"You know, between yourself and your cousin... the resemblance is uncanny."

"Right? Yeah, people used to get Erin and I confused all the time... hell, even now, she tells me she gets pulled aside for autographs by people who think she's me."

They'd just pulled onto the interstate, so the topic of Asuka's cousin still remained fresh in Rei's mind... they really did look nearly identical, at least to the untrained eye. They must've gotten along well, too; it almost seemed like they wouldn't be heading out until after noon with how long the two redheads were talking.

Rei turned to face her host, looking straight ahead towards the endless expanse of highway, her hands firmly at the wheel of her Audi TT RS - a car she was less so surprised that Asuka could afford than she was that her father even allowed her to own it. Her insurance must be through the roof...

As she watched Asuka drive along, Rei took notice of her unchanging expression, one she could detect the... slightest hint of worry in. Thinking back to earlier... there had been a point where she'd asked Rei to leave the room. She said her and Erin needed to discuss something privately... and the possibilities of just what that topic was had been floating around in her mind ever since.

She wanted to ask, she really did. The longer Rei felt she was left in the dark about... whatever it was eating at Asuka, the more concerned she grew for her.

Then again... this was going to be a five-hour drive. Wading into such muddy waters likely wasn't worth it.

"...Are there... any strategies you've been devising, Soryu?" she finally inquired, speaking just loud enough to be clear over the indecipherable Saxon hip-hop coming from the speakers. "Specifically for types that Fire is... at a disadvantage against?"

Asuka held off on a response, instead waiting for the song to finish. When it did finally fade out, she hit pause and answered, "Rei, it's a monotype tournament. Of course I have answers for weak matchups... between Blaziken and Talonflame, I barely even think about Rock or Ground specialists. Plus, I've got Grass attacks spread out all over my team; those cover both of 'em and Water."

"Would simply having the correct attacks for Water-types be enough, though? It is the most plentiful type, and... they tend to possess stout defenses."

The redhead scoffed, shaking her head. "There's no such thing as an impenetrable defense... it's like my dad put it back when he was actually tryin' to be a good father. Bulk and recovery don't mean shit if the holes you're punchin' are too big to patch up."

"Your... father was a trainer?"

"I mean, he never had any serious experience on the pro circuit, but yeah. Completed the Gym Challenge, so that's something... y'know, honestly, kinda wish he stuck with it."

Bringing up her father was a mistake, wasn't it?

Asuka got to work mentally kicking herself; she had no doubt Rei was still curious about her mother, especially not after she had to shoo her out of the room earlier to go over the caretaking process with Erin. Combine that with not even wanting to leave Mom to anyone but herself and her father in the first place, and she was... on edge, to put it one way.

With all that in mind, she wasn't about to let Rei take the conversation in the direction she was dreading.

"So, uh... hey, Wonder Girl." Out of the corner of her eye, it seemed like Rei had just begun to open her mouth, but acquiesced to Asuka. Good. "I know we kinda discussed it a few days ago when I was training, but you haven't really told me much about your family... you said you lived with a foster family, yeah?"

Fortunately, it didn't seem as if Rei was all too bothered by the question, responding rather quickly with a firm nod. "Yes, I have since I was a toddler... maybe three years old or so. Mother, father, and two older brothers."

"Alright, alright... since you were three?" It was... difficult to imagine Rei had any coherent memories from before that, and if she did, the mere fact she ended up in a foster family gave Asuka the impression they wouldn't be pleasant. Ultimately, her curiosity would win out, and she asked, "Do you actually have any idea what your birth parents were like, then?"

This time, Rei hesitated. She sunk a bit into her heavily-bolstered seat, staring up at the headliner. Asuka wanted to tell herself she was just trying to remember. If nothing else, she didn't look all that hurt by it.

"...I know that... my mother died in the process of giving birth to me."

For a moment, the only sounds in the car were road noise and a wildly inappropriate Kool Savas deep cut.

It would eventually be Asuka reaching for the pause button, all while immediately regretting every single decision she'd made since she woke up. "I, uh... scheiße. Rei, if you don't wanna talk about this, then-"

"I-I assure you, Asuka, I am fine with discussing it. You told me about your parents..." Inaccurately, the redhead added in her head. "...I think it is only fair that I tell you... at least as much as I know about mine."

She had a point. It was only fair. Asuka just didn't need to be thinking about it during a major tournament. "We should probably drop the subject for now, Rei."

"...That is fair."

To say Rei felt unwanted at that moment would've been a gross understatement.

She and Asuka sat in silence for the next several miles, leaving her with plenty of time to marinate in sheer discomfort. She wracked her brain, trying to figure out why what she'd said had been the tipping point for her host. Bringing up her birth mother's death with no hesitation... yes, it made sense that Asuka had been caught off-guard by it, but... she asked, right?

"I mentioned it because I... felt comfortable letting you know about something like that."

Asuka let out a very soft grunt, then sighed and shook her head. "Rei," she began, her voice as sharp as it had been when she'd caught Rei trying to get into that locked room, "I've been trying to dance around this the best I could, but... I really need to make somethin' clear to you, okay? We're going up to Striaton because I am participating in a tournament. Winning that tournament is very important to me... and I can't focus on that if you keep dropping bombs like 'my mom died during childbirth' with no warning. Like... I'm sorry, I really am, but this is why I didn't want you to come."

Rei was very much able to feel herself flinching. "I-I understand that, and I... I apologize." She anxiously bounced her leg against the glovebox, trying to think of anything she could say that could defuse the situation. "I will... keep my distance while we are in Striaton. You can focus on the tournament, and... I will focus on learning more about Unova."

"...Sounds like a decent idea. Just... I already have enough distractions on my mind, begreifen? "

Distractions. Is that really what I am to her...?

Rei turned to look out her window - and, perhaps more importantly, away from Asuka. Off in the distance, she could just barely make out Castelia's towering skyline... which, to her, only meant they were still a few hours away from Striaton.

Knowing that, she pulled her headphones up over her ears, closed her eyes, and tried to let the music occupy her mind for the time being.

"Hello, and welcome to a special Monotype Shootout edition of Bottom Line! I'm Jake Whittaker, and joining me to go over the first round of action is the Nacrene Gym's own Lenora Perkins."

"Thanks, Jake, and what an intense first round it was. Plenty of lower seeds prevailing in upsets, some of them major, but what I wanted to touch on first was a match that... well, it didn't end up being an upset, but it very well could have, and I don't think anyone was seriously expecting it to be all that close. Asuka Langley Soryu, Fire-type specialist holding the fourth seed in her side of the bracket, just barely managed to hang on against one of the hometown favorites, Cilan Gardner. What are your thoughts on that, Jake?"

"Yeah, Asuka, she looked pretty off in that match... obviously the thinking was that she'd go in there and sweep Cilan's team with no issue, he'd just be a warmup for her, right? Didn't go like that. Asuka did win, but her Darmanitan was the only Pokemon left standing at the end of it... sure, it's only a 3v3, so it's not that unbelievable, but still. You look at this matchup..."

"Right, on paper, this looks like a complete squash. None of Cilan's team members actually resist Fire, and the coverage, for most of them, it just isn't there. On paper... there's no reason this should've been anything more than a formality."

"You're saying outside factors may have contributed to the underwhelming performance, then?"

"Absolutely, because, okay, if you go back, you watch Asuka and pay attention to her, she... she doesn't look like her best self, right? She's coming off as nervous, she's not playing to the crowd as much as she tends to, this isn't the Asuka we normally see, and I have a feeling that played a major factor into why this match was as close as it was. And I'm speaking from experience, you know? I have off days sometimes, we all do, and when those days line up with a slate of gym challenges, or a tournament match, you see the toll it takes on your performance as a trainer."

"Something definitely seemed off, I agree. And, look, I'm not one to sit here and speculate what's gotten Asuka bothered. That's her business, if she doesn't want to discuss it to the media, totally understandable. Hopefully, by the time her second round matchup rolls around, she'll be back to her usual self because, really, she's an incredibly fun trainer to watch."

"Mhm, for sure."

"That second round matchup, speaking of, that'll be this Friday night at 7:05 PM against whoever wins the battle between Clay Marshall and Vito Battaglia. Moving on now, to one of our actual upsets of the day..."

God, that must've been embarrassing for Dad to watch, huh?

Asuka sat alone on a bench in the middle of a moonlit park, head buried in her hands as she thought back to her first-round matchup against Cilan. Okay, he had hometown advantage. Sure. But he was a Grass specialist, and not a particularly great one at that. She was a Fire specialist.

So why and how did she come anywhere close to actually losing?

"Blaziken, get out here," she dryly ordered, reaching for her ace's ball and lobbing it forward. Once the Blaze Pokemon emerged - appearing none too happy with his own performance, to his credit - Asuka's dejected expression gave way to a fiery glare.

" Was zum Teufel was that, huh? You think just because it's the first round and we've got a type advantage, that's as good an excuse as any to phone in your shift?" Folding her arms, the redhead began to circle around Blaziken. "I mean, for Christ's sake, you were up against a Simisage. A Simisage. Isn't that supposed to be the kinda Pokemon you could take out in your sleep?"

Suddenly, Asuka felt Blaziken's talons gripping her shoulder. She stopped pacing, let her arms fall to her sides... and instead of chewing him out further, let out a defeated sigh. He was right... this wasn't on him.

" ...Es tut mir Leid, " she apologized, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Look, Blaziken, I'm just... god, I don't know. My mind's not all there when it comes to battling right now... i-it's not Dad, if it were him we'd have been having this conversation months ago..."

...it was Rei, wasn't it?

" Gottverdammt... knew bringin' her with us was a mistake." Blaziken grunted... not necessarily in agreement, but at least in understanding. Yeah, that checked out... if only she didn't have to play babysitter on top of everything, maybe her head would be in the right place. But... no.

Now here she was, staring down the barrel of a second-round matchup with Clay with her mind in the absolute wrong place for it. Might as well just head home now, right?

"...Well, I guess there's nothing we could really do about it except train." Asuka fished through her bag for a moment before producing another ball, tossing it over her shoulder as she turned to head back towards the bench. As it opened with a flash, the redhead muttered out a single command: "Earthquake."

Sure enough, as the ball's brilliant glow wore off, Darmanitan slammed both of his fists straight into the ground with authority. The earth beneath both Fire-types shook violently, and from the point of impact, a small fissure began to form directed straight at Blaziken; fortunately, he acted quick, leaping out of harm's way and up onto a nearby set of monkey bars.

"Keep targeting each other with Ground- and Rock-type attacks, you got that?!" barked Asuka from afar as she sat back down on the bench. "And Darmanitan, throw in some of Blaziken's weaknesses while you're at it!"

As her two Pokemon continued to spar, Asuka pulled out her phone and began scrolling through her various social media feeds. Whenever she saw an article about the tournament, she opened up the replies... and, no surprise, found plenty of people taking the piss out of her performance. In all honesty, she didn't really blame them... plus, trying to defend her poor showing would only lead to her digging herself deeper.

With another sigh, she switched off her phone's screen and turned her attention back towards Blaziken and Darmanitan's training... for a few moments, at least, before an approaching bright light caught the corner of her eye. Using her hand to shield her vision, Asuka looked over towards the source, a black Navigator that had just pulled into a parking spot... and when its door swung open, she spotted the driver throwing on a puffy, bright yellow coat. One she'd recognize from miles away.

"Elesa...? Why're you... how'd you even know I was here?"

"Well, this place is pretty close to the hotel," answered Elesa as she approached Asuka, who'd almost forgotten what it felt like to be happy to see someone. "You're preparing for your match with Clay, I take it?"

The redhead nodded, scooting over a little on the bench to give the gym leader a place to sit. "Yeah, just, y'know, working on weaknesses and stuff... figures you of all people'd know where to find me, huh?"

"Well, honestly, I can't say I figured it out myself... happened to bump into your plus-one in the lobby, and she said I'd find you here. So, here I am!"

Plus-one. So Rei told her... Asuka stayed silent for a moment. If there was anyone she wanted to talk to, it was Elesa, but... knowing it all came back to Rei made her wary.

"...So... what, she hates me now, right?"

Elesa's eyebrows shot up. "W-what? Where'd you get that idea?"

"Because why the hell wouldn't she? Ever since we got here I've been blowing her off at every turn, haven't responded at all when she's called me... but, like, why doesn't she get I need to focus?! This'd all be so much easier if I didn't have to drag her around with me in the first place!" Asuka let out an exasperated groan as she buried her face in her hands.

Elesa didn't respond - she never did when Asuka got like this, because she knew her rage would shortly subside. "...You, uh, you understand where I'm comin' from, right...?" Sure enough, when Asuka spoke up again, it was already in a much calmer tone. There was no reason to be mad at Elesa right now... just herself.

"...Look, Asuka..." Elesa gently placed a hand on the redhead's shoulder. That was usually cause for Asuka shoving away the offending party... not this time. "...I understand what you're going through. What with the situation regarding Kyoko... and it's a crime that I haven't come to visit more, and I apologize-"

Asuka clenched her fist. "Don't make this about Mom."

"But don't you get that that's impossible, Asuka? Were Kyoko healthy right now, then-"

"What did I just fucking say?!"

" Asuka. "

Asuka had always viewed Elesa in her mind as a dedicated, yet decidedly lax mentor. Meaning, when she actually did slip into that intimidating voice, it was all the more of a shock. Well, enough to get her to back down, anyway.

After a brief, unusually tense silence between teacher and student, Elesa continued. "...The point I'm getting at, Asuka... I want to help you. I always do. And, right now, the best advice I can give to you... and it might sound difficult, but... you need to stop pushing everyone away."

Stop... pushing people away? Asuka's first instinct was to scoff. "Yeah, well, I'm talkin' to you right now, aren't I?"

"You are. That's the problem. I'm the only person you ever talk to... and it's been that way for far too long. You need to open yourself up to others... people you may continue to perceive as distractions unless you actually get to know them." Elesa folded her arms, giving Asuka a knowing side-glance. "And you know exactly who I'm talking about."

"...You're saying I need to get closer to Rei."

"Precisely! When we were talking earlier, she could not shut up about how much she vibes with you, y'know that?"

"...Vibes...?"

"She, uh, enjoys your company, is what I'm saying. Like... a lot."

...Maybe Elesa did have a point. Deep down, Asuka did feel a twinge of guilt over how she'd treated Rei since... hell, not just since they'd gotten to Striaton, since she got to Unova. And, yeah, sure, she was an annoying little bug sometimes. But having her around almost brought a sense of... comfort.

Because, well... there were usually two shoulders Asuka could readily lean on. Her mom's and Elesa's. She'd only had one of those for far too long.

"...You're right. I... I've gotta embrace that. Verdammt, I was starting to before we left, but... I guess bein' here's just made me an insecure wreck, huh?"

Elesa immediately interjected, "You're not a wreck, Asuka. I've known you long enough to be sure of that."

"...Yeah. Yeah, guess you have, huh?"

Asuka turned towards her mentor, looking up into her eyes and flashing a grateful smile with her flame-red lips. "Hey, I... I really needed this. Dankeschön. "

Elesa, of course, smiled right back. "Any time. Call her up after I leave, alright?" Rising from the bench, Nimbasa's gym leader adjusted her massive coat as she began returning to her ride. "Anyway, I've got Skyla in the next round, so... that's something I gotta mentally prepare for. Maybe we'll meet in the finals... I know you've got it in you~."

...Did she? "Y-yeah, maybe... talk to ya soon, Elesa."

...Also, why the hell's she wearing that coat, anyway?! It's July!

Asuka watched as Elesa's Navigator pulled away from the parking lot and into the Striaton nightlife; when it was out of sight, she turned her attention back towards Blaziken and Darmanitan. "You two," she called out, prompting both Fire-types to cease sparring. "Take a break for now, alright? I... wanna see if we can try somethin' different."

With that, she reached for her phone once more... except this time, she headed into her contacts list.

Watching late-night television alone in a darkened room wasn't anything new to Rei. This time just hurt a little more than usual.

She'd been laying on one of the hotel room's two beds for hours, flipping through channels hoping to find something she'd be fine with keeping it on. Mostly failing.

"I already have enough distractions on my mind, begreifen?" That one sentence hurt her more than anything Plasma had done to her in that parking garage.

Her listless red gaze wandered towards the other bed, the one Asuka should've been in but wasn't. Apparently, not wanting to be around Rei meant not even wanting to go back to her own hotel room. Really put things into perspective.

Suddenly, though, a sharp ringing jolted Rei out of her melancholic stupor. She shot up from her catacomb of blankets, trying in vain to pinpoint the source of the noise... until Zee came floating out of the bathroom with her cell phone magnetized to one of his stubby limbs.

"...T-thank you, Zee," Rei murmured, blushing a bit out of embarrassment as she took the buzzing phone out of Zee's nonexistent hands. She looked down at the screen... it was Asuka.

The decision to answer it was instant.

"Um... hello, Soryu." She braced herself.

"Hey, Rei, listen... you know that park by our hotel, right? Well, I've been trainin' out here for a bit, and I was wondering... you know, you've been here for about a couple weeks now, so... how 'bout we have a friendly? Just for practice, yeah?"

...That was not what she was expecting to hear from Asuka.

But it was the exact thing she did want to hear.

"T-that sounds... like a wonderful idea. I'll be right over."