Kukui had known that being involved with Ultra Beasts would be a bad idea, he just wished that they would have had a bit more of a break before complete chaos took over.
Kukui sighed in exhaustion and slumped on the couch. He could feel some stray sticks in his hair, and he knew that he probably looked just as dirty as he felt, but he really couldn't bring himself to care enough to wash up. There wasn't any school tomorrow, so he didn't have to worry about keeping up his appearances for that.
Kukui was glad that he could sleep in tomorrow, but unfortunately he couldn't go to sleep yet. He still had some things he had to do. Kukui knew that technically he could just do the work in the morning, there wasn't all that much of a rush, but he wanted to get this over with. Besides, he'd had a stressful past few hours, and it would be nice to see a friendly face.
Kukui pulled his laptop closer, feeling relieved that he had thought to get it out earlier, because he really didn't feel like getting up from where he was. Kukui opened his laptop and opened the video call application. Without thinking twice Kukui dialed Professor Burnet's number. He waited anxiously for her to answer, and actually breathed a sigh of relief when he saw her face come onto his screen.
"Did you find Ash?" Burnet asked immediately. Kukui smiled gently. They had only just started talking, but he already felt calmer.
"Yeah, we found him." Kukui said. He felt a little bad that Burnet had been worried about Ash, but when he hadn't been able to find Ash in the forest he had started calling everybody he could, just in case they had seen him. It hadn't been necessary, and hadn't done much good, but it had made Kukui feel like he was doing something productive.
"Thank goodness." Burnet looked about as relieved as Kukui felt. "Where was he?"
"From what I've heard, everywhere." Kukui sighed and took off his hat so he could run a hand through his hair. "Nebby took Ash on a bit of a teleportation adventure today."
"So Nebby can use teleport?" There was that curious enthusiasm that Kukui really loved from Burnet. She was so passionate about her work. After a moment Burnet got her emotions under control. "I'm glad that Ash and Nebby are okay." Kukui realized that he hadn't actually told Burnet as much, but she knew him well enough to know that if anything had happened to either Ash or Nebby, it would have been the first thing he would have told her. Burnet's next words surprised him though. "Are you okay though, Kukui?"
Kukui blinked, thrown off by the question. "I'm fine."
Burnet raised an unimpressed, but not unkind, eyebrow. "Don't give me that. Have you taken a look at yourself?"
Kukui frowned as he pulled a twig out of his hair. He really was a mess from looking for Ash in the forest. "I'm...I'll be fine." Kukui corrected himself, as he knew that Burnet wouldn't just trust any claims that he was okay. She probably knew better than he did that he really wasn't feeling fine at that moment. He just didn't want to worry her.
"What's on your mind?" Burnet asked in concern.
Kukui sighed and lifted his glasses to rub at his eyes. "I know that Ash said that he wanted to take care of Nebby himself, but do you think you could come over sometime to check on how Nebby's doing?"
Kukui imagined that Burnet would accept his invitation without hesitation, but she didn't let her enthusiasm show. "Is everything okay?"
"Ash thinks that Nebby has a lot of powers that we don't know about," Kukui said. "We would really appreciate it if you could come and check up on how Nebby's doing." Kukui knew that just about anybody in the Aether Foundation would be capable and willing to do just this, but Kukui felt most comfortable asking Burnet. He knew her, and he knew that she would be willing to check up on Nebby without pressuring Ash to let her do something with Nebby that he didn't feel comfortable with.
"I would be honored to help you." Burnet said. Kukui let out a breath that he hadn't even realized he had started holding.
"Thank you." Kukui said breathlessly. He still felt uncertain about Nebby and just Ultra Beasts in general, but he felt better to have somebody on his side that felt comfortable about the things that he was honestly afraid of. He didn't have to be the one and only responsible adult for his kids while they dealt with Nebby. "I just feel like I'm in way over my head."
Burnet laughed slightly. "I'm pretty sure we're all in over our heads. The kids are just young enough to have the privilege of just not realizing it."
Kukui laughed along with Burnet, not necesarilly because he found the situation funny, but because he felt like if he couldn't laugh about it then he would just end up crying.
"So how is Ash doing with Nebby?" Burnet asked in an attempt to change the topic without making it too obvious that it was what she was doing.
Kukui smiled fondly. "He's doing great. In another life, he could make a fantastic pokémon breeder." Kukui hadn't been told a lot about Ash's previous traveling experiences, but he knew that the kid had picked up a lot of nurturing habits from Brock during their time together.
"What has he been doing?" Burnet smiled and put her hands on her chin. It was an invitation for him to talk about Ash, and Kukui was more than happy to take her up on the offer.
"Everything." Kukui let out a short laugh that showed just how emotional and proud he really was. Kukui felt his ears burn in embarrassment. He was clearly too exhausted to be talking about his kid to Burnet. Based on the way that her smile broadened, he knew that she had to have noticed, but she was gracious enough to not mention it.
"He, uh," Kukui laughed at himself and shook his head. "He's just been taking care of Nebby like he was a parent taking care of a baby. He gives it food when it cries, and keeps it close to his side. He just...he's doing everything he can to keep Nebby happy."
"That's adorable." Burnet said, and Kukui wholeheartedly agreed. "I look forward to seeing it for myself." Burnet had only seen Ash interact with Nebby for a short time, certainly not long enough to have an idea of how things normally were.
"It's really else." Kukui promised. "And not just with Nebby. Ash has an individual and personal relationship with all of his pokémon." It was really interesting for Kukui to see the boy interact with all of them, because he really changed his approach to training them based off of their personalities and needs. Not many trainers did this.
"I'm sure I'll see what you mean when I come over later." Burnet said. "When would it be best for me to check up on Nebby? I don't have to work next weekend, but if you want I could come over right now for a few hours."
Kukui smiled appreciatively. It was late, and both Nebby and Ash were long asleep. Burnet likely knew this, so Kukui knew that her offer hadn't been for their sake, it had been for his. "Next week will be fine."
"Are you sure?" Burnet asked, though she didn't seem as dubious as she had been just a few minutes ago.
"I'm sure." Kukui said. He honestly wasn't feeling as stressed as he had before. Talking with Burnet had really helped. "Go get some sleep."
Burnet smirked at his words. "Only if you do the same." Her mischievous smirk lightened. "If you need any help with anything, or if you just want to talk, don't be afraid to call. I don't care how late it is, I'm always here for you."
Kukui smiled fondly. He could hear the sincerity in her words. "I will if you do." He suggested.
"Deal." Burnet said. "I'll see you next week, Kukui. Goodnight."
"Goodnight." Kukui returned as their connection ended. With a sigh he closed his laptop and stretched. He was still worried, but the conversation with his old friend had helped calm his nerves enough that he thought he could try to get some sleep that night. He would probably be woken by nightmares filled with Ultra Beasts, but some sleep was better than no sleep at all.
Tomorrow he would look for what notes he had on Ultra Beasts. He didn't want to be caught unprepared for whatever might happen. Kukui knew that Ash's dream and Nebby's appearance meant something, he just didn't know what. All that Kukui knew for sure was that it was something big, and he wanted to be ready for it.