Here's another chapter, time for the next day! What does today have in store, I wonder? Vote!

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

KedharS: Ooh, interesting. I think that the tarot cards would represent each of these characters in the story.

The Fool: Kitty

The Magician: Kanone

The High Priestess: Olivia

The Empress: Alcea (hilariously not Olivia)

The Emperor: Gerard

The Hierophant: Aurore

The Lovers: Akira

The Chariot: Sango

The Strength: Ayame

The Hermit: Marion

Wheel of Fortune: Misato

Justice: Guinevere

The Hanged Man: Caelia

Death: Blake

Temperance: Oscar

The Devil: Sylvia

The Tower: Dakota

The Star: Elaina

The Moon: Kate

The Sun: Cynthia

Judgment: Anja

The World: Ryoko

Tambry96bj: Hopefully she'll get more chances in the future.

Just a Bad Writer for Fun: Yeah, there's certainly a storm coming.

EESDESESESRDT6: Glad you caught up, here's the next chapter as asked!

ConfusedCradily: Kate has her own adorable side, when she's not being toxic.

Badoobadoop: About right for her.

DJ Dib Dab: Round 1 ends in August. And yes, some people will get Galarian pokemon, but probably not this time around.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 251

Sango woke up with a yawn, sunlight streaming in from the window. She sat up, and glanced down to see Kate snoring away, a big dopey smile on her face. Sango raised her eyebrow. When the girl was this peaceful and relaxed, she seemed like an entirely different person. Not the angry, scowling Kate that Sango was used to.

Sango was very careful when slipping out of bed. It was still a ways before they were supposed to wake up and meet for breakfast, and she didn't want to wake up Kate. She looked so happy sleeping it would make her feel bad.

Sango turned and saw Blake, also sleeping in his bed. She stifled a gasp. If Kate was peaceful in repose, Blake was in turmoil. He was thrashing about in his sleep, his face twisted in what looked like pain. His blankets were twisted up around him. He looked like he was having a nightmare.

Sango walked up to him and placed a hand on his cheek. His skin was ice cold.

"D… dar…" Blake groaned, turning away from Sango's hand. Sango winced. She reached down and grabbed his hand, squeezing it tightly. He thrashed around a little more, though less frantically than he had been, before settling down. A look of near-calm passed over his face. Sango sighed with relief. She straightened out his sheets, and leaned over, wiping the sweat from his brow. She kissed him gently on the forehead.

A sigh escaped from Blake's lips and she lunged back, her face bright red.

Wh-what did I just…?!

Sango shook her head frantically, and clapped her cheeks. She ran to go grab her clothes, and rushed off into the bathroom to go take a cold shower and get changed.

Sango stepped out a few minutes later, drying her hair, and glanced over at the beds. Blake was still sleeping peacefully. Sango sighed with relief and walked over to Silver, gently shaking him awake.

"…Cast?" Silver yawned. Sango raised a finger to her lips and said "shhh".

"Come on," she whispered. "Let's go see my dad and Elizabeth."

Silver followed after Sango as she quietly left the room. Sango's heart was pounding in her chest as she walked towards the room where her dad was staying on the first floor. She swallowed, and glanced at Silver. Silver blinked, bobbing up and down encouragingly.

Sango knocked on the door. A few minutes later, the door cracked open, swinging into the room, and her father stood in front of her, dressed in his usual suit, already started on his day. Sango looked him in the eye, and gulped.

"Sango," Uboss said quietly.

"Hey, dad," Sango said, looking down awkwardly. "Um… can… can we talk?"

Uboss nodded his head, and stepped aside so that she could enter.

"Oh! Sango! You're already hear?"

Sango saw Elizabeth sitting up in bed, dressed in a simple night gown. She made a note that it was the only bed in the room, which sent an involuntary twitch through her eye. It seemed that she hadn't worked out all of her issues after all.

"W-well, I'll give you two some privacy then!" Elizabeth said, frantically pulling on a shirt and a pair of jeans and stepping outside, leaving father and daughter alone.

Sango looked around, glancing at everything but Uboss. Uboss wasn't sure how to begin the conversation, either, and walked over to the glass table in the room, pulling a chair aside for Sango before sitting down himself. Sango joined him, and the two sat in silence.

"Um… I'm sorry," Sango said, hanging her head. "For all the… stuff, that I said. I know that you loved my mother. I know that you love me. I was… I was upset, and I took it out on you and Elizabeth unfairly. That was wrong of me."

Uboss considered her words.

"Sango… I know that I wasn't there for you when you needed me," Uboss admitted. "I was busy with my work, and focused on keeping you taken care of, rather than actually spending time taking care of you. Honestly… when your mother died, I was at a loss. I've always been on my own, without much in the way of connections with… well, anyone. Maya, she… she was always better at things like that. And then when she died, it was just the two of us. I was scared that I couldn't be the parent that you needed me to be. I thought… I thought that it would be better if I supported you, that my presence would only make things worse. But really… I was afraid that you would blame me."

"Blame you?" Sango asked, not believing what she was hearing. "Why… why would I blame you?"

Uboss's eyes narrowed, and he looked down at the table, tracing shapes on the glass.

"Because I blame myself. If I had been there for you both more, been a better husband, father, if I had been there, then maybe… maybe I could have kept her safe. I failed to protect my wife. So I vowed that whatever I could do, I would try to keep you safe and taken care of. But in the end… that only served to hurt you even more."

Sango felt the urge to cry, but fought it off.

"It was so painful…" she admitted, clenching her hands into fists at her sides. "Growing up all alone, with only Silver at my side. I resented you, for leaving like that. I would write you letters. I was so desperate to hear from you, I just wanted to know what you were doing, to maybe… maybe get you to think of me. Maybe if you thought of me more, then you'd come back sometimes. But your address kept changing, your replies grew less and less frequent… and eventually you stopped replying altogether. That… that was when I gave up on reaching out to you."

"I always think of you," Uboss said. "Every day. I look at the sky and think 'what's Sango doing right now?' I'm sorry… I'm sorry I couldn't be the kind of father you needed me to be."

"Even if that's so… that doesn't excuse what I said," Sango told him. "I spoke with Elizabeth last night."

"She told me," Uboss said, nodding.

"She… said a lot of things," Sango continued. "And I realized… I realized that I was taking my anger and resentment that I felt towards you, for all those years… and taking it out on her. And, in a way, on you."

Sango looked up into Uboss's eyes.

"Elizabeth… she's a lovely woman. And if she makes you happy… then I'm happy, for both of you. It was wrong of me, to get angry at you and accuse you of trying to replace my mother."

"I love your mother," Uboss confirmed. "I think about her all the time. To be honest… I was wary, of being with Elizabeth. Because in a way, I did feel like I was betraying Maya's memory. But Elizabeth taught me that I could both cherish the love I had for Maya, while finding new happiness with her."

Sango nodded.

"I… can't say that I see Elizabeth as my new mother," Sango said. "And I also can't say where things will go from here. But… if she makes you happy, father, then I'm happy for you both, and I'll happily accept her. That's… the best I can do."

Uboss nodded. A thin smile crossed his lips.

"I'm glad. You two are the two girls on this earth that mean the most to me, and I'm happy that you can get along. Even if we're a… strange sort of family, I never want you to feel like you aren't a part of it, Sango. To me, you are the most precious part of my family."

"Thank you, dad," Sango smiled. She was tearing up this time. This… this was something she had wanted to hear for so very long. "I'm sorry I ever thought otherwise."

"I'm sorry as well," Uboss said, wiping his face. "I'm sorry I ever made you feel that wasn't the case."

Sango got out of her chair and hugged her father tightly, tears rolling down her cheeks. They were going to be alright.

"Wow, dude, I know it's a buffet, but…"

Blake, as well as Group 3, was in the banquet hall with the rest of the students, and all eyes were on Sango as she devoured a positively mountainous repast.

"Ah can'd helf idd!" Sango mumbled through hunks of bacon. She swallowed, reaching for a forkful of eggs. "I skipped dinner yesterday! And lunch! I haven't eaten since the plane!"

Sango resumed her shoveling. Those who knew her glanced at each other with looks of shrugging resignation, while the other students who were not so well-acquainted with her penchant for eating just looked on in near-horror.

"So what are the plans for today?" Lana asked, turning to Professor Reinhart.

"Whatever you'd like," the Professor replied. "The groups will be taking the day to explore Circhester, see the sights. We'll meet up here tonight by 10:00 to go to the station."

"What about me?" Lana asked.

"I'd advise you to go join one of the groups for the day," Professor Reinhart suggested. Lana nodded. She knew damn well which one she wanted to go with.

After breakfast, the groups met up in the lobby. Group 3 was met with an interesting surprise.

"So, what's she doing here?" Sango asked, staring at the dark-haired senior.

Lana adjusted the cap on her head and crossed her arms defiantly, staring up at the slightly taller girl with a smirk.

"Professor Reinhart told me that I could spend today accompanying one of the groups, so I chose yours," Lana declared. "Is that a problem?"

"A problem?" Sango shrugged. "Not really, just why us?"

Lana glanced at Blake. She frowned.

"Curiosity. I'm interested to see what it is about Blake that would make you and that other girl, Kate, have a threesome with him," Lana explained.

Sango's mouth fell open in shock.

"Uh… what?" Sango asked, shaking her head in shock. "A… what?"

"I saw the three of you last night," Lana scoffed. "Blake and Kate? Sneaking into your room? Don't pretend like you didn't!"

Sango's face turned bright red. She shook her head frantically.

"N-no! We didn't! We were just…"

"What's up?" Blake and Kate had heard their names and come over to see what was going on.

"I was just pointing out exactly what I saw between the three of you last night," Lana smirked. "All getting together in her room?"

Kate and Blake got flustered as well, and frantically denied that anything had happened. Now they had caught the attention of Nikita and Reiner, as well, who wisely decided to stay out of this.

"Enough!" Kate asserted, panting. Her face was bright red. "Nothing happened, drop it! We're going out to hang out around Circhester, if you want to come, then come. But stop bothering us and making up all these stories!"

"…Fine," Lana said, nodding. She was sure that she was correct anyhow, and would be proven as such. She would keep her eye on Blake and the two girls, she was certain that she would uncover the truth.

The students exited the hotel, and were greeted with a blanket of white as far as the eye could see. The day was bright and sunny unlike the night before. The snow had settled on the ground, and reflected the sun so brightly it was almost blinding.

"How beautiful," Nikita breathed, stepping forward. "Reiner! Get a picture of me!"

Nikita spun around with a bright smile on her face, twirling through the snow. She stopped behind the steaming pool in the center of the plaza, a blanket of snow under her feet. She beamed at Reiner as he took his phone out, and began taking pictures of her.

"Oh, hey, get one of both of us!" Nikita called, beckoning Reiner over.

Reiner glanced at Sango, and she took his phone as he headed over to stand beside his girlfriend.

Sango and Blake glanced at each other, and they shared a knowing look, smirking.

"It's hard to get you both in the shot, get closer together!" Sango called. Reiner and Nikita stood a little closer together, and smiled.

"Closer," Sango repeated. Reiner and Nikita looked at each other and shrugged, and got even closer so that Nikita's shoulder was pressed into his arm.

"A little closer…"

The two looked at each other again.

"We kind of can't," Reiner told her.

"Put your arm over her shoulder and hug her!" Sango replied.

"W-well…"

Nikita and Reiner glanced around. Pedestrians had stopped and were watching the two tourists, some were chuckling, especially the older couples. Reiner and Nikita were exceptionally embarrassed.

"Hug!" Sango cackled, her tone insistent. Blake and Kate were snickering in spite of themselves.

"C'mon, it's not… um, it's not like we have anything to be embarrassed about, right?" Nikita asked, even though they were both a little embarrassed to be put on the spot like this.

"Well, I mean, we don't have to take the picture if you don't-"

"No, I… I want to, even though it's a little…" Nikita looked around, but the strangers' eyes were everywhere.

"If you won't hug, how about hand-holding?" Sango called over to them.

"What does that have to do with getting us both in the shot?" Reiner demanded, knowing full well that Sango was bullshitting them.

"Come on, don't you two want a cute picture?" Blake asked.

Reiner and Nikita looked at each other, Nikita looking worried and yet a little hopeful. Reiner nodded, reaching up and draping his arm over her shoulder. He held Nikita close, his face bright red, Nikita letting out a little yelp.

"There it is," Sango smirked. She took the picture. The two separated, flustered by the sudden and unexpected hug. It was pretty clear that physical intimacy was still something they hadn't gotten entirely comfortable with just yet.

"Ehehe, uh… th-thanks," Nikita said, smiling at Sango as the girl returned the camera back to Reiner.

"Indeed, gotta say, that was quite a cute moment," a girl's voice rang out from behind them. Everyone's heads turned to see a girl leaned up against a street lamp, a cocky smile on her red lips.

Sango's eyes widened with recognition at the curly-haired girl. Her icy blue eyes were sparkling intently as she looked over the plaza. Sango had seen her before. Several times.

Rui, from the Children of Oracles.

The criminal sauntered towards them, her hips shaking seductively in her tight pants. She twirled a lollipop between her lips as she stepped past them, eyes focused on Reiner. She wore a fuzzy blue parka, opened wide to reveal her black halter top and smooth stomach, slightly out of place in the cold weather. But the girl was making a statement, and she clearly wasn't letting the cold get the better of her good looks.

"Hey, cutie," Rui smiled, eyeing Reiner. "Reiner, right? You remember me?"

"Ex-excuse me!" Nikita stepped forward, her face filled with fright as she stared at the beautiful girl, staring flirtatiously at her boyfriend. Reiner had no reaction, his lips pressed in a tight line as he stared silently at her.

Rui glanced lazily at Nikita, giving her body the once over. She smirked. A smug, arrogant smirk that said everything that needed to be said about what she thought of the other girl. She was not impressed.

"Don't be coy, cutie, you remember me, right?" Rui asked, glancing back at Reiner. She took the cherry red lollipop out of her mouth, spinning it in her fingers.

"I don't know who you are," Reiner said sternly. "I don't know what's going on here, but I've never seen you before."

Rui's eyes grew nearly imperceptibly wider, as though he had said something unexpected, her smile freezing for an instant before widening.

"How interesting…" the tone in her voice was a little less… fun-loving. She seemed almost serious now.

"Rui."

Rui leaned back and looked over her shoulder at Sango, studying the girl's scowling face.

"Who're you?" Rui asked dismissively. "Sorry, I don't remember the faces of plain girls like you."

She waved her hand to shew Sango off. Sango wasn't biting.

"Who is she?" Blake asked.

"She's working with the people on Mt. Cinder," Sango scowled. "She's a criminal."

"She is, so what?" Rui shrugged. "I can't stay cooped up forever you know, but look at my good fortunes…"

Out for a nice little walk, and she came across some more of those schoolkids.

"You wouldn't happen to know where I can find a few shiny looking stones, now could ya?" Rui narrowed her eyes, a predatory smile crossing her face.

"I'm calling the rangers," Sango said, reaching for her phone.

"Don't bother," Rui scoffed, pulling her jacket open to reveal a belt of pokeballs on her waist. "My specialty is ice types. What do you see surrounding us?"

Snow. Circhester was covered with snow.

"I'm just going for a walk, little girl. But you want to treat me like a criminal, well…"

She picked out a pokeball from her belt.

The threat was quite clear. Sango glanced around. She wasn't sure if they could all take her. Maybe they could.

Maybe it would call others over to help her, and result in people getting injured.

"Yeah, that's what I thought," Rui smirked, returning the pokeball to her belt. She turned back to Reiner. "'Course, to see you again, might be worth it…"

Her voice was breathy, cold steam passing between her lips. She brought her candy put to her lips and gave it a long, sensual lick before opening tilting his chin down and popping it into his mouth. She sauntered off and gave him a wave, pulling out her phone. Looks like they'd have to move out a little early, then, if they didn't want to get caught.

Reiner spit the candy out of his mouth and wiped his lips frantically. Nikita stared at him, the heartbreak in her eyes apparent. Seeing that girl come onto him… she wanted to cry.

"Nikita…" Reiner hadn't done anything wrong with that girl, whoever she was. But still… he felt like he had just seeing the pain on her face.

Nikita didn't say anything. Her eyes were wet. She shrunk back when he reached out to her.

Oof. Fucking Rui, man. Gotta stir things up just when they had a good mood going.