Chapter Text
Korrina was bedridden for a week. It was another three weeks before she could return to her classes.
The spark of Lucario's Aura inside her had kept her alive, but only just. For two days after her last meeting with Riley, she had done nothing but sleep. Lucario watched over her day and night, never training, barely eating. He allowed no visitors for the first day, but eventually permitted Mustard and Honey to see his trainer, along with a doctor they had called to the island. All of them were shocked to see the state she was in: still, pale and gaunt, looking like a girl on her deathbed.
The doctor, understandably, had no experience with measuring a person's Aura, and had ultimately chalked up her illness to "life-threatening exhaustion". Honey read her husband the Riot Act for pushing his students too far, to the point where they were practically dying of exhaustion. When she finally did wake up, Korrina tried to convince Honey that Mustard wasn't responsible, and that she had just made a series of poor choices regarding her health. Honey eventually stopped giving Mustard the third degree, but even so, the other students found their lessons much less strenuous for several months after that.
As Korrina spent her days in bed, too tired to move, Lucario sat and watched her Aura carefully. After a day, there was a tiny spark of Korrina's own Aura sitting beside Lucario's, and she she recovered, it continued to slowly grow. After a week, she was finally strong enough to leave her bed and explore the dojo once again, though she tired quickly and needed Lucario's help to return to her room. She could hear the whispers of her classmates all around her, convinced that she had some sort of fatal illness she had hidden from everyone else. She had a strong guess as to who started some of those rumors, but kept her suspicions to herself.
A full month passed before she felt like she was back to her old self. She was running around the Isle of Armor, working out as she did before, and even sparring with Lucario again, before she was able to convince Honey and Mustard to allow her to return to class. She was peppered with questions upon her return, none of which she answered truthfully. She simply chalked it up to being undernourished and underslept, and repeated this explanation until the questions went away.
She refused to attempt entering the Aura State again. After her brush with mortality, she vowed that she would only ever use it if it was a matter of life and death. Her bond with Lucario would mean nothing if it cost her life. Lucario had no complaints about this. Eventually, life for the both of them returned to normal.
As was always the case, "normal" did not last very long.
"What do you think about sparring practice today?"
Korrina stood in front of the mirror in her bedroom, slipping on a white tank top before she started pulling her knee-length hair through the neck hole. From the cot in the corner of the room, Lucario grunted affirmatively.
"Great." She grabbed several twist ties - one was not nearly enough - and began putting her hair into a high ponytail, as she preferred to wear it. "Anything in particular you want to practice?"
She turned her head in his direction, needing to get a look at him as he answered. He sat up and thrust his fist out in front of him, vocalizing his thoughts with a grunt and a growl, which would have been gibberish to most.
"Meteor Mash?" she asked. He nodded in response, and she smiled. "Sounds good. You think you're getting close?"
He lowered his fist, mumbling something with a disappointed tone. Korrina frowned, understanding her partner's frustration. Their last few attempts at Meteor Mash had been duds, and Lucario had started practicing on his own while Korrina was in class. Apparently, his attempts had not borne fruit.
"Hmm." She finished applying the second hair tie as she thought. "We may have to go to Mustard for help with this after all." She didn't have to look toward Lucario to hear the derision in his voice, and she smirked. "Oh, hush. We all have to swallow our pride sometime."
She listened carefully to what Lucario had to say next, trying to parse his tone and intention as best she could. For weeks now, she had been practicing her ability to interpret what Lucario was trying to tell her, simply by opening her mind, paying attention, and listening. It had become clear that the two of them had a serious communication problem, one that she was determined to overcome. She didn't want to use their shared Aura connection as a crutch, either. She wanted to understand his words purely with her heart and her mind.
"Yes, I know how proud you are," she teased. "Who do you think you're talking to?" She finished tying her hair up, not bothering to double-check her work. If her hair fell out during training, oh well. "But he's a master and a teacher for a reason. He's good at what he does." She turned to face him. "Just give it some thought, alright?" Her eyes met his for a moment, and he reluctantly nodded, muttering something she could barely catch.
She smiled gently. "Good. I'm heading down to breakfast. Are you coming?"
Lucario shook his head, hopping off of his cot and walking in the direction of the door.
Korrina nodded. "I'll bring you something from the mess hall, then."
He grunted and stepped past her, ready to leave and practice his moves as he often did, when her hand on his shoulder stopped him. She stepped closer and wrapped her arms around his shoulders from the side, pulling him into a gentle but comforting hug. After a moment, he closed his eyes and rested his paw on one of her arms, returning the affection in a simple but clear way. The two stayed together like this for several seconds, before she pulled away.
"Good luck today," she spoke as she stepped through the door. "See you in class." He followed her out the door, turning in the opposite direction as the two went their separate ways.
The main hall of the dojo was filled with the sounds of combat, as the students' Pokémon faced off against each other as part of their daily training. Grunts and shouts rang out through the room, as the various combatants kicked, punched, and flung low-level projectiles at each other. Many of the more devastating moves were banned by Mustard, who had long ago grown tired of replacing his floors, and so simple sparring was the name of the game.
Korrina's Lucario was currently locked in battle with a four-armed, blue-and-black, octopus-like Grapploct, whose combination of agility and strength was giving the two of them a run for their money. As Lucario leaped out of the way of an oncoming Brick Break, Korrina saw an opportunity to practice what they had been working on.
"Now, Lucario! Use Meteor Mash!" she called out. Lucario bared his teeth and dashed into Grapploct, his arm reared back and glowing white. He slammed his fist into Grapploct's torso with great force, knocking the Pokémon back a couple of feet from the impact. Both Korrina and Lucario waited for a moment, anticipating a series of orange and blue energy sparks to erupt out of Lucario's fist, but nothing of the sort happened. They both slumped, disappointed at the lack of progress. Lessons from Mustard were looking more and more inevitable.
"Are you alright, Grapploct?" asked the opposing trainer, a blond-haired boy a couple of years younger than Korrina. "Hit him back with-"
To their right, one of the trainers flew backward through the air, landing hard on his back in the middle of one of the battlefields. Everyone turned and watched as a highly muscular, brunette boy of Korrina's age groaned and held his stomach with his hand. The padded sparring gear he was wearing to protect himself was sporting a large tear, with cotton gushing out of it.
"Land sakes, Grayson, are you alright?" Mustard ran over to the fallen boy, offering his hand. "That was quite the blow you just took!"
"Ugh... I'm..." Grayson coughed as he reached for his teacher's hand. "I'm fine..." Mustard pulled the boy up into a sitting position, where he took a moment to caught his breath. "Mienshao just... caught me off guard..."
Mustard frowned. "You're not going to continue on after that, are you? You should take a breather, let Mienshao battle another Pokémon."
"I'm good..." Grayson insisted, coughing once more. "Give me a minute and I'll be good to go again, promise."
Mustard sighed. "You need to start thinking more with your head and less with your muscles, boy." He looked down at the damaged sparring gear the boy was sporting. "Well, you're not going back to sparring with damaged equipment, that's for certain." He looked around the room, scanning for one person in particular. "Hm... I was going to ask Honey to fetch another, but..." His eyes homed in on one of the trainers. "Korrina, would you mind running to the supply closet and fetching another torso pad?"
"No problem, sir," Korrina answered, quickly moving toward the hallway that led to the supply closet. She had known instinctively that she would be called on for this particular errand. After the incident, Mustard had started taking most available opportunities to get her out of class for a few minutes, to let her rest herself here and there. She didn't exactly enjoy the special treatment, but she wasn't bothered enough to complain.
The supply closet was at the far end of the dojo, but the building was small enough that it was only a couple minutes' walk. Korrina was thinking idly about what she could do to help Lucario with Meteor Mash as she reached out for the door handle, pulling it down and pushing on the door to open it. She was taken by surprise when the door refused to open, nearly walking into the door herself before realizing it was still closed.
"Huh?" She jiggled the handle a few times, confirming that it was unlocked and opening properly, before she tried pushing on the door again. It moved the tiniest bit before stopping, feeling as though it was bumping against something. Was there something on the other side of the door blocking it?
She sighed and pushed on the door a bit harder, hoping to dislodge whatever was blocking it, when she felt a strange sensation in her chest, coming from the direction of the supply closet. It was similar to the radiance she felt when she was close to Lucario, but something about it was different in a way that she didn't fully understand. It was like the radiance had a different fingerprint, a different signature, an indelible quality to it that defied explanation. She realized that it reminded her of being near Honey.
"Honey?" she dared to ask, speaking up so her voice could be heard through the door. "Are you... in there?" She pressed her ear against the door, listening for any sort of response, but the only sound she could hear was a low groan, almost like a creak. She couldn't tell if it was the sound of a person groaning, or simply the kind of sound an old building made from time to time.
She tried again to open the door, growing concerned, wondering if someone - Honey, perhaps - was trapped inside. If she couldn't get the door open, and the person inside couldn't respond, there was no-
There was a way, Korrina realized. If she could see the person's Aura, she would be able to know for sure. But she had sworn off the Aura State. She had made a promise to Lucario.
But was that promise worth somebody's life?
She debated with herself fiercely for a moment, going back and forth, before she finally closed her eyes tight and began the journey into her mind that she had become familiar with. She raced through the hallway that she had constructed in her mind, moving quickly but carefully, trying her best to find her destination without Lucario's aid. She picked out the signposts and reminders that she had set for herself ages ago, finding them more quickly than she had the last time she had tried this.
Soon she placed her hand on the handle of one door, taking a deep breath before pushing it open and looking inside. Her eyes lit up as she found what she was looking for - the geyser of Aura that would awaken her inner potential. She ran toward it, practically diving in, and gasped as she felt the energy of the Aura State filling her body from head to toe.
Her real eyes opened, irises glowing blue as they had before, and she took a look at the supply closet once again. Her heart dropped as she saw what she had hoped she wouldn't - the blue-outlined silhouette of a person, with roughly Honey's dimensions, lying on the ground inside the closet, barely moving.
Instinctively, she started ramming her shoulder against the door, trying to dislodge whatever was blocking it from opening. Three slams later, the door was still holding fast, held in place by something surprisingly large and heavy. Korrina was starting to grow sore from her attempts to get in.
"Someone help!" she shouted as loudly as she could. "Honey's trapped and she's hurt!" Another useless shoulder check was thrown against the door. "If anyone can hear me, please help!" She continued struggling against the door, cursing herself for not thinking to bring Lucario along with her. The thin thread connecting her heart to his had never felt so long and distant before. She needed him here. She needed his help, needed his strength in order to-
Korrina stopped cold as she felt a pulse of energy travel along the connecting thread, touching her heart.
She stood leaning against the door for a moment, trying to figure out what had just happened. She had never felt anything like this from her connection to Lucario. It felt like a signal traveling along a telephone line. It brought with it feelings of urgency, of determination, but... they weren't her own. The feelings were slightly off, slightly alien, as if they originated from someone else's heart instead of her own. It was almost as though she had received a message.
She was snapped out of her reverie by the sound of footsteps running down the hall, quickly getting closer. She turned to her right to see Lucario racing toward her, a look of confusion and panic on his face as he saw her glowing eyes.
"Lucario..." she muttered, dumbstruck, before coming to her senses. "It's Honey! She's trapped in there and I think she's hurt badly!"
Lucario didn't hesitate to act. He slid to a stop in front of the closet, his palm glowing blue, before he slammed his paw into the door as hard as he could. The wood exploded backward as if it were paper, knocking the door off of its hinges and splitting it into two large pieces. Korrina stepped inside immediately, nearly tripping over the large object in front of the entryway, which turned out to be a shelving unit. Looking further in, she gasped as she saw Honey's nearly-unconscious body buried under a pile of boxes.
"Oh no!" Both Korrina and Lucario raced over and started tossing boxes aside, uncovering more of the unconscious woman. Honey groaned weakly, eyes trying and failing to flutter open, as she felt the weight of the fallen supplies being lifted off of her. Soon she was entirely uncovered, and Korrina knelt down next to her, wincing at the bruises that were already forming.
"Honey!" Korrina carefully lifted Honey up so her top half was leaning against Korrina's frame. "Can you hear me? Are you alright?"
"Mmnh... Korrina...?" Honey's eyelids cracked open, as she looked toward the young student. "What happened...?"
"I think a shelf fell on top of you," Korrina explained. "We're going to get-"
"Oh my stars! Honey, no!" Mustard's voice rang out from the entryway, and Korrina looked over to see her master dashing in, kneeling next to Honey's other side. "What happened to you, sweetheart?!"
"Sorry, baby..." Honey's voice was weak and apologetic. "Guess I'm still... a bit of a klutz..."
Mustard's expression turned serious as he looked toward Korrina. "Help me carry her to the medic's office. Carefully."
"Right," Korrina affirmed. The two of them helped Honey get to her feet, which she could barely stand on. She loosely placed each of her arms around a pair of shoulders, leaning heavily to the right due to how much shorter Mustard was than his student. The three of them slowly made their way back out into the hall, pushing their way through the crowd of students that had formed and ignoring their gasps.
Korrina took a moment to look back, her eyes meeting her Lucario's. The concern in his eyes had abated, and had been replaced with surprise and confusion. Korrina nodded at him, affirming that she was experiencing the same shock that he was. Her gaze returned forward, but her mind stayed fixed on the pulse she had felt moments before Lucario's arrival. The two of them would have to have a discussion later, once Honey had been treated and stabilized.
Korrina and Mustard safely managed to get Honey to the medic's office, where she was treated for bruises and broken bones. Twenty minutes later, Mustard remembered that he was still in the middle of a class, and promptly cancelled all classes for the remainder of the day. The incident was the talk of the school throughout the afternoon and evening, filling the mess hall with loud chatter as everyone ate dinner together. Nobody had noticed, or remembered, the way that Lucario had jumped up and run down to the supply for seemingly no reason. Korrina made sure not to bring it up.
Later that evening, Korrina and Lucario found themselves back in their room. Lucario took his normal place on his cot, while Korrina sat with her legs hanging off the edge of her bed. It was clear both of them had the same thing on their minds.
"You felt it too, didn't you?" Korrina asked. "The pulse."
Lucario was silently contemplative for a moment, but eventually nodded, indicating he had. Before Korrina could continue, however, Lucario pointed his claws at his eyes, then pointed back at his trainer, referencing the Aura State she had entered.
She sighed. "I know, I know, I promised. But I had to. I needed to know if someone was trapped inside. If I hadn't, Honey might... well..."
He grumbled, displeased, but didn't push the matter. She continued on. "That pulse... it felt like you were telling me something. Like you were sending a message. Did it feel like that for you, too?" He nodded silently in response.
Korrina took in a deep breath before she spoke again. "This... I don't want to lose this, Lucario. This new way of... reaching out, communicating, connecting with you... I want to explore this. I want to keep practicing the Aura State."
Lucario's eyes widened, and Korrina didn't need to read his heart to sense his apprehension. He kept his response to himself for a moment, but it was hardly necessary. She knew he was scared of losing her, just as she was.
"We'll do it right this time!" she insisted. "I'll pace myself. I won't push too hard, and I'll rest when I need to. I won't do anything dangerous." He glared at her, thinking that this whole exercise was dangerous, and she sighed.
"Look... if you really don't want me to do this, I won't. We're in this together. But... I really want this. I want to explore my potential. I want to find out what I can do. What we can do. How close we can become." She stood up, walking over to her partner. "Please, Lucario?"
Lucario and Korrina looked into each other's eyes as she stood in front of him, hands clasped, pleading silently. She didn't say a word as he wrestled with her request in his mind, the conflict clear on his face. After what felt like an eternity, he closed his eyes and gave her a curt nod, and she felt her heart leaping in her chest.
"Thank you, Lucario! Thank you so much!" She stepped forward and threw her arms around his shoulders, hugging him tightly. "I know this is going to be worth it, for both of us." He didn't hug her back, but neither did he pull away, resting his head against her collar. She let him go and rest her hands on his shoulders, looking into his eyes. "Forget about Riley. You're my teacher now. There's nobody I trust more than you."
He kept his gaze on her as he stood, looking up to meet her eyes, being more than a foot shorter than she was. He reached up and removed her hands from his shoulders, turning her around and pushing her gently toward her bed.
Korrina was shocked for a moment, but sighed as she regained her balance. "Yes, sensei," she responded, walking over to her bed and lying on top of it, slipping underneath her covers. He lay down on his cot as she turned to face him, grunting and grumbling something to her.
She smiled gently, understanding him perfectly. "Right. Tomorrow. I'll be ready."
The two of them closed their eyes, cautiously excited for what lay ahead of them, and soon fell asleep.