Go back right now?
Sure, retreating would be the safest option. As long as she left this place, there'd be no chance of Haru catching her in the act, and she could avoid any further embarrassment.
But the thing was—safe as it sounded, going back wasn't really an option.
After all, Liko had already seen her silhouette. If she just slunk away now and Liko reported everything to Haru afterward, her own reputation would be utterly ruined.
That was something she absolutely could not allow.
Although, truth be told… even if Liko kept her mouth shut, Cynthia was already screwed.
Just the bits Haru already knew were scandalous enough.
And besides, after witnessing a scene this explosive, could she really just head back and expect to fall asleep?
Anyone who could sleep soundly after that had to be some kind of divine being.
So then—would staying be the better choice?
Not really. Because staying was its own nightmare.
If she stayed, she had to see this through to the end.
So what was she supposed to do—knock on the door right now? Or wait until the two of them finished their "exercise" before knocking?
Either way, Liko would immediately guess her real intentions, leaving Cynthia in an utterly humiliating position.
Thinking this far, Cynthia couldn't help but regret it.
Why had she been so cautious? Why insist on "scouting the enemy"?
She should've just marched up and knocked, whether Haru was asleep or not.
That way, she wouldn't have landed in this ridiculous situation. At worst, she'd have been a little rude.
Round and round her thoughts went, but no good options came to mind. Meanwhile, Liko's voice was only getting louder in her ears.
The seemingly sweet and innocent girl had apparently awakened some outrageous fetish. Knowing full well Cynthia might be "in the audience," she deliberately raised her voice, like she was flaunting it for her.
It made Cynthia feel like she had a hundred Dragon Dance-spamming Pokémon crawling inside her chest—absolute torture.
Haru, meanwhile, though baffled by Liko's behavior, was all too happy to indulge her. If she wanted to fly higher, he was more than willing to send her there.
And the result? Naturally—Cynthia's suffering intensified to the extreme.
In the midst of this agony, the Champion finally made a painful decision—she had to talk to Haru tonight.
But her approach needed to change.
Her goal was simple: make sure Haru swore to keep today's incident a secret. Not a word to anyone beyond herself and Caitlin.
Earlier, she had no bargaining chip and would've been completely on the back foot in any negotiation.
But now… things were different. Maybe she could use Liko as leverage.
If she recorded this, she could confront Haru with: "Mr. Haru, you wouldn't want word getting out about you and your own student… battling like this, would you?"
Sure, morally speaking, it was highly questionable. But at least it would put them on equal footing.
Once the deal was struck, she'd delete the footage right away. No way would she ever keep it for "private viewing."
Yes… given the circumstances, it was the only path left. Risky, but worth it.
With that, the girl leaned back against the wall, took several deep breaths, and finally, trembling, opened the camera on her phone.
She steadied her wildly beating heart.
Then, like a duelist down to their last card, she cast that single desperate hope—gambling on the slimmest chance.
Only to discover… she had indeed caught Haru on camera.
Just not in the way she'd imagined.
Through the lens, all Cynthia saw was Haru's face, filling the frame, his expression grim.
And right beside him—Liko, who had already noticed her earlier.
At some point, the "battle" sounds had faded, and Haru, for various reasons, had ended up standing near the window.
He hadn't had time to change into his usual clothes—just pajamas. Liko too.
So even if she filmed it, there was nothing incriminating to use against him.
Worse, both of them had clearly spotted her.
They weren't just aware—right now, they were literally standing at the window, staring straight at her… and they'd seen her trying to record them.
The three of them just stared awkwardly at each other.
Cynthia was on the verge of wishing she could hit herself with Rock Slide and knock herself out when Haru finally broke the silence.
"Miss Cynthia… don't you think this is a bit inappropriate?"
"And to think you'd have this kind of hobby…"
He was visibly floored. A Champion, caught doing something like this—his expression said it all.
He even glanced at the clock, then looked even more baffled.
"I honestly thought the esteemed Champion was a fairly normal person. But maybe I was giving you too much credit."
"Maybe we ought to keep our distance. Report this to the League, even."
So said sweet, innocent-looking Liko, her tone cold.
Kill me now… what even is my life?
Cynthia's spirit finally broke. She slid down the wall like her "Motivation" ability had just activated… and flipped to "Despair."
Thankfully, Haru and Liko didn't twist the knife further. After whispering to each other, they opened the balcony door and let her in.
Yes. Negotiations. In Cynthia's eyes, this was their one last act of mercy.
It took her ages to recover enough composure to step into the room. She stared at the doorway between balcony and bedroom.
It didn't feel like a normal door at all—it felt like the gates of Hell itself, missing only the inscription: "Abandon all hope, ye who enter here."
But whether she liked it or not, she had to walk through.
Leaving after being caught red-handed was the worst possible option.
They could tell her friends. They could tell the Pokémon League, claim she had "questionable morals." They could tell anyone.
So she had to handle this carefully.
Yet even as she entered Haru's room, she had no idea what approach to take.
Just as she feared, once the three of them sat down at the table, not one of them spoke.
The silence was suffocating.
The Champion, usually so composed, now sat with her head bowed like a chastised Xatu, awaiting her judgment.
As for the two "judges"… they too seemed unsure how to proceed.
The silence dragged on as long as a Garchomp vs. Garchomp standoff.
At last, Judge #1—Haru—spoke:
"So, Miss Cynthia, can you answer me now? Did you really show up here at half past midnight because of… certain tastes of yours?"
It was still the most humiliating question imaginable, but oddly, the moment Haru spoke, Cynthia felt an immense sense of relief.
Like she'd set down a crushing weight.
She shook her head. "N-No, of course not."
"Then tell me—why did you sneak up to my window at midnight, try to spy on my room, and even attempt to film it? That's not something a Champion should be doing, is it?"
Liko nodded gravely in agreement.
"This… actually, there's a reason for all of it."
"Please believe me, nobody wanted things to turn out this way."
Cynthia pressed her hand to her chest like she was swearing an oath, trying to look sincere.
"It's just… after what happened during the day, I was…"
"You were…?" Haru tilted his head.
"…uneasy."
"So I wanted to come find you, to talk things over."
"Ah, I see."
Haru's eyes lit with mock understanding.
"You didn't trust me. You worried I might tell others what you saw earlier. So you came barging in at midnight."
"But then you caught a glimpse of me doing something interesting through the window."
"So you changed your mind, and decided to film it all instead—to satisfy your… special tastes, correct?"
He'd already guessed what she was thinking, but instead of confronting her directly, he deliberately teased her about her supposed "fetish."
Cynthia panicked. "N-No! I don't have any weird fetishes, and I wasn't filming for that!"
Her face burned bright red. She wanted to raise her voice, but remembered there were others in the house and forced herself to whisper instead.
Haru, unfazed, leaned in and asked casually:
"Then what was it for? Don't tell me your phone just started recording all on its own."
"Or are you going to claim… your phone made you do it?"
"…"
Checkmate. She had no answer.
Admit she'd been planning blackmail? Impossible. But dodge the question? Impossible too.
Even if Haru let it slide, Liko certainly wouldn't—after all, she was one of the stars of "Cynthia-gate."
Haru propped his chin on his hand, eyeing her with interest. "If it wasn't just a perverse hobby… then maybe you planned something worse with that recording?"
He put on an exaggerated expression of shock.
"Like using it to blackmail me? Or maybe selling it for profit?"
"Wow. In that case, I'd really need to reconsider whether it's safe to stay connected to a Champion like you."
Beside him, Liko scrunched her nose in disgust.
"Perverts are the worst."
That broke Cynthia completely.
In a burst of emotion, she shot up from her chair—then dropped to her knees.
"I'm sorry! Please forgive me, I'll do anything!"
"I… I just wanted to make sure today's events wouldn't be spread around. My head was a mess, and I ended up doing something unforgivable."
"But I really wasn't planning to use the footage for anything. Once I had your word, I would've deleted it immediately."
"I see…"
Haru gave a long, thoughtful nod.
"Well, that I can understand. Anyone in your shoes would be anxious."
"Miss Cynthia just let her worries get the better of her, and made an irrational choice."
"R-Really?"
Her head shot up, eyes shining.
She'd braced for harsh rebukes, even a complete break with Haru. She feared he'd brand her a pervert and expose her to the world.
But instead… he was defending her.
This man was… he was an angel!
And she—she'd slandered him before, suspected him of exploiting psychics, imagined he ran some shadowy intel agency, even doubted his kindness toward Caitlin…
I'm the worst person alive!
Overwhelmed by relief, Cynthia's emotions swung wildly to the opposite extreme.
And then Haru, in his unhurried tone, added:
"Of course, no matter your reasons, what you did was still very wrong."
"I don't care about my reputation—ruined is ruined. But Liko here was innocent."
"So, Miss Cynthia, you'll need to earn Liko's forgiveness. That's only fair, don't you think?"
He tapped the table lightly with his finger.
"Of course, of course—that's no problem at all."
Far from resenting him for adding conditions, Cynthia only found him even more admirable.
He forgave her, yet didn't presume to forgive on Liko's behalf—he respected everyone involved.
His request was perfectly reasonable. Even she couldn't fault it.
As for winning Liko's forgiveness? Surely not too difficult.
The Sinnoh Champion glanced at the ever-smiling girl across from her, already planning.
What she failed to notice was that the instant Haru mentioned "Liko's forgiveness," that smile of hers grew noticeably brighter.