Time to continue the party! A little cooldown before we get to the real meat coming soon!
Aakareo Kokokuhikari: A year in-story. I have no idea how long it will take me to get through in real life.
Just a Bad Writer for Fun: Olivia wants Blake, but she also cares for Ayame. She'd never use her friend like that, she cares for her wellbeing too much. And Marion doesn't really have a second in command. Her "faction" isn't as much of an organization as the other three, she basically just does what she wants. Which is fishing.
Hellraiserphoenix: I don't think Olivia is really that serious about getting to Cynthia. Blake, on the other hand…
Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings
Chapter 124
Olivia and Blake's game was still continuing, and Olivia was surprised that he had lasted as long as he had.
We're nearing the endgame, and he's still almost even with me… It doesn't seem like he'll be able to win, but he put up a remarkable fight for such a beginner. He made several mistakes early on, as well, but as the game kept going he improved in leaps and bounds… it's almost frightening. And that face, the seriousness… it's like he's trying to for a win with sheer willpower… I wonder if this is how he battles, too… how adorable.
Olivia glanced to the side. Ayame was staring at the board with a complex expression, and Olivia could see the movement of her eyes, telling her that she was trying to figure out who was in the lead. And the anxiety on her face when she saw it isn't Blake is just another point to add to her "adorable" column, Olivia noted with a giggle. As for the other girl…
It seemed like the game was the last thing on her mind. She wasn't glancing at the board, in fact, she was glancing at everything but the board. She glanced at Ayame. Her expression was anxious. Then to Blake more anxiety. Back to Ayame again. Then to Blake. Then to Olivia. Then back to Blake. Then back to Olivia. Olivia decided to meet her gaze this time. Sango's cheeks pinkened at being caught and she jumped slightly, tilting her head down to look away from Olivia.
Oh-ho… quite the ladies' man, Blake. I'm jealous. Olivia smirked. And yet he's focusing on the game with such determination, he doesn't even notice that girl's hopeful expression, or the shine of adoration in her eyes whenever she stares at him… Does she think she's being subtle about it? Is Blake simply too dense to notice? I wonder… those eyes aren't looking at the ones around him… they aren't even looking at me, his opponent… they're looking somewhere else... I wonder…
Whose eyes are you staring into, Blake?
The game continued a little longer, before Blake finally hung his head in defeat.
"I resign…" he murmured, Olivia letting out a sigh of relief. It had been several hours since they'd started, and even if it was a relatively quick game, it was still a load on her. She wiped her brow with her handkerchief.
"It was a good game," Olivia said, nodding. "Our audience thought so too, didn't you, girls?"
"Don't feel so bad," Ayame grinned, patting him on the back. "She beats me all the time!"
"I-I thought you did a good job," Sango said, also trying her hand at being supportive. "Plus the way you looked when you were playing was really cool."
"Thanks, guys, but it's okay, I didn't expect to win," Blake laughed. "I barely have a chance to play, not since I've come here, for sure, I'm just happy I put up a fight!"
"Quite a fight indeed," Olivia nodded. "With a bit more experience, who knows? Let's have another game sometime."
"Oh, me! I wanna play!" Ayame volunteered. "What do you think, Blake?"
"Well, what do I get if I win?" Blake asked, smiling suggestively at her. Ayame froze.
"Uh… o-on second thought, it's way too late for another game!" Ayame chuckled, scratching the back of her head. "We'd never finish in time, haha!"
Olivia wanted to smack Ayame silly. How could someone so bold run away from an opportunity like that? Fucking virgins.
"Sango," Olivia said suddenly, rising from her seat.
"Y-yes?" Sango asked, frowning.
"I was wondering how you were enjoying your party. Has access to my luxuries improved your spirits any?"
"Well, yes, it's very nice," Sango said, glancing at her friends, who were still playing video games. They were playing a four-player game with Kitty watching the others intently. Sango sighed.
"Honestly, I wanted to just go to sleep when I got home," she admitted "But they all wanted a party, and I figured what would be the harm…"
"Well, as much as I enjoy your company, I can't have this going on forever, you know," Olivia chuckled. "But as your host, I would be remiss if I did not bestow some token of favor on the guest of honor."
"You're going to give me something?" Sango asked, confused.
"In a manner of speaking," Olivia said cryptically, holding her fan in front of her lips to conceal the evil smile painted across them. "Would you care to accompany me? It may take some time, but I do believe you would be most appreciative of my assistance."
Olivia stared at Sango intently, sliding her eyes over to Blake pointedly.
"I'm assuming you might like to hear what I have to say where certain people can't hear?" Her eyes returned to Sango and she closed her fan, smiling a knowing smile. Sango's face turned deathly pale.
Bullseye.
"Uh ye-yes!" Sango said, nodding.
"Where are you guys going?" Blake asked, surprised, glancing up at Olivia and Sango as they walked towards the bathroom.
"Just wait, Blake," Olivia purred, glancing over her shoulder with lidded eyes. "It's a surprise…"
Sango gulped and followed Olivia into the room, leaving Blake and Ayame by themselves. Blake was still seated, and Ayame realized that she was now standing over him. Was… was Olivia being considerate of her? Giving her some private time with Blake to… to what?
The first image that popped into Ayame's head… out of the question!
She jumped into the seat Olivia had just been sitting in, staring at him face to face. Blake was focused on cleaning the last of the stones off the board, so Ayame reached over to lend a hand.
"You sure about the game?" Blake asked. Ayame inhaled, and put on a coy smile.
"I don't know… after all, you were wondering what you got if you won… but you never said what I would get, either.
"Oh ho…" Blake said, his eyes widening. "And what is it that you might want?"
Half a dozen images of various ratings of appropriateness flashed through Ayame's mind at that statement, but she kept her handsome face still and her smile as cool as always, brushing a lock of hair out of her face, fluttering her eyes at him.
"Let me think…"
"So, uh… what did you want?" Sango asked, glancing around the enormous bathroom.
"Are you and Blake going out?" Olivia asked calmly.
"We're not," Sango said, shaking her head.
"But you want to."
Sango flinched, averting her eyes. She nodded her head.
"Are you… going to tell him?"
"Why would I do something boring like that?" Olivia smirked. "This has all the makings of phenomenal entertainment, if I do say so myself."
"Then why…"
"You gave me the perfect excuse to evaluate Blake, so I felt like returning the favor," Olivia said, reaching to unzip her dress.
"W-wait! I-I don't, I know I'm kinda butch-looking, but I like guys, and-" Sango stumbled away from the stripping senior, tripping over her own feet and falling on her butt. Olivia loomed over her, eyes glinting with a predatory hunger.
"Oh, no need to worry, Sango," Olivia purred, leaning in close to her. "As you are now, you're far too unappealing to be on my radar."
Well that didn't make Sango feel better.
"Enough, take your clothes off," Olivia said, stepping over to the large bath in the center of the room, big enough for two dozen people to bathe comfortably without even coming into contact with one another. The water bill must have been massive. "You're dirty, and smelly, and quite frankly, you're an offense to my sense of beauty on nearly every all five senses."
Sango bit her lip, glaring angrily at the beautiful woman. It just… it wasn't fair. She was too freaking gorgeous! Somehow, she was even more beautiful naked than she was in her stylish dress! Compared to her…
I'm not appealing at all…
"Sango," Olivia snapped her fingers. She waved her finger in a circle to emphasize her previous order for Sango's disrobement.
"Why are you…"
"Tell me, dear girl, with those cracked nails… that ugly hair… the stench of sweat and dirt emanating from you… do you enjoy your current look?"
Sango wasn't sure how to answer that question, so she remained silent.
"I'm sure at one point or another, every girl has hated things about their appearance. Their flaws that they wish they could change. Even I am no different…"
Lounging in the steam of the bath, Olivia looked up at the dark sky, a picture of midnight seen through the skylight. Sango couldn't believe it. Someone this beautiful felt insecure about her appearance? Impossible.
"Not because I was ugly, of course, heavens no, I've been gorgeous since infancy. No, just because I looked different, that's what made me doubt myself," Olivia clarified, dismissing out of hand the thought that she ever could have been seen as unattractive. That smugness was just another thing that Sango found herself loathing.
"So what about you?" Olivia asked, narrowing her eyes at Sango. "Are you happy with your current you? If you are, that's fine. But haven't you wondered what it would be like? Even a little bit?"
"What what would be like?" Sango asked, Olivia smirked, rising from the water, beckoning for Sango to approach like a siren luring in a sailor lost at sea.
"Why, being beautiful, of course. The kind of beauty that turns the eyes of everyone in the room… even those of a boy who only thought of you as a friend before."
Sango swallowed, staring at Olivia's outstretched hand.
All her life, Sango had heard the jokes and jeers aimed at her back. For being too tall for a girl. For not wearing the right clothes. Bad skin. Bad hair. Small breasts. Body odor. Never bothering with makeup, or accessories. She'd always thought that beauty was just something shallow people put emphasis on to feel better about themselves and put others down.
She remembered the last time she'd felt this way, and how Cynthia had talked her out of it.
"I smile to myself and tell myself how cute and special I am! All those things you think are flaws are totally a part of your charm!"
Sango stared defiantly at Olivia.
"I love the person who I am. I don't want to change that. I believe in myself."
Olivia's expression didn't change, but she lowered her hand.
"I'm not asking you if you hate yourself," Olivia said, shaking her head. "I'm just asking you… would you like to try?"
"Try?"
"Yes," Olivia said, bringing her hand up to her chin contemplatively, running her eyes over Sango. Even with her clothes still on (though growing damper by the minute in the humid air) Sango still felt like she was buck-naked, getting eyed up like a piece of meat. "I think there's a real diamond in the rough under all that grime. I'm just asking if you'd like me to help make her shine, that's all."
Sango frowned. Cynthia had called her cute before, one of the only people ever to do so. She even insinuated that Sango had a lot of potential if she just put some effort into it.
"Or… are you so afraid that you'll be rejected even if you try, that you'd prefer to use your lack of effort in your appearance as an excuse?" Olivia wondered. Her words were like an arrow in Sango's lung.
"Wh-wha-"
"If you never put in any effort into your hair, or your makeup, or your clothes, and people treat you like no one, you can always tell yourself 'well of course, I haven't even tried, so they'd never look twice at a normal-looking person like me.'" Olivia smirked. "But see… if you actually make the effort… and people still look at you like you're mud, well… that would really be heartbreaking, now wouldn't it? I don't know if I would be able to bear it. So tell me, Sango, do you really have no interest in your appearance? Or are you just afraid that the Sango who's trying her best will be no less a wallflower than you are right now?"
Time to drive the dagger in.
"I'm surprised," Olivia sighed. "I'd have thought that a Probationary Ranger would be a little more courageous when standing before wild territory she's never encountered before. Or are you all talk?
That did it.
"Fine, then," Sango growled. "If you think you can, then make me into an absolute bombshell! You talk a good game, but let's see if you can get results. Let's see if you can make me beautiful, like you!"
"Sango… don't get ahead of yourself."
"Eh?"
"Let's keep our expectations at a manageable level, shall we? Trying to turn you into me would be like trying to enter a Cute Contest with a pokemon covered in Grimer sludge. How about we just start with 'pretty' as our goal and see where that takes us?"
Sango felt her cheeks turning red at Olivia's kind-looking smile.
"Uh, yeah, if you say so."
"Good. Now, in the water," Olivia said, beckoning towards her. "Our first step is fixing up your foundation, and that means we've got to get all this dirt and sweat and gunk off of you."
"Well excuse me," Sango growled, rolling her eyes. "I just got off a 16 hour flight after spending three days roughing it on an island."
"I could spend three days on an island and walk off smelling fresh as a daisy," Olivia sniped at her. "That's just another excuse. Let's get started."
After Sango was scrubbed until she was clean, Olivia wrapped the two of them in soft towels led her into the hall, their clothes forgotten. Sango gulped. Thankfully, no one was around. They crossed the hall into one of Olivia's forbidden rooms, her closet. Sango choked looking at the large assortment of clothes. It looked like the inside of a laundromat, with a large conveyer belt of outfits running the course of the room, with several layers overlaying each other. It was like an industrial factory of a walk-in closet.
"What… what is this?" Sango stuttered, looking around, more than a little intimidated.
"It's too late to consult anyone, so I'll have to select some outfits myself," Olivia was not even paying attention to her, scanning the hanging outfits. "While there's nothing I can do about your figure, at the very least we're the same height. That makes it easier than finding outfits for Aya, at least… Ah! This should do!" She pressed a button on a panel, and the conveyer belt began moving, bringing the selected outfit over to her. She handed it to Sango to change into, and then selected her own outfit.
Sango reluctantly headed to the changing room in the back. She looked at herself in the full-length mirror, and then down at the clothes in her hands. She went pale. Would this… really suit her? She'd finished changing, and checked her appearance in the mirror. She was right, it didn't. Still, it was better than being nude. She left the changing room to see Olivia standing in front of her, glancing over her appraisingly. Unlike her, Olivia's outfit made her beauty stand out even more. Even with her makeup washed off, she looked phenomenal. To reflect her more "casual" appearance (still a knockout, Sango thought bitterly) she'd chosen a simple yet stylish one-piece dress that was an alluring midnight blue, making her smooth, fresh-out-of-the-bath skin stand out even more in contrast. Compared to her, Sango was just… yeah.
"Moving on!" Olivia interrupted Sango's thoughts and grabbed her by the wrist, leading her into the adjoining room, the other room she'd forbidden entry to. Again, it was quite a production. Sango glanced around the bright room. There was a large three-fold mirror set up for Olivia to do her makeup, and the walls were lined with shelves of various products and treatments in various colors. It was lit so bright that it was actually a little hot.
"We'll begin with the hair," Olivia said, sitting Sango down in front of her mirror. "I'm no Blake, but even I know my styles."
She ran her hands through Sango's short hair.
"We're both blondes, but you wear yours so short… we'll have to go for a fluffy look to give it some volume. Don't want to just have it be all scraggly. Do you even run a brush through it? My, my…"
Olivia clicked her tongue disapprovingly, pulling at sections of Sango's hair to style it into shape.
"…I suppose that will do… now for those nails, not much work can be done there… we'll have to use press-ons, then. Now, what color would be good…"
"Um…" Sango spoke up.
"I'm not interested in your opinion," Olivia interjected. "You couldn't makeover yourself out of a paper bag. Just let an artist work on her canvas, would you please?"
"No, no, it's not that…" Sango said, shaking her head. "Just… why are you doing this?"
"…Hm… I wonder…" Olivia mused, licking her lips. "I guess you could say… I'm interested in seeing the reaction."
"Reaction?"
"I quite like Blake myself, you see." Olivia sighed. "If only he'd been born a girl… but what can you do? So my next best thing… is to see how I can get a rise out of him. Ha, I wonder what sort of face will he make when he sees the new you?"
And it might make Aya a little nervous, as well… maybe she'll stop playing so defensively and make a real move… Well, whichever one of them turns his heart, I'm sure it will be interesting.
"Now, for the makeup," Olivia said, scanning the walls. "We'll have to get your color just right…"
"There's so much…" Sango balked. "I can't believe it…"
"Oh, heavens, this is nothing," Olivia chuckled. "They were all samples for me to try out. My natural beauty has drawn a lot of attention from various makeup companies. I've starred in my fair share of commercials, so most of these were given to me as part of my sponsorship deals."
Sango nodded. Olivia glanced back at her face, and then back at the shelves. "This one seems close…"
She placed a smudge on her wrist and held it up to Sango's cheek, nodding.
"Time to start, then…"
As Olivia was applying her makeup, Sango felt herself growing uncomfortable. The wind outside wasn't helping much, either. It felt like something was off.
"Quite the storm we have," Olivia said, verbalizing her worry. "It came from out of nowhere, it seems… such wind and rain… thankfully, these windows are sturdy. There's nothing to be worried about…"
"Of course, a Probationary Ranger wouldn't be afraid, right? I'm surprised, you seem so docile."
"I'm not used to dealing with, uh… women like you."
"Oh, why thank you, my dear, but there are no women like me," Olivia chuckled. "I'm one of a kind. You must be very capable. And as for your appearance, all you need is a little bit of touching up… and more confidence in your appearance. Still, you could do worse. Girls like us, we need all the help we can get."
"Us" huh…
"I'm quite envious of Aya, if I'm being honest," Olivia admitted. "She doesn't use makeup at all, and she gets to be so naturally handsome… it's quite frustrating…"
"Uh, yeah…" Sango shrugged.
"Your test for being a ranger… was it difficult?"
"Very," Sango nodded.
"I'm glad you were able to pass. On your first try, and as a freshman… that Mermaid must be beside herself in envy."
"Mermaid?" Sango asked.
"Yes, she's… like me. One of the Daevas. She looks after the Caretaker Course and Ranger Course."
Sango frowned.
"She's been trying to pass that same exam for quite some time… and now that she has, she's ecstatic about it!" Olivia chuckled. "She was going around this evening, smiling happily about how she was finally able to get her license…"
Sango froze up. No… it couldn't be…
"Uh… this 'Mermaid' of yours…"
"Yes? What of her?"
"Is… does she carry a fishing pole around her? Like… everywhere she goes?"
"Yes, she never leaves it."
No.
"And… uh… hair the color of seafoam?"
"Well, more of a mint color, but yes. As well as a hat like she's trying to be the pirate king."
NO.
"And… really tan?"
"Very tan."
No. No. No.
"Um, her name… is it…"
"Marion?" Olivia replied. "Marion Rivers."
"Are you fucking kidding me?!" Sango exclaimed. "Her?! Marion's a daeva?! But… but she's so-! She's Marion!"
She just wouldn't believe it.
Olivia nearly drew a streak across Sango's face, lifting her fingers a moment before Sango whirled around to confront her.
"How the hell can someone like her hold any sort of authority?!" Sango demanded. "You… you've got to be mistaken. She grabbed her phone off of where she'd set it down.
"Yoo! Sango! What's up! Want to do some night fishing?" Marion's cheerful voice rang out into Sango's ear.
"Uh… Marion, can I ask you something…?" Sango asked.
"Sure, what's the how?"
"Uh… just, you… you wouldn't happen to be a daeva or something, right?" Sango asked, laughing, trying to play it off as a joke.
"Uh, yeah, why?" Marion asked, confused. "I didn't expect you to ask something like that!"
"N-no reason. Bye."
Sango hung up. Her world felt like it was crashing down. She glanced out the window at the storm ranging outside.
"…Hey, Olivia, if I threw myself from this window… would it kill me?"
"Please don't break my window," Olivia asked her.
"But… I feel like this world is gonna end either way…" Sango muttered. Marion was one of the daevas.
The school was doomed.
Come on, Sango. It's not that bad. Probably.