a/n: thank you for the reviews and story alerts~! (and the author fav, dux. xD)

I really appreciate 'em, and I'm glad you all like the story. :D This is part one of the summer arc. Yay!

Pairing: None. A serving of friendshippy Arti/Kamitsure

Rating: K+ - T

Enjoy.

-RV


like glitter and gold

-life was a canvas; they were the paint.-

*Summer-

Arti was a big fan of the season that made thermometers break. Summer in Hiun City was like going to Hell for a vacation. It was hot, depressing, and…well, suicidal. Those who lived in Hiun City for most of their lives-like Arti and his family- knew how to handle the heat and had gotten used to it.

For them, the one-hundred and ten degree weather was nothing.

But, for the foreigners and spring chickens-much like his best friend, Kamitsure-, one hundred and ten degrees was death in a can. The blonde girl was not happy whatsoever about the smog, the sweat, and the fact that her headphones felt like they were on fire when she put them on.

On one summer day, the two teens were hanging out on the beach, ankle deep in the ocean. Kamitsure was wearing black shorts and a black and yellow tank top, her trusty headphones hanging on her neck. Arti was sporting mocha-colored cargo shorts and a simple polo shirt. The girl wasn't excited about getting out of her air-conditioned room, but after some coaxing, Arti managed to get her out the door.

Now, they were planning to escape the heat by playing in the ocean for a while.

"Hey, Kami…" Arti started, as the girl let out a snort, and crossed her arms, while turning around to face the brunet. Her blue eyes were glowing in the sun, and Arti took a second to recollect his thoughts.

"Arti, what did I say about calling me Kami?" Kamitsure hissed, as she wiped away sweat from her forehead. Arti gave the girl a shrug, brushing off her comment.

"I can call you whatever I want to, right?"

"No. Shut up if we're going to have this conversation."

If the ocean waves weren't so loud, the cars so screechy, the people so noisy, then a silence would have wrapped around them like humidity.

"All right then. Want to head to the park? Your Emonga doesn't seem so thrilled about the sun." Arti pointed at the flying-squirrel Pokémon, and Kamitsure let out a sigh of defeat. The white and yellow Pokémon squeaked and took flight, landing on the girl's shoulders.

"…I guess you're right. Let's go then." The girl ran back to the shore as Arti cracked a smile, pleased that he had been able to convince Kamitsure to go along with his plan.

Convincing Kamitsure was like trying to move one of the fossils at Shippou City; nearly impossible. The nearly part came from the fact that once Arti did manage to budge the ancient fossil exhibit. Then, he had been promptly kicked out by a security guard.

"Hey, Kami, wait up!" Arti finally snapped back into reality and began chasing the blonde, weaving through the beachcombers and other civilians, now locked in a race where getting to the park first was the goal.

"I told you not to call me Kami!" The girl's shout was heard over the other pedestrian's conversations, a feat that only Kamitsure could probably achieve.

Arti then questioned: how she could hear him with those headphones on twenty four seven?

"Oh shut up and keep running!" Arti yelled in response, as his sandal-clad feet slammed against the gravel, throwing up bits of concrete in his wake. Breathing heavily, Arti finally arrived at Hiun City's only park. It was lavish and grand, the landscaping done by professionals overseas; it housed three lakes, and that was just the start of the architecture.

"Took you long enough." Kamitsure snickered as she held two ice cream cones in her hands, the vanilla ice cream already melting and dripping on her fingers. Arti took a cone from her hand, their fingers brushing for a second. Arti felt his cheeks heat up and Kamitsure arched an eyebrow.

"You okay? You look sick."

The brunet male shook his head and downed the ice cream in fourteen point two seconds flat.

"Hmm." Kamitsure looked around her surroundings, her blue eyes entranced by the lack of visitors to the park.

The park was usually empty; people had other things to do. Work, play, nightclubs, concerts, you name it. They were all appreciated more than the synthetic forest that had been imported from Johto. Suddenly tired from his sprint, Arti collapsed on an iron park bench. Kamitsure took no notice, and her Emonga landed on the girl's head, only to hiss and glide to the floor, burned by the girl's headphones. Arti's Kurumayu escaped from its pokéball, and slithered up the park bench, taking a seat next to its owner.

"Hey there, Kuru." Arti gave his partner Pokémon a smile and the bug simply buzzed. The brunet's green eyes slowly traveled up, hoping to catch Kamitsure's gaze. No such luck. The girl was far too preoccupied fixing her mp3 player. Arti swore that she was addicted to the thing.

"Hey, Kami?"

"It's Kamitsure, Arti. What's up?"

Once again, the fact that she could hear him was slightly scary.

"Don't move."

Kamitsure sighed, not bothering to ask why he had asked such a ridiculous request. But she stood still, her head still tilted up, towards the sky. Arti took out his handy dandy sketchbook from his bag, and flipped to a clean page. Kohl pencils in hand, he got to work. The teen was so engrossed in his work that he forgot what a stupid idea sketching girls in one hundred and ten degree weather was. But his subject did nothing to ruin the moment; she simply stood, and resisted the urge to punch her best friend in the face. Maybe after twenty minutes of standing in the oppressive Hiun City heat, Kamitsure cracked.

"Arti, please stop being a complete monster by making me stand outside. Why am I standing here, anyways?" The blonde whipped around, to see Arti quickly stuffing his sketchbook in his bag, an alarmed look in his eyes. Kamitsure's blue eyes flashed.

"…you weren't sketching me, right?" Her tone became sickly sweet and Arti shook his head no.

"Of course not." Quick to change the subject he added, "Hey, look. Emonga seems to enjoy your bag."

Kamitsure quickly turned to her army-patterned satchel, now with a couple of pins on the opening flap, only to see that her Pokémon was not there. Arti used to distraction and fled the scene, with the giddy happiness that came with the picture in his sketchbook.

He had immortalized Kamitsure that summer day.

The blonde girl shouted at her fleeing friend and shook her head. She adjusted her headphones and picked up her Emonga, after slinging her bag over her shoulder.

"Come on, we have to get ready for the concert at ten." With that, girl and Pokémon left the park, the girl hoping that she would be able to get Arti to come to the concert at Raimon City later that night.

It was a stretch, but she couldn't drive yet. He could.