"I wonder if you could come home a little sooner."
What expression would Kaim make when he received this chocolate? The thought left me excited and a little nervous. Thinking about whether he would accept this handmade chocolate, and how he would react after eating it, made me anxious.
Of course, I knew Kaim wouldn't lash back at me. Even so, giving someone handmade chocolate for the first time still made you nervous.
"Hehe, this wasn't in the plan at all."
I only got nervous during the Pokémon League finals, yet here I was, nervous somewhere that wasn't even a grand stage. I knew perfectly well that this wasn't even part of the pattern.
Just then, Lucario beside me suddenly reacted and turned toward the entrance. At almost the same moment, I heard the door open.
"Welcome back."
"I'm home."
At the doorway, Kaim, his cheeks flushed faintly red from the cold, was brushing snow off Staraptor. The northern Sinnoh Region received a great deal of snow in midwinter. Scenes like this happened every day.
"Thanks for your hard work. It was cold out, wasn't it?"
"This is better. The journey's shorter."
Back at Veilstone Gym, where I had originally been, I had to travel long distances, and things were difficult before I got used to the cold. Now, though, the town was nearby, making getting around much easier than before.
After Staraptor's wet body was dried with a towel and a hair dryer, Staraptor returned to the ball.
As Kaim took off his shoes and stepped away from the front door, Cynthia noticed the paper bag in his hand. It hadn't been there when I left home that morning.
"Kaim, what's that bag?"
"Oh, this."
Kaim opened the bag, looking slightly awkward. Inside were several pieces of store-bought chocolate.