The little green haired boy sat in the middle of his room, surrounded by an assortment of plastic railroad lines. A bright red train snorted out little puffs of steam as it went around him. The child watched uninterested. The same train has remained in the same spot for years, releasing the same noises, the same puffs of steam, and stuck to the same route. The maids would always bring him new toys to replace the old ones, but for some odd reason, the train remained.

The boy looked at the Darmanitan that was resting beside him. He suppressed a smile and hugged the large fire creature with his short arms that barely even made it around him. The Darmanitan shifted and looked at the boy.

"Darmanitan?" The kid started slowly, giving him a good scratch on the head.

Darmanitan titled his head. Go on.

"What was your old trainer like? Dad said he was mean, that he hurt you. Are they all like that? All trainers, I mean. Dad said that they are." He breathed out quickly. He couldn't fathom the idea that all humans are mean to Pokémon. He was nice to Pokémon, right? What if Dad was wrong?

The red Pokémon shrugged his shoulders and crouched down. His eyes flickered up to the boy. My old trainer was bad. Very bad… If I lost a battle he would hit me and kick me, return me to my pokeball and sometimes leave me in there for days, if not weeks. He'd call me weak, that I wasn't worthy of being alive… He shuddered and lowered his eyes. The boy's heart broke and he threw his arms around the Darmanitan.

"Oh, Darmanitan! That's not true! You are so worthy of being alive, you are the best!" He cried, nuzzling his face into the Pokémon's fur. Tears leaked out of his eyes. How hard is must have been for him. How could he even trust human's after what that horrible person had done to him? Why was being a Pokémon Trainer considered a great thing?

But, N, you mustn't think that all trainers are like that. I had a trainer before him. He was so kind to me; he was the best person ever… well, besides you.

N hugged him even tighter than before. "Thanks, but I'm far from the best. Dad is the best with Pokémon. He goes out and saves them from awful people, just like he did you." N wiped away a tear. Dad was such a nice man. Sure, he smacked him around at times, but he always said it was for the best. He didn't like doing it. It was crucial for the welfare of all Pokémon. N didn't understand it at all, but Dad doesn't lie. Dad is a good person.

The Darmanitan shifted uncomfortably and eyes N. He wrapped his large hands around N's shoulders. N, I know this is hard for you, but you can't trust Dad. He-

The doors swung open. N jumped up and watched as Dad entered the room, cloaked in that huge robe he always wears. You'd think he got hot in that thing. N suddenly remembered to fall to his knees as Dad entered the room. The child knew that he was a Prince, but Dad was a King. The tall man had a smile on his face as he walked up to N and placed his cold hand on his head and tousled his green hair.

"You can get up now." He laughed, grabbing N's hand and pulling him to his feet. "How is it going, N? Need any new toys? Hungry? The maids were supposed to bring you a hamburger, I know you like those. "He babbled, raising his eyebrows in an animated fashion.

The boy looked away. "No, I'm not hungry. I was just talking to Darmanitan." Then the boy suddenly jerked his head up. "Dad, Darmanitan said that not all trainers are mean to Pokémon! Isn't that great? He said that he had an owner that was so nice to him. Maybe we can find that nice man and give Darmanitan back to him? I'm sure he'd like that." N gushed excitedly, bunching his hands into fists and shaking them. Darmanitan cowered down towards the floor at N's words, shifting his eyes away from Dad, who was now staring at the Pokémon.

"He said that, did he?" The man walked over and glared at the Pokémon. He snapped his fingers, and in a second, three white haired men dressed in black appeared around Darmanitan. The Pokémon shook and let out a cry.

"Wait, what are you doing?" N gasped, running over. "Leave him alone, he's scared!" He screamed. He lunged towards Darmanitan, but before you could reach him, his father slapped his hard across the face. The child fell back with a vicious smack.

A much older N jolted awake from his bed. Gasping for air, he lifted his hand to rub his sweaty cheek. He pinched the bridge of his nose and shut his eyes tightly, trying to forget about that vicious dream. Memory… a voice whispered to him from the depths of his mind. His heart raced and he fought back the tears that were now threatening to spill.

Beside him, a girl moved from under the blankets. She turned over slowly with a tired sigh.

"N?" She asked drowsily, "You're awake?" She rubbed her eyes and noticed his distressed face. "N!" She said louder, fully awake now. "What's wrong, N? Are you okay?" She sat up and scooted closer to him, placing her hands on his face and cradling it. "It's not another flashback, is it?"

N took a breath and ran a hand through his hair. "It's okay, Touko. It was just a dream." He murmured as he grabbed her hands and pulled them gently from his face. He held her hands and placed them on his lap, stroking them with his thumb.

"But you were crying." She whispered worriedly. "It was a flashback, wasn't it?" She cried. "I'm so sorry, N." Her voice broke and her heart felt like it was being ripped apart. She felt so horrible for N and his childhood; he doesn't deserve any of it. He was the sweetest and kindest person she knew.

"Touko, I'm fine, please…" He brushed his hand across her jaw line. "Don't cry, come one. Don't feel bad. It's not your fault." He pleaded as he felt a tear slide across his finger. He leaned towards her and kissed her nose.

"Oh god, here I am crying and you're comforting me. Dammit! I should be comforting you!" She gasped hysterically. This made her cry even harder. Her hands flew towards her face to hide her shame.

N shook his head gently and removed her hands. "Don't ever cover your face, you're too beautiful." Of course, this made blush madly and look away. "Don't change the subject." She mumbled.

There was a moment of silence between the two before N hesitantly started, "Yeah, it was a memory again. But it's over now, okay?" He squeezed her hands. Touko still looked away stubbornly. "Touko, look at me." He sighed. She still held her gaze towards the mattress, unwavering.

Having enough of that, N sat up and threw himself at her. She fell back and the mattress rocked beneath them. N lay on top of her, pinning her down beneath his weight. Touko's gasp was barely audible as N chuckled. "Now I know how to get you to look at me. I should do this more often."

Touko's eyes bore into his as she muttered, "Maybe you should."

"Oh?"

"It's nice." She breathed as she curled her toes and wrapped her feet around his. He sighed.

"This," his lips caught hers. He forced her mouth open and deepened their kiss, lightly flicking her tongue with his. When he broke off the kiss, they were both gasping. "Is nice?"

"Okay, very nice." She conceded, nuzzling her nose with his. "I'm glad you're feeling better."

N rolled off of her and back into his own side on the bed. "Yeah, me too. If having bad dreams lets me ravish you, then I should have them more often." He suggested, trailing his hand over her stomach.

"I'd rather you not have bad dreams, N. And you call that ravishing? Ha." Touko retorted, turning over and throwing the blanket over her shoulder. "You make me laugh, N, really."

N turned his head to look at her, mouth agape. That was a direct insult to his manhood. This couldn't go unpunished. He pushed himself up and jumped on top of her. After some struggling, he finally had her pinned like the earlier position. His face hovered above hers. "You'll be moaning in a minute."

Touko narrowed her eyes. "Try me."

And he did.