Dante rubbed his eyes, pushed the clingy Mawile away, and stood up from the bed to go to the toilet. Glancing at the clock on the wall, he saw it was only 5 AM.
Their group agreed to meet at 9, so there's still plenty of opportunity to catch more sleep.
After finishing his business, Dante walked downstairs, planning to drink a glass of water. However, a figure in the living room caught his attention.
"Hey Mualani, what are you doing up so early?"
"Ehe, I was afraid I'll oversleep again. But if I don't sleep now, then that won't be a problem!"
The girl placed her hand on her hips, a proud smile on her face as if doing so was genius thinking.
"You know, if that ever happens, I'll just have Ursaring bang on your door."
Dante yawned and sat across from the tanned girl. With Mualani's nod, he took a piece of cookie from the container that she had been eating from.
"How about you, Dan? I don't remember you waking up so early usually."
"I just took a bathroom break. I planned to return to bed, but since you're here, wanna do some exercise?"
"Really? You?"
Mualani raised an eyebrow in skepticism. Over the past few days, living together had made her see the true nature of this guy who crushed her in battle.
Maybe because there were no classes, but she only saw him wake up by around 8 AM- which was even later than her. And he spends most of his time reading if he wasn't accompanying Shinobu and the others to their Ranking matches.
And then there's his Pokemon. Often, she can see Pikachu lazing in the living room, either watching the television or surfing the internet on his phone. Meanwhile, Ursaring and Azumarill mostly stayed together in their room to play games.
His new Pokemon, Riolu, also seemed to become influenced by them. He constantly bounced around both groups; either watching TV with Pikachu or playing games with Azumarill and Ursaring.
Only Mawile was different. She preferred to stick around Dante. Mualani found it funny and cute how the cream-colored Pokemon is obsessed with looking through fashion magazines in contrast to her Trainer.
"Hey, what's that supposed to mean? I'll have you know, you can't find another person in the world more fit than me."
"Oho? Are you sure about that?"
Mualani grinned mischievously, her eyes glinting with an idea. Dante confidently nodded, which only widened her smile.
"Then let's have a race! From here to the university lake, we'll run and compete to see who is faster. The loser has to carry the winner's luggage for the whole trip today. How about it?"
Seeing Mualani's smug look, Dante scratched his head. Still, though, he can't let go of such an opportunity to show off in front of her. After all, although Shinobu approves of her, it doesn't mean Mualani herself will just join them in bed.
"I hope you don't regret it."
Mualani laughed. Oh, she definitely won't. Ever since she was a child, she had been the type to run and swim in their local beach. Even when she became a Trainer, she preferred moving with her Pokemon while training. Therefore, she can proudly boast to have the most endurance and speed among the students in the university.
The two of them returned to their room to change into sportswear. Seeing his Pokemon asleep soundly on the bed, Dante decided not to wake them up. After all, this wouldn't take long.
Downstairs, Dante browsed the Alliance page while waiting for Mualani.
"Sorry for the wait!"
Dante looked up from his phone. Seeing her outfit, his eyebrows raised in surprise.
She was wearing a white cropped tank top and black running shorts, with a headband to keep her hair short and tidy. In contrast, Dante just wore black jogging pants and a gray tracksuit.
"Do you usually wear that when you go jogging?"
"Yup! It's super convenient when I want to go for a swim after a quick run."
Mualani raised her hand above her head, stretching her body in preparation. Her actions made Dante's eyes involuntarily fall on her smooth navel and her toned hips.
"Are you gonna keep staring? Or are you going to warm up?"
"Hmm, why not both?"
"Haha!"
The two had a light banter as they headed outside. Opening the door, the cold morning air hit their faces.
"Hmm, this reminds me of high school."
Mualani had a nostalgic look as she gazed at the dim surroundings.
"Huh? How?"
"Hehe, at that time, the school I went to was a bit far from our house. I had to leave around this time to make sure I wasn't late."
"With how late you usually wake up, I'm surprised you were able to make it at all."
"Hey!"
The white-haired girl pouted at Dante. Still, as if remembering something, she giggled.
"Well, you're right. If it weren't for Ma, I would probably not be able to get up in time."
They continued their light-hearted conversation as they warmed up, slowly circling the entire mansion before finally starting their race.
"We'll start here, and the finish line is the entrance of the University Lake. You alright with that?"
"Sure. Let's do this."
"Then on your marks, get set…go!"
At Mualani's signal, the two sprinted. Dante made sure to keep his pace just slightly ahead of the high-spirited girl.
"You're a lot faster than I thought, Dan. But can you keep it up?"
"Hah! If I can't, Shinobu wouldn't have been so troubled."
"Huh?"
Mualani tilted her head in confusion about what Dante meant. However, she decided to forget about it and concentrated on the race. Although the stakes were small, her pride wouldn't allow her to lose this.
Unfortunately for Mualani, her opponent was a human-shaped Pokemon. Even when she sprinted as fast as she could near the finish line, Dante was able to easily run past her and win.
"Huff, huff, no way."
Lying spread-eagled on the grass, Mualani began to start doubting her life. After outpacing her so easily, Dante didn't even seem winded.
"How, *huff* how come you're still standing?"
"I told you, I'm the fittest guy in the world. Here, have a drink."
Dante took out a water bottle from his belt pouch and handed it to the exhausted girl. Mualani didn't care about modesty. After a quick thanks, she took the water bottle and chugged it down. Because of how fast she drank, some of the water slipped past her chin and dripped onto her collarbone.
"Whew! Thanks, Dan."
Mualani roughly wiped the water from her chin. She stood up and returned the bottle to Dante, her eyes scanning him up and down in a new light.
"You know, I always thought you were the nerdy type."
"Really? Why'd you think so?"
"Duh. You're always on your phone reading and listening to Pokemon info. When do you even have the time to exercise?"
"Heh, the same time I train my Pokemon."
Mualani scrunched her face. That was another thing she didn't understand- when does he train his Pokemon?
"Do you train after everyone's asleep? Is that why you always wake up so late?"
"Now that? That's a secret. Come on, let's run another lap."
Dante stretched and began to jog back towards the mansion. But before he could even take two steps, Mualani grabbed his shoulder.
"Hold on. Since we're already here, let's go swim!"
Dante turned around, surprised. He thought she wanted to continue pestering him about his training regimen, but it seemed this senior of his knew her boundaries.
He agreed, and they proceeded towards a calmer part of the lake under Mualani's lead.
"This area is where I usually swim whenever I want to relax. The rocks cushion the flow of water, so the current isn't as strong as downstream."
Mualani dipped her toes in the water while explaining to Dante. After nodding in satisfaction, she released her Pokemon.
"Alright, same old rules. You three enjoy yourself. I'm going to hang out with my friend here."
"Sharpedo!"
"Politoed!"
"Ludicolo!"
The three Pokemon nodded enthusiastically before diving into the river and proceeding to swim downstream.
"So Dan, how about you-woah!"
Mualani's words were cut off when she turned to see Dante had removed his tracksuit, leaving him in only his jogging pants. He looked up after hearing the girl's exclamation and spotted her staring wide-eyed at his body.
"Like what you see?"
Mualani awkwardly laughed while turning her head away. Having grown up near the beach, she had grown used to seeing men with their upper bodies naked. But this was the first time she'd seen someone so shredded up close.
"I didn't expect you to be hiding something like…this. Anyway, come on! Let's go swim!"
Mualani jumped into the river as if to escape, her diving form not too dissimilar from professionals. Dante chuckled and leisurely followed suit.