I cooked the same meal from last night because I couldn't think of anything better. My mother took care of that. That's one thing I should always be grateful to them for – taking care of my physical health. Thankfully, Orinthia didn't complain about being offered the same meal twice, rather, she seemed pretty happy. I tried to enjoy it the best I could, I wasn't planning to stay home after today. While eating, I made a note of things to do after breakfast.
"Are you worried, Felix?" Orinthia said between eating.
"Err, no. Just thinking about what to do afterwards, Orinthia. Don't worry about me." I assured her. When should we leave, anyway? Right after breakfast or this afternoon? I decided to get her opinion.
"Afternoon seems better, Felix. I really don't want to get in a crowd. People make me uneasy."
I raised an eyebrow, "What about me? Do I make you uneasy, too?"
"Of course not, Felix. You are different." She said as she took another bite of of the large slice of meat.
"Oh well, I was actually thinking of taking you shopping today, Rin." I told her. Maybe I should buy her something to make our little adventure here memorable?
"What? Why? How does a shop work, Felix? You told me you worked at a shop but never explained what it is."
I downed the food in my mouth and laughed, "How about I show you myself a couple hours later? Only if you're comfortable being in public, of course."
She hesitated for a moment before replying, "Since I'll be with you, I think I'll go, Felix."
Shopping turned out to be fun. Orinthia was amazed to see pretty much everything the shops had to offer. In the end, I ended up buying a silver necklace for her. It didn't look anything special on her illusory form, but I could imagine it would go really well with her actual form. Black and silver made a good contrast. It ended up costing 12000 Yen, but I didn't care. I stole some money from our locker. I just hoped that I won't be held accountable for it in case I decided to return to my family in the future.
"It's beautiful, Felix. Thank you!" She sounded sincere in her gratitude as we were leaving the shop, with the necklace tied around her neck. I couldn't wait to see it on her real form.
"Not as beautiful as you, but yeah, it suits your perfectly." I smiled. I wished I could buy her something even more beautiful, but I already stole too much. Maybe some day I will save up enough money with my honest work and buy her something better. I looked at her again, who was looking happy and eyeing people out of the corner of her eyes. I tapped her on the shoulder,
"I see you're getting comfortable around people already, Orinthia. That's a good thing!"
"I'm not comfortable, I'm studying them."
"What for?"
"Watching out for dangers. Some of them are staring at us. Are we safe here?"
I looked around. Sure enough, some people were looking at us from a distance and whispering among themselves. I was almost a nobody, just another school student who had a part-time job at a shop in another part of the city. I didn't see any missing posters about me on the way, so they couldn't be talking about me. Maybe they were just perverts who watched couples from a distance and made dirty remarks among themselves. Which made me realize that we were looking like a couple. I smiled and tugged Orinthia's hand, "Don't pay any attention to them. They're a just a bunch of pervs."
"What are pervs, Felix?" She asked with her usual innocent curiosity.
I shook my head. That's not something I really wanted to explain to her.
"Nevermind Rin, let's go back to my house and make some final preparations before we go back to our true home." I tugged her hand harder this time, causing her to giggle.
There wasn't really much to prepare. I replaced the broken lock with a new one. Now my parents would have to break in as well; I was keeping the key myself. I laughed at the irony. I also erased my computer like I had planned. It was a time consuming task. I contemplated taking my phone with me, but realized that there probably won't be any reception at the forest. Besides, I didn't have a solar charger or anything like that. I tidied up my room, hoping to save my parents some trouble once they returned. Finally, I made sure the letter I wrote to my parents was still on the desk. Turning off all lights, I took a few moments to stare at my house and locked the door before setting our feet on the streets.
It was already past four in the afternoon. Most people were too busy returning home or reaching their next destination to pay much attention to us, which was a good thing. Orinthia seemed a little bit sad, however.
"It's okay, we can come back once things settle down." I assured her, gripping her hand.
"You promise me, Felix? Your house was a nice place." She asked me.
"I do. I don't think I can stay mad at my parents forever or they can go without me for long." At that moment I didn't really know which place I liked more. Sure, the forest was a great place; closer to nature, a lot to explore and learn, and you didn't have to follow normal human rules. But my house was comfortable in it's own ways. I wasn't sure whether my parents would accept Orinthia or not. Sure, to them she would just look like a Pokemon I was training, even though that wasn't the case. But what was her choice? I decided to ask her,
"Do you want to stay with me there once things are back to normal? I mean your forest is a nice place and all-"
She stopped in her tracks, as did I.
"I'm not sure, Felix. I love my forest, but your house is tempting too. Besides, the forest reminds me of many bad memories." She slowly said. I didn't ask her what those bad memories were, I was sure I would rather not know. We all have our own problems. But the thing was, my house brought back bad memories for me, too. I realized that the decision formed a deadlock, with no correct choice in sight. I leaned closer to her,
"Let's not worry about that now, Orinthia. I love your forest too, or you, to be more specific." My face heated up when I said those words. In response, she leaned even closer and whispered,
"Stay with me, Felix."
We reached our home as the sun was beginning to set. I silently observed the area and to my shock, my belongings have been rummaged through here as well. The backpack was ripped here and there and the pages from the camping handbook were torn and scattered. I trusted Orinthia's words that nobody would dare enter her territory, even when she was absent; so I left my things here instead of carrying them back to my house. I looked at her, hoping to chastise her for false assurance, but she seemed as shocked as me.
"That Lucario." She said as she gritted her teeth.