Hikari's face was hidden in her arms as she slumped over the table, the box Jun had dropped laying open in front of her. Inside were six untouched Poffins, each one made to meet the tastes of the six Pokémon she had on hand. Every time she and Jun would fight he would always make her something to apologize, usually chocolates or some other sweet she had an affinity for. When they were younger, they never tasted quite the way they should, but Jun's cooking had grown much better of the years through his hard-headed determination…

Thinking about Jun only made fresh tears fill her eyes, threatening to overflow. Her body shuddered from the suppressed sobs; she bit her lip to silence herself. Her Pokémon surrounded her, trying their best to comfort their trainer.

Kouki walked up behind the girl, wrapping a blanket around her shoulders. Seeing her so utterly crushed tore at his heart. Pulling up a chair next to her, he placed a steaming cup of hot chocolate next to her, face creased in worry. "Hikari, it's getting late…You should really try to rest for a bit."

"…No."

Her voice was muffled by her arm, but he still could hear it break. He spoke soothingly, forcing himself to erase all traces of worry from his face and his voice. "They're searching the whole mountain for him right now…they'll find him and bring him back in no time."

"…I'm not resting until he comes back."

"Hikari, please–"

"Kouki." She lifted her head, fresh tears tracing lines on her cheeks. "I can't sleep when Jun's out in that storm. What if he's…"

Kouki face softened, trying to reassure her. "Hikari, this is Jun were talking about. Knowing him, he's probably bundled up with an Abomasnow by now."

She gripped the blanket closer to her, unable to suppress a sob. "But it's been three hours!"

He could feel his heart go cold. It had been three hours since Jun had ran out. He had even left his Pokéballs and his jacket at the resort. He shook himself of any dark thoughts. If he let himself be consumed by them, how would he ever be able to comfort Hikari? He tried again. "Hikari, sitting here and worrying won't help. You're only hurting yourself. All your Pokémon are worried about you." He slid the cup toward her.

Hikari picked up the mug reluctantly, slowly sipping the warm liquid. She looked at her worried Pokémon, feeling guilty. "…I'm sorry. I'm just…"

Kouki flashed an encouraging smile, seeing his chance. "Why don't you at least lie down for a bit? I promise to wake you up if anything happens, okay?"

After a moment, she nodded. "…Okay. I am a bit tired, I guess…"

Kouki sighed inwardly, relieved. If she slept, her mind would be at ease for at least a little bit. He stood up, helping her to her feet. "Come on." He walked her all the way to her room, helping her into her bed.

She snuggled up under the covers, closing her eyes. "Thanks, Kouki."

He smiled. "Don't worry about it. Try to get some rest." He closed the door behind him, immersing the room in darkness.

She waited a moment, listening closely to his footsteps retreating down the hallway before throwing the covers off, hoping to her feet. She grabbed her jacket off of the chair and slipped into it, trying to zip it up as quietly as possible. She ripped the quilt off of her bed, bundling it up and tucking it under her arm. Her Noctowl had been working at the lock on the window with its psychic powers; it finally swung open, the harsh winds of the blizzard filling the room. She motioned to Lucario, turning to whisper to the other Pokémon. "Can you guys try to keep Kouki from finding out? I don't want him to worry." They nodded, not looking completely confident in her plan. She smiled at them, wiping the remaining tears from her face. "Don't worry about me guys…I'll be fine. Besides, I'm not alone."

Hikari walked up to the window, stepping onto the ledge. "…Sorry, Kouki." She jumped into the storm, landing on her Noctowl's back. Lucario grabbed onto the bird's legs, both of them disappearing into the storm.

Hikari sourly wished she had opted for pants that morning instead of the skirt and tights she was wearing now. She gritted her teeth against the cold, trying to see through the snow that flew in her face. She knew her Noctowl would see anything before she would with a little light on their side, and Lucario wouldn't even need light to spot Jun, but it didn't stop her from craning her neck over the side of the bird, squinting at the white blur bellow. She slid a bit over the side to glance at Lucario, yelling over the wind. "See anything yet?"

Lucario shook its head, his eyes closed in concentration. Hikari's stomach sank; she wiggled herself upright again, scanning the area for the umpteenth time. In her frustration, she cupped her hands around her mouth, yelling into the night. "JUUUN! CAN YOU HEAR ME?" She waited, knowing it was futile. Even if by some chance he heard her, she would never hear him from here. "Noctowl, will you fly in a bit closer?"

The Pokémon swooped down, or at least that's what she thought. It was hard to tell which was up and which was down in the blanket of white. She could feel the Noctowl's movements become more laborious with every beat of its wings; carrying two had taken its toll. Once again, guilt filled the tip of her stomach; she was being incredibly selfish. "Noctowl, why don't we land for now?" Noctowl trilled a tired reply, touching down on the ground gently moments later.

She patted the bird's back lovingly, grabbing a Pokéball off of her belt. "Take a break…You deserve it." She returned Noctowl to its Pokéball, tucking it back into her belt before turning to Lucario. "We'll take it from here on foot, okay?" Lucario nodded in response, leading the way.

They walked for what seemed like hours to Hikari. Her legs were frozen solid from the cold; she was half-tempted to wrap the quilt around her and take a break. But she wouldn't allow herself to stop, not before she found Jun.

"JUUUN! Are you out there? Answer me, Jun!" She panted, stumbling over branches and roots buried in the deep snow. Lucario helped her from falling, eyes still closed as he scanned the forest for Jun's Aura.

Hikari rested her back against a tree for a moment, regaining her breath. 'Where…are you, Jun?" She started to take a step, only to meet empty air. With a shriek, she slid down a hidden embankment, tumbling wildly into a pit. She landed on her back, temporarily winded. When she felt she could breathe again, she sat up, looking up to the dim light above. "Oww…Where did I fall?"

"Hikari?"

Her heart leapt into her throat; she jumped up, looking around the chasm. "J–Jun! Where are you?"

"Currently writhing on the floor in pain, thank you."

She looked behind her, and sure enough, Jun was there, lying where she had just crashed to the earth, smiling through his pain. "What's up, Kari?"

Relief flooded her…but her happiness was short-lived. She grabbed the blond by the collar, shaking him. "'What's up?' 'What's up?' I've been worried sick about you, that's 'what's up!' " She dropped him to the ground, straightening up. "I've sat around for three hours not knowing what happened to you! Why did you run off? Where did you expect to go in a blizzard? You could've been dead! How dare you just…how dare you…how…" She couldn't hold in her tears any longer. She fell to her knees, flinging herself at Jun.

The boy froze, his throat constricted and his face flaming. He put his arms around her, patting her back awkwardly. "I'm…sorry, Kari. I'm a grade A idiot…"

"You…hicup…are, you big dummy…"

He smiled, hugging her closer. "Heh…thanks."

After Hikari gained control of herself, they both huddled together underneath the quilt Hikari had brought with her, both of her Pokémon secure in their Pokéballs. They had decided to wait a bit for Noctowl to recover before attempting to fly back.

Against Jun's shrill protests, Hikari still hugged the boy, insisting that he needed all the warmth he could get after being out in the blizzard for so long.

"I'm really not that cold, you know." Which wasn't a complete lie since his face was burning with heat at the moment. He had fallen into the cave not long after he left, and it had provided him shelter from the bitter cold outside.

"Shush. Consider it your punishment for making me worry so much."

Jun smiled, chuckling to himself. "Oh…well, then this is probably some of the worse punishment I've had!"

"Be quiet before I change my ideas on punishment!"

"Fine, fine…" Silence filled the hollow, un-answered questions lingering in the air.

Hikari was the first to take the leap of faith. "…You do know that what happened back there isn't what you think, right?"

Jun relaxed a bit; he had not realized that he had been so tense. "What happened?"

She started to explain to him the events of the day, starting with Takayuki's comments in the lounge, then the battle (which she heavily edited out of embarrassment), and ending with Takayuki's assault and Kouki's attempt at saving her.

Jun was completely livid after hearing the story. "That son of a…"

Hikari had to use all of her strength to keep him from jumping up and hunting Takayuki down that moment. "Jun, stop! Kouki took care of it!"

That did stop him. He looked at her, incredulous. "R–really? Kouki did?"

She laughed nervously. "Well, I don't think he beat him up or anything like you would've wanted, but when I walked back in there, Takayuki was as pale as a sheet, and Kouki looked like a harbinger of death."

Jun's easy laughter filled the air. "Really? Man, I wish I was there to see that!" His laughter faded, growing silent for a moment. "…I'm sorry, Kari, I really am. First, I was a jerk to you, then I'm wasn't there to keep bastards like that away from you, and then just I run off without even thinking it through! I'm horrible."

"Stop that! You're not horrible. Yes, you can be a little silly at times…" She could almost feel him smile, "…but that doesn't make you a horrible person. It just makes you who you are. I wouldn't have you any other way."

He laughed again. "Well, I guess that makes you the silly one."

She poked him in the side, smiling. "I guess we're all a bit mad here."

"Ha! Maybe more than a bit."

She smiled, a huge yawn racking her whole body. "At least things are interested when I'm with you…" Hikari rested her head against Jun's shoulder, an easy calm filling the cave.

Jun looked up at the snow above them, thinking. "Hey, this might be an odd time to bring it up, but…Kari?" He looked over at her, noticing that she had fallen asleep. He could feel a smile spreading across his face, every fiber of his being warmed by the sight. He rested his head on top of hers, closing his eyes. "Heh…Night, Kari."

Hikari woke with a start, staring around her room. She was disoriented and confused for a moment; how did she end up back at the resort? Panic rose in her chest. She hadn't dreamt that, did she? Flinging off her covers, she rushed to her door, greeted by a familiar sight.

"Hikari! Your awake!" Kouki beamed at her. "I have great news!"

Jun popped up from behind the boy. "Ta-daaa! I'm back!"

Hikari could only stare opened mouthed at both of them, her tired mind trying to connect all the dots, to no avail. "Wha-what?!"

A sheepish smile spread across Kouki's face. "I'm sorry I didn't wake you up like I said I would, but he said he didn't want to face your wrath until morning."

She gaped at Jun, who just smiled like he always did. "Sorry Kari! You always dish out the worse punishments."

Hikari sensed something else in his coy smile, and her suspicions were confirmed with a wink. So it wasn't a dream, the sly dog. She noticed that the Pokéballs she had carried with her last night weren't on her belt. Hikari wasn't too upset, since it did get her out of trouble with Kouki, but that didn't stop her from giving the boy a swift punch in the stomach. "You idiot!"

Jun coughed, still smiling. "Heh, missed you too."

Kouki laughed nervously, getting the distinct feeling that he had missed something important.

A/N: Surprises, guys! I updated TWICE IN ONE MONTH! Joy, joy! I love writing this story...It makes me feel like I can write. XD Odd, but I just love writing it!

Oh, how I do luvers me some FLUUUUUUFF! But now, the real battle begins...Kouki steps up to the mat! Will he get a home run?

I love you guys! Your reviews make me feel like I'm doing something for the WOOOORLD! Thanks so much for reading!