tO eXPLAIN iN dUE tIME
cHAPTER 6

[a memory of a time]

The four rushed from the power plant, a sense of apprehension coursing through the group. What if Shigeru had been seriously hurt? How would they explain that to Ookido-Hakase?

Takeshi led the group outside, freezing at the sight of the damage. A good section of the tall grass had been obliterated; a rather deep gouge was in the ground and water from the canal had seeped in. A chunk of decorative trim had been knocked to the ground, as if a Pokemon had been slammed into the building. And apparently, that's just what had happened.

As they got closer, they saw Mara standing guard over Shigeru. Proud, arrogant Shigeru was lying on the ground, looking pretty much out of it. The Dragonite looked shaken, and one shoulder had slight bleeding. The scent of ozone hung heavily in the air. It reminded Kasumi of a thunderstorm. At their approach, Mara turned, her eyes blazing. She saw them, recognized them, and began to talk fast in her language.

"Mara, please!" Takeshi held up his hands, "We can't understand you!"

"What happened?" Kasumi said at the same time. She blushed at Takeshi's glare. "Sorry."

Satoshi held Pikachu close, and looked torn between rushing to Shigeru's side and keeping his Pokemon comfortable.

Hiroshi was the one that helped Takeshi raise Shigeru to a sitting position, but the injured young man winced and said, "Please, get me out of here!"

"Shigeru, you must tell us what happened!" Takeshi said. "Let us know what did this!"

Shigeru drew in a deep breath before saying, "I tried to take cover in the tall grass, but it was as if that Pokemon had it in for me. My head is killing me."

Takeshi felt the right side of Shigeru's head. "He has quite a large bump. I think he may have a slight concussion."

"But what Pokemon was it, Shigeru?" Kasumi prodded.

Takeshi and Hiroshi helped Shigeru to his feet. He was very unsteady and leaned against Mara. "Zapdos...it was Zapdos."

"But...but that's a Legendary Pokemon!" Hiroshi said, shaking his head. "It couldn't have been because Zapdos..."

"No, Hiroshi!" Satoshi broke in, "Whatever you're about to say is probably wrong!"

"Satoshi!" Kasumi hissed. "Maybe you should give him a chance to talk!"

"Would the three of you shut up!" Shigeru growled. "I'm in a world of pain here! Just accept that it was Zapdos, okay? It was a big yellow bird-Pokemon that used electrical attacks. It shocked the hell out of Mara, but she looks okay. At least, a whole lot better than me."

The three were quiet, before Pikachu uttered a weak, "Pika.."

"Pikachu," Satoshi said, cradling the electric mouse to his chest. "Pikachu says it was definitely Zapdos. And that she needs medical attention. But how will we get everyone to safety?"

"Simple," Takeshi said. "Kasumi will go with me and Satoshi. Shigeru will go with Hiroshi."

"But what Pokemon will get us to the hospitals?" Kasumi asked. "Pikachu needs to get to the closest Pokemon center, and Shigeru needs to get to the closest human hospital."

"We need the fastest fliers," Hiroshi said. "My Charizard will fly you three to safety." The blond young man turned to Shigeru. "Will Mara fly us both to the nearest human hospital?"

Shigeru cracked open one eye. "What makes you think she will? Maybe she can fly me there alone."

"And maybe I want to reduce the risk of you falling off in mid-flight."

"Mara can hold me in her forearms." Shigeru said, clutching his side.

"Don't be a moron," Hiroshi said, "That will slow her down. I'll sit behind you and Mara will fly us to the nearest town." He looked up at Takeshi. "What city would that be?"

"Kasumi's hometown, Hanada Sitei," Takeshi said. "But the closest Pokemon Center is the small one on the route there."

"Couldn't Shigeru go to that Pokemon Center, too? Does he have to go all the way to Hanada?" Kasumi asked, noting the pallor of Shigeru's face. "He needs to get help fast!"

"No," Takeshi said, "The Nurse there is experienced only in Pokemon and..."

"Would you stop blabbering and get me to Hanada already?" Shigeru said loudly. "Mara, help Hiroshi with me, okay?" Mara laid down on her belly and Takeshi and Hiroshi helped Shigeru onto the Dragonite's back. She held still until Hiroshi was safely sitting behind Shigeru and then the big Pokemon stood on her hind legs.

"Charizard, come on out!" Hiroshi flung the Pokeball. Charizard stood and stared at Hiroshi. "I need you to fly Takeshi, Satoshi, and Kasumi to the nearest Pokemon Center. Pikachu is very ill and needs your speed to get them there safely."

The Charizard rumbled, and nodded. It cocked its head and rumbled again.

"I need to fly with Shigeru's Dragonite to get him to the closest human hospital." Hiroshi smiled fondly at his friend. "I know you can take these guys to the Pokemon Center while I go to Hanada. You're the best!"

"Would you like to recite the damned alphabet while you're at it?" Shigeru snapped. "Because I'd really love to get to the hospital sometime this year."

"Don't worry about us, Hiroshi," Takeshi said, "We trust your Pokemon."

"Just get going!" Kasumi said. "We'll all see each other later!"

Shigeru stared down at the group, singled out Satoshi's gaze and smirked.

"You and I still have a battle, Shigeru." Satoshi said. "You'd better get as much rest as you can."

Shigeru's smirk faded into a small grin. "Satoshi. You'll never learn." And with a wordless command from Shigeru, the Dragonite leapt into the air, and they were gone.

Kasumi walked up behind Satoshi and put a hand on his shoulder. It was tense. "Come on, Satoshi. We need to get Pikachu healed."

Satoshi looked down at his electrical friend. Pikachu looked very weak indeed. With a nod, he followed her. The trio boarded the Charizard; Takeshi sat in the front, then sat Satoshi holding Pikachu, and Kasumi brought up the rear. "Take us to the nearest Pokemon Center," Takeshi said. "And make it speedy!"

With a roar, Charizard leapt into the air and flew off. Kasumi noticed it was the same direction taken by Shigeru and Hiroshi. Deep in her heart, she wondered if she'd see the two again.

The wind cut past them, and the only sounds were those of Mara's wingbeats. Clouds streaked above them, only a few smaller ones dared be close enough for Hiroshi to think he could reach up and run his fingers through their wispyness.

Ahead of him, Shigeru shivered sharply, but he dare not release his grip on Mara's neck. His grip was loose enough as it was. Shigeru glanced down briefly and saw the lights of a small village pass below them. The village was gone in the second he blinked.

"Are you cold?" It was Hiroshi.

"I'm fine," Shigeru said, his voice low. "I'll be better when we reach Hanada. What's taking so long Mara?"

Mara snorted an apology in reply.

"She's probably taking it easy for you," Hiroshi said. "Or maybe she's hurt more than she's letting on."

The Pokemon shook her head and snapped her wings in an effort to increase her speed.

Shigeru wanted to fall forward, to become more streamlined against her back, but his side hurt so badly. He was afraid of Hiroshi finding out that the injuries from the earlier battle against Rocketto Dan had reopened. The stiff wind from Mara's flight had his entire left side cold, and he knew he'd lost a good deal of blood.

Hiroshi noticed Shigeru seemed to have a hard time breathing and he reached forward to put his arms around Shigeru's waist.

The second he made contact with the other boy's body, Shigeru cried out. "Don't touch me!" Shigeru didn't turn around to face Hiroshi, but anger tensed his lithe body. "I'm a big boy and I can sit up all by myself."

"Okay, I'm sorry." Hiroshi sat up a little taller; as away from Shigeru as he could safely manage, and dropped his hands on his thighs. The cool air rushing past had his hands made them feel colder than they should. He rubbed his fingers against his thumbs, and felt stickiness. Hiroshi's stomach lurched when he realized it was blood on his hands.

Shigeru's blood.

He couldn't see it on Shigeru's side, but he could tell that the shirt was sticking to the chestnut-haired boys' side. His nose picked up a faint coppery scent. He frowned and noticed Mara eyeing the two of them. She caught Hiroshi's gaze, then looked ahead. The blond youth didn't see any lights approaching them, just the dark canopy of the forest below. A hard-packed dirt road cut through the forest, showing itself briefly.

"Shigeru, do you want to land?" Hiroshi asked. There was no answer. "Shigeru?" He was torn in between wanting Mara to continue flying and landing immediately.

Shigeru answered that question for him.

With a shudder, the arrogant boy suddenly fell forward onto Mara's neck. The Pokemon shrilled in dismay and began a sharp descent to the hard-packed road below them. Hiroshi grabbed a hold around Shigeru's waist and pulled the fainted boy close. He squeezed Mara's sides hard in an effort to stay on her back.

"Mara, please! Don't land!" Hiroshi begged, "I need you to fly as fast as you can for the hospital!"

Mara trilled sharply, and continued to dart down.

Hiroshi was at a loss. "At least aim for a cabin, the nearest town, anything with humans!" Still the Pokemon ignored him, seemingly aiming for a spot.

A flickering campfire caught Hiroshi's gaze. "Yes! Go for the campfire! Maybe there's someone who has first aid."

There was nothing Hiroshi could do but hold on as Mara dropped silently towards the ground. The spot Mara chose to land on was about one hundred feet from the campers. Even from ten feet above the ground, Hiroshi could see the five campers were in their sleeping bags. Shigeru was still breathing, but it was ragged sounding and his side twitched.

Suddenly Shigeru slumped against Hiroshi. He acted instinctively, holding Shigeru firmly by the boys' shoulders. Even through the thick material of the tunic, Shigeru felt like a dead weight. "Shigeru!" Hiroshi cried out, trying to manage his slipping hold on the Ookido boy. "Mara, land before I lose my hold on him!"

Mara landed harshly with a heavy thump and Hiroshi fell off. Shigeru tumbled off with him and landed on top of Hiroshi. Carefully Hiroshi rolled Shigeru away and sat up. He glared at Mara who had the good graces to look embarrassed.

Hiroshi shook his head. "You may have done a very stupid thing."

"Hey! Who's over there?!" An unfamiliar male voice cut through the night. "Cool! A Dragonite!" The male was oblivious to Hiroshi and his predicament. "Koni, you have to see this!"

Hiroshi ignored the sound of a sleeping bag being unzipped, and knelt next to Shigeru's side. It startled him to see Shigeru's sapphire blue eyes open and staring. "...Shigeru..." He breathed out, grabbing one of the fallen trainer's arms, checking for a pulse. Relief filled him when he found a weak pulse.

"I'm lonely." The voice didn't even sound like Shigeru's. It was slightly raspy, and very low. Hiroshi bent closer to hear him. A wry look crossed Shigeru's face, followed by one of pain. "I...I sound foolish...don't I?"

Hiroshi shook his head, "No...You're not..." It was as if Shigeru didn't even hear him. Hiroshi looked at Shigeru, shaken by what he saw. He had seen many expressions on Shigeru before. Arrogance, pride, happiness. He had even seen a small look of friendship.

This was the first time he saw fear.

Satoshi felt Pikachu struggle weakly in his arms. "Takeshi, are we there yet?"

"Hold on, Satoshi." Takeshi said. "We're almost there. I can see the Pokemon Center's lights now."

Kasumi frowned. "We were going in the same direction that Hiroshi and Shigeru went, right?"

"That's right, Kasumi," Takeshi said. "We might even see Mara or Hiroshi very soon."

"I just wanna see Pikachu get better!" Satoshi wailed. "I'd die if anything bad happened to her."

Kasumi rolled her eyes, If that were true, with all the problems they'd had with Rocketto Dan, Satoshi would be very much a goner.

The group had found the Pokemon Center easily enough, but there was one little problem. It was closed! A sign hung on the door knob of the center had politely explained that due to a lack of funding, the center was temporarily closed. All cases, be it emergency or a quick perk up, were directed to the Hanada Sitei Pokemon Center. As such, they had continued on with their flight.

"It's okay, Satoshi." Takeshi said, "Look, you can see the Pokemon center from here." And suddenly they were landed in front of the Pokemon center. Takeshi leapt off as soon as Charizard touched ground, and he pulled Satoshi off the Pokemon's back.

Satoshi ran for the Center's doors, and disappeared inside the building. Kasumi watched with a startled look from her viewpoint on Charizards back. "I didn't know he could run so fast."

"Satoshi is full of surprises," Takeshi said, helping Kasumi from the broad back. "There you go."

Charizard rumbled, and the two humans looked up at it. "I think it wants to go find Hiroshi," Kasumi said. "Don't you?"

The Pokemon didn't wait, and leapt into the air, gone in a split second.

"Well, that was rather abrupt." Takeshi said, as he led Kasumi into the Pokemon Center.

"Kinda rude, too." Kasumi said, casting one last look into the sky.

About ten minutes later Satoshi reappeared with a happy Pikachu perched on his shoulder. He beamed at his friends. "Glad that's done with! Any word from Hiroshi?"

"No, and Charizard went off to look for them." Kasumi said. "To tell you the truth, I'm little worried."

"Why?" Satoshi asked.

"I am too." Takeshi said. "Hiroshi is a very responsible person and I know he'd try to make sure we were up to date on something this important."

There was a pause, broken only by a few passing people busy with their own late night business. Satoshi shivered and looked up at the cloudless night sky. "I'm worried too."

Kasumi rubbed her arms. "Is it just me or did it suddenly get cold?"

Takeshi narrowed his eyes. "Do you think we should go to the hospital? It's only a few blocks down this way."

The three agreed and walked towards the hospital.

"Ian, there are two guys over here!" A feminine voice called out. The beam of a flashlight played over Shigeru and Hiroshi, and brought to light Shigeru's situation. It was bad, very bad. "Holy shit, this one guy is messed up badly!"

"Please, I need your help!" Hiroshi said, looking up at the wielder of the flashlight. He held up a hand to shield the light and saw a slender woman with lilac-hued hair. "Can you call for an officer or something? He's badly hurt…A wild Pokemon attacked him."

"Koni…" The guy who had seen Mara first held a hand to his mouth and he paled. "Jeez…I have a phone…Koni, come on. We have to call for help now!" The two ran back to their campsite, leaving Hiroshi alone with Shigeru and Mara.

"Satoshi…"

Hiroshi stared down at Shigeru. The proud boys' eyes were closed, and he said Satoshi's name again.

"I told you I was in love with someone else, didn't I, Satoshi?"

Hiroshi gaped at Shigeru. Is he so hurt that he thinks I'm Satoshi?

"I wasn't lying." He coughed and winced at the movement. "Only I never told you who it was. Do you want to know who?"

"No, Shigeru, I don't." Hiroshi felt his heart race. Because I'm not Satoshi. Oh don't tell me you're gonna die on me. I can't handle this sort of stress.

Shigeru opened his blue eyes and smiled weakly. He reached up with his right hand and ran it along Hiroshi's cheek. It left a streak of blood. "Oh, Satoshi."

Hiroshi held his breath. A million thoughts ran through his mind, and not a one of them were of any help.

Shigeru closed his eyes and sighed. His head fell to the side and his hand dropped from Hiroshi's face. Mara began wailing, even as flashing lights from emergency vehicles began to arrive. Their headlights became the spotlight for a deadly play that might have just ended.

Hiroshi looked down at Shigeru, totally stunned. His brows furrowed in sorrow as he said two simple words. "Oh, Shigeru."

I wish I could have told him how I really felt. The darkness concealed the true identity of the thinker, masked the persons emotions. The stars glittered overhead like a handful of diamonds tossed absently onto the blackest velvet surface.

Wind briefly tugged at the figures clothes, misted through the longish hair like the fingers of a lover, and the person looked up at the sky.

This time the soft glow from the half-moon revealed the identity of the secret person. It was Hiroshi.

He looked down at the merrily lit town of Pallet and sighed. Somewhere down there, his beloved was alseep. After all the trials they'd been through, all that had so recently happened, and he still couldn't tell the truth.

Life is like a carnival. His beloved had once said to him. The words came back in an echo of their happily said tone. One day it's there, and the next it's gone. But it always comes back.

It's funny, because sometimes life is like a carnival. Is that the end of...tO eXPLAIN iN dUE tIME?