I do not get why people assume this; why should I hate my colleagues? We are few and after three centuries, I have internalised the fact they are the only ones I have. Yes, we are at war with each other, but this does not change anything. There is no one human I could love as much as any of them.

-Purple Heart

Monday again; the weekend went by in a flash with all the excitement. Even if it took another two years, IF could not be happier about succeeding; she did what no one else did before.

Not that her good mood or the faint smile she allowed herself stopped people from dodging out of her way or ignoring her when she went past; it did not matter to begin with, though. IF got used to this kind of reaction a long time ago. All the preparations, training, and studying left her with precious little time to relax in the first place, so this was fine for her.

Granted, some of her classmates did try talking to her. She just had so little in common with any of them that conversations did not last for long. Other people her age were weird, with how they always wanted to goof off and laze around instead of actually doing their work. There was no better feeling than knowing she did everything she set out to do for the day.

IF carefully maneuvered around smaller crowds of people and into the first lecture hall for the day; high school was different in that there were no classrooms anymore. The students had to pick their curriculum and then seek out the rooms their respective courses were held in.

A quick look over the rows of seats they arranged in a rising fashion told IF that she was a little early; most were still empty, with some of her peers standing around and chatting instead.

Either way, she knew no one would take a seat in first row anyway; it was as if they were afraid of the teachers or something like that. IF liked sitting there, it helped concentrating on the lecture while the buzzing of people talking was only behind her and not all around.

With her bag set below the seat, IF took out her folder and began to idle around for a bit, balancing a pen on one finger and failing, double-checking her timetable for the day and still basking in the joy of having made it into the Guild. Two more years to prepare and she could finally start to follow her goal in earnest.

Some time passed before another girl caught her attention as she wandered over to the front row. That was not really unusual, but IF could remember the few people who voluntarily took those seats well enough. This one was not one of them.

She only followed the girl's movement from the corner of her eye, though; it would be rude to stare outright. All she could make out ahead of time were a wooly sweater in warm colours and checkered trousers in red and black. IF put down her pen before it could fall again when the other girl stood next to her. "Do you mind if I sit here?"

"Not at all." IF really did not mind; she rarely cared who sat next to her, considering that class was about following the lecture, not chatting with your neighbour.

She had been sitting slightly slumped over to rest, the slight tiredness creeping back after she shook it off on her morning run. With all her excitement, IF completely forgot some of her homework due Monday, so she had to stay up until midnight to get it done the day before. Which, of course, resulted in her getting only six hours of sleep that night, two hours less than usual.

Shaking off the thought, IF snuck another glance at the girl taking a seat next to her; her hair was somewhere between orange and yellow, reminiscent of peaches. Her eyes were of the same colour and once she actually sat down, IF noticed that she was a little smaller than her unexpected neighbour. Just a few centimetres, but still noticeable.

Going by the faint smile on her round face and the warm gaze however, she seemed to be friendly.

They sat next to each other in silence for a bit; IF did not mind the quiet, it gave her time to think and relax a little more. One day of missing sleep was not exactly good, but not the end of the world, either. She knew she must not let it become a habit, though.

She wanted to be her very best for the Guild.

"You look happy. Did something good happen?"

The brunette blinked and turned to look at her neighbour, who was watching her and waiting for a response. People rarely talked to her by themselves, so that was unusual in itself. Then IF realised she was actually smiling; for however long, her lips were faintly curled upward. "Yes, actually. I'm glad it went through."

The other girl nodded in understanding, ignoring the fact IF said basically nothing; it was not really the time to brag about her achievement, if there would ever be such a time. It did not discourage this girl, though. "That's good to hear; everyone should have good things happening to them."

"That's a good view to have." Her response was somewhat noncommital, but IF had trouble finding anything to respond with; she did not know this person at all, so her knowledge of which topic might work in a conversation was zero. Not that her neighbour minded much, she just continued on with a bright smile: "I think so, too. Smiling makes you look a lot better than frowning all the time."

"I'm not frowning much, though." IF only noted it to keep the conversation going.

However, it did make the other girl blink and tilt her head. "You don't?"

This got her attention, though. IF wondered for a moment, if maybe what the girl said before was not meant in general like she thought it did. Only one way to find out: "No, I don't. Do you think I do?"

There was a momentary silence as they looked at each, broken only when her neighbour started to giggle. "Ehehe... how embarassing..." A faint pink showed itself on her cheeks and she averted her gaze for a bit before slowly meeting IF's gaze again. "I, uh, I actually thought about talking to you a few times before, but you always looked so serious and busy that I didn't want to bother you."

She was not sure how to respond to that; her usual expression did not look that intimidating, did it? Trying to think back for a moment, IF was rather sure to have checked it in the mirror a few times. Then she figured she should clarify it anyway. "It's not really like that, actually. I don't mind spending some time talking to people."

After another moment, she realised she forgot something. "Oh, and I'm IF." Her words made the other girl smile again and she stopped fidgeting altogether. "Nice to meet you, I'm Compa."

She said nothing about the nickname at all and seemed overall just happy to be talking with her. What a weird girl, they both thought.

Nonetheless, so much open friendliness was a nice change of pace and IF reluctantly returned the smile before glancing at the clock and sighing. "Class is starting in a minute." Which meant they had no more time to talk.

"Hmm..." Compa eyed the clock as well. Then she brightened and offered an idea of her own: "How about we eat lunch together? We can talk some more then."

This did sound tempting; whether she had company or not was of little concern to IF, but having someone to talk to might be nice for a change. She usually ate by herself and read a book. "Sure, I don't mind."

"Great!" Compa was outright beaming now, her reaction making IF wonder for a second or two. Her new acquaintance appeared to be surprisingly open with her feelings. Not that she minded, for as long as the same was not expected of her. So while the teacher entered the room and everyone else took a seat, they quickly exchanged a few more words on where to meet up later, then class started and IF focussed.

. .

. .

When she arrived in the main building after her last class let out, Compa was already waiting for her with a few other girls in tow. Introductions were had, but IF did not bother remembering any of their names; she saw the frowns and grimaces directed her way when they thought she was not looking.

So instead of spending time on people she would not get along with anyway, IF focussed her interest on the one nice person in the group. Compa either did not notice or did not mind as some of her other friends went to get food from the cafeteria; IF brought her own, a mixture of vegetables, fruits and meat with a generous helping of noodles. The kitchen staff was nice to her again, she noted. That did not stop her from rolling her eyes at the sight, even if it was good-natured. Everyone at home knew how much she exercised, so the cooks always made her a bit more than was actually necessary. Not that IF complained.

Compa was glancing over at IF's lunchbox, her own being maybe half as filled. "Woah, that's a lot for a girl... are you sure you want to eat all of that?"

The brunette shrugged and picked up a fork. "That depends on how hungry I am, to be honest."

Then she smirked at Compa. "A growing girl needs to eat, after all."

She got a few obvious and a few less obvious looks, but ignored them in favour of watching Compa's amused expression. The other girl shrugged and went to start on her own lunch. "I guess... I have to watch how much I eat or I get all plump."

IF was not sure about that comment; from her point of view, Compa was showing quite some curves for a fourteen-year-old, but did not really appear out of proportion. She did get what was meant, though. "Eh, it's actually the other way around for me. I exercise a lot, so I need to eat." Although this was a topic she was not particularly interested in talking about; training was good, but also monotonous. IF had little to do aside from reining in her body at those times. "Anyway, what's your focus?"

Her question made Compa perk up. "Oh, I want to become a nurse, so I'm focussing on medicine, first aid and all the other stuff I need for that." The girl motioned with her fork while explaining, enthusiasm and excitement evident in her voice. IF nodded slightly in understanding. "Ah, so that's why we have so few classes together; I'm more going for a general education with focus on science."

Seeing that they had completely different foci, their classes were vastly different; IF's only course in the medical wing was on fitness. She stayed in the science centre or gymnasium otherwise.

"Oh, I see. Do you know what you want to be later?" Not that Compa seemed to mind at all, she just continued eating. IF methodically devastated her own lunch as well, enjoying the bites a bit but chewing quick. In-between, she answered the other girl: "I'm going for the Guild, actually. It sounds right for me."

Compa smiled over her response and IF was vaguely aware that others were talking... but then again, it did not matter that much. Having someone friendly to talk to was nice.

Today was a good day without doubt.

. .

. .

It took a few days until they managed to get lunch together again; IF found that she liked spending time with Compa. The other girl was a gentle soul.

She was a little confused when the two of them were the only ones at their table, though. IF did not particularly mind it being just them, but Compa was obviously a social butterfly. Seeing her show up without anyone else woke her interest. "Just you today?"

The other girl shrugged slightly and took her seat next to IF. "The others didn't want to eat with you, so it's just me."

That, on the other hand, made a lot more sense. Except for one little fact, which had IF raise an eyebrow and lower her fork again. "Oh, I see. It's a little surprising you would come talk to me instead of your friends, though."

It took a moment, but then Compa started to giggle and gave her a bright smile. "Now now, it's not like I'm abandoning the others. You're my friend, too."

Her words made warmth bubble in IF's chest, although she did not let it show; she just ran a hand through her hair and sighed. "I'm glad to hear that."

Then she focussed back on her meal. Friend. The word did sound nice, especially after IF already resigned herself to another four years without anyone to really talk to; it had been the same during elementary school and middle school, so she was used to it by now.

The girls ate in silence for most of the time; Compa kept stealing glances at her that IF pretended not to notice while she took care of her meal. If the other girl wanted to say something, she would come around eventually. At least that was her reasoning.

Although, now that she thought about it, IF was obviously not an actual name. Compa may be, she was not sure. With a contemplating glance at her schoolmate, the brunette decided asking about it was fine: "I'm curious, is Compa your actual name?"

"Hm? Oh, no. Not at all." Peach-coloured hair flew when the other girl shook her head. "It's Colette, actually... but that's hard to say for children, so my friends back then just made Compa out of it. It kind of stuck and I think it's cute."

At least Compa had a nicer story about it than she did; the other girl was giving her a curious look now. "What about you? IF sounds pretty strict."

The brunette paused her hand in mid-air before lowering the fork and shrugging. "I thought of it during break between elementary school and middle school. It's actually Isabelle, but I don't really like that anymore... so I shortened it to initials instead."

There were quite a few people who thought it funny, which she could understand by now; just initials was incredibly uncreative. Considering IF was ten at the time, she considered herself forgiven. Compa just nodded in understanding. "I think it sounds pretty, but I get what you mean."

Neither of them spoke for a while as they finished up their respective meals and put away the silverware. Once they were done however, IF took a look at her phone to find that they still had about half an hour before their afternoon-classes started.

"Actually, IF... I was thinking we could maybe go do something together?" Her eyes blinked over to Compa, deep green meeting faint orange in surprise. That was unusual in itself, although she kind of did mention she thought of them as friends.

IF pondered for a moment, knowing that she could shift her timetable around well enough. So she gave a slow nod and felt the muscles in her face pull taut. There was her smile again, apparently. "Sounds good to me... I'm a tad busy on weekdays, though... and this Saturday doesn't work at all because I need to help out at home. How about Sunday?"

Now it was for Compa to think, which she did with a hand on her chin and a happy grin on her face. "Mhm, I think I... oh, that fits well. I wouldn't have time on Saturday anyway. Sunday afternoon, maybe?"

Only now did IF realise how she just sounded; she ought to make time instead of blocking everything but what was convenient for her. Flushing a faint pink and barely stopping herself from squirming, the brunette nodded quickly. "Yeah, that sounds fine."

How embarassing; even Compa having time on Sunday did not make it much better. Not that her new friend seemed to notice IF's thoughts, considering how she beamed at her.

. .

. .

With the date and meeting place set, everything was fine and the remainder of the week passed quickly enough. Unfortunately, IF failed to realise that going out into town meant shopping. Which in turn meant that she was completely unprepared for being dragged around clothing stores. At least Compa allowed her to be embarassed and not come out of the changing booth. She did not like to take off her coat in public unless she had to.

That did not stop Compa from trying on a lot of different outfits, from sundresses to coats similar to IF's own; she seemed to have fun showing off and IF honestly did not mind giving her opinion, even though it was in no way based on knowledge. She just said what she thought, which appeared to be enough to keep her new friend happy.

Once they left the store however, Compa gave her a sad look. "You're not having fun, right?"

Surprised by the insight, IF only shrugged and buried her hands in some of her wider pockets. "Not really, no. It's not your fault, I just don't get why people are so excited about buying clothes. Or shoes."

She was not one for vanity, much preferring to spend her time on exercises and studies. Granted, there were a few cute shirts she wanted to get for herself, but... not when anyone could see. She would go back and pick those up later, IF decided.

Meanwhile, Compa's face fell and she lowered her gaze in understanding. "Oh, I see. I guess you're not one for shopping... ah, I know!" The girl perked up about as fast as her expression went down before. "You choose what we do next, that's only fair."

Confronted with that kind of logic, IF yielded and offered a weak smile of her own. She was not exactly happy with how this day was going. Compa only tried to be nice, so she might as well try to be more enthusiastic about things. Yet she had to think about the rest of her training regimen for the day, bringing the schedule back out in her mind every few minutes. It got a little better when she was in the lead, though; now IF had something to occupy her thoughts with.

Sadly, Compa was not any better at hiding her lack of enthusiasm for the weapon store IF choose to visit; the brunette liked looking through the different models and comparing specs, if just for the fun of it. As it seemed, she was alone on that one. It was not for a lack of trying, though; Compa followed her around and they talked a little about one thing or another, smalltalk without much substance. IF hated this kind of thing a lot, but just staying quiet all the time was rude.

After a while though, with the two of them eyeing a well-crafted rapier, Compa spoke up: "I... I guess we don't have much in common?"

IF shrugged and wondered what to say; it was always the same, most people just did not share her hobbies. Or lack thereof. "I guess so."

She tensed a little, waiting for the usual dismissal... but Compa just kept quiet and watched IF for a while before offering a brighter smile. Her eyes lightened up as well. "It's fine, I'm sure there is something we can do together."

Despite the fact she was already prepared for a letdown, relief coursed through IF nonetheless. She kept it under a lid, though. "Yeah, there probably is." She turned away from the weapon in front of her and pondered what else they could do; there was still an hour or two to spend before it got dark. "How about... we go get some tea?"

It was not something she usually did, mostly because her allowance was tiny and the drinks from those stalls overpriced, but having something hot to sip from during winter sounded like a good idea. With how Compa nodded, she seemed to think the same.

So the two left the store and returned into Planeptune's cold weather, shivering a little as their boots crunched over fresh snow. IF always mourned the fact this particular shop was a good ways away from the mall, so they could not enjoy more friendly temperatures for a while longer. To pass the time, she tried to strike up a conversation again. "Say, what kind of weapon do you use?"

"Huh?" Compa turned her head around after having taken the lead again, registering the question before shrugging a little sheepishly. "Um... nothing fancy. I'm not a strong girl, so I just got myself a beam saber. I'm not planning on going out."

That sounded reasonable to IF; beam sabers were light, easy to carry and worked well against most Monsters. They also came with the added perk of requiring no real maintenance; the blade could not become dull or bent and broken hardware could be repaired basically everywhere. They were good for weaker people and those that just carried a weapon for safety reasons.

Compa grabbed the small handle out of her coat's pocket and showed it to her for emphasis; not a model IF knew, but she did not spend as much time on beam tech. Though a plasma cannon would be interesting to see, she had to admit.

"What do you use? I guess something more traditional, I heard the Guild doesn't like beam weapons much." Compa's musings caused IF to blink.

"Huh." She heard the same thing and said as such. "I read that, too. It's mostly because getting used to the weight of any other weapon is difficult if you use one of those for a while... and the battery life is not really good for near-constant use; your electricity bills would skyrocket if you had to charge one after an eight-hour shift five days per week, too."

Compa giggled a little and IF felt pretty good with herself; weapons were a topic she could work with. "Anyway, I'm using a pair of katars. They complement a speed-oriented style pretty nicely."

They wandered up to one of the stalls in the main plaza now, the white plasteel and metallic buildings drowned out by warm reds and greens from the market put up here. There was not much going on this day; only a few people were out here, either socialising or entertaining their children.

Turning away from the plaza, IF noticed Compa giving her a curious look. She only spoke after each of them got herself a cup of hot tea, though: "What were katars again? I kind of forgot most of the lessons we got." Compa sheepishly hid herself behind the styrofoam cup as she said it.

IF took a probing sip of her own tea and burned her tongue, then shrugged. "It's fine, I forgot a lot of things, too. Katars are a little longer than daggers, but attached to the arm instead of held in the hand. Here, hold that for a moment."

She handed her cup over to Compa, who held onto it with just her fingertips; probably not to burn them, seeing that she did the same to her own cup. IF ignored it and felt under her coat for the familiar shape of her weapons, strapping them off her waist and holding one up for her friend to see.

Then she slipped her hand through the tight band and pulled it over her arm until it sat properly; with the hilt now fixed in place, her blade began at wrist-level. "I can still use my hands like that, it's useful."

"Ohhh!"

Granted, those were cheap weapons, not anything of quality. It did not stop IF from being happy with them; the hardened cloth wrapped around her arm was tight and ensured that the weapon would stay in place even under stress. The brunette pushed it back off after another moment, returning the katar to where she got it from. "Anyway, let's find a place that's a little warmer."

It did not even take long until they found such a place, as the shopping mall IF thought about earlier was not that far away anymore; they found an empty bench inside, so the two girls sat down and idly looked around at the people surrounding them. No one really paid attention to them as everyone was busy doing shopping for the upcoming holidays.

It was a weird Sunday, that much she knew; IF quietly nursed her cup and took another sip, wondering if that was what she missed out on during the last eight years. She did not regret her decisions, although it felt good to spend time with someone else for once. For some reason however, Compa kept throwing glances her way; IF noticed and waited for the other girl to speak up.

They sat like this for a few minutes, the cups soon empty and the soothing warmth trailing down into her belly gone. IF rolled her eyes and raised an eyebrow at her new friend. "Okay, I give... what's up?"

Compa flinched and shook her head quickly "Nothing." IF's brow did not lower and the other girl soon averted her gaze, squirming in her seat. The brunette bent over to throw away her cup, but then she was right back to staring. Until Compa gave. "Um... it's just, I've been wondering... you said you're busy on weekdays, are you working somewhere?"

The question made her think back to the conversation with Histoire; technically, IF was working now... or would be soon. She already had the contract signed after all. Nonetheless, she shook her head. "Not yet, but my training eats up the time I have between school and homework."

It also ate up half of her weekend, although she figured leaving that out would be better for now. She knew from experience that people reacted weirdly when she told them and Compa was already sitting with visible contemplation.

"Huh, do they give that much homework in your science-class or do you train a lot? I mean, you did say you had to eat because of that but... um..."

IF was not stupid; she dismissed the thought before, but now she was sure that there was more to this. Suppressing a sigh and bracing for whatever it might be, the brunette nudged Compa's side. "How about you just say whatever you want to say?"

Compa on her part flushed in embarassment and averted her gaze. "I guess I was that obvious. It's just, I heard the others talking and..."

She paused, looking around to make sure nobody was listening. IF did not even bother checking, people rarely cared unless things got loud. Once she was sure no one seemed interested in their conversation, Compa turned her gaze back to IF. "It's just... with how much you eat, I heard people saying that you're... um... wearing that wide coat to hide how you actually look... um..."

Now the smaller girl blinked in understanding. She almost snorted after realising what this was about. "Wait a second, they think I'm fat? That's all this is about?" The tension fled her form in an instant, replaced by relaxation and a little mirth. True, she was not completely comfortable with others seeing her, but IF could not be happier with her body. It was healthy and strong.

Compa, oblivious to the brunette's thoughts, nodded shily. After a moment of consideration, IF just rolled her eyes and decided to make an exception for once. For a new friend. So the girl began to unclasp the buckles on her coat with a sly smile. "You really could have just asked; pretty sure none of the people you heard talking are in my gym-classes."

::

Compa was not entirely comfortable. She told her friends off for talking like they did, but the thought remained in her mind like a comfy kitten that did not want to go away from a warm hearth. Her feelings were also mixed on the fact that her newest friend seemed to care so little about it. She noticed IF ignoring the others, but figured it was alright because they would not get along anyway.

Then her thoughts halted when the girl she spent the afternoon with opened the final clasp and slid off her coat.

First of all, how could anyone wear shorts and a tight shirt under a thin coat in winter? Or wait, was that a one-piece?

The second thing Compa noticed was entirely different, though. Aside from faint traces of acne that passed by, like she had herself, IF's skin was taut and looked smooth. Muscles rippled under her skin with every movement. Her arms and legs were a little thick for a girl, making her look not petite and frail, but nimble and strong.

IF let Compa's gaze glide over her features a little longer before stretching her back and shrugging slightly. "It's true I'm a little overweight, seventy kilos to about one fifty five in height. I'm pretty sure most of that weight is muscles, though." After a few more seconds of surprised staring, IF slid the coat back on and hid her features again, the contours vanishing under their cover before anyone would start staring. Compa also noticed that her newest friend was blushing for some reason.

Wait. Wait...

She just now realised, she did kind of ask IF to spend an afternoon together with just the two of them. And now after what just happened... did she ask the other girl on a date without realising? Compa paused, trying to think of what they did together.

Let's see... no hand-holding, no flirting, I think? No weird events or anything like that... huh, I'm in the clear. At least she was pretty sure about that. Compa knew she liked boys, so accidentally asking out a girl again would have been all kinds of weird. But why was IF blushing? She was pretty, so there was really no need to be embarassed in her opinion.

"You're pretty is what I think."

Mouth, no! Wrong signs, wrong signs!

In this very moment, with IF's green eyes widening and the pink hue on her cheeks turning a deep scarlet, Compa wanted to kick herself. She wanted to clarify or say anything at all, but with her luck today, things would just get worse. So she kept quiet and waited anxiously for what reaction she might get.

"T-Thank you." The brunette's voice was soft and weaker than usual, but the blush on her cheeks already vanished. IF did not meet her eyes, though. Compa was vaguely aware of some passing glances going their way now; IF seemed to notice them as well, seeing that she sighed and got up. "We should get going."

So back out into the cold it was; she much preferred that to the awkward atmosphere inside the mall. Once they were wandering the streets of downtown Nicos however, she realised they were mostly alone on the snowy streets and completely alone on the walkway. IF kept quiet for long minutes, though... and Compa did not feel it in her to break the silence.

In the end, it was IF who spoke up. "Um... I'm not sure how to say this, but I think there is a little something I should mention." She made a noncommital sound and turned her gaze to the brunette, panicking on the inside that the other girl did think it was a date after all.

"So... I realised a bit earlier that, uh, I'm probably giving off the wrong impression? I mean, with how I asked and everything, it makes it sound as if I asked you on a date, but I really didn't. So I hope you didn't get that impression."

Compa took a moment to digest her friend's words before relief flooded her; then she became aware of the hilarity of it all, breaking into giggles. "Heh. Hehehe..."

She could not help it, Compa had to giggle over her realisation. She was not the only one who had been worried after all. After catching herself and offering a content sigh, she smiled a little brighter at IF. "Sorry, I just... I was worried about the same thing."

This time, she could see it a little better than before; the moment IF actually realised what was said, how her lips curled upward and the weird line between her eyes vanished. The brunette worked her jaw for a moment before taking a deep breath. "Alright, good that went off without any further embarassment."

The energy field continued to transport them along as both girls stood next to each other with goofy smiles on their faces. Compa giggled again and nodded. "Yeah, that's good. We should do that again during the holidays. It's fun."

"Yeah, it is. I wouldn't mind."