Yohana sat in a chair next to Ash's bed, holding his hand. Silently, she leaned forward and kissed his cheek, worry evident in her eyes.

Her Leafeon sat next to her on the ground, and Ash's Pikachu, whom she had met upon following the doctors from the Emergency Room to Ash's hospital room, lay curled up on the bed next to Ash.

"It's my fault." Yohana said, finally breaking the silence. "I should've been there to protect you, but I wasn't. If only I'd found you sooner…" She heard footsteps coming towards the room and looked up to see the door open and a girl and a boy walk in. "Huh?"

"Hey. It's that Psychic from before." The girl commented. Yohana realized they'd probably been in the waiting room when she'd forced her way into the Emergency Room.

(They must be Brock and Misty. Ash's friends.) Leafeon purred.

Yohana stood up, dropping Ash's hand. "Hi there. I'm Yohana. What are your names?"

"I'm Brock and this is Misty." The boy said.

"It's nice to meet you." Misty said.

"It's nice to meet you too." Yohana replied, shaking Misty's outstretched hand.

There was an awkward silence.

"So… how do you know Ash?" Brock asked.

"We're friends." Yohana answered, glancing over at Ash. "Just friends…"

"Is he going to be okay?" Misty asked. "The doctors only told us that he was going to live and that he was in a coma. We don't know much more than that."

"Give it a week or two. He'll be back to himself before you know it." Yohana replied.

"Are you sure about that?" Brock asked. "It might be true that he'll be back to normal physically, but there's no saying how the trauma of it all might affect him."

"I didn't think of that. I'll bet it won't affect him too much though. Once, when we were four, he disturbed a mother Pidgey who was protecting her young. He ended up in the hospital for a week and a half. I couldn't believe it when I went to visit him and found him laughing about the whole event." She smiled fondly at the memory.

"Yeah, but this is different. Someone seriously tried to kill him." Misty said. "And we don't know why."

"Maybe that guy was the one who kidnapped Ash." Brock said. "And he's angry that Ash escaped and wants him dead because of it."

"Maybe." Misty said. "There's a good possibility the shooting has to do with the kidnapping."

Yohana watched Brock and Misty as they discussed theories as to why the man had tried to kill Ash.

"They have no idea." She told Leafeon.

(Perhaps you should tell them.) Leafeon purred.

"No way. Let them figure it out on their own." Yohana replied. She sat back down and picked up Ash's hand again. "If I tell them, they'll ask why Team Rocket wants me to join them and then I might have to tell them my secret. I don't know yet if I can trust them."

(Okay. That's your choice.) Leafeon told her.

"Yohana, why do you think that man tried to kill Ash?" Misty asked.

Yohana glanced over at her and Brock and shrugged. "What matters now isn't why they want to do it. What matters now is how we're going to protect Ash."

Misty and Brock exchanged glances.

"You've got a good point." Misty said. "How are we going to protect him?"

"Let's make sure two of us are in the room at all times. That way, if one of us gets hurt, Ash will still have some protection." Brock suggested. "I'm going to go call Ash's mother. You two stay here and make sure nothing happens to him."

As soon as Brock left, Misty turned to Yohana. "What are you hiding?"

"Huh?" Yohana said.

"You know something we don't. I want to know what it is." Misty said.

"I know a lot of things you don't. Which one do you want me to tell you?" Yohana joked.

"Why did that man really try to kill Ash? I know you know. Tell me." Misty responded.

Yohana sighed. "I… can't…"

"Oh? And why not?" Misty asked, narrowing her eyes.

"Because everyone would hate me for it." Yohana replied. "I just wanted to stay friends with Ash. I didn't want to put him in danger because of it."

"Ash is in danger… because of you?" Misty asked, surprised.

"Yes…" Yohana admitted. Tears began to run down her face. "It's all because of those stupid letters! Team Rocket stole one of them after I put it in the mailbox and read it! They found out everything and kidnapped Ash to get to me! They wanted me to join them! I pretended to, and then used the access to get both of us out of there! Ever since, they've been trying to kill him! BECAUSE OF ME!"

She started weeping, crying her eyes out.

To her surprise, Misty hugged her. "Shh. Don't cry. It's not your fault. It's Team Rocket's fault. They're the ones to blame, not you."

"But I dragged him into this, Misty!" Yohana cried. "We were best friends before they came after me. I wanted it to stay that way, so I wrote him letters! He's been my only human friend for five years! All I want right now is for him to be safe! I don't care about me; I just want him to be safe! But Team Rocket…"

"I think the only way for Ash to be safe is if we bring down Team Rocket." Misty whispered. "We can do it. I know we can."

"I don't know if we have enough time, Misty! As soon as they find him, they'll…" Yohana stopped there, renewed tears bursting from her eyes.

"Just let it all out." Misty murmured. "We won't let them hurt him. I promise."

"You… you promise?" Yohana sobbed.

Misty nodded. "I promise. Now dry your tears. Everything's going to be A-Okay."

Soon after Yohana had stopped crying, Brock reentered the room and told them Delia and Professor Oak were on their way.

"Mrs. Ketchum must be worried sick." Misty said. "You know how she feels about Ash."

"She said they were going to take the fasted method of transportation to get here. They'll probably be here tomorrow or the next day." Brock replied.

"Let's hope he's awake by then." Misty said, glancing at Ash.

"Yeah." Brock agreed. All three kids looked at their friend sadly.

"Let's just hope the situation doesn't get any worse." Misty said.

a/n Not much action in this chapter. Mainly Brock and Misty meeting Yohana and we find out Ash's diagnosis. I promise there will be more action in the next chapter. a/n