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“Hey, Mao, are you using those pens?”
She blinked, but the green-haired girl answered, “Not really, Mamane. They just ran out of ink, honestly. Why?”
“Can I have them? F-For research purposes of course,” he replied, but he flushed a bit as he said the latter part.
“I don’t really understand, but sure!” she quickly handed them over to him.
“Thanks Mao!” he grinned before he sprinted off,
Suiren and Lillie passed him as he ran, and Suiren blinked, “That’s new.”
“I know,” Lillie nodded, and Shiron voiced out its agreement. “What kind of experiment requires inkless pens?”
“And books on riddle creation too,” Kaki added as he and Satoshi, with Gou trailing behind them, walked into the classroom to join their friends.
“He’s been acting weird since he came back from Hoenn,” Mao admitted to the two visitors. “He writes a lot, and that’s normal, but he’s been reading a lot more since then.”
“He’s always been smart, though. I don’t see why you’re so worried,” Satoshi blinked.
“If it’s not Pokemon-related, would you worry?” Gladio deadpanned while rolling his eyes, but still joined them in the classroom.
“Wait what?” Satoshi gaped.
“Really?!” Gou blinked rapidly.
“Yeah, he’s been reading riddle books and mystery books and even talking to Rotom about mysteries and cases,” he shrugged.
“Could it be… that he’s dating someone?!” Gou suddenly froze up at his own theory.
“Now that I think about it, when I was passing by I heard him mutter something about being late to the airport to pick someone up!” Lillie frowned.
“Then let’s not waste time and go follow him! I’m sure there’s an explanation!” Satoshi suggested.
“That’s a breach of privacy—“
“LET’S GO!!” Suiren and Satoshi immediately linked their arms around Gou and began walking away with the others right behind them.
Who was he meeting at the airport, exactly?
*****
“Why am I here…?” Gou exhaled in exhaustion behind the rest of the Alola Gang (Gladio was a master chaos creator, courtesy of Suiren) as they watched Mamane wait at the arrival terminal of the airport.
“Cause you wanna know too!” Satoshi nudged him with a grin on his face.
“Who is he even waiting for?” Lillie asked the others.
“Beats me,” Kaki shrugged.
“Same,” Mao slumped.
“Hey guys, he just perked up!” Suiren shushed them and brought their attention back to their friend who was excitedly waiting for whoever it was.
Gou checked the flight list board and blinked, “It’s from Galar.”
“I’m confused. Does he know someone from that region?” Mao asked.
“Good question,” Kaki frowned.
Just then they heard a happy shout as they saw a kid older than them run his way, followed by a top-hatted male walking at a slower pace.
“Luke!”
“Mamane!”
Who now?
“Do you know him, Satoshi?” Gou asked him.
“Not at all,” he answered with a confused face.
The one who has traveled through countless regions doesn’t know him! Suiren looked devastated, and Mao just rolled her eyes.
“It’s nice to see you too, Layton-hakase!” Mamane bowed to the adult.
“It is a pleasure to see you’re fine too, Mamane.”
“So this is Alola! It’s really cool!” Luke smiled.
“I know right?! Wait till you meet my friends!”
“I assume you mean the group spying on us at the moment,” Layton-Hakase pointed the group out as he gestured subtly, and their eyes immediately traveled to follow before they saw.
“E-Everyone?!” He yelped.
“Hi!!” Satoshi waved as he headed over, smiling. “I’m Satoshi from Masana Town!”
“I-I’m Luke Triton from Furlong Town!” The male adjusted his hat before holding his hand out to shake Satoshi’s hand as he bowed.
“And I am Hershel Layton of Knuckle City,” the adult smiled while taking his hat off to bow. “We met Mamane during our visit to Tokusane City in the Hoenn region, and he and Luke became fast friends. They have been writing to each other for a long while.”
“Is that why you needed the pens?” Mao’s eyes widened.
“Yeah!” Mamane nodded.
“He’s actually a great puzzle creator! I have a lot of fun solving them!” Luke admitted while wrapping an arm around Mamane’s shoulder.
“Indeed,” Hershel nodded in agreement. “I am impressed by it too, Mamane.”
“Thanks,” he grinned. “Anyway, let’s go eat at Mao’s restaurant!”
“Yay!” Satoshi cheered, and soon everyone slowly filed out of the airport.
But Mamane and Luke strayed to the back, and their fingers brushed slightly.
“They didn't actually notice it, do they?”
“I doubt it, Lukie.”
“I think that we’ll have to be careful with the letters later on, though. I mean, using inkless pens to write on paper is weird and would probably be easy to read through if we didn’t put our own code on it.”
“I think the only threats would be Gou and Gladio, plus Satoshi.”
“I guess. … Mane, I’m scared.”
Mamane let his hand touch Luke’s, and he gave him a gentle smile.
“Don’t be. I know that it’ll be a long way to go, but we’ll make it, Lukie. We’re together.”
“My parents took a long while to get used to it, Mane. What if your friends…”
“I’m sure they’ll understand. Let’s get through this together, okay?”
Luke gave a soft smile back, and their hands intertwined.
Hershel felt a smile form on his face as he sensed the happiness radiating off the two.
They deserved each other, he reflected. It didn’t matter if people called them out for being unique, or if others called them a weird couple.
They were both smart, they were looked down on, and they had struggled alone until they met their friends.
He was proud of Luke for finding a kind person like Mamane to care for him, after all.
Oh, and his puzzles. Definitely his puzzles.