Unexpected
Author's Note: Short, simple. A twist of angst with a dash of fluff.
Sometimes, when love remains, it's so very unexpected... Set after
Part 3 #3 of the translated manga, after Roketto Dan's "fall". Be
quiet and let me dream.
Names: Natsume (Sabrina), Kasumi (Misty); Hanada (Cerulean)
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"Look at yourself, Natsume. Look... at what you've become."
I wasn't always like this. But absolute power corrupts absolutely. Or
so they say.
With a deep breath, I look out towards the sunset. I barely escaped
with my life. And that was a brush with fate that I don't wish to
repeat...
And you've always been so strong, Natsume. Look at how pathetic you've
truly become...
I find myself sitting, sinking down towards the earth, letting gloved
fingers slide into the soil. I breathe slowly, shuddering breaths. And
then I rip through the grass, tears of frustration streaming down my
cheeks. I'm not supposed to be weak. I'm supposed to come out on
top...
I am not supposed to be defeated by children...
Mere children...
Strong, yes, but nothing that I shouldn't have been able to handle.
Yet... they worked so well, together. Not even the combined force of
the birds could stop them...
So very different, yet they stood as one. And they ended that
madness...
And now I'm here and I'm alone. Abandoned by "compatriots"...
Doesn't it always come back to this, Natsume? Doesn't it always come
back to this emptiness... this loneliness... Isn't it why you're
better off alone. Isn't it why you don't need anything but your
pokemon...
Once upon a time I could have denied it. But now...
Now...
I lift my gaze to the sun, as the last light fades away and I'm
plunged into darkness.
Now, the loneliness is all I know.
"Natsume..."
I don't expect that voice. I didn't even hear footsteps, and I hadn't
felt for the approach of another mind...
"What are you doing here?" I ask, my voice twisting bitterly. "Aren't
you one of the goody two shoes who looks down upon my kind? I still
wear their mark... you don't belong here."
She doesn't reply, and I hear her moving closer.
"You know I can't abandon you." Her soft voice replies.
"That didn't stop you before, now did it?" I hiss back at her. "Just
leave. Or take me in. Either way... nothing matters anymore."
"You know it does, Natsume."
"You care too much, Erika." I reply, sighing. "We're enemies. Can't
you grasp that?"
"A part of me, yes. But there's a part of my heart that still loves
you... and I just can't turn you away."
"I'd heard you'd been getting along pretty well with Kasumi of
Cerulean... why do you need me."
Her hand has no trouble finding my cheek, and I'm sure that slap left
a mark. I assume she's knelt beside me to have such easy access, but I
have no intentions of checking upon her. "You have no right to say
things like that. Kasumi and I are friends. Just like... we used to
be." She sighs softly.
"That was a long time ago, Erika. You need to learn how to move on."
"I can't, Natsume. Not when you're dancing this spiral of
destruction..."
"It's not like you'll miss me if I'm gone. Just let go, Erika. It
would be better that way."
She sighs, and I imagine she's shaking her head. My cheek's not
throbbing quite so much, and I look to the sky where stars can be
seen. "You've never know what's best for me, Natsume. Not then and
especially not now."
"Then why are you here? Is it to preach about how my path is going to
lead me only further into the darkness?" I find myself laughing.
"Believe me, Erika, you can't get much darker than what I've seen."
"But I'm not here to make you change your life. I... just wanted to
make sure that you're all right."
"Why do you still care?" I demand softly.
"You don't stop loving someone, Natsume. No matter what."
"You say that so simply... 'love'... What is love anyway?"
"Is it an ache that eats at you slowly, makes you regret almost every
decision you've ever made... does it make you wish to turn back time.
I... I miss you, Natsume."
To admit anything to her would be to admit weakness.
"I miss you too, Erika." I reply, though, against my better judgement.
I feel her fingertips on my cheeks, and I turn towards her.
"You're very beautiful, did you know that," she says, her voice soft
as always, and she leans close to press her lips against mine. It all
seems to be so automatic after that. I slide my arms up around her,
returning the gentle kiss and feeling it as it grows deeper.
Falling backwards towards the grass, pulling her with me...
"You can't stay."
"I know."
"What's the point."
"I miss you."
"What if they ask questions."
"It's not their business."
"But we're enemies, Erika. You stand for everything... everything that
I stand to destroy."
"Times change, Natsume. It's not so easy to say that about a heart."
She sighs once more, shaking her head, gazing down at me. "They're
gone, Natsume. They don't have a hold on you anymore."
I shake my head against the grass. "No. He's not gone... he's still
out there and he won't be stopped so easily."
"It was all in ruin..."
"He'll be back..."
"Must you wait?"
"Call it loyalty if you must."
She's silent, and leans her head against my chest. "I love you,
Natsume. So much, that sometimes it hurts."
While it lasts, I'll hold her close. Because, when it's said and done,
she'll be gone again. "I love you too, Erika. But don't let it go to
your head..."
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