Still the one part 4

He scrambled out of bed, his jet-black hair was sticking up in every direction. His dark blue pajamas were unbuttoned down to his navel, revealing a very toned torso. He made his way to the door and opened it, yawning silently. It was 4.30 in the morning and Ashton Ketchum was tip- toeing to the bathroom, trying to be as quiet as he could be. He walked along the corridor and noticed that the lights downstairs in the kitchen were on. Entering the bathroom, he closed the door behind him, still wondering who had turned the lights on and walked over to the toilet to do his business.

Having finished, he left the bathroom closing the door behind him and walked over to the door of his, Brock’s and Pikachu’s bedroom. He hesitated a moment, before grabbing the doorknob.

He would have liked to know who it was that was up at this hour. His curiosity getting the better of him, he wheeled around and walked down the stairs into the lit kitchen, only to find a redheaded girl in green pajamas sitting at the table eating from a container of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream.

“Well good morning” he muttered, grinning evilly. He walked over to the table, pulled up a chair and sat down.

“What are you doing up this early?” asked Misty, scowling at him.

“I should ask you the same question” he replied calmly.

“What, is it hot tonight?” she asked pointing at his bared torso.

“Don’t act like you don’t like every bit of this” he retorted, smirking. But he buttoned up his shirt nonetheless. They both sat looking at each other, gnashing their teeth as they did so. It was now raining softly outside. Ash stood up, bent over the table and took the container of ice cream and the spoon away from the scowling Misty.

“Hey?” she shouted, darkly.

“Chocolate chip cookie dough…my fave” said Ash, smiling slyly. He dug into the ice cream with his spoon and took a big mouthful. “Love what you’ve done to the place”

“Hm.What?” Misty replied.

“You’re gym, I mean. It finally looks like a real gym” he laughed.

Misty scowled at him.

“No I didn’t mean it in that way” he replied, apprehensively. “I- I mean it looks really nice”

“Oh well thanks” she replied indifferently.

Grimacing sourly, she stood up, opened the drawer beside her and grabbed another spoon. Although being angry with Ash she couldn’t help, but feel butterflies in her stomach as she sat watching the handsome young man in front of her. He had grown a lot. The last time she had seen him he was about a foot shorter and he wasn’t as broad shouldered as he was now. But he still had the same handsome features she had come to know so well. She tore her gaze away, as he caught her eye.

“What’s wrong have I got ice cream on my face or something?” asked Ash calmly.

“No” she replied coolly, reaching over to grab the container from him. He held the container tightly, not letting go and chuckled as she made quite the effort to retrieve it, failing miserably. As she tugged one last time at the container he let go and the melted ice cream spilled all over her green pajamas.

He sniggered loudly.

“Ugh you idiot, these are my favorite pajamas.” She hollered loudly. She grabbed her spoon, dug into the ice cream and threw the spoon at Ash. It hit him in the face, splattering ice cream all over him and it was now Misty’s turn to laugh.

He stood up and tried to grab the container from the laughing girl, but she dove away from his grasp, landing beneath the table. Ash dove after her grinning broadly. Crawling from underneath the table, she giggled gaily, and threw some melted ice cream at Ash. She stood up and held the container above her head.

“Very nice, Misty. Are you forgetting that I am taller than you?” he snorted, standing up and walking over to the girl with the flaming red hair.

She stood holding the container above her head, as he slowly made his way towards her. It was like everything was going in slow motion. He stood now inches away from her and reached out for the container. Catching a whiff of his spicy aftershave; she closed her eyes taking in the aroma. His hand held high, grasping the container he too closed his eyes and moved his face towards hers. “Mist, why did you leave?” he muttered under his breath, his eyes still shut.

“I don’t know. I don’t remember” she lied; her eyes too were still closed. He nudged her nose lightly with his.

“Pika pika” (Hey you guys) said a stumbling Pikachu. Misty and Ash pulled away from each other.

“Pikachu pika pi pika “ (I don’t feel so good) it said falling on its side. It looked considerably hungry even though it had eaten a lot at dinner. Ash walked over to Pikachu his eyes wide with fear.

“Buddy what’s wrong?” he asked, fearfully. Pikachu opened and closed its mouth silently.

“We’ve got to bring him to the Pokémon center quickly.” said Misty frightfully.

* * *

Ash sat staring blankly through the window of a Pokémon center room, surveying the now sleeping Pikachu. Misty stood beside him, all puffy eyed, a tear trickling down her cheek. She wiped it off with the sleeve of her coat.

The door of the entrance hall flew open and in came Brock, Violet, Daisy and Lily looking horrorstruck and worried. They spotted the pair and ran over to them, Brock holding his head in shock. “We came as soon as we read your letter” said Lily, fearfully.

“What happened…I- I mean what’s the diagnosis,” Brock asked, still clutching his head with his hands. Violet started crying at the sight of the sobbing Misty. “Is it that bad?” asked Daisy, her eyes welling up with tears.

“Well the doctor said he found a lump near Pikachu’s head” Ash sighed. “The X- rays show that it is some form of cancer and it has spread” said Ash, gulping heavily. “He said that’s why Pikachu looked so thin”

It was now Lily’s turn to break down in tears. They all stood staring at the snoring Pikachu, tears flowing freely down the girls’ cheeks. Even Brock couldn’t hold back a sob. After a few minutes of staring in silence, Brock said that he was going to get some coffee and Violet and Lily joined him, leaving Ash, Misty and Daisy alone.

“How could I be so stupid? How could I have not noticed? Even Brock, who’s an aspiring breeder, had not noticed,” he asked choking back tears. Misty patted him on the back, tears still welling up from her eyes. “It’s not your fault,” she replied quietly.

“Mr. Ketchum,” said a voice from behind the trio. They all wheeled around to see a doctor in a white coat staring back at them. “I’m very sorry about your Pikachu. I know it’s a difficult time, but you have to make a decision rather you want to proceed with palliative treatment or you want him to be put down.”

Ash broke into tears after hearing this. “You can’t expect me to make that decision” he said between sobs. The doctor looked at him in sympathy as Misty threw her arms around him, whispering words of consolement. “Will he suffer if we proceed with treatment…will you do surgery?”

“Well he will suffer from some pain, but we can give him painkillers for it. Surgery is out of the question now that the cancer has spread. Chemotherapy is a possibility”

Ash wiped away a tear and nodded. “Is there still a chance he’ll..he’ll make it?,” asked Daisy a hint of hope in her voice.

“The chances are slim,” said the doctor truthfully. “He has a 5 year survival rate of less than 5%.”

Daisy sobbed silently and covered her eyes with her hands. Misty too was in tears.

“I assure you sir that we will do whatever we can for your Pikachu if you choose to proceed with treatment,” said the doctor.

“I need to speak to my Pikachu” said Ash, looking around as if he wanted to find some comfort in the white tiled room.

“Ok that’s no problem” answered the doctor, nodding and with that he walked into the room, beckoning for Ash to follow him. Misty had let go of Ash and was making attempts to follow him, but daisy held her back and said “It’s best we let him be alone with Pikachu for a moment,”. Misty muttered an “Ok”

Ash entered the room, wiping away the last of his tears. He had to be brave in front of Pikachu. The doctor stood next to the bed and looked at the Pikachu.

Walking over to the bed where Pikachu lay, Ash couldn’t help but feel the tears well up from his eyes again. It was his Pikachu. He had been his pal for 9 years through thick and thin. And now he lay dying on the hospital bed. He wiped away the tears and groaned lightly.

“Hey Pikachu?” said Ash, petting his Pikachu on the head.

“Pikapi” (Ash?) he said, stirring. “Pikachu pik pika?” (What’s wrong with me?)

“Uhm..” he hesitated. He looked at his thin Pikachu and sighed heavily “Pikachu y- you have cancer”

“Pikachu pik pika?” (How bad is it?) asked Pikachu, looking Ash in the eyes.

“Well you might not make it” he replied, tears welling up from his eyes once again. Pikachu looked frightened for a split second, but then he stood up on top of his bed and patted the crying Ash on the shoulder.

“Pikachu chu pikapi…pikachu pika chu pik…(It’s going to be fine…everything is going to be fine)

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