Summary: It's been 7 years since Kagome fell into the past and returned, and in those years, she's grown into a popular performer in Contests. Despite her claim to fame, she can't quite let those days go. She embarks on a new adventure to Paldea with her brother, Steven, for research purposes. Doing so only brings new opportunities her way.

Pairing: Kagome/Rika

Disclaimer: I don't own either series. Each belongs to their rightful owners.

Note:

Flashbacks/Past are written in bulk Italics.
Pokemon ScarVi.

Prologue

The different dresses before her had her torn, arms folded firmly against her chest as she carefully analyzed each hanging garment all the way down to the very last ribbon or ruffle.

"Personally, I like the pink for you a lot better!" Lisia pitched in from her side, bright eyes glimmering even more brilliantly as she peered around her to observe the costumes. "The red's too saturated if you ask me."

Kagome paused all thought and turned to look at the younger girl offering her advice. Frankly, Kagome was in agreement with it. She sent Lisia a beaming smile and gave a nod of her head. "Yeah!" she exclaimed, unable to help the excitement from seeping into her bell-like voice. "Plus, I haven't worn pink for a contest in a long time."

Her statement rang true. More often than not, her typical contest attire consisted of shades of purple and hues of rich blue. The soft shade of pink was a nice contrast to it all.

"So Steven said he was coming to watch, didn't he?" Lisia asked, and Kagome was pulled back out of her inner musings. Kagome perked up and nodded.

"Yup!" she responded. "We need to be on our way not long after the contest concludes," she explained. "So once it's all done, I'm going to be setting off with him to Paldea."

Lisia frowned and threw her arms around her in a clinging hug. "But I'm gonna miss you~!" she whined, and Kagome laughed, gently patting the top of her head as if she would to a younger sibling. She practically felt like a sister to her, anyway.

"It won't be all that different," she sang in a promise, "and it's not like I won't be around," she added on as a reminder. "I'm still going to be participating in contests."

Lisia sighed and nodded, and Kagome prodded at her cheek some. "But you're not going to be a quick fly on Ali away…" she grumbled.

"True," she stated, "but with phones, it'll be like I never left in the first place," she reminded.

"Fine, I'll call you every day!" she exclaimed in a promise, and Kagome stifled a laugh at her determined resolve. "Oh, but you need to start getting ready, don't you?" she asked, but she didn't bother to wait for a response. She picked the pink outfit and handed it to the raven-haired woman. "I'll pick out a few accessories to go along with your costume," she offered at the same time. Kagome took the clothing held out to her and nodded with a smile plastered on her face.

"Just… don't overdo it with the glitter this time, Lisia," she pleaded softly. It was a nightmare trying to get off her skin and out of her hair with how rapidly it seemed to spread upon contact. She could take ten showers back to back, and she'd still never get it all off!

Lisia looked back at her with a mild pout on her face for a few seconds, only to sigh and nod after a pause. "Fine," she sighed.

000

Hours later and freshly- finally- changed out of her contest attire, found her nearly falling asleep against the shoulder of her older brother as he talked about the plans he had for their time in the Paldea Region. More so, about the caves and valleys they could navigate on digs. She was trying hard to stay awake, she really was, but exhaustion had quickly won her over after her performance and the flight- not to mention all the chatter about her and fans swarming her more than a handful of times already.

Her head fell onto his shoulder, and Steven fell silent for a few seconds, a light laugh coming from him when she ended up picking her head back up and blinking tired eyes. "You can get some sleep if you need it, you know," he reminded her. "Everything's mostly planned out already, you don't need to stick around to help on this part."

Kagome rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. "No, no, go on," she said. "I'm fine."

Steven glanced at her and gave her a flat look, one she knew very well. He didn't buy into her claims, and she held back her sigh when she knew she was caught in a lie.

"We'll pick back up tomorrow," he said, and Kagome was surprised when he got up. Seconds later, he stretched. "After all, I could use some shut-eye myself."

A pout formed on her face, and she knew that she had no shot of arguing it any further. She knew by now that she was better off surrendering. No matter how hard she tried, she never really could hide anything from him. Other people, maybe, but never Steven. One look at her, and he knew what was on her mind and how she felt. Sometimes it was nice. Others it was just a serious pain.

Withholding her sigh, she got up as well and made her way to her room. She changed into something more fitting of sleeping and fixed her hair back in a single, long braid. Her hair, having grown much longer since her teenage years ended, now went far past her waist.

She paused as she set her brush to the side, eyes straying to capture her own gaze in the mirror she stood before. It was silent, even as she raised a hand to lightly touch the side of her face.

Seven years…

It was hard to believe that seven years had passed by already. It almost felt like just yesterday when she was running amok throughout the feudal ages with faces now gone to time. A part of her, deep down, still hoped for a chance to go back to those days, but…

"That's not a good idea," she finished her thought out loud, almost as if she was verbally scolding herself for her stifled, hopeful dreaming. She never belonged there in the first place, and even if she had gotten a say in it at the end of it all, then she knew that she would've still decided to return home where she belonged.

Her days spent eons in the past, while eventful and key to who she's grown to become, were better off left there within her memories. They were secrets she kept under lock and key, with so few people outside her family discovering them. Who knew what sort of people would come her way if the information was more public… Already, there was more than enough trouble without her past on display for the public eye.

From the very first moment she'd stumbled through the portal to the past, she'd actively searched for her way home. She knew she'd never stay for the rest of her days there… no matter how many friends had been made. They belonged in their time, just as she belonged in her own. Plus…- there was no telling what might change due to her influence eons into the past. There had been a few things found that seemed to mention her in some way, but luckily enough, no connection had ever been made. After all, no one had reason to believe anything more than simple coincidence. It was better for it to remain that way, too.

With a sigh, she tore her gaze away from the reflection, turning and making her way to bed. Upon reaching it, she practically flopped down on it, letting her face hit the pillow.

Deep down, she knew, better than anyone, why she agreed to come with him in the first place.

Kagome rolled onto her back, spreading her arms out as she glared silently at the ceiling.

Truth is, she really missed those days. It certainly wasn't lost on her. Maybe not the fighting aspect to it, but she missed the exploring and all it entailed to. As a performer, there wasn't much exploration to it, obviously. Sure, she'd pursued battling when she was younger and taking on the Gym Challenge, but after that she more or less settled into performing in contests. It was fun, in its own way, but lately, she felt… bored with it all. Well… maybe that wasn't the right term for it, after all? After all, contests were a thing practically all over, and Paldea was no different with that aspect. The thought of performing on new ground was exciting, in a way.

With a much softer sigh this time, Kagome closed her eyes and blocked the rest of the world out. After all, she really was exhausted after the day she had. A good night's sleep sounded perfect to her.

Auroua-chan: Super happy to have this one ready to post too! Even with the glitches, I love Scarlet and Violet so much- characters and all.

Anyway, for those of you who aren't sure, Rika is an Elite 4 member. She quickly became one of my favorites.

So, allow me to clarify a bit for this story:
Kagome was born as Steven's younger sister, and she began performing in contests when she was about 13. When she was 15, she joined him on an expedition to a cave. She ended up falling into a pond that transported her to the very distant past. She was trapped there throughout the quest to repair the jewel for several months. Once it was completed, she was transported back home. During that time, the quest went as it did in canon, minus the method and her ability to go home via the well. When she went home, no time in the present had passed, but she did have physical evidence to back her story up. (such as the jewel and new scars and marks.)
She went back to her normal life with becoming a regular performer, never really forgetting the days she spent in the past. (As well as discovering a few things from the past that seem to mention her in some shape, form, or fashion.)
At the current point of the story, Kagome is leaving Hoenn alongside Steven for research purposes, going to Paldea. The exact type of research will be revealed a bit later on…

Kagome's team is entirely undecided as of right now. I have a few in mind, but nothing is decided on.

Anyway, that's it for now! Thank you all for reading, and I hope you all enjoyed. Hopefully I caught all the errors before posting, but if not sorry.

Please remember to Review&Favorite&Follow, thank you!

Bye for now~