4o.
chapter forty
churros and maple syrup

"Churros go well with maple syrup!"

"Only fools have it with maple syrup."

"I'm not a fool."

I caught Ash's eye from the loveseat. The humorous glint in the ocean of chocolate had me smiling naturally. He discreetly patted the empty spot beside him, so I obliged, setting the tray of soda on the tepoy before taking my honoured seat. Ash didn't hesitate in snuggling close.

"I feel like I'm watching May and Drew, third re-run," he whispered, his breath warm against my ear.

"Nailed it," I replied softly, watching Dawn and Paul's bickers grow without an end.

"Tell me we weren't this cringe," May huffed, eyes narrowing at us.

The bond thrummed with amusement. Without hesitation, we replied in unison, "You were."

"Guys," Drew interjected calmly, "we're here to hear them out, not tear each other apart."

The arguing pair and May fell silent, each their own shade of embarrassment. Ash shot the green-haired boy an appreciative look before his eyes sought mine, urging for my support.

"Well, you see... Ash's and Gary's bloodline gets strengthened when interacted with their soulmate, so..." I trailed off, my fingers lacing around his. "So he wanted to keep me at a distance."

"That must have been hard," May squeaked timidly. The brunette was still red, although her eyes carried a glint of sympathy. Dawn mirrored her expression multiplied ten times. I felt a pang in my chest. Maybe the bluette was undergoing the same thing.

Ash's grip tightened, grounding me back to reality. Thankfully, he took over. "But when I couldn't, we got caught. They intended to take my blood first... so as to get the power of it to change fate. Use my blood to become soothsayers."

"Is that possible?" Drew deadpanned, leaning forward. It was my turn to grip Ash's hand in support.

"Yes," he breathed, not meeting my eye, but I could feel the bond hum in gratitude. "That's the dark arts of soothsayers. With a portion of any powerful blood, they can bribe destiny to change the threads of fate, yes."

"Who were they?" Dawn probed, earning a glare from her soulmate. She didn't seem to care, though.

"Some people who called themselves the Abyss," I answered quickly, tilting my head to Ash. He nodded, approving, but they wouldn't know for what I had won his approval.

"We'll have to report them to the police, then!" May shot up, bolting to her feet angrily. "They can't get away after harming you guys!"

Ash's fingers twitched. We had foreseen this reaction, but to respond... how?

"There's no need for that," Paul's tone was deadly quiet, as if he knew the implications of what he had just uttered. "They've been taken care of. They'll probably be burned to a crisp, seeing as they came in contact with a seething fool's blood who doesn't know how precious it is to his own body."

As much as I wanted to protest against him for calling my Ash a fool, the bond knew better. It warbled slowly, alarmingly. As if on cue, Ash let out a nervous chuckle, his hand dislodging from mine to run a hand through his hair.

"It's in my blood, get it?" he joked, eliciting a dry laugh from Drew and Dawn. The others, including me, only rolled our eyes.

"As much as I want to laugh at every joke you tell, this wasn't funny," I murmured, scoffing. The girls were ganging up on Drew, blaming him for getting very few churros, while Paul was eyeing me with a scrutinizing gaze.

He knew.

"Why don't we all grab something to eat?" Drew pacified, holding May down by her shoulder. "My treat? And maybe you could pitch in to save my wallet."

"Of course you'd say that," May snorted, crossing her arms. "Aren't you the supermodel of Teen Vogue, anyway? The one everyone, girls and guys, thirst over?" She air-quoted, huffing.

"If you put it that way~" the green-haired boy trailed off, red rushing to his cheeks. "My treat. Wholly. Just get into the damned car already."

The girl grinned, winking at Dawn and me before grabbing his shoulders and rushing out of the house with him. The bluette then turned to Paul, wearing a frown of her own.

"Please don't come."

"I don't go where I'm not invited," he replied stoically. "You don't have to worry."

"I don't have to worry, yeah." She put a finger to her chin, as if in thought. Then grabbed his arm. "On second thoughts, tag along. I can't stand May and Drew and Ash and Serena together!"

I chuckled, watching her follow May, dragging the groaning Paul along. Aww.

Something wet pressed against my cheek. My lips parted, feeling his warm breath tickle my skin before he withdrew, his usual wild smirk back in place. "That's for sticking with me in truth and lies."

Before I could respond, even protest against the sudden increase in my pulse, his hand found mine again, gently tugging me through the front door.

The bond flared with fractions of glee, surprise, and happiness—although I doubted that all of them were mine.

I let him lead me. Let him tell Mom that we would be out. Let him open the car door for me.

Let Ash Ketchum take me.

— 🫧 —

Another act ends.
Probably the most
spontaneous,
action-packed one
of this book.
The following act
has fluff, so yeah,
warning for that.

I'm planning to
release a new
book on my
birthday if I
can complete it
by then. It's a
short story.

Thank you for reading!

Miyoko x