We've had a lot of drama focusing on the Phantom's group, particularly on Maddi and her antagonistic relationship with Misato, her desire to obtain the Oracle, and the struggle against the ninjas that were looking for it… but what about other drama? How about some drama with the other groups instead?

KedharS: Misato can't die.

JoshGamerV: Interesting theory.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 910

The day had been a very intense one for Ange. So many things had happened that it was hard to imagine it was just one day.

But in another part of the Orre Region, the day was just developing as any other would. Nobody was watching senseless brutality of people fighting against each other in the colosseums, and there certainly weren't any attempts to sneak into a condemned mining town on the hunt for an ancient treasure, or battles with ninjas.

No, in Gateon City, the Commander's and Empress's groups were eating a nice, pleasant lunch together at a beach shack on the shore, doing their best to enjoy each other's company without a care in the world.

It was not going as well as some may have hoped.

Vic was still nursing a grudge at having lost in beach volleyball, shooting daggers at Ayame Toujou with her eyes. And to Ayame's credit, she didn't take the bait. But she definitely felt uncomfortable; she wasn't a very social or friendly person to begin with, and didn't know how to handle people being upset with her.

Because of that, she resorted to common defensive measures- hostility. She had tried being friendly, but Vic clearly didn't want friendly. So Ayame just glared back at her, retreating to her previous coldness from before Blake.

Olivia, perceptive of the change in Ayame's demeanor, glanced worriedly towards Hiromi. Hiromi knitted her brow, this wasn't good.

Ayame was a sweetheart, she really was. If she was your friend, she was the kindest and most supportive person in the world, and would come to your defense as quick as a Rapidash and not back down, a fierce protector whose chivalry won the hearts of many boys and girls.

But if she wasn't your friend… she was very difficult to get along with. It partly due to her social awkwardness, of course, but it was an unfortunate defensive measure that had developed due to the years of scorn and bullying she'd endured from her peers in elementary school.

Hiromi hadn't been able to do anything for her daughter back then. Due to her job, she'd had to move around frequently, and had brought her daughters with her. Because of that, she knew how hard it had been for Ayame to make friends.

She was always the shy and awkward new girl who nobody wanted to talk to, which had kept her from having a real friend until high school. Olivia had done that for her. She'd given Ayame a place to belong, when even the track team had kept her at a distance by placing her on a pedestal. And not only Olivia, it was Blake's help as well that had given her daughter the strength to come out of her shell and bless the world with her smile.

Hiromi would always adore Blake for that. Even if the two of them were to split up in the future, she would never lose her gratitude for the happiness Blake had brought into Ayame's life.

But Blake wasn't here right now. And even with Olivia and Hiromi present, it was clear that Ayame was struggling to keep up her positivity, especially with how much aggression Vic was focusing towards the poor girl.

It made Hiromi want to step in and tell the other girl to cut it out! What was she thinking, treating Ayame like that?! It had just been a game!

Hiromi was split between her desire to help her daughter, and her responsibility as a chaperone. If she started something here, there would be a lot of problems. It wasn't like she could just tell Vic to be nice to Ayame, because Vic hadn't really done anything. It would just be causing more drama, and draw more attention to the problem.

And in the end, she wasn't even sure if her daughter wanted her to step in at all. In the first place, Ayame liked her independence. As much as her daughter clearly loved her, she was hardly a momma's girl. And yes, part of that was because Hiromi hadn't been as present in her daughter's life as she'd have liked to be, but the fact remained that Ayame might not appreciate it if Hiromi suddenly stepped in as her big protector and tried to solve all of her problems for her.

So she found herself trapped, unable to do anything to help her daughter, only able to watch and hope that everything turned out okay for her.

It wasn't a very nice place to be.

But Olivia had none of Hiromi's conflicts to worry about.

While the rest of the students were feasting on cooked noodles and seafood, she slapped her hands down on the table and rose from her seat, turning her glare towards Vic.

Everyone fell silent, surprised by the sudden display.

"Enough of that, you," Olivia snapped, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "Victoria, you've been giving my friend the stink-eye for an hour now, what's the big idea? If you've got something to say, then say it!"

Vic's eyes slowly slid from Ayame to Olivia, and she opened her mouth to reply before a hand on her shoulder caused her to freeze.

It was Alden.

"Hey, come on now," the blonde laughed. "It's not that big of a deal, is it?"

Olivia was outraged. Not a big deal? This jerkass was trying to play off Vic's blatant hostility towards her best friend as some "not a problem" issue? This was one of the things she despised about the Commander. His only concern was fighting pokemon battles, he didn't give a care towards the social issues of his group.

Vic was strong, so she got a high ranking position in his organization. Who cares if she was a toxic bully? He sure didn't. And now she was taking that out on Ayame, because why? Because Ayame beat her in a game of volleyball? It was unreasonable and unacceptable, and Olivia wasn't going to let it just be swept away like a sandcastle on the shore.

But she couldn't just start yelling, either. Every bone in her body was screaming at her to make this jerk shut his fucking mouth, but she couldn't give into her negative impulses. The Empress needed to be the kind of person who was above reproach, she needed to handle her issues delicately, with finesse. Otherwise she was as bad as Vic was.

So she calmed herself down, smoothing out her voice to a more even tone. But she didn't smile. He wouldn't get that from her.

"I agree that it isn't a big deal," she began. Calmly. Rationally. That was the way to do this. "After all, they were playing a game. There's no sense in making a big deal out of a game, right?" She asked rhetorically, turning her eyes towards Vic. "So tell me, even though it's just a game, why is Vic glaring with so much hostility at Aya, hmm?"

"She does that with everyone," Tommy answered automatically, earning a few snickers. Olivia silenced them with a flick of her glare in their direction before returning her gaze back to Vic.

"Well? If it's just a game, then why are you taking it out on Aya?" Olivia asked again, crossing her arms insistently.

Vic baulked a little, but she held her tongue. She didn't want to cause any further problems for the Commander.

Alden sighed. It was clear that this was going to be a little more complicated than he expected. While he didn't like Olivia all that much, he was trying to behave civilly around her, at least. But it was clear that in spite of his efforts, tensions were rising more and more.

He knew that Vic could be a difficult person to interact with. In spite of that, he still respected her strength and valued her input. But it couldn't be understated how much of a problem she was in situations like this.

While everyone was talking about how much of a problem this was, no one was paying attention to the girl who was the actual target of all the hostility.

Ayame herself was desperate just for all this to end. She was willing to endure Vic's scorn and hostility if it meant that things would be better between the two groups. She didn't want to cause any strife, not if it was only for her own sake and no one else's.

She turned to Olivia with desperation to try and get her friend to back down. "Look, boss, it's not that big of a deal," she mumbled, hoping to blunt some of Olivia's wrath.

There was little hope of that, though.

"Not right now, Aya," Olivia shushed her. She knew just what her friend was doing, she'd seen it a million times before. After so many years of putting up with scorn and abuse from her classmates, withstanding such treatment had become second-nature to the girl.

So now, Ayame was the kind of girl who would accept any amount of burden placed on her if it would resolve the situation. It was a horrid contradiction and one that made Olivia weep inside. Her dear, sweet Aya, a girl who would stand up fiercely in defense of her friends, who would never let anyone mistreat them under her watch, was conversely willing to shoulder any abuse herself for the sake of everyone else.

She was too sweet of a person, the kind of girl who didn't understand that she was just as deserving of people standing up for her sake as anyone else.

Try as she might, however, Olivia couldn't shake that internal contradiction lodged in her friend's heart. Sure, Ayame wasn't a pushover, she could stand up for herself quite a lot when push came to shove. But the minute it came to her own wants and needs running contrary to the needs of the group, that was when Ayame buckled and took the hit.

It was what Olivia feared most from her relationship with Blake. The doubt that gnawed away at her every day she saw the two of them together, gone unspoken in the fear that her words would conjure it forth into being.

She had told Blake again and again to never hurt Ayame. And she knew, of course, that he would never want to, not if he could help it.

But she knew the kind of girl Ayame was. Even if Ayame wasn't happy with something in their relationship, even if things were bad for her and she was feeling burdened and disillusioned, she wouldn't ever give word to those doubts. Because she didn't want the two of them to break up, of course.

And who could blame her for that?

It had all the makings of a toxic relationship. Ayame accepting more and more indignity on her shoulders because she was afraid of ruining the "happiness" between the two of them, and Blake thoughtlessly (or, Olivia dreadfully feared, intentionally) pushing those burdens onto her even more.

She was relieved that they had recognized how dependent on each other they were for themselves, and were taking steps to resolve that issue. Olivia couldn't have asked for anything less.

Now she just had to hope that Ayame could spend that time becoming more used to imposing her own selfishness on others. If she became more selfish, more independent, Olivia could feel better about their relationship.

But it looked like that wasn't the case. So Olivia had to step in and solve the matter for herself. Because no, it wasn't okay for Ayame to be treated like this, it wasn't okay for anyone to be treated like this! Not in front of her.

The irony was, Olivia was exploiting that shortcoming of her best friend herself. Because once more, Ayame, too afraid of causing more strife by standing up for herself and telling Olivia that it was okay, backed down and let her friend continue chastising Vic.

Nobody was talking anymore. The rest of the table just watched Olivia accuse and Alden deflect, wishing someone could just put a stop to it.

And then someone did.

"Okay! That's enough!" The objection came from the most unlikely of sources. Marion stood up in her seat, not smiling for once. Her crystal blue eyes were blazing.

"We were having a conversation here," Olivia scowled at her. She didn't like being interrupted by that stupid fishing girl.

Marion scoffed, rolling her eyes. "You call that a conversation? You were practically in a shouting match. Nope. Nuh-uh. Everyone else is uncomfortable right now, even the chaperones."

Olivia glanced at Hiromi and Rui. Both women hung their heads, looking a little ashamed. After all, it was their daughters that were the root of this disagreement. They had both felt conflicted about stepping into resolve the issue, afraid it would look like they were unfairly trying to protect their children, but both silently agreed that they should have done something before another student tried to break it up, of all things.

"So what, are you saying I should just sit back and let my friend be leered at, is that what you're saying?" Olivia demanded. She was filled with so much frustration right now she didn't have a problem with turning it on Marion next.

Marion shook her head. "Look, I get it, totally, you're trying to protect your friend, right? Definitely get it, absolutely."

Marion glanced at Ayame. "But how's she feel about this?"

Honestly, Ayame wanted it to end. But at the same time, she knew that it wasn't fair for Victoria to be treating her this way. She just hadn't wanted to rock the boat.

"I… I just want to finish eating," she admitted.

"Great, then let's finish eating!" Marion cheered, clapping her hands. "Problem solved."

"Uh, no, problem not solved!" Olivia sputtered in disbelief. "Aya, you can't just be cool with someone giving you the stink-eye!"

No, she wasn't cool with it. But at the same time, drawing more attention to the issue wasn't helping either. "Boss… it's just glaring," Ayame said. "I can endure that."

Olivia baulked at the look on Ayame's face. She wanted to keep fighting for her friend's sake, but it was clear that dragging this out was hurting the tomboy just as much, if not more. What was she supposed to do now?

Marion's face darkened. "Wait, endure?"

"H-Huh?" Ayame was surprised, turning back to look at her. Olivia was surprised as well.

"So… you're not cool with it then? You're just putting up with it?" Marion inquired, her scowl deepening.

"I… guess?" Ayame didn't know what Marion wanted from her anymore.

Marion mulled it over for a few seconds, then raised her hands in an "X" sign. "…Nope! No good, do-over!"

"H-Huh?" Nobody knew what to make of that declaration.

"It's one thing to end the angry times if everyone's okay! But if you're just being all nicey-nice because you don't want to hurt anybody's feelings, that's a no-go, Toujou!" Marion said, shaking her head adamantly.

"Exactly! That's what I'm saying!" Olivia said, nodding in agreement. For once, Marion was actually making sense! "Aya shouldn't have to put up with this crap!"

"Hey, come off it!" Vic growled. "I can't help being mad! It's not like I'm insulting her or calling her out or anything, I'm just pissed! Why are you making it sound like I'm some bully?!"

That… was also a valid point. At the end of the day, all Vic had really done was shoot Ayame a few dirty looks. It wasn't really a problem serious enough for the public lynching that Olivia seemed to be advocating for. But then, Olivia was the kind of girl who would destroy her enemies over the smallest of slights.

Marion considered that, too.

"Well… okay, Victoria, you're still upset about losing in the volleyball game, right?" She asked, turning to Vic.

"Obviously," Vic huffed.

"Come on, Vic, it was just a game," Alden said, still trying to smooth things over. That helped Vic's mood a little, but she was still frustrated.

"Kay, kay… and Ayame, what do you want to do? How's the way Miss Stinky-Eyes is looking at you making you feel right now?" Marion asked. "Honestly."

The words slipped out of Ayame's lips before she could stop them. "Like I want to punch her teeth in," she answered. She slapped her hand over her mouth and went pale.

Vic glared at her even harder.

"Ayame!" Hiromi gasped, while Olivia burst out laughing.

"…Well, let's try thinking of something a little more productive," Marion said. Her eyes were shining with excitement. "And I've got the best way to resolve this whole debacle!"

She didn't have to say a thing, everybody at the table knew what she was about to suggest.

"Let's have a fishing contest!" Marion cheered. "We can give them the chance to work out their issues with each other directly, instead of turning it into some awkward debate! What do you guys think? Great idea, right?"

She looked at everyone else for clarification, clearly expecting rounds of applause and roars of accolades to greet her suggestion.

Everyone just gave her dead-eyed stares.

"…What?" Marion pouted, crossing her arms. "I thought it was a good idea…"

"Marion, the oceans have, like, zero fish in them, remember?" Maddi said, rolling her eyes. She'd spent all morning fishing with Marion, and nobody had caught a damn thing.

"But… it's the spirit of the thing!" Marion said. "No one will have to catch anything, and they can still compete, and-"

"I don't want to fish," Vic said automatically, cutting off Marion before she could let out any more ludicrous ideas.

"I'm kind of fished out myself," Ayame agreed with a nod.

"…Well, fine then," Marion pouted glumly, sinking back down into her seat and poking at her lunch.

"…What about a pokemon battle?" Of course, it was Alden to suggest that. He thought that was the solution to everything.

"A pokemon battle?" Olivia sputtered. "Wait, you want them to resolve their issues with a pokemon battle?"

"Sure!" Alden shrugged. "We do it all the time back at school, work out our problems with some friendly competition! Just to let off some steam!"

"I'm fine with that," Vic said with a smirk, crossing her arms triumphantly as she stared across the table at Ayame.

"Well, I'm not!" Olivia shouted. "You want Ayame to fight against Victoria? That's not fair! Victoria's in the Battle Course, she's got a ridiculous advantage! Why does it have to be a pokemon battle? Why can't they compete in a Pokemon Contest, huh?"

"Uh… I'm not really on board with that either, boss…" Ayame mumbled.

"Fine, then a track meet or something, I don't care," Olivia scoffed, rolling her eyes. "The point is that saying they should resolve their issues with something that she obviously has an advantage at is just… well, it's not fair!"

"Aren't you being a little hard on her?" Alden asked, raising his eyebrow in confusion. "I mean… Ayame was one of the competitors in the Phantom Cup. Is she really not able to put up a good enough fight on her own?"

"Wait, what?" Vic sputtered in disbelief. "Commander, you think that girl's a match for me?!"

Alden shrugged. From where he was sitting, Ayame and Vic were pretty tough opponents. He wanted to see what a battle between the two of them would be like. It wasn't like he had any expectation of who would win beyond that.

Vic slowly turned back to Ayame, and her glare had a whole new level of hatred inside it. "Fine then," she growled.

Ayame felt a wave of nausea build up in her gut. She wasn't even sure if she wanted to do this!

So, a battle between Vic and Ayame? That should be interesting. Vic may have a pretty big advantage, but will Ayame be able to hold her own? And maybe even win? We'll have to see!