Claire's Braviary flew low and quiet over the old-fashioned houses of Hempshear Old Town. She knew she didn't really have to avoid being seen—no one (apart from Liam) knew she was even in Nanzo, and a Pokemon flying overhead was hardly an uncommon sight. Still, she had accustomed herself to thinking of Nanzo as an unfriendly place, full of unfriendly eyes, and she didn't want to attract any unnecessary attention.

Finding Liam had been trouble enough—Team Power's spies in Nanzo weren't interested in the movements of high schoolers, after all. It had taken a visit to a contact at Nanzo Telecom, and even then she had gotten lucky: if Orchid hadn't messaged Liam the day before, it would have been a dead end.

Claire spotted the three-story house where Rain's family lived. It was one of those weird buildings with a white tile exterior that seemed to keep going up and up. Claire would make sure Team Power demolished them when they took over Nanzo. They were an eyesore. On the open patio roof, Claire could see a detached room—perhaps a guest room of some kind—and a dark figure slumped in its shadow.

Either that was Liam, or she was about heading straight into a trap. She decided to risk it.

As her Braviary landed silently on the roof and she dismounted, Liam stood up and stepped out of the shadows. Claire thought he looked upset about something. There were dark spots around his brown eyes, and his dark brown hair was disheveled, as if he had been messing with it in agitation.

"Uh… hi," said Claire.

Claire realized that Liam was staring incredulously at her.

"What?" she said defensively.

"Are you gonna explain why you're here now?"

His voice was tense, and she felt herself growing agitated as well as her icy reception.

"I don't know," said Claire. "I just…"

She chewed her tongue. Liam seemed to relax.

"Go ahead," he said, settling down on the edge on the roof.

"I wanted to ask you something," said Claire.

"Okay."

"Are we friends?"

Liam seemed to think for a moment.

"Yeah," Liam said. "At least… you're my friend."

Claire felt relieved, and a little ashamed for feeling so relieved. She tried to collect herself and put up a strong front.

"Well, good. Because I wanted a friend to talk to."

Claire saw that Liam wasn't impressed by her facade of confidence.

"Can I…?"

She glanced meaningfully at the spot beside him.

"Sure," said Liam. "Just… keep your voice down. I want to be able to hear if someone's coming."

Claiire gave a satisfied smirk and hopped up onto the ledge beside him. A glance over her shoulder made her realize just how high up they were. She scooted a bit closer to Liam so she could grab him if she started falling. He recoiled a little.

"I'm not gonna kiss you again," said Claire defensively. "That was a… one time thing."

"That's fine with me," said Liam coolly.

Claire felt her face going red. She hoped Liam couldn't see it in the dark. It wasn't that she wanted to kiss him—that had just been a crazy moment of weakness after a night that still didn't seem real—but she had flattered herself that Liam had at least been grateful for it.

"So, uh… we talked about me a lot last time, and I… well, I thought we could talk about you."

"Um… okay," said Liam hesitantly. "What do you… want to know?"

It was an unbearably awkward start.

"Well, let's start with the hard one: where are you from?"

Claire noticed Liam cracking a slight smile. It had been the right first question.

"Johto," he said. "My parents are from Unova, but I've never really lived there."

"Oh," said Claire.

It was almost like a small gap had opened between them. Claire realized at once that Liam wasn't just a TCK in experience—he was one in identity. He had lived outside Unova long enough that he hesitated to claim it for himself. It wasn't like that for her. She had spent the first decade and more of her life in Unova. She was Unovan, and proud to be. Even after three years, Nanzo was still a strange and uncomfortable place to her. She still dismissed the idea that her dislike of Nanzo could be put down to "culture shock"—she wasn't that kind of foreigner.

Claire decided to try another line of attack.

"How do you like my old school?"

"It's… great," said Liam indifferently. "I… I've made good friends there, I guess."

Claire rolled her eyes.

"Seriously, what's up with you?" she said testily. "Last time you wouldn't stop grilling me about my dad and Grace Shaw and now I can barely get you to answer a simple question."

Liam frowned.

"I lost a gym battle today," he said. "Badly. Like, really badly."

"Oh," said Claire, trying to sound more sympathetic than she felt. "Sorry, I guess."

"And… there's also girl trouble," Liam admitted.

Despite herself, Claire perked up. This sounded like drama, and Claire liked drama.

"Which girl?" said Claire. "Come on, who am I gonna tell?"

Liam shifted uncomfortably.

"...Chelsea Whitaker," he mumbled.

Claire snorted, which made Liam get up and start pacing.

"Sorry," said Claire. "It's just… you don't seem like Chez's type."

It wasn't that Claire thought Liam was bad-looking. If anything, Claire liked the intense look that came into his eyes when he was worked up about something. It reminded her of herself. Still, he had a pointed nose, heavy eyebrows, and scruffy teenaged stubble around his chin. Not really the kind of guy her and Chez used to ogle in middle school.

"Great," said Liam. "That's just… you know what, forget it. I don't want your—."

"Oh, come on," said Chelsea. "You're so sensitive. I was just—."

"I'm so sensitive?" said Liam incredulously. "You're the one who takes everything so—."

Claired shushed him. She thought she had heard a sound at the bottom of the stairs that led to the roof, but as she strained her ears, there was nothing but the faint rustling of the wind.

"So you like Chez, huh?" said Claire in a low voice. "I figured you had a crush on Gr—uh, Mori."

"I did, originally," said Liam. "Back when I first met her. You should relate to that."

Claire flushed. She regretted telling Liam about the valentine, and she didn't like being reminded of it.

"So, why Chez, though?" said Claire, deciding to act like she hadn't heard the accusation. "Especially if your type is Mori. Don't you like bitchy girls with daddy issues?"

"Like you?"

Claire sighed. This was still going nowhere.

"I'm not like Grace—look, I'm here trying to be friendly, and you're—."

"Sorry," said Liam. "It's been a bad day. More like a bad semester, actually."

This seemed like a promising line of thought.

"What do you mean?"

Liam sighed wearily.

"Well, my girlfriend moved back to Unova at the beginning of summer, and then—."

"Wait, you have a girlfriend?" Claire interjected.

...ex-girlfriend," said Liam. "Cass McCloud. I think you two just missed each other—she came the semester after you left. Anyways, keeping up with her by email has been… painful. And then I've been having to take more responsibility in Team Virtue, and it hasn't been going well, especially since Professor Werner—."

"Wait, you're in Team Virtue?" asked Claire.

It seemed so obvious now that he mentioned it—Chelsea was in Team Virtue, and they were close. It made sense. Claire recognized some of the conceit the texts of the School of Power had taught her to expect in someone from Team Virtue. It made her feel superior. Liam clearly wasn't that sharp.

"Yeah," said Liam. "I basically lead it at school now. Professor Werner died about two weeks ago. It's been… I'm not good at it."

"Then you should practice until you get good at it," said Claire at once. "What's the good of just feeling sorry for yourself when other people—."

"I don't think you have any room to lecture me about self-pity," said Liam coldly.

Claire opened her mouth to argue, but she thought she heard another noise from downstairs. She was running out of time.

"So… how did you end up joining Team Virtue?" said Claire.

Liam's eyes narrowed.

"Ironically, I have Team Power to thank," he said. "It was after that guy Jiu crushed Chelsea's Scraggy to death, I decided I needed to stand up to Team Power, and the best way to do it was with the Team that beat them last time."

"I told you, that wasn't my fault," said Claire, feeling her anger rising. "Anyways, Jiu is—."

"Something else I realized is that everyone from Team Power talks tough," said Liam. "But when things get hard, they scatter. Whenever Silas shows up with his black Charizard—."

This was it. She was close. So close to what she was looking for. She chose her words carefully.

"You've seen Silas a lot?" she asked casually.

"Well, yeah," said Liam. "Seems like he drops everything every time something goes down at the school."

That was it. That was the information she had been fishing for. Now she just needed a way out. Something that wouldn't make him suspicious.

"Liam," she said, leaning towards him and lowering her voice. "Look, I'd love to stay and listen to you rant about how I'm a coward and everything, but—."

"I didn't say you were a coward," said Liam.

Claire paused. Liam's words were unexpected, and she found herself settling back in to continue their conversation. Surely a few minutes' delay wouldn't hurt.

"But you think I am," she said.

"No," said Liam. "I think you care too much about what other people think of you, and you think having power over them will make them respect you. That makes you a bully, I guess, but not—."

"Oh, come on," said Claire with a smirk. "You can say what you really think of me. I don't care what—."

"You don't care what your friends think of you?"

Claire paused. She wondered again if she should take the opportunity and leave.

"Listen, Liam, I don't care what you think of me because you still don't know me. You still don't understand. That doesn't mean we're not friends, it just…"

She shook her head. Why was she saying this to him? Why did she always feel the need to confess things when she was around him?

"I've done things. Necessary things. Things that you would think were horrible if you—."

"Like what?" asked Liam.

Claire grimaced. She had already said too much. She needed to leave. There was nothing keeping her here. She had found out what she came for. Rasmus would be wondering why she...

"You!"

Claire and Liam both jumped. Ruth Kong was staring at her with rage in her eyes. She must have come up the stairs to the roof without her noticing. A sudden panic came over Claire. She had to leave. She had to leave now.

"Why are you—? Liam, what is—?"

Ruth reached for the Pokeball in her pocket—the one Claire knew contained her Blaziken. Claire scrambled onto the edge of the roof. With a final terrified glance back at Ruth, she released her Braviary, leapt onto its back, and flew away into the night sky. Behind her, she could still hear Ruth shouting—maybe at her, maybe at Liam. She didn't care. She just wanted to get away.