Chapter 41

Crow did not like the 'new' Rean and it had only been a few hours.

Rean had informed them all of how things were going to go down and the tone of voice he had used had made it clear he wasn't playing around. When Juna had spoken up to protest, Rean for the first time, as an Instructor, had disciplined a student. Emma had really gotten under his skin and Crow knew the part of Rean's nature that was concerned for everyone was going to take the criticism to heart, thinking that being friends with them was doing them a disservice, as well as potentially, putting them in danger. Emma was a jerk. Mostly because when Crow had gone to Rean to ask him if the joke was over, Rean had given him the flattest look and said it wasn't a joke.

Juna kept her mouth shut for the rest of the day, not believing Rean had actually disciplined her by making her do 100 pushups in front of everyone. Then, she had to write an apologetic letter to HIM, which was even more humiliating. That was the last time she opened her mouth and expressed how she truly felt to their Instructor. He was no longer their friend, thanks to HIS witch friend for sticking her nose in their business.

Juna hated Emma with a passion.

Rean had come to Melyssa after a few hours and told her she would be joining them for the excursion that night. She had nodded, told him she understood and that was that. No joking around or anything – Rean was all business. Melyssa kept to herself for the rest of the day and hung out with her mother, who stayed in the kitchen. Her mother was very upset with the way Juna had spoken to her and Melyssa assured her it was all right and not to worry about it. Then, she went back outside on the outskirts of Jurai, alone, to do some self-training. Even though Rean instructed everyone to relax, this was her way of doing so. She really missed her dance class, so she also did some of that as well, practicing what she'd learned thus far from it and watching her footwork. Tonight, her father would be rescued and brought back home, or rather, as close to home as they could get since their actual home had been ransacked and turned upside down.

Emma, for the most part, was proud of herself for opening Rean's eyes and making him realize, as an Instructor, he could not be a friend, especially in a tense, dangerous situation like this. She didn't care if Crow was upset with her or not. All that mattered was that Rean was finally being the Instructor she knew he could be and she was proud of him.

Joke was on Emma, Rean didn't care if she was proud of him or not, regardless of their past. He knew most of Class VII was expecting this 'mood' to dissipate and drop once this mission was over and he knew it couldn't. It had to be this way, for their own sakes. He followed Melyssa out to the woods, frowning as he watched her practicing.

"I said to relax." He informed her curtly, folding his arms over his chest. "You'll wear yourself out before tonight and be of no use to anyone, Melyssa." Which would give people like Juna another reason to go off and then he'd have to force her to do five hundred push-ups, after tonight because he didn't want to wear HER out.

Whatever Emma had said to him had completely changed Rean. Telling him this was how she did relax wouldn't bode well, so she just sheathed her weapon and nodded. "My apologies, Instructor. You are right and I want to be at my best tonight. I'll just sit out here, if you don't mind and relax." Her tone was even, not callous or sarcastic. Just obedient to a fault and just to prove she would do as he instructed, she sat down in the grass and drew her knees up, wearing leggings beneath the skirt she had on. The pendant around her neck felt like a weight, but she would leave it on until they returned to Leeves since it was meant to protect her in dangerous times.

"No, you'll come back and assuage your mother who is worried about you, as is Crow and Ash." Rean's heart broke at the sight of her sitting there, but he kept his face composed in a neutral expression. "Besides, you're giving them more to gossip and gripe about." By them, he meant Juna and anyone who was foolish enough to agree with her logic. "If you hide away and let them see you are bothered by their words, it makes what they say seem true to the others. You need to carry on as you always have, Melyssa." With your head up high like the warrior I know you are, he mentally pleaded, unaware that plea was now being conveyed in his fuchsia eyes as he stared down at her.

I don't give a damn about the gossip and they can gripe about me all they want, Melyssa thought, knowing she had no choice except to obey her Instructor's orders and stood up from the grass, dusting herself off. "As you wish, Instructor." She already spent time with her mother and wouldn't be able to stop her from worrying. That was just the type of person her mother was. I'm not hiding away, I just want to be alone, but apparently, that's a crime too.

Melyssa walked past him out of the clearing and back to Jurai, to the warehouse, not waiting for Rean to walk back with her. Keeping their distance was the best way to get through this and she already planned on resigning from Class VII as soon as they were back at the Branch School. Hopefully, she'd be placed in a different class, one that actually trusted her and didn't give her so many personal issues.

"You can't run away, you know." Ash stated conversationally when Melyssa came inside. He drew her to the side, seeing her shoulders slump and tugged her down onto the couch, draping his arm along the back of it until his fingers traced the back of her neck. "All it'll do is make them think they're right and they're not." He bent down, brushing his head against hers. "Also I would miss you something terrible and you would miss me too."

Did Ash still trust her though? "I'm not running away." Not yet anyway.

Truthfully, she would miss him too. He was the LAST person she ever thought she would befriend and have a connection with because of his crude personality. However, Melyssa also HATED how well he could read her, like now, and she couldn't lie to him, even if her life depended on it.

"But if I DID run away, yeah, I'd miss you too." She conceded, leaning her head against his and draped her arm across his stomach, not minding his fingers on the back of her neck. It felt good and comforting, at least she had one person in class on her side. "I'm curious," She pulled her head back enough to look up into his pink eyes. "Why exactly would you miss me, Carbide?"

"First of all, if you say you're not thinking of dropping Class VII, you're a liar. The others may not be able to see it or read you, but I can." Ash would never fully understand why they knew each other so well, but they did. They hadn't even known each other that long, but they just got each other, it was interesting but also refreshing. "Second, I'd miss you because you're the only woman I enjoy talking to normally." The rest… he was a bit sexist and he knew it, but he tended to see sex when he looked at most 'normal' women. Ash did have the utmost respect for warriors and knew they'd take his head off if given half a chance for running his mouth.

"I hate how well you can read me." Some people just gelled really well together and they did. Their personalities were completely different, but somehow, she connected on a higher level with Ash than anyone else in her life, Crow included. "I just don't want to make anyone uncomfortable. I shouldn't even be in Class VII. I was planted in it for this plan of Ouroboros. I thought it was weird how I was the only first year to be put in Class VII and now I know why." She lowered her eyes from him while she spoke, fingering the starry pendant thoughtfully. "I…don't think I belong here, at least not in this class, Ash." Melyssa kept her voice down to where only he could hear her since there wasn't any privacy, no walls to walk or hide behind.

Juna hated her and didn't trust her a lick, Altina had kept her feelings to herself, Kurt hadn't said a word or voiced any kind of opinion and Crow…Crow hadn't said anything to her either that entire day. Ash and Emma were the only ones who reached out to her to talk. Rean ordered her to come back or else she still would've been out there, practicing and wearing herself out before tonight.

"You may not think so, but you'd probably be the only one."

"If you really shouldn't be in Class VII, if you didn't have the potential, Rean would have seen to it on the very first day that you were removed." Ash informed her chidingly. "You have people who believe in you, Melyssa, now it's time to believe in yourself. Don't let what Juna said get you down." He tugged on a lock of her hair, smiling impishly. "Besides, you know Crow don't think so, he's been arguing with everyone who dares say anything against you. Him getting his memories back seems to be a good thing for you two." His pink eyes studied her thoughtfully. "Was it? A good thing?"

"For him, yeah. I mean, I'm happy he got them back and I'm sure more will surface the longer we're here…" Melyssa didn't know how to explain what happened with Crow and wasn't sure this was the best time to do so. It seemed they were being left alone to talk and she trusted Ash explicitly. "It just…didn't work out the way I hoped, I guess. But it's okay. I know now how he feels about me and we can move on and continue to be friends." Ash nudged her, his way of ordering her to stop beating around the bush and tell him what happened. "He asked me yesterday morning to kiss me again, to do it over, and we ended up doing it last night, after we linked up successfully…and he called me his sister. He doesn't think of me as anything except a sister." Then, she had to deal with being berated by Juna this morning, on top of everything else that had been thrown her way the past couple of days. "Please don't say anything about this. I'm only telling you because I trust you."

Ash hadn't said anything to anyone else about the Twin Dragons tower incident and he wouldn't say anything about this new bit of information either. "Maybe kissing you wasn't… the same as it had been at the tower." He said after a moment, keeping his voice down. "He didn't have his memories then… and now that he does…" He imagined the first kiss had been exciting and Crow had been hoping to feel that again and whatever else, not the sister part. That was gross.

"It does make sense, as much as I hate admitting it. We were raised together and he even used to call my Mom his Mom. My Dad his Dad. I just…I guess I missed him so much for so long that maybe my feelings got mixed up as well. I didn't feel weird like he did when we kissed either of the times, but he did on both occasions. It just wasn't meant to be." Melyssa would never get that first kiss back either. That memory would always be with Crow, a man who thought of her a sister and nothing more. "Anyway, what's done is done and I just need to focus on saving my Dad and my city. I'll deal with everything else once we're back in Leeves."

"You need to remember that you don't have to deal with it alone." Ash reminded her, tapping his fingers against her forehead with a click of his tongue. "As for our new Rean…"

He wasn't overly amused with the very sudden, abrupt change in their friend, but he knew Emma's words had stung something deep in Rean. Rean would view it as he wasn't teaching them all properly, or making sure they would be able to survive, if he wasn't playing Instructor but friend. Friends didn't always make the right decision. Emma was a jerk.

"Once he gets his own issues sorted, he'll find that balance again, though I think he'll probably be like this if we ever do another rescue mission again. Emma got in his head as only she can."

"She told me she…snapped, in her own way, earlier this morning when she came outside to talk to me. I'm not sure how to feel about his change in demeanor and attitude, but…it is what it is."

Melyssa had NOT divulged how she felt for their Instructor and would take that to the grave. Not even Ash would know that information and she would give no inclination she felt more for Rean other than friendship. It would never work between them anyway and she really didn't need to feel rejected twice.

"I DID hear about what he did to Juna, though." Was it wrong she felt a hint of pleasure at Juna's humiliation and discipline? Probably. Melyssa didn't care; the pink haired woman made it clear they weren't friends and she didn't trust Melyssa. "Would you hate me if I decided to transfer to another class after this is over, Ash? Could we still be friends?"

"Sure, and no I wouldn't hate you." Ash mulled it over, knowing what he was about to say was going to make him sound like a royal asshole, but he was willing to take that risk. He had always been honest with her and he wasn't about to change that up now, not when so many other things had rapidly changed in Melyssa's hectic life. "I'll probably respect you less." He informed her, his face serious and he didn't miss the hurt that flashed through her teal eyes. "I think whatever reasons you have for transferring… aren't good enough and you shouldn't make decisions today of all days. Wait until after tonight and after things settle down."

Ouch. That did hurt to hear, especially from Ash, a lot more than she cared to admit. "You're right. I don't need to be thinking about this right now."

One thing about Ash was he never sugarcoated anything with her and told her the truth flat out. It was one of the things she respected most about him, aside from his amazing combat ability. It was just after 1 PM and she hadn't gotten a lot of sleep the previous night, so when she fell asleep against Ash, nobody batted an eyelash. He didn't move either, instead lifting her to sit sideways on his lap with her head resting on his shoulder.

Her mother had come over with a blanket to drape over them and kissed her daughter's forehead, whispering to Ash a quick 'thank you' before heading back into the kitchen. If Miranda didn't know any better, she would have thought Ash Carbide had feelings for her daughter, just from the way he held her against him and talked to her. They definitely had a tight bond, a connection, and she hoped Ash treated Melyssa right because she did deserve to be happy.

Rean, outside of instructing his students, kept to himself. He lay in his bed, ate, and outwardly appeared to be doing the same thing he had told them all: relaxing. His mind wasn't letting that happen, even when he closed his eyes. He felt like dirt. Not with Juna. Juna had deserved her punishment and then some for sowing dissent the way she had. A lot of them had betrayed someone at one point or another, and yet they all had been given second chances.

Melyssa hadn't done a thing wrong other than keep a promise, it was her timing that had been terrible, but even then, it hadn't warranted the scrutiny she had received. Her mistake had been her loyalty, he knew how that went, he had always believed in Crow, even when Crow had turned on them. But here they were now, best friends. Well, former… or however this worked and Rean groaned, kneading his forehead.

Tonight wasn't coming fast enough.