Author's Note

Ayo! So, a while back I mentioned having chapters in the vault that I could upload and I must have started to get busy because I didn't upload all of them. Well, I recently started thinking about Fanfiction and the stories that I never finished on here. I've been wanting to get back into writing, especially because Touko/Pokemon Black were one of my favorite characters/games. However, it may be because I am on break currently and my time is very free to be used; usually caught up in college and relaxing with video games normally.
Anyway, I'm going to work on getting these last 2-3 chapters left in the "vault," and perhaps upload newly written ones in the coming months. I have been playing a bit of Pokemon Black, the original save file is still there, but it seems wrong to continue without continuing the story as well!

Chapter Sixteen: Desert Dilemmas

Touko shielded her face as she trudged through the sandstorm, guided solely by the somewhat buried pavement beneath her feet. Cheren was right, this sandstorm did make it hard to progress through the route. She had left Servine out, tucked into her vest but she wanted company and Servine hadn't been out and about recently. "Man, how long has it been Servine?" Her Pokemon said nothing but looked up at her with a shrug. "I know it was getting dark when we left Castelia but the sand makes it impossible to see the sky. Plus, I'm getting hungry now." She sighed, rubbing her stomach and looking down at Servine who nodded. Touko nodded, setting Servine down and kneeling to set her backpack on the ground. "I'm pretty sure we have some bread left so I'll grab that." Reaching into her pack, she grabbed hold of the last of the bread but suddenly she left a tug on her shirt behind her. She set the bread down on her backpack and looked behind her, seeing nothing. Confused, she covered her eyes with one hand and peered around.

"Servine-Serv!" Alerted by her Pokemon's yell, she turned to see a Darumaka grabbing her last food and giggling.
"Hey! What are you doing!" The Darumaka looked up, smirked and then laughed. He grabbed her whole bag and began to run off into the desert, leaving Servine fuming. Angry, Servine ran after the Pokemon and Touko tried to call her back. "Servine! Wait! It's dangerous!" With no use and losing sight of the Pokemon in the desert, she chased after them.

...

After running for almost an hour straight, Touko had to face the fact that she was lost and she had lost the sight of her Pokemon. The sandstorm was growing more and more fierce by the second and now she was without food and any of her Pokemon, having stored them away in her bag. Tears of anger and sadness wanted to spring from her eyes but she kept them in and clenched her teeth together. "Servine! Where are you?!" She called out to the desert, although her voice was drowned out by the raging sandstorm. Her whole body pricked in fear, for she knew it had to be late now and Wild Pokemon were everywhere and the sandstorm was making it hard to see her hand in front of her. In fact, the moment a hand touched her shoulder she jumped and spun around. It was a tall man but he held out a hand for her and motioned to follow him. She couldn't really see what he looked like, just a black blob of tallness. She considered everything for a moment before accepting the hand and immediately being led away. "Where are we going?" Touko tried to ask the man where he was taking her, but either he chose to ignore her or he didn't hear her over the storm. She decided that it was no use either way and accepted being led away, her mind thinking of Servine and her whole team.

...

The two had been walking along, though Touko more of dragging and trying to keep up with his long strides, until a shape came into view. It appeared to be a passageway and some pillars that led underground. The man stopped before it and motioned for her to go in first and she obliged, feeling her way down the darkened halls until her feet came to rest on the sandy floor. The wind was howling outside and it echoed across the walls but the air was still and dry beneath it all. Her only complaint was that she could barely see her hand and as she turned around she almost bumped into the man who had joined her. He was still just a dark tall blob but now he finally talked and she could see he was holding a torch from one of the walls.

"Usually the Pokemon here keep these lit, no bother, I can light it." Touko's breath hitched and she went wide-eyed. That voice could not be the voice she thought it was. Her assumptions were correct as he struck a match and lit the long-lasting torch. The shadows and light played across his soft features and green hair, shining in his emerald eyes. "I saw that you were lost, were you not Touko?"

"I was just looking." Touko didn't know what to respond, but she was a bit angry she allowed N to see her in such a vulnerable, emotional state back in the desert.

"I don't hear the voices of your Pokemon." He took a step to close the minimal space between them and placed a hand on her shoulder as if searching for her bag's strap. He moved his hand to her waist and now Touko was thankful that the little light hid her flushed cheeks. She watched his observing eyes and was dying to know what he was thinking, especially since she wasn't stopping him. His facial features were so mysterious yet they told his mood well. He was observant, his eyes focused on her and his lip creased in a confused frown. "Your bag is gone." He finally said after a moment and he removed his hand. "Did you release your Pokemon?" His voice rose at the end, and Touko could see that he was happy at the thought.

"No! Of course not! My Pokemon are basically my family and now I've..." Touko squeezed her fists together and squeezed her eyes shut. The thought of really saying what she wanted to made her so flustered and depressed. "I've lost them, okay?! I've lost them!" She yelled at N and she felt so bad for doing so, but she was so angry at herself. She moved away from him and slumped against the wall, knocking the back of her head against the wall softly. "It's all my fault." She said softly, it felt good to get everything off her chest and she sighed. N stayed motionless for a bit, either out of shock or understanding, Touko did not know. He did walk over to Touko though and leaned over her, placing the torch in the holder above her. He then took a seat besides her and she could feel his eyes studying her intently. She kept her face turned away from his for she could not bear to see him. Whenever she was around him, despite the given circumstance, all her senses were on high alert.

"Tell me what happened." He said simply and Touko had to look up at him, staring deep into his sincere eyes. Touko just sighed and relayed the events of the Darumaka. "Hm. I see. It appears he just wanted to have fun and was hungry. People are taking away the land from Pokemon and it makes it hard for them to find peace and food!" Touko sighed, N always believed that Pokemon were always in the right.

"Well, I want my Pokemon back." Touko replied simply and there was a flicker of alarm in N's eyes.

"Touko, what if Servine ran off because she wanted to be free of you? Perhaps Darumaka stole your bag to free your other Pokemon from their confinements." N simply said and Touko bristled at the words.

"No! How dare you insult me like that N! You barely know me and you accuse my Pokemon of wanting to be rid of me?!" N seemed surprise at the sudden hostility but he spent no time allowing the sparkle in his eyes to change to one of determination.

"Have you ever possibly thought of it like that Touko?! Have you ever thought Pokemon don't care for your love?" He pressed on his point and although his words made her think, Touko furiously shook her head.

"Servine and I have been through so much! Everyone in my team and I have been through so much! You don't know what we've been through! You cannot simply say that my Pokemon dislike me without knowing anything about us!" Touko spoke quickly out of anger and love of her truths, and N stayed quiet afterwards.

"You're a strong believer in your own ideals Touko, but what I speak is the truth and you can choose to accept it or not. One day you will see that I am right though." Touko frowned at him but she said nothing more. She was exhausted and didn't feel like yelling after so much of an hour of so much emotion and running around. Now she realized her true hunger and thirst but she wanted to keep as much pride as possible and turned away from N.

...

It didn't last long though as her stomach grumbled loudly and she heard N chuckle. She blushed a pink and she felt N shift besides her. "You know Touko, if you wanted some food you could've asked. I do not mind sharing with you, even if you are different." She said nothing but the thought of food made her turn and look at him. He was sitting cross-legged and close to her back, having a small bag of berries and a canteen of Fresh Water on his lap. She looked at him for a while before turning and sitting cross-legged as well. The torch above them lit the small portion of the room and she watched N watch her. He was so observant it was almost scary as if he was taking notes on her. "Here, they are more for Pokemon but everyone can eat Berries." He held open the bag for her and she took a Berry, taking a small bite. It was sweet and it enlightened her senses and she smiled which caused N to smile as well.

"Thanks." She grumbled, taking a bigger bite of the Berry and looked down at the ground. The two continued to eat and drink. Touko found it a bit odd to be sharing the same glass with N, though he did not seem to mind and the polite woman in her told her to keep quiet. With food in her stomach and her thirst quenched, she took this time to really reflect on everything. She would find the Darumaka and her Servine and she would get her family back. Then she finally really thought about what she was doing. "Oh, Arceus." Her mind suddenly began to race as she looked over N who was putting his things away. "I'm alone with an older boy in the middle of nowhere in the dark who I don't even know. I just ate his food that I don't even know is poisoned and I'm lost and without any sort of Pokemon for protection." Had Mrs. White been here, Touko was sure she would not be impressed. "The boy that I want to kiss." Touko continued to race but everything stopped and she replayed that sentence over in her head. It was the same voice from Nacrene City and Touko tried to push it away. This was the moment she had been waiting for, time to be with N without interruptions or him walking away. But now Touko became tongue-tied and she didn't know what to say, watching as he leaned back against the wall and stretched his legs out. As she began to think of conversation starters, she was alerted to a noise coming from the stairs leading to the outside. In fact, Touko almost thought she was dreaming as she could've sworn she heard Servine's voice. It was no dream though as at the bottom of the stairs Servine and Darumaka showed up. He was carrying Touko's bag and Servine seemed to be ordering him around. As Servine looked over at her Trainer, she grinned and Touko grinned back. Darumaka looked sullen and looked up at Touko, approaching her. He set down her bag besides her legs and bowed in graciousness.

"It appears Darumaka is sorry, though I'm certain he was chewed out by Servine." N chuckled, moving so he sat right behind Touko and leaned over her shoulder to observe the Pokemon. Touko blushed fiercely at N's closeness, feeling his chest against her back but she looked over at Servine who had raised an eye and was smirking at her.

"Servine! You aren't possibly thinking!" Looking down at the Darumaka, she realized it had the same grin on and she realized they both were probably thinking the same thing! "Oh Arceus, they think something happened between us!" Embarrassment tugged at her stomach but she just held out her arms for Servine. "Servine, I missed you." She smiled and Servine smiled back, jumping to her Trainer's arms. N leaned back as to not be hit by the Pokemon but he was still close to her. Touko situated her bag and scooted a bit from N to lean against the wall and hold her Pokemon. This didn't stop N from scooting right back to press his side against hers and peer at Servine who peered right back. Free from both of the two's gaze, Touko's mind rushed with all the different thoughts of how close N was but she forced herself to focus on Darumaka. It looked up at her and she smiled softly at it. "Darumaka, thanks for bringing my stuff back. Next time, you don't need to steal, I would've given you food had you been hungry. Deal?" She held out a finger to the Darumaka who grinned and shook it furiously with his two little hands. Touko just laughed and finally turned her attention to Servine and N.

"It's so odd, the things your Servine says. Some of it I believe is even highly inappropriate." Touko blushed deep at N's words and prayed to Arceus that they weren't extremely vulgar thoughts of Servine's. "But more importantly she tells me of her love for you and all the Pokemon too. It's so odd." N remarked casually and Touko watched her Pokemon yawn.

"I don't have to hear the voices of Pokemon to know that my Pokemon is tired." Touko told N, holding onto Servine and setting her on her lap. "We'll just rest up and then go see Professor-" Touko stopped and suddenly groaned. "Oh no! We were supposed to meet up with Cheren and Professor Juniper at the gate to Nimbasa City. Now they're probably all worried, we have to go!" Touko began to fret and tried to get up but N grabbed her shoulder roughly and kept her down.

"Touko, don't be so rash. The sandstorm is always worse at night and it's already extremely late, I'm sure your friends trust in your strength enough." N told her calmly, removing his hand and leaning his head back. "Why don't you just spend the night in the Ruins?" He asked her and she bit her lip. Sleeping in the middle of a dark room, alone, with this mysterious boy? Everything about it screamed danger to Touko, but everything about N drew her in enough to make her listen. She sighed and nodded, leaning her own head back on the wall. After a few moments she felt N's arm lay across her shoulders and his hand to rest on her side. She raised one eyebrow in both shock and confusion and stared at him. He opened one eye as he felt her gaze and noticed her look. "Oh, I apologize Touko. My arm was just uncomfortable and I like to stretch it, I can remove it if you'd like."

"N-no. You're fine." Touko sputtered out, blushing a bit. It was such an odd move for him to make, but his sincerity was cute and she couldn't help but smile. She stole a peek at him and saw that he had resumed his position with eyes closed. Looking down at N's shoulder, she had the greatest impulse to place her head on it. She bit her lip, would that be too awkward? Touko couldn't help it though and she lay her head there slowly, nestling her head on his shoulder. She situated her body a bit to rest more, leaning against N. Touko hoped he wasn't watching her and he said nothing for she was blushing red now at her own actions. Servine snickered softly on Touko's lap but Touko said nothing and just enjoyed the moment.