Ah, chapter 6! Seis!
Chapter 6
Dinner was a quiet, if slightly strained, affair. The food was nutritious and filling, not much different from what he normally ate. Jacques kept glancing at him, and that made him feel uncomfortable, wondering if he’d gotten sauce on his white robe or something, but no… he was just being paranoid…
“So, father, what did you want to talk about?”
“I’m proud of you, Ashura. You’re a fast learner.”
“Thank you.”
“So, did you make any new friends?”
Ash looked down. “Not really, father. I’m too old for most of the classes. They all laugh at me and say I’m a late bloomer.” Even Mike did, occasionally.
“Don’t worry, Ashura. I’ll take care of you from now on.”
Ash didn’t reply as he finished his clear soup and then got up from the table. “Can I see my new room?”
“Oh, certainly. It’s the one with the gray door. I hope you like it.’
“Thanks, father.”
Ash examined his new room. Dark grey wallpaper, a slightly larger bed than the one he had had in his shared quarters, desk with computer, a few bookshelves with books… and on another shelf, his collection of twenty poke dolls…
There was his private bathroom with a five by five feet tub. Not bad, if he wanted to soak a little…
Overall, he was pleased, if not a little surprised, so he thanked his father politely and then went to study for his test on fire pokemon attacks tomorrow.
Jacques sighed.
Did Ash resent him that much? It saddened him… and if his child didn’t have any friends here…
Maybe he should have left him back on earth and never interfered in his life…
“Do you hate him?”
“No, I don’t hate him. Hatred is a much deeper feeling than apathy.”
“True,” Lance smiled. “Do you want to hate him?”
“No.”
“Then perhaps you should give him a chance – get to know him, but let him know that he cannot buy his way into your life.”
“I understand…”
Jacques had made no move to spoil him with toys and cash yet, but he sensed it was coming. He would not give up his mother’s memory that easily!
“Take care of yourself, Ashura.”
“I will.” He promised, and then finished studying and went to bed.
The next morning, fresh flapjacks and honey were on the table, but Jacques was gone. Ash shrugged helped him, and then went off to class.
He rarely saw his father in the few days that followed it seemed the man was always busy on something… what? Well, his father’s job wasn’t really his concern, was it?
He was in a practice room, trying to perfect the aim on his Flamethrower, when he felt an odd burning sensation.
Wait! He wasn’t supposed to catch on fire!
Fire pokemon weren’t damaged by their own attacks after all! What was wrong?
Luckily, a teacher had been supervising, and quickly, he was extinguished. However, he remained confused.
What had he done wrong?
“It’s inconceivable!”
“Rare but not impossible, Marianne.” Clair reminded her. “After all, I didn’t develop flying and water until Level 7, and I daresay Lance gave his teachers a shock when he got Dark and Steel and later, Ice and water…”
“But Ashura is only half-Wanderer! And Jacques has only his Onix and Golem! All the others he brought back with him he released!”
“It could be a result of his unique heritage, or his mother may have possessed good genetics…”
“What is the point of this discussion?” Lorelei put in. “We’ll re-test him and see.”
“All right, but it’s highly irregular.”
“Everything in his case is odd. He’s the first half-breed we’ve had in hundreds of years… you know that, Marianne. Are you jealous?”
The grass Master shot the Ice Master a glare, but Lorelei shrugged it off.
“Call him in. His class just ended.” Clair spoke.
“I’m calling!”
Ash was surprised when he was taken in front of the ‘School board’ again. Had he done something wrong?
Would they kick him out of Blackthorn Academy now?
However, he submitted meekly to their tests, and Lorelei gaped when they were revealed.
Somewhere along the line, he had developed Ice Mastery – Lugia only knew *how*, since he didn’t have any ice-types… and none of his pokemon could learn ice moves…
Oh dear…
“What? How can I be ice-type?!”
“I have no idea, Ashura.” Lorelei sighed. “You’ll have to take remedial lessons with me then. This is highly irregular.”
“I’m sorry…”
“Oh, don’t’ apologize! It certainly isn’t your fault! Since you have no class now, would you mind if we started right away?”
“No.”
“Excellent! I’ll start with Seel language…”
When he got home, he saw that his father had brought him home a Magikarp – it would evolve into a Water/flying Gyarados.
It wasn’t exactly what he had wanted, but he thanked his father.
At least he could learn some more language that way, right? But oh, what was going to happen?
Ice and fire and water certainly didn’t mix. What would happen to him?
Pidgeot and Torchic exchanged nervous glances. This wasn’t good…
End Chapter
Completed 5/31/05
Ash: … Short chapter
Phantomness: I know!