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It takes Kukui about three days to notice it, five days to wonder if he should say something about it, and a whole week before he decides to confront Ash about it. The kid is sat down for breakfast, chattering through a mouth full of food, when Kukui literally cannot hold the question in any longer.
“Why do you wear the same clothes every single day, Ash?”
Ash pauses, furrowing his brows. Kukui knows that Ash could leave at any point, and it’s not really his place to comment on Ash’s decisions, which is why he has tried to refrain from saying anything for so long. But his other students talk about it, and every day that Ash walks into class wearing the same thing he’s worn since he arrived here, they all give him weird looks. And Kukui knows that the washing machine has not been in use since Ash moved in.
Before Ash can respond, he continues. “Do you need new clothes? I am willing to buy you new clothes, Ash.”
Ash still has that weird confused look on his face. He takes the time to fully chew and swallow before answering. “Why would I need to wear different clothes?” He asks, baffling Kukui to the core.
Now, he knows Ash is a traveling trainer. He knows that trainers don’t have very much room in their backpacks. But he’s not traveling right now! He has a room! He has a dresser!
He takes a deep breath and tries not to internally combust. “Well,” he starts, trying to put on his teacher cap. He doesn’t know how to say this without being rude, but he’s going to try. “Generally, people change their clothes every day. They get dirty, and they need to be washed. Surely you did this before you started traveling?”
Ash screws up his face again. “I guess, but kids get all dirty, you know? And besides, Mom would buy the same shirts and pants so I basically just had the same clothes.”
Kukui is distracted from the currently very engaging dilemma by this tidbit of information, and he wonders if he should press, before deciding that the boy in front of him is absolutely insane in so many ways and his scientist brain is begging him to figure him out. “Your mom bought you copies of the same clothes? Why?”
“Well, she always tells me it was super hard to find something I liked, you know? We’d try stuff on in the store and I’d throw a big fit, I guess. I was a pretty hard kid. So once we finally found something I liked, she’d just buy multiple copies of that outfit and I’d just wear that every day.”
Kukui continues to be absolutely flabbergasted by this kid. He’s heard of people doing that sometimes, and while he respects it, he just can’t comprehend why. Then again, he just doesn’t bother with shirts most of the time, so it’s not like he has a lot of room to judge.
“And when traveling, you really just had a few changes of clothes, right?”
“Well, I generally just had the one, and maybe some PJs? You gotta pack light on the road, Professor.” He says it like he thinks Kukui is dumb but is trying to be nice about it.
“Certainly, certainly.” He runs his hands through his hair and tries to remain at least somewhat composed. “Right now, you are not on the road. Do you have multiple copies of this current outfit?”
“Hmm, I guess not,” Ash replies, his tone inquisitive. He shrugs, like that’s that. Like he doesn’t have copies of his clothes, so he can just continue to wear the same clothes every day and it will not be a problem. Kukui is literally at the end of his rope. This kid is so much fun, but sometimes he just wants to grab onto his shoulders and shake him until he starts making sense. “I think it might be a good idea to get some new clothes, Ash. Whether that’s a copy of the outfit you have now, or different clothes, I don’t care, but you need at least a few changes of clothes. You have a dresser. Please fill it.”
Ash does a weird sort of halfways smile, like he’s amused with Kukui. It’s maddening. “Sure, I guess, I can do that.”
Gods. He’s saying it like he’s only doing it to appease Kukui. As if it’s not absolutely insane to wear the same dirty clothes every day for a week and probably longer. Kukui can’t stop himself from saying it. “You know why you need to change your clothes, Ash, right?”
“Um, because people think it’s weird when you wear the same thing?” It’s pointed. This statement is pointed at Kukui. As if Kukui is crazy. As if he’s the one suggesting insane things. Kukui is grabbing the end of the table as hard as he can to keep his hands from reaching over to throttle this child. “Because they get dirty, Ash! Clothes get dirty! They get sweaty and they smell and laundry machines exist for a reason!”
He immediately regrets yelling. For a moment, he’s certain he’s absolutely screwed up, and Ash is going to be offended, or angry, or just straight up decide to leave.
He doesn’t do any of those things. He pulls back, a little, and then his face goes inquisitive again, and then he smiles. “Oh! You know what, Professor Kukui, I think you’re right! I guess I never thought about that, but everyone in the class changes clothes every day! Well, then I can go get some new clothes today after school. No biggie!”
Kukui stares at him, eyes wide. He takes a deep breath in, deep breath out. “That’s a great idea, Ash. I am more than willing to pay for new clothes. Would you mind if I went with you?”
To be honest, he just wants to make sure that Ash actually does go buy new clothes after school today, and doesn’t forget in lieu of a battle or some other adventure, or whatever crazy thing happens today.
Like, seriously. Kukui can still spot the salt stains on Ash’s shirt from three days ago when they got into a scuffle with Team Skull on the beach and Ash ended up covered in ocean water.
“Not at all, Professor! And don’t worry about paying - I mean, you’re already doin’ all this, with the food and your house and everything.”
Honestly, honestly, the only way Kukui needs Ash to pay him back is by changing his clothes when they are dirty. That is all he asks.
Conversation apparently over and forgotten, Ash returns to his food. He gets some cream cheese on his shirt, and when noticing this, vaguely wipes at it with his hand. All he does is rub it in. It joins the other stains.
Later, when they go to the market, and it takes Ash a good forty-five minutes to find a secondary outfit he apparently deems appropriate, Kukui makes him buy out the store’s entire stock.