A/N: Hey everyone! Well this chapter's going to be quite fast-paced and confusing, so please bear with me. Sorry to spoil but this will be the second to the last chapter! AWWW…. But don't you worry because I'll be making "Nice to Meet You: Black and White edition" very soon. I hope you guys like this chapter!
"Ok Toro, Minun, Plusle, Rono, Pilo and Dono! We'll be meeting battle superstars today, so you guys better be in tip-top shape!" The Hoenn girl's beloved team replied with a loud battle cry, before marching directly into Littleroot's middle-sized battle arena. (Every city just had to have one!)
As she pushed the glass doors aside, a blonde-haired woman immediately ran towards her, a delighted smile whipped across her slender features. "And is this the pretty lady we've been hearing so very much about, Pearl darling?"
"Y-yes, mom… Hi Sapphire" Pearl replied, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck as he stepped in closer towards their guest.
"Hey Pearl! And uh… Nice to meet you, Mrs…"
"Just call me Cynthia." With a playful toss of her blonde locks and a charming wink, the fact that Sinnoh's grand champion stood before her, dawned on Sapphire almost immediately. "You don't mean, THE Cynthia… Grand champion of the Sinnoh region?"
"Oh! I like this darling girl of yours, Pearl! She knows her battle personalities quite well!"
"And why SHOULDN'T I know you? You're the first female champion in history! You're a friggin' LEGEND Ms. Cynthia!"
"I didn't know mom was this famous.." The little girl behind her father cringed, a bit frightened by Sapphire's loud outbursts of fandom. Pearl went towards his sister and dad.
"She's quite the ball of energy, isn't she Pearl? Just like you!" His sister chirped, walking towards her little brother. "She climbs trees and swings through vines too… And I'm not joking this time." Pearl added, his face turning a nice shade of red as he did.
"Son, you have quite the fetish…" His father scoffed, looking back and forth between his son and Sapphire. "It's NOT a fetish!" The agitated blonde screamed, tightening his fists in anger and embarrassment.
"Alright, first thing to do is crush the Pinap berries gently…" Diamond moved his arms in a steady motion, crushing the berries with each movement; its juices flowing into a small container afterward.
A red-eyed boy watched him intently from a close distance, eyeing how delicate and precise Diamond's handling was on the berries. It reminded him of how gentle he treated his pokemon when it came to grooming.
"Honestly, Diamond… Who knew you'd be such a master when it comes to Poffins and cuisine? I am truly impressed!"
"It's no big deal. If you have an appetite as big as mine, you'll get the urge to cook eventually."
"But it's not as easy as that, right? Golden Poffins are a devil to make!"
"Yeah well with a bit of practice and some luck, you'll get there."
Ruby gave him an enthusiastic nod, mixing the batter after. The Sinnoh-boy on the other hand, felt a pang of guilt deep inside when he saw Ruby following his orders devotedly. I didn't realize that Ruby's actually a pretty nice guy once you get to know him. Doing this to him isn't like me at all…
Suddenly, he heard the faint voice of Platina through his intercom.
"*KCHHH* Blossom here. How's it going over there, Bubbles?"
"*KCHH* Everything's *KCH* going smoothly, Blossom."
"*KCHHHHHH* Alright, keep me posted. Blossom out."
He hurriedly looked at Ruby's direction to see if he heard, but luckily the white-capped boy was too engrossed in mixing to care about his whispers. Diamond moved closer and tasted the batter.
"Hmmm… It still needs a bit more salt."
"You think? Whenever I ask Sapphire to sample my cooking, she throws the spoon and ends up eating the whole dish without another word! Honestly, she's such an amazon!" Ruby started mixing rapidly, angered by those bitter memories.
"Ahaha, that sounds exactly like her. But, she did eat the whole thing right? And it's the look of satisfaction on her face right after the last bite that makes all the trouble worth it."
The lazy-eyed chef was suddenly infused with memories of his beloved Missy and that Pecking Psyduck he made for her.
"You have a point there. I guess she really ate the whole thing after all."
"See? Food actually tastes a heck of a lot better when the person you're doing it for is in your thoughts."
"You don't say…" Was all Ruby said, looking out into the distance as he mixed the batter steadily.
Meanwhile in the battle arena, Sapphire surrendered to the soft cushions of the rest lounge, completely exhausted after all that fierce battling. With her caramel-head resting casually on her beloved Blaziken's lap, she let out a cry of fulfilment.
"Ahh! That was such an amazing battle. Who knew the whole Pearl family was so vicious when it comes to battles? Even you, Yellow! You surprised the heck out of me with that adorable-but-killer-Pikachu combo"
Yellow blushed at the compliment and seated herself beside the Hoenn-girl. "You were quite the warrior yourself, Sapphire. Winning two out of four battles is pretty amazing in itself."
"No no,Yellow! When Volkner had me cornered with his Luxray, I felt the fear in Dono's eyes before it gave the final Thundershock! It was insane! And that Pikachu double battle? I thought Minun and Plusle had a unique combo, but those two Pikachu out there really blew me away!"
"Oh uh, the other Pikachu isn't actually mine…" The blonde twiddled with her fingers as thoughts of the most powerful trainer in the world ran through her little head.
"It's alright! Plusle here is borrowed too!"
"Wow. You must be pretty close with the owner, huh? I can tell how much you're in-sync with the owner just by looking at the precise movements of your Minun and Plusle; as if they had one mind!"
"Y-yeah...Ruby and I spent a while training them at Mirage Island…" Suddenly, images of the boy in question appeared in the cave girl's head, making her heart feel a mix of guilt and longing.
From afar, Pearl stood behind a column as he watched Sapphire's expressions change. He begrudgingly gripped his lime-green scarf as he heard that name pass through his ears.
"Ruby…" He choked; his heart sinking as he remembered that boy. Maybe I'm just not the one for her…
Suddenly, Pearl heard the intercom getting fuzzy-sounding feedback. "Huh? This is Pearl, who is speaking?"
"Buttercup? Do you copy, BUTTERCUP?" A slightly irritated feminine voice replied through the tiny speaker. Pearl sighed but decided to play along.
"Yes, Blossom. This is Buttercup. Any problems on Dia- I mean, Bubbles' side?"
"*KCHH* None so far; but it would be best to let Sapphire stay put since we wouldn't want them meeting once Bubbles is all done. Do you copy?"
"Loud and clear... Blossom, just make sure he doesn't-"
"Son, do you have any issues you'd like to talk about?" Volkner suddenly asked, stepping behind Pearl like a ninja out of the shadows. His son leapt out of the way, his face paralyzed from shock.
"L-LEAVE ME ALONE, DAD!"
Platina's speakers suddenly released a loud peep noise after Pearl's scream, making her ears throb which eventually lead her to smash the thing to the ground in pain.
"AGH! Pearl's screaming made me destroy our only means of communication! What in Berlitz's name am I going to do now…?"
*DING!*
Ruby and Diamond scurried towards the oven, the corners of their mouths drooling from excitement. With gentle and gloved hands, the lazy-eyed boy took the tray out of the oven, revealing a batch of aromatic, shiny, golden Poffins.
"Voila, Ruby! Your very first batch of Golden Poffins… They came out perfectly. Awesome job!"
"Yes, well… I'm the type that masters anything and everything… With a bit of help from a master of course." The raven-haired boy pompously smirked as he laid his eyes on the golden chef-d'oeuvre.
"So, what do you plan to do with these babies? Feed them to Mimi or save 'em up for later?"
"Well, I… Uhm…" He started fidgeting with his nicely-decorated apron, before turning towards Diamond with determined eyes.
"I want to give these to Pearl; as a good-bye and I'm-sorry present."
"Huh? Where-who-what now? You say you wanna give them to, PEARL?"
"Yes, well… I've thought about who I want to share them with when you talked to me a while ago…"
Diamond let out a nervous chuckle when he heard this. He could almost feel Pearl's hands wrapped around his throat.
"And, I've decided that Pearl and I started off on the wrong foot. I'd like to be his friend; he's got a nice sense of style now that I think about it… He really took care of Sapphire as well"
Diamond nodded, and while Ruby added more on that note, the lazy-eyed boy turned away slightly as he spoke to the intercom. "*KCHH* Blossom! Bubbles here… Ruby wants to give the Poffins to Buttercup! What do I do?"
"…"
"Blossom! Please answer!"
Diamond's eyes jotted in all directions out of panic; but his outburst was cut short by Ruby's hand as it placed itself on his shoulder.
"So, would you happen to know where he is?"
"W-well you don't h-have to give them right now…"
"Oh I've got to give them at this very moment! They will turn bad if I wait." Ruby lovingly crafted a small box from a cut out, and placed the Poffins inside.
"I uh… Pearl's with his family right now so…" Diamond started sweating heavily. He just isn't the type to lie! The Hoenn boy sensed that something was wrong with Diamond almost immediately.
Maybe Pearl and Sapphire… Oh no.
"Oh really? Are you ok Diamond? What is Pearl really doing? I hear Sapphire's out with some powerful trainers from another region today. Would you happen to know anything about that?" Ruby cornered Diamond, their faces almost touching as the raven-haired boy leaned closer towards the other. His fierce red eyes pierced Diamond's dark ones like laser beams, striking his brain until he couldn't hold out any longer.
"OK! ALRIGHT. Sapphire's out training with Pearl's family. We just wanted her to get to know Pearl before she chooses who to date, OK? THERE. STOP LOOKING AT ME WITH THOSE EYES, Ruby!"
Diamond panted heavily, his chef's hat bent out of shape and lop-siding from his head. Ruby felt a vane in his head throb out of jealousy. Yet, he knew he had to think about the whole thing rationally before making a conclusion.
Now think, Ruby. Rash actions are for people like Pearl, and… Sapphire…
Wait. She did say she was going to battle, and I'm sure that would be the only reason for her attendance since "Family luncheons and small talk" aren't exactly Sapphire's cups of tea. On the other hand, Diamond didn't lie either since he did say Pearl was out with his family…
He didn't actually kidnap her, although keeping it a secret from me reveals his true intentions.
"So, Diamond…"
"Battle arena. Please don't tell Pearl or Platina I cracked… They'd eat me alive!"
"Don't worry about that. Now, come with me!" Ruby grabbed Diamond's hand and with the other, the Poffins, as he made his way towards the arena.
A/N: I actually wrote this in one sitting, (4000++ words in 5 hours. WTF) but will update the very last chapter when I get enough reviews. Ohohoho! So review please! Thanks for reading.