Noroi here. Wrote this for the fun of it basically. This is my fist one so I apoligise if there are any problems with it. You all know I don't own Star Ocean but I'll say it anyway.I do NOT own Star Ocean, it belongs to Pioneer. I do however own Rei so if you wish to use her, please e-mail me asking for premission.

This is a romance fic toaward the end but most of it is just general. The OC is not ending up with Dias (just so you know).

'To Tell a Simple Truth' by Noroi

Chapter 1: A Smart Alack Martial Artist

Lacour was noisy... as usual. But the noise right now was because of the upcoming Tournament of Arms. Shopkeepers were shouting out the quality of their merchandise and children were running up and down the streets, playing with one another. It made Dias fell completely irritated. How people could lose their heads over something that happened annually was beyond him.
Dias closely inspected the sword up for sponsoring at a weapon shop. In only a moment of looking at it did he decide it was worthless. As if the steel was a simple stick, he tossed it back to the shopkeeper.
"What's the matter?" the person said after he tried and failed to catch the sword. "Don't you like it?"
"That wouldn't make it through the first round," Dias said and walked off.
It was getting harder to find a weapon shop to sponsor Dias. It seemed no shop had something good enough for his skills. He had planned on going to Grandpa Gamgee's shop again but when he reached town he heard how it had been one of the first shops to get a registered fighter. That didn't surprise him. Weaklings often thought only the weapon brought the victory so it was only natural They'd go to the last year's shop that came in first place.
He was about to check out the next shop when a crashing sound caught his attention. He looked over to where the sound had come from to see a young teen with black hair standing over a burly looking man. The man was quickly developing a bruise under his left eye and was laying on a broken display of a weapon shop.
"If you ever do that again I won't stop at a little punch," the youth said. "Understand?"
"YOU PUNK! I'LL..." the man started as he got up, but before he could finish a hand clamped down on his shoulder.
"Excuse me," said a woman who looked to be in her younger twenties. "That woman you felt up didn't like it. I agree that Kaizu was out of line but this doesn't seem like a good place to fight. If you really want to do something about it, then I suggest you take it out of town.
"Look lady, just who do you think you are?" the man snapped.
"A concerned teacher, that's all," she replied as she took her hand away. "I really think you should by-the-way. Obviously you don't want to fight to badly or you would have just taken my student and gone."
The man scowled but turned away and left. Dias watched him walk by then turned his attention back towards the boy and woman. The boy (probably Kaizu) looked as if he was complaining to the woman, who shushed him and tuned to apologize to the shopkeeper. The young woman who ran the shop blushed deeply and said it was fine.
Dias wondered if the shopkeeper was the woman who was touched inappropriately but hen shrugged. That didn't really matter to him. He needed to find a store to sponsor him. Turning his attention to the nearest shop, he didn't even notice the two leave the street.

Letting himself sink into a bar stool, Dias checked the paper of the store he had chosen. Fire Stone Weapon Shop. A strange name but good products, the items were both high healing plants and the amour was of fine quality. The sword was questionable, however. It wasn't up to Gamgee's level but it had been better than many swords he had seen that day.
"What can I get you?" the bartender asked after he walked up to Dais.
"Guinness," he said as he put the paper in his pocket.
"Hey, Barkeep! More beer!" shouted a few people. The bartender sighed and handed Dias his drink before going to serve the rowdy men.
"Confusing, isn't it," came a voice from next to Dias. He looked to see the same woman who had stopped the fight in the streets. Her chestnut brown hair was in a braid that reached the end of her shoulder blades. She wore a simple pair of black pants, a light brown sleeveless shirt, gloves and boots of the same color, and a short-sleeve black jacket. Her brown eyes gazed down at the glass of red wine in her hands.
"So many people come to this place for so many different reasons," she continued. "Some happy, some sad and depressed, and some angry. And yet, when we're here, it always seems to offer us all the same thing."
"You talk as if you've been here often before," he commented. He wasn't sure why he was talking with this woman but what she had said had intrigued him.
"Every time I let a student go I come. I suppose it's because of the disappointment in myself and the child I'm teaching when I decide to leave," she replied.
"Are you are a professor?" he asked.
"A martial artist," she answered." I travel the world, looking for students to teach. Unfortunately, I never seem to find anyone who can devote themselves to the art. It seems to be that they see it as a game or a way to start fights. Like Kaizu, whom you saw earlier. Drawn into something that was none of his business and could only see that I stopped an opportunity for him to 'train'."
"You knew I saw that?" Dias questioned.
"It was hard not to notice, Mr. Flac. I saw you in the last Tournament of Arms," she explained. "Not to mention how well you... stand out in a crowd."
"So you know who I am, but I don't know you," he said.
"Rei... My name is Rei," the woman answered then finished her wine.
"No last name?" he asked as she stood.
"Not one that's important to you," she said. She dropped a few coins on the bar and smirked. "But maybe if we meet again, I tell you."
He watched the woman walk to the entrance of the bar and leave. His gaze fell back to his drink after the door closed.
'Smart alack martial artist. Heh, reminds me of Rena,' he thought with a small smile.

End of Chapter 1

Like it? Thought it stunk? Review so I have some idea what I did wrong. Don't bother to Flame me because while I'd apreciate constructive critisim, if you just say it suck for no reason I'll just ignore you.