With the issues between the ninja siblings put off for the moment, we now return to Gateon Port and embrace the drama of the personal issues with Olivia's group and Alden's group. This should be a zany day, and one we should approach for some lightheartedness after those serious issues with Dokukage and Shinobu.

KedharS: Who knows? Probably not anything good, that's for sure.

Just a Bad Writer for Fun: Yup, gotta connect everything.

JoshGamerV: Yep. You basically hit the nail on the head. Marion was selected to be a candidate for special testing, but Rey volunteered to take her place because it might have killed her. The intensity of the treatment turned his hair white, and that's how they became friends.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 892

While Dokukage was in the middle of a ninja battle with his sister at the crack of dawn, back in the other parts of Orre, more people were beginning to start their day.

Two of those people were Alcea and Callie.

Callie woke up first, and she woke up quite early. It was still rather dark outside. She was used to waking up in the mornings so she could work out, and it took her a little bit of time to remember that she didn't need to do that right now. She was on vacation, so she could just relax. Plus, her equipment wasn't here, so it's not like she could get the best workout possible anyway, right?

That was what she thought, but then when she glanced down at her thin stomach she thought better of it. Her waist was trim and her abs were tight, and she didn't want to do anything that would cause that to no longer be the case.

The food in Orre wasn't the best she'd ever had, but dinner had been nice and she knew that if she slipped back into a vacation mindset she might not realize that she was getting out of shape until it was too late.

Being short was bad enough, but she couldn't stand the idea of getting fat, too. What would Nick think if he saw her?! That fear was enough to propel her out of bed and get started on some crunches and pushups to make sure that she kept her figure just the way it was.

She had a position to maintain as the most in-shape girl under five feet, after all, and she didn't want to lose it!

She was still in the process of working up to a good sweat when Alcea woke up and turned to look her way, curious.

"What are you doing?" She asked with a yawn, surprised to see such a diligent show of dedication so early in the morning.

"Working… (huff) out… (huff)" Callie gasped out through sit-ups, not taking her eye off the far wall. "Care… (huff) to (huff) join me?"

It took Alcea all of two seconds to answer that question.

"No, I am fine, is it?" She said, shaking her head and falling back into bed. The sun was rising higher now, and while it was still early in the morning, it was unquestionably a time when reasonable people could be awake without looking odd.

Alcea was not an ordinary person, however. And another thing she was not was a morning person. So she leaned back in bed and pressed the snooze button on her alarm clock, nestling down to get a few more winks of sleep.

The reason why Alcea was so bad with mornings could be due to several things. Some people simply had times of day that they were better at, after all. Or maybe it was because due to her upbringing as a noble lady, she was used to a certain standard of service that made her become accustomed to waking up late due to the maids waiting on her. Or maybe, like her beloved flowers and Grass type pokemon, she could only get the full extent of energy from the bright sunlight, so the early morning rays weren't nourishing enough. Or maybe it was a remnant of all that time she spent on that island fighting for her life, that had cost her so much energy and she was still making up for that loss nearly five years after the fact.

But whatever the reason, it couldn't be said that Alcea was good with mornings. Which made the fact that she was once again woken up from her sleep after an intolerably short respite even more frustrating.

"Alcea, come on," Callie said, shaking Alcea awake.

Alcea sat up and stared at the blonde with bleary eyes before glancing at the alarm clock. It wasn't even 8 o'clock yet! She'd barely gotten an hour and a half in since the last time she remembered being awake.

She groaned and slumped back into her pillow. "Just let me sleep," she muttered. She'd be in way better shape if she slept in for another hour or so.

But unfortunately, that didn't work out.

"No, come on, we can't," Callie said insistently, shaking her a little harder. She'd already let Alcea sleep for long enough, she couldn't spend the whole day comatose like this! "We're getting breakfast with Ayame's group in like, less than an hour. Come on, you need to get ready or you'll hold everybody up, Alcea!"

In spite of what she was saying, Callie was secretly thrilled that Alcea was acting this way. It showed that, in spite of how amazing she was, Alcea was still a human being.

Last night had proven that too, of course, but it was nice to get another reminder that just like Callie, Alcea was someone with faults. And one of those faults was that she wasn't a morning person. It was nice to know that someone she looked up to wasn't perfect.

At the same time, though, they really needed to go.

Eventually, Alcea pulled herself out of bed with a yawn, and trudged into the bathroom to take a shower.

The before and after of Alcea's shower was a sight to see. She came out smelling like a rose (thank you, expensive shampoo) and with a regal look on her face betraying her status. It was like the sloppy mess Callie had seen this morning was just a bad dream.

While Alcea brushed her hair straight, she walked over to the closet. She'd hung her clothes up the night before so they wouldn't get wrinkled, and had everything perfectly prepared for today's outing. She packed her bathing suit away in a plastic bag and put it in her backpack, then changed into a nice red sundress perfect for walking around in.

"Thanks for waking me up on time," Alcea said, turning to Callie and flashing a charming smile that would have won over anyone who liked girls. "I'm not exactly the best in the mornings, is it? It's always hard for me to wake up…"

Callie had bad memories involving her brother. Sometimes he would wander off in the middle of the night without her noticing, other times he would sleep an entire day. But she quickly squashed those memories with a smile.

"No, no, totally cool!" She said. "As long as you get it, we're good."

Alcea nodded, smiling sweetly. "Oui. Thank you, I'll be counting on you in the future on this trip, if you don't mind."

Callie's heart nearly leapt out of her chest. Alcea was counting on her! She couldn't believe it! Someone as amazing as Alcea was counting on her! Relying on her for something! It almost made her feel as good as she did last night, when Alcea had confided all that stuff about the Phantom and Gerard and asked for her help!

…Speaking of which…

"Wait, so Alcea, you know we're going to spend the day hanging out with Ayame's group, right? That means the Empress, too," Callie reminded her.

Alcea made a sour face. "…Oui. I am aware of that, is it?"

Callie winced. Clearly that wasn't the best line of thinking. "So like… are you sure you're gonna be okay with that? I mean, you two don't exactly get along great… unless, are you planning on using this as a chance to get her on our side?! You know, against the Phantom and Gerard?"

The idea that Alcea might be trying to work both of the Daevas at once was an exciting prospect. But the look on Alcea's face told Callie that wasn't it.

"…No, nothing like that," Alcea said, shaking her head. "It is simply… that I do not see how we can get out of such a situation, is it?" She tried her best to smile. "But it is not something you need to worry about, is it?"

Callie deflated a little at Alcea's response. She might not have NEEDED to worry about it, but she liked when Alcea extended a hand out to her, it made her feel more accepted as a part of the team. But oh well, there was nothing she could do.

"At least it wouldn't hurt to try to be on good terms with them?" She suggested instead, thinking back to Ayame. Ayame was one of her friends, even though they weren't all that close. They hung out a lot due to both being part of the same circle. And Callie really didn't want things to get that awkward between the two of them.

While Callie might have been fine with conflicts in a general sense, when it came to interpersonal issues she was a lot less bold. If she had to keep seeing Ayame after they had a falling out, it would make things really uncomfortable for her, and she wanted to avoid that at any cost.

Alcea gave her a smile, but it didn't do a lot to reassure the girl. "Do not worry. Olivia and I… we may have our differences, but I can promise that I won't be the one to start anything, so you need not worry about that, is it?"

"…Uh…" That didn't make Callie feel much better. She didn't expect that Alcea would be getting into fights or anything like that, and definitely not initiating them. But that didn't mean that she and Olivia wouldn't still have a bunch of issues that they would need to work out.

Either way, Callie wasn't exactly looking forward to this excursion. She sighed and flopped back down on her bed, staring up at the ceiling.

That got boring after about two seconds, so she sat up and turned to Alcea, ready to ask another question.

But then Callie saw that Alcea's attention had already shifted to something else, and she got intrigued. The other girl had taken something out of her suitcase and set it by the windowsill the night before, but it had been too dark to see what it was, and Callie had been too tired. She'd forgotten about it, but now that her memory had been jogged she was getting curious.

Alcea had returned to that windowsill, but it certainly wasn't to admire the view. The morning sun was streaming in, casting her body in a lovely glow.

Callie skipped over to Alcea and took a peek.

It was… a plant. In some kind of strange incubator. The green shoot shot up out of the dirt and sat there, bobbing gently up and down like a bud about to bloom.

Callie was shocked that Alcea was so dedicated to her flowers that she would even bring one with them to one of the most arid regions on the planet. There was passion, but this was something a lot more freaky in Callie's opinion.

"Hey, uh, Alcea, you good? What is that?" Callie asked, her curiosity getting the better of her. It was definitely something special if Alcea had gone to the trouble of bringing it all the way to the Orre Region, after all.

Alcea jumped, not expecting Callie to continue the conversation, or even be interested at all in the flower that she was growing. She turned back to the blonde with a complex expression on her face, considering what to say.

"It's… a flower, is it?" Alcea said, one of the lamest responses possible. And Callie let her know it, too, giving her a look that said "oh, really? No shit."

Flustered, Alcea quickly corrected herself. "What I mean is that it is special flower," she said. "Someone gave it to me before the trip, because they knew that I have such a green thumb, is it? So I am looking after it for them. That is all."

Callie blinked, a little disappointed. That answer was almost… normal. Nothing exciting at all going on there, unless…

Her expression morphed into a twisted grin. She suddenly had a thought about why Alcea was taking such good care of the flower, and it connected to what they had been talking about the night before, too.

Not the part about Gerard and the Phantom.

The OTHER part of their conversation.

"Hey, Alcea, can I ask you something?" Callie asked, trying to keep the smirk off of her face.

Curious, Alcea raised her eyebrow, glancing back at Callie as she daintily watered the flower with her portable watering can. "Oui. What is it?"

"Oh, I was just wondering, did a boy give you that flower?" Callie asked, excited to see what Alcea's reaction was.

But Alcea just looked confused. She shook her head. "No, why?"

That response took the wind out of Callie's sails. "So… a girl, then?"

Alcea nodded, though she didn't think that Sylvia really counted as a girl in her mind. Ugh. She'd been trying to keep the blonde out of her thoughts, too, but so much for that. "Oui, a girl gave it to me, again, why?"

Callie sighed again, disappointed by Alcea's nonchalance. Clearly, this wasn't what she'd been expecting at all, that was for sure. "Ah, never mind. It doesn't matter. I just thought that, you know, after our conversation last night, well… maybe a brand new romance could have bloomed for you already, that's all."

Alcea let Callie's words sink in for a second, and then she gasped in shock. "Wait, do you mean to say that you thought… no, that would never be the case! Me and her?!"

The idea that Alcea could have feelings for Sylvia, or even worse, Sylvia having feelings for Alcea, were the kind of thoughts that made the redhead sick to her stomach. She shook her head, pulling back her watering can and resisting the urge to fling it across the room.

Taking care of the flower felt even more disgusting after hearing that.

Callie was quick to correct her. "N-No, no, nothing like that! I didn't mean… well, I mean, I did, but not like…"

She was mainly just confused. She had no idea who the girl who'd given Alcea the flower was, and she definitely wasn't sure why it had elicited a response like that from the girl. There was definitely some more going on there.

But she didn't press the issue. That would be rude to their budding friendship. So she just forced an apologetic smile to her lips and tried her best to make amends.

"I'm sorry," she apologized. "I, uh… I just thought that it was a guy, you know, and that was the reason you were taking such good care of it. You know? Because when a guy gives flowers to a girl, like… it means something."

…She assumed. Truth be told, Nick wasn't exactly the kind of guy who would give her flowers. Well, that was wrong, he WAS the kind of guy who would give her flowers. So the fact that he hadn't yet was kind of a sore spot for her, not that she'd tell Alcea that!

Alcea took another few seconds to process that, and then her face turned red. "No, I… believe me, it wasn't a boy who gave me these, and certainly it wasn't someone who liked me! That would be unthinkable!"

"Y-Yeah, sorry for that…" Callie apologized. But honestly, she didn't find it that hard to believe. Alcea was popular with the boys, for sure. But she was also popular with the girls. There were more than a few girls she knew who had not-so-secret girl-crushes on the redhead.

Heck, a good chunk of them were in Alcea's very own club! The only girls on campus who could probably give Alcea a run for her money in terms of their popularity with the same sex were Olivia, a beauty in her own right and an outspoken lesbian, and Ayame, who may have been straight, but had the looks of a handsome playboy.

So yeah, girls liking Alcea in a romantic sense, and one of them giving her a flower? It wasn't exactly difficult for Callie to imagine.

Still, it was a real shock to see Alcea act like that.

Alcea must have picked up on the tense atmosphere, because she suddenly turned pale as she was realizing what her words and actions implied, and quickly shook her head and tried to clear up the misunderstanding.

"W-Wait, it's not like that," she quickly clarified. "Trust me, it's not like I have any problems with girls liking other girls or anything, really, I don't!"

She was desperate because she knew how this must look. After all, a very prominent lesbian had a very well-known grudge against her, it wasn't a stretch to imagine that the reason for that was because Alcea was secretly homophobic.

"Huh? Oh, I don't think you hate lesbians or anything, don't worry," Callie assured her. "Heck, girls hit on me sometimes!"

…It was a bit of a sore spot that the only people who hit on Callie were exclusively lesbians. While the "short and cute" look wasn't appealing to guys, apparently, being short, cute, and tough attracted a few girls to her. It would have been amusing if it wasn't so painful.

Alcea sighed in relief. "My apologies. I did not mean to make an outburst like that. I simply did not want to have you get the wrong idea, is it? My aversion to the idea of a relationship with the person who gave me this flower has nothing to do with their gender."

Callie blinked. "Wait, then does that mean you like girls, too?!" She asked, her jaw dropping in shock. Alcea Vermeil was a lesbian? …No, wait, she said last night she had a crush on Kanone, so did that mean she was bi?

Kate would be thrilled!

But before Callie could say another word on the subject of Alcea's sexuality, the girl in question quickly torpedoed that line of thinking.

"Not what I meant, is it?" She clarified. "I was merely speaking on the fact that this person's feelings for me are revolting for reasons unrelated to her being female. My own feelings on the matter are not necessary. As for liking girls as well as boys, the thought hasn't even crossed my mind."

With that statement, the conversation came to a close. Alcea liked boys, but she didn't like girls. She wouldn't even know if she liked girls, she'd never even thought about it before. The only person she'd ever had feelings for was a boy, everyone else…

They were just people. Mainly friends, some acquaintances. But not people she would ever think of in a romantic sense.

And then there were girls like Olivia, who just left a sour taste in her mouth. No matter how hard she tried, the two of them could not get along.

With nothing else to talk about, Callie returned to her bed, her stomach rumbling. Their chaperone, Rui, had said they'd be visiting a pastry shop. But for some reason, even though Callie loved doughy treats, she still couldn't find it in herself to be that excited about it. Things were just getting too weird.

Plus, there was the whole tension of being around Alcea and Olivia for the rest of the day, and the drama that would probably come from that.

Alcea and Callie are still building up their friendship! It's definitely a heartwarming thing to see, that's for sure!