Chapter 52

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*In the previous chapter.*

In the morning.

Serena woke up due to an unknown feeling. When she opened her eyes, she noticed a figure standing at the door.

"Mom?" she asked, getting up and rubbing her eyes on the bed. But her eyes widened as she saw who was standing there. She was confused as to why he were there.

"Master!?"

*Now.*

With Serena.

"Felt bad after what Ash did to you," Master said, his face sad.

Serena curled up sat with the support of the wall when she heard him.

Master then sighed and shook his head. He then approached her bed slowly and sat on the edge of it. "Serena, tell me why you love Ash," he said, taking Serena's hand in his.

Serena remained silent in response to this question. She was unable to respond. "I-I, I don't know," she replied after a brief pause.

Then she realised something.

"You want to say I don't love him?" Serena asked directly. It was somewhat bitter in tone because she was heartbroken.

To this, Master smiled gently.

"Sometimes, Serena, if you can't explain why you love someone, it means you truly love them."

Serena raised her head when she heard this. Her face was filled with curiosity as she listened to what Master were saying.

When Master saw this, he smiled once more.

"Serena, you know I've been through a lot, felt a lot, and seen a lot in these thousand years. Love, hatred, anger, happiness, and... love. Sometimes they were very beautiful, and other times they were very brutal. Many of them were of my students. I've seen a lot of bonds between people. But there's something I've observed between you two. I've never witnessed such a bond. Such purity between you two, I've never seen it." Then Master paused. He noticed Serena was listening to him. She, too, was smiling.

He went on to say, "Serena, I've only come to tell you one thing that I've learned through my experiences. It is, if someone can sacrifice you for your safety, he truly loves you. Ash had a reason for doing it. He would never leave you, not in a million years, but he prioritised your safety over his own happiness. And his happiness is you, Serena."

Then he faced Serena. She was crying quietly.

"Don't cry, Serena," Master insisted.

But Serena quickly wiped away her tears, saying, "I wasn't crying, Master. I-I was just, happy to know how much Ash loves me."

Then, with a determined expression, she held Master's hands with both her hands and asked, "Master, can you help me?"

"For what?" Master inquired.

"I'm not giving up on Ash, Master. Can you help me with this? Can you help me get my Ash back? ", she stated determinedly. Master gave a gentle smile in response. She then realised what she had just said. As a result, she blushed profusely. "S-S-Sorry, Master," she apologised.

"No, it's all right," Master said softly. Then he slowly rose from her bed and walked to the door. "Guess I'll have to interfere," he said to himself as he walked away. He then exited Serena's room.

When Master left her room, another question popped into her head, and she dashed to the door to ask him, but as she exited her room, she noticed Master had already left. She didn't say anything except smile. "Serena, are you awake?", Grace asked from downstairs.

"Yes," she said as she went down the stairs slowly, smiling and blushing slightly.

XXXXXXXXXX

With Ash, after leaving Vaniville.

He was in a Pokemon Center because it began to rain on the way. He also had to treat Pikachu there. After all of this, he was sitting on a couch inside the Pokemon Center's hallway waiting for Pikachu to be treated.

But then, Ash suddenly stood up and began walking outside.

"Hey, where are you going? It's raining outside.", Nurse Joy, who was sitting at the front desk, inquired.

"Just need some time alone," Ash stated as he walked outside.

He didn't care for the rain. Instead, he went on walking in the rain. He just kept walking into the woods. The boy, who had once been cheerful and had a bright gleaming grin, had now become grave and expressionless. It was as if no one could guess what was going on in his mind. He was in grief, grief for losing her. He had no particular destination in mind. Simply walking away from the world, away from his deeds, away from himself. He just wished to be alone.

"She loved me, from the beginning, and what I did, I left her... left her like she meant nothing to me. I really am a fool. I think... I think I messed up, messed up with everything..." "No, I did this to save her life, from those people who think she's my weakness. *sighs* I think, she is my weakness..."

But then, he heard a very loud lightning strike, which caused him to get out of his thoughts. He then noticed he was inside the forest and was getting wet in that heavy rain. He started running inside the forest to seek shelter. After running for a while, he found a small cave. He ran inside that cave, opened his jacket and kept it on a nearby stone. But he suddenly started thinking about her. He wanted to pull away all his sorrow from inside him.

After sitting there for a while, he curled up on that stone against the wall and sat for a while, sorrowful and grave. Then, depressed and sad, he said, "Maybe... Maybe I shouldn't have met her." But as he was said this, he heard a voice from within the cave saying, "You should never tell that!"

Then he slowly turned his face to see Master. If it was any other time, he may be surprised about how Master were there, but now, he was not able to think about anyone other than her.

"Master...", he said quietly.

Then Master slowly sat beside him. "Ash, don't ever think like that.", he said with a serious expression.

To this, Ash remained silent.

"Why have you come here Master?", Ash asked him, in a slow tone.

"Ash, I saw everything, everything which happened between you and her.", Master said, expressing sadness.

"Really, then you will be here to support her.", Ash said, much bitter in tone. He was really sad and depressed.

"Ash, I am not here to support anyone. I am here for the sole purpose to make you understand what mistake you have done." "Ash, what do you feel for her?"

After a moment, Ash replied, "Nothing. I feel nothing for her. She was just a friend of mine."

Then Master pointed out, "Was?"

Ash remained silent to this.

"Ash, you are doing a big mistake from leaving her.", Master said.

"What I did was to save her. I don't... *sigh* I don't want her to get killed, by them.", Ash abruptly spoke out.

This time, Master were speechless.

Then Ash stood up and said, "Master, I know this is your attempt to fix things between us. But, I don't want it to be fixed.", Then he left from there in the rain.

After Ash left, Master said, "*Sigh* Ash, I don't want to interfere between you two. But after this, I think I have to."

AS THE JOURNEY CONTINUES...

*Hey guys, how's the chapter? Again, I'm attempting something emotional in this. Previously in Chapter 13, it was a total mess, but this time, how's this? I'm hoping it goes well. Don't forget to leave your reviews in the comments section. If you feel anything lacking in this, do tell me.*

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