After those last few intense matches, I think it's time for a little bit of a break. A nice breather chapter, to let things unwind!

Just a Bad Writer for Fun: Well, I will say that the last time Ian went up against a rock he ended up in the hospital, so…

Thunder Fire: Changed it back more like. I misnamed it the first time, and edited it.

Aquahaze675: Dokukage really is great, I like him quite a bit. Wonder what his role in the story will be going forward.

KedharS: I agree, he doesn't have anything to be ashamed of.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 549

Seeing that Blake had lost and was heading off the battlefield, all of his friends rushed out of their seats to go comfort him, with Ayame in the lead, as to be expected. (Kate was going to comfort Alcea, though, she felt worse about her highness losing than Blake, of course.)

In that confusion, no one noticed that Murasaki Kanou had slipped away and disappeared into the crowd. After all, someone boring and plain like her wasn't going to catch the eye of anyone. Which made for quite a convenient disguise.

Kanou caught up with Dokukage as he was walking out of the stadium, much to the surprise of the shinobi. It wasn't often that he was caught. But as ordinary as Kanou might have looked on the outside, there was still a part of her inside that was special.

"Dokukage."

Dokukage flinched, turning back to see a familiar and yet unfamiliar face staring back at him. He was at a loss for words for a moment.

He couldn't help himself. Sylvia Driscoll was smoking hot, even if she was an evil girl. But even more than sheer attractiveness, Dokukage had a slight fetish for the "yamato nadeshiko" archetype. It was a natural progression of his training as a ninja and love of his culture. So while blonde Sylvia was hot as hell, seeing her with her natural coloring…

Dokukage had to try very hard not to stumble over his words.

"What is it now?" He asked. "I've completed the mission you asked me to, did I not?"

Kanou smiled.

"I'm surprised. Not many people can recognize me. You're the first one." Kanou strolled up to him. Even the way she walked was different from Sylvia. Rather than Sylvia's semi-alluring strut, Kanou walked with slow, hunched steps like she was feeling tentative. It was one of the many things that made her seem like a completely different person. And in a way she was. Even the way she smiled seemed different from Sylvia Driscoll's smirk.

"Of course," Dokukage said. "After all… this was what you looked like when I first met you, after all. Back before you died."

"Murasaki Kanou was already dead by that time," Kanou said, shaking her head. "All you pulled out from that river was her corpse. I just didn't know that yet. And now…"

"And now you're back?" Dokukage asked, raising his eyes.

Kanou reached up and tucked her hair behind her ear, adjusting her glasses and walking even closer to him, peering up into his eyes. She wasn't wearing her contacts anymore, so her natural black color sparkled. Dokukage resisted the urge to blush.

"It's a convenient cover," Kanou whispered. "Sylvia Driscoll is the only person in the world who can bring back the dead. But soon, Murasaki Kanou will return to being a corpse, and Sylvia Driscoll will return. Before I go, though, I wanted to thank you myself."

Dokukage was completely lost. If Sylvia wanted to reinvent herself with a new image, she didn't have to take things this far. He had absolutely no idea what she meant by bringing Kanou back to life, or killing her, or any of this. Weren't they just the same person? But he didn't want to look like an idiot so he kept a stoic look in his eyes and kept staring at her like he understood a word that came out of the strange girl's mouth.

"So what now?" Kanou asked. "Are you going to continue?"

"I'm dropping out of the tournament. There's no sense in me fighting against the Phantom," Dokukage said.

"That's going to raise some complaints," Kanou warned. "Blake will probably be pretty upset about it, you know, because you are kinda cheating him out like this."

Dokukage didn't dignify that with a response. At least, not the response he wanted to give, which was to shout at her that he had only done that in the first place because she had told him to and he owed her a debt. Instead, he simply replied "as a shinobi, I did my duty. No more, no less. The thoughts of the others won't bother me at all."

Kanou shrugged. "If you say so," she replied. She turned and walked past him, not sparing him a second look. "Thank you for all the help."

"Sylvia," Dokukage called after her. The black-haired girl flinched, freezing in place. Her shoulders rose and dropped in a long sigh, and she turned back to Dokukage. Dokukage immediately regretted calling out to her when he saw the look on her face.

Kanou stared at Dokukage with a quiet fury that made him wish he was anywhere other than here… and also, unfortunately, made him feel a few… other things. He swallowed, backing up slightly. His fight against Blake he had gone the entire time without letting his true thoughts out, but one look from Sylvia, Kanou, whoever she was, and his poker face became as easy to read as a picture book- and wearing a mask, that was quite a feat.

"S-Sorry," he quickly apologized, swallowing the dryness in his throat. "Kanou. I just wanted to… never mind."

"No, please," Kanou said, her tone just slightly threatening and the dark holes behind her glasses just slightly murderous. "Go ahead."

"I just… thought you looked good," Dokukage said. Yeah, real fucking smooth there, aren't you supposed to be a stoic ninja or something? Fuck. "You know, with your hair… like that. That color. And even your glasses. I mean… just, just a thought is all." Stop. Stop talking right now. You are only digging your hole deeper you fucking fool.

Kanou didn't say anything. She just continued to stare at him like she was debating whether or not to stab him. Finally, she turned and resumed walking away in dead silence. It wasn't until she was far out of his sight that Dokukage finally felt like he could breathe again.

Sylvia fucking Driscoll.

Blake was met in the hallway by a tight hug that nearly swept him off of his feet. Ayame's arms held him close and he was lucky that she wasn't THAT much taller than him (or, if you looked at it from another point of view, unlucky) or else he would have been pulled right into her chest.

Either way, the hug was so strong and sudden that his frustration at losing had gotten lost in the confusion, and he took comfort in her warmth. It didn't feel so bad anymore.

"Geez, get a room, you two," Sango's voice piped up, with a not-so-subtle cough that was a lot louder than it needed to be. Ayame and Blake awkwardly parted, Blake's face bright red at the realization that she hadn't come alone and Ayame feeling a little embarrassed herself, but not focusing on that right now. There were more important things, the most important being to make sure that Blake was okay after his loss.

"Nice consolation prize," Cynthia chuckled. "Gee, I wonder what you would have gotten if you'd actually managed to win? Hopefully something a little more steamy than a hug…"

Ayame shot her a look, and Cynthia winced. She'd been so caught up in her jokes, that she had insensitively mocked Blake for his loss, even if she hadn't meant to. She turned to Blake, but to her relief he didn't look hurt by her carelessness.

"…Sorry," she said anyway. Blake waved his hand.

"Don't worry about it," he said, shaking his head and smiling a little. But only a little. Cynthia had been friends with Blake long enough to see that he was hiding his pain behind a shaky smile. She knew that feeling, she'd been through it enough. When she lost to Akira in the Fall Festival Tournament, she'd hidden her pain with a smile.

"Still, sorry," Cynthia said, walking over and patting him on the shoulder. "Sorry for all those jokes about how you were going to lose against Dokukage because he was a ninja. That was really rude and bitchy of me, and I shouldn't have joked around about stuff like that. You really gave it your best."

"Thanks, Cynthia," Blake said. Cynthia nodded and hugged him, for once not taking the hugging opportunity to cop a feel of someone. Blake wasn't sure how to react, but he appreciated the genuine gesture and hugged her back. She pulled away a few seconds later and was back to her usually perky self.

"Aww, so you didn't take the chance to grope me? Darn!" She joked, hoping her usual humor could get him to perk up a little fast.

"Ooh! Me next! I want to hug him next!" Andy quickly gushed. She skipped ahead and hugged Blake tightly, and not a chaste hug like Cynthia (surprisingly) but a full-contact chest-to-chest, hip-to-hip squeeze that made Blake freeze up and hold his hands out, wary to reciprocate in any way. Cynthia was one thing, but Andy…

Ayame froze up and tried her hardest not to be jealous. She kept her smile tight on her face and looked hard at Blake, who matched her gaze, the two sharing a look of assurance that nothing was going on right now, Andy was just being… affectionate.

Her hug was mercifully short, and she pulled away with a smile on her face and a glimmer of excitement shining in her eyes.

"You were great! Awesome! I was super-duper excited! So down get all down in the dumps!" Andy declared, pumping her fist in victory. "I don't know much about battling, but it looked like you were holding your own, so I think that's really cool! Nice job, Blake!"

"Thanks," Blake smiled. He didn't know Andy very well, but her perkiness always seemed to be able to bring a smile to his face.

Of course, it also brought a sour look to Aya's, and he quickly straightened up and turned serious, glancing at her. She said nothing, and just forced a tight smile onto her lips. Just to pretend that everything was okay.

"Well, Blake! Nothing helps you feel better like a good, hearty meal!" Sango declared, stepping in front of Andy and Cynthia and grabbing her friend by the wrist. Cynthia rolled her eyes and snorted and Reiner suppressed a chuckle. Even Ayame let out a genuine laugh. Sango always thought that eating could fix anything.

Blake opened his mouth to respond.

"That's the kind of attitude I love!" Cynthia cheered, tossing up a fist as well. She wasn't going to give Blake a chance to reject. "See, what do you guys think? We can get whatever we want! Anything to make you feel better, Blake, so what's your poison?"

Speaking of poison, Blake took a quick look and saw that Kate wasn't there. She must have gone to speak with Alcea, to cheer up her friend. Murasaki Kanou wasn't there, either, but he put that out of mind. Whatever she was up to, it wasn't any of his business.

"I'm not really that hungry," he admitted. He was a little, but he didn't want to make a big deal out of this whole thing. He still felt down, and unlike Cynthia, who enjoyed the comfort of others when she was sad, when Blake felt bad he liked to be alone. Or maybe with someone special, like Aya, but being around other people wasn't the best for him. He would have fun, but it would take a lot of energy out of him. "Besides, I don't really need much cheering up, I'm fine, don't worry about it!"

That wasn't what anybody wanted to hear, though.

"Nope! Sorry, but you do this every time! It's always 'oh, it's no big deal, next time' and then you never come out to eat with us!" Cynthia huffed, crossing her arms over her chest and shaking her head. She wasn't taking no for an answer, not this time.

"Yeah, Cynthia's right!" Sango agreed, nodding. "Come on, Blake! We just want to get a bite to eat with you! You really tried your best, and even if you don't need to be cheered up, then we can at least congratulate you, right?"

Blake sighed. Guess there was no getting out of it. He gave a reluctant nod, the girls cheering in victory. Everyone else seemed pretty enthusiastic as well. There was a wave of positivity going around that made Blake feel really grateful for his friends.

Blake glanced at Ayame, and she shrugged. They both arrived at the same answer, with smiles on their faces.

"Giono's?" Blake verbalized what they both knew. If he had to pick a place to eat, that was absolutely the top of his list.

"Giorno's," Ayame agreed with a toothy smile.

Maybe losing wasn't so bad.

While Blake went off to celebrate his victory with his friends, someone else was busy with other tournament concerns. And Lila was in no mood to be celebrating, happy as she was that Darla was back among the conscious and interacting.

"Hey…" Lila lightly knocked on the door to Darla's infirmary room, shyly peeking inside. Even though she had come with the resolve to speak with Darla about everything that had happened during her battle and give her a thorough chewing out for her recklessness, summoning RAYQUAZA, of all things, and getting herself put in the infirmary in a coma, well…

She hadn't had the courage to do it all day, even though she hadn't left her friend's side. And right now, she wasn't feeling any braver.

"Can… can I come in?" Lila asked tentatively. Darla turned to her and gave her a sweet smile, uncharacteristic on the usually cool girl.

"Of course, silly," Darla chuckled. "You don't need to ask me something like that, come on in, keep me company."

Lila sighed with relief and entered the room, sitting down next to her friend's bed. She forced a smile on her face, but Darla caught onto it immediately.

"Hey, are you still worried?" Darla asked softly. "Don't, Lila. It's okay. I'm good, trust me, there's nothing to worry about. I'm 100%, I just need a little bit of rest and recuperation and then I'm good to go! I'll be out tomorrow, don't worry."

Darla was telling her not to worry a lot. It must have been pretty damn clear how worried Lila really was. But Lila didn't want to give her the wrong impression, so she gave Darla a smile, albeit still an obviously forced one.

Darla wasn't biting.

"You haven't been practicing your smiles, Lila," Darla said, smiling a little, even though it wasn't a "smiling" sort of time. She didn't know what it was specifically that Lila was worried about, but she wanted to make her friend smile for real this time.

"I've been doing my best," Lila smiled. "You know, but… it's hard, you know? Get better soon, I perform so much better when you're at my side."

It was the truth, but it wasn't the truth that Lila wanted to talk about.

Darla frowned. Was that why Lila was feeling a little down?

"How did it go today? Did you do okay? You didn't stumble over your announcements, did you?" Darla asked.

"No!" Lila sputtered, shaking her head. "No, no, it's not that! Darla… Darla!"

Lila's voice caught in her throat and she sighed.

It was now or never. She needed to be brave, for Darla's sake, and stand up to do the hardest thing she could do, confront Darla herself.

"Zinnia…" she whispered, Darla flinching. Hearing Lila call her by her old name sent a dark look across Darla's face, and she turned away from Lila. She wasn't ready for this, whatever it was. Lila wouldn't call her Zinnia for no reason.

"Aster," Darla addressed her friend, her voice carrying an obvious menace to it, "please don't call me that name again."

"I'm sorry," Lila apologized. "But I needed to let you know that I was serious, Darla. You've been avoiding me for weeks. I've been trying to talk to you, really get through to you, yet every time I try you ignore me, or pretend like nothing's wrong, or straight-up blow me off. But not right now. Now, please, tell me the truth."

Darla knew what Lila meant by that, but continued to play dumb.

"What truth is that?" She frowned. She wasn't going to tell Lila no matter what. This was her fight, and she wasn't going to drag Lila into it. Besides, she had done what the Phantom had asked of her, so there wasn't a point in telling the truth to begin with.

It was over now.

Lila should just drop it.

But of course she wouldn't, because Lila cared way too much for her to do something like that. And that made Darla happy and sad.

"Why did you join the Phantom Cup?" Lila asked.

"Lila…"

"The truth, please!" Lila demanded. She reached over and grabbed Darla's chin, tilting her head so that she was looking Lila in the eyes. So that she could see the pain in Lila's eyes! If Darla could look at the pain Lila was in and still refuse to tell her the truth…

Well, Lila hoped she wouldn't. That would break her heart to shreds.

"Lila…" Darla didn't want to say. But she knew that not saying would hurt Lila too, maybe even more. Darla was lost. She didn't know the right choice.

"Please, Darla. You… you have to think about how I feel, please," Lila begged. "Seeing you fight like that, seeing you use your dragon force, lose control, seeing you get taken away by the paramedics… I don't want it to happen again! Please, Darla!"

"It won't!" Darla nearly shouted, Lila pulling her hands back and recoiling like Darla had slapped her. Darla gasped, and immediately softened her tone. "It won't," she said again. "Don't worry. I'm done, I won't go through that again."

"How do I know?" Lila asked quietly. "Do you know what I feel right now? I feel like crying. Like even though you're awake, there's nothing I can do to get through to you, you could disappear again, walk away no matter what I say! And I don't want that!"

Lila began to cry, and now it was time for Darla's heart to break.

"I don't want to lose you again," she sobbed. "Tell me what I can do to help, and I'll do it! Because… because I care about you, Darla, and I can't let you disappear on me! We've been friends for so long… I can't lose you!"

"I don't want to lose you, either," Darla said, praying that Lila would believe her. "And I promise, you won't lose me…"

"Then make me believe it," Lila begged. "Tell me why. That's all I want to know. Why did you enter the tournament? It's clear you didn't want to. And yet… and yet it hurt you so badly, but you didn't give in, you put your own life at risk, using the power that you despised so much! So please, tell me what could have made you do it?"

Darla winced. She hung her head in resignation. She didn't have any choice left.

"I had to," she whispered. "My family."

Lila gasped, and her eyes widened.

"The Phantom… told me that if I didn't enter the tournament, and then if I didn't use my powers and summon Rayquaza… that he would contact the Draconids and tell them where I was," Darla finally revealed.

Lila shook her head in disbelief.

"How could he do that?"

"You know how, he's a horrible, manipulative person," Darla scowled.

"No, I mean how? How could he contact them? How could he even find them? Aren't your people hidden away? There's no way!" Lila asserted. Darla shook her head.

"I'd like to think so… but I can't be sure," she admitted. "And if he does… and he tells them where I am… they'll come for me. And when they do, that will be the end."

"The end?" Lila didn't like the sound of that. She didn't like a lot of what Darla was saying, actually.

"Of us. Of everything. I'll have to run again. As far away and as fast as I can," Darla said. "I will never go back to my family."

"Then we'll run," Lila asserted. "Again. Whatever it takes. Because I don't believe for one minute that it's over. The Phantom has leverage over you. And you think he's just gonna let it go? NO! He's going to keep using it, to control you, and I don't want that. So if he's going after your family, we can go somewhere else, somewhere they won't find us, alone!"

She added in a whisper, "together…"

Darla frowned. That was exactly what she was afraid of. Lila would want to come with her. And she wouldn't let that happen. She wouldn't let Lila disappear for her sake.

Darla shook her head.

"No. Absolutely not. You're "

"Why not?!" Lila demanded.

"You want to be an idol, right?" Darla asked quietly. "What sort of idol would you be, on the run with me? I won't come between you and your dream, Lila. You have to become an idol. Because you're amazing. That was the vow I made to you, to myself. That I would never allow my burdens to drag you down. You're going to be famous, and so am I. And if, somehow, word got back to my family… If I was going to hurt you… then I would leave first."

Lila knew what she meant. She shook her head. She reached out and touched Darla's cheek. Darla rose her head to look at her.

Lila gave her a smile, a real, genuine smile.

"Darla… the only stage I want to be on is one where you're at my side," she said. "Together, you and me. Because we belong together, Darla. Don't you see? It's you and me. Always. We're partners, right? So even if I can't be an idol… I'd rather run away with my best friend then have to step up onto that stage and be famous without you there with me."

"Lila…" Darla wanted to cry.

"Don't let him control you anymore," Lila pleaded. "You're great. So what if he tells your family? So what if you have to run? No matter what, we'll be together."

Darla forced a shaky smile onto her face, and nodded her head, tears falling to her sheets. Yeah. Yeah, that sounded like what she wanted. She reached out and wrapped her hand around Lila's, and the two smiled at each other, sharing a real smile for the first time in what felt like forever.

"You're right, Lila. Together. You and me," Darla agreed.

Aww! Darla and Lila have finally made up!