Subject: [PW!] Ja ne, Minna-san! Mata Ai Mashou! Date: 19 Jan 2003 00:55:10 -0800 From: silverborne22@hotmail.com (Amber Foxwing) Organization: http://groups.google.com/ Newsgroups: alt.games.nintendo.pokemon The day before, another place... Jason stared at Amber. Amber stared at Jason. The waitress set down the food. Amber fiddled with her fork, not breaking eye contact with him. "Whaaat?!" she said suddenly. Jason seemed to jerk out of his thoughts. "Hm? Oh...I was just staring into space....the space you just happen to occupy..." "Uh huh. Right then." She set down the fork and took a sip of soda. "Amber, ever been to an Onsen?" 'Mm...mm-mm," she replied, still taking her drink. "Want to go to one?" She suddenly turned to the side and sprayed her cola all over the floor. "WHAT?!" she cried. "Nonononono You can't spend so much money on me! I'm not worth it! Why would you ever want to---" "Amber calm down!" Jason chuckled. "It's ok, hun." "But you don't have the money!" "Sure I do." "You need it to live, at least until your next concert!" "No it's ok. Goddish, Amber," he smiled. "But, but but..." He reached over the table and patted her lightly on the head. "Well, since you've never been to one, I'm taking you anyways. No, no, don't refuse. I'm taking you whether you like it or not." Amber stopped her protesting and looked at her food. "But..." "Ssh." Amber blushed and played with the fork again, watching the sun reflect its light on the silver surface. "Thank you, Jason," she said. "No prob. You're my girl; I have to treat you right." They both laughed. As the laughter subsided, she put her fork down. She looked at Jason. "Jason, do you think....er...do you think that..." She told him her proposal in hurried whispers. After a bit of thought, he smiled and nodded. "Sounds like a great idea." With that he got up and went to find the number for the nearest onsen. ------- That night, Jason stretched out on his futon. He was just about to drift asleep when an ominous clap of thunder reached his ears. He tried to block it from his mind, failing to do so as a recent event crossed into his mind. That's right..., he thought, Amber's afraid of storms. He inhaled deeply and stirred himself from the warm covers. He rolled off and stood, folding his bedding. He hefted his blanket and pillow under one arm and his futon in the other, and left his room. He padded across the dark, wooden hallway and stood before Amber's door. He heard little or no sound throughout the Pokemon Center beyond the ceaseless thrumming of rain upon the roof. The hall was dark and silent; the steady beat of precipitation echoing through the wood made it more then a little eerie. He turned away from his thoughtful observation of the hallway and once again faced Amber's door. He rapped his knuckle softly twice and whispered her name, feeling as if breaking the silence was taboo. When there was no answer, he slowly opened the door and peeked in. There on her futon was Amber, breathing steadily in her sleep. Something didn't seem right, however. He glanced over and saw that the window was open and the rain was pouring in, hammering the floor. He dropped his cargo on the wooden floor with a soft thud and took another step towards her. He saw it. There was a man stooped over her, drenched in the rain water. His hair was thoroughly soaked and dripping in little puddles around him. He scooped his arms beneath Amber and stood, suddenly noticing Jason for the first time. He gave a cold stare that sent chills down Jason's spine. Jason ran forward with a roar, ready to snatch Amber away from his clutches. The man smiled with no heart and stepped backwards and onto the window sill. Jason stumbled, horrified, as he watched the man leap down with another careless smile. He regained his balance and fled to the window. He saw the man just before he reached the ground, fearing for Amber's safety. Two floors down, the man landed. He was moving again. Jason watched the man run in astonishment, then pushed that from his mind as he remembered Amber's predicament. He boarded the window sill and readied himself to jump. Staring at the ground, he felt himself sicken. He resigned that throwing himself to his death would not help Amber in the least. He instead swung down and clambered to the ground with all the speed he could muster. He found the ground and he was off. His feet pounded the wet grass and churned the mud as he pursued Amber's kidnapper. The wind battered his body, his hair plastered to his head from the slick rain. He saw Amber peek over the man's shoulder at him and she tried to scramble away. She was shouting something but he couldn't hear. He assumed the wind was stealing her words from him, but he could care less about that. The wind could have her words; that man could NOT have Amber. The man in black slid to a halt some 30 feet away from him and turned, his fist outstretched. He unclenched his hand and in an instant he heard Amber scream, "--IGHTNING!!!!!" He understood immediately and threw himself to the ground a few feet away. As his body hit the ground, a fork of lightning embedded itself into the ground where he was had been standing not moments before. The man's fist reclenched and Amber's voice was lost again on the wind. Jason understood that too. This man was somehow restricting Amber's voice, probably through the same means he controlled the lightning. When the man switched to sending lightning, he lost his concentration on Amber. "Alright then," Jason growled, reaching for his belt. He fished for a pokeball but found there was none. His head jerked up at the sound of Amber warning him again and he leaped from where he stood. Once again, lightning stung the ground in his place. This succeeded many times, each time Amber warned him, each time he avoided it, each time he gained a few feet. Suddenly he found himself right in front of the man and without hesitation he drew back his fist and slammed it into the man's face. The man crumpled to the ground, letting go of Amber in his moment of agony. She fled from the man into Jason's arms, cluching at him in terror. The man gave them an angry glare, his eyes cold and heartless. The rain sleeted across his injured nose. The pair faced him, the pure rainwater washing over them as they stood locked in a showdown. Amber shrunk away from the man; his eyes were directed straight at her. She fumbled for Jason's hand and gripped it tightly then turned and fled, sprinting for the Pokemon Center. Jason felt himself dragged behind her and soon caught up. Lightning shot forth from the sky after them, always a hairsbreadth behind. They reached the door after what seemed forever and ran in. They sprinted up to Amber's room and slammed the door. Silence. The rain spattered against the roof. Two people huddled inside the room, seeking warmth from the other. Water dripped from their clothes, creating a small puddle on the floor. Lightning. Thunder. The man's anger reverberated through the weather. Jason's arms sought out Amber and he held her close to him. She was shuddering violently and crying, her breathing shallow. Jason petted her hair gently and tried to soothe her. He could feel her heart beating faster than it should. "Sssh...its ok now...its ok. Calm down, now. Take a deep breath. Everything is ok now..." he whispered quietly into her hair. She took a few rattling breaths, but nothing slowed. Jason massaged her back and whispered encouragement until he felt her heart slow to a much less alarming pace. "That's right. Good girl," he murmured. He kissed the top of her head. His gaze fixed on her for a minute then floated around the room. His futon, her bag, the puddles, the wall, the rain, the window. Oh yeah. The window. He'd have to close that. He started to move towards it but a bolt of lightning found its way to the window clasp. It sparked with electricity. Jason sighed. Well that option was out. What would he do now? The storm started to subside, fading out. The last effort of electricity threaded into the room. The man had used whatever power he had to shape it into a dragon. It snaked in circles and crashed into the doorknob, charging it. It seemed a warning of what would happen should either leave. Amber murmured sleepily into his shoulder. Jason smoothed her hair. What could he do now but protect her? He nudged her gently. "Amber..." Amber sniffed. "m up..." she mumbled, shifting sleepily. "You have to wake up, just for a little bit, ok?" "Sure...why?" "Er..." He blushed. "You'll catch a cold." "A cold?" She looked at him quizzically. "Yes a cold. You can't stay in wet clothes like that. Which means..." "Jason!!!" she cried. "Well you can't get sick!" he growled. She peered at him and stood up. She snatched up her bag and walked over to a corner. "Don't you dare look, Jason Bard!" she said defensively. "Alright, alright," he chuckled, turning his back politely. She quickly dressed into her pajamas, laying out her typical clothes on the floor. She had been too lazy to get dressed that night. Jason quickly changed as well, but he dressed in his street clothes. Amber wrapped herself in the volumous comforter she had been provided by the Center and padded to Jason. "Can I look now?" "Mmhmm." He turned around and she sat beside him, wrapping them both in the blanket. She leaned against his shoulder and he could feel her skin. He grinned, blushing slightly. Apparently her pajamas included a spaghetti strap top. He lifted her onto his lap and supported her. She drifted away from consciousness in silence. Jason rested his cheek on her head and soon he was dozing. They both finished the night in sleep. -------- The next morning the first one awake was Jason. He stretched and yawned, blinking in the morning sunlight. He gazed at Amber sleeping peacefully and smiled. Light filtered into through the window and lit her face. She mumbled something incoherent and shifted positions. <<end Amber Foxwing's post>> <<begin Marco262's post>> "Good morning, sugar," he said, kissing the top of her head. He snaked an arm behind her knees and stood up, with her in his arms. He set her in the bed and pulled the covers up around her. Amber squirmed slightly from the cold sheets, unwarmed by a recent body, but settled down as her own body heat warmed her. Jason brushed her hair back from her forehead and kissed her sweetly. Crouching down beside her, Jason crossed his arms under his head and rested them on the bed. Jason spent about 30 minutes like this, listening to her breath. His angel, his Amber. She was perfect in his eyes, and he would, if he could, protect her forever. Protect from anything...anything... Jason woke up suddenly. He had dozed off. He checked the bed, but Amber was still there. She hadn't yet been stolen by any crazed kidnapper. He remembered his dream and stood. ~This is stupid, Jason. Stupid~ he said to himself as he gathered his pokébelt from the drawer he hid it in. ~You have no idea where to go. You don't know if you can even find the guy.~ "I have to try," he muttered. The clip of his belt snapped together. The weight on his waist was reassuring, like a power or force he had neglected. He would not be helpless anymore. He jumped up to the windowsill, and scanned the yard and surrounding forest. The puddles on the ground reflected the early sunlight into his eyes, and he squinted against the glare. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!" Jason tottered on his precarious perch, and, with a wail, toppled over the edge. <<end Marco262's post>> <<begin Amber Foxwing's post>> Vixxen ran to the window, enraged. She was ready to grab him if she had to. But she didn't; his pant leg had caught onto a protruding nail from the wall. "Tadaima," she said sarcastically. (I'm home.) "Okaeri," he replied, his face red from embarassment and the blood rushing to his head. (Welcome back.) "Oh if your Amber could see you now..." TBC ARGH I'm so tired ... time to sleep.