We finally meet another member of Blake's family. What will Richard Harker have in store for Blake on his birthday?
As for the Best Girl nominations, still going strong. Anyone else left to add?
Currently Nominated: Sango, Cynthia, Elaina, Kate, Dakota, Ayame, Marion, Kitty, Serefina, Madison
KedharS: Less a new challenger and more of a final boss.
Just a Bad Writer for Fun: Sadly I think we're looking at a total party kill.
Tambry96bj: Certainly one of those two things.
Pokemonking0924: Real big family drama is underselling it slightly.
Duskzilla: Serefina lets her guard down a little too much.
Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings
Chapter 205
"Father…" Blake breathed. The man standing in front of him narrowed his eyes into a glare that made Blake flinch, and his lips slid into a snarl.
"I told you not to call me that," he quietly admonished Blake. "You are no son of mine."
Blake winced, but there was a look of resignation on his face that Cynthia caught. Clearly, this was not the first time he'd heard those words.
"Hey, you," Ayame snarled, rising to her feet and storming at the man. "Who the hell do you think you are, old man? You might be Blake's pops, but what sort of piece of shit father says that to his son?!"
Richard Harker ignored Ayame's shouts, focusing his attention on Blake.
"Ayame, it's fine," Balke interrupted her, holding his hand up. "It doesn't matter. Mr. Harker and I… our relationship isn't something like that."
"I believe I asked you to call me Richard," the man who was not Blake's father quietly told him.
"Yes, sir," Blake said, nodding.
Richard Harker walked past him without another glance, looking over the table.
"I contacted the faculty when I arrived, and they told me you were here," he murmured, glancing at the cake, which remained uncut. "So you're celebrating your birthday now?"
"Yes, sir," Blake admitted.
"Excellent…" Richard mused, glancing at the others. "And who are they?"
"Friends and fellow students, sir," Blake explained.
"Friends?" Richard's eyes widened slightly at that statement, the faintest of bemused smiles sliding across his lips. But it went unnoticed beneath his moustache. "You actually have friends?"
"What's that supposed to mean?!" Cynthia exclaimed, jumping from her seat. "Of course Blake would have friends! He's a normal guy, he's sweet and kind!"
"Blake's a great guy!" Sango agreed, storming over to them. "He always does his best to help other people! Why would you think he couldn't make friends?!"
"It's not that I doubted he could," Richard scoffed, waving his hand at the girls dismissively. "I simply believed he never would. It seems that boy has grown quite a bit since he was under my care. It's almost a pity that he has to go."
Sango's mouth dropped open. What? What?
"What's that supposed to mean?" Ayame demanded. "Go?! Go where?"
"While that birthday of yours was given to you by my daughter, it is still on your official records, Blake Harker. You are now 16 years of age by Kalosian law. I assure that you know what I mean?"
"I do, sir," Blake admitted.
"Excellent. I've already explained you the details. You will be dropping out of the Pokemon Academy immediately and return home with me to Kalos, where you will be marrying the lovely lady Alcea of the Vermeill household."
Sango saw the ashen look on Blake's face when Richard Harker told him those words. He looked so small and broken, when just minutes before he'd been so happy he'd burst into tears. She clutched Silver to her chest to resist throwing herself at the man.
Ayame was not as reserved.
"Fuck that!" Ayame exclaimed. "The fuck you mean Blake's fucking leaving, hunh?!"
She stormed towards Richard Harker, when her path was blocked by the blonde woman who'd accompanied him.
"Get out of my fucking way," Ayame snapped. "I've got some words for father of the year over there!"
She tried to push past the woman, when she felt a cracking pain in her chest. She wailed in pain and fell down, clutching her side, the flower in her hair falling by the wayside.
"You've quite the physique," the woman said, brushing dirt from her glove. "But you're favoring your side. A recent injury, perhaps? Don't worry. I've taken care to not cause any excess damage. Sit there like a good girl and I won't have to."
Ayame leered at the woman, rising to her feet.
"Let's see that work with me," Callie said, pushing her seat back.
"Callie, perhaps not," Rafe warned, but Callie wasn't listening.
"Sephiria, that's enough," Richard said. "I appreciate your respect for your job, but I don't need you to protect me from Blake's friends."
"Yes, sir," the bodyguard, Sephiria, nodded, returning to her position standing directly behind him.
"Now, back to the point at hand, Blake, we must extend our apologies to your friends, and make our early departure."
Blake said nothing, looking down and nodding silently.
"I don't understand either," Sango said angrily. "Why are you… why does Blake have to leave school? He's… he's tried so hard, trained his best, and…"
"Sango, stop…" Blake whispered, shaking his head. Sango looked at him in confusion, shocked by how he just seemed to be… giving in like this. It was nothing like the Blake Harker that she knew.
"Trained hard? Tried his best?" Richard scoffed. "Senseless. Blake, you and I both know the reasons behind your coming here. I was willing to indulge your foolish whims to get you out of my hair, but now I need your assistance in a much different capacity. Fortunately, some good did come out of it. I hear you have established a relationship with Alcea Vermeill already. That should make her amenable to the arrangement, well done. If nothing else amounted from this, then at least this circumstance makes it all worth it."
Blake nodded.
"No way, no way!" Cynthia exclaimed, shaking her head. "Blake… Blake you can't leave! We… we haven't settled things! We have one win apiece, you beat me, I beat you! We need to have our third battle, and our fourth, and our fifth, and…"
Her voice cracked as she choked out a sob, holding her hand over her mouth.
"You promised that next year we'd all do Pokemon Day together…"
Richard Harker looked at the crying girl, a stern frown on his face.
"It would be one thing if Blake showed any amount of talent," he harshly stated. "My son is a world-class trainer. Compared to him, Blake has no talent, no skill. There is no value in him training pokemon. In fact… he has no aspiration to be a trainer of any sort, isn't that right?"
"Richard…" Blake raised his tone to his foster father for the first time, the man turning to glance at Blake. "We shouldn't discuss family business with them."
"…Fair enough," Richard said, nodding.
"Blake, is this about what you-" Kitty opened her mouth, but Blake silenced her with a glare that was uncharacteristically cold. Kitty gulped, taken aback. I should just keep my mouth shut…
"There is no need for you to remain at this school any longer," Richard declared. "Come along, Blake. You will accompany me to the yacht, where we will discuss your meeting with Alcea and the Vermeills tomorrow evening. There are a great many things we still have to go over before meeting your bride-to-be."
His eyes flicked over Blake's clothes.
"Starting with your wardrobe."
"This… this just isn't right!" Kate said, standing up and pulling out her phone. "I'm going to call her highness, there's no way she can just let that stand!"
"Thanks, Kate, but please just let it go."
Kate snarled at him in response.
"I don't take orders from you, Blake," Kate sneered. "I'm going to straighten things out with her highness! You ain't going anywhere, not if I have anything to say about it!"
Blake blinked.
"Thanks, Kate."
"Sh-shut up! It's not about you! I'm doing this for her highness's sake!" Kate exclaimed, her face bright red. She ran out the door.
"Blake…" Sango said softly, reaching out and pinching his sleeve. He looked at her with eyes filled with regret. "Please… don't… don't go."
"I'm sorry," Blake whispered, smiling sadly at his friends. "Sorry we have to end things early… I… I really appreciate this party, and all of your being here. But I guess I'll have to be heading out early."
"That's not fair!" Callie exclaimed, turning to her brother. "Rafe, we gotta do something, right?"
"This is a family matter," Rafe calmly replied. "There's nothing we can do about it."
"Blake… what about our promise?" Sango asked desperately. "We're still meeting up tomorrow… right?"
Blake looked sadly back at her, then towards Richard Harker. His foster father nodded his assent.
"Tomorrow," Blake promised.
"We'll be going now, Blake," Richard said, glancing at Blake. Blake winced, and took one last look at his friends before turning to leave.
"Wait, Blake!"
Blake turned to see Ayame run over to him, tears in her eyes.
"Are you… are you really leaving? You can't! I… I still haven't…"
She searched Blake's eyes desperately.
"I'm sorry," Blake whispered into her ear. "Looks like there won't be a next time."
Ayame winced, grabbing his hand. She opened his palm, and slipped the iris she'd picked up into his hand. She gently curled his fingers around it, looking meaningfully into his eyes.
"Don't forget me, Blake. Promise me you won't forget me."
"I won't forget you, Ayame. I never could, you know that."
Ayame smiled hopefully up at him, her teeth showing. He leaned in close and lowered his voice so the others couldn't hear.
"That ass of yours is unforgettable, you know that."
Ayame rolled her eyes and nearly laughed, if it was a situation where they should be laughing. The two separated, and she watched him with tears in her eyes as he walked out of the room.
"Sephiria, go with him," Richard instructed his bodyguard. "I have a few last words to say to Blake's friends."
"Yes, sir," Sephiria said, nodding, stepping out of the room. Richard turned back to them, the door closing behind him.
Ayame glared at him, and Richard sighed.
"Before I leave, I have something to say to you all," Richard said, looking at the angry faces in the room. What he did next came as a complete surprise to everyone present. Ayame's mouth literally dropped open.
Richard Harker, multi-millionaire real-estate mogul and businessman, went down to his knees and bowed his head, pressing his forehead against the floor as he bowed down to the students.
"Thank you for befriending that boy," he softly told them.
"Uh… what?" Cynthia said, blinking in confusion.
"That boy… has lived a life of isolation and pain," Richard quietly explained. "Before coming here, he was completely cut off from others. He has never really had any true, close friends, and the ones who he had… he would always keep at arms' length. I expected… after what happened to my wife… after that incident destroyed my family… that boy would never be able to smile again. Not in any truly meaningful way. And yet… to come here, and see all of you… it fills my heart with such warmth. I was not able to be there for that child. I could not even be there for him as a father. I could only attend to everyday needs, and not… the support that I believe he needed at such a critical time."
Everyone could see the tremble run through man's shoulders. Was he… crying? It seemed doubtful that the man they had been speaking to until now could do anything like that. And yet… there he was.
"And that is why… thank you, all of you, so much… for letting him into your hearts. For giving him his smile back. I honestly… cannot thank you enough. I beg of you… even if he can no longer attend this school… please, do not throw him away. Please, continue to remain his friends."
"Of course we'll remain his friends," Sango snapped, staring down at the prostrated man. "We would never abandon Blake like that, right guys?"
"I'd sell him up the river in a minute for a good story," Dakota reported. Akira rolled his eyes.
"…Okay besides Dakota, none of us would ever abandon Blake, or suddenly stop being his friends. But I have to ask… if you know full well how much we mean to him… if you can see how happy he is with us in his life, then why would you make him leave?! Blake… Blake would be happier staying here, with us!"
"Yeah!" Reiner said. "I can't stand that! You think that Blake should just follow the path you laid out for him, even when he has something else he wants to do with his life?! What kind of guardian are you?!"
"I agree," Cynthia nodded. "Blake belongs with us! You said it yourself, you've never seen him happier!"
"…You children…" Richard rose to his feet, dusting his clothes. For a brief moment a somber look could be seen in his eyes, but it quickly faded for his normal piercing gaze. "You think you know what that boy has been through, what he's going through… but you don't understand a thing about him, not really. Blake has no desire to be a trainer. What he does, it is for a foolish, misguided belief in a fool's dream. So that is how I know… if Blake remains in this school… if he continues down this path of training pokemon… he will walk down a road that he will not be able to come back from. This is a family issue, so I can't explain any further. But I will ask of you… even if you can't like this outcome, please. Do not oppose it. Don't try to keep him shackled here. I wish… to see that boy find happiness. And I will do everything in my power to ensure it happens. I hope you will continue to remain his friends. But please… just let him go."
No one said anything to respond to his words. His point made, Richard Harker turned and headed toward the door, when he was stopped by a hand on his shoulder.
"You're wrong," Ayame said, shaking her head. She was trying very hard to keep her face tough. "You're just… you're just fucking wrong. Blake… his happiness isn't for you to decide."
"Ayame is right," Sango agreed, stepping up beside the taller girl. "You might think you're doing this for him, but…"
"You think that Blake won't be happy if he stays here?" Ayame demanded, cutting off Sango. "Then I'll be the one to make him happy! I don't know what stuff he's gone through, or why you're so adamant that what's ahead of him is only going to lead to despair, but please. Reconsider. I know that if I'm by his side… I can give him happiness every day!"
"You're just a child." Richard's reply was harsh and made even Ayame falter, however slightly it may have been. "You know nothing about that boy's hardships. Raising pokemon has caused and will cause him pain. He will wash his hands of this mess entirely, and go on to live a life where he can truly be happy. If you knew anything about what our family has been through… you would not make such immature and idealistic statements such as 'I can make him happy.'"
Kitty, the only one in the room who could begin to understand what he meant, winced at the harshness of his words. But she could understand where he was coming from.
"If that is all, then I shall take my leave," Richard replied, turning to exit the room.
"One last thing," Sango demanded. "Can you please answer… one last question I have?"
"You may ask if you wish," Richard replied, not even bothering to look back at the girl. "But whether I provide you with an answer is another matter altogether.
"Then tell me… if you care about Blake and his happiness so much, then why… why will you not even care for him like a father?"
"Blake…" Kitty spoke up, her soft voice barely audible. Sango glanced at her, and gestured her to come over. Richard turned to face her. From what she'd said before, how Blake had shut her down, he suspected that this white-haired girl… Blake must have spoken with her, told her things that were best kept private within the family. Kitty baulked, unable to meet Richard's cold gaze. She cleared her throat at tried again.
"Blake told me about everything," Kitty said. "About your family. About your wife, your children, the harsh times and the sad times he went through. He… he needed someone to confide in, and I was there for him. So he told me… a lot of stuff about his family. And he also told me that… that you always kept him at a distance. That whatever he felt for you, however much he tried to get close… y-you… you never treated him a son."
Richard was glaring at her, but Kitty, terrified as she was, wouldn't back down. It was for Blake's sake, after all. Still. He was scary. She gulped and began to tremble while still keeping her face as tough as she could.
"I took him into my family because he had no one else to care for him. And I gave him my name so that he could have a future in which he could be happy. But I have never once thought of that boy as my son."
Richard Harker's words were cold and to the point. The time for conversation was over, though. He turned to leave, but paused at the door, stopping his hand from turning the knob.
"I am not his father and I never will be," Richard decided to add. Why he chose to share this detail with Blake's friends, he wasn't sure. Perhaps it was to ease any feeling of guilt he might have in the future over taking Blake from his friends. "That boy has already lost so much. I won't take the love of his real parents from him as well."
There was no point in discussing anything further with these children. This was family business, after all.
"Thank you for the gifts you have bought for that boy. I will send someone by to collect them tomorrow."
And with that, Richard Harker left them to their own devices, going to catch up with Blake and his bodyguard.
So this one was a little short, but an important development for the next arc. What will it mean for Blake and his future at the Pokemon Academy? And what about Blake's adopted father?