Back on campus, we begin with a new arc, and the summit of the Four Daevas! For the first time, we get to see the leaders of the four factions on campus interacting with each other one on one! What could be the fallout of this?!

Just a Bad Writer for Fun: Yeah, the Daeva conflict is sure to bring some major disruptions. Hopefully nothing too serious right away, though.

Hellraiserphoenix: It'll certainly be quite the experience.

Aakareo Kokokuhikari: Yup. I mean, would it really be fun seeing Sango go through the exact same stuff all over again? Of course it wouldn't. Luckily, she discovered that the real test was the friends she made along the way.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 121

Sango looked at the certificate in her hands and the ID card that came with it. Tears began building up in her eyes.

"Uwaah… I'b sho habby…" Marion cried, wiping her eyes. The two were walking out of the testing facility, holding their certificates tightly in their hands. Marion's ankle had been wrapped, so she was at least capable of walking without it hurting her.

"It's really late," Sango said, checking her phone. "The bus to the airport is leaving in an hour."

"So what do you want to do until then?" Marion asked, her eyes shining. "Let's go fishing! I'll get a spare rod from my room!"

"No, actually…" Sango looked down at her certificate. "There's… somewhere I want to go."

"…Okay then," Marion nodded. She wrapped her arm around Sango's shoulder, putting her head in the crook of her neck. "Sango, I really appreciate everything you've done for me. Starting tonight, you're my best girl! So when we get back, if you ever need anything, anything at all, please, don't hesitate to ask! I'm your senior you know, it's my job to look after my juniors!"

"Yeah, I'll keep that in mind…" Sango said dryly.

"OOooh, you meanie!" Marion huffed. "You don't have any faith in me at all, do you?"

"I have faith in your fishing abilities," Sango replied.

"Exactly!" Marion said, nodding confidently.

"Everything else, though…"

"Urgh… how sad, I've lost my dignity as a senpai…"

"I don't really remember you having something like that," Sango said. The two girls stopped in front of the hotel.

"You sure no fishing?" Marion asked.

"Have fun," Sango smiled. "But there's someone I've got to see. I want to tell them before anyone else."

Marion saw the depth in Sango's eyes and dropped the topic, nodding.

"Don't be late, girl."

"I should be saying that to you!" Sango laughed, waving goodbye to her as she began walking down the streets of Castelia as Marion ran off toward the docks.

Standing beneath the shade of a tree she'd visited so many times in the past, Sango held her ID card and certificate of authentication up before a grave stone in the Castelia City Cemetery. Silver floated behind her, his face solemn.

"I did it, mom. This is my license and certificate authorizing me to be Probationary Ranger. I've taken my first step to becoming a Pokemon Ranger, just like you. When I was little… I wanted to show you this in person… but now that can't happen. So all I can do… is talk to you here."

Tears fell down her cheeks.

"I'll keep going. No matter what stands in front of me, I'm going to make you proud. I'm going to show you that I'm worthy of being a ranger that can bring smiles to everyone's faces. So until that day comes… no, even after that… please, just keep watching over me, for a little bit longer."

Sango lowered her hands and wiped her face. She held her hands together in prayer, turned, and walked out of the cemetery. Silver floated after her, landing for a rest on her head.

"Thanks, buddy. But it's fine. I've shed enough tears already."

She turned back to her mother's grave, her face determined.

"I won't see you again for a long time. But I promise, the next time I come here, I'll be a fully-fledged Pokemon Ranger, just like you. So wait until then, mom. I'll be back soon."

With a broad smile on her face, Probationary Ranger Sango walked out of the cemetery and didn't look back.

"Good, Kitty found you," Cynthia said, looking up to Kitty and Blake walking into the girls' room. "That means we can begin the meeting."

"Meeting?" Blake asked.

"Yes. The Trial of Reiner Zollern," Cynthia said, gesturing to Reiner, who was bound to a chair and gagged.

"Urrghf!" Reiner was struggling against his bonds, a look of anger on his face. Julia was sitting on her bed, looking completely done with what was going on here. Her Seedot was sitting in her lap.

"What's going on here?" Blake asked. "Where's Nick?"

"I'm up here," Nick said, waving from Cynthia's bunk. He was on his back, so he'd gone unnoticed by Blake. "I'm too sore to move right now…"

Blake paused, wondering just how intense Nick's training must have been if he couldn't move. But he decided not to ask.

"Anyway, back to the point, why is Reiner tied up?!" Blake demanded.

"Sit down, Blake," Cynthia insisted. "You're not going to believe this, but it seems like Reiner has a girlfriend!"

"…So?"

"So?! That's treason!" Cynthia said, crossing her arms indignantly, leaping off of Sango's bed to stare down at Reiner. "He's been seeing her for weeks, probably, and he was just keeping it from us! Nick's a perma-virgin so it's not like he and Callie have actually done anything-"

"Hey!"

"-But I will not tolerate someone like Reiner also jumping the line!" Cynthia said, flicking him in the forehead. "Where do you get off being all cutesy and happy while I'm still single and miserable?! This is betrayal, pure and simple! And that's why we're going to have a trial!"

"Geez, can't you let him at least defend himself?" Blake sighed, pulling Reiner's gag out. "This is stupid, I'm going back to train."

"Oh, no you don't!" Cynthia said. "You're next, buster!"

"Eh?"

"Don't think I didn't hear about your little date with that senior, Ayame! Here I am waiting for you to put the moves on me, thinking you were just playing hard to get, when really you're just chatting it up with the seniors?! Unforgivable! Repay me for my pain and suffering!"

"Pain and suffering?!" Reiner interrupted her. "I'm tied up here, damn it!"

"We're past you now, your guilt has been confirmed," Cynthia said. "All that's left is the sentencing! As for you, Blake, how do you plead?!"

"Dude, I really, just, do not care." Blake said, frowning.

"Guilty, huh? I thought so! Julia, grab him to he can take his punishment!"

"I care even less than he does."

"…" Cynthia frowned, shrugging her shoulders.

"And here I was, trying to lighten the mood a little bit, and you all are just so darn serious. Come on, Blake. You've been moping for days, can't you just relax and have a good laugh or two?"

"You tied me up for a bit?!"

Cynthia glanced over at Reiner and shrugged, scoffing.

"Don't give me that crap! Get me out of here!"

Cynthia ignored him, turning back to Blake.

"Really, Blake? What's wrong?"

"Just… been a rough time, recently."

Kitty placed a comforting hand on Blake's arm, smiling up at him.

"It's okay, Blake." She turned to Cynthia. "Look, like he said… things have been rough recently."

"…" Cynthia sighed, flopping back down on Sango's bed. Kitty moved to go untie Reiner, now that Cynthia's "joke" to make Blake feel a little sense of normalcy had flopped.

"Well, let's get back to the real stuff then…" she sighed. "Sango's coming back."

"Any ideas what we should do to celebrate?" Julia asked. "Maybe a party or something?"

"Walking around campus is pretty awkward right now, though," Cynthia sighed. "The tension around the seniors is palpable. I've felt like I'm being stared at whenever I go out, ever since that story about me joining The Commander came out."

Cynthia tilted her head to stare at Blake. "What about you? How are things going between you and The Empress? Are you still dancing around the idea of joining her organization?"

"Hah," Blake laughed. "Who can say? I've still gone to see her every now and then, but I'm keeping things casual. We're still just friends."

"…You and the Empress."

"Me and Ayame."

"That's not the same thing," Cynthia said, rolling her eyes. "So I'm guessing that's a 'no' about the rumors that you're her newest recruit."

"I'm not anything but a friend. I don't have any interest getting involved in all this. I don't take sides."

"Still…" Cynthia stared up at her bunk, conflicted feelings crossing her mind. I just hope that everything will be okay… I want to support Alden and his goals… but if rumors are to be believed… we might have trainers fighting each other in the streets soon…

Meanwhile, Olivia was preparing for their meeting that night. It was an important event, so she needed to look absolutely perfect, even more perfect than usual. She put the last touches on her makeup, staring into the mirror for a few moments.

"Well, Ayame? What do you think?" Olivia asked, standing up from her makeup stand, turning to her friend.

"…Ayame?"

"Wh-what?" Ayame glanced up from her phone, flustered. "Oh, um…"

"How do I look?" Olivia asked, frowning.

"Mad."

"What? No, my makeup!"

"Oh, yeah, it looks great," Ayame said, nodding. "As usual..."

"You seem… occupied," Olivia said. "What's so interesting on your phone that it's distracting you from something as important as this? If this meeting doesn't go well… this campus could descend into anarchy, you know."

"I know, I know, I was just looking at a text. Blake was inviting me to a welcome-back party for his friend Sango. I told him that I couldn't make it, since I was accompanying you to your meeting."

"I see," Olivia said, nodding. "I'm surprised. I knew you guys were friends, but it seems like you've been spending a lot of time with him."

"Huh? Well, I mean, we're friends, right? It's nothing strange."

"You even asked Darla to help him with his training, right? How sweet of you."

"W-well, yeah," Ayame said, blushing. "S-so…"

Olivia frowned, staring at Ayame suspiciously.

I haven't seen Ayame look so fidgety and nervous like this since her freshman year. Could she… really? It was a blast teasing her about Blake to see her reactions, but now…

It seems like that "joke" may no longer be a joke...

"I suggest you get your head straightened on properly," Olivia said. "We need old, serious Ayame right now. Lilting schoolgirl Ayame is adorable, but we don't need her at a summit."

"I know that, of course," Ayame said, her expression turning serious.

While Olivia was making her preparations, the freshmen were making preparations of their own.

"Food, decorations, what else?" Julia looked over the checklist.

"What about games?" Cynthia asked. "We could play strip po-"

"Regular poker is fine," Blake said, tossing a deck of cards in her face to shut her up. The rattle of the doorknob caught their attention, everyone falling silent.

"Shhh, she's here," Cynthia whispered. The door opened and Sango stepped inside, greeted by her best friends.

"Surprise! Congratulations!" Everyone shouted, catching her off-guard.

"G-guys?!" Sango said. "What's going on? Why…"

"Kitty told us you passed, silly!" Cynthia said, wrapping Sango up in a big hug. "Of course we were going to celebrate!"

"Cynthia…" Sango teared up, smiling. "Guys…"

"You seem different somehow," Blake said, glancing at Sango, trying to study what was different.

"Oh, you think so?" Sango gave Blake a flirty half-lidded smile. "You have no idea."

"Cool," Blake said, nodding. Sango huffed. So much for flirting then.

"Where's Silver?" Kitty asked, looking over Sango's shoulder.

"He'll be back in a few days," Sango said. "The pokemon were traveling separately. In the meantime… as far as seeming different…"

Sango reached up to her own hair for emphasis.

"Oh! Yeah, you like it?" Kitty beamed. "Blake cut it for me. I… I wanted a new look. And Blake says that this would be the perfect fit for who I wanted to be."

"Huh," Sango said, nodding. Kitty looked much different now that she had short hair. Less shy, and more confident, like the sun had risen on her face, and she'd been reborn. Sango understood how she felt, she had felt the exact same way.

"It was a really hard test… really, really hard," Sango said, smiling around the room at all of her dear friends. "But I'm glad that I'm finally back home."

A far less touching gathering was taking place across the campus, however. The general assembly room had been rented for the evening, a place where people could come and hold meetings approved by the faculty. Standing outside of the room was Victoria, the Commander's second-in-command.

"So Alden is in there, then," Olivia said, smiling.

"That's right," Vic said coldly. "Go on in."

Olivia stepped through the doors, leaving Ayame standing there, staring at Vic. The two seniors exchanged sharp glares.

"Ayame."

"Victoria."

The two girls leaned back on either side of the door, ready to rush in at a moment's notice if things got… testy.

A beautiful blonde woman stepped into the meeting room, a confident smile on her face. She looked across the room.

Olivia Himeko, "The Empress"

Domains: Appeal Course

"Well, it looks like you're just the second one to show up, eh?" A boy with short blonde hair chuckled, leaning back in his chair. He was sitting at a small table, with a chair on each of its four sides. Olivia gave him a polite smile, and walked over to the table, sitting across from him.

Alden Volt, "The Commander"

Domains: Battle Course

"Hello, Alden," Olivia said, her smile cold and icy. "It is a pleasure to see you again. And Victoria is looking lovely as always."

"I'll let her know," Alden said, giving her an equally icy smile. "You can't have her, by the way."

"A pity." Olivia brushed her hair behind her ear with her pinky. "So, where are the others? This is the proper time, is it not?"

"Yup," Alden said, nodding. "Knowing the Phantom's personality, though, I'd expect him to be late on purpose to make a statement."

"And the Mermaid, well, she is who she is," Olivia agreed, sighing. "It seems we're just going to have to make do with our own pleasant company for a while."

To emphasize, Olivia pointedly took out her compact and began touching up her makeup, shutting Alden out entirely.

The continued in silence for about half an hour, before the door opened once again.

"Well now, hello all," a tall student walked into the room, the air turning cold. He had snow-white hair and bright green eyes, and he stared at the two seniors with a look that could stun a Seviper into paralysis. "I'm surprised I wasn't the last one to arrive."

Richard Valon, "The Phantom"

Domains: Research Course, Battle Course

He stepped around the table and took the seat facing the door, directly between Olivia and Alden.

"It seems we'll be waiting for a while yet," Alden agreed. "What an annoyance. We even postponed this meeting until tonight, just to match her schedule!"

"Well, it couldn't be helped," Valon shrugged. "Perhaps she still isn't back?"

"No, she should be," Olivia said. "But knowing her, she probably got distracted on her way here."

"Ah, the 'usual', then," Valon laughed scornfully. "Well, no helping it, then. We'll just have to wait. All night if that's what it takes."

"Ugh, that's going to be killer for my routine," Olivia scowled. "One night without sleep needs a full week of beauty treatments to make up for it…"

"Man, what's even the point of this, anyhow?" Alden yawned. "Let's just fight it out and be done with it, who needs a summit?"

Valon frowned. Clearly, these two were impatient. That would work nicely. In the meantime, he could-

The door swung open one last time, and the fourth daeva entered.

"Yo, wassup guys! Sorry I'm late!" A tanned girl with a straw hat walked into the room like she owned the place. She was carrying a fishing pole on her back, and she held a large tray of sushi in front of her. "It was totally unavoidable. I mean, got in a while ago, but, like, I just needed to go fish first! I couldn't just not do that, you know?!"

Marion Rivers, "The Mermaid"

Domains: Ranger Course, Caretaker Course

Marion set the tray down on the table and took off her bag and pole, flopping down into the last remaining seat.

"But it's totally good! I caught us a late dinner! Sushi! I prepared it myself!"

"Thank you, Marion, but before we get started on that-"

"Oh, and I haven't even told you guys the good news!" Marion interrupted Valon, a big smile on her face as she waved her license around. "I passed! I finally passed! I'm officially a Probationary Ranger!"

"That's great, Marion," Olivia said, forcing a smile to her face.

"And not only that, I just made, like, the bestest friend in the whole world! She's super cool, and super tough, and just the sweetest, most adorable little first year imaginable!"

Marion gushed over Sango for a little bit, disregarding the serious tone of the room.

"As I was saying," Valon said loudly, his sharp voice cutting Marion's squeals to ribbons, "this is an important time for all of us. That's why I suggested this meeting. So we could plan out exactly what our next steps will be."

"Oh, foo," Marion huffed, popping some sushi into her mouth. "You guys are always about the business stuff like this. It's our last year, can't we just take it easy and enjoy ourselves?"

Valon rolled his eyes. Of all his "peers" among the Four Holy Swords, Marion was by far the one he liked the least. It was baffling how someone with the attention span of a goldfish could ever be looked up and respected by the two entire courses of students, even if they were the two smallest majors at the academy. Someone as guileless as her simply didn't deserve it. He ignored her objections and continued anyway.

"The first semester has just started… but already things are getting tense. Gerard's humiliating defeat at the hands of Kanone Harker has caused a lot of doubt to spread around campus as to just how suitable the Eight Leaders are for maintaining order around here. If we don't act fast… things may devolve quickly into chaos an lawlessness."

Valon scanned the room, his expression unreadable.

"That is why, to discuss our plans for the future of our senior year… and the accomplishment of our goals… I've called the four of us, the leaders of our disciplines, together for this summit."

The four students sat in silence. They all knew the truth, but none of them said a word. This was no meeting of truce or ceasefire.

What would be discussed in this room would be the terms of war.

So the Four Daevas have gathered together for the summit meeting! What decision will these campus powerhouses arrive at, and how will it affect the future of our main characters?