Chapter 7

"You never know, huh Bianca?" Haruka asks the now black screen and places her arm down onto her stomach, "No, you're wrong about that. I do know that I'll never become that dude's bride. Never, never, never!"

She pulls her knees up to her chest and she rolls onto her side, "After all, I'm only fifteen. We shouldn't be thinking about that kind of stuff already."

But the young, innocent girl can't seem to get N out of her mind. Everything she looks at, she relates it to him. Oh, that tree's really tall, just like N, she would think at one point, and then it would be, the grass looks especially green and fresh today, just like N's eyes…

"UGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" She screams into her bag, and squeezes her eyes shut. It would have to take her whole life to forget about one random boy. Just one.

Samurott stops speaking and tilts his head at Haruka. He pads over to her and gives her a concerned look. She laughs at her silly behavior and strokes his snout, letting Gardevoir play with her silky hair (one of her favorite things to do) once again. Dragonair polishes off all the Oran berries and rests her head on Haruka's lap. Haruka looks at Dragonair's dark blue, pearl like thing on her neck and softly touches it with two fingers. Her other hand stops stroking Samurott, and goes to her own necklace.

I wonder why I even bother keeping this. I can probably sell it and get a ton of money, she thinks, shifting her eyes down to the ground, her two fingers still on her stone, Really…

She notices how dark it has gotten, and knows that she'll be camping again. She doesn't seem to mind anymore, since her pokemon are with her. But per Samurott's request, she returns him to his pokeball in order to keep the irritating bug pokemon away, and Dragonair presses the button on her own pokeball, knowing that she's too big now to cuddle with Haruka. She's at least twenty feet tall, and she as well doesn't want to get bitten by a roaming Larvesta. Only Gardevoir stays out, and really, it's a routine. She makes sure to stay on guard, somehow both protecting her master and getting rest. Haruka envy's this skill, and wishes sometimes that she were a Gardevoir too.

Haruka sits up on her sleeping bag, letting Gardevoir try a French braid on her lengthy hair. Haruka stays silent as Gardevoir's nimble fingers (fingers?) shift through her hair, placing strands in the correct place, here and there. For the first time, Haruka notices how much her stone is glowing in the night, and is amazed at its intense, brilliant glow. In fact, she's almost blinded by the stunning sight.

"I guess this is why I can't get rid of it." Haruka says out loud, adjusting her nighttime shorts, "It's too pretty to even stare at it."

"Gardevoir, voir." Gardevoir says in agreement, tying Haruka's hair with a black, thin band. She floats a bit back, and admires her work. She gives Haruka a light kiss on the cheek and sits herself on a semi-clean rock, closing her wide eyes and finally sleeping. Haruka lies down onto her stomach and rests her chin on her bag, lightly touching her pokeballs to make sure all three are there.

She takes her necklace off and holds it away from her face, to inspect the strange glow. She tosses it around gently from hand to hand, and her eyes droop a bit. She's tired, but she refuses to go to sleep.

"I feel miserable." She finally admits, no longer having the will to lie to herself. She chuckles softly and says again, "Yes, I am indeed mis-er-a-ble."

She twirls the necklace around her right index finger and focuses on the stone again, "I wonder what this thing even does. Is it just an accessory?" She turns around and onto her back and throws it up and down, finding nothing better to do at 2:30 in the morning.

"Arceus, I feel like such an idiot doing this," she says, snatching the stone midair and then slamming it down onto her stomach, hurting her a little, "I'm such a kid."

She rubs a sore spot on her temple and exhales tiredly, "I can't sleep. I cannot sleep." She then hisses angrily, "Why the hell can't I sleep?!"

She fastens her necklace back around her neck with some struggle, rolls over to her ride side in fetal position, and counts Mareep. When that doesn't work, she simply tries to imagine herself in a world of pitch black and concentrates on the darkness. It works for a while, but then her eyes slowly open up.

She groans and is glad to see that she didn't wake Gardevoir. She rubs her eyes and sits up, her head starting to hurt again. She wants to rip her hair out and just go home. But she knows she can't, for she doesn't want to disappoint her mom and the professor. And she's already this far, so she would really, in the end, fail herself.

"I'm going for a walk." She whispers, and gets up. She cracks her back, shakes her head, and starts out into the route unsteadily. She stops shortly and immediately sprays on tons of repel, and she stupidly forgets to bring one pokemon with her just in case.

After all, you never know.

Out of her senses, she starts talking to herself about who knows what. Eventually, she slaps herself and mumbles something quite unladylike. She comes to a stop in front of some tall grass and carefully walks through and jumps on top of a rock. She sits quietly, thinking to herself, and stares at the twinkling stars. They somehow seem to be laughing at her. Some seem to be grinning at her, and some just sparkling. Just twinkling their guts out. She can't help but smile, her dimples deepening and her blue eyes glinting in the strong moonlight.

At this time, Haruka knows that she isn't a little kid. She realizes how serene and placid she's become already in such little time. She notices how fun it is just to gaze up at the night sky and stare intently at the white balls of light. But this also saddens her a bit, knowing that she won't be going back to her old ways. Her immature self. The one that's now gone.

She tries to count the stars, trying to amuse herself. She eventually gives up of course, and leans back on her hands, allowing the warm night air embrace her petite body. She loves how her stone glints along with the stars above her, and begins to wonder if maybe that stone might be a solidified star that somehow came down onto the earth. She laughs and rolls her eyes at the stupid thought and notices a tall, dark figure roaming around. She stiffens a bit and an uncomfortable feeling starts to creep through her body.

She squints her blue eyes a bit, and leans forward. She shivers for some reason and suddenly becomes anxious, her palms sweating a bit and her heart beating a bit faster. She begins to panic at what's happening, and then she does some quick thinking since the figure is getting closer and closer.

Okay, this is really weird… Is all the "quick thinking" she can do. Since the now still figure before her eyes is the one and only…

N.

She stops breathing at the sight, and she actually gets a little frightened. The N she's currently staring at… He no longer looks like the same flirty type of guy. His chiseled, tanned face expresses a solemn, serious look, and he stands there gazing, no, actually glaring at her. His long, green hair softly blows with the gentle nighttime wind under his cap and his sturdy, built stature remains standing tall.

She dares to scoot up a bit on the gray rock, pressing one smooth leg against the bumpy rock firmly, the edges digging into it. He doesn't move, and keeps looking at her with that strange, and with those radiant, emerald eyes, entrancing look. His muscular arms are at his sides, but his large hands are in his pockets. His rubix cube like block shimmers in the moonlight. He exhales loudly. It looks as if he might say something, but no sound comes out of his mouth.

"Um…" Haruka starts nervously, and feels around her for a pokeball. Then she remembers that she didn't bring one, since she didn't expect a perhaps dangerous encounter with the man she's obsessed with.

Her leg scoots down and her small foot reaches the ground. She expects him to say something. To say something mean, snappy, or rude. To yell at her for running away from him.

She mentally laughs, what is this, a freaking drama? He probably doesn't care. Besides, I have a right to be mad him.

Instead, on the outside, she remains expressionless and half standing there in her too-small- yet -comfy night clothes. Then he raises his eyebrows slightly, a light flush coloring his face. He doesn't smile though, like his usual self. Instead, he turns away from her, and coolly walks further down the route. But some overcoming feeling forces her to do something courageous. Something astonishing. She opens her mouth and the smooth, different voice calls out, "Wait."

Of course, N, being a bit taken back by her actually saying a word to him, turns around. Even though he knows it's not her voice, he still wants to hear what she has to say to him. He feels a bit thrilled, but he tells himself to remain calm and straight-faced. He looks at her pretty face, waiting for her to speak.

"I…I…" Haruka starts in her normal, sweet sounding voice. She stammers and covers her face with two hands, and her eyes take a bit of an afraid look. She lowers her trembling hands and her heart shaped mouth moves slowly as she whispers, "Risō? Is that you?"

N, surprisingly, genuinely is not shocked at this. He says in a grave voice, "No, I'm N." He doesn't tip his cap towards her this time as he continues walking again, turning away. He doesn't look back this time. Haruka, having regained herself, doesn't expect him to.

All she can do though is simply stare at him as he walks further into the moonlight, and his figure finally disappears. At this time, she notices that her mouth is slightly hung open.

"Did I just see him?" She asks herself, her eyes wide from shock, "I actually saw that dude…"

She remains in that awkward position and just stays there a bit dazed out, and admittedly, happy.

"I saw N." She says out loud to herself, not knowing that she's climbing back onto the rock.

Then her giddy feeling drops to embarrassment, and she mutters to herself, "Oh Arceus, no. I did it again. I called him that Risō name." She sighs and puts her head in her now cold hands, "He must think I'm crazy." Her hands slide down a bit, allowing her to see again. She stares intently at a flower, starting to blush, "I'm supposed to hate him! Why do I still feel this… This fuzzy thing. I mean the continuing crush is one thing. This is not the liking emotion. This is totally dissimilar. It's… it's… Arceus, I'm so damn confused!"

Her mind turns completely blank now and she buries her head in her arms. Mixed emotions boiling inside of her tiny frame. Anger, hate, like, confusion… Her head hurts.

Her heart starts fluttering a bit. Again, she notices that there's a different type of Beautifly beating its wings inside of her. One type from her crush, and the other from a faint, familiar sort of sensation. Out of habit, she grabs her necklace and looks down at her feet.

"I wonder if he's gone through a sudden change too." She wonders, stroking the luminous stone, "I wonder if he feels differently of the world like I do."

Then she sighs sadly, "And… I also wonder if he feels as unhappy as I do."

She clutches her lightly panging head, "It's only been two weeks and there's so many things happening in my life. It's all because of him!" She grips fistfuls of her hair and squeezes her eyes shut, "If I didn't meet him, or really," she slightly open her eyes, "If he didn't come to me, then I could be free of these annoying headaches. I wouldn't be randomly announcing shit out, and I wouldn't have changed."

Some fury sears through her, "It's his entire fault! All Risō's fault."

Then one salty tear creeps down her cheek and lands with a light splash onto the rock. Another follows, and then another. She curls up into a ball, sitting up, and cries as silently as she can.

"I want to know what the hell is going on…" She whispers, scared. Her eyes then look up at the stars, and then an idea comes to her mind. She decides to call her mother. She knows she can't tell her about her weird "condition", but she can at least show her the sky and her new self.

She raises her shaking left hand and turns on her Xtransceiver. She opens up Mom's number, and she calls her. It rings, and rings, and rings, and soon a groggy, slightly wrinkly woman with the same blue eyes as Haruka appears on the screen, in a messy bed and in a dark room.

"Haruka? Is that youuu?" She asks wearily, rubbing her eyes.

Haruka sniffles, "Yeah, um, hi Mom. Sorry, I woke you up. I'll hang up. I'll call-"

"No! My little baby is crying. Do I have to kill someone?" Haruka's mom shakes her head awake and gains a serious expression on her face.

Haruka can't help but laugh, "Oh, Mom. I just… I really miss you."

Mom smiles warmly at her daughter, her eyes crinkling with a glint. She turns on her bedside lamp and sits up, propping her pillow up for her back. "Are you homesick? I mean, it's been two weeks. Two weeks! Do you know how long that is for a mom without her lovely child with her at home?!"

Haruka laughs again, wiping wet tears off her nose. Haruka's mom continues, "Honey, come home if you want. I never said that you have to do this. If it's too much, then just race on home."

Haruka shakes her head, "No, Mom. I can't. I mean, all my hard work will go to waste and admit it, I would disappoint you if I quit."

"No…"

"Mom."

Mom exhales loudly, "Ok, maybe a bit. But," She raises her slightly gray eyebrows, "Really, you would end up depressing yourself and your pokemon."

Haruka nods, already knowing this, "I know, I thought about this. And I know I can't go home no matter how much I miss you. And…" Haruka cocks her head with a whimsical smile, "It seems like you got older! Since when did you have a wrinkle on your cheek?"

Mom purses her lips and scolds, "Oh, hush up young lady! I can't stay young and pretty forever."

Haruka sighs, and rests her chin on her knee, "Yeah, I know what you're saying."

"Oh, do you now?" Mom adjusts herself in her bed.

"Mm-hm. I feel like I'm already twenty years old." She glances down and then at the screen again, "Remember when we went star gazing that time with Dad?"

"Yes, of course I do. You broke your telescope, for Arceus' sake."

Haruka complains, "Ugh, it's always the bad things you remember."

Haruka's mom smiles, "Not bad, cute!"

Haruka rolls her eyes, "Anyways, I hated just sitting there and staring at millions of tiny, white dots up in the black sky. It was boring to me. But now, here I am, sitting here on a rock and actually enjoying inspecting the stars."

Mom is silent for a bit, and then she closes her eyes. Haruka looks down and picks a piece of grass off of her black and pink shoe. It's Mom's voice that causes her to look back at the screen.

"I guess you're not the same Haruka anymore." She says a bit sadly, looking at her daughter with a new face. One filled with sadness, with a bit of a smile.

Haruka says softly, "No kidding… It's kind of why I called you. I also wanted to show you…" Haruka moves her face out of the screen and gives her mom a full view of the beautiful stars. She gestures with her hand towards them, "This. I want this to tell you how I'm not the same." Haruka looks up and says wistfully, "Aren't they just striking?"

"My, yes. I wish I can see them from Nuvema, but you know how it is. Safety first. They keep all the street lights on." Haruka's mom stares at the stars from far away, a bit shocked at Haruka's new language.

They both gaze at the stars for a while, then Haruka's mom speaks up, "You've definitely shown me a different person, my Haruka." Her voice cracks a little, and Haruka sees her mom crying, "The childhood Haruka… She's gone."

Haruka doesn't say anything, knowing how true that is.

"Haruka, can you please look at me?"

She turns towards the screen at a red-faced mom, wiping tears from her eyes, "Growing up… Man, it happens so fast. I can just imagine at what a fine, young man Cheren already is. And Bianca too. Hopefully she's still not too flighty."

Haruka responds, "No, actually. She knows a lot about pokemon. In fact, it's like she's turning into a female, blonde version of Cherie."

Haruka's mom, using a Kleenex to wipe her nose, questions, "Cherie? You've nicknamed the boy?"

Haruka, already knowing where this is going, warns, "Mom…"

Mom laughs, waving a hand at the screen, "I know, I know. I'm just playing with you."

Haruka yawns, "Good." She rubs her eyes and says wearily, "Well, Mom, I-"

"Go to sleep. It's 3:15 in the morning, and I'll blame myself if you sleep in and your journey falls behind." She smiles at her daughter and adds, "I'll be fine. It's just lonely here without you."

Haruka says, "I can tell. I bet all you do all day is stare at my baby pictures."

Mom answers, "You're right, actually."

"Um… Okay, yeah, Mom? That's going a little too far. It's not like you haven't seen me for five years."

Her mom shrugs, grinning a bit, "For a mom, it is five years." She then yawns and says, "Now hang up Haruka. I'm tired, you're tired, and I don't want to cry all over again in front of you."

Haruka laughs meekly, "Alright. I love you, Mom." She blows her a kiss.

"Love you too, sweetheart." Her mom blows her a kiss back.

Haruka hangs up, feeling enormously better. She turns off her Xtransceiver and stretches her stiff body. She hops off the rock and walks back to her campout. She quietly slips back in her sleeping bag, but still wakes up Gardevoir. So much for attempting to be silent.

"Gardevoir?" Her graceful pokemon asks, floating off her rock and to her trainer. She gives Haruka a questioning look.

Haruka's head feels so much more relaxed on a fluffy pillow than forced back on her neck, staring at stars. She smiles at her pokemon and says, "I was looking at the stars. Don't worry, go back to sleep."

Gardevoir blinks at her wearily and nods, obeying. She returns to her sleeping spot and almost instantly falls into a deep slumber. Haruka watches Gardevoir snore lightly and then she too, closes her eyes, and sleeps.

The last word she thinks before she officially enters her dream world is N. She, without knowing, smiles widely at the name. The single letter, her favorite letter.

"What was she doing there?" N thinks aloud, resting his head on his snoring Zoroark's back. His cap is off, and he rests his hands on top of his head, "Staring at the stars?"

Thinking he's right, he looks up to see what's so interesting about the night sky and its contents. His green eyes look up, expecting a boring sight. Instead, he raises his eyebrows and his mouth open up slightly. He, astonished, says, "That is one pretty night sky."

For normal people, the night sky dotted with stars is nothing to be shocked about. To them, it's simply just Mother Nature's work of art. Only, at night. But to these two young teens, it's not only a silly black sky with balls of burning light. An extraordinary vision comes to their minds, but it's one that is not entirely clear. Though they cannot see the picture in their minds explicitly, they can see it with their souls. They know there's something about that sky with stars that gives them a familiar feeling. There's something or someone close and dear that makes them feel this way. The two know what it is. Or really, who it is.

N breathes in, not taking his eyes off the sky, "Haruka."

He takes his hands off his head and gets off of Zoroark. Like Haruka, he leans on the palms of his hands, and continues looking at the sky with a dreamy look in his eyes.

"Haruka," N repeats, realizing something, "Her name means far away."

"Far away, just like the stars. Yet, to me, they feel so close. Just like her. She's so distant from me, but it's as if there's some kind of invisible string that ties us together." He laughs, "Man, I sound so cheesy."

He gains a soft look in his eyes, an expression that's not common for him. He genuinely smiles at the thought of Haruka, and then he becomes aware of this behavior. He replaces the smile for a frown, and he says, "I have to stop this."

He furrows his green eyebrows and leans back down onto Zoroark's back. He lets his arms rest limply on the grass next to his sides, and he breathes in the fresh, super early morning air. He tries to clear his mind of the past days. He closes his eyes, and starts to drift off to sleep… Then his Xtransceiver rings.

"Dammit." he growls, scolding himself for not turning off the stupid thing. He sighs loudly, and answers the call. It's his father.

"Hi Dad, what could you possibly want at 3:45 in the morning?" N asks his father, annoyed.

Ghetsis doesn't show any signs of ever have being asleep. Instead, he seems wide awake and says, "Don't talk to me that way. I deserve some respect from, considering all I've done for you, you little ingrate."

N rolls his eyes and exhales through his nose sharply, "Yeah, I thank you for that. Creating Team Plasma and all, but get to the point. You wouldn't call me this early in the morning unless it's something really important. So hurry up so I can sleep," He finishes then adds in a flat, "Please."

Ghetsis sighs and slumps over his desk chair, "The trainers everywhere… Arceus, they won't listen! No matter how many times we use that pretty speech…" Ghetsis growls lowly and his dull red eye glints with anger, "We've even tried threatening these fools. Look son, I see no hope. What we really need is…" He smiles evilly, and N notices that his eye patch seems even redder.

Maybe he dipped it in some poor disagreeing boy's blood N thinks.

"Zekrom." N answers, already knowing his father's selfish desire, "Yeah, I know. We need Zekrom for power, so we can scare the shit out of the trainers. Then they'll agree with anything we say. Is that the answer you were looking for?"

"Clever boy," Ghetsis says, "I've raised you well."

"Yeah, whatever." N murmurs, looking away from the screen, "Raised me so well to lock me up in a room for like half my childhood."

Ghetsis glowers at his handsome son, "What did you say, boy?"

N looks back at his father, bored, "Nothing. If that's all you wanted to tell me, then bye."

Ghetsis hold up a hand, "Now hold on. I'm not finished."

N snaps, "What?!"

Ghetsis ignores N's irritated tone, "I must warn you about this one little pest. A tiny girl with an annoying voice. I must say, she's an arrogant one, so if you ever encounter this girl," Ghetsis holds up a picture of Haruka, in which he drew a mustache on, "Destroy her."

N almost stops breathing at her picture. Really, he's nervous about the fact that his father is the one holding her image. He wonders what Haruka could have possibly done to make Ghetsis so angry to make N crush her.

N's heart pounds in his ears, "Okay, I'll do that."

N hangs up, and he looks down on the ground. How does Ghetsis know about Haruka? Did she go up to his face and spit atrocious things at the old man?

N can't help but smile at the thought of her again.

Whatever she did that pissed Ghetsis off… Good. N thinks.

He then says aloud, closing his eyes and flushing red, "She's special… Haruka…"

N gives up. He knows he can't prevent these feelings from happening, and he says, confessing to himself, "I'm falling for her."

He laughs lightly, "I'm falling for Haruka. That can mean so many things though..."

N falls asleep, and he dreams of nothing. He just slumbers in a world of pitch black, like he usually does.

I'm falling for Haruka...

Yes, what could that possibly mean?

It means that he's falling deep in like with Haruka. And hard.