They sat at a booth, the sun still moderately high in the sky, light filtering in through the sheer curtains at the Ramen restaurant. Jeanne was pressed up against the window, her body sunken into the booth bench and arms on the table, fingers tapping away slowly as she waited for her order. She had spaced out, thinking about school but most importantly; the agency.
"So, Gilles has told be all about you." Her thoughts were cut short when she heard the giddy voice of the young adult on the bench across from her.
Jeanne straightened her back and sat up, letting her gaze leave the window watch and settle on the brown-eyed man. She had already determined that she did not like the look in his eyes, nor the overtly-bright smile he held.
Ryuunosuke had his flame orange hair limp on his head, sometimes disrupting the view from his eyes. Albeit, his hair did look soft and well kept, in fact, the boy himself looked very well mannered. His clean white shirt was over layered with a simple royal purple button up, which was ironed and spotless.
Maybe she had made a mistake that night. Maybe he honestly did want to help her brother and was leading him with honest intentions.
The only thing that made him look a little different than your average University-dead-inside-student were the two piercings on his left ear—but that was common nowadays. Many people got multiple piercings.
The odd feeling in the girl's gut persisted, "Ah." She did not have an idea about how to respond.
"You pray a lot?" He asked, his hand holding his head as he leaned on the table.
Jeanne gave a courteous nod, not moving anymore than that.
Ryuunosuke grinned, "Good girl, aren't you?"
"Yes."
Silence seeped into the booth; Gilles had gone to the washroom and had left her alone with the new acquaintance—which she dreaded.
"Hey," he gasped, "aren't you that kid's sister? The one I saw wondering around at night? Yeah! That's you! Oh, man, was that a while ago now, huh?"
"Thank you for finding him." Her voice came out much harsher than intended but, you must know, it was the feeling in her gut.
The boy shook his head, his shinny-straight tooth smile widening, "No problem, girly. My pleasure. But, you know... You oughta be careful around this time of year with that little squirt. Lots of people have been snatching the children these days, isn't that right, big guy?"
Gilles had just made it to the booth, taking his place next to his best friend, a quizzical look on his face, "What?"
Jeanne sat still for a second, big guy? It was a rather odd nickname for a high schooler by a post secondary kid.
"Just that Jeannie here should be careful." The man responded, leaning back into the chair and shooting them both a smile.
"Oh! Tell Jeanne what you study! She was curious earlier." Gilles grinned, leaning on the table with his elbows and looking over at the blonde.
"I'm glad you asked, big guy!" He immediately turned to Jeanne following this, "I major in Anatomy and Minor in both Sculpting and Occult History; all about that weird blood ritual stuff and how it helped build modern society."
Alright, so that was outright creepy and there was no way that there wasn't a red flag already going up, but hey! Let the kid have his hobbies, "Interesting..."
"Well, isn't this your last year guys? What do you think of going into?"
"Anatomy, but I think I'll follow Jeanne to wherever she goes." Gilles did not even hesitate for a single second.
Gilles and Ryuunosuke exchanged a quick high five before they turned to her for her response.
She had been thinking about this certain question for a while now. She didn't have much that she truly like enough to pursue, but whenever she thought, a certain idea always popped into her mind, "Military. I want to return to France and join the military there."
"Woah! Sounds cool!" The man exclaimed just as their food arrived, a young woman setting the ramen on the table accordingly, "It's good to be a strong woman these days."
Jeanne did not reply. Instead, she decided to pay attention to her warm food, picking up a pair of chopsticks and digging in. She did not speak for the rest of the dinner, clearly avoiding the conversation between the two males about school and other hobbies.
"Well," Jeanne blinked, "I'll be going now." She said as she waved at them, little to no emotion in her voice. There were many factors that played into her unusual cold demeanour.
1. Ryuunosuke gave her an odd feeling.
2. She was dead tired, what with happened the previous night.
3. Her brother was becoming much stricter as of late.
"But, we should go the same way, we do live in Miyama."
"Well, actually," Jeanne rubbed her neck, the dark eyes of both men before her making her uneasy, "I joined an after school curricular, I go every once in a while."
Gilles furrowed his brows, "You never mentioned it before..." He mumbled, "How about we take you, then?"
Jeanne blinked, "Uh, no it's okay, don't worry!" She shook her head.
"Big Guy's right. It's late, you know, and it's no time for a girl to be going into the city alone." Ryuunosuke agreed, leaning his arm against the taller boy's shoulder.
The blonde forced a smile, "It's fine, I'm stronger than I look."
The dark-haired boy huffed at her stubbornness, "Hey, you know, don't you remember those weird people we saw at the park, what if you meet them again? They're dangerous."
"Honestly," she sighed, "I'm alright, and I'll be fine. Plus, I'm sure I won't run into the again all out of the blue. I'll call you when I get there if it makes you feel any better."
"O-okay, fine. But don't forget to call."
"I won't," she shot her best friend a smile and waved him goodbye before hurrying across the lonely street.
She looked back at the males and finally made her way towards the agency. She made sure they didn't go after her by making too many unnecessary turns. She had already riffled through her bag for her staff and found it within its vast purple fabric depths.
If she had recalled correctly, the agency was right around the corner.
"Umf!" She bumped into someone, stumbling backwards, a sharp pain in her upper arm.
"Watch where you're going, weasel!" A man turned towards her, frown on this pale lips and red eyes glaring her down.
"F-forgive me." She bowed, shooting back up as she recognized the man. She stopped, blinked, and then looked him over. It had to be him, right? Obviously, it was a different nickname, but the face was hazy in her mind.
The man wore an odd black and white half jacket, black pants and a white shirt. His ruby eyes were sometimes obstructed by the light wind that blew his golden hair. He looked awfully familiar...
His demeaning eyes flickering with amazement for a single second before hardening again, "Yeah, whatever mutt."
Even his speech rung a bell but it was odd she couldn't place a name.
"Watch what you say, Gil." It was only then that she realized there was a girl in front of him—a short girl.
Green eyes peered around the man known as 'Gil', a beautiful sight that they were with specs of yellow mixed in. Her skin was flawless and golden strands fell nearly from her head, "I apologize for him, he thinks himself great."
Gil? Oh, my gosh! It's the King of Heroes! Jeanne gave a shy smile, "It was my fault, though, and I am very sorry."
The short girl stepped forward, past the tall blond, upon fully seeing Jeanne, she blinked, "It was not his place to be so hostile."
"Stop speaking as if I'm not here," the male interrupted, "I can hear every word you speak, Arturia."
"That is the exact issue, Gil," she deadpanned, "You are still here."
Yes, these two were the mighty King of Heroes and King of Knights for sure. The bickering gave the female away.
"What an absolute lack of respect," Gil growled, "I should have you tie up for those nasty words."
"Ignore him, please," The King of Knights pleaded, "He never seems to be in his right mind."
It was odd to see them casually dressed—just like any regular teenager. The young girl wore a pair of sweatpants and a long sleeve shirt which threw Jeanne off because how one earth were these thebest heroes in, basically, the world?they were just kids.
"Well, you should be on your way, again, I apologize on his behalf," the green-eyed girl spoke with grace and confidence, "Forgive us for holding you here."
"No problem," Jeanne smiled, brushing her hair behind her ear, "And there is really no need to apologize."
"I assure you that there definitely is," the King of Knights nodded.
"Arturia, I thought I told you that we were ought to be going on our date right now." Gil sneered.
Arturia, as the King of Knights seemed to be called, glared ahead, not at anything in particular, her jaw clenching and a frown on her lips, "Not a date, we're running errands."
Jeanne remained silent until the pair headed off, she made sure that they had rounded the corner before stealthily making her way through some maze-like alleyways to get right to the door of the Agency. There were a few security features here and there which she had to overcome—like a fake wall and a few traps.
She went through some more features, her identification and finally the door opened; revealing to her a wide and long hallway. The white tile floors brightly reflected the intense LED lights, whilst the grey walls led her down to another door. It seemed cold, to an extent, but comforting—the Agency was there for helping people, and that's what comforted her. Before she went any further, she placed on her mask, after rifling through her bag; also, pulling out the staff in the process.
"Oh," she jumped at the deep voice, nearly falling back onto her rear yet again, "You must be Bazette's little recruit." Jeanne looked up to see a man completely clad in black, a long dark coat to his mid-calves. There was stubble on his chin and a lifeless look in his eyes. In his right hand was a single cigarette while the other held what looked like a pistol.
He brushed his coat aside, placing the pistol in its case, extending his right hand after switching the position of the cigarette, "Kiritsugu." He introduced himself, "Master of the two Child Kings."
"Child Kings?" She furrowed her brows, taking into a lot of caution the hand that was extended to her for the reason of the gun.
Kiritsugu sighed, "King of Knights and the King of Heroes."
"Oh," she gave a soft laugh, "I see."
"Did you, perhaps, see them around?" He asked, a small flash of emotion flickering in his eyes—most likely curiosity.
She gave a slight nod, "They just recently left. Something about a date, I think?"
Kiritsugu seemed to roll his eyes, aware of what she meant, "I keep telling him to leave her be, this kid never listens."
Jeanne watched as the Japanese man stormed off, most likely trying to catch up to the young Adults she ran into. She did not even have the chance to bid a farewell before she was standing alone in the hallway once more.
The obstacle course still seemed killer, and she was only able to get past two out of the seven stages. There was no way she could climb that wall without a harness. Her trainer had encouraged her a couple of times, assuring her he would catch her if she fell but it was a little bell that interrupted them.
The First Knight looked down at his wrist, the watch on it blinking, "Hey, Pucelle, do not climb the wall yet, I have to take this call, okay?"
Jeanne nodded, sinking down next to the following obstacle. She watched as the man stepped aside and pressed a small button on the watch before the voice of a young man came through.
"Where are you?" The boy through the watch asked.
"Miss Antoinette has yet to tell you, master Waver? I am training a recruit we have." The handsome man replied.
There was a short grunt, "Mind if you leave them for a bit? There seems to be an issue in the Miyama district, there is a problem at the school—Alex needs your help."
"Right now?"
"Yes, right now, please Love Spot?" Waver, as he seemed to be called, answered hurriedly.
"Anything for my master." The Lancer responded, heading back towards Jeanne.
A sigh of relief from his master's part, "Alex can learn a thing or two from you. Thanks again,"
Jeanne jumped to her feet, holding her staff tightly in her hand, "Are you leaving?" She asked.
The young man nodded, "Yeah, I'm sorry. There's seems to be a problem at the high school."
"Can I come with?" She asked, her violet eyes blinking up at him.
He shook his head, "Marie would not approve."
Jeanne frowned, her brows furrowed in exasperation. She wanted to be a part of the action. She did not want people to go through what she had gone through with Jack. She feared having to find the body of a woman at the expanses of a child serial killer, "How else will I learn how to fight in the field? How else will I know how to transform?"
"You were nearly killed like two days ago, what is going on with you, Jehanette?" The boy glared at her.
"What?" She tilted her head, holding back her gasp.
He blinked, covering his mouth immediately, recognizing the great mistake he made, "N-nothing."
"How do you know who I am?"
