Chapter One

I missed my home so much. It felt great to finally be back in Unova after four years of being away, traveling the world. And what makes it even better is that fact that it's the holidays! This time of year always means family, friends, and free time! It's also extremely special to me at this moment in time because I haven't seen my family since the last time I was here in Unova four years ago.

Today I arrived at a cabin up north near Dragonspiral Tower with my mother, my uncle Larry, and my two best friends Bianca and Cheren. We planned to spend the long Christmas weekend in a rented cabin this year. I'm so excited.

The only downside to this holiday vacation was the fact that we all left our Pokemon behind. I didn't want to do it, but I knew it was for the best. The Pokemon were being well taken care of by several of Cheren's assistants back at his lab. And we all agreed to do this because this was going to be our weekend, a weekend to relax and enjoy ourselves.

But I don't know how I truly felt about it. It was all my mother's idea. I had a feeling I was going to be lonely without them, especially Chikorita. Oh well. It was just for three days.

The vacation cabins in the area were very nice. Most of them were new and some were newly renovated. All except one, I noticed, and it was a little too close to our cabin.

"Hey Touko, could you give me a hand?" It was my uncle Larry, who spoke, my mom's brother. We had just arrived at our cabin and I needed to help unload the cars. But the drab, run down cabin nearby was distracting me.

"Sorry," I muttered as I arrived at uncle Larry's side, taking my bag and a few other smaller ones from the van.

"There is plenty of time to admire the landscape this weekend," Larry confirmed. "I know it's only three days, but the sooner we get this stuff unloaded and unpacked, the sooner I can have a beer!" Larry continued excitedly. I shook my head and rolled my eyes. Larry had to have his beer, no matter what. He wasn't an alcoholic, but he loved them on the weekends, and especially holiday vacations.

"Eww," Larry muttered as we reached the porch of our five-bedroom log cabin. I turned to him. He was looking behind us at the eye sore of a cabin, lifting up his ball cap and adjusting his glasses.

"Gross cabin, huh?" I asked. It certainly was lived in, or had been lived in, at least. There was junk stored in moldy old boxes all around the side of the structure. There were also five full trashcans in the back. For such a small cabin, who needs five trashcans? The once brown logs on the cabin's side were turning black with what was probably mold or mildew, giving it a more dingy look. It definitely lacked a lot of upkeep.

"Yeah, Touko, what an eye sore! Looks like I'll be chill'in and grill'in on the back balcony," Larry replied, adjusting his ball cap again. "Brr, I should have brought my toboggan instead."

I laughed at my favorite uncle before heading inside. Mom had already unlocked the door for the first time and headed in.

The cabin was breath taking! We definitely landed one of the newer models. The glossy wooden floors, ceiling, and walls glistened and reflected the lights of the Christmas tree brilliantly. The furniture was also made of a light tan wood with dark green cushions.

"Isn't it stunning? I haven't been in such a nice cabin in all my life!" Mom said happily as she unloaded some of the snacks she brought in the very spacious kitchen that combined perfectly with the living and dinning room.

Uncle Larry dropped the bags right by the door and headed over to the sliding doors that lead to the balcony. "And check out the grill!" He said before heading outside. "Perfect for chill'in and grill'in. And when I say chill'in, I mean the freezing aspect of it all." Mom and I both laughed at him. Normally what he meant by "chill'in" was the relaxation aspect of it.

"What if a serial killer lives in there?" I could hear Bianca's voice outside by the van. And then shortly after her question, Cheren shushed her.

"Everyone can hear you! And quite possibly the man or woman living in there!" Cheren's voice was no lower than hers to begin with.

I turned quickly and headed back out the front door. "SHHH," I shushed loudly, giggling to myself at how we were all taking what was supposed to be a quiet observation and making it very loud. Cheren laughed. Bianca scowled.

I skipped down the porch stairs to help my friends unload their bags. I was grateful they were spending Christmas with me. They chose to because I had been gone for so long and they missed me. So they decided to celebrate Christmas with their families the day after the holiday.

"If not a serial killer, then a very poor soul that is indeed a hoarder," Bianca said under her breath.

"Shh!" Cheren shushed again. He was now doing this to agitate his new girl friend of two months. Bianca rolled her eyes and shushed him back.

I was glad they finally got together. It took years for it to happen. Bianca always had a crush on him, but Cheren always wanted to get his career in order before committing to any kind of relationship with anyone. And now he is a gym leader and researcher, and Bianca is his assistant. She used to be Juniper's, but she quit as soon as the position came open for Cheren.

All five of use eventually made it inside the cabin and made ourselves at home in our rooms. It was late evening on the 23rd of December before everyone was settled and ready for dinner. Mom brought some basic spaghetti and sauce for dinner to tide us over until she could make it to the store the next day. Her and Bianca soon started cooking, although I couldn't see why it took two people to make a simple spaghetti and sauce. I wanted to help but they insisted I take it easy.

"I want a lot of butter in mine then. Can I put it in?" I asked, smiling.

"No!" Bianca exclaimed. "You relax! You're the Hero!"

I rolled my eyes and turned back to the magazine I was skimming over while I sat on the couch. Being the Hero of Unova had its perks. Everyone wanted to do everything for me and pay for my meals and drinks everywhere I went. But I vowed not to let it go to my head. I wanted to help out around the house and pay for my own stuff, but people just wouldn't have it.

My picture skimming was interrupted by a faint tapping noise. I looked and saw a bundled up uncle Larry outside on the balcony, tapping on the door and waving at me to come outside and join him. Once I stood up he also pointed to his beer bottle and pointed to the fridge in the kitchen.

I slid back into my black coat, grabbed a beer from the fridge, and headed outside to join Larry.

"That beer is for you." Larry whispered as I tried to hand him the bottle.

I sighed and sat the beer down on the small wooden table. "You know I don't drink anymore, Larry," I reminded him in a normal tone of voice.

"Shh!" was his first response. I became taken aback. Why were we supposed to be whispering? "One every now and then doesn't hurt," Larry continued on in a whisper, "You're on vacation. Anyway, come look."

I followed my uncle to the far end of the balcony, and he tilted his head in the direction of the run down cabin. I looked in its direction. It was still the same old piece of garbage it was twenty minutes ago.

"What about it?" I whispered my question.

"I just saw N walk out of it!" Larry whispered excitedly.

This couldn't be. N was long gone. After his father, Ghetsis, tried to take over the Unova region twice, he had had enough and left on his own accord. He had no reason to be back in the region. He was done with his father, and I knew his father was done as well. Done with his motives to rule the world, that is.

And if it was N, why would he be in the region? To visit his father, possibly? The authorities never captured Ghetsis, and many believed he still roamed the region freely with the help of his faithful Shadow Triad ninjas. But N should know better than to interact with him. It could get him in some deep trouble.

"You can't be serious," I responded to uncle Larry in a hushed and anxious tone. "N is gone."

"I saw the ponytail and the green hair," Larry continued, talking with his hands excitedly and shaking up his beer unknowingly. "And he wore the same khaki pants he used to always wear. He also had a Pokemon with him. An Emolga. He was whispering to it and it sounded like they were carrying on a conversation! You said N could talk to Pokemon, right?" Larry's words became even more rushed and excited. He knew what he saw to be true, but I didn't want to believe it.

"Okay. Why would he be living in that old nasty cabin?" I asked, trying to get to the bottom of his reasoning.

"People change, Touko. Maybe he's a slob now. Maybe he owns that small cabin somehow and now he's broke. Maybe. . ."

Suddenly the sliding doors opened in a rush, and Cheren came bounding out onto the balcony without a jacket. "Hey guys! You're never going to believe this! Shit, it's cold out here!" Cheren whispered excitedly. He shuffled over to us, his arms wrapped around him as he started shivering. "I was up in my room getting settled, and I just happened to look out the window and saw N!"

"Okay!" I say, rather loudly this time. "This has got to be someone else."

"SHH!" They both shush me in unison.

"You guys are being ridiculous right now," I say in the same tone, only to be shushed again.

"Touko, I'm not crazy!" Larry starts again in a very confident whisper. "Even Cheren has seen him."

Cheren nods his head at me vigorously, his teeth chattering slightly. "Touko I know N! I've dealt with him just as much as you have, and definitely more than uncle Larry and even he is saying it was N."

I threw my hands up in defeat. "Okay. Say it was N. What should we do?"

Cheren came at me with an instant, "Spy on him!" and Larry quickly agreed.

I sighed. "Okay, but why? He's technically innocent according to Unovian Law. . ."

"He could have ties to Ghetsis," Larry whispered urgently. "And Ghetsis is still on the run. What if Ghetsis is in that cabin too?"

I opened my mouth but no words came out. That was a chilling thought having Ghetsis several hundred yards away. And that same thought brought back bad memories. I continued to stand there, open mouthed. If I did have something to say, it didn't matter as Cheren quickly chimed in.

"After dinner I'm going back up to my room, shutting all the lights off, and peeking out the window until I get too tired to do so, and then I will let you know when it is your turn," Cheren said looking at Larry.

"Wait, what about me?" I ask, giving in to the spying idea. "I can sit in the living room by the window and pretend that I'm reading something, but in reality, I'll be looking through the blinds at the house."

"No, no." Larry said. "I'll do that. They have plenty of newspapers here that I can engulf myself with. Touko you take it easy after dinner."

I felt defeated. I wanted to help and they weren't going to let me. But then I still doubted it was N in the first place. But what if it was, and why were we spying on him? Because Larry made a good point: it was possible that N could be conversing with his father, the real criminal.

A/N:This is going to be a four chapter long story. I'm going to try to finish it by Christmas, but no promises. And if you all want me to continue it, I will need some serious love. Like it, love it, or hate it, leave a review!

I just decided to write this story for the sake of getting my writing back up to par. I hope you enjoy it.