Eden
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon
Chapter Twenty Five.
. . .
Touko nodded numbly, gathered the papers from the table and left, ignored the damned poster on the table and made robotic movements back to her shared room.
For the next few hours Touko looked over the papers, analyzing and judging the options she had. Many had turned out silly while others were so far out, she wondered briefly if those ideas belong to Daizy. The girl did have a vivid imagination. But no matter how unique the ideas, they did no good for her. Honestly, dressing up in a fat Pokemon suit and delivering Pizza to the front steps of Liberty Garden was plain suicide, but getting dropped off in front of N was also suicide, but also sounded more sane, if that made sense.
Touko felt a pang of regret for staying away for so long, just to train and to find herself, which she was still in the process of doing, but no one had expected Plasma would go this far. If she had known she would have come back sooner. Now it did seem the only option was to go directly to the king. Touko sighed in irritation, resisting the urge to scratch her head and maim the horrible wig she wore. But more than irritation, she felt down right ridiculous wearing the get up in her own home town. Red had all but demanded that she return to Nuvema Town after the little stunt that happened at Seira's home two weeks ago. They had moved the mother and her child to a secluded place on the other side of Unova, taking as many belongings of hers when her old house wasn't supervised.
Of course Red wasn't comfortable with her wandering around anymore, claiming that it was a close call, she could have been caught, etc. She was a grown woman, she could take care of herself!
Touko walked by the local book store, giving a small sideways glance but stopped when a huge promotion poster caught her eye. It was bold, it was red, white and black, it read: Poke His Ball, the second book to the famous trilogy of Master Ball His His!
Touko literally felt her mouth pop open at the title and information. 'It's a freaking trilogy?'
Without wasting a moment longer she walked into the shop and spotted multiple copies of the paperback novel right away, sitting innocently in the middle of the shop. She quickly made her way over and picked up a copy before bringing it to the cashier.
"I'd like to purchase this please," she gruffed, not forgetting once about her disguise.
The cashier managing the till took one look at the erotic novel before slowly raising her eyes to meet Touko's, disgust clearly evident in her brown eyes. The trainer could just imagine the thoughts going through the workers mind, such as pervert, gross, sick.
"That will be seven-ninety-nine, please."
Touko pulled change from her pocket, counting everything quickly before depositing it on the till, grabbing the book and ditching the store without waiting for a receipt. No point in staying longer if she was just going to get scorned through a civilians gaze.
'Hmfp, she has no right to judge me,' Touko thought with a small pout, tucking the book into the safety of her messenger bag, away from prying, seeking eyes. 'Paranoid to the max.'
She continued to window shop on the way back to the base, nothing else really capturing her attention. Clothes, accessorizes, they looked as if they were something she would have enjoyed a few years ago. But she still curiously wondered how one thing would look on her while another was utterly hideous.
'I'm still a woman!' She felt herself cry silently. But sadly, she was not a normal one. When one really thought about it, there was a huge difference between a trainer and a civilian. One was duty bound to their Pokemon while the other just lived a life without, having a job. But there was also the category of the people who lived with Pokemon and did not train or battle, and although the Pokemon seem happy with the role of lounging around all day, a gene lays dormant within them, waiting to be awoken when and if they get their first taste of a battle.
When said gene gets realized and Pokemon become restless, they are released and instantly replaced.
Touko frowned. 'That is cruel... But it's better to let the Pokemon be free and happy instead of trapping them and not giving them a chance to battle. It is definitely a two way street when you're taking the responsibility of owning Pokemon.' she mused.
It was another hour before she was walking through the compound of the hidden base. She headed straight to her room, depositing her ugly disguise as well as her bag onto her bunk but took out the book before heading over to the meeting room. It was still mid afternoon so everyone should still be doing chores. She had less of a chance getting caught there.
Upon opening the door, Touko realized a few things. One, she was not alone, two, the meeting room was almost full. Three, everyone was staring at her. Four, there was a disturbing poster on the table. And five... she dropped her erotic book.
All eyes dropped down to the book and the person closes to her, who happened to be Daizy, reached down to pick it up and read the title out loud.
"Poke His Ball?" The young girl gave Touko an accusing gaze, as it she was silently saying 'the image I have of you has been completely shattered.' "You closet pervert," she whispered dramatically before whisking out of the room, wailing down the hallway.
There was a few coughs around the table, a couple accompanied with blushes on their faces, others giving her the same look Daizy gave her while others looked everywhere but.
"Touko... I never knew this side of you," Belle frowned at her best friend, hands on her hips, but she was viciously fighting the urge the twitch of her lips, threatening to break into a teasing smile.
"No, it's not like that, it's—"
"CLOSET PERVEEEERT!" Daizy screamed from down the hall.
"SHUT UP YOU WALLFLOWER!" Touko yelled back.
"UGH!"
Touko sighed tiredly, willing herself to ignore the obnoxious girl, before remembering the poster on the table. She had forgotten about it for only but a moment but remembering now, she really wished it was her eyes playing tricks on her. She walked over with careful robotic steps, barely taking notice of everyone's eyes on her.
The poster had a royal blue border, bold black letters screaming "Love Blooming Within Hidden Walls?", which sounded lame, if you asked the brunette. In the middle was a picture view positioned from the upper corner, most likely taken from a security camera. She recognized from the hair that it was Rozi who was on the receiving end of the kings kiss. His eyes were closed, meaning either that he accepted the kiss or initiated it.
Either way, it burned the already broken pieces of Touko's heart.
No one said anything to the hero, waiting for her reaction of disgust, sarcasm, anything. It confused them to see her face contort into something not very attractive, fat tears beginning to well up in her eyes.
"Everyone is dismissed, Touko, you stay behind," Red spoke in a calm tone, keeping his eyes on the shattering woman before him.
People began to stand uncertainty, casting curious glances towards the brunette before leaving the meeting room in small groups. Belle sprinted over to Touko's side, bringing the girl into a tight embrace. "It'll be alright."
"You stay too, Belle," Red ordered, rising from his seat once everyone else had left the room and stood before the two women.
"Eh?"
"I assume you know much about her situation?" When the blonde nodded he continued. "Well I think you'll be able to offer more support than I can."
"Right," She nodded and released her friend from the tight embrace and stood at her side.
"Does it pain you so much to see this?" Red asked, after a few minutes of silence, jerking his head in the direction of the offending poster.
Touko said nothing and felt shame, horror and guilt when a wretched sob escaped her throat.
Red nodded to himself and picked up his files, scanning over his chicken scratch before deciding to get this over and done with. "We did not know when you would be returning so we went ahead to have a meeting without you and don't be mad, you barely carry your radio with you on your days off. Someone had found this poster up in the local grocery store and called for back up to remove it from every other place they could find just so we could avoid you from seeing it."
"S—such extremes—" Touko hiccupped angrily but stopped when she felt a soft squeeze on her shoulder.
"It was my idea," Belle confessed softly. "I know how you feel about him and knew this would crush you... I didn't know they would hold a meeting about it."
Touko felt her bottom lip quiver into a pout against her will. "Belle, you're my best friend, why—"
"Because I'm tired of seeing you walk around like a zombie!"
"That's cruel."
"No, you're cruel, N is cruel, Plasma is too! Heck, You're cruel too, Red! Do you know how many coffee bins my dad has had to buy since you've come by?"
"What can I say, you Unovian's have excellent taste," and to prove his point, he took a large healthy gulp of the black liquid in his traveling coffee mug.
"Anyways, what I'm trying to say is that the whole world is cruel and I'm only trying to lift your burden, even if it's just an inch, from your shoulders. I can't imagine the pain you're going through right now but that doesn't mean I should just ignore it and carry on my marry way."
Touko sniffled and looked at the poster again. "But... I l—love... " Damn her emotions and damn her inability to speak properly at the moment.
"Hush, Touko, it's okay," Belle rubbed the brunettes back, trying to soothe her but she wouldn't have.
"No," Touko shook her head. "It's not okay! Loving the enemy, how cliché is this!"
"Don't get hysterical, Touko," Red murmured and sat on the table, his penetrating gaze piercing through Touko's soul, reading every emotion flashing through her eyes. "No one is blaming you for feeling the way you feel. People may judge, even though they have no right to, you should be only focusing on what makes you happy."
"Dropping off the ends of the Earth will make me happy," she grumbled. "But I don't like running away."
Red gave a small smile before turning serious again. "In this meeting, many ideas were suggested, some more silly than others, but something Cheren said stuck out. Now, it may seem like a brilliant idea but considering your feelings, it might seem like a bad one."
"W—what is it," She asked, sniffling.
"We drop you of, basically, in front of N."
Touko felt the air go cold around her, nerves fraying under the intensity of the answer and her emotions. She began to wonder just how many ideas everyone came up with, hell, she was willing to go with the silly ones, anything but this one. They had to be completely off their rocker to even suggest it. She couldn't believe Cheren would! That jerk.
"Touko?" Belle blinked and waved a hand in front of her friends face.
"Ah, I think she went into shock," Red mused, staring at the blank expression on her face.
They waited in silence for a couple minutes, waiting for any sign of movement from the brunette but she remained still. If her chest wasn't rising and falling rapidly, they would have believed she was a mannequin. But still, the silence stretched on and Belle began to worry.
"C'mon Touko, stop scaring us like this. You don't even have to do this! It was just the best suggestion. If you want we can tell you the others—"
"Let me think on it," Touko cut her off before Belle could get into her ramblings. "I... It's just too much to take in right now."
"Understandable," Red nodded and handed over his files to her. "You can look over the rest of the suggestions here, and although I hate to say it but you've got a time limit."
"How long?"
"One week."
Touko closed her eyes and felt a feeling a wave of despair wash over her. Her shoulders dropped in slight defeat before opening her eyes and giving Red the most pathetic look she could muster.
"Touko," He spoke slowly, softly, as if speaking to a seven year old. "You don't have to decide what we thought was best. It is your decision and you might find something better on that list that we could have over looked or didn't think in your point of view."
"I get it," she said, a little too harshly, but Red understood that the anger was not directed at him. "I'll think about it. But I have a question."
"Ask."
"Why did this come up as the best choice? Even this, " She looked quickly down at the list. "Bribing Plasma members to spy for us looks more acceptable."
"I'm sorry, I left out one vital information." Touko blinked and waited for him to continue. "Time."
"Time?"
Red nodded and sifted through the papers in her hands, pulling out a single slip from near the bottom that had a red ink stamped at the top, screaming EMERGENCY. "We got this this morning, during the meeting actually. Bribing Plasma members would have been the number one choice if we hadn't received this."
Touko took the paper from his grasp and quickly scanned it, her eyes widening. "They want to inject microchips into everyone just so they could keep track?"
"Yes. Our spy has reported that they are already working on it, the chips and a whole electrical board of Unova. They're testing them on their own members first, having them wander Unova and seeing if they can track him on the board."
"But there's so many people in Unova... How can they... "
"Of course they'll divide the board up into sections and have a few people watch over one area."
"This is too extreme!" Touko exclaimed and resisted the urge to throw the papers down onto the table childishly but clenched them tightly instead, crinkling the sides.
"It is, but they're serious about it. Soon it'll be forbidding to travel through towns and they'll be building railways for transportation."
"Now that's just absurd."
"Indeed," Red sighed and took another swig of his coffee, relishing the way it made his nerves jump alive. "Maybe soon, after they have gained absolute power over Unova, they'll begin to take over other regions too." His lids drooped half way as memories assaulted him, reminding him of a certain situation that happened years ago into Kanto region. History seemed to be repeating itself.
Belle gasped. "That's horrible! But it can be beat!"
"How are you so sure," Touko grumbled, not grasping how her friend could stay so enthusiastic all the time.
"Because something like this happened... two times before!"
"What?" Touko now directed her full attention to her friend, setting the papers onto the table before she shredded them into pieces.
"Yeah, Cheren told me when he went to study at a school when we began our journey. He read up on a bunch of history and stumbled onto other organizations such as "Team Rocket" and "Team Galactic". Those two are separate groups but Rocket was first and Galactic looked up to them, deciding to carry on their legacy of world domination."
"How were they defeated?"
"By two different people at both times."
"Whaa... " Touko looked disbelieving that a single person could do something as take down an evil organization by themselves.
"Hard to believe, I know," Belle nodded and rubbed her chin, trying to give off an air of being a smart ass. "But it's true and written in books!"
"Erm, what did they do afterwards?"
"No one really knows, but rumors are said that they become lone wolves and hide out somewhere, waiting for trainers to come and challenge them, nothing else has been reported."
"Lone wolves? Challenging people? That almost sounds like... " Touko turned to Red, who had a small secret smile playing on his lips. "... You... "
"What?" Belle almost screeched. "Red? You—What—I," She stuttered over her words, not believing she was so close to a celebrity all these years!
"I was the one who defeated Team Rocket. Touya knew that, assumptions from reading up on Kanto and Johto regions, after her found me. Others see me as a regular trainer when I come down from the mountain because there are no pictures of me. Paparazzi are banned from coming into Mt. Silver."
"So that's why you looked so calm through this whole ordeal. You've been through it before," Touko whispered, her voice accusing.
"Indeed. But this situation is more extreme because of the advanced technology we did not have back then."
"How did you do it?" Touko begged, eyes wide, haunted. "Tell me."
"Saving the world is no easy task and there is no right way to do it. You have many friends by your side, supporting you. I only had my rival by my side while I took care of everything." Touko was silent as she listened and willed her shoulders to stop shaking. "It was not easy, at first, going through it alone, but the gloating and pestering from my friend helped me along the way."
"Alone... "
"Not the alone you're thinking. Just remember that you'll have support to guide you, but in the end, it'll be up to you to decide where Unova goes." A renewed strangled sob escaped her throat and Red placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, giving a light squeeze. "Just believe in yourself and your friends, we'll always be one step behind you."
She loved him, simple as that, yet not so simple. She had hoped, prayed that over time her feelings would diminish for him but there was no such luck. There were few dates she went on with some of the rebels she worked with and they all turned out to be great guys but in the end all she could do was compare them to him.
'Oh, he holds his glass like that? Not as elegant as N.'
'How cute, he blushed at my comment. But his blush doesn't look as good as when N blushes, which stands out on his pale skin.'
'Hum, his smile is nice, but not as alluring as N's... '
It drove Touko nuts that after the last date two years ago that she had no more time to socialize just so she could stop comparing. It wasn't fair to anyone, especially the men who she went out with.
"Enough of that," Touko shook her head until her neck began to hurt. "I got to focus on this."
So if she went along and accepted what everyone thought was best, how would she go about doing it? Would she show up on the steps of Liberty Garden Tower in a pretty red bow instead of a fat Pokemon suit? No, that would be stupid showing up there because Ghetsis wanted her as well, only dead, so there was a chance a Plasma member would bring her to him instead of the other.
She would have to find out his plans and hope he has a date set for another speech and she would appear in front of him afterwards. And since people thought this best, that means she would have distract him and go in without her Pokemon.
The idea made her sweat.
But it was the only way to trick him into believing that she believed in his ideals and that she wanted to be back with him. It was cruel but she was willing to play dirty and sacrifice everything between them for the sake of freedom in Unova. Even if she were to seriously go back to him for good, she would forever be unhappy with the way everything turned out. With this route, she could defeat him, bring peace back and they could be happy together but if he decides he doesn't want to then she would be unhappy but she would heal over time. He was her first love, after all and she would never forget him but she would move on eventually and find a nice man.
It's better to have one or two unhappy people instead of a whole nation of trainers wallowing until their death.
But how would N take it all, her coming back? Would he jump for joy, welcoming her in his strong arms? Or would he shove her back in that blasted window room? That thought made her shiver. The whole plan would go downhill if it came to that so she would have to gamble that he'll keep her in his room where he could keep an eye on her.
But what if he's extremely angry? What if he hits her? That also made her shiver, imagining his angry, cold gaze directed at her.
Touko took a few deep breaths to calm and assure herself that he would never hit her and the worst he could do was glare and hurl hurtful words in her face. She would deal with that.
Nodding to herself, Touko looked over the suggestions one more time before coming to a conclusion. It had only taken a few hours of thinking but if she thought about it the whole week, she would chicken out at the last minute because at the moment the more she thought about it the more insane it seemed.
Not trusting her feet to take her to Red, she dialed his number on her cell phone and waited for him to pick up.
"Is everything alright?" He spoke calmly but the undertone in his voice gave away his worry.
"Yeah. I just decided."
"So soon?"
"If I take the whole week to give you an answer then you wouldn't receive it."
"Ah. So your decision?"
"The one everyone has decided on."
"Are you only choosing that one because the others think it's best? I told you to think about—"
"Myself. I know. And I have thought about it and the other options but I do believe this is the best one."
"... Very well. We'll get to work on that right away. Finish up what you have to do here quickly."
"How soon will it take?"
"Depends on the kings schedule. You might leave tonight or it could be in two days from now. I have to get a hold of our spy."
"Alright."
They hung up and Touko sat there for a long moment, absorbing everything in. This was it. She was actually going through this. She was going to see N again after three years and some months...
Would he accept her back and believe everything to be fine? I doubt it, she thought bitterly and just hoped that she made the right choice. She had to consider that he might just keep her locked up in a dungeon or something, away from the light of the outside world. She knew he was not crazy but it had been an extremely long time since she last saw him in person.
But then what about that poster? It obviously showed they had a relationship so maybe he didn't want her anymore? Touko had to admit that it hurt her to even think he would just turn his back like that, saying she wasn't needed in his life anymore. It would be fair and understandable that he moved on while she was continuing this standstill she believed to be her own personal hell.
No. This is why Touko decided to accept this mission now instead of having days to sleep on it, because her thoughts wondered to the mysterious and tinted dark places of her mind that give her reasons to not do this. Perhaps this meeting will finally give her a peace of mind for a while, because after the battle there is no doubt she will be able to keep her sanity in check for long. Her loss was the only thing that had been keeping them together. If she wins, and she will make sure she does, what left is there for him to do? She can picture him admitting defeat and going off away to a place devoid of human contact.
"Ugh!" Touko screamed in frustration and grabbed a pillow, beating her fists down it in anger.
"... Is now a bad time?" A quiet voice spoke from the door, which Touko realized with horror that she never heard open.
"T—Touya?" She squeaked and felt herself flush. "What are you doing here?"
"News spreads like wildfire when it comes to you," he gave a wry smile and walked in. "Sorry, I should have knocked."
"It's okay, I shouldn't have... " Touko did not really want to say that her pillow didn't deserve the beating it got, as if the object had feelings. So it was just overall awkward.
"I understand."
"I would hope not," she muttered dryly, not wishing anyone to experience what she was currently going through, which earned herself a chuckle from the other.
They got along a bit better now than when they first saw each other again three years ago. Even if Touya was dating her best friend, they both remembered the moment she had flatly rejected him without a thought. It was just impossible to think about anything else other than N because they never had proper closure between them.
'Maybe after the battle we'll say our final goodbyes and I'll be able to move on,' she mused dejectedly before giving Touya her full attention again. "So what can I do for you?"
"I'm errand boy this time since Belle is out on defense lines today and Cheren is going through strategies with different groups."
"Oh."
"Mhmm, so Red has gotten in contact with his spy and as sad as it is to say this but it appears that you'll be gone tonight."
That made her freeze. 'Too soon, that is too soon!' Her heart began to pick up it's speed while it felt like it was plummeting into her stomach and she felt herself sweat. Was she even ready to face her doom? She had no choice, well she did but at the same time she didn't. It was best to get this over and done with before Unova turned into a complete police state. If she left it until it was too late, she would most likely be caught anyways and she would curse herself for missing the opportunity.
"Ah. I guess I should pack, but then again it would be useless. I can't really take anything, not even my Pokemon."
"There would be no where to hide them," Touya murmured followed by a blush.
He was right. Touko would be wearing clothes that would hug her form, showing curves and anything else she might be hiding. "I could put them in my shoes, but that would be uncomfortable and very unfortunate if I accidentally released one of my Pokemon. I would be exposed and have a missing shoe."
Touya snorted. "Actually, Red has these special shoes—"
"No way," Touko cut him off, her voice filled with disbelief. "He has shoes specially made for hiding Pokemon?"
"Always be prepared, I guess," he shrugged carelessly before opening the door once again and moving out, but not before saying, "He said he will be by soon to drop them off, then he wants you to run an errand before you leave."
"An errand on my day off, lovely," she sighs dramatically, hearing a small chuckle before the door shut completely.
Touko was left to think in silence for awhile before she stood and began to put her disguise on for the second time that day. She brushed out the wig, styling it so that it would make her look as boyish as possible before putting a net over her head, to capture and flatten her hair, and tugged the wig on until it was snug and sure it would not fall off.
Red came two hours later, apologizing for taking so long before handing her hiker boots she was sure that would fall off her, but to her surprise they fit. Casting him a curious glance, he understood and answered. "I knew something like this would happen sometime, so I had them made last year."
"Oh, well, thank you." He nodded and watched her place all six pokeballs into the bottom of the platform before sliding and closing the latch that hid them. "This would have been handy a long time ago. Would have saved me from an early heart attack from the many times Plasma came after me and tried grabbing my pokeballs from my belt." She grinned teasingly to show she meant no harm in the slight jab.
He gave his own small smile, not offended in the least. "I would like you to go to the next town over and get some books at the library there. These books have been hidden from public because they have much advanced strategies that people seeking for power would kill for. They hold information on how gym leaders and every Pokemon league top four, ranging from Unova to Kanto, fight and the tactics they use to ensure problems for the challenger. If we can get them it will help use greatly in this upcoming battle."
"Really? Alright then, I'll go over as soon as I can. Time limit?"
"Before ten. You'll have to go in through the back, since that is, to my knowledge, where the books will be."
"Okay, I'll be going in a few."
"Good luck." He nods to her and leaves the room.
Touko quickly slipped off her clothes and slipped a tight black vest on to downgrade the size of her chest, followed by loose men clothing. She picked up a messenger bag, so she could place the book somewhere, and stuffed it with "Poke His Ball", just so she wasn't walking around with a suspicious empty bag, and left the room.
Outside she hugged Belle and told her to say goodbye to Cheren and her mom, for her. The blonde nodded eagerly, tears forming in her eyes, lips trembling as they always did when her friend was going out on a mission. After one more heartfelt hug, Touko parted through an unrecognizable path, only finding her way because of the star shaped leaves Cheren had placed and blended it with the other plain looking leaves.
Touko choose to walk, instead of biking it to the next town, obviously in no rush to get back and face her ultimate doom. 'Don't be dramatic,' she scolded herself with a hard shake of her head. It wouldn't do anyone any good if she had a mental breakdown in the middle of the forest.
The walk to Accumula Town was peaceful, with only few people passing through, either walking, jogging or biking. They all looked like normal civilians but one person stood out, as Touko recognize them from the base but under disguise and she was sure she noticed someone else as well yet remembering them from Liberty Garden.
By the time she reached Accumula, it was nearing six in the evening, which meant she had three hours to get the books and an hour to walk back to the main base.
'Piece of Chansey cake,' Touko snorted and took the first few steps into town before four Plasma members stepped out from their hiding places, pokeballs in hands. She felt herself stiffen but managed a nervous smile. "Hello."
"Take off the bag and throw it over here. One of the females will be giving you a pat down."
"Alright," Touko swallowed nervously and tossed her bag to the person closes to her before spreading her arms out.
The Plasma member with the bag looked through every pocket, sifting around and made a disgruntled noise upon finding the book, muttering a word that sounded close to 'pervert...' before closing the satchel and tossing it back at Touko's feet, who couldn't help but blush.
The female member came over, expression serious as she began her pat down, staying a bit longer on the chest area than the brunette would have liked, but continued on, feeling around the belt area and moving down to the legs.
"Clear," the female gave a hand signal and the other members cleared the way.
"Thanks," Touko gave a forced, fake smile, picked up her bag and continued walking into town.
She still felt restless when she finally stood in front of the library, having never been patted down before and realizing that that made the situation that much more dire. There was a commotion going on inside the library and she summed it up to being night school and headed around the back, making sure no one was looking.
Touko peeked around the corner and felt her heart sank when she noticed a few people standing around, looking bored. 'Dammit Red! Just how important are these books?' She promised herself to give him a ear full when she got back, empty handed or not, and waited for what seemed like hours, but in reality it was only two hours, limiting her time tightly.
Without any sort of warning, she was suddenly shoved and trampled on by what felt like hundreds of feet, stepping on her legs, back and hands. Then she heard people shouting out orders and the feet backtracked over her form and she had enough.
"Hey, watch it!" Touko sat up and snarled at the crowd behind her, completely forgetting to deepen her voice. Just then a door opened, everyone's attention turning from her and the brunette fumed but also twisted her head to see what has got everyone so captivated.
But there stood someone she was not expected to see for at least a couple more hours.
N stood there, looking at the crowd before him with a closed off expression, looking as if he was used to people rushing to him after one of his lectures. And he gave a glance down in her direction and was about to move away but Touko's wig took that moment to slip off, bringing the hair net with it and her hair cascaded down in small waves over her shoulders.
He froze, head jerking back in her direction, eyes wide.
It was then Touko realized that there was no such book that held information about gym leaders or the Elite Four. Red had purposely let her walk into the spiders web, possibly because he was worried she would back out if he really told her the reason why she was headed here.
It was like bungee jumping. If you look down you're not going to do it. But if you were given a light push, done for your own good, you can't be mad at that person, only thankful that they are there to help guide you along and give you the push that you need.
"Touko... " He whispered, his voice highly strained, sounding roughly pained, angry and confused.
Oh, shit.
. . .
A/N: First, huge thanks to SaitoKaito for Beta'ing this chapter! Second, thanks to fanfiction reviewer Failisse for the idea of "Poke His Ball", very hilarious, thank you! And lastly, I'm sorry for the long wait, family problems, it's explained on my dA so I won't bother ramblinghere. Hope the chapter was enjoyable! c: