It's time for reunions! The students who went to Hoenn with Cynthia are finally coming home, and Blake is among them! What will they find when they return to the Pokemon Academy? Will they be happy to see their friends? Will any conflicts arise? The fated reunion between Ayame and Blake is right on the horizon! Remember to review!

Arbiter8991: Yeah, Blake's been through a lot. And he's in a pretty rough position, that's for sure. But he'll probably make it through. He's got his friends there after all.

KedharS: Yeah, whatever else they are, they're very good friends.

Hyphenman: Yeah, having friends is really going to make a world of difference for Blake's mental state, that's for sure.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 1249

"…Your Goomy?" Serefina blinked.

She was doing what she'd spent most of the break doing, helping out with the pokemon. The Floette Fields were clear of snow and the air was warm enough where the pokemon could be let outside again, and she was currently changing the feed when Ayame came bouncing up with an eager expression on her face.

"Yeah, Smiley!" Ayame nodded. "I got the little guy right before I left, and since we came back early that means I can spend even more time with him!"

Serefina just looked confused. She set down the feed bag and stood up to face Ayame directly. "Ayame… he's not here."

Ayame blinked. "Wh-What?! Why not? I thought the school took care of our pokemon when we were off campus, what did you do with him?!"

She had to restrain herself to keep from grabbing Serefina by the apron. Serefina thankfully anticipated the aggressive action and moved to calm her down. She was still thoroughly confused, however, what was Ayame talking about?

"Ayame, you didn't leave him with me! …Us. Don't you remember?" She asked.

Ayame winced. Remember. She was really starting to hate that word.

"Um, some, uh… stuff happened," Ayame said, scratching her head and averting her eyes. She didn't really want to talk about it right now. "Can you just tell me where Smiley is, please? I want to see the little guy."

Serefina raised her eyebrow. Did this have something to do with that story Dakota had dropped? Ever since that happened she'd been concerned, since getting Dakota to stop when she was onto something was downright impossible.

But she didn't press the issue since it wasn't her business, and it was clearly making Ayame uncomfortable.

"You left him with Blake!" She answered with a smile. "You wanted him to take care of Smiley while you were in the Orre Region."

Ayame winced, much to Serefina's confusion. For a second, she thought that Ayame looked like she had no idea what she was talking about. But that couldn't be the case, right? Maybe she'd been out in the sun too long.

"…Well anyway, Blake has your Goomy right now, and knowing him, he's taking great care of the little guy!" Serefina chirped. "And don't worry, they should be coming back today, right? It'll be great! You'll finally see them both again!"

Serefina only ever had the best intentions, Ayame knew that well. Which was why she tried not to show how frustrated she was.

That Blake guy again. Her supposed "boyfriend".

What a load of crap.

By this point, Ayame had accepted the reality that she and Blake had been dating. It was pretty impossible to deny the evidence on her phone. There were long strings of text chats between them stretching back months, not to mention a bunch of photos of him. Like, a "stalkerish" amount of photos of him.

So yeah. They'd been dating.

…So what?

Ayame felt nothing for the kid. Whatever her past self may have wanted, it had nothing to do with the present her. Because she also had access to her other text logs. Exchanging messages with Olivia about how awful she felt, how heartbroken she was. She could remember curling up in her room and crying for weeks a few months back, right before Valentine's Day, but she couldn't remember the reason.

Putting the pieces together, she had no doubt it was related to something her "boyfriend" had done. She couldn't believe what a stupid lovestruck fool her past self had been.

It doesn't matter anymore, she reminded herself, calming down as she walked back to her dorm. She wouldn't have to see that kid again if she didn't want to.

Her phone dinged and she opened it up. Another text from Blake. He'd been texting and calling her nonstop for weeks now, and she'd been ignoring all of them. At first it had probably been because of the stuff with Samarra. But even after she went free, she ignored his messages, because frankly she didn't really care.

Blake was a stranger to her.

"We just landed. We'll be coming back soon. I can't wait to see you again."

Three sentences. And a heat emoji. How ridiculous. Did he not know that she had amnesia? He'd be in for a rude awakening then. It's not like Ayame wanted to hurt the guy, but hey. She had more important stuff to think about than her love life. She was going to become a professional Pokeathlete.

Even if she hadn't lost her memories they would have had to break up before she graduated. This was just getting it out of the way early. Plus, they both got to be spared an ugly fight and heartbreak. That was even better.

That's right. She'd just go to the dock to see him with Olivia. She'd said she was already going down to greet everyone when they came back. So she'd tag along, get her Goomy, and get lost. Then she'd never have to see that freshman again.

The more she thought about her decision, the more painful her chest felt. This was irritating. Just thinking about the guy was starting to frustrate her!

She needed him here as soon as possible. So she could cut him off completely! Yeah, that was it, what other reason would there be?

Olivia was surprised that Ayame came to let her know she was planning on going down to the docks to meet the others when they came back.

"Really? You know Blake's going to be there, right?" She asked cautiously. She didn't want to seem to eager at the prospect of the two of them meeting face to face so soon.

"Yeah, I should," Ayame said, running her fingers through her forelocks. "I mean… whatever happened, we were… d-d-d-"

She couldn't say it. The word refused to leave her lips. Her face got hotter and hotter as she struggled to choke out the end of her sentence.

Olivia, amused, was happy to finish it for her.

"Dating?"

"Rrrgh!" Ayame's face turned scarlet and she glared down at her shoes. "Yes, but don't SAY it! It's embarrassing!"

"You're going to be MORE embarrassed seeing him, you know that, right?" Olivia asked, raising her eyebrow.

Ayame rolled her eyes. "Oh please, like that kid would get to me. You should know me better than that by now boss!"

She laughed while Olivia hid her smirk behind her hand. Oh yes, she knew her best friend QUITE well. Quite.

"Well, if you say so. But what if Blake is so overjoyed to see you that he runs across the dock and gives you a hug that would make a Bewear blush?" She prodded.

That was also complete BS. Alcea had confided in her last night that she'd gone and told Blake what had happened. No way would he do something like that.

But just the thought that he might should have been enough to send Ayame into a tailspin of embarrassment… if this were the normal Ayame.

"Fuck that," she snorted. "If he lays one finger on me I'm kicking his ass into the ocean."

…Still, Ayame was going to see him. Olivia would chalk that up to the "win" category.

'Besides, it's not just about Blake, either!" Ayame hotly denied. "Don't forget, Sango's coming back, too, and she's one of my closest friends!"

That's right, just because she couldn't remember Blake in the slightest that didn't mean she didn't have other friends coming back. When was the last time she and Sango had been out for a run, or sat and talked about important stuff?

They used to have so many meaningful conversations about… about…

…

She couldn't quite remember any of them. But judging from the swell in her heart when the thought crossed her mind, they had to be meaningful!

"So it's for Sango too, then, huh?" Olivia said. Normally she'd be assuming that Ayame was just playing coy and trying to hide her excitement like the shy girl she was, but given the brain damage she probably meant it. So she didn't press the issue.

The others would be back in a couple of hours. They'd have to see then.

"Zooooruuuuaaaaa!" Ruka stood on the bow of the boat in her human form, pumping her fists into the air with glee. Cynthia stood a few feet behind her, tense, ready to grab her the second she lost her balance.

"Is it just me, or is she more of a mom now than when Aud hatched?" Sango asked dryly, turning to Blake. She sighed. He was still contemplating. They were sitting at the same table on the observation deck, but they weren't talking. She hoped that was okay. Honestly, she just wanted to be there for him in case he needed her.

It was already late afternoon. Since the flight had ended, things had relaxed a bit. They were back on familiar ground now and taking the ferry back to the Pokemon Academy. Cynthia was just relieved that she didn't have to pay extra to let Ruka stretch her legs. The poor thing had never spent that much time in a pokeball before, and she really needed to run around.

"She's never been on a boat before," Blake murmured. "It makes sense that she's so excited about it now."

Sango blinked, her jaw dropping in shock. Blake… Blake was actually talking to her! He'd responded to the conservation! And he didn't even look like he hated it!

This was progress, this was definitely progress. Sango had to keep the grin from lighting up her face to ruin the mood. Casual, she had to be casual.

"You're right she's really energetic, huh?" Sango nodded. She studied Blake. He seemed… complicated. Sango wasn't the best at reading people, sadly. Back on the plane he'd seemed upset, he'd even almost cried. But he hadn't cried. He hadn't done any of the things she would have expected from him, which was intriguing.

How did Blake feel about what had happened to Ayame?

Wait, no, that wasn't the right question she should be asking. It was clear to anyone with eyes that he wasn't happy about it. The question she should be asking was what was he going to do now that he was in this situation?

Knowing Blake, he wasn't the sort to give up. Sango had been with him long enough to know that when Blake set his mind to something, he was going to accomplish it. Even if that thing was saving someone who didn't want to be saved.

So what would Ayame be like when they got back? Sango struggled to think about Ayame, her friend. She remembered what the tomboy had been like when they first met, all hostility and anger and pain wrapped up in an aggressive package.

Sango had been a little scared of her, actually.

Would she be like that again when they got back? Would she lash out at Blake the way she did when they first met?

Maybe Blake and Ayame getting back together was a hopeless cause.

If that's the case, then maybe it's possible that I…

Her eyes met with Blake's and she froze.

…What the hell was I just thinking? She asked herself. She felt like she was going to throw up. For a moment there, she'd actually thought that Ayame losing her memories was a good thing, because it meant that she'd have a shot at getting together with Blake!

She turned her head away, unable to even look at Blake anymore. Which was probably for the best. Because in that moment, Blake had temporarily forgotten about Ayame, because he was reminded of the event that had been the biggest bombshell of the break before he'd gotten that phone call from Alcea.

Sango had a crush on him. She'd liked him all this time.

And knowing that, he suddenly felt very uncomfortable sitting at the same table with her.

"BLEEEGGHH!"

Blake and Sango weren't the only ones feeling uncomfortable right now.

"Gross, Aya, that's disgusting," Olivia sniffed, pinching her nose. "Don't puke in the ocean."

"I can't help it!" Ayame groaned, wiping her mouth. She dug into the pocket of her skirt for some breath mints. "Do you have any idea how nerve-wracking this is?! You try meeting a boy who you don't remember dating!"

"Skill issue," Olivia said, flicking her hair over her shoulder. "This is why I don't date boys in the first place."

"It's fine, it's fine!" Marion chortled. She was also waiting for the others to arrive. "Did you know that fish pokemon actually don't mind eating vomit? The water separates the chunks of solid food from the liquid and-"

"NO THANKS, DID NOT NEED TO KNOW THAT!" Olivia shouted, covering her ears. She was tempted to push the fucking fish freak into the ocean as well, if she liked vomit so much. Serefina nodded in agreement. She might have understood where Marion was coming from as a future student in the Caretaker Course, but that didn't mean she didn't find it gross.

"You two never change, huh?" Alden laughed. He was standing off to the side, waiting to greet Cynthia. It seemed like the least he could do.

Olivia found it curious that Alden had come, but Alcea hadn't. Which sucked. She wanted to see her so bad! Maybe she was feeling guilty about what she'd said to Blake. But still, she should have come anyway! She definitely would have had Olivia's back in this.

"I'll have to agree with Olivia on this," Erik said, frowning. "Let's try to minimize our damage to the ocean, please."

Olivia scowled. She didn't need a guy to back her up.

Erik had shown up to welcome back Sango and Aidan, and also because having three of the Daevas in the same place was a recipe for disaster if he ever heard of one.

"Um… excuse me…" Nikita felt a little uncomfortable being around so many notable figures. How come all of her friends were so… well-connected? Meanwhile she was waiting eagerly for Reiner to get back. And right now, she was feeling a little nervous. She glanced to her left. "What, um… what's that thing doing here?"

There was one other person standing on the dock, waiting for the boat to arrive. Although whether or not they could be considered a person was debatable.

"My body is fully repaired," Misato replied. "There are no duties required of me at this time. Therefore I deemed it to be an acceptable use of my time to come here."

"Okay, but why?" Nikita asked. Then she remembered who else had gone on the trip with the others, and she gasped. "…Oooooh…"

Misato turned to Nikita. "Please elaborate on the context of your outburst."

"No, nothing, it's nothing," Nikita said, trying to suppress a grin. Misato stared vacantly at her, and then turned back to look at the incoming ferry.

"We're here!" Cynthia cheered from the boat as it pulled into the dock. "We're back!"

The first person to touch down wasn't anyone the people on the dock knew. It was a black-haired girl with a big smile on her face, and two large fox ears sticking out of her head. A tail swished excitedly behind her.

"Uh… what is that?" Alden asked, raising his eyebrow.

"That" was Ruka. She looked around the dock curiously, admiring the new faces. Then she spotted a familiar one.

"Zorua!" She gasped, running past the others and leaping into Serefina's arms, much to the other girl's surprise.

"Wh-What?! What are you doing?! Who are you?!" Serefina was thoroughly confused. Then Ruka began nuzzling up into her breasts like a greedy child and she saw red.

"Bad!" She scolded the pokemon, who she didn't know was a pokemon, and chopped her lightly on the head.

"Z-Zoruuuaaaaaa!" Ruka wailed, reverting to her normal form. Serefina gasped. She'd thought that black-haired girl was some cosplaying pervert, not a pokemon!

"O-Oh, I'm so sorry, oh, sweetie, I didn't mean to-!" Serefina cooed, scooping Ruka into her arms and rocking her gently. "I'm sorry little one. But you can't do that, alright?" Even when scolding the pokemon Serefina still sounded like a gentle maiden.

"Ruka! Oh, gosh!" Cynthia got off the boat and rushed over. "Oh, I'm sorry, she's a little excitable," Cynthia apologized, taking Ruka from Serefina and rocking her against her shoulder like an infant. "It's her first time on a boat, after all…"

Serefina was nonplussed.

"…The first thing your pokemon does is start groping me. I wish I could say I was shocked by that," she muttered, shaking her head.

Cynthia opened her mouth to object, before remembering some of the stuff she'd suggested Ruka do with her shapeshifting powers.

She wisely decided not to press her luck, and thanked the gods that all Ruka could say was "Zorua", and that Serefina didn't know sign language.

Cynthia turned to Alden, raising her eyebrow. "What are you doing here?" She asked, going over to him as the others got off the boat.

"What? Just came here to say hey," the Commander grinned. "So you got a new pokemon, huh?" His eyes twinkled with excitement. "Is she a tough one?"

Ruka flinched, her ears twitching at the sound of that. She curled up into an even smaller ball in Cynthia's hands, and the two shared a laugh.

"Reiner!" Nikita ran across the pier to her boyfriend. For a second, Reiner thought that she was going to leap into his arms.

"I finished my paper! Come on, you've gotta read it! I managed to get it down to 32 pages, but I bet there's still more we can cut!" She gushed, shoving a stack of paper into his hands.

Yup. That was the kind of girl she was alright.

Marion, on the other hand, was happy to leap into Sango's arms.

"Sango, there you are my girl!" Marion cooed, shocking everyone by lifting the blonde into the air and swinging her around with joy. Evidently those tanned muscles she had from working a fishing rod every day weren't just for show.

"It's good to see you, too, Marion," Sango laughed. Then her voice turned serious. "Now put me down." Silver hovered beside them, giggling to himself.

Will was surprised by who he found waiting for him on the dock. He nearly fell off the boat when he caught sight of her electric blue hair.

Misato didn't come up to greet him though. She stood still as a statue, as if she knew he would come to her instead.

She knew him pretty well, apparently.

"Why are you here?" He asked.

"Is it not permitted for me to be here?" Misato asked.

"N-No, I didn't say that…"

"Then is it that you do not want me here?" She pressed.

"No, that's not what I-"

"In this situation it is customary to greet someone with the words 'I'm home' is that correct?"

"Did-Did you just use a contraction?" Will shook his head. "Whatever. I'm home."

"My analysis of your vocal inflection indicates that you are exasperated. Are you dissatisfied with returning to the Pokemon Academy?"

Will suppressed a groan. That was her roundabout way of saying "aren't you happy to see me?" wasn't it?

He tried again, smiling this time. "I'm home."

Then to his shock, Misato's face shifted into a perfect reflection of an artificial beaming smile.

"Welcome home!" She replied, and her tone almost sounded like she was genuinely glad that he was back.

Aidan walked over to Erik with Arion and said hey. Meanwhile, Kitty and Julia went over to speak with Serefina. Caelia, who wanted nothing to do with anyone, slipped away in the commotion without the others noticing.

Which left Elaina standing alone on the dock, staring at the crowd of faces and hoping to see a familiar one.

She should have known better than to get her hopes up.

Of course he wouldn't come. Why would he?

She wasn't the only one looking for a face that was gone. When Nick had heard that the students who'd gone on the trip to the Orre Region had come back early, his first reaction was one of excitement. He hadn't seen Callie in forever! He expected her to be waiting for him, ready to pounce like Marion.

But no she was nowhere to be seen.

Where is she? He asked, looking frantically for his girlfriend. It had been ages since he last managed to get her on the phone; was she alright?

But he didn't have time to continue that line of thought, because everyone on the dock went silent as the last person got off the boat.

Blake stood on the dock, facing Ayame. She straightened up, a little stunned to see him. The two exchanged a long stare without saying a word.

Blake and Ayame are finally reunited! They've both been through a lot since the last time they saw each other, Ayame in particular! What's going to happen now? Will Ayame leap into Blake's arms? Will Blake leap into Ayame's arms? Will Ayame kick him into the water that she just threw up in? Or will something else happen? The tension is high, that's for sure!