A Thin Line (by Ash-GreninjaGirl)

Empty Space

Six months ago, if someone had told Hawlucha that Greninja's absence would be one of the worst things that ever happened to him, he would have immediately called for them to be institutionalized. After all, how could the removal of one of the most annoying Pokemon in the world from his life be anything but beneficial? Without Greninja around to pester him, he could finally get a few minutes of peace and quiet. 

However, it turned out that not having Greninja around wasn't exactly the dream come true he thought it would be. 

Every day, Hawlucha found his eyes sliding towards the empty chair where the frog-ninja Pokemon usually sat. Whenever the team had a conversation, they were filled with awkward pauses where Greninja usually interjected with a sarcastic comment or a joke. Hawlucha never thought he could miss him as much as he did, but here he was. 

The only positive about the entire situation was that his teammates had finally gotten over their hatred of him. While they still weren't pleased about what his actions had caused, they didn't go out of their way to ignore him anymore. In a way, it actually made Hawlucha feel worse, but he tried to ignore that. At least he wasn't being forced to wallow in his guilt alone anymore. 

"Do you think Greninja's ever going to wake up?" he asked Pikachu one day. "It's been almost seven months..." 

"I'm sure he will," Pikachu replied, with more confidence than he obviously felt. "He's gotten through a lot of difficult things in his life. There's no reason why he shouldn't be able to get through this too." 

Hawlucha looked down at the floor, feeling guilt wash over him. Although Pikachu hadn't come outright and said so, he knew that he was one of the "difficult things" Greninja had been forced to tolerate. He had made his teammate's life a living hell, and now there was a chance he might be partly responsible for his death. 

And if that happened, what would he do? It was already difficult enough living without Greninja, but he was able to keep going with the knowledge that there was still a chance that he might return. What would he do if that chance was taken away? Would he still be able to keep going? Somehow, Hawlucha wasn't entirely sure if he would. 

"Why the sudden concern anyway?" Pikachu asked, breaking him out of his thoughts. "You've never really asked before. Are you finally realizing that you actually like Greninja?" 

Hawlucha pondered the question for a moment. Did he like Greninja? If he was being honest, he wasn't entirely sure. No, he certainly didn't hate him like he'd once thought, but there was so much bitterness and pain between them, it was impossible to say for certain that he liked him. Of course, he had once told Noivern that he didn't dislike Greninja, but he knew that "like" and "don't dislike" were worlds apart. But at the same time, he knew that he still needed Greninja–everyone needed Greninja. He was a vital aspect to the team. 

It wasn't that they couldn't find another water-type, of course. Hawlucha was well aware that there were plenty of others to be found, and probably some that were stronger than Greninja as well. It was the fact that none of them could ever begin to replace Greninja that was the real issue. No one else would ever be able to take his place because they wouldn't be him. They just wouldn't fit in, and the group dynamics would be even more askew than they were now. 

"I don't know if I like him or not," he said finally. "I just know that I don't want to live without him."