Chapter Four: Anger and Distrust

And a long day it was. The sky was now an inky black, sprinkled with stars and a large, pale moon. Kata, Keiji, Travis and Leigh had set up camp in a remote area of the valley a little ways off of the route. They were sitting around a small, crackling fire now, roasting hot dogs and marshmallows that they had bought from a traveling salesman who happened to wander past them. There was a small, blue-green tent pitched behind them, with each of their sleeping bags already rolled out within it.

When they had entered the valley earlier that day, it seemed like it was going to be quite uneventful, and that they would trudge along while Travis talked himself hoarse. But a boy of about fourteen had been unfortunate enough to cross paths with them, and Travis challenged him to a Pokemon battle immediately.

Travis lost miserably to the other boy's skilled Snubbull. Leigh thought that this would, at the very least, get him to shut up about how great he was already with Pokemon, but instead it made him talk all the more. He made up half-caulked excuses as to why he had lost and then went back to his monotonous boasting. He seemed to think that he needed to rebuild his badly damaged ego. The only person in the group that gave him their unwavering attention was Kata, who was just as transfixed with him as she was when she had first spotted him. Keiji and Leigh couldn't help but feel a twinge of admiration towards Kata for being so loyal to him.

At dusk, Travis told them all about the incredibly portable tent that his parents had bought him after he cleaned his room. So he's arrogant and spoiled, thought Leigh in disgust. It would be nice, though, to sleep under a tent, rather than having nothing to cover their heads from the elements.

Kata, Keiji and Travis had released their Pokemon and they were now wandering freely about the campsite. Kata's Pidgey, Candie, sat around the fire next to Leigh and ruffled her feathers, giving Travis' Weedle a pitiful look while clicking her beak as if to say 'tut-tut-tut'. The Weedle (or Bug-Master, as Travis fondly called him) seemed to be very hyperactive and had been inching around the campsite in dizzying circles ever since he had been released out of his pokeball. Keiji's Oddish was named Fern, and was staying as far away from the fire as possible by sitting inside the open tent, watching the fire nervously as if she thought it was going to explode and that she would consequently go up in flames.

Leigh was sitting cross-legged on her leather jacket which she had laid out on the ground. She was wearing a powdery blue beater and was eating the hot dog that she had just finished roasting ferociously as though she hadn't eaten in weeks.

"You know," Travis said after he swallowed one of his burnt marshmallows whole, "I reckon that I should keep watch tonight. I don't need much sleep, so don't worry. We're out in the wild, you know, and we don't want any wild Pokemon attacking us while we sleep! Weedle and I can fend them off while you sleep peacefully. You guys can't say no to that, can you? It's quite generous of me, if I do say so myself." He then smiled broadly at his own proposal, looking very pleased with himself as he popped another marshmallow into his mouth. Kata beamed, as if it was the greatest idea since the wheel. Leigh ignored Travis, like she had been doing all day, and Keiji snorted.

"The only wild Pokemon in this valley are Rattatas," Keiji said, "and I don't think they can wreak too much havoc!" Candie straightened her poise as if to say, 'I can eat the Rattatas if they cause too much trouble'. Keiji noticed and smiled at her, in agreement that she could probably do a better job than Travis and his Weedle. Candie gave her best smug look and then looked at Kata, who was frowning at Keiji. The Pidgey wondered why Keiji couldn't have chosen her instead as a starter.

"Well," Kata snapped, "Travis can do whatever he likes." Travis smiled weakly at Kata, then turned back towards Keiji and cleared his throat, as if preparing to make a very important announcement. Kata bore holes through Travis' skull as she stared at him intently.

"No," Travis told Kata, pretending to look defeated, "your brother is right. We'll be fine. We don't need to be protected. I'm sure my flimsy tent will hold up just fine against packs of Rattatas." Kata gasped, as if she thought that Travis was being silly to agree with Keiji. Leigh shook her head sadly as Kata fell for his guilt trip, still avoiding eye contact with any of the younger children.

"You don't have to stop protecting us just because my loser of a brother doesn't think it's a good idea!" Kata piped in. Keiji's face slowly turned to pink, then red, and then, to Leigh's astonishment, deep purple. He flung his last uneaten marshmallow into the fire and stood up, burning as hot as his now charred marshmallow with rage.

"Well your loser of a brother is going to go to bed while you listen to Travis gloat!" he bellowed. Even Leigh was a little unnerved by the tone of his voice, forgetting that he was four years younger than her. Kata's face went pale as she regretted what she had just said. Travis, however, looked as happy as could be, thinking that he couldn't have gotten himself a better outcome if he had planned the entire thing (which he sort of had).

"I… I didn't…" Kata whispered, but it was too late. Keiji had already disappeared into the tent, and with a streak of blinding light, Fern disappeared into her pokeball. Leigh now, instead of being frightened of Keiji, was rather disgusted with both Kata and Travis. She shoved her last hot dog down her throat and chewed it violently. She stood up, and after she had swallowed, announced that she was going to go to bed as well. Kata and Travis wordlessly waved goodnight to her and she strode into the tent.

She looked over to where Keiji was laying. He had buried his face in his pillow and Leigh could tell by the way that his body was heaving that he was sobbing silently. She walked over to him and touched him lightly on the shoulder. Keiji turned over; his face was drenched in tears, and he let out a great, huge sob.

"Don't touch me!" he wailed, and turned back over and continued to cry without saying anything else. Leigh gave up her attempt to soothe him and slipped into her pale gray sleeping bag. She blocked out thoughts of the day and, after counting two-hundred-and-seventy-three sheep jumping over a fence, fell asleep.

By the time that Leigh had fallen asleep, Travis and Kata had made their way into the tent. Travis fell asleep the moment his head had touched his pillow and was now snoring softly. He had decided against keeping guard, apparently. Candie had perched herself at the end of Kata's sleeping bag, refusing to return to her pokeball. She was still convinced that she was going to devour any intruding Rattatas. Keiji's mind was swarming with thought and was staring up at the roof of the tent, wide awake. He hadn't bothered to wipe the tears off of his face, so they were drying onto his skin. Kata was sitting up and she looked over at her brother. Keiji dodged her glance.

"Keiji, I'm sorry," Kata whispered. "I was just angry that you were being so mean to Travis!" She looked at Keiji again, hoping that he would look back, but he didn't. He continued to stare straight at the ceiling, taking his time before he replied. He shook his head slowly.

"Why do you like him so much? Leigh doesn't like him either," he replied coldly. On the other side of the tent, Leigh stirred. Their talking, as quiet as it was, had woken her. She had always been a light sleeper. She pretended to be asleep, though, finding this the perfect opportunity to eavesdrop. Kata sighed.

"He spotted me when we were picking out Pokemon, and he told me my scar was cool. He said I was really pretty, too," she said, her facing flushing a deep pink. Keiji rolled his eyes. So that's the only reason he had to endure Travis and his madness; because he had complimented his sister?

"You don't need that smelly dingbat to tell you you're pretty," Keiji snorted. Kata looked a little hurt at the words 'smelly dingbat'. She paused, her index finger on her chin as she thought of something to say in return.

"He's not a smelly dingbat!" Kata insisted, a bit of desperation in her voice, "and besides, why do you like that Leigh so much? I don't trust her, not one bit! I bet that package she showed us that she wanted to deliver is filled with rubbish! Travis, at least he's honest!" Keiji thought about what her sister had said. Perhaps it was a little suspicious; he had been a little reluctant to agree to let her come. But there was something about her that Keiji sensed – something sincere.

"I know," Keiji replied, "but I just have a gut feeling that she's all right. You just have to trust me about her, Kata; I don't know how to explain it." Without another word Kata lay down in her sleeping bag and closed her eyes. She didn't want to push Keiji's patience again. Besides, she should be happy – it's her first night as a true Pokemon trainer. Kata tried not to let herself think about Keiji being angry with her and slipped into a luxurious, deep sleep.