Helpless

by Epoxy-Resin

The disabled population is the world's largest minority of which anyone can become a part of at any time. "Peekaboo," said misfortune and jumped the already weakened boy. Ash wouldn't be Ash if he didn't try to get up again, though he's going to have to face he won't be able to do it on his own.

48. What Happened?

So here I am again. I've got something to say to the people who feel so 'passionate' about my story, that they can't help but offer themselves and their skills to make this story into a comic book, so here I go: NO.

I don't work well on command and I certainly don't take well for being taken for a fool, making a profit on my work, with only one party making money out of it, is foul. And if I wanted drawings, I'd ask an artist as well as pay them accordingly or do it myself. Am I in a bad mood after some don't accept 'no' and ask me if I don't have 'actual personal work'? That I HAVE to see what good of an artist they are so that I'd understand how entitled they've become that they can ask me money for using MY work for their own gain? Knowing that there's a high chance that even upon payment, nothing might be gained? As per usual in a scam?Absolutely pissed, to be honest.

Kudos to for the absolutely lacklustre, non-existing response to my request to remove their garbage reviews. For all the other writers who stumble upon this chapter or problem, don't fall for this Tauroscrap and block these scammers, please? As for the actual readers of this chapter, thank you for your attention.

On that note, please, enjoy~

---

When the class has ended and the kids went downstairs to leave, eagerly following Satoshi and Sophocles as the trainer upholds his promise to give him the link to his Battle profile, professor Kukui sees he has gotten an e-mail from someone, it comes so much out of the left field that he needs to take a seat to get himself to calm down. This can't be a coincidence, he has this amazing, thoughtful and smart trainer with a larger-than-life personality in his class, his little trailblazer and all of a sudden, Kahuna Olivia offers to come speak at his class. All while he's been asking, no, begging her to do exactly that for years and she never found the time to answer his e-mail in time, always telling him that she would come around when the time was right… He'll have to ask Satoshi if he's a psychic or something because how on earth could Olivia know of Satoshi's existence? Even if it has nothing to do with any other ability out there, this timing is too coincidental. Either way, he's left reeling, this is a dream come true but realising that there's probably a… well, let's call it a conflict of interest pushing her to come here, he can't help but wonder if he would be considered petty if he would tell her to stay in Akala and that they will be coming to her like they've done all these years before her sudden turn-around.

The professor bites on the hangnail on his pinky that's been bothering him for a while but always forgot about until it snags on one of Lei's blankets and figures he needs to get a second opinion on this sudden surprise -not the hangnail, he'll get to that when he remembers it at the right time-, lest he puts his students in unnecessary danger. Does he tell Satoshi to stay home or go to Kahuna Hala when she shows up? Or does he let things happen, hoping with all hope that she decided to come here with nothing but good intentions? Nah, he needs the principal's opinion on this or it'll keep him awake and that will only worry his wife who has enough things on her head these days.

"Ah, I had expected you, Kukui, my boy. What is it this time? Did Satoshi beat Ilima up or the other way around?" the principal asks and even while nothing of the sort happened, the statement still makes him smile.

"No, their meeting was more than cordial, Ilima witnessed Satoshi beating Guzma's Golisopod up and decided that was enough trouble already."

"Oh, did he? He's a proper trainer then, isn't he?"

"Absolutely so, he blew straight through my years of research too, I wonder what he would say if I asked him to work on it with me," he muses but shakes his head. "That's not what I'm here for, though, I just got an e-mail from Kahuna Olivia."

"Asked her to come around again, huh?"

"No, she's offered it herself, she didn't even give me the chance to ask this time around."

"Come again?" the principal asks, looking up. "She offered it? Whatever made her change her mind?"

"She didn't say but I have a strong suspicion she's coming for Satoshi."

"Whatever for? I need to know, Kukui, I can't let anyone show interest in him, the boy's uncle would skin me and roll me in a barrel of salt if I let this happen without notifying the man."

"I believe she can feel him, you know how special people can sort of sense each other? I'm not sure how they do it but that's all I can think of, I wouldn't believe my ears if Lance notified her either, there's no way. He was in front of my door, steam coming from his ears at the idea someone was bothered about his boy and I mean, I understand why he was mad and how he got madder because Satoshi hadn't been upset about it, while he damn well should have been."

"He didn't threaten you, did he?"

"Hm? Oh no, he was mad alright but he sort of said that he didn't want anyone to trouble Satoshi? That, if something was bothering us, we should always tell him and never approach the boy with it? And I understand, things like that, they seem to slide off Satoshi like water from a Popplio, it never sticks. He didn't trouble me, he's never been unreasonable, Mr. principal, you know that."

"Yes, I suppose I do," the man says, deflating ever so slightly. "I'm still wary to have him on the phone, though but I did say I would call him."

"Maybe do it before the boy reaches him?"

With a sigh, the principal gets out his cell phone, rolling his eyes as it takes a while for his call to get answered but he has no idea that Lance had been busy in the kitchen, indeed awaiting his boy's arrival home. Now, the man automatically assumes something must have happened, that it might as well be his boy who is calling him so he zooms over towards the table in the living room, where his phone is buzzing… and he's confused to see that it's the school's principal's number.

"Hello?"

"Ah, hello, Lance. Is Satoshi home yet?"

"No, did something happen?" he asks, fear pooling in his stomach.

"No, no, I just wanted you to be aware that Kahuna Olivia is likely seeking Satoshi out and that we aren't sure what the reason for it is."

"What do you mean, seeking him out?"

"It's rather odd for her to offer to come to the school, now, I don't believe she has evil on her mind, I've come to know her as a more than reasonable woman but she was also steadfast in deciding not to come to this school and let the children come to her instead… except for this year."

"Oh, she's just coming to the school, or rather to Melemele, huh? Who knows why she had a sudden change of heart about it, could be something to do with the lunar stands or whatever she's keeping herself busy with these days," Lance chuckles, knowing bloody well that Kahuna Olivia has nothing on Ash when it comes to abilities nor the ability to keep things real and down to earth -though still pretty damn mysterious at the same time. "Kahuna Hala likes my boy too, it's not like Satoshi is shy or won't answer questions, which Kahuna Olivia rightfully will have."

And from the distance, he can hear professor Kukui saying how, if someone asks Satoshi someone, he definitely will answer with food for thought and well, Lance chuckles.

"He put you in your place, huh, professor?" he asks, unable to keep the grin off his face.

"Somewhat," the professor mumbles but Lance hears it nonetheless.

"Well, you're not the first and likely won't be the last. I wouldn't even take it personally at this point. As for Kahuna Olivia, I'm not worried but thank you for letting me know, I'll let my boy know as well, though I don't think he would care too much, he was happy to vent his spleen to Kahuna Hala so I don't think he will judge her any different than him."

"I hope so," the principal says though it comes out as a sigh. "Is there something I should do should there be interest in him?"

"There's really nothing she can do to him, I'm telling you that much. Why are you so scared of Oliva, anyway? Is she a bit too whimsical for you?"

"W-well, I signed a contract with you, I just want to make sure that we're on the same page here, Lance."

He wants to laugh at that statement but well, things end merrily enough for him but the principal very much sighs as the call ends, all while professor Kukui is at a loss as to why he was this tense.

"What contract?" the man asks and principal Oak looks up at him.

"I'd rather not say. Just… be careful what you promise, you can't use anything the boy says or does in your research unless you ask him and he agrees with it. Keep in mind, Lance is fair and when something is given, something is due."

"That too is fair enough, I'll have to think about what I could possibly offer him."

"Well, alright. It's odd, though, Lance doesn't seem to think Olivia would do something and now I wonder… You don't think Lance likes her, do you?" the principal asks and the professor chuckles.

"Not like you're insinuating, no. However, my worries are settled, I'm going to try and see if I can still see Satoshi anywhere, see if he's indeed as happy to be questioned about this supposed talent that would interest Olivia."

"Good luck," is all the principal says but well, the man doesn't have anything to lose here so he might as well just be truthful to the boy.

As luck would have it, Satoshi is still there but he's waving goodbye to Lillie and Mallow, so he needs to hurry up or he'll miss him anyway. But the boy seems to spot him before he can even call out his name.

"Hello again, professor. Were you looking for me?"

"Well yes, I'm not sure if you were ever told about Kahuna Olivia?"

"Yes, my uncle called her a beautiful woman," Satoshi answers, with a cheeky smile on his face. "Why?"

"I believe she'll be popping in for a visit soon."

"And?"

"I just found the timing coincidental, that's all. With you, you know, being a trainer and all that."

"You were one too, did she somehow get spooky around you?"

"Well, no, but I'm a native."

"So you're worried about discrimination?" the boy asks. "I wouldn't, if I were you, all four of the Island Kahunas are following me on my Smile account. Also, timing, what are you implying? Why couldn't Kahuna Olivia have heard from Kahuna Hala that my uncle is here? No matter what Lance says, he's close enough to them to consider them friends. So why couldn't she be coming over to see my uncle? I don't think she'd be at all interested in me, there's not much she can gain from my attention, except getting the lingering feelings of my uncle's burn-out aimed at her."

The professor hadn't thought of that, this was also highly likely but would she really be wanting to go see Lance?

"Don't pull that face, just because there's still some sort of issue between the two of you doesn't mean my uncle isn't a good man, better than most people. He's nice and kind where it counts, your experience does nothing to make me see him in a different light, no one is beyond making mistakes, I'm the walking, breathing proof of that but it's better to own them than to chew and choke on the feelings resulting from it. You probably don't need to hear it from me but whatever bothers you about my uncle, let it go."

"Hey, hey, I've talked to Lance, okay? The air's clear between us, we've been nothing but cordial towards each other, it's just a matter of compatibility between him and Kahuna Olivia when it comes to characters, she's… lofty, at best."

"I think you don't know my uncle at all, actually."

That comment hits its target in the bullseye as if he's not been hung onto the idea his initial reaction all those years ago might have hurt or bothered Lance too since he hadn't gone out without giving what he assumed to be a proper response at the time.

"Well, we'll see what all this is about in due time, then," the professor sighs, knowing he can't win this fight -in fact, he thinks no one can, at this point. "I did want to ask you if you were interested to work with me but I don't think I made the best impression on you to be asking that."

"Hm? I'm highly confused as to why you'd want the likes of me to be working with you, I'm just going to keep proving you wrong, you'll get fed up with it pretty soon. Regardless of what you think of my uncle, I think I would have always said 'no' to that offer, you're not giving too much homework but I'd like to focus on my studies while I'm here. Adding something else in the mix is going to blur lines and over-complicate things, it's not going to end well."

"Even if I would offer a Rotom dex to follow you around?"

Yeah, he's not getting anywhere with this kid, Satoshi actually winces a little at the idea.

"Maybe someone else in the class? I… I'm paranoid at best, professor, the idea of something following me is… no, I'm sorry, I can't agree with that."

"No? Ah, I'll check with one of the kids who would like to have it, then. I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable, Satoshi, that was never my intention."

"I-it's okay. Thank you for considering my feelings too, I… I'll see you tomorrow, then, professor?"

"Of course, of course," he says quickly, smiling as warmly as he can since he's not even troubled right now. "Try and unwind a little at home, okay? You've done well in class today and I'm not going to give a pop quiz about the material we've covered today either."

"… What about the day after?"

"Well… I'm still a little peeved with the rest of my class," the professor jokes but oof, this kid has not the tiniest funny bone in his system, Satoshi nods politely before remembering that this isn't how Alola natives greet each other and does a pretty good attempt though overshooting the curl a little but well, better this than no effort, right?

It's also pretty cute, this boy is an enigma, though. So much for him having a trailblazer, he's going to have to do some research to correct his wrong assumptions as nothing Satoshi said was able to be countered, he'd been right and not even bothered about being questioned as Ilima and the class tried to counter his claims. It's a shame but 'no' means 'no' and paranoia is a good reason not to want to have something loud and smart-assed following his every move. Yeah, he's not going to claim that the Rotom dex is the most subtle, innocent character to have lingering around and the professor can't help but feel like this boy is the kind of character to slink around, hearing and seeing everything unnoticed, which this dex will likely foil with so yeah…

Better not and no, he's not bothered, just worried about this child and it's no good that it's showing on his face. Even if the principal finds it funny his attempt to connect with the trainer ended up with his offer being rebuked, much like the man has said would happen.

"Yes, but you were told what happened for this child to get into custody of an uncle and sure, I'm aware that Lance is a good person but for a mother to lose full custody of their child, something bad must have happened and to now hear he's suffering from paranoia, honestly, the fact you laugh at me for being told 'no' for such a reason? It's disrespectful, Mr. principal," he huffs.

"You don't even know the full extent of it and you'll just need to hang onto the things Satoshi admits to you because you're not even entitled to knowing anything more for personal reasons but the same contract you rolled your eyes at just a good half hour ago, bars me from even confiding in you. And you went for it while I told you it was going to be useless, that boy is overwhelmed just by this school alone and you think it's going to be fun for him to help you out for a mistake he accidentally cleared out for you? I think not, Kukui, and you can't hold that against me, you know I help you wherever I can but there are some things that I can't do, lest you want to lose your job as in this entire school needing to pack up and cleared out by the next morning, okay? So please, try and feel a little less pity for yourself or tomorrow, you'll be telling me why your wife got upset with you again too."

"I just wished there was something I could do for him that, you know, wouldn't blow up into my face," the man sighs, knowing that the principal is right but he can't help but feel for this kid. "He's… he's so multi-faceted, first he's the kindest person to Lily and Lana, then not giving a shit in the face of a couple arguing kids, not even caring when someone comes to verify if he is who he claims he is, to then being such a smart, quick-witted young man… to then stuttering that he can't do something because he's scared. All in just two days, I'm sort of at a loss, what should I do?"

"Don't change. You can call Lance a good person for as long and as often as you like but you're forgetting how similar the two of you are."

"Because we're both fathers now?"

"So I'm not a good man because I don't have a kid?" the principal asks, chuckling and his eyes are crinkled with mirth. "You're so intelligent but so dumb sometimes, Kukui. I'll blame it on your class having gone through something rocky recently."

That's as much of a dismissal if he's ever heard one so the professor politely nods at the man and leaves, knowing that he might need to do some self-reflecting because yes, he's been worried. His wife can say a lot about mom guilt, he fears he might have caught a bit of dad guilt too and it's not done his feelings towards his class any good. With the arrival of Lei and then his class suddenly acting out of character, he can't shake the feeling that it's something he caused and then Lance told him to shape up and get a grip… Isn't it funny that the issue did get resolved after that? Is he just so blind that he didn't see he's not nearly as powerless as he felt at the time?

"Love?" he asks, as soon as he is home.

"Yes?"

She's in the couch, nursing their son and he melts at the sight of it. Nothing has ever made him feel so weak in the knees than seeing the little boy he's responsible for, while he wouldn't trade the experience, his wife or his son for anything else in the world, he wonders whether he's going to be enough for everyone.

"Suppose you're a hurt, rather shy but special teenager," he says and he can already see his wife's eyebrow raise as soon as the words leave his mouth. "How would you like to be treated like?"

"As normally as possible? What's going on, what's gotten you so caught up on this? Is it this new student?"

"No, no, except yes, but no, it's not… The student isn't a problem, I… I'm probably a bit too excited and assumed stuff so I… I'm at a loss on what to do."

"Oh, darling," she sighs and shakes her head. "It's not been a whole week since the new semester started, it's fine to be a little awkward around a new student. You probably don't know him very well either so why don't you give it some time?"

"Time, huh?" he repeats softly. "I waited a while for that argument to subside too."

"And it did subside, you waited for someone else to get upset in your stead and even if that wasn't the most brilliant plan, it worked out, right?"

"Something is working, alright."

"Then what's bothering you?"

"I… I just want to help but I don't think I can."

"Well, then don't. Sometimes, it's about offering help when someone asks for it but if it's not necessary, don't make an ass out of yourself by being pushy. After all, you said something about a trainer, they're usually self-independent to the point where I feel they're able to do their own taxes and it's hard to see but that's the way they're raised in parts of the world and all you can do, is sit and watch it as warily as you want, you can't start coddling teenagers when they've been left to their own devices for long enough to tell you to leave them alone, that they're fine on their own."

Professor Kukui doubts whether that's the case, Satoshi never once told him to leave him alone, well, he can't technically do that, he's a teacher, and they'd be looking at each other's mugs all day for a long time so maybe the boy realises how futile it is to say that to him but… if he's patient, the professor might learn all the answers to his questions anyway since he can't help but wonder how on earth that child has such a deep connection with those pokémon around him, it's not even something he can't call a bond any longer, it's… it's like they're so used to each other, that they don't have any secrets and just… know what to do? It's madness, he used to be a pokémon trainer too but that… that sort of thing, he had never been able to do it. Sure, pokémon like him but Satoshi? It honestly seems like the pokémon think the boy is a pokémon too but that can't be, it's got to be raw talent instead.

It's very much like the Island Kahunas, this larger-than-life personality, none of them can be called weak in any way but Satoshi, he's different, too different from them, none of the Kahunas ever gives him a straight, easy-to-understand answer, except for Nanu when he tells him and other people to fuck off. That too is a talent, though not a well-liked one. As far as his wife is concerned, she's also oddly interested in his newest student, he didn't think she would have been but maybe he ought to let them meet because she is asking questions he doesn't have answers to. He doesn't know how old Satoshi exactly is, he doesn't know who his starter pokémon was and he certainly doesn't think it to be strange that he's here. All the professor is absolutely sure of, is that the boy is a good trainer and as a teacher of a pokémon school, that's the most important bit… but he obviously doesn't say it this way to his wife or she wouldn't say a damn thing to him all day so he just hums at all the right times. As if it's not bad enough he made such a silly impression on one of his students, he's already glad that Satoshi didn't make a scene about it, he would never live it down if the principal ever got wind of this, he is a grown adult, a married man with a son now but nope. Just… nope.

---

It's been two weeks now since they moved into the holiday home and the novelty of their stay in Alola has been slowly wearing down, they've reached a level of normality and a routine that Lance has found a lot of comfort in, especially since his boy is mostly silent. Heck, even his pokémon, which is nice, though a little worrisome but he's long since realised that these are quirky little habits of his boy that pokémon love to copy. Saying anything about it is only going to be bothersome so he won't piss on a good thing, he trusts his kid to come to him when something went wrong, after all. For now, all Lance has seen, is that Ash is a studious kid hell-bent on getting good grades, another thing that would be silly to complain about even though this means the boy is nearly always buried with his nose in a book, though always accompanied with one of his snuggle bug pokémon next or on top of him.

"I don't understand why you're even worried about it," Steven says, with Wallace in the background of the video call nodding along. "This region is going to bring along as many firsts with it as Kalos did and you're letting him do what he wants so if he's sitting down and doing something productive, it's something he would have done in the past too, he just got made fun off for doing so and avoided doing it again in front of them. Or rather, he might never have gotten the chance to do it, heaven knows what kind of things his mother spewed on a day-to-day repeat on repeat until it got drilled in his head."

"I wouldn't be surprised if professor Oak had to do something with it too," Wallace pipes up. "That grandson of his was always a little too happy to be in the spotlight."

"Maybe so," Lance sighs as he leans on his hand, his elbow dangerously close to the edge of the table but he doesn't care right now. "I'm just… I don't know, he doesn't seem happy either, he's at ease here but he doesn't let out a peep about school unless I ask about him it."

"At least he answers, there's an awful lot of people who would just answer 'fine' and leave it at that."

"Yeah, except it's always something about those kids' personalities that makes me wonder how long it'll take until he's going to snap at them. He'll only ever say something good about one classmate, who he's apparently met in those dreams of his."

"… That's both sweet and kind of creepy," Steven says and it makes him chuckle. "No, seriously, we saw the photographs he's made with our gift, all those legendary pokémon definitely saw him too, Leon freaked out a little too but he got over it quickly but it's one hell of an ability to… transcend time and space without realising it."

"And then taking the Ultra Beasts into account…"

"Oh no, he's seen them?" Wallace asks.

"Not the ones who have hurt him and he mentioned they hadn't seen him. I've seen one picture he clearly didn't feel intimidated by but that kid has been made insensitive to these kinds of things because the one picture he did show me, I… I don't know, he still calls them dreams but to me, ending up there, I would have called that a nightmare."

"How's he taking it?"

"Not at all different than school, he's really void of extreme emotions, he's not unhappy per se but I don't know, I've never seen him this way, he acts even less like a kid now too. I hate to think that's because of these Ultra Beasts but his pokémon likely wouldn't be asleep on top of him if those creatures were around or if something wasn't alright with him so, I don't know."

"I wouldn't panic just yet, Ash likes you, Lance, he does trust you, you got him out of a sticky situation so don't think that a calm and warm surrounding is going to erase that."

"But what if he doesn't know if it's happening?"

"Well, I was waiting to hear something like that, that's so typically like you, Lance, it's not even funny," Steven says, indeed not smiling at all. "You're probably the only worrywart in the whole of Alola right now."

"Nope, professor Kukui is one too so that makes two of us. Ash made an impact and then apparently rebuffed his attempt to connect with him so now the man has been walking around all pensive and worried. I've seen him, I went up to him and asked, only to get that as an answer."

"Ash? Rebuking a relationship?" Wallace repeats, looking astonished. "What in tarnation? That can't be true, the kid makes friends with a stone, and for heaven's sake, Kukui must be omitting something, I can't see that boy saying 'no' to getting to know someone. But when it comes to being made part of a research? I think professor Kukui offered him something and that Ash said 'no' and not a lot of people have ever said 'no' to him so now he must be thinking where he went wrong instead."

"That… that sounds reasonable," Lance sighs and looks out of the window, bustling with lively pokémon, all attracted to his boy who is still at school. "I mean, when the principal and the professor panicked when they found out Kahuna Olivia was making an exception for once and coming to the school instead of the school needing to go to her, Ash all too quickly decided that it must be me she must be coming to see and then humouring professor Kukui while she's here. Said that, even if she was some super well-preserved, talented and mega-strong Aura user, she still wouldn't be able to see him, that it's pokémon who see him as even Gurkinn needed a pokémon link to see him, just not needing to touch the pokémon in order to do so."

"Well-preserved," Steven chuckles and shakes his head in clear amusement, nudging Wallace who's also smiling. "That's a thing to say to a woman, isn't it? She probably will even take that as a compliment at this rate and honestly? It makes sense, Lance, and also, admit it, why would she even be searching for Ash, hm? She does clearly like you, she's always sided with you, just like Nanu which has always bewildered Charles too since she never once agreed with him and called him 'too insensitive to his earthen core' instead."

"I still don't know what she means by that but I've learned to nod along and not question her so much."

"Maybe that's why she likes you at all."

"I'll see it when it happens, I'm still iffy about how likeable people suddenly end up showing asshole traits whenever Ash is involved," Lance grumbles, keeping an eye out for the time because he still needs to do some grocery shopping. "Professor Kukui is truly the least of his worries, I'm more astonished that professor Brunet hasn't come knocking on the door yet either."

"Maybe Kukui is too caught up with Ash, it's kind of a unique experience having one-on-one time with that kid and also, it's not been that long either."

"It didn't take at all long for pokémon to start congregating at the hospital either, though, did it, Steven?" Lance says and the man baulks.

"Is it showing here too?"

"Oh, absolutely, the area is infested with them now, probably more than it was before and now I wonder, Ash spends a lot of time at school too and he's told me that his classroom is pretty open to the elements from one side, with a railing stopping anyone from falling from the level they're on so I can imagine pokémon coming to sit on that bannister, alright. I wonder if anyone would mind."

"It's a pokémon school, though, seems a little funky to suddenly try and get made pokémon are coming in through an area that's not locking them out," Wallace chuckles and waves his hand. "Besides, I don't see professor Kukui caring, he'd think it to be cute, I figure and those kids need to be real miscreants to suddenly mind pokémon approaching them."

"I would have loved being surrounded by pokémon when I went to school, at least that would have made the place a little lively and less strict."

"Steven, the song that says 'teacher, leave them kids alone' turned into 'kids, leave the teacher alone' at your class."

"How would you know about that, you didn't meet me before I had already graduated for a couple of years?"

"Your reputation precedes you, I guess."

"What reputation, I didn't do anything!"

Lance watches the two bicker with a smile on his face, it's bound to be lively with those two but he's glad they're taking care of the house so willingly and that they're amusing themselves over there. He's feeling pretty chill too, his worries about his boy have dimmed down considerably since he can trust Ash to keep himself together and yeah, getting an outside perspective on these matters was a good idea, he's calmed down considerably knowing that he's doing good as well. After his goodbye to his very dependable friends, Lance stretches and gathers his shopping bags, hoping that he can still finish his shopping before Ash gets home.

Much to his surprise, though, before he even gets to the closest marketplace, he sees Olivia and she turns towards his almost instantly and oh, the smile on her face lights up the entire island. She pretty much hurries towards him and already has her arms out to hug him.

"Lance," she sighs pretty content as he's feeling rather awkward having her lean against him yet happy they're pretty much alone right now.

"Hello, Olivia, fancy seeing you here," he says and she straightens with that same smile still in place.

"I felt like moving a little, it's been too long since I accepted Hala's offer to have a drink but that's planned for tomorrow. How about we have a drink now, though? It's been too long since I've seen you, Lance."

"I was actually going to do some shopping, to be honest but I suppose I could come with you for a drink or two," Lance answers, figuring he might as well do his shopping tomorrow, the fridge isn't totally empty and he could get some food in the early morning.

And so he follows, she's right in saying it's been a while since they last met, it must have been at least five years now so they do have some catching up to do, yet he doesn't find the time to tell her anything overly personal and she has no ears for anything like that, except for the fact the news of his burn-out even reached Alola, which is only slightly concerning but maybe it's also a sign of care? Olivia is planning on bothering Kukui too, he doesn't get the chance to tell her that he knows about that, that the school called him and was worried about her but Ash's suspicions are confirmed when she says that, when she heard that he was here, how could she pass up on the opportunity to speak to the man who she spends time thinking about?

It's flattering as much as worrying, Olivia's head isn't always as healthy a place to be in but he ignores that in lieu of hearing her lament about the lack of respect for both pokémon and people as of late, that one of the park rangers was beaten up because they stopped a young trainer wannabe from hurting a wild pokémon. That, in her days, she got her own pokémon and fought to earn the respect of the pokémon she wanted to catch to weaken it and then catch it. But beating up a little Rockruff simply because it barked at them? Needless to say, this behaviour raises her hackles but Lance can't help but imagine how his boy would have beaten that kid to a pulp for doing that to an innocent pokémon following their instinct. A Rockruff barks, it's as obvious as saying that the sun is yellow and if it's not cloudy, the sky is blue, so for anyone to beat it up for simply doing that?

Apparently, she decided to humour professor Kukui to make sure that the kids in his class would never be caught doing such a thing and well, he can't help but feel like she wouldn't need to repeat that twice in front of his boy, Ash will likely ask her about the pokémon's welfare, or at least, Lance safely assumes out of how he's gotten to know him as. But Kahuna Olivia is very caught up with the recent developments in the world, not just the disrespect of the trainer but also Orre and how it was a hot minute for that war to end, that she can't believe how someone can be so evil to do such a thing to a pokémon and well, he agrees with that. Hell, Lance put in a good word for the officer who shot Ein, to make sure he wouldn't face repercussions for it and well, that sets Olivia off even more.

"How can someone think that shooting such great evil is done out of anything but the hatred of what they did? Is this how skewed justice has become?" she bursts out and she catches a couple of looks from the people sitting around them but neither she nor Lance pay that any mind.

"It's not as much justice as it is people writing down laws that are open to suggestion," Lance sighs. "If it really went to court, I would not doubt that any judge would see the issue with this case and overrule whatever punishment was demanded but the people who went to Orre, they suffered enough already, I wasn't about to add to the hurt that would probably linger longer and louder."

"You went there too, though. Was there anyone protecting you from any of this?"

"Riley was with me, it… that region screwed both of us up, in fact, Riley has gone back to Rota as of late, apparently something about cleansing mind and soul? I wasn't really listening, he'd made an ass of himself at the time he went so he could go wherever, he never even really helped me, I've never felt so alone on this bloody earth as then," he admits and her face is full of understanding.

"Was it the reason for the burn-out?"

"Not completely, life was such a mess at some point and I could only keep myself upright for one person but it just became too much at the time."

"I'm both glad that there was one person but sad it was only one person too," she says and seems to look straight through him. "Are you okay?"

"I'm feeling great, I gained a lot of friends who I knew were good people but I got to know them better so now two of them are guarding the house," Lance answers with a chuckle because Olivia is absolutely not interested in this one person and just brushing over it.

He wonders if it's jealousy, it certainly sounds like it but she carries on, undeterred and talking about all kinds of things, including Professor Kukui's marriage with the other, very unlikely and not quite so romantic professor, though Lance knows that Ash was the precursor for her to say 'yes' to Kukui. She said so, said her perspective on kids changed through the interactions with him and while they've never met face to face, Ash and professor Brunet have had some bonding over the unfortunate Lugia's faith but well, a pokémon doesn't remain spooky for too long around his boy and well, nothing beats getting to know each other over a murderous pokémon, right?

And while he's glad he was able to have a sit-down and speak to her, Lance is starting to feel tired and when the owner of the bar asks them to leave, that it's closing time, he's about to flip his shit. He totally lost track of time but it's a really cold day in hell if Olivia is ever going to apologising for keeping him sitting here for eight hours, yes, it's his own fault but she doesn't let him look away either, she just moves his head back over to her if he does but he's not glad his bum feels like jelly and that he bloody missed his boy coming back from school, including dinner time. Ash did send him a message or two, one asking him where he was and then about an hour later, telling him that he'd gone to the supermarket for dinner, that he brought him some too in case he wanted it. But it's eleven in the evening, and even if Ash was bothered or nervous, he's probably asleep by now, the kid probably figured he was out and well, Lance has been an adult for many years, he can carry his own weight but he really will need to go to the supermarket tomorrow.

As he arrives home, it's obvious the boy went to bed, he tries to be as careful and silent as possible, he stinks like it's no one's business and taking a shower in total silence isn't realistic but he tries. There's no noise in the entire house, still total darkness but it could be that Ash was mad too, it's not one of the best options out there but it's a possibility no less. He'd hate it if it was the case, though, he'll try and make it up with him tomorrow, he swears…

And yet, Lance underestimated how tired he was and he feels like such a failure when he wakes up with the sunlight shining in his face, he does jump out of bed but it's half past eight, his boy has been at school for half an hour already so he slinks back into his bedroom, gathering his clothes, feeling utterly defeated. He hates days where nothing ever goes to plan and it seems like today is one of them but well, he might have not paid much thought to his boy but Ash did think about him, there's food for the past dinner and this morning in the fridge and now he feels like a sucker. Sure, Ash is an independent child and no, it's not something he's planning on overriding but a kid his age should need to be thinking about this and he has no excuse except for the fact that Kahuna Olivia is a woman he has a hard time saying 'no' to.

Freshened up and now absolutely ready to go do his shopping, he steps out of his holiday home… and sees Olivia stand there, again.

"Oh, come on," he sighs, the bags in his hand flopping against his leg as his shoulder sag in defeat.

"Are you completely out of food?"

"Olivia, you don't understand, last night ended up with me not seeing my boy for almost a whole day now and I'm not happy about that."

"Since when do you have a child? And why didn't you say anything earlier?"

"Since two years now and you never let me. If you did, I would have told you that he was the one who kept me from having a full on burn-out, he's also the one who helped me sleep after those gruesome memories from Orre tormented me, daydreams that stopped because of him, you don't know how important he is to me."

"A two year old doing all of that?" she asks, pulling a face and he sighs.

"He's fifteen, biologically, he's my nephew but legally, he's my son. And he's had to spend the entire evening on his own and woke up to go to school alone too and he's… oh, you'll see it when you meet him, you're going to see professor Kukui's class one of these days, aren't you?"

"… Lance, I'm sorry if I upset you. Please, at your own pace, what is so special about this child that he pulls your heartstrings so heavily?"

"Life has been so unkind to him, he doesn't even realise it, these two years, I don't even know all of the abuse he's suffered from, it's always something new and I want to do good by him so badly yet he… he knows the difference between good and bad but he's too tolerant still."

"Sounds like a job for Nanu, then," she deadpans and Lance chuckles.

"I think, in this case, Nanu would have his job cut out for him, in fact, they might end up cursing each other out pretty quickly."

"… That too can be therapeutic for some."

"Not in this case, my boy feels things so strongly and I admire him so much but hell if that stops me from worrying sick about him."

"He must be a good child to make you into the father I knew you'd be perfect for," she says and again, it's a second-hand comment deviating attention away from Ash.

"Yeah, yeah, I bet so," he answers, getting grumpy again. "I'm still going to the supermarket because I'm going to be hungry too."

"I'm going to see Hala, I was going to ask you if you wanted to come along but I guess not."

'You manipulative wench,' he thinks and shakes his head.

"I don't want to get too high on your spiritualism, watch me finally understand the mysterious Tauroscrap my boy keeps attracting but no, thank you, I really need to go shopping, I'll never forgive myself if I let anything up to chance," Lance says and well, he could tell her he feels like something is going to happen, he's not sure why but it's just one of these mornings where the sun just shines in that particular angle that spikes his anxiety.

"Mysterious?"

The word barely comes out of Oliva's mouth before the sound of pokémon acting up starts to sound out and it's going crescendo, Lance is startled by it because it shows just what a massive amount of pokémon have started to congregate here but then a memory hits him like a brick. Last night, he'd woken up to a sound and movement, his boy, he'd come into his room and had crawled into bed with him, Lance remembers how the boy had been shivering and he'd held him close in the sleepy state he'd been in… And now, looking at these pokémon in cahoots-

"Oh, shit!" he curses and pushes his shopping bags into the stunned Kahuna's hands before booking it straight to the school.

---

Professor Kukui warily sits in his class, silently grading his paperwork but he's being spied on and now he feels like, at Satoshi's second introduction, he should have paid more attention to the 'pokémon attracting' part. But Kiawe hadn't given much room for any further conversation, no, the boy had taken offence to the new student carrying a bag of an expensive brand of brushes on his shoulder, calling him spoiled and when Satoshi explained that he hadn't known these brushes would have been so expensive and that his disability card had made it so that the brushes became pretty cheap for him. And Kiawe, who has been pretty intolerable as of late, ended up calling the teen a good-will-abusing cripple, that the scar on his face was clearly box-cutter and self-inflicted.

Silence was all that was left in the wake of that statement but Satoshi has been avoiding Kiawe like the plague after that, clearly not wanting to spend any effort on getting to know him a bit better and potentially earn his trust. Well, he thinks Satoshi is an interesting person so it's Kiawe's loss and at least he's heard Lana, Lillie and Mallow chide their fellow student for being so insensitive, reminding him that he doesn't know the situation and that a straight scar might just be medically related too, or so Mallow claims. Sophocles, on the other hand, has been rather silent as of late, still participating in the class and being respectful towards Satoshi whenever they accidentally come across each other so the professor figures that Ilima had gone to Molayne and that Molayne set the boy straight so that's all ended up pretty good.

His class hasn't been scoring very high in their pop quizzes either, except for Satoshi who seems to expect being quizzed on every subject every day. He's not that cruel to do that, twice a week is more than enough, he sometimes only has one once a week, it depends but he's trying to figure out a schedule as well… Satoshi doesn't seem to like to sit with anyone except for his pokémon during lunch, the professor figures that the boy goes to sit on the beach for his lunch, it's a perfectly acceptable spot to do so but now he wonders why the kids aren't following him, or why Satoshi doesn't take Lillie or Lana with him, they seem to start to become friends if the conversations the professor overhears are anything to go by. But heavens if he didn't have a conversation with Kiawe about how vinegar doesn't attract pokémon and that goodwill isn't taken, it's given and that some issues that deserve the disability card aren't always written on someone's face and that he's not entitled to know about it if Satoshi doesn't want to tell him.

Kiawe only offered a little struggle to that and said something about how he couldn't trust anyone who wasn't open to him but the professor quickly countered that statement by telling the student that he wasn't being very forthcoming with his assumptions either. Especially not when trust is also not something taken, it's earned and well, that seemed to strike a chord with the teen who did seem to want to clear things out with Satoshi but the boy is a trainer through and through and one clear aspect that shows from the years of experience this kid has, is that he won't be found when he doesn't want to be. So now Kiawe has been sulking for a couple of days, throwing guilty looks at Satoshi who couldn't care less and that's the part Kiawe understands even less.

"He's so social with the girls and not with me, what did I do wrong?" the teen had pretty much cried after the second day of complete radio silence from Satoshi.

"First impressions usually don't always matter but the second and the third impression you made likely did the trick," the professor had answered and that had knocked the wind straight out of the boy's sails.

In fact, yesterday, Kiawe's mother, Sima, had come to see him, to ask what has been causing her son to be in such a foul mood and well, he's still pretty ticked off for the stunt Kiawe pulled with Lillie too so he had told her everything. For someone who the professor has come to know as a strong but kind woman, her face portrayed her feelings properly enough so now he's expecting to have another chided teenager sitting pretty silently in class today.

But well, he's got his audience still, the assorted collection of Flying-types on the balcony railing makes for a pretty picture, he'd be lying if he didn't like this aesthetic and yes, he took a picture of it so he can show his wife. She's still very interested in Satoshi but he doesn't know what he's allowed to say but her interest makes him uncomfortable, Kahuna Olivia has also not made herself clear why, out of all years, she decided to be lenient this year but right now, he doesn't even care, it's not like his class isn't going to go to Akala this year either.

He sighs when he's done grading the homework, Satoshi's the top student still, Lillie following quite closely so yeah, same old, since a couple of weeks, that is. Once he's done rubbing his eyes, he sees his class come in and while the Mallow and Lana are enthused that there are even more pokémon on the railing than before, the pokémon also let themselves be touched and if they don't, no one's ever died from a little nip-threat without actually getting pecked, right? So the mood is a little lighter but oof, Satoshi isn't looking too hot, he's avoiding eye contact and the pokémon around him don't make any noise, despite them being pretty vocal most of the time. In fact, the only noise he hears is the particularly fluffy Litten's insistent purring but well, Kiawe looks pretty constipated so he probably got told off for having such a bad attitude as of late. And even if his parents hadn't made the effort, he would have, Satoshi deserves more respect than being told he's taking advantage of anything while this child is clearly struggling in this new environment.

Also, if there was some benefit the newest student had, all of the students in this school would have it and shaming someone from asking for help or accepting it, is foul and he won't have it, not in front of his face or class. Instead, he tells all these kids that Kahuna Olivia is going to be giving a class on safety measures, though omits it's going to be a full lesson about just pokémon because well, she has a whole day and he's not sure if she is even capable of teaching for an entire day but whatever, principal Oak can joke about Lance liking her all he wants but he's clearly just as weak, allowing her to overtake his lesson plan like that. Still, as their teacher, he wants these kids to impress Olivia so he gives them a statement that has something to do with a particular kind of abuse but where the statement doesn't betray whether it's a bad or good thing, he wants them to see the truth behind this issue themselves.

He's not proud that he hands the hardest one to Satoshi but he's convinced that this boy is the only one who could possibly make sense out of this and well, soon enough, all of the students are scribbling, the sounds of their pens scratching ever so slightly joining the occasional noise from the now pretty crowded railing. The professor has to do a double take, are there even more now? He hadn't seen the Toucannon before and checking the picture he took earlier confirms it, there was none of that kind of pokémon, plenty of Pikipek and Trumbeak but now there's a few Rowlett and… Wait, is that a Passimian? He blinks as the pokémon crawls over the railing, into the classroom and lounges against the part where there isn't any claw or talon to hurt it.

'How fascinating is this…' he thinks as he leans back against his chair, seeing these wild pokémon make themselves right at home at the normally devoid-of-life railing that did seem like an inviting spot to sit at but no, they never had done so until recently.

And now he wonders, what's changed? First, his dear wife does a one-eighty on him, saying she wants kids after all, even going through with the marriage she never had time for, then Kahuna Olivia completely changes the course of her habits which is so surprising he's concerned about her wellbeing and lastly, these pokémon suddenly moving in as if they own the place. Neither of these three things bother him in any way, hell, everything that's changed as of late is going exactly how he's ever wanted it but that's not how he's gotten to know his life as, he knew that, if the path of life feels to easy, he's following the path of another and now he wonders, is the universe trying to tell him something?

His thoughts are interrupted by the sudden noise of something crashing down and as he looks up, he's horrified to see Satoshi on the floor, his desk and chair, everything is strewed out on the floor and these pokémon on that railing flip their shit all of a sudden! He can barely hear himself think, he quickly screams at his class to get out but that Passimian stops him from approaching Satoshi, backed up by the boy's Dragon-type, which hisses at him as he tries to approach from another angle. All his instincts are screaming at him to get out but deep down, through all of his experiences, he knows that pokémon tend to find help when their trainer is in trouble so why aren't they letting him help? Knowing he can't win a fight from either of these pokémon without making this situation worse, he backs off, that Pikachu isn't even looking at him, dead still, tail unmoving and ears towards the back, all while these other pokémon are screaming bloody murder.

His back is against the door when he sees the first bolt of pure energy shoot across the room and now he's mad. He's seen this kind of light show before, only one person had been stupid enough to anger Hala once, after all, but this? No matter what kind of damning contract the principal signed through Lance's act of intimidation, he would have damn well liked to be aware that Satoshi was at risk of seizures, though! He hates the sight he sees so much too, as much sense as it makes that Lance said that Kahuna Olivia could do anything to his boy with Satoshi being part of the Aura community, he's never witnessed someone with Aura having this kind of affliction. As if it's not bad enough, the colour of the energy is so bizarre, as if nothing is alright with this child… and this seizure is long, terrifyingly long, the energy seems to lessen rather quickly too but the door behind him is suddenly being pushed open, he moves out of the way and is relieved to see the medics rushing in.

The light show is over so maybe the seizure as well? The pokémon have also calmed down but the sound is still ringing in his ears, his heart is beating in his chest and he comes up empty when one of the medics asks how long the boy's been unconscious but does say that he had a seizure. The look on that person's face suddenly becomes really serious and he holds the door open for the medics who load up the teen after they check his vitals. Seeing him pass on the stretcher as they carry him out and down the stairs, the professor bites back a curse, Satoshi had fallen flat on the floor, without anything stopping his momentum downwards, the entire right side of his face is already looking a little blueish so that likely will end up horribly bruised. There are also a couple of streaks of blood dangerously close to his right eye but well, those hardwood floorboards are mean as heck, they weren't meant to be laying on either so the boy probably nicked himself as his head involuntarily moved across the sharp edges of the floorboards the professor knows aren't flush to each other.

Still, he goes back in the classroom to clean up the mess first and sighs when he spots the papers the boy had been writing on, seeing nothing but gibberish so the kid must have been out of it for a good half hour or maybe more, maybe that's why his pokémon had been so silent, maybe they knew. Oh, in cases like this, he would want nothing more than to talk to pokémon, if only he could have done something to help but well, the desk has been straightened and he cleaned up everything, including the boy's backpack which he sets to his desk, figuring he can keep it until he knows when Satoshi is at home again so he can deliver it. But now he needs to talk to the principal and it's not funny how the man seems to come up the stairs as he's going down so they meet in the hallway, right where everyone can see them.

"Kukui, I-"

"Why was I not told he was epileptic?" he all but demands.

"Because he's not, Lance said something about him getting seizures after experiencing a lot of emotions so what happened?"

"Hell if I know! They were doing the assignment I'd given them, and next thing I know, bang, he goes down, taking everything with him. Or didn't you hear all that noise from the pokémon either? It was perfectly timed!"

"I understand you're upset, Kukui-"

"Upset? I'm pissed, the least you could have done is tell me something like this was possible, the boy highly likely has bigger pokémon with him so I'd let him have one out so it could bloody catch him so he wouldn't bust open his head against the floor! But no, you make fun of me for being afraid of Lance while that's not true but you feel your balls shrink at the mere idea of sharing something so important as this? Piss off, Oak, I'm not taking this, not today."

"You can go home if you want, Kukui, I don't hold your emotions against you."

"To go and sit in an empty house? I'm continuing my class and have someone take notes for Satoshi, that's what I'm doing," he huffs. "And when Satoshi is released from the hospital, I'm bloody well going to ask what you haven't told me and Lance can get as angry as he wants, I need to know if this can happen again," he adds, just as huffy and turns around, to see the remainder of his class standing there. "Come on, kids, you're probably just as spooked as I am."

Of course, they are but as unfortunate as this was, at least Kiawe got a good look at what the boy has a disability card for and now the chided look is finished off with red-rimmed eyes as this is an even fouler way to get proven wrong than being told off for it. But if it's true what the principal said, that Satoshi gets these seizures after experiencing a lot of emotions, then why did it happen now? And even now, as he's calming down as these kids settle back into their routine with the occasional glance at Satoshi's empty desk, he wonders if he's entitled to an explanation but well… he'll have to see it when he gets there.

---

Lance feels utterly miserable as he sits in the chair next to his boy's hospital bed. He's such a fool, though while he realises that he couldn't have done anything against this seizure, if he had been there, he could have seen the signs and kept him home. At least that could have stopped him from having this bad concussion which is the only reason why Ash needs to stay here, the doctor is too worried about the boy's inability to stay awake for anywhere over five minutes. Without being woken up, Ash is just asleep or so Lance hopes but he can't be sure, that grizzly bruise on his face is telling, his boy's right eye is also swollen now, he looks pretty beat up, to be honest.

He sighs, sitting here all the time isn't going to make anything better for him, especially since he can't express his feelings towards his kiddo and now he doubts whether Ash would understand why he'd made such a mess of things as of late. Also, he needs to get Ash's things, he might have made it to the school on time to jump into the ambulance but he hadn't thought of anything but his boy at the time. And now he's got to find Olivia and reclaim his shopping bags too so that's why he straightens and makes his way out of the hospital. He still needs to do his shopping, even though he won't be eating too much today, feeling too guilty for having left his boy alone on his own devices. It's not healthy, he knows, he'll eat something but that silent house is going to be the bane of his existence now.

Lance decides to go to the school first, figuring it's more important to get the boy's schoolwork for now, even though he's not capable of doing anything, not until the doctor gives the all-clear for it anyway. He wonders if it'll be fine to just walk into the school but well, he knows where the principal's office is so that's the first place he'll visit… only to find this man still with all his hackles raised and apologetic to the max so that's not ideal either and not the reason why he's here. So when the principal tells him 'Satoshi's' stuff is with professor Kukui still, well, that means he'll just have to go up and hope he's not going to disturb anyone. Looking at the sheer scale of the amount of stairs he'll need to use to get to the classroom, after already having needing to go up a flight of stairs to get to the principal's office, gosh, his boy is a braver person than he could ever be, needing to do that with a prosthesis.

He's fit enough to get up there without any issues and gently knocks onto the door, in order not to startle anyone. The professor's voice calls out that he can come in but like hell, is he going to enter that classroom.

"Hi, I was told my boy's stuff is here?" he says, ever so softly and professor Kukui, who looks really emotional just laying his eyes on him, quickly comes over after reaching down behind his desk.

"Here, I gathered everything but he'll likely need new pencils, these ones fell on the floor," the man answering in the same hush-hush tone. "How is he, Lance?"

"Concussion, he must have fallen pretty hard on his head, he goes in and out of consciousness so the doctor fears it's a pretty serious one."

"Do you have an idea how long it'll take before he can return?"

"Could be a week, two weeks, a month, the doctor isn't sure, he's not awake for long enough to make a solid diagnosis but I know he's going to need to stay in the hospital for a while."

"Oh, okay. I'll euhm… deliver the notes for his classes at your place, then, if that's okay?"

"Yeah, that's fine, thank you," Lance says and quickly makes his escape because everyone's attention is on him and he has no answers to any of their questions.

And he doubts his boy had found a minute to confide in them, or if he ever wanted to because most of the people he did tell about his past and the accident, either called him stupid for not taking the time or rest or held it against him, even going as far as to see it as a weakness. Knowing that his boy's first impression of these kids wasn't positive, he doubts if the thought of telling them ever popped into his head and well, he did remind Ash that he didn't need to spill the beans to anyone, no matter whether it was about his past or his health, no one is entitled to any information. As for the seizures, Lance is going to take full responsibility for it if there's an issue, he should have known better than to just follow Kahuna Olivia around like that.

He vows never to do it again, not when he sees the message from Kahuna Hala who apparently has his shopping bags and wants to speak to him. Olivia is probably mad about being left alone but to him, his boy is much more important and if she doesn't believe it, that's her problem, not his. So, with a new target in mind, Lance swings by Hala's place to go and pick up his shopping bags to finally get his shopping done. And after that, he's going back to see Ash.

"Ah, Lance, hello," Hala greets, waiting outside of the door and he pointedly refuses to think he's suddenly not welcome amongst the Kahuna's.

"Yeah, hi, I'm sorry, I'm not in the best of mood so I'm probably not good company at the moment."

"I understand."

Lance figures that, after having had a moment with Ash, Kahuna Hala might have gathered that the pokémon on this island flipped their shit because of his seizure but he can't be sure. He's just going to be happy that Olivia didn't decide to trash his shopping bags somewhere in the shrubbery and that Hala isn't making a bigger issue out of this.

"I would advise not to approach Olivia at this moment."

"Understood, I'm not planning on doing so, she came to find me, after all," Lance huffs.

"Satoshi will be okay, Lance."

"He smashed his head against the floor, not even the doctor is sure if he'll be okay."

"He's a strong one, don't project your own weakness on him."

"Weakness?" he repeats, dropping whatever was keeping him from showing just how badly he's upset.

"You blame yourself for leaving him to his own devices, no? You shouldn't, he was fine all those years prior to this, wasn't he?"

"That doesn't make it right, he was abused and figured stuff out all by himself, it's nothing but a miracle he's picked himself up as well as this, you know nothing of what he's needed to live through, I promised I would take care of him and I wasn't there to do it last night. And I don't care how pickled Olivia is about me ditching her but it'll never happen again."

"It was a coincidence that these two events happened shortly after each other. You shouldn't blame yourself when you know the boy won't hold it against you for going to see someone once in a while, just like you shouldn't hold yourself completely responsible for anything that happens around him. And I reiterate, Satoshi will be okay."

"How do you know?"

"If the pokémon cried when he became ill, they would have still been crying right now. But they aren't because the boy will be fine."

"You keep manifesting this for your own sake-"

"I'm doing it for you," Hala says and Lance blinks in surprise. "I don't care about Olivia throwing a hissy fit and rushing into the wild, I care about you and your boy. Olivia will turn right around when she meets Satoshi, especially because she'll have the hurt and abused pokémon with her. But you? I know you're upset and sure, you failed yourself but you didn't fail that child. You can't always be there, you can try but you will fail, that's just how it is and the quicker you realise that, the better because you'll end up disappointing yourself all the time, when you shouldn't be. Not when that boy who doesn't like a lot of people trusts you, I saw that when I met the two of you together. So pick yourself up and be the man I admire and be there for your boy now that it matters, Lance."

He nods numbly, thanking Kahuna Hala for his input and leaves, his shopping bags scrunched up in his hold. It's uncanny, hearing what he has been thinking out loud but there's always that niggling little voice in the back of his head whispering 'what if's' that frustrate him and make him doubt himself but well, his feet bring him to the store automatically so it's good that his conscious remembers what to do because his head isn't all there yet. The cashier is being a darling too, he's not as quick as before but this young man helping him ring out his items has the patience of a saint so that's perfect, he does thank him for his patience and goes on his way to his house, putting his shopping away, as well as putting his boy's backpack in his room, that's in a bad state of disarray.

Of course, he had a nightmare, why else would he come and crawl in his bed, huh? Ah, Lance will likely have a pokémon accompany him in bed, it's going to be silent in the house and he's not ready for that, probably put his music on that slight bit louder, even though it'll never compensate for his boy being home. That a nurse is zooming over towards him as soon as he's inside of the hospital, though barely a foot into the lobby, really succeeds in raising his heart rate, call him a pessimist but his instinct dictates him to think the worst but no, it's the best.

"He's woken up, sir, the doctor is wanting to keep him for today but in normal circumstances, you should be able to take him back home."

"Oh, thank Arceus," he sighs, relief flooding out of his still tense shoulders. "Can I see him?"

"Naturally, though he's confused but that's normal."

"Is it?"

"It's listed in his file as one of the post-seizure symptoms he suffers from, sir. Though it possibly could be a symptom of the concussion, hence why the doctor wants to keep the patient for the remainder of today and possibly do some more tests."

Yeah well, Lance knows that Ash doesn't like hospitals so he's not sure whether he should tell them there's a chance his boy will toy with the doctor if he's alright enough to do so, as well as bothered enough. But no, Ash won't be doing any of that, his poor boy's face is almost black and while there's a bandage across his eye, Lance knows it's likely swollen shut too.

"Uncle," the boy slurs, the sight in his left eye still enough to spot him and well, Kahuna Hala's words ring in his mind.

Ash is pretty much covered with his pokémon, which is one of the biggest signs he'll be fine but also nothing's stopping him from reaching out so Lance carefully takes hold of his hand. And boy, is his kid confused! Or rather, as a nurse lingers in the room, he figures that Ash doesn't really remember what happened. When he asks how he's feeling, his boy says something about how it was mentioned that he fell, which isn't even an answer to his question but it's pretty clear that asking him anything is only going to end up confusing him more but answering him only makes it worse so he leaves with a veritable pit in his stomach. That's not the effect of his seizures, in fact, he remembers Steven telling him Ash even had a seizure from laughing too hard and then falling asleep so he's not sure if anyone reported the real symptoms of a seizure to any doctor, heck, his boy had bounced right back after breaking his right foot in professor Elm's laboratory after a seizure so no, this is really a concussion.

And he's willing to bet every hair on his head that it was because of those bloody Ultra Beasts, if not the added stress his boy got from the school because wow, it's clear Ash never went to school, poor kid is terrified of failing and that's on him. It's because of the way he voiced his request and now his boy will succeed, come hell or high water and Lance is mad that this happened but not mad at the result? It's complicated, he doesn't want to look at his boy's phone either, he's starting to hate these Ultra Beasts on the pure principle that they're giving Ash so much grief, especially since he's concerned for his kid that he'd forgive these creatures should they appear in front of him and not attack him. Oh, he hates that, he hates that so much and there's nothing he can do about it. How does he stop someone from feeling something, huh? He can't, he's powerless to do anything against it and if he says something about it to his boy, Ash won't ever mention it again either.

'Ugh,' he thinks as he pulls his Flygon close to him, who, thanks to his boy's efforts, actually appreciates the gesture.

"I wish I wasn't so problematic," Lance says and the pokémon who puts his head in a long-suffering manner on his shoulder, makes a gentle, growly sound in agreement or maybe just for the heck of it.

Ash's pokémon respond perfectly, his own not so much so he doesn't pay much heed to whatever sounds are coming from Flygon, just listening as he gently snoozes into this rather comfortable chair. Until his phone rings, that is, Flygon is off his lap in seconds and a sting in his back makes Lance wobble as he gets up to answer the ringing device… though pauses when he sees the clock, just answering the call right in time as he realises he didn't just snooze, no, he's fallen asleep for the entire rest of the day and now he feels like he's going crazy.

"Hello?"

"Good morning, sir, I'm calling you to inform that you can come and pick up your son from the hospital in the afternoon, around three. Is that alright for you?"

"Yes, yes, that's perfect," he answers and well, that's it, it's going to be a strange week for him now that he's starting to doubt whether he's okay at all as he's never slept the whole night through on the couch.

And it's not like him to follow anyone around either, losing track of time is so unlike himself that he's genuinely concerned. Calling Steven ends up with him being only a little calmer because well, Steven knows him quite well and all his friend could do was confirm that this is all quite weird. But it could be the region's effect on him, the warmth getting to him or something, this is the first time he's been here so long so maybe that's it? He's not sure and hell, Ash is barely able to keep himself awake, his condition is only slightly better than the day before but still, he's here, in his line of sight and deeply asleep as he leans on Glalie to provide the coldness on his face the doctor advised. Something about keeping the swelling down or something, Lance wasn't really paying attention to what the doctor was saying but he's got everything on e-mail so he'll read that. If only to make sure that he doesn't make any other mistake regarding his boy.

---

Ash keeps his mouth mostly shut as he's only adding to the worry of his uncle, who is already acting frantic enough. He's not really okay just yet, he's spent a lot of time leaning on Glalie who is perfectly fine with it but it's getting old for him. He's glad that they'll be going to see the doctor to get the bandage off, though he's not sure if it's not going to be a grizzly sight to see as the bruising is persistent on his face, he must have fallen pretty hard on the floor. But that's not the part that worries him, oh no, it's the part where his uncle claims that he went and crawled into his bed the night before he got the seizure… and Ash doesn't remember a damn thing. All he knows, is that he got home in an empty house, wasn't worried about it, did some light shopping and then went to bed at ten. After that, nothing, he's just as bewildered to hear he even had a seizure as Lance initially said he had.

And that it happened at school is bad enough but Ash's worry stems from the part where apparently all the pokémon ended up feeling worried for him. Sure, Alola is an ambient place, he likes just how closely connected everything is to nature but he was close to nature in Kanto too and none of the pokémon ever cared about him having a seizure. They didn't exactly care much in Kalos too, Ash doesn't believe for a second that it has anything to do with him that they went and flipped their shit, as his uncle describes it but when professor Kukui came to drop off the notes, he notices just how… reverently the man did it, as if he was somehow a little scared. It's only occurred to him recently that people talk, that a place like Alola can only be so much different as all the other regions and well, one Kahuna being a believer of this theory and he's fucked.

'I'm not crazy, am I, Mewmew?'

'Not at all, friend.'

'Did you know I was going to get a seizure?'

'I rarely can predict it.'

'So you don't think this was weird?'

'As in the sense you ended up having one, no. In the sense that I think you would be stressed out enough to end up having one, yes. We both know you see no evil in whatever pokémon out there, I refuse to believe an Ultra Beast would be able to successfully upset you.'

'I didn't see them,' Ash thinks, mostly to himself because his phone doesn't have pictures of a new Ultra Beast on it.

Instead, he has photographs of a beautiful but strange garden with impossibly complicated paths and flowers that he's not sure he's able to describe well enough. It's very specific, these narrow, slithering paths, tall hedges of impossible plants, not a single pokémon in sight… it reminds him of something he's rarely seen a different example from but Ash does think he went into someone else's Aura world. Someone who isn't alive any longer and that he went and sought comfort from his uncle upon realising that.

'At no point in time were you in any danger, I assure you,' Mewtwo says but Ash isn't comforted.

'What if you wouldn't know?'

That there's a while of silence before the pokémon answers him scares him more than he likes to admit.

'What is scaring you so much you would assume such a thing?'

'There's no way that all the pokémon in this region felt my seizure.'

'You believe they felt something different?'

'I think I got a seizure by the same thing that impacted them.'

Mewtwo hums and falls silent.

'What about you, Kozzy? Did you feel anything?"

"Upset," the pokémon answers. "This is why I ran from here."

'This is where you stayed before?'

"Yes. I like your Aura world more, no upset."

Upset, huh? Ash can't help but link the word to his uncle, he too is very upset at something he's refusing to share with him. In fact, professor Kukui also seemed upset, this can't all be because of him, can it?

'Do you feel upset when I have a seizure, Kozzy?'

"No, not upset. Worry."

Yes, there's a difference between those two feelings and now he's peeved. He'll admit his weakness to anyone willing to listen, with great powers come great downsides too, he understands that for what it is but he refuses to be coddled, professor Kukui better be aware of that too but well… He's willing to bet Kiawe won't be bothering him about his disability card, even though it wasn't the risk of seizures that got him awarded that. That being said, the reunion in the class isn't something he's looking forward to but at least Ash can dress himself on his own so that's what he's done… before he started thinking, that is.

He tries to get over himself, he really does but while this doesn't feel like a Kalos 2.0, he can't be sure if there isn't someone out to cause hell on everyone. Someone who not even the Kahuna's are aware of being a possible miscreant and no matter how much disgust joined Guzma's name when Ilima mentioned him, that man isn't a miscreant, something about him is rubbing Ash eerily similar, especially the part where Guzma blames himself for something out of his control. Just because Ilima doesn't like Guzma doesn't mean jack shit about whether the man is truly worth disliking, after all, but he's still none the wiser who is truly at the helm of this region, or if the people who are in control, are the ones to blame.

Getting closer to the door, to go and leave as he doesn't want to keep his uncle waiting also, again, confirms his suspicions as Lance is calling someone. Ash safely assumes it's Steven again, it's the only one his uncle is willing to confide in and also one of the few people Ash won't put on the grill for answers and yes, he's well aware Lance's choice has that as an exact reason. But when he hears his uncle tell the person on the other end of the phone he's afraid of losing control of himself, Ash frowns. This is the same upset as well, isn't it? And at what point had Lance even lost control? Sure, he seems a little frantic, keeping a real close eye on the wristwatch that ended up being the money worth to get it restored alright but other than that? If he's really that panicked, then Lance is much better at keeping himself in control than he assumes, Ash is seeing a lot of things in his uncle's behaviour but lack of control isn't one of them.

He's not going to put his foot in it, he lets Meep open the door, she likes to be helpful and isn't usually successful in opening the door without making the biggest racket as the handle typically slides out of her claws so there's no way his uncle will ever be able to ignore that. And he doesn't, in fact, he looks majorly confused when Ash makes his way through the now open door.

"What was that?"

"Meep wanted to open the door for me," he says, not a complete lie but not the full truth either. "And she successfully did so good job, girlie," he adds and rubs the chuffed pokémon over her head.

"Well… alright," Lance says but he doesn't look entirely convinced. "Are you ready?"

"Yep."

His poor uncle, Ash always feels so bad when the man is trying to hide something from him but making is so oblivious in the process. What can he say that will make all of this even the slightest bit better when Lance isn't saying anything to him to hook onto? Ash isn't even sure whether he's not thinking himself into a hole again but he just can't help but feel like everyone seems to think he's some wicked messiah when he's just a kid with a larger-than-life Aura world, without a care of how people see him as. He doesn't care as much as some assume but to suddenly hold him up to the heavens as if he's someone special when he's not, no, that's not something that's in store for him so he needs to make sure that this ends before it becomes another weakness of him. Heaven knows how he's going to be able to do that, though, he'll see it when he gets there. For now, a store selling sunglasses catches his attention and he pauses a little when spotting one that seems to have a chain with some coloured beads weighing it down instead of the normal hooks that go over his ears.

"Something caught your eye?" his uncle asks, having to retrace a couple of steps since he hadn't noticed that Ash had stopped right away.

"Think the school will allow sunglasses?"

"If you need one, there's very little they'll be able to say about it. Why, though?"

"I don't think my right eye is going to look too great, the sun gets really bright too."

"Won't your cap hide most of the sun?"

"Not always, no."

"Well, let's see what the doctor has to say about that, okay?"

"Sure. You good, though, uncle?"

"Hm? Sure, why wouldn't I be?"

"I'm sorry if I worried you, I don't know why I had a seizure either," Ash confesses, hooking his arm around his uncle's so they're walking side to side.

"I think I know," Lance answers and he sighs.

"It has nothing to do with the Ultra Beasts, uncle."

"How can you be so sure if you claim you have no memories of them?"

"Because I'm not scared of them," he answers and now his uncle pauses.

"You're not?"

"No. And I don't think those pokémon acted out because I got ill either."

"Kahuna Hala seems to be convinced."

"I'll be the first one to correct him, then. Uncle, I don't have some weird connection to them, do I? I'm just a stranger to them and sure, pokémon like me but only when I'm face to face with them. There's literally no bloody reason why they'd be so upset because of me, it's not the first time I had a seizure, once in a whole bloody laboratory and my own pokémon didn't even let out a peep at the time."

"Maybe they just like you a lot more?"

"More than the ones currently around me? I highly doubt that, uncle."

"I don't know what to make of the situation either, kiddo, I really don't."

"No, because you're too caught up with the idea you somehow failed me."

"Ash, I'm here to watch over you and I didn't do that because of Olivia," Lance says and he sounds a little peeved, which is dangerous territory but Ash isn't having it.

"Uncle, you're a fully consenting adult capable of being responsible and making your own choices, if you feel the need to keep me up to date with your situation, send me a text but you are free to go and be with whoever you want to be, I'm not holding that against you or whoever held your interest, I was hoping you would realise that yourself but if you would rather believe in mystic mumbo-jumbo that I, the king of mystic mumbo-jumbo, don't believe in, be my guest. In fact, I would rather have you believe that what happened to me and the pokémon and to you and Olivia, was all because of one thing that involved us all together and before you say anything, I'd like to remind you that we do share a blood bond through your father and if my father has Aura and I have it, so do you because that means it's male passed on talent. And you may not be able to use it as freely to be called an Aura user but you'll have a heightened sense of it, enough to be influenced by what everyone with an inkling of Aura had to deal with. Just like professor Kukui, he's way too rattled by my accident so he likely is in the same situation as yourself."

"He did witness your seizure, Ash."

"Well, I'm sorry if that was the first ever medical emergency he witnessed, I'm fully planning on explaining myself to him and the entire class too anyways so I'll be sure to apologise while I'm at it but shit happens. I'm glad that I had a seizure instead of flipping my shit like those pokémon apparently did."

"You sound very convinced about that theory, buddy."

"Yeah well, Olivia did come from her island for you, didn't she? Just like I said?"

"She'll probably already be back on her island because I ditched her."

"Which likely isn't normal behaviour for her either, in fact, I'm already confused someone like her would even take offence to such a thing. And even more confused that Kahuna Hala would suddenly be so senseless to declare such weird stuff, I'm not some sort of pokémon god just because I like them and they decided to like me back. Pretty sure there's a couple who won't like me and that's fine by me, I don't mind."

"… You make a good point. I don't know what to make from this situation."

"Trying not to blame yourself for anything would be a good start. You know I love you, uncle, I'd hate it if something happened to you too but there are just some things neither of us can stop from happening. Wishing it doesn't happen is fine, sure but shit happens, that's life. I really wish this hadn't happened but for some weird reason, I can't help but feel like all of this is connected but I miss connections to be sure of it."

"I love you too, buddy," Lance says and pulls him a little closer through their linked arms. "I'm sorry I'm making you worry too."

"Oh, I'm not worried. I just wish you realise that, if you would lose control, no matter how much I love you, I would stop you through those feelings, you know I would. I wouldn't hurt you but trust me, you'd stop before you could do anything you'd grow to regret."

His uncle chuckles and it's the most carefree noise that's come from the man this entire week and a half he was stuck at home, nursing his injury. Maybe Steven will be relieved that Lance isn't thinking himself into a hole that has no merit, Ash will but at least his way of guessing usually has a truth in it and he's far beyond blaming himself for all the Tauroscrap that happens in this world on a day to day basis anyhow.

'You have grown a lot, friend.'

'That was bound to happen,' he thinks but still feels his cheeks get a little hotter than the rest of him.

'This helped him, know that much,' Mewtwo says and Ash is all ears, he'd love to do good by his uncle all the time. 'He is relieved to hear you being yourself and that you are contradicting all of his worries and fears.'

'I'm glad it did.'

'He is, however, still a miserable man throughout all of this. As if some hardwood floor would hurt you so greatly anyway. As if we would not do what we have already done once more should you have been in real danger.'

'Well, an Aura user only dies once, right?'

'Indeed, they do.'

But gosh, Mewtwo sounds pleased as punch, the resulting purr following their conversation is omnipresent throughout his entire doctor's visit, it's a comfortable sound to have lingering around him and it calms him down enough not to take offence in a few things, such as pain because gosh darn, pulling a highly sticky band-aid off someone's bruised face hurts but well, he's going to get the cool sunglasses he saw in the store so it's fine, the doctor indeed writes him a little permission slip to wear his glasses in class, especially since he needs to take his cap off too, so he knows someone would comment on it. It's nice that the doctor will send the permission slip towards school, he's going back tomorrow anyway but it's easy to get confused about just who needs to know about this and who doesn't.

That the doctor makes an appointment for him next week is a little strange but to hear that Eleanor is coming to Alola, with his new prosthesis, why, he's suddenly a lot happier. He can't wait to see what her assistant came up with, he's tripped over his prosthetic limb a couple of times during his stay in the holiday home as the person who built it and designed the interior has a deep understanding of a black-out screen, it's utterly pitch black in his room so yeah, he could do with a little pointer where it's at. And sure, his hands and eyes sort of glow in the dark but his foot doesn't and that's the part that connects so that sort of sucks. Still, he's got something to look forward to… despite him not looking forward to going back to school again. But first, his glasses, which Lance all too happily goes and gets because his right eye is incredibly sensitive and the white of it is mostly red, it's indeed as grizzly looking as he anticipated, especially with the slim, lunar-looking line on the underside of his already reddish looking eye-colour. It looks a little evil, to be honest and he was kind of lost in the look of it because his uncle returns before he's done investigating himself.

"Alright?" the man asks and Ash grimaces.

"It stings."

"Right, better put this on then. You got compliments from the salesperson for having good taste, by the way, but I'm betting they say that to everyone who likes their guardian deities."

"The guardians, you mean? Oh, I didn't even notice the beads being the same as their base colours, that's pretty cool."

"I'm glad you still like them as much when they're right in front of you," Lance chuckles. "But you look good in them too, do they fit nice?"

"Yeah, they're comfortable," Ash answers and well, Lucha is really interested in the dangling beads but he lets her sniff and investigate, telling her not to touch them will end with her not touching them now but she might during classes, which is even less ideal.

"Good, they're a little medicinal too, apparently they'll get darker the brighter the sunlight hits so your eyes are going to be decently protected."

"Very good choice," the doctor agrees. "Now all you need to remember is to apply the eye drops ever evening, before you go to bed and you'll be right as rain before you know it."

That's great, he won't forget about that all too quickly, the sunlight stings really hard, his uncle basically leads him home whilst he closes his eyes. Sunglasses or not, he can't see through his tears anyway and while his uncle hovers with a box of tissues, Ash swears he's going to figure out who is doing this to everyone. And right now, as he carefully holds a tissue to his left eye, he doesn't even care if this person is aware they're doing this or not, he's going to make sure they know what they're doing, even if it's the last thing he does.

But not today, or tomorrow, school's on his mind and it's a hot and heavy subject. That professor Kukui was trying to get in the visiting Kahuna's good graces by letting all of them write a paper sounds a little weird to him but he did it, the entire paper is kind of a behemoth because well, he has a lot to say about things and while his uncle, who proofread the entire thing, found it a hilariously correct one, doesn't mean Olivia will. That Lance assumes she'll be upset at him for the effect he's got on his uncle is even worse, he already assumes people are unhappy to meet him so that makes everything that little bit more annoying to him, especially since she's going to come over the day after tomorrow, a whole day too, if the planning professor Kukui presented to him can be trusted. But he's a good student, he'll be a good boy and do what they want from him, if only he could be guaranteed that this will be what they want, though. Mewmew can tell him over a hundred times that he's grown, if the question isn't one where he can prove he did it, they'll be none the wiser about who he really is. That is, if he ever shows them, which he hopes he'll never need to since his personality shines in the eye of danger and Ash never wants anyone here to be involved in such a thing. This is a peaceful region, or at least, he assumed it was but after what's happened recently, he just can never be sure or at ease. And yes, that sucks but he'll get to the bottom of this, no matter what anyone says or thinks about it.

---

End of chapter forty-eight