Whew, I finally managed to update this. Just a warning, this chapter is not so angsty. XD;;; I'm not feeling so depressed and whatever, so I hope you all forgive me. D:

Anyways, please enjoy the chapter!

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon.

Unworthy

Chapter 2: Almost

Shinji absent-mindedly kicked the empty can of soda that was right in front of him, ignoring the stares of the crowd that was watching every move that he made. The crowd was composed of females who were calling his attention, but he did not even notice them. Glancing once more at the Contest Hall, he sighed. It was as if the huge structure there was mocking him, telling him that everything was his fault. The purple-haired young man did not want to admit it, but he knew that this lingering problem of his was his fault.

All of it.

How many times had Jun told him about seeing 'water in his mother's eyes'? He lost count already.

As much as he wanted to vent out his anger right now, he couldn't. He had to control his temper… and god knows he had a very bad one.

As much as he hated to admit it… he missed her.

He cursed at himself for being such a weakling and cursed her for leaving him.

Just when he was about to make it up to her, she just had to run off.

Until now, she could not be found. Definitely, she had left Sinnoh to avoid him, as well as not to be found easily by him. Even his counterparts in the other regions could not find her, as well as those from the regional offices of the Pokémon Contest Association. It was as if she had vanished without a trace…

His blood suddenly turned cold.

What if…

What if she had been murdered, or even kidnapped?

He prayed to any god that was listening to him out there that it wasn't true, and that thought was just a figment of his mind, and it would not happen, ever.

Sighing, he decided to go back to the Contest Hall. When he proceeded to the seats where he had left his son, Shuu was nowhere to be found. All he could find was his son, grinning madly at the Coordinators that took center stage. "Where's your teacher?" he asked.

Jun grinned. "Dad, you're so old. Didn't I tell you that he and Haruka-sensei were going to have an exhibition match?"

"… Then why didn't you tell me so I could have at least been with you?"

Jun shrugged. "You didn't look good, daddy…"

Was it really THAT obvious?

He guessed it was.

"Well, Jun… I was feeling really confused." He had to at least tell his son part of the truth. "I need to take a break once in a while."

Jun nodded, understanding his situation fully. Though he was but a child, he understood what his father had gone through. It had been years since he was acting strange, and he figured that it had something to do with his mother. Ever since she had left, his dad wouldn't talk about her, whereas before, he almost always asked Jun about how she was whenever they would talk on the phone, or whenever he was at home, but of course, his mom did not know of it. It was their 'secret', after all.

His question would always go like this, "Is your mother looking happy, Jun?"

Jun's constant reply was, "Of course, daddy! She always misses you whenever you're away!" and would proceed as to how his mother had talked about him.

The reply of his son was enough to make his day. Though he may not show it, he cared deeply for Hikari. That was one of the reasons why he had married her, after all. She was the first woman he had learned to care for, and her status of being one of the members of the Ribbon Syndicate only came as a bonus for him. As long as she was by his side to make him feel alive, he was content with that.

Unfortunately, he still could not let go of his indifferent nature. It was hard, but when one was brought up into childhood to act all high and mighty, it was hard to let go of it. It was second nature to him when it came to being mean. After all, that was how his wife had gotten his attention. He had forgotten her name and had almost gotten kicked in the face.

He smiled bitterly at the memory.

Through the years, however, she would talk about him less and less to Jun, until one day, Jun had informed him that Hikari had cried earlier that day.

As soon as his schedule had permitted it, he had called her up, but whatever it was that he had planned to say were thrown out of the window. Instead, the Sinnoh League Master had informed her that he was to stay in Tobari City for a few nights, and that he was expecting a nice dinner. Hikari obliged with his request, even smiling at him.

Now that he remembered it, was her smile back then genuine, or was it fake?

He sighed to himself in exasperation.

Hikari… where are you now?

Backstage, when the exhibition match was over and done with, Hikari was relaxing in the waiting room exclusively for announcers when she suddenly jolted and looked around frantically for something, or rather, someone. She swore she heard a voice just now, but…

'Is someone playing tricks on my mind?'

Before she could ponder on it more, the door burst open and in came Kengo and his wife. "Bad news, Hikari, get dressed and get out of here!" he snapped at her.

"D-Did I do something wrong…?" the blue-haired coordinator cursed at herself for threatening her friends earlier. She just knew that it was a bad idea to even pass it off as a joke…

"It is not that." Nozomi spoke up, easing her thoughts. "It's just that the Sinnoh League Master is here right now as we speak. In a few minutes, he will be here, in this very room, to speak with Kengo and me about… your 'whereabouts'."

Hikari nearly dropped her water bottle.

He…

He's here in Yosuga?!

"WHY IS HE HERE?!" she screamed her question.

"From what I've heard from Shuu, your son insisted that he watches this Contest and Shinji obliged. They got here… fortunately for you, Shinji walked out just as you appeared and started the exhibition battle." Hikari gave out a sigh of relief and drank water from her bottle. "It was a good thing that he did not notice you."

Hikari nodded. "I know. If that happened… well, I think I'd really run away for good this time."

Nozomi smiled and looked at her watch. "You have twenty minutes to steer clear from this area. I suggest going home for the meantime and staying there until we tell you that the League Master has left Yosuga City."

"Got it. I'll have to shower first, though." She cringed. "I look like a wreck."

Still clad in her old cheerleader outfit, the woman headed to the private office of the Pokémon Contest Association located in the backstage and just a few meters away from lounge. The private office was a nice place to stay if someone wanted to continue working until the wee hours of the morning. It had a sofa bed, a toilet and bath and even a mini kitchen inside. They rarely use the office, but it was always kept neat and tidy just in case someone wanted to crash in for the night.

In this case, Hikari decided to use the shower just to get rid of the sticky feeling all over her body. Thankfully, there was an unopened bar of soap and shampoo in stock, so she had gotten that shower that she had always wanted. As she bathed, she began to think back as to what she had been doing for the past four years…

'No Shinji to take care of… no Jun.' she could live with the fact that there would be no husband in her life, but without Jun…

She suddenly hiccupped and before she knew it, she was crying her heart out.

She missed her son.

As much as she denied the fact that Shinji was nothing to her, she could not.

She truly loved him.

He was much too engrossed in his work to even notice it.

"Still no news about her?"

"Unfortunately, no." the brown-haired man shook his head. "We're doing everything that we can to locate her, but we haven't been successful…"

The League Master sighed to himself and counted to ten. As much as he wanted to lash out his anger at the man before him, he knew that he was only doing a request and he had no right to impose what he wanted. Seeing his father trying to control his temper, Jun rushed to his father's side and held out the older man's hand. "Daddy, calm down. Mommy will be back, don't worry."

'I wonder if that will come true.' Nozomi mused to herself.

"… If you say so, Jun." he patted his son's purple-colored hair and gave a curt nod at Kengo's direction. "Contact me if you have new information on her whereabouts."

"Got it."

As the father and son exited the announcer's lounge, Nozomi went over to where Kengo was currently, which was the very bench that Hikari had sat on earlier. "He never gives up, doesn't he?"

Her husband nodded. "Yes… somehow, I pity him."

"He has hurt her." she reminded him gently. "I do not feel any remorse for keeping Hikari away from someone like him. She deserves more than being some wife who had been discarded by someone so famous."

"This time though… his eyes tell me a different story."

"What do you mean?"

"… He looked very much desperate, Nozomi. He needs her."

Nozomi shook her head. "He's only doing it because Jun needs his mother."

Kengo sighed. "Maybe… but from the way he's acting, it looks like he needs her more than his son does."

With her shower (and crying) over and done with, Hikari had gotten dressed into her light yellow sundress that reached just an inch below her knees and into white wedges that were not too high that she would easily lose her balance. After at least damping her hair and applying powder on her face, she was about to exit the office and head back to Nozomi and Kengo's house when a hint of purple just ahead of her caught her eye.

Her heart literally stopped pumping.

It was Shinji and Jun walking towards the backstage exit.

As much as she wanted to go back inside the office to hide herself, she could not. Her feet felt like it was planted on the ground by super glue. The Coordinator then decided to remain in her spot quietly until the two men were out of her sight.

Unfortunately, someone just had to ruin everything.

"Hikari! Are you going home now?"

Haruka just had to say her name in a loud voice, prompting both males to turn back to check who it was who had just screamed.

Jun saw his teacher Haruka. "Haruka-sensei!" he called out to wave to his Coordinating teacher.

The brown-haired coordinator suddenly gasped out loud when she realized her mistake of calling out to her female friend. Hikari sent out a silent glare to Haruka that said, 'We'll talk later.' and urged herself to look at her estranged husband.

Shinji saw his wife for the first time in four years.

Time suddenly stood still for the both of them.

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