Tsuna didn't know what to make of the new boy in their…squad, team, group, whatever. They were a far cry from friends, that was for sure. Now, Tsuna was a polite boy. His mother made sure he learned his manners and he was pretty good at that, too. But if Gokudera asked him one more question about whether or not an UMA or UMP—Tsuna didn't know the difference and didn't care to ask—had contacted him in the last years or whatever science, psycho-babble he was saying 24/7, Tsuna was going to sick Ace on his eyes or something.

He was tired from that whole cult episode in Mt. Moon. At some point, his Pokémon (minus Bastion) escaped their PokéBalls and walked alongside the small group. Though it was endearing when they checked over Tsuna to make sure he was okay, he wasn't in the mood, even keeping Fairy at a distance, which, well…

After setting up camp with Gokudera's overzealous help, Tsuna pulled out his guidebook from his bag and held it near the small campfire. Everyone's Pokémon were out, having eaten dinner he made for them, and snoozed uncomfortably close to him. He wasn't even sure if Ace or Hibird was perched on his head but he didn't look up to check.

"What are you doing?" Gokudera said, laying out his red sleeping bag.

He scowled at his Pokémon somewhere around Tsuna's legs, which were going numb from Bacchus and Mira's combined weight. Hibari was up in the trees somewhere, already sleeping with Fairy snoozing on his stomach. After Tsuna had lashed out at the star-shaped Pokémon, he had uncharacteristically fallen silent and didn't bother him the whole day.

Hibari wasn't pleased but Tsuna didn't care.

The boy flipped his guidebook to a map of the Kanto region. "Trying to find the best way to get to Cerulean City."

Gokudera's eyes lit up. "Are you a trainer?"

"I guess." Tsuna found Mt. Moon and shivered before trying to best guess where they were on the map. "We're not too far. We might reach there tomorrow afternoon if we wake up early."

Gokudera tapped his chin thoughtfully. Before Tsuna could get his usual "I don't know" answer ready for the other boy's crazy questions, Gokudera surprised him by saying, "We don't have to get there in the afternoon. There's another route, a shortcut. I can show it to you."

Tsuna blinked. "Wait, really?"

Gokudera nodded. "We don't have to wake up that early, too." He quickly added, "I mean, if that's what you want. We don't have to."

"Why not? I think it's better if we can sleep in a bit." Tsuna grunted as he wriggled inside his orange sleeping bag and zipped it up, just leaving enough open so he could leave out his arms. "Erm, sorry that I didn't ask before but are you from around here?"

Gokudera shimmied under his sleeping bag. "My mom owns the Daycare Center on Route 5. It's near Cerulean City."

"Oh." Another bout of awkward silence passed. The fire crackled quietly between them. At least the stars were pretty to look at. "Is this your first time away from home?"

"Yes." Gokudera spoke much quieter now and Tsuna suddenly felt horrible for treating him like crap. They were just a couple of 10-year-olds thrust into the world and asked to fend for themselves—what would they know? Even if he had a couple of overprotective Pokémon, it wouldn't be all that bad to try to make friends.

Even if they were a bunch of weirdos, a small voice whispered in the back of his head.

Tsuna ignored it.

"Well, I never thought three was a crowd," Tsuna said awkwardly. "We can…travel together."

Gokudera bolted up, his eyes wide. "Really?"

Hibari grunted from his place in the tree, a small warning to shut up. Gokudera didn't seem to hear it. Grimacing, Tsuna nodded. "Yeah. Um, we should go to sleep. Get ready for the big day, you know?" He laughed nervously and cursed his non-existent social skills.

"Right!" Gokudera said, his voice just barely above a whisper.

Tsuna wasn't sure if he was just desperate or really, really dumb. Why didn't he just stay home?

Gokudera's shortcut was useful. The trio and small band of Pokémon arrived at Cerulean City just before noon. It was beautiful, with clean white buildings, lush greenery, and a long river that flowed on the outskirts; people bustled in the streets and there was a much more carefree-vibe here compared to Pewter City.

Fairy was back on Tsuna's shoulder again, cooing and singing happily. After apologizing to the Pokémon, Tsuna could barely feel his back from the too forgiving hug. Gokudera had spouted off all these facts about Cerulean City, pointing out the more popular spots like a bike shop, the Pokémon Center, the Cerulean Marine Stadium, and of course, the Cerulean Gym.

Tsuna and his Pokémon gaped at the largely renovated building. Instead of a circular dome, the top was triangular, coupled with powerful white frames and blue glass windows. A small white bridge connected land to the entrance where there was a small channel of water underneath. A PokéBall was etched in the middle of a Starmie design above the door.

"This is the gym?" Tsuna said, his eyes wide.

"Charmander…"

"You could say that again."

Gokudera scribbled something in his notebook like always whenever Tsuna interacted with his Pokémon and fixed his glasses on his nose. "Yeah." He shrugged. "It's not that impressive but I guess it has a cool aquarium."

Tsuna perked up. "They have an aquarium?"

"Inside, yeah."

Tsuna wondered if Giotto hung out and battled other trainers inside a cool building, too. "Well, can we go in?"

"It's free admission." Gokudera tapped the end of his pencil against his chin. "They might be having a show going on. That's also free."

Why were so many things free? Well, not that Tsuna was complaining but he doubted the gym could get much money from just free stuff. Huh, maybe the League was more loaded than he thought.

"What kind of show?"

Hibari grunted and stalked inside the building. "Just go in, omnivore."

Fairy chirped in agreement and stuck out his stubby arm as if to say "Onward, peasant!" Tsuna just sighed but followed Hibari anyways with Gokudera trailing behind him.

No one was in the long, fancy hallways but Gokudera led them to a set of closed doors and ushered them inside. Tsuna flinched from a sudden roar of applause around him and gasped when he looked down the steep stairs. They were in a dark stadium of sorts with the bright lights aimed at a huge pool below. There were some raised podiums showcasing some Staryus spouting water from their five legs while leaping over each other in some sort of dance.

Suddenly, the Starmies in the water started glowing blue by using Psychic, along with the beautiful streams that the Staryus tirelessly sent out. The drummers from the sidelines picked up speed, hitting their drums louder and louder with their wooden sticks to an exciting rhythm. Tsuna watched, dazzled, as the torrents of water raised higher and higher in the air, twisting and twirling until they formed a large sphere.

The audience gasped, and Tsuna was pretty sure he did, too. The drummers hit their last note and in perfect synchronicity, the sphere burst, revealing a beautiful Vaporeon and a teen boy in a blue kimono. They glowed blue and gently drifted to the platform, obviously preening from the loud cheers and whistles from the amazed crowd. Smiling, the teen held a flute in one hand while waving at everyone with the other.

"Bravo!"

"Encore, encore!"

"Asari, I love you!"

"Have my babies!"

Tsuna wrinkled his nose at that while Fairy just giggled, poking his cheek teasingly. Ace failed to rip it off. Tsuna almost encouraged him—almost.

The aquarium was something else. There were normal fish in all shapes and sized swimming in the large tanks that filled up a long, twisting hallway. The lights were dimmed, letting the glow of the blue water entice the visitors itself. Hibari stalked along the tanks slowly, taking in every single creature inside, before finding them boring and lying on one of the benches to nap on.

"—and their cores grow the brightest when the sun goes down," Gokudera rambled on. Tsuna just asked if Staryus were common around the area and didn't expect an answer, much less a lecture. Although, Gokudera sure knew a lot and the info was pretty neat. "A lot of scientists and researchers believe that they might have some connection to celestial bodies in space."

Tsuna tilted his head, watching a pretty guppy fish swim by. "Celestial what?"

"Like stars and planets," Gokudera said without prejudice. "Since Staryus live at the bottom of the ocean, it's not common to see them up close but sometimes they'll show up in rivers. But when they do approach the surface, it's at night and they actually align themselves with the stars. I heard that it's a really interesting behavior. Professor Bermuda said—"

The sound of doors opening echoed down the hall before squeaky footsteps followed, drawing closer until Asari appeared with his Vaporeon. Hibari opened one eye, sizing him up, then closed it, going back to sleep. Tsuna opened his mouth to say something, even though he had no clue what he wanted to say, and ended up blurting out, "You were really good."

That sounded lame. Even Dante winced. Asari took it in stride though and smiled. "Thank you," he said. "You must be Tsunayoshi."

Tsuna blinked while Gokudera looked between them curiously. "You know me?"

Asari chuckled while dabbing a white towel on his face. How his kimono looked perfectly fine was beyond Tsuna. "Of course I know you." He sounded so…prince-y. "Giotto talks fondly of his little brother after all."

Gokudera's jaw dropped. "Wait, you're the Kanto Champion's brother?" He put on his glasses and scribbled something in his notebook that he procured from Arceus knew where, looking Tsuna up and down unnervingly close. "I'm so stupid. You even look like him. I'm blind. That's it. I'm going blind."

Tsuna eyed him oddly while he muttered curses and numbers under his breath. He was starting to regret their tentative friendship again. Mira and Uri stood as a buffer zone between Gokudera and Tsuna though the former didn't seem to notice, too lost in his…whatever he was doing.

"You must be here for a gym battle," Asari said, smiling ruefully. "I apologize but this month's schedule has been filled with performances."

Tsuna widened his eyes. "The month? Wait, but I'm not here for a—"

"Although I'm sure you want to continue your journey as fast as possible." Asari slipped a hand inside his kimono, making Tsuna blush and look at the ceiling. Fairy looked at Asari with disapproving eyes. The gym leader procured a small blue case and opened it. Tsuna blinked when Asari handed him the Cascade Badge. "Here. This is what you came for, right?" Asari smiled. "I'd like to stay and talk more with you but I have another show soon. Good luck on your journey. Say hello to Giotto for me."

"…wait, what?"

A/N Tsuna, you need to know what you want in life…

Much thanks to nico, my lovely beta~

Thank you so much for reading! I hope to see you again in the next chapter.

Have a lovely day~

Little Miss Bunny