During this last year I decided to start a new RPG series since the pandemic gave me a lot of time. Given where this story is the answer obviously was Kiseki. Nine games later and I was completely in love with this series and the characters involved and wasn't ready to let it end. Thus I decided to continue the story with my own words.
The stars of this story are of course Rean and Fie. I adore both of them and I adore them especially together. Other characters and pairings will be present, but this story is mostly about the two of them together as a Bracer couple in a post-CSIV setting. This story will mostly be about the pair going around Zemuria doing Bracer work, visiting other characters from the franchise, and just generally being madly in love with each other. Goodness knows if any characters from Cold Steel deserve a happy ending after the stuff they went through it is those two.
I will say that this is the first time I have written anything in probably over a decade, so I am not fully confident in the quality of my work. Still, my muse would not be sated and the only way to get better is to just do what I can and strive to improve as I go along. I already have a few chapters written, and am hoping to publish at least one each week. So I hope you guys enjoy.
Note: I haven't played Haji/Reverie yet. I am sure some of the things I have written will contradict what is in those games, but there isn't much I can do about it. If the PC release is good I might try and play it with the spreadsheet, but if not I will be waiting until 2023 for the official release.
The winter chill was finally starting to arrive to Leeves, noted Rean Schwarzer as he walked down one of the streets of the town. Of course being a proud son of Ymir the instructor was mostly unaffected by the decreasing temperatures. A glance to his side let Rean know that his partner was also unbothered by the cold. Not that that surprised him at all, as he easily remembered the kinds of clothes she wore during the Civil War three years ago.
"Something on my face?" Apparently he hadn't been very discreet with his glances.
"Nah nothing like that." Rean replied with a shrug to the Bracer at his side. "Just thinking about the past." The girl narrowed her eyes at him as if searching for any sign of deception, but after a few seconds gave up. Now having mentioned the past, Rean's mind couldn't help but focus on that topic in more depth.
It had been a little over a year since the events of the Great Twilight. A year since Rean overcame the curse that afflicted Erebonia. A year since Rean saved the world from a war that would have left millions dead. And most importantly a year since Rean stood under the fireworks and bared his heart to the love of his life. A year since Rean Schwarzer and Fie Claussell officially became a couple.
The last year has been one of the most enjoyable of the Ashen Chevalier's life. He had been able to relax and fully embrace his role as Instructor without having to worry about the Imperial Government ordering him into action. Seeing the continued growth of New Class VII and the rest of the Branch Campus was a source of joy for him. And while it kept him quite busy, he was still able to find time to spend with his friends, classmates, and especially his Sylphid.
The two were usually able to meet up at least once a week. The most common meetings occurred when Fie found herself working at one of the Heimdallr branches, as a trip to Leeves from the capital could be accomplished in only a few minutes. On the other side Rean would occasionally spend his free days helping the girl with her bracer work. While such days often required long travel times and hard work fighting monsters or doing menial chores, the Schwarzer heir found them to be most fulfilling. While Rean wouldn't necessarily consider himself a combat junkie, there is no denying the thrill he feels when he is fighting monsters or the occasional stray archaism alongside his partner. Fie often boasted that the pair possessed one of the strongest combat links in all of Zemuria and Rean was inclined to agree with her. Those days were also special because they afforded the pair a much greater level of intimacy that they couldn't risk in a public place like Leeves where everybody knew them.
This day was one of the former.. Fie had arrived early in the evening and met up with Rean at the campus. She joined Rean on one of his evening patrols of the school and spent some time with Juna and the other members of Class VII. After that the two had a nice dinner at Barney's. There a cranky Fie had complained about one of her tasks as her boyfriend listened with amusement. Apparently a tourist had spent a large part of the day in Heimdallr without noticing a hole in his bag and it was up to Fie to retrieve all the items that had fallen out. Rean didn't want to believe that anybody could be that oblivious, but considering he heard a very similar story once from Randy about an SSS support request...
"Having Sara as a partner is the worst." Apparently Fie still wasn't completely over the events of the day, despite dinner having long since ended. The two were currently taking the scenic route to the train station so Fie could return to Heimdallr. "I swear every time I get a stupid request she conveniently has an excuse to ditch." Here Fie's annoyed expression morphed into one of amusement, "At least it is always funny when she shows up the next day with a hangover to complain about another failed date."
"Oh." Fie's complaint about her partner managed to jog Rean's memory. "That reminds me. This morning I informed Principal Le Guin about my intention to resign after Class VII graduates. Come March I will be free to try something new with my life."
"Wait, what?" Rean would never admit that he found the utterly flabbergasted expression on the normally cool girl's face to be hilarious, as he strongly suspected that his shins would rue the day. "I know we talked about you becoming a bracer before, but this is so sudden." Fie paused for a second as the wheels in her brain slowly turned. "And why are you only telling me now you idiot?"
"I uh... kinda forgot about it until now?" The answer sounded lame even to Rean and from the distinctly unamused expression on his partner's face she clearly did too.
The actual reason that Rean forgot was due to his mind being consumed by a question he was internally debating if he should ask. It was one that could potentially change their lives in a huge way. It didn't help that his parents had been getting on his case about it. He had even done due diligence and acquired an item significant to said question, which currently rested in his pocket and weighed heavier on his mind than any curse had.
He knew it was a question he wanted to ask, but a part of him wondered if it was too soon for that. Very few of his friends had even started dating. They had only been officially together for a year and that was generally seen as insufficient for such a commitment.
Unofficially however, Rean felt like Fie had been a significant part of his life for his entire life. Practically since that very first day at Trista the two had been close. The battles they faced and the trials they overcame together were something that few other couples would ever experience and it was why he wanted to tie himself to her in the most intimate way possible.
"You... kinda forgot? I really should deck you for that one." Her annoyance at her boyfriend's stupidity morphed into an expression of concern. "But are you really sure this is what you want? I know we wanted to spend more time together, but we could find a different way if you wanted to remain here..."
"I appreciate the concern, but this is what I want. Honestly if it wasn't for the whole Ashen Chevalier thing I probably would have joined the Bracer Guild with you right after graduation. Now that the world has no need of Chevaliers and Divine Knights I can finally follow my heart. Plus I still owe Toval for saving my life during the civil war and for leading us to the holy beast during the Great Twilight."
"Alright, if you are sure." Fie decided she really should get Toby a nice gift for saving Rean's life and successfully convincing him to become a Bracer, even if he didn't know it yet. "I guess I can help out some poor helpless newbie junior bracer for a while. This is nice though cause Estelle always brags that she and Joshua are the top Bracer couple. Now it is finally time to knock her down a peg."
Something about that final comment gave Rean pause. While he normally wouldn't consider himself to be a competitive person, something about being the top couple appealed to him and he knew exactly what needed to be done to make it happen. Maybe it was a bit childish, but he found himself drawing courage from that idea.
He took a look around. They had just reached the train station. If he was going to ask her that question it had to be now. While not the most ideal place to pop such a question, there weren't that many people getting ready to board the train at that hour. The train that had just arrived from Heimdallr was starting to disembark it's passengers, so he knew he only had a minute or two at most if he wanted to do it today.
"Hey, Fie? I have been thinking. About us. And how we can surpass Estelle like you want? And uhh..." That small burst of courage Rean had? Yeah that was completely gone at this point. He knew he was rambling at this point and were it not for the sharp ears of the former jaeger he doubted she would even be hearing him at this point. "We have been together for a while and..." Here he trailed off as he realized just how badly he was bombing.
Fie looked at him in confusion. She honestly could not remember the last time Rean was this nervous about something. He even managed to remain confident that night in Mishelam (although she would often tease him about how nervous he got when it came to the pleasant events that occurred after his confession, all the while conveniently ignoring how nervous she had been.) She blinked once as she mentally went over his rambling words. Twice. Then a third time. Her eyes widened as she realized where he was trying to go with this.
"Are you proposing to me?" the bracer asked. Her words were blunt and her tone was level, but the tiniest hint of excitement and nervousness were present.
A desperate Rean latched onto those words like the lifeline they were. "Yes!" His eyes widened as he realized what he had blurted out wasn't what he was supposed to blurt out and decided to try again, "I mean, um, will you marry me?" After a second he remembered the other part of the ritual and fell to his knee with the grace of a Soldat being struck by a panzerfaust. He reached for the object in his pocket, fumbling it briefly in his rush before eventually presenting it to the girl.
Rean had never felt like such a failure of a noble as he did in that very moment. He was only glad that his friends and family weren't present to see such a painfully awkward display.
If nothing else he could at least take pride in his preparation. The ring he had made lacked the gaudiness preferred by most people, instead opting for a more practical design. The band was made of pure zemurian ore inlaid with a single pure black septium crystal, signifying its time aspect. Supposedly such a ring could actually help the wearer when channeling arts of that type, and Sylphid definitely preferred time arts to enhance her already great speed.
Fie looked down at the taller man, eyes widened in surprise. That surprise only lasted for a second before she started giggling at his actions. "That was so lame!" She got out between laughs. Rean was ready to start digging a hole for him to crawl away and die in, but paused as he noticed the radiant warmth in her eyes and blush staining her cheeks. After a few seconds she managed to reign in her laughter, "Sure, why not? She said with a shrug.
Seizing the initiative, she deftly plucked the ring from her fiancee and slipped it onto her finger with a casualness that belied her nervousness and rapidly beating heart. After briefly glancing at her new piece of accessory the daughter of the Jaeger King grabbed onto the face of the still stunned Ashen Awakener, pulled him towards her, and captured his lips with her own.
The pair were so engrossed with each other that they barely noticed the cheers and cat-calls from the few spectators. Unfortunately this meant that they completely missed the presence of a familiar face disembarking from the train. A lot of chaos would ensue because of this simple mistake...
Vivi stepped off the train. It had been a while since she wasn't out on assignment, so she had decided to spend the evening with Linde. Her eyes lit up in joy as she spotted a pair of familiar faces at the station. She was about to run over and greet her friends when she witnessed the shocking sight of Rean falling to his knee and presenting a ring to her fellow gardener.
She certainly wasn't the only person at the station to let out an audible gasp at the sight, but in a rare flash of brilliance she was the first to recover from the moment. Reporter instincts kicking in she quickly drew out her civilian model ARCUS and snapped a few pictures of the scene. She clapped alongside the other people when the pair kissed.
Now she was left with a conundrum. A part of her wanted to ignore the pictures and go celebrate with her friends. That same part also realized that turning this into an article would be a gross invasion of their privacy. But the more opportunistic part of her realized that these pictures were absolute gold and would easily land her on the front page of the next Imperial Chronicle.
What decided it for her was a rare appearance by the rational part of her brain. Erebonia absolutely needed this article. The collapse of the Great Twilight brought a myriad of troubles to the country. Public confidence was at an all-time low, the nobles and reformists were going at it like cats and dogs again, the economy was just beginning to recover from a recession brought upon by war reparations, and Erebonians were generally not welcome in other countries as their governments looked upon the Empire with great distrust.
The one bright spot in these dark times were stories about the Ashen Chevalier. While the full story was hidden from the general public, everybody knew that Rean Schwarzer and his classmates from Class VII had managed to infiltrate the eery flying fortress above Heimdallr, topple Chancellor Osborne, and put an end to the war before it could truly get started. He was even seen as a hero outside of Erebonia, as tales of him allying with the Bracer Guild and Special Support Section were widespread in those countries.
'Sorry Fie and Rean. I will make this up to you guys some day.' Vivi thought to herself as her decision was made. With a deft pivot the Thors graduate returned to the ticket station, bought a return ticket, and got back on the train to Heimdallr. She moved to one of the distant cars as she suspected that Fie was going to be returning on this train as well. With that settled she pulled out her ARCUS and called her boss at the Imperial Chronicle.
After a few seconds the call connected. "Chief!" Vivi didn't even bother to let the person answer, "I just got an amazing scoop! You have to delay tomorrow's issue until I get back."
The voice on the other end of line groaned at that request, "Are you crazy Vivi? You know we have to have these papers ready for distribution in an hour. Unless the literal apocalypse is happening there is no way I am doing that."
"Nah, the apocalypse is boring, we have seen too many of them lately. What I have is way better. Sending you a photo now." Here Vivi brought up the photo app, selected the best picture, and hit the send button. After a few seconds the ARCUS chimed to let her know that the image had been successfully sent.
Vivi heard something that sounded suspiciously like someone falling out of a chair. "Is... is that Rean Schwarzer?" The chief asked in disbelief.
"Yup. Our beloved Ashen Chevalier himself."
"And that girl is..."
"Fie Claussell. One of my best friends from Thors. Currently a Bracer."
"And she said yes?"
"Well I didn't hear the answer, but the way she shoved her tongue down his throat makes it a safe assumption."
After a few seconds the voice of the chief could be heard again, but this time it wasn't directed towards the younger twin, but at someone in the office. "I need the front page clear! Fit those articles on other pages. Remove the culinary sections if you need to make space. Also someone get the bios for Rean Schwarzer and Fie Claussell. We don't have time for delays, move!" Here the voice returned. "Alright Vivi, you got your front page. I assume you are coming back to write the article yourself?"
"Yup, I am on the train now. I should be there in half an hour." The giddy girl responded.
"Got it. I will have a shell of an article pre-written for you. Get this finished and to our editors as soon as possible and I will make sure you see a hefty bonus." With that the line went dead.
Vivi hummed excitedly to herself. Not just because she was about to score a huge hit and get a nice bonus, but because she was genuinely excited for her friends. She remembered the young emotionless girl who barely participated in club activities and the awkward but earnest boy who was always willing to help those around him. To know that those two had found true happiness was a wonderful feeling and she couldn't be happier for them. She just prayed that they would one day forgive her.
It wouldn't be until much later that night that Vivi realized that she completely stood Linde up. She would be paying for that mistake for a long time.