Two more
I come with two more stories... So you all know, the second one is about my original character, Nekou. Those of you not familiar with her can go over to Bulbagarden and read "The Christmas Wish" (it should be over in either the main fanfiction forum, or the archive- I'm not sure). The story in that one takes place BEFORE TCW, when Nekou's just starting out.
20. Money
"Hee hee hee." Namba gleefully looked at the screen of the computer and clicked the Print button. This had to be a truly genius plan, he thought...
The printer's loud, constant hum drew Sebastian out of his office. This was now basic procedure for him; Namba was hardly what one would call technology-literate by any stretch of the imagination, and it seemed Sebastian or some unlucky assistant was always trying to fix some problem on the computers caused by one of Namba's infamous misadventures.
When Sebastian saw what was going on, he wondered if he'd have to fix Namba this time. "What the blazes?" Hundreds of sheets of paper were flying out of the printer. And they were all a rather familiar shade of green. "Namba, what is this?"
"You know how Giovanni's always complaining this department doesn't make much money? Well, he can officially stop."
Sebastian's jaw fell open. He regained composure, then got a closer look at the printer. It was exactly as he'd feared. "Namba, you're... counterfeiting?"
"Don't call it counterfeiting, Professor. Think of it more as... independent minting."
"Namba, you've officially gone out of your mind. There's no way you can get away with a stunt like this!"
"And why not? The last time I checked, Professor, going and trapping Gyarados isn't quite legal either. If I'm not mistaken, one of your own agents got arrested for that. Tyson, was it?"
"It's not the legality of the action that bothers me, Namba. It's the quality." He grabbed a sheet of the fake currency out of the printer. "I mean, look at this stuff! It looks like Monopoly money, or something! There's no way this'll ever pass for the real thing!"
"It looks real enough to me," Namba replied, not bothered in the least by Sebastian's lecture.
Too exasperated to try and argue with Namba's idiotic stubbornness, Sebastian rolled his eyes and left. "Moron," he muttered under his breath.
Two days later, Namba for the life of him couldn't figure out why, upon trying to buy himself some lunch at a nearby fast food joint with the money, the cashier began uncontrollably laughing at him. Enraged, he walked out. That was the last time he ate there.
21. Capture
There were too many things Nekou hadn't expected to see, but did, in the short time since she'd joined Team Rocket. What she was looking at currently, however, was nothing she'd ever expected to see.
"What the heck is THAT thing?" Nekou asked the agent next to her, who was studying a small cage. Inside was a furry, black... thing. It clawed at the bars of the cage with what looked like long knives. Only the knives were coming out of its paws.
"What, you've never heard of Sneasel?" he asked her. "We finally caught the little bastard. Now we just need some way to get rid of her."
"Get... rid..." Nekou was shocked. She'd heard of the unspeakable things that happened in the labs at night... she'd just never expected them to hit this close to home for her.
"Yeah. The thing's been giving us trouble for about a week, making messes all over the place and generally causing trouble. I'm more than happy to know she's not going to cause any more problems. Ever." He grinned at it in a way that made Nekou sick, and then looked back at Nekou. "Problem is, none of us know how to get close to it without getting hurt."
Nekou crouched near the cage to get a closer look at the Sneasel. As soon as she made eye contact with it, it stopped its frenzied clawing and stared at her with its scarlet eyes. They were full of sadness and pain... and for a moment, Nekou felt a connection to it. Trapped... just like her... confused and scared, just like she was when she herself was discovered outside headquarters, lost and unsure of her surroundings...
Nekou felt sick at the thought of anything bad happening to the Sneasel. "I'll take care of it," Nekou said, without thinking. "Just leave it to me, please."
"You'll take care of it? Great," he responded, unaware that the "take care of it" Nekou had in mind was far different than the "take care of it" he did. "Good luck. Those claws are sharp."
"I'll manage," Nekou said, picking up the cage. The Sneasel panicked briefly, her claws catching Nekou's hand and leaving a bit of a nasty cut, but Nekou held tightly to the cage. When the two were far away from anyone else, Nekou let her out. Sneasel crawled into her lap and curled up, nervous yet somehow realizing she was finally safe. "You're really lucky, you realize that?" Nekou asked it.
"Snee?"
The soft purring sound the Sneasel made as it dozed off made Nekou realize the two were made for each other. Recalling the reason Nekou's fellow agent had given her for its capture, Nekou knew there was only one name for her: Kali, the goddess of destruction. She picked it up, holding it close to her, almost hugging it. "We'll raise hell together from now on, okay, Kali?"
The Sneasel purred back in agreement. That was all Nekou needed. For the first time in a long time, she actually felt loved.
20. Money
"Hee hee hee." Namba gleefully looked at the screen of the computer and clicked the Print button. This had to be a truly genius plan, he thought...
The printer's loud, constant hum drew Sebastian out of his office. This was now basic procedure for him; Namba was hardly what one would call technology-literate by any stretch of the imagination, and it seemed Sebastian or some unlucky assistant was always trying to fix some problem on the computers caused by one of Namba's infamous misadventures.
When Sebastian saw what was going on, he wondered if he'd have to fix Namba this time. "What the blazes?" Hundreds of sheets of paper were flying out of the printer. And they were all a rather familiar shade of green. "Namba, what is this?"
"You know how Giovanni's always complaining this department doesn't make much money? Well, he can officially stop."
Sebastian's jaw fell open. He regained composure, then got a closer look at the printer. It was exactly as he'd feared. "Namba, you're... counterfeiting?"
"Don't call it counterfeiting, Professor. Think of it more as... independent minting."
"Namba, you've officially gone out of your mind. There's no way you can get away with a stunt like this!"
"And why not? The last time I checked, Professor, going and trapping Gyarados isn't quite legal either. If I'm not mistaken, one of your own agents got arrested for that. Tyson, was it?"
"It's not the legality of the action that bothers me, Namba. It's the quality." He grabbed a sheet of the fake currency out of the printer. "I mean, look at this stuff! It looks like Monopoly money, or something! There's no way this'll ever pass for the real thing!"
"It looks real enough to me," Namba replied, not bothered in the least by Sebastian's lecture.
Too exasperated to try and argue with Namba's idiotic stubbornness, Sebastian rolled his eyes and left. "Moron," he muttered under his breath.
Two days later, Namba for the life of him couldn't figure out why, upon trying to buy himself some lunch at a nearby fast food joint with the money, the cashier began uncontrollably laughing at him. Enraged, he walked out. That was the last time he ate there.
21. Capture
There were too many things Nekou hadn't expected to see, but did, in the short time since she'd joined Team Rocket. What she was looking at currently, however, was nothing she'd ever expected to see.
"What the heck is THAT thing?" Nekou asked the agent next to her, who was studying a small cage. Inside was a furry, black... thing. It clawed at the bars of the cage with what looked like long knives. Only the knives were coming out of its paws.
"What, you've never heard of Sneasel?" he asked her. "We finally caught the little bastard. Now we just need some way to get rid of her."
"Get... rid..." Nekou was shocked. She'd heard of the unspeakable things that happened in the labs at night... she'd just never expected them to hit this close to home for her.
"Yeah. The thing's been giving us trouble for about a week, making messes all over the place and generally causing trouble. I'm more than happy to know she's not going to cause any more problems. Ever." He grinned at it in a way that made Nekou sick, and then looked back at Nekou. "Problem is, none of us know how to get close to it without getting hurt."
Nekou crouched near the cage to get a closer look at the Sneasel. As soon as she made eye contact with it, it stopped its frenzied clawing and stared at her with its scarlet eyes. They were full of sadness and pain... and for a moment, Nekou felt a connection to it. Trapped... just like her... confused and scared, just like she was when she herself was discovered outside headquarters, lost and unsure of her surroundings...
Nekou felt sick at the thought of anything bad happening to the Sneasel. "I'll take care of it," Nekou said, without thinking. "Just leave it to me, please."
"You'll take care of it? Great," he responded, unaware that the "take care of it" Nekou had in mind was far different than the "take care of it" he did. "Good luck. Those claws are sharp."
"I'll manage," Nekou said, picking up the cage. The Sneasel panicked briefly, her claws catching Nekou's hand and leaving a bit of a nasty cut, but Nekou held tightly to the cage. When the two were far away from anyone else, Nekou let her out. Sneasel crawled into her lap and curled up, nervous yet somehow realizing she was finally safe. "You're really lucky, you realize that?" Nekou asked it.
"Snee?"
The soft purring sound the Sneasel made as it dozed off made Nekou realize the two were made for each other. Recalling the reason Nekou's fellow agent had given her for its capture, Nekou knew there was only one name for her: Kali, the goddess of destruction. She picked it up, holding it close to her, almost hugging it. "We'll raise hell together from now on, okay, Kali?"
The Sneasel purred back in agreement. That was all Nekou needed. For the first time in a long time, she actually felt loved.