I stood there, looking at Blue.

Was I really scared?

...

Well?

" Go." I muttered hoarsely to Pikachu, turning away. " I don't want to see you. Go on. Be happy in the wild."

" Pika pi!"

" GO!"

I walked away, muttering, " Hmph. Stupid Pokemon and stupid training. I'm way better on my own, aren't I? Just me, nature...."

The farther I walked away, the lighter my voice got.

Blue stood there frozen.

Then he looked back at Red. " ... Did that just happen?"

Red didn't respond immediately, his usual silence hanging in the air like a heavy cloud. He stared at Mia’s retreating figure, his eyes unreadable as always. Blue, still standing with his arms crossed, shifted his gaze from Mia to Red, his expression a mix of confusion and concern.

"... ... ..." Red finally spoke, the words few but heavy. His eyes, though, betrayed the quiet intensity of his emotions. He watched Mia walk farther away, as if every step she took was another piece of her slipping out of his grasp.

Blue sighed deeply, pushing himself off the tree. "Great. Now she's gone and made herself a mess of things. You know, Red, you could at least say something. I don’t know what happened to the guy who never shut up around her, but I guess he’s gone, huh?" He shook his head and clicked his tongue. "She really thinks quitting will solve it. She thinks giving up on everything will make it easier."

Red’s expression didn’t change. He was still staring at the path Mia had taken, his gaze soft but firm.

Blue followed Red’s stare, his shoulders dropping slightly as he let out a quiet sigh. "You know what I think? I think she needs to hear from you. I think she’s waiting for you to tell her that she’s not alone in this, that she’s still got it, that you believe in her." He tilted his head and gave a sarcastic smile. "But what do I know? I’ve only been trying to teach her how to stop running from everything."

After a long pause, Red finally spoke again, his voice as quiet and detached as ever, but somehow still carrying the weight of his thoughts. "…She’ll come back. She always does."

Blue arched an eyebrow, raising his voice slightly. "And what are you gonna do? Wait for her to come to you? You think she’s just going to magically figure it out by herself?" He shook his head. "You need to go after her, Red. She’s not going to just listen to me, and she sure as hell won’t listen to herself right now. But you? You might be the one thing that can pull her back from this."

Red didn’t reply immediately, his eyes never leaving the direction Mia had gone. For a moment, it seemed like he was considering something, something deeper than just words. Finally, he turned away, walking in the same direction Mia had taken, his footsteps measured and deliberate.

Blue watched him for a second, then let out a soft chuckle. "Typical. I was right. You're always there when it matters." He shook his head and followed after him, making sure not to disturb the silence between them as they both made their way through the forest, the air thick with unspoken words and the weight of what Mia needed to hear.

Meanwhile, I continued walking, my head low and her heart even lower. I didn’t hear the footsteps behind me.

I didn’t want to hear them.

I didn’t want to face the people I felt were just waiting for me to screw up, waiting for me to fail. The shame of destroying my flute—the one thing that had connected me to a sense of peace—was too much for me to bear.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid," I muttered under my breath, kicking a small stone in front of me as she walked aimlessly. "I shouldn’t have played in the first place. I should have been training. I shouldn’t have let myself get carried away."

My voice cracked slightly as I spoke, but I didn’t care. No one was listening.

Not that anyone would care to.

I thought about Pikachu, who had never left my side, even now. I hadn’t wanted to push her away, but I didn't’t know what else to do. I couldn’t be the perfect trainer everyone expected me to be. I wasn't’t even sure what being a trainer meant anymore. It didn’t feel like something I wanted to do—no, it felt like a weight, a constant pressure that never stopped.

"Mia!"

I ignored it.

" Oi, Mia! Wait up!"

I quickened my pace, hoping to outrun the voice that called my name. See? I thought bitterly. They can’t leave me be.

“Mia!” The voice was louder now, closer. My heart thudded faster, my breath coming in shallow gasps, but I didn’t stop. I couldn’t. I didn’t want to face them—not now, not when I was so broken.

Suddenly, I felt a tug on my arm.

“Stop running, Mia.”

I jerked back in surprise. Red was standing there, his face unreadable but his eyes—those quiet eyes of his—were locked onto mine with an intensity that made my chest tighten.

But I shoved him away

" I told you," I said. " I don't want to be a trainer."

Red opened his mouth, but I beat him to it. " And if you really ARE my brother like you claim, then leave me be. Siblings support other siblings decisions. They RESPECT them. Now go."

And with that, I turned and walked away.

Red’s grip faltered, but he didn’t stop me. He didn’t pull me back like I half-expected him to. His face remained unreadable, though his eyes... his eyes were something else—something deeper. And that hurt more than any of the words I’d thrown at him.

I didn’t look back. I couldn’t. My throat felt tight, and my stomach twisted into knots. I had said it. I had pushed him away with everything I had, and yet... a part of me didn’t want him to go. But I couldn’t let him see that.

I couldn’t let anyone see that.

“... ... ...”

His silence, the same silence that had always been a part of him, stretched out between us, thick and suffocating. But he didn’t follow me. He didn’t call after me. He didn’t do anything.

And somehow, that felt worse than him trying to stop me.

I kept walking, my pace quickening, my heart pounding in my chest. My breath came faster with each step, but I didn’t stop. I couldn’t. If I did, I might break down again. I might crumble into a mess of emotions I wasn’t ready to face.

But then, as I rounded a bend in the path, I heard a voice—a voice that made my heart skip a beat, and not in a good way.

"Mia."

It wasn’t Red. It wasn’t Blue. And it definitely wasn’t anyone I wanted to hear right now.

I stopped dead in my tracks.

Leaf stood a few feet away, her arms crossed and her expression stern, but there was a flicker of concern behind her eyes.

“I don’t want to talk to you,” I muttered, my voice sharp, though it wavered slightly.

Leaf didn’t flinch. She never flinched. Instead, she stepped closer, her voice calm but firm. "Mia, you can’t keep running from everything. You can’t shut everyone out just because things aren’t going the way you want them to."

I clenched my fists at my sides, my nails digging into my palms. “I said I don’t want to talk to you.”

“Too bad,” she replied. “Because I’m not going anywhere until we figure this out. You’re not alone in this, Mia. Not unless you push everyone away, which I know you don’t want to do.”

" It's what I want now." I replied, my voice cold.