Misty ran pass the park and across the city without stopping until she reached the hillside on the other side of the city. "Misty!" cried out Mia, still chasing her, "Wait up!" Had it been up to her, Mia would have gladly gone and told off both Ash and Keya but Misty had run off and the chase had begun without her knowing it. By the time she'd caught up with Misty, she could hardly breathe.

This time, however, Misty didn't cry which worried Mia more than tears ever could. "Misty?" she whispered, sounding more like a scared 10yr old than her usual mature self. Misty didn't reply, she just sat on a log, cradling her Togepi. "Strike one, strike two, strike three and you're out, Mia," she murmured, turning to her companion, "Ash's finally lucked out. Well, too bad for him," she said cheerily.

Mia stared at Misty in disbelief. She acknowledged this strange side of Misty and nodded to herself, 'The tears will come later,' she thought. Her brother truly had lucked out for now, but she knew if Misty kept this up, she wouldn't be able to speak about or to Ash or Keya for days without falling into depression. She remained silent for a while, considering this, before smiling and agreeing, "Yep, I don't know about you, but I'm going to finish my journey with Gary," she said, making a quick decision.

When Gary finally caught up, the scene he saw was not the scene he expected. Misty and Mia were laughing and chatting like nothing had happened. "Hey guys, what happened here? Aren't you still upset about . . . " He saw Mia make a sign that said, 'Shut up,' and quickly turn to Misty to see if there had been any impact on her at all. Brock didn't seem to notice but when he tried to speak, Gary elbowed him into silence and he understood. Beside a dark look that shadowed her face for a moment, she showed no signs of falling into depression. Gary frowned inwardly; this wasn't good. It wasn't good at all. But he would let it pass, if only for now.

They began walking into the city again but Misty refused to go any further than the park. Mia nodded in understanding and Gary volunteered to retrieve their belongings from the Pokecentre. Brock stayed by Misty's side in case she showed any signs of depression.

When Gary returned, they left Misty wandering around checking out the nearby clothing stores while the other three argued about what to do. "I say we just leave," declared Mia. "And abandon your brother," added Brock but with little enthusiasm himself. Mia caught onto it and smirked, "See? Your hesitating youself!" she retorted. "No matter what I think, I know you still care for your brother," he pointed out. Mia tossed her hair and replied, "Well if he loves me as a sister and Misty as a girlfriend, he knows which path we'll be on anyway, right? So he can follow us if he wants." "Brock's right, Mia. He's your brother. Don't you have any sense of compassion?" asked Gary at last.

Mia stared and him, a little miffed but not put off, "No! If he intends to . . . to . . . to do that slut! It's not my problem anymore," she said disdainfully, "Besides, we couldn't go back anyway, Misty would get hurt and I don't want to see that happen!" Brock and Gary couldn't argue with that and Misty was already walking back to them. It had been decided, they were going to go on the trail planned and leave Ash behind. They all felt he needed to understand they weren't going to stand by him if he decided to abuse their trust.

Ash ran his fingers through his hair, muttering, "What have I done?" over and over, ignoring Keya's attempts to console him. Frustrated, she finally did the only thing she could think of which would revive him from his dazed state of mind. Placing herself in front of him she dropped the bed sheets and remained standing until he finally looked up. She could see that though he'd looked up, his eyes were blank, devoid of any emotions. Lunging herself and him, she kissed him fervently until he finally came to his senses, or part of. Enough to kiss her back but not enough to realise the one he loved had stormed out the door upon seeing him in bed with another woman.

When he finally broke the kiss, he whispered to her hoarsely, "Just lay here with me." Keya looked at him steadily before sighing inwardly and sliding beside him in the bed. She felt exasperated that, now she finally had him in her grasp, all he wanted her to do was lay beside him. Not that she minded, really, but there were other things they could do in the precious waste of time. When she finally setled down, she was amazed that Ash's hands were once again, roaming her body. She smiled intriguingly and placed her hand on his body as well. Unable to resist temptation, she turned on him and whispered dangerously, "Come and get me." Ash obliged willingly, anything to get rid of the pain he could still feel inside him from his lost love

It was like that Gary found them when he came for Misty and Brock's stuff, the bed sheets lay on the floor so all was revealed. Keya broke off for a moment, smirking, "Want to join us?" she asked huskily. Gary turned and looked her in the eye, "Like I said, not even if I were desperate," he replied. Keya would have glared at him, had she not wanted to show up Mia. If she was to glare at him now, there was no way she would be able to achieve that. "Oh, and Ash. Misty, Mia and Brock are going on their own through the path Mia told you of. If I were you, I'd go there too," he added before turning around and walking off. He had seen Ash's eyes, it was all he needed to know that Ash was still in pain, so much pain it had made him numb. His situation was just as bad as Misty's but it was his choice. Misty could do nothing but stand and watch. That was what disgusted Gary the most about the situation at hand.

Watching Gary leave but never breaking the kiss he held with Keya, Ash's eyes deepened and the pain increased. Keya was too busy to notice but was definitely annoyed when Ash decided it was time they stopped. She looked at him, eyebrow raised, but all he said was, "Come on, let's go get something to drink, know a place who sells the underage, alcohol?" he asked. Keya smirked and got dressed, saying, "This is me you're talking to, yeah I do!"

Umm . . . I just sorta remembered their age . . . ^ ^;; Oh well, remind yourself this is anime and it's all kool ^ ^ Anyone who votes to change their ages, tell me, kay?