I know she probably doesn't mean anything by it. And I don't feel upset on the slightest. But suddenly the atmosphere is so awkward. It feels like anything I say, or anything she says for that matter, would be the moment that whatever we had had going for the past half hour or so would end.

She opens her mouth to speak. I brace myself for her to ask for clarification as to what our relationship should be.

"Wouldn't it be nice to just fly away into the sunset?"

Instead of awkward and painful to answer questions, she's just thinking out loud. I let out a sigh of relief.

"If I was a flying-type Pokémon, I feel like I might sometimes," I admit. "But I'm stuck down here, and I'm fine with that."

"That's a right good philosophy."

After that, the silence resumes. It's sort of frustrating in a way.

Suddenly I get an inspiration. It's crazy, of course, but I decide it's worth a try.

"Speaking of Pokémon!"

She tilts her head. "Speakin' of Pokémon?" She repeats. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You can buy items for them!"

"Ohh, is that right?"

"That's right! For instance, if you want to keep wild Pokémon away, you need a repel."

Now Ayumu is nodding, like she's taking it in.

"Ah suppose you must be right," she says. "Oh! An' what if you want to use 'em over an' over again?"

I blink. I wasn't expecting her to set up the punch line herself.

"...Then you need a re-repel!" I brace myself for a slap before remembering who's actually with me.

Surprisingly, she actually does give me a sort of half-hearted karate chop.

"What you mean?"

It's not exactly to script, but I basically just did a routine with someone who was a total stranger under an hour ago. I laugh, just because Ayumu Kasuga is amazing and I never want this evening to end.

I wonder if we can get through another.

"Different items have different prices," I say, hoping she'll catch on again. "Some things are hard to afford."

"Oh, Ah see what you mean."

"If you don't have enough money, there are plenty of ways to get it!"

"Right." She's thinking now, probably wondering what she should say next. "An' it'll all be worth it for a great item."

"Hmm..." I wrack my brain for a punchline. "Actually, I'm not really buying all this talk about buying things!"

"What you mean?" She whacks me again. Then she smiles. "That was right fun. How come you're so good at stand-up comedy?"

"Pearl and I are comedians," I explain. "The first one was one of our routines, but I just improvised the second one."

"Wahh, that's mighty impressive," she says. "Are ya'll famous or somethin'?"

"Hardly. We won a contest in Sandgem Town, but it's not like we're celebrities."

"You could be, though. Ah think you're good enough."

I blush.

"Thanks."

Ayumu sort of pokes at my cheek.

"How come your face is so red?" She asks. "You okay?"

"I'm fine." I give her a smile to let her know it's all right. "It's just that I don't get complimented like that very often."

The sun has gone down by this point, and it's getting dark pretty fast. I still haven't found Pearl or Lady, and Ayumu hasn't found her friend either.

"We should go," I mutter. "Why don't I take you home, and then I can head back here and try to find my friends."

"Okay..."

"It's and pity we don't have any money, or we could call a taxi," I sigh.

"Ah got money!"

"You do? But I thought you said-"

"Ah got it from the fountain." She pulls some coins out of her pocket. "Alright! Let's call a taxi!"

"It looks like enough," I agree. "Okay, let's go back in and find a phone to use."

We head back in a few minutes before closing time. I find a payphone and dial in the number for a taxi service while Ayumu waits.

In a few minutes, the cab arrives. We go outside and say goodbye.

"It sure was nice meetin' you, Dia-chan," she says. "...Or do you prefer Diamond?"

I shrug.

"I'm fine either way."

"Oh! Ah got somethin' for you..." She rummages about in her bag before pulling out a plastic container with a cupcake in it. "There was a bakery in the food court that Ah figured you just might enjoy somethin' from."

I open the container. The cupcake is decorated to look like a Turtwig. I smile.

"How did you know I had a Turtwig?"

"Huh?" She blinks. "Ah don't know..."

"Well, thank you," I say. "And with that, until next time, Ayumu Kasuga."

"Naw," she says. "Call me Osaka."

"But I thought you wanted-" I break off. It doesn't matter what she wants to be called. "Bye, Osaka."

"Bye, Diamond!" She climbs into the cab. I wave to her. Then I hear a voice coming from behind me.

"Hey, Dia! Where the heck have you been?!" It's Pearl. He's running up to me, with Lady following behind him. "We looked all over for you! You didn't get lost, did you?"

"Actually, I kind of did," I admit.

"Idiot!" He smacks me over the head. It's the kind of thing you get used to. "So, um, who was that girl?"

"Oh, that was Ayumu," I tell him. "Her nickname's Osaka. So, um, what have you been up to?"

"Well, first we bought some new outfits," says Lady. "Then we bought some jewelry. Then we tried massage chairs. Next we headed over to-"

"Yeah. You get the idea." Pearl still seems curious about Ayumu. "A better question might be, what exactly have you been up to?"

"Um, I bought her some stuff..." I tell them about our afternoon at the mall. "...It all felt really strange," I finish, "like she was from a different world."

"Wait a minute." Pearl is glaring at me. "When you said you bought things for Osaka..."

"There's no money left," I admit. "Sorry."

"Idiot!" He smacks me again. I'm not too surprised.

Still, I think as I gaze in the direction that her cab drove off in, it was worth it to see Ayumu smile at me like that.