A Soul Of Steel

by CeroAjax

The dream of a lifetime was finally achieved by one attempting the Galar Region Gym Challenge: a trainer named Haru. However what is life afterwards for someone unsure of how to handle being Champion? What, if anything, lies next? Does he persist in his new busy life or move to something else? This story explores one such trainer.

3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Ruby and Sapphire

Karaoke song used by Haru is 'Loser, Baby' by Andrew Underberg, Sam Haft from Hazbin Hotel.

"You know, they did say it was a party, but I can't help but wonder if dressing up formally would be too much, you know?" Haru would say, looking in the mirror of his bathroom. His Gardevoir, Masako, was standing outside of it with her arms folded over each other. At this moment Haru was buttoning up a dark graphite colored dress shirt and wore his pants that he first wore during his first league card issue. He turned to the Gardevoir, gestured with his arms outward. "Well? Overdressed? Underdressed? What do you think?"

Masako gave a look over whilst trotting over to see her master from all sides. She disappeared into his walk-in closet and reappeared with a dark red tie; assisting by tying it around his neck and tapping on him when done. A cute smile and Ralts-y cheer comes from her and she has him look at himself. Haru straightened up his stance and nodded. "Well..." He turned to her and flashed a thumbs up. "I just need my jumper and a hat before I go and I'm set. Hah." He turned his chin upwards and smirked. " 'Oh hey there guys, how's it going? Don't be too mad for me not calling much...I've only had time to check out Nessa wh-' Well shit, if I open with that, it'll start rumors. Can't have that." He cleared his throat. " 'Hey guys, I've missed you! Except you Bede, you're still malding at me, and the only one who gives me the least amount of stress is Nessa because she's my de-stresser.' Okay fuck, that sounds even less believable and cringe."

He paced for a little while and groaned as his Gardevoir watched in slight confusion. He turned to her eventually. "Masako, I'm wound up and can't stop diverting the topic back to her. Try as I might to say otherwise, she HAS been essential to me figuring myself out. How do I break the ice with the guys without looking, I don't know, irresponsible?"

Folding her arms and beginning to tap on her chin, Masako mulled over the thought. She got an idea then went to his backpack and pulled out his league card then handed it back to him. As he took it from her, Haru looked at her then back to his league card. On it, he had a triumphant pose printed with his records of his career. He gasped, then sighed with relief. "You're right. I should tell everyone that I've been trying to find myself after becoming Champion. Stating it plainly like that is something anyone can understand." His Pokemon smiled widely and bowed as if to say 'You're welcome' to her master. She was pleased he understood.

In short order afterwards, Haru made way from his home to the nearest Air Taxi stop. 'Hey Champ!' 'Can I get an autograph' and other expletives were said at Haru as he made his way, and outside of stopping for but a few people to chat, he was focused on the upcoming gettogether. Except even that was short-lived since his thoughts of Nessa came back. His cheeks went pink thinking about her. /For some reason when I've thought about her lately, my mind gets all jumbled./

But you know that's a trap, right?

He hung his head and put his hands idly into his pockets while waiting for a Corviknight carried cab. /Maybe./

Just sit there and stew while you're miserable, I guess

Haru's face slowly flattened into a neutral expression as for the first time in a long while, memories that he had blocked had resurfaced. Hazy. Incomplete. A flash of a woman with pink hair looking irritable at him. He muttered to himself. "Fucking bitch." Another flash of a memory, but Haru shakes it off as a Corviknight carrying a cab landed, and Haru was on his way to Stow-in-Side.

Did you want me to apologize or something?

He leaned on his hand idly while looking out one of the window to Galar: the landscape slowly shrinking away. "All I wanted from you was honesty..."

The cabbie, having thought he heard Haru, called back to his passenger. "What was that, sir?"

"Nothing. Don't pay me any mind." He'd say, half heartedly handwaving.

Thankfully, his Rotom Phone would vibrate and his thoughts he was holding onto were but many miles away once he read the messages. He smiled.

[ LEON: Hey man! A few of us are starting to arrive here, so if you weren't already on your way, you totally should be by now! ]

[ KABU: Looking forward to seeing you again! I would like to know more about how your adventures went leading up to your victory at Wyndon. ]

[ BEDE: Haru! Don't think I haven't forgotten our rematch!]

Reading the last message made Haru chortle. He vividly remembered what it was like the last time Bede and him had any major interaction.

/"Thank you for the battle. I can now accept you as the Champion. It's painful to admit, but I've come to realize a few of my weaknesses. But I'll keep getting stronger. I'll reach the pinnacle of what Fairy types can do. "/

Haru chuckled, and was ready to make a smarmy reply but a separate message came outside of the group chat.

[ NESSA: Yo! We've almost finished setting up, but I wanted to let you know that I'm debuting a new look tonight! Check it!]

Included with it was a separate file. A photo of Nessa posing in front of a mirror with a grey turtleneck sweater, navy blue short skirt and blue heels. It was only but a photo with no underlying intention other than to show off the cute, casual outfit. Friends could share photos like that between each other without making things awkward, so why was Haru suddenly finding himself staring at it for just a little longer than normal?

/Don't catch feelings, Haru. It's just a normal, everyday, casual turtleneck sweater./

[Making me feel like I'll be underdressed for the occasion, haha. You look great! Can't wait to see you!]

He fidgeted in his seat now, putting away the phone in his pocket and leaning with his elbow on the arm of the seat. /It's just a nice outfit of Nessa wearing something that isn't her usual form-fitting, thigh hugging, skin tight Gym Leader, league-approved, swimwear variant uniform./

"Vee." said Nora, coming out of her PokeBall and mewing to Haru after noticing he was staring off into the horizon with red cheeks. As her flat tail turned a semi-circle Haru's disposition was a bothered mishmash of butterflies and intruding thoughts.

"Right, Nora. Thank you for snapping me out. I need to keep my head in the game and remind myself to be professional."

Her ears flattened and she pawed at his legs. "Veeee..."

He rolled his eyes then started scratching her chin: much to her enjoyment. "Well...I can act out a little tonight but only when I get there."

- - - Stow-On-Side Gym - - -

- - - 'VIP Room', Conference Hall - - -

The walk through the hallways of Stow-In-Side Gym brought him back to the first time he made his way to the city. Being reminded of the kind of teams he was using that early in his journey made him feel nostalgic. For but a moment he recalled the scientist that was outside that was looking into the strange Pokemon that looked like fusions of each other yet never looking truly complete on its own. Dracozolt, Arctozolt, Dracovish and Arctovish's concept alone was so absurd that Haru grew restless thinking about how one named 'Hiro' would react to learning about them. "Heh. Y'know, Nora, back when we first came here and we met that one person helping me obtain them with fossils, I can only help but wonder what Hiro would have said. He probably would've been like 'This shit is so stupid!' or 'What was Arceus thinking?! Is he joking?!' or something." He rubbed his nose and Nora smiled while walking beside him.

Haru sighed with a smile. "Man. There's so much I want to tell him." He looked down to the Glaceon. "After tonight, remind me to go hit him up, okay?" The Eeveelution yipped then ran ahead while she spotted the room where some decorations were set up in front of a door. 'Welcome Haru!' was hung up with red lettering. He and the Pokemon walk up to it and then look to each other. "You think that's a little audacious?"

Nora said nothing but gave a slow blink to him.

"Right."

Upon entering, Haru stuck his head in first and looked around. He saw plenty of tables and chairs and even a small area with a sound setup and projector; perfect for karaoke or a custom soundtrack to the night. But none of his esteemed fellow league friends. Glancing back down to Nora briefly, Haru started walking forward and looked around. He scanned the whole room and walked to one of the tables, lifting the tablecloth to see if they were simply hiding under the cloths. No avail. He puts his hands in his pockets and looks from side to side. "Uhhh...guys?"

As if summoned on the spot through a portal, every Gym Leader, and the now ex-Champion Leon who was accompanied by his younger brother Hop, appeared as a room divider silently slid open. "SURPRI~ISE!" they all said, making Haru jump in place and turning to them.

With a hand went to his breast, Haru gave a half hearted laugh. "Holy shit you guys got me good. What the heck?" he'd say as Milo, Kabu, Bea, Allister, Bede, Gordie, Melony, Piers, Marnie, Raihan, Leon and Hop walked over to him.

"Sorry about that mate. Nessa's idea to give you a little bit of a fun opener for the evening. We realized before you got here that we didn't properly hold a celebration of you knocking Leon from his throne, and with what Nessa told us what led to tonight, well, we resorted to this." Raihan would say as his Rotom Phone floated next to him then snapped a few shots of Haru with the group. Each one was carrying something as a gift and handed it to Haru. Milo was the first: giving him a large sun hat.

"I heard from the grape vine that you dislike the warmer days of the year, so I had this made for ya!"

...and so Haru would be immediately over encumbered with offerings from everyone. A personalized Fire Gym towel with his name sewn onto it from Kabu. A small bag of cookies that were Bea's favorites. A book of paranormal sightings around the world from Allister's collection. A bottle of Golden Razzberry Liquor from Bede and Gordie. Melony would give him a small personal care kit for his Pokemon: straight from a small shop in Circhester. Piers and Marnie teamed up to get him a collector's vinyl, causing Haru to gasp audibly.

"Holy shit! How did you know I loved DP?!" Haru asks, holding the thick vinyl in his hands and looking to the punkish friends of his from Spikemuth.

Piers chortled and gestured to Marnie. "Sis' told me about some of the idle chinwags you have 'ad before, and I thought it would be best to suit you up with some music while you work on your next phase of your life." He leaned forward and tapped on Haru's shoulder. "Ya brought my hometown back to life while I played my heart out with music. I figurin' I'd have to pay you back all the same with that, y'know?"

"What he said." Marnie said with her ever so neutral look. Haru just sighed contently as Raihan handed him a small book.

"This is from the vault you went to with me way back when. Ya remember?" Raihan asked.

"Oh yeah! But what's in this?" Haru looked at the very tall Dragon tamer.

Laughing, Raihan points to it. "It's one of the rarer books detailin' the histories of Galar's heroes. Well...I guess now we know it was a pair of Pokemon, but wouldn't you like to have a copy of what historians found out before it inevitably gets rewritten for future generations? It's like your own photo op: a moment frozen in time."

Glancing to the book, Haru looks at it and then smiles. "Thanks, Raihan. I'll treasure it."

Nearing the last of the gifts, Leon and Hop would walk up to Haru together in a big bear-like hug from the former cape-wearing Champ himself, and set the redhead down. "Haru! We've known each other for a long time, and...admittedly I was having trouble trying to think of something for you."

"Lee's 'trouble' was him getting lost in Wyndon when we were doing errands FOR your gift." Hop said, speaking up for his big brother. Stepping forward, Hop handed him a small package. As Haru opened it up, tearing through the paper wrapping, he blinked to find a small box. Inside were a bunch of stacks of small trading cards and league cards from previous Gym Leaders of the past as well as other regions. The first card Haru drew was that of the shiny form of Yveltal, the Y-shaped legendary from Kalos' myths.

"...wait." Haru said quietly while looking at it. "!" He glances back to Leon and Hop. "Is...?"

Leon's face hardened while Hop nodded slowly. "Yes. This belonged to him. We were meeting up with his family earlier that day. Turns out he had some stuff laying around they only now got to sort through and knew you of all people would have wanted this...since they didn't want to throw it away."

Haru just stared back at the gift box as Nessa took note that for the first time since meeting him, he appeared crestfallen. Unbeknownst to the others, she felt a tinge of responsibility to his reaction when she saw his eyes well up and sniff. "H-Haru?"

He glanced back to Nessa, then Leon and Hop before giving a tight, big hug to Leon, who was joined by Hop. The new Champ was embraced by the ex-Champ who held onto him tight, brother to brother to brother. "I know, mate. It's cool."

There was nothing Haru could say or even wanted to say that would make up for what he was feeling, so he just hung on. Consequently this meant before anything had even happened at the event proper, tears were shed. Watching this happen from the side, Nessa quietly clutched onto her sweater and frowned. /Was it a bad suggestion...? I didn't want him to cry tonight.../

Pulling away from Leon and Hop after, Haru wiped his eyes after taking his glasses off. He looked and saw that Nessa had the most worried face of everyone, then shook his head. "Let me assure you first now that what I just got is possibly one of the most meaningful presents I've ever been gifted." He looked to the whole of the group. "I know there's still more to me I haven't told you fellas. I really want to know more about all of you, so I'm very grateful you guys showed up and gave me both your time and these gifts. I will treasure each of these with my life, but though for someone else there's..."

Stop that. She is above your reach.

"Haru?" Hop called out to him as he saw Haru blank out and stare into nothing.

The champ shakes his head and rids himself of the voice talking back to him and the thoughts he held earlier. "Nothing. Anyways...for now, let's eat!"

"PROST! There we go, mate, now it can be a party!" Piers said, grinning from ear to ear, moving to turn on the playlist that he curated for the night as everyone would go into their personal cliques.

Nessa walked up to Haru, gave him a hug and made him look at her. "Haru, my gift to you was everything tonight. But I also was the one who told Leon and Hop the suggestion. If that was too much, I'm really really sorry! Please don't be mad."

Feeling Nessa bring Haru out of his serious mood and be forced to look right at her, he was momentarily gobsmacked. His cheeks tinted red before he shook his head. "No no. Again, like I said, this was, and IS, one of the most meaningful gifts I've ever been given. The reason I may have reacted the way I did was, well, because of who it reminds me of." He gave a half smile to one side of his cheeks as they locked eye contact for a bit.

Nessa shook her head and pursed her lips. "I get that, but you aren't meant to be in a vulnerable position like this or put on the spot. It's not right of me to just throw that on you." Her head hung a little as she side eyed a glance away from him.

"I mean it's okay, so I don't know what else to say. Frankly? I'm...more shocked at how far you went to gather everyone and organized any gift giving." He scratched the back of his head.

The Raging Wave gave a soft smile as she exhaled. "Well...it is the least I could do. Just renting this room for you wasn't gonna be enough as-is."

The pair shared an awkward silent blink between each other before Haru squinted. "Wait, you guys have to pay to rent this space? But...you're Gym Leaders."

Nessa would raise an eyebrow then shrugged. "I got a discount at least."

"What...! But...!" Nessa would find herself giggling at Haru's sudden expression when he was confused, then gestured him to follow her and the others into indulging all the sorts of food that was brought. The day had only begun!

...and so the jubilations and merriment carried on. A few drinks were had and in short order, everyone appeared to be having a good time. The music accompanying them played idly in the background within a reasonable volume, though any one of them could also go up to where the sound system was near and, by going to the computer and handling the microphone, could sing a la karaoke. Nobody had the courage or wish to sing: eating and communing with each other was more interesting.

Haru spent a bit of time expanding on his thoughts during his career leading up into the Championship Title match against Leon with everyone. Occasionally he'd dive into things he originally only shared with Hop along his journey, and talking about where his current objective was leading him.

For Milo, Haru went back to thank him for being a generous first gym experience and the thoughtfulness of the sun hat gift. "Admittedly I felt a little bad when we had our match and I kind of shortened the time our battle would have been by having my Scorbunny on point. But then you grinned and appeared all too eager to hand me a badge, so I forgot about it."

"Nah, man, it's fine! Being a Gym Leader publicly is partly being a 'character' and partly being responsible for curating trainers to learn what they should to become effective in battle!" the farmer-turned-trainer said, grinning.

He looked to Kabu, who was sitting with them in a circle with drinks in hand, and pointed. "I'll get around to it, but I hope you don't mind my saying how obvious it is to me how you're the one providing the spiciest food here."

Crossing his arms and nodding with a satisfied smile, Kabu let out a chortle. "Raihan and Piers are true veterans of my cooking, though they have trouble finishing a serving of my curry. Trust me: no offense is taken, sir Haru."

He glanced to Marnie, who was hanging out with her brother and Hop. The trio of them appeared to be preoccupied in chatter. Nessa raised her eyebrow at him glancing as Haru asked them. "You 3 have been staples of Galar's league for awhile. Is it really that easy to just be given a position as Gym Leader?" Haru would gesture towards them subtly.

"Yes and No. There's some red tape involved, but here we try to handle the Gyms by making sure whoever leads it actually works for the responsibility." Nessa says, with Kabu complimenting her points and holding up a finger.

"While we don't exactly 'grade' Gym Leaders as harshly here compared to other regions, those who go from simple trainers to Gym Leaders are given tests handed down from up top before their position is solidified. Ergo, anyone that's in that position worked for it." He explained.

Milo took over just to make one more comment on the matter. "The thing is, we can appoint whoever we feel could be up for it, but until that person is approved on paper, it's only an 'interim' position. It's not final."

Haru mulled over what they had said as he took a bite of the pulled pork in his sandwich. "What if a person wanted to become a Gym Leader while using a type that's not covered by the league's challenge currently?"

They all hummed in thought, with Kabu the first to reply. "I'd imagine it'd be easier since our manager that's in charge of that would have to cross reference that person's previous accomplishments and simply go from there."

Walking over, Raihan couldn't help but overhear the last part of the conversation. He was holding a full plate of food and munching on a croissant. "You just became Champion, mate. You're not planning to give up the title already and become one of us, are you?"

Laughing, Haru handwaved the notion and tipped his glass of razzberry juice to the Dragon type Gym Leader. "Nah. I just realized that for all this time I've been a fan of you all that I never looked into it."

"Yeahhhhh and that's because you can't handle what we do!" came another voice from a nearby table. Causing everyone to glance over, with Haru sitting upright and following the voice's trail, it was Bede: slurring a little with a finished shotglass in hand. A bottle of liquor was on the table that Piers had brought: the name 'Pink Obstagoon' on it. "Don't deny it, you're actually chickenshit spooked on the idea. You got comfortable winning against commoners so often that you don't want to test the idea of losing daily to trainers."

Haru squints, looking to Milo. "Do you know how many shots he's had?" Milo shrugged. Marnie, still at her table with Hop and Piers, huffed and looked annoyed that Bede was trying to throw a monkey wrench in the mood by trying to start something with Haru.

Melony's hand sternly put her utensils on her plate of half eaten grub. "Bede, you're drunk. Let's get some more food in you so you don't go effing and blinding at us while you're here." trying to be both a mother who was concerned about someone younger than herself as well as a peacemaker.

"Nope! Not now." Bede's face was reddened with buzz, but he appeared cognizant enough that he was speaking literate enough. "Admit it. Deep down after everything you've done, that's why."

"Honest to Arceus, you know I don't have to answer that. Let's not rewind that good will we had between us from the last encounter we had, Bede. Please." Haru appeared fatigued. He had dealt with drunkards in the past and as such, his patience was lowered as their inhibitions were through alcohol. Nessa took note once again that things were maybe not going in a route she was hoping for them.

Bede just laughed at that response, then stood up, slamming a hand on his table. His fork toppled over off his plate. "What are you gonna do about it, then? Beat me in another Pokemon match? We may be at a party, but there's plenty of spaces we could duel it out, you know. C'mon. Let everyone here see if you can put your money where your mouth is."

"Haru..." Nessa said, whereas Haru just slowly raised a hand, sighed, and looked over to the white, perm-haired rival of his.

"You know Bede, it really hurts knowing how much despite everything we've gone through, you're still one cross bastard." He spread his arms out and pointed to everyone. "This isn't a roast, mate: we're supposed to take things easy! Eat our fill and share stories! Do you really wanna risk saying something where you may regret it or not remember it tomorrow?" Haru narrowed his eyes through his glasses. "Sit down and eat your fill, and pretend we didn't hop off onto the wrong foot. That way everyone here is happy a fight doesn't break out."

"What Haru said. Seriously dude." Gordie said, butting in as Bede held an arm off to shun the Rock-type superstar.

Squinting at Haru, Bede sneered. "Look mate, save the thoroughbred chav-speak for someone who gives a piss! You don't have the balls to let it all out: you could barely even speak up unless someone spoke to you first! I remember it well!" The silence in the air grew thick as the other Gym Leaders were mostly watching, save for Leon who had almost made the decision to step in. He was held back by Hop looking back at his brother and shaking his head.

Bede continued. "I don't want to hear it from someone who's putting on an act of confidence. You know, I may not have had the great upbringing you did, but you don't see me complaining that I'm not as minted as you. It's not a secret that the reason this party started is because you grew complacent about being at the top of Galar's food chain, and went to US to carry you on. I had to push myself to this point by my own hands! What do you have that I don't?"

Haru stood up slowly from his table and appeared to emanate a different kind of aura than he was usually known for: someone who was on the offense directly to another person. Usually slow to irritation, seeing Haru react was something of a rarity. "Zamazenta, Eternatus, a Championship Medal, peace of mind that I put Rose in jail, and friends."

"But no GIRL friend, huh?"

Milo, Kabu and Nessa see him clench both hands into a fist as Haru's face hardened and his eyes grew wide. It was a mixture of shock, pain, and bemusement. Bede once more, against the better judgment of others, continued as one hand slowly pointed. He walked to Haru, albeit a little wobbly, and poked Haru slowly. "Yeahhhh that's what I thought. The reason you avoid talking about that in interviews: the reason you divert from the question. You've no girlfriend to celebrate your achievements or help you pursue your goals and passion. All that work and for what? All those badges, Pokemon, and a very nice home. An empty home. Isn't. that. right. Champion?"

Allister, ever the youthful one in the group, just looked to Melony and Gordie who were sitting near him. "W-why is that a big deal? Is...it a grown-up thing?"

Growling, Nora's ears and tail would flatten as she glared at Bede. Some sharp pieces of ice formed on her back. Haru's jaw jutted forward as everyone gasped. Gordie got up from his seat, power walked over and picked Bede up by the collar. "HEY! That there is NOT a line we walk over! I don't care that you're drunk: you apologize RIGHT NOW!"

Hanging his head and putting his hands on his own hips, Haru just chuckled, turning away then walking to the karaoke machine. He glances to Piers, who got the hint that he wanted help setting up something. Everyone looks over to him as Haru started laughing a little weakly, which annoyed Bede.

A moment passes by as he walked to the microphone, tapped on it lightly and then spoke into it: projecting his voice pretty well to the others. He points to Bede. "You know, you're not exactly wrong, but not right, either. 'tis a bit strange how out of everyone here, you've changed the least! Anyways, you guys know I sing? How's that for some secret trivia?"

"Sing 'Clint Eastwood' then, bitch!" Bede shouted challengingly, raising a fist. At her table, Nessa found herself doing a double take in disbelief.

/Haru? A singer? He hardly seems like the type. This should be something./

Haru fired back, glancing to Piers, who nods: confirming he found the song in which Haru was interested in doing a performance. "Sing it yourself, bitch. Anywhoo...sit tight Bede, my purpley-pink pretentious peer o'mine. One lil' hobby I had way back when, was that I took lyrics of tunes I liked and re-wrote them for my own amusement. Homegrown covers of music only for my own ears and those that happened to hear it. Why? Who knows? Why does anyone do anything? So if I were you Bede, I'd take notes."

"...and why should I?" Bede grumbled.

His patience was lowering. Internally Haru told himself to hold back just a little, but he slowly raised his voice. "Because I have the microphone, and you don't, so you will listen to every fucking word I have to say!"

Hop looked back at Marnie, who glanced at him confused. He held up both hands. "I didn't even know he did this, so I have no clue what's about to happen."

"Huh, okay then." Marnie said, turning back to look at him.

"You all must forgive me, for I have a cover in mind, but I'll have to improvise a lyric or two. A challenge in of itself from me to myself!" He bows, then stands upright, smirking. "See, Bede, even as I had my inability to speak keep me muted, my heart was thinking of new ways to dunk on you."

"You guys like showtime-y tunes?" Haru said, giving his one and only hint to the tune as he cleared his throat. The nervousness of singing in front of people was rising. In the back of his head he told himself that he was too nervous to do this, but the words were already coming to him.

The song started, and Haru started immediately. The microphone, being wireless, aided him since he began walking back to Bede.

" So here we are, and your drink is all but full.

Like your career, empty and vapid

I know I'm cocky, but you're one rank under me

Zero to Five in League says you're tepid"

He flipped outward Bede's collar, then pretended to walk away.

" For all your slant, I won't forgive or beg.

Instead Bede why don't you suck egg?"

It was almost like Bede briefly snapped out of it, blinking twice. "Wait what?" Haru leaned inwards and poked Bede's chest, making his walk have the same rhythm as the beat.

"You're. A. Lo-ser baby

A loser, goddamn baby

You're a spoiled rotten ex-Rose-bought-in

Now a Leader for Fairy"

Bede's flustered face couldn't hide the alcohol nor the surprise. "Oy, bruv!"

"You're a one note, thin-skin

What we in leagues call a 'free win'

You're a purpley-pink-pelt git who's greenbelt

Who won't see infamy."

At the table of Kabu, Milo, and Nessa, the were encapsulated by the tune with the guys commenting on Haru's freeform lyric writing. Nessa however found herself frozen and staring at Haru in a new light. /The words he's saying are negative but...that voice. Is that voice seriously coming out of him? It's so.../ Her cheeks reddened with genuine blush.

" There was a time where I thought we could be friends

Take those twins whose team was just garbage

Who goes from four to three and back to four again?

Unless it's your IQ, I don't know how they manage"

At this point Haru was doing a simple rocking-back-and-forth step to the music, of which Bede interrupted TO the tune. "Your friend over there has more losses than I count." He was pointing back to Hop, who wasn't even in the conversation. Haru immediately countered in the song without losing a beat.

" Yet Hop's smart, and spec-ia-list bound!

C'mon now man!

You're a loser, baby

Conceited, lurgy, and lairy

So be what you want to be

Cuz you're not my cuppa tea

You lost and that's okay man

Gym Leaders have had it rough and

Each one's a star in all Galar

Their talent is variety~"

Haru pointed definitively with his right hand.

"We got here Nessa, Kabu, and Milo

Bea, Allister, Marnie, Rai' and you

bellyaching Bede, please hear me out!

I'm trying not to be some fucking big wig

Don't look at me, I'm not gonna dig

you a hole to crawl in, Bede,

aft-er to-night, I'm starting up my new gig!"

At that point of the song, Haru had simply put both hands on Bede's shoulders and helped him back to his seat but still he didn't miss a beat of the song.

"You're a loser, baby

A loser, but just maybe if you

amp up your meta

You can bring out the 'best of pink'

We're all here to be carefree

Not here for argy-bargy

So go cry about it you drunken, pink git

The winner, here, is, me."

He'd end the song with pointing to himself with a thumb. He stared at Bede just to push the point further as when he took a step back, the drunkard felt Haru's conviction. Or so he was somewhat certain he could, considering he just turned to the side and away before leaning on his elbow.

"Allright, you got me." Bede said with a grumble.

Looking around to the others as he set the microphone back, Haru clenched his fists. He was able to sing his feelings and thoughts on the matter pretty succinctly, but now all that was in the back of his head was the truth of the matter: he wasn't with anyone romantically. Initially walking to his table, Haru took a sip of his drink and then nodded to Kabu, Nessa, and Milo. "Pardon me guys, but I'm going to get some air." His Glaceon whined as she looked up at him and would follow his steps.

He and Nora disappeared from the party while making his way to the closest exit and made his way to a patio on the floor above. Nessa watched him walk off helplessly. She turned to look back at her plate of food and quietly carried on with the others.

"Well...at least the song was good you know?" Leon said, trying to break the ice with an ill-timed cough. Some of the others knew what he was trying to do, and even if it wasn't exactly the best to say, they weren't going to argue and start up another fight.

"...I was going to say I enjoyed the rhythm of the tune. I didn't know Haru had such a voice within him. It didn't even sound like the same person. If he trained under someone, I could see him performing." Melony said, looking to Gordie, who, tense as he was that she was there, had to act formal for the sake of others.

"He did forget to mention us in that one bar, though." Gordie took a bite of some biryani he was eating, then hummed in thought. "That's okay though: he did probably do that off the cuff, and he managed to get almost everyone mentioned." /I wonder if he's also stressed from the fame the job is putting on him, too. No way would he just blast Bede like that in front of his peers./

"Nessa?"

"..." She was eyeing her food and using a spoon to circle some rice she had on her plate as if it was just a challenge to eat.

"Nessa. Hey." Kabu spoke up again, causing Nessa to sit upright and put a hand up in surrender.

"Wha-! I'm listening. What happened?" She'd put a hand up in surrender and confusion.

"I tried to ask what you were thinking of doing for this next league season. Every year you have good ideas on how to change up your strategy and pass it along your teams. I was wondering if you had any thoughts to share with us on it." Kabu would gesture, not noticing at first just how distracted she was.

She hadn't been thinking about doing anything different. Matter of fact, she was less worried about changing up how she approached the next year than she had been in a very long time. The wording and timing of her associate left her briefly bewildered. Putting a hand to her forehead and pulling a strand of her dark blue hair aside, she looked back with a squint. "Strategy...? Uhm..."

Both Milo and Kabu glanced back, blinking. "Hey you okay?"

Putting down her spoon, she bit her lip and then stood up from the table. "Excuse me. I may need to pace myself. After all, a model has to keep her figure..." Pardoning herself from the table, she initially walked back to one of the long tables of food offerings, paused, then looked at the double door entrance to the space they were in. /He's still not back. It's been half an hour./

Bea took notice of her friend not acting like herself and walked up. "You doing okay? You've been staring at the door like you're expecting something. Or you're frozen in thought."

The tall mistress of the waves turned to Galar's expert of self defense with a frown. "Have you ever seen anything bother Haru so much that he just up and leaves?"

"Not particularly, no. Then again, I had faith in his ability to complete the rest of the Shield challenge. When I saw him take on Allister, I had a gut feeling about him." Bea said while folding her arms. "Are you worried he left the party wholesale?"

"After he defeated me I was curious about where he was going to go; how far he'd make it. So once he exited Kabu's Gym to head to yours, I started watching more of his battles to see if I could pick up something. Maybe I could learn from him. He's usually so steely but then again, we battle with Pokemon, not words." She elaborated. "...I don't want what happened here to soil my efforts."

- - - Rooftop Patio, Stow-in-Side Gym - - -

Leaning over the railing, Haru had started to grow accustomed to the change in atmosphere so much that he was beginning to prefer it over the very party thrown in honor of his accomplishments. Nora was sitting on her rump near her master and looked up at him. Ever worried about how he was at all times, she whined.

As his eyes scanned downwards at the citizens of Stow-in-Side going about their daily business, everything that Bede said had been looping repeatedly in his mind. His eyes narrowed as his brow furrowed hard and his previous neutral expression had oozed away into genuine pain and negativity. "All those people. Completely unaware of so much. I wonder how many of them simply gave up their dreams on becoming a Champion because it was easier to stop once. But you wouldn't, would you?" He took a sip of a canned drink he brought up with him and exhaled. The sound of the door leading to the rooftop patio was heard opening then shutting, with sounds of heels clacking on the floor coming from behind him.

He rolled his eyes. Thinking that he was going to be lectured by one of the older or veteran Gym Leaders, he just leaned further against the railing. A dark colored arm comes from behind holding a bottle of water.

"So this is where you've been." Nessa smiled with her arm reaching out to him. He turned to her and blinked. "You'll need to hydrate after singing."

"O-oh. Thank you. I'll take it as a second drink." He said, jiggling the silver energy drink can in his hand and giving a pained smile. After handing it to him, she would join him in placing both hands on the patio railing and looking out at the horizon together. They shared a moment of quiet together before Haru eyed the floor sadly. "I'm sorry for ruining the moments you were aiming for: I'm certain this isn't what you were planning."

/Why is he apologizing? He's not the one who soured the mood./ She turned to him, seeing his profile. It was one of the only times she saw him lower his guard to such a degree. "Hey. What Bede said was out of line. That wasn't right."

"But he was correct, which is a very specific distinction." Haru turned away, avoiding even catching Nessa's eyes in his peripheral. "I don't have anyone. Just like Bede said."

"We don't have to talk about it if you don't want to, okay? I'd understand if you don't." Lowering her voice, Nessa would try to get Haru to understand she only wanted him to come back and enjoy the rest of the party as if nothing happened. If he could.

"I'm just scared. The last time I put my trust in someone like that, it didn't work out well for me. I want to so badly open up and say 'Hey. I'm me. I may not be perfect, but I hope you like that about me and maybe we can have a seafood dinner together. Perhaps even sushi.'" He would say, having a faked smile before relaxing his shoulders and taking a long sip of his drink. He gestures briefly to Nessa if she'd want a sip, and she turns it down. He shrugs. "I start wishing that, but I then focus on Pokemon battling or being the best kind of trainer I can be. I wish I could be strong and direct like you."

Nessa gave him a blink of disbelief and put a hand on her shapely hip. "Like me? elaborate."

"You have no problem telling people like it is. You earned that nickname 'The Raging Wave' but it's cuz you just exhume strength to me. Whenever I look at you I feel comfortable to just tell you anything that's on my mind." He slowly turned to her with the same forlorn expression he was wearing this whole time. "Well...almost anything. I'm scared if I end up saying the wrong thing or doing the wrong thing it would leave a bad taste in your mouth. And leave."

He saw her scoff and throw her head back in a small laugh. "Haru, the only bad taste you could leave in my mouth is if you smelled of cigarettes and patronized me as a Gym Leader like how Milo does as my own personal rival." She crossed her arms.

Without realizing it natively, the two of them were physically closer as they had been talking, and Haru couldn't take his eyes off of her. "Well...looks like I got you beat there, then. Guess I'm not too bad at pre-planning for things outside of battles, huh?"

She gave a genuine laugh with Haru beginning to relax as he scratched the back of his head. "I have yet to properly thank you for all the effort you've put for me for this get together, Nessa. So I must tell you that I am eternally grateful. Thank you. This means the world to me."

Now leaning on the railing with him side by side, she handwaved it. "Think nothing of it. I'm happy that you're happy about it."

"At the very least I should repay you." He suggested.

She looked cross. "Absolutely not."

"Got it." It didn't even hit him how physically close she was because part of him thought it felt natural. "I'm going to try to ignore what was said tonight, but I'm glad you at least understand why it got to me. I want you to know Nessa that if anyone deserves to know me on this level, it's you. I'm...grateful."

"You are very welcome, Haru. It's been a pleasure."

"..."

"Can I ask something else?" Her eyes glance to him, pursing her lips and bringing both hands together.

Seeing no problems with another question, he went along. "Yeah, sure."

"How come today is the first time I've heard you sing, huh? Where the heck were you hiding such a handsome voice?" As she raised an eyebrow she noticed how Haru's cheeks went red and he had the goofiest smile while hanging his head.

"Because I don't really do it often enough to warrant sharing all that much with others." He admits, handwaving it as he hears Nessa scoffing. "Well...my Pokemon know." A gentle smile spreads as he gets flashbacks to earlier in his Pokemon career. He remembers holding onto the small Scorbunny starter he chose as outside was raining: the poor thing was scared of the weather. "I sing for my Pokemon sometimes. All of them. Especially when they were little or otherwise in their first forms. I put Goji to sleep when he was a Scorbunny and couldn't feel safe while it stormed. Turns out it worked for for Nora, and Masako too...until she ended up singing herself." He really liked remembering those times.

His Glaceon would walk around in a circle, yipping a little and smiling. She too remembered being a small Eevee and hearing her master singing.

"You have such a voice hidden within your depths and you're locking it away! Honestly!" She nudged him with an elbow while standing straight.

He sighed and looked to her. "I rarely feel confident in it. If I'm singing it's usually by myself and just for my own enjoyment. The whole time I was improvising those lyrics today, my knees were weak. Throughout the whole performance, I was practically running on adrenaline."

They shared an awkward silence while he rubbed his neck. "...you really liked it though, huh?"

"Liked it? I loved it! You ensnared me. I want to hear you do that more!" Nessa admits with some added enthusiasm.

Looking to the floor and then confidently raising his posture, Haru would then go back to leaning on the railing. "...w-well. M-maybe for you I could be okay doing performances in the future. Private karaoke. How's that?"

"Really?"

"It has to be private. No chance of others hearing. Like after hours gym time or us hanging out maybe!" Haru would say confidently but then sweating bullets once those words left his mouth. /Wait a fucking second, what am I agreeing to here? Why did I say that?/

"Deal! Hah." She re-joined him on the railing and chuckled. Satisfied with the idea she got him to suggest such a thing.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Hey...uhm..." Haru turned to Nessa slowly. Noticing that she was just a hint of a centimeter closer, he could almost feel her breath on him. Oh no.

"Hmm?" She looked back, finding herself locking onto his amber colored eyes.

"We should head back soon." He said a little quieter, staring at her.

"Should we?" Nessa said, almost in a challenging way.

He audibly gulped, and almost too satisfied with how he was reacting, Nessa saw how his demeanor changed much to her delight.

"Uhhh...I uh..." Haru for some reason took notice of how seemingly intently she was looking back at him.

"You...'uh'...?" She leaned in, then scanned downward. "You dropped your can. Gonna pick it up?" Her eyes pierced through his own.

"It's...fine." Haru felt like he was an animal caught in headlights. He saw Nessa lean in slowly.

*Ba-dump* *ba-dump*

Haru's heart was going a mile a second. "Nessa...? I..."

"Ye~es?" She said, her eyes half lidded.

*Tch-chrk!*

"Haru is everything okay?" The door leading to the patio had suddenly swung open and the motherly voice of Melony was heard. Both Haru and Nessa shriek immediately, gasping for air as Haru leans on the railing and points to Melony. Nessa is seen recollecting herself and is the first to look away.

"H-holy crap...Melony, give me a warning next time!" With one hand on his chest, Haru pointed to the Ice-type mother as Nessa had now stood a pace or two readjusting her hair to make a poor attempt at covering the red blush around her face.

"You didn't answer my question, and what are you two doing? The others are worried about you." She walked over and saw Haru looking almost cartoonishly aghast and helped him readjust his top and hair. "How Bede addressed you was so immature and awful of him!" She looks over to Nessa with a confused glance. "Nessa, you okay?"

"N-never better! L-let's go back downstairs okay?!" Nessa said, walking with Melony and Haru but not making eye contact with him. /That was close! What the hell was I thinking?! That would have made things worse! What kind of person am I?/ Her mind went into a brief panic thinking now what this means between them. /I almost.../

As Melony walked back with Haru, he glanced to Nessa who appeared beside herself. His heart was still racing. /We almost.../ He bit his lip. /I.../

Piers was getting himself a hard drink and before he could take a swig, saw some of the others looking back at Haru. It turned out that he came back downstairs with Melony and Nessa, and then without saying anything at all, took a spoonful of Kabu's specialized curry. The hot curry that he teased earlier and invited Haru to try. "Bloody hell he did it." Piers responded. He looks to his bud and fellow mate 'in crime', Raihan.

"Yo, Haru, speak up. You good mate?" Milo asks since Haru just sat there at the table with only his reddened face being any indicator he was alive and not killed instantaneously from heat.

"It's good." Haru said in a much higher pitched voice like he was straining just to hold onto consciousness, then exhaled slowly. Within mere seconds he was turning red from the spiciness of the peppers and sweating. The table where he sat cheered him on.

"See, it may be very hot but my special dish borrows a lot of flavor from one recipe my family made as well lot of imported peppers grounded together. I'm sure you can taste it all however, in a 'Fire Blast' straight to your tastebuds, am I right?" Kabu said, putting a hand on Haru's shoulder and tapping it lightly. The veteran from Hoenn laughed a little. "I uh, wouldn't recommend going for another bite so soon."

Haru's lips were almost sealed shut as he was using all of his consciousness just to stay awake. /It's like every waking second is physical torment. The fire that this dish is circulating in my mouth is unrelenting.../ His eyes stayed straight ahead and blinked slowly.

"...Haru?" Allister tilted his head.

"Oy, oy! Use your milk or something!" Leon interjects. Nora is seen at full attention right next to Haru in his seat with her ears perked all the way up and tail fully extended. The air ground her grows cold slowly.

He held up a hand slowly, reached forward as Gordie came by with another glass. "Bro, c'mon."

Haru couldn't even muster a vocal 'Thank you' to Gordie. He just nodded slowly and then took some time to drink the milk given to him. Minutes pass before the heat wave attack on his mouth passed and Haru gave one long sigh. Seemingly melting in his seat, he glanced around the crowd and slowly laughed. Gordie patted him on the back and laughed. "Ayyy you good, man? You back to the land of the living?"

Pointing to Kabu, Haru slowly straightened himself in his seat. "I've slammed my fingers accidentally into a doorframe, and scraped my knees while biking as a child. But that?! That was insane! How do people actually enjoy heat this high?!" Haru said, causing most of the other Gym Leaders to laugh, as Leon just put a hand to his forehead in a facepalm-like fashion.

Glancing to Haru's amount of food that was left on his serving, Leon looked concerned."You sure you gonna be okay? We're here for you if you need anything."

"Ha! I got a talking to from Nessa who helped me feel a lot better from earlier. Your Champion can handle anything now!" Haru said, tapping on his chest.

Hop would only add to his older brother's concern since he knew Haru just as long as Leon. "No one. And I mean NO ONE would look at you differently if you stopped here. None of us-"

Haru slammed a hand on one of his knees and puffed up his chest. "I'm not about to stop now and insult this man's legacy while I sit here as your Galarian Region Champion!" Haru spoke up finally and would finish the whole bowl.

...eventually.

The rest of the dinner period would be mostly Haru taking spoonfuls of the curry, going completely mute for a bit, trying to calm the heat with whatever he could eat or drink, and Bede eventually trying to outdo him only to fail after the first bite in. Haru's Glaceon, Nora would attempt to help him as well providing ice for him to have in his time of need.

"..and did you what, stop there? You were caught at that point." Haru asked, snickering as he took down a drink of some canned beverage with a silver/white label and a large "M" on the side. All of the Gym Leaders had pooled their tables together and were exchanging stories. The current topic was 'Stupidest Things You've Done'.

"No no no okay...so the thing is I figured 'I've already gotten this far so screw it' and just ran down the hall without the outfit entirely!" Gordie said, explaining a prank he ended up doing and failing causing Haru and some others to burst out laughing. "Sure I wasn't exactly caught, but my stupid pale rear was seared in someone's vision then!"

"Okay s-so now YOU have to answer one, H-Haru." Allister perked up, pointing to him. His feet were slowly kicking while he had a small notepad: sketching idly.

"Hmm? Oh, the stupidest thing I did?" Haru said, grinning and thinkin about it with his eyes looking up at the ceiling in thought.

"Nobody here gonna rat ya out if you say it here so just say it!" Bea egged him on, a half eaten sandwich on her plate she had at the point.

"Ok ok...so...this was a few years back. Best friend and I were seeing a movie and it's one of those movies where there isn't really a plot. It's moreso one of those 'found footage' films but it's guys doing pranks on each other and seeing if they can manage it or not. Sometimes it works in their favor, other times it doesn't. It completely lost the plot, it's stupid, it's a DUMB movie overall. But him and I laugh the whole time because I get to pay admission to see some stupid twat use a crane to pull up his friend in a port-o-potty." Haru stopped himself and smugly pointed at Raihan who stopped drinking his whiskey and had a slow grin spreading on his cheeks.

"Ah, Rai knows the exact film I saw." Haru sips his drink before continuing. "So anyway...by the time the movie finishes, it's late. I think it was 1 AM. I see some wanker has parked his car near my friend's. Don't ask me to elaborate because it's entirely too one-sided, dumb, and not the point, but if you care enough about cars you may dislike others due to their fanbase or its drivers." He's waving his hands around. "Anyways, the point is that it's the brand of car I absolutely HATE. It's tryhard-looking, and the manner of parking this twit did inconvenienced my friend. So...I quickly remember that at this point it's cold outside because Motostoke was going through an aggressive Winter at that point'. Guess who forgot to use the loo before leaving the theater?"

He paused causing those at the table to slightly lean forward. A single crunch is heard from one of the Gym Leaders chomping on something.

"Me." He uses his thumbs to point to himself. "In a hastily decided act of revenge I piss on the other guy's door handle to his car and we quickly leave." Haru said snickering remembering it as he gets mixed reactions of shock, laughter, and the sounds of glasses clashing in cheers.

"I can't believe YOU of all people did that!" Melony said, shocked. It turns out only she was the one who would berate him.

"Look. Call it what you want: I may have simply been influenced by the nature of the show we just saw at the time, but pulling that shit on my friend would always lead to me reacting in kind." Haru shrugged.

"What, were you knackered as well, or something?" Bea asked, a little confused but holding back a laugh all the same.

Nora yipped as if she too were speaking at the table and looking to them.

"No! Him and I just had soda, nachos and popcorn! Though...I guess I also haven't gone to a movie theater since then. " Haru said rather somberly, looking absently to the table cloth. /I hope you're okay where you're at, man. I miss you./

- - Later - -

As a few more hours pass, Haru found himself rather animatedly talking to Nessa as Nora was in his lap. She was in a food-induced nap and despite the size, still would act like the Eevee that Haru found her as years ago. Tail wagging lightly while asleep.

"Leon"

"Yeah?"

Leon and Raihan were talking together about some errands they were going to have to do together and had been looking from afar, watching Nessa and Haru talking together. Raihan turned to his rival and best friend with an inquisitive look. A hand of his gestured with his shot glass towards the two. The Dragon master asked him "What do you make of that?"

Leon put a long hard stare into the direction of the two and seemed to be pondering about the scene. "What about them?"

His fang toothed friend could barely believe he was being so obtuse. "I thought it would be obvious to someone like you. Aren't you and Sonia...?"

Raihan just looked at Leon with a completely dumbfounded expression and sighed. "You're hopeless, man. Lost when it comes to directions AND women..." Leon had no clue what he was referring to and just scratched the back of his head.

- - - - Next Morning, Hulbury Water Gym, Staff Prep Rooms - - - -

"You're beautiful." Nessa said, hands on the shoulders of one of her trainers, looking her in the eyes.

"I'm beautiful." the blonde trainer nods, trying to believe in it.

"You're great"

"I'm great"

"...and you're a winner."

"-I'M A WINNER!"

"YAY! That's the spirit!" Nessa said with a wide smile, hugging her friend.

Nessa is giving pep talk to several of her trainers leading up to opening hours of the Gym, making sure everybody is doing fine. Sometimes taking a moment to counsel them if needed, hear their troubles, worries, thoughts, etc, as well as going over her large array of water Pokemon she had for possible teams. The last few rounds she battled in the Gym she was changing things up, and thought back to the other night.

/"It has to be private. No chance of others hearing. Like after hours gym time or us hanging out maybe!"/ The memory of the previous night came back. She looked at a mirror while doing her stretches on the floor to stay flexible; always to make sure she was in physical form for battling and in general.

"That was a little too close. I almost got way too comfortable with him and lost myself." talking out loud with no inner monologue to put herself in a zen-like state. The dark skinned woman would breathe in slowly and exhale slowly. "I'm beautiful. I'm great. I'm a winner." she would tell herself, remembering the other fights she had prior to that moment with him.

Parts of her thoughts, however, were interrupted. Her zen was broken. Pictures and voices kept intruding on her peripheral. It was normal to hear the occasional passerby staff talking to each other early in the morning before engaging in chores or meditation. But Nessa's interior monologue kept rewinding to the previous night. To before then and even as early as the start of the past annual Gym Challenge. She recalled everything that wasn't one of the two battles she had against him. The time she spoke in-between the battles. The day he came to help her Gym with the Dynamax Pokemon. There were even other minor instances of meeting up. Once he showed up and asked for her advice on fishing for Pokemon. Another day involved him seeking advice on better matching clothes.

Her eyes opened slowly and exhaled through the nose. "...can't believe I'm having trouble with this today." Her head hung and she tried to find her inner center again. Her mind travels again to the day they spoke in front of the lighthouse. Seeing him nearly hurt outside in a public mall, and how that scene alone sparked a great fury within her.

"No, focus Nessa...c'mon." shaking her head and doing some more stretches, patting her cheeks.

More random imagery invaded her mind. Her mind saw all the funny faces he made at the party, him cutting up with the boys at the table, hearing him sing and seeing him own his confidence completely. Then his face as he was smiling talking to her, and him looking at her while dressed up.

Her face goes dark pink/red. She did the same thing when she would lose a battle and ran her hands through her hair with her teeth gritted, and slaps her cheeks to refocus again. "I'm beautiful. I'm great...and I'm a winner!" telling her reflection that, getting up closer as if to combat that inner negativity. Pointing her finger to the mirror almost smudging it "I can't afford to-. No! It's not...!" backing up then throwing out the pose she would when holding a Dive Ball containing her first Pokemon in battle. "DAMN YOU HARU WHY ARE YOU MAKING ME FEEL THIS WAY?!" A few trainers would overhear her talking to herself and poked their noses to see. She was huffing a bit and then could hear someone nearly trip over themselves from nearby.

"Shit, busted!" one of the girls said as they all ran off.

"Tch...get back to work girls!" Nessa ordered, then looking back at the mirror. She was huffing a bit in annoyance at herself.

*th-thump. th-thump. th-thump*

- - - Wedgehurst, 9:40 AM - - -

"Oh hey, didn't figure on seeing you, Champ!" came a cheerful voice from an orange hair, side ponytail woman.

"Sonia you can just call me Haru. Please. I don't need you to give me that nickname too." he replied with a half annoyed look. "But good morning to you too." Masako was by Haru's side today, which meant the other Pokemon were at the house to themselves, as he had a reason for visiting the small town where Hop and Leon grew up. After the other night Haru felt a return to normalcy and was fired up again in his passion for being Champion. Figuring out what he would do next no longer was scaring him, but exciting him.

The first step on this new venture...: Shiny Pokemon hunting. The little Yamper that was known to follow Sonia came by to greet him, happily yipping at his ankles, making Haru bend down to give him a pat.

"So what brings you here? I got some time for you no matter how busy I am!" Sonia would say, stepping down from a ladder with two books in hand and walking to one side of her desk.

"I'm hoping you can help me on something I want to accomplish as the newly crowned Champion. For some time now some people have suggested a whole slew of objectives I could pursue now that I have more time. One of them was...'Shiny' Pokemon". Pokemon with rare color patterns. If I found some, it would elevate my status as a trainer and make me stand out, wouldn't it?"

Masako would nod in agreement with him, patting her hands together. "Ah...Shinies huh? That's...going to be a helluva task. Do you have any currently?" Sonia asked as she looked up at him from her seat.

He extended an arm to his back to scratch it, confused. "I uh...I'm not certain I have any."

Sonia had an slightly confused look right back at him. "Huh? You don't know?" Sighing, she swiveled in her chair from side to side. "Well...the short and sweet explanation is that a 'Shiny' Pokemon is one with an incredibly rare coloration that gives a 'shine' to it. You'd know you found one just by seeing it in the light, because it gives a 'shine' to it." she explained, thumbing through one of the books she had at the ready.

"Okay okay...Fossil Pokemon...no..Legendaries...no...Mythicals..no...Ultra Beasts...aha! Shinies!" It would take a small minute but as she found the section she pointed it out to him: Shiny Magikarps, Shiny Eevees, and even a Shiny Gardevoir were shown as examples.

"Wait!" He sees her point to this but decided to briefly thumb through the legendaries. He comes to the picture of Yveltal. "These colors...is this the normal appearance?" /That trading card I got. Yveltal had white and red accents, not red and black./ He gasped in realization. "To think I could have had an aqua-colored Masako here? That's neat. What else makes them different?" He asks. Sonia folded the book and sighed with one hand gestured to the side.

"Honestly? Nothing. Just their color and rarity. It's however even better if their individual statistics, or 'IVs' as you trainers call it, are all high because the chances of coming across such a combination is exceptionally rare. Personally I don't even know the odds of finding one that's primed for battle AND shiny." Sonia held up a finger decisively as one hand idly gives scratches to her Yamper's belly. "You already know how to boost the stats of Pokemon yourself because you've super-trained all of the ones you use in battle often. Now just imagine if you had, say, another team but they're all 'Shiny' Pokemon. I'd wager you'd be the envy of everyone." Sonia would so eloquently explain, part of her hair bouncing as she nodded while doing just that alone.

"Sounds fantastic! How do I find them?!" He would ask, both hands on her desk. Sonia made a tense face and squinted at him. "I'm not sure you want to know the answer to that question."

"C'mon Sonia, what do I have to lose? I got all the time in the world. Let's say I go -right now- to hunt for these things: what are my chances an expert like myself can find one?" Haru inquired, getting out his Rotom phone to take notes.

"1 in 4,096." she said flatly, looking at him as her hands were clasped over each other. Haru's face had frozen solid. There was dead silence for a few seconds. Outside of her lab some bird Pokemon are heard chirping.

"1 in 4,096" she repeated.

"I heard you the first time." Slowly he would be seen putting a hand to his face and pulling down on his cheeks: Masako doing the same thing. "ARE YOU SERIOUS?! I haven't even SEEN that many Pokemon in the wild, much less during battle! 4,096?! That's just for ONE Shiny Pokemon?!" he yelled a bit frantically, causing Masako to instinctively wince at his temper, one paw going to her head.

"It's the average without owning a Shiny Charm. Which means you could see more than that number or less. Some folks don't even see a shiny Pokemon for as long as they live. The charm alone makes it far more likely you'll come across one, and admittedly you can increase those odds in your favor if you constantly keep encountering the same exact Pokemon, or just breed them. A lot." she points at him with her pointer finger. Haru is heard grumbling and crossing his arms, as his forehead has a pulsating vein that he puts a hand to hide a bit.

"By how much does the Shiny Charm alone enhance the odds in my favor?" Haru asked with gritted teeth.

Thinking on it for but a moment, Sonia's eyes closed. "1 in 1365.33, to be exact."

"Okay. While that really sucks I suppose that Shiny Charm would help a lot. How do I get that then? Do I just spend an obscene amount of time in the Battle Tower, or does it come from an executive who hands it to me?" He asked. Sonia looks to the side again, silent.

"You have to fill out your Pokedex." Sonia answered him.

"Well I'm already doing th-"

"Completely. Every single one has to be registered."

Somewhere outside there's a Pidgeot that's heard cawing loudly, and the winds outside pick up a bit. It's quiet inside. Someone hears the mailman come by the next door neighbor's house and drop in the mail as a slot is heard opening and close.

Haru just slowly sinks to the floor slowly and lowers himself past the point where she can't even see his face but the top of his head because he sat on the floor. "Sweet Fanny Adams...You've got to be kidding me..."

"Hey, language!" She chastises him, flicking the top of his skull after leaning over her desk.

"Ow!" Haru rubs his head, then gets up. Masako then joins Sonia and does the exact same right afterwards. "Hey! Not you too!" causing the Gardevoir to laugh a bit. Haru turns back to Sonia, looking exasperated. "So you're telling me that when people suggested or talked about 'oh why not go Shiny hunting' and 'fill out my PokeDex' that they're directly tied to each other and they're so insane that the odds of doing so are that high? How does anyone find such a thing endearing?"

"Either you go the full monty or don't." Sonia said with a bit of a frown, knowing how excited he was when he came here, only to be leaving frustrated. Haru looked at the ground. It seemed like all the buildup he had gotten lately to figure out his post-Pokemon-League life would reset itself. His face had become crestfallen. "Such is life. Well...thank you Sonia."

"Is there anything else I can offer you while you're here?" tilting her head a bit and looking at him with a big sister aura of concern. Haru would pause for a moment and shook his head. "Nah. I...I either go on with this or try to figure out something else on what to do with my new livelihood. Thank you either way Sonia. Tell Hop I said hi."

She waved to him as he was leaving, as Hop entered at about the same time. Haru wouldn't stay though and just walked by him with a "Hey Hop, sorry but I'm heading out, chat later" comment.

Hop entered the lab and looked at Sonia. "Sorry I'm late. How'd the visit with him go?"

She sighed and would go back to open up the two books she brought back down from the shelves originally earlier. "Life of a champion just got another speed bump, from the looks of it..."

- - - - 4 days later - - - -

- - - - In front of Wyndon Stadium - - - -

Some time has passed since Haru went to go meet Sonia at her lab and he was going through the motions. However big of a shock the incident was to realizing how grind-heavy it is to hunt for Shiny Pokemon wouldn't permanently taint his outlook. He refused to let it get him down and would remember what everyone at the party reminded him; he had a strong support network to lean on for help and would go to them if he needed to at any point. For the immediate moment however, it was a meet-and-greet day between himself and all the leaders of every gym.

In front of every table would be a line of fans where they could shake hands, talk to the Gym Leaders and get autographs if they so wished to do so. A separate table next to Haru's own would feature limited stocked merchandise. Of course, the giving out of League Cards was a definite must-have for those that collected the memorabilia of anyone there, but Haru found himself running a little short of supply. One superfan made Haru's heart melt. A little girl dressed up as him: from her own glasses, carrying a Glaceon plush and wearing a tiny wig to imitate his hair. "H-h...hello sir." She'd say with a tiny wave. Her mother was right next to her.

"Awww you're so darn cute! Are you 'me'? What's your name little girl?" as he moved away from his table and walked around, kneeling down to her level, moving away from his table.

She seemed to be about 6 years old. The little girl was a bit shy at first. She'd giggle in place and after looking up at her mom then looking back to Haru she gained enough courage to speak again. "M..my name is Donna."

"Well hello Donna." he smiled wide. "What can I do for you today? I hope you're doing okay having traveled up north here."

Surprising him, the little girl let go of holding her mom's hand and hugged him unprompted. His eyes go to the mother looking for any sign that she was comfortable with him giving a hug back, and then gave a soft embrace when he was allowed. "Oh my gosh, Donna, thank you sweetie. What was that for?" finding himself smiling wide.

"You're my hero! Be..because you never let anyone tell you that you couldn't win just because th-they say you don't always use the best Pokemon. Or because they're meanies. Y...you're cool! You found wh-a way to win!" as the little girl Donna swayed a bit from side to side looking at him with innocence.

/My fucking heart, man. I didn't know kids could be so cute!/ "Awwwwwww. Thank you for the kind words, Donna. I remember to take care of and love my Pokemon. In turn they love me back, and together that's one way we triumphed together!" He looked to her and then the mother. "Did you want a league card or anything today?"

"Nuh-uh. I just really wanted to meet you! I...I watch you. And...knowing that one day even someone like me can be a Pokemon Champion is...yeah! You're cool!" she squeaked a bit, as her wig shifted a little.

"No, little Donna, you're the cool one! One day you and I are probably going to do battle, and I think if you keep up the spirit you have now, you'll probably beat me. Don't ever lose your focus, okay?" he said, not calling attention to the wig malfunction.

Donna bounced in place. "Thank you, I won't! Can I have a picture?"

"Absolutely." he agreed, and would take a photo with the little fan of his, and handing her not just his regular league card but his rare one as well. "Donna I had such a good time talking to you, that I want you to have these okay? I believe in you."

Moments like that one made the entire meet-and-greet several levels higher in quality than the ones he did before. Kabu was presented earlier with some hand-knit scarves that some fans made in the pattern of his Gym colors, Nessa got some bracelets made by some little girls who only wanted to give them to her because they reminded them of 'a princess', and Allister did his best trying to socialize while there. He was improving at the very least. Getting some more people to look into caring for Ghost-type Pokemon made the little boy prodigy happy. Bede was wearing a different persona for the sake of giving fans what they liked about him. There were little chances he remembered what occurred the other night, if at all.

"Hey Champ, tired yet? Haven't even seen you break for lunch!" called out Raihan from across his table as he started opening a small carry-out tray that was delivered to him.

"A bit, but I'll be fine. I got my 'energy' right here!" Haru said as he raised a familiar silver canned beverage.

Nessa chastised him from across her table. "You shouldn't get addicted to drinking those longterm you know. They could be detrimental for your health!"

Haru narrowed his eyes but smirked in an understanding manner. "Only if you go to obscene amounts. I don't drink more than twice a day."

Nessa puffing her cheeks hoping Haru didn't just write off her advice.

/I'll have to scold him later.../ she thought to herself. The lines of fans kept coming, and as Haru signed a few more autographs, his line had finally begun dwindling in size. Lunch time was almost over and some people were trying to get in on the local Wyndon specialties.

"Hey... , Champ? Can I get an autograph?" came a voice from another fan approaching Haru's table. He was facing away and turned back in his chair to face the new fan.

"Oh certainly! What's your na-...!" he gasped and dropped the pen on the table.

A pain pinged Haru's chest as his eyes widened, his pulse raced, breath shortened, and found himself unable to look at the fan in the eyes. "Ahhh..I...I'm sorry I didn't...uhm, hang on..." Haru sounded nervous. /What's happening? My heart..!/ His mind went hazy and was unable to form thoughts. The young man that stood before him held a small electronic device. It was his PokeDex and he seemed somewhat taller than Haru, long brown hair pulled back into a ponytail, with a solid build.

"Mr. Champ are you okay..?" the man asks.

"H..eh...I'..I'm fine.." He lied, as he was obviously not fine. Suddenly profusely sweating, Haru started looking at his hands. He puts a pair of fingers alongside where his arteries were in his neck. Panic rose. Something was...wrong. Milo is the first to notice and he stops what he's doing, signaling quietly to some of the others near him, tilting his hat a bit.

"Haru? Mate, you okay?" Gordie asked. Him calling out to Haru causes most of the others to also look over.

Haru looks at the man again and then gets up from the desk. " ...to le.." he says in a very shaky voice and almost falls over himself. League Cards flutter from his table and he almost meets face-to-pavement looking like he was suddenly intoxicated.

"H..hey!" the man begins to say something but a guard stops him, unsure what's happening but is right on Haru like rain to an umbrella. "Sir! Are you okay? Did this gentleman do anything?"

Nessa had stopped doing what she was entirely, having written her autograph on a league card for someone when she saw Haru seemingly have trouble getting back up while clinging to his chest. "I'm...sorry...!" Haru said sounding out of breath as he ran off away to hide, and fast.

"Haru! Wait!" Melony calls out to him.

"I'll go!" Nessa said, feeling her face go pale in worry as she saw Haru stumble off. She tosses a Dive Ball out and lets Cloyster take the stand. "Cammie, guard my table! I'll be back okay? Something is wrong..!" she said and would run right after Haru to the direction he went.

- - - - Wyndon, behind some tree - - - -

"Haru! Hey..!" Nessa calls out. She caught up to him and saw a sight that worried her. He was knelt down, clutching his chest like he was in pain and breathing heavily. "Hey hey hey hey hey what is it? What's wrong? Does it hurt? I'm right here..." going to his side and kneeling down. She noticed his left hand was on his chest near his heart and had started thinking that her advice earlier on his energy drink was in poor taste; already regretting having said anything.

" ...huu..I can'...I can't..." he barely gets out the words, changing his position until he's sitting and leaning against a tree he came upon. Tears were streaming from his eyes from fear as his glasses were lopsided.

Nessa put her hands on his cheeks, causing Haru to look to her and hold on: squeezing her hand. /He's shaking!/ She thinks. He looked so panicked. Afraid. Tense. Fragile. That's something he never appears as, at all. Something was happening. Was it a heart attack? Organ failure? Something else? Haru was shaking and audibly trying hard to control his breathing. She put one of her hands on his chest. "Does it hurt here?" she tried again to soothe whatever was ailing him.

"No pain..." The tears that were streaming from his eyes were no longer from fear, but the sincerity of his voice made it clear it was something else.

"Focus on me. Look around and start counting. Find things you can name." She said with a soothing voice.

"Blue eyes. Green tree. Shade. Grass. Your hand." The throbbing in Haru's chest slowed down. "h...I..I thought I saw him..." finally able to put solid words, Haru put a hand on one of Nessa's wrists.

"!" Nessa blinked at him.

Haru looked to the side, then back her again because she told him to focus on her and it helped to do so immensely at this point. "When...when I looked at that guy, I could have sworn I saw...someone who shouldn't be alive. Who -hasn't- been alive." Haru ended up saying, as the tears budding from the corners of his eyes finally fell down.

Nessa gasped. It finally made sense to her; the things Haru had alluded to but never outright talked about. He grit his teeth. "My best friend, Hiro."

Her face went soft and realized a horrible truth of what this all was: anxiety attack, and a rather severe one from a trigger. Anxiety attacks can attack without warning, and usually immediately require mental strength to try and refocus the body's instinct that's going off like it's in danger when it isn't. For Haru, he thought he saw the exact visage of his dead best friend in a fan whose only crime was merely being a long lost 'twin'. It triggered Haru due to him also sharing a similar voice. The fan sounded and looked like him, but it wasn't him.

"I..I'm sorry..." he said, as Nessa held him close and Haru's face just looked at the grass between them and buckled feeling her warmth holding him close.

"No no no no...no Haru. You didn't-you didn't do anything wrong. It's not your fault." She had said rubbing his back. Nessa worked with trainers under her guidance at her gym and had seen all sorts of things. It takes a lot to perform in front of others, much less thousands upon thousands of adoring fans daily. Some couldn't handle it, and her job required her to stay and consistently do that. On top of that, she was a model who put herself out there in ways the Pokemon League didn't ask of her because of her beauty. While Haru had experienced similar things when it came to performing as a Pokemon League Champion, the fact remained that behind every smile he ever gave and every confident speech he gave, he was hiding the immense pain of losing someone very close to him. Someone that gave him that strength in the first place.

"Why'd he have to die...?" was all he would say for awhile, and Nessa kept holding onto him. He started crying openly. The sound of pure hurt and pain that no medicine could cure. Inner turmoil. He just could not hold it back anymore.

The meet-and-greet was cancelled in order to be rescheduled at another time.

- - 2 hours later - -

- - - - Motostoke, Haru's home. Backyard. - - - -

"He had a severe heart attack overnight while he was asleep. To think just hours before, I was talking to him over the phone the night prior. I think I stayed up until 2am. It was something we commonly did: loved to chat about nothing. He was the kind of friend you could do that to, you know?" Haru was explaining, wearing an Ice Gym sweat jacket and was outside with Nessa in the backyard. They were standing in front of a tiny tree that was planted. In front of it was a small gravestone with the name 'Hiro' on it, and a rock with a painting of some wings for personal flair.

"The day it happened, I got contacted by some of his friends wondering if I heard from him. They were growing worried because he was supposed to come by for tabletop games but wasn't answering his phone. I told them that I knew nothing and then proceeded to blow up his phone with phone calls and text messages. I had no clue there was no way he'd be able to answer. Missing out on narrative-heavy tabletop games is something I knew he wasn't going to do without a good reason, so hearing that he was missing was worrisome. Tabletop games were, outside of Pokemon lore, one of his things he was efficient at doing." He turned to Nessa with a soft but pained smile.

"Hiro was the sort of guy who knew how to tell stories to you about even the most insignificant of things. He knew how to draw people's attention in, yet he always thought he wasn't that good! Yet nobody else have I ever known to catch the right type of details to zero-in on!" He stared at the tree. "I wish he wasn't so hard on himself..."

Nessa stayed quiet. Assuming that he needed the silence to be able to tell her everything that happened, she just stood and listened as Haru aired out his testimony. "Then evening came and yet still nobody heard from him. We were starting to worry quite a bit. Before 6 PM came one of them decided to stop everything, go to his house and see what was up. They figured if anything, maybe his dad would know what was going on." Haru said, turning to Nessa. "Then the text came to me..."

/[Haru, the police were seen taking a body away from the house.]/

"I immediately stopped doing what I was doing once I read that text and travelled to meet up with his friends."

The wind picked up and Nessa just kept her somber expression: herself wearing the same sweatjacket she wore when they met up at the outdoor mall in Hammerlocke. Haru would sit down next to the tree, and Nessa joined him. "When I finally found out what happened, I didn't want to believe it was even reality. That I was just dreaming. My whole body went numb from the pain. When I was able to actually speak without sobbing for more than a few seconds, I got my phone out, called my mom and told her everything. I told her, I told Hop, he told his mom, and...the rest is history."

Haru leaned forward and just lightly patted the dirt mound, and smiled. "His family couldn't afford a funeral so his body was cremated. My mom and I instead held our own private funeral and planted this tree in his memory. We've talked about picking out some flowers to plant when the weather in Galar is more agreeable."

"I'm sorry, Haru. Knowing you lost someone you felt was a brother to you has got to be the worst pain you've felt in your life." Nessa responded, looking at him. She hadn't experienced the pain of losing a loved one just yet, and hoped it wouldn't come for a long time at least. Death was inevitable for all living things. We could only hope to elongate it and keep it away as much as we could. For Haru's best friend, it was before he even hit the age of 40.

"There's so many things I wish he could have experienced or seen. But there you have it. Hiro is the reason I chose my Pokemon League number. Why I decided to become a Pokemon Champion. It's why I had that reaction earlier. It's why I fight every day to figure out what to do next now that I'm -here-, in this moment, Galar's Champion. So now you know..." Haru said, hugging his knees.

Nessa leaned forward while on her knees and hugged him. "I'm so sorry you went through that, Haru. Just know that if you need anything I'm here, okay? He seemed like an amazing person."

Haru quietly nodded and turned to embrace her. His face was dry with the tears he shed earlier and had calmed down quite considerably, but the pain was still fierce. Grief would still persist for a long time and may never stop. At least now he had someone else to lean on. "He would've liked you a lot, Nessa."

She let go; smiling.

"I'd like to think sometimes he's at peace somehow. That he's probably just shaking his head wishing he could tell me 'Dude it's fine, I can float now' or something. If he saw me down, he'd try cheering me up with a dumb joke or whatever. " He gave a half hearted chuckle.

"Haru. You are so much stronger than you think you are, and moreso for keeping this in you yet still having as much of the strength you exude daily. It's not weakness to cry about this, but is a sign that you stayed strong for too long without any outlet. There have been trainers I've worked with who break apart before they even go to compete." Nessa would say, extending a comforting hand to one of his, as he nodded, listening to her.

"If I were in your shoes, I don't know that I could do your whole career without falling apart every other day. I want you to know though, that I don't want you to keep stuff like this from me. There's nothing anyone can do to take away that pain but you can lean on me. Okay? Even if I have to assist you on getting therapy. Promise." patting the top of his hand. Haru just smiled a little, and got up. She joined him in standing.

"Thank you, Nessa." He said putting a hand to his chest, breathing in deep, and exhaling deep. "Feels like now the palpitations have all but subsided."

"Good. Let's go back inside and have some tea." she suggested.

"Sure thing. What'll you have?" beginning to walk inside. Inside all of the Pokemon scrambled away from the window so they wouldn't be noticed peeping on the scene outside, pretending to be going about their business as normal.

"What do you got?" she said with a perky smile.

When they got inside Haru let Nessa in first and followed, seeing a strange sight as all 7 of his Pokemon were at random spots being abnormally quiet. He looked around slowly and as such, Mirukon, his Lucario, waved to him. Haru's eyes narrowed.

"If what I think is happening IS happening...it better NOT be." he said sternly. That caused everyone to then just 'casually' disperse except for Nora who is merely just going to sleep early.

For the remainder of the evening, the topic shifted away from Haru's own traumas and instead to whatever popped up in the spur of the moment. He was reminded that soon he was to come by for some karaoke, and was already fishing through his music collection for ideas. He'd warn her that his selection was not consistent to any degree and would not match the 'showtime tune' vibe of the first song she heard him do. Which would be fine, since she admitted to considering a few herself. They would move on to talking about getting food, and without any pre-planning, would end up having dinner and checking a movie from his expansive library of popular and niche titles.

"May as well right? It'd take too long to get home and THEN make something for myself." Nessa would say as her excuse to stay over longer.

The two would chew the scene a bit more after the movie before Haru saw her out the door; thanking her for the immense help. She reminded him to look back at the contacts he has on his Rotom Phone and to remember she's there for him. Haru waved her off as she began to head back but before going back inside he stopped to look back. He took another look to watch her walking away. /Man, the way her hips move like that when she walks. Holy shit.../

He closed the door softly as he went back inside and sank slowly to the floor. He exhaled slowly. Haru's Tsareena, Leafa, was standing there while she saw her master sitting next to the door. There was some awkward silence as they met eyes, considering he was caught redhanded, and he was pointed out to have been blushing before he closed the door.

*th-thump. th-thump. th-thump*

His mind briefly flashed back to Nessa's features on her face and every single time she smiled. It went through every recent situation where they were talking and how often he found himself looking into her eyes, and having just reviewed mentally the fact he was slowly finding himself noticing her other features as well. The last thought that cycled in his mind was when at the party they nearly kissed. They WOULD have kissed if not for when Melony walked in on them.

Looking back at his Tsareena, he then hid his face in his knees.

"Shit. I think I really have fallen for her, Leafa." he's heard finally admitting out loud. The Tsareena has a confused face and leans forward like she didn't hear him. "I said I think I REALLY HAVE FALLEN FOR HER." he said clearly now having lifted his head from his knees.

Leafa nodded confidently, giving her trainer a comforting head-pat then walking away.

"...guess I have to have that conversation with Mom now."

- - - - Hulbury, Grocery Store - - - -

- - - - Next morning - - - -

Nessa asked some of the others to join her for some errands as a poorly disguised attempt to get her mind off of the one clashing thought in her head: Haru. He had been spending a lot of time with her, and the other fellow girl Gym Leaders were taking notice. Bea, Sonia, Melony had taken note from both Haru and Nessa just how much the other was either in the conversation or involved in the others' life nowadays. Sonia pointed out that she spotted him glancing at a photo of her that was sent to him longer than the others, and Melony recalls herself walking in on the pair being VERY physically close with each other.

Thus, surprising the others. But still, Nessa would initially dismiss it when spoken directly about it as the conversation had restarted when they were on a grocery run.

"So when are you going to ask him out?" Bea asks bluntly, causing Nessa to stumble forward a bit in shock. An employee nearby jumps thinking someone just fell over, and from the entrance door some beeps are heard indicating some people are either exiting or entering. It was a rather direct start of the conversation.

Nessa nearly dropped her to-do checklist of things to buy with that question being so direct. "Wh-hw-h-wwh-what the hell sort of a question is that, Bea?" with her face immediately going pink and on the defense.

Bea rolls her eyes so hard into the back of her head that she physically appears annoyed. "Don't give me that. I think since the party from a short bit ago it's gotten obvious you have at least something going on."

Sonia, who was briefly having her nose going through a few notes from her laboratory on her Rotom Phone raised her head to attention. "Oohhhoh what's all this then? Are we talking about a crush someone has~?"

Melony would answer before Nessa could even gesture a 'hold on' with her fingers. "To summarize it for you, Sonia, our dearest Water Gym Leader has been spending a lot of extra time with Haru. Which, by itself, is nothing that any one of us should raise eyebrows at, but how she's carried herself around him has definitely reminded me of back then before my hubby asked me out." The Ice Mom put a hand to her cheeks and sighed wistfully. "I remember how he was just as vividly as back then~. Haru and you remind me of those times."

Grumbling, Nessa spoke up and glared at them with flushed cheeks. "It-it's not like that! Why would you even suggest that?! Come on he's the Champion, and I'm a Gym Leader! Why would-...? I mean the way we've-..." She scoffed. Bea, Sonia, and Melony all in some way wore smug expressions: all too satisfied with how they cornered her. "You don't know how I...! Shut up! Fuck you all! You're all being stupid!" as the water trainer huffed. Some people stop in their tracks to look, before continuing to walk as they would be if nothing happened. "There's nothing going on!"

"It didn't appear that way when I walked up to the rooftop and came upon you both." Melony said calmly.

"You didn't even see anything other than how you spooked us!" Nessa insisted. The paper list in her hand was a little more crumpled up by now.

"I know you went to check on Haru because of the drama that occurred there earlier, but when I walked up I saw how close you were. Merely inches away. I didn't say anything for a few moments before stepping out if only because your reaction would have been priceless." Nessa watched as Melony leaned in, pointing. "Nessa. It WAS priceless, by the way: the way you both reacted. I saw you leaning in. It made Haru freeze, and if anyone knows how someone is 'frozen solid' from something like that, I do."

"Wait, you didn't mention this..." Bea blinked, doing a double take at Melony.

"...can this wait?" Nessa looked around them and noticed that some people appeared to be pushing some social faux pax and eavesdropping. Melony and the others would agree to that much and waited to continue it later.

- - 15 minutes later, Outside the Lighthouse - -

Insisting that they get as far away from normal fans and passersby ears, Nessa instead asked the others to follow her to the lighthouse. She figured that the sound of the ocean and boats nearby would easily shield most people from being able to listen in.

Sonia looked at Nessa in the hopes that she'd find out the rest of what happened. "Ness'?"

Her best friend grabbed onto the railing and looked out onto the ocean waves and took a deep breath as her gaze continued to stare off into the waters.

"Nessa. Talk to us." Sonia said.

Hanging her head and turning to her friends, Nessa's guard was finally lowered. Her cheeks were red and one hand was fiddling with some of her own hair. "So it's that obvious, huh?" making all 3 gasp loudly.

"Oh. My. Goodness. You DO have a crush on him!" the orange haired professor said with a rather surprised look. Bea snapped her fingers while Melony patiently awaited to hear more, or at the very minimum offer advice.

Looking down and biting her lip, Nessa nodded. "Mmmhmm. I'm so fucked up and beside myself on how I've been feeling that I don't know what to do with myself. Feels like if I see him again I'm gonna be a mess. It's just confusing for me."

"Why? Did you set something up with him last time you talked?" Sonia asked, concerned for her friend but nonetheless finding it adorable how Nessa was fidgeting.

Her fingers poked each other as she looked to the trio and gave a weak shrug. "I...may have invited him over to the Gym later for Karaoke. Just us."

Bea snorted a little as Melony gasped. "Is that your way of asking him over 'for tea'? Because if so, that's adorable!"

"Shut up! It was the only thing I could think up of at the time! Look! If you enjoyed..." She rested her chin on a hand as her arms crossed. "That voice ensnared me along with everything else I already liked about him, okay?"

She threw her hands up as if surrendering to the line of questioning and leaned back on the railing before smacking it. "So then why are you being so weird about liking him, then?" Bea asked directly.

"Because we're supposed to be professionals and us being close is just a side effect of our mutual jobs! That, and I don't know if I'm...I don't know. Good for him." Nessa sighed then walked to the nearby bench and sat down on it. The other girls joined her on both sides: still listening.

"I'm so focused on my modelling and Gym Leader career. I'm a straight forward, headstrong, no-nonsense kind of person. He knows that I put up this combative spirit. He's told me he acknowledges those traits and respects 'the grind'." After so much whining and confused monologuing, Nessa's face softened into a crush-laden smile that showed she did have feelings growing for him. "None of this makes a lot of sense coming from me, does it? It's not like me to be so confused or distraught. The only time my head feels clear is near him. When I'm with him...I am able to start opening up about so much. There's no inner voice telling me I have to put on an 'act'. He makes me feel like I can be myself openly without being judged." she explained, leaning her head on her hands as her elbows propped up off of her knees.

"I can get lost in those eyes of his and he makes me feel like I don't have to be a model, or a Gym Leader or what-have-you around him." Nessa would try to explain. "With him around I can be myself." She glanced down at the ground and dragged her toe a little. "...but is that okay to feel that way about him?" she frowned, looking at the ground.

- - - - - Hulbury Water Gym, 8:30 PM - - - - -

Haru finally made his way to the Hulbury Gym having not just brought some CDs, a microphone, and his zesty attitude...but nerves. Of course, he was hiding it, but even as he marched through the empty halls of the Water Gym intended for regular attendees he couldn't help but have his mom's conversation come back to him. After the last time he conversed with Nessa, she had been on his mind in a way that constantly gave butterflies to his stomach.

Admitting to his own mother that he may be having feelings for a Gym Leader wasn't the hard part of the conversation, but more or less the implication that it could ruin something. He was fearful.

/"Do you have any idea how much money I've spent planning for us? What was the point in me telling you how ready I was to move in if you were just going to pull this on me?"

"Do you want me to apologize?"/

He shook his head and thought back to what his mother told him.

/"Nothing can prepare us for tomorrow, Haru. If you feel in your heart of hearts that she's worth it, I believe in you to make the right choice."/

As Haru thought back to old times and his mom's words, his anxiety lowered. "Exactly. This isn't like that. Nessa isn't like 'her'. Not even close."

He came up to Nessa's office, knocked once on her door and felt his heart skip a beat when hhe heard her walking. She opened the door and greeted him with a wide smile. "Hey man! You bring me some good times for tonight?"

Jokingly, Haru held up his carry case with his supplies as he nodded and had pink cheeks. "I wanted to wait until I got here to say I'm offering to have food delivered to us since we're gonna be jamming out. It's the least I can do."

/Swear to fuck, he'd better knock this off or I'm going to end up kissing him./ She just clicked her tongue and ended up chuckling, shaking her head. "Just get in here..."

He glanced around and took in the sight as this was the first time he walked into her office. Medals of swimming and fishing achievements. A few trophies for biggest fish caught in Hulbury-based tournaments. A few posted printouts of her modeling career pin-ups. "Oh hey! I knew you were a fisherwoman but I didn't know you also won tournaments!"

Looking over to what Haru was pointing at, Nessa's cheeks flushed and walked over, smiling. "Yes sir! You're looking at someone who truly takes the love and passion of Water types to a whole different tier! Thanks to my father, I was able to learn to respect the creatures of the waters, and know when to reel my curiosity about them back. Eventually." She gestured with a nod and walked over to her desk and showed Haru a family photo of herself with her mom and father. "I remember him telling me to be careful being near the edge of the boat one day when I found a Feebas that was being friendly. Little guy seemed receptive to head patting even as a complete stranger to me: it was adorable."

His eyes softened and he smiled. "My Mom's responsible for helping me learn to love and be patient with my Pokemon while knowing how to respond to their needs. Nora's my other best friend outside of Hiro, and I was lucky enough to find her as an Eevee." Laughing, Haru just rubbed the back of his own head then decided to start putting up the musical equipment that was available to them.

"Was there a special reason behind the choice to turn her into a Glaceon?" She'd ask, gesturing to him.

"It was a choice I had her make when I gathered some evolution stones and told her I trusted her to follow her heart." He looked over his shoulder as Nessa had both of her hands behind her back and was holding her own hands. "I love all my Pokemon, but Nora is like family to me. Almost like an icy, four legged sister who yaps at me." His eyes narrow and he looks to the side. "...and can attack people or Pokemon."

Nessa had finally found herself combatting the inner thoughts and started to be more forthcoming. "So...I was hoping that y'know...outside of the karaoke thing we got going on in a bit we can just 'chill'."

Realizing that she unintentionally made an ice pun considering he was talking about his Glaceon, both Haru and Nessa stare at each other for a few seconds before laughing about it. "Do you have the time? Nothing to do tomorrow? No modeling gigs or anything?"

She shook her head and leaned against her desk. "Already had a photoshoot that's going to print soon. Photographer got back with me on the raws of the upcoming summer spread and it's looking to be yet another one I'm excited for!"

Without even thinking about it, Haru's lips ran before his brain caught on. "Hopefully I can get a copy for myself." His eyes went wide with horror as he began fumbling with himself and went cherry red in the face. Nessa herself gave the same sort of double take; making sure she heard him correctly. Seeing him suddenly flail about was a little cute as he would now try to over correct himself. "Whw-whah I...i waht...wha-hey. Uh I mean, what I mean to say is, I hope I get a chance to at least see it! Cuz I've only now started to ca..uhm.." Haru huffed with Nessa walking to him and putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Haru. Relax, okay? I can get you some copies of those photos if you'd like. Don't even worry about paying me for 'em." She flashed a 'V' with her fingers. /He's really fucking cute when he does that./ As Haru exhaled with content, she couldn't help but laugh at his reaction.

He bit his lip, nodded, and then finished setting up. "So...what's first for tonight then, maestro?" She teased, crossing her arms.

It wasn't that she didn't expect music or to be surprised at the ability of Haru to belt out a song in other genres, but how thoroughly he was able to, at the very least, match the cadence and ferosity of the songs. True to what he had told her, he did appear to do this quite often but only in private. A crime, in Nessa's mind. How he couldn't be more confident in speaking up was one matter but not sharing the inner voice that came out when attached to song was something that stuck in the back of her mind.

Here before her was a man who came from a small town and made such an impact on the Galar Pokemon League by doing the impossible: defeating Leon and saving it from calamity twice in a row. She knew he had the guts to have a commanding presence in front of thousands upon thousands of watchful eyes: both in stadiums and on live broadcast TV. So what was holding him back?

The more that she watched and silently juked with whatever tune he had carried before her, the more that she hung onto the performer and less on the lyrics. If he was secretly capable of doing something like this for just someone like her, there would be no real reason she couldn't encourage him to expand beyond. It was something she'd think about telling him, though it was nary difficult to focus with how longingly she'd be staring at the Champ before her.

Food had been delivered to the Gym, and the pair wound up taking a break. Nessa would break the ice in between a scoopful of Korma-flavored curry to ask him something. "You know that last one was really beautiful, if not a little depressing when it comes to the subject matter."

Haru raised his brow as he downed the yogurt drink that came with the meal. "'The Last Goodbye'? Yeah, I suppose so...but I think there's a little bit of beauty in it. The main singer behind it lives with a philosophy about intentionally seeking out the beauty of the now due to how everything will eventually pass. In doing so, he would end up creating an interactive online video series about going to space, and that was one of the-" Nessa sees Haru squint his eyes in thought. "-'unlockable easter eggs' if you made the right choice."

"...and what about you? What are your thoughts on it?" The Water Gym leader asked.

Putting down his plate, Haru folded one hand over the other and bit his lip. "I can see the perspective he has, but unlike him I wish some things would just last longer. I'm not ready to let go of some things, and I struggle with being able to even when it's something I should let go." He turns to look at her. "Admittedly that's led to some personal issues but I guess I have all of 'whenever' to work on it."

"Considering what you told me about Hiro, who was your best friend of so many years, I could see why." Confiding in him with empathy for his pain, Nessa would say with a smile. "But I think that's okay."

"The singer lost his father as a kid, and ever since then he has gone through a lot of growing up to reach that level of maturity." His face grew pensive. "One day I'll reach that same point. For now it's enough just to be here with you, and I don't want that to end."

"..."

"..."

"Hey uhm...about the other day? I'm sorry if I was being too forward." Changing the entire general mood of the moment, Haru brought her and him back to when the pair was on the rooftop leaning over the railing together and were nearly, seemingly, about to kiss.

Unexpected to only Haru, Nessa found herself looking back wistfully. "I...don't think you need to apologize for that at all." She glanced to the side. "It's rare that I lower my guard around anyone, and for some reason you made me feel okay to be myself." /No, that's not it at all! Be more thorough and explain it to him!/ She suddenly thinks to herself. "Actually, that's not the whole of it. Look, I just really like being around you, okay? Don't make a woman embarrassed to admit this..."

"Heh..." Haru found himself scooting a little close to her against the desk since they both were leaning against it while eating. "In truth, over everyone, I too really like being around you. A whole lot, actually. You're always on my mind nowadays."

"Oh?~" She'd physically lean a little closer to which some of her long hair had hung near his face.

"So much so that I actually forgot something, actually." He held up a finger, reached into one of the pockets of his outfit and brought out an envelope. He'd extend a hand to her whilst holding it, causing Nessa to become confused. "It's for you. For the party you threw."

"...wait, huh?" She blinked, looking at its contents: Pokedollars.

"I'm not uncomfortable with you throwing the party, but I had no idea you were going to spend so much on reserving that kind of room for me and for the time needed. So I looked up the going rate for such a thing as a trainer and common attendee, added in a percentage of interest, and figured I'd give it back to you." He saw no issue with it and smiled brightly to her. "Consider it good karma, you know? You wanted to bless me with such a good evening, that I'm paying the notion forward."

Huffing, Nessa wrinkled her nose. "Haru, you're already paying me forward with the food. That, and just by being here with me you're doing so much as it is, and may I remind you that this too was a suggestion that I made!"

Regrettably he did not miss a beat. "...and I'll do it again because you're worth it."

Looking like he was going to 'play hardball' about the matter, Nessa sighed. /I should have known./ She shook her head and took both hands of his and put the envelope back in them. "No. I did that out of the kindness of my heart. I don't want your money or anything like that: you deserved every bit of goodness that occurred that day. You keep it. Use it to get some flower seeds for your Hiro tree."

As quickly as Haru found himself holding hands to Nessa and being handed back his own money, so too did he discover he couldn't pull it away. "Uhh...hey uh..." He cleared his throat. Confused. "What're you-?"

But he didn't get a traditional answer. In using the grip she was holding on him, Nessa leaned forward all the way as Haru dropped the money. Her lips had fully made contact with his, causing him to completely mentally freeze. There was a hint of a taste of her drink on her lips. The silky smooth texture of her lips was beyond what he could handle. There was a quiet that took over them both as she slowly pulled away; a small line of saliva between them before breaking. "How's that for your 'good karma'?."

He could only look back as he was completely stunned. Her face looked so gorgeous, and now with them officially sharing a kiss, it was obvious how she felt. But he couldn't say anything. How could he?

*thunk*

After all, he had just passed out onto the floor.

"Ow..." As his consciousness came back to him, Haru grew to realize he was laying down on his back. Looking up, he saw not just the ceiling but Nessa looking back at home with a worried expression. Initially he wasn't able to apprehend what she was saying, but would note the slight pounding in the back of his head where it appeared he had collapsed. He was bashful, and shame swarmed over him. "...I ruined the mood, didn't I?"

Her eyes glance back to the food that was still fresh and the selection of music he brought with him, then back down to him. "Not a bit. I thought your reaction was super cute, actually. You worried me for a second, though. Have you never been kissed or something?" she teased, poking his nose.

Slowly readjusting the glasses on the bridge of his nose, Haru pursed his lips then couldn't help but laugh at the overreaction he gave to her merely moments ago. "N-no. Truth be told, I think I only fainted due to not expecting it." He let it go at that before it was obvious he wanted to say more. "...that you of all people kissed me. Almost feels like a dream to me, you know?"

His eyes widened with shock suddenly. "Hey wai-!" he blushed harder as Nessa leaned down and gave him another kiss, causing him to squirm slightly while staring back.

"Like that?"

"Y-yeah..." Haru said while glaring at Nessa like a Wydeer frozen in headlights. It should have been obvious to him when he woke up but she had placed a small pillow in the spot where his head was laying. It wasn't surprising that she had one: Gym Leaders needing to rest in between matches during league seasons was common. "So...now that...we've done that I guess I should also be just as honest. I've been starting to have feelings for you. I...don't know how yet to process it, or come around as you have, but your lips are really soft, and despite my passing out I really liked it." He said quietly.

Satisfied with his comment, Nessa rearranged how she was on the floor to be more at his level: halfway propped up on an elbow while on her side. "The feeling is mutual. You don't have to 'respond' until you feel like it, Haru, but I want you to know that I feel rather strongly for you. I hope that's okay."

Sitting up slowly so he wouldn't catch vertigo, Haru felt the adrenaline rush that came from his own crush kissing him wash over. "It is."

Her eyes dart back to the leftover cuisine and microphone of his that was sitting idle. "Ready to keep the show going?"

"Yeah, but if you don't mind I kind of want to just relax. I'll think up of something to sing in a bit." He looked around and smiled when she helped him onto his feet before dusting himself. "Thank you for making sure I was okay. The last thing either of us needs is to have the night come to a close with an ambulance arriving onto the scene."

Agreeing not to 'push it', Nessa would go back to enjoying the rest of the evening with Haru. She felt satisfied that her heart was able to do something so clearly right by her and without worry. It was noted that she could see Haru wasn't apprehensive to her feelings but was going to give back when he could do so with full certainty. Clouded feelings and shrouded thinking was not going to be simply okay to have on something so serious between them. Their friendship had been careening towards this path and both of them felt it was okay. The only thing that could ruin such a moment was if he simply did not pay this certain action back in kind.

In retrospect Haru found himself late that night replaying that scene in his head. Before slumber found its way to him, Haru could only stare back in the mirror and touch his lips with his fingers. A phantom sensation of the kiss still laid dormant hours after it occurred. The swelling of flittery giddiness came back to him for the first time in years, and his mind no longer flashed that self doubt that would normally haunt him when he had such fleeting thoughts in the past.

/I'm in love, aren't I?/

All he could do was laugh at himself before he walked to the bed and fell back with his limbs all sprawled outward like how one does to make 'snow angels'. He started laughing more. And more. And more, until he cried. The silliness and outrageous reaction he made when Nessa's lips made contact with his own was so stupid, so baffling that he knew he had to pay her back. Worrying that her master was going absolutely crazed with hysterics, Nora hopped onto the bed and paw'd at him. His laughing fit subsided.

He took one look at his Glaceon and said with a new fire in his eyes. "Nora. I have to ask Nessa out on a date."

- - - - - END CHAPTER 3 - - - - -