And… chapter 3~!
If it wasn’t obvious, Lance is Wataru. Wataru is actually Lance’s Japanese name.
Disclaimer: Pokemon belongs to Nintendo and Shogakukan Comics. This non-profit, non-copyright infringing fanfiction belongs to me under international copyright laws and taking it is plagiarism. Thank you. *Phantomness bows*
Notes: <> for telepathy, ** for thoughts, italics if a pokemon talks
Chapter 3
“Sa, Where are you headed off to now, Red?”
Red shrugged. “Nowhere really, Wataru. I mean, nothing special. I’m not planning to travel anywhere.”
“Sou desu ka.”
“Is something wrong?”
“No, I don’t think so.” Lance gave a smile that Red found genuine. “I was just wondering about it, that’s al.”
“I see.”
“Where will you go now?”
Red blinked. “Pardon?”
“I mean, you’re already Kanto Champion… what are you going to do now?”
“I was thinking of becoming the Viridian Gym Leader.” Red said seriously. “Giovanni still has not been replaced. Green’s been doing it temporarily, but…”
“I understand. That’s a noble ambition.”
“Thank you.” Red colored. He did not understand why he was feeling so odd. Wataru certainly had not drugged him or anything of that sort, but even so… it seemed like he was missing an important concept here.
Why was he feeling so dizzy?
Lance caught Red as he fell. “Are you all right?” Red stared up into clear green eyes and shivered, involuntarily.
“No.” He whispered, helplessly, almost. “No, I’m not all right.”
“I surmised as much. Have you eaten at all today?”
He remembered grabbing juice and a donut before he left the house, but that was all. He shook his head.
“Foolish child.” Now, the tone had modulated into something almost adoring. “I’ll make you something.”
“But we’re in the middle of a field…”
“Don’t worry about it.”
Red nodded as Wataru released him and he closed his eyes. He must have fallen asleep though, because when he awoke, Wataru was pressing a bowl of warm, blessedly hot liquid into his hands. It smelled good too. Picking up the spoon, he tasted, surprised. It was unfamiliar, but tasted herbal and there were pieces of meat floating around in a brown broth.
“Edible?”
“It’s good.” Red said, quickly finishing it. The warm liquid soothed his earlier upset stomach, and he had several bowls before Wataru stopped him. Overeating after a period of starvation was no good.
“Do you not eat?”
“No, it’s just that I’m normally too busy to, now with the…” Red hesitated. “I just wish Cerise hadn’t happened.”
“Ah…”
“I didn’t really think about food then, I was more worried about getting to the island after I was set free from the ice block, and after that…”
“It hurt too much.”
“How did you know?”
Wataru gave a half-smile. “I’m going to make an educated guess. You had a chocolate bar and were sick immediately after.”
Red’s eyes widened. “How did you know?”
“I guessed. Most trainers take candy bars with them, and if you were hungry, you would not care what you were eating. Unfortunately, sugar on an empty stomach can be quite hazardous.”
“I see…”
Wataru did not say anything else as he watched the fire he had built within a ring of rocks flicker warmly. “Am I making you uncomfortable?”
“No.” Red said honestly.
“Good.”
“You’re awfully concerned about me.” Red’s voice had taken on a tinge of… something. He took a deep breath, searching for a reason. “Are you my father?”
Green eyes widened in shock. “No!”
“Oh.” Red sounded both relieved and disappointed. He would have liked this nice, experienced – though very young-looking trainer to be his father. It might have been cool. Why, they could go on training expeditions together and…
Red yanked his mind out of that thought corridor before things could progress farther. It was too odd!
Besides, Wataru was kind of… cute. His pink hair was adorable! And his eyes… Red looked away again.
It would be nice to be taken care of though… true, he did have a mom, but she was almost always out of town because she worked for Devon Corporation in far-off Houen. She hadn’t even realized he’d been missing for two months!
That was a blow to his family pride, but she had not been home when he left on his journey. If not for the monthly allowance and occasional care packages, he would doubt that she cared at all…
“Wataru?”
“Yes, Red?”
“Um… do you want to travel with me?”
“I thought you weren’t going anywhere.”
Red shook his head. “I’ve decided to reconsider my options. I mean, Professor Oak still needs help to complete the pokedex, and I have not yet been to Johto or Houen or any of the Island chains.”
“Are you saying you’d like to travel with me? Hontou ni desu ka?”
“Yes.”
“Sa…” Lance grinned. “Well, domo arigatou… I’m glad you like my company.”
Red blushed slightly. “It… I guess I do. It’s odd. I mean, I just met you today, but you seem so nice!”
Appearances could be so deceiving. But Red was a formidable trainer; otherwise the Elite Four would never have bothered to recruit him. He might be a useful chess piece later, particularly if he were weaned away from Yellow’s nefarious influence…
Foolish girl.
She knew nothing of what power she held. Luckily, though, he had not told her all his secrets. She was a fool.
His pokemon were much more adapted to the surge of magic than she and hers. Even if she were a decent trainer, why, had she captured any pokemon on her own? Save for that one Caterpie…
Oh, he’d learned a lot from Pikachu’s memories. He knew that most of her pokemon originally belonged to other trainers.
Foolish girl.
She had no true power of her own, save what the Forest granted. And without that, she was nothing.
He smiled.
“Wataru? Daijobu desu ka? You’ve been quiet for a while…”
“Ah.” He broke out of his musings. “It’s nothing, Red. I think we should set up for the night.”
Red belatedly remembered that he had no sleeping bag or camping supplies. “Um… we can go to my house for tonight. I still need to pack.”
“You are letting me stay at your house tonight?”
Red nodded. “Shall we?” He released his Aerodactyl, before blinking. “You do have a flying pokemon, right?”
Lance shook his head. “He… died, just yesterday.”
“Oh no! I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to bring up such a sensitive subject!”
“It’s all right, Red. You had no way of knowing…”
He would make Yellow pay though, and what better way than stealing her love interest away? Revenge would be sweet indeed…
End Chapter
Completed 12/6/05
Phantomness: Emotional warfare, woot!
Lance: *Sighs*