Chains clanked.
Scarlet looked around the murky room and wondered just what the owner had in mind when it came to the matter of interior decorating. Yeesh, the least he/she could've done was choose another colour instead of black and red.
Then it hit him like a brick. Where was he? What was he doing here? Rubbing his temple, he faintly recalled getting carved like a Christmas Pidgey courtesy of Ghetsis' buzz saw. Shuddering, he came to the conclusion that he was probably unconscious and dreaming…or dead and in….whatever this place was. Was that an Emboar hanging off those hooks like meat?
It took a minute but from the odd and horrifyingly-shaped devices littered round the room, Scarlet guessed that this was a torture chamber of some sort. Exactly like the ones back in….no best not bring those particular memories up.
Chains clanked. Someone groaned.
'So somebody else is here…?' Scarlet pondered as his head turned in the direction of the sound. His expression froze however as he saw a familiar lithe shape chained to the wall by her wrists. 'Eh?'
The girl slowly opened her yellow eyes and looked around as if having woken up from a deep slumber. She tried to move but gave a yelp as the cold shackles dug into her wrists. "…Where am I…?"
"White!" Scarlet gasped and rushed over to her side before reaching for the chains, intending to snap them off. He was unpleasantly surprised to find his fingers passing through the material. "What the…?"
Looking down, he noticed that White was looking around fearfully and like he wasn't even there.
"Hey, I'm right here," he stated and arched an eyebrow as she ignored his presence again. That was weird.
"I don't like this place…" she muttered to no one in particular before looking ahead as the sound of footsteps made themselves known in the silent room. "Is someone there?"
Scarlet tensed and held his breath, ready for the shadowy figure that approached from nowhere. He didn't expect the figure before him however as White's eyes widened in recognition.
"Scarly!" she cried, voice tinged with relief. "I'm so lucky you're here! One minute we were travelling and the next thing I know, I fell asleep and woke up here."
Scarlet looked at the boy before him. True to White's first exclamation, his own spitting image was standing before them…although Scarlet did a double take at the dead-eyed look on his copy's face.
Did I always look like that…?
Scarlet-number-2 simply stared at the bound girl and Scarlet felt an unsettling feeling at the slow smile on his face.
"Help me out, will ya?" White begged, rustling the chains. "They're starting to get uncomfortable."
The Scarlet before her looked on before parting his lips. "Hey White…do you trust me?"
The trainer blinked. "Of course! Why else d'you think I'm asking you for help?"
Something about that statement made the real boy flinch. Scarlet2 drew closer to White.
"What if I said I only thought of you as a pawn to lead me to Reshiram?"
White scowled. "Then I'd hate you forever."
Scarlet's eye twitched. Scarlet2 simply gave a wry smirk and brought his face closer to White's neck, resting his lips on her porcelain skin and making her shudder as he ran his tongue over it slowly.
Somehow, seeing himself do that didn't give Scarlet the feeling he had expected. Instead, he felt that ominously lingering insanity grow larger with each tick of the twisted clock nearby.
"Scarly…?" White muttered, tensing at Scarlet2's strange action. "What're you…?"
"Ne White," he cut in. "Your skin tastes sweet."
Scarlet's eyes narrowed. Was this some deranged SM side of his that he'd never known he'd had? Or was the situation going to turn into something that nagged at the back of the hunter's mind.
"What're you talking about?" the confused and mildly frightened trainer babbled. "Are you okay…Scarly?"
Silence.
The smile only grew wider and Scarlet spotted the fangs hidden under his copy's lips.
"Ne White, I haven't seen you bleed before." He gave another lick.
That was true. Throughout their journey, Scarlet had never seen White suffer any injury whatsoever that drew out so much as a single drop of blood. Not even a deep cut or scrape, making her skin look flawlessly clear like a doll's.
"I wonder if your blood tastes almost as good as your skin."
"Scarly…I don't like this…" she whimpered as his hand circled the centre of her chest playfully. "Please. Untie me."
Silence.
Scarlet saw his copy's hand tense…and froze as Scarlet2 pushed his hand right through White's chest, eliciting a sharp scream from the stunned trainer that pierced Scarlet's ears like a knife and made his brain swirl in shock and confusion.
Blood sprayed out from the gaping wound and White moaned in agony as Scarlet2 pushed deeper into her, widening the grave injury and thus intensifying the foreign feeling of pain in her.
"Stop it!" Scarlet screamed, not being able to take any more of this. White was dying and technically by his own hands too. The ravenette reached out to pull his copy away only for his hand to phase through again. "Dammit! You're killing her!"
No use. He was as good as a ghost as the crazed Scarlet before him let the blood splatter over his face and shirt.
"S-Scarly…" White coughed out in disbelief. The expression of shock, hurt and betrayal made the real Scarlet's heart shatter. "W-why…?"
"A pawn's gotta die at some point," Scarlet2 replied and put up a smile, the same one Scarlet had used back in Skyarrow Bridge when they first made their pact. "You're cute when you're in pain."
White could only moan again as he pushed deeper before wrenching out his arm forcefully.
"You sick bastard," the horrified spectator whispered, not caring that he was practically insulting himself.
"I-I don't understand…" the dying girl stuttered. "I t-trusted you…"
Scarlet2 laughed sadistically before bringing his face close to White's paling expression.
"Poor, poor ditz. Innocent and stupid till the very end," he sneered before cupping her face in his hands, staining her cheek with his bloodied left palm. "But that's what I love about you."
Scarlet stared as he watched himself plant his mouth on White's parted lips. So far, this was the most horrific confession he had ever seen and the fact that it was played by none other than he himself made it only worse.
White's eyes dulled before her body convulsed as Scarlet2 took in the kiss…and the blood that rushed up her throat and out her mouth. Slowly, blood trickled from the spacing between their lips and he drew back, licking them playfully.
"Delicious," he remarked and the chains snapped open, letting White's limp form fall to the ground in a heap. Scarlet could only look on as another laugh erupted from his malicious copy, a sound that made his blood boil.
'What the hell?!' his mind screamed. 'Is this some kind of illusion? A dream? Hell?!' Or worse, was this some twisted remix of what Scarlet would've done sooner or later?
"I couldn't!" he yelled. "I'd never do that!"
"Really?"
Scarlet looked up to see Scarlet2 staring at him with that masochistic smile on his face.
"Look at yourself, fool! You couldn't even stand up to Ghetsis, weakling!" he jeered and Scarlet's fist tightened. "You'll lose it eventually and kill her royal ditziness anyway which, in my personal opinion, is a pretty good idea if you don't wanna see White slaughtered at Ghetsis' hands."
"Shut up!" The ravenette swung his fist at himself. "I'd never kill her!"
"Don't make me laugh," Scarlet2 deadpanned and dodged the blow. "You've always considered what it'd be like killing her." He side-stepped a kick from Scarlet before grabbing his arm and drawing him extremely close. "You enjoyed our little play, didn't you?"
The ravenette could only stare into his green orbs and breathed hard as Scarlet2 gave a scary grin.
"How would you know," the original murmured in a ragged voice that dripped with hatred, fury and malice.
"It's obvious," the copy replied and changed into the horrific disaster Scarlet had seen back in the mirror in Mistralton. "I'm you after all."
And with a roar, he opened his mouth and devoured the ravenette.
Icirrus City Hospital, Icirrus City, Unova.
"Scarly...my neck..."
Green eyes widening in realisation, Scarlet took a split-second to recall just what had transpired. He remembered waking up with a scream from that nightmare and, obviously due to the painkillers, seeing a menacing blob of white in his hazy line of sight. Cue the defensive instincts and in a minute, Scarlet had pinned the person by the neck against the wall and had a syringe to the person's heart. Had it not been for the recognisable whimper, he would've stabbed White there and then.
"I'm so sorry!" he blurted, sharply withdrawing from the startled trainer. "I didn't know what came over me and I thought-"
"It's okay," White cut-in and gave a cough before massaging her throat. Oh great. Now the guilt's setting in. "I guess anyone would be like that if someone was in their face all of a sudden," she added with a smile that didn't do much to hide the fright in her voice. "I should leave. You need to rest and I don't wanna trouble you or anything. Bye!"
Scarlet watched her hurry out of the room. As soon as the door closed, he banged his head against the nearest wall.
...
Jolteon barked in relief before proceeding to drench his partner's face in licks.
"Quit it, fuzzball!" he playfully protested, enjoying the public display of affection for the first time in his life. Then again, who wouldn't want to get licked by a friend after all the hell that had rolled past the day before? Jolteon snuggled in closer before remembering something and directing a questioning gaze at his partner. The ravenette huffed and looked to the side. "I'm totally okay...just got in a little fight is all. I'll tell you later."
Why oh why did the Lightning Pokemon find that so hard to believe? Seeing as he'd get no answer anyway, the pokemon gave up and lowered his ears.
"Does Violet know about this?" Scarlet asked and relaxed as Jolteon shook his furry head. Good. The last thing he needed now was another slap from his ever-loving sister (a punishment he rightfully deserved since he was the one who stupidly challenged Ghetsis in the first place).
The doors slid open and Brycen walked in with a baffled expression on his masked face.
"Scarlet-san! You're not supposed to wake up for the next three days." Drawing a chair, he sat next to Scarlet's hospital bed. "White-san was right. You're quite tough for someone of your age and build. She was the one who informed me of your awakening when I bumped into her in the hall. Really, she should learn not to speed in crowded places and I daresay she could've at least come back with me to see you."
The hunter's smile twitched. Way to kill the mood, Bryce.
Brycen took in the boy's silence and let his pale-blue eyes drop to the Scarlet's bandaged arms and torso. Feeling uncomfortable, the boy tried to bring something else up.
"How was the battle?"
Eyes still focused on Scarlet's midsection, the gym leader replied, "Her Beartic sealed her victory against me. She's grown powerful now and if you hadn't been off to Dragonspiral Tower then you would have been proud."
Scarlet sweatdropped. So much for trying to change the subject.
"What happened in there, Scarlet-san?" Brycen asked, unintentionally flooding Scarlet's mind with that familiar chainsaw buzz. The teen remained silent. "Was it Team Plasma? I saw some bodies and their familiar uniforms."
Yep, Scarlet wasn't going to like this guy in the near future.
"I'll take your silence as a yes then. It couldn't have been those dragon knights who killed Skyla-san, could it?"
"You're surprisingly well-informed," the ravenette commented acidly and his fists tightened, drawing the sheet over him. "If you must know, it wasn't the dragon knights. Draco was pretty much the only one of them there."
Brycen raised a brow although Scarlet couldn't see it thanks to the mask. "Draco? You know one of them?"
Dammit, Scarlet inwardly cursed and scolded himself. Brycen would probably make a scene about this and drag him to the Pokemon League, claiming that Scarlet knew something about Team Plasma. Then they'll probably recognise him as the dangerous hunter he had built himself up to be and then it's bye bye to White and her pokemon and-
"There's nothing to fear, young man. I'm not one to make a scene over confidential matters."
"Are you psychic?" the teen blurted and covered his mouth. Maybe the doctors used too many painkillers and that somehow affected his sense of secrecy.
Brycen on the other hand just stared at Scarlet, prodding him with his eyes for an answer. The boy's expression went serious and he looked down at his trembling fists.
"Ghetsis," he stated and heard Brycen sigh.
"I knew it," he muttered and leaned in closer. "So the rumours were true. I only wish I was there to help."
Okay, maybe not so much of a suspicious person, Scarlet remarked and looked out the window. "How did you guys find me?"
"It was your Jolteon. Somehow or the other, he caught your scent and dragged us all the way to the ruined tower. You weren't exactly the prettiest thing to look at that point in time." Just the memory of it made Brycen's heart beat faster again. "So this is the extent of Ghetsis' cruelty."
A day ago...
White, Jolteon and Brycen stared silently at the sight before them. As the seconds passed, the girl's breathing got more and more ragged until she was practically panting now.
Sitting before them against one lone pillar was her companion with his arms looking limp and his head bowed low. Blood was everywhere, collecting mostly at his arms and chest. Beside him was a bloodstained chainsaw and it didn't take long before the trio gathered their thoughts and took a stab at what had gone down.
"Scarlet..." White finally whimpered before she rushed up to the still teen and dropped to her knees beside him. It was only when she raised his head that she finally broke down and wailed into his hair, shouting for him to speak or show any sign of life at all. Instead, his body only slid to the side and almost fell against the stony floor. Luckily, White caught him and held him tightly, hoping for at least a groan. Jolteon nudged his master before slumping down and giving a sad howl.
One minute. Two minutes. Brycen felt it was time to be the adult and pried White away before carefully placing Scarlet on his back and ripping open his torn jacket.
"Arceus," was all he muttered at the bloody Plasma emblem on Scarlet's shredded chest. Whoever carved this must've been extremely skilled with sculpting-with a chainsaw- as he got the lines down pat. "White-san. Get to the hospital and call an ambulance."
The girl remained unmoving. She was probably going into emotional shock.
Brycen wasted no time in calling out his Beartic and giving it instructions. The pokemon grunted and was off in no time. Meanwhile, the gym leader placed his hands on the non-injured parts of Scarlet's chest and began to apply chest compressions, hoping and praying that blood hadn't collected in his lungs and choked him already. After doing sixty or so, he felt for even the slightest bit of breath. Nothing. Nothing at all.
"We were probably too-"
"No!" White objected harshly, making him almost jump in surprise. The girl knelt beside him and placed her hands on Scarlet's chest, not minding the blood getting on her fingers. "Scarlet's not dead! He'll make it for sure! He promised to help me become the strongest trainer in Unova! Dying wasn't part of the deal and Arceus is he going back on his word!"
With each word, she pressed and pressed strongly. Even then, the ravenette didn't so much as twitch.
"Please wake up, Scarlet!" she mumbled, her presses growing weaker. "Wake up and pat my head and tell me you're fine and congratulate me for winning...please..."
Nothing.
White slowly lowered her head onto his chest and cried softly. 'He can't be dead! Scarlet's a fighter! He won't just die on me!' Slowly, she raised her head and brushed away the hair covering his closed eyes. In that moment, she remembered something her mom had taught her years back and she brought her lips to Scarlet's before gently placing them against each other. Then she cupped his nose tightly and breathed. Scarlet's chest rose. She waited 5 seconds and did it again, wincing at the blood she tasted in his mouth. The cycle repeated and Brycen was about telling her to give up when her yellow eyes snapped open as a gentle moan bubbled up Scarlet's throat.
"He's alive!" she cried. Brycen was surprised to see Scarlet's chest rise and fall on its own and he breathed in relief as White wiped the blood of her lips. In time, the ambulance arrived and Scarlet was promptly rushed to the hospital.
"She saved you," Brycen finished and kept up his gaze.
Scarlet's expression was unreadable as his head was lowered but the gym leader could clearly see the remorse etched in his frame.
"By the way," he added. "How did you conveniently find yourself in Ghetsis' way?"
Silence. Only this time, it was the deadly, tense kind.
Scarlet chewed his lower lip and stopped his hands from trembling. Lying's a pain. But what should I say? Coincidence? Adventurous? Because that bastard took my make-shift happiness away from me?
Suddenly, the ravenette didn't feel like caring anymore. He couldn't even beat the man who destroyed his life. He had just attacked the girl who brought him back to life. And he was now rousing suspicion from the obviously-perceptive gym leader. Maybe he should just tell the truth and go jump off a cliff or something- WHOA! WHOA! WHOA! Am I getting suicidal?!
"The thing is-" he started but stopped as a the door smacked open and a bespectacled, purple-haired woman walked into the room with a pokemon resembling a floating chandelier beside her. She took a look at her surroundings before confusion slowly set in on her brown eyes.
"I think we're in the wrong room..." she muttered and Chandelure (along with the other guys) sweatdropped. "But wait! This just gave me an inspiration for my new book!"
"Shauntal Shikimi," Brycen calmly said and the woman in black spun around to see the original occupants looking at her, bemused. Clock's ticking provided the only noise in the room as she stared at them blankly. To Scarlet's shock, she began to blush heavily and she cupped her face in her gloved hands before putting up a very, very weird face with a big smile on it that made Scarlet cringe. And she was wobbling. Not tired-wobbling but wobble-like-spaghetti-in-an-anime-wobbling. Okay, weird.
"I feel it! I feel it!" she proclaimed and whipped out a book and a pen from nowhere. "The injured teen grips the sheets and twists them bashfully, trying ever so hard to escape the masked murderer's piercing gaze. 'Have you come to kill me,' the boy asks and wonders why he sounds so expectant, so calm, so needy. The blue-haired murderer removes his mask and flings it to the side, letting it land carelessly on the floor. 'I've come to claim you, my young Scarlet,' he replies and lifts the boy's chin to face him. Scarlet inhales sharply, batting his long eyelashes in confusion. He isn't scared? The same man who had murdered his parents and slashed at him was here, just an inch away and yet he doesn't feel angry or vengeful. Instead, he desperately wants to seal the space between them and from the way Brycen stares so longingly into his green eyes just seems to confirm it. Scarlet closes his eyes and parts his lips. Brycen looms in closer and closer. Their hearts are pumping, their nerves are tingling and deep down, Scarlet feels that this is what he wanted all along-"
"HOLD ON JUST A MINUTE, LADY! ARE YOU INSANE?!" Scarlet cut-in, the comically horrified look on his face making Chandelure giggle. Elite Four member Shauntal had gone far beyond the point of no return by now and was rapidly scribbling away, not minding the blood cascading from her nose and the steam billowing from her ears. Brycen, having long since grown accustomed to the woman's partial insanity, rolled his eyes and sighed.
"What are you doing here Shauntal?" he asked, ignoring Scarlet's hysterics. "Aren't you supposed to be in a meeting in the Pokemon League right now?"
It was only then that Shauntal's pen paused in mid-sentence and she snapped her book shut with a huff. "You're no fun. Like a man with a heart of ice. I wrote a story about that you know."
Brycen tilted his head, looking neither amused nor confused. Just bland and serious as always and that made Shauntal fold her arms and turn up her nose.
"I got bored so I had Chandelure take me out for a break. She knows Unova better than me anyway."
"Who the heck is she?" Scarlet asked, keeping his gaze on her. Unfortunately, that seemed to set her off again and she squealed as fresh ideas spewed into her brain.
"Shauntal Shikimi," Brycen stated. " Master Ghost-type Trainer and member of the Unova Elite Four...and writer."
"I specialise in Horroi!" she piped up. "Brycen always forgets to mention that."
Scarlet tilted his head. "Horroi? What kind of genre is that?"
"A new genre I created!" she elaborated, seeing the look of confusion on his face. "It's a mix of Horror and Yaoi!"
"..."
"..."
"...Are you for real...?"
...
"I saw White along the way," Shauntal remarked and Scarlet's ears perked. "She looked like she'd seen a ghost! HA HA! Get it? Since I'm a ghost trainer and all?"
Brycen only arched a brow and the woman shrank back into her seat at the silence.
"Men are horrible," she sulked. "I heard that Ghetsis came to Icirrus so I rushed here as fast as I could. Unfortunately, I'm a day too late and I missed all the action. Did he hurt anybody?"
"You're looking at a victim," Scarlet deadpanned.
"Wow...who hurts bishounen boys? That man needs to be brought to justice!" Shauntal exclaimed, earning a facepalm from the ravenette. In his mind though, he felt relieved that she hadn't recognised him or anything. She was probably too aloof to care anyway. The woman proceeded to take off her glasses and wipe them before giving Scarlet a studious look. "But seriously, how did a nobody like you run into Ghetsis? Were you trying to feel heroic?"
"No!" Scarlet retorted sharply and looked down. "I-it's not your business..."
Shauntal and Brycen looked at each other before the gym leader sighed and got up. "My time is up. I'll see you later, Scarlet-san. Get well soon."
The teen sighed in relief. At least he managed to ward off that guy. As for Shauntal however...
"You've got beef with him?" she asked, voice calm and genuinely interested.
"You're damn perceptive," Scarlet stated hoping to sound sarcastic. He didn't expect the eerie smile on her face though.
"I've seen your type. The one's who have literally gone through hell and back but pretend to act tough and push away those who care for them."
She certainly wasn't a Ghost-type master for nothing, he'd give her that. "I've seen your type too. Jumping around and pretending to be content with life while hiding dark secrets behind stupid smiles."
He expected her to take offence but that wouldn't have been very Shauntal-ish. Instead, she simply stroked Chandelure's glassy head and pushed her glasses up. "I like you. Never afraid to talk back to scary people and damning whatever consequences are thrown your way." The smile disappeared however and she got up slowly before bringing her face close to Scarlet's. "Watch yourself though or you'll turn into something worse and lose your sanity. Like that monster you saw in Dragonspiral Tower."
Scarlet's eyes widened and she stepped back and folded her arms. "I watched the whole fight. But even I was too scared to interfere. So I tore a strip of your shirt and dropped it in front of the gym so your pokemon could smell it. Be grateful, pretty boy."
The ravenette couldn't place his finger on it...but there was an odd similarity between Shauntal and Draco whenever they got serious. Was it their nature...or was it something that came with training ghost-type or dragon-type pokemon?
The old Shauntal was back though and she smiled at Scarlet. "That being said, I should take my leave. I wonder what Cynthia will think of my new inspiration..."
And she was gone.
"She deserved that title," Scarlet remarked to no one in particular and was just about slumping back when a familiar visitor stumbled into the room. "Vann?"
"You've done it now, Scarlet!" he snapped and produced a tray with scattered pieces of metallic rubbish.
The ravenette looked on in confusion. "What's that?"
"The cube, bonehead!" Vann screeched and sighed. "What did you do? Combine all seventeen pokemon types or something?"
"It got crushed," was all Scarlet replied indifferently.
"Crushed?! How?!" the brunette exclaimed. "D'you know what this means Scarlet? You'll have no means of defending yourself or netting-in pokemon!"
Scarlet shrugged. "I gave you the schematics for the cube, right?"
"So?"
"Fix it."
Vann put the tray on the nearest table and ran a hand through his hair. "Didn't it take you two years to create this thing? I can't say I have enough time to do it."
Scarlet shrugged again and hopped off the bed. "Okay."
"Okay? Okay?! The Scarlet I know would've gone ballistic by now! Isn't this cube, like, your life's best achievement?! Why're you suddenly so indifferent?"
The ravenette slipped on a jersey and straightened his hair in the reflection on the window. "Don't know."
Vann gawked. "Have you lost it? Without this cube you'll be, like, normal!"
Jolteon woke up and stretched before jumping off the bed and trotting up to his master.
"Don't need it," Scarlet said as he ruffled Jolteon's hair. "As you can see, my supposedly-broken arms somehow or the other got fixed overnight. Looks like I've still got some lingering side-effects from over-using Dragon boost."
"So your self-regeneration temporarily shifted gears. Big deal," Vann snapped and anime tears streamed from his eyes as he poked the cube's pieces. "I loved tuning up this thing. What a waste-Hey! Where d'you think you're going?!"
Scarlet stopped at the door.
"It's gonna be a problem hunting now unless you wanna do it the old-fashioned way. You can't hope to capture Reshiram if you don't even have the right equipment to defend yourself-"
"Vann," Scarlet butted in, shutting the technician up instantly. The teen leaned against the door frame and looked back with a mocking grin. "Why d'you care so much? It's not like you have an obligatory duty to help me out. In fact, Boss never ordered you to stay in Unova this long."
Silence.
"Tch!" Vann drew out a packet of cigarettes and popped one in his mouth.
"Smoking isn't allowed in the hospital, smarty-pants," Scarlet chipped in coyly.
"Wasn't planning on lighting it." Lie. "Do I really have to spell it out, scarface? I-" Vann pocketed his hands and eyed the wall with a weird look on his face. "I still owe ya for saving my life some time ago."
Scarlet arched an eyebrow and threw a smirk. "I told you it was settled."
"Like I'd believe that. I know I can't repay it so I took it upon my sleazy self to help you out in any little way I could."
The ravenette rolled his eyes. "Have it your way. I wasn't planning on saving you back then BTW."
"I know that, brat." Vann smirked. "Besides, you and Violet are pretty much the only friends I've got. It's only logical that I break a neck for you two...not literally of course."
"Friends..." Scarlet echoed and chuckled before turning and waving. "There's a guy you might like in ward 50 recovering from a hole in his chest. Study his styler and take some rough schematics if you can. After that, have my cube ready a week before the end of the month."
"I don't like guys," Vann replied but shrugged in compliance. "I'll see what I can do. Besides, if I finish it faster than you then I'll finally settle those rumours flying around that you're the smartest person in ORPH."
"Flattered. Bye," the teen stated with a parting grin.
"Where're you going anyway?"
"...To apologise."
Somewhere at the Moor of Icirrus.
White sat on the edge of the grassy cliff overlooking Icirrus City in the distance and let the cool wind blow her hair around playfully. Behind her, Scraggy, Krokorok and Emboar played in the flowery fields before the females got into another argument.
"Does Scarly hate me...?" she asked aloud and drew her knees up to her face. She knew it was an honest mistake considering what the ravenette had gone through but she couldn't help but feel that something weird had been happening to Scarlet for some time now. It made her sad to think that he was hiding something and didn't trust her well enough to divulge it. They were friends...right?
"Friends..." she murmured and suddenly found herself touching her lips. Somehow, her way of thinking had changed when she gave resuscitated Scarlet via mouth-to-mouth. His lips had felt so soft and feathery and she found herself enjoying the moment a little. Okay, actually a lot. Suddenly her face got hot and she frantically shook the memory out of her head. But her mind drew her back to one thing that she only realised as soon as the Freeze Badge landed in her palms.
"One more badge...and it's goodbye..." she muttered and felt her stomach turn. That was weird. Was she hungry...or sick...? No, that couldn't be right. Black had always said something pertaining to this. "You get a tummy-ache when you're losing a loved one..." That was certainly true. When her brother had died, White remembered not being able to eat much for a week because her stomach hurt. But this one felt even stronger and only seemed to intensify the more she thought of her raven-haired companion. Was Scarlet qualified to be a loved one? The snarky, spiteful and malicious baldy with the soul of a 67-year old sadist?
The brooding girl failed to notice the gradually heating-up of her pokemon's argument and before White knew it, Krokorok had launched a barrage of swear words that made Emboar bloat up in anger and sit on the Desert Croc pokemon as a suitable punishment. Not that the trainer noticed anyway. She was too absorbed in her thoughts to comment.
"Is this what Skyla felt when Black died...?" she asked, placing a hand to her heart. Did she...like...Scarlet that much? The thought of him being capable of loving someone that wasn't his sister made the trainer giggle a little, given that Scarlet could be as straight as a board on many occasions. Even then, White wasn't a fool. Okay, she was but not that much of one and somewhere in the deepest recesses of her heart, she had just the tiniest, ittsy-bittsiest inkling of a one-in-a-million possibility that was Scarlet slightly falling...for her (that was how soulless she thought Scarlet could be).
"Scarly's a baldy..." she whispered and stared up at the evening sun. "A reckless one who fights a lot and loves to make people worry...yet...why do I think of him like this...? It can't be what Skyla felt Black...could it?"
The wind only picked up and carried her hat off her head. Eyes widening, she reached for it...and leaned too far over the cliff's edge. She wobbled dangerously and flailed her arms in an effort to keep her balance but failed horribly and yelped as she felt herself fall.
White did not touch the rocky ground below.
"Since when did you think you could fly?"
She recognised that sarcastic voice anywhere, cool and collected and tipped with an edge of concern. Opening her eyes, she found herself just at the tip of the cliff's edge but she felt more surprised than scared as bandaged arms wrapped tightly round her waist.
"Scarly...?" she exhaled, looking over her shoulder and seeing his green eyes looking down playfully at her. She felt something bump against her tummy and looked down to see her pink and white hat in his hand.
"What? No thank you?" he mocked and drew her away from the cliff. She giggled at the sight before her. Emboar sitting on the struggling Krokorok and Jolteon doing his best to prevent the Mega Fire Pig from crushing her altogether by adding more pressure. Scraggy simply did what he does best. Stare.
"Shouldn't you be in the hospital?!" the girl gasped, remembering the events that had transpired. The same hands that held her now were also the same ones that looked ready to kill her a few hours ago.
Sensing the way she tensed up, Scarlet fought the pang in his heart before resting his head on White's shoulder.
"Hey...I'm sorry for what I did this morning. I was dumb," he whispered into her ear (with much effort of course, since he rarely apologised from his heart).
White stiffened. Scarlet called himself dumb. Wonders would never cease.
"And I'm sorry I wasn't there to watch your match. I was being a jerk at the time and I only realised that when I got cleaved in two."
The girl's small hands found themselves over Scarlet's and she revelled in his warmth despite the awkward position he had put them both in. The next words he uttered made her day.
"I heard about your match...congratulations...and...I'm happy you were able to beat him without me supporting you. In short, I'm proud of you and I'm sure you'll beat the league in no time."
"Thanks..." she mumbled and smiled happily. "I'm so happy that you're happy...so don't get into any trouble 'kay?"
"If Team Plasma doesn't allow for that," he huffed and snuggled into her hair. "But I'll try."
Slowly, he released his hold over her...and took her hat with him.
"Hey! Give it back!" she snapped, reaching for it and missing.
"Come get it, ditz!" Scarlet jeered and raised it high. Then they both realised something. Since when had Scarlet gotten so tall? They were ,like, the same height a month ago. Nevertheless White had grown a little too but she scowled as he was taller than her by a head now. Then he rubbed it in. "Come on, tiny. Jump!"
White punched Scarlet in the gut and got the hat as he comically doubled over in pain.
"I-I'm still injured..." he babbled as White put the hat back on her head.
"I'm not short! You're just taller now, Scarly so don't rub it in. Besides, making fun of people isn't nice!"
By the time she was done, Scarlet was halfway down the field...twirling her hat in his hand and smirking at her baffled face.
"Hey!" she cried as he tossed it to Emboar and slapped her back yelling "Git!". The pokemon squealed like the farm animal she was modelled after and ran across the field madly. White chased her but before she could reach her hat, Emboar tossed it to Krokorok who continued the game of catch with the others after catching her breath.
"You guys are mean! I want my hat!" White declared in exasperation.
"Shut up and get the hat!" Scarlet stated, thoroughly enjoying himself as she ran from pokemon to pokemon in search of her hat. "I'll buy you your favourite snack if you do!"
Airhead coming back with a vengeance, White put on her determined face and started after her hat madly with one goal in mind. Scarly was gonna buy her a Casteliacone whether he liked it or not!
Author's Corner.
Shauntal: Yaoi! Horror! Horroi! I'm a genius!
Slybill: No. You're just sick. Damn I'm getting lazy. No author's corner and disclaimer at the top.
Scarlet: That's a good thing idiot. Now stop complaining and finish your homework.
Slybill *anime tears*: Yes Scarlet...