-IV-

Nanu wakes to a loud crash out in the lounge room.

Darn Meowth, he thinks. Then he hears a pained groaning that definitely did not belong to a Pokémon. The recollection of the previous night hits him in a rush and he's halfway out of bed before he's even completely awake. Alpha is out the door in a flash and Nanu isn't far behind her.

Several Meowth scatter as they enter the room and he finds Siane on the floor barely propping herself up by her arms. Mini is close to her but is uncertain of what to do and barks at Nanu.

When Siane tries to lift herself up any further she hisses in agony. He's alarmed by the possibility that she's more hurt than he had thought.

"Stop, slow down," he insists. Mini steps back as Nanu kneels to help her.

"I'm okay, I just fell," she says, trying again to move but this time she yelps. "Ah, shit!"

"Just fell, huh? Where's it hurt?"

"Everywhere."

"Helpful." He props her back upright against the coffee table.

"My legs," she specifies. "I tried getting up, but— OW!" Nanu hardly recoils; still pressing around her left ankle that's more bruised than before. It doesn't feel broken, but she's definitely done something to it. Could do with some ice.

"Well, I'm no doctor, but you're not paralysed." He shoos away a Meowth that's come too close.

"No, really? I couldn't tell."

She meets Nanu's gaze and although she still looks a bit rough there's definitely a lot more energy in her than last night. He notices that she's donned the shirt he had left for her. It's a little long on her frame, but it was on him too when he wore it last.

"Thanks for this, by the way," she says, tugging at the top of one of the sleeves. Was he staring?

"C'mon. Better to be off the floor before the Meowth think you're free real estate," Nanu suggests. He loops his arm around her back as she places her own over his shoulders. He stands her up slowly, letting her lean her weight against his side rather than on her sore ankle. He sees her face pinch but she doesn't cry out. "You okay?"

"Y-yeah, it's fine."

She doesn't look fine. He's about to bring her back to the sofa when he feels her hand tap his shoulder.

"Wait, wait, wait," she pleads. The urgency in her voice actually makes him tense up. "Before you sit me down - I…"

She turns to him and he can see there's some embarrassment in her expression.

"I could really use the bathroom right now," she says, half squeaking as her face reddens. "Kinda why I got up in the first place…"

Oh. Of course. Right.


Nanu leaves Siane with some privacy once he's sure she's not going to fall over in arguably the most dangerous room in the house. Too many hard surfaces and sharp corners; his overactive imagination thinks of literally every gnarly outcome in the few seconds it took to take her to the bathroom. He orders Mini to standby, because while he doesn't want her to have an accident, it felt a little invasive to be standing around waiting for her.

It's nine'o'clock and the Meowth are overzealous as usual. He decides to hold off on feeding them, not wanting to be too far away if Mini hears something's wrong. He nudges the felines out of his way as he goes to make himself a coffee. It's like wading through a sea of cats, as each one takes a new position up in front of him after being nudged away, creating an endless wave as he walks.

"You lot behave last night?" he murmurs. Their yowling remains the same high, pleading pitch and he knows they're not listening. He passes Big Boss who is perched on the breakfast bar and the corvid croaks wearily to him - no dramas. "Good to know."

He peeks out the window over the sink as he refills the kettle. It's still raining, but the wind has died down significantly - only occasionally rising in brief gusts. If anything, it's looking a lot like route 17's normal weather, which will hopefully mean the paramedic will be coming soon.

The process of making his coffee feels more like sleepwalking. He's subsisted off less sleep in the past, but he's getting older now; his body struggles with pushing the limits. Maybe he can take a week off once this whole fiasco is over - pawn off the jobs to the rest of Ula'Ula-PD so he can hibernate. It's a nice thought but it's a pipe dream. Even if he does somehow manage to negotiate a holiday, he can't simply put his role as kahuna on hold. There's always something happening on the island that warrants his presence - even if all it is is trainers out on their island challenge.

And there's been quite a lot more of those lately. Ever since Professor Kukui set up the Alolan Pokémon League there's been a steady increase in the number of trainers participating in the island challenge. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing - the revenue from the influx of tourists certainly brought some much needed vitality to the local economy. In the last twelve months alone, Malie City had opened up several new stores and eateries to cater to the growing demand.

Nanu just didn't have the energy to battle every single jumped-up youth that came his way. All full of hot-air and unbearably self-important, it's hard to take them seriously and not just end up trying to knock them down a few pegs out of his own cynical spite. So, he tests them a little - makes them run around Ula'Ula a bit doing whatever mundane task he can come up with, really try their patience and dedication before deciding if they're worth the effort.

It's earned him an earful countless times from the other kahunas. Hala calls it a gross disincentive. Nanu calls it sorting the wheat from the chaff.

He sips his coffee and grimaces. It tastes like a punch to the face. It's so bitter that biting into a Durin berry would almost be a more preferable experience. Seems he'd mistaken the tablespoon for the teaspoon. How annoying.

Oh well, no use wasting another mug of the stuff after letting last night's go cold.

He hears the distinct sound of running water and turns as the bathroom door creaks open. Siane leans against the doorframe for support as she glances down at the Absol waiting for her. He sees that her knees are trembling as he gets closer - clearly feeling some weakness in her muscles. Siane meets his eyes and he catches the relief that passes over her as her shoulders ease. He wonders if she's nervous about Mini.

"Thanks," she says as he lets her lean her weight on his side again.

Mini growls at the Meowth that are still trying to vie for Nanu's attention and the horde scatter, allowing for an easier maneuver to the couch.

"Are all these Meowth yours?" Siane asks as Nanu sits her down.

"Sort of. Started off with a handful of rescues, then more just showed up after a while," he explains. The Pokémon in question are keeping their distance but their attention is still squarely on the pair. "The sociable ones get rehomed; the others kinda come and go as they please."

There's an inquisitiveness to Siane's eyes as they pass over the Meowth.

"Do they have names?"

He points out the largest four from the group. "Bravo, Charlie, Delta and Echo are from the first litter that have stuck around. Managed to find Foxtrot and Golf trainers, and the rest haven't got names. Decided to leave that for their future owners."

Siane pauses, thinking.

"So what happened to Alpha?"

Ah, observant.

Nanu looks over his shoulder and gestures with a nod to his Persian. She approaches with all her dignity on display as she takes her place beside Nanu.

"Still here, as you can see," he says as he gives his companion a scratch behind the ear. "Bit of a ring-leader she is; likes to boss them around."

Alpha chirps matter-of-factly in reply, leaning into the affection being given. When Nanu looks up there's the faintest of smiles on Siane's face. She seems wistful about something and he's thinking about asking when the station's front door buzzer rings.

"That'll be the 'doc," he remarks.

He leaves to answer the door, realising halfway that he's still in his pyjamas but not caring enough about the fact to change. He grimaces at the puddle he'd forgotten on the floor and files a mental note to actually clean that up when he's got the chance.

The glass doors slide open and startle the brown-haired woman standing outside.

"I came as soon as I could, Kahuna Nanu!" The paramedic bows both in reverence and apology. Not that she's been tardy in the slightest. She bends so far forward that her equipment pack nearly hits the back of her head.

"Please, just Nanu is fine," he insists, stepping aside to allow her entry. "Watch the puddle."

"Call me Eadie," she introduces herself while straightening her round-framed glasses.

As she passes, Nanu motions to the special ride Charizard to follow. The Fire-Type chuffs with gratitude and tucks his wings in to enter the building. The great beast lets out a pleasant rumble in his belly, signalling his relief to be out of the rain.

Though he wasn't before, he's glad now that he didn't decide to mop up the water as fresh droplets fall from both the Pokémon and Eadie's gear.

"How is the patient? You said she was caught out in the storm?"

"Seems like it," he nods and leads her towards the living quarters. "Thought she might've been hit by a Sleep Powder, but she was out for a couple of hours and there are some injuries that are too precise to have been made by a Pokémon."

"Are you saying someone might have attacked her?" Eadie inquires, her voice peaking with a hint of incredulity.

For a split second Nanu wonders what's so surprising, considering her field of work - but then in retrospect violent crime wasn't exactly commonplace on the islands. Sometimes he forgets just how peaceful Alola really is.

"Can't be certain yet. Her memory is patchy - last thing she remembers was nearly two weeks ago." He slides the interior door open and lets Eadie enter first.

"Mm… Well, I'll see what I can do," Eadie says thoughtfully.

Siane is sitting upright with an attentive expression when Eadie approaches, but she's not too uneasy. Nanu decides it's best to leave the room while she's being examined, opting to feed the Pokémon and clear the room of any distractions.

Coaxing the Meowth out is an easy enough task when they're hungry. They stream out into the station, lining up by their bowls like rowdy soldiers. He's got time on his hands, so he makes no rush out of feeding them - inspecting the felines as they eat while he finishes off his terrible coffee.

The original crew of Meowth seldom needed much caring for - they were mature and independent enough. He focuses more on the younger Meowth in his custody, because while they were quick to come to him for a meal or some playtime, they were more skittish about having any injuries treated. Such is the nature of strays.

But, nothing is amiss and Nanu finally gets around to mopping the mess in the foyer. He collects up the papers that had scattered the night before and neatens up the stacks on his desk. It's not much, but it already feels like he's completed a monumental task for the day.

He sits himself down in his desk chair, leaning into the backrest with a sigh. No messages on the answering machine yet. No doubt, however, after the storm there would be plenty of clean up to do around the island.

What a hassle.


It isn't too long before Eadie emerges from the back, her equipment in tow.

"How's it look?"

"Well, she's a bit rattled - but I'm not surprised given the circumstances." Eadie pulls out the notepad from her breast-pocket, the notes on which are unintelligible to Nanu at a glance. "She's not showing any signs of head trauma, though she hasn't been able to remember much more since the 6th. We'll need to run some more tests to be absolutely sure there's nothing else that could be wrong. But besides the injuries you've mentioned and a sprained ankle, she's stable, if a little thin. I've taken some blood samples for examination, but anything else will need to be done at the hospital.

"There's been a few incidents since the storm, but I'll phone ahead and have them arrange space for Siane if you're able to bring her in later today." She flips the notepad shut.

"What did you make of the marks on her arms?"

"It definitely looks like she's been on an IV recently," Eadie answers with sureness. "I don't want to make any assumptions, but if I may, kahuna, it's plausible that her inability to recall the last two weeks could be because she's been put under for that time."

That doesn't make things clearer in the slightest. He has more questions now than before.

"And if that does turn out to be the case, I'd suggest not feeding her anything too substantial until we can have a more thorough examination in Malie City," she adds quickly.

Nanu nods, though his pensive expression remains. His thoughts are all over the place - wild with speculation. He digs the microchip out from the desk drawer and holds it in his open palm towards Eadie. Her brows raise in curiosity as she pushes her glasses back into place and leans in for a closer inspection.

"The wound on Siane's neck," Nanu elaborates, "had this embedded in it. Does it look like anything you'd recognise?"

She frowns, but it's not out of unfamiliarity.

"I want to say that I have, but it's not coming to me," she confesses and smiles apologetically. "I'll ask around at the hospital - I have a hunch that someone will know what it is."

"Thanks."

Nanu returns the device to the drawer and leads Eadie and her ride Charizard to the door. Fortunately the rain hasn't picked up much more and it's just bearable enough for the Pokémon to take flight. He sees the young paramedic off and gives Route 17 his first cursory glance since the storm.

The paths are a mess for sure, muddied and scattered with plant debris and odd pieces of trash. There are quite a number of trees missing their branches, some are on the verge of being totally uprooted, but nothing has fallen over the road or damaged the pavement. It's a small relief - there's that much less work to do.

Nanu ducks back indoors for the time being. After all, there is still plenty of the day left to dedicate to clean-up and right now he has bigger priorities. Namely breakfast.

Siane is still sitting on the couch when he gets back, a neutral expression on her face as she fidgets with her hands. Her legs were raised up onto the coffee table; Eadie had bandaged her sprained ankle and left a small ice pack to help with the swelling. When she sees Nanu, she's alarmed - probably conflicted about whether or not having her feet up is going to come across as rude. Not that he cares - he puts his feet up on that thing all the time.

"How're you feeling?" He gestures to her ankle. She appears to catch on to the fact he's unbothered by her choice of foot-rest and relaxes slightly.

"Better," she admits. "I'm just glad I didn't fracture it."

He doesn't know what to say to that. He's not much of a conversationalist; in fact he actively avoided it wherever he could. Normally he didn't feel affected by the silence of dodging social interaction, but for whatever reason he was feeling awkward about it right now. Like he should say something.

Maybe he should go get his head examined.

Out of habit, he rubs the back of his neck and averts his eyes.

"Hungry?"

Siane perks up.

"I'm starving," she confesses as she exhales. "Though, Eadie said I should probably take it slow with the food…"

"Mm, wise if you've not been eating in a while. Could have some serious side effects."

He decides not to go further on that. He's sure that Eadie would have given Siane the rundown of her current condition, and discussions of mortality aren't exactly good breakfast topics.

"Think you'll survive with toast?"

And on mentioning topics to avoid, he of course forgets how hard it is to not automatically insert subtle gallows humour at nearly every opportunity. Lucky for him, Siane doesn't react negatively to it and she breathes out in a sort of short laugh.

"Don't really have a choice, do I?" She brushes a strand of her hair behind her ear. "I'm sure I'll cope. Thank you."

She doesn't need to say that, he thinks. It's his duty as a police officer and the island's kahuna, in the end.

He gets to work on preparing something. All the while, some of the Pokémon have come to join them from the station, no longer wanting to be cooped up in the other room. As he pops the bread into the toaster he notices how Siane tenses up again in their presence. Even after he's gone through the effort to show that his Krookodile is a big baby, something clearly bothers her about them. But then, as Big Boss resumes his roost on the breakfast bar, Siane's eyes are drawn to the corvid with a different kind of attention. After a moment of observing her, he's curious enough to seek an answer.

"You still nervous about them?"

She jolts a little, like he's snapped her out of a trance with his words.

"Oh, no. Well, not really," she replies, somewhat flustered. "I'm not used to seeing so many Dark-Types, that's all. They're um... sort of, I guess, banned in Aedis."

"Oh?"

The toast springs up with a loud snap.

"Yeah, the government put a tight restriction on them a few years ago," she explains. Her words are spoken so naturally, like it's a totally normal thing - but for him it's a rather outlandish concept. He wonders why he's never heard of such a law until now. Then again, Aedis was a nefarious region that the wider world tended to ignore. He lightly butters the toast as she continues speaking. "Aedis has a lot of endangered wildlife. Many species have suffered from the introduction of foreign Pokémon over the years, especially from Dark-Types like Liepard and Drapion. They decided that it's for the good of the environment that they keep an eye on what people bring in."

"And how did that go down with everybody?" Nanu can't imagine that such a restriction would've been accepted so readily - even in the plight for environmental conservation. Siane's brows quirk in slight confusion, not understanding the reason behind the edge in his voice.

"People are okay with it," she says firmly, "and it's not like we are completely forbidden from having Dark-Type Pokémon. You only have to request permission to catch or breed them. It's just to make sure trainers aren't being irresponsible. Is that… strange?"

Nanu makes a noncommittal sound in response. It wasn't strange in that it didn't make sense, because it did. He knows that almost every region has a system of monitoring the Pokémon being brought in from overseas. Furthermore, protecting the local environment is a perfectly justifiable rationale behind the decision. There was just something off about it being so type specific. Dark-Types can certainly be dangerous, but so could all Pokémon; aggression isn't an exclusive trait.

As Nanu walks out of the kitchen area - plated food in hand - Siane sits further upright, looking almost as though she wants to stand.

"Do you mind if we sit up there?" She queries, pointing towards the breakfast bar.

"Shouldn't you be keeping that ankle of yours raised?" He rebuts and raises a brow at her.

Siane shrinks at this, biting the inside of her cheek. Her eyes flick back over and he realises she's actually looking at Big Boss rather than the stools by the breakfast bar. After a second of internal warring, she deflates, leaning back to put her legs up once more.

"What's got you so interested in my Honchkrow anyway - besides being restricted in your region," Nanu tries instead while offering a plate to her.

Her eyes grow wide and she almost looks like a kid who's been caught with their hand in the cookie jar. She takes the offered plate gingerly.

"Oh um." She casts her gaze off to the side momentarily, then brings herself to look back at Nanu. There's a light in those blue-grey eyes she's desperately trying to conceal - some kind of excitement simmering just beneath the surface. "I like birds. Most of my Pokémon are birds, actually..."

Then in a heartbeat that hint of wonder that's coursing under her thin veil of emotional reservation disappears. He knows she's thinking about the whereabouts of her Pokémon. Having no leads on that, Nanu can't think of any words to offer her. He always felt it was hollow to say things will be alright repeatedly, especially when there's little to indicate there will be a positive outcome on the horizon. So while it feels awful, he chooses to say nothing.

Siane slowly eats her food as the silence settles in and Nanu does the same. A few Meowth come to join them, winding their way around his legs as he sits on the coffee table. He pets them with his free hand as they pass, holding his palm steady so that it runs down the length of their backs and over their curled tails. This starts up a soft symphony of purring around them and Nanu can see some warmth coming back into Siane's demeanour. She reaches out to the Meowth closest to her, but it's nervous about getting any closer. She doesn't take offence when it chooses to curl back around Nanu's leg.

Their eyes meet and Nanu can see that she looks like she's about to say something, but at the last second decides against it. She finishes off her toast and gently brushes the crumbs on her face onto the plate. Having also finished, he retrieves the plate from her and goes to wash them.

"Thank you," she says again. She pulls her legs in; feet to the floor so she can reach to scratch at the bandage around her ankle.

"You don't have to, y'know," he insists quietly. "Thank me, I mean."

He turns around when she doesn't reply right away, expecting to see confusion but instead she's looking dazed and unfocused all of a sudden. It's almost like she's about to pass out.

And she does.

He's close enough to the breakfast bar to drop the plates onto it instead of the floor, and he rushes to catch Siane before she falls too far and hits her head on the coffee table. Alpha reacts quickly and steps between Siane and the edge of the table - making for a softer landing than the glass-topped surface. Before she can fully slump to the floor, Nanu gets a secure hold of her and lifts her back up onto the couch, sitting her upright as best he can. Her body is completely limp and her head drops forward slightly.

"Siane?" He calls her but she doesn't respond. Then after about ten seconds, as abruptly as it happened, she blinks open her eyes.

"W-what happened?" Her voice is strained - like she's just woken up from a nap. There's a weariness in her eyes again and Nanu begins to worry. She's barely holding herself up even as he holds the front of her shoulders.

"You fainted." At least, that's what it looked like. "We better take you to the hospital."

Eadie may have recommended they come in during the afternoon, but frankly Nanu didn't want to wait. For all he knows, Siane might not even last that long.