The Human Species

"Lucario... Don't..." Zerobi moaned weakly before suddenly raising her voice and pushing him away, "... D-Don't stop me! I have to die!"



"... You saved me once..." Lucario said quietly, the damage in his throat creating a disgusting sound behind every word, "... This makes us even..."



"Oh, for crying out..." Zerobi groaned at the clichè, "I tried to kill you. Don't you despise me?"



"... I'm the one who..." Lucario wheezed before interrupting himself with a cough, "... I'm the one who egged you on... Even after you told me about the blood thing... If I hadn't been so weak, you wouldn't even have had to..."



"You have a funny way of seeing things... " Zerobi sighed while purposely pushing away any feelings of joy creeping up on her, "So... That's it? Lucario, I'm a monster!"



"... Monsters don't cry..." Lucario said confidently, "... You shouldn't kill yourself... That'd be bad..."



The two of them looked at each other for a while, not sure of what to say. Lucario noticed that while Zerobi remained mostly the same, there were a few subtle differences to her appearance. The collection of pink feather-like hair on her head seemed more vibrant than earlier. Her skin was also in a different hue, but whether it had turned darker or more red he could not tell. Not only that, but the most important detail was nowhere to be found.



"... Blood's gone..." Lucario said after a while before looking down at the slightly shorter Pokèmon.



"... Yeah, it's been absorbed into my skin..." Zerobi replied, wishing she could look away but somehow being trapped within his eyes, "To be honest, I'm still a bit loopy from it..."



"... You OK...?" Lucario asked slowly and wondering if he should still be worried about her attacking him again. He was able to forgive her once, but he knew that if she tried it again that would be the end of it.



"Better than you, I'm sure" Zerobi replied, feeling like snickering but not being able to even smile.



Again they stood in silence, simply looking at one another. Zerobi saw that Lucario was missing a lot of fur on his body from the barrage of fire-based attacks he had taken from the Garchomp, making his scars more visible than before. The new scar gracing his throat did not escape her, the damaged tissue's brownish color making it seem a lot worse than the others.



"... Can we really do this?" Zerobi asked with a discouraged tone in her voice while staring at his wound, "No... No, it's too late. Even if you're fine with it, everyone else..."



"... I'll think of something..." Lucario said while scratching the new uncomfortable skin around his throat, "... Although, an apology would be nice..."



"Uh..." Zerobi mumbled slowly, not knowing what to do, "... I'm sorry for cutting your throat?" She blinked once in surprise as Lucario simply smiled in response.



"Um... About that thing I said..." she suddenly said, finally being able to look down as she tried to hide a blush appearing on her face, "A-About saving you..."



"... Don't worry about it..." Lucario replied confidently with a wave of his hand, "... You saved me. Why...? Doesn't matter."



"W-Well..." Zerobi stammered, feeling somewhat relived but still not getting the answer she was looking for, "It kind of does..."



"... Nah, doesn't bother me at all..." Lucario replied, completely oblivious to what she was hinting at.



"No, what I mean is..." Zerobi said with a slow tempo before borrowing some of her earlier determination to say what was on her mind, "... I-If you'd allow it, could... Could we be together?"



"... Actually... I think we need some time apart..." Lucario responded bluntly, "... At least until my throat heals... Battling wits like this... Is unfair..."



"... Heh" Zerobi finally gave off a short snicker while exhaling a sigh of disappointment, "Well, I don't think I can beat that one."



"... Let's go..." Lucario said while putting his right arm around her back, "... I think your sister's waiting..."



The two of them left the scene and began walking back to where the major conflict had taken place. Zerobi moved reluctantly at first, but felt reassured with Lucario next to her. Being able to sense the joyful aura of Celebi not far away in front of them, it truly felt like they were leaving despair behind them and moving on to better times.