Misty has been running for what seems like a life time. Even though she wants too, she can't stop. She won't let herself. She mustn't let Ash hurt her again. She continues to run, even kicking off her favorite pair of high heels in order to get away. The only problem was that Ash was catching her.

"MISTY!" Misty could hear her name echo through the woods. As she was running, his voice kept getting louder and louder as if it were getting closer. Ash has almost caught her. She couldn't let this happen. She wouldn't.

"Come on Misty! You can lose him! You just have to keep running." She told herself. "He can't hurt you anymore!"

So she kept running. All the swimming she has done throughout her life has helped to increase her stamina incredibly. The only problem was that Ash seemed to have worked on his stamina as well, because he still hasn't let up. In fact he's catching up more rapidly than she had anticipated.

Misty looked over her shoulder and gasped. Ash was right behind her. Not even five minutes ago she could barely hear him.

'Come on Misty! You can lose him in the forest!' She thought to herself. Right as Ash was about to reach her, she veered right and took off into the woods. Ash lost his footing at the sudden change of direction and nearly fell to the ground. He managed to correct himself, however, and continued to follow her, only loosing about 10 feet of space between the two.

"MISTY STOP!" Ash yelled at the top of his lungs.

"WHY SHOULD I!" Misty screamed back. "JUST LEAVE ME ALONE ASH!" Her voice was getting further away.

"NO! I WONT LOSE YOU AGAIN!" Ash yelled and had a sudden burst of speed. He caught up to her and could see her dashing through the tree line.

"JUST GO BACK ASH!"

"NO I REFUSE! MISTY I..." Just as he was about to confess to her, he tripped on a tree root. He fell straight forward and hit the ground hard. He blacked out as soon as he hit the ground.

2 Hours Later:

Ash woke up to a throbbing headache. It didn't bother him though. He had more pressing matters. He got up and immediately ran in the direction he last saw Misty.

"MIST! WHERE ARE YOU!" Ash called. He got no answer. He continued in the direction he was headed, eager to find her and make things right.

Misty's POV:

"Finally I lost him." I told myself as I sat on a log in the middle of the forest. This gave me the time to let out all of my emotions and finally cry. I cried for about an hour and when I finally stopped, my mind wouldn't stop thinking about Ash.

'Why did he do this to me. I finally felt like something was going to happen between us and he just ruined it.' I wanted to cry again, but I didn't have any tears left. 'Was he leading me on, or did he never feel that way about me to begin with.'

I thought about this long and hard for about thirty minutes. I knew Ash would never hurt me intentionally and if he did then he would do everything in his power to make it right. Then I got to thinking about our chase through the forest.

"Why did he chase me for so long?" I asked myself. I hadn't thought about it at first, but if he didn't fell that way about me then why would he go through the trouble of chasing me for so long?

I tried to right it off as Ash's usual caring nature towards his friends and wanting to know what was wrong with me, but I knew it was more than that. I sighed and looked toward the lake that was nearby.

"I'm such an idiot." I told myself. I don't know how, but I found myself crying again. "Why didn't I just stop running."

I stood up and started back toward the path. As I began the trek back, I heard a loud crash from behind me. As I turned around I saw that a tree and fallen and crashed to the ground. The weird thing was that it was a fairly young tree and the wind wasn't even blowing that hard. Then I saw the reason behind it falling.

A Rhyhorn walked out of the forest and into the clearing that I was once in. Then it saw me.

"Please Rhyhorn, I don't mean any trouble." It didn't seem to care. It growled and started walking in my direction. It huffed and grinned it's hind leg into the dirt. It was preparing to attack.

"Please I don't mean any harm. I'll leave if you want me to." I tried to reassure it. It still didn't listen. Against my better judgment, I turned around and bolted. It did the same.

"AAAAAAHHHHH!" I screamed. "HEEEEELP."

Normal POV:

Ash had been walking through the woods for a long time now. He still hadn't came across Misty.

"Face it Ash. You will never find her." Ash sighed and began to walk back to the path. Just as he was on his way back he heard something. It sounded like a scream.

"HEEEEELP!" Ash took a second to think. He then realized that he recognized the voice.

"MISTY!" Ash screamed. He then bolted in the direction of her scream. He then heard another one. He was scared for her life. He was scared he would lose her.

"HOLD ON MISTY! I'M COMING!" He ran around a tree and smashed into something. Once he hit the dirt he looked for what he had hit. Then he realized that it wasn't what he hit, but rather who.

"Misty! Are you okay!" He thought she was seriously hurt, but she got right back up and pulled Ash with her.

"Ash run!" She hollered as she pulled him through the forest.

"What's the matter?"

"THAT!" She pointed behind them as a wild Rhyhorn smashed straight through a tree and kept running straight for them.

Ash stopped in his tracks and turned around to face the Rhyhorn. It slid to a stop in front of him and stared at him.

"Ash what are you doing!" Misty yelled.

"Don't worry. I've got this." Ash motioned up to the trees. Misty didn't know what he was motioning towards until...

"Greninja! Use water shuriken!" A well aimed shuriken came soaring through the trees and then hit Rhyhorn right on the head. It stunned him just long enough so Ash could make his next move.

"Misty run!" Ash screamed.

"But what about..." She was cut off before she could finish.

"JUST RUN!" Ash then commanded Greninja to jump out from the trees and smash into Rhyhorn using aerial ace, however, it barely affected it. The Rhyhorn roared and charged at Grenjinja, hitting him directly in the body with his horn. This sent him flying through the air and he hit a tree right beside Ash, but it was going to take a lot more than that to put him down.

Misty decided it best to obey Ash and took off running in the opposite direction. Rhyhorn saw this and started to bolt after her.

"Ohh no you don't! Greninja use cut!" Greninja obeyed and jumped up into the air, landing on the Pokémon's back and proceeding to use cut over and over. The Rhyhorn tried desperately to shake him off, but it was no use. This gave Ash the chance to finally take it out.

"Alright Greninja! Finish this with water shuriken!" Greninja jumped off the beast's back and formed a ninja star out of water, preparing to throw it at full force. As he was about to throw it, however, he suddenly glowed purple and was thrown to the ground.

"Greninja! Are you alright!" Greninja was bruised, but got right back up. Ash looked around, but couldn't find the culprit to the well placed psychic attack. The Rhyhorn had run off at this point and it worried Ash.

"Rhyhorns don't just retreat in the middle of a battle." Ash explained to Greninja. "Be on the look out."

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a beam of energy shot out of the forest and hit Greninja full force, sending him flying into the tree line. Ash looked towards the origin of the beam and gasped. There stood an Alakazam, waiting for the ninja frog to return so they could have a real battle. Ash noticed this and grinned.

"If it's a battle you want, then it's a battle your going to get." Greninja then jumped out of the forest, landed directly in front of Ash, and took his battle stance. Misty hid behind a tree and watched diligently.

"You can do it Ash!" She cheered.

"Let's give him everything we've got buddy!" As he said this, they started to glow and Greninja transformed into his Ash-Greninja state. Just then a boulder was hurled towards him at lightning speed.

"Dodge it!" Ash yelled. Greninja was barely able to outmaneuver the boulder, only to be lifted off the ground and slammed into a tree with another psychic attack. Ash groaned in pain. He was used to feeling Greninja's pain while in this form, but it still didn't feel too good.

"Alright if you want to play, then lets play!" Ash scowled. "Greninja use double team!" He obeyed and divided into 15 different Greninjas. They then started to run toward the Alakazam, ready to strike him down.

Ash knew what Alakazam was about to do. As the Pokémon built up a hyper beam attack, Ash waited for the right moment.

Misty looked on in confusion. "Come on Ash do something!" She exclaimed to herself.

'Wait for it.' Ash told Greninja in his head. 'Wait for it...' Ash looked back at Misty for a split second and smirked. He looked back at the raging battle and... "NOW! GRENINJA JUMP UP AND USE AERIAL ACE!"

Greninja did as he was instructed and just as the hyper beam started to rip through his copies, Greninja dodged it and soared toward the Alakazam, hitting it directly in the chest with a perfectly aimed aerial ace attack. It didn't faint, but the Alakazam faltered long enough for Ash and Greninja to make their final move.

"Alright Greninja. Finish this with Water Shuriken!" The water Pokémon reached up and started to form the biggest shuriken it has ever formed before. Alakazam recovered just in time to see this and watched as he slung the massive shuriken toward its target. It hit with such force that it knocked over surrounding trees and caused dust to fly everywhere.

"Greninja are you okay?" Ash asked worriedly. He knew from his experience as a Pokémon Master that the blast from an attack can be just as deadly as the attack itself. He then started to glow, indicating that Greninja had transformed back into its normal form.

As the dust settled, Ash saw Greninja standing over Alakazam, extending a hand to the weak Pokémon. Instead of accepting this gesture. The Alakazam teleported away, ashamed of its defeat. Greninja then turned back toward Ash. He knew that he had unfinished business with a certain redhead, so he simply nodded and jumped into the trees to return home.

Ash turned around and saw Misty standing there. She was in awe of the battle she had just witnessed. She recollected herself and rushed to Ash, pulling him into a tight hug.

"No wonder your the Pokémon Master." She joked. They both giggled for a second before getting serious again. "Thank you for saving me Ash. I can't thank you enough."

Ash backed away from Misty just enough to look into her eyes. "It's nothing Misty. I'll always be there for you. No matter what." He then brought her into another hug and motioned for her to sit down with him. They sat at the edge of a river that flowed next to where Greninja and Alakazam had fought. They stared into the rippling water. Neither said a word for the longest time. They were just glad to be in each others company. After a while, however, Ash decided it was time to make things right. He sighed and looked at Misty. She noticed this and the two made eye contact. They stared into each other's eyes for a while before Ash finally spoke.

"I'm so sorry Misty. I never meant to hurt you like that." Ash sighed once again and looked toward the water. "If I would have know all of this would happen, I wouldn't have let that woman get in the way."

"What do you mean? You didn't even know her?" This made Misty feel even worse. Not only had Ash been dancing with a woman, but it was one that he hadn't even met before. She started to tear up until Ash spoke once again.

"No I didn't. she walked up to me and asked me to dance. She said she was a friend of Brock's and that her name was Serena. I never found out much more than that though."

Misty thought about this for a second. "So you didn't ask her to dance?"

Ash started to laugh. This made Misty a little upset that he would be laughing during such a serious conversation, but it was Ash she was talking about. Of course he would. It was just part of his charm.

"No I didn't ask her to dance. I didn't even know her. I didn't even want to dance with her to be completely honest. I was in the middle of doing something else, but I didn't want to be rude so I accepted her offer."

"What were you doing?" Misty asked.

Ash blushed at this question. Misty saw this, but decided not to question it. That is until she heard his answer.

"I-I was trying to get to you. I wanted to ask you if... m-maybe you wanted to dance with me." Ash rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment.

Misty giggled and looked at Ash with soft eyes. "Ash don't be embarrassed. I would have loved to dance with you."

Ash sighed. "It's not just that. I wanted to tell you something. Something very important."

They made eye contact once again. They stared at each other for a few seconds before they both tried to speak.

"Misty I..."

"Ash I..."

"Please, you first." Misty blushes as she let Ash speak.

Ash stared at Misty for a little while longer before continuing. "Ever since I returned from my journey, I have had a lot to think about. From events I didn't know took place, to relationships I have to rethink..." Ash paused. He looked out toward the water and blushed. Once again Misty noticed this and her heart melted.

'Could this really be happening.' She thought to herself. Ash then continued, while staring at his reflection in the water.

"As soon as I saw you at that Café when we all got together, I couldn't keep my eyes off of you and after that I couldn't keep my thoughts off of you either." Ash started to smirk. "The last time I had dreams about you were nightmares about you hitting me with your mallet." Misty slapped him playfully on the back of the head and they both giggled.

"When we had that fight at your place I was devastated. I just didn't know what to do with myself." Ash paused for a second. "But you showed me just how much you cared when you threw that surprise party for me. That mixed with the emotions I've felt around you since I came back made me realize something. Something that I feel I've known for a long time now, but I was to dense to realize it."

Ash looked Misty in the eyes and put his hand on hers. She blushed at the contact, but accepted it. She wanted it. She was ready for there relationship to evolve. She has been for a long time.

"Misty I-I..." He was interrupted by Misty wrapping her arms around Ash's neck.

"I know Ash. And I love you to. I have for a long time now." She smiles at Ash and waited for a reply. Instead what she got was Ash's usual toothy grin and then they kissed.

At first, the kiss was slow and methodical, but it eventually picked up the pace and they were soon in a passion filled make out session. They were finally able to show one another just how much they meant to each other and they weren't about to let that go to waste. They kissed for about 5 minutes before they finally pulled away in order to breath.

After they caught their breath, Ash wrapped his arms around Misty's waste I pull her even closer than she already was and they touched foreheads.

"I love you too Misty." Ash said in a whisper. He then brought her into another passionate kiss. They were in the middle of exploring each other's mouths when all of a sudden...

"FINALLY!" They heard Brock yell from behind them. They both pulled away from each other and stared at all of there friends and family standing there.

"W-what are you all doing here?" Ash stuttered.

"Greninja thought we might want to see this. Its about time Ashy-boy. I was beginning to think that you were possibly on the down-low if you know what I mean." Gary snickered.

"Just like Gary Oak to ruin the mood." His wife, Violet, said as she, May, Dawn, and Delia all took turns slapping him on the back of the head. Ash and Misty giggled.

"I'm so happy for you two!" May squealed.

"It's like a match made in heaven!" Dawn chimed in.

"Be sure to invite me to the wedding." Delia joked. Misty and Ash blushed at this comment.

"Alright, alright. We've had our fun. Let's head back and let these two lovebirds have their fun." Brock gave them a wink. As everyone else started to walk back to the path, Brock walked up to his best friends.

"I'm so happy things finally worked out between you two. I've been saying this would eventually happen for so long that I lost count of how many years it took." Brock took a second and smiled at the two. "My two best friends are in love. Im so proud of you two."

"Awww, thank you Brock." Misty cooed as Brock brought her and Ash into a group hug.

"Love you Brocko. Like a brother." Ash said

"Like a brother." Brock responded. He then pulled away and waved bye, while he scurried off to catch up with everyone else. Ash then motioned for the two to sit back down on the bank of the river to watch the sun set.

Hours past by and they were still snuggled up next to each other staring at the night sky. They didn't need to saying anything. The moment was perfect and they were just happy to be in each other's arms. However, Misty felt like saying one last ting before the inevitability fell to sleep.

"I love you Ash." Misty whispered.

"I love you too Misty. I always have." Ash whispered back as he brought her into one last kiss before the pair fell asleep under the stars, never to be separated by anything or anyone.

They were finally together and they were going to make sure it lasted for as long as humanly possible. Like the old saying goes. Home is where the heart is, and Ash's heart has always belonged to Misty.

And that's it. It's over. It's been such a blast writing this story. For any fans who enjoyed this, I'm sorry to say that I'm not going to be writing a sequel to this. I just think it's perfect how it is and that it deserves to be left off here. Don't worry! I have a lot more stories in the pipeline, some of which I know for a fact will have sequels. Like always, I hope y'all enjoyed it and talk to y'all in the next one! Peace!