Once again,I'm back(sigh). Sorry I took so long to post this (next) chapter, I was just waiting to see if I would get anymore reviews. Turns out not. And thanks to the people who reviewed, without whom 95% of the sites stories would not be complete.
L J Nights: Thanks. Maybe the changing of my name gave you that wrong link. Who knows.
tamar-shaki: Yeah, and ure gonna know even more in this chapter! Thanks.
Silvain: I know, that's why I said it was in the first place! Thanks to you AND Pikachu.
Disclaimer: I don't own pokemon, yadda yadda yadda, whatever.
CHAPTER 6: TEAM ROCKET RETURNS
Meanwhile…
Ash was looking at Misty. He could see her marvelous bluish/greenish eyes. It seemed to him that they were filled with a certain pain, not physical, not mental, but emotional. He had learned how to determine a persons true emotion by looking at their eyes. All that time he had spent looking at an opposing trainers eyes had paid off. He had also learnt that a face can always be deceiving to the eye. But an eye cannot to another eye.
What was it? What was this pain? Was it........still from that time? Did it stand in her for 10, whole, long years? Was it his fault? He began to feel very guilty. Very guilty indeed. He decided not to mention it, incase it caused her more hurt. Angry at her he still no doubt was, but that Ash Ketchum that she had met 10 years back was still in him, somewhere. The Ash Ketchum that was kind, compassionate, caring, full of determination and who go to any lengths for the people he knew, for the people he cared about, and even the people who were complete strangers to him. Not to mention what he'd do for a Pokemon. But all that had perished completely, when his mother died 5 years ago. It was always weakening since the day it happened. It haunted him forever and then....his mom had to go. Since then, he cared about nothing. Nothing whatsoever. Only maybe his Pokemon. He thought of nothing else besides that, because he knew that it would only bring more of the terrifying thoughts and dreams that haunted him every day, which was quite enough for him already.
She was looking at him. Where was Ash Ketchum? Who is this stranger? And what did he do to the original? Then she remembered Mrs.Ketchum's death. She was also feeling terribly guilty too. She had not even come for the funeral, for a person who thought of her as a daughter she never had. The truth was, it's not that she didn't want to come, but rather she had no choice. Battle after battle pressured her so much that she even forgot about the funeral until it was too late. She had missed the funeral of her '2nd mother'. She could never ever forget that day. The guilt inside of her was indescribable and unimaginable. She had never forgiven herself for it. Could that have been the effect on him now? Was it all her fault he was like this? The hug now long gone, because He was only helping her stand, not really hugging her. She had thought of it as a sign of hope, maybe.....but inside she knew that Ash was a tough nut to crack.
And so there they were, in the uncomfortable silence that hung heavy around them. Why couldn't they just apologize and make-up? Why? She couldn't stand all this silence. If he was not going to give up, then she would have to do something. Deciding that words would possibly make the situation more uncomfortable, she settled for a kiss on the cheek. She also knew that she would either be accepted, or rejected. After all, an action is worth a thousand words.
Ash looked as though he had been electrified. What the hell? He thought as he felt a tingling sensation on his right cheek. Huh? He looked at Misty's guilty face and then he understood. Since he was in his own dreamland, Misty had taken the chance to try and….again….repair the bridge that had been broken between them for the past 10 years.
Again, he thought furiously. Now a kiss on the cheek makes up for all of this? First skiing and now this? Suddenly a new thought entered his mind. Did she purposely fall down with him? Did she think a little time together would heal? So he can play hero, save them and the whole 'friendship' thing starts again? Like the past never happened? WTF? He continued to think like crazy, becoming angrier than he already was, if that was even possible in itself, with each thought. He just didn't know what she was thinking, and it was driving him over the edge.
"What was that?" He asked her angrily.
She had expected this. Huh, who was she going to fool? He was too angry to even look at her now, and she thought he was going to forgive her? With a kiss that only seemed to make things worst? No way in hell.
"I-I", she stammered, not knowing what to say. She had to justify things, for herself and for him.
"Spit it out". He said with venom.
"I'm sorry!" She began to cry now. Everything was going downhill for her, everything.
Ash rolled his eyes. Here we go again, he thought miserably. "Fine, whatever". He said. "No, I'm sorry for what I did 10 years ago!" Misty shouted. Ash was beginning to get worried now. Her shouting could have caused an avalanche had he not muffled her shout only just a second ago.
"Shut up!" He hissed. "Look, if you continue like this we'll both end up under a huge pile of snow and be buried forever here!" "You can stay here for all I care but before I do someone has to beat me and claim my title, so go ahead and see if I care!" He immediately regretted saying it when he saw her face. It was bursting with emotion. It looked like so much pain that she was ready to jump off the cliff from this world forever. So many tears were coming out of her eyes.
"Fine!" She yelled while sobbing so much that it almost blinded her. She was going to jump off when Ash caught her arm firmly and held her. "No, leave me!" She cried. "Let me go!" "No" was the simple answer she got from him. He turned her around and hugged her tightly. Funnily enough, he himself did not know why he was doing this. All he did know was that a sudden emotion had taken over his will, imprisoned it and created a soft spot in his heart.
What the? Was all she could think as Ash hugged her and she hugged back. She was about to ask him why when………………
"Ahhhh!" She screamed as something snatched her from the air.
"Prepare for trouble!"
"Make it double!"
To tear away the love of your life!
Your Girlfriend and future wife!
Don't worry; we'll take good care of her,
But not if you don't surrender!
Jessie!
James!
Team Rocket blast off to steal your partner!
Not to mention a great, great dancer!(Jessie getting jealous, whacked James)(Sweatdrop)
Surrender now,
Or prepare to fight!
Meowth, that's right!
It turned out to be Jessie had snatched Misty, tied her hands behind her back and legs and threw her in the back. She told Meowth to watch guard.
To Ash, the teasing had not left such an effect on him. He was cold, oblivious to all of this and had not even bothered to answer. The only way to determine that it did was a slightly pink flare on his cheek. He looked straight at them, his cold dark chocolate eyes(I have the same color!) showing that this was merely a child's show to him, much less a challenger. The trio were struck by this. Huh? Is he the Ash with the Pikachu who would always be full of caring for people, pokemon, whose eyes always showed some sense of adventure? Of excitement? Who would always rush to protect his Pikachu and the people around him whenever they arrived and would always end up blasting them high high up into the air? They thought, confused. No, it isn't him…or is it?
To Misty, it was the worst teasing she had ever got and she was actually glad she was up here in the back where nobody could see her. She was blushing so much that anybody could see it from a mile away.
"Oh look, the twerps are blushing!" Jessie teased, actually referring to Ash.
How cute! James teased. TR were determined to make Ash blush, look at his feet, swipe Pikachu and get away clean. Indeed, Giovanni was going to be pleased.
They were too busy teasing Ash to notice that Misty was climbing of the side of the balloon. She didn't know what she was doing, but in her mind only 2 words played themselves. 'Get off'
"Ash!" She screamed in mid-air, for she had already jumped. Ash saw her just in time to duck, catch her and think, What the….???
"Wha?" Jessie stared open mouthed at them. She then rounded on Meowth.
"I thought told you to guard her!" She yelled at Meowth angrily. If anyone could recover from being stunned quickly, it was her.
" Ti's not my fault! I was having fun with you tweasing the twerps!" He replied. "You could have told me not to have fun!" He said looking for an excuse. Even if Jessie had told him to guard Misty again there was no way in hell he was going to miss out on the teasing. Especially since he was the teaser.
Apparently it seemed the Jessie would not have normally taken this as an excuse, but the situation here did not trust them with time.
But James was not listening to their talk. "Wait a minute… where's Pikachu?" He asked them. For once in his life he was acting sensible. But then again, they had grown They then stopped arguing and put on the same confused face as his. "Yeah…"
Meanwhile Pikachu and Togepi had come out of the cave, hearing all the noise. Then they saw Pikachu.
"There it is! Get it!" Commanded Jessie.
Ash knew not to let his guard down. He knew that although he was Pokemon Master, Team Rocket had beat him when they were small, even thought his Pokemon were more powerful than theirs. So if they could beat him then, with many tricks up their sleeves and the place they were in, not to mention that Pikachu was the only Pokemon that could fight, could they not beat him now? Sure, they had always left blasting off, but….now they had the advantage.
"Pikachu! Thunder Shock! Now!" He commanded in a thunderous voice. Since Ash had always had a mysterious link/bond with Pikachu, Pikachu understood and felt what his master was feeling, and so gave them his most powerful thunder shock.
Before Team Rocket could escape, Pikachu had given it what Ash had commanded it.
"PIII-KAAA-CHUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!" Pikachu cried as electricity came flying out of its cheeks.
"Looks like Team Rocket is blasting off again!!!" The Trio Cried. Even Ash thought Pikachu had not done a thunder-shock like that in a long time, when he wanted to become a master. Nowadays, all the challengers were just like one another, like Gary Oak, to be precise. Arrogant little bastards who thought of Pokemon only as fighting tools and only wanted to become masters for the fame and press that came with it. As Ash put Misty's legs on the ground, she wobbled a bit and he continued to catch her and support her.
Togetic and Pikachu went back inside the cave to rest, and Ash and Misty were left alone outside. Finally, they were alone…again.
No, no, no! Ash thought. What the hell am I doing? Why am I doing this? The little soft spot his heart grew and grew and grew. It grew taking out the blackness the heart possessed with it and threw it away in nothingness. Basically, emotion was over-coming him. That feeling which he had remained aloof to for the past 10 years was to be re-united with it's owner. The owner, however, was not too thrilled with it. Especially since he had spent the last 10 years locking it up in the cold dungeon depths of his heart.
Then he looked at her, and she looked at him, each looking directly in each others eyes. This was too much. Every emotion came like a tidal wave crashing on a beach. Now he could not remain the same, she was bewitching him to change.
As they looked at each other, Misty pulled him into a hug, trying to finish what they had left behind. Ash was at first surprised at this, then hugged back, but not too much. They were to continue what they had left behind, what each of them was secretly wishing for all these years…well, kinda wishing from one person. As they finished the hug, they looked at each other again. Then Misty did something Ash would have never expected. She quickly cupped his face in her hands and pulled his face to hers, their lips touching. Ash was bewildered. What the hell was this now? Another sign of peace? What the hell was wrong with her? Couldn't she leave him alone? But he was actually enjoying this? Why? As his mind continued to give him mixed emotions, Misty was looking at this as a chance to deepen the kiss and the feeling.
"What was that for?" He asked only to find her with tears in her eyes. But the way he asked wasn't angrily, it was….it was….he didn't know where that voice came from.
"What's wrong?" He asked her when he saw her tears.
"I'm sorry Ash, for treating you like dirt when we were friends, always yelling at you, telling you to do this, do that, bossing you around, laughing at you when you'd say that you would one day become a Pokemon Master. You were right, It was my fault that we separated, because of me being such a bitch." She said crying. "I'm sorry for everything, for that day, for not giving you a chance, for not coming to your mom's funeral and for not writing back when you would write to me, not responding to you.
"Shhh" Ash said, wiping the tears of her face with his hand. Wait a minute, where did that come from? One minute he was a cold Pokemon Master and the next the caring Ash Ketchum of 10 years back? Wait an amazing transformation! And that too by the person who started it all. "I never told you that I actually enjoyed those fights did I? Practicing on you made it easier to argue with other Pokemon trainers on which was stronger Pokemon, the elements, the types and it would make a gym leader easier to beat." He said. "As for the bossing around, even that helped me with other trainers. Because of bossing around we use to have so much fun remember? I used to get us lost and then we would start fighting and you ended hitting me with your mallet. Even if we wouldn't admit it you know we would have fun in those arguments." He said smiling. Then his expression turned stony and serious. "As for that day…what happened, happened and cant un-happen. Who knows, maybe it was for the good? After all, 'Every thing in life happens for a reason'. "My mom…"
He felt here he couldn't continue, and that he was still angry with her for this. His mother had treated Misty like a daughter, and Misty didn't even bother to come for her funeral. But deep down inside he knew that if Misty had known she would have come no matter what. He knew this wasn't her fault. His mother had died suddenly from a heart attack. He was right next to her when she died. There was no time to call for help. Her last words were, "Take care of Misty". "Mom Noooooooo!" He screamed.At that time he did not know what his mom's final words meant. He cried and cried and cried. Brock, who was temporarily staying with him, came up when he heard Ash cry and saw Mrs. Ketchum's lifeless body. Everybody in the Pokemon world heard about her death. A lot of people came for her funeral, even people she or Ash did not know came and offered their condolence to him. But the one he was waiting for did not come. From that day he hated her and didn't want anything associated with her. And now he was here, having being just kissed by Misty. Misty knew he was having painful memories of his mothers death and so she went to try and comfort him. His back was now turned towards her. She to him, turned him around and hugged him tightly. He didn't know what to do except hug back for support. Down his cheek rolled a single tear. Misty sensed this and patted his back and head, trying to comfort him. He never shed a tear at the funeral. Sometimes your grief is so much it goes beyond tears. She didn't care if he was still angry with her, he needed her support and she would give it to him.
"You know what my mom's last words were?" He asked her.
"No, what were they?" She asked softly.
"To take care of you". Misty froze, she could not believe that Mrs. Ketchum would say that.
"Do you know how much I missed you?" He asked. "Not as much as I missed you". She answered.
"And…I have to make a confession". He said.
"What?" She asked, anxious to find out. Could this be what she was waiting for all this time?
"All those years we were together, I grew to like you. No matter what you did…I always liked you." he said. They were still in the hug.
"What did you like in me?" She asked. Ash sighted. She was making this hard for him. "I liked the way you would look when you were angry, your flaming orange hair. Your care for water Pokemon. Your ambition to become the greatest Water Pokemon Master."
"And then…", "I……", "I was very heart broken when you left". I hated you from then. But what I thought was a silly crush didn't perish but grew stronger. And I didn't know why". "And then, just now when you kissed me I realized I was in love with you". He concluded slowly.
Misty was shocked but happy at the same time. She had, after all, been waiting for this to happen for 10 years. But she had to know…
"Ash"
"Yeah"
"What did you love in me?".
"I loved your sweetness, your determination, your excitement, I loved YOU"
"I love you to Ash", she told him.
Ash, for the first time in 10 years, was happy. He finally got what all he wanted. It seemed like a simple reunion could change the heart of one person forever.
As they finally pulled out of the hug, they looked at each other and kissed each other passionately. They were at, at last, happy together.
Authors Notes: Ok, folks. That was the 2nd last chapter. This chapter was actually supposed to be short and fluffy but...lemme explain.
Ash in this chapter is kinda based on me. He reflects my personality. Sorry if this chapter is kind of 'down' and angry type but i'm feeling kinda depressed for the pass few days now(don't ask why) and when I looked at what I had originally written I didn't seem to suit me. So I edited it and made it reflect my personality.Another reason is that the last chapter was very short, so I decided to make this one extra long so that you readers would be satisfied. Thanks for reading and reviewing.
=A k,P m=
