I know I know. Ferus Olan, you don't just write Hopurai? Seriously tho, this is my first LOH fanfic attempt. Please review :)
Jusis x Millium arc: The Albarea Family's role in recent political events has taken its toll on the young Noble. Since the arrival of two new members of Class VII, his desire for a peaceful life appears to be even more unattainable. Millium is new to Class VII and has yet to make a real connection with anyone. Despite her attempts to appear cheerful, loneliness is a heavy cross to bear. But sometimes, you need more than just a friend...
1
She's my…
"Sir? Sir?"
Jusis turned his head to the voice that had interrupted him deep in thought. The young server who waited on him stood by his side and patiently awaited a response.
"Just coffee please," Jusis replied calmly.
"Of course." The young server turned away from him and carefully made her way back to the counter, her heels clicking gently against the floor.
Jusis let out a sigh as solitude overtook him again. Today had been a relatively trying day for the young noble. More news of militarization in the Kreuzen Province and consolidation of power by his father continued to disturb his peace. Rean had been supportive during these last few weeks, as well as his other classmates including Machias. Despite Machias' characteristic slurs against the irrevocable "horrors" of nobility and their poorly-guided attempts to direct the empire, even he seemed to be sympathetic in the end. Jusis allowed a smile to creep across his face as he pondered on his newfound friendships. Things were going better than they had been, at least at school, and Jusis had found a degree of peace and serenity in the people he had come to care for in Class VII.
*BANG*
Jusis was thrown from his peace and quiet into the harshness of reality. Recent events, or individuals, had made it difficult to regain his newfound peace and quiet. Even in the hallowed walls of Kirsche's Cafe and Inn, someone had found a way to make his waking moments a difficult burden to bear.
"Heya Jusis!" Millium declared as she slammed herself down onto Jusis' table, "What are you doing here?"
Jusis pinched the girl by her cheeks and forcefully guided her into a seat beside him. "Can't you exercise even a hint of tactfulness?! Show some respect to this establishment and the other patrons!"
"Me and Lammy were out shopping earlier! Do you like chocolates?" Millium asked excitedly.
Jusis stirred in annoyance. Millium, the source of his new daily disturbances, had made another appearance in his daily life. He had found a quiet table to himself here at Kirsche's and had hoped to keep it that way. "What concern is it of yours if I like chocolate?"
"Me and Lammy bought chocolates for someone but we want to know if they are any good," Millium said cheerfully.
"Then try them yourself."
"But me and Lammy can't have sweets until after dinner," Millium replied. Jusis wasn't sure of her sincerity in that last remark.
Jusis put his fingers to the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath. "Millium, just eat a piece of your chocolate and leave me alone, please. It's been a long day and I want to… stop that."
Millium prodded Jusis' face with a piece of chocolate in her outstretched hand. "Here. Try it," She offered with a smile.
"Millium, I am only going to ask you calmly one more time. Do you understand me?"
Jusis attempts to reason with the girl went unheeded as she continued to jab at his lips with a piece of chocolate. "I saved this one for you. Try it… Try it… Try it…"
"Millium, you do that again, and I will remove you from this establishment myself," Jusis warned as bits of chocolate smeared his lips and fell into his lap.
Millium continued her chocolate barrage as she climbed back onto the table with her knees to close the distance between the two. "Hey, do you think Rean thinks I'm pretty?"
"Excuse me?"
"If he thinks I'm pretty, then I must be pretty like the other girls, right?"
"If you wish to discuss this, do it with someone else." Jusis needed to nip this bud and quickly.
"Hey, Jusis?" Millium began, her movements ceasing as she was inches away from his face, "Do you think I'm pretty?"
Her inappropriate banter was more than enough to throw Jusis over the edge. Jusis swatted away her hand and attacked her cheeks with his pinched fingers as he painfully guided her way from his table by her face in the direction of the door.
"Owie! Jusis, stop! That hurts!" Millium's pleas did nothing to save her from the wrath of the frustrated noble.
Once Millium had stopped squirming and resided herself reluctantly into her chair, Jusis took his hands away from her red cheeks and watery eyes. "Are you finished?"
"Why did you do that?! I was just saying hi and offering you chocolate?!"
"You can greet others without making a public disturbance! Or are you incapable of such a simple task?!"
Millium crossed her arms and put her chin to her chest. "Maybe you're just a meanie…"
Jusis' server had returned during Millium's pouting to give him his coffee. Jusis sipped his drink as he continued to berate the ill-mannered girl.
"Do you not realize where you are? Do you know what uniform you wear? You represent not only yourself as a student of Thor's but a member of Class VII wherever you go. Your behavior is not only a reflection of yourself as a student and a servant of the public and citizenry but a classmate of mine as well. I will not stand for you to behave in public with such disregard and lack of consideration for the people around you and the needs of others. Do I make myself clear?"
"I'm sorry, okay?!" Millium exclaimed, her eyes as red and wet as salmon, "I just wanted to say hi, and I got excited when I saw you. I don't know that many people here and I don't have any friends and it was just nice to see someone I know."
"Then perhaps a simple 'hello' would suffice from now on," Jusis replied as he stood and placed a few mira on the table.
Before Jusis had a chance to leave Millium to her tears and make his way towards the door, a demandingly entitled voice pulled him back towards his table.
"Oh, dear. I see Instructor Sara and the director have no qualms against further muddying the pool of students in Class VII," The voice spat into the air.
Jusis turned to the unknown upper-class student and stepped between himself and a teary-eyed Millium.
The second-year upper-class student stepped to Jusis and continued his verbal barrage. "Personally, I would not stand for such churlish behavior by such an… underdeveloped classmate."
Jusis grit his teeth and clenched his fists as hot anger surged from his chest to his cheeks.
"Excuse me?" Jusis forced through his clenched teeth.
"Of course, seeing the two of you together here perhaps sheds some light on why you, Mr. Albarea, why tolerate such… immaturity. I would have never have guessed someone of your standing to be so interested in the… 'developing beauty' to be found in the cradle." Snickers and chuckles littered the lower floor of the cafe as the loose-tongued upper-class student continued to attack Jusis supposed choice of companionship. "Of course, the fresher the clay, the easier it is to mold, right Jusis?"
His anger came to a boiling point as Jusis raised his fist behind his shoulder and stepped forward. His anger guiding his actions, Jusis threw his fist forward only to be yanked backward into his table, knocking over his coffee mug onto the ground and shattering the ceramic. He turned his head to look behind him only to see the blue-haired girl hanging from his outstretched arm.
"Get off of me!" He roared at her as he shook her away from him.
Millium threw her arms around his waist and buried her head into his chest as she begged to stop. "Jusis, stop! Don't do this! This isn't right! Why are you doing this?! This isn't you!"
"Mind your place, Millium! Stop crying and let go of me! Show some dignity!" Jusis ordered.
Millium, in her usual course, disobeyed him and dug her fingertips into his waist as her arms constricted around him. Her weight dragging him down, Jusis gave into her pleas as his arm fell to his side. His own faculties regaining control and his anger subsiding, Jusis noticed the pain in his chest and waist as her arms wrapped around him.
"Please, stop Jusis. I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. I'll be good. I promise, please…" Millium's words were muffled by Jusis tear-stained shirt and her own heightened anxiety.
Jusis wrestled the distraught girl from his body and set her down in her chair. He turned and stepped to the upper-classmen and spoke calmly into his ear. "I don't know you-you think you are, but a good, righteous, and honourable noble would never say such impudent and venereal slurs. I am ashamed of my own nobility because of you." Jusis turned from the now silent student and took Millium by the hand to drag her out of the cafe.
The low hanging sun bathed the Academy Field in a soft red glow as the gentle summer breeze caressed the ground beneath them. Jusis had dragged her as far from the cafe as his tired legs would carry him. The pounding of his feet against the ground beneath him drowned out Millium's pleas to slow down. He was furious at her. The idea that someone who tilly-tallied around the world with Intelligence Division could act so childish and weak in the presence of such a minimalist threat both baffled and infuriated him. However, what had truly driven him mad was how he acted. He was physically angry, confronting, and drastically uninhibited in his choice of actions compared to his usual and noble phlegmatism.
"I'm sorry, Jusis. Okay?" Millium attempted to reach the distant classmate as she stood a few meters behind Jusis as he sat on the field, his feet stretched out before him and his hands tucked under his legs.
"Just go back to the dorm, Millium. Now's not the best time to do this. Just forget about today," Jusis replied a bit more coldly than he intended.
"I don't want to go back. There's nothing there for me. There's noone there. I just want to-"
"Why are you doing this?!" Jusis nearly screamed, his frustration lifting him to his feet and turning him around to face the distraught girl, "I don't understand you! You're so happy-go-lucky and callous with who you are, what you do, and even your past. You're an intelligence operative for divinity's sake! What were you so scared of?!"
Millium's hands rushed to her sides, fists clenched as her face turned as red as the sun that cast its glow upon her. "All I wanted was to make a friend! A friend, Jusis! The only person who has bothered to spend any time with me is Rean and I am the last person on his list of priorities! None of the other girls have me around and then there's you! You always have something to say, another unique way to put me in my place! You're a meanie and I don't like you! I wanted to like you! I wanted to be your friend, but you've done everything you can to keep that from happening!"
"Are you two doing alright?"
The sound of the foreign voice brought the two back to the serenity of the world around them. The person who had appeared before them waited in silence for their answer as the breeze continued to kick up the ground amongst them.
"A-Alisa, I hadn't seen you approaching," Jusis stammered, his voice forcibly calmer.
"I was on the other side of the field practicing my passing when I saw you two. What is going on, Jusis? Why is Millium crying?" Alisa asked as she stepped behind Millium, her hands resting gently against the blue-haired girl's shoulders as Millium did her best to hide her tears.
"It's nothing to be concerned of. She's just-"
"No, Jusis! None of this "She's just" nonsense! What? She's just a kid? She just doesn't understand? She just doesn't know how to act? She's just too immature?! I don't want to hear it from you, Jusis! Now tell me why she's upset or so help me!" Alisa wasn't ready to hear Jusis try to talk his way out of it. No excuses. Not today.
"Alisa, it's okay! It's my fault, kinda…" Millium acquiesced.
"Alisa, it wasn't her fault. I behaved inappropriately which only served to cause her distress. It is by no fault of her own that she is as she is right now. It is completely my responsibility," Jusis interrupted, his usual stoic resolve having returned to his voice.
"This is the first time I've ever seen her cry, Jusis. Fix this." Alisa was as firm as she was commanding.
"Understood," Jusis replied.
Alisa embraced Millium before saying the day's final goodbye. "It'll be okay, Millium. Alright?"
Millium nodded.
Alisa turned away from the two and began to head back into town. Millium and Jusis watched her in silence as the sun continued to set into the horizon. Finally, Jusis broke their silence with the sound of his feet carrying him towards the field entrance. Millium remained still, now watching him leave as Alisa was well out of sight. Unexpectedly, Jusis stopped and turned back to the forlorn girl.
"Are you coming?" Jusis asked calmly.
MIllium slowly approached him and stood at his side, her eyes forcibly away from the direction of his. Jusis slowly stepped forward and awaited her to make sure she would match her pace with his. When she did, he redirected his eyes forward again and began the walk back to the dorms. Millium remained at his side, silently, until they had reached the front doors of their residence.
Millium and Jusis stood outside the dorm doors in silence. Once they went inside, the shared living quarters with their classmates would provide them little privacy to say what they both needed to. Their only other option would be to adjourn into one of their rooms. Needless to say, that was out of the question.
"Jusis," Millium began, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have-"
"It's okay," Jusis interrupted, "You shouldn't keep apologizing for a mistake that I made."
"No, Jusis. I know I can act like a little kid sometimes, but I shouldn't have done what I did. I should have just left you alone. I know that now."
Jusis stepped towards her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "No. I could have been more accommodating to someone who only needed a friend, and it was because of my lack of reservation that caused such a disturbance in the cafe. I cannot allow you to place such blame upon your own shoulders. I promise that I will never place you in such a situation again. It was no way for me to treat a-"
Millium silenced him with her arms wrapped around his waist, her head resting gently on his chest.
"...friend," Jusis finished softly, his own words becoming difficult to muster as slight tears bathed the base his eyes.
As he uttered such a precious word, he could feel her arms tightening around him, her fingers burying themselves into his shirt. Jusis placed on hand on her head and let his fingers gently rise and fall against her soft hair once as silence overtook them once again. After a brief eternity, Millium released herself from around him and silently opened the doors to the dorm and stepped inside. As the doors closed, Jusis remained motionless. His eyes followed her to the doors and lost her as she stepped out of sight from him.
"I'm glad to see she's made a new friend."
Jusis snapped his gaze to the direction of the voice and stumbled through a response. "Sharon! It's not what it looks as… I mean… We were only-"
"Be still, Jusis. You have no need to explain anything to me. I am simply pleased to see she has made a connection with someone," Sharon replied with a soft smile, "I apologize for rudely interrupting you. I was out shopping for dinner supplies and when I saw you two, I decided to wait until I approached the doors. Please, do not let my presence hinder the two of you."
"We don't have that kind of relationship. She's just my... uh..."
"I see." Sharon stepped past the young man and put her hand around the grip of the door, pausing before stepping inside. "Though I didn't say you two were, either. Jusis?"
"Yes?"
"Be careful. If not for you, be careful. Sometimes people need more than a friend. That will be a decision for both of you to make."
Jusis was silent at dinner. Alisa did her best to redirect anyone who tried to engage him in conversation. Millium was back to her usual, happy self while Jusis quietly pondered the day's events at the dinner table. It had never dawned on him how lonely Millium must have been, though looking at her now you couldn't infer even the slightest as such. She sat in between him and Alisa at the dinner table. Hands flailing, food pouring out the sides of her mouth in feeble attempts to chew, talk, and laugh all at once, Millium was as happy and excited as she had always claimed to be. Despite how such behavior used to irritate him, when he looked at her now he couldn't help but smile.
His pleasant observance was interrupted by the sound of Millium coughing through a mouthful of food. Jusis took her glass in his hand and poured from the water pitcher into the glass before presenting it to her.
"Drink this, and don't speak with food in your mouth. Take smaller bites and chew thoroughly from now on," He spoke calmly as he raised the glass to her lips, his hand tucked just under her chin.
As Millium sipped from the glass, her hands occupied by both a knife and a fork, everyone at the table fell silent. Jusis replaced her glass to the table and took her cloth napkin in his fingers to dab the sides of his face. Before he did so, the weight of his classmates' gaze on his shoulders brought him back to the reality of the dining table. Their wide eyes and silent lips sent shivers through his spine. A red heat swept across his feet as his fingers began to shake against each other.
Milllium loudly cleared her throat and in usual high-pitched manner said, "Thanks, Jusis!" before stuffing her face once again.
Rean was the first to try to speak. "It's uh… good to see you two getting-"
"Excuse me," Jusis interrupted. He stood from the table, placed his used napkin by the side of his plate, and weaved his way through his friends' scattering of chairs to the hallway and up the stairs and out of site.
