Pokemon - From the Brink

Chapter 20 - Just Focus!

Shu was whisked off to hospital in an ambulance. Kudou went with him, bringing Nelly along. Midorima was adamant that he too should go along with him, and so the three of them went away with the unconscious boy.

Darragh was left in charge, and told us to go back inside and wait for news about Shu's condition. I was still standing there, frozen to the spot as everyone walked past me.

"I hope he's ok..." Yu said worriedly.

"I'm sure he'll be fine." Hikaru patted his shoulder, her voice betraying the fact that she was uncertain.

"That was a pretty heavy fall..." Zhang shuddered.

"He didn't even try to use his hands to stop himself – completely out cold." Mira shook her head.

"He didn't look that tired when we were training..." Victor stopped beside me, a look of guilt on his face.

"Gh..." I frowned and clenched my fist. My whole body was aching from the training, but I could still stand. I had been battered over and over, yet I had failed to notice the struggle that Shu had been putting himself through – and he had been standing across from me the whole time.

"It's not your fault." I gritted my teeth. "It's mine..."

"No it isn't." Victor shook his head. "There was no way to know-"

"I should've done something." I winced.

Just days ago, I had sprinted across almost the entire training pitch to catch Nelly when she fell down the stairs. But just now, I hadn't been able to catch someone right in front of me. I had simply watched him fall – watched him crash into the ground. He had been mere steps away...

"He'll be all right." Victor assured me. "Come on, let's get back inside."

"...Right." I nodded and followed him back towards the dorms. As much as I hated it, the moment had passed. I just had to hope that Shu was ok.

*

Half an hour later, at the hospital...

Coach Kudou and Midorima were sat either side of Shu as he lay asleep in a hospital bed. Nelly stood with her back to the window, a worried expression on her face as she watched the boy wriggle uncomfortably.

"I pushed him too far." Kudou sighed, his hands on his knees. "I didn't realise how much of a toll it took on him."

"To bond with Delphox?" Midorima asked.

"Yes. As someone who also experienced the bond phenomenon once – albeit briefly – I'm ashamed that pushed him this far..."

"You bonded with a Pokemon before, Sir?"

"...Yes. But that isn't important. For Shu to maintain his bond, it takes a lot of concentration. His body probably went out of balance because I made him hold it for so long."

"Sir, if I may," Midorima looked at the boy between them. "Whilst I can't deny that that probably did contribute, I have a feeling that today's training wasn't the only thing that caused this."

"What do you think happened?" Nelly asked.

"I should have brought this up before, but..." Midorima frowned, once again realising that he was failing as a leader. "Look at his body type. His face and arms, specifically."

The captain slowly pulled the bed covers away to reveal one of Shu's pale arms.

The three of them looked at the boy for a moment, before Nelly gasped. "He's so thin...!"

"Good God..." Kudou leant forward. "He's...-"

The door opened and a doctor appeared. He was the same one who had looked Shu over and taken some blood to test. "He's practically malnourished." The doctor said.