Well, still no reviews. But that's okay! In this chapter, we get more of Blake and Ayame. And more importantly… we'll be exploring Ayame's history and past with Olivia in the next few chapters!

The Finals have begun! The Pokemon Academy Best Girl Finals is heating up, I can't wait to see how it goes. The race is really close, and it's still anyone's game, showing just how great these girls really are. Any one of them deserves the title of Pokemon Academy Best Girl, but only one of them will be able to win! If you haven't voted for your best girl yet, better get those votes in quick! This contest is gonna be a close one it looks like, a single vote makes all the difference! It's almost done! Only 2 days remaining! Who will be the Pokemon Academy Best Girl?

Finalists: Sango, Ayame, Marion

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 325

"Whoa are you?" Elaina said again, staring at the girl who both looked like her and yet wasn't her, not really. She looked the same, but she was just… different. Her smile wasn't her smile. Her eyes weren't her eyes. It wasn't Elaina she saw behind them. Though Elaina no longer recognized her own face in the bathroom mirror these days, either.

"You know who I am," the girl murmured. She prowled on her hands and knees across the bed, coming right up before Elaina's face. Her eyes were shimmering with an eerie glow. "You just don't want to admit it…"

The girl raised her hand and slid her finger over Elaina's breast, poking straight towards her heart. Her voice was deep and breathy, heating up Elaina.

"I'm the girl, the one who's a part of you. I'm you, Elaina. The part of yourself that you keep denying. Can't you feel it? I know you must. You can feel it… right down in here… but you're too scared to accept it…" the girl whispered. "I'm the one who's been fighting beside you… all this time… don't you know my name?"

Elaina gasped, her eyes widening in realization.

"Zan… Zangetsu?" She whispered.

The strange girl's face went slack with shock.

"Agh, you fucking nerd!" She exclaimed, slapping herself in the face. "Are you serious right now? Are you that far in denial? Fine. Maybe this will make things a little more clear."

The girl placed her hand over her face, and then lowered it to reveal a familiar porcelain mask to Elaina. Darkness crawled up from the bedsheets, wrapping over her body and staining her white dress black. A shiny leather corset wrapped itself around her waist, emphasizing Elaina's curvaceous figure even more. A black shawl covered her brown hair, and wrapped up her legs and arms into long socks and fingerless gloves.

Elaina gasped.

"You were… you were the one from that dream!" Elaina stuttered. She remembered now. The shadowy double that had tried to convince her to remain in that dream, that fantasy, that illusion of a perfectly happy life. She had defied her before… why was she here now? "What… I told you to go away! I don't want your dream world!"

"This isn't about that," her double said, shaking her head. "I'm only here to see you, Elaina. You can't get rid of me. I'm always here, in your heart, in your head, in your very being. You and I are one, Elaina Bishop, can't you accept that?"

Elaina shook her head in desperation.

"I don't-"

"We are," she repeated. "When your heart was in turmoil before, I looked like this. But now… now I look like this."

The dark clothes sloughed off of her body to be replaced by a pure white dress and a smiling face, staring at Elaina with twinkling blue eyes.

"What's changed in you, to make me look like this now?" She mused in curiosity. She leaned back, away from Elaina, running her hands over her own body. "Perhaps it's because your ideals, your dreams, they've changed so much, haven't they? I'm certain, Elaina, a girl like you… perhaps this is what you want me to be? All nice and clean and pure… not that I'm complaining, of course. I'm only your reflection, Elaina. I'm whoever you want me to be… I can look like anything you wish, be anything you wish, and all you have to do is accept me for who I am. Can you do that, Elaina? That's all I want, you know. Your acceptance… your love…"

"Who are you?" Elaina whispered once more, even as she knew the answer. But it refused to enter her brain. She wouldn't accept something like that, she couldn't accept it.

Suddenly, the girl was upon her again. She pressed Elaina down into the mattress and mounted her, pressing her wrists down on either side of the pillow. She leaned in close to her, her sky-blue eyes shimmering with ethereal light as she brought their faces close enough to where their noses were nearly touching, before leaning in and bringing her lips to the scared girl's ear, whispering her name to Elaina Bishop.

"Harmonia."

Elaina's eyes snapped open and she shot out of bed, wide awake.

The sky overhead was storming as Ayame and Blake ran through campus.

"What the fuck happened to the weather?" Ayame griped, the late afternoon sun having turned into a downpour all of a sudden.

"No idea," Blake said, shaking his head.

Ayame scowled. She had been hoping for a nice evening picnic, since Blake had the rest of the afternoon off. It wasn't like she'd prepared anything, honestly they'd just bought a few sandwiches at the deli and were planning to take them to Floette Fields to watch the sunset. It was gonna be sweet and romantic, and then it seemed like a hurricane came out of nowhere. Like the heavens themselves were trying to ruin their date.

The couple skipped up the steps to Olivia's dormitory and ducked inside, soaking wet. They headed up to Ayame's room to dry off.

"Oh? And where are you two going?"

Halfway up the stairs, Ayame and Blake froze in place. They turned to see Olivia standing at the bottom of the stairwell, a cool smile on her face. She gave them a wave.

"Good evening you two," Olivia purred. "And how is tonight going? Nice to see you again, Blake, I'm glad you were able to patch things up with our girl here, but don't you think you lovebirds are moving a little too fast? Heading up to her room like that, I mean?"

"Boss, we weren't going to-"

"Unless… no!" Olivia continued, her eyes opening wide in surprise. "You didn't, did you? I mean, I know I said as a last resort, but… you didn't REALLY-"

"Olivia!" Ayame exclaimed, turning even redder.

"We haven't, we-" Blake tried to explain, Olivia's face widening into a sly smirk.

"Oh, am I interrupting something?" Olivia asked. "I hope you two are careful not to go… too far on the premises."

"We were just going to go to my room to get changed, that's all!" Ayame stated. Olivia's eyes were shining brighter. Wrong answer.

"Oh, just you and your boyfriend taking your clothes off together in the privacy of your locked bedroom, yeah, nothing's gonna happen there," Olivia snorted, rolling her eyes incredulously. Ayame glared daggers at her friend as Blake just kept his head down so he wouldn't become a direct target of her teasing.

No such luck. Olivia reached up and wrapped her fingers around Blake's wrist. Even after getting through the storm, her fingers still felt ice-cold against his skin.

"Blake, would you come with me, please?" She requested, her voice sickly sweet in a way that made him shiver like crazy.

"Uh…"

"I'll go get you a nice change of clothes," Olivia explained. "You don't mind, right Aya? I mean, it's not like you were planning anything dirty, right?"

Ayame shook her head frantically, cradling the sandwiches to her chest.

"We-we were just going to eat, that's all, after we changed."

"Well, pretty sure you don't have any clothes for him, so I'm sure this is fine," Olivia said, her tone broking no arguments. Ayame gulped and nodded her head.

"Good! Let's be off, Blake!" Olivia chirped, dragging him past Ayame. Ayame grudgingly trudged after the two, heading to her own room as Olivia took him to find some new clothes to change into.

Ayame set the sandwiches down on her bed and sighed, heading to the closet. She set her change out flat on the bed, spending a touch of time more on it than she normally did in choosing her outfits. The picnic may have been stormed out, but the date wasn't over yet, and Ayame wanted to make sure that Blake would enjoy himself. She selected a lovely long-sleeved sky blue blouse for her top, to match her ribbon. It was loose and a little too big, with a wide neck that revealed parts of her shoulders and showed off some cleavage. It was a little more daring than she usually wore, but it was okay to be a little daring right now, right? To go with her blouse, she wanted something that said "hot" while also being casual. She settled for a pair of tight black pants that would stretch to fit her ass nicely. Not- not like she would be trying to show off to him, or anything! She just, well…

A little eye-candy couldn't hurt, right?

That left underwear. She stared at her underwear drawer like it was pandora's box. She gulped and took an unsteady step towards it.

It… it doesn't matter, she reassured herself. Why the fuck is your heart beating so fast? It… it's not like Blake is going to notice, right? He's not going to care what kind of fucking underwear you're wearing, he wouldn't care if you wore any at all!

…N-no! Not like that! She chastised herself. She wasn't planning to… absolutely not! And besides, he wasn't going to see it anyway, so there wouldn't be a point to…

Ayame opened the drawer.

But, well… it couldn't hurt to be prepared, right?

Ayame dug through her drawer.

Why do I only own sports bras? She held her head in frustration. She wanted to smack her past self silly. Olivia had been spending years trying to make her more feminine, and like a moron she had blown her off at every turn. And now here she was trying to look pretty for her boy, and she was completely unequipped to do it thanks to her idiot past self's stubbornness!

Well, she wasn't…

COMPLETELY out of options.

Deep at the bottom of her drawer was a set of underwear made out of mostly see-through black lace. It wasn't skimpy, and it DID hide everything, but, well…

Olivia had given it to her as a birthday present last year, much to her consternation, and it was clearly lingerie designed to seduce.

I… I can't really wear this, right? She asked herself. She swallowed. It wasn't like she was going to be showing it off to him. And… well, looking her best would definitely help her be more confident and relax more with her boyfriend, right?

Once she'd managed to come up with a plausible excuse, she took a deep breath and set the lingerie down on her bed. With her outfit for the night all picked out, that was a load off her shoulders, and she reached up and untied the ribbon in her hair, setting it down beside them. She shook her hair loose and sighed, heading into the bathroom.

Ayame stripped her clothes off and stepped into the shower, letting the hot water wash over her body, warming herself off and heating up her chilled skin. This felt so nice… and Blake would be coming by shortly… that thought brought a smile to her face. Blake made her heart soar. He made her feel ways she hadn't felt since… how long had it been? Years since she felt like this, not since her freshman year. For the first time in so long…

I'm not that ugly boyish girl anymore, she reassured herself. I'm a beautiful girl that a boy is capable of loving.

The water from the shower mixed with the tears streaming down her cheeks as the pain from her past rose up to sting her breast from where it had long laid dormant.

Meanwhile, down the hall in Olivia's suite, the Empress herself was sitting in the waiting room while Blake changed his clothes. The two were discussing one of the few common points among them: Ayame Toujou.

"I don't think I have to repeat that nothing will happen tonight," Olivia said, her tone making it clear that Blake and Ayame were not going to be going as far as she usually did on her "room dates".

"I know!" Blake said. "We… we aren't there yet!"

"What, is she not attractive enough for you?" Olivia demanded, indignant.

"She-! Ayame is beautiful, are you kidding?!" Blake protested.

"Then what? Is it you?" Olivia asked. "Everything, uh… in working order down there? I mean, I'm not all that familiar with male equipment, but-"

"THERE ISN'T A PROBLEM!" Blake exclaimed. Olivia cracked a smile that went unseen by Blake, rolling her eyes.

"Blake… is everything going okay with you two?" Olivia asked, her tone turning serious. "You know, that girl… you mean the world to her."

"She means the world to me, too," Blake said, stepping out of the changing room. His outfit was simple, and comfortable. A fuzzy grey shirt with long sleeves, and long black pants. Not too different from what he usually wore.

"I'm glad. Ever since she met you, Aya has been smiling a lot more. Even if her smiles were a lot more… sarcastic at first, they're bright and sunny now."

Blake smiled at that thought.

"If there's anything bothering you, any difficulties, please come to me," Olivia said quietly. She stared up at him from the couch she was sitting on, her blue eyes glistening with an unusual amount of sincerity for the beautiful girl. "I want to help you two. I want you two to be happy."

Blake nodded.

"If it isn't about attraction or love, then why haven't you two slept together?" Olivia asked. "I know this story is rated T, but we could still do a 'nudge nudge, wink wink' sort of thing, you know?"

Blake rolled his eyes.

"Is it… because of me? I know I keep teasing you guys, but if you're really holding back because I said not to, then-"

"Ayame and I… we just want to take this at our own pace," Blake replied. "We don't want to rush into things. We want to do this right, you know?"

"…And you're sure that's how she feels?" Olivia asked, raising her eyebrow.

Blake didn't understand what she meant by that. Of course she agreed with him, she'd said as much, right? Then again, the day before, she had literally been about to…

"You might want to take things slowly," Olivia said, "but Aya doesn't have the time left for you guys to go too slowly, you know."

"I know, she's a senior, so-"

"You know, but you don't really know," Olivia replied. Because that made sense.

"What do you mean?" Blake asked, still confused by what she was saying. Olivia sighed.

"Ayame and I… we feel how little time we have here every day. For us, every day is another day closer to graduation. You might not see it, but Ayame is actually cramming for her finals like crazy. Next year… it's our last semester, you know? So yeah, maybe you know that she doesn't have much time left. But that kind of 'knowing' isn't the same kind as hers. I think… I think she really wants… well, that isn't my place to say."

Blake considered this.

"I heard she invited you to spend her birthday with her," Olivia smirked. "Maybe… well, who knows?"

Blake shook his head. That wasn't about…

"Um, about her birthday…"

"Hmm?" Olivia blinked.

"I, uh… I'm having trouble, thinking of a present for her," Blake said. "I mean, I'm still getting to know her, but… but I want to give her something that would make her smile, you know? Even though we've only been dating for a little while, but…"

Blake sighed.

"I figure since you've known her so long, you might have some idea."

Olivia considered his ask for a moment, and then shook her head.

"I could suggest something… but I won't," she told him, shrugging her shoulders in a "what can you do?" gesture.

"Why not?" Blake asked.

"Because this is something that has to come from the heart, that's why," Olivia replied. "That's all I can say about it. I can tell you as many stories about Aya as you'd like, but when it comes down to gift ideas, actually making a decision, that's got to be you."

Blake let out a long sigh.

"But I will say this, Blake. I've known Aya for a long time. Before she became the handsome and cool star of the track team. And while you've gotten close to her, there are sides of her that you haven't discovered yet."

"Didn't you guys meet in school?" Blake asked.

"That's when we became friends, yes," Olivia said, nodding, "but we knew each other from before… or at least, I did. She may not remember… but I actually knew her for a time in elementary school. Before running, before she got handsome, back when she was a gangly girl who looked too much like a boy and was taller than the boys…"

Olivia sighed bitterly.

"I told you before that I went to school in Sinnoh for a time, right?" Olivia asked. Blake nodded his head. "Well, for one short period, Ayame and I were in the same class. We were both transfer students, you see. Aya is originally from the Johto Region, well, and the Kanto Region, that… you know, that area. But for work reasons her family moved to Sinnoh. Not sure for how long, I didn't stay there long myself. But there she was. Both of us were transfers, both of us were outcasts. But I had the benefit of beauty, you see, so everyone had their eyes on me. Put me on a pedestal. I didn't make real friends. I was just the beautiful weird foreigner who everyone liked looking at, but didn't give a chance to belong. But… at least there were people around me. Not like her. No one cared for the boyish girl who hid shyly in the corner while the blonde foreigner drew all the attention…"

Olivia sighed, tears glistening in her eyes.

"It wouldn't surprise me if she resented me, all this time later…" Olivia shook her head free of her nostalgic reminiscing, coming back down to earth. "What a surprise it was running into her again, all these years later. Can you imagine the odds? And seeing she hadn't changed, well…"

"Wait, what?"

Olivia smiled sadly.

"In our first year, she was still the same self-conscious, shy, mousy girl that I remembered," Olivia replied. "But this time… I decided to help her. In a way that I couldn't before."

"What do you mean?" Blake asked, confused.

A shadow crossed over Olivia's face and she turned away from him, rising from her seat and walking over to the window. She glanced over her shoulder and turned back, the rain framing her.

"Sorry, needed to reposition," she explained. "A dramatic story from the past deserves a rather gloomy background, don't you think?"

Blake rolled his eyes.

Olivia glanced back out the window as the rain pounded on the panes of glass. She let out a long, mournful sigh of remorse.

"Back when we were kids… Back when I didn't even know who she was… back when I only cared about standing out on my own… I took something precious from her. I didn't even think about it."

Next chapter, we get a glance into Ayame and Olivia's past. How did the boyish track star become best friends with the beautiful fashion model? Will this be a story of heartbreak, or one of heartwarming friendship?

A little of both, sadly.