"Come with me."
And from there, I was dragged in a mess of utmost proportions. It's horrifying, agonizingly painful when you're dragged away to an unknown location. When a female is under the disposal of a male, rampant, borderline horrible thoughts immediately shift to the front of your mind, even when you don't mean for them to appear. Especially concerning this particular male, who for some reason paid no mind to natural human ethic.
Pale, ghost-like fingers wrapped around my wrist and shamelessly forced me to break into a brisk jog, feeling it twist and wring to his command. He didn't notice, he never noticed the people around him, when his hazardously tied spring green hair started waving in the wind and a few strands made its way into my mouth. I spat in disgust, because it was probably dirty. However his destination was too strong to distract him, as we pushed and weaved through people. No Plasma members, unfortunately, and no Cheren or Bel. I pulled, and tugged, and used my other hand to relieve myself of his flesh-chain grip, and wanted to bang my head in frustration for my lack of physical strength.
My Oshawott wordlessly tailed behind, thankfully, after I decided against not shell-shocking this guy's limb off. Trying to keep up with his pace was worse than attempting to retaliate in such a large crowd of people, considering the amusement park is supposed to be a place of fun.
"Hey, let me go!" I wasn't a dog, nor a rag doll he could drag about however he pleased.
He stopped so abruptly that I didn't even have time to think when oh-so gracefully knocked my forehead on his bony arm.
"They're not here." No kidding, considering he zoomed through the park without any intention to look. "We can surely spot them from the ferris wheel."
"Alright," I decided to be complacent for now, as I checked that my wrist was still in tandem with the rest of my body. I hugged the flushed skin close to my chest. "You go up, and you can give me a call when you find them."
As if the phrase didn't register in his simple-minded brain, he blinked. "We aren't strangers, you remember who I am, right?"
Of course, who can forget a name like N.
"It'll be faster if we split up." I pressed, wanting to get away from him as soon as possible.
"Ride the ferris wheel with me." It wasn't a question, and it made my spine shake in both fury and fear.
Sweat started building up under my brow with every passing moment, the heat of the crowd didn't soothe the discomfort either. Instead of politely waiting for my answer he decided to go with the next worse thing.
He claimed my wrist, and we were back to square one.
Oshawott narrowly made it through the door, his light weight allowed him to bounce through just before the worker locked the steel door. At least I could depend on him for emotional support.
However, something told me N needed more emotional support than I.
"I love ferris wheels." He spoke so quickly, as if the thoughts couldn't correlate with the words he couldn't readily form, and they tumbled out like spurts of lightning. "The circular motion, the mechanics! Like cohesive, elegant, beautiful formulas." His head snapped to mine for confirmation. "This is result, you think it's lovely too, right?"
Instead of waiting for my answer (or maybe he was asking Oshawott) he claimed the side opposite of mine, plopping down and causing the carriage to rattle. His hands automatically went patting for his keychain.
"So, you forced me in a tight space with you so you can gush about physics?" I blurted incredulously, thoughts of Team Plasma melting under my skin to a simmer. This was a stunt I'd expect from a cute ten year old boy, not a young man who could've been attractive if it wasn't for his insistent ways of self-gratification.
Suddenly I felt his foreign aura rippling through me, extending beyond my reach and out into the fresh air. Oshawott found refuge on my shoulder, and we both curled up against the corner of the carriage, my body digging into the cold uncomfortable metal. Trying to get as far away as possible wasn't working out too well.
N was far too gone to notice, at least not at first. Oshawott and I watched in rapt silence as N was hunched over, arms perched on his khaki thighs, as his fingers threaded and melded expertly against his pearl gold keychain. Upon second inspection, I realized it was one of those dreaded puzzle cubes. They were the bane of my childhood, and one of the very few things Cheren could beat me at.
Despite that, it felt like N was in his element, and that was something I wouldn't strip him of, no matter how unknowingly awkward and unbearable he made the carriage feel. I gulped my already sand-dry mouth as he started to get more intense, his lithe fingers moving faster, probably solving it for the thousandth time. Somehow, he'd still find satisfaction after solving it once, twice, twenty times more.
N made math more terrifying than normal.
My body painfully started to rest against the metal railing. I sat up straight, feeling tense as I had to move my face closer than it was five centimeters ago.
As much as I wanted to look away, I was spellbound by N's curse, being sucked in faster and faster.
Oshawott mumbled something, loud enough for N to hear. His fingers stopped working, and he looked straight into my eyes. His intense, green stare startled me, as I clung myself to the back of the bleach white chair. We were at the very top of the wheel, and from here there was no turning back.
"I am the king of Team Plasma."
There it was. "And?" I bit out thinly. Oshawott's paws gripped protectively over my vest.
From the iciness of my tone, I watched N's expression falter, as if he had a glimmer of hope that I'd still accept whatever relationship (or lack thereof) we've established since Accumula Town. It was like watching a baby Pokémon crumble at the sight of no milk. "And I will work with Ghetsis to save Pokémon all over Unova, and then the world." his voice built up little by little, confidence ready to burst, but not quite.
"So, you think separating Pokémon from humans is what's right?"
"It's what's best, yes." he affirmed, as if he didn't know what I was egging on to.
"Forcing separation, is completely unharmonious to any standard, whether it be Pokémon or otherwise."
N flinched at my words, looking out the window. I was standing up now, Oshawott now perched on the chair with the same, venomous expression.
"Touko," N mumbled, and for a split second I thought I was talking to a kicked Lillipup than a late teenager. "Your Oshawott," My eyes averting to said Pokémon, my friend hummed in response, his tone proud, "is quite persistent of your values."
"And next time," Whatever came over me, probably the height difference now that he was sitting and I was standing, I leaned forward, my face centimeters apart from N's. The fierce blush that ignited over his face was indescribably satisfying. "Don't ever force me, or any girl for that matter, to do the things that they don't want to do. It's rude and demeaning."
I felt like I was chastising a young child, and maybe I was. Oshawott nagged behind me in agreement, waving his arms around. With a half smile, I sighed, picking him up. He smiled and cheered at the contact. "This wasn't how I imagined my evening to go." we were a quarter of the way down. "By far, the most awkward ride of my life."
"If I had asked you to go with me," N looked up, a twinge of regret lining his expression. "would you have come?"
"No." simple, blunt.
He nodded, his curiosity thoroughly beaten down by a metal rod. "Very well, then the next time we come here, I'll ask, and you may choose whether to go or not go with me."
"Good." I narrowed my eyes. "Wait, there's going to be a next time?"
N smiled, a gentle smile unfit for the King of Team Plasma. "There always is."
Once we got off, two Plasma grunts immediately dashed to N's sides.
"My Lord!" and the rest of their words faded under the night sky.
"Go," N's arm was held across my body, as if he could block them from the simple gesture. His stare was genuine. "You're under my protection, go quickly."
I didn't need to be told twice, his words lingering for hours on end, but all I knew was that I needed to get away as far as possible. Until I was strong enough, because he wasn't going to go away, at least not readily.
Later that night, I punched Cheren in the gut.
"What the hell was that for!" he hissed, clutching his midsection with weakness since he had just eaten dinner. He was angry because I only returned to the Pokémon Center now, and I missed my two best friends while they were having fun without me.
"Boys." I huffed, blowing the bangs from my face. That felt better.
This needed to be done! Touko and N barely knew each other at the time game-verse wise. And from a big lover of ferriswheelshipping, I went out of my four year hiatus to tell my interpretation. Thanks for reading!