Chapter 7 - Snapped
7.18.1204 - Sunday (Free Day)
The request was simple. According to Fidelio, a member of the photography club was suspected of taking pictures of girls without their permission and selling them to male students. Rean agreed to help with his request of course and started to plan out how exactly he'd catch the perp. He wasn't sure how he was going to do that. At first he thought about having a stakeout and catching the rogue photographer in the act before turning them in, but the more he thought about it the more he realized that he could get caught hiding and the rogue photographer would lay low until Rean had to leave his hiding spot.
Suddenly Rean heard a familiar voice trying to get his attention. "Rean, your plan is all wrong. Everyone knows the best way to remain hidden is to hide in plain sight."
It was none other than Rean's upperclassman: Crow Armbrust.
"Listen I know what you're trying to do, and I want in. Us boys from the Lower-Class Dorm have known about this mysterious photographer for a while now and may know where and when we could meet with them." Crow continued.
"Why are you being so unusually helpful?" Rean asked.
"I just assumed you'd want to finish this request as fast as possible, don't want to keep President Towa in her office waiting too long now do you?" Crow answered.
"I guess you make a good point. I'd rather put a stop to this photographer before they take any more pictures of girls." Rean concluded.
"Also, since I'm now helping with the request I want any involvement I may or may not have had in the past with the photographer to be off the record." Crow continued.
There it was. Rean was waiting for Crow's true intent to show itself. Rean figured he was better off with Crow's help so he agreed to his terms.
Once that was sorted out, Crow led Rean to where the photographer was located. While on the way Crow went over the plan with Rean.
"Alright, seeing as he knows me I'll act like a returning customer. You'll be the shy first-time customer, so just follow my lead. All you have to do is act like your normal oblivious lovebird self." Crow explained.
"My what self?" Rean asked before they made it to their destination.
The photographer was behind the Academy Field's Storage Building waiting for them.
Once the photographer stepped out of the shadows Rean quickly realized who they were: Rex of Class V.
"Welcome back Crow, do you want to fill out a new commission? Looks like you took my referral offer to heart. Wow you got Rean Schwarzer to come, I'm surprised." Rex greeted them.
"Referral offer?" Rean asked.
"Simple: bring a friend and I only charge for one commission." Rex explained.
"So who will it be boys? Remember, no girl's beauty can escape my camera's lenses." Rex continued.
Crow quickly answered. "I'll take the standard package with Misty. As for my friend here: give him the deluxe special with Towa Herschel. Make his order the free one and I'll give you the payment for mine later tonight. I may have left my wallet in my dorm room."
"With President Towa!?" Rean screamed with a slight blush on his face.
Crow quickly huddled next to Rean. "Relax, we all know what's going on between you two. No need to be so modest."
He then whispered into Rean's ear. "I said follow my lead."
Rean quickly calmed himself down. "Oh... okay then. Yes... I would like the deluxe special with P-President Towa… I-I mean… just T-Towa!" Rean exclaimed. It was all for the request Rean reminded himself as he felt his face get hot again.
"Alright, Misty and Towa. Pretty unique choices but each man has their own idea of beauty I suppose. I'll have your orders done in an hour. Meet me in the auditorium, see you later!" Rex said as he ran towards Trista.
Rean and Crow went to eat at the Student Union building's cafeteria to eat while waiting for Rex to finish their orders.
Rean and Crow ate silently until Rean spoke up. "So you're a Misty fanboy huh? I'll let Machias and Munk know. You guys could start a club or something. I'm more of a casual listener."
Crow smiled as he responded. "What can I say? I have a celebrity crush. Shirley, someone like you has had crushes from time to time?"
That question got Rean thinking. "Did I ever have a crush on someone? Sure I think a lot of the girls I know are attractive; like Captain Claire, Alisa, Laura, and Emma. But I wouldn't say that meant I liked them more than just friends or acquaintances. There weren't that many girls in Ymir when I was growing up so it's not like I had a childhood crush either. If I had to be honest with myself, if I did like a girl: I'd feel very sorry for her. I'm already a burden for my family, so I can only imagine how many problems being in a relationship with me would cause. Sure I belong to a noble family, but my status as Baron Schwarzer's adopted son is clearly a downside in many people's eyes."
It must've been obvious that Rean was lost in thought as Crow tried to cheer him up. "C'mon man don't look so glum, did a girl break your heart when you were younger?"
"Not exactly. I'm pretty sure I've never had a crush on anyone to be honest." Rean answered.
"Alisa, Laura, Emma, and Fie? None of them make your heart skip a beat?" Crow asked.
"Not really." Rean answered.
"Any other first-year that's caught your eye?" Crow continued.
"I don't think I've ever spoken to any of them outside of requests." Rean admitted.
"Oh I understand, you must also like older women like I do! Any of the second-years, Instructor Sara, or how about Captain Claire?" Crow asked.
"While it's true I think a woman in uniform is rather attractive, no one you listed really applies. I just can't think of anyone." Rean responded.
Crow was at a loss for words, he's never seen someone so disinterested in romance. He's known children back in Jurai who show more interest in women than Rean did.
He was about to ask Rean about how he felt about Towa, but then he looked at the time.
"Well, we'll have to continue this guy talk later, Rex is waiting for us. Let's go bust his operation!" Crow said as he got up from his seat.
Rean and Crow made their way to the auditorium to put an end to Rex's plans.
Once inside, they were greeted by Rex who checked if they were followed. It was clear to Rean that Rex had been doing these sorts of dealings for a while now.
"Welcome my esteemed gentlemen." Rex told them as he got two things from his bag. First, he handed Crow a large envelope: inside were multiple pictures of Misty. Judging by the variety of outfits and lighting it was safe to determine that Rex had been keeping an archive of photos of all the girls inside Trista. To Rean's surprise the photos weren't as explicit as he imagined compared to what Fidelio implied, in fact they were shot beautifully. Rex did a wonderful job capturing Misty casually relaxing around Trista. Of course, all that beauty was tarnished when Rean remembered that those photos were taken without permission.
Rex then turned to Rean and handed him a box. Rean nervously opened the box, not sure what to expect from Rex. Inside were two items. First was an envelope like Crow received. Inside were multiple photos of Towa. She looked so determined in each one, all of them had her in her in the Student Council room working diligently. Even in the photos she gave off an aura of leadership and pride in her work. However, Rean quickly noticed that in all of them Towa was only ever in the Student Council room working. Maybe next time she offered him tea he could take her to the park so she could have some fresh air.
Once he put all the photos back in the envelope, he looked at the other item in the box. It was a locket, and inside was a small photo of Towa. Unlike the other photos Towa wasn't working in the Student Council room and judging by the background it was taken in the Student Union building's cafeteria. She looked so relaxed and happy in the photo, whatever she was doing when Rex took the photo must've been something that made her very happy. He also felt some bit of anger when he realized that Rex took that picture of Towa without her knowledge.
"Gawk at the photo of your girl on your own time! We need to get out of here before anyone sees us in here! Since Rean's was free I expect you to pay for your commission in a few days Crow!" Rex exclaimed.
Rean suddenly remembered what he and Crow were supposed to do, and they gave each other a nod.
"About that. Sorry Rex, but you're coming with us. We were requested by Fidelio to investigate which member of the photography club was taking pictures of the girls without their permission. Thanks to Crow's plan we also now have evidence ourselves." Rean said stoically while still holding the locket with a picture of Towa.
Luckily, Rex didn't put up much of a fight as Rean and Crow took him to the Student Union building to meet up and explain the situation to Fidelio. After a quick review of Rex's photo archive they determined that none of the photos were inappropriate, so Fidelio gave Rex an offer to not report the situation if Rex used his talent with proper permission. Seeing as his options were that or possible expulsion Rex agreed. Of course, Fidelio also made sure Rex deleted all the photos in his archive as punishment. With that settled, Rean asked Crow to go outside to the hallway to figure out what they should do with the remaining evidence.
"So, what should we do with the evidence? Fidelio didn't want them, and I don't feel comfortable being in possession of these pictures of President Towa." Rean admitted.
Crow thought about it for a while before deciding what to do with his Misty photos. "Well I plan to keep these photos of Misty for safekeeping. If I were to throw them out, what would stop someone from finding them in trash and use them for their nefarious purposes? It's better off in my hands than in the trash. I think you should do the same, I'm sure you wouldn't want those photos of Towa out in the wild after all. As Towa's friend I know that she would prefer you to be in possession of those photos over anyone else."
"I suppose you have a point, but what about the locket?" Rean responded.
"Keep it. You never know when you need a locket." Crow answered.
"Alright, if you say so. I think I'll hide all this in a drawer or something." Rean said.
"Well good luck with your report! I'm going to relax in my dorm room. See you later Rean!" Crow said as he made his way down the stairs.
"Thanks for your help Crow!" Rean yelled before making his way to the Student Council room.
He also made sure to hide the locket and envelope in his pockets. He also remembered that thanks to Crow he finished the request early, maybe he could ask President Towa to go to the park and enjoy their tea there.
Later that night in the Lower-Class Dorm.
Crow made sure the coast was clear. Everyone was asleep as he made his way down the hall and entered the room of one of his classmates.
Inside was Rex holding a locket similar to the one he gave Rean.
"You're lucky I kept this here and not where Fidelio could find it. Thanks to you my work photographing girls in their natural habitat is over. Although since you paid in advance I guess you get my last work. To be honest, I'm surprised that you of all people asked for a picture of dude." Rex said quietly.
"It isn't for me. It's a gift for someone. I plan to give it to them later though. Night." Crow said as he left Rex's room.
Once Crow made it back to his room he opened the locket, and inside was a picture of Rean. It had the same scenery as the picture of Towa in the locket Rean was given, mainly since it was from the same photo of them having tea together. He was surprised that Rean didn't notice the photo of Towa inside his locket was only half of a photo. Now the locket he held in his hand had the other half.
"Towa's going to love this, although I should wait before giving it to her." Crow thought to himself.