SLACKERS

EPISODE XXIII

SINS OF THE FATHER


CHAPTER EIGHT - THE MEETING


35 years ago

Amanda felt 24 hours hadn't been enough to fully recover from the incident yesterday as she began to climb the stairs to the mezzanine of the warehouse. The setup was pretty humble, one flight of metal stairs ran parallel to the second floor, giving her a sensation similar to taking off in an airplane as she watched the first floor descend below her. Still, her climb was slow. She gripped the handrail tight enough for her knuckles to whiten, and she placed each step as carefully as possible so as to not do something silly like trip or slip.

She couldn't be clumsy anymore, no matter what.

She held nothing in her hands, focusing probably a bit too hard on a simple task like climbing stairs, but she was going to do this one way or another. After taking time to calm down, and waiting for her boss to enter his warehouse office this morning, she was going to march upstairs, walk right up to him, and explain herself calmly and honestly. She needed to prove to Ichika that she wasn't just a nervous schoolgirl around a handsome older man. Or did she need to prove it to herself? Nah, there was no way she would let her attraction to Sakaki interfere with...

Nope, that's not it, she told herself. That's dumb, there's no attraction. There never was.

Seriously.

That stair climb did feel like forever, though. Eventually she made her way to the top, merely five steps from the door to Sakaki's modest office. She took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

"Enter," came the cool voice from within.

Wiping away a single bead of sweat from her brow, Amanda slowly opened the door. She peeked her head inside briefly, before forcing the rest of her body into the office.

"G-good morning, Sakaki..." she said, trying desperately, and failing miserably, to sound as confident as possible.

Sakaki, feeling nothing but a modest sense of charm, simply smiled.

"Come in, Ms. Sakura," he offered politely. She obliged, closed the door behind her, and stood across the desk from him.

"I just wanted to apologize for what happened yesterday," she said as she took a small bow.

"Nah," he replied candidly, with the wave of his hand. "Don't worry about it. Nothing a short trip home to change couldn't fix."

Her head tilted a little to the side, confusion taking over her bright, young eyes.

He loved it.

"So you're not mad at me?"

"Mad at you?" he laughed. "Don't be ridiculous!"

While she was relieved that she wasn't going to be in any trouble, she found herself getting annoyed at being talked down to.

That annoyance caused an outburst she would immediately regret.

"It's not ridiculous! I'm not just some dumb kid, you know!"

She gasped and closed her mouth, turning bright red.

Sakaki raised an eyebrow and gave a half-smile.

"A kid, maybe, but I never once took you for dumb," he responded. "You look like you can't be much older than high school."

"I... I just graduated," she replied meekly.

"Really?" he asked. He unintentionally startled Amanda as he got up from his desk and walked around, sitting on one of the corners to face her as she backed away slowly. He smiled, silently conveying that he wasn't up to anything.

He continued, "Let me ask you something, Amanda... well, this isn't what I wanted to ask, but you don't mind if I call you Amanda, right?"

She shook her head.

"Anyway, what made you want to join Club Rocket to begin with? You could have gone to college, but instead, you're with us, training. Why?"

She held her hands behind her back. She definitely hadn't been expecting to have this conversation with Sakaki, and she found herself completely unprepared. Nevertheless, she would do her best to try talking to him like a normal human being instead of a legendary trainer.

"Um... well, I..."

Clearly she was off to a great start.

"Something wrong?" asked Sakaki.

"No," she replied, shaking her head quickly. "I guess I wasn't expecting you to ask me that."

"Why shouldn't I? You're a part of my team, and I'd like to get to know you better."

She grimaced at the thought.

"Well..." she said, "my parents had pretty high expectations of me my whole life, and I recently decided to break away from that, and do what I wanted instead."

"Which is?"

She looked down. She had no idea why she suddenly felt extremely embarrassed, even though her reason for being here was perfectly in line with the club she had joined.

"Pokemon training. I know I can't be successful at it, but I love it. My best friend showed me Club Rocket and I thought it'd be a great way to get started."

"Who says you can't be a successful trainer? Clearly that's your intention if you're here with the team. Our goal is to take young trainers and turn them into strong ones, so they can catch and raise the most powerful Pokemon in the world."

He relaxed his pose a little, looking at her like a dear friend.

"It's not just a way to get started, you can make a life for yourself here. A successful one."

"You really think I have that kind of potential?" she asked, smiling.

"Absolutely!" said Sakaki. "If I'm honest, I wish more of my recruits were like you. Most of them are here as an after-work hobby, but you're here, fully dedicated to make Pokemon training your life. You're exactly what I need, Amanda."

She turned red again, but instead of looking infuriated, she allowed herself to smile.

"I... well... thank you, Sakaki. I can't tell you how much that means to me."

He smiled and looked at the floor for a moment. Well, I shouldn't say that since his eyes were closed, but you know what I mean. It's what people do when they're lost in thought, or having a fun daydream.

"Gio," he responded.

"Hm?"

Now his gaze lifted again, eyes opened, giving her his full attention.

"Gio... it's what my mother called me. You should too."

Amanda was stunned at her boss's casual demeanor. This wasn't a ruthless tyrant standing before her at all. All she saw in front of her was a kind gentleman with a passion for greatness in himself and others.

"Can I ask you something?" said Amanda.

"Of course," he responded with a smile.

"Why did you start a club? Most trainers strike out on their own, why didn't you?"

Sakaki looked out the window for a moment before responding. Clearly this wasn't the first time he'd thought about this.

"Well, I tried a long time ago. When I was 10, I set off on my own adventure. I absolutely loved it, but I found it rather lonely," he said.

Amanda looked at him, the interest obvious in her eyes.

He kept his line of sight away from her, and continued, "I had aspirations for the league and the championship, but I also wanted to continue learning. I felt I hadn't been trained fully as a human, and felt it would be necessary to train Pokemon to their full potential. So I continued training part-time while I went back to school. When I was in high school, I decided I didn't want to do it on my own anymore, so I began a club. We met at my mother's house for a year or so until she passed away."

She looked down. For some reason, hearing that made her feel like she had lost a family member of her own.

"I'm sorry," she said.

He waved it off. "She left me with enough money to buy this building. I made a promise that I would become the greatest trainer of all time, so I began recruiting members into the club. I think we've done fairly well so far, but it's not enough. I want to be known worldwide. I want everyone to think of Club Rocket as the ultimate goal for trainers."

"Do, um..." she said, before realizing she was interrupting. He nodded for her to go ahead. "Do you mind if I make a suggestion?"

"By all means," said Sakaki.

"I promise, I'm not trying to be mean, but... when I heard the name, I thought it was kind of... um..."

"Kind of what?" he asked, a little surprised, as he wasn't used to hearing suggestions.

"J... j-juvenile?" she answered. She winced, hoping she was being helpful and not hurtful.

To her surprise, he smiled. "I completely agree. A lot can change in ten years, including preferences."

He then did something that surprised her more than anything else had since she had first joined.

He said, "I'd love to hear your ideas if you'd be willing to have dinner with me."

Time froze.

So did she.

She nearly shrieked.

"What...?"

"If I'm not being too forward, that is. I've really enjoyed talking to you, and I'd like to do it some more, if you'd be up for it."

"Are... are you asking me out?!" she asked.

"I suppose I am," he responded.

She couldn't believe what she was hearing.

Sakaki. Asking her out to dinner.

Holy shit.

"Y-yes!" she blurted out, a bit too loudly. "Yes, I'd love to!"

"Then it's a date," he said, his voice radiating with confidence. "Come find me at the end of the day, we'll go somewhere lighthearted and easygoing. There's a great ramen cafe on the north side of town I like visiting."

"Okay!" she said as she turned around.

She made her way to the door, still wrapping her mind around what had just happened. She had come up here nervously to apologize to Sakaki for bumping into him and ruining his shirt yesterday. And now he was taking her out to dinner. So many thoughts popped into her mind. Should she tell Ichika? What should she wear? What were they going to talk about? Would there be potential for more?

Butterflies invaded her stomach as she closed the office door behind her, and once it was closed, she tried to contain a squeal, but it still made its way through. On the other side of the door, Giovanni Sakaki heard it, and smiled, himself excited at the opportunity to actually date the cute little strawberry girl that had captured his heart.


Present day

Inside the island cave, three legendary Pokemon sat around a small fire that had been conjured with psychic power. Celebi leaned on Mew's shoulder, while Mew carefully studied the large, powerful creature sitting across the fire. The reflections of the flames gave the creature's face a foreboding, almost sinister characteristic, but there was no denying the metaphysical connection Mew was feeling. He was almost afraid to ask any questions, but the small little nuzzle of Celebi's cheek against his shoulder gave him the courage to seek out what had been eating at him inside.

"Alright, we're here. Can you please tell me what's going on now?" asked Mew.

The creature closed his eyes and lowered his head.

"I suppose I should first explain why my psychic aura is so similar to yours. No doubt this feeling has come as a shock to you, Mew."

"That's one way of putting it," replied Mew.

"However, before I explain everything, I must ask you something."

"What is it?"

"You must swear you will never speak of this meeting, or of this information, with anyone."

"That's... well, it's a lot to ask from someone you just met," said Mew as he furrowed his brow. "How do I even know I can trust you?"

"You don't have the choice," the creature said ominously. "I am the only Pokemon that has ever lived whose power exceeds even your own."

"Sounds a lot more like a threat than a vote of confidence. And an empty one. You do realize I'm a Level 101 Mew, right?"

"Such pride in your power will get you nowhere. Believe me, I have learned from that exact failure. My intentions are pure. I wish no harm on either of you."

At first, Mew naturally took this as a blow to his ego, but upon trying to probe the creature's mind, he sensed no deception.

What he did sense was an incredible aura of power, so intense that the creature was likely telling the truth.

He decided not to test this power. Who knew what would happen if he were actually outmatched at his full strength.

"Alright," said Mew, "I swear."

The Pokemon opened his eyes and looked solemnly at Mew.

"The reason I am so similar to you is because, in a sense, I am you. My name is Mewtwo. I was created 23 years ago as an enhanced clone of you, by a man named Giovanni Sakaki."


In case you haven't noticed, I don't like stairs.