"Hina! Hey!" Hina moaned and stretched in her sleep. Was someone calling her? Maybe it was Master…she rushed to the sound of the voice and pushed the many plants of the forest aside. Ahead she saw the garden, full of life as it once had been, and to her delight she saw so many of the humans she once knew. Some were talking amongst themselves, others eating at a long table. But the one she wanted to see the most was dead ahead, arms wide out to her. He was cast in silhouette from the bright warm sun behind him so she couldn't see his face. "Hina! Come on!" he called to her. She ran. His voice seemed to get more frantic as he called her name. But why wasn't she getting closer?

"WAKE UP!" suddenly the garden's colors melted together like a painting, and she felt her head spinning. The shadows of people vanished and she saw one last glimpse of her master's shape before—

"Unf!" she cried, and woke up with a jolt. Musha was hovering over her and shaking her in a frenzy. The rain had stopped and it was morning, but a cool dampness still hung in the air. "Musha…wha-?"

"Simisear is gone," Musha groaned, obviously stressed. "I don't know how it happened! I was just gone a couple of hours last night, going over the grounds a bit…and when I come back…well…" he looked ashamed.

"Simisear…?" Hina slowly began to remember the events of yesterday, and spun around to look at the other side of the cavern. His space was completely bare. She turned back to Musha. "It isn't your fault, Musha!" she soothed, patting his head. She stood up and smiled at him. "We're going to go look for him. He couldn't have gotten too far."

He certainly hadn't. Outside the cavern he had managed to find a very long dead branch that had fallen from the storm in the night, and fashioned it into a pair of crutches. Crappy, but it'll have to suffice, he thought glumly, and began to get a move on. His leg really did hurt more than he would let on, but there's no way he would let anybody in on that. Let people in on your weaknesses, and they would be all over you. He sighed. Speaking from experience.

You really ought to help that girl out, he thought to himself as he heaved himself through a tangle of weeds and roots. She didn't have to take you in like that. Especially considering who you are. He paused. She really hadn't seemed to suspect him at all, as a matter of fact.

"Just what is up with them, anyway?" he muttered under his breath, beginning to press on. You gotta admit it's a nice break from what you're used to, his conscious continued to pester him. And really, where else do you have to go? He halted again, looking down at the ground, and growled. "Shut up. Even if I wanted to, I couldn't do that." He had almost reached the tree where they'd all met, and soon he'd be out of this creepy place for good. He just had one more thing to attend to…

"Simisear!" a voice called out from behind him. His ears flattened against the back of his head and he snapped his eyes shut in annoyance.

Hina trotted up behind him, with Musha floating at her heels. She looked concerned. "You shouldn't be walking around in your condition, you know." She laughed, but he could sense she was upset.

"I said it before, my "condition" is none of your business. Thanks for last night, but I'm not going to impose on you any more." He flung a glare at Musha, whom balked in response. "So I'm heading out now. See you, sister."

"Wha- wait! We had a deal!" Hina's voice rose, and she began to feel nervous once again. This wasn't good…not good at all. He continued to walk slowly, and she followed, keeping pace with him.

"Deal's off," Simisear snapped, "Look at me. I can manage. I'm a survivalist, see?" He smirked, raised one of his crutches, and nearly stumbled over a fallen log as a result. He paused to regain his balance. "I meant to do that. Proving I can overcome a nasty situation."

Hina looked at him with a growing sadness. "But-"

Simisear groaned in exasperation. What is it going to take to get her off my back? "It's not you, it's me," Simisear continued, "I'm a special guy, girlie. I've gotta keep moving! I need adventure. I need excitement. I'm searching for something worthwhile, and this place…it's not it." He gave her a sympathetic smile, but was uneasy to see her still so unhappy. I'd better just go, he thought, I suck at dragging this stuff out.

Simisear's turned his back to Hina and then continued to trek forward. Hina watched after him, her lip trembling. She was losing her chance, her only chance, and what if the time never came up again? She reached out her hand. "Wait! Please!" He paused and looked over his shoulder and was surprised to see she was near tears. What the-? "I need you! Please. Stay."

Simisear stared at the emotional Simipour for a few moments, thoughts swirling through his head. He'd never met anyone who was so focused on something… Then he shook his head. Yes, he had. Setting himself firmly, he looked at her sympathetically. "I'm sorry." Really, I am.

And without another backward glance, he went forward again, this time with no stops or allowing his conflicting thoughts to bother him. Behind him, Hina groaned and dropped to the ground. "Oh no…"

"Hina?" Musha whispered, floating down to her side and nuzzling her face. Her eyes were red, but she fought the blooming tears back fiercely and looked at him. She set her jaw firmly. "We're going to get his help, Musha," she said quietly, standing up slowly. "Just you wait."

A little less than ten minutes later Simisear had reached the giant Oak tree, and with a groan of weariness and pain, rest his head against it. "Perfect. Just perfect." He glanced up into the high boughs. "Now how am I supposed to do this…what great, perfect, friggin luck." He made an attempt to kick the tree but quickly caught himself just in time. He put his palm to his face and sighed, exasperated. "What have I gotten myself into…"

Simisear looked back up into the boughs of the tree and thought for a moment. It's possible nobody would find out, he considered, in all this time I've been here I haven't seen any other Pokémon other than those two…As this dawned on him he began to feel nervous. Not even one of those Patrats, and those pests are everywhere. What's UP with this place? He threw a peek over his shoulder. "That's it, I'm outta here," he grumbled, "Screw this." Grabbing his crutches again, he began to move out through the small woods the way he had come.

It was still before noon and the temperature was cool, and a soft mist was lying over the ground. It was hardly bothersome, the thicket was fairly straightforward and there didn't seem to be any sign of bigger, dangerous Pokémon that could be lurking in the shadows. As he continued on, however, he began to notice the mist was thickening; by the time he had been walking for twenty minutes the entire wood was shrouded in a thick fog. Simisear stopped abruptly in the middle of a small clearing, and began to realize with a dawning dread that he could hardly see a yard in front of him.

"What perfect friggin luck," he snarled again, a blaze of fire surging through his body in irritation. He looked to the right and then to the left. They look the same, idiot, he chided himself, and you're just going to get yourself into more trouble stumbling around a foreign forest blind and hurt.

The image of him tripping over an unseen boulder or falling into a ditch and being unable to get up or get help sent a shiver down Simisear's spine, but he gritted his teeth and forced it away. "I know where I'm going," he told himself surely, "I'm getting out of here. Now." Without another thought, he strutted forward, sure to find his way out some way or another.

Hina rose up to her tiptoes from her roost on a low tree branch. She leaned forward, gripping another nearby branch. The entire ground and sky were opaque with billowing fog; there was hardly a point in trying to look further than a foot. It didn't matter, however; Hina knew exactly what she was waiting for.

"Finally!" Simisear rose his head and smiled weakly. "Looks like the fogs' starting to thin a bit…" He'd been walking some time, surely he was nearly out of the woods by now. Once I'm out of here, and get some distance behind me, all my problems will be over. He rushed, as fast as his legs would carry him…he was…

"Hey there."

Coming out at him from the vapor came a face and he leaped backward in shock, falling down and crying in alarm and pain. What the hell-?

Hina loomed over him and smiled as she bent down to look into his face. "You aren't looking so good, Mr. I-Can-Take-Care-Of-Myself."

"Wha-how did you get here before-?" Simisear sputtered, and as he looked this way and that, he saw to his horror that the mist was quickly evaporating to reveal the exact spot where he had left her nearly an hour before. He gaped and looked up at Hina. "You…!"

The Simipour put on an innocent expression as she placed her arms behind her back. "I thought you said you had important places to go, important people to meet. What's wrong? Realize adventure was pointed in the other direction? Wait…" Her eyes glittered teasingly as she let out a faux gasp. "Don't tell me…that a great expediter like you can't even find his way out of a little forest?"

Simisear's face burned in humiliation. He'd been tricked and he knew it; he'd been taken for a fool and been made to walk in circles for the past hour. This girl really isn't as innocent as I made her out to be, he scoffed to himself.

"Of course that's not it!" he snapped, getting slowly back up to his feet. "I happen to be a great navigator. I wouldn't get lost in a place like this…even if it was infested with crummy weather conditions," he added sourly.

"Please, enlighten me. What brings you back, then?" Hina replied, a lighthearted smile on her face.

Simisear bristled. She had to be toying with him, trying to take his dignity in some deranged female way of revenge. Well, she wouldn't have it. "Actually, I came back because I was thinking about last night." He saw her exchange a glance with the ugly, pink floating Tepig. Damn, he hated that thing. "You were good to me and I ought to return the favor. A real gentleman would do that. So I want to help you...do your restoring…garden…thing. Out of the goodness of my heart." He waved one of his hands emphatically, turning his back to her so she couldn't see his shamed face. That is, until I get the next chance out of here.

He'd expected some kind of rowdy reaction, even almost hoped for one; a flare of anger at his indecision, a moment of shock, an outburst of joy. At least if there was a clamor, he could weasel his way back out of the situation again some way or another.

What he hadn't expected was for the two to continue gazing at him evenly, or for Hina to walk towards him, a warm smile growing on her face and to simply look into his eyes. What he didn't expect was to hear the words "thank you" whispered into his ear, from her or anyone else in all his life, and to suddenly feel not so unwanted after all.

"This might sting a bit at first," she warned, and held Simisear's leg flat over the ground. The two sat on the bank near the river, some short time later. Carefully she wrapped tightly wound moist reeds around his injury, berry juice dripping from the folds. They'd been soaked in frigid water enhanced with her own Ice Beam, and as the blocks of ice came in contact with his body they began to melt. Simisear flinched slightly but stood still.

"This ought to heal your leg a lot faster than just walking around on those," she noted, motioning to his crutches. "And it will definitely feel better too. Trust me on that."

Simisear didn't like being told how he should take care of himself, but he didn't deny she had a point. As much as he hated to get wet, the icy water and berry juices that were soaking into his leg felt very therapeutic. "It's alright. Would be better if it was hotter," he grumbled.

Musha flitted onto Hina's shoulder and sneered. "He likes it."

Simisear growled, and Hina cast a warning glance at Musha. "We need to alternate between hot and cold to loosen your muscles," she explained. "You need to wait a bit longer for the warm bandages." She paused and sat silently for a minute, looking at the river, and then turned to him awkwardly. "When you're leg is all better," Hina said, "You can leave. That's what the promise was."

Simisear rose back to attention. She 's really going lengths to get this silly garden done, isn't she… "Well, yeah, I remember. And I hope we can keep that promise." He gazed at her analytically, causing her to look away quickly. "Question is, are you going to let me?" The last thing he wanted was to be thwarted again into another embarrassing situation.

Hina chewed her lip restlessly. He's holding that Mist against me, She fretted. It was so obvious I planned it…and now he's going to think I'm selfish. Selfish and unable to control my powers.

"You have my word that once your leg is well enough for you to walk on, you can go," she began, saying her words slowly, carefully. Then she swallowed and added in haste, "But I can say your leg will heal a lot faster the more you help me. Herbs that grow in the garden speed the healing process miraculously, and they only grow in direct sunlight." She watched his face anxiously as she drew back slightly, unnerved to see if he would get angry at her terms.

Simisear stared at her for a moment, a strange look passing over his face. She's got more guts than I initially gave her credit for, he mused in spite of his annoyance. I get the feeling she really doesn't know who she's messing with… He let out a long sigh. "Fine, you win. We've got a deal, then." He stuck out his hand, and after a pause of contemplation, Hina shook it. He chuckled. "Hey…you're not that bad, sister. You have some spunk in you. I like that...in moderation."

Hina's eyes widened. Was he complimenting me? It almost sounded like…

"Can we change this now, though?" Simisear interrupted, ignorant of her contemplations. "Seriously, the ice is all gone. Now I'm just wet. And cold."

Hina began to gather another batch of reeds. "Alright, alright. Let's see if boiling the water with one of your Ember moves will suit your fancy. " Hina searched and finally found and scooped up a somewhat hollowed stone resembling a bowl. She held it up for Simisear, and beneath it he produced a small flame.

There has to be more to this 'garden' then she's letting on, Simisear pondered, watching the water begin to bubble, or she wouldn't make such a big fuss of it. But honestly, what could it be? His eyes darted quickly to her face, but she seemed completely oblivious, lost in thought and smiling blissfully as she waited on him.

Within the next fifteen minutes, the cramps in Simisear's leg diminished quickly; the hot soaking bandages were doing wonders. With a sigh of genuine relief, Simisear turned to Hina. "I'm not gonna lie…I feel like I could walk on it right now."

Musha glared at what he thought was a threat to leave, and Hina shook her head again. "And wind up in worse shape than before? I don't think so. You need to stay off of it for at least a few weeks, and that means you can't go rushing off." She stood up slowly and held out her hand to him, a soft smile coming to her face.

"But…you can visit the gardens. You can walk with me. I'll let you lean on me, and you have your crutches…" She could see him staring at her, confused at her words, and continued hastily, "It's just I've been so lonely with hardly anyone to talk to around here, and it would give you the chance to get to know the place better," she blushed, turning away and her hands clinging to her dress anxiously. I sound so needy and weak, she thought. He must hate me. For causing his injury, for blackmailing him, and now asking him to spend time with me…I'm selfish.

"Let's do it."

"Huh-?"

She turned back to see Simisear was picking himself off the ground, gripping his crutches. He winced as he stood up, but then raised his wounded leg in the air and grinned. "I said, let's do it. Show me around. You've been talking so much about the place that I might as well see more of it."

Hina barely managed to stop from gaping at him. He wanted to? A warm feeling of exhilaration swept through her, and she laughed in joy. Skipping over to him, she clutched his arm gently so as not to unbalance him, and pulled him towards her in a northward direction. His body was much warmer than she had expected, and as she tugged, for one moment she felt his muscles tense nervously under his fiery fur. "Come on, this way then," Hina cried, staring into his face excitedly, and he began to come forward. "Let's start with my favorite spot!"