With Olivia seizing control of the party, what will her impact on the freshmen be? How will they react to her "hospitality" and what does she have up her sleeve?

Aakareo Kokokuhikari: Does one ever need a reason to party? And I wouldn't say the daeva arc is "beginning" since it's going to last for the entire year, pretty much. It's more of an overarching plot that will have its own arcs inside it.

Hellraiserphoenix: Well, Olivia has some interesting perspectives on Ayame and Blake's relationship, that's for sure.

Draisen: Marion will get her time to shine when we can see her as a Daeva.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 123

"Welcome, everyone! To my humble abode!" Olivia opened the door to her penthouse, stepping inside, bowing with a flourish.

"Whoaaa!" Kitty gasped, her eyes shining brightly. "It's so big!"

Olivia's "room" really was aptly deigned a penthouse suite, as it was the size of basically the entire floor. The parlor was larger than the girls' whole room, and there was a long hallway with more doorways beside. The room had its own kitchen that looked like it was spacious enough to run a restaurant out of, and the furnishings were spared no expense. Fancy glass tables, elegant chairs and couches of the finest fabrics, and plants that had been tended to with care were arranged precisely by someone with a clear eye for interior design. Two large televisions were located side to side for an interesting home theater system, and the walls were floor to ceiling glass. A grand piano sat in the center of the room, and above it a chandelier that looked like it cost the size of a small island hung from the ceiling.

"What… what is all this?" Julia gasped.

"My own personal touches, of course," Olivia boasted. "You can't expect one of such splendor as myself to go slumming it in the dorms like a commoner, now can you?"

"High talk for a maid's daughter," Blake murmured under his breath, just low enough to catch Olivia's ear. Her smile froze on her face and she turned to him, Blake's blood running cold.

"I must have missed that~" Olivia purred.

"I said this is very high class," Blake corrected himself. "I was commenting on how well it suits you."

"Doesn't it, though?" Olivia said, smiling. "I grant you full access to all corners of my boudoir. I keep my kitchen stocked with the finest ingredients, so you may take what you like. The bathroom is down the hall, first, second, and third doors on the right.

"You have three bathrooms?" Cynthia gaped.

"Oh, my no, what would the use be in that?" Olivia giggled. "My bathroom simply takes up three rooms of space. I had to fit the sauna and the Jacuzzi in there somewhere, after all."

"This bath is the size of a swimming pool!" Kitty stuck her head out of the door, shocked.

"The only areas I ask you to refrain from are my sleeping quarters, which is the last door down. As well as those two far doors on the left."

"Is that where you've hidden your bodies?" Blake joked. But Olivia's expression was serious.

"Even worse. Behind those doors is a secret that man was not meant to know." Her voice was ominous, and it sent a shiver down Blake's spine.

"That's the boss's studio and her closet," Ayame filled in. "It's where she does her makeup and stores her clothes."

Olivia nodded gravely.

"Beyond those doors lies truths that would burn this campus to ash if they ever saw the light of day."

"Yup, yup, totally right," Cynthia said, nodding in agreement. "Sneaking a look at a woman's makeup routine is worse than peeping on her in the shower. Some lines you just can't cross."

"Indeed, you understand quite well, Cynthia," Olivia chuckled, smiling. "Why, I would much rather stroll through campus naked than take a step outside without any makeup on."

The two shared a small laugh, Sango rolling her eyes.

"I feel like the snacks we brought are kinda… insignificant," Nick commented, looking down at the half-eaten bags of chips and 2-liter soda bottles he and Reiner were carrying.

"You won't see me complaining," Reiner shrugged. "I'm perfectly fine with mooching off of miss moneybags over there."

"Now, this is a party, is it not?" Olivia asked, clapping her hands together. "Shall I call anyone else here? There are quite a few students living in this dorm that would be happy to drop in on the festivities."

"No, no, this is fine," Sango said, shaking her head. "I really just wanted this to be a small little thing, anyway. Heck, I didn't even plan it." Sango didn't have the heart to tell the woman that if she'd had her way Olivia wouldn't even be celebrating with them in the first place. Sango, of course, didn't hold anything against the older student; heck, she'd just met her this evening! But being around someone that pretty and that forward… she reminded Sango of the girls that used to tease her in middle school, to an almost uncomfortable degree.

"This is your party, no?" Olivia asked Sango. "Is there anything in particular you would like to do?"

After a 16 hour flight Sango really wanted to sleep, but saying that would probably sound rude.

"Uh… you got any games?"

"Why, of course," Olivia smiled. She raised her fan and pointed to the corner where the TVs were set up. "Thanks to my sponsors, I have the finest, state-of-the-art systems, and all the best games."

"Whoa, seriously?" Nick and Reiner dropped their snacks on the kitchen counter and ran over to the corner to begin checking out the shelves that Olivia had stored the games on.

"I wouldn't have thought you were a gamer," Sango said.

"Oh, whyever not?" Olivia asked, flipping her fan open and holding it in front of her face, so only her eyes were showing. "I'll have you know that one of my favorite hobbies is playing galge. In moderation, of course."

"What's a galge?" Sango asked. Olivia chuckled and Cynthia rolled her eyes.

"I'll explain when you get older," she said, patting Sango on the shoulder.

"Boss, may I speak with you for a second?" Ayame whispered to Olivia.

"You may," Olivia said, shutting her fan. She turned to the others. "Feel free to enjoy yourselves to your hearts' content. Any friend of Blake's is a friend of mine, after all."

With that, she turned and strode into her bedroom, Ayame following after her.

"Boss, what's going on?!" Ayame demanded when they were finally alone. "Why are you inviting those first years here?!"

"Ayame," Olivia said, turning to her friend. "You have a crush on Blake, is that right?"

"This again?" Ayame said, rolling her eyes. "C'mon boss, don't you think you've taken this joke a little too far?"

"If it were just a joke," Olivia said, narrowing her eyes. "But your face is bright red."

"N-no! It's… I don't!"

"Don't think I haven't noticed that stuffed Wooloo in your room that you've been taking such tender care of, either," Olivia said.

"Wooloo are cute, is all!"

"I don't remember you having it before your date with Blake, though…"

Ayame flinched.

"Even… even if I did like him… so what? What's the big deal?"

"Ayame, do you remember that boy you liked in freshman year?"

Ayame looked confused.

"Not really, no?"

Olivia blinked, clearly not expecting that answer.

"W-well… anyway, I think it might be for the best if you give up on him. I'm telling you this as your friend, because I don't want to see you get hurt. You and Blake… is there really any future for you there? You're graduating next year, you know."

Ayame frowned, looking down.

"Even so… I fought it so stubbornly, and now that it's happened, I mean… I can't turn it off even if I want to."

"Oh?"

Ayame slumped down, sitting on Olivia's enormous canopy bed.

"It's like… I'm even seeing him in my dreams now. Or… I guess that happened before, but… now, it's like… I'm liking it?"

"Okay, tmi, girl, tmi," Olivia said, holding her forehead and shaking her head. "And I'm saying that."

"N-not those kinds of dreams!" Ayame exclaimed, her face bright red. "Just… imagining going on dates… hugging, holding hands… and maybe… kissing…?"

She blushed, staring up hopefully.

Fucking virgins… Olivia looked like she wanted to barf.

"So you're saying your feelings for him just sort of burst out after your date? Maybe it's just because you were in a romantic scenario, and you're new to that, so you fell for him unexpectedly? I mean, it's not like you were having fantasies or dreams about him before that, right?"

"…" Ayame paused, frowning. Her face turned bright red, and she quickly purged those memories from her brain.

"Never! Not once! That dream never happened!"

Ah. Bullseye. Olivia really just did not want to keep hearing this sweet-smelling virgin crap.

"Look, Ayame, at the end of the day, it's as simple as this," Olivia sighed. "You're 18. He's 15. I love you, but I'll call campo on you so fast it will make your head spin if you actually do something, you feel me?"

"It's not like that!" Ayame exclaimed. "Besides, he might be 15, but he's Kalosian, right? And in Kalos, the age of consent is 15, so it's not even a problem!"

"…Ayame, if you actually went online to look up the age of consent in foreign countries that means you've completely failed as a human being."

"B-Boss!" Ayame had some follow-ups, but they were mostly obscured with sputters of embarrassment and indignation.

"Don't get me wrong, I feel you," Olivia said. "You spent so much of your first years here devoted to track, you didn't really get a chance to experience what a high school life is like. That's why I brought you to this party. So go. Mingle! Hand out with these freshmen, and try to spend what time you have left actually getting a feel for what it's like to be a high schooler."

Ayame nodded and left the room, Olivia watching her leave with a sad expression on her face.

"Sorry, Aya… but it's for your own good…" Olivia whispered. "It's a harsh truth… but you probably won't be able to fit in with them. Maybe then you'll realize it. I just want you to be happy, believe me. Even if that means I have to make you a little sad first…"

Olivia sighed.

"If only Blake had been here when we were freshmen… then maybe I could see a future for the two of you. You always charge head-first when you set your mind on something, so I won't get in your way if you want to pursue these feelings of yours. But I won't be able to honestly cheer for you, either."

Her solemn expression turned playful as she exited the room.

Now, as for my other reason for coming here… hehe, I wonder if he's seen it, already…

"Hey, what's this?" Julia asked, pointing at a large wooden cube sitting on the ground. It looked like a large box, but it was raised up on intricately carved, round legs as though it were a small table. On the top, a large grid was drawn, measuring 19 lines by 19 lines. Seated atop the box were two round, wooden containers, their contents a mystery.

"Some table?" Kitty wondered, looking down beside her.

"That's…" Blake's eyes widened in realization.

"Ah, you've found my Goban, have you?" Olivia chuckled.

"Goban? What's that?" Cynthia said, taking her attention from the fighting game the others were playing to peek into what was going on across the room.

"A board for playing Go," Olivia replied, lifting one of the round lids of the wooden containers and revealing it to be full of polished, round white stones. She did the same with the other container, revealing stones the color of night.

"Oh, I know this!" Cynthia said. "Othello, right?"

Olivia's smile nearly cracked in irritation, Blake burying his face in his hands.

"No, Cynthia, it isn't Othello," Blake said, shaking his head.

"Reversi?"

"That the sam-!? NO, it's not that," Blake sighed.

"You know of it?" Olivia asked, smiling up at Blake. Of course you do…

Blake nodded.

"Then… care for a game?"

"Oh… I dunno, do we really have the time?" Blake laughed. "Besides, it's not like I play that regularly, anyway."

"Please?" Olivia asked, smiling up at him. "I would like… the chance to play against you. Like… when I played against her."

Blake's eyes widened.

"Are you surprised?" Olivia chuckled, moving the board between two comfortable chairs, sitting down in one of them. "She taught you to play too, didn't she?"

"When we first met… back when I was still in the hospital… I didn't talk a whole lot, there wasn't a lot I could do." Blake sat down across from her. "And mom… even though she was just getting to know me… this was something we could do together."

His mother…? Sango looked wistfully over at the two of them, rising from the couch to go eavesdrop on their conversation. Olivia and Blake were the center of attention now, everyone having gathered around the two. And yet, they were trapped in their own little world.

"It must bring back memories for you," Olivia said. "I know it does for me."

"…One game," Blake acquiesced. "But I'll warn you, I'm not very good. My mom wouldn't even give me a handicap, and she was professional level."

"That sounds like her," Olivia chuckled. "Do you still play?"

"I played against my brother a lot growing up," Blake said. "And my dad plays some… but I'm not sure if I can even put up much of a fight."

"Well, let's have a nice game, then," Olivia smiled.

Blake reached into one of the containers.

"Should we decide who is on the play?"

"No need for that," Olivia said, pushing the container of black stones over to him. "You can have the first move."

Blake eyed the container, turning several of the stones over in his hands. He raised his head up to look suspiciously at Olivia.

"Do you think I don't know about the 6.5 point handicap for going first?"

"TCH."

So much for a fair game, Blake noted, rolling his eyes as Olivia clicked her tongue. She was trying to sink me from the jump.

"6.5 points?" Cynthia was confused. There were points?

"In Go, black plays first," Ayame explained. "And going first is such an advantage, that the player on white is usually awarded a 6.5 point handicap to make up for it."

"6.5 points?! Is that a lot? Just for going first?!" Cynthia asked.

"It's a big advantage," Ayame said.

"You play too?" Sango asked, feeling more than a little disheartened that Ayame and Blake had yet another thing they shared in common, while she had never even heard of this game until today.

"I taught her to play so I could have a partner while I was here," Olivia said. "But she sucks."

"Hey, boss!"

"Face it Aya, Go's not a game you can win if you're stupid." Olivia turned to Blake, smiling.

"You know, we won't get anywhere if you're just going to spend the night admiring the pretty stones."

"Sorry, sorry," Blake laughed. "I'm not used to playing black, so I'm not sure where I should move. Mom would always take black whenever we played."

"True, she did," Olivia chuckled, fanning herself, smiling nostalgically.

Geez, Blake's mom took the first move against a couple of kids without even giving 'em a handicap? Ayame thought, her face going pale. Talk about cold-blooded…

Blake thought back to the past games he'd played with his mother, and held his stone between his fingers, striking it onto the board.

"Oh-ho, I see," Olivia said, smiling. She reached into her own bowl and withdrew a sparkling white stone, her back straight as her arm angled out, elegantly placing her own stone on the board with a flourish. The talking between the two had ceased, and the match began.

"So, uh… what's really going on here?" Cynthia asked, squinting at the assortment of stones that were being placed on the board in confusing and seemingly abstract shapes. "Cause I don't really get it."

"How'm I supposed to know?" Julia shrugged.

Sango had given up trying to follow the game about 30 moves in, her brain starting to frazzle.

"Puzzles like this… it's too hard."

"Is it like chess?" Reiner asked, glancing at Ayame. "It reminds me a lot of chess."

"I thought that chess was like shougi?" Cynthia asked. Reiner rolled his eyes.

"Well, that's a tricky one," Ayame said, frowning. "Olivia told me that Chess is to Go what a single battle is to an entire war. There are almost as many potential moves to make as there are Zubat in Mt. Moon. It requires a lot of brainpower to be good at."

"And… those two are doing good?" Reiner asked.

"I dunno," Ayame said, matter-of-factly. "I suck, remember?"

The others sighed, most of them going back to playing video games. Only Sango and Ayame remained watching. Ayame out of genuine interest, Sango out of persistent stubbornness.

One thing's for sure. Go is a way to communicate your heart and soul to the other person. Right now, those two are going at it over that board in a form of communication. That's probably why the boss suggested playing to begin with… Ayame thought, frowning. Even though Olivia would never be interested in Blake like that, for a laundry list of reasons, seeing the two of them together like this still made her feel frustrated.

Olivia, meanwhile, was having the time of her life chasing Cynthia's shadow in Blake's playing.

Yes, that's it, Blake. Play your heart out. The reason I brought you here… was so that we could come to this arrangement. I might not be able to compete against you in pokemon battles… and you certainly can't compete with me onstage. But this… this is a chance to really get a feel for how you think, how you act…

Olivia's lips curled into a savage smile as she made a decisive move that was certain to shift the outcome of the match in her favor.

You're going to join me, Blake. With the school's conflicts being what they are, your other talents are in demand more than ever before… and I'm going to put them to work for me.

So, Olivia's getting serious about her plans to recruit Blake! And at the same time, she isn't planning on sending Ayame out to seduce him! If she was really serious about this, you'd think she'd use any weapon in her arsenal, don't you think?