Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Pokemon.

Challenge from SPPF: write about a kid Shinji and a kid Hikari fanfic. No limits. I can't remember what the other stuff that were not capped were.

Four Years

It was Hikari's first time to a Contest Hall. Her mother was taking part in a Contest in Yosuka City and she could not possibly leave a young six-year old girl back in her house in Futaba Town. And the lack of participation in Contests may mean Ayako will lose her touch for Contests. Hikari needs to see the world outside their quiet town once in a while so it was the perfect chance to take her to Yosuka City. She brought the young awestruck girl to the picture corner of the Contest Hall where pictures of winners were shown.

"Hikari, you wait here ok? I'll be back soon after registering for the Contest," said Ayako. Hikari nodded happily and went to gaze at the pictures of the winners. Hikari strolled from the nearest picture to the last picture at the furthest corner. She noticed a small boy crouched in a corner of the gallery looking sullen. She decided to approach the boy.

"Hi, are you lost?" she asked. The boy looked up, surprised to see someone talking to him. He shook his head before averting his gaze back to the floor. Hikari sat down beside the boy. He looked slightly older than her, wearing denim overalls with a green shirt inside. His shoes were blue-violet, a slight contrast to his overalls. "Who are you?" she asked.

"Tobari no Shinji," was his answer. Apparently, he was a person of few words. He looked up briefly, looking for someone.

Hikari looked up to see if her mother was coming back. "Are you looking for someone? I can help you look," she offered. Shinji shot her a glare. "No thanks. I'll look for my brother on my own," he said and he got up and left. Hikari watched him go with a sad feeling. She thought that she could make him smile if she helped him find the person he was looking for.

"Hikari, let's go," Ayako called from the gallery's entrance. Hikari's face brightened upon seeing her mother and jumped up and ran to her.

Shinji stopped and looked behind him. That girl, a total stranger had talked to him when all those who entered the gallery had ignored him. He sat down on a chair beside the door of the Contest Hall and waited. Finally, he heard a voice calling him.

"Shinji, there you are," called an older boy with a darker shade of hair colour from Shinji. "Why didn't you wait by the practice counter? I told you that I was going to the stage to look for someone." Reiji sighed. His brother loved to wander; it was always a small problem when he wanted to find him. Shinji kept quiet and shifted his attention to the registration counter.

"Aniki, can we go home now?" he asked. Reiji smiled. Shinji always seemed to want to go home, not wanting to stay in a large crowd.

"Not yet. Today's Contest has a famous Coordinator taking part. I want to see how she groomed her Pokemon," Reiji replied. Taking Shinji's hand, he led his younger brother into the hall where the Contest will take place soon.

"Why do you want to be a breeder aniki? A Trainer is much better. Being a Trainer means that you can travel anywhere you want, take part in the Leagues and win. A breeder stays at home and looks after Pokemon," said Shinji.

"Not necessarily, Shinji. I've already been in the Indigo League in Kanto and the Johto League. Maybe, after that, I'll go try out the Sinnoh League, or the Silver Conference in Hoenn. I heard that someone is looking for competent Trainers to battle in the Battle Frontier. After I come back, I'll know what to do. And then, Shinji can go Masago Town and get a starter and travel. Shinji, you can be a Trainer, fight in the Leagues. And you can send your Pokemon back home where I will take care of them. OK?" asked Reiji. Shinji nodded and sat down on the bench. "Now you wait here while I go find the Coordinator. I'll be back after the Contest." With that, Reiji left for the backstage area. Shinji fidgeted in his seat. Although he dared not tell his brother straight in his face, he felt that Contests were dumb. Pokemon were made for fighting and to be used to its full potential, not using them for flashy moves and winning competitions with them. His train of thought broke when he saw the girl from the gallery being led to the bench he was sitting on.

"Stay here until the Contest is over. I'll be back to find you. Don't go anywhere with anyone you don't know alright?" said the woman who was obviously her mother. The girl nodded happily and watched her mother leave to the back where Contestants have to prepare for the Contest. The girl spotted Shinji and moved over to where he was sitting.

"Hi, is your mother taking part in the Contest as well?" she asked.

"I don't have a mother," was his short reply. The girl's face fell. Just then, the lights started to dim.

"Oh, the Contest is starting. I hope my mother's appeals are good," she said as she settled down to watch the Contest.

"And the winner of the unofficial Yosuka City Contest… Ayako of Futaba Town with her Nyaruma!!" was the announcement at the end of the Contest. Hikari clapped as loudly as possible while Shinji sat silently watching everything.

"It's amazing isn't it?" Hikari asked. Shinji found the Contest so-so. The appeals were boring enough but his interest returned when it came to the battling rounds. The winner of the Contest, now in civilian clothes came over to their bench.

"Oka-san!! That was amazing!!" exclaimed Hikari. Shinji looked around for any sign of his brother.

"Ne, Tobari no Shinji," said Hikari, "I have to go now. I'll see you again next time." She smiled happily at him. Shinji found himself stunned. The sincerity of the smile, the brightness of it. He thought that he would never see something equivalent to that. Mother and daughter left together just as Reiji came.

"Shinji, I'm done. Let's go," he said. Shinji jumped off the bench and followed Reiji out of the Hall. "So, who was that girl?" he asked. Shinji, caught off-guard, said something incoherent. "She's really cute you know," Reiji continued mocking his poor brother.

"Aniki, stop it. I just got to know her in the photo gallery," Shinji rebutted, then covered his mouth in shock. His face flushed pink.

"Ooh, Shinji got a girl he likes," Reiji teased.

"I don't even know her name aniki. So stop it," he said as he ran to the eastern gatehouse of Yosuka City. Reiji, laughing mentally to himself, ran to catch up with his younger brother.

4 years later…

Hikari had enough of the ridiculous argument Satoshi had with Shinji. "Cut it out!!" she shouted with Pikachu as she came on between both Trainers. "Now that's enough. Can't you two get through one day without wanting to kill each other?"

She noticed Shinji was staring at her with an odd look in his eyes.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Who are you?" he replied after a few moments of silence.

Hikari's calm state of mind went into angry overdrive. "We met before. I'm Hikari!!" she answered angrily. Shinji kept his cool.

"Don't remember," he said.

Hikari's patience dropped steeply. She unleashed the full potential of her fury. "You think you're funny, don't you?" she said menacingly as she advanced towards him with her 'claws' ready to strike. Takeshi dashed in and held her back just before she got to scratch his nonchalant face. If Hyouta had not intervened and said that his Pokemon needed a day's rest to battle Satoshi, Hikari might have gotten out of Takeshi's grasp and attacked Shinji. As Satoshi needed to go to the Pokemon Center, Takeshi dragged a still-furious Hikari along with them while Shinji left in another direction.

Hikari… That name had sounded so familiar. When Shinji first saw her at Professor Nanakamado's lab in Masago Town, he assumed that he was seeing another double of that girl in the Contest Hall in Yosuka City four years back. He then recalled that the Contest winner called her daughter Hikari as well. He thought that it was just a coincidence until she exploded like that. Just like her. That girl from Yosuka Contest four years back, when he commented during the battle rounds that her mother's fighting skills were not as bad as he thought.

Maybe it is her. Just that her appearance changed, he thought as he headed for the Pokemon Center as well to pick up his Pokemon. Nice to see that her personality hasn't changed. Just gotten a bit more explosive. Should I tell her that I was at the Yosuka Convention four years ago? Maybe not. Oh well, I'll take care of the Sinnoh League first, and then I'll tell her.

Hikari waited on a sofa in the Pokemon Center, thinking. Satoshi was deciding his team for his upcoming Gym Battle and Takeshi had just been Poison Jabbed by Guregurru. When she first saw Shinji in Masago Town, she thought he was just another Trainer passing by until he said his name. Tobari no Shinji, the same name as that boy she met in Yosuka City four years ago.

You're not thinking straight. Shinji's a very common name, she thought to herself as she watched Eipam, Pikachu and Naetoru jump in celebration as they were selected for the Gym Battle. It's him, I'm sure of it. He sure has gotten hot over four years… She gasped aloud when she realized what she just thought. She shook her head violently to get that thought out of her head. Who am I kidding? He's mean, he's thinks that Pokemon are tools, he's a slave driver, and he's also not respecting Satoshi and disregards my existence as well as Takeshi's.

"Hikari!!" Satoshi called her from where he was standing with all his Pokemon. "I'm going to training. Want to come along to practice your appeals as well?"

Hikari got up and picked up her bag and checked that her Pokeballs were inside. "Wait for me, Satoshi," she said as she dashed outside as well. Some day, I'll tell Shinji about the Yosuka Convention four years ago. Who knows, maybe he still remembers, she thought as her heart beat quickened.

Then maybe, one day, I'll tell that person how I feel, both of them thought at the same time.

Eto… 3 I called it 'Four Years' because it took four years for the same two people to meet again. Read & review please.