Chapter 32:
Amity
The wind blew gently in the late afternoon air, rustling the grass on the hillside overlooking the forest. The gust also rippled in the Lucario's jacket as she took it off and lazily tossed it onto a nearby boulder. She exhaled deeply
So glad to be out of that Temple, she admitted to herself, and away from that mountain. Place gave me the creeps.
She looked out at the horizon. From her position on the hill, she could see down along the edge of the forest, down the path, past the fire of her group's camp, down to where the next town sat. It was around half a day's walk; it was too long to make it before the Pokémon Center's curfew, so they decided to make camp for the night.
Misty had gone to go fishing in a nearby stream—something about the conditions being just right—and Nyx was trying in vain to teach Ash how to cook properly. So, Aura had taken the opportunity to steal a few quiet minutes by herself.
Besides, she thought, this gives me a chance to try some meditations or movement forms or something. She looked at her hand spikes. Anything to try to fix whatever's wrong with my aura.
She relaxed her muscles, rolling her shoulders loose and shaking out her arms.
"Okay." She said. "Mom, don't let me down." Lord knows that your little chant is stupid enough without the possibility of this exercise being utterly pointless on top of it.
She took a stance, raising her hands. She slowly moved her arms around, gently sliding her foot a miniscule amount as she did.
Normal breathes, Fighting survives, Flying lives.
She took a deep breath before continuing.
Poison separates, Ground constructs, Rock solidifies.
She focused her mind on the movement of her muscles, slow and precise.
Bug unifies, Ghost perpetuates, Steel immortalizes.
The only sounds in her world were the breath of the wind and the gentle crunch of the grass.
Fire sears, Water quench—
"Whadaya doin'?" A voice broke her concentration.
Her leg slid too far and she stumbled forward. She broke her fall with her hands, putting sharp pressure on her wrists. She cursed bitterly under her breath.
"You okay?" The intruder asked as he gripped her upper arms and gently lifted her up back to her feet.
"I'm fine, dolt," Aura growled, rubbing at her wrists. "You just screwed up my form, that's all." I guess Nyx gave up on teaching him how to cook for the night.
"Sorry," Ash muttered, running a hand through his hair. She had been right before—he was starting to really need a haircut. "I've never seen you do that before. What type of form is it?"
"An exercise form." Aura wasn't interested in a conversation. She returned to her last stance.
Fire sears, Water quenches, Grass cultivates.
"Does it do anything special?" Ash's voice cut through her meditation. "Where did you learn it?"
"In order," Aura said through her clenched jaw, "not really, it just allows me to stretch my muscles and practice feeling the course of energy through my body; and, my mother taught it to me when I was a hatchling."
"Why haven't we seen you practice it before?"
"Because, I haven't felt the need to practice it in a while." Aura closed her eyes, trying to tune him out.
Electric spurs, Psychic perceives—
"So, it helps you feel the flow of energy?" Ash's voice caused her to slip slightly again.
She lowered her hands.
"Yes."
"You mean, like the Elements?"
"Yes."
"Could that help me?"
Aura froze for a brief moment, then turned and looked at him.
"What?" Her voice was soft.
"Could that help me with the whole 'Chosen One, Master of the Elements' thing? Make me better at whatever it is they want me to do? Maybe even help me understand my Pokémon and make me a better trainer?"
"It's possible," Aura grumbled, looking away. "I mean, for a normal person, who can understand it." She rubbed at the back of her neck.
"Can you teach me?" Ash asked.
"Why?"
"I want to be better. Not just as the Chosen One, either."
Aura looked at him for a long moment. He smiled at her, and she gave an exaggerated sigh.
"I can't stop you from trying to mimic my motions or anything," she grumbled dismissively. She returned to her previous stance, continuing her form.
Electric spurs, Psychic perceives, Ice allays.
She opened one eye to a slit, glancing at him briefly from the corner.
Ash's arms were raised, and his were legs slightly spread one in front of the other in an awkward imitation of Aura's pose. She repressed a sudden desire to smile. She closed her eye and continued through her form.
Dragon soars, Dark evaluates, Light ascends.
Whatever that's supposed to mean. Thanks for the riddle, Mom. Aura thought to herself. Wait. I'm supposed to be concentrating. Damn it. I can't let the dolt rub off on me.
She opened one eye to look at him again.
She was torn between groaning in frustration and laughing. His stance was completely wrong; his legs were too far apart, his right foot was turned too much, his arms were way too stiff, and he was swaying back and forth from the resulting poor center of balance. She exhaled deeply through her teeth.
"Your stance is off." She straightened her own back into a normal stand. She walked over towards him.
"What?" Ash blinked at her.
She kicked his leg back towards the other. His balance seemed instantly solved, and he stopped swaying. She circled around behind him.
"Your stance is off," she repeated. She pressed gently against his back, coaxing him to straighten it more. "Your arms are all wrong, too." She reached around from behind, gently guiding his arms in to a more natural position. "They're way too stiff, too. Relax."
"O—okay."
She let go and walked back around to his front, standing diagonally in front with her back facing him. She took the first stance again.
"Like this." Her voice remained calm. "Keep your muscles relaxed. Don't tense up; that will only keep it from doing anything, and might even result in pulled muscles or something." She moved through the first set. "Don't move anymore than you need to, and don't rush. It should flow. Make it natural. If you force it, you're defeating the purpose. With enough concentration, you should be able to feel the energy move through you as each muscle moves in turn."
"Feel the what?" Ash asked.
With enough concentration, Aura's own voice echoed in her mind. Remember who you're dealing with. "Right. Too much too soon. For now, just try to not screw up the motions. We'll get to the spiritual side of things when—if you're capable of handling them."
"I feel like I should be offended by that."
Aura chuckled lightly. "Not everyone can grasp the spiritual side of this type of thing. Even I can barely understand it. But, you're the Chosen One. You are supposed to have the Elements already coursing through you. I'm sure that, if you try hard enough, you'll be able to feel something." No matter how thick you normally are. "But, like I said, just try to get the motions for now. Baby steps, and all that. Now, shut up and focus."
She continued through the motions again, looking back at Ash now and then to give him brief fragments of advice. Sometimes his elbows needed to be brought closer in to his body, or his legs were too spread apart. Finally, his feet were turned inward at a highly awkward angle, and he fell forwards into her, knocking them both to the ground. Aura barked as a brief flash of pain spread through her chest from her spike. She swore bitterly under her breath.
"Sorry," Ash mumbled.
"Oh, just get off me." Aura jabbed at him with her elbow. "You're heavy."
"Sorry," Ash repeated, scrambling off her and to his feet. "Here." He offered a hand down to her. "Let me help."
"I don't need your help." She glared at him as she sat up on her knees.
"I know."
Aura looked at Ash for a long moment. He gave her a wide grin and she sighed. She reached up, took his hand, and allowed him to pull her up to her feet. Unfortunately, it also brought her very close to him, her chest spike brushing lightly against his shirt. Their eyes locked in a shared, dumbfounded expression.
"Am I interrupting something?" Misty's voice startled both of them. She was standing a few feet down the hill from them, a small bundle of firewood under one arm. She was looking at them with a single eyebrow raised.
Aura pushed herself away from Ash, stumbling for a moment in her rush to get away from him.
"What?" Ash tilted his head in confusion.
"Ab—absolutely not!" Aura yelled. "This dolt was just interrupting my exercise forms and mediations, th—that's all!"
"Yeah, I—wait!" Ash turned to the Lucario. "I was not! I was just helping you!"
"I didn't need your help!" Aura snapped back. "Besides, it was your fault in the first
place!"
"My fault?"
"It's always your fault! And it always will be!" Aura couldn't stop the rage that was suddenly boiling in her chest. "You're not strong, or smart, or anything! You're a reckless idiot and you're only going to get yourself killed! Or worse, everyone else!"
Aura looked up to glare at him, straight in the eye, but her expression cooled instantly when she saw his. The horror on his face sent a jolt through her chest; his eyes wide with his eyebrows curved in a distressed angle, his mouth slightly open as if he was trying to force himself to say something. He looked back and forth between Aura and Misty, his expression twisting deeper and deeper into agony each time. After a long moment, he made a strange sound—something a bit like a cough—before he turned and ran down the hill and into the forest.
Aura fell to her knees, burying her face in her hands.
Damn it! She exhaled through gritted teeth. Why did I say that? That wasn't fair. He didn't deserve that. Why did I say that?
"Aura?" Misty walked up to the Lucario. "What the hell was that?"
"I screwed up." Aura sighed, letting go of her face and letting her arms fall limp against her body. She looked up to the sky. "Go after him."
"Huh?"
Aura looked at her. "Go after him," she repeated. "I don't think my apology is what he needs to hear right now. I'd only make things worse; I think you can make this better."
Misty dropped her firewood and started after him, before stopping and half-turning back to Aura.
"What about—?" She started.
"I'll be fine," Aura cut her off. "Go on, forget me and fix your boyfriend."
"He's not my—!"
"Go," Aura said in little more than a whisper.
Misty nodded once at her, before turning back and running downhill and into the forest after her best friend.
Aura watched until the teenager was out of sight. The Lucario then grabbed at her ears with both hands, and let out an animalistic howl.
…
…
Ash sat against the tree, staring at his old hat in his hands. The light of the setting sun shone down through the treetops upon his face, illuminating the absentminded stare in his dark blue eyes.
"Ash?" A voice cut through his thoughts.
"Misty?" Ash looked up, his gaze locking hers for a brief moment.
"What's wrong?"
"Do you think she was right?" Ash continued to stare at his old hat.
Misty sat down next to him. "Aura didn't mean that. She's just…. She's just confused, really."
"I just..." He kneaded the cloth in his hands. "I just don't know why I agreed to this insanity anymore."
"Because you never back down from a challenge?" Misty offered with a smirk.
"Yeah..." Ash muttered.
"Hey," Misty bumped his shoulder with hers. "Cheer up. It's not like you to be like this."
"What, to be serious once in a while?"
"To be so down on yourself." Misty clarified. "C'mon, where's your over-inflated ego?"
"Over-inflated?" Ash turned to grin at her.
"Yes, Ash," she chuckled. "You always were too confident for your own good."
"So," Ash stood up, "you don't think I can do this?"
"I know you can." She stood up next to him.
"How can you be so sure?" Ash looked away. "How do you know I won't screw this up? That I'm not going to get us all killed?"
She placed her hand on his shoulder. "You're my best friend, Ashura Ketchum," She smiled softly. "I trust you with my life."
"Misty." Ash wasn't sure what to say. The memory of the illusion Misty from the Ghost Test emerged unbidden in his mind. Heat spread across his face. Did he...was he...could he? "Thanks," he finally settled on saying, placing his hand on her shoulder. "Back at ya."
They walked, side by side, back towards camp.
"Actually," Ash suddenly stopped. "I think I owe you mine."
"What do you mean?" Misty stopped and turned to face him.
"From the day I met you...you've been saving my life. I never really noticed...until just now. I..." Ash tried to find the words.
"Ash," Misty walked back towards him. "You've saved my life plenty of times. We're even."
Ash looked at her, but said nothing.
"Really, Ash," Misty assured him. "You owe me nothing."
"Misty," Ash finally found his voice. "I…I don't know…how…what…say…"
"Just cheer up," Misty grinned. "And tell me I'm dead."
"What?" Ash was a little confused now. "Why…?"
Taking his hat from his hands, Misty took off through the forest.
"Hey! Give me my hat back!"
"Gotta catch me first!"
Ash gave a light chuckle. "Okay, then. Not sure how cheering me up means stealing my hat, but okay." He started after her.
Despite a couple of close calls with a few small trees that Ash could have sworn leapt out at him—and one particularly large stump that he ran into and tumbled over—Ash managed to accelerate enough to catch back up. He didn't notice in time, however, that she was now stopped at the edge of a slight drop overlooking a creek.
She looked back at him, just in time to watch as he barreled into her, his arms wrapping around her torso in a hug.
"Gotcha!"
"Ash, the-!"
Ash's momentum knocked them both over, sending them down the two foot drop into the creek with a loud splash.
"Creek," Misty finished.
Ash had let go during the fall, and they landed right next to each other instead of on top of each other. He lifted his face out of the water, expelling some from out of his mouth, his hair dripping like a waterfall. He had landed face-first, whereas Misty had landed mostly on her side.
"Are you okay?" Ash turned sharply to try to see her through his hair, spraying water everywhere. It really had been a while since his last haircut.
"I'm fine." She smiled. "Are you okay?" She helped him get some of his hair out of his eyes.
"Fine," He managed to mutter, mildly stunned, heart racing from her touch. How does she do that? He took his hat from the bottom of the creek, and placed it on her head sideways, dumping water on her head as he did. "You dork," he chuckled.
"I'm a dork? You're the one that just soaked me!"
"Then I guess we're even again." He grinned.
"Even?" She grabbed his shirt by his shoulder.
Shit. Ash's heart skipped a beat. Did I make her mad?
She jerked her hand—and, by extension, him—to the side, dunking Ash back down under the water briefly.
"Why did you—?" Ash started, narrowing his eyes from the new torrent of water dripping from his hair.
"Now we're even," Misty chuckled.
"Ungh." Ash spat out another mouthful of creek water. "If this creek runs into the sea, then why isn't it salty?" He wondered out loud.
"Really, Ash?" Misty almost sounded insulted. "You've been best friends with a Water Master for how long and you don't know that fresh water runs from inland sources into the ocean, not salt water the other way around?"
"I'm a trainer, not a biologist." Ash defended himself.
"Biologist?" Misty echoed skeptically. Was he intentionally being that dense, or did he really not know?
Granted, he never had been very good with a dictionary, but—
"And, since when do I know any Water Masters?" He smirked, squeezing some of the excess water from his hair. "I only seem to remember a scrawny wannabe!"
"Scrawny wannabe?" Misty scowled. "You sure you don't mean yourself, Mr. Pokémon Master?"
"I'm not scrawny," Ash readjusted himself to sit cross-legged in the creek. "My Pokémon aren't the only ones that I've been training, remember? I'm plenty strong myself."
"You sure?" Misty smirked. "So, then, why are Aura and Nyx still beating the daylights out of you every time you train with them?"
"I…" Ash blinked. "I go easy on them."
"You…go easy…on them?"
"Y-yeah." Ash nodded, perhaps too energetically. "I mean, I am the Chosen One. I could quite easily take them. Both of them. At the same time."
"Rrright." Misty didn't buy it. "You could take down the Head Aide of the Dark Temple, and an unusually large Lucario with great Psychic power."
"That's right."
"Please, Ash," Misty chuckled. "You couldn't beat me if your life depended on it."
"I could so!"
"Then prove it!"
"I…I don't want to." Ash shook his head, a few drops of excess water flying from his hair.
"Afraid you'll lose, O mighty Chosen One?"
"No way! I'm just…too…much of a gentleman to, uh…."
Misty burst out laughing. "You? A gentleman? Next thing, you'll be trying to convince me that you have an urge to dress in a tux and take Aura to a ball."
"I am!" Ash retorted.
Misty gave him a strange look.
"A gentleman, I mean." He clarified. "I would never be caught dead at a ball; I don't think Aura would, either. And besides, even if I did fight you, I am the Chosen One. I have the powers of eight Elements now, including Fighting, in case you've forgotten. I wouldn't want to hurt you."
Thump!
Misty suddenly tackled him, knocking him over onto his back, pinning him down, and soaking both of them once more.
"Oh, come on." Misty locked his gaze in hers. "You know you could never hurt me."
That's…not true, though, is it? Ash couldn't stop looking in her eyes. In them, he could see the image of the illusion of her from the Ghost Temple, dying in a puddle of blood. I…I could hurt you, couldn't I? Or, worse, get you hurt. And…I think… you could hurt me, too. I guess…we can hurt each other. Is that it? Why? What is happening to me? To us?
"Ash?"
"Oh, yeah?" Ash smirked, refusing to admit his confusion. He pressed upward, pushing his hands against her shoulders, freeing himself from under her. He tried to turn the tables and pin her to the ground. However, she caught onto his plan too quick and simply leaned to her left, causing him to overbalance and fall face first into the creek again.
"Pretty much, yeah." Misty chuckled in light amusement.
Rather than frustration, Ash found himself chuckling with her as he shook water from his hair again. He turned back towards her, and tried to lunge himself at her and use his weight to overpower her. But, before he could complete his attack, she grabbed his shirt and turned her torso as she pushed him to the side.
Still laughing, they continued to struggle in their playful wrestling match for a few minutes, neither one quite coming out on top. Every time Ash would try to use his pure strength to overwhelm her, Misty would outmaneuver him with some clever trick. Yet, he refused to stay down and admit defeat.
Eventually, Ash managed to break Misty's hold from pinning him down once more, but instead of trying to win, he just sat in an awkward pose, laughing uncontrollably. Misty could no longer focus, either, supporting her equally-weird kneel with her right hand on Ash's shoulder. In their laughter, they forgot about the Prophecy and the Elemental Orbs; they forgot all about the quest they were on, and that it would have to end one day.
For a brief moment, it was as if they had never been apart, as if they had never gone separate ways. They were the inseparable, unbeatable duo who had accomplished so much together, who had brought down so many evils together, and solved so many mysteries.
"Mist." Ash finally managed to get his laughter under control, his eyes still clenched shut from the pain the uncontrollable chuckling had caused his stomach. He felt something brush against his nose as her laughter stopped as well. Her nose? How close…?
How close…. How close were…were they….?
He gingerly reached out and gently rested his hand where the back of her jaw met her neck, her earlobe brushing against his pointer finger. He couldn't think anymore. All he could feel was her skin against his palm, her breath on his face. He didn't really notice what he was doing as he tilted his head to the right slightly and lightly pressed his lips against hers.
It took a fraction of a second for the shock to wear off, for Misty to comprehend what was happening, her eyes opening wide at the realization. His lips felt gentle, wet from the creek. It was a bit awkward, not at all like in books or her sisters' stories. It wasn't passionate or desperate. It wasn't uncomfortable or bad, either. It was pleasant, at least somewhat. It was just…strange.
It was Ash.
About two seconds after he had made contact, Ash broke apart from her. It still hadn't fully sunk in his mind what he'd just done.
"Mist, I…" He trailed off, his eyes widening as it suddenly hit him. "Oh. My. God!" He backed away from her as fast and as best as he could, splashing water around. He stumbled backwards when he reached the edge of the creek, but he continued to retreat. He eventually hit the trunk of a tree, but kept trying to move backwards, as if his back could melt into the bark. "M—Misty… I… I'm sorry. I… I sh—shouldn't have…." The temperature in his face rose. He couldn't look at her, yet he couldn't bear to look away.
Her expression seemed somewhat blank. She simply stared, as if she couldn't quite grasp that… that that had really just happened.
A realization came over him. He had wanted that. Not his body or his hormones. Well, they had, but that wasn't the point. It was him who had wanted…. He did that, because he had wanted to. It finally made sense. The Misty Echo during the Ghost Test had kissed him because the whole thing had been created from his subconscious. Because he had wanted it.
Ash had wanted to kiss Misty. And he had kissed her.
And, despite the fact that she was probably going to kill him for doing so once already, despite the fact that he was probably never going to forgive himself for one, he wanted to kiss her again.
"I'm sorry." He hung his head.
How could he have done something so stupid? He bit down against his lower lip. How could he have… just destroyed a perfect moment with his best friend like that? And, could he have destroyed more than that?
Ash heard sounds of water splashing, but couldn't look up to see what direction Misty was going. He'd messed up. Big time. He didn't deserve to know if she'd forgive him. If she ever would, or even could. Not yet.
Misty staggered to her feet and took a few steps back, the fact still distilling in her mind.
Ash… Ash kissed me? She gently brought two fingers to her lips. She still wasn't sure if it had been real. Yet, it had to have been. She could still feel his lips against hers, as brief as that contact had been. Ash… kissed me.
Misty turned and ran.
She only took off for a few seconds before she stopped just as suddenly.
What am I doing? She shook her head. Why am I running from this? She glanced over her shoulder. Ash… Ash was… is clearly far more scared than… than I am… was. I don't even know.
Didn't I want that, anyway? Haven't I, for… a long time, now? Why am I running now that… that it really… really is happening?
Why am I so scared?
She turned back towards where she'd left Ash. She started back the way she came, her legs heavy and difficult to get moving
It's not that hard. Aura's voice echoed in her mind. You like him. He might like you. Running only brings regret, and regret only brings pain.
Misty took a few steps back to Ash. His gaze was still fixed to the ground directly in front of him. He didn't seem to notice anything around him.
She took a deep breath and walked back in front of him.
She slowly raised her hand and, her arm shaking, placed it on his shoulder. The touch seemed to break his dark trance, and he glanced upward at her, though he didn't raise his head much to do so.
"Ash," she breathed. She managed a small smile. "You don't have to be scared."
"I'm not—!" Ash automatically started to retort weakly.
He was unable to respond further, though, due to Misty gently grabbing his neck and pressing her lips against his.
It was not intoxicating, and it certainly didn't make his world spin. In fact—in the brief moment that their lips were reunited—he wondered why people said silly things like that about kissing. Granted, he did realize that it wasn't horrible, to say the least, and he did have trouble focusing on anything but the gentle touch. He closed his eyes, and gave up on his feeble attempts to continue thinking.
It was Misty.
Before he could act further, she broke away. He instinctively grabbed her arm as she let go of his neck, but made no other motion. He didn't even bother to open his eyes again. All he could do was to continue inhaling and exhaling, and try to thread a complete thought together again.
"Now we're even again," Misty said softly.
She… kissed me… back, Ash's mind slowly recovered. He opened his eyes, staring at her in disbelief. She kissed me back. The words echoed in his mind. He blinked slowly for a few moments.
Say something! A voice rather similar to Aura's scolded him silently.
"Misty…" Ash eventually found his voice.
Ash's stomach rumbled, breaking the spell entirely. Misty chuckled, and Ash released her arm. He looked away, his face turning a deep red.
"We should get back before the others start to worry." She sighed, before walking back towards camp. "And don't forget your hat," she called back over her shoulder.
"Huh?" Ash glanced over to where it lay in the creek. It must've fallen back in the water sometime before we…. He slowly stumbled back to it, and picked it up, wringing the water out absent-mindedly.
What was happening?
Ash put the hat back on for a moment, fidgeting with it, before taking it off again and kneading it anxiously.
He took a step back towards camp, but his knee refused to hold his weight and he tumbled forward into the creek again.
Okay, Ash thought to himself as he attempted to recover. Okay. It's just walking, right? I can still walk. I can walk. He repeated the words as he forced his legs to move, despite how heavy they felt and how much they shook. It's just left, then right. Right? Maybe? Right, then left? No, it's definitely left, then right, right, right—shit, no! He managed to keep from falling. I can do this! Why is this so hard all of a sudden?
He eventually managed to stagger out of the forest and back into camp. The first thing he noticed was that Misty, Aura, and Jerzy were all working at the cooking pot over the campfire. The Lucario and masked Rattata were arguing over something—likely how to cook the stew. Misty's back was to him as she apparently tried to settle the argument. Pikachu was seated on her shoulder, watching them in silence.
"Hey, Ash," Nyx's voice caused him to jump. "You okay?"
"Fine!" Ash barked, praying like crazy that his face wasn't as red as it felt. "I'm just fine! Wonderful, in fact! What's up? When's—when are we—food?" He forced himself to not look in the direction of the campfire—and Misty—to keep his gaze solely on the shiny Umbreon before him.
Nyx raised an eyebrow briefly, twitching an ear, before returning to his usual grin.
"Well, if those two ever stop arguing, I'd say in maybe half an hour or so." Nyx looked over at them. "Aura does seem to fight with him an awful lot, even for her."
"Well," Ash still refused to look over at them, "if he can direct her anger away from the rest of us, then I think it's worth putting up with him."
"Not to mention, he's kinda paying for half our food lately."
Ash started to respond, but his stomach growled again.
Nyx looked at Ash.
"Are you sure you're okay?"
"I'm fine!" Ash insisted through gritted teeth. I mean, apparently we're going to act like nothing happened. I'm not sure why, but okay. I mean, I'm not sure how to act like it did happen, anyway. I just have no clue what's going on anymore.
"To hell with it!" Ash tensed at the sound of Aura yelling behind him. "I give up!"
Ash turned to see the Lucario storming off into the forest, slipping her jacket on with an angry huff as she disappeared into the trees. He took a deep breath, drawing out the exhale as long as he could.
"I'm gonna go talk to her," he said to Nyx, as he started after her.
"You sure?" Nyx called after him.
"I'm going to have to, eventually. Might as well get it over with." Besides, he added to himself, I'm feeling rather brave all of a sudden. He scratched nervously at his neck as he continued to stumble back into the forest.
His legs started to function properly again as he navigated around the trees, some of them fallen, and the occasional stump. He eventually found Aura, the Lucario leaning back against the trunk of a particularly think tree, angled just within his view but unable to see him. She appeared to be staring at the palms of her hands.
"Aura?" Ash hesitated.
She tensed, looking up and around sharply. She froze for a moment when she saw him. Her expression quickly sobered, and she looked away again.
"Hello." Her voice was level.
"So… are you o—?"
"I'm sorry." He could barely hear her.
"What?" Ash blinked. Did she just—?
"I didn't mean it," she said, louder. "I was just…. I didn't—I got—it was…." She struggled to try to finish a sentence, before sighing. "I'm sorry."
"I'm sorry, too." Ash walked over towards her. "Can we just… start over? Let go of all the fighting and anger and whatever? Pretend that all of that never happened?" He raised a hand, offering it to her.
Aura looked at him for a long moment, not saying anything. Her expression remained calm and reserved for most of it, until her eyebrows eventually curved in a melancholy look. She sighed again, looking away.
"Aura?"
"My father's name was—is—Arcanus. He was part of a group of people who were working together—some of them undercover—to bring down Team Rocket. They were focused on how to safely get them to disband; they didn't want all those criminals to suddenly be loose without anyone controlling them at all, even if that person was—by default—a criminal as well."
"What…?" Ash blinked at her.
"Obviously," Aura continued, "we failed. Our leader was destroyed, overcome by the very evil he sought to control and defeat. I do not know where my father is. Presumably, he remains at his post, waiting hopelessly for a miracle that will never come. Our group is gone; a good deal of it is dead—or worse.
"When I was a Riolu, I tried to participate in a highly sensitive mission. I should have stuck to my own, but I knew what was going on, and I thought I could help. I was arrogant and foolish and reckless. And, because my father had to focus on me, on making sure I was safe…" She trailed off, making a brief choking sound. "We lost two of our best agents that night. One of them was a good friend of mine. I watched the explosion that took their lives. It was my fault. I killed them."
Ash looked at her. Other than her brief lapse and the last three words, her voice had remained calm and emotionless. Yet, even though she was trying to hide it, he could see the pained look in her eyes.
As what she said sunk in, something clicked in Ash's mind. He finally understood her, even if only a little bit.
He reached out, grabbed Aura's shoulder, and pulled her to him. Before she could make any protest, he wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug. Aura froze for a short while, as if she couldn't remember how to react.
"It's okay."
The words broke something in her; Aura started shaking and slowly, as if she had to struggle to get her limbs to work, raised her arms to hug him back.
…
…
"Brendan?" Wally said for the umpteenth time that day. "Brendan! BRENDAN!"
"Yeah, man?" Brendan looked back at his friend, tugging at the jacket of the tuxedo he was trying on. At the sound of a group of girls walking by and giggling, Brendan half-turned back again, shooting them a friendly smile.
"Could you please try to focus?" Wally scolded. "We should have been done two hours ago!"
"Yeah," Silver said weakly from a nearby chair. He was leaning back against it, his head pressed against the wall as he looked up at the ceiling. A black garment bag on a hanger was lying across his lap, the hanger's hook punched through the receipt. A similar bag was hanging over the back of the chair next to him.
"Not my fault you don't know how to have fun, anymore," Brendan said, turning back to face them with a large grin. The tuxedo he was trying on this time was a deep red. He pulled on a pair of white gloves as he walked back over to his friends. "You used to be fun, man. What the hell happened?"
"One of us had to grow up," Wally said. "Lord knows it wasn't going to be you."
"Hey, that's not fair. Just because I'm—"
"Frivolous? Excitable? Obnoxious?" Wally supplied.
"Uh," Brendan stammered. "Sure. A little harsh, but okay. Just because I have immature qualities, that doesn't mean that I'm immature as a whole."
"You did kinda spend the past hour trying on suits for the sole purpose of looking at yourself in the mirror," Silver pointed out, still not looking at them.
"There's nothing wrong with that!" Brendan defended himself. "I happen to take a little time to enjoy working on my appearance now and then."
"A little more often than that." Wally seemed to be holding back a laugh.
"Whatever. My point is, this makes me happy and harms absolutely no one. Hell, some people even enjoy helping me. You used to, Wally. Don't you remember?"
Wally sighed. He looked back at Silver.
"What's up?" Silver lowered his head to look at him.
"How are you holding up?"
"My back aches and I have a headache," Silver said honestly. They hadn't yet told Brendan about the attack—or Silver's wounds—and Wally didn't seem inclined to directly mention it to him, either. Nor did he seem eager to tell Brendan about what he'd discovered of Silver's family. Silver didn't know why—maybe Brendan didn't like rich kids or something. Either way, despite the occasional bit of blackmail, Wally didn't seem to press him for much. Silver had admitted that his father was the Baron—though he omitted the fact that said Baron was the leader of Team Rocket—and that he'd taken advantage of their little "trip" to Johto to finally run away.
Silver fiddled with the mask in his hand. His painkillers were wearing off already, and on top of the throbbing in his skull, there was a high-pitched static sound echoing in his ears as well.
"Alright, alright," Brendan groaned, raising his hands in defense. "I'll wrap it up." He gave an adjusting tug on the tux's jacket again. "What about this one? I think I'd be happy with this one. I mean, that last black one's quite snazzy, and certainly a classic, but this one stands out much more. I mean, a masquerade is about color and pizzazz, right? Plus, it'll go really well with that ruby-studded tie I got for my last birthday."
Silver turned sharply to stare at him. "What what-ed what?"
"Are you surprised?" Wally muttered to him.
"Speaking of decisions," Brendan didn't hear him, "what did you end up choosing, Silver? The dark blue?"
"Yeah." Silver didn't exactly want to participate in this particular conversation.
"I thought so." Brendan grinned, looking at his gloves. "I thought that one really brought out your eyes; don't you agree, Wally?"
"Sure," Wally said quickly. "What mask are you thinking of getting to go with that?"
"I was thinking maybe a Scizor," Brendan said. He looked quickly at Silver. "As long as you don't mind me stealing your thunder, or something."
"Whatever." Silver almost smiled. "Doesn't matter to me. Go for it."
"Awesome!" Brendan grinned. "Thanks!"
"What did you get, anyway?" Wally asked, motioning towards the mask in Silver's hands. "I like the tribal design, don't misunderstand, but I have no clue what it's supposed to be."
"I know!" Brendan's face lit up. "It's blue and has angled eyes; it's clearly a Garchomp! Right? Or, maybe just Gabite?"
Silver gave a dry chuckle. "No, it's not." He held up the mask, looking at it for a moment, before turning it around to give the others a better look. "What it is… is a very long story."
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A/N: Well, then! I'll just be hiding from my inbox—See you next week!