Here's another chapter, where we see another problem growing. Kitty has her own issues, but she's not the only girl dealing with some problems right now. Things are only going to get worse from here on out, I'm sorry to say. What else lies in store, I wonder?

KedharS: But we can always hope otherwise, don't you think?

Thunder Fire: I can hope, can't I?

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 356

"Yeah! Now that's what I'm talking about!" Cynthia cheered, pumping her fist happily. That was their third win of the day! She recalled Tristan with her pokeball in one hand, while gently cradling her Vulpix with the other. Normally she would think it a bad idea to bring a newborn pokemon out into the cold weather, but the Vulpix was an ice type.

"Vul!" The small white Vulpix chirped, nuzzling her nose against Cynthia's cheek, Cynthia giggling in response.

Cynthia glanced up from her adorable little baby and turned to look at Caelia, who had wordlessly recalled her Charizard. Cynthia frowned. Her partner had seemed distracted all day. Normally, it wasn't a huge issue for Caelia to not talk. She talked less than Kitty and Nikita had when they were still uncomfortable around her, she talked even less than Maddi! It was an uncommon day when Caelia said more than twenty words! But there was something about Caelia's silence today that seemed… off. Cynthia couldn't quite explain it.

It can't be that she's jealous of my adorable little Vulpix, Cynthia imagined, although in her mind anyone with a good head on their shoulders would be. It probably wasn't lasting animosity from the argument the night before, either.

No, this was something else. And it was troubling her. Caelia had been out of it all day, like she had been thinking of something else entirely. Cynthia didn't know her partner that well, and Caelia had a poker face that could rival the best of them, but even Cynthia thought that there were some things that were a little odd. Caelia, while calm, still had impatience that would be spotted clearly. She would get very aggressive sometimes in battle. Today, it was like she couldn't care less, like the battles didn't even matter.

"Hey, Caelia, is everything okay?" Cynthia asked, walking over to her partner and putting a hand on Caelia's shoulder. Caelia didn't even glance her way.

"Next," she tersely replied, already preparing for her next battle. Cynthia scowled. That glassy look in Caelia's eye was nothing new, but that didn't make it good. She wanted to know what was going on, because Caelia was really starting to freak her out. If something was going wrong, if she was upset or preoccupied, then Cynthia wanted to know.

If for no other reason than her own safety, and possibly Blake's.

"Hey, come on, Caelia," Cynthia said, following her teammate through the snow. Even while holding the Vulpix to her coat, it wasn't difficult to catch up to her due to Caelia's slow pace at walking. She was constantly looking down, making sure of each step she was taking was correct, which Cynthia found to be odd. Soon enough, Cynthia was right beside her.

"Hey, come on, are you sure you're okay?" Cynthia reached out and placed her hand on Caelia's shoulder.

"Fine," Caelia replied.

Cynthia didn't really believe her, but didn't have anything to say back, either. It was clear that something was up with her. Whatever it was, though, Cynthia couldn't be sure.

"Hey! I have an idea!" She suggested. "Tonight, let's eat dinner with my friends! You can tag along!"

Blake had texted her earlier that he was going to be spending the evening watching a movie with Ayame at her dorm. That meant she wouldn't have to worry about Blake accidentally spilling the beans over dinner.

"Not hungry."

"Well, I didn't mean right now, it's just past lunch time," Cynthia laughed, trying to make the whole thing sound relaxed and casual. "Come on, what's the big deal? I know Blake won't be there, but that's okay, right? Isn't it better to eat with… more…"

There was a twitch of Caelia's eye that Cynthia caught when she mentioned Blake's name. And there was something in the corner… a tear? No, it must have just been snow.

"Vul!" Cynthia's Vulpix let out a whine of distress, picking up on how uncomfortable Cynthia was at the moment. She hugged the small pokemon a little closer to her breast, frowning.

"I know girl, it's fine," Cynthia murmured, petting the small pokemon. She wished that she had some way of figuring out what was going wrong, but there really wasn't any way that she could assuage the feeling in her gut.

The day continued much in that vein. Caelia seemed to be smaller and smaller and emptier and emptier, what faint traces of life that Cynthia had previously been able to catch in their past days together were completely extinguished. She was like a shell of her former self, which was surprising as her former self was more like a shell of a person already. And when dinner was finally upon them and it was time for them to split up, Cynthia decided that she wasn't going to be going to dinner today.

This was more important.

Cynthia followed Caelia back to her room. She didn't really say anything, she just cuddled her Vulpix a little tighter, and fed her some of the baby pokemon food to keep her nice and happy while they walked to Pikachu House. Climbing the stairs, Cynthia was pretty sure that Caelia knew she was behind her. But if she did, then she wasn't saying anything about it. So that… that meant it was okay for Caelia to keep following her, right? It was basically an invitation, right?

Either way, Cynthia wasn't ready to leave Caelia on her own. There was something about the way she was acting today, emptier and more distant than usual, it was like something important had happened, something really bad. It wasn't just about her own sake, or Blake's anymore. The look on Caelia's face, it was like someone had killed her favorite pokemon, that was how devastated she looked, though it was subdued.

Was she… was she really alright? No, it wasn't possible. And Cynthia wasn't about to leave her on her own, not a chance. She had no idea what would happen if she left Caelia on her own, and she didn't want to take that risk.

"Caelia," Cynthia called out to her as Caelia opened the door. "Please wait."

Caelia waited, which was a good sign to Cynthia. She let out a slight sigh of relief, and closed the remaining distance until she was at Caelia's side. But the girl still wasn't looking at her. She wasn't saying anything either. She was just…

So empty.

"Are you okay?" Cynthia asked. She stopped herself. "No, scratch that. I know you're not okay. Different question. What happened? Why aren't you okay? What's the matter?"

"No concern. Doesn't matter. Empty. Pointless. Everything. Nothing. No point. Can't keep going. Nothing. No reason."

Caelia muttered out an empty string of words that sent a chill down Cynthia's spine. What the hell was she talking about?

Cynthia didn't know what to say. But she knew that Caelia was a… unstable person. And what little grip on sanity she had seemed to be fraying right before her eyes. She had to do something. She grabbed Caelia by the shoulder and pulled her away from the door so that she could look right into the girl's empty, lifeless blue eye. There was nothing there.

"Caelia, please."

Caelia remained silent.

"Going."

With that, Caelia turned to look down at the doorknob, and opened it, slipping into her room. But before the door closed behind her, Cynthia jammed her foot into it. It was an invasion of privacy for sure, but Cynthia was already in for the long haul. She stormed forward, pushing her way into Caelia's room. It was a complete mess.

Cynthia looked expectantly at Caelia, who glanced back at her. If she was bothered by Cynthia forcing her way into her room, it didn't show on the girl's face. It didn't even look like she was annoyed. Cynthia was the one who was annoyed now.

"What's your problem, huh?!" Cynthia demanded, slamming the door shut behind her. "I've been trying to figure out what's wrong with you all day! You've been acting weird, even weirder than normal, and no matter how hard I tried to help, or figure out what was going on, you just kept shutting me out! So what's the big deal, huh?!"

Caelia didn't reply, not even to that outburst, which only made Cynthia even more pissed off. She hadn't gotten angry in a good long while. And while she was concerned for Caelia, right now her frustration with the girl was getting the better of her.

"And not just today, either! I've been trying to get closer to you, talk to you, try to, I don't know, connect? Get to develop a relationship a little bit? But no matter how hard I try, it's like you're dead set on shutting me out! Like you want nothing to do with me, nothing to do with anything! So tell me, how am I supposed to feel when that happens, huh?" Cynthia demanded, even though she knew it wouldn't do a lick of good. This girl didn't want to hear what she had to say.

"So tell me," she said again, starting to tear up now. Whether out of fear, anger, or worry, even she wasn't sure. It was like they were all mixing together into a big stinky ball of emotions that was spilling over and out, and she couldn't shut her damn mouth. She knew that Caelia had the right to her privacy, that the girl had no actual obligation to connect with Cynthia or be her friend. Cynthia didn't have a right to be asking Caelia like this, prying into Caelia's private affairs and worries, the things that were tormenting her.

And yet she still felt like she needed to.

"Tell me, why can't you just tell me what's wrong, huh? Why do you act like this? Why are you so… so…?! I'm trying to be your friend, but it's like you don't care about that, like you don't care about anything. Caelia… if something is wrong with you, then let me help! We're teammates, even if we aren't friends, aren't we? Don't you at least owe me that much, to let me in, so that I can help you, maybe figure out how to make you feel better?"

Vulpix was crying now, letting out little whines and yelps of worry, her trainer having lost her composure. The tension in the room was palpable, and all of it was coming from Cynthia. Caelia didn't seem fazed in the least. She stood there, taking Cynthia's outrage without even blinking. It passed over her like water. She just kept looking back at Cynthia with the empty, blue eye. Cynthia bit her lip. Caelia didn't even care about this. How could she be so… so uncaring?!

"Vul! Vulpix!" The snow-white Vulpix wailed, catching Cynthia's attention. She adjusted her posture and cradled the little darling in both arms, rocking her soothingly while whispering softly to her, trying to calm the panicked baby down.

"Shh, shh, there, there," Cynthia assured the small pokemon, rocking her back and forth. "It's okay, don't worry, everything's fine, you don't need to worry about a thing little one, I'm here for you! I love you, I love you, it's okay, it's okay…"

Her Vulpix temporarily soothed, Cynthia glanced up at Caelia. Caelia was no longer looking at her, if she ever really was. She had unclipped her belt and set it down on her dresser, along with her backpack. Whatever she was doing, she no longer cared that Cynthia was there at all.

Cynthia scowled. She had a good idea about what was going on, but she didn't want to say it. If she wanted to get Caelia's attention, however, it was clear that she had to. Caelia wasn't responding to anything else. Maybe she'd respond to this.

"Is it about Blake?" Cynthia asked. "Did something happen with him?"

Blake was the only thing that she had seen get an emotion out of Caelia. The only other time she'd seen anything from Caelia other than emptiness was in battle, when she seemed to be releasing some amount of rage, or at least impatience. But that wasn't going to be helpful.

What would reach her now…

The only thing Cynthia could think of was Blake. And from the looks of things, Cynthia had played the correct hand. Caelia had frozen up at the mention of Blake, and even though Cynthia could see her face, she was sure that there was a look of discomfort of some sort plastered across it, even if it was no more than a glimmer in the girl's eye.

"That's it, isn't it?" Cynthia asked, her heart sinking. There were a lot of things that she could think of, but the one thought burning in her mind about what it could possibly be was her worst-case scenario, and she was starting to really freak now. The only thing she could think of was that Caelia had finally discovered the truth about Blake's relationship with Ayame. She really, really hoped that wasn't the case, but it was starting to look all too likely. "You figured out something about Blake, right? Something happened with him?"

"Quiet," Caelia said. She turned back to Cynthia, her face still empty. But there was something in her eye. A gleam of emotion that had been absent all day.

"I knew it," Cynthia whispered, feeling a tinge of sympathy for the girl.

"Ayame… Toujou…" Caelia muttered. "Ayame Toujou Ayame Toujou Ayame Toujou Ayame Toujou Ayame Toujou Ayame Toujou Ayame Toujou Ayame Toujou… Why, don't understand… can't… why her, not Caelia, not Caelia, didn't… can't… why didn't Blake… why Ayame why not Caelia, not fair not fair…"

Cynthia took a step back and swallowed. Caelia's ranting…

"Look, Caelia…"

But it was too late to talk her down now. The floodgates had been opened and Caelia was letting it all out.

"Need Blake, mine… can't… why Ayame, not fair, Caelia and Blake, Blake is the only… no one else, can't be… can't… Ayame, need to… need to stop it, need Blake, she doesn't… have to end it, get rid of her, she can't have him, she can't, I need him, need him! Need, need, need, need…"

Cynthia stepped forward and slapped Caelia across the face, but the girl didn't even flinch. She kept shouting and ranting, and she was growing more and more unstable by each passing second. Cynthia set her Vulpix down on the bed and tried again, reaching out and grabbing Caelia. She tried shaking her next, but nothing was getting through to the girl.

"Can't, not fair, unfair!" Caelia scream, shaking her head back and forth. Her eye was squeezed tightly shut and she was unresponsive to the world. With her eye closed, her world was gone. Her skin didn't feel Cynthia's touch, and her ears couldn't hear her voice, they were drowning it out with her own shouts. She was completely dead to the world, thrashing around without even knowing why, or how, or what she was doing.

The only thing she could feel was the searing pain in her chest. It wasn't supposed to be like this. She always felt nothing. But Blake… somehow, Blake made her feel. She was so broken, she wasn't supposed to feel any of this. For so long, she had felt nothing.

But Blake had made her feel the beat of her heart.

And now that same heartbeat damned her, filling up that emptiness until now, until her whole world was nothing but the pain. She cursed Sylvia in her mind. Blake was dating Ayame? Wasn't true, couldn't be true. She couldn't believe, it she wouldn't. But she did. Unfair. Unfair. Why Ayame? Why not her? Ayame didn't need him. She needed him. Blake was the only one. The only one who understood her. The only one she could be with to know she wasn't alone.

Not fair.

Cynthia continued to struggle with the enraged Caelia. And in the tussle to calm the girl down, her fingers were caught on the edge of the medical mask clinging to the side of Caelia's face. Another thrash, and it was flung off, landing on the ground.

"Oh! Your mask!" Cynthia gasped. "Sorry, sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"Mask?" Caelia's eye snapped open and she turned to see Cynthia picking up the mask from the ground. Cynthia turned back to show it to her, and the two met for the first time. Caelia hadn't been fast enough to cover. Her hair no doubt flung to the side and her mask gone, she didn't even need to see the look on Cynthia's face to know that she'd seen. She closed her eye in resignation. The look that the girl was wearing, it was a look that she had seen all too often, on so many people in her childhood. It didn't even bother her anymore. Nothing did.

Cynthia stared slack-jawed at Caelia, the mask slipping through her fingers and landing on the floor, forgotten. She… she didn't know how to process what she was seeing. She knew that Caelia had worn her messy, frayed hair over the right side of her face, and had seen the edges of the mask, but she didn't give it much thought. But her hair had been pulled aside in the tussle, and for the first time Cynthia got a good look at her partner.

What was in front of her, though...

The right side of Caelia's face was warped and twisted, knots of flesh raised and sunken in, distorting the entire thing into something that no longer resembled skin. It was red and angry, and seemed to throb, but that wasn't the worst part. Not the scarring to her cheek, that wrapped up to her forehead and nearly to her mouth, turning the right half of her face into a twisted, grotesque impression of hamburger, or even the fact that most of her ear had been burned as well, nearly singed down to a husk that only vaguely resembled an ear.

What caused Cynthia to go pale and hold her hand up to her mouth in horror, unable to take her eyes off, was the gaping maw in Caelia's face where her eye should have been. Although it was slightly shadowed by the girl's brow, Cynthia could still see deep into the cavity of Caelia's eye socket, and the warped skin twisted into a whorl of angry, red flesh deep within. She let out a slight gasp, a wave of nausea rising up.

"Caelia, I… I'm so sorry," Cynthia whispered, horrified not only at the sight before her, but moreso at what she had just done, exposing the girl like this. It was clear that Caelia had wanted to keep this side of herself, this side of her… face hidden from everyone, including her, and during the struggle she had just…

She couldn't even begin to figure out how to apologize. Words were so useless right now, they wouldn't do anything, not a damn thing.

"Sorry…" That was all she could mumble.

"Doesn't matter," Caelia said, straightening up. She looked at Cynthia with those empty eyes of hers, uncaring about what had just happened. At least on the surface.

"I'm so, so, sorry," Cynthia repeated.

"Worse," Caelia muttered, shaking her head. She knelt down and took the mask, reaching up and holding it to her face. She couldn't tie it though, she needed… she walked over to the bathroom to tie it behind her head.

"Where are you going?" Cynthia asked. She followed Caelia into the bathroom, where the girl had arranged quite an interesting array of mirrors. Caelia stared into one of them, watching herself tie the mask behind her head very carefully, very precisely. All this trouble, for reasons Cynthia didn't understand.

Vulpix's whine from the other room drew her attention, though, and she ran to her pokemon's side to soothe her. Things had gotten tense again. She would need to pick up a pokeball, ASAP, she couldn't keep exposing this sweet little thing to circumstances like these. And yet…

Cynthia glanced back at Caelia, who had just walked out of the bathroom. Her eye still had that discomfort in it.

Cynthia swallowed.

This was going to be rough.

But it was a conversation she needed to have. There were clearly problems going on. And while she had stumbled for a moment, with the surprise of Caelia's face, it was clear that there was something important that they needed to talk about. She had to resolve whatever it was that was going on with Caelia right now.

Because there was absolutely no way that she was going to risk leaving Caelia to her own devices, not when she didn't know what she might do.

So Cynthia has been exposed to Caelia's burns, and the truth about Blake and Ayame's relationship has come out! What will the fallout of this be? Will Cynthia be able to talk Caelia down? Or will Caelia snap once and for all, and do something that she can't take back?