Authors Note: Hey boys and girls! Your author here, I just wanted to quickly say thanks for all the reviews, interesting to see what you guys have to say and I must say the reactions have been amazing, it's not my intent to be malicious but I like that I'm able to hit the right cord with you guys.

However guys I must confess, I did originally want to finish this fic this summer, but real life got in the way and I haven't completed the chapters at the dates I wanted to complete them at, so I might publish the next chapter of this novella, and then take another break, because having to write day after day of this stuff is emotionally tolling and exhausting, but I will finish this this year, I know that! Shout outs to you anonymous reviewers, I do genuinely love you guys, you're all amazing, but to a Diana, what was GYCL? I'm genuinely curious as to what that is since I don't think I've ever heard of something like that.

By the way, last chapter's title is from the song "Not Thinking of You" by The Royal. Anyways, onto the fic!

OoOoO

Part Two – Troubled Hearts

The Air Outside so Soft

Instead of waiting for a bus to transport him round the city towards the nearest gym stop, Ash decided instead to walk the whole way from the bus station. He needed time to think.

Pikachu tried to ask him why, the only response was, "I don't want to rush in there," with a smile. Truth however was that Ash was far from comfortable with the situation.

"Why me?" he kept on saying quietly to himself. The whole walk over he also tried to make humor of the situation. "Ah jeez, Misty," he practiced, "I guess you two weren't all that perfect for…each other… after all…" he tried to play them off as light humor but the statement only ended with a pain in his chest.

"Man…this sucks," he grumbled. "Stupid timing, I just wanted to be home." He sighed thinking the situation. "I wonder how much has changed with her, huh, Pikachu? I mean it's been a few years – does she…y'know, keep the same interests, would she even recognize me? Is she…" he went very quiet and looked around till the crowd started to disperse as they continued down the sidewalk. "…still just as…a-as…" Ash found he couldn't form the words, they were lodged in his throat and he blushed just thinking about.

His thoughts were about her beauty. He hoped not much changed there.

"What the…? When did this happen?!"

"Pi Pikachu pika!"

Both trainer and Pokémon stared, surprised by the sight before them. The sign clearly indicated it was the Cerulean gym, Ash even asked a passerby if it was.

The gym was now nothing he had seen before. Instead of the circular building with a dome painted in a pattern of pink and orange, along with supporting beams twisting down to blue and white, with a gutter shaped like a waving ocean completed with a massive Dewgong on top, what Ash and Pikachu found before them was a pyramid.

"Well…I guess two years really can change things," Ash stated in awe. It also filled him with a nasty though, if in those short years what if everything really had changed. What if the Misty he found would be anything but the Misty he knew – the thought terrified him. Nervously he stepped forward through the hedged garden.

The pyramid itself was interesting – the triangular roof sections were separated, two facing vertically so if one looked at it from the front entrance it was divided down the middle with the actual roof underneath, and instead of curves for the walls, it was triangular with yellow, pink, and purple square shapes that were lopsided decorated the corners. The whole thing was just grey and metallic, with a moat surrounding it.

Ash crossed the moat, and passed the Greek-style pillars and stepped nervously before the new electronic doors. "Well…h-here we are," Ash gulped.

"Pikapi, pika chu Pikachu!" Ash, just go already!

Ash hesitated – he couldn't find the will to cross the threshold. It was as if his legs were glued to the pavement. Ash wouldn't lie, he was scared, he didn't want to go in but knew he had to. He forced his will, and was about to take a step forward – when suddenly the doors opened, Ash froze.

It was just Violet and Lilly.

"There you – like – are!" said Lilly before her eyes widened. Ash looked down quizzically, not sure what to make of the sudden silence.

Violet rolled her eyes and walked in front of Ash. "We're so glad you could come, Ash."

"Hmm," Ash hummed. The three walked inside, Ash seemed hesitant as they went through the new lobby and towards the Waterflowers' new private housing. "So…when did he…well…?"

"Just two days ago," Lilly said curtly, Ash noticed her hands were curling into fists as the pinkette spoke. "Misty never saw it coming, one moment the girl was thinking she had it good, next she sees her 'one and only' making out with her oldest sister."

Ash felt his own anger building up and he curled his own fists up. "Jerk," he muttered under his breath. Jealous he may have been, but even Ash didn't want Misty to be betrayed. His desire to see her smile had been the whole reason Ash chose to not tell her his feelings for her.

"Here's her room," Violet said when they finished climbing to the top floor. "Because our dear sister is the gym leader, she claimed the top floor bed room."

"She's been in there ever since the breakup," Lilly explained. "She's got her own bathroom so she's only ever come out to eat. But it's unlocked."

"Good luck," Violet said. Ash nodded, Pikachu squeaked nervously. Slowly Ash stepped forward and put his hand on to the door handle and carefully opened it. The sight that greeted him was sobering.

The room was dark thanks to the curtains being closed, and the carpeted floor was covered in arrange of various used clothes and tissues. Misty's bed was at the halfway point between the door and the other end of the room, the door being near a corner of the room – and on the bed laid Misty, with her back to the door, she seemed to be shuddering as her Azurill looked on dismayed at the state of her trainer from one of the polls on the footboard.

Ash stood in the doorway, unsure what to do, when to his surprise Pikachu left his shoulder, and suddenly Lily pushed him gently from behind, with Pikachu doing the same to foot. "Okay, okay," he hissed before looking at his target. Ash gulped and nervously entered the room, carefully stepping over a variety of shirts and shorts, Ash thought it best to keep going, not wanting to see anything embarrassing.

Pikachu followed closely behind. Ash approached the bed and felt a strange tingle in his chest cavity as he looked at Misty's fetus state, her face buried in a pillow that she was holding. Ash stood there feeling paralyzed, he breathed uncomfortably, and his heart thundered in his chest.

Finally Ash found something to say and he lowered down to her level. "Um…h-hey, Misty?" he began slowly. Suddenly there was movement and Misty flipped over to look at him. Her eyes were red and puffy. "It's – err – been a while…" Ash continued, stunned by the sight before him. He stared at her hair, now much longer than he had seen before, that flowing, beautiful long orange hair of hers…he wondered if she still pulled it into a side ponytail.

Azurill looked on at the scene, a bit shocked, her mama hadn't acknowledged anyone except her for two days and suddenly this male was extracting a reaction from her. However as Ash stared at her Misty suddenly rolled back and buried her head in her pillow. "Um…" Ash went on as he scratched his cheek nervously. "You're sisters called. I well – err – heard that you and Tracey – err – broke up…"

At the sound of his words he noticed Misty tightened her hold on her pillow. Ash breathed uneasily, the mental strain of the task was taking a heavy toll on him. "I'm sorry it happened, but well y'know…this… stuff happens…"

"But why me…?" he heard Misty mumble. Ash didn't know exactly how to respond. He stood in silence as he thought his words over, the whole while he also thought the same thing. Why did I have to be the one to get heartbroken by you though…? But now wasn't the time for self-pity.

"Well…see…it's…well…" Ash faltered and bit his lip. "…we all experience heartbreak…and it's… just a," he gulped, knowing what he was about to say next wasn't what he believed in, "part of…life. We've all have had to deal with it," he finished, with Pikachu chiming in agreement. At the sound of his words however Misty laughed bitterly into her pillow.

"Really now," she said loudly into the pillow, "the Ash Ketchum knows something heartbreak does he?"

"It's true," Ash replied defensively.

"Hmph," was her muffled reply. "And pray tell," Misty went on, pulling away from her pillow to face him, "when would've that have happened at all..."

"Well – it – er – well it did happen!"

"Oh really, you sure your heartbreak is even close to what I'm feeling? A relationship that lasted little over two years must sure be on par with whatever you lost."

Ash was shocked, but tried to not let her words get to him. "I'll have you know that what I lost was just as important to me as Tracey was to you."

"Oh please you can't possibly understand how I feel," Misty drawled as she sniffed and wiped her eyes, despite her melancholic look, Ash thought, the anger on her face was striking. "Don't even try to think you can come close at all."

"Well," Ash muttered, "who's to say I can't at all?"

"Pika!"

"Me."

"Well I disagree," Ash said, getting angrier at being brushed up. She didn't know what he'd been through. "What if things weren't even working out between you two at all, huh? He cheated on you!"

"Tracey would never do that deliberately," Misty replied, venom drenching out of her voice.

"Well Misty," Ash replied, his patience wearing thin, "moping around like won't make things better! You aren't even trying. You use to be strong and able and now you're acting like a Goldeen out of water all because of a breakup! You know that you can get over this." Yeah right, give that advice when I've done the exact opposite. "Sniffling and crying over it is not the answer and you–"

"WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT HOW IT IS?!" Misty thundered suddenly, taking Ash aback as she sprung up and swatted a pillow at him with such force across his face, knocking his hat off and nearly sending him to the ground. Azurill cried out in shock.

Ash recovered and quickly put his hat back on, he was ready to snap, but when he looked up tears were falling once more down Misty's face so Ash kept his lips shut. "Don't…you…dare…" she began through her sobs, but she couldn't get any further as her tears consumed her. Her face dropped and the pillow she held fell to the bed.

Ash's heart fell as he watched her. She was hugging herself and was back in her fetal position, whimpering. Azurill cooed sadly and hopped over to Misty and tried to sooth her. Ash bit his lip, he had meant well, but all he did was make matters worse. He lowered his head in shame, Misty clearly didn't want to talk and he was essentially standing there for no reason, he quietly left.

Lily and Violet were waiting for him outside the door. "We overheard," Violet said once Ash closed the door behind him.

"It was hard not to," Lily added.

"You gave it your best shot."

Ash didn't reply as he hid under his rim miserably. "Come on," Violet beckoned, "you're sure to be tired after your long journey. Let me show you to your room."

Violet led Ash just down the short flight of stairs to where a small guest bedroom was. It was a simple yet cozy looking space. Ash thanked the two sisters and quietly made himself at home. Misty never came out of her room, Ash felt he had done enough damage and gave her space. Before and after dinner Lily showed him around the gym and all of its new areas. Ash went to bed that night with a lot on his mind…

OoOoO

Misty awoke next morning and sadly gripped her duvet and wiped her eyes, even in her saddest moments she still kept to her morning routine, waking up and going to the bathroom before eating breakfast, Misty had figured her few days of moping around had been enough.

But after she finished relieving herself and picked up Azurill to go get something to eat, her thoughts turned back to the Gym's unexpected guest, Ash Ketchum, she hadn't seen or heard from him in a long time. 'Just what are you doing here, Ash…?' she thought to herself. It didn't add up, Misty thought, she and Ash had not talked together in a long time, but suddenly without warning Ash shows up at her gym and Misty couldn't help but question his motives, let alone the appropriateness.

"Maybe he's just here because my sisters put him up to it," she concluded. "But he'll leave eventually, like he always does…" No point in stopping, him, he does what he wants and when he wants it done, he's always been like that, she added thoughtfully.

But when she reached the kitchen, Misty got quite the surprise. Violet and Lily were sitting around the breakfast table drinking their coffees and surfing the internet, with plates of fried rice in front of them. But what were more surprising to her were the sounds of a sizzling pan and the clinks of a whisk being used along with knives and other utensils, and it wasn't caused by her sisters.

"Did one of your boyfriends come over to cook?" Misty inquired to her sisters.

Violet simply looked at her before glancing back down at her phone, but Lily's lips curled into a smirk. "Why don't you – like – see who it for yourself…?" the pinkette implied sweetly before going back to her cup of coffee. Misty raised an eyebrow and gave an agreeable grunt.

Misty cautiously put Azurill down and walked over to see who was cooking, when she did, she got quite the shock. There in front of the stove with food that wasn't being burnt, calmly stirring away at a bowl of mixed eggs was Ash.

"A-Ash?" she breathed. Ash heard her and he turned around, giving Misty a whole view of what he then looked like. He was clad in a white shirt and grey shorts, and his usual messy hair was…its usual self and was out to see given it was cap less.

Ash stared at her, but quickly repressed anything from coming out. "Morning, Misty," he simply said, putting the whisk down. He had been bent over to check the pan but upon seeing her he rose up to his full height.

"Morning," she replied crisply. Aside from the sizzling sounds of spam on heat, silence fell between the two teens. Misty took a closer look, this guy was far from the Ash Ketchum she knew, his voice had gotten much raspier, and…

Misty moved forward, Ash flinched and moved out of her way, but as she got closer to him Ash's eyes widened. He blinked, shocked, last he saw her he still had to look up just to meet her eyes, but now he had to look down to see her, really down.

Misty glared; her head would practically fit right underneath Ash's chin, she figured. The two stared, unsure of what to make of the situation. It was Misty who broke the trance. "So, you're cooking huh?"

"Um…well that is what I'm doing," Ash replied as he felt his body heating up.

Misty's eyes narrowed and she surveyed the state of the kitchen cautiously, everything seemed in order. "At least you haven't damaged anything, let alone burn the food," she noted, as the rice was frying slowly with the heat on a low setting.

"Why would I burn the food?" Ash asked incredulously.

Misty scoffed as she rolled her eyes. "Tch, it just seems like something you would do," she said curtly.

Ash just grimaced but remained calm. "Well, just so you know," he began, "it wouldn't be on purpose, I'm not that klutzy. I should think that even you could tell that, I'm not the same as I once was." Misty blinked at Ash's words.

"Okay, I'll see that then for myself," she simply replied. Ash wanted to say something, but couldn't find anything to say so he remained silent. He did some more preparations and then turned to see her reaction. When he turned however, he found himself stunned – instead of glaring eyes he found she was looking quiet and relaxed. Ash took that moment to check her out under the calm morning light, he couldn't help it, a lot had changed about her, and her new beauty – even in a wrinkled tank top and sports shorts, which with anyone else he wouldn't have had a second thought – was intoxicating. He quickly went back to attending to the eggs to distract himself.

"So, cooked for sisters did you?" said Misty after a period of silence.

"Huh? Oh yeah, Violet and Lily were really hungry when I woke up, so I quickly made some for them, but you were low on rice so they got the older stuff, this batch is a fresh one," he said hurriedly, pushing Misty out of the way to pour the eggs.

"Huh, thanks for doing that for them," Misty muttered. "So when did you learn to cook?" she went on. "Or has it always been something you've known how to do, but held back from the rest of us?" she asked teasingly, but her chuckle came out half-heartedly since wasn't in a laughing mood, but she tried to sound genuine. "Doesn't seem like a fair thing to do to Brock."

"No, I wasn't hiding it," Ash muttered as he tended to the eggs. "When Brock decided to become a doctor I well…asked him to maybe teach me a few things before he went – I mean without his cooking I doubt I could even live on my own if I had to constantly buy from restaurants and all that. After he left I-" he stopped short, realization dawned on him that if he kept talking he would've revealed why he didn't attend her fifteenth birthday, and he didn't need to do that. "…went to Unova and met a guy named Cilan, he was also a chef – pretty damn good one too – and I asked him to help me polish up my cooking skills a bit, and he did. That and I asked Mom for a few pointers and all that…" he trailed off as he began to mix the pan's contents.

"Interesting," said Misty, in a tone Ash didn't recognize. "Can I try some?"

Ash looked at her in surprise, but obliged and placed some fried rice on a plate and handed it to her. He felt dreadfully nervous as Misty took a spoonful and slowly brought it to her mouth.

Misty wouldn't have lied if she said she was nervous as Ash handed her a bowl. The sudden revelation that Ash knew how to cook shocked her, and made her nervous – especially after all the years of being pampered by Brock's cooking, and Tracey's cooking afterwards had been good too, Misty had gotten use to finer foods. To her Tracey had been quite the cook…plus the last time she checked, Ash stayed far away from any pot or pan, but all of a sudden he was able to cook? That Cilan must've been some sort to prodigy to get Ash Ketchum to cook an edible meal.

It just amazed her that Ash had learned how to cook before she could. As she thought it all out, Misty looked at the spoon and closed her eyes, and put it into her mouth. Her eyes shot open, Ash flinched.

"Wow, that's pretty good," Misty admitted, but without much enthusiasm, her reaction was genuine though, she was amazed at how nice the dish tasted.

"So… it's good?" Ash asked hesitantly. Pikachu who was on the counter immediately perked up.

Misty didn't respond, she just spooned more onto her plate and slowly began munching as she went quietly back to the table.

"So um… guess I'm not that bad, huh?" Ash quizzed as he joined at the table. Misty didn't answer and she kept on chewing.

"Um…" Ash faltered, unsure of what to say, "I know it's not quite on Brock's level of cooking..."

"That's one way to put it," Misty remarked, her sudden statement caught Ash off guard. "It kinda reminds me of what Trace–" Misty stopped and she stared at her plate as something hit her, a memory came back and it numbed her, she looked across the table and saw Ash with his new height and black hair, and it all became too much for her, he looked too much like him. Her breath quickened but she tried to shake the feeling off, she gripped her spoon so tight that it hurt.

"M-Misty? A-are you all right?" asked Ash, becoming alarmed at her sudden change in demeanor.

"Y-yeah," Misty said, looking away, sadness overcoming her countenance. Ash gulped, his heart feeling stabbed as he laid eyes on her sad face. Azurill cooed at her trainer sadly. As he looked, Ash noticed a free hand of hers on the table, something in him yelled to reach out and hold it but he suppressed the urge and tried to look at something else, but there wasn't anything there that caught his eye. Violet and Lily had finished their plates and had left the room well before he sat down, the only thing that seemed to be pulling at his eyes was…her.

Misty stared distantly, tears formed in her eyes; her heart ached and every breath she took felt painful. She and Tracey had shared mornings like the current one, and the fact that she could no longer experience that brought her to her knees. Ash and Pikachu stared at her slumped over figure; they could tell based on her small sobs what she was thinking about.

Ash wanted nothing more than to reach out and hug her and kiss her. The thought made him blush and he quickly shook it off. "H-hey," he awkwardly began despite her sobs, "it's…it's all right. It's not your fault." She didn't say anything. "Hey…it's all right," he coaxed. "Listen, sometimes things like this happen and we have to accept things the way they are…I know it's not easy but you can't spend your days moping around feeling sorry for yourself twenty-four seven, what's done is done and that's how it'll be. You're just going to have to get used to it and get past it for your own good, it'll be better that way – you can't live moping around the past."

"My own good…? My own good…?! Get past it?! How dare you!" Misty suddenly interrupted, Ash jumped from the exclamation, and saw that Misty was glaring at him, tear trails trickled down from her eyes, they were red and furious, and her hand gripped her spoon even tighter than before. "Who do you think you are, Ash Ketchum? To come here and tell me how I should cope with how I'm feeling about what happened? You dare to show up after being apart for years and think you have any right or authority to tell me what I should do like I'm still the same girl from three years ago, as if I can just pretend that I can just forget everything I felt for my boyfriend and bounce back?!" she shrieked.

Ash looked sadly down and said nothing, everything she said sent a painful needle through his heart, she was right, they hadn't talked in years, and he didn't know if she had changed. It would be arrogant to assume anything about her…

"You want to know something, Ketchum? I'm also feeling gutted because of you. Years ago I thought you were my friend, but guess what? I can't really even call you that anymore!"

"Ash…you…you…" she began to tear up slightly; her emotional catharsis was getting to her, "are you even my Best Friend anymore? Where have you been? You haven't called, emailed, or anything to me at all and only now do you show up? The last time I saw you, you didn't even say anything!"

"Misty, I…" Ash weakly began, but stopped as he couldn't find the courage to say anything.

"After all of that, now you suddenly have the desire to be my friend again? After all this time – you've distanced yourself from me, Ash. You never called, emailed, nothing, your mom's been the one I've had the most contact with ever since we stopped travelling together, and when I got my…boyfriend it became worst. Why come back, Ash? Why now…?" she asked as she trailed off, the tears were back, and made her eyes glisten as she looked pleadingly at Ash. As Ash looked into her red tearful cerulean eyes, all the guilt and shame built up over the years crashed onto him, he felt physically ill and he shivered from the feeling.

"I'm sorry," Ash finally muttered, lowering his head in shame.

" 'Sorry?' That's it?"

"Please…I…well…see…travelling takes up…I…just…" Ash began, but he faltered and just looked glumly down at the wooden table. He closed his eyes and gave deep breath. "It's all my fault, and anything else is just excuses, I have no excuses to make. I have no real reason as to why I stopped talking to you. It was wrong, and I can't justify it. It's just I…" he began to choke on his own words as his emotions overwhelmed him he coughed for a moment or two, before regaining control over his voice in-spite of how much it physically pained him to keep talking.

"…You," he said, in a quiet, hurt voice, "it just…it…" Ash found himself struggling to say what he wanted to say. It felt so embarrassing and he felt that if he said it, Misty might catch on and figure out everything. "…it…I…" he gulped, hoping she wouldn't look further into what he was about to say, "…you with Tracey…it – well, I felt…it just…it felt…as…you just didn't want to talk to me anymore since you had Tracey…I felt…left out." It wasn't a lie, it was true that ever since the day he came home from Hoenn Ash had felt like an outsider in her world – Misty had never told him she was dating Tracey until he had to force the truth out of her.

Misty blinked, she felt caught off guard by his answer. "Y-you felt left out?" Ash nodded in response.

"You never said anything about it until two days after I saw you…and well, you said something about 'a boyfriend makes having boys as friends difficult' or whatever you meant…" said Ash quietly. "I just…assumed, y'know…that you didn't want to have anything to do with me, that and you didn't seem keen to see me given that you were…" Ash trailed off as he felt his heart breaking as he remembered what she had told him that day. Her words had sliced his heart in two that day, and the memory tore the wound open again, he gritted his teeth as he pushed through the pain, "…getting over your crush on me."

Misty felt her blood rushing to her cheeks as he said that, the old memory of her puppy-crush days came back but she quickly pushed them aside. "Ash," she began, "you think that just because I had a boyfriend meant that I wouldn't ever want to talk to you again?"

Ash frowned. "You're the one who said it…not me," he muttered. "I kinda assumed that you didn't want to talk to me anymore after all that."

"I…well," she faltered and looked shamefully down. As she stared at the table, Misty felt a terrible guilt go through her; she couldn't deny it, she had said harsh things to Ash and admitted, without shame, that she had once crushed on him but all without ever considering how her romantic relationship would affect her friends. She had given him the cold shoulder when he came home two years ago, and had only ever given him one lure of hers after they stopped talking, she hadn't helped the situation at all.

"I'm sorry," Ash said whilst Misty was deep in her thoughts. Her head snapped up at Ash's remark, and the guilt all came flooding to her throat.

"No," she quietly relented, Ash looked up, surprised, "you shouldn't be sorry. It's my fault. I…never even told you about me and Tracey at all, I'm the terrible one here," she began to sob a little, but held her own as she wiped her eyes. "I shouldn't have treated you the way I did, I thought…foolishly, that if I kept away from you I could keep my old feelings at bay…not that I still have any for you!" Misty quickly said, holding her hands out in a panic, thinking that Ash would be too put out at the thought of him ever being her 'interest'. But Ash felt as though sharp ice was falling on him once more at her words, he bit his cheek and averted his eyes to the plate of rice before him, a fist she couldn't see under the table clenched tighter as Ash's heart ached.

"I was being stupid, I'm sorry," she went on. "It's just I…I…I was so caught up in myself and Tracey, I…" she trailed off, Azurill looked nervously at her mother as she wiped her eyes, the hatred and anger she had felt was long gone, she looked sadly up at Ash. "What I did was unforgivable, and for that I'm sorry, I'm so, so, sorry…"

"Stop saying that, you're forgiven," Ash said instantly, the sight of her crying pained him and he knew he had to make her stop.

"You don't have to forgive me…"

"And I said to not beat yourself up over it," Ash said firmly. "It's completely all right. You were in love with Tracey, that's nothing to apologize for." Misty said nothing and just glanced down as Ash looked on stoically.

But even though he was wearing a brave face, deep down Ash felt miserable. His mom's words played on his mind – to keep her to himself would be selfish and unfair, she had to walk her own path, even if it was one where Misty and him would never get together; it would be her choice, he couldn't force her to like him. If they were going to be together, it wouldn't be because of how he felt, she had to feel the same to, and so far to Ash the chances were very unlikely.

"..And," Ash began quietly to break the silence, "to answer your earlier question – I came back because I care about you, a lot, you're my best friend after all. I didn't want you to feel too bad about your…break up. You don't have to feel alone."

"Thanks for the consideration," Misty quietly murmured as she felt oddly comforted by Ash's words, her eyes also having slightly widened at them.

"No problem," Ash replied.

They ate their breakfast in silence. During the meal Misty's mind turned back towards Tracey, she felt uncomfortable, Ash was now just about as tall as her ex, and the physical similarities between them reminded her too much of Tracey. Misty inwardly panicked, Ash is not Tracey, Ash is not Tracey she had to keep repeating to herself. She and Tracey had shared too many mornings just like the one she was currently having with Ash, and it was all too much for her.

Ash quietly observed Misty, he could somewhat tell what was on her mind, it hurt him to see her beating herself up over it all. "Still thinking about Tracey?" he cautiously ventured after a while.

Misty sniffed sadly. "Y-yeah…" she said, suddenly standing up. "Thanks for breakfast by the way." And with that she scurried out of sight.

"Where are you off to?"

"My room…" Misty replied glumly. Ash watched her go, his heart falling at how sad she looked as she walked away, her hands in her pockets and her head held low.

"Damn it," he hissed, angered at how insensitive he must've sounded to her. But before he could do anything else, Ash felt a cold breeze hit his face suddenly, he looked around to find the source, he spotted an open window, but what lay beyond it caught his eyes. The day looked so beautiful, bright sun and very few clouds – it all looked so…calm, and peaceful. Ash smiled as an idea came to him.

"Pika Pikachupi…" Poor Misty… the Mouse Pokémon muttered.

"Don't worry, Pikachu," Ash said turning towards his partner, as he pumped a fist. "I know what'll cheer her up."

OoOoO

Misty had retreated back to her room, whether Azurill followed or not was no concern to her as long as her baby kept inside the Gym that was all that mattered. Misty plopped back onto her bed and laid her face onto a pillow. She was ready to mope all day as she stared at her nearby vanity; on said vanity were pictures, and the biggest one she could make out was with…Tracey. Misty felt her insides crumble at the sight and she turned her wet eyes into the pillow.

Her moment of self-pity was suddenly interrupted by a loud knocking on her door. "Go away," Misty muttered yelled halfheartedly. The knock came again, her brow twitched in annoyance. "I said to leave me alone!" she yelled.

"It's me," the only male voice in the house called. Misty groaned as she recognized the voice, she hesitantly went to open her door.

"Yes, Ash?" she asked quietly.

Ash smiled gently at her. "Would you like to go out for a walk with me, Misty?"

"A-a…walk?"

"Yeah, y'know, a walk, out there, in nature."

"W-why…?"

"Because I don't want you to mope all day in here," Ash said, motioning towards her dark, messy room. "Please?" he pleaded. "Do you really want to spend all day moping in here rather than being out in the sunshine? I mean come on!" he said, grabbing her by the wrist, causing a wave of heat to go up his arm, but he ignored the flash, he had to be focused. His sudden hold surprised Misty be she could do nothing as he dragged her along towards the window at the end of her hallway. "Just look at all of this beautiful scenery," Ash proclaimed, holding a hand out to wave over what could be seen from the window, "and you're going to pass all this up just to lay in your room all day?"

Misty sighed indecisively. But she grimaced as she took in the sight, it did look beautiful…and it had been a while since she had gone out… "Okay, fine," she hesitantly said. "I'll go out with you…"

A few minutes later Misty was ready with Azurill and the two headed out with their Pokémon. Ash didn't really have a clue on where he wanted to take her, so he wandered around to see where his mind took them, but he knew right away that he didn't want to stay in the city. His instincts brought them out of the city, and along a path that reached a forest.

Ash felt better with their new green surroundings, something about it strangely comforted him and he felt at ease compared to being in the heart of the city. He looked over to Misty to see what her reaction was, but when he looked at her he suddenly felt a strange nostalgic sense washed over him and it numbed him instantly.

Ash couldn't explain how, but being alone with Misty in those woods brought back the old feeling of when he had felt he was on top of the world, the same euphoria he had had when he first captured Caterpie with Misty as his witness in Viridian Forest all those years. The feeling was strong, Ash felt that if she and him were together he could take on anything, he missed that feeling, when it was just him and her, before Brock…before Tracey. He remembered how whenever it got be just him and her felt had once felt higher than anything his young brain could know.

The once fond memories of days gone by flashed through Ash's mind quickly, and he felt overwhelmed at the burst of nostalgia. His step faltered at the thought, and Pikachu was quick to be concerned as Ash nearly lost his footing, but the raven-haired trainer quickly recovered and brush it off. Misty expressed concern as well, but Ash deflected it – choosing instead to focus on the greenery around them.

"It is beautiful," Misty agreed as she took in the bright green leaves whilst she walked over to rest on a fallen tree trunk. "Honestly I didn't even know a forest like this was so close to my home."

"You really haven't heard or been here before?" Ash asked, surprised yet amused.

"No, not all. Didn't even have a clue this place was here till now," replied Misty.

"Seriously?" Ash was surprised. "You didn't even look around for places like this when you were walking out with…Tracey? He never took you out like this?"

"No…" Misty paused to recollect her memories, "we didn't really go out nature walking at all. We mostly kept to the city, Tracey, he…" she choked a little, Ash felt instant regret at bringing the Pokémon Watcher's name up. But Misty continued before he could apologize. "…He mostly liked to walk around the city, sure he liked adventure, but he wasn't into trail blazing or getting lost...like you did."

"Oh," was all Ash could say as he ignored her subtle dig at him.

"Yeah…" Misty replied. "Tracey preferred staying in one place – he sort of just wanted to put his roots down and didn't want to go out into any unchartered territory. We played it safe, he wanted to keep me safe and he liked drawing me at old familiar places… he was sweet like that, he liked building up familiarity with the locals who came consistently to spots like Cerulean Cape and we went there so often the locals that were there every day started calling us 'that artist couple', Tracey often told me he did that on purpose just to show the world how close we were…" Misty sighed as she spoke, the thought alone had brought her tears, she was so busy reminiscing she never noticed Ash's own reaction. His face had turned hard, and his right hand, which was out of sight, curled in anger, Tracey had done all of that build up, only to bring it all down. That selfish jerk…

"Y'know, it's weird, being out with you, like this," Misty continued. "Reminds me of when we use to travel together…"

Ash looked at her in surprise. He bit his lip and gulped nervously but didn't say anything.

"Course I wish Tracey was here…we use to hang out, not in these settings but…this would be the type of situation back in Pallet Town where we'd…" she shook her head, not wanting to keep going, Ash grimaced and did his best to prevent feeling emotion, but his hands were digging into the trunk hard to keep himself from acting out. It just wasn't right…for her, or himself. He would've given her the time of day for stuff like this…

"H-hey," he ventured, "it's all in the past, right?"

Misty looked away as if she needed to think Ash's words over. She remained silent for a few minutes before turning back to look at Ash. "Yeah…you're right, all in the past…" she repeated, her tone sounded as if she had had a major epiphany. "So…what have you been up to?"

"Oh, jeez uh…well…"

OoOoO

"…You won the league?!"

"Yeah, it wasn't easy, but Pikachu managed to tough it out against Virgil's Eevee, didn't ya, buddy?"

"Pi pika!" Pikachu said as he pumped his fist.

"Wow…" Misty breathed, awed. Her eyes were wide from the shock of learning that Ash was now a league champion. "H-how does it feel…?"

Ash's face fell slightly, and he turned to look absent-mindedly at the ground away from her. "Honestly…not really all that different from getting top four…I just… I dunno."

"That's it? You don't feel like you're on top of the world or anything like that?" Misty exclaimed. "You did it, Ash! You achieved your dream!" Ash didn't respond, he just kept looking at the ground as if it was the most interesting thing ever.

Truth be told…being the league champion doesn't make me feel all that special…if I compare it to you, that is…

Misty frowned as she was becoming more and more irritated as the seconds passed without a response from him. She was honestly flabbergasted that Ash won a league, yet seemed to not care about it at all.

"All right, that's it!" Misty said as she stood up, she turned to face Ash, her voice causing him to raise his head towards hers as she pointed a finger at him. "Ash Ketchum – I – Misty Waterflower, Gym Leader of the Cerulean Gym challenge you as the Unova League's Champion to a battle!"