Unwilling Rocket

Me too anon, me too.

“I... don’t know. I admit I haven’t see any ghosts or spirits yet; but I can’t say either if it’s impossible for me. I’m still learning to handle sensing the Wave of those who are alive, so... Maybe one day.”

(Anon, suddenly I love the idea of Sato able to do so. More angst material too, because imagine him either seeing people he might know, or being overwhelmed.)

"… Excuse me?"

There was fury, full of fire and violent and shouts. And then there was false calmness, cold and a whole new level of wrath. The calm before the storm, and the one form of Satoshi’s anger to truly fear.

"First off, never, ever again call Skye a ‘she’. He is not a girl. It is because he said he was a boy that you should consider him as such. When someone is born with a malformation, everyone is compassionate and hopes for them a surgery exist to help them. Why are you treating this differently?”

He had hissed the last few words. His eyes flashed once, and one would wonder how he even stayed in control. “You are wrong if you think nature is without fault. You are wrong if you think we are always born as we should be. Skye is a boy in his heart, his mind and his soul. But just like malformation happen, he was born with the wrong body.”

And then his voice raised as he continued talking. “Who are you to say what is inside Skye’s heart? Were you the one who grew up feeling so wrong because your body wasn’t right? No. So don’t even dare speak for Skye.”

Satoshi jabbed a finger toward the stranger, then away. “If you have nothing more to say than apology, leave. You would do well not to make me any more furious. Skye has been hurt enough in the past, he suffered enough thinking of what he could do. He’s been so, so brave to finally take the surgery. Don’t ever, ever again insult his bravery in front of me.”

Frozen, Satoshi only stared at the stranger. The simple idea scared him, no, he would go as far as say it terrified him. And he was no stranger to the idea. How many times had he laid in his bed, lost and guilty?

How many time had he ignored the silent tears as he wondered if each of his visit would not be the fated one? The one where Sakaki fout out?

And what if Sakaki already knew? What if he tolerated it, but one more visit, and the Rocket Boss decided it had been enough?

"I don’t know." Satoshi finally replied. "I tell myself it should be the last time, the last visit to Skye. I-I know I’m putting him in danger." He looked away. "I’m being selfish. I’ve sacrified so much to keep my Pokemon, my friends and family safe. But I can’t-" He breathed out, frowning as if unhappy at himself that his voice caught in his throat. "I want to protect Skye so much, but I’m not sure… that I’ll stay sane if I don’t have him."

"I’ve realized now, that he talked me out of fully giving up. If I could not see him again… I’m not sure I wouldn’t become what Sakaki wants of me. And if Sakaki ever hurt Skye… I’m not sure I would be able to think."

As if proving his words, his fists clenched. “I’d like to say I’ll do what is best for everyone. Ask for Skye to be left alone and that I wouldn’t see him again. But I might-If I got angry enough, I wouldn’t think of anyone safety. I would just think of taking down Sakaki before he can hurt my Pokemon or Skye.”

Satoshi ignored the quiet voice in his mind that told him he would do so much more than just knock Sakaki out. He knew it already, and more than anything, it was what really terrified him.

Satoshi had already changed, and he had no wish to be in a situation where everyone could see how much.

"Skye." Satoshi greeted. It had been a bit too long since he had seen his friend, the last time being when he learned Skye would finally be able to have his surgery.

Christmas had passed since then, and he had wished he could have spend it with Skye. But he had to stay in Headquarters, and he was not sure he would have handled it. He had wanted to hide on Christmas, and he did stay a long time in his room.

Amazingly enough, Sakaki had been the one to drag him out. Well, he had said he needed Satoshi to eat and stay healthy as he would go for an important mission soon, but still...

In any case, Satoshi was there now, a small wrapped box in his jacket pocket. He waved his hand at Skye, keeping the other one in his pocket to prevent the box from falling. "Happy new year!"

Satoshi left the scene of the 'crime' with contentment, a small surge of Wave making sure only the owner of the locker he just left a wrapped box in could open said locker.

Satoshi had no wish for anyone else but Sora to find his gift, after all. He would have given it himself, but recently, things had been... cold between them. It had been very recent the night Sora discovered Satoshi knew about his secret, and the youngest teen knew he was still not forgiven.

Satoshi knew his partner needed both time and space. It hurt, but he knew it was necessary. He had made a mistake, had assumed too much certain things. He hoped dearly he could be forgiven, or at least given a chance to restart their forming friendship.

However, for now all he could do was leave a small pendant in Sora's locker as a Christmas gift. The chain was simple, and a small gem hang from it. The light blue color of it was very similar to the one of Satoshi's Wave, and for a reason.

As his small note explained, Satoshi had left a part of his Wave in the gem. He had a lot of trouble managing to do this, but it was worth it. The part of his Wave had become independant, so Satoshi could not access or feel it. But the one thing the gem would do was simple.

Protect. The pendant was Satoshi's version of a protective charm. It could not do a lot of big things, but making Sora feel better or make a small shield?

That it could do. In truth, the pendant would also recharged when it was close enough to Satoshi, but considering Sora and he lived in the same building, it would not be hard to recharge.

Well, except for the next few days-but Satoshi had put extra Wave in it. Because he was needed for a mission, one he was doing alone. He could have taken Sora with him, but the mission might be dangerous, and Satoshi felt it was too soon to force Sora to stay close to him for too long.

And so, the gift waiting for Sora, Satoshi took a small group of Grunts and left Headquarters.

"… Apparently, Team Rocket lets members spend Christmas with their family, if they deserve it. For those that stay at HQ, they don’t have missions, and there’s a banquet all day, though it’s still expected we train for a bit at some point."

"Of course, I’m one of those member that stay at HQ. I’m a special case after all, and leaving to see my family is out of the question. I can’t leave HQ either, so even if there were people I wanted to see, I can’t."

He's wandering the forest, very tempted to go visit Skye. He's been so worried since the last time he's seen his friend, and wonders if Skye breached the subject of the surgery to his parents.

"What is this question?’ Satoshi squeaked out, his voice going into quite a high pitch.