Pokemon Fan Fiction ❯ Just to Satisfy ❯ Awkward ( Chapter 26 )

Disclaimer: I do not claim any of the Pokemon characters used in this chapter, because they are all property of Satoshi Tajiri and I haven't stolen the rights from him yet. I bet he has people try that all the time, actually; probably has to have bodyguards and stuff.

 

 

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Thankfully, he hadn't decided to bring her back to his house, but being in the company of Team Meanies was enough to unnerve her; she couldn't stop the feeling of anxiety from growing in her gut, and she jumped ever so slightly whenever Medicham cast a suspicious glance over her shoulder. The fighter didn't seem to appreciate Kitty's presence, but it seemed discipline (and the idea that what her leader said was the final word on the matter) had been drilled into her for months, for she didn't open her mouth to protest when he motioned for the umbreon to follow. As her dread began to build to an insurmountable point, Gengar deemed her silence unacceptable and slowed his pace until he was alongside her, glancing over to examine how she stared into the distance seriously before lightly poking her shoulder to get her attention. Looking amused at the squeak she issued forth when she jumped in surprise, he seemed to finally submit to his curiosity and ask her something that was nagging the entire team: “So, what's got you down in the dumps?”

 

Kitty let out a soft sigh, thankful that the suspense had dissipated now that he spoke up but reluctant to tell him the source of her angst. “I just miss home, that's all . . . you know what that's like, right? When you're on a long mission and haven't been home for days? That sort of thing.”

 

“. . . But, if that's all that it was, you wouldn't be this sad.” He eyed her knowingly. “You mean your family and friends . . . in the human world.” Her silence was confirmation of his statement, and he crossed his arms as his gaze focused on the path before them, seeming to think over her situation carefully. She didn't know what would interest him so much in her worries, but she figured it had to do with the reason he had suddenly decided to start flirting with her-which wasn't reassuring, but at least she had a lead to go on. Maybe he just wanted to get in good with the hero of the world so the others would stop bothering him-or maybe this was all for fun, who knew? Her speculating was interrupting when the ghost gave a soft huff and started, “Well, it was your choice to stay here, wasn't it?” He raised an eyebrow when she nodded dejectedly. “Do you regret that?”

 

Her response was immediate. “No!” If I had to make the same decision over and over again, for forever and a day, I would pick Sakura in a heartbeat! Both of his teammates glanced back at her panicked outburst, and then she bit her lip and stared down at her paws as doubt began to seep into the cracks of her resolve. “Well, sometimes . . . I don't regret my decision, but I wish it didn't have to come with such a big sacrifice.” Her eyes glazed over as memories came flooding back to her, back when she still walked on two legs and had blonde hair instead of brown or black fur. “I never really had a chance to say good-bye to them, either. I wonder if they're stilled worried about me . . . or maybe they had their memories altered, too.”

 

Gengar opened his mouth to say something, but, much to her surprise, he hesitated, as if the words might not have been appropriate-as if he cared. Kitty realized there were many things she still didn't know about the ghost, and as curiosity began to set in she decided that perhaps Sakura's suggestion to get to know him held some merit. She was tired of being left in the dark when it concerned her future, and as Sherlock had mentioned before, it seemed he was hiding something from her and everyone else. As she pondered this strange development, Gengar seemed to figure out what he wanted to say and cleared his throat to make sure he had her attention. “You said before that you couldn't remember anything before you were a pokemon. What happened that . . . ?”

 

“Remember when I disappeared?” When he mentioned he had heard about it, she continued, “Somewhere between leaving and coming back, all of my memories came rushing back to me-I was returning home, after all, so it would only make sense.” She glanced away and shrugged, mumbling, “I just kept those memories when I came back, I guess.”

 

He nodded thoughtfully, seeming to mull over the explanation she provided with interest. I wonder what he's thinking about. Not the first time she had wondered that, of course. “So,” he ventured, “you remember everything now?”

 

“Everything. All of my old friends, my tenth birthday party-” and then she glanced at him, expression unreadable, “and my dog.” He didn't get it at first, but then it hit him like a brick, and he chuckled in amusement at her subtle joke as she turned her head away to hide her own smile. She didn't want him to get the wrong impression and think she was comfortable around him or anything. Ekans gave them both a curious glance this time, forked tongue slipping in and out of his mouth as if to taste their thoughts, and then he had a silent exchange with his other teammate before returning his attention to the river now in front of them. Gengar retrieved the bowl from his bag (she was slightly surprised he carried it with him) along with more leaves, and he went through the motions of filling it up before turning to go back into town, looking for someone in particular. Kitty quickly returned to his side, something she noticed too late to prevent and he noticed automatically with satisfaction, to inform him, “Charizard's not around today; he and his team went off on some special mission or something.”

 

“Kekeh, I'm not looking for him,” he replied smugly, and at her confused expression he gestured for her to wait as he approached the storage hut where the motherly normal-type waited for her customers to arrive. She glanced at him with mild surprise before a knowing twinkle appeared in her eyes, and she seemed ready for the question Gengar presented her as he handed the bowl over to her. “Could you warm this up?”

 

“Why, certainly, dear,” she hummed cheerfully, giving the confused fox a playful wink before turning to the bowl and opening her mouth. Much to everyone's surprise (except the ghost), flames shot from between her sharp fangs, and they watched in amazement as she executed a perfect flamethrower to warm the bowl until steam began to rise from the it. She stopped and gave them all a merry smile, waving away their bewilderment with a quick explanation. “TMs are quite wonderful, aren't they? I can do iced tea, too!”

 

Baffled by the strange development, Kitty glanced at the arrogant grin on Gengar's face, wondering how exactly he had figured this interesting fact out. Did he go around asking who could use fire-type moves or something? Deciding to ask him about it later, she accepted the bowl gratefully and took a deep breath of the earthy tea as was customary of her. Ahh, I really do have to thank him for doing this for me. I should make my own, but I keep forgetting to do so through all of my stress . . . She lapped up the tea eagerly, used to the uncivilized way she had to drink after being a pokemon for months as she ignored the curious gazes of the others. Nearly inhaling it all, she didn't expect to finish it so fast and stared glumly at the empty bowl, now wishing she had took her time drinking it. To her surprise, Gengar picked up the bowl and started off towards the river to fill it up once more, and she realized with a start that he was going out of his way to help her now. Once was normal, but twice? What's made him so helpful all of a sudden? Dammit, now I feel guilty and responsible . . . is that the plan?

 

“Oh,” Kangaskhan spoke up, causing the fox to jump in surprise, “don't worry about it, dearie. If he wants to help, that's his choice.” She reached across the counter to pat her on the head affectionately, much to the umbreon's dismay, and gave her a mischievous wink. “It's kind of cute that he cares enough about you, as a friend, considering his . . . troubled past.” Kitty didn't fail to notice how she had added the friend part as an afterthought, and she gave the normal-type an irritated glare only to get an amused laugh in return. Scoffing and turning away from the owner of the storage hut, she watched the path to find a glimpse of the ghost that had confused her at every turn, preventing her from fully understanding what his intentions were. If he wasn't so damn confusing, maybe I'd be able to figure out what he wants from me. First he bothers me relentlessly, acting like the next Casanova, and now he's being considerate. I don't get it. Shaking her head and giving a heavy sigh, she remained where she sat for several minutes before she furrowed her eyebrows in frustration, wondering where he had gone off to. Did he get lost?

 

“Boo!”

 

“Ack!” Kitty jumped three feet in the air at the scare, wide eyes snapping around to catch sight of the purple ghost that had crept around the hut to sneak up behind her, holding his stomach as he laughed almost violently at her reaction. Her face heating up in embarrassment, she scowled at the childish antics she had hoped he had grown out of, now realizing how stupid such an expectation was. This is Gengar we're talking about, that little brat! She glared at him as he laughed, nearly feeling betrayed by his sudden start. “You jerk! That's not funny!” When he ignored her anger in favor of his own entertainment, she huffed and whipped around to ask Kangaskhan for her own berries, viciously ripping the leaves off of them to add to the bowl of water before gesturing stiffly for Gengar to lift it onto the counter. He grinned at her huffy manner and did as she motioned, returning the bowl to the ground when the task was finished and watching in amusement as she turned her back to him to drink her tea, tail raised high in defiance.

 

Arrogant jerk, she mentally muttered, slurping her tea rather loudly to drown out the sounds of his snickering. I should shadow ball him in the face, tea or no tea. If I didn't love tea so much, I'd throttle him! Grr, damn that conceited, stupid, arrogant asshole! Cursing excessively in her mind seemed to help her simmer down to a quiet fuming, but her anger did not evaporate completely as she felt his eyes on her back. Now that she thought about it, she felt uncomfortable turning her tail to him, since that certainly gave him a great view of her rear without her being able to stop him-or was she looking too far into things? I don't think pokemon focus on things like that . . . do they? They're human-like, and yet they're vastly different. Struck by indecision, she was saved by the empty bowl in front of her and quickly turned around to glare at the ghost she was sure was staring at her just a little too closely. Overwhelmed with paranoia, she kicked the bowl over to him and sat down on her tail to prevent anyone from staring at it-and the mischievous grin on his face hinted that he knew the reason for her discomfort, which didn't reassure her a bit. Clearing her throat to dislodge the anxious lump now residing there, she mumbled halfheartedly, “Thanks for the tea, Kangaskhan, Gengar.”

 

“You're welcome, dearie!”

 

The glint in Gengar's eyes did nothing to ease her anxiety, and his reply was deliberately uncomfortable to listen to. “Kekeh, you're welcome, cutie. If you need anything else, don't be shy!” Then he turned to the normal-type shaking her head in silent laughter and asked to store a few things, which gave Kitty the tentative opportunity to sneak past him and run down the dirt path to her house. She scurried past his teammates without another word, hoping he wouldn't realize her absence until she was already out of sight, but halfway down the road she grimaced when she heard a wolf whistle far behind her and tried to keep her composure.

 

Don't turn around and kill him, don't turn around and kill him . . .

 

Back in the square, Ekans watched the umbreon walk swiftly away from them before turning to his leader with a curious glance. “Forgive me for my ignorance on the matter,” he started carefully as he eyed the ghost's almost predatory smirk, “but what does that whistle symbolize? Snakes can't whistle, so . . .”

 

Medicham snickered at the startled look on Gengar's face as if he had forgotten he wasn't alone for a moment, but he quickly regained his own composure and managed a very Meanies-esque chuckle. “I'll tell you some other time. For now,” his grin returned full-force, “let's just say it'll make Kitty feel really, really awkward walking away from me from now on.”

 

 

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Theme: Forever and a Day

 

Lots of dragon-y love (and cookies!),

~DL (“Dragon Lover”)