The Box
By Kawaii Cherry Blossom
Disclaimer:
I do not own Pokémon or
its related components.
Summary:
Ash, Misty and Brock made a pact when they
were teenagers. Four years later, it is time to fulfil it, but the painful
memories left behind spark a tale of tears and regret. Everything has seemingly
changed. What happened to shatter their lives so drastically?
Type:
Drama/Romance/Angst
Rating: PG
Other: AAMRN
Ages:
Ash – 20
Misty – 20
Notes:
Thank you very much
again to Teneal (Azura/sapphire_espeon) who proofread for me!
Thank you also, again,
to everyone who’s reviewed! It’s just so amazing to see people gaining
enjoyment out of something you do, so thank you so very much for your kind
comments.
One other thing, before
I let you read! Hehehe. I have been extremely busy and stressed and whatnot
lately, and it’s caused me to lose my inspiration for my other fics, like
Hearts and Minds, and Haunted. I still fully intend to continue these series’,
and I just wanted to apologise for the long wait. I’m moving house in a week
also, so my next update might be a few weeks away. But we’ll see how it goes.
At least you’ll get some answers in this chappie, hehehe! Enjoy!
Oh and as usual for
people reading on fanfiction dot net…sorry about the paragraphing. They really
need to do something about that… XD
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"I don't know if I can do this," Misty
admitted, holding back a fresh batch of tears that were threatening to flow.
She looked over to Ash, who sat beside her on the floral couch in his house. He
gave her a sympathetic look, understanding shining in his sad eyes.
"He would want us to, remember..."
"That doesn't make it any easier."
"I know," he admitted. "But a promise
is a promise..."
That's so typical of him. Always keeping his
word... How can he still be so naive?
Ash gave her a quick nod before pressing the play
button. A few seconds later, younger versions of Ash, Misty and Brock appeared
on screen.
"Hello and welcome to our DVD," a
sixteen-year-old Brock said with a sincere smile.
"We decided to make this for our memory
box, so that we would always remember this time of our lives," Misty
explained, holding Togepi in her arms snugly.
"And when I'm a famous Pokemon Master, you
guys are welcome to auction it off on E-Bay," Ash joked with a smirk, and
Misty punched him
"Ow... Brock!"
"Give it a rest you two."
"But she started it!"
"What?!"
"You know, you two are going to watch this
when you're older and realise how immature you are..." Brock said with a
laugh, and Pikachu let out a stream of words in agreement. Ash sent a glare his
way upon hearing it.
"Anyway," Misty said with a soft
laugh. "The purpose of this DVD is so that we will always remember how
much our friendship means to us."
"And so that no matter what happens, we
remember our promise to be friends forever," Ash said. "Right
guys?"
"No matter what," Misty and Brock said
in unison, and Pikachu added a string of words.
"Okay...and next, our predictions for the future!"
Brock said. "Whoever is right when we watch this in six year's time gets a
prize!"
"What will the prize be?" Ash asked,
an innocent look on his face.
"If it's you, food," Misty piped up with a smirk.
"All right!" Ash pumped his fist up in
excitement while Misty rolled her eyes next to him.
"My prediction is that Ash and Misty will
be married."
"Brock!!!!" Ash and Misty screamed
together, turning to face him. But he was already backing away from their
wrath, a smirk playing across his face as he held his hands up. "It's an
innocent suggestion!"
Both Ash and Misty looked away from each other
then, crossing their arms in disgust. However, no one could miss the blush that
spread across each of their faces as they did so.
"I bet Brock will be a world-renowned
Pokemon breeder," Ash said a few moments later, after he’d recovered.
"Ash will be a Pokemon Master."
Misty's voice was quiet as she said it, and after she had, Ash glanced over at
her in shock. A tiny smile spread across her face.
"Well um...thanks, Misty..." Ash
uttered, and Misty gave him a nod.
"You know I believe in you Ash," she
added, and laughed softly at Ash's shocked face.
"Your prediction goes double for me,
Misty," Brock said.
A wide smile graced Ash's face as he took in
their words. "Thanks, guys..."
“And…Misty…hmm…” Brock rubbed his chin in
thought. “You know what, I think you’re gonna make a really powerful Gym
Leader,” he said seriously.
Misty shook her head. “I don’t even wanna go
back there,” she said, her tone sad.
“But you’ll get to knock some sense into random
cocky, overconfident new trainers!” Ash piped up.
“Like you?” Misty replied with a smirk.
“Hey!” he shot back defensively, before
hesitating. Putting his hands behind his head shyly, he smiled bashfully.
“Eheh… I guess I was sort of…”
“Brash?” Misty offered.
“Yeah, heh.”
“Bigheaded?” Brock suggested.
“Yeah.”
“Arro…”
“Hey, what about determined, strong-minded and
caring?” he probed defensively. Misty and Brock shrugged his question away,
knowing it would annoy him, and he huffed in response.
“Alright guys,” Brock turned serious again. “Are
you ready to make a pact?”
Ash and Misty nodded, smiling.
Each of them, Pikachu and Togepi included, held
out their hands towards each other.
“This is our pledge,” Brock said. “We promise to
be best friends forever, no matter what.”
“Forever,” Ash repeated, nodding.
“No matter what,” Misty smiled.
Pikachu let out an excited ‘Pika!’ while Togepi
chirped excitedly, even though it didn’t really understand what was going on.
They turned towards the camera, smiles lighting
up each of their youthful faces.
“So…until August 18th, 2005, this is
it!” Ash gave a peace sign, and the scene faded as the camera was obviously
turned off.
When
the screen turned completely black, neither Ash nor Misty moved or spoke a word
for a while. They seemed frozen in shock, unable to find actions or words to
express their feelings. Ash was fiddling with a pen that he’d found on the
table next to the couch, clicking it on and off repeatedly. Misty was staring
ahead into space, an unreadable expression written across her face. Inside, she
felt empty, emotionless, almost as if she could no longer feel.
Placing
the pen back onto the table slowly, Ash looked up at the roof in thought.
“I
remember making that DVD as if it were yesterday. It was so much fun…” When he
glanced towards Misty a few moments later, his heart thudded in despair.
“I
can’t believe he’s gone. I…” Misty didn’t bother to wipe away her tears,
letting them cascade down her cheeks listlessly instead. Her gaze remained
fixed on a spot ahead of her, her sorrowful stare piercing the air.
“Misty…”
he said softly, trying desperately to reach out to her.
“How
can you even want to talk to me?” she asked him coldly, turning her head to
look him in the eyes. “It’s my fault he’s dead, I practically murdered him!”
“Don’t
say that, come on…”
“It’s
the truth and you know it Ash!” She paused for a moment, looking away from him
once again. She couldn’t face his eyes, so full of sympathy. She didn’t deserve
it. How could he be so calm? He should be angry, livid that she had returned
after killing their best friend.
“If
I hadn’t made Brock come shopping with me that day, we wouldn’t have
been in that shop when the burglars broke in, and he wouldn’t have been shot.”
Misty’s words were full of spite, so bitter and remorseful. They almost burned
Ash’s ears as he took them in. He shook his head fiercely in denial.
“You
can’t live your life like that. You can’t change what happened. There’s no way
you could have known…”
“He
didn’t want to go shopping that day. I was so forceful… If only I’d gotten over
my selfishness, I would have listened to him…” She was sobbing now, breathing
heavily as she spoke the words that had inundated her thoughts since the day
Brock died.
“Listen
to me, Misty.” Ash spoke forcefully with his gentle tone, commanding her
attention.
“I
think Brock would have gone with you on that day even if you hadn’t demanded
it, because that’s just the person he was, you know?” he paused, glancing up
towards the roof again before looking at Misty. “And you know what else? I
never used to think about this much, but I have been lately… And I believe that
when it’s a person’s time, it’s their time. I mean, I don’t think we have any
control over it.”
They
were wise words, and Misty was shocked that they were coming from Ash Ketchum,
who seemed to have matured forty years in her absence.
“I
lost my two best friends on that day,” he continued, his voice quavering
slightly at the memory.
Finally,
Misty looked towards him. She wiped a fresh tear away, but finding herself at a
loss for words, didn’t reply.
“It
was so hard without Brock. I didn’t think I’d be able to ever stop crying. I
couldn’t train, or do anything. It was so hard, and without you here…” His
voice was choked up in despair as he recalled the first few months after Brock
died.
What
happened on that day changed Ash. He was so innocent and naive, barely able to
even fathom such a horrible affair, let alone consider it could happen to one
of his close friends. When he had been called to the hospital that day, with
the message that Brock was in a serious condition in the Emergency Room, he
almost didn’t believe it. But when he’d arrived there, just seeing Misty’s
wilted form sitting on a chair in the waiting room told him it was true. Brock
died soon after, the single bullet wedged in his chest sucking his life away
menacingly. And that’s when things changed.
It
was the hardest, most painful time in his life. He’d felt so helpless and
completely alone. His mother and his Pokemon did everything they could for him,
but still, Ash just couldn’t understand why Brock had been taken. He was the
kindest person he knew, and had such a bright future ahead of him. It just
didn’t seem fair that people like the burglar who had shot Brock in cold blood
that day were still alive, and Brock wasn’t. It didn’t make sense, didn’t seem
right or possible. On top of that, Misty had disappeared right after Brock’s
funeral, without a note or any indication of where she was headed. At first,
Ash thought that she was just going away for a few days to collect her
thoughts. He knew that it was a difficult time for her, as it was for him. But
after a month, and then years passed, his hope began to fade.
”Why
don’t you hate me?” her words, spiteful and bitter, broke him out of the jail
of memories he was entrapped by.
“Hate
you?”
“How
can you even stand to look at me…?”
“Misty-“
“I
was basically responsible for Brock’s death, and then…and then I just left you…
Just ran away like I always do, only thinking of myself, just like I always
do…”
Ash
couldn’t believe that his strong, confident, intrepid best friend was uttering
such cold, resentful words.
“Why
don’t you hate me, Ash?” she repeated, her intense stare piercing his worried
eyes. “How can you not?”
She
clearly looked like she wanted an answer, and so Ash paused for a few moments,
glancing away from her in thought.
“I was…very angry…at you…at first…” he uttered, carefully
choosing his words. He wanted to make it clear that he never hated her.
No, such a fierce word could only be used to describe what he felt towards the
man who’d shot Brock…
Gulping, he finally looked up to meet her eyes once again.
She looked apprehensive, afraid almost, like she’d been waiting forever to hear
what he had to say. And he knew that she probably had…
“I really needed you, and you just…took off…” he glanced
away for a moment, uneasy when he saw hurt dash across her eyes.
“But then I figured you had your reasons, and I could
understand that. It took time but I could. And…if this taught me anything it’s
that life’s too short to stay angry at people…right?”
She didn’t answer. He was feeling nervous about blurting his
feelings out to her. It was something that he’d kept locked inside for so long
now. He felt somewhat exposed, although he knew he could trust her. And he
wanted desperately for her to stop blaming herself…
“I
missed you every day since you left. But I never stopped hoping that one day
you’d knock at my door, even after you were gone for so long…” Ash sighed
sadly. “I’m just glad you came back. It’s all I wanted…” he trailed off.
She
looked towards him then, overcome with emotion and unable to control it. Tears
filled her eyes and spilled out of them as she let out a distraught sob. He
softened at her expression, before pulling her into an embrace.
“I just wish I could turn back time. I wish I could
change it all…” she sobbed, her words muffled as she cried into his shirt. He tightened
his grip around her, comforting her just as she’d longed to be for so many
years.
It felt strange to be holding her, almost like a
dream. Ash kept thinking he'd wake up sometime soon. He felt slightly
self-conscious about being so close to her. Experience with girls in a romantic
way was something he lacked, having not let anybody get close to him since
Brock died… But even though he felt nervous and shy, something about having his
arms around her felt, well, right. It wasn’t in the way he was holding her or
anything about the situation; it was just a feeling, a…spark? Chemistry? Ash
wasn’t too good at understanding that sort of thing, but he knew there was
something there.
Ash felt himself tense up
then, shyness engulfing him. But he wanted to do this, he’d wanted to for such
a long time. And he hoped that she would be okay with it…
He was shaking with
hesitation as he gently leaned out of their embrace, placing his hands on her
arms.
“Misty, I… Um…”
Ash knew his face must have been bright red, but he was
past the point of caring. Misty’s expression was unreadable as he leaned
forward slightly, searching her eyes for some sort of sign as to whether this
was okay or not. He didn’t find one, and before long, he was centimeters away
from her face. Finally, his lips touched hers softly. She returned the kiss
longingly; as if it were something she’d yearned for, for eternity.
Little did he know that it was.
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Hope you liked that chappie. There is
about one or two parts to go, so the end is near! I’ll try to have the next
chapter out as soon as possible. Thank you again! Love you all!
Love and light,
Sarah.