a/n: yey! chapter 2. okay, since Noctis' posse hasn't been named yet, I'd like you all to meet:

Lacertus- 'scar-faced guy'

Celer- 'shot-gun guy'

Salsus- 'glassess guy'

when SquareEnix finally releases their names, i was thinking of re-editing my fic. but since that would probably happen around late 2009 and early 2010, i'll probably just stick with these names i picked out. anyways, hope you guys like this chap! read and review!!

Disclaimer: that Tetsuya Nomura guy is really awesome, isn't he?? Oh! and he and SquareEnix owns FFVXIII not me. :D

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"Oblivious Fate"

By: rorudesu-chan

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Chapter 2: Regius University

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The winds of Spring blissfully welcomed the high school students of Regius University. Some faces were old, some were new. Some fashioned their uniform sophisticatedly, some simply wore them the way it was meant to be worn. And some stood amongst the rest, while some were perfectly content with what standing they were upon. Yet despite the countable differences, the students of Regius University had one thing in common: they were the sons and daughters of every kingdom in the world. Soon to be rulers, dictators, governors, kings and queens of their own lands.

Among the famous that studied in this dignified academy was the heir to the throne of the Caelum family. Because he was a Prince, there were populations in the student number that either got intimidated by his façade or tried their best to squeeze themselves beside him, literally. But luckily, Prince Noctis had a few of his classmates who knew him very well and was scientifically termed as his 'posse'.

"Noct!"From the door of the classroom, a dark haired student with a scar of the left side of his face, called out to the ash colored haired Prince who sat on the farthest seat near the window. He approached Noctis and greeted him by a strapping pat on the back that made him jerk forward.

"How was the break, your majesty?"

"Its fine, Lacertus." Noctis smiled foolishly in response to his friend's inquiry.

Another persona that entered the senior student classroom was a tall man with russet hair and glasses caught the attention of the Caelum heir. But before Noctis could stand up and greet him, the Prince was ambushed by a headlock on the neck. Noctis' expression was clueless as it was priceless. Apparently, it made the anonymous head locker chortle in a sadistic tone.

"Noct! Buddy! Long time no see, eh?"

"It's another semester, Celer. It's an opportunity for you to catch up with this year's lessons." The glasses wearing student unperturbedly mocked the Prince's head locker as he approached them.

"Hah! Since when have I ever been late with catching up, Salsus?" Celer exclaimed as Noctis slid away from his chokehold.

"Hey, Sal!" Lacertus patted Salsus on the back as well, while Celer confidently defended himself against his genius pal's lingual attacks.

These three droll pals of the Prince were the only ones in Regius to know who he truly was. Celer was Noctis' childhood friend since both their fathers were partners in the Crystal project of the Caelums. Lacertus and Salsus lived in neighboring kingdoms. Both met the Prince simultaneously during their stay in the university.

While the richly and popular posse caught up with each other's semester break frivolousness, a loud ring penetrated through the classroom walls which sent the students cowering back to their respective seats. Moments later, a strictly looking woman entered the classroom with a narrow smile on her lips. She carried with her a class record and some random sheets of paper that had the word "Lesson" in every page.

"Welcome back to Regius University, senior students. Since this will be your final sem before graduation, expect that lessons will be a lot tougher and those who can't catch up," the teacher directed her eyes to Celer who ignorantly smirked back. "…will have to repeat their classes next year."

A dull answer was replied by the students in chorus. Nevertheless, the professor continued. "Also, joining us this sem is a new student."

The class restlessly darted their eyes around the room to see whose new face would be joining their section. Everyone was curious except for Noctis, whose stare was locked upon the view of the open field below that the window beside him offered. If Mrs. Mulier's discussion wasn't about academic lessons, Noctis would let his mind wander anywhere he wanted. He was practically oblivious to the sound of information that he considered unhelpful and unrelated for his grades.

"She is a transferee from Tenebrae Academy. Miss Fleuret, please stand up and introduce yourself." Except for the Prince, the whole class nipped their gaze at the golden haired student that gallantly stood and looked at her new classmates with a set of welcoming eyes and an irresistible smile. While the girls felt a sudden surge of inferiority to her beauty, the boys felt compelled to compete against each other in catching this blonde chick's attention.

"Hello everyone, my name is Stella Nox Fleuret. Pleased to meet you all."

"Since Miss Fleuret is new here in Regius," The teacher continued as her almond shaped eyes scanned around the room to check who was available for a possible extra credit task. Finally, a certain royalty caught her attention, whose stare seemed miles from reach. "Mr. Caelum!"

With a hand tucked beneath his right cheek, Noctis was snapped back to reality by Mrs. Mulier's stern voice. He attentively returned his thought back into class. "Would you like to take Miss Fleuret on a tour around the campus?"

Miss Fleuret? Noctis' mind rattled with the name. He turned around in his chair as his eyes familiarized with the figure of a female student who stood a bit farther from his right. It was her again. Like what she said, they'd meet up again here in Regius. But it wasn't surprising for the Prince at all because somehow, he was expecting for a second meeting.

Noctis returned his attention to the teacher who was waiting for an answer. He calmly replied with a smirk. "Yeah, sure."

There was an impulsive smug that ran through every students' faces. While the boys taunted Noctis with playful hoots, the girls secretly hid a 'that-chick-is-going-down-because-that-Prince-is-mine!' sensation underneath a façade of glistening teeth.

"Very well then, you may now take your seat, Miss Fleuret. Mr. Caelum will give you the campus tour during free period. "

"Thank you, Mrs. Mulier." Stella sat down as a response while the ginger headed teacher continued. "And as for the agenda this morning…" Mrs. Mulier's daily rundown of the day's task became only a background sound for both Noctis and Stella as they exchanged looks. Stella smiled at the handsome Prince whose eyes became restless again in her presence. He nodded at her before he spun back and returned his stare at the window view. But this time, he decided not to space out. Instead, he prepared himself mentally for this tour with Stella. Noctis realized that he still hasn't adjusted quite well with the company of a girl whom he met just a few nights ago. He knew he had to put in order his thoughts as well as his actions not just because Stella was a girl and had a wholly different behavior from his male buddies but because, he had to get close to Stella of Tenebrae.

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The piercing shrill of the school bell rang through the corridors of the university. Boys in their sleeved blouses and girls in their frilly above-the-knee skirts busted out the classroom and met with their fellow sovereigns-in-training. The classroom of Mrs. Mulier was now reduced to five people, the foursome and the newbie.

"Ooh, Noct! You got yourself a girl! Gyaaa—!" Celer goaded the Prince as Lacertus grabbed him by the neck and gave him a taste of his own neck breaker.

"What…? You jeaous of him Celer?" Hahaha! What a pity!" The scar faced student's laughter boomed within the room. The quiet Salsus just stood beside Noctis, sadistically pleased at Celer's in-pain groan. While Lacertus had the blonde boy in a grip, the Prince noticed Stella walking towards the door. Looking as if she was about to leave, Noctis suddenly realized that his feet caught up to her before she could leave the classroom. Stella felt the presence of someone behind her and she spun around to see if it was the bashful monarch himself.

"Hey Noct," The vivacious ivory-skinned girl smiled warmly at him, deeming that this would be the proper time to finally call him by his nickname. "I told you we were going to meet again."

"Yeah apparently, you did." Noctis whose timid eyes looked at Stella's blue ones, suddenly averted towards the approaching Celer. The rest of his gang also followed with some glances at Stella.

"So, Noct… It seems as though you two have met before." Celer's left arm wrapped around Noctis' neck as Stella grinned at him.

"Noct and I met at his family's grand ball." She glimpsed at the ash spiked Prince who made no comment.

"Really now? Well, I was there too Stella. But, I don't think we've met properly. Hi, I'm Celer!" As he introduced himself, he tried to reach for Stella's hand and hopefully aimed for a peck on it. But unfortunately, she kindly withdrew her hand which made Salsus laugh in silence.

"Well, I'm Lacertus and…" Salsus, who hid behind Noctis and Celer, was pulled closer by Lacertus. "This is Salsus. But his name is quite troublesome so it would be better to call him, 'Sal'."

"It's nice to meet the close friends of the Prince." Stella smiled as she looked at the faces of Noctis' threesome.

"And it's also nice to meet the youngest ambassador of Tenebrae." Salsus stated as he adjusted his glasses on the bridge of his nose.

"Ambassador…?" Celer looked at Salsus with a huge hint of cluelessness.

"Yes. If you read your books on Political Studies, then you'd know that the person standing before us is one of the elite representatives of the kingdom of Tenebrae… Isn't that right, Miss Fleuret?"

Celer awkwardly recalled about the last time he read that thick-paged book. Let alone, the last time he actually ever opened it. Stella simply grinned and responded to Salsus' words. "Please, just call me Stella. And yes, Sal, that is true. I am the youngest Ambassador of Tenebrae."

With what could be the time to get to know Stella further, Lacertus reminded the Prince who seemed to have forgotten about his assigned campus tour for Stella. "Wouldn't it be great for us to just sit around and talk more?" The dark coffee colored haired student briefly pulled Celer and Salsus away from Noctis and Stella. The Prince's eyes looked entirely stymied at what his friend did.

"But we'll just have to reserve that for next time won't we, boys? Noct still has a tour to give to Stella, remember?" Lacertus winked at Noctis whose sudden reaction implied that he finally recollected.

While the others teasingly laughed, the two walked out of the classroom and into the corridor where there were fewer students who'd rather enjoy free period inside. Noctis walked ahead of Stella, still a little hesitant about toddling beside her. The attractive ambassador kept her eyes on the Prince whose coyness seemed palpable only to her.

"You don't really have to do this, Noct."

"Do what?" The Prince turned his head to her.

"Taking me on a campus tour... I think I can manage well on my own, you know."

"Yes, it would seem so. But don't worry, I'm not going to bore you out with every detail about this university. Just think of this as an extra credit for me."

"Extra credit, huh?" Stella questioned Noctis about what he said. "I heard you were a straight-A student. What would you need some bonus for?"

"Straight-A? Well, you heard wrong, Stella." The long corridor finally came to a stop as Noctis walked down a staircase while his companion followed. "I received a B in Physics during the previous sem. And I need a few points to jump back to A."

"Wow, Physics? I love that subject and I'm actually pretty good at it."

Noctis smirked at Stella's witty confidence. "Ah well, I hope you can lend me a helping hand when the time comes."

"Sure! It'd be an honor to tutor the Prince." Both exchanged laughter as Noctis briefly paused and gestured at the huge open field before them.

"This is the university's track and field area. Soccer and Football practices or tournaments are played here."

Stella gazed at the vast space before turning to Noctis who stood before her. "Do you like Soccer or Football, Noct?"

"Not really. Why?"

"'Cause I noticed you like staring into the open field during class hours."

Noctis realized that the blonde girl have been observing him while she was being introduced to class and he was completely unaware about the whole thing. "Yeah well, it beats boredom during those dull minutes." He replied with a grin on his lips.

The pair who was walking into another open corridor, passed by a group of girls dressed in sexy tops and threw ruffled pom-poms into the air. Noctis just held out a hand without stopping briefly. "This is Regius' cheerleading squad. If you'd like, you can talk to their head cheerleader over there and ask for a try-out." He pointed to the auburn haired girl with a busty figure.

Stella laughed at the humor she heard. "Cheerleading isn't really my type of activity, Noct."

"Then what is?"

Before Stella could reply, the auburn-headed cheerleader whom Noctis pointed at, called the Prince's name out loud and waved desperately for attention. The good-looking Caelum just looked blankly at her before casting his deep cobalt eyes forward.

"So who was she…?" Stella's azure eyes brightened as she gave a smug look at the Prince.

"No one important, really."

"Oh. I thought she was your…"

"Girlfriend?" The young Ambassador blinked in doubt at Noctis' off reply. Stella followed him as they entered into a different building that seemed a lot smaller compared to where they toured before.

"I've never had one of those, Stella." Noctis' truthful words stopped Stella in her tracks.

"Don't lie, Noct."

"What?"

"Of course, you've had one before. You're a Prince!" Stella continued walking, but this time, she became oblivious that they were both parallel to each other now.

"And that surprises people a lot." Noctis opened a huge door before him and the pair entered. Boys in shorts were dribbling and passing an orange ball around and took turns in shooting it into a hoop while screeches of whistle blows were repeatedly heard. But, instead of telling Stella what that place obviously was, a curious question broke from his lips.

"How does it feel," He paused, unscrambling the correct thoughts before carrying on. "…To have someone 'attached' to you?"

The blue eyed blonde who was watching the varsity practice was caught off guard by the Prince's sudden and ignorant question. She thought about it carefully before making her reply. "It feels good… probably."

Probably? Noctis' indigo orbs looked at Stella who had a straightforward gaze. He didn't understand why her answer was full of uncertainty.

"I haven't had one of those, either. So I guess that makes the two of us now." Stella's eyes stared into the Prince's and both exchanged an unfathomable gaze. But it was short-lived, for Noctis' bashfulness took over once more. His eyes averted Stella's as he reached for the gymnasium's door. He got himself out as the blonde haired transferee followed him shortly.

The moment of uneasiness bridged silence between them. Noctis was leading again while Stella quietly followed. The heir suddenly remembered what one of his military officers said. The gray haired man had doubts about him, how he couldn't just lose track of the Tenebraean, but of himself as well. Right now, he couldn't afford to get any distractions just because some part of him chooses not to cooperate. But what he was doing was falling according to plan, right? He had to get close to Stella no matter what. He knew it had risks but for the sake of his kingdom's Crystal, he had to sacrifice what he could just for it.

Despite the stillness that filled the hallway, it wasn't just Noctis who was bugged by troubled thoughts. Stella too was mentally reprimanded by her conscience and her 'other' duty. All this faltering talk about things that seemed quite futile to her obligation was time consuming. She can't wait for the whole semester to finish just so she could get close to the Prince and the Caelum's Crystal. She had to find a way so she could spend more time with him and thus, climbing nearer to her goal. Stella knew she mustn't waste any second, because the prize of this success was waiting for her and hopefully, with open arms.

At the end of the corridor, the pair was welcomed into the university's garden where diverse trees, shrubs and bushes sprouted in various places. Noctis paused and pulled his mind back into the tour.

"This is where Botany and Biology classes are sometimes held. Right there is the green house where every student is obliged to cultivate at least one specimen every year." Noctis gestured as he turned around and saw that Stella hadn't been there to listen to what he said. He found her sitting in a bench under a cherry blossom tree and approached her with a wondering look.

"I hope you aren't tired yet. There's still half of Regius you haven't seen."

"Nope, I'm not tired at all." Stella kindly shook her head sideways and the Prince sat on the bench, mindful of the several inches between them. Secretly, he was getting quite uninterested in this and wanted to engage in something else.

"Then what do you want to do?"

A soft breeze blew Stella's layered locks as she paused momentarily, thinking of what she should do. "Let's talk about… you."

"Me? Nothing's interesting about me." Noctis hunched forward and rested his elbows above his knees while Stella gracefully crossed her legs and rested her hands on the bench's edge.

"There must be something. Hmm…" The young ambassador looked up at the pink buds of the cherry blossoms and thought deeply. "What else do your parents do for a living? Besides ruling your kingdom of course..."

"Father and Mother," Noctis took a deep breath and look down on the cobble-stoned ground before continuing. "…passed away four years ago."

Stella felt guilt rush within her veins as she stared down as well with saddened eyes. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine." Noctis looked straightforward and narrowly smiled. He knew he had moved on but somehow, he wished that Stella hadn't asked about them. Talking about his parents' sudden death recoiled memories of sadness and fear inside again.

Although Stella wasn't hoping for anymore answer that would make the Prince uncomfortable, Noctis decided to respond to her question in the name of respect. "My father wasn't just the king of our country; he was also a devoted scientist that kept the Crystal, in a sense, 'alive'."

"Crystal?" Stella questioned in bliss as she continued to listen vigilantly.

"Yeah, you must've heard of it in your Tenebraean conferences, Stella."

"I have, but my knowledge only takes me until the fact that the royal Caelum family owns the company ran by a Crystal. So, what is this Crystal?"

"The Crystal," Noctis paused before eagerly defining it for Stella. "…was my forefathers' own discovery which heavily influenced modern technology as you know it. Because of it, the kings before my father built a company that would greatly suffice humanity in the decades to come in medicinal aid, food supplements, building structures, computer science and especially in military weaponry. Because of this, a lot of kingdoms wanted to get their hands on it. That's why the Caelum lineage protected the Crystal with their own lives to make sure that it wouldn't fall into the wrong hands. Otherwise…"

"War could erupt within your country and might even reach the whole world." Noctis glanced at Stella who correctly guessed the possible catastrophe. "But," The smooth voiced lady added. "What exactly is a Crystal? Is it a device or some kind of energy?"

Noctis looked at the clear, blue sky before responding back. "Just by the name itself. It is a 'crystal'."

It is a crystal, itself. Stella's half-astonished face was seen by the Prince's cobalt eyes. She was amazed at how something brittle, whether big or small, had the power to create numerous benefits to mankind. No wonder Tenebrae as well as the other nations, took colossal interest in it.

"Now that you know a little about me and my kingdom," Noctis' deep, enticing voice fastened Stella back from her thoughts. "Tell me something about you, about Tenebrae."

The Tenebrae representative was just about to take her turn of defining when the monotonous chime of the school bell rang. Free period has ended as Noctis and Stella's conversation also did. The young Caelum stood up as Stella followed also.

"Well, this ends your tour, Stella. You do realize that we could've just visited half of Regius instead of sitting down and talking."

"It's okay, Noct. I'll find my way around the halls. Anyways, I enjoyed our little conversation. You're very easy to talk to." A kind smile crafted Stella's lips.

"Same goes to you." Noctis looked around and noticed that students were coming in for the Botany session. "What's your next class, Stella?"

"I'm not sure yet but I think I'll just look for Mrs. Mulier and ask her for my class schedule. How about you Noct, what's your next class?"

"Botany. I'll be staying behind."

"Okay then. I'll be going now, Noct. Thanks for the tour. Hope we'll see each other around."

Noctis nodded as he rested a hand just above his waist. "You won't get yourself lost, right?"

Stella shook her head sideways in certainty and walked back into the corridor. Noctis kept a keen eye as the image of the young emissary faded in sight. The Prince experienced some second thoughts about what he all said about his country's Crystal. He felt as if he was saying the details not just to a regular Ambassador, but to a secret information-gatherer of some government. The way Stella listened to him with utmost interest gave him that idea. She was very quiet as he nattered on about the Crystal, only asking specific questions that needed the appropriate answer. It was as if the information he gave away was to be fed for something that was expected to grow big in concealment. But as his Botany professor arrived, the thought of the innocent looking Stella being some kind of 'spy' quickly washed away and Noctis joined the students at the green house for another hour of lecture.

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a/n: okay, since i honestly don't know how their sem stuff works in other countries (because from where i am, its completely different), i just kind of invented stuff here. please bear with it. hehehe. after all, this is an AU fic and its in Noctis and Stella's world... :D

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so, how was this chapter? did i handle the characters well? is the story getting interesting or boring? please, please tell me, okay? Review!!

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oh! and i forgot to mention in my first chapter, special thanks to yorumiko for suggesting me "Regius" as the university's name.

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i just realized that OOC-ness is an unavoidable fate in a fic especially when you have no idea what the character/s' original persona is... *sigh* T______T