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voids-colourful-creations · 3 years

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Ships Passing in the Night and Sailing Together Until Morning - Chapter 3

Between the Two of Us

Summary: Satoshi visits his family. Goh gets some advice. Kaki does what he knows how to, and it's more helpful than one would expect.

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It was relatively quiet in the plane’s cabin, save for the steady hum of it’s engine. It was an odd sort of noise, reminiscent of a vacuum, but surrounding them on all sides.

Night had fallen over the plane, or rather the plane was gently gliding through night, and would inevitably part ways with it soon. But for the moment, at least, it was night.

Most were silent, with the few exceptions being a flight attendant here or there whispering to one another or the odd still awake passenger with a request.

Most were asleep.

Satoshi and Goh were not most.

Satoshi had gotten the seat by the window, Goh the one on the aisle, Satoshi having won rock paper scissors for the right to the view.

Arguably there wasn’t much of a view at the moment, though at least the deep blue sky had sprawling clouds drifting across it, obscuring the landscape beneath. The light from the regions below shone bright enough to reflect against those clouds, casting the sky in a brighter hue than the pure shadow inside the plane.

The plane’s seat felt huge, Goh made smaller just by sitting in it. His head tipped to one side, leaning against the too-large head rest. Though his eyes were shut, he could not sleep. It might’ve been the hum of the plane, but then again he had never been quite able to sleep on car or train rides, so maybe that carried over to planes as well.

He had tried to sleep, the flight was to be a long stretch across the globe after all. Alola took nine hours to travel to via plane, with their flight scheduled to land sometime in the morning.

Normally Goh preferred to travel during the day, but this was a last minute trip, and he was grateful for what he could get.

Keeping his eyes shut as though opening them would somehow make him more awake, Goh rubbed his thumb against his palm.

He was excited to go to Alola, he knew this. That was why his heart was racing, that was why he couldn’t fall asleep. It was exciting. There would be new things to see, new pokemon to catch, new people to meet.

Well, new to Goh. Because to Satoshi, they were family.

Perhaps Goh wasn’t being entirely truthful to himself. Meeting someone’s family was a big deal after all, and when they lived in an entirely different region…

Satoshi had explained to Goh throughout their long trip through the airport all about his trip turned residency in Alola. Admittedly, Goh hadn’t followed all of it, there was a lot of confusing talk of wormholes and star candies and bug racing for some reason, and Goh had been more focused on getting them through the airport without issue. One thing he was sure of though, was that Satoshi loved Alola.

Not just because he could spend the entire forty minute trip through the airport check in and subsequent two hour wait at the gate talking about how interesting it was that in Alola, people said “Alola” as both hello and the region name, but because of just how happy he had seemed to share any little tidbit about the place. Even as they boarded the plane, Satoshi happily rambled about the time he almost died via Nemush while camping. Goh listened intently to that one, concerned more so at how nonchalantly Satoshi recounted the whole affair. Now that the plane’s internal lights had been turned off for the night, he had fallen silent.

Or… as silent as Satoshi could be. He wasn’t a very quiet person. Goh could hear how kept pushing at the button on his phone, a rhythmic sort of clicking sound.

Click. Clicky-click. Click-

The rotom inside let out an angry buzz, seemingly unhappy at being fidgeted with.

“Ah… sorry. Didn’t mean to wake you.” Satoshi’s voice came hushed from Goh’s right.

Goh let his eyes peek open. His vision came blurred at first, eyes squinting as they took in his surroundings. The seat in front of him sat imposingly, still seeming impossibly large, though he supposed he was just short in comparison. Messon had opted to curl up asleep on Goh’s lap, it’s fin gently twitching as it let out a sigh in it’s sleep. Goh wondered what it was dreaming about. He let his hand rest on Messon’s back, the pokemon feeling somehow both scaly and soft.

He glanced to where Satoshi sat.

Similarly, Pikachu had curled up in Satoshi’s lap, his head leaning against the window. Satoshi’s fingers combed through Pikachu’s fur ever so gently, though Goh thought he could spot Satoshi's phone poking out of his vest pocket, likely having been shoved there a few moments earlier.

It was a bit hard to make out the exact objects and shapes, the inside of the plane being dark enough to turn Satoshi into a silhouette with a few features if Goh squinted enough. The only lights came from the tiny walkway in the centre, and the lights bouncing off the clouds out the window.

“Satoshi,” Goh whispered, his voice coming out breathy.

“Goh,” Satoshi replied equally quiet, though his surprise still came through. “You’re still awake?”

“So are you,” Goh answered, though it wasn’t really the response Satoshi was asking for.

Satoshi let out a light laugh.

“Yeah, I couldn’t sleep.”

Something about his voice made Goh let out a contented sigh as he smiled, equally as soft.

“Too excited?” He asked, on the verge of teasing.

“Yeah…” Satoshi said, “I just… I can’t wait for you to see everything and meet everyone, it’s all so amazing and bright and… it’s great. You’ll love it. I hope you love it at least.”

Goh let one hand rest on the chair’s arm between them.

“I’m sure I will.”

The drone of the plane’s engine filled the gap in their conversation.

“What about you? Are you excited?”

Goh smiled into the darkness.

“Of course… I just hope they like me.”

Which is more than Goh probably would’ve shared had this been anyone else, but things were different when he was with Satoshi.

“They will, I know it. My family in Alola are some of the sweetest people in the whole world.”

And Goh knew he could take that as truth, Satoshi had seen most of it.

Though he could not sleep, the exhaustion from the travel so far was setting in.

“Mm… tell me about them?’

A ring of light shone around Satoshi, illuminating him from behind.

“Of course.”

Goh tried to listen, but something about the dull roar of the engines and Satoshi’s hushed voice was the perfect lullaby.

“I went to school in Alola with five other students, all around the same age as us. The school was all about pokemon, it was way way better than the schools I had to go to back in Kanto.”

A flight attendant walked by, the clicking of their shoes growing as they grew closer and fading as they continued to walk along.

“I’ll start with the tallest person in class, Kaki.”

Goh idly wondered why Satoshi decided height mattered in this context, then remembered it was Satoshi, and it probably made perfect sense to him, which was good enough for Goh.

“He’s so cool. He knows all these amazing things about Alola, and especially Akala Island, which is where he lives. Alola has four main islands, and I guess Aether Paradise kind of counts? Not as one of the main islands, it doesn’t have a deity or anything but it is floating there, so maybe it’s an island? Suiren said it was a ‘large floating structure’ once, but I don’t know if that was a joke or the official name for it. I wonder if it’s the same for the stadium...”

Satoshi’s head slid down as he whispered, eventually coming to rest on Goh’s shoulder. Goh lost track of what Satoshi was saying momentarily, becoming hyper aware of Satoshi’s jaw moving slightly as he spoke, his mouth dangerously close to Goh’s shoulder.

“-really the kindest guy though, he cares about his sister so much and is really dedicated to the whole region, he’s got so much pride for it all and I really love him for it, yanno? Some people say he looks intimidating but I just don't see it.”

Goh let his head drift downward in kind until it rested against the top of Satoshi’s. A strand of Satoshi’s hair brushed against Goh’s cheek. He ignored it. For now, he would listen silently, happily.

“Next is Lillie, I think, no wait- Mao was taller wasn’t she? Why did I think Lillie was tall- oh it's the hat. Never realized how much shorter than my classmates I was. Huh. Mao’s really cool and also really nice, we don’t have a class leader but if we did it would be Mao-“

The plane drifted across the sky lazily, set to reach Alola in the morning and slowly making its way there overnight. Whether Goh or Satoshi fell asleep first, neither could say, but by the time they woke up, the Alolan sunrise was greeting them through the window.

Despite Satoshi mainly using onomatopoeia and wild hand gestures to explain his friends in Alola, when Goh met them he understood exactly what Satoshi had meant.

Professor Kukui had come to pick them up at the airport, and had asked friendly questions about Goh’s pokemon and Satoshi’s battles the whole ride there. While Goh couldn’t muster up the confidence to reply in anything more than simple answers, there was something so genuine about how Kukui spoke to him that he appreciated more than he could say. It wasn’t too much to worry about anyway, Satoshi was more than happy to answer on behalf of the both of them.

Satoshi just sprung to life in that way he did when talking about his passions, and Goh was more than content to watch and chime in when needed. Despite the fact he was sure Satoshi had to have filled his friends in Alola in about at least some of these things— they had to have known about the research fellowship and Goh’s existence in advance, right?— Kukui replied with genuine interest to everything Satoshi said. And, if Goh was reading him correctly, fondness as well.

Kukui himself was a bit of an enigma, at least in how he related to Satoshi. He was a pokemon professor, the class’s teacher, and Satoshi’s roommate as well, though looking at the way they interacted and how Satoshi described him, Goh didn’t think ‘roommates’ was the best word to describe it.

Satoshi’s words from the plane rang in his ears.

He started to understand what he meant by family.

Goh didn’t quite know how to feel about that, but he took comfort in Satoshi and Kukui’s happiness around each other.

Professor Burnet was similar to Kukui in many ways, passionate and excitable, yet much more dialed back. He supposed that had something to do with being a mother and all. Though, by the way she looked and acted around Satoshi made it seem as though Lei wasn’t her first child. The way she smiled at him, asked him about how training had been coming along, told him about Mokuroh falling asleep on a pile of laundry the other day, all of it was so gentle.

Goh kept thinking about how she had smiled when she had opened the door, how she sounded as she called Satoshi Lei’s brother.

Awkwardly, he stood there, feeling as though he was interrupting a family reunion. No, not feeling. He was fairly certain he was.

But Satoshi was too kind, and the professors were too welcoming, so he was ushered inside the house to greet all sorts of affectionate, Satoshi-like pokemon.

It was all a bit overwhelming, though not necessarily in a bad way.

Thankfully, Satoshi was as excited to show Goh the beach and the rest of the island as he was to show him the house, and they soon waved the professors goodbye, at least until they returned there that night.

With boundless energy, Satoshi dragged Goh across the island, eager to point out every little crack and crevice where anything remotely interesting had happened.

“This is where I talked to Gladio on the beach the first time, and a little bit further down the beach is where I talked to him and he told me he was starting his trial but more importantly where we held the wedding- oh and even further down the beach is the place where I almost got poisoned by Hidoide on a class beach trip, and over there-“

His mouth ran like a broken faucet, but Goh was glad for it. Something about hearing the retellings of Satoshi’s past adventures made him feel closer to Satoshi, even if it could never compare to actually being there. In fairness, he probably rambled on about Alolan pokemon Satoshi had come to see as commonplace, but never once did Satoshi utter a word of complaint.

Goh liked that about them, how Satoshi just got him, like that. He wondered if Satoshi thought the same, vice versa.

Then he got distracted in his pokemon hunting and fell off of a cliff.

Admittedly, it took Goh far too long to realize that this was the same Suiren that Satoshi had been telling him about only hours prior, but in all fairness he had just fallen off of a cliff and that can shock a person.

Suiren explained something or other about schools or parties while she drove him back to dry land, though Goh was more focused on admiring the ride pokemon that carried them across the crystal blue waters. Thankfully, she seemed to have some experience with easily distracted people, and somehow managed to get them to the Pokemon School without incident.

The Pokemon School was in the running for one of the coolest structures Goh had ever seen. It was massive and yet so open that in some places he hardly felt like he was indoors at all. In Alola he supposed that was the point, with the warm sun and fresh breeze carrying into the classroom. Goh agreed with Satoshi, he would enjoy school much more if he went here instead. Maybe then, he would go to school every day, and not just for tests. Goh pictured it for a moment, going to this school and learning about Pokémon every day, Satoshi by his side.

Goh wondered when Satoshi became part of this daydream.

He was ushered through the hallways by an excited Suiren, pushed until he was sitting at an open desk and swarmed by what were presumably the rest of Satoshi’s school friends.

Satoshi’s friends were... loud. That was the first word that came to mind. Loud and excitable, and very very curious. He didn’t really blame them, from their perspective he was probably just some strange guy who their old friend had hauled back here with him. Of course they’d be curious.

But Goh could feel his anxiety growing with all the watching eyes. Mentally, he prayed for Satoshi to hurry up and get here already before he ended up yelling or crying.

Still, even with all the shoving and questions and attempts to fish his phone out of his pocket to experiment on, Goh could see it.

That passion and excitement that Satoshi had so fondly recalled.

Still, he was relieved for a moment when Kaki showed up and pulled the rest of the class's attention for a moment.

Of course that relief was subsided a bit by Kaki’s incredulous reaction to finding out he was exactly a huge battler, but he’d take what he could get.

Thankfully, he didn’t have to worry for long, as soon enough Satoshi returned, a strange, floating sort of Rotom Index accompanying him.

Goh felt his entire body relax as Satoshi entered the room, a smile rising to his face subconsciously.

Pulled again, taken from room to room in a blur that didn’t quite make sense, but wasn’t as unpleasant with Satoshi alongside him.

Soon enough, he was sitting for lunch with Satoshi sitting next to him, a buffer between him and Mao.

This was nice. The food was good, the conversation was much easier with Satoshi next to him. It was wonderful, truly, to hear about all Satoshi’s classmates' dreams.

But though he cursed himself for it, when he glanced around at the table he felt his stomach tie in knots.

Satoshi looked so comfortable with these people, so happy here. Even when jealousy would begin to bubble up, Goh could never really find it lasting longer than a fleeting moment.

Satoshi was so happy, he wouldn’t dare take that away. It was everything, seeing his face alight like that.

The only thing Goh had to be upset over was his own selfishness. His wish that he could be the thing to make Satoshi smile like that.

He didn’t have time to dwell on it, though.

Kaki was firmer in his request to battle than Goh had initially given him credit for. And despite the rest of the class's gentle urges to back down, Kaki stood with purpose. Goh could respect that. More importantly, Satoshi could respect that, and Goh knew he’d want to see.

So for the sake of his so-called pride, Goh agreed.

This was a fight he never could have won. Even without the Z-Moves— which Goh thought were incredibly interesting, he’d have to bother Kikuna and Renji about them later— Kaki was stronger than him, more experienced, just better than him.

This was not Kaki’s fault, Goh had agreed to this, so it didn’t feel in any way unfair. Only… uneven.

If anything, he regretted dragging Rabbifoot into this, a flame on flame battle was a poor choice when he knew he was the weaker competitor in nearly every aspect. Still, Namakobushi had been caught only a few hours ago and surely it was rude to toss it into a match just like that. Messon was never even an option, and he hadn’t brought any other pokemon with him.

Despite Rabbifoot’s best efforts, they never stood a chance.

A flaming inferno was staring him right in the face, and Goh was frozen, powerless to do anything.

Something in the back of his mind registered the flames as beautiful, and while certainly true, likely not the thing that should be going through his mind at that moment.

He wondered what Satoshi was thinking, if he was disappointed. Would he fear for Goh? Pity him?

Satoshi’s words from the plane spoke out to Goh again. Satoshi trusted Kaki, he knew Kaki.

So Goh decided to trust him too.

Goh blinked.

He wasn’t sure exactly when he had grabbed onto Rabbifoot, but seeing as he and pokemon were decidedly not burnt to crisps, nor flecks of ash blowing in the breeze, it would appear as though his trust had paid off.

Garagara waved and cheered, and Goh realized dimly that Kaki had tasked Garagara with rescuing them from the hell flames.

Good. That was good.

Even if Goh felt the tiniest bit bitter he lost, it was a fruitless endeavour anyway. Still, part of him wished he could’ve won. If for no other reason than to see the look on Satoshi’s face.

Kaki wasn’t about to let him sulk for long though.

Standing in front of him, arm outstretched, Kaki met Goh’s eye with a smile. Not one of superiority or condescension, but of friendship.

“Look after Satoshi for me, alright?”

It clicked in Goh’s head that this was part of a challenge, to see if he was good enough for Satoshi. And that the challenge may not have started and ended at his battling skills. With the way Kaki was smiling at him at least, it didn’t feel like a failure at all. A new, refreshing feeling.

Perhaps with too much force, perhaps on purpose, Goh took Kaki’s hand and pulled himself to standing.

“I may not be his rival, but I can certainly look after him for you!”

It wasn’t until after the words had passed through his lips, and with such confidence too, that it registered that this was the second time he had made this exact promise. Third, if he counted Pikachu.

Kaki threw his arm around Goh's shoulder, pulling him close. As Satoshi had said, he truly was a kind guy. The embrace was firm, and in contrast to the near inferno, comfortably warm. Kaki simply ran hot, in the same way Satoshi did. Maybe that's why they were 'rivals', something Goh wasn't sure he'd ever really understand.

Then again, maybe he didn’t really have to. Satoshi didn’t need another rival, Kaki was already doing a great job of that.

But Goh thought that perhaps he could do with another friend. Or at least, he hoped so.

They had bickered back and forth, in the friendly manner Goh found they so often did, over who would sleep on the floor and who would sleep on the couch bed. Satoshi insisted that Goh should take the couch since he was the guest, while Goh argued that he slept in Satoshi’s bed at his house in Kanto, so it was only fair that it was Satoshi’s turn to sleep on the closest thing to a bed in Alola.

After a heated but ultimately light hearted battle, Goh emerged victorious with the argument that he refused to sleep on the couch because being directly under the skylight would bother him. A blatant lie, but Satoshi either decided to take that as proof that Goh was serious, or didn’t notice. Either way, Goh found himself lying against the wooden floor with a futon and some spare sheets. It was admittedly quite comfortable.

That night, Goh had bid Satoshi a quick good night before passing out almost immediately, Rabbitfoot and Messon curled up with the blankets with him. The exhaustion of the travel, the new surroundings and social interaction had caught up with him all at once, and he promptly slipped into uneasy dreams. When his eyes blinked open, the light shining through the skylight was the soft starlight of night, much to his dismay.

Goh groaned quietly, trying not to wake Satoshi. He gently patted the blankets around him in an attempt to find his phone. He was tempted to just sit up and look for it, but that risked accidentally knocking over Rabbifoot, which was the last thing Goh wanted.

After a few attempts resulting in nothing but a handful of pillows, Goh finally managed to retrieve it. The screen was cool to the touch as Goh unlocked it.

Digital numbers reflected back at him. It was early, too early to be awake. At least for Goh’s tastes. Beneath the numbers was a small line of text.

“Sunrise in twenty minutes.” He read to himself, voice so quiet it was closer to mouthing them.

Sunrise, huh? That sounded pretty nice. And it wasn’t like he had anything better to do.

So minding the sleeping pokemon and sleeping Satoshi, Goh slipped out from under the blankets, tiptoeing across the wooden floor and without bothering to put on his shoes, wandered out of the house.

The sand was squishy beneath his feet, yet dry. It hadn’t rained last night. Without the sun's warmth, the ground was cool beneath him.

The ocean was quiet, as still as something as alive as it could be. The growing light trickled across its surface in flowing patterns, colours and shades that shifted imperceptibly. The water stretched out endlessly in front of him, incomprehensibly vast. The water breathed steadily, the tiny waves greeting the shoreline in a taunt, being pulled away just as fast.

Goh let his eyes drift upwards. Cloudy, not enough to block out the sky, but enough to make shapes out of. The stars had already faded out of view by then, a disappointment.

He let his feet guide him as he walked without looking where he was going. He stumbled for a moment, foot slipping into a small hole. Goh attempted to catch his balance but ultimately tipped over, ending up having fallen on his back.

He could see the sky better this way, watching the stream of pink begin to flood the horizon.

It was calming, the gentle breeze, the rush of the waves, the motion of it all. It was though the very island itself was breathing deeply, slowly, alive.

Goh closed his eyes for a moment, breathing in, trying to match the breaths of the island. He was here. Here was nice.

His attention was caught by the sound of flapping wings in the distance, breaking his concentration.

His eyes snapped open, scanning the skies for the sign of a flying pokemon. Fruitless, considering he hadn’t brought anything to catch them with, he realized a few moments later. Still, he kept looking, past the clouds, against the sky slowly growing in its pink hue.

There, between a cloud that looked vaguely like a Denjimushi and one that looked like an Amamaiko on it’s side. A Lizardon, no- someone was riding a Lizardon.

They were surprisingly close actually, and at an odd angle. Goh would’ve expected them to face the direction they were flying, but instead it almost appeared that Lizardon was staring directly at him.

Hold on. Goh blinked, his eyes tricking him into thinking Lizardon was growing bigger.

No. Not bigger. Closer. And closer. And closer.

And before Goh had fully gotten it through his head, a strong gust of wind sent sand scattering into his face as Lizardon and it’s rider landed on the sand beside him.

“Augh!”

Goh sat up spluttering, trying to get the sand out of his mouth. One hand propped him up, the other being used to try and swipe the sand away from his face.

“Ehh, what was that for?!” He asked, still brushing sand away from his eyes, unable to see who he was speaking to.

“Ahh, sorry! I didn’t realize how much sand we would kick up. Are you alright?”

Goh instantly recognized the voice. Being mindful of stray sand particles, Goh blinked his eyes open to a familiar sight. For the second time in twenty-four hours, Kaki was standing above him, offering a helping hand.

Goh accepted it, gentler this time, either out of embarrassment or reluctant acceptance.

“I’m fine, I’m fine,” Goh replied as he stood.

Kaki breathed a visible sigh of relief.

“Oh, good. I saw you lying on the beach so I had Lizardon fly down here, but it seems I only made things worse.”

Goh shook his head.

“It’s not a problem, really.”

Kaki nodded, though he didn’t quite seem to believe Goh.

“What are you doing out here this early then?”

Straight to the point.

Goh shifted slightly.

“Well, I could ask you the same thing,” He replied defensively.

Kaki raised an eyebrow.

“I’m doing deliveries for my family’s farm. I do them every morning.”

He gestured back towards Lizardon, holding the aforementioned cargo.

Goh kicked at the sand a bit with his heel.

“Ah. Sorry. I- I couldn’t sleep, so I decided to come watch the sun rise.”

Kaki nodded, turning to face the ocean. The waves lapped up at the edge of the beach, rushing away just as fast, taunting the shoreline.

“It really is beautiful, isn’t it?”

Goh nodded, breath catching in his throat just a tad at the sight of the sun spilling onto the horizon.

“Listen,” Kaki began, “I’m sorry I scared you with dynamic full flame yesterday.”

He offered a gentle smile, turning to meet Goh’s eye.

“I-I wasn’t scared!” Goh stuttered as he looked away.

“Sure.”

Still looking out at the ocean, Goh responded tentatively, letting the words sit on his tongue for a moment beforehand.

“So… you don’t hate me. Right?”

Kaki looked genuinely bewildered.

“What? Of course not.”

Goh nodded, shoulders relaxing.

“Good, I’m glad.”

Kaki shook his head.

“I never meant to scare you. Intimidate a little, maybe, but more…” He trailed off, seemingly frustrated as he stumbled to find the right words.

Goh sighed, the sun’s soft light bouncing off the water and shining across his face.

“I think I get it, kind of? Like… you wanted to protect him, right?”

Kaki nodded, evidently relieved.

“Satoshi’s important to me- to us. All of us-“

“Care about him a lot.” Goh finished.

“Yeah.”

Goh smiled just slightly, crossing his arms over his chest.

“So. It was a test, right?”

Kaki looked taken aback, though he quickly covered the surprise on his face.

“Yeah, something like that.”

Goh’s smile grew.

“How’d I do then? Did I pass?”

His tone was lighthearted, clearly having fun joking with Kaki. As soon as Kaki registered this, he relaxed in kind.

“Yeah, yeah, you passed. Flying colours and all that.”

Goh raised an eyebrow.

“Oh? How so?”

Kaki rolled his eyes, but there was something soft about the motion.

“You stood your ground, even when you were outmatched. You stood for your ideals, you made it clear you were willing to work hard. I admire that in a person. Ambition, dedication, drive.”

Goh hadn’t been expecting a proper response, but nonetheless listened intently to Kaki’s words.

“Not to mention your little outburst there. I mean, I don’t take too kindly to the implication that Satoshi isn’t my friend, but the rest of it had heart. More importantly, all that stuff you said, about dreams being within your own power and all. It just reminded me of him. You looked a lot like Satoshi.”

Goh tilted his head to the side.

“Looked like Satoshi…?”

Despite the rest of Kaki’s face staying the same as before, something in his eyes gave Goh the distinct feeling he was being laughed at.

“Listen, Satoshi’s my rival and my friend. We can be both. He’s my friend along with all our other classmates, because of all the things we’ve done together. He’s fun to be around, I’m sure you know that by now.”

Goh nodded, unsure of where this was going.

“But he’s my rival too. A strong fighter- strongest in Alola if you ask some people, someone I truly have to work hard to fight against. It’s an exhilarating feeling, I wouldn’t trade it for the world.”

Kaki paused, looking Goh up and down.

“But you… you don’t have that. And I don’t think you need to either.”

Kaki met Goh’s eyes directly as he spoke, though Goh got the feeling that he was looking further than that, speaking to something deeper inside him.

“I see how you look at each other, how you act around each other. It’s different, and I think it’s good too. Don’t go proving me wrong, alright? He cares about you, and you better not screw it up.”

Though his expression was stern, that of someone emotionless, Goh could feel the emotions that sat behind those words as if they were tangibly in front of him.

Goh cleared his throat, trying to hide his surprise at what Kaki had just said.

“I know, I won’t. Satoshi hasn’t told me everything about his time here, but if there’s one thing he made clear, it was how much he loves you all, and how much you all love him.”

“Yeah. Satoshi means a lot to all of us.” Kaki said, stone faced. However, to Goh’s surprise, a smirk spread across his face. “Though, not in the way he means to you.”

Goh felt the blood rush to his cheeks and quickly attempted to cover for himself.

“W-wh-what’s that supposed to mean!?”

Kaki laughed, reaching a hand to playfully slap Goh’s back.

“That’s not my place to say. You’ll figure it out soon enough, I’m sure.”

Goh glared.

“How is that of any help?!”

The grin on Kaki’s face persisted.

“Who said it was supposed to be?”

Deciding that was apparently enough explanation, Kaki walked across the sand, returning to Lizardon’s side as he waved goodbye.

“I’ve gotta get going, can’t let the deliveries be late!”

He called, climbing up onto Lizardon’s back. Goh waved back, though Kaki’s words were still bubbling in his brain.

“Don’t forget what you promised!”

And Kaki flew off past the clouds before Goh could even respond.

Promises, promises, he’d been making a lot of them recently, and all of the same nature. The question was if they would hold weight. And what on earth had Kaki meant by all that?

Taking a deep breath, Goh took in the smell of the ocean, the sand, the Alolan breeze. And then, he shook himself violently, sending tiny specks of sand scattering across the beach.

Enough thinking about all this for now, he decided. With confident strides, Goh headed up the beach to wake Satoshi so they could inevitably argue over what they would eat for breakfast, and soon enough, fly home again.

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