White was running late this morning and now here was Cheren, blocking her path right after she made it outside of the pokemon center. Well, not so much blocking as he was ignorant that she had a prior engagement.

"I mean, it is convenient that Pignite is a fire and fighting type pokemon. Now Lenora won't be such a big deal."

"Who is Pignite?" White asked while looking at her xtranciever for the millionth time during their conversation. She was running 15 minutes late now.

"I told you Tepig evolved, right? Weren't you listening?" Cheren said in a disgruntled tone. White bit her lip.

"I'm sorry; I was actually just headed out to…to challenge Lenora!" White made up a viable excuse. She was planning on visiting the gym after her get together with a friend, so it wasn't technically a lie.

"You can't just challenge her, you know," Cheren said matter-of-factly, "You will need to schedule an appointment. Being a gym leader isn't her only responsibility. She and her husband are archeologists. She runs this town, too, just like all of the gym leaders in each of their towns."

"Ah, yeah…gotcha…" White said miserably.

"I can come with you if you want?" Cheren asked.

"No thanks! I'll be alright!" White took the opportunity to end the conversation.

Finally! White thought as she moved past Cheren. He reached out and grabbed her arm gently.

"Wait! I have something for you," Cheren said. He quickly handed her a small red pouch. White turned it around in her hands for a moment and then peeked inside.

"Since you didn't get to use the berry from the other day that I gave you, I decided to get you a few more. There are a few different types in there so, yeah. I hope you like them," he said while shakily straightening his glasses.

"This is really nice, Cheren! I really appreciate it!" White suddenly felt a little guilty for blowing her friend off.

"Yeah, I just hope that they can be useful to you this time," Cheren said with a little smile.

"How about after we both beat Lenora, we have another pokemon battle, okay?" White asked timidly.

"Sure, okay."

"Allright then! It's settled! Let's see who is stronger afterwards! Later, Cheren!" White said as she jogged away from her friend with a wave.

White turned around and broke into a mad sprint. With her victory at the Wellspring cave still lifting her spirits combined with the fact that she was going to meet her friend for some make-up time, White felt so happy from the bottom of her toes to the top of her scalp that she giggled while running. She had only spent one night in Nacrene so far but she looked at a map of the city beforehand so she knew where she was going, more or less. When she finally arrived at the cafe on the other side of the town, she was completely out of breath. Her green haired friend raised an eyebrow as she heavily stomped up the wooden steps to the musty, old coffee shop.

"Sorry…I'm…late!" she said between huffs and puffs.

"You are 21 minutes late," N said with a sigh, "I was beginning to worry."

"Oh geez…I'm…super sorry!" she said, still out of breath, "Thanks…for waiting for me! Let's get some breakfast so that I can cash in that time you owe me!"

The interior of the little cafe reminded White of what she would think a crazy cat lady's house would look like. Framed pictures of various feline pokemon, such as purugly and skitty, were hung up for decoration and each of the tables and booths of the shop were donned with decrepit but intricate doilies and daisies in antique vases. The warm smell of old wood and fresh coffee put White in a calm and happy mood. After ordering, they sat down at an unoccupied booth by a window, each with a cup of coffee and a muffin. White forced N to follow her lead by taking off the top of the muffin and eating the bottom first and then the top because she swore that it tasted better that way. As they were sipping on their coffee once they were done eating, White noticed that N seemed a little fidgety.

"You look like you have something to tell me," White said with a laugh, "You look like you're going to explode if you hold it in any longer, so go on!"

N seemed surprised at her insight.

"I…have something for you," N said while turning to open his messenger bag which was sitting next to him in the booth. White felt a single, strong heartbeat thunder in her ears and she touched her chest. She then shook her head and roared with laughter as he set down what he was so anxious to give her.

"What is so funny?" he asked her.

"You remembered!" She said while picking up the perfectly solved Rubix cube from the table.

"Of course," N coughed, "Now, I would like for you to turn it around and rearrange it in any way you like and I will solve it as quickly as I can."

White had already gotten to work messing it up before he asked. She triumphantly set it back on the table when she was finished, and slid it over to him. He took the cube into his hands. His eyes quickly swept over a few of the sides and he then nodded.

"I am ready," he said simply.

"Ok then, on the count of 3," White said as she opened her stop-watch application on her xtranciever, "1-2-3-GO!"

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6…and then N set the cube down quickly on the table like it was a walk in the park.

"Finished!" he exclaimed. His bright eyes excitedly snapped up to meet White's, "What is the time?"

White's mouth was open with surprise. His hands had moved so fast that she could barely keep up.

"I…I can't believe it!" White exclaimed, "That was incredible! You really did it in 6 seconds!"

N smiled, a little embarrassed.

"I would not lie about such a thing," he said with a hint of pride in his voice, "I purchased this with you in mind. If you are interested in learning, I can teach you how to solve it."

White wrinkled her nose and made a negative humming sound.

"I could teach you how to complete one side? It is very simple. You can hold on to it, though...for practice," N suggested.

"Ok! I'll practice when we are apart so that the next time we get together, I can show you how much I've improved and you can be super impressed," White said with a cheesy grin, "Maybe, let me mess it up so that I can watch you do it again?"

N attempted to explain how to clear one side of a Rubix cube, though it mostly confused White. As she continued to praise him and test him some more, N couldn't help but feel completely at ease and honestly happy.

Unfortunately, his happiness was short lived when he felt his xtranciever vibrate when he had just begun to solve the cube for White for the 10th time. He stopped abruptly.

"Ah, excuse me. I have a call," he said quickly.

"Oh…okay. You had better hurry or else this will be your worst time yet!" White teased as N walked away from the table and outside of the cafe.

"Yes?" N said as he answered the call.

"Change of plans. Our experiment has been compromised."

"Triad," N said with a sigh, "What do you mean?"

"Everything has been destroyed. He has given the order to proceed with our plan at Nacrene immediately."

"That is ridiculous. I-" he began to complain, but he remembered who he was talking to, "I understand. It shall be done."

"Make it happen." The voice on the other line said flatly.

N heard a click and it took everything in him not to snap his xtranciever in half. He peered into the window of the restaurant to see White turning the Rubix cube absentmindedly around in her hands. He walked back inside and sat down, feeling significantly more glum than before.

"So!" White began.

"So?" N responded quietly.

"Right now you're at 3 minutes and 34 seconds, 35 seconds, 36…so, it's safe to say that this is a total fail," White said with a laugh.

"White, I wonder, have you ever heard of a pokemon called Reshiram?" N asked her out of the blue. White tilted her head to the side and stopped the timer.

"Reshiram. Reshiram. It somehow sounds familiar."

"There is a legend that says the Unova region was established by a hero with a shining white pokemon named Reshiram. However, some of the legends say that there are two heroes and two pokemon. It is all quite perplexing. One would think that the history of the Unova region would be documented with more organization in mind."

"The origin of the Unova region? I'm not very good with history, but most of my books for homeschool just began by saying that people migrated here after a war," White said with a shrug.

"White. Why would people migrate to a war torn area?" N asked.

"Ahh, now that you mention it, that really doesn't make sense. I never thought about it that way," White said thoughtfully, "So, do you like old legends and stuff like that, N?"

"What I want most is to find the truth. I wish to know what truly happened in the past. I wish to know how things have become the way that they are today and I want to fix the things that are wrong," N muttered, his tone was much more serious than before he left. White frowned and looked her empty coffee cup.

"Fix things that are wrong," she said quietly while thinking about the munna that she saved, and all of the pokemon who's homes were taken from them, "I think…No, I know exactly how you feel."

N looked surprised.

"You do?"

"Uh-huh," White affirmed with a nod, "I think it's important to stand up for what you think is right."

N studied the table with a small smile on his face. He seemed quite happy with her response. He sighed and stood up suddenly.

"I am sorry, but I must be going," N said quickly while picking up his bag. White was distraught.

"What?! But we didn't even get to hang out for that long!" White said while she snatched her own bag up, grabbed the Rubix cube off of the table, and quickly followed him outside.

"Hey! Wait up!" She called to him as she pushed her way through the door and walked down the steps, "Seriously? You already have to go?"

"White…" She couldn't put her finger on it. but N seemed oddly passionate.

"What?!" she exclaimed a little louder than she intended.

"I feel so refreshed after speaking with you. It is so strange," he straightened his hat, "No one has had this effect on me before."

White took a deep breath as a small gust of wind tousled her hair. She said nothing as she continued to watch him put a hand carefully to his chin.

"In the coming months it will be difficult for me to escape from my current responsibilities. I apologize. This is goodbye, but only for a little while. I promise."

He offered her one last smile as he turned around and walked away. There were so many questions caught in White's throat as she watched his back fade away.

What was that phone call about? What did she say that had such a heavy effect on him? There was so much she wanted to ask, but she simply touched her hands to her arms to hold herself and calm down the goosebumps that appeared.

N walked away from White with a new-found resolve. He was always serious about his mission, but he wanted now more than ever to complete things. He wanted to wrap things up. White had become a very important person to him and the faster he put his plans into motion, the faster he would be able to be with her.

"This perfect world that I will create...I hope that in the end you and I can stand together as friends," He whispered to himself.

/chapter twenty one end/

Happy Labor Day everyone!

N unfortunately won't be interacting directly with White for awhile. He's got some business to take care of, but we will be following him through that too!~ I am going to try to get the other arcs done as soon as possible so that I can get to their most anticipated part (other than the finale)…I think you all know what I mean. :3 Thank you for reading and showing me your support!