"Ahhh," I yawned. Opening my eyes, I was met with the sun's comforting light shining through the window.
The previous battle was intense, and harder than I would like to admit. I still felt slightly sore... but that's no reason for slowing down!
I quickly flew up from the bed.
"Harden wa-" I was just about to say when I noticed his absence.
Maybe he woke up earlier?
Out of caution, I turned invisible and flew out of our room.
When I got to the pokécenter's reception, I did find Serena there, though there was no trace of Harden. I couldn't even telepathically 'talk' to him, meaning that he must have been quite some distance away.
What to do? I could always just fly around town with my invisibility, but, well... this is certainly easier.
I approached Serena, who was looking at something in her Rotomphone, and turned myself visible again.
"Huh? Oh, you woke up." Initially startled, her surprise faded when she saw me, redirecting her attention away from the Rotomphone.
I made - or at least did my best to make - a few signals with my paws, trying to ask where Harden is.
"Right... If you're looking for Harden, he said he was going to train with Quarsh outside of town," she said. Wasting no time, I made my V sign to say thanks, turned invisible again and flew out of the center.
Now, I just need to find his aura and- I thought to myself before I saw Quarsh literally skyrocket so high that I could see him from miles away.
Nevermind that I thought and flew into his direction.
When I finally got close, I could see both Quarsh and Harden. The latter was thoroughly soaked, probably from having to catch Quarsh over and over again.
"Ok Quarsh, let's try again! Geyser Jump!" Harden said and Quarsh took to the sky once more.
I slowly approached, planning to scare him.
"Sorry Tini, that's not working on me," he said before I could even get near him.
I sighed in defeat and turned myself visible again.
"Sometimes, I ask myself if you have a locator on me or something," I said and sat down on his shoulder.
"Haha, I don't need one. I can quite comfortably feel when you're nearby," he said.
"Huff, well, what do we have for today?" Not wanting to continue the subject, I decided to bring up the important topic at hand. And despite feeling like I already knew his answer, I couldn't help but also be excited and anxious.
"Well, I think I'll spend the whole day training with Quarsh... That's about it," he said. I froze in shock.
W-what?
"A-Aren't you forgetting something?" I asked.
"Uhm, I don't think so," he said nonchalantly. While I stood there in shock, he swiftly turned around to catch Quarsh before he could make contact with the ground.
Is he trying to trick me? No, that's not like him... Maybe he really forgot? No, of course not!
"Alright Harden, what's this joke about?" I asked.
"What joke?" he replied, looking confused.
"Don't play dumb on me! We just found out about an incredibly strong transformation and you don't want to try it out again?" I asked. His eyes narrowed, settling on a serious look.
"Well, yeah, that's exactly it," he said. I took a few seconds to process what I just heard.
"WHAT!?" I screamed, causing him to take a step back.
"Why are you screa-" Before he was able to finish, I took hold of his collar and pulled him face to face with me.
"What do you mean by 'that's exactly it'!? We should be training to do that again! This should be our number one priority, especially with how strong it looked!" I said, trying to talk some sense into him.
If anything, however, he now looked even more serious. Tentatively, he reached out and grabbed my paws, making me let go of his collar.
"That would normally be true, but, we dont know what triggers the battle bond nor do we know if it really is something we can do freely, just like that."
"W-well, maybe! But we'll never know until we try!"
"And we will, I promise you that. But for now, I need you to focus on recovering. We'll have a tough battle tomorrow and I'll need you strong and healthy," he said encouragingly.
"Ugh... I suppose you do have a point... But what am I supposed to do for the entire day? I mean, I don't want to just sit around and do nothing..."
"Well, I overheard Serena saying that she was going to get some groceries though she didn't mention what exactly. So, you could go with her. If something catches your eye, just tell her I'll pay her back later."
Thinking about it for a moment, I eventually gave in and rolled my eyes exasperatedly before making my way back.
Once I arrived at the pokécenter, I was somewhat surprised to not find Serena inside. I guess she already went to get whatever she was going to buy. Because of that, I decided to simply go to the room Harden and I were currently staying in.
Looking back, I don't know for how long I lay there. Everything he said... Each phrase kept repeating in my mind, with one part in particular sticking out from the rest.
Postponing training because you're worried about me? Can't you see how I feel about it? Remembering the connection in mind both Harden and I had back then, I couldn't help but blush.
Before I could continue my thoughts, I heard someone knocking at the door.
Out of reflex, I turned invisible. Noticing it was Serena who opened the door, I turned back visible shortly after.
"So you're here," she breathed out. "You see, Harden called me and asked if you were accompanying me. Of course, you weren't and so he asked me to check up on you. I know he said that I shouldn't be too worried because you know how to take care of yourself, but well, I may have gotten a little worried... After all, you two are always glued to each other and..."
I just looked away. While I do appreciate her trying her best to understand me, I just wasn't in the mood to have more a complicated conversation with her now. However...
"Did you and Harden talk?" Sometimes, she does manage to amaze me.
In response, I simply nodded.
"Was it about anything too serious?" I shook my head.
"Was it about yesterday?" I nodded.
"Uhm... let me guess, it's because of the battle bond and transformation?" I hesitated, but eventually nodded.
"I can imagine what happened. Before you woke up this morning, I asked him about it and he said that he didn't want to try it now because of tomorrow's battle. I guess you don't share his opinion, do you?" I shook my head.
"I see," she said and we stayed silent for a few seconds.
"Well... If you don't have anything else to do..." She lifted the bags she had been carrying.
"What about you come help me with some baking?" Slightly tilting her head, she gave me a bright smile.
I looked to the side. Thinking that spending time with her could be fun, I ultimately caved in.
"Great! Then come on!" she said happily and skipped out of the room. I eventually followed her.
She guided me behind the pokécenter, where she already prepared a small cooking set.
How does she even fit all of that stuff in her backpack? There's even a small stove! Though admittedly, Harden does also carry an entire cooking pot around... I thought and approached Serena.
"When I traveled around Kalos with Ash, I was the one who cooked for all of us, though I didn't really mind. And for today, I was thinking 'Why not make one of my old recipes?'" She gathered some of the fruits she brought along and put them on the table.
"Sorry... I don't know anything about cooking. Harden tried to teach me a few times, but..." She looked at me, noticing my confused expression.
"Don't worry, I'll teach you everything you need to know!"
Serena did most things like cutting the fruits in small bits and mixing the ingredients such as flour and spices at first. Pretty much all I did was 'help' with tasting, though I'm not complaining.
That is we until we arrived at the part at which we had to decorate our poképuffs.
"Ok! Now, I want you to try to add the icing on top. Don't forget to be careful," she said, handing me a very small icing nozzle.
Holding it was a little bothersome, but I ultimately managed.
Seeing that I was ready, Serena put the first poképuff in front of me.
I started on the sides and slowly got to the middle. However, before I could finish, I got impatient and tried to speed things up, only for most of the icing to spurt out in one batch.
Serena obviously saw it and told me to try again.
And I failed, again. And again and again.
"Ugh! How can this be so difficult!?" I said, angrily looking at the small poképuff.
Serena, noting my frustration, laughed a little. Feeling a bit embarrassed, I looked away.
"Don't worry, this is normal on your first try. Here, look," she said and took a bigger nozzle out of her backpack.
She then slowly covered the upper layer of the poképuff with a perfectly even layer of frosting.
"See, it's not that hard! You just need to be slow and patient," she said while putting another finished poképuff on the table.
I looked at her a little reluctantly, but still decided to try one last time. I slowly covered the poképuff's upper part, starting at the rim and steadily advancing to the middle. And after a few seconds, I did manage to finish without wasting any frosting whatsoever.
"See? Just be patient, take it slow and you'll be able to do it," she said. Initially, I thought she was only talking about the frosting before I noticed what she was really referring to.
It didn't even take five seconds before we broke out in a giggle.
We kept confecting poképuffs until we were done with all of them.
After that, we just kept enjoying each other's company before Serena suddenly spoke out.
"I'm sorry if this is a bit sudden, but... Why were you so anxious to use the battle bond again? I mean, not even Ash acted like that back then, and he is quite crazy when it comes learning new things, especially when they are battle-related," she asked.
I looked at my paws for a second, remembering the battle from yesterday and what I felt throughout.
"For the last year or so, a feeling has grown inside of me... Something warm, it was like my heart was on fire. And I only felt it when I was around Harden. To be honest, I never knew what it was until I saw you and Ash. What I am trying to say is that the way you look at him is similar to the way I look at Harden.
"When I noticed it, that feeling only got stronger. And during the battle, even with all the fatigue and pain, when me and Harden connected that way, I felt so good, like it was meant to be... Feeling what he was feeling, his courage, determination, and above all, feeling the way he cares about me. I felt so... so... complete, like nothing could stop me.
"And I want to feel that again! I want to feel all his affection and care for me again! It just felt so right, like we were meant for each other! As if we were soulmates! I want to be like that again! I want to be like that with him!" I said, pouring out all of my heart as if she were able to understand me.
Or so I thought until I turned to look at her.
After all, with her eyes widened and her face pale, she looked more than shocked.
"Uhm, are you ok?"
"D-did I just... understand you?" she asked, causing my eyes to widen.
"...You can understand me?"
She blinked a few times, before she sighed.
"I guess not. Wow, I could swear I heard you say so much. It was like you were in love with Harden," she said. My whole face started to heat up, which didn't go unnoticed by her.
"Wait, you really said all of that?" I slowly nodded.
"Do you know why I understood you?" she asked, and I shook my head.
"W-Well, I, uhm, don't know what to say..." I was just about to turn invisible and run away out of embarrassment. She surely was going to be disgusted with m-
"But I kind of understand why you feel that way," she quickly added. What?
"You two... Well, he saved you when you two met and showed you kindness and gave you his friendship right after. Plus, he seems willing to go a long way for you, so I can understand why you would be in love with him." I averted my eyes. Though definitely now of a more comfortable sort, my embarassment hadn't gone away.
"Well, I hope for the best for the both of you," she said, causing me to smile a little.
"Though I would recommend to take action soon." My smile immediately faltered.
What does she mean?
She noticed my confused expression and started explaining. "When I traveled with Ash... No, even before we traveled together, a lot of girls were interested in him, and from what I know, he actually liked one of them back. Thankfully, nothing happened between them." She sighed.
"I only discovered this after we traveled. But even during our journey, a few girls got interested in him, which in turn got me angry. But now, I know that I wasn't angry at them, but rather at myself instead," she said. To be honest, I did not know what to make out of it.
"Today I know that I wasn't acting the way I should have. I tried my best to stop them from getting too close to him, but did nothing myself. And when I finally noticed my mistake, it was time to say goodbye again. I know that there are still some girls who like him, and, to this point, I curse myself for that because I know I didn't try to catch him when he was right in front of me. And now, he's out of my reach and I might not get another chance like the one I once had." A sad expression had appeared on her face, though she quickly turned it into a look of reassurance. She grabbed my paws and looked me straight in the eye.
"Don't make the same mistake as me. If you really love him... Take the chance when it appears. Don't let anyone take away anything from you two. Even with your differences, even if someone tells you that you can't or shouldn't - go for it," she said, her words carried forward by a sudden surge of enthusiasm.
Then she let go of my paws.
"Sorry. I just got a little excited." Shocked by her sudden shift in tone, I could only nod.
"Well, what about we clean all of this?" And so we did.
It took quite some time, so it was already getting dark when we finally finished. Serena retreated back to her room while I went to my shared one, all the while thinking about what she had told me.
It wasn't long until I heard someone open the door.
"Sorry I took so long," Harden said and collapsed on the bed. "I'm exhausted."
Silence settled around us. Unable to stand it, I voiced the question stuck in my head.
"What did you think about it?"
"About what?" I barely heard his muffled voice through the pillow.
"My transformation. What did you think of it?"
"...Well, it was awesome and frightening considering your state at that moment, but mostly awesome..." Seeing that Harden was about to fall asleep, I took the chance and blurted out one last thing.
"Do you... think I looked pretty?"
"What? What kind of question... is that?"
"I just want to know what you think!"
"Well... I don't know what you're worried about," he yawned, "You always look pretty." And not a second later, he fell asleep.
Stunned, I stayed awake, eyes glued to the mesmerizing sight of the moon shining through the window. Only one thing went through my mind...
...
...
...
Maybe I do have a chance...
