Sabrina fell silent for a while, clearly weighing her options too. In the end, she followed Xia You's advice and nodded.
"All right, I'll go back to the Saffron Gym first, then."
Though reluctant, she knew there was nothing else she could do. After all, they were adults. They couldn't travel around as carefree as children; everyone had obligations in life.
Seeing that she still looked a little down, Xia You looked at her and said gently, not wanting Sabrina to think he was urging her to leave too, "It'll only cost me a few days anyway. I'll take you all the way back to Saffron City."
"Hm?" Sabrina gave Xia You a surprised look. "What? Aren't you going to keep traveling? It's all right. I can go back on my own."
Xia You kissed her forehead, utterly unconcerned. "Compared to you, what do a few days matter? Besides, I was the one who brought you out of Kanto. Naturally, I should take you back myself."
Touched, Sabrina gently leaned into Xia You's arms.
Her forehead rested right against Xia You's chin. Even without lowering his head, he could smell her fragrance.
After sharing a tender moment, the two saw that it was getting late, climbed onto Charizard, and set off for Violet City.
Though their destination had changed, there was no hurry to rush straight back to Kanto that night. They could rest in Violet City for the night, recover their energy, and set off the next day after eating and drinking their fill.
Charizard beat its wings, carrying them high into the sky.
What they didn't know was that the Pokémon League had always been very supportive of Gym Leaders traveling to hone their skills, and had never been seen imposing many restrictions on them.
If a Gym