A/N: I should be studying for my finals…lol.

Anyway, if any reader wants to request more scenes for one specific character, leave me a review with the guy's name, or description if you don't remember it. I'm pretty flexible with this fanfic and I'm letting things develop freely. For example, I didn't even plan for Daniel to play such a big role.

The One

Chapter 4 – "First Tension"

Erika Klause, seventeen years of age, had always been home schooled up till then. It had been an agreement made with her parents that they will allow her to attend any academy of her choosing, given that she complied with their strict supervision over her education until she reached the age of seventeen.

She hadn't known that it was considered unusual for a girl of her station to know about sword fighting. Being the only child of her current family, the father only had her to share some of his interests with.

And by the courtesy of the students' rumor network in place at Rosenstolz Academy, Erika had something to blame if she managed to fail her first exam.

Couldn't…even…focus…argh!

"Ehhh?"

Erika looked up from her sulking at the sound of a tinkling voice hovering over her.

"So you're the one named Erika?" the short and flamboyantly dressed girl standing next to her desk asked in a drawling and naturally loud voice.

"Um…yes?" Erika answered unsurely.

She had never seen hair that shade of pink, a deep magenta color in a mass of heavy, flawless ringlets parted to both sides of the girl's head. Ribbons in a lighter shade of pink adorned everything a ribbon could be considered suitable adorning on her body. Her cheeks were rosy, and her pink lips set in a natural pout. Her large, brown eyes displayed a mixture of curiosity and haughtiness as she stared down.

"It's Marin…" Erika heard a fellow female classmate whisper to another.

"Marin spoke to her."

"Poor girl."

H-…Huh!?

"Oh my, what pretty nails! Where do you get them done?" the girl, who Erika presumed must be 'Marin', gushed as she leaned over her outstretched hands on the desk.

"Um…I-…" Erika was about to explain that she did her own nails, but that plan was stopped short when Marin picked up one of her hands and licked the nails of her index and middle finger.

KYAAAH!

That caused all the hairs on the back of her neck to stand upright in shock. She was still frozen when the sympathetic whispers behind her back were exchanged.

"Marin, huh? She's doomed." "Now she's done for."

Those whisperings were the least of her worries. The girl, Marin, glanced down at her with an unusually cruel expression on a teenage lady's face.

"You should quit this school, if you know what's good for you," the deep magenta haired girl told her forebodingly. Erika felt chills crawling up her spine.

"S-s-sorry?" Erika hoped she had heard wrong.

"I said," Marin repeated exasperatedly, a sinister fake smile plastered on her face, "that you have no right to attend this academy."

With a graceful, lady-like twirl of her skirt, the pink-haired girl spun around and exited the classroom.

It's strange, the way her words stung more than the others'. Maybe it was due to the fact that she was the only one who said something to her face, while the others only talked behind her back.

Tears were beginning to prickle at the corner of her eyes.

I-…I can't stand this!

"Where are you going? Hey-! Break is over!" her classroom teacher called after her as she grabbed her bag and ran.

"Whoa-!" Ed exclaimed when she collided into him in the hallway. "Hey-!" She didn't take notice or even remember to stop and apologize. He stared after her in concern as she ran off in the opposite direction.

"Wasn't that-…?"

"Here, use this."

The person who held out the handkerchief to her was the red-eyed and snowy-haired Strahl candidate Camus.

Erika stared up at him with wide eyes. She didn't think any student will come by where she was hiding inside the garden during class hours.

"I'm sorry," Camus offered his sincere apology upon noticing her surprise. "You wanted to be left alone?"

His brow was knitted with worry, and he remained in his half-crouching position, still holding out his handkerchief in one hand.

"N-no…I…" Erika reached out and accepted his kind offer. It strangely reminded her of a reverse situation of how it had been the previous evening. The boy seemed to think so, too, for he smiled and sat down on the pavement next to her.

"I will stay with you, if you don't mind."

"H-huh?" Erika flustered. "But Camus-sama, you shouldn't be missing class!" Uh huh, like she was one to talk.

"It's alright," the gentle-voiced boy assured her. "The Strahl candidate class schedules are different. Besides…" He looked over at her with smiling eyes. "I've been told that a kind-hearted girl was in need of some company."

It took her a long time to make sense of what he was saying, but the smile never faded from Camus' lips.

"Eh you mean…me?" Suddenly horrified, Erika bolted up. "Whaaaat!? I've been seen!? Who is it!?" she demanded to know in panic. Yes, rather than taking – or even registering – a compliment, she was better at being disturbed by the little things.

"Um…ah…" Camus thought about trying to calm the girl, but seeing that she was pacing in agitated circles while talking to herself, he felt that it might be too much for him to handle.

"Yo," Ed's voice ran out. "There you are, Erika!"

Eh…

Erika turned to see the caramel-skinned Strahl candidate waving an arm at her from over the hedges.

Ed-sama? Looking for me？

"Ah, your name is Erika?" Camus asked in his pleasant voice.

She remembered what a horrid lie she had told him.

"I'm-…I'M SOOOORRY!"

Her dramatic reaction caused him to rise up anxiously. "Er… It-it's alright; you don't have to grovel…"

"Oh? Camus, you're here, too?" Ed observed as he slowed from his jog. "Mind if I borrow Erika for a while?"

"No," Camus assured him, shaking his head. "Go ahead."

"Come on, it's good to take breaks from studying," Ed declared, despite the fact that she wasn't studying at the moment. He grabbed hold of her arm and led her away.

"Huh? Wait! Ed-sama-!"

S-somebody, save me!

"Erm… This may be a bit late, but…" Ed ran a hand through his long, spiky auburn hair. "Is this your first time on a horse?"

"Of-of course not!" Erika denied fervently, finally having garnered enough courage to lift her body upright in the saddle. "What gave you that idea?"

"…" Ed covered his mouth with one hand and tried to stifle a laugh. "Oh, I don't know. Just a guess?"

Erika followed the direction of his gaze and realized that she had mounted facing the wrong way!

"Ah!"

"Whoa! Whoa!" the tall, green-eyed Strahl candidate soothed the beast as it protested the girl's sudden movements as she tried to set herself in the right position.

"Here, maybe you should ride sidesaddle after all." With one smooth motion, Ed heaved himself onto the saddle behind her, adjusting his hands on the reign so that his arms were encircling her.

"How's that? Any better?" he asked playfully.

"Um t-that-that's fine," Erika said hurriedly. However, she couldn't hide her distress once the horse started moving, ending up clinging desperately to the rolled-up sleeve of his navy blue uniform. "Ahhh…."

"Oh?" Ed piped up at once. "Don't tell me…you're actually afraid of horses?"

Erika shook her head fiercely from side to side, but that didn't seem to fool Ed.

"Ahahaha!" He laughed heartily, pulling on the reigns. "Shall I show you how fast this one runs?"

"KYAAA!"

Ludwig let his book shut with an unhappy 'thud'.

The majority of the other studying students present in the same reading room have been sneaking nervous glances over at his high seat next to one of the long, arched windows. They have been anticipating his reaction for quite some time.

"…What is that infernal racket?" the purple-eyed 'demon king', as he was nicknamed by a few fellow students, demanded to know, although it was unlikely that he expected a response.

"Naoji," he addressed the raven-haired Strahl candidate standing behind him with the usual drawl on the pronunciation of his Japanese name. "Is there something outside which draws your interest?" Ludwig asked without even sparing a look back.

"Ah…no…" Naoji withdrew his hand with a soft smiling sigh, and let the heavy dark curtain fall back into place.

It seemed like Erika and Ed were enjoying themselves.

"Hey, check it out, Daniel!" Nicholas motioned for the light magenta-haired man to come to him over at the next window. "Isn't that the girl who bested you in swordplay?" the guy asked, grinning.

"My, my…don't tease him," Elmunt advised, also approaching his side. "But, she really is something, being able to last out on you for longer than a minute," Elmunt couldn't help adding in, himself.

"Why…you…!" Daniel couldn't see why his friends found it so amusing. The two were exchanging smirks before his eyes again. Whatever it was, he had better not play into their hands.

"I'm going to get some air," Daniel told them, his purple eyes stern. "Don't follow me."

"Oh dear," Elmunt commented as the door to the reading room shut tightly behind Daniel. He couldn't, however, suppress a chuckle when he saw that Nicholas was snickering.

Their proud and calculating companion might just be starting to behave like a boy his age should be.

"Are you sure you're alright now?" Ed asked her again, just to be sure.

"Y-ye-yes, Ed-sama," Erika reassured him, still trying to find her bearing. Her head was still spinning from the ride. "Please don't worry about me! I should get back to class or else-…" She suddenly remembered her manners.

"I-! I am very grateful to Ed-sama for cheering me up!" Erika told him quickly with a low bow. "Thank you very much!"

"Oh? It was a pleasure!" Ed called back, waving one hand as he led his horse away. "We'll do it again sometime!"

That promise somewhat diminished the happy feeling for her, but still…

Ed-sama is so kind…

Her peaceful thoughts were interrupted by sudden, scornful words.

"Skipping class to hit on a Strahl candidate? So you're one of those."

Erika spun around to face him. He was leaning with arms folded against one white marble column, and it looked like he had been there for some time.

"Ah-you are-…! You are-…er…" It was the light, bushy magenta haired boy with the serious purple eyes from that morning. However, she racked through her memory and failed to grasp onto a name. "Um…"

To make it worse, he didn't seem too happy that she couldn't remember.

"S-sorry…" Erika apologized meekly.

"Why are you pretending to be meek all of a sudden?" Daniel frowned distrustfully. "You can't pass as a lady even if you act like that. Seriously, the way you held the sword was not even elegant-"

"I'm afraid I disagree, Daniel."

Erika startled at the sight of aquamarine blue eyes and platinum blonde hair.

"I think the sword radiates the strength of the heart, regardless of how you hold it."

His words, or his voice, or even his entire presence, emitted a tranquil, divine aura. His lukewarm gaze seemed to be absorbing her into its blue depths.

"Here's what Camus wanted to pass on to you," the Strahl candidate Orpherus informed her, presenting the schoolbag she had left behind when Ed had dragged her away from the garden earlier.

"And he told me to say," the handsome blonde youth continued, "that 'Erika' is a name which suits you better."

Erika felt two streaks of heat rise across her cheeks. That seemed to be a common occurrence whenever Orpherus was close to her. "S-sorry…" she said, bowing her head and letting her thick blonde hair cover both sides of her face.

"What are you apologizing for?" Orpherus asked curiously, and to her dismay, had lowered himself to her eye-level while at it.

"I-I mean-! Thank you very much!"

I'm so…embarrassed…always relying on others like this…

"Excuse me!" she said bluntly, darting off into the building.

…

"Oh my," Elmunt said, having witnessed the scene from the open hallway of second floor. "What a mess."

"Who would have thought that even Daniel has his weak points," Nicholas agreed from beside him. "Well, let's head back before he finds out that we followed him."

The two men exchanged a smirk as they left the side of the railing.

"Should we lend him a hand?"