From: Shimarisu <shimarisu@my-deja.com> Subject: [PW!] Kohban's last destination Date: Wednesday, January 19, 2000 12:41 PM Note: Will post a WG for this character ASAP, but right now I don't need any interaction. "Kohban's last destination" It was winter. The heatwave had given way to rain, and the rain to snow. And in the autumn, it had seemed that hope had died along with the deciduous fauna, as life itself had slowed to a crawl. Merely existing had become too difficult to bear. His breathing had become much more laboured of late, and he'd had difficulty standing up, so much so that he now had to slump on all fours no matter what situation he found himself in. A bit more experience, and he might have gained a new lease of life, a chance to be reborn again maybe? But he'd been stubborn, wanted to remain as he was. And he was weak. The years had taken their toll. He was dying, that much he knew... He wanted to see her again, to talk to her again, but perhaps no amount of apologies would be enough for this to be possible. Still, there was the one chance, and he still had the photos and the memories to guide him. So he'd crawled his way to Lavender Town, dragging his belly across the floor at intervals, hauling himself along the routes until he had found himself at the checkpoint, where he'd asked the guard; was there a public information post somewhere? Was there - he'd sniggered at the unintended pun - a police box? Somewhere he could go to get help with 'something'. And the guard had told him to go to the damned PokeCentre! If there was one thing Kohban hated, it was Pokecentres. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nurse Joy sighed, as she checked on her charges. It was getting close to evening, and she was tired - and indeed weary of her job. Not many Pokemon that came to this centre were curable, their owners usually came here as a last resort before laying them to rest at Pokemon Tower. And Nurse Joy guessed - rightly - that none of the other Joys envied her position here. She crossed her arms, and leaned across the counter, trying to prop herself up lest she fall asleep on the job. "Why does there have to be a funeral town?" she wondered out loud. "Why does it have to be here?" "My sentiments exactly," went a voice, the owner of which was hidden from her sight. "It took me bloody AGES to get here!" Nurse Joy gasped, and leaned over the counter, searching out the source of the sound. Before her, a Meowth lay stretched out on the floor, its greying fur sodden with sweat. It had obviously come a long way, it even had a travelling pack on its back which was worn and dusty from weeks on the road. "Oh my!" cried Nurse Joy. Are you okay? But there was no answer. Kohban was already in a dead faint. . . . . . . . . . . .. . . .. . . . . Sleep. A time for recollections? A young girl, pretty, smiling, ran with outstretched arms to greet him. From a day's hunting, she'd brought back food - a lot of it. Kohban was pleased. She could certainly fend for herself. Not that she needed to of course, obviously Kohban would have done anything for her. But she considered that she owed him a debt she couldn't repay. Which was crazy - if Kohban hadn't dragged her out of that building, he would never be able to live with himself. "Kohban, are you going to make up the fire, or do I have to go get more wood?" "Eh?" Kohban mentally shook himself free of his musings. "No, no, you don't have to. I already did it. I admit, I only just remembered at the last minute. I've been chasing Butterfrees all day." "Kohban, you're silly. You know you won't ever catch one." "Yeah, you're right. Heh. You're getting too old for me, you know. I won't ever grow up." "How old am I now, Kohban?" "Eleven. Just about, I figure." . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nurse Joy checked the readouts on the machine that was currently displaying the Meowth's vital signs. That was it. The poor thing was just tired, and walking the distance he must have come all on his own must have been dreadfully tiring for him, at his age. She regarded the sleeping Pokemon wistfully. Perhaps it was wrong to... No, she had to know who he was, so she could contact his owner. She picked up the purple mini rucksack that he'd brought with him, and emptied the contents onto her desk. "That's odd," she wondered. "What's with all these pokeballs? Is this Meowth a self appointed trainer?" She picked a ball at random from the assortment that had fallen from the pack. It was empty. "Even odder," she mused, going through the others. They were all empty, and all different colours too, they looked as if they'd been lovingly painted. Now, some trainers personalised their pokeballs in this way; but if they were empty? She carefully put the pokeballs back, and checked some of the other pockets in the rucksack. A ball of string. A silver moon shaped pendant. A golf ball. A glass snowstorm paperweight, with a Pikachu on a sled inside. No ID at all? She reached into the final pocket. Well, there was this. A picture of a little girl... could this be the Meowth's trainer? But it was an old, faded photograph. She sighed, and zipped everything back into the bag. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oh, how time had sped by. She was older now, more independent, and developing a distinct personality. Still, he had to worry. He smiled at the young girl, who was sitting across the table from him,slurping her supper from a bowl in much the way a cat does... "You know, you need to get out more," he told her. "Go into towns, meet other humans." "Aw, humans suck, Kohban." "Not all. Not your family," he scolded. "Doesn't matter. They're all dead." "Well, I'm sure you can find better replacements than me. Make some friends." She slammed the wooden bowl down onto the table defiantly. "Kohban, I don't want to! Promise me. Promise you'll never leave me." "Well then, you know... Okay. I promise." He'd said that, but he was starting to get concerned, and something told him she was evolving faster than he was... "Kohban, don't forget. It's my birthday next week, isn't it? You know, when we agreed?" "Yeah. Twelve years old already, eh? Time certainly flies." . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nurse joy turned down the lights on the monitors to a soft glow. Switched off the lights in the room. And as she left through the door, set all the alerts which were there to warn her of intruders to 'active'. It was time to turn in for the night. She was sure that the Meowth would be fine in the morning. . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . .. . .. . . . Winter gave way to spring. Spring to the heady, hazy days of summer that he so loved. In the autumn, the leaves made their death pact with the ground. And when the winter came round again, it brought with it the fever. It hadn't been her fault, Kohban told himself. She'd been delirious. And he'd been so worried that she wouldn't make it, that he'd tended to her every need through the long weeks of her illness. Perhaps he'd done too much? And she was thirteen years old now, and never had much contact with other humans. And he'd been the only male figure in her life... Softly, she'd clung onto him while he'd tried to give her her medicine. Pulled him towards her. "Never, ever leave me," she'd whispered... And while he'd tried to deny it all these years, because after all she didn't know anything of the ways of humans, he was sure that before passing out before his eyes, that she'd tried to kiss him. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . "It was my fault..." the otherwise inert Meowth whispered in his sleep. . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . He'd left her at a town they did not know, on the advice of strangers. Where do you take a young Pokemon trainer, just starting on a journey? "To Pallet Town," they'd said. So he'd lied to her. Told her that he had to see an old friend of his, that it was something to do with her family. That she'd know when they got there. And she'd innocently gone with him, trusting his every word. He'd waited, as she rang the bell. "Oh, hello," The old professor had said, seeing her before the Meowth. "And what's your name?" "Murasaki. What's yours?" "Why, I'm Professor Oak. Haven't you heard of me?" "No. And I sure don't like you already." "Hohoh! You're got pluck. A little joke, I assume. And did you come for a pokemon? I've got three nice ones you can choose from." "No. I don't need a Pokemon. I've got Kohban. Haven't I, Kohban?" A pause. "Kohban?" No answer. She turned around, in surprise. And some distance away, hidden safely on a Ratta hole, a Meowth had shuddered as she cried. "Kohban!" He'd never gone back, not on that day, not ever. . . . . . . . . . . Kohban woke with a start, and jerked up into a sitting position. The sheet beneath him floated back, having been clinging to him up until that point by the sweat on his body. It was dark. It was terribly dark. And the monitor readouts cast an eerie glow in the room, affecting his night vision. "Murasaki!" he cried out. But Murasaki was gone. She had been gone 7 years at least... -TBC? - Shimarisu Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/ Before you buy.