"Local police reports state that the escaped arrestee, Aoyama Karuta, is still at large. After a daring break from a holding center in Goldenrod City, Aoyama has more or less vanished off the radar. At the time of his escape he was in fact armed with a stolen firearm, but thankfully no officers or bystanders were fired upon. Police are still searching for any trace of this criminal. If seen, do not confront or try and capture this man, as he is armed and dangerous. Anyone with information regarding Aoyama's wherabouts should call --"

The television snapped off with a sharp sound as Nozomi clicked the remote, tossing it aside with a sigh. Karuta had broken out of police custody...somehow it didn't surprise her, but it worried her more than anything else. Where would he go? There was no way he could go back to the Underground after everything that happened, could he? The place was probably overrun with Muks if the trainers down there hadn't been able to handle the monsters anyway. He didn't have his supplies...all of his money, his belongings, and his Pokemon were with her...

Looking over to the gunny sack that rested upon a nearby chair, she gave another sigh. Why had he done that? His things had been with her when she was signed into the hospital, meaning Karuta purposefully left them in her care rather than let the police take them as evidence. Did that mean he'd planned to escape the whole time and was going to come to her to retrieve his items? She'd thought that had been his plan, but five days had passed since news of his breakout and he'd not come. It wouldn't have taken Karuta so long to come to a hospital within the same city at some point, even if it meant sneaking into the place in the dead of night. That kind of thing wouldn't have stopped him.

He wasn't coming...

What had he been thinking, leaving his Pokemon with her? She couldn't train that many Pokemon as well as her own...they either didn't know her or didn't like her, with the exception of Kyuuden. Stupid Karuta...selfish as usual. It shouldn't have surprised her that he'd dump that kind of responsibility into her lap without so much as a warning...not even a single word...

"He didn't say goodbye..." she mumbled quietly, her long hair hanging down over her face.

Jerk...

It struck her as odd the first time she thought of it; she'd wanted Karuta to come back. She awoke each time expecting him to be sitting in the very chair his gunny sack occupied, looking annoyed with her like he always did and having some rude remark just waiting to be shot off. Maybe it was strange for her to be looking forward to that kind of abuse, but it was just how Karuta was. Whether or not he was mean about it was a different matter entirely...she couldn't help but miss him. One didn't travel together with a person for so many months and not gain a fondness even if they didn't want to. At one point she even thought it could've gone further than just being fond of him, but that kind of thought was nothing more than a passing whimsey. Karuta had a wall around him that had never come down, not once, and she'd never been able to get past it. She couldn't possibly feel strongly for someone who kept her at arm's length. She didn't know anything about him beyond immediate information that she'd earned through staunch efforts. He'd never told her about himself...about his past. All she had to go on was that faded photograph in his wallet of a happy family, wondering if that family even existed anymore.

Her thoughts instantly shifted to Amos at her ponderings over personal explanations. Amos had been far more open with her than Karuta ever had despite not knowing him as long...he was so much easier to get along with. He never hesitated to smile, laugh, or take a pot-shot at Karuta at any given chance. Even with the tension between the two men, things just seemed more easy-going with Amos around to lighten Karuta's heavy atmosphere. If she had a chance to fall for either of them, Amos was most definately the prime candidate. Despite the fact that he was about as bad as Karuta when it came to his criminal activity, he didn't seem anywhere near as bad as the black-coated trainer was. But then again, she'd never get that kind of chance, would she?

Karuta had lied to her...Amos had never been checked into the hospital.

She'd thought there had been a mistake at first; that the nurse had read the list of names wrong. A foreign name like McCaugllen was strange, but it wouldn't be hard to miss when written in Japanese. Even harder to miss than his name was his physical description, to which none of the nurses had any knowledge of. They'd never heard of him, never seen him, and most definately had never treated him. Amos simply wasn't there...Karuta had lied just to keep her calm while she healed, apparently. That left the question as to where Amos was now. Had Karuta taken him somewhere else, knowing his companion would be arrested as well? Was Amos even alive? She couldn't picture somebody as strong as Amos dying...he was too stubborn. He was the kind of guy who would laugh at Death while giving it a wedgie...

Even if she never saw either of the men again, she had things to remember them by. She didn't know how or when, but Karuta had filled his gunny sack with Amos' and her own belongings as well, which accounted for the extremely overstuffed look it bore rather than its past slimness. Few clothing, mostly personal items, money, and Pokemon as well. Maelstrom was missing from the bunch, though three pokeballs remained of his. Three pokemon for Amos and two for Karuta that she had never met before...it would be akward getting to know them under the circumstances, but it was the only option she had. She couldn't sell or trade them...

Two unknowns of Karuta...along with the four she knew of, that left one missing...

Dokuga wasn't amongst the pokeballs.

"Nozomi, are you ready?" The warm sound of her father's voice called from just outside her hospital room moments before he came in pushing a wheelchair with her mother in it, enjoying a free ride. She hopped out of it while Nozomi simply groaned.

"C'mon, I don't need that thing...I can walk under my own strength." Nozomi began to protest, though her mother cut her off quickly.

"Regardless, we're not going to let you push yourself while you've still got those bandages. It takes more than a week to heal a bullet wound, young lady." Her mother said firmly. There was no arguing with the woman...with a defeated sigh, Nozomi allowed herself to be ushered into the wheelchair.

Her parents had talked her into coming home a day after their first arrival in Goldenrod...well, guilted her into it was a better phrase. It meant losing all possible contact with Karuta and Amos...but somehow, she felt it was the right thing to do anyway. As much as she wanted to stay and look for them, there was a time in which paths had to part. There hadn't been anything keeping the three of them together outside of being in trouble with the law and now that was what was keeping them apart. It made her sad, but she didn't show it. Every time she felt herself starting to mope over the thought she could easily picture Karuta's disdain or Amos' attempts to make her smile again. It didn't necessarily make her feel any better, but it did keep the tears at bay. She would get over this...grow, move on...

But then again, sometimes she just needed a hug to help with the ache.

With a brief request to her father who had retrieved the gunny sack, Nozomi took up Kyuuden's pokeball and released the rodent, allowing him a seat in her lap and the warmth of her arms around his furry body. She'd taken to cuddling the Raichu far more in the past few days than she had in the past and, incredibly so, Kyuuden had been much less of a pervert than usual. Rather than taking advantage of the situation, he'd been rather sedate when he was outside of his pokeball...in truth, he'd been downright depressed when she'd explained the situation to him days before. She couldn't blame the little guy...he and Karuta had been so close...she felt her own pain over losing her companions was nothing compared to what Kyuuden must've felt for the loss of his trainer. She'd not explained things to the other pokemon yet...best to let Kyuuden do that himself, as they would be more inclined to listen to him. In the meantime, she'd been growing closer to the Raichu with each passing day and found that his presence soothed the ache that came whenever she started thinking of her missing friends. Kyuuden seemed to appreciate the closeness as well, keeping near to Nozomi now that Karuta was nowhere to be found.

Hugging the rodent close to her chest, Nozomi eased into the backseat of her family's car, having zoned out the entire way into the parking lot. Kyuuden trilled a sad little sound that didn't fit its normally chipper character at all as Nozomi stared out the window, watching the surroundings slowly blur as they pulled away and took off down the street. She could hear her mother talking again but couldn't focus on the words. For now, her thoughts were with Karuta and Amos...wherever they were.

"You'll like it where I live, Kyuuden...my home is just beyond a mountain range, so there's lots of forests and hills. I can show you where I used to hang around with Suzume and Shinosuke..." she murmurred softly to the pokemon as she rested her chin atop his head.

"Oh, I forgot to mention! Shinosuke's back home as well! He came home from the League Research Labs when he heard about what happened to you." Her mother switched gears in the middle of a sentance at hearing her daughter's mention of her childhood friend.

"Eh? How many people did you tell about this?" Nozomi gaped.

"Tell? It's been on the news...the entire town knows about it. We were getting nothing but get-well-cards and gifts for your recovery before we left. I imagine our house will probably be buried by the time we get back there." Her father chimed in as well while he drove, not looking away from the road.

"Oh...Shinosuke came back because of me?" it seemed a bit hard to believe. She'd not been able to hold up the promise she'd made to Shinosuke years before...she never made it to the League, but he'd more than surpassed her. Not only had he made it to the League, he'd gained sponsorship thanks to his intellect and begun working for the League itself with research and development in unity with Silph Co. She'd heard all about it during calls home, but hadn't heard from her friend himself in quite some time. A pang of guilt hit her as she realized that she had in fact missed him, but not had the thought to make contact with him even amongst all this.

Still, a bit of a smile crept over her lips. He'd come back for her...he'd not forgotten her despite how she broke the promise she forced him to make. He wanted to see her...not surprisingly, she realized that she was indeed looking forward to seeing him again as well.

"You'll like Shinosuke, Kyuuden...he's really friendly and smart. I think he has a Pikachu, though by now it might be a Raichu like you...maybe you two could be friends?" she mused absently as she hugged the rodent again, starting to feel quite a bit better now.

Maybe going home again wasn't such a bad idea...