Chapter 11

The dancing club had really helped her footwork and she dropped into a split, allowing Ash to slash at the final monster, which was bigger than the others, before parrying it, killing it instantly. It was the final one and she felt somewhat vindicated, definitely better than earlier. Also, it was a relief to know she could link with Ash without any problems too. She wouldn't always be able to link with JUST Crow; everyone in Class VII was a team and it took teamwork and trust to be successful on the battlefield.

"Well, that was fun." She commented, turning to face her partner and watched Ash's scythe ax reel back in from the chain it was connected to. It really was a fascinating weapon, she'd never seen anything like it and it suited him.

"That was great!" Ash was running on adrenaline right now, his face flushed from the excitement of a good battle and he hadn't missed the way Melyssa's teal eyes had focused on his scythe axe. He smiled slightly, brushing sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand and walked towards her, lips parted slightly as he inhaled deeply. "You are fantastic, you know that, beautiful?" She was glowing practically, experiencing the same rush he was no doubt, and he had seen that split she had done without even thinking about it, just dropping down gracefully as he had come forward with the killing blow. "We work pretty good together, don't we?"

"Yeah, better than I thought we would, honestly." Melyssa beamed back at him, sheathing her Cutlass as the blue circles beneath them evaporated for the time being. They only appeared when the ARCUS II sensed danger in the area and they had vanquished what little monsters were around here. "You're not half bad yourself there, Carbide."

She had flushed at his enthusiastic compliment and wiped some of the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand, her breathing returning to normal. This man flourished in the battlefield and his eyes were alight with pink fire. It was breathtaking; Ash was a gorgeous man, tall, strong, arrogant, but something told Melyssa, if any of their classmates were in a pinch or in danger, he would have their backs in the blink of an eye. She didn't realize how right she was in thinking that because Ash had been the one to step up to try to help her and Crow yesterday, only for Rean to stop him, along with the others.

"Don't I know it, beautiful." Laughing, he winked one of those pink eyes down at her, reaching out to tuck a damp strand of hair that had gotten loose from her style back behind her ear. "I'm famished now, let me buy you dinner?" Was it dinnertime? Oh well, his stomach was hungry NOW and not about to wait. "Something besides cafeteria or dorm food." He didn't move away from her, though he did pull his hand back from her face, not about to push his luck just yet, not when she was still coming down from a battle high. The last thing he needed was her taking a hand, or something even more vital, off because he had gotten touchy feely at the wrong time. "What do you say?"

"Okay, but on one condition," Melyssa looped her arm through his, showing her playful side as well. "I'M buying you lunch since it's a little after noon. You did me a big favor coming out here to test the Combat Link with me, so this is the least I can do."

This was a great way to increase their bond and trust with each other as well by hanging out. She already had a pretty tight bond with Juna and Altina, not so much with Kurt, but she would get there eventually. Ash pretended to mull it over before reluctantly agreeing to the condition and he was rewarded with another brilliant smile from her.

"So, I'm curious, what club did you decide to join?" He liked to read a lot, so her guess would have been the Literature club.

"I will never tell."

It wasn't much of a secret that he was a book geek; he liked to read and his reading tastes were varied on a variety of topics. Most people when they initially found out were surprised that he liked to read, he didn't exactly give off the impression of a well-educated guy and he knew it. Holding out his elbow, Ash smiled down at her when she took it, the pair of them strolling back towards town together in a leisurely fashion.

"Are you feeling better about this field study?" He asked quietly, knowing the whole thing had gotten her dander up.

She sighed softly, the pensiveness returning to her face. "No, but…I'm going to have to face the music sooner or later."

Melyssa didn't know how or where to start when it came to telling Crow about their past together. They were kids, she was 10 and he was 13 when he left Jurai, but even with how young she was, her heart had gone with him. He was the reason why she had picked up the Cutlass and began following the way of the sword in the first place. It may have been at a young age, but a lot of others who followed the path she did started out as early as 6 years of age.

Rean, for example, started when he was 8-years-old in the Eight Leaves One Blade swordsmanship. It wasn't unheard of, but Crow was the main reason why she wanted to pursue the way of the sword, hoping one day she would cross paths with him. That was until she was 15, almost 16, and heard of his death, which made her train harder than she ever had in her life.

"It's happening whether I want it to or not, so I'll just have to grin and bear it. Now, where do you want to eat?" They had choices from vendors on the street to small diners and cafes.

Ash gave her the moment she was silently asking for, looking around the semi-busy streets and finally pointed to a tavern a bit tucked out of the way. Perfect place for some privacy; all the drunks wouldn't be in just yet, they'd still be out earning the coin for their ale. Ash guided the way inside, it wasn't a total derelict place, but no respectable lady would be caught here after dark. As it was, plenty of people, men and women, were enjoying lunch. Well, maybe four or five, enough to make it acceptable for Melyssa to be in here without fear of scandal as well as few enough to give them peace.

"Is this okay, beautiful?"

"Yeah, just remember I'm underage, so I can't drink like you."

Not yet anyway, but it would be soon since she turned 18…next week. Her birthday. They would be in Jurai for her birthday. Melyssa had completely forgotten about it until now, immediately pushing that thought to the side for the moment. Ash simply winked down at her as they picked a booth near the back of the tavern and took their seats. The place had a calm ambiance about it, but she had a feeling at night, it was bustling with a lot of drunks.

"So, why won't you tell me what club you joined? Are you ashamed of it or something?" She asked, after their order was taken.

Ash had ordered two pints, nobody was going to question her, not with him and rules were meant to be tweaked, bent and broken anyway. Melyssa hadn't questioned it, she was probably assuming they were both for him. "The Literature Club, as you assumed, if you really, really must know." He pushed his chair back to give his legs some breathing room, crossing one ankle over the other. "I considered Student Council, but…" He grinned when she snorted, drumming his fingers on the tabletop. "My thoughts exactly. I wasn't really interested in any of the clubs, but since I like to read," He shrugged nonchalantly. "It seemed the best fit."

"I figured that was the one you'd choose, or be forced to choose." It was mandatory or else he wouldn't have joined anything, more than likely. "You don't have club today?" Most of the clubs did their activities and whatnot on the free days since the rest of the week was booked with classes. Some had their meetings after school too, but for the most part, they waited until the free days for the longer sessions.

"Later on tonight. I may or may not attend, don't know yet."

"I see." The pints were set down before them and she immediately pushed hers across the table toward him, shaking her head. "Ash, I said I'm underage and you could get in big trouble for giving me alcohol." She chastised softly, watching him roll those pink eyes and dropped her own to the peanut she grabbed, cracking it open.

"I'll get a slap on the wrist, maybe my butt cheek if it's a saucy wench and you'll be reprimanded for allowing me to influence you in such wicked ways." Ash drained his pint with gusto, licking away the foam residue left behind on his upper lip. He did it slowly, however, winking when she glanced at him. "Here." He nudged the small menu towards her. "Nothing major, but it's all good." Most pubs didn't serve a full-scaled menu because it wasn't the point of a pub; this one had basics and they were all delicious. Unless you were drinking copious amounts, then they were coming right back up. "Other than you wanting to improve your swordsmanship, was there any other club you had considered besides dance?" Not that he would argue that it hadn't been a good idea, she was light and graceful on her feet.

"Not really, no. I was actually considering helping the Student Council, believe it or not, before…well…" Melyssa recalled her first sparring session with Rean, where he had recommended dance club to her to work on her footwork. "Instructor Rean told me about it, said it could help me with my footwork. He sparred with me and…I took him up on the recommendation." She sounded begrudging, the tone of her voice, wishing it hadn't been Rean who guided her toward the dance club. Getting help from the Ashen Chevalier, the meddler was more like it, didn't set well with her anymore. Crushing another peanut, she dropped the shells in the nearby ashtray before popping some more in her mouth. "Hate admitting it, but he was right and it has helped my footwork a lot."

"Rean's not a bad guy, he's just interfering and overly helpful, even when you don't want him to be." As Melyssa had discovered and from the looks of those poor peanut shells, she really, really wished Rean was less helpful. "Actually, everyone is interfering, me included." He admitted, pausing a moment to give the server his order and waited while she did the same before continuing. Ash had been the first one to initially rush to try helping out Melyssa and Crow during that battle when they couldn't link up. "I think it comes from everything that happened over the war, and all of us having to work and fight together." He knew it did, that forged bonds, and apparently made them all interfering, mother-henning biddies.

"And I'm the outsider none of you really know, so you're being cautious about it." Melyssa added in a mutter, hating how they all had these tight, strong bonds with each other and she had been planted in Class VII: Special Operations as a stranger. "I understand it, I really do and I know Rean is only looking out for Crow's best interest. They're best friends and that blurs the lines between their friendship and being Crow's Instructor." It was a good and bad thing; there was a lot of grey area when it came to Crow since he was older than Rean and more experienced. "BUT thanks to his meddling, he's now opened up a whole slew of trouble for me and he doesn't even realize it."

That intrigued Ash. "What do you mean?"

"Let's just say I'm not as innocent as you may think and the way I came to Thors is…unconventional." Melyssa had a rebellious streak a mile long and she didn't want to return to Jurai until she had proven herself at Thors to her family.

"Oh no, you opened that can of worms yourself, so you have to spill." Ash ordered when it looked like she might shut up again. Nobody says things like that unless they WANT at least SOMEONE to know about it. "How'd you get into Thors? It's a pretty straight forward process. You're recruited, apply, paperwork is signed, you come… how'd you manage to screw that up, beautiful?" He wasn't sure if she was biting her lip because she wasn't sure if she should tell him, or if she was amused, maybe a little bit of both. "Out with it you saucy little minx, what'd you do?"

It was both. Both amusement and uncertainty mixed. "I don't know if I should tell you, Carbide. You might go spread it all over campus and then I'd have to have that one on one session with you the hard way." She smirked, popping a peanut in her mouth and leaned back against her chair, folding her arms in front of her chest. Ash stood up and moved his chair over to sit beside her, towering over her just like he did when they stood face to face. "Are you trying to intimidate me? Because I regret to inform you, it's not working in your favor." Teal eyes were locked on intense pink and they were BOILING with curiosity as his arm wrapped around her chair to press her closer to him. "Want a peanut?"

"Nope, do you want a nut?" He shot back with a cheeky wink, his entire body posture nothing except relaxed, nothing intimidating about it.

He knew he was a big man, tall especially, but unless he was royally angry, he knew he didn't come across as intimidating to most people. Probably because he was always cracking jokes and grinning lewdly. It was hard taking a young adult seriously when they were prone to spouting off about tits and asses.

"I think you already know I won't go spreading it all over canvas, Melyssa," For all his many faults and how he teased her, he was probably also the most observant when it came to her, which was weird.

"Why do you want to know so badly? Why do you care?" All joking aside, they were two serious questions and that uncertainty was back in her eyes again.

"Because this shit has been bottled up inside of you for a while and it's not good to keep it locked up. Besides, you wanted to build trust with me and bond, right?" Ash shot back, taking a swig of the second beer that was supposed to be hers. "You're a comrade and having you in distress isn't good for the class as a whole. I'd be doing the same damn thing with Juna and Altina if they were as torn up as you are."

Would confiding in Ash really be that bad? Her eyes lowered from his to look down at her clasped hands in her lap, knowing he made sense. "I didn't get in illegally, if that's what you're wondering. It was just…unconventional." Ash remained quiet, allowing her time to muster up the courage to tell him the truth. "My parents forbade me from coming to the academy. They said it was too dangerous and a proper lady should get married, have a family and stay at home. They wanted me to help run the fishing company they've ran in Jurai for the better part of 50 years." They really were fishmongers. "I started training with my Cutlass at age 10 and I didn't stop, no matter what my parents said or thought. I trained myself because they refused to let me get a proper trainer for swordsmanship. They were completely against it and I fought them tooth and nail, refusing to give up what I wanted to do in life. The way of the sword has been my passion for the better part of 7 years and when I told them I wanted to come to Thors to expand and hone my skills, they said no. They denied me. So…I ran away from Jurai and I haven't been back in over a year. I had outside help to make it into Thors, after I applied, with costs and whatnot and…that's pretty much the story." Slowly looking up at him, Melyssa saw the shock registered on Ash's face and she couldn't help giggling, though it came out more nervous than amused.

It took Ash a long moment before that kind of settled in and then comprehension dawned on his face. Mirth filled his eyes as the corners of his lips turned up into an amused grin. "So, you forged your parent's signatures to get in?" Melyssa shook her head and Ash raised an eyebrow, now he was REALLY curious. "Okay, how'd you get into Thors? Who was the outside help?" The server was on her way back with their food, so he moved his chair, a little, giving them some space between each other but he didn't return to his original spot. "Not going to tell me, are you?" Man, she was going to be in for it when she returned to Jurai and by chance ran into her folks.

"Nope, I can't tell you or anyone. I have been sworn to secrecy and I won't go back on my word." No matter what, Melyssa would not betray her outside help and focused on the delicious burgers heading their way. "At least you know a little more of the mystery, though. Now, it's time to eat."

Picking up her burger, Melyssa dug in with gusto, a lot hungrier than she thought. Between dance club and then going out on that training session with Ash, with just a small breakfast consumed, she was practically ravenous. However, she didn't scarf her food either and had to admit, the tavern was amazing.

Yeah, yeah, yeah… he inwardly thought, helping himself to his own burger. He got it though, she had promised someone to not spill about involvement and he wasn't going to press her on that. Melyssa had already struck him as someone who was fairly honorable and he'd let this 'mystery' go. Besides, now that people knew that there was something going on, they would figure it out themselves eventually or go digging for clues. Ash would just sit back and watch it all unfold.

"Here, wench."

He tossed a linen napkin at her, using his own to blot his mouth. Delicious but messy, and just the right amount of grease. Nothing that was dripping down his hands, but he could taste the deliciousness they had fried the meat in. As promised, Melyssa made sure to pay for the meal with her own mira, including the two beers and water, before they made their way out of the tavern.

"I don't know about you, but I feel a lot better after that." Lighter too, for her. Some of the weight was lifted from her shoulders after confessing part of the reason why she was afraid of going back to Jurai again. "Now, I'm going to give you a hug and I don't want any funny business. Just hug me back." Wrapping her arms around his torso, Melyssa gave him a squeeze and pulled back, nodding at him. "Thank you for today. Really. Go enjoy the rest of your free day, I've taken up more than enough of your time."