Chapter Eight

A small girl with bright yellow hair covered by a straw hat stared with tears in her eyes as she watched the boy, she admires leave town. She was happy for him, so happy that he was escaping the hell that confined him here. But she'd miss him, during the two years before she could go find him again, tell him that he had never been alone during his time in this cursed town.

She jumped a bit as she felt someone place their hand on her shoulder, and the concerned voice of its owner, "Yellow, dear. Why are you here so early in the morning your parents will be worried?"

Yellow forced an apologetic smile on her face thinking about her parents, "I wanted to see the one I admire, one more time before they go off to see the world."

The brunette smiled softly at her words, "I see you have always had a great admiration for Leaf."

Yellow merely nodded her head, even if the woman was wrong. While she was sure Delia Ketchum could have been a kind and loving woman in another life, she wasn't so foolish to think that the one in her current reality was. She knew the truth. The truth of how she treated her son.

It was a secret she had been forced to keep as Delia was kind to everyone but her own child, her parents were close friends with the woman as well leaving no one to believe her. Her gaze drifted over to Daisy Oak. Turning to look up at Delia she asked with a hopeful gaze, "Mrs. Ketchum," she hide the glee she get as the woman cringed at the word, her husband's last name, "do you think Mrs. Daisy would be okay with teaching me how to take care of Pokémon? I want to be a doctor when I'm older!"

Delia smiled and patted the hopeful girl's cheek, "Now Yellow, I've told you, you can just call me Delia or Mrs. Delia." When she got a nod in return her smile grew wider, she loved how cute and obedient children were but she did notice the fear in the girls eyes she wondered why the girl was afraid of her but then again she'd heard from her parents that Yellow was very shy. "I'm sure Daisy wouldn't mind taking you in to learn. Why don't I come with you and ask? If she says yes I'll leave you with her and inform your parents for you."

"Yay!" Yellow cheered. Daisy had only returned recently about a year ago. A month or so after Yellow had watched Gary unknowingly doom Ash—no Satoshi—to another period in the depths of hell. She hide her hateful thoughts toward Gary, as she took Delia's hand nearly flinching at the practically unnoticeable bit of blood under them. She should've known that the woman wouldn't let him go without hurting him a bit.

"Daisy! Would you wait a moment Yellow and I were hoping to ask you something!" Delia's shouted toward the pretty brunette that looked similar to Gary but whose attitude was nowhere near her arrogant brother's. Delia would always sigh at how the beautiful girl had zero interest in having a family of her own, another casualty to the obsession with Pokémon.

Daisy smiled at them nodding in confirmation as they made their way towards her through the crowd gathered around the stupid Gary Oak. Allowing Delia to pull her along Yellow pondered about what to reveal, if she could, to the talented female Oak.

Yellow was brought back to reality when Delia gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. Looking up she found Daisy smiling down at her and she gathered her courage, "Mrs. Daisy, would you take me in as an apprentice and teach me how to be a doctor?"

The twenty year old smiled brightly at her words, "I'd love to teach you, Yellow! Why don't you go tell your parents first and come over later so we can start the lessons?"

Yellow nodded excitedly. Delia laughing, "It's fine if she goes with you now. I'm heading over to her parents so I'll inform them."

With a pause Daisy nodded her head and stretched out a hand for her to take, "Well let's go then! Thanks Delia! And Don't take little Ashy leaving to hard, I think he'd want you to be happy!"

At Daisy's words, Yellow was quick to let go of Delia's hand and grab hold of Daisy's. A wise decision as she saw the woman's hands clench tightly at the mention of her son. As Daisy brought her away she called back to the woman, "Thank you Mrs. Delia!"

Yellow listened absently to Daisy's words as they headed up to her room. With a push of the door she found her in a clean and pretty room, before her eyes connected to chocolate brown ones and suddenly she found herself in the woods watching a boy search about them, and then in a small space listening as the boy, she was all to familiar with, whispered painful coaxing words towards her.

Before the scene again changed to a practically empty room as the same boy stumbled in and collapsed on the bed covered in blood. And again until suddenly she was watching as the boy was beaten brutally by his mother from the shadows of the stairs. And then again when she had raced downstairs getting caught by the mean mother. Then suddenly she found herself crying out to the boy as he collapsed in the storm so close to his goal.

As her vision returned she found Daisy holding her shoulders crouching in front of her in concern. Tears slipping from her face she ran into the older girl's embrace. Seeing the injuries after the fact was entirely different from seeing them occur.

See Yellow had been born with a special gift, a gift that gave her the ability to read the emotions as well as memories of Pokémon and heal their wounds. Not that she had ever told anyone this. In reality she had never spoken to or Satoshi in person, he didn't even know her, other then when he had helped her out once in the Professor's Camps. Everything she had learned about him was the result of her seeing the memories of the Pokémon that saw him in the woods, or from times that she watched—stalked—him silently from a distance.

She had watched him silently for years as he turned from a lively emotional but still mature little boy to the emotionally broken and quiet boy, he was now. Her heart bled for his suffering as she considered him the strongest person she had ever met. She wanted to help him, help him learn the cause of the 'attacks', help him learn about the world again, be part of his own world and stay by his side as they learned about Pokémon. She'd be one of the lights that helped keep the world bright when he started to feel himself sink back into the darkness.

— • —

Daisy said nothing as she hugged Yellow. She didn't know what had happened when the generally cheerful, childish, and naive girl had seen her room. But what she had noticed was the seriousness the girl had displayed once Delia had left their sight. When she saw that seriousness she had started to have doubts, now though she was certain the girl had lied.

Something had happened. Something bad enough that even a girl as naive as Yellow understood how terrible it was. She stayed crouched that way rubbing the girls back as she waited. When the girl calmed down she noticed how intently she was staring at the wild Pikachu, Ash had named Loki.

Softly, afraid to spook the girl, Daisy asked, "What's wrong, Yellow? Are you hurt?"

The girl shook her head softly, her words choked out revealing she was trying to hold back her tears. "Not me. She's horrible Daisy! Horrible!" She failed though as more tears fell and she buried her head in her shoulder but she held back her sob.

Daisy felt her concern skyrocket at the girl's words. Had someone been rude to a Pokémon? Daisy knew how much Yellow loved and adored Pokémon, she hated it when they were hurt. Or had it been something else? Had Yellow's mother done something? Daisy had heard rumors about how strict Yellow's mother was, and how she would on extremely rare occasions get violent when greatly pissed off. But she'd never heard of her hitting her daughter.

"Who's horrible Yellow? Your mother? Did she hurt a Pokémon?"

Yellow shook her head at her words. Yellow knew her mother understood her love for Pokémon, who mother would never harm a child or a Pokémon. Daisy let out a breath of relief before it hitched at the girl's broken voice though she was trying to stay strong.

"De-Delia. She's horrible! So—hiccup—horrible!" The woman's name coming from the emotional girl in her arms was practically foreign. Delia was a kind woman, who stayed strong when he'd husband abandoned her and her son. She worked hard to support her and her clumsy son who took his father's abandonment harder then even Delia.

Sure, she had been taking care of Ash for over three months without the woman being aware but every time she saw Delia she looked worried sick for her missing son who had run away in the storm, despite his sickly body. She'd heard from some ladies in town that the pair had gotten in an argument about his Journey, and the boy had yelled at his mother before having a Pokémon he found zap her.

Even Ash's injuries didn't make her question the claim. She understood the boy often isolated himself in his room and a great deal of children liked to bully him when he did come out. Not to mention, surely the boy would have said something if all the claims were false. She'd been a bit disappointed that the boy had hurt his mother but she 'understood' why he had done so. He wanted to make a name for himself and prove his father was wrong for leaving them, at least that's what she had thought.

But this was Yellow. Yellow hated lying, almost as much as she hated Pokémon getting hurt. Not only that but Yellow was naive and childish, always willing to believe the best of people until they proved themselves otherwise.

Her breath hitched as she struggled to get out the words she was afraid to ask, "What did Delia do, Yellow? What did she do?"

Yellow bawled loudly as the words left her mouth, "She beat him! She beat him! She hates him!"

Daisy squeezed the girl in her arms, she heard Seych exit her Pokéball gazing at her in concern. She was so afraid to ask Yellow her next question, but she forced it out as her eyes started to tear up. "Yellow, who? Who did she beat?"

The girl practically yelled as she cried out the name, she had been begging it hadn't been, "SATOSHI!"

She whispered absently to the Yellows repeated whispers of 'She hates him' and 'she hurts him'. Her own tears falling. She had failed. Failed as a doctor who didn't notice, no rather she had ignored, the signs. She had spent more time then anyone had with him for years and she had only noticed how much like his father, he was never going deeper to find the cause for his injuries. She had thought she had gotten to know him but he had merely let her think that, only ever letting her learn what he knew she'd fall for. All those emotions he had shown the act of opening up, it had all been an act.

She failed him. Even if he had purposely hid it, she should've seen it, she'd seen signs of it before in trainers even Pokémon in her travels. She couldn't even confront his mother because there was no evidence, Yellow was merely an nine year old girl. Her only bit of happiness was that he'd escaped, even if he had used her. It wasn't his fault. It was all his mother's fault and the town's, all except for little childish and naive Yellow who had realized no one would believe her.

The girls cried together unknown to anyone in town. While Yellow with the last of her focus helped push Charmander's—no Ignis'— confusion into Loki's mind hoping the mouse understood what was needed. It must have as she could barely make out the Pikachu jumping out the still open window.