Hey there everyone, I'm replaying the Cold Steel Saga right now and am disappointed that best girl doesn't have a bonding event with Rean in every single Cold Steel chapter. I mean, what gives!? This fic exists to rectify that problem. Every time I finish a chapter in the game where Towa doesn't have a bonding event, a new story will soon after appear here to fill in the gap. This will go all the way up until the ending of Cold Steel IV and beyond. Every story is written to fit into established events in the games, so you can be sure I will try very hard not just to avoid contradicting the events of the games, but also try and build on the existing narrative with additional context to hold it all together and make it flow as one cohesive romantic arc for the characters. Note that despite the title of this story, due to holding myself to the events of the game this is gonna be a slow as hell burn romance. However, it will continue after Cold Steel as a Rowa epilogue fic where we can get into the real cute stuff and I get a bit more creative freedom along with it. Hope you'll stick around for the ride and be patient with me as I slowly complete the games!
EDIT - On the Point of the Contradiction to Canon Featured in this Chapter: There is a bit of this chapter which seems to contradict a future event, you can consider this "intentional". As in I didn't mean to make the mistake when I first did it, but I've since decided to tie the contradiction into the story. Suffice to say, there's an explanation that will ensure this lines up with canon.
Rean x Towa: The Lost Chapters
A Short Story Series by Novem's Natural Roll
New Bonding Event 2: The Bookstore Blues
Takes Place During: Trails of Cold Steel I – Chapter 2
Fourth Draft
The bell above the door rings to announce a visitor. A light breeze, summer's first breath, drifts through the open entryway to prolong the noise as the door falls to a close. It nearly catches the tail-end of the visitor's green Thors uniform sleeve, but the small young girl owning it stumbles forward suddenly to avoid getting stuck, and blushes deeply as she spots the older man behind the counter looking over the pages of a book directly at her. An awkward grin catches on her face as her green eyes widen apologetically in reply.
The moment doesn't last, as the brunette hurriedly – and loudly – clears her throat, closes her eyes, and draws herself tall… though not that tall, limited by her short stature as she is. She tries to exude an air of authority, but even as she steadies a fierce, determined gaze at the shopkeeper... her bulging irises pop out with such cuteness it's impossible to take seriously. Keynes - the shopkeeper - draws a grin of his own, hiding it behind the pages of his book to avoid shaming her. Luckily, this prevents her from noticing (or, perhaps, she's too nice to notice), and her expression softens as she coughs, smiles widely, and crosses the floor of the store to meet him.
Keynes is sure to fix his expression before softly squeezing his book shut and setting it down on the counter, greeting the Student Council President of Thors Military Academy with a warm smile as she reaches the carpet designating the proper standing position for customers. She doesn't speak immediately, first filing through the stack of books she has in hand to retrieve a specific text. All of the tomes seem quite old, the dusty covers and yellowing pages striking a stark contrast between themselves and the polished bindings of the freshly produced writings coating the shelves around her. But she doesn't pay this much mind, instead striking an odd pose for balance as she struggles to excise a particular book from the stack. The bookstore owner is about to offer her a hand when she successfully dislodges the desired text from the pile. She coughs from a storm of dust that stains her blouse while being extremely careful not to stumble. The books wobble a bit, but she manages to keep her balance as she extends the tome out to the shopkeeper… dust covering her face. Not seeming to notice this, she opens her mouth to speak.
"Hi Keynes! Sorry to drop by like this, but the librarian at Thors uncovered a set of old, rare books that she needs you to have authenticated and copied to a safer format." Noticing the way she's phrased this might seem like an order, Towa panics and adds. "And you'll get something out of it too, of course! The librarian said you could sell the books to curious nobles to recoup the cost once you were done unless they were particularly special! And, I mean, this is only if it's not too much trouble of course!" Towa nervously prepares to withdraw the tome, but the bookstore owner gingerly extends out his hand to take it. With a relieved sigh, she allows him to gently remove it from her grasp and place it behind the counter.
"That sounds fine. I'm of course happy to be of help, even if it's just to stop you from trying to carry those books all the way back to the school..." He notes the clear strain which carrying the stack is putting onto her. "I'll even share the profits of any sales with the student council, to help you with doing more activities for the students."
"Oh, no, we couldn't possibly accept that." She says, trying to bow on instinct. Unfortunately, this almost leads to her dropping the books, forcing her to stand stock straight in an attempt to balance them out… but this only leads to her stumbling backwards. Keynes seems ready to try and jump the counter to help her, but suddenly the hands of a red-jacketed boy fall onto President Towa's shoulders. This helps her regain her balance, his black locks flashing into her sight as she flexes her arms in an attempt to straighten out the pile.
"Oh! Thanks Rean…" Towa blushes as she starts to turn her gaze to him. Her sight freezes on a book that's been discarded in the corner of the bookstore. It's an economics textbook, and the pages have been bent out of shape by hitting the ground… having clearly been dropped by her savior when he'd had to rush over to stop her from falling. Her eyes flash back to the shopkeeper to find that he'd spotted it too and had taken on a mildly disappointed expression.
The boy, noticing this, scratches his head.
"I'm so sorry about that Mr. Keynes. I'll pay for it, I swear. Though I'm a bit short on the Mira right this second…"
"Don't worry about it Rean, I'll cover it! It was my fault anyway…" Towa groans in shame, pawing at the chest pocket containing her wallet with arms too loaded down - and thus too short - for the task.
"No, I can't accept that…" He waves his hands to emphasize the point, but the girl is unfazed. She stands up straight again and sternly states...
"Well, I'm sorry Rean, I must insist."
"Haha…" He shrugs, knowing this is one of the times where her conviction is not to be overcome. "At least let me take those books so you can get to your wallet easier."
"No, it's okay. I just... about...!"
"Let me stop you right there." The bookstore owner says with a lifted hand, forcing Towa's fingers to freeze just before reaching her pocket. "Schwarzer, right?" Rean nods. "Just take the textbook, on the house. And before you try to refuse that offer, if you don't then she's going to pay for it whether you like it or not. I can't sell a damaged book anyways, and… well… I actually owe you for saving those books from falling. They could be incredibly expensive, they certainly have a lot more sell value than that textbook. Just promise me you'll use it to study hard for your midterms and all is forgiven, alright?"
"Of course. I won't let you down." Rean makes sure to state this confidently, showing the verisimilitude of his promise. Keynes nods before turning his gaze back on Towa.
"Now why don't you hand me the rest of those before we have any more accidents, alright?"
"Y-Yes, of course!" Towa closes her now gaping mouth and carefully slides each book into his hand one-by-one as Rean goes to fetch the book he'd dropped. "Oh, by the way, the librarian wanted me to ask if you could work on the first book I handed to you to start! Apparently it seems to be some ancient Thors historical record about the construction of the Old Schoolhouse. Principal Vandyck has been trying to get her to dig up some more information on the place recently, so she said it was pretty urgent…"
"Understood." He says as he takes the last book with a smile. "You give her my regards next time you see her and make sure she knows I'll start working on this as soon is business is out for the day, alright?"
"Yes, of course! Thank you!" Towa gives him a little bow and then turns around, but finds Rean has gone. The lightly swaying bell above the door hints that he'd left just seconds before. "Oh, wait up Rean!"
"Uh, Miss Hersch-" Keynes begins to speak but she's already out the door, having failed to hear him. He sighs. "Uh… Your uniform…"
These are the exact same words Rean says as Towa greets him at the bench outside in Trista's plaza. Not only has her green uniform's front turned nearly completely black, but her face looks like she'd just got back from the mines. Her clear fatigue from carrying that enormous stack of books all the way from the academy especially sells the look.
"Oh no! I'm such a mess!" She exclaims, blushing so intensely that the redness of her cheeks even peeks through the dust. "What do I do!? I can't go back to the school looking like this…"
Seeing her almost on the edge of tears, Rean gently sets down the textbook he'd been studying and stands up. This interrupts her edge of nervous breakdown as he walks past her into the Le Sage boutique as she can only watch, totally baffled. Peering through the window, she sees him have a brief conversation with the store owner, which causes the woman to head into the back. A few minutes later, Rean walks out, a plastic-wrapped bundle under one arm and a clean white handkerchief in-hand of the other. Without asking - and before she can even reach out to take it - he's softly wiping the dust from her cheeks with the cloth.
"R-Rean!?"
"Huh?" He cocks his head to the side, confused by her complaint... then seeming to recognize Towa for the first time, he blushes himself. "Oh! I'm so sorry! That's probably something I shouldn't just do to a girl without asking, huh?"
"I'd say!"
"I just had to do stuff like this for my sister all the time so I did it without thinking." He grins as he looks away, but then his blush clears up and he frowns as he looks at her. "But, uh... you know... if you handle this yourself, you might leave some behind."
"I can take care of it in the mirror!"
"Oh, right... but... and, sorry if this is being presumptuous, I'm assuming you don't want to use the dressing room in there in-case you might be seen?"
Towa groans and sags, defeated.
"You're right... But this is so embarrassing!"
Rean lifts the bag in his hands to draw her attention to it.
"Well, if you're going to change into these, then you'll need to go to the dorm anyway. Class VII's dorm, I mean, because there's no one there. I can take care of it there." Towa casts her gaze at the bag, peering through it to see the commoner girl's academy uniform within. It's even in her exact size. Agape, she looks up at Rean, who continues, "Sorry, she said your backup uniform might be a little wrinkled because she hasn't ironed it, and might have some minor cosmetic imperfections since it was just a prototype for... well... you're uniquely sm-"
"Don't say it please..." Towa trails off, sulking at the comment he was about to make. Then, suddenly, she realizes something and perks up. "But that means I can clean my face in your bathroom mirror!"
Rean coughs uncomfortably, packs the clothing under his arm again, scratches his head, and then finally looks to the side to avoid her gaze.
"Oh, don't tell me..."
"Uh... yeah... the bathroom's closed up for renovation. They thought they fixed it before we got here, but I guess the guy they had take care of it the first time made some mistakes... Sorry..."
"Just my luck... I wish I had been here to keep watch over the renovations, but they took care of it before the school year started..." She sags once again. "I guess you'll just have to take care of it..."
"Well, I'm glad you avoided that extra work at least." He grins. "A-Anyway, you're usually so careful so she - the manager at the clothing store I mean - didn't think you'd need one of the backups. She got this together on pretty short notice for me after I explained your situation." He casts a glance back at the store. Realizing she hasn't been very appreciative, Towa stands up and does her usual encouraging pose with arms pulled to chest. She forces her best smile despite her discomfort.
"Th-thanks so much for all of this, Rean! I'll accept this of course!" She takes the clothing from him, the plastic crunching as she hugs it close to her chest to disguise the state of her uniform for onlookers. "Thanks for not panicking like me… I should've realized that I'd gotten dirt all over myself… Though I guess I still would've needed to ask for your help anyways, haha…"
"Don't mention it, I'm happy to help! We should probably get going before anyone sees you though." He collects his new book from the bench as he says that.
Towa tries and fails to not sulk as she uses Rean for cover from any potential spectators on their walk to Class VII's dorm. She does at least arrive all the way to the dorm unscathed by the eyes of bystanders, who simply try and fail to look around Rean, who returns their looks with a polite wave. Once inside the lobby, Rean points her to the couch.
"You can sit while I do this if it'll make you more comfortable."
"No, just get it over with..."
Rean chuckles a bit, says "sorry..." as he reaches out with the handkerchief, and begins to wipe the dirt off her face with care. He's so gentle in fact that Towa finds it calming. Looking up towards his face as the rubbing against her cheek forces her to squint, she finds that he's carrying out the task with absolute focus. Unlike she might have expected, he's not embarrassed at all, so no daydreaming. Her first thought would usually be something depressing like him not finding her attractive enough to get embarrassed... but with Rean, it's different. She can see it in his gaze even now, the kindness of an older brother. She's enamored so much by this that the moments drag out... the experience of the cloth rubbing against her face, his calm breathing drifting across her skin, and his lilac eyes scanning across her imperfections. It all seems to happen in slow motion as she waits and simply takes it in. She has to stop her mouth from falling open, and she finds that her own heartbeat is the one that goes up, enraptured as she is with a sudden admiration for him she hadn't had before. Luckily, the cloth and dirt work together to cover up her cheeks flushing with blood as she sharply exhales to calm herself.
"Sorry, was I too rough?" He wonders, pausing his work.
"N-No..." She trails off. Coughing, she regains her composure. "You can keep going, sorry."
"Gotcha." He continues.
"You know, I can really tell you've done this before like you said. I can imagine most people would be more rough about it."
"Yeah? Well... you might not expect this, but a swordsman has to practice a lot of things you'd usually see reserved for uptight nobles. Manners are virtues, and cleanliness is one of them. My master used to say it was all about keeping a clean mind. I just threw myself into it because I didn't want to shame my family though." His gaze becomes a little unfocused, and he smiles. "I was also always happy to be able to help my little sister when she fell down or something." Catching himself before he opens up too much, he coughs and curves his teeth out to a wide grin. "A-Anyway, all done! Your own parents wouldn't be able to tell you hadn't recently bathed! Well, if it weren't for your uniform... haha..."
He removes the cloth from her face. She decides not to pursue his secrets, instead simply smiling up at him as she says, "Thanks Rean." Then, hefting the uniform under her arm as the bag it's in protests with loud wrinkling noises, she casts her gaze about confusedly. "But... uh... where am I supposed to change?"
"Oh, yeah. Uh... sorry if this might be embarrassing... but I guess my room is the only place you'll be able to get any privacy." As he says all this, he digs his room key out of his pocket and hands it to her.
"It's not a problem, thanks Rean." She bows in appreciation.
"Do I need to show you where it is?"
"Don't worry, I'm the one who handled room assignments."
"Of course you are..." He shakes his head. "Well then, I guess I'll just study while you get changed, unless you need anything?"
"No, don't worry about me! You've already done more than enough... I'll switch uniforms and then I'll be right back down to give you back your key."
"Yep, no problem!" He gives her a thumbs up. She takes off, a little skittish at the thought of changing in a boys room, but also urgent to have the experience dealt with. After heading up the stairs and entering Room 201, she takes a moment to appreciate her surroundings. The first thing that catches her attention - and one that makes her sulk instantly - is the sight of a mirror directly to her right, hanging on the wall.
"I guess he forgot that this was in here... boys don't use mirrors that much so I guess I'm not surprised..."
The rest of the room quickly distracts her from this. A calligraphy poster hangs on the left wall, though she isn't sure what it says. All the way in the back of the room is his Tachi hanging off a set of pegs, and on the left are a number of tackles for fishing. Finally, she finds the picture of Rean with his family. She walks over and takes it in. After staring at it for a long moment, she can't help but think that despite Rean's smile... he doesn't seem happy in it. This makes her frown a bit... but ultimately she turns away, deciding it's not her right to pry like this. She changes quickly and packs her old clothes into the bag.
When she returns to the bottom of the stairs, she finds Rean sitting on the couch, a pot of eastern tea he'd prepared steaming into the air along with two full mugs alongside it. He's squinting at the pages of the economics textbook with intense focus... seeming to struggle with something. With a slight grin, she sneaks over behind him and tries to get a peek over his shoulder to see what he's looking at. Unfortunately for her stealth mission, he senses her presence and turns around to look at her. Before he can speak, she offers him his key back. He smiles and takes it, then she rounds the couch and sits down next to him. First, she thanks him for the tea and takes a swig. It's delicious and she tells him so to his gratitude. Pleasantries dealt with, she raises her finger and begins to speak.
"You know Rean, the reason banks like the International Bank of Crosbell mint Mira instead of countries printing their own individual currencies like they used to is because it has a stable exchange rate with the actually valuable currency Mira is backed by, Sepith." Turning to look at him and his gaze of rapt attention, she lowers her hand and continues with closed eyes. "After the Orbal Revolution and the birth of large financial institutions like the IBC, it was important for the swiftness of international trade that we simplify our currency exchanges to make sure trade was easy on a unifying world stage... and so we didn't have to divert Sepith from Orbal factories as a way to assure the backing of individual state currencies."
Rean chuckles a bit in disbelief, prompting her to frown and open her eyes to see what was so funny.
"You're pretty perceptive, you barely got a look and you figured out exactly what I was having trouble with. Impressive, President Towa…" This causes her to flush again and pull her arms to her chest, balled fists pointing up.
"Ah, don't say my title like that! It's embarrassing when people make me sound so official!"
"Sorry…"
"Ah, don't worry about it… Angie and Crow do it all the time, so I'm used to it by now. Anyway, luckily, economics is my best subject… so I know the answers to all your potential questions! Or, well, most." She scratches her chin with a single finger while looking up. Then, an idea sprouting into her head, she quickly turns to beam at him with hands on her knees. "How about this? I'll stay and help you study as a way to repay you for all your help!"
He returns her smile. Closing his eyes, he says, "I would refuse since I know how busy you are, but Keynes did make me promise to do my best... so I can hardly turn you down."
"Okay then, let's start a bit earlier in the book since you seemed a bit confused about the fundamental idea of the Sepith Standard… We have to make sure you eventually get it right!" As she says this, Rean opens his eyes and extends her the book, and she flips to the proper page before going into an extensive speech about the difference between microeconomics and macroeconomics. It goes over his head at first, but this and many other concepts click with him one by one as Towa explains it to him. Turns out she knows even more than the textbook, yet is also able to put it into terms easier to understand than said textbook. By the time they finish the lesson, most of the other members of Class VII had passed by in front of them, and dark is beginning to fall outside the dorm windows. Rean finally seems confident in his knowledge as they close the cover for the night.
"You know Towa, don't freak out too much about me saying this, but you're actually really great at this teaching thing." He scratches his head as he places the book on his lap. "I definitely would've had to spend a lot longer trying to read between the lines of this book without you, and I probably still wouldn't have gotten it entirely…"
"Ah, stop it Rean. You're exaggerating, I'm sure there are other people who could've done better, even in your class. I mean, Emma got the top score on the entrance exam! She'd probably breeze you through all of this, and that's even though I've already taken this course and know all the answers…"
"Well, I can't be certain if Emma would've helped me more or not on this in particular..."
"That's only because you're so reluctant to ask for help. And believe me I get it, but you've got to reach out sometimes Rean…"
"I know, but it'd be a bit embarrassing for everyone to see how much trouble I was having. Like it would've been embarrassing for everyone to see your uniform earlier…"
"Come on, don't bring that back up… I was just about to forget about it!"
"Sorry… Though... I guess the jig ended up being up for me on the being caught studying thing since we spent so long on it. At least by the time the others showed up they didn't see the part where I struggled with it."
She giggles.
"Well… whatever…" She uncharacteristically trails off as she looks out of the window and into the darkening sky. The first lights of stars have begun to appear. The small town of Trista doesn't have quite enough light pollution to blank out the sky it turns out. She is unusually enraptured by the sight of the little orbs of light blinking into existence, and she looks out for quite a long time as the sky turns from yellow to black. Meanwhile, Rean watches her in silence, almost as transfixed by Towa as she is by the stars. On and on… until she suddenly freaks out and jumps up from her seat. "Oh no! What am I doing!? I have to fill out the transference forms to document the transition of the books from the library to the bookstore! And forms for about a thousand other things that I need to get filled out tonight… And all of that stuff is in my office!"
Rean, leaving the book on the table in front of him, stands.
"But… the school's about to lock up, you'll never make it."
"I have to try, that stuff is really important! People are counting on me!"
The boy falls to silence for a moment as Towa assumes the pose to take off running, but he stops her with a hand on the shoulder before she can sprint away.
"Sorry Rean, but I really have to go…"
"I know, but there's no way you'll ever get there in time on your own." Rean stops, then extends his senses, making sure none of the other members of Class VII are watching before turning back to Towa. "I know it's embarrassing but everyone's turning in for the night or eating dinner, even outside of the dorm, so… maybe you could get on my back and I can run you there? Maybe I don't look it, but I can actually run pretty fast…"
Her posture falls a little bit, clearly reluctant but knowing he's probably right.
"But… you know Rean, that's a really awkward thing to suggest to a girl! And… that's what I am, you know!"
"Yeah I know, we established that earlier, but… do you have any other choice if you want to get these things done?" He's scratching his head, looking out the window and over the roof of the flower shop towards the academy. "Either way, you have to make up your mind fast…"
She shakes for a moment in frustration before running over to the couch.
"Fine, I'll get up from here! Even if it is school property... man, I hope no one finds out..." Scaling the couch while careful to maintain her balance, she turns back to Rean. "I'd say no funny business, but… doesn't seem necessary…"
"Thanks for the trust." He smiles at her before turning away and backing towards the couch to allow her to climb on.
"This is so demeaning…" She mumbles as she slides her legs over his arms and wraps her own around his neck. "There better not be any sly comments about my size, Rean! Especially in... certain places!"
"Never, I don't seek death..." He grins back at her. "Anyway, ready to go?"
"But, your book…"
"Don't worry, I'll get it back later. It's not like any of my classmates are going to take it. And, well… I've got you if I lose it, right?
"Ugh… yes… And I'm ready as I'll ever be by the way. Oh… if anybody seesssss USS! AHHHH!"
Without another needed word, Rean suddenly takes off at a sprint, running out the door and into the plaza at speed. Fie hangs over the railing from the second floor to try and spot what's happening, but Rean's already gone by the time she looks.
"Damn... Probably could've seen something pretty good..." She mutters.
Outside, Rean closes his eyes to extend his senses. He makes sure to be aware of whether or not anyone is around as he enters the path towards the school gate. Detecting Rosine at the church, he skids to a stop.
"W-Why are we stopping?" Towa asks, secretly relieved.
"Detour for your sake."
He takes off again, choosing a route close to the house next door and passing behind some thick plants in order to avoid being seen. In half the time Towa ever could've reached the dorm part of the campus outskirts, Rean is already sprinting through the midst of them in an opportune moment where the coast is clear. The gate luckily hasn't been locked yet, and he dashes through it too at breakneck speed. Towa's about to urge him that this is far enough, but he skids directly into a right turn whose force prevents her from speaking as he takes off for the Student Union Building. By the time she's readying herself to speak again, he's through the doors and racing for the stairs. At that point, he senses the school custodian ahead.
"Sorry, this is as far as I can carry you without being seen… That's probably the custodian upstairs." Rean says, lowering himself so she can get off.
"Th-That's okay, I'll get down now…" Releasing her legs from his arms, Towa reaches them out to the ground. Her shoes click against the tiles a few times before she finally finds her footing and drops down before backing away. "Thanks Rean, I'll take it from here. I can just ask the custodian to unlock the door for me if he's already locked it."
"Good, I'm happy I could help Towa. It would've been really unfortunate if he'd locked the gates before you could get here. Though, maybe I should've let that happen so you could take a break for once, haha…"
"No, it's okay. I think all that time I spent tutoring you was more than enough."
"Towa..."
"I know you think that it's work and... I guess it's possible to see it that way, but I don't!" Towa says, very matter of factly as she walks by Rean and heads to the steps. As she's about to take them, she turns back toward Rean with the most dead serious expression he'd ever seen on her face. Her wide green irises, usually cute, had crushed inward toward her pupils. She still wasn't quite scary but it was clear she was really determined to look that way, even though any threat this was supposed to pose was undermined by the obvious knowledge to anyone that she'd just roll with it if the target of her "glare" was to defy her command. "Rean, never speak of any of this… please!" Her irises expand back on the last word to be more pleading. Rean grins.
"On the probably unimportant name of Rean no middle name Schwarzer, I do so swear that I shalt never speak of this event to a soul. Even yours!"
Towa sighs in relief.
"Thanks Rean, really. You're a lifesaver. I'm just sorry I can't make tea this time…"
He shakes his head at her reassuringly.
"No worries, we'll find another time, and we had plenty back at the dorm."
She nods, and heads up the steps as Rean turns away and zones out, getting lost in his thoughts as he sighs and touches his chest lightly.
Phew, I'm really glad that's over. Having a cute girl ride on my back… way too bold, especially after all that other stuff I pulled, but what's a guy to do when someone like Towa is in need? There really was no other choice… Focusing again, he walks back toward the door. I know she wants me to forget this but uh… doesn't really seem possible. Sorry, Towa… It really is our secret though!
With that he takes off, heading back to retrieve his book and find the bed waiting for him in his dorm room. And the mirror too.
Oh crap! He thinks, hands to his head as he drops into bed. I always use the one in the bathroom if I use it at all, I completely forgot that was here...! She probably thinks I'm a creep now... He groans into his pillow in shame. Then, first thing the next day, he tracks her down and apologizes profusely for the stupid mistake. And as it turns out... she wasn't angry.
"I know you're just saying that for my sake Towa, and I appreciate it, but it's okay if you're angry with me."
"You're already angry enough at yourself Rean." She says, a bit somberly. Then she blushes and hisses the loudest she can without being overheard in a crowded school hallway, waving her arms for emphasis. "And if it really bothers you that much, you can promise to pretend you forgot about all the embarrassing things that happened! Because that's what I'm going to do!"
Rean looks away with an awkward grin, scratching his head, "Pretending I can do, it's a promise."
"Thank you." She declares, drawing herself up to full height in an attempt to appear haughty about it. It doesn't really work, though luckily their laughter about it is shared. Once that's cooled down, she hugs a book to her chest and looks down, smiling warmly as she does so. Her cheeks tinge red as she continues. "Either way though Rean... when I tell you I'm not angry, it really is the truth." Looking up, she grows her smile to consume her eyes as she cocks her head... declaring, "I hope you believe that."
The pleasant if embarrassing memory of yesterday's events - and particularly all the new things she'd learned about Rean - plays across her mind. The insanely genuine and deadly cute expression decorating her face as a result forces him to accept her words, causing him to quietly reply with, "Yeah... I do..." Words that she nods in acceptance to. And with that issue settled, they both get back to their scholarly duties, and Towa returns to her desk. Thoughts of the sad smile on child Rean's face distract her for a moment, but she's forced to put them aside to focus on her own work... all as she wonders what experiences had made him that way, and moreover... if she'd ever looked the same.