AAML: I Miss You: Pt. 2

On a train heading to Johto, Ash Ketchum and his travelling companions from Unova were on yet another leg of their rather lengthy detour to the Kanto Region…specifically, Cerulean City, the home of a certain redheaded girl who had sent Ash a touching letter and beautiful photo of herself just a few days before. "Sure wish we coulda gotten on the high speed train." Ash grumbled to himself, as he stared out the window and watched the scenery passing by, albeit much too slowly for his tastes.

"I still don't get why we're going through all this trouble!" Iris huffed, "I mean, I get that you miss your friend and all, but we're going like…halfway around the world because of a letter!"

"Now now Iris," Cilan said calmly, "Surely you must be able to sense the aroma of Ash's passion towards this particular goal?"

"Not really, no." Iris slid lower in her seat, further demonstrating her displeasure for the trip they were taking.

Cilan shook his head with an amused smile, then turned his attention back to Ash, who was completely oblivious to the conversation taking place. "Ash?"

It took a brief moment, but Ash's brain eventually registered that Cilan had addressed him, "Hmm?" Ash turned from the window to look at his green haired friend, "You say something Cilan?"

"Yes he did!" Iris snapped before slouching back into her seat, "Little kid." she grumbled.

"Iris, would you do me a favor and get us all some water? I'm feeling rather parched." Cilan said.

"Fine! Anything to get up and move! This whole sitting still thing is killing me!" Iris got up and hurried into the next car to see if she could find some refreshments…and maybe even find something exciting to do since she was bored out of her mind.

"And she calls me a kid." Ash snickered.

"That's just Iris." Cilan chuckled, but then got serious as he looked into Ash's eyes, "Tell me what's on your heart Ash, I can sense something troubling in you."

Ash exhaled through his nose and looked out the window again, leaning his cheek against his palm, "It's been a long time since I've seen her Cilan," the trainer said almost absent-mindedly, "She's my best friend, and…when I saw that picture," Ash grabbed his backpack and pulled out the envelope Misty had sent both the photo and the letter in, and took another longing look at the photo, at the beautiful girl portrayed in it. "You know when we were first travelling together, almost everyone would make jokes about me and Misty being a couple, that we were made for each other…" he smiled as he reminisced on old times, "We always denied it," he said with a laugh, "But…since it's been so long…and…remembering just how pretty she really was…I'm wondering if maybe I was wrong to deny it all the time."

Cilan smiled, "You love this girl."

"Wh-what?!" Ash gawked, "Whoa Cilan, I said I was wondering, I didn't say I loved her."

"You don't have to, I can tell just by the way you talk about her, you have a level of tenderness in your voice that you've never exhibited before, that seemingly insignificant little factor is enough for me to tell that your love for her runs as deep as the ocean itself." Cilan said.

Ash scoffed, "Poetic much?"

"Scoff if you will, I'm not wrong." Cilan leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms smugly.

By this time, Iris came back with three bottles of water, and she tossed them to her friends and sat back down in her seat to take a swig from her water. "So…what'd I miss?" when she saw the tense expression on Ash's face, and then the smug one on Cilan's, she got confused, "Whoa, what happened?"

The rest of the trip was quiet, Ash quietly debated with himself what his true feelings for Misty were, "Cilan can't be right…how can he say I love Misty when he's never even met Misty before? He doesn't even know me that well yet, where's Brock when I need him? He'd be able to help…"

"Well, here we are, the Goldenrod City Pokémon Center." Cilan said.

"I'm not even tired yet! I wanna go check out the really big building over there!" Iris exclaimed excitedly.

Ash's head snapped up when he heard Iris say that, he smelled an opportunity, "Cilan, why don't you and Iris go check it out? I'll get us our room!"

"You want us to leave you by yourself?" Cilan asked.

"Puh-lease, we can't leave a little kid like him by himself!" Iris scoffed in annoyance.

Ash clenched his fists, "I am not a kid Iris! For crying out loud, I am older than you are!"

"Doesn't matter!" Iris shouted back, "I'm talking about mental maturity and training prowess!"

"I've never told you this before Iris, but I have a long resume beyond what little I've done here in Unova, if you had seen the stuff I've pulled off over the past six years of my life, you would consider me an idol, not a kid." Ash then turned his attention to Cilan before Iris could offer a rebuttal, "Cilan, take her to the Goldenrod Department Store please, take her shopping, I need to do something in the Pokémon Center." Ash stormed into the Center with Pikachu trailing behind him.

"What is up with him?" Iris huffed.

"Iris, Ash is on an endeavor far beyond what you're currently seeing. Perhaps if you're willing to listen, I'll explain." Cilan replied.

Iris's mouth shaped into an 'o' shape as she looked at the Pokémon Connoisseur, "Uh…I guess I'm willing."

Cilan smiled with satisfaction at that response, "Excellent. Come with me."

Back in the Pokémon Center, Ash was bypassing the help desk and heading straight to the videophones, "Lousy stinking Iris, every day it's the same insult, at least with Misty it was always different." Ash shook his head and sat himself down in front of a videophone, and proceeded to dial, "Sure hope he's home." After a few moments, a familiar and friendly face appeared on the screen, "Hey Brock!"

"Ash! Hey, how are you man?" Brock laughed in delight at the sight of his old friend, "It sure has been a while, how are things going over there in Unova?"

"Uh well…to tell you the truth…" Ash chuckled sheepishly as he scratched the back of his neck, "I'm not in Unova right now, I'm here in Goldenrod City in Johto."

This information shocked Brock, "What are you doing in Johto?"

"Well…" Ash suddenly felt his cheeks start to heat up, "Johto's only a temporary stop, I'm actually on my way back to Kanto…" Ash hesitated to relinquish the info he was about to reveal to Brock…but after a second thought, he remembered that he had actually called Brock for advice, so he had to open his heart. "On my way to Cerulean City…to see Misty."

When Ash told him that, Brock couldn't help but smile. "I guess her letter worked then."

"What?!" Ash gawked, "You knew about the letter?!"

"Yeah, Misty told me about it a few days ago." Brock chuckled, "She's gonna be thrilled when she finds out that it worked!"

"You think?" Ash looked at his friend hopefully, but then he remembered why he had called to begin with. "N-Never mind that!" he exclaimed, shaking his head to try and get his mind back on track, "I called you for advice."

"I'm all ears." Brock replied.

Ash hesitated for a moment, shifting his eyes back and forth like he didn't want to look Brock in his eyes…which he didn't. "See…one of my new travelling partners…Cilan…he says he can tell…and I'm not even sure about this! He says that…he can tell that I'm in love with Misty of all people! I mean, is that crazy or what?!"

"He's right." Brock replied without so much as blinking and without hesitation.

"I was hoping you wouldn't say that." Ash sighed and placed his face in the palms of his hands. After a moment or two of silence, Ash exhaled and looked at Brock and tried to find some signs that he was kidding. Brock looked dead serious. "So I really am in love with Misty?"

"I was really hoping you'd figure it out before she left, but you were still too naïve and unaware to realize it. I've always known Ash. You and Misty share a special connection that no one, not May, not Dawn, not any other girl we've ever met, has ever been able to replicate. That's why I'm so happy to see you heading to Cerulean now, and I hope you're going to do what I think you're going to do." Brock said.

Ash had listened to every word Brock had said, and he realized that the Pokémon doctor in training was absolutely right. He thought more of Misty than anyone else, as biased as that sounded. Sure, May was special to him, she was a great friend, and on a minor note she was very well developed for her age…but in Ash's mind…so what? Dawn was a good friend, very upbeat, beautiful hair, but again…so what? Brock was right. Misty, runt of the litter, temperamental tomboy…so what? She was Misty. His Misty. Looks didn't matter, body didn't matter, Misty's incredibly unique heart and mind was more than enough for him…but as he looked back on their time together, he realized that even back then, he had noticed Misty's beauty both inside and out, and he had never been able to put two and two together and realize how much he loved her…all he knew now, beyond the shadow of a doubt, was that he did love her, and he missed her, desperately. "Brock…I get it." He said almost mindlessly.

"So there is a feeling of tenderness in the heart of Ash Ketchum." Brock chuckled, "I knew you'd come around eventually Ash, now go on, you probably have a train to catch!"

"You're right Brock! I do!" Ash got up and was about to run off, but then he turned back to say goodbye, "Thanks for everything Brocko, I owe you!"

"No problem! Just make sure you make me your best man when you two get married!" The Pokémon doctor joked.

Ash laughed and hung up the videophone, and hurried to find Iris and Cilan. Upon reaching the Goldenrod City Department Store, Ash spotted Iris and Cilan sitting on a bench in front of the building, and apparently Iris had gotten hungry, as she was busy peeling an orange. "Come on guys!" the trainer exclaimed.

"What? Did you get our rooms?" Iris asked with her mouth full.

"Nope! We're taking the train right to Cerulean City!" Ash said determinedly, a fist raised in the air as he stared into the distance.

"We're WHAT?!" Iris was about to give Ash the scolding of a lifetime, but Cilan quickly cut her off by placing his hand over her mouth.

"Lead the way my friend!" Cilan said, much to Iris's dismay.

With a nod, Ash hurried to the train station to buy the tickets, while Iris glared furiously at the Pokémon Connoisseur. "Are you insane? Sleep is important you know!"

"Ash's mission is more important. I promise I'll find a way to make it up to you when this is all over and done with, but for now, we must be supportive!" Cilan replied.

Iris rolled her eyes and looked away from the green-haired boy, "Whatever, let's go." She started walking towards the train station, in a rather lazy and annoyed fashion.

Cilan chuckled and shook his head with amusement, "One day my dear, you'll see the importance of love."

The trio rode the train overnight; Ash was unable to sleep because of the excitement that came with the thought of seeing his Misty again after all this time, "She's probably changed a lot too, huh Pikachu?"

"Pika chu." (Probably.)

"Maybe she even grew her hair out a little! I've always loved when she let her hair down." The boy said dreamily. Ash glanced over at his two Unova travelling partners, and was able to witness Iris unconsciously snuggling up to Cilan with a content smile on her face, as she buried her head full of hair into his chest, "Looks like I'm not the only one in love…you know Pikachu, I've actually felt this way before, but it's only been while I was around Misty. No one else has ever made me feel this good inside. I sure wish I had something to give her," Ash pulled out the picture one more time, and gently rubbed his finger against the image of Misty's cheek, "After all, she sent me this picture and letter…that's it! Follow me Pikachu, I've got an idea!" Ash got up and ran to the next car with Pikachu trailing behind; little did he know that he was being watched.

Cilan opened his eyes all the way and smiled, "Good job Ash." Then he looked down at the girl who was softly snoring, using his body as a cushion for her head. "Looks like this trip will be rewarding for me too." Cilan softly wrapped his arms around Iris, and the dragon-trainer stirred slightly only to cuddle closer to him and let out a content sigh, "Perhaps you're closer to understanding love than you think Iris." Resting his head in Iris's thick purple locks, he drifted off to sleep; using the soft breathing of the girl he was holding to soothe him into slumber.

The next day, Ash woke up to find the train was slowing down, and it stopped in front of the Cerulean City train station, "We're here!" he whispered excitedly, "We're here!" he then exclaimed loudly, accidently waking up his friends.

"Nice going Ash!" Iris spat, "I was having one of the best dreams of my whole life!" Iris then realized that she was leaning up against Cilan; her head shot up and she found herself almost nose to nose with the connoisseur, who was looking at her tenderly, "I-I uh…sorry." Iris pushed Cilan away and hurried off the train, racking her brain to try and figure out why on earth she had done what she did.

"Come on Cilan, the gym isn't that far from here, we gotta hurry!" Ash exclaimed, motioning for him to follow.

"Alright Ash." Cilan chuckled and got up, stretching as he did so, his sleep had been heavenly…for obvious reasons. "So we'll finally get to meet Misty in person, I'm actually rather excited; she seems to be a very interesting person."

"She is," Ash said, "But you won't be meeting her, at least not right away." At this, Cilan was confused, "I wanna be the first one she sees, I want to have a few minutes alone with her, just so I can talk to her in private."

Cilan smiled and nodded at the trainer, "I understand. Come on, let's go!"

Within minutes, the trio found themselves in front of the aquarium-like Cerulean City Gym, "We're here! Finally!" But suddenly, the doors to the gym opened, and Ash reacted by leaping behind one of the bushes next to the entrance, pulling Iris and Cilan down with him, "Shh!" Just as Ash suspected, Misty walked out of the door, adorned in her usual yellow t-shirt and jean shorts, with the difference being that now she was wearing a swimming coat, one that was used to cover up from the sun. "Wow, she's even more beautiful than I thought." He sighed quietly.

"Now's your chance Ash, go!" Cilan prodded.

Ash nodded and silently tip-toed over to the doors of the gym, with Pikachu perched on his shoulder also anxious for Misty to see them. "This is it!"

Misty was looking down the dirt road leading into town, still wishing that for some reason she would see Ash walking down it to come and see her, and confess his love for her…but it would seem that for the fourth day in a row, her fantasy would remain just that: a fantasy. "I don't even know why I keep coming out here," she said with a sad chuckle, "It's not like coming out here will make him appear in front of me." Misty turned around to head back into the gym and prepare for another long day of battling, but she took two shocked steps back when she saw a figure standing in front of her, holding a sign that read 'I miss you so bad it hurts', and a Pikachu on the boy's shoulder, holding his own little notecard with his paw prints on it.

"Hey Mist." Ash blushed, and he didn't bother to hide it. The whole point of coming was because he loved her, hiding it would defeat the purpose. And seeing how much she had grown, how much more beautiful she had become in person, this whole trip had all at once become more than worth the trouble.

As for Misty, she was gaping at him in disbelief, here was this boy who looked and sounded just like Ash, although much taller than the Ash she knew, he was her height at least! He was even more handsome now than he was years ago, and despite seeing him there, smiling at her tenderly, she still couldn't help but think this was a dream, "Ash…is it really you?"

"Like the sign says Misty…I missed you so bad…it hurt."
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Pretty sweet huh? Cilan planted the seed, and Brock made it bloom. So what will happen now that Ash and Misty have reunited? You'll have to stay tuned. I have to admit, I was seriously suffering from writer's block with this story, but after reading a couple of stories and seeing a few drawings, I was able to get into gear and write this up. I was so worried about making it a long chapter, that I forgot that oneshots don't have to be painfully long stories. lol. Well anyway, I'll get back to AAML: D&P soon, I gotta find some inspiration for that next, in the meantime, enjoy this story and the picture by