Sango dropped a massive bombshell! She revealed the truth about her feelings- but what will come from this? She had no way of knowing that Blake was there, and had heard her! How will Blake take the revelation that one of his best friends has secretly been in love with him this entire time? And for that matter, what's Cynthia going to do with this information? Things have turned into a giant mess, even worse than the Orre Region!

KedharS: They were lying dormant, waiting for this moment.

Rowlets and Oshawotts: Yup. We've been building up to this for quite some time.

Hyphenman: Yup. Ever since I started the friendship between the three of them, "Sango confessing her feelings for Blake to Cynthia while Blake overhears and Cynthia is aware he's there" was how I wanted their relationship to come to a head.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 1071

Cynthia wasn't smart. If you asked any of her teachers in middle school, they'd tell you that between "smart" and "not smart" she was much closer to the latter category. She wasn't good at mathematics, and her memorization wasn't very high.

But what she WAS good at was thinking on her feet. Tactical strategies and snap judgments weren't tested in the classroom, you didn't have "can determine when to push and when to back off in a battle" on a report card. But that? That was where Cynthia shined.

So when confronted with a situation like this, which required every ounce of brainpower she had, Cynthia's mind was going a mile a minute trying to figure out what to do.

Sango is in love with Blake. She's been in love with Blake since practically they met. She's liked him all this time, but never confessed her feelings. And he's standing right behind that fucking tree! She was flipping out. She wasn't equipped to handle this level of "holy shit".

"I-I know that must be surprising," Sango mumbled, her cheeks reddening. She was a little embarrassed now that she'd had time to consider the weight of what she just said.

Cynthia just nodded numbly.

She thinks that I'm reacting like this because of what she just told me… that I'm startled from her confession. But actually, Sango's confession was only one small part of the issue. Sure, it put a lot of things into a clearer context. Her sudden friendship with Ayame, stemming from their rivalry. The way she seemed to put more weight on Blake's thoughts than others. And of course, he was the one who she was talking about when Aidan confessed to her back on Valentine's Day. But none of that compared to the fact that Blake had heard every word.

It was so simple. So obvious and yet I couldn't see it. Although, maybe she had seen it. Maybe she'd seen it all the way back then, and just wasn't conscious of it. That was the source of all the jokes. The teasing. Playing at her friend's expense, insinuating she had feelings for their friend. Maybe on some level, Cynthia had picked up on something that all three of them were now fully aware of.

"Um… so… thank you for listening," Sango mumbled. The weight had been lifted, and now she just felt uncomfortable, standing here staring at Cynthia. A shaky smile spread to her face. "Um… this really means a lot to me, but… please. Don't tell Blake. Don't tell anyone."

"R-Right," Cynthia croaked out. The ship's kinda sailed on that one, fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck, this is such a fucking mess.

Sango's smiled relaxed, becoming more genuine. "Thank you, Cynthia. That really means a lot to me. I feel like I'm finally ready to start over, you me and Blake."

"Y-Yup!" Cynthia gave her a shaky thumbs' up, flashing the most uncomfortable smile in the world. "You can count on me, I won't say a word to him!"

"Great!" With a smile on her face and a spring in her step, Sango headed back to the inn, leaving Cynthia alone in the garden.

Or so she thought.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck," Cynthia mumbled under her breath, pacing back and forth in the grass. She ran over to the tree Blake was hiding behind, freaking out. She couldn't believe Sango had just come out and said she liked him, who the fuck does something like that?!

She walked around the tree to where Blake was hiding. He looked as stunned as she felt.

"So…" Cynthia mumbled.

"Yeah," Blake said. His eyes were glassy. He cleared his throat. "So, um… wh-what did Sango want to talk to you about this late?"

"…What." Cynthia stared at him, shocked. He wouldn't meet her gaze.

"It-It must be pretty important, this late" he muttered, still not looking her in the eye. "I couldn't hear so well all the way over here, though…"

Oh, HELL no. There was NO way he was going to pull off some bullshit like this.

"Are you fucking nuts?!" Cynthia exclaimed, hitting him in the stomach. He doubled over in pain.

"C-Cynthia! What the actual hell?!" Blake sputtered.

"Don't you dare put this on me!" She growled. "You don't get to pretend that you didn't hear exactly what Sango said!"

Blake looked down at the ground, shame and embarrassment blossoming red across his cheeks. "That… what do you want me to say?!"

What did you want him to say? Honestly, she had no fucking idea. They didn't make a manual for this crap!

"I don't know!" She exclaimed. "But you can't just pretend that you didn't hear her!"

"Why not?" He demanded, rising to his feet. There was an anger in his eyes that she'd never seen directed her way before, and for a second she back down. Just a second, though.

"Because she's in love with you! And you know it!" She growled.

Blake put his fingers in his ears. "I didn't hear that! I'm not listening!"

"Stop being such a child!" Cynthia exclaimed, kicking him in the shin. "You don't have to go up to her and tell her you know, but you can't just pretend it didn't happen, either!"

"I wasn't supposed to hear it anyway!" He shouted, lowering his hands. "That confession was just for your ears, not mine! So what's wrong with pretending that I don't know what she's talking about, huh? Why is that so wrong?"

She could see how desperate he was. And of course she understood. Blake loved Sango. Not romantically, but the same way he loved her. And he'd just learned that, once again, one of his best friends had developed feelings for him, and she was suffering because of it.

"I know that you must be having a hard time," Cynthia said, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. "But this is serious."

"Don't you think I don't know that?" Blake shouted, swatting her hand away. "I know better than you how much of a mess this is! How many of your friends have fallen in love with you, huh?!"

Cynthia's eyes widened and she took a step back. Blake's words hit her like a slap in the face.

"W-Wait, Cynthia, that came out wrong," he stuttered, reaching out to her. But she pushed his hand away and ran back to the inn with tears in her eyes.

"Aargh, damn it," Blake cursed, punching the tree in frustration. This was the worst. The absolute worst.

About an hour later, Blake trudged back to his room. His pace was slow because all of his focus was on what he'd just heard. He was searching his memories for everything between him and Sango. In hindsight, it was as clear to him as it had been to Cynthia.

Kate. Cynthia. Caelia and Elaina. Now Sango.

It was something from a comedy. "The Man Everybody Loved". People had sleezy fantasies like this all the time, he knew that from the garbage Cynthia foisted on him to read. But how many of those stories talked about the guy who only liked one girl? Who had to break the hearts of all the others, and try to reclaim some thread of normalcy between the two of them?

The two who stood out the most were Cynthia and Kate, the two whose feelings had been the most serious, and the only two so far he'd directly rejected. Cynthia had forced herself to be fine with it, in order to preserve their friendship. But Kate had been different. Their… whatever their relationship had been, it had completely collapsed when he'd rejected her, and even though they'd since eased the bad feelings between them, they weren't back to where they had been. The two barely even spoke.

Who would Sango resemble? He could see her handling it well like Cynthia. But on the other hand, she'd made it clear that she didn't want him to know, because she was afraid it would wreck their friendship. So there was still some risk.

He just wanted to be her friend. Why was that so wrong? Why did she have to fall in love with him and ruin everything?

Blake came to a stop.

What's the matter with me? He mouthed, and punched himself in the nose. It stung, but not as much as Cynthia's blows, or as much as the ache in his heart. But it snapped him out of those thoughts. He'd actually begun to resent Sango for "wrecking" their friendship with her feelings, what was the matter with him?

I'm pathetic. Sango may have been a world-class liar, or maybe Blake was the biggest idiot in the world. But he'd never suspected her feelings. Now that he knew about them, though, what was he supposed to do? Break her heart? She didn't even want him to know about this.

I've got to pretend like everything is normal, he urged himself as he walked into his room. He couldn't let on that anything had changed. Sango hadn't confessed. He'd just overheard something he wasn't supposed to.

But as he decided that, Cynthia's disapproving scowl popped into his mind. She'd been urging him to take this seriously, to not pretend that things were the same. He could understand why she'd think that. After all, she'd been dragged into the middle of this. A confession would, normally, be just between the two parties involved, him and Sango. But now Cynthia had gotten roped into this mess, and she wanted OUT of it.

Blake climbed into his futon and stared at the dark ceiling. He closed his eyes and pictured him, Sango, and Cynthia, sharing a meal together around the table in the Snorlax Commons.

Back before they had all these feelings. Back when they could just enjoy each other's company, when the idea of Sango liking Blake was just a funny joke of Cynthia's, and not something that threatened to tear their friendship apart.

I want to go back to those times. More than anything, that was what he wanted. But that wasn't up to him. The only one who could make that decision was Sango. If he rejected her, would she be willing to stay his friend like Cynthia had?

…If he rejected her, of course. It might not ever get that far, not if Sango didn't confess. Maybe things could go back to normal without him having to do anything.

And maybe he'd sprout wings when he woke up tomorrow morning and turn into a Xatu to greet the sunrise.

Can I really pretend like nothing happened? Like I didn't hear what she'd said? It was what he had to do if he wanted normalcy. But he wasn't sure if he had the strength.

He turned over in his futon and buried his face in his pillow. Had it always been this uncomfortable? Tonight it felt especially flat and lumpy.

Blake wanted to call Ayame right now. His sweet Aya. She would know what to do. She'd say something that would make it all better. But she wasn't picking up her phone. He hadn't been able to contact her in what felt like weeks.

What would she even say? He wondered. She and Sango seemed to be so close, always going out on runs together. If she knew that her running partner had been harboring a secret crush on her boyfriend all this time, would she be cool with that? Or would she end things then and there?

That was maybe the worst-case scenario. But Ayame would never do that, right? She hadn't been so cruel to Cynthia…

Sleep deprivation, exhaustion, and the weight of what happened were bearing down on Blake, making it impossible for him to come up with a solution. If he was aware of the fact that Ayame had known all this time, then maybe he would be able to sleep better. Maybe this wouldn't feel like such a massive problem.

But he didn't know anything. Especially not what the morning would bring. With his mind weighed down with worries, he drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

Sango woke up with a smile on her face, completely unaware of the massive shitstorm that was brewing on account of her actions. She skipped down the stairs and went to get breakfast; to her surprise, in spite of waking up so early, she wasn't the first one up.

Cynthia and Blake were both sitting at the table when she got to the dining room. Their faces were lined with tiredness. They had both decided to give up on going to sleep some tim ago, and had trudged down to start their day.

"Oh, good morning, guys!" Sango waved, sitting down next to Cynthia. Silver floated down next to her. "How are you doing? You look so tired. Did you get enough sleep last night? I know yesterday was exciting but you should still…"

Sango had other stuff to say, but Blake couldn't really hear her. He turned to give Cynthia a tired look, and the other girl just sighed. They'd both agreed that the only thing left to do was put up with what was going on with Sango.

After finishing a quick (and enormous) breakfast Sango went to go for a run. As she got up and left, Cynthia moved to head out herself, but Blake caught her wrist before she could get away, pulling her back.

"…What is it?" Cynthia muttered, not even turning his way. She was too tired to deal with this after the shit she'd been through last night. Blake was dealing with his issues with Sango? Fine, that sucked, and she was a part of it. But she'd been forced to compound that with her own family drama, and after what Blake had said…

Well, long story short, she wasn't in the best of moods.

So she was surprised when Blake apologized.

"I'm sorry for what I said last night," he muttered, forcing himself to look her in the eye. It was uncomfortable, confronting that sad face, but it was his responsibility.

"…You mean that stuff about ignoring Sango's feelings and pretending you didn't hear her confession? Because that was just-"

"No, not that," he said, quickly shaking his head. "…Well, yes, that too, but mainly the stuff I said to you, about… you know."

"…About how I haven't had any friends fall in love with me?" There was a sharpness in Cynthia's voice, as she wrapped herself in armor and turned her blade on her friend, ready to protect the ache in her heart.

"Yes," Blake said, hanging his head sheepishly. "I shouldn't have said something like that. It was incredibly out of line."

"No fucking shit," she growled. "You know, Blake, I love you, but you piss me off sometimes. Without even having to say anything! For some reason, you just get cute girls falling all over themselves for you, and us singles are just stuck with the dregs!"

"I hope you're not calling yourself a cute girl with that statement," Blake muttered under his breath. Cynthia gave him a sour look and he raised his eyebrows in a challenge.

She sighed and pulled her hand free. It was clear what he was trying to do, he was making jokes to lighten the mood and close the distance that had built up between the two of them. She could respect that as it's what she would have done in this situation, but she wasn't in the mood for it right now.

"Cynthia… can I ask you something?" Blake asked quietly.

She turned to him, interested. Since when did he seek out her advice? She was almost tempted to say no after the shit they'd been through, but reconsidered. It wasn't like he MEANT to be a jerk last night, and he'd done a lot for her, being a shoulder to cry on. So without being able to find a good reason to say no, she sighed and nodded, sitting back down.

"Fine. What?"

"Why… why does Sango like me?" He asked, his cheeks turning a little red.

Cynthai gave him a blank stare and slapped herself in the face. "Dude… how the fuck am I supposed to know that?" She groaned.

"But…"

"If you want to know, ask her. Just bite the bullet," Cynthia replied, knowing there was no fucking way that was going to happen. "I had no idea she liked you before last night, so how am I supposed to know why?"

Blake sighed. He glanced away, looking a little embarrassed. "Then, um… why do you like me?"

Cynthia rubbed her temples and groaned. "Are we seriously having this conversation now? Seriously? Right now?"

"W-Well…"

Cynthia had made a very good point last night, and it was something that Blake couldn't avoid anymore. It wasn't just Ayame who had fallen for him, apparently lots of girls he'd met had developed feelings for him after only a few months of knowing them. And it wasn't just girls like Elaina and Caelia who had issues with forming human connections. Sango and Cynthia were (to an extent) normal, but they'd fallen for him too.

Why? What was so good about him? He couldn't figure out what reason any girl would have to like him; sometimes he was even shocked Ayame felt the way that she did.

Cynthia looked incredibly tired. "Blake… I can't explain it. I just can't. Feelings… for me, they're just something that happened. I didn't go in expecting to fall for you, but I did. Because you're a great guy, you're fun, you care about your friends, and… well, last night for example! You were there for me, willing to support me. That meant a lot. As for Sango…"

She shrugged and stood back up.

"If you want to know about Sango, ask her."

Blake nodded. He didn't like her advice, but he couldn't ignore it. He stared up into her eyes. "Cynthia… I really am sorry about what I said. I didn't mean-"

"It's forgotten," Cynthia cut him off, raising her hand. "Just… that's a really sensitive topic for me. So just stop, okay?"

"I will. And I'm sorry." Blake couldn't help but apologize. Cynthia had been through so much crap, and he had just added to it. He slumped back in his seat and watched her walk away, her head clouded with worry.

This was just an enormous mess.

Well, things are getting complicated. Now that Blake is aware of Sango's feelings, he can't just ignore the issue, no matter how much he wants to. At the same time, Cynthia's gotten dragged into this mess herself, for better or worse. And as for Sango… well, she seems to be the only one who got a good night's sleep last night, due to not having to worry about her feelings anymore! But will that happiness last?