Guest: Thank you, glad you like the story. Well, that's good, and thank you again. You, I've seen that image floating around before. I like it. What's more to say?
scrubsergeant: Thanks.
Manu259: Oh, please, don't apologize for that. I love long reviews.
Alright, understood.
Yeah, pretty much. Things do not look good for Rean's mental state.
Oh trust me, he'll get his, eventually. Question is, how?
Eh, you've got a point there.
Fair enough. Don't worry though, you'll find out eventually. I'd say sometime before the fifth field study, is the most likely time I will reveal exactly who it was that saved them then. I could, of course, decide to change that for some reason or another, but as of now, that's the plan. And no, I don't need anyone messaging me, telling me to write. If you wanted to shoot me a message to chat, that's fine, but that would be all. :P
Believe you me, Nord is going to be awesome. That's when things get taken to another level. You'll see what I mean, when we get there.
You have a good point. It would basically be an endless cycle, so we'll cut it off here. XD
Sounds good.
So did I, that was a big part of why I wrote it, after all. Most definitely, it's inevitable at this point.
I can understand that, but look at it this way. Teo came down so hard on Rean, not just because he assaulted Verrat, but more to keep him from ever doing something like that again. Because, follow me here, what would you expect the consequences of striking the most influential noble in the country's heir, excluding the imperial family of course, to be? Execution is a possibility, at least concerning someone like Cayenne. There is also imprisonment, and stripping of land and title and being rendered destitute. Teo wishes to keep Rean from ever putting himself, or their family for that matter, in that situation again, at least as a child who doesn't know the extent of the consequences of his actions, which he did not.
Furthermore, a big part of the reason he reacted like that, was to cover his family, and keep them from receiving retribution for Rean's actions. If Cayenne thought that Teo had harshly handled Rean and chewed him out and been furious with him and punished him, he was much less likely to punish the family as a whole. Teo didn't truly want to be so hard on Rean, but it was a necessity in this situation, for multiple reasons. And because he did that, Rean did not cause any further incidents, and the Schwarzer family did not suffer any repercussions, with the exception of further ostracization from the nobility as a whole. Which was a price they could afford to pay, far more than the alternatives. I hope my reasoning makes sense to more than just me when it comes to this. XP
Indeed he is. Yeah, this field study is going to be a lot of work, that's for sure. That's the way it goes though, no breaks for Rean.
No need to apologize, I quite like long reviews. I can't wait for next time.
As for your stories, well, as I'm sure you've seen by now, I checked out two of them. I like them. I mean, they're a bit rough, but I definitely like them. Plus anything that is ReanxFie or even hinting at it, well, let's just say you could probably sell me a bridge with those two as a pairing in the pitch, love'em to death. As for the third one, true steel, well...I want to read it, but since it's running a similar course to mine, I don't wanna go reading it and end up stealing a bunch of your ideas. XD That's a joke, I wouldn't do that. But seriously, I'm gonna wait till either I'm really, really bored and have nothing to do, or when I'm a little further along to go reading through your third, and longest story. I did notice you say something in your author's notes about it being ReanxFie though, so I'll admit, I could be persuaded. I might just find myself weak and give in and read it regardless eventually, ya never know. That said, speaking of author's notes, I saw you mention me in the second chapter of true steel. Aren't you a buddy? Thanks, I appreciate that very much! :)
Jose19: I would explain how wrong you are, but I've already done so many times in the form of messaging. So, I'll simply refer you to the response I gave above about Teo's actions.
Apex85: I see, that's a bit lame. I'll see about doing something with that.
Rest assured, Cayenne and his progeny will pay, that is certain.
That's fine, I doubt you'll ever change your mind regarding Crow. If you were to though, it wouldn't be till either the end of the Cold Steel 1 era of this story, or somewhere in the Cold Steel 2 era, I'm sure of that.
I can understand that. You have a point, but ignoring someone like Verrat simply wouldn't work, of course, I'm sure you know this.
You're not wrong.
Nope, I'll confirm that here and now. Before last chapter, Crow had not once ever met Cayenne's son.
Yeah, I thought that might happen. Verrat is a real piece of shit. He was always going to be that way. I thought about scaling him back as I wrote him out, but I decided against it and went with what I had originally envisioned and such, the ultimate douche was born! XD
Refer to my reasoning above in my response to Manu on Teo's actions, and I think that sums it up pretty well.
I can see that, but I figured with their expertise in their combat styles, they'd be a little less experienced in hand to hand, while Alisa would be pretty good at it, considering, as you said, her connections to Sharon and Angelica.
Thank you. I enjoyed it as well. Oh most definitely. This field study is not going to be a breeze or easy by any means.
RedBurningDragon: Pretty much. He's basically the penultimate noble asshole. Yeah, I love these moments between Rean and Fie. Well, Alisa might be my least favorite in Class VII, but from everything I know of her, I figured she'd probably be pretty damn decent in hand to hand combat, so I spitballed and ended up deciding she'd probably fit in right about there.
Guest: As I said twice now, refer to my response above to Manu regarding the reasoning behind Teo's actions. Also, next time, try and leave a little more input or something, rather than just asking one question as if that's the biggest deal going on in the story. There's a lot more Teo to come, so maybe wait till then before you go saying he's being OOC.
Heero De Fanel: I suppose so. This one's longer though.
Yeah, no one seems to get my reasoning regarding Teo. I say it again, refer to the explanation I gave Manu above. That said, you make a fair point that isn't too far off base. It's more than the reasoning above why Teo did what he did, though said reasoning is the major factor. What else influenced his decision was the altered timeline and the new events that have taken place, for sure. I won't straight up tell you, but I will say this, the nobles have applied far more...'pressure' in this version of events, regarding Rean and their distaste for his adoption. As for Verrat, he'll get his, eventually. Don't you worry about that. Still, remember, things tend to get worse before they get better.
Good to know, thank you. Well here you are, the next one. And it hasn't even been a month!
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. Coin Ward, hirdorwin, DrSchadenfreude055, luticvlad, arr3nft, thank you!
So...longest chapter to date, and we don't even get to the really good stuff of Bareahard till the next one. Oh well, hope you guys enjoy it. Now then, please read, review and enjoy.
ACT I - CHAPTER II - PART IV
...
The final bell of the school day had come and gone and students had either retreated to their dorms or hurried to their clubs. The one outlier was one Rean Schwarzer, who stood in the courtyard behind the main building, shaking his head in amusement. "Fie, come on."
This remark was made because, once more, the silver-haired maiden had been caught in the act of sleeping out in the open, on the middle bench of the courtyard, to be more specific.
As the diffident swordsman stood there over Fie, a voice caught his attention. "Hello there. Am I correct in assuming you're Rean, Fie's friend?"
Turning around to face the owner of said voice, Rean caught sight of a girl. This girl appeared to be a second year, most likely eighteen years of age; possessed violet colored eyes and long, flowing emerald green hair. She wore the standard female variation of the white noble uniform, the one addition unique to her being her wide-brimmed beige-colored gardening hat.
"O-Oh, um, yes, actually. That's me." Rean confirmed. "But who are...?"
"Oh, pardon me. My name is Edel, second year student, head of the Gardening Club." She introduced herself with a bright, kind smile.
"Ah, I see. Nice to meet you. I'm Rean Schwarzer." He introduced himself in turn.
"I know." She reminded him. "Fie's told me a lot about you. If she hadn't, I don't think I would have recognized you, to be honest."
"She talks about me?" He questioned, a bit surprised.
"Almost exclusively. She's not very talkative, but the few times I have gotten her to speak with me, you were the focus of the conversation. The only real exception was the few times we talked about what types of flowers she likes and had come across before." She explained.
"O-Oh, I see..." Was all Rean could come up with; a feint red dusting his cheeks.
Quickly regaining his composure, Rean cleared his throat and attempted to banish the blush, before speaking further. "Is it always like this? Fie napping when she's supposed to be helping you with the flowers, I mean." He steered the conversation away from the subject of himself, or rather, Fie talking about him.
"No, not always." She answered honestly. "She sleeps here on the benches most days, however, sometimes she spends time at the nurse's office with Instructor Beatrix." She elaborated.
"...Is that it? She never helps with the flowers?" Rean questioned further.
"No. Not really. She always makes sure to look after the flowers the two of you planted though, I assure you." She informed him.
"Ah...well then..." The humble swordsman started. "Allow me to apologize on her behalf."
"Oh please, there's no need." She assured him. "I'm sure she'll come around soon. Besides, one mustn't rush someone to bloom. A seed can't sprout into a flower overnight, you know." She advised him kindly.
"I got ya. Still, thank you for your kindness. I appreciate it. Fie isn't a very sociable girl, so to know she found someone she can talk to, about anything really, is a relief." The raven-haired teen said with a smile.
"No need to thank me. I must admit I've taken an interest in her. That's more than likely why I don't mind so much that she hasn't been helping out, if I'm being honest." She confessed. "Though I have a hunch that it won't be long now, before she decides to participate of her own free will. Mark my words."
The dark-haired youth chuckled at that. "I certainly hope you're right about that."
...
After speaking with Rean for another minute or so, Edel excused herself so that she could return to tending to the garden of different flowers across the way. Leaving Rean alone with the sleeping Fie once more.
Turning to said sleeping girl; he sighed. Deciding to wake her, he opted to do so with a simple two finger poke, using the index and middle fingers of his right hand, and lightly pressed them to the center of her forehead. He applied just enough pressure to cause her to stir.
Eyes fluttering open, Fie let out a yawn and sat up from her prone position. "Hey Rean." She greeted him.
"Fie, why aren't you helping Edel with the flowers?" He asked her straight out. "She's the head of your club, not to mention the only other member. I'm sure she could use the extra pair of hands."
"There's another member of the Gardening Club." Fie corrected him.
"There is?" He asked, surprised. "I didn't see anyone else, so I just assumed..." He explained his reasoning. "I guess this third member is even more guilty of failing to participate than you are. Who is it, anyway?"
"Vivi." The silver-haired maiden supplied.
"Oh, her." Was the diffident swordsman's simple yet telling response, the mild exasperation consuming his features in that moment proof he'd met the peculiar girl. "She's...interesting, that's for sure." He tried to sound neutral, as he forced the exasperation down and returned to his regular demeanor.
"I see you've met her." Fie acknowledged his reaction as recognition of exactly what kind of girl Vivi was.
"You could say that. I was trying to help out her sister when...well, let's just say she likes her pranks." He left it at that.
"Anyway, back to you." He returned the conversation to the topic of his childhood friend. "For the hundredth time, you really shouldn't be sleeping outside, completely out in the open in every sense of the word."
"You've never really given me a good reason not to." She contended.
"A good reason? Well...you're a girl." Rean supplied dumbly.
"Last time I checked, yeah." Fie snarked. "What about it?"
"Well...I mean, a girl sleeping out in the open in a place with tons of people isn't exactly...the brightest idea. Someone could...you know, take advantage." He awkwardly tried to explain, without actually outright saying what he was inferring to.
The fifteen year old quirked a brow at this. "Now what kind of dirty thoughts are going on in your head?" She queried.
"I-I didn't mean anything by it. I'm just worried about you." He attempted to assure her.
"I know, I know. I'm just giving you a hard time." She told him outright, a tinge of mirth in her tone.
"Shoulda figured." He sighed.
"Anyways, if you're so against me sleeping outside on my own, you should join me for once." She offered.
Rean couldn't help but laugh at this.
A few hours later...
The day was coming to an end, the sun setting. Their training done for the day, and Rean's personal objective of getting Fie to agree to help Edel out once and a while accomplished, the duo of childhood friends was on their way back to their dorm.
The two had just reached Keyne's Bookstore, when they came to a sudden stop.
"Is that a bell?" Rean wondered aloud, having heard something of the like.
Before Fie could give affirmation, having heard it to, the source of the noise became evident.
Strolling along was a cat with a fine coat of black and purple fur, a light blue ribbon tied to her tail and a collar of matching color around her neck, where the origin of the noise was, as there a bell hung from said collar. Coming to a stop, the cat rested it's behind on the ground, and turned it's head to look dead at the pair, revealing it's lime-green eyes.
"My, haven't you got lovely fur." Rean complimented the animal. "Who's your master, I wonder? Any idea Fie?" He questioned his companion.
Fie simply shook her head at that.
The duo approached the cat then and crouched down to where they were almost eye level with the creature. In response, the feline meowed at them, showing it's docile nature.
"Good kitty." The diffident swordsman praised the animal. "Well, she's got a ribbon, so she's definitely not a stray." He stated then.
Fie just nodded her head in agreement.
Reaching out with his index and middle fingers of his right hand, waiting for an ill reaction that never came, Rean began gently brushing up and down the feline's neck and chin. Not only was the creature not opposed to such contact, it seemed to very much appreciate the gesture, pleased mews starting to come from her.
"Haha." Rean chuckled. "Does that feel good?"
"She really does have pretty fur." The stoic girl said, affirmation to her childhood friend's previous compliment.
"Yeah." He agreed. "Such a pretty girl...er, cat." He corrected himself then, as he realized he had no clue as to this feline's gender. "Actually, are you male or female? I've just been assuming female, but...you could be a boy cat, I-"
The animal's demeanor completely changed in that moment, as it hissed and reared back, fur sticking up a bit in it's suddenly agitated state; cutting at Rean with it's claws, raking them across his right hand.
"Ow!" The teen exclaimed in pain, pulling his hand back and placing the wounded area, the space between his index finger and thumb, in his mouth instinctively, as if such an act would actually diminish the sudden pain it was in.
"Bad kitty." Fie chastised the cat immediately, clearly annoyed by it's actions.
The cat seemed to calm down then, as it simply closed it's eyes and turned it's head away from them, taking on an almost haughty attitude in that moment. Not deigning to stay any longer, the feline proceeded to begin strolling away.
Rean sighed at that point. "Guess I pushed my luck."
Taking a moment to actually look at his injury, he pulled his hand away from his face and examined it for a moment. The wound started in the center of the back of his hand and ran down to the space between his index finger and thumb; there were four scratches in total. Only the one that was between his fingers was bleeding, while the others had just barely broken skin.
"She didn't scratch me too deep, but to be safe I'd better apply some ointment when we get back to the dorm, just in case." He assessed.
Fie nodded her head in agreement with this.
...
Having retrieved the ointment Rean had spoken of, the childhood friends parked themselves in Fie's room, where Rean sat himself down on her bed, while she sat beside him and applied the ointment.
"It really isn't that bad." The humble swordsman assured Fie. "I can apply the ointment myself, it's not that big a deal."
"I've got it." Fie contended.
"It's just a few small scratches from a cat, I've had way more serious injuries, you know that. You don't have to go all mother hen-"
"Maybe not, but I want to." She told him then.
"Fie?" He spoke her name questioningly.
"I got hurt a lot as a jaeger, and I'm sure you probably experienced something similar during your training. I know you, you would have kept pushing yourself and pushing yourself till you hurt yourself doing something simple, let alone the more advanced stuff I'm sure you got up to. I wish I could have been there then, to take care of you like this, but I wasn't. So let me make up for it now." She confessed, her voice taking on a warm, affectionate note.
"Fie..." Rean breathed her name, unsure of what to say to that.
Not that he got a chance to respond, as the sudden sound of knocking coming from the door caught their attention.
"Come in." Fie told whoever it was at her door, the warmth and affection gone from her voice, as she finished slathering the ointment on her childhood friend's hand.
The door opened then, to reveal the visitor, or visitors as it turned out, as Emma and Alisa.
"Hey, Emma, Alisa." Fie greeted the other two girls.
"Oh, Rean! I didn't expect to see you in here." Emma said upon noticing the boy's presence.
"What exactly are you doing in here?" Alisa inquired evenly with a quirked brow, clearly a tad suspicious.
"Oh, well, you see, I just-" Rean began to explain his presence in a girl's room, to hopefully prevent any misunderstanding, when he was suddenly cut off.
"He doesn't need to explain himself." Fie said bluntly to the two then, not bothering to look at them as she did, instead opting to pull out the roll of bandages she needed. "He's allowed in my room whenever he wants be in here." She told them candidly.
Rean chuckled uncomfortably at this, mainly because of the further raising of Alisa's quirked brow. "Um, Fie, that's probably not the best way to put it."
"Don't care."
Alisa shook her head at this. "Anyway, we stopped by to see if you wanted to talk, Fie. About what's going on between you and Laura. We'd like to help."
"Yes, if there's anything-" Emma began, only to stop mid-sentence as she caught sight of a certain injury.
"Oh, my! Rean! What happened to your right hand?" She queried with concern.
"Oh, this?" He held his right hand up for emphasis. "A black cat with really glossy fur gave it to me." He answered her. "I've never seen it around before, so I was curious. I assume it belongs to someone in town, since it was wearing a blue ribbon and a bell. I must've done something to offend it though, because it got all grumpy out of nowhere and scratched me up pretty good."
"I-I'm so sorry!" She hurriedly apologized, with a proper bow to boot.
"Huh?" Alisa had no response to this, wondering why on Earth her classmate would apologize over some random cat.
"Wha-" Rean began, only to be interrupted.
"Please, allow me to take care of it." Emma exhorted then, striding over to the bed and bending down to take a look at his scratched up hand, inadvertently putting her chest right in his face.
Up till that point, Rean had been making perfect eye-contact with the bespectacled beauty, now however...well, he couldn't meet her eyes if he wanted to, what with the blockage in his way. He thought about telling her outright what she was doing, but thought calling attention to it might just make everything eve more awkward.
"U-Um, E-Emma, not that I don't appreciate it, but Fie has it covered." He tried to convince her, so as to hopefully get her to back up and get her boobs out of his face. As, at least at the moment, he was eye-level and face to face with the generous bust, and as a result, a blush consumed his face. 'I never realized how big they are...'
Fie, sitting right beside Rean, took notice of the precarious position immediately. And though she said nothing, a noticeable frown did form on her face.
Alisa, from where she was standing, couldn't see the fact that Rean's face was eclipsed by her friends 'orbs', and remained quiet, patiently waiting for her to finish.
"Still, I would like to help." Emma insisted, taking Rean's hand to give it a thorough once over, despite the ointment already covering the wound on it.
Turning his head to finally clear his vision of the clothed breasts, Rean continued to speak with the oblivious girl. "W-Why? Do you know the cat or something?"
"No! Not at all!" The brunette denied vehemently, standing and taking a quick step back as she did, dropping his hand as a result. "I've just seen it around a few times."
'If that's the case, why does she seem so worked up? I've never seen her so flustered before.' The raven-haired teen wondered to himself.
Rean's hand unattended to once more, Fie took hold of it and began wrapping it. "If you guys wanna talk, we'll do it in a few minutes. Just let me finish wrapping Rean's hand. So wait outside for a minute, would ya?"
Emma was all too eager to acquiesce, and Alisa saw no real reason not to, so they did as the younger girl asked, closing the door behind them as they left.
...
"That was awkward." Rean stated suddenly.
"Mm." Came Fie's agreement.
5/29 - Saturday
The day to depart for their field study destinations had come, as both Group A and Group B stood in the lobby of the Trista train station, waiting for their trains to arrive. The entirety of the class had already bought their tickets, and greetings had been shared; conversation had flowed, and now, for the most part, they stood in silence. Mostly due to almost palpable tension between Machias and Jusis, as well as Fie and Laura. It made it difficult to relax, that's for sure. This tension showed itself though as Machias and Jusis began arguing once more, and Fie and Laura continued to regard each other with cold indifference.
'This is going to be a long weekend...' Rean thought to himself in that moment.
"If anyone can do it, it's you, Rean" Gaius vocalized his vote of confidence, though voice low enough where the four individuals in question failed to hear his words.
"Eh...do what?" Rean asked.
"To get those four to make peace."
"Uh...I appreciate that Gaius, but I wouldn't get my hopes up. I'm not sure what I could possibly do to resolve the tension between all of them. That said...I'll certainly try my hardest."
...
It was only a few moments later that the train departing for Bareahard arrived. And as Group A prepared to make their way to the boarding platform, they bid their fellow classmates in Group B farewell.
"Good luck with them." Alisa wished Rean luck.
Elliot gave his friend a sympathetic glance and said, "Do your best."
"Take care, everyone!" Emma waved them off.
Roughly ten minutes later, the train was in motion and the five had taken their seats. Somehow, someway, the seating arrangement ended up being Rean in one booth, with Machias and Jusis on either side of him, and Fie and Laura across from them, the two girls at opposite ends of their booth, putting as much distance between them as they could.
"Um, perhaps we should've thought our seating through a little better." Rean remarked with a awkward chuckle.
Two of his classmates seemed to be in agreement, as Fie and Machias made eye contact then, and the latter asked, "Switch seats?"
"Mm." Fie nodded in agreement.
The two stood in unison. Right quick then, they switched spots, putting Fie by Rean and a little further away from Laura, and Machias a little further away from Jusis.
"Okay then...anyways, we should probably go over what we know about Bareahard before we get there." Rean opined then. "Would you mind giving us an overview, Jusis? You're from Bareahard City, after all."
"Hmph. If that's what you want, I'll oblige." Jusis agreed. "But are you sure you wouldn't rather hear from the group's finest intellectual mind instead?" His eyes sought out Machias then. "I'm sure he'd be able to give you a far more critical analysis, without any of the pro-noble bias I'm certain to inject." He stated sarcastically.
"Are you suggesting that I allow my views to cloud my ability to see things objectively?" Machias questioned tersely, glaring hard at the blonde as he did.
"Oh, not at all. You were intelligent enough to score second on the entrance exam, after all." The blonde-haired teen mocked. "And you've spent your every waking moment since with your nose glued to a textbook, studying as if your life depended on it. So I'm sure your knowledge is quite vast, in terms of book smarts...even if it is lacking in virtually every other regard." He taunted the bespectacled teen.
"Why, you...!" Machias shot out of his seat and to his feet, riled up by the noble's words.
Rean pointedly looked at both of them then. "Well, it's easy to see why you scored so miserably in last month's field study." He spoke bluntly.
That got their attention, both teens looking directly at Rean in that moment, focusing on him rather than each other.
"Last month, Group B got an 'E' on their field study. If that had been a paper exam, it would've been a fail. And a low one, at that. You guys probably would have gotten an even worse score, if it weren't for Emma and Alisa doing their best to pick up the slack." He boldly laid the facts out. "Do you two really want a repeat of that?"
"W-Well..." Machias hesitated.
"Hmph. I hope you're not naively suggesting we just put all our differences aside and become best friends." Jusis retorted.
"Of course not." Rean said with a shake of his head. "We were chosen to be in Class VII because of our differences, in fact. We come from different backgrounds, so naturally we're going to have conflicting opinions and ways of looking at things. And no doubt we all have beliefs that we're not willing to compromise on, no matter what. But that doesn't change the fact that for the next few days, we're all part of the same group. We're all partners." The humble swordsman explicated, taking the time to pointedly look toward each and every member of the group as he did.
Fie nodded her head in understanding, knowing exactly what he wanted from her.
"Point taken." Laura said simply, getting the point.
"I was wondering what you were getting at." Jusis added.
"You have to be joking! I refuse to accept the idea that-" Machias started to protest, only to interrupted.
"I'm not saying we have to be friends!" The diffident swordsman elucidated his point. "Though that's certainly not a bad idea. But regardless, we're in the same group, and we're working toward the same objective. We have to be capable of working together at a competent level, at least." He tried to explain. "Let me try putting it another way. We're united against a common 'enemy', Group B. And unless we want to lose to them, we have to work together here." He expounded.
"What...? I didn't expect that coming from you." The bespectacled boy remarked.
"Indeed. I wouldn't have taken you to be the competitive type." The sophisticated blonde concurred.
"I will admit, I thought much the same." The well spoken noble girl, apparently, shared their opinion.
"He's not. At least, not to the same extent as some people." The stoic teen corrected them.
"Maybe I'm not exactly the 'competitive type', but I care about winning and losing just as much as the next guy. And I get just as frustrated when other people hold me back." The raven-haired teen professed. "I'm jealous of how good your grades are, for example. Both of you. I feel like I'm losing the race, and have to struggle to catch up." He admitted to the other two males. "The same goes for your two's strength." Rean confessed further, looking between both Fie and Laura in that moment. "Even still, despite all the brain-power and strength we have at our disposal, our score might not be half of what Group B's is sure to be. Because of our shortcomings and all the tension and animosity building between this group, we might not even pass to be honest-"
"Enough! I get it already!" Machias exclaimed with a minor sense of exasperation, before sitting back down in his seat. "We don't have much choice other than to go along with this 'yay, team' attitude, not if we hope to outdo Group B, and more importantly, actually prove we can combat link just as well as everyone else can."
"I would prefer not to cooperate with this farce myself...but I have no intention of standing by and accepting defeat." Jusis replied.
"So you're saying..."
"Until this trip is over, we will call a truce." Machias apprised. "Agreed?" He looked toward Jusis then, waiting for his agreement.
"Hmph. Very well." Came his unenthusiastic agreement. "The very notion of working under these circumstances is ludicrous, but I am more than capable of enduring such idiocy if I must."
"Th-The same goes for me!"
Turning from them, Rean turned his attention to Fie and Laura once more. "And what about you two?"
"I assure you, I will perform to the utmost of my capabilities. Our...impasse, will not be a detriment to the group, I promise you." Laura gave her word.
"What she said. We won't let our problems drag the group down." Fie added.
"That's good to hear." Rean said with a smile. "Well, now that that's done, would you mind telling us what you can about Bareahard, Jusis?"
"All right, if you insist. Here's what I can tell you..."
...
After Jusis had gone over everything, silence settled over the five for a time. That is until Rean brandished a certain deck of cards...
"More blade? I'm down." Fie approved, apparently.
"I wouldn't mind a round myself." Laura didn't seem to mind the idea of playing either.
"Blade? I'm afraid I'm unfamiliar." Jusis admitted.
"That's that card game right? That one I've seen the kids in Trista playing?" Machias inquired.
"Well, more than just kids play it. Crow comes to mind. Then there's Gaius, Elliot and I, not to mention Fie and Laura seem to have taken a liking to it as well." Rean told them.
"I see. Well, if half our class seems to like it, it must have some merit. Count me in for a game." The dark green-haired teen responded.
"Jusis, How about you?" Th dark-haired seventeen year old questioned.
"I don't see why not. Fine, I'll play."
...
Roughly two dozen rounds later...
"H-how? How the hell did you win again!?" Machias exclaimed in disbelief. "This is the tenth time in a row!"
"Simple. You suck at this." Fie responded tauntingly, face blank, but the mirth she was feeling clear in her eyes. Or at least it was to a certain swordsman.
"Argh!" The brainy teen growled in frustration.
Rean fought back the smirk that wanted to show itself. 'Machias doesn't realize it, but Fie's teasing him. I'm glad she sees him as someone worth teasing. At this rate, what with Edel as well, she might not have any problems making friends after all.'
Turning his attention to the blonde to his left, Rean met the teen's gaze, prompting said teen to speak, "I wasn't expecting to return to Bareahard so soon."
"It's been about two months since we started at the academy...guess it hasn't really been long enough yet for you to miss it, huh?"
"Hmph. Indeed. And two months is hardly enough time for anything to truly change." Jusis pointed out.
"Haha, that's very true." Rean replied with a nod. "Still, a city full of nobles...I get the feeling I'm going to need to be a lot more conscious of the things I say and do." He admitted.
"Nobles do have quite a fixation with social standing and class." Jusis conceded.
'Believe me, I know all too well.' The diffident swordsman thought to himself.
"But you should try not to let it get to you. Just be yourself." The aloof noble advised. "If you exert too much energy reigning in your every word and action, we won't be able to get anything done."
"That's good advice, thanks."
'If Rean reigned himself in any more, he'd be a robot.' Fie thought to herself in that moment, even as she played yet another round of blade with Machias.
"If you have any more like it, I'm sure we'd be really appreciative. We'll be relying on your knowledge of the city." Rean reminded him.
"You're in good hands then." Jusis remarked with a ghost of a smile.
As the five deboarded their train at Bareahard station, they found themselves almost immediately swarmed by station employees.
"Lord Jusis!" One said, as they all performed proper bows in unison.
"Lord Jusis! Welcome back to Bareahard!" The first employee bid the young noble welcome.
"It's a pleasure to see you again!" The second employee declared.
"Hmph. I can't believe all the station employees would abandon their duties just to come and welcome him." Machias remarked, voice low enough to where only his classmates could hear him.
"He's a real VIP." Fie commented with a quiet tone to where she, too, could only be heard by her classmates.
"I've returned here as a student of Thors Military Academy, to conduct a field study." Jusis informed the station employees gathered around him. "I believe that you were informed that this manner of excessive welcome is neither necessary nor desired, were you not?" He queried, eyes narrowing a tad in annoyance.
"W-Well, yes, but..." The first employee stammered.
"You're a child of the Albarea household! If anything, we should be apologizing for not giving you an even greater welcome!" The third employee opined.
"Please, allow me to carry your luggage." The fourth employee offered humbly.
"We would be honored to carry the belongings of your classmates as well." The second employee then extended the offer to the rest of Group A.
Jusis could only sigh heavily at this.
"That won't be necessary." Came the sound of a new voice, masculine in nature.
The number of station employees all did a one-eighty then, surprise written all over their faces as they laid eyes on the owner of said voice. "L-Lord Rufus?!"
That name got Jusis to turn his attention to the same place as the employees, to see two men coming down the stairs leading to the boarding platform. His eyes widened as he recognized them. "R-Rufus?!"
All the station employees then stepped to the side, lining up in a neat and orderly fashion, as the two men reached the bottom of the staircase and passed by them. It was when the two men came to a stop in front of Group A, that the rest of the teens got a good look at the men.
The first was an elderly man in a brown suit, more than likely a butler.
The second however, was a young man who appeared to be in his mid-to-late twenties, with long blonde hair tied into a single ponytail style. He possessed fair skin and striking cyan-blue eyes. As for attire, his wardrobe consisted of a light-green robe-like uniform with a brown belt, gold buttons seen on the front, as well as the sleeves. Underneath that, he wore some kind of white long-sleeve dress shirt, accompanied by a dark magenta colored scarf, with a jewel pin on the front center. As well as a pair of tan pants, followed by bronze colored boots. Finally, the last article was the pin and line attached dark greyish-blue cape that stretched down almost to his ankles.
This regal looking man, who's name was apparently Rufus, spoke then. "My beloved brother, it's a pleasure to see you again. To think, it's been two months! Where did the time go?"
A flash of recognition took place in Rean's mind then. 'This is...I saw this guy hanging out with dad when I was younger. I never did catch his name...to think he was Jusis' brother all along...'
"I wasn't expecting to reunite with you so soon, but I'm delighted to have the opportunity." Rufus verbally expressed his joy at seeing his brother again.
"As am I." Jusis returned the sentiment, even if it was much more tame in nature. "You seem well."
"I take it these are your fellow members of Class VII?" Rufus asked his brother.
"You know about us?" Rean questioned.
The older blonde nodded at that. "Of course! I've read all about you in my brother's letters." He answered. "But where are my manners? My name is Rufus Albarea. Jusis is my younger brother." He formally introduced himself then. "You needn't hide your shock. It would come as no surprise at all to learn that my brother has never once mentioned me." He assured them. "He is, after all, quite easily embarrassed."
"T-That's not...!" Jusis began to object, only to trail off, unsure of how to respond. His usual aloof attitude had been shaken a bit, his older brother clearly unnerving him in some sort of way.
Said blonde's classmates sweatdropped at this interaction between brothers.
"He's being toyed with." Fie observed, once more keeping her voice low enough to where only Rean, Laura ad Machias could hear her.
"I can hardly believe my ears. What happened to the arrogant young upstart we've come to know and...mostly tolerate?" Machias wondered aloud quietly, finding the situation both amusing and strange.
"Well, I suppose family has a way of throwing most people off, at least in the sense that they can cut through matters right to the heart of who you really are. You can't exactly keep your cool around them, especially if it's an artificial one." Laura supposed.
"Ah, but I digress. This is no time for idle chatter." Rufus said then, getting everyone's attention. "I came to escort you to your lodgings for the weekend." The regal man apprised them.
"W-Wait. You don't mean..." Jusis started to speak, only to be cut off.
"Haha. The car is parked outside." Rufus informed them with a chuckle. "Welcome to the Verdant City of Bareahard. I hope you enjoy your stay, ladies and gentlemen of Class VII." He formally welcomed them.
A few minutes later...
Group A were all seated inside a limo, Rufus with them, as they rode through Bareahard.
"I see...so the one responsible for selecting our tasks this time around was..." Rean conjectured.
"Indeed. I selected them on behalf of my father." Rufus confirmed. "Allow me to present you with this." He proffered Rean an envelope with the words Thors Military Academy written on it, along with the academy's crest.
The affable swordsman took it from him with a nod. "Thank you."
"It really is a fascinating coincidence." Rufus began. "I never imagined my brother would become classmates with the son of Lord Schwarzer." He remarked.
Jusis cast his gaze to his brother then, curiosity all too clear.
Rean paid him heed as well, just as curious. "Are you and my father close?" He inquired.
"Most certainly. Baron Teo Schwarzer is a good friend of mine." Rufus answered honestly. "Many years ago, I accompanied him to a falconry competition held in the suburbs of Heimdallr." He explained. "He taught me much about the practice and it's etiquette. Ever since then, we've kept in touch and even gone on a few hunting outings together." The blonde young man informed them. "Unfortunately, my duties began to demand more and more of my attention, and as such, I have been unable to visit him in roughly half a decade now." The regal man elucidated, just an inkling of regret present in his voice. "Is he doing well?"
"Heh. Yes, he's quite well. And still as fond as hunting as ever." The raven-haired youth relied.
"Splendid, splendid! Hahaha..." The oldest of the Albarea siblings was obviously overjoyed to hear as such. "And you must be the son of Governor Regnitz, no?" He queried, attention shifting to Machias.
"That's correct." The bespectacled teen confirmed with a nod of his head. "I'm surprised you knew."
"Indeed. I encounter him quite often when taking care of official matters in the capital. Though our positions may be different, he has given me excellent advice in the past." The refined noble made it clear that he held the governor in high regard. "I feel it must be fate that you, too, would end up in my younger brother's class. Please do and try to get along with him." He asked of the teen, all too obviously genuine in sentiment.
"I-I..." Machias hesitated meekly, evidently finding it rather difficult to muster any animosity in that moment. "...I will...consider the possibility with an open mind."
"Haha. Wonderful." Rufus responded with a hearty chuckle. "And I would be remiss if I were not to acknowledge the beautiful ladies among us." He stated suddenly, diverting his gaze to the females of Group A. "No doubt your presence brings a touch of elegance to my younger brother's academic life." He reckoned. "Of course, I've no doubt you offer him challenge in the combat aspect of your schooling, as well. That's to be expected from young ladies of your caliber." The regal man complimented the girls. "I am speaking to the daughter of Viscount Arseid, after all." Rufus addressed Laura in particular. "And as far as I can tell, you seem no sort of slouch yourself." He regarded Fie specifically then.
"You are too kind." Laura replied with gratitude, appreciative of the compliment paid her way.
"Mm." Was Fie's short, to the point and rather neutral response.
This response the fifteen year old gave could be interpreted as rude, perhaps that was why Laura seemed to be bugged by it, the corners of the sword-maiden's mouth twitching for the faintest of moments, threatening to quirk downward to form a frown. If anyone caught this minute gesture, they didn't speak of it.
"Can we please stop discussing me?" Jusis implored his brother, a tad embarrassed; the older sibling having started on another subject pertaining to his kid-brother. "And when you said lodgings, you couldn't have possibly been referring to..."
"Need you even ask?" Rufus said with a laugh. "Naturally, you'll be staying at the Albarea family mansion."
"B-But..." Jusis began to object, almost piteous in tone.
"Haha! I jest. Father's instructions were that I should do with you as I wish." Rufus informed him. "So, considering the circumstances of your visit, I've had a hotel room prepared. That way you will be able to concentrate more easily on your field study, no?" He reassured his little brother.
"Thank you. I truly appreciate it." Jusis verbalized his relief and gratitude toward his older sibling, a sigh accompanying said verbalization, as well as a ghost of a relieved smile.
"I'm afraid we'll need to end our charming repartee here, however. For I can see your hotel coming into view now..."
...
"Thank you for the escort." Rean verbally expressed his gratitude to Rufus, as the group finished filing out of the limo.
"Thank you for arranging our lodgings, as well. We're grateful for your kindness." Laura echoed the gratitude.
"Oh, think nothing of it." Rufus waved it off like nothing, clearly of the mind that he'd done something rather trivial. "Under normal circumstances, I would have invited you to a banquet this evening. But unfortunately, I have business I must attend to in Heimdallr after we've finished here." He regretfully informed them.
"In Heimdallr? Will you be going by airship?" Jusis inquired.
"Indeed. I'm representing our father." Rufus told his brother. "Heh. Don't tell me you're going to be all lonely and blue without me!" The older brother teased his sibling.
"Surely you jest." The younger of the brothers responded with a sigh.
The other four member of Group A sweat dropped at this.
Rufus chuckled then. "He may not be the most affable person, but please, do try to extend your kindness to my brother." He implored the teenagers. "May the goddess' blessings be with you. I pray your field study activities are fruitful."
...
Only a few moments later and Rufus was gone, having been driven off in his limo, leaving Group A by themselves out in front of the hotel.
"So...that was Rufus Albarea. I've heard rumors about him." Machias commented. "They say he's the ace of the Noble Faction. Meeting him in person, it's easy to see where that reputation originated." He admitted begrudgingly.
"If I were to ever meet him, I was expecting him to be amicable. However, I did not foresee him being so kind and charming." Laura stated evenly.
"Not to mention he effortlessly thrust Jusis into the role of cute little brother." Fie remarked.
"Hmph. I would've preferred you NOT to have seen that." Jusis confessed, a tad irritated to be seen off-balance and unnerved like that. "Though I must admit, I wasn't expecting him to leave Bareahard just as we arrived. How unfortunate..."
"What do you mean?" Machias questioned.
"Nothing that concerns you." The aloof noble brushed his classmate off with a shake of his head. "We should check in at the hotel and begin our work." He told them, as he turned and made for the entrance.
"W-Wait..." Machias followed after the blonde as he headed into the hotel. He was, of course, ignored.
"Come on. Let's go drop off our things." Rean said then.
Both girls nodded their heads in agreement at that.
Group A was met with a warm and kind welcome from the hotel staff, the manager himself insisting they were given the most expensive accommodations they had to offer, free of charge, of course. Jusis, obviously, turned them down, then proceeded to instruct them not to give them anything extravagant, just two normal rooms, one for the boys and one for the girls. He also went on to apprise them of how he was here in Bareahard not as the son of Duke Albarea, but as a student of Thors and desired to be treated as such. It took some convincing from the blonde, but the staff eventually got the point, and assigned them their rooms.
Group A was currently settling in, Rean, Jusis and Machias just finishing up with putting away their stuff in the room they'd been given, just as Fie and Laura were assuredly doing a few doors down in their own room.
Rean sat upon the bed he'd chosen, while Jusis and Machias stood, the three boys taking a moment to pause, so as to make sure Fie and Laura were done as well, before they headed over to get them and get the day really started. Even with something this benign. the tension between Jusis and Machias was still all too palpable. The raven-haired youth fought back a sigh at that fact. 'This is really not going to be easy...'
The door to their room was opened then, the visitor not bothering to even knock; Fie waltzing on in like she owned the place. She didn't stop there either, as she came directly on over to Rean's bed and unceremoniously plopped her butt down beside him.
Both the bespectacled genius and the aloof nobleman stared at her because of this, understandably taken aback by her sheer audacity, their incredulousness worn openly. They had every reason to, she did, after all, just stroll in like nobodies business, into the room of three individuals of the opposite sex, without so much as bothering to ask or even knock.
"The sheer gall..." Jusis remarked with a shake of his head.
"She's certainly...bold, that's for sure." Machias chose his words carefully, still just a tad intimidated from her words and actions during their trips down into the old schoolhouse. 'We could have been changing for all she knew, and still, she just walked right on in like it was nothing...' He thought. 'Despite learning more about her background, the fact that she used to be a jaeger, she's still so...strange to me. Almost an enigma. '
Rean, however, was hardly shocked by her actions. Still, seeing Machias and Jusis' reactions, well, the humble swordsman couldn't help but laugh out loud. "Yeah, that's Fie for ya. You get used to it, eventually." He assured his male classmates.
"I'm guessing you guys are ready?" Fie spoke then, not bothering to address the reactions she'd gotten out of the other two besides her childhood friend.
"Yeah, we were just about to come and get you and Laura, like we all agreed we'd do. If you couldn't be bothered to wait, that's fine. But when you come to the room of three guys, you're usually expected to knock first." He explained to her, more out of levity than actual want to lecture, as she knew this, and he knew that.
The silver-haired maiden did nothing to address that other than give a simple shrug.
"Do you often find yourself barging into the rooms of the opposite gender?" Jusis posed to her snarkily.
"Nope. Just Rean's." She answered bluntly and honestly.
That got both Machias and Jusis to quirk an eyebrow.
"That's not entirely true. You usually knock." Her best friend contradicted her statement. "Well, I mean, technically. You've knocked lately, at least. I suppose it's true that you never really knocked back when we were kids." He amended his previous statement.
"While we're on the subject of rooms..." Jusis began.
"Yeah, Elliot said something about how you two are apparently accustomed to sharing the same room." Machias finished for his rival.
"I'm not one to indulge in such frivolities as gossip and the like, however, I find myself curious..." The blonde teen preambled. "What could two teenagers get up to, alone, in the same room? Other than illicit activities, of course." He commented with a ghost of smirk.
"W-What!? N-No, i-it's not like that! We haven't shared a room, at least not just the two of us, since we were kids! I swear!" Rean insisted, fighting back a blush. "Besides, we're not-"
Cutting him off, the bespectacled boy spoke, taking up the task of teasing their straight-laced classmate; having picked up on what his less-than friendly acquaintance was doing. "A straight arrow like Rean? Never. I'm sure said affairs were nothing but completely wholesome." Sarcasm rolled off the green-haired teen in waves, as he tried and failed to stifle a grin.
Rean spluttered, as he attempted to correct the two, only to have things escalate further.
Taking a page right out of Crow's book, Fie dived head first into the teasing. "You caught us. We go at it like bunnies anytime we share a room." What she lacked in delivery, having done so in her usual stonefaced and stoic manner, she made up for in indiscernibility, as anyone would be hard pressed to glean whether she was joking, or just straight up stating a fact. In other words, if Machias and Jusis didn't know any better, they might have actually believed her when she said that.
In that moment, Rean looked utterly bewildered and completely embarrassed, causing Fie to grin with mirth, and the two who were almost always at each other's throats, to burst into laughter.
Realizing he was the butt of the joke, Rean opted to stay quiet as he attempted to compose himself. 'Well, regardless of the fact that it was at my expense, at least those two are getting along long enough to do something, even if it is teasing me. Bonus points for Jusis, considering that's not usually his thing.'
As if he'd jinxed it, the laughter came to an abrupt halt then, the aloof noble and the bespectacled boy having realized what they had done; fraternized with the enemy. Perhaps such a comparison was extreme, but with how the two regarded each other, it wasn't that far off.
The stubborn teens hmphed in unison and turned away in opposite directions; acting almost like petulant children.
'Oh come on, how immature can you get!' Rean thought exasperatively to himself, holding himself back from actually saying such a thing aloud.
"Brats." Grin fading; Fie came right out and said what her childhood friend had been thinking, just in far fewer words, the sentiment was the same though.
...
Silence hung in the room for a few moments after that, before being broken by Laura's arrival.
"Since we're all here, let's get to reading our tasks for the day." Jusis said, prompting Rean to hand over the envelope as he did.
Rean did as his fellow noble bid, giving him the envelope after standing up.
As the aloof blonde opened it up and pulled out the list from inside, the rest of the group gathered around him and silently read along with him.
The list contained three tasks. The first was from someone known as Hasan Voltaire, a member of a noble family of some esteem, to procure a rare kind of bath salt not found in most places. The second was from a man known as Bruc, who required assistance in locating and acquiring some sort of semi-precious stone. The third and final task was from the Kruezen Provincial Army's soldiers at Aurochs Fort; the request being that of the monster extermination nature, as apparently there was a violent beast on one of the less traveled paths of the Aurochs Canyon. Atop an overlooking cliff, to be exact, and they wished it to be dealt with.
Below the tasks was additional information regarding the field study itself. Jusis proceeded to read this info aloud, "Study area is defined as a hundred selge radius around north and east Bareahard. Each student must record his or her activities daily, to be remitted to the instructor upon request."
"One request from a noble, followed by one from an artisan...that should certainly keep things interesting." Laura commented.
"Yeah, they seemed to have struck a good balance here." Rean remarked.
"The monster one sounds irritating." Fie complained
"You're right Fie, it does sound troublesome. Since that's the case, I say we leave that one for last, just to be on the safe side." The affable swordsman agreed.
"I'd advise that regardless. The path through the canyon is long and treacherous." Jusis apprised the group. "We should complete our other tasks before we venture out that way, lest we run out of time." He advised.
"That certainly makes sense." The well spoken noble granted.
"Fine by me." The stoic girl said simply.
"Hmph. I have no objections either." Machias let them know.
"Alright then, let's get started."
They attended to the task requiring them to go to the artisan's street first, finding the store the client owned and paid it a visit. There they met both the client, Bruc, and a man known as Bengt, who, as it turned out, was more their client than Bruc was. How so? As it turned out, the stone they were to locate was for a ring Bengt planned on giving to his girlfriend for when they married in the near future. Bengt had made a substantial journey in search of the perfect ring, and it brought him to Bareahard, where the artisans were renowned far and wide for their skill in gem processing. However, buying one of the local gems on Bengt's income wasn't very plausible.
That said, with Bruc's help, a solution was devised. While a precious stone might be out of his budget, there existed stones just as beautiful, for a whole let cheaper. Semi-precious stone, they were called. Bruc had suggested making a ring with such a stone, more specifically, with one known as 'Dryad's Tear.' The reason it was so much more affordable was simple, it was made up of a very particular tree sap that hardened like stone after being exposed to the air for a long time. Fortunately, many trees that excrete said special sap stood along the North Kreuzen Highway. Even still, despite so many trees having the correct chemical makeup to produce the sap, it was still pretty rare to find one and as such was bound to be a difficult task
As they were told this, a strange man cut into the conversation, introducing himself as one Baron Bleublanc. This man was clearly an eccentric, seeing as he was a self-proclaimed connoisseur and lover of beauty in all of its forms. Why did he butt into the conversation in the first place? To espouse about how it might not be as difficult to find what they sought as it was being made out to be, as he had seen such a stone with his very own eyes naught but moments ago. They questioned him on the matter, to make sure it was actually the the faux-gem they were seeking. He assured them though, that he'd come across that exact stone, but then went on to confess that he was not so familiar with the area that he could actually tell them precisely where he'd seen it, only that it was indeed somewhere along the northern highway.
Group A was dubious of his claims, of course, and furthermore, they multilaterally found this eccentric of a man annoying and or irritating in one way or another, Laura being the sole outlier on this perception of the man. Even still, they appreciated his help and thanked him for it, before setting out to find and retrieve the stone, paying his 'tip' only the briefest of minds.
...
After locating and procuring the stone, the five teens made their way back to Bareahard. They found themselves temporarily impeded, as they were forced to pull back from the road and stand aside from it, as armored cars bearing the mark of the Kreuzen Province made their way through and toward Bareahard themselves. Taking note of the fact that they were the latest models on the market, Fie shared this fact aloud to the others. They needn't ask how she knew that, and as such, the conversation ended shortly thereafter, as the vehicles finished passing and they could continue their return.
...
Returning to the store where their clients awaited and informing them they'd found what they required, Group A were surprised to find Bengt looking rather dejected. They had obviously inquired as to why that was, but, after they'd handed over the stone, they were subjected to the presence of a certain man before they could receive an explanation.
This man, a noble, was demanding that the artisan hand over what he'd come here for. Bruc, of course, obliged the wealthy man and proffered him the Dryad's Tear. The nobleman, Count Gorti, simply disparaged the commonfolk as he all but snatched the stone from the jeweler, going on about how such and such was the reason why commoners never get anywhere in life. The maid, called Nora, at the nobleman's side confirmed the authenticity of the Dryad's Tear and assured her master it was safe to consume. So, he simply did so, much to the shock and vexation of the five students.
Machias was incapable of holding his tongue and found himself halfway through castigating the older man before realizing that he had erred. Count Gorti, thinking himself beyond reproach, simply reminded the teen of his place as a commoner and warned him to not speak out of turn again, lest he find his life cut short, one way or another. Jusis took up the mantle of censure, as he grilled the lower ranking noble on why he did what he did.
Seeing as Jusis was the son of none other than Duke Albarea, Count Gorti was tripping over himself to explain in full, and did as such. He'd bought the stone from Bengt before they had returned with it, not that he'd have taken no for answer, and as such had every right to do whatever he wished with his property. He insisted that he'd done absolutely nothing improper. And as to why he chose to consume it, that decision was based off a ignorant preconceived notion that the Dryad's Tear could prevent the effects of aging. Ludicrous as it was, the noble insisted that it was his prerogative, before hurriedly taking his leave from the establishment, wishing to remain no longer; after he'd received Jusis' permission, of course.
After his departure, Bengt confirmed everything was on the level and he'd received compensation for the stone. That said, he did make it clear he didn't actually wish to sell the stone, but deference to one of higher status was absolutely mandatory outside areas of the Chancellor's, and by extension the Reformist Faction's, reach. And as such, he had no real way to refuse. So he simply bit the bullet and accepted the lump sum of Mira. It would be enough for a deposit on a ring in his local area, at the least.
Giving the students a strained smile, Bengt apologized for the trouble and thanked them for all their help, before bidding them farewell and leaving the store, intending to catch the next train out of Bareahard.
From there, Baron Bleublanc made his presence known once more, and spoke further with the group, his distaste for the turn of events evident. They conversed with him for a minute or so before he took his leave, leaving the five even more frustrated.
In an attempt to relieve some of that frustration, Bruc assured them that, as far as he was concerned, they'd still fulfilled the request. Not that it actually made them feel any better.
The first of the three tasks completed, on a sour note though it may be, the five teenagers moved on to the next one.
Group A's hopes that the second task wouldn't leave such a bad taste in their mouths, as the first had, was, unfortunately, not entirely realized. As when they met with the client, they were once more met with disregard and denigration for commoners, and themselves by extension by two teens close to their own age. They changed their tune right quick when they realized the likes of Laura Arseid and Jusis Albarea were among the five though. Even going so far as to insist they no longer required their services, as such a menial task, in spite of how difficult it might be, was beneath them. Jusis brushed the ass-kissing off and politely, for him anyway, assured them a request was a request and that they would follow through.
Knowing where the rare bath salts were located, thanks to Jusis' knowledge of where one could find the specific bath salt the two pompous teens wanted, pink salt, they went out to take care of it. As it turned out, it required them to go along a similar path as their monster extermination request. So they would go ahead and take care of both, as such, they set out from the city onto the Aurochs Canyon Path.
...
It worked out where the group of five students came across their extermination target before the pink salt; it was a strange looking creature, to be sure. It stood on it's goat-esque hind legs, it's height surpassing that of any man; it rocked a pair of horns and some scary-looking mandibles, and where it's head ended and it's torso began was anyone's guess. It also sported an oval like mouth full of teeth, more akin to a human than a beast; eight yellow-colored eyes obtruded from it's head, and it's arms were almost pincer like and covered in spikes. Not to mention it's body was chitinous in nature, as if it's entire form was covered in armor. Up close, it was an intimidating beast, to be sure.
Not that Group A seemed to care all that much, having engaged the beast immediately upon sighting it. In an attempt to prove they could work together in spite of the friction between them, both duos of Machias and Jusis and Fie and Laura took point, Rean providing backup as they did battle with the monster. It actually went well, at least for a while. Unfortunately, things went sour roughly halfway into the fight.
It started when Machias was unloading a number of rounds from his orbal-powered shotgun into the creature, causing it to hiss in pain and focus it's attention solely on him. Jusis then used that opportunity to lunge forward and attempt to pierce the beast's chitinous flesh at a particular angle, managing to score a glancing blow at least, blood drawn from the thing. Dodging it's counterattack, a swipe of it's spike riddled arms, Jusis evaded danger and prepared for a follow-up attack. It was in that exact moment, that the link between the bespectacled genius and the aloof noble was severed.
The sudden feeling of their connection shattering, along with the surprise of it, left them in trouble. Jusis in particular, as he became vulnerable in that moment, having hesitated for just a moment because of it. The monster tried to use this to it's advantage, as it attempted to imbed one of it's spiky appendages in the young blonde. Only to be thwarted, as it was assaulted by a string of bullets, courtesy of Fie, the led impacting it's armor-like skin and causing it to verbalize it's anger and pain. Laura rushed in to assist with a follow up strike, allowing Jusis to fall back to a more comfortable distance from their enemy. Delivering a mighty blow to the back of the beast with her bastard sword, Laura inflicted major damage upon the monster, getting it to howl in pain.
The well spoken noble girl then wound up for an additional slash, one that would more than likely kill the beast, or at least maim it to the point where the battle would end soon thereafter. Only for the situation to be exacerbated, as out of nowhere, the combat link she'd formed with Fie completely broke.
Both parties were shocked by this, so much so that they rethought their current course of action. Fie cut her attack off, while Laura retreated from her position, for good reason, as the monster swiped at her with one of it's arms in a desperate attempt to protect it's wounded self. Both girls then glanced toward one and other, locking eyes, bewilderment in their colored orbs, as they realized they were incapable of reestablishing the link.
Rean dashed toward the monster in that moment, blade at the ready. Fie, thinking on her feet, abandoned the thought of reforming the link with Laura, and instead opted to form one with her childhood friend, pulling it off effortlessly. She then followed his lead and ran at the creature, gunswords prepared.
...
The skirmish with the beast went on for another few minutes, before, after a final thrust of Jusis' saber, it fell to the ground, defeated.
As their target lay before them, Group A regrouped and put away there weapons.
Machias and Jusis were both halfway bent over, panting with exhaustion. While Fie and Laura were, well, they were fine, however, they did very noticeably, uncomfortably so, do their best to avoid looking at each other.
"That was...rough." Rean stated, summing up the troublesome nature of the battle they had just finished in a simple manner; just like Fie and Laura, he looked no worse for wear from the fight.
"True. However, we still emerged victorious." Laura said.
"Yeah, doesn't change the fact we shouldn't've had nearly that much trouble killing it." Fie asserted, tone a tad scathing.
Laura opted to not respond, simply keeping the surge of irritation she felt to herself.
Machias and Jusis straightened their postures and collected themselves, before turning toward one and other.
"What the hell is wrong with you, Jusis Albarea!?" Machias exclaimed with anger. "Why did you sever the link?!" He demanded.
"Don't even think of trying to place the blame on me, Machias Regnitz!" Jusis replied with vexation. "YOU were the one who severed the link!" He argued with vehemence.
Without warning, the two charged each other then, stopping at the last second and, in unison, grabbed each other by the shirt collars. Now in each other's face, their heated dispute continued.
"You said you'd cooperate, but you just couldn't do it, could you? You couldn't bring yourself to stoop to the same level as a commoner like me!" Machias asseverated furiously. "You nobles truly are beyond redemption. You're utterly hopeless, through and through!" He proclaimed with disgust.
"You asinine little...!" Jusis bit his tongue to keep from saying something vile, before coming up with a more appropriate response. "Why can't you see that all of this is born from your own prejudice and narrow-mindedness?!" The noble-born boy rebuked.
"That's enough!" Rean shouted at the bickering teenagers.
"We must not fight. It will only exacerbate our situation." Laura attempted to reason, unconsciously doing so with herself regarding her situation with Fie as well.
"Quit it with the arguing. Now's not the time." Fie spoke to them tersely.
"Stay out of this! This is our problem!" Machias pretty much told them to back off.
"Why don't we settle this once and for all? Let me show you how much better than you I really am!" Jusis blustered.
"See?! You admit it! You and your holier than though attitude, it makes me sick! You and your family, the nobility as a whole...you're what's wrong with this damn country!" The bespectacled teenager vociferated, his anger only growing, to the point where he was no longer even thinking clearly. "You don't even have any real power or influence, it all comes from your father! How does it feel knowing that? That you're nothing but an extension of his name?! That you'll always be known as his progeny or his last name?!" He ranted and raved. "You're nothing on your own merits, just some noble's random offspring!"
Jusis' eyes widened to their fullest in that moment, as those words crashed over him and rang throughout his head. "Useless child, you are unworthy of the Albarea name. And without that, you are nothing." Those words stirred something within him, getting similar words he hated ever so much to think about echoing in his head. Jusis' eyes narrowed dangerously, and he snapped. "Silence Regnitz!" He cried with rage, fulminating, he proceeded to deck his rival square in the face, shattering the lenses of his glasses upon impact, and bending the frames at an awkward angle. The dark green-haired teen let go of Jusis' collar and stumbled back from the blow to the face, his destroyed spectacles falling to the ground.
Laura gasped, Fie's eyes widened in surprise, and Rean yelled, "Jusis!"
Instantly regretting his actions, the usually aloof noble realized he had erred. "I-I shouldn't have done that." He said simply. "I apologize." Surprisingly, he sounded more sincere than he had in some time. "I will replace-"
Machias failed to respond to the apology, looking down at his broken glasses as his adversary went on to say something along the lines of paying for replacements. Raising his gaze to look at the blonde once more, it was his turn to snap. "Albarea!" He cried as he charged the noble boy, tackling him to the ground.
The moment they hit the ground, Machias repaid Jusis with a punch of his own. This reignited the blonde's anger, and he responded in kind, and an exchange of blows began.
"Cut it out!" Rean yelled at the brawling teenagers, not that they paid him any heed. "I said stop!"
As they continued to ignore him, trading fists and giving bruises in equal measure, they failed to notice something, something important.
"If they will not listen to reason, we have no choice but to break them up with force." Laura put forth.
"Mm." Came Fie's simple agreement.
Rean opened his mouth to tell them he was on it, when he noticed it out of the corner of his eye; the beast they thought vanquished had begun rising off the ground, clearly very much still among the living. And to make matters worse? As Machias and Jusis struggled with one and other, they found themselves back on their feet, and had maneuvered themselves far closer to what they had thought to be the monster's corpse. It was within spitting distance of them, in fact. Why hadn't they noticed it? Simple, they were far too caught up in their toss-up to pay enough attention to notice the creature creeping back up.
"Listen you two! You have to stop this, now!" He shouted at them once more. "Look behind you!" He attempted to warn them, already rushing to their aid as he did.
Fie, having sensed the faintest trace of life from the monster, realized it was still alive at roughly the same time Rean did, only a few milliseconds behind him in that regard. So she was right behind him. Laura, on the other hand, only realized what was going on a moment afterward, leaving her a few good paces behind as she too came running.
Jusis and Machias were within two inches of each other, attempting to overpower one and other through physical force. The former of the two possessed a bloody nose and a number of scuff marks, while the latter had a number of forming bruises. Not that either party paid much attention to their very minor injuries, as they continued to assault one and other. What did get them to stop, however, was when they finally realized how dire a situation they were in. They noticed the monster, only it was too late, it was already mid-lunge, it's good arm being brought down upon them.
Just before the beast could connect, Rean was there, shoving both Jusis and Machias out of the way, and taking the attack in their place. The beast's arm slammed into the raven-haired teen's back, the many spikes covering it's appendage piercing his through his clothes straight into his flesh, perforating his back. The pain was only worsened, as the creature dragged it's arm downward, creating a number of lacerations, as the holes were ripped into tears in the flesh. Rean endured this silently, falling to one knee.
There was never a possibility of a follow-up to the monster's attack, as Fie had been only microseconds behind Rean. As such, in the middle of it dragging it's arm down, she had leapt toward it, gunswords at the ready, and proceeded to bury them to the hilt in it's skull; the entry point the area of it's facial structure where it's left set of eyes were aligned and the right set of eyes were aligned. Letting out a screech of agony, the monster collapsed onto the ground, dying almost immediately from the steel puncturing it's brain.
"Rean!" Fie cried her childhood friend's name with concern, closing the few feet between her and him immediately.
"N-Nice work." Rean managed to grunt the compliment out the through the pain; Fie crouching down by his side.
"Are you alright!?" Laura inquired with concern, as she came to a stop behind them. Only for her to see the condition Rean's back was in for herself. "Oh my." She gasped.
The two teenagers that had been at each other's throats moments ago, both figuratively and literally, had gotten up off the ground and run over to Rean as quickly as they could.
"Holy shit." Machias exclaimed in disbelief, as he stopped, able to see the damage done.
There were at least a dozen gashes in Rean's back, his shirt and jacket torn up along with his flesh. The wounds varied from two inches in length, to eight inches in length. It wasn't very clear how deep they were, though they were bleeding quite a bit.
"Wh-Why did you...?!" Jusis found himself unable to form a complete sentence, so shocked by what had just taken place.
"I-I'm fine, it's ju-just a scratch." Rean attempted to reassure his classmates with false bravado, face contorting in pain in that moment, making it even less believable.
"Scratch my ass!" Machias vociferated. "Your back is covered in blood!"
He certainly wasn't exaggerating, as the crimson substance covered almost every single solitary inch of the skin of Rean's back.
"This is no time for bluster. We must get you some medical attention, quickly." Jusis insisted.
"I was so sure we killed it! I shouldn't have let my guard down. I just keep...screwing up..." Rean vocalized his disappointment with himself in that moment, all but ignoring the other two males.
"Enough of that. You're not the one who screwed up here." Fie dictated. "Now, let's get your jacket and shirt off, so we can stop the bleeding of that 'scratch' of yours."
...
A few moments later, Rean sat on the ground, his bloody shirt and jacket thrown to the side, as Fie prepared behind him, the young girl on her knees as she brandished some disinfectant, a clean rag and a roll of bandages. Wasting no time, she began to clean the blood from his back, splashing a bit of disinfectant on him when needed.
"You were certainly prepared." Laura remarked, clearly a tad surprised by the fact.
"Where were you carrying that stuff?" Machias questioned.
"We're fortunate you had the foresight to bring such provisions." Jusis commented.
Fie ignored the three entirely, focused solely on attending to Rean's wounds. Almost done with the blood clean up, she began applying the disinfectant directly to the gashes. The affable swordsman powered through the effects of it without complaint; sucking in air through his teeth as he endured the stinging pain he was afflicted with as a result.
"When did you get this proficient in first-aid, Fie?" Rean asked her then, curious.
Unlike with the other three, she answered him without delay. "I've been taking extra lessons from Beatrix in my spare time, in addition to the ones we received as a class." She informed him. "I'm not too great at healing arts, but I still wanted a way to treat you if you ever got hurt. So, since we got back from Celdic, I've been learning how to properly clean and dress wounds, even more serious ones." She explained, as she began wrapping his wounds. "I'm no expert, but I should be just good enough to patch you up to proper standards." She assured him.
Rean laughed at this. "You're amazing, Fie." He commended her.
Fie let a tiny grin of contentment form on her face then. "Thanks."
...
A few minutes later, and Fie was done. For a lack of a better option, Rean redressed in his torn up and bloody shirt and jacket. "Thanks, Fie. I feel a bit better already."
Fie, now crouched beside her childhood friend instead of on her knees behind him, took Rean's right arm and positioned it around her shoulder, allowing her to support his weight and help him off the ground and to his feet. "You're welcome. We're lucky your wounds aren't more serious, though. You should be fine. Even still, we need to get an actual medical expert to look you over, just to be safe. And, to keep you from straining the muscles in your back, you should let one of us help you walk for a while." She instructed.
"Yes Ma'am." Rean replied with a side of mirth.
Machias and Jusis both stepped forward then. "I'm sorry, Rean, I..." Machias began, his remorse written all over his face and showing through with his body language.
"It's our fault that you were injured." Jusis finished, a similar demeanor about him.
"Oh, don't worry about it." Rean assured them with a smile. "It wouldn't have happened if I'd been paying more attention. I'm just glad neither of you were hurt." He kindly told them.
"Why are you so...?" Machias trailed off, unsure of how to voice his feelings on the matter, expression one of confusion and a tad of exasperation.
"..." Jusis averted his gaze in that moment, breaking eye-contact with the diffident swordsman, clearly uncomfortable.
"Seriously, it's alright. You heard Fie, It's worse than it looks." Rean attempted to assuage their sense of guilt. "I mean, I can still continue, can't I?" He queried Fie then.
A bit reluctant, Fie confirms this fact. "Yeah."
"See? It's all good, really." He reiterated.
Neither of the other two boys did more than nod their heads.
"Alright then, let's get moving." Rean suddenly said.
"Are you certain, Rean? If you need a little rest before we go, we can take a few minutes." Laura attempted to offer her fellow sword wielder, clearly concerned.
"We need to report in to Aurochs fort and let them know about the monster we just defeated." Rean replied with a shake of his head. "The sooner we do that, the sooner we can get back to the city." He pointed out.
"Yeah. I suppose it's not a done deal until we file our report." Machias nodded in agreement.
"Aurochs Fort isn't much farther across the canyon. We may need to hurry if we wish to be back in Bareahard by nightfall, however." Jusis apprised.
"If you're sure about this, then let's be on our way." The well spoken swordswoman gave her reluctant agreement, obviously worried about moving her injured classmate so soon.
"Laura, would you mind taking the first shift supporting Rean?" Fie kindly asked of Laura.
The noble-born girl seemed a little surprised by the more than amicable tone, but agreed regardless.
...
As Rean and Laura moved ahead, Machias and Jusis went to follow, only to have Fie stop them short. She said nothing, simply silently holding them up for a few moments. Neither teen knew why, and neither asked, simply waiting for her to tell them what this was all about. And after several moments, she finally did, Rean and Laura drawing close to the point where they'd be out of immediate earshot.
"Rean may not blame you, but I do." Fie bluntly informed them, tone taking on an uncharacteristic vexation.
Needless to say, both teens were taken aback by this, not having expected it from the stoic girl.
"Like it or not, you're the ones accountable for his injuries. If you hadn't been so hotheaded and just plain stupid, he wouldn't have gotten hurt saving your asses." She needlessly reminded them, an emotion approaching contempt discernible in her voice.
The rivals had absolutely no response to her words, incapable, or rather, unwilling, to argue with her. She was absolutely right. He'd tried to warn them, they wouldn't listen, and he ended up getting hurt because of it. There was no denying that fact.
"Get your shit together." The silver-haired maiden berated them. "And I'll make sure to do the same with Laura." She added on a more introspective note.
With that, the ex-jaeger simply turned and walked away, making after Rean and Laura.
Thoroughly reprimanded, the bespectacled genius, after having picked up his broken pair of glasses, and the aloof noble followed after, guilt heavy in their hearts.
A little later...
The five teens had made some headway to Aurochs Fort, supposedly only half an hour out now, if that. When suddenly, Machias and Jusis came to a stop. The other three came to a stop as well then, mostly because they had been following the two.
The pair of rivals turned concerned eyes Rean's way.
"How's your injury?" Jusis inquired.
"If it's hurting too much, we can stop for awhile, o-or at least slow down a bit..." Machias offered.
Rean chuckled at that. "It's no big deal. Honest!" He assured them. "Fie effectively stopped the bleeding, and it hardly even hurts anymore." It was a white lie, and anyone could see it for what it was. "Besides, this is nothing compared to the injuries I sustained during the last field study. You guys only saw me after I'd been treated some and bandaged up, so you don't know how bad it really was. It was way worse than this, and that's not even counting the bullet wound. Those hurt way more than this does, trust me." That, on the other hand, was the honest to goodness truth. Not that it made the guilty parties feel any better.
"Well, if you're sure." Machias conceded reluctantly
"If you truly are in pain, there's no shame in admitting it." Jusis let him know bluntly.
"Thanks, Jusis. It's not like it doesn't hurt at all or anything, but really, I'm fine." The affable swordsman reassured. "I appreciate the concern though." He said, a she adjusted his position, so as to make sure he wasn't putting too much weight on Fie, who'd taken over supporting him at this point.
"We should keep moving." Fie reminded them all. "The sooner we get to the fort, the sooner we can get a medic to look at Rean's wounds."
"I'm not too sure a military installation will see fit to spare the resources to treat a student, Fie." Rean remarked with dubiety.
"They will. Or at least they will if a certain member of the Albarea family insists that they do." Fie pointedly glared in Jusis' direction then.
"Of course. I'll see to it that they treat him the moment we arrive." Jusis affirmed with the utmost sincerity.
"We should make haste then. The sooner it's looked at, the better." Laura put forth, to which the rest agreed.
So, they continued onward.
...
Group A had finally arrived, the sight of the grand and imposing fort before them. The fort was gigantic, and was built of hardy stone and reinforced with iron and steel in a great multitude of areas.
"So this is Aurochs Fort..." Laura said to herself.
"Not how I was expecting it to look." Fie admitted. "They modified an older fort...a lot." She observed. 'Those fortifications look rather recent.' She mentally noted to herself.
Jusis, Rean noticed, had his mouth slightly agape, and his eyes had widened to some degree. He looked surprised or shocked by something, subtle as it might be in comparison to how someone else might react. "Is something wrong, Jusis?" The diffident swordsman came right out and asked him.
Realizing he was displaying his shock, Jusis collected himself and hastily returned to his normal demeanor. "No. Not at all." He denied. "Let's go give our report, and get you proper medical treatment."
...
Descending the slightly twisting path down to the fort itself, Group A took notice of a train passing by overhead and to their left. The sound of it rolling along on the tracks had drawn their attention first, but once they saw the cargo of the train, well...it retained their attention.
The cargo, despite being covered by large blue tarps, could clearly be discerned as large vehicles, more specifically, tanks.
"I-Isn't that...?" Machias began to question.
"It appears to be a freight train from Bareahard." Laura stated.
"Looks like it's carrying tanks." Rean observed. "Pretty heavily armored ones, at that..."
"Those are the latest models from the Reinford Company." Fie informed them. "They're called 'Achtzehn.'"
Jusis shared no words with the others, silent on the matter, simply watching the train as it chugged on by. After a few moments though, he turned and continued on toward the fort. "Come on. We have things to do." He reminded them.
"Don't have to remind me." The stoic girl retorted, as she urged Rean to get moving again, to which he acquiesced.
"Gah, why does he have to be so...? Grr..." Machias grumbled to himself.
The five were on the move once more, when they were halted by a guard, once they had drawn too close to the front gate.
"Who goes there?"
Some time later...
After reporting in on their success regarding the monster extermination, and Rean had been looked over and given additional treatment at Jusis' behest, the five left the fort and began their trek back to the city. Not before Jusis had questioned the soldiers on just what was on that train he and his classmates had seen though. The soldiers, all too willing to oblige, excitedly informed the Albarea heir to the contents of the train, and how additional efforts were being made to beef up their offensive and defensive capabilities.
We, of course, being the Provincial Army as a whole, especially the sect. under Duke Albarea's command. Among their info, the soldiers also made it evident, even if they weren't trying to, that one of the reasons these additional armaments were coming in, was to give them the boost they needed to match, or perhaps even exceed, the might of the Imperial Army. Another part of these efforts was the significant fortification the fort itself had undergone while Jusis was away at Thors. And yet another that was coming soon, was the supping up of their anti-air defenses. All in all, a complete upgrade to the capabilities and strength of the Provincial Army.
It was unsettling, to say the least. It was because of this, that Machias felt it prudent to speak up...
"Wait." Machias spoke up, getting the others to stop and cast glances his way, all doing so individually; Rean no longer weighing anyone down.
They were roughly thirty minutes out from leaving the fort, so they still had a good length trek ahead of them before they reached Bareahard. Even still, the bespectacled boy couldn't keep it to himself any longer. "What is the meaning of all this?" He asked outright. "Heavy artillery like tanks, major fortification out of nowhere, state of the art anti-air defenses to come soon...?" He listed off. "If we were on the border with Crossbell or the Republic, maybe I could understand..." He put forth. "But why does the Provincial Army HERE need all this?!" He enjoined to know. "It's utter madness!"
"It's pretty obvious, isn't it?" Fie regarded him like he was stupid. "All that stuff means they're gearing up for war." She spelled it out for him. "Or, at the very least, preparing just in case war breaks out." She amended her statement.
"With who!?" Machias demanded with incredulity.
"Who could it possibly be besides the Imperial Army?" Laura pointed out the obvious, yet, even though she was the one to say it, she too seemed struck by the possibility, bewildered by the implication.
Machias recoiled at that, almost as if he was struck.
"Can you truly be so ignorant?" Jusis questioned rhetorically. "This is the reality of the present situation within the Empire." He apprised his rival candidly. "Tensions between Osborne's Reformist Faction and our Noble Faction grow worse by the day." He starkly elucidated. "Though admittedly, it's been happening mostly under the surface, away from the eyes of the general populace." The aloof noble conceded that point. "But this is just one of the many ways that conflict is manifesting itself."
"I'd heard rumors, but..." Rean trailed off, deciding it'd be better not to finish that thought.
"No doubt my Father was the one who ordered these fortifications." Jusis copped to that immediately, all but sure of it himself. "I have no intentions of giving any comments of my own on his decision." He let them know. "But if you wish to lodge a complaint, I'm quite happy to listen. So?"
Machias sighed quite heavily at that. "No, it's fine." He decided to forget about it for the moment, lest he come down with an ulcer. "The sun's going down. We should get back to Bareahard."
It was at that moment, a very loud sound began blaring through the air, reaching any and all ears within a multi-kilometer radius.
"What's that...?" Rean began to question.
"It sounds like a siren..." Laura opined. "And it seems to be coming from the fort."
Fie was the first to turn around, craning her head upward as she did.
"Fie, what's-" The humble swordsman began to inquire as to what the matter was with Fie, when he too spotted what she had caught sight of.
The other three turned in succession then, curious as to what the other two were doing, and they also found themselves gawking at something upward of their position.
There, relatively high in the sky, was a flying silver object that was eerily similar in appearance to the combat shell Sara had them battle during their practical exam this month, looking like a larger version of the same contraption. And even more peculiar than that? It appeared as though someone was riding on top of the object, as it flew overhead and continued on, until it left Group A's field of vision entirely.
"What was THAT?!" Machias exclaimed with bewilderment. "Are birds like that common around here!?" He questioned dumbly.
"Imbecile. That was no bird." Jusis chided him.
"Looked like someone was riding on it." Fie vocalized her observation.
"Yeah...I think it was a child, actually." Rean reckoned.
"W-What!?" Machias exclaimed with incredulity.
"Are you certain?" Jusis queried with a quirked brow.
"Going by the build, yeah. I didn't get a good look at the face, so I can't be a hundred percent sure...but I think so." Rean explained the reasoning behind his deduction.
"Unbelievable." Laura remarked.
Rean stared after where the child and the contraption had disappeared into the distance, brow furrowing in thought. 'Who was that kid...?'
In a remote back alley, at the very edge of Bareahard, stood two figures, watching and waiting.
The first figure was obscured completely by a brown cloak, making not only their identity indiscernible, but whether or not they were even male or female.
The second figure, on the other hand, was a different story. He was a familiar man with barely-shoulder length purple hair, and a black and white-themed wardrobe, a pair of silver-framed sunglasses topping off the look. One Warrick, The Silver Haze.
"You're real quiet there, guy." Warrick commented. "You gonna say anything, anything at all? I mean, we've been here awhile, and you haven't spoken a single syllable." He remarked further. "Gettin' real tired of talkin' to myself here." He bitched, a little annoyed, very bored.
The cloaked figure simply ignored him outright.
"Now you've got me wonderin', are you just not much of a talker? Or do you have a problem with me specifically?" The purple-haired jaeger pondered.
The hidden from sight person shifted then.
"Aha! That's the first reaction I got out ya!" The thirty-something man exclaimed. "Guess that means you really do have a problem with me." He surmised. "Did my corp kill someone you know? A friend? Family member? Lover? Give me somethin' to go on here." He whined. "Or, is it just cuz' I'm a jaeger?"
The cloak shifted once more.
"So that's it? Not a fan of jaeger's, huh?" He conjectured. "Too bad for you then. Sucks you got assigned to the same mission I did." He attempted to sympathize, though it was obvious he didn't much care. "Just keep your eyes peeled. We've gotta find that damn br-"
Warrick cut his own words off, as in the distance, a number of feet off the ground and in the sky, he caught sight of a young girl riding atop a flying silver object. "Never mind." He said then, as he rolled his stiff shoulders and the corners of his lips curled upward into a predatory grin. "Target sighted."
The two figures moved to leave the alley and make after the girl and object. And as they did, Warrick made another remark, "I'd heard a lot about this place. The Verdant City, they called it. But it's nothing special, just another city full of lies and bullshit, with the faint smell of steel in the air. That's fine though, when I'm done, the smell of blood will join it. Should smell better then. And it'll definitely be more honest that way."
END NOTE: Did ya catch that line Jusis recalled in his head from his past? That's not a throwaway, that'll be back. Yeah, you guys thought Rean and Fie would be the only ones with shiny and cool new AU stuff, huh? Not quite. I've decided to expand upon the backgrounds of several members of Class VII, writing certain things I've drawn conclusions about regarding their early lives, but were never openly expressed in the story of the games. Or, at least the first two games anyway. And for those that I find nothing interesting to write about in their pasts, well, I have their futures, the field studies for example, to take advantage of for character development and subplots. So...yeah, not gonna just focus solely on Rean and Fie, don't worry. I tell you this because I'm sure you guys have been wondering why I haven't given more time to some of the other members of Class VII. Oh and before anyone jumps to any conclusions, no, I don't plan on doing anything more regarding Rean and Emma, that little incident occurred for comedic sake...and to...add something, to later Rean and Fie interactions. That's it.
Anyway, it's really early in the morning, I'm dead tired and ready to go to bed. So forgive any spelling errors. Here's the chapter, hot off the presses. Peace out, I am going to bed.
