Now that the truth has come out, how will Caelia handle the relationship between Blake and Ayame? How will Cynthia handle her? Will they be able to move forward? Or will Caelia break down for good this time?

Another note, I, and others, cannot read the last chapter. I don't know if there's an issue because other people have been able to read it. I don't know if this chapter is being read, so if you can read it, and the previous one, please review so I know.

KedharS: Oh, big time.

Rosealine gold: I don't know, it should be there. It isn't for me, either. I don't understand it. Hopefully this one will show up? Other people have read it, so I don't know what the issue is.

Thunder Fire: And crackle, and pop, probably.

DJ Dib Dab: Well, glad to have you back! Unfortunately, you came back at a strange time, I'm not entirely sure if these chapters are being updated properly.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 357

"Caelia…" Cynthia turned back to the girl. She felt sick looking at her, knowing what she had just done. It wouldn't surprise her if Caelia wanted nothing to do with her ever again. Cynthia was the worst. It had been an accident, but still.

Not to mention the way I reacted… It had just been a reflexive response, but the kneejerk revulsion and horror she'd felt seeing Caelia's face had no doubt hurt the girl even more. No wonder she was so withdrawn and empty, she'd probably seen reactions like Cynthia's all her life. And Cynthia had been no different. That thought made her want to cry.

If Cynthia had been in her place…

"I'm sorry," Cynthia said. She crossed the distance between the two of them and threw her arms around Caelia in a tight hug, tears streaming down her cheeks. "I'm so, so sorry. I didn't… I didn't mean to, I didn't know. I'm sorry for reacting the way I did, but… I was surprised. But don't think I'm grossed out or repulsed by you, Caelia, I'm not."

Cynthia squeezed her tighter, trying to comfort the damaged girl.

Caelia stared at the far wall, her gaze devoid of emotion.

"What are you doing?" She asked. She had seen Cynthia hug her, but what was the point of doing something like that? She couldn't feel the girl's arms around her. She couldn't feel her warmth. It was utterly pointless. An empty gesture to an empty girl.

"…I'm hugging you?" Cynthia said, confused.

"Pointless. Waste. Hugs. Apologies. Empty. Meaningless."

Caelia continued to mutter, but Cynthia replied by squeezing her tighter. Why… what was wrong? She wanted to reassure the girl, to apologize, but why was it so…

"It… it isn't meaningless," Cynthia cried, pulling back from the girl to look her in the eye. "Why would you say something so-?!" She caught herself, and calmed back down. Getting upset wouldn't help. Cynthia reached up and wiped the tears out of her eyes, and tried again. "Look, sorry, it's just, well… I'm trying to make you feel better, Caelia, I'm sorry for how I reacted. But I really don't mind your burns. I just want to help. I know things must have been rough for you, but… can't I at least apologize to you?"

"Pointless," Caelia repeated.

"It isn't though!" Cynthia exclaimed, holding her by the shoulders. "I know that you've clearly been hurt, but having someone else to talk to isn't pointless! Having someone to feel bad for you, to comfort you, to be your friend, that isn't-"

"It is," Caelia interrupted. "Comfort. Meaningless. Hugging. Apologies. Someone like me, wasted. Empty. Broken. Can't feel warmth. Kindness. All of it. Needless. You. Worthless. Only Blake. Need Blake. Can't feel anything except Blake."

Caelia wasn't making any sense.

"Why?!" Cynthia demanded. "Tell me why. Tell me why I can't comfort you. Tell me why I can't help you. If you tell me, then I'll leave. But I'm not leaving you alone unless you tell me why it's so wrong for you to receive comfort, for me to help you. So tell me!"

"…Fine," Caelia said. She looked down at her waist and wrapped her gloved hands around the hem of her sweater. She pulled it up over her head, along with her shirt.

"Eh?! Isn't this a little too soon?!" Cynthia exclaimed, blushing in embarrassment. She shielded her eyes, though still a little interested. Caelia always wore such bulky clothes, Cynthia hadn't gotten a good look at her figure yet. So she was a little curious.

When Caelia finished removing her top (she wasn't wearing a bra) Cynthia could see why. Like her face, there were burns covering most of the right side of her body, including her arm, the warped flesh moving until the rim of the long gloves she was wearing. Cynthia dropped her hands and swallowed, resisting the urge to have a similar reaction to the girl's burns as she did before. She mostly succeeded. They were horrific, but not as much as Caelia's eye socket. Even though the pale flesh of her chest was scarred and twisted, it didn't revolt her. It made her feel bad, certainly, but she was more sad for Caelia than she was disgusted.

"Those burns…"

"An accident. As a child," Caelia said. Apparently, that was an explanation as far as she was concerned, so Cynthia had to accept it. She let out a sigh.

"Is that everything? I know those scars are bad, and that you've probably gone through some stuff that I couldn't even imagine," Cynthia replied. "It really must have been hard. People rejected you a lot as a kid, right?"

Caelia nodded slightly.

"I thought so. I know that I can't really… I don't know what it's like to be in your position, Caelia, but still, can't you let me help some way? I know how I reacted, but even with those burns of yours, I don't… I'm not going to turn you away. I still want to help if I can, be a real teammate."

"Lies."

"It's not!" Cynthia cried.

"Yes. Came to me. Because I'm strong. To fight Blake. To win. Use my strength. Use me. Don't care. You don't care about me. No one does. Only Blake. Only Blake cares. Only Blake understands. Empty. Meaningless. Broken. Not Blake. Only Blake. Not broken. Broken. Blake."

Her words were fragmented statements but they weren't the same as her rantings. It was like she was just… off.

"You aren't, I didn't…" A wave of guilt rolled over Cynthia. She couldn't deny Caelia's accusation. She HAD used the girl and her powerful pokemon in order to beat Blake. She wanted a strong trainer, and Caelia fit the bill. If not, then she would have walked right by her, without even giving her a second thought.

Caelia was right to think poorly of Cynthia. She deserved it, after all.

"You… you're right," Cynthia admitted, shaking her head. "You're right. I did want you to fight with me so that I could use your strength to defeat Blake. We hadn't even had a conversation before that night, I don't think, not really. I knew you were interested in Blake, and I knew you were strong. And I wanted to use that, I'm sorry."

Cynthia reached out and placed her hand on Caelia's shoulder.

"Still… it's not like that anymore," she insisted. "I'm sorry for trying to use you, but getting to know you over the last week, I don't think you're a tool. You're a little odd, certainly, but you're still a person who deserves to be treated as a person. I don't want you to just be a powerful partner to fight Blake with. I… I want to try being your friend. And maybe I'm making an idiot of myself, but I'm still trying to make an effort to get to know you, to help. You know, to feel a connection. I just… I like people. I try to be friends with everyone I can. Maybe that doesn't work for you, but… is it so wrong to want to try and be your friend, to get to know you? Maybe even help you? Care for you? You keep saying 'only Blake' like Blake is the one person who you can care about, but… isn't it okay to maybe try and be friends with me, too? Is that so impossible?"

Caelia stared at her through the entire speech she'd just made, her blue eye giving Cynthia that same empty look it always did.

"Can't we just… try to be real teammates, Caelia?" Cynthia pleaded with the burned girl. "Let me at least show you that I can be your friend, please."

"Can't," Caelia replied. Cynthia deflated, looking down.

And then Caelia continued.

"Not normal. Broken. Can't be friends. Can't care. Can't feel anything."

Cynthia's head shot up, looking at Caelia with confusion.

"What do you mean?"

Caelia sucked in air, and continued her explanation to Cynthia about the state of her body.

"As a child I was burned," she confided, as though that wasn't obvious to the redhead at just a glance. "Nearly died. The burns were so serious that my nervous system… gone."

Cynthia blinked.

"Gone? Huh? What do you mean gone?"

Caelia reached out her hand and took Cynthia's wrist. She brought it up to her shoulder, placing her fingers against the scarred flesh. Cynthia winced at the rough, warped texture running across the tips, like tracing her hand over a worn tire tread.

"Do you feel?" Caelia asked Cynthia.

Cynthia nodded.

"It feels-"

"I can't," Caelia cut her off. "Nothing. Not a thing."

"…What do you mean?" Cynthia asked, confused.

"I can't feel your fingers on my skin," Caelia replied. I can feel how cold it is outside. I can't feel my clothes on my body, or the warmth of another person hugging me. I can't feel anything. Ever since the accident. I can't feel anything."

Caelie moved Cynthia's hand to her chest and pressed it against her heart. Cynthia blushed at the gesture.

"I can't even feel my own heart beating."

"…Nothing?" Cynthia gasped, dropping her hand. She raised her head to look into Caelia's empty eye. "You can't feel anything at all?"

Caelia shook her head.

"Nothing. My body. Broken. I can't feel warmth, love, kindness. All of it. Wasted. You hug. Meaningless. No point. Empty. Just empty."

"…I'm sorry," Cynthia said, lowering her head. "I'm really… I know sorry isn't enough, but still, I… I'm so sorry…"

"Pointless," Caelia said. "Apology. Meaningless. Doesn't matter."

Cynthia took a deep sniffle of an inhale, fighting back her tears as she faced Caelia again.

"Maybe, but I'm still sorry."

Caelia didn't have a response to that.

Cynthia turned back to the bed, where her small Vulpix was curled up into a little white ball, snoring softly.

"Can we… talk about Blake now?" Cynthia asked.

"Blake. Ayame." Caelia's voice echoed, and for once Cynthia could hear the pain in it. It made her wince. This girl… Sango had worried her about what might happen to Blake and/or Ayame if the truth came out. Right now, Cynthia was more concerned about what Caelia might do to herself. It seemed clear that Caelia didn't exactly have the greatest view of herself (for reasons that were rather sensical, even if Cynthia didn't agree with them) and this was clearly another hit to an already damaged and broken person.

"You like Blake, I know, but… you keep saying it has to be Blake," Cynthia said. "That you can't have anything without him? I know first loves feel painful when they go unfulfilled, but Blake's just a guy, there could be others you know."

"No. Only Blake," Caelia insisted. She looked down at her gloved hand and placed it over her breast, right against her heart.

"Why?"

"Blake, I… I can feel him. He's here. When he smiles at me, I can feel my heart beat. When I think about him leaving me, I feel pain there, like my heart is being ripped out. The only time I feel pain, or happiness, it's all… it's because of Blake."

Cynthia gasped. That would be hard to give up.

"My body… broken, ruined, nothing left. An empty shell. Before him, I had nothing. Waiting to die. But now here I am. Blake brought me back. Gave me a reason to keep going. To live. Only Blake. Blake made me feel. I need him. Mine. Blake. Only Blake. But still. Not me. Chose her. Not me. Ayame Toujou. Not me. Unfair. Unfair, unfair, unfair."

"Yeah, it's unfair," Cynthia scowled. "Life isn't fair. I know that. And I know it hurts. But can't you appreciate that this pain means that you aren't empty or hollow? That's you're alive? Isn't it a good thing, then?"

"…No," Caelia said, shaking her head. "Can't. Don't want pain. Want… want warmth. Love. Feeling. If pain, I… can't. Whole world can't be, can't be… no, no, no!"

Caelia was quite quickly losing her grip on whatever clarity she'd been able to scrounge up in their conversation, and Cynthia could see that she was degrading, and fast. She bit her lip, searching her thoughts for what to do. She wanted to help this girl somehow, but it looked like the only way that would be possible would be for her to talk with Blake, and there was no way that Cynthia was going to do that.

…Would she?

Cynthia took a deep breath, and wracked her brain some more. That empty, hollow look in Caelia's eye, seeing her staring at Cynthia like, like… like there was nothing there, no point to going on, it made her feel sick to her stomach. She turned back to the bed and lifted up the sleeping Vulpix, cradling her gently in her arms.

"We're going," Cynthia said.

"Not hungry."

"Not to dinner," Cynthia shook her head. She looked out the window, it was pitch black outside. Way too late for that. "We're going to go see Blake."

Caelia blinked.

"Why?"

"Because the only way you'll be able to move past this is to talk," Cynthia said. "Maybe, I don't know, maybe it'll change something. But right now, like this, all you'll be doing is going on feeling pain and misery in your heart. And if you really can't feel anything, well, I wouldn't be able to sleep knowing you were stuck with that agony being all you could feel.

"…Fine," Caelia agreed.

Cynthia nodded and turned to the door, walking over to it and wrapping one hand around the knob as the other cradled her Vulpix gently. She heard the shuffling of Caelia's feet following after her. Cynthia sighed, slapping her palm against her forehead.

"Caelia, put on your clothes first," she reminded the girl. Caelia put on her shirt and sweater. Cynthia glanced back at her. "And put on a jacket. It's getting cold you know. You could freeze out there, you should put one on."

"Don't feel cold. Don't feel anything."

"Yeah but you can still freeze," Cynthia grumbled. "I thought you were weird when you weren't wearing a jacket this whole time, and now I know why."

She knelt down and began picking shirts off the ground, handing them to Caelia.

"If you aren't going to put on a jacket, and it doesn't look like you even have one, then just pile on as many layers as possible."

A few minutes later, Cynthia and Caelia stepped out of Caelia's room. Caelia was bundled up in so many shirts she looked like a Snorlax.

Cynthia stopped off at their dorm room first, and much to her surprise, Julia wasn't there, only Sango.

"Where's Julia?" Cynthia asked, stepping into the room, surprised. It was getting late, and she expected the girl to be back by now.

"There was an… incident," Sango sighed, sitting up in bed. "Kitty is in the infirmary. Julia's there now, I think."

"Kitty?! Is she okay?" Cynthia gasped, her current problems with Caelia temporarily forgotten in the light of this news.

"She's fine, don't worry, just some issues with her harmonia," Sango reassured her. "You can relax, okay? She's awake and feeling fine, she's just spending the night so they can be sure there isn't anything wrong."

"…Oh," Cynthia said, sighing in relief.

"What about her?" Sango asked, nodding to Caelia.

"Caelia? Oh, nothing much. She and I are just heading to go see Blake."

"…Are you sure that's a good idea?" Sango asked worriedly, glancing at Caelia again. Cynthia let out a long sigh.

"…No, not really," she admitted. "But it's fine. She knows about him and Ayame."

"…And you still think this is a good idea?" Sango asked, glancing at Caelia again. "Because if you're asking me what I think…"

"It'll be fine, Sango," Cynthia reassured her friend. Probably.

"Well, okay then," Sango said, not convinced in the slightest but still too tired to argue.

"We're just here to drop off this little cutie," Cynthia explained, walking over to Sango, presenting her Vulpix to the blonde. "It's time for her to get some sleep, but, well… I don't want to bring her with us since I don't know how long this'll take, and if she wakes up I'd like there to be someone who cares about her looking after her, okay?"

"Oh! Certainly!" Sango giggled, taking the fox pokemon from Cynthia and cuddling her to her cheek, before setting the Vulpix down on her pillow. "I just adore this little cutie!"

"Good," Cynthia grinned, her voice a hushed whisper. "We'll be back hopefully soon. Thanks for this, Sango!"

Sango nodded. The two girls left the dorm, and headed to Olivia's private dormitory.

"…Friends. Care for you," Caelia noted.

"They can be yours, too," Cynthia reminded her.

Caelia shook her head.

"No."

Cynthia sighed. There was a lot of work they had left to do, apparently.

Arriving at the large building, Cynthia fished out her phone and texted Olivia. From what she heard from Blake, her and a few of her friends, including Blake and Ayame, were watching movies in the common room for the weekend. Olivia gave a swift reply of "sure! The more the merrier!" and a few minutes later the front door opened and Olivia greeted them.

"So this is your friend?" Olivia said, glancing at Caelia. She remembered the girl quite well. Both from her performance at the Fall Festival Tournament, and her battle against Alcea Vermeil. "Your name is… Caelia, right? You know Blake?"

"Yes," Caelia nodded.

Olivia thought it over for a second. She remembered that the match against Alcea had gotten… tense. She didn't know what, exactly, this girl's relationship with Blake was, but judging by her actions she had her suspicions. I was very likely that her feelings for Blake went beyond that of a friend. And with Blake and Ayame being Blake and Ayame, that seemed like a tinderbox waiting to happen. That being said… turning her away right now…

Olivia put on her most charming smile and stepped out of the way, inviting the girls into her dormitory.

"Well, as long as you're on your best behavior, that should work out just fine," Olivia welcomed them, heading into the room and beckoning for Cynthia and Caelia to follow.

The two girls followed after her, heading into the common room. They were watching… a horror movie!?

"I was expecting a Christmas movie, to be honest," Cynthia whispered to Olivia. Not that she had a problem, of course.

"A cold, spooky night like this?" Olivia whispered back. "All the snow outside? Perfect time for some frights. Besides… horror movies give me my own little form of enjoyment."

Olivia gestured to the couch, where Blake and Ayame were curled up. Darla and Lila were on the couch as well, sitting close to the other side. Other kids that Cynthia vaguely recognized, Celia, a short girl named Giselle, and a boy who she thought she might have met once, named… Alex? Allen? Whatever, wasn't important. Olivia was pointing at Blake and Ayame.

"Kyaa!" Ayame screamed, a particularly grisly murder occurring onscreen. She clenched Blake's hand and buried her face in his shoulder, much to Blake's embarrassment. He wrapped his arm over her shoulder to comfort her.

"Best show in town," Olivia smirked. Cynthia resisted the urge to laugh herself.

"Caelia…" Cynthia turned to look at her teammate, her voice drifting off. Even in the dark room, lit only by the dim glow of the night sky currently showing on movie on TV, she could see something sparkling on Caelia's face.

Tears. She apparently didn't notice them, but her eye was tearing up, a single bead rolling down her cheek. It was the one flicker of emotion on her otherwise empty face as she stared at the couple squeezed together on the couch.

"Caelia, you're crying," Cynthia whispered, reaching up to wipe her eye.

"Tears… I'm crying…?" Caelia murmured, staring at the glistening water on Cynthia's finger. Her lip quivered. It was too much. The pain was all she was feeling, looking at the two of them. She turned and fled the room and the dorm, running out into the snow, unable to feel the sting of the sadness rolling down her face.

Poor Caelia. For all she wants, for all her talk, when she saw the two of them she couldn't do anything but run.