Let's continue with our track record of deep and meaningful content. Or maybe I'm the only one who thinks that… Let's continue with our track record of trashy teen love dramas that would make the CW proud!
Aakareo Kokokuhikari: If I had to pick one, I would say scumbag. Scumbag 100%. Even if you think he might be redeeming himself right now, it will be in the form of a scumbag.
TREBOR.E: Good, then that means I captured what I wanted to capture properly, I hope.
Hellraiserphoenix: Don't forget also that Olivia is very promiscuous, and Ayame is not. Another foil between the two of them. As for Gerard and Elaina… well there's still a lot of meat left to explore with that one.
Just a Bad Writer for Fun: But… what if you could change your dream world to be however you wanted it?
Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings
Chapter 127
Sango was roused from her sleep early in the morning by a knocking on the door. Sleeping on a real bed… not only that, it was a bed far nicer than the one in her room… It was amazing… Compared to sleeping on the hard ground for the last three nights of sleep, and getting no sleep on the plane after that… she could sleep like this forever…
You know, if it wasn't for that incessant knocking on her door.
Sango swung the door open, a little irritated. Ayame was standing in front of her, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, a big smile on her face.
"…What?" Sango asked.
"Do you want to go for a jog with me?" Ayame asked eagerly.
"…" Sango blinked in surprise. "Jogging?"
"Yeah, remember? You said you'd be up for us to run together sometimes!"
"…Oh, yeah…" Sango did vaguely remember promising something like that.
"I've been looking forward to it all week," Ayame admitted. "I don't really have a running buddy or anything…"
"What about Blake?" Sango asked.
"Oh, no, I could never ask him to do that!" Ayame said, shaking her head. "He says that running is more of a hobby for him, and he doesn't do much of it… but I figured since you run in the mornings anyway, you might… want to run together? At least sometimes?"
She looked down at Sango hopefully.
"Also, about Blake… there's something I want to talk to you about…" Sango raised an eyebrow at Ayame's troubled expression.
"I suppose I could go for a run," Sango admitted. "But a short one."
"Awesome!" Ayame smiled.
The two stepped out onto the sidewalk a few minutes later, after Sango changed into clothes better suited for running in. Sango inhaled, the crisp scent of rain on the ground from the passing storm the night before. It gave the air a nice, clean feeling that made her just want to up and go straight on through…
"What are you doing?" Ayame asked, grabbing Sango's arm before she could start running.
"…Jogging, I thought?" Sango asked, confused.
"No, we need to stretch first," Ayame insisted. "Otherwise, you might hurt yourself. You haven't been running without stretching this whole time, have you?"
"I-I stretch!" Sango insisted. "…Sometimes."
Ayame frowned.
"Well, we're going to stretch today, we don't want you to hurt yourself."
Sango nodded, and joined Ayame in her stretches. When the two were finished warming up, they got started.
"So where are we running to?" Sango asked.
"I usually run down to the Snorlax Commons and back," Ayame said. "It's a decent distance for a warm-up, since we're only going for a short time. Usually I go back and forth 2-3 times, but we can go once. Then we can get breakfast! Sound good?"
"Yeah, sure," Sango nodded. It was Saturday, so they didn't have to worry about classes.
"Let's start easy," Ayame called behind her as the two jogged down the sidewalk. Sango frowned. Ayame was taking it easy on her… she supposed it made sense, considering Ayame's position as a track star, but Sango was a probationary ranger now. She didn't want to be taken lightly. She wanted to stand beside Ayame as an equal, not just looked at like some freshman who needed to have her hand held.
Sango picked up her pace, drawing closer to Ayame, and soon the two girls were running abreast (which, to Sango's frustration, still put Ayame ahead of her.)
"Not bad!" Ayame noted. "Let's speed up, then!" Ayame pulled ahead again, to Sango's irritation, and Sango picked up her pace as well. Closer, closer… every time she caught up, Ayame seemed to pull ahead, how aggravating!
Just one step… Sango worked herself up. Even if it's just by one step… I want… to get ahead of her!
Sango leaned forward and put all of her energy into her legs. She charged forward, her heart beating in her chest. She picked up enough speed to shoot past Ayame, for a few steps before slowing down fast, her stomach cramping up on her.
"Wow," Ayame whistled, jogging past her. "That was good! Can you keep it up?"
"Can't… no energy…" Sango panted, coming to a stop. "Too much… need… food…"
"Cool, let's stop for now, then," Ayame said, slowing down and waiting for Sango to catch up. "We can walk the rest of the way. No sense in hurting yourself after all."
Sango nodded. Using all of her strength she'd managed to pass Ayame for a brief moment… she supposed she'd have to be fine with that.
"So, um… about that thing I wanted to talk with you about…" Ayame said, the two walking side by side with one another.
"…Yeah?" Sango asked.
"You and Blake are close, right?" Ayame asked.
"…You could say that," Sango agreed.
"I… actually, I told him that I liked him last night."
Wait, what?
"Wait, what?" Sango asked, her mouth falling open in shock. This girl… Sango might have been able to pass her by a few steps, but in terms of romance it was like she'd been lapped two or three times. She calmed herself down.
"…A-and… what did he say?" She asked, trying to seem cool about it. No sense in making everything awkward by letting on how she really felt about the confession.
"He turned me down," Ayame admitted, Sango trying not to sigh with relief too obviously. "He said he wasn't ready to start dating yet."
Sango's eyes widened. Blake had seemed so interested in Ayame… but he'd still turned her down? He didn't want to start dating anyone? But…
"But that's okay, it wasn't a complete loss," Ayame said, her attitude still brimming with positivity and confidence. "We still kissed a couple of times."
"Y-you kissed?!" Sango exclaimed, her face turning white. They'd already gotten that far…
"Well, I mean, I was the one who kissed him," Ayame clarified. "Still… he definitely reciprocated the second time! So it's not like my chances are zero!"
They'd kissed twice? Screw being lapped, this was like Ayame having completed a marathon while Sango was still sleeping in bed. Out of reflex, Sango brought her fingers to her lips. This had all happened while she'd been sleeping… Blake's response to her makeover last night was so positive… but Ayame had gone so much farther…
"S-so… you're not giving up?" Sango asked, trying to keep the disappointment out of her tone.
"Of course not," Ayame said, turning to her. Her eyes were still shining with confidence. "There's no reason to give up! He said he's not ready to go out with anyone 'yet' which means I still have a chance. I'm not ready to just let my feelings die out that easily!"
"D-did he say why he wasn't ready to go out with anyone?" Sango asked.
"Something about a girl who he needed to look after, someone who was all alone and needed him," Ayame sighed.
Elaina. Sango winced.
"Still, if he kissed me back, then that means he hasn't totally been swept away by her," Ayame said. "Which means I can still sway him over to look at me more than her. I don't know why he hasn't asked her out yet if he likes her, but while he's still hesitating, I'm gonna swoop in and make him totally fall head over heels!"
Sango always considered herself a fairly positive and confident person, but even she was having trouble imagining herself in Ayame's position the day after being rejected. The sheer faith in herself that Ayame was exuding… it almost made Sango want to root for her too, even though she was Ayame's rival in love.
"So are you going to confess to him again?" Sango asked.
"…No, I don't think so," Ayame said, shaking her head. "If I just keep confessing, that will make me more of a nuisance than anything. The important part is that Blake knows how I feel about him. I've already gone on the offensive, and now he knows for sure that I'm interested. Which means now it's time to pull back and let him chase after me for a while."
She glanced at Sango and flashed her a grin.
"The boss's always giving me these tips and tricks to seducing people, and I've always kind of just blown them off. But this time, I think I'm gonna take her advice, and highlight my own appeal to Blake, rather than just pursue him. Now that he's thinking about me, I can draw his attention, and before you know it, I'll be all he can think about!"
"…Good luck," Sango said, but she didn't really mean it at all. She looked down. She'd been going back and forth on whether or not she should confess to Blake… risk putting their friendship in jeopardy on the off chance that he might say yes… But now, hearing about Ayame's rejection… she knew that it would be pointless now. Even if she said yes, he'd just say the same thing. Or even worse, that he wasn't interested in general. And then… there's no way they could keep being friends.
"Anyway, about what I wanted to talk with you about," Ayame got back to the topic at hand. "From what I hear, you and Blake are best buds, right?"
"…No, no, I'm just his friend," Sango said, shaking her head sadly. "If anyone's closer with him, it's definitely Cynthia… she's the one who knows him best here…"
"Nah, I don't really think so," Ayame said, shaking her head. "I mean sure, it does seem like they're close… but it feels like she's pretty close with everybody, you know? You're friendly with everyone too, but it feels like you and Blake are a lot closer than he is with anyone else."
Sango's cheeks turned slightly pink, and she tried not to look too happy at Ayame's assessment. Did she and Blake really seem that close?
"And either way, Cynthia doesn't seem like she takes stuff like this too seriously," Ayame said, shrugging. "You're both pretty positive people, but you seem like… you know your stuff, you know? Cynthia seems a lot like the boss, the kind of girl who plays around a lot but doesn't really settle down."
That did sound like Cynthia.
"So… you want me because…?"
"I need advice, obviously," Ayame said. "You know Blake the best, right? So you can help me out big time! Tell me how I can get his attention, you know? What's stuff he likes to do? What's his taste in girls? I know he likes my ass a lot, but I mean… not just physical stuff, but the kind of girls he likes as a person, y'know?"
"I-I don't know," Sango said, shaking her head. "W-we never really talk about love or anything like that… so I can't really help you…"
That was almost telling the truth, right? She didn't really know what Blake's romantic preferences were, after all. She just happened to leave out the part where even if she did know, she didn't really want to help Ayame out with seducing her crush.
"O-oh, I see…" Ayame sighed.
"So if you just wanted to talk with me to milk me for advice on Blake, you can forget it," Sango said, not intending to sound as angry as she did.
"No, that's not it at all, honest!" Ayame said. "I mean, yes, I did want to get advice from you about Blake's preferences, but honestly…"
Ayame looked down, and stopped walking.
"This… this is the first time I've done something like this…"
"Huh?" Sango glanced back in surprise.
"I… I mean, I've never really… liked boys before…" Ayame said, shaking her head. "My first crush was like… back in my first year… and I barely remember anything… it was over in like a week… so this is really the first time… and I can't talk about it with Olivia, because every time I do, she just rolls her eyes and gives me a condescending look like 'are you fucking kidding me with this pansy-ass shit right now?' so it's just… really uncomfortable…"
She glanced up at Sango.
"I… I don't know how to do 'girl talk' very well, I've just been single-mindedly devoting myself to running, so… I really wanted to talk about love with someone, you know?"
"I… I see," Sango said, smiling. It seemed like Ayame really didn't have any bad intentions at all.
She's just… awkward… and full of doubt, even as handsome as she is… Sango thought, staring appraisingly at Ayame. It's almost scary how similar we are…
W-well, that's just my opinion, I mean…
"Hey, Sango…"
"Yeah?"
"Can you… do you… um, do you have any experience with stuff like this? Any help you can give me about it?"
"Stuff like this, you mean love?"
"Yeah, exactly!" Ayame said, nodding. "Like, have you had a boyfriend before? Or is there a guy you're currently crushing on?"
A… a guy I'm currently crushing on? Like she was gonna say anything now.
"Um… it's…" Never gonna happen…
"…An unrequited love," Sango admitted sadly. "Sorry, I won't be much help."
"That's no good!" Ayame exclaimed, placing her hands on Sango's shoulders, startling the girl with the sudden outburst.
"Wh-wha-?"
"What, did you ask him out and he said no or something?!" Ayame demanded.
"N-no, I never asked him out, and he definitely doesn't know how I feel… probably…" Sango said, shaking her head.
"Then who says it's unrequited?!" Ayame demanded.
You just did…
"Well it's… a feeling, I guess…"
"That's just you being afraid," Ayame said, shaking her head. "You won't know unless you tell him how you feel! It was the same with me! Even I was a little nervous, and even I've cried out of sadness and insecurity! But if you don't stand on the starting line, you'll never get to the finish, don't you think?"
"…You're right," Sango nodded. "I shouldn't think about giving up at a time like this."
"That's the spirit!" Ayame grinned, patting her on the shoulders. "Don't worry! I'm in your corner! You support me with Blake, and I'll support you any way I can with the boy you're after! Let's both do our best in pursuing our love, sound good?"
The brimming joy in Ayame's eyes made it pretty much impossible for Sango to tell her the truth.
"O-Okay then…" This is alright, right?
"One visitor to see Elaina Bishop, please."
Gerard stood in the lobby of the infirmary, his normal calm composure shaken with frustration, a look that was growing all too common with him.
There's been no change in Elaina's condition in weeks… what is going on? Is this a backlash from her harmonia? I've only heard about this once before, with Cynthia… and she still hasn't recovered all these years later… so is that it for Elaina, then? What a waste…
"Oh, another one, huh?" The receptionist chuckled, smiling. "Sign in right here. Our Sleeping Beauty sure is popular today."
"What?" Gerard growled. "'Another one' you said?" He slammed the pen down and stormed down the hall, making a beeline straight for Elaina's room.
"Elaina!" He said, swinging open the door so hard it hit the wall. When he saw who her mysterious guest was, his blood went cold.
"My, my, Gerard… this is a hospital, you know… we can't have you making a fuss like this…"
"Valon…" Gerard hissed.
"Is that any way to talk to me?" The Phantom chuckled, his green eyes narrowing into a reptilian glare as his smile widened. "I'd hoped that the Eighth Leader would comport himself with slightly more dignity than this…"
"Why are you here?" Gerard demanded.
"Though I suppose you're only the Eighth Leader in name, now… hard to retain any dignity at all after the humiliation you went through." Valon ignored him, continuing his little tear-down of Gerard. "For all your heavy-handedness and big talking, it seems you just weren't able to cut it. And now everyone can see your weakness laid bare… it's troubling, you know."
"…I know…" Gerard growled.
"Imagine what the people on campus are saying… if it keeps going like this, you'll have no choice but to resort to that secret weapon of yours, just to remain afloat…"
Valon walked over to Elaina's bed, running his fingers through a lock of her hair.
"Such a shame… such a beautiful doll you let break, all for the sake of your own ego… In comparison, my doll is much more reliable than yours ever was."
"My things are my own to break as I choose," Gerard said smugly. "If it's going to break either way, then I don't mind being the one to tear it down myself. I'll show you exactly what I'm capable of… I'll prove it to everyone…"
"…I believe you mean that," Valon nodded. "But you'll prove nothing to no one the way you are now."
Valon walked past Gerard, patting him on the shoulder.
"Be careful…" he whispered. "It's the blade closest to you, the one you don't see coming, the cuts the deepest wounds… Watch yourself, Gerard. Be prepared for wherever it might strike…"
With that, Valon exited the room, chuckling to himself, leaving Gerard trembling in impotent rage.
"That bastard…" Gerard growled. He gave Elaina a cursory look. Nothing had changed. He turned and abandoned her, taking a slow walk through campus. He wasn't headed to one of the main buildings, though, or one of the dorms. He walked past the school boundaries and headed up for the mountains.
He walked for hours, lost in a trail of his own thoughts, but sure in his footing. He knew every step of the path he was walking, and he knew the destination he sought out. He came to a stop at the mouth of a small cave, barely large enough to permit a single person entrance.
Back then… I trusted your strength to fight at my side… but when I did… no one would ever look at me. No one had any faith in my abilities, they only ever recognized your strength. I sealed you away in here… because I knew that I would never be seen as strong if I was only standing in your shadow.
Or maybe I was afraid… of what you would think of the man I'd have to become.
But I don't care anymore. Even if you look at me with pity or contempt… even if I sink to the lowest depths imaginable… none of it matters. I won't let myself be controlled by my fear or my doubt. I've already lost everything. My pawns… my knights… and now even my queen… there's nothing I have left to lose… so if I will not be respected either way, then my methods no longer matter. Victory… victory is the only thing that matters now! Victory by any means necessary!
Gerard stepped into the cave, the darkness inside swallowing him.
"For the sake of my victory… I need your strength to help me fight the battles that I must…"
"So please fight beside me once more, Diancie…"
Things are getting really serious now. How will things shake out in the end, I wonder?