So, here! A nice, romantic date chapter for Valentines' Day! …Or something. Anyway, don't forget to keep voting on the polls! There's a lot more readers than there are voters!

Jay Hayden: Who says it won't be romantic?

Just a Bad Writer for Fun: She's probably not against it as she thinks she is.

Hellraiserphoenix: Less crashing, more following, but pretty similar nevertheless.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 96

"I've called you all here… because we are facing the unthinkable." The Empress was holding court in her dormitory, in the center of her favorite place on campus: Her changing room. What was really just a glorified closet was, truly, a large preparation room filled with clothes, shoes, makeup, hair treatments, and other various products designed to help potential coordinators look their best. Gathered before her were several important figures in her organization, including Ayame and Celia.

"I had never thought it would come to this, but it seems there's no avoiding the facts," Olivia continued. "Tomorrow is the moment we've all been waiting for. And though it is with a heavy heart… I am prepared to make a difficult choice if it means obtaining the best future imaginable…"

"Boss…" Celia said, looking sympathetically at her. "Are… are you sure? There isn't some kind of mistake?"

"No," Olivia said solemnly, shaking her head. "No mistake. We can't put this off any further."

She glanced at the others.

"But it would be foolish to go into battle unprepared. That's why I've called you here. With the collective resources we all have at our disposal, we can formulate a game plan that will ensure the desired outcome."

"I see," Celia said, nodding. "In that case, we'll all do whatever we can to help."

"Excellent," Olivia said, glancing to Ayame with a smile. "Then we shall begin the planning for 'Ayame's Doki Doki Date!'"

"Oh, come on!" Ayame exclaimed. "I thought we were going to be talking about something serious!"

"This is deathly serious," Olivia replied. "To ensure the success of your romantic endeavors, we need to prepare! Your date is tomorrow, and there's no way I'm letting you go out and half-ass it! Especially not when your ass is your best feature!"

"I don't even want to go on this stupid date!" Ayame shook her head in protest, "I'm only doing it because you said I had to!"

"Aya, Aya, you know how it is. You can't afford to look like you're going back on your word, otherwise we'll lose the trust of our peers. No one says you have to… you know, but I won't allow one of my best girls looking like she just got off the track."

"Rrrgh…"

"Remember, to women, dates are like war," Olivia reminded her. "If you show up and it turns out your date is the one drawing the attention away from you because of how hot they look, then you've already lost!"

"Maybe if you stopped dating girls as vain as you that wouldn't be such a worry," Ayame replied dryly. Olivia frowned and puffed up her cheeks in a pout.

"Nevertheless, the best way to be prepared for battle is to find the right armor. Celia! Allen!"

Celia stepped forward, alongside a tall boy with olive-colored skin.

"I spoke with my father," Celia started. "After I provided him with the details, his company arranged for the highest quality goods to be delivered in your specifications."

She gestured to the side wall, where a large rack of various outfits her hung, ranging from smooth, chic casual dresses to ornate and fabulous ball gowns.

"That's all well and good, Celia," the boy who was called Allen commented, stroking his stubble beard thoughtfully with a polite smile on his face. "However, you seem to be missing out on the most important thing, which is her compatibility."

"Oh?" Celia frowned, more than slightly irked.

"Don't forget who we're dealing with, here. Do you really think our Ayame would ever be caught dead wearing such girly clothes?" Allen asked. "No offense, but this is why Battle Course students should stick to the Battle Course, and leave the fashion tips to those of us in the know. And that's why I used my mother's connections to arrange for outfits that are absolutely top of the line!"

He gestured to a large rack of clothes on the other side, filled with tight jeans, brand-name shirts, and fancy jackets.

"When working with a model like her, it's best to draw out her naturally masculine features," Allen explained. "Tight jeans in particular are a must to draw attention to her tight ass."

"You're being too superficial," Celia replied, pulling a sleek black and gold one piece off of her section and showing it off to the room. "Aya's charms are best emphasized by exploiting her gap moe. The sporty girl letting her hair down and dressed as a beauty on her days off is far more alluring to a boy like Blake, I'm quite certain."

"Nonsense! If we're going for successful emphasis then we need to draw attention to the parts of her that triggered his interest in the first place!"

While the two fashion experts were debating the pros and cons of Ayame's dating outfit, the girl in question had already made a move to leave.

"Oh? And where do you think you're going?" Lila Seelie asked, wrapping around one of Ayame's arms.

"Er…"

"Don't worry, I'm an absolute pro at drawing out the charms of a handsome beauty with makeup," Darla Drake said, grabbing her other arm.

"Boss!" Ayame said, looking to the Empress for help. Olivia smiled, and reached into her bag.

"Here. Just in case things get… dicey. Just remember to keep things rated Teen," she smiled, handing Ayame a roll of small squares of foil-wrapped… something. Ayame's face went bright red.

"Are you kidding me?!"

"…He's late." Ayame was standing in front of the Blastoise Fountain, more than a little pissed off.

It was absolutely unbelievable. In spite of her protests, Olivia had used her connections to transform Ayame from a handsome, boyish sporty girl to an absolute knockout. Skin-tight jeans clung to her long and toned legs, emphasizing her athletic physique, and a sleeveless white shirt cut short to show her midriff. She wore a fur-collared black day-jacket left unzipped to cover her arms, and her trademark ribbon help her neatly brushed hair in a part. A designer bag she borrowed from Olivia sat at her waist, shiny and black to complete the look.

Her face, though, even with all the touches of makeup applied that morning, was filled with disgust.

She checked her phone again. 9:12. He was 12 minutes late, the jerk.

"Making me get all dressed up like this, only to stand me up… he's going to pay for this…" Ayame fumed under her breath, a cloud of malice leading passerbys to give her a wide birth.

"Ayame!" There he was. She calmed herself down, and prepared to level the most hostile glare she had at the boy.

"Sorry I'm late," Blake said, running up to her. A basic black turtleneck and brown pants. Not even brands. He had clearly not put in as much time on his appearance as Ayame did, much to her pleasure at having 'won'. She smiled in self-satisfaction.

"You look amazing, by the way," Blake said, smiling. …Aaaand, there it went. Now Ayame regretted getting so overdressed if all he was gonna do was stare at her all day.

"You don't need to tell me that," she snapped, crossing her arms over her chest. "I know full well how hot I look. What I want to know is who do you think you are, dragging me on a date against my will, only to have the audacity to keep me waiting?!"

"Yeah, I know, that was awful of me," Blake admitted, smiling sheepishly. "I meant to get here early, actually, but then I passed the arcade."

He lifted up a small shopping bag and handed it over to her. Ayame opened it to take note of the contents. Inside was an adorable stuffed Wooloo plushy about the size of her head. Ayame had to resist with all her might not to squeal in glee, it was the cutest thing she'd ever seen.

"Yeah, there was this crane machine right near the door, and it caught my eye," Blake explained. "I remembered you had a bunch of them on your phone's background, so I wanted to win you one as a present. …Unfortunately, it took way longer than I expected… sorry."

Ayame glanced up at Blake with a humph. She glared at him and yanked the Wooloo out of the bag, stomping over to a nearby trash can.

"You really think you can win me over with something like this?" She demanded. "I'm not so cheap that you can buy my good mood just with some adorable little stuffed doll!"

She raised her arm and prepared to throw the thing away, but her arm simply refused to move. It… it was just too cute! It wasn't the poor thing's fault… Her arm was trembling as she tried desperately to chuck it out. But… but…

"Something like this is completely worthless!" She huffed, shoving the stuffed Wooloo into her purse.

Ah, she kept it. Blake noted with a smile.

"Well? What now?" Ayame growled. "I'm honoring our deal, so I'll spend the whole day with you, since that's what you said you want. But just to be clear, this is a hands-off date. Get grabby, and we're done. And I'm gone by 9 tonight. Clear?"

"Yup, that's just perfect," Blake said, nodding. Ayame was a little stunned, having expected him to fight her on it, or him wanting to make a move on her.

"…Well, okay." Ayame replied. "Also, I'm not going to be all cute and flirty, got it? I ain't acting shit for you to make you happy. So don't go complaining about how I'm acting, since this is what you wanted, got it?"

"I'd much rather a date with the real Ayame than if you were trying to force yourself," Blake replied.

"…" Ayame was running out of conditions to impose so she just shrugged, shaking her head.

"So what exactly did you have in mind?"

"…Coffee?"

Ayame answered with a shrug and grunt, and let Blake lead the way.

Cynthia and Sango popped their heads out from around the corner, watching the departing couple.

"Well, you were right, Sango, this is as great as I expected!" Cynthia crowed. "You said that you and that girl were there in person when he asked her out yesterday?"

Sango nodded numbly. She didn't really want to see this, but part of her said she had to. She thought back to what Claire had told her the night before.

"Sorry, Sango, but I have to go. It's like you guys said, I really overstayed my welcome here. I need to go home for a little bit," Claire admitted. Sango was helping her pack up her things from their floor, which was pretty easy since Julia was the only one who even measured close to Claire's clothing sizes.

"Yeah, whatever," Sango said.

"You're worried, right? About the older girl, Ayame?"

"That obvious, huh…"

"Well, I don't think Blake caught on, but yeah, it's pretty clear to see."

"It's just… tomorrow is gonna suck," Sango sighed. "I mean-"

"Well, if you're so worried, why not follow him?"

"What? Follow him?!"

"Yeah, follow him. You know, tail after him on his date to make sure that he's keeping everything appropriate?"

"I can't do something like that!" Sango objected. "That's just… no!"

"Yes, you can!" Claire replied. "And you should! What are you going to do? Are you just going to sit and mope around all day? If you don't have the guts to tell him how you feel, then the very least you can do is keep a watchful eye on him."

"But… it sounds really sneaky and dishonest. Don't lump me in with you."

"Ridiculous," Clare shook her head. "So if he ends up going on a date with this girl, and then another, and another, and then they're going steady, are you really just going to sit back and tell yourself 'well, this sucks, but at least I did things fairly' huh?"

"No, I just meant-"

"With shit like this, you can't just sit back and hope for the best! You've got to make your move. And the way to do that is to make sure the timing is right. So if you're really serious about confessing to him, then follow him. See what he's up to. And if it looks like this girl might snatch you out from under him, then you have to cut that bitch off at the pass and make your move first, got it?"

Sango didn't care for Claire that much, and thought her advice was honestly pretty bad, but she didn't exactly have anything better to do tomorrow, either.

"Listen, Sango," Claire said, reaching up and grabbing her hands, staring her in the eyes with both intensity and affection. "I know that it might be tough, but the cutest thing about you is your courage and your drive to make Blake happy. So keep that in your heart, and make the move you think is right. I can't help you any more than you can help yourself. So since I'm not going to be here… you might want to make yourself a little more like me."

She glanced down at Sango's chest.

"Well, I mean, in all the ways you can."

So, not having the courage to follow them on their own, Sango had enlisted Cynthia with the promise of seeing something interesting. She was careful not to mention the truth to the girl, since Claire knowing about her feelings was bad enough. Already she was regretting bringing Cynthia into the loop. Following Blake was one thing, but seeing him together with that girl… it was taking all she had to keep her pain off her face and put on a façade so Cynthia would think everything was normal.

Blake finished his order, and turned to Ayame.

"What do you want?"

"I'm not a fan of coffee," Ayame sniffed, shaking her head. "Or caffeine at all. That stuff doesn't do it for me."

"Something to eat, then?"

"And spoil my lunch? No thank you. I've got a very clear schedule to maintain for my running constitution. Can't have some random stuff clogging the systems."

Blake sighed and then shrugged, walking over to one of the tables. Ayame followed after him with all the eagerness of a dog fighting a leash.

"So, how have things been going for you?" Blake asked. Ayame was staring at her phone, disinterested. She gave some sort of grunt in response.

"Look, I know you'd rather not be doing this-"

"Oh, who would have guessed?" She snapped. "I'd like to meet the girl who'd be happy to be forced onto a date with a guy she didn't even like!"

"Look, I know it was kind of forced, but I figured it was for the best," Blake said. "I just wanted to take you out and show you a good time, that's all. I didn't want to do something that would just be a hassle."

"Yeah, well, you did," Ayame said, frowning. "Don't you get it? There's a ton of other stuff I'd rather be doing with my time! I'm a club president, I'm the Track Team's Captain! I don't have a minute to spare on your silly little romantic advances!"

"Oooh, they're fighting!" Cynthia giggled, she and Sango hiding in one of the corner booths. To her, seeing this whole thing going up in flames was a riot!

Sango was watching quietly, not sure how she was supposed to feel about this.

"But don't you need a break every now and then?" Blake asked.

"…" Ayame scowled, but she didn't reply.

"You just don't get it," she muttered, shaking her head.

"No, I really don't," Blake admitted. "Still, I'm going to put my best foot forward on this date, even if you don't feel like doing the same."

"Whatever," she sighed, shaking her head.

"That's why I bought these." Blake slid a slip of paper over to Ayame.

"Eh? Movie tickets?" Ayame blinked. "Wait… 'Spirit of the Wind'?! Whoa! The theaters just got it today! I was planning to go with Olivia to see it over the weekend, but…"

"Why not go see it right now?" Blake suggested. He picked up the ticket and held it closer to her. "Just the two of us. Or are you really so opposed to a date with me that you'll skip the best drama about a high school track star to come out this century?"

"Rrrgh…" Again, Blake was offering her bait that she just couldn't pass up. It didn't make her happy to take it, but…"

"…Fine," she surrendered, picking up the ticket he'd offered her.

"The movie starts in half an hour, so we should probably leave now," Blake said, setting the tip on the table and finishing the last of his coffee.

"Why so early? Expecting to pass by another crane game?" Ayame smirked. Blake shrugged.

"Quick, they're going!" Cynthia said, grabbing Sango by the hand. "Let's follow them!"

"But I haven't finished eating!" Sango said, glancing back at the half-eaten stack of bacon and cheese sandwiches littering her plate.

"This was your idea in the first place, do you want to lose them?!" Cynthia demanded. No, no she didn't.

The two girls followed Blake and Ayame into the theater. Surprisingly, there weren't many others come to watch the movie, the theater was practically empty. They had their choice of seats. Blake and Ayame sat square in the center, while Cynthia and Sango sat a few rows back so they could keep a watchful eye on the duo.

"I'm pretty excited," Blake whispered. "How about you?"

"Eh. Should be fine," Ayame shrugged. In truth, she was on the edge of her seat. She couldn't wait! From what she'd heard, this movie was sure to be one of her favorites.

The lights dimmed, and a chill ran down her spine.

So that's his game… She realized. He's going to wait until we're alone in the dark, and then he's going to-!

She swallowed, and eased her heavy breathing back. Then, the movie began, and all her other thoughts were blown out of the water. Like most dramas, it began rather slow, but was really starting to pick up. Ayame stretched, trying to keep limber so she could be fully engaged with the relay that was just beginning. She set her arm down on the armrest, but it seemed rather… bumpy.

Ayame glanced down. The soft and warm thing she'd just grabbed… had been Blake's hand. Her eyes shot up to meet Blake's in the dark. His face had a mixture of confusion and excitement. She felt her cheeks start to flush, and she yanked her hand back, clenching it against her chest. She whirled around to look at the screen, not removing her eyes for a second.

Damn it… I just knew he'd try something! That pervert! She justified to herself. She quickly pushed the reaction out of her head, and returned focus to the movie that was playing.

So, that's the chapter! Maybe the two of them are getting a little closer? Could love possibly blossom? Who's to say? Don't forget to review, and answer the poll!