A Brand New Chapter
Chapter III
By: Shigeru
Insert legal disclaimer and shounen ai warning here.
~~
"That was amazing, Shigeru . . ."
The spiky-headed trainer from Masara Town froze where he knelt, his hand suddenly having stopped the pet it was giving to the dark-furred Evil element Pokémon in front of him. The Burakki seemed a bit annoyed at first, but when it looked behind Shigeru to see who had spoken, the monster understood immediately. It was a face it knew.
Ookido Shigeru did not have to turn around to know who the fourteen year old boy behind him was. It was a voice he had known for his entire life. "What are you doing here, Satoshi?" he snapped, not having moved a muscle. His hand was still hovering centimeters over Burakki's head.
Satoshi stumbled with his words. Last time they had seen each other, Shigeru had been much softer to him. It seemed as if this was an entirely different person . . . "I-I just came down from Mount Mortar and saw you finish that battle. It was the most incredible thing I've ever seen in my life. I never knew Pokémon could get that strong."
"Neither did I. Until I saw it happen before my eyes. Considering we started training at the same time, it's amazing that your own Pokémon aren't as strong," Shigeru retorted with a sneer in his voice. Why had Satoshi come here? Why now? He had been doing such a good job of putting his old life behind him. And now the biggest chunk of it was standing behind him.
Satoshi felt a slight sting to his rival's words. But it helped in the fact that they were all true. He really had never taken his training as seriously as Shigeru. Satoshi did it more for fun, while Shigeru had the makings of a real master. Satoshi had a faint thought of cheering from the sidelines as Shigeru was awarded the trophy. Of running up and hugging him, kissing him . . .
Satoshi begged whatever higher powers may exist that his excitement at the thought would not be seen. "Yeah, well. You did prove you were the better trainer, Shigeru. In fact . . . that's one of the reasons why I'm here."
"You want another trouncing?" he asked bitterly, but by the time he turned around, clutching a PokéBall in his hand, he had managed to erect the arrogant grin that had been his shield against the world for so long. "You just said you had never seen a battle at such a high scale as this, and you still wanna have another match to try and prove you're better?"
"No!" Satoshi erupted, surprising himself as much as Shigeru with the force behind that one word. "I came here to get back the best friend I've ever had," he continued, managing to calm down. Shigeru had always managed to know exactly what to say in order to get Satoshi mad. But up until now, it had only served to push him further. Make him work even harder to try and impress the other.
Shigeru let out a rather harsh sounding laugh. There was no trace of joy in the sound. "I've changed far too much to go back to the way things were six years ago, Satoshi. That's one thing I envy about you. After all this time, you've still managed to stay the same person I always knew." The smirk was gone from Shigeru's face. It had been the first time other than at Tokiwa City that Satoshi had seen him without a smile in four years. The almost lost look that danced across Shigeru's face allowed Satoshi to notice just how much he really had changed.
"You're not the only one that's changed, Shigeru. I'm not the same little boy who left Masara Town!" Even as he spoke the words, he knew that, for the most part, they were false. Even Pikachu, who had been with him the entire way, had not noticed a single thing. He was still hardheaded, hyper, and was blind to the completely obvious facts of the universe. But he had learned a lot of things in since leaving home. He had grown up. And he had eventually come to a point where he had finally figured out exactly what he wanted out of life.
"Maybe so," Shigeru replied with a soft, thoughtful nod, "but what's the point in looking to the past, now, Satoshi? It's long gone. And I can't go looking for it, again."
"You don't have to look for it, because I already have. I've been following you around for seven months, now, Shigeru, and I won't stop until I get what I want. You know I can be a royal pain in the ass when I want something."
Oh, God, did Shigeru know that was the truth. It was enough to make him crack a small smile and stifle a laugh. But something about what Satoshi had just said made him think for a moment. Seven months of looking for him. And seven months ago was when he . . . "You mean you came all the way to Johto, just to find me?"
"Well . . . not just to find you. I seriously wanted to train, and enter the League here. But I wouldn't have come if you hadn't," Satoshi said softly, hoping the embarrassment the words caused would not show on his face. He wasn't sure how Shigeru would feel towards just being friends again, let alone anything more than that.
"You wouldn't have known about this place if I hadn't come," Shigeru pointed out, giving a sly smile. "Let me guess. Ojiichan told you all about it after I left, right?"
Satoshi couldn't help but blush at the truth in Shigeru's words. "Yeah . . . It was Professor Ookido who told me about Johto. And who told me you were headed here."
Damnit! Shigeru thought to himself, why'd he have to go and blush? He's going to get me started, too! He's just too damned cute like that.
He decided it'd be best if he got the subject of conversation away from where it had been going. "Hey, where are your two babysitters? The last time I saw you without them, was the day we started out."
Satoshi could feel his face burning. Shigeru had noticed the way they had been slightly protective of him, as well. And Satoshi didn't know whether Shigeru had seen it, but back at Tokiwa City Gym, Kasumi had shot the newly awakened trainer quite the death glare. "They're over in Enju City," he said, hoping he didn't sound as flustered as he felt. "I managed to talk them into walking ahead."
"So you'll be heading there soon, too, right?" Shigeru wasn't sure why he was pressing this. Was it because he wanted to enjoy every possible moment with Satoshi? Or was it because he wanted the other trainer to be out of life for good? Things had become so confusing. Everything except for his training was only a blur to him, now.
"I . . . don't think I'll be joining them." Satoshi felt good to say that out loud. He was not going to be tied down to Takeshi and Kasumi any longer. He was free to do what he wanted, when he wanted. And all he wanted right now was to stay with Shigeru.
"So what do you plan on doing? You don't really seem like the type of person who would be able to stand being alone for something as long as what you're planning."
Satoshi couldn't help but smile for a moment. It seemed that, for the moment, their roles had been reversed. It was now Shigeru's turn to miss the painfully obvious.
"If it's possible, Shigeru . . . I was hoping to come along with you . . ."
"What?!" Shigeru blurted, nearly fainting at the thought of Satoshi coming along. Being with him every day, and spending practically all of that time with him. A new wave of confusion washed over him. What was he supposed to do in a situation like this? There was a part of him that ached for Satoshi to be at his side. But another part of him told him it wasn't going to work. He had put all of this space between himself and his old life for a reason. "You're not serious, are you, Satoshi?" he asked, regaining his composure and even managing a skeptical tone of voice.
"Of course I am!" Satoshi replied, a bit more enthusiastically than he had meant to. When he managed to gain control of himself again, he went on. "I mean, I know there's a lot you can teach me about training. Maybe even a few things I can teach you. And you know you can only play Lone Wolf for so long . . ."
It was hard for Shigeru to argue with the other boy's reasoning. There was indeed a lot Satoshi could learn from him. And, despite the fact that Shigeru was a better trainer, Satoshi had gone along a different path, and undoubtedly had experiences to share that would help him. This information was not going to keep Shigeru from trying to, at least. If it was one thing anyone knew, it was that Ookido Shigeru never gave up.
"So you're saying that after everything that's happened, you could even stand to be around me?" he asked, raising an eyebrow in an as if manner. "I don't think you know what you're talking about, Satoshi. We've gone too far, and have done too much to each other for this to work."
Satoshi's usually gentle nature was starting to crack. Why can't he understand?! he demanded to no one in particular. "Shigeru, please! I don't care about that anymore! What's in the past is in the past. And you know not all of it was unpleasant. There are plenty of good times between us back there!"
Shigeru couldn't believe what he was seeing. Satoshi's words had finally caused him to really look him in the face. And at the moment, there were fresh tears in those dark brown eyes. God, Satoshi, do you not know what those tears do me inside? Do you not know how hard it was for me to push you away? For me to keep doing so, even when you want to be with me? Shigeru wasn't sure, but he felt that at the moment, his own blue eyes were a mirror of his rival's.
Finally, a defeated sigh escaped Shigeru's lips. He had, at last, been defeated for a third time. Once back at Tokiwa City Gym, and again at the regional championships. And now, Satoshi had finally managed to beat him, even if it wasn't at a Pokémon battle. "Alright, Satoshi . . ." he said, casting his gaze downwards, "if it is truly what you want, you can come with me. But, if you slow me down, you're going to be left behind."
A small, almost imaginary smile danced at the corners of Satoshi's lips. "That won't be a problem." And he was fairly certain that it wouldn't be. Satoshi may not be the smartest person on earth, but he knew how to do what he had to do. And all he really had to do now was hang onto the prize he had just obtained.
~~
"Where is he?" Kasumi raged as she paced back and forth across the lobby of the Enju City Pokémon Center. Togepi was doing a similar number, although it was happy throughout the whole ordeal. It seemed to be playing follow the leader, using its "mother" as the leader.
"Calm down, Kasumi," Takeshi sighed, obviously exasperated. The girl had been raging and ranting ever since they were out of earshot of Satoshi and Shigeru. "I'm sure he's fine. He'd old enough to take care of himself after all. Besides, it's barely been two hours. He promised he'd be here when he was done training."
But something about his own words got to him. He didn't remember Satoshi making a promise. And ever since they had come to Johto, he had noticed Satoshi acting strangely. The fourteen-year-old had seemed much more serious than he had previously. Takeshi had assumed Satoshi was going to be more vigilant when it came to training, but he never seemed to enjoy winning a battle as much as he used to. And he had seemed so intent on staying behind with Shigeru.
"Don't you know how much can happen in two hours?! He could be hurt! Or Rocketto Dan may have found him!" she screamed, turning to glare at the eighteen-year-old breeder. She was as angry as she had ever been. And a Kasumi scorned was a very bad thing. Takeshi knew she had that mallet hidden somewhere.
"Look," he said, trying to maintain the calm he was famous for, "Satoshi will be fine. He's more than capable of handling Rocketto Dan, and if anything ever happened, you know Pikachu is there to make sure he's okay." He was concentrating on trying to keep Kasumi's rage under control. She had a temper at least as bad as Satoshi's Lizardon.
That seemed to cut through to her. She and Pikachu had always had an agreement on making sure Satoshi was well, and neither of them had ever broken it so far. Pikachu was sure to keep its trainer in good shape. "Yeah . . ." Kasumi said softly, plopping down into a chair, "you're right. Pikachu will take care of Satoshi until he gets here . . ."
Kasumi, Takeshi thought to himself, you're right about Pikachu taking care of him. But Satoshi won't be coming back to us.
~~
The cave was dark. Like a cloudy, moonless night, away from the lights of a city, which made seeing nearly impossible. The two boys wouldn't have seen a rock or wall until they hit it, if it weren't for the combined efforts of Satoshi's Pikachu's electricity-filled cheeks, and Shigeru's Lizardon's flaming tail.
"So where does this place go?" Satoshi asked, straining to see beyond the few feet of illumination that was being let off from the two Pokémon. It took quite a while before he realized that doing so was impossible. The cave they were wondering through had started not far from where Shigeru had been battling. It ran under Mount Mortar for what seemed like forever.
"Well, this tunnel runs for several miles. I doubt we'll get there until tomorrow, but it opens up again west of Choju Town, which is our next stop. There's a gym there, but we'll have plenty of time to look around first," Shigeru replied, trying his best to concentrate on the poorly marked path. There was only one way out near the city, and he had to make sure they got there. Any more than one night is a place like this was dangerous. Hell, even one night was dangerous enough. Shigeru did not want to have to keep Satoshi here any longer than necessary.
"Hmm . . . what kind of Pokémon does the gym specialize in?" Satoshi wondered aloud, not really meaning to speak, but doing so anyway. It surprised him when he received an answer.
"The gym uses Ice-types for the most part. You should have an advantage, since most Ice-types have Water characteristics as well. Pikachu will most likely wipe the floor with them," Shigeru said softly, not seeing it but getting a look of praise from the small electric rodent. He had just earned a new friend.
"That's good to hear." It was odd. Despite everything Satoshi had wanted to say to Shigeru for these past months, he couldn't really bring himself to do it. He felt like he was pushing his luck as it was, what with Shigeru agreeing to let him come along. But he knew he was just scared. Scared of what might happen if Shigeru rejected him. Scared of what might happen if Shigeru felt the same.
The next few minutes were spent in silence. It felt strange to both of them—friends their entire lives, losing each other for almost five years, and when they had finally reclaimed their bond, they seemed to have nothing to talk about. After nearly a mile of walking with no conversation to pass the time, Satoshi finally asked one of the questions that had been haunting him.
"Shigeru . . . what happened back home? What happened to make us seem so different after so much time together?" Shigeru stopped dead in his tracks at the question. The sudden jerk and the lack of sound was enough to make both Lizardon and Pikachu turn around to see what was the matter. "Shigeru..?" Satoshi asked again, a bit more tentatively.
Satoshi, if there is any question on earth I do not want to answer, it is that one. But after all I've put you through over the years, the very least you deserve is an explanation, Shigeru thought with a light sigh.
~~
It was early afternoon in Masara Town. The sun was high in the sky, and there were very few clouds, scattered here and there. In the distance, the windmill on Professor Ookido's huge ranch was spinning slowly. It was a wonderful day, just made for playing outside.
And in the front yard of the house Satoshi called home, he and his best friend were taking perfect advantage of it. A ball designed to resemble a Geodude was sailing and rolling back and forth across the lawn. On one side, Satoshi, his black hair not yet quite as shaggy as it would seem in his adolescent years. And on the other, Shigeru, his long hair trailing almost to his shoulders, the spikes having not been discovered at this point.
The ball went flying high into the air from one of Shigeru's uncontrolled kicks. He sometimes didn't know how to manage his own strength. Both of the boys went running forwards to try and catch it. Needless to say, they were paying more attention to the falling ball than to each other.
The ball hit the ground between them. It caused Shigeru to stumble over it, right into Satoshi. Both boys had had their arms outstretched to catch the ball, so when they hit the ground, it was in a tangle of limbs, with the slightly younger Satoshi on the bottom of the heap. Neither of them was hurt, at least nothing more than a small bump.
It could be easily told by the way they were both deathly silent, staring at each other. A wave of . . . something washed over Shigeru at that moment. An urge to close what little distance was between their faces and press his lips to Satoshi's. It scared him.
He scrambled to his feet, freeing himself from Satoshi's grasp, which seemed reluctant to let him leave. And as soon as he was able, he ran to the house next door and burst through the front door, making his way up the stairs without slowing down once. It wasn't until he was behind a locked door, in the solace of his room, did Shigeru allow the first of many tears that would be shed to flow.
~~
"That's when it started. I was so scared of what was happening. So I ran."
"Shigeru . . ." Satoshi reached out and took hold of the older boy's hand. He felt his hand being squeezed back ever so softly.
"I know no excuse is worth everything I've put you through, Satoshi. And I'm sorry. I ruined our friendship." Lizardon and Pikachu were strangely quiet. They seemed to have realized it was best to leave this situation to the two humans involved.
"Shigeru, it's alright, now. Everything is fine . . ." Satoshi was pleading with him. Trying to get the obviously deeply hurting Shigeru to understand that everything was, indeed, okay. Only one solution came directly to mind.
Using the hand he had used to grab Shigeru's, Satoshi pulled the other boy closer to him. Before either of them really knew what was happening, their arms had been wrapped around one another, bodies relaxing into the embrace, as their lips slowly joined.
~~
Well, that's all for now. Sorry it took so long to complete this chapter, but don't expect much on or around weekends, okay? I get very busy then, and have little time to write. I'll have Chapter IV up as soon as I can, so please stay tuned. And PLEASE give a review. I like to know what people think of my writing. Good or bad, I don't really mind, as long as I get to know what people think.