About an hour passed since the girl's disappearance when Steven and Brendan heard the gates open. They immediately turned around to see her walk out of the cave.
"I did it, guys…"
"May!" The young boy ran up to her. She felt exhausted and when she nearly fell over he helped her stand. "So it's over, huh…"
The brunette girl was still holding the Pokeball with the freshly caught Pokemon.
"Is everything… Alright now?"
Steven approached her as well. "Look above you," he said as he pointed up. "The sky over Sootopolis returned to normal."
May raised her head. "Ah. I doesn't burn my eyes anymore. "She smiled lightly.
Brendan nodded. "So… You tired?"
The girl closed her eyes and sighed heavily. Brendan, you idiot…
The boy probably guessed her thoughts and smacked himself on the head. "Oops, stupid question, sorry!" May shook her head and leaned on a wall.
"It's kinda hard to believe…" She opened her eyes again, looking at the clouds above.
"What is?" Steven asked.
"That I've just saved Hoenn." The brunette girl glanced at the silver-haired man next to her. "Sounds so weird when I say it aloud."
"Although it's true. You did save the world." He smiled but May thought she heard a hit of sadness in his voice.
Noone said anything for the next couple of minutes. The girl was still gathering some of her loose thoughts.
If it's over… Can I tell him now? Theoretically speaking, if I am the hero (however it may sound), it won't look like a stupid crush on a random handsome guy, will it?
She turned her head to look at Steven and opened her mouth to say something.
"Hm?" He noticed her trying so and tilted his head. Just as he did it May's face got covered in a blush.
Wait, no! Brendan's here too! Dammit! She snapped out of her good mood. I can't just blurt out a love confession in front of others!
The silver-haired man chuckled at her red face with still hanging jaw. "I suppose whatever it was you wanted to say, you changed your mind about it."
"I-I'm just tired! Gimmie a break!" the brunette girl quickly replied and looked away. Screw you and your smiles!
Her attention focused on Maxie and Archie who were standing on the near bridge along with Tabitha. They seemed to have made up with each other, so after a while, they faced her and approached May.
First to talk was Archie. "Some damn adults we are, first making all that mess and then leaving it to a little scamp like you. We just kept fighting for the world and in the end it was you who had to clean up what wasn't even your fault…" His voice made it sound like an apology and he seemed a bit ashamed. "Well! At least I can promise we will give it some time to think it over. All of us can do that, whether we're Team Aqua or Team Magma or whatever…"
And people say kids are irresponsible… May listened to him with a sly smile. One time was enough and I'm never playing the role of a hero again.
After the Team Aqua leader, Maxie walked up to May and gave her the Red Orb.
"You were able to use the Blue Orb with great effect so I suppose you will make better use of that than I ever could," he said and stepped back. "Maybe it was true they shouldn't be separated…"
"But what can I do with it?" The brunette girl stared at the man in front of her.
"Have Groudon hold it, and you'll be able to control its Primal Reversion for a short period of time. Just like a Mega Evolution, during battles," Maxie explained and turned around. "Farewell."
"Later, scamp!" Archie left along with the Team Magma leader.
The young trainer put the Red Orb in her bag, next to the Blue one. Ah, the perks of saving the world…
"Team Magma and Team Aqua are made of people with completely opposite ideals and goals… But perhaps even them can learn to meet halfway, Of course, it's too mich to expect them to suddenly change but slowly, they take their first steps forward…" Steven was looking straight ahead, where Archie and Maxie had been standing just a while earlier.
May sighed and looked at the silver-haired man. If he prepared another speech… Maybe this time I'll pretend I'm listening… She smiled. Last time he got annoyed for her not paying attention but she had the exhaustion as an excuse this time.
She wasn't wrong. Steven was indeed talking to her, maybe something important again. But this time the brunette girl was sure it wasn't about preventing distasters. She was too tired to focus on his words, so May just stared at him with half-closed, dreamy eyes. She actually was close to falling asleep too.
Of course, Steven noticed that.
"You aren't listening again, are you?" He crossed his arms but this time, he gave her an amused smile.
"Nope," she replied. "I have no idea what you've just said." A sheepish smile appeared on her face. "But hey, you have beautiful eyes." It could be the tiredness that she didn't give her words a second thought.
The silver-haired man cackled, seeing her grin. He got closer to the girl. "So do you."
May was tired and she was perfectly aware of that. But when she felt something warm on top of her head, her face blushed all over. He did not just-
Again, Steven acted like absolutely nothing happened when he caught May's hand and put an item in it.
D-don't pretend this will make me forget! May's eye twitched when she looked up just to see him smile.
"This is an Eon Flute." The silver-haired man held her hand as he explained. "You should try using it when you travel. It's proof of the bond between you and Latios. Just play the flute and the Pokemon will straight to you, no matter where you are. You'll be able to soar through the sky on its back. Just like we did back then."
May looked at the item in her hand. Just like we did back then… She wasn't exactly sure why, but in that one moment the flute became her dearest posession.
"T-thank you."
"Oh, no, thank you. May, you saved us all." Steven finally let go of her hand. "We owe so much to you…"
He turned his gaze away when the young girl looked up back at him.
"I wonder, how does that feel to know you've saved the world?" he asked after a while. "What effect will that have on you… And what will you believe in?" He closed his eyes and sighed. Was that a relief?
"If we get the chance to meet again, I hope you'll show me and my team the answers you've found." He opened his eyes to look at May the last time. "Until then…"
The brunette girl was so used to this and yet she wanted to chase the man now slowly walking away from her. Maybe it was only because of her tiredness that she didn't run after him. And because she needed to give his words some reflection. It all was… Astounding?
"Phew! Finally, it's just the two of us." Brendan snapped May out of her thoughts. "I've got to say, thanks for everything you've done for our region."
The boy scratched his head, as if he felt embarassed. "You know, I thought we were supposed to have set from Littleroot together but…"
The girl tilted her head, looking at her friend with a bit of confusion.
"But you, May… It seems like you just keep getting further and further ahead of me…" He lowered his voice. "I even started to feel like you'd gone somewhere that I can't even reach. It's pretty lonely, you know?"
He sounded… Sad. May thought that she'd just hurt her best friend she got there, in Hoenn. But as she grew more concerned, Brendan suddenly patted her shoulder.
"Not!" He was smiling now, wider than ever. "Geez, what would you think if I really said something like that?"
He started laughing. The brunette girl felt confused because of what she had just witnessed but eventually, she giggled with him.
"Anyway, you did something really amazing today, so try to take it easy for a while, okay?" he said, still keeping a smile on his face. "See you later!"
Damn, he got me concerned there! May waved to Brendan for a goodbye.
Take it easy? I'll take it easy once I beat the Champion! And… See Steven again. The young trainer returned to the Pokemon Center in Sootopolis. What was that he said…? 'If he get the chance'? 'Me and my team'?
At that moment May realised she still hadn't found the answer to her very first question.
Who exactly is that Steven guy?
a/n: So hard to get rid of the game's plot and dialogues but hey I'm trying. This chapter could've been posted yesterday but I've found a new interesting manga to read so I wasted time instead.
