"A bad cold wouldn't be so annoying if it weren't for the advice of our friends."
~Kin Hubbard

"Kyohei... let's have a quick rest, shall we?"
The rookie trainer turned to glance at the blond lady walking behind her. They had been looking for Touya for about two hours or so now and it was easy to tell that Bianca was starting to get tired. Kyohei was still desperate to find Touya as soon as possible but couldn't help but take pity on how miserable the green-eyed woman looked. Besides, Bianca seemed just as eager to find his long lost friend. If not even more eager than Kyohei. After her long journey all the way from Nuvema to Aspertia... no wonder she was tired. The brunette sighed deeply and scratched his head.
"Yeah", he muttered. "I guess we shouldn't overdo it. It's not even getting dark yet so there's no rush."
Bianca nod in gratitude and the two started heading to the Pokemon Center.

There was a long silence. Kyohei was deep in his thoughts, trying to imagine how mad Touya would be at him for having babbled about him being here. He had a desperate need to apologize the other trainer. It felt like he had a burden on his shoulders. Like he was a crustle.
"You're still worried about him, aren't you?"
Bianca's voice woke the rookie up from his thoughts and he replied with a simple nod. The lady smiled warmly and hummed.
"He just is like that. Makes people worry about himself. I think he does that without knowing it", she said. "He doesn't mean any harm. Maybe he simply doesn't quite understand just how important he is to his friends."
Despite the fact that Bianca was trying her best to hide it, the slight bitterness was still audible in her voice. It caused Kyohei to turn his eyes to stare at his feet. Maybe he had been in the wrong thinking that he shouldn't tell the girl about Touya after all. Maybe he had did the right thing telling her. Poor woman. It was clear that she missed him.

As soon as they got to the Pokemon Center they both met a great surprise though – they saw Touya sitting there in a table near the reception desk. Bianca froze for a brief moment while Kyohei immediately dashed to the other brunette, smiling in relief to see the trainer was okay.
"Touya!"
The older trainer lifted his eye off his lap and glanced at the two arrivals, first at Kyohei with a smile then biting his lip as he noticed Bianca. An awkward silence occurred as the two childhood friends stared at each other.
"...Bianca."
"...Tou... ya..."

The blond took a couple uncertain steps forward. Touya waited patiently and as soon as the girl got close enough to touch him, she lifted her trembling hand up and simply caressed the trainer's cheek with her fingertips. Her light green eyes were glazed by tears and her mouth was left a hint open to allow her breathe steadily.
"Is that... is that really you?"
Touya forced a smile and nod. Bianca flinched for a second before attacking her friend with a hug, sobbing as she did so. The brunette just sat there, receiving the hug but not returning it. His eyes closed half-ways as he frowned in regret.
So much to apologize.

It took some time for Bianca to finally be able to control her sobs. The girl wiped her eyes on the sleeve of her orange jacket and looked up at her friend.
"We... we thought you were dead. Cheren and I. Even your mother."
She laughed out nervously and smiled widely before continuing. "I'm so glad you're okay."
Touya lowered his head submissive manner.
"...I'm sorry."
"It's okay. The important thing is that you're okay", Bianca replied, still teary-eyed. "Thank Arceus for that."

Kyohei, who had started to feel like he was a third wheel in this scenario, cleared his throat to gain the duo's attention.
"So... what happened? We were looking for you. I thought you had gotten lost", he asked Touya.
The older brunette looked up and rubbed the back of his neck.
"I saw a pokemon that was hurt", he muttered, only lying partially. "So I brought it here. I'm sorry I didn't inform you."
"Ah, so that was the case", Kyohei said with a smirk. "It's okay. I think we'd better exchange Xtransceiver numbers though, just so I won't get confused again."
"Sure", Touya replied and allowed Kyohei to sit next to him in order for them to register each other's numbers.

After the short exchanging ritual, Bianca beamed at the older brunette with a brightest smile.
"Anyway, I bet Cheren is going to be overjoyed when he hears you're okay! And your mother, too! We have to inform them right away."
The look on Touya's face darkened and he bit his lip.
"Actually... I'd appreciate it if you didn't mention this whole thing to them", he murmured.
The blond girl blinked in surprise and tilted her head.
"Why not?"
"I... I want to break it to them myself when I think it's the right time", the trainer explained. "I don't want them to start looking for me."
Bianca lowered his head.
"So... what you need is some time to think about it?"
"I-"
"You got to be kidding me."

The way Kyohei suddenly interrupted the conversation after having been silent for a long while startled both Bianca and Touya. The two turned to look at the boy who was now gritting his teeth and looking annoyed. His hands were clenched to fists.
"After having been hiding from them for... what, years... you need time to think it through?!" the young brunette growled, laughing out joylessly. "You had your time already. Now just face them like a man or die a coward."
Touya stared at Kyohei for a while before shaking his head.
"It's not that simple."
"Then what is so damn difficult about it? What in the name of Arceus could have happened that has made you be afraid of your own friends?"
"I-"

Another interruption, this time a happy one. Nurse Joy was standing right next to the table and smiling sweetly as she always did.
"Sir, your pokemon has been successfully healed and patched up", she announced to Touya. "She's still sleeping but you can come see her now if you want to."
The older brunette blinked and then smiled at the pink haired nurse.
"Ah. Thank you", he replied and stood up. "I'll come check up on her."
He then turned to face Bianca.
"In a matter of fact, I'd like you to come with me, Bianca. There's something I want to know about that pokemon and being Professor Juniper's assistant, I think you might know better."
The blond simply nod and stood up as well. The two followed Nurse Joy to the recovery room, soon accompanied by a reluctant Kyohei.

A/N: Omg even more people are actually following this fic now. :'D I'm overjoyed~

Thank you, everyone. :3 I'd love to hear your opinions on the plot and how it seems so far, so please do send me reviews. I want to improve! :D 3