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

[my_father_is_a_tycoon]

[Lenna often takes walks herself when she isn't busy with her duties as head of the Tycoon family, as she likes to make sure she can stay connected to every corner of Union. She spots Ishimaru on his own outing as she's walking the other way, and it isn't hard to see that something is on his mind. Unable to ignore a friend in need, she slowly approaches.]

...Kiyotaka?

[hallacious]

[If there's one person who can understand the amount of pressure Ishimaru puts on himself, it's Lenna.]

...Ms. Tycoon!

[He hesitates before he salutes, as if he's trying to remember how to do it. Watchog isn't about to drop the ball, though, and she imitates her trainer with the gusto he currently lacks.]

[my_father_is_a_tycoon]

[It's true. Things have been hard for her since her father went missing.]

Please... just Lenna is fine.

[She'll probably have to correct him every time. All the same, she waves a hand as he salutes.]

Ah... at ease?