3rd Order; action

[hallacious]

[It isn't that unusual to find Ishimaru out for a walk on the weekends, but this time he isn't the one leading the pack. Truthfully, he hasn't been acting quite the same ever since he came back from Sanctuary. Worry lines were creased deep into his forehead, dark bags became more prevalent under his eyes, and even in class he seemed distant, far away. If he'd been sleeping at all, it hadn't been well. Some part of the prefect just seemed fundamentally broken, and it's clear he's been trying to pick himself up, but to no success.

His Blaziken and his Watchog have taken that initiative for him this time, trying to cheer their trainer up. Even his usually curious and impulsive Blaziken was hanging back just a little, holding Ishimaru's hand gently in his talon and guiding him along. Watchog is perhaps a little less on-task, occasionally running off as she spots a candy wrapper in a trash bin, but her trainer seems too drained to properly discipline her.

In the end, it had been Yukiko's evolution that saved them - not the efforts and passions of an ordinary man, but the epitome of natural, in-born talent, the kind he could never hope to gain. And as grateful as he is for her sacrifice, to be alive, as grateful as he is that everyone else is alive, there's a voice in the back of his mind telling him he failed. Failed his city, failed his family, but most of all, failed everything he believes in. That's not even taking into account the atrocities committed by Sanctuary, those horrors he can barely stand to stomach, wildly different than any of his first impressions of the place.

War leaves a lot to weigh on your mind.]

......

Comments

[hallacious]

[And all too suddenly his stomach lurches upward into his throat.]

...you saved all of us. If anything, I'm the one who owes you.

[All his efforts had paled in comparison to hers. For all he preached about hard work and diligence, simply giving it his all hadn't been enough. The event would have been terrifying enough on its own, but the sensation of not being able to do anything - for Ishimaru, it was like a crack in his own self-perception he desperately needs to mend.]

[frozenflame]

[Yukiko reaches an arm out and drops it onto his shoulder, his reaction not sitting well with her at all.]

Ishimaru-kun. Without you there, I wouldn't have had the courage to understand myself enough to evolve.

[She frowns deeply, looking away, bothered by images that still flash through her head.]

I just...I saw that mob there, getting worse and worse, and I heard what you said, and I just couldn't take it anymore. I saw the crowd overrunning everything, people getting hurt, my teammates getting hurt, and with everything you were saying about hte Savior and faith...it all just clicked.

So, no. [A beat.] I owe you. Or we owe one another.

[hallacious]

[For a moment, he's so choked up he can't breathe.

Then he gulps it back and comes back to himself, all the inadequacy under the surface. Hearing that from her...it means more than he can say. Her words aren't a cure-all, but Savior, they help, even if he can't believe them to their full capacity.]

You...mean that sincerely?

[It's not like he's going to suddenly start hailing himself as the hero of the whole expedition, but there's a spark of hope in his chest again, courage to face the struggles of tomorrow with all the determination in his body.

Watchog squeaks as she finds a hard candy on the ground.]

[frozenflame]

[Yukiko nods slowly. It's even more evident that he's needing this. He's seeking some sort of validation.]

I do. You and everyone else. It...wasn't something I'd have been able to do without a push. I...[She laughs, somewhat self-deprecatingly.] I've been trying to evolve for months. It's something I wanted. To unlock those gifts from the Gods. But I haven't been able to, until now.

[Another nod, firmer this time.]

Thank you, Ishimaru.