B is for Brave

Bright lights flooded her vision as she slowly opened her eyes. Flinching slightly at the harsh sunlight streaming in through the windows, she sat up in her bed. Looking around, she felt confused as to why she was back in her room at home instead of in a Pokémon Center where she usually spent her nights during her travels.

Getting out of her bed, she realized she was in her pyjamas and all her belongings were neatly laid out on the table. Walking over, she saw all six of her Pokéballs plus her cap sitting there, along with...

She gasped and stared at the keychain, gently touching it with a finger. Memories of yesterday rushed back into her mind and she fell backwards, onto the floor, out of breath.

So it wasn't a dream after all, it was the truth. N truly was gone... A fresh wave of tears washed over her as she sat there, doing nothing.

The sound of footsteps echoed through the stairwell before two people barged into her room. The pair of them stood by the stairs and stared at Touko as she remained oblivious to their presence.

"Do you think Touko knows we're here?" the female questioned.

The male sighed, "She should, now that you opened your mouth."

She frowned at him before walking over to Touko, placing a hand tenderly on her shoulder. "Touko, are you all right?"

"It was all a dream, wasn't it? Tell me it is, Bianca!" Touko sobbed, her back hunched over, hiding her face. N's keychain lay on the floor, having fallen along with Touko.

Bianca grimaced and attempted to give Touko a hug, wrapping her arms awkwardly around the brunette while giving pointed looks at Cheren.

He wasn't paying attention to Bianca though; his gaze was fixated onto the fallen keychain. His navy blue eyes narrowed into slits and a fierce anger filled him. How could Touko care so much about N, after all that he's done? N was the source of all the hurt she was feeling at this moment and he wanted nothing more than to hurt N for being so. That wasn't possible though, as no one knew where he went.

Every time Cheren saw Touko cry, he wanted to stop her tears and to see her infectious smile. After all, whenever she saw him upset, she would always try to cheer him up.

"C'mon, Touko, there's someone downstairs waiting for you," Bianca informed, hoping to get Touko to stop crying.

Touko looked up, eyes glistening with tears. "Is it...?"

"It's not," Cheren replied bluntly. "Just go down and see who it is, Touko. Your mom is worried about you too."

Reluctantly, Touko got up off the ground, making sure to pick up the fallen keychain and laying it back onto the table next to her Pokéballs. Keeping her head low, she walked down the stairs, closely followed by Cheren and Bianca.

xxx

Fingering her Pokéballs, Touko stared out her window, thinking. Not counting Ghetsis, there were six Sages on the loose that she was supposed to find. Looker never specified the details but it had sounded like she was the only one capable of finding them. Bianca and Cheren had left, albeit unwillingly, after Looker had dismissed them, saying what he had to say was top secret information only meant for Touko's ears.

She didn't want to leave, though. She didn't want to go anywhere, there was no place new for her to explore. During her adventure, she had journeyed through all of Unova, gaining gym badges and making new Pokémon friends.

Cheren had told her about the routes on the other side of Nimbasa City and White Forest, about places she had never been to. Touko didn't feel any excitement coursing through her instead she only nodded to signify she had heard him.

Should she go look for the Sages? There was no one around to answer that question for her besides herself. She couldn't ask her Pokémon, they'd gladly go wherever she wanted to go, and she knows that.

The keychain, that keychain again... She couldn't help but glance at it every once in a while and every time, her gaze would linger and her heart would start beating faster. An odd feeling would arise in her stomach and waves of sadness would flow through her.

The Unova region appeared quite small on a map and since she had travelled through most of Unova, she had to agree. The region wasn't large and there weren't that many places N could be...

Maybe, just maybe, on her search for the Sages, she could find N!

She didn't know where that thought came from. The probability of him still being in Unova was slim and chances of her finding him were even slimmer. She was just setting herself up, only to fall down again.

Thoughts swirled around through her mind and she still couldn't figure out if she should go and look for the Sages or not. It didn't matter to her either way. If she wasn't willing to go, Looker could probably find someone else, like Cheren to do it.

"Sage, Pansage!"

One of her Pokéballs had rolled off her table, releasing Pansage. The grass monkey smiled up at Touko and sat next to her, looking content.

"What do you think, Pansage? Should I go look for the Sages and help Looker? I just want to see N again," Touko murmured.

"Pansage, sage, pansage," he said happily, pointing a finger toward the table.

Looking in the direction that Pansage was pointing to, Touko realized that he was pointing towards the keychain.

"You think I should go look for the Sages?" Touko asked.

The grass monkey shook his head, a smile on his face.

"I should go look for N?" she asked again, a frown on her face. This was one of those times she wished she could understand what her Pokémon was saying. If N was here then he could translate for her...

Again, Pansage shook his head.

"Then what should I do?" she questioned, a look of desperation evident in her eyes.

The monkey walked up to her, looking into her eyes and replied, "Pansage, sage!"

Oddly enough, Touko seemed to understand him and offered him a sad smile. There was only one thing that would make her truly happy and that was seeing N again. With no idea of N's location, Touko decided to look for the Sages and hopefully gain information about N's whereabouts or find him along the way.

With her mind made up, she grabbed the rest of her Pokéballs, returned Pansage and walked down the stairs, making sure to take the keychain with her. After all, it belonged to N and it was only right to return it to him.

N...

A/N: Like before, I apologize if any of the characters are OOC, I'm not very good at characterization. I know this oneshot doesn't fit the word brave much but this was what I ended up with. I hope you like it though! Any reviews/comments will be welcomed.

Happy Leafing~!