Four months have passed.

Chapter 14: Young Folks

Sabrina was awake. It was, after all, noon. She had been staring out the window for the past hour or so, mostly because she had not the slightest idea of what to do. Surge has already gone to sleep, but no doubt far later than she did. She was exhausted indeed, slept like a baby after finishing her story, probably cried during it too. At the very least, it seems that he was mildly understanding of her situation, although it was also clear that he did not approve of it. Still, he gave it enough of a chance, and that was all that mattered.

Pushing herself up from the couch, Sabrina realised just how comfortably familiar all of this is. She had been to Surge's many times before, and while most of it was when she was but a teenager, she still felt safe here. This was much unlike the Vermillion City Gym, however, where she held only bad memories. Thinking back on it, some of those terrible times were not really Surge's fault. Regardless, she really did not want to start digging up the past.

She was willing to wait for him to wake up, and then discuss this matter when both of their heads were clearer. If that was to work, though, she needed something to eat first. It was never a good feeling snooping through someone else's stuff, but she was ironically too unaware of the locale in order to get something nearby. She did not expect to find much, and she did not. A few eggs were enough then, so it was what she settled with.

"That smells good." Surge's sleepy voice could be heard from the stairs. Being the military man that he was, it took a lot of convincing to get Surge to even get this place past the bare necessities. It looked fine, but once could easily tell it was designed with much of anything in mind, if it was even designed at all. He sat down on the sofa, where the psychic was situated.

"You can have some if you wanted." There was indeed an extra plate. While it was not a sure thing he would have woken up before it got cold, Sabrina made some for him anyway. It was the least she could do. She had good reasons to not think of him as more than an asshole sometimes, but it took a lot out of her to admit that so was she. "Or even if you didn't."

"You're back to your usual self, it seems." He presented half a smile as the plate was handed to him. "I take the fact you're still here as your wanting to talk some more?"

"Well, it was only me talking last night." A brief pause for digestion. "After breakfast, though."

It did not take too long, as neither of them particularly felt like dragging out this process. Surge just felt like he needed the energy, and Sabrina was taught quite closely. A conversation was not immediately struck up as they finished, but instead at least half an hour into the silence.

"I know I cannot expect you to approve of what I tried to do." Tea was readied in the meantime. Its aroma seemed to have lifted a bit of spirits in both of them. Their talk was still cautious, though. "But I know that you also only want the best for me."

"I see I have not lost your trust completely."

"I might not like you very much, but it's mostly only your actions that are extremely disagreeable." A sip of tea. She had to admit, he had good tea. "Your train of thought it pretty simple, and sometimes that's required."

"So you want to know what I think about this whole thing 'ye?"

"Yes."

"I hate it." Spoken true from the heart. Sabrina expected him to say it. She did put him through a rather unreasonable situation, especially with how their last encounter turned out. Still, he was willing to hear her out, so she was to be patient. "I don't like the sound of it at all."

"What about beyond your emotions?"

"It's obviously affecting you in a negative way." That no one can disagree with. The two of them had not met for a good while, but it was the only logical conclusion with her having a mental collapse last night, crawling back even. "What I hate the most out of it though…"

"Go on?"

"The fact that you were in that condition proved how you really felt about your relationship." Surge reached into the liquor cabinet, but had no particular aim in mind. He was not at all sure of what he even wanted to drink, and decided against it. "It meant I have no chance."

"Surge…"

"I know; it was silly of me to even have any hopes in the first place." He did not feel like playing the pity card. It would be easy of him to, but pride was always getting in the way. He knew he had to keep talking still. "I reckon you now know how I feel though."

"I admit to overreacting, yes."

"Too bad this conversation isn't about me." Sighing, he sank deeper into the sofa. Emotion was always a fickle thing, and no amount of training can prepare him for something like that. He thought he got over it, and in a way he did. "Anyway, my head tells me that it doesn't matter what I'm going to say."

"Are you saying that what you say won't influence my decision?" Sabrina seemed genuinely surprised. Usually those are the words of someone trying to talk her out of a path, but she had no path. "I don't think I'll come here if I had one."

"No that's not it." Surge had long ago abandoned the idea of putting his words together in an eloquent fashion, but he wanted to say something different. "This is something you have to come to terms with. I can tell that you think she's worth it, but I'm not in a position to say what I think you should do."

"You're useless." She huffed.

"I'm a huge prick, remember?" A wryly smile crept up on his face. "What do you expect?"

"That you are." Sabrina embraced him. It had been far too long. "But thank you."

"I only wish we didn't start off on the wrong foot all those years ago." A pat on the back was all he could give. It was unreasonable to expect him to be neutral on this, but they both knew the man tried his best. "I take it you won't be staying."

"I can't." She broke off, and made herself proper. One would have thought she had an actual plan.

"What will you do?"

"I will probably go somewhere to clear my head."

"You know you'll always have this place to turn to."

There was no reply, but she smiled.

…

*Ding

"Who is it?" There was no reply. Penny was contemplating. There would not be many people who would visit at this time of day, not to mention she just went out with some friends not more than a day ago. It could be Sabrina, though. If it was, she needed to know what happened. "I'll be out there in just a minute."

The person standing in front of the door could not be more of a stranger.

"Who are you?" She was truly perplexed. Standing before her was a woman, probably in her mid-twenties. What truly stood out, however, was that long and lustrous blonde hair, bound in a ponytail, draping over her shoulder. Those blue eyes, and attire matching European high-class service, was extremely attention-drawing.

"I don't believe we've met." The accent as well. There was no doubt that she looked of East-Asian origin, but that simply made things all the more confusing. Another good scan up and down did not turn up anything obvious either. "It would be best of you not to stare at me like that."

"Well you have to tell me who you are, and why are you here at my house, first." Penny was not backing down. She was being perfectly reasonable after all, and it was simply her best interest to know what was happening.

"You're Ms. Sabrina's mother, correct?"

"Yes."

"Is she here?"

"No." Penny was becoming curious. What could her daughter had done to make a woman like this knock on the door? This could have something to do with whatever Sabrina wanted to talk about a few days back. The first thing that came to her mind was that this woman, while undoubtedly attractive, did not seem to be her daughter's type at all.

"Then I apologise for the bother." A brief bow, but with a hand in front, was a depiction of deep Western roots. The woman did not seem to have anything left to explain, and was turning away.

"How did you know Sabrina?" Penny felt like something was wrong. This was less bizarre and more downright strange. There was something behind this all that she was kept in the dark of, and she did not want that. It was true that she agreed not to mess with her daughter's personal situations, but this appeared not to be so. "She's never been one to make friends."

"I see." Unlike what Penny expected, it did not seem like the woman was aware of her daughter's traits at all. It only added more questions. "I met her a few days back when she visited the mansion."

"The mansion?" This string of events was completely lost on Penny.

"Yes, the mansion where I work." A pause of uncertainty. "I do apologise for not introducing myself."

Penny stared blankly. A thought just crossed her mind. This woman so far has been far less disrespectful and far more unaware. The possibility of her being not mysterious and reserved, but instead a general airhead.

"That… would be helpful."

"Yes, of course." Another bow was observed; this one was slightly more genuine. "My name is Ren. I am butler of the Tsuyo family West mansion. Pleased to meet you."

"Of course…" There were a lot of questions, but it seemed like Ren was being much more cooperative than expected. Sighing, Penny decided that this was not a good place to have a conversation. "You should probably come in, it's getting quite sunny outside."

"Thank you."

They took little time to settle down at the living room. Ren's manners seemed to be flawless, but she just did not seem to be all there. Penny was keeping an eye on her, for her own amusement more than anything else.

"Would you like some tea?"

"I would rather not impose."

"Nonsense, it's just common courtesy." Penny broadcasted a smile. "What kind would you like?"

"You don't happen to have Yorkshire?" A bit of hesitation could be heard as Ren said that. It was, after all, somewhat unreasonable of her to expect this part of Kanto to have imported drinks. She would expect to have some Japanese green tea instead, and that would still do fine.

"In fact I do." Her eyes widened at that reply. "You're lucky, I just happened to get someone to carry these over the other day. It's not fair to call it fresh, but it's as fresh as you could get here."

The two did not say a word afterwards, but the whistling noise of the kettle, as well as the aroma of the strong tea surely kept the atmosphere lively. Penny soon sat down in front of her guest. Her house was fairly compact, with only four sits for the living room, and this was what felt the most natural. Two cups were poured, and so were slight nods.

"I must say I am surprised." Ren spoke cautiously, as her lips savoured the commodity as if it was ambrosia. A light blow of air cooled it down just enough. "I did not expect you to have such a… foreign product."

"I do like my tea. It has always been one of my lighter hobbies." Having someone familiar with European culture and commons must be a rare sight in the house, as Penny was spending a decent amount of time gloating internationally about how much the guest enjoy her selection. "I must say I never thought I would ever serve it to someone so native."

"I do remember enjoying this with my grandfather every afternoon." Ren was taken into a world of her own. The blazing scent was consuming her, grabbing her total attention.

A few minutes passed. The first was Penny finishing her fill, and the latter was just Ren staring at the empty cup. It seemed the host had no other choice but to push the matter along.

"Ren. I understand that we were to talk?"

It would appear her guest was completely unaware of why she was even inside the house in the first place. Her pupils slightly dilate, indicating surprise. It would have been annoying if were not for the sheer endearment of it.

"I completely forgot." She said. "What did you want to talk about?"

"Er…" Penny was clearly losing patience. "Well you did already say how you met my daughter, but what was she doing there?"

"Ah yes. It appeared that she was there to seek my mistress." Ren's expression shifted entirely. The tea cup was rest on the table, as her gloved fingers crossed. Leaning forward, it indicated story time. "She appeared rather distressed after being turned down from that request, thus…"

"Hold on." This speech mannerism was something quite strange to hear, but Penny had more dire questions. "Who IS this mistress you're talking about?"

"The mistress' name is Erika Tsuyo."

"The Celadon Gym leader?" Penny understood why she and her daughter would be familiar acquaintances, but anything else is above her knowledge. "The botanist?"

"I do believe she does those things on the side, yes."

"On the side?" There was clearly an angle here that Penny was not aware of. She might never have been a Gym leader, but from what Sabrina had told her it was not an easy job. Could it really be someone's part time job? "What would be her main occupation then?"

"The mistress' job is to be the mistress of the Tsuyo family." That was nothing if not unexpected, yet Ren spoke of it so firmly, without even the subtlest hint of irony. It would not be too strange to say the woman was incapable of sarcasm, but Penny was telling herself to stop judging. "It is highly demanding, which was why I turned away Ms. Sabrina at the door as she arrived."

"Go on…" Penny felt like more inquires would be best saved for later.

"I have no idea of what happened between them outside of my attendance, but they appeared to be very close." An eyebrow was raised. "If what I read from the situation was correct, there existed a fall out between them recently. This would explain the mistress' recent lack of expression."

"Are you saying they were in a relationship?" Penny felt like this was the only appropriate time to ask this. If what she guessed was correct, then this was what her daughter wanted her advice on earlier. She would have never expected it to be this. It was no secret that Sabrina was only in interested in women, but that was sheer attraction of biology. To think of her daughter being in a relationship was maddening. "Because I certainly was not aware of this."

"I wish to make no speculations; I merely am reporting what is reasonably inferred."

"Right, continue."

"I was ordered to remove Ms. Sabrina from the premise, but mistress indicated this was for monitoring purposes." Ren went on. Penny had another question ready, but decided against it. "I was then ordered to find Ms. Sabrina so that I could explain to her the full weight of the situation."

"What did Erika want then?"

"It would appear…" Ren's voice choked up for an instance. "…that mistress would prefer to seriously consider their relationship."

"Is it because there will be consequences?" Both parties were being cautious. One did not wish to reveal too much, while the other wanted to keep reserve.

"Indeed." The guest reaffirmed. "The mistress would undoubtedly lose her job over this."

"What?" Penny was genuinely confused by this point. A lot of information was being processed at once, but this made no sense to her. "What does their being in a relationship had to do with her abilities as a Gym leader?"

"That was not what I inferred." Ren's voice was sullen.

"Then what?"

"She would no longer be fit as the mistress of the Tsuyo family."