- Soul of Steel -

Chapter 28: Triumphant

Habits die hard. Living in Johto, Sam was exposed to the rich culture of the small town adjascent to Kanto where the leagues intertwined, the guardian beasts roamed the land with watchful eyes, Team Rocket no longer had a strongarm over the land, and he befriended the previous hero to Johto, Gold. Apart from the memories within, the things he brought with him from the legacy of Johto were few and far between. He'd have a successful career becoming a Champion himself, adventuring to several other regions, and falling for a stern-but-fair personality in the fair lady, Oleana. In his heart he felt his bucket list was, for the moment, 'complete'. Having seen and accomplished all he had wanted to, he was willing to put it all behind him.

...but memories have a funny way of showing up when they manifest as a vice.

'Game Corner' locations were not only infamous for attracting stuffy old business men into sitting at machines and gambling their money away until sunrise, but Pokemon trainers would follow suit en masse. The chance of striking rich was ever just out of reach for many, but avoiding the high of dopamine is a challenge in of itself. Trainers who were looking to try and gain extra cash for Pokemon battle items or tools such as recovery items were oft punished by having a more difficult time in their journeys as to-be-Pokemon-masters. Misery oft followed the 'normal' customer of a Game Corner who had finished his stay, but the thrill of the gamble was half the entertainment alone. Sam had come here to restart fresh for himself, and all with a new love in his life, so why, Haru would ask himself, would he feel the need to do this?

The questions started firing at his direction with both Haru and Sevan crossing their arms, and Haru leaning against the wall of the nearby casino. Sam held up his hands in a surrendering gesture, and stood up after dusting his kneecaps. "For the record...I was gambling ONE TIME, you two. One time!"

Sevan took a look at him, then the Casino staff that was eyeing Sam from behind the glass doors. "A supposed 'one time' usually has a history behind it...especially if you're being this defensive." He extended a hand with the palm facing upwards. "Let me see your membership card Sam. They stamp it by the day."

Sam looked to his pair of friends and felt a bead of sweat form on his brow. He hesitated. "Listen, back in Johto the Game Corner in Goldenrod City is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. I know this isn't Goldenrod City, but I-...I need the cash for stuff, allright??"

The hand extended from Sevan had twitched, and he felt a vein throb in his forehead. "Let. Me see. the membership stamps."

Looking to Haru to pre-emptively see what he'd say, Sam blinked. Haru only nodded towards Sevan with his arms crossed as he looked disappointed. Momentarily seeing what his odds were of being able to get away by running with the case, Sam gave up and reached within his jacket's inner pocket. Retrieving a small card, he slapped the item into Sevan's hand. "There."

Leaning towards Sevan, Haru looked at the card with him before both men eyed Sam with a unified glare. "Only 'one time', huh?" He flashed it to the other side, showcasing the history before putting it into his own pants pocket. "3 days in a row this month alone, 2 times last month, and 5 the month before."

Looking a little shocked, and more or less disappointed, Haru gawked at Sam. "Dude. This is why it's been hard to get a hold of you lately? I just thought you were busy with..."

"With what?"

"With what?" both Sevan and Sam asked Haru simultaneously.

Haru threw up his arms in surrender and sighed. "Getting used to the new job Oleana landed you in, for one thing. I know it's not the best, but it should have kept you busy and your nose clean."