With the proposal of the µ Gene as a solution, Akira now finds himself faced with a choice. What will he decide on? Will he be able to make the choice to give the µ Gene to Dakota? Or will he choose to let her go? We'll see!

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 Pokemon Academy Best Girl 2 Finals are up and running! Who do you think is deserving of the title of Best Girl in the second year of the contest? Cast your votes! We've only gotten a few votes so far, and I know that a lot of people are reading, so come on guys! The poll's in the profile, who do you think deserves to take the crown?

Finalists: Sylvia, Marion, Sango

KedharS: He really does. Hopefully it will help.

Just a Bad Writer for Fun: Why not look up what µ means in terms of evolution? You may be pleasantly surprised.

Rowlets and Oshawotts: And some space.

JoshGamerV: Can't wait to hear them.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 699

Akira waited quietly while Sylvia and Professor Derrick discussed the circumstances of their agreement. The professor would agree to go to the hospital with Sylvia first thing in the morning and speak with Dakota's family, and depending on what they said, he would administer the µ Gene treatment to Dakota.

At first, the professor had argued against treating Dakota first, saying that there was a possibility that Sylvia was lying to him and making this entire story up to get a hold of the µ Gene, and that there wasn't anything wrong with Satsuki's DNA in the first place.

Sylvia ceded that as a fair argument, and agreed that it would be in everyone's best interest if the professor take Satsuki's DNA first. But she clarified that, if she would agree, then even if Satsuki's DNA wasn't helpful, he would have to give the µ Gene treatment anyway; otherwise, the professor could just take a look at her DNA, gather what information he needed from it, and then back out of his end of the agreement.

So Akira ended up sticking a syringe through Satsuki's scales, and handing the vial of blood over to the professor, hoping that his partner pokemon would be safe and healthy.

The professor then asked if he could take Satsuki with him for the night; arguing that she might need treatment for her condition if he discovered something was wrong. Surprisingly, it was Serefina who shut this down, saying that she was a caretaker, and Satsuki was her responsibility. The professor could come visit her at the pokemon center while she was being treated, but she couldn't turn him over to anyone who wasn't a licensed caregiver, faculty included. The professor agreed to this, and everything was decided.

That just left Akira, walking back to his room and thinking about the day's events.

Last night, he had been waiting for Dakota and getting worried about her. But now, he was far more worried than he'd ever been before. Akira rose his head and looked up at the night sky; it was as dark as he'd ever seen. Shaking his head, he felt a chill roll through him and he shivered.

Why, Dakota? Why do you have to be the way you are? Akira asked himself. Sometimes he wished that his girlfriend was a normal girl. Not the kind of person to go digging around for evidence and investigating things that weren't her responsibility to solve.

But then, she wouldn't be Dakota if she did something like that, would she? She was just that kind of person, and frustrating as she might have been, her actions still brought a smile to his face. He felt just how "Dakota" she really was in everything she did.

He missed her, and she'd only been gone a day.

He didn't know why Sylvia cared enough about Dakota's health to try and secure this µ Gene for her, but he honestly didn't care. If the µ Gene could help her heal somehow, then he would do whatever she wanted in return.

He just wanted his Dakota back. Even if that meant bowing his head and thanking Sylvia.

But was it really right?

What if Dakota was healed, but she came back… wrong, somehow? He wasn't an unrelated party in this; it was Satsuki's genetic data that was being traded for this gene. Dakota's family might be the ones giving the professor their permission, but it was his deal in the end.

Did he have the right to make it? What if she had, like, a second head? What if she woke up, but was paralyzed from the neck down? What if she turned into a Muk? Did Akira have the right to condemn the woman he loved to a potentially miserable existence just because he was too scared to go without her and wanted her to be better?

He honestly didn't know, and that made him nervous.

"Akira, I'm going this way," Serefina said quietly, drawing Akira's attention. She was cradling Satsuki's pokeball in her hands, and giving him a wary look. "See… see you tomorrow."

"Yeah," Akira muttered, nodding back. "See you tomorrow…"

"Maybe… maybe it'll be a good thing?" Serefina asked. "Maybe it'll all go well, right? Yeah." With that last awkward thought, she turned and headed towards the Kangaskhan Hall, leaving Akira alone with his thoughts.

They weren't pleasant thoughts.

Serefina was being optimistic, Akira could appreciate that. But honestly, he was still unsure. Serefina wasn't responsible the way he was. The professor had said that there was still a chance that she would never wake up, and that it could be weeks, months, or even years before she recovered, if she even did in the first place. That was just how unstable the µ Gene was.

Akira didn't want to think about that. He only wanted to think optimistically about what could happen, and believe that Dakota would make it back to him alive. But he was too much a worrier to be able to do that.

Because regardless of what he had wanted, regardless of how positive and certain he was that this had been the right thing to do earlier, now that he was faced with the actual problem directly and the idea that Dakota might really be irreparably damaged, and given the time to really sit and think with it, he became more and more uncertain.

He just wanted her to be happy. Was that so wrong?

Needless to say, after the long and stressful day he'd had, along with the total lack of sleep last night, when Akira made it back to his room all he felt like doing was sleeping. The morning wouldn't have any more answers for him than he currently had, but at least getting some sleep would be better than staying up all night worrying.

So with thoughts of Dakota in his head, he drifted off to sleep, hoping that everything would be brighter in the morning.

Akira's dream that night was of somewhere he knew well. He stood on the edge of the lake beside his hometown, Ascension Town.

Akira didn't realize that it was a dream at first. All he felt was comfortable and cool, like he was back home and everything was okay. Not even what had happened to Dakota crossed his mind for the moment, he was just content with things as they were.

Akira took in a deep breath, staring at the calm, blue water. It was summertime, and that meant that the air was just warm enough on the lakeside to make everything feel just about perfect. There was only one thing missing, he realized.

"Hey Aki, miss me?"

Akira had many memories associated with Ascension Town, but the strongest of them involved his dearly departed friend Satsuki. But the girl sitting on the bank and tracing patterns in the shallow water wasn't Satsuki, but rather a girl with hair of red he knew all too well.

Akira ambled over to Dakota, still not realizing there was anything wrong. It was like that part of his memory was hidden behind a wall, and all he knew was that Dakota was his girlfriend, and she was here with him. He crouched down beside her and she flashed him a smile, which he returned. Dakota… why do I feel so strange, looking at her right now? He wondered to himself.

"Why would I miss you?" He laughed. "Have I started getting fed up with living a life without problems or worries?"

Her expression turned sad.

"I know I'm not the easiest girl to get along with," she sniffed, "but that's no reason to be rude like that, you know."

Akira knew he was just teasing, and Dakota probably did, too. But he could see her side of things, and understand that sometimes it wasn't just about teasing or having fun at each other's expense. There were times when Dakota, as big of a pain in the ass as she was, needed reassurance that Akira didn't hate her.

So he gave it freely, reaching up and running his fingers through her hair.

"H-Hey! I didn't say you could mess with my hair!" Dakota protested, swatting his hand away. But the smile on her face betrayed her true feelings.

"Of course I would miss you if you were gone," Akira assured her. "I love you, you nosy little paranoid idiot."

Dakota blushed, sitting up a little taller.

"Aki… can I ask you something?" She whispered.

"Of course," Akira said.

"Do you… really feel that way?" She asked. "Do you really love me?"

Akira couldn't believe she could doubt that. Sure, she was obnoxious, rude, nosy, and an altogether insufferable person and genuinely miserable human being sometimes, but of course he loved her, she was everything to him.

"Of course I do!" Akira said. He expected that to make her happy, but it didn't seem to work. She still looked sad, staring out over the water.

"Then can I ask you something else?" Dakota asked nervously. Akira was worried now, she didn't seem like her normal self. In fact, everything seemed weird, like there was something he was forgetting that was nagging away at the back of his mind, something important.

He decided to ignore that feeling. Placing his hand over hers, he comforted her, saying "of course you can, ask me anything!"

'I know you love me," Dakota said. "But… do you ever… regret dating me? Do you regret being in love with me?"

Akira wasn't sure what to say to that. Regret dating her? Regret being in love with her? Once upon a time he had, back when they had first had their falling out. But ever since they repaired their relationship and began going out for real, his feelings had never wavered, he had never regretted how he felt for an instant.

He loved Dakota, for all the fights they might have had, and he wouldn't change that for anything. So that's what he told her.

And yet, again she still refused to smile. Akira began to grow concerned. That nagging feeling at the back of his mind was getting stronger, and he was starting to feel like there really was something that he didn't know, or was forgetting.

What was it?

He pushed past those doubts, and asked her what was wrong.

"Aki… do you remember when you got sent into that coma after the Fall Festival Tournament?" Dakota asked quietly.

"Vaguely," Akira said. His memories were fuzzy due to the concussion, but he did remember the aftereffects of that, including Satsuki and the chain reaction of results that ultimately led to him going out with Dakota.

"Remember when I… said that I wasn't going to go out with you?" Dakota asked quietly.

Akira winced. He remembered.

"I was afraid… that if we went out… you would eventually grow to regret it. That I would end up hurting you." Her face fell, and a tear rolled down her cheek. "And now here we are. Just like I feared, I ended up hurting you again."

Dakota was hurting him? No, she wasn't! "Dakota, what are you talking about?!" Akira exclaimed. "You aren't-"

Before the words could slip from his lips, his thoughts exploded.

He remembered what had happened to Dakota. He knew what condition she was in. This wasn't real, it was just a dream. He couldn't talk to her. Because she was brain dead. This was just his mind playing tricks on him.

"Dakota… are you…"

Dakota bit her lip. The tears were really streaming down now. "I hurt you, Aki. I'm so, so sorry. This was what I never wanted. I didn't… I know you must hate me, Aki… after everything I did, after what you know, now…"

"Dakota!" Akira exclaimed. "NO, I DON'T HATE YOU!"

He grabbed her shoulders and pulled her close, hugging her as tightly as he could. "I know that I'm hurt by what happened, but please, don't think that I would ever regret going out with you! Even if it hurts, I still… I still want…"

He was crying himself.

"I still want to treasure that time that we spent together…" He sobbed.

Dakota began to wail. "I want to treasure that time too," she blubbered, hugging him back. The two of them embraced for a long time, holding each other close in their arms.

Akira knew this was just a dream. But even though he knew that, he couldn't help but wonder if maybe, just maybe, there was something more to this.

After all, Satsuki hadn't been just a dream. So maybe it was possible that this wasn't just his dream of Dakota, but actually Dakota herself.

He took a deep breath and hugged her even tighter. Releasing a deep breath, he let Dakota go, staring her in the eyes.

"Dakota…" Akira whispered. The words just wouldn't come out. But he needed to know, he needed to be sure.

What was the right thing to do?

Should he trust Sylvia and this strange genetic idea she had, even if could put Dakota in danger? Or should he let her go, let her rest in peace?

Why did he have to be the one to make this choice? He had already lost Satsuki. It wasn't fair that he had to make the decision to lose Dakota, too.

"Dakota… can I ask you something?" Akira quietly asked.

"Of course, Aki," Dakota said, her dark eyes shining with love. "You can ask me anything you like. Right now, I just want to make you happy. Anything you want from me, just ask, and I'll do it." She beamed. "I love you, after all."

Hearing that from Dakota should have reassured him, but it didn't. He felt like it was just coddling. But he had to press on and explain everything to her.

"There's a chance… a chance that… that I can help you," Akira said. "I don't really know how it works, but… there's this… it's hard to explain…"

"Then don't," Dakota said, taking his hands in hers. "If you don't know how to explain it, then you don't need to. It's okay."

This wasn't the Dakota that he knew. "I'm surprised," Akira said, stunned. "I thought… I thought that you would have been pressing me for answers, trying to force me to tell you anything. Are you sure you're really Dakota?"

Dakota laughed. "You don't know everything about me after all, Aki." She shook her head. "I made that choice a long time ago. If it's between a story, and making you happy…"

She moved her hand to cradle his cheek.

"Then it's you. Every time."

Hearing those words from Dakota was stunning. It made Akira question everything he knew, and yet he couldn't deny them.

They may not have sounded like Dakota's words, but they couldn't have belonged to anyone else. And that gave him the strength to explain things to her.

"This gene… the µ Gene… it can heal you, maybe," Akira said. "By altering your genetic structure, and telling you to heal yourself, then tour brain… there's a chance that it could repair the damage done to it. You would wake up, Dakota, better than ever. But at the same time, there's a chance…"

"There's a chance it wouldn't work out, isn't there?" Dakota asked. "I can kind of guess, you know. You're talking about tampering with my genes, after all. There's no way that's something that can just come without risks."

She grinned. "I could grow a third arm! Or maybe eyes in the back of my head!"

"Dakota, take this seriously!" Akira shouted, not putting together that this was still a dream.

"I am taking this seriously," Dakota said. "I know that there's a risk. And that's what's making you feel so unsure, isn't it?"

"I don't want anything to happen to you," Akira agreed. "If… if we go through with this, and… and you're…"

"What? Weird? Wake up blind? Aki… I don't think you get it," Dakota said. She reached up and flicked him on the forehead.

"H-Hey!" Akira gasped, holding his head in surprise. "Dakota-"

"I'm a fighter, Akira!" Dakota said, standing up and putting her hands on her hips. "You're not listening to anything I'm saying, are you?! Sometimes I think you've just completely tuned me out altogether, you know that?!"

"Wh-What are you talking about?" Akira asked, still not understanding what she was driving at. She sighed, and buried her face in her hand.

"Aki… I'm a fighter, I just said that," Dakota said, her dark eyes glistening. "I'm not going to give up. So why are you? I thought you were better than this."

"Better…?!" Akira didn't know how to respond to that.

Dakota sighed again. "I told you that I don't want you to ever be sad again, remember?" She asked him. "So why are you making me out to be in the wrong here?"

"I'm not making you out to be-"

"You think you can decide for me? Well, then you should do what I want, not what you want!" Dakota jammed her finger into his chest. "You know what I would do, you're just afraid to be the one to make that decision, isn't that right?!"

"Err…"

"Aki, I'm going through with that treatment!" Dakota insisted. She grabbed his hand and placed it on her chest. "You tell them that, okay?!"

"Uh…"

"ANSWER!" She shouted. "I told you! I want you to be happy!" She lifted his hand and curled his fingers, pressing them against her forehead. "And you won't be happy without me, will you?"

"I… I can…"

"I know you can," she admitted. "But not like this. You've already lost Satsuki. I'm not going to be responsible for making you lose anyone else. You got that? So you wake up, and you tell yourself that this is what Dakota would want."

She dropped his hand and jammed her thumb into his chest, giving him a bright smile. "Dakota Evans isn't a girl who gives up over something like this! Even if the odds are against me, even if there's almost no chance of being correct, that doesn't matter! Because I'll believe in myself, and have confidence in my abilities to come out right in the end, you got that?"

Akira smiled. That was such a Dakota answer. He really was a complete idiot, getting worried about this. Yeah, there was something to be worried about, sure, and the chances of success were slim. But right now, it didn't matter. Because this was the only path forward.

"Remember, Aki, some hope is better than none," Dakota whispered into his ear, kissing him on the cheek. She was shining so brightly, Akira could barely see her. "Always."

Akira woke up to the morning sun, blinking lazily as he stared up at the ceiling. A small smile touched his lips. He felt better now, rested. Dakota… I'm going to believe in you. I know you'll pull through in the end.

So Akira's come on board! Will Dakota be able to heal her injuries? Will the µ Gene work? We'll have to find out!