May ran. From the Cerulean Cape, through Routes 25 and 24, and back to Cerulean City. She covered quite a distance in such a short time, that she was out of breath and ready to drop from exhaustion. But she didn't care, she had to see it with her own eyes; her suspicions. Her thoughts drifted to what Josephine told her earlier.

"He's a frequent contact of Liza, that young man who left his Charizard all those months ago. He and Liza were acquaintances for such a long time, yet I never did get to meet him in person until now. Nor catch his name."

It has to be someone else, she told herself. It just can't be him. Not after all those rude things that he said. It canNOT be him. May kept repeating that last sentence in her head throughout her whole sprint.

And yet there he was. Sitting in plain view for May to see, on a bench just outside the Cerulean City Pokémon Center, surrounded by his team, and with a tray of donuts on his lap. What further confirmed her suspicions is the presence of one particular Pokémon: Charizard.

Before May could even realize it, she found herself smiling; it was like her muscles acted on their own. Unless I'm very wrong, it really was Ash who reunited the two lovers, May thought to herself. Like her smile, she couldn't stop her eyes from leaking either. Why?

In the meantime, neither Ash nor his Pokémon were even made aware of her presence. The former was sitting with his back to her, while the latter were more preoccupied with their food than with their surroundings. That probably had to do with how May was still keeping her distance; she did go closer a little bit, if only to hear what Ash was saying:

"So here you go, Charizard," Ash tossed a donut into the air, which Charizard easily caught with a loud chomping sound. "You're probably very hungry from making the trip from Johto, right?" Since Ash went back to eating his share, he didn't notice Charizard sticking his tongue out at him.

Taking a deep breath, looking like her chest has tightened (and maybe it has) May tried to find the right words. She could only think of three at the spur of the moment. "It is you."

Again, neither Ash nor his Pokémon knew where that came from, nor will they expect what's going to happen next. And that would be May running up to him, and, before Ash could turn around, she flung her arms around his waist, and buried her face against his back. "It really is you," she repeated, although muffled this time.

If it were something out of a romantic movie, the audience would be awed. But the "audience" at the moment are the Pokémon (since no one aside from them and the two humans seems to be around that time of the night). And the sight unfolding in front of them was completely and utterly unexpected that they have been frozen in shock, all with comical expressions in their faces. They did manage to move one part of their body apiece, though, since two sets of hands (and a wing and a claw) have shot out all to cover Donphan's eyes (no matter how "too late" they are). Apparently, they wanted to censor the scene for the sake of the "innocent".

"Well, this is a change." Although he's just as surprised as his team was, Ash tried to hide it by speaking nonchalantly. "Especially with, hmm...what was it that you said to me when we last saw each other again? That I was the 'worst of the worst' and that what I said was the 'most despicable thing you've ever heard'? Oh yeah, and there's also 'I don't ever want to see you again' and 'the worst of the worst'...wait, never mind, I already mentioned that, didn't I?"

May finally lifted her head off of Ash's back, both to catch her breath as well as to give him a stern yet tearful look, although for some reason her hands are still around his waist. "Right now I'm not so sure myself." She took a deep exaggerated breath. "You were the one who reunited Ramon and Josephine, weren't you? The one who Josephine told me had his Charizard fetch her just so she could finally return to Ramon? How did you even-"

"When I was supposed to leave, I doubled back and heard the rest of the story through a window. Including Josephine opening some preserve in Johto."

"Then is Josephine in any way related to-"

"She's Lisa's aunt, yeah," Ash finished for her. "I had to admit that aside from the preserve thing everything else is pure hunch, but I decided to call Lisa, and my hunch paid off."

And the rest of what happened, May thought, unfolded before my very eyes. In spite of the gratitude welling up inside her, however, there is still something nagging at the back of her head. "But what about what you told me? That you don't want to hear the rest of Ramon's story?That it is one of the things you hated the most?"

"I wasn't lying about it," Ash replied. "I hated to hear the end of Ramon's tale. That book of yours that he wrote, that was too much for me already. Hearing another tale, one of someone's real experiences, I feel like I'm just going to hate it even more."

May started squeezing Ash again, but not out of affection or anything. Rather, it it's like she was almost ready to kill him. "You better explain yourself then, mister," she said quietly, trying to suppress her current temperament.

Ash didn't miss a beat when he said, "I hated Ramon's story because it was just too sad, haven't I already made it clear? And don't you feel the same thing? Have you looked at yourself in the mirror? Boy, when you started crying like that-" May started increasing the pressure, so Ash had to get to the point he's trying to make, and fast. "I really just don't like sad stories at all. So I decided to give Ramon's story a happy, if bittersweet, ending instead."

Canting his head slightly, Ash tried to catch a glimpse of May's facial expression. This time around it was her turn to be put into shock. He decided to fill in any further gaps in their conversation. "What's wrong with a guy who hates stories that make him cry?" he asked, and then May realized for the very first time that there was a little tint of red in his eyes.

May closed her eyes, then took a deep breath. "Nothing. Absolutely nothing at all." She then smiled. "You jerk." Ash's shock was spot-on this time, since the expression on May's face nor the tone of her voice didn't exactly match what she just said. "You really are such a jerk." Once again those words didn't match with how she was suddenly on the verge of tears.

If Ash was confused then, it is nothing compared to his reaction to what's gonna happen next. He turned his face to the side, trying (and failing) to make sense of May's behavior, which was convenient, because that way Ash's face was positioned perfectly for...

*chu*

Four Pokémon stared at a certain little yellow mouse, believing he's the source of that sound. Pikachu shook his head rapidly, vehemently denying the accusation, then pointed a finger at the true source. They kept their eyes trained on him, however, as a way to preserve their "innocence". Not that Pikachu's one to talk, he also didn't want to ruin his own innocence, pulling a complete about-face even. Also, during all this, Donphan's eyes are still covered.

Still in shock over what happened, Ash may have not yet realized that May has finally let go of his waist. He whirled his body around so that he's facing May, who was sitting over her legs on the bench, just a few inches from him. And their eyes are locked on each other. "Thank you, Ash," she said, softly, quietly. "Not just in behalf of Ramon and Josephine, but for showing me what you truly are.

"And because of all that, I am now sure...that I chose the right person to fall in love with." None of the Pokémon heard any of that, because they have all already fainted. All those things that unfolded in front of them was too much for their hearts and heads.

Well, except for Donphan. He was jumping for joy. So much for "innocent"...