Always Forever

I'm Sorry

Author's Note: Sorry for the late chapter, I took some time off after Ramadan and Eid, and I had to deal with some personal matters. This chapter might feel rushed or disoriented, and if it is, I'm sorry. I'll be back to my usual writing pace after this because this was the chapter I had trouble with finding motivation for the most. I'll be publishing other franchises and stories as well, so please give them a read if you can. Enjoy.

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"Greninja!" The boy yelled out. "Come on, please!" He begged. "Turn around, face me, please!" To no avail, the blue ninja frog didn't move an inch. Instead he got stiffer, a statue if you will, judging the boy just with his body language. Ash ran, the devoid of life space they were in, the slight water at the ground, going back and forth through his ears as he tried to reach out. He covered the distance as quickly as he could, stumbling, almost falling multiple times but each time he gritted his teeth. He didn't know how long it had been since they were here nor the reason for, but all he knew was that he needed to reach out to him, to Greninja. 

He reached his hand out, the blue skin of his friend just within touching distance when it disappeared. He looked blankly at the spot he was in, falling down to the ground as he didn't have anything to hold on to when he disappeared, getting a mouthful of water in the process. He groaned, tightening his fists as he closed his eyes in frustration. "I can't do this one more time, Greninja..." He said, through raspy breaths. "I can't, I can not lose once again." 

"I've come too far, done too many mistakes, met too many people, gained their trust way too much, have responsibilities so much that I cannot fall out of form. I have to be perfect." He said, stating himself. "That's why I never thought I'd be able to lose again, it was such a small loss, and look how I'm feeling over it. I'm whining over something like this when I've got the responsibility of protecting the ones that I love, with the goal of becoming a master trainer..." He coughed, spitting out some water that got in his mouth. "I've become too fragile, that's why... I don't want to live those past memories again, I don't want to go back home and explain why I couldn't do it this time either, Greninja..." 

He sighed and sat up, looking down at the water. "That's why I want to apologize."

At that, he noticed a pair of webbed feet appear infront of him. He croaked, turning around to face Ash. "It's not you, Greninja..." Ash tried to reply back but was shut off by the frog. It croaked angrily, a hint of disappointment apparent in his tone, his head drooping down. "No, it's just a fluke... I just need to be better mentally, it really is not about you Greninja!" Ash tried to reassure the pokemon but to no avail. Once again, he disappeared, this time for good as Ash was left all alone, sitting in the cold, hard ground in this black space, all wet. He sniffed, trying to hold back his anger, as his eyes began to tear up. "I'm a disappointment." He said, as droplets of water began to fall.

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Ash woke up silently to the dead of the night, where he surveyed the room around him. "It was a dream." He said, half relieved. "The things I mentioned definitely weren't, though..." 

He looked over the bed, across the room to see if Clemont was still asleep. When he found the young inventor sound asleep, he contemplated on whether or not trying to go back to sleep. He was going to challenge Wulfric tomorrow and he needed to get in shape. So he got up, deciding to make his way down to the now closed cafeteria, hoping to get some self closure or reflection on himself. He tiptoed to the door, silently closing it behind and took to the stairs.