Moments Alone, Chapter 6, "Yessir, That's My Misty"

By Ellie, 2001, Revised 2007

Just before Two O'clock PM, June 6th

Mahogany League Opening Ceremonies

Backstage

Misty sat at a computer console in the dressing room behind the main stage. Her foot was rapidly tapping on the floor and her hands were shaking. She didn't understand why this was making her so nervous. She clicked on the registration files. It's not like she was going to do something stupid when she saw him. At least she hoped she wouldn't. The registration folder popped up, with Ash's name first. With a deep breath in as an attempt to calm herself, she double clicked on his name. His picture came up on the screen, as well as his profile. It was information she had seen before, nothing new or surprising. Hurriedly, she pulled to the end of the page to find out when his first battle would be. She fell back in relief at the sight of 'Grass Stadium, 4:00 PM' next to his "Battle #1" slot. This meant he would not battle her till last. In a way, it was a good thing. She could avoid him as long as possible. But then again, it was a bad thing. She would avoid him for as long as possible. Maybe that wasn't such a good idea. Or was it?

In confusion and frustration, the young woman hit the shutdown button on the computer unit and got up from her chair. Due to her indecisiveness, Misty began to pace throughout the room. This piqued the interests of her friends.

"Myst, what's the matter?" Vesta asked sweetly.

"Maybe you should sit down, Misty," Beryl suggested.

She did as she was told. "I'm just getting nervous now."

"Oh no. No you don't," Silvia said, joining the huddle of women, her gaze fixed on Misty.

"He's battling you first, Silvia. Today, at four," Misty said quietly.

"So?" Vesta asked, confused.

"That means I don't battle him until four days from now," Misty said flatly.

"Is that… good?" Beryl said, unsure what to make of Misty's tone.

"It's fine," Silvia said, seriously. "Not ideal, but it'll have to do."

"And what would be ideal, exactly?" Beryl asked forcefully, looking at Silvia.

"It would be better for her to see him sooner, obviously."

"Why?" Vesta asked.

"To get the whole thing over with, so she can concentrate!" Silvia snapped. "Maybe she should go see him, and get the confrontation over with."

"Maybe she should figure things out on her own," Beryl retorted, to which Silvia answered with a glare.

"It's fine, B," Misty said quietly. "She's right."

"So you'll go see him? Is that even allowed?" Vesta wondered out loud.

"Oh, I never thought of that. Is it allowed? I mean, we're not supposed to go to the Trainer's Compound, right?" Beryl asked.

"I don't think it much matters, what we're not supposed to do," Silvia started, her tone softened. "We make the rules, you know. We can change them."

Misty's mind began to race as she phased out of her friends' conversation. What if she did see him, and he hated her as much as he had the day she left? Or what if it was exactly opposite, and the two of them were best of friends again… or more? How would it be to battle the person she'd fostered secret feelings for since she'd been fourteen? This could ruin the match for either of them, especially if he did something stupid and let his feelings get in the way of his performance. She could tell herself she wouldn't do something like that, but even she couldn't be sure she wouldn't let her guard down and let her emotions impair her performance. The situation was troubling, especially since she hadn't faced a true friend in years, except in practice with the other members of the Mahogany Four.

"Myst," said Silvia quietly. "You've got to decide what to do on your own. We've butted in enough. I'm sorry if we're making things worse for you."

"You're not, of course you're not," she said genuinely. "I appreciate your input, always, but you're right. I'm going to have to do this alone."

"But after the opening ceremonies. We've got to get started," Vesta said, noticing the clock. "They're going to begin in just a minute."

"Oh, I didn't realize. I'm almost ready," Misty said, rushing over to a mirror to fix her hair.

Front Row

"So what exactly will go on at this opening ceremony?" Ash wondered, leaning towards Brock.

"Well, the guidebook says that traditionally, the Mahogany Four does a little presentation of their own first, then the Governor of the Mahogany Valley officially starts the four-day celebrations off by toasting and drinking a glass of water from the Spe-Spear… suckle? Spearsuckle Springs. Apparently, the Spearsuckle Spring lies within the Mahogany Mountains," Brock explained.

"Sounds like one of those age-old traditions to me."

"Definitely. I think it's really interesting though. I love to see places with deep histories behind them keeping up traditions that can trace back centuries. It's uplifting to see the respect that the people have for their ancestors," Brock said genuinely.

"That's nice, Brock. Truly sentimental," Ash said with a small smile.

"I suppose you could call me a sentimental kind of guy," he replied, returning the smile.

"So what kind of performance do the Mahogany Four put on?" Ash asked.

"Well, it changes every year," Brock read out of the guidebook. "Apparently, the shows have ranged from musical numbers to ventriloquist acts to classical ballet."

"Classical ballet?"

"Yeah, twenty-four years ago, the Mahogany Four just happened to consist entirely of people trained not only in Pokemon, but in classical ballet. Unfortunately, that group only lasted a year, the rock trainer retired the year after the grass trainer joined in."

"So is the Mahogany Four grouping changing every year?" Ash wondered.

"No, not usually. In fact, that particular instance in conjunction with another two years before marked the most changes in the grouping within a five-year period. Usually, the Mahogany Four group stays the same for about five to seven years. The longest group to stay together was one hundred and ten years ago. The group stayed together for twelve years, until the water trainer of the group could no longer hold the position, due to old age," Brock supplied.

"Wow. How long has this group been together?" Ash asked.

"Only three. And this is also one of the only instances in which the group has been made up entirely of people of the same gender."

"Interesting," Ash drawled out, silently reminding himself that the timeframes were compatible so that there was a chance that the water trainer here was indeed Misty. "Why is it that the names of the Mahogany Four aren't posted anywhere for the public to see?" Ash asked suddenly, his voice angry.

"What do you mean?"

"How am I supposed to know what their names are?"

"I'm sure you'll find out, sooner or later, Ash," Brock assured him.

"I'm afraid I'll have to wait for the later," he mumbled.

Just as Ash finished his sentence, the curtain began to open to reveal a man in a tuxedo standing front and center.

"Good afternoon," the man started. "And welcome to the Mahogany Opening Ceremony! In keeping with tradition, we'll start the ceremony off with the Mahogany Four in a performance. This year, our four ladies would like to present to you something unique they've been working on. Please welcome them, singing the Andrew's Sister's classic 'Bei Mir Bist Du Schon.'" He hurried off to a side of the stage, and slipped behind the curtains and out of sight.

The lights went down on the stage and Ash could see signs of movement in the darkness. When the lights came back up, a small band was in place on the left of the stage, and four women, dressed in vintage 40's style dresses, were standing with their backs to the audience. Ash didn't notice the music beginning to play. All he saw was red. Fire-red hair. No, it wasn't fire-red, it was Misty-red. An orange-red. It was pulled up in a classic style away from her face. And when the four young women turned around, he only saw her. Ash was suddenly completely lost in her blue eyes, her Misty-blue eyes, and her Misty-red hair. The way she walked, the way she moved, and the way she sang, it had to be her. But wait, the way she sang? Misty never sang. She was terrible at it. He didn't care. People can learn how to sing, she probably did just that. It was her. Unmistakably her.

Misty looked down in the front row. She did her best to concentrate on the lyrics to the song, but it was awful hard with him staring at her, obviously stunned. She didn't know what to do. So she kept going. She kept singing, swaying, and smiling, all the while doing her best to keep her eyes off him. She couldn't help herself. It was him. Unmistakably him.

Ash couldn't put a finger on what he was feeling. Nervousness? Happiness? Anxiety? Excitement? He was certainly happy to see her, but what would he say to her? What would their battle be like? Should he apologize? As more and more questions popped into his head, Brock elbowed him.

"Ash, that red-headed girl. Is that who I think it is?" he whispered.

"Uh- huh. Sure is," Ash replied, at a loss for any other words.

"Wow, that's great. I can't believe how much she must have accomplished to get this far. And she's been here for three years! This same group's been together that long. Boy, did I ever underestimate her." He trailed off, looking for more information in the guidebook.

"That's our Misty," Ash said to no one in particular. "Always full of surprises."

On stage, Misty was becoming ill. She thought she would be able to handle a situation like this with ease, but she was obviously wrong. Her mixed emotions were jumbling up into a big ugly ball inside of her, and began to make her physically sick. It was a rare day that Misty would let anything bother her as seeing Ash did.

'Leave it to Ash to get under my skin,' she thought, as she watched Beryl sing the last solo section of the song.

The girls brought the song home beautifully, leaving the crowd enamored with them. The band stopped playing, and the Governor drank his spring water, but neither Ash nor Misty noticed. They just looked at each other. Misty did her best to look away, but each time she did, she could feel nothing but his gaze. Ash tried not to stare, but he couldn't seem to attach his line of sight to anything else. She was like a black dot in the middle of a blank page. The only fish in the middle of an empty sea. She was his focal point. And a most effective one at that.

"Ash?"

He ignored him.

"Ash!" Brock repeated, this time more forcefully.

"What? What?" Ash stuttered, suddenly disoriented.

"Ash, they're ending the ceremony. We're supposed to stand."

"Oh," He said, jumping to his feet. "Right."

"And now," the Governor announced, "I would like to officially open the Mahogany League Competition, along with Vesta, Beryl, Misty, and Silvia: the Mahogany Four, on this beautiful summer day of June the sixth. And with the public's permission."

"Ay!" the entire audience, minus a confused Ash, yelled.

"Let the battles begin!"

The crowd cheered ecstatically as the Governor signed a document on stage. The document was then passed to each of the four women.

"Saying 'ay!' when the governor asks the public's permission is also a Mahogany tradition," Brock explained.

"Uh-huh," Ash said, not looking away from Misty.

"Are you listening, Ash?" Brock whined.

"C'mon, Brock. I'm kinda busy."

"Sure," he spat as he shook his head. "Busy indeed."

"Well how would you react if you saw the woman you love for the first time in six years?" Ash hissed, doing his best to be heard over the crowds.

"Oh, so now it's love?"

"Oh, it's been love, Brock," Ash said simply, looking at Misty once again.

"Alright then," Brock said, looking towards the stage.

Misty could feel Ash's gaze burning into her. It took all her strength not to give in. The document that had been moving down the line was about to make its way into her hands. As it did, she let go for a moment and looked Ash's way. Brock stood there grinning at her, and Ash had a look of bliss plastered on his features. She couldn't help but smile as she scribbled her name onto the parchment. Smile still intact, she handed the page back to the Governor.

"That about wraps it up," he said. "Have a great time, everybody."

The Governor made his way out stage right, with the Mahogany Four close behind. They waved goodbye to the crowd before they slipped behind the curtains. Misty took one long look at Ash, then smiled, then left the stage.

"Well, now what?" Brock wondered aloud.

Ash looked around frantically for an easy out from the crowd. There were people everywhere, and no easy exit presented itself. Ash turned to Brock with a desperate look on his face. "I'll be back," he said quickly, then disappeared into the crowd.

He made his way to the back stage area, hoping to find Misty there somewhere. He was pushing through a group of people when he saw a flash of red a few yards in front of him. He called her name, but the woman turned a corner, slipping out of sight. He followed her around the corner as quickly as he could, but only found an empty hallway in front of him. A woman with short, dark brown hair emerged from a door, shutting it behind her. Ash locked eyes with her.

"Ash?" She asked, staring at him.

"I'm looking for Misty," he said quickly.

"I'm Beryl," she said, coming towards him. "I'm afraid you just missed her. She left with Silvia a few minutes ago. They both have matches at four and wanted to get ready as quickly as possible."

"But I thought I just saw her," he said, confused.

"Must have been your imagination," she said with a smile. "It's nice to meet you, though."

"Oh, gosh, I'm so sorry. How rude of me. It's an honor to meet you," he said, shaking her hand. "I was just so shocked to see her again. I guess it took me off guard."

"Don't worry about it. I'm sure it did the same to her."

"Has she told you…"

Beryl cut him off. "Sorry, Ash, but I've got to run. I'll see you at our match," she passed him with a smile and set off down the hall towards the exit.

"Nice to meet you," he called to her.

Without turning around, she gave him a wave, and exited the building.

"Damn," he said to no one in particular. He followed the route Beryl had used and exited the building. Brock was waiting for him there.

"Any luck?" he asked, handing Ash his bag.

"Nope."

"Sorry about that. What do you want to do then?"

"Well, I compete at four, and then I'll go find Misty," Ash said, a new wave of determination suddenly washing over him. "C'mon, Brock! There's training to be done!"

"Wait up, Ash!" Brock called, running to keep up with the young man. He chuckled at Ash's sudden energy and spunk. "Boy, some things never change."