☯ 001 [video]

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[The video opens on a face with a pair of blue eyes the color of the ocean, or the blue of a masterfully-cut sapphire, or the blue of the heavens around her, but with a much hotter, more exotic flame ablaze. She looks neutral for a second, and it almost seems like she's going to start yelling

Comments

♡VIDEO. 1/3

[freed]

2/3

[freed]

[admittedly, his first reaction was to nearly spring out of his seat when he realized that this girl had a samurott behind her, and N's nearly going through pokémon withdrawals at this point, so he's nearly beside himself with joy when he realizes he's about to speak to a trainer.

however, it isn't until he actually looks at her does he realize that something is...well, he can't quite place it. it's like déjà vu but not quite, as if he should know this person, actually already does, but an can say with confidence that this girl, as painfully familiar as she is, is someone he has never seen before in his life.]

3/3

[freed]

[he watches her brazen display for a moment, trying to take it all in and place in his head why this is so warm and familiar but he can't quite do it.

curiously enough, she reminds him a lot of touya.]

Your confidence is certainly refreshing, but rest assured that our particular cosmos is safe.

[N offers her a slow, disarming smile.]

But I too am a trainer, and have had the rest of my Pokémon taken from me just as you have. If you are new, I would not be opposed to guiding you to town as well as giving you whatever information you need on Zodion.

[video]

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[--Wait. Hold ON.

Touko's eyes fly wide, and she quite literally stops breathing for a second there. There's an unsettling silence from her end, until she gathers herself, and...]

N?!

What-- how--

[Okay. Coherence. That would be really good. If you were right in front of her, she'd undoubtedly be grabbing your shoulders without even thinking about it, just to make sure you're real. Instead, she settles for gripping the device desperately, like if she lets go for even a second, you'll disconnect and she'll never see you again.]

...How did you get here?! They took your Pokemon too?! But-- what about you?!

[No. No. No. Stop. Stop. Stop. Slower. She ducks her head and tries again.]

If the cosmos is really safe... then what am I-- what are we doing here?

♡VIDEO.

[freed]

[he can't even process half of what she says because of that way she called for him, and once again he's thinking back to plasma castle, ruins by now no doubt, and the way he watched from behind ghetsis' shoulders as the hero of unova stood and faced all that N himself had been unsure of. for some reason, the way this girl called for him reminded N of how he had called to touya.

but he doesn't know why.

brows knit with a contemplative expression, he watches her under the guise of his calm, but deep down his heart is racing too. how does she know him? --that's a stupid question, he's the king of team plasma, of course she would know him if she were a trainer. but why the familiarity?]

Yes, I am N. I see my reputation precedes me.

[he doesn't quite bring up team plasma just yet, but he continues pressing on slowly as he rises. his camera gives a few abrupt jolts as he settles into a steady pace, leaving his apartment to seek this girl out even without her permission. he has a feeling they'll both want to be face-to-face after awhile

♡VIDEO.

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No, that's--

[That's not it.

Something's not right here.

And it has nothing to do with that explanation, for that matter. It's worse than that.

There's a quick flash of deep, resounding shock before her gaze significantly darkens, but not in anger -- more in hurt.]

Do you mean to tell me you don't remember who I am? At all?

...Did you hit your head?

♡VIDEO.

[freed]

[his steps slow somewhat but he doesn't completely stop. his perplexed expression deepens because there's a tug in his chest, that overwhelming déjà vu again, but he knows by now that he cannot place the face to a name other than touya's.]

I do not.

[a slight pause.]

If this is regarding Team Plasma, I will take responsibility for whatever it is they have done. I would much rather discuss this in person instead of over this public network, though.

Are you still at the Meridian?

♡VIDEO.

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[What.

At this point, her heart is in her throat. The words echo all the way across Touko's eyes, and suddenly up is down, everything is wrong. And that the line was delivered in the same gentle voice and amiable character of the person she tried so hard to help...]

That's... cruel. It has nothing to do with Team Plasma and everything to do with you.

...But maybe we should talk about it... face-to-face, yeah.

[She wanted to use "heart-to-heart" there, and she would have done it, but stopped herself just in time. He doesn't remember, and maybe this is some stupid thing the "gods" here did...?]

I haven't gone far since coming out of that place, so I guess you could say that.

♡VIDEO → ACTION. 1/2

[freed]

I don't know what you are talking about or if I have done anything to wrong you personally, but those are details better left to our discussion.

[that's not what she wants to hear and he knows it; it's not what he wants to say, quite frankly, but N is nothing if not honest and pure, so a lost and forlorn glimmer flickers across his face for a moment.]

Wait there and I will meet you shortly.

2/2

[freed]

[it doesn't take him long to make his way there, and he's slowly treading the area around the temple in search of the mystery girl he may or may not have already known-- so far, his only guess was that she had perhaps been persuaded by his disciples to release her pokémon or something equally distressing, but it still didn't quite add up to him.

when he does spot her though, his approach is almost tentative, uncharacteristic of him but he would say he's wary for good reason. N skips the preamble and politeness and gets right to the point.]

How do you know me?

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[Touko is leaning next to her Samurott on the ground. His legs are folded under him, and he's taken to supporting his trainer's weight. He notices N coming up before she does, naturally, and she takes the cue to sit up and look at him with some vast quantity of world-tearing betrayal all over her face. She sucks in a breath and just tries.]

We're friends.

...Were friends.

[It hurts to use past tense. It does. She goes on, as though feeling maybe that won't be enough, looking askance.]

You spoke to me like you trusted me. You even took me on the Ferris wheel at Nimbasa City, once, to explain yourself. So I decided somehow that I was going to help you, in the way I felt was right. Like you were doing with the Pokemon.

It came down to finding Zekrom. You wanted me to find him, because you wanted to confirm everything you knew. And I wanted to do that for you, too.

...So I did.

[This time, when she turns back to him, her frown is disappointed and a little defensive, in the way a wounded creature rapidly losing understanding of

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[no.

no. there's no way. this girl speaks with touya's conviction-- no, it's her own conviction, her own confidence and inner strength and certainty, something brand new but painfully familiar. he recalls that fateful day in his castle again and again, but he knows deep down more than anything that this girl is not not not touya. not a boy, not someone he knows but his heart betrays his memories and all he can do is watch her incredulously, shaking his head.]

How do you know all this?

[he even takes a step back, suddenly feeling a tinge vulnerable, and the fear makes its way into his eyes.]

Did Ghetsis put you up to this? I--

[he doesn't want to believe it so he shakes his head, stands his ground. he knows he can't run away forever but this is far from the ideal way he intended to face his past.]

No, he couldn't have. You know things only he would know, and I feel something I would only feel around him.

[N meets her eyes, and he suddenly feels as if he understands everything.]I remember everything. The moment I met you in

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No. My name is Touko, not... Touya.

I remember it because it happened to me, not someone else. I'll always remember it. And if you think I'd do anything that sleazeball said, especially if it was to hurt you, you're off your rocker.

...Do you believe me?

[Her expression softens a little, but she still looks troubled, trying hard not to let weakness slip. She climbs, rather shakily, to her feet, using Samurott to balance; neither he nor N would surely notice the way her fingers trembled, or know how ridiculously cold she felt suddenly, or the slow and uncertain progress of her rise. Maybe. She hoped.]

[freed]

[he watches her, all the hurt and fear in the world in his dull grey eyes, and he can't even look to reshiram for confirmation, ask her if this girl made contact with her soulmate and if whatever the stirring in his chest is is contagious.

but he believes her. he can't not believe her, not because touya's conviction touched him and changed his life but because her conviction, touko's conviction, is moving him and changing his life right now. N doesn't need to look to reshiram to know this girl is his missing half, his soulmate, the very thought making him run faster and faster every day he dared to believe he could face his past on his own.

even if she's not, she is. he can't describe it any other way than that.]

I do.

[N watches all of her ungainly motions, all this fear and anxiousness coiling within her almost palpable in her eyes, and he thinks back to someone saying that one's soulmate can always feel the same pain one feels

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[When Touko looks down at his hand, her throat closes up and she feels ready to choke. Words will only grate on her throat now, she thinks.

So forget the words, goes the quiet little voice in the back of her head, the one that she couldn't ever bring herself to ignore. Words are shallow and stupid, and lies can be layered in like so many coats of paint, and as equally cleverly disguised in the same colors and thicknesses as the truth. It'd be meaningless, and you'd find a way to mess up.

So instead, she relaxes her shoulders and plunges forward without hesitation, and her arms wrap about N's neck like a little girl, completely ignoring the hand in favor of something she's wanted to do for a long time. And if she closed her eyes and wished hard enough, she thought she could relive those bittersweet times when they had to be on opposite sides by necessity...

Besides... maybe it can be different now.]

I'm glad. I'm so glad. You really are him.

[freed]

[the embrace comes as a surprise but he doesn't fight it, allows himself to be pulled into the ocean of warmth, and before he realizes N is encircling touko with his own arms, holding her as tightly as he can. it's been a strange, difficult month for him and to say he didn't wish for touya's guiding presence to show him the way would be a lie, but touko is here instead-- no, if anything, it's the same thing, the exact same thing, the same warm and kind neutral presence that he could never fight against.]

Touko...

[N inhales through his nose deeply, fighting tears back along with guilt and regret. he has so many things he wants to apologize for, so many things he wished he did differently-- and he's listing them all off in his head in this formulaic way. systematically though, it doesn't matter to him right now. he's found his soulmate, somehow, some way-- they're different now but definitely here, in his arms, and he finally thinks he can start preparing to bear the weight of the world again.]