Hey guys and girls, I'm here once again and I'm sad to say that we are extremely close to the end of this story. I'm planning on ending this with a bang and going off with a very long chapter which would normally be two or three chapters. With that in mind it only leaves a maximum of two or three chapters left, including the last, long one. I'm excited for my ending but I'm sad to write it. Oh well, I hope you enjoy the chapter and thanks to Sailor Taichichi Vegeta for reviewing every chapter. You're the bomb man.
Noble Boss: Thank you, I tried my best to create a good atmosphere for that scene without having it seem too over the top. Thank you again, I very happy you are enjoying the story (and I know, I'm terrible at grammar, sorry if it causes any cringes)
Fallingarcher22: I'm glad to hear the name is good, now I can stop racking my brain for a one that fits. the big battle is coming soon, too soon for my tastes. For it signifies the end of the story (aside from a possible epilogue)
BlackStarZX: I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks so. Hangovers are the worst, my friend came into the hotel room around 3 in the morning and just started throwing up in the bathroom. We had an early morning tomorrow too so he was bound for failure. I felt bad, even if he did wake me up.
Shut Up I'm Evil: First off, I like the name. Second off, that is more true than any man in the universe would like to admit. Such a sad truth
Sailor Taichichi Vegeta: Blame it on Philip, he brought it in. Well if my friend made a great meal compared to a measly one provided to the general masses, I'd steal some to. Haha! I created a twist, which you;re about to see. there will be no cringing due to awkwardness for readers today (Just for today).
Chapter 27: Open Your Heart
-Ash's POV-
I froze when I heard the voice, daring to hope that it wasn't who I knew it was. "Your highnesses" Ruby said, getting up form his seat and kneeling, confirming my fears. I did not turn around however, call me a coward, but I was not ready for what was inevitably to come.
I felt a hand rest on my shoulder and I tensed before I knew it "Your the princess?" I heard Red ask.
"Yes I am, but Dawn here is a princess too, she's from Sinnoh" May said
Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Dawn's here? Will I be spared from the most likely awkward, horribly uncomfortable, and scary conversation I knew was bound to come up sooner or later (the latter being the preferred option). Was I free from the walking temptation named May? I just might be free for the night, only the night though, only the night.
"Oh, I didn't know you were hosting the Sinnoh royal family while Sinnoh is occupied" Red said
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Forget all that" Gold interrupted "You got to tell me what the royal life is like. Do you have people feed you? Do you take bathes in gold coins? Do you get everything for free when you go shopping?" Gold said, firing off questions.
I heard some giggles behind me, two sets in fact. Confirming that Dawn was here as well "No, nothing like that" Dawn said.
I took a moment here to appreciate Dawn, silently thanking her for existing, just all around happy she was here. 'Cause, you know, she kind of made me feel safer when May was around. If there' one thing I leaned, it's that no one wants to look weird in front of their friends. This applies to May just as much as it does to everyone else and so that leads to this, thank you Dawn, just... thank you
"But if you want a rundown on what we do in a day, normally we just hang around and goof off. We used to tease Ash here, when he worked for us as our bodyguard" Dawn said.
I took a moment here to curse Dawn, I imagined turning around and punching her in the face, just all around wanting her to shut up and disappear. 'Cause, you know, this would bring up questions that were buried two seconds ago, and that would lead to memories, for me and May. And May might get some inspiration from those memories that I might have to deal with tonight. So that leads us to this, die Dawn, just... die
"So how good of a job did he do? I want to compare the effort level he put into your serve versus ours, to see if he's been slacking off any bit" Gold said while sending me a smirk, one that I've become too well acquainted with.
"He did a good job, although he did leave us to go off and fight Hunter J, he came back all battered and bruised too. Cuts everywhere and blood along with it" Dawn said
I refrained from making a comment about how I basically took on Hunter J single handedly. "Dawn, you don't give him enough credit" May said, the sound of her voice immediately causing my body to tense "He did a fantastic job, he even brought me back here all the way from Kanto alone almost the entire way" May said.
"Yeah, I guess you're right, but how has he done for you guys?" Dawn asked
"Well Mr. Silent and Grumpy over there had us train everyday, and everyday, we'd all get our asses handed to us. Oh, excuse the language" Gold said.
I heard May giggle "That certainly sounds like my Ash"
You'd have to be blind to not see everyone at the table pause and stare at her for a second, processing the possible meanings of "my Ash". Hell, even Dawn was giving May a weird look. What surprised me was the fact the Ruby seemed to be the only person who hadn't been surprised. Instead he was looking at me, gauging my reaction.
"Oh yeah, Ash?" Dawn said, expecting a response
"Hm?"
"I still have your shirt, the one with the hood" she said
"Do you? I was wondering where that was" I lied, is was just a harmless white lie, what bad could come from it?
"Yeah, I had it washed and everything so just stop by my room and pick it up" she said, i turned and faced her for the first time, giving her a nod. She smiled in return and walked towards the exit, no doubt awaiting my arrival.
"Oh and Ash, after that would you stop by my room?" May said before leaning in to my ear "I have something very important to show you" she whispered in my ear.
Now, in the perspective of someone of the male gender, one can imagine the possibilities that ran through my head at that moment. And I'll be honest, everyone of them was very appealing. So much so, in fact, that I paused to think about it, resulting in me dropping my fork and knife, and visibly staring off into the distance, a little slack jawed. This inevitably caught the attention of most of the table, if not the entirety of it, which is something that I would soon regret. I hadn't even noticed that May had walked off already, leaving my imagination to run wild.
"ARE YOU BONING TWO PRINCESSES!?"
I flinched at the sudden, and rather loud, interruption. I glared at Gold for his outburst "Of course I'm not" I spat at him
"Then why does one have your shirt and the other whispering things into you ear?" so much for a harmless white lie.
"Because I lent my shirt so she would not be recognized when she went out" I told him
"You didn't answer the other one" Silver said flatly
"I know that Silver, thank you for mentioning it" I growled out at him, shooting a glare with it. "...Well? Why did she whisper things into your ear?" White asked when I said nothing.
"I don't fucking know okay?"
"Ooooooh yes you do" Ruby said. I glared at him "Really? Then please enlighten me as to why she whispered something in my ear"
"Because she l-"
I slapped my hand over his mouth, the glare in my eyes asking "how do you know?". His eyes twinkled with amusement saying "because you suck". I glared at him before standing up and dragging him away by his collar, I vaguely heard Diamond call dibs on my food, causing an argument that went through the entire table. At least they already forgot that I dragged their knew "friend" away from them
I shoved him against the wall the second we entered my room, lifting him almost a foot off the ground. "How the fuck do you know" I hissed at him.
"How the hell do you think? She told me" he said, not really caring that he was hovering above the ground. I breathed a mental sigh of relief, she hadn't made her feelings public. "Did you tell anyone else? Did she tell anyone else?" I demanded form him
"I didn't tell anyone, and I don't think she did either. Besides myself, of course. My question is though, why are you so scared?" he said, suddenly becoming deadly serious.
I dropped him to the ground, taking a step back "I'm not scared, I fear nothing" I snarled at him. He raised an eyebrow at me "You ran away the second she said she lov-"
"Don't you dare finish that sentence" I interrupted
He sighed "The point is you ran away the second she said those words. You claim you have no fears, you can't even talk to your own father before you suddenly start pushing him away. Now I'm not saying go and start liking the guy, I'm just saying that you don't need to get into an argument every time you see him, it's getting on my nerves. But that's beside the point, you are afraid of her, no, you are afraid of being loved"
"That's not true"
"Bullshit. You push away anyone who could possibly care about you. You are so used to taking care of yourself, so used to being alone and abandoned that you have begun to reject anyone you could get close to. That's not how to go about life"
"Oh and you're one to talk about how to love someone. You're the one who can't even look his ex-girlfriend in the eye without thinking of her turning her back on you. I got over my first love, you dwell in the pain she caused you and use it as an excuse to push her away. A blind man all the way in Kalos could see that she fucking loves you" I yelled at him
I found myself pushed up against a wall with Ruby's fingers around my throat "Take that back" he hissed at me. I just glared at him as I felt my oxygen slowly leave me "I said, take it back!" he roared at me before punching me in the face, knocking me to the floor
"Take back what? The fact that you think you're so broken that you won't even let your own parents know you're alive? The fact that you love a girl so much, that you use the pain as a way to treat her like trash? Is that what you want me to take back?" I rasped, struggling to get air back into my lungs
He stumbled back, as if I punched him in the face, so much so that he stopped at the bed. He slowly took a seat at the edge, putting his hand on his head. "I know you're right" he said in a shaky voice "I know, okay, but you don't" he said, pointing a finger at me "You need to go and talk to her with and open heart. That may be asking a lot, but you need to listen to what your heart says, not your head" he said, his voice becoming firm as he continued.
I stood up and dragged myself over to the bed and sat next to him "I will, okay. At the very least I'll try, but you got to get your shit with Sapphire figured out. If you can make up with her, than I'll talk to May, deal?" I said, sticking my hand out to him
He looked at my hand for a moment before taking it "Deal" he confirmed
"...Sorry for punching you in the face, and, you know, choking you" Ruby muttered
"Forget about it, sorry for lifting you off the ground"
He turned to look at me for a moment, and I caught a glint of mischief in his eyes "Well you should be man. I mean, come on, that was soooooo unnecessary" he said with a smile. I couldn't help but smile back and give him a light punch on the shoulder
"Ass"
He just laughed before standing up "Let's go back to the cafeteria. No one even noticed you there and they're all dying to see you again"
"Phhh, why the hell would they want to see me?"
"Well come one man, give yourself some credit. You did bring back their long lost princess, which was like, their spirit. I don;t know but she makes them want to keep going. You bringing her back was a real pick me up. Not to mention you took out Hunter J, you earned their respect... and their fear, but that's not important"
"Alright then, let's go" I said, pushing myself off the bed. We both walked out the door and reentered the cafeteria. Ruby led me towards the general's table, which headed the mess hall. He stopped in front of it, ignoring the confused looks he got from the generals there. He brought two fingers to his mouth before letting loose a loud two fingered whistle, attracting the attention of everyone in the room.
"Oi, everybody, I got some news for you. We have some new guests present with us, hailing form Kanto, let's welcome our brothers in arms, the resistance" Ruby said. There was a resounding cheer and a loud chorus of applause. I could see Yellow squirming on all the attention directed to her.
"Now let's not forget the cheeky son of a bitch that basically saved all our asses from a now deceased mercenary loyal to Giovanni. Welcome back our friendly mercenary, Ash, the Ranger" Ruby said, using my name without a hint of regret. There was another loud bout of applause and I shot Ruby a glare, not pleased at all with the large amount of attention brought towards me.
He just shot me a grin "Where the hell have you been you bastard?" an overly cheerful voice yelled at me. I groaned as I felt an arm wrap around my shoulder "What the hell are you doing here Riley?" I asked him.
"What do you think? I'm here to help with the final attack" he said, the ever present smile on his face.
"Of course you are, where else would you be except where I am? I asked, looking to the heavens for an answer. "Awwww come on, let's get a drink. The guys are just dying to talk to you" he said while leading me over to a table opposite of where everyone else sat. I cast them a quick glance before allowing myself to be led towards a large group of the Aqua Guard, being met with a loud cheer resounding form them
'Great, a bunch of drunken soldiers in the middle of wartime. What could possibly go wrong?' I thought.
Ash walked through the halls, helping a staggering Red go to his room with Gold almost carrying a very drunk Crstal to their room. "I'm tellin' ya, they don't make s-(hic) swords like they u-used to. Thass a funny word, sword. Why ish there a (hic) "w" in there? It'sh like my dad that walked out on me and my mum. Not needed" Red slurred
"Welcome to the club" Ash muttered under my breath, not really in the mood to entertain a drunken Red. He pushed the door to his room open, thankful that Red hadn't locked it. "I-I can take it f-from here Ash" Yellow said tentatively from behind Ash, almost appearing form nowhere. He turned back to her, only a foot from Red's bed, with a raised eyebrow
"Yeah Ash, she can take (hic) real good care of lil' ol' me" Red said with a drunken smile, only making Ash want to stay and keep an eye on him all the more. But he relented and sat Red on the bed, leaving him in Yellow's capable hands.
Just as Ash closed the door he heard Gold muttering "I can't believe you of all people would end up drinking" while closing the door to their room. It was strange, she had a sip from the wrong bottle (Gold's oddly enough) and before you knew it, she was stumbling around, barely able to form a coherent sentence. She might've had a few more drinks when no one was looking, or she just got drunk off that sip, which was rather bizarre.
"There he is! Th- (hic) the man of the hour" Riley slurred from behind Ash. 'Give me a fucking break already' Ash thought before turning around to Riley. He was leaning on the wall while he walked towards him, his arm hitting the doorknob of every door as he walked, scratch that, stumbled towards Ash, with a rather large-half empty bottle in his hands.
Ash looked at him incredulously "What the hell are you doing? Aura Guardians are not supposed to drink" he hissed at him while pulling him away from the wall, not wanting to disturb anyone.
"That- That may be true, but... hehe butt" he giggled, Ash rolled my eyes at his childishness "But this is a special occasion. We got (hic), got rid of the Kanto guys on Iron Island" he said, throwing his arms in the air and splashing alcohol everywhere. Ash growled and grabbed his arms, putting them back to his sides. "You fucking moron, there are no Kanto soldiers on Iron Island"
"Oh yeah" he said, looking up at the ceiling in wonder "I meant the guys on the coast" he said, giggling at his foolishness.
"Well congratulations, but that isn't an excuse to drink" Ash said while taking the bottle from his hand, now barely a quarter full. "Now let's get you back to your room you dumbass piece of shit" Ash half groaned out, tired of being everyone's assistant. "Where is your room?"
"Next to (hic) Sir Aaron's" Riley said while futilely trying to get the bottle back from Ash. Ash sighed "You can barely talk straight yet you still put the "sir" before his name. Just tell me your goddamn room number. "The one next to Sir Aaron" doesn't help me at all"
"What about the one next to mine?" Aaron said form behind me
'What is it with everyone just appearing tonight?' Ash thought
"Thank Arceus you're hear" Ash paused for a moment, frowning "Never thought I'd say that in my life. Whatever, take your apprentice back to his room. I don't want to deal with him" Ash said, almost throwing Riley to Aaron
He caught Riley's flailing body and hauled him up, giving Ash a curt nod before heading towards the stairs 'Oh thank the fucking heavens I didn't have to lug him up a flight of stairs' Ash thought
Now here was a new predicament, he could go and get his shirt from Dawn, but that involves passing May's room. He would talk to her eventually, but now just wasn't really the night to do it.
Deciding that he was stealthy enough to do it Ash began to creep towards the royal living quarters, soon emerging around the corner that less to the two princesses' rooms. He crept by May's room silently and carefully knocked on Dawn's door. There was some shuffling before the door opened a crack, revealing a small slit of Dawn's face.
Seeing it was only Ash, she opened the door fully, inviting him in. Ash traveled into her room quickly, shutting the door as quietly and as quickly as possible. He let out a sigh before turing to face Dawn... only to be met with the gaze if both princesses on him. He tensed immediately, eyes darting from Dawn's to May's.
"Oh, May was just having some tea" Dawn explained, Ash nodded before regaining himself, somehow knowing that May had planned all this out. He cleared his throat "So, you got my shirt?" he asked Dawn
Her eyes lit up and she went behind that foldable paper wall woman tended to change behind before returning with my shirt. I took it form her hand, giving her a curt nod and a "thank you"
"I'm sorry but I must go to bed, I have to be up early tomorrow" I said, excusing myself. May stood up and stretched for a moment "I think I'm going to hit it as well" she said with a smile to Dawn who gave her a nod. "Good I was getting tired of your company anyway" she said with humor evident in her voice.
May giggled before turning towards Ash who had been attempting an escape through the door while she was occupied. "See you tomorrow Dawn" she said before running out behind Ash, catching him just as he passed through the door.
"Ash"
He froze at the tone of her voice, it was low and had a demanding edge to it, leaving no leeway to whatever she was about to say. He turned his head to look at her. She had her arms crossed and was giving him a flat look, before simply pointing a thumb at her door that he had passed already.
You could see his shoulders slump in defeat as he turned back and walked into the door she opened for him.
He sat on the edge of the bed not looking up as May closed the door behind her
"Ash" she said again, sending shiver down his spine "What do you think of me?" his head came up at that, it certainly wasn't what he had been expecting.
He took a deep breath before starting "When I first saw you after I had pulled you out from underneath the tree I thought 'another one of Drew's whores got loose again' and I was prepared to hand you over and get my money. Now after I found you again and you offered a lot of money if I got you back, I thought that you were maybe a noble's daughter or someone who was trying to rip me off, in which case I was prepared to kill you if I didn't get my money. Then you managed to calm an angry Machamp, earning my respect. Then I lean red that you were a princess and I was about to abandon you" he could see her deflate a little when he said that
"I mean, a princess that escaped from Giovanni? Who else could that be but May Maple, the long lost daughter of King Norman and practically the only reason he hadn't done anything against Giovanni. I knew Giovanni would go through hell and back to get you up in his castle again. Strangely enough Eevee convinced me to come back, but after that I just thought of you as a special client. When we got you back and my services were still needed I got to know you better. I learned that you are a determined, headstrong, stubborn, confident, and beautiful princess who wasn't afraid of saying what she wanted" Ash said, purposely leaving out the part when she had to kill someone.
"I see" was all she said before coming over and sitting next to him "Do you want to know what I think of you?" she asked
"Not particul-"
"I learned that you are the embodiment of loneliness, you're stubborn, sometimes rash, and cold. But I also learned that you're strong, you enjoy your independence and self-reliability, that you care about others regardless of what you say otherwise, and that you need someone to love you. And I couldn't help stop myself from filling that role" she said, taking his hand in hers, intertwining their fingers
"You're a lot calmer than I expected you to be" she murmured with a smile
"Ruby gave me a few smacks to get my head straight" Ash said with a faint smile.
"Well that's good, because I had a rope and a gad ready if I needed them" May said
"Wait, WHAT?" Ash exclaimed
May giggled at his reaction "I'm kidding, I'm kidding"
He calmed at that, relaxing again "Don't do that to me ever again" he said. May giggled again "I promise" she said, whispering it in his ear.
"So what now?" Ash asked, unsure of what was supposed to happen next. "I don't know, you haven't given me a response" May said, leaning on his shoulder.
There was silence for a while before Ash finally spoke "I have been left alone all my life, sometimes it wasn't voluntary, sometimes it was, but it happened so much that I just started blocking everyone out, trying to save what little of my heart remains. Even if we try this, there is no guarantee that weather one of us will come out unscathed. You're a princess, I'm a mercenary, I can't see that going well. You're bound to be married off, and I'm bound to die in the mud with a sword in my chest"
Silence reigned once again, everything he said was true. He lived a life of constant danger and she lived a life of luxury that came with the price of some of her freedoms. The time might come when she will no longer have the freedom to choose who she marries, and even if she kept that freedom, there was no guarantee that her father would allow her options to stray form royalty or nobility.
"But... despite all that, I am willing to try, at least one more time before I give up" Ash said, squeezing her hand little "And why not make my last attempt a little more exciting by making it a princess?" he said with a grin. May looked into his eyes, verifying that he was telling the truth, and his eyes held nothing but that.
She smiled at him before standing up and walking over to her dresser, Ash's eyes following her the whole way.
"Uhhhh May? W-what are you doing?" Ash asked nervously as she began taking her clothes off.
She turned to him, her face flushed red "Well? You have to take your clothes off too if we're going to do this" she mumbled
Ash's eyes winded with realization "No, no, no, no, no, no, no ,no" he almost yelled as he ran over to her, throwing his recently acquired shirt around her half naked body. "That's something you save for later. Not something you do on the first night" he said quickly.
"O-oh" May said, her face turning and even darker shade of red "S-sorry" she mumbled
Ash rubbed the back of his head while looking away form her, equally embarrassed "Forget about it, you just go to bed and I'll go back to my room" he said
May nodded and walked to her bed, still covered by Ash's shirt while he began walking to the door
"Ash" May said
"Hm?" Ash said while turning around, only to be caught in surprise with a gentle kiss on the lips. He surprise faded quickly though, but he didn't get a chance to respond before she separated from him "Good night" she said with a smile.
I smiled back before opening the door, peeking through as I closed it to see May gently berthing under the covers. His eyes glanced down for a moment before widening rapidly
"Hey May?" he said. She rolled over and looked at him.
"I thought you said you were joking about the rope and gag" he said while pointing to the times he just mentioned that lay under her bed
"..."
Silence
Well that's the end of that. I tried to end it off funny which might have been a mood killer. But I stopped typing halfway through that scene because my friend wanted me to watch a funny youtube video. So I just got in that mood after seeing it. I'm adding in this part mostly because I loped at the word counter and it was just below 5,000. This is here mainly to fill in the 30 or so words I need to reach that mark. But anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter, please feel free to leave a suggestion, request, some hate, or anything else because it is always welcome. Till next time
-novaking2832