(Gasp!) Quicker update! Well, I'm going on a "vacation" the whole first week at October, and I'll be busy in the weekend, so…
Well, I kind of liked this chapter. And per one reviewer request, I tried to add more HildaxHilbert thing… Heck, I hope it's enough!
Yeah, speaking of reviewer, another two! Yaay! Seriously, I broke up into a wide grin and squealed in happiness. And yeah, another reason I started this chapter sooner.
That's it. Enjoy the chapter!
Oh, lame chapter name.
Disclaimer : Do not own Pokemon because instant noodle is awesome.
~ Subway Trouble ~
Chapter 4 : Overslept, Bianca, a Feast
RIIIING RIIIING RIIIING
Hilda jolted awake from her peaceful slumber. Her hand reached for the noisy alarm clock and jammed her fingers, eventually hitting a button, stopping the noise. She smirked before covering herself with the blanket.
RIING RIING RIING
"THE HELL!" Hilda half-screamed, grabbing the alarm clock next to her bed and jammed her fingers again, now pushing the stop button. She was about to close her eyes again, but the sunlight coming from the window sprayed over her face, effectively opening her blue eyes.
She's in the Pokemon Center's accommodation. The floor is covered with a dark blue carpet and cream wallpaper, with a simple white single bed and a cream blanket, a side table next to it with a lamp and alarm clock, a window in the far front of the bed, a wooden wardrobe, a desk with mirror and clothes hanger (which has her cap and belt), and a couch and small TV near the bathroom door, which was next to a small kitchen.
Her Pokemons is sleeping around the couches. Her Servine is curled on the carpet with a pillow beneath her. Musharna and Panpour simply rested on the couch, while Tranquil… stood on the armchair. You know.
Hilda lazily looked at the alarm clock of annoyance, checking the time.
11 : 17 AM
"Holy crap! I overslept!" she moaned as she stood up from the bed, waking some of her Pokemon. She grabbed her bag that was put on the floor, rummaging the contents and finding her usual white shirt, black vest, and short jeans, you know, the usual. She hastily grabbed them, threw them to the bed, closed the window and covered it with the black curtain, took a blanket before rushing off to the bathroom.
Warm water splashed over her body as Hilda was lost in thought. Let's see… Amusement Park, Pokemon Musical, Big Stadium, Small Court, Theatre, Battle Subway, Battle Institute… Can't list them all. Where should I go first… Oh that's right. Five PM at Gear Station… Can't forget that one. Maybe I'll go to the Pokemon Musical first? It's near a shopping street or so I remember…
She turned the shower knob, stopping the jet of water. She dried herself with the white blanket she took, wrapped it in her body, then walked to the bedroom. She quickly put on her clothes and slipped her X-Transceiver into her wrist. She folded her night gown and neatly placed them in her bag.
She looked at her Pokemons – like Pokemon like trainer – which aren't exactly awake. So to jolt them up, Hilda has her own ways. She took a Berry Pouch from her bag and took out three Pecha Berries and a Rawst Berry. She coughed, and immediately all her Pokemons stood, awake.
"Morning treat!" she exclaimed, throwing the berries into the air. Her Tranquil, of course, captured the Pecha Berry between it's beak with ease. Panpour jumped from the couch, flipping before catching the peach-like fruit in his hand. Musharna used her Psychic power to take the sweet berry, and finally Servine used her Vine Whip to grab the Rawst Berry. They smiled gratefully at Hilda then quickly nibbled their favorite berry. Hilda smiled at herself. She walked to the mirror near the desk, grabbed a comb that was put there and combed her hair, tying it into a ponytail. She grabbed the belt and slipped it into her belt before she lost in thought again.
I'll say. Nimbasa's Pokemon Center's accommodation is something else, with a small TV and a kitchen. Though Castelia's was… well… Obviously much grand, but this Pokemon Center's much more facilitated than Accumula's…
Hilda felt her Tranquil nudging her head against her back. She turned back, noticing that her Pokemon has finished their quick meal. She then took her white-and-pink cap and put it on. "Say, let's walk downstairs for a quick breakfast!"
All of her Pokemon cheered with excitement. Hilda took it as a good sign. "But first, lets clean this place up, first."
The excitement was changed with a groan, but they nodded nonetheless. Servine and Panpour put the pillows back to it's position, Musharna picked up the mess they made while eating with Telekinesis, and Tranquil flew near Musharna, with a trash can on it's feet. Hilda quickly made the bed and neatly shoved her belongings to her bag.
"Now done," she said, picking up the room key, "Let's have a breakfast!"
After giving the key back to the Nurse Joy, Hilda and her Pokemon strolled to the cafetaria. It has many wide choices of foods, and Hilda decided to have pancakes. She walked to the sweet stalls and ordered three stacks of pancakes, 5 cakes a stack. Too much? Nah. She also asked for a batch of berries, maple syrup, fresh water, and of course, MooMoo milk.
She brought the tray full of foods and put it in a nearby table. She sat on the chair, with Servine sits next to her, Tranquil standing near the table, Panpour jumped, sitting at the edge of the table, and Musharna floated near them.
"Now," she started, pushing the berries and the two stacks of pancakes to the middle, "You guys share those and gobble up!"
Her Pokemon cheered before taking the pancakes, starting to eat them. Servine in particular is much interested with the berries, though she also eats the pancake. And the other three sweet-loving Pokemon? They ate at the speed of light! OK, I'll stop using anime reference. Maybe.
Hilda spilled the maple syrup reasonably before jabbed one pancake with the fork and gobbled the whole thing. "Mmm! This is good!"
Hilda was about to gobble another when she heard her name being called. "Hilda~~~"
Hilda turned to the voice, it came from a blonde girl about her age, wearing a green beret. She wears a white dress with an orange vest over it, orange socks with yellow shoes, and a green slingbag in her shoulders.
"Oh, Bianca!" Hilda called. Bianca ran to her direction, but accidently tripped on her way.
"Oow…" she stuttered, holding her nose before walked towards Hilda's table. She noticed the pancake stack in front of her brunette childhood friend before commenting. "Wow, you still eat a lot!"
"Was that a compliment?" Hilda asked, arching her eyebrows playfully.
"Umm, maybe! If we eat a lot we'll be full of energy!" Bianca said cheerfully. Hilda rolled her eyes at Bianca.
"I've seen the news yesterday! You got yourself caught up in that whole gimmick? You allright?" Bianca asked, sounding worried.
"That's the past, and I'm all good! By the way, check out my Tranquil."
Bianca then noticed, instead of the little Pidove she used to cuddle (much to Hilda's annoyance), was a gray pigeon. "Cool! Your Pidove evolved? When?"
Hilda gobbled another of the pancake before answering. "Castelia City. After the retarted Plasma incident, I challenged Burgh's Gym..." she paused. "Oh, sorry about mentioning that."
Bianca perked. "It's fine! My Munny's all well, and it's also thanks to you!"
"Well, had your breakfast?" And Hilda ate another of the cake. The whole cake with one gulp, again.
Bianca sweatdropped before grinning. "Yeah! And seriously, how do you eat a lot but still not getting weight?"
Hilda contemplated for a moment. "Hey, I don't eat THAT much!"
"I guess" Bianca responded, looking at Hilda who's eating the second last pancake. "You just eat more and faster." That earned a glare from Hilda.
"At least I don't trip ten times every hour."
"I didn't trip THAT much!" Bianca countered, pouting childishly.
"Say Hilda! Know what you're going to do now?" Bianca asked, her green eyes eyeing Hilda who's finished with her pancakes and now drinking her MooMoo milk. She already returned her Pokemon because of some close-calls caused by Bianca.
"Not really… I want to enjoy something before I challenge the Gym tommorow."
"Say say say! Let's go to the Shopping Street with me! Then we can go to the Pokemon Musical!" Bianca offered – more like demanded, as she grabbed Hilda's arms.
Hilda almost chocked her milk. "Slow down! Let me finish my milk first!"
"Aaaw, c'mon! There's this cute Pokemon accessories shop I want to check! Ooh, and that plushie shop! I know you want a part of you to be bigger, but hurry! Oooh I can't wait."
Hilda jerked an eyebrow at some part of that sentence. "Since when do you learn to comment on something like that!" she exclaimed, blushing.
Bianca blinked her green orbs a few times before getting Hilda's grip. "Oh, that bigger part? Cheren told me!"
Hilda palmed. "Dammit Cheren, I'd never thought you'll be that kind of guy…"
"He said it's useful to make you stop drinking milks, what did he mean anyway?"
"You know what, Bianca? Forget what Cheren said, and lets go to this shopping street." Hilda made a mental note to make Cheren pay for this.
"Uuuh, okay!"
After the breakfast – more like brunch – Hilda let herself being dragged by Bianca to this Shopping Street. True to it's name, the street has many shops all over it, from Pokemon goods, clothes, books, you name it. The blonde spotted a shop that got her interest and immediately perked.
"Hilda! Hilda! Let's go to that shop! C'mon, lets go!" Bianca beamed, grabbing the brunette and dashed off, only to trip over a stone, taking Hilda with her, and…
THUD
"Oww… It hurts…" Bianca pouted.
Hilda shrugged, she's quite used with her best friend's anticts. It's actually one of the things she loved about Bianca. Even though she somehow always get in the middle of it. But still…
Bianca stood up and regained her balance before she helped Hilda to stand. "Hilda, you okay? Sorry I grabbed you like that!"
Hilda patted her back, a bit hurt from the fall. "I am! I'm so fine, my head's spinning and I feel like jumping to a herd of Whimsicotts!" She answered playfully, earning a glare. "Naah, where are we going again?"
"Over there!" Bianca pointed to a small shop, showing off a few scarfs and necklaces from the glass window. She then runs – careful to not tripping again – and Hilda quickly followed, entering the building.
It has many cabinets filled with what Hilda reckon as accessories. There's also a head manequins with a hat, scarfs, or glasses. Another rack filled with weird goods tied with colorful strings – probably necklaces.
"Welcome! Can I help you?" a woman around her twenties greeted the Pokemon Trainers.
"Umm, I saw many cute goodies outside… What kind of stuffs do you sell here?" Bianca tried.
"Oh! We're mostly selling Pokemon accessories here!" she answered.
"Accessories?" Hilda asked, raising her eyebrows.
"Well, accessories for your Pokemon to wear! Like us wearing necklaces, bracelets, you know. But what we sell is more than that. We're selling accessories than can actually boost your Pokemon's power in battle!" she explained.
"Ooh! Sounds cool! How does it work?" Bianca questioned, her eyes tinkled with excitement.
"For example…" she walked to a nearby rack, taking a necklace with blue droplet-like gem in it. "This is Mystic Water. This boosts water-type attacks."
"Oooh! So there's other goods for other types too?"
"Yes, of course! Now, what type are your Pokemons?"
"Umm, Normal, Water, Fire, Psychic…" Bianca answered. "But I'm going to catch more!"
"Well then, I can help you with that"
Hilda facepalmed. Oh crap, Arceus knows how much she's going to buy…
Ten minutes later…
"What did you get, Hilda?" Bianca asked her friend cheerfully.
"Not much, just some necklace strings."
"Whaat? You should get like, one accessories for your Pokemon! It'll help in battles too, see!" she responded, waving her hands in the air. "I'm going to buy all accessories for all types, in case I'm catching a new member!"
Hilda winced at the statement. "Umm, did you check the price?"
Bianca stopped, blinking her eyes, before she looked over the pricetags, then palmed. "Umm, I'll put back some."
"Ooh! Ooh! Let's go to the plushie store over there!" Bianca pointed at plushie store at the corner of the street. Hilda groaned as she looked at her blonde's luggages. She bought several Pokemon goodies from the store before, some Pokemon clothes she thought it was cute, some Pokemon-shaped hats (which Hilda was sure she'll never really use), and some other Hilda forgot. Hilda herself only got some necklace strings and a small blue bag that can be put on her belt.
"Plushie? What are you going to do with those? We're on a journey, no?" Hilda asked, sweatdropping.
"Well~ It's good for sleeping companion! And I can always send some back home!" she reasoned.
Hilda groaned again. Bianca loves Plushie. No cloud nor squall will hinder her from plushies (Yay FFIX reference!). But she doesn't like to be involved in her plushie hunting. And her poor friend might suffered a great money loss.
She looked over her X-Transceiver. 2 : 28 PM. She tugged Bianca's shoulder, and the blonde turned her head back.
"You know, I have some appointment at around 4 PM, don't you say you want to visit the Pokemon Musical?"
Bianca blinked her eyes for a few moments, before closing her eyes, thinking. "Mmm…" She opened her eyes. "We'll just go to the Musical now!" Hilda internally sighed in relief.
They quickly leave the shopping street, with Hilda leading, making sure Bianca doesn't spot some other shop and changed her mind. Kind of failed eventually.
"Hey, look! A plushie stall!" the blonde pointed at a stall with a big Audino banner that said 'Plushies'.
"Not again, Bianca…"Hilda sighed in exasparation.
"Aww, c'mon… Just this once… Please?" Bianca pleaded, putting her Lillipup eyes. Hilda winced. She and Cheren almost never can escape her Lillipup eyes. She was about to reluctantly agree when Bianca spotted something.
"You know what, forget it. Let's go to the Musical, quick!" With that, she grabbed Hilda's arm and made a run.
"Bian – "
"Let's just go!"
Hilda don't know what happened to Bianca, but her facial expression tells her the most of it. She panicked for some reasons. As if she was trying to evade a certain someone.
"Just around this corner…" Bianca turned, and saw a big dome with flashy star shaped big neon light, with a Pokeball and a music note in front of it. Below is a neon light that said "Musical". But the entrance…
"Closed for the day… Oh great." Hilda groaned after reading the announcement paper on the closed gate. Bianca, on the other hand, palmed. She looked like a Sewaddle being chased by a Braviary.
"W..well" she weakly whispered, "Then lets go to the Big Court! It's just a few minutes if we run!"
"Run?" Hilda asked, tilting her head.
"Umm… Ah! Hilda! Hide me!" Bianca squeaked, hiding behind Hilda's body. The brunette raised her eyebrows.
"Bianca, what's – "
"BIANCA!" a loud angry voice called.
Hilda immediately turned, and in front of her was a fat man around his 40s. He had a caramel hair, a gray-green sweater and brown pants. His eyes are green – similar to that of Bianca's. Hilda immediately recognized this person.
"… Dad…" Hilda heard Bianca muttered.
Bianca's father. He's overall nice, but is extremely overprotective of her daughter. One time he almost punched Cheren for 'influencing' something bad to his daughter, though all the black-haired boy did was telling her how Pokemon is able to reproduce egg. He didn't allow Bianca to embark on her Pokemon journey, but Bianca ran away from home and started the journey anyway.
"Daddy?" Bianca questioned, her head peeking from Hilda's shoulder. "What are you doing here?"
"I've come to take you back home, of course!" he roared, green eyes of his locking with Bianca's similar eyes. "Your mother told me that you'd made it all the way out here. Haven't you gone far enough?" he angrily questioned, walking closer to both female trainer.
"No way!" Bianca spat, though her eye is started tearing. "I'm going to keep traveling with Hilda and my Pokemon!"
Hilda gulped. What did I get myself into…? She thought. No way Bianca's letting herself grabbed home. Same goes to the other, no way his dad is going to allow his daughter to continue her journey that easily. But she know how much her best friend loved her Pokemon, and the adventures she did with them. Going back to her house won't do anything good to her. Hilda didn't hate Bianca's father, but it does annoy her to no end how he didn't let Bianca do things on her own.
"Absolutely not! Others do things their way, and we do things ours!" he growled, grabbing Bianca's arm.
Bianca let herself being dragged by her father, but just a few steps after, she quickly shoved his hand off. He glared daggers at his daughter's anticts. "Is that so?" she bitterly asked. "Then, how about you do things your way, and I'll do things mine!" she finally snapped, returning the angry glare to her father.
An angry mark appeared in his head. "What manners, Bianca! I knew your mother was wrong with letting you go on your own! You're going with me, whether you like it or not!"
"Make me!"
Bianca's father was about to grab his daughter when Hilda finally had it. She stepped in, standing in front of her blonde friend, glaring fiercely at the over-protective man.
"Sir, what good can Bianca get from just staying in her house like a shiny Eevee?" Hilda questioned with a slight bitter tone.
"You, Hilda, of all people, should know!" he spoke, referring to hijack that happened yesterday. There's too much danger that might happen to her! She knows nothing about the real world!"
"She was! Now she learned, thanks to her journey!"the brunette spat back.
"Bah! And that's enough! Continue this longer, and who knows what will happen to her! You know how clumsy can she get!"
"I know you care about Bianca! But she's not getting any better if she stayed in her house all the time! Pain's a given in life, and she will not grow if she didn't feel one!"
"Are you saying you wanted my daughter to HURT?" he asked angrily, emphasizing the last word.
"Journey's not all about hurt, and I know it! You haven't seen Bianca's face when she visited new places, haven't you? Her happiness when she's with her Pokemon? Are you saying you want to take THAT – "
"Hi… Hilda…" Bianca weakly whispered, her tears starting to pile up, catching Hilda's attention.
"Sorry Bianca, let me." Hilda turned back to Bianca's father. "You're NOT helping her by locking her at home. You're crushing her!"
"Arceus!" he growled. "This whole journey is absurd! Why did your mother let you leave on your own? You've lost your manner, kid!"
That said, his hand uncontrollably flew. Hilda didn't move – and didn't plan to, it might hurt Bianca instead – and let his hard pound land on her face.
"Hilda!" Bianca gasped, looking at the brunette's red cheek.
Hilda was silent – her eyes widen for a few moments, her hand reached for her cheek. The man in front of her stood in silence, his angry eyes still glaring at the brunette. Surely, soon enough, the glare was returned by her own.
"Are you saying that you want to take her happiness to fancy yourself?" she said bitterly.
"You!"
He lost it. She knew, but she felt like saying that, and no punch's stopping her. She saw his fist curled, and soon it went flying at her face. She raised her hand in a reflex. But the contact never came. Slowly, she peeked through her fingers.
And the first thing she noticed is Bianca's father's fist, still curled, though stopped mid-air for some reasons. Then she noticed in his arms are a pair of pale hands – contrasting his own tanned – stopping his fist's track. Said intruder is wearing a blue jacket, ringing Hilda's bell for some reasons.
"Sir, you'll get a trouble with the Police if you're beating up a girl in the public, worse is said girl didn't do anything wrong," came the quick, stern warning from the boy.
Hilda lowered her hands and turned her head, spoting the familiar brunet trainer stopping the chubby man's fist. "Hilbert?"
Hilbert gave her a quick glance, his brown eyes twitched at the sight of her cheek. Then he looked at Bianca who had a question mark in her face, before turning his head back to the blonde's father.
The father growled angrily for a few moments before loosening his right palm, and Hilbert eventually let his hand go. He took a deep breath, his flaming green eyes moved to Hilbert, then to Hilda, and finally focused on his daughter.
"Bianca!" he called, "You're going home! Something eventually comes to an end, and in this case, your journey!"
"And your patience, old man" Hilda silently spat – heard by Hilbert, who rolled his eyes in annoyance and fascination. You don't see this kind of girl everyday.
"Sweetie, you keep going on your travels."
Everyone turned their heads to see a blonde-haired woman around her 20-30 with earphones with long staps on her ears. She wears a yellow halter with black stripes in the middle, a black leggings and a yellow heels.
"For Arceus' sake!" he groaned. "What are you two doing? This is a family matter!"
"Not anymore after you slapped Hilda." Hilbert deadpanned, crossing his arms.
"We're sorry for eavesdropping," the woman responded, eyeing her brunet companion, who shrugged. "My name is Elesa. I'm this town's Gym Leader," Hilda raised her eyebrow at that statement, "I also happen to be a model." She then motioned at Hilbert. "And that young trainer over there is Hilbert." The boy nodded towards the older brunet before moving to Hilda's side.
Elesa turned her sight to the younger blonde – Bianca. "You know, there are many people in this world," she started, earning Bianca's interest. "There are people whose way of thinking may be completely different from yours. Sometimes, this means you may get hurt."
"Of course! That's exactly right! It's because I'm worried about that…" Bianca's dad responded, trailing off.
"But it's important to keep trying, to learn about the difference between yourself and others…" she paused. "To learn that being different is OK. And you shouldn't worry. Trainer always have Pokemon at their side. Pokemon are wonderful. It's not only how cute they can be, but also how much you can depend on them…"
"And it's not only Pokemon," Hilbert suddenly spoke. "I'm sure your daughter have many friends to always support her. Hilda is the evidence." The brunette blushed slightly at that comment.
"But – " the man tried, but was cut.
"Please!" Bianca pleaded. "I know there's gonna be painful stuff like you're worrying about! I know! Really, I get it!" she said, tears started forming in her green orbs, but she rubbed it off. "But, like, listen… There'll be tons of nice people, too." Hilbert smiled at this. "Know what else? Since I've been traveling with Pokemon, I've already gotten tougher, I can totally tell. So… please?" she ended.
The brunet man stood in silence for a few minutes. "Hmm… I guess." He looked straight at Bianca's face. "If wanting to continue your journey is selfishness on your part, wanting to stop you is selfishness on mine. I'm surprised to find I'm the one being childish – at my age!" he admitted.
He then turned to Elesa. "This Gym Leader's comments helped me wake up. Bianca, I'm sure it's better that you take the pats you want to take now." Hearing that, Bianca and Hilda beamed in joy inside. "I hope that your journey will be fun. Bon voyage!"
He then approached Hilda, his face looking to the ground. "Hilda, I'm sorry for slapping you earlier. Please… Take care of my little girl, OK?" With that, he took off.
Bianca ran her foot a few steps towards her father. Cupping her mouth with her hands, she exclaimed. "Papa, Ill come home after I find out what I really want to do!" She was then answered with a wave. She rubbed her eyes, getting rid of the tears that is flowing.
"I'm sure he traveled as a Trainer himself, in the past… Being a parent must be hard." Elesa commented, before turning to the silent brown-haired girl.
"Say Hilbert, is this the same Hilda you was talking about?" she asked, earning Hilda's interest.
"Hmm? Yes, she is." Hilbert answered, his eyes locked at the brunette's swelling cheek. Hilda was about to ask what did they mean when she was tackled by a yellow blur. Literally.
"Hilda! Your cheek! Is it hurt?" Bianca voiced her concern, pushing her childhood friend and made her wobbly.
"Bianca! Don't – Eeek!" the brunette yelped, eventually losing her balance, taking Bianca with her. Luckily Hilbert caught her back and Elesa helped Bianca regaining her posture.
"S – Sorry!" Bianca stuttered, blushing while looking at the Gym Leader.
"It's fine. Say, did I meddle unnecessarily? That was quite troubling, and since Hilbert already jumped, I decided to chime in."
"No, thanks for assuring my Dad! I don't want to worry him, so…" said Bianca, who quickly turned to Hilda. "Your cheek okay?"
Hilda regained her balance with Hilbert's help. She looked at the blonde and smiled. "I'll be, if you don't tackle me again!" she said teasingly.
"Heey! You know, sometimes you're such a Cheren!" Bianca complained, pouting.
"A Cheren? Speaking of him, let's not go into that shall we?" Hilda said, remembering the talk they had earlier this morning.
"You're quite chirpy for a girl with swollen cheek," Hilbert commented, chuckling, his hands still on Hilda's shoulders.
Hilda grinned. "Am I supposed to be chalant about it?"
"Well, preferably no."
"She's really as rash as you said, though I don't expect her to stood up against older man." Elesa added, before turning to the girl.
"I heard of you from the news channel yesterday, and Hilbert told me that you're quite a trainer and challenge Gyms. Plan challenging mine?"
Hilda perked. "I do, actually. But heard that you're taking an off today, so I'm going to challenge yours tommorow."
"Oh, yes I do take an off. But what Hilbert said about you interest me, so if you want, I'll be free in my Gym around 7 PM today. I have a quick TV gig real soon, and it won't take long. How about it?" she offered, smiling.
"Oh, it's good! I'll be at your Gym by then!"
"Allright, now I have to take my leave. Hilbert?"
"Elesa?" the brunet responded, raising his eyebrows.
"Well, take care of Hilda. I mean her cheek. I've got to go now, take care!" she finished, and walked towards the other way, leaving the three trainers behind.
"Now, let's search a place somewhere to sit."
"She's so cool! Hah! I want to be a totally cool woman like Elesa!" Bianca said brightly.
Hilda, Bianca, and Hilbert is now sitting in a bench nearby the Pokemon Musical dome, with Hilbert tending Hilda's cheek. She's been saying she's fine and was reluctant about it, but a glare from Hilbert and Bianca's noisy chatter made her gave up.
"You're telling me," Hilbert commented, applying some medicine on Hilda's cheek. "She's a Gym Leader and a model."
"I'll say. Gym Leaders in Unova surely are unique. Waiters… artist… models…" Hilda added, wincing slightly from the medicine and her voice quite soft because of the wound.
"Oh, by the way!" Bianca suddenly chirped, nudging Hilbert's shoulder. He turned back curiously, facing the blonde.
"We haven't introduced ourselves formally!" she exclaimed, then offered her hand. "I'm Bianca Bel! I'm from Nuvema Town, and I'm Hilda's childhood friend. Nice to meet you!"
Hilbert blinked for a few moments before accepting her hand. "I'm Hilbert Black, from Lacunosa, nice to meet you too" he said with a smile.
"Was that really necessary?" Hilda teasingly asked.
"Should I pinch your cheek?" the brunet playfully threatened.
"Hell, NO!" she groaned.
Hilbert chuckled before turning to Bianca again. "Say, is she always like this?"
Bianca's green eyes showed a glint. "Oooh, even worse! I mean, there's one time she – "
"Bianca!" Hilda cut, blushing madly like a Tamato Berry. "Continue and I'll show Cheren that!"
"No fair! Blackmailer!" Bianca pouted.
"Aww c'mon, no harm telling me would it?" Hilbert grinned, nudging Hilda's cheek with his finger. A slight blush crept to her already red cheek.
"Aaah!" Bianca suddenly yelped, earning the brown-haired trainers' interest. "I forgot I have something to do! Oh no I'm going to be late!"
"Umm, what?" Hilda asked, rolling her eyes in confusion.
"I'll tell later! Hilbert, nice to meet you and thanks for taking care of Hilda! Hilda, I'll see you later! And don't show Cheren that okay! Byee~~"
Before Hilda and Hilbert could respond, Bianca sped off, running to the same way her father went.
"She was… umm…" Hilbert thought, searching a word suitable.
"A kind of airhead, but she's nice nonetheless" Hilda finished for him. "By the way, I haven't thanked you for earlier have I?" She took out her hand. "Thanks for helping me."
Hilbert rolled his eyes before his face broke out into a grin. "Is this really necessary?" he asked teasingly, referring to her words to Bianca.
She blushed. "Don't you go Copycat me!"
Hilbert laughed for a few moments. "Now, don't mention it. Though, you're one quick to change."
Hilda stared at him, dumbfounded. "What?"
He shrugged. "I thought you'll go all guilty like you did yesterday. You're one odd fellow."
She spun her brain for a moment. True, she felt like… it's… fine, to let him help her so easily. It came… natural, like it's supposed to be. Sure, she still held back, it's a habit. But still…
"I guess you're one easy fellow to open up," she said, smiling warmly. "And, you have one hell of a death-glare" she teased.
Hilbert cheerfully grinned. "I'll take that as a compliment. Not sure about the latter though."
"Hey, I mean every word I said over there!"
"My glare isn't that bad…"
"You should really check yourself on a mirror."
He snorted as a respond, before he grabbed Hilda's shoulder, making her facing directly at his face. This caused Hilda to redden.
"W, what?" she softly asked.
"Hush, I'm just applying the bandage at your cheek" he responded, his other hand holding a sheet of white paper-like bandage. That said, he leaned closer and carefully placed it in her swelling cheek. She felt his breath on her face, making her twitch slightly.
"Hey, don't move. Might hurt yourself" he told her, lifting her chin, then he softly massaged her cheek to make sure the bandage doesn't fall off. And if there's any berry redder than Chople Berry, might as well compare it to Hilda's face. She's blushing furiously, and oddly enough Hilbert seemed to not notice.
"There, all done," Hilbert finally said after what feels like an eternity for Hilda. "Any better?"
Great Hilda, what's wrong with you? He's just, you know, tending your wounds! The hell are you thinking right now! Look at him! He's not thinking about anything weird. Hey, I'll admit he's nice and all, and also quite good-looking – the hell! My Arceus, wait till my mom hear about –
"Landorus to Hilda!" Hilbert called, waving his hand in front of the dozing off brunette. She snapped out – jumped. "Geez! Daydreaming again?" he asked.
She blushed out of embarrassment. "I wasn't!" she started reasoning. "I was, you know, thinking about the incident with Bianca and her father a few moments – "
She was cut by the brunet's laughter. "That's daydreaming! Duuh!" he said between laughs.
Red crept all over her face, made the swollen cheek behind the bandage looked like it was nothing. "C'mon! Stop making fun of me!" Hilda cried.
The brunet tried to stop his laughter, and in a minute it finally turned into a few snickers. "Sorry, I can't help it. Sometimes you're such a silly girl."
"Oh, thanks!" Hilda huffed in exasparation, crossing her arms and pouting. Hilbert chuckled and patted Hilda's head.
"Hey! What gives?"
"I'll say. You're quite cute when you're acting childish." He grinned.
"Am I supposed to – Hey! Said the boy who complained because he can't name a Pokemon started with an M!"
"Oh, you really need to brought that up, did you? Something wrong with me complimenting you?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.
That silenced Hilda. Of course! She wasn't taking the entire cute thing seriously. And the whole bandage thing just make her feel even more awkward. She didn't know how to respond this kind of stuff, really. She's never been in a sort of relationship before…
"Hey, daydreaming again?" Hilbert spoke, cutting the silence, though his tone sounded a bit… worried?
"Oh! S-sorry!" she responded, stuttering.
"Geez, you need a Munna for your own. Keep this up and eventually you'll have a Yamask possessing you."
"Hell, I don't daydream that bad! And I do have a Musharna, you know!"
"Really?" the brunet asked, interested. "Well, I don't know that. I've only seen your Panpour. At least you have your Musharna to eat your dreams…"
"Please, that's not extremely necessary," Hilda stated, rolling her eyes.
"Fine…" he said, still grinning ear to ear. "What are you going to do now anyways? Elesa won't be ready until around 7 PM."
"Hmm?" She looked at her X-Transceiver. Still 3-4 hours to kill. "Well, I was planning to meet you at the Gear Station, so…"
"Ah, right. I was gonna make you join the Multi-Battle Train there, but I don't think your swollen cheek will do" the brunet explained, pointing at her bandaged cheek.
"This doesn't hurt that bad…" Hilda assured him. "I can take a few battles. It'll be a good warm-up for my Gym challenge."
"Nope. You'll regret doing it with that cheek of yours. We'll do that tommorow if you have time…" he offered, putting his hands below his head.
"But I'm – "
"No, and that's it. You'll know why later." Hilbert deadpanned, sending Hilda his so-called death-glare.
Hilda immediately gulped. "…Okay then. I'll take your words. Though, any idea what for me to do?"
And as if to answer her question, her stomach started to grumble. Both trainer looked at each other, face dumbfounded. Soon after, another stomach decided to join grumbling, and both started a round of laughter.
"Hah! You're hungry too. How about a lunch?" Hilbert asked after they both calmed down.
"Sure thing, any good restaurant to eat?" she asked, rubbing her eyes from the tears of laughter.
"Hmm… There's this nice and affordable sandwich joint… Want to grab a feast there?" Hilbert offered.
"Now that sounds nice! I feel like a Munchlax after hibernation!" the brunette grinned, looking at her companion.
"Hell, I'm a Snorlax after diet," Hilbert stated, returning the grin.
"Oh really? Bet I'm much better than you when it comes to fast-eating."
"As if that's something to brag! Well, I'm pretty confident with mine."
"It's a challenge, then?" Hilbert stood up, offering his hands to the ponytailed girl.
She took it without any hestitation, smiling. "You're on. Losers pay the meal."
Riiight… Eating contest is awesome! But seriously, that sandwich joint is going down in a few hours… XD
I know you'll probably expect a subway thingy, but I love the incident with Bianca and all. And Bianca's plain funny, loving her. I knew I should add some scene with her.
And to answer the two reviewers (am lazy to use message at the moment, it's 10PM here!)
Magic Feline – Aww you're flattering me! It means a lot for me, so thank you very much! Hope you enjoy this chapter too!
DragonNiro – Yay, thanks for reviewing! Stutting is always fun… XD Hope you're enjoying this chapter!
Okay… Review if you have time, and make me happy! Holy crap, here comes mom! (Hides with the blanket)