Chapter 22
"No Place Like Home"
Home…It felt so good to be back again…
I may never leave again…
I went back to my house and Teleported myself inside.
"…Mime……Mimme……Mr. Mimee……" Mimey was humming as it swept the floor.
'…Sweep……Sweep……Sweep the floor……'
Hey, Mimey! Where is everyone? I asked.
"Mr. Mime!!!" he yelped.
'It's a ghost!!!'
Wha…Hey! I am not a ghost!!! I snapped, Where's Mom and all my friends? Didn't they get back yet?
"Mime…" Mimey nodded, "MrMr Mime, Mr Mime, mime…"
'Yes……Mother is in the family room with Misty, Brock, Richie, and Pikachu. Billie is in the guest room with Persian.'
Huh…Hey!! She's not your mother!!!!!
Mimey looked a little shocked at my outrage, but he went back to timidly sweeping the floor.
What a clown……
I went to the family room, but Mom found me first. When she realized that she'd found me, she had almost the same reaction as Mimey. She gasped and clapped both hands over her mouth.
"Ash!! You're alive!"
Of course I'm alive…
She grabbed me and hugged me tightly.
"I knew it…I knew you wouldn't die that easily…"
Yeah……um…D'ya think you could…uh…loosen up?
She didn't.
I heard fast footsteps and I was soon surrounding by my friends…Pikachu jumped up next to me, but everyone else was saying so much stuff at once I felt my head spin.
Hey! A little at a time! I begged.
"Ash, I'm so sorry I couldn't help you when you needed help," Richie started.
I could tell he was going to say more, so I stopped him before he got too far.
There wasn't anything you could have done anyway…It was all Gi…o…vanni's fault……Besides, I was just trying to help Billie………uh……Hey, where is she, anyway?"
"Oh…She's stayed in the guest room ever since we got back here…" Brock said, "I think she feels guilty about what happened to you…"
But I'm okay now, so she can come out, right?
"I…think you need to tell her that you're here, first," Brock stated.
Oh…uh…Right!
I laughed as if I had known that all along then glanced at all of them. Something was wrong…
Misty still hasn't said anything……
She was kind of standing to the back, with Togepi in her backpack, and being frighteningly quiet.
…What's the matter, Misty? I ventured.
"Huh? Oh…Nothing……I'm just happy that you're okay………"
Oh………
"You'd better talk to Billie."
She bit her lip after she said that and looked down.
Ummm…Okay………
I left them alone, but Pikachu followed me upstairs. I wasn't sure if I should just go in or not, so I knocked.
"Perrrr…" Persian asked from inside.
'What are you waiting for?'
I gulped and let me and Pikachu in. Billie was sitting on the bed, in her normal clothes, and Persian was sitting by the door.
"Pe-eerrrrr…siiiiannn……sian…"
'It's about time you got here…Now come on…She missed you……a lot.'
I wasn't sure if Billie understood that or not, but she wasn't saying anything.
Um………Hey, Billie, I said, for starters.
She smiled.
Ummmmm……Everyone's been begging me to talk to you, so……How're you doing?
"…I'm doing better, now that you're here."
I blinked.
…That's good……
"…Ash, you don't know how sorry I am!" she exclaimed suddenly, "I never thought you would do something like that…I was just trying to stall Giovanni long enough for everyone else to figure out where we were and come and save us……but……Oh Ash, I thought you were dead……You didn't see………After the machine went ballistic…and the light…and then………and then he picked you up………but you disappeared………I…………"
Billie…?
"I'm sorry, Ash………"
She was on the verge of tears…
"I just……I just thought to myself……This is it……It's happening again…………I'm always going to be alone……"
Alone?
I sat next to her.
You don't have to be alone, Billie…No one does………Okay? I'm gonna make sure of that.
She nodded.
"Okay…" she whispered.
The door to the room closed. I looked up and realized that Pikachu and Persian weren't there anymore.
Huh…? Hey! Where'd you guys go!? I asked.
Billie laughed.
Huh……?……Hey, Billie, let's go downstairs, huh?…It's even less lonely down there.
She nodded. "Whatever you say, Ash…"
She smiled to herself.
Well, at least she's not sad or lonely anymore……She's not guilty either.
* * *
"You're gonna go back to Indigo, aren't you?" Richie asked at dinner.
Umm…
"Come on, Ash! You got so far! If you just try again, I'm sure you'll win this time!"
…Maybe……
"You can't just quit, Ash," Misty said, "There's no way you're gonna give up your dream so easily……Especially when you're just one battle away!"
When I didn't reply, she continued on.
"You are so close, Ash! If you…No…I'm not gonna let you quit! We're going back to Indigo tomorrow, and you can't change my mind!"
Um……Okay!
"Uh-!……Well, that's good. Now I won't have to drag you there…"
I'm not gonna give up easily. You should know better than that, Misty…Hey, Pikachu, are you gonna finish that?
"Pika, chu?"
'Why, do you want it?'
"Well…it's just that when we got there…you didn't really sound like you wanted to battle…"
I'm ready now…Brock, I hope you made more of than just that one pot.
"Don't worry about it, Ash. I made plenty more," he grinned.
That's good.
I helped myself to some second seconds of everything…
"Pika chu! Chu!!"
'Ash you're eating like a Snorlax!!'
I'm hungry! I haven't eaten anything for days! Billie, are you done already!?
"You can have my leftovers, Ash…" she said, sliding her plate next to mine.
Thanks!
"Perrrsiiannnn…"
'I'm glad I'm not human…You're eating all of their food…'
I could have yours, if you wanted me to!
"Perrrsiannn…"
'It's cat food…'
Ummmmmm…I'm kinda a cat aren't I?……How about just a little bit…?
Persian sighed loudly.
"Persssiannn…"
'I should have kept my mouth shut…'
I floated a small portion of Persian's food over to my plate, then popped it in my mouth…
Yuck!! I said, spitting it out, Persian, you can have it!!
"Per………Persiann…"
'No thanks………I prefer my food not pre-chewed…'
"You're gonna burst if you keep eating like you are," Misty commented.
I am not!
I downed another glass of juice to rinse out the taste of Persian's cat food, then refilled it.
Dinner went on like that until I was full…which didn't happen until there wasn't any food left.
* * *
'Alright. I'm getting tired of you.'
'The feeling's mutual.'
'I don't see how you can stand it.'
'I don't see how I can stand you.'
'Are you really going to stay with them?'
'Of course.'
'And you're really going to finish your match?'
'Of course.'
'But why?'
'Because I don't give up easily. That's why.'
'You're such a stubborn little brat, you know that?'
'I've heard that said before…'
'What are you going to do when they all pass away?'
'……What do you mean?'
'You're going to live a lot longer than them. That's a given. When they're all gone, then what? You can't stay with humans forever.'
'……Maybe I can…'
'How?'
'Unlike you, I trust them…I know for a fact that they aren't the only "good" humans in the world. There's gonna be others after them and…well………Besides, if I win against Lance and become the greatest trainer in the world, then I really will be able to defend my title for all time………'
'…………You dream big.'
'I wish you would get out of my dreams.'
'………Your dreams can never come true. They're impossible. Mews do not become Pokémon Masters, and humans will never be good.'
'You just wait. You'll see…You need to quit living in the past, Neki.'
'What are you trying to say? Do you think that you are just the first of many more humans who will evolve?'
'I don't know. But I do know that…they're…we're……We've all got a lot more in common than we do that's different.'
'You sound like a preacher.'
'…Shut up, Neki.'
'…Okay, let's make a deal. I will stop calling you Ashura, if you stop calling me Neki.'
'……Nah…I like calling you Neki. I mean, Nekiro? Come on. What kind of a name is that?'
'It's no worse than Ashura!…Or even Ash, for that matter!'
'Hey, I found something other than humans that you get upset about! Hehheh…'
'…Ash, if another bad thing happens to you, I'm not going to help this time.'
'I don't need your help. I can manage just fine by myself…'
'I don't think-'
'…and even if I can't, I've got my friends to back me up. That's why I don't need your help, Neki.'
'Fine. Fine…We'll see how you do on your own, Ashura…We will see…'
'Does this mean you're not gonna bother me again?'
……