Thank you to everyone who reviewed/fave'd/alert'd! XD That makes me very happy! If you ever have any questions, I'd love to answer them, too!
Oh shizz, this chapter is long. Well, not by that much. Stuff happens. And *gasp* Bianca is useful!
Remember that weird soda house place in Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald? Well, if you don't, here's a refresher course. =P I always wondered who taught that poor girl that song... It made me crack up every time. And yes, N gets drunk off of soda because it works that way. Sort of.
Anyways, enjoy!
For a long time, N and Touko simply sat in silence in the darkness. Touko was the first one to break it. She sighed and put her head on her knees, murmuring, "What is a friend, anyways?"
N looked at her in surprise. "Why would you ask that? Don't you already know?"
"I thought I did," she said wearily. "But... I don't know anymore. Is it wrong that I feel like I can't cry in front of Bianca or Cheren? Does that mean I feel like I can't trust them? Is it wrong that I ask my Pokemon friends to fight? Is it wrong that I relied on Touya so much? Is... is that why he left?"
N bit back his instinctive response, which was that of course it was wrong to make Pokemon fight. He thought for a while but simply shook his head. "I can't understand these human relationships," he answered unhappily.
Touko looked up at him curiously. "Then tell me about your Pokemon friends."
The request brought a nostalgic smile to his lips. "My Klinklang is so curious all the time. I befriended it right before I battled you at Chargestone Cave, and it wanted to stay with me to see the world. Whenever it sees anything colorful and bright, it clinks excitedly. And my Vanilluxe will do a little dance in the air whenever it snows. I've never seen any other Vanilluxe do that, did you know? And my Zoroark! I met him as a Zorua. The first thing he did was bite me." N laughed fondly. "He has this red spot right between his ears. Whenever I leave, he'll be waiting for me excitedly when I come back."
Touko had to smile as well. "He fought so viciously, I never would have guessed. But then, I didn't know him at all."
"That's what humans don't get," N said suddenly. "To you, my Zoroark is just like any other in the world, but to me, he is special, the only one just like him. Because I tamed him. I tamed him, and he tamed me. To him, my footsteps are different from the footsteps of any other human."
"But we do get it," Touko argued. "Those are the bonds between any trainer and her Pokemon. Those are the bonds between friends and lovers. It's just that for some people... it takes too much time to make bonds..."
N waited for her to elaborate, but she just sat in silence. He began to speak quietly. "I don't know, but from what I've seen in my travels, I think it's a wonderful thing. Friendship, that is."
"But he left," Touko whispered. "It's not wonderful. I lose. Because he's tamed me, and he's different than all the other humans in the world, but I couldn't tame him, and now he's gone. Wouldn't it all have been better if I had never met him?"
She wasn't talking about Pokemon anymore, he knew. For some reason, he didn't want to say anything good about Touya, but reluctantly, he sighed and said, "You didn't lose. You have memories. Beautiful memories. And when you look at the sea and the stars, you remember him. He gave you that. Perhaps he wanted you to remember them for a reason.."
Touko looked up, her eyes doubtful, but a glimmer of hope shone in them. "Do you think so?"
"Quite certainly." If he didn't believe it with all his heart, he would have told her to forget Touya, would have done anything to erase his existence. But there was a part of him that thought that, just maybe, it understood this "Touya's" feelings, even though they had never met, even though N knew little about what other humans felt. "I think... I might understand. Before I met you, I felt like there was nothing to the human world. It was colorless. All the same. But now, it feels colorful, and it scares me because I'm not used to it, but I wouldn't change it for anything. So even if you disappeared somehow, it would still all be worth it." He sighed and thought, though I would move heaven and earth to find you first.
She regarded him thoughtfully, still doubtful, but his words had clearly soothed her somewhat. She understood. He had understood her, then.
But Touko clearly cared a lot about Touya, he thought, and from what he knew, Touya had cared a lot about her, too. That made sense, in a way; they had known each other all their lives. Yet N had only known Touko for two years. How was it possible that he could understand her feelings, could care for her in the same way? She was a "friend," wasn't that right?
The next morning found Touko and Bianca in a small cake shop near Dewford hall. Despite its small size, it was equipped with a delightful array of desserts. Touko, who was sitting in a window seat facing the beach, shoved yet another piece of cake into her mouth. Five empty plates were stacked neatly to her right, and to her left, assorted deserts arranged neatly on flowery china cluttered the table.
"Touko, you're eating too much..." Bianca laughed as her friend simply rolled her eyes and ignored her. "Where do you put it all?"
"It's called good metabolism and exercise," Touko answered between bites. "So spit it out. What's your motive for this suspicious... 'girls' night out'?"
"Why, my dear Tou-chan, how could you ever suspect me of any sort of malicious ulterior motive? I am as innocent as a Butterfree." Bianca giggled.
"Oh, really? I'd like to see you try." Touko finished her cake and reached for the next dessert in the queue, a delicious cream-filled fruit tart topped with enticing blueberry sauce. Before she could reach it, Bianca grabbed her friend's arm.
"Before you touch that tart, you will answer my interrogation!" She commanded imperiously, but her act fell apart as she broke into another fit of giggles.
Touko snorted. "You and I both know that there is no way you can stand between me and that delicious fruit tart with physical force. So please just get on with it."
"Alright. I'll be blunt. How do you feel about N?"
Touko stood up abruptly and nearly choked. "Wha ? I am not obliged to answer that ridiculous question." She began reaching for the tart. "Look, this shop just opened and am not wasting this cake sale on your nosiness."
"Fine, then. I suppose you don't mind if I intend to..." Bianca trailed off with a grin.
"Intend to what?" Touko raised an eyebrow and waited. When Bianca still did not speak, she scowled. "I don't have time for your games. Just let me eat my tart, okay?"
"Oh, Touka dear, you're so young and innocent in the ways of love," Bianca sighed dreamily. "Poor girl, lost in uncharted seas and, I think, dodging the question."
"Wha I am not. It's just too ridiculous... No, don't look like that Gah! Fine." She scowled at her friend's smug expression, her pride injured. "He's a friend. A really close friend, I guess, since I've known him since the start of my Pokemon journey. And I know about his past, too. It's kind of strange to be traveling with him and not worrying about him taking over the world, but it's nice in a way. He's... warm. It's sort of sweet that he doesn't know what to do sometimes, and he's reliable. I think that..." She trailed off and her eyes lost their focus. She quickly shook her head. "Anyways, he's a good friend."
"That's it?" Bianca asked expectantly. "Nothing more?" She arched an eyebrow like an investigator interrogating a suspect. In the realm of the love life, Bianca could be downright annoying.
"What else is there?" Touko asked, irritated. She grabbed her uneaten deserts and headed for the counter, where she had them packaged for her to take with her. "I, unlike you apparently, have important things to do."
"Hmm..." Bianca put a finger to her lips in thought as her friend walked out the door in a huff. "That didn't work, I think."
A few hours later, the three of them were sitting around a map of the Hoenn region. Various other maps and papers were scattered all over the floor, and Bianca thumbed through a brochure while biting her hails in concentration.
"We should go up to Slateport and travel to Lavaridge through Mauville," Touka decided, slamming her papers down.
"Lavar ? Oh, you can't mean to follow Touya's old travel plans!" Bianca exclaimed.
"I'm not," Touka argued defensively. "Lavaridge is a popular tourist destination. They have... well... special cookies."
"You shouldn't keep hoping that you'll just bump in to him, especially if he happens to be that thief." Bianca tugged at her hat worriedly.
"I'm not! Anyways, If I ever see him again, I plan to give him a piece of my mind!" Touko glared at Bianca.
"Really?" The blonde asked dubiously.
"Yes!"
"Well... I guess, then..." She glanced at N, who had stayed quiet the entire time. He looked from the map he was reading, a lollipop in his mouth, and shrugged, no emotion showing on his face.
"If we hurry, we can probably make it before dark. I'll ask Carracosta to take us. He's quite fast in the water." In truth, he did not like the idea of chasing after Touya's shadow, but it was what Touko wanted, after all. And you wouldn't mind if she decided to break connections with him if she ever saw him again, a small part of him whispered. But he ignored it.
By the beach, he released Carracosta from its Pokeball, and he and Touko climbed on. Bianca hung back, however, and shook her head. "I'll get there on Samurott," she told them. "Carracosta will get tired."
"Yes, that's true. Thank you for thinking of him." N flashed her a quick smile and whispered into the giant turtle's ear. Within minutes they were speeding off.
It did not take more than a few hours to get to Slateport with the two Pokemons' speed, but by the time they arrived, it was late nonetheless.
"Yo! Tough adventurers! Whether you're hot to trot or cool cat not, come chill at my papa's spot!" A little girl chanted her song as she danced around the door of a run-down hut. The rest of the beach was abandoned, but lights and laughter issued from the single building.
N had to duck to get in through the low doorway, but once in, the three of them found that it was actually rather spacious inside the hut. A dazzling array of soft lights lit up the straw spectacularly, and the smell of sweet soda pop permeated the entire room.
"Yo, adventurers! It's a bit too late for battling, but you're welcome to come in and chat," a tall man in a Hawaiian shirt greeted the trio as they entered. "Buy some pop?"
N wrinkled his nose at the mention of battling, but he soon forgot it at the mention of soda. "That sounds fascinating! I'd love to try one."
The man laughed, pleased, and handed the green-haired boy a bottle. "First one's on me, then, lad! You're never too old for soda pop, that's what I say."
N swished the contents of the bottle curiously and nearly dropped it as it exploded when he opened it, which caused a storm of laughter among the sailors in the hut. When they finally calmed down, one of them explained that shaking the bottle caused the bottle to explode when opened.
"Say, you're travelers, eh? Heard any news lately?" A sailor asked curiously. "We haven't pulled out of harbor in a week."
"We just got here from Dewford, so I doubt we have any news," Touko said dubiously as she sat down next to N, carefully avoiding any sticky wet spots from the soda. "We did hear that some thief stole a badge from Brawly's gym recently, though."
"Old news," a sailor with a particularly large gut waved his hand at them while scratching his stomach with the other. He sighed contendly and burped before continuing. "We heard that from a lass with violet hair who stopped by yesterday, aye."
"The thief has become quite popular lately," the first sailor told them. "He has already stolen gym badges from a lot of towns recently Rustboro, Mossdeep, Petalburg, Fortree... We've heard that he's even taken quite a few badges from Johto."
"Ah, is that so?" Touko murmured.
"Aye, but he always proves that his Pokemon are more than a match for the gym leader, so no one really thinks of it as stealing. Speaking of which, that lass from before said... what was it, now... I think she said that she heard some rumors that he was gonna appear in Mauville in two days."
"Mauville?" Touko exclaimed, standing up abruptly. "In two days?"
"Aye, I'd go meself, but I've another voyage tomorrow." He said sorrowfully, and the other sailors echoed his disappointment with nods and commiseratory sighs. "Not that any of us would want any other life."
"Um, yes, thank you very much," Touko said hastily in a sudden rush. "We've got to get going now. Come on, guys! It's getting late, and..."
N seemed to be having fun poking at the bubbles in his soda, and Bianca was giggling beside him. Every so often, he would manage to detach a bubble from the foam, and Bianca would clap excitedly. At Touko's words, he jumped to attention and hurried to catch up with her, not understanding her sudden haste.
"You bought twelve soda pops?" Touko laughed as she noticed his bag. "You must really like this stuff."
"Well, I've never seen any before..." he said, looking a bit hurt.
"Oh... I'm sorry, I didn't mean it that way," she apologized, biting her lip as she remembered his past. "Anyways, we should hurry to get some rest."
N nodded in agreement. "By the way, what did that sailor say?" He and Bianca clearly had not been listening.
"Oh, well..." she hesitated. "Not much... Um, let's try to get to Mauville by tomorrow, alright?"
"Aw, but think of all the cute stuff we can buy here," Bianca sighed. "It's not every day we get to come to Slateport..."
N agreed. "This is a port town! Think of all the things we could see and do here! Did you see that marketplace? And besides, I've always wanted to look at a lighthouse."
"Oh, fine..." Their pleas made Touko feel selfish about pushing on to Mauville, but she couldn't give it up. "Then let's at least get there by nightfall, alright?"
The two nodded and Touko felt a rush of relief. She frowned at told herself not to expect anything from Mauville, but she was excited nonetheless. It was probably unhealthy.
"Hey, Touko! Touko!" Bianca shook her sleeping friend. "N and I are going shopping first, 'kay?"
"Do whatever the hell you want," Touko groaned with a tired scowl and turned around to go back to sleep.
Bianca rolled her eyes and exited her room. She waved to N, who was petting his Zoroark. When he saw her, he crooned a loving good-bye to the Pokemon before sending him back to his Pokeball.
"White doesn't want to go?" he asked, unable to keep the disappointment from his voice.
Bianca giggled. "Oh no, she's far too much of a late sleeper for that. She's such a Beartic in the morning. We probably have at least three hours before she decides to join us; I've never seen her get up earlier than 10:00 of her own free will."
"Hm," N replied neutrally.
They walked quickly to the market stalls. He found all sorts of items, from Carbos to different colored bricks, which he found no use for, although he did see a Torchic doll which somehow reminded him of Touko. When he made sure that Bianca wasn't looking, he quickly bought the doll while worrying that his masculinity was at risk.
They wandered around for a bit more before Bianca exclaimed, "Let's go to the beach!"
He obliged distractedly while still worrying that his doll was going to be found out, so her question hit him from out of the blue.
"So... how do you feel about Touko?"
"Uhh... I..." he stared at her blankly. "What?"
Bianca rolled her eyes. "You know what I mean."
"She is... a very important friend..." he said tentatively. He glanced at Bianca, but she only raised an eyebrow expectantly. "I suppose... she is very special...?" No comment from the little blonde still. "I sort of get irritated when she talks about Touya, I guess."
"Aha!" Bianca shouted triumphantly. "Why is that?"
"Hm, well..." N frowned, considering the question quite seriously. "I believe that perhaps I wish I cared about someone as much as that."
Exasperated, Bianca threw her arms in the air. "Oh, for the love of Arceus, why do I get two complete idiots to work with?"
"I'm not an idiot," N frowned, offended. "I know I don't have much experience with humans, but I "
"Oh no, that has nothing to do with it." She was in her element now, and she was no longer the timid girl that she always seemed to be. "Fine, then let me ask this: what do you think is your relationship with Touko?"
"A very good friend," he answered immediately.
"And me?" she asked impatiently.
"A very good friend," he answered again.
"By the way, have I told you about Cheren?" She suddenly lit up and started gushing, "He's the sweetest person in the whole world. He seems so vain and stuck up, but really, he just wants to prove himself. It's so cute, really, how he tries to be the best all the time. Did you know that he gave me this adorable handmade Munna pillow once? You wouldn't know it, but he's actually really pro at sewing!" She giggled a bit giddily, her face turning pink.
"Is that so?" N said absentmindedly, feeling much less self-conscious of his Torchic doll. "It is acceptable to give such gifts to a girl?"
"Yes, but that's not the point. The point is that I l-love Cheren, very much so." Bianca stated, jabbing him in the stomach, but not very hard.
"Oh. Well, that's great, I guess." He said blankly, not understanding her point at all.
"Are you irritated? Jealous?"
"Oh... well, no..." he admitted. "But I still don't understand.
"You're not jealous because you want a close friend, you're jealous because you wish Touko thought of you in the same way that she talked about Touya." Bianca jabbed him again.
"Oh," he said for the billionth time that day. After thinking it over, he shrugged. "I suppose that's a possible reason. But I still don't understand why. Touko is just a friend to me."
"Can you say that for sure?" Bianca challenged.
"Well... I've only had a few, so I can't be sure, but..." His voice became hesitant.
"Fine, then." Bianca grabbed N's arm and dragged the protesting boy to a nearby swimmer girl. "This his N," she said, introducing him to the girl, who was sunbathing.
The girl looked up and took off her sunglasses. "Well, hello!" She giggled for some inexplicable reason. "You look rather nice."
"Thanks..." N answered a bit hesitantly, sensing a catch in her words.
"Would you like to battle?" the girl offered excitedly. "I'd love to see your skills."
N frowned. "I couldn't possibly," he said, backing away a bit. "Pokemon aren't tools to play with."
The girl only smiled. "That's rather sweet. I'm not using them as tools, though. My Azumarill loves competing, don't you?" She petted the blue furball next to her lovingly.
N shrugged. Pokemon that loved to battle were just one of those ideas that he had reluctantly grown to accept but could not fully embrace. He had recently gotten over his aversion to Pokeballs since his Pokemon had assured him that they were at least as comfortable, if not more so, than the outside world, but he refused to battle for recreation. He only battled with his partners to protect the most important things.
"I can see you won't change your mind," the swimmer observed, them smiled sweetly. "Would you like to sit down and talk for a bit? Unless you're busy, of course."
Bianca nudged him discreetly, so he sighed and agreed. "What would you like to talk about?"
She laughed and chose a topic, and they chatted for more than an hour. N finally said good-bye to her shortly after ten and found Bianca at the marketplace again.
"So, what did you think of the girl?"
"Her name is Maria. She's nice," he shrugged. "A nice friend, I suppose."
"Compared to Touko? Who do you care about more?"
He scowled. "I've known Touko for more than two years. Of course I care about her more. I don't see your point," he said, frustrated.
"Oh, fine, then. If you still don't get it, then I have no other choice." It was a risky option, but N was too innocent to understand it any other way. She grabbed his shirt and stood on her tiptoes, wrapping her free arm around his neck to pull his head down. Her lips were only a few inches from his when he realized what she was doing and pushed her away in alarm.
"What are you doing?" He almost shouted, shocked. "You're only supposed to k-k...kiss someone you really love."
"Exactly," Bianca said smugly. "Don't be so alarmed, I like Cheren. I wouldn't do it with anyone other than him."
"Then why?"
"To prove something to you. Think about it. What would you have done if it had been Touko?"
He just stared at her in astonishment for a few seconds, but then his face turned bright red and he stammered unintelligibly for a while before finally regaining his composure a bit and coughing out, "I-I don't see what you're trying to prove. That has nothing to do with anything." With a huff, he turned and quickly began to walk away.
Bianca was about to let him go, but she saw something from the corner of her eye and called out, "Wait!"
As he turned, she grabbed his hand and whispered in his ear, "If you play along, you'll see something good."
He looked confused but shrugged, though he still held her hand gingerly. As he was too busy trying to forget that he was holding Bianca's hand, he didn't notice at all as Touko approached.
"Well, um, you two look... close." She was struggling to keep her face neutral, and there was an unnatural edge in her voice. "Bianca, I thought you liked Cheren?"
"Did I, now?" She sighed and appeared to think for a while. "Oh, but N is pretty cute, too, don't you think?"
N shifted his feet uncomfortably. He wasn't sure what Bianca was planning, and he didn't want to trick Touko. He opened his mouth to speak, but Bianca cut him off. "But, Touko, you have Touya, right?" N frowned. He didn't like that topic.
"Err... well..." Her eyes travelled to the side as if looking at something, and then down to her feet. "Oh, well, that..." she gestured vaguely at something.
Bianca smiled. "Jealous?"
"What?" Her friend's head snapped up, and her glare was not a friendly one. "You... you were tricking me!"
"I wasn't," Bianca said, smiling innocently. "Did I say anything that was untrue?"
"And you!" She shot at N, storms in her eyes. "I'd have thought you more sensible than that! Going along with one of Bianca's schemes!" She turned and stormed away, and looking at her small back, he realized that she was only trying to hide her insecurity and shock.
"Wait!" N tried to stop her, but she was soon lost in the throng of market-goers. He gave chase, thanking the heavens for his height, which caused everyone to instinctively walk around him. Nonetheless, it was difficult, and it took him a good ten minutes before he reached the end of the stalls and found Touko walking towards the beach angrily. He reached for her arm hastily.
"What are you doing?" She glared, trying to pull her arm free.
"Wait! I wanted to say that I'm sorry! I didn't know what Bianca was planning..." He trailed off feebly, still feeling guilty.
She kept glaring at him for several moments, then relented and sighed. "Fine. I'm not mad at you. Just Bianca and her silly games."
"Mmm... Would you like to visit the lighthouse?" He offered.
She frowned and shrugged and was about to answer when she realized something. "Oh! We have to get to Mauville!"
"Why?" N asked, an uneasy feeling in his stomach.
"Oh, well..." Touko said uncomfortably. "I..."
"Can't we go to the lighthouse first? And you still haven't seen the marketplace or the beach."
"Fine," she sighed, and they headed off towards the small street that lead to the lighthouse.
It was very small, and it only had two stories, but a large yellow globe on the rooftop glowed with an impossibly bright light, even though it was daytime. N touched the bright stone in wonder. "It's not warm," he said in surprise.
Touko peered at it curiously. "What makes it glow? It's not electricity..."
A man had just walked up the stairs, and he overheard the question, replying, "Oh, that? It's a special type of rock that never stops glowing. It's quite rare, but it can be seen for miles. We got it as a gift from a very famous person. You might had heard of him Steven Stone, son if the head of Devon Corporation? He used to be the Champion, too.
"Wow..." Touko breathed.
N frowned for a second. "Steven Stone..." he muttered. The name was incredibly familiar. He remembered hearing it recently.
"Indeed," the man chuckled and gazed out at the sea. "It can be seen for miles in the sea. Isn't that wonderful? It shines like a star on the same sea that connects everything."
That sounds like something Touya would say, Touko thought, and N noticed as well. "Let's check out the markets together," he suggested, and Touko shrugged.
As the walked back over, he remembered something and pulled the Torchic doll out of his bag. "This is for you," he said, offering it to the brunette. "It sort of reminded me of you, so I bought it."
"Oh...!" She took the doll in her fingers and turned it carefully. "It's so adorable! Thank you..." She smiled at him warmly, and he thought his heart might have skipped a beat.
"Er, you're welcome," he mumbled, and walked faster to hide his confusion.
Touko followed running, and they quickly arrived at the market. It was already afternoon, so the place was much less crowded. There were several game stalls set up for the children who liked to come at this time, and the two of them visited all of them, although neither of them won anything.
"Let's go visit the contest house!" Touko pointed excitedly when they were done, and N obliged.
They spent another couple of hours engrossed in the dazzling displays and battles of the coordinators and their Pokemon, and even N had to agree that contests brought out the best in those Pokemon as far as beauty and skill were concerned. Before they realized it, it was already dark.
"Oh! We should... hurry," Touko sighed without actually caring that much.
"Do we have to?" N didn't want to let her go, feeling as if something terrible would happen if he did. He had learned to trust such feelings.
"Well..." Touko shrugged and sighed again. "I suppose... not..." She bit her lip. She had wanted to with all of her heart before, but somehow, here, she did not mind so much. So what if the thief was Touya? He had left her. She didn't need to care about him anymore.
N smiled in relief.
Elsewhere, an impatient figure scowled and paced. He stopped as a violet-haired girl approached him and bowed. "So?" He demanded.
"I'm sorry, master. She did not appear."
"You're sure the message was delivered correctly?"
"Yes, sir. I stayed at the soda shop to make sure." She kept her head lowered as she spoke.
He glared at nothing in particular. "Fine. We'll have to do this later, then. You are dismissed, Janine." The girl nodded and walked out swiftly.
"This 'N'... Is he the one who pulls my target away from me?" The figure's eyes narrowed discontentedly. "But it doesn't matter. Next time, I will make sure that my plan DOES succeed."
Annd, now it's over. :D
Overused villain scene ftw! =P Anyone figure out who the girl is? She is an actual video game character. I'm not much of a fan of writing OCs into fanfics.
Also, if anyone noticed, the first scene was based off of a chapter of The Little Prince, which is this really awesome children's-book-esque novel thing. If you haven't read it, I recommend that you do. XD You can just google it to get the English translation. Of course, if you're able, you should read the original French because it sounds much prettier. You might think it's boring though. It's one of those things that you either get and feel with your very soul and it just clicks and love or don't get and feel that it's very meh.
So... anyways... please review! XD