Authors Note:
So guys... I'm really sorry for the late chapter... School and work really killed me this past weekend and I am only now getting to my laptop to upload this chapter..
I am going to try my best to get back on schedule but that might take a couple weeks because of midterms.
Enough of my excuses. Here is the latest Chapter for A Second Chance! It's my longest chapter so far!
I cant wait to read all of your reviews ;)
Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon or any of its lovely characters.
Chapter 6: A Prayer in Spring
"Ugh! This thing is so itchy!" Misty grumbled as she picked up a pen and began to scratch her leg that was hidden by the cast, not with much luck.
She was sitting on the couch in the living room with her healing leg propped up next to her. Letting out a small moan, she glanced out the window and noticed how beautiful it was. It was a picture-perfect spring day. It looked like the perfect day to go for a walk or even a swim. She wished she could do anything.
Unfortunately, that was not on the redhead's agenda since she was still bound by the restrictions of her cast. Every time she thought about all the things she couldn't do, Misty became very irritable. The only thing she hated more was her crutches.
"Oh, come on Misty. It's not that bad!" Ash took his attention away from the TV and directed it at Misty.
"This thing is unbearable," She groaned. "I can't wait to get this stupid thing off!" Misty had abandoned the pen and was now pulling at the cast in a failed attempt to get rid of it. Hearing Ash trying to stifle his laughter, Misty shot daggers at him. "What do you think is so funny!?"
"You're acting like a little itch is going to kill you!" Ash now let loose his laughter, leaning back in his chair. Since the hot-headed girl wasn't able to get up and attack him, Ash figured it was safe to get his fair share of jabs in while he still could.
"I know it's not going to kill me! I'm not stupid!" Misty's voice now escalated into a shout. Ash was taken aback by Misty's sudden outburst and stopped his laughter. He may have wanted to have some fun but he really did hate seeing his best friend so miserable. Misty took notice to Ash's mood change and let out a frustrated sigh.
"I'm sorry, Misty. I know this isn't fun for you but look at the bright side!" Misty glanced in the direction of Ash with a confused expression. 'What in the world could be good about being stuck in a cast?' "You get it off in only two more weeks!" He was now smiling and looking at Misty with excited, russet eyes.
"Then wake me up in two weeks." Misty flopped back on the couch, now lying down. She placed a pillow on top of her face and wished she could actually sleep through this torture.
"I'm sure they'll go by quicker than you think."
"That's easy for you to say!" Misty voiced was muffled by the pillow so she snatched it away and added, "Aside from the itchiness, I haven't been able to do anything! I'm so bored! I've read every book and magazine in this house and there is nothing but reruns on TV. Not to mention I haven't been able to take a proper shower since then."
"Oh so that's what that smell is." Ash flashed Misty an impish smirk, one she was not pleased with.
She rolled her head to the side and shouted, "You know what I mean, idiot! I can't stand up in the shower without getting water on my cast so I have to take a bath with my leg hanging out of the tub! Do you have any idea how uncomfortable that is!?" She was getting irritated with all of Ash's wise cracks and even more so when she couldn't get up and smack that look right off his face. Maybe there was something she hated even more then the crutches.
"Calm down, Misty! I was only joking!" Ash defended himself, mostly out of reflex. He knew she wouldn't be able get up to attack him so he brought his hands down-BAM! On the other hand… she still had full use of her arms. Ash was caught off guard as a pillow impacted his face and he nearly fell off of his chair.
After composing himself, Ash glanced at Misty who had on the most innocent face she could wear. Now how am I supposed to be angry at a face like that? He put on a fake pout, crossed his arms and huffed, "That wasn't very nice!"
Misty let out a slight giggle as she sat up and faked her own frown. Folding her arms in a similar fashion she retorted, "Neither is what you said about me!"
"Well I'm sorry," The Master had a slight hint of playful sarcasm lingering in his apology.
"Well I don't believe you! And I'm sure your mother would just love to hear how your picking on a helpless injured girl, now would she?" The redhead now wore her own mischievous smirk.
"Heh. No need to bring mom into this Misty!" Ash knew very well that Misty would tell his mother. And she would believe her too! Ash also knew, from experience, that he would be spending the rest of the day doing heavy housework right after. His mother always sided with Misty…
Misty could see the nervous look on Ash's face and she had him just where she wanted him. The fiery, redhead crossed her arms again and answered, "I don't see any other choice."
"How about I make it up to you?"
"And how do you plan on doing that?" Misty glanced over towards Ash with a raised eyebrow.
"Wait here. I'll be right back." The Pokémon Master got up from his chair and hurried up the stairs to his room. He came back into the room with both arms behind his back and his signature toothy grin across his face.
"What's behind your back?" Misty leaned forward trying to get a better look but Ash backed up out of her line of sight.
"Not so fast little miss impatient!"
"Come on! I want to see what it is! Don't make me get another pillow!" Misty raised her hand holding onto another couch pillow, ready to fire.
Ash took another step back and reasoned, "Okay, okay I'll show you. But first, please disarm yourself."
Misty lowered the pillow and swung her legs off the couch so she could be sitting up properly when she received her gift.
"Alright, now close your eyes."
"Why do I have to close my eyes?"
"Come on Mist. Just do it."
"Fine," Misty closed her eyes and soon felt something placed in her lap. After Ash had given her the okay to open them again, she looked down to see what she was given. There was a spiral-bound artist's sketch pad with a black hard cover and a light blue case. When she opened the case she ran her slender fingers over the large assortment of high quality color pencils. Keeping her eyes down, she softly asked, "What's all this?"
Ash had been watching nervously while Misty examined the gift hoping that she would like it. He put a lot of thought into this and he was really anxious thinking about if it was a good idea or not. "Well, I know how bored you've been lately and how you don't really have anything to do so I got you that sketch pad and stuff so you would always have something to do! You can't really run out of things to do when you can just turn to another page and start a new drawing!" Ash looked away slightly and nervously added, "Plus I remember how much you used to doodle when we were traveling together, especially after we met Tracey."
Misty kept her eyes down, still examining the gift. It was true. Misty had become fascinated with sketching after seeing Tracey's works. She would look for anything to draw on like napkins or flyers or anything. She tried very hard to keep it as discrete as possible. Misty never thought she was any good at it and when she realized that Ash had actually caught her in the act, she became very embarrassed.
"You remember that from so long ago?" A faint blush spread on her cheeks. She couldn't believe that Ash had caught her, never mind remember it a decade later. He could barely remember what he did yesterday! 'Had Ash really paid that much attention to me when we were together?'
Ash whipped his head back in the direction of Misty, a little hurt that she would question him like that, and replied firmly, "Of course I remember." Ash could see that he had embarrassed Misty by telling her he knew of her secret hobby. "I'm pretty sure I was the only one who ever noticed though." He was hoping that she still liked the gift.
"Good. I was terrible at it…"
"I thought they were good. And plus, you never had the proper stuff anyway! Now we could see just how great you really are!"
" I dunno…."
"Come on Mist! You'll never know if you don't try!"
Misty looked up at Ash and could see the enthusiasm in his eyes. He never lost that child-like fervor from when he was younger. It reminded her of their journeys together and she couldn't help but return the smile. Life was so much simpler back then. "I guess I could give it a try." She could tell that he had thought hard on this and was hoping she would like it. "Thanks Ash."
"So you like it?" Ash asked with a nervous grin.
"I love it. I can see you put special thought into the color of the case." Misty shot him a knowing look.
"Well yeah. I know your favorite color is blue." Ash looked away anxiously, chuckling nervously and scratching the back of his head. "I'm glad you like it. I was just about to go outside to do some training. It's a pretty nice day out too. Wanna come with and you can break in the sketch pad?"
"Sure that sounds nice."
Ash picked up the art materials and carried them outside. He sat them down on the porch table leaving Misty to herself. As he continued down the steps, he caught sight of Pikachu taking a nap in the shade.
"Hey Pikachu, come here!" The yellow mouse perked up at the sound of his trainer's voice and quickly scurried over to him and hopped onto his shoulder. "Hey buddy. Have a nice nap?" Ash scratched his longtime friend on the head and received a content, "Chaaaa".
"Good to here! Now that you're all rested, how about we train for a little bit?" Pikachu jumped off of Ash's shoulder and onto the ground in front of him. Pikachu gave him the thumbs up to show he was well rested and ready for a work out. "Great! Now let's see…." Ash tapped a finger to his chin, pondering who would be a good match up to the little electric mouse. "We haven't trained with Noctowl in a while. How does that sound?" After receiving the agreement from Pikachu, Ash retrieved Noctowls pokéball from his belt and tossed it in the air. The shiny, bird Pokémon erupted from its confines with a shimmer and flew down to meet its trainer. "Ready for some training Noctowl?"
The owl Pokémon chirped and flew up into the sky as an indicator that it was ready for a challenge.
"Great! Okay, Pikachu let's start off with a thunderbolt!"
Pikachu gathered electricity and unleashed its signature attack towards the sky. Noctowl quickly evaded the attack and circled back, ready for another dodge.
"Great dodge! Time to take it up a notch. Noctowl, use air slash!"
As Noctowl prepared for the attack, Pikachu tensed, ready for what was coming. The duel-type rose a little higher in the sky and began the attack. He raised his wings high above his head and with a quick motion, brought his wings down sending a spiraling, and cyan-colored energy ball toward his opponent.
The electric-type was quick to dodge the aura sphere and leapt up to retaliate with an electro ball, only to be dodged mid-air by Noctowl. Knowing that Noctowl would make a dodge, Pikachu shot out another electro ball from his tail, aimed towards the sky.
Seeing the oncoming attack, Noctowl quickly gathered energy for another air slash and sent it spiraling toward the oncoming attack. The two attacks met with equal force and were diminished in a burst of smoke.
Pikachu, unable to see through the cloud of smoke, tried to use his hearing to figure out where the flying type was. Unfortunately for Pikachu, Noctowl took advantage of his soundless wings and made a quick dive through the smoke.
Pikachu was caught off guard and was hit by Noctowls' peck attack. The yellow mouse was thrown back towards the tree he was previously sleeping under, but quickly gained his footing.
"You okay, buddy?"
"Pika."
After Ash received confirmation, he decided to issue another attack. "Great! Now use agility and then follow up with quick attack."
After running the combo through his brain, Pikachu thought of an even better accompaniment. Using his agility, Pikachu darted up the tree and through the branches taking full advantage of the green cover.
"Great idea, Pikachu! Now use quick attack to gain speed into the air and attack with iron tail!"
Pikachu burst through the leafy covering with extreme speed and aimed straight for Noctowl. Taking the owl Pokémon by surprise, Pikachu spun around quickly and pounded his glowing, silver tail on his opponent's chest.
Noctowl began to fall out of the air but straightened himself right before hitting the ground and landed gracefully. Pikachu landed on all fours not too far from Noctowl.
Ash walked over to his companions and knelt down between the two. "That was a great combo Pikachu! You did great too, Noctowl!" He stroked the top of Pikachu's head and received a grateful purr.
He then turned his attention to Noctowl and noticed that he seemed to be breathing heavily. "You okay Noctowl? You took that last attack pretty hard." Ash stroked Noctowls back but became worried when he noticed that Noctowl was clearly in pain. "You did a fantastic job today. You take a nice rest and I'll bring you over to Professor Oak's lab in a little bit to be checked out." Ash recalled his Pokémon and clipped the red and white sphere back to his belt.
Pikachu jumped up onto his trainers shoulder and Ash brought his hand back to the mouse's head. After standing up to full height, Ash cast his glance over to Misty, who seemed to be working hard on her current project.
Figuring Noctowl would still be fine if Ash took a small detour to see what the redhead's first project was, Ash made his way up the steps and managed to come up behind her without being noticed. He carefully leaned over Misty and peered at the image on the sheet of paper and was a little surprised at the scene.
The image sketched out was a scene from the previous battle session that had taken place between Pikachu and Noctowl. Even though a lot of the finer details were missing, the Pokémon Master knew exactly what was going on. Noctowl was in the air and looking down at Pikachu. Ash could clearly see that Pikachu was getting charged up for an attack. The part of the image that stood out the most was Noctowls attack. Noctowl was preparing for his air slash and Misty portrayed the swirling blue color of his attack perfectly. The color was absolutely beautiful. 'Just like her eyes.'
"Wow..." Ash let the word slip from his lips and unintentionally frightened the redhead and causing her to jump. Thankfully it didn't cause her to mess up her picture.
"Don't sneak up on me like that!" Misty turned and chastised Ash.
"Sorry Misty. I didn't mean to." Ash apologized and then leaned over again to get a better look at the picture. Seeing Ash look so carefully at the picture made Misty very anxious. She never did think any of her work was good, but she believed that this one was coming together pretty well. She would have been crushed if Ash told her it wasn't any good.
"So… What do you think? I mean it's not done yet but-"
"I think it's great! You're a natural at this! I mean it looks just like it did when I was down there training them!" Ash had cut her off before she had the chance to finish.
"You mean it? You really like it?"
"Of course! This is really good Misty. Right Pikachu?" Pikachu gave a delighted squeak to show he too liked the depiction of the battle.
"Thanks. I really love the color of Noctowls attack but I didn't think it would turn out so well."
"Well it is!" Feeling a little playful, Ash decided to throw in, "It might even be better than you smell!" The trainer stuck his tongue out playfully towards his friend as he started to back away.
"Excuse me? Get back here Ketchum!" Misty narrowed her eyes as she realized exactly what the raven-haired man said.
"Sorry I can't! Gotta get Noctowl to the Professors! See ya later!" Ash turned and started to run down the steps and out the back gate, waving his hand in the air.
"Oh just you wait until I get this thing off! You are dead meat Ash Ketchum!"
Today was the day a certain young red-head thought would never come. Today she was free of the restraints of her cast and with that came the freedom of those damn crutches. The doctors had given Misty the wonderful news that she could get her cast off a week early and she could not have been happier. Even though they said she would still need to wear a brace, she was still ecstatic! At least she could take this one off!
"Thanks so much for taking me to my appointment Delia. You've done so much for me these past few weeks. I don't know how I'm ever going to repay you." Misty turned to the older woman driving the car and gave her a grateful smile.
"Oh don't you worry about that dear. It was really nothing. You know how much I love having you around."
"I know, but still. I wish there was something I could do."
"Well, if you really want to help, I'm a little short staffed down at the restaurant right now. One of my waitresses just quit and it would be lovely to have you around. And you would even have a little spending money of your own!" Delia knew how much Misty hated depending on other people for things. Being an independent woman herself, she could relate.
"That sounds like fun! I really need something to keep me busy when Ash goes back to work. I hate just sitting around the house. And having some money of my own would be great too. I need to get myself a new poke gear."
"Then it's settled! I'll have you start when Ash goes back in three weeks, that way your leg can have a little bit more time to heal. You'll be on your feet most of the day." After thinking for a moment she also added, "And you would be off for your birthday too! Its just a couple days before then!"
"Oh yeah." Misty looked down and let out a small chuckle. "With all that's been going on I almost forgot about my birthday."
"I'm so glad that I remembered! Now I'll be able to bake a cake and plan for a party an-"
"Oh no Delia please don't. I've already been such a burden. I don't want you going and planning a big party for me."
"You could never be a burden Misty." Delia looked away from the road momentarily and noticed her unhappy expression. Misty had gone from ecstatic to gloomy just by the mention of her birthday. "Is there another reason you don't want to celebrate your birthday?"
Knowing it was useless to lie to the older woman, Misty let out a small sigh and responded, "Its just I've never really had a birthday party before. My sisters never paid attention to me and I was lucky if I got a 'happy birthday' from them. Daisy would get me a cake but that's usually where it ended. After I went out on my journey and met up with Ash and Brock, they didn't even know when my birthday was until the second year we were together. It being just the three of us and out on the road we always kept things small. After I went back home, things went back to normal. Except for you, Ash, Brock and some of our other friends sending me cards and gifts. I guess I just wouldn't really be comfortable having a big party thrown for me. With everyone making a big fuss over me."
"You know we only fuss because we care."
"I know." Misty turned to look at Delia and noticed her brow was furrowed and she looked saddened by the story. Giving her a big smile Misty continued with, "But I'll be perfectly happy with something small!"
"If you insist." Delia knew it was no use trying to reason with the stubborn girl.
Misty gave another smile and nod as she turned to look out the window again and Delia went back to focus on the road.
The older woman knew that Misty's home life wasn't very good but she had no idea it was that bad. She had always tried to give Ash the best childhood possible and to hear that Misty had been denied such an important part broke the woman's heart. Misty deserved to have her friends around her to celebrate her special day.
After a few silent moments, Delia was torn from her thoughts when Misty began to speak again.
"Oh I can't wait to show Ash I got my cast off early! He is going to be so surprised!" The young woman's smile turned to one of mischief as she thought of how she was going to deal with a certain Pokémon Master.
Delia gave a small giggle and said, "He certainly is not going to be prepared for it. I'm sure he thought he had another week to plan on how to make up for how much he has been taking advantage of your immobility."
"I know! He is in for it once I get a hold of him!" Misty rubbed her hands together in an evil manner.
The car pulled into the front of the house and Misty thanked the older woman once again for the ride.
"Tell Ash that I'll be at the restaurant late tonight and that he's in charge of dinner." Delia absolutely loved that Ash had learned to cook. It meant she didn't have to constantly worry about her son starving to death while she stayed at work late.
"Sure thing!" Misty replied as she was getting out of the car.
"And Misty?" Before closing the door, the young red-head leaned down to see the Delia. "Don't hurt Ash too much." Delia said with a playful wink.
"I'll try my best." Misty replied with a small giggle. She closed the door to the car and turned around to face the house. After the noise of the car pulling away was gone, Misty could hear Ash training in the back yard. With an evil look in her eye, she marched her way over to the back gate.
Luckily for her, it was left open. This meant she could sneak in without being heard.
As she approached the gate she decided to take a peek at what the Master was doing. He was doing some hand-to-hand combat with his Infernape. The sparing match was quite intense and it had been going on for quite some time. Ash had thrown his shirt aside and Pikachu was watching over the two from the railing of the porch.
Misty could see just how much this type of training paid off on Ash's part. Without a shirt, Misty had a clear view of the toned muscles on Ash's arms and chest. She had to note that he pulled them off well with his rather tall, lean body frame. He moved very gracefully while dodging incoming strikes and retaliating with swift jabs of his own. He looks so strong. I always thought he was good looking, but right now he looks gorgeous.
Misty had to shake away thoughts of his mesmerizing appearance as her face reddened. Instead, she brought her focus back to her plan.
She looked back over to the Pokémon Master just as he dodged a particularly fast shot towards his upper body. Careful not to draw attention, Misty snuck over to the bench swing that was on the opposite side of the yard from the porch. On her way there, she locked eyes with Pikachu who was about to call out to her. Before he had the chance she put a finger to her mouth and pointed toward his trainer. Understanding exactly what she meant, the electric type gave her a silent wink. Pikachu always found it hilarious when the redhead had her fun with his trainer, most of the time he deserved it too.
Misty continued to watch the match undetected by her target. When she witnessed a particularly nice combo she decided now was the perfect opportunity. Misty began to clap, hoping this was enough to grab his attention.
Ash, previously focused on his sparring match, was distracted by the new sound that filled the yard. Unfortunately, the same moment he turned his eyes to see Misty sitting on the bench swing, was when Infernape decided to aim for his legs and it resulted with Ash falling flat on his back.
Misty stopped her clapping and stood. "And just when I thought you were doing so well." She smirked and crossed her arms as she took a couple more steps toward the center of the yard. She couldn't wait to see the look on his face when he realized the trouble he was about to get into.
"Well maybe if you hadn't distracted me. Ugh, that hurt…" Infernape had come over to make sure that he hadn't hurt his trainer. "It's okay Infernape. I'm fine." Ash began to get up and dusted his himself off. Once he recovered his composure he shot a glance toward the redhead and froze, a panicky chill crawling up his spine.
She wasn't in her cast anymore. She was standing up on her own two feet. Not only that, but the look in her eye. Ash saw that look before. This meant one thing for Ash.
Pain.
Ash began to retreat slowly backwards as Misty walked forward. "What's wrong Ash? You look a little scared." She put special emphasis on the last word and could see his appearance waver again. Misty narrowed her eyes at him, grin never wavering. Boy was she having fun.
"What? N-no.." It was the truth, he wasn't scarred. No, he down right was terrified.
"Are you sure? Because if I were you, I certainly would be." The girl began to get closer to the man, and with each step she felt more dominant. This was the most fun she had had in weeks and she was going to enjoy every second of it. She just wanted to have her fair share of fun like Ash had. She wasn't really going to hurt him.
Well not too much a least. She had promised his mother after all.
Not wanting to find out what she meant, Ash made a dash for the first spot of sanctuary he could think of. He ran straight to the tree in the backyard and climbed right up it with ease. Misty tried chasing after Ash but just wasn't quick enough and had to stop at the base of the tree.
"Are you just going to hide up there like a cowardly Mankey or are you going to come down here and take you're beating like a man!" Misty shook her fist in the air.
Taking a small sigh of relief, Ash looked down Misty. He called down, "I am not a coward!" In reality he was thanking Mew for his amazing climbing abilities and, more importantly, Misty's lack.
"Oh yeah? Why don't you come down here and tell me that."
Ash crossed his arms and retorted, "I happen to think that the view is quite nice up here, thank you very much."
"Whatever." Misty turned to walk away and continued, "Instead of waiting around for a coward, I'm going to go enjoy my new freedom. A nice hot shower is the first thing on my list."
"Good choice," Ash mumbled from his spot in the tree, but it was just a little too loud.
Knowing exactly what he was implying, the redhead turned around a yelled back to the tree, "You're going to have to come down here sometime Ketchum, and when you do, you're going to wish you kept your mouth shut!" She turned and stomped her way back into the house.
Once he thought the coast was clear, Ash climbed down the tree with ease. His two loyal Pokémon were there to meet him, Pikachu taking his signature spot on his shoulder. He praised his flame Pokémon and returned him to the sanctuary of his pokéball.
"Well that was a close one, right Pikachu?" Ash wiped his brow and gave a relieved chuckle.
"Pi pika Pikachu pikachupi, pikapi."
"I know I shouldn't have picked on her so much but I just couldn't help it! She is always raging on me and I always get hit when I try doing it back!"
"Pi pika pichu pika."
"I guess I did go a little overboard." Ash looked away as he thought about how much he tortured who he considered his best friend. He felt a really bad about it now. "But I was planning on making it up to her! Although, I did think I had another week left to prepare for it. Well I better start getting it ready now then. Wanna help buddy?"
Pikachu jumped off his shoulder and gave a thumbs up. "Great! Everything we need should be in the shed. Let's get to work!"
"Now that's exactly what I needed," Misty said to no one as she walked back into her room after enjoying a particularly hot shower. Her flesh was still reddened from the heat as she lay down on her bed only wearing her robe. The cool breeze coming in from her open window felt refreshing as it grazed her warm skin.
Sighing happily, the former gym leader turned onto her side and snuggled into one of her pillows. After a few moments of quiet relaxation, Misty was just about to fall asleep when a small noise caught her attention. She let her eyes flutter open when she was met face-to-face with a very unwelcomed visitor.
Shrieking, Misty got up and ran out of her room, but during her attempt to flee she slipped and fell on a hallway rug. She managed to back herself into the corner near the top of the stairs where she stayed, too frightened to move, eyes glued to the doorway of her bedroom.
Outside, Ash and Pikachu were busy getting all of their equipment ready for their outing when a piercing shriek caught their attention. The shriek was then followed by a loud thud.
Knowing who the screech belonged to, Ash dropped everything he was working on and made a dash for the door and through the dining room. He stopped to look around and caught sight of the redhead cowering at the top of the stairs.
His heart sunk. He rushed up the steps and knelt down beside the shivering girl. She looked like she had just seen a ghost. "Misty, what happened?" No response. Worried, he gathered her in his arms and pulled her close. "Come on. Please tell me what happened." He ran a hand up and down her back, trying to calm her down.
Misty still wouldn't tear her gaze away from her room. The only thing she could manage was a timid point in its direction.
Figuring that whatever had frightened the girl was in her room; Ash reluctantly released his hold and walked towards the room. Cautiously, he approached the doorway, ready for whatever might await him. Pikachu right by his side, ready to protect the people he cared for the most. Ash leaned over, just popping his head in and scanned the room for danger.
Not finding anything, Ash decided it was safe to take a step into the room. The raven-haired man looked around the room until something finally caught his eye. What he found was definitely not what he was expecting and he deadpanned. "You have got to be kidding me." What was sitting on Misty's bed was a frightened, little Caterpie.
"Is it gone?" Ash twisted to face the door only to find a fearful Misty peaking in.
"It's just a Caterpie Misty!" The Pokémon Master walked over to the bed to attempt to calm the bug-type. "It's okay little guy. I'm not going to hurt you." Pikachu hopped onto the bed and began to speak to the visitor. The two of them calmed the Caterpie and it climbed up onto Ash's shoulder. "See! No one is going to hurt you."
"Don't make friends with it! Get it out of my bedroom! NOW!" Misty's scream caused the green caterpillar to whine and nudge itself into Ash's neck.
"If it'll make you stop screaming, I'll go put it outside." Ash lifted his hand up in order to calm the frightened Pokémon again. "Don't worry. I'm not going to let that mean lady hurt you."
Misty scoffed at his comment but as Ash made his way toward the door and she retreated in order to leave plenty of space between her and the bug. Ash shook his head and then proceeded down the stairs and out the front door. Kneeling down, Ash lifted the Caterpie off his shoulder and placed it on the ground in front of him.
"Sorry about that Caterpie. I know she can be really scary." Ash rubbed the top of its head and he squeaked in joy. "Now go on and find your friends. You might want to warn them about staying away from this house too. We wouldn't want a repeat of this, now would we?"
After Ash made sure the Caterpie was safely out of sight, he returned to his house and shut the door behind him.
"Did you get rid of it?" Misty called out from her new spot by the bottom of the stairs.
Ash turned to the girl and he gave her an irritated look. "What the hell Misty! You scared me half to death with that scream!"
"You know how much I hate bugs!"
"I don't care! I was really worried about you! I thought someone was trying to kidnap you or something! You really scared me!" Ash snapped at Misty.
Misty looked at how infuriated Ash looked and felt bad for scaring him like that. It was rare for Ash to look this upset. 'Does he really care that much?' She looked away and responded, "I didn't know you cared that much..."
Ash's expression softened when he saw how bad the redhead felt for her reaction. In fact, he was shocked at how he reacted to the situation. He never got this angry before when her phobia was involved. Of course at the time he really did think someone was trying to harm her. 'It's probably just what happened before that put me so on edge. I just don't want someone hurting her like that again.' He took a step forward and laid his hand on her shoulder. "Of course I care about you Misty. You're one of the most important people in my life."
She felt her face get hot with his touch and accompanied by his words. 'Am I really that important to him? Sure he is to me, but I only have a couple people in my life right now. Ash has so many.'
"I'm sorry Ash," Misty looked up at the raven-haired man and continued, "I didn't mean to worry you. It was just my first reaction. I opened my eyes and it was right in my face."
"It's okay Mist. I know how much bugs freak you out. Just try not to over react next time, okay?"
She gave him a weak smile and replied, "I'll try."
Ash noticed that the girl still looked a little shaken up from the event, and so did he for that matter, so he thought of an idea to calm them both down. "Hey, I think I have something that'll cheer us up. I'm almost done getting it ready so go get dressed and meet me by my car."
"Where are we going?" Misty asked, curious to know what he had planned.
"You'll find out when we get there, now go on." Not waiting for a response, Ash turned and went back to the backyard to continue his work. Shrugging, Misty retreated to her room to get dressed.
After tying her hair into a ponytail and picking out an outfit that consisted of long blue jeans, a light blue tank top, and flip flops, Misty went outside to meet Ash just closing the truck of his car. He had thrown on one of his signature black t-shirts and was still in the shorts he was training in early.
"Just in time! Hop on in," Ash motioned for Misty to get into the car. Once they were in, Pikachu jumped in Misty's lap from Ash's shoulder.
Ash pulled out and onto the road, knowing exactly where their destination was. He glanced over to Misty who was looking out the window and absentmindedly stroking Pikachu's fur. She looked so much happier then she had over the past few weeks. He figured it had to be only one thing.
"So you must be happy to have that cast off."
"Happy doesn't even begin to describe it!" She looked over at Ash with an overjoyed expression.
"Well I'm just glad I won't have to worry about you falling down the stairs and not being able to get back up after I go back to work." Ash teased the girl with a cheeky grin.
"Ha-ha, very funny. I'll have you know I got around perfectly fine without you."
"Sure you did. And without that thing on you can actually go out and do all the things you enjoy! Although I hope you won't get too bored again without me being there and all."
"Don't flatter yourself." Misty playfully smacked his arm.
"So what do you plan on doing now that you have your freedom back?" They turned onto another road that led out of Pallet Town.
"Your mom offered me a job at her restaurant after you go back to the league so I'll have that to keep me busy." Noticing that they were leaving Pallet, Misty was about to question their destination again but was cut off by Ash's stuttered response.
"You? Work in a restaurant? Where food is prepared in order for innocent people to eat?" His eyes widened in astonishment.
"Yeah? What so wrong with that?" Misty narrowed her eyes at him, clearly knowing exactly where this was going.
"Oh nothing," Ash began as the memory of Misty attempting to prepare them dinner surfaced in his mind. Shuddering at the memory he finished with, "Not if you want to die a slow and painful death…"
"Hey, my cooking has improved a lot since we were kids! Plus I'm not even going to cook the food. I'm just waitressing."
"Mmhhmm." Ash hummed as he pulled the car over to the side of the road.
"Where are we?" Misty looked around to see where they were. She thought it looked familiar but could only tell that they were at the edge of the forest.
"You'll see." Ash got out of the car and popped the trunk. He pulled out a medium-sized plastic box by the handle and one of his old backpacks. He started off towards a trail that lead into the forest.
Pikachu still in her arms, Misty followed closely behind, trying to think of why this place seemed so familiar. Soon she could hear water flowing and something dawned on her.
Catching up to the Master she questioned, "Are we where I think we are?"
"I don't know. Where do you think we are Misty?" Ash glanced down with a toothy smile.
"Cut the attitude Ash. This is the river where we first met, isn't it!"
Ash stepped out into a small clearing that was at the edge of a river. He placed his gear down and answered, "The one and only."
"Wow, I haven't been here in years." Misty began to reminisce on that fateful day. At the time it may have been a headache, but that event lead to a journey she will never forget.
"So you've been back here other than when we met?"
"I've past by once or twice…" Misty answered uneasily. "You haven't?"
"Sure I have." Ash had been back here a lot recently. Especially after he thought he lost Misty for good. Not wanting to let her know this, he smile and finished with, "It is one of the luckiest fishing spot around, right Misty?"
"I don't know about lucky," she teased. "I've caught a couple things I should've thrown right back."
"Oh now I know you don't mean that." He nudged her shoulder and she let out a small snicker. "Come on. Help me set up the fishing poles."
The duo plus Pikachu went back over to the box in order to set up the collapsible fishing gear. After setting up her rod, Misty looked back into the box and grabbed the two of them lures she thought would work well in a river. Before Misty could hand him the small object, Ash reached into his backpack and pulled out a small wooden box. He opened it up and pulled out the only lure he really ever used.
Misty's eyes widened when she recognized the trinket. "You still have my old lure?"
"Well sure. You gave it to me, didn't you?" Ash shrugged. The little object was very special to him because it was a gift from Misty.
"Yes. I just didn't think you would keep it all these years."
Ash held the miniature Misty in the palm of his hand and replied, "Of course I would. It's from you." Ash said so sincerely. "And it's been pretty helpful in catching water Pokémon." Even when it wasn't he still liked using it because it reminded him of her.
Misty smiled and began to string her bait onto her line. Being the more experienced fisher, Misty finished setting up her gear much faster than Ash, who was still struggling with his fishing wire. Misty went over to the edge of the river and took in her surroundings.
This is where it all began. The best part of her journey began right at this very spot. All those great memories and friendships that she held dear would have never happened if she hadn't decided to cast her line into this water.
Beaming, Misty pulled her arm back to cast her line. The lure flew back just far enough to catch the back of Ash's shirt. When Misty thrust the line forward, he was pulled along with it. Stumbling backward and fighting to keep his footing he came up quickly next to the redhead.
"Heh. It looks like you caught me again." Ash rubbed the back of his head.
"Darn. Well Arceus knows no one needs two of you. Better throw you back." With a wink, Misty thrust her arms forward.
"No Misty wa-" Ash tried to reason but it was no luck as he made contact with water. Coming up out of the water he tilted his head back to see a very satisfied looking Misty.
She leaned forward and poked a finger to his nose, "That was for all the snarky comments."
Instead of getting angry, Ash smiled back as he quickly reached out for Misty. "Actually, it's pretty nice in here. You should come in and give it a try!"
"Oh, no you don't!" Misty tried getting away but wasn't fast enough as Ash caught her wrist and dragged her into the water as well.
After she resurfaced and whipped the water from her eyes she looked around and spotted Ash floating contently on his back, wide grin on his face.
Misty couldn't help but smile at his playful nature. She lightly splashed him and warned, "You are so lucky that I like the water."
Yay! No more crutches for Misty!
I just love the playful nature of the two of them. I think its sooo cute!
I hope you guys aren't t mad at me for the late update.. Really sorry again!
Please leave a review! I just love reading them!
And if any of you have suggestions or ideas, I'm all ears! I really value peoples opinions!
See you all again at my next update!