Lost in Nirvana
Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon…if I did, it would have been an amazing love story better than Twilight.
A/N: So…I finally played Pokémon Black and fell in love with the infamous ferrishwheelshipping. I won't make you read through their battle right at the very beginning as so many fanfics have already done so in the past. Instead, whatever happens now takes place right after their final battle. Starting with Touko awaking from unconsciousness after the final blast from Reshiram and Zekrom…
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Chapter 1
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"You lose. My victory is ensured…"
Those words echoed through her mind over and over again, like a never ending mantra. Touko groaned softly from a dull, aching pain surging through her muscles as she turned to her side to maintain a better sleeping posture.
'But I didn't lose,' the young woman thought drowsily. 'My Zekrom fired the last attack. I'm sure of it!"
"Zekrom is hurting…at this rate; you will lose...surrender now before you hurt him any further."
'I believe in him. I have faith in Zekrom's power.'
Zekrom, Zekrom, Zekrom…
"Zekrom!" she heard herself shout to nothingness.
That was when it hit her. Her eyes snapped open and she awoke abruptly with a start, wincing in pain when her tired muscles screamed in silent agony. When the pain died down a little, the first thing Touko realized was that her Pokemon were nowhere to be seen in sight. She gasped in disbelief.
'Where are they? Zekrom? Cobalion? Victini? Samurott?'
Touko thought she probably returned them to their Pokeballs and had forgotten, but when she reached for the belt which contained them, she was only met an empty space where her Pokemon used to be.
Panic and fear began to constrict tightly at her chest. She felt choked as if invisible fingers were around her throat, squeezing the life out of her. The emotions of hopeless desperation overwhelmed her, and she shook almost violently from the thought that during her slumber, her precious Pokemon could have been captured by the enemy, or even worse, dead.
How could she have been so careless? She failed to protect her Pokemon. 'No', she thought shaking her head in shame. They weren't just Pokemon to her. They were her friends, her companions, and her precious family. Team Plasma must have taken her Pokemon and left her to rot in the forest alone.
'Forest?' She caught herself thinking and paused.
Realization dawned on her. For a second, she had almost forgotten about her dilemma. Touko took in the strangeness of her surroundings, gasping with awe and pure shock at the sight of enormous and majestic trees towering above and around her. Were trees able to grow this big? How did she end up in the forest alone?
There were too many trees to count. There were also too many questions left unanswered. Morning sunlight peeked through the branches and she could hear the soft cries of life and excitement chirping from the very canopy of the trees. Pokemon perhaps?
Touku squinted as her eyes followed the rays of sunlight until it was too bright that she had to shield her vision to see. She saw a few flocks of wild pidoves, pidgeys, and wingulls flying in the high expanse of sky, but frowned when she recognized none as hers. The forest appeared to be untouched, unseen, and strangely amicable. It looked peaceful and yet, it also looked savagely wild at the same time.
Her fingers slowly closed into a fist and her fingers bit into the soft moistness of the earth. She brought her hand to view and noticed the wet texture of healthy soil in her palm.
'This isn't Liberty Garden,' she thought to herself. Liberty Garden was the last place she remembered before slipping into unconsciousness.
Grimacing in pain as she tried to stand on her own two feet, she turned around in a circle allowing herself to drink in the sight before her. Although she heard the presence of Pokemon everywhere, none were in sight. If she did see something, they were either flying high in the sky or they have kept themselves well hidden from view.
Weird, impossible, strange, this can't be . . . those were the very words running through her head.
"If this isn't Liberty Garden, then where the HELL am I?" Touko mostly shouted to herself. Her only replies were a couple of Pokemon scurrying away in fright at the angry sound of her voice.
At hearing the snapping of twigs and crunching of dead leaves, Touko froze in place. She felt the tiny hairs at the back of her neck stand on its end. Something or someone was there with her. She swallowed the lump in her throat, too cautious to make a wrong move and endanger her life any further. If it was an angry wild Pokemon, she would be done for.
Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.
The shuffling of the leaves came to a halt. She could've swore that she heard a small exhale of air, as if whatever it was had sighed in relief. Touko released a breath she didn't realize she had been holding.
"Hush. You are disturbing the peace of the forest," said a voice only Touko knew too well. No man possessed the same husky and chiding tone as his. She didn't know whether to jump with glee or panic at the thought of his presence. She turned at once, facing her longtime rival and nemesis. Right before her stood the king of Team Plasma, N Harmonia. Her blue eyes met his ash mauve ones unblinkingly.
There was a mirthful smirk on his lips. She glared at him.
"N," she grounded out in accusation. She was ready to punch him in the throat if he tried to do anything funny. She knew for a fact that none of her Pokemon were with her at the moment, and if she had to fight him with her own bare fists, then so be it.
N smiled boyishly, obviously unaffected by her threatening appearance.
"I'm glad to see you too," he said in a cheerfully sardonic manner. "I thought that you might be hungry so I went to go look for these."
She sniffed and cocked her head to the side curiously. What did he just say? Her eyes drifted down to the bundle of freshly picked fruits in his arms. Her stomach betrayed her, growling greedily in response. When was the last time she eaten again? She did not remember.
"Do you care for apples? Or do you prefer oranges?" he asked, motioning for her to glance his way.
Lowering her guard a little, her gaze flickered at him.
"Where are my Pokemon?" Touko demanded.
Without saying a word, N somehow managed to take off his jacket and place it carefully on the forest floor. He set the fruits on top, arranging them by type and color just like a little kid arranging his shapes. He looked almost ridiculous. If it were any other situation, Touko would have thought it was a cute that a grown man was fussing over something as irrelevant as categorizing fruits by its appearance. He beckoned for the young woman to come over with his hand.
"I'll answer all of your questions as soon as you eat. I suspect that you have not eaten ever since our battle a day ago."
"A day ago?" Touko spat out loudly before she could stop herself. Again, the rustlings of frightened critters were loud and audible and running away from HER.
N sighed. "You ought to not shout like that. The wild Pokemon are afraid of you. We both don't have any Pokemon on us and if they find us to be a threat to them, they will attack-"
Flabbergasted, she cut him off. "What do you mean we both don't have any Pokemon?"
N pursed his lips, frowning.
"Eat first, and I'll talk," he promised, and threw an apple at her.
Surprised at such an unexpected movement, Touko caught the fruit with little struggle. Seeing N indulging in his breakfast silently, Touko decided that he was harmless enough and went to seat herself across from him. If he tried to do anything funny, she'll knee him in the balls and escape.
After all, they have known each other by name for awhile. Even she knew him to be quite a gentleman although their views on certain subjects were on a whole other level. In fact, this was the first time they were alone with each other without battling. Touko was sure that if she had her Pokemon with her, they would be having another heated battle like the last.
"This feels a little nice," he grumbled contentedly. It was followed by a relaxed sigh. He turned to look at her with a child-like grin on his handsome face.
"This is the first time I've ever had breakfast with someone other than Concordia and Anthea. Even then, they only watch me as I eat," he finally said, which made her raise a questioning brow.
'Okay, so he is trying to create small talk,' Touko thought, mentally sighing with impatience. She decided she'll go along with it as long as it led to her receiving fast answers.
"I would imagine that you'd eat with Team Plasma at a long table or something. "
N chuckled at her response. He looked at her with those unwavering eyes of his.
"Hey, you're kind of funny."
"Oh yeah, I get that a lot," Touko muttered, half tempted to roll her eyes but paused when she noticed that N was not intending to look away anytime soon. He stared at her for several overwheming minutes. Touko swallowed the invisible lump forming in her throat, not quite sure why she was feeling a little uncomfortable all of a sudden.
"About your Pokemon," he finally said at last. His eyes were relentless, never looking away as he spoke. If anything, he seemed to have closed the distance a little and leaned towards her. "If you lost to me in battle, I would have released them at once."
Touko's brows narrowed and she felt anger beginning to boil in the pit of her stomach. Just as she was about to retort with unpleasant series of words, N beat her to it first.
"Perhaps I would have captured you as well and kept you in Liberty Garden to keep me company," he continued, watching her eyes grow wide with incredulousness. "I've decided that if I wanted anyone to be my friend, that person has to be you. And only you." N seemed to have reveled in the information he just disclosed.
Touko gaped. She was at a loss for words. This man is insane! He wanted to…wanted to...she couldn't even bring herself to complete her train of thought. He wanted to capture her? He basically told her he was going to kidnap her as soon as she lost the battle, not that she was going to anyway. He was also downright honest about his plans too! It was as if he was expecting her to be happy about it and that greatly disturbed her. Touko didn't know if she should laugh or cry at such an unbelievable declaration.
"But I didn't see who won the match," N confessed, raking a hand through his unruly green hair. He had a regretful expression on his face.
"But I-"
N wouldn't allow her to interrupt. "I do not understand it myself, but Zekrom and Reshiram's powerful last blow seemed to have knocked us both unconscious. To be quite frank, I don't really remember what happened. The next thing you know, I woke up with you in the middle of the forest and found that we are no longer in Liberty Garden. You must have been exhausted. You have slept since we got here."
Her health was the last thing on her mind at the moment, and she quickly brushed away his comment of the state of her wellbeing. She definitely did not trust him or the words leaving his mouth.
"What about my Pokemon?" Touko reminded, glaring daggers at the man in front of her.
N's gaze left hers and he stared at the sky with a solemn look on his face. "I don't know. It seems that my friends are not here as well."
Touko stood up, pointing an accusing finger at him. She couldn't bear to sit and listen to his lies any longer. He didn't look like he was finished with his little sob story either, but Touko would not have any of it. "You did release them, didn't you?"
N only sighed tiredly. Following suit, he stood up as well and faced the young woman who was obviously quite distressed by the news.
"Say what you want, but I assure you that I did no such thing," he returned with a suspicious calm. "If I did release them, it would have meant that you've lost the battle to me. I think we would be enjoying a nice breakfast at around this time, don't you think?"
This only proved to anger the young woman even further. He was so damn confident and arrogant about defeating her, and whatever he planned to do afterwards just bother the hell out of her. She fumed, glaring lasers at the man before her.
The thought that she may never seen her beloved friends again terrified her. Her lips shook as she fought the unshed and angry tears threatening to spill from her eyes. She blinked, willing for the tears to go away.
"You're insane!" Touko retorted, running out of intelligent things to say. At this point, she felt so sick and furious that she didn't know what to think of him. He was the only person there. He was the only person to blame, and she hadn't even investigated their current situation yet. She was frustrated with herself for blaming him without knowing the facts, and she was also frustrated that out of all people, it just had to be N.
N for crying out loud!
If he was bothered by her anger, then he sure didn't show any signs of it. Instead, he stared at her with those cool eyes of his and appeared to look . . . weary.
"I don't understand why you refuse to see things my way. I would be doing what I believe is best for Pokemon."
That was always his reply. It was always that same same statement. He had his mind made up about what he thought was right a long time ago, and it had not changed. They have had so many arguments like this in the past. She can no longer count how many times this topic came out every time they encounter one another. Her reply was also always the same.
"How do you know that destroying the bonds shared between a trainers and Pokemon is what's best for them? Do you not think for a second that Pokemon share the same kind of love for their human friends?"
"Pokemon and humans aren't meant to be together."
"Your argument is invalid!"
"So is yours."
Touko growled. N's expression did not change.
"You know what!? I'm not even going to argue with you," the brunette muttered exasperatedly, throwing her hands into the air. "I'm going to look for my Pokemon."
Releasing a stubborn puff of air, Touko turned away from him and began to make her way through the forest. N stared at her back as she walked further away from him.
"You can't honestly think that that I'll believed you for even a second. I'm not buying any of this crap. It seems to me like you're suggesting that Zekrom and Reshiram's fusion flare somehow managed to magically unveil a hole in space and zapped us here. What's that word again? Teleport? Please, spare me the idiocracy."
N visibly tensed at her sarcastic remark.
"Teleport…?"
He eyed her form thoughtfully. Why hadn't he thought of that? It did seem plausible. After all, Reshiram and Zekrom are so powerful that anything could have resulted from their destructive blow during their battle. A slow smile crept on his lips and he began to follow her.
N knew he made an excellent choice when he decided that he wanted to befriend her. Only a person of her caliber is worthy enough to be in his presence. He snickered to himself at the thought.
Touko's feminine but firm voice broke him away from his thoughts, which also succeeded to stop him in his tracks. She must've noticed him following and turned to leer at him disdainfully.
"All right genius. Let me prove you wrong. When I find all of my Pokemon, we can finish our battle so I can finally sleep peacefully tonight. The thought of allowing you to capture me makes me sick."
Just as she resumed walking again, she also made sure to say, "And don't you dare follow me either."
As Touko walked away, only the sound of leaves shuffling beneath her feet were audible to the ears. N's gazed was fixed intently on her smaller form as she stormed off. She had no Pokemon with her, and neither does she have the ability to talk to them the way he could. She would be an easy victim to kill if the wild Pokemon deemed her a threat. N saw that she was vulnerable, small, and unprotected. It roused the masculine side of him that wanted to guard her; he wanted to protect the person he called a friend.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you, Touko," N said in a low and surprisingly gentle voice.
Touko paused, curious about his sudden allegation.
"And why not? Are you going to stop me?" she challenged, placing her hands on her hips.
N's eyes flashed with something the young woman can't quite decipher. It was somewhat in between amusement and arrogance.
"During our short stay here, I have come to realize a couple of things."
Touko opened her mouth to speak, but the expression on N's face prevented her from doing so. She suddenly became very self-conscious and insecure with the way he was looking at her.
"One, you don't have any Pokemon under your possession and therefore, you aren't capable of protecting yourself."
That felt like a slap to the face. Touko frowned at how much he belittled her. "I am perfectly capable of protecting myself, thank you very much!"
N seemed to have not heard her, however.
"Two, this forest is untainted by human hands. The wild Pokemon here had never seen people walk about here, so it's possible that your death may result from your carelessness. And three . . ."
Touko swallowed a lump in her throat, slightly afraid of what he was going to say next and yet, she mentally dared him to say it.
"You need me."
He froze momentarily when the petite woman began to stomp toward his way. His eyes widen a fraction when she was right before him, glowering and fuming.
"N, shut up."
Before Touko gave him a chance to explain himself, the left side of his face met with her small, powerful fist.
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TBA…
So…what do you think? Does it have potential? I have this crazy idea about N and Touko being teleported to some unknown island where they'll be stuck there and have to depend on each other for awhile. Constructive criticism and encouraging kind words are always welcomed! This is unbeta'd, so any mistakes are my own. I am also interested in looking for a beta reader too, since a second eye always helps for a writer to improve. Thanks!