Chapter 21: The East Side of Dating

Riding on Shooting Star, Ash and Akko flew across lands and seas. They passed a wall that stretched for miles. "The Great Wall of China!" she realized. "We're almost there!" Passing one more sea, the two soon arrived over a new land. "We're in Japan!"

"Your home!?" asked Ash.

"Just a little further!" They flew before coming across a large red tower. "Tokyo Tower! "

"Okay!" They soon reached a sight that looked like four silver pyramids connected to each other, hung upside-down and put on pillars. Below were scores of people dressed in various costumes. Akko tapped Ash's shoulder before pointing where to go. Ash turned Shooting Star before landing on a roof. They used escape ladders to climb down the steps.

"This is where I wanted to go! It's Tokyo Big Sight, or the Tokyo International Exhibition Center… and it seems we came at the right time!"

"Because of the costumes?"

"It's Comiket! It's a semiannual event held here where people show off their cosplay outfits and show off manga works. It's a great place for up-and-coming mangakas to showcase their work."

"Wow! It must be big! And some of the costumes – or cosplay- are really cool! If we kept our witching outfits on, we'd blend in."

"You would totally blend in. No one outside Luna Nova Academy knows of a boy in an all-girls' school."

"Except Andrew…"

"Uh, right…" As the two journeyed into the crowd, a trio of girls saw Akko, one pointing.

"AKKO!" one shouted. Ash and Akko turned to see three girls in dresses, white thigh-high stockings and black Mary-Janes. Each of the dresses had a black sash across the midsection. Akko gasped to the three.

"My friends in primary school!" she recognized.

"Akko, you have no idea how long it's been since we saw each other," the redhead smiled. She wore a pink dress and had a ribbon to the back of her head.

"Believe me, Miho," Akko laughed. "I wanted to come home at some point soon." She turned to see a blond in pigtails and a cyan dress. "Sayumi, you're starting to fill out."

"Hey, look who's talking," Sayumi teased. "And did you bring someone over from England to see this?"

"Well, kinda…" shrugged Akko as she turned to a raven-haired in a green dress. "Pulla, you too?"

"Hey, we four have been together forever," Pulla joked. "At least, until you decided to learn abroad."

"Because I wanted to learn about magic," Akko replied. The girls giggled to Akko's fluster.

"They seem like great friends," Ash chimed in. Akko yelped, forgetting Ash was by her side.

"Well, they are," Akko agreed. "Ash, these are friends of mine from years ago: Miho Souka, Sayumi Dukohama and Pulla Mutoy." Turning, Akko was ready to introduce. "This is Ash Ketchum. He and I came here for a date." The girls awed Akko having a boy to herself.

"He's pretty good-looking," Miho cooed as she leaned in to get a better look. "I'm actually surprised that you got someone from England to date you." Ash had a nervous laugh from the compliment.

"I'm not actually from England," he corrected. "But that's not why I came here. It's Akko's offer. By the way, she told me about cosplayers, so who are you supposed to be?" Pulla stood firm with a grin.

"We're cosplaying the Powerpuff Girls, a cartoon in America," she briefed. "Miho's Blossom, Sayumi's Bubbles and I'm Buttercup. We came here because there was a manga artist creating a similar story of three girls becoming superheroes." Ash awed the idea with nods.

"And there are some other schoolmates inside the Center," Sayumi addressed Akko.

"Who!?" she eagerly wondered. "Don't leave me in suspense, Sayumi!"

"You'll have to go in and find out, Akko," Pulla teased. Eagerness growing, Akko grabbed Ash's hand.

"Come on, Ash!" she urged. "Let's go find them!" With a pull, Akko dragged Ash to the Center where there were enough books to fill a few libraries. Inside, Akko spotted a young blue-haired man in a navy-blue school uniform behind copies of books with two women in pastel-colored leotards and sneakers. Akko became excited. "Benji!" The blue-haired heard the call and turned to Ash and Akko.

"Atusko!" he realized. "My god, you came back!"

"Yeah, and it seems like you're fulfilling your dream," Akko joked. "So, what's the work you have?" Benji looked to the manga books before himself.

"It's a pair of competing dancers who are working hard to become the star of a show," he started. "However, they soon become romantically involved with each other and it drives a wedge into their wishes to be the lead." Akko heard the plot as she crossed her arms.

"So, it's a Yuri story?" she guessed. Ash blinked to the name of the genre.

"Yuri story?" he repeated.

"It's 'Girls' Love' that one female loves another female," she briefed. Ash's eyes widened.

"Wait… a girl loves another girl!?" he gawked. "That happens!?"

"There are also Yaoi manga books, which are 'Boys' Love" stories," Benji added. Ash became weirded out at the explanation.

"A girl falling in love for another girl?" he repeated again. "And a guy falling for another guy?" He gulped and lowered his head. "That's… freaky for the latter."

"If it helps, young man," Benji voiced. "There are stories of threesomes where two girls could be after one boy." Ash laughed to the offer.

"Romance isn't necessarily my topic," he admitted. "I'm more for adventure." Benji and Akko nodded to Ash's topic.

"There's a section nearby that can work," he suggested. He pointed to the section which Ash nodded.

"I'll be back!" he promised. Reaching the new section, he viewed some covers of the manga books, one having a black dragon and a young woman in white. "This one is interesting…"

"It is," a lavender-haired woman agreed. "A dragon had put a curse on the princess of the kingdom, so she sets out on a voyage to remove the curse before it takes effect." Ash picked the book up.

"And this is the first volume, huh?"

"A lot of manga books presented are first volumes." Interested, Ash purchased the book. He toured several other stands, a good portion catching his interests. After some times at Comiket, Ash and Akko left. They reached a strip of stores.

"One of the highlights of Japan is the shopping arcades," Akko briefed. Ash looked around at the many stores that lined both sides.

"This is pretty cool to see," he awed. "It's like finding what you need all packed in this." Akko found something that she believed Ash would be interested in.

"What better place in a shopping arcade than a place where arcade cabinets are ready." Seeing where Akko pointed, Ash looked intrigued.

"Video games galore!" They entered and played several games from fighting in which Ash won a majority of the time, and even worked together on a few other games. After an hour of gaming, they had gone shopping. Ash and Akko found a few stores to bring souvenirs back to Luna Nova Academy. Picking up shirts and some other items like chopsticks and pottery, Akko reunited with more friends who invited her and Ash to some karaoke. Ash awed Akko's singing voice. Ash's singing voice got Akko and her old classmates to enjoy greatly. From their singing, Akko's classmates wished Ash and Akko well. They found a cart where they sat and was served bowls of ramen.

"Ooh, this looks really good!" she cheered. "Especially the egg!" Ash slurped the noodles with a smile on his face.

"The chicken is perfect," Ash complimented. "Here I am, thinking it could use some extra spice. Nope, it's just right."

"Glad you enjoy it!" the vendor grinned. "It's rather strange to see clothes like yours, young man." Ash snickered before he had a request in mind.

"Say, do you have a recipe for making ramen?" he asked. The vendor snickered to the request.

"There is a quick way and a right way," he figured. "From that tone, you prefer the right way. Of course, it's not a problem." Ash smiled to the grant. After filling themselves with ramen, Ash and Akko were on the Tokyo Tower, looking out the window and viewing the city.

"Tokyo from up here is magnificent," Ash awed.

"Right?" giggled Akko. "It's a place I came to each year before I attended Luna Nova Academy." Ash nodded to the claim. "I wanted to come here on my own, but then I met and before long, I fell in love for you." Ash awed some more to Akko's confession.

"You did?" He took a moment to recollect himself. "I mean, honestly… I had been wanting to help Diana after meeting her for the first time, and that was before our date that took us to the House of Cavendish. I thought I was that shoulder for her to cry on… and now, you taking me to Tokyo and having a time for ourselves… It leaves me conflicted. You gave me such a great time that I can't choose now."

"I'm glad that you had a great time with me, it feels rather odd, though: a girl inspired my magic who struggles and a boy who became a powerful wiccan with just a coincidence… I want to say that fate brought us together." A snort from Ash had Akko turn to him.

"Fate… There may be some truth to it." Then, he felt Akko grab his hand. Turning, he saw Akko smiling to him.

"Sometimes, it's best not to think hard about it. Let it ride." Nodding, Ash smiled. The sun had set on Tokyo.

"It's starting to get late."

"Yeah, but it's still afternoon back in London… though, we don't need to rush back. We can make a few stops to see other places." A sneer painted Ash's face.

"You want to milk this date for as long as possible, huh?" A nervous laugh came over Akko. They left Tokyo Tower and boarded Shooting Star to fly back. They stopped by a few places like Jasminka's home of Russia and more European countries like Croix's home of Germany and Ursula's home of France. After the stops, it was nighttime as Ash and Akko returned to Luna Nova Academy. Croix, Ursula, Lotte, Sucy and Pikachu saw them and greeted the pair back.

"There they are!" cheered Lotte. Ash and Akko hopped off and Pikachu greeted the pair.

"Hey, Pikachu!" welcomed Ash. "I wish you could've joined us. There was a lot over in Japan like people dressed as you."

("You're kidding!") gawked Pikachu. He quickly thought about a man and a woman in Pikachu outfits. He laughed at the ridiculous nature.

"Did you see your parents, Akko?" asked Ursula.

"I didn't, mainly because I wasn't sure how they would react to Ash," Akko admitted.

"That makes sense," Croix sympathized. "Not many people would know about Ash being from another dimension." Akko nodded before turning to Pikachu.

"By the way, I have something for you and the Pokémon to try," she offered. Pikachu blinked to the gesture.

"You mean other than being out of your uniform for the day?" scoffed Sucy.

"Like more than that," Akko smiled. Ash shook his smiling head.

"It just makes me wonder who's next," he shrugged. "Amanda? Seriously, I'm not Professor Springfield of Negima. A manga writer told me about that and his harem."

"Well, you are indeed a heartthrob for the ladies here," Ursula giggled. "Heck, if I was ten years younger, I'd probably date you myself." Ash shyly irked himself forward.

"What did I get done saying?" he murmured. After making sure the two were okay, Lotte took Ash and Akko's souvenirs back to their dorm. Ursula and Croix returned to the tower. Ash and Akko were out for a little while longer.

"You know, all of those costumes remind me that I have a Metamorphosis test in two days," she confessed. Ash and Pikachu blinked to the reminder.

"Oh, I don't think Pikachu knows what that is," he admitted.

"What I can do is change into any animal. Heck, if I do enough practice, I might transform into you, Pikachu." The Mouse Pokémon gawked to the thought of Akko as a Pikachu.

"That's pretty cool!"

"Right? Let me show you since I've done a lot of practice." She pulled her wand out and held it over her head. She twirled it in circles. "Metamorphosis!" A flash occurred as Ash and Pikachu covered their eyes with their hands. When it dimmed, Akko looked the same… except bunny ears grew in place. Seeing the drooping ears, Akko whined. She collapsed to her knees and cried at the failure of her magic. "Not again!" Ash and Pikachu could tell there was effort put into the magic. Akko prepared herself for the worst. "Let me have it! Make fun of me! I deserve it!" To her, Ash believed she looked moronic with the bunny ears and nothing else to show. That's when she felt a pet. She looked up, seeing Ash stroke her new ears.

"Why would I do that?" Shocked, Akko was wrong on her belief that Ash would berate her. "You're doing your best with witchcraft. That's what I want to see… and besides… these ears are adorable." She cried more, but it was rather joyous. The boy she constantly admired honored her effort. Her foot thumped the dirt below her. She leaped up and hugged Ash, thankful to get his praise. Her foot still thumped the ground as she kissed his lips, holding for a few seconds.

"I don't wanna go away from you…" Feeling the cling around his neck, Ash carried Akko back to his dorm which was a few feet away as she soon drifted off. Krookodile opened the doors to allow Ash and Akko to enter the room with Pikachu joining. Ash laid Akko on the bed, but she still clung to him, forcing him to sleep with her. It was late and Ash was tired as well. He fell asleep with Pikachu wanting some time with the pair. It's back to school, but Ash has a newfound love with Atsuko Kagari.

TO BE CONTINUED…

(The poll for AshMas XII is out. Go and vote.)