Things at the water park are going fine so far! Everyone's having fun, and the kids are getting to experience the joy of a watery day with friends! Even the more fragile girls like Elaina and Caelia seem to be enjoying themselves in their own ways. Kitty even managed to catch a brand new pokemon! Today's been quite a treat for everyone!
KedharS: Yup, it's good that she's expanded her horizons and added a new member to the team, even if she is a tricky Skitty that may be more trouble than she's worth. But Kitty's a friend to all pokemon, so it should be fine.
Jjjdunk1: Yup, Kitty getting a Skitty was something I had planned for a long time. And don't worry, Cynthia will probably be fine…
Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings
Chapter 1064
"…Damn. That is one long-ass slide," Reiner said, staring down the Crawdaunting Crash. The tall slide was nearly a vertical drop down to the pool below, and he suspected that if he went down it the skin on his back would end up smeared across the plastic.
"…Wait, that's not why it's red, is it?" He muttered under his breath. He didn't know, and he wasn't sure he WANTED to know, but something he DID know was that people seemed to be having a blast going down the slide.
"Wooo! Yeah, I can't wait!" Sango clapped. "Blake, you excited to try-oh, right." She glanced over her shoulder, but Blake wasn't here. He was with Elaina and the others. And while she was having fun going down the water slides, she knew it would be more fun if Blake were here.
"Something up?" Aidan's voice snapped her out of her fugue.
"Wh-What?" She gasped, surprised.
"Well, you seemed to be really lost in thought," Aidan explained. "And you looked kind of down about it, too. So I was wondering if everything was okay?"
"Yeah, I guess I'm just thinking about the others," Sango said. "I wish they were here with us, so they could have fun too."
"Don't worry," Aidan said, flashing a big smile. "When we meet up to get lunch, we'll join up with them, and after that, there's a whole bunch of stuff we'll be able to do as a group."
Sango smiled and nodded. That made her feel better. But there was still an ache in her chest. She respected and cared about Ayame as a friend, and she wasn't the type of girl who would try to destroy somebody's relationship.
But was it so bad to want to at least make some pleasant memories with the boy she liked on this vacation? She could at least do that much, right?
Even though she knew there was nothing wrong with it, she felt a little uncomfortable. Maybe the reason I feel this guilty is because I know I should be trying to get over him, she realized. And planning to spend all this time with him is keeping that from happening. It wasn't something she was happy to acknowledge, but it was still the truth.
"Castform?" Silver floated over to her with a concerned expression. Sango met his gaze and smiled a little.
"Ura!" Sango slapped her cheeks to snap herself out of it, startling everyone. She turned to the attendant. "Okay! I'm ready to go down!"
She was the first of their group to attempt the Crawdaunting Crash.
"Yeah!" Nick called. "You can do it, Sango!"
"Don't slip and fall," Will advised.
Reiner's advice was less helpful. "See if they'll let you go down headfirst! That should be pretty fun!" He laughed.
Sango wasn't that dumb. She held Silver tightly to her chest and got on the slide. The attendant gave her a wary look. "Listen, miss, there's nothing against the rules about sliding down you're your pokemon, but I've gotta say, I'm not sure if it's the safest thing to do," he warned her.
"It's fine," Sango assured him. "Silver and I are more than capable."
The attendant shrugged. He'd given her his warning. "Alright then. You have fun. Take care of your limbs, and don't hurt yourself."
Sango leaned back, clutching Silver tightly, and tilted forward, heading down the slide.
She screamed as she shot down the slide. Her bangs whipped in front of her eyes as she picked up speed; without any twists or turns there was nothing to slow her down, and she just went faster and faster. It was like the screams were being drawn out of her lips as she fell, tumbling at high speed towards the water.
When she hit, she didn't even realize what had happened. The first sign was the large splash, and even then, it took a second to recognize that she was in the water. She let go of Silver and paddled up, breaking the surface.
"OH YEAH!" She shouted, punching her fist into the air. "That was AMAZING!"
"Castform!" Silver panted, floating to the surface. His smooth skin was squeaky from being soaked. He floated up out of the water and Sango paddled after him, clearing the impact zone. As she swam, she turned and looked over her shoulder. She was just at the top of that large slide, and all her friends were tiny sticks up there. She'd gone down quite a whopper.
She was so thrilled by the experience, she didn't even mind that Blake wasn't here to share it with her. Well, even if he wasn't, she'd be more than happy to drag him down the slide again. He could use a good thrill, she thought to herself with a wicked laugh. Cynthia wasn't the only one with a mischievous streak.
As she climbed out of the water, her jaw dropped. Because like he'd been summoned from the aether, there was Blake right before her eyes.
"O-Oh," she stumbled, nearly falling back into the pool. "Blake, you guys are here."
"Yeah, we're headed this way," Cynthia said. "We're all going to get lunch, right? Where's everyone else? Are they still up there?"
She glanced up at the large water slide. Sango nodded.
"Did you really go down that slide?" Elaina gasped, staring up at the large spire in amazement. "It's so… wow!"
"It looks like fun," Blake said. On cue, Reiner's screaming form shot down the slide like a bullet, sliding into the pool with a giant splash.
"FUCKING YEAH!" He roared, popping up out of the water. He swam over to the others. "Oh, Blake, dude, you've totally gotta go down the Crash!"
"Yeah, so I've been hearing," Blake laughed. "Sure, I'll think about it."
"I'm definitely in!" Cynthia nodded.
"Me too!" Ruka signed, nodding along with her trainer. Sango was finally here to translate, and she was going to take full advantage. When Sango conveyed what the pokemon was trying to say, Cynthia frowned.
"Uh, I don't think so missy," Cynthia said, shaking her head. "Do you have any idea how dangerous that slide is? You don't even know how to swim! See that pool there? You'd go down, hit the water, and drown immediately! And unlike the wave pool, you won't be getting an inner tube! It's absolutely out of the question!"
Ruka frowned, her tail drooping. "Z-Zorua…" She mumbled.
"It's not so bad," Sango said, finally getting out of the water. She still felt a little dizzy from the slide. "The slide guy actually let me go down the slide with Silver. So if you want, that's still an option to consider."
The Zorua's expression brightened. But then Ruka thought about it a little more and shook her head. "No way," she signed. "I'll get my fur all wet if I go down in my normal form!" She wanted to have fun, but not THAT much fun.
Another splash as someone went down the slide. It was Aidan, and he was carrying Arion. He swam over as his Shinx paddled beside him. He climbed out and lifted his pokemon out of the water, and Shinx immediately shook the water off of his fur.
Ruka frowned. Arion glanced at her and smirked.
"Zorua!" She scowled, turning to Cynthia. She stomped her food insistently.
"…Okay, we'll talk about it," Cynthia sighed. "But first, we need to get lunch. Then after lunch we can go into the water immediately, without a second's hesitation!"
"Uh… you really shouldn't go for a swim less than a half hour after you eat," Aidan warned her. Sango nodded in agreement.
"He's right," she added. "You'll get a major cramp."
"Nah, I'll be fine," Cynthia waved it off like it was no problem. "The important thing is to spend as much time as the slides as we can, that's what I say anyway!"
Sango and Aidan glanced at each other and sighed. Well, there was no fixing stupid. There was something else Sango was concerned about in the meantime. She turned to Caelia.
It couldn't be said that Sango was anything close to a friend for Caelia. The two girls had barely ever talked. But she was still a responsible person and cared about others, especially when someone looked like they weren't having as much fun.
"How are you liking the water park so far?" She asked. She didn't really expect to get an answer given who she was talking to, but she thought that there was no harm in letting Caelia know that she was thinking of her and concerned.
Caelia stared at her for a moment and blinked. "…Fine," she replied, which was startling. Sango hadn't expected that.
"…Well, that's good," she laughed awkwardly. "You know, there are a few water slides where you go on with an inner tube, if you'd like to try those. I know you don't know how to swim, but don't let that stop you!"
She was starting to feel awkward making small talk with the other girl, and to her relief a loud splash behind her broke the tension. Oh, thank god! It was Nick! With him here, they could finally head out and get lunch!
Nick was barely out of the water before Sango ushered him off with the others, heading for the food court.
"We're meeting up with Julia and Kitty at the plaza," Reiner said, checking the map. "Hopefully they had as much fun as we did!"
"So the wave pool is really that fun, huh?" Sango said thoughtfully. "Hmm, maybe I could give it a try…" She was much more of a water slide kind of girl, but there was something to be said about bobbing peacefully in the waves as well. Marion had shown her the benefits of grace and focus, and above all, patience.
"I want to do the water slides!" Cynthia said adamantly. "Ruka, we can go on some of the double slides! You too, Caelia!"
Ruka nodded excitedly.
"What about you, Elaina?" Sango asked, turning to the brunette. She hadn't checked in with her yet. "Did you have fun at the wave pool?"
Elaina glanced at Blake and her face turned a little pink. "W-Well… it was… it was fun, I suppose…"
She glanced away from him, and Sango frowned. Clearly something had happened. She grabbed Blake by the ear and dragged him away, to everyone's surprise.
"Hey! Ow! Let go of me!" Blake groaned, shaking free. Sango crossed her arms and scowled.
"What's going on here?" She demanded. "Did something happen between you and Elaina? If you think I'm not going to tell Ayame, then you got another-"
"Are you mental?" Blake sputtered. "I would never cheat on Aya! Nothing happened between me and Elaina! I promise!"
It wasn't like Sango didn't believe him. She knew that Blake wasn't the kind of guy who would break the heart of the girl he loved. She would never have fallen for him if he was. But she was still concerned about the situation.
"Well, make sure that you keep it under control," she said. "You might not have noticed, but Elaina's feelings are-"
"Of course I noticed," Blake cut her off. "Come on. It's obvious. I'm not some idiot, I can tell when a girl has feelings for me."
Sango raised her eyebrow. "…Sure you can."
Well, she was certainly in a mood. Blake didn't even want to guess why. "Look, I'm handling it. But you don't have to worry. I'm not cheating on Aya, and I'm not trying to lead Elaina on. I just helped her learn how to swim, that's all."
Oh, he just helped her learn how to swim. How quaint.
"Whatever," she mumbled, storming back to the others. "Let's just go."
Blake didn't know what he'd said to put Sango in such a bad mood. She'd seemed like she'd been having fun going on the slides.
Well, Sango herself didn't know why she was in such a bad mood. She sighed, staring at the ground as she walked back to the others.
What's the matter with me? Why am I feeling this way? Am I really this jealous? She didn't understand her own heart. But with Ayame gone…
I guess I'm just inserting myself into her place. It made sense. Try as she might (and she hadn't tried very hard) Sango hadn't managed to get over her feelings for Blake just yet. And without Ayame around, maybe… she was using her feelings for him as fuel for her possessiveness and jealousy, under the guise of "acting in Ayame's best interest."
The truth is, Ayame would probably be happy he was working so hard to help her… Sango couldn't deny it. She sighed, once again reminded of how miserable of a girl she was. It was like what had happened with Elizabeth. Her jealousy was taking over and making her insufferable. Well, she needed to stop it, now.
She slapped her cheeks again, and put on a big smile. "Okay, guys! Let's head over to get some lunch!" Sango called, joining up with the group again. Blake, who'd been watchig her from behind, was just confused. He followed her, and they headed to the food court.
"Guys!" Everyone turned to see Kitty and Julia heading towards them. They were shocked by thee pokemon in Kitty's hands.
"Wait, is that a Skitty?" Nick asked, surprised.
"You got it!" Kitty beamed. "Her name's Trixie! I just caught her!"
"No freaking way! Dude, congratulations!" Cynthia gushed. "She's such a cutie! How did this even happen?"
"We were in the Lazy Lotad Lagoon, and she stole Kitty's necklace," Julia explained.
"Yup," Kitty nodded. She continued the story. "We tracked her down with our pokemon, and I caught her in a pokeball. So now she's mine!"
Kitty lifted Trixie up to her cheek and cuddled her.
"Well, that's definitely cool," Sango said, happy for her friend. "For now, you guys want to get something to eat?"
Reiner smirked. "Sango, you've been pushing for lunch for a while. That hungry, huh? I guess that's to be expected."
Sango's cheeks turned red and she scowled, embarrassed at being called out like that. She couldn't help that she had such a big appetite!
"Hey, Reiner, shut your mouth," Julia snapped. "And for the record, I'm feeling pretty hungry myself, so why don't you just leave her alone?"
Sango didn't always approve of Julia's frankly nebulous hostility towards Reiner, but right now she was happy.
"It's fine," she said, shaking her head. "And he's right… I am hungry," she admitted, laughing. "So what are we waiting for?"
"I'm in!" Ruka signed, her stomach rumbling.
There was a pretty decent selection of food to choose from at the water park. But what Sango was really interested in were the tiny dots. They were a type of ice cream that was made in very small ball form, giving the feeling of eating packig peanuts. She got one of every flavor.
"Should you really be eating that much sugar?" Will asked. "Aren't you afraid you're going to crash later?"
Everyone looked at him like he was an idiot.
"…You get used to it," Nick said, shaking his head.
"O-Oh…"
"So what rides do you guys want to go on?" Cynthia asked. "I definitely want to go on one of the inner tube rides. Something I can go on with Ruka."
"I could go on it, too, then," Elaina said quietly. Sango was surprised.
"Elaina, for real? You're ready to go on a water slide?" Sango had been hoping for that, and so had Cynthia.
"W-Well, they do seem… scary… since I can't swim," Elaina admitted. "But I want to give it a chance. I'm sure it will be fine."
A surge of worry shot through Blake as he suddenly had a concerning thought.
"Um… what about your… you know?" He whispered.
Elaina winced. She'd almost forgotten about her harmonia. She couldn't believe it. For the briefest moment, something she'd never thought possible had happened. She'd been thinking of herself as a normal girl, without the burden of harmonia.
But Blake had reminded her that wasn't the case. She wasn't normal. There was a chance that if she went on the slide and got scared, her harmonia would go wild and she would end up unleashig it on everyone, and maybe even tear the slide down.
She shook her head.
"I-I'll be fine," she insisted, trying to convince herself that it was true. Blake could see what she was thinking, and realized the problem he'd just caused by saying what he'd said. He winced, realizing how much of a jerk he'd been.
"…Yeah," he nodded, giving her a smile. "You'll b fine, I'm sure of it."
Blake's smile eased the doubts in Elaina's heart. But only for a brief moment.
Well, Elaina's not fully over her trauma. But it really means a lot that just for a little while, she wasn't thinking about her harmonia. There was a time where that would have never seemed possible. Maybe she really is changing. The question is, can those changes last, or will she lose control of herself and hurt people again? We can only hope it doesn't come to that.
