Full Circle

by Tsunade

(a lost fic)

Satoshi raised his arms in triumph as the crowd cheered, their applause and whistles sounding like an ocean of human static. His smile stretched across the width of the stadium, and at his feet, a panting Pikachu leapt up and down. Kasumi ran onto the field and threw her arms about him, happy tears of jubilation flying from her eyes. "You've done it!" she shouted and squeezed him tight, laughing all the while.

Satoshi hoped Shigeru was watching from the trainer's stand. He picked her up and swung her around, faithful Pikachu now on his shoulder and chirping his delight: "pika-pika-pika!"

"You're the greatest trainer ever!" Kasumi laughed. "I never thought it would happen!"

"I told you I would be someday!" Tears flew from his own eyes.

Again the loudspeaker blurted out the results, confirming the win.

His mother now ran onto the field and hugged her son, squeezing Kasumi in the process. "I'm so proud of you, Satoshi! If only your father could see you now!"

Takashi and Kenji appeared just behind her and offered their congratulations.

Dr. Okido, now his stepfather as well as his mentor, climbed the steps to the platform and reached into the tangle of arms and well-wishers and shook Satoshi's hand. "You've done well, Satoshi. We're all very proud of you."

The women let go of Satoshi to let him speak. "Thank you Dr. Okido." He bowed politely. "I owe much of my success to you."

Dr. Okido simply beamed.

Satoshi recalled his battle-weary Pokemon from the field, and with a yellow flash of light they returned to their pokeballs, ready to rest and recuperate in the arena's health center.

The group made to leave, but on coming down from the platform they were quickly overwhelmed and separated by the flood of newsmen wanting interviews with and photographs of the new champion, the greatest Pokemon trainer in the known world.

Satoshi packed his bag, leaving his trophy for last. As he collected his comb, he stopped to look at himself in the hotel room's mirror.

He had come so far...

He was nineteen now, and quickly approaching twenty, a young man at the top of his world. The unruly shock of black hair had tamed. A closefitting black outfit with details of bright color—a style now de rigueur among the trainers, had replaced the ball cap and blue jacket. His face was fuller, his arms stronger, and his voice lower. So much time had passed since his tenth birthday, and he had certainly changed. Long gone was the child that had started out on the road to the place of the masters.

He tucked his comb into his pocket and closed his pack. His mother, now Mrs. Okido some two years, and the professor had left on the early train that morning, heading back to Pallet Town to prepare their house for the triumphant homecoming. Kasumi and Shigeru had gone with them. He winced at the thought of them together—"Beatrice and Benedick" Takashi had called them behind their backs. And Takashi and his wife had left the night before, not long after the end of the tournament, heading home to their ranch and family. Kenji was around...somewhere...

"Pi-ka?"

"Pikachu..." Satoshi smiled and snapped back to attention. He had been staring at his pack.

Pikachu leapt onto the dresser and rubbed against him.

"Awww...Pikachu." Ash picked up his first and favorite Pokemon and held him close. "Thank you Pikachu. I never could have done it without you."

"Chuuu..."

He cuddled Pikachu and again the tears came, and he realized his own loneliness. It had been good to see his friends once again, but as always, after the tournaments, they all went back to their own lives. Kasumi now traveled with Shigeru. Takashi was married and had two small children and a thriving breeding business. Kenji worked for a private firm overseas.

And beyond the loneliness lurked a feeling of emptiness. All night he kept asking himself "what next." The dream, the one goal in life, had been achieved. That which he had worked for...breathed for...lived for was his. He stood at the top of the mountain, looking across the foothills and fields below, and then down at the last few years—all crags and precipices he alone had challenged. And then he looked up to see nothing but the blue dome of the sky, cleaner and bluer and purer than anything known, a perfection of nothingness.

The room's clock chimed the hour, and Satoshi picked up his bag and headed for the front desk to turn in his key.

"Congratulations, Mr. Satoshi. We read about you in this morning's papers," said the desk clerk as he handed in the plastic key card. Another girl at the desk handed him a tournament program for an autograph.

"Pika-chu."

"Thank you," said Satoshi shyly. Suddenly everyone knew his name. The anonymity of the wandering days was gone.

The desk clerk handed him a receipt and he left, walking out to the hotel's front door. A red-haired lady walked up to meet him, and instinctively his hand went to his pocket to grab a pen. He reached out to take her autograph book, but she proffered none. Her hands were at her sides. He looked to her face and faltered. "Musashi?"

It had been several years since he had seen her. She was not as tall as he remembered, probably because he had gained quite some height through his teenage years, and she was much prettier than remembered as well. The battleship-gray uniform was gone, as was her long hair, and now she dressed in a business-like black suit and wore her hair in a short, business-like style. A small red "R" pin clung to her lapel like a drop of blood—her employer had not changed.

"Congratulations, Charin-boy," she said.

Satoshi quickly scanned the lobby for Kojiro but did not see him. "What are you doing here?" He tucked the pen back in his pocket.

"I've orders to bring you to Team Rocket headquarters."

"What? Why?"

"The Boss wants to see you."

"Pi-kaaaaa..." Pikachu hissed

Satoshi clearly remembered his last visit to the lair of Team Rocket, more specifically his visit to their gym. He was fourteen at the time, and the battle had been hard. In the end he defeated their chosen opponent, but was escorted to the office of Team Rocket's shadowy CEO before he could leave. There they questioned him about his life and his family for quite some time. When Mr. Sakaki was satisfied, he awarded the badge of victory himself, pinning it into Satoshi's jacket. After that day, he never again saw a Team Rocket member, not event the plaguing Musashi and Kojiro.

"I have to catch a train. I don't have time!" he protested.

Musashi bit her lip, beautied as ever with red lipstick. "Transportation will be provided." She caught him under the arm and walked him out the front door of the hotel, smiling sweetly as the doorman held open the lobby exit.

"I can't go with you. What is this about?" Satoshi whined and tried to wiggle away, but she gripped tighter.

Outside under the carport waited a black limousine, a chauffeur holding open the passenger door for them, a chauffeur that looked suspiciously like Meowth in a chauffeur suit. Musashi pushed Satoshi into the limousine and got in behind him. The door closed, and Meowth hopped into the front seat. Looking through the smoked glass, Kojiro could be seen behind the wheel. The car pulled away from the hotel.

Satoshi decided not to fight. After all, he was as curious as he was nervous. Team Rocket's sudden appearance after five years seemed awfully strange. He sat back on the cushy leather seat as the car wound through the streets and onto the highway. Musashi sat across from him, busy tapping away at a laptop keyboard. She was definitely much prettier than he remembered.

"Charin-Boy, wake up! We're at Grandma's" Musashi teased as she shook him awake. She left the limousine pulling him after her. He rubbed his eyes and adjusted to the daylight. Team Rocket's headquarters loomed up before him, the building gleaming in the afternoon sunlight. The rebuild after Mewtwo's destructive rampage was certainly impressive. That was part of Kasumi's original dare to try for a Team Rocket badge.

"How long was I asleep?" he asked.

"Long enough for the ride," Kojiro answered. "Now come with us."

They took him into the building and into an elevator, where another Team Rocket member, this one wearing a black uniform, joined them. The elevator door slid shut and the floor lurched as they rose.

"I watched your battle on the television," said the black-dressed fellow. "You did wonderful. I hope to become as good a trainer someday."

"Well, thank you," said Satoshi awkwardly.

"Mondo, don't be such a puppy," sighed Musashi.

"Yes, Ms. Musashi." He bowed slightly to her and smiled. "I won't. But don't you think Mr. Satoshi fought well?"

"He did," she agreed, a bit of irritation in her voice.

The elevator lurched again and all five passengers stepped out into a large sky-lighted reception area. The man behind the desk buzzed an intercom and soon the doors next to the desk opened.

Musashi led the way towards a large, darkened office, but Meowth remained close to the elevator doors, hopping up into a padded chair. "I'll wait here," he said.

"I'll wait with Chief here!" said Mondo and he sat beside Meowth.

"Me too," said Kojiro, seizing upon the option and turning back. The three huddled close to the elevator. Musashi glared at the cowards.

Satoshi wished he could turn back, but he knew that of all five, he was the only one that could not get away with turning back, so he bravely pushed on, each step becoming harder to make. He began to feel sick as he crossed the threshold, the same feeling that had gripped him the last time he had been brought here. He reached up to Pikachu for comfort, hoping to soothe the knot in his chest and calm the trembling of his hands.

Mr. Sakaki rose as he entered and came to meet him, taking his hands in greeting. "You performed well yesterday. Your technique is exceptional."

"Why have you brought me here?" Satoshi asked, trying not to sound intimidated, nor demanding.

Mr. Sakaki walked to the window, and after a long pause spent gazing over the city, he finally said: "The time has come for you to join me here at Team Rocket."

"What? Me join Team Rocket." He heard a small gasp escape from Musashi and he looked to her. The surprised expression on her face indicated that she had not expected this statement any more than he had. And noticing him looking at her, her surprise became a glare.

"Ka-chu?"

"Yes..." he continued. "The time has come. You are a man now, and a tournament champion, more than I ever expected of you."

He opened a drawer in his desk and took out a small brown leather folder embossed with gold leaf scrollwork. "What did your mother tell you about your father?"

Satoshi grew nervous again. It had always disturbed him that in the previous interview, the Boss had asked about his mother.

"Only that he was a great Pokemon trainer and that he had disappeared when I was very young. I don't remember him."

The Boss approached Satoshi and handed him the folder.

Hands shaking terribly, he opened it as the Boss looked on.

Inside was a single 3½" by 5" photograph of a young couple and an infant child. The woman's head lay on the man's shoulder as they sat, and between them on a yellow blanket sat the baby. All were smiling. The woman had her hands on the baby, and in the man's hand was an expanded pokeball. And Satoshi recognized each of the people in the picture—his mother, himself as the baby, and the man standing before him.

"What!" Satoshi choked. "This can't be! This must be a forgery!" He raced through his memories trying to recall the few pictures he had been shown of his father, but the memories would not come. "You can't be my father! He was gone for so many years and finally declared dead."

Musashi took the folder from him and looked for herself. "You are his father, aren't you?" she said to Mr. Sakaki.

The man nodded.

Satoshi took the folder back and looked again, sinking to the floor. "I...I...he would have come back."

"I couldn't come back. It is the way of Team Rocket." His voice was somber and distant. "Your mother never really knew who she married." He returned to his chair behind the desk and sat.

"No!" Satoshi became defiant now. He jumped to his feet. "This is some sort of trick, isn't it? Every year's tournament champion ends up here, don't they, and you prey upon some weakness with some B-S story. I know what Team Rocket is about!" He turned to go. " I won't fall for it. Open the doors!"

"Satoshi...you are my son. What proof do you need?"

Satoshi turned back to him. "What proof?" he snapped. "You can just try." He walked to the desk and slapped down the leather folder. "Now open the doors or you will be sorry." Four pokeballs glinted between his fingers.

Sakaki sighed. "Take that picture to your mother. That will be all the proof you need."

Satoshi left his celebratory party as soon as he could, slipping into the grounds around the house to be alone. Inside the lights burned bright and the sake flowed freely. Dr. Okido was going through another drunken rendition of the national anthem on the karaoke machine, while Kasumi danced on the coffee table with Starmie bobbing on her head like a hat. Golduck mimicked from the back of the sofa. The others joined in on the chorus. Satoshi heard the door open once again behind him and he turned to see his mother coming out towards him.

"Satoshi, what's the matter? You've been withdrawn ever since you arrived." She put her hand on his arm. Her tone was soft and caring.

"I have to show you something..." They reentered the house through a door away from the party, and went to the guest room where Satoshi's pack waited. He pulled out the leather folder and handed it to her.

"What's this?" she queried.

"Just open it."

She did so, and for a moment her expression did not change, but then she smiled broadly. "Where did you find this? I haven't seen this photo in years." She looked at her son.

"Is it us? You, me, and Dad?"

"Of course it is!" She closed the folder and looked at it closely. "This is the picture he always carried with him when he left on trips. It was one of my favorites. We took it when you were about eight months old." She opened the folder again. "Where did you find this?"

Satoshi had long debated what to tell her when she asked, should the photo and story have been genuine. She was happy being Mrs. Okido, the happiest he ever remembered her. To let her know the truth could devastate that present happiness, as well as soil the memories of the past.

"Someone gave it to me, someone who knew Dad." He rose and left his mother sitting there, not wishing to answer more difficult questions.

Two days later, Satoshi entered the limousine and Meowth closed the door behind him. Musashi grinned. "I was hoping you'd come back, Charinko."

He sat. Pikachu seemed awfully confused.

On the highway, Musashi handed him a paper wrapped package. "This is for you."

Satoshi opened it to find a Team Rocket uniform inside, a uniform of the upper echelons, one that matched Musashi's except that it included long pants rather than a teasingly short skirt. When he had dressed, with much difficulty and somewhat awkwardly, but at Musashi's insistence, she pinned a little red "R" to his lapel. "I never expected I'd ever have you on our side." She leaned back into her seat and admired the new member. "You'll enjoy working with us. It's like family after a while. Of course, you already are family!" She laughed at her own joke and tossed her red hair.

"Pi...ka..."

Satoshi looked through the smoked glass of the limousine's window and into the distance. His mind pulled him back to younger days, when he ran to Dr. Okido's place to get his first Pokemon, fearing the worst for his lateness. Now, as his life started anew, the same chasm of anxiousness opened before him, full of portent and possibility. In the distance loomed the great mountain once more—this time a mountain of shadows and sinister secrets. But in his hand he held the unlit torch of revelation. In his heart burned the flame of inquisition.