Aura: Well you guys polled it and now you get to see what Satoshi/Ash does! No doubt he's going to be called Ash at the end of this chapter but let's get started!

Found

Satoshi just stood in silence, watching Leaf stand up after falling. He sighed mentally, he knew this was going to happen, but this soon?

I probably should've just told Gary. He sighed, watching Leaf as she stared at him in the eye, trying to find the words. Satoshi knew he had two options, stand and hope he doesn't get hurt or just stay away until the tournament.

Satoshi spoke first, "I know you have questions." His voice broke Leaf out of her stupor.

"What?" Leaf asked.

Satoshi put his hand on his right hand, "I said I know you have questions. Ask away Leaf, I won't stop you." He braced himself for what may be asked. Leaf just tapped a finger against her cheek, trying to find the correct words.

She sighed after a minute, "First off, were you the one who spoke to me when I was asleep last night?"

Satoshi nodded, "Yes, I was." Leaf was now one step closer to figuring out Satoshi, but still needed to ask.

"Ok. Earlier today Gary rushed out of the house to go to the Pokemon Center. And just a few moments ago you just said: 'Maybe I should have just admitted to Gary. It probably would have made my life so much easier by this point.' Does that tie in to why Gary went to the Pokemon Center this morning?" Leaf was now demanding, feeling giddy that she could act like a detective.

Satoshi mentally laughed. He remembered when Leaf would always say when they were younger that she wanted to become detective.

He eventually just shook his head and sighed, "Yes. Earlier Gary met me in the Pokemon Center and…" He bit his lip, contemplating on whether he should just leave while he had the chance.

"Well?" Leaf asked anxiously, crossing her arms.

No. I'm just going to be caught later on. "Gary asked if I was Ash Ketchum." Leaf was silent, her arms falling to her sides.

Garyi, after our questioning, went and asked Satoshi if he was Ash? May said Seizon meant survival. Ash was found and taken to a hospital to see if he was alive. One faint beep every minute. Later his body was not seen and no one had a trace of where he was. Last night a mature Ash in my dreams said; "your old friend is closer than you think Leaf." Satoshi just said he said it to me last night. That could mean:

Leaf looked up with tears in her eyes, "A-Ash?" Satoshi visibly flinched at what his old friend said. They stood there in complete silence, Leaf taking one step forward every few seconds. Leaf soon ended up standing in-front of Satoshi/Ash.

Satoshi looked into Leaf's blue eyes, "Yes Leaf?" The tears sprung from her eyes as Leaf latched her arms around Ash's back, refusing to let go.

"I-I ca-can't believe it!" Leaf cried, worried that if she let go he would disappear.

Ash just smiled lightly, "I'm here Leaf. Yes, I am alive." He said, not sure how to act on Leaf's possessiveness right now. Leaf eventually let go and stared into Ash's eyes, wiping the tears from her own. Ash smiled and Leaf followed suit, but then a loud echo could be heard as Leaf's slap sent Ash to the ground.

Ash clutched his throbbing cheek, "Oooooouch." He moaned in pain, a red new hand mark on his cheek.

Leaf 'humphed', crossing her arms, "Next time don't hide from us when you 'die'." She said, air quoting die. Ash was about to retort when he saw more tears leak out of his old friends' eyes. Ash stood up, ignoring the searing pain in his cheek.

He laid a hand on Leaf's shoulder, "L-" He was cut off by Leaf smacking his hand off her shoulder, her turning around, facing the direction of the house.

"Don't touch me." Her voice was colder than before, causing Ash to take a step back. He couldn't even retort as Leaf just walked away, leaving Ash as he was.

He sighed, "I knew it." He fell to his knees as a tear fell into the dirt. He eventually stood up after a few minutes, turning to face the direction of the Pokemon Center.

He smiled sadly, "I'd better go ask Nurse Joy for a room. Based on Leaf's reaction I'm not invited back." He walked back slowly, not regretting what just happened.

Leaf was walking back to her house, trying to rid the tears from her retinas. She didn't want to walk back with everyone seeing tears in her eyes and start questioning her repeatedly.

"Should I have done that?" Leaf asked herself but shook her head, "No. Ash didn't want to come back in the first place. I should respect his wishes and leave him be." She eventually started thinking if she should tell Gary, considering he was right that Satoshi was Ash but decided against it, once again respecting Ash's wishes of not being known. Reaching her house she opened the door slightly, peeping inside to see if anyone was there. She saw Dawn and May on the love seat just chatting while Gary and Brock were playing Go Fish, both having absolutely nothing to do. Why they weren't training Leaf wouldn't know, she wasn't a guy.

She tried to sneak by, "Hey Leaf, how was your walk?" Dawn asked, leaning backwards to see Leaf upside down. Leaf momentarily jumped, shocked that Dawn noticed her.

She stumbled on her words, "O-oh it was good. I should get out more often. I-I'm going to head up to my room." She said shakily and, a little too fast. She dashed up the stairs and to her room, the door slamming shut. Everyone was caught off guard by how fast Leaf was but just went back to what they were doing, excusing it as pre-tournament jitters.

Well, everyone except Gary. After a few seconds of everything going back to normal Gary hit his cards sideways on the table and faced Brock.

"I'll be right back." He said setting the cards on the table. Brock just raised an eyebrow but shrugged anyway, lying back against his chair. Gary stood up and walked to his old friends' room.

Gary knocked on the door, "Come in." He heard. Gary opened the door and saw Leaf lying down on her bed, facing her window, sadness etched on her face.

Gary took a seat on her bed, his back facing hers, "What happened?"

Leaf just sighed, "You were right." Her voice sounded well, sad. It didn't have the Leaf type of voice; high and energetic.

Gary raised an eyebrow, "Oh? And how so?" It was a calm and unnerving conversation, and Leaf wanted to end it fast. She deeply sighed and sat up, bringing her knees to face the door and up against her chest.

"Satoshi is Ash. He admitted it to me during my walk." To Leaf's surprise Gary wasn't shocked at all, rather he shook his head.

"I had a feeling." He laughed a moment later, "Ash was never good with secrets. If fact I'm surprised he stayed hidden for so long."

He then turned to Leaf, "Where is he anyway? I expected you to run back inside yelling: 'Ash is back! Ash is back!'" Gary laughed when picturing that image.

Leaf wasn't even cracking a grin, "No. I respected his wishes of him not wanting to see us." She started crying and brought her head down to her knees. Gary could tell how broken she was, seeing her first friend return after so long, and this unexpectedly.

Gary frowned and stood up, "Where is he?"

Leaf pulled her head up, not bothering to hide the tears, "Why do you care?" Gary flinched at the coldness of her voice.

He sighed, "Leaf I know you're angry and depressed but it's better if we bring him back, so we could talk this out. Where is he?" Gary had an edge to his voice that Leaf knew quite well.

She nodded, "I would guess he would be at the Pokemon Center. But I would check all around, he never was good at directions." Leaf stifled a laugh while Gary snorted.

"Amen to that. Later Leaf. And note, Ash did this for a reason, so don't go thinking badly." He left the room and walked to the Pokemon Center, leaving Leaf to her thoughts. She pulled the cover over her entire body and slept. Gary walked carefully downstairs, a solemn look on his face.

When he grabbed the door handle, "Gary?" He turned his head slightly to have his right eye meet Dawn, "Where are you going?"

Gary stiffly turned his head to the door, gripping the handle, "I'm going to find Satoshi." He swiftly swung the door open and walked out, the door closing itself behind him.

May turned her head to Dawn, "What do you think happened?"

Dawn had a frown, "I think something happened between Leaf, Gary and Satoshi. Something bad."

Brock joined in, "Whose fault do you think it is?"

Dawn only sighed, "Only Gary would know that." The three shared a look and knew something would happen at the time of Gary's return.

Gary ran towards the Pokemon Center, checking his watch constantly. It was 9:54 p.m. (Yep, I know big time skip. Just go with it) and the Pokemon Center at 10:00 p.m. so he had to hurry. Upon reaching he slid under the closing metal gate so no one would get in. He patted the dust off his clothing and heard a familiar voice.

"Are you back to question me or did Leaf already tell you?" Gary turned to a couch and saw Ash sitting there, reading a book. Ash set the book down and looked up at Gary, hands together.

"Well?" Ash asked again. Gary shook himself back into reality and glared at Ash.

"Leaf told me." Ash sighed and scooted over, letting Gary take a seat.

"And as before I know you have questions." Ash said, letting Gary take over.

Gary put his fist to his forehead, "Ok. Why didn't you tell me you were Ash earlier?"

Ash just looked away, "I have no idea to be honest." Gary just shook his head. No way was he getting the reason out of Ash.

"I have no more questions, but, I want to know."

Ash raised an eyebrow, "Know what?"

Gary turned his head upward, facing the moving ceiling fan, "What is going on?" Gary asked. Ash just sighed and put his head against his enclosed fists.

"I don't know Gary. I don't even know anymore." Ash said, giving a deep sigh. They sat there, contemplating something for the next few minutes before Gary spoke again.

"You know Leaf wasn't acting correctly earlier right?" Gary questioned the dense Ketchum.

Ash nodded, "I know. She would've slapped me again." Both Gary and Ash shared a knowing grin before Gary took over again.

"Yeah I get that and all, but you know what I mean. You hurt her Ash, you hurt all of us." Gary said, his voice starting to break again. Ash heard all of it and more from what was going on inside his head.

"I know. But I have a reason-"

Gary cut Ash off, "Than tell us the reason! Let us help you! We're your friends aren't we?" Gary demanded, standing up in-front of Ash. Ash was silent after the comment and all he could and would do was turn his head as so Gary couldn't see his tears.

"I wish I could. But my reason is my own." Ash whispered. Gary almost had enough with Ash and his secrets and was ready to lash out when Ash stood up, inadvertently knocking Gary away. Gary, from his place on the floor looked up and saw Ash with his head held down, the hat covering his eyes. Gary could've sworn he saw tears fall from Ash's eyes.

"I will let you know in due time Gary. Don't forget you may find out on your own. So please, don't ask." Ash demanded. Nothing was said any more as Ash moved to get back to his room he rented, leaving Gary as he was. After a minute of sitting there dumbstruck he stood up and sighed, he needed to get Ash back so he and Leaf could talk. Right now however sleep was more important. As Gary lay on the couch he kept thinking of a plan to get Ash back, and have Leaf not kick him out again.

Morning came by and Gary soon sat up, stretching his spine back into alignment. He groaned, he was never sleeping on a couch again…

"I don't blame ya." A voice said behind him. Gary slowly turned his head upwards till his neck screeched at him to stop, and his eyes landed on a grinning Ash.

"Oh, and how would you know?" Gary asked groggily, pointing a finger in his direction. Ash just swatted the hand down before joining his first guy friend, cracking his neck.

"Well, when traveling on your own for a long period of time you're usually either late in the Pokemon Center and have to sleep on the couch or floor or camp outside." Ash commented, leaving Gary in a small state of shock. When did Ash know stuff?

"I know what you're thinking Gary and yes, I did mature. So, did you think of a plan yet to get me to talk with Leaf without her snapping at me?" Ash asked nonchalantly, drinking some water. Gary's mind was officially blown, and it was visible since his jaw was dropped and his eyes bulged.

Ash made a move to close his friends' mouth, "Keep your mouth shut or flies will get in." He said before shutting his jaw. Gary shuffled his jaw around before he shook his head.

"If I may, how did you know what I was thinking?" Gary asked with an annoyed look.

Ash shifted slightly and grabbed a poke ball from his pocket, tossing it up. A bright white light came down and landed on his lap. It transformed and took shape as the light disappeared and out came a pink feline.

"Esp!" Espeon said cheerfully before rubbing her head against Ash's stomach. Ash gave a small giggle before petting the psychic cat.

"Wha? How did you get an Espeon?" Gary's mind was twisting and turning but couldn't get churning. Ash gave a small grin and couldn't help but laugh a little.

"I got her as an Eevee a while back, bruised and alone. I couldn't tell if she was hurt by a former trainer or a wild, she wouldn't tell me. But she's come to trust me and I respect that enough." Ash said with a small smile, "She's also the one who told me that you were thinking about trying to get Leaf to talk to me. Don't bother Gary, with what I did I don't deserve to have friends like you guys." Ash said sadly before he stood up and returned Espeon, but before he could Gary grabbed his shoulder, keeping him still.

"Hey, could we at least head to the coffee shop? We might as well get some last words in before you head out. Right?" Ash felt no problem with that and nodded his head, shrugging.

"Eh. I don't see why not. I'll go grab some stuff and meet you outside." Ash said and headed back up to go grab what was needed. Gary gave a small grin before he headed outside, pulling out his cell.

Leaf sighed as she shuffled under her blanket, sitting up slowly. She moaned softly, scratching the dust out of her eyes. She glanced over at her alarm clock and saw she awoke about thirty minutes before her alarm went off, at 7:30 a.m. Leaf groaned before crashing back into her pillow, pulling another over her face. As she was about to fall back to sleep however her phone went off, with a different tone.

Wake me up

Wake me up inside save me!

Call my name and save me from the dark

Wake me up, bid my blood to run

Leaf laughed, it said wake me up when she wanted to go to sleep. She knew she couldn't ignore the call however and just sat up, glancing through blurred vision to see the caller.

It was Gary, "Hello?" She asked.

"Hey Leaf. I was wondering if you wanted to meet with me at the coffee shop here in town. I know you're still feeling down so I'd thought I'd buy you something to drink and maybe we could talk." Gary offered.

Leaf raised an eyebrow, "You're not hitting on me are you Oak? You know Dawn wouldn't like that." Leaf said in a business/mischievous tone. She heard Gary gulp and could tell he was panicking badly.

"W-wait a minute. I d-didn't m-mean it like that! I swear! I just meant like a friend-to-friend." Gary was borderline stuttering but that was soon turned to annoyance when heard Leaf's unmistakable laughter.

"Jeeze, at least it's good to see if you're up…" Gary mumbled with a pout. Leaf continued laughing all the same however, effectively getting back at Oak for all the times he messed up her past dates with boys. She even accidently dropped the phone, and had to clutch her nightstand as to not fall off.

She heard Gary through her phone, "Either you overreact or I must've done something in the past to make you act like this." Gary deduced. He winced at the sound of a crash and got worried.

"Leaf?" He heard the sound of stuff being moved and objects crashing, and was pretty confused at what was happening.

A minute later Leaf came back on the phone, "About the 'coffee shop' thing; sure. I wouldn't mind joining you. Just give me a few minutes and I'll be there." Leaf finished with a laughing sigh. Gary rolled his eyes but nodded none the less, a big grin hidden beneath his face.

"Ok. See ya then." He closed the phone, ending the call, just as Ash came out, two poke balls lashed on his belt.

"Ok. Ready?" Gary asked. Ash nodded and Gary led him over to the shop. They spent the majority of the time just talking about past encounters, battles, and the upcoming tournament itself. Time went by quickly and soon they ended up reaching the shop where a surprise met Ash.

"L-Leaf?"

The girl standing up against the wall was shocked as well.

"Ash?"

They then turned towards the person responsible;

"Gary!" They lashed out.

Me: :P It was a shutout in the poll!

23 people say: Confront Leaf

7 say: Leave until the Tournament