The rounds are done, and now it's time to take a break! But the day isn't quite over yet, especially not with all the revelations that have occurred!

Jay Hayden: Probably so.

Superblal: Yeah. He was built up as a threat, but Cynthia took him out pretty early. His arc isn't over yet, though, even if he's out of the tournament.

Duskzilla: Well, maybe the interlude will help ease you back off of it. Or maybe not.

Tambry96j: Well, it's always nice to show Cynthia in a serious light, even if she's a mostly comedic character.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 63

Cynthia and Blake looked uneasily at each other, neither one of them having expected to face the other this early in the tournament. Although both had promised to do their best when it happened, Blake, at least, had hoped they would come to a head in the finals. Some part of him deep down didn't feel right about winning, and knocking one of his friends out of the tournament she'd tried so hard in. But it wasn't like he could just let himself lose, either, that would be even more insulting! As the other competitors took the cue to leave, he pushed down the unease in his chest and smiled, letting his excitement of a good battle with his friend come to front of his mind.

"So, Cynthia, it looks like we're up in the next round," Blake said, holding a hand out to her. "Let's both do our best, okay?"

"Yeah," Cynthia echoed, nodding, her eyes distant and she looked deep in thought. It was the most passive Blake had seen her. She took his hand and gave him the most forced smile he'd seen from her, before walking off the field.

Blake left as well, following after her. The two stepped out of the stadium proper and into the hallway, where they were greeted by their friends.

"Well, well, the conquering heroes return," Julia smiled wryly, Kitty running up and hugging Blake, then Cynthia.

"Yeah, really, congratulations," Nick said, smiling, though clearly pained by his own performance.

"Yup, I tried my best," Cynthia said, grinning, her mood clearly alleviated from moments earlier. "What can I say? I'm just such a great strategist! Y'all better take back those stupid comments now, you got it?"

"Not likely," Julia said, Cynthia huffing in response.

"Way to go," Sango said, Blake turning to her. She had a relieved smile on her face, though it was tinged with a hint of something darker. "So… what next?"

"Next?" Cynthia asked, confused.

"Well, you guys are battling each other, right?" Sango asked. "So I was just a little worried that you guys might… you know… feel a little awkward about that?"

"Oh. Right, that." Cynthia's smile faded for a few seconds, and she scratched her hair in thought before it returned. "Nah, no big deal! We just gotta do our best! So, tell ya what! Let's have a big celebration party tonight! You know, to celebrate Blake making it to the quarter-finals and to celebrate my future championship!"

Julia rolled her eyes, and Kitty giggled. Even Nick's mood was raised by that, and he let out a chuckle as well.

"I'm surprised they decided to extend the tournament another day," Julia added. "So now the quarter-finals, semi-finals, and finals are all on different days."

"Probably because the stadium keeps getting trashed," Cynthia smirked. Blake didn't smile at that. "Anyways! Party time!"

"Sorry, no party," Sango said, frowning. "Blake and I have class duty tomorrow morning so we have to get up early."

"Wait, what?" Blake asked, shocked. "That's a thing? But we're in the middle of a festival!"

"Yeah, but pokemon aren't going to take care of themselves," Sango reminded him. "So we don't get a day off, even if tomorrow is supposed to be your time to relax."

Blake sighed, and Cynthia shrugged.

"Well, if there's no party, then I guess I should be going," Cynthia said.

"Really? Why?" Sango asked. "I mean, even if there's no party we can at least celebrate a little, right?"

"No can do, Sango!" Cynthia said, already making her way toward the exit, looking over her shoulder. "If I'm gonna win my match on Saturday I need to get some serious training in!"

"Did Cynthia seem weird to anyone else?" Sango asked, frowning. Blake was about to answer, before an annoying and familiar voice interrupted their momentary peace.

"BLAAAKE!" A high voice called out, Blake freezing and his face going pale. Just as he turned his head, the owner of the voice wrapped her arms around his neck from behind, the impact from her leap pushing her large chest deeply against his back and causing him to double forward as she rubbed against him.

"Claire, get off me," Blake grumbled, not even looking at the flirty girl clinging to him and not-so-subtly almost dry humping him from behind.

"Aw, you're no fun," the brunette pouted, releasing him. He stepped away from her as she leaned back, stretching, eyeing the others mischievously.

"So these are your school friends, huh Blake?" Claire asked, her eyes twinkling.

"Sorry, Blake, but who exactly is this?" Julia asked, staring suspiciously at Claire. "She came up to bug us after her match, too. Do you know her?"

"…Unfortunately," Blake said evenly, Claire casting a look at him in mock sadness.

"Oh, Blake, how could you treat me so coldly?" Claire moaned. "And here I thought we were so close!"

"She's someone I've known since I was a kid," Blake explained. "Now I'm just kind of… stuck with her."

"So she's your friend, then?" Kitty asked.

"…In a technical sense, I guess…" Blake admitted, sighing.

"Oh, come now, 'technically' friends?" Claire giggled. "Aren't we so much more than that? We're friends with benefits at least, surely?"

"What benefits?" Blake demanded. "All you do is come in and wreck my calm, peaceful life like freaking brown hurricane!"

"Well, sorry for being such a tease~" Claire giggled. "But a nice girl like me can't just give it up so-"

"Excuse me, but what are you doing here?" Sango nearly shouted, interrupting Claire's perverse tirade.

"Oh?" Claire grinned, turning back to Sango, smiling. "You're looking a little flushed there, huh?"

Sango said nothing, but her cheeks pinkened again.

"Well, I just came here to hang off Blake's arm," Claire smiled. "Because he went off to trainer school without even telling me! Can you believe that? And here I am, finding all sorts of information about-"

"Claire!" Blake said sharply, Claire flinching and standing upright from her flirtatious lean, the smirk falling off her face for the first time. She glanced at Blake, and sighed, raising and dropping her shoulders in an exaggerated shrug.

"Fine, understood," Claire said, her serious expression quickly falling away to make room for a grin as she eyed Sango.

"So, tell me, what's up with you, huh?" Claire asked. "You're looking a little hot under the collar, huh? Could it be…"

"Claire, leave Sango alone," Blake requested.

"Oh, so your name is Sango, huh?" Claire said, strolling up to the blonde dressed as a cheerleader until they stood eye to eye. "You seem a little tense, huh? Something wrong? Something I could… help with, maybe?" Her smirk widened and her eyes shined, Sango's frown deepening.

"Not interested," Sango said.

"What? Why not? Are you gay?" Claire asked, obviously surprised at being rebuffed.

"No, I'm not- Wait. What?" Sango asked, confused.

"Well, I mean, you like guys, right?" Claire asked. "I mean, it's totally fine if you are. I'm just surprised, is all."

"…I'm… a girl…" Sango seethed. Julia, Nick, and Kitty all picked up one the signals and stepped WAY back, having witnessed similar conversations with Cynthia in the past. Claire had no such instincts, or, if she did, teasing Sango was so enjoyable she ignored them.

"…" Claire eyed Sango, tilting her head to the side in confusion. "No?"

"Claire, seriously, stop," Blake warned, knowing full well where this was going to go.

Claire reached up and pressed her hands against Sango's chest.

"Nope, you're a guy, right?" Claire asked, smiling.

The resounding smack echoed through the empty hall, Claire clutching her stinging cheek as Sango glared at her, hand raised aggressively.

"Blake…" Claire gasped, glancing at him, her eyes tearing up. "She hit meeeee!"

Although Blake realized her utterance outed that she did not in any serious capacity think Sango was a guy, and had in fact been cruelly mocking her. He didn't say as much, simply shaking his head in defeat as Claire pretended to cry for sympathy.

Noticing her crocodile tears weren't working, Claire sighed, stepping back from Sango, nursing her swollen cheek.

"God, you don't have to be so mean," Claire sighed. "It's just skinship! How do you think I got my assets? Not by being such a shy little girl, I'll tell you. I thought someone who would wear something as… bold as that would be a little more open, you know?"

Sango's anger was abated in place of embarrassment as she remembered the skimpy cheerleader outfit Cynthia had forced her into.

"Claire," Blake said sharply. "I think it's time for you to go."

Claire glanced back at him and shrugged, nodding.

"Well, it was nice to meet all of you," Claire smiled. "We'll talk later, Blake. Call me!" She waved, flouncing off, Blake sighing in relief.

"I'm sorry, Sango," Blake said, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry about it," Sango sighed. "First putting up with Cynthia, and then that girl… It's been too much."

"…Well, we're going to leave now," Julia said, feeling very awkward by what had just transpired. "Good luck on Saturday, Blake."

"Thanks," Blake said, waving to Julia and Kitty as they left. Nick followed after them, leaving him and Sango.

"Sango, are you okay? I know Claire can be a bit much, but she's really a good person, deep down. Deep, deep, deep down." Blake tried to comfort her, but he wasn't really sure what to say. "See, when she says stuff like that, it's because she's found something interesting, and well… I guess…"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Sango interrupted, her smile slowly returning. "It's just… it's been a long day, you know?"

"Yeah, definitely," Blake said, nodding. "At least tomorrow will be a day off… kind of…"

Blake's expression soured, and Sango giggled.

"Come on, it won't be that bad, haven't you got used to it by now?"

"Not even a little," Blake said, shaking his head. "I'm still not sure how you can wake up that early every morning."

"Lots of practice," Sango grinned. The two fell silent, Sango silently leaning back and forth on the balls of her feet as she waited to think of something else to say.

"So, Blake," Sango finally said, running a hand through her shock of blonde hair. "We have to wake up early tomorrow, so we should probably head back, right? Want to walk back together, or something? I mean…"

"Yeah, I'd like to," Blake said, nodding. "Still, you should probably go back by yourself, okay? I have some stuff I'd like to think about, so I thought I'd go for a walk by myself before heading back."

Sango nodded quietly. She wanted to ask him if she could come on the walk with him, but couldn't really think of a way to bring it up, so she didn't.

"Well, I guess I'll just… go, then," Sango said, waving to Blake. The two went their separate ways after exiting the stadium. Sango walked back to the Bulbasaur Dorm thinking about the day's events, trying to push Claire out of her mind. She was worried about Blake and Cynthia fighting against each other. There had been some strange tension between the two of them, she had noticed, and although she thought that her friends, or at least Blake, would be mature enough to not let the fight get in the way of their friendship, she wasn't entirely convinced herself. But even moreso, she was scared of that girl in the mask. Elaina. She hadn't even hid her relief that Cynthia and Blake were on the opposite end of the bracket from that girl. If one of them were to fight against her…

Sango shivered, shaking her head. There wasn't really any doubt in her mind that Elaina would make it to the final match. As powerful of Naya's defeat of Nick had been, as scary as the grass trainer was, even she didn't compare in Sango's eyes to the overwhelming brutality of Elaina's victory that morning. And if she did make it to the finals… and if Cynthia or Blake had to face against her… she swallowed, feeling a dark pit well up in her stomach. Was she actually hoping for that? That Cynthia and Blake would lose before then? That neither one of them would make it to the finals, and therefore not have to put themselves at risk against that woman? Did that… did that make her a bad friend, she wondered? Should she be supportive of her friends? She knew what would happen if she told Cynthia. Cynthia would laugh off her concerns. "What are you talking about, Sango?" She'd say. "Come on, so her pokemon are a little stronger than usual, big deal. All we can do is the best we can, right?"

This made Sango chuckle. Cynthia's optimism and enthusiasm were probably her best features. Whoever she would face, she'd do it with a broad smile on her face, and still want to make friends by the end of it, win or lose. Blake, though… Blake knew more than he was saying. And that hurt. That day's revelation, that Blake Harker was not, in fact, the younger brother of Kanone Harker, that he knew about this strange power that his brother and Elaina shared… it hurt that he had hidden this from her. Them, them! Not her personally, of course! Just that he hadn't trusted his friends enough to tell them the truth. She sighed. Looking back, they'd only been friends for a few months. Were they really close enough friends for him to reveal something so deep and personal, now that she thought of it? Maybe she was being unreasonable to expect something like that from him. I mean, how close of friends were they, really? But that girl, Claire… she knew, didn't she? Of course she did. She and Blake had been friends ever since they were children, of course she would know.

Rrr, just thinking of that pervert made her upset! The girl… she just… what was the big deal? Touching her like that, violating her like that?! And Blake… he had just let her, and even tried to excuse her? What the hell? She shook her head again, trying to calm down. But she couldn't. Thinking about Claire and Blake just made her mad. Blake had shirked from her "skinship" but at the same time he still didn't push her away that harshly, had he? Sango wondered what sort of relationship the two of them really had. It couldn't be that they were… lovers, right? Now that Sango cared, of course. She didn't care one bit. In fact, she couldn't care less who Blake was in a relationship with! That… that wasn't what was bothering her, of course. It was the idea that he was with someone like that, obviously. He could do so much better than someone like her. Even Cynthia would be the preferable option! Although, now that she thought about it, Blake and Cynthia? She couldn't help but think that wouldn't, couldn't work out well. Blake just deserved someone better, someone less… perverted. Blake was so nice, he should be with someone nice, and respectable, like-

Okay, Sango, what the hell? She asked herself, slapping her cheeks. This is NOT the time to think about stuff like that, girl! It doesn't matter who Blake might be in a relationship with, you totally don't care at all! Blake can make his own decisions, so it doesn't matter what you think. At all! She nodded, content with this answer, as she entered the dormitory building. She managed to keep this positive mindset all the way to her room, even!

"Welcome back," Julia said. She was sprawled out on her bed, already dressed down in a sloppy t-shirt and shorts, clearly ready for the day to be over. Sango looked around. Kitty was gone, presumably going back to her own dorm. What was really surprising was that Cynthia wasn't there, even though she left first. She must still be training.

So it was just her and Julia. Julia, perceptive as she was, glanced up from her book and took note of Sango's frazzled state.

"…Everything okay there?" Julia asked.

Sango inhaled, sighed, and let the day's concerns out like a waterfall. She unloaded everything on her roommate, save her concerns about Blake's relationship with Claire, and Cynthia. For some reason, she didn't want to bring that up to Julia just yet, though she couldn't say why. She just chose to keep those particular thoughts to herself, at least for now.

While Sango was discussing the issues she was facing, Blake was engaging in a conversation of his own. Having been walking for a few minutes, he decided that he couldn't keep his feelings private. So, in spite of his better judgment, he took out his phone, and called a number he really didn't want to call.

"Why, Blake!" Claire's melodic voice rang out in his ear. "I just knew you'd call! You just couldn't stay away, could you?"

Blake rubbed his temples in frustration as Claire kept going.

"What am I wearing? Well, I'm just relaxing in the guest housing right now… wearing a bright blue nightie and it's just so sheer…"

"Claire…"

"Fine, fine, you're no fun." He could practically hear her pout over the phone. "If you're not calling for that… then I assume you're calling because of the other thing?"

"Yeah," Blake nodded. "But first, I want to talk to you about your behavior today. What was up with all that? I can't believe you sometimes, you know?"

"Oh, come on," Claire sighed. "It was just a little skinship! Some teasing! I was just, you know, feeling her out, if you know what I mean."

Blake rolled his eyes as her cackling echoed in his ear.

"Well, you can't behave like that around my friends, okay?" Blake said, frowning.

"I was just trying to make sure that she was the right fit for you," Claire said, the levity fading from her voice. "She's the one, right?"

"'The one' what?"

"Please, 'the one what' you know what I mean. The one you like, right? The blonde? I totally get it, cheerleaders get my motor running too. So I just wanted to see if, you know, she was the kind of girl who's suited for ya! I can't just let any ol' fangirl near my bestie, y'know."

"It's not like that," Blake insisted. "Sango is just a friend."

"Oh? So you're not into her? I mean, I know boobs aren't really your thing anyway, and she seems like a reasonably nice girl, right?"

"We're just friends."

"So, the cool one, then? With the dark hair and the bedroom voice?"

"Claire…"

"No? Really? But she's, like, a total 10! Fine, fine. Wait… it isn't… oh, come on, Blake. I know you're a total siscon, but come on! That white-haired girl is practically a kid! I know we're friends, but I might have to call the cops on you, you know."

"Claire!" Blake interrupted. "You said you had information."

Claire was silent for a long time. Finally, she said quietly, "yeah. I do."

"Can you tell me, then?"

"You won't like it," she said. Her voice was almost contrite. Apologetic.

"I never do," Blake sighed. "But I need to know."

"Look, Blake, I talked to everyone I could. Really. I even went back home, and you know how much I hate that. I even asked my stepmom to reach out to some of her celebrity friends, to see if she knew anybody who knew anybody, and, well…"

"Andre was wrong," she finally said. "She isn't in Sinnoh. Not anymore. If she is, then she's hiding out, or someone is looking after her. But I couldn't track her down. I was going to tell Mr. Reinhart too, but-"

"No," Blake said, shaking his head. "It's fine. It's fine… I'll tell him."

"I'm sorry," Claire said quietly. "I know how much this meant to you. I wish I could have given you some good news. You two are my most important friends, and I just… I…"

"It's okay," Blake reassured her. "Thank you. It just means we have to start over. I'll tell my brother, too."

"…You didn't tell your friends, did you?" Claire stated. She wasn't asking, more like confirming something she already expected. "They don't know. About any of it, do they?"

"They don't need to," he sighed. "I don't want to drag them into my own personal crap."

"That's what friends are there for, Blake," Claire reminded him. "That's what I'm here for, anyway."

"Yeah." The two were silent for a little longer.

"Good luck on the rest of the tournament, Blake," Claire said. "I'll be seeing you."

"Thanks," Blake said, smiling a little. "See you."

He hung up the phone and sighed, sitting down on the riverbank where he'd walked to, looking out over the water as the stars twinkled overhead, old words from his past echoing back to him.

"Sorry. I have to go now. Don't forget, I love you, and I always will. I'll come back for you soon, okay?"

This is a nice interlude. Next chapters will focus on the preparations during the break, and we can see some of the characters get ready for their coming battles!