"Finding a Way Together" by Fluffybun for Ismichi

[pokemod]

Recipient: ismichi
Title: Finding a Way Together
Author: fluffybun
Rating: PG
Verse: Pokemon Special Manga
Characters/Pairings: Red/Yellow
Summary: Yellow and Red, finding understanding and comfort while being lost in a forest at night.
Content Notes: Set some years after the Emerald Saga. Yellow developing her powers, Red being Red, but with some more awareness.

Yellow has always been in the company of elder people even since she was young. There weren't much young people coming through Viridian City then, with the Gym Leader always absent. Even Viridian kids tended not to stay around much then, knowing that there were much more adventures to be had in bigger cities with Gym Leaders who weren't really heads of evil organizations. Red was one of the first kids she really interacted with, when he saved her from an enraged Dratini while she was lost in Viridian Forest as a young girl.

Part of the reason that Red was so important to her was not just because he made her blush (for that came later, much later when she was already in the thick of things and only beginning to understand the responsibility of a Pokedex owner), but because he was the first person near her age that showed her such gentleness and power at the time when he battled the enraged Pokemon and saved her, helped her catch Ratty, and told her about Pokemon.

He was the first person she had to be strong for, to train to be ready to fight for, and with that and how many adventures with his Pika and meeting his fellow Dex holders, Yellow was a goner.

It was Red, after all, who made it possible for Yellow to begin to understand her strange gift by helping her catch Ratty, the first Pokemon she read the mind of. It was also Red, who made her go on a journey that led her to learn more about Pokemon and about herself, Yellow of the Viridian Forest. If not for him, maybe she’d still be in Viridian City, content with fishing her days away and on a different path.

He gave her the world she now lived in, and even though there were always problems and evil organizations and persons to defeat, she wouldn’t have it any other way.

***

Pokemon minds were generally easy to read, Yellow would say whenever one of her juniors would exclaim over her being able to read their Pokemon's thoughts. Compared to humans, Pokemon emotions were straightforward, with hunger, pain, happiness, and sadness plain to read compared to humans whose emotions often mixed into each other. The hardest Pokemon to read were those that were repressing memories due to trauma, such as Red’s Pika when she first met him and Silver’s Sneasel. It was always a pleasure to help Pokemon and humans understand each other, even if it meant tiring herself out during the process. Using this ability of hers allowed her not only to help people and Pokemon but also to be able to hone it for when it might be needed again in times of trouble, as Dex Holders were wont to get into.

Lately, though, Yellow was able to sometimes pick up emotions of people around her. Her uncle's relief when he saw her again after her long absence (and she couldn't tell him that she had been turned to stone and was carried by someone else who was turned to stone also - a shirtless Red, which still caused her to blush when she thought about it) was the first human thought she was able to read. Sometimes she would pick up Crystal’s annoyance mixed with relief when Gold or Silver stopped by the lab, or Green’s amusement when he would call Blue annoying. She heard snatches of thoughts from random people at times, though generally she seemed to succeed more often when she knew the person well. Maybe someday she’d tell Crystal about her gift’s progression, since she’d take the news best. (Maybe she wouldn’t tell Blue, considering some of Red and Green’s tales about her when the two had first met her.)

It was easier when the person had Pokemon, as the Pokemon themselves were able to sense their trainer's emotions towards other people and project them in some way, though some she didn't need her gift to see. It was obvious how Ruby, even if he feigned ignorance about Sapphire's feelings for him (much to the younger Dex Holder's dismay) felt for the girl in the way his Mightyena and Swampert would discreetly look for the girl when they were out of their Pokeballs. Diamond’s and Pearl’s protectiveness over Platinum, even with her being capable of protecting herself, was easily seen in how their Pokemon tended to keep an eye on her when they were present.

Red's mind, though, even if she was able to read his Pokemon's emotions, stayed closed to her. Maybe it was because she looked up to him so much that he sometimes felt so far away, even after they had shared so many adventures together, and their Pikachu had had a child together. Maybe it was because Red was always moving, even when most of the other Dex Holders had settled down in their cities with various jobs that they had while waiting for another event that needed them to occur. She took comfort in the fact that Pika and Chuchu’s fondness for each other gave her always a reason to get in touch with Red, one that silenced her shyness in contacting or asking a favor from him.

Maybe it was better this way, she thought. Certainly if she could read Red's thoughts now she would just feel even more attached or… attracted, she blushed, to him than she already was, and she'd probably spend any second with him blushing because of her being able to read his emotions.

She had been asked by Professor Oak to help him and Crystal with their seemingly never ending research, hence why she was currently travelling through Ilex Forest. She regretted not taking Crystal’s offer to wait till the next day, so that Crystal could meet her at Goldenrod City and they could go through this forest together because she thought she had remembered how to get through this forest even though the last time she had been here was during the battle with the Mask of Ice so many years ago. She was usually good with directions, but…

Had the trees been so thick when she was last here? She couldn’t even see the night sky with the thickness of the trees’ leaves. She didn’t want to disturb the sleeping Pokemon with a question on how to get out of a forest she should have known how to exit, since she had done it before, so she carefully made her way through the narrow paths of the forest, keeping an eye out for any nocturnal Pokemon that might happen her way.

She shook her head at the much narrower path that was in front of her. She hoped no one else was making their way through that at the same time: it barely seemed enough for one person to pass through. She started walking through it, carefully making sure not to trip over any fallen branches or vines.

Unfortunately, she wasn’t careful enough, since she promptly tripped over a Cheri vine and fell. Bracing herself for the impending pain, she gasped when what she did feel was something solid and where those arms she felt steadying her.

“Hey, sorry, this path is just so narrow that… Yellow? Is that you?”

She knew that voice and blushed, and she could hear Blue now in her head saying “Not content with being petrified in his arms for so long, Yellow?”

“Red?”

***

He had carefully led her out the narrow path the way he had come from, after she had said that she thought she had explored the area of Ilex Forest she had come from thoroughly and that way was from Goldenrod City anyway. She was babbling, she knew, but Red good-naturedly replied that it was just good to see her again. She had let out Chuchu, who had been sleeping, who had been overjoyed to see Pika again, the two squeaking cheerfully as they followed the two trainers.

“I wish it weren’t so dark here,” Red said as he led them through an equally narrow path that he had said probably led to Azalea Town, as he remembered. She didn’t want to contradict him, considering she doubted her own recall of the forest after how many wrong turns she had taken before finding him. “It would be easier to find the paths I remember taking before, though not impossible now.”

“Ah, yes, but Red, what are you doing here in Johto? Were you training with Gold again?”

He grinned. “Yeah, Gold’s thinking of going for the League now, while everything’s settled down. But then he decided to go to Ecruteak City, maybe because he wanted to see if the dancers had the new Eeveelution already.”

More likely Gold wanted to watch the beautiful dancers again, she thought with a smile, but nodded.

“Then Green called me, wanting to meet up, since he wanted to have a rematch, so here I am.”

“Where are you meeting him?”

“Right in Azalea Town, tomorrow” he said cheerfully. “I’m excited to see him again. But what brings you here, Yellow? I thought you were in Hoenn visiting Sapphire?”

She told him of her reason, and he grinned at her. “Just don’t overwork yourself, okay?”

“Sure,” she smiled dazedly, not used to Red’s smiles after so long but then she realized that they had just passed the same tree that the two of them had passed earlier. “Red, didn’t we come through here a while ago?”

“Huh. I wonder,” Red said. “I think this was the right path…”

She wondered why there still seemed to be no Pokemon around that she could ask directions from. Were they afraid of being seen by unfamiliar humans? Maybe she should ask Ratty or Kitty to investigate discreetly, and maybe they could also help her remember how to get out of here.

“Yellow, I think it’s this way!”

She smiled as she followed Red down another shady path, thinking that while being lost was somewhat scary, if she was lost with Red, she’d rather spend some time not being found.

***

She could feel Pika and Chuchu’s emotions, of their wanting to stop and sleep as she and Red retreated from yet another dead end.

“Maybe it’s this way?” she tried to suggest, unsuccessfully suppressing a yawn. That area did look like it led away from the heart of the forest, if she remembered right…

“Hmm, it does look familiar” said Red with a tired smile. “Lead the way, Yellow.”

***

To her embarrassment, they had actually ended up in the heart of Ilex Forest with the path she had chosen; now Red was taking the lead after saying that the new path looked like what Green had described to him when he talked about the quickest way out of the dark forest.

“I wonder if this is my path forever, just to battle” she heard Red say suddenly, causing her to jerk her head upwards and look at him.

“What?”

He looked back at her quizzically. “Hmm? Is something wrong, Yellow?”

She gasped inwardly, wondering if she had just heard Red’s thoughts. It had sounded like him, but…

“Ah, I was wondering if you were planning to become a Gym Leader anywhere. I heard that Saffron City’s Sabrina is busy being an idol, so…”

He rubbed his head, his eyes tired. “I had wanted to be a gym leader before,” he said, “but then my injuries prevented me from keeping my promise to you, Yellow.”

She stopped abruptly, causing Chuchu to look up at her questioningly. She picked her up to hide her blushing face. “You remember?”

“Of course I do,” he replied while bending down to pat Pika’s head, “though admittedly I only pieced it together after we were petrified. Your Raticate evolved from the Rattata Pika and I helped you catch, right?”

She nodded as Chuchu rubbed its nose against her neck, giving her some comfort from her overwhelming feelings.

“I wish I could help kids like I helped you then,” he said. “I wonder what kind of job allows for that, other than teaching. Think I’d be a good teacher?”

“Of course,” she said promptly. She didn’t even need to think about it, she blushed, Red’s earnestness and ability to speak to people, to get them to understand his point of view, and his way of respecting Pokemon and humans would make him a great teacher.

“Then maybe I’ll ask Crystal about that sometime,” he said. “You’re the first person I’ve told about it, you know. It feels right to tell you about this. I just hope this time this one pulls through, not like last time, though I know Green is a great Gym Leader.”

She smiled back at him, her happiness overwhelming her blushing. She thought she felt him relax compared to when she had heard his stray thought and she wondered if she spent more time with him, if he did pursue a more stable job like teaching, her gift would allow her to read him as well as she did Pokemon.

She wouldn’t mind a lifetime of learning how to read him, she thought before blushing terribly from just thinking it.

Red placed his hand on her forehead. “Yellow, you okay? You’re kind of red.”

“I-I’m fine!” she quickly said, peering at the end of the path they were taking. “Wait, isn’t that a dead end?”

She could read Red's emotions now, embarrassment predominant and the rest something she couldn’t put into words as he insisted that he really did know how to get out of Ilex Forest even though they had been wandering for what seemed to be hours, even as the paths he had suggested led them to a dead end and now they were crammed into one of Ilex Forest’s narrow paths, trees so close that if she turned she would land in his arms. She could see him blushing slightly in the dark, wondering what he was thinking about exactly as he looked at her. He wasn’t blushing before when they had been in a similar situation on all the other dead ends and false trails they had followed…

“I wish I had Vee, my Espeon, with me now,” said Red as they started walking back the way they had come from. “She knows Flash, but I asked Gary’s sister to check on her since she wasn’t feeling so well. I was worried, since you know, she was experimented upon by Team Rocket and perhaps all our battling tired her out too much.” He had looked guilty, then, and sad and she didn’t need her gift to know that he was worried about his Pokemon.

“I’m sure Gary’s sister will make her better,” she said softly.

“Thanks,” he said though he still looked troubled. She felt a fleeting thought from him, of wondering how long this peace would last.

She hoped that the peace they had fought for time and time again would stay longer, so that Red and his Pokemon would be able to rest. Red always had a hero complex not to mention his being the ‘Fighter’, she heard Blue and Green say, that he always felt that he had to have an answer to whatever problem the Pokemon World was facing as well as his personal problems. When she first heard that, she could feel their worry in their words, their hope that whenever Red decided to go save something again they'd at least be allowed to help. It probably didn't help that most all the younger Dex Holders, starting with her, all looked up to Red because of his natural leadership qualities and skill, so Red probably had hardly anyone to show his weaknesses towards. His Pokemon, probably, especially Pika, and Blue and Green had most gotten closest.

She was always lucky, her appearance always made her look younger than she really was, hence she was able to connect well with the younger Dex Holders (even though they would be shocked when they’d remember that she was older than them). It was easy to ask for help from most anyone, except when it came to Red because she had never wanted to become a burden to him, most of all. But this time, especially as she grew older, she didn’t want just to not become a burden, but to be his equal, even though there was none equal to him in her eyes except maybe Blue and Green.

But there was Blue, who had said that her power could be the one thing that could save Red when she had sent Yellow on her first adventure. There was Green, whom Professor Oak had said that after she had trained with him Green had told him that he thought that her power could save them all during the crisis with the Elite Four.

And there was Red, who had thanked her for taking care of Pika. Red, who had carried her when she had fallen asleep after using up her powers in the trap set by Sird.

This time, she thought, it was okay to admit to Red that she was wrong, that she could make mistakes. And she hoped, maybe he'd feel it was okay too, for him to admit he was wrong, even indirectly, sometimes. Maybe now that they were older and she was surer of herself, she could support him as much as Green and Blue did, or even more during both the times of peace and the times they needed to fight. Even fighters needed to heal, while healers needed to fight sometimes.

They had finally reached a clearing, causing her to sigh with relief. Chuchu and Pika looked tiredly up at them.

“Red, maybe we should rest for a while, don’t you think? I mean, Pika and Chuchu are tired, and I am too.”

Red’s frustrated face melted into a tired smile. “Okay, Yellow.” He sat down, and in minutes she heard light snores coming from him.

He must have been really tired, coming from Mount Silver to Ecruteak City then going through to here and then getting lost, she mused fondly as she finally got out her Raticate’s Pokeball. I am going to find out how to get out of this forest someday without help, she thought, and I will make Chuchu or maybe Kitty learn Flash. But for now, she thought, I’d rather get Red and I out of here so that no one will worry about him going missing again, even though I’ve learned so much about him while we were lost.

"Ratty? Would you mind asking any Pokemon you run across how to get out of here?"

It nodded and disappeared into the forest paths.

***

Ratty had come through by finding and asking a Noctowl, and he was able to show her how to get out of the forest. While she was reading its thoughts, Red had apparently woken up and was watching her.

“Does Ratty know how to get out of here?”

“Yeah,” she smiled. “Reminded me how I got out before.”

“Then let’s go, Crystal might be worried about you,” he said as he stood up, picking up his backpack. “I never got to thank you, Yellow, for that time.”

“Ehh?”

“When Deoxys… When you exhausted yourself trying to find out what Deoxys was trying to say to me, and doing your best to tell me what it wanted to say to me. And for taking care of Pika when I was recovering from being frozen, and there are more that I can’t recall.” He smiled at her sincerely, his hand held out for her to take. “I’m really glad I met you, Yellow.”

She blushed as she took it, standing up with his help. “Thank you, but I should thank you too, Red.”

Red scratched his head as he looked at their Pikachu, who seemed to be giggling. “Hmm? I wonder what they’re talking about.”

She tried to ignore Chuchu and Pika’s antics; after all, she knew what they were thinking. “For saving us all so many times, for helping us save the world, for-“ Always being my inspiration and for helping me discover what I can be, she wanted to say, but maybe this wasn’t yet the time to say it. But then she never was able to say it before, because every time she found Red there was always something threatening the peace of the Pokemon World.

“You’re going to go to Crystal and Professor Elm, right? Green just told me that he’s on his way there since his Grandfather asked him to come, why don’t we go together?” He scratched his head. “I mean, we’ve never really traveled together before, right? Even if our Pikachus are so comfortable with each other? Oh look, the sun’s coming up!”

She smiled as she looked at him, cheerful as the few sun’s rays getting through the forest’s canopy lighted up his face. Maybe on this new journey together while there was peace, she’d find the right words.