Manu259: Glad you seem so excited. I'm happy to hear from you again, thank you. Yeah, it's definitely small. Especially for someone like me who won't read a story unless it's Rean/Fie or Rean/Harem, or just some kind of fic with no romance and the characters just bonding or such. Mine? One of the best? I mean there aren't a whole lot to choose from, but even still, that's high praise. Probably too high for me to deserve it, honestly. However, I thank you ever so much for it regardless, as I'll admit, it definitely makes me feel good. :) So, thanks again.
Yep, more backstory, with even more to come, in fact. For childhood flashbacks, we've still got a few left before I'm out of them. And then...well, let's just say I've got some stuff up my sleeve and leave it at that for now. Yeah, Rean can be pretty oblivious at times, that's just how it is. It's almost jarring sometimes though, considering how perceptive he can be at other times. Pretty much, big ol' softie Crow, ya gotta love him. As for him taking Rean down a dark path...well, I'll just keep quiet on that one. (Mwahahahaha!)
Thank you for reading and reviewing, it really means a lot to me. I hope I can get some more out soon as well, we'll just have to see how things go though. See ya, hopefully, soon after this goes up.
legok2007: Thanks. I'm glad. I'll do my best.
Apex85: I can see where you're coming from, but I'll be standing by my decision on that. I, at the least, think Patrick knew, everything considered. Again, could be dead wrong, but having played the game through four or five times at least, that's the conclusion I've come to. Sorry if this comes off as rude, that's not my intention. I find it rather difficult to portray tone through text without descriptor words or going through the motions of describing facial expressions and such. My bad. :P Basically, I'm saying let's agree to disagree. Cool? :)
I'm happy you like the flashbacks so much, thank you. Well she'll be happy, of course. Jealous as well...you know what, I'll just leave it at that and let you see for yourself when the time comes. XP
Grey Hawx: Really? Cool. I'm happy you managed to find it, and quite glad you like it.
That's quite the compliment, thank you. :) Fie is best girl, on that we can agree.
Thanks, though I don't feel there was all that much change, besides the participants and the inclusion of Warrick. I plan to ramp up the changes as the story goes on, starting small and working bigger and bigger as time goes on. It's just gonna start real slow first. As for Rean and Fie's histories, they're not the only ones I plan on expanding upon..ah, I've said too much. I'll shut up now. XP
Heero De Fanel: Yeah, you've got a point there. I mentioned some NPCs, I wouldn't really call that showing them love. Now, some of the things I have in mind later for certain ones, such as Rex and Vivi, that will definitely be me showing the NPCs some love. I'm glad you enjoyed the flashback. :) I enjoyed writing it, it was my favorite part of the chapter, in fact. Pretty much, yeah, never know how things will be influenced by the smallest of changes. Oh trust me, I've got some good stuff planned for the next field study, as for the Old Schoolhouse, well, I have good stuff planned for that as well, but more off and on than not.
On the subject from above about expanding backstories, just as a general note to my readers, I plan on giving myself leeway with certain people's backstories and the abilities and powers of the Legend Of Heroes universe. So while not immediately, I will eventually play around with what kind of abilities and powers that do and don't exist within the games. As much as I'd like to stick strictly to the core rules and principles of the games and their lore, I feel a little bending of said rules here and there is more than acceptable, as long as do my best to stay within bounds, even if it's just barely. That won't be happening for awhile, I think, so it's not relevant at the moment, but it eventually will be. I just wanted to get out ahead of it, before it started occurring within the story. And...that's pretty much all I have to say on the matter. Moving on.
Once more, allow me to thank all those who reviewed, and allow me to thank those who have added this story to their favorites and alerts since the last update as well. Haveltherock3, mattw2017, linksword01, Eseelti, Valimar, kuroinekomata, Flavius001, GloriousAzure, 1sttehb, Grey Hawx, c039, LeDeepThought, Xenixith, thank you!
Now then, please read, review and enjoy.
ACT I - CHAPTER II - PART II
...
The sun had just barely begun to set, as a certain raven-haired swordsman plopped down onto the middle bench of the Thors Military Academy courtyard.
"That could have gone better." Rean remarked aloud to himself with a heavy sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose in annoyance as he did.
Needless to say, the third ever excursion into the depths of the old schoolhouse did not go well. It had started off fine, with some banter shared between the members of the group as they found a device that acted as some sort of elevator, and after messing with it for a handful or so of moments got it to take them to the next floor down, which didn't exist last time mind you. Fie and Laura did not participate in said banter, for obvious reasons, however, they did nothing to bring the boys down or disrupt the flow of conversation, or the rate of progress they quickly established in exploring this sudden new floor. They even responded when they were spoken to directly, pleasantly, in fact. They just simply did their best to ignore each other the whole time, which was not a short length.
Things took a turn for the worse though when they reached the end of the floor, where another tough fiend appeared to combat them, or rather, three fiends. Each was identical, looking almost like cocooned moths made of greenish-brown stone, with a single green gem-like eye located in the middle of what was most likely their foreheads. The six teens acted swiftly and formed combat links and attempted to take on the creatures, trying to evenly split up and have two of them to fight each one of the beasts. This was little more than a waste of time, as it turned out, as the fiends favored attacking in tandem, and as such, quickly forced the students to scrap their original plan and engage the monsters on their terms, all at once. Now, that wouldn't have been so bad, as the danger wouldn't have been anything out of the norm, as they had definitely taken on tougher monsters, Grunoja came to mind, even accounting for the fact that there were three of the things. However, this six man team was not coordinating quite as well as they should have been. And despite Elliot and Machias's lack of combat experience, in relation to their fellow teens, it wasn't the two of them who were screwing things up.
No, instead it was Fie and Laura. It was by no means their intention to impede their teammates or each other, however, the two were stepping all over each other's metaphorical toes during the battle, resulting in sloppy, for the top two fighters anyway, attempts to coordinate movement and attacks. The situation was only exacerbated further when the two girls combat link proceeded to break, seemingly out of the blue. With it severed, their timing, in relation to each other at least, deteriorated to an even greater degree, not to mention the momentary shock the severing of their link caused the group. Which the fiends capitalized on, pushing them back and nearly seriously injuring Machias in doing so. Thankfully, Rean and Gaius were in position to put two of the moth-like stone creatures out of commission, reducing the threat to a minimal level, only one of them remaining. And that surviving fiend was swiftly put down as well, thanks to the combined efforts of Elliot and Machias.
The skirmish having come to an abrupt end, the six students were left with an air of uneasy tension and silence, no one saying a word. Adding fuel to the fire, the two females in question, now that the fighting was no longer going on, had begun calmly glaring at one and other. They weren't boring holes into each other, but there was certainly some animosity in their eyes, that was for sure. Whatever their problem was, it became evident that it had been magnified by the blunder they had just experienced. In short, if it was possible, their relationship had soured even further. It was because of this that Elliot and Machias both found themselves hesitant to speak, unsure if their words would cause the situation to grow volatile. Gaius would have said something, but he could see Rean was going to do so, and as such chose to hold back.
"What was that?" Rean had asked of them, perplexed and concerned.
Their failure to synchronize their movements in a correct manner, not to mention the severing of their combat link, was a little disconcerting to the others. After all, with the exception of Rean and Fie, it was the young former jaeger and Laura who had the easiest time linking together. As childhood friends, the swordsman and the ex-jaeger could link just about automatically, while for the latter of the two and the swordswoman, it only required the absolute bare minimum of effort for them to sync up. So it was rather bizarre for the second most proficient, by far, of the established link-pairs to experience such a trip-up. Which simply made their quarrel with one and other all the more obvious, as why else would they be having such difficulties, other than that they had some sort of contention between them?
It was clear neither girl would answer Rean, so he dropped it for the moment. "Fine. That ends our venture down here for today. Let's head back up before someone ends up getting hurt."
Which led to the current point in time, with Rean sitting on the bench in the courtyard, Fie having wandered off somewhere, Gaius, Elliot and Machias having headed back to the dorms and Laura having gone off to the gym to be alone.
'It's time to sort this out.' With that thought in mind, Rean stood up. Having decided he was going to figure out what this was all about, he turned his attention toward the gym, and he began to move his feet.
Rean caught sight of her in short order, the swordswoman practicing sword katas in the Fencing Club room. The actual members of said club were absent, leaving the two classmates as the only people even in the gym. 'She's really concentrating...' He noted mentally. 'Well, I can't see any downsides to watching Laura train. Maybe I'll even learn a thing or two...' The diffident swordsman thought to himself, having decided he'd let her finish her set before speaking with her.
...
Rean's spectating only lasted a few short minutes, as Laura finished her set of katas with two quick strokes of her blade and, with a cry of effort, a final revolving slash, extending a full three hundred sixty degrees.
Laura exited her stance and stood up straight, inhaling through her nose, before exhaling deeply out of her mouth. It was then her attention was pulled to the spot behind her, where she found her fellow blade wielder politely clapping, the noise of which let her know he was there.
"Haha, impressive as always, Laura." Rean complimented her.
"Oh, Rean. I didn't see you come in." Was Laura's response as she put her blade away, a little surprised she hadn't noticed his presence.
The dark-haired boy chuckled at this. "Sorry. I saw you practicing and couldn't help but stand and watch." He replied. "I didn't want to break your concentration with some big greeting, either. I'm glad I didn't, because your form was spectacular." He continued with a small smile.
"That's very kind of you, Rean." Laura said pleasantly. "But there's no need to lie. You're a skilled enough swordsman to have seen the uncertainty in my every swing just now." She bluntly called out his white lie.
Rean sighed at that. "Sorry. I didn't mention it because it wasn't all that noticeable. I figured since that was the case, I should just ignore it." He explained himself. "I guess I was out of line."
"I understand your desire to protect my feelings, but I still have a ways to go. There's nothing more to it." The well-spoken swordswoman stated. "I was hoping that practice would clear my mind, but unfortunately, that was not the case." The blue-haired noble bemoaned, more to herself than her classmate.
"I don't think I need to ask what has you troubled, seeing as I witnessed it myself firsthand." Rean started. "That said, would you mind telling me what exactly the problem is? I mean, I have an idea, but if I don't know the details, it's rather doubtful I'll be of any help."
Laura took a moment to digest that, clearly thinking over whether or not it would be best to talk about it. It didn't take long for her to come to a decision though. "Alisa told me that, as Fie's elder, I shouldn't let my emotions get to me so much." She began. "That's a perfectly reasonable expectation, however, I find myself failing to do so time after time." The seventeen year old admitted. "I suppose this means I'm more hotheaded than I had originally thought." The blue-haired girl acknowledged this fact, a pensive expression now upon her face.
"Laura, listen...this problem you have with Fie, it stems from her past as a jaeger, doesn't it?" Rean voiced his theory as to why this schism had occurred between the two girls.
Laura immediately lowered her gaze to the floor, as she went quiet for a number of moments, silence filling the air for a long time before any noise penetrated it. Eventually, the noble-born girl worked up the nerve to answer. "It is...difficult to separate Fie from my preconceptions of jaegers." She unbosomed herself to Rean, guilt flooding her tone, raising her head to meet her fellow sword wielder's gaze once more. "I am fully aware that this is just prejudice on my part, born of atrocities committed by persons who have no connections with her in any way, shape or form. It was not Fie that performed all those awful acts, I am aware of this, I know it. And yet..." It was then that she hesitated, unsure if she wished to continue. "I cannot bring myself to accept her." She suddenly confessed, forcing her way past her hesitance.
Lowering her head in shame, the swordswoman's usual strong, clear voice, became almost demure as she continued to speak. "Her path in life is simply irreconcilable with mine. She comes from what is completely antithetical to the way of the knight. And as a result...my heart and mind reject her very existence." She confided, the shame and guilt compounding as she spoke the truth of her feelings aloud.
Silence...
Laura could not bring herself to lift her head, lest she face the negative emotions she sure she was stirring within the boy across from her. After all, he was close to Fie, very close.
No response came from him, and yet, Laura could already pick up on his reaction, as his aura had shifted, and it certainly wasn't in a positive way...
Fists clenched tight, Rean bit his tongue, both metaphorically and literally, as he held his anger back. To hear someone say such things about a girl so precious to him, it did not make it easy to keep his emotions in check. Exasperation, annoyance and embarrassment, Fie and Crow had made him feel these things openly and against his self-imposed policy of reservedness. With the exception of Fie informing him of how she had been abandoned, this was the first time he had felt angry in spite of himself and his efforts to continuously reign his feelings in. Still, he kept the nature of his feelings to himself for the most part, able to keep his expression calm.
Not that such a thing kept Laura from figuring it out, having already done so. An even if she hadn't, as she looked back up at him, she would know without a doubt. As a none too kind look in his eyes was waiting for her, that combined with his tightly clenched fists made it clear how he felt toward her at the moment. "You have my sincerest apologies, Rean." The sincerity in her voice was almost staggering, genuine in her expression of apology. The guilt and shame hadn't gone anywhere, shining through her eyes as she continued. "I know that you must be livid with me. I am talking about your best friend, after all."
At that Rean proceeded to take in a deep breath, before exhaling very slowly. As he did, his fists came unclenched, and his eyes returned to their sympathetic and friendly state. "Look, I'm not going to pretend I understand how you feel, nor am I going to judge you for feeling this way in the first place. I know Fie, I understand what kind of person she is. You, on the other hand, don't have a clue." He stated bluntly. "Otherwise, you wouldn't be having such a hard time of it trying to see her as separate from other jaegers. It's because of that that I can see where you're coming from." He informed her. "I think you know that, at least to some degree right? Otherwise, you'd have said all this directly to Fie." He surmised.
Laura nodded her head in confirmation. "Yes. I have no desire to say such things to her. They would be beyond hurtful, and with the way she's been acting with the other students, I do not wish to add onto their undoubtedly unkind words. Unfortunately, I felt I needed to get it off my chest, which is why with your prompting, I unloaded onto you. I'm sorry for that." She apologized once more, the genuineness of her sincerity not having faded in the slightest.
"It's okay, I don't mind, really." He assured her with a tiny smile. It wasn't forced, but it was almost strained, as while he truly didn't mind listening and talking to her, the topic had grated on him.
"But, I will say that I don't think there's any need to force yourself to be any more of an adult than you are." He told her suddenly.
"What?" Was Laura's eloquent response, which was rather uncharacteristic of her, showing how confused she was by the words.
"You're trying so hard to act like an adult, when you don't need to. For one thing, we're not adults!" Rean attempted to stress this fact. "We're students, and we're here in part to learn how to be adults." He tried to get this point across to her. "It's like swordsmanship. No matter how hard you train, you can't rush mastery." Rean analogized. "These things take time, right? That's why I don't think you should try to will yourself into adulthood." He elucidated.
"Rean..." While it wasn't much, Laura did feel some of her guilt and shame ebb away. It made her feel the slightest bit better, and she quite appreciated that.
"If you ever need to clear your mind, just give me a call. We're both pursuing the way of the sword, so the least I can do is spar with you every once in a while." The seventeen year old boy remarked.
Laura couldn't help but chuckle at this. "It's funny, that was actually what I was going to ask you earlier this month." She informed him. "I've been wanting to spar with you for a little while now."
"If you want, we could go at it right now." The diffident swordsman offered.
"No, that won't be necessary." Laura assured him "I'd like to take the time to think things over on my own today."
"That's perfectly fine." He replied.
"I do appreciate your offer, though...and I'll be sure to take you up on it once I've resolved my current concerns." Laura stated with confidence, a small smile forming on her face.
"Got it. Really looking forward to that."
"Haha. Thank you, Rean."
With their little heart to heart at an end, Rean moved to leave the fencing club room, but just before he did, he turned back and gave one last remark. "In time, you and Fie will come to an understanding. When that happens, I have no doubt that you two will be closer than ever." He reassured Laura. And with that, he left.
While Rean hadn't exactly solved the problem between Fie and Laura, at least now he understood it better. That would go a long way in helping him resolve the conflict between them. And, having gotten one side of it, now he was going on to hear the other, straight from his childhood friend's mouth. Though, he was rather sure he already knew what it was. 'She's obviously picked up on Laura's feelings, among other things. It probably did more than just sting with how well they seemed to get along almost instantly. Something like that could make just about anyone lash out. The fact that this is only happening now...well, it just goes to show that Fie's just as good as bottling her feelings up as I am. Probably better, in fact.' He noted mentally, the thought sobering. 'She's had to do this just as long as I have, maybe even longer.' He further though to himself.
"That's probably part of the reason she's so desensitized to everything now." Rean spoke aloud suddenly. "She always was a quiet girl, but never quite this stoic." He remarked to himself. 'Then again, most of the credit almost undoubtedly goes to the horrors she's more than likely witnessed in her life as a jaeger. Not to mention the mental and emotional trauma that must have been inflicted the day she was abandoned...' His thoughts had taken a depressing turn, as for a moment, he imagined what she must have gone through.
Quickly enough though, he shook those thoughts from his mind. "Enough of that. I should be focusing on fixing this for now, lest our class end up with a Machias and Jusis two point oh." He told himself after a good shake of his head.
Coming to a stop, Rean took a moment to think, wondering where Fie could be. She wasn't in the courtyard or the flower garden, nor was she on the field or at the cafeteria. He honestly didn't even know if she was still on school grounds. 'There is one other spot on school grounds she could be at.' He thought then, beginning to move once more.
Making his way around the main building, he started on the path that led back into the forest where the old school house sat. 'It's possible she doubled back after everyone left.'
...
A few short minutes later, Rean came to the end of the path and the beginning of the clearing where the old schoolhouse resided. At first glance he couldn't spot any sign of Fie. That being the case, he decided he would simply try and feel her out, by attempting to sense her presence. He'd abstained from doing so until now, so as to see if he could locate her without it. 'I was pretty sure she'd be around here too...'
Before he could do anything however, his eardrums were filled with the sound akin to a single, strong beat of a heart, and he was suddenly overcome with a feeling of weakness, almost doubling over in an instant, just barely managing to retain his footing as this...almost burning sensation overcame him. "AH!" He gasped, as he took a sharp intake of oxygen, while simultaneously clutching at his chest. 'What...is this!?'
This sensation flowed through the entirety of his body, but it was mainly concentrated in his chest, seeming to spread out from there. Panic set in, his eyes widening as fear joined in, as this was wholly foreign to him. He had never been through anything like this before. The only thing that compared was- 'No, no, please, no!' Rean thought frantically, his mind's eye suddenly consumed with images of that night eight years ago.
Yet, then, as quick as it had appeared, it seemed to vanish, the weakness and burning dissipating completely in an instant. His body back to normal, Rean was able to stand back up straight, correcting his posture as he took in several calming breaths. 'What the heck just happened to me!?' He couldn't help but wonder, his heart slowing from it's rapid pace and slowly returning to it's normal rhythm.
It was then that his eyes found themselves drawn the dilapidated building across the way from him. And in that moment, even if it was just for a nanosecond, he was absolutely sure that whatever that had just been, it had somehow come from the old schoolhouse. Confusion and a mix of other emotions buzzing about inside, Rean failed to notice the presence behind him, until it made itself known by unceremoniously shoving him.
He ate dirt, hitting the ground face first and sliding forward a few inches. "Ugh." He groaned at the sudden and unexpected pain, as small amount as it was.
"Long time no see, Schwarzer." Came the sudden cool voice of whoever had just pushed him to the ground.
Annoyance, aggravation, curiosity, these were the immediate emotions that the diffident swordsman felt in that moment. The first two were more than self-explanatory, the third was due to him wondering who this guy could possibly be. Not recognizing the voice in the slightest, the whole incident that had just occurred was momentarily forgotten, as Rean rolled over onto his back, propping himself up on his elbows. This allowed him to get a good look at the person who'd decided it'd be fun to put his face in the dirt.
The person was male, was of average build and height for his age, clearly nineteen and a second year, and wore the white school uniform of a noble. He possessed fair skin, dark green eyes and a mop of light orange hair upon his scalp. He also wore a rather smug grin upon his face, not to mention the abundance of condescension swimming in his eyes.
In short, he clearly looked down upon Rean, as if he was some kind of lesser being and unworthy of his time.
'Whatever, that's fine. I've dealt with people like him before.' A spoiled noble who was looking to put his 'lessers' in their place was nothing new to the dark-haired boy. The thought of the teen being here to ridicule, mock and otherwise bully him didn't really bother the Schwarzer all that much.
What did bother him, however, was what he'd said. "I'm sorry." He apologized preemptively. "Do I know you?" He inquired, not bothering to get up yet.
The orange-haired noble's grin slipped a little at that. "Mocking me, are you?" He questioned semi-rhetorically.
"Nope." Rean denied simply. "I've just got no idea who you are." He informed the older boy.
The nineteen year old's grin fully fell away at that, replaced with a frown. "You don't remember me? You don't honestly expect me to believe that, do you?" Queried the pompous noble with a quirked brow. "One does not simply forget someone of my prestige." He stated matter-of-factly.
"Uh, yeah...like I said, I really have no clue. Sorry." He apologized once more, genuine in his words, just as he had been with his previous apology.
The condescension and holier than thou attitude seemed to amp up even higher, if that was possible, as the noble-born teen responded to that. "To honestly forget someone like me...how scatterbrained and idiotic can one person be?" He questioned once more, this time fully rhetorical. "Someone as pathetic as you would be lucky to even be mentioned in the same breath as me, and yet you dare to disremember who I am?" He haughtily demanded. "You're as disrespectful and pitiful as ever."
It was then that Rean recalled just who this guy was.
It had been a pretty simple affair. The Schwarzer family had been attending a soiree hosted by one of the four main houses. There, an hour or so in, it came to the young boy's attention that some punk was picking on his kid sister. He'd attempted to get the older boy, the noble child being thirteen years of age, to leave her alone as peacefully as possible. He'd told him straight up that it wasn't nice to pick on younger kids like that and to leave her alone. That didn't stop him, so Rean had asked why he couldn't simply be kind, and why he needed to pick on his little sister like that, she hadn't done anything. That's when the snot-nosed bastard had responded with...
"She is nothing but a lower-class wench, kindness would be wasted on her! She could hardly even be considered a noble anyways! The same goes for the entirety of the Schwarzer family!" He near shouted, his indignation crystal clear. "Not to mention she had the audacity to cause me to spill my drink all over myself! How useless and pathetic could she possibly be as to not be able to watch where she is going!?" He demanded pontifically. "Your 'sister' is clearly an unsophisticated shrew, who's only worth in life will to one day be some nobleman's broodmare or concubine!" The just barely turned thirteen noble finished, venom dripping from every syllable that left his mouth.
The verbal barrage had been incredibly difficult for the nine year old girl to endure, but she had held out in the face of it for the most part. However, during the final stretch, she could no longer hold back the tears, as she began to cry. As said tears streamed down her face and she began to openly sob, Rean decided he'd had enough.
He'd bit his tongue and stayed his hand, as he knew that to hit someone of this boy's stature and status would do nothing but make it even harder for his family. But to see his little sister, who'd helped take care of him for so long, opened her heart to him and treated him like a real big brother, he could no longer keep himself in check.
There was no fanfare for what followed, as an eleven year old Rean cocked back, and proceeded to deck the older boy square in the face.
"Oh, it's you." Rean said in sudden realization, the pleasant tone he'd been using up til now souring as he got up off the ground and back onto his feet.
"Of course it's me! How could someone possibly forget about Verrat Cayenne, son of Duke Cayenne of the four great houses!?" The way he said this, he clearly couldn't think of anything more ludicrous than that.
"Not nearly as hard as you think." Rean snarked, wearing his distaste for this individual out on his sleeve.
Verrat scoffed at that. "Truly unruly. Haven't you learned not to talk back to your betters? I thought someone might have finally drilled that into that small brain of yours. Clearly, I was mistaken in my assumption."
"I see you're just as obnoxious as ever." The raven-haired teen retorted.
The son of Duke Cayenne scowled at that, clearly not pleased with the attitude his junior was showing him.
"Look-" Rean started with a sigh. "-it's been six years since that party, and three since we've last seen each other. Let's just let sleeping dogs lie, alright?" He continued, attempting to extend an olive branch. "As much as I'm sure you can't stand me, and don't get me wrong; you are far from my favorite person in the world, it'd probably be better for both of us to let bygones be bygones." He opined. "We've got plenty of difficult coursework ahead of us, not to mention the pressure of deciding our futures within the span of only a year or two. We don't need some old, petty grudge on top of it all. We've got enough to worry about, don't you think?"
Rean, despite his strong dislike for the boy across from him, extended his hand out to him, in a show of respect. "What do you say? Water under the bridge?" In an attempt to be cordial, he offered a smile as well, even if it was a rather strained one.
Verrat seemed to take a moment to actually digest and think on what Rean had said to him. His scowl eased up, and the hostility seemed to fade some. Even though he had yet to take the offered hand, it was clear he was considering it. Or, at least that's what it looked like. In actuality though...
"Yeah, right." He said with a snort of disgust. "I would never touch the hand of a filthy commoner such as yourself by choice. You were adopted into your position in the nobility, not born. As far as I'm concerned, you're no better than the common riffraff." The nineteen year old stated firmly. "No, you're worse actually." He amended his statement. "Nothing but some filthy urchin who Baron Schwarzer witlessly brought into our fold. What that fool was thinking when he decided to take in some stray dog like you, I'll never know." The orange-haired noble sneered. "And I certainly won't just forget about you daring to lay your hands on me, no matter the amount of time that has passed." He spat with contempt. "I simply came here to speak with you, so that I may give you a piece of advice."
Rean's lack of a visible reaction, only the subtle way his form tensed as he pulled his hand back and let it return to his side giving away his negative feelings, seemed to please the older boy, at least somewhat.
"Stay out of my way. Keep your distance. I don't want to even spot you out of my peripheral vision, unless absolutely necessary. Keep your head down and do that, and everything will be fine. There won't be any need to dredge up problems from the past, as long as you steer clear. If you don't, then I might just have to finally put you in your place. Is that understood, Schwarzer?" The threat was clear, as was the generous amount of animosity he held within toward the lower ranked noble boy.
'I fricking hate the way he says my family name. As if it's the most revolting thing to ever roll off his tongue.' Rean thought bitterly to himself in that moment, a frown marring his face.
"I asked if you understood, Schwarzer?" Verrat tersely repeated himself.
"Yeah, I understand." Rean replied evenly, capitulating in spite of the fact that he wanted to do anything but. 'Last time I got involved with this guy, my family nearly paid the price. I can't afford to do anything rash like that again.' He reminded himself, squashing the urge to punch this boy, again.
"Good." Verrat said with a firm nod of his head, a self-satisfied smirk crossing his face. "Now that we understand each other, I'll be on my way." With that, the orange-haired noble turned to walk away.
After a few steps though, he came to a quick stop and spoke one last time. "Oh, and Schwarzer, try not piss off people who could wreck your whole life. It's bad for your health." It was then that he finally left the clearing, going on his way down the path back to the main school.
Rean let out a heavy sigh then, as he pinched the bridge of his nose in self-stifled aggravation. "I really can't stand that guy."
...
Unbeknownst to Rean, a little ways back and hidden behind some trees, was one Fie Claussell. And she had seen everything, with the exception of his reaction to the old schoolhouse. Fists clenched tight, she fought down the urge to follow after the orange-haired noble and beat him senseless for speaking to Rean in such a way. She had seen it done before firsthand, when a particularly high-ranked noble visited Ymir during her stay there. However, it hadn't been as bad as that, for two reasons. First, the noble hadn't been as severe, most likely because he was speaking to a child, and the second was that Rean hadn't just passively accepted the verbal abuse. He didn't snap back or anything, as that wasn't really his style, but he at least showed visible signs of anger and had clearly been upset by the treatment. Now though...he just stood there, apparently content to take whatever was thrown at him. It didn't sit well with her, not in the slightest.
Rean didn't remain unbeknownst to Fie any longer, as he suddenly said, "So I was right, you were back here.", having picked up on her presence now that he took a moment to attempt to sense her out.
Aware that she'd been found, Fie calmed herself, allowing her hands to untense and unclench, as she stepped out from behind the trees she had hidden behind.
"I'm guessing you saw all that?" Rean queried her then with a forced chuckle, able to tell she was in a sour mood, despite the neutral expression on her face.
She simply nodded her head as she walked over to him, stopping when there was only a foot worth of distance between them.
"That guy was just some jerk I met some years back at noble-centric party. We got into a fight and he's stilled pissed about it." He elucidated. "Nothing to worry about." He assured her, as he waved the whole thing off.
"You didn't have let him treat you like that." She replied simply, tone even.
"It was nothing. I'm used to it by now." He explained. "Nothing to get worked up over." He added with a small smile, in an attempt to lighten the mood.
"You're not a doormat Rean." Fie told him then, a sudden edge to her voice, small as it was. "Stop letting people treat you like you are." She dictated to him, eyes meeting his.
Rean was taken aback by her words and found himself without a response. He tried to form one, but couldn't come up with anything that didn't sound like some sort of excuse. As a result, he found himself staring back at Fie, eyes locked, at a loss and completely silent.
Fie broke their locked gaze then. "I'll see you later." With that said, she walked past him, following along the path away from the clearing and back onto the main grounds of the campus, leaving Rean alone.
After the hassle with Verrat and tense moment with Fie, Rean decided he needed a little time to unwind before heading back to the dorms. And not long after that shenanigans had occurred, what with Vivi pretending to be her twin sister and tricking him into buying a grand rose and the confusion and embarrassment that caused, it didn't help that this had been the first time he'd actually introduced himself and spoke with the twin sisters, Linde and Vivi, at length. Add onto that everything with Laura and the old schoolhouse...well, needless to say, today had not been as kind to him as it could've been.
So, deciding to finally use what had been given to him, the humble swordsman went and picked up his fishing rod, before backtracking to the small dock he passed by every day when heading to school.
"I haven't been fishing in ages." The raven-haired teen remarked to himself, as he sat and began preparing his rod.
...
The swordsman had only been at it for a few short minutes, when the sound of someone speaking to him alerted him to their presence.
"Mind if I join you?"
At the request, Rean turned his head toward the person who had put it forth, to see none other than the same guy who had given him this rod in the first place, Kenneth Lakelord.
The noble-born second year wore a pleasant smile, rod in one hand and tackle box in the other, as he waited for his junior's response.
"By all means." Rean replied with a nod of his head, wearing a pleasant smile to match the older teen's.
"Thanks." With that, Kenneth sat down beside the younger boy, opening his tackle box as he prepared to ready his rod and join his fellow teen in fishing.
...
The sun was sinking low below the horizon, close to the point of being no longer visible. As such, the time was clear, late evening. This meant curfew would be in effect in roughly about an hour. Still, the two teens sat in silence as they fished, seemingly not concerned with such a thing. Not that they had a whole lot of reason to be, as their dorms were just a hop, jump and skip away, meaning they had quite a bit of leeway when it came to the time they needed to leave for said dorms.
"So, if you don't mind me asking, what's got you so down?" Kenneth suddenly inquired.
Besides a few trivial subjects, such as Rean's thoughts on the academy, Trista and the fishing spots located within, as well as the fact that Kenneth was the head and only member of the Fishing Club, the two teenagers hadn't spoken much. Rather, they merely fished together in silence for the majority of the time. It was because of this fact that Rean was surprised by the older boy's sudden inquiry.
"I...well, it's nothing really." Rean began, unsure of how to answer. He appreciated that someone would ask about him when he seemed not his usual self, but he hardly knew this guy and didn't quite feel like talking to him about something so personal. "Just some personal stuff. Nothing too serious though."
"I don't usually talk about anything outside of fishing or fishing related subjects, such as bait and the best spots to catch certain species. I just don't have any interest in most things besides fishing. Schoolwork, the responsibilities of nobles, the class system as a whole, all of it is just so dreadfully boring." Kenneth informed his junior. "That said, you seem like a nice enough guy. I've heard about how you've been helping out anyone who asks, and that you even saved some friend of yours from getting seriously hurt. I don't know how true the last part is, but I've personally seen you doing favors for the student council. That makes you alright in my book." The older teen told the younger teen, his smile widening a tad.
"So, I figured I'd try and help you out. Even if it was just listening to you rant about something or other. But hey, if you don't want to talk about it, far be it from me to force you to." Kenneth gave up on his short-lived attempt to coax his junior into talking with a shrug of his shoulders.
"Haha, that's kind of you." Rean said with a chuckle. "But it's not something anyone can help me with. And even if it was, I think I'd like to handle it on my own."
"Fair enough."
With that, the subject seemed to die. However, as Rean proceeded to get a bite, Kenneth kept his eyes on him, continuing to watch him for a number of moments.
"Hey, you've done this before." The Lakelord boy observed then. "Can't believe I didn't notice it before."
Finishing his catch, Rean reeled the fish in, pulled it out of the water and held it as it wriggled about. Blinking a couple times in surprise, his eyes returned to the older teen, a small feeling of bewilderment accompanying his actions. 'How could he possibly figure that out?'
"Well, I mean, yeah. I've been fishing once or twice in my life. Don't know how you could pick up on that, since it's been years since I've actually done any."
"That's a shame." Kenneth said with audible disappointment. "Any particular reason for your sparse fishing history?" He queried.
"Rean, Rean, let me try!" A six year old Elise exclaimed excitedly. "I can do it too! I know I can!" The little girl insisted.
"Okay, okay, here." Her eight year old brother gave in, handing over the fishing rod, so as to allow her the chance to try and snag a fish.
As the young girl tried her hand at it, Rean took a step back, putting him beside Fie, who was of a similar age to his little sister.
"Are you sure?" The reserved little girl questioned her friend.
"It's just fishing. What's the worst that could happen?" Little Rean responded with a shrug of his shoulders.
They were, admittedly, far along the trail leading further into the mountains away from Ymir, and fishing from a river that coursed at a pace that was nothing to scoff at. However, Rean had fished here with Teo before, and the Baron had taught his son as well as a person could in just one sitting. Because of this, the young boy was confident that everything would be fine. 'If I can do it, anyone can, right?' Was his line of thinking on the matter.
"Alright, if you say so." The silver-haired six year old replied.
"Whoa! Rean, I think I've got a big one!" Elise squealed exuberantly, something giving a big tug on the line of the fishing rod.
"It seems so. Hey, maybe it's the Arch Tyrant?" The eight year old boy suggested half-jokingly, having heard his father talk about such a fish before, how it was the biggest and meanest in the Ymir mountains.
"I don't know. But it sure seems big! Like, really big!" Elise continued on, beginning to struggle with whatever was on the other end of her line. "It-it just doesn't want to come up!" She grunted out, pulling on the rod with all her might to no avail.
"Here, let me help you." Little Rean offered his assistance, as he stepped toward her.
"Okay, thanks." His little sister vocalized her gratitude with a smile, taking one hand off the rod as she moved to give it over to him.
Just before he could take it from her hand though, there was another pull on the line. Pull was an inadequate description, however, as it was more akin to a mighty heave, so mighty, in fact, that it pulled the rod and the little girl holding it off her feet and right down into the running river, the young one crying out for a single moment, before underwater garbles took the noise's place.
"ELISE!" Rean shouted, eyes wide in shock and fear.
As panic and fear struck him, Fie was already at work, diving head first into the river, her intent on saving the girl all too clear. Rean watched, almost rooted the ground, as Fie swam after the other six year old, struggling to stay above the water, and failing miserably.
Garbled cries for help rang from the Schwarzer girl, as she fought to keep her head above water. She was failing, miserably. Thankfully though, she had the sense to let go of the fishing rod, so whatever it was that had pulled her in was incapable of pulling her down under. As such, Fie was able to reach her fairly quickly.
Elise wrapped her tiny arms around Fie's equally tiny frame, clinging onto the girl for dear life. From there, all the jaeger girl had to do was swim her way back to safety. Unfortunately, that was far easier said than done, as the current, it quickly became apparent, was too strong for her to swim against. Regardless, she tried valiantly, attempting with all she could muster to get her friend to the shore.
While futile, the silver-haired six year old was capable of keeping both their heads above water, preventing the worst case scenario. However, the little girl would give out eventually, that was inevitable. Still, she struggled on, in hopes of saving her friend.
"REAN! HE-HELP ME!" Elise continued to scream, tears rushing down her face, as she pleaded for her brother to rescue her.
"I'm coming!" He shouted back. "Don't worry you two, I'm coming!" He shouted once more, hoping to reassure the two, even while he was scared and freaking out.
Wasting no more time, he jumped in after them. As he did, it became readily apparent that Fie was the better swimmer. Which meant that, if she couldn't swim against the current and get to safety, Rean didn't have a chance in hell. Even still, he had every intention of trying. Especially as the situation quickly grew more desperate.
"AHHHH!" Fie cried out, as the current swept her into a wall of rock on the opposite end of where she had dove in, slamming her small body against the rockface, inflicting immense pain to the entirety of her form, and even worse, knocking her unconscious in the process.
"FIE, ELISE!" Rean called out their names in desperation, as he kicked his legs and swam as hard as he could, moving as fast as possible in order to reach them. Which he managed to do before they could be fully submerged, thankfully.
Far from over though, the horrid ordeal dreadfully continued, as now Rean was forced to attempt to swim to shore, while bringing the two younger girls along with him. An impossible task for a boy of his age and strength. That didn't stop him from trying, of course. With all the strength, effort and will he could muster, he kept the two six year olds from sinking, as he swam with all he had toward the shore. Even as his arms and legs became sore, and his stamina ran out, he continued on.
The current was far too strong however, and soon he found himself and the girls being dragged down by it. "No! No, no, no, no!" He chanted, as he tried to fight it. But alas, it wasn't enough. And as a result, all three children were dragged down into the rushing river, where they would surely drown. 'NO!' Was Rean's last conscious thought.
...
The first thing Rean realized, was that his lungs were on fire. The second, was the water he began to violently choke on, his esophagus forcing it up and out of his mouth with very painful hacking and coughing. And the third, was that he was no longer under, or even in the water.
Vision blurry, little Rean tried to ascertain where he was, but found himself incapable, still teetering on the edge of unconsciousness, so lacked the strength to even lift his head, let alone sit up. He did realize, though, that since he wasn't currently dead, someone must have saved him. And as that conclusion was reached, the first thing that came to his mind was, 'Where are Elise and Fie? Did they save them too?'
"Don't worry. Everything is going to be alright." A deep, baritone voice spoke in that moment, attempting to reassure and comfort the barely conscious eight year old.
It wasn't a voice the little boy recognized in the slightest, and yet, strangely, it seemed eerily familiar. Eyes moving to the source of the voice, he was able to tell, even from his spot on the ground, that it was a visibly imposing man it had come from. He was tall and muscular and wore dark clothing, aside from that, the child's vision was far too hazy to pick out any further details. "..." He attempted to speak but found nothing would come out.
"You're safe, as are the other two. There's no need to fret." The deep voice further reassured the small boy.
That was all that he really needed. And as such, little Rean proceeded to lose consciousness once more.
'To this day, I still can't recall who that man was. Or even what his face looked like.' Rean thought privately to himself. 'And when I came to, he was just gone. No one knew who he could have been or where he could have went. I really wanted to thank him...'
"Rean?"
"Yeah?" The humble swordsman responded, broken from his musings at the sound of Kenneth's voice.
"I asked if there was a reason for your sparse fishing history." The Lakelord boy repeated his question.
"No, no particular reason." Rean answered immediately this time.
"Well, you're a natural at this. You should fish more, honestly. It's a good way to relax and unwind after all." The older teen advised.
"Yeah...I suppose you're right." As he said this, his mind was clearly somewhere else.
A few hours later, after dinner had been served and everyone had adjourned to their rooms, Rean found himself standing in his instructor's room. When everyone had headed up to their rooms, he had intended to do the same. However, at the last moment, he decided he still had something to do before he turned in for the night. Which was what brought him to the older woman's room.
"Oh, I didn't expect to see you." Was Sara's casual response to his unexpected presence. "I didn't peg you as the type to sneak into a lady's room in the middle of the night." She remarked evenly. "Perhaps I had you figured wrong?" She questioned with a quirked brow, clearly attempting to tease him.
Rather than wait for his response, she simply continued. "Though, if I did think you the type to sneak into a maiden's room, I'd of assumed it'd be Fie's." She was sporting a rather mirthful grin at this point. "Honestly, I've been expecting to hear all sorts of creaking noises and wild sounds from her room for days now. And yet, no such luck." Her mirth fill grinned turn wry at her thinly veiled lewd suggestion.
Rean did his best to fight back the blush that wanted to consume his face, but failed miserably, as his cheeks were akin to tomatoes in color. Still, he kept his composure and successfully prevented himself from reacting rashly and attempting to sputter out that it wasn't like that, as his first instinct had demanded him to. He'd had some practice in doing so too, as this was far from the first time the twenty something year old had teased him. "That hardly seems appropriate for an instructor to say, don't you think?" He attempted to draw her away from such assumptions, lest she plant dirty thoughts of his childhood friend in his head. Which, he would admit, he would be quite susceptible too. He was still a teenage boy after all...
"Oh, don't go getting all stiff on me now. Your cute little reactions to my teasing are the funnest part of this job!" She exclaimed at his reaction to her teasing.
"Fie and I don't have that kind of relationship. So, I'd appreciate it if you didn't go around insinuating that we do." He bypassed that comment and addressed her previous words regarding Fie, tone rigid, as he tried his best to keep from allowing the embarrassment he felt to bleed into his tone.
"Oh, come on. What do you take me for?" Sara inquired with a good-natured chuckle. "It's pretty clear you and my charge have a pretty close and personal relationship."
"I, um, well..." Rean began, blush darkening even further, if that was possible, unsure of how to respond to that. "I mean, yeah, we're close, but not like that..."
"Oh really?" She sounded dubious about that. "You could have fooled me."
"Yeah, really." He confirmed, more confident in his answer this time.
"Is the problem that you prefer'em bigger?" She queried then with a curious tone, gesturing with her arm over her chest, implying that he desired bigger breasts on a girl than what Fie had to offer.
"Wha-what!? No!" He immediately denied such an insinuation. "Her chest is just fine-I mean, Wh-why would you even-no, you know what, forget it! That has nothing to do with anything!" He insisted ardently, still quite red-faced.
Sara burst into a fit of laughter at this reaction.
"Look, I didn't come here to be made fun of, alright!?" Rean asserted, clearly vexed by the older woman and her teasing.
"Hahaha! Okay, haha, okay, ha, fine." She acknowledged his want to return to the subject, and attempted to calm her laughing as a result. "Why did you come to my room then?" She asked him, fighting back one last giggle.
Taking a moment to compose himself, Rean took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, the red in his face beginning to fade as he calmed down. "I came here...to thank you."
"To thank me?" Sara repeated, a tad confused.
"I'm sure Fie's told you by now, how we were childhood friends."
The instructor nodded her head in confirmation at that.
"We were together only half a year, but even still...she became a major part of my life. I care about her...more than words can express. When I woke up one day and she was just gone...it hurt me so much...but worse than that, I was always worrying if she would be alright. She was always stronger than me, she still is, and yet, I couldn't help but worry about her. What if she got hurt? What if, somehow, I could have helped her, but simply wasn't there to do so? That was always on my mind..." Rean verbally expressed his anxiety on the matter. "More than that, I simply missed her. I was always wondering where she was...and when I wasn't..." The diffident swordsman trailed off in that moment, finishing the statement in his head. 'And when I wasn't, I was focusing on becoming stronger, so that I could protect Fie and Elise in the future.'
"What I'm trying to say is..." Rean picked back up. "I wasn't able to help her when she needed it. You, however, were. So..."
Rean lowered his head and, with perfect form, performed a proper bow of respect. "From the bottom of my heart, allow me to thank you for everything you've done for Fie." He vocalized his overabundance of gratitude, showing every ounce of respect possible in that moment.
Sara found herself, even if for just a single moment, without words to say in response to this boy. 'Such a sweet kid.' She thought to herself in that instant.
...
Fie stood just outside Sara's room, pressed against the door, eavesdropping on their conversation. She hadn't intended to do such a thing, but having seen Rean enter the former bracer's room, the fifteen year old found herself with a sudden insatiable curiosity of what they could possibly be talking about at this late hour. Little did she know, that she'd find herself listening to the pink-haired woman tease her childhood friend continuously, before he proceeded to unbosom himself to the instructor, about her nonetheless. And as the silver-haired girl listened to everything Rean had to say, she felt her heart swell.