Chapter 18: No Need for Dates, Part 1
Ash, Sasami, Pikachu and Ryo-Ohki arrived at the festival for their first date. The booths varied from foods to games to accessories. "So, which ones do you want to do?" asked Ash.
"Oh, they all look like so much fun," Sasami awed. Pikachu agreed as he was on Sasami's shoulder. They spotted Tenchi who had pancakes grilling. "Tenchi!" Hearing Sasami, Tenchi turned to the kids and creatures.
"Ash, Sasami, how are you doing?" he asked.
"We just got here," Ash admitted. "But what are you making?"
"It's Okonomiyaki, or savory pancakes," Tenchi presented. "It includes a protein and whatever else to top it." Ash and Sasami awed the food. They continued through before they saw a booth with goldfish and children holding paper paddles.
"A goldfish catching game!" she wished. Ash chose to have Sasami have some fun. They reached the booth where a young man offered paddles with thin paper in the middle.
"Let's see you scoop a goldfish," the young man offered as a kiddie pool with many goldfish swam.
"I remember this with bigger paddles scooping Magikarp," Ash mentioned. "This shouldn't be too different." The young man gave Ash and Sasami paddles. They waited for the tiny goldfish to come to them. In a flash, Ash scooped two goldfish at once.
"Nice!" awed Sasami. She snapped a scoop, getting one. Wanting to play, Pikachu came to the pool, but turned around and used his tail.
"No, you can't use your tail," the young man refused. "You use one of these." Pikachu felt denied and Ryo-Ohki patted him to sympathize. One scoop broke the paper and the two moaned. "I guess that's it… but look at the bright side, you got four goldfish each." Ash and Sasami smiled. They chose a goldfish each with the young vendor giving some fish food to them. As they journeyed through the festival, Ash and Sasami looked to each other before they held hands, comfort between them even stronger as their fingers interlocked. Seeing the pair holding hands, an older gray-haired couple adored the sight.
"My, my," the older woman awed, wearing a midnight purple kimono with pink carnations printed. Her hair was in a bun with stick piercing through it. "Young love…"
"Those two are the spitting image of the start of our romantic life," the old man in a dusty brown kimono."We haven't separated for over fifty years." The wife giggled at the longevity.
"Has it been that long?"
"We have understood each other's needs and shared times with our children and grandchildren. From my perspective, those two seem to have the will to last as long as we have, maybe even longer."
"We may be getting into our twilight years, but we treat each day as a new step in our lives. Though seeing those two holding hands, it makes me want to offer something." She lifted her arms before wrapping her wrinkly fingers around each of them. She whispered a hymn to the kids. In the meantime, the kids found Ryoko, Ayeka and Washu, the former two in their booths with one having a shooting gallery while the other had masks of Togepi, Pikachu and several other Pokémon.
"Washu, you went to work, huh?" awed Ash.
"You noticed," Washu snickered. "Thanks to your Dex, I manufactured these for Ayeka to distribute." Ryoko modeled a Noctowl mask on the side of her head while Ayeka had one with a green face and flowers on the top of the head.
"I see Ryoko has Noctowl and Ayeka has Bellossom," Ash pointed out.
"It is a flower that blooms with proper sunlight," Ayeka briefed.
"Your body may have bloomed, but your behavior is still in bud mode," Ryoko mocked. Ayeka growled to the space pirate who laughed.
"Now now," Washu voiced. "This isn't your night to fight for Tenchi. I mean, what if it was Ayeka who was dating Ash… Would you still be feuding?" Ayeka gave Washu a stern glare.
"There is no reason for me to be going out with Ash on such an occasion," she snorted.
"Oh, don't be like that," Ryoko teased. "From all we know, there might be someone better for you than Tenchi." Ayeka started to steam, but Washu silenced Ryoko with a mallet to the crown of the head.
"I told you to stop!" roared Washu. Ryoko fell limp. The sisters, creatures and Ash giggled, not wanting to upset Washu. Ash wore a mask of Pikachu by the side of his head while Sasami wore donned Togepi. "Hey, don't forget to come to the haunted place later." Ash, Sasami and the creatures shuttered with a snicker. They returned to Tenchi where they had some Okonomiyaki. They ate while Ryo-Ohki and Pikachu played.
"Are you excited for the fireworks show later tonight?" asked Sasami.
"I am," Ash replied. "I haven't felt this at ease since before I got Pikachu. Probably because of Team Rocket being sealed away for good."
"That's for sure. I know you're one who wants to explore everywhere possible. It makes me want to ask if maybe Jurai is on your list."
"Now, wait… Jurai is a bit far for me to simply walk to." The joke made Sasami laugh. "I can't wait to go back, restart my journey to be a Pokémon Master… It's just that with this detour, it makes me realize that friends and loved ones are the people who I feel the most supported."
"I believe you. I don't have much in the way of goals like you do. Part of me wonders if going with you, learning about what goes on, seeing what's out there…"
"What about your title?"
"Being a princess? Well, Ayeka goes first… but if we marry and something happens to Mom and Dad first…"
"Marry?"
"Of course! I never had this much with a boy before you came, though I can't really say that Tenchi is a boy."
"Right, more of a young man." Everyone around laughed. "Did you like Tenchi?"
"I did, and I learned much about his hospitality from spending time with him." Nobuyuki soon came by and found the two while wearing all white.
"Hey, how are you doing?" he asked.
"We're fine," they answered together.
"That's good to hear," Nobuyuki smiled.
"By the way, what were you doing?" asked Ash.
"I was giving a prayer by the shrine," Nobuyuki answered. "There were a handful of people who joined." Ash smiled to the thought. After their snack, they headed to a tower where a set of large drums were standing a little crooked.
"Man, it's been a long time since seeing those drums," Ash admitted. "What was it, Maiden's Peak that Pikachu and I saw them?"
("And you dancing with Misty,") Pikachu remembered. That's when someone wearing a white headband came to Ash.
"You've seen Taiko drums being played before?" he voiced. Ash and Sasami turned to the headband man wearing an open robe with a white shirt underneath.
"Yeah…" replied Ash.
"I'm gonna need your help," the headband man pleaded. "We're down a drummer after he was hospitalized with appendicitis." The kids and creatures gasped to the news.
"I hope he'll be okay," Sasami wished.
"They said they're looking at a 24-hour window before release since he started complaining," the headband man informed.
"But you want me to help out?" wondered Ash.
"I know, but we are short on time," the headband man urged. Ash felt the pressure before nodding. "I owe you! Let's get to the back and dress you!" They raced to the side while Sasami and the creatures watched helplessly. People gathered, including Ryoko and Ayeka. Before long, spotlights shone on the drummers. Ash wore a new robe with a small undershirt to go along with a headband of his own.
"Hey, it's Ash!" gasped Ryoko.
"The one drummer said they were down one of their own after being admitted to the hospital," Sasami informed. Holding two large drumsticks, Ash faced the large drum.
"Follow and stay within the rhythm," an adjacent drummer advised. As soon as the first drummers started, others followed. All of the drummers swung their arms, banging the Taiko drums flippantly and in rhythm. Ash felt the groove of the drumming and flowed with his eyes closed.
This is actually fun, and easy to do,' Ash thought. Sasami watched her date drum up the excitement.
"Who knew Ash could play the Taiko drum exceptionally?" awed Ayeka.
("What other talents is Ash hiding?") questioned Pikachu. The adjacent drummer had Ash pause to catch his breath. It only took a minute before the drummer nodded. After the session, the crowd applauded the drummers. The lead drummer came to Ash and gave him a high-five.
"That was awesome!" he cheered. "Thanks!"
"No problem!" smiled Ash. He regrouped after getting his kimono back on, but retained the headband.
"Ash, that was amazing!" awed Sasami.
"Did you know the Taiko drums before?" asked Washu.
"Not really," Ash admitted. "It's that I danced to similar drums back at Maiden's Peak in Kanto. It was after I battled a talking Gastly who was protecting the Maiden's statue. The rhythm just came naturally."
("Musical instinct?") guessed Pikachu.
"That's pretty cool that you relied on the past to figure out the rhythm," Ryoko awed. After the moment, Ash, Sasami and the creatures continued on. They approached a large mansion cutout.
"So, this is the haunted house portion, huh?" guessed Ash.
"It's supposed to be different from the one Washu made before when I was with Tenchi," Sasami recalled. "That time, all sorts of traps were set. She could've given Tenchi several heart attacks."
"You're here with me, so let's not think so negatively."
"Okay! Ryo-Ohki, Pikachu, are you ready?" The Mouse Pokémon and the shape-shifting cabbit replied, ready to enter the haunted house. What spooky entities awaited them?
TO BE CONTINUED...
