Author's Comment: Hehe, got this update done without taking fooooreeeeeverrrr on it like it has been for the past few chapters! Whoooo! Hopefully, the quick updates will continue as it used to! I'm honestly surprised by how long this chapter ended up being, in regards to word-count; once I got going, I just couldn't stop! XD Like always, I'd like to give the names of the people that is still sticking around: Lectro Underground, and Kirbyhammer100. You guys are amazing!

Chapter 12: Offer

"Ah, fuck..." Sokudo hisses as he's settled on a soft bed, groaning as he tries to get comfortable. He gives a soft nod to the Leavanny nurse accompanying him, who nod back with a gentle smile as she tends to his injuries. He hides a wince, trying to relax both his body and his mind. He's well aware what he's just done not too long ago; he knows that he's practically exiled his brother from his life. And he refused to feel the slightest bit of guilt about it. This has been coming for a while now, with Kowai's unpredictable and violent nature guaranteed to be its downfall. So none of this surprised him.

Glancing about the room, he tries to distract himself by examining the new location he's in. It's not too medical in nature, looking more like a warm and homely bedroom, no doubt made to provide the greatest amount of comfort possible to the clients. If it weren't for the supplies, one wouldn't expect it to be a hospital.

"You made quite a lucky escape," the Leavanny comments. "If everything played out even the slightest bit different, you might not be here right now."

"Yeah," Sokudo grumbles, a slight hiss under his breath. "If my brother didn't exist, I most certainly wouldn't be here right now..."

The other bug doesn't respond, not wanting to fan the flames and further aggravate her client. She just keeps silent and resumes spreading some Rawst berry cream on his burns. Cringing as she turns her attention to check on his older injuries around his hindered wing, the young Ninjask glares at the door as someone knocks, a soft growl coming from his throat.

"Who is it?" the Leavanny asks without stopping her tending.

"Mrs. Ninika," came his mother's soft voice and Sokudo immediately ceases his hostilities. For a moment, he thought it was Kowai. He catches the nurse glance at him and he nods his approval, watching as the Leavanny heads to the door and opens it. At once, his mother is by his side, worriedly looking him over in the frantic way only a concerned mother could have, soft whimpers coming from her throat as she takes note of his new injuries.

"I'm fine," Sokudo mutters to her in reassurance, trying to hide any pain he's in. "Really, Mom, I'm fine..." He feels a bit torn as his mother holds him tight in a hug, grunting as she nuzzles into his neck. On one claw, her warmth and familiar scent was comforting... on the other... He blushes in embarrassment, trying not to look at the Leavanny. Clearing his throat, he very gently pulls away, giving a soft purr to further comfort her.

It seems to work, Ninika calming down a bit as she meets his eyes. It's obvious she has been crying, and Sokudo feels a pang of sympathy, especially when she begins speaking in a shaky voice. "My baby, I... I c-could've... could've lost you..."

"I'm okay," Sokudo continues to reassure, hiding a wince as the nurse resumes tending to his wounds. "Just a few bruises, but I'm okay otherwise. Really."

Ninika doesn't respond, grooming his face a little as Kiru came in, the male Scyther breathing a bit heavily. "Goddamn... Your mom sure can... can leave a man in the dust..." It was obvious he's been trying to keep up with his mate in coming to see him. Scyther may be very fast Pokemon, but even they can't compare to a Ninjask, especially a mama Ninjask fearing for her young. Catching sight of his son, the father can't help but sigh in relief, knowing his son was alive and mostly well.

"Hey Dad..." Sokudo greets softly, wasting no time in reassuring him too. "No need to worry. I'm alright."

"Thank goodness, too," Ninika whispers, nuzzling her baby for a long moment before looking around. Sokudo knows exactly what she's going to ask before she even formed a syllable and he inwardly prepares himself. "Where's Baby Kowai?"

Sokudo says nothing for a moment, wondering how to go about this. He knows he's going to get in trouble if he tells the truth, but he doesn't want to lie, not to his parents... Clearing his throat a bit, he gives his answer without the slightest note of regret. "It's gone."

"Wha..." Ninika feels herself freeze up and she glances back at her mate, who's also stunned. She feels her heart skip a beat and her eyes stings with tears as her mind went to the worst case scenario. Her breath shakes and her voice is strained with emotion. "K... Kowai... He's... He's dead...?" She doesn't wait for the response before she allows the tears to break free, feeling her mate nuzzle her.

Sokudo feels that familiar pang of pity, but not guilt, he noticed. He hates hurting his mother like this, but he feels no regrets in what he did. He wonders if that made him a horrible Pokemon... "No, Mom. It's still alive." He sees the flash of confusion from his parents and he twitches his good wing. "It left."

"Left?" Kiru asks, the pieces quickly falling into place and he looks to his son firmly. "Sokudo, what did you do?"

"What did I do?!" the young Ninjask can't help but pipe defensively, the Leavanny treating his wounds flinching and hesitating before quickly excusing herself. Leaving the room in a hurry as she's aware none of this was her business, she closes the door quietly so the family won't get disrupted. None of this was noticed as Sokudo continues in his own defense. "It almost killed me! AGAIN! I'm not tolerating that and I told it... well, I'll be honest... I told it to fuck off and never come back."

His parents stare at him with disbelief and he refuses to let himself back down, forcing himself to meet their gazes. "You don't understand, Mom and Dad. That thing had it coming. I told it to leave Luft alone, but it ignored me and tried to Shadow Ball me!"

"On purpose?" Kiru asks in a toneless voice, his face still stern. At this, Sokudo hesitates before averting his eyes to the bed beneath his claws.

"No... It was trying to hit the Drifloon and missed..." Despite this admittance, he still refuses to give in, refuses to be at fault here. "But that shouldn't matter! Accident or not, it still CHOSE not to listen to me and now it has to suffer the consequences! You really want me to let it off scott-free for what it did?!"

"Of course not, Sokudo," Kiru tells him. "But there's a limit in punishment and there's better ways to have dealt with this."

"But Dad!" Sokudo continues. "It broke its promises! It hurt me; whether it meant to or not, it still hurt me! And I already told it that if it does that, I'm not its brother anymore!"

"But he is your brother," Ninika chimes in, her heart tearing itself apart. "He's family and-"

"No, it's not!" the younger Ninjask presses relentlessly. "It's just some stupid ghost thing! A stupid ghost thing whose ONLY relation to me is parasiting off my shed husk! Other than that, it's not related to me! It's not my brother, and it's not your kid!" He flares his good wing, forgetting himself as swept up in his anger and frustration, unable to keep himself from finally venting. "You guys keep treating it like it's innocent, like it's a baby, when it's anything BUT! It's faking it, I know it!"

He looks directly at his Mom, hoping to drill his point home and get them to see his logic. "It's ACTING all cute and innocent in front of you, ACTING like it doesn't mean any of the HORRIBLE shit it does to Dad and to everyone else, but I can see right through it! It's only manipulating you into doing what it wants, into giving it more chances than it deserves!" He takes a breath, his pain all but forgotten as he continues. "Stop falling for it, Mom! That thing is pure EVIL, and NOTHING you do is going to change that! So just let it go, let it out of our lives once and for all! We're much better off that way..."

The silence was suffocating; even the activity that went on just outside the medical room came to a complete halt. Sokudo, Ninika, and Kiru can only stare at each other, waiting for the next move. Finally, after a few moments of this tense atmosphere, his mother spoke up with remarkable calm given the situation.

"Remember your disbelief when I told you what Loren did to his own brother?" Ninika starts. "He exiled a Ninjask that wasn't technically related to him, but he nonetheless adopted as family. What you're doing now, is the exact same thing." Finally, Sokudo goes still, his passion seeming to fade away at being told this comparison. "Kowai is not 'pure evil'; there is no such thing. Even Giratina himself isn't pure evil. Baby Kowai, he's confused about everything, and seeing the way he reacts it seems like the only way he can deal with it is acting out on instinct, on violence. But that doesn't make him evil, Sokudo. Just misguided."

Looking away, she feels more tears stream down her face. "I may not know your entire situation with him, but I guess it's safe to assume that you've known each other for years by now?" She sees the flicker in her son's eyes, confirming that statement. "In all those years, has he not done anything for you? Nothing good at all? Be honest with yourself, sweetie..."

Sokudo doesn't want to do any of that, his grudge towards his so-called 'sibling' very strong. But he knows it's best to indulge his parents and come clean with it all. "Only a little... Not much... It just cuddles and explores most of time. It makes a mess, sometimes cleans it up when I yell at it to... It tries to give me a presents every now and then... It tries to groom me no matter how many times I say 'No'... It... it saved my life..." He growls a bit at having to admit that. "Twice now, actually and... and I suppose it's trying to be a decent brother, but..." Dear Arceus he hates this and he forces it off with a snort. "But the bad certainly outweighs the good..."

"But there is good, you admit. If Kowai was pure evil, there wouldn't have been anything you have to say to that," Kiru tells him. "Accidents happen, son, and what happened earlier was nothing more than an accident. Sure, Kowai failed to listen to you, but think long and hard, Sokudo, and tell us that Kowai's entirely at fault for this unfortunate event."

"It was, though..." the young Ninjask mutters half-heartedly, unable to further argue. Sighing, his wings go limp and he whispers softly. "It has a history with Yams and Luft... It's my fault it hates them so much... It told me that it was still feeling the pain of what happened between it and Yams... but I brushed it off... I..." He closes his eyes and forces himself through his next sentence. "I guess I should've known better than to push it into that situation like that... Kowai's always been violent when emotional and... I guess it's somewhat my fault for forcing it to work with Pokemon that got it emotional..."

Clawing the blanket a bit, he looks to his parents, taking a shaky breath. "I... I'm sorry, but... I... I just don't understand why you guys keep defending it... Even if it's not entirely at fault for everything that goes on... The fact that bad things always happen when it's around can't be a coincidence... I'm sorry for hurting you guys with the way I... y'know, act and stuff, but I guess I just don't get how you guys can let things slide like this, that's all..."

"Sokudo, honey," Ninika starts, flying towards him and landing by the younger bug to place a claw on his cheek. "It's difficult for you to understand now, but trust me," More tears begin welling up as she knew it was time to share one of her most personal stories with her son. "You won't know what you have until you lose it. I don't want you to have to go through learning that lesson the hard way. Kowai is extremely special, in a good way, and you don't want to lose him despite what you might think. Trust me, as I know first claw..."

She nuzzles him gently, eventually resting her forehead on his. "Remember what I told you this morning? About me having the first Shedinja born in our village in centuries?" She feels him nod a bit and she gathers herself. "Well, I took her for granted also; I loved my sister, of course, but I never truly appreciated her. We had conflicts, as I wanted to live my own life and she wanted to be by my side as much as possible. Sound familiar, sweetheart?" Sokudo's eyes never left hers as he nods again, much softer this time. "We had a fight one evening, I remember it so very clearly." She sniffles a bit. "My Shedinja, my sister, your aunt, she went off to give me some space to cool my head, y'know..."

She begins crying and Sokudo pauses for a second, huddling to his mother to comfort her and his father nuzzling and grooming her to add to the support. The young Ninjask could easily tell where this was going, but he dares not interrupt as his mother forces herself to continue. "A few days beforehand... Loren had banished the Ninjask from our village and... and I guess he wanted retaliation... because... The next morning, I went looking for my sister... to apologize for my actions towards her... I homed in on her and... I found her... mangled almost beyond recognition... tied to a tree in some sick display..."

Sokudo tenses, not liking this story at all, but he couldn't bring himself to silence his mother's words...

"She was dead, killed during the night, her halo was missing... I remember seeing that Ninjask's, that monster's, name carved into her shell... and the sign above her body... promising how Loren a-and any other Shedinja w-will suffer as my sister did... Knowing the pain she must've gone through... and how I wasn't around to... to help her... I... I couldn't... I d-didn't even get... get to say I'm sorry..." It takes a few long moment for her to pull herself back together enough to continue speaking, looking to Sokudo pleadingly. "I don't w-want th-things to end l-like that for you... You might not l-like your brother... but y-you can still appreciate him... Appreciate him enough to give him as many ch-chances as he needs to get th-things right... So please, baby... Don't take him for granted... don't chase h-him away... or you might just end up losing a bigger part of yourself than you can ever imagine..." She sniffles. "Please..."

The young Ninjask said nothing for a while, watching his mother's tears. After a moment, he turns his eyes to the window leading outside. He still wanted nothing to do with Kowai, but could he really go through with this... abandonment after a story like that? What're the chances of something like that happening to that psychotic little demon anyway? He didn't know... Finally, he settles the turmoil within himself enough to make his decision and he looks back to his mom.

"Alright," he says softly and begrudgingly. "I'll go find Kowai or whatever... Try to give it one more chance, but if-" At once, the little Ninjask found himself interrupted and in his mother's tight hold, grunting with the pain of his injuries. But that pain doesn't matter as his parent pets his wing and buries her face into his neck.

"Thank you, baby," she whispers. "You won't regret it, you'll see."

Despite those words and this encouraging gesture, Sokudo still isn't sure if he's doing the right thing or not in making this promise as he knows his efforts to make amends with his brother will be half-hearted at best. But it's been done and he decides to just let fate run its course, wherever it may lead.

But with his injuries keeping him here for the night, he just hopes that Kowai would be long gone by now...

Cries and sobs echo through the clearing as little Kowai stays huddled against the trunk of a bordering tree, its face buried in the dirt. It's hurting a lot, its shell cracked a bit along its back and abdomen and its left wing a little crumpled from its impact with the ground. That immense physical pain was nothing, though...

It couldn't bring itself to stray too far from the village, at least not yet, and it found a nice meadow with the tall grass blowing in the wind like the calming waves of the ocean. But despite the resemblance of one of its favorite places, it does little to comfort it. The worse thing it can ever imagine has just happened to it and it has no idea what it should do next, other than cry and mourn for eternity.

"It... w-was an accident..." it whispers to itself, its body shaking convulsively. "I didn't m-mean to... W-Why won't... b-brother believe me...?"

It pulls its face from the dirt when it hears a droning sound of a Ninjask flying around in the distance, its despair growing at this reminder of its loss. Looking up at the sky and the sun beginning to set beyond the horizon, its mind recounts everything that happened since its brother woke up this morning. Its day started out so reasonably well... And now it sits abandoned and brother-less, its fate doomed. Sure, stuff like this happened occasionally, with Sokudo kicking it out of their house for something or another. But it's never been this bad... it's never actually harmed its brother in those instances, and it knows its brother was dangerously serious this time.

What's the point of even carrying on now...? It might as well end it all here and now and face its punishment with dignity...

But it does absolutely nothing, just staring blankly at its surroundings whilst the persistent droning noise of the distant Ninjask fades to the back of its mind. Even the two voices in its head, usually so vocal in situations like this, are disturbingly silent with nothing to say. Not that Kowai was complaining, as it rather not have the added burden...

"Young Shedinja."

And speaking of burdens... It tries to force out a growl, only managing a squeak in its sorrow, but the intent is there regardless. Can't it ever mourn in peace? Not even getting itself off the ground, it shifts and turns towards the voice to see Loren floating a respectful distance away. Glaring at the other bug, it tries to make its words sound sharp, succeeding only partially. "W-What're y-you doing here?!"

"This is where I make moondust, young one," Loren tells it. "If anything, I should be asking what you're doing here, if I didn't already know."

"Go away..." Kowai mutters. "I don't need you making things worse..."

"You still believe me to be your enemy," Loren says matter-of-factly. "I've come only to give my condolences to you and to-"

"I don't need condolences," Kowai barks, never removing its glare from its fellow ghost. "Especially from someone like you. You've just been after my brother this whole time and now look what you did! This never would've happened if YOU haven't given us that stupid job! If YOU haven't brought that stupid Yamask over!" It forces itself into the air, barely able to keep itself stable. "This whole thing was YOUR FAULT!"

Gathering itself as much as it can and completely forgetting the physical pain it's in, it lunges recklessly for the other insect, lashing out with a barrage of Shadow Claws. But none of them hit the mark as Loren easily dodges each blow and this only provides further fuel to Kowai's frustrations and distress. Adding a few Shadow Balls, it still can't hit the experienced ninja and it shrieks as its black mist surges forward to try to grab the other bug and make it an easier target. But as expected, Loren slips from its grip and sighs in pity at having to fight the younger Pokemon.

A flash of light from the elder's halo makes quick work of the little ghost's vision and Kowai continues its shrill shrieks as it blindly attacks the air as if hoping to hit its target. It's a sad sight and luckily for the distressed shed, its opponent decides not to take the obvious route of knocking it unconscious and instead lunges for it with a Bug Bite.

Although it seems foolhardy, as Kowai's Wonder Guard rendered the attack harmless, it's not Loren's intent to hurt the already injured shed and only wished to subdue it enough to make it listen. Clamping onto the nape of its neck, Loren ignores its struggle as the larger and stronger ninja forces it to the ground.

"LET ME GO!" Kowai demands, its black mist writhing and trying to pull the other bug off of it. But Loren refuses to be budged and puts up an Endure when the mist tries to stab into its shell, not wanting to risk the spiritual energy getting passed its own Wonder Guard. It speaks up in a calm, but firm voice, hoping to talk sense into the little shed and get it to cooperate.

"I know Toxic," it tells the struggling husk. "Please don't make me resort to using it on you, young one. Unlike your brother, you won't last a minute."

"THEN DO IT! I DON'T CARE ANYMORE!" Kowai shouts, unable to keep in a whimper. It struggles for a few more seconds before stopping, its hollow body shuddering in agony and despair. It hates that it's been beaten so easily like this, but at the same time, can it really care? Its brother is gone; does anything matter?

Silence comes between the two ghostly insects, Loren keeping its hold on Kowai. Finally after a few moments, the elder bug releases Kowai and floats back a few feet, ready to defend itself should Kowai continue the confrontation. But unlike how its brother reacted in his own fight with Loren, it doesn't push on and shudders harder. Forcing its whimpers to a halt, it casts a quick glare at the other Shedinja. "Why...? Why'd you let me go?"

"Death isn't the only way to deal with one's opponents, young one," Loren tells it. "Another lesson you can afford to learn. Besides," The older insect purrs soothingly to the little one. "I would rather avoid killing one of my descendants."

Kowai only glares at the other Shedinja, before pulling itself back into the air. "Stupid, arrogant insect..." it hisses almost incoherently. "You made me lose my brother, then humiliate me like this! If I didn't know better, I'd swear you planned this from the beginning!"

"Calm yourself, Kowai," the elder interjects, unfazed by the little bug's lingering temper and hostilities. "It's just as I told you earlier: this attitude is the true cause behind the loss of your brother. You're letting your unfounded suspicions and hate control you at the expense of your rational thought. It's making you fail to realize that I never had and never will have any interest in taking your brother, for if that was my goal, would I not be trying to adopt him right now, whilst he's available?"

Kowai hisses softly, its mist writhing and it turns away a little. "Stupid bug... I don't need you trying to tell me what to do, or how to think."

"Clearly you do," Loren tells it, ignoring its responding spitting snarl. "Seeing where you are now, it's pretty transparent that you need all the help you can get. And I'm merely offering that help."

"I don't need your help..." Kowai whispers, turning its back rudely on the other Shedinja. If only it can take this thing's soul... how satisfying that would be right about now. But it can't and it feels the urge to fly away instead. But it refuses to let itself, not wanting to back down anymore than it already has. But after a few minutes, it finally gives a soft mutter. "My brother hates me, and never wants me back... What can YOU possibly do about THAT anyway...?"

"A lot more than you think, young one," Loren states. "What you truly need in order to earn your brother's love and acceptance, and to keep it, is to control yourself, to learn how to stay composed even in the most heated and emotional of situations. Proper ninja training can help you accomplish that, and as Grandmaster of my clan and beloved brother of many Ninjask over the centuries, I'm more than equipped to teach you, if you'll allow me."

"And if I don't?!" Kowai snorts, not sure whether to take the offer to heart or not. It wants nothing to do with this old shell, but-

"Then you'll be spending your mortal life alone and without your brother," Loren informs it. "I hate to have to tell you this, young Shedinja, but until you learn to behave properly, no Ninjask will ever want to adopt you, your brother included." It floats a bit closer, still staying respectful even as its tone gained a slight firmness to it. "Accept my offer, and I'll ensure that you will lead a more fulfilling life than the one you have now. Your brother can no longer reject you if you give him nothing to reject, yes?"

Kowai turns back to the other shed, suspicious of this and stubborn in its hostilities. After all, it remembers hearing something very similar from that wretched Yamask so long ago. Instinctual hatred is just so hard to overcome and in most circumstances it would never give this crusty thing the time of day, but... isn't that the problem in the first place? Would it really hurt to take the chance and try something new? It's obvious that what it's doing to achieve its goals isn't working and maybe... just maybe, it should listen to a far more experienced Shedinja...

And really, what else did it have to lose?

"Kowai?" Loren mutters coaxingly when the little shed makes no response to it after a while.

"Okay..." Kowai grumbles in reluctant acceptance, not looking at the other bug. "... I should know better than to take chances in... trusting other Pokemon," It spits out that word, remembering the last time it placed trust in a 'foreign' Pokemon and the pain that resulted. "But... But I'll do anything if it'll get my brother back..." It growls softly. "If this is just a trick, though-"

"And there's the unfounded suspicion," Loren comments with humor. "Rest assured, young one, that there's no treachery in my intentions. I merely wish to help a fellow member of my species, and of my family." It chuckles a bit. "Plus, I do believe that this will set a good example for you." It seems more amused by Kowai's snort as it turns away and begins to float back to the village. "Come now, young Kowai. It's dangerous to linger in the open like this for so long, especially for Shedinja like us. We'll tend to your injuries and then we can begin your training."

Kowai grumbles softly, glaring about its surroundings and noting that the droning noise has gotten considerably closer. Looking back up into the sky, it sees no sign of any Pokemon whatsoever and it brushes it off when the noise eventually fades into silence on its own. Little Kowai has a lot more important things to worry about and it just hopes that this last ditch effort won't be in vain and that soon, it'll be back to cuddling with its brother. Turning its attention back to its new teacher, its black mist writhes a bit in its lingering distaste and it follows the older husk back towards the community.

Hopefully, Sokudo will appreciate all the effort it puts into earning his acceptance...