After deciding to keep the final chapter as a whole and not split it into two chapters that makes this one the second to last chapter. With the exception of thanks to all who reviewed the last chapter let's just start it.
After grabbing a quick bite to eat at a simple fast food restaurant the group headed back to their suite to prepare for the coming festival. Between May sleeping in and all the time spent shopping it was already only an hour before it began.
Standing in front of the body length mirror in her bedroom May began to change out of her usual traveling clothes and put on the kimono that she had just bought not long ago. Most of it was rather simple but when it came to tying her obi it was a bit of a different story.
"Come on you stupid thing just stay there," she found herself muttering trying to get it to look like it did earlier.
Eevee was actually quite entertained as she watched her mother try to put on that odd clothing. But even if it did seem a little peculiar to her, there was something about it that made May shine to her even more than she usually did. She wasn't sure if it was the blue that matched her eyes or just the way that she wore it but there was no mistaking what she saw.
"There, finally!"
Tweaking the bow slightly May was finally liking the way that it looked again. Sure the girl at the store was able to tie the obi better than she could, but for her first time the brunette thought that she did a pretty good job of it.
"So do you like it?" She asked looking down at her partner, who up until that point hadn't seen the finished look as of yet.
"Vee!" The little Pokémon nodded confidently.
"Good, cause sadly you are probably the last one that I'm going to ask that to tonight, and even though we won't be leaving until tomorrow I'm probably not going to be seeing Ash all that much tonight since I'm leaving him alone with Dawn." Giving off a large sigh May looked back at the mirror before glancing back down at her partner.
"You know what? I almost forgot something." Going back into her pack, which was still mostly empty due to the night before, she took out her Johto Ribbon Case to reveal something underneath. Smiling she grabbed the object and hid it behind her back before walking up to Eevee. "It wouldn't be fair if I was the only one to look good tonight." With a big smile she revealed the item to her partner.
To Eevee's complete surprise what May pulled out was a long dark blue hair ribbon, the same blue as her kimono.
"You're very lucky that I remembered to grab this before we left the store," she told the happy Pokémon as she began to tie it gently around her left ear. "Besides even though you already have Pikachu it doesn't mean that you can't try and impress him from time to time."
"Vee!" She nodded again after May was done.
"At least one of us was able to get good memories off of this trip. Just make sure that you remember how lucky you are. If he truly is anything like Ash then you have yourself quite a catch there. Just make sure that you don't lose him."
Eevee understood what her mother was saying but no matter how close she and Pikachu got there was only one person that she would never abandon. Although she would try her hardest to keep him close to her, a repeat of last night was the last thing that she wanted to deal with.
Jumping up onto May's shoulder she softly rubbed her cheek on May's, this time trying not to actually tickle her but just enough to enjoy being next to her mother.
Smiling and giving her a quick rub on the head May looked back into the mirror. There she stood with her new beautiful kimono and her loyal Pokémon with a matching blue ribbon. May couldn't remember the last time that she felt this dressed up, yet it still felt as though there was something missing.
A sad smile came to her face as she thought of a crazy idea to finish it all off. Walking over to one of the tables she grabbed her favorite good luck charm. Fiddling with it for a moment she was able to get the half-ribbon to stay in place almost like a hairpin. Moving back to the mirror it was surprising how well the ribbon actually went with the rest of her clothes. The pink of the ribbon portion itself was pretty close to the cherry blossom petals of the kimono while the gold metal still seemed to shine brightly just adding to everything.
Eevee couldn't help but feel a little sad as well as she watched her mother stand in front of the mirror with the ribbon now in her hair. While both of them had to admit that it looked better that way then without it, the fact of what it represented was evident in May's change of mood. Yet Eevee knew how much that meant to her and even if it brought her into this mindset she wouldn't ask her mother to remove it. Especially tonight of all days.
"It really does look better doesn't it?" May asked no one in particular. Giving off a large sigh she quickly put on another big smile before turning to the Pokémon situated on her shoulder. "So shall we go and see if the others are ready as well?"
Not able to respond as energetically as she would have liked Eevee just nodded her head before taking one last look in the mirror as May walked out of her room into the living room.
Sitting on the couch watching TV was Ash with Pikachu on his lap, although he had at least changed into his kimono before sitting down to rest. Walking over May sat down next to him to see what he was watching, and to get a look at what was chosen for him to wear as well. But before she even said anything Ash's eyes forgot about the screen as soon as she walked past him.
"Wow May," he got out as she finally sat down. "You look great."
"Vee," Eevee coughed slightly as she jumped down onto her mother's lap.
"Of course your ribbon looks cute as well Eevee," Ash replied with a slightly nervous chuckle. Looking back to May he could see that she was already turning a slight red from his compliment, although she was trying to focus more on Eevee than him.
"Thanks Ash," she said quietly. "You look nice too."
"You think that this looks nice?" He asked standing up after letting Pikachu down on the couch.
Unlike May's and Dawn's, Ash's kimono was quite a bit more bland. Dark grey loose fitting pants tied with a smaller obi acting as a sash, and the dark blue kimono itself looked more like just a shirt tucked into the pants. To top it off he had a white sleeveless overcoat that was left open in front and trailed down almost to his shins, accented only with several narrow black diamond shapes running along the bottom.
"Actually I kinda like that white thing."
"This? That lady called it a ha…ha...hao… oh never mind what she called it. It's not as if it's uncomfortable. I just wish that I could be back in my jeans and sweatshirt." Slouching back down onto the couch he crossed his arms in front of himself, just like a spoiled child. Even with everything starting to weigh down on her even more May couldn't help but giggle at the scene that he put on. "You really think that I look good in this thing?" He asked hesitantly.
"Yes Ash I do," May confirmed, a smile still on her face from her laughing.
Of course May wasn't the only one who was enjoying what another one there had one that night. While Pikachu was never one to understand the meaning of clothes besides their most basic purposes, he had to admit that the ribbon did look good on Eevee. Crawling into May's lap he curled up with the Normal-type enjoying the feel of them together like that.
As he turned back towards the TV something caught Ash's eye. In May's hair was something that he immediately recognized. But before he could say anything a voice called out, interrupting his thoughts.
"May, help!"
Looking up from their place on the couch both saw Dawn peaking out of her door, her obi in one hand and the other holding the kimono closed.
"I can't seem to get this thing tied straight," she complained.
"Fine I'll come and help. Sorry guys but I need to get up," May told the two Pokémon in her lap as she picked them up and gave them to Ash.
Walking over to Dawn's room she could see that the blunette had no luck whatsoever with getting it tied.
"Don't worry; it took me quite a while to finally get it as well. Here," taking the tan sash from Dawn, May started to wrap it around her waist before tying it off in a bow much like hers. "There, you know that is so much easier than trying to put it on yourself."
"I wouldn't know," Dawn sighed. Turning back to the mirror she started to scrutinize every detail. "So do I look okay? How does Ash look? Is he excited about going?"
Surprised by the sudden barrage of Dawn's questions May held up her hand to get the blunette to stop for a second. "Yes you look fine, yes he looks great, and how the heck should I know? What are you all of a sudden getting cold feet?"
"Maybe, I'm not sure. If this really is the night that Ash confesses his love for me then everything should be perfect right?"
Those words once again shot a searing pain through May's heart but she resisted through it enough to not let anything show. "Yes Dawn, everything should be perfect but that doesn't mean that you need to try and make it that way. Whatever happens happens, there's nothing that you can do about it or change what's already been done."
"I guess you're right." Looking over May she noticed the ribbon in her hair. "Hey May is that a real contest ribbon? It kinda looks like, oh yeah I remember now. That's the other half of the ribbon that Ash has." As soon as she said it the realization hit Dawn. "If you don't mind me asking, why do you have it in your hair like that?"
Recognizing the tone in Dawn's voice May gulped but gave the truth. "I felt like I needed something else and I gave my only hair ribbon to Eevee. It was the only thing that I had on me that would have worked."
Grumbling slightly Dawn took one last look in the mirror to make sure that everything was alright. Tightening her obi a bit she finally felt satisfied with how everything looked.
"Tonight's the night. If I want to be with Ash I have to make sure that I am able to tell him before May can, and that means that I have to start forging my own path."
"Guess we should go then if everyone is ready," the blunette said as she grabbed Buneary and started to walk out into the living room.
Following the other coordinator without a word, May walked into the room as well. Looking over at Ash she couldn't help but laugh a bit as to what she saw. Dawn seemed rather impressed by Ash's new kimono but at the same time there was something that didn't impress her, in Ash's lap as he watched the reruns of the Indigo League were Eevee and Pikachu. Not currently sleeping but more than relaxed enough to look like it as he stroked both of them along their backs. Buneary did nothing but try and avert her eyes from the scene.
"You look great Ash," Dawn said quietly, actually starting to blush a bit. Noticing that Buneary wasn't even looking at the two in his lap she decided not to ask that question again.
"Thanks Dawn, you look nice as well," he told her with a smile.
Turning off the TV he took the two Pokémon into his arms and stood up off of the couch. "Well if we're going to go then we might as well leave now, right?"
"Right."
Following Ash out the door Dawn couldn't help actually start to feel nervous. Sure the idea of Ash confessing to her had been on her mind for several days now but now that she was ready to take the step herself the pressure of everything started to finally make its way to her.
"Okay I was able to keep calm about everything up until this point so why am I just now getting nervous?" She thought as the three of them walked towards the outskirts of the town where the festival was located. "Is what May said right? Am I really getting cold feet? You just need to calm down Dawn, once May loses herself in the crowd you get Ash all to yourself and then once you're alone you can tell him how you truly feel. It's as easy as that. But I also can't stop wondering about Pikachu and Eevee. Buneary isn't reacting nearly as much as she used to after seeing them together and there can only be one thing that I can think of for that reason. Oh Buneary, I truly hope that we both can have a happy ending by tonight but by the looks of it one of us will be heartbroken as to the results. Let's just hope that I'm wrong."
It didn't take long for the trio to make their way to the festival just as the sun was starting to get low in the sky, casting the now familiar red glow across all the stalls and people attending the festival. It truly was a sight to behold. Personal stands were set up all around the festival grounds advertizing everything from games, simple rides, and more types of food than one could count. Filling the gaps between them all were countless attendees, both locals and visitors alike. Most were wearing kimonos like the three of them were but a large amount of them were in either normal attire or partly still in their swimsuits.
"Wow there really are a lot of people here," Ash commented as he looked over the crowd, Eevee and Pikachu now on his shoulders. Looking back at the two girls he gave his trademark smile which seemed to take virtually all of the nervousness and hesitation away from both of them instantly. "So where should we start?"
"We just ate so why not try out some of the games?" May suggested.
Nodding Ash started to head down to into the crowd with May and Dawn not far behind.
"May, you remember saying that you would…" Dawn whispered to the brunette as they followed behind Ash, but just far enough to be out of earshot.
"Don't worry I remember," May interrupted her, not wanting to even hear the rest of it. "I just can't do it right away. Knowing Ash he wouldn't want us to be separated this early and you would spend much of that time looking for me. We'll play a few games or something and then I'll leave." Looking away from the coordinator, May watched Ash as he spoke to his two passengers, laughing a bit as he tried to find a good place to start. "Besides it's not as if I want to be there to watch it anyways," she added quietly.
"Hey about this one?" Ash called out to them. Walking up to it the two girls just looked at each other when they saw his choice.
"A ring toss Ash?" May asked. "Not that it's that bad of a choice but at least let's find one that has better prizes."
"How about that one?" Dawn suggested, pointing over at another stand.
Moving over to that one it appeared to be a ball toss type game. Several stuffed figurines were situated on the far side on rails and depending on how many one knocked over the bigger the prize would be.
Scanning over the prizes one instantly caught May's eye. A life sized stuffed Pokémon in the shape of an Espeon. For Dawn the same thing conspired but instead she noticed a Piplup instead.
"I want that one," they said at the same time, pointing at their respective choices.
Giving off a nervous chuckle Ash reached for his wallet from a breast pocket in his kimono. "Right, let's see if I'm good enough for two of them." Pulling out a couple dollars and placing them on the table Ash looked up at the stand's owner. "Two tries please."
Taking the money from him the man gave Ash six baseballs and with nothing more than a "good luck" went to attend to other customers.
Missing the first two shots Ash was able to correct himself enough to get the last four. Lucky for him the Piplup only required one hit while the Espeon needed all three.
Both girls gave a quiet content squeal at receiving their new plushies. Ash could only gaze in wonder at their reactions to them. "Are those things really all that important?"
"Of course!" The two said virtually unconsciously.
Sighing Ash could do nothing but try and convince them to move on to something else. Persuading them to try out the horror house Ash felt quite a bit more crowded then he thought it would be like in there. Even if all of the simple tricks weren't all that scary to him they apparently were to Dawn and May, or at least they were surprising enough for them. As soon as the first of the "ghosts" dropped down next to them both grabbed for one of Ash's arms.
"You seriously can't be scared of something like that can you?" Ash commented as soon as they grabbed onto him. "That thing is so cheap looking."
"Of course not," Dawn said quickly letting go. "It just surprised me, that's all."
"Me too," May added. "But just to make sure that we don't get lost I think I'll just keep holding your arm if you don't mind Ash."
Glad that the place was too dark for either of them to see Ash's face started to heat up a little. "That's fine May. If it makes you feel a little safer go right ahead."
As a cackling laugh rang out Dawn grabbed for Ash again. "On second thought that's not a bad idea."
Sighing at the two of them Ash couldn't figure out if they were telling the truth or if they really were scared. But considering how many different things that they all had seen over the years he could only hope that it was the former.
After they got out of the haunted house both girls let go, quite obvious blushes on their faces. Even if he didn't see either of his partner's, Ash was glad that his own had faded as they continued on through the house.
Continuing on, several other small games didn't truly prove to be all that productive. None of them really won anything but it did provide some entertainment for another hour as the sun went down completely and night began to take over. Without the sun's light, small colorful paper lanterns began to light up across the festival. It wasn't extremely bright but it was enough to keep a bit of ambiance to the individual stalls. Seeing the change May decided that it was now or never to start her plan.
"You know what I'm getting kinda hungry," she said out loud as she stopped, letting the other two start to walk out ahead of her "I saw a few interesting looking places serving food a little ways back. I'll catch up to you guys later. Come on Eevee."
Taking one last look at Pikachu the Evolution Pokémon obeyed her mother's command and jumped off of Ash's shoulder running after the coordinator as she disappeared into the crowd.
"Hey wait May! How about we all go and eat together?" Ash called out to her. But it was already too late, without her bandana on he easily lost sight of her in the sea of people.
May walked straight away from the others for a couple minutes until she figured that there was enough distance between them and herself for the time being. She finally came to a stop near the edge of the festival and a rather large forest. Feeling a slight tugging on the back of her kimono Eevee soon came into her sight on her left shoulder. Giving off a sad smile as her partner joined her May looked down at her Pokétch.
"One last thing and I'll finally start my path away from Ash," she stated, the pain evident in her voice as she pressed a few buttons on the device. Seconds later a couple icons disappeared from the screen showing that the telephone feature had been turned off. "Now they are completely alone, the perfect situation to…you know I don't even want to think about it let alone say it."
Turning to Eevee she gave the best smile she could muster to try and not only gain confidence in herself but her decision as well. "Now let's get some of that food I was talking about, shall we?"
As May walked off the Normal-type looked off in the direction of where they just came from. She wouldn't question her mother's decision, especially with the reasoning as to why, but she still didn't feel like this was the best path that they could take out of all the ones available to them. At this point though there was little she could do, and decided to just try and enjoy the rest of the night as much as possible.
"Why do you think May just ran off like that?" Ash asked as he finally stopped scanning the crowd for his friend.
"She did say that she was hungry didn't she?"
"Well yeah but still, we could have eaten together."
Dawn easily figured out the reasoning as to why May suddenly disappeared and once again began to feel the full confidence coming back as to her future with Ash.
"She didn't say anything. We were together the whole time and she didn't say anything. And now I'm the one alone with Ash with ample amounts of time to finally tell him the truth. Either she just made the biggest mistake in her life or she really didn't feel anything for him. I can only hope that either he confesses to me or that he isn't too surprised when I tell him first."
"Don't worry we can always call her if we need to," Dawn told him while grabbing his hand to pull him off towards more of the festival. "Now come on they're starting up a big bond fire over there."
The next few hours were just a complete joy for Dawn. The two of them didn't really accomplish much but just being able to walk alone with Ash hand in hand was enough for her. After watching the festival volunteers build up a large tower of logs it was quite a sight to see them ignite it and watch the flames quickly catch the easily burnable interior before the logs themselves caught. The fire seemed almost mesmerizing but it didn't take long before the two of them headed out to look at several other stands.
Wasting time by walking by most of the stands at the festival there were plenty of them that were there not just for games and food but several featured different aspects of the island such as kimono stalls and even a few selling little souvenirs focusing on items like sea shells or semi-precious stones gathered from the ocean and the surrounding forests.
Ash only seemed to take everything in strides while Dawn was enjoying herself. He still couldn't figure out exactly why she seemed to enjoy some of the more boring stands but with May gone there wasn't much he could do except follow Dawn around, and for some reason she insisted on holding his hand the entire time.
It wasn't until night was completely upon them and the stars shone brightly overhead along with a graceful crescent moon that they finally stopped to eat. Finding several exotic but delicious looking dishes the two of them sat down near the edge of the crowd.
Pikachu and Buneary were set down on the ground next to them with some food of their own but there was an awkward silence that was between them. Buneary couldn't even look at him without the image of Eevee coming to mind. The thoughts of how she learned that they were together were so burned into her mind that it was impossible for her to think of one without the other at that point. But like with Eevee she knew that there was no way that she could hate him for his decision. The truth was that she still felt everything that she had felt for him just a couple days ago. It was actually because of these thoughts that it only intensified the feelings as she looked at him, a unique mix of rage, sorrow, and happiness all rolled up into one.
Pikachu on the other hand knew that she did feel something for him, but now that Eevee was his mate he knew that things wouldn't be the same between him and Buneary. Looking back on everything, most of their interactions up until that point had been her flirting with him and now that had to change. Both knew that if she continued to try and act like that there would be some major retaliation from Eevee, though neither knew the true extent of it would entail. He didn't even know for sure if she knew about them being together but by the way that she was acting today he could take a good guess. Sighing at the heavy nature of the silence he just tried to put it all to the back of his head as he enjoyed his meal.
Their trainers weren't in a much better position, even if it was for a slightly different reason. Ash was worried about May as they hadn't heard from her in hours and finally after pressuring Dawn several times to call her they only got the voice mail of her Pokétch.
Dawn on the other hand was getting more and more nervous as they sat there. They had been alone for several hours and as far as she could tell things were going well. Yet as she sat next to him the coordinator couldn't help but feel increasingly nervous, and it was because of this nervousness that she couldn't even think of anything to say.
"Calm down Dawn," she told herself. "This isn't a bad silence; you're both just nervous as to what is going through each of your minds. He is Ash after all, the same dense, caring, cute oaf that you fell in love with." Taking a deep breath as she finished up the last of her food Dawn finally came to a decision, it was now or never.
Catching all of the eyes of her friend and their Pokémon as she suddenly stood up, her face completely beat red.
"Dawn is there something wrong?" Ash asked after a couple seconds as she just stood there.
Taking another deep breath the blunette turned to face him. "Ash before you say anything I want to get this out completely. We've known each other for only about a couple years but I feel like I've known you for my whole life. You were the one to coach me on how to care for and battle my Pokémon and there is little doubt in my mind that I wouldn't have gotten this far without you. I have many Pokémon that care deeply for me and with their help I was able to obtain a place in the top 16 of my very first Grand Festival. During our time traveling together I began to see you in a different light. You were more than just a friend to me, much more; and about a few months ago I finally realized why this was but only now have gotten enough courage to finally tell you. Ash Ketchum, I…I…" Taking an audible gulp as she saw Ash's eyes stare right into hers she finally got the last three words out. "I love you."
Okay so while the festival itself could have gone better I at least left you guys with a nice simple cliffhanger. The last chapter will be up in a couple days as usual and I hope that you all enjoyed this one.