Striation City's Killer

Chapter 9

(oh look it's chapter 9)

Cilan's point of view!

I'm just watching Ash train for one of his gym battles at the moment. Iris seems rather quiet over the past few days, she's just been staring at me endlessly. I don't know why...

I managed to hire a training area for Ash to use to train his Pokemon. I'm just watching him train... It's somehow intriguing. I just watch, in a trance... I think I'm slowly coming to terms with what I'm feeling towards Ash but I can't be sure just yet.

"FINALLY! I found you!" I suddenly hear a voice yelling.

...what?

It's Chili's voice...

He's standing in the doorway to the training facility, his face dark and blank. Not the real Chili, of course. The kid from Castelia I brainwashed. 

"Chili?" I say. Why is he here? Is Cress the only one maintaining the gym? Are we a gym of deserters? Who even knows. "What are you doing here?"

"I was looking for you." He replies calmly, slowly striding up to me. It suddenly feels like he's probing my eyes with his, trying to read me. I'm suddenly feeling nervous...

"What are you doing here, though? What about the gym?" I say, trying to ignore the harsh intense look in his eyes.

The intense look cracks slightly, before quickly being forced back on his face.

"I... I don't want to be there anymore." He concludes. His accusing eyes are beginning to make me uncomfortable... Wait, I'm already uncomfortable.

"Is there a reason why?" I ask. There must be a reason why Chili came halfway across the region, unless he got bored and decided to stare at me intently like this.

Chili sighs and looks down at his feet, before stamping on the ground and opening his mouth to yell something at me.

Quick thinking.

"Hey! How about a battle?!" I say. That usually shuts them up. "We could go out somewhere afterwards if you're still upset."

"Yeah! A battle! Sounds great!" Chili says. His eyes are different even when neutral... They're wider. Wider, scared. Did he talk to Burgundy or something?

"We're in quite a convenient place! So, let's start." I say. He's surprisingly easy to beat in battle, he just insists on spamming entirely fire type moves.

"I'll ref!" Ash calls out from the side.

"Go ahead." Chili confirms getting into position - along with me. I immediately toss out Pansage. He tosses out Pansear.

Unsurprisingly, the two Pokemon get to socialising. They're good friends...

"Let's just get this battle going, if you're so eager..." Chili says. He seems to want to get this over with quickly.

"I agree..." I murmur back.

"Alright, Pansear!" Chili yells, throwing his hand towards Pansear. "Use Fire Blast!"

He indeed wants to get this over quickly.

"Dodge." I say with a quick yawn, mockingly. 

Pansage dodges it effortlessly with a quick step. Chili's eyes are fixed on me, not the battle. The yawn appears to catch his attention. What is he thinking? I'm gonna try to drag this out a bit longer...

"Flame Charge!"

Dodge.

"Fire Punch!"

Dodge.