A small cafe stood on the corner. It was called the "ABC Cafe". It was often used by the students for hanging out and eating and drinking. There were some hanging out there now. Gino was sitting at a table, drinking from his cup irritably. Three other young men were sitting with him. One had brown hair with triangular bangs over his forehead and piercing green eyes. Another was a bit younger with ruffled brown hair and pale red-violet eyes. The last person was an older boy with slightly spiked dark red hair and almost black blue eyes.
"The sections have been prepared at Notre Dame." the green-eyed youth said in a low voice.
"They're starting to strain the leash at Rue du Bac." the brunette added.
"It's happening, then. The tide is turning int he people's favor at last," with that, the red-haired boy then raised his voice, gathering the other students attention. "Gather 'round all of you! The time has come at last! Paris is on our side!"
Gino then stood up as well, addressing the others. "It's coming up fast, stirring the blood in their veins! But don't let it get to your heads, especially when we're drinking this awesome wine!" he took a gulp from his cup for added effect before addressing them again.
"Our foe is a dangerous one, with men and weapons that far outnumber our own! We could easily hold our own against the soldiers here, but the National Guard is a different story all together! So, we have to get a sign to rally the people, to call them to arms and- Rai, there you are!"
Gino stopped mid-sentence as Rai came into the cafe, looking disoriented. He mumbled a "sorry" and sat down at the table.
The brunette looked at Rai curiously. "What's with you? You look as if you've seen a ghost."
Rai looked very distant, a faint smile on his lips. "Perhaps I have, Rolo. Maybe that's why she's like that..."
The green-eyed teen raised an eyebrow at this as he sauntered over to Rai's side. "Well well, do my ears and eyes deceive me? Rai seems to have fallen in love! Rai, the only one of us who never tried to get an actual girlfriend! Rai, the only one of us to talk nonstop of the battles and different politics more than any of us! Now he's like a Don Juan? It's just like an opera!"
The red-haired man then placed a firm hand on the green-eyed teen's head. "Enough Renya. We have more important things to than fooling around like this." he said sternly.
"Fine fine, I'll stop. Happy, Naoto?"
"Quite."
Gino then climbed onto the table, cleared his throat and spoke so they could all hear him. "It's time for us to decide: are we fighting for the right to go out later at night? What prices are we going to have to pay? Are we just a bunch of rich boys playing a game? The colors of the world are changing day by day!" With that, Gino snatched up the table cloth and showed it to the others.
"Red: the blood of angry men, of a world about to dawn!" one side was vivid red.
"Black: the dark of ages past, or the night that ends at last!" the other side was jet black.
The students clapped at his show, all except Rai, who was lost in thought, that faint smile still on his face.
"What the hell, Rai? I'm trying to show you I'm being serious!" Gino almost whined as he jumped down from the table.
"I'm sorry."
"Why are you acting like this? It's just a girl!"
"Had you been there, you would have understood, Gino. You would know what it was like to have time stop that moment and everything seem right to you. How that one person changed the world around you in a single moment in time. And everything wrong resolves itself, and everything right becomes jumbled."
Gino still held the tablecloth and Rai took it from him, showing it around. "It's just like with this cloth," He looked at the red side, "I can feel my soul on fire and I want her to be by my side," and he switched to the black side of the cloth, "I feel so lost without her by my side and if she were to-" he cut himself off as his hands tightened around the cloth enough to turned them white.
Gino then put a hand on his shoulder, eyes hardened. "Rai, we're not kids anymore. I don't doubt your feelings, but our lives are now for a higher cause! Our little lives mean nothing in the grand scheme of things!"
He took the cloth from Rai's hands and held it high. "This will be our symbol: The red of a new world, and the black of an old one!" The students cheered at this. Rai said nothing, gripping his fists tightly as he thought of her. He was also dimly aware of two young voices trying to be heard over the cheering. He paid it no mind until-
"EVERYBODY!"
That got the students attention. Vivicar and Charles stood in front of them. The younger brunette had been the one who shouted, and he then gestured to Vivicar, who said, "Schniezal is dead."
A hush fell over them all, the previous positiveness had evaporated in a heartbeat.
"Schniezal is dead," Gino repeated slowly and gravely, "his death will be the starting point; the flame that will push us forward into action! His death is the sign we await!"
So, Renya is Conbeferre, Rolo is Feuilly, and Naoto is Courfeyrac. God, these names are a pain to type out...
I know how Rai AKA Marius feels about love. The feeling of being away from the man or woman you love can be hard because you love them so much you want to see them as much as possible. And the time between the times you see them make those times with them that much more special.