Here's another chapter, and in this one we get a close look at what Blake's been doing with his free time recently.

Jay Hayden: Well he almost certainly won't be impressing Bea much, that's for sure.

KedharS: "Like" a harem protagonist? He's got Sango, Elaina, and now it seems even Ayame. And let's not forget Claire, who already gave up. Not really "like" at this point, eh?

Just a Bad Writer for Fun: I suggest confirming that she's one of your favorites real quick.

Hellraiserphoenix: Ayame is adorable when she's not being super bitchy. And even then, sometimes she is.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 104

Blake ducked under a stone outcropping, crimson flames shooting past where his head had been a second ago. He paused for a few moments to catch his breath, Sarah's roar echoing through the rocky valley.

"Blake!" Erik's voice called out from above. He was standing on large rock several feet away, gesturing toward Blake. Blake peeked out over the low wall he was crouched behind, searching the air above the valley for the familiar blue and red dragon. Sarah was turning her head left and right, looking for him, the perfect distraction for Blake.

Blake kept low and cut across the ground, moving to Erik's feet as the older student covered him with his Noivern serving as a distraction.

"I have to say…" Erik glared, jumping down and hiding behind the rock with Blake, "it's strange. When I was taking care of that Salamence, she wasn't nearly this irrationally violent."

Erik's tone was suspicious, bordering on accusatory. Blake could probably guess why.

"What on earth did you do to that poor thing?" Erik demanded. Blake sighed.

"It wasn't me," he said, shaking his head. "She's traumatized… from being in the wrong place at the wrong time. It's like you said, while she's not the most docile or obedient pokemon ever… she isn't as hostile as she is right now."

"I've been advising you for weeks to come visit her," Erik said. "And you kept blowing me off with 'later'. I almost thought that you were going to abandon her. And then you call me up out of the blue yesterday saying you want to work on your bond with her… I thought things were just off to a bad start, but you keep trying the exact same thing! How does being used for target practice help your relationship improve?"

"It's complicated," Blake said, tugging on the edge of the long, brown jacket he wore over his clothes. It was his brother's jacket, and slightly too big on him. "But… I realized recently… I'm too weak to win the battles that I need to. If I'm going to be able to stand a chance at protecting people that are important to me… or standing up to people who won't listen to anything but power… then I need Sarah's help to be able to do that. And I can't get her help if I can't keep her under control."

Erik said nothing, thinking ponderously on the weight of Blake's words. He nodded, coming to a silent conclusion.

"Well maybe if you explained to me what caused her to get so violent, I'd be able to figure out what to do," Erik growled. "Maintaining the safety of the students is my responsibility, and that includes you. You said you had a good idea of what you were doing, but if I find out you're just throwing yourself at that thing hoping to get through to it-"

"What do you know of harmonia?" Blake interrupted, glancing at Erik with a serious expression on her face.

"…That thing?" Erik sighed, irritated. "I mean... I ain't a trainer so I don't really care, but there's been a lot of buzz around campus about it for the last few weeks. The way I hear, that's part of the reason that girl Elaina is under special guard in the hospital until she wakes up."

Blake believed that probably had more to do with Gerard trying to keep him away from Elaina, but didn't feel a need to bring that up.

"It lets you, what, talk with pokemon? That ain't so special."

"Huh?" Blake asked, suddenly interested in what Erik had to say.

"All sorts of people can talk to all sorts of things," Erik explained. "My family's one of them."

"The Draconid People are an ancient race of people who live way off in isolation. Legend has it, they can even talk to dragons themselves." Erik jutted a thumb into his chest. "Thing is… they aren't ancient, and that legend sure as hell ain't a legend. My dad can do it. Unfortunately, all I got from him was my dashing good looks."

"Your dad was a member of the Draconid?" Blake asked. Erik nodded in confirmation.

"Yeah, but when he married my mom he had to leave. She's Kalosian, see, and the Draconids have something about not allowing women from outside of the tribe to mingle. I've only been to there sacred lands once, though."

Erik glanced back up over the rock.

"Pity, because it means I haven't gotten any ability to talk to pokemon like your girl over there. Anyway, what's this about harmonia? What's that got to do with anything?"

"When you were looking after Sarah… did you see her scars?"

"Those deep, old cuts? Yeah. Like sword slashes. What's up with those?"

"When I was young… my sister and I were attacked by Sarah."

Erik's eyes widened.

"It wasn't her fault, though. She was out of control as a result of trying to resist… a… a harmonia user from controlling her. See… normally, harmonia allows you to deepen your bond with another pokemon, unifying your hearts and sharing your deepest thoughts and feelings. But… it's possible to force that connection on a pokemon against their will. And when that happens, if the pokemon's will is particularly strong, then they may fight off the harmonia, but the resulting trauma… It would be like if someone tried to assault you. The same way that a harmonia user like Elaina can't control her abilities and may end up damaging herself… it could even end up with her driving the pokemon around her into a violent frenzy."

"So that's what happened," Erik nodded, frowning. "Then what about those scars?"

"That was my mother," Blake said. "And her Garchomp. When the Salamence attacked us… our mother used her harmonia to fight Sarah off, and in the process beat her nearly to death in order to subdue her. It was a horrifying battle… with a lot of damage on both sides…"

Blake fell silent, his breath hitching in his throat. He let it out in an even, measured exhale.

"My brother ended up capturing her just to keep her rampage from resuming when she woke up," Blake said. "But that wasn't much better. By the time she was back to normal… the mental trauma from harmonia and the near-death experience from fighting against it… turned her into what she is now. My brother gave her to me… because he had no chance of keeping the thing under control."

"What do you mean?" Erik asked. "A trainer as powerful as Kanone Harker, unable to control a Salamence?"

"Normally Sarah isn't like this," Blake said. "But whenever she would get close to my brother… she would go on a rampage. We figured out fairly soon that she could feel the harmonia that he was emanating, and wondered if it might be causing her to regress back to her prior trauma."

Erik began to put the pieces together.

"So the reason it went on a rampage like before…"

"She was reacting to- to another student," Blake explained, "one with harmonia. But I didn't know that at the time… and my miscalculation ended up putting Kitty in the hospital."

Erik glanced over the rock again.

"So what do you reckon is going on to make her act like this now? Is there another one of those people around here?"

"No, that isn't what's going on," Blake explained, shaking his head. "It… it's this jacket. It's my brother's jacket."

"What about it?"

"Well… it gives off the same energy as he does. At least… I think so. So I thought, that if I wore it…"

"Then it would think you have harmonia and attack you."

Blake nodded.

"You may be the king number one dumbass of king number one dumbasses I've had to help make bonds with their pokemon," Erik groaned, shaking his head. "That has got to be the stupidest idea I have ever heard."

"Sarah knows my voice," Blake said. "I know I can get through to her. She's listened to me before! But… when she's like this, I just can't control her. But… if I can get her more used to me, more used to being around harmonia users… then… then maybe I can hold her back before she goes on another rampage. Maybe I can make up for my mistake, for hurting Kitty…"

"That's not it," Erik corrected. "You had no way of knowing that there would be someone that would cause her to act like that. Not accounting for the impossible to predict ain't a mistake anyone can be blamed for making, you understand?"

Blaked nodded.

"No… your mistake was that you were too afraid of that Salamence to try and help her through her pain," Erik said, giving Blake a disapproving look.

"That's why I'm trying to get closer with her now," Blake explained. "So I-"

"It's too late, I reckon," Erik said. "That poor thing has grown up scared and alone, and all it's sensed from you these past years is fear and judgment. I wouldn't open up to a trainer like you, either. That's the problem with you lot. You think that capturing a pokemon in a ball is the same thing as connecting to it. But did you ever try to see things from her perspective? Because from where I sit, you haven't even thought of that once. It's all about getting Sarah to be more obedient, to get her under control. Is that really what's important though? Just controlling her powers so she doesn't go on a rampage and hurt someone else?"

Erik stood up, shaking his head.

"You're too much of a trainer for your own good, kid. Maybe try your hand from a ranger's perspective or a caretaker's, someone who can actually make a connection with a pokemon beyond just as a weapon for fighting your battles for you." He left Blake to his thoughts as he moved to another vantage point, watching Sarah carefully.

Blake frowned, looking down at the rough terrain at his feet. There was a harsh truth to Erik's words, a truth he didn't feel comfortable facing.

When it comes right down to it… I guess I really haven't been thinking about Sarah at all…

As if to punctuate his thoughts, Sarah let out another roar that rang out across the valley.

I accused Gerard of being a heartless monster because he treated Elaina and his pokemon as tools… but I guess at the end of the day, can I really claim that I'm any better?

A shadow crossed over Blake, blocking the sunlight. It seemed Sarah had found him.

"Hey, what's with the sour face you got there?" A deep voice rang into his ears, causing Blake's head to jerk up in surprise to see the silhouetted form of Ayame Toujou standing over him, her arms crossed. Her head blocked the sun, so her face was impossible to make out. But just as Blake thought she was going to kick him, he heard her chuckle.

"So I finally track you down, and look what it is you're doing," Ayame laughed, taking cover behind the rock with him. Unlike her normally stern expression, she wore a smile that wouldn't look out of place on a host.

"Ayame? What are you doing here?" Blake asked.

"One of your friends told me where to find you," she explained. She nodded her head at the rock, indicating the rampaging dragon on the other side, tearing the surrounding valley to shreds. "So what's the big deal going on over there? With that angry dragon wrecking the place?"

"You know how it is," Blake grinned. "My taste in women is a little on the violent side."

Ayame barked out a laughed at the irony, shaking her head.

"Why are you here?" Blake asked. She huffed.

"And here I thought you'd be happy to see me," she pouted. "I guess all that flirting you were doing really was just a joke, huh?"

"Only the parts that weren't about that nice ass of yours. Now, I'm thrilled to see you, don't get me wrong," Blake said, shaking his head, "but this is probably not the perfect time for it."

"…" Ayame's expression turned serious as she looked him dead in the eye. Her frown deepened.

"What's really going on here?" Ayame demanded, growling angrily in response to Blake's attitude. "Because not two seconds ago you looked like you were on the verge of tears, and now it's like everything's jokes as usual. The boss does that too, and it pisses me the hell off."

"It's fine, really, you should probably get back to your club. Nothing to worry about."

"I don't have a club anymore," Ayame said quietly.

"…Eh?"

"They kicked me out," she said, shaking her head, her ribbon drooping down. She smiled sadly. "But really… it's for the best. I'm always welcome back there, after all. But this time, I'm running for me. And chasing after what… or who… I want to chase."

She held up her phone and pressed a button on the screen. Her voice came out of it, repeating the recording of her woes that had been played for her the night before.

"Ayame, that's…"

"You were recording me," Ayame said. "And then you gave that recording to my clubmates so we could all be on the same page. So I wouldn't have to feel like the weight of the world was on my shoulders anymore."

Blake nodded, tacitly admitting to what he had done.

"That was a very kind thing for you to do," Ayame said. "Even after how badly I treated you… you still helped me move past the hardest struggle I've ever had to deal with. You gave me another chance at running. And I didn't even get a chance to thank you. Please… the least I can do is to give you a hand here, don't you think?"

Blake didn't say anything, but he sighed, and nodded.

"Good," Ayame clapped. "Now, why don't you tell me what's troubling you?"

It was a long story that Blake had already told once today, so he decided to make things a little easier by just providing her with the cliffnotes instead.

"…I see," Ayame said, nodding. "And so now you're feeling like crap because you're treating your Salamence poorly?"

Ayame reached over and lightly clapped him on the cheeks.

"That is a big load of BS, and you know it," she snarled. "Really? You're worrying that you're just some user of people? Please."

She held her phone up for the second time, and played the recording. This time letting it run for more than a few seconds so Blake could actually hear it.

"Someone who didn't care about other people wouldn't have gone out of his way to arrange a date like this just to help a girl he barely knows. He wouldn't record her and give the recording to her friends so that they could all work together again."

"But-"

"I don't know why you're doubting yourself, and no, I know we aren't nearly close enough for me to say anything about who you are as a person," Ayame admitted. She grabbed him by the shoulders and pushed him against the rock, looking him in the eyes. "But even I can see that you're someone who only wants what's best for others. So with that in mind, I need to ask you something, Blake."

"Wh-what?"

"What is it that you want out of this relationship?"

Blake swallowed, his mouth suddenly going dry. The look in Ayame's eyes was dead serious. Did she mean-

"Your relationship with your Salamence, Sarah," Ayame continued, clearing up the misunderstanding. "What is it that you actually want? Do you really want to get her under control so you can use her without worrying about other people? Is it that you want a powerful pokemon so you can win battles going forward?"

"…"

"Or do you really just want to get to know her better?"

Blake swallowed, and then nodded, Ayame smiling proudly.

"That's the spirit," she cheered, clapping him on the shoulder. She rose to her feet.

"If that's what you've decided, then I'm happy to lend a hand," she laughed. "Though… I'm not sure if you really need any help."

She looked down at him, smiling coyly.

"You won me over, didn't you? I'm sure a fire-breathing dragon will be a cakewalk for you in comparison." Ayame took out her phone again, and began thumbing through her contacts. "But just in case, I know the perfect girl to help you get a handle on dragon types."

"Really?" Blake asked.

"Of course," Ayame smiled. "I am a people person, after all. Just give me a second to make a call."

She turned to walk away, before pausing.

"Oh, right! I almost forgot." She whirled around and ran back to him, looking down into his eyes. She knelt down, leaning over and kissing him lightly on the cheek.

"Wh-wha…" Blake gasped, turning red, Ayame standing back up and flashing him a bold smile.

"And that's your real thanks for all your help," she winked, turning and running back toward the valley entrance, leaving behind a hot-faced and very confused Blake Harker.

Don't worry, Blake, even if you don't fully understand Sarah's feelings yet, I'm sure you'll be able to get close to her given time!