Categories > Games > Pokemon > The Spirit of Alola - Book 2 - A Hurting Heart
“Anya, what have you done this time?” Kabir asked scathingly, striding into the living room and glowering at the woman.
Squall took up a defense in front of his Trainer once more, but he only growled a little this time.
Mel watched the young doctor in shock. An accusation like that would have normally set the girl off into a rage, but instead, her eyes had dropped and her face wore a look of pure confusion. “I don’t know,” She muttered, clearly trying to think of a reason for that strong of a reaction.
Kukui’s tone was more careful as he talked to her from across the table, “When was the last time you two spoke? Maybe you accidentally said something to upset her.”
“Last year, at Kai’s funeral,” She mumbled.
Kabir allowed his anger to drop off immediately, closing his eyes at the pain in his best friend’s voice. He took in a long breath with his mouth, and released it slowly through his nose, calming his emotions to speak. “Anya,” he began, already looking ashamed at his outburst. “I’m sorry. I was shocked by what happened and shouldn’t have taken that out on you.”
“I must have done something to upset her though. Why else would she react to seeing me like that?” She responded, trying and failing to force anger out.
“There’s two of us over here. Maybe she was mad at me.” Burnet tried to add in meekly.
“Have you met her before?” Kukui switched his gray gaze over to his wife in surprise.
“I don’t think so, but maybe I’m forgetting something. Besides last year, has she ever been to Alola before?”
Anya answered, shaking her head with uncertainty, “Six years ago for my wedding. She stayed for only a couple of days on Akala but had to leave pretty quickly. She didn’t have any time to explore in the middle of the chaos.”
“You don’t visit Akala all that often, hun,” Kukui mentioned.
“I’m going to go talk to her,” Mel said decidedly, rising to her feet and ignoring the dizzying spin of her head at the sudden movement. “You,” She moved her green gaze to Anya, “Whether you did anything or not, it’s clear Athini thinks something happened. When she gets back, please apologize.”
Anya nodded her head solemnly in agreement but didn’t say anything else.
Mel was prepared to call out her Claydol so she could fly to the hotel, but she found the two Kanekans outside by the benches. Myron had placed his head in his hands, looking defeated. Athini paced in circles with agitation.
A small round Pokemon sat on the table, trying desperately to call out to the woman. Its green and brown fur was fluffed up in worry and its large blue eyes tracked her progress around the yard. The Psychic recognized this one as being from Kaneko but realized with a sinking feeling that she couldn’t recall its species. Is this part of my memory loss? She questioned in her mind.
Mel walked up to the bench and addressed Myron. “What happened?”
“I’m not really sure. I know Anya hasn’t said anything to her recently and we don’t know the woman that was sitting with her. I’m thinking she’s had one of her moments, but she doesn’t normally get this upset about them.”
Mel nodded her head in understanding. Athini was similar to Kabir with his Psychic abilities. She could see the recollections from people’s minds. It came from a Psychic framework, though she could not be considered as such. She was unable to hold all the memories of others, as well as her own though, so she often struggled with forgetfulness and remembering.
This power wasn’t something she could easily control so she would normally recluse herself from others to avoid being flooded by their memories. She did most of her research alone, leaving lab assistance to care for everything involving human relations. Myron was right though. Even with her struggles, Athini had been dealing with this since birth. She had become very skilled at hiding her knowledge and reactions.
The Psychic carefully walked up to the taller woman, blocking her path and placing her hands on her shoulders. “Athini, look at me,” She called, watching her yellow eyes as they struggled to focus. The Psychic saw they were understandably filled with confusion, but she also saw fear and hurt in them too. Her body shook fiercely as if she had been scared for her life. This reaction was very disconcerting. “I need you to sit down and tell us what happened. Come on, breathe with me, and take a seat.”
Myron had ambled over and placed a hand gently on her elbow, “Come on dear, your mom’s right. Kabir needs us right now. Let’s talk this through so we can go to him.”
“My mom,” She muttered, then she seemed to regress as she said “Kabir, he’s in danger.”
Mel and Myron struggled to hold her back as the blonde whisked around to rush back inside. “Wait,” her husband said, “Let’s talk things through first. You aren’t behaving rationally.”
“But my brother,” She tried to fight back.
“He’ll be fine. He’s safe. Kabir is with friends and Pokèmon. They won’t allow anything bad to happen to him.”
With great effort, she closed her eyes and exhaled slowly. “I’m sorry,” She said after some time.
“It’s not your fault,” her husband soothed, trying to help her to the bench. The round Pokemon leaped into her arms as they drew near and rubbed its cheek against her, clearly trying to comfort the woman as well. She brought a hand up and scratched it behind an ear.
“No,” Athini shook her head, pushing away from the others. “We need to get inside,”
The doctor glanced at Myron, who looked just as unconvinced by her words as she felt. Mel led the way back into the house and was relieved to see Athini not react in the same way. She stiffened though when she looked in Anya’s direction. Then she averted her eyes and flounced over to the dining table. She grabbed a chair, moved it near them, and sat down, facing away from the girls, even though there was more than enough space for both her and her husband to sit with the others on the couches. Myron merely followed her lead and pulled a seat up next to her.
“I’m Professor Athini Acacia and this is my husband, Myron,” she introduced with a curt nod of her head towards the couches, refusing to look at the women sitting behind her.
“I-I’m Professor Kukui Opūnui and this is my wife, Professor Miku Burnet.” The black-haired man responded, sounding hesitant.
“Wife?” Athini hissed through clenched teeth, still keeping her head forward. “He’s a little young for you don’t you think?” She said reproachfully, now glaring at Kukui in distrust.
“What?” Burnet responded.
“Sis, what’s going on?” Kabir tried to query.
Myron attempted to add. “Athini wait.”
She ignored them all and instead continued with indignation, the Pokemon in her arms now squirming uncomfortably. “I see you’ve changed your name too. Was your last one not good enough for you anymore.”
The white-haired woman looked shocked, as well as her husband. Burnet’s yellow eyes blazed with rising anger, but her voice was cold and controlled as she asked. “How did you know that?”
“Did you think I wouldn’t remember, Lilith?” The blonde spat, spinning around to confront the woman of her aggression. The moment that the two pairs of yellow eyes met, Athini jumped in her seat, nearly falling out of it. Her look of anger dropped away instantly and was replaced by one of shock and confusion. “Who are you?” She rasped.
“I’m Miku Burnet, daughter of Jabari and Zuri Burnet, and I will not stand to be mistaken for that monster.” She had risen to her feet to emphasize her point, her voice dangerously low.
Kukui stood as well and walked over to his wife. His fists clenched and shook as he struggled to hold back his own rage. “I think it’s time for us to go.” He said roughly.
“Everyone stop,” Mel popped up as well and raised her voice to be heard over more grumbling from Burnet and Kukui. Athini couldn’t pull her eyes off the woman and Myron had moved a protective arm in front of her, both keeping his wife seated and stopping the others from reaching her. “Burnet,” she addressed the white-haired woman before they could move further away from the couch. “You’re adopted aren’t you?”
Her yellow eyes narrowed suspiciously at Mel. She did not like to have the normally kind woman glaring at her like that.
“Yes.”
“I’m sorry to ask, but do you know what the name of your birth mother was?”
“Lilith Sasaki,” her anger was beginning to wane already and was being replaced with curiosity.
Kabir was the next one to speak, interrupting a collective gasp from Athini and Myron. “Our mom’s name was Lilith Ashoka!” He’d moved to the edge of his seat during the altercation, seeming ready to break up the fight.
“Her maiden name is Sasaki,” Athini said quietly.
“Did your name used to be Ila?” Kabir asked, getting excited.
“No, it was Ren.”
Mel added helpfully, “She must have changed your first name and then went by her maiden name after she abandoned the family.”
“Wait,” Burnet asked, her eyes wide, all her anger gone. “You think I’m Ila?”
“You must be,” Athini said with just as much confusion. Then she lowered her head as she apologized. “I’m sorry. You look just like her. I think it must have been because of your white hair. You were so far away when I first saw you that I didn’t recognize how much younger you are.”
“You’re nearly as blind as Kabir. You should have been wearing your glasses,” Anya spoke up, trying despite herself, to lighten the mood.
“She’s right you know,” Myron joked. “How many times have I got on your case for not putting them on?”
Athini released a puff of ill-humored air. Burnet laughed openly though, taking the room by surprise. She nearly skipped over to the taller woman and wrapped her in a hug. “My family just gets bigger,” she said through a choke of tears. “Kabir, get in here,” She waved her arm at the blind man who eagerly took her up on the offer.
Squall took up a defense in front of his Trainer once more, but he only growled a little this time.
Mel watched the young doctor in shock. An accusation like that would have normally set the girl off into a rage, but instead, her eyes had dropped and her face wore a look of pure confusion. “I don’t know,” She muttered, clearly trying to think of a reason for that strong of a reaction.
Kukui’s tone was more careful as he talked to her from across the table, “When was the last time you two spoke? Maybe you accidentally said something to upset her.”
“Last year, at Kai’s funeral,” She mumbled.
Kabir allowed his anger to drop off immediately, closing his eyes at the pain in his best friend’s voice. He took in a long breath with his mouth, and released it slowly through his nose, calming his emotions to speak. “Anya,” he began, already looking ashamed at his outburst. “I’m sorry. I was shocked by what happened and shouldn’t have taken that out on you.”
“I must have done something to upset her though. Why else would she react to seeing me like that?” She responded, trying and failing to force anger out.
“There’s two of us over here. Maybe she was mad at me.” Burnet tried to add in meekly.
“Have you met her before?” Kukui switched his gray gaze over to his wife in surprise.
“I don’t think so, but maybe I’m forgetting something. Besides last year, has she ever been to Alola before?”
Anya answered, shaking her head with uncertainty, “Six years ago for my wedding. She stayed for only a couple of days on Akala but had to leave pretty quickly. She didn’t have any time to explore in the middle of the chaos.”
“You don’t visit Akala all that often, hun,” Kukui mentioned.
“I’m going to go talk to her,” Mel said decidedly, rising to her feet and ignoring the dizzying spin of her head at the sudden movement. “You,” She moved her green gaze to Anya, “Whether you did anything or not, it’s clear Athini thinks something happened. When she gets back, please apologize.”
Anya nodded her head solemnly in agreement but didn’t say anything else.
Mel was prepared to call out her Claydol so she could fly to the hotel, but she found the two Kanekans outside by the benches. Myron had placed his head in his hands, looking defeated. Athini paced in circles with agitation.
A small round Pokemon sat on the table, trying desperately to call out to the woman. Its green and brown fur was fluffed up in worry and its large blue eyes tracked her progress around the yard. The Psychic recognized this one as being from Kaneko but realized with a sinking feeling that she couldn’t recall its species. Is this part of my memory loss? She questioned in her mind.
Mel walked up to the bench and addressed Myron. “What happened?”
“I’m not really sure. I know Anya hasn’t said anything to her recently and we don’t know the woman that was sitting with her. I’m thinking she’s had one of her moments, but she doesn’t normally get this upset about them.”
Mel nodded her head in understanding. Athini was similar to Kabir with his Psychic abilities. She could see the recollections from people’s minds. It came from a Psychic framework, though she could not be considered as such. She was unable to hold all the memories of others, as well as her own though, so she often struggled with forgetfulness and remembering.
This power wasn’t something she could easily control so she would normally recluse herself from others to avoid being flooded by their memories. She did most of her research alone, leaving lab assistance to care for everything involving human relations. Myron was right though. Even with her struggles, Athini had been dealing with this since birth. She had become very skilled at hiding her knowledge and reactions.
The Psychic carefully walked up to the taller woman, blocking her path and placing her hands on her shoulders. “Athini, look at me,” She called, watching her yellow eyes as they struggled to focus. The Psychic saw they were understandably filled with confusion, but she also saw fear and hurt in them too. Her body shook fiercely as if she had been scared for her life. This reaction was very disconcerting. “I need you to sit down and tell us what happened. Come on, breathe with me, and take a seat.”
Myron had ambled over and placed a hand gently on her elbow, “Come on dear, your mom’s right. Kabir needs us right now. Let’s talk this through so we can go to him.”
“My mom,” She muttered, then she seemed to regress as she said “Kabir, he’s in danger.”
Mel and Myron struggled to hold her back as the blonde whisked around to rush back inside. “Wait,” her husband said, “Let’s talk things through first. You aren’t behaving rationally.”
“But my brother,” She tried to fight back.
“He’ll be fine. He’s safe. Kabir is with friends and Pokèmon. They won’t allow anything bad to happen to him.”
With great effort, she closed her eyes and exhaled slowly. “I’m sorry,” She said after some time.
“It’s not your fault,” her husband soothed, trying to help her to the bench. The round Pokemon leaped into her arms as they drew near and rubbed its cheek against her, clearly trying to comfort the woman as well. She brought a hand up and scratched it behind an ear.
“No,” Athini shook her head, pushing away from the others. “We need to get inside,”
The doctor glanced at Myron, who looked just as unconvinced by her words as she felt. Mel led the way back into the house and was relieved to see Athini not react in the same way. She stiffened though when she looked in Anya’s direction. Then she averted her eyes and flounced over to the dining table. She grabbed a chair, moved it near them, and sat down, facing away from the girls, even though there was more than enough space for both her and her husband to sit with the others on the couches. Myron merely followed her lead and pulled a seat up next to her.
“I’m Professor Athini Acacia and this is my husband, Myron,” she introduced with a curt nod of her head towards the couches, refusing to look at the women sitting behind her.
“I-I’m Professor Kukui Opūnui and this is my wife, Professor Miku Burnet.” The black-haired man responded, sounding hesitant.
“Wife?” Athini hissed through clenched teeth, still keeping her head forward. “He’s a little young for you don’t you think?” She said reproachfully, now glaring at Kukui in distrust.
“What?” Burnet responded.
“Sis, what’s going on?” Kabir tried to query.
Myron attempted to add. “Athini wait.”
She ignored them all and instead continued with indignation, the Pokemon in her arms now squirming uncomfortably. “I see you’ve changed your name too. Was your last one not good enough for you anymore.”
The white-haired woman looked shocked, as well as her husband. Burnet’s yellow eyes blazed with rising anger, but her voice was cold and controlled as she asked. “How did you know that?”
“Did you think I wouldn’t remember, Lilith?” The blonde spat, spinning around to confront the woman of her aggression. The moment that the two pairs of yellow eyes met, Athini jumped in her seat, nearly falling out of it. Her look of anger dropped away instantly and was replaced by one of shock and confusion. “Who are you?” She rasped.
“I’m Miku Burnet, daughter of Jabari and Zuri Burnet, and I will not stand to be mistaken for that monster.” She had risen to her feet to emphasize her point, her voice dangerously low.
Kukui stood as well and walked over to his wife. His fists clenched and shook as he struggled to hold back his own rage. “I think it’s time for us to go.” He said roughly.
“Everyone stop,” Mel popped up as well and raised her voice to be heard over more grumbling from Burnet and Kukui. Athini couldn’t pull her eyes off the woman and Myron had moved a protective arm in front of her, both keeping his wife seated and stopping the others from reaching her. “Burnet,” she addressed the white-haired woman before they could move further away from the couch. “You’re adopted aren’t you?”
Her yellow eyes narrowed suspiciously at Mel. She did not like to have the normally kind woman glaring at her like that.
“Yes.”
“I’m sorry to ask, but do you know what the name of your birth mother was?”
“Lilith Sasaki,” her anger was beginning to wane already and was being replaced with curiosity.
Kabir was the next one to speak, interrupting a collective gasp from Athini and Myron. “Our mom’s name was Lilith Ashoka!” He’d moved to the edge of his seat during the altercation, seeming ready to break up the fight.
“Her maiden name is Sasaki,” Athini said quietly.
“Did your name used to be Ila?” Kabir asked, getting excited.
“No, it was Ren.”
Mel added helpfully, “She must have changed your first name and then went by her maiden name after she abandoned the family.”
“Wait,” Burnet asked, her eyes wide, all her anger gone. “You think I’m Ila?”
“You must be,” Athini said with just as much confusion. Then she lowered her head as she apologized. “I’m sorry. You look just like her. I think it must have been because of your white hair. You were so far away when I first saw you that I didn’t recognize how much younger you are.”
“You’re nearly as blind as Kabir. You should have been wearing your glasses,” Anya spoke up, trying despite herself, to lighten the mood.
“She’s right you know,” Myron joked. “How many times have I got on your case for not putting them on?”
Athini released a puff of ill-humored air. Burnet laughed openly though, taking the room by surprise. She nearly skipped over to the taller woman and wrapped her in a hug. “My family just gets bigger,” she said through a choke of tears. “Kabir, get in here,” She waved her arm at the blind man who eagerly took her up on the offer.
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