The two were sharing a campfire, roasting marshmallows over the dancing flames like this was just another night they were hanging out rather than actually traveling. Actually, truly, journeying. For Hugh, it felt good to be out on his own finally. He was getting tired of relying on his family, and while he was going to dearly miss his sister, there was at least the reassuring knowledge he was now sending her money back home and could call her any time on the V-Transmitter. From what his mother said, his sister was actually bragging to her classmates that if any of them lay a finger on her, her big bad brother would come after them with his amazing team. He tried to not smile at the thought.

"Whatcha thinking about?" His friend's voice broke into his thoughts, and immediately Hugh tried to hide his amusement with a scowl.

"Same ol'." The blue-haired male answered, making a small effort to sound mysterious – just to irritate his friend. At that, Kyouhei laughed a little. Not the response Hugh was hoping for.

"Same ol' means your sister, right? She's the only thing you think twice about!" The brunet teased, referring to some of the other's more impulsive actions.

"I'm always thinking about my sister." Hugh answered through gritted teeth. "No, this time I was thinking what kind of idiot mermaid picks a fire-type for a starter." Receiving a scoff this time, Hugh's spirits lifted and he grinned. He could call the brunet an idiot all day long, but addressing him as a mermaid instead of a merman could always earn some, at least, mild irritation.

"That's some way to ask why I picked Tepig. Sweetest girl in the whole world." Kyouhei smiled down at the creature, and she snorted in a pleased fashion back at him. "Don't listen to that nasty guy over there, you were the perfect choice. He's just shy. Deep down inside, I bet he's super grateful you're around otherwise he would still be freezing and cold and alone-"

"I have a lighter, you were the one who offered!" Hugh snapped.

"And now he's trying to hide his gratitude through nastiness." Kyouhei finished, turning to flash his friend a cheesy grin. "Right?"

"No." Taking a deep breath, Hugh plunged on, "I just don't get why, is all. You swim all the time – you even go to sleep in that thing now – and… you picked a fire-typed as your starter. That's all I'm saying, it doesn't make sense you me. You can't go swimming with Tepig." And with that, he effectively steered the conversation away from his doting habits. The brunet cocked his head to the side, and blinked curiously at his friend.

"Well, no. I can't. That's pretty obvious. But I guess you wouldn't know why… hah." Kyouhei smiled, and then patted his lap for Tepig to hop into it. The creature did as requested, snuggling happily against the fabric of his pants. Hugh tried to ignore the odd sense of jealousy. "For starters… hah, get it? We're talking about starters, and I began with, 'for starters?' Yeah, so for starters, heh… gets me, so I was originally going to pick Oshawott. We could go swimming together, and it seemed like a really fun idea! But then I thought, do I really need a Pokemon to go swimming with me? I mean, it's nice and fun, but… I really, really thought about it. And then I realized there was someone who needed a Pokemon to swim with them more." He paused, and looked over at Hugh. "And I knew if I chose a fire-type, you would pick a water-type because that's just you. You're competitive. You calculate. But you're also… you." Brown brows furrowed together, as he strained what few brain cells he had at his disposal for thinking to describe his friend. "You…

"You're always trying to protect people, in really weird ways. Like, you knew if I chose a fire-type, you didn't want someone else to have a water-type because neither of us know too many people to take advantage of that. And if I ever got in trouble, you could get me out. And I can always catch a water-type, you know? They're all over. I see them all the time. But you… you might not. You might not ever get one. And that scared me. Because you can't swim well… and it scared me, when I realized we wouldn't always be together. What if you fell in the water, and had no Pokemon on you that could swim? What if you drowned, and I wasn't there to pull you out again? It really scared me… so I knew if I picked Tepig, you would pick Oshawott… and no matter what, then you'd be safe…" Kyouhei trailed off in his words, before looking down at Tepig a bit awkwardly and mumbling that he also picked her because she was cute, and she should never doubt he adored her despite his confessed ulterior motives.

As he was distracted with his Pokemon, Hugh was left speechless for a change. Part of it was because the brunet rarely put that much thought into anything, and the other part of it was that he opted to think that deeply about Hugh. True, they had been friends since they were kids. Always rough-housing or blaming things on each other. But did Kyouhei really worry that much about him in the, "real world," as their parents called it? He frowned. All this time he was concerned the other would get himself taken advantage of – with Kyouhei, this wasn't a difficult feat. Yet here the other was, actually displaying some sign of maturity.

It was… humbling.

Especially because he hadn't thought it was that big of a deal to Kyouhei, who was technically the only reason Hugh was still alive to become a Pokemon trainer. A fact the brunet rarely mentioned, and up until that, "again," in his words the blue-haired trainer just assumed it was because he forgot. But apparently Kyouhei either didn't like to brag, or he was afraid it was that unpleasant of a memory to Hugh. So they both remembered…

Hugh and Kyouhei were eight, and didn't know each other. They were at the beach, a bit of a drive through the forest to Aspertia's east coastline where the water was. Despite never having really been taught to swim – because seriously, it was a long drive to the beach and there were no swimming pools in Aspertia – Hugh was running along the coastline, when a Krabby caught his eye. Inquisitive, and even a tiny fanatic of Pokemon then, he tried to chase after it. Still a child, he wanted to play with it, even though it had pinches that could leave marks on him for days. Deeper into the waves he crept, splashing his hands into the water trying to nab it. Again and again, like a long-beaked bird Pokemon desperately trying to grasp its prey.

Looking back, he was almost certain it was that blasted Krabby. Somehow, he lost his footing – and then was dragged beneath the waves. Beneath the water. Where his hands flailed, grasped, reached. His mouth open, he gulped water trying to breath in a vain attempt to find air, to find his way out.

Then hands, no bigger than his own, grabbed one of his arms and pulled him down – no, it was up! Hugh was wriggling towards the bottom, instead of the top! They broke out, sound no longer muffled and Hugh could hear his screams again. Wild-eyed and terrified, he sought out his savior – another kid, same age as him… grinning with one front tooth missing. "Yer okay, okay?" The kid said, nodding his head. Soundlessly, Hugh clung to the human life raft. Glad to see he was secure, and not minding the vice-grip, Kyouhei struggled to swim them both back to shore. His arms were thin for a kid, given kids had ample amounts of baby fat, and he certainly hadn't developed the muscle for swimming himself, let alone another, towards shore. Realizing that, Hugh began calling at the adults – someone!

The lifeguard noticed the two struggles kids, and raced in to drag them both to safety. But that didn't make Kyouhei's rescue any less important to him. Simply made it all the more impressive – what kind of kid just ran into the water to save someone else, knowing he probably didn't have the strength to get them both back?

Hugh wasn't entirely sure then, but he knew he wanted to be that kid's friend. Forever.

Now, at fifteen, Hugh thought he had it figured out. That Kyouhei was simply some kind of idiot, who ran into the water not even realizing he couldn't swim them both to safety. But now… "Fine. Have it your way." Hugh blew out a rather, crossing his arms and closing his eyes. "For the record though, I can swim now. Thanks to someone." One red eye cracked open, to toss a minor glare at his friend. He received a small, nervous laugh in response.

"W-well, you kind of asked me to teach you… I wasn't going to just say no." Kyouhei scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

"Look, I don't need a mermaid worrying about me, all right? I got it. I'll be fine. You're the one I'm worried about."

"Huh?"

"Gotta be hard, being a mermaid on land. Needing to jump in water all the time, or else you'll dry up and die. Poor, poor mermaid. Should have picked Oshawott, he would have kept you moisturized." The more he spoke, the harder it was for Hugh to not grin. He could practically feel the annoyance rolling off of his friend.

"W-would you stop calling me that?! I mean, I can get past the joke but a mermaid? Really? I'm not a chick! If you're going to do that, at least call me a merman, dude! Seriously!" Kyouhei huffed, and Tepig gave an affronted snort at the other trainer's remarks.

"…I'll think about it." That was the best they were getting out of him, Hugh decided.

"Tch. Typical." Kyouhei sighed. "Some prince you turned out to be – starting to regret coming on land for your jerky self." When Hugh did a double-take at that, he could only see Kyouhei grinning ear to ear. "Hahah, that's what you get! If you're going to call me a mer-whatever, I'll just have to call you my prince! That's how it works – the Little Mer-whatever comes to land to win the prince, right? Ah, but don't turn me into seaform! Give me the Disney ending, okay?"

"…with the eighties wedding dress?"

"Ah… on second thought, could you just turn me into seaform?"

A/N: ...yeah. There's going to be a The Little Mermaid crackfic with these two. Yup.

Disclaimer: Don't own it, haven't even played the game yet, and I'll hunt you down if you spoil anything for me.