My Amour

Have a Seat, Young Ketchum

"Have a seat, Ash." Professor Kukui pointed to a seat that he'd pulled in front of his desk. Ash ducked his head in shame and sat, bracing for the incoming lecture. Upon noticing the boy's posture, the stern look the Professor had previously been sporting broke into a small smile. "No need to look so down. I only want to talk. Is that okay?"

Ash nodded, a little stunned. Just a talk? But he'd been so bad. As a student and as a guest in the Professor's home. Still, regardless of his doubts, the young trainer felt himself relax slightly and nod in affirmation.

The Professor's smile grew. "Good. Do you think you'd be up to talking about what's been up with you these past few weeks?"

Ash gathered his conviction, then nodded. "Yeah. I actually wanted to start by apologizing to you." The Professor tilted his head in confusion, so Ash continued on. "I've been, well, a pretty poor student recently. You're a pretty awesome teacher, and you don't deserve to have me falling asleep in your classes. So, sorry about that."

The Professor nodded yet again. "Thank you for apologizing, but that's not why I wanted to talk today. Why aren't you sleeping well, Ash?"

Ash instantly assumed the worst. Ever since he'd gotten to Alola, he'd been shaken awake most nights by Pikachu. The Kalos crisis had been... awful, to say the least. There had been so much destruction, the whole world was on the line, and he hadn't been strong enough to stop it.

He shuddered at night thinking about what would've happened if Zygarde hadn't pulled through at the end.

The idea that the Professor might've heard was... uncomfortable. In Ash's head, the islands of Alola were far removed from world ending disasters, and he liked the tranquil escapism the region provided. He didn't want to dwell on his nightmares in the Alolan sun.

Ash lowered his hat. It was suddenly very hard to look the Professor in the eye. "What do you mean? I've been sleeping fine!" But the slight tremble in his voice betrayed him.

The Professor must've noticed too, because he gave a slight sigh and leaned back in his chair. "To be honest with you Ash, I don't really care that you're falling asleep in my classroom." The shock on his face must've shown, because the Professor broke out into a small grin before continuing. "You know more about most of what I teach than most of the students, heck, maybe more than even I do."

Ash rubbed the back of his neck, bashful at the praise, but the Professor wasn't done.

"You're a very impressive young man, Ash. You bring up others, take them under your wing and push them further than even they think they can go. You've become a very important member of our little community here. Which is why it's been very difficult for us to watch you struggle. It's been really difficult for me to watch you struggle."

Ash opened his mouth to interrupt, to insist that he was actually doing alright, and nobody had to worry, but the Professor raised a hand to interupt.

"Please, just let me finish," He let out a slight sigh before continuing. "I know that you've been struggling with nightmares ever since you got here, and I'm certain that there's a story there that belongs only to you. I won't ask you to share that unless you want to."

He should've been terrified that the Professor knew. Frozen at the thought that someone knew there was something wrong with him. But no feelings took root in Ash. He only felt a pleasant hum of warmth in his chest, and a quiet thankfulness for the Professor's willingness to not pry.

Across from him, the Professor continued. "However, I can't ignore it when things get worse. So, why have you been pushing yourself so hard these past few days?"

Ash's hand immediately went to his pocket. Absent-mindedly, his fingers traced the edge of the magazine that rested there. For not the first time that day, her voice echoed in his mind.

I can't wait to see you reach new heights as well.

Ash grinned, "Well, the league's coming up, and we've gotta win!" He punctuated his sentence with a passionate grin and a clenched fist.

The Professor held his face carefully neutral. "...Have to?"

Ash blushed a little, trying to reign in his energy. "Well, I've just got people expecting big things from me this time," He rubbed his neck and avoided eye contact. "And I just really hope I can impress them."
The Professor frowned slightly, then turned his head. Following his eyeline, Ash found himself staring out the classroom window at a sunset already starting to bloom across the Alolan skyline.

The Professor sighed, then stood up, walking over to the door, and Ash's eyes were drawn back to his face. "Ash, Alola is a wonderful, peaceful place." A faraway look came into the Professor's eyes. "Tired souls come to rest here, and be healed. I understand that you're motivated to win, but at least try not to push yourself too hard, okay?"

Ash nodded. "I'll try, Professor. I think I should be sleeping better the next few days anyways."

At that comment, the Professor's face morphed into a small smirk. "No more contests to watch?"

Ash's eyes bugged, and before he could even think, he said, "You knew about that?!"

The Professor's smirk grew even wider. " Contests do stand out pretty significantly from my wrestling recordings. Don't worry about it, you're allowed to watch whatever at my house. But just so you know, you aren't all that sneaky."

Ash chuckled nervously, and Kukui gave him a quick grin before his face turned more serious. "Just one last thing though. Have you been able to talk about your nightmares with anybody here in Alola?"

Ash shook his head.

"You're free to talk to me about it whenever you'd like, should you choose to. Okay?" Ash nodded, but the Professor wasn't done. "Do you have any other friends that you'd be comfortable talking about it with?"

Instantly, memories of starry nights and the scent of Kalos' woods filled his head. Swallowing back his memories, Ash nodded. "I did, but I haven't talked to them in a while."

The Professor leaned back and an indescribable look came over his face. "I'd suggest you get back in contact with them then. It's hard to handle everything alone, and you have lots of friends who care about you. Don't forget that, Ash"

And with that the Professor walked out the door, leaving Ash to his thoughts.