The pokemon were all glad to be back, and not trapped in the spheres the grunts had forced them in. They wasted no time in spreading out throughout Iron Island, enjoying the mine's cool air and giving it an atmosphere Ayuki surely would have loved. It was both relaxing, yet not alone. Riley rested his back against the mine's wall, letting out a low sigh and tipping his hat so that it covered his eyes. Lucario looked over at him.
"Riley, you look bothered. The Pokemon are back, so what's bothering you?" Lucario asked, but he somewhat knew the answer already. All he needed was confirmation. After a few seconds of silence, Riley gave him that confirmation.
"I miss her… Ayuki, I mean." Lucario smiled.
"Don't worry. She could visit some time."
"No, she's busy. She has to go to the league to compete."
"How do you know?" Lucario asked. Riley frowned slightly.
"When we were releasing the pokemon, Ayuki and I, we got to know each other, just like you said. She told me about her journey, and wow. She's just amazing. She's been through so much involving Team Galactic, but she's been able to take them down practically single handedly. And even with that, she wasn't boastful. She was modest and shy and with ever compliment I gave her, she'd say something like, 'oh you're exaggerating.' She's so cute and I… I don't think I can stop thinking about her." His face was hot and he felt nervous simply talking about the girl.
"Did you kiss her?" Riley's eyes widened.
"Wh-what? No! I just… kissed her hand." Lucario rolled his eyes.
"Of couse."
"But, I regret not giving her a small peck on the lips…," Riley added softly. The girl was like a disease, taking over his mind. He wanted to see her, wanted to take the chance and kiss her. That chance was so far away to him. The league could take a long time. Could he honestly wait that long?
Lucario sighed, pulling Riley from the wall.
"Come on, don't worry about it. Let's go train."
-…-
"Mom, I'm home!" Ayuki shouted, Lopunny bursting into the living room to give her Buneary sister a hug. Buneary squealed with delight, rubbing her cheek against Lopunny, then jumped out of her arms and hopped down the hallway. When she came back, Ayuki's mother was on her trail, drying her hands with a towel and looking quite disheveled.
"Did I get you at a bad time?" Ayuki asked, closing the door behind her.
"Of course not honey!" her mother said, tossing the towel aside and giving her daughter a hug. "Shouldn't you be heading off to the league?"
"I decided to visit you before I leave. Well, if I leave," Ayuki muttered, pulling out a chair from the dining room's table. Her mother set a plate of strawberries before her. "My favorite," Ayuki said with a huge smile, devouring the sweet fruit.
"If you leave? What's wrong? Do you lack confidence, because you know you have the skills to beat the elite four!"
"No, it's not that…," Ayuki mumbled, wondering where she would start. She looked over at her backpack.
Bingo.
"Look," Ayuki said, grabbing her backpack and zipping it open. She pulled out the egg Riley had given her, now behind a safe glass case. Her mother gasped in awe, reaching for the case and setting it down on the table between them. She stared at it in amazement.
"It's so pretty," she said, running a finger across the top of the case. "Where did you get this?"
"A boy gave it to me." At that, her mother's eyebrows shot up with great interest.
"A boy?"
"Yeah… I went to go train in Iron Island and I saw him. I helped him track down these grunts. Actually, the grunts caught me and Lopunny, but he and his Lucario saved me. He was really nice and such a gentleman but…"
"But you have the league to go to," her mother finished for her. Ayuki nodded.
"Yeah, and it sounds like he likes to look over the island and the mines. I mean, it's such a nice place, I don't know why he'd want to leave. I didn't want to leave either!" She sighed, resting her chin on the table. "Should I go back?" Riley was perfect to her. Stunning, kind, and horrible at hiding his emotions. And quite the gentleman, too. If she could simply sit next to him and talk about the simplest of things, that'd be wonderful. But, the league was in a few days. It was what motivated her to start her journey; it was what she'd been training for. What did she want more?
Her mother frowned, stood up and picked up her plate.
"Flip a coin on it."
"What? Why should I leave an important decision up to a coin?"
"Trust me," her mother said, tossing her a poke coin. Ayuki stared at the coin.
"Heads, I go to the league. Tails, I go with Riley," she mumbled, shaking it in her hands then tossing it in the air. It hit the table, jumped up a few times, before finally landing still.
"Heads."
-…-
The nights on Iron Island were the best, especially the time when the sun sets. It gives the sky an orange hue that reflects on the water, making Riley appreciate the lack of buildings that could get in the way of such scenery. If he was up, he'd watch the sun rise, and every evening he'd watch the sun set. With the lack of noise, it truly was great.
Until the sound of a motor broke the silence. His first reaction was to groan, wondering why anyone would ruin the silence. Then, something clicked in his brain.
Motor. Boat.
Ayuki.
He shuffled to stand up and peered down the ocean, the small spec nearing. When it got close enough, he could make out Ayuki clutching onto her seat for dear life, an ill expression on her face. But when she saw Riley, it quickly washed away, turning into a huge grin. Riley stared in amazement.
She came back?
When the boat stopped, Riley walked over to the dock, the wood clanking under his feet.
"Ayuki, what are you doing here?" Riley asked as Ayuki stood up. He helped her off the boat, and when she was done calming her nerves from the boat ride, she pulled Riley into a hug.
"I came back," she said into his chest.
"What about the league?" he asked. Ayuki gave a sheepish smile.
"Let's sit down first. Standing on this dock is wrecking my nerves.
Once they sat down where Riley had been sitting before she'd arrived, Ayuki told him about the visit she paid her mother.
"But when it landed on heads, I felt disappointed. And that's when I knew I wanted to come back to the island. The competition comes by every year. I can wait for that instead of waiting to come back." Riley smiled.
"It's nice that you've sacrificed so much for me, but, you didn't have to."
"You didn't miss me as much as I missed you?" Riley's eyes widened.
"W-what, no! I mean, yes! I missed you greatly. Deep down, the selfish side of me is glad you're back." Ayuki grinned.
"I'm glad, too," she said. She looked up at Riley's eyes and slowly felt herself leaning towards him.
"LOPUNNY!" From her pokeball erupted the energetic pokemon, pouncing on Riley, causing him to fall back. She gave him an apologetic look, the rubbed her head against his chin.
"Aha, glad to see you too, Lopunny," Riley said, petting the top of Lopunny's head. "By the way, Lucario's inside the mine." Lopunny squealed at the sound of the information, then rushed towards the mine, causing both Riley and Ayuki to chuckle.
"She always has impeccable timing," Ayuki whispered to herself, but Riley overheard her.
"Ah, that's right!" Riley announced, sitting up and turning towards her.
"What are you talking abou-"
She was cut off by Riley placing his lips over her just as the sun was dipping down into the horizon. At that moment, she was sure she had absolutely no regrets. She'd rather stay on this island with the gentleman who kissed her in such a soft way rather than compete to be champion. Sometimes, things were more important than being number one.
Nara: I think I'm just gonna end it here o3o It's a cute ending and I don't think it needs anything more xD Thank you tall who reviewed, I really appreciate it c: