GRYD Season 02 Chapter 4: What Love Means

Weeks went by in the blink of an eye at Beacon Academy, the students were consumed with their classes, as well as the daily routines they found themselves in. For the members of Team GRYD and MEAL though, there was a spot of tension between certain members. Mainly, Glyph, Leilani, and Diana.

Every since Glyph's scolding of Diana, she barely spoke to him, and at times outright refused to look at, or even acknowledge Leilani. At first, the teams were fine with letting things work out, but the more time that went on, the more tense things got.

After a class one day, Macro motioned to Glyph that they needed to talk, Glyph followed him outside so that they wouldn't be overheard.

"What's going on Glyph?" asked Macro once sure they were secured from eavesdroppers

"With what?" answered Glyph in his typical manner

"What else? Diana."

Glyph laughed and rolled his eyes, "Tch, Diana."

"This funny to you?"

"What? You never threw a temper tantrum when you were a kid?"

"Once or twice, I grew out of it though."

"Diana hasn't. She doesn't like me and Leilani being together."

Macro eyed him intensely, then shook his head, "You're not telling me everything."

"She...spied on me and Leilani during our first date. I caught her, and then scolded her when we were alone. As you can see, she's mad."

"Think you can patch things up?"

"I've tried, she doesn't want to. Let it go, it doesn't affect you."

"Doesn't affect me? Your partner is mad at you for dating my partner. I see the looks and glares she gives Leilani, which makes her sad. The Lovers and Yasmine in turn direct glares back at Diana, Reyson's loving the conflict like only he can, you're not getting involved, which leave me to play mediator! It affects me!

Glyph looked at his friend for a bit then sighed, "You're right, I'm sorry. But the only way I know that Diana will stop is if I break up with Leilani. Because then I'm free game. Which is what she wants. I won't do that."

This time it was Macro who sighed, "Nor would I ask you to. But we do need to figure out a way to resolve this, peacefully I mean. Without serious emotional scars."

"Heh, with Diana, it's the physical scars I'd worry about."

With a laugh, Glyph walked away. Macro shook his head in disappointment but joined him.

A few hours later, The Lovers exited a class and walked down a hallway. Like they usual did, they were arm in arm, and chatting happily as they passed by other students.

Upon entering a particular section of hallway, they approached a group of three male students talking amongst one another. They were dressed in similar uniforms, but of different colors. As The Lovers got into their view, the three huddled closer together so that they could talk without being heard.

"I get sick of seeing those two." said the boy in the red uniform.

"They're always fawning over each other, disgusting," noted the one in blue

Aaron and Erin passed by them, the three stopped talking as they did, when they were a few steps away they leaned back in.

"The way they talk and act, it's like they're already married, pathetic." followed up the one in yellow, "It'd be a funny story though, the green pompous fool and the pink-haired bimbo."

The three laughed, but unbeknownst to them, Aaron heard them, and quick as a flash pulled out one of his crossbows, and fired three rounds, one into each of them. Unprepared, the three took the hits right on the chest, and were knocked to the ground.

The hallway went quiet as they saw what happened, Aaron looked at them all with distaste, while Erin smiled smally at what had occurred.

Aaron kept his crossbow aimed at them and slowly approached, his expression unchanged, "Word to the wise, some of us have good ears. I had younger siblings who would try to whisper in order to sneak stuff past me. It didn't work then, and it doesn't work now. You're lucky, actually. The rounds I put in you were meant to stun. Insult my love again though, I can't guarantee that."

He flashed an evil smile, then turned to the others in the hallway and shrugged, "Anyone else?"

Several students shook their heads quickly, others avoided his gaze. Content, Aaron put away his weapons and rejoined Erin, who happily took his arm when he offered it, "Haven't see you do that in a while."

"Well, no one has been foolish enough to insult you while you were with me."

"I know I shouldn't, but I love how far you go to defend me. All of me."

Aaron struck a pose as he walked, "It is a matter of honor! If I didn't defend you from words as much as I try to in battle with blades or claws, then I'm not a good boyfriend."

Erin smiled and gripped his arm even tighter, "Oh, trust me, you're a good boyfriend. Let's just hope Night doesn't get you into trouble for this."

"If I must pay the price for defending, I will do so, and I will do it as many times as is needed."

"I love you."

"And I love you."

With a smile to the other, they continued down the hallway.

Later that day, Aaron sat alone in the room of MEAL, he was writing down things on a notebook while gazing at various textbooks on his bed. He continued this for a while until the sound of laughter caught his ears. Aaron rose and went over to a window, as he got a view of the grounds, he saw various students playing with one another. Games of chase, or dodging stones, the lighter things that made him remember that though they're training to be warriors, they're still kids at heart.

His mind and thoughts drifted, and a memory of old formed.

In a small house on the outskirts of a city, a group of children ran around it. They were of different sizes, and their hair colors were all different, yet all similar. The children ran around and around with more and more energy. The door to the house opened, and out stepped a younger Aaron. He looked very different than the Aaron we know now. Aaron's attire was radically different, his hair wasn't slicked up like it usually was either. His expression was not one of confidence, or arrogance, but rather, exasperation as he sees the younger children running around.

The younger Aaron had a book in his hand, he opened it as he sat down on the front step of the house. He read his book as the children continued to play. Occasionally they would stop and try to get Aaron to play with them, but he ignored them, and continued to read his book.

Time went on, and the children continued to play, and Aaron continued to read his book. Eventually though, the door opened again, and a woman stepped out onto the step. She had dark brown hair, much of which was frazzled, which matched her expression. She was exhausted in every way, and it was a miracle that she was on her feet.

As she looked around she got even more tired from watching the children, but it changed when she saw Aaron sitting alone and reading his book.

"Aaron," she said, "why aren't you playing with your brothers and sisters like I asked?"

Aaron didn't look at her, but instead raised his head and pointed at his siblings, "Look, they don't need me to play with them. Besides mother, you asked me to watch over my siblings, not play with them."

"Oh Aaron, that's not what I meant and you know it. Why must you be so exacting?"

"Why must they be so exhausting? Is it so wrong that I want to enjoy my time with my books instead of wasting my energy on them? I want to be a Huntsman, a good one, I can't grow by playing games."

His mother sighed heavily, and sat down on the step next to her son, with kind yet sad eyes she gazed at him, "Do you love me, Aaron?"

Her question made Aaron look right into her eyes with great hurt, "Of course, mother, how could you ask such a thing like that? What son wouldn't?

"You'd be surprised. I ask you because life in this household is anything but easy. Your father works himself to the bone to get us enough money to live. And I work myself to death trying to keep the house up and running, and that means dealing with your siblings. Which, is never easy. You are the eldest Aaron, and as such your father and I look to you for help."

"I don't understand."

With a smile, she grabs his hand, "Love isn't just an emotion, it's an expression of yourself, an action even. What love means, is that sometimes you must do what you need to do for those you care about, even if it doesn't make you happy per se. To go above and beyond to make others happy, or to help them in their time of need, that's what love means. And that's why I asked you, because if you love your mother like you say you do, then you'll help me. Because I need it, dear Aaron. Now more than ever."

Aaron was taken aback by her words, and with meaning put his book down and nodded, "Whatever you need mother."

"Good. Now watch over your siblings, and keep them in line, your father and I will take care of the rest."

Nodding again, Aaron stood up and made his way to his siblings, who jumped for joy as he joined them. Their mother watched for a little while, then rose up and went back inside.

Back in the present, Aaron shook his head and laughed at a joke only he understood. He was pulled from this memory when a knock came at the door.

"Come in," Aaron said with gusto

The door opened, and Squire walked into the room, this took Aaron aback, but he maintained his composure, as did Squire upon seeing him, "Mister Forrest, Headmaster Night wishes to speak with you. Follow me, please."

"As you wish."

Squire led the way, and Aaron followed, he had a smile on his face as they winded through the hallways. He could tell what was coming, yet had no fear of it. Eventually, they made their way to Headmaster Night's office, Night himself was at his usual spot, looking through his window and over the grounds. Squire ushered Aaron in, then left himself.

"What do you have against ninjas Mr. Forrest?" Night asked without turning around

Aaron's smile grew, "I think their color-coating is tacky."

Night laughed then turned around to face Aaron, "It is, isn't it? Then again, you could say the same thing about many of us. I'm sure you get picked on for your ascot."

"From time to time."

"Indeed."

With a shake of his head Night sat himself at his desk, then looked at Aaron with serious eyes, "Do you remember how I said that every student that entered the academy was examined by me?"

"I do, don't know if I believe it though," answered Aaron with a shrug.

"Why not?"

"You let Reyson in."

"Fair enough, but he earned his way in, I can promise you that."

"That's why you're the Headmaster."

"Yes, I must look beyond rumor, hearsay, and other such things to see what is truth, and what is not. For you though, I don't think your record gives you enough credit."

Aaron's smile returns, "How so?"

Night raises a file so Aaron can see it, it has his name on it. He then opens it and flips to a certain page, "Aaron Forrest is one of the brightest students in all of Signal. Wonderful grades, excellent combat skills, and an ability to speak both eloquently yet pointedly."

"I'm flattered."

"There's more. Mr. Forrest however has a crucial flaw, his love for his girlfriend, Erin Flushe. His love blinds him at times, and can make him overemotional. Should anyone try and sleight Ms. Flushe, Mr. Forrest will respond in kind with either an extreme verbal bashing, or in "appropriate" cases, physically attacking other students."

With a blank expression he closed the file and laid it back on his desk, then turned to Aaron, who was still smiling.

"I'm not blind when it comes to Erin."

"Oh?"

"Yes, if I was blind, I wouldn't be able to see how beautiful she is."

"That's not what they meant, and you know that, stopping making light of the situation."

"I don't need to make light of it, I was in the right of it."

"Your "victims" wouldn't agree." noted Night sternly

Aaron's smile faded, a hard expression replaced, "Erin means everything to me. I love her, completely and utterly. I'm sure what Team NNJA told you was only half the story, as all bullies and fools do when trying to turn a situation around. They insulted me and Erin, repeatedly. Called it "disgusting" that we could love each other like this at such a young age. I let that slide, but then they called Erin a "bimbo", that stopped my patience and compassion. And I responded in kind like a good boyfriend should."

Night sighed heavily and strummed his desk with fingers, he tried to get a read on Aaron, who went back to his pompous posture when Night didn't immediately respond, "Be that as it may Mr. Forrest, that doesn't fully excuse you from doing what you did. If you argued with them, I wouldn't have minded. If you grabbed one of them and demanded they apologize for the use of that word, I wouldn't have cared. But you shot three students with your crossbow, and I have to take action."

"You do what you must Headmaster, but no matter your punishment to me, I will not apologize to them for what I did, for I did nothing but protect my love."

"It really isn't an act with you, is it?"

"I'm a great actor, I've played my part well over the years, but I don't act when I'm with her. That file may say that she's my weakness, she's not, she's my strength. She's my reason to keep going, to see the next day, and because of that, I will protect her no matter the circumstance. That's what love means to me."

"Poetic," said Night with a mixed tone, "but again, it doesn't excuse you. I could reprimand you, but I don't think that's the best way to handle this. The head of NNJA has demanded a fight with you in order to reclaim his honor, I'm granting him that wish. You'll fight tomorrow when you're both in Combat Training with Lochen."

"Sounds wonderful, Headmaster," said Aaron with a bow.

"We'll see how wonderful it is, Mr. Forrest, you're dismissed."

With another bow, Aaron left. Night watched him leave, then shook his head when he was gone before going back to the window.

Aaron meanwhile made it back to his team room, upon entering, the others raced towards him, Erin reached him first and hugged him. Aaron smiled as she did, "Glad you missed me."

"I didn't know where you had gone!" she said back with clear relief in her voice, "I tried calling you, but you didn't answer."

"Apologies, my love, I was with Headmaster Night, answering your call would've been...inappropriate for the situation."

"What situation would that be?" asked Macro curious, "Anything to do with your shooting of Team NNJA?"

"Does everyone know about that?"

"It's a school full of teenagers," pointed out Leilani, "it'd be a miracle if someone didn't know."

"Fair point, Leilani. Yes, he wanted to talk to me about what happened."

"And?" asked Erin, now slightly concerned.

Aaron smiled brightly and laughed to wipe away her concern, "The Headmaster was not pleased by what I did, but I explained that it didn't matter whether I was right or wrong, I did what I had to do."

"Oh you... I hope you didn't say it that flamboyantly."

"Not as, but close."

The two laughed together, but stopped when Macro cleared his throat to get their attention, "I know Night, he wouldn't let you off that easily. What's going to happen?"

"I have to fight the head of Team NNJA."

This made Leilani's eyes go wide, "Nanke? Nanke Kunai?"

"He's tough Aaron, he was one of the top students from Vacuo." noted Macro, expression grim, "All of his team were trained in the blistering weather there. They're trained to endure, and that speaks nothing of their skill with their weapons."

"Macro, I appreciate your tactical analysis, but I'll be fine, I'm not pushover either." Aaron replied

"I know, just don't push it. He's going to want serious revenge after what you did to his team. He doesn't want to beat you, he'll want to humiliate you."

"On that, we will have something in common, because I want to humiliate him for what he said to Erin."

"Awww..." said Erin with a smile and a hug, to which Aaron reciprocated.

Leilani giggled, "You two can't help but show your affections, huh?"

Aaron gave her a knowing smile, "You'll get there with Glyph, hopefully."

This made Leilani blush intensely, and she instinctively went to playing with her ears. Macro rolled his eyes and stepped forward to get his attention, "Hey, you need to focus. I want you to beat him, so please, let me tell you what I know about him, ok? That way you'll be ready for him tomorrow?"

"Of course, I trust your advice as my leader, and as my friend."

Aaron gave a very choreographed bow, making Erin and Leliani laugh again, and Macro rolling his eyes again, "You're the limit, now come on."

The next day came, and throughout the school there was a buzz about the matchup that was going to take place. This was only the second time that Headmaster Night chose a battle in practice, and since the previous one of GRYD vs. PRME was a classic, students were eager to see if this next one was going to be the same.

Aaron maintained his pompous nature throughout the beginning of the day, anyone who saw him thought nothing less than he was confident he was going to win. And he was. The other members of MEAL weren't as confident. Erin was worried a little, Leilani thought Aaron wasn't taking it seriously, and Macro wasn't content with Aaron's prep for the match. Still, it wasn't them going into it, it was Aaron, and in his mind, there was no chance he would lose, not with his and Erin's honor on the line.

As the afternoon approached, the students wandered into the training area, Lochen was there, and had his usual grin on his face. But to their surprise, including Aaron's, Headmaster Night was there as well. Unlike Lochen though, he wasn't happy.

The students gathered in, Aaron maintained a presence by the entryway to the battle space as he waited to be summoned.

Once everyone was seated, Night bowed his head to them all, "Hello students, I hope your day is going well. You no doubt have heard, I orchestrated the matchup you're about to see. I don't like doing this, and thus I have only done it once before. This time though, I have made this match to prove a point about my policy about violence against your fellow students."

Aaron smirked at the statement, the other students just murmured.

"Where you are right now is the only place where attacks on your fellow students is allowed. For here, you are training for what is out there. Thus, you need to be pushed to your limits. But only here. I know some of you can wear your weapons inconspicuously, and I allow that. However, if you attack your fellow students, you will find yourself here, or worse. I will not tolerate it."

At the last line, Night turned to Aaron, who still had a smile on his face. Night scoffed slightly and shook his head, "Consider this my one and only warning. Your actions have consequences. Lochen."

"Night," replied Lochen as the Headmaster stepped away, "Alright let's have some fun, ok? Aaron Forest, Nanke Kunai, come on down."

Aaron casually walked onto the battle arena, and loaded up both of his crossbows with Dust bullets. Seconds after he was ready, a puff of smoke appeared, and within it was Nanke. His ninja garb was in full effect, including a mask over his mouth which let his eyes shine powerfully.

He reached behind himself and pulled out a chained weapon with a blade at the tip, he began swinging it in a circle menacingly, "You will pay for the dishonor you put on me."

With a laugh, Aaron raised his crossbows, "Your honor? You lost that the moment you insulted my beloved. What kind of honorable man says such a thing without a thought of repercussions? You think yourself superior? I shall show you true superiority!"

"Foolish last words."

"Says the cliche."

With a roar Nanke launched the chain weapon toward Aaron, pointed end heading straight for him. Aaron sidestepped, knocked the chain away with one hand, and then fired with his freehand crossbow. Nanke quickly retracted his chain and ran away from the bolts. Aaron poured on the pressure, bringing both of his crossbows to bare on the ninja. He continued to fire until he was out of bullets.

Hearing this, Nanke rushed in to strike. He brought his chain weapon to bear on Aaron, who had to think fast in order to dodge, but he did so. After several dodges, he saw an opening and kicked Nanke back. Seizing the opportunity, Aaron reloaded his crossbows and prepared for another volley.

Seeing this, Nanke quickly reached into a satchel on his belt and pulled out a tiny pellet and threw it onto the ground. The pellet exploded, and smoke filled up where Nanke was. Aaron fired into it, but stopped when he saw that he wasn't there.

The pellet continued to pour out smoke, until Aaron was surrounded by it. He held out both his arms, pointed in different directions, and slowly turned both his body and his head so he could be ready for anything.

In the stands, Macro got tense, "Come on Aaron, this is what we prepped for."

Aaron continued to survey the smoke, looking for any sign of an attack. Suddenly, he heard the clinking of a chain, and dodged out of the way just as the kunai chain launched out at him. Once clear of it he fired into the smoke where it came from, but nothing hit, so he stopped. The chain weapon flew back into the smoke, and so Aaron resumed his defensive stance.

Several similar strikes followed this up, each from different locations, making Aaron continually dodge so he wouldn't get hit. From the bleachers, Erin got more and more worried with each strike.

"How is he doing that?" she asked

"Through his Semblance he can blend perfectly into the smoke," noted Macro, discontent also on his face, "he's so good at it that the smoke somehow conceals his footsteps as well. It's an interesting trick, one that made him a prize student at Vacuo."

"How can he beat that?" wondered Leilani, "It's almost like Glyph's teleport."

"Kind of, but Glyph doesn't rely on a substance to make himself move. I told Aaron about the Semblance, he's just waiting for his shot."

Aaron continued to dodge the attacks from Nanke, each time getting more tired. Nanke saw this, and within the smoke, he began to laugh.

"What's wrong? Tired already? I can do this all day until you're exhausted, and then you'll fall."

"About time," said Aaron with a smirk.

"What, you wanted me to explain my attack strategy?"

Aaron laughed and reloaded his crossbows, "No, I just wanted you to stop moving long enough to talk. That way, I could do this."

With great speed and accuracy, Aaron unloaded several rounds into the ground near the smoke. Each blast released a concussive force of energy the blew the smoke away. One of the blasts revealed Nanke's location, and Aaron struck quickly with another blast, sending the ninja flying backwards and rolling onto the ground.

Content with his strike, Aaron faced the crowd and did a bow, to which he got much applause, mainly from Erin, Leilani and GRYD. Macro though refused to clap, as did Glyph.

Happy with the response, Aaron again reloaded his crossbows and faced his opponent, who was rising back to his feet.

"Would you like to stop? Or shall I beat you further?" teased Aaron

"Your arrogance is annoying," bit back Nanke

"So is your talk of honor. You have none. You think what me and Erin have is "disgusting", that's not your judgment to make."

"Perhaps. But it is my right to judge your skill, and frankly, I'm not impressed!"

He again flung out the chain, and again Aaron dodged, but this time, the chain continued until it buried itself into the wall. With a flick of his hand, Nanke flew quickly towards the end buried in the wall, and once close enough to Aaron, let loose a fierce volley of strikes. Aaron was caught off guard by the precision and speed of the close quarters combat, and was unable to dodge.

Seizing an advantage, Nanke kicked Aaron square in the chest, sending him, backwards. He then released his chain from the wall, flung it at Aaron, and wrapped it around his arm.

"GET OVER HERE!" he roared as he pulled Aaron back into close range combat.

The battle lasted here for a few more seconds before Aaron was again kicked away.

Though slow to rise, Aaron did make it back to his feet, he was visibly winded though. He looked up at the stats screen for the matchup, and he saw he was dangerously close to losing. While Nanke was only at half health.

As he tried to straighten himself up, Nanke taunted him, "Yield, it's the right thing to do."

"Never," spat Aaron, "you're not the only one fighting for honor here."

"Noble, yet foolish. I need only land one more attack and you're done. What are you going to do. What could you possibly do to beat me before that happens? Come on Mr. Superior! WHAT ARE YOU GO TO DO?"

The last sentence rang through Aaron's head, but it soon changed into a female's voice, and the words shifted to "What are we going to do?"

Back in the past, Aaron's mother is talking to a man who looks very much like Aaron, it's his father. Both of his parents are in the kitchen of their home, and both looking distraught. Unbeknownst to them, Aaron is nearby, and listening to them intently.

"What are we going to do, Ardan?" his mother asked with clear desperation.

"I don't know, my love, everyone was laid off. I've got some feelers out for possible jobs, but I don't know when they'll bite. Or if they'll bite. We'll just have to hold on until then, " Arden said as he tried to muster a smile.

"How? We got six children who need to be fed. We're barely making do as it is."

"We'll find a way, my love. I promise. We should tell the children though, they'll understand, they'll have to. Hiding it won't help in any way."

"Ok, I just hope they understand, they're so young Arden, would you have understood if you were in their place?"

"I don't know Ciara, but if we lie to them, it'll only make it worse."

"You're right. Keeping them occupied will be a bigger chore than ever though."

"We'll make do, love. We always do. Just remember, the darkest times are when we have to smile the brightest."

Aaron leans in to see his parents, they're holding hands and have their foreheads against the others in a sign of unity. He takes his leave to give them a bit of peace. He goes into his room and paces, muttering words to himself to think of what he needs to do to help his parents.

Eventually, he finds himself in front of a mirror. As he looks into the mirror, he grows a frown, as though he's ashamed of what he sees.

"It's not enough." he mutters to himself.

With a heavy sigh he turns away, and finds himself looking at his closet. Aaron laughs at some of the clothes he sees, but then, his expression changes. It becomes one of curiosity. One of intrigue.

"I wonder..."

He picks through his clothes, stopping every once in a while when something caught his eye. He again mutters wordlessly to himself, until finally, his smile comes out.

"That could work. That could work."

With vigor he rushes out of the room.

Later that day, Arden and Ciara are with their other five children, Aaron isn't present. They tell them the situation they are in, but it's clear that the young ones don't get the message.

"Does that mean we can't get stuff?" asked one of the boys

"Or that we won't eat?" pondered one of the girls

"Of course not my loves," replied Ciara, "it just means we can't go and do a lot of...extra things. And some days we might not be able to do as much as we would like."

"So what do we do?" asked another

"Well," started Arden, "we-"

"I'll tell you what we do, we come together, as a family!" shouted a voice

Confused, they all turned, and to their surprise, Aaron walked into the room, but this time, he looked like the Aaron we know now. His attire is preppy, his hair is slicked up, his pompous smile is on his face, the only thing missing is his ascot.

The parents were especially surprised by his appearance, the kids just snickered at him. Aaron took it in stride though, and began to talk in his pompous voice, "Now is not the time to doubt, now is to the rise! Our parents are in trouble, they need our help, even if they don't want to admit it. The question is, are we willing to help them?"

Responding to this new Aaron, they nodded vigorously, to which Aaron shook his head, "No, I cannot hear you! Will we help our parents?"

The five jumped to their feet and shouted, "YES!"

"Excellent, then we shall begin immediately! To your rooms! I shall join you shortly and we shall plan tomorrow's activities! Now go!"

With haste, the five beat it to their rooms. Once out of earshot, Aaron turned to his parents and dropped the act, "How was that?"

"It was like you were a different person," noted Ciara, still stunned.

Arden laughed, "That was quite a performance, son."

"Thanks," Aaron acknowledged with a bow of the head, "I knew they wouldn't react if I came out as myself. So...I decided to speak their language. More or less."

"But why?"

"Because you need my help. Our help. You can't do this on your own. So, I'll take care of them, and we'll take care of you, while you take care of us. I don't mind acting like I was, it was kind of fun, actually. Besides, if it helps you, that's all that matters. After all, that what love means, right mother?"

Ciara tears up at the echoing of her words, "That's right son, bless you."

"No, bless you mother, father. You've done so much for all of us, now it's our turn. You do what you need to, and I'll do the same. Now..."

Aaron clears his throat and goes back to his pompous posture and attitude, "I will endeavor to make sure the children do not bother you unless necessary. If you need me, I am at your call."

He bowed to them, and then made for the others room, a big smile on his face as he did.

Back in the present, Aaron sheathed his crossbows, slowly got upright, then styled his hair back to its regular position, and did a grand pose and smiled to Nanke.

This unnerved Nanke, who wasn't sure what was happening, "Have you lost it?"

Aaron's smile grew wider, "Hardly, you asked me what I was going to do. Well, when the darkest times come, that's when you must smile the brightest. And that's what I'm doing."

"Fool."

"We'll see. I got one hit to go, huh? Well...try and hit me."

Nanke's face grew into a fierce scowl, "My pleasure."

With a roar he flung his chain out. But this time, Aaron didn't move. Just before chain hit him, Aaron raised his hand, and a shield formed around him. The kunai bounced off instantly. Nanke retrieved it, while Aaron smiled more and more.

"Did you forget?" mocked Aaron in his pompous tone, "I have a Semblance too. I had no need to use it before. But since I only have one hit left, I have no reason to hide it. Still think you can hit that shot?"

"All shields break, that is law!"

Nanke broke his chain in half, and wrapped one end on each on his arms. The chain came alive in a way, and morphed around Nanke's fingers until the tips themselves were gun ports.

Aaron was very surprised by this, "Huh. That's different."

With another roar, Nanke unleashed a wave of bullets at Aaron. His shield held for much of it, but slowly, cracks started to form. Growing serious, he grabbed his crossbows, and aimed one directly at Nanke.

The cracks in his shield continued to grow, but just before it shattered by Nanke's barrage, Aaron let loose a shot of his own. It blasted through the shield, and absorbed the bullets fired at it as it made its way to Nanke. The ninja dodged though, but as he tried to aim at Aaron again, he found himself locked in close quarters combat. Also surprising, was that Aaron no longer had crossbows, but rather, a pair of swords.

Aaron slashed and stabbed at Nanke, putting him on the defensive. A few hit, but many missed because of the ninja's speed. However, because of the barrage, Nanke couldn't counterattack. Jumping high into the air, Nanke retracted his chain and reformed it into one entity. He then unleashed a barrage of his own on Aaron, who happily returned the favor.

The two clashed, each dodging the others attacks, and waiting for an opening to appear. Aaron was the first to see it, and used one of his swords as bait to attract Nanke's attention. After another lunge of his chain weapon, Aaron used one sword to wrap it up, then plunge it into the ground. Rendering it useless.

Now defenseless, as well as taken aback by the technique, Nanke couldn't avoid Aaron's strikes. And with an intense volley, Aaron took him down, and sent him skidding along the ground.

A buzzer filled the amphitheater, signaling Aaron's victory. This was followed by clapping, as Lochen approached the two.

"Well done, Aaron," praised Lochen with a pat on Aaron's shoulder, "I wish I had known you had that in you. I would've put you in here more often. As for you Nanke-"

Before he could finish, Aaron approached Nanke, and used his foot flip him around so he was facing up. Aaron then reformed his crossbow and pointed it at Nanke's face.

"Aaron!" shouted Lochen warningly

Aaron merely held up a finger to signal him to wait, his gaze wouldn't leave Nanke's face.

"If you really are a man of honor, then you know what to say right now."

Nanke bared his teeth, face full of fury, but he relented, "I'm sorry for what I said."

Quick as a flash, Aaron reverted to his casual self and shouted, "Wonderful! See? Was that hard? Could've saved ourselves a lot of trouble had you just done that before. Ha, ha, ha."

With that, he gave a bow to Lochen, who went from stunned to disbelief at Aaron's quick change in personality. He laughed it off soon enough though and motioned him to get going.

The school soon spread with word of Aaron and Nanke's fight. Most were impressed with Aaron's skills, others were terrified of what he might do to them if they insulted Erin in his presence.

Aaron cared not though for what they thought or said, he kept his smile as bright as it could be as he walked the hallways with Erin and the others. For in his mind, there was nothing else to talk about.

Later on, after things wound down, Aaron and Erin found themselves back in their room. The others hadn't returned yet.

This pleased Aaron, "Alone at last! I thought we'd never get a moment to ourselves after what happened today."

Erin laughed at the statement, "Are you surprised? You put on quite a show today."

"I did, didn't I?"

He laughed, and it filled up the room. Erin just eyed him lovingly, "What did I do to deserve you?"

This question made Aaron drop his act, and he looked at her with the most honest eyes he could, "Because you never cared about the act I put on. You never have. I tried to impress you with it, remember?"

She laughed again and nodded, "I do, I couldn't tell if you were serious about courting me, or just trying to be funny."

"People always saw me as arrogant, or pompous, even though that's not who I am inside. You saw that, and you asked me to be me. At least, at the beginning. You wanted me to show you who I really was before I put the act back on. No one has ever asked me that. No one ever thought about asking that. Except you."

"I had no idea it meant that much to you that I did that."

"I made my persona to help my family, I told you that. What I didn't tell you, was that I got used to being that guy. It became natural to be him rather than my other self, which for the record is much more boring."

"Maybe to you, not to me." Erin said with honesty.

Aaron smiled, "Thank you, darling, but even when I dropped my act, I never showed you fully who I was. And you were ok with that, you loved me despite that. And how could I not love you for that? You deserve every ounce of love I give you."

"And you deserve every ounce I give in return. You are my rock, I wouldn't be where I am without you."

"And I you, my love. And I you."

He grabbed her hands and brought her close. They kissed, then pressed their heads together in unity.

Not too far away, Diana walked the hallway alone. Her face was like stone, not a shred of emotion on it.

"Diana!" came a voice from down the hallway.

She turned around to see Macro approaching her, "What do you want, Macro?"

"We need to talk," he replied bluntly

"If this is about Glyph and Leilani? I have nothing to say."

She tried to walk away, but Macro stepped ahead and got in her face, "Well I have something to say. And you're going to listen."

"...fine."

"Good. I know what Glyph did, he called you out for your crap that you pulled on his date with Leilani, and as he so aptly put it, you're throwing a temper tantrum in response."

Diana got outraged at the statement, "I am NOT-"

"Oh really? Then why are you shooting hate at Leilani with every look you give her? Why are you refusing to talk to Glyph even when he honestly tries to start a conversation with you? You're mad because he choose Leilani over you! You're causing tension in our teams because of a crush!"

This remark got Diana incensed, "Crush? You think I'm doing this because I only had a crush on Glyph?!"

Macro smiled, "So are you saying that you actually love him?"

"I...I..."

"I'll take that as a "yes". Ok, then what do you love what about Glyph?"

Diana turned away and went into thought. Macro laughed upon seeing this and walked away, "That's what I thought, you don't love him."

She wheeled around quickly, "Excuse me?"

"You know why Aaron and Erin are called The Lovers? It's not because they're both have the same sounding name, and not even because they're a couple. It's because they love each other in a way that some marriages don't even have! You ask one why they love the other, and they respond instantly with a list of things. And guess what? I asked that same question to Leilani, she responded instantly."

"What did she say?"

Macro wagged a finger, "That's not for your ears, but she responded. You hesitated. I won't pretend to know what you're feeling. But you need to get a grip and stop being selfish. Because that attitude will never win Glyph over. And if you can't get that? Then you don't know what love means."

He walked away, leaving Diana alone once again.