[b]Scene Title: Far From Our Worlds

Characters: Naito Zivaku and Jasmine

Context (Situation): After a nightmare in the Hundred Acre Wood following "Miraculous Spring", Naito speaks with Jasmine about each other to get to know one another.[/b]


They had decided to rest on a small ridge just across the bridge over the stream in this page. Around them was a very small, enclosed field, upon which a large green oak tree grew at the top of the ridge. A felled log served as a bench to look out onto the eternal night sky, and the huge golden, full moon remained high to stare at as long as the viewer wished. All was quiet on the grassy hill, as the stars twinkled in the sky. Peace.

There had been so much horror, pain, suffering... all he wanted to do was rest. Lie down, maybe talk...

Naito tossed and turned in his sleep near the log, mumbling to himself fitfully. "Saiyo... oh gods... Zefiro.... Forgive... please... I didn't want to..."

Another night, another nightmare. He'd wanted to just lie down with Jasmine, but it was hard. He had never slept well in a long time.

Thankfully for the quarter-god, the Butterfreemorph had already been up and about. In truth, Jasmine, too, couldn't find herself to sleep very well lately. With all the struggles they've been through, and the thoughts that she's had, it was just as hard for her. With this, she had caught Naito in his tossing and turning and, with a concerned look, moved to gently shake him out of his nightmare.

"Naito...Naito, wake up..."

Eyes snapped open, the young man going rigid for a moment as he was awakened. He gasped, shivering slightly, muttering to himself, squeezing his eyes shut, scared, curling his legs in to half of a fetal position. Scared of what, he did not know if he could tell. "I'm sorry.... I'm so, so sorry.... I..."

Jasmine frowned at this reaction. She had seen Naito in fear and panic before, but never like this. It was like he didn't even acknowledge her upon awakening. The Butterfreemorph edged closer to the frightened young man, now placing a comforting hand upon his shoulder.

"Naito, it's okay..." she said soothingly, to help calm him. "It was only a nightmare. It's over now; I'm here."

Finally, he understood where he was, slowly calming down again. He sat up, his eyes opening slightly, forcing tears back, not wanting to be weak in front of her. Arms wrapped around her without even asking, too scared of the nightmare to be conscious of what had happened, how close they were. There was a brief sob, and he rested a shoulder on her. "It's my fault... It's all my fault, Jasmine..."

Jasmine was slightly surprised by the sudden hug. However, she understood why, how bad it might have been. As such, she returned the gesture, wrapping her arms around him, placing a hand behind his head as he rested on her shoulder. She then whispered soothingly, "It's okay, Naito...I'm here if you want to talk about it..."

It took a few minutes for him to calm down. Finally, he managed to speak, having not throughout that time. His voice was stuttering, nervous, but not for the usual reasons. "J-Jasmine.... if I... if I did something really bad.... would you still give me a chance? Would you still...? I mean... you're still deciding, but...."

Jasmine just smiled at the young man. She might have been still deciding, but she trusted Naito as much as anyone else in the worlds. Knowing how he acted, besides under the influence of the Bunnymoon claymore, it can't have been too bad...right?

"Of course I will," she said, gently stroking the back of his head. "You're a good person, Naito. If you did something wrong, I know you'd regret it a second later."

Naito sighed, just holding her...and his wings were summoned. With them, he hovered, holding her...and sat them both on the log, just somewhere more comfortable for both of them. He looked into her eyes. "I... I don't know... Gods, I'm so scared...." He looked down...then blushed, looking back up again. Even this scared, this vulnerable, he still was Naito. With that, he started to speak.

"It... it was a few years ago... My friend.... Zefiro. We decided... decided to see if I could get a god form like my mom. Knew a good place...." He took a deep breath. "He had a sister... Saiyo... She was... she was six... Cute, nice..." He sighed. "My dad and some others came with us... and....and we decided to try giving a mana infusion. A way to... to increase my power capacity..." The angel sobbed, having a hard time. "There was this bright light..."

He hugged her again, crying finally. "Oh, Jasmine.... She...."

Jasmine just held Naito as he hugged her again. Normally, she would have joked and flirted with him as he blushed, but not in a serious matter like this. She dreaded to ask what had happened, Naito trailing off not leaving a good impression...but she did, wanted to know, "...what happened to her...?"

He took several gulps before he could answer. It was so painful, so secretive... he hadn't told a single soul yet. "I... I saw her, and.... and...." He broke down again. "She was dead. Dead, blood all over the ground, my swords in my hands....." He sobbed, wept completely openly. "He's right... I'm just a quarter-breed freak... I'm horrible, I don't deserve anyone...."

"...." Jasmine was completely silent, shocked, almost horrified. What he just said...what he just revealed...did he...did he really just...?

The Butterfreemorph shook her head. No, it couldn't have been. It could have been an accident...but even if it weren't, the quarter-god had been here, sobbing, knowing that what he had done, if it was truly him, was wrong. She tightened her hold on Naito, doing all she could to help comfort him.

"No Naito, that's not true..." she said. "You...you couldn't have known what would happen...that doesn't mean you don't deserve anyone, or that you're a freak..." Saying this reminded her of her own issues, of being a lab experiment that nobody would understand. She held this back; this wasn't on her right now. Naito needed more help than her.

Naito again was silent, weeping into her shoulder for some time before he managed to speak. "Z-Zefiro...he and...he had a gang later...I've been...they beat me up a lot... Nótt stepped in, but... Gods..." He looked to her. "Do...do you really think I'm a good person? I.... I didn't want her to die, I... I never..."

Jasmine smiled again as Naito looked at her. What she heard might have shocked her...but that didn't change who Naito was one bit. "Of course I do. What you did before was wrong...but you know it was. That's all that matters..."

It was then that her smile turned sad. "At least you had someone to step in for you..."

The angel looked to her, noticing the expression, the look in her eye. "Jasmine... I... I don't know anything about you... Is... is there anything you want to tell me, too?" He looked down again, his head to the side this time. "...and can we keep this a secret, just between us, please? I... I never told anyone in this time but you..."

Jasmine nodded, both in promise to keep this a secret, and to tell more about herself. It was true that he knew nothing about her; those who did were either told, or went with her to her world when things went wrong. But Naito, one of the people she trusts the most in the worlds, knew absolutely nothing. She pulled back, looking away from the quarter-god. It wasn't going to be easy for her...but she trusted Naito enough to tell him...

"I...I was an experiment by Team Galactic...scientists from my world..." she began, quiet. "You see...I'm a Pokemorph, a human infused with a Butterfree. They...I was considered a failure, because I was more human, and they wanted a balance..." A deep breath now; it was too hard for her to look back on it all...but she let it out. "They still kept me around for samples. They...they put me through so many tests...so many sedations to experiment on me...they had me fight against the other Pokemorphs, but I was too weak against them all. I...I nearly died once..." Her eyes were shut, to prevent the tears from falling. It was almost too much for her to bare...

"...there was one scientist who understood me, though. He...he was forced to work on the project, so I think that helped." A shaky breath this time. "He helped me escape when the government attacked the facility. We lived together for a while...I guess you can say he was like a father to me. Until...until he died of a heart attack..." Now she wrapped her arms around herself, tight, as though trying to comfort herself. "I was able to get by around other humans, thanks to me being mostly human...all I do is flirt and joke around, just to cope with my past..."

And finally, she looked to Naito once again. For her, the tears were clear in her own eyes. "That's all there is to tell. You're no more a freak than I am, Naito...you at least have a biological family. I...I was just created for scientific purposes...that's all I am: an experiment..."

Naito's eyes widened slightly at the admission... but he turned to pity, sadness within seconds. He didn't think that her being like that was a bad thing, like any of it was any bad. What was how you were born, anyway? It was just how you started out. Maybe... maybe it was time for him to help her in turn.

Arms wrapped around the Butterfreemorph, and he pulled her close, rubbing her back now, whispering to her, trying to soothe her as she had him. He had to leave his own pain for now, when she had told him so much... Finally he spoke, his voice soothing, soft. "I'm sorry... I didn't know..." he whispered in her ear, massaging her softly. "You're not just an experiment... Never that..." He gulped, unsure of how to say it. "You're so much more... you're not an experiment to me..." He would have said more, but he still had trouble garnering the courage. Maybe he just needed time for it. "Never just a freak... You're b-b....."

For a while, Jasmine was completely unresponsive, even as Naito hugged her, tried to comfort her like she did with him. She was always scared of telling anyone about her past, that all they would see is a science experiment...and here he was, telling her that she was more than that. She wanted to argue that she was, like she did in Traverse Town, that she was nothing more than a freak...but held back on it, couldn't find it in herself to do so. She was too vulnerable to fight back...to argue...

It happened. She finally broke, wrapping her arms around him, crying into his shoulder. All the pain she had gone through, all her struggles...now she wanted to let it all out. "I...I'm just...I'm...I can't..."

Naito stroked her hair, very careful [i]not[/i] to touch between her wings. He'd learned his lesson. "You aren't... you're not.... I... You're more... so much more... I... please, Jasmine.... you're so good to me... Please let me help you... any way I can...."

Jasmine said nothing, just continued to cry into him. She just needed to let it out...she couldn't do it alone, but with him here to comfort her, everything would be okay. She trusted him...now more than anything else...

It only took several minutes, but the Butterfreemorph finally stopped in her tears, now just resting against the quarter-god. She wanted...needed him to be with her right now, in her moment of weakness. "I...I don't want to be alone again, Naito...I know I try to cope, but it's hard for me to handle sometimes..."

The young man just hugged her. "I... I feel the same way," he admitted. "Saiyo... I... I have that nightmare every night... I... I just need to have someone who trusts me... but I'm so scared... scared I'll have to go home... I... I don't even know if I should go home anymore..." He looked to her, though not letting go. "Do you...have any idea what we can do? I mean... I'm just... I'm scared of so much... Am I weak? You're not..."

Jasmine looked back at Naito, her eyes redder than normal from the tears. Though she was still vulnerable, emotional...she allowed a small smile to cross her face once more, and even brought a hand to touch his face. "It's natural to be scared. It doesn't mean you're weak...it means you're human. As for what we can do...well, you don't have to go back home anytime soon, do you? You can just stay, and...we can continue seeing how things go, if they can work out between us."

Naito nodded, smiling slightly to her. "I... I think they can, but.... but I can wait... I'll let you decide, Jasmine..." He looked down again, nervous. "If I do have to go... would you want to come with me? I mean... I just thought I'd ask...."

...Jasmine had gone silent, having to look away herself. He was asking her to...she didn't know what to say to that, couldn't find the right words. What could she say to something like that...?

"I...I don't know, Naito..." she admitted with a sigh. "I mean...we would have to see, but...wouldn't me...wouldn't anyone going into the future like that bring problems? I mean, I wouldn't know for sure, but..."

Naito shook his head. "From what my mom and dad say there, they changed it once... so this one can't happen anyway through my mom and dad now... but... but I won't force you... I..." He looked down, putting his hands on her shoulders. "I'm sorry... I'm just making you nervous..."

Jasmine looked at Naito and stared for a while. She was a bit surprised to hear that Greg and Kyn changed the future once...but considering the time-traveling quarter-god's presence here, that shouldn't have come as a shock. She shook her head, her smile returning, and she placed her hands over his.

"No, it's fine. It just came as a shock to me is all," she said. "We'll have to see, if the time ever comes. We're still only starting to go out, after all."

Naito blushed again, still nervous at the thought, his hand running down her back unconsciously. "Yeah... I just wish I didn't get so... nervous..."

Jasmine had been about to say something in response, to encourage Naito that there was nothing wrong with being who he was. She had stopped herself on account of two things; first was the fact that h had ran his hand down her back, hitting her "weak spot" once again. The other...now she realized, being here with the young man...she really was more than a mere "experiment" that she kept letting herself on to be. That wasn't true...just as Naito was who he was and not defined by his actions in his past, so was she. She wasn't just Designation 14563 made by Team Galactic...she was Jasmine.

Right then, just as the Butterfreemorph let out a moan, she began to glow with a purple light.

Naito let go, blushing wildly. He realized what he did. What was he going to do? "Oh gods, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to... uh..... S-sorry!"

Jasmine blinked, the glow now ending off with a few sparkles. For a moment, she seemed to have forgotten that Naito had touched between her wings, but she remembered quickly.

"No, it's okay,&" she said, shaking her head. She would have once again teased him for it, but instead went on to something different. "I...think I just learned a new ability."

The young man took a deep breath, relieved that he wasn't being teased. Of course, he did expect she would go to town on him later. This [i]was[/i] Jasmine. "R-really? W-what is it? Do you know?"

It seemed that would be happening sooner than Naito expected. While Jasmine nodded, she decided to save speaking for later. She got up, fluttered off the log, and turned to face Naito with a smile.

The Butterfreemorph swayed from side to side then, three purple ripples forming under her and twinkles of multicolored light falling around her. This then ended off with a small fountain of orange sparks from underneath.

The angel stared, transfixed by the Butterfreemorph's movements. He stared, his mouth agape, trying to follow her...and couldn't. All he could do was stare, a bit dazed, as the woman he...probably loved?

Oh, stop fooling yourself, kid. Just keep going.

Right. As she went back and forth. Even a bit after, he kept staring, mumbling incoherently. It appeared he had been temporarily broken. Sadly, she did not have any spares here.

Jasmine stopped then, and saw the state Naito was in now. She smirked and gave a small giggle, glad to know that her move seemed to help him as much as herself. Flying up to the quarter-god now, she put her hands behind her back and got right in his face.

"I take it that helped get your mind off things?"

Said quarter-god shook his head to clear is, sputtering a little as he came to. "Uh...y-yeah....w-what does it do? I mean... it looked b-beautiful.... like everything...."

Jasmine giggled, patting her hand against his face as she explained, "It's called Quiver Dance. It helps raise Special Attack, Special Defense, and Speed for a bit. Though I'm glad you found it beautiful Nai-Nai."

Naito blushed. She never called him that before. What was he supposed to say? It wasn't like he had pet names prepared... "O-oh....okay..."

He thought for a moment. "Um....do you have any others you want to tell me about or show me? I won't make you... just wanna know is all. I have some magic besides what I show, but... I'm sorry, I'm just scared..."

Jasmine smiled at the blush; she always loved it when the young man got like this. She'd have to remember to keep calling him that name in the future. She nodded when asked about her other skills, her smile growing wider. "Yeah, I've got a few more, if you'd like to see."

Before Naito would answer, Jasmine flew back once more to show off her next set of skills. First, her antennae glowed, sending out a condensing, rainbow-colored Psybeam in a random, harmless direction. Following this was Bug Buzz, to which her wings vibrated and sent out a sound wave. Stun Spore, which she sent a powder cloud that would have paralyzed Naito if she had aimed for him.

And finally, Double Team, which...well, we'll let how Naito reacts to this one to save some time.

Naito watched the display, one after another. Okay, a lot of disabling stuff, probably some damage on a few of them... and... [i]okay[/i].

While Naito was sometimes rather naïve, he was not an idiot. He knew some things that she could use Double Team for, especially to tease him... oh gods he was blushing again, looking way, coughing a bit. "Th-those are...g-great, Jasmine. Th-thanks for showing... Uh..."

Yeah... he was still a teenager. His mind was on...weird things at that moment, and if she thought hard about it, she probably could tell what. "Uh.... d-do you think we should try to sleep again? W-we can hug to sleep if it h-helps...I mean.... I never s-slept without a nightmare since...that."

Of course, Jasmine could still tell what was on Naito's mind at the moment, which prompted another smile from the Butterfreemorph. She could leave it there, agree to go back to sleep, but she couldn't now. This was just too fun. She flew up next to him, touching her arm against his.

"Sure, if it'll help," she said, her smirk returning. "Especially if you're feeling a little lonely..."

The blush increased, a small, nervous smile of his own coming up. He knew she was like this, but... it still was a little nerve wracking. Not to mention he kind of had some kind of reaction to it. "Uh.. a-aren't you? I mean..."

Still, he took her hand, sitting on the ground. He did have to admit, she was right. He was nice, but she was the only one he trusted like this. Aside from his parents, but that was a given.

Jasmine gave one last giggle, curling up beside Naito. As she rested her head on his shoulder, she said last, "A little...but we're not that far in yet, Nai-Nai."

And with that, she closed her eyes, allowing sleep to come over her at last. With Naito here, she was sure she'd have a peaceful slumber.

The angel blushed once more. Why did he have to be so careless? Probably some god thought it was funny for him-, her-, or itself, or some such. Still, he, too, embraced her, resting his head on hers as they leaned against the log, his eyes closing. As he did, he prayed for two things. First, that he would not have that same nightmare, something he was unsure of for the first time in so long. Second, he wanted to stay with her, for her to like him like he did her... but he would let her choose.

That was all he could do.