We get to revisit Elaina and Blake in this chapter, and Marion, as well! Will she be able to get through to Elaina, and help her finally get a handle on her harmonia, and get it under control? I hope so!

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

Aquahaze675: Hopefully she's smarter than that. Or maybe she's saving it for a rainy day, like her match against Blake and Elaina, to really get Caelia motivated. Who can say?

Stomper621: I'm accepting Senior applications, as for the other submissions, Idk. I suggest submitting, if I like it, I might make them cameo.

Mrperson123: See directly above.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 307

"Okies! Focus on your breathings, keep it even and balanced~" Marion chirped.

Elaina was sitting cross-legged on the dock outside of Marion's Aquarium, her eyes closed. She was focusing on her breathing like Marion had said, but she didn't really understand why. What was the point of this? She didn't feel her harmonia getting any clearer, she still felt that murkiness welling up inside of her.

"…Your breathing is still messed up," Marion said softly. This girl, Elaina, she wasn't relaxing the way she was supposed to.

"How is breathing supposed to help?" Elaina snapped. Marion flinched, taking a step back.

"It… it just does, if you want to relax, then-"

"How is relaxing going to help?" Elaina demanded. "You said you could help me learn to control this, so I came down here even though the tag tournament is starting today, but all you've been doing is telling me to breathe!"

"B-Because breathing helps-"

"How?!"

Blake had been watching the two of them from the edge of the dock, looking towards them. Elaina was clearly not the same receptive learner that Kitty was. Marion seemed to be floundering, clearly not certain what to do. He was worried. Elaina quite clearly wanted an easy fix, she was impatient and rightfully so. But even he knew it wasn't that simple.

"It… it just does!" Marion said. She didn't know how to explain it better. "Look, like… harmonia is just, like, a part of you! When your body is out of whack, balance can help, right? Like when you have a headache, you need to relax yourself to help yourself feel better, you know?"

"A headache? You think harmonia is like a headache?"

"No, that's not what I meant," Marion protested. "It's like… when you feel anxious, you know? Deep breathing and meditation keeps you balanced, so you don't get upset."

"Harmonia isn't anxiety!" Elaina exclaimed, leaping to her feet. A gust of wind hit Marion in the face, knocking her hat off.

"It… it is!" Marion replied. She knelt down and fished her hat out of the water, slapping it back over her mint-colored hair. "It's like any other part of you, it responds to your emotions, so you need to control it!"

"That's what I'm trying to do!" Elaina replied. "This… just tell me how to fix myself!"

"But… but there isn't anything wrong with you," Marion whispered. "You're just special."

"Special?" Elaina rolled her eyes, an action unseen by Marion. "You think that I want to be special? You think that people looking at me like I'm a monster makes me special? It just makes me a freak! How do I cure this damn thing?!"

"You can't cure it!" Marion replied. "Harmonia is a part of you! You can't just will your heart to start beating, or lungs to stop breathing, or your hands to stop fishing, right?!"

Pretty sure that last one is controllable, Blake silently commented.

It was clear this wasn't the answer Elaina wanted to hear.

"This is… part of me?" Elaina asked. The words came out venomously, like just saying it hurt. "No, it… I just want to be normal, I don't want to be a freak!"

Marion wanted to smack that mask right off of her face, but that wasn't the kind of person she was. She took a deep breath, refusing to let Elaina's words get to her. She smiled.

"Let me try something different, then."

"…Fine," Elaina muttered. "But no more of this breathing stuff, okay?"

"No more breathing, I promise," Marion said. She walked closer to Elaina, holding her hands up like she was approaching a dangerous wild pokemon, to show she meant no harm. "I'm just going to try and connect with you."

Elaina eyed her cautiously, edging back. She wasn't sure what the older girl meant by that, and she bristled defensively. Marion noted the swirl of wind and the throb of the raging aura around the girl, signaling her discomfort.

"Elaina, hold out your hands," Marion requested.

Elaina glanced at Blake. He was clearly tense, and looked worriedly at her. Blake trusted Marion. If Blake trusted her… Elaina supposed it was worth trusting her, as well. She didn't agree with Marion's perception of harmonia, she didn't accept that this… thing was a part of her. The last time she had let go, she had hurt that student, Naya. And though Elaina did not feel bad about it, she still did not want that part of her to ever surface again, if she could help it.

If she can fix me… then I'll do whatever it takes, even if it doesn't make sense, Elaina decided. She held her hands out.

"Can you turn your palms up?" Marion asked, her voice soft and soothing. Elaina nodded, turning her wrists and facing her palms towards the sky. "That's good…"

Marion lowered her hands, and placed her fingers on Elaina's lifeline.

"Close your eyes," Marion said, closing her eyes as well. Elaina nodded. She felt… relaxed.

"Can you feel me?" Marion whispered. "That's me. I'm directing my harmonia to you. Wave hello."

Elaina moved her hand, but Marion pressed her fingers down to stop her.

"Not with your hand," she clarified. "With your harmonia. Focus it, and answer me."

Elaina could feel something, like a piece of Marion was calling out to her. She swallowed, and tried to answer. Tried to direct her harmonia towards Marion…

"AH!"

"Waah!"

Marion and Elaina both shouted, their hands flying apart. Elaina stumbled back and Marion practically threw herself backwards, landing on her butt.

"What… what was that?!" Elaina shouted, trembling. That… what she had felt, it was nauseating. This was supposed to help her?!

"Elaina, I-"

"Enough!" Elaina snarled, stomping past her. "I should never have listened to you in the first place!"

Marion stood up and chased after her.

"Elaina, I know that you were scared of that, but you can't just run away! You have to-"

"No!" Elaina exclaimed, whirling around. "That darkness, that misery, I don't want any part of it! You clearly don't know how to help me, so I'm not going to waste any more time on you!"

She turned to Blake.

"I tried listening to her like you asked. But that…"

Blake could see she was still shivering. Whatever had happened, it had terrified her.

"I'm leaving. I won't be coming back. You can stay if you like, Blake, but I want nothing more to do with her."

Elaina didn't waste another word on him, turned, and stormed off. Blake gave one last look at Marion, her face wrapped in solemnity and faced downwards in remorse. She mouthed a "sorry" to him, and he shook his head. There wasn't anything to apologize for. He ran after Elaina. There was no way he was about to let her think he'd abandoned her. He was going to stick by her side as long as possible, just to show her that he would.

Marion watched the two of them go, and sighed.

"I wish I could help… but there's nothing I can do now…"

Marion slapped her cheeks and forced a smile to her face.

"So sense crying over snapped lines! Time to fish!"

Marion slung her fishing rod off of her shoulder and sat down, swinging her legs over the edge, and cast her line out into the water, slipping away from the unpleasantness and focusing on the ocean once again.

Blake followed Elaina on the path leading back to campus. He remained silent, giving her space. He could see that she was feeling some turmoil, and he didn't know if he could say or do anything to make her feel better.

Then, they ran into two people heading the other way.

"Kitty, Nikita, what are you two doing here?"

The girls were walking down the path toward the beach. Blake wanted to smack himself in the face. Obviously they were heading to see Marion, Kitty still visited her to train.

"Uh! Elaina Bishop!" Nikita gasped, swallowing and taking a step back. Blake couldn't see her face, but the flinch in her shoulder was distinct. He could imagine that seeing the girl's fearful look was painful to her.

Oddly, though, the normally timid Kitty didn't recoil back. She stood calmly in the center of the path, directly in front of Elaina, and looked up at her shiny white visage.

"Hello there," Kitty said.

Elaina didn't reply.

"We were going to see a friend of mine," Kitty continued. "Marion. She's… like us. You can feel it, right? That I'm… like you."

Elaina gave her a silent nod.

"I was scared… of hurting people. And fighting. So I've… been getting control of my abilities, so that I won't hurt anyone if I fight them."

"And you want to battle with me?" Elaina asked.

Kitty narrowed her eyes.

"Not… not yet. Right now… I don't think it will help," Kitty said. "But… be waiting, Elaina. I'm going to fight you soon enough."

"Why wait?" Elaina asked. "Scared?"

Kitty stared back at her.

"…Are you?"

Elaina flinched. She scowled behind her mask and stormed past Kitty, Nikita throwing herself out of the way.

"Sorry guys," Blake apologized, following after Elaina.

"I… I know I shouldn't feel scared of her, after what you told me…" Nikita said, looking down. "But… I can't help it. Kitty?"

Kitty's face was pale. She let out an exhale and her body deflated, drained of energy now that Elaina was no longer present.

"That was terrifying!" Kitty gasped, her heart pounding her chest and her knees shaking. "I thought I was gonna throw up!"

"No, you did great!" Nikita said, nodding encouragingly. "As a fellow shy person, I thought you were super-cool standing up to her like that!"

Kitty nodded, swallowing her nerves. She planned to do her best in the tournament. This would be her first time using harmonia in real battles. And she wanted to be safe. But she didn't want to lose, either. She wanted to defeat Elaina. And that meant…

"Let… let's go see Marion," Kitty said, turning around and picking up the pace. They arrived at the cape a few minutes later, and Marion was where she usually was, plopped on the dock and fishing up a storm. Kitty ran over to her.

"Marion!"

Marion blinked, raising her head, and turning back to look at Kitty.

"Kitty! Just in time! I just got in some fishing, come join!"

"Uh, not right now," Kitty said, walking down the dock. Nikita followed behind her.

"Come on, just a little fishing will help you unwind! You're sending out some totally tense vibes!" Marion said, patting the wood beside her. "You can go get a spare poll from the rack!"

"Uh…"

"Come on, it'll be fun!"

Kitty still wasn't very good at standing up to Marion's forcefulness. She looked desperately at Nikita for help, but Nikita was trying very hard to figure out how many knots were in the wood under her feet.

Marion noticed her, though.

"Oh! Who's this? Is she your friend?"

"Uh, I'm Nikita," Nikita said shyly, glancing up at her and waving. "I… I think we met before, at Blake's birthday party?"

"Blake's party…? No, don't remember much about that, did we do any fishing?"

"Um, no-"

"Hey! Do you like fishing?"

"Not really-"

"Totally should give it a shot! Let me go get you a spare poll!"

Marion set her fishing rod down and hopped to her feet, skipping over to Nikita. As she got closer, she paused, and blinked. Kitty looked at her, confused.

"You…"

Marion walked out Nikita, leaning in close, practically taking big inhales of the girl, which definitely weirded Nikita out.

"Um, Kitty, what's going on?" Nikita asked.

"I-I don't know, Marion's kind of weird, but…"

Marion stepped back, a content smile on her face. Her eyes were glassy with nostalgia.

"Sorry, sorry, it's just… there's still a bit of residue drifting off of you, that's all."

"Wh-what?!" Nikita gasped, checking herself frantically. "Do-do I stink?!"

"No, no, nothing like that, you're totes fine! It's more of a…"

Marion sighed.

"The air around you reminds me of someone I knew growing up, that's all…" Marion glanced at Kitty's confused expression and her face tightened. It shouldn't be possible, and yet she could feel faint traces of Doctor K's soothing harmonia clinging to the dark skinned girl. No, no, that's crazy, it couldn't be…

"So if you guys ain't fishing, what're ya doing here?"

Nikita glanced at Kitty.

"Oh! Me! Right," Kitty said, still a little flustered. "Um, I… I'm in a tournament right now! And I wanted to know if it was okay to use my harmonia in pokemon battles! I-I don't want to hurt anyone, so if you say I'm not ready then I won't, but-"

"Yeah, sure, do whatever," Marion shrugged.

Kitty didn't really know what to say to that. Her tiny little mouth flapped open and closed for a few seconds.

"Um… you sure?"

"Yeah, Kitty, look, the kind of girl you are, your harmonia… you'll be fine, trust me," Marion said, giving her a thumbs up and a big smile. She walked over and clapped her hand on the shorter girl's shoulder in reassurance.

"Are… are you really sure? Because… if I lose control, then…"

"Just do exactly as I said," Marion reassured her. "We've been working on getting it under control, right? So you just do your best. Embrace your harmonia for what it is, and you'll be fine."

She sighed.

"I wish everyone could think like you, to be honest."

"Wh-what do you mean?" Kitty asked. "Wait… are you talking about Elaina Bishop?"

"I figured you knew her," Marion said. "Considering Blake's friends with her and everything." She let out another sight and sat down, crossing her legs.

"What… what happened?" Kitty asked. "If you don't mind me asking, I mean…"

"That girl, Elaina… I tried to connect with her harmonia, you know, the way you and I do?" Marion asked.

"A-and?"

Marion glanced at Nikita. Sharing this with Kitty was one thing, but…

"N-no, it's okay! I can go somewhere else," Nikita said, running hastily over to the end of the dock. She was honestly a little relieved. This whole harmonia thing was weird. She didn't know very much of it, but what she did know, she didn't really like. It was so… fantastical! It didn't make any scientific sense in the slightest!"

…Not that she disliked Kitty or anything! That girl was the most adorable thing Nikita had ever seen! But she had to admit that her power did unnerve Nikita more than a little bit. But not to the extent that Elaina's terrifying power elicited from her. Nikita just hoped she could get a little more used to Kitty's abilities, so they could be closer friends.

That ship had probably sailed with Elaina, though, not that Nikita was all that interested in being her friend to begin with.

"…So Elaina?" Kitty asked.

Marion looked out across the water.

"Blake brought her over this morning, and asked if I could help her get a better handle on her harmonia. You know, the same way I did with you. So I tried the breathing, I tried making a temporary connection, I tried all sorts of stuff. But… I couldn't get it to work. I couldn't get through to her, and when we tried connecting, it…"

Marion shivered.

"It was terrifying."

Kitty gulped.

"You were scared?"

"What? No, I'm shivering because it's cold out here," Marion griped. "It's almost winter, stupid winter! Why's it gotta be all cold?! Fishing in the cold without a parka sucks!"

"Marion!"

"Sorry, sorry, no… I mean, look… I wasn't the one scared."

Kitty blinked.

"But that girl… she was terrified. I've never felt that much fear coming out of someone before, not even at Anja Karzat."

"She was scared of her harmonia?" Kitty asked. "Like me?"

"No, not… not exactly," Marion said, shaking her head. "I mean, you were scared of your powers, yeah, because you didn't want to hurt anyone. But Elaina… it was like she refused to accept the idea of her harmonia completely."

"I don't understand," Kitty said, tilting her head to the side in confusion.

"Harmonia is a part of us," Marion said, staring down at her tanned hand. "It's who we are. It's a reflection of ourselves, our hopes, our insecurities, are dreams, our love… it's everything. And sometimes, who we are can be scary. But we have to learn to accept ourselves and our flaws, and overcome them. That's what I did, and that's what you're trying to do right now. But her…"

The look on Marion's face broke Kitty's tiny little heart. Marion was usually all smiles, this was the first time she'd seen her look this down.

"That girl can't accept that part of her. She's scared of it, she hates it. When she tried to reach out to it this morning… she pushed it away in fear. She doesn't want to overcome those parts of herself, she just wants them gone. She wants to be 'fixed' but there's nothing wrong with her. I want to help her, I do, but…"

Marion let out another long sigh.

"I can't help someone who won't acknowledge they need help. As long as she keeps hiding behind that mask and rejecting who she is, she won't be able to move forward. I won't be able to help her."

"Did you tell her that?" Kitty asked.

"I tried to," Marion admitted, acknowledging that maybe she hadn't done the best job. "But even if I say it… if she won't want to hear it, then what can I do?"

Kitty didn't know either. She frowned.

"Well then, I'll help," Kitty suggested.

Marion blinked.

"I've already promised to battle with her," Kitty said. "Before, I wanted to show her that I could control my harmonia without hurting anybody. Maybe show her that there's a better way. But now… I want to talk to her. With my harmonia, you know? Show her that I can accept her, that she doesn't have to run from that part of herself. And maybe then… maybe she can be happier?"

"That… wow, kiddo. That's real great of ya," Marion laughed, her face brightening. She reached over and ruffled Kitty's hair.

"And maybe… I can help Blake's sister that way, too…" Kitty mumbled under her breath. Her harmonia was a part of her. It was a gift that made her special, and she hoped that maybe, just maybe, it was something she could use to help someone, instead of causing them pain.

I think that's a good goal to have, Kitty. Good luck! Maybe you'll get through to her!

On another note, when I first conceptualized Marion, she was one of the Daevas, a fishing enthusiast, Sango's senior/mentor, and a harmonia user with a connection to Anja Karzat. That was it. I imagined her as a minor character with little impact on this section of the story, a comic relief character with some serious parts who would bring some levity to the other Daevas. I did NOT plan for her to have the robust role in the story that she does. And somehow, through sheer force of will, she keeps pushing her way into the story, and swallowing larger and larger chunks of it. She's slowly consuming the plots, and pulling things in ways I absolutely did not plan for, I love it. She's even pushed her way into the final 3 of the Pokemon Academy Best Girl contest, taking the slot I was certain would go to Cynthia or Kate! I keep telling myself that she's done for now, and yet she somehow manages to drag me back and tell me "no, no, like, I totally can be a big help here! Lemme fish some more, everything goes well when that happens!"

She's a sheer joy to write, and I can't help working her back in when I can. It's gonna be a real shame when she graduates and I can't just have her pop in whenever she wants to go fishing anymore.