Yellow Rose of Irony
"Ya na kanji!"
"Bai~!" shouted out Kasumi, waving out as Roketto Dan was shot out of site, leaving only a trail of smoke and dust in the air.
"Yes!" shouted Satoshi, and Pikachu jumped into his arms happily.
Takeshi picked up his backpack and threw it over his shoulder. "Come on, Satoshi. We still need to get moving."
He nodded and caught up to Takeshi and Kasumi.
"You know, sometimes I do feel sorry for them," said Kasumi, looking up at the sky, tinted with the dust and smoke.
"Oh, they can handle it," replied Satoshi.
"Are you sure?" asked Kasumi.
"They keep coming back, don't they?" he said and laughed a little. But he only heard silence from his two companions and he let his head down at the ground and looked up at them. "What?"
"I think Kasumi is serious," said Takeshi.
Satoshi turned around, facing the two. "Come on, Kasumi... it's Roketto Dan!"
"Satoshi, in your whole entire sixteen years of living, did it ever occur to you that they're actual people?"
He turned around again and they started walking. There was a slight silence and the sound of their feet against the dirt road seemed to almost disturb them.
"Well... what about Nyaasu? Or that guy," she continued. "At least feel sorry for him."
*
The moon was held high in the air. The smell of smoke was long gone by now, but the burn marks still remained.
"Another day..." sighed Musashi. She slowly picked at her can of beans. "...Another failure. Jari-tachi... they really are a pain," she looked up at Kojirou and then at Nyaasu. "Don't you think?"
The two shrugged. "I suppose," said Kojirou.
"What do you mean 'I suppose?' Is that a yes or a no?" she demanded.
"Sometimes," said Nyaasu, "sympathy can make a difference."
She dropped the can of beans and stood up, her shadow casting over the two. "Who cares if Jari-boi gives sympathy, it only matters if he gives us that Pikachu!"
Kojijou shook his head slowly. "It's not jari-boi. Jari-gaaru," he corrected.
"Nn?" Musashi sat back down. "Jari... jari-gaaru? She gives you sympathy?"
Kojirou and Nyaasu glanced at each other for a moment, then looked up at Musashi. "Once she gave us the herb that cured your case of shibereguna. And when we were attacked by the ringuma... she gave us some of her food."
Musashi blinked and looked down. "I see..." She looked back at them and narrowed her eyes. "Anyway, I have a new plan to rob jari-tachi."
*
Kasumi nudged Satoshi impatiently. "Satoshi! Satoshi, wake up, can't you smell breakfast?"
He turned around, letting his face sink into his pillow. "I want to sleep in..."
Kasumi crossed her arms and stood up, leaning over his head. "Satoshi! You never pass up breakfast! Get up!"
He only made a grunt and shifted his weight. Kasumi sighed and rolled her eyes.
"Look! Rizaadon!" she shouted, pointing at Takeshi, and he lifted his head in for a moment, but then continued cooking.
Satoshi bolted his head up. "W-where?! Where's Rizaadon?!"
But he only saw Takeshi and he huffed in anger. Kasumi smiled and turned around. "Now go eat breakfast," she said and started walking back to her sleeping bag to roll it up. Satoshi sighed and trudged over to the campfire, grumbling to himself in the petty defeat.
Kasumi bent down, placing her hands on the red sleeping bag. She glanced up for a moment, and suddenly noticed one of the shrubs rustle quickly.
"Nn?" she stood up, her curiosity tweaked.
She walked over slowly and silently, and quickly split apart the shrub. Kojirou lowered his binoculars, labeled with the trademark "R" and looked up at Kasumi in surprise.
"Roketto Dan?!" she exclaimed and retracted her hands, making the branches of the shrub catapult at his face and he yelped with the stinging pain.
"Jari-gaaru?" he said, rubbing his cheek.
She frowned. "What are you doing here?"
"Well.. umm...." he stuttered looking from side to side in worry.
"You were spying on us! You're such a pain, can't you ever leave us alone?" she demanded.
"Umm... isn't that jari-boi chasing your Togepi?" he asked, pointing behind her at Takeshi.
"Satoshi?! Leave Togepi alone!" shouted Kasumi turning around in distress, yet again, all she could see was Takeshi and Satoshi sitting at the campfire with Togepi sitting silently next to Pikachu.
She turned back in anger, only to find Kojirou stumbling away, tripping over a tree root. She growled lightly under her breath and ran after him.
"Where do you think you're going?!" she shouted.
As she caught up to him, she swung her hand back and swatted at his back. He fell to the ground, tripping over himself, and landed on his stomach, letting out a puff of air and coughed unsteadily. Kasumi skidded to a stop and clasped a hand over her mouth.
"Oh my god, are you okay?" she asked quickly and knelt down beside him. "I... I really didn't mean to hurt you."
Kojirou gave a last cough and shook his head a little. "Ou...." he groaned.
"Are you okay?" she repeated, helping him up slowly.
He nodded a little. "Sort of." He looked away, turning his back to her. "I guess I'm not really such a good bad guy without the help of Musashi."
"Nn?" Kasumi's eyes peered up at him a little and she smiled a little.
"Damn, I can't even spy on three people by myself," he said to himself, resting his head on his hand.
Kasumi placed a hand on his shoulder and he turned his head at her. "What do you want, jari-gaaru?"
She looked down at the side for a moment and sat down in front of him. "I have a name, you know."
His mouth twitched a little and she sighed.
"Kasumi," she said and held out her hand.
He shook it uneasily, a hint of reluctance on his face.
"Now why were you spying on us?" she asked, taking away her hand. "No, don't answer. It has to do with Satoshi's pikachu."
He nodded, slouching his back. "Musashi's going to kill me for this. Then again, it was her plan to split up... but she'll still beat me up anyway."
"Hey, what happened to that pink day you're supposed to be looking for?"
"Bright day. Looking for a bright day," he corrected, still looking at the ground.
"Either way, you can't stop searching for it. You're giving up so easily, and by doing so it's going against what you've been believing all along."
"I... I suppose your right. And I guess that means I'm wrong. I'm always wrong..." he said, scrunching himself up a little.
"N-no!" she said, placing a hand on his arm. She stood up. "Wait here."
Kojirou lifted his head a little and watched as she made her way behind the bushes, back to the campsite. He looked back down at the ground and sighed.
"I can't believe I'm doing this...." he said to himself. "Of all people, I'm talking to jari-gaaru."
He heard her footsteps, and could see her red and yellow sneakers walk along the dirt. She took out his hand and he looked up at her. She placed a pink monster ball in his palm.
"Here, take it," she said, and pushed his hand back.
"What? But are you sure...?" he asked in disbelief.
She nodded and stood up again. "It's yours," she said and started to walk away.
"Wait, jari-gaaru," he said, standing up.
She stopped and looked up at him. "You mean..."
"Kasumi. You should probably have something after the times you've helped me," he said and held out one of his roses to her. It was yellow, unlike his usual and it matched the color of her shirt.
"Arigatou... Kojirou," she said and carefully took it, minding the thorns. She took one step back and smiled at him, then walked away. She sucked in her breath and exhaled in a puff of air. This would be something she'd have to keep a secret.
"Kasumi, aren't you going to eat?" called out Takeshi.
"Sure, I'll be right there!" she replied as she placed the yellow rose in her backpack, and rushed to the campfire.
*
"Where's Kojirou?" wondered Musashi. "He's supposed to be distracting jari-boi!"
Nyaasu shrugged. "He's not at his station."
She slapped him, angrily. "You're supposed to be at your station as well, Nyaasu!"
"Musashi?" said a voice and she could feel a hand on her shoulder.
She turned around quickly. "Kojirou!" she yelled. "You're supposed to be at your-"
"Look at what I have," he interrupted, holding out the pink monster ball.
Musashi gasped. "You mean you actually managed to steel a monster?! This is so amazing! Let's turn it into Sakaki-sama right away!"
"No!" said Nyaasu, pushing it away, back to Kojirou. "Just because we got a monster, it doesn't mean we need to turn it in," he said slyly, showing a fang. "If we have one of jari-tachi's monster, than that probably means it's strong enough for us to get even more!"
"Get!" shouted Kojirou and Musashi, throwing their fists into the air.
*
"Now we need a different plan," said Musashi.
Kojirou looked at Musashi, then at the monster ball.
"Kojirou, are you listening?!" she shouted.
"Hai," he replied.
He ignored her ramblings and turned his back to them. What kind of monster was inside anyway? Surely not her Togepi. Maybe Tosakinto or Hitodemon?
He pressed the center button and opened it, and the pink top flipped off, but nothing came out.
'She tricked me?' he wondered, surprised, but saw a note sticking out.
He snatched it away and read it.
"Kojirou-
Yeah, I couldn't possibly give away an actual monster. Sorry if that's what you were expecting. This is just an extra monster ball that I had made while visiting Gantetsu-san a few weeks ago; he makes them.
It's a pink ball, so you can get monsters more easily if they're the opposite gender. Perhaps this will work on your trouble with Musashi, ne? Or if it doesn't, it might help. Anyway, I'd wish you good luck on your mission, but that wouldn't really be a good thing for my side, so instead, I wish you good luck on finding that pink day... or bright day... well, both! Until next time,
-Kasumi"
"Kojirou, are you still listening?!" shouted Musashi.
He quickly closed the monster ball and clipped it to his belt.
"Hai," he replied.
"What's in that thing anyway?" asked Nyaasu curiously.
"It's something very special," he said with an almost wistful tone in his voice. "And I'm sure I'll use it... all the time."
-End
Awe, wasn't that so very heartwarming... sort of? I don't know if this should be labeled as an actual romantic shippy fic, but I suppose you could. Hey, it's up to you as the reader.
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