Human Experiences 2

Chapter 2:

As she stood locked in her embrace with N, Touko noticed that his breathing had become ragged and shallow. She pulled away from him slightly and looked up at his now tear stained face.  

"Oh no!" she exclaimed. "Please don't cry, N.  I know it's hard for you…to touch people." She released her grasp on his waist and, before stepping back from him, gently wiped away the tears from his face.  

"No, it's not that…" he started. He sighed and crossed his arms in frustration. Why was it so hard to find the words when he knew what he felt? He closed his eyes as he tried harder to find the right thing to say to her.

"N?" she said after several moments of awkward silence. "Is everything okay?"

"Yes," he said dejectedly, annoyed at his inability to frame his thoughts.  

"Come on," she said playfully. "Out with it already."

He opened one eye and cocked his head to the side, his long green hair swishing behind him like a tail. "I guess I was…happy; that's all. Is that wrong?" he asked candidly.

Touko tried her best to suppress the laugh she felt growing in her chest, but she couldn't help but giggle a little bit. A broad smile broke out across her face.

"What's funny?" N asked, not intending any sarcasm. He was honestly interested in what she found laughable.   

"You just asked me if it's okay to be happy," she said as she let another giggle escape through her lips. She had to bring her hand up to her lips to keep from laughing any harder.

N loved hearing the sound of her laughter. It made him feel light, as though his troubles had suddenly dissolved into the air around him. He loved the way it made her whole face light up; she seemed to glow from some inner fire. It was as though she was the sun in his galaxy; try as he might to fight the attraction, the gravity of her being seemed to pull him into her orbit.

Before her, the world had been equations and calculations. There were several algorithms to solve and explain the effect of gravity. In all his life, however, he could not think of a more elegant way of understanding them than to experience them first hand. He could no longer settle for textbook values; he was no longer satisfied with taking things at face value. He was ready for true science, for the rush of personal experimentation.  

He gently moved her hands away from her mouth, his fingers lightly brushing her lips. He set her arms at her sides. The shock of his fingers on her lips sent little waves of warmth through her whole body and left her feeling limp and powerless against him. "Is it wrong?" he asked again, trying to keep the mischievousness he felt from seeping into his voice. She inhaled lightly as though she was going to answer him and, despite the sudden longing that was arising in her, she began to laugh hysterically.  

It was like a well composed symphony to him. He wanted to know all the notes, all of its subtle nuisances. Her voice was so pure and sweet to him—how could he ever hope to explain this phenomenon in numbers? It seemed an insurmountable task, yet surely he could figure it out…given time.  He sighed and let a small smile bend the corners of his lips.  

"I suppose that is a bit absurd, isn't it?" he said bashfully.

"It's okay," she said, holding on to her sides. She let out one last chortle before wiping the tears from her eyes.  "You're still learning."

Touko felt a little bad for laughing at him so long. She hoped she hadn't offended him. To test the waters, she reached her arm up around his shoulders and apologetically rubbed them. N uncrossed his arms and straightened himself to his full height. Though it still felt counter-intuitive to touch her without her prompting, N put his arm around Touko's waist. "Let's leave this place," he said quietly.

He stepped forward and she followed, quickly falling into step with him as they walked side by side. She let her head lay against his body as the fatigue she had fought so hard to keep back got the better of her. His body's heat felt sublimely warm against her skin and she soon found herself nestling closer and closer to him until her whole side rested against him. His heat felt so delightful to the soreness that was now beginning to spread to her limbs. She hadn't realized how much she ached for the day's battles. As she thought about it, she couldn't place how long she had actually been in the tower or what time of day it presently was. All she felt was the overwhelming urge to sleep.

She felt her eyelids sliding closed. Her feet seemed to grow immensely heavy; her pace slowed as she lethargically dragged them on the ground.  As they neared the large hole in the castle's side N felt himself carrying most of her weight. Her arm had slipped completely from his shoulder and dangled limply behind her, occasionally hitting him in the back as he drug her along.

He stopped and lifted her into his arms in one fluid movement. She didn't even open her eyes. As he carried her the rest of the way, he gazed down at her face. He had never directly observed a girl sleep before. It seemed to lend an air of exaggerated femininity to her face. He had never seen her look so innocent, so vulnerable. She battled so fiercely whenever he challenged her it was easy to overlook how delicate her body actually was.

"Touko. Touko," he said gently. He gave her a timid shake, unsure of whether this was the correct way to wake a human.  She let out a little sigh and her eyes flickered open. "Time to go."

She felt wobbly on her legs as N set her down. She rubbed her eyes vigorously, struggling to stay awake. The cool night air whipped past her violently and she could hear the rumbling of thunder in the distance. She couldn't help but wonder if Zekrom had generated the storm during her and N's battle. Hesitantly, she poked her head out of the opening in wall and gazed up at the sky. The clouds were lying in thick layers and obscured any light that may have been coming from the moon. They rumbled ominously at her as she continued to peer out into the darkness.

"Reshiram," N whispered behind her.

The crack of Reshiram leaving its pokeball startled her; she could have sworn it was lightning cracking the sky. She stepped away from the opening as quickly as she could; she had no further desire to investigate the source of the storm. Reshiram gazed at her curiously, its sapphire eyes betraying no trace of its mood. It looked back at its partner for a moment and nodded its head in understanding.

Reshiram kneeled down on its massive limbs and locked eyes with Touko.

Get on my back, please.

She jumped back in shock as the strange voice reverberated in her head. "D-d-did Reshiram just speak to me…telepathically?" she asked, expecting no real answer.

"Yes," N said as he walked over to her. "Both he and Zekrom can communicate this way to us."

Reshiram let out a low grumble of impatience. "I know, I'm sorry to keep you waiting," N said to the dragon. He took the stunned Touko by the hand and pulled her over to the dragon. He once again lifted her in his arms as easily as if she were a child and placed her gently on the dragon's feathery back.

"Tuck your legs in and hold on," he said, letting a devilish smile spread across his face, as he too climbed on to the great legend's back. Once he felt himself securely positioned for flight, he pulled Touko back against his body and held her tightly in his arms. Now that she had fully realized what was about to happen, she shook all over. The thought of flying through that storm petrified her.  

"Let's go, Reshiram," N said.

As soon as the command was issued, the dragon began running at full speed toward the hole. Touko held her breath and buried her face in N's chest, closing her eyes in hopes of shutting out the experience entirely. She felt her stomach drop as the dragon dipped beneath her and the wind began to pull at her hair. Her body shook as the clouds let out a bone-chilling rumble.

"Turn around," she mumbled into N's chest. "I can't take being in this storm!"

Open your eyes, child, Reshiram said gently.

N pulled her face from his chest and took her face in his hand. "Look, Touko. It's wonderful."

Begrudgingly, she opened her eyes and immediately felt her breath leave her body. Reshiram had taken them above the thick blanket of clouds in a matter of seconds. She gazed up at the sky, now a vast ocean of stars. "They look so close," she marveled. "It's like I can almost touch them." She reached one of her arms up and grasped at the air playfully. She relaxed her body, leaning back on N comfortably.

"Do you know any of their names, N?" she asked, sleep now trailing back into her voice.

"Yes. I studied them when I was younger. Those there," he said pointing to 3 enormous red stars, "make up Xipil the Flareon. And those comprise…"

He looked down at her face and saw that she had once again drifted off into sleep. He held her tighter to him as he felt her muscles relax. As they flew along under the star veiled sky, the thundering clouds a carpet at their feet, he found his thoughts drifting to strange and unexplored possibilities for his life. As the wind carried the sweet scent of her hair, he could not help but be carried away into whimsical thoughts of the future.

Where are we going? Reshiram inquired.

"Forward," N said as he closed his eyes and dared to dream things he had never thought possible before.