Chapter 25 Heavy is the Head That Wears the Crown

Professor Juniper had been heading for Mistralton City following her field research of Klink. Puzzlingly, she had come to the conclusion that although there were ancient carvings and etchings that cited Klink as the source of the invention of the gear in Unova, there were no signs of them in the cave from beyond a hundred years ago! The determination didn't make sense since some of the crude blueprints discovered by Nacrene's research teams went back way farther than that… She had a Klink softly clunking as it followed her. It had curiously begun to after she fed it a tasty Oran Berry. She knew it would leave her side once she reached the exit, but as she neared the rays of sunshine that marked the way to the outside world, she spotted a figure ahead.

At first, she was unbothered. Chargestone Cave was a popular place to train for several groups of people. In fact, certain pokémon could only evolve in its electrically-tense air. But she quickly noticed this man was not training at all. He appeared to be talking to someone else… though, Professor Juniper frowned, because she couldn't see anyone he may have been talking to. Maybe he was using an Xtransceiver.

Soulful gray eyes latched onto her as she shuffled to a stop. He adjusted the black visor of his hat and raised his chin almost haughtily as he regarded her. "I'm told you're Professor Aurea Juniper," he stated, sounding almost bored. A cold chill ran up her spine and she crossed her arms tightly in front of herself to preserve body heat. "I didn't expect to run into you here."

"I'm sorry," Professor Juniper apologized and chuckled uneasily, "have we met? I don't seem to recognize you…"

"No. My name is N." N's arms fell flat against his sides and he plucked at a cube strung from the belt loops of his pants. Professor Juniper was keenly aware that the name was familiar. Bianca and her friends had explained to her the story of him and Team Plasma earlier. She had to say, she was a little overwhelmed, and unsure what to do with that information as she stared back at him. "I suppose you are here conducting research on the wild pokémon that call this cave home."

"I am," she answered guardedly, slowly. She tried to force a joking tone then. "I presume you're a trainer, then? Leveling up something before taking on Gym Leader Skyla, huh?" She smiled widely at him.

"As if I could pursue my ideals with something as meaningless as battle in here," N growled. Professor Juniper was taken aback. She exchanged a look with the Klink trailing her. She was suddenly quite nervous about what this man had in store for her… She sank her right hand in a pocket of her labcoat, rubbing her fingertips across the smooth, plastic surface of a Bouffalant's Poké Ball. She didn't want to have to call it out if it wasn't necessary because it wasn't her pokémon, but she wasn't going to allow herself to be totally defenseless, either, if it came down to it. N rolled his shoulders slightly. "Professor Juniper, I just have one question for you… what are you thinking?"

"I'm… sorry, I don't think I understand the question," she replied and furrowed her brows at him. She could tell there were riptides of anger beneath his sea of calm, but she also didn't know if addressing it was smart or not. Uncomfortably alone in the cave with him, provoking him and causing an accident was not something she wanted to do… She had an entire career still ahead of her and it would be N's word against hers…

"You appear to have no qualms about the relationship between pokémon and people. You put pokémon into categories using arbitrary rules and think you can understand them like that…" N smiled, but it was not genuine. It was more the forced, incredulous smile one made when they were fighting off a much stronger reaction, fighting off yelling, screaming.

She froze as a red and black creature seemed to simply materialize from behind him. Its thick, red mane was unmistakable. This was a Zoroark! The Zoroark cautiously slunk around Professor Juniper and eyed her from the side. Its dark fur and the dimness of the cave made details hard to see, but something was… off about it. Despite its bipedal stature, it occasionally used its arms to walk, and its rear right leg would give out under too much pressure, giving it a very distinct limp. She made no movements as she followed it with her gaze. Zoroark were so incredibly rare, she couldn't pry her vision away from it, but it was a terrified mix of excitement and wonder. Zoroark were rare for a reason. They were notorious for being the one pokémon species known to be proven to dislike humans naturally—and having the control of illusions meant they could do serious harm.

When N spoke again, Professor Juniper was jarred, having been completely distracted by the Zoroark. "The very idea of a Pokédex revolts me. What do you have to say for yourself?"

Clutching Bouffalant's Poké Ball even tighter within her pocket, Professor Juniper answered honestly. Even if she were, truthfully, intimidated by him and his Zoroark, she couldn't let him know that. The Zoroark hissed at her after it made a full circle and skirted back over to N. It sat on its haunches at his side and affectionately rubbed the side of its face against his leg. As she answered his question, she was secretly enthralled by the sight; a Zoroark, enjoying the company of a human! "Mm, I see you're not my biggest fan," she started nervously, "and that's understandable. Your opinion happens to be different from mine… but that's okay." She cautiously smiled at him and shrugged her shoulders somewhat. "Everyone gets to decide their own relations to pokémon. I understand how one might see the Pokédex as unethical, but you don't have to support it—"

He snarled at her, and not in words; he literally curled his lips and a vicious growl sounded. Professor Juniper was frozen in shock. It sounded like something the Zoroark at his side should have done rather than him. She blinked fervently at him and sputtered for something to say, but he spoke over her. "You're saying I should just allow people to think whatever they want and treat pokémon however they want, no matter whether the pokémon suffer? I refuse to tolerate the existence of a world like that!"

That cold chill pricked at her spine again but this time, Professor Juniper knew why. Two men faded in from the darkness around her and she screamed, jumping back, but they each lashed out a hand and clamped a steely grip around her forearms. She struggled briefly, her slip-on shoes skidding against the damp cave floor with audible scuffs, but she couldn't move. She was half the size of just one of these men, and now, she had no way of moving her arm to toss the Bouffalant's Poké Ball free. Fear began to really settle in then. She tossed a harried, wide-eyed look at N.

"Look, whatever this is about," Professor Juniper whimpered, "just… leave me out of it. I don't have anything against Team Plasma. In fact, I think some points raised by your organization make perfect sense. Really, I do!"

N looked almost surprised by the scene playing out ahead of him. He tilted his head like he was inspecting some painting at a museum. As Professor Juniper began to struggle again out of fright, he pulled back, visibly disturbed by what was happening.

"Lord N," one of the men holding her looked up at him, "what do you want us to do?" His voice was husky and brittle, as if it went unused for long periods of time, and his face was mostly obscured by a black mask. Salty white hair spilled across his head. It was unkempt and looked so, so dirty. At his question to N, Professor Juniper felt as if her veins were iced over. Lord N?

"What?" N's voice cracked. He seemed to come back to life then, eyes widening in terror at the scene, waving his hands, and shrilly spitting, "N-nothing! Put her down. What are you two doing?"

The two men stepped away as they let her go. Frantically, Professor Juniper glanced between them and then began to rub her arms where they had been holding her seconds earlier. Their grip had been painful… She chanced a peek at her skin and saw it already bruising. Holding up the Bouffalant's Poké Ball now, she howled at them, "Just what do you think you're doing? A peaceful organization, and you have two goons that are following you around calling you their 'Lord' and offering to hurt people for you?"

"I…" N licked his clammy lips and his eyelids fluttered as he stared at Professor Juniper. A Deerling in headlights. He was reeling for some sort of response. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean for them to—"

"Well, they did! Now, get out!" Professor Juniper tossed the Poké Ball. The Bouffalant huffed and pawed at the cavern floor upon his release. He dwarfed her as well as N and his goons. "You can't just threaten people like that!"

"I don't know why they did that right away…" N whispered, shuddering, as he stared at the Bouffalant.

Professor Juniper jumped and yelped when the two men at her sides vanished, and again when N and his Zoroark also disappeared. Alone with the Bouffalant, she trembled and collapsed against the massive pokémon's side. She had expected them to just leave out the cave entrance just a few feet away, not dissipate into thin air! It seemed to sense her distress and snorted at her, ruffling her hair. The Klink that had been following her around had disappeared, too, no doubt afraid by the encounter with Team Plasma's leader. Shakily, Professor Juniper reached for her Xtransceiver and began to dial 911. She had always doubted the tales of violence at the hands of Team Plasma, but today she had seen firsthand just how real it could be.

Except… although she didn't care that N had seemed unsettled by what had happened, she did find it very strange. If he was the leader of this organization, why didn't he expect his teleporting henchmen to use violence? For fuck's sake, why did he HAVE teleporting henchmen if not to use them for violence? How did he have teleporting henchmen at all? The questions swirled in her mind as she gave details to the operator. Her temple throbbed.

Hil had walked into the Pokémon Center after his conversation with Bianca. His team needed some healing following his short battles throughout Chargestone Cave. He noticed Cheren fiddling with the public PC on the right of front desk, but ultimately, left him be. He knew Cheren was in a mood and he had no words that could have aided his friend, anyway. Within a few minutes, the Nurse Joy handed him his Poké Balls back and he was on his way outside. Bianca had waited patiently for him a cautious distance from the Pokémon Center, likely so she wouldn't chance an encounter with Cheren should he exit, and he waved to her once he was ready. He was going to waste no time in heading straight for Skyla's gym. It was still daylight and proving this to Bianca was far more important than leisure time that day.

"I'm all set," Hil said as he released Noodle and preemptively placed him on his shoulder.

"How come you only ever have him out?" Bianca questioned abruptly. Hil briefly was affronted by her question, but took a deep breath, knowing he needed to be understanding right now. Bianca was asking questions. That was a good thing.

"He's the only one that really likes it, I think," Hil answered. "Roadie… gets really nervous and upset. He looks around constantly. Lucky is kinda the same… she doesn't really like others and is suspicious of them. I think Prada just gets upset with having to walk so much," he laughed, "and then Sleepy… her name should really spell it out for you, but she sleeps too much to care for travel. Crest gets lost easy because he gets really distracted and then he gets upset that he's lost and starts wailing…" Hil just shook his head. "Noodle, though? He just wants to chill on my shoulders… even if he's getting a little big for that." Hil uncomfortably plucked at the collar of his jacket. "I honestly might be in for a world of trouble when he evolves into a Serperior… no way he can ride on my shoulders then."

Bianca nodded at his responses and then giggled. "Yeah… probably not."

"…you're talking as if places like Kanto and Johto are right around the corner!"

Hil and Bianca both glanced to the side and noticed a young woman, dressed in various shades of blue and sporting long, strawberry red hair, talking with an older man. He was thin and jagged gray hair sprouted from his head. He had a Cheshire cat-like smile as the exasperated woman snapped at him, clutching a Poké Ball in her gloved hand. "That looks a lot like Skyla from the pamphlets," Hil mused aloud. He gestured to Bianca to follow and then approached her and the elderly man.

"Aww, Skyla," the elderly man was teasing, "if you keep frowning like that, your face might freeze. That'd be a shame."

"I could always drop you off in Sinnoh," Skyla coyly remarked and smirked, "I hear they like ancient myths like you over there."

"Oh, dear me," the man guffawed, "I'm afraid I wouldn't survive little brother Sinnoh's winter with my frail bones!"

Hil waved nervously at them to try and get their attention. Skyla flashed him a quick smile and waved energetically. The older man scanned them both with muted, green eyes. "Hello," he beamed, "I'm Professor Juniper and this is Gym Leader Skyla. Who might you two be?"

"Professor Juniper?" Bianca echoed dumbly as Hil frowned in confusion as well. "That can't be—"

"Oh, just call me Cedric," the old man waved her away frivolously, "my daughter's more fitting for the more professional title of Professor, anyway."

"You sure had no problem rambling to me about all your accomplishments on the delivery ride," Skyla muttered as she cut her eyes at Cedric. She turned her attention away from him and held out her hand to Hil. "Hi, there. I'm Gym Leader Skyla. What's your name?"

"Hil," Hil answered sheepishly. He suppressed a sigh of disappointment when Skyla's lips pressed to a thin line at hearing his name and she seemed to ponder her next choice in words much more carefully. Hil decided to say something before she had the chance to say whatever she was settling on since he just didn't want to hear whatever it was. "I'm here to challenge your gym, actually. My friend, Bianca, she wanted to watch." Noodle crooned from behind his head and twitched his tail cutely.

"Nice to meet you, Hil… Whitacre?" Skyla questioned as she shook his hand tightly. Hil stiffly nodded. Maybe he wasn't free of Vince just yet… "Yeah, yeah, we can battle now. I just was coming back from the Pokémon Center. You see, I spotted an injured Unfezant on the roof of the Celestial Tower on my way back from my delivery to Eterna City in Sinnoh."

"You did?" Bianca piped up. "How did it get hurt…?"

"Oh!" Skyla regarded Bianca interestedly. "I… am not sure, to be honest. It didn't look like it crashed into the tower or anything. Though," she sighed, "I think it might have been beaten and left there. I don't know why. But I'm gonna nurse her back to health and then see if she'll be able to be set free. Some people can be so cruel, but as a person, it's the least I can do to help a pokémon out when they're down." She paused at Bianca's vacant, haunted stare. "Uh… are you okay?"

"Oh, yeah," Bianca shook her head quickly. "Sorry."

"Well, for now the Unfezant is resting in her Poké Ball, and Cedric," Skyla pursed her lips as she eyed the older man, "has his daughter to meet over near Icirrus City."

"Ugh, I can tell when I'm not wanted," groaned Cedric dramatically. He faked wiping sweat from his forehead and then waved at the group. "Good luck on your gym battle, Hil! Tell Amb—I mean, your mother, Cedric said hi!"

Hil glowered after him as he stepped away, bristling at the offhanded comment. He made a mental note to not tell his mother that… not that he talked to her that much anyway, but still. He didn't know why what Cedric had said rubbed him the wrong way… he just knew that it did.

Skyla began to walk away and Hil and Bianca fell into step behind her. She led them through the quaint streets of Mistralton only pointing out a few landmarks. "I have to say, Mistralton's maybe not the biggest city," she shrugged as they reached the entrance to the gym. "There's really only the people who work at the greenhouses and the airport here, and the airport's only to export stuff, so it's not exactly bustling. I mean, I'm the only active pilot right now. My family's all retired, so…" She pushed open the door and showed them into the building. "But it's home all the same!"

The gym distracted Hil and Bianca from her words. It had appeared to be a reused warehouse from the outside, but it was even more apparent on the inside. Various, enormous fans lined the plain, white walls and blue mats covered the gray floors. Some netting was stretched from wall to wall near the rear of the gym. Various Flying-type pokémon raced through the air in the gym while trainers commanded them from the ground.

"Here, in my gym, we practice sky battles," Skyla explained. "A lot of the workers here train under me… I don't try to be too strict because it's really all there is to do around here after a long day's work. Besides, pokémon battles aren't worth anything if you and your partners aren't having fun in them."

Bianca noticeably pulled back at that comment. Skyla helped her and Hil as she maneuvered through the gym. She hissed at them, "Careful, though. People here tend to… be a little blind sometimes." As if to emphasize her point, she yanked Hil down by his arm when a Swanna swooped quite low as it rushed at an opposing male Unfezant. They clashed in midair and then gracefully dove away from one another. Noodle hissed irritably at the sudden descent and scrambled to keep his hold of Hil's hood. Skyla let go and giggled an apology at him.

"This is where we'll battle," Skyla said as they reached the end of the gym. A dual staircase split off in front of them and spiraled up to a tall blue platform. Guardrails surrounded the arena's perimeter. "Your friend can stand on the stairwell and watch… Sorry, don't exactly get visitors."

"That's okay," Bianca smiled at her, "I don't mind."

"Alright, then! You ready, Hil?" Skyla asked him once more.

"Yes," Hil nodded, putting on a show of certainty. At his answer, Skyla eagerly darted ahead of him up the right stairwell, and Bianca began to climb the left to watch. As Hil moved to follow the gym leader, he felt the buzz of the Xtransceiver in his pocket. He was going to merely ignore it, but something urged him to check, and he was glad that it did. A message awaited him on the device from Church, bringing back cozy memories of their stay in Nacrene City with the redheaded boy. The message read, 'Hey! Heard from Bianca you guys were headed to Mistralton! Good luck, man, call me after! You never called me after Clay and I've got some choice words for you, jerk! lol' Hil snorted to himself in amusement as he tucked the Xtransceiver away. As much as he liked Church, now was not the time for a text conversation. His cheeks heated up in the beginnings of a blush. He was really looking forward to talking to Church after the gym battle… Regardless of what happened with Bianca, talking with him would help a lot.

Up at the battlefield, Hil found it was no more interesting than the rest of the gym. A flat, azure blue matting covered the floor, the only pattern being the white Poké Ball insignia that divided the arena between their two sides. Skyla claimed the opposing side while he stood tall on his. Bianca peeked from behind the gym leader, standing awkwardly on the staircase. Hil waved at her and then took a deep breath.

"Gym Leader Skyla of Mistralton City, I, Hil Whitacre of Nuvema Town, challenge you for the Jet Badge!"

"I accept your challenge. This will be a three on three match. Go, Swoobat!"

"Come on out, Prada!"

Now a stunning Zebstrika, Prada reveled in his newfound strength, rearing up and throwing out his front legs in a display of power. His mane flickered and pulsed with power as he landed again, huffing at the opposing Swoobat. He shot Hil a look and he swore Prada's eyes flashed mischievously. The Swoobat did a twirl in midair and squeaked gleefully upon the successful completion of the stunt.

"Come on, Swoobat! Heart Stamp!"

"Charge, Prada!"

All the white on Prada's body glowed an ominous yellow and sparks danced across the Zebstrika like a protective layer. Swoobat swooped in and planted its round, pudgy nose on Prada's muzzle. Wincing at the static, it squealed and flailed its wings to get away as Prada rolled from the force of the hit. He gave a dismayed whinny and leapt back to all four feet as he still flashed yellow from his Charge.

"Heart Stamp again, Swoobat! We got this! Flinch that Zebstrika!"

"Prada, Spark!"

Swoobat didn't even get to finish its attack as Prada barreled toward it and at the last second, swung out its back legs and kicked at the diving pokémon. Suddenly, all the electricity stored in his body escaped through his rear hooves, jumping off Prada in dazzling arcs that met Swoobat's wings. The Swoobat spastically somersaulted in midair for a second before landing in a heap on the floor. Prada, his white stripes back to normal, reared up again victoriously and began to parade the arena, circling it at a trotting pace. Hil pumped a fist in encouragement for him. "There you go, Prada!"

Skyla seemed a little stunned as she recalled her Swoobat. "Alright, I'm not used to getting sent packing so easily, I'll admit," she laughed. "I mean, I've seen Blitzle and Zebstrika at my gym before, of course, but usually they don't stomp me quite that easily… Oh, well. Go, Unfezant!" At the squeak of alarm from Bianca, Skyla frantically waved her hands at her. "Oh, no, no, it's not the same one from Celestial Tower! This is my girl I've been training for a few months now!" She gave Bianca a peace sign with her left hand. "Promise. Unfezant, try and dodge for a turn, and use Razor Wind!"

Feeling a little bolder, Hil got an idea. Did he really need to have Prada use Charge…? Could he just get away with a Spark to send her pokémon out? He decided to test the theory. "Prada, Spark!"

He noticed Skyla jolt in surprise. She gaped when Prada's attack, styled the same as his previous Spark, brought down her Unfezant right away. She crossed her arms and Hil could see her cheeks flushing red. "That's okay, Unfezant," she muttered.

Despite her lukewarm reaction, Hil could only grin stupidly. He was winning! He had taken two of her pokémon out and Prada hadn't suffered even a Scratch! It wasn't him getting floored, for once! Joyfully, Hil held up a hand to Noodle like he would to another person for a high five. The Servine reacted by trilling happily and planting his forehead against Hil's palm. Prada galloped back over to his trainer and circled him briefly.

Skyla sounded mortified as she sent out her final pokémon. Hil soon found out why. "Go, Swanna…"

He had to stifle laughter. He didn't want to be mean even if winning in such a landslide was a brand-new feeling to him, but he knew from seeing Swanna occasionally resting on the distant waters in Castelia, that this pokémon was a Water- and Flying-type. A dual weakness to Electric-types was definitely not in Skyla's favor.

"Swanna, Bubble Beam…"

"Spark that thing down, Prada!"

Prada scuffed a hoof against the mat below him and huffed in what Hil would have called a scoff if he hadn't known any better. Swanna only just began to haul its heavy body off the floor of the gym with its massive, white wings when Prada rushed it and bashed his head into its chest. Lightning raced across its body and brought it crumpling down right away. As if to add insult to injury, Prada kicked out his back legs behind him as if he were throwing dirt on the Swanna. Hil laughed, an ugly, genuine laugh, and shrieked, "Prada, stop that!"

As Prada bounded back over to his trainer, Skyla regretfully recalled her Swanna and then clamped her hand over her face. "Well, that was embarrassing," she sighed.

Hil gave Prada a celebratory pat on the back, and the Zebstrika snorted. He then pushed annoyingly at Hil's legs and when one gave out, slipped beneath him. Grabbing at Prada in surprise and to keep himself from falling, Hil found himself straddling Prada's back. He froze. He knew people could ride Zebstrika and smaller kids were often allowed to ride tamed Blitzle, but Hil had always thought Prada too wild (or, probably more accurately, too lazy) for it. Yet, here he was, having willfully put Hil in that position. Hil decided not to question it and he leaned down, wrapping his arms tightly around Prada's neck. "Thanks, buddy," Hil whispered to him, "You did a good job. Not just for beating Gym Leader Skyla, but because I think you put on a good show for Bianca, too. You don't know how much that means to me."

Prada flicked his ears and raised his head proudly. Maybe he did know. It wasn't like Hil had any way of asking him.

"I guess that means you've earned the Jet Badge," Skyla laughed as she crossed the arena over to Hil. He hopped off Prada and beamed at the gym leader. Bianca then ambled her way from behind Skyla and Hil gave her a nervous look. He wanted to talk to her but supposed in front of the gym leader was not the right time. Skyla clasped an azure badge, shaped like a feather or part of a wing, into Hil's hands and then offered a TM case as well. "That's your badge to show you've beaten me and there's a TM for Acrobatics. I didn't get a chance to use it today," she sighed as she looked away, "but it's a good one for Flying-types."

"Thank you so much!" Hil said as he stashed away his rewards. He was almost overwhelmed with excitement from the victory, his eyes watering at the throes of strong emotions, but he managed to keep it together. Just as he intended to shake her hand and then leave with Bianca, Skyla said something else, though.

"I have a question before you two head out, though," she frowned slightly, "do you two know anything about Team Plasma?"

Hil took a deep breath. Well, that depends, what do you wanna know? Should I start with the dumb as a box of rocks 'King,' the fact that the have a king at all, or maybe I start talking about his scary father? There were also two guys that beat up a Munna a while back. My friend maybe wants to join them and might end up hating me. How much time do you got, Gym Leader Skyla? Wanna pull up a chair? But he didn't have to decide on a response because Bianca answered for him, shocking him in the most delightful way.

"Not much," she said tensely, "just that they're wrong in wanting to totally separate people from pokémon. They have some good points… but they're wrong."

"We've met a few of their higher ups along the way, but we don't really know much more than some of their names…" Hil offered to Skyla. His gaze was fixed on Bianca. He couldn't stop the grin decorating his face. He had taken her comment to mean she wouldn't be joining Team Plasma. As if she sensed his thoughts, she gave him a sheepish nod. It felt like Christmas morning as well as his day was going now. And it had seemed so bleak earlier… "But I gotta ask," Hil said as he turned to Skyla, "what made you ask us?"

"Oh, I just wanted to ask because I saw some of them heading for Icirrus City, and I've just been thinking about them since," Skyla shrugged. "Oh, well. I'm sure whatever it is, it can't be but so bad. You did good work, today, Hil." Turning to Bianca she said, "Sorry for the shortness of that show. I promise I don't normally get swept like that!"

Bianca just giggled. "I believe you."

Hil still felt like he was walking on air as he and Bianca made their way out of the gym, carefully picking their way between the still-battling trainers, but they paused in their tracks when Cheren entered the doors ahead of them. Bianca helplessly glanced at Hil, and then, taking a deep breath, rushed over to Cheren. He appeared to do his best to ignore her at first, but at her insistence, cautiously returned her attention. Hil assumed Cheren was there to challenge Skyla, and although he wanted to stay to watch and make sure Cheren and Bianca didn't get into another fight, he also wanted to call Church. He did feel rather guilty for not calling him at all back in Driftveil and he wanted oh, so badly to gush over his victory with Church… he could just spend a few minutes on the phone with him, and then head back in to support his friends.

He practically walked into the chest of another human, though, and he balked when he realized just which human. N gave him a frazzled look and jumped away from him at the hit. Brushing his shirt clean of any wrinkles, N anxiously plucked at his hat. His gaze kept flicking, as if he couldn't settle on any one subject to watch. His nervousness was apparently contagious as Hil pulled away from him and clutched himself in a tight embrace, feeling his chest flutter uncomfortably. Noodle hissed at N angrily.

"What do you want?" Hil asked in a crackling voice. He had been so happy moments earlier. Why did N have to come along now to ruin it?

"Am I the only one who finds this terribly painful?" N abruptly asked. Hil had no idea what he was talking about. He was speaking so fast. Hil's mind struggled to keep pace with his lips. His eyes were pulled wide, his face taut with worry, and he, too, crossed his arms defensively. His labored breathing was audible against the quietness of Mistralton City. He gave Hil a pleading look. A desperate look. Hil wanted to scream at him for it, to tell him off, to tell him absolutely not, not after his declaration back at Nimbasa, not after the one in Accumula, not ever—but at the look from those stormy, pained eyes that were begging him for help, Hil's animosity evaporated. Did N… want him, right then?

He dropped his guard despite the voice in the back of his head yelling at him that every time he did this, he always ended up hurt. There was just something about N that made Hil seem to lose sound judgment. "N… what's wrong?"