Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Layton characters, especially not Nina or Luke.
Sea Shells
"Ready, Assistant- Number- Two?"
"Just bowl, Emmy!"
Emmy whirled her arm in a windmill motion and propelled the ball through the air. She had been aiming for the wooden stumps but the ball bounced off Luke's bat and he immediately went sprinting across the sand.
"Catch!" Luke heard Emmy shout over the rush of wind in his ears. He didn't look back though, not until he was safely at the red bucket that they were using to mark the runs each person scored.
The boy gave a triumphant "Yes!" and a little victory dance. One more run put him in second place before the professor. Then that only left Emmy who was still light years ahead of them both...
Emmy suddenly called "You're out, Luke."
"What?" Luke turned in surprise. The professor had caught the flying ball in one hand and was holding it up for him to see, smiling. Neither Luke nor Emmy wanted to be the fielder and hence the professor often took the position to avoid arguments between the two. Unsurprisingly the professor had quite a knack for this game (cricket was the national sport for every English gentleman, after all). Luke suspected that his mentor had practiced cricket in his younger days... and he was still yet to discover anything Professor Layton couldn't do.
"O—U—T spells out," Emmy repeated with a sly grin.
"I know," Luke said crossly. All the running they had been doing was starting to make him feel hot and bothered. Sweat layered his forehead, inducing him to remove his cap.
The weather was glorious this afternoon without a single cloud hanging in the pale blue sky. Since they were clear of solving mysteries and the professor didn't have any classes at the university today he suggested the three of them enjoy a trip to the beach. They strolled along the promenade until Luke spotted a mini beach cricket set in one of the seaside shops and pleaded for the professor to buy it for them. An hour had followed with the trio playing actively in the sun.
Professor Layton noticed his young companions were tiring and soon brought the game to a close, proposing they retire to the shade for a while. Emmy nodded in agreement (she had won the match by a long shot anyhow) and helped him pack the cricket set away. Then the archaeologist settled against a sea-worn rock with his thoughts lost in a book titled A Study of the Abu Simbel Temples. His female assistant announced she was going to get some drinks and headed off to the concession stand. That left the professor's apprentice.
Luke wasn't keen on making the arduous trek back up to the promenade with Emmy. As much as he hated to admit it, he didn't fancy sitting around in boredom with the professor while he read his novel, either. Instead Luke ambled down the beach, tracing the line of the sea. He never strayed too far that he couldn't spot the professor's top hat, however.
Luke had hoped there would be excited seagulls or curious fish frolicking amidst the waves that he could chat to. He sighed disappointedly when he was greeted only by the sound of the tide lapping against the shore. Oh, well.
Lifting his head Luke squinted in search of a gentlemanly top hat in the distance. Panic shot through him when he realised he'd travelled too far along the coast, losing sight of the professor.
Maybe he could retrace his footsteps? But there must have been hundreds of other tracks left in the wet sand; he could never tell which ones were his own footprints! Was there a friendly lifeguard nearby who could point him in the right direction?
Luke looked around. There were body boarders wearing wetsuits, parents paddling in the waves with young children, two people building a sand castle surrounded by a moat... He stopped when his gaze landed on a petite figure in a pink dress hunched over in the sand. Luke gasped. Was that...?
He approached the person slowly; recognising the young girl with should length blonde hair and blue eyes a similar colour to the sea. "It's you!" he exclaimed.
The girl stared at Luke for a moment, studying him with her head cocked to the side. Then she said thoughtfully "I think I know you..."
"Nina! It's me, Luke Triton— Professor Layton's apprentice."
The professor, he and Emmy had met Nina on their astounding adventure to the eternal kingdom of Ambrosia several months ago. Nina was kidnapped by Oswald Whistler to become a host for his deceased daughter Melina's memories. More importantly, she could perform "A Song of the Sea" (a song only Melina had known) and nearly played a role in Descole's evil plan to raise the lost civilisation. Before this could happen, Nina's true personality pushed Melina's memories out of her mind and she was reunited with her parents afterwards.
Nina smiled up at him. "I remember you, and Professor Layton, and Emmy too."
"What are you doing here?" Luke asked. He glanced around and lowered his voice slightly. "You're not on your own, are you?"
"I'm here for the day with my mum and dad. But where's your family? Are you here with the professor?"
"Um, yes, but you see..." I've got no idea where he is Luke thought nervously. Of course he didn't tell Nina that. A gentleman shouldn't really burden a lady with his own troubles, he recalled the professor telling him once. Luke tried to change the subject. "This beach is great, isn't it? I like it."
"Yeah," Nina nodded amiably and returned her attention to the sand.
"What are you looking for?"
"Sea shells," the little girl explained, pointing "There are lots of different kinds here and they're pretty." Sure enough, the sand beneath their feet was dotted with a millions shiny seas shells of different shapes and sizes.
Luke was reminded of when they arrived at the beach on the deserted island of Ambrosia. Nina had been collecting shells back then as well. He'd always thought that had just been an old hobby of Melina's that Nina felt compelled to copy.
Crouching beside Nina, Luke picked up a long almost rectangular white clam with reddish brown markings. It felt smooth on the outside. "This one's cool."
"That's a razor shell," Nina told him "Or it's called a razor fish. Sometimes you can find tiny animals living inside them."
"Really?" Luke was intrigued. He opened the shell as if it was a pharaoh's tomb but it was empty. Luke imagined a poor tiny animal crawling around unprotected, not knowing where its home was.
Just like him. Lost. Unsure if he would ever see the professor again.
Nina looked at Luke in concern when a tear rolled down his cheek. "Luke, what's the matter?"
"I— I..." Luke hiccupped and pulled his cap over his eyes. "I'm n-not sure where the p—professor is!"
"Oh, you mustn't worry! I'll tell my mum and we'll find him with you."
With that, Nina slid her palm into Luke's hand, picked up her bucket of sea shells and they walked across the sand together.
((So, how was it? I was amazed to see no one had written a story about Nina yet, or with this pairing. NinaXLuke are so cute, even just a friends. This is a oneshot, remember... but who knows, maybe I'll write a sequel or something one day.
REVIEW!))