Ayame still feels like she has some issues with her relationship with Blake, but is she correct? Will Olivia help her feel better about their relationship? Hopefully this is just a bout of insecurity and she can quickly move past it.

KedharS: She's doing her best. Relationships are hard, especially ones between two people with the amount of baggage Blake and Ayame have.

Just a Bad Writer for Fun: Blake will "definitely end up picking her" huh? Hope that turns out to be the case.

Pokemonking0924: Yeah, that's about how it went.

Aquahaze675: Olivia is a bit messed up, that's for sure.

JoshGamerV: What, you don't like when the two of them talk? That's kinda sad, I look forward to their conversations. It really humanizes the two of them and shows how strong they are.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 554

Ayame sighed as she trudged through the snow. She wished that today was one of her days having class with Blake. That would at least give her an excuse to see him.

Not that she needed an excuse, of course, she was his girlfriend after all. But it was one thing to see him casually in class, and another to call him up specifically for the sake of…

Just thinking about it made Ayame want to throw up out of anxiety! She remembered the conversation she'd had with Olivia last night, with special focus on how it had ended.

"Okay, Aya, since you've come to me for sexual therapy-"

"That is NOT what this is!" Ayame hissed.

"Eh, it basically is," Olivia shrugged. "Point is, you want to seduce him, right?"

"Don't make it sound so… so fucking torrid!" Ayame wailed, flopping over and burying her face in her pillow, kicking her legs up and down frantically. To an onlooker, it probably looked like a child throwing a temper tantrum.

Olivia sighed. Ayame didn't know why she had done it, but the truth was that her friend was starting to get really tired of Ayame's prudish "sex is gross and wrong and bad but I still want it" hypocrisy. But that wasn't something that she was aware of looking back on the night.

"There's nothing dirty about seduction," Olivia said. "Seduction can be a beautiful thing, between two people who love each other, one trying to seem desirable to the other."

"How would you know?" Ayame asked, glancing up from her pillow. Olivia scowled.

"…Okay, ow," Olivia said. "…But I guess you got a point. Yeah, I'm not the serious relationship type, but… I do know that you care about Blake. I know you want to be with him, as close as you possibly can, and that you want him to be happy. And such wonderful feelings like that, I can't imagine that acting on them would be impure."

Ayame's eyes watered, and she nodded.

"So!" Olivia chirped, perking right up. She clapped her hands. "Next up, how are we going to get Blake to want to be with you?"

"Olivia, we don't have to-"

"Aya," Olivia raised her finger, her tone taking on a hint of menace, though never losing its playful tone. Her eyes sparkled. "Look, you and Blake are really comfortable, right? You have a good atmosphere, some making out, maybe some light petting?"

Ayame flushed, turning back to the pillow.

"…Maybe some light petting," she admitted with a mumble. "But nothing… under!"

"Oh so just some above-the-shirt grop-"

"OLIVIA!"

Olivia threw back her head and cackled. As Ayame expected, she was probably enjoying Ayame's struggling and embarrassment.

"Well, you want to jostle him out of your guys' comfort zone, right?" Olivia asked. "Right now he's seeing you as a 'girlfriend' but what you really want is to have him see you as someone that he can… 'be with' right?"

"…NO, I want him to see me as a girlfriend," Ayame dryly replied, sitting back up.

"…Okay, yeah, but you still want to do all those things, so…" Olivia's voice trailed off and she gave Ayame a knowing look. Ayame sighed and nodded her head in resignation. "Yup, that's just what I thought."

Olivia smirked.

"Step 1! You gotta show off some skin!" Olivia said.

"Wh-what?" Ayame was confused.

"Look, it's like this," Olivia said. "Normally, if you want to seduce someone, there are two paths. You go for the big guns, being forward and sensual right from the start, or you wiggle your way in, tempt them, slow and steady to draw them to you. It depends on the kind of person you're targeting. And Blake, well, Blake is definitely the slow and steady type."

Ayame opened her mouth to ask what Olivia meant by that, but Olivia was on a roll and wasn't about to give Ayame a word in edgewise.

"Like yeah, he was drawn to you physically at first, but the thing with Blake is that he's got all these compunctions about relationships and insecurities and a bunch of other stuff that keeps him from acting on those urges. So if you come on too strong, you're just going to make him worried that something's wrong, and you won't get anywhere," Olivia explained.

"That's not-!" Ayame began, but remembered the last time she'd tried to seduce him. "…Entirely inaccurate."

"Right, so the first thing is we gotta use subliminal messaging to get him to see you in a more… physical light," Olivia explained. "And the way we do that is show off some skin! Wear those short shorts, pop some buttons on that top, anything to draw his eye! And if he asks what's up, ask him if he has a problem with it! I guarantee he's not gonna say 'yeah, I don't like the eye-candy you're feeding me', girl!"

"…It's freezing cold outside!" Ayame exclaimed.

"A minor sacrifice," Olivia replied, rolling her eyes.

"Not happening," Ayame said, shaking her head. "Besides, even if I show off my cleavage it's not like he'd be that interested in it, he likes butts…"

Olivia snorted.

"Aya, he likes you. Yes, your butt is your best weapon against him, but believe me. The way he looks at you? Just because they're your boobs it'll be enough to get him interested. Unless you think he only likes you for your-"

"Okay, that's enough," Ayame said, holding her hand up to stop Olivia from talking. She couldn't put up with it anymore. "Please, I'm not just gonna… show off my skin!"

Olivia scowled. "Do you want my help or not?"

Right now, Ayame was feeling kind of "not".

"Can't you just give me some advice that isn't so… you know?"

"Aya, it's exactly because you're acting like this you two haven't gone anywhere," Olivia reminded her. "You told him you're ready whenever he is, but you haven't done anything to make him want to be ready."

Ayame sighed.

"What about… what if I just, you know…"

Ayame wasn't even sure what her counterproposal was going to be.

"Listen, Aya, I have… another hour before I need to go to bed for beauty sleep," Olivia said, checking her watch. "Until then, let's work out a strategy to get Blake to look at you with exactly the kind of eyes you want him to look at you with!"

Ayame sighed again, and nodded her head.

And that was how she found herself walking through the snow, headed to meet up with Blake for lunch at the Snorlax Commons. Olivia had specifically told her not to go somewhere romantic, that it would put up the wrong mood. Right now, they were aiming for surprise; a casual meeting where Blake wasn't expecting anything, and then reveal the new outfit to catch him off-guard. Nothing too… loud. It would just be something to surprise him a little.

It didn't mean that Ayame wasn't embarrassed. She walked into the commons and got her food, trying to calm herself down.

"Aya!"

Ayame turned in the direction of Blake's voice, and her eyes widened when she saw his face. He was smiling and his eyes were bright, his whole face lighting up just from seeing her.

A dopey grin spread across Ayame's face. Yeah, forget about trying to seduce him, those were exactly the kind of eyes she wanted him to look at her with.

Ayame walked over to him and sat down across from the two-person table, knowing she was smiling like an idiot but not giving a damn. That look in his eye, it was the kind that made her heart flutter, knowing that he was only looking at her, that he cared so much about her and saw her as the most beautiful girl in the world, it was when he gave her a look like that, all her insecurities faded away.

"I'm surprised, I wasn't expecting to get lunch with you today," Blake said. "It made me smile when I saw your invite this morning."

"I'm just glad to go out," Ayame smiled. She reached down and unzipped her jacket, shrugging it off her shoulders and draping it back over the seat. Blake paused, his burger frozen halfway up to his lips as he did a double-take.

Ayame was wearing what looked like a sweater, but without sleeves, bearing her smooth and shiny shoulders. It was gray and wool-knit, but it clung to her figure, nearly skintight, the vertical lines outlining and drawing attention to her chest and making Blake feel a little… flustered.

Ayame caught him staring and her heart skipped a beat. It had worked! Maybe there was something to this seduction thing.

…Not that that was what Ayame was aiming for anymore. Right now, she just wanted to hang out with her boyfriend and bask in his happiness. She didn't know what had happened last night, but he was in a much better mood.

…Would it be wrong to hope that he was feeling better because he was getting to eat lunch with her? Was that such a bad thing to wish for?

"I'm glad," Ayame said, snapping Blake out of his ogling haze. Blake blushed and averted his eyes back down to his food, quickly biting down into his burger. "You seem like you're doing a lot better than you were last night. Are you feeling better?"

Blake stopped chewing, setting his food down and swallowing before responding. It was an agonizing few seconds and Ayame really hoped she hadn't bothered him.

"You caught that, huh?" He sighed.

"I know you pretty well," Ayame admitted. "You were down about losing, and going out to eat didn't seem to brighten your day any."

"Yeah, but don't worry," Blake assured her. "I'm feeling better now."

Ayame wanted to believe that. The smile on his face and brightness in his eyes told her he was being honest with her, but her doubts persisted.

"You sure?" Ayame asked.

"I am," Blake asserted, nodding. "Don't get me wrong, I'm still a little down. I really wanted to win that match, after all. But it's whatever."

"Is that why you were down?" Ayame asked. "You didn't like losing, I feel that. So I'm glad you're doing better."

"It's not just the losing," Blake said, shaking his head. "Don't get me wrong, I don't mind losing matches, it happens all the time. It's actually refreshing that I can lose a battle and not have it be the end of the world."

He glanced out the window and stared at the snow-covered patio deck.

He turned back to Ayame and sighed. She could see the glassy look in his eyes.

"It was realizing that I'm not strong enough," Blake said. "Dokukage completely destroyed me. I had a bunch of tricks to win, and I was so, so close, but when it came down to Weiss vs. his Scizor… we couldn't do anything."

"Oh, don't worry about it, Blake," Ayame said, reaching out a hand and placing it over Blake's. "You must have been used to losing, and knowing you aren't strong enough… that came out wrong, I'm sorry, that came out so, so wrong!"

"Don't worry about it," Blake laughed. "I know what you mean. And yeah, I've had a lot of experience being weak, don't worry. Still… seeing those Shadow Pokemon… knowing that I couldn't do anything to beat the Phantom, even if I had somehow defeated Dokukage… I guess that made me feel kind of down, you know?"

"You'll get stronger," Ayame assured him. She held her fist up and pumped it excitedly. "You're already really tough, Blake! And I'm sure you just need a bit of training."

She calmed down a little, and her expression turned serious.

"Look, I'm the first one to know what it means to overtrain, and care way too much about winning," Ayame said. "So don't think that you have to go over the top or anything. We can still hang out like this, right? And enjoy ourselves. Just… you and me. Or you, and some of our other friends? Just… anything to make you feel better. I know right now… you're thinking about her, right?"

Ayame looked around and lowered her voice into a whisper.

"Guinevere?" Ayame asked. "You're worried that if you don't get strong enough, if you aren't able to beat her, then you won't be able to help save her, right? At least… that's what I think, anyway. If… if I stepped over a line, then please tell me, but that's what I'm worried about."

"…Yeah, that's about right," Blake admitted, glancing down. "I don't like that it's true, but I can't help it. If I can't beat Dokukage or the Phantom's Shadow Pokemon, then there's no way I'll be able to get through to Gwen."

"Then you have to train," Ayame said. "But remember. Like you told me, don't overdo it. Don't think that training until you're worn out will be enough. If you could…"

Ayame bit her lip. She wanted to ask Blake to rely on her a little more, confide in her so she could take care of things and make him feel better like a good girlfriend, but in the end she didn't have the strength to do it.

Maybe he'll only think of me as a burden…

Ayame shook her head frantically and slapped her cheeks, scowling.

"Aya?" Blake sputtered in confusion.

"You keep stuff bottled up too much!" She replied. She crossed her arms the way that Olivia taught her how to, to present her chest a little more. Flustering him seemed like a good way to lower his defenses. "You always do. It's like I get all the sweet and happy parts, but when it comes to taking the serious sides of you, it's like pulling teeth!"

"Aya, I didn't mean to-"

Before Blake could finish his thought, Ayame reached across the table and pressed her finger to his lips, shaking her head and "shush"ing him.

"It's okay," she said, her voice softening. "I'm not mad, Blake, I promise. I just… I want to be there for you however I can. If you don't want to talk about your worries with me, okay. I'll accept that. But I really hope you will. I share everything with you, Blake, and I want you to know that it's okay for you to lean on me a little for once."

"Aya…" Blake murmured, his eyes watering. Not with sadness, but with a strange mixture of happiness and nostalgia. "Thank you. That really means a lot. But believe me. If I'm dealing with something that I don't think I can deal with myself, I'll come talk to you about it."

He took her hand in his, looking her directly in the eye.

"I know you care about me. And I don't want to worry about you. But knowing that you're here, supporting me, it makes my worries so much less painful of a burden," Blake assured her. "So even if I don't tell you everything… I want you to know that your smile does help. And so does small stuff like this, Aya. It all helps. So much."

Ayame smiled a little, but she also felt a sting in her chest. She didn't just want Blake to come to her with the important things. She wanted him to always come to her with everything. But as she opened her mouth, she realized that maybe that was asking for too much.

I love Blake, and I trust him. I had my insecurities, and that's what led to this whole feeling of uneasiness… but I don't feel that way anymore, she realized, seeing the love in Blake's eyes. That was enough to assure that her doubts about his feelings were misguided. They weren't in a rut. Blake would confide in her, rely on her, when he needed to.

So… do I really have the right to ask for more than that? She wondered. She thought about what Olivia would say. Olivia would obviously say that she had the right to ask whatever she wanted. But Ayame was less sure. Wanting Blake to rely on her, that was for his sake. But asking him to come to her for every little thing… that felt like it was more for her piece of mind than his.

"Blake," she said, placing her other hand over his, holding his hand tightly on both sides. "I promise, that if you need me, I'll be here. You can rely on me no matter what. And honestly, I don't just want you to come to me for the serious things. Even if it's just telling me how your day went… I want to know about it."

She felt a little flustered, hoping this wasn't coming off as selfish. She glanced away bashfully.

"I know this might be a little… clingy," she admitted. "But everything, the big things, the small things, they make me feel closer to you, Blake."

"That's not clingy," Blake assured her with a smile that set her heart at ease. "Don't worry about it, Aya. It means a lot that you want stuff like that."

He looked around, checking to make sure none of his friends were listening in. This was the kind of thing that Cynthia would give him crap over for days.

"Honestly… last night, I didn't want to go to dinner with everybody. I would have preferred to just be with you. It's hard to be vulnerable around everyone… but if it was just you, I think it would have gone a little like this," he admitted.

Ayame's heart skipped a beat, and she mentally slapped herself in the face.

I'm so, so stupid, it was all in my head, Ayame yelled at herself. "Sorry, I guess I kind of overthought it a little. I'm all twisted up. I just want to make sure you're happy, and I'm worried…"

Her expression darkened, and she squeezed his hand tighter.

"I guess I'm just scared that you're trying to keep me at a distance," she finally admitted. "Like… you're trying to protect me, but from you. And it's causing me to think that maybe… maybe you aren't as invested in this relationship as I am."

She'd finally said it. She wished she'd hadn't, she wished she could take the words back the second they slipped from her lips, but she couldn't. And once she'd said them, they were out there, and there was nothing she could do but hope she hadn't said something wrong. She looked hopefully at Blake, and the pain on his face made her ache.

She really wished she hadn't said it.

"Aya… is there anything I can do to prove it to you?" Blake asked, a pleading look in her eyes. "I want to be with you, no matter what. Because you're important to me, I love you Aya! And if you don't feel like I'm in this, then what can I do to-"

Ayame shook her head frantically to cut him off.

"I don't want you to prove to me that you love me," Ayame assured him. "Believe me, I don't. I know that you love me, and I'm going to keep believing that you want to be with me for as long as we can be together. But I don't want you to… 'prove' it to me!"

Blake looked at her in confusion. "What do you-"

"If you want to prove it to me, then just keep doing what you're doing," Ayame said. "Anything else would feel like… like I'm pulling you into something that you're not comfortable with. And I don't want to do that."

"But then… how do I make you feel better?" Blake asked. He didn't like the thought that Ayame was feeling so… expendable.

"This is enough," Ayame assured him, giving his hand another squeeze, a gentle and caring one. "Just by being you, and us being us. Doing stuff like this together. That's enough to show me you care, showing me you care. Anything else… it would feel like us forcing it. We'll go at our own pace, okay?"

Asking him for sex would have felt awful. She wouldn't have been able to forgive herself. But sitting here with him, the two of them looking at each other, it made her feel relief. Ayame finally felt herself begin to relax.

Aww, that's nice! Ayame is feeling better. Hopefully, their relationship will continue to progress on a good pace.