As English was not his native language, Ingo spent most of his time at home perfecting it as a child. Emmet didn't take well to it as he did, so often, Ingo would have to speak for both of them. Still, from child to adult, and despite his practice, Ingo didn't have the best of English.

Thankfully, his word comprehension was big enough to rival a dictionary in both German and English. He knew what to say to others most of the time, whether the subject varied from mere small talk to carrying out orders on the job.

However…

"Vhy are you crying?"

Before him is a young girl. She looks no more than seven or possibly eight. And more importantly, she is alone, and crying her eyes out.

"Vhy are you crying?" He asks again, more insistent on receiving a comprehensible answer. She bawls and messily wipes away her tears with her wrists, looks at him but the waterworks continue. Ingo's first thought is that she's lost. Oh dear Arceus.

"Vhere is your mother and father?" He asks, giving her a stern look. His voice is loud and calm, but even still, Ingo is more than worried.

She trembles delicately before him and shakes her head, sniffling. Her messily tied ponytail bounces in rhythmic unison as she looks up at him with tearstained eyes. "…I-I don't- I-" She takes a deep breath to calm herself, but it obviously fails to works. She grips the front of her white laced dress, and sniffles. "M-Mommy and daddy w-w-were right with L-Lea, and-" She hiccups, and begins to bawl louder than the last time, this time attracting the attention of other people.

Ingo's composure begins to crack. How was he supposed to deal with this?

"Ach… Don't cry. Please." He says firmly, but the girl continues to sob. "I vant to help you find your family, but you need to calm down first." She seems to listen, due to her cries quieting. "Okay?" He asks, attempting to mask his insecurity as he kneels on one knee to match her small height. "Don't cry." He repeats.

"B-But mommy and d-daddy-" She sputters again and the tears well up. Ingo, at wit's end, scratches the back of his head. He knows he's not too good at dealing with children because of his unsmiling demeanor, and a crying, lost little girl of all things to deal with! Where was Emmet when he needed him?

"Your mother and father vouldn't vant you to cry." Ingo murmurs as comfortingly as he can, lifting a gloved hand to wipe away the girl's tears. She shies away just a bit, but allows him to wipe them away. "Ja? Are you a good girl who listens to your parents?"

She nods shakily, griping the lace of her dress tighter. "Lea is a good girl…"

Nodding numbly, Ingo gives her a concerned look. "Now, vhat is your name? Lea?"

"…Whitlea." She sniffs while shaking her head, her azure-blue eyes threatening to spill more tears.

"Now, Vhitle-"

"No, it's Whitlea!" She shouts indignantly, puffing her cheeks and placing her hands on her hips. "White. Lea." She says slowly for emphasis.

"Zhat is vat I said…" He says slowly, not wanting to upset her. "Look, How did you get here in Gear Station?" Not many families would go here together, and he knew that. It was a facility for transportation and battles, not for attractions.

She frowns this time, pressing her lips together as if trying to remember. "I dunno…"

He pinches his brow, before looking back at Whitlea. "Vhere vere you last vhen you vere with your mother and father? Do you remember vhere you vere before?" He asks finally.

"There… were a lot of people, and mommy said something about riding…"

"Riding zhe Subway?" He finishes, feeling somewhat doubtful of that possibility. Whitlea shakes her head and confirms it.

"…Feral Wheel." She mumbles finally. "Mommy wanted to ride the Feral Wheel with me and daddy."

"Feral Wheel?" Ingo gives her a dumb look, but is struck with sudden realization a moment later. "Zhe Ferris Wheel? Is zhat vhat you're talking about?"

Whitlea nods quickly, and seems to smile. Ingo sighs with relief. He's getting somewhere, however there's always the problem of actually finding the girl's parents. Speaking of which, if they were at the amusement park, how could they let the girl wander all the way to Gear Station? How irresponsible, he thinks. Now, for the question of finding her parents? Perhaps he should just stay put at the station and keep Whitlea company until her parents find her-

"Mister?" Ingo's train of thought comes to a grinding halt as Whitlea tugs his sleeve with a hopeful, almost eager look. "Can you take me to my mommy and daddy?"

She had to go and ask him, didn't she? He lifts off his green depot hat momentarily, and rubs the back of his head once more.

"Look, Vhitlea. I don't think I can. The only thing I can do for you is take you to zhe proper authorit-"

Before he even finishes his sentence, she bursts into tears again. She's crying even louder than before, and passerby are looking his way with concern. He unconsciously wonders to himself how wrong this scene looks.

"Bitte, hören Sie! I have a job to do here- I can't just abandon my post." He says in protest, nearly yelling before biting back his tongue. "I don't even know where your parents are in the first place-"

"Then you can help me look!" She sniffs, before giving him an almost threatening look. It would have been threatening if she weren't less than half his size, seven(?), and crying.

"But-"

Determined, the girl grabs his sleeve again, and pleads, "…Please? Pretty please?"

In the daunting finality of the situation, he sighs with defeat. "…Fine. But no more crying, yes?"

Whitlea nods with renewed vigor, her azure-blue eyes sparkling with delight. "Okay! I promise. Let's go to the amusement park, okay?"

"Right, right…" He nods half-grudgingly as she drags him away.

After haggling with security, Ingo and Whitlea finally make it into the park. It's bustling, crowded, loud with laughter and cheer.

Emmet would love to go here, he thinks.

Despite hearing much about this Amusement Park from idle chatter of passerby and co-workers, Ingo never had the chance to actually go here before. If he said that he wasn't excited, he wouldn't be lying. However, there were times and places for everything, as the moment decreed that it definitely wasn't the time for him to be excited. Not when he had to find a young girl's parents.

After glancing through the dense crowd in a rather morose manner, Ingo turns towards Whitlea and asks, "Are you sure your parents are he-?"

But then, he realizes that she's nowhere to be seen. He frowns, and begins glancing wildly through the crowd. Where did she go? He only took his eyes off of her for a moment-

"I'll take one, please!"

He hears her voice, jerking towards the side to see that she's at a cotton candy stall. After realizing that he noticed her, Whitlea gingerly walks back to him with a bright pink cloud of cotton candy in her hand. "Want some?" She offers, innocently holding out the cotton candy to him.

Ingo shakes his head, and frowns. "Nein, danke. You shouldn't go off on your own, you know." He chides sternly as he rubs the back of his head, and she looks away with a pout. "You're still a child-"

"Nu-uh! I'm a big girl." She says proudly, partly with a hint of protest. "I'm going to be nine this year! That means I'm one more year off from becoming a Pokemon Trainer! I'm gonna be a trainer with Cheren and Bel, and we're going to have the funnest adventure ever!"

"Is zhat so? Well, in any case, please don't go on your own, Vhit-"

"White. Lea." She pouts again, before giving him a blank look. "Why do you talk so funny, mister?"

"…It's an accent." He says, after a moment of concentration.

"What's an accent?" She asks innocently.

"It's something people like myself have vhen English izn't zheir first language."

"…Eh…? I think I get it." She nods thoughtfully to herself, nibbling away on her cotton candy. "Hey! If it helps, you can just call me Lea! Lay-ah. Is that okay?"

"Ah? If zhat's vhat you vant, I don't mind…" Again, Ingo sighs.

"Yay!" She squeals with glee, nearly dropping her treat as they begin walking alongside each other through the crowds. After a bit of walking, she stops, catching Ingo's sleeve again while pointing over to somewhere. "Oh, mister?" She says hopefully, her voice brimming with excitement. "Can we go over there?"

With piqued interest, Ingo glances to the side and realizes she's pointing to Teacups. An amusement park ride. With a flat look, he begins to open his mouth to say something to object, but stops once more, and sweat drops.

Whitlea's giving him a look. It's not the (nearly) threatening look like before, no. Rather, it's a puppy-eyed look. Like the kind Emmet gives him when he wants something of utmost interest, and hers is something almost adorable enough to give him diabetes.

"Please?" Her voice drips like honey, and Ingo can't find the heart to tell her no from the get-go. "It's my first time here! Well, second. Can I go?"

"…Just go. But remember Lea, ve're supposed to be looking for your parents." He points, smacking his palm into his face. "But, I digress… I'll just vatch from here, ja?"

Instead of immediately running off after hearing his answer, Whitlea tugs his green depot jacket. "You should go with me, mister! It'll be more fun this way."

"Vhat…" He gives her a incredulous look as both of his arms drops down to his sides, but her expression remains firm as she grabs his arm, and tugs him closer towards the ride. "I can't, people are going to get the vrong idea!" Ingo says in protest. "I-"

"Let's go!" She beams as she interrupts him, this time dragging him along. "If we hurry, we can get on the next one."

Once seated in the teacup, an awkward Ingo wonders just how he ended up in this situation for the umpteenth.

"Are you ready, Mister?" Whitlea asks brightly, with he hands wrapped around the circular wheel in the middle. "When the ride starts, you have to spin this as much as you can, okay?"

"No, I don't even…" He says absentmindedly, still wondering to himself. "And vhat does this ride do…?"

"The teacups spin!" She grins as the cups begin to slowly rotate. With another excited look, she glances up at Ingo shifts the wheel with her small frame only a few inches. "C'mon, help me, Mister!"

"So vhat do I do again?" He asks, somewhat panicking. Whitlea laughs at him, and tugs the wheel counter-clockwise.

"Spin it! Go! Go, go!" Whitlea yelled encouragingly, much to the man's fluster.

Ingo sighs as he latches both of his hands on the wheel and gives a mighty tug. The sudden jolt causes the cup to begin spinning rapidly, and in turn Whitlea shrieks ecstatically as it picks up speed with every rotation.

Ingo can't help but smile slightly.

"I don't understand how people can enjoy those kind of rides." Ingo mumbles dizzily. Whitlea on the other hand, seems completely fine.

"It's 'cuz you're a grown up, that's why." Whitlea replies in a matter-of-fact tone. "But that was fun, wasn't it? Getting faster and faster, spinning in circles and getting dizzy… You did really good! Didn't you have fun?"

"I feel so flattered." He replies sarcastically, shaking his head a couple times to ward off the vertigo. "And… fun? I don't know about that. We're supposed to be looking for you parents, reme-"

"Hey, Mister?" She cuts him off, pointing at a Swanna-like structure, with dozens of swings hanging from its wings. "Let's go on that one next?"

"Absolutely not."

"Pleaaase?" She whines.

"Nein. I don't understand why half of the rides here have something to do with spinning or rotating or going in arcs-"

"But it's fun like that." She says simply, tugging his sleeve again. "And what does that mean? Does 'nein' mean yes?"

"No."

"No what?" She tilts her head curiously.

"Nein," He repeats. "Means 'no'."

"Oh." She murmurs blankly, before tugging at his sleeve again. "Then how about the Roller Coaster?"

"No." He was doubtful whether they would let her inside, anyway. It doubled as a Gym, of all things…

"Then let's go on the Merry-Go-Round?" She suggests.

Ingo scratches the back of his head and looks away from her insistent gaze. Merry-Go-Rounds seemed harmless enough-

"No, wait! I know!" She grins. "We can go on the Ferris Wheel together. Mommy said you can see all of the park from up there, so maybe we can find my mommy and daddy."

"…That's actually not a bad idea." Ingo admits, bringing his hand up to his chin to think.

"Hehe. I'm a smart girl, that's why." Whitlea says contentedly, before taking his other hand.

"What are you doing?" He asks, ready to pull his hand away, but she squeezes it ever so slightly.

"I'm holding your hand, that's what." She smiles dazzlingly, blinking her azure eyes at him. "That way, you won't get lost. This is your first time here, isn't it Mister?"

"Yes, but-" Ingo begins to protest, but again bites back his tougue.

"Then that's that." She replies off-handedly while looking up at Ingo. "If you're gonna take me to my mommy and daddy, then it's only fair I get to take you to the Ferris Wheel, okay?"

What is this, a date? He thinks to himself as she pulls him gently towards the looming structure in the distance.

For the first time since Ingo has been stuck with this girl, she's quietly watching the scenery of the park from the Ferris Wheel carriage. It seems, she's actually staying true to her word, and actually looking for her parents. "Hey, hey mister?" She asks, breaking the tender silence as she shoots him a side-glance from where she sits. "Did you have fun adventures with your friends?"

"…No. I didn't go on a Pokemon journey, like most." He shakes his head, recalling far off memories.

"Then what did you do?" Whitlea asks curiously,

"I dedicated myself to my studies. Now, I work at Gear station, vhere we met."

"What happens at Gear Station?"

The questions never seemed to stop from this girl, did they? "It's also known as the Battle Subway." Ingo replies with an informative tone. "It's a battle facility vhere extremely skilled trainers go to test zheir skills."

"Wooooow…" She gasps with awe. "And you work there? That means you're a really good trainer, huh? I wanna go there when I grow up!"

"You zhink you'll be a good battler?"

"Mhm! I'm going to be the very best in Unova! I'm going to the champion!" She boasts, nearly shouting. "After I do all of that, I'll go to the Battle Subway and win, and even beat you!"

"Oh ho." Now this has his attention. "Is zhat a challenge, Lea?"

"Yep. I'll definitely beat you someday. I promise."

"I'm not sure I vant to agree to be beaten."

"Well duh." She frowns, placing her hands on her hips. "I wanna win fair and square, so don't hold back. How about that?"

"Fine zhen."

"Pinky promise?" She asks, offering her left pinky to the older man. Obligingly, Ingo smiles ever so slightly as he hooks his left pinky around hers, causing her to shake it several times.

"I promise." He says in an acknowledging tone.

"And if I win, you have to go with me on all the rides I want, okay?" She sneaks, and Ingo gives her an disbelieving look as she pulls away her pinky with a mischievous smile.

"Wait, vhat?"

"Oh!" She gasps, pointing over to the glass. "I can see my mommy and daddy from here."

"Wait, vhat vere you-?"

"Right there, see?" She interrupts, pointing to the glass with emphasis. "They're talking to that person over there."

"Once we get the Ferris Wheel, we'll go there immediately, ja?"

"Okay!" After nodding in agreement, she averts her gaze back out to the window for a few moments of silence. "Hey…" She looks over at him with a curious stare, almost feverish. "We'll play again, right?"

"I'm not too sure about playing… but you owe me a battle now, apparently." Ingo shrugs. "I suppose, we'll meet again, perhaps in some other time at zhe Battle Subway."

"Okay…" She mumbles quietly, thoughtfully before peering back up at him with a tiny frown. "You better not forget, okay mister? You better not!"

"Pfft." In all technicalities, he does't expect her to remember.

"You promised!" She puffs her cheeks indignantly. "You promised, so you have to keep it, okay?"

"I von't forget." He answers deftly as the Ferris Wheel slows to a stop, back on ground level. "But, remember. You have to beat me if you vant me to fulfill my end of zhe deal."

"Hee hee. Watch, I'm going to surprise you!" She grins, taking his hand again for balance as she steps off the Ferris Wheel carriage. "It'll be the best battle that you'll ever have!"

Ingo tilts his hat forward to the girl as she laughs jovially. Both of them begin walking, and amidst the loudness of the crowd, Ingo allows himself to smile as Whitlea releases his hand and sprints towards her hysterical parents. As she laughs with joy and her parents kneel down to hug her, he stays back, and walks away from the scene feeling content with his deed.

He stops, glancing back at the touching scene behind him. Quietly, Ingo murmurs, "I look forward to it, Lea."

As he left the Amusement Park with those parting words, Ingo didn't realize that she turned back around for him.

The girl, Whitlea, had burst into tears in front of her parents when she realized the unnamed 'mister' was gone.

- Seven Years Later -

"Ah. Your battle was not bad at all." He tilts his hat forward at the challenger, peering forward. It's a girl this time around; She's looking downward with hands clutching her knees, and her rich, unruly, chestnut-brown pontytail-bound hair is spilling over her head. She put up a very good battle; an exciting one at that. For a moment, Ingo thinks she's crying, but oh no. He mustn't fret over challengers like this, no. "However, it seems that we have done slightly better than you."

She grits her teeth, and sighs with some kind of finality as she looks gingerly to the side. Her voice is tentative, careful. "Well… you aren't called the Subway Boss for nothing, right?"

"Of course." He nods, and closes his eyes. "That said, I vould enjoy another battle vith you, granted zhat you win another twenty battles." He reopens them, and gives her an unflappable stare. "You are a talented trainer, nein? I vish to see what you'll do vith that talent, Miss…?"

"White." She finishes for him, peering upward at him. Her stare is fierce, daunting, almost threatening… yet nostalgic. Has he seen it before? "And don't count me out, Mister Subway Boss. I've still got fight left in me."

"Is that so?" He shifts, allowing a slight, slight smirk to grace his lips.

"That's right." Her face lights up with joy and satisfaction as her lips tug into a grin. "Hehe, I promised someone a long time ago that I would beat them at the Battle Subway, and I intend to keep that promise."

Ingo's eyes visibly widen.

"I don't quite remember, but… I know he's somewhere here. Aha, funny, isn't it? I don't even know why I'm telling this to you." She smiles awkwardly, rubbing the back of her neck before glancing back at the Subway Boss. "But anyway! This little setback? It's nothing." In a sudden burst, she stamps her foot forward and thrusts her arm at him with her pointer first. "I'll definitely defeat you one day!"

A promise to beat someone. Ingo, for the first in a long while manages to stifle a laugh. He coughs to excuse it, tightening his façade all the while. He exhales a deep breath as the Subway begins to slow to a stop before speaking. "I'd like to see you try, fräulein White. Regardless, keep in mind no matter what you do, there is no such stop called 'End' in your life, whether you win or lose. Thank you for riding the Battle Subway today. I presume ve'll meet again?"

"You can count on it." She beams as she walks towards him and the exit, stopping momentarily to as their eyes meet. "I promise." Her azure-blue eyes sparkle with delight as she walks past him unstopping, and for a moment, Ingo forgets to breath until the door softly shuts.

"Ich kann nicht glauben, dass diese…" He mutters breathlessly in his mother tongue, resisting the urge to break into laughter as he sits. Once he's alone, Ingo tilts his cap downward as an rare smile of realization grows on his face.

"Lea? No, that can't be… She said her name was White. Wasn't that girl's name Whitlea? Perhaps, it's all coincidence… but maybe… no. Until next time, perhaps… there's no way of really knowing." He sighs, shaking his head at the absurdity of it all. "But she'll be back, hm?" With an easing finality, he eases into the seat as the Subway begins its return track home to Nimbasa.

"…I look forward to it, White."

A/n: Was it fluffy enough? I have no idea. This was my first time writing fluff, actually... Leave a review if you like it. Thank you for taking the time to read this, my dear readers.