"May, this place is in Littleroot." Ash stated as she finished programming her phone's GPS and seeing the route. The drive was an hour and fifteen minutes away.

"Yeah, this person, she lives out there in a cozy condo. You'll love Littleroot, it's a nice town that has a homey vibe to it."

Ash nodded but didn't say anything. They were silent driving down south for different reasons. He had gotten into a rather disturbing case involving child prostitution that had been solved rather quickly with the ringleader being caught. Brendan had beaten the guy in their interrogation chambers six ways from Sunday when he said that he felt no regret for his actions. That had clearly shown Ash what made Decker tick. It was also something that grinded his gears as well. None of the team responded well to the crime itself, but particularly himself and Brendan, they both displayed an intense anger to those people who had assaulted and abused children for a living. He just wanted to get the case done and over with so that its nightmarish experience would pass.

For May, she was still very shocked about the fact that initiation into Ash's Commandos meant that he had to execute an unarmed individual. She wondered if that was what he was thinking about.

"Ash?"

"Yeah?" His reply was curt and he didn't turn to look at her, although he was likely keeping eyes on the road.

"Is it true?"

"What's true?"

"What you had to do as a Commando. Execute someone?"

May thought his current mood wouldn't turn colder, yet it was as if he was just as frosty as a Glalie's breath. "I wish you didn't bring that up May."

"What? Why?"

"It's something I don't particularly like to talk about. I'm guessing your father told you. There are few people who know about something like that."

"Is it true?" May felt a spike of anger through her veins. It wasn't because the fact that Ash had done the act, but instead kept it under wraps.

"It's something I don't particularly like to talk about." He repeated, himself also getting angry and irritated. His throat felt dry and the steering wheel began to get a little slick from sweat on his palms.

"Is it true?!"

Ash sighed, knowing he wasn't going to escape this. "Yes," He finally said after a long pause, "It's true."

He held up a hand to prevent her from saying any further accusations, "Before you say anything, let me explain."

"I know you kill people," May's voice shook, "I didn't know you killed unarmed."

"Listen May, I had no choice."

"No choice? Ash, you always have a choice. Isn't that what you've been telling me since?"

"You're not giving me a chance to explain myself," Ash snapped. "May, what your father told you is extremely classified. How he got ahold of something like that is beyond me."

"Classified whatever! Doesn't take away the fact that it didn't happen!"

"No it doesn't." His voice grew distant, "One of our final tests is our loyalty. To prove that we are worthy of following the orders of our superior to the letter," He sighed, "Even if it crossed moral boundaries. We didn't complete our directive, they ushered us out and sent us back to base. We were told those people were prisoners on row for death penalty. My victim was a militiaman of a former island warlord who had convictions of murder, rape and oppression of the people they were supposed to protect. Like the case we handled today, he killed kids in cold blood."

Ash shook his head, "Still haunts me today, there are few people in my honest opinion who deserve a death like that. Lined up like a bunch of creatures ready for a slaughter. While my person wasn't the finest man to walk the earth, others were different. Despite what they did, they're still human beings. So no, May, I don't find any pleasure in killing anyone and don't do it unless absolutely necessary."

He fell silent as they began to take the highway off to Littleroot before continuing, "Ever since I was a little boy, my dream was to become a Commando and yes, part of me was very conflicted in killing the man on his knees. It's necessary. We have to be ruthless at times. The memory of that day is something I want to keep out of my mind as much as possible."

"I'm sorry." May said, "I didn't know-"

"I know." Ash slipped his free hand onto hers, "It's best we forget about it."

Littleroot had a population that was shy of forty thousand, essentially one of the smaller settlements. It was nestled with forests surrounding it and had only one major highway that would eventually split, one going north to the city of Odale and another west from Petalburg.

Overall, the climate was sunny and warm year round with periodical showers that were prevalent in the spring and lasted until the fall. Snow was quite rare, but not absent.

Despite its small population, Littleroot had quite a homey atmosphere, almost as if it were a place to grow up in before venturing out into the world. Dense forests surrounded the area with homes nestled neatly together. Downtown was a cluster of a handful roughly ten-storied buildings together and further south was a clearing to the pristine beaches that families moved towards when it was a hot summer weekend. The place was a major industry point for lumber, with a couple big corporate mills based in the business center.

This was definitely a quiet place to retire or raise a family.

One major change that both Ash and May noticed was that people gave them nods and friendly greetings as they passed into a small Sinnoh restaurant for a quick dinner. People here were known for their honesty and approachability, often ranking in the Hoenn census as the Republic's friendliest city. Sure, there were greetings when people passed by in Petalburg, but the ones thrown out here were so much more genuine and nearly everyone gave them one, whether directly or indirectly. Ash was charmed by the place already and quietly wished that his own hometown of Pallet was like this, instead of being run-down and more than enough directionless thugs wandering about.

After eating, May directed Ash over to a small apartment complex in the suburban area. It was typical of a layout with a roof over a line of cars. He steered his own vehicle into a vacant parking spot that was highlighted for guests. The air was slightly humid and Ash felt his body start to sweat, a slight slick sensation that he was well accustomed to.

They headed up the stairs and stopped at a door. May took in a deep breath and looked over her shoulder at him before rapping her knuckles twice.

A few seconds passed before a lock on the other side was heard unlatching and it opened up to reveal a middle-aged woman with brown hair that was virtually identical to May's. Ash immediately noticed it as well as the shade of her light blue eyes.

"May!" She practically squealed and threw her arms around the younger girl. "I'm so glad you're okay after that incident!"

"Mom! That was a week ago! I'm fine!" May cried, returning the hug. By the looks on how the two women greeted one another, it was safe to say that they had not seen one another for a long time, but then again, he also attributed it to the fiasco involving him too.

Breaking apart, May's mother addressed Ash for the first time. "You must be May's friend," The configuration of words she had given him was usually told by the bad guy and was a statement instead of a question.

"Hi," Ash extended his hand out, "My name's Ash."

"Ash?" She gave him a quizzical look before the realization dawned on her, "Oh my Arceus, you're THE Ash? The one who rescued May on the Sea Mauville!" Without hesitation, she completely ignored his shake and wrapped her arms around his shoulders in a much lighter hug. "Thank you so much for rescuing my baby here!"

"I would say you're welcome," Ash's throat went dry again, "But that would sound awkward. My apologies Mrs. Maple."

"Oh don't mind it silly!" She waved it off before ushering the two of them inside. "Please call me Caroline. Nobody has called me Mrs. Maple for years."

As May and Ash entered, he took a glance around. The place had light cream colored walls with a glass coffee table in the main living room. A stylish lamp was beside a brown sofa and it faced a flat-screen television. To the left was a large wall that held the entrance to a kitchenette and on the right a smaller hallway to a closet and the main bedroom and bathroom.

"She likes you Ash," May gave him a wink, "That was easier than I thought."

Caroline gestured for them to sit before returning with a rather expensive looking bottle of wine and a trio of glasses. She popped the cork and filled them with the dark red liquid.

"How's Max?"

"He's at football camp right now, but doing very well. Hopeful you might come to see him play when the season starts."

"I wouldn't want anything else," Caroline spoke fondly of her son.

"Now as much as I'd love for us to catch up, I know you didn't come to do that." She crossed her legs and sat on the adjacent chair holding her glass up.

"No we didn't." May and Ash clinked glasses and sipped it, taking a silent moment to appreciate the craftsmanship put into the fermented drink.

"This is Kalosian," Ash held it in front of him and bent down to examine the bottle, "House of Pierre-Vincent's signature Cabernet. From the Shalour district."

"Wow," Caroline and May were both impressed, "You know your wines."

"I had plenty of this kind when I was there. Locals drink it like water."

"You've been to Kalos?" Caroline asked, "I went on vacation a year after the invasion."

"I was part of that invasion," Ash sipped, "Imperial Forces had barricaded Lumiose from the west and south and the Federation spearheaded their primary forces all along the northeast front using Laverre and Couriway as staging points."

"That's right, you're a Federation Commando. So you've seen plenty of action?"

"Aside from north Kalos, I've participated in operations in southern Kalos, Johto and Oblivia." He felt like he was on a job interview, being grilled with questions.

"Anyway," May cut in, "I…well we, came here for some advice." She looked over at Ash, "When Ash saved my life, not once but twice in the same day, I couldn't help but have this strange feeling. Almost like my eyes have been opened. Mom, I just want to do so much and Ash has done an awesome job at showing me what I've been missing this whole time!"

Caroline looked expectantly at him.

May continued to go on, "But my father. He doesn't like Ash at all. More than once he told me to stay away from him, but I don't want to leave him. He means too much to me."

Seeing her predicament, Ash quietly slipped his hand into hers.

Caroline noticed the gesture, "Well your father is quite a stubborn man. Oddly, that's what attracted me to him in the first place."

"What happened between you two?" The Commando asked, "That is, if you don't mind me asking."

"It's fine. Norman is a very zealous man. He always puts his full effort into whatever he does, business, family, hobbies, it's drilled into him. Thing is, he has nearly a million things on his mind for the future and not one of them involved me. One night, I just couldn't take it anymore. May was barely out of high school and Max was too young to understand what was happening. We argued for hours and the next morning I left. A week later, I sent him divorce papers and we finalized it."

"Ever try to make it up?" Ash asked. He had a suspicion that their divorce was about money or something else, but now hearing it from another perspective, it had nothing to do with the falling out.

"I tried calling him at least twenty times over the years, but he hasn't called back once." Caroline was beginning to tear up. May leaned into her mother for comfort. "It's none of your fault that he doesn't like you Ash. Norman has a hard time understanding that all people don't think like he does. That's why he surrounds himself with those that do."

"Like Drew?"

"Yes. Although I would have never set them up like he did." She finished her wine before refilling it. "When we were divorced, I tried to fight for the custody of both May and Max, but the judge ruled that my financial crisis was too much to handle them. I didn't inherit a single dollar either."

"Hold on," Ash said, "If May was close to eighteen, wouldn't she be liable to take care of herself?"

"Ash," May sniffed, as if embarrassed from the conversation, "I'm scared. Scared of how quickly the real world is going to drag me down. So I stayed with my father and never contemplated on moving out to somewhere on my own."

"I hear you, the real world is scary and it shocks you at first." He gave her hand a light squeeze, "But the sooner you do those things, the better of an understanding you have when you don't have any other choice. It's more beneficial to get a foothold as early as possible."

"He's right May. And no matter what happens, know that your father and I will always love you and you have Ash too. You're not alone."

"Thanks mom."

"We better get going," Ash stood up, "It's going to be a long drive back and I have to get to work early."

"C'mon. I'll walk you out."

As they stood in the doorway, May embraced her mother, "Thank you so much mom for helping us."

"I would do anything for you or your brother. Tell Max to look for me in the stands during the opening game."

"I will."

Caroline approached Ash and hugged him as well, "I see how May looks at you." She dropped her voice to a whisper when she had gone down to the car, "She really likes you and I can see it in your eyes. You like her too. Let me clear; if you break her heart, I will come after you. Understand?"

He was deftly surprised that she was unintimidated by the Commando's towering build and height. "I'll take good care of her."

"I know you will," She hugged him again, "You two have a safe trip back."

The lens tracked Ash as he made his way over to the car. It was positioned just behind the steering wheel of a blue sedan. The occupant in the driver's seat blew out a cloud of smoke that dissipated inside the cabin, adding to an acrid stench that permeated the entire vehicle's interior.

It had once been a luxury car, but age and use had reduced it to a cheap hand-down and the man driving had found it untraceable from the start.

He first saw the girl come down the steps. Recognizing her from the news in the heroic rescue, he became curious on why she was here. The article stated that she was a native to Petalburg.

Then the man descended, joining her and now things got interesting. The damsel was in a relationship with her hero?

Just as he snapped a stream of clear photos of the two of them, Ash quickly turned around and did a visual scan of the lot. The look on his face and his hand was close to his pocket, a stance almost as if to protect himself. It also gave the suspicion that he was under surveillance.

The man held his breath, subconsciously reaching for the thirty two caliber pistol sitting in the cupholder. It almost felt as if he was about to be caught. He had disabled the flash feature on the camera and rolled up the windows to prevent being seen or heard.

Then the man seemed satisfied that nothing was looking out at him before starting the engine and pulling out in his direction.

Both of them cast a wave at the woman atop the stairs of the apartment before vanishing behind the lot, turning onto the main road to begin the trip west.

Once more, curiosity got the better of him and he quickly took another series of pictures before she disappeared inside. He saw the apartment number on the side of the door and wrote it down on a notepad by the gun. Once the camera was put away, he took out a cell phone and dialed a number.

"Yeah it's me," He said after it rang and the other line had picked up, "I got something you might be interested in."

Anyone miss me? Here's another chapter in apology for a longer absence of having company over and taking them all over town when I wasn't working. Managed to squeeze in time to write it out. And I admit that most of my time too was spent watching baseball and pining for football to start. (Hurry up already!)

Thanks for reading and reviewing, you give my writing purpose.