Pikachu watched with wide eyes as I threw my flute into the forest.

" Pika pi!" ( Why?!)

I sighed. " Because.... Because it's what Red and Blue and Leaf would have wanted."

" Pi?" ( What?!)

" You heard me. It's what they would have wanted. I mean, Blue's a heartless monster when it comes to training, Red's a demon, and Leaf's one of those teachers who hates people who can't do anything right. And besides, now that they know, they would have forced me to play."

" Pi...." ( How do you know?)

" Because I know them!" I cried.

Pikachu flinched at my outburst, ears flattening against her head. But I didn’t care—I couldn’t care. My heart was racing, my breath coming out in short, shallow gasps.

I knew what would happen now. I knew.

They would find me. They always did.

And then… then they’d force me to play again. They’d take my flute, shove it back into my hands, and make me perform like some trained Pokémon. They’d expect me to be okay with it. They’d tell me I was overreacting, that it wasn’t a big deal.

But it was a big deal.

Because I wasn’t supposed to be doing things like that. I was supposed to be training. That was all that mattered. That was all that ever mattered to them.

I shivered. My hands clenched into fists.

I was scared.

Not just of what they would say. Not just of what they would do.

I was scared of them.

Of Blue, with his cruel smirk and his harsh training that always left me bruised and exhausted.

Of Leaf, with her constant judging eyes, always seeing my failures, always expecting me to be better than I was.

And of Red.

Red, who never smiled. Red, who trained harder than anyone. Red, who barely spoke but still made his expectations painfully clear. Red, who I thought was supposed to be my brother but felt more like some unfeeling drill sergeant.

I wrapped my arms around myself, trying to stop the shaking.

"Why do they have to be like that…?" I whispered. "Why can’t they just leave me alone?"

Pikachu nuzzled my arm, her little paws pressing against me. "Pika pi…" (Mia, they—)

But then a voice cut through the trees.

"MIA!"

I froze. My blood turned to ice.

Blue.

I scrambled up, heart hammering against my ribs. No, no, no—he couldn’t find me! None of them could! I had to run!

I turned on my heel and bolted deeper into the forest.

"Oi! Get back here!"

I ignored him. I ignored the sound of footsteps, of rustling leaves, of voices shouting my name.

I ran.

I tripped.

The ground slammed against me, sharp and unforgiving. I scraped my hands, my knees, but I forced myself up. I had to keep going. I had to.

"Stop running, Mia!" Blue again. Closer this time.

I pushed forward, legs burning, lungs aching. I tripped again, crashing against the roots of a tree.

I tasted blood.

I gasped, trying to push myself up, but my body was shaking too hard.

No. No, no, no—this couldn’t be happening! I had to move! I had to—

A hand grabbed my wrist.

I screamed.

"Mia—what the—?!"

I thrashed, trying to pull away, but Blue held on tight.

"Let me go!" I shrieked, panic surging through me like wildfire. "Let me go!"

"Calm down!"

I fought harder, my breath coming out in ragged gasps.

Then I heard Leaf’s voice.

"Blue! Stop!"

The grip on my wrist loosened just enough for me to wrench myself free. I stumbled backward, chest heaving, eyes darting wildly between them.

Blue. Leaf.

And Red.

All three of them were here.

I was trapped.

My vision blurred. I backed away, my entire body trembling. "Stay back," I rasped.

They didn’t listen.

"Mia," Leaf said carefully, hands raised like she was trying not to spook a wild Pokémon. "We’re not here to hurt you."

"Liar." My voice was hoarse, broken. "You always hurt me."

Leaf’s eyes widened in shock. Blue stiffened.

And Red…

Red just stared.

I let out a shaky breath, my body still in fight-or-flight mode. "Just leave me alone!"

I turned and tried to run again.

But this time, my legs gave out completely.

And I collapsed.

Luckily Red grabbed me and helped me sit.

" ... ... ...?" ( Where's your flute?)

I flinched at his voice—or, well, at the sound of his silence. Red didn’t talk much, but I could understand him just fine. And right now, I knew exactly what he was asking.

I clenched my jaw and turned my head away. "Gone."

Red’s grip on my shoulders tightened, just for a second. He wasn’t letting me go.

"... ... ..." (Where?)

I swallowed, keeping my gaze locked on the ground. My chest ached, my throat burned. I didn’t want to answer. I couldn’t answer.

"... ... ..." (Mia.)

His tone was firm. Not angry, not scolding—just Red. But it still made my skin crawl.

I shook my head. "It doesn’t matter."

"... ... ..." (Yes, it does.)

I squeezed my eyes shut. "No, it doesn’t! I threw it away, okay? It’s gone! You can’t make me play anymore!"

Silence.

I didn’t dare look up.

"... ... ...?" (Who said we were going to make you?)

I stiffened. My breath caught in my throat.

I didn’t look at him. I couldn’t look at him.

"... ... ...?" (Why do you think that?)

My hands curled into fists. "Because it’s what you do!" I snapped, my voice cracking. "Blue forces me to train! You’re worse because you don’t even say anything, you just expect me to know what you want! And Leaf—Leaf’s just waiting for me to fail so she can tell me what I did wrong! You all just want me to be better, faster, stronger—perfect!"

I was crying again. My whole body was shaking. "But I can’t be! I can’t be like you! I can’t be like Blue or Leaf or even Ash! I’m me! And if I do anything that isn’t training, it’s a waste of time, right?!"

More silence.

Then, a hand on my head.

I gasped, my whole body tensing. But it was just Red. Just... Red, ruffling my hair like he always did when I was little.

"... ... ..." (Mia.)

I didn't look.

"You’re not a waste of time."

I froze.

Red never spoke.

But he did now.

I looked up at him, my vision blurry from the tears. His face was the same as always—calm, unreadable. But his eyes...

His eyes were warm.

I swallowed hard, my breath hitching. "Then why...?"

"... ... ..." (Why do you think we’re like that?)

I opened my mouth. Shut it again.

I knew why. I thought I knew why.

Because they always pushed me to train. Because they never let me slack off. Because they expected me to be strong.

But now, looking at Red...

I wasn’t so sure anymore.

Pikachu flinched at the raw emotion in my voice, her ears flattening. "Pika pi..." (Mia...)

I turned away, hugging my knees to my chest. My hands trembled, still tingling from the force of throwing the flute. A part of me—a stupid, weak part—wanted to run into the forest and pick it back up. But I couldn't. I wouldn’t.

Because if I did, then I’d have to face them.

And I was terrified of them.

All three of them.

Red. Blue. Leaf.

I clenched my fists. My breath came in short, shaky gasps as their voices echoed in my mind.

"You're wasting time, kid!" Blue’s voice was always sharp, always demanding. He never let me breathe, never let me rest. It was always about training. If I wasn’t getting stronger, I was failing.

"..." Red’s silence was worse. Because it was filled with disappointment. A weight that crushed me even when he said nothing at all. His eyes—his cold, unreadable eyes—always watching, always judging. I wanted—I needed—him to say I was doing okay, just once. But he never did.

"You need to focus, Mia." Leaf’s voice was patient, but it carried that edge of strictness, like a teacher who had already given up hope but still expected you to try. She never yelled. But she didn’t have to. Her words were enough to cut deep.

I hugged myself tighter. My heart pounded in my chest, an erratic drumbeat that refused to calm down. I felt trapped, suffocated, like a caged Pokémon with nowhere to run.

"They don’t care about me, Pikachu," I whispered. "They never have. All they care about is what I can do. And now that they know I can play, they’ll force me to do it. Just like they force me to train."

Pikachu growled, her tiny paws pushing against my arm. "Pika pi! Pika pika!" (That’s not true! You don’t know that!)

I laughed, but it was bitter and hollow. "Yes, I do. And you wanna know the worst part?"

Pikachu stared at me, her tail flicking anxiously.

"I’m scared of them."

The words tumbled out before I could stop them. My throat tightened.

"I hate them, Pikachu," I said, my voice cracking. "I hate Blue for pushing me until I can’t breathe. I hate Leaf for acting like I’ll never be enough. And I hate Red the most because—because he was supposed to be my brother!"

My voice broke on the last word.

Pikachu’s eyes widened. "Pika... pi?" (Mia...?)

I pressed my forehead against my knees. "But even though I hate them... I’m terrified of them, Pikachu. Because if I don’t do what they say, if I disappoint them..."

I swallowed hard. The thought alone made my stomach churn.

"They’ll leave me behind."

A heavy silence settled between us.

I had never said it out loud before. Never let the thought fully take shape. But now that it had, it clung to me like a shadow, inescapable and suffocating.

I didn’t want to be alone.

And I didn’t know what was worse—being abandoned or being controlled.

"That’s why I had to get rid of the flute," I whispered, my voice barely audible. "Because if I don’t, they’ll take it from me. They always take things from me, Pikachu. My choices. My freedom. My breath."

I clenched my fists. "I had to do it before they could."

But even as I said it, I knew it was a lie.

Because deep down, I wanted to play again.

And that terrified me more than anything else.

Pikachu trembled, then suddenly jumped onto my lap, pressing her tiny body against me.

"Pi pika pika!" (You’re not alone!)

I sucked in a shaky breath, gripping her fur like a lifeline.

But before I could respond, a voice rang out in the distance.

"MIA!"

I went rigid.

Blue.

Another voice, softer but no less urgent, followed.

"Mia, where are you?"

Leaf.

Silence.

And then—

"... ..."

I didn’t need to hear words to recognize him.

Red.

Terror jolted through me like a lightning strike. My body moved on instinct.

I ran.

I ran like my life depended on it, because in a way, it did.

Twigs snapped beneath my feet. My breath came in ragged gasps. My heart pounded in my chest, hammering against my ribs. But I didn’t stop. I couldn’t stop.

If they found me, if they caught me—

No.

I couldn’t let that happen.

Tears blurred my vision, but I kept running. My legs burned. My lungs screamed for air. But none of it mattered.

I tripped.

The ground rushed up to meet me, and I hit it hard, pain jolting through my body. But I scrambled up instantly, ignoring the sting in my knees, ignoring the blood trickling down my arm.

I had to move.

But then—

A hand grabbed my wrist.

I screamed.

I fought, kicked, thrashed—anything to break free—

"MIA!"

I froze.

Because it wasn’t Blue. It wasn’t Leaf.

It was Red.

His grip was firm but not painful. His eyes—those cold, unreadable eyes—stared into mine. But they weren’t cold now.

They were worried.

Genuinely, painfully worried.

"... ... ..." His lips parted slightly, as if he wanted to say something but didn’t know how.

But I didn’t care.

I hated him.

I feared him.

And I wouldn’t let him take me back.

With one last desperate surge of strength, I bit his hand.

Red flinched—just enough for me to yank my wrist free.

And then I ran.

Again.

Because I wasn’t ready to face him.

I wasn’t ready to face any of them.

And I didn’t know if I ever would be.

I tore through the forest, my breath ragged, my vision blurred with tears. My legs burned, my lungs ached, but I didn’t stop. I couldn’t stop.

Behind me, I heard voices—muffled, distant, but relentless.

"Mia!" That was Leaf, her voice tight with concern.

"Kid, stop running!" Blue—frustrated, commanding, demanding.

And then there was silence.

No—not silence.

Footsteps. Fast. Steady. Unwavering.

Red.

I choked back a sob and pushed myself harder, branches whipping against my skin as I sprinted blindly through the woods. I didn’t care if I fell. I didn’t care if I got lost. I just needed to get away.

But then—

Pain exploded in my ankle as my foot caught on a root, and I crashed forward, slamming into the dirt. My hands scraped against rocks and twigs, my knees throbbing from the impact. I gasped, trying to scramble up, but my ankle screamed in protest.

No. No, no, no.

I bit my lip hard, forcing myself up despite the pain, but I barely made it two steps before I collapsed again.

Footsteps.

Getting closer.

My breath hitched. My hands curled into fists, dirt sticking to my sweaty palms. I pressed my forehead against the ground, squeezing my eyes shut.

Please go away. Please go away. Please go away.

A shadow fell over me.

I didn't have to look.

I knew who it was.

Red.

A shaky breath left me. I curled in on myself, trembling. "D-Don’t..." My voice cracked. "Don’t touch me..."

Nothing.

Not a sound. Not a movement.

I could hear my own heartbeat pounding in my ears, the only sound between us.

And then—

"... ..."

A coat.

I felt it before I saw it, draped over me with a careful, deliberate gentleness. It was warm. It smelled like the mountains—like wind and rain and something faintly familiar.

I tensed. "What... what are you doing?"

No response. Just silence.

I forced myself to sit up, my fingers clutching the coat as I finally looked at him. Red was crouched a few feet away, hands resting on his knees, watching me with those quiet, unreadable eyes.

He wasn’t angry.

He wasn’t disappointed.

He was just... there.

Waiting.

For me.

Tears burned at my eyes again. I shook my head furiously, gripping the coat tighter. "D-Don’t—don’t act like you care!" I spat, my voice shaking. "You never have! You just want me to be strong! You don’t care about anything else!"

Red’s expression didn’t change. He didn’t argue. He didn’t scold me. He just stayed still. Listening.

That made it worse.

I let out a ragged, broken laugh. "You... you’re such a liar." My voice cracked. "You never cared. If you did, you would have said something!"

Red finally moved.

Slow. Careful.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out something small.

My flute.

My breath caught.

It was cracked. A piece was missing. But it was still there.

Still whole.

I stared at it, my throat tightening. "Why do you have that?"

Red’s fingers curled around it for a moment. He hesitated.

And then, in a voice barely above a whisper—so quiet I almost missed it—

"... You love it."

The words hit me harder than anything else.

I sucked in a sharp breath, my entire body trembling. "I—" My voice failed me. My vision blurred again, but I refused to let the tears fall.

I wanted to scream.

I wanted to cry.

I wanted to hate him.

But for the first time in forever—

I didn’t know if I could.

Then Red opened his arms.

And I barely hesitated.

I ran straight into them, just like I did when I was little—back when he was my big brother, my protector, the one I could always turn to. His coat smelled the same, the warmth of it wrapping around me as tightly as his arms did. I buried my face in his chest, gripping his jacket like it was the only thing keeping me from falling apart completely.

For a long moment, he just held me.

No words. No pressure. Just him.

Finally, his voice—soft, careful. "Mia... why would you throw the flute?"

I clenched my fists tighter into his jacket. "Because..." My throat felt raw. My voice came out hoarse. "Because I knew what would happen if I didn’t."

He didn’t let go, but I could feel him tense slightly, waiting for me to explain.

So I did.

Everything.

The fear. The expectations. The way I saw him, Blue, and Leaf—not as family, not as friends, but as monsters that would never let me be anything but strong. How I thought if they knew I loved music, they’d use it against me, force me to play when I didn't want to, take away the little control I had over something I loved. How I thought Blue would make me train harder just because I wasted time playing. How I thought he—Red—would be disappointed in me for not focusing on getting stronger.

How I thought if I got rid of the flute first, I’d at least get to do it on my own terms.

Red didn’t interrupt. Didn’t pull away. He just listened.

When I finally finished, I was shaking. My throat ached from holding back sobs. "So... so that’s why," I whispered. "That’s why I threw it."

Red was quiet for a long time.

Then, softly—

"... ... ... Is that really how you see us?"

I flinched.

His voice wasn’t angry. It wasn’t sharp or scolding.

It was something worse.

It was hurt.

I pulled back just enough to look at his face. His expression was unreadable, but his eyes—his eyes—

For the first time, I realized how much pain I must have put there.

"I..." My breath hitched. "I don’t—I mean, I did, but—"

He didn’t say anything, just waited.

I swallowed hard. "I thought you didn’t care," I admitted, my voice small. "Not about me—just about making me strong."

Red’s grip on my shoulders tightened for a split second. Then, slowly, he let out a breath and shook his head.

"... Mia." His voice was quiet. "I never cared about making you strong."

I froze.

Red sighed and placed a hand on my head, ruffling my hair just like he used to when we were kids. "I cared about keeping you safe."

My breath caught.

"But..." I shook my head, confused. "You always pushed me so hard..."

"Because I had to," he said simply. "Because the world isn’t kind. Because I wanted you to be able to protect yourself if I wasn’t there." He exhaled, closing his eyes for a moment. "But I never wanted you to be scared of me."

Something in my chest twisted.

"... I was never mad that you played," Red continued. "I was never disappointed that you loved music." He looked at the broken flute in his hand, his grip tightening around it. "I just—I didn’t know you thought this way."

I sniffed, wiping my eyes. "... You really aren’t mad?"

Red huffed softly—something that almost sounded like a laugh, but not quite. "Mia." He pulled me back into a hug, resting his chin on top of my head. "I’m mad that you ran. I’m mad that you thought you had to destroy something you loved because of me." He paused. "But I’m not mad that you played."

I closed my eyes, gripping his jacket again. "I’m sorry."

Red didn’t say anything, but his arms around me tightened.

And for the first time in a long time—

I believed him.