Red light flared, and a wreath appeared on the table.
Flowers in every color, ringing all the way around, with a single yellow bloom at one end.
"Is that a Comfey?" Nikozo wasn't sure.
Akiyama nodded. "It is."
Gardevoir touched one of the flowers with a fingertip. Soft. Then a wave of fragrance rolled off it, and she went a little glassy-eyed.
"Fweeh?"
Comfey seemed to be waking up. She opened bright green eyes, and the little wing-like ornaments on her head fluttered.
She looked at the Friend Ball in Akiyama's hand, then at Akiyama himself, and decided immediately that she liked him.
"Well. I did not see this coming." Akiyama exhaled.
Then he noticed the letter still sitting in the wooden case.
He opened it and looked at the neat handwriting inside.
Mr. Akiyama, what do you think? It took me forever to find her.
I hope she isn't a disappointment. By the time you get this I've probably already reached Twin City. Enjoy Frostvale City!
See you at the Silver Crown League!
—Reika
"Disappointment. Right." Akiyama laughed.
He was already trying to figure out what he'd bring her the next time they crossed paths.
A Comfey wasn't cheap. That kind of appearance was extremely popular with girls. And a Comfey could make vines give off fragrance on top of it.
He put the case and the letter away, looked up—and found Comfey already looped around Gardevoir's neck, sound asleep, breathing evenly.
Gardevoir didn't seem to mind at all.
So. A living sachet, apparently.
The fragrance dialed itself down once Comfey was asleep, but Gardevoir had been soft and sweet-smelling to begin with, and now she was even more so.
"You smell incredible." Akiyama wiped at a nonexistent bit of drool.
Gardevoir, embarrassed, gave his chest a light smack.
"That's a shockingly good fit," Nikozo said, laughing.
"Reika really thought this through." Akiyama was thrilled with it.
Comfey wasn't just an accessory. She was a serious support Pokémon.
The next time they got dragged into one of those no-rules wilderness fights, she'd make a real difference for Gardevoir.
Boosting her moves. Floral Healing.
She could even set up Trick Room.
"I'm jealous. Wish I had friends like that." Nikozo was still staring longingly at Comfey.
"You don't have friends?" Akiyama couldn't quite believe it.
Kids from the big conglomerates and old families always traveled in packs. Someone like him, who couldn't be bothered with any of it, was supposed to be the exception.
So why did both Nanami and Nikozo turn out to be built the same way?
"Growing up, all I had was a pair of Chimecho and one Growlithe." Nikozo smiled.
Then, after a pause, "Growlithe got sick right before I left, so he stayed home. And Chimecho don't exactly love moving around, so they stayed too."
He took out a Poké Ball and said, gently, "Cacnea's the one new Pokémon I've caught on the road."
It's him. It's more him every minute, Akiyama thought, keeping it off his face.
"Keep moving forward and you'll meet plenty of people. Right before I left the family, I was in the same spot you are. Just me and a Gardevoir who hadn't evolved yet."
"I think I finally understand that Miki gift tradition of yours," Nikozo said out of nowhere.
"I think I love her too," Akiyama answered, which was and wasn't an answer.
One hand rose to touch Gardevoir's forehead.
Gengar, refusing to be left out, flew into Akiyama's lap and shoved his head against him.
Akiyama laughed out loud and gave him a scratch too.
"That's adorable," Nikozo said, applauding without thinking about it.
....
Twin City.
Reika crossed a small metal footbridge with a light step. A creek ran underneath it, brick paths flanking both banks.
She threaded through the crowd with Pikachu on her shoulder.
Twin City was home, and she knew this metropolis inside and out.
She followed memory all the way back to her front door.
Her family didn't live downtown. They lived on the edge of the city, in an ordinary apartment complex.
She rode the elevator up to her floor and knocked politely.
Then she pulled out her key and let herself in anyway.
"I'm home!"
Her voice bounced around an empty apartment.
She took a hard sniff of the air. Everything was laid out exactly the way she remembered.
She dropped her bags and collapsed onto the couch.
"Yesss."
There went every scrap of composure, and the breath she'd been holding for weeks.
At home she was free. She could do whatever she wanted.
She kicked her shoes off, white socks and all, and padded around her own apartment.
The exhaustion started bleeding out of her.
Pikachu felt the same. Like Trainer, like Pokémon—he rolled around on the floor without any concern for how clean it was.
Reika let out Larvesta and Butterfree, having thought ahead enough to put a brick down for Larvesta first. She was not about to let him burn the place down.
"I know it's asking a lot, but you've gotta keep the temperature down while we're here, okay?" She pressed her palms together and bowed her head.
Larvesta nodded silently. After all these days together he'd come around on the Trainer who'd taken advantage of a bug in a bad spot.
He reined his heat in and crawled carefully off the brick, which had already scorched black.
The floor came away without a mark.
Butterfree flitted around the rooms, clearly finding the place unfamiliar, working hard to settle in.
That afternoon Reika took Pikachu out to get food.
Her stomach was making noise, and she'd been thinking about a certain stall for weeks.
Down the stairs, then off onto the narrow side street where all the little places were.
"Hey! Reika's back?" She'd barely sat down before the owner spotted her.
"Got in today," she said warmly. "First thing I thought about was your ramen."
"Ha! That's what I like to hear. Extra cilantro for you." The owner was a big middle-aged guy, and he laughed hard at that.
"You're the best!" Reika pressed her hands together.
The bowl came out shortly, buried under cilantro.
"Your mother was back not long ago. Did she call you?" he asked.
"Nope. But I knew she'd been there." Reika slurped up an enormous mouthful and grinned. "She didn't wash the wok. Again."
She'd smelled the cooking oil the second she walked in.
"Ah. Ever since your father disappeared, she comes home less and less." He sighed.
"Hey, who knows where that deadbeat wandered off to. Doesn't matter. I keep moving forward, and one day I'll drag him back myself."
She said it like she meant it.
She finished the broth, let out a satisfied belch, and slumped back in her chair.
"Same price as always?" she asked, already digging out her money.
"Come on. Us? Put that away." He gathered up her bowl and waved her off.
~~
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