In this chapter, we continue with the introduction to Ayame's household and her family! What will learn about them? Will Blake be able to fit in? And will they manage to sneak in any hanky-panky under her family's noses?

Rosealine gold: I wasn't sure if you wanted her to have a love interest since you didn't mention the type of person she would be interested in, so I hadn't considered it as an option before, would you like to elaborate?

KedharS: We haven't even met the father of the daughter yet, the worst is yet to come.

Aquahaze675: My guess is big.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 410

Megumi was guiding Blake around the room as she described the other paintings, explaining to him how she had been the one to paint all of them herself. Blake had no hand for art, but even he could see that Megumi was extraordinarily talented.

"So you've only been painting for six years now?" Blake asked, the surprise in his voice bringing a chuckle to Megumi's lips.

"Why yes, is that so surprising?" Megumi asked.

"No, just… you're so skilled," Blake said, glancing at a beautiful painting of an oak tree beside a lake. "And only for six years…"

"Skilled? You're too kind," Megumi laughed, shaking her head. "I assume you've made that assessment based on your many years as an art critic?"

"No, just… they're pretty, that's all," Blake said.

"You really are kind," Megumi giggled. The smile on her face took on a sad note as her eyes watered. "I assume that I don't quite fit the picture that Aya painted of me?"

"Well, that's-"

"She likes to talk about my glory days," Megumi laughed. "Back when I didn't need this chair. Did you know that I was once an amazing athlete?"

"Aya told me about you, yeah," Blake admitted.

Megumi sighed, staring wistfully out the large window beside them, up at the base of Mt. Silver.

"Back when I was younger, I was a star," she explained. "Running was everything to me. I made quite a name for myself on the track. You think Aya is fast? I was faster. She never beat me in a race, not even once. I competed in tournaments, winning every time. I had my name in the papers, both local AND international, how's THAT for impressive? I had people scouting me for my talents… I could have gone onto the Olympics…"

A sad shadow passed over Megumi's face as she remembered those times.

"But six years back, well… let's say it wasn't meant to be. I had to find a new way to occupy myself, after everything was said and done." She sighed. "Back when I was younger, I was always running. Everything was in motion, I kept moving more and more ahead, never taking a moment to consider things around me…"

Megumi slapped the wheel of her chair with a rattle, giving a rueful laugh. "I suppose that's how I ended up like this, not paying attention to the world around me!"

Blake wasn't sure what he should say to that. But the fact that she was laughing about her condition made him feel rather uncomfortable, so he kept silent.

"After my accident, I had a lot of time on my hands," Megumi explained. Much to Blake's relief, the jovial tones of her voice had drained away, and she was discussing things with an air of somberness and nostalgia.

"…I can imagine," Blake replied. He didn't want to compare his temporary experience in a wheelchair to what Megumi had gone through, but he couldn't help but draw the comparison.

"I found myself unable to do what I loved most, barely able to move from my bed, and even with my chair, I didn't really feel a desire to go anywhere," Megumi murmured. She looked past the paintings and out the large window in the side of the log wall, towards the snowy landscape that lay out beyond it. "For a time, the only thing I could do was stare out at Mt. Silver from my window."

"…No TV or internet out here?" Blake joked. Megumi flashed him a smile.

"I was trying to be poetic," she replied with a laugh. "No, I was looking for something… else. Something that would give my life some meaning, the way that running always had. Something I could do from this chair. So I looked out my window, and I painted what I saw."

She turned back to her painting of Mt. Silver, hanging over the fireplace.

"And now, six years later, here I am," she shrugged. "I had no idea how talented I was at painting, but I fell in love with it."

Megumi looked side to side and smiled conspiratorially, gesturing Blake over with her hand. Blake leaned down so she could whisper in his ear.

"If I'm being honest, I actually like painting more than I ever did running," she admitted. "But don't tell Aya, okay?"

Blake nodded, not sure what the big deal was, and stood back up just as Ayame and Hiromi came back into the room.

"Sis!" Ayame's face brightened, and she ran over to them. She leaned down and gave her sister a big hug, Megumi rising slightly in her chair to wrap her arms around her sister and returning the hug, kissing Ayame on the cheek.

"I've been talking with your boyfriend, Aya," Megumi laughed, releasing her sister and leaning back in her chair, glancing at Blake. "He's quite a charmer."

"Don't fall for my boyfriend," Ayame scowled, stepping around her sister and linking her arm with Blake's, giving her a piercing glare. Megumi laughed.

"Girls, girls, it's fine," Hiromi laughed. "There's enough Blake to go around."

"MOM!" Ayame exclaimed, scandalized. She lowered her arm and grabbed Blake by the wrist, dragging him out of the room, the laughter of the two women echoing in her ears.

"So, uh…" Ayame stopped a ways down the hall, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment. She turned back to Blake and ran a lock of hair between her fingers. "Uhum…"

"Your family seems nice," Blake said, finally able to breathe now that they were alone at last. Hiromi and Megumi were both lovely women, but Hiromi was a little too energy-draining for him, in a way that reminded him a lot of Cynthia (but without the ability to fire back, since she was also Ayame's mother) and Megumi was draining in another way, since being around her made him feel uncomfortable, even though he didn't like that it did. He knew that he shouldn't treat her different or pity her because of her disability, but part of him still did.

Honestly, any girl who was handicapped in any way got a pang of sympathy from him, he couldn't help but see Guinevere in Megumi's eyes.

"They're jerks," Ayame huffed, crossing her arms. Blake smiled, it made no sense for Ayame to be jealous, but she still obviously was. It made her even cuter, being jealous of her own sister (and to a lesser extent, her mother). "Anyway, c'mon! I want to show you your room!"

"I'm not staying with you?" Blake joked, Ayame giving him a dirty look, the effectiveness of which was weakened considerably by the look of flustered embarrassment on her face. She scowled, storming down the hallway while holding her hands over her face.

By the time Ayame made it to the other end of the hall, where the room Blake would be using was located, she had calmed down considerably. She turned back to him and flashed a coy smile, presenting the door with a flourish.

"Your room, sir," she joked, turning the doorknob and swinging the door open with a bow, her maid performance deserving of applause.

"Thank you, miss," Blake said, tipping an imaginary hat to his girlfriend. The two shared a giggle, Blake entering the room with Ayame following after him.

"What do you think?" Ayame asked.

Blake smiled as he took the room in. "It's cozy."

The room wasn't very large. It was about the size of Blake's dorm room, maybe a little smaller, with a walk-in closet. The floor was made of wood planks, with an Ursaring throw rug covering it. The bed was a large king-sized bed, way too big for the room, which was a surprise. The entire frame, like everything else in the room, was hand-carved out of wood. Blake's luggage sat in the center, along with the sleeping Skorupi, a strange bit of modernity in an otherwise rustic room.

"I love my family's rooms," Ayame laughed, twirling past him with arms out wide, flopping back on the bed and letting out a sigh.

"It's really nice," Blake agreed, flopping down in bed next to her. He propped himself up on his elbow, turning over to look at her. "Your house is amazing. I mean, my house is impressive, but this is… a lot cooler."

"Huh?" Ayame blinked, propping herself up as well and turning to look him in the eyes. She didn't understand what she meant. She had never seen Blake's mansion, but from what she'd heard about his family she expected it to be much better than this.

"Your house is so… quaint," Blake said. Ayame flashed him a dirty look, but Blake raised his hands defensively. "…It's a compliment."

"Isn't usually," Ayame said, narrowing her eyes.

"It feels so warm and cozy," Blake explained. "All the hand-carved furniture, the furs, the unlevel floorboards, it's like something out of a romance novel."

Ayame sat up, a coy smile on her face, leaning slightly so that she was looking over his body. Her eyes flashed excitedly. "Romance novel, you say?"

Blake propped himself up so that they were both sitting.

"Why, were you thinking of something?" Blake asked. Ayame bit her lip, glancing towards the door as if expecting it to be busted down by her mother or older sister. She turned back to Blake and grinned, her eyes shining with a conspiratorial glint.

"Maybe," she said, placing a hand on his chest and lightly pushing him down, leaning over him. "You don't mind if I'm on top?"

"Be my guest," Blake said, giving her a smile. Ayame leaned in close, their lips parting slightly as they prepared to kiss.

"Aya? Blake?" A knock on the door flung Ayame off of Blake, her face flushed and she turned back to the door, panting.

"Mom?!" Ayame sputtered. Blake sat up, his face almost as flushed as hers.

"I brought tea!" Hiromi's singsong voice rang out. "Can I come in?"

Ayame forced a smile to her face and walked over to the door, letting her mom inside. Hiromi walked in with a tray containing two glasses of tea and some tiny cakes. She glanced at Ayame and then over to Blake.

"Did I interrupt something?" She asked, knowing full well that she had. Ayame's growing blush confirmed her suspicions as well. She smiled coyly, looking at the two bashful teens with a knowing shine in her eyes.

"Blake, are you… making out with my daughter in my household?" Hiromi asked, walking further into the room and setting the tray down on the carved table, turning to give Blake a disapproving look. She crossed her arms in front of her chest..

"Mom, we weren't making out!" Ayame objected. "God, you are always like this!"

"Well, what would you expect?" Hiromi asked, clearly loving playing the role of the disapproving mother. "Bringing boys to your room to make out with them!"

She turned to the sleeping Skorupi, and waving her arm to gesture at him.

"And in front of the baby no less! Do you have no shame at all, Ayame Toujou?"

"MOM! We weren't DOING anything!" Ayame exclaimed.

"Right, you weren't doing anything all over my nicely made sheets," Hiromi cackled. "I'm not ready for grandkids just yet, you know!"

"Grandk-?! Mom, we haven't even… done stuff like that yet!"

"…Oh," Hiromi said, her face taking on a mixture of surprise and disappointment. She glanced over at Blake, raising her eyebrow. "Aya, are you just shy? This guy is pretty darn hot, you know! Blake, what about you? Is my daughter not good enough for you?"

"Mom, we're working at our own pace!" Ayame said, urging her out of the room. "Besides, this isn't even my room, anyway! It's BLAKE'S room, and a little privacy would be appreciated, THANK YOU VERY MUCH!"

"Your father will be back in two hours, and we'll have lunch," Hiromi piped up as her daughter urged her out. "So if you want to get up to any funny business, that's your clock!"

"Out!"

"It's important to be safe, condoms are in the dresser!" Hiromi called, Ayame slamming the door in her face.

Ayame panted and turned back to Blake, sinking down into the floor, cradling her head in her hands. "Insane. My family is insane."

"I think it's adorable," Blake said, resisting the urge to burst out laughing. If this was as bad as Ayame's family got, it was positively precious. That being said, she was clearly more than a little embarrassed by her family and their actions. Blake stretched, and yawned, shaking off the jet lag. He turned back to Ayame, hopped off the bed, and walked over to her, helping her to her feet. "So, we still have two hours left…"

Ayame's lips turned up into an embarrassed smile.

"So, you were thinking a tour of the place? Maybe take Skorupi out to play in the snow, build an Abomisnowman?" The flash in her eyes betrayed Ayame's intentions, showing she had no interest in any of the things she had just coyly suggested. No, she was interested in the same thing that Blake was suggesting, and the look they shared told them they knew it.

"Or we could go back to making out," Blake suggested.

"I like that option more," Ayame agreed, skipping over to the bed.

Ayame and Blake came down a few hours later with empty stomachs and hungry appetites.

"Is Blake hungry for Stantler stew?" Hiromi asked, glancing up from the pot. "I didn't hear that much clatter, I hope you guys worked up an appetite."

"We just kissed a little," Ayame replied dryly.

"And with your shyness that's as far as you're going to get," Hiromi sighed. "Oh well, maybe Megumi will give me grandkids…"

"MOOOM!" Ayame exclaimed, Blake resisting the urge to break out laughing.

"Blake!" Megumi waved to him from the dining room. "While Aya's getting teased by mom, c'mon! Sit next to me!"

Blake parted from Ayame as she (ineffectively) chewed out her mother, walking into the adjoining room and pulling up a seat next to Megumi. The dining room table was hand-carved, like everything else, and to Blake's surprise, it looked like it was carved from a single piece of wood. For its size, that was unbelievable.

"Do you like?" Megumi laughed. "My great-great-great grandpa carved it, and built the dining room up around it!"

"Wow, seriously?" Blake gasped.

"Well, that's what my dad says," Megumi said. "Anyway, what do you think of that one?"

Megumi pointed at another painting, hanging in front of them. It was another landscape, this one depicting a large island in the middle of the ocean, with swirling tides wrapped around it.

"Wow, another painting?"

"It's the Whirl Islands," Megumi explained. "I took a trip there last year, look at the brush strokes for the whirlpools, pretty fine detail, right?"

"Yeah, it looks very nice," Blake said.

"You're a sweetheart," Megumi smiled. "Tell me, what's a girl gotta do to find a guy like you, huh?"

"She can start by looking at men who aren't dating her sister," Ayame dryly responded, swatting her sister lightly on the back of the head.

"I was just kidding," Megumi laughed. "But honestly, do you have any brothers, Blake?"

"…Let's say no," Blake said. "You're too good for him."

Megumi smirked.

"Cute boy," she laughed.

"He's too young for you," Hiromi said, walking into the room with a big pot of stew in her arms, practically bigger than she was.

"He's too young for Aya, too!" Megumi protested.

"Megumi!" Ayame exclaimed.

"Let's not discuss Ayame's cradle robbing at the dinner table, Megumi," Hiromi said, shaking her head in chastisement.

"MOM!"

"Hey, uh, do you mind if I go get my, um, Skorupi?" Blake asked, suddenly wanting to be somewhere else for a break, even for just a few minutes. "He's not on hard foods yet, but I think he might be able to eat stew, what do you think?"

"Sounds good," Hiromi chirped.

Blake slid back his chair and headed back to the main living room, and the bedrooms in the hall. He took Skorupi out of his carrier, the small pokemon stretching out his stingers and tail, glancing at Blake with a small smile.

"Skor?" Skorupi chirped.

"Hey buddy, you have a nice nap?" Blake asked, cradling the small pokemon in his arm.

Blake headed back towards the dining room, rocking him. As he passed by the fireplace, he was startled by a rumbling sound. The front door swung open, and a large figure pushed his way through the doors, towering over him.

Blake's mouth dropped open and he stepped back, looking up. …And up, and up, and up…

Before Blake was a man that could put an Ursaring to shame. He was an enormous slab of a man, his muscular frame practically bursting out of a broad jacket. His face was concealed by a thick beard of curly brown hair. He looked down at Blake with brown eyes fit into a glare that Blake found entirely too familiar; he now knew why Ayame looked like such a fierce woman when she was angry. He knew just from that look that he had to be Ayame's father.

"Dad? Is that you?" Ayame's voice called from the dining room.

"Aya?" Ayame's father's voice was a deep rumble that seemed to make the whole cabin shake, and Blake felt a little uneasy in the knees. It sounded like a loud gong rolling down a steep hill covered in boulders.

"Hi, honey! We're having stew! We're just waiting for you and Blake!" Hiromi called as well.

The giant man turned and leered down at Blake.

"So you're Blake?"

"Uh… yeah," Blake said, nodding. "I-I'm Blake…"

"I see…"

"Honey? You coming?" Hiromi asked.

"In a minute," her father boomed. "I just met Blake."

He stripped off his glove and placed a big, meaty hand on Blake's shoulder. It was the size of a baseball mitt. Blake swallowed and looked up into the man's eyes. Skorupi shook, clearly terrified out of his scales.

"I was thinking it would be nice if we had a little chat," he continued, narrowing his eyes. "Before dinner, man to man, that sort of thing."

"…Ah." Hiromi's voice sounded resigned to something. "Girls, I'm going to have to go get the shovel."

So Blake has now met Ayame's father! What will we learn about him? Blake gets along with the rest of Ayame's family, but will he get along with her dad?