Here you go guys! Another chapter of Seven Seas Alchemy!

This time, we get to introduce one of the other mermaids (shh!) and my fave, Rina Toin, the Green Pearl Mermaid! Of course, her visit is a little… frosty at first.

So without further adieu, let us begin!

Disclaimer: I own nothing!

The Transfer Student: Meet Rina Toin!

Pearl Piari… Morning…

"Listen to my heart, it will burst open and splash!"

"Swaying feelings, just around in a flash!"

Luchia sang once again as she swept the front entrance to the Pearl Piari on what was perhaps another beautiful day, with the sun out once again. She sang her song, only this time she was experimenting on placing it in rhymes like most of the songs on the surface had done. So far, it was going pretty well.

"Like a small blooming flower, it's the first time I've had such feelings!"

'HONK!'

"Huh?" A loud horn quickly cut off her singing and her chores as she looked around to see why the sound of a vehicle was so close to the Hotel. She was surprised to see a white truck pull up by the corner of the street the Hotel was on. "What's a moving van doing here?"

The passenger window of the truck quickly rolled down before a familiar face popped out, waving cheerfully. "Hey Luchia! Nice day today, right?" Hanon called out , happiness evident in her tone.

"Hanon?" Luchia exclaimed, surprised to see her new friend in the truck. "What are you doing here? And what's with the van?"

"What's going on out here?" Ed and Al had both heard the loud horn from their room and had quickly decided to investigate, only to see Luchia with a confused look while Hanon hopped out of the truck.

"Oh hey guys! Say Al, can you give me a hand with this stuff please?" Hanon requested as she lifted the door from the back of the truck to reveal large amounts of boxes. "I know the moving guys say they can handle it, but you look like you can carry 5 times as much!"

"Uh, sure?" Al accepted, still rather confused by the sight before him before walking over.

"What is she doing here?" Ed asked Luchia, narrowing his eyes slightly at the blue haired girl. While she had said she and Hanon were on good terms now, Ed was still slightly put off by the girls earlier attitude yesterday and had yet to be convinced on her change of heart.

"I dunno. I was about to ask her myself." She stated before heading over to the girl, hoping to get some answers. "Hey, Hanon? Not to be rude, but what's with truck? And the boxes?"

"What, isn't obvious?" Hanon questioned them, a little surprised they hadn't figured it out yet before she smiled. "I mean, how are we supposed to be roomies if I don't bring the rest of my stuff over?" She then held up a peace sign. "Hope we get along great!"

…

…

"WHAAAAAAAT!?" The three screamed in shock, breaking the brief silence, Al dropping one of the boxes in the process.

"Hey, careful with that! That's filled with my plushie collection!"

"Oops! Sorry!"

Later… Dining Hall…

"I invited her to stay." Nikora admitted to the group as she sat at one of the tables with Madame Taki, who was mumbling a quiet chant under her breath as she shuffled through a pile of colored drinking straws. "Apparently she's been living at a small condo, but hasn't had enough to pay the rent this month. We talked about it so I decided, in exchange for doing part time work at the Piari, she could live here."

"I only rented it for two months, but I kinda had to use most of it to get into Mizu High and… 'essentials'." Hanon added, letting out a nervous laugh while rubbing the back of her head sheepishly.

"You mean on rags." Ed stated before he was shushed by his little brother, but Hanon glared in response, still catching the jab at her style of clothing.

"Anyway…" Nikora continued, throwing the two a stern look before turning to Luchia. "We also thought it would be best considering you two are fellow Mermaid Princesses and have quickly become fast friends. Both of you have faced two water demons and come out on top so there's a high chance that you may encounter stronger foes. Two are better than one."

Luchia smiled and nodded at her 'sister's' reasoning. "That makes sense."

"That and because you lack the self-awareness a princess requires, she would be a big help!" Hippo threw in as he stood on the table, getting a moan in response from the girl who knew where this was going. "You act like such a birdbrain most of the time, I worry about what you'll do as soon as I take my eyes off of- YIPE!" He yelped when Luchia pushed him off the table with a bored look.

"Says the penguin with a literal bird brain." Ed snarked as he and Al snickered, his shoulders clanking a bit as they jerked.

As Hippo began to yell at the brothers, Madame Taki mumbled under her breath for a few more seconds before she surprised everyone by throwing all the straws in her hands into the air, all of them scattering before landing on the floor… save for a lone green straw in her hand.

"Ah, I see fate has smiled down upon us." She said with a pleased smile. "Today's move in brings us good luck for the future so the lucky color for today is green." She elaborated to others.

"Oh for- Madame Taki, those straws are for the restaurant!" Nikora scolded as she got off her chair to pick them up. "Oh jeez, why do you have to use our property?"

While the others waved the fortune off, Al was honestly interested as he leant closer to get a better look at the straw. "Is it an important color Miss. Taki?" He asked with wonder.

Taki smiled at the young boy's curiosity. "Indeed it is Alphonse. You see, when something brings us good luck, a certain color is chosen to bring future good luck not long after. So, if you happen upon a certain thing with green, your luck shall be wondrous."

"Ooohhh!" Al marveled at the thought, his mind racing as he picked through the many possibilities the fortune would bring.

As he continued to think is over, Hanon had turned her attention to Luchia and Ed. "Besides, someone's gotta watch out for you love birds. Can't have to two getting into deep with your 'business'." She said with a giggle, causing Luchia to blush madly and Edward to growl, his face turning red.

"W-what are you suggesting!?" Luchia stuttered.

"We're not children you know! We don't need someone coddling us because they don't have anything better to do!" Ed shouted, resulting in Hanon losing her smile and turning it into an angry frown. "Seems like you and Lunchmeat are meant for each other.

"Hey! I find that offensive!" She yelled at the boy as they pressed their foreheads together, both glaring angrily.

"You have every right to!" He yelled back, grinding his teeth before the two were pulled back with Al holding them by the back of their shirts.

"Okay, thats enough you guys. Let's not talk about this subject any longer before we do something we might regret." He said pointedly to the two with folded arms, as the two looked away with grumpy expressions.

"Good idea Al." Nikora agreed as she finished gathering the rest of the straws off the floor before turning to the Aqua mermaid. "Hanon, don't you need to finish moving your stuff into your new room?"

Hanon quickly smiled and nodded. " I do! Thanks for the reminder Nikora!" She then went back to the main hall to see if the rest of her belongings had been loaded off the truck, Luchia following along with Hippo.

Edward was still pouting as he watched the girl leave. "I don't care what she says, I still think that girl is a pain." He muttered with an irritated glare.

"Brother, be nice." Al scolded. "As long as she accepts you and Luchia being together, that has to be good enough, right?" He then left his brother alone with the two women as he went to assist the girls.

"Somehow, I doubt she has." He muttered before heading into the kitchen to get something to drink, leaving behind a concerned Nikora and a meditating Taki.

"Do you think Hanon and Hippo may be too protective of Luchia? I know times are dire, but she is not a child." Nikora reasoned as she turned to Taki, who hummed.

"Hanon is only putting on a facade at the moment. She too is susceptible to her emotions, but unlike Luchia, she has yet to control them properly." The woman stated with a patient look. "And Hippo is trying to reassure himself that he can do a better job at protecting Luchia than others."

"Wait." Nikora held a hand up for her to stop as she gained a look of understanding. "Are you saying Hippo is… jealous of Edward?"

"That is what I am implying, yes." She stated with a nod before leaving the table to head back to her room, leaving Nikora alone to think upon these turn of events.

Back in the main hall, Hippo marveled at the sight of all the larges boxes that were brought in through the main doors of the hotel, with a blue suitcase by the side and in front of his, was what appeared to be a present, wrapped with a pink, blue spotted piece of cloth in a bow. "Uh, Hanon, what is this?"

"Oh, I almost forgot! I'll introduce you guys!" She knelt down and undid the bow to reveal a fishbowl and inside it, a pink jellyfish with a yellow ring around its head… and a smiling face?

"Aw, how cute!" Luchia gushed as Al tapped the bowl, making the jellyfish giggle happily.

"I don't think I've ever seen this type of jellyfish before." He said as Hanon smiled, glad to know he knew the difference.

"That's right! She's a rare jellyfish from my Kingdom in the South Atlantic!" She explained as she held the bowl up with a wink. "Guys, I'd like you to meet my pet, Purachan! Or just Pura, whichever works."

"What works?" Ed asked as he entered the hall with a bottle of water, but he stopped when he looked at the pink jellyfish, who looked back with a happy smile when she noticed the new arrival. The Alchemist was silent for a few seconds before looking down at Hippo. "Hey look, your replacement has arrived. I already like her more than you."

"HEY!"

Pura was oblivious to the shouting match as she was too busy smiling, flattered at the compliment Ed had given her.

Later… Mizu High…

Hanon smiled as she walked beside Luchia with the Elric brothers just behind them. "Thanks a lot you guys! Especially you Al! We managed to get all of my stuff in my new room before school started!" She praised with the armored giant nodding with a pleased look in his eyes.

"It's no problem Hanon. I was happy to help." He said with honesty.

"Speak for yourself." Ed and Luchia moaned out as they walked, a bit slower than the other two, sounding exhausted. "All of that stuff weighed a ton separately and it hurt my arms!" Ed complained.

"And there was so much that needed to be moved that we had to make more than three trips! Why couldn't you take a room below the stairs!? At least then we wouldn't be so tired!" Luchia added, causing the mermaid and armored boy to sweatdrop.

"Pardon me you two- Oh, it's you."

The pair had realised they had stopped walking as they listened to Luchia and Ed complain and were blocking someone's path. But as soon as Hanon turned around to face them, she gasped in shock to see a familiar face.

It was the same man that she had encountered at the Spring Festival, who gave her the fish that turned out to be a spy for Eriru. But this time, he wore a smart brown suit, complete with brown shoes, a white shirt and a grey tie. He also held a brown suitcase.

The man smiled at them or to be more specific, Hanon. "We meet again."

Hanon quickly composed herself before she smiled, a blush appearing on her face. "Y-yeah! I recognise you! Your that guy from yesterday! T-thanks for the fish!" She stuttered, getting confused looks from the others for this was the first time they had heard of this event and yet, she hadn't mentioned it in last night's explanation.

"It was no problem." He waved off politely. "I guess I was right when I assumed you attended Mizu High. Good thing you weren't pulling my leg either." He chuckled, getting a laugh out of Hanon as well.

Luchia narrowed her eyes at her fellow princess before whispering to her. "Who is this Hanon? He dosen't sound like an acquaintance to me… are you blushing?"

"Shut. Up." Hanon whispered through her teeth, surprising Luchia before she turned back to the man with a smile. "Uh, I never got your name!"

"Oh right, I see! How rude of me." The man apologised before he smiled. "My name is Taro Mitsuki. I'm the music teacher here."

'Taro Mitsuki… such a handsome name… Taro." Hanon thought as her smile grew, blush turning a deeper shade of red and with a longing sigh. Others would think that her eyes turned into hearts for a brief second if the situation were a comical one.

Mitsuki smiled before he turned to the others. "So, may I ask who you are, if that is alright?" He requested politely.

Luchia smiled. "Oh, okay. My name is Luchia Nanami and this is- Hey!" Luchia yelped when she was lightly shoved by Hanon, taking her place in front of Mitsuki.

"M-my name is Hanon Hosho. P-please take care of me Mr. Mitsuki." She introduced, rubbing her cheek with a finger, shyly looking away, not noticing Luchia's growing glare.

"I see. Pleasure too meet you Miss. Hosho and Miss. Nanami." He gave a bow before turning to two lone males. "And I take it by your appearance, you two are the Elric Brothers, Edward and Alphonse, correct?"

"Yep." Ed nodded before he gestured to himself and then to his brother. "I'm Ed and this is Al. I'm the Fullmetal Alchemist, he is not. We clear on that?"

"Brother, not so rude!" Al scolded.

Mitsuki only chuckled. "No need for scoldings Alphonse, I've heard of others confusing the two of you before. But I actually take time to learn my students names and appearances." He smiled before giving a respectful bow, as did the brothers. "I hope to see you all in Music Class if your interested. Good day." He waved before entering through the front gates.

"Well he was nice, right Ed?" Al said with a pleasant tone while his brother shrugged.

"Meh, he's an okay guy." He said before his eyes narrowed to Hanon, who watched Mitsuki's back, even after he went through the gates. "But what I want to know is why you KNOW him." He growled at the girl.

"I can't wait for his music class." She sighed, swooning a little as the blush remained on her face.

It didn't take a genius to figure out her strange behavior and the result lead to both Luchia and Ed glaring at her. "You hypocrite! You tell ME to give up on Ed and yet you get a free pass!?" Luchia accused, bringing Hanon out of her daydream, eyes widening.

"How is it that I'm both surprised and not-surprised!?" Ed growled before he pounded his fists. "I don't care if you're a girl, you've made my list of people's asses I have to kick!" He threatened, making the girl back up nervously.

"U-uh, o-okay guys, let's not d-do anything rash here." She raised her hands up defensively, laughing sheepishly while Al watched the two advance on her.

"I'm not getting involved." He said to himself as he wisely stepped back. But he was surprised when someone bumped to his side and passed him by. "H-hey! Excuse you!"

This of course got the attention of the others as they turned to see a teenage girl walk pass then, not even acknowledging them with a glance. She had long, green hair that went past her waist to the back of her knees, grey eyes, carrying a white bag in her hand. But what stood out the most was the fact that she wore a male's school uniform instead of a female's, complete with white shirt and blue pants.

"Um… was that a girl?" Luchia asked with a curious look.

"From the look of it, yeah." Ed said as he watched the girl enter through the gates. "Haven't seen her when we started out here though."

Hanon just watched with an almost worried look as the girl left their line of sight. "I've been here longer and I haven't met her before." She stated, getting surprised looks from her friends. "She goes here? And wearing that uniform instead?"

Luchia thought over it for a moment before she snapped her fingers. "Oh! I got it! She must be a transfer student!" She guessed with a smile. "I mean, it makes sense when you think about it!"

'BRRRRRRIIIIINNNNGGGG!'

The group's eyes widened when the familiar blaring of the bell sounded out.

"Crap! Forget about that for now! Move!" Ed yelled as the four ran through the gates and into the building, moving past the green haired girl who continued to move a moderate pace.

They didn't notice her narrow her eyes at their backs.

Later… Homeroom 2-D…

When their teacher had arrived to their class, they were surprised to see the new girl enter with her, standing in front of the entire class with a bored look on her face. Almost immediately, chatter began to circulate around the room.

"Whoa, who's she?"

"She must be new here."

"She kinda looks like a model. An awesome one at that."

"What's with the guy's uniform? Are girls allowed to wear em?"

"She looks cool too!"

"Huh." Luchia hummed as she whispered to Hanon. "Guess she is a transfer student after all. Didn't think she'd be in the same class as us though." Hanon nodded in agreement.

Al was honestly a little surprised when he spotted the same girl who bumped into him outside in the same class as him and his brother, who sat beside him and had his feet on the desk, a bored expression on his face.

Speaking of Ed… he didn't think much of it and just yawned.

"Everyone, I'd like you to meet our newest addition to Mizu High: Please welcome, Rina Toin." Their teacher introduced the girl with a pleasant smile as they all gave their greetings to the girl.

Rina it seemed paid no mind to the announcement or their polite welcome she received as she scanned the classroom with narrowed eyes. The only odd ones out were the blonde girl with red ribbons in her hair, the blue haired girl, the guy in the armored suit and… him.

Ed was just about to get some shuteye when he suddenly felt a cold chill run up his spine. The kind he's receive when Teacher would glare at him just as she was about to smack him and his brother around. But this one lacked the same intimidation, but it was still alarming. He looked up and blinked in surprise to see the new girl stare at him, a cold expression on her face.

'What's her problem?' He thought as he narrowed his own eyes at the girl, who did not flinch.

"Miss. Toin, please take your seat in front of Alphonse. The boy with the armor." She asked politely as she pointed at the empty seat.

Rina nodded silently before she walked over and sat at her new desk.

Even though she was still in front of them, Ed could still feel the icy gaze of her eyes.

'What'd I do?'

The hours went by before it was time for lunch, but some of the students decided to haggle for a bit. After a few minutes of discussion, Ed and Al decided to leave.

"See you in the cafeteria soon, okay Luchia?" The boy waved as he and his brother left the room, the girl nodding to them.

As the two disappeared from sight, Luchia turned her head to Hanon, who then nudged her head over to where Rina was sitting before the nodded together, standing up and walking over to the green haired girls desk.

"Hi there, Rina right?" She asked politely, getting the green haired girls attention. "Nice to meet you. My name is Luchia Nanami and this is my friend, Hanon Hosho." She introduced herself and said friend, who waved to her with a smile. "We just wanted to say hello and welcome you to Mizu High."

Rina said nothing as she tapped her desk before turning to the open door leading to the cafeteria with narrowed eyes.

"Um, is it alright if we just call you Rina?" Luchia asked, a little unnerved by the girl's silence.

Rina didn't answer and instead, stood up from her seat, picking up her bag before leaving the room, not even bother to say 'goodbye'.

Hanon huffed as she held her fists up in a frustrated manner. "What's with her? All we wanted was to say 'hi' and she goes ahead and leaves without saying a thing! That's just plain rude! Hasn't that girl ever heard of manners?"

Luchia turned to her friend and shrugged. "Hey, she's still new here, right? She could be just shy about transferring."

Hanon shook her head. "I doubt any person with a straight face like that could be shy." She shot down before turning to leave as well. "Come on, let's go see the guys. I'm starving!"

Luchia could only watch in dismay as her friend left, a little disheartened that the new girl basically shunned her for only wanting to be her friend. But she quickly shook her head and a look of determination appeared.

'All right, I've made my decision! I am going to be friends with Rina no matter what!'

'Growl…'

'...As soon as I eat.'

Meanwhile… Pearl Piari…

"And while the storm has since moved on from Hawaii, many of the streets are still flooded. Thankfully, there have been no injuries."

"Hm…" Taki hummed as she sat on a mat beside Hippo, watching the afternoon news on the TV in one of the empty hotel rooms.

The door opened and Nikora walked in with a tea tray with three cups and a kettle, approaching the two with a smile on her face. "I made tea." She announced as she poured a cup and passed it to Taki.

"Thank you." The Fortune Teller nodded with a pleasant smile before she blew on the warm cup and took a small sip. "Mmhhm. Delicious."

"And now, we bring you this special news bulletin. Just this morning, world-renowned artist, Jennifer Houston arrived in Japan to sing her latest hit-song-"

"Huh?" Nikora hummed as she, Taki and Hippo looked to the TV and they were all shocked to see the camera focus in on a blonde haired woman with blue eyes and wearing a white dress, waving to the camera with a smile.

But what caught their attention more was the green gem in the woman's necklace.

"Hm… That gem bares a resemblance to the Green Pearl." Taki murmured to herself as Nikora leaned closer.

"You don't think she might be… The Green Mermaid Princess?" She asked with curiosity as the Fortune Teller sipped her tea.

"It is possible." She replied before placing her cup away. "But it would be best to wait and see if any developments arise… May I ask for a refill please?" She requested with a smile as she held her tea cup up, making the manager sigh.

"On it."

Meanwhile… Down below…

The dark form of the black castle continued to drag its large foundations across the seafloor, black shadows covering its entirety and the only thing visible to see were the pointed towers on top.

But if you could see clearly enough, a faint light shined through one of the rows of the castle windows, as voices could be heard.

The throne room was silent as the three occupants watched the crystal inside a dark shell play the current news broadcast of Jennifer Houston's arrival, or to be more specifically, the green stone embedded inside the necklace.

"That is one bright gem!" Eriru commented as she leaned in closer to the crystal, trying to get a better look. "I mean, sure, I've seen some really good ones up on the surface, but this near tops them all!"

"As to be expected. This does belong to a famous celebrity after all." Izuru added, watching the news as well. "It is almost on par with that of one of the Mermaid Princess' Pearls."

"Indeed."

The two women shivered at the cold tone behind them as they turned to see the shadowed form of Gaito, sitting on his throne and a glass of wine in his hand. He lazily moved it around before he took a sip. "One would believe that it my belong to the Green Mermaid Princess, considering the circumstances. Though, I highly doubt it."

Izuru quickly bowed before her leader. "Master, allow me to find this woman and verify if this jewel is indeed the Green Pearl." She requested humbly.

Eriru quickly stood up and bowed as well, not wanting to be outdone like so many other times. "No wait, please let ME go and take a look at it Master Gaito! I promise to do a better job than last time!" She begged, earning a glare from Izuru.

"...Very well. The both of you may go. Think of it as a… 'bonding' experience in order for you to work well together. But do not make a spectacle out of this. Keep this quiet." He ordered as he took another sip of his wine. "Do not fail me again."

"Yes Master!" They bowed once more before they quickly swam away, leaving the throne room.

Gaito only chuckled as he watched the two leave. "While it may be a coincidence, I'm sure one of those two will find a way to make and show of things… and draw out the other two mermaids." He smirked from behind the shadows.

"This may prove to be entertaining."

Later that evening… Pearl Piari…

"Ah! This feels so good~!" Hanon sighed as she laid her arms on the sides of the bathtub, flapping and waving the end of her tail fin, relaxing in the warm water she had poured for herself. She then leaned forward and picked up the bubble container, turned the handle and soon enough, her regular old bath turned into a bubble bath. "Now this is MUCH better!" She then turned to the door with a smile. "Hey Luchia! You got a great tub! A lot of space too!"

Outside of the bathroom, Luchia was at her desk working on something with her music box playing beside her before she groaned and turned to the bathroom door with an irritated look. "Quiet down, will ya!? If you wanted to take a bath, why don't you use your own room!?"

"Sheesh, take it easy, alright? Nothing to get so uptight over."

"It is if you're too lazy to clean your own tub." She muttered as she placed the finishing touches on her little project and smiled. "Voila! They're done!"

"What are those?" Hanon inquired as she now stood behind Luchia, in a white bathrobe and a towel covering her hair, looking down at the desk to see three little ring-like objects, each in a different color. "Aw, you were making bead accessories! That's cute!" She gushed. "Wish you told me earlier and I could have helped!"

"Then it wouldn't have been a surprise, right?" Luchia quipped with a smile before picking up one of the rings, colored in blue with tiny flowers on them. "You're the Aqua Blue Mermaid so here's your Aqua ring! These are friendship rings!"

"Ah cool! Thanks!" Hanon smiled as she took the ring and placed it on her finger, fitting perfectly. "Slips on nicely!"

Luchia nodded and placed her own ring on. "And since I'm the Pink Mermaid, mine is pink of course!" She continued before holding up the last ring, colored green. "And of course, our final ring goes to Rina because… her hair's nice." She finished lamely with a nervous laugh.

"What? Her?" Hanon exclaimed with a bitter look on her face. "Why would you bother with her? She didn't even speak to us and walked out on us! I doubt she even wants to be friends with us in the first place!" She huffed before walking out to her own room.

Luchia watched the girl leave before sighing sadly, her eyes softening as her mood quickly took a sad turn.

'Maybe… maybe she's right.'

"She's not very good at first impressions, is she?"

Luchia blinked when she looked up to see to see Alphonse standing by her door. "Oh, hey Al. Sorry… I take it you heard, huh?"

"To be honest, she was a bit loud." Al answered as he stepped in. "Sorry for listening in, but I take it that you were talking about Rina, right?" He got a nod in reply. "Never mind what Hanon says. She was wrong about you and brother, right? I think Rina just needs time to settle in and warm up to her surroundings. Remember, she is new here." He reminded her before placing a comforting hand on Luchia's shoulder. "I promise things will get better in time. Just give her her space for the time being, okay?"

Luchia smiled and hugged her friend, wrapping her arms around as much of his body as she could. "Thanks Al. I needed that."

"No problem. Always happy to help a friend in need." He hugged her back before he turned to leave. "Well, good night."

"Good night." Luchia waved with a smile before closing the door so she could change with no interruptions. After putting on her PJ's, she climbed into bed and prepared to sleep.

'I'm sure she'll like it.' She thought before closing her eyes.

The Next Day…

"I still say this is a bad idea."

"Hanon, you've already said your opinion on the matter. Leave it be." Al scolded to the girl who huffed before turning to Luchia, who held the green ring in her hand. "So, are you ready?"

She nodded with a smile. "Yep! I hope she'll love this!" She moved her head to view Rina's desk and was surprised to see it empty. "Huh? She's not here." She pointed at the seat, the others looking over as well. "Where did she go?"

"Hey, are you looking for the new girl?"

They all turned to see one of the girls sitting beside Luchia's looking at them with a curious look before they nodded. "She was in here a while ago, then for some reason, she grabbed that Edward guy by the arm and said they needed to 'talk' about something on the roof." She said, nudging out the door before she shivered a bit. "I dunno why, but she looked like she was dead set and pounding his face in."

"What!?" Luchia and Al gasped while Hanon shook her head, muttering something along the lines of 'I knew it'. "That can't be right! Come on Al!" Luchia called to the armor before she dashed out the room.

"Luchia, wait up!" Al shouted before running after her, making sure his bulky frame didn't hit the walls or anyone in the halls.

"Oh for crying out loud." Hanon muttered before she followed them, trying to catch up to them.

But as she neared them, she could hear faint music play from one of the rooms, slowing down before stopping completely as she quickly recognised the sound of a piano playing a beautiful tune.

"Wait… That's coming down the hall." She said to herself and a large smile appeared soon after. "That means the music classroom is down here! And so is Mitsuki!" She sighed wistfully before running off down the hall, forgetting about the earlier situation entirely.

She went past a few doors before spotting a sign on one of the rooms titled 'Music' and smiled. She quietly slid the door open to show the large room, complete with assembly styled seats, a music board and a large piano where she spotted Mitsuki playing on it, a peaceful expression and his eyes closed. Hanon sighed as a blush appeared on her face, once again smitten before walking down the stairs and before she knew it, she was right beside the piano. "That's a really beautiful melody."

Mitsuki smiled at the compliment and he stopped playing to fully place his attention on his unexpected visitor. "Well, this is a surprise." He stated with a friendly look. "I know I said I hoped you would be here for Music class, but I wasn't expecting such an early visit."

"O-oh! Yeah, w-well, I heard you playing that wonderful solo and I couldn't help myself. I wanted to see who was playing it." She said as she held her hands together with a shy look, making the man chuckle.

"Well, I guess the cat's out of the bag. I enjoy the piano, considering I'm more used to playing it than any other instrument. Heck, I even grew up playing it." He explained as he pressed a few keys to illustrate his point. "I like to borrow this room from time to time so that I may practice."

"That's amazing!" She gushed, blushing even harder and cheering internally at the fact that he was a true music lover. "Music sure is a great thing, isn't it?"

"Indeed it is." The teacher agreed with a smile before he let out a sigh that strangely sounded like one of longing. "It's also believed that music can heal people's hearts, even after experiencing tragedy."

"Y-you do? I think so too, Mr. Mitsuki!" Hanon quickly said.

"That is great to hear." He praised honestly as he pressed down on a few more keys. "I hope that in some way, that by playing music, I hope to not only to inspire people, but to also help them move on from any hardships they've experienced."

Hanon swooned as she listened to him with rapt attention.

'It's official! I struck gold with this one!'

Meanwhile… Up on the roof…

Luchia and Al, unaware of Hanon's departure, finally made it to the roof, just in time to see Rina walk toward the far end of the building.

"There she is!" Luchia panted as she held onto the railing, ring still in hand. After all, running up three flights of stairs will do that to you. "Hey Ri-"

"Luchia, wait!" Al pulled her back quickly before she could call for the girl. Just as she was about to complain, he pointed to the corner of the roof.

To their surprise, Ed was standing with his arms folded, a very irritated expression on his face before he turned his head to face Rina, who walked right in front of him, the size comparison showing that she stood a few inches taller than him.

"Ed? What's he doing with her?" Luchia whispered.

"Well, he doesn't look like a mangled mess. I think that girl was exaggerating." Al replied as he stood up straight. Since he was taller, he had a more clear view on what was going on. "They're just… Glaring at each other."

"Are they?" Luchia asked as she tried to lean forward from the corner of the door. "Because at this angle, it looks like they're trying to kiss each other."

"Shes not leaning down so I doubt that." Al pointed out, making the girl blush in embarrassment. "Wait, their lips are moving… They still look angry… Ed's confused… Now he's angry again…" His eyes then widened before he covered Luchia's ears. "I think it best we leave before they see us." He advised before he grabbed Luchia and ran back down the stairs.

"Hey, what did they say?! I wanna know!" Luchia protested, not noticing she had dropped the ring in the process.

As they left, Ed and Rina were still glaring at each other, the girls one of complete loathing while Ed's was that of irritance.

"Look, do you plan to glare at me for the rest of the year or something, because if you are, I'm pretty sure you look as though you're planning to kill me in my sleep." Ed said finally, breaking the silence between them. "So what's your problem?"

"You think hiding here will save you from whatever justice you plan to escape from, but it will not work." Rina finally spoke with tone of anger.

Ed tilted his head, looking at the girl like she was dropped on her head as a kid. "What the hell are you on about?! I've never even met you before in my life! I doubt i did anything to you that warrants you glaring at me like I'm a demon!"

"Your ARE a demon! And yet you decide to play the innocent victim in this?" She questioned, before they went silent again, their glares growing more heated before she turned away. "Fine. Act all you want. But I plan to reveal your intentions anyway so it won't matter in the end." She walked away with her fists clenched.

Ed angrily threw his arms up in the air. "WHAT FREAKING INTENTIONS!?" He shouted to her, but she left the roof, not bothering to answer. "...What the hell did I do!?" He muttered before shoving his hands in his pockets, planning to leave himself, but he stopped when he noticed something shiny by the door. He leaned down and picked it up to see a small, green ring with small flowers attached to it.

"Wait… This almost looks like… Well that's just perfect." He muttered when he realised how it got here and who made it.

He was sure to get a few questions later on.

...

Well, that's another chapter done! Rina has made her first appearance, but not a great first impression on our heroes!

What does she mean by 'Escaping justice?'

And what's this talk about a Green Pearl?

Next time: Flickering Emotions! Double Dark Lover Attack!

Please read and review!

This is the Wielder of the Blue Flames, signing off!