I slipped myself into the seat of a cafe booth way in the back; the cafe was relatively empty, but I couldn't be too sure. I would have much rather met up with Elesa someplace else, more private per se, but she was very insistent. Apparently talking about "this kind of stuff" in a cafe was "standard." Whatever that meant.

I was still wearing the same cloak. I got a few suspicious looks from the wait staff here, but it was worth it; while walking around the city, I heard rumors about "Champion Hilda" returning with the promise that if you defeated her, she'd give you a ride on Reshiram. Yeah, riight.

Someone slid into the booth across from me. "So, how was your reunion?" asked a very zealous Elesa.

"It didn't happen," I replied.

"Oh... So it wasn't him?" inquired Elesa. "I'm so very sorry for getting your hopes up."

I shook my head. "It was him," I assured her.

Elesa gave me a blank look, urging me to elaborate.

"I was looking for N because I was almost positive that he was alone and needed someone to bring him out of humane isolation," I explained, "but he seems to have made friends on his own, so me reintroducing myself would be kinda' pointless, don't ya' think?"

Elesa's blank look didn't go away. She stiffly shook her head. "No... Not at all..! Hilda! Didn't you dedicate two years of your life to finding this guy?!"

"Well, that's kinda exaggerating a bit," I retorted. "And, er... keep your tone down; we're getting some pretty nasty looks from that waitress."

"Well?!" she demanded

'Clearly she's not going to calm down...' I concluded. "I was kinda just journeying other regions and looking for him as a priority... it wasn't the only thing I was doing," I explained.

Elesa crossed her arms. "Yeah? Well how did it feel when you saw him but ignored him?"

"Bittersweet," I admitted, "but why are you so interested?"

"Because this is a romance story waiting to happen! I can't just sit here idle, Hilda! And also... I may have raved about it to Skyla last night..." she confided guiltily while turning away. "But don't worry, I kept you anonymous!

"..." I scowled. 'I'll have to kill her later...'

"Anyway, you said that I could grill you today."

'Changing the topic? Cool with me.' I nodded. "Fine. What do you need to know?"

My compliance must've taken her off guard, for she just stared at me for a moment. "Why didn't you come back to Unova sooner?" she finally asked.

"Because I was out exploring other regions," I answered simply.

"You left to look for N, you didn't call because Xtranscievers don't work..." she listed off to herself. "Why didn't you tell anyone you were leaving?"

"Because... I was so sure that everyone would refuse and try to talk me out of it," I admitted. "I just became champion, so everyone in the League would never let me leave, and Ghetsis had just tried to kill me, so my family and friends would be against me going off on my own." I nodded, signifyinh that I was done.

Elesa put some moments of thought into what to ask next, but evidently came up with nothing. "Well, uh... It seems that that's just about it," she said with the smallest bit of shock. "You've seemed to have answered my questions one way or another..."

"Yeah, so are we done here?" I asked. "I haven't been home in two years. Plus, I should really apologize to Cheren and Bianca for ditching them."

Elesa seemed a bit disappointed. "You still haven't spoken to Cheren?"

"No," I replied, "but why do you ask?"

"Cheren was more or less ready to pack up and go look for you," she informed me. "Had it not been for Alder, he would have left the region."

'A person chasing a person who's chasing another person... That would have been messy,' I thought guiltily. "What did Alder do to make him stay?"

"We were short on gym leaders and Alder saw what was needed in Cheren," explained Elesa.

"He became a gym leader?" I asked. 'Wow... good for him!' "When?!"

"A year ago," Elesa said stiffly. "You'd know that if you kept in contact with us! The League was worried too, you know!" berated Elesa. "The only reason why Skyla didn't bust in here and tackle you into a hug is because I kept you anonymous in my story..." Elesa gasped. "My love story! It's not dead!"

"It was never alive..."

"Of course it was!" she snapped. "You see, Cheren was pretty concerned with your leave... Maybe giving him a surprise visit can conjure up some intense emotions," claimed Elesa with a coy smile. "Then you don't end up boy-less!"

''Intense emotions'...?' I thought with oddity. "Look, I'm not interested in romance and if he's the same Cheren I know, he isn't either, but... if he's as worried as you claim, I could probably call him right now..." I reasoned, taking out my Xtransceiver.

Elesa practically jumped the booth to block the screen with her hand. "No! Surprise him in person," she demanded.

"... Well, alright," I agreed awkwardly. "I am kind of curious to see his gym anyway."

"Good!" Elesa beamed and told me all that I needed to know.

I had never been in this part of Unova before, but mainly because there used to be no gyms around here. Aspertia City itself was quaint; it was built up more than Nuvema Town was, but I still got the same homely feeling.

I noted while standing outside of Cheren's gym that It didn't look flashy in the slightest, and that I probably wouldn't have thought that it was a gym if it weren't for that carved statuette of a gym emblem.

When I stepped through the doors, I wasn't expecting to see a classroom setup with no teacher and kids gossiping to each other from across the room. Age ranged from what looked to be 5-7 years old. Curious pairs of eyes gradually found their way to me, who was still standing in the doorway; with that died the chatter.

"Hello... children," I greeted awkwardly. "Where may I find the gym leader?" 'And is this even a pokemon gym?'

"What do you want with Mister Cheren?" asked a young girl.

I chuckled. ''Mister Cheren'? I'll have to tease him about that later.'

"What's so funny?!" a young boy demanded.

"... Nothing. But I really need to pay him a visit, so-"

"What're you going to do to Mister Cheren?!" asked the same girl.

"Uh... nothing?"

"Oh yeah? Then how come you look so suspicious?!"

"Suspicious... Suspicious how?" I asked. 'Oh... the cloak,' I realized. 'I wanted to stay incognito, but I guess it wouldn't hurt.' I pulled down my hood. "See? I'm not suspicious."

"All you did is take off the hood!" a different girl accused.

"Well, yeah..." Then I realized that many of them were probably too young to recognize the champion from two years ago. "You see, I'm a good friend of... uh... 'Mister Cheren's' and I need to talk to him."

They all started murmuring to each other. Occasionally, a boy shot his head back to me as if he was making sure I made no sudden moves.

I pursed my lips. 'For a bunch of Kindergarteners, they're pretty, uh... defensive.'

"Okay," said the boy who kept shooting me looks. "Follow me!" With that said, he and half of his classmates strutted to the back door. As I followed, the rest of them trailed me.

The door led back outside where there were three standard battlegrounds and an overhead platform.

"Now! Do it now!" the boy screamed.

"Do what now?" I asked. My eyes flickered around. "Oh?"

Suddenly, the children started surrounding me in a circular formation. They each took a pokeball out and tried to size me up, despite being so tiny.

"What's this?" I asked with a smile twitching upwards. 'Did I just get ambushed by five year olds?' I couldn't help but to chuckle. "This is... not what I was expecting," I murmured to myself.

"Hey, what's so funny?!" asked another little girl. "This is serious!"

"Oh, um... sorry. But I don't think you want to battle me," I told them. "I'm also being serious. I need to see the gym leader."

Little cries of "NO!" and "NEVER!" filled the air followed by a plethora of red lights. The battlefield was suddenly filled with Patrats and Lillipups.

"Uh..." I started counting them, but then I realized something. 'These pokemon look like they've just been caught. Can they even battle? Have they even battled?'

"If you don't take out a pokemon, we'll attack you instead!" one of the "older" girls behind me threatened sassily.

With a raised eyebrow, I slipped my hand under my cloak and felt around for my pokeball belt. 'Gee, Cheren, what a great job you're doing.' "Boldore, come on out," I called out with only half the effort. "And be gentle," I whispered as he materialized.

"What did you just say?!"

"Oh, nothing. I promise."

I could've sworn I heard the girl growl. "Ready?! Together!" she demanded. "SCRATCH!" all of the children commanded at once. Their pokemon then began to close in on us.

Boldore looked up at me with an expression that indicated that he had felt no intimidation whatsoever.

"Yeah..." I agreed. "... Earthquake."

Before any pokemon could hit Boldore, the ground shook, and they all dropped like flies. Luckily, Boldore must have heard my request, so it wasn't hard for all of us to keep our balance and not fall down. Except for one kid. Oh well.

They all stared at me with gaping mouths and eyes the size of saucers. Then, silence ensued.

"Uh... Don't feel bad," I assured them awkwardly. "There was a very large level gap, so- Wait, kid, are you crying?!"

The boy who fell sniffled. "... No, you are!"

"... Well, okay..." I looked around at all the fainted pokemon. "So, if you could all just let me see your pokemon, I-"

"NOOO!" cried the little boy, and if on cue, almost every other kid started weeping or screaming while the rest just stared.

I was a bit set back. On my journeys, I've met some sore losers, but this was a pretty unique situation. I held my hands up defensively and spun around. "G-Guys, it was just a battle..." I tried to reason.

Boldore himself was feeling awkward too, as he nudged the pokeball in my hand.

"Quitter..." I muttered but went with his wishes and returned him to his pokeball.

They seemed to ignore me. I thought I heard one kid cry, "I don't want her to take my pokemon!"

I turned around to the source of the voice. "Wait, take your pokemon? I would never-" No one seemed to hear me, so I sighed and crouched down by the nearest Lillipup. 'Maybe I can show them that I mean no harm...' I thought as I searched through my bag for a revive.

"NO, LILLIPUP!" screamed a girl. "HELP!" With that, the children started pointing at me with fear-induced faces.

I smirked. 'I hate to admit it, but I'm kinda' enjoying this...'

I heard a door slam open from behind, so as a reflex, I pulled the hood back over my head. I've already had a couple of close calls today, and like heck I was going to let anyone recognize me.

The screaming dissolved into sniffles and an awkward atmosphere.

"Who are you?What have you done to these kids?!" asked a deep voice with a livid tone. "All of you... get your pokemon and get out of here!" he demanded. "And you! Don't move an inch!"

I gave a mental sigh. 'I just wanted to talk... Why am I the villain? Those kids ambushed me! I'm the victim!'

My field of vision flashed red as all of the fainted pokemon disappeared. I saw the feet of little children steering clear of me and leaving as fast as they could until-

"OW! Wh-What?" I rubbed my now-throbbing knee. "Kid, did you just kick me?!"

My response was seeing his fleeting feet running for his life. I attempted to sneak a peek at my perpetrator but a stern, "Not an inch!" interrupted that.

I pouted. "Aye-aye, sir..." I muttered. 'I wouldn't want to be arrested just one day after I came back...' "I swear, I didn't do anything to those kids."

"Save it, unless you want me to call the police at this second.." I heard the door close. "Stand with your hands up."

Begrudgingly, I complied. "What are you, a cop?" I asked. I turned around.

The person before me was a boy, or man, I couldn't tell, wearing a white button-down shirt. He had blue hair and quite the photogenic face despite his eyebrows scrunched up in anger.

"Now tell me, what were you doing in my gym?" he demanded, his voice just shy of yelling. "The whole city could hear those kids screaming!"

"Wait, your gym?" I asked. 'It couldn't be...' "... Your name, Kind Sir?"

"I'm the gym leader of this city," claimed the unfamiliar person before me with a tinge of annoyance, "Cheren. Now tell me, what-"

"Cheren, what the heck?! Your face... it's different!" I gasped. I then held up my hands in defense. "I mean it's a good different, but-"

"Who are you?!" Clearly, he was a bit irked that his interrogation wasn't going through.

"What? You don't remember me..? Oh, wait..." I had just remembered that I was wearing a hood, so I slid it off. "Well?"

He stared at me blankly for a few seconds. He took a few steps forward. It took him a moment to recognize me. Once he did, all of his anger dispersed.

"... Hilda," he murmured; the way he spoke my name was as if he hadn't said it in years. His eyes widened with excitement and he gave a rare smile. He ran the rest of the distance and embraced me.

I was so surprised by Cheren's hug that I stumbled back a few steps. I patted his back once I gained ground. "Hey, when did you of all people become a hugger?" I teased.

Cheren groaned. "When you spend two years alone with Bianca and clingy five year olds, it rubs off on you..."

I laughed. "I bet. You're acting too giddy to be your old self."

"I hated it at first, but now it's become my nature..." complained Cheren. He pulled away but kept his hands on my shoulder, almost as if he didn't believe it was me. "You don't look that different," he observed.

"... Yeah, puberty hates me..." I muttered. "I'd think that I would've at least gained a few inches in height, but..." I sighed. "But puberty clearly loves you; heck, Elesa could probably set you up with a few modeling gigs," I joked.

Cheren looked at me with his usual deadpan stare and scratched the back of his head. He seemed rather unamused at my comment. And there was the Cheren I left behind.

"We can catch up later, if you have the time," I offered.

Cheren nodded. "Yes, I'd like that."

"But first, can you tell me why toddlers tried to kill me?"

He nodded and started to take his leave.

"Wait, where're you going?"

"We're catching up now," demanded Cheren. "I'm not taking the chance that you'll disappear again."

I shrugged and followed him out. "Fair enough."

End

Yeah, so, typed this one up on my phone again. Good news if you follow my other story, because I am getting a new laptop soon which means that I'll be able to finally restart it. However, still not sure whether I'd finish this one, though, since I was only writing it to keep my motivation up.

By the way, thank you two reviewers for reading one of my stories after so long, and don't worry LadyMeiLian, I don't plan for Rosa to show up that often =P In fact, I plan to only make this under 10 chapters, so. And thanks to my new follower too.

Also, yes, love triangle because this is my first attempt at a love story, and what romance fic doesn't have a love triangle? Because, I swear, every fic does.