Chapter Text
The rain was coming down in sheets. Any unfortunate sap unlucky enough to be caught out in this deluge wouldn’t be able to see two feet in front of them, like the lone figure that stumbled along down the road. His clothes were soaked and clung to his skin, water dribbled off the brim of his baseball cap like a tiny waterfall.
A king on the run: N Harmonia, former King of Team Plasma.
Well, he wasn’t exactly on the run from the law, at least not that he knew of. Nope, he was just running from his problems and his feelings and everything else that came to a head in that throne room. He staggered through the puddles, squinting ahead of him. He couldn’t see anything in this deluge, and it was freezing. He shivered violently. He’d been on the road for hours, it was just his luck that it started to rain when he was in the middle of nowhere with no suitable cover anywhere. He didn’t dare bring Reshiram out in this weather, not that flying in a storm like this would do either of them good. He could only hope to find a cluster of trees or maybe a house. Hopefully the residents would let him in and not recognize him. He’d already had a couple nasty run-ins with people who saw his face on TV or in newspapers. Unova may be more isolated geographically than other places, but news still traveled far. And fast. It had only been a few months since he...since everything changed.
He wondered how he ended up in this miserable situation. Months, and he still felt as lost as ever...now physically as well as emotionally. Great.
Touko…
The thought started to nag him again, the thought that maybe he’d been impulsive. Maybe he’d made a mistake leaving so soon, so fast. In the moment, everything had been so overwhelming. He’d been lied to, manipulated, everything he thought he knew to be true had been yanked out from under him. God, and she probably hated him for leaving like that. She offered a hand of friendship, he’d accepted...then turned around and took off. He felt he’d needed to, at the time. He had to get away from it all. It had been too much, it still was, at times. But now he started to have doubts. Should he have waited? Calmed down? His last words to her before he turned his back on her still rang in his head.
Has she become Champion yet? Did she find a new dream? What is she doing now?
She had always been so driven. And here he was, in a place he didn’t know, wandering through a storm that would probably get him sick. Hah, he was pathetic.
His legs ached so much. And it was so damn cold. His arms gripped himself as he shuffled through puddles, barely registering his soaked shoes and socks. His feet were already past that stinging coldness, now they just felt numb. N yelped as he tripped on something and crashed into a puddle. Biting back the urge to yell a curse word he heard Touko use once, he hauled himself to his feet. His face felt hot.
He was so, so tired. He couldn’t go on anymore, he just...couldn’t…he...
He blinked. Were those lights? They were! House lights, oh thank Arceus. Forcing himself to adopt a sort of half-jog, N hobbled towards the house as fast as his rapidly numbing legs would allow. Was it possible to feel both hot and cold like this? They washed over him in turn in waves. He tripped up the porch steps as he wobbled. He couldn’t make it to that door.
He had to…
He needed…
The ground rose to meet him as the world spun. His eyelids began to close like someone was forcing them shut against his will.
Maybe he’d just...rest a moment here…
--- --- ---
N’s eyes fluttered open. He was dry, and covered in a thick blanket. And he felt like death. His head throbbed painfully, and his mouth was bone dry. He tried to swallow and cringed at the tightness of his throat. He turned his head and tried to focus his eyes. He saw a blur of a person working at a table. They turned around and noticed him.
They moved towards him holding something. As they got closer, N could make out golden eyes. He tried to say something, but all that came out was a wordless rasp. The golden-eyed somebody’s lips moved, but N couldn’t make out the words, it all sounded like he was underwater. They put their hand on his forehead, fingers cool against his skin. Ah...that felt nice.
The person took the object in their hand and wiped N’s face with it. It was a towel, and it was soaked with cold water. N closed his eyes as the water ran down his face.
They continued to talk, and N tried to make out their face, but his vision was swimming too much. He was floating, he was weightless. What an interesting feeling. It was like his head was separated from his body…did he not have a body to begin with…? Ah...
He felt his eyes beginning to close again. The somebody placed the towel on his forehead as he slipped back into darkness.
---
--
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When N came to again, it was light out. His body felt like he had run a marathon, but his head felt clearer. He groaned and tried to sit up.
“I wouldn’t do that, if I were you,” said a voice.
N turned towards its source. It was the same person as before, now working in the kitchen with their back to him.
“...What…?” he muttered groggily.
“I said I wouldn’t do that if I were you. You’ve been sick with a fever, and I wouldn’t advise sitting up so fast. You might get faint,” she said.
Right on cue, N’s head whirled. He clutched his head and flopped back down with another groan. “Ugh…”
“Told you,” the stranger replied a-matter-of-factly.
“How long was I asleep?” N mumbled.
“About a day and a half. You had a heckuva high fever. I found you outside collapsed on my porch, absolutely soaking. What the heck were you doing out there in such weather? Kinda dumb, dude.”
N felt irritation spike in his stomach. “It’s not like I was out there for fun.”
“Then why were you out there?”
“I…er…” he stuttered. “I’m traveling and got caught in it.”
“Maybe next time you should bring some rain gear. What’s your name, Mr. Traveling Stranger?”
N hesitated. Did he want to tell this stranger his name? What if they knew who he was and kicked him out? But then again...if he was on the news at all, anyone would recognize him, name or not. “...I am N.”
“N, huh? Nice. Short and sweet,” the stranger said. They finally turned around, and N could see they were a girl. She had short brown hair that framed her face in a bob. She also had bright golden eyes like N had never seen before. They were clear and sparkled like Nuggets. “I’m Alexis. Or Lexi, whichever you prefer.”
“Nice to meet you, Alexis. And...thank you for helping me--Hrck!!” His thank-you ended in a choke as Alexis shoved a spoon in his mouth without so much as an “open wide”. It was full of a bitter-tasting liquid.
“Swallow.”
It did not go down easy, and N gagged. Alexis snickered at his expression.
“Bitter medicine is unpopular with both Pokemon and humans, but it really does wonders. It should take care of that fever of yours pretty fast, but you still need to rest.”
N shifted on the couch cushions. He’d always preferred sleeping on the floor, but…
Well, if he was going to live more like a human, he should probably get used to sleeping on beds and couches. The more he thought about it, the more aware he became of how the cushions sagged under his weight. They were soft, too soft. This wasn’t his room, or his bed, it was a stranger’s and he shouldn’t be here and he didn’t want to be here and he wanted to leave he had to leave he had to leave--
Remember what Rood said...he said...what did he say? Right.
His hand found the square bangles on his left wrist, his fingers twisting and tangling themselves around them. He listened intently to the clinking noises they made, trying to focus all his attention on the sound. The bracelets felt cool in his fingers, the feeling of the metal was soothing.
His head sufficiently less loud, he snuck a glance at Alexis. She hadn’t noticed, and was busy putting away dishes.
“Hey, get some rest. I’m gonna be heading into town for a bit, but I’ll be leaving my Blissey here. If you need anything and I’m still gone, she’ll talk care of it for you.”
N obediently laid his head back down on the pillow and closed his eyes. Sleep didn’t come long after that.