was the beginning of a whole new chapter in the story of my life.
1) Should I start some sort of in-fic contest?
2) Who would be bothered if I included shounen-ai/shoujo-ai
okaasan (okaa-san)- mother
Kasumi- Misty
Shigeru- Gary
Natsume- Sabrina
Sakura- Daisy
Ayame- Violet
Botan- Lily