Short Summary: Years after the Houen league and all its splendor with Misty gone...(author grumbles under her breath) Ash is now eighteen years of age and is on his way back to Pallet after the completion of the Hokusei league which is in the northwest region. His plans are quickly forgotten when he reads up on a championship taking place in Cerulean City. Old friends meet along with old memories. Has it really been three years since Misty has heard from her friend Ash Ketchum? What is to happen when he suddenly shows his face at her gym, asking board for the championship? Can old wounds be restored or will the friendship that had broken quite some time ago never be restored...?
By Usagi
The long line reached far beyond the door of the pokemon registration center. There were even trainers standing halfway down the road, some waiting patiently others giving hell to all those around them. One thing was for sure, he didn't have to wait in line. Not like he had wanted to skip half the people in front of him. It was them who gave him no choice, really. Being shoved to the front by swooning girls had never really been to his liking. However, today it was in his favor. The less time he had to wait, the more time he could spend training and of course then there was trying to find a place to stay. Training could come first of course, what else more was there to life then that?
"I said next," the old crow sitting behind the desk squawked. "Step forward with a valid trainers license that states your trainer ID number." Surprisingly, it wasn't the regular bubble gum pink haired young nurse with a pleasant smile that said 'I love everything about this world' sitting behind the counter. Not even close. Instead sat an elder bird shaped face woman. With her high cheek bones, crooked nose and sharp gaze pinning him down as she tilted her glasses with a long bony finger. He had almost thought twice about stepping forward as she had instructed, half afraid she was going to bite his head off. Another shove from a girl behind, who seemed to love touching him, caused him to stumble forward only to quickly straighten himself out and give her a lazy look.
A quick flip of his trainer ID card and he handed it to her. Taking his long tan fingers through his wild black hair, he watched the woman with a lopsided grin as she stared disdainfully down at his card. Hard gray eyes lifted to bore into his own hazel ones, soon after shoving the card in his face. "Your card has expired over four years ago." The crow woman had stated blatantly, earning a rather sheepish grin from Ash Ketchum. The much younger boy on the card only looked a small shred of the man who stood in his place today. However, his facial expressions were much the same giving him away completely.
"Sorry 'bout that miss," his voice came out low and rich, flowing gracefully from his lips. "Nurse Joy was one to never mind. With so many leagues and championships lately, I've been busy." Ash did nothing but smile as the woman stared at him for a long hard moment, finally letting a grunt escape her thin pale lips and turning to the computer to enter in his updated information. Ash could of groaned, but he quickly held it in. This was going to take long, very long. Four years of missing information. How many leagues? How many titles? Slouching down into the chair, he idly played with his belt while answering the hundreds of questions she began to shoot off at him at a quick pace. Oh yes, this was going to take a very long time...
One major headache later Ash Ketchum grumbled under his breath as he lazily strolled down the brick-lain roads of Cerulean City. Two hours. Two whole damned hours it had taken. What with the swift tongued old bat shooting out a million questions a minute and then there was the jabbing girls behind him every so often reaching out to touch his shoulder or play with his hair. It had been ridiculous. All that waiting and for what? An updated Trainer ID(which he really didn't need in the first place, or so in his opinion), accepted registration card and a pamphlet containing all information on the championship. Then there were the small trinkets from some of the woman. Hell, one had even tried to give him her panties for heavens sake! Needless to say, he had quickly disposed of those. His popularity was mostly young woman around his age. There were the occasional men who would want to know all his fighting techniques and even challenge him to a match. They rarely gave him presents and never touched him. To think fame had a price to pay. Pah.
Ash's footsteps died as he had finally arrived at his destination. Now standing before the large building shaded in an array of transparent blues. A building looking so completely different than that of the last time he had stopped here. It had been so long, he couldn't even remember. Had it been three years? Maybe even four. Before he had never thought about it, never stopped to keep count of how long it had actually been. But now that he was here. Standing before the building. It hurt. His chest was strung tight with some unknown emotion that could easily pass as guilt, but stronger. Water cascaded down in between the glass, looking like a falling stream of beauty. Its message clearly said the water gym; Cerulean Gym. And if one is too dense to figure it out there was the clearly gold writing high on the building in elegant curving letters that said just that: The cerulean gym.
The automatic front doors slid soundlessly open as he stepped forward to enter. The front desk was empty, the hallways dark and not a single soul around. Ash was hesitant for a moment, beginning to think that the gym was somehow not open maybe the sisters had all gone on vacation. Before he had more time to ponder over anything, the floor beneath his feet suddenly lit up, the flood of light making a pathway down the middle hallway. Without much though, Ash followed the path which led him to the main combat arena which so happened to still be a swimming pool. Some things never change.
His hazel eyes caught movement beneath the pools surface. Expecting it to be one of the cerulean sisters, Ash stepped closer to investigate and call out if necessary to whoever it was swimming down there. He had not expected what he saw, his face paling and he instantly took a step back, not a moment later Misty's Gyarados rearing from the water, waves splashing every which way as it broke through the surface and sounded a roar throughout the building, echoing all throughout the halls.
"Must you trainers come every ten minutes?" A feminine voice grumbled from a staircase leading to the upper floor of the building. "I can't even take a shower around here." The young woman stepped down the stairs, gently drying her wet hair with a light blue towel. Her crystal blue eyes studied Ash with slight annoyance. However, annoyance turned to a more hesitant look as she scanned his features more closely, stopping as she finally reached the last step. Ash immediately gave her a sheepish grin, rubbing the back of his head nervously as her eyes flashed with acknowledgement. Misty's hands dropped from her hair, blue towel falling to the ground. Auburn hair cascaded down to curl around her shoulders, her mouth opening to suck in a shaky breath and then finally she called him by his name. "Ash..."
"Myst." His boyish features had once again returned as his grin remained plastered to his face, giving her a curt wave with his hand in a greeting long due over three years. Just as Misty had not recognized him at first, he hadn't recognized her until she had stepped further down the steps. She was the same height as before, but so much different in everything else. Her hair was no longer short and hastily pulled up into a side ponytail. Instead it flowed down to her shoulders, curling at the ends to hug her chest. Her chest, his eyes widened and he immediately decided to concentrate on something else. He was most certain it was bigger than the last time he had seen her. She looked like her older sisters now, but still with a semi-rough look to her which all three of her sisters lacked.
"Get out! Now." Ash immediately cringed at her half-expected tone as it rang through the room. Suddenly, he was double guessing if coming here was exactly the right thing to do. She was still angry with him, even after seeing him. In that moment, he knew he was most certainly promised one thing: Pain. "Who do you think you are, just showing up out of the blue like this!"
And there it was; A chair, he could only guess where in the world she had got it from, came hurling his way, whizzing by his shoulder and nearly taking his head with it. It was quite clear now just how angry she was, to throw something that huge at him without any hesitation. He had expected a reaction yes, but not a death wish! "Hear me out, Myst!" He found himself whining in the old voice of his younger self. He ducked afterward when something caught his eye, but he was too late. Misty's damp towel that she had previously been drying her hair out with slapped him in the face, Ash sucking in a breath as he felt the sting.
"Get out." She seethed afterward.
"C'mon, you know that I would never do it on purpose. I meant to write, I promise you. I wanted to write, and this coming from me, Ash Ketchum who hates anything to do with a paper and pencil! Myst, you gotta believe me." His pleas tumbled from his mouth after he had removed the towel from his vision only to see the woman before him advancing with fire in her eyes. It worked, for the time being, for when Misty stopped in front of him she didn't hit him as she had previously intended to do.
"Did you forget about the invention of the phone, you bastard!" Ash cringed. Again. By the look on his face, he had forgotten about that. And obviously, he couldn't think of another good reason as to why he hadn't used it. For his stupidity, he earned himself a square punch in the face, followed by more blows to the head. He was surprised, as he took the beating. Surprised, when it didn't at all hurt as much as he had remembered it. And he almost laughed to tell her this. Almost. He changed his mind all too quickly, knowing that saying something like that would only make her more furious.
"I'm sorry," He tried Plan B; If excuses didn't work then apologize. When the punches ceased, he opened one eye to stare up at her. He should of used Plan B from the beginning, by the looks of things. Misty ground her teeth together, and for a split moment Ash could of sworn he saw the faintest indication of her eyes watering before she turned around swiftly and left the room all together.
Or not. He couldn't have her walking away from him. He'd never be able to pop the question if she wasn't there to hear it. Just as quickly, Ash pulled himself up and scrambled off after her retreating form.
"I need a place to stay." He held his breath.
"Go to the pokemon center."
"They're full, with the trainers competing in the Championship."
"A hotel."
"No money." He crossed his fingers.
"The ground," Misty grated out between her teeth. Ash distanced himself, slowing down his pace to fall behind her. She clenched her fists and continued down the hall, hoping that the discussion was at an end. Little did she know that Ash was just getting started. When he was determined to do something, he would die trying to accomplish it. Her pace suddenly quickened. Her bedroom sounded nice, with that giant lock on the inside. If only she had made it sound proof. She could just call the police on him, if he refused to leave after an hour. In all her thoughts, she hadn't even noticed that Ash had stopped walking behind her, and she had even missed his long intake of breath followed by a deep gulp as he readied himself for what he was going to say and how it needed to be said.
"You look beautiful." Ash had raked a large hand through his messy black hair, his voice coming out deep and smooth. Both plan a and b had been nothing but a failure, and plan c was the last he had up his sleeved. He prayed to the heavens that it worked. It just had to. Ash added the most charming smile to his laid back features, catching Misty's reaction as she turned around to stare at him in astonishment, the hint of a blush rising to her cheeks.
Bingo. He had her.
Misty hesitantly bit her bottom lip as she gazed down at his features. When had he become so charming? And on that note, when had he become so damn handsome? The man now standing before her looked nothing like that small boy she used to run around on adventures with. Not when he was looking like that, his eyes raking her down in a heated manner. Normally, flattery didn't work with her. Especially not with Ash Ketchum, who couldn't use flattery without laughing his head off afterward to make it into a joke. But it was the way he had said it. They way he was looking at her. Her face became flushed, causing her to turn away from him in a hurry. So he had one this one little battle, but she would make sure to win the war.
"One night." Misty put out, her back still to him.
"One week," Ash challenged.
Misty whirled around, staring at him incredulously. His eyes locked with her causing her to catch her breath. It didn't stop her from raising her chin in defiance. "Three days," she spoke slowly. "Final offer."
"Taken."
Misty stiffened when Ash took a step forward, his smile widening as the matter was settled. Her heart picked up in her chest, eyes widening as she watched, helplessly, his fingers lift up and grip her chin. She couldn't move, she couldn't speak, she couldn't even breath in that moment. He turned her head to the side and bent over, giving her a feather light kiss to the cheek. Her legs turned to jelly, afraid that she was going to fall to the ground. But still he held her up, staring down at her with soft hazel eyes.
Ash chuckled, his charming smile titling up into a boyish grin once he witnessed her reaction. And just like that the moment was gone, Misty composing herself. Her eyes as lit flames, she picked up he damp towel and began to slap him over and over again while cursing him in colorful words he had never even knew existed.