[A/N: Hi again! Sorry about the pretty short chapter; I probably won't be updating as often as I should now that SAT testing is over and I'm getting the usual amount of homework, a.k.a. a LOT(plus I've been watching a bunch of anime, whoops), but you can probably expect more updating around the end of May when summer vacation starts.]

The moon was rising in the night sky. It was the only source of light aside from the few Illumise and Volbeat hovering throughout the forest. A Volbeat began to flicker its light in intricate patterns, attracting another source of light; An Illumise. As they drifted toward each other a shriek of delight came from somewhere off in the distance. The two pokemon focused their attention toward the sound and dashed away.

"Really? Are you serious?" Touko squealed. She jumped and embraced N, making him hunch over. He placed one of his hands on his hat, holding it in place. After a few more jumps Touko let go, but her hands were still on his shoulders. N stared into her eyes. As his pulse began to rise he looked away, hoping she didn't notice his cheeks as they slightly turned pink. He pulled away from her and fixed the collar of his shirt.

"So," N started, "What now?" He took off his hat and began to fix his hair. Touko looked off into the distance, thinking of a plan for tomorrow. N untied his hair, but kept it in a ponytail with his hand as he fixed his hair tie and his bangs.

"Umm… I guess we should just get some sleep and I'll just think of what we should do tomorrow," Touko said looking back at N while he fixed his hair.

N tied his hair back and looked at her. "Alright, we might as well find somewhere to sleep then" he replied.

"Yeah, sure" Touko said, fixing her hair, too. N headed off in one direction while Touko headed off in another. After a few moments of searching he found a small open area. There was a small grassy patch about the size of a small bedroom. There was a small area of dirt where one could build a fire, but it was too hot of a night for that.

"Hey, I think I found something over here." N called Touko over and she examined the area.

"Uhm… it looks alright." She pointed to the farther side of the open space. "You can sleep on that side and I'll sleep on this side," she said, then pointing to the side opposite of where she was previously indicating.

"Sure," N said, shoving his hands in his pockets and walking over to his side. When he reached the middle of the space he stopped. He looked down at the small patch of dirt, his eyes dull. "We don't need a fire, right?" He waited for a reply.

"No, probably not," he heard the young trainer say. He turned his head to where he was going to sleep and continued walking to it. When he reached his side he turned around. Touko was crouching on the floor, spreading a small blanket. It was a dark blue color. N looked back at his spot. He thought it looked kind of bare, but he shrugged it off. He didn't care about sleeping on grass; he had been doing it the entire time. The green haired teen sat down on the greenery, pulling his legs up to his chest and wrapping his arms around the sides of his legs. He stared into the forest, thinking.

"Is this really what I should be doing?" he asked himself. "I'm supposed to be searching for a perfect world. Why did I stop?" His thinking was interrupted when Touko called out his name.

"N?" she asked. She was lying on her blanket, her arms folded behind her head, looking at the sky. N turned his head to face her.

"Hm?"

"I…" there was a slight pause. "…Never mind." Touko rolled onto her side, her back facing N.

"What?" N said while furrowing his brow.

"It's nothing, I just kind of wanted to talk… but I don't really know what to say…" Touko responded, rolling back over onto her back. N smiled a little and turned his head back forward. The green haired youth fell back onto the grass, putting his hands behind his head. The stars were beautiful, but it was an everyday, or every night, thing for N.

N began to think. "What am I supposed to do? Do I say yes? Or do I say no? God, why is this so hard. Why can't I just decide?" N turned over onto his side, looking at Touko.

She was quite lovely, he thought. "But her looks don't decide whether I stay or not," he told himself. Her eyes were closed, but that didn't mean that she was sleeping. His eyes slowly traveled down to her chest, looking at it rise, and sink. She stirred and rolled onto her side, her back against N. N rolled back onto his back again. Staring at the stars he could hear Touko, her breaths were becoming heavier, lazier. She was slowly drifting into sleep, and so was N.

He remembered her face again, wondering what her parents must look like, wondering how they must feel, and knowing that their daughter is out in the wild of the world. Then he remembered his own father, how he betrayed him, telling him how he was only using him for his own gain. A dark feeling started to fade in N's chest. He tried to push those feeling away, take his mind off of his father. He put his hands over his face, sliding them down. He spread apart his fingers and looked back up into the open sky.

"God, what am I going to do with myself," N thought. He exhaled and rolled over onto his side, looking at the trees. He noticed a few lights coming from deep in the darkness of the forest. He remembered that there were many Illumise and Volbeat in the forest. As he silently stared off into the darkness, his eyelids became heavier, sinking with each passing second. He sighed once more as a blanket of sleep took over him.