I'm so so sorry guys! This story is NOT being discontinued, I'm just going to be really slow in updates. My brother wanted to play, and then I bough Black 2, and then I was upset and postponed that game for like two months because I couldn't catch Virizion, and then I was away from home for almost two months, and then school started... I'll have to finish Black 2, then restart AGAIN on White to be able to start this up again... Or maybe I should just go off of youtube videos for now... We'll see... But ANYWAY, here's another chapter.

Chapter Eighteen

"Wait!" Touko groaned. Why was everyone stopping her from getting to the Gym leader?!

"What is it now?" She snapped, turning around, and stepped back in shock when she saw a small Zorua sitting at her feet. There was a small note tied around its neck.

Dear Touko,

I would like my hat back, and I'm afraid if you fight the Gym before I get it back, you'll leave, and it will be a while before I see it again. Just follow Zorua, and then we can swap hats.

—N

She sighed. N had basically been stalling her all day, and now this! What was he planning? The Zorua began to walk away, and she followed it, frowning.

Meanwhile, in the background, Cheren snuck up to where Touko had been and pulled the book off.

"Thanks for helping me find it easily, Touko…" He chuckled.

"That is low, Cheren. That is very low." Touya shook his head at him in shame.

"Well, technically, this whole thing is observation, and I just observed Touko, and found the last book." Touya continued to shake his head.

"Very, very low," he said.

Touko crossed her arms as she walked up to N, and she glared at him. She got on her toes, and looked him in the eye. He looked a bit surprised to see her so angry with him.

"Did I do something wrong?" He asked. And just like that, all of her anger disappeared, and she sighed.

"You're too innocent to be mad at… It's like being angry at a small child for something they didn't know was bad…" She took off his hat, and handed it to him. Then, Touko smiled, realising N was wearing hers.

"It's a bit cruel to compare me to a small child isn't it?" He removed her hat, and she reached out to take it, but he shook his head.

"Answers first, hat after," He said, and he put on his own hat. She pouted.

"Since when did you become a tease?" She mumbled.

"How old are you anyway?" She asked.

"Seventeen, you?" He smiled as she tried to grab the hat again, then raised it to a height where she couldn't reach.

"Fifteen. And I guess it was kind of mean to compare you to a kid." She grinned when he placed the hat on her head.

"Oh, uh, Touko…"

"Yes?" N frowned, looking away.

"What is it?" She asked.

"I'm a bit confused… What am I to you?" She smiled brightly, then threw her arms around him in a hug.

"You're my friend of course!" He froze at first, but then he smiled, and slowly wrapped his arms around her in return.

"Yes, friends…" His smile grew sad, and he pulled away.

If only things were that easy…

"What about me? How do you feel about me?" She asked.

"We're friends… I guess…" She pouted.

"What do you mean 'I guess.' That's messed up, N!" His eyes widened.

"Oh, no! I didn't mean it like that. It's just that, I wasn't really sure about how I felt, so I asked you... It would be easier if friendship had some kind of formula to figure out..." He had said the last part quietly, but Touko still heard him.

"Formula? No! You're a… A smart person!" She put her head in her hands.

"Is that a bad thing?" She shook her head.

"No… It's just… I'm not really the brightest girl around, and sometimes smart people talk down to me, just because I don't know the things they know…" N smiled.

"I would never do that, trust me Touko. Because just as I know things you don't know, you also know many things I don't know. That's why I enjoy being with you so much. I like to learn from you." She blushed slightly.

"Someone needs to record this. First nice, smart person I have met!" She smiled brightly at N, and he laughed.

"Yes, well, I hope your opinion of me never changes." His expression grew sad again, and suddenly his Xtransceiver rang. He looked at it, and frowned.

"I'm sorry, Touko. I'm afraid I have to go…" He walked away, the small Zorua following behind him. Touko wondered why he frowned. The name of the caller said, "Father." Shouldn't his dad calling be a good thing?

That just proved she had so much more to learn about. Every time she thought she was getting to know him better, another thing happened to confuse her all over again. Maybe she just wasn't meant to learn about N. Maybe N was just supposed to be a mystery to her, and that was that.

But could they really be friends when she barely knew anything about him?

She sighed, and started walking back towards the museum. She had to focus again. Hopefully, there would be no more distractions this time. She really wanted to battle the Gym Leader already!

As I said before, I'm very sorry. This chapter is kind of a filler because I have to restart again... And I might take a while to update, but I promise, I WILL finish this story. Please review!