Disclaimer/Notes: see an earlier part

Timeline: 4 months down the line

Chapter 7: Can’t stay a child forever

Ash clung to Sabrina tightly as they maneuvered through the busy streets of Saffron City. Sure, he was not scared of the people; he just didn’t want to be separated from his sister.

This earned many strange stares from the passerby.

“I wonder if that’s Sabrina’s boyfriend.” A random trainer said.

Ash glared.

< Calm down, Red. >
< But nee-chan, they’re thinking bad things about you… >

< I know. They always do. >

< Doesn’t it bother you? >

Sabrina chuckled. < I can’t control people’s thoughts. Even though I want to sometimes, its not allowed. >

< Oh. >

< After a while, you learn to tune them out. >

< I see… >

Truth be told, he really couldn’t, but…

He didn’t want to make her sad.

So he kept quiet. Poor nee-chan. why did people have to be so mean to her, just because she was lonely?
Life was very unfair.

Soon, they reached her house. Sabrina stopped.

“Red, can you stay outside while I explain the situation to my parents?”

‘Ok.” Ash promised.

“Good. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

Ash waited outside while he groomed Vulpix’s reddish fur.

Aren’t I pretty?

“Yes, you are very pretty, Vulpix.”

Like a princess!

“I suppose… vain little pokemon aren’t you?” Ash asked, tickling her.

Hey! No fair!

Ash finished brushing and studied her.

“Kirei…”

Soon, Sabrina’s father and mother came out. Sabrina gave Ash a ‘V’ for victory.

Ash breathed out a sigh of relief.

“Well, Red, I suppose you can stay with us for a bit.”

Ash grinned. < Thank you! >

The guest room was done in teal, with fairly new wallpaper, slightly dusty, but overall, furnished in good taste. The wooden desk with chair and small bureau welcomed him in, and the bed was made with red covers.

Apparently Sabrina’s family liked simplicity. It was probably safer in those circumstances as well. Fewer precious objects around meant less hazard when a psychic threw a tantrum and the air began to infest with unidentified flying objects. Anything was fair game in those circumstances.

In fact, shoes, textbooks, and a pink CD player often got knocked around. That was why Sabrina had redecorated her room.

Besides, she had always liked red and lavender better. Royal purple also looked nice. Ash sat down on the bed and unpacked his backpack.

He hung his traveling outfits up and folded his clothes in the bureau, put a few small objects on the desk, and then went downstairs.

He found Sabrina and her father reading magazines, while her mother was vacuuming the floor.

< Hi, neechan! >

< Hello, Red. > Sabrina said. Her father gave a brief acknowledgment, and then returned to his meditation.

< Settled in? >

< Just about! > Ash said cheerfully. < I like the peace. >

< It won’t stay that way for long. What if a challenger comes? >

< Oh! Can I watch? >

< Of course. > Sabrina laughed. < It would be an honor, little Red. >

Ash nodded and floated over to where she was. She spread out the pages of the magazine and they read together. It was an article on an interview with a pokemon circus. …Quite different from the norm, no?

Ash smiled at the picture of the pikachu juggling coconuts. “Wow!”

< And without psychic powers, too. >

< COOL! >

< Isn’t it? Let’s see if Saffron is one of their schedules stops. > Sabrina said, flipping the page and checking the calendar. < Well, it says they’ll be here in two weeks? >

< Can we go? > Ash asked, turning on the puppy dog eyes.

< If we pay for our own tickets, my father and mother won’t mind. >

< Yay! >

A memory skittered across the mind of the girl as she hugged her adopted younger brother tightly.

She didn’t want to remember the strange things yet.

Memories were never very pretty, especially when painted in windows of blood.

Literally, of course, she did not go around killing people.

And yet, maybe flying would be fun?

Ash liked flying.

Sure, floating was good for psychics, but when Sabrina and her parents slept, he would grow a Noctowl’s wings and fly silently on muffled feathers, short flights at a time.

The spirits danced in his eyes.

Sometimes, during the day, if he had time, he would fly on Pidgeot’s wings and Sabrina would join him, growing wings of her own, glittering hard like rubies.

Their memories had not returned yet, but their powers had.

And in some cases, that could be a very dangerous thing.

Almost six months had passed since he joined them, when disaster struck again.

End Chapter!
I know it’s a cliffhanger… Mwahahaha, review!

Started 2/15/04, completed 3/25/04