Chapter 69

This was not going to be easy.

They couldn't just walk up to Rean and ask to talk to him. Rean had 'washed his hands' of everything and everyone, all because of this darkness. He wouldn't listen to reason, so Melyssa had a plan on how to help Rean…without him knowing until the talisman was destroyed. Once they are at the apartment, Ash retrieved his belongings and she did the same thing, both packing light. Just a few outfits and toiletries, nothing more.

Around an hour later, -Melyssa had spent some time making them lunches to take on the road, so they didn't have to stop- they were on their way to Leeves and she decided to discuss what she had in mind. "So, Rean isn't going to talk to us willingly, you know that, right? He wants nothing to do with us because of the darkness tainting him. So, I think what we should do is one of us needs to distract Rean while the other searches his place for the talisman. Once it's destroyed, Rean will return to himself and we can THEN explain to him what happened. What do you think?"

"I think I'm going to have to be the one to distract him, and that's even if he opens the door to us." Ash had been thinking about this as well, his brow furrowing in thought. "If it's gotten worse, he may want to fight." And darkness or not, Rean was one of the best swordsmen there was in Erebonia. His equally famous temperament and tendency to show mercy were NOT there. "And he won't be tempered by his… usual judgment." Which would make him cold, calculated… utterly ruthless. "I'll keep him occupied, one way or the other, you find the damn thing. You'll know better what to look for than I will." Honestly, if something happened to her and Rean came to his senses… Ash did NOT want that on his conscience when he knew it could have been prevented.

"No, Ash," Melyssa shook her head instantly, already knowing he wasn't on par with Rean's swordsmanship. She had trained for two straight years, underground, isolated and honed her skills. Ash had an ax scythe and he wasn't a swordsman like her. "I will distract him. His anger is going to be towards me, for what I did. For sacrificing myself for everyone and going with Ouroboros, becoming an Enforcer." She knew she was right about this and could see Ash ready to argue. "I can handle him and I won't let him strike me down. YOU look for the necklace or talisman. Do you remember the necklace he gave me? It was the starry night one, so he either has something similar to it or it's the same thing. Find it, destroy it and don't worry about me. I got this."

"You're doing it again." Ash said, his lips thinning. "Putting yourself in the way, sacrificing. I've fought against and with Rean, I know his tactics better than you."

He wasn't exactly useless in the field with his scythe ax that he had been using for years, opposed to a few years training. He had been acknowledged by the Imperial Army and the Bracers, to name a few, for his battle prowess. Granted, some of it was sneaky and underhanded, but Ash played to win. He hadn't survived Hamel at the tender age of three just to be struck down by the empire's softest man.

"If that's how you want to play it." He agreed finally, his tone softening.

This was her show, he'd follow her lead.

Melyssa did not need to be saved. She didn't need to be protected. She wasn't a damsel in distress and she was swordsman, just like Rean, following the way of the sword. Frowning, Melyssa suddenly felt that darkness for the first time, that animosity building inside of her at his words. She shut her eyes, blocking out the horrible thoughts flittering through her mind and clutched Ash's hand, probably harder than she meant to.

"I don't mean to…emasculate you or act like I'm sacrificing myself." She spoke carefully, trying to find the right way to say what was on her mind. "I appreciate you offering yourself as the distraction, but I truly feel I would be best for it because of what's happening to Rean and I. I know you know him better than me when it comes to combat and his tactics because you've known him longer. I hope you don't get mad at me for saying this, Ash, but…you have a lot of animosity and anger towards him and I'm afraid if I let you do this, you won't have a clear head and you will end up getting hurt." With a swords master like Rean, one HAD to have a clear head to face him. Please don't be mad at me, Ash.

"As much as I appreciate the thought, beautiful, it's kind of a moot point when I'm not the one tainted by that talisman and we've seen how it affects you around Rean."

Ash saw where she was coming from, he did, but logically… he wasn't the one who was going to wind up hurting Rean, she was. She had totally unleashed on Rean in a way that had made even him sit back and shut up. He knew Rean was under some sort of evil sway and had no intentions of hurting the man, just keeping him distracted.

"And I know you're not trying to emasculate me. You're just a lot like Rean, when you're not evil anyway. You put everyone above yourself and that's… it." She and Rean could have been siblings.

She couldn't deny that, but at the same time, her mind was made up and since he said he'd follow her lead, there was no reason to keep discussing this. It would just piss her off more and that was where the darkness stemmed from inside of her. Whenever she became pissed off, she lashed out at the person responsible and she didn't want to do it to Ash.

"I understand where you're coming from, but I'm politely disagreeing and we'll just have to agree to disagree on this subject." She would be the one to challenge Rean and hoped Ash meant what he said. Remain calm, it's the darkness that makes you lash out. You have to be stronger than the darkness. You can't let it devour you. With Rean, she would have to be COMPLETELY calm, regardless of the harsh words that came out of his mouth.

Ash was fully expecting her to mess this up and he would never say it out loud. He had heard the tinge of anger in her voice, knowing she was likely struggling with keeping that darkness in check. Knowing about it was the best thing for her, it gave her a defense against it. He just hoped she was going to be strong enough to keep it up when she went against Rean. Ash hoped something would break through to Rean to keep him taking her head off, he knew the man had loved her at one point, maybe deep down he still did.

"We've got this." They just needed to get through this weekend one moment at a time, without her temper spiking. He was afraid that if Ouroboros knew SHE knew about this… they could worsen it somehow.

Leeves.

It was better than she remembered, lively in a small town sort of way. The lino flowers were gone since it was getting to be fall weather, the summer long gone. She looked around, breathing it in and landed her gaze on the same bench she shared with Rean under the stars, eating gelato. Pulling her gaze away from it and pushing that memory in the far recesses of her mind, Melyssa and Ash headed toward the school. More than likely, Rean would be there. What they didn't expect was meeting with Towa Herschel, who informed them Rean had returned to Ymir over a month ago and resigned as an Instructor to Thors Branch School. She wished them well and was on her way, not questioning why they needed to talk to Rean or anything.

"Ymir it is, then?"

"Ymir it is," Ash sighed, raking a hand through his blonde hair, eyes narrowing thoughtfully. "Truth be told, I'm surprised Rean didn't resign a while ago. I heard rumors he was becoming… difficult." One of the most ruthless, coldest instructors at Thors. At the time, he had attributed to that bullshit from Emma about separating the students and friends line, on top of what had happened in Jurai. "Have you ever been there?" He asked, turning away from the school, his eyes raking over the old, familiar grounds and felt something tugging at him, nostalgia maybe.

"No, but I will now." Melyssa sighed and headed toward the car with Ash, stopping to look at him. "How about we rest here for tonight?" The sun had set on the horizon and nightfall had arrived. They'd been going for over a day straight and she knew they were both running on fumes. "We'll get a good night's sleep and then head out in the morning to Ymir. Are you okay with that?" The look on his face told her all she needed to know and she reached up to stroke his face with the back of her hand. "You're exhausted, Carbide. Let's find a hotel."

"Yeah, you mean an inn." Ash shook his head, remembering the time he had taken her to a pub. Not exactly the normal, or appropriate, place for a young lady, but it had also been at lunch time, so the social norm was a bit more relaxed. She was a grown woman now… nobody would bat an eye. "I know just the place, beautiful." He grinned down at her, reaching out to wrap his arm around her shoulders and pulled Melyssa into his side. "You trust me?" At her nod, he began laughing, guiding the way down the familiar streets and lanes.

It was the same pub he had taken her for lunch when they were classmates. Talk about a rush of nostalgia. At the time, she had been conflicted what to do about Crow and she had spilled her secret to Ash…well, part of her secret. She smiled up at him with sparkling teal eyes and they walked inside together, being seated almost right away. Was it a coincidence it was the exact same booth as last time? It was more lively than the last time in here, but that was because it was dinnertime instead of lunch.

"What will the lady be having?"

"A beer and can you send over some of those delicious chips with salsa?"

"Absolutely, and you sir?"

Ash ordered the same plus a proper dinner and then he ordered a dinner for her, laughing when Melyssa gave him a look. After the waitress left to get their drinks and put their order in, he leaned forward to take her hands, squeezing gently. "The last time we were here, you wouldn't have a pint with me. For the first, and probably the last time ever, I can say something positive about Ouroboros, they gave you some taste." He began laughing when she pinched the inside of his wrist, squeezing again. "I'll get us a room while we're here, they have an inn above the pub and an add-on off to the back." He pushed away from the table and left her there, returning a few minutes later with a sheepish smile. "So… about that room… I did get it. The last actually."

It was her turn to laugh, the sound musical and cheerful for a change. "How convenient. Well, I guess it wouldn't be the first time we've shared a bed together and it probably won't be the last." Did she just actually say that out loud? "T-That's not what I meant!"

Damn it, she was flushing with embarrassment and took a long swig of her beer, shaking her head. Why was she always a flushed mess when it came to Ash Carbide? He knew exactly what to say and what to do to pull it out of her. Granted, she'd been flushed with Rean a few times, but most of it had been after sparring with each other for a long period of time.

"Never mind, we're sharing a bed and we'll leave it at that."

"Hey, they assured me it had double beds."

Ash was doubtful however because the owner had been a little shifty when making that claim. Chances were, it was a single queen sized bed and he hoped Melyssa didn't mind the fact that he had totally forgotten to pack any sleeping bottoms. He had planned on just going commando, but now… he cocked an eyebrow, figuring they would cross that bridge when they got there.

"Sounds good to me." He leered at her playfully, toasting her with his beer. "I hope you remembered that I'm a cuddler." Morning boner… he definitely remembered that and inwardly groaned.

"Yes, I remember and maybe I'll wake up on top of you. You never know." She teased, taking another pull from her beer and chomped on a chip, enjoying this little back and forth they had going on.

It was always like this between them, the playful banter. She definitely wasn't the shy woman she used to be and had built a little self-confidence while with Ouroboros. Melyssa knew she was beautiful enough to net a decent looking man, though Ash was drop dead gorgeous. She wondered briefly what color those eyes of his would change if he was turned on and immediately pushed that thought away.

Cuddle me all you want, big boy, I don't mind. WHAT IN GEHENNA IS WRONG WITH ME?! Were these thoughts part of the darkness or was her lust finally seeping through after all this time? They were finally alone, one on one, with no one to interrupt or stop them.

Ash was completely unaware of where her thoughts had taken her, but the way her eyes widened for a second told him it was probably something amusing. For him at least, maybe not so much for her. He pulled back when the waitress finally returned with their meals, eyeballing the generous sized platters and his stomach rumbled.

"I don't remember you being such an avid flirt before, beautiful." He commented and picked up his napkin, setting it within easy reach. There was a lot he didn't remember, like the confidence.

"I was always too shy to do it back then and maybe it's this liquid courage that's making me more flirtatious."

She shrugged with a smile, pouring sauce over her steak and potatoes, feeling almost ravenous. They only had sandwiches and chips on the way here and a very small breakfast from a rest stop vending machine earlier that morning. Ash hadn't wanted to stop until they made it to Leeves and she hadn't argued against it. It just took a little longer than they thought it would to arrive.

"It's nice to see some things have not changed, such as your flirtatious ways, Carbide."