(edited.2020.04.01)
Locked Away, Chapter 21
Misty wouldn't talk to him during their hike. She stayed a few paces ahead of him at each interval until they found their way back onto the path that led further into route twenty-four. After three hours of simmering anger, Ash was starting to get anxious, and a bit sore from his injuries. He neglected to mention it earlier, primarily because Misty seemed so upset, but he was sore. He was almost positive something in his body was cracked, broken, or dying—otherwise, his bruises hurt like hell, especially the one over his left hip.
Yet, Misty kept moving forward, arms tucked tightly around togepi, shoulders still remained unnervingly high, and her head was still drooping, and swaying gently with each step on the ever growing rocky terrain.
Exhaling, he finally found enough courage and strength to walk up to her.
"Are you not talking to me now?" He asked worriedly while pikachu sulked off to the back, minding his own business, mainly because if the redhead's anger was anything like he remembered, he did not want to be caught in the middle of their spat, or near objects that could fly at his face, or smash him. Nope, pikachu watched Ash's pathetic attempt to talk to Misty and sighed. Ash was on his own on.
She didn't answer, and so Ash took that as a yes.
How was he supposed to know? Well, he did know that death was always a contributing factor to any pokemon journey—but he supposed it never made sense until now. Heck, it didn't make sense right now. He didn't die, after all. In his dreams, no one ever died; not even Jessie and James, who were shocked, beaten and blasted off on a daily basis. Not enemies, not friends, no one. Glancing at the dirt that Misty's shoes knocked up with each step, he shuddered. He supposed he never thought about it, he hadn't thought about a lot of things the last couple of days—in fact, he had been trying his hardest not to—but the silence was killing him.
"Misty, please." He pleaded, his eyebrows lowered sadly. With his honest tone of voice, Misty finally heaved a sigh and looked back at him, still snappy—still angry.
"What?" She snapped with eyes like a predator. Ash immediately regretted his decision to get her to talk, but he swallowed hard against the lump that formed in his throat. With togepi in her arms and her head turned at him, he couldn't help but think of her as a young girl again. She still had the same girly scowl that was only partially intimidating.
"What was your pokemon journey like when you were ten?" Ash blurted out and watched Misty's face falter and her anger subdue by confusion.
"What?" she asked again with a gasp, flabbergasted by Ash's words. Stammering, he spoke first by flailing his arms about nervously.
"Well, I never showed up which means we never traveled together—and...I've never asked." He said quickly, rubbing the back of his neck as he pressed forward beside her, her pace gradually slowed to keep with him.
"Why the sudden interest in it?" She asked monotone, eying him suspiciously.
"...Just curious?" he lied, and then when he realized she was still too upset to bite, he tried again. "I talk about myself a lot, well, you ask about me a lot—about my dreams, my family, my experiences... but you never tell me about what you used to do. I would like to know," he said awkwardly, scratching his cheek while feeling them deepen into a shade of pink. Misty exhaled, watching him with eyes that weighed the honesty of his confession, deciding if she should speak or not.
After a pregnant silence, Misty clucked her tongue; she would bite. Ash held in the sigh of relief.
"There really isn't a lot to tell. I spent some time in Kanto, tried to catch as many water pokemon as possible—competed in cups, tournaments, really, anything that wasn't official league business; and then moved on through Johto and a small portion of Sinnoh before I came home," she said nonchalantly, rattling it off like a list, rather than an adventure. Ash thought to make a comment about this, but he held it back instead.
"...But why did you go home? Don't you love traveling?" He asked, eyebrows raised. Intrigued, Misty pursed her lips.
"Who said I loved traveling?"
"You did," Ash said with a cheeky grin. Misty rolled her eyes, and let her guard fall slightly at his playful banter.
"I came back after realizing my dreams wouldn't be realized by aimlessly wandering." She revealed, sucking on the inside of her cheek. "It was interesting to travel, but it didn't offer a lot of money, and the strain on my pokemon wasn't worth it—that's not including the issues my sisters were having running the gym," Misty told him happily, raising her index finger as if pleased to share the story. Interested, Ash nudged her further along.
"What kind of issues?" He muttered mirthfully and Misty snorted.
"You don't even want to know."
"I do," Ash said, unable to look at her. Misty's face reddened, but she tilted it away from him and exhaled softly.
"They tried to do water shows, I think I mentioned that—and the water shows were always really pricey, but they didn't battle enough to pay the bills of the actors they hired and pay gym fees—so they were constantly hounding me for spare cash. Eventually, I decided it would be easier if I came home and ran the gym myself."
"That's it?" Ash asked, grinning. "After that heroic spat in Pewter City about how you wanted to change the system, you came back because of that?"
Misty grinned and shook her head, almost forgetting her anger. "Seeing the world changed me a bit, too... the regions are so different from one another. There's a lot of segregation amongst trainers of all kinds. What really brought me back was Agatha's retirement. Her position still remains open to this day. We're the gimpy Elite-four, we have a stand-in for the time being. I plan to fill that gap." She said confidently while looking upward. Clouds were starting to form overhead once more, and rain was on the horizon.
"Really?" Ash asked amazed, watching her.
She nodded her confirmation. "Really."
"Why didn't you ever mention that before? That there was a spot still open. I thought you said Lorelei joined after Agatha?" He dug his hands into his pockets, glancing at togepi who still whistled along, listening with jubilee at the pleasant, conversation the two were finally having—as opposed to their usual bickering, complaining, shouting or general sarcasm.
"Well, I thought you would assume since I said that I applied for the position."
"I just thought you would replace someone in there," Ash said and Misty shook her head gently.
"Once you're in, unless you royally screw up or the champion fires you; you're usually in it for life until you choose to step down—most people don't, anymore. That's why Lance and Bruno have been there for so many years. You can be as awful as you want... but it won't matter because no one else has a say in anything anymore..."
"...In it for life?" Ash echoed, "That's not really..."
"Fair? Yeah, I know. I don't agree with it, either. Especially since they have so much influence on our league. Once upon a time ago, gym leaders could vote Elite-Four members out... but I'm not sure when that changed anymore." Misty complained, cocking her jaw to one side and biting down hard on her bottom lip. Ash smiled at her reaction; had it been anyone else, the subtle action might have looked endearing, but with Misty's unrefined personality, it looked borderline menacing.
"You know a lot," Ash said, grinning down at her.
A pause.
"Are you trying to get on my good side with compliments?" She asked with a distinct glare. Ash nearly withered beneath her gaze and pursed his lips.
"...no?" he lied pathetically, though, he grinned. Misty swat gently on the shoulder and shook her head with a short laugh.
"You're such an idiot."
"But I'm your idiot," he mumbled thoughtlessly.
Misty blushed, almost sputtering at the possessive nature of the statement. "What?" She spat, whipping her head to look at him. Ash blinked nervously.
"What? What did I say?" He said quickly, and Misty's heart soared as she shook her head frantically and picked up her pace. He obviously didn't pay attention to the words that came out of his mouth, either.
"...What did I say?!" He shouted after her again, hearing pikachu face-palm hard as he followed after his trainer.
XOX
Misty should have guessed that the rain would come sooner, rather than later. Not even an hour later, they were drenched under the heavy pelts of Northern Kanto's infamous winter rainstorms. Misty prayed, thanking the heavens, that at least it wasn't snowing.
"There's a town out here somewhere, isn't there?" Ash asked, hearing the whipping of the ocean in the distance, carried over by the brewing thunderstorm overhead. He hated thunderstorms so damn much.
It was a quarter past five, and the sun was setting behind the treeline in the distance. The familiar nip of winter cut into their flesh and bone, creating shivers where warmth should have been. This close to the ocean, it was colder—much colder. Both huddled beneath a tree, Misty tried to read the map—lost in her anger, she hadn't realized she started on the wrong path to Cerulean City, and they wound up on route twenty-five, heading towards the ocean instead. At least that explained the weather.
Because of charizard, not many people explored out this far anymore. The maps were no longer accurate, and the trail was broken up and partially covered with fallen trees, large rocks, and other natural accidents. Misty faintly remembered that at one point, there was talk about building a trail to pass around route twenty-four, but the rock and trees that would need to be removed to create a new path were too many, and the idea was scrapped. As a result, few people traveled and warning signs were posted. She traveled north above Cerulean City so rarely, she had forgotten. Most people who needed access to Sinnoh went up through the Indigo Plateau or took a ferry from Lavender Town, or a plane.
Ash honestly saved the region a ton of problems by stopping charizard. Misty hummed and kept that information to herself. She didn't need him getting a big head.
Ash was glad he didn't see dead bodies anywhere, or bones; or carcasses. After seeing charizard act the way that he did, Ash was convinced he would have seen dead bodies at every corner; though when he mentioned this to Misty, she suggested that trainers avoided route twenty-four. Still, Ash wasn't sure his stomach could handle the images, not after the stingy dinner they ate. Raisins and bread. That was the last of their rations.
When she didn't answer, Ash brushed his shoulder against hers. "Isn't there?"
"I'm not sure, I've never been out past route 24!" Misty hissed, retracting the map back into her poncho. She stashed togepi into her backpack under her poncho as well, too tired to carry the pokemon, and it seemed to fight with her every step when she suggested allowing Ash to hold him. Ash grimaced and looked ahead. He couldn't even see through the wall of rain and fog that veiled before them.
"Maybe we should stop and see if the storm will let up?" Misty suggested quickly, but Ash deflated, watching the last bit of sunlight begin to drift behind the trees. He shivered; his shirt never dried, and he was still only in a jacket, wearing wet pants, and a poncho—he would likely get sick at this rate.
"I know there's a town out here if we just follow the trail." Ash tried, not wanting to admit that he was uncomfortable and cold, and a lot of other things. She was distracted by her own mess anyways, her hair was soaked and matted to her face—the shorter strands of her hair pressed against her forehead. He grinned at this inwardly, if someone had asked if the woman he met in the hospital a few months ago would look like this, he would have called them a liar.
Yet, there was a warmth in his belly when he watched a raindrop slither down her frowning features, and off the edge of her chin.
"Ash, the trail has four inches of water on it!" She half-yelled so she would be heard in the heavy rainfall. She motioned to the trail, which Ash had forgotten flooded and pursed his lips before he shrugged.
"We can stay to the tree line; besides, where would we even sleep in weather like this?" He asked, hearing a crackle of thunder roar above him. Shivers sparked down his spine. Misty didn't seem to notice, only shake her damp hair, looking worriedly back at the trail, and then at the muddy ground below her feet.
"You're sure there's a town?" Distressed, Misty asked as her face scrunched up. Ash looked back at her, and blinked once, and then again before nodding. Her trust was a rarity he could get used to.
"I'm sure." Giving her his best smile, he extended his hand out to her, and she sighed. "Trust me."
Obviously uncomfortable with his last statement, her eyebrows knitted together and she heaved a very heavy sigh:
"I seem to be doing that a lot lately." She grumbled, mostly to herself as she grabbed his hand and allowed him to pull her forward. More for necessity than anything else. If they got separated in this, their situation could go from bad to worse.
"You're just returning the favor!" Ash shouted back to her as he pulled her along the tree line, marking the safest place to put their feet on roots and rocks as they marched through the terrain. "For all the times I trusted you."
Misty's face contorted, and she fought the urge to facepalm—it didn't work like that. She wanted to tell him that trust wasn't something that could be traded, but he had a point. Thus far, Ash had not been wrong about many things—aside from people, his other observations had been annoyingly accurate. Her grip tightened on his hand as she exhaled.
She had no reason not to trust him.
XOXs
What started as a steady movement through the rain, ended in a scrambled mess of feet and hands and bruises. Ash thanked the heavens that he tucked pikachu away into his bag, because every ten seconds, Misty ran into him.
"Sorry." She hissed into the night, the rain still falling relentlessly around them. Ash lost his balance briefly, slipped into a divot, and have to remove his foot between a rock and a root—even the dirt around the trees were starting to give out, and with the lack of light anywhere, they were quite literally, in the dark. Again.
He hated it but didn't complain.
"I just can't see." She added bitterly, trying her best not to bump into Ash again as she nearly broke his hand with her iron grasp.
Again, he wanted to ask her to loosen her reigns, but he was likely holding on just as tight, or maybe even tighter. When Misty slipped, Ash made sure to catch her—and when he slipped, she returned the favor; it was a horrible, muddy, slippery ride, and they were starting to think they weren't going to see the end of this nightmare when a flicker of light beamed in the distance.
Ash gasped, "Did you see that?"
"I did," Misty confirmed right away, struggling to keep her balance beside Ash. Her right shoulder and chest were pressed into his back, sharing the same rock to stand on while they made their way through the treacherous forest.
"That must be that town-" Ash said quickly, looking back to where he believed Misty should be standing, only to knock her backward with a firm headbutt.
Her fingers recoiled from his hand, but he managed to hold onto her. It almost felt like her shoulder would dislocate when her feet fell out beneath her, her body fell backward without grace. Her head hurt to, and she did her best to hold the sore spot where Ash's thick skull bonked her.
"Damn it!" She cursed, unable to catch her fall, she was held up from falling backward, but her feet still clipped the mud below, and she stood knee-deep in a stream of water.
Ash fought the urge to snort, and tried his best to maneuver her back onto the rock. "I'm sorry." He said, seeing the light flash in the distance once more as he all but picked her up, with her help, of course.
"Are you alright?" He asked, listening to her groan over her mud-soaked shoes—luckily they hadn't come off in the stream.
"I'll be better when we get to that town." She hissed, trying to bite down on her frustration—it wasn't like Ash could control the weather, and technically it had been her fault they went in the wrong direction, anyways.
"Then, let's keep going." He pushed optimistically, reaffirming his hold on her fingers, and listening to her sigh bitterly.
"Hey, Ash," She started, an unfamiliar tone in her voice. "Remember when I had more stamina than you?" She joked, remembering the first day he was out of the nursing home. He scoffed at the memory.
"Yes," he said bitterly.
"What happened?" She grumbled playfully, and Ash finally found himself grinning—the dire mood-lifting now that light was in the distance and they saw the flicker of candles in small windows.
He rolled his eyes, smirking. "I recovered."
"But did you?" She asked and Ash stopped abruptly, causing Misty to run directly into him. She bounced off his back, luckily caught herself and stiffened when she felt Ash's eyes on hers. She couldn't see him in the darkness, but she didn't need to.
"Of course I did. What is that supposed to mean?" He asked, clearly insulted. Misty seethed, and pushed him forward gently, to keep moving.
"I don't mean anything by it... it's just you've been so—well, do you want to talk about it?"
"Talk about what?" He snapped, pulling on her arm in a way that she winced as they stepped into a higher part of the trail that led around the flooded trail, but was flat enough they wouldn't be micromanaging each step. It seemed almost man-made; which made Misty's heart smile: They were so close to town.
"About everything," Misty responded and Ash scowled into the darkness.
What was there to talk about? Filter turned off, and too tired to comprehend her questions, he sighed; reflecting his thoughts as an exact question. "What is there to talk about?" He grumbled, and Misty sighed.
"...Never mind." defeated, she shook her head—clearly, he was not ready to open up to her anymore. Or maybe it was just the rain?
They walked the rest of the way in silence, Ash focused more on reaching his goal than on talking with Misty. With her own thoughts directed on the path ahead, she managed to follow safely behind him, and once they stepped onto gravel pathways designed with the flooding trail beside them; their connection broke. Ash dropped her hand the moment they saw the gated community at the end of the weather-ruined trail.
"We made it." Misty breathed, and Ash, wincing, mimicked the sentiment.
"I've never been so relieved," Ash said while pikachu, finally hearing the sound that they made it, squeaked his own excitement. Ash looked over his shoulder at Misty, who seemed winded, and yet still miraculously pristine, even after the long walk.
Catching his gaze, she met him and gave a rusty, devoted smile before slapping him on the back, and pushing him forward, he winced and shuddered and felt tingling pain run to his toes. Had she forgotten about the bruises?
"We're not there yet." She reminded him.
XOX
They ignored that the pokemon center had cobwebs, they even ignored that the floors were cracked and dirty. They ignored that the door squeaked when they opened it and that the nurse working was barely awake enough to hand them a room key. They ignored that the nurse took their pokemon, pikachu, and togepi included, without sparing a glance at the trainers—and only offering a faint yawn, and a promise they will be better in the morning.
They also ignored that the room they were assigned was in poor condition and that the curtains were torn, and the bathroom had mold—and even that the furniture was stained.
What they couldn't ignore was that it had only a single bed.
Misty's face twitched insistently, to be placed in such a predicament. She wanted to go back to the nurse and complain, demand a better room—but service took thirty minutes the first time, she was afraid she would fall down before she came back the second time. Under her weight and soaked clothes, her legs wobbled, her knees chattered together, and Ash was in no better condition.
"I..I'll go ask for a transfer." He started painfully, but Misty kept him where he was by latching onto his shoulder.
"It's okay." Misty murmured. "You need to sit down before you fall down." She suggested, pointing to the stained, plaid couch resting opposite the bed. Ash raised his eyebrows, thinking she was speaking for herself. Simultaneously, they crashed into the surface of the itchy material, and coiled.
Ash hissed, his bruises catching fire when he sat. Misty rubbed her face—they hadn't even bothered to discard their ponchos yet; in fact, they dripped a puddle in the lobby of the pokemon center while they waited, but what else were they supposed to do? It wasn't as if they had the ability to understand common courtesy right now.
"Do you think we should have brought pikachu and togepi with us?"
"Pikachu is burned, togepi's shell re-cracked, they need to have a professional look at them," she said breathlessly, catching Ash's lazy eye. He didn't move his head when he looked at her.
"Did she seem like a professional to you?" He snorted jokingly.
Misty groaned. "She seemed tired."
Ash blinked, "I'm tired."
"..Me, too," Misty added hoarsely, her entire body ached—though as she tilted her head to look at Ash, she swallowed.
"But I imagine you're feeling worse. How's your back, and your hip?" She asked quickly, taking Ash by surprise—he had been convinced that she forgot. Shifting, he adjusted his position for more comfort and sighed. She brought it up to imply that he should sleep on the bed; but how could he? Misty was a woman. His mom did teach him manners—even if that was over ten years ago.
"Better." He lied. His injuries felt worse—but they were nothing compared to the paid he suffered from his first few hours being off his pain killers—no, this was a numbing pain.
"Go have a shower," he added, almost demanded while limply pointing at the bathroom.
"No, no, it's okay. You go have a shower." She mouthed, eyes already shut.
"No, I insist." He started, shuddering. The pokemon center was warm compared to outside, and even their damp clothes felt heated in the small room.
"No...Ash, you should. You're injured." she tried, attempting to wag her hand at him, but it was more of a shift and less of a scold.
"Ladies first." Ash slurred his words, tilting over until his head fell on top of her shoulder, and he clocked out; followed shortly after by Misty's head on top of his, and a faint snore from the both of them. Exhaustion won. It didn't matter that the lights were on, or that they were still soaked from head to toe.
What mattered was that they were safe, their pokemon were safe, they survived the crazed charizard, the rain, the forest, and neither of them were dead.
XOX
When Misty woke up, the sun hadn't even started to rise yet—she had slept through the night; to the point that her poncho felt humid over her skin, and her body ached from the strangled position she was in. She wasn't sure right away, but it felt like a body was collapsed beside her, or she was laying on the body, or the body was laying on her.
Cracking one eye open, her green orbs made their way to the body beside her—faint snores erupted from his lips. At some point during the night, he had snuggled into the armrest and taken her with him. His left arm was draped around the length of her back, and his right was wrapped tightly around her shoulders, keeping her up against his chest. Her legs were sprawled out across the couch, one was kicked over the other armrest, but the other had been draped over Ash's knee.
She licked her lips, her mouth was dry, even though they had been running all night through the rain. She blinked once to clear the sleep from her eyes. Her one arm was tucked close to her body, with the other one neatly above Ash's arm, and tangled somewhere in his mess of black hair. Oh boy, she hoped he didn't wake up. Trying to explain this would have taken her a while. Her cheeks flushed a deep red—then again, Ash wasn't the brightest about this, so he wouldn't even notice what the issue was.
Shifting, he shifted with her. Smacking his lips, she saw the faintest bit of drool coming out of his mouth, and she fought the urge to chuckle as she twisted her fingers around his left arm, and slowly uncoiled it until it was resting against the cushion of the couch. Then she moved slowly, wiggling her way over his legs, and out of his right arms grasp. She fell to the floor quietly, her feet sorer than she thought as she stripped off her poncho the second she was able to stand again.
With one more glance at Ash, she smirked. He looked so insanely peaceful sleeping beside her; his face flushed, his mouth parted gently, and he was encompassed by a look of serenity. She smiled bitterly at the image. He almost looked as young as he felt. Gently, she brushed a strand of his hair from his face and dipped her head to look closer at him.
He was nothing like the boy she found ten years ago; but even more so, he was nothing like the shell of the man he was a few months ago. His cheeks were round around the edges, but boney enough to show his masculine features—below his eyes, strange birthmarks that seemed to take up half of his face as a child, were barely visible scars beneath his eyes. Misty tilted forward to get a better look at the lightning-bolt shaped marks and blinked once; she hadn't noticed them there before.
He swallowed in his sleep and took in a breath of air as he rolled over, adjusting his position to suit the lack of body draped over him now, and Misty reeled backward, in fear that he woke up. His lips turned into a soft smile, and his eyebrows twitched—even though he was filthy from the mud and grim, he still looked genuinely happy, like a kid trapped in an adult's body.
"Pikachu...charizard..." he snored louder, turning onto his back, breathing his list. "Squirtle, bulbasaur..." he grumbled, while she smiled sweetly at him.
How many pokemon had he captured in his dream world? How many of those were real? Misty paused at the thought, looking over her shoulder at him—what if they were all real? What if there were more than the 300-some that they knew about? There had to have been, right? Her face paled at the idea before she gathered her backpack and dragged it to the bathroom with her.
She stripped out of her still-damp clothes, the quiet morning allowing her the necessities to fight back the pounding headache most likely caused by dehydration. Resting the bag on top of the counter, she rummaged through the contents to find her discarded tights and athletic tank top from her first day out of Cerulean City and shook her head. She really needed to rethink her wardrobe.
She removed her white sports bra, and underwear and tossed them onto the counter beside her clothes before hobbling over to the shower and turning the creaking faucet on. It took a moment for the water to start—thanks to the back-hill town they were in, but once it did; the water refused to heat up. After waiting several minutes, she decided that a cold shower was better than no shower, and took the complimentary shampoos and conditioner in with her.
What was she going to do now? The piercing ice water stung her skin and she recoiled only slightly—it was still warmer than yesterday's rain. She needed to go back to the gym. To get her job as an Elite Four, she needed to be present for orientations, for check-ups, for observations, and for any tasks that the league requested of her. Most importantly, she needed to be present. Even if she didn't do perfectly on the exams, she didn't pass the interviews with flying colors—she was the only gym leader applying for the position right now: All that was required of her at this point was showing a direct interest in the program, and accountability.
She was so close... A brief image of Ash flashed through her eyes when she brushed her fingers over her scorched arm hair, and then rubbed the back of her neck, removing dirt that had accumulated there over the last couple of days. What was Ash going to do if she left? She couldn't leave him... She swallowed hard, staring up at the showerhead. Maybe she could convince him to come back to the gym? Or to Viridian; or someplace safe and far, far away from crazy charizards, or other dangerous pokemon from his dream.
Remembering the way charizard blew over them like a dragon caused her to shiver more than the water. Whether or not Ash admitted it or not, the fire type pokemon had every intention to kill them or run them off—Gyarados, she cursed and pinched the bridge of her nose, was injured drastically in the battle—not even a day in the pokemon center would be enough to heal such a wound. She would likely be out her strongest pokemon for a solid week after that attack.
Charizard had intended to kill gyarados, even after Ash said that it recognized him. While she was fearful of Ash's safety, and his reckless behavior; she was more worried about what was going to happen when he tried to use charizard in a battle. Her head spun at the thought, and she finished up her business without another thought on the issue—right now, she just wanted to wash, and figure out where they were, and what they were going to do next. Right now, that was pulling on damp underwear, and old, some-what dirty clothes.
When she stepped out of the bathroom, feeling rather icy, Ash was already up, looking dead off his feet while leaning forward. She smirked at the image and raised her eyebrows.
"Sore, are ya?"
He glared at her, or what she assumed was supposed to be a glare—he looked more like a beaten animal and was glowering at her. "I wouldn't be if you weren't so heavy," he grumbled, and Misty's nerves ruffled.
So he did know!
"Excuse me?" She hissed. "I am not heavy!" She added, scarlet while he pointed at her.
"Do you strangle your pillows like that too? Because I think at one point I stopped breathing." He mocked her with an egotistic grin that made her skin crawl.
She stomped her feet and glared down at him. He had removed his poncho and was now only sitting in his buttoned-up black jacket, and yesterday mud-covered jeans. Dark bags hung below his eyes, and Misty inhaled sharp.
"I—you! Egh..." She hissed, unable to find the correct words for the feeling budding into her chest as she gazed into his tired brown eyes.
"Shut up." She settled, flicking her wet hair at him and turning away on her heels to fetch his bag and throw it at him. He raised an eyebrow as if challenging her about the weak rebuttal. She added hotly; "Go shower."
"Yes, mom." He grunted sarcastically, and Misty pressed her tongue against the inside of her cheek to contain her rage; though, when she looked at Ash, she noticed the slightly pink tinge that decorated his cheeks, and she cocked her head to the side forgivingly.
"S-shut up." She tossed out, getting an abnormally bright smile in return as Ash sulked off to the bathroom for a shower.
"Do you need help taking your bandages off?" She called beyond the closed door, and Ash hissed, forcing a cough down.
"No, M'fine."
So, she wasn't that heavy. Really, Ash was sore because he was bruised everywhere. He looked at himself in the mirror, his body was black and blue. Where Misty's pokemon hit him with a water gun were the darkest; yellow formed around the reddish, purple bruises, but nothing was as bad as the one decorating his hip joint. He was yellow from his right hip to his waist, and halfway down his thigh. His everything down there hurt and he grunted while messing up his hair. Along with that, his upper arms and part of his chest were bruised from where charizard grappled him. His shoulders were splotchy from landing on rocks, and he only wondered what Misty looked like... or rather, what she didn't look like.
She was, once again, wearing that skin-tight yellow tank top and black tights; and he couldn't see a visible bruise anywhere on her—while he was a walking sack of mashed potatoes. He looked down at himself, even his calves and his knees were distinctly messed up. Ash couldn't see her legs—not that he was thinking about them, but he only assumed she lacked bruises there, as well. Grimly, he flexed, only to throw his hands down on the counter and hang his head.
Breathing hurt.
He must have cracked something—maybe a rib?
Did he need to see a doctor for that? He wasn't sure, but he hoped not. He twisted his neck side to side and clamored slowly into the shower, which like Misty, he realized was not going to warm up at all. Unlike Misty, the icy water was like needles on his flesh. Where she was mostly exposed to the cold air of the centers spare room, Ash was almost literally smothered by Misty in his sleep, and her warmth radiated.
When she left, so did the warmth, and only then did Ash realize how soaked his clothes still were when he woke up with a freezing start. Inhaling, a blush scrawled over his face as he listened to the door outside of the bathroom open and then close—the squealing hinges unmistakable.
Faintly, he recalled her fingers in his hair as he scratched shampoo through his scalp viciously to forget the feeling: What in hell was he thinking? Should he be weird about sleeping beside her so closely? Technically, they did sleep almost just as close on the road, whether they admitted it or not—it shouldn't have been that weird. Yet, he couldn't get the red blush off his face—he had no idea how he managed to keep it together so well when he saw her exit the washroom.
Shaking his head fiercely, he tried to think of something else—like charizard, but his mind kept racing back to the warmth of Misty's body wrapped up against his. Panicked, he slammed his forehead against the shower wall, cursing loudly and holding his forehead. That would be a great way for Misty to find him, unconscious and naked because he put his head through the wall. Great job, he thought to himself sarcastically.
As he scrubbed his upper arms and shoulders, he thought breathlessly as his fingers ran down his bruised abdomen and back. Maybe this was what Dr. Abby told him about? About moving on? About the weird things that would happen to him after hitting... puberty. Is that what she called it?
Ash sighed.
But why Misty of all people?
XOX
Nearly half an hour later, Ash emerged from the washroom looking fresh while Misty cleaned her nails. She laid on her back on the bed.
"You didn't go get breakfast or the pokemon?" Ash asked eyebrows raised while he fidgeted in his choice of clothing. Misty whistled.
"Pokemon center isn't open yet. Breakfast is across the street." She said flatly as her eyes snaked over to look at Ash, and she snorted unapologetic at his tragic clothes.
"What are you wearing?" A goofy grin plastered across her face as she sat up on her elbows to look at him better. Ash's face was a deep shade of red, and he glared at her while touching his lips.
Under her intense gaze, he struggled to keep his cheeks from heating up. "You wore my set of spare clothes... all I have left are my pajamas..."
"But they're red." She hissed to keep a laugh buried. "Bright red." She corrected, throwing her head back in laughter. He shuddered and pouted at her.
"Hey! I wouldn't be in this right now if I didn't share with you!" He whined, more embarrassed than he cared to admit. Misty wiped a stray tear from her eye and snorted vehemently towards him.
"Oh, Ash." She shook her head and stood up, patting him on the shoulder as she led him out of the room. "What would I do without you?"
"I know what I would do without you." He responded bitterly. Misty raised her eyebrows.
She grinned; "What's that?"
"Have a change of clothes." he said and against his better judgment, he joined Misty in a bellyful of laughter.
XOXs
"So I remembered where I knew this town from last night." He said while Misty chugged back her second glass of water, chasing it with a sip of freshly brewed coffee. She didn't care that a few coffee grounds were still at the bottom—it was coffee. Ash chuckled at her manners, or lack there of, and rubbed his neck.
Pikachu would surely be mad that they went to breakfast without him; togepi would probably get upset at both of them, too. Hopefully not mad enough to pout all day. Charizard would..maybe he should get something for charizard?
"Mmm?" Misty asked, taking a mouthful of eggs and hash browns and shut her eyes pleasantly. "This food is orgasmic. I never thought I would miss food so much."
Ash's face fell; "O-orgasmic?" he stuttered, swallowed his own mouthful of pancakes. Surprised by her use of the word so carelessly in the open.
"You wouldn't know," Misty said with eyebrows raised; confused by his question.
Ash scowled, "I would."
"Would not." She corrected, pointing her fork at him. "Anyways, where did you recognize this town from?"
Ash's face beamed and he blinked happily and nodded while snapping his fingers: "The squirtle squad! This is where I caught my squirtle."
"...It's not by some chance evolved into some kind of crazy blastoise, right? I am not sure I can handle two battles like that back to back..." Her words could not have come out in more of a frustrated tone and Ash snickered.
"No, he never evolved," Ash said and looked down at his plate of food, and then back up to Misty. "Do you think we could find him here? Maybe visit with charizard for a while...?"
"Are you crazy?" Misty asked, nearly dropping her fork. "You are not letting that pokemon out in town. What if he goes psycho again?" Misty asked with her eyebrows knit together. Her voice raised high enough that she drew the attention of the waiter, and he wandered back over to visit with the two trainers.
"Did you say charizard?" the waiter asked, staring at Misty and Ash. Misty's face scrunched up.
"Yeah, what about it?"
"Whereabouts did you two say you came from?" The chef behind the counter asked them. Misty looked at Ash, and then Ash replied.
"Cerulean City? We came through route 24." Ash remarked quickly, and the diner was met with silence.
"...and you managed to defeat the beast there?" The waiter beside them mumbled, his fingers rattling against the tray he hugged against his chest.
"Me? No, Misty did." Ash pointed at her, grinning like a small child, but Misty started to shake her head violently—her way of refusing the acknowledgment.
A moment of silence washed through the small diner, and people at all tables were staring at Ash and Misty. She gulped.
"W-we're sorry?" She added, slinking into her chair. Her worried expression caused Ash to worry; did he say something wrong? He turned to the waiter, who was borderline trembling, and then shook his head; breaking the silence with a cry.
"Thank you!" He screamed, bowing his head at Misty, who in turn looked mortified and pointed at Ash.
"W-what?" Misty asked in unison with Ash.
"Thank you! You've cleared the path! That means we can open up trade routes once more! Please, tell us your name so we can thank you properly."
"Ahh...no, that's okay..." "Her name is Misty Waterflower, and she's the gym leader of Cerulean City." Ash bud in quickly, interrupting her.
"A gym leader..." Whispers filled the diner and the glare she directed towards Ash could have rivaled the devil; she kicked him under the table.
"What are you doing?" She whispered, and he narrowed his eyes.
"Getting you the recognition you deserve!" He hissed back as the waiter began to clap.
"Well, Misty Waterflower; you and your friend's meal is on the house today, for our eternal gratitude! Please! If you need anything!" He said, but another lady, a younger woman around Misty's age butt in.
"You're Misty Waterflower; aren't your sisters the Sensational Sisters?"
"..Yeah, that's them." Misty mumbled, and Ash took this as his cue to leave, slipping behind one of the girls who were lining up to talk with Misty.
"Ash!" Misty called to him, panic in her eyes. "Ash, don't you leave me here, damn it!" She screamed while he flashed her a toothy grin paired with a thumbs up, and ran out of the diner.
XOXs
He felt a little bad about abandoning her in the diner with the swarm of people asking her questions—but it was nice, for once, to see her getting credit for her good deeds. Maybe, Ash thought, if people started to acknowledge that not all gym leaders were bad, Misty would have a better shot at getting into the Elite-Four; maybe even change that mindset of the people... if only a little. He also needed a break from her. Anytime she looked at him, his skin crawled and his face heated up; he needed ten minutes, max.
Honestly, Ash was proud of himself. Surely, Misty would eventually thank him—if charizard was known around Kanto as a huge thorn in peoples sides then his defeat would sound off like a beacon, and maybe it was the push Misty needed?
Ash stuffed his hands into his soft, red pants pockets and hummed to himself, inhaling the crisp morning air. The town was small, with many of the buildings closed up and some windows boarded. It was obviously a struggling town. Ash ignored the faint glances given to him by a few people walking to work in the morning—and ignored the older, upset looking faces. Yes, he was wearing his pajamas, but it was all he had available.
Ash yawned while walking back into the pokemon center where a lazy nurse clipped her nails at the front desk. He shuddered, recalling the time he clipped his toenails on the coffee table back home—Misty almost throttled him. With a grimace, Ash stepped forward and rubbed his neck. Since when had he considered the gym home? Sparing one more glance at the diner, he saw Misty at the table glaring coldly at him through the window. He grinned to himself, and shut the old-fashioned wooden door behind him. Unlike most pokemon centers, this one did not have automatic doors and so once the door was shut, the morning light was cut out, and he was in the musky building's lighting once more.
"Hey, I came to check on my pokemon." Ash muttered while looking at the clock. He and Misty had slept for nearly twelve hours.
Ash wanted to sigh; they were both exhausted from their journey. Recalling the ache in his shoes and the stinging of his muscles, he wondered if this was what all travelers dealt with on a daily basis? Horrible weather. Breakfast was nice at least, but he, glancing over his shoulder, wasn't the least bit remorseful about leaving her with the bill—she did, after all, laugh at his red pajamas.
"Mmm, the gyarados still needs some treatment, but that pikachu and togepi are all fixed up." Her dull voice pulled Ash out of his thoughts and he looked into her tired, brown eyes.
"And that charizard," she addressed, almost hostilely. "Have you known each other long?" She asked, and Ash nodded quickly.
"Yes, a very long time."
A pause.
"He is ready as well, but I don't suggest summoning him in town. People here don't like charizards very much." She warned him. At her words, Ash thought better than to confess that he captured the same charizard that terrorized route twenty-four for the last few years, so he took the pokeball and cleared his throat.
"Yeah, no problem" he choked as togepi and pikachu wobbled out of the medical room, yawning.
"Piiikaaaa pi!" The mouse yawned, jumping onto the counter while togepi stumbled around until it threw itself against Ash's feet. He paid neither any attention, staring down at charizard's ball with a lost expression.
"Thank you." He tossed aimlessly and then turned around. Togepi and pikachu shared a worried look before the two of them followed Ash out into the streets.
The thunderstorm from last night had mostly cleared, the clouds were still present above—but the smell of rain had long since faded. The streets were inactive as well, so many people appeared to sit at the diner, but on the outside, few people moved. Ash might have noticed these things if he weren't entranced by charizard's ball, weighing his options.
At some point, he was going to need to summon the pokemon to talk. Smooth things over. Their last reunion wasn't the best, and he had a feeling that charizard hadn't exactly forgiven him—but he was sure that once he explained what happened, charizard would be more than happy to assist Ash in his journey to collect the rest of his pokemon.
Ash's face snapped up, looking into the pathway that led out of town. A journey, huh? He thought bitterly, wondering when he decided that was his next plan. Ash originally set out with the intention to find his mother—but now, he would look for his pokemon? He shook his head, amazed that he had decided subconsciously before realizing it himself. Really, though, what else could he do?
Ash marched through the trail, weaving and jumping over fallen branches and puddles leftover from the rain. Togepi and pikachu played behind him—making a game out of it. They jumped rock to rock avoiding the mud and water.
Would Misty come with him? He wondered, and then shook his head. No, he wouldn't let her. She had her dreams to take care of: joining the Elite Four.
...Yet the idea of traveling alone made his bruises ache with each step. A reminder that if Misty hadn't been there, he might be dead.
The crack of the tide against rocks brought his attention forward, where he saw the rough and ruined lighthouse in front of him; bricks scattered around the area, falling into the ocean in clumps and Ash inhaled. The storm? He marched from the hilltop he was standing at, making his way quickly from the trail to the lighthouse, leaving pikachu and togepi alone, calling after him.
On his way down, he felt charizard's pokeball vibrate, and he winced once, and then twice when a shot of red lightning bolted from the ball, halting him from pursuing the lighthouse.
A deafening roar had Ash covering his ears, and he looked terrifyingly at the dragonesque pokemon which had forced himself out of the pokeball. Worry in his eyes, Ash gulped and took a step back as togepi and pikachu rushed forward blindly, standing boldly between the dragon and Ash. However, charizard made no attempt to move. It was still fairly beaten up, its tail flame was low, but the glare behind its blue eyes made Ash's breath halt in his chest.
"Pika!" The mouse cried to him, yammering on and on about who Ash was; but Ash saw clearly that charizard remembered him—he simply didn't care until Ash took a step back, and charizard let out another growl, which he thought sounded more like a whimper.
It moved its heavy body against the dirt path, sliding its tail along the ground, leaving claw marks and tail marks in the dirt below him as pikachu argued and pressed his paws against the pokemon to keep him from getting nearer to Ash. Begging him to 'calm down'. Neither wanted to hurt each other though. Togepi attempted to stop charizard in the same way but ended up being rolled to the side.
Again, charizard let out a pained grunt, his nostrils flaring. Against his better judgment, Ash stood his ground and stared eye-level with charizard, who after reaching Ash, simply dropped his head, and nuzzled his dull horns against Ash's neck.
Frozen by fear, Ash's heart started beating again at the affectionate touch. In return, Ash wrapped his arms around charizard's long neck and brushed his hand against him gently. An apology, of sorts, Ash thought. A sorry for nearly throwing you, for battling you, for getting so angry...and something else...
"What happened while I was gone, charizard?" Ash asked, finally regaining his voice.
The pokemon, still appearing devastated, twisted its head away from Ash, and then with pikachu backing away to check on togepi, charizard nudged Ash aside, and started to sift the mud in several directions; digging.
"Is there something down there?" Ash asked awkwardly, eying togepi and pikachu for support; the later rushing forward to assist in digging. Ash sighed.
So much for clean clothes. He thought bitterly before getting onto his knees and assisting with the removal of dirt. Togepi, sat on a rock a foot away, gave a loud, disappointed sigh and closed his eyes. Someday, he would be able to help more. He opened his eyes to watch Ash dip his bare hands into the mud faithfully, pulling out Pikachu and pushing aside charizard's snout as he grasped something firm in the ground. A bead of sweat formed on his forehead because of the humidity and trailed down his face and dripped into the dirt.
"What's this?" He asked skeptically, and charizard bolted backward, letting out a cry of deep frustration; though his meaning was lost on Ash—it wasn't lost on pikachu who seemed to recognize the object beneath the dirt and whimpered.
"Stone?" Ash asked, digging further with his hands and disregarding charizard's behavior. "This must have washed away with the storm," Ash added while tucking his hands beneath the object to pull it out. It was heavy, too heavy to pull out on his own. When charizard realized, he swooped back down with tears in his eyes and shoved Ash out of the way, thrusting him into the dirt.
"Hey! What was that for!" Ash yelled, mud splotches covering his rear and legs entirely as he pushed himself up onto his palms. Pikachu sat frozen in spot seeing the full figure of the stone statue and Ash blinked awkwardly, watching the bulky dragon place the object onto the muddy terrain.
Ash paused.
"Is that...? A statue of a wartortle?" Ash asked while rising, trying to press the mud off of his palms by using his red pants. Charizard's blatant silence caused Ash to blink as he moved forward to better examine the statue; it was oddly detailed, to the point that each wrinkle, each crevice, and every mark was highlighted perfectly. Ash brushed his fingertips against the pokemon's face, and his heart ached.
"...This isn't..." Ash trailed off, looking between pikachu and charizard who hung their heads; the first beginning to tear up only now that the realization was made.
It wasn't a statue. It was wartortle, his squirtle.
...