Time for another chapter, with Blake having his talk with Sango! What will these two work out together? I'm in a good mood today, since I got to share this story with a friend, though I doubt they've made it this far yet.
We've got a decent amount of votes in the Pokemon Academy Best Girl Semi-Finals! The current lead runners in the polls may surprise you! The shakeup really makes me realize how a girl may be in many people's top 5, but not necessarily in their top 3. So I'm certainly feeling more than a little surprised Looks like the girl I'm pulling for isn't going to win, but that's fine. They're all wonderful girls! If you want your best girls to make it to the final round and beyond, then make sure to get your votes in! You have 3 votes, make them count!
Semi-Finalists: Cynthia, Ayame, Sango, Kate, Marion, Alcea
DJ Dib Dab: Embarrassment can make you want to do stupid stuff.
ConfusedCradily: Well, she is from the Johto Region, and Xatu are often associated with ruins.
Aquahaze675: Well, whatever he wants from this meeting, his intentions will be made clear soon.
EESDESESESRDT6: I like your explanations, though I think you're a little too hard on Sango. She does want to be with Blake, she's just wary of ruining their relationship. Don't worry, Sango will get her closure with Blake one way or the other. As you may have noticed, Blake's future is the matter at hand here, and what path he goes down will clarify things for everyone.
Thunder Fire: I don't know, he seems like a decent enough guy.
FinLay Real: Thank you for catching up! And thank you for your kind words. I also really like Sylvia, but I need to take care not to have her show up too often, she needs to be used like a nice spice.
Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings
Chapter 270
Blake and Sango sat in their tents, staring at each other in silence. Blake was sitting on his cot, and Sango had borrowed Reiner's. She wasn't sure how to say what she wanted, but she still had to find a way to say it.
"Blake…" Sango looked at him, her eyes glistening. She was trying very hard not to cry. Blake… there was something off about him. He'd been weird for a few days now. She'd tried to push it aside, and wear a comforting smile on her face to make him feel better. But right now, it was like she didn't know who was sitting across from her. She liked Blake. She really, really liked him. But the Blake of the past few days… he wasn't like the Blake she'd come to love. He was shutting her out, thinking about things that he wasn't sharing with the rest of them.
"I don't want you to get hurt," Sango replied. "I… I'm scared, Blake. Listen… when I was in the Galar region, I was captured by Team Rocket."
Blake's eyes widened.
"What are you talking about?" Blake asked. "Are you-"
"I didn't want to tell you," she sighed. "I didn't want to worry you like this. Nothing happened. I snuck on board their ship, and then I was captured and held in a prison. I managed to get freed by the pokemon rangers after only a day or so, so I was fine. But even though nothing happened… for that day, I was terrified. And honestly… sometimes I still have bad dreams about what might have happened if things had gone wrong, if I was still a prisoner, or if I had gotten killed trying to escape…"
Sango felt a shiver run through her body, and she held herself, trembling. That event wasn't something she liked to think about. She hugged Silver to her chest, the small pokemon letting out a soft coo to reassure her.
"Sango…"
"I don't want you to get in trouble!" Sango cried. She rose from her cot and stood over Blake, releasing Silver from her grasp, and pointing a finger at Blake. "I don't want you to get hurt, don't you understand that?! I'm terrified, Blake! These people, they're dangerous! Didn't you see what they did to Ayame? Messing around with them, can't you see how scared that would make someone who cares about you? Who doesn't want to see you get yourself killed?!"
Blake lowered his eyes, understanding the position that Sango was in.
"I want you to think about something," Sango said, calming down and sinking back down into the cot. "Can you do that for me?"
"What?" Blake asked.
"Imagine if you had heard that I was taken captive by Team Rocket. Not right now, but after it had happened, when you didn't know if I was going to be okay," Sango pleaded with him. "How would that make you feel? Thinking… god knows what would be happening to me, not being able to do anything about it…"
Sango searched Blake's clouded eyes for any signs. He could see the desperation on her face, the sadness and pain. It filled him with guilt. He didn't want to see Sango like this. His friend was always so sunny and cheerful, and to see her with such pain and sadness on her face, knowing that he was the cause… Sango was clearly trying to keep from bursting into tears. Her face looked exactly like Ayame's, when she had tried to be strong and had resisted the urge to burst into tears. He… did he really want to hurt Sango the same way he had hurt Ayame?
"I would feel miserable," Blake admitted. "I'd be worried sick."
Sango visibly relaxed, letting out a sigh of relief.
"Then can you see how I feel? Knowing you want to go out and maybe get yourself… you know?"
Blake sighed, looking down. He thought for a while.
"Sango… why did you get captured by Team Rocket?" He asked. "You said you snuck aboard their ship, right? Why?"
Sango paused. Blake looked up to meet her eyes, and she could see a hardness in them that had been absent until now, like he had made up his mind about something.
"Because…" Sango's words caught in her throat. She was about to tell him that she'd had to go, to go save those Wooloo for Lucy. But then… she'd done what she'd done, because she thought that it was right. And it hadn't worked out, but… wouldn't she still do the same thing again? Because it was the right thing to do?
Sango fell silent, so Blake took the opportunity to continue.
"Sango, the kind of girl you are, weren't you doing that because you had to?" Blake asked quietly. He reached out and placed his hand over hers.
He had read her like a book. She lowered her head and nodded sheepishly.
"I was going there… to save some pokemon," she admitted to him.
"I'm doing the very same thing," Blake informed her. "This is something that I have to do. I have to go tomorrow night. And I know it's going to be dangerous, but… I have to."
As Sango glanced up at him, she could see the determination smoldering in his eyes. Her heart skipped a beat. He was so dedicated to this, so certain…
"…Why?" Her voice was barely above a whisper.
The determination on his face wavered slightly, a cloud of uncertainty crossing his expression. He averted his eyes from hers.
"Just… can't you even tell me why?" Sango pleaded. "I just want to hear your side of things, Blake. If you're going to do something so dangerous, then can't you even let me in on hearing what you're doing all of this for?"
Blake didn't have an answer to that. Her eyes were so pure, and filled to the brim with concern that they might overflow. He didn't have the strength to meet those eyes in the state of shame he felt engulfing him.
"Remember when we talked? About your… past… the Village of the Demons?" Sango asked, her concern rolling down the sides of her cheeks.
Blake winced at her mentioning of that.
"That moment… it was like we were really open with one another," Sango said, wiping her eyes. "But now, I feel like… there's a wall between us. Is this really so much worse than that? I don't want to pry, please, but… are you sure you can't tell me?"
"This is… different," Blake said, his voice strained. He raised his head, and their eyes met again. Sango's face was not the only one that was wet.
He's… crying? When was the last time Sango had seen Blake look this… raw? She gulped. This might not be something that she could take from him.
"…This really matters to you, doesn't it?" Sango had made her decision.
"It does," Blake said, nodding. "I have to go. The same way you had to go. This isn't something I can avoid."
He swallowed.
"There's someone… someone I have to save."
Sango knew that this was wrong, but at the same time, she could tell that this was something he would have to do.
"Then go," she relented, nodding her head.
"Wh-what?" Blake was taken aback. He hadn't expected that reaction from her.
"You say you have to go, right? That this is something that you have to do?" Sango clarified. "Then it's fine. I'm not going to tell you that you have to stay, I'm not going to rat you out, or judge you, or anything like that."
"Castform?" Silver glanced at her, also more than a little surprised about Sango's decision.
"I'll cover for you," Sango said, nodding to him. "So you don't have to worry. This is something that you have to do for yourself. That's not to say that I'm not going to worry, but I'm assuming you don't want Professor Reinhart or anyone else to know that you're gone, isn't that the case?"
"Yeah, that's for the best," Blake said, nodding. "You're serious? You're okay with this?"
"No, I'm not," Sango admitted, shaking her head. "But whether I'm okay with it or not… I know what it's like to think you have to do something for the sake of someone else, even if it may not be the right thing to do. So even if I'm not okay with it, I can't keep something this important from you, Blake. So tomorrow night, you go. You do your thing. Just please, promise me… promise me you'll stay safe, okay? As best as you can."
"Yeah. I will."
Blake nodded his head, though he couldn't be entirely sure he could keep that promise.
"Well, I mean, if it's possible anyway."
"No, do it!" Sango insisted. "Promise me you won't do anything risky or stupid or dangerous, and you can go! If you won't promise, then I'm going right to Professor Reinhart!"
"Sango!"
"Promise!" Sango insisted, sticking her tongue out.
Blake cracked a smile, and nodded.
"Okay, I promise that I won't do anything reckless, I'll be careful," Blake said. "You know, if it's at all possible."
"Blake!" Sango didn't appreciate that the tone had changed so much. The serious atmosphere had passed. She stood up and swatted him, and he let out a chuckle. "I'm being serious! You need to promise me, okay?"
"Okay, okay, I promise," Blake laughed, grabbing her hands in the air as she stood over him. "I promise, really. I swear."
"Well this is something."
Blake and Sango's heads whirled around to see Kate standing at the entrance to the tent. Her arms were crossed over her chest, and her usual scowl was in place. She looked a little worse for wear, but on the whole she looked healthier than she had been before.
"Kate!" Sango said.
"So while I'm in the medical tent hurling my guts out, you two were here getting all flirty, huh?" Kate leered at the two of them, clearly not amused by what was going on.
Blake dropped his hands immediately and Sango stepped back.
"We weren't flirting!" Sango insisted, sitting back down on the cot, her face flushed with embarrassment.
"We were just playing around," Blake reassured her.
"You… you look way better," Sango threw in. "You said you were throwing up?"
"Yeah, it sucks," Kate muttered, walking into the tent and sitting on the cot next to Blake, rubbing her temples. "Apparently, I got food poisoning from that breakfast."
"I told you that bacon looked a little raw," Sango chastised her. "Should have stuck with the sausages like me."
"So you're really okay?" Blake asked, Kate nodding.
"I am, they said a liquid diet for the day followed by a good nights' sleep should be enough to work it out of my system."
Kate turned to Sango.
"Now, what was it that I walked in on?" Kate asked. Sango and Blake glanced at each other.
"Oh, nothing, we were just joking around," Sango laughed. "Right, Silver?"
"Cast," Silver agreed, bobbing her head up and down in agreement with his partner.
"…I see," Kate said. "Just joking around, huh? And that whole 'promise me' thing, what's going on with that, may I ask?"
Sango and Blake shared another glance.
"Oh, you know, just… friend stuff," Sango said.
Kate crossed her arms again. She clearly didn't believe them. She felt a few notes of jealousy rearing their heads in her heart. She liked Blake, she really liked him, even though he had turned her down. And walking in on him talking promises while wrestling with another girl had made her feel more than a little annoyed, even though she knew it was stupid.
"Friend stuff, huh?" Kate said, glancing to Blake for confirmation.
"Yup, friend stuff," Blake agreed. Kate scowled again.
"Well, fine," she muttered. "I guess the two of you should get started on writing those papers of yours then, huh?"
"What about you?" Sango asked.
"Yeah, it's not like chaperones are exempt."
Kate smirked. She hopped off of Blake's cot and skipped over to the girls' side of the tent, surprisingly agile for a girl who was supposedly sick of food poisoning.
"I'm getting a sick day exemption," Kate smirked. "The nurses said that I should make sure not to exert myself."
"Oh, right, because writing a paper is so strenuous," Blake said, rolling his eyes.
"Sorry, have fun," Kate laughed, sticking her tongue out. She went over and lied down on her cot, beginning to moan in false pain.
Blake and Sango glanced at each other, and stood up. Blake picked up his bag, slinging it over his shoulder.
"Huh? What're you guys doing?" Kate asked, glancing at the two of them in confusion. She sat up in her cot.
"Well, we were thinking that we wouldn't want to bother you with our work," Blake shrugged, Sango nodding in agreement. "Not when you're so busy healing from your food poisoning and all that, you know?"
"Exactly, plus, I need to go get my laptop from my tent," Sango reminded her. "And we need to find a place with a plug, to get some electricity. So we gotta go."
The malingering Kate scowled at the two of them.
"Seriously though, you take care of yourself," Blake said, his expression turning concerned again. "Rest up, so that you feel better, okay?"
"…Fine," Kate nodded, although she wasn't happy to watch the two of them heading off on their own while she was stuck in a cot.
Blake and Sango left the tent, with Silver following after them.
"So what's the plan now?" Sango whispered. "You aren't planning to tell Kate, too, right? Or Reiner, or Nikita?"
"No, I'm not," Blake said, shaking his head. "The less people that know, the better. Plus, considering the situation right now…"
Blake rubbed his temples in frustration as they entered the tent Sango was sleeping in. Seeing that there was no one in the tent, they didn't need to hush their voices any further, and Blake was able to go into a little more detail.
"I don't think that Kate would be willing to just let me go off on my own tomorrow night," Blake said, sighing. "You saw what happened today, keeping my secret led to her throwing up all over the place. Since the rangers are setting up their sting tomorrow, she should be fine with keeping that secret from the others, but when it comes to me actually going out tomorrow…"
"Yeah, after her reaction today, I can't imagine that she would be okay with just keeping that to herself," Sango agreed. Admittedly, she wasn't entirely sure if she would be okay with keeping it herself either, but she would do her best. Even if someone should tell Blake not to go, she also knew that he had to go. It was that tension in her gut that made her feel like she couldn't bear it, but at the same time…
This the right thing to do… right?
"Sango, you good?" Blake asked.
"What? Oh, yeah, definitely!" Sango said, snapping out of her funk and nodding eagerly. "Yeah, no, I'm totally good! Ready to go? We've got a lot of writing to do, so we better get to it, don't you think? Haha…"
Sango laughed awkwardly, slinging her pack over her shoulder, and the two left the tent to go find somewhere that they could go to plug in their computers.
"Elizabeth's probably got an outlet, don't you think?" Sango asked. "Err, I mean, Doctor Skye, um…"
"You two are close, huh?" Blake laughed. "That's good. She's… dating your dad, right?"
"You caught that?" Sango asked, her cheeks flushing.
"I think it's nice," Blake said.
"I'm still trying to get used to her," Sango admitted, holding her arm over her face to shield herself from the sun. "She's a wonderful person, really, and I like her, but still, things are a little… you know. I'm not ready for a new mom, you know?"
"I can understand that a little bit," Blake admitted, patting her on the shoulder. Sango's glum attitude turned around, and she looked at him, the two stopping. "See, after all I'm *cough* urgh, you *cough, hack*"
"Blake!" Sango gasped, patting him on the back. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, sorry, sorry," Blake coughed, holding his neck gently. It was stinging again. "Urm… as I was saying… I was adopted, you know."
"I remember," Sango said, rubbing the back of his neck gingerly to try and soothe him a little.
"Yeah, so I know what it's like to try and get used to a family that you may not fully embrace, and may not fully be ready for you," Blake said. "And the Harker's… they tried so hard. I don't remember my real family, so-"
"That's right," Sango murmured. "You don't. So compared to me… it's hard to have a new mom, when I still think about my old mom. I'm not going to replace her, so…"
Sango shook her head. She was backtracking.
"Never mind," she replied. "What am I even talking about? Elizabeth isn't going to replace my mom, that's just silly. She's a wonderful person, and I need to keep trying to accept her."
She smiled at Blake, her eyes twinkling.
"Thanks, Blake," she stepped forward, Blake following after her. "I already knew what I was going to do, but hearing your advice helps a lot."
Sango stopped outside of Elizabeth's tent, and glanced back at Blake.
"I don't know if I really did much," Blake shrugged. "Judging by that hug this morning, you two are getting along great as it is."
Sango chuckled and opened the flap of the tent.
"Well this is a surprise," she said, a little stunned. Blake walked in behind her, and was also taken aback by what he saw.
"Oh! Sango! And Blake!" Elizabeth glanced up from her deck, her eyes bright. A blue aura was wrapped around her body, and glowing books and papers were floating in the air around her, like a whirlwind of knowledge or a librarian poltergeist. At the center of it was a Xatu, perched on the back of her chair, its wings spread wide open.
"Uh…" Blake and Sango were speechless.
"I'm working on translations right now, you kids need something?" Elizabeth asked.
"Uh, no, we're fine," Sango said. "Have fun."
They closed the tent flaps as they stepped outside, glancing at each other.
"That was… something."
"So does she always do stuff like that?" Blake asked. Sango rolled her eyes.
"Guess we'll have to find somewhere else," Sango sighed. "Let's go!"
She skipped through the sand, a big smile on her face, as Blake trailed after her. In spite of the heat, he felt a chill run down his neck. He raised his head and looked at the mural standing above them, and thought about tomorrow night.
Tomorrow night is coming closer and closer. What secrets will we discover there? How will Blake fare with all of this?