Chapter 3

Steven stopped me before we exited the pokemon center room. "You aren't to tell anyone about the force. We don't need to cause panic."

"What exactly are we after?" I asked. "You said that guy was a part of Team Magma?" He took a moment to think. Then he put a hand on my shoulder. I don't know what it was, but my face began to feel hot.

"I guess now that you're my partner, I should explain fully. Sit down." He gestured to the bed. When I was settled, he pulled up a seat at the desk. As soon as he figured out the speech in his head, he began explaining. "Team Magma believes that the world can live without the ocean. Their rivals, Team Aqua, believe we can live without the land. They've disputed things like this in the past, but we were stupid to ignore them. They grew in numbers, in popularity, in wealth. They are now two fully organized parties of thugs and criminals. They steal what they want and take what they need. To our knowledge, the two of them are trying to expand the land or expand the sea. How they are going to do so, we have no idea. But we have been asked to investigate and stop them before it gets too out of hand."

"So the night you ended up at my house," I started, "you were really chasing one of them?" He nodded.

"I would've had him if the rain hadn't started up suddenly." He looked at his knees. "That's another problem with the two teams. Whenever they're in trouble, they each have an item that can change the weather. I wasn't able to see it clearly last night, but I didn't know how dangerous it was until it soaked me to the bone." He paused. "Thank you again for your help, Sapphire."

I started to blush. I couldn't speak for a second, then I cleared my throat. "I know you'd do the same for me." This time, he blushed. The two of us looked away again. Why was this happening? Why did I feel a swirling sensation in my chest every time he said my name. Oh, no.

Was I beginning to like him?

He stood, head still turned to the side. "We have to meet my father in Rustboro. Knowing him, he'll probably want to test to see how well you fight." He started towards the door. "We're going to start on the way to Petalburg." He opened it and looked to me. I stood up and exited first. For someone of high rank and probably a ton of money, he was courteous. Maybe that's what I liked about him. Or no, maybe it was his cooking. Wait, what was I thinking? I tapped the side of my head, snapping me back to reality.

We walked out of the pokecenter and west, where Petalburg was located. Steven walked up to my side, as if he wanted to pass me. I let him take the lead, but he looked back at me with a confused expression.

"Your legs already tired?"

"Um, no. I just thought you were taking the lead."

"Oh." He paused. "Stay by my side from now on. It's better to talk that way." He turned away right when I started blushing. From the way he had finished that speech, I could tell he was blushing, too. I was afraid to approach him at first, but when I got up to his side, his face was clear of expression. I forced myself to do the same. "So have you lived in Littleroot all this time?"

"Yeah, my entire life in that house."

"Why didn't your parents take you with them to work?" he asked. "I'm sure what they're doing isn't too dangerous."

"They don't like to talk about work." Steven went silent at that. "I honestly have no idea what they do. I just know they're gone a lot but they can call every day. They send me gifts from other regions sometimes." I put a finger to my lip in thought. "Now that you think of it, I don't even think they're from other- WAH!" Steven grabbed me by the arm and threw me on the ground.

I freaked out and kicked him in the stomach. He put a hand over his stomach, surprised. I swept my foot under his and knocked him to the ground. From there, I held Cinder's pokeball to his face (it being the only real weapon I had), and bared my teeth. He put his hands up, showing defeat.

"What the hell?!" I shouted. "I thought we were partners!"

"We are," he said calmly. "I told you already, you need to be trained." He pushed the pokeball out of his face. "You're better than I expected, I'll admit that. Most people would just sit there and be attacked." He smiled. "Where did you learn these moves?"

"I learned karate from age six till about two years ago when we were short on money for lessons." I released him. "I never stopped practicing, though. Had enough free time to keep up the forms and whatever."

"So you're a black belt."

"Second degree black belt," I corrected. He blinked in surprise. "What? Don't you have those on the Force or whatever?"

"Two," he said. "Me and my father. And we're only first degree."

"Does that mean I outrank you?" I asked jokingly. He smiled slightly.

"In karate, yes. In the Force, no." He grabbed me and flipped me onto the grass. I rolled, grabbed the arm he hung onto me with, and flipped him over me as soon as I landed. In unison, we released each other and rolled opposite ways. We each took to a knee and made eye contact. "Think you can take me out?"

"If I really wanted to, yes."

"Why don't you want to?" he asked, slowly easing to the side. I went opposite. We began circling each other, eyes blazing in determination. "Do you think you can hurt me?"

"I don't know, you almost threw up when I kicked you in the stomach," I challenged. He smiled.

"I was taken by surprise. I'm not underestimating you anymore." We stopped. A gentle breeze wafted through the air, carrying the faintest hint of the sea past Petalburg. "Do me a favor. Don't be afraid to hurt me. I want to see your potential."

"I can't guarantee you won't end up in the hospital."

"Go ahead and try." He stood taller and opened his arms. "I'll let you come at me. Take your best shot." I narrowed my eyes, thinking. Then I grabbed a pokeball from my waist. "Oh, that's what you wanna do? Then I suppose I can battle-" I threw the ball halfway through his speech, but he wasn't expecting it to be empty. Cinder's pokeball was right next to the ball I had thrown, the one that hit him square in the forehead.

He tried to not flinch when it hit him, but for that split second he blinked, I darted across the grabbed and grabbed him around the waist. With him in my arms, I steadied myself and threw him onto the ground. The victor was about to be shown until Steven grabbed me by the collar and pulled me down with him. He fell flat on his back and me on top of him. I sat on his stomach, forced to lean forward because of his grip on me.

We both froze. There the two of us were, lying hidden in the tall grass, all alone. I was sitting on his stomach with my knees bent under me. Our faces were only a few inches apart, and for some reason, he no longer felt the need to attack me. His face started turning red, possibly redder than mine. There was no looking away this time. He tried to keep his cool, but it was slowly fading.

"I'll… um.. get up now," I said, standing. I held my hand out to him. He took it, averting his gaze. We both turned the opposite way, trying to calm ourselves. At first, I thought it was just me. I thought I was the idiotic one to start liking the champion. I'm sure other girls had crushes on him. Much bigger ones than I did. I bet most of them would've recognized him right away if he fell at their doorstep. I hardly even recognized him. He's the strongest trainer in the region. And me? I was a simple child taking care of a house while my parents worked. I wasn't a trainer. I have nothing in my life to show for. There was no way he considered me anything more than a partner.

But now, seeing how he was acting after something like that, I had an odd feeling. This mutual awkwardness, the blushing, the immediate friendship. I began to feel it was true.

Steven was beginning to fall for me, too.

I looked back at him the same time he did. I saw his silver eyes panic for a second, then regain their calm. I hoped mine were doing the same.

"We should get back on the road," he said. "We'll call it a tie for now." He paused, then finally let his smile emerge. "How's that sound?"

"Next time, I won't lose," I said. My grin became clear. "I won't lose to a first degree."

"You'd be surprised who you can lose to." He walked past me then stopped. "Coming?"

"Yeah." I pulled up beside him and we both started off towards Petalburg city. There was a change between us that day, and I'll be completely honest about it.

I was glad Steven had picked me as his partner.