Time to continue Akira and Dakota's date! Where will their relationship go? Will they be able to work things out together?

KedharS: Definitely.

Hellraiserphoenix: I hope so too.

Thunder Fire: You could look at it that way, but it's more than that.

Aquahaze675: Hopefully she can keep this job.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 471

Dakota peeked through her fingers at Akira's face, still feeling ashamed for overreacting to the misunderstanding about Akira's phone. As she looked at him, though, she could see that he was troubled, his face torn and conflicted. She straightened back up and dropped her hands, ignoring the food in front of her as she looked at him.

"Aki… I came here today to hear what you have to say," Dakota reminded him. "So it's okay. Tell me what you want to tell me, and then we'll decide where we go from there. You know me, Aki. I'll listen to whatever you have to say with a completely open mind, without making any judgments until the very end."

"…Really. You." Akira stared at Dakota, the disbelief on his face plain to see. Dakota glanced away sheepishly.

"…Okay, maybe I earned that, but still!" Dakota said, a resolute look on her face. "I promise you, whatever you have to say, I'll listen, and try to understand, because I care about you. I care about us. And I'm not going to give up."

Akira nodded, and explained to her what had been going through his head over winter break and why things had been so uncomfortable between the two of them from his perspective.

"Remember how we had that fight right before winter break?" Akira reminded her.

Dakota nodded, she remembered it, but she didn't like it.

"I wanted to bring you to meet my family, right?" Dakota asked. "And you said you thought it was too soon."

"That… that wasn't exactly the truth," Akira admitted. "I mean, I do think that meeting your parents after we'd only been going out for a few months was a little early, especially since it would mean I would have to stay with your family, but that wasn't why I didn't want to go."

"Then why?" Dakota asked.

"I wanted… I needed to go home," Akira said quietly. "There was somewhere I needed to go."

Dakota had a sinking feeling in her chest about what he meant.

"Then when I asked you if I could go to meet your family…" Dakota let the sentence trail off from there, hoping Akira would finish the statement.

"I didn't want you to come," Akira admitted.

"And it wasn't just because you thought it was too soon for me to meet your family, was it?" Dakota asked. Akira nodded, a guilty look on his face.

Dakota sighed.

"It's about Satsuki, isn't it?"

The shadow crossing over Akira's face answered that question nice and clearly. It hurt her to remind him of that, but she knew it was probably something that he was already tormented by.

"I didn't want you to come," he admitted again.

"You're repeating," Dakota said, raising her eyebrow.

"S-sorry," he said, shaking his head. "It's just… I wasn't ready for you to come to Ascension Town with me. I needed… I needed to go back home by myself. To say goodbye."

He let out a long sigh, and Dakota saw his eyes start to tear up.

"You know, Dakota, these past few months since we got together…" His voice wavered slightly and it made her heart do some flip-flops. She wasn't sure where he was going with this, but he looked troubled. If he hadn't said earlier that he didn't want to break up with her, she would have been certain this was a break-up speech.

Then, she remembered something, and held her hand up to cut him off. He looked at her with a quizzical expression.

"What's up?" He asked. Dakota looked away, causing Akira to become suspicious. He recognized that look on her face, that was the look she had whenever she got caught doing something shady that he or Serefina would get mad at her for.

"Don't, um… don't say anything else," Dakota said, fishing into her purse. She pulled out a small tape recorder and set it down on the table, hanging her head shamefully.

"Seriously? You were recording me?" Akira demanded.

"I-I'm sorry!" Dakota sputtered. "I thought it was going to be a break-up conversation so I just… I told you just now, didn't I? It-it slipped my mind earlier, because my emotions were kind of hazy since you said you didn't want to break up! I don't want to record our conversation anymore, I know it's private! Look!"

Dakota pressed the delete recording button to show just how sincere she was. She had been planning to record him breaking up (probably for libelous purposes if he had to guess) but she was showing that she didn't want to go through with it by deleting the recording, and admitting what she'd done.

"This is me being honest, Aki," Dakota said, staring at him. "I'm sorry I was recording you, I just-"

"It's fine," Akira said, raising his hand to cut off her apology. "You wouldn't be you if you weren't doing stuff like this, Dakota. It's my fault for not seeing it coming at this point."

Akira's eyes were glazed over, he was pretty much resigned to his fate now.

"It's not your fault," Dakota said, shaking her head. "I don't have the right to record you like this, Aki. So go on. You can share what you want to share, total privacy."

When Akira had first set eyes on Dakota tonight, he had thought for a moment that she was someone else due to her appearance. Now, that she was actually apologizing to him for recording the conversation? He was certain of it.

"Sorry, again," Dakota said, her shoulders drooping as she hung her head. "So… you can keep talking, I know that this is private."

Akira nodded. She was making some progress, and that was a good thing.

"As I was saying, these last few months we were together, they were wonderful," Akira said. Dakota's cheeks flushed and a sheepish smile crossed her face, the light feeling in her chest causing her to squirm in her seat a little.

"R-Really?" Dakota asked. "Even though we fought all the time?"

"Believe it or not, yes," Akira replied, eliciting some giggles from Dakota. "I actually enjoy arguing with you, to a degree."

"Just doing my duty as a good girlfriend," Dakota winked at him. Akira rolled his eyes. A somber look returned to his face, sobering Dakota up.

"The last time I was that happy… it was when Satsuki was still alive," Akira admitted. "And that… that's why I couldn't bring you with me to Ascension Town. Because… the more time I spent with you, I got… I got frightened."

"Frightened… of me?" Dakota asked.

"It was like… you were taking up the spots in my heart that were reserved for Satsuki, and that frightened me," Akira explained. "And back home…" His voice broke again and he cleared his throat, taking a sip of water to recollect himself.

"I told you about the waterfalls in my hometown, right?" Akira asked.

"Yeah, the waterfalls, and the lake, where Satsuki…" Dakota cut herself off, seeing the pain on his face. "Sorry."

"That lake… it was a special spot, for just me and her," Akira explained. "It was somewhere that I could always go, and expect to see Satsuki there, greeting me with a smile. A world just for the two of us, and then… then it wasn't. She was gone. And even when I got her back, it was still… it wasn't the same anymore. And with what happened last year…"

"Us getting together?" Dakota asked.

"That too, but… remember Satsuki gave me those letters? Through Sylvia?"

"Oh…" Dakota gasped.

"Those letters were her final goodbye," Akira disclosed. "When she did, I thought it was time to move on, to be happy with you. But… even after she said goodbye, even with her by my side, I still couldn't help but miss her."

"Of course you couldn't," Dakota murmured, seeing that Akira's hand was trembling. He was trying so hard not to cry. She reached across the table and placed her hand over his, curling her fingers around his.

"So when I wanted to go home… I needed to see for myself. I wanted… I wanted to capture some small part of those memories of her," Akira admitted. "I knew that I wouldn't see her when I went to the lake, I knew it, but… part of me still wanted to keep the memory of that place alive, that special place just for the two of us."

"I see…" It stung to hear him say that, but it wasn't the pain of jealousy burning in her chest. She felt guilty that her half-hearted suggestion had actually caused him that much turmoil. "So that's why you didn't want me there."

"I know you, Dakota," Akira said, removing his hand from her grasp to wipe the tears from his eyes, trying to mask his pain with a smile. "You would want to see the sights, go around, talk to everyone, and most of all… you would want to go there, because it really is a beautiful place. And I was too afraid to let that happen. I was afraid that… that last sanctuary, that last, most special place between me and Satsuki, that it wouldn't be a place just for the two of us anymore. That you would be there, and that… that would be…"

Akira couldn't look her in the eye anymore, he felt too ashamed of his actions.

"I'm a horrible boyfriend, thinking about you like that," he said. "You aren't some pollutant destroying things, you're just you. And I was so afraid that I would lose that place where Satsuki belonged, that I didn't want to bring you with me."

"So that's why…" Dakota murmured. Akira glanced up at her, nervous. He couldn't tell what she was thinking; her face was a completely blank slate. That made him feel even more uncomfortable than he already was, like she was judging him with that look in her eyes. He dropped his head.

"…So what happened?"

"H-huh?" Akira asked, raising his head to meet her eyes. They weren't blank anymore, there was a flicker of concern burning there.

"When you went to the lake… what happened."

"It was beautiful," Akira admitted. "But it was the same as it always had been after Satsuki… you know. That's when I knew that I was a fool. I shouldn't have just decided that you didn't belong there, that I shouldn't have kept you away…"

"It's okay," Dakota assured him. "It's just you, Aki. You're just you, you know? Because you loved her so much… of course you'd want to keep those parts of her safe and precious to you. I just wish you'd told me, so I wouldn't have been so worried."

Akira was surprised by the kindness in her smile. It was moments like these where he was grateful for her, when she wasn't being rude and annoying, but her actual, genuine, caring self. The sweet side of Dakota, small as it was, was one of the things that he loved about her the most.

Even if she WOULD never acknowledge the fact that it existed.

"Yeah, I know, I messed up," Akira sighed. "I guess I just do stupid stuff whenever Satsuki is involved, and I was worried that if I told you the truth, well… you might get jealous."

"…Oh," Dakota said. "…Yeah. Good call on that. I definitely would have been jealous about it. I would have understood, of course, but I would have been jealous."

She narrowed her eyes into a glare.

"And no, that is NOT an excuse, Akira."

Akira flinched at the rebuking tone of her voice.

"Err… that's…"

"Yes, I would have been jealous of you not wanting me there. But it isn't your job to protect me from my own feelings. We're a couple, Aki. I want you to tell me this stuff, okay? You can just say 'I'm not comfortable about bringing you back to my hometown. That's somewhere special between me and Satsuki, and I'm not ready to bring you into that world yet.' If you had told me that, I would have accepted your words. So remember that for next time, okay?"

Akira nodded, hanging his head in shame, his face burning. "Yeah, I will."

"And that's just the first issue," Dakota frowned. "We've got a lot more stuff to talk about, you know. But first…"

Dakota glanced down at the fries sitting between them, still cold.

"Thanks to your long story I now have to eat cold Kalos Fries," she scowled, dipping one of them into ketchup and then popping it into her mouth. "…Lucky you, they still taste good."

Akira laughed a little, eating his own cold fries.

"So the reason you didn't get back to me over break was because your phone wasn't in a cell area, right?" Dakota clarified. Akira nodded. "Okay, then what about after? When you came down? Didn't you think to let me know 'hey, sorry, I had some issues come up, no cell service, this is me getting back to you' huh?"

"Well, uh…" Akira glanced down at his fries and continued eating them. If his mouth was full, he didn't have to answer her questions.

"You can't eat your way out of this, Aki."

Akira swallowed, wiping his mouth with his napkin, and turned his attention back to Dakota. He sighed.

"It… it was because I felt guilty. By the time I checked your messages, well… they were switching between depression and hostility. I realized I'd pissed you off, and, well… I was still feeling guilty about the whole thing, so…"

"So what, you just wanted things to calm down and go away?" Dakota asked, crossing her arms in front of her chest. She wasn't amused.

"…Yeah, sorry. I just wasn't comfortable with where things were going," Akira admitted. "I'm sorry, Dakota."

"You should be," Dakota huffed. "You really stressed me out, and made me think that you wanted to break up with me! And it was just because you were feeling uncomfortable about a fight that I'd already moved past, and an issue due to cell reception! Don't do that!"

"Sorry, I just-"

"I know you were completely lost about what to do with me, so I'm going to make myself clear, because apparently it hasn't gotten through," Dakota said, cutting him off with a sharp look. "I want the truth. Always. That's what I care about, more than anything. Even if it hurts. Because, well… I'm a suspicious person, you know?"

Dakota squirmed a little, glancing down, and then looking back up at Akira warily. "Aki… I have… issues with trusting, you know."

Akira nodded, he didn't need to be told THAT.

"So… the thing that will hurt me the most is if you hide stuff from me, okay?" She asked. "I love you, Aki, and I want you to tell me stuff like this. You don't… you don't have to tell me everything, you know, just… just stuff about me, okay? When you're thinking about me… then tell me, and we can work it out together, okay? I'll… I'll try my best to be honest with you, Aki."

She averted her eyes, knowing that wasn't possible yet.

"…As honest as I can be. So… can you do the same?" She asked, turning back to him, her eyes deep and wet with emotion.

"Yes, I'll do my best," Akira said, nodding.

"…I'm glad," Dakota said, smiling back at him.

The warm air between them lasted for a few seconds, before Dakota's face took on a more serious expression, and she moved to the last thing she needed to confront, the last issue between the two of them before they moved forward, and the only thing she still didn't have an explanation for yet. She was happy, but she wasn't ready to fully move on.

"Okay, one more thing," Dakota scowled. "Why did you take the Pokemon Type Specialization Class? Knowing you'd be studying abroad over the spring?"

"Huh?" Akira asked. "I-I took it because I'm going to be a member of the Eight Leaders, so I wanted to get better at using water types, that's all."

Dakota nodded, she could accept that, but that wasn't what she was concerned about.

"…And my birthday, you're just going to forget about that?" Dakota asked, raising her eyebrow. "April 6th ring any bells?"

Akira went pale, and swallowed.

"Yeah, that's what I thought," Dakota said, nodding. "Do you really not want to celebrate my birthday with me? If you were breaking up to me I would get it, but, well…"

"I had already decided that beforehand," Akira insisted. "It had nothing to do with me being uncomfortable around you about that stuff!"

"Liar," Dakota said, shaking her head. "You're still lying."

"…Yeah, I know, sorry, it was reflexive," Akira admitted. "It… it really is just because of the Eight Leaders stuff, Dakota, I promise. That's why I took the class."

"But?"

"But it's a lie to say that I wasn't thinking about you when I was thinking about studying abroad," Akira admitted. "I said it before, I do think we're moving a little too fast."

"Too fast? We haven't even had-"

"Dakota!"

Dakota shut up.

"…What do you mean by too fast?" Dakota asked quietly. "Because where I'm sitting, we're going at the right speed. Is it… is it still about Satsuki?"

"Yeah," he admitted. "I… I didn't think it would be an issue… not when I asked you out the first time, and not in October, but… getting close to you, it was just like… well… like I said, I was afraid of really opening up, of you replacing Satsuki in my heart. I DO want to be with you, Dakota, I really do."

"Then do it!" Dakota insisted. "It's that simple!"

Akira smiled. It really should be that simple.

"I just… I feel when I'm getting too close, when I might be falling too deeply in love, I feel like there's a part of me that's slamming on the brakes, and I don't know why."

"…I see," Dakota said, frowning.

"And… please don't take this the wrong way, but I need to go to… I guess, find myself? Figure out what to do," Akira admitted, looking her in the eye. "So that I know what my feelings are, and where I want this relationship to go."

"…So when you said you didn't want to break up, that was a lie?" Dakota asked.

"No, it wasn't, I don't want to break up," Akira asserted.

"But you might," Dakota countered. "After your trip, you might want to break up."

Akira couldn't answer that.

"…I guess that's the best I'm going to get out of you," Dakota sighed. "Aki…"

"There's a reason I chose to do my study in Cerulean City as my top pick, though," Akira interrupted her.

"…Because you like redheads?"

"No, it's not because I-! No!" Akira sputtered. "There's this cave in Cerulean City-"

"Cerulean Cave?" Dakota nearly exclaimed, hopping up in her seat and leaning forward, her brown eyes shining with excitement. "Yeah?"

"…You've clearly heard of it," Akira said, leaning back a little to maintain his bubble of personal space.

"Well, yeah, hasn't everyone?" Dakota said, rolling her eyes. "There are a bunch of rumors about it! It's the number one spot where people have reported sightings of the mythical Mew! Any reporter worth her salt knows all about it!"

"…Well, I figured that, you know… since I'm not going to be able to celebrate your birthday with you, and I'm going to be going abroad anyway, you know, maybe I could check it out? For your sake, I mean," he explained. "I know it's a dumb thought, and it's not the same as me being here with you, but I'm going abroad to take the time to think for myself, and I figured I might as well go somewhere that might be good for you, you know?" He laughed. "Heck, maybe I can even get a blurry photograph or something."

Dakota considered this, smiling and nodding in agreement. Akira sighed in relief as he saw her brighten up.

"Sounds good, it's a deal!" Dakota said, giving him a thumbs' up. "You catch Mew for me, and we'll call it even!"

Akira went pale.

"Wait, what-"

"You're such a sweetie, Aki!" Dakota turned bright red with joy, squirming in her seat. "You're going to catch me a pokemon that might not even exist for my birthday! You're the best boyfriend in the world, I just love you so much!"

"…You're messing with me, right?"

"…Duh, obviously," Dakota said, regaining her serious tone and straightening up. But her smile remained. "Still, I appreciate the gesture, and I trust that you'll try your best."

"We can still… you know, be… 'us' until then, right?" Akira asked. "You're not going to break up with me over this, are you?"

"Of course not," Dakota said, shaking her head. "I love you, Aki. Of course I wouldn't. We'll be together like nothing's wrong until you leave. Then I'll give you some space, and, well, when you get home, then we'll see where we are, does that work?"

Akira nodded.

"I'd like that," he agreed.

"Oh, and you still owe me a birthday present!" Dakota quickly added. "And we're going to video chat on my birthday no matter what! And that's even if you decide to break up with me! I still expect a 'girlfriend-level' birthday present, not an 'ex-girlfriend-level' present, you got it?"

"Yeah, yeah, I get it," Akira laughed. "I'll get you something good, don't worry."

"I'll be looking forward to it," Dakota grinned. She turned and flagged down their waitress. "And until then, let's just enjoy our time together as a couple, sound good? You are treating me, after all, I can't wait to try everything."

Akira knew his wallet was about to take a major blow, but after what Dakota had just gone through it was worth paying for a good dinner. As long as he could keep seeing that smile of hers.

"I'm glad you dressed up, by the way," Akira said, Dakota turning bright red. "I hope we can go on more dates like this."

"W-well, who knows?" Dakota said, twirling a lock of hair. "Keep paying me compliments and anything could happen."

"And you're growing your hair out? I like it," he added.

"S-stop it, stop trying to make me happy, I'm still upset!" Dakota whined, lifting her menu up to shield her face from her boyfriend. Stupid Aki!

Well, thankfully, it looks like they'll be able to work things out. As long as they try their best, things should be fine, right?