Kotone laid her body on Typhlosion – tired and frustrated. The mazes in the underground were confusing and huge. The female trainer growled. I need to save the Radio Tower one way or another. Kotone stood up and pressed the blue switch on the wall – opening the blue doors.
"Come on, boy. We are not giving up!"
Typhlosion roared valiantly and followed behind. Kotone looked around the building. It had been 30 minutes since she got lost thanks to the colourful, puzzling doors. She bit her lips. If she pressed the red switches, the red doors will open. But it'll also close the blue doors as a result. And the same thing happens when she presses the blue ones.
"Ahh!" Kotone yelled. She was going out of her mind.
"Well, well, well. If it isn't the 'new recruit'."
Kotone quickly turned around. A small frowned was flashed when she saw who it was – Jake. The grunt crossed his arms. A Weezing floated behind him. Kotone eyed her Typhlosion – signalling her starter to prepare for battle. Typhlosion nodded and crouched between the trainers. A low growl was heard.
Jake grinned. "You know, I gotta be honest. I was quite disappointed to find out that you were just an undercover. If you were a real grunt, you'll make a fine addition to the team."
Kotone scoffed and glared sharply at the grunt. "As if, I am not and never will involve into some stupid group." She pointed her finger at Weezing. "Typhlosion! Lava Plume!"
Typhlosion roared mightily and blew an inferno of scarlet flames at Weezing.
The Rocket grunt smirked at his opponent. "Weezing! Sludge!" The poison gas pokemon hurled a black, purple sludge – hitting the Typhlosion's lava – creating an explosion. The impact threw Kotone off balance and against a wall.
"Ow!" She cursed under her breath and rubbed her back. Kotone heard her Typhlosion's worried growl. "Don't worry about me buddy. I'm fine. Lava Plume, again!"
Before Typhlosion could launch another attack, a huge cloud of smoke surrounded the area. Both Kotone and her pokemon couldn't see a thing. Damn it! Kotone covered her mouth and nose. Without proper aim, Typhlosion can't attack. To make matters worse, the smoke was getting thicker. The petite trainer coughed out the excess fume. "Typhlosion!" she croaked.
Kotone flinched when she felt someone grasping her wrist – pushing her against the wall. Her eyes wide in terror and shock as Jake grinned in front of her. Their faces were inches apart. "You know," he murmured slyly. "If you were a part of Rocket, I'll be the most delighted one. You're cute…" He moved his hand to her brown hair, his fingers twirling around her locks, his thumb petting her lips. "Heck, you look very tempting…I feel like biting you…"
Kotone gulped and snarled silently. She wanted to call out for Typhlosion, but the jackass's hand was sealing her mouth. And the thick fog was still covering the room. Jake sneered. He had her just where he wanted her. And he wanted her badly.
The teenage trainer closed her eyes tightly. Her mind flashed the incident with Silver a few hours ago. She saw his raging eyes, his intense face when she was in the Rocket outfit. She remembered how he ripped her uniform like a piece of paper. How Silver acted like a wild animal when he saw her in her lingerie. How he pinned her harshly in anger and unknown lust. Just like Jake was pinning her now.
But the difference now was, for the first time in her life, Kotone was completely scared for what was coming for her. She felt her eyes getting wet. "Damn…" she breathed.
Jake grinned. His victim was paralyzed in aghast. And it made him crave her even more. "You're mine…" He moved his face closer to hers – itching to shut the distance between them.
Kotone clenched her teeth. A low, threatening growl escaped from her lips. "Silver…" was all she could say.
Suddenly, the Rocket grunt was thrown far away from her. "AHHH!" Jake yelled as a sharp pain hit him on the shoulder and his body crash landed on a steel door. The grunt sat helplessly, he held his dismantled shoulder – red blood oozing everywhere.
"Don't…you…dare…touch…her…"
Jake heard a low snarl. He looked up – paralyzed to see the smokescreen Weezing made had disappeared – revealing a very angry redhead.
Silver tighten his fist as hard as he can. The minute he saw Kotone being abusely close to the man, he had gone mad. He had never felt any more infuriated in his life when he saw Jake touching Kotone. The sight of his foul hands dancing on her face – Silver felt murderous for the first time in his 15 years of living. His silver eyes pierced sharply on the grunt. He had crossed the line; the grunt had made it very personal. Silver gripped the grunt's shirt collar and pulled him up to his face. "You little…prick! KEEP YOUR FUCKING HANDS OF HER!" Silver snapped.
Jake stammered – terrified. The redhead's silver gaze was eating his soul. His eyes wandered to find his Weezing, calling for help. But all that was nothing when he saw his pokemon fainted in front of a smirking Haunter. Jake gulped. He wanted to move away but the deep ache on his shoulder limited his actions.
Silver threw the young man across the room, earning another painful yelp from Jake. He faced his Feraligatr. "Kill him."
Feraligatr nodded and with one swift movement, he plunged towards Jake and laid a deep Crunch and Ice Fang attack on his body. The grunt shrieked in agony.
Kotone could only widen her eyes in shock. A man was literally being torn to shreds right in front of her eyes! She focused her attention to the raging redhead. "Silver…Stop!" Kotone ran towards Silver and held his shoulders. She could only see burning hatred in his eyes.
And it made Kotone shudder in fear.
"Silver! Stop stop stop!" Kotone shook the boy vigorously. She cringed as the sound of the man's suffering cry filled her eardrums. Kotone shut her ears. "Silver! Enough!" The brunette averted her gaze at her awed Typhlosion. "Typhlosion! Stop Feraligatr before it's too late!"
The fire starter nodded and rushed towards Feraligatr. He gripped the water pokemon's arms – trying to pull him away. Dude! Enough! You're tearing that human into pieces!
Feraligatr growled heavily. Master told me to kill him! Besides, this human assaulted your human, remember! And master doesn't approve it one bit! Feraligatr struggled through Typhlosion's tight grasp. The two giant creatures were now in each other's throats.
Kotone could feel Silver's body shaking violently. She looked up; shudder in aghast. The sight of a killer and the sound of flesh being ripped apart were scaring the hell out of her. "Silver!" Kotone slapped Silver's cheek – waking him from his enraged mental breakdown.
Silver eyes widen in astonishment. He held his cheek and stare blankly at Kotone. Her brown eyes were darker than usual – a scared colour. He focused his gaze on the two fighting beasts. His mouth gaped in utter horror at the red, impaired body next to them.
"Silver…"
He looked down. Kotone was holding his arms. Her eyes wet in frightened tears. "Enough…I'm fine…" she whimpered weakly.
The silver-eyed boy was trying to suck in everything in front of him. He was stunned. The last thing he remembered was seeing the grunt pinning Kotone. He gritted his teeth.
"Silv…"
His body felt wobbly. Her soft voice saying his name was enough to make Silver led out a small, quiet moan. Silver looked at the ground – facing his soiled, red shoes. He could feel her nervous breath swaying on his hair.
Kotone looked at her rival in concern. He was no longer enraged. But she was still worried. "Silv…" Her hand caressed his cheek – flinching Silver at her touch. "You okay…?" Kotone whispered softly.
Silver gritted his teeth. He clenched his blood red fist. "Feraligatr!" he yelled – eyes away from hers. "Let's get out of here!"
"Wait, what?" Silver swatted his arms free and flee. His Feraligatr removed his sharp grip from Typhlosion and chased after his trainer.
Leaving Kotone stunned with a thousand words.
A few minutes passed by since his departure. Kotone stood there – clueless at what just happened. She felt a small nudge on her shoulder. Kotone looked aside, her Typhlosion was staring at her – telling her to move on and finish the mission. His trainer slightly cringed at the sight of small dots of blood on his face. Slowly and shakingly, Kotone wiped it away.
The brunette looked around. Thanks to the intense fight, all the doors were destroyed and wide open – giving Kotone the way to find the Director. She took a long, heavy breath and gazed at her beloved starter. "Come on, let's find the Director."
Typhlosion nodded and they both ran to the elevator. But Kotone froze in horror when she heard a squishy noise. She looked down – a small puddle of blood was staining her shoes. Kotone gulped. Unwarily, her eyes focused on the bloody figure that was lying on the floor. She felt herself losing out of reality. Her thoughts flew back into what the redhead had just done.
Typhlosion quickly stood up and held his trainer. Kotone…No no no. Don't faint… The starter whimpered in worry.
Kotone took a few more deep breaths and massaged her forehead. Silver is not the murderous type. He may steal some stuff but he definitely won't kill out of impulse. She remembered how the grunt was about to grope her – or more scary, rape her. If Silver didn't come at the right time, she would have been a goner.
Kotone shivered at that thought. Carefully, she stood up straight and averted her gaze away from the horrifying body. Like it or not, they were still the bad guys with bad intentions and her mission wasn't over.
"Come on Ty Ty. Let's destroy Team Rocket."
Typhlosion nodded with a mighty roar.
Silver covered his face with his palms – growling angrily as every passing memory flashed in his eyes. He saw his smiling mother. He saw his neglecting father. He saw his old man's dead eyes when he looked at him. He saw his ignorant gaze before he left him alone. He saw Jake stroking Kotone like she was a toy. He saw Kotone's frightful expression – her eyes glistened in terror to see what he had done.
He saw the dismantled body lying on the floor – lifeless and red.
Silver clenched his fist – pulling his red strands of hair. "What…the…fuck…" he growled. He stared at his Feraligatr. The water pokemon was swimming blissfully on a lake at Route 33. A few hours had passed since the horrifying incident and Silver didn't know what to do. Unconsciously, his eyes caught a glimpse of a faint scar on his pokemon's right eye.
You don't seem to care and love them at all.
He felt his chest tighten. Silver gritted his teeth at the dragon master's words. He cringed as he reminisced the day he laid his hand on the water pokemon's cheek – bruising his eye. All because he lost in a battle against his only rival. He cursed at his starter – calling him names and mocking him. But Totodile did nothing to defend himself. He didn't fight back. The small creature just stood there quietly, sad that he disappointed his trainer. Silver could remember the tear flowing on the pokemon's scarred cheek.
It made Silver froze in total regret.
No matter what he did to Feraligatr – to his other pokemon, no matter how rude he was to them, they stayed loyal. Even Sneasel who was apparently the most stubborn of the team obeyed him. Eventhough the sharp claw pokemon himself received multiple mocks from his trainer, he ignored it and treated Silver with love and care.
Silver chuckled acidly at himself. I'm a fool. An idiot. He kept remembering Kotone's feared expression – making it a permanent picture in his head as a bitter reminder. Now she hates me. She will never be near me ever again. I'm a jerk. A villain. I'm a murderous wrench. That scene alone is enough for her to leave me alone forever. Silver felt his heart getting tighter in discomfort. But why the hell do I feel like I care…?
His thoughts halted as he heard footsteps. Silver hid his face with his knees. Whoever the uninvited visitor was, he wasn't feeling very welcoming.
"There you are…"
His head snapped up – eyes widen in shock to see Kotone smiling in front of him. Silver was taken aback by her presence that he unconsciously jumped backwards. Luckily his elbows were able to support him before his back kissed the ground.
Kotone flashed a small smile. After her victory with Team Rocket, she quickly paced her feet to find Silver. Luckily he didn't wander off too far. The petite trainer bent on her knees in front of the redhead. "Silver…I…urm…" she stammered – scratching the back of her head – hoping to find some words.
Silver raised an eyebrow – confused at his rival's stutter. He frowned. A slight part of him was jumping up and down in glee that he'd seen Kotone. Another part – the egoistic part – was scolding him for being too happy.
Kotone twiddled her fingers. She was speechless. Typhlosion sighed in disbelief. His trainer may be an expert in battling and training but when it comes to the dumbass redhead, she was like a clueless Magikarp.
Her cute face was distracting Silver. But he was getting impatient. "Spit it out, you weird woman!"
Kotone frowned. "I am not weird…" she muttered sourly. A small sigh was heard. "I just wanna say…thanks for saving me back there…"
Silver flinched. He didn't expect a thank you from her. Heck, he didn't expect anything at all from her. He chuckled vilely. "What are you? Blind? Did you realize what I did to that…that bastard?" Silver gritted his teeth – reminding himself not to go ballistic everytime he remembered his face.
The brunette trainer bit her lip. She remembered very well what Silver did. It was downright horrifying. If a normal person was in her shoes during that incident, that person would have been traumatized to see Silver and even reported him to the police. But for some unknown reason, Kotone left the case unspoken and instead, she felt no fear for the redhead.
"I know…" Kotone muttered faintly – her head on the ground.
Deep inside, Silver felt like punching himself in the face – regret saying the words that led to the terrifying memory. He felt like kicking his crotch when he said, "I'm a murderous freak. You should be afraid. You should run away."
Kotone chuckled sourly. A pain, vile chuckle that he'd never heard from her in his life. "You're not a freak." The female trainer looked up. "Sure…What you did to him was kinda…harsh. But I know you were trying to protect me. And I'm truly grateful." Kotone flashed her small, sweet smile – a smile that gets into Silver's skin everytime.
He growled silently and looked away. "I didn't say I was protecting you…"
Kotone grinned at her rival. Spiteful and stubborn as ever. "I really mean what I'd said. If you weren't there at that time…I…I don't know what would happen." She shuddered icily at the thought. Her head shook faster to remove the horrid consequences. Kotone stopped shaking when she heard a low, deep growl. She looked at Silver. His fist was clenching the grass and soil. He was mad at the thought too. Very mad.
And Kotone didn't want that to happen.
"E-Eh…B-But I'm fine now!" Unwarily, she moved her body and held Silver's shoulder. The boy froze in shock at her touch and looked up. Kotone was smiling in his eyes. "I'm fine..." was all he heard.
He was even more stunned as Kotone caressed his cheek. "Sorry I slapped you…That was kinda on impulse." She gave out a small giggle. Her voice and touch were like ecstasy to his body – sending shivers to his spine. Silver growled silently – cursing his betraying figure. He swatted her hands away. Again, he cursed himself for missing her touch.
"Don't touch me…" he snarled.
Kotone frowned. Her rival was back to his normal, jackass self. She sighed and stood up. "Well, I just came here for the thanks. Again, thank you. And take of yourself, okay?" She turned around and moved away from Silver.
Every step she took, Silver felt a rare emotion – scared – scared of seeing her disappear out of his sight for good. Swiftly, he stood up. "W-Wait!" he shouted.
He sighed in relieved quietly when Kotone stopped and turned around. "Yes?"
An awkward silence filled the air. Silver scratched the back of his head – clueless on what to say. He had no idea why he'd stopped her. He was even more blank to think why he'd cared. Kotone held her hips and raised an eyebrow. Now she was confused.
Suddenly, his eyes gazed upon his splashing Feraligatr. Silver grinned. "I want to battle you." He faced Kotone. "There's this jerk. He said I haven't been kind enough at my pokemon. Heh, well I'm going to prove him wrong by beating a wimp like you!" As if that was the signal, Feraligatr jumped off the lake and stood valiantly in front of his trainer – ready to battle.
Kotone shook her head in amusement. Silver was definitely back to his old jerkface self. She looked at her Typhlosion. He was as eager as his water enemy. Kotone looked at her smug rival. "Alright then. Oh…and I am not weak! Typhlosion! Return attack!"
The battle between rivals had begun.
Silver called back his fainted Magnemite. He had lost – again. He held his head down; gritted his teeth in frustration. "Why…" he muttered vilely. "Why do I keep losing…to you…?"
Kotone shrugged and petted her Typhlosion. The fire starter purred happily at his victory and at his trainer pampering him. He silently grumbled as Kotone halted her petting and strode towards Silver. Stupid dumbass redhead…Keeps stealing my girl…
Silver flinched when he felt a hand petted his hand. He looked up. Kotone was playfully messing up his hair – causing his cheeks to be tainted in red. "W-What the hell…? Shoo!" He swatted her hand away. The brunette giggled to see red cheeks on her rival.
"Aww…you're blushing," she chirped happily.
Which caused Silver to blush even more.
"Stupid woman…" he grumbled and looked away.
Kotone flashed a small smile. "You know, eventhough you are kinda a bit hard on your pokemon, but they love you. I can see that all your pokemon are working hard to please you especially Feraligatr. He really loves his trainer and will do anything to make you happy."
Silver glared at Kotone. The brunette didn't even flinch. "The hell are you lecturing me for?"
Kotone sighed. You are forever a hothead. "I am not lecturing you. More like…complimenting. I know you're a good person, Silver. No matter how rash your actions are sometimes. But your intentions are good. And your pokemon can see that in you." Her innocent brown eyes focused on his intense silvers. "I can see that in you…"
The redhead froze. He'd never expected those kinds of words to come out from her. Unwarily, his hands moved to his pocket – where her red cloth laid neatly inside. "Whatever…" he grumbled quietly.
Kotone smiled softly. There was no smirk. No smug. No taunt. Silver could only see innocence.
And it made his heartbeat go on a wild rampage.
"Well, I better go. Gotta get the last badge. Then, to the league!" Kotone yelled triumphantly – followed by a very arrogant roar by her starter. Without awareness, Silver chuckled at her enthusiastic action. But quickly frowned when Kotone stared at him like he had grown another head.
"What?" he asked uncomfortably.
"You just chuckled…like a normal chuckle. Like…Like a non-smug chuckle. Like a human chuckle!" Kotone yelped like a little girl.
Silver frowned at her statement. "I'm not a pokemon, you twat." Before Kotone could say anything, he pushed her and walked away. The more he stayed near the brunette, the more his heart was beating like he was having a heart attack.
But her words linger in his mind. She actually saw something human in me…
Unwarily, he flashed a small smile. Kotone never thought of him as a jerk. For once in his life, he felt…happy. Silver shook his head and walked faster – not wanting the girl to see what he was thinking. From now on, he had a new intention in mind.
A new way to train his pokemon.
Kotone grinned as her rival disappeared out of her sight. People may see him as a sadistic person. But all Kotone could see is a sweet, stubborn man – hidden underneath all that thick, egoistic attitude of his.