Work Text:
Ash laughs gleefully, bobbing up and down with the waves as his chin and hands rested on the surfboard floating beside him. Pikachu lay atop, struggling to get onto his paws without shaking with the encroaching tide.
The mouse wasn’t distressed, Ash would have pulled himself up and taken the creature into his arms if Pikachu had been. His starter, his partner, squeaks in an assortment of giggles. Crying out its name loud.
“Pika-chu!”
Eyes blessedly closed as Ash kicked his feet and maneuvered the board so it wasn’t swept away into the sea foam. Ever so often Ash would pull his head up and off, giving it a bit of a shake just to see Pikachu squeal and pat at his hands with his furry paws.
The pair admittedly were completely in their own world, mainly because the girls and Kiawe - Sophocles not being available today - decided to play volleyball. Ash had played enough that morning and with the sun boring down so harshly on them he much preferred the water at the moment.
As did Pikachu.
Wishiwashi and Bruxish passed him by, none courageous enough to get too close. This area had been sectioned off by netting, safe for swimmers.
Or it was intended to be safe, and it seemed that way, Ash didn’t spy any threats - even the Pyukumuku were too far under the depths to do anything, and they were too frightened to even want to.
So his guard was effectively down, even as a curious pink Mareanie - normally known to travel in packs slipped through the net. Spying his dangling legs with interest and fear.
It didn’t have the luxury of figuring out if his erratic movements keeping him afloat were a threat or not.
To the creature it just was. Its coral tendrils wrapped around his calf, the sharp venomous spines immediately punctured skin.
In response Ash screams, lips beneath the water, the roar silencing the sound before even Pikachu’s long ears could pick it up.
The electric mouse doesn’t even notice, not until a bigger wave; One that shakes and pushes Pikachu back towards the beach and drenches his paws, does it notice something amiss.
“Pika?” The Pikachu purrs, head tilted, a question mark might as well be sitting there in the air above its head.
Looking towards empty water, or empty of its best friend, and in his place instead was a swirl of red, purple, and frantic splashes.
Without thinking, electricity crackles into the air with a loud: “Pi-Ka-Chu!”
Kiawe’s hands shake as they lay atop one another and force another quick jab of pressure onto the younger boy’s chest.
Beneath him now lay Ash’s prone form, blood staining the sand below his leg, his gut full of water and unbreathing.
There’s a blue tint to the Pokemon trainer’s skin, effectively poisoned by a mareanie. Sucked of all the strength he had instantly by its potency, leaving him utterly defenseless against the ever shifting waves.
If Pikachu hadn’t cried out in alarm, sending off a thunderbolt into the air to cause further attention.
No one would have noticed Ash drowning at all in the midst of their game.
“Get the professor!” Kiawe finds the strength to shout before touching down, forcefully blowing air down Ash’s throat.
Lille and Lana, watched the scene in utter terror, tears in their eyes as they held their Pokemon and each other, flinch and stammer at his command.
Still they don’t have the ability to run, not in their shock.
“Now!” He shouts again when the sand doesn’t crunch with their leaving before returning to the task at hand.
“On it,” Mallow screams, nearly falling and tripping in her haste. Dodging two sandcastles, and a small shovel that she can’t be sure were Pokemon or not but she won’t test her luck. Not now.
She’d done enough pancake races to be able to keep a steady and speedy pace. They all knew the path to the Professors, just about everyone on Melemele island knew.
Muscle memory is what gets her there, past Rockruff that grows excited instantly only to falter when she completely bypasses the canine without giving it the usual seemingly mandatory pets.
“Professor!” Mallow cries, not knowing when she began to sob, completely unaware of where her own Pokemon was at that point.
There’s no decorum as she rushes through the door, normally there was very little decorum in their interactions, Kukui always welcoming them to come and go as they pleased, but it was still the man’s home she lunges into.
“Professor,” Mallow hiccups, tripping on the fringe of the knitted blue rug. Careening momentarily, only to be caught by strong arms, and ultimately assaulted by familiar body spray.
“Mallow?” The Pokemon’s Professor’s voice is dripping with concern as he effortlessly rights her on her feet.
She’s trembling so hard she must be hurting his biceps with the way she’s gripping him. She can’t breathe, but Ash wasn’t breathing at all.
“Beach. Ash. Blood. Help,” She chokes out, pushing at his abs. Telling him to move, to go. Begging and pleading he go save Ash so Kiawe wasn’t doing it on his own.
Before Mallow realizes in a quick yet gentle movement he’s setting her down against the wall where Steenee embraced her along with Rockruff, and he was gone, sending Braviary out to scout ahead and lead the way.
Mallow in her fear and anguish for her friend, screams. She’d never taken death well.
Kukui didn’t wear flip flops for a reason, many of the islanders did. That and sandals.
He knew better, not only because of his work with Pokemon, constantly surrounded by creatures that more often than not even without their meaning caused some sort of destruction.
But also because his side gig didn’t exactly allow anything open toed.
He doesn’t regret it now, knowing if he’d had on his slides he’d have tripped and sprained an ankle in his haste.
Sweat beaded down his temples, the height of his adrenaline familiar to when in the ring.
Although accompanying it, festering the beat of his heart into something manic is terror. Ash was hurt, bleeding on the beach, however he’d sustained those injuries he’d just have to see.
Because if he tried to come up with a reason, it’d only be worse than it actually was, and he had to stay level-headed. The kids needed it, and an injured person could only benefit from his control.
So with his heart in his throat, Kukui makes his way up the final crest to the beach at Braviary’s direction.
It’s there he loses a modicum of the collectiveness he’d thrown together. The boy entrusted into his care, the amazing, baffling, child who’d already punched a hole into his heart is laid out.
Chest suddenly giving painfully to Kiawe’s hands, blood seeping below his right leg from puncture wounds Kukui from research knew originated from a Mareanie’s toxic spines.
The small body suddenly heaves, pale and blue face tilting to the side, and Kukui feels his sunglasses go askew.
The most pained cough imaginable hits the air before Ash is retching the salt water up. It likely shreds his throat. It must.
Kukui hears it as he rushes over, feeling as the sand’s grain stabbed into his knees when he dropped beside him.
Quickly he puts an appreciative hand on Kiawe’s skin, the touch fleeting but it’s all the comfort he can provide with the more pressing issue at hand. But Arceus these kids are terrified and Kiawe had done well, so well.
He could give him that much before he got to work on situating Ash into the recovery position, rubbing his back as more water trickled from his mouth.
The Rotem Dex thankfully came prepared with quick access to emergency services.
Lillie timidly speaks up before he could think to ask if anyone had and called himself: “An ambulance is on its way.”
Kukui manages a sigh of relief at that, a thankful nod sent her way even if his head doesn’t fully turn to look at her.
He can’t take his eyes off Ash as he pushes the boy’s bangs from his face, watching as the boy’s eyes shifted rapidly under his eyelids, just barely getting the strength to open.
It’s then he sets to work on pulling out an antidote from his labcoat’s pocket, spraying it quickly onto the boy’s leg to stop the blood flow and cure the boy of the affliction that’d drowned him and made him so weak and susceptible.
Fur nudges the back of his wrist, Pikachu, an eerily quiet Pikachu stares through his soul.
Kukui pets the sniffling rodent's head in the same way he swept his palm over Ash’s back. Unable to find the words of assurance he surely should have for the creature.
Then again he knew, seeing so clearly with Ash’s bond between himself and the electric mouse Pokemon, Pikachu wouldn’t be assured until Ash provided the comfort.
So he saves his words, knowing they’d come more readily to him once Ash was coherent.
Paternal instinct and all that. Biologically he may not have any children, but as a professor, a public figure;
He interacted with them enough that it really shone through. If he hadn’t become a professor maybe he would have never realized he had a knack for parenting, but it’s there and it readily applied itself to Ash.
Maybe to Ash more so than it did to anyone else. He saw all too much of himself in the boy, and then so much more. Ash wasn’t like any kid he ever met, he wasn’t like anyone he ever met.
The kid had attracted Tapu Koko’s attention when he hadn’t even been on the island for a day.
That meant something. And no one had the boy’s drive or determination. A Pokemon Master, Kukui didn’t even know what that was, but he had no doubt Ash would be it.
Would achieve it.
If he lived, if he survived this. Slipping his hand beneath the boy’s neck, Kukui is careful not to move him too much, knowing Kiawe had broken bone to get his heart pumping again, and silently begs the universe that the boy just opened his eyes and made some sort of eye contact.
Ash does, blearily looking up at him. Blinking slowly and for a few seconds not at all.
“Dad?” It’s so quiet and rasped the word barely makes it off the boy’s tongue. Kukui would have chalked it up to his imagination if not for the fact he saw it erupt from the boy’s currently bloodless lips.
“Pika,” The Pokemon on in his right whimpers, having heard the disjointed and likely delirious referral and nuzzled the top of the boy’s head.
“It’s okay son, help’s on the way,” The Professor assures, not wanting to dwell on something Ash probably hadn’t meant in his dilapidated state.
Merely going with it, that didn’t mean he meant his own referral any less.
Ash had become his Alola family. Even Ash had said as such. He didn’t want to lose that.
Sirens hit the air, hopefully implying that he wouldn’t. The paramedics work quickly, even as they and their equipment nearly sink into the sand.
Kukui all but places his ward onto the gurney for them - Pikachu leaping up onto the boy’s good leg, before helping them get it up out of the beach’s clutches and into the ambulance.
He sends one last fleeting glance at the kids, noting Mallow hadn’t made her way back.
Still at the house, not that he minded. He had a feeling they’d all be there soon. In fact Kiawe is seemingly already ushering them off and providing comfort even as his arms shake with strain.
The doors close and the vehicle is moving before he can tell them all not to wait up. He’s almost sure they wouldn’t make it back to the bungalow tonight.
Not with the boy’s injuries. Kukui had seen and experienced enough blunders to be able to tell - he’d practically attained a six sense about these things.
Naturally they don’t let him in for the X-ray’s, especially since they saddle him with paperwork instead.
Delia and him had sorted the details out when Ash had come to stay with him, so it’s easy enough and his Rotem Dex held what he couldn’t fill in by memory.
Speaking of the boy’s mother, she doesn’t answer. Not that he blames her with the time difference, even if it breaks something in him that she doesn’t know her boy is hurt, especially when he knows at the end of the day it’d reflect badly on him.
Would she demand Ash come home? Claim he wasn't a good enough guardian to even be around children?
Kukui doesn’t know and the stress has him removing his cap and running a hand through his sweaty locks, his bun having fallen out he doesn’t know how long ago.
Pikachu, able to see all this, jumps into his lap rather than vault up onto his shoulder like he usually did.
There’s a bit of static as it reaches up to nuzzle his cheek, nothing painful but his goatee tugs a bit out of whack.
His energy needed to go somewhere, it might as well go towards the loving creature feeling the same dread as he was.
Pikachu curls up as he embraces the speedy fuzzball into a hug. Pushing the tears he hadn’t allowed himself to shed in view of Ash and the children into the animals fur.
It cried with him.
“I brought something for you,” Kukui smiles, walling himself up into a picture of ease as he enters the hospital room. Pikachu chirps happily from his shoulder as he maneuvers the Pokemon onto the boy’s bed.
Careful to avoid placing the Pokemon outright on the boy’s chest, not wanting to press on his healing ribs.
“Pikachu! Professor!” Ash proclaims happily, still sounding rough, looking it too. But not nearly as bad as before.
No longer burdened with the blue tinge of breathlessness or bloodless lips. Still his pallor wasn’t quite right, and exhaustion was written on his normally full of life face.
“Pika Pi!” The Pokemon cheered excitedly, practically rabbit-footed as it bounded across the free space on the mattress to rub against his trainer.
Chittering and smothering the boy’s bangs back into his face.
On instinct Kukui pushes them back, more forward than he’s been with his affections in the past.
He’d ruffled the boy’s hair, clapped him on the shoulder, this wasn’t any different he tells himself.
Ash doesn’t seem to mind anyhow, smiling and leaning into the touch with an eager amount of relief.
He’d forgotten the boy hadn’t grown up with a father, in fact it seems his older friends from Kanto had a lot to do with his raising.
Delia had gotten back to him in the time it took Ash to wake up and the doctors to allow visitors, her reaction strange. It’d been melancholy, her face and shrug of her shoulders over the call practically screaming “What can you do?”
And yes accidents happened, Arceus, Kukui understood that, but the woman didn’t even ask to see or talk to him!
Ash getting into trouble apparently wasn’t uncommon, that Kukui could see - especially with how Ash perilously ran into danger not only for his Pokemon but his friends as well.
But even still, what mother didn’t want to check on their child after she’d been told his heart had stopped?
It drove the Professor mad, if Ash asked about his mother, Kukui honestly didn’t know what he’d say or if he could even bite his tongue.
Wanting to be surrounded by your loved ones when you were sick or injured wasn’t unusual or odd, especially with something as serious as this, and yet Ash doesn't call out or even ask him to call her.
It was apparently enough that he and Pikachu were there.
The fact that his ward, and the other children who looked to him, were so eased by his presence warmed his heart.
Coupled by Ash’s earlier…endearment, Kukui decided in the future he wouldn’t mind having some biological kids of his own.
Instinct tells him to keep Ash in that family as well, but he couldn’t hold the boy back from his goals.
That and Ash was a tremendous judge of character, intrinsically knowing to surround himself with those who’d look out for him.
The distance wouldn’t matter at the end of the day, the boy would always be a part of his Alola family.
Thankfully they still had plenty of time together, and Kukui had plenty of ideas to make the islands more interesting for the boy’s stay.
Offhandedly as he skimmed through his reports over breakfast, Kukui watched as Ash and the other kids, a few having made themselves at home in his house over the duration of Ash’s hospital stay, talked.
The girls looked at Ash with weary eyes, feigning casual but Lana and Lillie had burst into tears several times.
Leaning up into the boy’s space and looking upon him as if he’d drop to the ground if they didn’t.
Mallow busied herself with making them all breakfast, Kukui had offered to do it for her, especially when he’s sure she cried into his pancake, but she hadn’t let him. Needing to do something.
Kiawe wasn’t unaffected, more stoic than the rest and standing protectively near the already gleaming boy.
Ready to step in if anyone or even Ash himself over exerted himself. Kukui appreciated it, knowing he was just one man, and with injuries, and rambunctious children involved, more than one set of eyes was appreciated.
Ash had many, including Sophocles, the only student that hadn’t been there for the boy’s incident.
Having been busy programming something that just couldn’t wait. Ultimately that had been a good thing, it was bad enough most of the kids had to experience nearly losing their friend, at least one had been spared.
Surely when they were all back to class, a discussion would have to be had.
Assignments would be more lenient and their excursions would crack down into something more tame. Or as tame as an outing with these kids could possibly be.
Which evidently was not that tame, but they’d manage. They’d manage, they had each other after all.