Author's note: Guess who's back~! Back again~! A Gracious Gift's back~! Tell a friend~!"
Hi! As you know, I took a break from this fic for a bit. But the brain's been refreshed and the plot's been thought over, so now it's back, baby!
Hope you enjoy the new chapter!
Also...
Best mistake of the day: 'Ash, Dawn and Brock entered a town happened across a town in their travels.'
Yo, dawg, I heard you like towns. So I put a town in your town, so you can travel while you travel!
... Yeah, I'm not as witty as VGS2. XD One reason I don't tend to bother with these much.
Chapter Thirty-four: Reflexes
A little under a week later, Ash, Dawn and Brock happened across a town in their travels. From atop Ash's shoulder, Pikachu looked around. Huh. Was it him, or did this place look familiar?
"Hey, Dawn," Ash said curiously, "isn't this the place where you got Togekiss?"
"Oh, yeah," Dawn replied, surprised. "I think you're right, Ash!"
"Yep," Brock added, nodding. "Arrowroot Town."
... Oh yeah! Pikachu could see it now. Huh. It hadn't been all that long ago that the group had been here. Though that was to be expected, he guessed. They were retracing their steps back to Sunyshore City, after all.
"I wonder if Princess Salvia's still around..." Dawn said in thought.
"Probably not," Brock replied. "I do remember her saying she wouldn't stay for long."
Dawn deflated. "Oh yeah..."
"I'll bet she watched the Grand Festival on TV, though!" Ash said excitedly.
Dawn giggled. "Yeah, you're probably right. Well, I hope she liked what she saw!"
"(Why wouldn't she?)" Piplup asked with a proud smirk from atop her head.
"I'm sure she did," Ash replied, grinning. "Togekiss and you are natural pros! You go together like... uh, like... burgers and buns!"
Dawn giggled again. "Of course that's the simile you'd use..." she said.
Pikachu couldn't help but chuckle, himself. Typical Ash.
"Well, it's true! I'll bet she's real proud of Togekiss!"
"I'll agree there," Brock said, smiling.
"(Me too!)" Pikachu added, also smiling.
"Aww, thanks, guys!" Dawn replied happily.
Continuing their walk through town, the gang passed a store. Pikachu glanced at it, then paused. He recognised that place. That was where he'd originally found out about the existence of yokai merchandise.
Hard to believe that had been almost three weeks ago.
... Of course, that reminded him of the doll he'd gotten for Buneary, from the store at Valor Lakefront. The Jibanyan doll.
It brought a smile to his lips as he recalled how much she liked that doll. They'd even played a few games of make-believe with it.
... Then he couldn't help but remember something else. Something he'd told himself to do. Or at least think about doing.
He shook his head. He... still wasn't sure what to do about that yet. If anything.
Maybe he'd sit on the idea for a bit longer.
Later, everyone was sitting in Arrowroot Park for lunch. They'd found a lovely spot next to a walkway, so other trainers were occasionally passing by and saying hello.
On the other side was a large fountain, with a statue of various water-types spouting water in the middle. Humans and pokémon were sitting around it, some splashing each other with water.
It was such a scenic spot to eat lunch.
"Wow," Dawn said, smiling with a sandwich in hand, "you really picked a great spot, Brock."
"No kidding!" Ash agreed happily, before slurping his glass of orange juice through a straw.
"Thanks!" Brock replied, grinning a little proudly. "I have a keen eye for this sort of thing!"
"I'll say!" Dawn said.
Brock suddenly dashed over to the pathway, grabbing the hand of a passing woman. She shrieked in surprise.
"But not as keen an eye as I have for beauty!" he continued. "For no view in this park is as lovely as you, my dear!"
"Wh-Who the heck are you?!" the woman asked.
"I am the sword to your shield... the sun to your moon... the-"
Croagunk appeared behind him and gave him a Poison Jab to his rear end.
Brock shrieked. "The... death to your life..." He crumpled to the ground, where Croagunk wordlessly dragged him away.
The woman stared after him. "... Uhhhh..."
"Don't mind him," Dawn said with an exasperated chuckle. "He does that a lot."
"Good thing Croagunk's got him on a short leash!" Ash said, laughing.
Pikachu chuckled. "(He isn't kidding...)" he said.
Around him, his friends and girlfriend were chuckling, too.
Eventually, the food was polished off, and the plates and bowls were cleaned away.
"(Ahhh, that food was great!)" Pachirisu said happily. He hopped up and down. "(So who wants to play?)"
"(Sure, I'm game!)" Piplup replied, slapping a flipper to his chest.
"(Eh, think I'll sit this one out,)" Buizel replied, shrugging.
"(Kay!)" Pachirisu said. He turned to Pikachu and Buneary, grinning. "(How about you guys?)"
"(Sure thing!)" Pikachu replied with a smile.
Buneary giggled. "(Yeah, why not?)" she replied.
"(Great!)" Pachirisu said. He turned to the rest of the group, raising his voice. "(Anyone else?)"
There were many positive replies.
"(Okay, great!)" Pikachu said, heading towards the walkway. There was a nice, wide open field on the other side, which would be perfect to play in. He turned in the direction of the humans as he walked, waving to get Ash's attention. "(Hey, we're off to go pla-!)"
"(Look out!)" Buneary screeched.
Before he knew what was happening, he felt himself being lifted off his feet and carried away. In his surprise, he briefly glimpsed a bicycle cycling past at blinding speeds.
... Right where he'd just been standing.
He landed on the grass, slightly shaken. Glancing to his side, he saw an equally shaken Buneary. She was gripping onto him tightly and frowning deeply at the cyclist.
"(That jerk...!)" she yelled, her voice shaking slightly.
... Oh wow. Had she saved him again? Just like on the day they'd met?
Suddenly, Ash, Dawn and Brock ran over in a panic.
"Pikachu!" Ash cried, kneeling down. "Are you okay?!"
Pikachu put on a smile for his best friend. "(Y-Yeah, I'm okay!)" he replied.
Dawn frowned in the direction the cyclist had gone. "That was really dangerous..." she said.
"Yeah," Brock agreed, also frowning. "Riding a bike on a footpath... and at those speeds, too..."
"Somebody could get really hurt..."
Ash smiled soothingly. "Well, I'm just glad he didn't get you, buddy," he said, stroking Pikachu on the head.
"(Me too...)" Pikachu replied, leaning into the head stroke. It was quite a relief that the cyclist had missed...
Ash beamed at Buneary. "And I have Buneary to thank for that!" Using his other hand, he stroked her on the head, too.
"Heh," Dawn said with a relieved smile. "Good thing Buneary's around to save Pikachu from getting run over! Again."
"Yeah," Brock replied, giving Pikachu a stern gaze. "He should really watch where he's walking."
Pikachu laughed awkwardly. "(Sorry...)" he replied.
They were right, though. One of these days, he'd probably get run over for real if he didn't watch himself.
He had to take better care.
He turned to face Buneary with a smile. "(Hey, thanks for saving me. Again.)"
She turned to meet his gaze, the tiniest of smiles on her face. "(Heh, no problem,)" she replied. When Ash moved away, Buneary's eyes shone with concern. "(You've really gotta be careful, though... This is the... the second time you've nearly been run over!)"
... Oh wow. It looked like he'd really upset her with this.
He awkwardly scratched the back of his head. "(Yeah... I'm sorry.)"
She huffed out a calming breath and moved away from him. "(I just... don't want you getting hurt. A bike can do some serious damage. It's not like a pokémon move. At least... that's what I've heard, anyway.)"
"(Yeah... sorry. I... don't even wanna know what kinda damage it'd do. I'll be more careful. Promise.)"
She smiled gently at him. "(Thanks.)"
Walking into view, Piplup put his flippers on his hips. "(You have got to stay away from bikes,)" he said.
"(Yeah!)" Pachirisu agreed, hopping into view. "(You're a bit too fond of 'em, eh? At least, from what I heard.)"
"(Pfft,)" Buizel's voice from nearby said. "(Apparently.)"
"(I swear,)" Piplup said, shaking his head, "(they're drawn to him like freaking magnets!)"
Pikachu blushed awkwardly. "(Come on, guys, it was only twice...)" he said.
"(Twice too many! Now, if you're really alright...)"
Pikachu gave an awkward smile. "(Yeah, I'm alright.)"
"(Good! Then let's go play!)"
"(Yeah, let's go!)" Pachirisu agreed, grinning.
Pikachu sighed. "(Sure, sure...)" he replied. He looked at Buneary. "(You coming, Buneary?)"
She smiled brightly at him. "(Yeah!)" she replied. "(Let's go.)"
They began walking. A few moments later, Pikachu felt a paw grip his own. The feeling was warm and cosy, yet it also made his heart thump in his chest.
Buneary was really worried about him, wasn't she?
When he felt her giving him a gentle squeeze, he was convinced. She was looking out for him. Making sure he was safe and not running into any more danger.
... She was so kind and caring. She really was the best girlfriend he could ever ask for.
His chest felt like it was going to burst from the pressure of his feelings, but he kept walking. They had games to play, after all, so now wasn't the best time to think about things like that...
Later that night, after a bit of travelling through the forest, Ash was getting cosy inside his sleeping bag. Pikachu snuggled up against his trainer's side on the grass next to him.
"Well, night, buddy," Ash said.
"(Night, Ash,)" Pikachu replied, smiling at him.
Ash blinked, looking around him. "Huh? Hey, where's your girlfriend?"
Pikachu also blinked. "(Huh?)"
He turned to look for her, but he immediately saw her walking over, her Jibanyan doll in her arms.
"(Here I am!)" Buneary replied with a smile, stopping beside Pikachu.
Ash smiled at her. "Oh, there you are!" He let out a huge yawn, then tiredly smacked his lips a few times. "Well... goodnight, you two."
"(Goodnight!)" Buneary replied.
"(Yeah, goodnight!)" Pikachu added.
"Sweet dreams!" Ash said, flopping backwards into his sleeping bag.
Still smiling, Buneary settled herself next to Pikachu. She held up the Jibanyan doll. "(Pokémon!)" she said in a high-pitched voice. "(I believe I have become... tired?! Then the Great Jibanyan must sleep!)"
Pikachu chuckled. "(Okay, Jibanyan,)" he replied. "(You may sleep.)"
"(Thank you, tiny cheese rabbit! After all, there's nyo place like... uh, bed!)" Buneary dropped Jibanyan so that he landed face-down on the grass. She made snoring noises.
Pikachu chuckled harder. 'Cheese rabbit', indeed...
Clearing his throat, he tried to sound like Komasan. "(Oh my swirls! Can't ya at least use a bed, like a normal cat? Oh, wait...)" He paused for dramatic effect, while Buneary giggled. "(They don't use beds, neither.)"
She giggled harder. Picking up her doll, she held it between them and sighed happily.
He blinked at her. "(You okay?)"
"(Yeah. Yeah, I'm just fine.)" She snuggled closer, until Jibanyan was being squashed in-between them.
Pikachu smiled, his face now warm. The contact was surprisingly... intimate, he supposed? It was almost like they had a kid between them.
A lifeless kid made of cotton, but still.
"(Well, that's good,)" he replied.
"(Yeahhh.)" She closed her eyes, looking content.
He watched her serene expression for a few moments. It was... oddly beautiful.
It brought to mind what had happened earlier, back in Arrowroot Park. When Buneary had saved him from a bicycle.
He smiled warmly. His girlfriend really was the greatest. He loved her with all of his being. If anything happened to her, he... well, he didn't know what he'd do. He'd most certainly be lost.
... Just how long had it been since the 'cheating' incident?
He thought backwards, then paused. Huh. It had been almost a month, hadn't it?
"(Well...)" Buneary said, opening her eyes, "(goodnight, Pikachu.)" Slowly, she moved her face towards his and tapped his nose with hers.
His face went warmer. "(Y-Yeah,)" he replied. "(Goodnight.)"
She closed her eyes again, snuggling into her Jibanyan doll.
... Okay. He'd decided. He was going to do it this time. He was going to tell her exactly how he felt. That he loved her and wanted to be with her for... a long freaking time. As long as he could be with her.
... The rest of his life?
Wow, that was an overwhelming thought. Only around three months ago, he'd realised he liked her. Then, about a month ago, he'd realised he loved her. Though he'd known her many months longer than that. They'd been friends since pretty much the start of Ash's Sinnoh journey.
Ehhh, he wouldn't sweat the details right now. All he knew was that he loved her and he wanted to be with her. For as long as possible.
So... that meant...
He took a deep breath as he closed his eyes and snuggled into his girlfriend.
... That meant he'd have to gather some courage... and tell her.