Who I Am - Lightning99

Chapter 62:

The Ula'Ula Island Festival

Ash discovered something interesting about himself on the day of the festival. As he waited out the morning for it to begin, he let his mind wander to similar situations in the past, to all of the festivals he had attended in all the different regions he had visited. The one that stuck out to him the most was the annual summer festival Pallet Town put on. He hadn't attended one in years – he had always been off in another region at those times, after all – but when he had, his mother had had a hard time keeping him still, let alone quiet, all day. He hadn't known what to do with himself. Then, when the time had come, they had always been the first family there, excluding the Oaks, who always organised the event.

Compared to those mornings, Ash found it easy to sit still, to keep himself quiet. He sat in his room, relaxing, while Mallow and Lillie worked on their hair in the mirror, chattering in that excited way he did before every battle. They shooed him out of the room before they made too much progress, so he instead posted himself up on a settee in the lobby, where Clemont and Sophocles were performing meticulous inspections on each other's yukata. Lana, Dawn, and Kiawe chatted at another table, seemingly unfazed by the upcoming event. He declined when they asked if he wanted to join, opting to watch people in the street through the window as they set up the city. And that was when he realised it.

Despite his composure and his quiet, he still wasn't doing anything. If he were awaiting a meeting or a battle, he might have trained to pass the time, maybe do some exercise. He would have kept active. But he wasn't. He didn't know what to do with himself, and he smiled when he realised it. It seemed a Ledyba didn't change their spots so easily.

When the evening arrived, Ash returned to his room. He knocked first, and when Mallow confirmed they were decent, he dashed into the bathroom with his eyes closed – Mallow shouted at him for barging in, but he didn't see their hair, so he didn't think it mattered. He put on his navy yukata, patterned with white lines resembling electricity – the reason he bought it in the first place – then tied his obi. Covering his eyes again, he switched out with Lillie and said goodbye to Mallow, who went to put her yukata on.

Ash sat on the edge of his bed, waiting for Lillie to change. He absently scanned the room when his bag and the Pokéballs within caught his eye. He hummed to himself, looking down at his yukata. Walking around the festival with his backpack on would ruin the aesthetic.

The door behind him clicked open, and Ash spun around.

Lillie stepped out of the bathroom, hands loosely adjusting her obi, her head tilted a little as she worked, and a slight smile on her lips. When she looked up, Ash smiled at her. She wore a primarily white yukata patterned with pretty pink flowers, she had tied her hair up in a stylish ponytail with a white flower he couldn't name pinned in it, and now that she had finished with her obi, she held a small pouch in her hands.

"W-What do you think?" Lillie asked, performing a little twirl Ash knew she would never have done before, her yukata swishing and her sandals clacking on the floor.

"I love it. It suits you," Ash said, feeling a special leap in his heart when her small smile became a grin. He struck a pose of his own, one hand on his hip, another raised in a clenched fist. "And me?"

Lillie nodded. "You look great. For some reason, it suits you, too."

"You think?" Ash asked, flexing his raised hand.

"There's just…" Lillie tilted her head, then stepped towards him. She spun his hat around, then stepped back, frowning. She stepped forward again and removed his hat, but Ash didn't even notice. All he was looking at was her and her contemplative gaze, her one cheek slightly puffed out, her shining eyes. She tousled his hair a little, then stepped back. "I think no hat works well. I-It umm… makes you look even more handsome."

Ash blinked himself back to reality. "T-Thanks, Lillie." He glanced towards the door and gestured towards it with perhaps too much theatricality. "Shall we?"

Lillie nodded, grinning. "We shall."

Before they headed into the hall, Lillie picked up the bag in which Nebby always rested.

"Oh!" Ash said, an idea for his earlier predicament popping into his head. "Would you like me to carry that?"

"You don't mind?" Lillie asked, glancing between him and the bag. "I have put my Pokémon egg inside with Nebby, so it won't be light, and you will have to be careful with it."

"Nah, no worries," Ash said, rummaging in his bag. 'I need somewhere to put my Pokéballs, too. It'll just make it easier. We can always pass it off to Professor Kukui. Just so we can enjoy the festival for one day without worrying, you know?"

"Oh! That sounds like a good idea."

With that, Ash took the bag, deposited his Pokéballs, and looped it over his shoulder. They headed to the lobby together, where everybody else was chatting and smiling.

Ash first noticed Kiawe and how strange it was that he wore something that covered his chest. Then he looked again, at a different angle, and was not shocked to see that his yukata-like shirt was left open. At least he had wrapped his lower torso in white bandages. That was the best they were going to get.

Everybody else wore more standard yukatas. Mallow's was a pretty blend of red and pink, decorated with yellow, green-stemmed flowers, and she wore her hair in its usual style. Lana's was as blue as the sea, a slightly lighter shade than Ash's, with a pattern that resembled waves. Dawn's was pink and simple with darker pink and red flowers all over it, her hair pinned in tight bun. Clemont's was the simplest of all – the same blue of his usual jumpsuit and tied with a yellow sash – while Sopcholes' outfit was the most complex. He was the only one without a yukata. Instead, he wore a shirt and trousers as green as a Charjabug, a white cape on his back, and a hat that looked like a Charjabug's mouth. It made sense that he would choose something unusual, but Ash didn't know what to make of it.

"Eeeee!" Mallow squeaked as he and Lillie approached them, their feet clacking on the floor. She lunged at them. Lillie stumbled while trying to catch her hug, giggling. "I knew you'd look beautiful, Lillie!" Mallow dislodged herself from Lillie and then nudged Ash's shoulder instead. "Looking good there, Ash!"

"You look lovely too, Mallow," Ash said, nodding to her.

Mallow stepped back, her smile so wide that her cheeks, slightly tinged pink, were scrunched up. She let out a little 'hee hee' and skipped back to Lana's side. As he greeted the rest of the group, Ash wondered if he should have been so forward like that, given everything they had been through. He quickly dismissed the thought, though.

"I wish I looked as cool as you do, Kiawe," Ash said, accepting the handshake Kiawe offered him.

Kiawe literally scoffed, folding his arms. "Hardly, Ash. You are much cooler than I am. The lack of a hat truly brings out your features in that yukata."

"It was Lillie's idea."

"OH? Was it?" Dawna asked, nudging Lillie's shoulder.

"U-Umm… Yes?" Lillie said.

"Iiiiinteresting," Dawn said, and she moved away again.

Ash shook his head, chuckling. "Ready to go, everyone?"

"Lead the way," Clemont said, and Ash did just that.

The early evening outside was cool, peaceful, and surprisingly quiet despite a distant chatter. The sky was dark, sprinkled with stars, but the paper lanterns lining the streets had increased about a hundredfold, leading down every road and around every corner, tinting the streets the warmest orange Ash had seen in a long time. In the distance, he could see some stalls.

He turned to the rest of the group when, suddenly, his heart jumped. He looked around quickly but saw nothing.

"We're meeting Professor Kukui in the Malie Gardens, right?" Ash asked, putting that out of his mind for now.

"Yep. I'll lead the way," Mallow said, skipping down the street.

What should have been about a five-minute walk because a twenty-minute one when, not thirty seconds into their journey, Mallow stopped at a food stall. She immediately suggested that everyone buys a bite to eat. Ash didn't complain – or rather, his rumbling stomach didn't complain, and he joined the line just after Lillie, who was the first to leap forward. Then she realised she didn't have the money, so Ash took her place and paid for everyone, dipping into the surprisingly deep funds he had acquired battling trainers.

Snacks in hand, they stepped off the path between two stalls to eat them. The chatter around them was more enthusiastic now, and from where they stood, Ash could hear the sizzling of the grill in the stall next to them. The scent of the freshly cooked food wafted temptingly across their noses. So, it made all too much sense when, after that short stop, Mallow disappeared and reappeared at the back of another food stall. Upon seeing this, Lana sighed. She told them Malie Garden was at the end of the street and followed Mallow with her purse in hand. With two members down, they continued.

And then Kiawe spotted a gun-shooting stall. He claimed he had to prove his worth and handed his money to the lady working there. They stopped and watched him shoot over an item beside the plush Turtonator he was aiming for. He quickly paid for another turn. Ash joined him for that one, and somehow, it became a competition. Kiawe hit his target and Ash did too, which he thought would have made them even, but Kiawe claimed he lost since Ash hit his target on his first try. They left him there when he missed yet again and whipped out even more money, claiming they should go on.

As they walked, Lillie spotted Lana hovering over a pool of water, her eyes sharp with focus, a small paddle grasped firmly in her hand. They watched as she dunked it into the water and flicked it upwards. A tiny Wishiwashi popped out of the water and into her other waiting hand. She sighed. "It's a toy…"

"Why, of course, it's a toy! Doing this with real Pokémon would be highly inefficient and, frankly, problematic," the man at the stall said, chuckling.

Lana's shoulders and head dropped so low to the ground that she may as well have been lying on it. Dawn stepped away from the group, telling them to head on without her. When she crouched beside Lana, placing a hand on her shoulder, they did just that, and caught sight of Mallow dashing between food stalls, two sticks in one hand, a watermelon in the other.

"She's enjoying sampling all of the food, isn't she?" Lillie asked, watching her pass by, waving. Mallow tried to wave back, but she nearly dropped the watermelon.

"That's to be expected, don't you think?" Clemont said, chuckling.

"Definitely," Ash agreed, watching Mallow too. She ran about the place more enthusiastically than he had seen her lately. He wondered if, finally, things had gotten back to normal with her, whether she was starting to be herself a little more again.

Suddenly, Sophocles gasped so hard he started spluttering. He was rolling on the balls of his feet and pointing at a stall across the street, his mouth open in a wide O. He scuttled over to it, and the rest of them followed. Laid out on top of the stall were a variety of toys and such oddities, including keychains. Sophocles started perusing them. About two minutes later, he still hadn't decided to get anything.

Clemont sighed. "You two go on ahead," he said. "I'll wait for Sophocles."

"You sure?" Ash asked.

"Yeah. Someone needs to let Kukui know we're here. I'm trusting you not to get distracted."

"Thank you, Clemont," Lillie said, and she and Ash walked away, waving.

Ash walked backwards for a few steps, glancing at the street behind them, at Kiawe stamping his feet, handing more money over to the woman, at Mallow, relishing the last of some circular food. He ducked, then, when a bouncy ball flew over his head. He looked to where it had come from. Lana stood there, looking determined. It appeared she had finished with the fish.

Ash spun back around, folding his arms behind his head. "Looks like it's just us again."

Lillie nodded, smiling. "It looks like it. Should we meet Professor Kukui before we do anything else?"

Ash nodded, and they continued walking.

As Lana had said, Malie Garden was at the end of the path. They stepped through a high arch into something Ash hadn't quite been expecting. The image garden spawned in his mind was small, cosy, and relaxing, but this particular garden was huge. Trees and flowers were abundant, a few small lakes and ponds were dotted all about, the water shimmering between navy and golden in the lamplight, and it was all backdropped by green mountains in the near distance. The pagoda Ash had seen when they first arrived stood on the hills in the back, too, alight with decorative lights no doubt installed for the festival.

"It's beautiful," Lillie said, looking around as they wandered in.

Ash didn't see the need to reply, so they walked on quietly, admiring the area. There were no stalls set up here, just a lot of open space and people strolling about. When Ash noticed that most of them were holding hands, he was suddenly cautious of his own hands and whether he was breathing too deeply. He caught Lillie giving him a sideways glance; they both looked away, and Ash felt his face heating up.

Thankfully – for what he was thankful, Ash didn't know, but that seemed like the right word – they reached a building a short while later. Kukui sat on a bench in front of it, one leg resting atop his other, leaning back on his hand.

"Lillie, Ash! Nice to see ya," Kukui said, pushing himself into a more upright position. "Is it only the two of you?"

Ash tried to ignore how Lillie's cheeks reddened next to him.

"Everyone else was distracted by the festival," Ash said, slipping Lillie's bag from his shoulder. He rolled his shoulder a little, putting his hand out to Professor Kukui. "We came to show you we're here, but we'd also like to explore the festival. Would you mind watching Lillie's bag, please?"

Kukui shook his head, taking the bag. "No worries, yeah. I got it. You two go have fun."

"Thank you, Professor Kukui," Lillie said, bowing to him.

"No worries, no worries. There's a fireworks show in about an hour or two. Bring me back some snacks, ya hear?"

"Sure thing!" Ash shouted over his shoulder, wandering back through the garden, Lillie close to his side.

When they reached the street, Lillie skipped ahead. She twisted just enough to look back at him, and Ash's legs stopped. Lillie's emerald eyes were brighter than ever, and her hair seemed to glow. Perhaps it was her smile, perhaps it was the golden lamplight, but either way, it was all he could see for several long moments. It was as if the world around her blurred away. When she reached out her hand to him, something she would never have done a short while ago, his face heated up, his heart jolted, and he blinked himself awake. He took her hand, stepped to her side, and they walked into the festival.

They had hardly been holding hands for a minute when Ash began wondering whether his grip was too tight or if his hand was sweaty. He tried to focus on something else – the sights around him, any passing chatter, thoughts of some conversation starter – but he kept coming back to Lillie, her shy smile, her hand in his, and how his chest felt like it was seizing up. Keeping as quiet as he could, Ash breathed deeply, but then he caught Lillie looking at him again, and he could tell from the tilt of her eyes and the dipping corners of her smile that she was likely having the same thoughts. So, he smiled, pushing them aside as best he could.

"What would you like to do first?" he asked, glancing at a few stalls they passed.

Lillie hummed. She looked around them, her eyes resting on a stall to their right. Ash followed her gaze. The back of the stall was a display wall of masks, and a polaroid camera was set up beside it. Ash stepped ahead, leading Lillie towards it

"Let's do it," he said.

"A-Are you sure?"

"Of course." Ash stepped forwards. "Alola! How much would it be for a picture?"

The man behind the stall grinned. "We ain't too stingy, so that'll be five pictures for ten. Whaddya say?"

"That's pretty good," Ash said. He looked at Lillie. "Is that ok?"

Lillie nodded, and Ash paid the man.

"Amazing!" the man said, placing the money in his pocket. "With masks or without?"

"Umm. Can we do both?" Lillie asked.

"Sure thing. Gotch," the man said. He gestured to the wall of masks. "Pick away!"

Ash didn't need to look at the wall for longer than a second before he picked up the Pikachu mask. Lillie giggled at him for what were undoubtedly obvious reasons and then reached for her mask. When she, too, took a Pikachu one, the significance was not lost on him.

"Ooh, goin' as a pair, eh? It suits a couple like you," the guy said, ushering them towards the camera. When neither he nor Lillie hastened to correct the man, Ash wondered whether thatwas significant.

Ash and Lillie wore their masks for the first picture. They stood about two feet apart, and while Ash posed rather enthusiastically, one hand raised in a clenched fist, head tilted, Lillie stood with her hands in front of her, a pose as proper as her posture often was. The man snapped the picture, then stood back.

"C'mon, lean in closer. We gotta get the both of you lookin' good together. The gentleman's got it, but lady, show some more enthusiasm, yeah?"

"Oh!" Lillie said. "Sorry."

"No need to apologise. You're not used to it, is all. C'mon, try it like this." Chuckling, Ash, hesitating only in his head, put his arm around Lillie's shoulders – which made her squeak – and tucked her into his side. Ash looked at her, wondering if that was ok. She glanced at him – or so he assumed beyond her mask – and he felt her shoulders relax. She nodded and waved at the camera. Ash threw a big thumbs up at it, and they heard it snap closed, another picture taken.

"Ooh, that's a good one! Try one with masks half-on, half off," the man said, stepping back.

As suggested, Ash pulled his mask from his face onto the side of his head, and Lillie did the same. Only when he saw her face again did Ash realise how close they were. He paused, staring, and when she did the same, all he could see were her eyes sparkling even more. Something in their exchange was different this time. The ache in his chest that had made him look away so many times before was nowhere to be felt. As such, he could have stared forever. But then a click snapped both of them out of it. They looked quickly at the photographer.

"Beautiful picture," he said, grinning pointedly. "That's three."

While Lillie started fumbling words, saying something along the lines of 'wait, that wasn't… hang on… umm…', Ash just laughed. What else could he do?

Ash took his mask off, placing it on the table beside them. He held out a hand for Lillie's, smiling. She looked at the floor, her words now lost on her smiling lips, and passed it to him. He set hers aside too, and then he was hit by a complete burst of recklessness. He caught Lillie's eyes, flicked his mischievously, and then brought their cheeks together, facing the camera. He grinned, and the man snapped the picture.

"A-Ash!" Lillie said, leaping to the side after the picture. He didn't need to look at her to know she was blushing; the heat on his cheek that wasn't his own was telling enough. "D-Don't surprise me like that!"

"Sorry, sorry," Ash said between laughs. "We've only got one left. What should we do?"

"Jeez!" Lillie said, pouting. She looked away, humming to herself.

Ash stood by, waiting, wondering. He did not expect, of the Metronome number of possibilities to leave her head, that she would, in an act more reckless and confident than his, jump at him, wrapping her arms around him in a hug. Ash stood wide-eyed and stiff for a few seconds. Then he relaxed, placing his arm around her waist. She stood a little straighter, adjusting the hug, and their eyes connected. They smiled at one another, then at the camera. It snapped, capturing the moment, and the next time Ash came to his senses, the man handed them two copies of the pictures.

In that time between, Ash's mind had been moving too fast for him to follow. He was oblivious, but even he realised that he and Lillie had been acting a lot closer with one another lately. And it didn't bother him, he realised, the way thinking of Serena had, the way considering that Mallow had a crush on him had. For a moment, he couldn't see where this change had begun. But then he saw a flash of golden sand, of a sparkling sea, and heard the whisper of Lillie's laughter in his memory. He saw even further back to Lillie in his arms, tears on her cheeks. And then he snapped back to attention.

They thanked the man and continued down the street, hand in hand without even thinking about it, the pictures held in their other ones. They looked at them together, laughing and commenting, and it didn't hurt. It didn't bother him.

"I…" Ash paused, wondering if this was too forward. He said it anyway. "I like the fifth one the most."

"Y-Yes," Lillie said, nodding. "I do too."

The glance they shared after that comment definitely meant something significant. Ash didn't quite know what that was, but he liked it. He liked how his chest swelled, and his mood soared to heights it hadn't been in a while. He liked how his hand felt in Lillie's. He liked thinking that, maybe, there was something more between them. It was a realisation out of nowhere, but he liked that, too.

Hand in hand, Ash and Lillie continued through the festival. They bought a snack or two, tried their free hands at a few mini-games, watched a dance performance, and chatted for the remaining time, completely oblivious to anything else around them. Then, as the evening drew on, they headed back towards Malie Garden for the firework show.

And as they did, Ash amended his earlier thought because the rest of the time he spent with her made his mind a little clearer. Yes, he liked everything he said, but now, just maybe, he had a way of phrasing it more eloquently.

Maybe he liked Lillie.

The news about Ash clearing Sophocles' trial had been welcoming, relieving news, but Brock hadn't been surprised to hear it. Not at all. Ash was thriving here in Alola, getting stronger and stronger by the day, to a startling degree. So, despite his worries about the goings on at Aether Paradise, he had slept easy the previous night.

Brock had been up and sailing to Aether Paradise at dawn that day, checking his Pokégear for any messages. There had been a few, but he went immediately to the one from Ash, glancing at the others on the boat before checking it. His caution had been proven unnecessary when he opened the message, and it explained that everyone on Ula'Ula Island would be attending a festival that evening. He had sighed and checked his other messages from Dawn and Kiawe, who had talked about the same thing.

After sending a few replies and as they approached the facility, Brock had switched off his Pokégear. They had slipped into the dock, and everyone had disembarked, heading in to do their jobs. Before heading directly to his workstation, Brock had scouted around a few floors, but he hadn't seen anything suspicious, so he had headed upstairs and got to work.

Lunchtime had arrived before Brock realised it, and he had only realised it when his stomach had rumbled, forcing him to check when his break was. He had headed into the cafeteria, procuring a sandwich and some other tasty oddities that he bought every day. He had taken a seat in a corner on his own, scanning the room. He had caught sight of one of the scientists involved in that conversation with Lusamine, but he and a few others rushed in and out so quickly that following them would only have looked suspicious. So, determining this to be another fruitless day, Brock had eaten his food and started heading back towards his workroom.

That was where he was now, coming to the end of his day late into the evening. He washed his hands for the final time, discarded his working clothes in the designated area, and left the room. He headed down the hall, which was completely vacant. He supposed that wasn't unusual, given how late it had become. Ash and the others were probably in the centre of the festival now.

As he was about to board the elevator, he felt a little, rattling shift beneath his feet. Or at least, he thought he did. Nobody around him reacted, so he decided it might have been a little bout of vertigo.

Brock stepped on the elevator; this time, he really felt it. The floor beneath him shook, and the metal around him clanged together, echoing around the room. The others in the elevator with him grasped the railing, exchanging glances. The elevator kept moving, however, and everyone disembarked on their respective floors. Everyone except Brock, because as he was about to, he heard something louder that shook the entire room around him.

An explosion.

Brock dashed to the railing and peered over it. There wasn't much room around the elevator on that specific level, but it was open aired, so he could see the floors below him. There, down in the distance, was a small plume of smoke.

Thinking quickly, Brock made for the control panel. Before anybody else could get on, he hit the button for the basement floors. The railing raised, and the elevator descended to where Brock had not yet been.

The smoke wafted into Brock's face when he reached the designated floor. It was all around him, swirling and climbing and spreading. He sprinted through the cloud, feeling his way along the walls. He made it to an automatic door. He dashed through, looking about himself. He opened his mouth to shout, to ask if anybody was ok, but stopped and kept moving, looking right and left through doors and windows he had never seen before.

As Brock reached the end of the hall, he looked into one of the labs. But he didn't see anything through the window before the whole wall cracked and burst forward. He felt something hard slam into his chest. All he saw before his head slammed into the wall and he lost consciousness was a flash of red.

Hi!

This chapter is a few days late, but I've been a bit busy lately, so that can't be helped, really. I continue to be busy, but who cares about responsibilities when writing is concerned, eh? :P

Jokes aside, here's a new chapter for you! What better way to build character relationships than with the overused, traditional anime festival, eh? I couldn't resist. But that ending... well, it suggests this may not actually be your overused, traditional anime festival after all. Stay tuned for more!

As always, I hope you enjoyed, and let me know what you think!