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.a world in black and white 13

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After parting ways with the Pallet Town kids yesterday, Touko and N had returned to the hotel and spent the rest of the day in their rooms recovering from the experience. She and N had already decided they would spend today around the hotel, too. There were many things they could do, all without having to set foot off the property. At the moment, they were eating breakfast. Afterwards, they would go to the water park, stay there until they got hungry again, eat, then play with their Pokémon outside. Touko was glad to be spending so much time with N just having fun. It would be the first time the didn't have anything to worry about.

"How is Zoroark?" asked Touko across the table to N. The last time she had seen it, N's dark-type friend didn't have the use of one of its arms.

"I took him to the Pokémon Center yesterday. I went and picked him up earlier, before you were up. The nurse said he'll be able to use the arm at full strength in a week or so. It's only broken, and Pokémon heal faster than humans," answered N, fumbling as he removed something from his pocket. He stood up and slid into the booth next to her with a paper in his hand. "What do you think about this?" he questioned, handing her the paper.

Touko took it and examined it. It was a flyer for a formal dance night scheduled that night. She raised an eyebrow in apprehension. "What am I supposed to think?"

"We should go!" he said excitedly. "You would look pretty in a dress."

Touko tried to hide her blush by looking the other way. "D-don't be silly," she stammered, pushing the flyer back at him. "and don't say things like that!"

"Come on, Touko! It'll be fun, I promise."

"No... I don't even know how to dance like that," she admitted, twirling her hair with her finger.

"It's easy. All you'll need to do is follow my lead. Please?" he pleaded once more.

She couldn't help but give in. "Okay, you win. Can we please go to the water park now?" Touko wasn't as against dancing with N as she was letting on. Her heartbeat increased when she imagined it. It also made her incredibly nervous.

After paying for breakfast, they went back to their rooms so they could get their swimsuits on. Touko had left her swimsuit at home, so when they had made plans to go to the water park yesterday, she went out and bought a new one. This one was a two-piece with pink and black Liepard print. As soon as she had it on, she looked herself over in the mirror. Was it a bit too... revealing? She adjusted the top a bit and decided it would have to do. There would surely be girls there that were much worse. Putting her tank top and shorts back on over the swimsuit, she sat on her bed and scratched Beloved behind his ears. Along with insisting on being in her lap, Beloved had also been acting a tad agitated, as if something was wrong. Touko really wished she knew what was on his mind. Maybe she could get N to talk to him later. "I'd take you with me if you didn't hate being wet so much..." Beloved's tail lashed back and forth in response. "I'll be gone for a while, but N and I will be back later and we'll play with you and everyone else outside," she informed pleasantly. Beloved's ears pinned back suddenly, and he curled into a tight circle. Touko frowned and left the room to go meet N.

When she took her first step into the water park, Touko was greeted by the excited screams of people having fun. To the left of her was the kiddie area where small children were enjoying themselves, and to the right was the wave pool. Past both of them was the rides. That's where she and N were going. Touko discarded her shorts and tank top into a locker and looked around for the green-haired guy that she cared so much about. She spotted him as he entered wearing his black under-armor and some black swim-trunks. Now inside, he pulled the under-armor off over his head. N wasn't the most muscled guy around, but she had known that already. He did have a nice body though.

Then he noticed her. N's face flushed a deep red as he approached Touko. "H-hey," was the only thing he managed to say.

Touko thought it was cute how his eyes were darting around, looking at everything but her. She laughed at his modesty. "I'm right here, N."

"I-I know, b-b-but..."

Touko grabbed his arm and began to lead him to the water rides before things got even more awkward. They grabbed a double inner-tube and together hoisted it up the long flight of stairs that led to the first ride. "So..." she began trying to gt rid of the silence between them as they waited in line. "Have you ever been on one of these?"

"No... Are you sure this is safe?" He was still trying to avoid looking at her. Instead he focused his eyes on the ground, quite a ways below them.

"Of course!" she said smiling. "I used to go to places like this with Cheren and Bianca." She had just reminded herself of how homesick she was. Touko leaned against the railing and sighed.

"You miss them, don't you?" N asked. "And you regret coming with me..."

"Not at all-- Er, well I do miss them... My whole life I have never gone this long without seeing them. We used to be inseparable..." Touko could tell this wasn't helping N to feel better, so she hurried and continued. "But N, I'm having a great time. Yesterday could have gone better, but here I am in Kanto! I got to meet the first owners of the Pokédex, and I'm staying a a wonderful hotel, and that's just what's happened so far! What is there to regret?" she explained. She twirled her hair as a blush surfaced on her cheeks. "Plus... I feel like I'm getting closer to you..."

For the first time since they had been in the water park, N was looking directly at her. He was blushing too, and there was a smile on his face. "There's something I've been wanting to ask you," he said nervously.

"Ask away."

"I-I don't really know how to put this into words... Do you --... I mean... Are we..."

"You guys are up!" called the ride attendant, startling them both. He smiled and motioned for them to step up.

Touko and N dropped the inner-tube in front of the slide and climbed in. The arm keeping the tube from going down slowly rose, and the attendant gave them a push with his foot. Touko went down in front. At first, the ride was all about speed, and nothing else. She didn't notice she was screaming until they reached the big drop, where she tried to opened her mouth to scream and found it already open. When a series of twists, turns, and drops were over, they finally came out at the end of the slide. There was one problem, though. They were a good thirty to thirty-five feet in the air. They began a terrifying free-fall, in which Touko was sure they would die. The tube flipped over, leaving them to fall. At this point, she was screaming her head off, but looking at N, she found him laughing. They were about to die. How was he laughing? That's when a column of water shot up from somewhere far below, catching them. The high-pressurized water lowered them carefully onto the back of a round blue Pokémon with a blowhole. So that's where the water had come from. Touko's heart was still racing when the blue Pokémon started to carry them leisurely through a stretch of water.

N was happily patting the large Pokémon on the back. "This is a Wailmer!" he exclaimed. "I read a book on ocean Pokémon once, and these guys were in it."

"Weren't you afraid?" solicited Touko.

N laughed again. "Not at all! She said she was going to catch us, and I had complete faith that she would," he replied, giving the Wailmer another pat. Wailmer splashed her two fins in the water, sending up a spray.

So if Touko could understand Pokémon, she might have been spared a near heart-attack. She dipped her hand into the water. "What were you trying to ask me earlier?"

The redness returned to N's face. "It's stupid."

The Wailmer stopped in front of a platform where another attendant was waiting. This was the end of the ride. N crossed over to the platform and offered his hand to Touko. She took it, and he pulled her safely across. "We should come back to this one before we leave!" he suggested.

"Sure! At least I'll be ready next time," she joked.

~~~~~~~~~~

Now that the water park and lunch were out of the way, it was time to play with the Pokémon. The hotel had a nice open area for just that purpose. Touko made a big deal out of identifying every unfamiliar Pokémon she passed with her Pokédex. She wanted to learn as many of this region's Pokémon as possible so she wouldn't be at a disadvantage in battle, like what happened with Braviary and Red's Aerodactyl.

"Touko, stop doing that and get over here!" called N. He already had all of his Pokémon out.

Touko hurried and got one more Pokémon -- a Crobat -- with her Pokédex and shoved the device in her bag. "Sorry!" she apologized, running to N and releasing all of her Pokémon -- save for Zekrom -- out into the field. They couldn't play with Zekrom or Reshiram because of the attention problem again. N had told her it was alright because they weren't the "playing" type anyway.

Their Pokémon acted wary of each other at first. The last time they had all been out at the same time was when they were fighting against each other. Beloved ignored N's Pokémon altogether and found a patch of grass in which to sun himself in. Zoroark, with his broken limb now in a cast, was the first to slowly approach the opposite Team. Excadrill went forward to meet him.

Touko began to worry when the two of them raised one clawed arm threateningly at each other. "Hey, stop!" she shouted, moving to separate them.

N held an arm out in front of her. "Wait a minute."

Excadrill and Zoroark's claws clashed, and they held the position. There was no aggression in this, however. They were actually grinning. The ice now broken, the rest of the Pokémon started to mingle and play. All except for Beloved, who made no attempt to move even the slightest bit.

Touko picked up one of the toys designed specifically for Pokémon that were put out here by the hotel. It was a Frisbee that could withstand almost any attack. She threw it into the air, not really caring what Pokémon responded to it. N's Klinklang unleashed a Thunderbolt that hit the Frisbee dead in the center. The disc fell and Touko picked it up to examine. Surprisingly, it was completely intact. Samurott walked up and put his jaws around it, trying to pull it away from her. Just like that, Touko was pulled into a playful game of tug of war with her starter; a game that she ultimately lost. In no time she was being dragged across the grass with ease.

N seemed to think this was hilarious, because he guffawed and clapped his hands. "Need some help?" he offered.

"No, I like being dragged around on my face," she said with sarcasm, standing up.

He chuckled and reached his arms around Touko, much to her delight. Taking the Frisbee in both hands, N pulled with her. Their combined strength was only just enough to stop Samurott from pulling them along. They had come to a standstill. Samurott shook his head from side to side, making Touko lose her grip on the disc and fall back into N, knocking him over as well. She landed on top him in a daze.

"I'm so sorry!" she said, quickly getting off of him while Samurott barked in victory and joined the rest of the Pokémon.

N remained lying on the ground, laughing.

Seeing him like this again brought a smile to Touko's face. He was acting just like he had back on that island, before their encounter with Dread, whom they had been unacquainted with at the time.

N's laughter died off and he went still, gazing with his blue eyes at the equally blue sky. She had always thought N had pretty eyes. Both she and him had blue eyes, but hers were much darker, like the ocean. His were like the sky -- a light, clear, blue.

"Touko, where do you think Ghetsis is?" asked N, his eyes never straying from above.

She thought about his question for a bit. "Well... there's no way we could know for sure, but... maybe he was found and brought back to prison. If not, I doubt he stuck around Unova."

N didn't respond. There was obviously something on his mind that he wasn't revealing to her. She could only wonder what was going on in that head of his.

~~~~~~~~

"You look... gorgeous," remarked N as Touko walked up to him in the lobby of the hotel in a short, black, spaghetti-strap dress. N himself was dressed in a black tuxedo that made him look rather spiffy.

Touko's face flushed at his compliment. Bianca had made her buy the dress a while ago, but she had never gotten the opportunity to wear it before. She was kind of surprised that she had even packed it when she left home. It must have been grabbed absentmindedly in her bout of anger towards Cheren. "Thanks... that tux fits you nicely."

"We're late as it is, so let's hurry!" said N, leading the way to the place where the dance was being held. When they arrived, the dancing had already begun. The band was playing a slow song. N turned to her with his face a light shade of red.

Oh. This was the part where they start to dance. "I-I don't... really know what to do," said Touko shyly.

N smiled at her and, taking her arms, put them on his shoulders. He then cautiously placed his hands on her hips. "Is this uncomfortable for you?"

She shook her head, though at this point it felt like her face was on fire. When N began to sway them slowly back and forth with the music, Touko  gradually relaxed. N was actually calmer than she was. He sparked conversation and told her funny stories from when he was growing up with Pokémon. By the end of the fourth one, she was laughing uncontrollably. "Wow, I never knew a boy and his Zorua could get into that much trouble!" she giggled. While N was talking, their bodies had progressed closer together.

"Things were so much simpler back then... before..." replied N, with a faraway look in his eyes. They stopped moving with the music, and stood motionless while everyone around them continued to dance. N's expression changed drastically. He was no longer looking at her. His gaze seemed to rest on something behind Touko.

She turned her head and searched for someone -- something -- that he could be looking at that was having this effect on him. She saw nothing. She looked back at him. It looked like N was afraid of something. "N? What's wrong?!" she asked, shaking him a bit.

N blinked and at once there was a smile back on his face. "What are you talking about? Nothing is wrong."

"Why are you lying?"

"Did you know that you're beautiful?"

"S-stop trying to change the subject! You already said that..." she said, her face becoming red again.

"No, not just now. All the time," responded N.

Were their faces this close a few seconds ago?

N moved closer still. Their lips were now on the verge of coming in contact.

Holy crap, he was about to kiss her! Waiting for the moment their lips would meet, Touko's breathing stopped, and almost as if to compensate, her heart sped up. Then, much to her irritation, something furry and heavy landed on her shoulders and pushed it's way between her and N. That something was Beloved. "What are you doing here?" she hissed at the Pokémon in her arms.

"He says he doesn't feel well," translated N in a concerned voice. "Perhaps it's time we leave."

Touko placed Beloved back on the ground, and they made their way away from the dance to her room. The whole time they were walking, Beloved switched from limping to yowling and combinations of both. Somehow, she doubted he was in that much pain. As soon and she opened the door to her room, he went straight to her bed.

"I hope it isn't anything serious," said N from the doorway. "Do you think he needs to go to the Pokémon Center?"

"I'm sure he'll be fine without that," she replied.

N backed out of the doorway and into the hall. "I'm really tired, so I'm going to head off to my room. 'Night."

"'Night. Oh, and today was fun..."

"I think so, too." With one final look at each other, N was gone, leaving Touko to take care of Beloved.

~~~~~~~~~~

N walked alone to his room, his head swamped with worry and uncertainty; thoughts of the Dire Army; thoughts of the man he had the misfortune of calling his father; and thoughts of Touko.

As of late, he craved a certain closeness to her that he could not comprehend. He wanted to be where she was all the time. The thought of her leaving him scared him to death. Touko was his savior, his security, and his only human friend. He couldn't tell her the extent of his dependence on her, of course. He didn't want her to feel weighed down; like she was with him because she had to be. He was pathetic, relying on her like this... but when he was with her, his heart felt light, and everything that worried him seemed distant. It was when he was alone that he felt troubled. He had even started noticing little things about her that she probably didn't know herself, like how she had the cutest habit of twirling her hair around her finger when she was nervous. She meant so much to him... Which is why he hadn't been able to worry her with his main problem while they were dancing.

The Dire Army... ever since the encounter with that horrible organization, something Dread had told them had been eating at him. Who was this "old guy" that wanted the Pokédex owners disposed of? Could it be Ghetsis? No, of course not. He was being paranoid. There were probably plenty of "old guys" in the world that might have something against Pokédex wielders for whatever reason. He was over-analyzing things again. Confronting his father scared him almost as much losing Touko did. He never wanted to see that man again. He had already had enough of his life stolen away from him. So not only was he pathetic, but a coward as well. What a detestable combination.
Touko's Pokémon (as of chapter 13)

Beloved (Delcatty)
Braviary
Excadrill
Samurott
Zekrom
???

i tried to make this one more of a fluff chapter... ehehe...eh
man i took forever making this, didn't i?

oh man N, you /ALMOST/ finally kissed her. aren't i just the worst?

if there are any mistakes, i'll go through and fix them immediately.

chapter 12: [link]

characters (c) WHOEVER THEY BELONG TO I'M SO TIRED OF DOING THIS SHIT ASDFGHJK
© 2011 - 2024 g0dsend
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Anawielle's avatar
I just read your whole fanfic and I really enjoyed it so far - I like the way you portrayed N and Touko, they're just perfect (and so cute) and the way their feelings grow for each other very gradually is very well done. The Dire Army is an excellent invention - though I really hate them x)
To resume: I love it, keep writing so well!

Too bad N couldn't kiss Touko :D

Can't wait for chapter 14!^^