Ch. 8 – The Poison Fang
A/N: VERY IMPORTANT! READ NOW! Gah! You would not believe how busy I've been! Every time I try and write something, and different something comes up that I must take care of! Plus I was out for a weekend at the AnimeFest Convention. I got a lot of stuff, but now's not the time to say that. Well, as some may have found out through sheer boredom, I got a review that surprised me as well as pleased me. I thank Krafty Quill for such a review that has opened my eyes. Now, I'm not saying that I expect everyone to give me these long analytical reviews each time (though it's nice to gets long reviews sometimes), but this review has made me make some minor changes to my story. Really, if you read the review, I'm basically answering all the questions. I put a little in chapter five that explains Team Rocket's security and why Atsune doesn't teleport for Pikachu. Also, I've added two small paragraphs starting with "Struck with indecision,…" and "But Giovanni…" that says some stuffs. So if you don't want to read the whole chapter over again, search for those. Though I forgot if the "But Giovanni…" was actually a new paragraph or not. It's near all the Serum talk. And when Atsune dreams about her family's death, I made it so technically Giovanni doesn't go back on his word for "letting them go". Yes, people can be admitted into Pkmn Centers as well. I saw it in an episode of the show, as maybe some of you have. Also I put in "Besides, that was what was needed for the deal without history repeating." when Atsune wakes up to Gary in the last chapter. That'll come up in this chapter so I didn't want anyone confused. I believe all other stuff (if any other stuff is to be answered) may be answered in this chapter. I'm sorry this a/n was so long, but it all had to be said. Enjoy this new chapter. ((Beware, cause the scenes will kinda switch a lot. But it's all needed for the story!))
The air seemed filled with the scent of smoky remains that littered the ground. The dim lighting in the arena barely showed the scattered machinery parts all surrounding a lone figure. The man panted lightly, sweat dripping off of his scarred body. "Just a little more. I need to train only a little more and I'll be ready." The man said with a smirk. With lightning speed he tossed a kunai at a poster of another person, his accuracy striking the pictures' forehead. "The time to meet again is soon, my sweet." His gazed intensified upon the picture, his target Atsune.
In the main kitchen, Atsune toweled off her hands after finishing the dishes. Her eyes wandered to a small mirror nearby. Her hands now dry, she straightened out her neatly cut brown hair and pulled it back into a high pony-tail. For a moment, Atsune just stared at her reflection; honey-colored eyes staring back at her. When did she get so pale? "That's the fun of being underground for a couple years…" Atsune muttered sulkily. Her face managed to stay smooth and slightly rounded, but it seemed so different from when she was first captured. Back then it seemed so much…smaller.
She walked silently out to the main room where everyone sat among cushioned armchairs. "Now that we've had our lunch and cleaned it up, it'd be wise to start figuring out what we'll do for the time being." Atsune announced as she came up to them.
"Well, what could we do? I mean, we could just stay here in the hotel for a while right?" Brock asked.
"And being here gives me a chance to battle one of the most famous trainers around, minus a couple years of course." Ash snickered, eager at the thought of a good fight.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu agreed happily.
"Sure there's stuff to do here, but would you all honestly want to be cooped up here for the next two and a half weeks?" Atsune wondered.
"Not really…" Misty muttered.
"How about a couple days? Then maybe we could just go around seeing the stuff we never got a chance to see before. We could go to one of the big cities for a night on the town!" Atsune declared eagerly. "I remember visiting a great night club in Saffron before! Oh I went there every time I visited that city! One of the bouncers is a good friend of mine. I'd actually helped him out when one of his pokemon, a Granbull, got sick and turned on my friend in a fevered rage. It was pretty strong, but in the end I just got it paralyzed long enough to help it. Back then I found him in the middle of nowhere. In exchange, I found him working as a bouncer for a club and he'd let me in for free!"
"What! No way! You went to night clubs?" Misty gasped.
"What…you didn't?" Atsune asked innocently.
Everyone shook their heads.
"Man! That's not right! I know I was young at the time but even I knew how to party! We're so going there!" Atsune remarked.
"What happens if someone recognized you?" Gary said.
"Ah, who would? Everyone thinks I'm dead."
Ash spoke up, "Speaking of which, when will you tell people that you're back? You can't just stay hiding forever."
Atsune looked away. "Well," she began quietly, "I know I should come back and everything. If a few people know, then Team Rocket will try to kill them to keep it secret. Though if everyone knew, Team Rocket couldn't really do anything. I really do mean to come out soon, but I'm not quite ready yet. I'm not sure anyone is."
Gary stood and walked over to Atsune, placing his hand on her shoulder gently. "You come out when you're ready. Just remember that no matter what, we're here for you."
Atsune smiled warmly, "Thank you."
"AHH!" Gary shouted, suddenly falling from Atsune's view.
She looked down to see Absol standing where he previously did, Gary now lying off to the side. Absol grinned and stood to lean against Atsune playfully. "Sorry Gary! Absol still doesn't like people to get close to me too much." Absol sat by her trainer's side, snickering at the fallen prey.
"I could've told him that." Ash muttered as Gary stood up again.
"And what exactly do you mean by that?" Misty growled.
"AH! No! You've got it all wrong!" Ash exclaimed.
"Chill out Misty. The same thing happened to him when we were first heading to Black base. I figured out I actually had a tracking device on me and told Pikachu to shock me to destroy it. You can guess that Pikachu is very strong, so I actually fell down when the shock was over." Atsune giggled lightly. "It was kinda funny because when Ash helped me up, Absol knocked him over." She laughed a little more.
"A tracking device? Why didn't you ever mention that!" Brock asked.
"Oh, didn't I mention it? I guess when we found you guys under attack, I kinda just forgot." Atsune told him, grinning sheepishly.
"And back at the pokemon center, you mentioned something about the deals you made with Giovanni being 'what was needed'. What…what did you mean?" Gary wondered.
Atsune smirked sadly. "You sure change the topic quick. I'll tell you though why it was important. When my family was captured, I told Giovanni to let them go and I'd stay. So he let them go…straight into the water." She took a deep breath before continuing. "I wasn't specific, so he worked the deal to his favor. This time I made it so precise he didn't have anything else he could possibly do. If I could defeat the pokemon in the water, he had to let us go and not pursue us. Since I went through with my deal and beat the pokemon, it wouldn't matter if Ash fell into the water or not. There wouldn't be anything to hurt him and I could've gotten him out. As I said before, I wouldn't let history repeat."
Her words brought a cold silence upon them, no one meeting each other's eyes,
"Well, who care's about that anyway! It's decided right? We'll stay here for a couple days and then head to Saffron city! Unless there are any objections?" Atsune asked.
"Nope!" Ash said, Pikachu nodding his agreement.
"None from me." Gary remarked.
"Me either." said Brock.
"What about you Misty? Your opinion counts as well." Atsune said, facing the redhead.
Misty looked at Atsune for a moment, "No objection here!" And for the first time, Misty actually smiled towards Atsune.
Atsune walked alone through the base's dimly lit corridors the morning of their departure. She got up early so she could go and get all of her new stuff from Black Base. Currently she patrolled the halls as she used to every day she spent there in her youth. Absol patrolled the West wing of the hotel as Atsune took the East. Since everyone's rooms were on the east side, Atsune felt obligated to check around personally.
Finding nothing unusual, as expected, she made her way back to her own room.
"Atsune?" someone called in the darkness.
Atsune turned sharply to see Ash walking up to her. "Oh hey Ash! What are you doing up so early?"
"I woke up and couldn't fall asleep again, so I took a little walk." Ash admitted.
"Oh, I see. Well I was just about to head to Black Base to gather up the new stuff I got. I only just remembered it recently." Atsune told him sheepishly.
"Want some help? I'll come if you want me to."
Atsune paused at first, and then smiled happily. "Sure, why not? It'll be quicker with the two of us."
He grinned as well, as if Atsune's smile were contagious. Atsune pulled out Gardevoir, and they arrived in the main room of Black Base after the teleportation finished. Almost at once Atsune rushed to the bunker's bedroom, where her stuff lay on her bed.
"At least everything's organized." Atsune said to herself. After pulling out a large grey backpack from her closet, she started to pack everything needed for traveling. "Sorry Ash, I guess there isn't really much for you to help out with." She faced him with a sheepish grin. When he didn't respond, her grin turned into a small worried frown. "Everything all right?" Atsune asked cautiously.
"Huh? Oh, yeah…" Ash replied, not meeting her eyes. "You once before told me you used to travel alone. Didn't you at least meet people along the way?"
Atsune shrugged. "Probably. I can't really remember much though."
"Oh…right." Ash muttered. "D-Do you think that Kisshomaru really would stalk you though? I don't think we can trust him!" he blurted out awkwardly.
"I'm pretty sure I'd be okay. He doesn't seem to be a threat, and I could take him out if he was!" Atsune's glanced sideways at him, "That is if you don't get him first." She snickered lightly.
"What do you mean Atsune?"
"You sound worried about me is what I mean."
"Well, I kinda am." He told her, seeing a surprised face cross her features. "What I mean is that he could be working for Team Rocket! You might be in danger by him!"
Atsune shook her head, closing up her now completely full backpack. "You have too big of an imagination. We're just gonna head to Saffron City when we have some breakfast, sight-see for the day, and head to the night club. The name of the place is called The Poison Fang. It's one of those 'tough' names that attract attention, ya know?"
He just nodded his head. "Someone could still recognize you though."
"Then the cat's out of the bag and everyone knows I'm back, not forgetting that'd be a good thing anyway. You have to relax Ash," she said as she placed a hand on his shoulder, "or you'll spend the whole night looking over your shoulder looking like an idiot." She laughed lightly and hugged him. "Let's get back now, before we're missed."
Ash nodded again, smiling to himself as they teleported back to Home Base.
Back at Black Base though, a man peeked into the now empty room with satisfaction. "The Poison Fang…" he repeated to himself almost giddy beyond pleasure. He stabbed a Kunai in the wall and rested a tulip through its finger-hole before withdrawing at last.
"Are you sure this will work Atsune?" Brock asked nervously as they walked down the streets of Saffron city. The evening air felt cool on their faces, the breeze calm and soothing. They dressed a little flashier than their normal clothes, but secretly Atsune didn't take any chances. Her snug, red, off-the-shoulders top hugged her slim figure and the nearly invincible chain-mail upon it. Long black gloves with the fingers cut off that stopped just short of her elbow, disguising her durable arm guards under them. Her black pants hung loose and seemed short, the kind of pants that looked like a long skirt at times. With her hair wrapped into a long braid and some faux glasses, even her friends almost couldn't recognize her. Small daggers hid on her thighs, and would come free if she pinched through the cloth on the right spot.
"Of course it will! Don't back out now, I bet a lot of pretty girls at the club would love to dance with you!" Atsune told him, touching his weakness.
Brock's jaw dropped, fantasizing over thoughts of pretty women at the club. Misty shook her head, "You're hopeless Brock."
"Well, as long as his hopelessness allows him to have fun, I don't think it should matter tonight!" Atsune laughed. Turning a corner, they came upon a line into The Poison Fang. "Damn…here, follow me!" Atsune turned into an alley, followed hesitantly by the others. The alley would lead straight to a smaller alley right next to the door of the club. The sickening smell of cat and rat waste along with the rank stench of a dumpster made her dizzy, but she pressed on. She turned the last corner, which was considerably smaller than the part they were just in. Absol trailed along obediently, wary of her surroundings.
Right before she peeked around the corner, a smell different than the typical alley smells waded into her nose. Rough hands yanked her back into the large section of the alley, the attacker slamming her back against a wall. Absol's loud snarling came from the side, engulfed in a string shot from an opposing Ariados. A gang of eight people had sneaked up on them, their scent disguised by the alley smell. Misty and Brock were both to the side, a different gang member to each of them. Ash struggled against his captor, pinned against the wall with his arms behind his back. Pikachu was locked in a fierce battle with an Ekans.
Gary still fist fought with one guy, resisting capture. Gary threw a punch and missed, leaving an opening. His attacker squared a direct hit into Gary's jaw, flinging him back.
"GARY!" Atsune shouted as his opponent pinned him to the ground.
The Guy in front of Atsune snickered, "What? Is he your man? Ditch the punk and come with me, we could-" he was cut off as Atsune picked him up by the shirt.
"Who the hell are you to tell me what to do! You're nothing but a selfish bastard who can't get a girlfriend!" Atsune shouted, tossing him aside easily.
"Hey you wench! You're gonna get it now!" one of the extra guys said. He charged at her, pulling back his fist. Atsune dodged him as he ran by, kicking him the back.
"Enough of this," sounded the voice of the second extra. He pulled out a gun, aiming towards Atsune. "Now be a good little girl and come with me," he smirked, "or someone here might have an accident." He pointed the gun at Gary, who tensed for the shot.
Atsune froze, watching him in a fighting stance. She loosened up, nodding. "You're right. I guess you just scared me, but you're actually a lot cuter than the guys I hang out with." Ash, Gary, and Brock all dropped their jaws as Atsune walked smoothly to the guy, presumably the leader. "I'm sure we could have plenty of fun together." She purred one hand on his chest and the other on his arm. "Put away the gun and I'm yours."
The leader snickered, lowering his defense and leaning in to kiss Atsune.
She put a finger to lips, halting him. "Man, you're dumb!" she said before twisting his wrist, making him drop his weapon. She hit him where it hurt and ducked around him as he doubled over. She kicked him over, watching him fall. "Now Absol! Fury Swipes!"
Absol released the attack upon the webs, getting free with ease. She took out the Ariados with one hit, and tackled down all of the other gang members. Once free, her friends all stood beside Atsune, who glared at the leader lying in a pitiful heap before her. Pikachu stood on a defeated Ekans triumphantly.
"Remember this battle and never pick a fight with people of whom you don't know their strengths. Train yourself and fight honorably, and maybe you'll be worth defeating one day." She stomped on the gun he reached for, shattering it to pieces.
"Well done! Your fighting reminds me of someone I once knew." A man came from around the corner. He was a tall and broad man, his looks intimidating. He bore a black beard that matched his scruffy hair. He also bore the club's bouncer uniform. Deep dark eyes shone brilliantly. Atsune watched him with a smile as he dialed the police, telling them what had occurred.
"Who is this guy?" Gary whispered into her ear, a distrustful look in his eyes.
"Well, remember that bouncer friend of mine?" She asked, walking over to the man as he hung up his phone. "Hey Jake! You've grown a beard ya big lug! I almost didn't recognize you!"
"Huh? Have we met?" Jake asked.
Atsune feigned hurt, "Oh Jake, I rescue your Granbull and we've been friends ever since! Yet I come back from a short vacation and you don't recognize me! Oh how you weaken my poor heart!" She dramatically placed the back of her hand to her forehead, looking away.
"What! No way! Atsune!" he stammered.
"Well who else could it be?" she snickered, lowering her glasses to look at him.
"Oh Atsune, where have you been for so long! I thought you were dead and now you're back! It's a miracle!" He shouted, tears of joys streaming down his face as he swept her into a bear hug.
"Can't…breathe…." Atsune whispered at his strength.
"Sorry!" he said, placing her on the ground again. "But where have you been? You wouldn't believe how shocked I was to hear that you died."
"Oh, you'll hear about that soon enough, I plan to reveal myself sometime soon. In the meantime, could ya manage to squeeze us into the club?" Atsune asked with big eyes.
"Of course! Even after all this time, you and anyone with you are in for free! Ya know I might not have believed you were really Atsune if I didn't see you fight." He assured her, patting her head with ham-like hands.
"Oh! I'm sorry, introductions. Everyone, this is my good friend Jake. Jake this is Gary, Ash, Pikachu, Brock, and Misty. Of course you remember Absol."
"Nice to meet all of you!" Jake exclaimed.
"You as well!" Everyone chorused.
"Pikachu!"
"Now, just head to the front and tell the other bouncer you like chewing ice. That'll get you in without question. Just make sure no one overhears. As for me, I'll watch over these punks until the police get here." Jake explained.
"Thanks Jake, you're a big help. See ya later." They left Jake and followed his directions, getting into the club with no difficulties. It was a big change from outside where the cool breeze promised a relaxing evening in silence. In here they music pounded with a catchy beat, the heat of the dancers filled with the urge to move. The smell of dance-sweat sickened Atsune, but she could handle it. "Now let's dance!" Atsune shouted to her companions.
At first Atsune just observed the alterations in the dance style since two years past. It was easy to adjust to this different style, since it hasn't changed too much. For a while they danced, letting time pass with the beat of the songs. At one point people around her moved away, forming a circle. Atsune made her way to the edge of the circle and watched the center. Apparently two guys started a dance-off!
Wait, Atsune recognized one of them…it was Kisshomaru! What was he doing here? The song changed, and Kisshomaru won the dance-off with flashy moves. He looked around for his next challenger, his eyes landing on Atsune. He smiled sexily, pointing her out.
Without warning, someone pushed Atsune into the circle. She looked around, a little nervous at first, but gaining her confidence. Her friends were watching from the edge of the circle, Ash's jaw dropped at the sight of Kisshomaru.
The battle begun with Kisshomaru moving to the beat as if he practiced his whole life. All of a sudden he stopped, Atsune's turn now.
Atsune started simply, popping here to there with sexy movements. She finished off, watching him.
He put in some fancy footwork, going down and coming up again with a twirl. Before she knew it, it was her turn again. Time passed, and they continued to dance. Atsune started putting some martial arts into it, getting loud whoops when she did something good. She dropped into her middle-split and reached forward, sending her legs straight behind her. She pushed herself up and into a tuck, where she pushed herself up into a hand-stand. She was just glad her shirt was tucked in and she stood upright again.
He obviously knew some martial arts too, since he did some movements as well. He performed a roundhouse kick, cart wheeling back some. After some flashy dance moves, he roused a loud cheer from the crowd.
It was now or never. She moved with the beat, jumping and kicking in the air once. She popped a couple times before doing a back handspring where she went down and spun her leg around her. Using the momentum of the spin, she went onto her hands into a handstand again, and then let all of her weight onto just one hand. Her free hand grabbed one of her leg that bent down to it. She paused there for moment before letting herself down and standing up. As her last move she performed a back flip and slid smoothly into her splits. The crowd cheered louder than before, shouting things aloud.
Atsune listened to their shouts to Kisshomaru, hearing things like, "Oooooooh! You just got SERVED!" and things to her like, "Man, this chick is HOT!" Atsune laughed to herself before getting up and walking over to Kisshomaru. The crowd went back to normal, people dancing all around. She held out her hand, "You're quite a dancer."
He shook it, "As are you, my flower of delight." He bent over and kissed her hand, looking up at her with that same sexy stare. "You grace is unmatched, and your beauty is more than outstanding compared to all the ladies in the world."
"Hey, what are you doing!" Gary asked, walking up. The others followed suit. A bruise formed on his cheek where the gang member hit him, but it just made him look that much tougher.
Kisshomaru looked at him "Can I not compliment such a lovely being?" He glanced at her with a smirk from the corner of his eye.
Gary glared at him with a deep hatred as Atsune giggled lightly. "C'mon Atsune, let's go dance somewhere else." He grabbed her hand and started to lead out until he felt her stop. He looked back, seeing that Kisshomaru held her other hand.
"I'm not done dancing with her though." He said, meeting Gary's eyes confidently.
"I believe you are!" Ash said, taking Atsune's hand from Kisshomaru.
Kisshomaru yanked her back, pulling her into his arms. He started to dance with her, and Atsune had no choice but to keep up! He kept throwing in offensive attacks that forced Atsune to dodge.
"Enough of this Kisshomaru! This isn't the place to fight!" Atsune shouted, ducking away from a kick. People stopped to stare at them.
"Ah, but any interaction with you is like a dance to me! So let's pick up the pace!" He started to move faster, nicking the tip of Atsune's nose with a punch.
"Damnit, you asked for it!" Atsune shouted, throwing in some attacks of her own. After ducking a punch, she found an opening! Atsune swept his legs from under him, letting him fall on his back. Instantly she was upon him, straddling him and pinning his wrists above his head.
"My dear star of life, I never knew you felt so strongly!" He mocked.
"Shut the hell up!" Atsune shouted. "At first it was funny, but now you're just annoying the hell out of me! Leave me be and you'll come to no further harm." Atsune got up, glaring down at him.
He got up as well, watching her walk off. He lunged at her from behind, but Atsune was ready for it. She dodged, but what she wasn't ready for was from him to get behind her! She felt her glasses fall off and her arms were pinned painfully behind her.
Atsune breathed heavily. Who was this guy?
"People of the club! Listen to me now!" It didn't matter since the whole club watched them, and the music had been turned off sometime during their fight. "This girl has deceived you all! Almost three years ago, famous pokemon trainer Atsune Tamotsu disappeared and believed to be dead." Atsune knew where this was going, and kick him painfully in the shin. He released her with a wince, but continued. "That whole thing was a lie! The girl you see before you is none other that the one believed to be dead!" He pointed at Absol, "And of course you all recognize her prize fighter."
Absol snarled and jumped between Atsune and Kisshomaru, a low growl emitting from her throat. Atsune looked around at the shocked and disbelieving faces of the crowd. "I hadn't planned to reveal myself so soon, but it seems that there's no hope for that now." Atsune said to Absol. She raised her voice to address the entire crowd. "It's true! I am, in fact, Atsune Tamotsu. My reasons for being gone are simple, and I'm sure you'll hear about it within the next couple days, but right now is not a time for stories." Her eyes met Kisshomaru's gaze.
"You forget I have the advantage in this fight." He grabbed Misty from the crowd, holding a blade to her neck. "It doesn't take much to keep you at bay." He snickered as Atsune tensed.
"Misty!" Ash yelled helplessly. Rage burned like fire in his eyes.
Atsune muttered to herself, "What is with the hostage thing today?" Her eyes never left Kisshomaru. "Why don't you come out from behind Misty and we'll take this outside? Unless you don't think you can take me, since you know who I am."
"I don't think you're in a position to call the shots here my love. I'm surprised your friends haven't turned on you already. Team Rocket, gang members, and a dancing lunatic who are all ready to end their lives." His knife pressed a little more against Misty's throat. "You're the one who's getting them into such dangerous positions. I can help you out. With me you won't have to worry about the lives of anyone ever again. Stay with these guys and someone really will die." He threatened.
Atsune released her fighting stance, watching him warily. "You're of no use to me. If you can't fight fair, your punishment will only be worse."
Kisshomaru made his way to the door with Misty, spectators rushing out of his way. Atsune stepped slowly but followed in a distance. Absol walked at her side. "You know what? I'll be nice and give you some time to think about it. No more risking lives and running, just a life of peace. I can guarantee it."
Out of the door, he flung Misty at Atsune, who barely managed to catch her in time. When she looked up, Kisshomaru had already disappeared. "That bastard…" Atsune growled.
Misty ran and hugged Ash, beginning to cry into his shirt. He looked surprised at first, but just held her in his arms tenderly, trying to calm her down.
Atsune looked at Absol. "Scout the area. Report to the police station when you're finished." Absol nodded and took off. Atsune stared for a moment at Misty, guilt weighing her heart down. "This wouldn't have happened if it weren't for me…" she muttered. Screeching tires made Atsune look up, seeing the all too horrible site of news cars coming to a stop before her, along with a couple police cars. News casters ran up with their cameras, surrounding Atsune before she could escape.
They yelled questions, demanding answers. Atsune held up her hand to silence them. Once quiet, she pushed her way through the crowd. If someone blocked her way, she pushed a little harder. They continued their questions, but Atsune at last made it to her friends. She spoke to Gary, making sure the paparazzi couldn't hear. "Go to the pokemon center and I'll be there as soon as I can. No matter how annoying they get, don't say a word to the media. Not a word. It's time I revealed myself."
Before he could reply, Atsune walked over to Officer Jenny who, as Atsune figured, wanted to take her in for questioning. It's going to be a long night…Atsune thought.
It took long hours of persuasion, but the police finally believed Atsune's story. At last she met up with Absol who had waited outside for her. Atsune felt grumpy, but a safe version of her story would be everywhere today. She just wished she wasn't revealed in such a dramatic way.
She saw the first rays of the dawn on the eastern horizon. Atsune sighed happily as she made her way to the pokemon center since at least the streets were mostly empty. She picked up her pace as she finally saw the pokemon center in the distance.
Checking in with Nurse Joy, she found her friends in the eating area. "Hey everyone." She mumbled as she drew near. They all looked up at her except for Misty, who turned away as if in fear.
"How did everything go?" Brock wondered.
"Besides a night of no sleep and the re-telling of a story that haunts my dreams, I've never been better." Atsune replied with a hint of sarcasm. She softened and looked at Misty. "Misty…" she paused, searching for the right words, "I never meant for you to be in such a bad situation. Kisshomaru was right in saying I'm bringing all of this trouble upon everyone. I'm really sorry, but I know just saying sorry isn't enough. It never could be for what I put you through."
She didn't reply or meet Atsune's eyes. Ash frowned. "Atsune, it's not your fault! It's that jerk Kisshomaru!"
"But who was Kisshomaru really after?" Atsune retorted. Ash went silent again. "You all would've been a lot safer if you never met me and each of you knows that's a fact."
"Yeah, but does that matter?" Gary asked. "I for one am happy I met you, no matter how many times I get in danger. You're our friend and I'm sticking by your side."
"I thank you for your kind words, but that's not what I'm getting at Gary. I promised to protect you all, but it's obvious I can't even do that." She faced Misty again. "I know you're scared, and I know it's my fault, but you won't believe how guilty I am for it. I vow to make sure nothing like this happens again."
Misty suddenly glared at her, tears forming in her eyes. "You think I care about your stupid vows! I don't care how strong you are! You'll never be able to uphold those vows! You said before about your stupid promise to protect us and all you've done has got us into more and more trouble! You can't be trusted!" She suddenly got up and ran out of the Pokemon Center.
"Misty!" Ash yelled, getting up and chasing after her. Pikachu followed, stopping once to cast a worried glance back at Atsune.
Atsune stood frozen to her spot. Misty was right…she couldn't be trusted. She's already promised her friends would stay safe with her around, but Atsune's troubles just became theirs. All she did was make their life worse and there was no way to fix it. She turned and walked out of the Center, going the opposite direction Misty did. Gary and Brock went after her, trying to get her attention.
Gary ran in front of her, "Please Atsune! She didn't mean it! Misty's just scared right now, and she knows just as well as any of us that this isn't your fault!"
Atsune moved to walked around him, but he blocked her path. "Please! You have to listen to me!" Gary exclaimed.
"ABSOL!" Absol cried, knocking over Gary and towering over him. Absol kept one paw on his chest to keep him still. Absol's eyes were glaring, her growl as menacing as it could be.
"Gary!" Brock gasped, starting to go and help him up.
Absol snarled at Brock, causing him to freeze. "I'm sorry you guys…" Atsune stated sadly. She looked at Gary, taking no notice to the tears streaming down her face. "I just need to be alone right now…c'mon Absol." Atsune walked off, Absol following as if nothing happened.
Gary lay rooted to the cement. Never had he seen such pain in Atsune's eyes before…
A/N: ZOMG! I'm gonna cry now. No, I'm not, but I was seriously about to as I wrote this. And who doesn't love an alley filled with gang members? Sorry if the fight was kinda crappy there, but it's there for one main reason. It was needed to convince Jake of Atsune's identity. I'm sorry I was so slow about this. I have pep squad practices every school-day, and the weekend is usually taken up with cleaning or some other crap. I'm trying my hardest to keep writing, truly I am! Just bear with my procrastination please! Review please, because reviews motivate me! Sorry for my slowness!