Ugh, school. Yeah, now that school's started up again for me, I'm not going to make any promises about an update rate. I assume I'll still be able to get stuff out every two weeks, but I can't guarantee anything.

Anyway, it isn't just school that's going to be taking up most of my time, as I've now got a composing "job" going with a few other fanfic writers. We're currently in development for a crossover visual novel with games such as Kingdom Hearts, Golden Sun, Jak and Daxter, amongst others. While Fire Emblem isn't one of the crossing fandoms, you may be associated with one of the others, so here's a link to the site:

fandomallstars (a dot) weebly (a dot) com

Take note that it's still in the fairly early development stages, so there isn't too much to see on the site yet. And if you were wondering where I am on the list, I'm not going by my penname and I'm not a writer. Like I said before, I'm composing, so as of right now I'm the only one doing the music.

Okay, well, that's about all I have to say. Now you can't complain if I don't update on schedule anymore; actually, I'm going to say that there is no set update schedule anymore so that I can focus on whatever I need to.

Disclaimer: Refer to chapter one

Yin and Yang
(Edward)

"What were you thinking?! Do you have any idea how many times I called you?!"

Yikes, L'Arachel seems oddly out of character right now. Then again, judging by what she's saying, it makes some sense. I still don't know why she's here though…

"I-I'm sorry!" I stuttered, using a bit of force to push her off of me. "My phone must've broke because I haven't gotten any calls or texts from anyone!"

Her expression didn't change, and I can honestly say that I was feeling a bit afraid. I'd never seen her get so angry with someone before, because she's usually that bubbly, flirty, upbeat girl that doesn't worry about anything.

"I think I'll go deal with your mom before she comes and does the same thing," Leo said, skirting past us quickly. Gee, thanks for the help here, Leo…

Briefly watching the blond leave, I hesitated to look at L'Arachel again. I've never exactly been in a situation like this, so I can't say I know what I'm supposed to say or do. Do I comfort her? Continue apologizing? Argue my case? I'm a passive person; I don't do these types of things!

"How did you even find out?" I mumbled the first thing to come out.

Taking her hands off my shoulders, she placed them firmly on her hips, getting into a stance that could only indicate that I was in for an earful. I don't mean your regular earful, because that would just be L'Arachel in a normal conversation. No, when I say an earful from L'Arachel, I mean that my ears may or may not be bleeding by the time she's finished talking. It might also be nighttime…tomorrow… Okay, now I'm just freaking myself out.

"Well, duh, everyone at that party was posting about it!" she shouted, emphasizing every syllable with some sort of hand motion. "Boyd even posted a picture of you getting wheeled into an ambulance!" Geez, that's Boyd for you…

"I thought you were busy," I said, trying to make up some sort of reason for why she shouldn't have seen it right away.

"Don't play dumb with me! If Boyd was talking about it, then he would have told Feena about it, and then she told a Serra about it, who had already heard from Mark, and…" and on and on she went. I get that she's trying to make a big deal out of how this news got spread around, but I don't need to hear how every person associated caught wind of what happened before it finally reached her. I mean, if the news had gotten to Feena and Serra right away, my assumption is that one of them would have told her before anyone else, right? That would be the considerate thing to do…

"…so I was, like, the last person to find out!" she huffed after an unnecessarily extensive period of time.

"That doesn't explain why you're at my house," I said, trying to keep the topic off of me in the subtlest way that I could.

"I thought maybe you'd gone home after they checked on you at the hospital," she responded grumpily, crossing her arms. "Your mom let me in because she was worried about you too. I wasn't planning to stay here all night, but I ended up falling asleep in your room because you wouldn't answer your phone."

Well, it seems pretty self-explanatory why I wouldn't have answered my phone. If she saw pictures of me knocked out on a stretcher going into an ambulance, wouldn't that be an indication that even if my phone wasn't broken I wouldn't be able to answer it? I get that she was worried and probably wasn't thinking straight, but come on, she's in her right mind now.

"Sorry," was all I could mutter out. Honestly, I wasn't even sure what else I could say. Arguing that I was knocked out probably wouldn't be a very good idea right now, so my only option was to apologize.

"Hmph," she huffed, puffing up her cheeks and looking away from me. "You shouldn't go doing stupid stuff while you're drunk, Eddie. You aren't exactly the most graceful person."

Again, I could argue my point there, but that brought me to the topic of Rebecca. While I don't particularly remember what went down between the two of us, I'm aware that she fell on top of me and that we…"kissed". Somehow I feel like telling L'Arachel about why I ended up laying flat on the ice wouldn't be a good idea, even if I left out the Rebecca parts. It wouldn't really make sense for me to say that I was just standing at the top of the stairs for no reason when Kris came and ran into me.

It also makes me want to find out what I said to Rebecca in my state of semi-consciousness. Leo said to ask her about it, but it doesn't seem like something she might tell me if I do. I mean, like I've said before, if it was something strange enough to make her get all embarrassed and whatnot, then I can't imagine she'd be willing to share it with me just like that.

"Hey, pay attention when I'm talking to you!" she shouted, regaining my attention while also creating an irritable ringing in my ears.

"S-Sorry," I winced, placing a palm to my forehead, "I'm having trouble concentrating right now. Damn concussion."

She almost looked guilty for a moment there, which hadn't been my intention; however, she quickly reverted to her grumpy, scolding persona again and took up an unimpressed stance.

"It's your own fault, you know," she grumbled, keeping her eyes off of me. "You're smart enough not to go playing on the ice when you're drunk. If you can hardly stand on regular flooring, I don't know why you thought going outside would be a good idea."

Man, how much did people say about it? I almost feel sorry for what Kris must be going through right now. I mean, if I'm getting in trouble for being the victim, I can't even begin to imagine what he must be going through as the accidental instigator. Hopefully no one beats him up over it…not that I think I'm popular enough to have someone want to beat him up for me…

"I…don't know what you want me to say," I worded slowly. "I hardly remember anything, and I feel like apologizing isn't going to be enough for you."

Again, that look of guilt crossed her face, but it stayed longer than the brief one before did. We were in somewhat of an awkward position, so I didn't know if I should apologize again to drive my case or just stay silent. She didn't revert back to her angry look, but I noticed her look up at me a few times with a look of hurt in her usually cheerful green eyes.

As the silence between us continued, I uncomfortably shifted on my heels and darted my eyes around the general area. Unfortunately, there really isn't much to see from my front foyer. I was hoping I might be able to see Leo and my mom talking; thankfully it seemed as though he'd stopped her from coming in and ranting at me. That or the sound of L'Arachel already doing so deterred her.

"Hey…" I started, but couldn't think of anything I could say to her. Honestly, apologizing may be the only thing I can do in this sort of situation.

"I…I think I'm gonna go," she said very softly, her eyes flicking up at me for only a moment before looking back down. "My uncle is probably wondering where I am, anyway."

"Oh, uh…sure… I guess it wouldn't be good to keep Dozla waiting either," I chuckled dryly, though it didn't help the mood at all.

I moved out of the way so she could slip her boots on and go out the door. She gave me a weak, and admittedly pathetic, smile as she opened the door to leave. Uttering only a simple "See you later", she stepped out of my house as I waved to her.

Once the door shut behind her, I felt like collapsing from what I can only assume is mental exhaustion. As if the concussion and amnesia weren't already punishment enough, but now I have to deal with her being upset. I think she realized that it wasn't really my fault, but she wanted to get her frustrations out while she could. Once they were out, then she must have reasoned that I wasn't really capable of saying anything to make her feel better right then, which is probably why she got so bummed out. Damn it…

Instead of heading into the kitchen where Leo and my mom were, I trudged up to my room, carrying the weight of L'Arachel's and my own sadness up the stairs. I wish I knew how much of what happened yesterday she was aware of, but I don't know if it would have helped me explain anything better. The sad thing is that her knowledge of the party she wasn't even at is probably the same as, or possibly even better than, my own.

Pulling out my phone, I tossed it on my desk and flopped down onto my bed. Ooh, bad idea…that hurt my head…ow… *Sigh* I really hope everything just blows over quickly. Until then, all I can do is apologize; apologize to my mom, L'Arachel, and Rebecca…

(Rebecca)

Fresh air. I can breathe something other than the sterilized air of the hospital.

After rushing out of the hospital in what must have been the most flustered way possible, the cool, wintry air was nice and refreshing for my burning face. I could probably stay out here forever if my body decides to stay at this temperature.

However, I'd rather it didn't for…awkward reasons…

Looking around, I could see that I wasn't standing anywhere particularly hazardous, so I pulled out my phone more or less because I didn't know what else to do. I had to take my mind off of what just happened, or rather what had actually happened last night.

I could feel my face reaching a grossly hot temperature as I thought back on it. Try as I might to think about something else, my thoughts always came back to what he had said. I don't know why I'm getting so worked up about it either. He was in a stupor, after all! Of course Eddie wouldn't remember what he said. I'm fairly certain he isn't a sleep talker, but it isn't logical for me to think that he would be in his right mind if he did happen to regain consciousness that early in the morning.

Why can't I stop taking it so seriously?

It wouldn't make sense for him to say something like that, anyway! He has L'Arachel, and I have Wil! Well, I mean, that may have been the point in it all, but he wouldn't possibly say that on purpose.

Reading through my texts, there wasn't anything of much interest. Most of the recent ones were going over the stupid plan with Leo and Mia, and nothing else was really something I could have a laugh at or keep me occupied for the time being. Sighing, I stuffed the phone back into my pocket and squatted down in a little ball. I definitely shouldn't have stayed here last night.

I remained like that for some time, but realized that I wasn't going to get anywhere just by trying to will those memories out of my head. Gods above, why must you torment me so? I mean, with so many of them, you'd think that one of them would be merciful, but they all seem to be in agreement of torturing me with these ridiculous events…

Pulling out my phone again, I scrolled through the contacts until I got to the 'T' section. It doesn't really help that Eddie and Mia's names are right beside each other in my phone. In my awkward mindset, I accidentally tapped Eddie's name when I went to click on Mia's. Overreacting, I juggled the phone in my hands for a bit before I was able to end the call. Even the idea of speaking to him again right now is just leaving me in shambles.

Making sure to carefully select Mia's name, I hit the speaker button so that the residual heat from my face wouldn't make the phone get all foggy.

"Rebecca!" she answered enthusiastically. If that had been in my ear, I might have gone deaf. "Is everything okay? Are you at home yet? I'll come over right away!"

"N-No, I'm still at the hospital," I answered back. Gee, that girl can talk. "Everything's fine, though. Eddie's up, so he should be able to go home soon."

"Phew, that's a relief!" she laughed, though I can't see why she would be laughing about it. "I thought you might be calling because something bad happened!"

"I…well, nothing bad happened…but…"

"But? Gods, Rebecca, something did happen, didn't it?! I'll come over there right now!"

Why is she so crazy eager to come to my side today? "No, no, that's fine, Mia. It's just that…" I stopped, trying to think of the best way to say it. It doesn't help that she's being extra loud and concerned today. "Well, Eddie…he…"

"There you are," someone's voice rang out from behind me. Turning around, I could see Leo approaching; he had clearly been looking for me. "I thought you'd just gone back to the waiting room, so I got a little worried when you weren't there."

"Sorry," I said, turning back to the phone in my hand as if it would be more polite for me to 'look at Mia' while I was speaking to her.

"Huh? Who's that, Rebecca?" she asked from the other end.

"Hey, Mia, it's me," Leo greeted, stepping a bit closer so that she would be able to hear him a bit better through the speaker.

"Oh, Leo! Just in time," she said excitedly, almost seeming to ignore the fact that I was still there. "Rebecca's being all weird right now and she won't tell me what happened last night. Did Eddie do something weird?"

I gave Leo an odd look. He couldn't possibly have known what happened, could he? No, there was no way; he was still asleep when it happened. It's not like Eddie would be able to suddenly remember right after I dashed out of his room.

Leaning into the phone a bit, Leo scrunched his face in thought. "Uh, I wouldn't know; I was sleeping when whatever happened happened. She does seem a bit perturbed though."

"Hello, I'm standing right here!" I yelled so they wouldn't talk like they weren't having a three-person conversation on my phone.

"Well, why are you being so weird?!" Mia asked loudly, and the image of her getting overly worked up formed in my head. It's almost funny how I know that she's probably doing exactly what I'm thinking right now.

"I-It's not only because of Eddie," I stuttered out, but almost instantly regretted doing so. Shit, I shouldn't have brought that up.

Leo seemed to perk up a bit at that. Clearly he had expected this to be all about whatever he thought Eddie may have said to me.

"Not just Eddie, eh?" he voiced carefully, making sure not to come off as pushy. "Do you want to talk about it? I mean, if all of your feelings accumulated to make you run off the way you did, then it's a little concerning."

"You ran off?! Where are you?! You said you were at the hospital! I'm coming over there right now!"

"Geez, Mia, will you stop it with that?!" I spewed, beginning to get annoyed with her oddly protective attitude right now. "I am at the hospital. I just didn't want to stay in Eddie's room, and I guess I hurried out of there, which must've caused some concern for Leo."

"It wasn't so much you hurrying out as it was your expression," he mused, forcing me to tell Mia not to come here again. Sometimes I wonder if Leo is smart or outright stupid, because he really seems to be on both ends of the spectrum.

"Fine," Mia huffed, "but can you tell us what's going on at least? I don't know how to deal with you if I don't know the reason you're upset."

Hearing her finally speak like the normal Mia I'm used to, I sighed in relief. Leo gave me a reassuring look as he awaited my explanation as well. I suppose it can't be helped at this point, and it's probably in my best interests to let them know what's going on.

Taking a deep breath, I slowly explained everything that didn't happen last night. Beginning with my general feelings of missing Wil, both of them seemed to be pretty understanding. I wanted to say that that and what Eddie had said to me last night were the only things bothering me, but Leo made a point of how something like that wouldn't make me get so flustered, to which Mia agreed.

Telling them that Eddie being distant from me was also understood, of course, since they were the ones trying to get him to make up with me. That part really didn't take much explaining.

I hesitated for the third point, though. Was it really my right to tell them about Dart and Kleine? I mean, news will eventually make its way through the school once Kleine's size becomes more obvious than just gaining a few extra pounds, but it doesn't really seem like something I'm supposed to share with them. Unfortunately, this is probably the biggest concern for me right now, and I'm sure Leo can tell just by looking at me right now.

"Rebecca?" Mia's voice chanted out. "Leo, is she okay? Ugh, I really wish I could just talk to you guys in person!"

"You don't have to tell us," Leo reassured me seriously, ignoring Mia. "I think it'd be good if you let us know, but if it's a big personal concern, then I won't hold it against you if you decide to keep it to yourself."

Looking back and forth between Leo's calming smile and, well, the phone that was supposed to be Mia, some of the heat that had accumulated in my face from earlier began to dissipate. Maybe it would be for the best if I did tell them. Carrying this burden alone might be making me so anxious, and the only way to get out of that would be to let them know.

Taking a deep breath, I sternly looked Leo in the eye since I couldn't look at Mia as well. "No, I'll let you guys know. Just…you literally have to promise that you won't breathe a word of this to anyone. I'm only telling you because I…I don't know if I can keep handling the pressure on my own."

Leo nodded to show he understood, and Mia let out a simple "Mhm" before they both eagerly waited to hear me out.

After explaining thoroughly what had happened the day before yesterday, we stood in silence as the two of them processed everything. I'm sure Mia was laying on her bed with her mouth wide open, trying to think of something appropriate to say. Leo, as expected, showed no real difference in his expression, but I could tell from his slightly furrowed brow that he was thinking hard on it.

"So…how do you feel now?" the blond thinker asked after what seemed like a very long time.

I stared at him with a bit of confusion. Why of all things would he choose to ask that? I mean, the logical thing to say would be something regarding Dart, but he was speaking to me about me, and only me.

"I…" I started, though I hadn't quite been thinking of how I was feeling. It was odd, though; now that I was thinking about it, I felt quite different. "I feel…relieved. Maybe that's not the right word, but I feel freer now that I've let it out."

He smiled, and I realized that this had been his intention right from the moment he had asked me to tell them about everything. I couldn't help but blush a bit, more from embarrassment than anything else. That's Leo for you, though, the smartest idiot you'll ever meet. He's unnervingly insensitive, yet he only ever thinks of us before anyone else. Nino's one lucky girl.

"Um, not to sound like I'm gossip-hungry," Mia said a bit timidly from the other end of the phone, obviously trying not to dwell on the topic of Dart, "but now that you're feeling better, do you think we could hear about what Eddie said last night?"

At the mention of last night's events, the slight blush on my face turned into the dizzyingly red hue it had been when I ran out of the hospital earlier. However, I was feeling different than I had then. While I still couldn't explain why I was so embarrassed about it, I felt like letting them know would be for the best. After all, if sharing something that was on a grand scale, like Kleine's pregnancy, helped me feel better, then telling them about Eddie's delirious, half-conscious ramblings shouldn't be an issue, right?

Of course, saying that to all of you is much easier than it is to these two. Why? Because I don't know any of you personally. You're just faces looking at a screen.

"Look, we won't say anything about anything you've told us," Leo spoke truthfully, holding his right hand up as if he was making a pledge. "This is all rather personal stuff, so if anyone should be talking about it, it's you or the people involved. Got that, Mia?"

"What?! You're more likely to go spreading it around than I am, you jerk!" she shouted back. I giggled at their antics, taking her response as her agreement to Leo's 'pledge'.

"I-I guess if you promise, then I don't mind talking about it," I said with as much resolve as I could muster. It might be an uncomfortable thing to say in front of them, but I know that if anyone can help me get through hard times, it's these two. They've always got my back no matter what.

"Well, after Leo fell asleep, the nurse led me into Eddie's room…"

(-/-|-\-|-/-|-\-|-/-|-\-|-/-|-\-|-/-|-\-|-/-|-\-|-/-|-\-)

"So…judging from your reaction earlier…does this nullify anything you said about missing Wil?" Leo questioned. I couldn't tell if he was being serious or not, but it certainly came across as being douchey.

I slapped him on the shoulder, giving him a rather displeased look. "You asshole! O-Of course it doesn't mean…that…"

Though I wanted to explain the whole situation in detail, I had purposely left out the part about my extremely angsty kiss. It really would have made everything worse right now if I had included that, so all I said was that I went in slowly, brushed a few hairs off his face before sitting down, and stayed like that until he did his whole sleep talking thing.

"I don't know why you took it so seriously," Mia half-laughed. I guess she wasn't sure if it was the right time to be laughing about my troubles. "If he was drunk and concussed, I don't think he meant any of it, especially if he didn't remember saying it this morning."

"Heh, if anything, you read into it too much," Leo chuckled, to which I smacked him again.

"How could I be reading into it too much?!" I argued back, feeling extremely disgruntled from their lack of sympathy. "Maybe he wasn't all there, but he definitely said…that…without any hidden meanings!"

"I guess if he literally said it the way you just told us, then, yeah, I don't see what else it could've meant, but you don't think he really meant it, do you?" Mia asked in a genuinely curious tone.

Leo noticed my somewhat haphazard glances in every direction, but only smirked, knowing that I couldn't hide what I was thinking. Considering he saw me run out with that embarrassingly red face earlier, I think it's probably safe to assume that he already knew I took it at least a little bit seriously.

"I…that is," I muttered, trying to think of the best way to phrase it, "…I don't think he'd ever say it consciously…"

"Oh, come on, Rebecca!" Mia semi-cut me off, sounding rather shocked that I didn't simply tell her that I didn't believe it. "I mean, no offense to you, since you're every bit as good as she is, but Eddie's got L'Arachel right now! Why would he deliberately…no, I guess that's the wrong word…why would he subconsciously have thoughts of you that absolutely no one knows about if he's already with someone else?!"

"I don't know!" I shouted back, feeling the frustrations building up within me. "It's not like I wanted him to say it! I just…I…"

"You know what, maybe we should just end this here," Leo interjected, waving his hands to get our…well, my attention. "No need to get worked up about it, it's just a misunderstanding. I'm with Mia on this one, but I don't think your ideas are weird, Rebecca. They're a little bit of a stretch, considering both of your relationship situations, but it's certainly not weird that you'd be thinking that."

"Leo…" Mia growled, though I'm not entirely sure why. Was it because he wasn't agreeing with her? I guess since she usually just goes with what he says she was expecting the same from him.

"Relax," Leo chuckled slightly before pulling out his phone to check the time. "Hey, you should probably get going. Your parents are probably wondering where you are."

Confused, I looked at his phone (since mine just showed that I was talking to Mia) and squeaked a bit at how late in the morning it was. Hopefully everyone thinks I just ended up staying at someone's house for the night, but it's a little hard to tell what my family might say. Dart will probably be more concerned than he usually is, considering his predicament…

"I guess I should," I replied as he stuffed the phone back in his pocket. "Um, Leo?"

"Hm? What is it?"

I felt a bit strange saying it, but the words felt like they needed to escape from my lungs. "I, uh… Thank you…for listening to my issues. I'm feeling a lot better now because of you, so…yeah, thanks."

That came out much more awkwardly than I'd anticipated, and I immediately sighed in displeasure at my illiterate thanking. Leo didn't seem to mind, however, and simply smiled normally. I guess when you've known someone long enough, it doesn't matter how you say something because they can usually get the gist of it.

"Heh, no problem. If you've got troubles, don't hesitate to come to me when you need someone to talk to."

Returning his smile and nodding, I whirled around and started quickly in the direction of my house. I'd nearly forgotten I was still holding my phone until Mia clicked through the other end.

"So I guess I was just a distraction then," she chortled sarcastically, obviously referencing the fact that I said I was feeling better thanks to Leo.

"Are you ever anything else?" I giggled back.

"Oh, hardy-har-har, missy. One day you're going to thank me so hard that I'll be like a saint compared to the devil that Leo really is."

I laughed, but couldn't help thinking about how the two of them had been exactly that last night, sitting on my shoulders to whisper contrasting viewpoints. Of course, "saintly" Mia gave in after about two opinions, so she was rather different from the real one was behaving right now.

It took me a while to get home, but Mia talked to me for the entire trip back, mostly at her insistence since she didn't want to stop until she heard the beeping of my house alarm go off when I opened the door. I get that she's worried, but what's with this overprotective attitude today? It's like the opposite of what people with hangovers are usually like, though I have no idea if she drank enough to get hung over. Still, even for an enthusiastic person, she's acting rather…spastic.

Finally able to have some time to think without Mia blabbing about something or other, I was a bit surprised to find that no one was home. Maybe my parents were working, but I have no idea where Dart went off to. Oh wait, there's a note on the table.

Dumbo,

Mom and Dad went to work and so did I. By the way, I got a job. Reasons should be somewhat obvious. You better not have slept with some guy last night.

Geez, he knows I have a boyfriend, considering he's pretty well acquainted with said boyfriend. I didn't even think about the fact that Dart would need to get a job, though. I didn't realize he'd been getting interviews or anything, but it really does make sense. Assuming Kleine keeps the baby, he's going to have to save up a lot to support her. Wow, that really puts the reality of the situation into perspective…

Tossing out the note, I dragged my feet out of the kitchen and up to my room. It hadn't occurred to me just how tired I was until a few moments ago, but I am exhausted. My back also hurts from sleeping on that chair, so getting some rest would probably do me good. I didn't get much sleep anyway.

Feeling extra groggy as my bed came into view, I softly shut the door behind me and collapsed in a heap onto my bed. As I felt my consciousness slowly fading away, Eddie's words from last night crept back into my mind, lulling me into an unsurprisingly deep slumber.

Whew, I got this chapter written out relatively quickly. Not to say that I was trying to rush it, just that I had a four-hour break between classes on Friday, so I got pretty much all of it finished then. I actually liked how this one turned out, especially compared to the last couple that I was rather on the fence about.

Anyway, the title for this chapter is somewhat metaphorical of Eddie and Rebecca right now, but I won't try to explain it, mostly because I don't really know how I would go about doing so :P. I'm sure you can come up with your own explanation.

To be blunt, I have no idea what the next chapter is going to be like. I didn't want to make this one another cliffhanger, but that leaves the next chapter open to pretty much anything at this point. I'll probably try to close off the side stories at some point in the near future since they really aren't doing anything for the overall story anymore (though I'm sure some people still want to see what happens). There's really only two, and I know how the quiet people segment is going to end, so it's just a matter of determining the GMT triangle's outcome, and when to do so for both.

Thanks to Cormag Ravenstaff, BritRecon, Mr0cheese, and amondator for reviewing!

Thanks for reading and please review! Also don't forget to check out the link to the visual novel I posted at the top!

-GengaJupite