Here's another chapter! The first night is almost over, and we've spent so many chapters already! I might have to pick up the pace!

Pokemon Academy Best Girl Elimination Round is still going strong! Keep those votes coming, a few girls are pulling ahead, but things aren't done just yet! We've still got a good chance of girls getting into the final 5! The poll is on my profile, so go cast your votes there!

Nominated: Sango, Cynthia, Elaina, Kate, Dakota, Ayame, Marion, Kitty, Serefina, Madison, Alcea

ConfusedCradily: Interesting theory.

Just a Bad Writer for Fun: Sometimes that just says it all.

DJ Dib Dab: Different branches, different equipment. The Ranger Union is its own independent thing.

Badoobadoop: Yup, Sango is in the wrong for how she said what she said, but her point of view is certainly meant to be sympathetic.

StarsForTheMoon: Nice to hear you joined FF just to review! If you want to vote, you can do it on my profile. And you can vote for five girls, not just Ayame!

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 249

Sango woke up with feeling her face hot. Something soft and warm was wrapped around her body, a bright light burning in front of her eyes. She was curled up on a couch in front of a roaring fireplace, wrapped snugly in a big, fuzzy blanket.

Sango raised her head and looked around. She was in the hotel lobby.

"You're awake."

Sango turned to see Elizabeth sitting in a chair beside her, smiling.

"S-sorry, I fell asleep…" Sango said, blushing with embarrassment.

"Are you all warmed up now?" Elizabeth asked. "I brought you inside when you dozed off."

Sango nodded her head. Then she gasped.

"Oh, no! I-I need to go see my dad, and-"

Elizabeth laughed, shaking her head.

"Don't worry, I talked to him while you were resting up. I explained that we're getting along, but you need some space for now. And that you'd talk with him in the morning, when you've both had a chance to cool down and rest up."

"Oh… thank you," Sango said, smiling. She really wanted to talk with her dad and apologize for what had happened, and for all the bad things she said, but at the same time, she knew that it might also be a good idea if they both gave each other some space.

"In the meantime, what do you say we go take a bath?" Elizabeth asked.

"A… bath?" Sango asked, confused.

"Did you forget?" Elizabeth chuckled. "Circhester is a town of hot springs. And this hotel has one of its very own, want to check it out?"

"O-h-h-h yeah!" Sango said, remembering that part of their schedule after dinner was going to be going to the baths. "Didn't they say something about needing swimsuits?"

"That's because it's for both genders," Elizabeth said. "Shall we go?"

Sango nodded, and glanced at the ornate grandfather clock.

"Um, what about the others in my group?" She asked. "I should really go… SILVER!"

Sango shook her head frantically.

"He must be worried sick! I told him I'd be right back, and I-"

"Don't worry, don't worry," Elizabeth chuckled, standing up and offering her hand to Sango. "We'll go check in on him. You have to get your bathing suit, after all."

Sango nodded, and took Elizabeth's hand, getting up off the couch. The two headed to elevator and up to Sango's room. As they exited the elevator, they ran into Blake and the rest of Sango's group, carrying towels.

"Sango!" Blake gasped. "Are you okay? You ran off before dinner, and you never came back."

"Oh! Yeah, sorry about that," Sango said, scratching her head sheepishly. "Just… family stuff… haha…"

She was eager to change the subject.

"You guys going to the bath?"

"Yeah, it's the bathing time for our group," Blake said.

"Cool! I'll come join you!" Sango said. She glanced at Elizabeth. "…Err, if that's fine with you?"

"Sounds wonderful," Elizabeth smiled. "I think I shall join you kids as well."

"Uh…" Kate stared at the brunette's amazing curves, and suddenly felt very insignificant. She didn't want the woman to show her up. Damn it! Why didn't I buy a new, more stylish swimsuit at the boutique today?!*

*Because it's fall, and they weren't selling them.

"I'll go get my stuff. Oh, can we bring pokemon?" Sango asked.

"I don't think so, sorry," Blake said, glancing at Kate, who shook her head. Sango sighed glumly, stepping aside to let the others get in the elevator.

Sango and Elizabeth headed to her room, where Silver was there waiting.

"Castform!" Silver cried, flying over to her. Sango caught him and spun around, a big smile on her face.

"Sorry I was so late," Sango apologized. "Were you good?"

"Cast!" Silver said, nodding up.

"Good, that's great," Sango smiled. She noticed that Silver's eyes were heavy. She turned to Elizabeth.

"Okay, let me just tuck him in, and then we can go."

As Sango sent Silver off to sleep, Elizabeth stood beside her, watching Sango's careful hand with a smile.

"He cares for you quite a lot, you know," she said.

"Of course he does," Sango giggled, patting him on the head as he closed his eyes, nestling down into the sheets. She stood up fully, and turned.

"Oh, Sango, before I forget, I wanted to give you something," Elizabeth said, reaching into the bag that Sango just realized she'd had with her. "I went to go get this while you were napping. Here."

Sango held her hand out, and felt something small and hard land in her palm. She withdrew her hand and looked at it. It was a small piece of wood, carved and rounded out to look like… a Castform? Yes, there was a small wooden Castform in her hand, carved down to even the fine details of a little eyemask and beady eyes. It was a little rough around the edges, but those small bumps and grooves showed that it had been something carved by hand, rather than a machine.

Sango's mouth fell open and she looked up at Elizabeth. The woman smiled sheepishly, running a hand through her short hair.

"Do… do you like it? I was working on it during the train ride over here. Uboss said your partner pokemon was a Castform, so I just thought… well, see, it's always been a hobby of mine, carving things out of wood, pokemon statues, symbols, flutes, all sorts of stuff. So I was thinking that it would be a good present for our first meeting, but, well… things sort of got out of hand… heh…"

She looked at Sango, her eyes gleaming eagerly.

"I… I love it," Sango admitted. "It's really nice, thank you Elizabeth."

"You're very welcome, sweetie," Elizabeth giggled. "Now, let's go. We can't keep your boyfriend waiting~"

"Boyfr-?! I don't have a-!" Sango's face was bright red.

"That's not what he tells me," Elizabeth giggled, pointing at Silver as she skipped out of the room. Flustered, Sango followed after the woman, but not before setting her little figuring carefully on the bedside table.

As they entered the changing rooms (which were NOT coed, unlike the bath) Reiner caught Blake by the arm.

"Hey, are you going to be okay with… you know?" Reiner asked, running his eyes up and down Blake's body. "I mean, I know Sango's already seem your scars, but Nikita and Kate…"

Blake smiled, and nodded.

"It's fine," he replied. "I learned today that trying to run away from the past doesn't help. I told a certain someone that it's okay to be who you are, no matter what you look like. If I keep letting myself get hung up on something like this… well, I won't be able to face her. And she is NOT someone you want to give an edge over to."

"…Okay then," Reiner said. "But if you ask me, it's okay to avoid your past sometimes, if it will only hurt."

Blake paused halfway through stripping his shirt off to consider what he was saying.

"…You're worried that if Nikita gets a look at my scars she'll see me as a bad boy and dump you for me, aren't you?"

Reiner tilted his head and rolled his eyes, giving Blake a "are you serious right now?" sort of look. Blake smirked.

The boys finished changing into their swimwear and headed out into the mixed hot spring, where the girls were already waiting. The spring was very nice. Unlike the one in Hoenn, which was clearly a natural formation, this one was man-made, with tile flooring like a very heated pool, and some nice statuary designed for decor. There were high walls but the roof was open, allowing one to look up at the stars (if not for the clouds overhead. Snow trickled down towards the spring, disappearing into droplets of water as they got close to the hot air. It was a rather beautiful little arrangement, to say the least. Definitely worthy of five stars.

"Geez, what took you guys so-" Kate was about to say something snappish, but when she got a look at Blake she froze, halfway into the water.

Dressed in only a pair of swim trunks, Blake's scars were on full display to the two girls. Long lines of discolored flesh and the markings of burns crossed over his skin, and old welts still bumped out in many places. Across the left side of his chest a dark mark raised up and spread out into three points, like someone had pressed a brand into him, a bizarrely warped "w" mark.

Nikita couldn't help but let out a gasp.

"Oh my god! Blake, are you-?! What?!" Kate stumbled over her words, pulling herself out of the water and running over to him, ignoring the warning signs. She stopped in front of him, her mouth open in shock.

"It's… a long story…" Blake said.

"But… but this is…" Kate felt herself reaching out in comfort, before pulling her hand back. That could be insensitive. Blake… whatever he'd gone through, it was… it looked like…

"Torture," Nikita said quietly, sinking down into the water. She was ashamed of it, but seeing the scars on Blake's body was a little too much. Something that Blake noticed quite clearly.

"Uh, sorry about this," Blake said sheepishly, averting his eyes. "I can go throw on a shirt or-"

"No! No, sorry, I just…" Nikita didn't want him to feel worse. It was clear he'd gone through enough already. Looking at him made her uncomfortable, but she was sure that it was more uncomfortable for him. So she swallowed her discomfort and put on a face of composure. "Um, please, don't take it personally, I just… I've never been good with stuff like that, so…"

"No, it's fine," Blake said, worried about what her reaction would be if she ever saw the extent of Caelia's injuries. "Trust me, they don't even really hurt."

"What a relief…" Kate sighed. "I'm sorry, I had no idea, I mean…"

"Kate?" Blake said, his voice calm and understanding. "It's fine. I've gone through all of this before. You can just treat me the way you always do, okay? Like we agreed?"

"Right," Kate said, nodding, though she couldn't help but still feel sympathetic.

"Nice swimsuit, by the way."

Kate, having done her packing while still in the "I don't feel nothing for Blake and you can't make me" mindset had not dressed to impress. Her bathing suit was a frumpy and unflattering one piece colored dark purple, that covered up her already meager chest completely and wrapped around her body less to emphasize and more to conceal. Oh, why oh why didn't she pick something a little more daring? Although, she didn't exactly have the figure to pull it off… but Blake wouldn't care about that, right?

Wait, Blake was into asses. He totally would.

Kate made a mental note to start a workout routine to tone her butt when she got back home.

Nikita's swimsuit was also conservative, but less so than Kate. Unlike her, Nikita had actually tried. But the shy girl that she was, her "trying" was not as daring as it could have been. She fit her curvy body into a sleek black one piece that, while flattering, was still very conservative. Only a hint of her dark cleavage could be seen. But it still made Reiner blush when he saw it, which meant it was exactly what she had hoped for. She sunk deeper into the water so he couldn't see the look of embarrassment on her face.

Kate rejoined Nikita in the water and the boys followed quickly after, the four of them letting the fatigue of the day's circumstances wash away in the steaming water.

Well, Blake and Kate's fatigue, at any rate. Reiner and Nikita had relaxed basically the entire day, and were relaxing once again. And once they got back to their room (assuming Sango would agree to the swap) they would relax some more.

The door from the girls' changing room opened, drawing the eye of everyone there. And boy, what a sight it was, too.

The brunette woman, who Blake was growing less and less certain was related to Sango in any way, stepped out into the cold night air like this was her hotel, her hot spring, and everyone else was just lucky to be invited. Unlike the girls from their class, "conservative" was apparently not in this woman's vocabulary. She wore a skimpy black bikini that clung to her voluptuous and mature figure like a second skin. Nikita, while normally a shy person, did acknowledge that her own figure was rather good. But if Nikita was good, this woman was amazing. Her body was round in the right places and tight in the right places, and made a loud statement that a grown up probably shouldn't be making in front of high schoolers.

Reiner was very uncomfortable, which made Nikita more than a little annoyed. Kate suddenly felt a whole lot better about not trying, because if she had then she would have been humiliated by comparisons to this bombshell. And Blake's brain was occupied with the thought that it was a good thing Cynthia wasn't here, or she'd have passed out in shock in the water and drowned.

Sango trailed out after Elizabeth, her face empty and hollow. It was a face that said she'd seen some things, things that made her feel inadequate. How old WAS Elizabeth, anyway? There was no way that was the body of a woman in her thirties who'd already had a child.

Dressed like this, it was a whole lot easier to see how her father had fallen for Elizabeth, Sango bitterly noted.

"Aaaaah, soaking my feet was fun, but this is really the stuff," Elizabeth slipped into the water and let out a sigh that chimed like a bell, everyone feeling a little more relaxed. Or maybe that was because her body was obscured by the water and steam now.

Sango reluctantly got into the water as well. She was wearing the bathing suit she'd picked out for the cruise last month, the one that Blake had complimented. But around a woman like Elizabeth she suspected there would be no compliments coming her way today.

"So you're Sango's friends and classmates?" Elizabeth engaged the students, her gregarious nature on full display. "And you're all taking courses with Professor Reinhart, correct? How wonderful!"

The students nodded in agreement. Something about Elizabeth's energy was just infectious.

"I must say, I'm so happy I get to meet you all," Elizabeth smiled.

"Ahem, um…" Reiner was the brave soul to ask the question that was floating in the heads of everyone else there, to one degree or another. "Are you Sango's… mom?"

"Oh, no, don't be silly," Elizabeth laughed, waving her hand. "I'm… well, I'm seeing his father, so I don't know what that makes me…"

She glanced hopefully at Sango, who lowered her head in embarrassment. Why did Reiner have to ask a question like that?

"I'm Doctor Elizabeth Skye, I was brought here to consult on Aurore's little expedition," Elizabeth introduced herself. "It's a pleasure to meet all of-"

Thrashing water cut off her greeting as Kate stormed through the hot spring to get to her.

"You're Doctor Skye? The Doctor Skye, Doctor Elizabeth Skye?!" Kate gushed, grabbing Elizabeth by the hands and squeezing them. There were stars in her eyes.

"Y-you've heard of me, I see," Elizabeth chuckled, a little caught off-guard.

"Of course I have!" Kate exclaimed. "I've read your paper on Ancient Pokemon Languages, and I have a copy of your book, about the Ruins of Alph!"

"O-oh, that old thing?" Elizabeth chuckled. "That was just a little something I wrote in my downtime, I don't think-"

"No, you're amazing!" Kate said, shaking her head. "What are you doing here? Do you think there could be some connection to the Unown in the ruins at Stow-On-Side?"

"Well, that's what we're going to find out," Elizabeth laughed.

"Wow, I can't believe it," Kate said. She was all smiles, like the sad, crying girl from earlier was gone. In front of one of her idols in her field, thoughts of Blake and Val and those mean girls, and even her crush, had all been pushed aside. "I get to go on an actual expedition with THE Doctor Elizabeth Skye!"

"…Congratulations," Sango said, not entirely sure what the big deal is.

Blake glanced at Reiner.

"You're an archaeology buff, and you know a lot about celebrities. Is she really that famous?"

"Well, uh…" Reiner began to speak up, when he felt a chill run down his spine. He glanced behind him to see a very unamused Nikita sitting against the edge of the hot spring, her arms crossed in front of her chest.

"Please, Reiner, do tell us," Nikita concurred, her voice drawing out the same feeling of discomfort as nails on a chalkboard. That was a smile that was anything but happy. "I can't wait to hear all about how much you know about this Doctor Skye."

"C-c'mon, I don't know her that well, honest!" Reiner said, desperately trying to backtrack. But Nikita wasn't buying it.

"Right, just like how you had no idea who my sister was."

"You can't still be mad at that!"

"You had her poster in your room, how am I supposed to feel?" Nikita demanded.

"Well, it's not like I have a poster of her in my room, right?"

"Sure, I'm sure you keep THOSE pictures on your hard drive!"

"Come on, if I knew what she looked like, then why did I react so surprised, huh?"

"Surprised? Or stunned, maybe. To see one of your little fantasies walk out like… like…" Nikita's face was hot with embarrassment. Pure girl that she was she lacked the proper context to explain what exactly she was accusing him of. "Like… I don't know what! But it's bad!"

"Hey, come on guys, it's fine," Sango said, stepping between the two of them to try and play mediator. "Reiner, you don't… really think, like… that about her, right?"

Reiner opened his mouth.

"I-I won't deny that she's hot, but…"

"See?" Nikita hissed.

"But," Reiner continued, disregarding her interruption, "I think you're way cuter in every way."

Nikita's mouth flapped open and closed like a Magikarp. She sunk back into the spring and mumbled something that turned into bubbles in the water, turning away from Reiner so he couldn't see the embarrassment and joy on her face.

"I think she forgives you," Sango whispered.

"Good, I didn't want to put up with an angry Nikita if we were going to spend the night hanging out," Reiner said. "And the last thing I needed was for her to be mad at me for the rest of the trip. Nikita, sorry for… that, but I really mean it, you're super-cute."

"MREERmMMBle!" Nikita splashing around in the water was the only answer he got.

Reiner turned back to Sango.

"So, what's up with that, by the way? Nikita said she talked to you about swapping rooms, right?"

"Uh, yeah…" Sango said, slowly remembering what Nikita had mentioned. In the heat of her family drama she had forgotten all about it.

"Well, Blake's on board, so if you're in with spending the night roomed with him, it's good to go," Reiner said. "Want to switch-"

"Excuse us."

The hot spring was warm, but the air around them was cold. A chill ran down Sango and Reiner's backs, and they turned to look over their shoulders. Kate and Elizabeth stood behind them with calm smiles, but the two students still felt their mouths go dry.

"Sango, what's this I hear about you swapping rooms tonight?" Elizabeth asked, her smile not reassuring either of them in the least.

"Yes, I would like to hear some more about this as well," Kate agreed, her smile particularly unnerving due to looking so out of place.

"Uuuh…" Sango and Reiner felt their explanations catch in their throats, looking desperately at one another.

Well, this should be an interesting discussion.