Searching
By MedliSage
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
"White! You said you had a dream... Fulfill that dream! Make your wonderful dream a reality. I believe you can do it if anyone! ...Well then... Goodbye...!"
N turned around, about to mount his Reshiram. In that instant, she stepped forward and grabbed his wrist. "Wait!"
His head turned swiftly to face her, his ponytail swishing behind him. His breath caught in his throat as she gripped him tightly, her eyes on the ground; he was unable to see her face. In all these encounters they had with each other during the course of their journeys, they had not once made physical contact – save for this moment. He had no idea what was going on; his voice faltered. "What... is it?"
She paused a moment before she spoke. The top of the castle was dead silent; only the cool breeze echoed in the distance. "...N, I know you have to keep traveling... and figure out what you need to believe in..."
He continued to stare at her, though she, too, continued to gaze at the ground. "Yes..."
Silence.
Her head swung up, and her misty blue eyes locked into his own. "N, would you please take another trip on the Ferris wheel with me?"
N blinked as White's eyes continued to drill into his. They were misty and filled with emotion; if she were a Pokémon it would be easy to tell how she felt right now, but humans? Humans weren't like Pokémon. He had no idea what she was feeling right now.
But as she stood there, with such strong emotion flooding her eyes, her soft brown hair flowing almost endlessly into the wind – her eyes seemed to consume his words and thoughts "...Okay."
At last she let go of his wrist, and he pulled himself onto Reshiram. She stepped forward, and he held out his hand to her.
A faint, pink hue rose on her cheeks as she took it and was pulled up onto the back of the legendary Pokémon. Carefully and gently, slipped her arms around his waist.
He jumped a bit in surprise. More than that, though, was the fact he was hardly ever touched by other humans; last he could recall was when someone shook his hand at the crowning ceremony...
Instantly, she pulled her hands off. "Oh, sorry," she said hurriedly.
"No, it's okay," N quickly replied. "You can't fall off."
Gingerly, she returned her arms to their location, her face flushed.
Reshiram cried once as it took off, soaring through the sky. It cut through night air and the clouds, leaving a crisp, cold wind whipping in the two trainers' faces. The stars and the moon glowed so brightly from their height. The magnificent shimmering reflected off of Reshiram's cool white coat.
N took a deep breath as Reshiram picked up speed, and in turn, White moved closer to him, her grip on his waist tightening. He knew it was only to ensure she stayed on, but it was still making him uncomfortable. Despite this and the coolness of the temperature around them, he noted, his face felt warm and he could feel his heart beating slightly faster than usual. He pondered all of this as they flew.
It was not a terribly long trip Raimon City, as they landed on the outskirts to as not to be seen. The two of them slid off the legendary Pokémon's back, and N thanked it before returning it to its Poké Ball. As the cool midnight air settled around him, he quickly began to miss the warmth of her around him.
In silence, they walked to the entrance of the Ferris wheel. Its lights blinked brightly in the darkness, as it began to let passengers on again. Quickly, the two of them stepped into one of the carts.
Even though it began to move, neither of them sat. Instead they stood with no words flowing between them, smiling at each other once.
Although N did not know much about people, he knew her smile was different this time. It did not feel sincere and honest like her other ones, like it had always been; her eyes were still filled with that unreadable emotion. Her gaze cast to the city, lit up in the darkness of night, as her forehead barely touched the glass; he watched the reflection of her vision through her eyes mirrored in the window.
Only one question was on his mind, but as her questionably real smile faded in her reflection, he began to wonder if this was the best time to ask. But he had to know.
"White, why did you ask me to come here with you?"
She gave no reply, standing there stoically, her gaze fixated on the city that grew smaller beneath them. The Ferris wheel continued to rise and their cart reached eight o'clock and then nine o'clock, and White remained silent.
He moved forward a bit, his voice softer. "White?"
She lowered her head so that the visor of her cap covered her eyes, and then turned so that her back faced him. She drew a shaky breath as her body began to slightly tremble, and she raised her forearms to her face.
He gulped once, watching her. Was she okay? Once more, his foot moved forward and put only inches between them. Taking a deep breath, N slowly extended his hand so that his fingertips ever so lightly touched her shoulder. "...White?"
And then she sobbed, her body whipping around and clutching fistfuls of his shirt, her head buried in his chest. She sobbed again as tear streaks began to run down his chest, while the Ferris wheel reached ten o'clock. "I don't want you to leave," her muffled, shaky voice said.
His lungs stopped functioning as his brain shorted, and suddenly he had no idea what was going on – there was no longer him and White, the strong girl who made him realize the truth, standing on the Ferris wheel together, there was only him and this frail, beautiful girl sobbing into his chest.
He could not move a sole muscle in his body due to the explosion of nervousness and shock and anxiety that had just erupted inside of him. She continued to cry.
"I... I'm sorry... I just..."
There was a long pause. During this pause the wheel reached eleven o'clock and N was still frozen.
"...I started... looking forward to encountering you... to hearing more... about your ideals..." She sobbed again, a lighter sob than before. "Before I knew it... I started to care about you, and then when I learned so much about you today, I just..."
White took a small step back so that she could raise her head, gazing into his light emerald eyes.
"I don't want to say goodbye, N."
N felt his face flush. He wanted to look away, he wanted to simply vanish, to be somewhere where this girl's sapphire eyes were not boring into his very being and she could not cause this strange and unknown feeling to flutter around inside his stomach.
His lungs burned for air and he drew a deep, silent breath.
He watched as tears continued to stream down her perfectly still face.
He couldn't think or function, but he found himself stepping forward and taking her shoulders.
"I don't either, White."
She forcefully threw herself into him and her arms around his waist, and he gasped a little. Taking a deep breath, he gradually lowered his arms to hold her in an embrace.
He had to figure things out.
He needed to find something to believe in, he needed to find the truth.
Perhaps he could start here.
"White, would you like to continue your travels with me?"
She looked up at him again, and he was met with her most sincere and strongest smile he had ever seen. "I would love that." She pushed herself further into the hug, and he pulled her closer.
Yes, he would start by figuring out his feelings for this girl, and why his face was flushed again and his heart was pounding. He would continue his travels and find the truth. And best of all, he would be with White.
Fin
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
A/N: First B/W fic! After reading the ending's translation, I just had to do this. Written in like less than a half an hour. Hope you enjoyed. As of Oct. 26th, it has now been edited by Pat, so much thanks to him for that!
- Medli
