My Shining Starlight

2. A New Adventure Begins

Lucas could hardly believe he was escorting such a beautiful girl back to town. Lillie seemed very shy, just like him, which made her even cuter than she already was. There were still lots of questions in Lucas's head, but he decided not to press her. She seemed sensitive about Nebby and whatever happened prior to her arriving at the bridge. Maybe if he got to know her more, she'd open up to him? Pushing questions onto her right now about what happened with Nebby would definitely turn her off, so it would be best to play it safe. Something was different about Lillie. He felt something completely different within him when he saw her for the first time. Different from any past crush.

Their walk back was quiet, but not completely awkward. He occasionally stole glances at her as she gracefully walked beside him. Making his heart skip a beat, he would catch her glancing at him as well, before both their heads darted back to focus on the path. Lucas couldn't tell if they were glances of interest, admiration, caution, or because she was looking at something beside him that made it looklike she was staring at him. Either way, it would be best not to make a move until he was sure about what those glances meant. He's misread signals in the past more times than he'd like to admit, and it cost him many of his biggest crushes.

"Thank you."

"Huh?" Lucas said.

"Thank you... f-for walking Nebby and I back," Lillie said.

Lucas felt his face warming up. "N-No problem," he stammered. "Wouldn't want you to get hurt."

Lillie noticeably blushed as well as had a tiny smile on her face. Lucas's heart skipped a beat. That gorgeous smile, as small as it was, might be his new favorite feature, closely followed by her beautiful green eyes.

Going down the last staircase, Lucas and Lillie arrived at the clearing facing the wooden stage in the town center. Behind it, Professor Kukui could be seen waving at both of them.

"Hey, Lucas!" Kukui called out. "Looks like you missed the kahuna, yeah? But you found my assistant, oh yeah!"

"Assistant?" Lucas asked.

Lillie nodded as they approached the professor.

"Looks like you already met, but just in case, this is my assistant!" Kukui said.

Lillie blushed. "Um... yes," she cooed. "We already introduced ourselves."

"Awesome!" Kukui said. "Lucas just moved here to Alola! Take good care of him!"

Kukui laughed as Lillie's face went bright red. She gave a timid bow to Lucas.

Take care of him? Lucas thought. Does that mean I'm gonna get to spend more time with her?

"So... you just moved here?" she asked. "Where are you from?"

"Kanto," Lucas said.

"Oh wow," Lillie said. "That's so far away."

"The kahuna is back!" someone called out, breaking their conversation. "Kahuna Hala has returned!"

"Our guardian's chosen one is back!" someone else cheered.

"One of the strongest Pokemon users in all Alola, yeah!"

Up the staircase walked a large old man wearing a yellow, cape-like robe of sorts. Kukui was right. This guy stood really stood out among the ordinary townspeople.

"Have I missed something?" he asked in an assertive, yet friendly manner. This was clearly a tough man but seemed quite friendly as well if the town was cheering so energetically for his return.

"Naw, but where'd you go off to, Kahuna?" Kukui asked. "I thought we were meeting here."

"I am kahuna of this island, after all," he said. "Whenever there is a problem on the island, it is my duty to resolve it. Sorry, Lillie. What were you saying before? For some reason I thought I saw Tapu Koko flying about..."