May was seriously confused.
She'd never received such a cold, blank look from Ash in her life, even when they were in exams and they made eye contact, there would be some form of communicating gesture, be it a wink or a sly smile.
But Ash had just stared her down, and then turned his back on her.
And then, to make matters worse, Ash hadn't come back, and had been ignoring all of May's calls.
May sat cross legged on her bed, around five hours after the exam, frowning at her phone, waiting for Ash's picture to appear, indicating he was calling her back. May must have left at least fifteen messages so far, through texts and voicemail.
She sighed, what had she done wrong? Why was Ash ignoring her like this? May didn't have the slightest idea.
She put her head in her hands, and then ran her hands through her long brunette hair, knocking out the rose that Drew had given her earlier in the day, before their exam.
May just stared at the rose, which was now on her bead, before she stood up and walked to her wardrobe. She opened up the wardrobe and kneeled down in front of a drawer in the bottom half of the wardrobe; May slid the drawer open and inside, sat a green bandana, folded up neatly.
May carefully lifted up the bandana, flipping it over in her hands, so that the folded parts where facing up at her, May unfolded it, and inside sat a beautiful necklace, a sapphire sat on the chain, encased in a silver metal, on a chain of the same silver material.
Anyone seeing it would assume that her boyfriend, Drew, would have been the one who bought it for her, but no.
Ash had.
On May's tenth birthday, he had bought her both the green bandana and the sapphire necklace.
But since May had started dating Drew, she had stopped wearing both of them, feeling that it would be best that she didn't wear something another boy had bought her.
Little did May know, that her not wearing them was breaking her friendship with Ash.
May frowned down at the two objects, before she unclipped the chain, and slipped it around her neck, fastening it on the other side, and then placing the bandana on her head and tying it up tightly, smiling at how both the objects still fitted perfectly.
May sighed contently, a small smile on her face, before a thought struck her.
She seriously needed advice.
May stood up sharply, before walking out of her bedroom and down the stairs.
In a similar way that Ash always went to Giovanni for advice, May would always go to Caroline for advice. May entered the lounge, and saw her mum sat on the sofa watching the news. May faltered slightly, did she really need to ask her mum for advice about this?
Of course she did, this was Ash, there was no way she wasn't going to sort this out.
"Mum, I need your help," May said, grabbing Caroline's attention, who turned from the television to face May.
"What's wrong, honey?" Caroline asked, looking at her daughter with a worried expression.
"Well, I've got some boy troubles…" May said shyly, rubbing the back of her neck nervously.
"You're not pregnant, are you?" Caroline asked instantly, making May blush heavily.
"No! Me and Drew haven't done anything... no, this is about Ash," May said, moving from the doorway and sitting down on the opposite end of the sofa to her mother.
"Ohh, so you've finally realised that something's wrong with your friendship?" Caroline replied, shifting her body position slightly so she was facing May more.
"What do you mean, finally?" May asked, confused, Caroline raised an eyebrow.
"You mean you haven't noticed all this time that he's been drifting away?" Caroline asked, reaching to the coffee table that sat beside her end of the sofa, and taking a sip of her tea.
May furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.
"What do you mean he's drifting away?" May asked, feeling a panging sensation in her heart.
"Well, I, for one, haven't seen him here, or with you, for a good couple of months, seems like he's drifting away from you, and you're letting him," Caroline explained, shrugging as she spoke.
"Why would Ash be drifting away from me? I haven't done anything wrong?" May said, rather stubbornly, crossing her arms.
"Maybe it's a new part of your life that has restricted your time with Ash?" Caroline hinted, carefully watching May's expressions. This comment hurt May.
"You're saying it's Drew?" May asked, sounding quite angry, Caroline frowned at May's reaction.
"I'm surprised that you haven't seen it May," Caroline said, sounding disappointed, "You've given yourself no time to spend with Ash, and whenever you do make plans with him, you either only talk about Drew, or are with Drew," Caroline explained, once more taking a sip of her tea.
"Why would me being in a relationship with Drew affect my friendship with Ash? He's my best friend, he should be happy for me!" May exclaimed angrily, looking away from Caroline, with a stubborn expression written on her face.
Caroline frowned again.
"May… Ash is drifting because he wants you to be happy…" Caroline said gently, placing a hand on May's leg. May looked at Caroline's hand on her leg, then up to her mother's face, looking at her quizzically.
"How does that work?" May asked, scratching her head slightly, confusion evident in her voice. Caroline looked thoughtful for a moment, trying to figure out how to explain the situation to May.
"Well, Ash thinks you're happy with Drew, right?" May nodded, "So, he's probably drifting, to make sure you have time for Drew, so that you stay together and you stay happy," Caroline explained.
May thought about it.
Was Ash really sacrificing their friendship so that May could be in a happy relationship? Was May really happy enough with Drew to sacrifice her friendship with Ash? Even if she was, did she want to lose Ash as her friend?
May knew the answers to the latter two questions, a firm no; she hoped that the answer to the first one was also a no.
One thing was still bugging her though
"But… then why is Ash ignoring my calls and messages?" May asked, once again furrowing her brow in confusion, Caroline shared this look of confusion.
"Well, it looks like he's home," Caroline said, glancing out of the lounge window to see a car pull up outside Ash's house, "You could go talk to him now?" Caroline suggested, May thought about it momentarily, before standing up and walking over to the window.
May watched Ash step out of the car, and shut the door, before the car drove away. Ash ran his hands through his hair, in the relative darkness of twilight, May couldn't see his facial expression, or how bloodshot his eyes looked.
May was confused to why Ash wasn't going into his house, he was just standing on the curb, staring it his front door. May was surprised when Ash's head dropped, and he turned on heel, and started to walk away from his house, heading towards the hills in the distance.
"Mum… He hasn't gone home, he's heading to the hills," May explained distantly, still staring at Ash.
"Well, I would say go after him, but your father should be home from his urgent meeting soon," Caroline said, sounding torn, the mother was not sure whether to let May go out after Ash at this time of night.
"Mum, I've never seen him do that before… I'm worried," May said, turning to look at Caroline, who could tell from May's expression that she was genuinely distressed by Ash's actions.
"Okay, honey, but be careful, please?" Caroline replied, emphasising the please, May nodded, before swiftly leaving the house.
Caroline sighed, wondering whether she'd made the right decision.
She didn't have much time to ponder on it, because a couple of minutes later the front door opened and Caroline stood up to go welcome her husband home.
Caroline walked out into the hall and almost gasped at the state of Norman. He looked pale, as if he'd just seen a ghost, his eyes were sullen and he had bags under his eyes.
"Norman! What's happened?" Caroline asked, rushing over to him, and putting her hands on his cheeks, inspecting his face.
"Caroline… Where's May and Max?" Norman asked quietly, avoiding eye contact with his wife, Caroline frowned slightly.
"Max is staying out at his friends, and May has gone after Ash, who just walked off to the hills." Norman's eyes widened in surprise, which Caroline noticed, "Honey, what's happened?" she asked, more urgently than before.
"It's Giovanni… He had a heart attack today… He passed away just after Ash arrived at the hospital," Norman explained weakly, rubbing his face with both of his hands.
Caroline's jaw dropped, and a hand shot up to her mouth.
"Ohh my… Poor Delia… Poor Ash! The two of them were inseparable!" Caroline said quietly, before embracing her husband, trying to restrain the tears that were threatening to burst out.
"They called in all of the Gym Leaders from the Kanto Region… They're considering cancelling or postponing the Regional Tournament this year… I just can't believe he's gone," Norman replied quietly, returning Caroline's hug.
"I just hope that May doesn't do anything to hurt Ash even more… She doesn't know about it," Caroline replied, the whole conversation spoken in a tone barely stretching above a whisper.
-IYCSMN-
May walked in the direction she assumed Ash had also taken, scaling a rather steep incline.
As she walked, May tried to think about how she was going to approach this conversation; what she should say and how she should say it.
Would Ash take it the wrong way and flip out? Would Ash understand and try to make more time for May? Or would he just flat out end the friendship?
What Ash was actually going to tell May, was literally the last thing she would have expected, narrowly beating the position she found him in when she arrived at the top of the hill.
Ash was lying down, facing away from May, slightly curled up, not quite a foetal position, but pretty damn close. May's hand shot up to her mouth, extremely similarly to how Caroline's had, all fears May had about her and Ash's friendship evaporated, she just wanted to know why he was like this.
"Ash?" May said gently, trying not to startle the clearly distressed teen.
Ash didn't respond.
"Ash? Are you okay?" May asked, slightly louder.
Ash didn't respond.
"Ash! Why are you ignoring me?" May asked, even louder, making sure Ash definitely heard her.
Ash didn't respond.
"Look, I don't know what I've done wrong, but you can't ignore me like this!" May said angrily, putting aside any thought that Ash might be distressed for another reason.
Ash responded.
May had never seen Ash angry, until today. Ash's head whipped round, and he leapt to his feet quicker than an Arcanine using ExtremeSpeed.
"I'm sorry?" Ash growled, glaring at May in a way that she had never seen before, and May felt something she had never felt before, around Ash.
She was scared of him.
"What's wrong with you Ash?" May asked, tears threatening to leak down her cheeks.
"You genuinely think this is about you?" Ash asked, still holding the threatening tone of voice, not breaking eye contact with May.
May's lip quivered.
"Ash… talk to me! I'm here for you!" May said, trying her best not to start crying on the spot, but even seeing that didn't make Ash let up.
"You're here for me?!" Ash repeated incredulously, "I'm sorry, but the past SIX FUCKING MONTHS you've been hanging off any part of Drew you can get your hands on!"
It wasn't that Ash was shouting, but his tone of voice would petrify even a Legendary.
With that statement, it hit May. Ash didn't have the problem, and Ash wasn't the problem.
It was her.
"Let me ask you something May," Ash said, somehow sarcastically, as he turned his back on her, "Have you even noticed that I stopped wearing my hat?"
May's jaw dropped.
"Thought so."
"Ash, why are you being like this?" May asked, as a single tear crept its way out of its prison.
Ash turned and his gaze pierced through May's like a knife.
"My dad died, right in front of my eyes, I didn't even get a chance to say goodbye," Ash said, his voice as emotionless as his gaze.
May's hand shot to her mouth once more.
"Ash… I'm so sorry," May said, placing a hand on Ash's shoulder, tears flowing freely down her face.
"Heh… Not like I've lost anyone else I love recently," Ash replied coldly, shrugging off May's hand, and shooting her a lethal glare, before he started heading back down the hill.
May was locked in her position, stunned by how evil and cold Ash had sounded.
"Oh, try not to confuse one of these bushes for your boyfriend on the way down, I'm not sure they'd appreciate you clinging to them like cello tape," Ash said viciously, throwing another deadly look at May, before he walked off, not once looking back.
May couldn't believe what had happened, her childhood best friend had just told her that his father had died, and effectively ended their friendship.
May wanted to curl up and cry, May wanted to rush after Ash and hug him and apologise.
Most importantly though.
May wanted to bring back Giovanni.
For Ash.
-IYCSMN-
Ash had taken the next few days off school, feeling absolutely terrible, he had almost incapacitated himself with sadness, unable to leave his haven of a bedroom, only allowing Pikachu to enter. He was pretty sure that his mother and May had tried to come in to talk to him, but he had instructed Pikachu to – against the electric mouse's will – electrocute the doorknob, effectively ending any possibility of anyone entering Ash's room.
He had refused to eat.
It was the only way to feel anything other than crushing depression.
But Ash had to go back to school eventually, and of course, the news of the town's Gym Leader suffering a heart attack and dying was big news, so everyone knew.
Worse than actually having to go back to school in his current state, was the fact that everyone shot him "knowing" looks, as if they understood.
Word had also spread about his huge argument with May. Somehow, people had found out about it. Ash could only assume that she had gone crying to Drew about it, and he had spread the story himself.
Ash tried to isolate himself as much as possible, somehow managing to sit by himself in all of his lessons, and managing to find nice secluded sections of the school to eat his lunch.
Ash hadn't spoken since Giovanni's death, his throat felt as if there were rusty metal slabs sticking out, which threatened to flare up every time he attempted to speak. He was only able to communicate with his Pokémon, due to his unwavering telepathic connection to all of them. Currently, Pikachu, and all his other Pokémon, were staying at Professor Oak's lab, so that they could get over Giovanni's death. Especially Pikachu, who had been Giovanni's when he was a Pichu, and officially been Ash's on his tenth birthday.
Pikachu was taking it almost as badly as Ash.
The only bonus to Ash was that he hadn't had a physical one-on-one run in with May, since he had exploded at her on the hilltop.
Ash had just finished his final lesson of the day, somehow managing to evade any questions or any conversation, he just wanted to get home, go to his room, and curl up in a ball.
His favourite pastime of late.
But unfortunately for Ash, he knew he wouldn't be able to make it home without going to the toilet first, so Ash exited the classroom, making sure everyone else (excluding the teacher), had left first.
The corridors were empty, no one at all, so Ash took his time in wandering to the nearest toilet which was just down the hall from his classroom, but Ash was trapped in his own mind.
So much so, that he was unaware of May watching him from further down the corridor, and in the other direction, walking towards him, Drew and his "cohorts," Paul and Harley, both of whom had purple hair, the former, had shorter hair and wore dark trousers with a purple blazer, Harley, had long hair and always wore a Cacturne outfit.
Half the school didn't know whether it was male or female.
Ash was so imprisoned in his mind that he didn't notice Drew walking directly towards him, but the latter didn't exactly try to move out the way. Drew barged into Ash's shoulder, knocking the raven-haired teen slightly backwards.
"What's the matter Ketchum? Something on your mind?" Drew asked sarcastically, smirking at Ash, who didn't even make eye contact with the green-haired Coordinator.
"Lighten up, Ketchum, anyone would've thought that your pathetic excuse for a father had died," Drew taunted, smirking even more at Ash, who was trying his hardest not to react. Paul and Harley laughed along at Drew's taunts.
"It amazes me how he became a Gym Leader, I hope for your sake he was a better father than a Gym Leader, but I'd be fucking surprised, he was a useless cunt, better off dead in my opinion," Drew sneered, his smirk as wide as it could possibly be.
Ash snapped. His eyes flashed blue momentarily, before he lunged forward, grabbing Drew by the scruff of his neck and physically lifting him off the floor, and slamming him into the wall. Ash glared straight at Drew, whose smirk had swiftly changed to a look of pure fear.
"My father," Ash growled, "Is one million times the man that you'll ever hope to fucking be!" Ash shouted, slamming Drew against the wall once more.
Paul and Harley stood frozen, unable to move due to their surprise, and fear. What none of them realised was that May was still watching them from down the corridor, and she'd heard the entire thing, but too, was frozen in place.
Ash gritted his teeth angrily, before he flung Drew onto the floor, before walking over to him and placing a foot on Drew's chest.
"You really think it's funny to mock someone's death?" Ash asked viciously, glaring at Drew with a look that would freeze even Arceus in his place.
Drew didn't respond, through pure fear.
"HUH?!" Ash growled, when he didn't get a response, pressing his foot down on Drew's chest, causing the Coordinator severe pain. Somehow, Drew's lack of response made Ash even angrier.
Ash removed his foot from Drew's chest, before kneeling down next to Drew's face.
Ash spat on Drew's cheek.
"What was that for?!" Drew exclaimed, disgusted by Ash's action.
Ash smirked, making the hairs on Drew's neck and arms stand on end.
"My target."
Ash stood up sharply, and in one movement, proceeded to break Drew's jaw with a powerful kick, right on the spot he had spat.
A loud crack echoed throughout the corridor, one that made Drew squeal in pain, and made Harley and Paul shiver in disgust at the sound.
Ash just glared once more at Drew, who was clutching his face in pain, tears starting to drip from his eyes.
"Don't disrespect those who are more important than you," Ash said, the vicious edge to his voice still there, before he turned on his heel, and walked off, a dangerous aura seeming to emanate from his body.
May watched the entire scene with a hand to her mouth.
The way Ash had mercilessly broken Drew's jaw, demonstrated to May how badly Ash was being affected by Giovanni's passing.
May had no sympathy for Drew, lying on the floor in agony, nor did she care for him anymore, he had unwittingly opened May's eyes to what his true personality was.
May stepped from her standing point, into the corridor, and walked along towards Drew, Paul and Harley, following the direction Ash departed in, but she needed to make a stop on the way.
When she reached Drew, he looked up at her, and she momentarily saw a mischievous glint in his eye.
"Did you see that May? Your nutty neighbour just assaulted me!" Drew exclaimed, through extreme pain. He forced himself up so he was standing next to May, "I'm going to have to press charges!"
SNAP
Drew cried out in pain as May slapped him full across the face, right where Ash had broken his jaw.
"We're over, you arsehole!" May screamed at him, before storming off in search of Ash, leaving Drew dumbfounded and in excruciating pain.
May quickly tried to catch up with Ash, or try to find out which way he went.
She was nearing the Assembly Hall, when she heard music start playing from the aforementioned hall. May followed the noise, up a sloped corridor, up to the double doors that entered into the hall.
Ash was stood on stage, all by himself, in a completely empty hall.
The hall itself must've been about thirty feet in length, excluding the large stage at the far end, but the length of the hall was generally smaller, as large bleachers – that could be pulled out and tucked in – extended out into the hall itself.
May hid herself next to the bleachers, out of view from Ash, who was listening to the music playing over the speakers, waiting for his cue.
(I would seriously recommend listening to the title song: If You Could See Me Now – The Script)
It was February 14 Valentine's Day
The roses came but they took you away
Tattooed on my arm is a charm to disarm all the harm
Gotta keep myself calm but the truth is you're gone
May watched intently, tears building in her eyes as she realised Ash had written this song about his father, she heard the intensity and emotion behind every word Ash sung.
And I'll never get to show you these songs
Dad you should see the tours that I'm on
I see you standing there next to Mom
Both singing along, yeah arm in arm
May pictured Delia and Giovanni at Ash's bands first gig, with their arms around each other, singing along with Ash, with extremely proud expressions on their faces.
And there are days when I'm losing my faith
Because the man wasn't good he was great
Ash put his left hand – his right hand holding the microphone – to his heart.
He'd say "Music was the home for your pain"
And explained I was young, he would say
Take that rage, put it on a page
Take the page to the stage
Blow the roof off the place
I'm trying to make you proud
Do everything you did
I hope you're up there with God saying "That's my kid!"
Ash looked up to the ceiling and pointed as he sung the last line, kissing his finger before he pointed up. By this point, tears were streaming down May's face, as she pictured every scene that Ash was depicting in his lyrics.
I still look for your face in the crowd
Ash pointed out into the empty hall, as if there were a crowd there and he was picking out his dad.
Oh if you could see me now (Oh if you could see me now)
Would you stand in disgrace or take a bow
Ash mimicked the actions indicated in the lyrics, the lyrics made May choke up even more.
Oh if you could see me now (Oh if you could see me now)
(Oh if you could see me now)
If you could see me now would you recognize me?
Would you pat me on the back or would you criticize me?
Would you follow every line on my tear-stained face
Put your hand on a heart that was cold
Ash reached forward with his left hand, and grabbed an invisible hand, before placing his hand over his heart once more.
As the day you were taken away?
I know it's been a while but I can see you clear as day
Ash pointed towards his eyes, then gestured in front of him, as if he were seeing Giovanni in front of him at that very moment.
Right now, I wish I could hear you say
I drink too much, and I smoke too much dutch
But if you can't see me now that shit's a must
You used to say I won't know a wind until it crossed me
Like I won't know real love 'til I've loved and I've lost it
So if you've lost a sister, someone's lost a mom
And if you've lost a dad then someone's lost a son
And they're all missing out; yeah they're all missing out
So if you get a second to look down on me now
Ash once again looked to the sky.
Mom, Dad I'm just missing you now
I still look for your face in the crowd
Oh if you could see me now (Oh if you could see me now)
Would you stand in disgrace or take a bow
Oh if you could see me now (Oh if you could see me now)
Oh, oh
Would you call me a saint or a sinner?
Would you love me a loser or winner?
Oh, oh
When I see my face in the mirror
We look so alike that it makes me shiver
Ash projected the lyrics so powerfully that it made May shiver, he held the final note of that line of lyrics for so long that May thought he was going to run out of breath, but somehow, Ash managed to sing the rest of the song with even more power and emotion than before. His fringe had been split by the sweat that drenched his forehead, he had apparently ditched the t-shirt he was wearing previously, and was now only in his skinny jeans and a white sleeveless vest.
I still look for your face in the crowd
Oh if you could see me now (Oh if you could see me now)
Would you stand in disgrace or take a bow
Oh if you could see me now (Oh if you could see me now)
Yeah I'm just missing you now
I still look for your face in the crowd
Oh if you could see me now (Oh if you could see me now)
Would you stand in disgrace or take a bow
Oh if you could see me now (Oh if you could see me now)
If you could see, you could see me now
If you could see, you could see me now
By the time Ash had finished, both he and May were in tears, Ash dropped the microphone, and then fell onto his back, sobbing uncontrollably.
May watched with tears streaming down her face, contemplating whether or not to approach Ash, but the way Ash had sung, and the way he had broken down, sent shivers down May's spine.
This was her best friend, and she felt like she could do nothing to help.
She stepped out into the middle of the hall, but Ash was still crying heavily, so didn't hear her. May stopped in the centre of the hall, directly in line with Ash, although, he was on the stage, so she wasn't on the same height level.
"Ash…" She said quietly, but her voice carried across the hall, straight to Ash's ears, and he shot upright, looking directly at May, and for the first time, she could clearly see how devastated and distraught Ash looked.
His usual vibrant and warm eyes looked cold and lifeless; his usual tanned handsome face looked pale and heavily tearstained. May expected to receive the same cold look she had the night she confronted Ash on the hilltop, but she didn't.
Ash's eyes looked pleadingly into May's.
Ash only spoke two words, two broken, painful words, before he jumped off the stage and embraced May tightly, as if they'd never had their fight.
"Why him?"
-IYCSMN-
Ash fixed the tie on his suit.
This was the day he had been dreading for the last few weeks.
Giovanni's funeral.
Ash ran his hands through his hair, and glanced into the mirror, and physically jumped backwards.
He thought his father was staring back at him.
Ash blinked a couple of times, trying to prevent tears from spilling out, something he had to do a lot since his father's death, but looking into the mirror and seeing how much he genuinely looked like Giovanni, shook Ash up.
There was a knock on Ash's door, before it opened, revealing May.
Things hadn't really improved between the two, mainly because of how upset Ash was feeling, he still didn't feel like hanging out with May, even though his spirits had been raised slightly, knowing May had broken up with Drew.
May hadn't explained why, but Ash was still glad it had happened.
Although, Ash did now feel less awkward when he found May physically attractive, but today, he felt particularly awkward when he realised how beautiful May looked.
She was wearing a simple black dress, with her hair done up into a ponytail, but for some inexplicable reason, Ash thought she looked stunning.
But it felt wrong.
Today was about mourning the death and celebrating the life of his father, yet his stupid teen hormones were taking over.
To make matters worse, Ash had been asked by his mum to do a speech and as if that wasn't bad enough, Delia had also wanted Ash to be a Pall-bearer, alongside Norman, Brock, Bruno, Lance and Lt. Surge. The latter three had been chosen due to how closely they had worked with Giovanni over the years, as Gym Leaders or as members of the Elite Four.
It wasn't that Ash didn't want to do it; it was that he felt he couldn't.
"You ready to go, Ash?" May asked softly, trying to help her friend through the day.
Ash felt himself tearing up again, he looked up and caught May's gaze.
"No," Ash replied, his voice cracking slightly, May instantly walked over and embraced Ash tightly.
"Ohh Ash…" She said quietly, rubbing Ash's back as they hugged.
"He's gone… he's really gone," Ash said, tears flowing freely down his face, hugging May a little tighter as he spoke.
-IYCSMN-
In one swift movement, the coffin was raised onto the shoulders of the six suited men.
In one swift movement, the six men started walking to the sound of music.
In one swift movement, the coffin was lowered onto the plinth, on which it would rest for the remainder of the funeral.
Ash took his seat on one of the wooden church benches, in between his mum and May, Pikachu moved himself from May's lap onto Ash's, as the priest spoke.
Ash didn't listen to a word that was said, he had zoned out, emotionally and physically, he was only aware that it was his time to speak, when May gently shook his arm.
He glanced at her, and she shot him an encouraging smile, which gave him the strength to stand up and walk to the pulpit on the right hand side, known as the lectern.
Ash briefly scanned his eyes over the gathering of people, recognising his friends and family, and most of Giovanni's friends, who had also come to pay their respects.
Ash cleared his tight throat.
"Hello everyone," he greeted, "You all know me as Giovanni's son, and I was asked by my mum, to write a speech for today," Ash briefly explained.
"Unfortunately… I don't have a speech, as it was too painful to write one," Ash said, looking down at the wooden rest in front of him, where his speech should have been resting.
Ash looked back up, and caught May's gaze, and she gave him another encouraging smile.
"So I'm going to speak straight from my heart," Ash said, trying his best not to lose control of his emotions.
"My dad has always been there, for every major part of my life."
"He was there when I first learned to talk, first learned to walk, every major step of my life, my father was there, watching over me, as my mentor and well… my father." Ash could see his mum tearing up as he spoke, and tried to divert his gaze, to make sure he didn't start crying.
"He… He was such an important part of my life… he taught me how to play the guitar, he would sit with me and help me with my homework, he was the whole reason I decide to take Advanced Battle class at school… I wanted, and still want, to be as good as my dad, he was the one who taught me how to battle, how to train and nurture my Pokémon, to make them as strong as possible."
"He taught me how to treat everyone and anyone with the respect and kindness they deserve."
"He taught me the necessities of life."
Ash managed to keep himself in check as he spoke, every now and again throw glances at his mum and May, looking for support.
"Yet, after all this, after everything he's done for me… He'll never see me do the same," Ash said, looking up into the sky.
"He'll never see me turn eighteen and become an adult, he won't be there to see me have my first pint, he'll never see me get engaged, get married," Ash said, as he turned his gaze to Giovanni's coffin.
"Worst of all… He'll never get to meet his grandchildren; he'll never be able to give them the same love and attention he gave me."
Ash could feel himself cracking up, could feel his eyes watering as he thought about all he had been through with his dad.
"He'll never get to see me become the level of a man he was…"
Ash hung his head, trying to prevent the crowd from seeing the tears that were flowing freely down his face.
"He was the greatest man I've ever known, and ever will know."
Ash looked up at the congregation in front of him.
"I just hope I can become half of that."
Ash turned to look at the coffin containing his late father, finally having the chance to say what he didn't have the chance to that horrific Valentine's Day.
"Goodbye, dad… I love you…"
EOC
So, there we have it, Giovanni's funeral, and Ash finally gets his chance to say goodbye.
Just in case anyone missed it, the start of the chapter takes place the same day that Giovanni died, so when Ash comes back in the car, he's returning from the hospital.
I was hoping to add an extra scene in this chapter somewhere, but it didn't seem to fit the framing of this chapter, so it will be in the next chapter.
REVIEWS:
Amalgam24: … DUDE, ARE YOU PSYCHIC? Seriously, the scene with Ash and Drew was one of my starting scenes when I started to write this story!
Aamaylover: Thank you, I hope you enjoyed this chapter too!
Rana: Thanks! The idea was to (not so) briefly cover the main parts of Ash's life and how Giovanni was always there for him.
RanaTheBanana: Wow! Thank you for such high praise! I've never really considered myself to be a talented writer, so thank you very much for thinking/saying that! I'm seriously happy that you consider this one of your favourite Advanceshipping stories too, that means a lot to me!
Ultratron562: I never noticed that until you mentioned it! I'm glad I've got that sort of relationship across, thank you for your review!
LittleMissMidnight: Oh thank Arceus I'm not the only one! Thank you, I really wanted to get across the feeling that Ash was trapped inside his own head, and those were the only things that were running through his mind. Indeed! Hopefully it was shown partially in this chapter, but there is more to come, much darker stuff though.
Thank you everyone for reading!
~AF~