Destiny Rebirth

Best Piece of Inspiration

Shout out to KurumiErika, of DeviantART, for her artwork above.

*---* = Play Music Selection

Serena tossed and turned in her bed. She grunted as she was being serenaded by the sound of snoring, coming from the other three girls, in the room. She wished that she could have joined them, in slumber, but she was a wreck of nerves. The day had been a peculiar one.

It had started off well by being able to finally sleep in. Ash had said that he would come and wake her, after his morning training session, for lunch. While she enjoyed the time with him, she could tell that his mind was elsewhere. He was uncharacteristically quiet, for himself, along with Lucario and Pikachu, who mirrored his attitude. Then, there was Gary, Trevor, and Brittany. They had stayed closer to her than usual, but this, she figured, had something to do with Ash. He had probably asked for his old friends to keep an eye on her, so she just brushed it off.

She had watched his news conference during the media frenzy, which followed Tobias and Trevor's third-place bout. He only gave one sentence and one-word answers, throughout the entire interview. He rarely raises his head to meet the eyesight of the countless reporters that were in the room. She had hoped to see him, as soon as he returned from the interview, which ended around eight that night. She waited in the lobby for a few hours, but he never came. She had spent the last hour tossing and turning, in her bed, trying to sleep.

She looked at the digital clock, which rested on the table, between her and Bonnie's bed. She groaned when she saw that it was already midnight.

Maybe he's in his room right now. She thought, as she gingerly got out of her bed.

She tiptoed through the darkened room, before reaching the door. She grabbed the doorknob and slowly pulled the door open, while being careful not to let in too much light from the hallway, and slipped out.

She walked over to the door, that was across from her. She took a peak down both sides of the hall, to make sure that she was alone, before knocking on the door. She waited for a few moments, before deciding to try again. She knocked louder, before putting her ear up to the door. She keenly listened for any signs of life on the other side. She backed up and sighed, as she came up empty in her search for Ash.

Where could he be? He hasn't come back from the press conference. She smiled when a thought dawned on her. I'm sure he's there!

Serena quickly opened the door to her room. Without the lights, she managed to find her way to her bag. After a few minutes of rummaging through her belongings, she came across a pair of long socks and a sweatshirt. She threw them on, along with a pair of shoes, and exited out of her room. She quickly made her way through the halls, until she arrived at the elevator. She got in and descended down to the lobby. Once the doors opened, she rushed out and into the crispness of the night.

---

She found her way into the forest. She ducked past limps and through bushes, while letting the light of the moon, screening above, guide her path. She came out into the same clearing, which Ash and she had encountered each other there, so many times before. Her heart skipped a beat, as she saw him sitting there, in the glow of the moon. The light was dancing off his ebony hair that was freed from his hood.

Ash sat there in silence, before being startled, as he felt a pair of arms wrapped around his waist and a body pressed against his. His shock dispersed into happiness, when he smelled a flowery perfume, lingering behind him. He chuckled, as he felt a cheek rubbed up against his.

"Hey there, stranger," he said softly.

"Stranger? I better be more than just a stranger to you." Serena teased. "I mean, after all, we have kissed before. I don't know what type of girl you think I am. Just going around kissing strangers." She leaned over and kissed his cheek.