Eyes
What will your eyes see tonight?
It was a common phrase. Touko found herself dreaming it quite a lot lately. The words were too vague for her liking. She didn't usually remember her dreams either. That too was displeasing. There was simply too much that she found herself disliking lately. Her Pokémon noticed the change in her too. She could only apologise.
I don't like this place, Touko mused to herself. She stared around the amusement park. She hated amusement parks. Even as a child she harboured a profound hatred of them. She never fully understood why. If the mere thought of them wasn't enough to irritate her she would have tried to understand.
She was tired. The trip was long. There were few battles that satisfied her. Even her Pokémon exuded discontentment. There were those who were superior. They were in distant lands. She wasn't fortunate enough to travel that far.
"A ticket miss?" a man asked hopefully.
His clothes were creased. There were small stains on his striped suit. He was wrinkled and unnaturally pale. He was also gaunt – a poor man.
"Of course," Touko replied.
She wasn't interested in conversation. This type of person offered her little by way of amusement anyway. She took a ticket from his shaking hands. A large sum of money was deposited in his palms. He tried to call after her but she was gone.
The crowd pulsed around her. They pushed and jostled with one another. Her eyes scanned the amusement park. She was nearing the Ferris wheel. The ticket that she bought was for it. She disliked Ferris wheels most. She had paid an awful lot for the ticket though. It was to benefit the seller but she didn't like the thought of a ticket going to waste.
"Ah, you have a ticket! Come this way, ma'am. We'll give you the ride of your life!" a member of staff exclaimed excitedly.
She followed him and was quickly led to it. The door was slammed shut behind her. It was louder than she expected it to be. She huffed and plopped down on the seat. She was bored already. Unova had quickly become a less than interesting place. That was the only downside to her travels. She wanted more.
The Ferris wheel rocked forward violently. She gritted her teeth in irritation. Nothing was ever smooth in an amusement park. She looked to the window on her right. There was nothing yet. The black walls of the building were boring.
The Ferris wheel lurched again. This time, it did not move forward. The lights twinkling on the carriages vanished. Touko leapt to her feet. It was no use. She sat back down again. There was no voice over the tannoy profusely apologising. The power was most definitely out.
She swung her legs up onto the seat and lay down. There was nothing but utter darkness. If not for her anger she might have been able to fall asleep. Sleep quickly became tempting though. Her anger began to fade away after that. She was close to falling unconscious when the carriage lurched.
She threw herself into a sitting position. They would cycle it in reverse, she was sure. She was the only person on the ride. They couldn't possible make it grind all the way through an entire cycle. To her disappointment, she soon realised that was exactly what they were doing.
She huffed loudly. She wanted off. She didn't care to stare out over the city. No one would hear her though. She covered her face with her hands. Her head slowly shook in disbelief. The nightmare would screech and lurch its way through the cycle. She hoped that the ticket was only for one rotation.
"Do you detest me that much?"
Touko's head snapped up. She saw nothing but the surrounding darkness. There wasn't a hint of light anywhere. She swung her legs off of the seat and froze. A small light was flickering far below. She stared, people were running with candles. Nimbasa was without light.
"What is this…" she mumbled.
"A plan that went exactly as it was meant to,"
She spun around. Her eyes were still struggling to adjust to the absolute obsidian of the carriage. She knew she was facing the right direction – unless the person had moved.
Slowly, Touko rose to her feet. "Who are you?"
There was silence. Her heart accelerated. She wanted to summon her Pokémon. If she were any more foolish she would have. This person had clearly gone to huge lengths to meet her. Whatever she did there was probably a counter-active measure devised.
"You don't remember…"
It was a male's voice. She took a shy step forward. She wanted her back against something. He sounded sad. He also sounded familiar.
"Do I know you?" Touko enquired.
Her nerves were close to shattering. She wanted an answer and didn't want an answer all that the same time.
"This is the anniversary…" he murmured.
Her shy steps forward had been silent. That was, if they could be called steps. She hadn't raised her feet from the ground. That gave her the silence that protected her.
"This night has been one year exact-"
Touko's hands were on his face. She was tracing his features. Her eyes were still struggling to distinguish anything. She felt a lot though.
He was young. There were no wrinkles on his skin. He was breathing heavily. His breath fanned her face. That disgusted her slightly. Most of all, Touko could feel him shaking.
"Nngh," he muttered too quietly for her to distinguish.
"I'm not hurting you," she murmured; unsure of why she was being quiet.
"No," he protested. "N. I'm N."
Her hands dropped to her sides at once. She stepped back. Her retreat was loud. She didn't want to be near him. A year was long enough for someone to change. She never fully gauged his capabilities during their previous meetings. N scared her.
He took her wrists into his grip and wouldn't let go. "This is common practice, right?"
She bit her tongue. Her retort was too sharp. He could still turn on her.
"Women like this, don't they?" he sounded as though he was in kindergarten and was desperate for approval. "They like to make anniversaries. This is ours; happy anniversary, Touko."
Her rage dissipated. He was harmless. He was genuine. She wouldn't be too bad a person to indulge him slightly.
Author's Note: I did this! If you don't know already I've been trying to cut down on the word beginning with 'i' and ending with 't'. Hee. I've so glad that I've finally done this. I'm very pleased with how this has become. Thank you for sparing some of your time to read my work; I'm truly grateful. I hope that you were satisfied and enjoyed my piece. I apologise if you were less than satisfied and I promise you that I will improve.
Part of the Revival Collection.