Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon B&W

Chapter 12: Remember me

It seemed as if time had stopped around Richard as his fingers, tightly clutching the phone began to tremble, his lips speaking out incoherent words while Marian slowly approached him, trying by any means to find out what could have made him act like that. Touko was observing them from the couch, frowning in confusion.

"Y-yes thank you." Richard's words had held a tone of genuine despair before hanging up the phone, refusing to turn around at Marian's inquisitive questions. "Richard dear, what happened?"

Touko approached them before calling out Richard's name, hoping she could take him out of his daze. After a little moment, Richard turned around visibly regaining his usual composure. "Touya, he…got struck by a car. He's already been admitted to the nearest hospital and luckily got into surgery in time." Relief washed over his face yet one could still see anxiety biting on the corners of his eyes. Touko's mother let out a surprised cry before slightly stumbling on her feet. Richard caught her in time, keeping a strong hold on her to keep her from falling.

Touko's mind became blank, devoid of any things other than Touya and how earlier she had given up the desire to go look for him. "It happened again…" She was slowly starting to think that this was becoming something like a curse and that she was the cause of its beginning. She had indirectly caused her father's death by a vulgar plastic toy. And now, she could have avoided Touya's incident by having gone looking for him or at least try to but no, instead she had been relaxing on the couch, leisurely thinking about which ice she'd like to buy later on.

Luckily enough, everyone had since long gone home, avoiding the fact of them maybe having to comment on another "Summers" tragedy. She was slowly starting to feel the blame rushing up from her stomach into her heart when she crossed eyes with Richard. He gave her a curt smile, washing at that instant all the guilt she might have felt at that moment. With his free arm, he reached out towards her shoulders, hugging her tightly to him before deciding to finally drive to the hospital.

Upon their arrival at the pristine white hospital, a nurse that had seemingly been waiting for them, led the way deeper into the hospital to the far north wing. During their little journey through the numerous halls of rushing doctors and nurses, Richard had explained how, as a fervor financial donator of the hospital, four private rooms had been especially built for him and only to exclusively be used by the Summer's family members.

They stopped before a door from which a doctor with a severe expression had just come out of. Richard instantly rushed to him, no questions needed to be asked as the doctor began to open his mouth. "Mr. Summers, I suppose you have already been told about your son's condition?" He waited for Richard's confirmation which was given to him almost instantly before continuing. "He has sustained severe injuries but luckily his mental condition is stable. After a close inspection and several tests, we concluded that besides from the fact of having two broken but healable legs and minor scratches on his arms, his head struck the ground pretty violently and this leads now to the important part of the diagnose."

Touko's heart seemed to have stopped beating as she held her breath at the doctor's revelation. She held her hands together tightly to her chest as she felt a slight pressure on her shoulders which she found out to be her mother's hand slightly pressing now and then to reassure her.

The doctor opened his mouth again, three pairs of eyes directed at him. "I am afraid to tell you that he suffers from a severe concussion thus having led him to fall into coma. We sadly cannot determine if he'll be able to wake up any time soon, however I should also say that it is still too early to jump to conclusions, he could wake up at any moment for what we know. While I know you must be impatient to see him, I cannot let anyone enter his room at the moment. We are still performing some tests but we will tell you when it's over. Is that alright?" Richard nodded; briefly shaking the doctor's extended hand before taking everyone back home.

As soon as everyone passed through the entrance door, Richard stopped right at the doorway. "Richard dear, do go back. I know that over there is the only place you need and want to be right now so don't worry about us. We'll manage." Marian sent him a smile which he weakly returned.

"Alright, I'll be informing you about Touya's state if there are changes. It will all be fine." For some reason it had seemed as if his last words had been spoken more for him than for the two women who were now watching him taking off at a quick pace.

Touko sighed, not knowing what to do with herself as she helplessly stood there staring at a closed door and while it had gone through heavily detailed craftsmanship, it was only seen through her eyes as a plain wall blocking her from wherever she had wanted to go to. "Touko." Her mother calling her name was what brought her back to reality while she tried to form words in her mind to voice out her insecurities.

Before she could utter even one word, her mother had gently pulled her into a hug, whispering into her ear. "No one is to blame. Not you, not me, not Richard and neither is Natasha. Though why is it that we all put the blame on ourselves?" She had come up with an important question which no one had an answer to and she doubted anyone would ever find one. She couldn't remember how much time she and her mother had stayed like that but at some point it had grown incredibly dark and they still hadn't let go of each other.

Several weeks passed with Richard progressively telling them each day how Touya was doing, which test he took and even when finally he had woken up. He had still not been allowed to go see him but with help of his incredible persuasion attempts, the doctor finally let him see his son. The news weren't as good as the two woman waiting at home had expected since Touya had still been in a hazy state, unable to figure out what someone was asking out of him, mostly drifting in and out of sleep during the day. Strangely, Richard's constant messaging about Touya's state suddenly stopped leaving Touko and her mother perplexed and although they had tried to call Richard on his cell phone or at the hotel he had been staying to question him, he had only given evasive yet reassuring answers until one day he finally announced that Touya could finally have visits.

"Touko, could you go get the blue jacket Touya likes to wear in his room? I think he'll like to have his favorite jacket with him. Oh, I think I'll buy him his favorite chocolate on the way there too." Touko was silently watching her mother over enthusiastically pacing back and forth, gathering more and more items she thought Touya would be pleased to have with him. She had begun to suspiciously knitting her brows together when she saw that her mother had slowly but surely begun to pile up three bags of luggage.

"Mom, are you sure he needs that much? I mean, the doctor did say that he could come back home in less than two weeks." Her talk had fallen upon deaf ears as her mother suddenly disappeared into the kitchen singing to herself a song which talked about cakes. She was about to follow her mother but stopped in her tracks when she heard Pokemon names being alphabetically sung out. "I guess she hadn't been a Pokemon trainer for nothing in her younger years, she knows them all by heart."

Heaving a sigh, Touko walked back upstairs into Touya's room only to find out that the huge mess of clothes on the floor contained no blue jacket. It was only after a few more minutes of vain searching that she finally remembered that a guest had told her at the reception about having seen Touya wearing a blue jacket and going out the front door. "So, he had it with him all this time…" With what seemed to be her hundredth sigh that day, she sat on the bed while looking at her surroundings. Everything in his room had been left untouched and although it didn't seem like a long time had passed, the thin layer of dust that had formed over time on the chest of drawers proved her otherwise. "It's been one month." With those words whispered out of her mouth, she let herself fall on her back, her eyes now contemplating the ceiling. The comfy bed sheets were warm, a familiar scent of cologne emanating from them and if she had been sleepy she was sure she could have wandered into the world of dreams right then and there but a strange feeling was kicking into her gut. She wondered why she felt so anxious when she should be happy to finally be able to visit Touya. However, as much as she had tried to keep calm, the anxiety she felt only grew when she finally stepped into the hospital.

Richard had already been waiting for them at the entrance, a tired smile showing up at the sight of the two women. Without further ado, he led the way towards Touya's room but instantly stopped, turning around to face Touko and her mother with an expression of utmost seriousness drawn on his face.

"I know I should have told you this the moment the doctor told me about it but I didn't want to let you two worry about something that was said to be temporary but now…" Noticing his perplexed expression, Marian patted his shoulder and while peering into his face she softly although a tiny bit forcefully said, "We know it was hard for you but we are worried too. What happened?"

Richard hesitated for a moment before slowly beginning to explain. "The moment Touya woke up, the doctor found it only normal for him to be confused but when the time came for me to visit him and I got to finally meet him eye to eye, Touya didn't recognize me. I thought it was because he had still been confused at that time but as time flew by the doctor diagnosed him with amnesia although minor since Touya remembered me two days later. He couldn't remember certain people and events I talked to him about but I was happy that he at least remembered me so fast."

Touko stood rooted to the spot, flinching at the word "amnesia" being spoken about so nonchalantly as Marian uttered out a question. "Amnesia…Did you talk to him about us?"

"I did although I didn't go into too many details about it. The doctor told me to be as vague as possible so that Touya could strive to think of them by himself, supposing it to be good exercise for people diagnosed with amnesia. He also told me that you should not try to make him remember and take everything with a smile when he appears to be confused. Still, I want to believe that he will remember you at first glance." He brought Marian close for an embrace while patting Touko softly on her head and although her body was trembling like the last leaf on a branch in dire winter, she still mustered her courage to conceal her restlessness.

Richard finally opened the door, revealing a pristine white room which enormous size didn't surprise Touko at all since she remembered it to be under the all ever so wealthy Summers family name. Touya was lying on his bed, his eyes directed towards the window and one leg still wrapped into a cast while the other seemed to do well.

At the sight of him, Touko quickly hid herself behind Richard, feeling as if her heart was being pulled with help of tight strings in all directions. Though she quickly regained her earlier composure, she still didn't feel to get out behind Richard. At the sight of the new visitors Touya's face uncharacteristically brightened. "Dad! What's new?" His mouth forming a grin he patted Richard who had walked to his side on the back.

"Touya, I came with two people who were very worried about you." Touko, now trying to hide herself as normally as possible behind her mother, noticed that Richard's words had been spoken out with upmost care, and interiorly flinched under Touya's gaze. After a little moment of silence Touya widened his eyes, shouting out his next words. "Marian! How've you been?"

Touko's mother, after a little hesitation, finally let her mouth run wild with smiles, relief washing over her face as Touya continued to reassure her that he had remembered her without having had to guess.

With each passing second and with no place to hide, Touko awkwardly stood there, her fingers fidgeting nervously about, waiting for his reaction when his eyes would finally meet hers.

When her mother had finally ceased to squeeze Touya to death with her hugs, she finally stepped back to let Touya have a clear look at her daughter which he immediately did. Touko could feel her pulse erratically beating in her veins while Touya scanned her every feature with his eyes. Suddenly, he let out a quiet sigh, letting his eyes fall downcast as he murmured, "Hmm, I can't seem to remember. Somehow, nothing comes up when I see you." With an apologetic smile thrown innocently at her, he began to profusely furrow his brows in confusion, looking at his father for help.

A heavy blow had descended upon her heart at his words and the shock had been so great that she had completely stopped moving and even breathing for that matter. Each member of her body that had previously been shaking stopped all activity at once.

Seeing his confused son eying him for help, Richard tapped him on the back with a smile. "Don't worry boy, I'm sure you still need time to fully recover so it's only understandable how some things can still remain hazy in you mind. She's Marian's daughter and your soon to be sister but here again, take your time to remember." Richard carefully uttered his words so as not to bewilder Touya any further.

Marian worriedly peered at Touko's face, stroking her back in a circle motion as Touko, still fazed by what had been said, silently whispered to her mother. "Why you and not me?" She had by no means meant it as an accusatory question but before her mother could open her mouth, she swiftly threw her hand up into a farewell sign while loudly declaring, "Well, I think we should let Touya rest and seen as I promised to meet up with someone, I'll be leaving. Take care."

It had been incredible how she had suddenly brightened her expression and smiled like no bomb had ever fallen through the sky while taking for aim her heart. After her loud declaration, she dashed out of the room, ignoring her mother's calls. The corners of her eyes had already begun to sting back at the hospital room but she had held them back. She was never the type to neither break down in tears nor look weak in front of many people at once even more if they were family but now that she had reached the nearby park, she felt the corners of her eyes stinging with pain. She leaned against a nearby tree as she let her body slowly slide down the trunk onto the ground and as she heard a chirp of a bird above her head; her tears took form and gushed out uncontrollably down her cheeks.

She felt pathetic somehow and while she knew that crying wouldn't do much; her tears didn't seem to stop. They did stop after a few minutes, leaving only the sound of the last autumnal leaves rustling from the mild breeze and the chirping of the bird which had still not left the branch it had been sitting on right above her head. She took the time to finally think more throughout about the whole situation. Putting her heartache aside, there was still a chance for Touya to recover his memory and remember her but the reason why she felt so miserable was the fact of having been the only one who Touya didn't remember.

Suddenly a realization came to mind. "What if he never gets his memories about me back?" She was about to feel even more miserable since she had just accepted a fact she had been denying for so long but she furiously shook her head and while clenching her fist with renewed determination she stated, "I'll just have to make him remember me again."

During the next days Touko did exactly what she had said she would. Every day she would visit Touya and while the first time they had still awkwardly fixed each other in the eyes and rarely brought up a conversation, the following days the awkwardness had gradually lifted. They talked about random things such as what each of them liked to do or eat and with each passing day Touko felt closer to Touya than she had been in the past. Of course, she had kept some things under white sheets. The Touya she came to visit every day was certainly different than the one she had known since day one. His personality was brighter and he didn't tease her nor did he show his so famous "devilish smile". All those things that had happened between them, be it conversations, confidences or any physical contact held a special place in her heart and speaking of them would only make them lose their special meaning. What good would it do to talk about them if Touya himself wouldn't be able to remember what he had felt or thought about during those moments?

Marian and Richard also came to visit Touya every day but they seldom stayed for more than 3 hours since Richard was needed at work and Marian had her daily "Former Women Pokemon Trainer Club" reunions where she would talk with other women about their adventures when they were still young Pokemon trainers.

She came to visit Touya again today and as always she was greeted with a smile the moment she passed through the door. "So, three more days and I'm outta here." He happily exclaimed while Touko took a seat at her usual place on a chair beside Touya's bed. Touko smiled back at him, trying to hide her uneasiness about the fact that he had still not remembered any detail whatsoever about her. Her heart had sunk each time she left the hospital when she figured that she hadn't made any progress in trying to help Touya remember her.

As usual, she stood up to prepare some tea which she hadn't imagine to be possible to do. Since the room was twice as big as her own room back at the Summers mansion, it contained more than just a TV and private bathroom. In one corner of the room was a refrigerator standing next to an oven and a sink. Plus, several cabinets which contained food, tea leaves and anything one might need in a kitchen were spread about the room, making the hospital room look like a one room apartment.

Touko was busying herself with the tea making when Touya suddenly spoke up, surprising her in the process. "Why do you still keep on visiting me?" His words had been spoken rather harshly almost annoyingly and her hands stopped working. She stood still for a second, thinking if it might have only been her imagination since Touya always kept quiet during her tea making and would answer or ask questions with a gentle voice.

She finally turned around, only to flinch under Touya's hardened gaze. Despite her being a few feet away from him in this huge room, she could feel her whole body freeze under his cold stare which seemed to be impatiently waiting for an answer.

Unconsciously taking a few steps in his direction she began to give out an answer. "U-um what do you mean? If I'm your way, you should say so." Touya had never uttered a complaint nor asked for the reason of her visits until now so why was he asking her such an odd question with such cold eyes?

Touya just sighed as if he had heard something stupid before lazily getting up. His legs were completely healed by now so there was no reason to not let Touya roam freely about the room. His arms were devoid of any injury apart from a few scars left and overall he seemed to be in full health but the doctor, not wanting to take risks, had decided that it was best to keep him a few more days. He was slowly walking towards her, stopping at a safe distance.

He let out another annoyed sigh before speaking up. "I'm tired of this. I've been lying to everyone. I remember everything, including you." A familiar boulder she knew as being called "hurt" came falling down upon her heart. Through her widened eyes, she steadily looked back at Touya who wore the more serious expression she had ever seen him wearing. He was telling the truth no doubt. "He was lying?"

All sorts of rebukes came flying through her mind but not one found the way out of her lips until she finally decided on the simplest question. "Why?" It had been a barely audible murmur of sound but she held her gaze towards Touya steady. "Oh you don't know? Why, have you forgotten all those times you wished that your mother wouldn't marry so that you wouldn't have to bear with me? All those times you glared at me with your eyes crying at me how hateful and filthy I am? Don't lie to me about it not being true. I'm hateful aren't I?"

The more he talked about himself, the more she had wanted to slap herself right across the face. It had been true that there had been a time that she had found him completely annoying and obnoxious but how could he still say that after all that they went through these last two months? They had shared things she hadn't shared with anyone ever before and she thought he had seen the bond they had been forming. "But I guess it was just me…"

She mustered her courage to retort back and although her voice was shaking, she kept on talking. "So what? Are you telling me that all I've done is to keep on hating you? Was my support and growing interest for you not visible enough?"

Touya narrowed his eyes while closing the distance between them. "You call that support? Isn't it rather pity? Poor little Touya who lost his mother, is that it?" His voice gradually grew louder as he spoke making Touko flinch in surprise at every word that rolled down his tongue. Although he wore a frightful expression, Touko felt anger boil up in her body, forgetting the piercing gaze which seemed to freeze every being it encountered.

"How could you? If it were mere pity would I really have come here everyday with a smile facing the man which had claimed to have forgotten me? Were it really pity then I would have had already abandoned since day one!" She heard a loud thud and she closed her eyes at the pain she felt on her back. Opening her eyes, she noticed that Touya had just pushed her back into the wall now turning her around, her face now mere inches from the white wall as she wondered how the room seemed so small to her now. Before she could move away she felt two strong arms on each side of her head and she felt Touya's body pressing up against her back.

"She wanted to shout out words at him but her mouth stayed sewed, all of her blood seeming to rush up on her face while her heart began to beat widely against her chest. "Why now of all times, stupid feelings!"

"Hate me." His words surprised her as she felt her heart rate finally calming down. She didn't know if she should answer or keep quiet but her bashfulness suddenly got the best of her. "Why should I hate you Touya? Shouldn't I be helping you?" It had seemed to be the wrong answer as she felt a hurtful sting on the back of her shoulder, realizing that Touya had just bitten her skin accompanied by more hurtful words. "I'm tainted with sins no one could understand. No one can help me, so hate me already! Or…should I make you hate me?"

Despite his threatening words, she stood her ground. "I won't." She felt another sting of pain on the nape of her neck more fierce than the one that he had given her on the shoulder. His hands slowly traveled down her body, settling one around her waist, while the other held her chin up.

"You give me no choice." And with those words, he fiercely bit the side of her neck, holding her back in place by the waist as her body sprung up at the pain. In normal circumstances, she would have enjoyed this since it had send her body warm waves of pleasure but the pleasure soon stopped at his recent action. Through his bite she had felt irritation, self depreciation, guilt, so much more feelings that lacked warmth and love. His hands were stone cold on her body and she finally struggled against his grasp. "Struggle all you want, I will make you hate me by all means."

Another sharp pain but this time it was on her earlobe and she had gritted her teeth to not let her cry escape but the more she felt he might really want to hurt her, the more the idea of starting to hate him faded. How could she even? He was the man she had fallen in love with.

Touya had shown no sign to stop when Touko finally elbowed his gut, sending Touya stumbling a few feet back. Turning around she fiercely slapped him across the face, sending him fly to the ground in surprise.

"How could I ever hate you when I love you this much you idiot!" His widened eyes from both the surprise of having been send onto the ground and her declaration, made Touko regret her actions. She had just said the famous forbidden words she had kept on denying to herself for such a long time.

The two teens stood shocked, looking at each other in surprise when Touko's legs finally made a run for the door, leaving Touya by himself.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid." She repeatedly cursed herself in her mind, trying to figure out how she could have let those words escape her lips. "It's because he was being so stubborn. What do I do know?"

Leaning against a tree back at the Summers' mansion garden, she thought about what happened in the hospital room with Touya. She had spent several minutes pacing around the bushes of roses and sometimes taking out Zekrom for a walk only to forget about the incident but it sadly always came biting back. She knew that once Touya was back at the mansion he would most in the probably demand an explanation and although she should be afraid of his reaction regarding her slap, she was more worried about his reply to her confession. "I'm so doomed."

Zekrom puffed out his nostrils, sending a strong gust of wind into Touko's face as he peered at it. Touko gave out a surprised cry before glaring back at her favorite Pokemon. "I know you want to cheer me up but if only you could turn back time…" She sighed for what seemed to be the hundredth time that day, Zekrom miming her and trying to figure out a way to get her attention.

They stood there in silence for a few minutes until Touko finally spoke up, stroking Zekrom's strong back. "You know, love is a complicated thing even more if you know nothing about it but one thing is for sure, it won't get me down no matter what reaction or answer I might get but for now let me just be a coward and give me time." Although the words she had uttered had made Zekrom a tad confused, Touko, on the contrary, nodded at him with renewed resoluteness, a smile playing on her lips. Figuring his master was happy; Zekrom gave out a scream of joy nearly sending out an earthquake in the process.

Three days passed by quickly and Touya was finally able to go home. Richard had suggested they'd go all three as family to his hospital discharge and even though all she wanted was to avoid any contact whatsoever with Touya, Touko still agreed to it to keep all possible suspicion under locks. She had indeed been asked by her mother and by Richard why she suddenly stopped her hospital visits when she had been so adamant about visiting Touya everyday before but she deflected their question by bringing up a simple excuse. While they didn't ask for further details, her mother still had sent her a worried look but expressed none of her doubts.

The ride back home had been rather awkward with Richard and Marian enthusiastically chatting back and forth in the front while Touya and Touko were sitting next to each other in the back seats. Though the silence had been overwhelming neither one of them spoke a word nor did they try to –only ridiculously staring ahead or out the window.

Arrived at home, the two teens shut themselves in their respective rooms to only walk out of it when Marian called for dinner. Every time Touko crossed ways with Touya -which was always unavoidable seen as their rooms laid across each other- she would avert her gaze as quickly as possible and although all she wanted was to forget about what she had let her lips speak out without her mind's consent, she couldn't help but miss the times where they would act normally around each other.

-x-x-x-x-

"But that was before all this mess started." She was back into that room which wallpapers still stayed unchanged -oddly painted with huge pink heart patterns.

Blue eyes widened in surprise as well as delight sparkling before her face, a slight feeling of regret filling her gut as she heard the following words being overdramatically stated. "I always knew you would fall in love with him. He is the Devilish Lover after all. If I were to be completely honest with you, if I wouldn't have my cherry pie I would surely have fallen in love with him too."

Touko sighed, pulling on Bianca's arm to force her to sit down on the couch. "Bianca, I think you're drifting away from the problem at hand. Don't you see that it's wrong?"

Bianca glanced at her with narrowed eyes. "Oh so it's wrong to love someone with whom you're not tied by blood? The way I see it is you don't have the courage to go through with this when Touya already makes the effort to try and talk to you."

As much as she would have liked to deny it, it was true. Somehow she hadn't gathered the courage to face Touya when he tried to approach her with clear intentions already shown on his face. It only started about a few days ago, approximately one week after Touya's hospital discharge, Touya had begun to approach her but Touko ignored him every time he had stopped in front of her, calling out to her when she turned her back on him. Cowardly attitude, might one say and she would definitely not deny it.

"Still, our parents are going to marry each other, making it so that we're bout to become family. I know that it might seem as romantic to you because it looks to be a forbidden love between two young people who are destined to become family but don't you forget that has a reputation as a ladies lover and he might very well reject me flat on." Touko had spurted out her insecure at Bianca who still had her eyes narrowed in doubt.

"So then what if he rejects you? At least you know there is another man whom you previously loved and who would welcome you with open arms right?" Touko looked back at Bianca which had spoken with an uncharacteristically tone of disinterest about the matter only to find her looking back with an unfazed expression.

"Are you suggesting that I would leap into the arms of another man -which I have once loved- only because the man I am in love right now doesn't want me? Bianca how come you would think about this?" She incredulously peered back at her blonde friend who answered her with the same disinterested face as before.

"Well isn't it true? Although you loved N, you still fell in love with Touya so wouldn't it work the other way around too?" A skeptical grin played about her lips as her words had reached an end, waiting for Touko to give out a retort which she gladly did.

"That's not true; of course I wouldn't do that! Touya is the only one I have ever loved this dee-. Wait, why are you giggling all of a sudden?" Bianca held her stomach as she wiped a tear out of her eye.

"Now that's what I wanted to hear! Until now all that I heard form you was how everything was impossible, forbidden or how you might get rejected but not how you really felt about it all and there it is." She sprung up form the couch taking Touko's hands in hers. "All that matters is that you love him and that's it. I understand that your situation is really delicate but even so would you rather continue ignoring Touya who seems to want to give you an answer or do you want to torment yourself further into not knowing what couldn't or could be?"

"How did you become such a mastermind? -Not that you weren't before mind you." Bianca smiled at her question slowly letting go of her hands. "I did nothing really; love just changes you -depending on the person you're with too of course. Now what are you going to do? If I remember it correctly you still have that strange disk his uncle gave you so shouldn't you give it to him?"

Touko tilted her head in confusion before finally remembering Brenan, who had introduced himself as being Touya's uncle and also given her a disk to which he added that it would most probably answer every question Touya might have had about his mother. Sensing Touko's hesitation, Bianca pressed on. "I understand that it may be hard on you to face him but I think that right now, handing him that disk is more important than your wavering feelings."

She knew Bianca was right and that there were no words she could come up with that could have been spoken against her sentence. With renewed resolution, Touko stood up, determination painted all over her face. "You're right; I'll give him the disk as soon as I come home." Bianca smiled, watching her friend leaving the room with the most serious face she had ever seen on her. "Yes, she'll be alright."

-x-x-x-x-

The moment she had stepped into the Summers mansion, she immediately went to her room to fetch the disk Touya's uncle had been so kind to give her. Walking over to her huge bookshelf filled with books fit for any rookie or even advanced Pokemon trainers leaving no left space for any others to be put into. She pulled out the disk she had put in between two books to avoid having it lost. Disk in hand, she was ready to face the devil and she started to take confident-full steps towards the hallway when her resolve suddenly faltered. Upon stepping out of her room she had bumped directly into Touya who had left his room at the same time.

Her heart rate immediately sped up as their eyes locked – with Touya's expression oddly being one of uneasiness. They stayed liked that, staring each other in the eyes when Touko, finally gaining the control of her body back, smacked the disk she had been so dearly holding in her hands against Touya's chest. Although surprised by her sudden action, Touya clumsily caught the disk to keep it from falling down to the ground and while he was distracted by it, Touko took the chance to hastily walk away. Before she could, however, take even two steps, she felt a hand pulling on her arm, leading her forcefully away to the hallway upstairs.

At first, she had tried to debate whether to try getting out of his grasp or simply let herself be dragged of to an unknown situation. "It won't be the first time he's dragging me someplace I know nothing of." She sighed and with that thought she let Touya do as he pleased.

They were now walking through the hallway with the numerous pictures of Touya and his father hanging on the wall and the famous gym which could be seen through a glass wall to the left. A nostalgic feeling crept into Touko's heart as she remembered the first time she had come here, seeing for the first time Natasha's picture in the not-so-abandoned study she had found at the far end of the hallway.

An uncomfortable silence blew in the hallway as the only existing sound in the vicinity was that of their matching steps. "Where the hell is he taking me?" She was about to voice her thoughts but stopped when she noticed for the first time how his hand had been visibly trembling and how at times, he unpredictably squeezed or relaxed his hold on her hand without so much as a word.

She had wanted to look at his face, wanting to see the current expression he wore but sadly she had been walking behind him leaving her no choice but to look at his back which had first appeared as broad and strong before this but now only looked incredibly small.

Finally, they reached a room which Touya opened without delay, letting Touko's hand go as he briskly walked to the far end of the room. Still dazed from his hand having suddenly vanished from her grasp, she took a moment to recompose herself before looking at her surroundings. The pale orange colored lighting seemed to have been dimmed on purpose blending with the beige colored walls creating a perfect balance of serenity-like colors in the room. Obviously, since she found herself in front of a giant TV screen which could very well compete –and most certainly would win by a few feet- against a screen from a cinema.

A little ways away from the screen, she found two rows of three chairs in each of them, lined up next to each other. While giving no thoughts about the number of chairs being so small compared to the huge size of the room she continued to contemplate the room with her eyes. After a little while in Touya's absence she began to question Touya's behavior, why he had dragged her behind him and why his hands had been shaking. Then again, she began to hesitate regarding her presence in the room. It had been clear that Touya would most certainly watch the contents of the disk but would it even be alright to stay and watch it with him knowing that it would be about his mother?

However, before she could actually reach a conclusion Touya came back, the screen now showing a blank white background making Touko shrink her eyes at the sudden light invading her pupils, stinging her eyes more than it should due to her closeness to the screen. Without so much as a word or a glance towards her, Touya sat down on the middle chair in the front row, seeming to wait for something to happen. Touko waited for him to push the play button on his remote which he didn't seem to have the intention on doing any soon. She realized that she had been standing next to the chairs and decided to sit on a chair to the right in the second row, thinking it would be best to give him a little space.

As soon as she had comfortably settled in her nut-brown velour chair, Touya hit the play button, the screen finally getting rid of the hurtful white colored background. A heavy silence hung in the air as Touko anxiously waited for the screen to reveal anything else than the black it had been currently showing and after a little while, a woman's figure came to view, quite blurry at first before finally sharpening.

Touko gasped from both surprise and wonder. She had only seen two pictures of Natasha so far and in each one, she had been a beautiful and extremely gracious looking woman. Natasha wore a beige cream colored suit with matching pearl earrings and necklace. Her long brown wavy hair had been tied into a braid, her blue eyes eying the camera innocently as her bloody red lips twitched in sign of opening, ready to let out words which probably would let Touya know everything he had ever asked himself for years.

"I'm glad I finally got to turn this thing on, I was never one to understand much about technology that comes about these days and I'm sure you are probably laughing at me right now right?" She laughed her voice seeming to soothe anyone who would come to hear it.

She tore off her eyes from the screen to momentarily look at Touya. His fists were turned into balls as he anxiously listened to his mother. At one point she might have seen a tear rolling down his cheek but chose that it would be better to ignore it and returned her attention to the screen.

"Touya, you are probably upset –no, very upset by what I have done. I had promised to come back for you but never did and before I start on my explanation as to why I broke my promise I want you to know that whatever I might say may sound as a vulgar excuse but know that it is not. Everything I will tell you is the sole truth of what has been happening in my family and if you are watching this, it means that you have refused to see me. Oh, but it's alright, I do not blame you, rather, I understand why you would not want to see me but no matter, you are watching this –or at least I am hoping you are." Her eyes wavered as they moistened as if at any second tears would from down her rosy cheeks and looking at Touya, Touko noticed his eyes doing the same.

With a serious look, unbecoming of her beautiful innocent face, Natasha continued. "As you might maybe know, my maiden name is "Bellevue" and I am the chairman of a cosmetology company called the "Bellevue Beauty View". You might ask why I am telling you this. Well, since centuries my company was led by women chairmen because of certain reasons. One might be because most presidents and chairmen were men at the time the company was built and thus it had been decided that it would only be led by women. Never mind the other reasons, I would have to stay in front of the camera till tomorrow should I tell you every single one of them. This is where everything starts; I hope you will listen to the end."

She briefly closed her eyes as Touya softly sighed, still not tearing his eyes of his mother. Then opening up her eyes, she faced the camera with a gentle look, her lips almost itching to turn up a smile.

"Women in our family have always had a strong character making me question how on earth did the husbands deal with it. A good example would be my father, he always did as my mother told him, nodding his head while sometimes sighing away his happiness but never complaining. It is sad when I look back at it but when I saw how much my mother always carefully and lovingly nursed him back to health when he fell ill I quickly change my mind. Never a man of complaints but I sometimes wished he were. One day he fell ill but never looked it and never said word about it until some day, my mother found him on the floor, cold and lifeless. He had passed away before even knowing it would take him out at that instant…" There again a silence as she closed her eyes, probably trying to hide her want on shedding out tears despite her shaky voice having already given it away.

She resumed, trying to smile back at the camera. "That said, I might as well tell you about the rest of the family. My mother had wanted a girl to hand down her business to and luckily enough God gave it to her at the first try. Me, in fact. She sent me to a private school and had me take management, business and finance courses, everything so I could one day lead the company like all the other women in the family had done before me. About 7 years later, my brother was born –and yes, you heard right, you have an uncle named Brenan. I do not like to call it as such but these are my mother's words "That child was an accident; he was never supposed to be born". Although this might seem horrible to hear from his own mother, my brother kept his smile and optimism, maybe that is why I wanted to protect him so much –sisterly love right here." She laughed again, surprisingly so, getting a smile back from Touya.

Then she resumed. "It was clear that the company's chairman position would be given to me and although my brother could have been anything else he could have wished to be, he decided to take the same courses as me, managing to even get higher scores than I ever had. I thought he would want to take my chair and when I had asked him about it he answered me with a smile, saying, "Sister, for as much as I would love to be chairman, I love you even more than a simple chair and title therefore I wish to only be there to help you to the best of my abilities." Thus, I made him my right hand man as vice-president even though I had to plead my cause several months until my mother finally gave her accord."

Another pause as she prepared for her next words. "Business apart, I should maybe tell you about my love life. Because of issues I won't be naming due to the fact that it has always given me waves of displeasure, I got married. My first marriage had been done without my own accord, with a paper signed without my knowing the origin of and signed by my hand. Of course, I am the only one to blame seen as I had not given much thought about it when it had appeared on my desk. My mother rejoiced at the news–and later I found out it had all been my mother's doing since the beginning. I tried to love my husband but I was never able to. Everything I had felt had been sympathy and because of one careless night where wine had been, unfortunately, involved, I became pregnant with one baby boy. At that time I did not now if it had made me happy or not but here again, I only felt sympathy and even now I wonder why. Maybe it had been the harsh education that I had received from my mother, maybe it was simply the fact of me being incapable of feeling any love towards a child who was born from a mother which never learned how to love her own child or the fact about him coming from a loveless marriage. I wonder if I will meet him again someday. That child whose name still remains with me and the man who loved me dearly with no returned feelings, I think I forgot everything when I met…him."

Touko's mind grew blank in an instant. "A brother? How come he isn't surprised?" She could have literally cried out in surprise had she been the only one in the room but what surprised her the most was Touya which had worn an expression of one having already known about the information even before it had been spoken of.

Natasha continued with her tale while Touko still shaken by the news, tried to listen what was being said next. "Richard, your father, changed my whole life with one glance. We met during a gala where every president of all important companies had been invited to. We fell in love as soon as our names were out of our mouths and our hands had come into contact for a handshake as greeting. Obviously, I had already divorced and left my former husband's house since long, even though it had been hard to convince my mother I got what I had wished for. Needless to say, my mother was not delighted with my desire of wanting to marry your father. Our companies had nothing in common and we would gain nothing more than more money in our pockets. My mother had been vehemently against it and I might add that she did not hide her discontentment at all while threatening me that she would take back the company from my hands. I refused to listen to her needs and wants and married of my own accord and as said, my mother took the company back. What did it matter? I was with the man I loved and desired, nothing else mattered and then you came to us. I was so happy, I loved you the instant I knew you existed in my belly. Oh, if I had only known what would happen, I would have done things differently.

One day, my mother called and I had been ready to hang up almost immediately when she suddenly informed me of my father's death. She was begging me to come back to help the company which, going by her sayings, was in crisis. I did return, promising you to come back but I never did, didn't I?" Touya leaned in, propping his arms on his knees as he waited for his mother's explanation.

"Truth is, I was never able to come back because I simply couldn't. When I thought I had stayed only for four days, it had been already four years. I forgot to control my actions and failed to realize that I had been so into my work that I had…completely forgotten you. It is still vivid in my memory how much my mother begged for me to stay when I said I had to go to you and just like an ape obediently following the scent of the bananas his master held, I did the same. Dedicating myself only to my work, unable to think of family and friends, trying to get back what my company had lost during my absence and for what? I lost you, a husband which I hadn't even remembered being divorced to or even having divorced for that matter and a brother which had vainly tried to warn me of my blindness and to which I had only replied "I'm busy"."

Natasha couldn't hold them back anymore and neither did Touya as the two of them let their tears run wild. Touko gulped, trying as hard as she might to be the only strong one in the room, biting her lip to hold her own tears back.

After a while, Natasha looked up, her eyes still red from her tears which didn't seem to stop flowing. "Touya, please, I do not want you to take all this as excuse because even I am ashamed about my actions. When I realized that it had been four years I had been so afraid of coming back to you and I know that my return was unexpected and completely out of line but still…I wanted to look at the grown up you, see you smile, laugh and be with you just to ruffle your hair and stroke your belly as I did when you were little. Hehe, maybe you would get mad at me for doing this when you are clearly fully grown but even your angry face would have been a lovely sight to see. Touya, I do not expect you to forgive me nor to accept the cowardice of your mother but if there is one thing I would like you to do is…to remember me. Remember this mother who loved you, abandoned you, who talked with you per camera although she took half an hour to get it started. Know always that I love you form the bottom of my heart.

…And if one day I should disappear from this earth before I get to see you, I am grateful to whoever might be concerned that I was able to talk to you like this now. What face are you making? A smiley face, an angry face? I wish I was there to know the answer. Well, I wish for you to live your life freely like I always wished for myself but never did.

From your mother with much love…Natasha."

The screen faded to black, leaving the room plunging into darkness. The only sound in the room was Touya's sobbing as he crouched in his seat. Touko tried to stand up, and although her legs were horribly shaking she walked in front of Touya's seat, hugging him as soon as she had reached a comfortable distance.

She felt her shirt slowly getting wet but couldn't care less as she tightened her hold around him. Everything that had happened to this point since his actions when he was still hospitalized was forgotten. She was crying as hard as he was, maybe even a little less but made sure to stay in that position, sometimes rocking his body gently back and forth.

Suddenly, she felt his hold on her tightening as he stood up without warning, making her stand up too. He held her head against his chest just like she had done just seconds ago. Her body froze in place as she remembered what had happened at the hospital and how his actions, intimate enough, had hurt her more than it had given her pleasure. However, as his fingers slowly came traveling into her hair while his other hand slowly came resting down upon the small of her back, her heart slowly started picking up a fast pace. His fingers were slowly stroking her hair as every stroke warmed up her body even more. His hold on her had been so comfortable that she could almost fall asleep were it not for Touya's sudden whisper in her ear.

"Everything I've done…Forgetting you, doing those horrible things to you and maybe even more things I didn't realize I had done and from which you might have suffered, I regret it. I no longer want to run away from my feelings. Everything I need now…is you." His words which lovingly came reaching into her ears did more than make her heart beat faster. At every moment, she awaited the fated "waking up from a dream" moment and she would most probably feel silly, shake her head a few times to disperse her thoughts and get back to sleep if possible.

She didn't know when she had finally realized it not being a dream but at some point she just did, believing it to be real even though she had hesitated quite a bit at first. Touko drew herself back a little bit, looking up into his eyes which were glistening like jewels in the sun due to him having cried and her mouth gave out a smile. "I love you, Touya." As brash as she was, there was no way she would have pulled those words out with all conscience thus leading her to quickly hide her face into his broad chest.

A long silence followed during which she started to regret her words. "Damn it, why did my mouth have to let out these words without my consent again?" She had tightly closed her eyes as her arms tightened around his waist, hoping to morph into bubbles and disappear from his sight.

She felt his arms around her slowly leaving and awaited the worst when his hands grabbed hold of her cheeks, his thumbs slowly stroking each of them. It was most probably –no, certain that her face had completely gone red from his touch and as she was about to open her eyes, she felt a soft touch on her lips. Hesitant, a little evasive at first just as if an angel's feather had just come down from the clouds to brush itself against her lips. "He's… kissing me."

Although it had only been for a second, she felt ashamed of herself when she realized she had wanted more but here again, before she could actually open her eyes this time, his lips came crashing down, more confident and fierce than the first. It had been all new to her, how lips lovingly brushed against lips, the moist warm sensation they left each time they withdrew it selves, the smacking sound of their lips as well as the heavy breathing which were the only music in the room. He certainly knew what he was doing most probably due to his long experience with women and she tried not to think about it and ever time his tongue came tracing her upper lip, it made her instantly forget any sort of rational thinking. Everything felt so new and magical that she had wanted for it to last forever when here again, one thought came crashing down on her mind. "He didn't exactly apologize nor given the words I wanted to hear." A simple "I'm sorry" and an "I love you" she had always longed to hear would have been the words she wanted for him to utter but at the same time she knew why he didn't say them. "It might need some time until he can voice his feelings."

Nothing could be more wonderful than being in the arms of the one she loved however, Touko had yet to realize that unknown feeling that was about to creep back up on her chest.

Hey guys! Sorry for the delay -looong delay should I say? Well hope you enjoyed this chapter, thank you for the reviews, I really enjoy reading them as they help me to understand what you think of the story. Next chapter: Chapter 13: It ended as fast as it began. See you soon~