Leaving Dakota and Akira's tumultuous relationship behind, let's check out what Sango's up to these days. Should be interesting.
Thunder Fire: In what way?
JoshGamerV: Not fully Dakota's fault, Akira has some of the blame too, for this issue.
KedharS: That she is.
Hellraiserphoenix: Things are definitely rough between the two of them, that's for sure.
Aquahaze675: Kind of complicated yeah.
Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings
Chapter 466
Sango stood on the pier, staring out over the still water. She took a deep breath, smelling the crisp winter air. She turned and glanced at Silver, who had shifted to take on his light blue-white, swirling windy snow appearance reflecting the current light snow falling down over their heads. She smiled at him, and then looked past him back at the shore.
It was strange, seeing Marion's Aquarium so quiet while it stood there in the snow. Just like how weird it was, standing on the pier without Marion around to be fishing. A small smile crossed Sango's face as she thought of the friend she'd left behind in Hoenn. She'd been oddly used to her presence, and now she didn't know when she'd see her again.
Or if she'd see her again.
She gazed at the water, a dark gray to reflect the cloudy skies above, and thought about when she had spoken to Marion on the plane flight to take the Pokemon Ranger Probationary Exam.
God, that felt like a lifetime ago!
Marion had been so excited about this field study, working with pokemon conservationists abroad during the semester. Sango wasn't quite sure what to say about it, now. Marion had certainly worked her hardest.
But was she even coming back? How long would the field study take? This was her last semester at the school, after all, so Marion might even be abroad for her graduation. The thought that she wouldn't be able to see her after this…
It made her feel both a little bit happy, and a little bit sad.
A wave of nostalgia washing over her made Sango want to go check out the darkened aquarium for old times' sake. She hadn't spent a lot of time here last semester, but she'd come a few times. The way Marion's face would light up when she'd show them around, bragging about the fish pokemon she'd caught…
Marion's love of fishing was infectious. Even if Sango didn't enjoy fishing, the joy she felt around Marion made her appreciate it, just a little bit. She walked up to the door, almost expecting to see Marion there, feeding the fish or adjusting the fishing rods, turning towards her with a bright smile on her face and sparkle in her eye.
"Hey, Sango! Want to try some fishing? You might not think that there'd be much to catch in the winter, but follow me! I know all the super-duper secret spots where the little fishies play hide and seek! It's just the Whiscash's whiskers, you best be best!"
But no, no Marion in sight.
…But, oddly, the lights were still on.
Sango reached out and pressed on the door, and she realized that it was open. The aquarium was still active? Even without Marion here? A glance at the stacked fish tanks revealed that they were not only lit, but the pokemon inside were as active as always. With the exception of Marion's absence, it was like nothing had changed.
"Sango Akana?"
Sango flinched, startled out of her haze of nostalgia at the new voice. She turned her head to see a girl sitting at the counter, someone familiar. Sango recognized the girl's slightly plump figure and round nose, and the bouncing plaits of her dark hair. Her brown eyes stared at Sango, gleaming with recognition. She'd been there a few times, helping out Marion with common tasks. Her name was… Jessie, Sango thought she remembered?
"Yeah, that's me, you're Jessie, right?" Sango tried.
Jessie nodded, a little surprised that Sango remembered her.
"Yeah, what are you doing here?" Jessie asked, recovering quickly. "Marion isn't here, just so you know, she's-"
"I know, she's studying abroad, doing a residency with the Pokemon Conservationist Organization on their staff as a Probationary Ranger," Sango politely cut her off. "She told me all about it months ago, I know."
"Well, I'm here looking after the aquarium while she's gone," Jessie said. "Keeping it nice and safe until she comes back."
Sango's face brightened. Marion was returning? She had expected the girl would be gone until graduation, but that was a sign that she could be happy about it! A smile crossed her face at the thought, which Jessie noted.
"Happy, huh?" Jessie smiled.
"I thought she was going to be abroad for the semester!" Sango gasped.
"She told me she was coming back in the spring," Jessie explained. "Not sure when, but she's definitely going to be back. In the meantime, I'm keeping track of all this stuff, so that she'll be able to handle things when she gets back."
Jessie sighed, turning and looking at the labyrinth wall of fish tanks stacked up, leading deep into the aquarium.
"Honestly, I'm not sure what's going to happen," she admitted, turning her attention back to Sango. Sango could see that her eyes were tired.
"What do you mean?" Sango asked, walking closer to the counter, Silver flying up beside her. "Going to happen with what?"
Jessie let out another sigh, reaching up and twirling some of the hair in her fingers as she leaned forward, playing with the plait.
"It's a senior thing," she explained. "See, you first years might not know much, but there's been some… tensions going on among the seniors and some of the juniors."
"The Daevas?" Sango inquired. Jessie blinked, surprised.
"Well, you're pretty informed, yeah, exactly," Jessie said, nodding. "My cousin Celia is working with one of them, the Empress, and Marion, well, she's the Mermaid? You may have heard about that?"
Sango nodded. She'd heard.
"Well, as I'm sure you can imagine, Marion is Marion," Jessie laughed. "She's not one for stuff like feuds and school conflicts, you know, she'd rather everyone get along and go fishing. She's a lot like my cousin in that way."
Jessie's laughter trailed off, and she sighed.
"I'm like Marion," she admitted. "I like relaxing and having fun, lounging around, you know, that's why I allied with her. Me and most of the other people in our courses, we don't want have anything to do with this, you know?"
Sango glanced at the sleeve of Jessie's uniform and saw a green armband on it, identifying her as being part of the Caretaking Course.
"Now the other Daevas are looking for signs of weakness in Marion's friends, trying to take her people, you know how it is. Sharpedo are in the water, looking for signs of blood." Jessie resisted the urge to snicker. "Marion would have liked that."
Sango nodded, staring sympathetically at the clearly-overworked senior.
"But it's okay, not anything you first-years need to worry about!" Jessie chirped, brightening up. "So, what are you doing here? We still have some services we can offer, though maybe not with the… zeal that Marion has."
"I just came in to check things out," Sango explained, turning and glancing around at the aquarium. "Reminisce about old times with Marion, you know? I still have some time before my club, and I wanted to check it out before I went to go get dinner."
Jessie smiled whimsically. "Yeah, that's nice," she agreed. "Good to get in the memories of this place while you still can, you know?"
Sango blinked, her eyes widening.
"Wait, what do you mean?" She asked, confused.
Jessie sighed, shaking her head.
"Well, you know, this place, before it became an aquarium? It was just an old boathouse, a building that instructors would use for teaching classes on water pokemon," Jessie explained. "Her first year here, she petitioned the school to remodel it into this aquarium, you know? She was just a first-year, I was surprised."
"Wow, that's… as a freshwoman?" Sango gasped.
"She went around, passing out petitions and getting signatures," Jessie explained. "That's how I met her, through my cousin, Celia. She was a fan of fishing, and she introduced us. I thought that she was a really interesting and passionate girl, you know, I wanted to be drawn into her world. And so she managed, well, you know."
"She really got it, huh?" Sango asked, still amazed that the first-year Marion, even as passionate as she was, had been able to get the school to sign off on establishing this aquarium. "Marion really is amazing."
"Unfortunately, that might be where it ends," Jessie sighed.
"Yeah, what did you mean by that?" Sango asked. "Is this place shutting down?"
"It's looking that way," Jessie admitted. "See, Marion kept this place working because it was her passion and her hobby, but the actual business side of things, well…"
Jessie shrugged her shoulders.
"Not a lot of fishing enthusiasts around these parts. So yeah, it's a little sad, but after we graduate, Marion's probably going to take most of this stuff back with her, and the pokemon too, and then the school will just use it for something else I guess."
Jessie wore a laid-back smile, but Sango suspected that the girl was sad. Maybe not for her own sake, but certainly for Marion. Sango could empathize, she was sad for Marion, too. The girl loved this aquarium, but sometimes, you just had to move on.
"…You know," Sango said, tapping her chin, a small smile crossing her face as she thought a little harder about Marion and the aquarium that the fishing girl loved so dearly, "I think I will get something after all."
"Sango!"
Sango was walking towards the Snorlax Commons when she heard a familiar voice call out her name. She turned and smiled.
"Aidan Arion!" She greeted her friend with a wave, the muscular boy striding up to her, his Shinx darting after him through the snow. "You guys getting an early dinner, too?"
"We're pretty much the only ones who eat at this early of an hour," Aidan laughed. "After all, we've got club at 5."
Sango nodded, it was only 4 in the evening, when the Snorlax Commons opened, and the sun wasn't even down yet. They were practically the only students headed there to eat. Aidan joined her on her walk to the dining hall.
"So what's up with that?" Aidan asked, gesturing at the fishing pole draped over Sango's shoulder. "You take up a new hobby over break or something?"
"Oh, the fishing pole?" Sango laugh, shrugging her shoulder to emphasize it. "No, I mean, not really, it's just… kind of a memento from a friend of mine. She loves fishing, and was always trying to get me to go, even though I only went a few times. And because I'm not going to see her very often anymore, well… I just thought I might give it a try, you know? See how it feels."
Sango smiled, her eyes taking on a glassy, far-off look as she thought of the joy on Marion's face when Sango told her that she had bought her own fishing rod and was going to give her fishing a try. Marion would be thrilled.
"…But I don't think I'm going to do very well," she admitted with a laugh. The two of them entered the Snorlax Commons to get their early dinner.
"You really get a lot to eat, huh?" Aidan said, unable to keep the amazement out of his voice as he stared at the massive bowl of cheese-slathered noodles, filled so high Sango had to hold it in both hands due to the wait.
"Love it!" Sango laughed, patting her stomach.
"It's amazing," Aidan said, shaking his head. The two sat down at a two-person table to begin eating, Sango beginning to devour enough noodles for at least four people. Aidan's meal was large, but nothing compared to Sango's.
"Whmmphr?" Sango glanced up at him, shoveling another forkful of noodles into her mouth. She slurped it up and wiped her lips with her napkin, repeating "what?"
"I was just saying, I eat a lot," Aidan said, gesturing to the large steak on his plate, "you know, to build up these muscles of mine. But you're eating even more than I am, and…"
"And I still maintain my girlish figure?" Sango snickered. Aidan laughed good-heartedly, not sure what to say in response to that. He put on a cheerful, affable front most of the time, but inside he couldn't help but be nervous through the meal and the conversation.
After all, well… he was eating with Sango, after all. It was just the two of them in the dining hall (well, them, and a handful of other students eating early for various reasons, but they were so far scattered it didn't really matter) and they were laughing with each other, it was practically a date! He had to keep his heart from pounding in his chest, he was so excited.
Sango, well… since their first class together, Sango had made him feel a special sort of way. They had a bond from the start and had become fast friends, because, even though they were first-years, they both knew with absolute certainty what they wanted to do with their lives. They wanted to be pokemon rangers so that they could help people. And they both put their all into it, encouraging each other, and even though they didn't always hang out, Aidan considered her to be the best friend he'd made at this school.
And, if he was being completely honest, she was a little bit more than that, too. The way she smiled, that ringing laugh of hers, it was infectious, bringing a smile to his face as well. She may not have been the best looking girl in the world, but you wouldn't care when she was looking at you with those big brown eyes of hers, like you were the only one she could see, and treating you like you were special just for being you. And that was just when they were talking like this. When she was working in the field? Doing drills? The burning in her eyes, that drive to do her best, it was inspirational. It made Aidan want to be a better student himself, work the hardest to be the best ranger he could be.
It was odd, to be around her. She had this sort of draw to her, a kind of charisma that not a lot of people picked up on. When he was speaking to those around him, he was kind and tried to be charming, make them feel happy to be around him. Like everything else he did, he put in 100% of his effort into doing his best.
But Sango seemed to be a natural. She just had that way about her that seemed like she was already your best friend, and you just didn't know it until now. It was something about her, her sincerity, her energy, her forwardness.
So, yeah. Aidan was a little infatuated with her. Was that so wrong? Getting to eat across the table from her like this, it was a small little gift. Besides, he was fairly confident that Sango had no idea about his feelings. He always tried to act the same way around her as he did around anyone else. Treat her like just another friend. A close friend, but still, a friend.
Besides, he sadly noted, it isn't like my feelings would really get me anywhere.
Aidan was humble, but he wasn't blind. He knew that he was good looking, with a physique that most men would kill to possess, not to mention a charming smile that he had spent a lot of time practicing in the mirror to get over his shyness from when he was younger. If he put in some effort, it shouldn't be too difficult for a guy like him to get a girlfriend.
But that girl wouldn't be Sango. Sango, the cool rising star of the ranger course, the only first-year to ever pass the Probationary Ranger exam and get her license, the amazing girl who had not only served in the field, but had been instrumental in bringing a Team Rocket smuggling operation to a grinding halt, all while being her modest and direct self, not caring one bit how much all the other aspiring first-year rangers looked at her, just doing the job she loved.
And as handsome and charming and nice as Aidan might have been, Sango was, unfortunately, a flower on a high peak, far outside his grasp.
There was a guy that Sango liked.
Sango had a crush on a guy named Blake Harker. Aidan had met him a few times, and he seemed like a really stand-up guy, so it made sense that someone as straightforward and sensitive as Sango would be interested in him. Not that she would ever say as much. No, if you asked Sango, Blake was just a friend. Her best friend, maybe, but a friend. And if you suggested she had a crush on him? She'd dismiss it with a laugh and a wave of her hand, saying "yeah, right, like THAT would ever happen!" But the way she looked at him left nothing to be misunderstood. She liked him, it was written all over her face. But there was a reason she never acted on it, of course. Because Blake already had a girlfriend. A senior by the name of Ayame Toujou.
It was rather ironic. Aidan liked Sango, who liked Blake, who HIMSELF liked another girl.
Sometimes, he wondered, hoped, really, that maybe he really was just a friend, like she insisted, maybe Aidan was overthinking it. But then he's think about it some more, and know full well that most people don't work in a guy into every single conversation you have with them if that guy isn't a little bit more to you than a friend. Whether Sango was even aware of it or not, it was clear to Aidan, and probably a lot of other people, that she was in love with this "Blake Harker".
"…So Blake was saying that I just eat way too much sometimes, you know?" Sango was still talking, joking around about something that the boy she absolutely did not have a crush on had said. Aidan laughed along with her to show he was listening, even though he was more focused on how happy he was to be dining with the girl he liked.
"So why do you eat so much?" Aidan asked. "Are you really so active you can burn off that many calories? What's your work-out schedule like? We should really get together sometime, you know?"
"It's simple," Sango smirked, her eyes flashing conspiratorially. She jammed her fork into the bowl of noodles and began to twirl, gathering up a big creamy pile of them. "I'm eating food to store up my energy for evolution!"
Aidan and Sango shared a laugh at this, and the conversation moved to another topic while Sango continued to eat.
Sango smiled, the taste of delicious food lighting up her tongue. It wasn't wrong to say that she consumed a lot of energy working out. But her gluttonous appetite wasn't solely because of her exercising, of course.
But she wouldn't tell anyone that.
Those days when she was home alone, as a little girl, so starving she could barely move, trying to scrape by on what money her father could send her…
Those were days best left in the past. She had all sorts of foods she could feast on now, after all, no need to bother herself with those painful memories!
So, we got to see a little bit of Sango, and some of Aidan at the end. Sango's picking up a new hobby, it seems!