While I'm sure everyone is excited to see how the date between Misato and Will is going, let's shift somewhere else and spend some time seeing who else is enjoying themselves on Valentine's Day! Remember to review!
Also, thank you to everyone who read my story "The Heir to the Dragon". I would appreciate if you continue to read and support it in the future! You can get there through my profile! The story is finally completed! Thank you for reading!
The Semi-Final Round of the second Pokemon Academy Best Girl contest has begun! Which three of these six girls will make it to the Finals? So far we've only got a few votes in, so show your support for your best girl and vote on the poll in my profile! We want this competition to be close, after all! Who's going to win?!
Semi-Finalists: Ayame, Sylvia, Marion, Sango, Elaina, Valerie
KedharS: It's kind of hard to get enthusiastic about a girl who you don't think is really a girl.
Venom Cross 2: They are pretty adorable in their own way.
MikySP: Can't wait for the big reveal that Misato has had emotions all along and was just playing the clueless emotionless robot to mess with everybody. Also, you can vote on the poll in my profile.
Just a Bad Writer for Fun: A Mechadoll is a synthetic android, essentially. Yes. But for intents and purposes, she's still basically a robot.
Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings
Chapter 665
Valentine's Day was a day of relationships. Whether that was the romantic relationship between boyfriend and girlfriend, a relationship of mutual crushes, a relationship of unrequited love, a budding friendship, or even a relationship between a boy and his artificial robot, it couldn't be denied that relationships were on the brain.
In Serefina's case, she wondered if she was in a toxic relationship.
As she walked back towards the caretaking areas and headed into the main building, she couldn't help but think about her relationship with Dakota.
She was doing that a lot.
Dakota wasn't her closest friend (that would be Eli, who was in the same club as her) but as her roommate, Serefina found herself getting far more invested in the girl's relationships than she would have expected (or wanted).
So not only did she immediately wake up and get back to work, ignoring my request for her to get some rest, but she also forgot her cell phone, so I can't even call her! Serefina let out a sigh. Why do I even bother? I feel like no matter what I try, she just won't take my advice on anything, even when she asks for it! I need to stop caring so much about that moron!
The reason Serefina was sighing was because she knew all too well that that wasn't going to be the easiest thing to accomplish. That just wasn't the kind of person that she was, she cared about people, even when they wouldn't care about themselves.
Especially when they wouldn't care about themselves.
And it was that feeling that made her such a good Caretaker, if she said so herself. It was also the reason she couldn't help but reach out to the lost little kitten go about her duties with a sad look on her face, the poor thing.
"Hey, Kitty, how are you doing?" Serefina asked, walking over to the white-haired little girl. Kitty let out a scream, jumping up in surprise. She turned to Serefina, her eyes wide with surprise. She had been taking care of her pokemon, along with the other ones in the underground sanctuary, but her mind had clearly been somewhere else.
"S-S-Serefina?!" Kitty stuttered, turning bright red. "I-I… what's up?"
She glanced down at Meomo and Marisa, who were staring back up at her curiously. Her beloved Growlithe was off playing with the other pokemon, and she had left Pearl in a small kiddie pool where it could rest. Making sure her pokemon were okay, Kitty swallowed and looked back at Serefina. "I-I know I was taking care of my own pokemon, b-but that's okay, right? I didn't do anything wrong, did I? I'm sorry…"
The way Kitty wilted made Serefina feel a little bad. She crouched down and gestured for Kitty to sit down next to her. Kitty was tentative, but with a sharp nod of nervousness she sat down too, still looking warily at Serefina.
"It's okay, Kitty, you're doing great," Serefina assured her, Kitty letting out a sigh of relief. She relaxed, and Serefina continued. "I just came to check in with you," she explained. "So how's it going? Are you enjoying taking care of the pokemon?"
"I-I'm taking care of the others, too!" Kitty exclaimed, still defensive. "I'm not just taking care of mine, honest!"
"I don't care about that," Serefina laughed. She placed a tender hand on Kitty's shoulder to reassure her. "After all, that's just natural, you know?"
Kitty blinked, confused. "What's natural?"
"Caring about your own pokemon first," Serefina said. "I know, caretakers aren't REALLY supposed to play favorites, but it's just a natural thing, so don't worry."
"…Oh, phew," Kitty said, sighing in relief.
"…Ever since Blake left… you've been taking a lot of extra shifts here, haven't you?" Serefina noted. Originally, Kitty had only shown up for her mandatory course hours. But slowly over the course of the semester she was becoming a more and more familiar face, to the point where she had been issued a student guest card for convenience sake. She had booked the most hours out of any student in the freshman class.
"Is that… okay?" Kitty asked. Serefina rolled her eyes, the poor timid girl. She had made a lot of growth, but there were clearly still areas where she was that shy, timid little girl that Serefina had first run into in that caretaking day, hiding behind a curtain of white hair. It brought a smile to Serefina's face to see that she was still little Kitty.
"Oh, that's better than okay," Serefina said, cracking a grin. "We actually appreciate how much of a help you've been, especially with taking care of Blake's pokemon."
Kitty smiled, blushing a little. She couldn't help it, praise of any kind always made her feel happy, and from a girl as pretty as Serefina she just got all floaty.
"I-I already get along okay with his pokemon," Kitty explained, her tiny chest swelling with pride. "So it wasn't any trouble, really!"
"With how hard you've been working," Serefina giggled, "it really makes me wonder if you're considering shifting your courses."
"Wh-What?" Kitty gasped, surprised at Serefina's suggestion. Serefina thought that her confused look of shock was just the most adorable thing ever. She laughed, petting her head and running her hands across her kitty ears. Kitty was practically scarlet.
"Kitty, you love pokemon," Serefina said. "I mean sure, everyone who wants anything to do with pokemon must love them, whether they're a battler, a ranger, a coordinator, but for people like you and me, we really love taking care of them, making sure that they're happy and healthy and can take care of themselves, you know?"
"I do!" Kitty said, her red eyes shining eagerly. She nodded up and down, her shyness completely gone now that Serefina was speaking her language. "See, my foster parents run a Pokemon Daycare Center, so I've been taking care of pokemon practically since I was a baby, I love looking after them!" she explained.
"You have so much talent for looking after pokemon, you would make a wonderful Pokemon Breeder," Serefina sighed wistfully. "But you're aiming for the Battle Course, isn't that right?"
Kitty let out a little yip of surprise and nodded her head. "Y-Yeah, I want to be in the Battle Course when I get to my junior year," she confirmed.
Serefina thought that it was such a waste. She wasn't the kind of person to say what people should and shouldn't do (unless the topic was Dakota and cameras in the bathrooms) but Kitty going into the Battle Course seemed like such wasted potential.
"What about considering the Caretaking Course?" She suggested. There was nothing wrong with just suggesting, after all. "I think you would do amazingly here, the way you interact with your pokemon, as well as your… well, you know."
Serefina knew a little bit about Kitty's abilities. She didn't know much about harmonia, but she knew that it was a testament to how strong Kitty's bond with her pokemon was.
"You would really make an excellent breeder," Serefina finished, hoping that Kitty would at least consider it. The fact that she kept coming here day after day, and had volunteered on Valentine's Day of all days (she was the only student other than Serefina herself to come in) there had to be some chance, right?
Kitty stared warily up at her, and let out a sigh. Serefina sighed as well, a rueful smile crossing her face. Her hopes deflated. She knew what that look meant.
"I… I love looking after pokemon," Kitty acknowledged, her voice soft and gentle but still resolute. "I'm certain that… that I would love being a Pokemon Breeder. You make it sound so fun, Serefina, and I love taking care of pokemon."
She looked up at Serefina, and there was no arguing with the fire shining in her eyes. "But I want to train my pokemon and myself to become stronger," she confessed. "I want to be a pokemon battler with all my heart. And, well, while I don't know what I want to do as a pokemon battler, I know that it's what I want to do!"
She shrunk down a little now that her proud declaration was over. She was still a dreadfully shy Kitty, after all, and hoped that Serefina wouldn't be mad that she was choosing battling over caretaking. Serefina was so nice, there was no way that she would actually get mad at Kitty for making her own choice, right?
Of course she wouldn't. Serefina looked at Kitty's resolution with a resigned smile, and shook her head. It was worth a try.
"Well, there's no use trying to argue with a look like that," Serefina sighed, patting Kitty on the shoulder and turning to look at the pokemon as they played together. "You go on and be the best trainer that you can be, Kitty!"
Kitty smiled and blushed a little, her face flushing with a mixture of joy, pride, and confidence. "Yes!" She said, nodding her head eagerly. "I will!"
"Still, I have to ask, is there a reason that you're here today?" Serefina asked, changing the subject. She was curious about what had brought Kitty here on Valentine's Day, of all days, when she was definitely cute enough to be somewhere else.
"Huh?" Kitty asked, tilting her head to the side in confusion. "What are you talking about? I came here to help…"
"Yeah, but it's Valentine's Day," Serefina said. "I'm here because I care more about pokemon than dating pervy boys who think I'm just a pair of talking boobs, but what about you? You're definitely cute enough to get a date if you were looking!"
Kitty's eyes widened to the size of saucers and she blushed. "N-No, no way!" She stammered, curling a lock of her hair. "I-I'm definitely not that cute, not at all! S-Stop teasing me!"
Serefina frowned, she would put up with bullshit from Dakota, but not from Katherine Kuroso! She leaned over and grabbed Kitty's face, turning it towards her.
"Katherine Kuroso, you stop that thinking right now! I'm not teasing you! You really are an adorable cutie!" Serefina declared, using her "Dakota voice" that meant she wanted to be listened to. "You could do it if you try, you just need confidence!"
"R-Really?" Kitty asked, not trying to sound too hopeful.
Serefina nodded her head. "Absolutely! Trust me, I've seen what happens when a girl's insecurity causes her to keep from revealing how she feels and making a move, and trust me, Kitty, it's not the kind of place you want to find yourself in."
Kitty pictured Sango's face, being about 95% sure that Sango had been in love with Blake and had missed her chance. She nodded slowly.
"Um, okay, but… I mean…" Kitty, her face still scrunched up by Serefina, let out a sigh and looked away, feeling doubtful. "What if… what if the person that I wanted to go out with… what if they didn't feel the same way about me? What if I know that if I ask them to spend Valentine's Day with me, that they wouldn't see it as asking them out on a date, but just as the two of us hanging out together as friends as we usually do?"
She was trying very hard not to cry. "What if… if I knew that if I told them that I wanted to go out with them like on a date-date, they would say no?"
Serefina was surprised. She lowered her hands, and let Kitty have her face back. It quickly shifted into a dejected frown. Serefina was frowning as well, but she quickly replaced it with a cheery smile. She wasn't going to let Kitty feel down!
"So, you have a crush on someone?" Serefina giggled. "Tell me, who's the lucky lady?"
Kitty gasped, her blush disappearing as the blood drained away from her face.
"Wait, you… you know that I…" She squirmed a little, suddenly feeling incredibly self-conscious. Her voice shrank into a tiny whisper. "You know that I… like girls?"
Serefina was shocked that Kitty had actually been trying to hide it. She reached down and tilted the girl's head up, giving her a reassuring smile.
"Yeah, of course," she said. "Don't worry about it, I've known since practically the first week of school that you were into girls."
Kitty's eyes bugged out of her face and she began to shake. "H-How?!" She exclaimed. "How did you-?! I mean, I… what?!"
Serefina had to resist the urge to laugh. Kitty was just so precious! But she couldn't risk hurting the poor thing's feelings.
"I mean… well," Serefina stood up and gestured at her body to emphasize her point. "I've been dealing with the stares of horny boys since I entered puberty," she explained. "So trust me, I can tell when someone is checking me out."
Kitty looked like she had been caught with her hand in the cookie jar. Her jaw dropped to the ground and she turned bright red with shame. She quickly hopped to her feet and trudged away from Serefina, towards the spring pool that the water pokemon were playing in.
"Kitty!" Serefina called, surprised by the girl's sudden departure. She jogged after her. "Hey, where are you going?"
"To drown myself!" Kitty shouted back. Living was too embarrassing now that that little revelation was out.
"Come on, Kitty, I'm not mad!" Serefina laughed, catching up with the shy girl and patting her on the back.
Kitty slowed down and glanced warily up at her.
"…Really?" She asked suspiciously. Serefina smiled and cradled the girl's tiny cheek.
"Really," she assured her. "Trust me, I'm used to it. Like… I get it. My body, well… okay, it's really my boobs, people like staring."
She looked around to make sure there was no one around, and leaned in close. Kitty tilted her ear towards Serefina curiously.
"Honestly?" Serefina whispered conspiratorially into Kitty's ear. "I actually kind of like it."
Kitty nearly died.
"Wh-What… really?" Kitty asked. Her voice was a mixture of shock and horror, and the tiniest bit of hopefulness that confirmed for Serefina more than anything else that the little Kitty in front of her was certainly a pussycat.
Then she saw the blush of shame crossing the other girl's face and realized what she was envisioning. Well! Serefina certainly needed to put a stop to THAT!
"Not like that!" Serefina said, bopping Kitty gently on the head. "I don't, like… look, what I mean is, any girl likes being thought of as beautiful, you know? And that varies from person to person. Some people need that validation that they're beautiful from everyone they meet, you know?"
Kitty nodded in agreement, she certainly knew people like that. Olivia Himeko was the first one that came to her mind.
"And some people don't care about the opinions of others, as long as that special someone can look at them and see the most beautiful person in the world," Serefina continued, a warm smile crossing her face.
Dakota was that kind of girl, alright. She could go to that date tonight looking as hideous as she had this morning, and Akira wouldn't care at all. Maybe that's why Serefina was so upset about her relationship with Akira, because she wanted what Dakota had, someone who would always see her as beautiful, even if she didn't try.
…
No, it wasn't the jealousy that pissed Serefina off it was definitely the horrendously toxic way they dealt with every problem they encountered as a couple.
Serefina realized she had been saying something profound, and quickly pushed her feelings of irritation and frustration away. Now wasn't the time to feel upset about her own miserable love life, she wanted to build up Kitty's confidence! "Honestly?" Serefina confided, "I'm the second kind. I don't need everyone to think I'm beautiful. Just the person I love most."
"Oh, and who's that?" Kitty asked eagerly.
Wow. Kitty looked right at that knife sticking in Serefina's gut and she just twisted it with everything she had, didn't she?
Serefina cleared her throat. "Well, I haven't met them yet, but in the meantime, my point is, that I don't mind if people look at me. As long as they don't treat me like I'm less than a person because of my body, I can withstand the admirers. Even ones like… ugh… Cynthia."
It wasn't that Serefina hated Cynthia, not really. Cynthia was a sweetheart who treasured her friends and her pokemon, she was a free spirit who brought nothing but happiness and wanted to make everybody smile if she could. She was a lovely girl, deep down.
Deep. Deep. Deep deep deep deep deep DEEP down, buried underneath a mountain of debauchery and lasciviousness. That was the real problem.
Serefina realized that it probably wasn't the reassuring and cool smile of an older student showing on her face right now, and quickly corrected that. "As I was saying, looking's fine. I don't mind at all. It makes me feel like I'm pretty and desirable. So thank you, Kitty."
Serefina gave the girl a coy wink, and saw the light in Kitty's eyes sputter out as her brain short-circuited. Uh… whoops. That made her worried.
"Um, Kitty, can I ask you something, real quick?" Serefina wasn't sure how to go about this, but there was some evidence that was pointing in ways that would make things really awkward in the future if she didn't confirm it now.
"Huh? Uh…" Kitty wiped the drool from her mouth, and nodded. "Yeah."
"The person you like, well…" In her young life, Serefina had broken many hearts of young boys interested in her (as well as the fingers of a few of the more grabby ones) but it didn't get easier. The fact that Kitty spent so many hours taking care of pokemon when she didn't want to join the Caretaker Course…
Well, this wouldn't be the first time that someone had tried to use their service hours to try and cozy up to Serefina. She really hoped that wasn't the case with this cute little angel, though.
"Is it… me?"
Kitty's eyes widened and her face turned bright red. That wasn't the response Serefina was hoping for. Luckily, her words quickly resolved that little dilemma.
"No! Not at all!" Kitty assured her, shaking her head frantically. "Trust me, I don't like you like that! I mean, you're really pretty, and your boobs… no, I mean, I don't care about that, I'm not like Cynthia, it's just, well… they're THERE, so I'm going to notice them, and they definitely make you look hot so I do think about them sometimes but really I-"
"Kitty, deep breaths, in, out," Serefina said, clamping her hand over the other girl's mouth before her babbling caused her to suffocate. Kitty took a few deep breaths and calmed herself down, nodding to Serefina, who removed her hand.
"Sorry," Kitty said, hanging her head down. "I just wanted you to know that, well… it's not like that, really. I don't feel that way about you. The person I like, well…"
She glanced down and blushed. Serefina smiled. She knew who it was, she just had to make sure. There was only one girl it could be.
"Well, keep your chin up, Kitty," Serefina said, tilting Kitty's chin up so they were looking into each other's eyes. She wanted Kitty to feel the warmth of her gaze. "I'm sure she'll come around to you eventually."
Kitty's eyes widened in shock and her face went deathly pale.
"Wait, you know?!" She exclaimed.
"Like I said, you're a pretty open book," Serefina laughed, skipping away as Kitty ran after her in embarrassment.
"You can't tell! Nobody!" Kitty pleaded.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Serefina teased. "We'll talk about it more later, for now let's get to work!"
Both girl's hearts were lightened by the conversation. They spent the rest of the day sharing that happiness with the pokemon.
Just a nice, sweet little chapter to remind everyone that Valentine's Day doesn't have to be just about drama. Or Mechadolls.