The next few days were just as bad as the first class-wise; just more of the same struggling with assignments and trying my best not to break under the stress, all the while trying to calm myself with stuff I actually care about. The personal training courses weren't so bad, though; a bunch of my friends were taking it with me and Bulu didn't make for a bad professor either. That, and I actually enjoyed the subject. I didn't know exactly why, but something about teaching others to gain the prowess that I had made me feel almost as good as expressing it in the form of taking down my opponents in the ring. Even so, it was still school, and something about it felt tiresome as I waited and waited for each day to end.

But let me tell you, when they did end, life was almost paradise.

I spent the bulk of my free time either in the API's wrestling ring with Crabominable and Passimian, or on Routes 2 and 3 taking in the scenery and occasionally honing my fighting technique. My friends played a big part in taking the stress of the core classes off my shoulders, and when we put our three heads together we could actually even do some of the work the Tapu assigned. On the weekend, we'd either wrestle each other or head to the school's basketball court to play the old human sport. Other times we'd simply run laps around the court's edge, occasionally joined by this beefy equine Pokémon called Mudsdale, a senior who I swear could run for days and never tire out. Amazing stuff.

And even then, even with everyone I had to help and support me, I still was missing something. I hadn't seen Primarina in days, and needless to say, I was worried about it. Was she avoiding me, perhaps? Even with all I'd done, I couldn't seem to find a glaring reason why. Or maybe she just hadn't yet found the time to speak to me; with all the extracurriculars she was undoubtedly taking, her schedule had to be more hectic than even mine. So, on the first Saturday since classes started, and with still no sign of my sweet girlfriend, I decided to do something about it.

I wiped the sweat from my forehead after Passimian, Crabominable, Mudsdale and I completed our final of fifteen laps round the gym, but I knew that I personally had much more running to do. With a raspy, segmented voice that showcased the breath I still needed to catch, I said, "Guys...I gotta go...do something...fast...hold down the fort, would ya?"

"Course," Passimian mumbled as he stretched. Mudsdale nodded in agreement and Crabominable gave a quick, blunt smile. "Don't mean you get outta the rest of the workout, though, man. We in this together."

"Can't say it better," I replied. "I'll...be back, then." I turned and pushed open the gym's door, only for the sun to force my eyes shut as I exited the big old brick building. As my eyes adjusted to the light, my mind raced. If I were Primarina, there'd be one place I'd go above all others on such a weekend as this, and that was where I was headed.

I quickly crossed the clearing where the API was situated, past the main building and into yet another of the five surrounding brick ones, where I was met with the comforting breeze of fan-like Rotom up above, who smiled mischievously at me as I entered. The building contained a single long, dark room, save for the brightly lit stage in the very front; the stage itself was mighty, and even if you were to whisper the slightest thing upon it, the sound would carry goldenly, like magic, across the rest of the hall. What wasn't taken up by the grandiose thing was lined with seats for other Pokémon to sit while they observed and cheered for the performers within their own dark, unimportant recesses. Whenever I stepped into that auditorium, I got an odd sense of wonder, almost like some deity was watching me above those blinding stage-lights. My heart would skip a beat every time, only to skip another one once the drama club's performances began, always with Primarina's divine voice leading the group. All day, I could let those few nostalgic, good memories that I still had run over and over in my head, but I was here for more reason than that.

Past the rows upon rows of seats I walked, down to the stage and even beyond that; a small hallway sat on either side of it, each ending in a staircase that led up to the building's second floor. I took the stairs on the right side (though not that it particularly mattered), not even pausing to look back at the inevitably puzzled Rotom. It was odd to see the auditorium empty save for them, especially when it was usually so packed, but I digress.

Still breathing rather heavily, I cleared the stairs and found myself on the second floor, a long, yet thin hallway with doors on either side; on the left were makeup and prop storage rooms for plays, according to Primarina, while the right held rooms for all sorts of art and writing majors for the API's more creative students, which I could undisputedly say I wasn't one of. At the very end, though, was the one room I was interested in, and the one room I made for.

I stopped in the doorway of a roomy hangspace of sorts, designed for the drama club and anyone else who spent any kind of time in the arts building. Complete with cozy seats, a table to complete assignments (or perhaps drink a hot cup of Tapu Cocoa on colder days), and a fireplace upheld and stoked by the API's Fire-type groundskeepers. It also served as a miniature library, with one wall lined with shelves holding books of every kind, written by humans and Pokémon alike from all ages. The other wall contained cabinets and wall-hangings of the awards given to performers past; the number of trophies rivaled that of the wrestling team and then some, which, though I shouldn't brag, was no small feat.

Expectedly, sitting in one of the seats with her nose deep in a packet of paper, friends beside her, was Primarina, not even noticing me as I stepped further into the room. I couldn't see her face, but I knew her well enough to sense her intrigue at whatever it was she was reading; her friends Ribombee, Raichu, Minior and Shiinotic each had a similar packet that they would tear their eyes from now and again to giggle at something.

I was about to get their attention when Ribombee looked up all of a sudden, meeting me rather awkwardly in the eye. "Oh!" she exclaimed, setting her packet down on the table. The Kalosian War, the front page read, followed by several lines of script. "Incineroar, I-I..."

"Yeah, that's me," I cut her off. The others looked up from their reading to lay their eyes upon me, Primarina simply poking one eye around the side of her packet. She almost seemed scared, which just about turned my gut inside out. What had I done? Was I going to lose her?

"Can I...speak to Primarina in private, please? Just for a minute, I won't be—"

"Of course," Ribombee, with a flap of her wings, buzzed out of her chair, motioning for the others to follow. Minior went with her out the door, then Shiinotic and finally a rather reluctant, sceptical Raichu, and Primarina and I were alone. It had been too long.

Trying to appear casual, I fell lazily into a chair next to the Soloist Pokémon, who still concealed half her face with her copy of The Kalosian War, and waited a few moments before breaking the ice: "So...what's been going on?" Ugh. Asking that was hard enough, but it was the answer I was truly dreading.

"Sun and moon, Incineroar, I..." Primarina paused, and my heart fell into my hind paws. "I wasn't expecting to see you..." She wouldn't look at me.

"You've been avoiding me, haven't you?"

A look of shock crossed the part of her face I could see. "No! It isn't like that, I just...I didn't want you to...you shouldn't...you'd be...ugh!" As she turned away from me to bury her white face in her flippers, her packet slipped a little and revealed a bit of something ugly and purple where there was normally nothing but the beautiful, crystal blue of her eyes, if only for one pivotal second. My ears perked then, and an implication I hoped wasn't true popped into my head.

"Primarina..." I swallowed. "Get that thing outta your face."

"Wha—? No! I-I mean...oh, Incineroar, you'd—"

"C'mon," I urged. "No reason to hide anything. It'll be fine." That last sentence was more just to remind myself of the fact rather than Primarina. Even so, her reluctance was frustrating me.

After several deep breaths and a gulp, she nodded. "Please, Incineroar, don't freak out. Let me stress this: I'm fine. Not in pain, not at all vengeful. Now please, please be the same." She took one more concise breath, then slowly lowered The Kalosian War from her face. On one side, there was the immaculate purity I knew so well, the white and blue that constantly washed over my mind like cold water; on the other, though, her eye was bordered by the purpleness of injury. It was commonplace on my own body, but seeing such a thing on Primarina made my inner fire stir, my ears and tail prick up, and worst of all, my voice rise.

"Primarina, who..." I balled my paws into red-hot fists and roared, "Who did that to you?!" My mind raced, yet felt blank all the same. I didn't know what to think. Things were bad enough as they were; I didn't need this! Primarina didn't deserve this!

"For Arceus's sake, I told you not to freak out!" my girlfriend retorted; her voice was quiet so as not to attract any more attention, yet harsh all the same. "I knew you'd overreact like this; that's why I didn't want to show you...at least not until it was healed. Even if it meant avoiding you..." Her voice trailed off, yet my anger remained white-hot. "So is that why I haven't seen you since reunion-night? Is that why you haven't wanted me in your life? The pressure's already bad enough...Primarina, what happened?" That last bit was sadly less in question of her injury, but more of our relationship's injury. I had always counted on Primarina to be real and honest with me, if no other Pokémon would. Now, I didn't know what to think; my trust was in question, and it hurt bad.

Primarina was silent for a minute; the crystal sharpness of her good eye began to cloud with stinging tears, and it darn near made my heart stop. Finally, she whispered in a cracked voice, "It isn't like that, Incineroar. You know I'd never want you out of my life, I was..." She swallowed. "I was doing it for you. So you didn't have to worry. I know how much you've got to think about already, and the last thing I'd want to do is make it all worse..."

I breathed, let her words wash over me and quench my anger into embers. Calm embers, yet they still burned all the same. "But Rina, you did make it worse. Y'had me scared as the Reverse World that you wanted nothing to do with me. Why didn't you tell me about any of this?"

"Would you rather have known about it the night after the reunion? You'd've been even crazier! Don't you tell me you wouldn't've been interrogating Pokémon left and right just to find out who 'hurt' me. And it doesn't even hurt anymore!"

I was forced to laugh at that, at least a little. Sometimes I hated how well she knew me. With a sigh, I said, "You're the one I love. Of course I'd be looking out for you, just...don't scare me like that."

"It's not like there's anything I could've done that wouldn't scare you," Primarina giggled as I scooted my chair closer to hers affectionately. "You can just be so protective sometimes, y'know?"

The light, playful jab at my character made me roll my eyes, though not in a patronizing way. Reaching over, I ran my paw through her light blue, almost watery hair; the color of the sky at midday. As I twirled a strand of it round one of my claws, I met her eyes, untainted even though one was nearly swollen shut. The bruise reminded me of the ones that scarred me and my family the day my life did a 180, and I painedly whispered, "You're the only one I got left, Primarina. The only one who cares. The only one who understands. I want you to get how much you mean to me, no matter..."

I shook my head in the search for the next right word, but before I could get to it Primarina laughed, leaned in close, and whispered, "I do get it, Incineroar. I do." She fell silent then, and we seemed to stay as we were to almost the point of awkwardness. But there was just something about her, merely looking at her, that made me forget all that was going on and almost enjoy myself, if only for fleeting moments. It was magical, almost; she made me want to thank Arceus that I had something to thank Arceus for, if that makes any sense.

We hung there for a few more seconds before Primarina's expression suddenly melted into something dire. My ears pricked in question, and she sighed, "It was Lycanroc, that did this to me. Midnight, at the reunion. I know I shouldn't've provoked him like I did, but...he tried to grab that exchange document, Incineroar."

Old, threatening feelings and confusion replaced the ones of pleasure I'd been feeling, and I sat up in my chair. I'd forgotten all about that stupid paper, not to mention that Midnight, of all Pokémon... "Is that why he's—"

"Suspended, yes. He's back on Monday. But that isn't what matters! D'you know what kind of information he's seen just by looking at that document? And why would he try and steal it in the first place?! I don't know exactly what to make of it, but this is bad..."

"I don't care about that," I felt the anger rising again, and it was indeed a battle to push it down. "He hurt you, and for no good reason, from the sounds of it. I oughta get my paws on him, I oughta...I oughta—"

"No! I-I swear, Incineroar, if you do anything rash..." I was already out of my seat and headed for the door by the time Primarina's warning rang into the room. "Don't you let this silliness replace reason! We have to worry about the task at hand before we worry about stupid meaningless things like this!" She pointed at the injured side of her face, and I turned long enough to see it, though her words flew right over my racing head. Still, though, I didn't want her to start worrying about me the way I worried over her. So, I gave my most genuine smile, winked, and quietly answered:

"Yes, of course. Our emotions have to come second to the more pressing stuff. I understand."

With that, I turned and started back down the hall from whence I had come, leaving Primarina to her own reflections. I hoped I hadn't left too heavy an atmosphere upon my leaving; to waste such a reconciliation over something like a dumb piece of paper would be awful. Yet, I couldn't help but feel newfound resentment toward Midnight Lycanroc, whether what he had done was an accident or not. Primarina was the one I loved, and no one, no one, could expect to escape unscathed after harming the one I loved.

In short, he was gonna get it.