Ash opened his eyes slowly and painfully. Suddenly he was immediately reminded of the event that occurred and shot out of what he was sleeping on, which was a bed. Ash looked at his surroundings and recognized where he was. "This is Rand's guest room." Soon the door opened and Ash was surprised to see May standing there.
"You're awake!" May quickly ran over to Ash, who was sitting on the bed, looking at all the burn marks on his skin. "Do you have any idea how worried Hana was!?"
Ash was surprised that the first thing May said was that. But he quickly regained his composure. "I know. I've worried her too much over the years," Ash looked down at his bare feet, letting out a sigh.
"Then why don't you stop making her worry? Do you know what it's like to have someone risking their life while all you can do is nothing!?" May shouted, once again surprising Ash.
"..."
"We had a conversation before and what she said shouldn't be coming out of a girl her age!"
"Your dad will be fine. Just some bad burns and cuts, nothing too serious," Rand said with a smile to comfort Hana. Hana let out a sigh of relief.
"Thank you Uncle Rand," Hana said, bowing.
Rand chuckled and left the room, leaving Hana and May alone. May observed Hana's actions, as she was fidgeting and would occasionally look at the door to the guest room.
"Are you worried? Do you want to see him?" May asked, making Hana jump in surprise. And then to May's surprise, Hana shook her head.
"Dad is always getting hurt, so I should be used to it. He always comes back to me anyways. And I'm almost ten years old, so I have to be strong like dad," Hana said, looking at the guest door.
"You know, no matter how old you get, it doesn't mean you should ever stop worrying about the ones you love," May said.
"I know, and I'll never stop worrying about dad. What if he gets really hurt and never comes back! Then I'll be alone again," Hana had tears forming and May was just shocked. May can already tell that Hana was much more mature than she was when she was ten, and is definitely much more mature then Max. But Hana was stronger than her.
May walked up to Hana and crouched down. "Then how about we make a promise? Let's both do our best so your dad will never make us worry again and always come back to us. Deal?"
Hana looked into May's eyes and May looked into Hana's eyes. Whether it was by fate or coincidence, Hana had the same auburn eye colour as Ash. Hana nodded. "Promise!"
"I already knew how she felt. What kind of father would I be if I never knew about her true feelings?" Ash said, putting a hand in his hair.
"Then why don't you stop being the hero and just be a regular father!? Rand's a Pokémon Ranger! It's his job to protect Oblivia, not yours!" May shouted.
Ash stood up and glared at May. "Do you know what it's like to be the hero? Do you know what it's like to have thousands of lives on your shoulders? You know as well as I do that we have to help those in need as our duty as Pokémon Trainers!" Ash took a deep breath and looked out the window. "I know I make everyone worry, but if I didn't do anything, they wouldn't be around to worry anymore. Wouldn't you rather have someone there, worrying for you, rather than them gone forever?"
May recalled the events at one of her previous Grand Festivals, with Max being kidnapped, and his life depending on her. Soon May let out a breath of her own. "I understand Ash, but, can you, you know, save people without getting hurt?"
"…I'll try, no promises though," Ash said, looking back at May who finally grew a smile back on her face.
"I guess that will do. Honestly, you are quite troublesome Ketchum," May said before leaving quickly. Ash just raised a brow before laying back down on the bed.
May stepped outside the room Ash was in and saw Hana sleeping on the ground, next to the door. May laughed. "Honestly, you and your father are too much to handle," May picked up Hana and walked back into the room Ash is in. Ash looked up in surprise before smiling when he saw Hana in May's arms. He moved a bit to the side and patted the spot that was now open. May placed Hana down and before they knew it, Hana already latched on to Ash's arm. "Can't believe she's nine years old," May said.
"She acts way younger than her age sometimes, but also way older than her age. I just wish she would act her age," Ash said, rubbing Hana's head.
May stared at Ash for a couple seconds before standing up. "I'm going to go see if there's anything I can do to help Rand. Make sure you get some rest, okay?"
Ash nodded. "I'll be joining you soon then," May nodded and left. Ash looked at the door before looking at the sleeping Hana and let out a sigh.
May walked down the stairs and saw Espeon and Meowth. They noticed May and went up to her. "How's the boss?" Meowth asked.
"He's doing well, you can go see him," and in an instant, Espeon disappeared from sight and ran up the stairs followed by Meowth. May laughed before entering the area of Nema's destroyed laboratory. Everything in the lab was burnt and there was also a giant hole in the roof. Floatzel was there helping out in case something sparked. Rand noticed May and approached her.
"So how is Ash doing?" Rand asked.
May just smiled. "He'll be fine. I'm sure he's been through worse."
Rand laughed and as soon as May opened her mouth to ask her question, Rand cut her off. "Nema is doing fine too. Thankfully there is a grove nearby with plenty of healing herbs and even a Venusaur. The lab on the other hand," Rand looked back at the lab. "Everything here is unidentifiable. Nema is going to be heartbroken when she sees this. Technology isn't common in Oblivia and it took her years to build this lab."
"Poor Nema," May frowned at the thought young girls' expression when she finds her lab destroyed. May then got an idea. "I am kind of useless here at the moment, I mean, even Hana does more than me. So what if I went and got some equipment from the outside regions?"
Rand was surprised at the offer but when he looked into May's eyes, he noticed a very familiar spark in her eyes. Rand chuckled. "It seems like you're as persistent as Ash, maybe even more. Alright, Haruba should be back by now at Booker's house. And if you can, it would be great if you can meet up with Gary and Dawn."
May nodded and pumped her fist. "You can count on me!" May started walking back through the forest towards Booker's house, determined to actually be of use.
It was hard for her to not get sidetracked by all the Pokémon in the forest. May chuckled at the memory of when she first entered the Petalburg Woods with Ash and Max and how Max kept wanting to look at Pokémon while all she wanted to do was rest or keep going. She missed the days when she travelled with Ash, Brock, and Max and wished they would continue forever.
I wonder, would things have turned out differently if I went with Ash to Sinnoh?
Reminiscing was starting to become a habit, May noted as she shook her head of all thoughts of the past. It wasn't long before she reached Lapras Beach and then the docks near Booker's house. She saw Haruba and Booker talking to each other.
"Mr. Booker! Mr. Haruba!" May called out as she walked over to them.
"Well if it isn't miss dive-off-a-moving-boat. We graded that dive 7.8/10. Could have been more graceful, you know?" Haruba laughed while May just chuckled nervously.
"I'm sorry for making everyone worry," May said looking at the sand, realizing how extreme her actions were.
"It's fine. Anyways, is there something you needed?" Haruba asked.
"Yeah, I was asked by Rand to ask you to take me to the Kanto Region, Pallet Town," May explained. Haruba only nodded.
"I see, then let's go tomorrow. It's getting kind of late. Why don't you go stay at Ash's place until then? He usually leaves his door unlocked," Haruba said and May nodded before heading off.
May slipped under the blanket and stared outside the window. "I wonder if anyone is going to wonder where I was. And what about Drew? ...Who cares about Drew? But what about mom and dad?" May turned around and closed her eyes. "I'm overthinking this. I just need to get some new stuff for Nema and meet up with Gary."
Well. Once again I thought this story was going in the wrong direction and would become worse as time goes on, but there's still those who like this story so for them, I'll keep updating...Though I have no idea why I never published this Chapter since it's been completed for months now along with 20. Sorry once again guys...