After Cynthia's loss against Caelia, she's going to redeem herself by taking a bit of a break to think about things! Meanwhile, Blake's joining Sango in going to the Lava Bakery to get some of their famous Lava Cookies! But what they discover when they get there will be surprising… they may have bitten off more than they could chew! What surprising revelations will happen in this chapter? Well, you'll have to read to find out!

The Final Round of the Pokemon Academy Best Girl Contest 3 has begun! Get the votes going in soon! There are three girls in the finals! Who's going to win? Chloe? Cynthia? Or Vic? One of those girls will become the third best girl, so get those votes in as soon as possible! You've only got one vote this time, so make it count!

Finalists: Chloe, Cynthia, Vic

Superblal: Welcome back! You've got some catching up to do!

KedharS: Yep, she's a pretty strong trainer. It helps that she has nothing better to do than think about Blake and train her pokemon to fight. Plus, her Charizard has always been a beast. The rest of her team really can't compare.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 1041

The sun was still low when Sango and Blake arrived at the Lava Bakery.

"You actually ate here before?" Blake asked her. He couldn't believe it. Not the part about her eating here, he suspected Sango would eat anywhere if given the opportunity. No, the part he found hard to believe was that Sango could actually get into the bakery in the first place to eat.

The reason for that was because even though it was so early in the morning, there was already a line outside the door.

"Yeah, uh… it wasn't this packed when I came last time…" Sango said, staring in stunned shock at the crowd. It would take them hours just to get into the building!

"Well, what did you think was going to happen?" Cynthia's voice from behind them caused the pair to jump.

"Cynthia? Hey, you came here to eat too?" Sango asked.

"Yup, gotta love me some Lava Cookies after a loss," Cynthia nodded. "What are you guys waiting for? Let's get in line!"

With a big smile Cynthia charged forward, dragging Sango and Blake behind her.

"Well… why's the line so big?" Blake asked as they got to the end. It was hard to even see the front door from where they were standing.

"It wasn't like this last time," Sango repeated. "Maddi and I just walked right in."

"It's because we came here during winter break," Cynthia explained. "Sango, you might not know this since you grew up in a big city, but there's such a thing as a tourist season for places like this, you know?"

"Uh… I mean, Castelia City has tourists too…" Sango replied.

"Yeah, but it's a little different in the Hoenn Region," Cynthia said, waving her off. "Sure, Lavaridge gets tourists year-round, but when spring comes, the whole region just explodes in terms of visitors coming for the sandy beaches."

Blake raised his eyebrow. "…We're next to a volcano," he said. "What beaches are you talking about exactly?"

"What-? No, I mean Slateport City, obviously," Cynthia said, rolling her eyes. "Didn't you see how packed the airport was last night? We didn't stick around long enough to get a good look, but there're probably tons of people in the city right now. As for Lavaridge, well, coming to the hot springs is popular regardless of the season, but in spring and summer it REALLY picks up. Which is why I'm surprised that grandma and grandpa could afford to put us up so easily."

She stroked her chin thoughtfully. "I hope that business is doing okay… I didn't really see any other guests this morning, did you?"

"Now that you mention it, no, not compared to last time," Sango said, shaking her head. "And you said that this is tourist season?"

Cynthia nodded her head rapidly.

"Yeah, you're right, this is trouble then," Sango frowned. "We're going to be here all morning! And I'm starving!"

Her stomach rumbled a little to punctuate her sentence. Cynthia and Blake couldn't help but laugh at that. Even Silver was giggling!

"You… you just had breakfast and you're already hungry again?" Cynthia cackled.

"That's just too much!" Blake chuckled, shaking his head.

Sango's cheeks turned pink. "I can't help it! And stop laughing, Cynthia! Blake is one thing, but you know EXACTLY how delicious Lava Cookies are!"

"Okay, you have a point," Cynthia admitted, sobering up. "Lava Cookies do taste pretty amazing. Fair enough."

"That's right, they do," Sango sniffed, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "I was looking forward to eating them all night, I even dreamed about them, you know?"

"Wow, you really ARE a Snorlax." Cynthia couldn't help herself, it just slipped out. Luckily it didn't seem to upset Sango that much.

"Oh, please, a Snorlax WISHES it could have a body as tight as mine," Sango snorted, rolling her eyes. "But like I was saying, I was looking forward to this, and now it looks like it'll be HOURS before I can get my cookies!"

"It's fine, most of these people are probably just her for the Lava Cookies anyway," Cynthia assured her. "They always prepare a couple dozen boxes during the tourist season to meet demand, so things should move pretty fast. Don't worry."

Cynthia was right. The line really picked up steam once the doors opened. So the group talked to pass the time. It had been a while since they had the chance to hang out, just the three of them, and they were taking advantage.

"I'm glad you came today," Sango smiled at Blake. "It seems like ever since Ayame disappeared, you've been a bit of a hermit."

"Yup, a regular old Clamperl," Cynthia nodded in agreement. "Though I suppose I can't blame you, seeing as you're taking care of Ayame's Goomy and all."

"Oh, that's right! I almost forgot!" Sango gasped. "Did you bring the little cutie with you today? Can I see him?"

"No, I left him back in the room with the rest of my pokemon," Blake said. "Everyone needs a rest after that trip. Pokemon can get jetlag too, you know."

"He probably used the little guy as a pillow," Cynthia whispered to Sango loud enough to make sure Blake could hear. "Poor little Goomy probably couldn't get any sleep all night."

"Yeah, you're probably right," Sango mock-whispered back. "Blake seems like the kind of guy who would be so obsessed with his cuteness that he would just squeeze the life out of the poor little guy. I hope he's okay…"

"You two are a real riot, you know that?" Blake said dryly.

"Whatever. I could never do that myself," Cynthia said.

Blake raised his eyebrow. "Do what? Give your pokemon a chance to sleep and take a break? That's not really something to brag about…"

"What?! No, I mean just leave them behind!" Cynthia protested. She patted her belt proudly. "I'm proud of my pokemon, you see! I always want to have them right at my side, just in case I need to count on them for a pokemon battle!"

"Well, Silver and I are always together," Sango said, reaching up and taking Silver into her arms. "And unlike you guys, I don't drag him around in a pokeball. "He's free to come and go as he likes, isn't that right Silver?"

She cooed and rubbed her cheek against her Castform's rubbery head, giggling. Cynthia and Blake just rolled their eyes.

"So what are we going to do today?" Blake asked. "You know, once we eventually get our Lava Cookies? I mean, we should come up with something to spend the last 45 minutes of daylight or so on, don't you guys think?"

Cynthia lightly smacked him in the chest with the back of her hand. "Very funny. But no, we'll be done here before it's even 10, I'm sure of it."

"So what do you want to do then? I'm up for anything," Sango said. Normally she was the kind of girl who would take charge and come up with suggestions, but this was Cynthia's home region so she would have a much better idea of what to do. Plus, if it was up to her, they'd be hiking up Mt. Chimney, and she doubted anyone would be up for that.

"So what's the plan then?" Blake asked. He was looking to Cynthia as well, but for a different reason. Her mood had improved since earlier this morning, but he really wanted them to do something fun that she would enjoy, so that it would be improved permanently.

But unfortunately, the topic about what to do was also a bit of a bombshell. Cynthia's expression soured, and she let out a sigh.

"Well… it's complicated," she groaned, ruffling her hair. "I mean, it's spring break, and we're in the Hoenn Region. There's only one thing to do, right? Hit the beach. But that's kind of… not the easiest thing to suggest, you know?"

"Oh…" Sango winced. She glanced sympathetically at Blake. He frowned, and tightened his stance a little bit.

"…Yeah, sorry," he apologized. Because of him, they wouldn't be able to go swimming as a group. That would mean he'd be showing off his scars. It was one thing to get into a bath with a bunch of people who already knew the situation, but it was another entirely to walk out into a crowd of beachgoers with his mangled figure on full display.

"H-Hey, it's okay! It's not a big deal!" Cynthia quickly protested. "It's just an idea! But I don't want to do anything unless we all agree together, okay?"

"Well, I mean, I could probably get, like, a wetsuit or something, right? I'm sure they sell those, that shouldn't be a problem," Blake said. He really didn't want to be the reason that Cynthia couldn't do what she wanted for this trip.

But Cynthia was adamant. She shook her head. "No, it's fine. Besides, it's not just you. There's other things to consider."

Sango wasn't sure what she meant by that. "Other… things? Like what?" She asked. Cynthia glanced warily at her.

"Like… Caelia," Cynthia whispered, and the trio fell silent. Even when the line moved forward again, they were too busy bathing in discomfort to follow it.

"Yeah… Caelia…" Sango mumbled. "I'd almost forgotten… about her… you know."

"Yeah," Cynthia nodded.

With Caelia, the beginning of the problems were her scars. She didn't like putting them on display, and Cynthia would never force her to, to the point where she'd arranged with her grandparents to give her a private bath for her own use.

But then there was the damage to her body that was less obvious on the surface. Caelia was scarred. Not just her arm and face, but scarred down to her cells. She couldn't feel anything. Not through physical contact. Which meant that she'd never learned how to swim. It was one of the many things she couldn't do with that body of hers.

All three of them could picture it. Everyone having a blast in the sun, enjoying themselves, and Caelia sitting under the umbrella staring off into the distance, unable to join in on the fun and not even really caring.

It just didn't seem fair to her.

"Yeah, you're right," Sango sighed. "I guess the beach is out. It would be cruel to drag her with us and make her watch, and it would suck if she had to stay back here instead of coming. We need to think up something that even Caelia could enjoy."

"Okay, well, that just leaves Blake," Cynthia said, staring pointedly at the boy. Blake rolled his eyes and blushed a little, but he couldn't refute it. The only time that Caelia seemed genuinely happy was when she was playing with her pokemon, or when she was spending time with Blake.

"We could go to a daycare center," Sango suggested. "I heard somewhere there's one by Maville City if we wanted."

"That sounds pointless, honestly," Cynthia shook her head. "That girl… I don't think it's normal for her to try and do stuff like that in front of others. She adores her Vulpix, but can you really see her with a bright warm smile as she hugged the little guy?

Blake and Sango shook their heads. No, they could not.

"It sucks that we have to write off going to the beach," Cynthia sighed. "But there's gotta be something that we can do to make her happier."

"Something we could all do together…" Sango said, tapping her chin thoughtfully. Then she brightened as an idea struck. "Oh, I know! What about fishing? We could rent a bunch of fishing poles from a place, and go fish up stuff on the beach! What do you think, sound fun?"

Blake and Cynthia exchanged a look, and then both placed their hands on Sango's forehead. Her good mood immediately evaporated.

"I'm feeling fine, there's no need to be rude," she grumbled.

"Hey, I just wanted to check," Blake said. "I was thinking that Marion rubbed off on you, that's all. Is fishing addiction contagious?"

"At least it's not night fishing," Cynthia said. She shivered as she remembered Marion's suggestion from the last time they were in the Hoenn Region. "I'm never doing THAT again, I promise you. Think of something else."

Sango scowled.

"Plus, remember what happened to her on Valentine's Day?" Cynthia quickly reminded Sango to keep her from slipping into a bad mood. "She nearly drowned. I don't think she'd like to try fishing again after THAT happened."

Sango's expression softened. "That's… a really good point, yeah," she admitted. "It would probably suck to be in that situation, huh?"

Nobody wanted Caelia to drown again, and especially not her.

"So we still couldn't come up with anything, huh?" Blake sighed. It sucked having to plan activity for such a large and diverse group of people. At least the boys weren't usually as picky as they were right now.

Meanwhile, the mention of Valentine's Day reminded Cynthia of what had gone down between Sango and Aidan. She was almost tempted to tease her, but thought better of it.

"So Sango, change of subject, but why'd you bring Blake out here instead of going on a date with Aidan, huh?"

Unfortunately, her mouth had other thoughts as usual.

Sango stared at Cynthia for a solid minute, her jaw dropped. She couldn't believe her friend had just said that!

When she finally found her voice, it was to curse the other girl out.

"What the fuck's the matter with you?!" She exclaimed. "Why have you been bugging me about Aidan this entire trip?! Are you just being a bitch? He and I are just friends! That's fucking it! There's nothing going on between us, so can you please just STOP? You're making me uncomfortable!" Sango didn't know how to make it more clear than that.

She stopped to catch her breath, giving Cynthia a chance to redirect things and make up for her huge screw-up just now.

"H-Hey, sorry," she weakly apologized, trying to smile. "It… I was just JOKING, Sango. Sorry. I didn't mean to sound so serious."

"No, it… it's nothing," Sango said, calming down a little after Cynthia's apology. But truthfully it was because she was afraid that if she said anything else, then it would give the other girl even more ammunition.

Luckily, she'd dealt with this sort of thing before, so she was prepared. It was like back when Cynthia was obsessed with the idea of her dating Blake. Sango needed to find the perfect ratio of denial so she wouldn't make the other girl think that there was really something going on.

"Cynthia, cut it out."

Luckily, Blake was there to come for her rescue. She would have swooned, if she was the kind of dork who swooned.

"Hey, come on, it's just some light ribbing," Cynthia laughed, trying to pass the whole thing off as another one of her dumb jokes. But nobody else was amused.

"Cynthia, why are you so interested in who I'm dating?" Sango suddenly asked, a coy expression crossing her face. She did an excellent job of concealing her emotions, but under the surface she was terrified of what Cynthia would say.

She shouldn't have been so worried.

"No reason really," Cynthia shrugged. "I just thought it would be great to get some romance drama going, you know?" She jammed a thumb at Blake. "And it's not like we can get anything from that guy whose girlfriend won't even return his calls."

"Hey!" Blake exclaimed, his face lighting up. "Cynthia, that was totally uncalled for!"

"You know what I think?" Sango said, tapping her chin thoughtfully. "I think all this time, you've been projecting your desires onto me, Cynthia."

Cynthia was confused. "Projecting my-? Oh, sweetie, no, I'm sorry. You're cute and all, but trust me, I'm not into you that way. You and I are just friends."

Sango blushed. Cynthia thought that she meant-?! "No!" She blurted out. "What I'm saying is that you and I are just friends! But you're using me as an outlet because YOU feel unfulfilled in YOUR relationships!"

"Huh?! What do you mean by that?" Cynthia asked, confused. "I just… I mean… what?"

Sango was quickly dawning onto something that she'd never thought of before. "That's it, isn't it?" She realized. "That's the reason why you made such a big deal out of me and Blake liking each other back at the beginning of school, isn't it? Because you'd already fallen for him at that point, but you weren't ready to confront that yet, so you pushed your feelings for him onto me, and pretended like I was the one who liked him, not you!" Of course, Sango DID like Blake, but if she had her way neither one of them would ever know it.

"That's-! Pfft! No! Not even close!" Cynthia sputtered. "I didn't, I mean… I would never think like that, dummy!"

"That makes a surprising amount of sense," Blake said, picking up what Sango was putting down. "So Cynthia, you've always felt that way about me? Wow, that's… really something."

"NO!" Cynthia exclaimed. But her flushed cheeks made it hard to interpret any other way.

Aww, poor Cynthia. It looks like she's really embarrassed about her concealed feelings coming out like this in front of everyone. Well, hopefully she won't have to deal with those issues now that she's been rejected. And it was an excellent move on Sango's part to dodge any potential suspicion of having feelings for Blake herself. Nicely done.