Chapter Ten: Feeling Kinda Bad
The small Treecko awoke, slowly, opening his eyes just enough to bring the ceiling of his room into blurry view. His train of thought took some time to come back to him as he adjusted his eyes, finally making out the rest of the objects around him. Gin looked to the window to see that the sky outside had now held deepening oranges with soft violets making their way into the mix as a sign that night was quickly making its way across. He was asleep for quite a while and climbed out of bed as he rubbed at his eyes. Of course he had remembered the dream he had, but didn't pay it much mind. It'd be interesting to tell Kurrin about it though, perhaps he'd get a good conversation about it from him. Maybe not, Gin reconsidered, and headed down the ladder that exited his room.
Downstairs, he came across his teacher sitting at the table. Well, perhaps more like slumping, his arms cradled together to help cushion his head as he snored softly. Gin smiled and went to his side, simply watching him. His snoring was very soft and could barely be heard, even when this close. He supposed Kurrin must have been just as exhausted as he was, apparently. However, his smile soon twisted into a frown, realizing he must have really stressed him out today. A pang of guilt wormed its way into Gin's chest and suddenly he felt he couldn't even stand by the older Pokemon anymore. He made his way to the food storage bin in silence, carefully opening it to fetch himself a few berries, placing a single Rawst berry in his mouth. Pokemon like Kurrin and Sapphire weren't the biggest fans of bitter-tasting berries like it, but Gin seemed to take a liking to the berry already.
He shut the lid softly so not to wake his teacher and headed for the door, berries in his arms. Gin gave a glance back at Kurrin at the table. His body moved slowly to his breathing and he seemed quite relaxed, despite the uncomfortable position. He nearly swallowed the berry he was chewing on incorrectly due to forgetting it was even in his mouth for a second. Gin cared a lot about his teacher, Kurrin did a lot for him, ever since he was born. He was always there, even when at times he seemed cruel or stricter than necessary, but he knew deep down that the Linoone was just looking out for him. He didn't want to stress him out. He wanted to make him proud.
The small Pokemon decided he'd have a bit to eat outside, relax, maybe do that weird mediating thing he sometimes saw Kurrin do.
He left to the more secluded parts of Littleroot, the dense forest that nestled the town. The very place where he and Kurrin had spent their training days in. The sky was rather pretty as the orange was growing deeper in color and consumed by the ever-growing violet of night. It was cool and it felt amazing on Gin's skin as he walked. Along the way, he could spot scarred trees where Kurrin had left remnants of attacks he used. His Slashes were very strong and sharp, Gin believed they could even rip through the steely hides of Aggron.
With all his walking, he soon came to stop, reaching their usual clearing. He rested himself on top of a stump and started digging into another berry from his batch. The sweetness of the berry felt a bit off to him, which was unusual since he usually ate these kinds of berries. He guessed that his new taste for the bitter Rawst berries were already taking over his taste buds as his new favorite. Is this how Kurrin felt when he ate other ones? Most the time, Gin saw his teacher eating Oran berries, even when his HP was completely fine. He shrugged it off, however, finishing off a few more before letting the others sit beside him. Gin leaned back a bit, leaning on the palms of his hands as he looked up towards the violet-like sky above him.
Stars were already peeking out of the faint darkness. Memories of when he was even smaller came to mind. He remembered Kurrin taking him out here, both sitting in this very clearing, watching the sky. The Linoone had taught him a little bit of how to read the stars above, how they could help lead you to where you needed to go and the stories behind them. Gin was of course really excited and thrilled to be taught such things. The stories of the stars had spoke of heroic Pokemon whose acts were so worthy that they were to be forever told in the heavens in the form of shimmering stars. It was nice and Gin knew he'd always remember it fondly. Gin sat there for what felt like eons as his mind went through the hundreds of precious memories he had stocked in his head. Not only of Kurrin, but of other Pokemon as well, Pokemon like Sapphire. Another pang of guilt came to life in his chest.
The Treecko sighed and pulled his eyes from the now blackened sky. He had hurt her badly, the mental image of her on the ground, unmoving, had sent a chill through his body. He wished he knew if she was okay, but he planned on making a trip to the berry shop tomorrow to properly apologize and check in on her. He slowly pulled his hands into his vision, clenching them shut then opened them again, over and over. He caused a lot of havoc today. Kurrin, he felt, was a bit disappointed. Would he even be allowed to train anymore, a worrying question that crossed his thoughts. Aqua and Marine were probably never going to trust him again. And Sapphire..
Gin hadn't noticed the small tears that began to form. He didn't want Sapphire to hate him, to be fearful of him, to never want to hang out ever hated the thought of losing his best friend and he caved in on himself, pulling his knees up to shield his face as he cried while his arms tightly wrapped around them to keep them there. His body shivered from the mixture of the cool of night and the growing fear inside himself. The Treecko cried softly, barely audible to anything around the area. Sapphire was forgiving, yes, but he didn't know if she would be after such a thing. He didn't want to stop training with Kurrin either, but the growing fear inside him told the small Pokemon that his teacher would most likely do so. All because of that stupid attack! His crying became heavier. Gin's mouth began to form a dim light inside and made his innards feel like odd.
Tears still in his eyes as he pulled himself from the crying shelter of his arms and legs, fearful shock building up inside of him when the light grew stronger. No, not again..
He quickly used his hands to shut his mouth tightly, blue light spilling out from the thin lines and cracks of his mouth and fingers. It was burning. It felt hot, but not in a fiery kind of way. It was terrifying and made his whole body tremble. The light wasn't showing signs of dying out as the inside of his mouth was stinging badly. Gin's tears fell heavily as he finally moved his hands away and faced the sky, opening his mouth widely to release a powerful beam of fire-like energy into the darkness. The mysterious attack brightened the area around him, engulfing everything in a bluish hue and lasted quite a long while.
It slowly died off and everything was once again colored with the shade of night when it finally stopped. His eyes stung and his mouth and throat and insides felt as if they were screaming from the sudden attack. He fell back, falling from the stump onto the ground. His breathing was extremely haggard and the small Pokemon felt as if he'd just burned every part of his insides. The attack was a lot more fiercer than before and it wore him out just as much. Soon a wave of pain washed over him suddenly, leaving him crying out. In his wailing, he failed to notice the incoming sounds of Kurrin in the distance.