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 6
He was three weeks into his flight training when Satoshi threw his first temper tantrum, demanding a C-rank mission. They were given one – to escort an old man and his porcelain wares back to his home in the Grass Country. It was certainly differentc and they would be out of the village.
Red carefully packed his weapons, and a few extra changes of clothing, and the next morning, was waiting at the gates when Satoshi and Kasumi showed up together. That was a surprising occurrence, but it looked as though Satoshi was carrying Kasumifs bag for her, so that would explain things.
Natsume arrived a few minutes later, and they were off. It started out peacefully enough, walking down the road towards the Grass country, which was thankfully close by. Kasumi was humming some song while Red kept an eye out for potential threats. Satoshi kept looking behind them, wanting to seem alert but all it did was make his neck sore. They were quite a distance away from the Hidden Village of the Leaf, then, when the two ninja attacked.
They both wore forehead protectors with an unfamiliar design. Kasumi snapped back to guard their client, Mamoru, fingers already blurring in Mist. Red snarled as he dodged the kunai the first man sent at him, feeling the wings rise from his back and lifting him into the air before he spit out Flamethrower, turning him nicely black and crispy. The man snarled and shook the attack off, only for Satoshi to charge forwards with his Shadow Blade. Meanwhile, Natsume had calmly disabled the other with a Psybeam attack.
Mamoru breathed a sigh of relief, as they were dispatched. Kasumi grinned brightly at Red, who smiled through the Mist, and gently floated back down to earth.
Natsume smiled. gYoufve been training with Wataru, havenft you?h
gYes, why?h
gThatfs one of his favorite jutsu – hence his nickname, the Soaring Dragon.h She smiled. gYou should be honored he taught you it.h
Red colored slightly, taking the compliment as it was. Satoshi watched as his Shadow blade fizzled out, not sure what to say.
What to doc?
He thought he had done well, but the blade was not at all what he had expected. Perhaps he needed some more workc
He sighed.
And now Red could fly! How was he supposed to compete with that?
Natsume frowned at Mamoru. gThis was supposed to be a simple escort mission. Requiring protection would boot it up to a B-rank at leastch
Mamoru said nothing.
gch Red glanced at the man, before shrugging and retracting his wings. They felt a lot more natural now, and yesterday he and Wataru had chased each other through the forest canopy for almost an hour. That had been good training!
Wataru had also tried teaching him Water Gun, but that wasnft going very well. Red supposed he was just more fire-aligned. Well, that was fine with himc Kasumi called back the rest of her Mist attack, and Natsume sighed.
gI suppose wefll just keep heading towards Grass thench And hope nothing else happenedc
Fire beat grass, right?
They continued to walk on. They had made it another few miles before the next attack came. Natsume threw up her Light Screen attack, and the Bullet Seeds bounced harmlessly off it. Satoshi stared. The dome encompassed all five of the travelers.
Wowc
Grass-type? Her eyes narrowed, as she prepared to use Psybeam. However, the second attack that shot past derailed her thoughts, and Red gasped.
Shadow – no! Dark-type! Darkc
He narrowed his eyes, and took to the air, scanning. Several Ember attacks parted the grass, revealing a woman in skintight leather. Perfect.
Natsume grinned. gThanks, Red!h She called. Psybeam smashed into the woman, who staggered, followed by a barrage of shuriken from Kasumi, who had decided to join the action.
Satoshi gulped and quickly brought up his kunai as a blonde man leapt out of the grass around them, charging at Mamoru.
Was porcelain really worth so much? Their weapons clashed, and he gulped. The other man smirked, beforec
He was forming seals with one hand? No! Anything else Satoshi might have said was cut off as he toppled forwards, asleep.
Sleep Powderc
Kasumi caught sight of this, and quickly threw one of her kunai at the man. He dodged, but that was enough time for Natsume to hit him with a Psybeam while he was distracted. Her eyes glowed, and she slammed him with Psychic, just in case.
He crumpled, and Kasumi smiled, before she went over to shake Satoshi awake.
gYoufre very brilliant.h Natsume said. gBut therefs a reason for it, isnft there?h
Red half-smiled. gYou already know the reason, Natsume-sensei. Besides, itfs a family matter, and I canft tell you what else Wataru-san has been teaching me.h
She smiled. gI understand. Itfsc helpful.h
Red just grinned.
They made the rest of the trip in silence, and sure enough, Mamorufs porcelain was safely delivered, but after they had returned home to Fire Country, Satoshi couldnft help but feel as though he was missing somethingc
Maybe it was useless to train alone with the secret scroll he still hadnft returned to Oak, but what else could he do?
He had to beat Red! He had to!
End Chapter
Completed 3/10/07
Poor Satoshic actually, I donft feel that sorry for him since Ifm totally biased in Redfs favorc. And since I donft want anyone inferring shonen-ai between Satoshi and Red, guess Ifll skip the Wave Country arcc sheesh! Defensive writing is a *bitch*