Author's Note: Ah, I've wanted to post this chapter since I revived this story. I hope you all enjoy!

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How her friend was able to fold burdock leaves into little packets so neatly was beyond Claire. She held a small twig between her teeth as she fussed with the large, floppy leaf, sighing as some blueberries spilled into the grass at her knees. It was a method that took patience, and the farmer was quickly running out of it. She remembered that Cliff sometimes used his knife to shave down the spine of the leaf so that it was more malleable before loading it with the contents; she realized this was her problem, and she had no blade. The young woman was foraging by herself today. She washed the berries off in the stream, popping them into her mouth, deciding to give up on the packets for the moment.

She bit into a particularly sweet berry and relished in the flavor and the scenery around her with a smile, forgetting about her clumsy attempts at what she referred to in her mind as leaf origami. It was a perfect summer day. The sky was clear and she could hear birds singing in the high branches of the tree she was resting under. Some movement in her peripheral vision caught her attention.

Three men were hiking up the mountain trail. They were quite a ways in the distance, but she recognized a familiar cap on the young man trailing several paces behind, kicking at the ground. Claire's heart skipped a beat as she threw on her rucksack and sprinted to catch up with him, her mangled burdock leaf and remaining berries spilling out of her lap onto the ground, forgotten.

Claire tried her best to make her reunion with the apprentice appear as more of a happenstance than a fair deal of effort on her part. "G-good morning, Gray," She tried not to look too out of breath from her run as she dusted off her overalls.

"Oh, hey, Claire." The young man gave her a wry smile. He was looking around them distractedly, jamming his hands in his pockets as they walked along the trail.

"It's unusual to see you out here in the mountains," she commented, shifting her bag on her shoulders.

"Gramps always takes me out on an early morning hike on the days when the shop is closed," she noticed his voice sounded groggy. She couldn't tell if this was something he enjoyed or not judging solely from his tone of voice, but his body language suggested annoyance. "Usually it's just me and Gramps."

Claire caught a dangerous glint in his eye; he was staring straight ahead. The farmer looked where the young man's gaze was focused. Gray's roommate had joined them today, and Saibara and Cliff were quietly walking side by side. They were just out of earshot, but every so often one man would make a comment to the other. Claire was startled by a sudden scoff beside her.

"We typically go up to the mountain peak to meditate… Well, I attempt to, anyway," Gray frowned. "It doesn't look like that is going to happen today." He kicked a pebble along the trail and it fell just short of Cliff. The young man snorted and folded his arms across his chest, almost a little disappointed that it didn't hit his roommate.

The farmer was too busy studying the young man's face to notice that he had kicked anything and assumed he was referring to her company. "Oh, I'm sorry! I'll let you be!"

"No, no… It's not you," he rolled his eyes and sighed.

Saibara let out a hearty laugh and clapped Cliff on the shoulder and Gray's glare turned murderous. She noticed that the apprentice got moody when the subject of his grandfather was brought up, recalling the young man's reaction to Saibara's birthday gift for Cliff, but Claire had never seen Gray this way before. It couldn't be any more apparent that the young man was painfully jealous.

Claire longed to say something to comfort the apprentice, but she wasn't exactly sure where to start. Gray had a tendency to get defensive when the young woman mentioned anything about the old man. "You really enjoy your hikes with your grandfather," she ventured, keeping her eyes focused on her boots. His strides were longer than hers, but he took them more slowly; Claire couldn't help but feel like more than just their steps were out of sync.

"… It's one of the rare times when I'm his grandson and not his apprentice," Gray murmured. "We saw Cliff foraging on our way up here, and Gramps was insistent that he join us… I wish he hadn't…" He tugged on the bill of his hat. "I'm sure you don't want to listen to this… You must think I'm a very petty person, huh?" He gave her an apologetic look, ashamed at his behavior.

Claire shook her head. There were several times when she wished her parents had spent less time with her younger siblings and more with her as a child. She knew it was wishful thinking, but she still checked her mailbox regularly to see if her mother and father would reply to the letters she sent weekly. They were mostly just simple reports of her daily farm life and how things were going with her friends, but it would be nice to have some sort of reply that they had actually received them. Claire moved out of her parents' house a few years ago and the only real correspondence she had gotten from them was an annual birthday card and a New Year's card, often with brief messages about how they were doing. "I don't see you as petty..." her voice was thoughtful as she watched the pair walking in front of them.

He just wanted to be an important part of his grandfather's life…

Gray grunted in reply, and Claire took this as an embarrassed affirmation. "I-I'm sorry for being so pathetic. Don't get the wrong idea… I see Cliff as one of my best friends, but it really pisses me off that he has a natural way with Gramps. I've… been trying to get the old man to pay attention to me my entire life." He grumbled, kicking at wildflowers as they walked past them. The pink and yellow petals fluttered into the air like confetti although the overall mood was anything but celebratory.

"It sounds like you love your grandfather an awful lot," Claire offered gently. She was pleased that he was opening up to her, but at the same time she didn't want to admit to herself that she felt a little uneasy at his anger. She wasn't used to having someone express their unhappiness so directly. Cliff was very hesitant to say what was troubling him, and it often took hours of sitting in silence or soothing conversations to get much out of him. Karen had a different method; she played off her worries, laughing them off and refusing to go into detail with them. Claire was first aware of this when the young woman came over to watch anime with her that rainy afternoon back in spring. The fact that Gray was so comfortable venting to her always threw Claire off-guard – she was flattered he was willing to confide, but she wasn't ever sure what she was supposed to say in response.

The young woman was startled when she heard a gruff voice. "You coming or not, boy?" Saibara turned around to look behind him and Cliff followed suit. "Oh, good morning, Miss Claire!" The blacksmith bowed politely. "Did you come to join us?" Despite his choice of words, he didn't look surprised at all to see her, and Claire wondered if he knew she had been back there the whole time.

Cliff's eyes lit up at the sight of Claire, and he gave her a friendly smile. The young woman wasn't certain how to react; she was happy that Cliff got along well with the old man, but she was uncomfortable with the tension it was causing with Gray. She flashed the brunette a quick grin, but her eyes focused on the apprentice.

"Might as well," Gray grumbled with a sigh. Claire almost took offense to this until she remembered his reassurance earlier that he didn't mind her company; after all, Claire wasn't competition for the old blacksmith's attention. "We're just bringing along everyone we find on the way…"

Saibara shot Gray a look that made his blood run cold. He had only received a few of these glares from his grandfather within his lifetime, and he vividly remembered each occurrence. The old man didn't need to yell at him; his eyes had said plenty.

Claire didn't notice Saibara's gaze; she was focused on her friend. Cliff's eyes flashed with pain for a very brief moment, but he quickly hid it. The terrific skill at which he did this horrified Claire; this was a learned response, she realized. The young woman had seen it before when she was visiting the three roommates at the inn a couple of nights ago. She understood for the first time how open Cliff had been with her regarding his emotions when it was just the two of them together. "I'm very sorry, I didn't realize," The young man bowed his head and smiled apologetically at the apprentice. "I'll just be on my way; s-see y'all later," he quietly started to head down the mountain, but Gray caught him roughly by the forearm.

"Where do you think you're going?" Gray fought to keep his voice level and failed. It made him furious that Cliff had to remind him how jealous he was.

The brunette avoided his roommate's livid stare. "I really should be getting back to foraging anyway," Cliff replied quietly, but he made no motion to struggle; he was patiently waiting for Gray to release him by himself.

So that he could gather more things for Saibara and his grandfather would tell him again how much he wished Gray was more like his roommate? Cliff's composed demeanor only made the apprentice more frustrated. Something inside of young man snapped; Gray's grip tightened on his friend's arm until his own hand hurt. "What the hell is wrong with you?" Gray yelled. He wanted him to fight back; he needed him to fight back. Gray needed someone to validate what he was doing - that wanting Saibara to care about him was worth putting an effort into. Goddess knew he didn't have anyone else in his own family to look up to…

Cliff remained silent as he stared at the ground, swallowing the lump in his throat. He had seen the foreshadowing of something like this happening for quite a long time now, and he wanted to avoid unnecessary drama. The young man thought he'd try his luck and he took a small step away from him, but it was the wrong choice. The apprentice wrenched his arm violently, begging the brunette with his eyes to at least say something. Claire winced; she had often admired the blacksmith's muscular arms, and she could tell his grip was likely going to leave a series of bruises on her friend. Claire was surprised that Cliff didn't show some sign that he was in any sort of pain; he looked more annoyed than anything else.

The young woman wondered if she should say or do something, but she found she was unable to do either; her voice caught in her throat. She was stunned at Gray's violent reaction to Cliff's non-confrontational behavior.

"Gray, let go of me." Cliff's voice was calm. He met the apprentice's gaze.

Claire wondered for a brief moment if Gray was going to punch him. She looked at Saibara, who wore his default emotionless expression. Apparently, the old man was content with simply watching the whole thing play out. The young woman bit her lip. What was she supposed to do?

"Gray…" Cliff was starting to lose his patience; his eyes hardened in a way Claire had never seen before. The young man adjusted his posture more assertively, maintaining eye contact with his friend. Cliff gave the young man a few more moments as a last chance to release him before deftly twisting his arm out of Gray's grip. He carefully took a step back to give the Gray some space, but made no motion to walk away.

The young man tugged on his hat; it was almost as if he had come out of a trance as his rage subsided. He sighed, anger leaving him. "I-I'm… sorry, okay? I shouldn't… have said that, alright?"

Cliff initially looked unsure of what to say in response; Gray's words earlier had cut him deeply, but he didn't want the apprentice to know that. Cliff felt that he should have grown accustomed to being told he didn't belong in a group over the years, but the brunette found that the pain never really went away. "… Don't worry about it."

Gray flexed the muscles in his hand; they ached. He found that his wrist hurt a bit as well when Cliff had forced him to release his grip. The apprentice realized with embarrassment what little control he had over his anger as he massaged his wrist, turning away from his friend. Why was he always making such a fool of himself? Instead of feeling angry, Gray just felt tired; the young man let out a soft sigh.

Claire found that she had rushed to Cliff's side. "A-are you alright?" Her face was filled with concern as her eyes traveled over her friend.

"My arm?" He looked down at it and shrugged; she was making a big deal out of nothing. "I'm fine," her friend smiled at her, "it's not like he was trying to hurt me."

Claire could already see the beginnings of bruises on Cliff's forearm and wondered why he was being so casual about it. The farmer wondered if his ability for bringing in money would be hindered by his injury; she was worried about him being able to cover his rent without digging too deeply into his savings. "… Will you still be able to go spear fishing?" She asked quietly.

Cliff nodded his head as he gingerly rolled his left shoulder a couple of times; he would not admit out loud that he was a bit sore. "I've taught myself to be more or less ambidextrous years ago… Really, I'm fine, Claire," the young man insisted with a blush; he wasn't used to having people fuss over him.

"I know that your mother raised you better than to treat your friends like that and to behave that way in the presence of a lady!" Saibara started into Gray furiously.

The grandson pulled his cap over his face, wondering if it was possible for him to feel any more embarrassed than he already was. "I-I'm sorry… Cliff… and Claire…" Gray wore a defeated expression as he stared at the ground.

The blacksmith was ashamed of his grandson's outburst. "You must learn to channel your anger into something more productive." Saibara snapped.

"I already do!" Gray scoffed, folding his arms across his chest. Claire knew he was referring to his apprenticeship; she thought of how angrily Gray sometimes swung his hammer.

"Good medicine is bitter to the mouth," Saibara muttered gruffly, continuing up the trail; as far as he was concerned, the conversation was over.

Gray rolled his eyes. The young man looked back over at his friends and reddened, starting up the mountain after his grandfather. Claire found that she didn't want to walk too closely with him; she was uncomfortable, to say the least. She jumped when she felt a light hand on her shoulder.

"Shall we?" Cliff asked her quietly, his eyes following the pair up the rocky path as he adjusted his bag on his right side.

"I-I don't know if we should," Claire admitted, kicking her feet in the gravel. She wasn't sure if either of them were welcome and she was about to suggest they head back down the mountain to town and see what Karen was up to.

Cliff chuckled, and it caught the young woman by surprise. "It would make him feel worse if we didn't go with them at this point." He rolled his shoulder a few more times and stretched his arms, and Claire took note for the first time that Cliff was no slouch; he had some lean muscles of his own. Gray just had a much sturdier build than his friend, so Claire never really thought of Cliff as physically strong. "There is no need for you to be afraid of Gray. I've been living with him for around six months now, and he's much more sensitive than he lets on."

Claire thought of Gray's gentleness with Tucker and knew Cliff was right, but the whole situation left her with mixed feelings about the blacksmith's apprentice. Her eyes kept falling on her friend's forearm.

"Is he always this rough with you?" Claire was disgusted with Gray's behavior, and she couldn't help but be concerned for Cliff's well-being.

The young man shook his head; Claire really was taking Gray's outburst much too seriously. If the farmer had sat in on the regular arguments the apprentice had with him, Ann, and Kai, she would realize that Gray was much more bark than bite. "Honestly, I've been waiting for this to come to a head for months now. Saibara's the only family Gray has in town," he explained as he shifted his satchel on his back for comfort, "naturally he wants to have his grandfather's love and attention," the young man chose his words carefully.

Why should he have it all, though? Did Gray honestly think he was the only one in town who was lonely? Claire looked at her friend; Cliff had no family in town, nor did she. She frowned. "His tantrum today was still unacceptable." Claire could feel the blood rushing to her face. She never thought she would feel the urge to slap Gray; she had proven herself wrong today.

"Please don't get mad at him for my sake; I'm over it already," Cliff gave her a small smile and his cheeks had turned pink. "It's no big deal."

His voice was gentle, but his eyes were pleading for her to stop worrying about him. "… You handled the situation very well," Claire looked up at him with admiration, giving him a nod in approval as she shifted her pack on her back. The two continued up the trail together after the grandfather and grandson.

Cliff flicked out his knife and cut a wild herb as they walked past, chewing on a leaf. "I attempted to play the peacemaker a lot back at home," Cliff laughed it off, but his face turned redder. "It didn't make me very popular with some of the other guys." He offered her a tiny sprig. "Rosemary?"

The young woman nodded, thanked him, and popped a few leaves into her mouth, focusing on the mellow flavor. She was once again reminded that it was a remedy for stress. "You know… I thought he was going to hit you," Claire confessed. She didn't think a punch from someone as strong as Gray would feel very nice.

The young man chuckled, swallowing his leaves and rolling his shoulder once again. "You didn't roughhouse with siblings or friends much, huh? I would've gotten him to back off long before it came to that." He ate some more rosemary leaves, biting back a wince and praying for the muscle pain relief to take effect.

By the time they made it to the peak of the mountain, Saibara was already sitting down with his eyes closed. Gray was still standing, and he looked rather uncomfortable. He walked over to the pair, his eyes lowered to the ground.

"Cliff… I'm sorry. I… I just wanted to… be a grandson for a while," he stammered. Claire was surprised he was making this confession in front of her as well. "Y-You get it, right?"

The two men were quiet for several moments; Claire wondered if either of them was going to say anything at all.

"Forget about it. Saibara's waiting for you." Cliff replied, cocking his head toward the old man. "And you'll always be his grandson. Nothing will ever change that."

Gray tugged on his hat and punched the brunette's shoulder playfully. Claire flinched. "You sound more and more like Carter every day," he rolled his eyes at his roommate, took a seat near Saibara, and stared out over the peak of the mountain.

Cliff took a seat further away, giving the relatives plenty of space to themselves. Claire wasn't sure what to do; she had never really meditated before. Her friend looked up at her and motioned for her to join him. She sat down gratefully. "What am I supposed to do?" She felt out of place.

"Just relax," he whispered, resting his eyes. "Try focusing on your breathing. Breathe in for a few seconds, then out for a few seconds." He demonstrated a few times for his friend.

"Okay." The young woman closed her eyes. Her mind was a jumble of thoughts. She slowly inhaled and exhaled. "What am I supposed to think about?"

"Don't think about anything," was the soft reply. "Let thoughts come and go through your mind as they please, but don't focus on them. Just breathe."

The young woman briefly wondered if he had learned this technique from Saibara or Carter. She could still taste the rosemary in her mouth. She filled her lungs with the summer mountain air and relaxed…

"Claire…" Cliff's voice was gentle.

The young woman snapped awake and her eyes fluttered open. The three men were standing around her, looking down at her.

"I think she was out cold," Gray snickered.

Claire could feel herself blushing. She rubbed her eyes. "I-I'm sorry."

"It's not an uncommon experience for beginners," Saibara's gruff voice had a friendly tone to it. "Keep practicing and it will help you in your everyday life."

Claire nodded mutely at the old man, blinking her alert eyes. Cliff had offered her his hand to help her up. Claire accepted the aid and looked around her. She was surprised at how energized she felt.

"We were just getting ready to head back down," Her friend explained.

"Alright." The young woman was relieved that everyone seemed to be in a good mood.

The group made their way back to the trail and she jumped when she felt a light touch on her shoulder and noticed it wasn't Cliff.

"Hey, Claire…" Gray tipped his cap at her. "Uh… I've been thinking…" He slowed down his walking pace as Saibara passed them. "Um…" He gave his roommate a glance, unsure of how to continue his sentence. Cliff took the hint and walked on the other side of Claire, giving them some space, letting out a silent sigh as he did so. Gray was not blind to this. He nervously tugged on the bill of his cap. "I-I… I want to improve myself. Gramps is right… I need an outlet… C-Can I come over in a few days to work with you and Tucker?"

Why wasn't she immediately agreeing? Her words caught in her throat and she wasn't sure why. Her eyes moved over to the brunette at her other side, but he was busy pulling some leaves off of another sprig of rosemary. What was there to question? Hadn't she already agreed for him to come over sometime at Cliff's birthday party?

"Look… I know I was a jerk today…" He continued, staring at the ground. "I-I'm not asking you to let me have complete control over how you raise your horse, I'm just asking you to give me a chance to help…"

The humbling words touched her heart. "Of course." She nodded and looked forward.

Cliff gave his roommate a kind bob of the head and the three walked down the trail together as Saibara scolded the trio for moving so slowly.

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Author's Note: I want to thank everyone who is providing their feedback on this story. I also want to make a shout-out to Winter Oak. Thanks so much for helping me with making a few adjustments to "Seeing More Clearly"! I read and reread my writing so many times that it's nice to have another set of eyes out there!

Thanks everyone for checking out my story! For those interested, I do have spinoff well in the works about the relationships between the three roommates. What I currently have up is very old; the new story will flesh the characters out much more than those two measly chapters did… Huh… I think I might just put up the first chapter as a teaser for y'all so you get a better feel for what it will be like.

Your reviews and input are immensely helpful to me! :)