Blake and Kanone still have much to discuss, so it'll be a little longer before we can get to the Miss Pokemon Academy Contest. In the meantime, let's see how our siblings are handling the difficulties in their brotherly relationship!

Aakareo Kokokuhikari: I thought you already submitted a character? Although I don't think I've used them…

KedharS: Awkward family conversations are awkward.

Hellraiserphoenix: It should definitely be an interesting performance, hopefully they can come up with something special!

Thunder Fire: Really? Why not? It should be interesting.

Rowlets and Oshawotts: Yes, they definitely are. Hopefully they'll sweeten up.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 733

Kanone waited patiently as Blake explained the whole situation with the tablet and the strange monochrome dimension that he had found himself trapped in. This was the first time Claire was getting the whole story herself, as the most Sango had explained to her was that Blake had been trapped in some sort of hell dimension due to the weird tablet.

Blake finished and looked expectantly at his older brother, who stared at him silently without a word. Blake wasn't sure what he wanted Kanone to say in response, but whatever he had been expecting was nothing like what had actually happened.

"I see. Is that all?" Kanone asked calmly.

"Is that all?" That wasn't enough? Blake asked himself, shocked. That had not been the reaction Blake would have expected. A reaction more like Claire's, jaw dropped in stunned surprise and unable to form words, was a lot more reasonable.

After all, Blake had been trapped in another dimension with Sylvia Driscoll for two years of his life. He hadn't felt that passage of time exactly due to the bizarre nature of the other world, but it had still been two years, even if the people in this world had only felt the passage of time as two weeks. So to hear how long he had been trapped…

Well, to say that he was disappointed by the fact that his brother didn't seem to care was putting it rather mildly. Kanone wore a pensive expression, not at all what one would expect from a concerned older brother hearing about the dangerous situation that his little sibling had faced, instead acting like this was some pitch for a movie or something.

"I have to say, your concern for my safety is riveting," Blake dryly remarked, resisting the urge to glare at his brother.

Kanone shrugged his shoulders. "Perhaps I would have been more concerned if I had been informed of your disappearance before your return," he replied, giving Blake an icy stare. Blake opened his mouth to rebuke him, but quickly closed it. That… was a very valid point, he had to admit.

"…Okay, but that's not my fault," Blake protested. "It's not like I was expecting it to happen! What, was I supposed to leave some written instructions about what to do and who to tell if I was trapped in a bizarre hell dimension? Blame my friends, they're the ones who didn't…"

Blake's voice trailed off and he turned his attention to Claire. His childhood friend had been listening to all of this in shocked horror, but when she felt Blake's eyes on her she quickly shut her mouth and averted her eyes, clearly bothered by something.

Blake had a sinking suspicion he knew what.

"…You know, now that I'm thinking about it, it comes to my attention that my friends DID inform someone close to me when I went missing, a friend of mine who knows my family's contact information specifically," Blake said, leering at the brunette. "I wonder why it was that she didn't think to inform my family about what had happened to me?"

Claire glanced away, whistling innocently. She stretched her hands over her head, causing her breasts to shake, as if she was trying to distract Blake with her sexuality. "I don't know what you're talking about," she said, shaking her head.

Blake wasn't having it.

"Claire…"

"W-Well, I mean… think of it like karma! …Yeah, that's it!" Claire said, fishing out a good excuse. "Yeah! Blake, if your family was more concerned about how you were doing, they would have checked in on you, and learned for themselves that you had disappeared! So me not talking to your brother or your dad was a way of teaching them a lesson about how they should have treasured their son more now that he was gone!"

Blake still wasn't having it.

"…Claire…"

"Okay, okay," she pouted. "Sorry, I was so depressed about you being gone, I couldn't bring myself to tell anyone. Not even my family."

A sad look crossed over her face and she stared up into Blake's eyes. "I'm sorry, Blake," she apologized. "But… it was a lot, you know? You've been my best friend for like half my life. To think that you were gone for good, that I was never going to see you again… I just kind of couldn't deal, you know? So I shut down."

Blake could see the honesty in her eyes. It was rare, but when Claire was being sincere it was really touching. He couldn't help but smile a little in spite of himself.

"…It's okay," he sighed. "I'm not angry."

Claire brightened. "Really?" She asked. "You're not?"

"No, I'm not," Blake said, shaking his head. "I mean, yeah, I'm a little miffed that you left my family in the dark about the whole thing, but now that I'm stopping and thinking about it… that could have gone really badly the other way, too. So don't worry, you're fine."

"Blake…" Claire mewled, her eyes watering as she gazed adoringly at him. It was so sweet of him that he would forgive her!

"Well," Kanone said, clearing his throat to interrupt the bonding moment. "Either way, I think we can all agree that it's for the best that my father never learned about that whole mess," he brought up, which Blake agreed with wholeheartedly. "That might have resulted in some unfortunate situations, and it's in our best interest that we keep this quiet from him, sound good?"

Blake nodded, he could definitely agree to that.

"Good," Kanone nodded. "Now that we've got that worked out, I think it's time to return our focus to the reason I came here in the first place."

Blake began to sweat now. Great. According to Kanone, the reason that his brother had come to the pokemon academy wasn't to check up on Blake's health or on the harmonia users left in his custody, but for another reason altogether.

"I want you to tell me about this 'Ayame Toujou' girl that you're dating," Kanone said, giving Blake a placid smile that looked a hell of a lot more like a smirk from where Blake was sitting. He leered at his brother, but Kanone didn't seem too bothered.

"What do you want to know?" Claire said, not even bothering to hide the smirk on her face behind a smile. Blake shot her a withering glare, but she didn't seem to mind. "I know quite a lot about her, we've talked a few times," she crowed, placing her hand over her chest and puffing it out in pride. "Just ask me if you want!"

Kanone ignored her. "Thank you, Claire, but that's fine," he said, waving his hand. "Right now, I'm more interested in what Blake has to tell me."

Now he was smirking.

"After all, this is my little brother's first girlfriend, after all, so I'm very interested in what made him decide to date her. After all, until now I wasn't sure that you were all that interested in girls, if I can be frank," Kanone added.

Blake raised his eyebrow, and glared at him. "Of course I'm interested in girls," he dryly remarked. Kanone smirked, and shrugged his shoulders in response.

"Well, I was always a little concerned that your relationship with Gwen was a little… intimate, so I'm glad that you're dating a real girl now," Kanone replied, and Blake practically popped a blood vessel in outrage.

"Kanone!" Blake roared. "You can't seriously think-!"

"No, of course not," Kanone said, shaking his head. "But… I think we both know that the feeling isn't necessarily mutual."

Blake paled, a feeling of revulsion welling up inside of him. Claire also looked a little green around the gills, glancing away. Neither one of them wanted to think about the notions of incest or Gwen's rather inappropriate attraction to Blake, which hopefully wasn't romantic in nature but no one there could confirm or deny for certain.

Collectively, they all decided to end the discussion there, and return to the discussion topic at hand, Ayame Toujou.

"So back to this girlfriend," Kanone said, stroking his chin, smiling. Blake sighed.

"What do you want to know?" Blake asked. "Aya, she's just… she's Aya. She's a wonderful girl, who loves me and wants me to be happy. She's always working hard and trying her best, and she shows how much she cares about people all the time." Just thinking about Aya brought a smile to his lips, picturing her smiling face.

"She's… amazing," he finished, not sure what else he could say about her.

Kanone stared silently at him, and Blake felt a little uneasy about the look in his brother's eye. But he didn't let it get to him.

"I see… I see…" Kanone said, nodding. A smile crossed his face, and he turned to Claire. "Claire? What do you think about what Blake said?" He asked.

Claire blinked, surprised that Kanone would turn to her for feedback, considering that he usually ignored her. It was a little off-putting, actually, and she wondered if he was expecting her to shit-talk Ayame like she would other girls that Blake was interested in.

Well, if Kanone thought Claire would be getting all bitchy about Ayame Toujou, then he had another think coming!

"I think Ayame is amazing!" Claire proclaimed, putting her hands on her hips with an indignant huff. "She's great! She's so devoted to Blake, anyone with eyes can tell you how wonderful of a girl she is! She's been nothing but caring and supportive since the day I met her, and I promise that without Ayame, Blake would be in a much worse place emotionally! She's the perfect match, they're practically made for each other."

Claire was very invested in Blake's love life. She wanted her favorite boy to be happy, and that's why she spent so much time being concerned over the girls he interacted with. And Ayame really was the best fit for him. She did feel a little guilty for thinking that way, since she also believed that Sango was a wonderful girl as well, and would have been just as happy if Blake had decided to go out with her, instead, but now probably wasn't the time to mention that.

Blake had made his choice, and his choice was Ayame. And since Ayame was such a sweetheart, Claire didn't have one bad thing to say about his decision, standing by him entirely. So Kanone would just have to look elsewhere to find dirt on her!

"Claire…" Blake said, honestly touched by Claire's adamant proclamation in defense of his girlfriend. Claire was supportive of his love life, it was a strange place to find himself in, but it made him realize just how good of a friend she was, when she wasn't being a bit of an annoyance (or more accurately, a lot of an annoyance).

"What? Don't look at me like that!" Claire said, her cheeks flushing. "I'm just saying it like it is, it's not a big deal!" She scoffed. But she was smiling like a fool nonetheless, much to Blake's amusement. She cleared her throat. "Anyway, Kanone, if you want to know what I think about Ayame Toujou, that's what I want to-"

"I think that's more than enough, thank you, Claire," Kanone chuckled. "You're very well-informed and diligent. I'm glad my little brother has a friend like you in his life. You're really such a great person, caring about him so much."

The words died on Claire's lips and she stuttered, clearing her throat. "W-Well, yes, of course," she said, still wearing a dopey grin on her face. "Always happy to look out for my beloved Blake, you can count on me, Kanone!"

Blake rolled his eyes. Seconds earlier Claire had been standing defiantly against his brother, and now she was fawning over him after just a few compliments and a charming smile, much to Blake's amusement. She was just that kind of person.

"Are you satisfied?" Blake asked, glancing pointedly at his brother. "Aya is a great girl, and we're in love with each other, isn't that enough?"

"More than enough," Kanone said, nodding. "Although, I would still like to have a chance to speak with her myself, if that could be arranged."

"…Yeah, I'll see what I can do," Blake muttered, having no intention of letting that happen in the slightest. That would be a shitload of pressure on Aya that would only make things worse on her, and he didn't want her to feel bothered by his family, especially considering that the notion of the Harker family's wealth had been a nonissue in their relationship up until this point.

It was just the kind of pressure that he didn't feel comfortable introducing into their relationship right now, even though he knew it was something they had to expect, going forward. But he would worry about that when the time came.

Kanone smiled, giving Blake a look that made Blake suspect he knew that Blake was lying about introducing him to Aya. But if he did suspect that he kept quiet about it, shrugging his shoulders and nodding.

"Well, I'd say that's about all we have to discuss, unless there was something else?" Kanone asked, his eyes taking on a serious glint. He knew that there was more that Blake would want to talk about, and Blake wasn't about to let him squirm out of this that easily.

"It's about Elaina Bishop," Blake said.

"Elaina Bishop… the wind weaver, right?" Kanone asked, remembering the masked girl with her overwhelmingly destructive Flying type pokemon. "Ah, yes, I believe you mentioned her before. What would you like to talk about? From what you've told me, it sounds like you're handling everything quite well, isn't that right?"

"I was able to beat her," Blake said. "Even with her harmonia."

Kanone blinked, looking a little surprised. "My. That's very impressive, Blake, considering the showing she gave. I'm proud of you."

Blake had a sour taste in his mouth at how shocked Kanone seemed to be. But he pushed past that. "Even though I beat her, I still don't think I was able to help her as much as I wanted to," Blake sighed, shaking his head. "She's still… pushing people away. She still went off with Gerard."

"Gerard… Alkwest? Right, that boy with the temper problems," Kanone said, nodding. "So those two are still dealing with their issues, then…"

"I want to help her…" Blake said, clenching his fists. Asking his brother for help was always embarrassing, but this was for Elaina's sake, not his. "Please, Kanone, if there's anything you have to tell me, any advice, I need it."

"Blake…" Claire felt a little upset. She thought she'd dealt with this already. Blake was doing fine on his own, he didn't need to keep turning to his brother for everything, that would only be bad for his self-esteem.

"Weren't you listening to Claire?" Kanone asked, raising his eyebrow. "You're doing fine on your own. The way it sounded, it seems like you're getting through to her and helping her, so what's the problem you're having? Do you really need my advice? Or are you still just looking for someone to take the responsibility off of your shoulders?"

Blake flinched. That question struck a little too close to home. "That's… I mean… I'm just thinking about Elaina, so…"

"Blake, Claire was right," Kanone said, which surprised him.

"Really?" Blake asked, his eyes widening. He couldn't believe it.

"Don't sound so surprised," Claire dryly remarked.

"I didn't leave your friends in your care because I was lazy or because I had other things to do," Kanone said. "I did it because I saw the same thing in you that Claire sees. Even though you're not nearly as powerful of a trainer as I am, you have a serious attachment to your friends. Just like I have the ability to reach pokemon's hearts with my harmonia, you have the ability to reach people's hearts just by caring about them."

As the words left his lips, Kanone winced. It looked like he was remembering something painful. Blake was in shock by what he was saying, so only Claire picked up on it. But what it was he was thinking about, Claire wasn't sure. Maybe something about his father, or about Gwen? Or maybe their mother… no matter what it was, it was clear that it wasn't something Kanone was comfortable talking about, so Claire didn't bring it up.

Meanwhile, Blake was still a little awed by Kanone's words.

"You… you really think that?" He asked.

"Of course I do," Kanone said, smiling. "So that's why I think it's not something that you need to be concerned about. Blake, you're doing the best you can, and I believe you'll be able to get through to that girl."

Just like I think you'll be able to get through to Gwen, he silently added. He didn't want to put that pressure on Blake, though. Honestly, Kanone still wanted to be the one to take care of Gwen himself. There was still a lot that Blake was in the dark about, and if he never found out about certain secrets, that would be for the best.

Kanone was a reasonable person who thought things out carefully. And maybe if he had been more objective about things, he would encourage Blake to go after Gwen, knowing that their relationship was stronger than the one he had with his own blood sister.

But he was still an older brother, and he still wanted to take care of his little siblings and keep them from danger.

Gwen was his responsibility, not Blake's.

The two stared at each other in silence.

"The intermission is almost over," Kanone said, checking the clock. He smiled at Blake. "If I were you, Blake, I would seriously consider going to pay that girlfriend of yours a visit to check up on how she's doing, and make sure that she's feeling okay. You know, considering how close the two of you are, and how much you love each other."

Blake turned red in the face, hearing his words being thrown back in his face like that.

"I-I will!" He sputtered, embarrassed. "Come on! Don't tease me!"

He was starting to understand why Claire had gotten so flustered, Kanone just had that effect with his praise. Turning away from his brother, he dashed out of the room without even saying goodbye, not checking if Claire was following him.

She wasn't. She was comfortable right where she was.

"You're not going after him?" Kanone asked, raising his eyebrow in surprise.

"Nuh-uh," Claire said, shaking her head and smiling sweetly. She gazed at the open doorway, letting out a whimsical sigh. "I'm fine giving the two of them some alone time. They deserve it. In the meantime, I guess I'll just head back to my seat."

"You're a good friend, Claire," Kanone said, smiling.

"I wish I could say you were a good brother," Claire tossed over her shoulder as she flounced out of the room. "But I think we both know that's not how it is."

Kanone shrugged his shoulders, and sighed. All he could do was the best that he could.

Next chapter, Blake catches up with Ayame, and we finally get to the first round of the Miss Pokemon Academy Contest! What will we see in the competition? Hopefully it'll be a lot of fun!