300 chapters! That's quite a milestone! I've put a lot of hard work into this story, and we're not even close to the end! Sad that I can't see any reviews, but I hope you're still keeping them going, and still keep voting as well! In this chapter, we get to see Elaina, who has learned that the boy she crushes on, who she thought was her chance for a normal life, has a girlfriend. How will she react to this? For that matter, how will Ayame?

The Finals have begun! The Pokemon Academy Best Girl Finals have only gotten a few votes in, I can't wait to see how it goes. All the girls there are pretty good, but as you may have guessed I'm personally polling for Ayame in light of the story direction. How will it go? We'll have to see! Be sure to get your votes in! Only one girl can win, who will that one girl be? Who will be the Pokemon Academy Best Girl?

Finalists: Sango, Ayame, Marion

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 300

Elaina said nothing further, stepping past Ayame and sitting down at another side of the table, directly between Blake and his girlfriend.

Ayame looked to Blake for an explanation, but he looked as surprised as she felt. So clearly this wasn't an attempt to ambush her, he didn't know she was coming either. She turned her attention back to this girl, Elaina Bishop. What she knew of the girl was mostly from witnessing her matches. She was violent, dangerously so, and clearly her pokemon had more power than she could control. When Blake had explained the concept of Harmonia to her, it had come as a shock. That these different people had this… ability, it was somewhat hard to believe. But the girl sitting before her was one of those people, and that ability… it was clearly more than she could control.

Ayame had to admit that she was terrified.

The last time she had seen Elaina Bishop had been in the final match of the Fall Festival Tournament, when the girl had fought against Akira Saroyan and put them both in the hospital, nearly tearing down the entire stadium in the process. She had been scared, an uncommon feeling for her. Scared for Olivia, Celia, and her other friends, scared for Blake, who she had just been getting to know (though the Ayame at the time would never have admitted it) and scared for pretty much everyone else, too. And seeing her sitting with them like a normal person didn't lessen her fear any more.

Ayame felt a little intimidated by her. She gulped. This girl was even more intimidating when she was standing in front of her. At a distance it was like witnessing a natural disaster. But here, right in Ayame's face, the disaster was confronting her head-on.

And Elaina wore an outfit clearly designed to be a confrontation. Her mask was cold and shiny, concealing her thoughts from Ayame's gaze, and her clothes were loud and dark, a leather corset over a high-collared dress, with a dark hooded shawl covering most of her head, her hair falling under it and down her back. Most of her skin was covered in black. Long, fingerless gloves wrapped around her arms, and thigh-high socks stretched down her long legs, ending in dark leather high-heeled boots. It was the kind of outfit Olivia would wear if she was feeling particularly aggressive, (though not the mask; never the mask, Olivia wouldn't consider any outfit that obscured her pretty face) oozing with sexual intimidation and a dominating aura.

The girl who was wearing it was feeling none of those things, however.

She's so handsome… Elaina's face fell, her heart sinking deeper the longer she spent staring at the senior.

When Elaina had heard that Blake had a girlfriend last night, her heart had broken in two. She spent the night crying into Gerard's shoulder, falling asleep at some point from exhaustion. She had awoken alone, and aching in her chest, as she was forced to confront the painful truth.

Blake doesn't like me. Not like… that. He was just being kind. Because he's a kind person.

Elaina had always wanted someone to look kindly on her. To care about her for who she was, not because they wanted something from her, but because they saw HER. They wanted to see her be happy, for no gain of their own. She had thought that Blake was that person. That he wanted to help her because he was kind, because he really did care. She had hoped that he would be different from the others.

And in a way, he was.

Blake had been concerned for her. He had shown her kindness and tenderness, stood by her side and told her that he wanted to be there for her. No matter how many times she had tried to push him away, he kept coming back, kept showing her that, no, he wasn't going anywhere, and that she didn't have to worry about him leaving her or being afraid of her. And now she knew that he hadn't had any ulterior motives. He wasn't some lovesick teenage boy who wanted to turn her good so they could end up together. He wasn't some prick trying to manipulate her into falling for him so he could get into her skirt and crow to his friends about how he had managed to seduce the monster girl, and then toss her aside like garbage.

He'd only seen her for who she was. A scared girl alone in the world, treated as nothing more than a monster or a weapon by everyone. Someone completely alone, in need of a kind hand and a comforting shoulder. Not because he loved her, not because he had something to gain. But because he knew Elaina was alone and scared, and needed his help. And so he gave it, expecting nothing in return, not even her feelings of gratitude.

In a way, by showing that he hadn't wanted her that way, Blake had proved to Elaina even more that his concern for her wellbeing was genuine.

…

But why didn't he want her that way?! Elaina should have been overjoyed that she had met a boy who treated her as a person, cared for her as a person, and wanted to help her simply because she was a person in need of help. And yet those thoughts still made an uncomfortable feeling in her stomach.

She had fallen for Blake. Maybe it was childish, falling for him because he was the only boy who saw her as a person. Or maybe it was something more, maybe she'd been drawn to him by something deeper, not just his actions but for being the kind of person to TAKE those actions, the kind of man who WOULD treat her, and anyone else, like a person instead of judging them for their differences. Neither her brain nor her heart could tell if there was a difference there, all she knew was that these feelings FELT real, and the pain at seeing him with his girlfriend had felt real.

Elaina turned to look at this girl, this "Ayame Toujou" she'd heard so much about. The girl was staring at her, and when she'd been caught, she flinched and averted her eyes. Elaina scowled behind her mask. She'd seen that look before. Countless times. Fear mixed with disgust. She was just like all the rest. Seeing her as a monster in a mask, and not trying to look at the girl underneath it. She didn't understand how Blake could fall for such a scornful person.

No… of course he could.

Ayame was everything Elaina couldn't be. For one, her face was pleasant. She might not have been traditionally beautiful, her features were a tad too masculine for that. Rather, she was pretty in the way the pretty boys were pretty, a handsome, androgynous sort of appearance, like the boys in the dating games Elaina would play while locked up in her room. She wasn't smiling now, but Elaina could imagine a handsome smile crossing that flawless face, making girls and boys alike swoon.

All Elaina had to offer was a mask.

No matter that the face underneath it was beautiful, it was not a face she'd ever show the world again. That was too dangerous, too risky. The "Elly" that Blake had met, that he had been so kind to, how could she reveal it to him now, now that she had lied so deeply? Compared to her, Ayame was real. A real face on a real girl, one who he could hold and kiss, someone who he could go to movies with and out on lunch dates with. A girl who he could be with, without the risk of her putting him in the hospital the moment her emotions got out of control. Someone he would be able to walk hand in hand through campus with without having to feel the looks of horror and uncomfortable gazes the student body would flash them both.

Seeing Ayame was like staring at a monument to everything Elaina could never have given to the boy she loved, and it made her want to cry.

But now wasn't the time for tears.

"Elaina…"

Even hearing his voice stung now. Because it was still his voice, his kind, sweet voice that told her he cared about her and wanted to help. But while the voice hadn't changed, it no longer sounded the same to her. Elaina couldn't hear it and pretend it to be the words of a boy who might love her.

"I came here today… because I am unfortunately rejecting your request," Elaina said, stopping Blake before he said anything that would hurt her even further.

"Wh-what?" Blake asked, surprised.

"Oh?" Ayame's ears perked up. She tried not to feel glad at the news, considering the situation, but she couldn't help the feeling of relief that washed over her, knowing that Blake wouldn't be teaming up with someone so dangerous.

"Wh-why?" Blake asked. Sure, she'd seemed apprehensive about it the night before, but she'd still agreed.

Elaina gave no further clarification of her answer, ignoring him completely. That got him thinking. And what he thought made him suspicious.

"Is this about Gerard?" Blake asked.

Elaina shook her head. She assumed he'd think of that. "I feel that I am not in a condition where I can be your teammate, that is all. You are aware of my… condition, after all. You know that if we were to fight, there would be a risk of me causing injury to you. I would prefer not. And seeing as I have no great need to join this tournament, I do not see any reason for you to needlessly put yourself and others at risk. So I will decline."

It was a good enough lie. One with just enough truth to feel convincing. Elaina felt rather proud of it. She didn't want to hurt Blake, and while she no longer cared about the wellbeing of her opponents (after all, they would see her as a monster, regardless) she did not have any desire to hurt them if she didn't HAVE to. So it was something that the two would accept, Elaina was sure of it. Especially Blake. He would understand that, with her lack of control, she could hurt him. And he would accept that it was her fear of doing just that that was guiding her decision, even if that wasn't technically true.

Ayame's image of Elaina improved slightly with that statement. Before, she had considered Elaina to be rather callous and amoral, with no concern for others around her. But if she was as concerned for Blake and her opponents as she said she was, then maybe Ayame's initial perception of her was flawed. Blake certainly seemed to think so.

"Is that really how you feel?" Blake asked.

Elaina nodded.

"It is."

This lie was better than the truth, that being around Blake would hurt her as much as she might hurt him. That now that she knew that the two of them couldn't be together the way she wanted them to be, his acts of kindness and willing to put himself at risk for her just made her want to cry. She and Blake couldn't be together. The dream she'd had, where she could gain control over her abilities someday, and Blake would be waiting for her. Where they could be together, without her risking hurting him. Where she could finally have someone to love her for who she was.

All those dreams of the future were lies. And the more time she spent with him, the more she would want that sweet little lie, and the more she would be reminded of the truth. That Blake had chosen someone normal, someone who he loved, and that someone wasn't her. Blake accepted her for who she was. But he'd never be for her what she wanted him to be.

If Elaina was a worse person, a more broken person, she might have considered hurting the other girl, unleashing her power on her and taking her out of the equation, so that Blake would turn to her. But she could never hurt someone who brought so much happiness to the boy she liked. So she would end things here. Cut herself off from Blake entirely.

"This shall be the last time we meet," Elaina said, rising from her seat, giving Blake one last look through her teary eyes. "I want nothing more to do with you."

She turned her gaze upon Ayame, staring down at the handsome girl who was everything Elaina so desperately wanted to be.

"Save your concerns for the ones you love, I don't want your thoughts wasted over me any further than they already have been."

She'd tried to end things with him so many times in the past. To push him away for his own safety. But it had been her lingering feelings, her yearning for him, that had brought her let him keep pushing his way back into her life. But this was the end. Those feelings could never be. There was no future between them. She would end things for good this time, find a way to get control over her powers for Gerard's sake and for her own. But Blake… she wouldn't allow him to have his way any longer. It was better for the both of them if they never saw one another again.

"Goodbye," Elaina said quietly, turning from the table and walking away.

"Wait!" A forceful tug on her arm brought a halt to Elaina's departure. She whirled around, surprised, to see Blake standing behind her, his eyes hot.

"Elaina…"

"Just leave me alone!" Elaina shouted. "Don't you get it?! I'm done with you! The more you try to get close to me, the more I'll hurt you! I don't want this! I don't want you here anymore! Just go away! Stop trying to get close to me, stop giving me hope!"

Blake scowled.

"Is that all you thought?" He demanded. "That I was just someone who could be there for you because it was convenient?"

Elaina paused, not entirely sure she understood what he was saying.

"I care about you, Elaina," Blake continued. "I'm worried about you. I want to help, but all you do is push me away. I know that you're lonely, I know that you don't have anyone but Gerard. If you keep pushing me away, then all you're doing is hurting yourself. You need someone, Elaina. Someone to care about you. Someone who wants to help you, not just use you like Gerard."

"I don't care if I'm being used," Elaina spat. "And I don't need you. I've told you over and over. Stay. Away. From. Me."

"Why? Because you're afraid that you'll hurt me?" Blake demanded. "Fuck that. I've been hurt before. The last time you said you didn't want me around, I told you that I wanted to help you, even if that meant keeping my distance from you like you wanted. But I realized that I was a fool for agreeing to something like that."

"Wh-what?" Elaina asked, startled.

"Recently… let's just say that I've realized what can happen to someone when they're on their own, with no one who cares for their wellbeing beside them. I don't want that to happen to you. I won't let that happen to you. So even if you think that me leaving you alone is for the best, that isn't going to happen. I'm not letting you push me away any more. Not as long as you still need my help."

Blake's words sent pinpricks through Ayame's heart. The passion in his voice… had he ever sounded like that when he'd tried to help her? This girl, she clearly needed Blake's help, and Ayame could see that Blake didn't just WANT to help her, it was like he needed to help her, down to the very core of who he was. He needed to help her the way he'd failed to help his sister. Ayame had helped Blake, sure, and she could feel how much he cared about her, but… had he ever treated her with such desperation? She had been the one to pursue him… but he was pursuing Elaina. Even if he didn't have an interest in her that way, he was chasing her in a way that he'd never chased her. They were freshmen. Connected by a bond that Ayame couldn't get between. Her, with her harmonia, and him, desperate to help her control it. And who was she? Just a girlfriend. He wanted to be with her, he wanted to spend time with her. But in a year she'd be gone. And then what? He and Elaina would still have three more years together.

Ayame wanted to be Elaina right now so badly. All the girls in Blake's life… Sango, who was practically his best friend. Cynthia, his rival. Claire, who had known him for years. And this girl, Elaina, someone who he was so desperate to be with, showing a passion that she hadn't ever really felt for him. And who was she? Just some passing fancy. Someone who had happened upon him when he was at his lowest, and helped him when he needed it. That was all. If Elaina had been there instead… or Sango, or Cynthia, or one of the others… would they even be together at all?

Claire's words flashed back into her mind and her eyes widened. She lightly slapped her cheeks, shaking her head. No! Don't think that way! Blake chose me! He loves me! It wasn't just because I happened to be there, he loves me because of who I am! It had been a long time since Ayame had felt this insecure before. She hated it. She liked being confident, and Blake had been the one to help her regain her confidence. She wasn't about to lose it now, just because Blake was the kind of person who wouldn't abandon a girl in need. Ayame was certain that if she were in Elaina's position, Blake would have been just as desperate to help her. This wasn't about her, this was about Blake helping someone who needed his help more than anyone right now. She snuffed out those seeds of jealousy before they had a chance to take root in her heart.

Ayame was not the only one whose emotions were spurred by Blake's words. Elaina grit her teeth together, clenching her hands into fists. She wanted to scream at him. He didn't understand how painful it was, how could he? To be comforted and cared for by someone who wouldn't love her? Someone who would leave her…

"You say that… but you're just going to abandon me!" She snarled, catching Blake off-guard at the hurt and venom in her voice.

Elaina had been abandoned by people her entire life, going all the way back to her mother. Blake was just the latest in a long line of people that had given her hope and then taken it away, even if he had been more well-meaning than the others, even if he didn't even know the hopeful dream he had given to her, and then taken away.

"I didn't… I'm not going to abandon you," Blake replied, frantic with confusion and desperation. What was she even talking about?

"…You… are abandoning me… at this very moment," she hissed. It was cruel, to blame him for the crime of being in love with another. But Elaina was hurt, and wasn't thinking clearly. Until something turned her blood cold. She felt energy welling up in her body, threatening to bubble up and erupt from her. It was an all-too-familiar feeling, the release of harmonia. She had to get away from him, NOW.

"Elaina-"

"Let go of me!" She shouted. "Let go, let go, let-"

A hand dropped onto her shoulder and suddenly the energy in her body drained away.

"Wh-wha?"

Elaina turned to see someone standing behind her, a woman with skin kissed by the sun and eyes as blue as the sea, with a smile nearly as vast. Her light green hair was covered by the wide brim of a straw hat, and she carried a fishing pole over her shoulder, held in place by a gentle grip. What Elaina saw most clearly, though, was the current of energy that roiled around her like the gentle ebb and flow of the tide.

"Don'tcha think you're getting a might too aggressive now? Sure breakfast is the most important meal of the day but that's no reason to make THIS big a deal out of it, el oh el," the strangely cheery girl laughed. Elaina's eyes widened in recognition. This girl… Elaina didn't know who she was, but she knew she was like her…

"You're Marion Rivers!" Ayame gasped.

"Marion? What are you doing here?" Blake asked.

"I was following the fishies, but it turns out I got a little lost along the way," Marion laughed sheepishly, scratching the back of her head. "Someone was getting in the way of my signals! But it looks like I'm in the right place."

Marion turned to Elaina and smiled good-naturedly.

"I'm Marion Rivers!" She chirped, holding her hand out. "Nice ta meetcha! Do you like fishing?"

Elaina stared at her in silence. She still wasn't sure how to act around another harmonia user. She realized that this was probably the girl Blake had told her about, the person who had helped Kitty get her abilities under control.

"Blake, let her go," Marion said, turning to Blake. "She can't shake hands if you're holding her like that!"

Blake was going to say that Marion could just be hold her fishing pole with her left hand instead of her right, but Elaina slipped free from his grasp before he could.

"I already said, I'm done here," she replied.

"Then why're you so twisty and turny?" Marion asked, tilting her head to the side and spinning her arms all over the place. "You're going all, like, 'swish swoosh swirly swirl' like a whirlpool!"

Blake and Ayame couldn't see it of course, but Marion's description of Elaina's harmonia was dead-on, raging around her like a tornado. Marion could tell from the waves she was giving off that this girl was clearly on her last legs. She was like a Magikarp floundering on the beach, desperate to get back into the water but unable to get there on her own. She needed to get it under control, badly, or she'd end up…

Marion didn't like thinking of stuff like that.

"Elaina, please!" Blake cried, chasing after her.

"Why are you still chasing me?!" Elaina demanded. "I told you, I don't want-"

"You don't want to hurt me? You won't," Blake said. "The only thing that would hurt me right now, really hurt me, is to see you throw everything away and keep going down this path."

"But…"

"Listen, please, just give me a chance," Blake begged. "Just these last two weeks. Just be my partner. Marion's here, and she can help you, show you how to control your powers. I want to help you, too! Let me show you that I'm not going to abandon you, no matter what happens. No matter what you do, even if you hurt me, or someone else, or even yourself, I'm going to be there, to help you. Because I care about you, Elaina. You know I do. And if, by the end of the term, you can't accept the idea that I won't abandon you-"

"Then what?" She snarled. "Will you finally stop with this nonsense? Will you leave me alone?! Will you just go away and let me suffer in peace?!"

Blake winced. He didn't want it to come to that. But it was the only thing to do. If he said no, he'd lose her anyway. At least this way… there was a chance of bringing her back. And that chance was more than he'd had with Gwen.

"…Yes," he finally said. "I will."

This chapter was really hard for all the parties involved. Especially me. I had no idea how much Elaina and Ayame would envy the other's position with Blake until I began writing this chapter, which caused it to go in a direction that I did NOT plan for. I'm honestly not sure where the arc is going to go from here. We're still on course in the macro level (it was always the plan for Elaina and Blake to come to a head over whether or not he would abandon her) but what this means for the relationship between the three of them… I can honestly say I'm not sure. I hope that Blake and Ayame don't break up, but this chapter brought something to light about Ayame that I hadn't considered before; Blake knows that it couldn't be anyone but her. The reason he was saved was because she was there, and no one else. But that isn't necessarily how it would look to Ayame. I'm not sure what this means going forward, but I hope things between them end up okay, I don't want their relationship ending over something like this.

Still, for such a major chapter with the nature of Blake and Ayame's relationship coming to a new epiphany, I think it's rather fitting for a 300th chapter. Remember to review, and vote for your best girl!