Author's Note:

Here's chapter two of my story. I'm sorry that it took some time, but I was burdened with work. So I apologize for that. Also, I wanted to take my time in writing this chapter.

Another point is that I am extremely pleased with the turnout that I am receiving with this story. I would like to thank those who have reviewed, faved, or followed my story. Your actions make it all worthwhile to write this story.

Disclaimer: Tales of Xillia and its characters belong to Bandai Namco. Wolf Children and its original concept belong to Mamoru Hosoda. However, the OCs belong to me.

So enjoy chapter two!


Ch. 2

Getting to Know You

Jude sat down in the seat. However, he was now in the upper middle back seats, unlike his last visits to this class. The reason being that he was sitting together with Milla during this class.

It seemed that she did take him up on his offer and would sit next to him in order to share his books. This had been going on for the past couple of weeks since their initial meeting.

As for Marcus, seeing as Jude preferred sitting with Milla, he would sit in another section from Jude. He sat towards the front center, directly in front of their row, but further down.

Despite all his faults, ranging from his laziness and even asking Jude to be his wingman when picking up women at one point, Marcus was a good friend. To which Jude would be ever grateful for.

Jude began to look around the hall; it seemed that Milla hadn't arrived yet. He looked towards a clock that was hanging over the door of the entrance. It read that there was five minutes left before the professor would come in and start class.

Where could she be? He wondered, he took another quick look around. Even among the students that were hitting it close to being late, Jude did not see her among them. I hope that nothing bad has happened to her or anything.

He stared down at the front of his desk. He knew it do him no good to be worried about Milla right now. At the moment, Jude had to especially be attentive to this lecture. The reason being that soon after in a couple of weeks there was going to be a major exam for the class.

Well, really, many of his classes were going to have mid-terms. All in the same week. So he had to pay special attention to the lectures and have good notes. Those would be key to his success on his exams.

He gave a mental sigh. So for now, all he could hope was that Milla was fine and alright. Besides, she can take care of herself. She's not the kind of girl to be helpless in a situation. I'm sure she's fine.

Jude looked to the front; the professor had entered the lecture hall. Meaning that class had started-he took a quick look around one last time. Still no Milla.

He then gave up his search and decided to listen. The professor started off the lecture first by saying how in a couple of weeks mid-terms were coming up. He then went on to say to get prepared for that and that they should not be late, or else they would not be let in. After he was done with that, the professor went on with the actual lecture.

Jude furiously took down notes on the important points that were being talked about in the lecture. He was able to keep up with the professor's pace-he could see that others were having a bit of trouble doing so. While others would jot down whatever he said in their textbooks. Jude, himself, only looked at the textbook to help fill in gaps that would be present in his notes.

It was then during the lecture that Jude felt a presence near him. He stopped what he was writing and looked to his right side.

Milla was sitting in the chair next to him. She appeared like normal, nothing was off about her or anything. He was glad.

Milla, noticing Jude's gaze, turned to face him.

"Jude. Is something the matter?" She questioned.

"Oh, nothing. It's just I didn't see you here at the start of class." Jude replied.

"I had something to attend to. And it kept me busy for awhile," she answered, "I am sorry."

"N-No. That's fine. I was just curious and I started to worry that something had happened." Jude hastily said, not wanting to let Milla feel guilty about it.

"I see. Well, I'm fine Jude. So don't worry about it," she looked from Jude to the front and back to him, "Jude, I think you should be focusing on the lecture right now."

"Lecture? Ah, yeah. I should." Jude turned his attention back to the front and continued his fast pace on his notes.

Milla looked at him and gave a small smile, upon seeing Jude's sudden determination and concentration.

You're an interesting person, Jude. Maybe someday, I will tell you the truth.

-TOX-

Class had ended. Students began to leave the lecture hall. Jude was busy getting his things organized before leaving with Milla. He gathered his books and materials into his arms. Milla stood by, patiently waiting for him to be done.

Once he finished, he turned towards Milla. "I'm ready. Do you want go?"

"Yes." She answered.

The two began to walk together out the lecture hall. Once out, they began to walk down the hall past students going to and from. Along the way Jude and Milla talked.

"So, that business that you had to do took more time than usual, huh?" Jude asked.

"Yes." Milla said. "Normally, it wouldn't take as long as it did today. But, it was a different case today."

"Ah." Was all Jude answered. Silence lapsed between them.

The reason that Jude did not want to ask further into her 'business' was because he felt that Milla didn't really want to tell them. Besides, it was her business and if she didn't tell him any details that was fine. After all, he didn't want to pry into any of her private matters.

With Milla, she did feel a bit bad that she was not giving full details for her late arrival to Jude. But, she knew that she couldn't give him the truth, she didn't wish to drag him into her problems or concerns. It wouldn't be fair.

The silence continued before Jude suddenly had remembered something.

"Hey, Milla. Would you mind if we went to the library real quick? There's something that I need to do there."

Milla looked at him, before facing the front again. "Sure. I don't mind. Besides, I've been curious about this university's library for some time."

Jude looked at her, "Oh, yeah. That's right, since you're not a student here. I don't think you could get in without showing that you go here."

"Hm. No, that's not really the problem," Milla replied, "It's just that I haven't given much thought about going there. I could easily enter in if I wanted to."

Jude was surprised. The library was mostly strict about letting students use the facility mostly. If you requested permission, and you were not a student, then you would probably be allowed in. But, most of the time the library was just for the university students. So how did Milla think that she could walk in without being caught?

He was about to ask that question when-

"Jude!"

Speak of the devil.

Jude and Milla turned around. Marcus was running after them, unfortunately shoving past other students that were going in the opposite direction.

"Do you know that man, Jude?" Milla wondered, noting the odd behavior of the man in question.

Jude gave a chuckle, "You could say that. He's a friend of mine, but he can be quite difficult to handle at times."

Milla gave a small 'hmph' in answering.

Soon enough, Marcus caught up with them. He stopped in front of them in order to catch his breath.

"Geez, ya know, you could have waited for a little. No need to get so far ahead." Marcus said, a little breathless from his helter skelter run.

"So, what is it that you needed, Marcus?" Jude asked, knowing that his friend probably came over for a favor. Most of the times it was the case.

Marcus straightened out, he then rubbed his cheek. "Weeeeelllll….."

"Out with Marcus."

"You know that exams are coming up right? Well," He then grabbed Jude's hands in a pleading gesture, "Could you please lend me some of your notes? I'll make it up to you, so please?"

Jude was taken aback with Marcus' actions, "Errr…well okay. I guess I could, but for what class?"

Marcus gave a grin. "I knew you wouldn't leave a bud out to dry, Jude. As for what notes I want, could you give me some from Old Man Traylor's?"

Jude then answered, "But don't you have notes from his lectures. I see you take them in class."

"Yeah, but you know that I sometimes don't show for that class. The man could talk you to sleep; besides you have much more detailed notes in his class than mine." Marcus said.

"Okay, okay. I get it." Jude said in exasperation, knowing that Marcus would keep pushing the issue if he refused. "I'll give you the notes at residency with Phillips. Satisfied?"

Marcus nodded. "Quite." It was then that he actually noticed that Milla was standing nearby, listening to their conversation.

So he decided to say to speak to her, "Hey there."

Milla snapped to attention and looked at Marcus.

"Uh…Hello." Milla answered, unsure of how to take Marcus' friendliness.

Marcus looked to Jude, "Jude, would you mind introducing me to your new friend here?"

Jude sighed. "Marcus, this is Milla. Milla, this is Marcus."

"Marcus Rembrandt. It's a pleasure to meet you." Marcus replied in a dramatic flourish.

"Milla. And it's also a pleasure to meet you." Milla responded.

Marcus grinned. "So, where are you guys off to?"

Jude answered, "We're going to drop by the library for something. It's to help with the upcoming mid-terms."

His friend nodded, understanding. "Okay. Yeah, I had a guess that that was where you might be going." He looked to Milla, "Hey, Milla, make sure that Jude doesn't bore you out with books. Sometimes, he gets on these tangents which make him a contender for Traylor's position of putting you to sleep."

"I suppose…" Milla answered, again unsure on what to answer. Jude put a hand to his temple, "Alright, that's enough Marcus. We both know that I can't get that boring. And besides, isn't there a class that you should be heading for?"

Marcus looked at a near hallway clock and saw the time. "Indeed there is. So I guess this is goodbye for now. I'll see you at Phillips tonight Jude and don't forget the notes. And it was nice meeting you too, Milla."

With that, Marcus again took off for his next class. Jude knew that Marcus would probably be late, but from what Marcus described about that class, he figured that he would sneak in some way.

Milla put a hand under her chin, in thought. "He seems friendly and sincere. Albeit, a little eccentric if I could say so."

"Eccentric is an understatement." Jude said. "He's….unique, let's say."

Milla gave a light chuckle. "You keep interesting company, Jude."

Jude rubbed the back of his head, while saying, "Well, in addition to Marcus, I have this other friend that could probably give him a run for his money. She has ideas that can rival Marcus' crazy ones. That I'm sure of."

"Oh. And where is she?" Milla asked, curious.

"From what she wrote in her last letter, she said that right now she's working as a journalist in Elympios. She's doing well over there, so I'm glad."

"Mm." Milla nodded. She continued, "Do you think we should still continue for the library?"

Jude was brought out of his reminiscing and looked at her. "Yeah, let's go. Sorry about that, I wasn't expecting Marcus to come and ask me."

"That's fine." She looked around before proceeding. She turned her face towards Jude, "So shall we get going?"

Jude nodded. "Mhm."

The two headed for the direction in where the university's library was located.

-TOX-

To say that the library wasn't massive would be a lie; it was enormous. From outside, the building did seem huge, but from within it was a whole other story.

Bookshelves lined the whole inside, large windows shed the light from outside in. It was a magnificent sight. But, of course, what do you expect from Rashugal's capital library?

Milla was amazed by the sheer number of books in one area. She had never seen so many. Not even during her travels or her journey with Gaius and Muzet.

It seemed that she must have been standing there in awe for awhile, before she heard Jude give a light chuckle.

"Heh, heh. Wow Milla, this is the first time I have ever seen you so surprised before."

Milla looked at him, "Hm. Do I amuse you Jude?"

"Wha-? No, I was just surprised to see you look amazed by the library." Jude hastily replied. "Though, I can't blame you. It really is an impressive library."

"It is." Milla agreed. "But, what is it that you needed from here?"

"Well, I came to find some supplementary books to help along with my class lectures. That would be great to study along with. Also, some articles that would help along with my thesis paper." Jude answered.

"A…thesis paper?" Milla asked, tilting her head confused.

Jude looked at her, before realizing that she really had no idea what he was talking about.

"Oh, right. Since you're not a student, you don't have to worry about doing a thesis paper." He started, before continuing, "But a thesis paper is a paper that deals with research that you do on your own. There are two different types: the first is a second-year thesis paper, which is what I'm doing, and the second is a graduation thesis paper. Both papers are due at the end of your first-term of whatever year you're in. So for me, I don't have to worry about doing a graduation thesis till later. Do you understand now, Milla?"

Milla then put a hand under her chin, in thought. It was some time before she straightened out again.

"I think I get it. So what is it that you're doing the paper on?" She asked.

Jude's eyes then had a slight sparkle. Normally, he was never given the chance to speak about his research topic to most people. And when he did, most people thought that the topic that he was working on had no value and was deemed to not even be possible. Heck, even Marcus, of all people, had to agree with them. But now he was given the opportunity to speak freely without fear of being rejected or ridiculed.

"Well my thesis paper is about how we could implement spyrite technology into society. Overall, it is better for spirits in the area and it could yield significant results when applied. Of course, the technology is fairly new and is undergoing thorough research; so not much is known about it. That and it is difficult to obtain as much of it is in Elympios. Not many believe that using spyrite energy will make a difference and so I sometimes get made fun of for that." Jude then gave a bitter chuckle, "You must think that this sounds kind of weird coming from someone aiming to be a doctor and not researcher."

Jude then mentally braced himself for what might be ridicule from Milla. But, all he heard was silence. He looked at Milla.

Milla once again had her hand underneath her chin and spoke. "No. I don't think it's ridiculous, rather I think that it sounds like a great idea. It helps in reducing the casualties in spirits and could be used greatly to help humans. I don't see anything wrong with that idea."

Jude smiled. He was glad to see that at least there was one person who didn't think he was ridiculous. "Thanks, Milla."

"You're welcome." She nodded.

Jude then took a glance around before speaking, "Well, I'm going to look for the books that I need. You can look around and see if there's any books you want, Milla. I can check them out for you."

"Alright."

Jude then proceeded off to find his books, leaving Milla by herself.

Where should I start? She wondered. Maybe I'll try this section.

She then walked off to check an area of the library out.

-TOX-

"I see that you took my offer of getting you books to its full advantage."

Jude sweat-dropped at the huge stack of books before him. It appeared to be made up of about fifteen to twenty books. He didn't even think that it was possible for a stack to be that tall.

"Is there something wrong with that?" Milla asked. Curious as to why Jude was reacting the way he was. After all, did he not offer to check out any books that she got? He didn't exactly specify a certain number.

"No…but are sure this is all that you want?" Jude said, still shocked by the large amount. He then took a step and looked at the books.

He saw that the subjects ranged from different categories and were not of a specific category. He heard Milla then answer him.

"Well, yes. Many of those books piqued my interest and I thought them interesting so I chose them. The subjects they deal with look very intriguing."

Jude listened, but he froze when he looked and saw the title of one of the books.

W-Why did she pick this?! Does she even know what this is about?!

Jude turned back to face the blonde woman, "I see your point. But, I think that you just pick out those that seem your favorite. I don't think I can take this many books. Yeah?"

He saw Milla turn her head slightly, and gave a small pout.

She looks so cute… He suddenly felt slight warmth in his cheeks.

"Fine. It's a shame though; I was going to enjoy reading some of those books." She muttered. Milla then went over and began to look through the books to pick out her favorites.

It took some time before she was able to choose. All the while muttering about how she wished she could have that one or the other. She then stood up with the books that she had chosen. "I'm finished."

Jude looked back and nodded. But, suddenly he paled at one of the books. Again, does she even know what THAT is?! I can't let her take it.

"Milla, would you mind putting that one back? I don't think that's appropriate to take out." He said.

Milla looked at the book that he was referring to. "Why? There seems to nothing wrong with it. I don't see how that warrants not being appropriate."

Jude blushed and tried to stutter a response, "T-That's n-not…You shouldn't…Just put it back, please Milla?"

Milla frowned, wondering why Jude was acting weird. Humans are simple, yet complicated.

"Mhm." She then got the book from her group and placed it back.

"There."

"Good." Jude said, mentally sighing in relief. "Alright, let's check them out."

Milla nodded.

-TOX-

The two were walking outside of the library and into the streets of Fenmont. People were walking around, paying the two no mind.

"So where do you live, Jude?" Milla asked.

"I live in an apartment. It's not far from here, so I have no trouble coming over here. And you, Milla?" Jude asked, curious about where Milla resided.

Milla looked to the side. She didn't answer right away, so Jude seemed worried.

"Milla?"

Milla then said, "I live…near the park."

"Hm. So you don't live that far either." Jude replied.

The two kept walking on till they were near Jude's place. They stopped there.

"Well, this is my stop. Thanks Milla for coming with me to the library and for thinking my paper was good. It means a lot." He said.

"You're welcome, Jude. And I also wish to thank you." She responded.

"Huh? For what?"

"For going to the library. It was nice." She said, a small blush barely evident on her face. "I enjoyed it."

Jude smiled. "I'm glad and you're welcome."

Milla then looked straight at him, "Well, it's getting late. I should be going. Goodbye, Jude." She turned to walk off.

"Goodbye, Milla. I'll see you later." Jude called after her. He watched as Milla was leaving until she soon left his sight.

He turned and opened the lobby door and began to walk for his apartment.

-TOX-

The rest of the evening went well for Jude. Residency was smooth that night, not many patients came in. Which was a huge relief.

As promised, he had also brought the notes over and handed them to Marcus. Marcus was glad and said that he would make it up to Jude once mid-terms were over.

Also, Dr. Phillips seemed pleased to see that Jude was better and that he was doing his work up to snuff. When asked on whether his earlier problem was solved, Jude smiled and responded with a 'yes'.

Phillips smiled as well, and he gave Jude a pat on the back. He said to keep up the good work and to study later for his mid-terms.

So it was a good evening.

-TOX-

Later that night when Jude came back to his apartment, he went to fix his food. So at the moment he was busy in the kitchen.

But, as Jude was busy making food, his mind went over the day's events. Specifically with Milla.

He was wondering over this and in fact almost burned the soup because he wasn't paying attention. So he put those thoughts to the side while he cooked.

It was until after he done and was eating the soup that his mind wandered.

So, it looks like Milla likes to read. After all, the expression on her face proves how amazed she was by the library. I'm glad.

He took a sip from his soup.

Hmmm. I wonder if she wouldn't mind to eat out somewhere. He mused, before he realized on what he just thought. Like an outing. Just an outing, that's it. But, after mid-terms. I doubt she'd show up during the week because she doesn't go to school.

With that thought in mind, Jude resolved to ask Milla for an outing after the end of college mid-terms. When he wasn't busy.

He was able to quickly finish off his soup and soon proceeded to get ready for bed.

Jude took off his regular clothing and got into clothes suited for sleep. He put on loose-fitting pants and a loose shirt.

After that, Jude went into the bathroom and brushed his teeth. And he went back into his bedroom and threw himself onto his bed.

He adjusted himself first, trying to get a good position for him to sleep in. Jude also snuggled into his sheets.

When he was in a satisfactory position, Jude slowly began to drift off into sleep.

His eyes slowly started to close.

And soon Jude was completely overcome by sleep.

Yet, his thoughts were of what lay ahead.


A/N:

-Again, I am so happy with the positive turnout for this story.

-So review, fave, or give feedback. It is very much appreciated and thanks for reading this chapter.