Cynthia's managed to impress Keya with her skills, and in doing so, she's made sure to get that letter of recommendation! But that's just part of the puzzle. There's still more she has to do, like get another recommendation! And honestly, there's a question that really deserves an answer- why does Cynthia want to work in the nursery, anyway? It can't just be for Serefina's boobs, right?

KedharS: Yeah, she's definitely a trainer with a lot of growth. Her potential seems limitless!

Just a Bad Writer for Fun: Eh, Cynthia's always had a good brain for battles. It's the fact that it's not useful in any other field that's the problem.

Hyphenman: Not only did Keya fall for it, so did most of the readers.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 1259

Cynthia was jumping for joy. Ruka had turned back into her human form and was holding her trainer's hands, mimicking Cynthia's moves and jumping up and down herself.

Even Maddi felt a little happy for Cynthia. Not that she would let that show on her face.

"So what did you think?" Keya asked, walking over. It took Maddi a second to realize that he was talking to her.

"Huh? Think about what?" She asked, confused.

"The battle. Did you have fun?" Keya pressed, raising his eyebrow quizzically.

Maddi blinked. "…I wasn't even battling, though."

"I know, but still. You got to watch your friend having fun, right? After that whole mess in the Orre Region, I thought you could use a bit of pick-me-up," Keya said, scratching his curly hair. "It's one of the reasons I suggested the battle in the first place."

"Wait, what?" Maddi blinked, surprised. "I thought… well, I mean, didn't you want to test if Cynthia deserved your recommendation or not?" That had been the whole reason for this battle in the first place, had Keya just been playing around?

Keya glanced over at Cynthia, who was hugging Ruka so tight the Zorua couldn't maintain her illusion. He laughed.

"Come on. Do you really think I need a pokemon battle to tell me that girl would make an excellent caretaker?"

Personally, Maddi wouldn't trust Cynthia around her children. But she supposed that Keya had a point. She remembered back to when they all would get together and take care of their eggs, and how much Cynthia would dote on hers. Then when it hatched, the way she cared for Aud during their winter break trip was just precious.

She sighed.

"Yeah, I guess maybe you have a point," she admitted.

"So Cynthia, tell me something," Keya said, walking over to the redhead. "Why do you want to work in the nursery anyway? I always took you as more of a battle nut like the Commander, are you considering majoring in the Caretaker Course instead?"

"What? No, no, nothing like that," Cynthia said, shaking her head. She slapped her chest. "I'm a battling girl 'til death!"

"And you'd probably fail the test for any other major," Maddi added under her breath, catching some stink-eye from her friend.

"I see, then why?" Keya asked.

"Well… there's something I wanted to try," Cynthia said, glancing down at Ruka. "Aud and Ruka… they helped me realize how much fun it is, raising a pokemon up from scratch, helping guide them and teach them so much… so I thought, well… maybe I could design my facility for the Battle Frontier around something like that… maybe?"

That surprised Maddi. She'd thought this was a passing interest of Cynthia's, but apparently the other girl was really thinking seriously about her future.

"Oh, I see, is that right?" Keya said, thoughtfully.

"Well, hold on now, we can't just hand out free pokemon to every trainer who comes to the door," Maddi said. "You've gotta really think about this."

"I am thinking about it," Cynthia protested. "That's why I want to do it. I mean, you've trained all sorts of pokemon, right?"

"Well… yeah."

"So I'm thinking, that the way my facility is going to work, is that trainers have one pokemon, and as they win battles, they get more points, right? And they can use those points to buff their pokemon, strengthen them up, purchase things like medicine and stat-boosting items, stuff to make their chosen partner more powerful. To really sort of give that feeling of raising a pokemon from scratch," she explained.

"Okay, but again, we can't just hand out free pokemon," Keya reminded her.

"I know. That's why I want to work in the nursery for a little while," Cynthia said. "I want to see what it's like. I've already raised Aud up nicely, and Ruka's not really a baby, of course, but she's still a little inexperienced-"

"Zorua?!" Ruka's mouth flopped open.

"What? Yes you are!" Cynthia scowled. "…Anyway, my point is that I've been raising pokemon for me, but… I'm not sure about the opposite. I want to try raising someone else's pokemon, taking care of them until birth, forming a bond with them, and see… well, see if I can let them go."

Her voice wavered at the end, which made Maddi concerned. Cynthia might have been a big ball of passion but she had a big heart, as well. Maddi was concerned that the other girl would be bringing more pain onto herself if she got attached to all the pokemon being raised from eggs and was forced to abandon them to the care of someone else.

Someone like Maddi could do it. She had emotional bonds with all her pokemon, of course (what self-respecting trainer didn't?) but she also had well over 50 pokemon to care for individually. Because of that, she didn't see all of them as often as she'd like to. So she had grown to develop a decent amount of detachment from her situation.

Cynthia was different. That girl had so much love to give, and not only that, was thirsty for love herself. She clung to Maddi like glue when Maddi didn't even like her; having to give up a pokemon she'd grown attached to just didn't seem like a possibility for the redhead.

Well… she's certainly challenging herself, I have to give her credit for that, Maddi admitted with a sigh. Hopefully her friend would be able to make some positive changes in her life.

"…I'll write the letter of recommendation for you," Keya nodded thoughtfully. "But I'm not sure if this… what, 'Battle Nursery' you're proposing is the right fit for you, Cynthia. I'm sorry to say that, but I just think-"

"No, it's fine," Cynthia shook her head, surprising both Maddi and Keya. She seemed totally cool with his statement.

"What, really?" Keya asked, raising his eyebrow. She nodded.

"Yeah, totally. See… you're not wrong. I'm definitely in a bit of a rough position, you know? And I'm still trying to find myself. So maybe this isn't the right fit for me! But you know? I'm just a first-year! I don't need to find it right now," she said, flashing the biggest grin Maddi had seen from her in quite some time.

"I have three more years here. So even if I decide I don't want to run a Battle Nursery or whatever, then I still have a lot of time to figure out what it IS that I want to run, you know?"

Keya nodded, pleased by Cynthia's decision. "I like it. It sounds like you're really thinking seriously about this, and that's a good thing. Well if that's the case, then I won't discourage you."

He paused. "Oh, wait, here, take these, too," he added, shoving some revives and potions into Cynthia's hands.

"You should still take your pokemon to the center, but that will help improve their condition for sure," he said.

"Thanks," Cynthia grinned. "And thanks for the awesome battle! Seeing you fight with your wild pokemon's instincts was so cool!"

She puffed up and stuck out her chin. "But in the end, I'd say that my instincts trumped yours!" She cackled.

Maddi rolled her eyes.

They didn't stick around much longer after that. Keya was still on a break of his own, after all. So they left him to his own devices and headed out of the secret base. Getting off the large rock was considerably easier than climbing onto it.

"Well, Cynthia, this was… something," Maddi said. As cool as Keya's secret base was, she didn't want to get roped into more of this madness. "Good luck with your other recommendations and stuff, but I'm gonna-"

Maddi had turned to walk away before someone grabbed the collar of her leather jacket. Well, she said "somebody" but she knew it was Cynthia.

"…Yes?" She sighed, knowing already that she wasn't going to like where this was going.

"Come on, we're not done yet!" Cynthia chirped. "I still need a recommendation from another student in the Caretaker Course!"

Maddi sighed. She wanted to put up a fight, plead her case with Cynthia and tell her there was no way in hell she was going to tag along with the rest of this stupid quest. She'd just come to help Cynthia find Keya's secret hideout anyway.

But she didn't say any of that. Because what would be the point? She could see as clearly as anybody that Cynthia wasn't letting her go until this was settled. Might as well cut through the bullshit, which she promptly did. "Do you even know anybody else in the Caretaker Course?"

Cynthia smirked. Yes. Yes she did.

"Why would Ayame Toujou give you a recommendation?" Maddi asked as they walked towards the track team's practice field. "I mean, yeah, she's your friend I guess, but you know she lost all of her memories of Blake, right?"

"I know," Cynthia nodded. "Not what I care about, though."

Maddi raised her eyebrow. "Then what? You're just going to bug her?" She didn't think this was a very good idea. After what Ayame had been through in Orre, this just smelled like a huge mess she was about to fall into.

It didn't help either that she'd been the one to battle Ayame in the first place, and it was because of her that the other girl had wound up getting brain damage.

…Oh, and Ayame knocking her unconscious and dragging her to Samarra to get brainwashed didn't help their relationship either, even if that wasn't really the other girl's fault.

"Come on," Cynthia scoffed. "It'll be fine! Ayame adores me! And now that there's no jealousy involved with Blake she'll adore me even more!"

This was a girl who was completely willing to use Ayame's brain damage for her own sake.

Maddi sighed. What Cynthia said made sense, but she had no idea how… awkward things were between her and the tomboy right now. Just because they weren't allowed to talk about it didn't mean this wouldn't be the most tense conversation she'd had in…

…

About five minutes. Somehow everything Cynthia said and did naturally put her on edge, and it was hard to explain why.

But the important thing to consider was the fact that this could blow up in their faces.

So when they reached the track field, Maddi wasn't exactly enthusiastic. The girls were finishing up practice, clearly, packing up their things and chatting with each other. Then one of the girls broke off from the others and came up to them, wearing a scowl on her face. A ponytailed blonde who, judging by her height, was probably either a senior or a junior.

"Can I help you two?" She asked. She didn't sound angry as much as suspicious. Technically, the Women's Track Club was associated with the Empress's faction due to their star runner being Olivia's right hand woman, so it made sense that they'd be wary about two girls who were in the Commander's faction coming up to talk to them. The other girls had already stopped practicing and were watching the conversation from the sidelines with a mixture of curiosity and suspicion.

But Cynthia didn't care about stuff like that, faction disputes meant shit to her. She was Cynthia Fafnir, after all, a girl who wanted to be friends with everybody!

…And while "sporty" had never really been her type, the girl in front of her was fairly well-endowed; enough so that it had to be uncomfortable to run all the time, at least.

"Hey there! Cynthia here!" She greeted the buxom blonde with a wave. "I'm just looking for my pal, Ayame? She should be practicing, right?"

"Oh, the captain?" The girl (who Cynthia dubbed "blonde Kate") looked a lot more at ease after hearing Ayame's name. "Yeah, she's doing some cool-down exercises. She should be done in a few seconds. In the meantime, is there anything I can help you with? I'm Jamie, by the way."

"Cool, nice to meet you, Jamie," Cynthia said, taking the extended hand. "And as a matter of fact, you wouldn't happen to have any dinner plans, would y-"

Maddi elbowed Cynthia in the side to keep her focused.

"…Ow. Nah, we just want to chat with Ayame," Cynthia explained. "I'm trying to apply for special permission to work in the nursery, and I need a letter of recommendation from-"

"Why the fuck would I do that?"

Ayame, fresh off her cool-down exercises and dripping with sweat, walked over to the girls. She didn't seem angry (no more so than her default stern expression would imply, anyway) but she wasn't exactly happy to see them either.

Still, Cynthia could work with… uh…

"…Wow." Cynthia felt her mouth begin to salivate as the tomboy got closer. Her sweat-dampened hair clung to her skin, which was tanned slightly from Orre's intense sunlight. Everything about her was glistening. Her white sports shirt hugged her figure and was just wet enough that Cynthia could maybe make out the image of a sports bra.

Damn. No wonder Blake shot me down. I'd shoot me down too if I could get my hands on that… she thought, resisting the urge to drool.

She whacked herself on the head a few times in her mind to keep from getting lost in tomboy goodness. That wasn't why she was here.

…But if Blake struck out with winning Ayame back, Cynthia was definitely interested in asking the girl out herself.

"…You're staring at me," Ayame glared at Cynthia, who turned red in shame.

"S-Sorry, I-I didn't mean…" Cynthia fumbled for words. Ayame had always been pretty chill with her, but that was before she lost all her memories of Blake. How extensive was her brain damage, anyway? Maybe without Blake they weren't even friends…

"Ha! Nah, I'm just messing with you Cynthia," Ayame laughed, punching Cynthia in the shoulder. And suddenly she was her old self again. Cynthia sighed in relief.

"Sorry to bug you during your club," Maddi apologized.

"Nah, it's cool," Ayame waved her hand. "We were just wrapping up anyway."

She glanced at Jamie and the other girls, who had gathered around to watch the scene play out in front of them.

"Uh… you know it's time to pack up, right? Why are you guys still out here?"

"So, um, captain, this is… Cynthia, right?" Jamie asked, glancing at the redhead. "Cynthia Fafnir?"

Cynthia blinked. "Yeah, that's me, why?"

A few of the girls squealed and the track team devolved into a chorus of whispers and laughs. Cynthia was thoroughly confused. She looked to Ayame for an explanation, but the tomboy just shrugged. She was as stumped as Cynthia.

"What's so special about me?" Cynthia asked curiously. "I mean, I know I'm hot stuff, but-"

"You're the girl who was dating the captain's boyfriend before, right?!" Jamie asked excitedly.

"…Hah?" Cynthia's brain stopped working for a moment. Ayame made a sour expression, and Maddi…

…Maddi burst into hysterics.

"Oh my god, what? Fucking what?!" She cackled, nearly collapsing.

"W-Wait, Blake and I, we never, um…"

"And I already told you girls, he's not my boyfriend anymore!" Ayame protested. "I don't even remember any of that!"

"Oh, come on, we all read about it!" Jamie said, rolling her eyes. "It said so right in the school paper! You two were dating at the beginning of freshman year, they did a whole story about it! How you were cheering for him in his first real fight at the school, with Akira Saroyan?"

Suddenly Cynthia put the pieces together.

Oh god, that fucking story…

Like a Ghost pokemon come back from the grave to haunt her, Cynthia's prior act of mischief had come back to bite her, hard. She'd just been playing around when she spun all that BS to Dakota about being Blake's girlfriend, because it was funny.

Well, it wasn't so funny the way Ayame was giving her the stink-eye right now.

"It's not important!" Ayame barked. Jamie ignored her entirely, her eyes shining as she took Cynthia's hands into her own.

"You heard about the captain's memory loss, didn't you?!" The blonde asked excitedly. "That's why you're here, isn't it? 'If you don't want him anymore, then I'm taking him back!' Oh my gosh, this is so amazing!" She squealed.

"Um… well, I…"

Honestly, Cynthia's feelings for Blake were the last thing on her mind at the moment. She'd been pretty good in that respect, honestly, minding the distance he wanted to keep with her, even if his relationship with Ayame had just jumped to a massive level of complexity.

After what Sango had told her a few nights ago, she REALLY didn't want to stick her nose into the relationship drama right now. She just wanted her letter, damn it!

"I already told you, I'm just here for a recommendation," Cynthia said.

"And I already told you, I'm not sure why I should do that," Ayame said, crossing her arms in front of her chest and scowling. She didn't know why she felt this way, but hearing that Cynthia had been flirting with her boyfriend, even if he wasn't her boyfriend anymore, still set her off for some reason, and the air grew tense.

Cynthia sighed.

Oh, lovely.

Ayame's earlier hostility may have just been playing around, but it seemed like she was actually upset with Cynthia now. Great, just great. This was supposed to be a simple favor from a friend, and it was all going to shit because of the gossipy track team!

She wanted to bang her head against a wall. The one time she was trying to do things the right way and be responsible, her prior mistakes were coming back to bite her in the ass, having completely tanked her credibility with the tomboy in front of her.

If she had any self-awareness at all, like the cackling Maddi did, she might understand the meaning of the word "karma".

Oof. So it looks like Cynthia might be facing some trouble with Ayame. If only Dakota hadn't run that story! This is all her fault! And certainly not the fault of Cynthia, who lied through her teeth to latch onto Blake's popularity while torturing him for laughs. So what will happen now? Will Cynthia get her recommendation? Will Ayame acknowledge that the irritation she's feeling right now is due to jealousy? Will the universe implode after Maddi laughing? It's hard to say…