Getting There - Chapter 1
Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon, or anything to do with it. I'm just another author that likes to use the already copyrighted (and not by me) characters, places etc. to make a story.
Note: It would really help, and probably not spoil some surprises, if you have seen Pokemon 4 before reading this. Though the part that the movie plays in this story is a minor one comparatively, the surprise of the movie would be messed up if you read this first. Maybe it wouldn't, I don't know. But don't let it stop you from reading and reviewing.
"Misty! Hey, come back." Ash called after her, but she just kept on running, not paying heed to Ash's calls. She wouldn't look back now if she wanted to, for her face was stained with tears, and she didn't want him to see this, even if it would let him know how bad he had hurt her. They were in front of Prof. Oak's lab, and Misty was now going back to Ash's house. They had decided to come back to Pallet, ere the big Pokemon competition that Ash was to be in. They were training their Pokemon, and visiting old friends and family, while at Pallet. But today, Ash had woken up on the wrong side of the bed, and had been snappy all day, but he really let it break over Misty just now. Her temper being what it is, and Ash being a snapping turtle, they had been slightly bickering all day, but when Misty had insulted Ash's Pokemon training ability, though it was merely in jest, he had exploded, "What the hell would you know about Pokemon?! I happen to recall that I, after only having my Pokemon for only about a week beat the stuffing out of your little puny water types. You could never match up to me in a battle, no one could. So just shut up now before you say something else stupid, that you can't be forgiven for." "Can't be forgiven for?! You'd better hope that I can forgive you!" Misty yelled, and then she ran off, bringing us back to where we now stand. She was hurt by Ash, badly. She ran all the way to his front door, where she fell down on the doorstep, bawling. Ash had watched where she had run, and he also saw her fall down and cry. He really didn't want her to be upset, at all. He, in fact, didn't know why he had said what he did. "I'm such an asshole!" He said, literally hitting himself in the face, as if it would help. He now was feeling agitated (at himself), and sad too, for Misty's sake. He wanted to walk over there and apologize, but he just couldn't break his chain of pride to do it. "If you care about her like you know you do, you'll do it." He said to himself, over and over again, but alas, he still couldn't bring himself to move. Finally, with a defeated expression on his face, he turned and went into the professor's lab, as he had intended to with Misty. He walked through the door, and went over to Oak, who was tinkering with some doohickey at his desk. "Ash, hello! Good to see you. Umm, where's Misty, I wanted to talk with her as well." At hearing this inquiry, Ash slumped his head. "We had a fight, and she ran back home." He said, looking up to Oak, who had an odd look of being amused and serious at the same time. "You two will make up. You always do. But hey, did she hit you? Your face has a bruise on it." "No, I actually did that myself."
***
"Misty dear, what's the matter?" Ash's mom had walked out the door, and found Misty crying at the steps. "Nothing." She said, still sobbing, as she sat at the table with Ms. Ketchum. She didn't want to tell her that her son had blessed her out, although it may help. It was also partly her fault, she thought, that Ash had snapped at her. "We got into a fight." "Again? That's the third one this week." Ms. Ketchum would usually act a bit normal at their fights, for they were always minor disputes over things such as bathroom rights and the like, but now, since Misty was crying, she was far from amused. "I think it may have been my fault." Misty said between sobs, as she recalled her words. Proceeding, she told the whole thing of Ash's grumpiness, her prodding at him the whole day, of her insulting him on his Pokemon skills, and of him blowing up. "I should've known that he'd act that way over his Pokemon, especially if he's in a bad mood." "Now Misty, don't blame yourself. I'm gonna give a really good talking to Mr. Ketchum once he gets his tail back from Oak's." Misty smiled a bit at her joke, and felt good that for once in her life someone was actually looking out for her in a motherly way.
***
Two days have passed. Ash and Misty never really had a make up conversation, but the matter was dropped finally, thanks to the wisdom of Prof. Oak and Ms. Ketchum. The two were as normal as ever; slightly throat- to-throat, but in all, getting along quite nicely. "You ready to go yet?" Ash asked, standing in the doorway, and yelling up to Misty, who was in her room getting dressed. "Just a minuet, Ash!" Misty yelled back down, as she finished getting dressed. Oak had summoned the both of them again to his lab to look at whatever it was he wanted them to see two days ago. As Misty came running down the stairs, Ash was amazed at her attire. She had on a short little black skirt, and a tight white shirt that was short sleeved. Her hair was let down, and she held a little bag at her side. Ash stared in shock as to how stunning she looked dressed in casual clothes. "Misty, what's the occasion?" Ash said, as she ran up next to him, with a little smirk on her face. "Well, I haven seen Mr. Oak in a while, and I wanted to dress a bit better than I usually do, just in case he wants to maybe be generous enough to take us out to eat." Ash nearly fell over at the how cute that last part was. "Okay, but what's in the bag?" He asked, pointing to the small plastic bag that she had at her side. "Normal clothes. For your promise." She looked at him with a slightly inquisitive look, as Ash sat and pondered what she meant. Then it hit him. About a week ago, he had promised to take her for a ride on his new Rapidash. He had totally forgotten. Good thing he was wearing the same thing he always does. "Oh yeah." Ash said, acting as if he hadn't forgotten his promise at all. So they left, on their way to Oak, who lived just up the street. They arrived soon, and knocked on the door. One of his assistants opened it, and upon seeing who was calling, he shouted back to the professor that his guests were here. "Misty! Ash! Good to see you. Wow, you look quite nice, Misty." Oak said, glancing over toward Ash who obviously had no smart remark or contraire to Oak's opinion. "Thank you." Misty said, as Oak led them towards the back of his lab. "Here, I want you to look," Oak said, pointing to a small table with a single Pokeball in it, "Inside this Pokeball, contains the product of a natural breeding of Celebi and Suicune." "What?!" Both Ash and Misty said in unison, utterly shocked at what Oak had told them. "That's right," The professor said again, "They're mates. The mother, Celebi, to care for, and protect until it hatched, gave their egg to me. When it hatched, the parents didn't come right away, so I put in a Pokeball so it would be safe, and here it is still. I suppose Celebi trusted me so much since I was the.oh." "Wait a minuet!" Ash said, how do you know o much about Celebi? Only my friend from the past and me had anything to do with her." He was beginning to suspect something about the whole situation. "Well, I guess I should tell you. Or better yet, I'll show you." With that, Oak got up and left two confused people standing at his Pokemon station, while he went and rummaged through his books. When he returned he had, draped in a towel, a very old book. Ash took it from him as he unveiled it, and stared in shock at what he saw. It was Sammy's sketchbook. "How did you get this?" Ash asked, his voice quiet, due to his total surprise and shock at the situation. "Well long ago, I met in the woods a Pokemon in need. She was special, and had the ability to take others to far distant places. She did it with me to avoid danger, and when I arrived, I met a nice young man of about my age that shared my same interests in Pokemon. We became friends fast. I had this sketchbook with me, and I drew one night a picture of my Pokemon friend with his. In the end, she took me back to my own home, but I'd never forget that boy." Ash didn't even have to guess at professor Oak's dropped clues to know what was happening. Oak was Sammy. Samuel Oak was the boy that had come to the future with Celebi, and had helped Ash save the forest from a madman. He had gone back to his own time, and now, Ash knew that he was here. All this time Oak had known about Ash and what he would become, but he had never said anything. That must have been hard. "So this whole time.you were.are Sammy?" Ash asked, staring at Oak and beginning to see a resemblance through all the wrinkles. "Yes. That was my nickname. But so long ago, and I still remember it all." Ash was completely dumbfounded. He wanted to jump up and begin a five year conversation about the 'how' and 'whys' of the situation, and he wanted to ask Oak how he had been, though he had been near him for around all of his life. It was a confusing situation really. Misty as well was surprised. She hadn't been very close to Sammy, but she had known what happened, and she remembered it all clearly. She couldn't believe that the same young boy was actually professor Oak. It was mind- boggling. "Wow, I never would've guessed." She said, taking a look at Oak in a new light. "So this is the same Celebi and Suicune that we knew?" Ash asked, looking again at the ball. "Yes. It's a bit wild, and quite unruly, but it's safe, and waiting for its mother and father to come and claim it." "Wait, I don't understand. How could Celebi and Suicune breed? Wouldn't the differences in them cause problems?" Misty asked, thinking of the physical and natural differences between the two. "One would think so, but for two Pokemon so closely related to the other in terms of tasks and power level, no." That seemed to appease the two young trainers. "What's its name?" Ash asked. "Well, judging from the cry that it sang upon hatching, we decided to call it Diment." Oak replied. "Diment, huh? Sounds cool." Ash and Misty then began a conversation with Oak, regarding mainly the issue of his distant past and such. After about two hours of sitting and talking, Oak ended his sentence, and said, "Well I'm getting hungry. What's say I buy you two dinner somewhere in Viridian?" "Really? Thanks!" Ash and Misty pretty much said as they jumped up to leave for Viridian. But before they were out of the door, Oak stopped them. "Wait. We won't be walking," He went to the back of his lab and grabbed a Pokeball. Walking outside, he threw it and out of it burst a large Fearow, "we'll take him." The tree climbed onto Fearow, Oak in the front, directing the bird, and Ash and Misty sitting comfortably between the wingspans of the bird. With a swift swoop of its powerful wings, Fearow launched, heading for Viridian City. "This is great." Ash said, talking over the noise of the wind rushing by. The darkening sky was warm and the swiftly flowing wind was a refreshing breath for them. "Yeah." Misty agreed. She was sitting with her head tilted up into the breeze, eyes closed, and taking in the full feel of the air around her. Ash looked at her, transfixed in the way that her hair was flowing and glistening in the sun, and how her skin radiated with a glow. She was more beautiful than he had ever seen her in this moment. He wanted to say something to let Misty know what he thought, but the words wouldn't come. Soon, before he wanted it to, the trip was over. They landed in Viridian City, and got off of Fearow. Oak put him back in his ball, and placed it in his pocket. There, Oak led them to a nice place that specialized in steak items, and fine wines. Oak had already reserved a place for them, and as they entered, they were automatically escorted to their table. Their orders were taken immediately, and their service was excellent. "So you had this all planned out?" Ash asked, due to the reservation and the waiting promptness. "Yes. I was going to show you the new Pokemon, tell you the truth about my past, and take you all out to eat tonight. That was my plan. I had to cancel the reservation for two days ago because of your little spat, Ash." At this, he made a mocking agitation face, which, even through the lightness of the situation, brought up bad memories for Ash, and he felt uncomfortable discussing his mistake. "So did you know about this too?" Ash asked, referring to Misty's earlier guess about dinner, and trying to change the subject. "No, not really. I just happened to overhear Mr. Oak making a reservation for us." At first Ash thought Misty was joking a bit, for she looked as if she was trying to lighten the tale somewhat. But he gave it up, and ate his food and had fun for the rest of the night. They all conversed some more, ate the excellent food, and was laughing and joking as if they hadn't seen the other in years, which in actuality wasn't far from the truth. "I'll go pay the bill." Oak said, standing up to go pay it. He walked off, and Ash looked at Misty yet again. He had watched her off and on throughout the night, and she seemed to him far more than the girl that he had known for all these years as a best friend and nothing more. Tonight she was catching Ash's attention in a different way, and though he liked it a lot, it made him uncomfortable. Could it be true? Could he actually be falling for the expectation that everyone that he had known had laid upon Misty and himself? They all knew that the two of them would finally be together, and of course they both resented it, but only in act. Ash knew that he didn't really loathe the idea of being with Misty. He had actually imagined it at times, and found the daydream to be quite enjoyable. But how did Misty feel? He could never tell what she was thinking, and that really agitated him at times, but all in all, he was pretty sure that she didn't feel quite as bad about the idea that she acted. "Ash?" He snapped out of his dream, hearing his name called. "Misty?" "Why are you looking at me?" She said it in such a way that his mindset wasn't on at the moment, and it sent his thoughts crashing to the ground in a pitiful pile of dust. He decided to salvage the wreck though, what he could. "You look nice tonight." Misty was taken aback by Ash's compliment, and saw in him for the first time not a Pokemon-crazy trainer, but a person that she cared for. "Thank you." She said, smiling a bit. "You still up for the Rapidash riding? I think at night would be a better time anyway." Ash was about to say more than he wanted, so he cut himself off. "You know it. I'm not letting you get off with that one that easily. You're gonna show me how to ride that thing if it kills me." She grinned at him, and a fire kindled in her eyes that he had seen before a few times, when she really wanted to do something. "I hope it won't come to that." Ash said, looking in Misty's eyes, and seeing her fire change form. It had shifted slowly into the same kind that was burning in him. Desperately he wanted to kiss her just then, but he couldn't. She probably wouldn't want it, and it would ruin everything. Better safe than sorry just yet. "Sorry I took so long guys. Their computer was malfunctioning, and I took the time to fix it for them," Oak popped back up from around a corner, and nearly scared Ash and Misty out of their seats, "Ready to go?" He asked, leading the way out of the place. They followed, still casting an off glance every now and then to the other, and soon they were out of the way of people, so they could take off on Fearow. Oak tossed out the Pokeball that had the bird in it, and they mounted again. Fearow took off, and started for home. The night air was crisp but cool, and Misty was starting to shiver a bit. Ash took off his jacket and placed it around Misty's shoulders, holding it there with his arm, though he was cold as well. The stars were out, bright and glowing. Ash and Misty spent the entire trip home just looking at them. Finally, landing with a thud, Fearow deposited his passengers off in front of Oak's lab. Recalling him, Oak went into the lab, and beckoned for them to follow. "Um Professor Oak?" Ash started. "Call me Sammy." Oak said, showing for the first time the pain that he felt at having Ash with him just as he had been, and he himself an old codger. "Okay, Sammy," Ash said again, "Do you mind if I ride Rapidash? I want to show Misty how to ride." Oak smiled, and looked out of the window towards the stables, "Sure. Just put him back." "Thanks." Ash said, looking out towards the animal that he had ridden so many times in the past when he was young. It was but a Ponyta then, but he was but a small lad himself. They had both grown and changed. "No problem. You're that horse's best friend. Well, I'm off to bed. It's ten now, a little past bedtime." Oak shook hands with Ash and gave Misty a hug before retiring for the night. Walking out towards the stables, Ash prepared to teach Misty how to ride a Rapidash.
Post Note: Not much, if any of the real story gets built here, but it's only the first chapter of a planned many. Starting with the next chapter, thinks will begin to get interesting.
Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon, or anything to do with it. I'm just another author that likes to use the already copyrighted (and not by me) characters, places etc. to make a story.
Note: It would really help, and probably not spoil some surprises, if you have seen Pokemon 4 before reading this. Though the part that the movie plays in this story is a minor one comparatively, the surprise of the movie would be messed up if you read this first. Maybe it wouldn't, I don't know. But don't let it stop you from reading and reviewing.
"Misty! Hey, come back." Ash called after her, but she just kept on running, not paying heed to Ash's calls. She wouldn't look back now if she wanted to, for her face was stained with tears, and she didn't want him to see this, even if it would let him know how bad he had hurt her. They were in front of Prof. Oak's lab, and Misty was now going back to Ash's house. They had decided to come back to Pallet, ere the big Pokemon competition that Ash was to be in. They were training their Pokemon, and visiting old friends and family, while at Pallet. But today, Ash had woken up on the wrong side of the bed, and had been snappy all day, but he really let it break over Misty just now. Her temper being what it is, and Ash being a snapping turtle, they had been slightly bickering all day, but when Misty had insulted Ash's Pokemon training ability, though it was merely in jest, he had exploded, "What the hell would you know about Pokemon?! I happen to recall that I, after only having my Pokemon for only about a week beat the stuffing out of your little puny water types. You could never match up to me in a battle, no one could. So just shut up now before you say something else stupid, that you can't be forgiven for." "Can't be forgiven for?! You'd better hope that I can forgive you!" Misty yelled, and then she ran off, bringing us back to where we now stand. She was hurt by Ash, badly. She ran all the way to his front door, where she fell down on the doorstep, bawling. Ash had watched where she had run, and he also saw her fall down and cry. He really didn't want her to be upset, at all. He, in fact, didn't know why he had said what he did. "I'm such an asshole!" He said, literally hitting himself in the face, as if it would help. He now was feeling agitated (at himself), and sad too, for Misty's sake. He wanted to walk over there and apologize, but he just couldn't break his chain of pride to do it. "If you care about her like you know you do, you'll do it." He said to himself, over and over again, but alas, he still couldn't bring himself to move. Finally, with a defeated expression on his face, he turned and went into the professor's lab, as he had intended to with Misty. He walked through the door, and went over to Oak, who was tinkering with some doohickey at his desk. "Ash, hello! Good to see you. Umm, where's Misty, I wanted to talk with her as well." At hearing this inquiry, Ash slumped his head. "We had a fight, and she ran back home." He said, looking up to Oak, who had an odd look of being amused and serious at the same time. "You two will make up. You always do. But hey, did she hit you? Your face has a bruise on it." "No, I actually did that myself."
***
"Misty dear, what's the matter?" Ash's mom had walked out the door, and found Misty crying at the steps. "Nothing." She said, still sobbing, as she sat at the table with Ms. Ketchum. She didn't want to tell her that her son had blessed her out, although it may help. It was also partly her fault, she thought, that Ash had snapped at her. "We got into a fight." "Again? That's the third one this week." Ms. Ketchum would usually act a bit normal at their fights, for they were always minor disputes over things such as bathroom rights and the like, but now, since Misty was crying, she was far from amused. "I think it may have been my fault." Misty said between sobs, as she recalled her words. Proceeding, she told the whole thing of Ash's grumpiness, her prodding at him the whole day, of her insulting him on his Pokemon skills, and of him blowing up. "I should've known that he'd act that way over his Pokemon, especially if he's in a bad mood." "Now Misty, don't blame yourself. I'm gonna give a really good talking to Mr. Ketchum once he gets his tail back from Oak's." Misty smiled a bit at her joke, and felt good that for once in her life someone was actually looking out for her in a motherly way.
***
Two days have passed. Ash and Misty never really had a make up conversation, but the matter was dropped finally, thanks to the wisdom of Prof. Oak and Ms. Ketchum. The two were as normal as ever; slightly throat- to-throat, but in all, getting along quite nicely. "You ready to go yet?" Ash asked, standing in the doorway, and yelling up to Misty, who was in her room getting dressed. "Just a minuet, Ash!" Misty yelled back down, as she finished getting dressed. Oak had summoned the both of them again to his lab to look at whatever it was he wanted them to see two days ago. As Misty came running down the stairs, Ash was amazed at her attire. She had on a short little black skirt, and a tight white shirt that was short sleeved. Her hair was let down, and she held a little bag at her side. Ash stared in shock as to how stunning she looked dressed in casual clothes. "Misty, what's the occasion?" Ash said, as she ran up next to him, with a little smirk on her face. "Well, I haven seen Mr. Oak in a while, and I wanted to dress a bit better than I usually do, just in case he wants to maybe be generous enough to take us out to eat." Ash nearly fell over at the how cute that last part was. "Okay, but what's in the bag?" He asked, pointing to the small plastic bag that she had at her side. "Normal clothes. For your promise." She looked at him with a slightly inquisitive look, as Ash sat and pondered what she meant. Then it hit him. About a week ago, he had promised to take her for a ride on his new Rapidash. He had totally forgotten. Good thing he was wearing the same thing he always does. "Oh yeah." Ash said, acting as if he hadn't forgotten his promise at all. So they left, on their way to Oak, who lived just up the street. They arrived soon, and knocked on the door. One of his assistants opened it, and upon seeing who was calling, he shouted back to the professor that his guests were here. "Misty! Ash! Good to see you. Wow, you look quite nice, Misty." Oak said, glancing over toward Ash who obviously had no smart remark or contraire to Oak's opinion. "Thank you." Misty said, as Oak led them towards the back of his lab. "Here, I want you to look," Oak said, pointing to a small table with a single Pokeball in it, "Inside this Pokeball, contains the product of a natural breeding of Celebi and Suicune." "What?!" Both Ash and Misty said in unison, utterly shocked at what Oak had told them. "That's right," The professor said again, "They're mates. The mother, Celebi, to care for, and protect until it hatched, gave their egg to me. When it hatched, the parents didn't come right away, so I put in a Pokeball so it would be safe, and here it is still. I suppose Celebi trusted me so much since I was the.oh." "Wait a minuet!" Ash said, how do you know o much about Celebi? Only my friend from the past and me had anything to do with her." He was beginning to suspect something about the whole situation. "Well, I guess I should tell you. Or better yet, I'll show you." With that, Oak got up and left two confused people standing at his Pokemon station, while he went and rummaged through his books. When he returned he had, draped in a towel, a very old book. Ash took it from him as he unveiled it, and stared in shock at what he saw. It was Sammy's sketchbook. "How did you get this?" Ash asked, his voice quiet, due to his total surprise and shock at the situation. "Well long ago, I met in the woods a Pokemon in need. She was special, and had the ability to take others to far distant places. She did it with me to avoid danger, and when I arrived, I met a nice young man of about my age that shared my same interests in Pokemon. We became friends fast. I had this sketchbook with me, and I drew one night a picture of my Pokemon friend with his. In the end, she took me back to my own home, but I'd never forget that boy." Ash didn't even have to guess at professor Oak's dropped clues to know what was happening. Oak was Sammy. Samuel Oak was the boy that had come to the future with Celebi, and had helped Ash save the forest from a madman. He had gone back to his own time, and now, Ash knew that he was here. All this time Oak had known about Ash and what he would become, but he had never said anything. That must have been hard. "So this whole time.you were.are Sammy?" Ash asked, staring at Oak and beginning to see a resemblance through all the wrinkles. "Yes. That was my nickname. But so long ago, and I still remember it all." Ash was completely dumbfounded. He wanted to jump up and begin a five year conversation about the 'how' and 'whys' of the situation, and he wanted to ask Oak how he had been, though he had been near him for around all of his life. It was a confusing situation really. Misty as well was surprised. She hadn't been very close to Sammy, but she had known what happened, and she remembered it all clearly. She couldn't believe that the same young boy was actually professor Oak. It was mind- boggling. "Wow, I never would've guessed." She said, taking a look at Oak in a new light. "So this is the same Celebi and Suicune that we knew?" Ash asked, looking again at the ball. "Yes. It's a bit wild, and quite unruly, but it's safe, and waiting for its mother and father to come and claim it." "Wait, I don't understand. How could Celebi and Suicune breed? Wouldn't the differences in them cause problems?" Misty asked, thinking of the physical and natural differences between the two. "One would think so, but for two Pokemon so closely related to the other in terms of tasks and power level, no." That seemed to appease the two young trainers. "What's its name?" Ash asked. "Well, judging from the cry that it sang upon hatching, we decided to call it Diment." Oak replied. "Diment, huh? Sounds cool." Ash and Misty then began a conversation with Oak, regarding mainly the issue of his distant past and such. After about two hours of sitting and talking, Oak ended his sentence, and said, "Well I'm getting hungry. What's say I buy you two dinner somewhere in Viridian?" "Really? Thanks!" Ash and Misty pretty much said as they jumped up to leave for Viridian. But before they were out of the door, Oak stopped them. "Wait. We won't be walking," He went to the back of his lab and grabbed a Pokeball. Walking outside, he threw it and out of it burst a large Fearow, "we'll take him." The tree climbed onto Fearow, Oak in the front, directing the bird, and Ash and Misty sitting comfortably between the wingspans of the bird. With a swift swoop of its powerful wings, Fearow launched, heading for Viridian City. "This is great." Ash said, talking over the noise of the wind rushing by. The darkening sky was warm and the swiftly flowing wind was a refreshing breath for them. "Yeah." Misty agreed. She was sitting with her head tilted up into the breeze, eyes closed, and taking in the full feel of the air around her. Ash looked at her, transfixed in the way that her hair was flowing and glistening in the sun, and how her skin radiated with a glow. She was more beautiful than he had ever seen her in this moment. He wanted to say something to let Misty know what he thought, but the words wouldn't come. Soon, before he wanted it to, the trip was over. They landed in Viridian City, and got off of Fearow. Oak put him back in his ball, and placed it in his pocket. There, Oak led them to a nice place that specialized in steak items, and fine wines. Oak had already reserved a place for them, and as they entered, they were automatically escorted to their table. Their orders were taken immediately, and their service was excellent. "So you had this all planned out?" Ash asked, due to the reservation and the waiting promptness. "Yes. I was going to show you the new Pokemon, tell you the truth about my past, and take you all out to eat tonight. That was my plan. I had to cancel the reservation for two days ago because of your little spat, Ash." At this, he made a mocking agitation face, which, even through the lightness of the situation, brought up bad memories for Ash, and he felt uncomfortable discussing his mistake. "So did you know about this too?" Ash asked, referring to Misty's earlier guess about dinner, and trying to change the subject. "No, not really. I just happened to overhear Mr. Oak making a reservation for us." At first Ash thought Misty was joking a bit, for she looked as if she was trying to lighten the tale somewhat. But he gave it up, and ate his food and had fun for the rest of the night. They all conversed some more, ate the excellent food, and was laughing and joking as if they hadn't seen the other in years, which in actuality wasn't far from the truth. "I'll go pay the bill." Oak said, standing up to go pay it. He walked off, and Ash looked at Misty yet again. He had watched her off and on throughout the night, and she seemed to him far more than the girl that he had known for all these years as a best friend and nothing more. Tonight she was catching Ash's attention in a different way, and though he liked it a lot, it made him uncomfortable. Could it be true? Could he actually be falling for the expectation that everyone that he had known had laid upon Misty and himself? They all knew that the two of them would finally be together, and of course they both resented it, but only in act. Ash knew that he didn't really loathe the idea of being with Misty. He had actually imagined it at times, and found the daydream to be quite enjoyable. But how did Misty feel? He could never tell what she was thinking, and that really agitated him at times, but all in all, he was pretty sure that she didn't feel quite as bad about the idea that she acted. "Ash?" He snapped out of his dream, hearing his name called. "Misty?" "Why are you looking at me?" She said it in such a way that his mindset wasn't on at the moment, and it sent his thoughts crashing to the ground in a pitiful pile of dust. He decided to salvage the wreck though, what he could. "You look nice tonight." Misty was taken aback by Ash's compliment, and saw in him for the first time not a Pokemon-crazy trainer, but a person that she cared for. "Thank you." She said, smiling a bit. "You still up for the Rapidash riding? I think at night would be a better time anyway." Ash was about to say more than he wanted, so he cut himself off. "You know it. I'm not letting you get off with that one that easily. You're gonna show me how to ride that thing if it kills me." She grinned at him, and a fire kindled in her eyes that he had seen before a few times, when she really wanted to do something. "I hope it won't come to that." Ash said, looking in Misty's eyes, and seeing her fire change form. It had shifted slowly into the same kind that was burning in him. Desperately he wanted to kiss her just then, but he couldn't. She probably wouldn't want it, and it would ruin everything. Better safe than sorry just yet. "Sorry I took so long guys. Their computer was malfunctioning, and I took the time to fix it for them," Oak popped back up from around a corner, and nearly scared Ash and Misty out of their seats, "Ready to go?" He asked, leading the way out of the place. They followed, still casting an off glance every now and then to the other, and soon they were out of the way of people, so they could take off on Fearow. Oak tossed out the Pokeball that had the bird in it, and they mounted again. Fearow took off, and started for home. The night air was crisp but cool, and Misty was starting to shiver a bit. Ash took off his jacket and placed it around Misty's shoulders, holding it there with his arm, though he was cold as well. The stars were out, bright and glowing. Ash and Misty spent the entire trip home just looking at them. Finally, landing with a thud, Fearow deposited his passengers off in front of Oak's lab. Recalling him, Oak went into the lab, and beckoned for them to follow. "Um Professor Oak?" Ash started. "Call me Sammy." Oak said, showing for the first time the pain that he felt at having Ash with him just as he had been, and he himself an old codger. "Okay, Sammy," Ash said again, "Do you mind if I ride Rapidash? I want to show Misty how to ride." Oak smiled, and looked out of the window towards the stables, "Sure. Just put him back." "Thanks." Ash said, looking out towards the animal that he had ridden so many times in the past when he was young. It was but a Ponyta then, but he was but a small lad himself. They had both grown and changed. "No problem. You're that horse's best friend. Well, I'm off to bed. It's ten now, a little past bedtime." Oak shook hands with Ash and gave Misty a hug before retiring for the night. Walking out towards the stables, Ash prepared to teach Misty how to ride a Rapidash.
Post Note: Not much, if any of the real story gets built here, but it's only the first chapter of a planned many. Starting with the next chapter, thinks will begin to get interesting.