Misty wrapped her arms around Ash and pulled herself as close as she could to him as she could without making it apparent how she'd spent the past five years. Although Ash was not trying to be subtle though. His arms were already around her, and he was gently pulling her even closer to him. So, he had learned a couple of things over the past five years...or he had thought about the same thing a lot, just like she had.

She then looked for the first time at Ash, really looked at Ash. He had grown up so much since she'd last seen him all those years ago. Sure she had seen his picture in the papers many times, but nothing really depicted what he looked like from the angle. He still wore the same tattered old vest that he had five years ago, and that dumb League Cap. He was a foot and half taller then last time she had seen him, and he stood about three inches taller than she did. He was more muscular, and had went from an annoying little kid to a hansom young man...puberty had worked wonders she thought, but that wasn't what she wanted to think about.

She wanted to think about the present...what was going to happen now. Was he here for a while, a few days, or an hour? Thoughts ran through her head, like bullets again. The kind of panic that had struck her thirty seconds earlier ran through. Then she felt Ash pull her a little closer, and him tenderly kiss the crown of head. It wasn't much of a kiss...but Misty basically melted. She curled up to Ash and their bodies made contact.

She then began to cry again. Not like last night, not the tears of seeing the sun disappear for the long night, not knowing if the brinier of light would return...but the tears of joy for the Sun returning. She then put all thoughts out of her mind, and just tapped into that warm and fuzzy feeling of love that she had for Ash, and just enjoyed these precious few moments of pure happiness.



Ash held Misty in his arms, and knew that this was what he wanted. He wanted to spend the rest of his life like this, with Misty. He didn't care about all of the fame and fortune that he had, it all didn't matter anymore. All the traveling, all the battling, all work wasn't worth it...not for what he had been missing. He had been missing what he had dreamed of, being with Misty. All of the fears, all of the ghosts telling him that he she had forgot. Telling him that she had found someone else. All of the feelings of anger at himself were wrong, and all he had to do was miss one match to find her, to tell here he was wrong...

He gently kissed her on her forehead again. Misty looked up at Ash and he got his first real glimpse of her, it was the first time he had actually looked at her since they fell into each other's arms. She had grown so much since last time they'd parted ways so long ago. In fact, the more he looked at her, it was a miracle she recognized her at all. Her trademark read suspenders were gone, for something far more conservative...which also made a vast improvement. Her ponytail was gone, in favor of letting her flow down to a little below her shoulders. She was taller, and was a little more weight. She wasn't a scrawny little runt anymore.

Finally, another silence settled over the room...but that was broken as Daisy decided that Misty and Ash needed a little time to be alone. She herded everyone out of arena, leaving only Ash and Misty in the massive stadium.

"I'm sorry..." Ash said, finally breaking the silence, in a solemn and remorseful tone.

"For what?" Misty said, almost afraid of what Ash could be sorry for after so long.

"For everything. For all of the harassment ans arguments...for leaving..." Ash trailed off a he had to fight off a tear, for he said one of the things he had meant to say for so long.

Misty saw the small tear droplet running down Ash's face. He was truly sorry something he hadn't meant to do...it had been eating away at him all of this time. She reached up and compassionately brushed the off of Ash's face. As her hand crossed his face, he reached up and gently grabbed her hand and flattened it against his cheek. She just smiled. "No, you don't have anything to be sorry. You worked so hard, to get that far...you had to do it. I should have said something, or came with you..." she said as she tried to back away from Ash.

She had forgotten one thing though...Ash still had her hand. He didn't do anything except squeeze it gently. Misty was surprised by his reaction...this really was different. Five years of being on his own had made him mature and compassionate...neither trait belonged to the little kid that she followed around for a year and a half.

"Misty...there's something I've wanted to tell you for a very, very long time...-" Ash began to say before he was cut off by Misty. She press Ash's lips shut as tenderly as she could with her index finger.

"There's something that I REALLY have to say to you before you what you're gonna. It is for the past five years....I've loved you. Ever since that day when you said you were leaving I realized that-" Misty couldn't finish what she was saying because she was in turn interrupted by Ash. He had kissed her. The thing that both of them had wanted to do for so long.

Misty didn't try to think of what she was doing. This was one of the few moments that being defensive was bad, and she let everything go. She felt an incredible rush love and passion that she never knew existed. Ash had felt the exact same way she had...and she never dreamed of this feeling, coming from Ash Ketchum.

Ash felt Misty's personality literally transcend her body into his. He was overpowered by depth of her. Her quiet strength and compassion. Her love of him, and that what she had said that was true.. .and he gently pulled his head away at almost the same moment Misty did, "I love you...but I guess it's a little late to be saying that." he said, a smile, a real honest to God smile, crossed his face for the first time in years. One of happiness, one that he could have only smiled from the old days.

"Maybe a little late," Misty said removing herself from Ash's arms, "we have some major catching up to do...maybe a little walk through the park up by the Old West Church?", after saying that, she extended her hand

"I think that is just what we need." Ash said, the smile on his face getting even larger as he grabbed Misty's hand and gently squeezed it. The two of them ascended the stairs and left the Gym into the city before the mist cleared.







Meanwhile, as love was blooming, troubles were brewing as well. Ash's old rival, Gary Oak, was brooding. Gary, like most ethically neutral people, liked to brood. The problem was that when brooding, most of your plans are just for fun. Now though, he needed a nasty plan to sell for some quick cash. Being a trainer flopped out, for soon after Ash had defeated him, he was humiliated by a long string of tournament losses.

Now, he barely kept afloat by selling off his services to anyone who wanted to pay for decent battling Pokemon. He only had to hold on for a few more days though, he thought. Only a few more days before the Cerulean Super Ball and his ticket to being a superstar again. All he had to do was place in the top 8, to become part of the Asian National Team. If he could manage that, he could win international fame by competing in the International Pokemon Leagues Rudor Cup event, the biggest Pokemon event in the world. If he could only do well in the Super Ball...he had to cheat. It was the only way to ensure success. He had to perfect plan to kill two birds with one stone. He could finish off Ash and win his fame back...his plan would be perfect. He then begin to laugh manically at the fact that victory was so close...so close...