Chapter 5 (S875)

Rin took an irritated breath before narrowing her eyes at Hope. "Surely you must have something better to do than eavesdrop on us."

Celeste sighed as Hope withdrew slightly. "Rin, don't worry about it. Hope is your name, right?"

Hope nodded silently.

"If you're interested, we'll be hot-dropping into the Emerald Forest after class today. C'mon everyone, we're done here."

Team CAPR rose from their seats in unison, and headed for the halls without a further word to their potential adversary.

As they started back down the empty morning halls, Celeste lost herself in thought again, pondering the spontaneity of her invitation to Hope. A team with only three members in it shouldn't pose a significant threat to them in any sort of competitive environment, but she wasn't comfortable essentially showcasing her team's abilities to a team that could potentially end up competing against them.

But why? Hope seemed like a nice and reasonable person, up until a few minutes ago. What was she doing with someone like Patience? Defending her was out of the question – Nobody in the right mind would go out of their way to defend someone as malignant as that.

The matter was still on her mind when they returned to their dorm room. There was still some time before class started at 9, so she spent it laying in bed, still lost in thought.

"What's bothering you?" suddenly came Picton. "You haven't said anything since we finished breakfast. Did you eat something bad?"

Celeste rolled over with somewhat blank expression. "No, nothing like that. I'm just second-guessing whether or not I should've invited Hope to train with us."

"You fear espionage? Worry not, for we should occur to them as the least of their problems when compared to Team JNPR. They've got little reason to be spying on us when they could be spying on the famous Pyrrha Nekos."

She was a bit drawn back at how spot-on Picton's guess was, but he had a point. There was indeed almost no reason for Hope to see them as a team of interest.

"15-minute warning to class," announced Rin.

"Let's go," ordered Celeste.

Rin sighed as Professor Porter droned on. As interesting as the lecture might occur to other people, there was absolutely nothing he was saying that her and Azure didn't already know. Azure shared the same lack of enthusiasm, but he was busy doodling on his notepad rather than at least pretending to listen.

"And that concludes today's lecture," bellowed the plump professor. "Don't forget your essays on weak points is due next class, and be sure to train for the upcoming tournaments. Dismissed!"

Azure and Rin were among the first out of the lecture hall, and rushed back to the dorm without waiting for Picton or Celeste. The second the door closed, they quickly exchanged hugs before pushing her head against his. Just because they hid their relationship didn't mean it wasn't there.

Their brief exchange ended when Rin lifted her head up and sighed in relief. "We should probably get ready before they get here."

"Right." They gathered their normal clothes together, and then turned back to back as they changed out of their uniforms.

They finished at the exact moment that Celeste and Picton walked in the door. Neither seemed amused by them already being ready to go.

Celeste collapsed momentarily on her bed, stretching as she yawned. "Take a few minutes to rest, and then we're heading off."

Picton followed suit, collapsing face-first into his pillow. Knowing how he was, it wouldn't have surprised her if he spent more time watching other people than listening to lecture. For better or for worse was an entirely different question.

"Azure, Rin, since you're both ready to go, feel free to launch into the forest early. We'll catch up," murmured Celeste through her sheets.

"Wait, launch? You mean we're using the launch pads?" asked Azure.

"Yes, we're going to practice regrouping. We need to be able to do that consistently just in case we get separated in a real combat situation."

"Fair enough. Later, then."

Rin followed him out as he went out the door, wrapping herself around his arm as the door shut behind them. Both relished the thought of fighting alongside each other because of how meaningful it was to how they got to know each other. They had years of practice with each other under their belts too, making them among the best pairings in their graduating class.

When they got outside, she released her grip, and gave him a look commanding his attention. "We should practice crowd control while we can. We haven't done that in a while."

"What? Are you sure? Shouldn't we be trying to save dust crystals for the real thing?"

"I can replace them with ease, there's no need to be stingy with them."

Azure looked away briefly, before reluctantly turning back. "Alright, your call then."

The sun beat down upon them as they reached an opening leading to the cliff dropping into the Emerald Forest. They both looked at the launch pads, and then smirked at each other, shaking their heads in disapproval as they did.

Azure scooped up Rin in his arms and leaned forward. "Ready?"

Rin reached into her crystal pack and felt around for a few seconds before nodding. Azure started walking forward, accelerating exponentially as he traversed the imaginary runway before him. As he reached the edge of the cliff, he jumped into the air, nearly touching the clouds above him. Just before they started descending, he dropped Rin, waving at her as she fell backward into the forest. She closed her eyes before turning herself around and spearheading toward the ground.

She'd be fine – Azure was sure of it. He opened his body up like a parachute, and several seconds after she was no more than a speck amongst the forest beneath him, he followed suit, diving headfirst like a missile.