Never the Same
Yes, it is.
O_O)) Ohhh... okay, so what do I do now?
*sigh* Scrat-chan, please introduce the fic.
Ohhhh... Okay, so, since Ara asked me to, I currently hold the honor of introducing Ara Moon's fic, Never the Same. So... here is *dramatic music* CHAPTER FOUR!
YAY! *falls over from the excitement, microphone squeals loudly* ...ow... ^-^
*claps* Very good! And... cameras off, cut sound!
^___^ Did I do good?
Jesse (Dream Street bishonen): Ehh... *starts to say some sarcastic smart-ass remark*
Shut up.
Never the Same
Chapter Four-
Nice to Meet You, Good to See You
Suddenly, I felt the ground below me give way. Thought a little too soon, I said to myself. Tenshi, Shigeru, and I fell into a deep whole in the ground. Two booming and fairly annoying voices cut through the dust and leaves swirling around us.
"To protect the world from devastation!" A somewhat arrogant female voice.
"To unite all people within our nation!" An unusually feminine male voice.
"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"
"To extend our reach to the stars above!"
"Musashi!"
"Kojiro!"
"Team Rocket blast off at the speed of light!"
"Surrender now or prepare to fight!"
"Me-owth, that's right!"
They struck a pose, and the female voice laughed maniacally. "Now hand over the Pikachu, twerp, or--" She stopped, looked down at us, and the male popped up behind her. "Uh, Jess, I don't think that's the twerp…"
She whipped out a mallet and smacked him with it. "I know that, James! But they do seem to have a rare Pokemon or two…" Her eyes trailed to Tenshi, who, in turn, glared at them. You wanna fight? I'll fight ya, but you may not live to tell of it…
The humans looked at her nervously. However, their Meowth went starry-eyed and said, "Oh, wow! Another Pokemon dat can talk! I never knew dat dere were any othahs… Ooh, and dis one's a girl Pokemon!" Tenshi spat, and glared up at him. Okay, that's it. You are gonna die.
She began to charge up a psychic blast. Now the whole group above got nervous. Number one, Tenshi said, growling, I'm a Psychic Type. I project thoughts using my mind, you idiot. A large purple ball appeared over our heads. Number two, if you even have the slightest thought of us getting together, you are wrong. Why? Well, that brings us to number three. The purple ball had expanded so that it nearly filled the whole entrance of the hole. I mentally told the Espeon to tone it down a little, so that we wouldn't have a murder on our hands. She grudgingly complied, then said, Now, Number Three is… She launched the glowing lavender ball towards our frightened would-be Pokemon thieves. I'm in love with my Akuma-koi!
The three flew off with a yell of, "Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!" and a little "tink" noise. I turned to Shigeru.
"You're the king of this town, 'Geru. Tell me who the hell they were, and what exactly they were on." He laughed, looked at the still-pissed Tenshi, and spoke.
"They were the wanna-be villains of this town. If you get to know them, they can be nice, and sometimes help the good guys. They're just… weird. Don't like this one Pikachu much, though. So now they're obsessed with capturing it. They're minor league members of Team Rocket, but not part of the big picture." I was a little freaked out about just coming in contact with members of Team Rocket, but Shigeru assured me it was okay. "They're practically harmless. Plus, they're friends. Well, not with me, but with 'the twerp and gang.' You'll get a lot of laughs from them."
As we started off to the city, I remembered something. "Hey Shigeru?" I asked. He looked towards me.
"Yes?"
"You never did tell me what they were on…"
We laughed as we crossed into Ecruteak's borders.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
I unpacked quickly. It wasn't like I had had a lot to pack. Most of my bags were filled with Tenshi's things. I grabbed a new outfit and headed into my new bathroom, starting up a bath.
Tenshi was lying on the floor outside my room's sliding door, playing with a piece of yarn. I nearly tripped over her, but she didn't seem to notice.
Pretty nice place Shigeru's got here, eh? Look at all the space! So many shiny objects, too… She grinned a mischievous grin. Just then, a yell of, "Tuna time!" came from the kitchen. Tenshi looked towards the kitchen, and, with a call of, Save that tuna for meeee! was off. I chuckled quietly to myself.
The feel of the water against my skin as soon as I had stepped into the bath was welcomed. It felt very cleansing and calming. Water was a second home to me. I cleaned my hair and body, and just lay in the bath for a while. I finally got out when Shigeru called for lunch.
"So…" he said between bites, "how do you like your new home?" I smiled at him. "It's great! How do you afford to live here?" I helped myself to seconds as he continued.
"Gramps is a respected Pokemon researcher, and has helped with many issues over here in Johto, so they let me stay here, no charge." After shoveling more food in his mouth, he looked up at me. "Say… want to meet your new neighbors?" I nodded excitedly, and headed off to get ready.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
I walked out of the house into a gust of wind and leaves. The streets were deserted, except for the few leaf-rakers, who turned and stared. I looked to Shigeru. "Eh… are you sure I don't look weird?" I questioned. He barely looked in my direction as he answered. "Nah. They stare at all newcomers. Now come on!"
He grabbed my hand, and we ran towards the Pokemon Center, Tenshi not far behind. As soon as we got in the door, we encountered another strange sight. A tall boy, with spiky hair and no visible eyeballs, was talking to the Nurse Joy, and then dragged away by the ear by an annoyed blonde. "Takeshi, how many times have I told you…" she growled. He just smiled nervously. "Sorry, Domino. I guess I forgot." Four of the five members of their group sweatdropped. Then one noticed Shigeru and I.
"Hey, Shigeru! New girlfriend?" a boy with ebony hair said, grinning. At that, a brunette in the back of the group looked at Shigeru worriedly. Their eyes locked together, and I could feel a deep bond between them. My companion smiled briefly at him before turning to the boy who commented.
"Nope. She's just a friend of the family's who'll be staying her with me for a while." That was the story he and Sabrina had decided on. Ebony Hair and Squinty gave him skeptical looks that clearly said, "Yeah, sure…" A girl with fiery red hair and bluish-green eyes stepped in front of the group.
"Hi!" she said cheerfully. "I'm Scrat Kaji, and these are my, er, 'friends.'" She looked at the blonde, who turned away grunting. "Uh… the black-haired guy with the hat and Pikachu attached to him is Satoshi, the brunette behind him is Hiroshi, and the disgruntled blonde is Domino. Beware of Domino," she warned, winking. "She bites."
I smiled at her. The blonde grunted again and marched out of the Center, though no one seemed to care. I could tell that, of all my new acquaintances, Scrat would probably be my first new friend. Clearing her throat, she continued.
"Ah… and this," she said, gesturing to the male who had been dragged away from Nurse Joy earlier, "is Takeshi. He's gonna be the greatest Pokemon breeder in all Johto, and all of Kanto, too! Plus," she said in a dreamy voice while edging closer, "he's a major hottie!" Scrat giggled, then said, "So… who're you?"
I took a deep breath. Here's my big chance, I thought. A whole new beginning, all over again... "My name is Kasumi. Kasumi Yawa, the youngest of the Four Sensational Sisters of Cerulean Gym. When I was little, I went to train under Natsume Yamabuki in the Saffron Gym. I used to want to be a water master, but I've expanded my horizons a little since then." I smiled, then said, "And the little furball by my feet here is Tenshi. She may look innocent, but watch out. She's really a crazed lunatic." At that, Tenshi pouted. Am not…
The group looked at her in disbelief. "What… none of your Pokemon can communicate in English?" They all shook their heads. Tenshi looked up at me. Wow, she said. Does that make me special? I sighed.
"Tenshi? Go play with some of the other Pokemon and give us some human time, okay?" She looked up at me. How much tuna is involved? she asked privately. Two whole cans if you leave now, I replied. She scurried off quickly.
"Sorry 'bout that. She can be a tad bit annoying sometimes." I smiled nervously at them. "So… what Pokemon do you have?" The one Scrat introduced as Satoshi seemed excited by this question, and reached for his belt. He called out a Pikachu, a Chikorita (that immediately glomped him,) a Charizard, a Noctowl, a Bulbasaur, and a Butterfree. They were all happy to see him.
Scrat called out her Pokemon. Her party was much smaller, consisting of only a Vulpix, a Growlithe, and a Flareon, but they were very pleased to see her, too. I smiled at their trainers. "Wow. I'm impressed. They're all so healthy, and cute!" I picked up the Vulpix. Scrat noticed what I was doing, and yelled, "Stop!" but it was too late. I was flame-throwered. I coughed, and dropped it. She "Vul'ed" cutely before walking back to her trainer.
Scrat smiled nervously. "Heh. Sorry. Vulpix is a little… rude to strangers." She quickly scooped the Pokemon up, scolding it. "Vulpix, be nice. She's new." The fire Pokemon Vul'ed stubbornly. "Yes… I know she touched your tail, but still…" She sighed, and I smiled.
"She and Tenshi would make great friends," I said, laughing. At the sound of her name, said psychic furball came scampering over. You called? she said. I sighed again, and said, "Tenshi, meet Vulpix. Don't touch each other's tails, and you'll be great friends." They looked at each other, and began a conversation in their native language that I didn't care to translate.
The human group started walking as they talked, their Pokemon trailing behind. The one Scrat called a "hottie," Takeshi, and the brunette, Hiroshi, had left their Pokemon in the care of a teacher, Ms. Suzie Yuki, so they didn't release theirs. I left most of my Pokemon in the care of Ookido-hakase, only bringing Tenshi along. Shigeru released Akuma, the only Pokemon he had with him at the time. Tenshi introduced herself to the Flareon, Aesta, so the Eevolutions (plus Vulpix and Pikachu) held their own separate conversation.
"So…" Satoshi asked, "When are you starting school?" I thought for a moment, looked at Shigeru, then said, "I don't know. Probably when you all get back from the extended weekend." Thinking of that, I said, "Aug, Shigeru, don't you think we ought to fill out my forms now?" He nodded and, Pokemon in check, we bid them our farewells, heading towards the Ishied-Kamo High School to register.
Well, introductions were made, and I was all ready for a new beginning. After all, hadn't I suffered enough already? It was time to add a little fun to my stressed life. If I only knew the excitement and terrors that would surface before that year was through…
Questions:
1) What do you, the readers, want to happen in the future?
2) Er, um… *thinks* What is your favorite kind of cookie?