Chapter 18: Sueshie's Requiem

Touya use Gate to allow Sue, Ash, Pikachu and himself to travel to Duke Alfred's castle. Alfred and Ellen anticipated Sue and her friends to come on by. "Master Touya, Master Ash," Alfred greeted as Sue came to Ellen.

"Mother!" she cried while both hugged.

"Sueshie, how are you doing?" asked Ellen.

"Good!" replied Sue. "Ash and I had another date. We had lunch, shared ice cream, walked hand-in-hand through a park…"

"It sounds like you and Ash had a wonderful date," Alfred smiled. Sue giggled to the guess.

"Well, there's some news I wanted to share for a little while," Ellen voiced. Everyone turned to the Duchess. "How would it feel to be a big sister?" Sue's and Pikachu's eyes lit up while Ash looked astounded.

"Wait, are you saying… you're having another baby?" he guessed. Ellen giggled to Ash's guess.

"A doctor came over when I suffered some morning sickness, and confirmed that we're going to have a second child," she concluded. Everyone awed the news.

"Mother!" a happy Sue cried.

"That's certainly news to hear about," Touya smiled. Pikachu crawled up Ellen onto her shoulder. Ellen nuzzled with Pikachu.

"Well, then…" spoke Alfred. "Allow me to give Master Ash a bit of a tour." Pikachu agreed and returned to Ash's shoulder. They trailed Alfred out of the room. They toured the duke's home. They reached a ballroom and stepped in. "We can change this into a wedding hall in a few days." Ash pondered to the idea.

"Did you want this for Sue and Touya before I came by?" he asked.

"Actually, I would've wanted to ask Master Touya about it at some point," Alfred summarized. "This is regarding my daughter as well." A nod came from Ash.

"I never thought Touya and I would love the same girl," he shrugged.

("He can give us one of them, right?") squeaked Pikachu.

"I would also want to invite you to stay here for more of what your travels have included, especially from these Orange Islands," Alfred wished. "Perhaps a vacation spot should we find your way through Master Touya's Gate spell." Ash giggled to the thought.

"Well, I'm working with my Divine Beasts on getting that worked on," he mentioned.

"Oh, really?" awed Alfred. "If you perfect Gate, you could possibly return to your world as well as find Touya's original homeland." Ash and Pikachu blinked to the news.

("Do we know where Touya's from?") wondered Pikachu. Ash shook his head.

"He's never really specified where he's actually from," he admitted. "Heck, he and Yae want to acknowledge their names in a certain way, but they're not related."

"He's said the same thing to us," Alfred confirmed. "At least you weren't afraid to tell us."

"But I'd be more than willing to tell you and Duchess Ellen about it," Ash offered.

"Of course…" acknowledged Alfred. They continued through the castle before returning to the rest. Pikachu raced into Sue's arms.

"Why me?" she giggled.

("Because I like you!") replied Pikachu. Alfred came to Ellen and held her hands.

"Dear, Master Ash has been offering our attendance in regards to our daughter," he reported. Ellen's eyes lit up.

"Our daughter?" she repeated. Ash nodded.

"Oh, before you do…" voiced Touya. "Another family member wants to know." Yumina entered to see the occasion.

"Princess Yumina?" gasped Alfred. Yumina giggled to the thought.

"It does involve my cousin," she briefed. "So, why else would I be here, other than my fiance telling me that you're like my parents in going to have another child?" Touya gulped at the blatant reply.

"Anyway, it started not long after Pikachu and I found ourselves in this land," Ash started. "And after we were introduced to Touya and his girls, Sue and I met… and it was love at first sight for me… so embarrassing for me to say that. Since then, we've enjoyed being company to each other. We worry about each other a lot, especially when I was going through the trials. To cut to the chase… I would like to have Sue's hand to marry." A chorus of gasps filled the room. Touya maintained his composure. In her shock, Sue dropped Pikachu. He had the sense to land on his paws while Sue covered her mouth with her open hands. "Touya's women told me to have courage and accept what you have to say. If you don't approve, I can understand." It took a while for Alfred to regain his bearings.

"Ash, the first moments that we met you," Ellen voiced. "We could tell there was something uniquely special that our little Sueshie found unwavering. The more we got to know you, the more we felt that you're a young man that can fulfill promises."

"In truth, the more we learned of what you've been able to do about your time, the more we felt that you may be the better one than Touya," Alfred added. "So much so, we pondered if we should ask you for our daughter's hand before you arrived." Ash gasped to the notice.

"Are you serious!?" he gulped.

"We couldn't be more serious if we intended it to be," Ellen replied. "So, would you accept our offer, and take the hand of our Sueshie?" Ash lowered his head before a hand came to his head, his own hand. He soon straightened himself and smiled.

"Duke Alfred…" he named. "Duchess Ellen… It would be an honor." Sue heard the acceptance and dashed to Ash. She felt overjoyed to hear that Ash would take her hand to love, tears streaking down her face.

"Ash!" she cheered as she tackled Ash to the ground. Pikachu cheered while everyone else smiled. "I'll be the best bride you can ever marry!" They had a longing kiss.

"They were indeed meant for each other," Ellen teased. After their moment, Touya, Yumina, Ash and Pikachu returned to the mansion where the other girls learned of the engagement between Ash and Sue by her older cousin. Sue stayed with Alfred and Ellen as they had a social gathering.

"They're engaged!?" awed Elze.

"Ash and Sue will be a married couple!?" cheered Lucia.

"I thought they would be great together!" added Hildegard. "It's about to come true!"

"I want to be her Maid of Honor!" wished Linze. The ladies cheered while Leen hugged Ash.

"Welcome to Manhood, Ash," she teased. "It will be a thrill for you." Charlotte gasped to Leen's teasing.

"Leen, what are you saying!?" she gasped. Leen sneered to the comment.

"Let's face it, Sue and I had our eyes locked on each other," Ash admitted. "Imagine if it was anyone else."

"Not that we disagree," Yae voiced. "We're all in love with Touya. It's that you've claimed one of us."

"Of course, it could've easily been Renne," Linze joked. Renne laughed to the thought. "Still, you want to wait a few years before you two marry."

"Right," Ash clarified. "It's not that I'm being hesitant, but it would be more appropriate to marry at the same age Duchess Ellen married Duke Alfred."

"Yes, Duchess Ellen was 16 when she married the Duke," Laim mentioned.

"And it's likely that Ash wants to save up for that special day," Renne believed. Ash giggled to Renne's guess while Pikachu and Jigglypuff laughed.

"Say, did Touya go off to see someone?" wondered Yumina. Some of the others looked around.

"Now that you mention it," Hildegard gawked. "Where did he go?" Others began to wonder where Touya left to. In the sky room, Touya confronted the Gods.

"Part of me wishes I could keep that little guy forever!" the God of Love cheered. "Oh, he was like a baby in my arms!" Touya and God seemed to sigh at the God of Love's giddiness.

"This was the risk of having her see that little creature," God murmured.

"I can see why," Touya gulped. "Anyway, why did you ask me to come on by?"

"Actually, I was wondering if you want to be more clean to the critter's owner," God brought up. Touya blinked to God's idea.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"We've seen his curiosity about you," the God of Love mentioned. "He's been open about his origins. The only thing you need to do is not allow anyone else to know." Touya had doubts about the God of Love's plan.

"It sounds like you want to see if his friendship with me is strong," he assumed.

"We feel that you can tell him about your former world," God offered. "Your smartphone has plenty of fun to give. Show him some sports, maybe teach him what to do if he wants to borrow it for at least once." Touya mulled the thought.

"Maybe in trade, I can have another chance to talk to the boy," the God of Love wished. "Didn't you say that he and that one Duke's daughter are now engaged?" Touya had a slight snicker.

"Yep," he confirmed. "I recorded it. Here." Using his smartphone, he turned on the video of Ash's offering to Ellen and Alfred. Watching it play out, God had a laugh.

"Dear me," he chuckled. "I can see how his growth staying with you has taken some drastic effects."

"Oh, don't get that judgmental about it," God of Love scorned.

"My apologies," God irked. "But seeing this, I should encourage that the two are protected. I fear evil may come for them." Touya gulped, sensing the trouble the gods sensed. At the guild, Ash and Pikachu looked through the posters of jobs available.

"Which one should we do?" he surveyed. Linze, Bajra and Jigglypuff entered to see Ash scouring through the jobs.

"Are you wanting to travel, Ash?" asked Linze, Jigglypuff in her arms. Ash and Pikachu turned to the older Silhoueska sister.

"Yeah, I was feeling kind of bored and needed to get out of the house," Ash shrugged.

"You never wanted to be stationary for a long period," Bajra remembered. "Would the other reason be for money for the future wedding with Miss Sueshie?" Ash giggled, thinking Bajra was onto his gameplan.

"We have plenty of time, like six years before our wedding," he recalled the conversation. Jigglypuff inflated herself and reached for one to tear off. She deflated and landed softly before presenting the job to her trainer. Ash and Linze watched as Jigglypuff tried to read the poster. "What did you find, Jigglypuff?" The Balloon Pokémon scolded Ash before showing Linze. She took the poster and studied it.

"Oh, this is a job for dragon hunting by the shores of Reflet," Linze realized. Ash blinked before finding the map of the continent.

"Reflet…" he repeated.

"Reflet is southwest of the lake that borders Alephis," Linze specified. Pikachu found the patch of blue before finding the spot on the map.

("That must be Reflet,") he believed. Linze saw Pikachu's point and figured on the spot.

"You found it, Pikachu!" she cheered. "That's Reflet. Since we're dealing with a dragon, we'll need to make sure we're prepared." Ash looked to the poster again.

"From what the wanted poster wants, it seems to be the spikes that are on the dragon's tail," he read. "I could come up with a plan that only gets rid of the spikes on the tail without destroying the dragon."

"Well, let's slow down a few steps, okay?" urged Linze. "From all we know, the dragon may not be a mean dragon or it could be one manipulated to attack the nearby villages."

"Are you saying we could actually be forced to end an innocent dragon?" pondered Bajra.

"Let's not go that far before we ask more about the job, Bajra," Ash assured. "Let's go see who wants to have this job done." After being with the client, they reported back to the mansion. Hearing about the details, Yae, Elze and Hildegard offered to join the quest. Treasure, Tempest and Wukong added to the team, ready to dispatch the dragon.

"Off to Reflet and to that dragon that's been causing problems," Yae relayed.

"Hopefully, this is an easy one and that Ash doesn't have to risk his life before marrying Sue," Elze teased. Ash shook his smiling head. "Though, I was wondering… if not Sue, who would you have been after?"

"No one," Ash reminded. "It wasn't that it was Sue all the way, I'm not looking for love. It just found me."

"That's what he said after we learned what his Misty had to say," Linze reminded.

"It's just that, if it wasn't Sue, I probably would've been next in line," Elze excused. Ash and Linze gasped.

"Now, wait…" hooted Wukong. "Are you saying that you've fallen for Ash as well?" Elze itched her chin, trying to come up with an answer.

"I mean, it would be like Touya would have either one of us as well as one of the cousins while Ash or someone else could have the other," she tried to explain. "I mean, come on… It wouldn't be ethical if members of the same family marries the same guy, right?" Tempest giggled to the explanation.

"That makes sense," she beaked. As the carriage to Reflet rolled on, a sinister plot started to sail over to Brunhild.

TO BE CONTINUED...