- - - - Chapter 4: No Swords or Shields - - - -
The next day comes, and for a second Haru wakes up almost having to take a minute to realize what happened the other night. He sees his usual bed companion, his Glaceon named Nora, and smiles. She wakes up right alongside him with her flat tail wagging a bit. Seems the clock would show he slept in a little bit in the morning: it was already a short bit past where he usually wakes up but not so far gone that he would be courted a slacker. "Morning, girl. I know I came home late last night. Things have gotten a bit interesting. Methinks we should up our game a bit." he said, getting up and stretching. Going downstairs, it seemed his phone was blown up by a few texts. His only indication that he got anything was the screen lighting up as he walked by it; a curious glance coming over him once it was picked up.
[SONIA: Hey, come see me when you get time. I think I have something to help you in that goal you're looking to accomplish. I know Shiny hunting isn't your thing you're going to be interested in...but there may be someone else other than I who could lead you by the hand. Oh, and bring a backpack. You're going to need it. I'm in the lab all day today.]
[AGENT S: Sir just a reminder that today you have an exhibition match against Leon to promote the Galar Region. Bring whatever you consider to be your best team for the match; it really helps to sell the onlookers. You're doing well lately by the way, but do make sure you don't say something that will be a detriment to you later on. There are enough rogue-like Masters across other regions.]
/Ah right, I suppose that was going to come sooner or later. We hit a boom recently in tourism...guess outside of a bunch of normal television stuff I haven't exactly been in the prime advertisement for our region./ grabbing himself a bowl, cereal, milk, and fruit. He saw Nora follow him to the kitchen and eventually saw his Lunatone float in. "Morning Luna." going back to check who else sent him messages. A smile came across his face when he realized several were from one person.
[NESSA: Been thinking about it for a bit since I woke up, but please check your head. :C Not sure I was thorough enough in checking for any bruises.]
[NESSA: Outside of that...thank you again for last night. I feel like I can take on the world better now not just with my Pokemon but in other ways...I think you know what I mean. It'd be nice to see you again soon.]
[NESSA: I'll be in the Gym for the next few days, and not always by my phone so either come by or call to get back up with me. See you! XO]
As he finished that last text he just smiled. Much like how Nessa was the one to act first out of the two of them, it was time he set in motion a retaliation move. Not wasting time, Haru set out to do his morning routine of self care, making sure his Pokemon team was taken care of, and then heading out. Before doing so, he decided to snag a new sweat-jacket for the day: the Fighting Gym colors.
- - - - - Hulbury - - - - -
- - - - - Water Gym - - - - -
"OHHHHH THE RAGING WAVE STRIKES FIERCE AND HEAVY TODAY, MARKING DOWN HER FIRST VICTORY! LET'S HAVE A ROUND OF APPLAUSE FOR OUR CHALLENGER TODAY AS THEY FOUGHT VALIANTLY AND HOPE TO SEE THEM AGAIN SOON!" came the booming speakers over the jumbotron. The crowd was already hyped for the day but they were happy to see how well Nessa was performing. Her and the challenger trainer met in the middle, and Nessa gave them an encouraging hug.
"You may not have won today, but I sincerely hope to see you again get stronger and challenge me again soon. You have massive potential, just don't lose focus okay?" she suggested, to which the trainer sucked in their pride at the defeat while Nessa raised their arm up in mutual respect for the battle.
A few minutes later, as the Gym would have its mandatory break in between each challenger fight, she's seen in the back staff rooms as several other trainers spot her and go immediately huddling in for support. They're all very surprised at the new charge in spirit they saw within their Gym Leader.
"Hey I don't know what's different about you today but you've inspired me. You battled like a true pro out there!"
"I didn't even know one could use such a strategy for just us who use water types. I need to take more notes from you!"
She wasn't used to this much sudden affection from her fellow trainers, and had a slight blush on her cheeks being hugged by her professional co-workers. They were all like family in her eyes.
The Water Gym Leader nodded, and made a point, saying "If you guys want me to help you all later today when I got time, I'll do it. Though it relies on a lot of factors, I think you all should use your own intuition when taking it into account."
"Truer words have never been spoken!" one trainer said.
"That's right, girls. You'd all do best to take a look at your newly invigorated WaveMaster Nessa herself." came a more masculine voice from the entrance of the room. It was Haru, with a smirk on his face, seeing the girls all huddled together with Nessa in the middle. Of course, Nessa was very happy to see him. He came in, walking with a wide open smile.
"Haru! H-how are you today? I had no idea you'd be here so soon." She dearly hoped to have seen him again as soon as possible ever since last night but didn't know it'd be right that second.
"I'm doing fantastic. But I have only one thing I'm here to ask of you." Wasting no time, Haru would inhale deeply, flaring his nostrils, smacking his cheeks then pointed with his left arm dramatically at her, not caring that the others were not only there but had all of their attention at once.
"Nessa, the beautiful raging wave of Hulbury and Water Gym Leader of this very place, I, Haru, hereby ask you..." crossing his arms to finish his question. "...to a date with just the two of us!"
Everybody gasped in shock. Some of them had been quietly monitoring Haru for awhile, and others had their nose stuck to 'the books' to try and keep their Pokemon teams in top fighting shape for the daily challenges from trainers who would attempt to defeat their Gym. But almost everyone unanimously knew or at least had a hunch that there was something brewing between the Champion of Galar and the Raging Wave of Hulbury. As he looked at Nessa she could tell his face went red with blush but was riding on adrenaline of the moment, and found it charming how he took such a forward step with her like this.
Nessa smiled and her blush she had from the earlier affection of her fellow trainers deepened and had no problem answering him right there. "I accept. Tomorrow. 6 PM."
The female trainers all around her gasped again with how Nessa didn't hesitate for a single second to answer him so confidently. Haru smirked, gestured his index and middle fingers together from his forehead to her direction, and grinned widely. "I'll be here to pick you up. It's a done deal. Kick ass today at the Gym, Nessa!" winking at her, causing Nessa to fidget a slight bit with a smile. That confidence of his was a surefire 'critical hit' to her when he got like this. When he was on his way exiting she waved, saying to him "I'll wear my favorite dress!". Haru lazily comes up with just some finger guns to gesture in her direction, and when the door shuts he hears all the female trainers inside squeal with glee; no doubt bombarding her with questions.
His heart was racing once again, but this time it was fully under a positive influence and without the trigger of an anxiety attack. Though he felt like he would explode at any second, he took the adrenaline from Nessa saying "Yes" to him and ran out full speed of the Gym. Immediately outside he would leap high into the air with a fist, land, and go.
"HELLS YES I DID IT!"
- - - - Hulbury PokeCenter - - - -
- - - - RestRoom - - - -
"Sweet Fanny Adams, I did it...but I don't know the first thing about going on a date. What am I going to do? Is there a method to the madness? Do I put on a tux, or is a dress shirt and pants just enough? Do I comb my hair back or make it look nice as it is? Do I shave? Yes I gotta shave: the slight stubble on my chin has to be cleaner than it is now. Do I bring anything else? Flowers? Girls still like flowers, right? That's not cliche yeah? What about chocolate?" Haru is staring at himself in the mirror, pale in the face.
Outside of the single bathroom door, Haru is heard screaming in agony to himself, causing a trainer who is taking her Mincinno to see the PokeCenter for healing leap nearly 2 feet off the ground reflexively, before walking a bit faster away.
"...I need advice. This has to be perfect for the perfect wo-" stopping himself, realizing he was about to call Nessa the perfect woman. It's not that he had to stop himself because he didn't believe it, but BECAUSE he did and saw just how head over heels he was; more so than he initially thought from the other night.
His gaze would go back to his mirrored reflection and he'd try to breathe slowly. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. His fingers go underneath his glasses and rubs them a bit before looking back at himself. "Just breathe champ. You got this. You can do this. Just...consider it like a different type of Pokemon battle. Except no attacks: just status boosts. Ride the whole thing out...and it'll go fine."
Haru would make his way out of the bathroom after washing his hands, and upon exiting he took a glance at his Rotom phone to the long list of contacts. Perhaps he would be able to seek out some advice for this while keeping the whole situation on the 'down low'.
The young man flagged down an Air Taxi, and upon telling the flier where to take him he'd zone out to look at the sun poking through the clouds. An overcast day for an overcast mind. /Sonia is very smart, so perhaps she'll be able to help. She's already got me whatever it is that I need to take back home with me, so maybe I can get something else out of my visit./
Surely, he'd have it all figured out.
- - - - - Wedgehurst - - - - -
- - - - - Sonia's Lab - - - - -
"Sonia, you can let go now. Please." came Haru's nonchalant tone as he was being squeezed in a hug by Sonia after having sat down to tell her what he was doing prior to coming to her lab. It came up as Sonia noticed his face was a little red and wondered if he was under the weather. When the words hit her ears she ran over to his chair across her desk and hugged him while sitting down.
"Awwwww you're being all bashful now that's adorable. I'm so happy for you!~" she teased, letting go and sitting back down. "Seeing you like this is going to be interesting to study going forward." The man was a bit left of words but gave her a strained smile. It was certainly a good thing to have gotten it all off his chest, and would hope the oncoming date would prove to be fruitful for both parties. For now, that would have to wait.
"Moving on; you said you had something for me?"
"Oh! Yes I did. Do you have a DVD player in your home?" she asked, getting off her chair to fumble through a box below the desk. She was searching for the 'things' she put to the side for him.
His face went and scrunched up a bit in confusion. "It's a Blu Ray player, but that also works for the media. Why? You have movies you want me to watch or something?"
His answer would come in the form of a tower of jewel cases with DVDs inside each one, all marked with dates and names. He'd see on the top "RED", and the answer seemingly unfolded for him just as Sonia answered.
"I went back throughout the logs of every single Champion that's existed in recent memory. With the age of Pokemon many things occurred in human history and we've been through so much. However, only very few have been champion. You're a champion. As such, these contain the logs and documentaries of every single champion that's existed from every single region. What they did to get there, and what they did afterwards. Some of these aren't updated: the most recent recording being a bit over a year ago."
His eyes widened with awe, taking a brief glance at each one and putting them in his backpack he brought, as per instruction, and zipped it up. "Sonia this is amazing..! This will become homework, sure, but to see that there's video evidence of other champions out there will no doubt give me a lot more feedback. This is the kind of feedback I need: straight from the source!"
The chipper young professor nodded happily. "Glad to be of service to you. I'm sorry if some of the logs are shorter than others, but I did my best to find every single piece of information regarding them for you. When you're done, just return them here. I'll treat this as if you were renting from a library." as her sunny expression was infectious. Haru felt another wave of vigor that he needed from the past few days. It was enough, sure, that his personal life was in an upswing, but his actual career could very well depend on the insight contained within the videos.
Before heading out he thanked her again, and made his way out. Sonia also thanked him for the souvenirs he made sure to give her as he did make that promise last time. It was some very rare key-chains given to Pokemon League staff with matching lanyards. One for her, one for Hop.
Taking the Air Taxi back to his home, he had to make a quick drop before preparing for the exhibition match with Leon. The whole ceremony was almost nothing of big importance for himself, but it did keep his mind focused. Appearances were important, so Haru went along with the whole thing without making much fuss. The whole time he's with Leon, be it in the stands fighting him, or leading up to the event, there was one thought that recycled over and over.
/Only within these videos will I possibly find the answers I'm seeking. What do the Champions of yesteryear have for me to uncover?/
- - - - - Motostoke - - - - -
- - - - - Haru's Home - - - - -
The Master Trainer would arrive back to his place after having visited Sonia and finally took a gander at just how many videos she lent him. There were 10 discs all crammed full of information of every single Champion. Of course, Haru didn't have it in order or knew initially who was the 'first', so instead he would go at random. Upon emptying his bag his Lunatone, Luna, floated over with Nora joining him and took a look at the pile.
"Hey you two. I have some homework to do. You guys know how I've been trying to figure things out and work out my next objective and life goal for myself? Well the answer may be in these discs. Each one details information about every other Champion in the Pokemon League from other regions up until now."
They both nodded with some awe to the idea so much had been compiled. Going over to his video player, Haru put in one at random, ordered some food to be delivered since he felt he should be focusing as much time on this ordeal as possible, and would break out a notepad and pencil to make notes.
Blue. Red. Trace. Lance. Steven. Wallace. Cynthia. Alder. Iris. Diantha. Even the trainers that would defeat them. While they didn't have much information on them, he still decided it would be important to note down. Each one was filled with between 1 to 4 hours of video footage and statistics of all of their teams. The included statistics would range from what they did in their early lives, how they got to their positions, to generally what they did afterwards. Haru wasn't going to go over every single piece of detail, but do his best to find out the information that was most important. This led to some trial and error of simply skipping sections but ended up coming away with a lot more insight. Some, like Blue, became Champion for a very short time, then would end up becoming the Viridian City Gym Leader to replace Giovanni after his leave when Team Rocket disbanded. It turned out that he was the one who took the mantle, and then would be heard later studying abroad in the Kalos region.
"That's an awfully big step of responsibility to take upon oneself; even for a big problem someone else caused and not him. That he was only Champion for so short a time, too. Ouch...ya hate to see it happen."
He took a note of what he just said. "Giovanni really likes to meddle in Pokemon affairs huh? I should be careful should his team ever bother to come here to Galar and try to start problems..."
There were others like Lance and Cynthia who seemed very heroic in of themselves due to their immense dedication to the role, but wondered about who this 'Red' was that Lance had to replace as Champion. All that was noted of 'Red' in the video, when he got to it in the Lance portion, was his dedication to continue training at Mt. Silver, and his exploits prior to the event. Red didn't speak much at all, so Haru blazed through his information in less than the timeslot it took for a show to air on television. Seeing Cynthia's dedication to history, mythology, and eventually putting a stop Operation Tempest gave him a bit of a reminder that not all heroes wear capes but sometimes they look dashing nonetheless.
"Hey Nora." Haru says, when he's munching on some of the delivery pizza that was sent to his home. They had paused on a frame of Cynthia in mid-battle. The Glaceon looked up at him as she was playing with one of the toys she owned, with a curious expression. "You think I could rock something like that? Or a cape even?" pointing to the screen. She didn't really seem to think much of it, and would go back to her toy. "Hmm. Yeah, maybe not. I'm not some model who could pull it off. But coming up with my own unique 'Champion' look may not be a bad idea."
When it came to others, like Steven or Wallace, he had a few things to say. He had to pause the video and get up and rant. Several of his Pokemon were watching their trainer go off and couldn't help but find it amusing because he was standing in front of the television like some professor making a speech to a class that's sleeping. "Okay but NO. WHY. Why would he stop everything just to look for rocks? I suppose I would understand if I were there or he was really over abundantly filled with work, or let go, or some other factor, but come on that seems silly. You're Champion Wallace, go get some help to find stones. What, you can't be bothered to do that in between your dailies? What, it's just too much to be Champion and do that at the same time? You think you HAVE to because your name has the word 'Stone' in it? Pft."
Getting the rant out of him made him feel better on the matter, but he did take note of what Steven's preferred type was: Steel. "Man after my own heart." Haru commented out loud, having filled out several pages of notes of Champion information for himself at this point. However, getting to Wallace, he had to take a second glance because he came to some really weird narrative similarities. Steven, a Champion who liked Steel, would be usurped by Wallace, who becomes Champion later. Wallace himself was not only a Pokemon Coordinator, but a Water trainer. He ends up chuckling, thinking that even though he himself isn't a Steel specialist, how interesting it was he was interested in a Water Trainer.
"La vie est drôle..." he mutters to himself quietly, with a smirk and continued his research.
Red was an interesting one to look into; while very prolific in his conquests it seemed he was never a big talker. The fact that there was a young trainer before becoming an adult at all within Iris, as she was trained by Drayden to beat Alder, threw him for a loop. However for some reason, the mere ideals of Diantha bugged him.
Haru's Gardevoir, Masako, took note of his audible irritation. He explained "Some people have -all- the luck; fame, fortunate, and then they decide one day 'I'm going to become a Pokemon Champion'." This would be his initial dismissal of her for about an hour into her vlogs and stories, but ultimately didn't end up outright hating Diantha. There wasn't anything she did inherently wrong but her background just rubbed him the wrong way. This, too, would surpass.
- - - - Haru's Home, late that night - - - -
Almost to midnight, his Pokemon had gone to bed, and Haru was still in the living room with a lamp illuminating the papers he had written notes the entire time he was watching every single disc Sonia lent him. Every single Champion had their own unique goals, ways of approaching their livelihood, and how they got there. One thing that he came to the conclusion of, however, shook him towards an epiphany. He put the pencil he was writing within one of his ears so it would be secured, and just looked at a graph he made. It was something of his own spreadsheet that detailed what every Champion did or didn't do, but one thing that was the most 'checked' off on the list was a single solitary fact that stood out.
The thought came, and his eyes widened upon realization. /Every single one either became a Gym Leader, or was a Gym Leader and became a Champion. Just like here with Gym Leaders, the position is decidedly chosen by either a democratic method or handed down like a promotion or passing of the torch. It can be done, of course, by other truly uncategorized methods, but it still happened for each one. They all refused to simply let the ideals of being a Champion restrict them, and every single one did so much not just for themselves but so many other people./
He readjusted his glasses and looked up at the ceiling, focusing on that conclusion. What it meant was that his destiny was to either continue life as is, or pursue being a simple Gym Leader. /Me...? A Gym Leader...? I have no desire to pursue history, collect rocks, or become a detective to take down any corporation. I did enough of that for one life just doing what I did here. Could I do that...?/
Haru would get up slowly, putting the notepad with pages upon pages of writings from his hand on the kitchen table and would head back upstairs to his room where he would turn in for the evening. As he was preparing to enter the dimension of dreams, it felt like some clarity finally came into his mental space after battling with the new position of Galar Champion.
As he was heading towards his bed he spotted the picture of Hiro and him having some dinner together with Hop and Leon. /We'd have to find a new area and then I'd have to get it be given the 'ok' by the whole region, run it by officials, get a whole team together to help me even build a stadium. That's an awful lot of redtape and policy work, not to mention money. Does the Pokemon League fund it so they can write it off on their taxes later? I'd have to pay my trainers too if it came to that as well, and that also means I'd have to build a team and get apprentices. It would give a possible new Gym for Gym Challenge trainers to pursue, but it may be healthy because it would bring out a new type maybe?/
Haru sat on the edge of his bed, looking at the walls now. /Then again, is it right to just toss away my title, and the opportunity given to me for my own desire like that? Is one job inherently more important than the other? I suppose sleeping on this will help myself out. Besides, tomorrow is a big day./
Before turning off his lights he briefly glanced at the picture again. /You'd probably just tell me 'Go with what your heart tells you', huh, Hiro?/ The lamp turned off and he went to bed, looking listlessly again at the ceiling while in the dark. Upon closing his eyes the only thing that came was the thought of how best to sweep a lady off her feet; lest he be responsible for messing up such an occasion.
- - - - - Next Morning - - - - -
- - - - - Haru's Home, Kitchen - - - - -
He wasted no time upon getting up early to make a reservation, and would bolt to where his phone rested and dialed a number. It rang, and eventually someone picked up. "Yes, I'd like to make a reservation, please. AH...what's the slots you have for the evening tonight? How is 6:30 PM, do you hav-. Oh you do? Thank you, can you put me down for that? It's for two. Haru." He chuckles a bit. "Yes, -that- Haru. I'm treating a very special someone tonight so if you have any window seats for us to look out through that'd be lovely. GREAT. Thank you so much. Okay, bye bye."
*click*
After being on the phone, he took one glance at his Lucario who had walked in on him having the conversation as the Pokemon did a fake punch to his shoulder. Haru responded in kind, but then decided to go for the jugular as his star fighting/steel Pokemon walked off. "Trying to be as big of a lady-killer as you are, buddy." causing Mirukon to look back at him, blush a bit but regardless he'd nod in agreement. At this point there was no use in hiding that he knew two of his Pokemon were in a relationship, and he supported it. As long as neither one let their skills falter and they were able to continue operating well in and out of 'business' the man saw no need to stop any of it. The next big question now would be what to wear.
For now, he decided to consult only one person on his current thoughts, and would head outside to his backyard. Walking to the lone tree and gravestone he began airing his thoughts out loud.
"Hey Hiro. Been a few days since I came by to chat. I've been really trying to be the Champion that I told you I would be one day. Things are hard but they got a little bit better lately. That, uh, girl that came by not long ago is someone I'm taking on a date tonight so I'm kind of nervous. We haven't had a solid chance to really deeply connect since our rematch fight that ended up with myself losing. Heh. Would you believe I made a dumb mistake and lost to a poison and bug combination strategy? She had this really good, top tier water Pokemon that was really special. I had no clue what it was, so of course that overzealousness on my end cost me. I should have maybe brought an electric instead but oh well. Hehehe..." He'd say, rubbing the back of his neck, then sat down on the grass, not caring about the morning dew on his rump.
"You'd probably just say something like 'I don't think you should worry about the details' but you know I overthink a lot. You always did. Just wish you were still around to help me come to terms with things. I still can't come to terms with the fact you're gone. Not entirely. Be that as it may, it seems I'm on the cusp of discovering what will make me someone others can look up to; Nessa is helping me a lot with it. We had a party and I got to meet up with everyone again. Sang with Piers, which was fun. First time I sang in a long while, as you'd know. Got to talking to Allister and finding once you get a certain topic he'll happily open up his mind. Uh...challenged Bea to a arm wrestling match and promptly lost within seconds. Lots of stuff happened. Leon still gets lost easily, but I still managed to beat him to the party. Who'd have thought huh? But yeah Nessa...? Gosh. I wish you could meet her. She's so damn beautiful and is basically perfection."
Haru paused, as the wind picked up a little then settled. Some tears welled up but he held his composure.
"I miss you man. I'm going to try to move on forward so you can be proud of where I'm going. When I can, I'll bring her here again so she can say 'hi'. How's that?" he said, smiling.
Getting up from the grass, Haru turned and walked back inside with a clearer conscious. His goals were rounding up nicely within his head, but now was going to start making sure he'd do his best to balance both sides of the life he'd lead. Business could wait a bit longer: the Haru that would be available tonight would be the 'true' nature he held within him.
- - - - - ? - - - - -
Two people are heard talking to each other in what appears to be a darkened lab room. One of them an older man sounding to be a young adult, and another a woman of similar age range.
"Can you talk to them again?" the woman asks.
"I..I'm not sure. The officials seem really tightly wound on their decision that's been a Galar Region Law for who knows how long. However, we may be close. Whether or not it will actually tie into this plan you're going to go through with, is another case entirely." the man responds.
The woman sounded like she was on the end of her run of patience. "Just do it. I don't want any more excuses. Nobody but me understands the gravity and why I must do all this; get this stupid bureaucratic hullabaloo done already."
He'd turn around in his chair facing her. "Look, I know that this can be important to you but aren't you perhaps taking things a little too far? I can't tell The Boss what to do, only he does to himself."
The woman folds her arms, looking away. "I don't care. You've been able to sneak in under their noses and manufacture what you have been all this time right? What's a few more rules being bent? Besides, things have been going well for me. It may take some more time to be absolutely, positively, 120% ready, but it relies entirely on you." She would turn back to point on the center of his chest.
He's heard grunting in annoyance, turning back to the monitor away from her. His view is blocked when she walks in front of it, sitting on the desk and then using a foot to press against his chest. "U...uh...what are you doing?" visibly sweating as her legs were crossed over and one foot dangled: the other making sure he felt the pressure from the other. "Now. You wouldn't want to make me mad, right? You'd do A-N-Y-T-H-I-N-G for me, right?"
The man seems frazzled and now distracted, as her foot starts putting pressure on him and moving down his stomach as the heel dug in a bit. "Y..yes bu-but this has been difficult for all of us. It's not just you; explaining how and why we should be diverting resources so you can accomplish this plan of yours has been very hard."
"Very hard huh?" she teased with an evil grin, as she lowered her foot further down. He said nothing noticing her foot lowering and profusely sweating. Before the heel got too close to somewhere else however he then was met with a sweeping upwards motion of her foot to his chin making him fly out of his chair backwards and hitting the hard floor. The force of it manages to leave a red streak across his face, and she hops off the table and makes her way to the exit door. "See to it that it's done! You're a part of something bigger. Act like it, you sniveling twit!" and the door slammed shut.
- - - - Hulbury - - - -
- - - - Water Gym - - - -
Arriving to the Gym, Haru's dressed in a white suit and pants, hair normal, but combed, red dress shirt underneath it, and some dark maroon dress shoes. He'd be standing outside of the Gym, and took one very long inhale before walking inside. Upon entering some people would have to take two glances to realize just who it was walking in, and commented on it. He heard a few compliments and thanked them, but when asking about Nessa...
"Oh she's not here? Huh. Deja vu." Haru comments, with Yuli being the one to tell him once again she wasn't there. They had another trainer acting as interrim Gym Leader in lieu of her not being there as she was actually gone the whole day.
"No sir, but she actually told us as you left the other day that she was going to be preparing for the date by making sure she's ready. I'm certain that it will be worth it, as she said to wait by the lighthouse." the toned Water Gym Trainer replied.
"The lighthouse, huh.."
- - - - Hulbury, Lighthouse - - - -
Immediately exiting, Haru took a hard steer to the direction of the lighthouse. Sensing another case of deja vu it wouldn't be long, as the sun was starting to set, that he noticed Nessa was there by the railing overlooking the waters. She had heard him walking, and then slowly turned to face him. She was wearing a beautiful long white formal dress, pearl necklace, new earrings, had her hair done with some braiding added to her usual long hair, light pink lipstick, and on her left wrist had a seashell shaped bracelet, and red heels with roses towards the top of both sides of them.
Haru was completely overwhelmed at how someone he already had come to terms was beautiful to his very eyes had somehow leveled up her own beauty. Words couldn't describe what he was feeling. Stepping forward, he looked at her with just the wind being heard.
"You look...so amazing. I don't have any words." Haru said, stumbling a bit.
"Thank you; you also look rather stunning yourself, Haru. Is that for me?" she asked, pointing to a tiny box he was holding. It was a wrist corsage, and he nodded. Opening it, she'd see it was a bright blue delphinium flower, the 'blue aurora'. She extended her right hand which luckily had nothing on it, and he just silently helped put it on until it was snug and completed the ensemble.
"I gotta be honest I was struggling to figure out whether to bring flowers or chocolates or what-have-you but I actu-!" Haru was trying to play off his nervousness due to how strongly he was feeling in the moment but Nessa helped him relax by giving him a big earnest hug and held him. She feels his arms close around her, and his face relaxed.
She looks at him "I love it. It's perfect."
"I'm very happy you do. With that in mind, dearest Nessa, shall we?" He asked, leading on with his arm extending and she happily grabbed onto it. "Yes, we very much shall!"
It wouldn't be a long walk, but they did pace themselves heading what was essentially around the corner to one of the finer places to dine.
- - - - 10 minutes later - - - -
The two of them were promptly greeted, and when he stated his reservation name the waiter would find it, check it, then lead them two alone to a table. It was quiet inside but not so much you could hear everyone's conversations at the same time. While it was popular it was hard to get the better seats, and Haru was able to swing his influence around just a little bit to get one of the best seats in the whole place for just the two of them. Taking off his suit and putting it around his chair, he sat down and the two finally got time to catch up.
Admittedly the first thing Haru had to get off his chest was a reaffirmation from earlier. "Just for the record, I can't stop looking at you. I thought you were gorgeous already but cor blimey Nessa.."
Against the dark skin she naturally had, it was endearing to see how she got red hearing that. It made all the prep work she put into for the date worth it in the end. "I'm very happy you think so highly of me. Now we can move on and get to know each other a bit deeper."
"Okay, shoot. What do you want to know?" He'd say, briefly glancing at the menu and automatically going into the mode of looking for what sounded best to eat first instead of the price. No amount of money or charge could ruin any of this.
"I know you as Haru the Champion. But it hasn't been until recently that I've begun to see you as Haru the Person. What else do you like to do? Anything you haven't already told me in all the times we've chatted?" as she would prop her chin up on her hands.
"Well...hmm, outside of my Pokemon, I actually kind of have an inner child in me that still rages on. In a way. Are you aware of those little model cars that used to be popular in Kanto? It was a huge thing about I'd say 20 or so years back? They had race competitions with these little mechanical cars. Not simple toys: these things had their own engines inside them!" He'd begin to describe, but she shook her head as she had no idea about such a thing. Nonetheless she was interested.
"Okay well, the thing is, you have these tracks that have lanes that restrict where the toy cars go. You put batteries in them, and they just go forward wherever they land. That's it. But the tracks are designed to make each car turn alongside the track. You can customize them with stickers, parts, tires, so forth and so forth. You put up to 8 of them together and WOOSH you have a race! " He'd begin to say before pausing. "I like to collect them. I think they're neat."
"Hmm. That's neat. I'd like to see your collection one day. The most I collect are all the outfits I've obtained throughout the ages being a model. This is actually one of them, but I don't get to wear it often." she gestured with glancing down at it herself.
"Can't imagine why. Do you have many others like it? I know I would have trouble picking out a suit myself if I had too many." he threw back as a possibility.
Her eyes went off from him to think on it. "Not exactly. There's such an insane variety of things I've been put in to wear for photo shoots. Swimsuits too." Her eyes went back to him, half lidded with a smirk as he was drinking his water. "Ones that show more skin than my Gym Leader outfit."
Haru nodded, obviously 'hit' with the idea of that and blushing immediately. Nessa laughs. "Oh Haru you're so funny to just prod for reactions! I can see why you do your best to act professional when you can on business."
"That being outside the supposed troublemaker I've been in the past, huh?" Came the question back to her, more so referring to moments like that story of him and Hiro after the movies.
"Ah~ yes. But I would be lying if I said I didn't find that stuff something that makes one more..." the woman would gesture with her right hand trying to put it to words.
"Three dimensional?" He asked.
"Real. Nobody likes someone who's squeaky-clean. It comes off as unrealistic. You gotta keep people guessin' otherwise life's no fun! That's why I think that well...finding out that you sing that one night was a rather interesting fact." She'd say back, looking at him. The waitress would come and ask for their orders and after about a minute both had made their minds up and would be told it would be roughly half an hour for it all to come out. Asking for their patience before leaving, Haru said it was perfectly fine.
"Trying to come up with the courage to do that was in of itself a task. Hop, and no doubt Leon didn't know I did that. I don't really perform in front of anyone, ever. It has to come from somewhere for me to wanna do that. I don't play instruments, but I can do a -mean- table drum solo." the ruby red haired master trainer joked, tapping on the table the drums for one of the songs he liked with the full seriousness of when he sang. The point of it being a joke wasn't missed causing Nessa to laugh, and he would stop.
"Anything else you like doing?" She'd ask him.
"Hmm. I like writing. Are you familiar with roleplay?" he asked, leaning in with an eye closed.
"The concept of it, why?" tilting her head, not sure where he was going.
He took a second before continuing. "Hiro and I would create our own universe where we basically 'role played' a story of our own making. Think of it like two writers cooperating together to create a story that lands within a book that is continuously going and going. It had otherworldly beings, love, drama, action, it had everything! Spanned over the entire time we were friends together, and I have a document on my computer at home that has it all logged still. It's not an 'official' story per se but it's mine, and I love it. I treat every single character within it as if they were real and my 'children'. Like I do my Pokemon."
Her eyes lit up. Finding out that Haru had a bit of a creative streak outside of the competitive professional she had previously known him was such an eye opener. "I- okay this is a phrase I said already but I had no idea! Would you let me read some of it someday?"
He hesitated and looked at her.
She sank a little in her seat. "Y..you don't have to if you don't want to.." she backed off, worried that was a step too far.
"No, I just have to ponder on how far back to go, and find it. It was something we never really shared with anyone." She saw Haru fold his hands over the other as he looked at the table, then her. "But if it's you, I think I would feel comfortable letting you in the 'universe' we made. But you don't have to read all of it: it did span over many many years of writing."
There was a small pause, knowing they had indirectly brought up Hiro again and Nessa made an advance to try and add positivity to the moment. An advance for -them- as two adults now going on a date. Her left hand reached across the table and settled on top of his own. Instinctively, Haru's hand opened up and slowly closed around it to hold her own.
"I will never force you to share stuff with me that you and your big brother-like best friend did. Just go at your own pace. I just think one day I wanna know just how cool he was, and why he meant so much to you. No pressure. No deadline or anything." she explained, putting her other hand over her own and his, as the strength of her statement made him look visibly relieved. Simple but powerful wording like that gave him relief.
Outside there was the sound of a boat's horn going off, pulling into the bay.
"I'll just have you know we wrote some WEIRD stuff. Dorky stuff." Haru said squeezing her hand a bit before letting go. She returned the snicker. "Well I wouldn't expect anything less."
"So Nessa, what about you? What else can I find out about you that I don't already know?" Haru had prompted, while grabbing one of the complimentary breadsticks.
She had to think on how to approach her own background, but with a bit of looking at his eyes and a glance to the corsage from earlier, Nessa opened up. "Well. Every day is a struggle for me to keep my composure."
The man across from her blinked a few times in disbelief. "Really? You're so good at it: like how you open your battle calm then explode into this amazing competitive, fiery woman ready to take down the competition!"
She insisted. "You know I model, you know I am a Gym Leader. I take care of my trainers to make sure every day they can face the public scorn and cheers, and I have to do a mantra to hype myself and them up daily. You're a Champion so you already have some knowledge of what it's like to put yourself out there as a beacon of hope and class for everyone, yes? You challenged, you battled, and prevailed in the end. You were on that side of the whole coin. The -other- side of the coin is for someone like myself." Nessa took to pacing herself a bit going on for the next bit. "Being a Gym Leader means that I have a responsibility to help teach up-and-coming trainers strategies in battle, so that they can surpass my team's aesthetic and become better themselves. Being a model..."
Haru would guess. He attempted to see if she was going where he thought she would be. "...is something you don't enjoy as much or...?"
The tone of her voice went a little somber. Pained. Not necessarily of a longed regret, but as she would go on to explain Haru noticed how much she had been holding back for a lot longer than he figured. "...it means you're a form of gaze for so many people. The idea is multifaceted. It has nuance. You're a beautiful person so you must showcase how gorgeous these clothes can make others look; go buy it to support this brand of clothing. Go support this company because this beautiful lady is shown on a billboard in Wyndon. But because it's -you-, the model, that's wearing it, you're also putting yourself out there. People of all ages and types can see your every inch and find a spot to locate an insecurity. They can prod it like bait on a hook to a Seaking, and sometimes it catches."
Her face met his again and she continued. "Sometimes you're insulted or lambasted for it. Not for how you approach yourself, or how you look in it, but because of..." she was fighting to continue to say what it was, as she bit her lip looking down at the table between her and her date. Haru already had an idea and frowned.
"Your skin color?" he asked. She immediately turned to him and nodded.
"People are nasty. They can be absolutely brutal and ugly, even if you're already deemed a beautiful person by so many. It takes so little to break through that line of security you feel in yourself just to have photos taken of yourself and put online for others to see, or in magazines, to feel like rubbish." Nessa grit her teeth, trying not to let it get to her but she inhaled, exhaled, and regained her composure. Haru was the one now to had his hand over hers.
"Nessa."
"Hmm?"
"I think you're beautiful no matter what; I like you not due to the skin you have, but because you're you. It's just -one- thing of several that makes my heart skip a beat. People like that? The people who just comment behind anonymous names, handles, and even those that do share their identities to slam others? Lower than a Muk's trail of poison." keeping eye contact with her the whole time as Haru wanted her to know how beautiful she was to him. Now her hand clasped around him.
"Shit. You practice that?" She had a soft laugh, glad that she didn't tear up hearing that praise audibly.
"Nope." He replied.
"Gosh, you're blessed with being able to word yourself to a point you'll take the wind out of anyone's sails huh?" the both shared a laugh together when she said that, and she's seen smiling. The comment did a lot to put her heart at ease from laying out what her dual-career life was like to him. "I'm glad for that."
"Anyways...I hope one day soon I can showcase some of my modelling outfits for you." her face would brighten up with a renewed beam of positivity.
"Sure that would be fine?" he only asked because he legitimately had no idea if it was to be for the eyes only of staff she worked with, or if it was to be seen only in magazines. Then again, she was wearing one of the outfits at this moment.
Reassuringly, she had told him "I think I want to show them off just so you get to see the huge variety of things I've done. Plus I think a few of them might tickle your fancy a lot more than normal. It'll be fun. We'd have to set time aside for it of course."
"It's a done deal then." He'd shoot back.
The rest of the date would go on as both of their meals would arrive and they'd quietly chitchat on the quality of both. Haru joked a bit since his meal had a form of rice to go with it and said it was so good it might as well have been cooked by Arceus-led staff. The waitress that took their orders got a good tip as he paid for it, and when the dinner finished it was night time.
- - - - - Hulbury - - - - -
- - - - - Lighthouse - - - - -
For once the night time air wasn't cold, but it did pick up a little in wind, so Haru took the gentleman's route and put his suit over Nessa as they sat on the bench to look into the cloudless skies to see the stars and beyond.
"Thank you." she says quietly, smiling as she felt his warmth leftover within the suit.
"You're welcome." He replied. The two were sitting closer together than they did before, and Nessa inched a bit towards him to snuggle.
"You were saying earlier about the other day...? Champions of old?" she would prompt him.
A finger would go to his cheek and he'd scratch a bit in thought. "Ah, right. Y'see, I finally found a lot of concrete answers about how to approach being Champion from now on. I got my answers."
Her eyes would widen a bit. "Oh? That sounds like the very thing you were hoping to accomplish for awhile now. What did you find?"
Haru had his turn now to be a bit somber. For now, he put an arm around Nessa with half of his heart ready to come out his chest for making such a move, and sighed. "I found out that, I'm conflicted. I looked through all the files I could muster of every single Champion of the other regions. Kanto, Sinnoh, Unova, Alola, you name it, I looked at the files. Every single one had a direct link to a history of being a Champion either for only a short bit, or they were something else and then -became- a Champion. In other areas of the world, it seems like it's just something that is passed around a lot differently than how we do here. At least, that's what I took from it. I could be wrong. But they all shared a similar link."
"What link was that..?" she'd ask.
"Every single one was either a Gym Leader who became a Champion, or a Champion who became a Gym Leader. In the case of those like Alder, he just simply retired. I have a whole diagram I sketched over all the cases that link together. So I wonder..." he said, slowly looking down at her, as her face was much closer than before having snuggled up to him. "...me? A Gym Leader?"
"I don't see why not. I think you'd be an amazing Gym Leader. We have a few types that aren't represented here. I could help you get to the right people to begin that. You'd have a lot on your hands to start though." she points out, one finger going to his nose and tapping it lightly.
"Yeah I took note of that, too. I'd have to gather trainers I saw who were exceptional and train them as apprentices. Take them under my wing. Get someone to design blueprints for the building, make sure it's up to code for the area...and when it comes to those trainers I'd have to make sure the ones I choose also understand whatever type I represent. I'd want to do that, instead of what the trainer Blue did." he'd point out. Her face had a quizzical expression on it.
Haru looked a little annoyed, eyes going half lidded. "He just used whatever Pokemon he wanted but still handed out the Earth Badge when he was leader of Viridian City's Gym."
"Oh well yeah; stick to a type. That'd be best." Nessa comments, laying her head back down against his chest snuggling again. Haru's face continued blushing as a hand stroked her face ever so slightly. They shared a moment of silence to just listen to the sounds of the sea.
"Haru?"
"Yes?"
"I'm very happy I'm here like this now. With you. Let's just stay like this for a bit." her face shifted to look back up and Haru found it so overwhelmingly cute he couldn't help but stroke her cheek a bit, smiling. Nessa smiled a bit with a satisfied 'hmm'.
He would one-up her suggestion on his end. "Yeah, me too. I'd like to do this again, too."
Nessa replies simply. "Oh?"
"Go on another date, that is." He explained. Nessa slowly sits up and while still in snuggle range looks at him. "Are you asking me out?" with a raised eyebrow. His heart began to race a bit at the question. However, for once, he actually didn't hesitate.
"Yes...!"
She blinked, looking at him. "Yes..?"
*ththump ththump*
His face went red again but he kept his composure and did not break away from the aqua blue eyes that so beautifully accompanied her own. "Nessa, will you go out with me as...my dearly beloved girlfriend?" he'd ask officially, that confidence aura coming back to him. For a second, time froze again with the two looking at each other silently. There then comes one of her hands exiting the suit she was holding onto so tightly due to the warmth from his body heat, and held onto one of his. The two quietly kept looking at each other, noticing they were inching a bit closer. Closer. His eyes kept looking at her, wondering briefly if she was feeling the same thing, and she of course kept inching forward. Haru could feel her breath on his face, and her too from his own breath. Haru would lean closer towards the final few inches as they both met lips and kissed. It being done from him would make her let out a muffled moan of surprise, with both of them holding that soft kiss for a bit. No words were exchanged. It was just the sounds of both of them breathing, and skin contacting skin. After a short bit, Nessa broke the kiss looking at him with her eyes glazed over a bit while on an emotional high. She'd then lean forward again now with their lips meeting twice and both of their hands would interlock as their fingers clasped over the other. The beautiful Water Goddess of Hulbury was kissing the then newly crowned Champion of Galar. Like before, no words were exchanged. There was no need anymore: they had broken all boundaries between each other for the moment to just let their emotions ride out. Knowing she did an exceptional job on her hair Haru broke from her fingers intertwining his own, not wanting to mess with her hair, cupping his hands around her cheeks, pulling away after what felt like forever despite being only a minute. Nessa looked deep into his eyes, and him hers. He kissed her one more time softly, much to her delight.
But of course he had to interject. "So...that's a 'yes'?"
She looked away to the side and snickered loudly, kissed him then held onto him with both arms, and his arms wrapped around her. Snuggling close with someone as beautiful as her was as valuable as winning the Championship in of itself to Haru's mind.
"Yes, Haru, you dork. I will." she laughed, going back to snuggling up next to him. Haru went to hold one of her hands and looked down at her. "Just had to make sure ya know."
"You know it's funny..." she began to say, continuing to look at the sea and listening to the waters. "The same spot where we spoke where you were a man down on himself looking for answers, is the same spot where you say you found your answers and well...yourself romantically with me."
For the first time in Haru's life he no longer felt the need to put up any defenses or have any attacks to keep an image. Nessa was right there with him, who was then quietly humming sweetly, as the two just kept looking out into the distance. It felt as if things would be riding high for now, and that would only be temporary. It was okay though: neither one of the Pokemon warriors at this point in time had any need for weapons. For once Haru felt he could move on without putting up huge fronts of defense, and Nessa could finally let herself open to at least one person she trusted.
No Swords or Shields were necessary, and that was perfectly fine.
- - - - - END CHAPTER 4 - - - - -