The stars twinkled overhead in the clear night sky as Sun and Professor Kukui made their way back out of Hau'oli City. Hau trailed just behind them and said no more than seven words before he bade goodbye and began to head up the hills in the direction of his house in Iki Town.

Similarly, both the Champion and the professor made the walk back in silence. The men were deep in thought and a bit of a shock at what had just happened. Lillie was gone and she wasn't coming back. It wasn't just for a few months or a year…it was indefinite.

The first thing Sun felt from her unexpected exit was anger; directed right at Lillie's mother Lusamine for forcing her away to Kanto and away from him. It gnawed at his side and made him wanted to emit a pained scream for ripping one of the people he truly cared about…a girl that he had fallen for over the time they spent together, away from him. Through all of that anger though; what Kukui saw in the boy was upsetting, sadness…heartbreak.

Hau was initially upset when their friend announced her sudden trip to the other side of the world, but he had quickly overcome his sorrow with the cheerfulness he was well known for. Kukui knew that Hau harbored a crush on his former assistant, but he wasn't completely sure how she felt towards him other than as a great friend. He would get over her absence quickly.

Elio was a different story. The professor had been suspecting for a while that all the time Lillie and Sun had spent together on their journey that past few months spurred a strong budding romantic relationship between the two. He knew that as soon as she broke the news to him about her booked voyage to Kanto that Alola's Champion was not going to take her absence very well.

Sure enough, he predicted it spot on. Sun kept up his stoic façade and tried his best to share Hau's contagious optimism, but he eventually had to concede defeat and remained deep in thought during the walk home.

His house quickly appeared on the side of the road on Melemele's east side. Homes here had larger properties and spaced farther apart to combine luxury with affordability, but also were a fair distance away from downtown Hau'oli so that the commute issue was distance rather than mass traffic. It was a very nice neighborhood.

"Well," Kukui said as they stopped right by the front door, "You're still on for the party yeah? I better get going home myself. Burnet must be worried sick already,"

The door opened and his mother and Meowth walked out to smile in their direction, both were excited to see him.

"Sun!" She waved, "You can heat up your food if you like!"

"I'm not hungry," Sun replied. He sounded so absentminded as if not fully paying attention. He turned back to the professor and smiled forcibly.

"I'll see you later."

Kukui watched him walk back towards his house and almost saw the fire Sun normally had in his eyes that burned intensely bright, thirsting for adventure, battle and enjoyment of life in general become extinguished in an instant. He had been right. The Champion was in love with Lillie and she had just broken his heart. There wasn't a way he could be angry at her, she was ready to open the next part of her life with helping her mother and starting her own pokemon journey. Unfortunately, the new beginning did not include him and he had a new obligation to his new home region and a title to defend.

"You know Sun. I went through the same thing you're going through now."

He stopped and turned around, not able to hide his surprise at the professor's revelation.

"I had to say goodbye to people I've cared about before. Multiple times I might add. It hurts. Believe me. Just like a luvdisc using attract and captivate before running away. Although it's the same thing I told Hau back at the marina. You just have to show one last smile yeah?"

Sun's cheeks turned just slightly red and he stared at the ground.

"Lillie's onto the next chapter in her life and the best thing we can do is to be supportive of her. It is upsetting to see her go, but she wouldn't want us to be sad forever. Make the best of the memories you two had together."

"She had become such an important part of my life," Sun whispered. He still sounded distant.

"I know cousin, but we heard what she said before leaving. One day, she'll return home to Alola and Lillie is someone who keeps her promises. Don't worry champ, you'll see her again one day. I'm sure of it."

He nodded, "Thanks professor."

"Anytime brotha. I'll see you around. Alola!"

"Alola,"

Sun closed the front door of his house and slipped off his shoes, setting them to the side rack.

"Sun…are you alright?" Mom greeted him with great concern etched onto her face. She had seen the display from the front windows after going back inside and the lack of a smile was quite bothersome. Beside her, Meowth was also curiously looking at the two humans.

"Mom…" Sun stammered, "It's Lillie…"

"What?" She moved closer, already sensing and filling in the blanks on why her own son wasn't himself. Anyone else would probably be still in joy over being the champion of a region and he would be too…it would have to be a great magnitude if he barely talked about battling after getting his title.

"She's…she's gone…to Kanto," He was fighting tears for the second time that day, "Why?"

To her; this side of Sun was one he did not show often to others. She couldn't even recall the last time he openly cried like this. He was normally a stiff, wooden person who rarely let his emotions to anyone or let it get the best of him.

Except when it concerned the people he cared deeply about.

To him; he felt absolutely humiliated at the fact that he was Alola's Champion…the strongest trainer on the islands. He had a formidable team of pokemon at his side that would follow him to the gates of hell He dauntlessly faced down Team Skull, the Aether Foundation and the Ultra Beasts, culminating with five of the most difficult battles of his career from the Elite Four and the professor himself.

Here he was…the mighty champion bawling his eyes out because of one girl.

His mother put her arms around him as his body was racked with sobs. He hardly made a sound, save for sniffles and irregular breathing. The Champion made no attempt to push her away or break away from the irregular display. He just leaned into her, giving in to the reassuring respite his mother offered.

"I'm sorry Mom," He whispered after a few minutes, "I know it's not proper of me to do this."

"It's nothing to be ashamed of, sweetheart." She soothed, "It's perfectly okay to cry."

"Over a girl?"

"Of course. I know heartbreak when I see it."

Sun looked away in embarrassment, "Mom…"

His mother saw that she had successfully taken some of the sadness out with that suggestion, although it was replaced by a very flustered expression, "What? You think I couldn't see that you were falling head over heels for her? If only those fireworks went off a half second later!"

"Mom!"

She laughed, "The whole town was pulling for you on that one!" Her expression softened, "Sun…I'm not going to lie when I say that something like this takes time to heal. But you've changed…in my eyes, you have become a better person…you've made Lillie a stronger person too. Would you have believed it six months ago that she would be going to Kanto to begin a journey of her own?"

"No,"

"Well I will tell you that she didn't get all confident and assertive by herself. Hau, Professor Kukui and you were the main factors in that. She knows it too."

"She had it in her…all this time. Just need a push in the right direction. Still, that doesn't help the fact that she's gone," Sun's expression darkened, "If anything…it says that she left because of me." He shook his head and cursed to himself, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't be thinking selfishly like that."

"Come," His mother put an arm around him and led the way to his room, "We can talk about it some more later. Right now, you need a good rest. You've got a title to defend."

Awaking the next morning, Sun yawned and stretched his limbs, letting the last strands of sleep fade away. He was grateful to have gotten his sleep cycle back on track since his new schedule was set in stone in terms of defending his title.

Alola's Champion rolled out of the bed and went over to the sink. A couple minutes of brushing his teeth and facewashing, he headed back into his room.

Despite living in the region for nearly a year; Sun hadn't actually spent a lot of time at his new house. The neighborhood was quiet and most of the other residents were the typical Alolan friendly. He didn't have a lot of things that he brought from Kanto, but a lot of moving boxes remained unopened with a layer of dust covering their tops. He figured it would be a good time to unpack the rest of his things since he figured that his mother was still asleep.

Lillie's pokedoll sat right on top of his dresser and Sun stopped to give it a long glance, still wondering and hoping that her leaving was just a bad dream. Back when they had first met, she had it kept in her loft of Kukui's lab as one of the few items that she took when fleeing Aether Paradise with Nebby. Lillie fiercely defended her personal quarters when he and Hau went to the place to get a pokedex. When everyone was away, he couldn't help himself but head upstairs to take a look despite not wanting to disturb her privacy. That's when he spotted the doll alongside a collection of pretty advanced books of varying genres. It seemed that romance and adventure dominated the rows. Her diary was on a small desk with a glittering lock. The murkrow that was perched up in the loft gave it a lustful glance but apparently knew that she would be angry if it decided to attack that part of her property.

He remembered her forlorn expression last night. It was her most treasured possession and she had given it to him without hesitation. It looked like one of the older models and parts of it seemed a little worn and faded. That was enough proof that it was a well-loved object.

Sun lifted it in his hands. The fur felt soft and he caught a whiff of a sweet smelling scent that instantly reminded him of her. Turning it over, his eyes immediately drifted to a tear in the back where some of the clear colored stuffing was beginning to show.

Now curious, he felt that even more of the stuffing had been pulled out and felt his fingertip hook on something that felt like a ring.

Pulling it out of the doll, he saw that it was a long silvery key that glittered in the sunlight drifting into his room. The fake gems lining the edges were identical to the ones on her diary. The size and shape of the teeth were about the right size to fit in the slot.

Did she want him to read it and reminisce about their adventures together? It was possible that she had taken the diary with her and forgot that the key was now halfway around the world. He realized that it was where she always had kept it and could've easily read her entries had he known where it was stashed.

Then again, Sun was a man who respected someone's privacy; excluding that one time he took a peek in the loft and considered it sacrilege, especially without consent. If the diary was still in Kukui's lab, then he figured that she would be essentially giving him permission to read it.

He headed through the bedroom's door into the main room. Mom had already left for work and Meowth was napping again in his favorite bed. A stack of neatly folded laundry was in a basket next to the washing machine from the load she had done last night. He grabbed all of his clothes from the stack and placed them inside his wardrobe.

Snagging an energy bar from the kitchen pantry, Sun left the house and made his way down to Professor Kukui's lab, eating as he went. Like normal, the front door was unlocked. Alola had a very low crime rate and the energetic man preferred to have the pokemon residing at his lab to act as security of sorts.

Sun was a regular visitor so the professor's lycanroc that he had used in the champion battle was the primary guard of the lab. He perked his head up hearing the door open and trotted over.

"Hey buddy," He stroked the pokemon's fur, "How's it going?"

The midday form Lycanroc let out an approving rumble and moved off, most likely somewhere else to lie down. Sun didn't see the other pokemon moving around. The big aquarium that had three luvdisc bubbled at the far end of the building, but the rendezvous pokemon that swam crazily about in the glass were nowhere in sight.

He quickly scaled the ladder and found himself in the familiar layout of Lillie's loft. Looking towards the desk, his heart stopped for a moment when he saw that her diary was still there.

Murkrow was nowhere to be seen and he had just taken the diary when he heard the lab's door open.

"Sun?" It was professor Kukui.

For a moment, he felt as if he was a sneasel that was caught stealing eggs, but realized that the professor must've known he was coming.

He cautiously peered over the edge of the railing and saw that Kukui was looking right up at him as if he knew he was going to be there.

"Yes?"

"Alola cousin! What are ya doing up there?"

"Umm. I forgot something. Yeah, I came back to get it."

"Did you now? You misplaced something in my loft? Or are you here for Lillie's diary?" He gave off a knowing smirk having caught him red-handed.

Sun realized that he had figured it out all along, conceding defeat. "Fine. Yes, I was coming to see if Lillie had left her diary."

"Good! She wanted to make sure you got it! I can tell you already miss her already yeah?"

So it was true that Lillie wanted him to take it.

"Okay! Sounds good! Just keep your phone ready since challengers are now going to be coming for your throne! You've got a championship to defend! I'll be finishing up some last minute things for the league in the basement if ya need me yeah?"

With that, the professor headed downstairs whistled to himself. It wasn't long before he heard something get smashed and a loud thump in the basement. He must've had another idea and was taking hits from one of his pokemon to further his research. From the sounds coming from below, it seemed like he was locked in a session with either poliwhirl or stufful.

Although he was welcome to stay however long he pleased; Sun called out that he was leaving and started the walk back home.

Clouds were starting to roll in as the afternoon settled after closing the front door, so he went to sit on his bed.

The key fit perfectly into the lock and the clasp sprang open when he twisted it.

As if he was carefully handling a priceless item; Sun gently opened the book.

So now we get to one of my favorite parts of this story and I hope everyone enjoys it too. Much of its first parts are undergoing a major rewrite since there's a handful of things I wanted to also put in before subsequent chapters.

K'ou Malu - My secret

A big thanks to all those who posted feedback from the first chapter. Glad to see a lot of people are intrigued.

Mahalo for reading and reviewing everyone. You give my writing purpose.

MWIM