AN: FINALLY. STUPID FANFICTION ERROR FINALLY LEFT ME ALONE

Anyway

Second one-shot. I know now the two guesses of what that cube N has on that chain on his belt is, either a Menger sponge or Void Cube, and I decided a Void Cube would be better. Its basically like a Rubik's Cube only with no middle square- its like a toy. So it makes sense N would have it since being little, and I'd imagine he had to be smart and its a complex puzzle... so it seemed most fitting to me, and here is just a little story based on that.

Sorry N, I love you too much not to abuse you.

"H-hey, Touko, give that back!"

"No, I wanna see what it is! It's so weird…"

"Touko!" N continued demanding the curious girl, obviously not intimidating enough to make her listen.

She was playing with the small cube he always had hanging from a chain on his belt. Curious as to how it worked, she had stealthily swiped it and refused to return it.

"N-kun, what is it?"
"It's called a void cube—but that doesn't matter! Give it back right now!"

"Void cube… what's it do?"

"I-it's a puzzle, you have to move all of the rows so the colors match—"

"But they all already do…"

"That's because I solved it, now will you give it back?"

"I wanna try…" She grabbed one of the turn able rows in her fingers, and began to rotate it out of place.

"Touko, wa—!"

Abruptly, a harsh light erupted from the hollow center of the cube, and she gasped as it enveloped her. By natural reaction, she shut her eyes tightly. After the light died down, she slowly opened her eyes and found herself in a very colorful looking room. After a few seconds of further speculation, she realized she knew this room. It was… N's old toy room!

"H-how did I end up here…?"

She jumped as a startling noise came from behind her—she whipped around in time to see a small boy run through the door, slamming it behind him. He had a terrified look on his face as he ran behind the large skateboard ramp, obviously trying to hide.

She didn't have to think twice to know that was a small N, with the same messy minty green hair and the same cube she had in her hands attached by a string around his neck.

"Wha…? This is the past... but how—oh…"

She looked down at the cube in her hands, and noticed the cube… as well as her entire body, was transparent.

"I must be seeing a vision… is it because of this… the 'void cube'...? Is that what the 'void' is…?" She realized by turning it she must have triggered something inside the cube... the void between time and space… it had obviously taken her to a space in time that years earlier.

"N's memories!"

In the few seconds it took for the revelation of exactly what was going on, the door had been forcefully shoved open by a large man that had the same green hair as little N… Touko knew exactly who he was as well.

The little N gasped and attempted to squeeze into the corner behind the ramp as close as possible, but everyone in that room knew it was not going to help anything. N's 'father' roughly grabbed N's little arm, pulling him out of the corner and making him stumble clumsily to the floor.

"I told you to never leave the castle! You stupid boy, a prince has no means socializing with commoners! Never leave this room again, you hear me, you hopeless brat?"

Touko watched in silent horror as the large man continued yelling at his small son, his brawny hands coming down hard on the poor little boy, mercilessly causing bruises and marks on a teary-eyed baby N.

"I'm sorry! Please stop—I won't do it again! I promise! Please!"

SMACK

"Please?"

SMACK

"I-I'm sorry—"

SMACK

"Sorry…"

Beaten badly, the innocent boy laid on the cloud-covered floor, curled up in a ball making him look helpless and pathetic. Silent sobs wracked his small form as he was looked down upon by the joke of a man who dares think of himself as a "father".

Touko was crying badly by now, with her face in her hands, on her knees. She couldn't bear this… she wished it would stop!

"If you dare leave this room again, you can bet it'll be worse for you. Horrible child, thinking he can disobey his father…"

With not another word, he was out of the door, leaving little N to stain his brightly colored carpet with salt tears. He did not move from his position, as fear of being hurt again forced him to remain in the safely of stillness.

The still horrified Touko slowly stood up, and walked over to her friend's form of the past, small and weak. She placed a hand on his cheek, hoping somehow she could comfort him. She bent down and kissed his head lightly, noticing from the closeness that she was clutching the same cube that she was.

She looked at it in her hands, and noticed one of the rows was still off—from when she had turned it. She slowly closed her eyes and turned it back into place, and once again was enveloped by the bright light…

"Tou-chan! Hey, wake up—

Touko, you there? Hey!"

She immediately recognized the familiar voice of N, and snapped her eyes open. She was back! She was on her knees on the floor, leaning against N as he shook her lightly, trying to wake her up.

"Oh, N…"

Touko immediately turned around and hugged him tightly, the tears returning to her bright blue eyes.

"My poor, poor N! Ghetsis was so horrible to you! You poor, poor baby… Oh I wish I could have done something…! It's not fair…!"

By now the boy was blushing like mad at the sudden contact, but regained his composure enough to speak.

"So, it worked huh… I don't know what you saw, there were so many times but…"

The trainer pulled away a bit to look into N's face, seeing the same hurt, abused eyes she saw in the toy room a few moments before. She lightly placed her hand on his cheek, wiping away a lonely tear, before planting a kiss on the very spot. Once again his face heated up, and he was unable to steady himself as she threw her arms around him again, causing them both to crash to the floor.

"T-Tou-chan…"

"It'll be okay now though! It'll be okay now because I'm here! No one will ever hurt you again… I won't let them… "

"…Touko…?"

"Yeah…?"

"Please don't let go…"

"Never!"