With the first round of the Phantom Cup ended, what will the fallout be? We'll have to see where everyone is after that amazing battle that closed things!

Hellraiserphoenix: The next round of battles will certainly be interesting, I'll say that much.

Aquahaze675: Can't imagine either is too pleased.

KedharS: "Upset" is putting it mildly I bet the Phantom is downright pissed.

JoshGamerV: Definitely crazy.

Thunder Fire: Probably. The question is, what?

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 533

As the matchups for the next round were posted on the screen, Blake swallowed tensely. Alcea would be facing off against the Phantom. Gerard and Ian would be fighting, not that he cared about that, and the match to watch was going to be the Commander against Raizer Volt and his Zeraora.

But Blake was focusing more on his opponent, Dokukage. Seeing the ninja trainer's performance against that guy with the Shadow Pokemon had sent a chill down his spine, and even a full day later and encouragement from Aya and his friends hadn't been enough to soothe his nerves. He would be fighting tomorrow, the quarter finals, like the first round, were split across two days, and people were most certainly looking forward to the match that came before his, the Phantom vs. Alcea.

Blake sighed, shaking his head.

"Hey, you good?" Ayame asked, placing her hand on his and look worriedly at him. He glanced her way and smiled a little.

"Yeah, just… nervous," Blake admitted.

"You should be," Cynthia said, crossing her arms in front of her chest and rising up out of her seat as other audience members began to leave. She turned and looked down at Blake, her expression serious. "Look, Blake, you know I love you, but your opponent is a ninja. And you just can't beat a ninja."

"…Thanks for that," Blake dryly replied.

"Real supportive of you," Sango agreed, rolling her eyes.

"Hey, I'm just saying it like it is, he's going to chidori you into next week, that's all there is to it," Cynthia said defensively. "…Sorry."

"Okay, I know Cynthia's being kind of dumb about this," Callie piped up.

"Hey!"

"…But she's right," the short girl continued. "Dokukage isn't any ordinary opponent. You saw his match yesterday, didn't you? He managed to completely decimate Keahi Revanche without losing a single pokemon, all because of that baton pass strategy of his. He's not an opponent to take lightly."

"I'm not taking him lightly!" Blake protested.

"I know, I'm not saying you are," Callie quickly backtracked. "I'm just saying you're going to need to be prepared for a tough battle."

"It's okay, Blake," Ayame said, squeezing his knee supportively. "You've got this."

"Thanks, Aya," Blake smiled.

"What, no thanks for me, for keeping you grounded?" Cynthia pouted. Blake shot her a look.

"Hey, I could be helpful, you know!" Cynthia said. "I'm a good trainer who knows a lot about baton pass strategies! I'm an asset!"

"Well you're certainly an ass," Blake replied. Cynthia scowled.

"Okay, that's enough you two," Sango said, sitting up and stepping between the two of them before Blake got out of his seat and they resorted to blows with each other. "Come on, I know tensions are high, but we're all friends here, let's not get out of control."

"Yeah, you're right," Blake admitted. "Sorry, that was uncalled for, Cynthia."

"Thank you," Cynthia said, nodding in agreement. "And I'm sorry for what I said, too."

Blake narrowed his eyes. "You're still going to root against me though, right?"

Cynthia flinched, her face going pale.

"N-No, no way," she said, waving her hand dismissively of the idea. "I-I would never do such a thing!"

Blake rolled his eyes.

Sango sighed. "Well, now that this has all been resolved, I'm going to head out."

"Eh? Sango? Where are you going?" Cynthia asked, confused.

"Look around," Sango said, waving her arms. "Everyone else has already left."

Cynthia took a second look and realized she was right. The lights were dimming and the stadium was empty. Nick and Callie had stuck around, Callie for the conversation and Nick out of loyalty, but even Reiner and Nikita had slipped out at some point.

"Besides, I want to catch up with Maddi before she leaves," Sango added. "That… there was a Shadow Pokemon, and if she saw it… I want to make sure she's doing okay after what happened yesterday, remember?"

Cynthia gasped in realization. "O-oh! I-I forgot! Y-yeah, you're right, Sango! I'll come along, too!"

She quickly ran forward, Sango smiling at her flightiness. She and Silver headed off after her, but she stopped at the stairs, turning back to Blake.

"You two take care, Blake, Ayame," Sango added. "Ayame's probably going to need some comfort and Blake's probably going to need some encouragement for his match tomorrow, so… I'll leave you two to your privacy."

She ended on a knowing wink, the couple's faces turning red. Sango laughed and headed up towards the exit, trying to ignore the throb of pain in her heart.

Blake turned back to Ayame, only to see that Callie and Nick had gone the way of Reiner and Nikita, sneaking off in the confusion. The two of them were alone in the dark stadium now, the lights only getting dimmer and dimmer.

"W-we should probably go," Ayame said, jumping up out of her seat. "You know, before they lock the doors on us."

"Good idea," Blake agreed, standing up. His stomach began to rumble and they shared a look, laughing. "Guess being worried makes me hungry."

"Dinner?" Ayame said, rubbing her stomach. "Sounds like a plan."

"You definitely made room earlier," Blake agreed as they headed down the aisle. Ayame swatted him in the shoulder.

"I told you to forget about that!" She snapped. Blake laughed in response.

"So the usual place?" He asked.

Ayame rolled his eyes at that like the dumb question that it was. "Obviously yes?"

"Maddi!" Cynthia led the way to the Commander's box, storming in to see that, thankfully, everyone was still there, celebrating the Commander's victory.

"Cyn! Hey, you made it!" Alden cheered, waving to her. "Oh, and who's your friend?"

"This is Sango," Cynthia said, gesturing to the blonde girl who followed her in. "She's a friend of mine and Maddi's."

"Hey Maddi!" Sango said, waving to the girl, sighing in relief. Maddi seemed to be okay.

"I remember you," Vic said, scowling. "You're the blonde who was with Cynthia when we recruited her."

"…Yeah, that's right," Sango said, returning an equally icy stare to Vic. "And what's your point?"

"Hey, wait a minute!" Alden said, giving Sango a confused look. "If she was there, then doesn't that mean I would have recognized her?"

"…Yeah, you would," Sango dryly replied, glancing at him. "We've met before."

"…Sorry, can't remember," the Commander shrugged, not seeing it as that big of a deal. "You don't really have any 'Sense' so…"

Sango's eye twitched.

Cynthia resisted the urge to snicker. Poorly.

"You… you're right, sir," she cackled, doubling over in laughter. "She has no common sense at all!"

"That wasn't what he said," Sango said. She turned to Maddi. "I'm not here to interrupt your party of battlers, don't worry. I just wanted to check in on my friend. Maddi, are you okay? That battle with the Corviknight seemed really bad…"

"…It was rough at the beginning," Maddi admitted. "But I'm fine, don't worry."

Sango frowned. She'd spent enough time around Marion to know what harmonia was like, and the similarity to Maddi's reaction to Kitty's had led her to suspect that Maddi had developed harmonia somehow. But she didn't know how, and even if she did, it wasn't her place to reveal that secret for her, especially not in front of her friends(?).

"I'm glad," Sango said, her expression softening. She smirked at Cynthia. "Cynthia was super-worried, she ran all the way here."

"Sango!" Cynthia gasped, blushing a little. She swiped at the blonde, Sango chuckling and dodging the attack.

"Have fun with your party, guys," Sango said, heading for the door.

"You can stay if you want," the Commander called over her shoulder. "It doesn't matter that you're not a battler, it's a party! Everyone's welcome."

Sango appreciated that, she really did. But right now, she wasn't in much of a partying mood.

"Thanks for the offer," she replied, giving him a smile over her shoulder. "But I still need to check up on one of my friends. She was kind of doing rough yesterday too, and I want to make sure she's okay."

"Oh, Kitty!" Cynthia gasped. "Wait, I'll come with!"

"No, no, it's fine," Sango assured her. "You stay here and enjoy the party, Cynthia, I'll text you later. I'm sure she's fine anyway."

"Makes sense," Cynthia agreed. "Kitty's a tough one, after all. Tell Julia I said hey!"

Sango nodded and waved goodbye, leaving Cynthia and Maddi with their associates in the Commander's faction, letting out a sigh as she walked down the hall. For a moment she thought about calling Marion, but she shook her head to clear her thoughts. She could always go get her fishing pole and reel something in after she checked on Kitty, after all.

It was still a surprise how much she missed Marion, she wouldn't have believed it were possible last semester.

A few hours later, Blake and Ayame walked out of one of their favorite date spots, their usual [Italian Region] restaurant with full stomachs and a much more relaxed look shared between the two of them. That had been just what they needed to calm themselves down and prepare for the next day.

"Are you still nervous?" Ayame asked, glancing at Blake.

"Yeah," Blake admitted. "Honestly, I'm considering cutting class tomorrow to train my team…"

"You know you're saying that to the TA, right?" Ayame asked, narrowing her eyes. "You think I'm just gonna let you play hooky?"

"Please?" Blake asked, giving her a pleading look that would make a Growlithe jealous. Ayame wasn't buying it.

"You're the thing I'm looking forward to class each day for, dummy," she pouted. "Of course you can't cut a day!"

"…You could cut with me, you know," Blake suggested. "You're such a good student, Aya, wouldn't it be fun to be a little bad for once?"

Ayame opened her mouth to shut him down, and then paused.

"Um… let me think about it," she said, blushing shamefully at the fact that she was giving his suggestion serious thought.

"Come on Aya, it's not like I'd REALLY be cutting," Blake said, elbowing her in the side. "It's just a private tutoring session with the teacher's assistant, right?"

Ayame thought about that. Yeah, just a private lesson with the two of them on Pokemon Fitness Fundamentals. Just some one-on-one fitness lessons…

Olivia's smirking face popped up in Ayame's mind as she took those thoughts to their logical conclusion and Ayame turned bright red.

"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" She exclaimed. "W-we will not be h-having any p-private 'fitness lessons' at all! None! Zero! Rejected!"

Blake turned red as well when he realized what she was insinuating.

"N-No!" He exclaimed. "I-I didn't mean l-like… like that! I was… you know, I just meant! Aya, get your head out of the gutter!"

"Me?! You were the one who wanted to… you know!" Ayame shouted back, unable to even put it into words.

"No! I didn't!" Blake protested. "And besides, didn't you say over winter break that, well… you were… ready to… you know…?"

"…Y-Yeah, I did say that, didn't I…" Ayame said, calming down a little. She still couldn't make eye contact with him, though. Just remembering that was making her feel a little… "B-But still, cutting class just to do it… I want the first time to be, well…"

"I already said I wasn't offering!" Blake protested.

"I-I know!" Ayame said. "I'm just saying, you know… in the future. When… you're ready."

The two stopped and stared at each other in silent embarrassment.

"It… it's not like I don't think about what it would be like," Blake said, glancing down. He felt so embarrassed talking about it, and Ayame was just as embarrassed as he was. Was that a good thing? He wasn't even sure how he should feel about them both being embarrassed by this idea.

"R-Really?" Ayame asked, smiling a little. "Th-that's… um…"

"N-Not, like, in a weird or gross way!" Blake quickly clarified. "It's just, well… you know. Sometimes, I just kind of wonder, you know?"

"Y-Yeah, I get it," Ayame nodded, blushing.

And the conversation died again.

Ayame opened her mouth to say something, but was cut off by a soft, stuttering voice before she could get a word out.

"U-um, excuse me…"

Ayame and Blake both turned to see someone walk into the light of the street pole, showing their visitor. She was a rather plain-looking girl with stringy black hair down just past her shoulders and furtive dark eyes hidden behind thick-rimmed glasses. Her uniform was wrinkled and the lack of an armband showed that she wasn't a senior or junior, and at a glance you could tell that she clearly didn't pay much attention to her appearance. Lack of grooming aside, she still shifted nervously as she spoke, clearly feeling rather self-conscious.

"Oh, hello there!" Ayame quickly greeted the girl, inwardly sighing in relief at the fact that they didn't have to keep this awkward conversation going. This girl was a welcome distraction.

"Um…" The shy-looking girl glanced away, clearly nervous about the fact that the taller Ayame Toujou was staring down at her.

"Can we help you with something?" Blake asked, the girl flinching in surprise and quickly turning back to look at them, her eyes wide behind her thick glasses.

"Oh, oh! Y-yes!" She said, nodding eagerly. Blake saw that she was holding a signing board for autographs in her hands, clutched possessively against her chest. She then shouted a little too loudly, "c-can I please have your autograph?!"

"Oh?" Ayame blinked, taken aback.

"Lucky you, another suitor," Blake snickered.

"I'd be happy to," Ayame said, reaching for the signboard, but the girl shook her head and pulled it away, turning to Blake.

"It, um…" she blushed, holding the board up in front of her face to hide her embarrassment, nervously peeking out over it. "It's for… h-him."

She gulped, glancing nervously at Ayame.

"I-If th-that's okay with you…?" She asked cautiously.

"Oh, really?" Ayame said, her face brightening. Rather than being jealous, she was overjoyed that someone wanted Blake's autograph.

"Really? Me?" Blake was finding it a little hard to believe himself.

"I've, um… I've been watching your battles, Mr. Blake," the girl admitted, giggling a little with nervousness as she shifted from one foot to the other. "S-Since the Fall Festival Tournament… I-I'm your biggest fan, but… I-I was too nervous to ask for your autograph until now…"

"Congratulations, Blake!" Ayame cheered, slapping him on the back to give him an encouraging shove forward, nearly knocking him into the shaky girl. "Your first real fan! First of many, seeing how skilled you are!"

If Blake wanted to be technical his first fan was probably Holly, but he wasn't about to correct Aya on that point when she was a little kid.

"S-So… can I have your autograph?" The girl asked, her voice brimming with hope and her eyes shining brightly as she stared at him.

"…Yeah, I mean… if you're okay with it," Blake said, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. "I, um, haven't really done this before."

"That… that's okay," she smiled. "I don't mind."

She offered him the board and he took it along with the pen.

"Um, can you make it out to 'Murasaki Kanou'?" The girl asked. "And, um…"

She glanced down shyly, the words clearly not coming easily to her.

"C-Can you add 'to my biggest fan', too?" Murasaki asked hopefully.

"Yeah, sure," Blake said, nodding, signing for her. When he was done, he handed the board back to her, enjoying the way her face lit up when she took a look.

"Thanks," she smiled, staring bashfully at him. "Uhum, um… I-I should be, um… going now, Mr. Blake, I-I don't want to interrupt anymore… I-I'll be cheering for you, by the way! In your match tomorrow, g-good luck!"

"Thank you, that means a lot. And you can just call me 'Blake'," he told her. Murasaki brightened, like Blake had just told her she could have one of his kidneys.

"R-Really?!" She asked. She squeezed the signboard tighter to her chest, like it would disappear if she were to loosen her grip for even a second. "Th-then… I'll see you around, Bl-Blake!" She bid him farewell and turned, dashing away as fast as she could.

"Well, that sure was nice," Ayame smirked, elbowing Blake in the side. "Should I be jealous?"

"Come on Aya, you know you're the only girl I'm interested in," Blake laughed.

"Damn right!" Ayame proudly declared, crossing her arms assertively. "And don't forget that I'm also your REAL number one fan."

"I don't know, back in the Fall Festival Tournament you still weren't all that into me, she's been supporting me a lot longer…" Blake smirked. Ayame slapped him lightly on the chest, the two laughing as they headed off towards the dorms.

As she heard their voices fade away, Murasaki's run slowed into a casual amble, and she glanced back over her shoulder, smirking. She looked down at the signboard in her hand, fanning herself lightly with it as she read.

"How sweet…" she purred. She began the slow, casual walk back to the Sandbox. When she arrived, though, the Phantom was nowhere to be seen, and neither was Misato. K was there, however, going over the footage on the computer. When he glanced at her, he made a face that looked like he was about to throw up.

"Ugh. What the hell?" He grunted.

Murasaki rolled her eyes.

"I don't enjoy this anymore than you do," she said, removing her glasses and shaking her head. "But you attract more Cutieflies with honey than with vinegar, after all."

"Pretty sure you attract more Cutieflies with manure if we're being technical about things," K dryly replied. Murasaki rolled her eyes again.

"That's the problem with your thinking, K," she scoffed, stopping in front of one of the mirrors someone had been using for an experiment, a wave of revulsion passing through her as she looked at her reflection. "So devoid of heart."

She turned back to him and set the autograph down next to her bag, picking up the bundle of dark clothes she'd left behind.

"I told you before, but it seems you just can't appreciate the artistry of bringing the dead back to life," she scoffed, heading for the bathrooms. "How easily you can fool the gullible with a little bit of showmanship and theatrics, to make them completely unable to see the truth when she's staring them in the face. I'll be going now, I need to wash this filthy dye out of my hair and kill 'Murasaki Kanou' again."

With that, Murasaki Kanou walked into the bathroom, and not long after Sylvia Driscoll came out instead.

What could Sylvia be planning, as Blake's "number one fan"?