Kanto Preface
The Lazy Magister
A young man sat behind his steel desk, grimacing as he studied the half-soggy sheet in his hand. He held it away from himself, a disgusted twist in his mouth. The brown colour of his short, humidity curled hair and bright green eyes stood out amongst the study. His glasses sat neatly on his face. White walls and a white linoleum flooring. There were no windows to provide any natural light. The only colour in the room was produced by it's two occupants and the dozens of books strewn around the room. The weak lighting reminded him of low-burning candles. Maybe Rai was right, this place did seem like a prison.
He looked to her, laying the sodden test onto his desk. It was ruined anyway, the ink had run off and become eligible. Not long ago he had pulled it from Rai's desk, where she had taken a brief nap. She was no longer sleeping though. Instead she was leaned back in her chair, bare feet placed carelessly on the desk before her. She looked unpleasantly bored. The rest of her work, which had survived her drooling, went untouched, as per usual.
Like all Magisters she had a very peculiar and unique look to her. Unflawed tan skin (despite only ever leaving the house once a week for thirty minutes or so, it varied sometimes) and a sturdy structure. Not too thin and not too large for her 5'6" height. Though that might have something to do with her constant training… Her face wasn't particularly stunning, but that didn't make her the least bit average. Semi-angular features and low lashes, Rai could be beautiful if it weren't for her bored expressions and indifferent disposition. Especially if she'd just brush her long, tangled sand coloured hair. It was frayed at the ends, from years of being untreated and her bangs were all uneven lengths. Two much longer strands framed her face. She never wore anything complimentary either, just baggy shirts that were too long in the sleeves and cotton capris.
But none of her flawless features, aside from her damn hair, marked her as a Magister; a human-Pokémon hybrid. No, it was the large ears and long lightning bolt tail, like those of a Raichu's, that made it obvious. Rai even had brown stripes that were sparsely scattered on her skin.
He wondered if she had instincts, ones that told her to hunt and run and play, like those of an actual Raichu. If she did, the young woman never let them show. He glanced back at the ruined assignment. He doubted she had taken it seriously anyway. As her mentor of nearly two years he had learned very quickly that Rai was never serious about anything. She held no passion, no understanding of effort.
"Those are due in two weeks. Can you at least try to do them?" Rai's brown eyes flickered between him and the papers left on her desk. The small pile did not hold her interest and she returned her gaze back to the wall, expression apathetic. No response was made. Finding her silence unusual, her mentor cleared his throat. Usually she'd have some sort of snippy comeback or at least a groan of protest. "Rai, the higher ups are already on my ass about your lack of progress. Maybe if you tried-"
"What's the point Tendo?" Again her attention flitted to him. For a moment he thought he saw a flicker of anger, something she never displayed, but just as soon as it appeared it was gone. Replaced by her typical blank face. Rai's voice drawled, as if she spoke of poor weather. "Let's face it, it was only a matter of time before they found a replacement for you. You're a terrible mentor."
Tendo's chest tightened with annoyance, but he remained calm. Rai was goading him, but it wasn't like her to attack him like this. Rai was stubborn, yes, but not condescending or harsh. She was lazy and full of sarcastic humour. Where was this cruelty coming from? As if to further her own point she was glaring at him in a cold manner. Tendo could be just as brash.
"Maybe if you were a better listener you'd realize I wasn't a terrible mentor. I bring the work, I explain it over and over in a thousand different ways, but you do nothing. Any grave you dig is for yourself."
Rai smiled but it was far from happy. Gracefully, more gracefully than he ever would have expected someone who slouched as much as her could move, Rai stood and crossed the room. Bare feet padded on the linoleum floor as she moved. She stopped right in front of his desk, staring down at him darkly.
"But I'm digging your grave, aren't I? Because if I perform badly the mentor gets the blame. Because you didn't try hard enough in their eyes, not me. I've been through eighteen mentors before you. I may be dumb, but I'm smart enough to know how the system works. You'll be demoted back to messenger and replaced."
Tendo knew she was trying to rile him, why was beyond him, but he couldn't bring himself to the challenge. He felt only a deep concern for the girl in front of , standing stiff as a board and fists clenched at her sides. Where were the cynical quips he was used to? The girl who stood with a slouch? Who had replaced the girl he had been teaching for a year and a half?
"But you passed last year." Tendo's voice came out soft and quiet, effectively confusing Rai. "You could do it again I'm sure."
And there it was. The anger he had seen. Rai's lips pulled into a sneer, ears pinned straight back atop her head. The steel of his desk rang out with resonating bang when Rai's fists slammed down on it. "Because I cheated!"
A deafening silence followed the clamour. Slowly Rai removed her hands from Tendo's desk, revealing two large dents. Tendo could feel a static charge in the air and knew he was treading on thin ice. For once in his life he actually feared Rai.
Sometimes he forgot what she was: A weapon. Magisters, more formally known as Amplisors, were originally created as weapons to fight in the Great Regions War, but after Kanto had been plunged into nuclear fallout they meant so much more. They were Kanto's hope for the future, being used to rebuild Kanto, or they could very well destroy the rest of the region.
Rai must have caught his expression of fright for she backed away, sleeve covered hands pulled to her chest. Her rigid ears drooped. Anger gone, she looked utterly lost. "I didn't mean to- I wasn't…"
Tendo steadily rose from his desk. But this was Rai, and she would never physically harm him. "This isn't like you Rai. Something is seriously bothering you. And why did you cheat? Or better, how?" The annual test held by the Pallet Facility, the facility that kept track of 35 of the 145 Magisters, was not easily fooled and the scientists were very watchful.
"I…" She looked as though she might protest, but instead looked at the floor, defeated. "They stopped caring. The scientists barely even pay attention to me when I take the test. I just wrote down most of the important things from my books on my arms. I only passed with a fifty-two anyway. I cheated because you've been nice to me and you keep trying no matter how snippy I get. All the others they…"
"Gave up." Tendo finished the sentence for her. He stood beside her now, a hand resting on her shoulder. The charge was still in the air and he could feel it beneath her flesh through her sweater, vibrating lowly with power.
"But it's so pointless!" Rai's head snapped up to look at him with a level of desperation that shocked him. His heart went out to the poor girl. "I have tried, but I just don't get it. And all the others, they're so far ahead of me. I must be the most pitiful thing they've made in the whole facility." Rai had free access to the other Magister's files, just as the others had hers, to use as a comparison. To tell her she was wrong might only make her angry since she had seen the proof herself.
Awkwardly he pulled the shorter girl into a hug. Comforting her had never been a part of the job before, despite mentors being like parents to the Magisters. Rai was very good at hiding herself away and keeping her problems to herself.
"You don't have much hope for me either. No one does. Soon enough they'll stop questioning the mentor and start questioning me. And how am I supposed to defend myself? It's like you said, I dug my own grave. I might as well just lay down and give up completely.
"Don't say such things." She spoke the truth though. Rai had always been lazy and complacent with failure. It was bound to catch up with her sooner rather than later. Tendo rubbed circles into her back. "We can still turn this around, make a shocking comeback." A bitter laugh came from Rai, and he found he hated the sound.
When had he let her grow on him? When he first took the job he knew that number twenty-six, that Raichu, was the failure. She was the most trouble , the biggest lost cause. Tendo took the job for selfish reasons, for the sake of better living conditions. When Kanto had been bombed in the war everyone suffered. Life was not easily restored and the region had become cruel. So how had he become so fond of the sarcastic, back-sassing Rai?
"Optimism isn't going to make me smarter, Tendo. I'm screwed. I know you try because being a messenger sucks, but hey, you tried."
"Rai-" Tendo was cut off by a knock at the door. Hesitantly he left her there to answer it, but not before patting her on the head. Her elegant ears were still pinned to her head, like a Growlithe that had done something wrong.
As Tendo had figured a messenger stood waiting at the door, wearing the typical oversized coat and a large bag strapped to his back. Messengers were the only visitors, with the exception of the scientists that came every August for the annual tests. The messenger before him had his large white hood drawn up, shadowing his face. The bright red 'RL' symbol stood out on his jacket. The man offered no letter, so Tendo waited patiently.
Awkwardly the messenger cleared his throat. "Mr. Tendo, I am here with a lot of news. May I enter?" Messengers never typically entered the homes of Magisters, mostly because there was no need to.
"Of course." Tendo suddenly felt the edge of worry in his throat, a tightening feeling. Absently he led him through the small house, back to the study. What if this was it? He'd have to go back to living in an undersized apartment, surviving off scraps and supplement pills if he was de-ranked. His jaw set like iron. No, this couldn't be it. Rai hadn't failed yet, he was not being fired. Yet this surprise visit shook him to his very core.
In the study Rai was nowhere to be seen. She most likely would have retreated to her room. The two men sat in silence. Managing to catch his voice Tendo spoke. "To what do we owe the visit?"
"My name is Thomas, Mr. Tendo. Like many others I have been sent by the CEO himself to deliver a message." Fidgeting the messenger removed his hood. Thomas was no older than himself and Tendo couldn't help but notice his thinning hair, a result from too much radiation. He had to have been a messenger for at least a year or two. Many didn't make it past five. "Is Twenty-Six here? She needs to hear this as well."
Tendo let go of a breath he didn't know he had been holding. If there were other messengers being sent for the same reason then he could assure himself he'd be fine. However, the news must be drastic if the CEO himself was personally involved.
Sighing, Tendo rose and reassured the messenger he wouldn't be very long. Rai's room was the only one upstairs, giving her the largest space in the house, aside from the basement. Gently he rapped his knuckles against the door. No answer.
"Rai, if you're in there this is important. There's a messenger downstairs who wants to speak with both of us." Tendo waited only a moment before the door creaked open. Leaned against the doorframe, Rai regarded him with a blank stare.
"The new assignments don't come in for another week." Voice even, Rai straightened and stepped out of her sanctuary, closing the door behind her. Bewildered, Tendo followed, keeping a distance from her tail. He had expected an argument at the very least.
"He's been sent by the CEO."
Though it didn't show, Rai's thoughts plunged. The CEO was the big boss. The man that had transformed Pallet Town into what it was now: A town of Magisters and scientists. Not a single civilian lived in it's walls that didn't work for him. He had changed Vermillion and Mt. Moon as well. Had taken over Indigo Plateau too, turning all of them into a facility each. Without him Magisters wouldn't even exist. What if she had been deemed useless? Worry set itself deep in her bones. So much so that she couldn't recall sitting herself across from the messenger.
"Hello Twenty-Six, I'm Thomas." She numbly shook his hand.
"It's Rai." She hated being called a number.
"Of course it is, my apologies." Thomas turned to Tendo, who remained standing not far from Rai. Only a desk separated her and the messenger. "They've decided to run the facility early, which is why I've been sent with no notice." Rai let out a harsh gust of air and slumped in her chair. Her mentor raised an eyebrow in her direction before addressing Thomas.
"So soon? It's what, two years in advance?"
"Construction didn't take as long as planned, though some sections are still incomplete. The Magisters are to be moved into Pallet Facility in a week. Transportation will be provided. A briefing will also be held upon arrival.
"Now Rai," Thomas turned his attention to the Magister "I'm sure you've been told of Pallet Facility." She had been. It was the largest building in Pallet Town, meant to be the center of the Pallet-Magister project. But it had been under construction since she was a child, even before her birth twenty years ago. "However I am required to go over the basics with you." The messenger carried on. "Until now, nearly all Magisters have been kept separate from each other. The Pallet Facility is designed to house all Magisters, mentors and staff. In a single, multi-functioning building. You will be moved into your own residence and all necessities will be provided.
"The facility itself has many benefits to offer that your current housing cannot. This includes a dining hall, workout facilities, medical areas, swimming facilities, libraries, common rooms, and much more. We sincerely hope that these changes are not too drastic on your lifestyle. If at any time you become stressed there are spa and therapeutic facilities as well. We also have doctors, dentists and surgeons on call at all hours. Any questions?"
"Um, no. I guess." Rai scratched the back of her ear with her pointed tail. A lost look remained on her face. This was all so sudden. Her entire life had been created for a single purpose and now it was calling her name. "Wait. What about my assignments?"
"My apologies." Thomas smiled bashfully. "From this week onward all assignments are to be aborted until further notice. I almost forgot to mention that. Imagine you waiting for a messenger to come take them. Is that all?" Rai nodded her head dumbly. "Then I'll take my leave. On behalf of Rocket Laboratories I'd like to thank you for your time and hospitality." Thomas stood and nodded at Tendo. He left soon after showing himself out. A silence filled the study.
Rai stared down at her sleeve covered hands but did not register them. How lucky could she get? No assignments plus the bonus of leaving the little white house that served more like a prison, it couldn't get much better. But it did, because the facility was said to be like a paradise. A small smile crept up on her as the words 'workout facilities' echoed in her mind.
Suddenly pulled from her chair and thoughts, Rai gave a slight squeak. Tendo had pulled her into a tight hug and was spinning her around. He laughed happily as he did. He stopped only to grab her shoulders and give her a goofy smile. His reading glasses were half-way down his nose.
"That has to be the best news I've heard in a long time."
"Yeah, I guess so." She was still pretty shocked.
"You guess? Come on, this is the biggest break we've gotten. Like a new beginning." A cocky smirk replaced Rai's unusual blankness. Tendo felt a sudden rush of relief. Rai looked much more like herself than she had all day.
"Yeah. But don't expect me to do much of the packing." He wouldn't have expected it any other way.
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