"Why don't you get used to sleeping alone? Or is it that you panic when there's no one beside you?" Sabrina—rarely so teasing—gently mocked Ash. It seemed his presence had subconsciously softened her personality.
"What about Brock?" Ash glanced around. Not seeing him nearby, he asked curiously.
"He's busy taking care of the Pokémon. Your friends are over there," Sabrina replied calmly. Her violet eyes, however, never left Ash. There was a deep sorrow in her gaze—so much so that Ash could hardly bring himself to meet it.
"Do you... like me?" Perhaps unwilling to remain passive before Sabrina, Ash finally voiced the doubt that had been gnawing at him. The look in her eyes had triggered memories he couldn't suppress.
"Yeah," Sabrina admitted softly. "I stayed in Saffron City waiting for you for nearly thirteen years. But your cold attitude back then made me too afraid to reach out."
Ash's unexpected gentleness brought a small trace of happiness to her heart, and for the first time in a long while, she opened up.
"But I don't remember anything connecting me to you. I don't even know what you did to make you wait so patiently. All I remember... is slapping you hard."
Ash lay on the bed as he spoke. Cynthia was resting on his abdomen, so he could only lie on his back to avoid disturbing her.
"That's right," Sabrina said, her tone still cool, yet softer than before—softer than even her own parents had ever heard. "After all, my psychic powers hurt the most important person in your life."
"It's in the past. You didn't mean to do it. My mom forgave you, so what right do I have to keep holding on to it? We're even now," Ash replied, shaking his head.
At the time, he truly had been furious. He'd even had thoughts of killing her. But looking back, he couldn't really blame her. The destructive potential of psychic powers wasn't always under control.
"Even?" Sabrina gave a bitter smile and shook her head. "I still owe you my life."
The memory of Ash saving her from the brink of collapse was still vivid in her mind. She had come to understand him much better since then. Compared to her cold and distant childhood self, he had always been... warmer.
The first time she saw Ash, the impression he left on her was simple: cold. That piercing coldness felt endless. Without Delia, Sabrina doubted she would have ever had the courage to face Ash and apologize.
"What do you mean?" Ash looked at her in confusion. He didn't remember saving her—was she joking? But her tone was sincere, not playful or deceptive.
"You lost your memory once," Sabrina revealed. "Just one day. But that day... was when you saved me."
Ash's eyes widened. The missing piece finally clicked. No wonder he had always felt something was off—he'd forgotten that day entirely.
"I can't recall it. But sometimes I do get flashes... ever since I saw you again," he admitted, though he still couldn't remember everything clearly.
"I'll help you remember. I want you to know how much you mean to me," she said with firm conviction. A spark of determination glimmered in her eyes.
"What are you saying?" Ash blinked, startled. She sounded serious. Though she claimed to like him, he hadn't truly believed it. If it were a matter of reading souls, he might not even have noticed the affection in her eyes.
"I have a way to fix your superpowers," she suddenly said.
Ash was stunned, and the sudden movement startled Cynthia, who had been sleeping peacefully on his stomach.
"Ash, you're awake?" Cynthia's half-lidded eyes looked at him sleepily. Her voice was soft and slightly lazy, but hearing her was still comforting.
"Fix them? How?" Ash turned to Sabrina, still reeling from her words. If there was a way to resolve the side effects of his powers, he wouldn't need to rely on Full Restore Capsules. And Sabrina wasn't talking about a temporary fix—she meant a cure.
"What's going on?" Cynthia asked, now fully alert. Her eyes flicked between Ash and Sabrina.
"I have a way to eliminate the side effects of Ash's powers," Sabrina repeated.
"Are you serious?" Cynthia reacted very differently from Ash. While he was calm despite his shock, she was visibly emotional. The side effects from the ocular power had always troubled her. Hearing Sabrina's words gave her real hope.
"I examined your mental energy with my psychic powers and found that it's normal," Sabrina began. "But your optic nerve—there's an extra one, connected directly to your mental pathways. That's something ordinary humans don't have. And that extra nerve is deteriorating. It's shrinking now, and that's the main cause of your vision loss."
"Even I can't tell where that nerve came from," she admitted. "Not even someone with my psychic ability can trace it."
"To address the side effects you're experiencing, I believe there are three possible solutions," Sabrina said calmly.
"The first method is surgical. We remove the extra optic nerve entirely. It won't fully restore your vision, but it should significantly improve it. However... there's a catch. Your psychic abilities may become unusable afterward."
"The second method involves consuming rare and powerful items—treasures that greatly boost mental strength. With enough enhancement, your mind could stabilize and distribute the strain among all your optic nerves, relieving the pressure from the overactive one."
"The third method—well, you possess Aura, don't you? Aura is a force that also relies on mental energy. If you abandon using Aura entirely, it might reduce the strain your powers place on your nervous system, significantly lowering the side effects."
Ash listened silently to Sabrina's explanations, then shook his head with a hint of frustration. Of the three options, only the first two were even remotely feasible, and even then...
The first one—surgery—was risky. Without his Sharingan-like eye, he wasn't sure what abilities he'd lose.
The second—treasures that could increase spiritual power—was even harder. Such rare items weren't easy to come by, and ones that specifically targeted mental strength were even rarer.
"You're not satisfied with my answers?" Sabrina asked, tilting her head slightly as she watched Ash's reaction. Her tone wasn't offended—just curious.
She truly believed the third method could help. After all, abandoning Aura would reduce the strain. But she also understood it might not be a sacrifice he was willing to make.
...
TN:
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