AN: Welcome back to another chapter of Trails of Chained Steel. I'm actually pleased with the reception that I've gotten with this story, over 600 views, 14 followers, 8 favorites, and 5 reviews shows that people are at least giving it a chance. I'd like to thank Shinn for his review. They seem to share my annoyance with Sharon not being a romance option within the games. I would also like to thank UnluckyXIII, chronotimeguard, killer ninja 151, and Fei Shuki for their reviews. As I said, I will attempt to keep Spoilers to a minimum, but if the story requires them, I do apologize.
ONWARDS TO THE STORY!
"Talking"
'thinking'
Crafts/Arts
"Electronic Talking"
Trails of Chained Steel
Chapter 1: Welcome to Thors
[March 31st S1204]
We find Rean sitting in a train headed towards a town called Trista, wearing his new school uniform, but in a red variant, which he did find odd, he didn't notice very many others wearing it. He thought he saw a familiar blonde-haired girl a stop or two ago, but he didn't get a good look at her since he was busy re-reading the school guidebook he received. He was lost in thought, thinking about the past four years.
[Flashback – March 1203]
Rean had been training for the last two years with the Sword Hermit, Yun Ka Fai, founder of the Eight Leaves One Blade school of swordsmanship. However, he wasn't making much progress, he was currently only beginner level, having mastered the unarmed combat form, and only comfortable with the fourth form, Autumn Leaf Cutter, a fast sword skill capable of cutting through steel. However, the reason he was being trained, to control over his dark power, wasn't progressing, while he could access the power after getting angry, but he would lose control and attempt to attack his Master, only to get knocked out.
Today was the last chance he had to control his power in order to progress his training since it was going to be his sixteenth birthday in a few days. His parents were planning a big party, which Rean needed to be rested for.
"All right Rean, I need you to focus, try to keep your mind calm and clear, focus on those you wish to protect with your power." Master Ka Fai said, holding onto Rean's tachi just in case he lost control again.
Rean nods, taking a deep breath, closing his eyes, and putting a hand over his heart, trying to summon his power. Slowly but surely the red aura surrounded him, his hair changing from blackish-blue to ashen white, all the while picturing his parents, Elise, Alisa, and first and foremost, the young maid that haunted his every thought, who had promised to attempt to get in contact with someone who might be able to help him with this problem, Sharon. Just thinking about her caused his heart to beat faster, his face to heat up, and on occasion, his pants to get uncomfortably tight.
It was then, that he lost control, attacking his Master and the illusions of the people that mattered most to him. Seeing this, the Sword Hermit sighed, dodged the young Schwarzer's fists, and thwacked him on the back of the head with his own tachi, knocking him out, reverting his transformation. "It is unfortunate he has not overcome the fear of that incident... for today was the last time I could afford to help him. After his birthday I must continue my travels." He said sadly, truly wishing he could help the young Schwarzer more. He would leave the intermediate scroll with Teo for when Rean has control over his power. He had complete faith that day would come; he just didn't know when. For now, the Sword Hermit knew he had to get his disciple home, so picked the young man up and made his way down the Eisengard Mountain path.
[In Ymir, 1 day later]
Rean groaned, sitting up in his bed rubbing the back of his head, trying to nurse the headache from being knocked out. 'Does he always have to knock me out when I lose control...?' he thought and looked around, noting he was in his room. 'so, Master brought me home huh? How long have I been out?'
Just as he was about to get out of bed, the lighting in the room changed, from normal bright sunlight to a weird misty blue. 'What's going on?!' he thought, jumping out of bed and looking out the window to see everyone outside frozen in place as if time had stopped. It was then that he sensed someone behind him. Turning around slowly, knowing his tachi was on the far side of the room and out of reach, he knew if it came to a fight, he might be at a disadvantage.
However, the figure before him was a beautiful woman. Her long hair that trailed all the way to her ass, her eyes shrouded by the shadow of her hair, she wore wearing a blackish-purple robe, with a white shawl hanging over her shoulders. She might have been more beautiful than Sharon if he could have seen her eyes, but he kept his guard up.
Seeing her quarry with his guard up, she gave a disarmingly warm smile before speaking in a distorted voice "At ease young one, I mean you no harm. I come on behalf of one of my associates."
Hearing this Rean relaxed, thinking back to Sharon's promise. "Are you the one Sharon spoke of? The one who can help me gain control of my dark power?" He asked, trying and failing to hide the hope and desperation in his voice.
"Sharon? I see that is what she is calling herself these days. But yes, she did reach out to me on your behalf." She said, noticing his confusion at her not recognizing Sharon's name. "It would seem she didn't tell you of her affiliation with my organization. That is fine, I will explain as part of the offer I am about to propose."
"Offer...? What are you talking about?" Rean asked clearly lost, once more bringing his guard up then realizing the timing is a bit too convenient. "And why wait till this particular moment to approach me? You're timing is too perfect. If you are able to freeze time, surely you could have approached me at any time."
The mysterious blunette was impressed by the young man's intuition. "I am impressed young one. You are correct that I could have approached you at any time. However, I needed to be wary of the Sword Hermit, He is an exceptional warrior, and would have sensed me coming before I could have stopped time. I wished to speak with you without confrontation." She stated.
Rean nodded, giving her the impression she could continue. "I am the head of The Society of Ouroboros. I am known as the Grandmaster. The young woman who made the request to help you control your power on your behalf is an Enforcer of mine. There are seven Anguis' and currently fifteen Enforcers. The Anguis carry out my will, while the enforcers follow the orders of the Anguis, but are given a current degree of freedom while they don't have orders. While I am able to give you control over your power, I would like to offer you a spot within The Society as an Enforcer. As I said, this means that you will have some freedom, but I would ask that you help progress our objectives when you are able. Those objectives will be explained should you decide to." The veiled Grandmaster explained.
"Why would I join your organization when I know nothing about it or what you're planning?" Rean asked in a heated tone, slipping into the unarmed stance of his training.
"While it is natural to be cautious of the unknown, do you not think it is rude to show aggression to someone offering to help you with something that is holding you back?" She asked clearly understanding the young man's nature but also amused that he thought he could intimate her. "As for why you should join us, other than gaining control over the source of your fear, is that we can aid in your other desires, giving you another reason to be close to 'Sharon', and a path to discover the truth about your real family."
Now this caught Rean's attention, the thought of Sharon brought a tint of pink to his cheeks, but the mention of his deep hidden desire to find out the truth about his birth parents, on top of being able to control his power, made this offer to join very tempting. 'a chance to find out the truth, if I pass this up who knows if I will ever get another chance... and my power...' he thought deeply.
Ouroboros' mysterious Master let the young man think, this was an important decision, one that would affect the rest of his life. However, holding the spell that was stopping time was probably taking its toll on her associate she brought along, no matter how powerful of a witch she was. The Grandmaster was about to prod the young man to hurry when he opened his eyes and looked intently at her. 'it would seem he's made up his mind, judging from the resolve in his eyes.'
"Very well, I will join you." Rean said full of conviction, "Just help me discover the truth."
The robed blunette nodded with a small smile appearing upon her mysterious, yet beautiful face. "Then welcome to The Society, young Schwarzer, Enforcer XVI. Enjoy your sweet sixteenth birthday, I will send someone who is very interested in meeting you to fetch you, so we can start on your training to control that power of yours. They may even be able to shed some light on your inquiry as well, but it will be up to her whether or not she shares what she knows. Train hard, and she might be more willing to share her knowledge with you."
While he wasn't pleased that he wouldn't get the info he wanted right away, he figured it was fair to earn it rather than to just have it just given to him. It'd feel more fulfilling that way. "Right, thank you, Mistress." He said, putting his right hand over his chest and giving a slight bow, showing his respect and loyalty.
"You are welcome. Farewell for now." She said as she teleported away and time resuming. Rean noticed this as he heard birds chirping, the kids playing in the snow, his parents preparing to head to The Phoenix Wings for the party, his sister making her way to check on him. Taking note that he was still in his bedwear he decided to gather his best clothes for the evening.
"Rean? Are you awake? Alisa and her maid will be arriving shortly. Please hurry and get ready!" Elise said through the door in case her brother was in the midst of changing.
"Thanks, Elise, I'll be down after I take a shower." He replied while gathering his towel and toiletries. He heard his sister run down the stairs, probably to get ready herself. 'Why is it just Alisa and Sharon? What about Mrs. Irina or Mr. Gwyn?' he asked himself. Having been out in the mountains for two years he was very out of the loop when it came to current events. He only hoped that nothing had happened to either of the elder Reinfords. However, he simply shrugged it off for now and headed to the shower to get cleaned up.
An hour later, Rean was in his dress clothes and made his way to the station with his family to meet Alisa and the woman who stole his heart. He made a note to pull her aside and not only thank her for keeping her word but also to spend some time alone with her, maybe ask her about her role within The Society.
Alisa appeared out of the station first in a full-length red dress and her hair in her usual style, held up by twin scrunchies. Sharon soon followed wearing her maid uniform, carrying four gift-wrapped boxes, three from the Reinfords and one from herself. Rean smiled seeing both of them, more so Sharon than Alisa, but happy to see her none-the-less.
Alisa was visibly holding herself back from tackling Rean into a bone-crushing hug, if not just because she was in a dress that she didn't want to ruin by likely causing her crush into the snow, but she had to represent her family tonight, since her mother was so absorbed in her work, and her grandfather was who knows where.
Sharon simply smiled even under the weight of the gifts she was carrying. She had been looking forward to meeting Master Rean again. She had been ecstatic when she learned that the Grandmaster had agreed to request, but to meet him in person, she was sure Rean would be wanted to talk to her at some point this evening. Seeing the young man that had caught her interest those 2 years ago, and seeing him so happy, brought warmth to her heart.
"Welcome back to Ymir, young Alisa, Ms. Krueger. I hope you had an enjoyable train ride." Baron Schwarzer greeted them with a smile, although he was still wary of the young maid, worried that despite his son's two-year training trip, that he was still infatuated with her, and judging by that smile on his son's face, that was indeed the case.
"Thank you, my Lord. Thank you for inviting us to this wondrous event. Chairman Irina and Master Gwyn send their apologies for not being able to attend." Sharon said with a bow.
Rean looked a bit surprised but now he knew he was more out of the loop more than he first thought. Noticing her son's shock, Lady Schwarzer put a hand on his shoulder saying she'd explain later. He nodded in thanks to his mom.
Teo nodded. "I understand, I'm sure my son is more than happy to have the two of you here to celebrate this momentous occasion. I see they sent gifts showing that their thoughts are with us at least."
"Yes. We received Master Gwyn's gift for Master Rean this morning. Although I haven't the faintest idea why he didn't send it here directly instead. Whereas the Chairman said to 'give my future son-in-law my best'" Sharon said in her best imitation of Irina, earning atomic level blushes from Alisa and nervous chuckles from Rean, who was also sporting a small blush. The Lady and Lord Schwarzer, however, noticed the small amount of irritation in the maid's voice and exchanged brief nods signifying they'd have to keep a close eye on her and their son this evening, they still didn't trust her after all.
"Well thank you for relaying the message and coming tonight you two, especially you Sharon. I'm sure Mrs. Irina could have used your assistance rather than coming to a teenager's birthday party." Rean said with a bright smile and very light blush earning glares from his sister and Alisa
"Oh my." The maid exclaimed, bringing a hand over her lower face attempting to reign in the blush she had forming. "I assure you that, not only did I wish to be here, I also came to assist with the party and make sure Lady Alisa made it here and makes it home safely."
Alisa growled a little. "I told her I don't need protection! I've been training with my orbal bow after all!"
"Alisa dear, it's only natural that your mother would be worried about you, even if she's changed recently, she's still your mother." Lucia said trying to calm the blonde down.
"Yeah...I know, thank you, Lady Schwarzer." Alisa said calming down a little after seeing her point.
The party was turned out to be a bigger event than everyone thought, the entire town showed up to the birthday party, while Alisa and Elise stayed close to Rean throughout it. As for Rean's gifts from the Reinfords, Alisa got him a charm that she thought he should hang on his tachi, not realizing that it might get in the way, but he didn't say anything. Irina got him something more practical gift, a pocket watch, one of the few that her late husband made, leaving instructions on how to access the hidden compartments in the card that came with the gift. Gwyn, being the dirty old man that he was, got him a year's subscription of adult magazines, which were quickly confiscated, leaving an embarrassed Alisa to curse her perverted grandfather. Sharon got him a set of reinforced and flexible mesh armor for him to wear under his clothes, which Rean loved, his parents gave her nods of gratitude for the gesture but wondered how she came across something like this, even if it would help protect their son.
Alisa and Elise were jealous that the admittedly pretty maid got him something that he absolutely loved and was practical for a swordsman. Not that Elise's gift wasn't nice either, but it was a heavily seasonal item, a new snowboard with an eastern style motif. His parents got him a new casual outfit, a red hooded sweater, new blue jeans, and new black runners. Something he hoped that he wouldn't grow out of them too quickly.
As the party started to become more of a social function, Rean took the chance to look for Sharon and see if she could get away from the party to talk with him. Unsurprisingly, he found her in the kitchen helping with the dishes from dinner. "Hey Sharon, Can I talk with you for a moment?" He asked politely.
The maid noticed the young man come in but let him make the first move so when he asked to talk to her, she decided to act surprised. "Oh! Master Rean! Please don't sneak up on me while I'm handling delicate dishes. But, of course, you can, let me finish up here and I'll be right with you." She finished the dish she was washing and let the other maids know she was stepping away for a bit.
Rean led her upstairs to one of the guest rooms. "Thanks for taking the time to speak with me. I wanted to thank you for keeping your word. I spoke with the Grandmaster today, about an hour and a half before you and Alisa arrived and agreed to join. She made me Enforcer XVI." He said leaning against the door, happy to be finally alone with her after two years while feeling a bit nervous about being a new Enforcer for Ouroboros
"Of course, I am a woman of my word, I am actually surprised she would meet you in person though and only made you an Enforcer... usually those recruited by her personally, are made Anguis, but with there being seven at the moment, maybe the theory of the Anguis representing the seven deadly sins is true. I suppose I should formally introduce myself. I was known as Kreuger before Chairman Irina gave me the name 'Sharon', Enforcer No IX, the Severing Chains." She said with a curtsy.
"I suppose that's why the Grandmaster seems confused when I asked if you were the one who sent her." He chuckled slightly. "While I wish I knew before so I didn't make a fool of myself, but it doesn't bother me, at least I have a small idea how you got that hardness within your eyes."
"Master Rean, I'm afraid you have no idea... maybe I'll tell you about it someday." She said quietly, "But thank you, it means a lot that you don't think any less of me."
"No problem, I'm sure everyone within The Society has skeletons in their closets." He smiled, pushing himself off the door, and moved to pull the woman that stole his heart into a comforting hug. This surprised her and she muttered out a small "Rean."
"Besides, I didn't ask you up here just to talk about The Society. I also just wanted to talk alone with you." He said as he held her. "There hasn't been a day that I haven't thought about you. Master Ka Fai often scolded me about my 'head being in the clouds' but I couldn't help it."
The Severing Chains pulled back a little, only so that she could look him in those fuchsia eyes that fascinated her so much, seeing the sincerity held within them, but also the desire that he held for her. "I'm honored to have been at the forefront of your mind, but also a little upset that it affected your training, though, I don't suppose that matters, given that you will be starting your training to control your power soon."
"Enough about that... I doubt we have long before someone comes looking for me." He said in a low, almost husky voice. It felt really good holding the girl that had captured his heart those two years ago, especially holding her so close. He stared into those blue, mischievous eyes, and felt like he was being pulled in by some unknown force, while his heart was felt like it was beating a selge a minute
All Sharon could do was nod, feeling him pulling in closer, not having the strength or will to push away. After all her own thoughts had wandered to how the young swordsman was doing in his training, if he was safe, not realizing her interest had evolved into so much more. So when their lips met, all she did was embrace it and kiss him back.
Feeling her kiss him back, something snapped within, causing him to kiss her with such passion and desire, his formal clothes were feeling very uncomfortable. Both too warm, and too tight below the belt, but he didn't let that deter him, especially since she was matching the intensity. Feeling her wrap her arms tighter around his back, her hands also pulling on the back of his suit jacket. His own hands weren't idle either, one hand went to the back of her head, his fingers entangling with her hair, the other was desperately trying to his hold on to the last bit of restraint, trying to avoid fondling her ass.
Meanwhile, Alisa had gone looking for Rean, not having seen him in some time and hoping to spend time with him alone before the party ended. She also took notice that Sharon wasn't around either, but she figured she was busy with the other staff doing clean up duty. She searched outside in case he needed some fresh air. She searched the rest of the first floor and didn't find anything so she decided to ask the head receptionist if he'd seen Rean. He told her that he saw the young lord headed upstairs with someone but they didn't catch who it was.
This upset her greatly, wondering who he was alone with, she made her way upstairs and called out for Rean, while looking on the second-floor lounge and starting down the hall, keeping an ear out for his voice.
Rean and Sharon were startled out of their make-out session when they heard Alisa's voice calling out for the birthday boy. "Looks like our time is up..." He said in a breathless voice, trying to slow his heartbeat and catch his breath.
Sharon nodded, looking rather irritated that they were interrupted but knew it was only a matter of time before some came looking for them; she just didn't expect it to be her competition. "Yes, so it seems." She said in an equally quiet voice but deciding to tease him a little. "But I did enjoy what time we did have together. Do make sure this isn't the last time we do this."
Rean blushed a bit at this request/demand, before smirking and moving in close to her ear, and whisper in a hushed, but husky tone. "You can count on it."
The maid shivered a bit at this before tossing her own smirk at him. The two broke from their embrace and straightened out their clothes and hair. Rean headed out first as to not announce they were alone together to the young blonde, especially knowing that she'd likely throw a fit seeing them together. "Oh, hey Alisa. What's up?" He asked, successfully keeping the same irritation out of his voice that Sharon expressed.
"'What's up?!' You've been away from the party for the last half an hour and people were getting worried! Besides, I wanted to talk to you alone as well..." The young Reinford yelled although the embarrassed blush on her face lessened the effect.
'Half an hour? I didn't realize that we were gone that long... how much of that were we making out?' He thought and fought the blush that was surfacing at the very fresh memory. He rubbed the back of his head and sheepishly replied, "Sorry about that, I just needed to get away for a bit. I'm not used to being the center of attention."
Taking his blush as a sign of embarrassment for worrying his guests, she shrugged it out and sighed. "Let's... just head back to the party before they actually send someone to look for you." She said, clearly irritated, and grabbed Rean's hand and dragged him back down to the banquet room. "By the way, who were you up here with? I asked the receptionist if he had seen you and was told you went upstairs with someone."
"Huh? I was alone. Maybe it was one of the maids going in the same direction to get rooms ready for guests?" Rean said, playing dumb since neither Sharon nor he wanted any trouble, and saying what actually happened would definitely do just that.
Alisa seemed to accept that, not even noticing the glaring eyes of her family's maid trailing her from the room Rean came from. While Sharon waited for the two to return downstairs, she restrained herself from attacking the blonde, the only thing keeping her from doing so is the contract was under with the girl's mother.
The rest of the evening went peacefully, the only tension of the evening was Lucia catching her son up on current events, more specifically what was going on within the Reinford family, Irina undermining her father and taking control of the company, Irina's change in attitude towards anything not work-related, and Gwyn's self-imposed exile leading to him traveling around Zemuria. To say Rean was surprised was an understatement. He actually felt a bit sorry for Alisa, especially since her family was in shambles now.
After the party, Alisa and Sharon said their farewells, with Alisa and Rean sharing a brief hug, and Sharon sending him a discreet wink, they boarded the train for Roer. At home Rean told his family that he was going on a training trip, neglecting to mention anything about The Society to them. While Rean's parents were upset he was leaving so soon, they understood that they couldn't stop him when he made up his mind. His sister however was trying to ask him to stay at least for a few days but Rean apologized, saying he promised the Sword Hermit.
The next morning, he put on the mesh armor that Sharon gave him under the new outfit that his parents gave him. He grabbed his tachi and made his way downstairs where his family was waiting. His father gave him the intermediate scroll from his master but told him not to open it until he accomplished his goal of gaining control of his power, while Lucia told him to be back by the new year so that they can spend some time as a family before he headed off to school. He had decided last night that he wanted to go to Thors Military Academy for schooling.
He made his way up the Ymir Mountain Trail wondering where this Anguis would be meeting him. When he reached the end of the mountain trail where there were ruins lay, there was an armored figure with long blonde hair and a long cape. "Umm... Excuse me?" He said a little bit nervous. However, when the figure turned around, he realized that this armored knight was actually a woman, but he couldn't say any more than that until she spoke due to her wearing a mask to hide her face.
"Ahh... so you've arrived. I was wondering when you would. I suppose introductions are in order. I am the Seventh Anguis, Arianrhod. I am known as the Steel Maiden and leader of Ouroboros' top combat unit, the Stahlritter. It is a pleasure to meet you, Enforcer XVI, Rean Schwarzer." She said as she stood stoically, though he could tell she was smiling due to the warmth radiating from her voice.
Rean was shocked at how regal Arianrhod was, her voice held a kindness that was still firm and full of authority. He quickly shook his head and bowed respectfully to her. "The pleasure is mine, my Lady. Thank you for agreeing to train me to control this dark power of mine. Please take good care of me."
Under her helmet, she smiled wistfully. 'He is so much more respectful than his father, especially when I knew him.' She held out her hand. "Raise your head, young Schwarzer. Come, we have much to do, and not much time to do so."
He nodded and took her hand, only for her to activate the teleportation device and take him to the Stahritter's headquarters to begin his training.
[End Flashback]
He was pulled out of his thoughts overhearing the train announcement that they'd be stopping in the town of Celdic before departing for Trista. He recalled the hellish training he went through and just one week before he had to return home, he had finally gained complete control over his power. He had yet to open the intermediate scroll but that was because of the odd orders he received. 'I'm supposed to investigate the building known as the Old Schoolhouse, awaken the ancient power slumbering deep within, and then await further orders, all while being a loyal student of Thors.'
While the training had been hellish, it wasn't all bad. He had made some progress on finding out the truth about his past, but there were still major questions that needed to be answered. Arianrhod said she had kept an eye on him and his family when she could, but doesn't know what happened that he ended up in the care of the Schwarzers, nor would she share who his birth parents were, saying that it was his responsibility to find out.
'Oh, that's right, my contact for this mission is the Second Anguis, the Azure Abyss, Vita Clotilde, who is supposedly under the alias of Misty while working at Radio Trista. Lady Arianrhod introduced us when I received my mission.' He remembered an important bit of his mission, the person that would be giving him orders when the time comes.
He hadn't noticed that the train had started on the way to Trista and was almost there if the announcement was anything to go by. He gathered his wrapped tachi, and well as his suitcase, making sure he had the orbment that he received when he got home, he was curious what it could do but was for his schooling and figured that it would be explained soon.
When the train came to a stop, he walked out and took notice of 6 others with red uniforms, while everyone else had green uniforms. He figured everything would be explained soon enough so he made his way out of the station, only to stop and take in Trista's scenery, the place he'd be living for the duration of his mission.
He was so engrossed in the scenery that he didn't notice a familiar blonde bump right into him. "Sorry about that, I shouldn't have been standing there to take in the scenery. Here let me help you up." He said offering his hand to the downed girl.
"Oh no, it's my fault for not looking where I was going." She looked up and instantly they recognized each other, and the girl drew him into a hug. "Rean! Is that you? I haven't seen you since your birthday party last year!"
"Glad to see you again Alisa. How have you been?" He asked, figuring it wouldn't do to ask about Sharon and raise suspicion, after all he knows full well how Alisa feels about him, but his heart was with the maid in her family's service.
"As well as can be with things going as they are at home." She sighed "Can I ask you to keep quiet about who my family is... I...kinda applied here to get away from mother, you could say I kinda ran away." She finished sheepishly.
"Well...sure, I guess? Just don't be surprised if she already knows, you know how resourceful your mother is." Rean said, a little confused why Alisa would go to such lengths but didn't question it. However, he knew he was right about Irina probably already knowing, he did do his research after all and if he was right then Alisa was in for a rude awakening and he had a feeling he was about to find out soon.
"Don't remind me..." Alisa said with a groan. "Anyway, do you want to walk to school together?" She asked in a hopeful voice.
The Ravenette sighed internally, deciding to let her down easy. "Sorry Alisa, I want to walk around town to get the lay of the land. We're going to be living here for the next two years so I figure I should know where everything is."
"I guess you're right, but we don't have a lot of time before opening ceremonies so I'm going on ahead. Try not to be late on our first day ok?" She said slightly disappointed but had to admit he had a point. Getting the lay of the land would be a good idea, but not now, they only had roughly thirty minutes before they'd be late. So, as she said would, he made her way to the school.
Rean knew he didn't have long, but it wouldn't take long to look around and get a general idea of where the stores were. He decided to look for Radio Trista first, so he knew where it was, in case he needed to meet Vita. He only hoped that he could keep his affiliation and mission a secret.
After finding it near the West Trista Highway, he made his way past the Café & Inn, over to the General Goods store, up to the clothing store, Boutique Le Sage, taking note of the flower shop and bookstore before going down the side street, finding a pawn shop, a family home, and a place labeled "Class VII Dormitory" near the East Trista Highway.
'Huh? Class VII? I was under the impression there were only five 'Classes' at Thors. Guess I'll find out at the ceremony.' Rean thought as he made his way back to the park in the center. There he found a young girl with silver hair, about fifteen years old if he to guess, wearing the same red blazer, curled up in a ball like a cat taking a nap on the bench.
'What on earth... why take a nap here of all places? And why is she doing so curled up like that?' He thought before shaking his head 'I better wake her up, she'll be late if I don't, plus who knows when or if some creeper will be and try to do something to her.' "Excuse me, miss?" He said giving her a gentle shake of her shoulder getting her to open one eye giving a "hmm." He sighed "We're going to be late, and I really don't think this is the best place for a nap."
The girl nodded, stretched out like a cat, grabbed her suitcase, giving him a nod of thanks, and ran off. 'She really is just like a cat.' He thought as he made his way up the hill taking note of the barge, another family home on the right, the Chapel on the right, before continuing his way up to the three-way split. There he was met with another girl with the same blazer, long blue hair tied in a loose ponytail, accompanied by an elderly man, and by the way, he was dressed, Rean assumed he was the young lady's butler, meaning she was the daughter of some noble family.
The conversation between the two was odd, but what was truly odd was when the butler addressed him, congratulating him on being accepted to Thors. 'Wonder which noble family they are from?' Rean thought to himself before looking to the right to see the Lower Class Dorm, and looking to the left, he assumed that's where the Upper-Class Dorm and sighed at the blatant stereotype. 'So, they literally have it so Nobles look down on the common folk. While our house is slightly higher up than the rest of the houses of Ymir, I'm glad that Dad treats the people like he would everyone else.' He thought bitterly.
He made his way up the hill towards the school and arrived at the front gate, where he had quickly got out of the way of a limousine. A young man, with blonde hair, climbed out after a middle-aged butler opened the door for him. Another noble if he was correct, making that that two with the same red uniform, bring the total up to three nobles if he included himself. However, unlike the blue-haired girl from before, the blonde in front of him gave off the aura of arrogance and self-importance, so Rean decided to ignore him but did overhear he was from Bareahard but thought nothing of it.
He made his way through the gates, to be greeted by a chubby tall guy wearing a mechanic's uniform and a very short, and admittedly adorable looking girl, with brown hair tied into a ponytail with a big blue ribbon on the base at the base of her neck. She was wearing a green uniform, showing she was from one of the "lower classes". He took notice of an armband on her left arm. 'Student Council maybe? But who is the guy next to her?'
The petite girl greeted him and seemed to know who he was, which he found odd, but he talked politely with her and the chubby mechanic, handing his weapon over to the mechanic as outlined in his guidebook, only to be told he would get it back so soon that he'd "hardly miss it." He only hoped they wouldn't inspect it. His tachi wasn't the one he got of the Sword Hermit, it was, however, forged into the same shape with Kurdalaegon II Alloy, the same metal the Stahlritter used in their weapons and armor.
After being directed to the auditorium, Rean nodded in thanks, thinking they were probably second years, even if the girl looked younger than him, but he learned anything from training with Arianrhod it was not to judge anything by its appearances. He then made his way to the auditorium, and once inside he took notice of a mix of green, white, and the eight other red blazers in the room scattered in various seats. Seeing an empty seat next to a boy with ginger red hair, who was wearing a variant of the red uniform, he decided to sit there and await the speech.
In the closing statements, the tall and very broad-shouldered principal repeated the famous quote of Emperor Dreichels, "Arise o' youth, and become the foundation of the world!" and adding those words are what they implore the students to take to heart.
The boy next to him chuckled nervously and struck up a conversation about the pressure put upon everyone, having to try and live up to the hefty expectations of the Lionhearted Emperor, and introduced himself as Elliot Craig.
Rean returned the introduction meanwhile thinking to himself 'Craig...? Where have I heard that surname before? Oh well, figure it out later.' He returned talking to Elliot about how they wore the same school uniform, though they didn't know what it meant, noting that most students wore Green, who were the commoners, and a few wore white, who were the nobles. However, it would seem that the red-headed boy didn't notice the two nobles wearing the same red uniforms.
"Yeah. No idea what the red uniform is supposed to mean, though." Elliot said looking around nervously and continuing to say, "Most of the other students are wearing green. Well, except for the one in the white uniforms. Those must be the nobles."
The vice-president stepped up to the podium bringing the entrance ceremony to an end, instructing students to go to the classroom instructed in their guidebook, leaving the nine students in red blazers sitting in the auditorium confused on where to go. Rean looked around and saw Alisa look annoyed that he didn't sit with her.
It was then that a loud, exuberant feminine voice called for their attention. The voice belonged to a pinkish red-haired woman, who was wearing something that wasn't exactly saying "Instructor" but rather seemed to more designed to draw attention to her rather curvy figure, which if Rean had to admit, was rather attractive. She said something about an orienteering exercise and follow her. A green-haired boy wasn't too happy to hear that but followed anyhow to figure out what was going on. Everyone filled out after them.
Soon after they were led to Rean's mission objective. 'So... this must be the Old Schoolhouse. Convenient that the orienteering exercise is here.' Rean thought continuing to follow everyone.
Elliot spoke up and asked, "Wh-What IS this place...?"
Rean replied, having to play stupid not to blow his cover. "Why is there a building this dilapidated on campus? It looks like it should've been torn down ages ago. Though I'm glad it wasn't...wonder what power is supposed to sleep here?" He said, thinking the last part to himself.
All the while the female instructor was unlocking the door to the building. The students wondered what they were going to be doing there but decided to follow the instructor into the creepy building.
At the same time, a girl with purple hair, in a skin-tight leather jumpsuit along with a guy with silver hair, wearing it up in a red and white bandana, were overlooking the whole thing from the cliff, hidden by the trees in the area. While the bandana guy was commenting on Rean and the others being their underclassmen, the purple-haired girl was scoping out the girls, noticing that she knew one of them as well as one of the guys that were among the group.
"Looks like Alisa's got some stiff competition. Quite the bevy of beauties they've got there. And I'm looking forward to getting intimately acquainted with each and every one of them, even if Alisa has her sights set on that Schwarzer kid." She says in a sultry voice, all though those who know her, know that just to be her normal tone. The guy wearing the bandana just got on her case about breaking guy's hearts due to her lesbian libido. It was then that the petite girl with the ribbon and the chubby guy stopped them from fighting. The two of them had got everything set up for the female instructor's orienteering exercise.
Inside the old building, the female instructor took the stage while the students in red stood on the ground floor wondering what was going on. It at this time that she decided to introduce herself. "The name's Sara Valestein, I'm the instructor in charge of Class VII, which means you get the pleasure of seeing me all year. Glad to finally meet you!"
'Sara Valestein... otherwise known as the Purple Lightning. I see former Jaeger turned Bracer, now apparently our instructor. I'm glad I got that list of people that might be a threat to my cover and mission hammered into my skull. I'll have to be very careful around her. She's bound to be very perceptive due to all her combat experience.' Rean thought, now slightly on guard but trying to hide it as best he could.
Everyone was shocked and expressed it in various ways; a certain green-haired boy with glasses was louder than anyone else. However, it was a rather busty purple-haired girl who asked why they were in the same class since she thought classes were divided by social class and home region.
"Right you are, Miss Top Scorer on the Thors entrance exam! Students in each year are divided into five classes: two for the nobility and three for commoners. And it's been that way for ages, right up through last year. But this year, we decided to shake things up a little." Instructor Sara replied.
"Wh-what do you...?" asked the same girl.
Sara continued her explanation, "We now have a sixth class. Fittingly titled...Class VII. And in Class VII, we recognize no distinction between nobles and commoners."
"...Wait? you just jumped straight from V to VII?" Rean asked in a tone that voices his disbelief.
Alisa deciding to speak up, voicing her disbelief as well. "Y-You're really putting nobles and commoners in the same class?"
"This must be some kind of joke!" came a very irate voice. Everyone looked towards the green-haired male in the room. "And why is this the first I've heard of it?!"
"Well, uh...errr... Who were you again?" Sara asked, her confusion clear in her voice.
"Machias Regnitz!" the green-haired boy introduced himself. "And with all due respect, Instructor, it's ludicrous to intermix nobles and commoners like this! Must I be forced to spend my next two years shoulder to shoulder with those arrogant, stuck-up hedonists?!"
Sara frowned. "Uh... you DO know I'm not the one who made the decision, right? Besides, what's the big deal, anyway? You're all kids. Can't you all just... get along or something?"
'Clearly, she doesn't have much experience handling a bunch of hormonal teenagers... This is gonna be a long two years unless we do something about the attitudes of at least two of these guys... this Machias and the blonde next to him.' Rean thought to himself, worried that those two would be at each other's throats the entire time
"J-Just... get along?! Hah! And how would you propose we do that?" Machias voiced his feelings on it.
"Hmph..." the blond noble grunted.
"What's YOUR problem?" the irate Regnitz asked.
'Oh boy... here we go.' Rean thought ready to step in.
"Oh, nothing much. I just find the irony of your behavior rather humorous."
"Is that so?" Machias asked before going into a theatric and condescending tone. "It seems the scion of some noble house has left the comfort of his mansion to grace the unwashed masses with his wisdom! Please, milord, do share your esteemed name with us so I can give all the respect you deserve."
The blond then introduced himself. "Jusis Albarea. Not that I'd expect the name of an arrogant, stuck up hedonist to lodge itself in the hard head of yours."
Machias was shocked, taking a step back. Elliot put his own shock into words. "H-He's from one of the Four Great Houses."
"The son of Duke Albarea, lord of the Kreuzen province in the southeast..." Rean summarized.
"Well, you don't get much more noble than that." Alisa said, throwing in her two mira while thinking 'I wonder if Rean will reveal his noble heritage...?'
"Interesting. I'd the heard the rumors..." the blunette trailed off.
The foreigner in the room looks confused, while the silver-haired girl just yawned in boredom.
"D-Do you expect me to be impressed?! Your family lineage means nothing to me!" Machias shouted, coming out of his shock. "I'll never bend my knee to the likes of-"
"Alright! That's enough. If you're going to have an issue with the nobility being in the same class as yours, then I should introduce myself to the class." Rean said now deciding to step in, seeing this get out of hand. "I'm Rean Schwarzer, adoptive son of Baron Schwarzer of Ymir. So, while I may be the heir to the Schwarzer Barony, I don't have a drop of noble blood in my veins."
This got the attention of everyone in the room while Alisa looked shocked that he was stepping in such a matter. The blunette in the room seeing what Rean was trying to do decided to step up as well. "Since we seem to be sharing our names and statuses, I am Laura S. Arseid, daughter of Viscount Arseid of Legram. And while I cannot speak for my fellow nobles here, I feel my father, nor I have done anything to shame our family name or the nobility."
Rean looked back at the heiress nodding his head in thanks while thinking, 'The daughter of the Radiant Blademaster, I was not aware she'd be here. Someone else to be cautious of. She's likely to be very observant as well. Hehe, man if Duvalie knew I was going to be in the same class as an Arseid, she'd lose her mind.' and then decided to throw in his two mira. "The same can be said for my family as well. While he may only be a Baron, my father treats the people of Ymir with equality."
Jusis seemed to be grateful but his pride and arrogance wouldn't allow him to express it. The rest of the class, including Alisa, were shocked to have three nobles in the same class. While Machias just sputtered and grumbled, crossing his arms and turned his back to the rest of the class, looking towards the doors, as if thinking about walking out.
Instructor Sara decided it was time to not only express her gratitude but wrap things up and get the exercise underway, she clapped her hands to try and get everyone's attention. "Okay, okay, that's enough! While I'm thankful to Rean and Laura for trying to defuse the situation, I'm sure a couple of you have a few grievances, but now's not the time. I'll hear your complaints later. Right now, you've got your orienteering exercise, and far be it from me to keep you from continuing our fun little icebreaker."
Machias still sulking, just groaned, while Alisa asked about the exercise and what it entails. The purplish brown-haired girl tried to see if she was right, summarizing it as outdoor competition, a cross between a map-reading exercise and a scavenger hunt. Rean realized that's why they had to hand over their weapons at the gate, shocking Sara with his intuition. However, she simply stepped back and pushed a button, causing the floor to open up underneath them. Everyone giving through their own expressions of fear or surprise, Alisa screeched reaching out to Rean, that and the silver-haired girl launched a grappling hook to catch herself from falling. Rean decided to attempt to save his childhood friend, he threw himself at her and wrapped his arms around her while they fell, so he would take the brunt of the damage.
At the bottom, everyone was in various positions from their fall. Some on their backs, others lying on their side, but Rean and Alisa were in a compromising position. Alisa's budding chest was right in Rean's face, while Rean, releasing his hold on her from the impact, decided to keep his hands up and away from the girl, knowing how aggressive she got when she was embarrassed.
Elliot, coming to, was about to ask if Rean was ok, but saw the situation and decided not to say anything. Everyone else started coming to, groaning, looking around, and after noticing the position of Rean and Alisa all had varied thoughts on it but no one decided to say anything but did speak their thoughts on the collapsing floor. Laura disbelieving that she fell for such an obvious trap, while the tall foreigner asked if there were a series of catacombs under the school grounds. All the while, the silver-haired girl slid down and landed in a cat-like manner.
Alisa started to come to and wondered what happened, then took notice that something was wedged between her breasts. Looking down she saw Rean's face there, with his hands off to the side and away from her, she got up in an embarrassed huff, with Rean also getting up trying to apologize, only for Alisa to slap him, even though she knew he tried to save her from injury, she was just too embarrassed at the moment to think properly.
Elliot walked up to Rean, stating it just wasn't his day. Rean just sighed stating that it could only improve at this point before looking around and wondered what this place was, and why he didn't feel anything regarding his mission. It was then they heard a ringing sound coming from their new orbments. Everyone opened their devices, with Laura speculating what Rean had already figured out. It was then that Sara's voice came through the orbments.
Hearing their Instructor's voice coming through these devices shocked the class, with the tall foreigner asking the obvious question if that was her or not, with Machias asking another obvious question whether or not they have built-in communication functionalities. Alisa then realized what they were, voicing her shock. Only for Sara to verify it, calling their battle orbments ARCUS units, and proceeded to give details about the functions of the ARCUS' before the lights came on in the large room, revealing their weapons on pedestals behind small boxes, which apparently contained a special Quartz called Master Quartz, and asked everyone to find theirs and put it into their ARCUS.
Everyone was silent before deciding to go to their weapon cases to do just that. However, Rean noticed that he had two boxes with his, one that was brown with yellow trimming like everyone else, the other was an azure blue, with purple trimming, with a note underneath reading "I will be in Trista in a weeks' time to explain the exact details of your mission as well as to see how you are doing, take this as a gift to assist you with this trial. Good luck! Oh, do me a favor and keep an eye on that purple-haired girl for me, will you? She's something like a sister of mine. – Misty"
Rean quickly pocketed the note, wondering what she meant by a trial before opening both boxes and doing as instructed, putting the Master Quartz into the center slot of his orbment. Sara's voice came through their ARCUS units, explaining the Master Quartz made them stronger and allowed them to use arts all they wanted and explained more functions of the battle orbments and that their exercise to survive a dungeon and find their way through safely.
Everyone but the undercover Ouroboros agent started gathering by the door, while the aforementioned youth quickly slipped the gift from 'Misty' into the only open slot, which seemed to see the information of those around him. He theorized that it'd give him insight on enemies as well. So, he looked around the room, and the names, birthdays, and brief background history of each of his classmates were shown to him. 'Huh, this could come in handy, but where did she get something like this and get it in here without the Purple Lightning noticing?' he thought to himself and gathered with the rest.
Taking the chance to see if this info was accurate, Rean spoke up. "So, before we head inside, and since four of us introduced ourselves to the whole class, the rest of you should introduce yourselves, since four of us already have. We're going to be spending the next two years together, after all."
Everyone nodded. "Alright, I'll go first then, I'm Gaius Worzel, and I come from the Nord Highlands." The tallest teen in the room said.
Alisa glared at Rean before agreeing. "Fine... I'm Alisa...R, from Roer."
Elliot nodded. "I'm Elliot Craig, from Heimdallr."
The bustiest girl in the room also seemed to agree "I'm Emma Millstein, I'm... from abroad and here on a scholarship."
'What does Vita mean this girl is 'something of a sister' of hers?' Rean thought to himself.
The silver-haired girl just shrugged. "...Fie Claussel." was all she said, but according to the info he was getting from Vita's gift, she's a former Jaeger from one of the biggest corps in Zemuria, but no info on which one.
"Well, nice to meet you all. Now, I think we should split into two groups, having all of us-" Rean stopped, seeing Fie walk off on her own as well as Machias but not before he shouted, "I will not travel with nobles! I can make it through here on my own!"
Everyone chuckled uncomfortably. "As I was saying... We should split up... all seven of us going together would make the fighting chaotic. How should we do this?" Rean asked.
Laura stepped up. "I think the girls should be in one group, and you guys go in the other. And should we meet up partway, we share info. Although we should keep an eye out for Regnitz and Claussel, I am concerned for both of them, for different reasons."
Gaius nodded, "Machias is off in a fit of rage, and Fie seems rather small and younger than us. Makes me wonder what she's doing here." Everyone present nodded at that, said their farewells, and proceeded into the dungeon before them.
AN: Wow, 9,801 words, 16 pages. Man, this was a long one. I would like to say that yes, I did copy character text for a lot of the school section, but from here on out, I will divert a little, there will still be some direct lines from the games but only when necessary. I hope you liked the additions to the story that I added. Please, remember to leave a review to let me know what you thought, and if you liked it hit that follow button if you haven't already, and if you really like it, then hit the favorite button. Also, please check out my other stories if you so desire, I have two Naruto based stories, and a Pokémon one as well. I will be updating "No More Lies" next then get back to this story. See ya next time!