Every day since she last saw him, Haruka had worried about what would happen when she finally came face to face with Shuu. Maybe they would argue, scream and yell at each other until one of them took it too far and then they would go another few years without talking. Or instead they might just bicker like they normally would, pretending it never happened and their friendship hadn't been ruined. Or even worse, they might just completely ignore each other, like strangers who never met.

From the way things were going, it looked like the second option was going to be the winner. At least until Shuu said something that would sit in the back of her mind for weeks to come. "I know we have some... things we need to talk about, but I caught the end of your conversation and figured it could wait. Unless you wanna talk now?"

She would admit that listening to him stumble over his words was adorable. Regardless of what he had done, she still found him to be the most attractive man in the world. His shiny green hair was styled different than when he was younger. Now sporting an undercut, his hair was now messy in a way that made it seem natural. But knowing him, it took at least an hour for him to get it that way. Even wearing bed head, Shuu had to be perfect.

His looks had done nothing but gotten better over the years. Looking like he stepped out of a magazine, Shuu stood around six foot two inches. His body was lean , very lean but she could tell by his tight fitting red shirt that he was extremely muscular. As he adjusted hisJean jacket so that his strong forearms were visible, he sighed.

Realizing she had ignored his question, she snapped back to reality and forced a small smile. "I'd rather wait. That conversation went on for almost an hour."

"Well I guess I showed up just in time then. These moochi are great!" Unsure of what his true motivation was, Haruka consciously made an effort to analyze everything Shuu did and said.

But so far he hadn't said much. He mentioned he was traveling to Nedlle with his cousin. She was surprised to hear Shinji was related to him, but the more she thought about it, the more it made sense.

Both violet and evergreen were rare hair colors so it stood to reason two people with rare genes would be related. She was still amazed at how small the world was, it seemed everyone she came in contact with was connected in one way or another.

Another thing he had mentioned was that he was taking a break from contests. That was shocking to hear given how obsessed he had always seemed about the sport.

He didn't ask about her video call, which she was thankful for. In fact, he didn't really bring up anything at all and Haruka found herself wondering just why Shuu was being so nice to her.

But she couldn't complain. Not when he was ordering her plate after plate of delicious sweet moochi. It was the frozen kind too, her favorite. As much as she wanted to be suspicious, she couldn't help it as her anger melted away. Shuu knew how to lift her spirits. He always had. Haruka just hoped Hikari would be okay for a while on her own.

XxX

It had been a relatively long day in Hikaris opinion. When Haruka had returned from her video call, she had been surprised to hear that she had met up with her lifelong crush Shuu. She figured it would happen eventually, but didn't expect it to be when Haruka was in an emotional state.

But she was in a much better mood than Hikari could've predicted. Especially after hearing a condensed version of the conversation she had with her parents. But evidently, Shuu was eavesdropping and after overhearing her father, he took her to get sweets.

Hikari knew what happened between the two of them was a huge mix of unfortunate timing, miscommunication, and almost comical circumstances. It was good that they had a chance to catch up.

But that left Hikari feeling... empty. She knew Shuu and Haruka would finally make up, there's no way it wasn't going to happen. She figured that out when the green haired man showed up at their cabin door wanting to take Haruka to dinner.

They had been gone for over two hours when Hikari finally decided to go get something to eat herself. Wearing a pair of fluffy purple pajama pants with a tight lilac long sleeve shirt, she tied her long hair into a messy bun and slipped on her white slippers.

Once she was ready she made her way to the cafeteria. She expected to see her friend in deep conversation but in reality she saw an empty room. The kitchen had closed an hour before and all that was left were some yogurts, granola, and fruits.

After grabbing a bowl and putting some strawberry yogurt in it, she added some mixed berries and bananas before topping it with granola. When she went to grab a spoon she saw a counter with a mini fridge on it. She grabbed a bagel and some cream cheese and took her food to the bow of the boat.

It was a clear night with the stars clearly visible. Thousands, maybe millions of them. She knew it had been a long time since she'd been anywhere, but she honestly couldn't remember any other place where the sky seemed so vast. There was a bench built in and she decided it was the perfect spot to enjoy a healthy meal.

She was nearly finished eating when the heavy sound of boots caught her attention. Suddenly aware of how exposed and vulnerable she had allowed herself to seem, Hikari cursed herself and started to search for the source of the footsteps.

Her wildly beating heart flooded with relief when she spotted a familiar head of violet hair. Of course she was being paranoid, she had no reason to believe her father would be on the ship. So why was she so jumpy? Ignoring the now nagging voice in the back of her head, Hikari scooted over slightly, making room for Shinji to sit down.

He was smoking something, it didn't smell like a cigarette but she didn't know what it was. He had a small smirk on his face and glassy eyes. Sitting down next to her, He turned off whatever it was he was smoking and greeted her. "What are you doing out here?"

Hikari knew her face probably looked funny as her amusement for his bluntness showed. How could she not find his way of talking funny? It was like he had no sense of how to interact with other humans. Most people found him rude, but Hikari saw it as being socially inept. Maybe she just had a higher patience level than most people. "I went to try to get dinner, but the cafeteria was closed already."

Sighing at the thought of missed noodles, she smiled lightly and added. "So instead I raided the snack bar. Haruka went out with Shuu, I have no idea where they are, and I started to feel lonely in the room so I figured I could eat under the stars."

Noticing the sad look in her eyes, he swore he heard her stomach growl. Normally skipping one meal wouldn't bother most trainers, but Shinji could tell she was hungry. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME SHE ATE he wondered. "Did you eat before dinner?"

She should've seen the question coming, but Hikari still found herself caught off guard. Taking a minute to think about it, she realized she hadn't really eaten since the night before, and it was an early lite dinner at that. No wonder her healthy snack wasn't satisfying to her. "Actually... I don't think I did."

"Wait here." Unsure of his motives, Hikari watched as Shinji walked off in the same direction he had come from originally. Wondering what he was doing, she suddenly felt even more alone than she had back in the cabin. Why did she feel so empty watching him walk away? Shrugging off the strange emotions swirling in her head, she looked back up at the stars. Grabbing the violet pokeball around her neck, she sought comfort in the warmth it always emitted, reminding her that she wasn't really alone. Even if she never called him out, he would always be there with her. He was her only family left.

Like so many times before, her mind wandered back to that night. She remembered how she grabbed her bag and ran into the hallway which was filled with flames. Rushing to her brothers room she realized if she didn't get out, she would die. Tee flames licked the walls and she ran back into her room, jumping out of the window and running barefoot into the snowy night.

Tears were beginning to fall from her eyes when she felt warm skin against her cheek. Gasping and jumping back, Hikari sighed when she saw a pair of concerned violet gray eyes. "What's wrong?" Feeling embarrassed, she wiped her face clean and smiled widely. "Nothing. I was just letting my mind wander and started feeling sorry for myself. I'll be fine."

Shinji looked unconvinced and didn't bother hiding it. "Right. Here, eat this" He shoved a thermos in her face and Hikari took it immediately. Unscrewing the top, her eyes lit up when she saw a piping hot bowl of cheesy veggie noodles topped with garlic lemon chicken. Anyone who knew Hikari knew she LOVED noodles. It didn't matter what kind... ramen, udon, glass, spiral, shaped, honestly she just loved carbs. Rice, bread, anything that could make you fat, she loved.

Looking up at Shinji with stars in her eyes, she smiled again and thanked him before digging in like she hadn't eaten in weeks. This didn't go unnoticed by Shinji who watched her with worry in his mind. From what Shuu had told him, it had been a really bad few years for her. Even he didn't know the details, so Shinji was left with only his theories... which weren't plesent.

He wanted to know what happened to her but he also knew form experience that if he pushed it, and she wasn't ready to talk about it he would only succeed in pushing her away. If anyone knew what it felt like to want to keep a secret, it was him.

Instead of pushing her he changed the subject completely. "So you're going for the gym trials? Do you think you can handle it? You don't even have any pokemon."

If she were anyone else, she would have been deeply offended by his insinuation. The sarcastic tone in his voice didn't help any. To be honest, in the past Hikari would've jumped down his throat. But she just didn't have it in her anymore.

Her fire had been snuffed out long ago and she wasn't going to pretend any different. Besides, Shinji meant well. He wasn't actually insulting her, on the contrary, he was more than likely concerned about the fact that only the most experienced trainers challenge the Nedlle league. Having been out of the contest circuit for six years, she wouldn't exactly seem qualified in the eyes of someone like him.

"I honestly don't know." It SAS true. She was secretly a little afraid about the journey. It had been so long, after everything that happened... she wasn't positive she could do it.

Seemimg to read her inner struggle Shinji asked... "If you're not sure you could handle it, why did you come? You could've gone to Jhoto or Kanto."

She wanted to tell him it wasn't safe for her there. As far as she knew, her father had been spotted in Kanto, Jhoto, Hoenn, Unova, and Palos. There was no way she was going to one if those regions. "Euon is in the middle of a war. Algarta hasn't completed setting up their league. And Shari and Alola cost too much for me to visit. I don't want to go to the other regions for..." Pausing momentarily to try and think of an excuse, Shinji just nodded.

"Its fine, you don't have to think of a lie. So the other regions are out. I assume you're not going to tell me why, not that I really care to hear it." He cringed inwardly at how stupid that sounded. He didn't mean for it to come out like that, he only meant to let her know she didn't need to feel pressured to open up to him.

"So what, the one who's always eating invited you on a trip you weren't prepared for and you said yes? Are you that bored or do you have a death wish?" A hint if anger could be seen in his eyes and Hikari couldn't figure out why he was mad.

"Neither?" She asked more than answered. When she realized he was upset because it sounded like a dangerous impulse trip to him. Not that he was wrong.

"Technically, I do have one pokemon." Hearing this made Shinji calm down and look at her curiously, as if waiting for an explanation. Grabbing the minimized violet pokeball around her neck, she smiled sadly.

"I never call him out, only in an emergency. He prefers it that way." Shinji wondered what she meant by that and was about to ask when she continued speaking. "He was injured pretty badly about six years ago. Plus, he wasn't originally my pokemon."

"Who's was he?" Shinji asked, wondering just what kind of pokemon could be in that customized pokeball.

"He was my brothers." As soon as she said it, a tear fell from her eye and Shinji immediately regretted asking. But she kept talking anyway. "My brother was one of the strongest trainers in Sinnoh. You actually battled him a few times."

Shinji was shocked to say the least and wanted nothing more than to find out who her mystery brother was. The way she talked, it sounded like he wasnt around anymore and suddenly, he wondered if that had something to do with the lack of spark in her personality.

"He must have been strong if I battled him." A smirk that could rival Shinjis crossed Hikaris face and he cringed at how attracted to her he felt. Apparently he was a freak who liked not-so-sweet girls.

"He beat you most of the time actually." Before Shinji could demand a name, her smile faded and she looked up into the sky with a frown. "I miss him. But as long as I have this pokemon, I know I'll be safe no matter where I go. So to answer your question..." Turning to look him in the eyes, she nodded slightly and whispered, "yes I can handle it."

It was like they both knew the time for talking was over. Hikari stood up and stretched, leaving Shinji to follow suit. "We're landing tomorrow, you should get some rest. I'm sure your friend is back by now."

Nodding in agreement, Hikari followed Shinji to her room and promised to treat him to lunch the next time they ran into each other. After he left, she saw Harukas clothes tossed on her bed. Hearing the shower running, Hikari smiled and slipped into bed, ready to let sleep take over now that she knew her best friend was back safe.

The longest journey of her life was about to begin and she needed all the rest she could get.