Saffron City, night glittering over everything.
The glass curtain walls of the skyscrapers reflected the icy-blue tail feathers of Articuno.
By the time Grey landed in front of the Fighting Dojo, the nearby digital billboards were already flipping over to their late-night special offers.
The noise from the bar street drifted over in a faint roar. Articuno folded its wings, the ice crystals shaking off its feathers refracting the neon lights into a dreamy haze.
For this sleepless city, the early hours of the morning were when nightlife was only just beginning.
"We're finally back!"
Silver stretched his arms and yawned. Objectively, not even half a day had gone by.
But to him, it felt like an entire week.
Turns out, when you're doing serious work, time crawls.
Silver finally understood what it meant when people said a day felt like a year.
"Yeah, we're finally back. Tomorrow it's back to facing challengers again."
Grey yawned, rubbing his sore eyes with a sigh.
Today he was Team Rocket's worst nightmare. Tomorrow he'd be back to doing Gym battles like normal.
He wondered what kind of opponents he'd run into.
Hopefully someone whose strength matched Riolu's, so it could evolve in the middle of a fight.
After all, battling challengers gave Gym Leaders plenty to reflect on too.
Being a true all-rounder was part of a Gym Leader's required curriculum.
Honestly, it was also a necessary road for anyone who wanted to become a truly powerful Trainer.
"It's Dojo Master Grey! Dojo Master Grey is back!"
"The big hero who saved Celadon is our Saffron City Gym Leader—imagine how that'll sound when it gets around!"
"Grey, look here, look here, I'm your fan!"
"I've completely fallen for Grey. I swear I'm so happy right now I could die!"
As Grey returned, all the residents who knew what had happened came out to welcome him home in triumph.
Charging into Team Rocket's base alone like that was just too cool.
And he'd arrested three Team Rocket admins by himself and held off the big boss on his own. That was basically a war god descending to earth.
Even though the news of Giovanni's escape made the League's higher-ups gnash their teeth, the capture of Petrel, Ariana, and Proton had already dealt Team Rocket a devastating blow.
At the notice board outside the police station, the wanted posters of the three executives were being stamped with a bright red "Captured."
Dazzling camera flashes went off one after another, and microphones rose around Grey like a forest, surrounding him in an instant.
"Dojo Master Grey! How did you locate Team Rocket's base?"
"How do you feel about the Team Rocket boss getting away?"
"Can Articuno's Ice Beam really freeze ocean waves?"
The reporters fired questions like machine-gun bursts. A woman in a beret even shoved her recorder right up next to Articuno's beak.
More news vans were already blaring their horns as they rushed in from every direction.
But then, suddenly, all of them fell silent.
"Hm?"
Noticing this, Grey actually felt relieved.
He'd been thinking about making up some excuse to slip away, and if they were all going quiet on their own, he could just head straight back to the Dojo.
He turned—and saw Sabrina.
The instant their eyes met, Grey understood why the reporters had shut up.
They were terrified of Sabrina.
"The interviews can wait until tomorrow. Grey has just gotten back. Let him rest."
Sabrina's voice entered the mind of everyone present. That flat tone alone was enough to make every reporter snap to attention.
The next second, the crowd scattered and fled.
Men, women, old, young—none of them were an exception.
Sabrina was just too frightening. Next time they needed Grey, they'd have to pick their timing more carefully…
"Huh. They all left."
Grey scratched his head and smiled at Sabrina. "Thanks."
"You're welcome."
Sabrina turned and walked toward the Dojo entrance, asking over her shoulder, "Have you had dinner?"
"Not yet. Want to go out and get a bite with me?"
Grey followed behind her, hands shoved in his pockets, teasing.
"…"
Sabrina walked in silence the whole way, and Grey, sensing the mood, wisely didn't keep pressing.
The air was a bit awkward.
Even Silver had no idea what to say.
The three of them walked in silence.
Only when they reached the dining room did Sabrina finally come to a stop.
Tap, tap.
Her fingertips tapped lightly on the edge of the table.
Blue light shimmered, and a bowl of hand-pulled noodles settled steadily in front of Grey.
Fine, hair-thin dragon-beard noodles lay in a clear broth, with a soft-boiled egg resting on top and chopped scallions sending ripples across the surface.
"Try it. I made it myself."
"It's been done for a while."
"But I used Psychic to keep it warm."
After saying that, Sabrina pulled out a chair, sat down, and quietly watched Grey.
"You really went to some effort."
Grey sat as well and took the chopsticks Sabrina floated over to him with Psychic.
Steam rose between them, the tips of the chopsticks hovering in the mist.
He remembered how Sabrina had used her Psychic powers to turn those Team Rocket executives into dolls, and now she was using the same strength to keep a bowl of noodles warm.
It honestly moved him.
"I'm digging in."
Grey pressed his hands together lightly around the chopsticks and, after saying so in a soft voice, started on the ramen.
The steam blurred their view of each other. Only the soft clink of chopsticks against the bowl rang clear through the quiet dining room.
The broth was so clear you could see the bottom, and the flavor really was pretty plain.
But Grey didn't care.
After a prolonged battle against Team Rocket and so many hours of mental tension, he was starving.
Even a simple, watery broth was enough to stoke his appetite.
He slurped down noodles and soup alike, burning his mouth to the point that he hissed in pain, but he still couldn't stop.
Sabrina said nothing, just watched him.
Only when Grey tipped the bowl back and drank the last drop of soup did she finally unclench the hand that had been gripping the tablecloth.
As he set the bowl down, there were still tiny beads of water clinging to his eyelashes, condensed from the steam.
"Thanks for the food."
Grey wiped the corner of his mouth and gave his thanks.
"Was it good?"
Sabrina blinked slowly, asking in an extremely calm tone.
Her voice might have been flat.
But through his Aura, Grey could feel the expectation hidden under her words.
She clearly wanted positive feedback.
"It wasn't bad at all. It ranks pretty high among the ramen I've had."
Grey answered honestly.
He usually just ate plain white rice; the number of times he'd actually gone out for ramen could be counted on one hand.
"…"
"…"
And there it was again—the classic staring contest.
One person had a perpetually straight face and zero small-talk skills; the other only followed up when someone else started a topic first.
Grey couldn't help but sigh internally.
He was a streamer, yet he couldn't even find topics to talk about.
Good thing he wasn't a novelist.
If a writer couldn't even steer a conversation properly in real life, people would laugh their heads off at him.
"I didn't have time to prepare a proper gift this trip. If you don't mind, take this as a little reward for the noodles."
Grey thought for a second and suddenly remembered the perfume Erika had given him.
As a present, it wasn't bad at all.
With that in mind, he talked while rummaging in his bag, then took out the small gift box and placed it in Sabrina's hands.
"Th-thank you."
Sabrina accepted the box and, using Psychic, floated Grey's empty bowl and chopsticks into the kitchen.
"No need to thank me. We've known each other this long—no need to say thanks for everything."
Grey waved a hand generously.
Ding-dong~
His phone screen lit up.
Caitlin had sent a message…
Second promo: go read Handsome Giant's book, lol.
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