In his year traveling across Unova, Touya had only been to Undella Town once and it was in the middle of winter. He didn't remember much of the town, only that which he'd heard told him it was a resort for the rich. He wondered just how much money N had if he could rent a villa for the entire summer there.
He'd been traveling as leisurely as he could, mostly because he was trying to force himself to go at a slower pace. If he'd been left to his own devices without the aid of willpower, he'd have made it to Undella Town in record time. But he wanted to respect N's wishes so he was taking it slow. Very, very slow.
Touya was crossing Route 4, the road right there as one exited Castelia City. The sandstorms were as bad as ever but Touya could see that the workers were making some real progress on the development despite the sand piles. Touya still had to watch out for the deeper patches though; some were deep enough he sank in to nearly his knees. He noticed some trainers wandering around a good distance from him and he decided it was probably better to not engage them in battle. He walked a little further, bracing against the strong sandy winds when his Xtransreceiver started ringing.
Touya's heart started pounding as he heard the little ding ding of the receiver. He quickly answered it and his face promptly fell when he saw who it was.
"Oh…it's just you…" Touya sighed.
"What do you mean 'it's just me?!'" replied a disgruntled Cheren. "Were you expecting someone else?"
"Hmm…maybe…" Touya fidgeted a little as Cheren huffed.
"Well excuse me! Hey, where are you right now?"
"Huh? Umm…Route 4. I'm headed towards Nimbasa."
Cheren made a noise on the other end of the receiver. "That's perfect actually. I'm in Nimbasa myself. Why don't you come meet me at the ferris wheel?"
"Huh? But I was-,"
"It's settled then! I'll see you in a half hour!"
The Xtransreceiver clicked off abruptly and with it Cheren's smug face. Touya's eyebrow twitched and he sighed. That Cheren…always so quick to drag him into something without so much as a quip against it. He put his receiver back in his bag and continued walking. The sand was gone, replaced with asphalt road. Touya passed under the raised highway bridge just as a large semi rumbled overhead, rattling sand loose and raining it down on his head. He made a sprint for Nimbasa's city gate and dashed inside, glad to finally be out of that. He was going to be pouring sand out of his clothes and shoes for days after this, he was sure of it.
He gave the bulletin board a quick glance before exiting into the brightly lit city of Nimbasa. Touya'd been here on several occasions, mostly to either ride the Battle Subway or to enjoy the amusement park. The park was near half of Nimbasa itself and was located a short distance from the southern city gate. Touya shook some more sand from his hat and headed in that direction. It wasn't hard to miss, as the ferris wheel stood several stories taller than some of the skyscrapers in the city.
The amusement park was a free attraction, as revenue from other businesses in the city paid for its upkeep. Touya walked under the bright flashing signs of the front gate and looked around. It was crowded, like it always was but seemed a bit more packed that usual. He spotted Cheren standing by the ferris wheel's gondola booth. He had to really fight his way through to the ferris wheel.
"Finally!" Cheren said impatiently, clicking his Xtransreceiver shut. "I was just about to call you again."
Touya sighed, scratching the back of his head. "I was coming! Geez, you're so impatient!"
Cheren made one of his faces and crossed his arms. "I am not impatient!"
Touya rolled his eyes. "Yeah whatever man. Did you want something from me? I was kinda just gonna to pass on through."
"What's the matter? Don't have time to spare for your childhood friend?" Cheren asked. His eyes narrowed suspiciously behind his glasses. "You got a date or something?"
"W-what, no of course not!" Touya's answer was a little too quick and the flush on his face gave him away. Cheren's eyes narrowed further.
"That so?" He looked up at the ferris wheel then back at Touya. He jerked his head towards it. "Come on, let's ride it. They're about to start another go around."
Cheren grabbed Touya's arms and against his protests pulled him into a gondola and shut the door. The engine rattled to life and the great round arms started moving. Touya quickly took his seat as the gondola started swinging in motion with the wheel. Cheren sat opposite him on the other bench, to even the weight out. That's probably why they only let you ride if you've got someone else with you.
As the gondola started to rise and Nimbasa began to shrink, Touya stared out the large window. His thoughts drifted in and out with the gentle swing of the car and inevitably were drawn back to the first time he ever rode the ride. His first ride on the ferris wheel was with N…and he'd dropped some heavy news on him. That's when Touya'd found out N was leader of Team Plasma and that they were enemies. But that was also the time when Touya'd found he'd been entranced by the enigmatic young man. He couldn't stop thinking about him. Hell even now he couldn't wander somewhere and it not remind him of N. It just made it all the harder to be away from him.
"-oya! Touya!" Cheren's sharp voice cut through Touya's memories and he snapped to attention.
"Huh? What?"
"Geez, what is wrong with you? You've been acting weird since you got here. Is something going on?"
Touya shook his head and went to looking back out the window. "No…nothing is going on. I'm fine." He wasn't about to tell Cheren about N. He'd only jump down his throat over it. He could feel Cheren's eyes scrutinizing him, trying to pry out some little detail that would give him away. After a minute or two of silence Cheren spoke again.
"Is it about N?"
Touya started slightly at the mention of N's name and he quickly started to say no but caught himself. He blushed and turned away. Whelp that was it. He was done for now. But instead of scolding him, Cheren only sighed.
"I don't know what the deal is, but I honestly think N is a good guy."
Touya looked back at Cheren, surprised at his words. "How…can you say that? You've only met him a couple times."
Cheren groaned, eyebrows furrowed. "I know…but I just can't come to think of him as an enemy, you know? But the way he's going about things…it's wrong. People need Pokemon, Pokemon need people. It's as simple as that. I mean, even though the two are you are rivals, you seem to get along ok, right?"
"Yeah…I guess…" Touya turned back to the window. Oh how right Cheren was…but he didn't even know the half of it. Touya's relationship was much deeper than friendship. Ever since that confession in Chargestone Cave, things had changed so much.
The rest of the ride was quiet as the wheel completed its revolution. The two of them got off and back into the throng of people. Touya was ready to leave right then and there, but Cheren caught his shoulder and drew him back.
"Look," he said. "Whatever's going on, don't get too hung up on it, ok? Remember, we've got a job to do. Team Plasma can't be allowed to run amuck anymore and to stop them, we have to stop N."
Touya nodded half heartedly. Cheren's words hurt even though he didn't mean for them to. He gripped the strap of his bag as Cheren said goodbye and walked away. Touya stood alone at the entrance of the ferris wheel, feeling as though he might cry. Cheren was right. As much as Touya would have liked to deny it, he was right.
"Just…a little while longer…" Touya muttered to himself. "Let me indulge a little while longer…please…"