Chapter 27: Chapter 27: The Dating Strategy with Sabrina
"Make Sabrina fall for me…"
These words kept popping into Kazuki's mind since that day when the doll claiming to be Sabrina's mother had told him about it.
To be fair, he did have a good impression of her, but he was just a 10-year-old kid—wasn't this whole "romance" thing way too advanced for him?
As for Sabrina's mother's enthusiastic suggestions—dates, making her blush, stealing her first kiss, sealing her powers, adding her to some kind of harem… wait, hadn't something strange been slipped in there?!
In any case, while it sounded simple, actually planning for it left Kazuki's mind in a total mess.
Noticing his odd expression, Sabrina, who hovered in front of him, tilted her head slightly and asked, "Kazuki, what are you thinking about?"
"I was thinking about asking you out—ah, cough, cough!"
Close one, close one! He almost blurted out the truth! Thank goodness Sabrina's psychic ability didn't extend to reading minds. Scrambling for a cover, Kazuki quickly made something up:
"I was just wondering if your Pokémon really fight on their own, or if you have some way of silently giving them commands…"
Before he could finish, Sabrina suddenly floated closer. In the blink of an eye, her forehead pressed lightly against his.
His forehead felt cool from the touch, but his body grew hotter by the second. Her soft, pink lips were so close that he could feel the faint breath escaping them. His heart pounded violently, as though it might leap out of his chest.
"Like this."
"...Huh?"
Snapping out of his daze just a bit, Kazuki struggled to understand what Sabrina meant by that. But then it hit him—her lips hadn't moved at all!
Come to think of it, the voice just now didn't seem to enter his ears—it felt like it had echoed directly in his mind.
So… telepathy? No wonder she didn't need to speak during their battle. She must have been relaying commands directly to her Pokémon's minds.
"Psychic powers sure are convenient," Kazuki couldn't help but sigh. In battle, this ability would hide tactical intentions, granting a huge advantage to any trainer.
Hearing his remark, Sabrina's red, gem-like eyes blinked softly. Her ethereal voice asked quietly, "Kazuki, do you want to learn?"
"Wait, for real?!"
She nodded lightly, her pupils glowing faintly. Before Kazuki could react, his vision was overwhelmed by white light. When he next opened his eyes, the scene had completely changed.
---
It appeared to be some kind of training hall. The spacious interior stretched around him, and neatly laid-out mats covered the floor. Each mat was accompanied by a simple wooden rack holding objects like spoons and shot puts.
This must be where Sabrina usually taught her students psychic abilities.
With a green aura of psychic energy, Sabrina pulled a metal spoon from one of the nearby racks, letting it float toward Kazuki.
"Concentrate…"
As she spoke, the spoon slowly began to bend at the neck until it formed a perfect loop.
"Imagine it bending, and it will."
She made it sound so easy, and in her case, it really was. Under Sabrina's watchful gaze, the stainless steel spoon bent, twisted into an "S" shape, and even curled into various artistic designs. At one point, it wriggled back and forth like an eel.
"Your turn."
Restoring the spoon to its original form with her psychic energy, Sabrina floated it into Kazuki's hands.
Gripping the spoon tentatively, Kazuki tried to focus on its neck as he'd been taught, imagining vividly its shape bending.
His brow furrowed tightly, his hand gripping the spoon so hard that veins began to surface. Sabrina silently observed him, then gently placed her delicate hand on his arm.
"No… Relax your body. Concentrate your mind," she whispered.
Kazuki let his tense muscles ease, focusing all his attention on the spoon as if it were the only thing that existed in the world. I can do this… Holding onto his imagination, he visualized the spoon bending, growing more and more curved with each passing second.
"It hasn't moved."
Sabrina's soft voice brought a crushing sense of defeat. Sure enough, the spoon remained perfectly straight, its shiny surface practically mocking his failure.
Suddenly, he felt a stroking sensation on his head. Looking up in confusion, he saw Sabrina floating above him, her hand gently patting his hair.
For a moment, Kazuki was struck by a strange sense of déjà vu. "Sabrina, where did you learn this?"
"Eevee said… if Kazuki is upset, do this."
Wait, since when did your relationship with my Pokémon get this close?!
Kazuki thought back to the time when his team had first been treated here. Their interactions with Sabrina's Pokémon had been tense, almost ready to erupt into another battle at any moment. If he hadn't intervened back then, there probably would've been a fight.
But now, after just a few days, his Pokémon seemed to have "progressed" further in their relationships than he, their trainer, had.
Glancing at the clock, Kazuki realized they were nearing dinnertime. Turning to Sabrina, he asked, "It's almost time for dinner. Is there anything you'd like to eat?"
Since he had decided to stick to the plan to win Sabrina over, he figured he should take charge of her meals too. Fortunately, in his early years, he had picked up some cooking skills to avoid suffering from his mom's "God-tier" cooking disasters. While not a master chef, his skills were more than sufficient for someone like Sabrina, who wasn't picky about food.
"Whatever Kazuki makes is fine," Sabrina replied.
"In that case, how about some sweet-and-sour ribs?"
"Hmm…"
With a faint glow, Sabrina returned the spoon to its place on the rack. Then, with a flash of white light, she teleported both of them to the kitchen.
---
The training hall grew quiet. Nobody noticed the spoon on the rack trembling violently before shattering to pieces in a small explosion…
---
Dinner was served under the warm light of crystal chandeliers. On the red-clothed table, the dishes were neatly arranged, their aroma wafting into the air and out the windows.
"Little Sabrina, no squirming during meals."
Scooping up a spoonful of soup from a tomato-based dish, Kazuki blew gently on the steaming broth before offering it to the little girl sitting in Sabrina's lap across from him.
The child swallowed the soup, her eyes lighting up as her tiny tongue licked the remaining sweet-and-sour flavor off the spoon. It seemed like she was thoroughly satisfied.
It was peculiar, though. According to Sabrina's mother, Little Sabrina was essentially an illusory projection of Sabrina's humanity. Yet, she could eat like a normal person. Where did the food even go?
Psychic powers truly were a mystery!
Unlike the "family of three" at the table, Kazuki's Pokémon ate away from the dining table. It wasn't that he didn't want them to join; they just preferred food tailored to their tastes.
Several metal dishes were arranged on the floor, each piled high with colorful, jelly-like Pokéblocks. Made from processed berries, their different colors represented different flavors, crafted to suit the preferences of various Pokémon species.
These were Kazuki's creations, a skill he had picked up during his time at Professor Oak's lab. His Pokéblock-making skills had even earned the Professor's approval.
Eevee carefully dragged a dish filled with yellow blocks in front of her, chewing one delicately at a time. Her refined manners were in stark contrast to Hei, who had buried her head into another dish and was devouring its contents with wild abandon.
A soft patter of footsteps approached as Espeon gracefully walked over and began grooming Eevee's white, scarf-like fur with her cool tongue.
Perhaps because they belonged to the same evolutionary family and shared the same gender, Espeon and Eevee had quickly formed a bond. Espeon seemed particularly fond of her younger counterpart and often took the initiative to teach her useful moves.
Despite Eevee's lack of talent for offensive moves, she learned supportive and status-altering techniques with remarkable speed. Delighted by this, Espeon passed on all her knowledge without reservation.
In a corner of the room, Mr. Mime, having polished off several plates, began miming an impromptu performance. His absurd antics made Hei laugh so hard that she forgot the mouthful of Pokéblocks she had just swallowed. She began choking, letting out muffled cries.
Seeing her predicament, Aron turned her head away with an air of indifference, as if saying, "I don't know this dog." Meanwhile, she casually chewed on her red Pokéblocks—plate and all.
Kazuki sighed, putting down his fork and walking over to Hei. Squatting beside her, he gently patted her back to help her swallow.
"Thank you for your assistance."
A calm, dignified voice echoed in his mind, startling Kazuki slightly. Looking up, he saw Alakazam sitting alone before a plate of green Pokéblocks.
Having experienced Sabrina's telepathy earlier, Kazuki quickly realized Alakazam was communicating in a similar way. Keeping his voice low, he responded, "It's nothing. I just threw those Pokéblocks together; it wasn't much effort."
"I wasn't referring to the food," Alakazam clarified. "I meant… thank you for the changes you've brought to my mistress."
Kazuki blinked, then followed Alakazam's gaze toward Sabrina.
Cradling Little Sabrina in her arms, the usually expressionless girl's lips were curved into the faintest of smiles as she watched Kazuki interacting with Hei.
The smile lasted for only a brief moment—so fleeting that, without Alakazam's prompt, Kazuki might have written it off as his imagination.
"In the future… I ask for your continued efforts. Should you need any assistance, I will do my utmost to provide it."