Hey there folks, while playing CS1 to help me write this story, I found this really great mini-main-quest in Chapter 5. It's a cute sequence on its own, Rean takes Towa out for a bike ride to test changes to Angie's bike, but there's a window at the end where Rean and Towa say they'll take a break and then it fades to black. This was a big missed opportunity to me, so I worked some magic! If I find any other similar events, similar initially unplanned events might crop up here again. I never pass up an opportunity after all! Especially since Towa already has a bonding event in this chapter so I usually wouldn't have gotten to write anything.

Speaking of, Chapter 6 is festival! But don't worry, I already have something planned for that, something that will introduce probably the most ambitious thing about this story... weaving in a more emotional response to the events at the tail end of Chapter 5, setting up a character arc that I plan to affect Towa in this story all the way through CS2. I've gotta be careful to make sure not to actively contradict the events of CS2, but I think I can pull it off. So get excited!

By the way, thank you reviewers! Your feedback is a big inspiration that keeps me writing so keep em coming! I really appreciate all your comments and I'll even start commenting on them here if I can think of a good thing to say in response! For example...

NiwaTG: At the end of CS2 it comes up to haunt him too! I'm definitely aiming to expand the depth of Towa and Rean's responses to certain events. And they'll generally be quite dramatic and emotional too, so anyone who booked into this story expecting a bunch of cute romance scenes... we're definitely doing those, but my focus is on giving Rean and Towa's relationship more depth while also exposing more clearly the deeper sub-text in their individual character's emotional complexities (particularly with Rean, as I think a lot of people really don't understand his character that well). All that said, I'm excited to hear your thoughts as we go on! Thanks for reviewing!

dfriel1996: I definitely agree. One of the other things I tried to do with that last chapter too was try and at least lampshade Nord's logic issues with a bit of lampshading. Honestly that chapter is pretty poorly written, but I liked having the opportunity to do some character building for Rean and Towa through the use of a main plot events. It's going to be a high focus going forward too! And I'll also keep making sure to try and make sure these character interactions are true to the characters as I see them as well! Can't wait to hear your thoughts on this chapter too, thanks for reviewing!

Rean x Towa: The Lost Chapters

A Short Story Series by Novem's Natural Roll

New Minor Event 1: Training Wheels

Takes Place During: Trails of Cold Steel I – Chapter 5

Third Draft

As the Orbal Bike drifts to a complete stop, the sun pokes out from behind the clouds, grading the stone road and the painted metal of the vehicle's body in reflective yellow. The glossy chrome of the unpainted metal pipes serves as a mirror that further reflects the illumination of Zemuria's bright star right into Rean's face, oversaturating his pale skin to a degree that he almost seemed to be glowing. He looks up at the branches of a hanging tree to avoid the shining light from piercing his eyelids, closing his eyes and appreciating the late summer breeze. The wind's powerful enough to toss his hair a bit, even if not as severely now that the bike is mostly at rest. It still rumbles beneath him, and he relaxes his body to allow the vibrations to comfortably run through him. Flexing his fingers confidently, he turns and glances over to his companion, Towa Herschel. Having enjoyed the ride, she's also enjoying the breeze, sitting back in the seat of the bike's adjoining sidecar. Rean's enthusiastic voice captures her attention.

"There we go! We stopped in just the right spot."

"I knew you could do it." Towa smiles at him from the sidecar. "Thank you, Rean! I had so much fun! And we still have the journey back to look forward to!"

He chuckles and leans forward in his seat, closing his eyes for a moment.

"I'm glad to hear it." After letting those words hang for a moment, Rean rolls his shoulders, enjoying the cracking of his tense muscles. Finally, he looks over to his passenger. "Why don't we take a little break before we go back, then?"

"Sounds good to me."

With that, Rean clicks off the ignition on the bike, and the engine ever so slowly rumbles to a stop. Sitting up, he stretches his arms skyward, appreciating the sound and feeling of even more satisfying cracks turning stiffness to comfort. As he does that, Towa engages her eyes more with the surrounding environment, taking in both the greenery and technology around them with a wonder born of inexperience. Whether it's an ancient tree or a simple orbal light, it captures her fascination. Watching her, Rean feels like he can see the gears turning behind her eyes, thinking on the history or construction of even the road beneath their tires. He enjoys simply watching her look around in silence, elbow against the handlebars. It takes a few minutes before she finally breaks the silence.

"I'm glad I came out here today." She sits back in her seat and breathes in the fresh air with enthusiasm. It's a rare sight to see her quite this relaxed. "It feels like forever since I've been out in the middle of nowhere like this. It's really nice..."

Rean sits up.

"Well, we made good time, wanna get out and stretch your legs a bit?" He asks, lifting his leg over his seat and clambering off down onto the highway. The stone is old, but solid under his feet. Towa reacts to his question by sitting up to look at him over the seat, a mild amount of concern crossing over her face.

"Are you sure that's okay? What if we're attacked by monsters?" She averts her eyes and sighs. "Especially since it seems Angie and George stole my ARCUS when I wasn't looking... Not that that's surprising, they always do that when they want me to take time off." Suddenly she sags, her voice becomes dejected. "And it always works, and I always fall for it... how do they keep pulling it off!?"

Grinning, he responds by thumbing the hilt of his Tachi, springing the sheath up and down a bit on his belt.

"No worries, I can handle anything that's likely to attack us out here. Or I can at least open a path to run away." He casts his gaze around for a moment before continuing. The lush grass moves naturally in the wind, the tree branches flex normally from the breeze. Not even widening his senses reveals anything which could be considered a threat. "I also don't see any monsters around, so I think we'll be fine anyway."

"Well, I'm out here, so I suppose I have no choice but to accept your offer Rean. Hehe."

"Here, let me help you out."

As he rounds the bike, she shoos him off with her hand and plants her other onto the side-car edge to begin clambering out. The metal is hot to the touch and forces her palm back. After shaking it off for a bit, she grips onto the inside of the carriage instead. Pushing down, she lifts her legs to ascend the short gap from the base of the sidecar to the top. Unfortunately, the wall is still a bit high for her legs, so it's a struggle. She just barely manages to swing them over… only to lose her balance and tumble out sideways with a gasp.

"Towa!"

Rean clears the remaining distance between them in an instant, grabbing her shoulder just in-time to prevent her from falling out. She blushes fiercely.

"S-Sorry." She states meekly, blinking rapidly as she accepts his help the rest of the way out, allowing him to take both her hands in his as she hops down onto the pavement. Rean notices the bags under her eyes instantly… cleverly hidden by packed make-up, but not well enough to fool his trained perception. This is the first time she'd ever been so bad that he could see it. He's concerned, his chest tightens in response to the sight. "Guess I'm more of a klutz than I thought! Thanks Rean!"

Rean's eyes drift down to the ground. He tries to stammer out a response, but can't manage anything intelligible. After all, while he may be worried, he can't help it but also be a little impressed. It leaves him conflicted. Rean always made sure to get his eight hours and keep his room clean to make sure other people wouldn't worry about him. He'd tried to push himself in the past, but his master was quite strict about him remaining in top form. He'd taken to it too out of his fear of letting someone down. But here Towa is, pushing herself beyond her limits, and sacrificing so much of her person for others... and still not letting anyone down. So while he's scared for her health and he wants to express that, he also admires the work she's put in, wants to respect it.

He scratches his head, looking awkwardly out towards the trees on his left. He justifies his lack of response to her clearly diminished state to himself.

I shouldn't mention it… wouldn't be very classy of me...

"Rean? Are you okay?" Worrying about her had made her worry about him. A tale as old as their friendship at this point. He gives her a thumbs up as he forces a grin, though not toward her. He knows that if he isn't confident, she'll see right through him.

"I'm fine. And it's no problem Towa. You being a klutz, I mean." With those words out... he takes a deep breath, focuses his mind, and then gives her a direct smile. "I'm sure the bike just threw off your balance. And… well… everyone makes mistakes, right?"

She flushes, having fallen for a deception of his for once.

"It's embarrassing when you repeat my own words back to me like that…"

He turns away with a bit of a chuckle.

"Guess we're both a bit too sappy sometimes, huh?"

"Maybe a little bit, but…" She pulls her arms to her chest with raised hands and smiles. "…I don't think it's anything to be ashamed of! Sometimes the things someone needs to hear are a bit embarrassing!"

He smiles.

When you're that cute... I can't help but feel better...

As the healing effect of the girl's awkward kindness permeates his soul, Rean turns to look around.

"You're not wrong…" He says, trailing off. After a few moments, he points to a tall tree in a wide clearing not far away. The breeze is powerful enough to nearly flatten the grass and isn't letting it up, combining that with the shade and the nearby pond, it appears to be the perfect rest spot away from the summer heat. He grins and trains his eyes on her. "Anyway, wanna go and sit under that tree over there for a bit? We can get out of the sun before we start picking up a sweat from standing here too long."

She nods enthusiastically, and they take their time heading over to the tree. The grass is long enough to lightly crunch underfoot. Even that sound at the edge of hearing, almost drowned out by the breeze, is a part of nature. Something they clearly both appreciate as they let it wash over them. That appreciation is undercut a bit as the wind picks up along their walk and Towa has to make an effort to hold down her skirt. Being sure not to catch any accidentally inappropriate views, Rean focuses on his own path forward, and eventually sits down against the tree facing the pond. Towa arrives at his side soon after, standing around awkwardly due to a clear uncertainty as to whether or not the plaid fabric surrounding her legs would stay put during the beating of the regular wind drafts. Noticing this with a glance, Rean unclips the Tachi sheath from his belt and extends the weapon to Towa.

"Here, if you set this down on your lap, you shouldn't have anything to worry about. It should be heavy enough to keep it from flapping around."

"Oh, thanks Rean!" She happily accepts his offering, using one hand against the tree for balance as she sits down, and holding down her skirt along with the Tachi using the free one. With the sheath safely laying across the bottom part of the fabric, she's able to sit back and relax, basking in the shade away from the beating summer sun. They both allow a few moments to pass, merely enjoying the breeze cooling them down. Towa eventually sighs in satisfaction. "You know, the bike ride was fun and exciting, but I think I prefer this. There's plenty of nature outside the school, but it's not the same as just being all the way out here in the middle of nowhere. I grew up in the city so even this is pretty special to me, especially since I spend so much time in my office." Suddenly she panics and that rare relaxed mood of hers dies on the vine. "N-Not that that's a bad thing or I'm complaining or anything!"

"I'm just happier it's warmer than the mountains." He grins as he thinks back to all the cold nights he'd spent in the Nortia Range. "Easier access to fresh water too…"

Towa fixes him with an odd look.

"Was it hard to get your hands on water in your hometown or something? Sorry, just seems like an odd detail to focus on…"

"Haha, you can blame all the survival training I had to do when I was practicing my swordsmanship for that. First step, locate a safe water source." Rean suddenly grins, and unclips a large cylinder from his belt. "Though… there is one more reason I like the quick access to water…"

"Hm?"

As the girl wonders at his words, Rean depresses a button on the cylinder to extend his fishing rod. Unbuckling a small bait case too, he manages to swiftly bait the hook by swinging it back towards him, and then cast it smoothly back into the pond before them all in one motion. The bait plops against the water like a raindrop, sending ripples into the small waves being created by the wind. He feels even that tiny weight against his rod, the pull of the wind-borne tides helping gravity drag his baited hook towards the bottom.

"Wow Rean, that was really impressive! You're almost as good as Kenneth from the fishing club!"

"Haha, thanks!" He cranks the line a little, feeling a slight pull that turns out to have just been a particularly strong current before relaxing again. As he does that, Towa frowns.

"If you catch something though, what are we going to do? We can't take it back, and we shouldn't kill the fish for no reason…"

"Don't worry about it, I'll just let it go and write it down in my fishing journal if I catch something." He takes the journal from a holster in his belt and shakes it around a little to emphasize. "Kenneth gives me rewards based on what I write down on here, so fishing is never a loss." He smiles and looks over at her. "I actually appreciate that a lot now that I think about it... There's a beauty in your hobbies being productive, you know?"

She scratches her chin a bit, pondering that. Clearly she doesn't understand that. Or have hobbies. Or both.

Probably both. Rean thinks. After all, he certainly wouldn't have even this hobby if it hadn't been drilled into him by others. He'd always been much more naturally inclined to helping his family or helping out the people around town.

"Anyways, I get it! Good luck Rean!" She raises both her hands in a cheering gesture of support. With her sitting right next to him as she does this, Rean can't help looking away as his heartbeat accelerates a bit in excitement. He focuses on the end of the line intently… suddenly determined to impress her. As he begins to prime his grip on the crank though, he suddenly catches himself and looks back over at her. This is an opportunity to do more than impress her, maybe he can help address this hole in her life. Pass on the favor that was done for him.

"Say, Towa, you work so hard and didn't spend your childhood near nature as far as I know, so I'm pretty sure I already know the answer… but, have you ever fished before?"

She cocks her head.

"No, I suppose I haven't."

Smiling, he hands her the rod.

"Oh, Rean, I couldn't…" She frowns as he sets the hilt of the rod on her left palm. Looking up at him with wide green eyes, a mixture of reluctance and desire in her gaze, she says, "This looks really expensive, and I'm sure I'll just mess it up anyway… And teaching me will be too much trouble!"

"Don't worry about it, Kenneth gave this one to me for free based on all the catches I made!" He closes her hand around the handle with his own, the feeling of his hand around her own causing a blush. His own heart skips a beat, but he stays focused. Especially on arguments that would make him agree to try it if he were in her position. The advantage of them being so similar, for sure. "And the best thing about fishing is that it's very simple and relaxing. That means you can do it any time you're out somewhere with water - and there's no work to be done anyway - to stay in a good mood, clear up any tension, and maybe even have an idea about whatever you're working on." Removing his hands from hers, he turns toward the pond and looks at his distant, blurry reflection with a smile. "It's certainly helped me a lot, and knowing that I have a hobby even gets people off my back about relaxing sometimes. So... go ahead and give it a shot." He pulls up the book again, and points at an empty page. "And, hey, if you're reluctant... just remember that if you catch me a big one, then I can probably swing getting a new one from Kenneth. Pretty sure his family makes these things anyway, so it wouldn't be too hard…"

"Are you sure…? I really wouldn't want to impose…"

"I'm certain! Now go ahead. All you need to do is hold it in both hands, one on the crank, and get ready to start rotating if you feel any pressure… got it?"

"If you insist…" Towa tries to play it cool, but a grin starts to set onto her face as she starts to center the rod. The embarrassment from Rean's touch completely disappears as she begins to setup… right before the rod suddenly jerks, hard. Thanks to a combination of the force and her concern for not breaking the rod, she dives forward as the crank starts spinning out of control. The sheath tumbles to the ground as her skirt drags along the grass from the momentum of her sudden forward jump. When she comes to a stop, her face is the absolute picture of panic. Even if you didn't know what was happening, you could tell she'd lost control of the situation just from how low her jaw had dropped and the frantic darting of her eyes. Still, her voice emerges decently calm despite the situation. "Ah... What do I do Rean?"

Rean, panicking himself, jumps to his feet and urgently tells her, "Grab the crank and start rotating it, quick!"

Following his command, she focuses hard and lifts her hand to the handle. Her grip is enough to stop it from spinning, and the line goes completely taut before starting to bob from side to side. Towa is still trying to crank it, but the fish seems almost as strong as she is. Noticing that she'd really hooked a big one, he jumps into action, coming over to her and using her armpits to help her to her feet. She's luckily so distracted by the circumstances that she doesn't note how embarrassing this is. Regardless, now that she has better posture, Towa finds it much easier to turn the crank... and she throws herself into it. Fiercely pushing at the handle to cycle around the wheel and pull in the line. As the line slowly runs back toward her and approaches the water's edge, her excitement builds. For what he's sure is the first time, he observes pure joy on her face. Blood floods his cheeks at the sight of her wide eyes and rapturous grin.

W-Wow... He thinks, gulping. I have to get myself under control before my thoughts go somewhere I really don't want them to be.

"R-Rean! I think I've got it now!"

Woo, needed that. Focusing on keeping up her confidence, he pumps his fist in encouragement. "Of course you do, you can do it!"

His words of encouragement are genuine. He's become deeply invested in her efforts. To Rean, it feels like even their heartbeats somehow end up in perfect sync (not that his hearing is good enough to in any way confirm that) as they share in the excited tension of the retreating fishing line. As the hook grows closer and closer to the surface, and the giant shadow at the end of it grows into view, the line starts to flex uncontrollably. Towa tries to hold it still, but this is unfortunately exactly the wrong move. There's too much force on the crank now. After a few seconds of intense struggle, the middle of the line snaps loudly, and the white cord goes limp before sinking to the ground. The line she reels in has no hook, having snapped off into the victorious fish's mouth, its dinner collected. Defeated, she slumps down onto the ground.

"Aw..." Lifting the rod to look at the snapped line, she sags even more. "Oh no… I'm sorry Rean… I'll pay for the hook…" With that, she stands and hands him back the rod with both hands. Rather than taking it, he places a hand on her shoulder as a genuinely impressed grin captures his face.

"Hey, you did a great job! You got a big one for your first time, of course it was going to be hard. If it was smaller, you definitely would've caught it. And you gave it a good fight!"

She beams, clearly reassured.

"Hehe… thanks. I'm glad I gave it a shot even if it didn't go my way, it was a lot of fun!" Pulling her arms to her chest as she usually does, she adds with cute determination, "I'll get it next time!"

"I'm sure you will, though..." He scratches his head a little guiltily. She cocks her head, a bit confused by his reluctance. To avoid her thinking that he might be thinking she doesn't have a chance, he stammers out, "I-I mean, fishing isn't usually this exciting, but I'm glad you had a good time." With that, he shakes off his hesitance and takes the rod, pressing the button to compress it down to a cylinder before buckling it back onto his belt. "Sorry, but I don't have another hook on me so we'll have to call that here… that certainly doesn't mean you have to pay for one though. I have plenty for exactly these kinds of situations."

"Oh, okay, but consider this a debt for the next time you run out okay!"

"Fine, fine… But how about I pay you back by taking you out like this again sometime?"

The words roll off his tongue so naturally, he doesn't consider the natural implication of the words until it's too late. An awkward silence falls on the clearing as they stare at each other. After a few seconds, they both go red and Rean makes an attempt to salvage the situation. Avoiding eye contact, he leans down to grab the Tachi Towa dropped to the ground when she'd taken her swan dive, and babbles out a bunch of nonsense.

"B-By that I don't mean like a date or anything, just like a friend's day out, you know? To show you more about fishing! And pay you back for all you do for me, yeah! Haha…"

As he says that, Towa cools down and casts her gaze downward. Softly, she simply says… "…I'd like that, Rean."

"O-Okay, great. Just uh… remind me next time you're free, okay? Though I'm sure we'll be pretty old by then…"

"Rean!"

"Sorry, just a tease… couldn't help myself. Anyway, we should probably be getting back. We've been out here a while now and we don't want to keep Angie and George waiting."

As he says that, he turns about and heads back for the bike. Towa stands there for a moment, pondering Rean as he walks away.

…did I want it to be a date…? She wonders. Before even allowing herself to consider that, she shakes it off and heads for the sidecar. Rean helps her in this time, and as he boards the bike, she looks over at him.

"Thank you, Rean. I had a lot of fun. Maybe I should take more breaks after all. I can do a lot of new things if I do."

He smiles as he activates the ignition.

"It makes me glad to know you feel that way." He looks down at her and smiles. "I can tell you that from personal experience, I've learned so much on all my field studies… I definitely wouldn't be who I am now without them, and this me is definitely better." He looks up into the sky now, his tone getting a little reflective. "And regardless, if I didn't take some time for me every now and again… like to fish for a bit… then I'd just get worse at everything and I might let everyone down. And I'd never be able to accept that."

"And you're too nice to say it, but you think I could improve myself the same way. By expanding my horizons..."

He tries to say something, but just ends up somewhere between a chuckle and a sigh. She closes her eyes and considers his words, and ultimately responds with a thoughtful voice.

"Yeah, you're right… There are definitely a lot of things I could learn by leaving the school more…" Suddenly, she sits up straight and points at him. "That said, all that's something you should realize too! It's okay to skip on student council tasks every now and again, you don't always need to do every single one of them! And you don't have to do them right away either!"

"Yeah… I know… but a lot worse than me being overworked would be letting you down, Towa."

He says it with such seriousness, that she can't help but slowly lower her pointing arm to her side, and then turn to look ahead without a word. With that, the conversation ends as Rean activates the bike and swings it around to head back the way they came. She ponders his words for a moment, and then smiles to herself and whispers, "I don't want to let you down either, silly..." With that said, she suddenly stands up in the sidecar. It's very difficult to keep her footing with the rumbling and the momentum fighting to drag her backwards, but she manages it, and stretches out her arms. The wind whips her hair, the warmth of the sun cuts through the wind, and that same feeling of joy she'd had on her face while fishing returns. Her heart beats on the inside with fear, but as is usually the case with her. she doesn't show it. And, regardless, the joy cuts through that fear like a knife, transforming it into pure excitement... exhilaration.

"T-Towa?" Rean glances over, clearly more than a little worried by her display.

"There's nothing to worry about, I'm just expanding my horizons!" She calls out. He can't help himself, he grins at the recognition of the fun she's having, and the trust she must have in him to take such a risky pose. The trust that he could maintain this speed precisely to prevent any accidents. Her exhilaration seems to escape out of her into the very air for Rean to breath in. Any worries he has about operating the Orbal Bike with Towa attached to it simply... disappear. He leans forward in his bike seat, bracing himself on the handles to ready himself for some real fun.

"Sit down, and I'll expand them even further!"

Curious, she does as asked, and Rean meets his promise by taking the bike even faster. The fastest he'd ever gone before, the fastest he'd even been willing to risk. Towa's belief had erased his inhibitions, instilled in him a confidence and a desire to show her something truly new that she hadn't felt before, not even when riding with Angie. The wind absolutely assaults his face... stinging the eyes he refuses the close. The environment around them blurs with the speed, and Towa laughs with excitement as she tries to turn her own face away from the battering air. Rean then removes one hand from the handle and removes his ARCUS from his pocket, and channels an art. His entire body glows, catching Towa's attention. Before she can speak, a jet of water suddenly sprays out from the nose of the bike, summoned forth from the orbment. She tracks it with her eyes, recognizing an Aqua Bleed by sight as it rockets skyward as aimed.

Eventually, it loses momentum and explodes with water at its terminus, and a sudden rainfall cascades down in front of them. Each drop appears like a jewel in the sky, shining brightly through refractions of the sun. For a single moment, it's almost as if stars had emerged in the day, but then the stars fell right onto both of them. They drive through them, capturing the jewels and scattering them away on the bike's surface. Their clothes and hair get damp, but are then almost immediately dried by the buffeting wind from their speed as both of them laugh. It is only at this point that Rean begins to drop their speed back down to something reasonable. The buffeting wind once again becomes a gentle breeze, their laughs settle back into silence, they catch sight Angie and George waiting for them in the distance, and Towa sits back in the sidecar seat with a genuine beaming smile on her face... and Rean a prideful grin. And right then, in Towa's mind, this experience cemented itself into something she'd not had since childhood... when a certain old man she loved had brought her to the highest rooftop he could find with an old telescope, and showed her the true night sky hidden by the city's lights. A truly unforgettable memory.

I've been so stupid... She thinks. There's still so much in this world I haven't seen... no, that I've been ignoring, that I haven't been willing to seek out. She closes her eyes. Thank you Rean. Thank you so much...