"Woah, so this is your new team?" Fic looked at the six Duri had picked out as they all finally met up again in front of the airport.

"Yep! You already know Y, Sleep and Meramelion, but there's also Cream the Mawhip, Smiley the Barikohru, and Kettei the Kusune!" Duri smiled, and the three new members of the team waved at the others. 

"That's great!" Dan grinned. "How did the information gathering go though?"

Fuyuhiko and Duri shared a sigh at that question.

Duri said, "Well, Mary and Beedo did provide important insight on Gulus. He, Betel, Weles and Kaus were gathered by Hiro's dad, Amanokawa Hokuto, who's disappeared for a year now. He was the only one who saw them for who they were, instead of freaks like others in the Galar region did. But when he disappeared... their views on the four grew worse and it got so bad Gulus went crazy." 

"As for Hiro... we think he and his friend Nomura Koutarou make up the other side of the group aside from Haavik's Troupe," Fuyuhiko added. "Hiro was bitter after his fame-seeking mother divorced with his dad, and with his dad's... less than stellar parenting, if what the data says is accurate, it's no wonder that when Gulus approached him, he accepted his offer. Koutarou simply went along with it because he's Hiro's childhood friend and knows how much pain Hiro has been through." 

"Oh... Oh my God... Poor Hiro," Lia covered her mouth. 

"And the others too," Peko agreed, closing her eyes while leaning on one of the jeeps they had rented. "Gosh, it all makes sense now." 

"What they're doing is still wrong, though," Dan frowned. "We need to stop them no matter what, and take them all down." 

Everyone shared a glance, and Fic nodded, "Yeah, he's right. We HAVE to win, no matter what. Think of all the ghouls who might get hurt by their attacks." 

"Agreed," Hajime got onto the driver's seat of one of the two cars. "Let's get going then. If we want to get there as soon as possible we have to stay on track." 

"Alright," Fuyuhiko followed his example, while Peko and Nagito slid into the shotgun and the others piled onto the cars. Hajime's car had him, his boyfriend, Dan, Lia, Wynton, and Shun, while Fuyuhiko's had Peko, Ajit, Lightning, Duri, and Fic (the gender-questioning trainer had insisted on sitting with Duri because they wanted to catch up with him, though Fuyuhiko was sure that it was to avoid embarrassment by being in the same car as Dan.)

"Let's go then!" Dan cheered, and the rest nodded before they set off from Kuchiba City, ready to take down Team Alpha once and for all. 

The view on the way there was stunning, Fuyuhiko had to admit. They had a lot of cities and towns to pass by, but admiring the view was definitely on his to-do list, and it seemed like the AB thought of the same thing; video-calling Ajit and Lightning to do a video of the view outside while talking about various strategies. They did promise not to post it until after the attack on the caves, so that was one relief. 

Yet Fuyuhiko's eyes kept wandering off to Duri, who was chatting with Fic while Y, Sleep, and Meramelion slept peacefully on him. It was so endearing, he actually enjoyed that more than the view outside. 

"Keep your eyes on the road," Peko gently brought him back to reality, and once he realized what she meant, he flushed scarlet and apologized profusely. 

She could only shrug and say, "Sonia and I were like that at the beginning, so don't apologize." 

Wait, they ended up together...

His face turned into multiple shades of red. W-What was she insinuating!? T-That they liked each other?! That Duri LIKED him back?! No goddamn way that was-

"Keep your eyes on the road now," she chuckled, and he spared her a glance of annoyance which only seemed to make her laugh even more, "Gosh you are a riot, Fuyu." 

"S-Shut it Koko," he trained his eyes on the road, trying to ignore the heat threatening to overtake his entire face.

But if he thought about it, this Peko was beautiful, stunning really. She had really grown from that person who only thought of herself as a tool to a snarky yet kind-hearted woman that didn't scare the living kami off every baby Pokemon she met. It was amazing how the team, how life could change people for the better. 

And as he thought about it more and looked at Duri and Fic, a part of him... wanted Hiro to repent too, maybe join the team. Perhaps Haavik too, but Hiro deserved happiness at the very least. No one deserved such a horrible childhood. 

Knowing that Dan and Fic had gone through a lot as well, he had a feeling that those two would be a great match for him, so he could only hope the three would realise their feelings for each other. 

He inhaled. Staying positive was definitely not his strong suit, but once in a while, it wasn't too bad, especially if it helped him avoid the dark parts of his mind, that whispered about their possible loss. 

He took one more look at the side mirror to see Duri laughing, and offhandedly thought about how cute it was.

... Okay, maybe Peko was right. But he doubted Duri liked him back. The other was way too kind, and they had never gotten along until after they began bonding, so perhaps it was more of a sibling bond he felt? 

Yeah, that seemed like it fit! Thinking of it that way was really warm and nice, yet... He still couldn't help wondering if it was true; if he actually liked Fuyuhiko back. 

Maybe, maybe not, he decided. But it was all going to end after beating Team Alpha, anyway, so best not get too used to Duri's smiles and warm hugs-

Dang it brain, shut up! He didn't want that, right?...

Okay, his mind was not agreeing with him, so maybe some music would help?

He quickly opened the radio, but...

DID A COUPLE RENT THIS JEEP BEFORE THEY DID?! WHY THE HECK WAS IT ROMANTIC MUSIC?!

Gosh, more than anything now, he wanted to know WHY his luck was so bad.