Now that everyone's done with the water park, it's time for the ride back! It's been an exhausting day for everybody, so it's good that we have a nice relaxing drive to the inn. But there's still tension in the air; some of the students are clearly dealing with things. What awaits our heroes when they get back to the inn? Will Cynthia's grandparents be upset? Remember to review!

KedharS: Fun is one way of looking at it.

Hyphenman: Don't worry, I don't think they're going to retire any time soon.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 1068


The bus ride back from the water park was surprisingly peaceful. Because everyone was exhausted after such a long and fun day, there wasn't much talking, they just wanted some free time to decompress from their overstimulation.

There were some exceptions, though. Namely, Sango was one of them. She wasn't relaxed at all, she was actually feeling kind of tense. She wanted to call Elizabeth. And for some reason, it wasn't easy. She was letting her guilt take over.

It didn't help that Cynthia had been particularly insufferable on the way back. Mainly because Sango was sitting next to Aidan, and Aidan, well…

He'd fallen asleep after a really exhausting day. He slumped over, leaning against Sango, snoring into her shoulder. She gently shoved him off, but every time the bus went over a turn, he would fall back over her again. And whenever he did, Cynthia would look their way with a knowing smirk, like she was laughing at an inside joke.

It was really starting to piss her off, honestly. Sango's eye twitched with frustration. But she had to restrain herself. She couldn't just curse the other girl out for just being amused at something, even though she was annoying.

Calm down. You need to cool off, she reminded herself. She didn't want to be in a bad mood when she eventually called Elizabeth. If she was, then there was a chance that she might take it out on the other woman, and that was the last thing Sango wanted to do. She'd unfairly taken things out on Elizabeth enough already.

I suppose I could ask her for advice, I guess. Sango didn't know why, but for some reason, Cynthia had been particularly insufferable lately. It wasn't that her actions had gotten worse, or anything- quite the opposite, in fact, Cynthia had made great strides as a person, she could acknowledge that. There was just something about her. Everything she did recently pissed off Sango more than it would have a few months ago. It was like she was running out of patience with the other girl's antics, and she didn't know why.

Maybe she'll know how to get things back to normal. Doctor Skye was an expert on a lot of stuff, and definitely had more life experience than Sango did. For all of her experience working in the ranger field, at the end of the day Sango was still a 15 year old girl trying to do the best that she could. She wanted to fix things, but didn't know how.

She wanted to get back to the inn. Then she could call the doctor, and hopefully get some advice on what to do next.

Cynthia felt the exact opposite. She didn't want to get back to the inn. She'd lave loved to spend the night in Slateport, but there was no way she could have pitched that. So she just hid her anxiety behind her smile, and hoped that bus would get there just a little slower.

"You don't have to go so fast," she mumbled staring out the window at the rocking scenery passing by. "I don't need to go home just yet…"

Ruka was curled up in Cynthia's lap, snoring away, so she didn't overhear what her trainer had said. No one had.

Meanwhile, Blake was trying to make a call of his own. Unlike Sango, he didn't want to wait until they made it back to the inn. He'd been trying to reach Ayame for days now, but his calls just weren't connecting. Was it bad reception in the Orre Region?

He checked their text stream again. She hadn't even read his messages. Maybe her phone had broken? That was the only thing he could think of. He didn't want to believe that his girlfriend was consciously ignoring him. There had to be more to it, there just had to be, right?

In spite of how Blake tried to convince himself, his words sounded hollow. He tried to call her again. Again, it went right to voicemail.

That left one other option. And it was one that he wasn't okay with. But he didn't really have a choice. With a resigned sigh, he called Olivia. He'd held off on doing it up until now because she'd been supportive of the idea that they distance themselves from each other to move past their codependency, and this flew in the face of that.

"Hello?"

"Olivia, it's-"

"We're busy. No time to chat."

She hung up, and the beep of her phone echoed in his ear. Blake couldn't believe it. She could have just ignored his call, but she decided to answer specifically to tell him to go fuck himself. That was a rather rude thing to do, and completely in-character with the self-important Empress.

He sighed and hung his head, deciding to just try a text. He explained to Olivia that he was worried about Ayame, hoping that she could shed some light on what was happening.

"Aya's fine. Don't bother her."

That was the text message he received in reply. What the hell was going on here? It was really starting to piss him off. But he kept his cool, taking a deep breath to calm down. He didn't want to make a big deal out of this.

They're just busy. That's all this is. You don't need to worry. He reassured himself with the knowledge that at least she was okay. If she was avoiding him, then it must be because she had something else to do, or because she didn't want to talk when they were trying to get over their codependency. So yes, there were lots of reasons.

But his rational explanations didn't make him feel any better.

Off to the side, Elaina watched Blake anxiously. She could see that something was bothering him. He was staring at his phone, calling people, but for some reason his tension only seemed to rise. It was at moments like this she wished she could connect her harmonia to other people. She'd often wished for that power. Being able to connect with another person would solve so many of their misunderstandings; she could convince them that she was a good person, not the monster they thought she was. But right now, she wanted it just to help the boy she liked.

But she knew that wasn't her place. It was the job of that Ayame Toujou to make Blake feel better; anything from her would just result in more misunderstandings and difficulty down the road. And she absolutely didn't want that.

It didn't help her guilt, though.

Blake tried to help me… but it's like I can't do anything for him. An all-too-familiar shadow crossed her heart. I'm not the person who can ease his pain. Blake doesn't need comfort from someone like me anyway.

Kitty glanced beside her at Julia. She was fast asleep. Her sleeping face looked adorable, all drained from exhaustion. But Kitty couldn't appreciate it. She knew how hard today had been on her friend. She didn't know WHY that was the case, but she couldn't deny it was the truth. The brunette was burnt out, and had been stressed all day, even when she was having fun. She'd only been able to find peace in her dreams.

I don't know why you reacted like that, Kitty silently told her friend. We're best friends… but we don't know anything about each other, do we? Not really. They were friends. But what did that really mean? They didn't confide in one another. Julia tried to get to know Kitty, and Kitty tried to get to know her, but somewhere along the way they'd gotten all muddled.

It was different with people. Ever since her harmonia had matured, bonding with her pokemon had been a simple task. They had a connection that defied words, a bond that couldn't be questioned. They knew what they were thinking so easily. But Kitty couldn't connect with Julia that way no matter how badly she wanted to.

It was rather ironic. Both Elaina and Kitty so desperately wished to connect their hearts with the ones they cared for, to ease their worries. They seemed so different on the surface, but deep down they had a lot in common.


Things were strange on the ride back to the inn. Some of them were happy, others were worried, and just about everyone was exhausted. Carrying passengers with heavy hearts, the bus pulled up to the station and they all filed out.

Cynthia was the last one to leave, carrying Ruka in her arms. She didn't look very happy. She recalled Ruka to her pokeball and trailed after the others.

She's probably going to be in for a world of trouble, Sango thought, wincing. She felt bad for Cynthia. But then, it was her fault they'd stayed so late, wasn't it?

When they got to the inn, Roland and Rose were not pleased.

"Cynthia," Grandma Rose said, scowling. "You're late. I believe we told you to be back before dinner time, isn't that right?"

"…Yes, grandma," she mumbled, glancing down.

"Cynthia's finally back?" A male voice came from the other room, and Cynthia visibly flinched when she heard it. A thin man with shaggy blonde hair walked into the lobby. He was wearing one of the inn's bathrobes. He had a stern look on his face, but when he saw Cynthia, he smiled.

"Ah, there's my girl!"

"H-Hi dad!" Cynthia said, smiling wide. But Blake and Sango knew her well enough to see that it was a false one.

"Ah! Cyn-Cyn!" A redheaded woman followed the man into the lobby, sweeping Cynthia up in her arms. "We missed you at dinner!"

"Wait, you guys are Cynthia's parents?" Sango gasped.

"I told you they were stopping by for a family dinner tonight," Grandpa Roland said, shaking his head. "That's why we wanted you home by seven."

"Sorry," Cynthia winced, wilting under her mother's hug. "I was having so much fun with my friends, I didn't even notice the time."

Blake and Sango shared a look. Cynthia was lying. She NEVER lied, not about something serious. She'd kept them out late on purpose, and now was trying to pretend otherwise. What was going on here? Cynthia's parents seemed pleasant enough.

I'm not one to talk, I guess, Sango reminded herself, considering that she was going to call Elizabeth later tonight. I guess every family has their own specific problems.

Wait, Elizabeth and I aren't family or anything! Absolutely not! Even she knew how much she was bullshitting herself.

"So these are your friends, huh?" Cynthia's dad said, turning to the others. "Hello there, I'm Calvin Fafnir, nice to meet you all."

"I'm Vivian," her mother introduced herself, finally letting Cynthia go. "Thank you for taking such good care of our Cyn-Cyn, we know she can be a real handful!" With her suny smile and fiery hair, Vivian was the spitting image of her daughter. She ruffled the girl's hair, laughing, and Cynthia just winced, trying to keep her smile on her face.

"It's nice to meet you, I'm Blake."

"Hello there, I'm Sango."

Blake and Sango introduced themselves at the same time, and glanced at each other. They both scowled.

"Don't you think her best friend should introduce themselves first?" Sango asked.

Blake snorted. "Oh, and you think that's you?"

The two glared at each other.

Cynthia held herself up a little taller. "Where was this debate before?" She asked, smirking.

"Well, it's nice to meet you both," Calvin smiled. "And these are the rest of your friends, then?"

"Y-Yup! See? I have a lot of friends!" Cynthia's smile was only getting shakier and shakier. "You don't have anything to worry about!"

"Well, that's certainly a relief," Vivian smiled. "You know, Cyn-Cyn used to be quite a shut-in back in middle school, but I'm so happy to see she's finally blossoming socially!"

A shadow crossed Cynthia's face and she glanced down.

"…How would you know?" She mumbled.

Nobody else caught it, but Blake did. He winced, having a good idea what Cynthia was being tormented with.

"Well, it's a pity we didn't get to have dinner with you," Calvin sighed, patting his daughter on the shoulder. "I don't suppose you could stay up a little, so we could have a nice family chat? We came all the way here for you, you know."

"We have to leave in the morning," Vivian explained. "We need to get back to the office by the day after tomorrow."

Cynthia flinched, but her smile remained glued to her face. "…Sure thing, guys," she relented. "I can stay up a little later."

She turned to her friends. "You guys can head on to the baths! My folks and I just need to have a little chat!" She was practically pushing Sango out of the lobby as she said this, much to the other girl's confusion. Everyone could feel a strange tension in the air, but as guests of the Fafnirs, nobody felt comfortable bringing it up.

The last thing Blake saw was the tense smile on Cynthia's face as she closed the door on him. He turned and headed to the bath, thinking about what he could do for his friend.


When Blake got out of the bath, he was ready to head to bed. He'd nearly fallen asleep in the hot springs, and had probably stayed out longer than he should have; he had been the last one to leave, and had stayed for nearly an hour.

He arrived at their rooms, and ran into Cynthia. Well, "ran into" wasn't the right way to say it. Cynthia sat against the wall, clutching her knees to her chest. Her face was buried.

Blake didn't say anything. He wasn't sure if she wanted him to. Wouldn't she have gone into her room if she wanted to be around people? But she didn't say anything, or even notice his presence. He walked over to stand next to her, staring at the far wall. He didn't know what to say to help her mood improve, but as her friend he was going to support her.

Finally, he couldn't bear it anymore. This wasn't like Cynthia. She should be bright and full of smiles, not… whatever the hell this was.

"I know family troubles when I see them," he said quietly.

"It's not that bad," Cynthia mumbled, not even looking up. "There's no point comparing my issues to yours."

That was the truth. At the very least, Cynthia was lucky that her sister was just kind of a jerk, and not an actual terrorist. But that was neither here nor there.

"I heard what you said," Blake whispered. "'How would you know?' was it?"

"Forget it," she mumbled.

He crouched down next to her. "Want to go for a walk? Staying out here probably isn't for the best.

She raised her head to look at him. Her eyes were red, like she'd been crying.

"Sure," she mumbled. She rose to her feet, and they headed out to the garden. Even then, though, she didn't seem to have anything to say. She just walked around the trees and flowers, staring up at the night sky.

"Blake… you said you never really got to see your dad all that much, right?" Cynthia finally mumbled, glancing over to him. Her face was shining in the moonlight.

"That's right," Blake nodded.

"Well… that's something we have in common, then," she said. "My mom and dad… they're researchers at the Devon Corporation. They do really important work, which is great, but…"

"They were always working when you were growing up, huh?" Blake sighed. "Yeah. Trust me. I know how that feels. Explains why you're such good friends with Sango and I." They were like a twisted trio of absentee parents.

"I mean… I know they love me," Cynthia sighed, pulling at her hair. "You saw how they were tonight. It's just…"

"You wish you could see them more often, don't you?" Blake asked.

She glumly nodded.

"…Then why did you have us stay out so late? If you really wanted to spend time you're your family, then why would you try and skip that dinner?" He asked.

"Because I know what they came here for, and it wasn't to see me!" Cynthia's glum look had faded, replaced with frustration. "They just wanted to do what they always do. Ask me about my plans for the future." She put on a mocking voice of her mother. "'Cynthia, your sister is a great trainer already! What do you want to do?' I'm TRYING mom! I just don't know!"

Her shout shook the trees and she caught her breath, wiping the sweat from her brow.

"I… I used to love staying here," she said. "I know that my parents would drop my sister and I off here because they were going on a business trip or spending several nights at the lab, but… this place really was a second home to me."

She looked out across the inn garden.

"I want to take over this place someday," she admitted. "It's a great place. Honestly. But… I don't know if I'm ready for that. It's like, there are so many things I want to do with my life. And I'm not sure if I'm ready to be tied down to anything, you know?"

She turned to look at Blake. "I'm a high school girl you know!" She cried. "I shouldn't have to think about all this! Why can't I just live my life and make my decisions for myself?! Why do I have to be pressured to make a decision now? Sure the Battle Frontier is fun, but am I ready to commit to it now?! I'm just a first-year damn it!"

Blake wasn't sure what she meant by the Battle Frontier, but he could tell that Cynthia was seriously desperate. He reached out to comfort her, but before he could, she threw herself into his arms and started sobbing.


Oof. Cynthia seems to be in a pretty rough spot. Family pressure is really something, especially when it's your workaholic parents come to call to check in on you just to see if you've decided on what you want to do you're your life. Expect some major drama in these next few chapters, we're approaching the climax of the spring break arc!