A/N Hey to anyone thats reading this! I should probably be updating my other story, but i got sidetracked. I started it though, and thats all that matters! I wrote this a while ago, and i just found it and re-read and edited it. So now im posting it! I like it, but to me, some parts just scream "corny." But i have to admit, its one of my better stories (not situation wise, but hey, its above decent). AND REMEMBER! REVIEWS ALWAYS MAKE AUTHORS HAPPY (just hinting at something there but i'll be happy with anything =D) And if anyone wants me to continue this, just say so in a review, because I think it has story potential. And another thing, I put a few borders so it's easy to tell when the flashback begins (aside from the italics) but I don't know if they came up.

Disclaimer: We all know that if one of the fans owned Pokemon, it would be full of mushy coupleness, and there would be no need for fanfiction. In other words, I don't own it. =P

Normal - present time

Italics - Flashback

Hikari sighed. She was currently sitting on her bed at the Pokemon Center flipping through the songs on her iPod. It was raining out, and she was slowly watching as each drop traveled down the window. Truth be told, she was bored, and on rainy days like this, she just felt like doing nothing. This was how most of her rainy days were spent: sitting on a bed by the window and looking out while listening to music. Though it was boring, it provided a good way for her to calm down and organize her thoughts. And she really needed to do that right now.

But this time Satoshi was complaining about something to Takeshi, so there was no silence. Her only option was to put the volume high enough to drone him out. And that's exactly what she did. Putting the volume to max on her iPod, Hikari closed her eyes. This way, everything could be blocked out. The day's events then flashed into her mind, and Hikari smiled. She wasn't sure if she should be happy or annoyed.

_

Satoshi, Takeshi and Hikari were on their way to Hearthorme City for a contest, but were forced to stop due to a growling stomach.

"Guys, I'm hungry. Can we please stop?" Satoshi begged, slumping onto the floor in defeat.

Hikari pouted. "But we're almost there! Why can't we just eat when we get there?"

Takeshi sighed, "A little break and snack can't hurt right? Besides I don't think Satoshi will move unless we call break…or survive until we get to the city." He sat onto the floor and began to rummage through his bag.

"Yup." Satoshi looked at Hikari, "He's right, I won't. So we have to stop." He grinned proudly.

Hikari rolled her eyes as her Piplup crossed its little arms. "Well it can't be helped I guess." She crouched down to where Takeshi was getting all the necessary supplies from his bag. "Need me to get anything?"

Takeshi put a finger on his chin and thought for a minute. Then, he went through his bag and handed her a pot. "Can you get some water from that river we passed a few minutes ago?"

Hikari nodded and stood up. She looked at Takeshi curiously, "What exactly are you making anyway?"

Takeshi grinned and gave her a thumbs up. "My famous soup!"

Satoshi cheered from his spot on the ground and Hikari shook her head and chuckled. How did she ever get stuck with these guys? As weird as they were, she knew that she probably wouldn't be able to survive without them though. They were all like family now, and she couldn't have picked a better family to travel with. She turned to leave when Piplup jumped on her head. She smiled up at the little penguin that was her starter. "You wanna come too?"

"Piplup!" It answered, nodding.

"Alright then." She turned back to look at Satoshi and Takeshi, "Be back in a few!"

"Don't get lost! I'm too hungry to wait any longer!" Another typical comment from Satoshi.

"Yeah yeah, we all get it." She rolled her eyes and walked through the clearing and onto the path she thought lead to the river. She was pretty sure it was supposed to be right in front of her by now…

"Are we going the right way Piplup?" Hikari looked down to the penguin that had jumped off of her head.

"Piplup!" It turned and pointed towards another path. "Lup! Piplup!"

Hikari stared at Piplup and bit her lip, unsure if she should listen to it or not. After all, relying on your overly confident Pokemon could not always be good. "Are you sure?"

Piplup nodded and put its hands on its hips again. Hikari sighed. She was basically lost anyway, so why not? They began walking in Piplup's pointed direction, the little penguin striding in front of her boldly. Yup, definitely overconfident. Suddenly, a rustling noise came into earshot, and Piplup began running towards the noise.

"Hey! Come back here!" Hikari ran after the ball of energy and stopped abruptly when she saw a small portion of the river over the bushes. She looked at Piplup and smiled, "You were actually right this time! Who would've thought?"

Piplup growled at her angrily (Can Piplup even growl? Oh well) "PIP!"

"My bad, that came out the wrong way. Hehe…" Hikari scratched her head nervously as Piplup scolded her.

"Torterra, frenzy plant!" Piplup stopped and Hikari looked up. The voice was coming from the direction of the river, and it sounded strangely familiar. They continued walking, overcome by curiosity, and were shocked to find Shinji training his Torterra right by the river. Hikari ran up to him, but since he was facing the other way, he had no idea she was there.

"Shinji!" She yelled, practically in his ear. Yup, great way to greet a person that gets annoyed easily.

He jumped at the sudden noise and gripped his – probably now – deaf ear. He looked at her for a moment, and was torn between anger and confusion.

"What?" She asked, getting nervous from the intense glare. But then again, when was his glare not intense?

He remained looking at her, his icy glare boring knives into her. "…Who are you?"

Hikari lost it. "Are you kidding me?! How can you be so clueless! We've met like five times already! I travel with Satoshi and Takeshi, remember? My name is Hikari! Does it ring a bell? Hi–ka–ri!" She stared at him with just as much force as he did to her.

A small look of realization passed across his features. "You're that annoying girl that travels with the idiot and the breeder."

Hikari puffed her cheeks out angrily and Piplup tried to stare him down, which wasn't very successful since Shinji was quite a few feet taller than him. "I am NOT annoying! Who do you think you are? You are so irritating! My name is not that hard to remember!"

Shinji blinked, unfazed by her pointless rant and yelling. "And your point? What are you doing here anyway? Came to watch me?" He smirked.

Hikari backtracked. "Uh, let me think…" She put a finger to her chin, as if she was actually thinking, "Um, NO. Please, you're not half as cool as you think you are." She held up the pot, "I just came here for some water from the river. So if you think it was to admire the talent you wish you had, it wasn't. Sorry to disappoint you." Now it was Hikari's turn to smirk.

But she would not be for long. No one insulted Shinji's talent. And he was not going to stand there and take it from this small bothersome girl. He walked towards her, leaving a few inches between their faces.

"Are you sure about that?" He asked, smirking at the reaction he received.

Hikari's face went red as she felt his breath on her face. She inwardly cursed herself for being so vulnerable. But she was stubborn as well, and would not show fear to this jerk, no matter how close he got…wait…what? Hikari sucked up her fear and some of her pride, and straightened herself. Her hands flew to her hips, and her answer was calmer than she expected. "Positive."

Shinji took a small step forward. Hikari swore there were only a few centimeters between their faces.

"Well then –" He stopped mid-sentence when something hit his face. No, it was not a hand, nor was it human for that matter. It was sharp and came from a small blue blur. Hikari's hands flew up to her mouth as an attempt to stop laughing, but failed. Ladies and gentlemen, right there, in front of Hikari, Piplup was stabbing Shinji's cheek repeatedly with peck while he just stood there looking confused. This went on for a minute before he finally realized what was going on. (Haha I can so imagine that)

"Quit it!" He slapped a hand at Piplup, who landed feet first on the floor.

"PIPLUP! Pip! Piplup!" The little blue penguin went on and on, looking accusingly at Shinji and yelling at him. Shinji had no idea for what, so he just stood there and stared at the bird.

Hikari took this moment to walk over to the river and fill the pot with water. Afterward, she stood up and began walking out of the small clearing, acting as if nothing was happening. "Come on Piplup. The others are probably wondering where we are."

Piplup, who was now using its small hand to accuse as well, turned to Hikari and jumped on her head, giving Shinji one last look.

"Nice bodyguard you got there" Shinji remarked dryly. Hikari stuck her tongue out at him and he raised an eyebrow, amused.

"Well, see ya" She turned and walked away without another look.

"Hey, annoying" He called.

Hikari stopped and turned to him angrily. "My name is Hikari! Hi–ka–" She was cut off.

"It's going to rain, and badly at that. So I suggest you tell the idiot and the breeder to get a move on so you won't get stuck in the storm." And with that he turned, returned his entertained looking Torterra, and walked away without another word.

_

Hikari sighed again. After that, she had run back to Satoshi and Takeshi who had gotten worried about her. She told them about Shinji, minus the close distance and blushing part of course. Takeshi had simply nodded his head and began cooking the soup. Satoshi however, would not stop yelling about his hunger, or about how he was going to beat Shinji the next time they battled.

Thanks to Shinji, they didn't get stuck in the storm and found this Center to rest in. But where was he? He surely had to be here too, since it was the closest one to the forest. Unless maybe he was still outside?...

Hikari opened her eyes and looked around. Satoshi was still talking to Takeshi, who was attempting to read a seemingly thick book. She looked at the bed and saw Piplup sleeping soundlessly, oblivious to the yelling coming from Satoshi. Her attention then turned to the window. It had gotten considerably dark, and the rain had not let up at all. Actually, she saw quite a few strikes of thunder and lightening. Joy.

She sighed again, Shinji was not her problem. He was, after all, a grown boy and could take care of himself. She pulled her headphones out and got up. Satoshi and Takeshi looked up at her as she walked to the door.

"Where ya going?" Of course, Satoshi was always being nosy.

Hikari shrugged, "Gonna go get some dinner. You guys coming?" She looked at each of them.

They shook their heads. "Maybe later."

"Okay, see you later!" She smiled and walked out and towards the cafeteria. Many people were taking refuge in the Center due to the storm, so it was filled. She passed the lobby and even saw people sleeping on the pink couches and tiled floor. Hikari thanked Arceus they had gotten a room.

She walked into the cafeteria and looked around at the pink chairs and white tables. Almost every one of them was filled with people. Hikari made her way to the line for food, and eventually got her plate filled with the spaghetti they were serving. Her eyes traveled around the cafeteria, and rested on a familiar head of purple hair. She walked up to it and set her plate down on the table.

"Mind if I sit here?" She looked down at him.

Shinji looked up at her. "You again?" He made an annoyed face.

Hikari rolled her eyes. "Well sorry if I'm not your preference, but I have nowhere to sit, so deal with it." She sat down across from him and his own plate of food and smiled sweetly.

Shinji stared at her. He had to admit that she was better than having the idiot or the breeder around, even if she was unpredictable. But if she was going to sit there and smile at him stupidly, he was not going to just sit there and eat quietly.

"You're annoying." Yup, he had to insult her or something. That smile was getting on his nerves. She was way too care free for his liking. Surely this would get her angry or something.

"I know that already." She rolled her eyes and continued eating, unfazed. Hey, might as well get used to some kind of name from this jerk. He can't remember Satoshi's or Takeshi's, so she didn't take it personally.

Shinji raised an eyebrow, amused by her huge mood change from the afternoon. Yet he still missed her overreacting and unexplainable reactions. So he had to taunt her further, even though it was probably not a very good idea if he wanted to continue living.

But Shinji decided to take his chances, "Are you normal?"

This got her mad. She could take an insult from him, but a question on her sanity? Did he want to die today? Or was he just really bored? She stood up and leaned over to him, her eyes narrowing. "What do you mean?"

Shinji shrugged. This seemed like the reaction he was hoping for. Oh how fun it was to tease others just for the heck of it. She glared at him, and he glared back with just as much intensity, their eyes daring the other to make a move.

Hikari finally noticed how close their faces were yet again, and felt the heat crawl up her neck and tint her cheeks. Shinji noticed the blush and smirked slightly as she sat back down and began twirling the spaghetti on her plate with her fork. She was interesting…

She continued staring down at her plate, her cheeks still flushed slightly. Why did she have to blush? Why couldn't she just get angry and tell him off like she always did? But no, apparently, Arceus decided to be cruel and mess with her, so now she was thinking of Shinji and blushing about being around him.

She could not fall for this jerk! He was cruel! But he did help her before, so maybe he wasn't all bad. But then again, he treats his Pokemon badly. Let's not forget that annoying glare that's glued to his face. It looks like he can't smile for his life! So then it's settled. Hikari does not like the ignorant Shinji or his mesmerizing onyx eyes! So take that Arceu – wait, WHAT?

"Are you done?" Shinji stared at her as if she had three heads. His elbow was on the table and his head was resting in the palm of his hand.

"What are you talking about?" Hikari asked, confused and afraid that she had spoken aloud.

"Well, I've been watching you for the past five minutes making weird faces, and now it's getting boring.

She blushed slightly but glared at him. "Who told you to watch me?"

He sighed. "Well, it's kind of hard to ignore you since you're acting more abnormal than usual. And you are sitting in front of me."

Hikari's cheeks puffed out. But after a moment, she smiled and sat back, turning her attention back to her food. Shinji looked at her with a raised eyebrow. This was how life was supposed to be: her and Shinji arguing without the awkwardness or blushing. Even if she did like Shinji, which she did not, it didn't matter. Her first priority was to become a Top Coordinator, and Shinji could be her second. Besides, she wasn't even sure she liked him – strike that, if she was talking about him this much, she HAD to like him. But whatever, only time would give her a definite answer. She just had to wait in line to find out if Shinji liked her too…or if he just thought she was weird. Hikari could only hope she would get the answer soon.

A/N Again, if anyone wants me to continue this, I might consider it if enough people want me to. And yea i know you can kill me for the ending. Honestly, i hate it too, but i could not think of a better one, so shoot me (Not literally). Review please!! =D