This chapter will continue the focus on Donoma, and show just the kind of person she is when she really sets her mind to something… or to someone. Will Lukas be safe when the ex from hell is on the prowl?

KedharS: Hopefully it will go somewhere that's safe for viewing audiences.

Just a Bad Writer for Fun: Donoma is quite an interesting character and the dynamic she brings to the table is certainly… engaging.

Epifanio Therion: Donoma is a fun character to explore, so I might as well use her while I have the chance.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 919

It was a serious surprise that the Orre Region could get so cold at night, compared to how sweltering the day had been. Lukas shivered as they walked back to the hotel, feeling the chilling wins press against his body.

Gateon City was a port city, of course, which meant that it was right beside the ocean. And with that came cold air at night, no matter how hot the desert was. Lukas was really wishing he'd remembered to bring his jacket right about now…

But the cold night air was nothing compared to the freezing touch of a hand on his shoulder, which almost made him jump out of his shoes.

"Oh! Sorry, didn't mean to startle you like that," Donoma giggled, pulling her hands back and blowing on them. "It really is cold out here, isn't it?"

"…Yeah, I guess," Lukas mumbled, nodding noncommittally. "Pretty cold…"

Donoma's eyes sparkled as she leaned in closer to him, tilting her head to the side as they walked back to the hotel.

"You know," she sighed, "I really wish I had brought a coat… If I'd known it was going to be this chilly out, I definitely would have brought one."

"Uh-huh, same," Lukas agreed. He was definitely regretting that, and it wasn't unreasonable for Donoma to be feeling similarly.

But why was she coming to talk to him about it?

It was… unnerving. Just as he was thinking about how cold it was and wishing he'd brought his jacket, Donoma had come up to him feeling the same way? It was a familiar sensation… then he remembered that she'd done stuff like this before.

This was one of her tricks for building empathy. Find something mutual to bond over, and discuss it to feel like the two of them were becoming close, so she could gradually guide the conversation topic to matters that interested her once her target had gotten lured in by her acting.

The realization was like a slap in the face even colder than the chilling wind. Donoma was flirting with him.

That wasn't anything new, of course, even after their falling out Donoma would still flirt with him on occasion the way she flirted with everyone else. That was just the kind of girl that she was. But right now, it felt like her flirting was more… purposeful. Like she wasn't doing it just because, rather there was something she wanted.

And since Lukas didn't have anything that Donoma would find valuable, nor did he have any connections she could exploit, the only conclusion he could draw was that Donoma was flirting with him because she wanted to spend the night with him, being denied her opportunity to pick up a guy on the beach earlier today.

That realization was a sobering thought, and made Lukas freeze up in the conversation. Donoma was trying to get into his pants, even after everything they'd gone through… it was enough to make him break out into a cold sweat.

Donoma picked up quickly that something had changed in their dynamic. Lukas was suddenly a lot more cautious and guarded, and she had a suspicion why that was. So he realized that she was trying to get with him? Good. She wasn't exactly trying to be subtle.

A coy smirk spread across her lips and she scooted a little closer to him, to the point where she pressed up right against his side.

"Hey, Lukas…" she whispered hotly into his ear, "how about… tonight, the two of us get together and have… a little bit of fun? What do you think?"

Lukas gulped. There it was, the proposition. He'd seen it coming, but he still wasn't ready for it. Instantly his mind flashed back to all the other times that he and Donoma "had fun" together, and what it had culminated in.

And that was when he realized that in spite of his tall talk, an addiction wasn't something that was easy to break.

He had convinced himself since his breakup that he was over her now, that he wasn't interested in what she had to offer at this point now that he knew "the real her". Donoma was a fairly awful person, even if she could be genuinely nice. She still treated people like they were disposable, and even if she only stopped at using them for hookups, it still wasn't the best way to see others. It was one of the reasons why Lukas was turned off by her.

Or so he'd thought.

Now that he was put back in that situation, with Donoma directly offering herself up to him once again, he realized that the reason he had been so okay with not being with Donoma ever again was because that was his only option.

He convinced himself that he didn't want to be with her because he thought that he would never be in a situation where that would happen again.

Only now he was. Donoma was offering herself again, and his resolve was starting to crumble. Was he really so opposed to her that he would turn her down? Even knowing the kind of person she was, it wasn't like giving in would be the wrong thing to do, right?

He could definitely go through with this and come out just fine. After all, now he knew Donoma better. He knew how she saw him. He wasn't going to be fooled again into thinking that this was something more than a one night stand, which would let him conserve his emotions and not get carried away again.

So that made it okay, right?

If Lukas really believed that, then he would be a fool. He pulled away from Donoma and shook his head, trying to drain the redness from his face. His heart was still pounding and he glanced at the others, worried that they might be watching and judging him.

But nobody was. Nobody even seemed to care what Lukas and Donoma were up to, they were all busy with their own conversations or too tired from the day's activities to really give a crap about anything else.

Lukas sighed in relief for a brief moment before he felt the presence of Donoma at his side once again, her breath still hot against his cheek.

"So… is that a no, then?" She purred, sounding the slightest bit hurt. Lukas grit his teeth and tried to pull away again.

"Come on, what are you doing?" He groaned. "You're seriously saying that after everything that happened?"

"What? We had some fun, then I got bored," Donoma shrugged. "I can't help it if you thought it meant something more than it did. It's just going to be for fun tonight, too, don't you want to enjoy yourself a little?"

"Believe it or not, I'd rather not get roped into another mess involving you," Lukas replied, shooting her a dirty look. "We don't tend to work well together, if you haven't noticed."

"Well, we worked together well in some ways," Donoma smirked, wiggling her eyebrows. Lukas just rolled his eyes.

"Come on, Donoma, I'm not interested," he said, shaking his arm free. Damn it, that girl had the ability to just worm her way into his mind, even when he was trying to keep away from her! He'd seen how bad her mood was today, he knew how much of a toxic mess she could be, so why the hell was part of him still considering it?

Did he really have such little respect for himself?

Donoma was a persistent girl. If she wanted something, she would go for it. And if she really wanted something, well…

Then the claws would come out. Extortion, blackmail, even threats, anything was on the table when Donoma got serious. And while Lukas hadn't quite reached that level of danger just yet, Donoma certainly wasn't going to just let him back out of this because he was feeling nervous and he found her untrustworthy.

No, no, Donoma was far too invested. Lukas was pretty much her only viable option, and she was worked up enough where it would have to do. So she was going to play the long game right now. Back off and let him think he'd gotten through to her, and then sink in her claws when the time was right to strike.

If you asked Donoma if she found anything wrong with viewing seducing a guy she'd already toyed with through the same lens that someone would be planning a military strike, then she would probably say "no" with a straight face.

With a sigh and a flirtatious wink, Donoma skipped close and leaned in, pressing her chest against Lukas's arm. She gave an exaggerated pout.

"Well, if that's what you feel, then there's nothing I can do about it," she admitted theatrically. "But it would have been fun…"

Lukas knew that it definitely would have been. But he also knew that there was no way he was getting involved with Donoma like that ever again. And especially not when she was as volatile as she was today.

"…I'm sure it would have been," he agreed evenly. "But I'm still going to have to pass. Sorry, I'm not interested."

With a giggle, Donoma pulled away and skipped in front of him, turning around and bearing her cleavage in a forward lean. "Well, I suppose we'll just have to part like that, then," she agreed. "But just so you know… the offer still stands, if you change your mind later tonight…" leaving him with that temptation, Donoma turned and walked away with a smirk on her lips, making sure to shake her ass a little while she did.

Lukas cursed internally and averted his eyes. He was supposed to be fucking over this bitch, but he couldn't help himself. He hated how easy it was for him to give into temptation, and even now he was regretting turning her offer down.

But there was no way he could go through with something like that, right? And there was no way he wanted to, either! This was just… aargh, he was just tired!

Now, if Lukas was thinking clearly and wasn't distracted by Donoma's temptations, then he would have realized that she had given up far too easily. But he wasn't even thinking like that. Or maybe, on some level, he did realize it… and the reason he wasn't questioning it further was because deep down he wanted to give in badly.

When everyone turned into their rooms for the night, Donoma set out on the next step of her plan, getting under Giselle's skin.

Giselle herself felt rather awkward. She had ended up being paired up with Olivia because all the other spaces were occupied: Olivia and Ayame roomed together, of course, and Celia and Jessie were family so of course they were together. Then there were Darla and Lila, who were partners, and Allen and Lukas, the boys, so that just left her to room with Donoma.

It wasn't like Giselle had a PROBLEM with Donoma or anything, she wasn't the kind of person to hold grudges and Donoma hadn't done anything to her in the first place.

Donoma just wasn't the kind of girl that was easy for Giselle to make friends with. Even though she always tried her best to be friendly and seemed genuinely interested in what Giselle had to say whenever they spoke one on one, her overt sexuality was a little… overt.

Giselle wasn't good with stuff like that. So being roomed with a person who was very blatant about her many experiences with men (and women!) and tried to broach the topic with her multiple times just made Giselle feel a little anxious, especially when she already felt a bit out of place in the group due to not being part of Olivia's "inner circle."

Last night, things had been easy because Donoma had dragged them into that game in the Empress's room, so she didn't have to put up with much awkwardness with her roommate. Now, though, they had the whole night to themselves, and Donoma, well…

Donoma was trying on different negligees in front of the mirror. Like with the swimsuit contest (and pretty much everything she wore) Donoma was no stranger to showing off her body. But doing it now, while Giselle was just sitting in her pajamas and getting some late-night reading, well…

"So what do you think?"

The question was so sudden and so unexpected that Giselle's book slammed shut in her hands, completely losing her spot. Her eyes were as wide as saucers as she looked up at Donoma, who was leaning so far over the bed she was practically on top of her.

Giselle glanced down and her face flushed. Donoma's choice of clothes was certainly… well, "daring" barely began to cover it, just as the cloth barely began to cover her. It was sheer black lace with a plunging neckline, shaded just perfectly so that it technically wasn't obscene. And it was also very, very short.

Her eyes immediately shot up to Donoma's, who held an appraising gaze of her own.

"It's… um… it's okay, I guess?" What answer did Donoma even expect Giselle to give to a question like that?

Donoma knew that while Giselle was straight, there was a good chance she was just a little bit curious, so she was looking for a very specific reaction from the other girl.

And boy, did she deliver.

"Alright, this is the perfect one," Donoma decided, standing up straight with a triumphant gleam in her eye.

Giselle just looked confused. There was a fairly large difference between their respective choices of eveningwear. Giselle's frumpy button-up shirt and slacks were like dirty dishrags next to that thing, was it even comfortable to sleep in?

Of course, innocent as she was, Giselle didn't have the slightest clue that Donoma had not chosen this particular article of clothing to be getting sleep in.

Donoma plopped down on the other bed and stared at Giselle, which only made her more confused. Why was she looking at her like that? It didn't make any sense. Her gaze seemed almost expectant, and it was putting some serious pressure on the confused girl.

Giselle clumsily thumbed at her book, trying to search for her missing place. But she was really just going through the motions. After all, she could barely focus on the words with Donoma still staring at her like that. What did she…

"So what are you reading there?" Donoma asked, moving over to sit next to Giselle, pressing up close to the other girl.

Was… was that perfume? Had Donoma put on perfume after getting back to their room? Why would she do that!? And why was she so close all of a sudden?! And why…!

In her exhaustion from the day's efforts, Giselle alighted on the wrong conclusion. Donoma had gone to great effort to change into various articles of skimpy underwear right in front of Giselle, and then had asked for her opinion.

With how upset Donoma had been at not being able to hook up with somebody on the beach… and all that stuff about how she was open to invitations from boys and girls alike…

Giselle began to break out into a cold sweat.

No way, no way, no way, no way! You're overthinking it! Those rumors are just rumors! Giselle tried to calm herself down, but her thoughts felt hollow and empty. The rumors she was referring to, of course, were the rumors that Donoma would be exceptionally friendly and flirtatious towards people she was trying to seduce, getting up close and personal with them and expressing interest in the things that they liked.

But… but those were just rumors. That didn't mean that Donoma was trying to…

Right?

Giselle may have been weak to situations like this, and even though she'd never had a boyfriend before, she could tell that this was definitely Donoma trying to put the moves on her!

She had turned down offers from a few guys, and never had a serious relationship, but this was the first time she'd dealt with the attentions of someone like Donoma. It felt like she was going up against the Empress in a one on one contest!

Of course, Donoma had zero intention of seducing Giselle. Certainly she could have tried it, but the girl would probably just shut down and it would be a big mess that Donoma had no interest in cleaning up after.

Really, Donoma just didn't want Giselle to be in the room.

"So Giselle, how are things going between you and Olivia right now?" Donoma asked.

Surprised at the sudden topic change, Giselle let out a squeak and tilted her head to the side. "I mean, well… not so good, still…"

Donoma sighed in sympathy for the girl. On some level, she did feel bad that Giselle was trying to gain the Empress's approval to zero effect.

"Well, you're close with Ayame, though, right?" Donoma asked next.

With the topic switching to Ayame, Giselle immediately brightened. "Yeah, she and I get along great, same as always! And… oh, and I also don't like the way you keep on bothering her when she tells you to stop!" She added, putting on a serious face. "Ayame doesn't want to be the star of one of your reality shows, so just leave her alone!"

Well, she gets really fiery when Ayame's involved, huh? Donoma noted with a reserved internal smirk that was masked by her friendly smile. I think my assessment that she might have some feelings for our cute little tomboy may have been right on the money…

Even with that in mind, Donoma didn't push the issue. Instead, she came up with another line of thinking for Giselle.

"Hey, you know, if you and Ayame get on so good, maybe you could go see her?" She suggested. "You know, let her know how cool she was in her battle today?"

Giselle brightened at that suggestion, that sounded pretty good! "You… you really think she'd be fine with that? It's getting kind of late…"

"Sure thing," Donoma said with a grin. "Besides, you can hang out with Olivia, too, and maybe get to know her a little better! I'm sure if you spend more time together, then she'll start to appreciate your presence here a little more, don't you think? It's part of the reason for these field trips, after all!"

Giselle was nodding in agreement, everything Donoma was saying made perfect sense. She was far too naïve to understand how and why she was being manipulated.

Donoma narrowed her eyes. Time to go in for the kill.

"…Of course," she added huskily, placing her hand over Giselle's, "if you'd rather stay, there's all sorts of fun activities we can get up to together…"

Giselle couldn't leap out of bed fast enough. "I-I'll go check in with Ayame!" She decided, practically dashing out of the room.

With a victorious smirk, Donoma surveyed the now-vacant hotel room and rose from the bed. She checked her look in the mirror again, and liked what she saw.

Now, time to go pay Lukas a little visit… she purred to herself.

Careful, Donoma. This is still a "T" rated story, we don't want to cross any lines.