Chapter X: Unexplained Emotions
Rin answered back, her voice muffled behind the wall, "Hikari! We're OK over here. Get Datenshi-nii-chan out of there, and we'll meet you on the surface!"
They heard Hikari answer back, and then they turned away from the wall and blinked in the darkness. Rin's eyes adjusted quickly, because her type was dark. The other two trainers stumbled in the darkness for a time before they found a flashlight in the rubble.
"Thank Arceus," said Touko in relief, clicking it on.
It flickered to life, a warning sign that they had to get out of the lab fast. N followed behind Touko, with Rin leading the way while they found and tested their own set of stairs. Finding them safe to climb up, they climbed to the next level.
"We can't go any further," said Rin, surveying the next set of stairs that were ruined. "If any of you have the TM Dig, you can teach one of your Pokemon Dig to get us the hell out of here..."
N shook his head. "It's too dangerous. The structural integrity won't last long enough without collapsing over us."
"Damn," Rin muttered.
They continued walking to scout out the area when Rin began to let her mind wander. She thought back to N when he had carried her back to her bed. A blush began to climb over her pale face.
"Um, N... There's something I need to ask about being human. Something keeps happening when I think about yo-...someone special," she said softly.
N took the flashlight from Touko and set it on the ground, so that they could sit around it and decide what they should do. N finally looked at her with a knowing smile, and looked to Touko who nodded to him.
Rin noticed that they thought she meant Datenshi, but it would suffice for a cover. However, her eyes never left N's soft green eyes. N smiled back at her, almost seeming amused by her statement.
"Explain to me what you feel when you are around your... someone special," replied N.
"Erm... well," began Rin. She looked down and blushed. "I get this feeling like my heart is beating faster and a kind of fluttering in my stomach... not like I'll be sick, though! Just, it's like I feel like I want him to smile and be happy when I am around."
"Sounds like our little Rin is in love," N said slightly teasingly. But then he switched to a serious tone. "For you, a Pokemon who is now human, it must be confusing. But expressing it could be difficult, especially if you get turned down."
Rin nodded, still looking down. "But what if that person has a mate already?"
N blinked, taken aback by the question. However, he was able to come up with an answer, but before he could answer, Touko decided to end the conversation.
"You just confess and accept that you might be rejected; it's better to confess and not have it weigh you down than to keep it bottle up. When you do confess, you must do it in a very respectful manner and look your best," said Touko shortly.
She then turned her attention to their current status in the rubble. The two trainers began to talk about their escape plan when they heard the cry of Kyruem and then silence. Looking scared, Touko nodded to N, who then both released their dragons and blasted a big enough hole in the ceiling for them to escape.
The underground lab began to crumble around them as they hurriedly climbed onto the legendaries' backs, taking off into the sky.
"We need to find Hikari and Datenshi now!" said N, and they flew into the sky and saw the other two trainers in an embrace in the hole Kyruem had made.
They descended, calling to the two trainers, startling them apart. While the building began to crumble, Datenshi scooped up Hikari into his arms and made a mad dash onto the back of N's Reshiram.
They looked back as they took to the sky, watching Liberty Island spew smoke from the collapsing building both above and below ground. Datenshi looked down at Hikari, who had passed out in his arms, relieved that she was safe with them.
"We need to land soon so that I can help Hikari-san," Datenshi said to N, who nodded in agreement.
For now, however, they knew they were safe.