AN: Hey all! This is my first pokemon fic, and I wanted Satoshi to have something resembling a backbone, so hopefully, everything goes according to plan. Heh heh. Please review and tell me how I can improve on this. Also, please forgive the slow plot movement; this is just the prologue, so I just needed to establish the plot. I promise it'll go faster after this! Thanks for reading!

Disclaimer: I don't own pokemon, or any of its characters.

Warnings: Main pairing in this story is Shigeru/Satoshi. The rating is uncertain at the moment, but I think that for now, it'll be a T. This might be subjected to change, depending on how competent I am with plot progression. :x

Title: Cruel Intentions

Prologue: Stakes

He deals the cards as a meditation

And those he plays never suspects

He doesn't play, for the money he wins

He don't play for respect.

Sting and the Police "Shape of My Heart"

Shigeru's PoV:

There was nothing whatsoever to suggest to me about the momentous change that was about to happen to my flawless life in a few precise moments. Certainly, the weather was perfect on the breezy summer's night, and the two ladies clinging off my arms were as beautiful as they came. Nothing but the best for me; I had a reputation to live up to. All in all, it was as normal a day that I had to undergo, what with being one of the, excuse my boasting, top ex pokemon trainers in the world, and one of the most prestigious researchers and all. However, as we were passing by the nearby pokemon centre, the soon-to-be rupture in my pristine life walked out with that damned rodent still perched as happily on his shoulder as ever.

I figured that if I picked up speed, I might be able to avoid all contact.

Yeah, right. Keep telling yourself that. As if Satoshi would ever let you get away so easily. The boy had gradually blossomed….no, no, morphed into the young man standing at the doorway. Satoshi looked so obliviously cheerful, with that absurdly huge grin plastered on his equally ridiculous face. Okay, no, I'm lying. Peering sneakily over the head of the buxom brunette on my arm, I had to admit that Ashy-boy had grown considerably appealing, but of course, still no where near my calibre. So what if the boy…no, man had just become the Master? He was still a tetchy little brat with that small body frame and messy black hair. Most importantly, he was a good head or so shorter than I was. Funny the kinds of things that made people satisfied. I was still obviously the more charming one, so it definitely did not matter at all to me that my greatest rival had actually made it somewhere big, while I had abandoned my dreams. My heart wasn't sinking and breaking into tiny little bits and pieces, no sirree.

"Is that Master Satoshi!? My goodness, wasn't he brilliant yesterday? That match was simply fantastic, never seen anything like it…"

"I know exactly what you mean, sweetie! I don't think there ever was another trainer quite like Master Satoshi! And such a dashing young man too!"

Ouch. Double ouch. Girls were such insensitive creatures.

"Oooooh, I know, let's go over to talk to him! Maybe we can get autographs too! Do you want one, Ookido-san?"

No, I don't want to talk to him. I don't want to get his autograph either. No, no, no, no, no. But damn. I had to remain suave and certain of myself, and heaven forbid that the girls thought that I, Shigeru Ookido, might be jealous, just because I was depriving myself of a chance to meet the newly crowned world famous Master, and along with it, the opportunity to bask in his ethereal presence. Well, even if I was a tad bit envious, I'll never admit to it, because I'm just too good for jealously.

"Sure, why not?" I sounded phoney. Please don't let them notice, please, please, please.

We walked over to the clueless victim, or more appropriately, the girls half tugged me over, half whined pleadingly till I made an effort to move on my own. With my rotten luck, Satoshi turned around just as we were approaching. His rodent looked at us quizzically. I don't blame it, Pikachu knew better than most of the animosity present between its master and I. Satoshi looked sardonically amused at something. I had expected a much poorer greeting, really.

"Geru."

I froze. His one word greeting left me momentarily speechless (though I would never admit that to anyone), and left my girls speculating excitedly. The last time Satoshi called me by that childhood nickname was…before I became the resident bastard and villain, I suppose. How was I suppose to react to this? I had expected smug triumph, and a long jeering taunt on how his dream came true before mine did. I had expected cold, liquid anger poured at me, for the haughty demeanour I presented to him all the time. I was certainly not expecting the slightly lofty expression on his face, never knew him capable to smile with a slight elegant uplifting of the lips. He looked, for desperate want of a better word… knowingly seductive.

"Satoshi. Congratulations. It's been a long time. I'm fine. Your pokemon looks great." If I ever heard cheesier lines, I couldn't recall them at the moment. Fortunately, my girls saved me from further embarrassment. They swarmed the young Master, who looked understandably stumped at the obviously unwanted attention. However, when he caught my somewhat relieved expression, he schooled his back into a semblance of nonchalance (something that I'm not sure the old Satoshi was capable of either), and brushed them off semi-politely. Suddenly, he was right in front of me, his expression once again mysteriously amused.

"I need to talk to you, Geru." His voice had a slight significant lilt to it at the end, something that I was really not used to Satoshi doing. Still, I leaned back a little, to avoid his rodent's potent electrical charges, should it decide to fry me after all.

"About what, Ashy-boy? I was under the impression that we were on less than cordial terms, and that any talking that goes beyond painfully formal greetings resulted in full blown insults and immature pokemon battles." It's best to anger him now, and deter him from any stupid ideas of talks and make ups.

However, Satoshi proved to be a little more persistent than I gave him credit for.

I still don't know what it was that led to the two…sorry, I mean three of us if you included the rodent, to end up at a nice jazzy bar in town. I, Shigeru Ookido, was sitting in the heart of town, listening to Satoshi, my biggest rival and shunned childhood friend talk about everything under the damned sun. And to crown it all with a big whoop, I didn't even have any pretty girls to entertain myself with.

I tried to make him keep this brief, so that I could be on my way back to my pathetic life.

"So what is it you wanted? I'm not sure, but something tells me it's not my divine company." I tried to remain impassive and nonchalant, as well as send across the firm message that I did not entertain rivals on a regular basis, and did not wish to start anytime soon. Satoshi, evidently, was very insusceptible to my hints, because he ignored them all, and continued conversing. It was only quite sometime later, that he came to the main reason for this invitation.

"I want to make a bet with you."

What? What the hell did he say? Trust him to drop the bombshell when I least expected it.

"What? What the hell did you say?"

Satoshi rolled his eyes, and proceeded to repeat his statement, slowly and with careful, albeit sarcastic enunciation on every syllable. Okay, quit it, its not like I was deaf or something.

"What kind of bet?" There my voice went again, all slight wavering. I sounded anxious, I sounded dumb.

Satoshi appeared calm and tranquil, something which only served to make me more nervous and uncomfortable. He had cast himself in my role, my game, and I seemed to have been automatically reverted to his original status in our little feud. That is, the position of Loser.

"I think its time our little on-going battle ended, Ookido-san. I challenge you…" Here, Satoshi paused dramatically to take a sip of his drink, and his eyes took on an unusual predatory gleam, "To stay with me for a whole month. I am betting that by the end of the term, I can dissolve the hatred that you allowed to brew between us. Do you accept?"

The question "what?" temporarily became my favourite thought for the day. But voicing that would make me sound too plebeian, so I opted for, "what would I get if you lose?"

Not exactly the best substitute, Shigeru, but there you have it. And it was at any rate, better than dumb simple "what".

Satoshi didn't reply immediately, choosing instead to turn towards Pikachu, who was sitting on the chair next to him, and ruffle its fur gently. For a moment there, I thought I caught a glimpse of the childish boy I knew so well, and could read like a book, but in a fleeting second it was gone, and this new monster was back to torment me.

"You can have anything you want from me," he said softly, his eyes determinedly staring into mine. This was a side of Satoshi I've never seen before, and a part of me couldn't help but feel slightly intimidated. I had absolutely no idea what he was playing at, or what he was trying to achieve with this ridiculous bet of his. However, it had been years since anything interesting had cropped up. I had to admit; margaritas and girls everyday were getting a tad too repetitive. I wanted to accept his challenge. I also wanted to run away as fast as Arcanine could carry me.

Fine, two could play this game. So what if Satoshi had beaten me to our mutual goal? He might be the more recognised pokemon trainer, but I was, am, and will always hold the trump card at mind games, right?

Of course right. However, I had better clear up some misunderstandings that he revealed to me in his mostly one sided conversation. He wasn't the only one who could bear grudges. And he wasn't the only one who could be provocative.

I leaned closer suddenly, and bent down to whisper his ear. The slight hitching in his breath allowed me to derive great satisfaction, as it proved to me that he wasn't sure if he was receiving more than he bargained for. Good. I wanted him to play the part of clueless idiot for a while. That role I relinquished with delight.

"I accept," I breathed out quietly, not bothering to disguise the malicious mockery in my voice, "But I need you to remember, Sato, that it takes two hands to clap, and I could not have ruined our friendship all by myself. "

Saying so, I straightened up, and nodded to his rodent, just to be annoying. I knew that my smirk was finally back in proper place; his scowl told me that much. I left my name card on the bar top, in a final gesture of arrogance, and turned around to leave, before throwing a glance back again to survey the damage done.

Oh, his expression was priceless! How I loved the annoyance, the confusion, the…determination? Oh no. No way. Satoshi was smiling, a deceptively innocent smile, and without breaking eye contact with me, he pressed his lips against the name card, and kept it away.

I hurried out hastily, my feelings of victory short-lived, and sorely missed. I could not however, get rid of the disgusting feeling of dread and terrible impending doom. I just hoped that come tomorrow morning, I would wake up in my bed and realise that this was one terrifying nightmare. But judging from my recent trend of luck, this was too much to hope for.

I was absolutely right.

AN: That's it for this chapter! Next up, we have the beginnings of the bet, where Shigeru gets the nastiest shock of his life when…find out soon!