Jun's words proved true; a good night's rest did do wonders on the boy. He was healthy and as chipper as ever when morning rolled around, banging on Hikari's door. "Hiikaarii! Wake up, sleepy head!"

The door opened slowly, revealing a groggy Hikari. Her hair was a matted mess; she hadn't even changed out of her pink, Jigglypuff patterned flannel pajamas. Jun had no shame, immediately bursting out in boisterous laugher at her appearance.

Hikari just yawned, rubbing her eyes with the back of a hand. "Jun? Whadya want?"

He wiped a tear from his eyes, trying to keep the amusement from his face. "Whadya mean, 'Whadya want?' I'm here to get you, princess! Come one!"

She looked back into her room, spotting the clock. "It's not even 7 o clock yet!"

He pouted a bit, looking disappointed. "But, Kari! The early bird catches the worm!"

"Well this bird rather be late. I'm going back to bed." Before she could shut the door, he caught her wrist. "Come oooon! Why are you wasting your time sleeping? We get to go on a super cool vacation, and you want to sleep in? We'll probably never get an opportunity like this again!"

She turned around slowly, staring at his puppy-dog pout. After a moment she sighed, defeated. "…Alright. You've made a good point. What are you suggesting we do?"

He dropped her wrist, looking thoughtful. "Well, we are at a ski resort! Why don't we ski?"

Hikari looked stricken; she gulped, scratching her cheek. "S-ski?"

"Yeah!" He took in her nervous expression, patting her on the shoulder cheerfully. "Don't worry, Kari! Skiing's easy! You'll be fine!" He turned away from her, heading down the hall. "We'll be waiting for you in the lounge!" He waved a hand at her, disappearing from sight.

She waved weakly back, a hole growing in the pit of her stomach as she closed her door. "Skiing, huh…" Hikari wasn't exactly clumsy, but if her experiences with skating were any indication, she could imagine how pleasant an experience skiing would be. She leaned heavily against the door, rubbing her cheeks. "'A girl falls to her death while skiing at Snowpoint…' I think I'm going to be sick…"

After they had finished their breakfast, they headed out to the ski lifts. Hikari dragged her feet the whole way, acting as if she was going to her own funeral.

"Hikari? Are you okay?" Kouki looked at her, concerned.

Hikari laughed sheepishly, waving her hands in denial. "I-I'm perfectly peachy! Absolutely nothing's wrong with me! Nope, not me! I couldn't be happier!"

Kouki eyebrows rose at her zealous response. "R-right."

Jun just laughed, cheerful as ever. He was wearing his orange winter jacket to appease Hikari. "Hikari's is just nervous, since she sucks at stuff like this."

Hikari glared, punching him on the shoulder roughly. "T-that's not true!"

He hissed in pain, but the smile remained on his lips. "It's nothing to be ashamed about! You can't be good at everything, I guess."

Kouki nodded, trying to distract Hikari from taking her anger out on Jun again. "He's right. You get used to it after a while. It just takes practice."

Momentarily distracted from her bloodlust, she looked at Kouki curiously. "Have you skied before, Kouki?"

The boy scratched his cheek sheepishly. "Well, yeah. A few times, actually." He was thoughtful for a moment. "My mother used to love the snow, so we would come up here all the time for vacation."

Both Jun and Hikari looked surprised, glancing at each other before turning back to Kouki. "Really?!" They both spoke in unison.

Kouki's face began to grow hot with embarrassment. "Y-yeah. But after she passed away, we just stopped coming. Father was too busy with helping the Doctor." The three fell silent, immersed in their own thoughts.

When they finally made it to the rental booth, Jun picked out a snowboard while Kouki helped Hikari pick and mount a pair of skis. The process took a bit longer than it should have; Hikari had to force a helmet on Jun's head despite his claims that he was fine without one. After a few unsuccessful attempts at getting on the lifts by Hikari, the three of them were on their way to the top of the mountain.

Hikari looked down at the mountain, gripping onto the arm of the lift chair. "Do you…Do you think it's going to be okay? I mean, this hill…"

Kouki laughed, looking at the hill as well. "You'll be fine. We're on the bunny-hill, so it's not really that steep." He flashed her a comforting smiling. "You'll learn in no time, I promise."

She looked back down at the snow, gulping. "I・I hope so…"

In a matter of minutes the were at the top of the hill. Hikari wobbled on her skis, her arms waving frantically as she struggled to keep her balance. "Woah!" She flung her head forward, trying to keep from falling backward. The plan backfired, and she teetered forward. Before she could fall, Kouki managed to grab her by the waist with his free arm, his other hand preoccupied with his poles.

"Gotcha!" He helped her straighten out, gripping her forearm to keep her steady. "You should of grabbed some poles before we let for the hill."

She squawked, indignant. "I've never done this before! I didn't know I needed them!"

Kouki thought for a moment. "Here." He slipped his hands out of the straps of his own poles. "Use mine."

Hikari looked at the poles, frowning. "But, don't you need them?"

He flashed her his sheepish smile. "I'll manage."

Hikari grabbed the poles reluctantly, wrapping her hands around the straps. Again, she began to teeter dangerously backwards, only this time she managed to steady herself on her own with the poles. A smile brightened her face; even such a small thing as not falling on her butt by her own power excited her. It was much better than her skating experiences already.

Kouki smiled at her, gladdened by her happiness. Slowly, he began to brief her on the aspects of skiing, helping her through all the steps. Hikari was finally able to move down the hill at a snails pace. Following what Kouki had told her, she turned her skis inward, making a V shape, and managed to stop on her own. She let out a victorious shot, turning around and beaming at Kouki.

The boy smiled back encouragingly, gracefully skiing up to her. "See? Skiing isn't so bad."

Suddenly, a shower of snow blew into the two's faces; Jun, free of any snow, grinned mischievously, balanced skillfully on his snowboard.

"Jun!" Hikari shook head, try to rid herself of the snow. It was a bad decision on her part; poles or no poles, she lost her balance. Helpless on her back, Hikari began to slide backward down the hill at an alarming pace. Jun managed to leap on top of the girl's legs before she slipped away, digging his snowboard into the snow to stop their descent.

A smile still lit his face, albeit a sheepish one. "Sorry, Kari." The blond help her get to her feet, hopping back onto his board.

Kouki skied up to them, his expression worried. "Are you okay, Hikari?"

The girl took a calming breath. "I guess." She glared a bit a Jun, who only met her gaze innocently. "And you wonder why I don't like skating with you."

"Is it because you have no skill?"

His angelic expression was the only think keeping Hikari from punching Jun in the face. "No," which was a lie, "it's because you always make me look like a complete fool!"

He tilted his head to the side, making Hikari think of a puppy. "Really?" He seemed genuinely clueless. "I never noticed."

Hikari sighed. "Of course you wouldn't. You never take a moment to think about things."

"That's true. Thinking wastes valuable time!" His smile returned.

Kouki interjected, trying to get off the subject before Jun said something to upset Hikari again. "How did you learn how to snowboard so well, Jun?"

Jun scratched his head, thinking. "Well, when I came up here to get my badge, I thought it looked fun, so I borrowed a board from a trainer and started teaching myself." He grinned at the memory. "It made for some awesome training!"

Kouki shook his head, trying in vain to wrap his head around what Jun's training methods were.

Jun snapped back into the present, fidgeting from lack of movement. "Well, let's go guys! We want to make it to the bottom of the hill before nightfall, don't we?" Without waiting for a conformation from the two, he started down the hill. "A billion yen from the person who makes it last down the hill!"

Hikari grimaced. "That would probably be me." She started to pull herself forward with her poles. "Come on, Kouki!"

After a long day of skiing, the three young trainers sat around one of the many fireplaces, sipping hot chocolate. Hikari was content; by the end of the day, she could make it down the slopes by herself without falling on her face. She was even able to move on to the harder slopes Of course, she was no where near Kouki's or Jun's skill level, but as Jun said, she couldn't be good at everything.

However, no matter how productive her day had been at expanding her horizons, it did have its downsides. Her whole body ached from the workout. She grimaced a bit as she readjusted herself on the couch, her aching muscles screaming at the small effort

Jun and Kouki seemed completely unaffected by their skiing expedition. They laughed together, moving easily and without pain. Hikari had to stop herself from glaring jealously at them. Instead, she focused on the snow outside. It had increased significantly since they had headed inside. She wondered vaguely if they would get stuck in a blizzard. It would give her a little more free time.

"So, what do you guys want to do for the rest of the night?" Kouki held the steaming cup to his mouth, enjoying the smell.

Jun had long finished his cup; he was currently balancing it on his head. "I dunno."

Hikari grimaced as she sat up, rubbing her legs. "As long as it doesn't involve moving, I'm fine with it." She wished fervently for a massage, or a hot bath—

She straightened suddenly, causing herself to yelp. The boys looked at her, confused. "Why don't we visit the hot springs?"

Jun's eyebrows rose. "The hot springs?"

Hikari nodded, excited. "Yeah! We could even let the Pokémon enjoy them! It'll be fun!"

Jun's face was sour. "That doesn't sound very exciting to me. All you do is boil yourself in some hot water."

"It sounds fine to me." Kouki took a sip of his hot chocolate. "Part of a vacation is a little relaxation, and I can't think of anything more relaxing than a hot springs!"

Jun snorted. "That's not MY definition of a vacation."

"You definition of a vacation is working your butt off. My definition is a little R&R." The girl stood slowly, wincing. "Well, now that that's settled…" she received another snort from Jun, "let's go!"

If Hikari thought the hotel itself was beautiful, then the hot springs had to be on a different level. They were designed in the tradition Japanese fashion. Bamboo was everywhere, and the rock basin itself was huge. The boy's and girl's side were separated by a thin bamboo fence. Hikari hugged her towel close to her and stepped into the water, feeling self-conscious even though she was the only one in the springs at the time. The female Pokémon in the party followed her; Pachirisu, Lopunny, Gyarados, Clefairy, and Empoleon jumped in the water with a little more vigor than herself. Jun's Rapidash stood next to the pool, soaking up the steam coming from the water.

She heard splashing from the other side; Jun's laughter rose above all the other sounds.

"Hey Kari!" Jun shouted over the wall. "You were right! This is fun!" He climbed out the water, running up to his Snorlax. He climbed up the great bulk, making it to the Pokémon's stomach. Using its stomach as a springboard, he jumped into the pool, splashing Kouki.

Kouki wiped the water from his eyes, spiting up some water. "I don't think that's a good idea Jun…This water isn't very deep."

The blond shook his head like a dog, his hair drooping comically. "Ah, it's fine! Lighten up a bit, Kouki!" Jun smirked. "You know you want to try it!"

Kouki waved his hands in front of him, laughing sheepishly. "No, I-I'll pass."

"Suit yourself!" Jun splashed the boy, laughing.

Hikari sighed, enjoying listening to the boys in peaceful silence. She watched the Pokémon splash around, half-way wanting to join them. But that wouldn't be the dignified thing to do in a hot springs. Besides, her muscles still ached. She rubbed the warm water on her arms, the heat easing the pain slowly.

A splash war had erupted on the other side of the fence. It was Jun and Lucario against Kouki and Alakazam; the rest of the Pokémon sat on the side-lines, cheering for their favorite side. Jun was winning with his enthusiasm, but Kouki's Alakazam had an advantage with its psychic powers. Wave after wave knocked Jun and Lucario down; the blond turned back to his other Pokémon. "Come on, guys! Can't you lend us a hand?"

Most of his other Pokémon were reluctant to enter the water, since it wasn't their element. However, one bulking Pokémon slowly got to its feet, lumbering over to the edge of the pool. Slowly, Jun realized what the Snorlax was planning to do. "No, Snorlax, WAIT!"

It was too late; the Pokémon was already in the air. Hikari, who was leaning against the fence on the other side, stood at Jun's shout, only to have the wall knock her in the air as the force of the tidal wave ripped the weak bamboo apart. For a few terrible moments, Hikari was spiraling wildly under the water, then something rammed into her chest and she was gasping for breath, washed up on the stone ground.

It turned out the thing that rammed into her was Kouki, carried from the other side on the wave. He was lying on top of the girl, coughing up water. He got up on his hands, looking down at the girl. "I'm so sorry, Hika­—" He froze, his face turning beet red. Hikari had lost her towel in the tidal wave. The girl realized this too, and shrieked. Kouki quickly stumbled off her, holding his hands over his eyes. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

The girl frantically tried to cover herself up, but the female Pokémon came to her rescue. They crowded around her, hiding her from view. The small Clefairy brought Hikari her towel; she quickly wrapped it tightly around herself, running out of the hot springs. Kouki remained on the ground, his face still red. Jun stood on the other side, a strange expression on his face. Without a word, he walked out of the springs, leaving his worried Pokémon behind.

Hikari curled up under her blankets, her mind in turmoil. Kouki had been on top of her…and she was naked on top that! She groaned, feeling her face grow hot once again that night. It had to be the most embarrassing thing she had ever suffered through…He saw her naked! She didn't want anyone to see her naked, especially not a boy. Hell, even Jun­—

She sat up suddenly, a thought crossing her mind. Did that mean Jun saw her too? And with Kouki on top of her, no doubt! She whined again, burying her face in her pillow. She and Jun had been through a lot through the years, but the though of him seeing her like that…But why did the thought of Jun seeing her like that upset her more than the fact that Kouki had seen her naked? She pulled at her bangs, willing herself to go to sleep to make the thoughts go away, yet dreading the morning with every fiber of her being.

A/N: Eheh...I'm sorry it took so long, guys...I really didn't have any excuse not to update, except for the fact that I'm a lazy bastard. XD But, hey! Maybe it wouldn't have turned out the same way if I finished it when I had set out too! -hopeful stare-

Is Kouki's mom really dead? I dun know, but in my story she is. P:

Neeways, the seeds of conflict have been Leech Seeded! ;D I hope you like it! I'll try to get the next one out faster. Had to bump up the rating because of that last scene. XD