Author's Comment: Sorry this took longer than usual, I ran into some problems that should be fixed by now... But yay! I got my first review! Thank you so much, frankie. santoriello, for taking the extra time to give your thoughts and share your feelings! It's certainly very encouraging to hear that my first ever story is decent in terms of the writing (I got the creepiness down, it seems!), and I can only hope to get better! And of course, thanks to the anonymous readers who are sticking with this story this far in! I hope you too are enjoying the experience! :)
Chapter 4: Treatment
When one thinks of the word 'home', 'prison' is usually not synonymous with it.
It's been about a week since the Shedinja attacked him, and Sokudo hasn't left his home even once since that night. All he can do is lay in his bed, trying his best to recover from his injuries. As it turns out, the new-to-this-world Ghost-type knows next to nothing on how to take care of living Pokémon like him, and the Ninjask's health is beginning to suffer the consequences. He has tried several times to go to a doctor, but the creature inhabiting his house refuses to let him leave for anything, apparently paranoid that he is going to try to abandon it again. So he had to rely on his own knowledge and his basic First Aid kit, and plenty of rest.
But even his sleep is not a release, for the pain is strong enough to be felt even in his dreams. The first time he legitimately dozed off in a deep slumber, the Shedinja had wasted no time waking him right back up in a panic, having thought that he was dying. It took a good two hours to explain to the shed that he needed this state of unconsciousness to get better and to convince it to leave him be whenever he was resting like this. The Shedinja reluctantly agreed, for the most part...
It is evening of the sixth day and Sokudo's currently only been sleeping for about an hour when the Shedinja begins to nudge him urgently. Blinking in a daze as he stirs, he looks up at the creature that has caused all this torment, feeling practically nothing inside. His fear, his anger, his hopelessness has mostly dried out by now and he barely even notices this apathetic change in his attitude. But he did notice the feeling of nausea welling up within his stomach for reasons unknown. In fact, everything looks hazier than usual and he swears the room feels hotter than he last remembered...
"Why were you making strange noises?" the Shedinja asks him, its voice remaining in a child-like tone as it learned that caused its Ninjask the least amount of stress. "They disturb me."
At first, Sokudo didn't understand what the husk is talking about before giving a hacking cough, the husk jerking back with a hiss at the sound. Realizing that this is the strange noise the ghost is alluding to, Sokudo grunts as he glances down his body. "I'm... I'm sick..." His voice sounds thick and dull, staring at his injuries. The other day, several of his open wounds had gotten infected, and now it must be spreading through the rest of his body. An involuntary shudder goes through his very core, despite how hot he is feeling.
"Sick?" the Shedinja mutters as if pronouncing a new word. "What does that mean?"
Coughing again, Sokudo attempts to shift onto a cooler patch of his bed, panting to cool himself off. His voice is still dull although he tries to make it communicate his irritation. "It means that tiny little things got in my body... and is completely fucking me up." He could tell this explanation only served to confuse the shed more and he forces out a growl in the hopes of finally showing just how serious the situation is getting. "It... it could kill me!"
"No!" the Shedinja exclaims in a panic, whimpering softly to itself. "You can't die!"
"I don't exactly have a choice..." Sokudo hisses pointedly. "I need proper treatment... I need to see a doctor!"
At once, the Shedinja snarls as is typical whenever the other insect brings up the subject. "We don't need a doctor. I can take care of you just fine!"
"Just fine?!" He casts another glance at his sickened body. "CAN'T YOU SEE WHAT YOU'RE DOING TO ME?!" Sokudo snaps at the shell, his fevered suffering pushing his outburst. "YOU did this! YOU hurt me and YOU got me sick! Even when you KNOW I'm dying, you STILL refuse to get me help!" He coughs again, his claws digging into his bed as he glares at the Shedinja. "If you want to be my brother so badly, then start acting like one and get me a doctor..."
This got the shed to go silent for a long time, clearly feeling the painful jab and uncertain of what to do. Its brother is in horrible condition and it's obvious that what it's doing to help isn't working, but... "They'll hurt you. I don't want those strangers getting near you, hurting you."
"I won't lie and say they won't... But them hurting me is a good thing," Sokudo mutters sternly. "And really..." He forces out a scoff. "The pain they'll cause me is nothing compared to the damage YOU have already done." Giving yet another cough, the Ninjask lays his head on his pillow, waiting for the Shedinja to respond. It is quiet for a few minutes, soft whimpers coming from it.
"You... you really are going to die... aren't you?" it asks softly, a shameful whine echoing in its hollow body.
"If I don't get some real help?" Sokudo mutters in an equally soft voice, not even looking at the ghost. "It's practically guaranteed." Another minute passes and he glances at the husk. "Just tell me the fate you have for me, 'cause if you're still not gonna let me see a doctor..." He shakes his head hopelessly at the thought. "You might as well just kill me now and save me the suffering..."
"No," it continues to whisper sorrowfully. "I can fix this... I'll get you help, brother..."
The knock that comes to the door is incredibly urgent and Remedy the Audino hurries to the door as she didn't like to keep her clients waiting. Swinging it open, she gasps a bit upon seeing what it is: a heavily-wounded Ninjask, practically unconscious from the trip here, and a Shedinja, whom instinctively growls at her as it hovers by its companion possessively. She has seen plenty of sick and injured Pokémon, but this is probably one of the worst cases she's seen and she wastes little time in acting.
"Dr. Quaak!" she shouts loudly over her shoulder. "We have an emergency!"
She steps closer, about to kneel down to pick up Sokudo when the Shedinja throws itself between them with a shriek. The black mist is practically writhing. "Stay away from my brother!"
"Vhat's going on here?" A Golduck with a headband and plastic gloves comes up behind the Audino, his sharp eyes regarding their visitors. The Shedinja screeches even louder at the other Pokémon's appearance, its piercing vocalizations waking its unconscious sibling.
"... H... Help..." is all the Ninjask could mutter, although it is lost in the husk's threats.
"Shhhhh!" Remedy tries to soothe the protective insect. "It's okay."
"You're going to hurt him!" the Shedinja growls, quieting its shrill cries only a little. And it only falls silent when it hears Sokudo force out his own growl.
"Shut up..." he snaps at the shed. "Let... let... them..." He pulls himself closer to Remedy, the Shedinja reluctantly backing down, but continuing to hiss at the doctors. The Audino gently transports the injured Pokémon inside, the Shedinja following closely as the Normal-type carefully places the injured ninja on the examination table.
"Horribly infected," Dr. Quaak utters at a mere glance of those injuries, seemingly unimpressed. "Zese injuries are aged." He casts a harsh glare at the snarling Shedinja. "Vhy you no bring him sooner?"
"Dr. Quaak," Remedy starts. "We can save the questions for later; we have to focus on helping the little guy." As she begins taking his vitals, Dr. Quaak boredly begins cleaning the open wounds, Sokudo trying his best to hide a wince as he knows how the accompanying ghost will react to his show of pain. But such stoic behavior becomes much more difficult as the Golduck begins tending to the infected injuries and the Ninjask can't keep in a cry, automatically trying to pull away.
This prompts the already-agitated Shedinja to act, especially when the doctor tries to keep the cicada still. With another shriek, the empty shell lashes out with a Shadow Claw, Dr. Quaak barely able to dodge in time.
"Stop it!" Sokudo reprimands harshly, cringing at his own outburst. "Stop... Let them work..."
"They're hurting you..." the Shedinja whimpers, to which Remedy speaks up in reassurance.
"And we don't want to hurt him, trust us," she starts gently. "But it's the only way to make him better. I know it's hard for you to ignore your brother's torment, but you need to stay calm and tell yourself that everything will be okay, that we'll help your brother make a full recovery."
"Or," Dr. Quaak adds. "You can leave. Your choice."
"I won't leave him," the Shedinja hisses firmly. "Never leave him." As if to emphasize this, the husk gently cuddles against Sokudo's side and he winces. But he doesn't push the other bug away as he usually would if he can't fly off, knowing this will calm the ghost down. And indeed it does as the Shedinja pulls away noticeably more compliant. The doctors takes the opportunity to resume their administrations, the Ghost-type beginning to growl again as Dr. Quaak continues cleaning out the infected wounds to Sokudo's obvious discomfort. But the shed forces itself not to interfere.
"Let's get some local anesthetic," Remedy tells her comrade after a few minutes. "We can stitch him up after your done cleaning."
Dr. Quaak merely grunts as he finishes up the last open gash and he begins preparing the anesthetic, expertly rubbing it into and around the wounds.
"What's that?" the Shedinja asks suspiciously.
"Anesthetic," Remedy answers gently. "It'll help relieve his pain, so closing his wounds won't be too uncomfortable." She turns to the Golduck. "Are you done?" He nods softly and she looks to the Ninjask. "How do you feel?"
Sokudo didn't answer for a minute before murmuring softly. "The pain... it's mostly gone now..."
"That's good," the Audino states, preparing the needle and thread, much to the displeasure of the Shedinja.
"What's that for?!" it exclaims, a note of fear in its voice.
"Ve're gonna close ze vounds, so calm down." Dr. Quaak mutters before Sokudo turns his attention to the husk.
"Don't... don't interfere..." he growls as firmly as he could manage. The husk whimpers as it watches the stitching process, shivering whenever it sees the needle pierce its sibling's flesh. But Sokudo doesn't seem to feel much of anything of it, only flinching slightly at what little sting he did detect. It takes a decent amount of time for all the wounds to get stitched up and the Ninjask shifts a bit as the doctors delicately begin wrapping his injuries in bandages.
"We can go home now." the Shedinja states, having had enough of this place and these strange procedures, and its irritation begins to spark up when Remedy shakes her head.
"He's still sick and in critical condition. We'll be keeping him here until he's at least stable," She can tell that the Shedinja is about to object and she quickly adds more. "You're more than welcome to stay, if it'll make you feel better. But it's vitally important that he stays here for at least a few days."
"I'll stay..." Sokudo grunts, looking up at the doctors as he ignores the ghost as best he could. "W... what's gonna h-happen now?"
"We'll get you settled on a bed so you can rest. We'll have to insert an IV, so we can get your body some fluids, painkillers, and anti-biotics. So let's try to get you situated." With the help of Dr. Quaak, she gets the Ninjask off the examination table and takes him into another room with the Shedinja trailing closely after them. Settling the insect on the bed in question, the Golduck wastes no time nonchalantly preparing the IV.
"Th..." Sokudo clears his throat as he gets himself as comfortable as he can manage. "Thank you..." He rarely ever thanks anyone for anything, but he knows it's the least he could do in this particular situation.
"It's not a problem, sweetie," Remedy chirps in a motherly tone, taking the IV's tube and needle. Carefully, she inserts and secures the device into his arm and Sokudo relaxes into the blankets and pillow. Closing his eyes, he tries to fall asleep before his pain comes back and the doctors make last minute adjustments before shooing themselves out and leaving the two in peace.
Glad to be rid of the strangers, the Shedinja keeps its attention on its brother, its worry overwhelming it. Not even its curiosity of the many new objects around it can tamper its concern and it floats towards its sibling, just watching. It hopes its Ninjask will be okay soon, so they can leave this uncomfortable place forever. But Sokudo certainly seems more at ease in that bed and looks so peaceful in that strange sleeping state. It gives a soft reassuring purr, to both itself and its brother, before cuddling up to the recovering Ninjask.
Soon...
Soon...