Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or the characters. Maaaaaaaaaan, I wish I did…

YES!! THE FINAL SHOWDOWN!! AND THE LAST CHAPTER not including epilogue, if I ever had the interest to do it.

Chapter 10: Final

Shinji was speechless. Hikari shouted his name right in front of everyone. The one that started with 'S'. If that was not bad enough, heads started to turn in their direction. He could die on the spot.

"Berlitz…," he warned softly under his breath. Hikari was still glaring at him. The crowd around them had thickened its density of people. In the past, Shinji could say that he did not believe the school had a least four thousand people. Now looking at the sheer number of people surrounding them, he could say that he believed the person now.

"Shinji, hello?" Hikari waved a hand in front of him. He swatted it away like an irritating fly. "What?" he asked.

Hikari briefly looked left and right. Quite a crowd had gathered. Perfect, she thought. "Can we go somewhere private?" she asked. Shinji glared at her.

"No," he answered. "Whatever you want to say, this place would be fine."

Saturn frowned as he lowered the rifle. That girl had played her cards well. With that number of people surrounding them, it would be hard to get a good shot. On the bright side, more people would be able to witness his prowess first hand.

"Come on Berlitz. Move," he muttered as he picked up his rifle once more.

Hikari gave one last glance back to the stage. Shinji had refused to budge. Now she was in a difficult position. The number of people surrounding them was a risk she took. She had protected him from that person, along with those lined up behind her. Subconsciously, she fiddled with the necklace she stuffed into her pocket. The necklace gave her an idea.

"Look, remember this?" she asked as she took it out and dangled in front of his face. Shinji's face was unreadable, as always, but his eyes held the shock he endured. She half hoped that he would move at least.

"Hey, what's going on here?" asked a familiar male voice. Satoshi had managed to worm his way into the center. Haruka and Kengo had somehow squeezed in as well. One look at the crowd's attention told Kengo everything.

"Nothing to see here, people. Move along," he said as he shooed the onlookers away. Some had begun moving, obviously disgruntled at the lack of authority to be able to view what would be a good show. The rest stayed on longer and left soon. "Hikari, need some time alone?" asked Kengo. Hikari nodded slightly. "Arigatou," she said softly.

When the crowd started moving, Saturn rejoiced. But the problem was those three newcomers. They were blocking her. Through the magnified lens, he saw her nod slightly and the three of them started to walk away as well. It was now or never.

"Sayonara Berlitz," he said to himself as he pulled the trigger.

Shinji was greatly relieved when Kengo chased away the onlookers. On the bad side, he now owes Kengo big time. Could be worse. Hikari, what on earth are you planning to do? He asked in his mind as he watched Satoshi, Haruka and Kengo walk off.

"What you wanna say, say it quickly before they start flocking back," Shinji hissed under his breath. Hikari smiled happily at him before saying her trademark motto, "subete wa daijoubu." His mind went blank. He wanted to ask her to repeat herself when he heard something. A short, sharp sound. A gunshot!! He thought. The first thing that came to his mind was Am I dead? After being sure that there were no injuries on him, he relaxed. He heard screaming and felt something fall on his body. Out of instinct, he held on to that object and realized that Hikari had collapsed on him. He felt something weird on his hand that supported her left side of her body. Something that felt sticky and wet. That meant one thing.

"Hikari!!" he exclaimed as he set her in a half lying, half sitting position as he continued to hold on to her. He could feel her blood flowing out quickly as it stained her snow white school blouse. Her eyes were shut as she tried to stay conscious.

"Shinji!!" he heard someone call him. Satoshi stopped dead on his tracks when he saw Hikari. Haruka silenced her scream as horror washed over her. "I'll call an ambulance," she said shakily and left quickly. Kengo was in the same state of shock as Satoshi was.

"Hikari, please, don't go yet," he begged as quietly as possible. He hoped Hikari could hear him though. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw something strange. Some kind of dim light was flashing in Hikari's clenched right fist. Slowly, he pried open her hand. It was a little difficult as her blood had streamed down to her right arm. After some time, he got out the thing Hikari was holding. A rather large rock that flashed blue, gold and red shone under the light. It would be a pretty sight, if it did not have obvious bloodstains on it.

"Shin…ji?" Hikari whispered. Shinji switched his attention from the rock to Hikari. Her blue eyes were now open but they reflected the pain she was feeling at the moment. "Hang in there Hikari. Haruka called the ambulance," Shinji pleaded. Hikari looked down at the rock he was holding. "It's useless. By the time the ambulance arrives it'll be too late," she said with bitterness in her voice, although strained. Her eyes started to shut on its own accord but Shinji shook her awake. "Hikari, stay awake. Don't drift off to sleep," he said as he shook her awake. Hikari's breathing had started to become ragged and the colour drained from her face.

"Sorry… Shinji," were the last words she said to him. Her body went limp. He faintly heard the ambulance siren as his world suddenly blacked out as well.

When he woke up, he was in his room at home. Reiji was watching the television. "Oh, you're awake," Reiji said.

Shinji got up, his head pounded painfully. "Why am I at home?" he asked.

Reiji looked away. "Well, you fainted. And Satoshi called me to take you home. He said it may not be a good idea for you to continue staying in school," he replied while hiding his face in the shadows. Everything hit Shinji all at once, the main reason why he was back home. He fished out a semi-transparent red, gold and blue rock from a pocket. Dried blood was stuck on some parts. Other areas not covered by blood reflected the sun rays onto the wall, creating a beautiful rainbow light on the wall. Reiji was mesmerized by the rock.

"Is that…?" he asked but never got to finish his sentence as the door to Shinji's room opened noisily. Shinji stuffed the rock under his pillow as Akagi walked through the door. "Shinji, I heard what happened in school. You are not hurt are you?" he asked. Shinji shook his head. Akagi then glanced around the room.

"Well, where is it? She was holding on to the rock right? It should have materialized after the protector isn't around," said Akagi. Shinji looked away.

"It's gone. It materialized for a while, and then it vanished. I should gotten hold of it before it vanished," he lied. Akagi sighed. "Oh man, I really wanted that. It would be so awesome to be able to find out what it can do," he said. Shinji glanced at Akagi. This time there was no illusion. Akagi's face held a mixture of anger and disappointment. He must have wanted that thing for a very valid reason. I highly doubt that it was for study. If it really was for study, he would've waited, thought Shinji. Either way, I'm safe-keeping it with me.

Akagi gazed at the setting sun through Shinji's window. "Well, do rest Shinji. See you soon," he said and left.

After making sure that Akagi was safely out of the house and out of the gate, both brothers were greatly relieved. "That was close, Shinji. You still have your senses to lie. No telling what he might use it for since he needs it badly," said Reiji. Shinji remained silent.

"I'll put it somewhere where he will never get it. Somewhere where security is high and known to the public," he finally said. He placed the rock on the side of the platform where his bed was.

"And where will that be?" Reiji asked, slightly amused that his younger brother would think of something. An evil glint appeared in the corner of Shinji's eye. "Wait and see," was Shinji's answer.

Shinji stood in front of a large brick building with glass doors, a sling bag over his shoulders. Reiji seemed shocked. "A MUSEUM?!" he asked. Shinji nodded, apparently proud of himself for thinking of such an awesome idea to place the crystal there. He pushed open one of the glass doors. The museum had just closed its operational hours, therefore nobody was inside.

"Hello?" Shinji called out to the empty hall. A man came out. He was obviously the curator. "You are Shinji I presume," he said. "I'm Fuyuki, curator of this museum. Did you bring it with you?" Shinji opened his bag and pulled out a drawstring pouch. Fuyuki took the pouch and the crystal fell out onto his hands.

"So this is the treasure that plagued the Yuki state. The legendary crystal that survived for six hundred years with no pinpointed location. This is something worth to display and for the public to know as well," Fuyuki said in awe as he studied the crystal. "I thank you Shinji. It is a very, very valuable contribution to the museum. I will make sure it is displayed at a prominent spot and have some cameras looking over it. I will credit you for your contribution as well."

"Thanks, that's all I need to know. Bye," replied Shinji as he turned around and left the museum. Reiji left with him. "Shinji, why did you give that museum?" he asked.

"I figured that Akagi wanted the crystal for his own gains. I won't let something that Hikari protected for so long be used for something that might change the world," Shinji replied. "I'll go home later." He turned left at a fork in the road while Reiji paused to look after his brother's retreating figure. He's really down. Hikari affected him more than I thought, he thought as he continued straight down the road.

Shinji walked down the road to the local cemetery. It was his first time here since he fainted in school. As he walked past the gates, he looked out for any familiar person who might be there as well. The weather was slightly foggy, which suited his mood. The ground's snow had melted overnight, a weather feat that no scientist had figured out yet. The grass withstood the chill and swayed in the wind. Finally, he reached his destination. A newly erected tomb where wild grass once grew on. He did not look at the name on the stone tablet; it pained his heart to know that she was no longer around. Also judging from the flowers left in front of the tomb, he knew that Satoshi, Haruka and Kengo had been there earlier. After all, Haruka was the only person aside from him who knew that Hikari liked forget-me-nots. He dug through the pocket of his jacket and found what he was looking for: Hikari's necklace. Reiji had placed the necklace on his computer table and claimed that Kengo had given it to him and was told to give it to the younger Ikari brother. Shinji set the necklace beside Haruka's bouquet of forget-me-nots.

"Sorry for coming only now Hikari. I put the crystal somewhere where nobody can get it anymore. So don't worry about me, I'll be fine," he said while looking at the grass. A chilly wind blew as he got up and left for home. At the tomb, a faint shadow materialized in the fog and vanished.

A/N: Extra information. Yes, I have used a gun before. Well, not really a gun. Air rifle and air pistol. Either way, it's still a weapon although a friend had gotten hit by a ricocheting bullet and he had yet to start bleeding. Just to say that the trigger is really sensitive. I was aiming and I pressed the trigger gently to test whether it was loaded properly and it went off. Serious!! It was the only bullet that missed the target completely.

And now, I shall end this awesomely (not) alternate universe fic with a big 'THANK YOU' to all those who read it and fellow IkariShippers from SPPF who reviewed. Also special thanks to Suwamoto who encouraged me to upload to . There MAY be a small surprise after this, but that depends on my situation here.

Also a few notes, I know I'm lacking this particular section in some fics:

Arigatou – thank you
Sayonara – Good bye. Usually used when you are not going to see someone forever or for a long time, or so I'm told…
Subete wa daijoubu - Everything is alright (my friend told me this phrase. If it's wrong, I'll have a chance to kill him)