FicWad

It's nearly noon as I walk silently back into my home, leaving my irritated sister behind to go into town without me. I know it would have been wise to get out of the house for a bit, especially after all the most recent events, but I don't have the spirit. So much has happened in just the last twenty-four hours, and I find it more challenging as the day drags on to keep moving forward.

So I told Anya a lie, saying I needed to get back to researching. I knew I wouldn't be able to make sense of the scrambled notes in my exhausted state, but I had to say something to get my nagging sister off my case.

I do head downstairs, though, back to the lab, but not to study. It's been a bit of time since I've given my Pokemon a rest, and I think it might be nice to let them do just that. Unfortunately, though, I know I don't have quite the energy to do it myself.

I walk over to a corner near the shelf where Kabir and I store our research Pokémon's balls. Currently, it only held Kabir's team, as my parents were holding onto our other Pokémon for us until we could get a space set up for them. I switch the old Video Phone in the same space on to make a call.

"Hau'oli City Pokémon Center," a kind female voice answers quickly along with the video of the city's Nurse Joy.

"Hello, This is Professor Ashoka. I wanted to know if you'd have time to take a look at my Pokémon for me today." I ask, rubbing my hands together to soothe a bit of my hesitation surrounding phone calls.

"Well, of course, I do. How many Pokémon will you be bringing over?"

"Thirteen. Is that alright?" I answer, thinking about Kabir's Pokémon as well, and knowing they would benefit from treatment too.

"That'll be just fine. What time shall I expect you?" She queries.

"I was hoping to send them over electronically. Does your Center have the ability to do so?"

"We do indeed. Give me a moment, and I'll make sure the Transfer Machine is prepared to receive them."

I turn to my Delcatty while I wait and address her. "Hop, dear, I'm sending everyone over to the Pokémon Center for a check-up. Now, I know you don't like being inside of your ball, but it'll only be for a little bit." I say, pulling her own, a Heal Ball off my belt and holding it up for her to sniff.

The second she sees it, though, she arches her back and hisses at me, eyes lighting up in instant fury.

"Hop, come on now. Please. It'll only be for a short time. I'm not traveling into the city only to drop you off. Just get into your ball." I say, growing slightly annoyed and holding it out to her once more.

Instead of obeying, the purple cat rises onto her hind legs and swipes angrily at me, smacking the Heal Ball out of my hand and cutting the palm open with an extended claw.

I yank myself back and exclaim in shock at her sudden attack, pulling my hand to my face to survey the damage. Thankfully, just a tiny trickle of blood was seeping out. She wasn't trying to hurt me, but that was clearly a warning.

"Oh my." The Nurse says behind me over the speaker. "Professor, are you alright?"

"I'm fine. It's just a small cut. This Delcatty doesn't much like being in her ball." I answer, giving the cat an angry glare. She growls at me fiercely as I call her by her species rather than her name, fur bristling and tail writhing like an Arbok across the ground. "It seems you will only be caring for twelve today."

"That would be just as well. We wouldn't want to stress your Pokémon out more than it is now." She answers, looking down at Hop in concern.

I shake my head in annoyance as I place the five remaining balls of mine onto the platform, along with Tinsel's purple PokeAssist ball, and hit the send button. After seeing the Nurse remove them, I also place Kabir's six partner Pokémon balls into the slots.

Nurse Joy ends the call with a bow, instructing me that she will call me back in a few hours after she finishes treating them. I bow back respectfully and thank her for taking care of my Pokémon.

I look over at Hop again and see that she was still growling softly at me, her eyes squinting suspiciously.

"You are in loads of trouble," I scold her, but she merely sniffs and turns away in defiance.

I close my eyes and shake my head, trying to clear my thoughts a bit. I know she's Tauros-Headed and hates her ball, but I've never known her to act out so much.

After washing my wound and wrapping my palm in a tight bandage to staunch the bleeding, I turn back to the Video Phone and decide to give the hospital a call as well, hoping for at least some good news in this increasingly chaotic day.

"Melemele General Hospital. Is this call for General, Surgical, or Emergency?" To my great frustration, a man answers only the phone side, leaving my video screen blank.

"General, please," I respond, my eyes closed as I try to reel in my irritation.

"Should you wish to visit, please note that all admittance, but for staff and patient, is currently prohibited due to the flu," He says, giving the standard statement most hospitals use during times such as these. "Please state the nature of your business."

"I wanted to check on a patient admitted last night, Ashoka, Kabir, please."

"One moment," then the line goes silent.

I stand, staring at the black screen of the phone, and wait. The minutes drag by for what feels like an eternity until I start to wonder if I have been forgotten about. Then, finally, just as I begin to ponder if I should hang up and call again, the speaker sparks back to life.

"Professor Ashoka," the old voice of Doctor Ōpūnui says. "I've only just arrived. I haven't even had a chance to check your husband's chart today." He puffs, out of breath, his feet slapping noisily over the phone speaker as he hurries through the hospital corridors. "I'm nearly to the room now, though, so if you'd be so kind as to give me just a moment."

"No worries, I understand," I say, listening to him move about over the phone. I hear a set of automatic doors open and then a suddenly surprised exclamation from him.

"What's happened?" I query with rising concern.

"You wouldn't happen to have Burnet with you as well, would you?" He asks, brushing over my question.

I pause for a moment, taken slightly aback by the odd quandary. "No, she's not here. I'm sorry. Is something the matter?"

"Not at all," He says swiftly. I can hear his fingers tapping slowly on a computer as he mumbles quietly to himself, then more shuffling as he moves about the room Kabir is staying in.

"My apologies for making you wait. At the moment, there are no changes. His scans all appear normal right now, and he's remained in stable condition throughout the night. He sustained no physical injuries during the altercation, either."

"Well, no change is better than getting worse," I say, trying and failing to force a laugh.

He pauses but then continues with concern. "How about yourself?"

"I only have a bruise on my arm from a fall when it started, but it is small and is of no concern to me," I answer, examining the purple welt above my left elbow, where I fell onto a rock. It hurts, but not very much, and is certainly no reason to see a doctor over.

"That's good to hear," He says, but then he drops his tone, sounding more like a father than a doctor. "But that wasn't what I was referring to. You've been through a fair amount of trouble in the weeks since your arrival. I know you are physically on the mend, and I'm happy to hear you received no serious injury, but how are you?" He asks again.

"I'm fine," I respond with more force than I meant to, not wanting to answer his repeated question, having already known what he was trying to get at with the initial one.

A sigh follows another long pause on the phone, but then the old doctor speaks once more. "Very well. I want you to know, not as a doctor to a patient, but as a concerned party, I am here for you should you want to talk."

"I appreciate that, but truly I am alright." I lie.

"Okay." He sighs again. "If there are any changes in your husband's condition, I will give you a call. You have the number for the hospital, I know, but I'd like to give you my personal number as well."

"That won't be necessary," I say, clenching my jaw in annoyance at his persistence.

"I understand." He says, matching my tone now. "Should you change your mind, my daughter-in-law, Professor Burnet, has my number." The doctor says, emphasizing his connection to my neighbor in an apparent attempt at getting me to talk. "I only ask that you remember that."

"Thank you," I say with effort before ending the call abruptly.

I hang my head as I feel hot tears fall down my cheeks once more. Shame floods through me at treating the kind older man so harshly. I know I should have apologized for my rudeness, and I know he was only worried, but I couldn't bring myself to discuss what has truly been happening with him.

Hop seems to forget about the fight we've just had, and I feel her soft head push into my thigh, a small mewl of concern escaping her maw. I look down at her face and fall to my knees in front of her. I wrap my arms around the only living thing near me and let out a quiet sob as she firmly presses her face into my shoulder.

"I'm so sorry, Hop." I choke out between gasps. "I shouldn't have become so mad at you. I know you hate being in your ball, and with all that's happened, you probably don't want to leave my side."

She pulls her head up and runs her cheek along my face, chirping soothingly at me.

"Thank you for being such a good friend. I couldn't ask for a better Pokémon." I whisper to her.

We sit for a few minutes as I allow my tears to slow and then begin to dry on my face.

Upstairs, I hear, once again, a knock on the front door. I rise to my feet in surprise at the sudden noise, but my quickly bubbling fear vanishes as I hear the door creak open and close.

"It sounds like Kukui is here again." I chuckle weakly to Hop, placing a hand on her head to stop her from charging into an attack.

I wipe the tears on my eyes away and try to dry my face with the collar of my shirt, but I know my recent deluge of emotion will be clearly evident despite my best efforts.

"Sashi, are you here? I've brought you some lunch." The younger Professor calls from the living room.

"I'm downstairs, in the lab," I respond.

It doesn't take him long to locate the stairs. He pauses at the bottom, and I see his smile drop away.

"Hey," He says in shocked concern. He places the wrapped tray in his hand onto a nearby table. "Are you alright?" He asks, approaching me.

I stare at him, unsure now of how to answer. I've been avoiding this conversation with everyone who's questioned me, and now I find myself struggling, once more, with deciding on my following words.

"You can talk to me. It'll be okay." He soothes. He's now reached my side and places a comforting hand on my shoulder. "Or I can call Burnet if you want."

"I-" the word falls from my mouth. Then, taking a deep breath and closing my eyes, I finally tell someone about the voice in my head.