Now that Ayame's finished her assessment of Cynthia's skills and has left her properly terrified of whether or not she'll do a good job, let's leave Cynthia behind to move onto a conversation that's been a long time coming up until now, Ayame and Maddi! These girls had some rough confrontations in the Orre Region, let's see how they'll deal with them! Hopefully they'll be able to bury the hatchet and work out some sort of understanding, unless they want a war between the two factions to break out, of course. Remember to review!

KedharS: Unlike most jobs, getting it is actually easier than doing it, believe it or not.

Hyphenman: Yeah, it IS the highest-rated school in the world, stuff like this is just common fare I would imagine.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 1262

Ayame had left Cynthia with a lot to think about. Now, though, she needed to get back and actually get started on writing that letter of recommendation. At the same time, though, Maddi said her goodbye to Cynthia, but instead of taking the chance she finally had to leave and be free, she actually headed out after Ayame.

"Ayame."

Ayame flinched, and slowed her pace so Maddi could catch up to her. She didn't say anything to the other girl, and Maddi being Maddi didn't have much to say either. The two just walked back to their respective dorms in silence before reaching the fork where they'd have to split.

That was when Maddi finally said "we need to talk."

Something that could have been said before, but apparently she was only able to work up the courage to do it now.

Ayame sighed. "…Yeah. I guess we need to."

She shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot as Maddi stared at her, confused. She expected a lot more aggression and hostility from the other girl, but instead-

"I'm sorry!" Ayame shouted.

Maddi was so startled she nearly fell over.

"Wh-What?" Ayame… AYAME was the one apologizing?! To her?! "You're… sorry?"

"It's my fault!" Ayame wailed. She was trying her best to keep a cool face but it was clear she was feeling emotionally overwhelmed. "I… I attacked you… I knocked you unconscious and abducted you, for Samarra… I'm so sorry Madison…"

"N-No," Maddi stammered, completely unprepared for this line of discussion. "I-I mean… I… I was the one who was supposed to…"

Ayame looked at her, confused. "Huh?"

Maddi sighed, staring down at her shoes. "I'M the one who should be apologizing to you, Ayame. If it wasn't for our battle, then… you… you wouldn't have lost your memories. You and Blake would still be dating. But you're not. And it's all because of me."

"…Oh," Ayame said. Her voice was quiet. "I guess that's true, yeah."

"So I should be apologizing to you for taking that from you," Maddi said. "I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry, Ayame."

Maddi could finally breathe again. It had been killing her to live with all that guilt, knowing that she'd ruined Ayame's relationship as a byproduct of her battle with the other girl. But to her surprise, Ayame shook her head.

"No, that wasn't your fault," she insisted. "It was mine. I was the one who challenged you to that battle, right? Or more accurately, I forced you to fight in order to protect yourself. So that's my fault too," she said.

"No, it's not!" Maddi stubbornly insisted. She wasn't about to let Ayame blame herself for this mess. "You were being controlled by Samarra, remember? So knocking me out and trying to kill me, none of that is on you! You were just a puppet!"

"But… I still did that stuff," Ayame said. "Even if I can't remember it, I still did it. That doesn't make it better."

"You shouldn't be blaming yourself for things that weren't under your control," Maddi asserted, crossing her arms in defiance. "…Unlike me. When I fought you I was in full control over my faculties, I knew what I was doing. And you still got hurt anyway. So stop apologizing to me, and let me apologize to you, okay?"

"No, that's not fair!" Ayame stomped her foot. "Because you never would have been in that mess in the first place and been forced to battle me if I hadn't attacked you to begin with! So if being controlled by Samarra makes those events not my fault, then you shouldn't be blamed for what you ended up doing either, right?!"

The two of them stared at one another in mute shock, neither girl sure what to say.

Then they both burst out laughing.

"I guess… wow!" Maddi chuckled. "I guess we're really in a bit of a situation here, huh?"

"So… it's neither of our fucking faults, then?" Ayame scratched her head sheepishly. "How's that supposed to work?"

"Well, we could always blame Samarra," Maddi said. "She's the one who was controlling you in the first place, if it's anyone's fault, I think it should be hers."

Ayame nodded. "Yeah, I'll agree with that. But still, I feel guilty, you know? Like I should have fought against her control more or something, to keep from hurting you guys."

Her depressed face returned from its momentary hiatus and she sighed. "You just… you don't understand what it's like, Madison. To know that your body wasn't yours, that someone was just… using you, without your consent, making you hurt people…"

She began trembling.

Maddi winced. Ayame was right, after all, she really did have no idea what it was like. After all, her harmonia had granted her immunity to Samarra's strange abilities.

"I imagine it's gotta be awful," Maddi mumbled. "And you're right, there's no way I could know what it's like after all."

Ayame nodded glumly.

"But… there's something you should know. Something you probably don't remember. But I still think you should know it."

Ayame perked up at that. "Yeah?"

Maddi took a deep breath. "You DID fight," she informed the other girl. "You fought harder than anyone I saw. You were struggling the whole time, trying to break out of Samarra's hold over you. Even when you were doing those awful things, you fought against it until you were free."

Ayame tried to be happy about that, but she couldn't. "But… it's still the case that I did it, even if I was fighting. If I didn't actually make a difference, then I can't really-"

"But you did," Maddi blurted out. "You're not listening to me, Aya."

She clamped her hand over her mouth. It had just slipped out, she didn't mean to call Ayame by her nickname. But the other girl didn't get upset. She just stared patiently up at Maddi and waited for her to continue.

Maddi sighed.

"Listen, Ayame… you weren't freed like the others. It wasn't because of a pokemon battle or anything like that, they told you that, right?"

"I think I remember something about that, yeah," Ayame nodded. "The boss said I was struggling and that Samarra's connection with me broke, and that's why I lost all my memories."

Maddi shook her head. "It didn't 'just' break, Ayame. YOU broke it. All by yourself."

Ayame was stunned to hear that. "Wh-What? By myself? I broke out of Samarra's control? But that doesn't… how?"

Maddi shrugged. "I don't know. But I was there. Right there. I saw you struggling to regain your sense of self, and I saw Samarra try her hardest to take it away from you. She clung to you like molasses but you fought tooth and nail to break free, and you did. I don't know how it happened, but you did it, and that's why you're here now."

Ayame found it hard to believe. But Madison wasn't a liar as far as she knew.

"So I… I did fight," she mumbled. "I tried to free myself. And that's why… that's how I lost my memories, isn't it?"

"I'm afraid so," Maddi said glumly. "Samarra must have wanted to hold onto those memories of Blake so badly that she tore them right out of your head."

Maddi noticed the way Ayame flinched when she said Blake's name. Curious, she leaned in. "What's the matter?" She asked. "Are you still upset about that prank from earlier? Because that's just how Zorua are-"

"No, it's not that," Ayame said, a little more snappish than she would have liked to sound. "It's nothing to do with Cynthia or her pokemon, I promise."

Maddi was still curious, but she didn't want to pry. She had a feeling that Ayame's issues were probably about Blake himself, and she was absolutely NOT in the mood to discuss Ayame's relationship problems. Or anyone's, really.

"Hey, can I ask you something?" Ayame muttered.

Well, so much for her resolve.

"…What is it?" Maddi asked. She was grappling with the decision, not at all wanting to have this conversation, but it was her lingering feelings of guilt that led her to consent. As much as she hated relationship drama, if not for her there wouldn't be any in the first place.

So it was the least she could do to hear the other girl out, at least.

"It's about Blake," Ayame mumbled, staring at the grass and kicking it lightly. Even just saying his name made her feel strange in ways she didn't like.

"What about him?" Maddi asked evenly. Whatever Ayame's issues were, she wanted the other girl to figure them out on her own.

"Well, I mean… that guy… what's so great about him?" Ayame mumbled. "Everyone I meet tells me about how we make such a cute couple, but… is it wrong that I don't think of him that way? It FEELS really wrong."

She knew that Olivia really wanted her and Blake to get back together. But that wasn't what AYAME wanted. Ayame wanted things to go back to the way they were before, when she still had all her memories.

Before Blake Harker had appeared in her life and turned her brain into swiss cheese by his presence (or lack thereof.)

Maddi blinked and scratched her head. She really didn't know what to say in a situation like this, unfortunately. "Look, I mean… I'm not an expert when it comes to romance, alright? My dating experience is zero. But like… does it really matter?"

Ayame frowned, tilting her head to the side.

"What are you talking about?"

"Well, I mean… couples break up all the time, and for reasons a lot sillier than the issue you're dealing with, right? I mean, you FORGOT the guy. It totally makes sense if you don't want to date him anymore after that, at least from where I'm sitting, anyway," she muttered.

Sorry, Blake. But I'm just trying to explain what I think. The pang of guilt she felt about stabbing Blake in the back was nothing compared to what she'd been dealing with the last week or so. And her answer seemed to resound with something in Ayame, as well.

"I see," Ayame mused, stroking her chin thoughtfully. "You're right, I didn't think about it that way… huh. I mean, I guess it is sort of a breakup, isn't it?"

Maddi narrowed her eyes. That was an interesting way to put it. "So you didn't think about it as a breakup before, then?"

"Wh-What?" Ayame was confused for a moment. "No, I mean, it's definitely a breakup, isn't it?" She mumbled. "I mean, I can't even remember the guy."

"So you don't have any feelings left for him, then?" Maddi asked curiously. Ayame vehemently shook her head. "That guy… I don't think about him a teeeeeensy bit!" She insisted, pinching her fingers together tightly to prove her point.

"…Well, you're still thinking a lot about him," Maddi noted. Ayame sighed and shook her head in dejection.

"Well, yeah, of course. How could I not? Everyone I know wants me to hook up with him again, like that's the only choice I have."

Maddi winced. She felt the other girl's pain.

"Yeah, uh… I actually get it a little," She mumbled. Ayame stared at her in confusion.

"But I thought you said you didn't have any dating experience?" She asked Maddi, wiping the tiny tears from the corners of her eyes.

"That's right, I don't, but… I know what it's like to have an annoying friend, at least," Maddi sighed. She was getting exhausted, so she walked over to one of the nearby benches to rest her legs. "And I figure that an annoying girl trying to spend time with you is a pretty close comparison to a needy boyfriend, anyway."

Ayame was intrigued by where this was going, and followed her. "What are you talking about?" She asked curiously.

"Well… when I first transferred to this school, I didn't really have a lot of friends," Maddi explained. "Make that any friends. I basically just came here to finish out my credits for the Commander so I can start working with him after I graduate."

"Okay, I'm with you so far," Ayame nodded. It was actually not that uncommon of a thing to have happen. Because of the extensive and informative curricula, there were a lot of people who transferred from other schools for a semester or two just to get special required credits that their own schools wouldn't or couldn't offer.

"Well… I was fine not knowing anybody, you know? And not having any friends. I mean, I didn't LIKE it, but I was fine with it, because it was normal."

She sighed. She was never getting back to her room, was she? She might end up as the counselor for the entire island at this rate.

"But the Commander ordered me to make friends. He said he didn't want me to waste my time at school," she grumbled, already starting to get irritated as she remembered that patronizing conversation. "And guess who he chose to be my first friend?"

Ayame winced. "…Cynthia?"

Maddi nodded vigorously. "Exactly. I didn't want anything to do with that girl. The Commander forced me to interact with her, spend time with her, all for the sake of improving interpersonal connections or some bullshit like that.

Ayame nodded. "But… you and Cynthia are so good together now."

Maddi stared at Ayame like the tomboy was trying to kill her again.

"Please, never say that again," she pleaded, shaking a little. "That girl and I don't get along at all! Not one bit!"

Ayame wasn't buying it. "You two spent the whole day together, though!"

"So what?!"

Well… she didn't really have a rebuttal for that one.

"I mean, I'm just saying… you guys are friends now, right?" Ayame asked. "Even though you didn't like hanging out with her at first, you guys eventually clicked somewhere, right?"

Maddi nodded, and sighed. "Yeah… something like that. Even though I was forced to be her friend, we did still end up becoming real friends. So yeah, if you think about it that way, then it wasn't the worst. But that still doesn't change my point."

Ayame leaned in curiously, studying Maddi's serious expression.

"My point is that it's wrong to try and force someone to have a relationship with another person," Maddi explained. "Or trying to force a relationship yourself. If it's going to happen, it will happen, no matter how unlikely it seems. Until then, trying to force it just makes things more uncomfortable for all the parties involved."

Ayame nodded her head vigorously. Yes! Exactly! Maddi was teling her all the things that Ayame herself felt about this messed up situation.

"So believe me, I get what it's like, feeling like everyone you know is trying to pressure you into restarting your relationship with Blake," Maddi nodded. "And yeah, I'm sorry. It must really suck to be in your position, being pursued by a guy you don't even like."

"W-Well… I mean… the issue with Blake is… he doesn't SEEM like a bad guy, but…" When Ayame was actually put on the spot, she was finding it difficult to really lay some criticism onto Blake. Maddi studied her curiously from the bench.

"…But it's like you said!" She declared. "Feelings and stuff like that shouldn't be forced by other people, they come from within! And right now, my feelings for Blake are nonexistent! So there's no fucking trouble at all."

Ayame seemed pretty proud of her statement, and Maddi was honestly a little impressed. It took a lot of courage to stand up for yourself like that.

Only issue was, Maddi didn't quite buy it, because she'd spent all day seeing how Ayame reacted to the idea of Blake.

And no, it probably wasn't love. After all, they barely knew each other (or at least, Ayame barely knew Blake). And sure, maybe the reason she was so upset and jumpy was because everyone was trying to pair the two off, she couldn't say for sure.

But what did get her attention was the fact that Blake was always on Ayame's mind. Even now he was so firmly entrenched in her that she was having trouble getting him out, even if her existing memories had been shot.

It's not just the fact that people around her are pressuring her to get back together with Blake, Maddi guessed, studying Ayame carefully. While that certainly could have been the case, she really doubted it was.

To Maddi, the issue seemed a lot simpler than that.

Blake's always on her mind, she recognized. Whether she likes it or not. She's trying to tell herself not to give into the pressure from the other girls, but… I wonder… if they had more time, would Olivia need to be so forceful?

In Maddi's eyes, Ayame and Blake were probably going to get back together at some point. Whether as a result of Olivia's schemes, or due to their natural chemistry, it was certainly difficult to deny the possibility when it was sitting right in front of her.

"I'm glad I could be a little bit of help," Maddi said, getting up off the bench. "But I just want you to keep one thing in mind before you use my example as a test case."

"Oh?" Ayame perked up curiously.

"Whatever the cause of it was, Cynthia and I are friends now," Maddi acknowledged. "Sometimes, even if you're being forced down a path, you may find that it's the path you were always meant to be on in the first place."

Maddi left Ayame with that to think over, turned, and walked away.

Well, that's some interesting philosophy on Maddi's part. And it looks like she got Ayame thinking, if nothing else. So what's going to come from this? Will Ayame take some time and think about how she feels about Blake, regardless of Olivia trying to set them up together? And if she does, what is she going to find? I suppose we'll have to see.