As this quartet comes to a close, I want to say THANK YOU for your tremendous support for the fanfic

As this quartet comes to a close, I want to say THANK YOU for your tremendous support for the fanfic. Although reviewers have wrangled me for killing Shinji, many were positive and really nice. After this, I think I'll give my Contestshipping fic Fleur de Mai some loving…(please read/review it!)

And yes, school kills my creativity. Apologies for the giant delay!

This ending is based on Earthy Joys, a book you MUST read. Although there is some homosexuality in the aforementioned novel, it's a really beautiful and (mostly) clean novel.

Warning: Character death, extreme sap. Tissues are advised? Heck why not.

Forget Me Not

"Legend has it that in medieval times, a knight and his lady were walking along the side of a river. He picked a posy of flowers, but because of the weight of his armour he fell into the river. As he was drowning he threw the posy to his loved one and shouted 'Forget-me-not'. This is a flower connected with romance and tragic fate. It was often worn by ladies as a sign of faithfulness and enduring love." – A Wikipedia Article

'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-Enduring Love-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'

"You are a strange human being," a melodic voice commented in the clouds, "and it's not because you visit this place often."

Pink bangs rustled lightly against a negligible breeze as the seemingly young girl took a glance over Twinleaf Town. But the child had aged eyes – yellow pupils that indicated wisdom, experience, and a thousand other emotions it had experienced over centuries.

Mespirit certainly enjoyed being in a human form, especially when she found a suitable companion to converse with. Invisible to any curious passerby, the two were now enjoying a nice day. Floating leisurely in the air, they now were watching the aforementioned town.

"Why do you care?" the other muttered back in a gruff voice. "I don't know you THAT well-"

"Actually," Mespirit murmured back, resting her chin on her gray-sleeved arms. "Azelf had watched over you since you were a child, and told me interesting things…some of which are contradictory from the ones I have seen. You…are quite different from the cold-hearted person Azelf had described."

"Hmph."

There was a defiant silence. Mespirit knew the male companion meant to intimidate with that quiet, but the Pokemon/girl could care less; she was more curious about this person's soul than his personality.

"You know, I never asked you this but…you're dead. Why wander when you can rest in peace…there?"

Mespirit made a vague gesture toward the heavens as she spoke.

"You know I can't make you come back…"

"Do you think I did not know this before?" the boy figure shouted suddenly, his face darkening with anger. "Do you think all this time that I just came to have a lovely time being dead, alone, and in pain? You are the god of emotion! You should know how I feel!"

Another silence broke the frustration. The male, now spent, just looked away. He did not want Mespirit to see his tears.

The Pokemon/girl took this outburst calmly, but was inwardly alarmed. She comfortingly patted him, trying to stop his muffled sobs.

"I apologize. I just wanted to know…"

There was an awkward quiet as the boy calmed down. It was hard for him, this…limbo between living and death. After his living self had died, he had refused to go on. He had an obligation, a promise he had made to himself…

…That he would always, ALWAYS be next to the one he cared. And he had kept it, for more than sixty years.

"Mespirit…" a tiny plead issued from his mouth at last.

"Yes?" a careful inquiry this time.

"I…I come here to wait. My time already had come before, but…I need to leave with her. I cannot go alone."

Mespirit raised her eyebrow in interest.

"Why not?"

The boy took a minute to formulate the right words before answering.

"…Too many times I have forsaken her. It's the least I can do," he looked away again.

"But…she's married. With children. She even has grandchildren! How do you know she remembers?" Mespirit suddenly said, before closing her mouth to prevent the other companion from being emotionally damaged. "Oh! I'm sorr-"

"No, you don't have to be," the boy interrupted her. "But you're wrong. I know her."

He then rummaged through his pocket and took out his wallet to reveal a small little blossom.

Despite his being a dead, wandering spirit, the flower seemed alive…vibrant. Mespirit gasped in admiration, staring at the little blue forget-me-not.

"Is that her..??"

"Yes, " Shinji replied quietly, a tinge of triumph and sadness in his voice. "She still thinks about me."

--Meanwhile--

"Strange how years can go by so fast," Hikari mused.

It was a lovely sunny day, just as beautiful as yesterday. Twinleaf Town arguably had the best weather.

Usually she'd have been in the kitchen, drinking in both her tea and the familiar surroundings that comforted her every morning. But for the last few days, she had been confined to bed, only because her children were too worried about her collapsing from exhaustion or something equally silly. They visited every day so she was well cared for too, much to Hikari's annoyance.

But she could not dissuade them; children had their ways to thwart the wishes of a badgered old mother. Her gray head soon lay back on the pillow in resignation.

"Hopefully someone would bring me breakfast," she thought suddenly…how strange was it to think of that when other more important things were at hand?

Closing her eyes, she soon started to recall that fateful day…

"Doctor, I am sure her sudden faintness was from old age."

Hikari barely remembered her defensive son talking to the doctor about her condition. It was surprising, really. One moment she was up and healthy; then she found herself on the floor, hardly able to breathe…

"No…I am sorry sir…it's not that. It's…worse."

Hikari was propped very comfortably in a wheelchair next to her very much grown-up child – he had just been engaged three days ago! – who now stared at the various charts and scans the doctor had procured from the file cabinet.

"You see, the heart is protected from outside elements by an epicardium…it's a layer of tissue that can, if damaged or torn, damage heart tissue. Ultimately… "

Hikari's son looked pale, but he managed to talk in a cracked voice.

"Yes?"

"…to heart failure. Simply, she's dying from Broken-Heart Syndrome. Was there any past trauma she had experienced?"

Her son did not know of any…

Hikari quietly opened her eyes again; sunlight streamed into the windowsill. Kricketots chirped in the distance.

Strange. She should have known all along that her past would affect her like this. Even though many of the specifics had faded away in time, the impression it had made was apparently…there.

BOOM. CRASH.

"Wahh!! Stop being mean to me, 'thupid!" a girly voice whined incessantly.

"Shaddup, silly. Can't ya be quiet in my granny's house? She's…she's…allyin'."

"It's A-I-L-I-N-G, thick'ead! YOU'RE the silly one, silly!"

Hikari sweat-dropped slightly when she heard the bantering of two kids. But eventually she smiled; she loved both of them dearly.

Wham. The door flew open as two little children ran into the room: one was her grandson, and the other...she was the daughter whose family has been Hikari's next-door neighbors. Because the poor girl only had her parent's Pokémon as her companions at home, she'd often be eager to play whenever Hikari's grandchildren came over.

Now this particular grandson…he was a strange kid. And Hikari loved him dearly due to his uniqueness. Despite his boyish toughness and often extreme harshness to strangers and Pokémon alike, he had a certain softness that Hikari thought was the most endearing.

"Hi, granny! Sorry we made tha' noise…" the grandson said somewhat sheepishly; then he glared at the girl. "She didn' lissen to me when I SAID-"

"OH I DID, STUPID!" the girl retorted fiercely. "You made fun of me so I yelled!"

"Shaddup!"

There was a brief scuffle between the two before Hikari intervened.

"Darlings, if you two are going to fight, can you at least do it outside?" Hikari said sternly, feigning a tired pose to make her point clear. "And why are you even here, if you are going to-"

"Oh righ'….Granny. Mom tol' us you wanna keep dis stuff. So we picked-"

"Flowers!" the girl chirped in, much to the grandson's annoyance.

Soon Hikari saw a sea of vibrant blue. From the girl's apron pockets spilled a bunch of forget-me-nots, the ones that Hikari had grown in the garden. She had not attended the place for days…

"It's pretty, and hope you like dem!" the girl said happily as she gave the grandson a triumphant look. "Betcha she'd be betta now with the flowers!"

"Bah, that's 'thupid," the boy snorted in disbelief

Hearing the remark, the girl's face began to turn red in anger again…

But heavy footsteps were heard downstairs.

"June, where are you?!" a slightly worried man's voice was heard downstairs. "I told you that you have to do the chores before playing with your friends!"

Soon June forgot about her anger with the boy. With quick but unsteady strides, she ran downstairs. The little girl was so occupied that she even forgot to say bye.

The grandson looked at the doorway where June last stood. Then he plopped on a nearby chair, his face frowning slightly.

Hikari then took a good look at her grandson, who wore a large black t-shirt with similarly hued sweatpants. Disheveled dark-blue hair hid much of his face, which almost always looked fierce...passioante. That itself was not surprising: he loved looking at battles and hated to lose to anything.

But the most distinguishing feature was his eyes. Out of all the children and grandchildren she brought into the world, no one except him had the same striking shade of blue eyes.

Suddenly Hikari's reverie was soon broken by the boy's loud musings.

"Girls are silly, granny," he finally said, as if that was the most important revelation he had made in his life. "Why are all girls so angry and prissy and crybabies?"

Hikari chuckled at the boy.

"Well, not all girls are like that dear. Or maybe you're being too mean to them."

The grandson looked back at his grandmother in disbelief: "But granny! Girls like ponytas and cute stuff! June allaways blabbers 'bout that stuff. I hate-"

He suddenly paused. "Um…"

"What is it now?" Hikari asked.

"I dunno…stop askin'!" the boy said in frustration, his face turning red.

"Hm…are you telling me you like her?"

"No! No! Girls are icky!" the boy turned even redder. "June is the icki….ickest!"

Hikari laughed softly. Because of her condition, she was careful not to laugh too hard.

"Okay. But if you want me to keep a secret, I'm always here."

The grandson looked up at her expectantly.

"Okay!"

Soon he jumped off the chair.

"I'mma go see June, granny. Gonna be back!"

Closing the door behind him, he dashed off. His footsteps echoed in the stairs.

Hikari soon began to shift around in her bed a bit, just so she could take a better look at the spilled forget-me-not blossoms on the sheets. She delicately gathered them in her old hands and just held them close to her face…

Suddenly her cheeks felt wet. Tears were flowing at the sight of these flowers.

How long has it been? How was she able to cope so well? She felt so guilty…

Suddenly she heard faint echoes from the doorway. Alarmed, she let her eyes slowly look in that direction…

Hikari then gasped. The image before her was too fantastic to be true…yet it seemed so real.

The door had opened a bit, but instead of seeing who had come from the doorway, her eyes gazed a little upward…and before her were the same confident smile that she imagined, the same fierce eyes in her faraway dreams. There was no malice in his expressions…only pure and unfiltered relief and joy.

"Shinji!" Hikari called softly.

She soon felt her tired, old limbs become new…her wrinkled skin become smooth and young. She was a teenager again, when her dreams were still dreams and everything was possible. Now rejuvenated, she got up from the bed and reached out to the one she really had loved.

"You…you…you at last!"

"Granny?"

The grandson had come back into Hikari's bedroom, just so he could tell her about his secrets. But instead of hearing his grandmother's familiar voice, all was silent.

"Granny…did you call my name? Granny!"

Shinji (the grandson) finally reached the bedside, only to recoil at the sight he saw.

The blossoms were scattered all over the place, as if an unseen whirlwind had swept them around. In the middle of it all, however, lay Hikari's still body…with her face smiling at the sight of her true love.

'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-Fin-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'

Hope that was a fitting ending. Sorry animeflash, I killed another character!! (At least they are together at last.) Now excuse me, I gotta hide from a barrage of berries and throw-able objects…

Here are the notes before I have to start running!

Mespirit Human-Form: I always thought these Sinnoh "gods" had that ability. Hell, that genderless Pokemon looks female to me.

Shinji the First: I wanted to delay the revealing of his name in the first blurb because it would be more interesting. And no, Mespirit is not hitting on him. She is just helping him cope…and she takes care of Twinleaf people. Azelf does a double-duty with Velistone and Pastoria…but he probably concentrates more on the former xD

Shini the Second: I wanted to delay the revealing of the grandson's name, for the same reason stated above. BTW he doesn't necessarily look like the actual Shinji. But his crush…she's definitely similar to Hikari. (I may have overdone the cute-ness factor…)

Also, I was careful not to make up names of the various OCs in the chapter…because I don't like OCs in fanfics! (I use them during the most desperate times.)