Hold My Hand

The doctor nodded, coming over to look Shaya over carefull. "Hmph. Mostly bruising. Nothing broken, which is good. Gardevoir do not easily heal broken bones. Minor lacerations... yes, it should be recovered in a couple of days. So, it's talking to you? Then ask it exactly what happened."

"..Her. And hang on." Reizo then sent a mental message to Shaya. "If you don't want to, you don't have too tell what happened. It's up to you Shaya."

'W-what?' Reizo had heard a lot of cruel things, seen some. But no matter how many times he did, he really just couldn't wrap his head around the things people could do to others. A spike of anger was felt from Reizo but he did his best to calm down. Getting angry wasn't going to solve things now but he really couldn't help it.

After a moment, he calmed and tried to explain what happened to the doctor.

The doctor sighed. "The cruelty of man. A fact of life, however sad. If that is the situation, we cannot in good conscience return it to it's trainer. It will be put up for adoption or returned to the wild once it is healed."

Reizo slowly nodded his head. "I..understand. I hope things work out.." Then he decided to send a message to Shaya.

If nothing falls through..I guess you could stay with me until you get on your feet. Or maybe Suki could help you. I know you don't have any reason to trust me..but just think about it.

The doctor shrugged. "It'll be fine. It's a Pokemon, they are hardy creatures. It will find it's happiness in the wild, or a new human companion. You don't need to worry about it."

"...You would be my new Master?"

Reizo was getting a bit annoyed more at the doctor. "You really could just call Shaya her, I mean there's no reason to call them it. Anyway, who would be doing the adoption thing take place? If I wanted to do it?"

Then he sent another mental message in reply to the Gardevoir. "Hehehe..I don't know about the 'master' thing. It..sounds too much like I own you. But I wouldn't mind making another friend."

The doctor sighed. "I could use 'her', but I won't. That is a Pokemon, not a person, despite what anyone else may tell you, despite how human it may look. It's a Pokemon. Essentially an intelligent animal. If you plan to adopt it, don't forget that. If you forget it isn't human, you'll be making a mistake. Anyway, the adoption would be handled by a representative of PPS, Pokemon Protective Services. Very similar to Child Protective Services, hence the name."

Shaya, meanwhile, was just looking at Reizo with wide eyes.

Reizo frowned, he was starting to like this doctor less and less. Even if he didn't think Pokemon weren't sapient, he didn't have to refer to them like that. Reizo didn't even call things like dogs or cats 'it' just by their gender. He looked at the clock; it was getting late and he really did need to be heading to bed. Reizo was a bit on the reluctant side of things however.

Reluctantly, he got up and sighed. "..I have to get going, but that's good to know."

'We'll talk later tomorrow, I'm sure.' He said to Shaya. 'Good night, and don't let that jerk get to you.'

Reizo left the hospital, but his mind had been made up. He was going to take Shaya in. It seemed like a random decision but he felt it was the right thing to do.

It was going to be a long night before he got sleep.

The next day, a little after noon, Reizo would have been called back up to the hospital. A representative of PPS was there to speak with him, the hospital having made the call. The elderly woman was sitting next to Shaya's bed, speaking to her as if she were an old friend. Shaya, for her part, was already looking a lot healthier, only a few bruises here and there.

Reizo didn't have classes or anything today, so he could afford to come in when it was asked of him. He was glad for that as it gave him time to go visit Shaya again at the hospital.

He entered through the door, seeing the person from PPS. "Sorry I'm a bit late."

The elderly woman turned, and smiled. "It's alright, dear. Come sit." She gestured to a chair next to her. "I just have a few key questions, that's all. The laws on adopting children are stricter, because Pokemon abuse is far less common and, in the eyes of many, less important. It's unfortunate they think that way, but it makes it easier for Pokemon to be adopted. Those of us who care make sure we do our jobs properly though. Lucky you, I'm one of them." She grinned. "So, first, please tell me your name, current living situation, job, etc."

Reizo went to sit down, the woman seemed pretty nice so far. Unlike that doctor from earlier but he tried not to think of them too much. "My name is Reizo Kannon. Right now, I'm living in a apartment in the Osaka District, its small but its pretty nice. I have a job as a librarian, but I'm also going to school. I decided I want to go learning about Dimensional Theory."

The woman nodded a bit at that, writing down some things. "Alright, and what makes you want to adopt a Pokemon, particularly a Gardevoir? They are not like a pet, after all, and are not always easy to take care of."

"To be honest..it's just Shaya seems like she's completely alone." Reizo said, rubbing the back of his head again. "I don't know much about Pokemon, except for things my sister said. But I don't think Shaya is a animal. One of the other doctors doesn't think so. Just intelligent animals. But the thing is going by his own account, we're intelligent animals too. I just don't think Shaya is a pet or anything.."

The woman seemed pleased, nodding. "Alright, fair enough. You just want to help. But, what makes you think you can take care of her?"

Reizo paused at that. "Because, while I'm not the richest person around I have enough to get by. Shaya really just needs a bit of help, she's not helpless and I just want to give her that."

Another nod. "I take it you don't plan to send her into battle or anything. You mean to be her friend and companion only, not her trainer?"

Reizo shook his head. "No. In fact..I don't like fighting at all. I can fight myself but I only do it when I have too or I'm protecting someone. That and I don't know the first thing about trainer battles."

Yet another nod. "Alright. That's most of what is required, though a background check will be done. Depending on the next answer." She turned to Shaya. "Shaya, do you want to stay with this young man?"

Shaya simply looked at Reizo, and nodded once, smiling slightly. With this, the elderly woman stood, grinning. "Well, that's it then. A background check will be done today, and you will be informed tomorrow if you've been approved. I know it seems simple, but we just need to know key things. Anyway, feel free to visit with her for now. Have a nice day, Mr. Kannon."

Reizo turned back to Shaya and smiled. "So how are you feeling? It looks like you're coming along pretty well from yesterday when I ran into you at the park." He was happy about that. He had heard Pokemon were some resilient creatures from before with Suki.

Shaya nodded slightly. "I am much better, thank you. We heal quicker than humans normally, and Pokemon medicine is very effective." She looked out the window then. "And thank you for wanting me..." She looked back toward him, and smiled softly. "...Master."

Reizo wasn't too crazy about being called master..for the negative stigma to it, in his mind anyway. "You know, you could just call me Reizo. You don't have to call me master or anything, I mean..we're equal."

Shifting a bit, he got up from the bed. "You want anything? Water?"

Shaya nodded a bit. "Water would be nice, Master, thank you." Clearly, she had no intention to not refer to him as her master.