Chapter 4

It was Rean, coming in to check in on the pair.

He knew Melyssa's first day had probably overwhelmed her and tossing Crow into that mix…could send her running back to Jurai. "Everything okay in here?" He asked, trying to keep from sounding too concerned.

"Instructor." Melyssa had a feeling Rean was here for Crow since they were best friends, according to Juna and Altina.

Melyssa tried slowing her racing heart and went back to her side of the room, picking up her Cutlass. What did Crow mean? Did he mean more than just actual gambling or…Melyssa shook her head, pushing those thoughts out of her mind.

Rean noticed it instantly and stepped inside the room since Crow was here, raising a brow. "You're a swordsman, Melyssa?"

"Swordswoman, actually, and yes I am, Instructor." Melyssa had turned back to face him, her Cutlass in hand still in its sheath.

"Interesting choice. So, you follow the path of the sword?"

"I guess, yeah. I'm nowhere near the level you are though with the Eight Leaves or the Arseid way. I'm an amateur, at best."

"How long have you trained with the sword?" Rean inquired, folding his arms in front of his chest with his own tachi attached to his side in its own sheath.

"Five or six years. I never went to any kind of schooling or anything. I'm mostly self-taught." That was another reason why she enrolled in the military academy, to hone her skills as a swordswoman.

"Ah…"

There was nothing wrong with being self-taught though there were things she would have undoubtedly not been able to learn on her own, which was where the academy came in. Many students had prior experience either via the way Melyssa had learned or through private tutors and lessons courtesy of their families and brought that knowledge with them. Considering this was a military academy, he imagined some prior knowledge and/or experience, or at least the aptitude, was something recruiters hunted for in their potential recruits.

"Perhaps you will spar with me one of these days, I could assess your skill level." And offer advice tailored just for her.

Goddess, here he goes, Crow thought without any malice as he plopped on the edge of his bed, fingering a pile of folded clothes as he watched Rean and Melyssa. Rean just couldn't help himself, he was overly… mother-henish and concerned about everyone.

Melyssa knew this would be an incredible opportunity to spar with a Divine Blade of the Eight Leaves and felt honored at the invitation. Saying something like it would be an honor probably wouldn't bode well with him, however. "I would appreciate any help you can give, Instructor." That sounded better and not so Monique-ish. "Don't say I didn't warn you about my amateur skill level, though." He was a Divine Blade and would demolish her in a sparring contest in no time flat, but…it would still be a great learning experience, nevertheless.

"Everyone has to start somewhere and from the way you carry yourself, I have no doubt that you are not an amateur." Rean said with a slight smile, bowing his head at Melyssa in acknowledgement of the compliment.

The back of Rean's neck was flushed, which meant he was embarrassed, he was such a sissy sometimes. "I'm not too bad with a sword." He offered with a cheeky grin. "I'm always up for giving out pointers to beautiful women."

"Aidios…" Rean muttered, then shook his head. "By the way, Melyssa," He made sure to emphasize her name. "You don't HAVE to call me instructor all the time. Rean is fine when we're not in class."

A double-saber wasn't the same as a Cutlass or tachi. It was in the sword family, however, and Melyssa wondered what it would be like to spar with Crow. He was probably even more entuned with sparring and fighting than Rean since he was older.

"I don't know if I'd be comfortable referring to you by just your name, Instructor."

This was the Ashen Chevalier and he was so…nice and friendly, not at all cocky or arrogant. On top of that name, he was also a Divine Blade. No, no she couldn't be casual with him, especially not on the first day of school. Maybe one day she would get to that point, possibly after graduation.

"Oh, how late is the training room open in the dorms?"

"It's accessible up until curfew." Rean answered, his shoulders drooping slightly at her insistence in calling him 'Instructor'.

However, he also understood she wasn't comfortable, he got that. He wouldn't push the issue and would just have to swallow the wince and flinches he'd probably do whenever he heard it from her after class hours. Poor Rean, he was stuck in this loop of being over-caring and wanting to be normal, but he was the Ashen Chevalier and royally screwed. Crow didn't have that problem at all, but he was more outgoing and inclined to not be cornered by his issues…like being polite and helpful.

"We can spar in here, Mely." He wasn't sure if he liked calling her that.

Melyssa could read people pretty well and could tell Rean was not comfortable being referred to as Instructor. "Thank you…Rean." That felt very weird to say as she grabbed her bathroom bag and slung it over her shoulder. It had her bath wear in it and, luckily, the bathing areas WERE designated for men and women separately. "Pick the time and place, Armbrust, I'll be more than happy to spar with you and your…double-saber." Winking, she headed out of the room to go take a much-needed bath, feeling a little more comfortable in her skin. Maybe having the Ashen Chevalier as an Instructor wasn't horrible, after all.

"So… she's interesting." Crow said once Melyssa had vacated the room. "Also, I get the point of the integration of the dorm rooms, but WHY are bathrooms still… as we all know, when in war, privacy is a luxury."

"You know, if not for the fact that I DO know you, I'd say you have a valid point. As it is, I do know YOU and I know your reasons aren't… polite."

"They are very polite." Crow was tempted to point out that Rean had interrupted what could have been a perfect getting to 'know you' moment with Melyssa, but didn't. "I'm not harassing her, promise."

Rean had to admit, it didn't look like Crow was up to his old tricks and nodded, deciding to give his friend and student the benefit of the doubt. "All right, all right, I believe you."

Even in the military, men and women bathed separately unless they were in the field somewhere. Every facility for the military had designated bathrooms and bathing areas, showers included. Now sleeping arrangements, on the other hand, were mixed genders. It was backwards the more Melyssa mulled it over in her head while she bathed, washing her body and hair in the steaming hot water. It felt amazing, truly, especially being in here alone. She had just stepped out of the bathing room, fully dressed once again, when Ash rounded the corner, a towel slung over his shoulder.

Was it rude to simply walk past him without saying a word? Melyssa felt no ill feelings toward him and they were classmates… "Hi." What else was she supposed to say to him? "Well goodnight."

Ash had opened his mouth to reply to her 'hi' and then she was dismissing him, his mouth spread into a wide grin at that, unsure of what else to do. He went with his usual fallback: he cracked a joke. "You don't have to rush off, you can stay and help me." He teased, unlike Crow he had no intentions of toning himself down for anyone and he would never pass up the opportunity to flirt, maybe even seduce, a beautiful maiden such as Melyssa. His pink eyes sparkled wickedly at the look that flickered across her face. "I could really use help getting my back." He was going to get slapped.

No. Filter. Melyssa shouldn't have been surprised and folded her arms in front of her chest. "Should've went with my gut instinct and said nothing. And I'm sure the water in there is hot enough to where you won't need to worry about your back. Trust me on that." She draped her wet hair over her shoulder, freshly brushed, but she would probably have to braid it before bed. "On another note, are you getting along with Monique or do you miss Armbrust yet?"

"Nope, and what does hot water have to do with a good back scrub, beautiful?" Ash asked, carelessly flipping his hair back off his forehead. Melyssa was getting annoyed, she was just great at hiding it, that or she had the patience of a saint. "You tired of Crow yet?" Considering Crow wasn't exactly a gentleman… maybe she was already hardened to the jokes and the flirting, that was no fun. His lips pursed into a half-pout at the thought of Crow already immunizing the new girl against their crap on the first day.

"And here I thought you were going to call me Mel. Now it's beautiful?" Melyssa chuckled, leaning against the wall and didn't look the least bit annoyed. In fact, amusement shimmered in her teal eyes while staring up at him. He was much taller than her and she couldn't begin to guess how tall, at least a couple reges. "No, Crow is fine. And you should invest in one of those long back scrubbers. I'm sure you can do a far better job than I ever could. Better get in there before the dorm is completely shut down for the night."

"I don't know, I think I'm willing to risk it since you're being gracious enough to allow me the presence of your company." Ash mimicked her stance and leaned into the wall as well, side pressed against it as he stared down at her intently. "You don't seem as tense as you were earlier." His mind automatically jumped to a lot of X-rated thoughts about how she had gotten relaxed, clearing his throat. Maybe it was time for that shower, maybe he'd also skip the hot water part and enjoy it just a smidge past lukewarm. "See you tomorrow, beautiful." Mel was nice and all, but… Beautiful suited her.

"It's a free day tomorrow, but I'm sure we'll see each other around either in town or on campus."

It was almost as if a lightbulb clicked in Ash's head and she grinned, waving at him before walking away to head back to her and Crow's room. Instructor Rean had left and Crow was on his bed, shirtless, with a book in hand. Melyssa immediately averted her gaze from him and made her way over to her bed, beginning to braid her hair like she wanted to. Once she finished, she changed into her night clothes, a shirt and pants, making sure not to show Crow anything in case he glanced over at her. Sliding under the blanket, she grabbed the student guidebook and began reading through it, wanting to familiarize herself with the school grounds, rules and anything else. In no time, her eyes closed and she was fast asleep with the book laying on top of her.

Crow had been watching from the corner of his eye, noticing how Melyssa had made sure to avoid him seeing even the slightest bit of skin. He had no such issues himself though he had mentally decided that he would not be sleeping in the nude anytime soon, as a courtesy to her. Also, Rean had pointed out that this integrated, progressive social experiment had several factors that contributed to its success. Such as not doing anything that might be consider sexual harassment. The teasing already border lined that, sleeping naked probably would be a nail in his own coffin. He had stripped down and changed into a pair of plain sleeping pants and once he was sure she was asleep, he rolled onto his side to shut off the lamp, dog earing his book and set it aside before laying on his back and folding his hands beneath his head.

Soon enough he was asleep as well, thoughts of the fishmonger's daughter drifting lazily in his mind.

Before the sun rose over the horizon, Melyssa was up, dressed and ready for the day, pinning her hair back in another tight bun. Crow slept peacefully and she caught herself staring at him for a minute or two, but luckily, he hadn't awoken. After making her bed, Melyssa grabbed her Cutlass and left the dorm with key in hand, heading downstairs to the training room. She was used to getting up this early to train in Jurai, so it wasn't foreign to her to be up at the crack of dawn. Unsheathing her Cutlass, she gently ran the tip of her finger over the blade and nodded, satisfied with how sharp it was. Her parry was off, so she proceeded to practice, thrusting her arm forward and back, along with her footwork. Both needed A LOT of work, including her striking angles, which to her were also poor.

For someone who was self-taught, she wasn't bad at all. Crow had informed him that her family apparently was in the fishing business, so Rean didn't really know if that would have afforded Melyssa the opportunity for private lessons or if she mimicked things she had seen. He noted her footwork and her blocking, she needed some pointers, but she definitely had the making of a proper warrior. Goddess forbid she ever actually need to apply her current skillset and future knowledge on the field, but… it WAS a military academy after all. They weren't teaching the students this stuff for nothing.

"May I join you?"

Naturally, she jumped at the sound of his voice and snapped her head to the side, breathing a little heavy with little beads of sweat on her forehead. "Instruct…" She stopped herself, clearing her throat and sheathed her Cutlass as Rean stepped inside, closing the door behind him. "Rean, I didn't see you standing there." How long had he been watching her? Usually, Melyssa could sense when someone was nearby, but she'd been so focused on training, she hadn't sensed another presence in the doorway. "Sure, if you want to." Free day, they weren't in school and he preferred to be called by his first name, so she would try to oblige him. One thing was certain, the Ashen Chevalier Divine Blade had a powerful aura about him that did not match his personality or attitude at all.

Since it was in theory an off day, Rean hadn't bothered in dressing in his instructor's uniform but instead had pulled on his trusty, comfortable old jeans and a black shirt, his equally comfortable brown boots on his feet. His Tachi was sheathed, for the moment, he had come to exercise and focus before breakfast and then found Melyssa practicing herself. He had been taking mental notes. Nodding, he walked towards her, each step confident until he stood opposite of her, one hand dropping to the hilt of his sword, fingers curving around it.

"We do have bokkens available." He said after a moment, referring to the wooden swords generally used when evaluating and sparring with newcomers.

"Bokkens aren't used in the battlefield and I'm comfortable sparring with our actual weapons, as long as you are." Unsheathing her Cutlass, Rean did the same with his tachi and she watched the stance he gave. There was no hesitation, no openings – it was flawless and perfect. Goddess be with me and help me get through this, she silently prayed, determination burning in her teal eyes. It was an honor and privilege to spar with a Divine Blade of the Eight Leaves.

"Begin!"

Their swords clashed together as they began moving around the room, Rean automatically getting the upper hand. Melyssa did her best to evade his attacks and focused on blocking, slashing at him a couple of times. They were easily evaded by Rean, but she showed temerity and strength in her own moves, not giving an inch, not giving up. Giving up would be the day she put her Cutlass down and walked away forever, which would never happen. Eventually, Rean struck her down and Melyssa dropped to her knees, admitting defeat after a long, hard sparring bout with her Instructor. The power this man possessed was uncanny and insane – she really did have a long way to go before she could even TOUCH him.

"I-I'm okay, I just need a minute…"