Trails of Blood and Steel

by ultimatedbzmaniac

The Blood and Iron Chancellor, Giliath Osborne. The Debaucherous Prince, Olivert Reise Arnor. The board is set; the players are ready. Caught between these titans, Class VII are forced to serve as pieces in their game. However, three of these pieces: Rean Schwarzer, Fie Claussell, and Crow Armbrust; are not content simply being used. No, they would make this game their own.

3. Settling In

Jose19: Yeah, I know, and quite frankly, I don't care. I can't stand the Rean and Alisa pairing, like at all. For me it's Rean and Fie, or bust, with the exception of a harem option. I'm actually fine with Alisa as a character, but I absolutely loathe the idea of her and Rean together. I've played and beaten most of the games, so I really don't see why you mentioned it in the first place, to be honest.

Tsyne-Oblivion: Oh believe me, I feel you there, all too well, in fact. I picked the first Trails up sometime in December 2015, beat it in about a week, yeah, I was on it non-stop, and finished it with the Fie ending. And...well, tears were shed, that is all I shall disclose. It was torture waiting nine months to pick up the sequel, it really, truly was. Especially with the subsequent playthroughs. Yeah, if the game had played out without that pairing in mind, it's just my opinion of course, but I think it would have been just a bit better. Though I am biased, as I really just can't stand the Rean and Alisa pairing. Anyway, I digress.

8Swords: Why, thank you! I will always do my best to keep them in character, that said, I might have a few...alternate interpretations, to how certain characters would react in certain situations. Whether the few of you reading this will share those interpretations or not, well, we shall see, eventually.

I see, thanks for the input on that. And I apologize if that irked you, or anyone else for that matter, as I'm just used to doing it. Most likely because reading each character's name over and over again when they say or do something seems a little repetitive, at least from my perspective. If no one is bothered by it, then I suppose there's no harm in just using their names each time. That said, do you've any alternatives to suggest that might hit the sweet spot between those two methods?

Yes, I suppose it has. I'll put the joke to rest...for now. XD

I concur with that assessment, and besides those, there will be other battles thrown into the mix that never occurred, or happened in a different way, place and or time. Also, yes, I will be doing CS II, as well as III, and IV.

Apex85: Well, in my opinion, at least, it's because they had only known each other for a handful of hours, and that's being generous, and that he was already steamed with Jusis. I'm glad you feel that way. Also, I saw that you're the one who directed ZealousSiren to my story, which is how I, in turn, found his story. So, I thank you, my friend. :)

Good, cause I've most definitely got some good ones planned. Or, well, I think they're good anyway.

Both, actually. For some chapters I'll be filling out the days in between, others I'll be skipping to a day or two before the field study.

Yes, I do. The members of each group, for every field study, will be altered by at least two members, if everything goes according to plan.

RedBurningDragon: Thank you. They will get new moves and a variation or two of some of their original ones, most likely. The Tales series? As far as I aware, there aren't any entries in the Legend Of Heroes franchise with the word tales in the title, so, um...yeah, I don't know. Sorry.

ZealousSiren: Good, I'm glad, also, thank you. And trust me, I have every intention of making bigger changes as I move forward, it's just a matter of time is all.

Before we get into it, I'd like to thank, as I said before, those that reviewed, but also those that have added this to their favorites and or alerts since the last chapter. So, thank you Tsyne-Oblivion, dougcupcake, Yuuto2, RedBurningDragon and ZealousSiren!

UPDATE

As with the prologue, this has been rewritten and cleaned up. There are additional scenes, some of which are important for establishing character relationships in future chapters.

The first chapter begins. Please read, review, and enjoy.

---

ACT I - CHAPTER I - PART I

...

Septian Calendar 1204
4/5 - Monday

Fie descended the steps to the first floor of the dorm, yawning as she reached the bottom.

Once there, she took notice of those in the common area.

Rean, Machias, Elliot, and Gaius all sat on the sofas on either side of the table. Rean, newspaper in hand, was reading, while Machias, Elliot, and Gaius were conversing amongst themselves.

Rean, of course, was the first to acknowledge her presence, undoubtedly having sensed her at some point. "Good morning, Fie." He lifted his head from his paper to greet her.

"Morning." She returned the greeting with another yawn.

The other three looked toward her then, all wishing her good morning as well.

She simply nodded at them, before walking over to join them.

Gaius, who sat on Rean's right, stood up and, without a word, switched seats, sitting next to Elliot.

Fie took his place, scooching in beside her childhood friend.

The silver-haired maiden offered a nod of gratitude to the nord teen, recognizing the fact that he'd moved so as to allow her to sit with the raven-haired swordsman: Machias was already sitting on his left, preventing her from sitting there.

The exchange student just gave her a small smile.

This earned the two confused looks from Elliot and Machias, until, after a few seconds, it clicked and they understood. They still saw it as a tad odd, but let it go and returned to their conversation.

"As I was saying, it appears as though word of what happened on that train last week has gotten around." The bespectacled youth got back on topic.

"Yeah, I know. Everywhere I go, Class VII is all everyone is talking about." The orange-haired boy stated. "At least among the students, anyway. I've heard some of the people in town mention us, but not nearly as much." He affixed to his statement.

"From what I understand, you guys stopped some mercenaries from robbing the train you arrived in. Unless you five were the only students riding that day, it's highly likely they caught your names or recognized you after the fact, and it got spread around as a result." Gaius postulated.

"That was my thought process." Machias concurred.

"People were already going to be curious about us since we're the new class, but now, it's like everyone's eyes are on us." Elliot commented.

...

Fie tuned them out, as she gazed over at what Rean was doing. "What are you reading?" She asked him.

"This week's Imperial Chronicle." He answered her without missing a beat, turning to the next page.

That got the other three's attention.

"Picking up the new issue slipped my mind yesterday. Anything interesting?" Machias questioned.

"Not much, really. That said, there actually is a small article about us." The Schwarzer heir answered.

"Wait, us?" Elliot needed some clarification.

"The five of us who were on the train. Though, they don't actually mention us by name. They just refer to us as new students attending Thors, who assisted in thwarting a train robbery." Rean elaborated.

"Makes sense. No one has come to interview you, so they don't have permission to use your names, right?" Gaius reasoned.

"Did you find out who they were?" Fie inquired.

"I did, actually." Rean replied.

"You did? Did one of them say something when Emma and I took those passengers to the last car?" Machias queried.

"I certainly didn't hear them say anything about who they were." The orange-haired boy remarked.

"No, I spoke with one of the RMP. He was kind enough to let me know." The Schwarzer heir told them.

"Sounds like he was breaking protocol." The bespectacled youth said.

"RMP?" The foreign exchange student repeated the acronym with confusion.

"They're supposedly the most elite unit in the whole of the Imperial Army." Elliot informed the foreigner.

"He said it wasn't a serious violation, so he'd only get a slap on the wrist. I tried to tell him I'd rather him not stick his neck out for me like that, but he insisted." The swordsman recounted.

"So, who were they?" The nord spearman asked.

"A group called Bugbear. Jaeger dropouts, as it turns out." Rean responded.

"Guess you were right on the mira about them not being real jaegers, huh?" Elliot mentioned.

"They were...less than impressive, to be honest. So it really wasn't that hard to figure it out." The black-haired boy admitted.

"They were kind of scary, but when armed and aggressive, I suppose anyone can be intimidating." The meek orange-haired teen opined.

"You know, I've been thinking about what happened for a while now, and something's been bothering me." Machias interjected, getting all eyes on him. "They were obviously using the robbery as a sort of smokescreen. They were clearly there to kidnap Alisa. What I've yet to work out is, why?"

"I heard Alisa tell some of those RMP soldiers that her family is wealthy when they asked her something similar, before taking her for medical treatment. Maybe they just wanted a ransom." Elliot presumed.

"But why go through the hassle? They were already going to be walking away with plenty of mira due to the robbery. They had to have known the RMP would show up eventually. So why take the risk?" Machias pondered out loud.

"Perhaps they were after more than mira?" Gaius propounded.

Rean kept quiet from that point on, even as the other three boys discussed the subject in detail; he felt as if he'd said enough on the matter. Besides, he had his own thoughts on the matter.

'I've thought this over since that day: she calls herself Alisa R, comes from a wealthy family, and the most telling fact, Bugbear were absolutely sure they could make a name for themselves just by kidnapping her, then ransoming her back to her family. I don't have any solid proof, but my guess is she's a Reinford.' The swordsman privately theorized.

...

"We'd better get going. It's almost time for homeroom."

Rean was pulled from his thoughts at the sound of Machias' voice.

"What? But we've got nearly twenty minutes left." Elliot contended with a look of confusion.

"A good student should always arrive five minutes early and ready to learn." Machias asserted with zeal.

"S-Seriously?" Elliot was somewhat incredulous, and honestly a tad overwhelmed by his friend's apparent dedication to school.

Rean and Gaius couldn't help but chuckle at the bespectacled youth's sudden fervor.

Fie just yawned again.

After a little back and forth, mainly between Machias and Elliot, the five were off to class.

---

Class VII were seated in their classroom, waiting for homeroom to begin.

They occupied nine of the ten desks allotted to them, which were lined up in two rows. From left to right, the front row consisted of: an empty seat, Alisa, Emma, Machias, and Elliot. Similarly, the back row was comprised of: Laura, Fie, Rean, Gaius, and Jusis.

At the front of the class was a large green chalkboard, and the teacher's desk, which their instructor currently stood behind.

"Okay kids, today, you need to pick your class representatives, more specifically, who's going to be class president and vice president, respectively." Sara notified her students. "You've got until the end of homeroom to decide, so talk among yourselves, take a vote, doesn't really matter to me." She was rather blithe as she let them know this.

"Could you please try to be a little more serious about this?" Machias spoke up, clearly annoyed at her behavior. "You are our instructor, after all. You shouldn't treat the matters of this class so cavalierly."

"Don't go getting your panties in a bunch; this is hardly the big deal you're making it out to be. It's just everyday school stuff, nothing special." The buxom young woman dismissed his complaint with a wave of her hand.

"That's not the point!" The bespectacled boy insisted, a touch aggravated.

"You're supposed to be the adult here." Alisa piped up in agreement with her classmate, tone accusatory.

"I don't know why you guys are treating this like such a big deal. It's not like you need supervision or guidance for something so trivial. So just get to it, and I'll just...I dunno, stand here, I guess?" Sara had clearly not thought about what she would do with the time this afforded her.

Machias groaned, Alisa sighed, and Jusis scoffed, all pretty much in tandem.

"She has a point. This is something we can easily decide amongst ourselves." Laura commented.

"The concept of class representatives is unknown to me." Gaius admitted. "What does being the class president entail, exactly? What are their duties? Or the vice president, for that matter?" He put forth an open inquiry to his classmates, gaining their attention.

...

After a discussion regarding the responsibilities of the class president and vice president, they finally broached the subject at hand: who should they be?

"To begin with, it would be for the best if we determined who wanted the position." Emma stated.

"What about you, Rean?" Elliot looked back at his friend as he spoke. "Would you be up for it?" He asked.

"I don't think Rean would be the best choice." The words flowed from Alisa's mouth before she could stop them. She'd spoken without thinking; her words weren't necessarily malicious, but they were openly doubtful of the swordsman. 'Crap, I shouldn't have said that out loud.'

This earned the blonde girl a few curious looks, some quirked eyebrows courtesy of Machias and Jusis, and a confused expression from Elliot.

Fie gave the archer the side-eye; she did not appreciate that remark.

Rean just laughed it off. "Haha. I have to agree with Alisa on this one, I don't think I'd be very suited to the role."

"Okay, then we can cross Rean off the list." The bespectacled girl acknowledged their opinions.

"You can count me out too. There's no way I'd be able to handle it on top of course work and my orbal staff reports." The timid orange-haired boy told them.

"I certainly wouldn't mind doing it, however, my lack of knowledge would likely be a hindrance. As such, I believe I would be underqualified." Gaius preemptively opined.

"Would you consider filling the role, Jusis?" Emma queried.

"I have zero interest." Jusis responded bluntly. "However, I will, if I must." He added as an afterthought.

"Alisa?" The bespectacled brunette spoke her friend's name, prompting her.

"Oh, I mean, I suppose I could if I had to, but I'm not sure I'd be the best pick, honestly." The blonde archer replied.

Emma turned to Fie then, but, before she could say anything, the silver-haired girl fixed her a dull, half-lidded stare.

The message was received loud and clear: absolutely not.

"Would you consider it, Emma? You'd make a great class president, in my opinion." Alisa commented.

"Oh, that would be fine. I'd be more than happy to do it." Emma said.

"Then we've all but made our decision." Laura remarked. "I do not desire the designation, myself. Thus, our potential candidates have been reduced to four. Alisa, Jusis, Emma, and Machias."

Machias took that as his cue to interject. "I would like to volunteer for the position. I would fulfill my duties as class president to the utmost of my ability."

...

In the end, it came down to a vote between Machias and Emma.

"Okay then, all in favor of Machias for class president?" Alisa prompted the class.

To Machias' shock and chagrin, not a single person raised their hand.

The result was rather obvious at that point, but the blonde archer continued anyway. "All in favor of Emma for class president?"

Seven hands went up.

Despite himself, Machias couldn't quite quash the small amount of humiliation he felt at the unanimous vote. 'Not a single one of my classmates, not even my friends, voted for me?' The thought was upsetting to the dedicated academic, and he lowered his head.

"All in favor of Machias for class vice president?"

That was Rean's voice; Machias raised his head.

He was incapable of repressing his dumbfounded reaction, as he saw the eight raised hands. "W-Wh-What?"

"Did you not expect to be picked for vice president?" Alisa questioned.

"I'm sorry that it's not quite the position you wanted." Emma said kindly.

"Don't get us wrong, we're sure you'd make a great class president." Elliot reassured his friend.

"We recognize that you're more than qualified for the position. We simply thought that, of the two of you, Emma would keep the cooler head." Gaius explained.

"Honestly, I would have voted for you if just weren't so severe about nobles." Rean informed him.

Fie didn't say anything, but the fact that she'd raised her hand was enough.

"You're decorum leaves much to be desired in regards to interacting with nobility." Jusis bluntly apprised.

"One of the class president's duties is working with the other class' representatives, including those from Class I and Class II." Laura pointed out.

"And considering how you are around nobles, we thought that would make things pretty difficult for you." Elliot added.

"Emma is kind and courteous to everyone, so we don't have to worry about her snapping off on the nobles." Alisa provided the crux of their reasoning.

"I-I see. That is rather reasonable." Machias conceded. "I accept your rationale."

The bespectacled youth cleared his throat, before continuing, "That said, thought it may be as vice president instead, I shall restate my intention to fulfill my duties to the utmost of my ability."

"Now that that's all decided..." Sara cut in, getting her class' attention.

---

4/7 - Wednesday

Laura, Emma, and Alisa shared a table at the front of the cafeteria, located on the first floor of the student union building. They talked among themselves as they partook of their lunch.

"Have the two of you adjusted to the newfound attention?" Laura inquired.

"Uh, adjust isn't quite the right word." Emma responded with a forced chuckle. "I can't honestly say I'm very comfortable with all the stares I get from the other students." She confessed. "I know they're curious about the train incident, and if it was just a few of them asking me questions about what happened, I'd be perfectly fine, but that's unfortunately not the case." She explained.

"It doesn't bother me all that much, to be honest. But I get where you're coming from." Alisa put forth. "At least it's only the other students. If everyone in Trista was acting like that around us, then it'd start getting pretty aggravating."

"It has only been a week, I'm sure after more time has passed things will calm down." The sword maiden opined.

"I'm sure you're right." The bespectacled girl conceded.

They moved onto other topics at that point.

...

From where the three girls sat, they had a clear view of the front counter where students placed their orders, as such, they took notice when one of their classmates, Fie, stepped to it to buy her lunch.

"You know, Fie has barely said two words to me since we started at the academy a week ago." Alisa mentioned to the other two. "Do I do something, or does she just not like me?"

"I don't think it's anything like that. Fie hasn't spoken to me very much either." Emma let her know.

"She strikes me as rather asocial person. I doubt it has anything to do with us personally." Laura gave her take on the matter.

"Hmm..." The blonde girl seemed to consider this for a few moments.

Fie, meanwhile, had received her tray with food, and was moving to get a table

"Hey, Fie, would you like to sit with us?" Alisa asked her kindly, getting her attention.

Fie regarded the blonde and the other two for a brief moment. "No, thanks." She responded bluntly, before walking right past them.

Alisa was left speechless at the brusque way she was brushed off, watching as the silver-haired girl went straight for a table near the back, where Rean sat, and took the spot beside him.

The moment Fie settled in next to him, Rean smiled, and spoke to her. The young girl replied to him, and the two began to openly converse.

"Wow, okay, I didn't expect to be so flatly rejected." The blonde archer admitted with disappointment as she watched the two get along. "They sure seem awfully close for only having met last week." She added with a hint of suspicion.

"I've noticed Rean is the only person Fie socializes with. I mean, I've seen her around Machias, Elliot, and Gaius sometimes, but I'm rather sure that's only because they were with Rean at the time. And even then, she doesn't seem to talk to them much." Emma stated her observations.

"They do seem to be rather comfortable around each other." Laura observed.

As the three watched the pair interact, Machias and Elliot, lunches in hand, entered their field of vision. The two boys made their way over and joined Rean and Fie at the table. The two were visibly welcomed into the conversation, as they sat across from the boy-girl pair, with Fie even responding to whatever they were saying, even if she kept it brief.

"She's talking to them." Alisa grumbled.

"I said 'much', not at all." The bespectacled girl pointed out.

As if to rub salt in the wound, Gaius passed by the girls and approached the table of four, proceeding to join them for the meal as well.

"It's like they're a clique." The blonde girl groused, crossing her arms and even pouting a little.

"Haha. I doubt it's anything like that. You shouldn't take it so personally, Alisa." Emma said, chuckling at her classmate's childish behavior.

"If I may point out, there is someone far more guilty of not speaking to the rest of our class." Laura interjected, gesturing to a table near the middle section of the room.

There, Jusis sat, eating his meal all by his lonesome.

"He's made it quite clear that he does not desire our companionship." The blue-haired noble girl said further.

"Yeah, he is kind of a sourpuss." Alisa granted. "But that's beside the point."

'I could go over there and ask to sit with them...' She considered for a few moments.

But that would mean sitting with Rean.

'No, I'd rather not sit with him.' The blonde maiden thought better of it.

She didn't have anything personal against Rean, far from it: she was grateful to him for helping her. He just made her feel uncomfortable.

'He acted valiantly, heroic, even, on the train. He came off as a genuinely caring person, but...every time I've talked to him since then, he's seemed...different. Like he's not being entirely genuine with me, or the rest of us, for that matter. Almost like he's holding something back or hiding something from us. It's...disconcerting.' Alisa ruminated.

Noticing that her classmate was deep in thought, and believing it to be over Fie, Emma spoke up, "If you really want to get to know Fie better, why don't we ask her to study with us sometime?" She propounded. "I'd already planned to ask her myself, but we could do it together, if you want. Three heads are better than two, after all. I know it's not much, but it would be better than nothing, right?"

That brought the blonde girl out of her thoughts.

"That's not a bad idea. It's worth a try, at least." Alisa agreed.

"I wish you two luck." Laura commented.

---

4/9 - Friday

"Hey, Fie, would you like to study with us?" Alisa asked not five seconds after the girl exited her room.

'It's too early for this.' The former jaeger thought to herself.

"Now? Why?" She questioned bluntly, regarding the two girls across from her.

"No, not now. She means when you have some spare time." Emma clarified.

"As for why, it's easier to study as a group, right? More fun, too. So we figured we'd invite you." The blonde girl explained.

"We would be more than happy to help you with any subjects you might be struggling with." The bespectacled girl added kindly.

Fie was quiet for a moment, before giving her answer. "I'll think about it."

She simply walked off after that.

...

"That could have gone worse, I suppose." Alisa said with a disappointed sigh.

"Don't be discouraged. She could have just said no. The fact that she didn't is a good sign." Emma attempted to comfort her friend.

"If that's true, I guess you have a better read on her than I do, because, honestly, it seems to me like she just blew us off." The archer gave her two cents.

"That's not what that was, I'm sure." The bespectacled girl reassured her.

"I hope you're right."

---

"Rather than normal homeroom, I thought it best you guys spend your time trying out your combat links, for today."

That was what their instructor had said, before leading Class VII to the empty academy field; the rest of the students were still in the main building, conducting proper homerooms with their teachers.

"One by one, I want you guys to practice linking with each other. You may have managed down in the old schoolhouse, but that was an extraordinary occurrence, completely out of the norm. You can't rely on subconsciously forming links, not if it takes a big ass monster to get you in the right headspace. You need to be able to form combat links on command." Sara instructed her students.

"How do we form a combat link, exactly?" Alisa inquired. "You said it yourself, the first time we did it was by accident."

"Well, if you concentrate... No, that's not the best way to put it. You see...you just sort of try and it happens." The buxom twenty-something's attempt to describe to them the linking process was...abysmal, at best.

"How are you a teacher!?" Machias was absolutely flabbergasted and flummoxed at their instructor's ineptitude, staring at her with incredulity.

"Forming a combat link comes down to feeling and instinct. I'm not sure there's any other way I can describe it, honestly." The red-fuchsia-haired woman leveled with them, ignoring the less than flattering remark. "That said, try and think back to how you felt when your were all connected. Hold on to that feeling, if you can, and then just try."

It was a rather inadequate explanation, unfortunately, it seemed to be the only one they were going to get.

"So, who wants to go first?"

...

One after another, the students of Class VII attempted to create combat links.

Rean had the easiest time of it; he and Fie held the time for fastest link formed, clocking in at barely half a second, the connection almost instantaneous. After that, the Schwarzer heir maintained a brief five second link time for the rest of his classmates. The only outliers were Jusis and Alisa, the former took seven seconds, while the latter took ten.

Fie and Laura's link time was the runner-up, sitting at about three seconds. Following that, it took the silver-haired girl roughly five seconds to establish a link with Emma, then Gaius, and eight seconds or so for everyone else.

From Elliot and Alisa, to Machias and Emma, to Jusis and Gaius, the time it took the rest of the class to link up was pretty consistent from there: six seconds.

There was one exception to this standard: Machias and Jusis. The two took the longest time to establish a combat link, by far: half a minute, a full thirty seconds. Worse still, theirs was notably less stable than the rest.

But all in all, it was a productive session. And now that it was over, the nine teenagers discussed among themselves the actual phenomenon of linking, excluding the more silent members, Fie and Jusis, of course.

...

"Oh, one last thing before we wrap this up and head back inside. You have the capability of linking with more than one person at a time, however, in most cases doing so is inadvisable. When linking with multiple people at once, not only does it strain the links themselves, making it harder to maintain them; it also puts extra stress on your bodies and minds, effectively increasing the rate at which you consume stamina." Sara cautioned her students.

There were murmurs among the nine teens, as they digested this information.

The instructor let them continue like that for a minute or so, before herding them back into the school building, and back to class before the first period began.

---

4/13 -Tuesday

Today, like every day, Fie followed Rean, silently watching him interact with all the people around them, teacher and student alike. Her gaze was intent, as she tried to make sense of something.

She hadn't said it out loud, but something had been nagging at the back of her mind for quite some time now.

Rean was...different than she remembered. He was was still the boy with the big heart she'd met so long ago, but something was...missing. Something had changed.

Observing him closely for almost two weeks now, she felt like she was coming closer to the answer.

...

As the day dragged on, she finally came to a conclusion.

In the past thirteen days, she'd watched him speak with nobles and commoners alike. She'd seen him be friendly and sociable with the former, and act deferential and almost overly polite with the latter. Even when the nobles talked down to him, or the rare commoner was rude to him for one reason or another, his demeanor didn't really change. He never got annoyed or aggravated with them, and he always, always, apologized, as if it was his fault.

Worse still, while he was almost always smiling, his smile never seemed to reach his eyes. Almost like they were for show. And even if some of them were genuine, they didn't compare to the smile she remembered from eight years ago.

It was like Rean was...fake.

While interacting with other people, he just seemed so...so...empty. Like everything he did, everything he said was all just to please the people around him. Almost nothing he did seemed to be for himself.

If it wasn't for the rare moments when the Rean she remembered showed himself, like down in the old schoolhouse, or the sparse times he would have fun with Gaius, Machias, and Elliot, she would hardly be able to recognize him.

It was difficult to put into words, Fie really couldn't explain it, even to herself, but these thoughts had her chest suddenly feeling very tight.

...

Despite how much she wanted to, she couldn't bring herself to speak with Rean about it.

---

It was getting late into the evening, sun sinking slowly below the horizon as Fie walked the path that passed the academy field and led to the gym, her destination: the courtyard. There she could be alone for a while, and she needed that: upset and agitated over the realization she'd had concerning Rean, she needed to calm down.

Due to her stoic disposition, however, most didn't realize this.

As such, the teenage boy who'd just exited the gym with his friends, only to break off from them and approach the former jaeger, had no idea that now was really not the time to bother her.

"H-Hey there, Fie, right?" He spoke, his nervousness almost palpable.

He was of average height and build for a sixteen-year-old, had fair skin, brown hair, and hazel eyes; he wore the green uniform, signifying his status as a commoner.

She came to a stop, regarding him dispassionately, waiting for him to speak further, since he clearly wished to say something to her.

"S-So, um, I don't mean to bother you or anything, but, uh, I was wondering..." He was rather anxious, as he worked up the courage to continue. "Would you like to...maybe go out...with me, sometime?" He hesitantly asked her, intimidated by her cold demeanor.

She barely knew this guy, having only seen him a few times before. She didn't even know his name. She could not be any more disinterested.

"We could get coffee or something, ya know, just a casual date, nothing too serious. Just to get to know each other." He proposed the idea, hopeful.

"Not interested." Face completely expressionless, she turned him down flat.

"O-oh, I-I see..." He was visibly disheartened. "All right, I understand. Maybe some other time. Sorry to bother you." He tried to play it off, before wandering away to rejoin his pals.

Continuing on her way, she passed them by, turning the corner and leaving their sight.

She barely got that far, before she heard them talking about her.

"She's like a doll or something. Don't get me wrong, she's really pretty, but, honestly, I'm almost glad she turned me down. If I'd know she was that weird, I probably wouldn't have asked her out in the first place." The first voice admitted.

The other two laughed at that.

"I tried to warn you, dude. She's freak, and not the fun, kinky kind." The second voice said.

"She's odd, I'll give you that, but still, that's kind of harsh." The third voice contented.

"What kind of normal person doesn't smile? And I mean, like, ever?" The second voice queried.

"Ever? You're just exaggerating." The third voice responded.

"No, seriously; ask around: everyone will tell you the same thing. That girl never smiles. She doesn't get upset or angry either, apparently. No one has seen her show any emotion of any kind. She's like some sort of emotionless automaton." The second voice asserted.

"Is everyone in Class VII weird like her?" The first voice wondered aloud.

Having heard enough of them talking about her like she was some sort of freak, Fie walked away.

...

Fie's mood was absolutely dismal.

She hadn't heard people talk like that about her in some time, and while it usually wouldn't bother her so much, if at all, she was already discomposed due to her only friend acting so unlike himself.

As such, she didn't stop at the courtyard like she intended, and instead left school grounds altogether, making her way back to the dorm for the day.

...

Halfway down the path that led from the academy gate to the three-way intersection, she heard someone speak her name.

"Fie?"

The sound of Rean's voice caught her attention.

Turning around to face him, their eyes met.

He must have seen her leaving and followed; she'd been so upset that she hadn't even picked up on his presence.

'What is wrong with me today?' She thought, near exasperated with herself.

"What's wrong?" He asked her, his tone solicitous.

At a glance, he'd been able to pick up on the fact that she was upset.

"Nothing." She tried to deny it.

He stepped closer, placing his hand on her shoulder. "Fie, did something happen?" He questioned earnestly, concern worn openly.

His whole demeanor almost seemed to change.

Fie was surprised in that moment, as the emptiness she'd come to associate with his eyes seemed to vanish, replaced with the passion and warmth she was once used to. The falseness seemed to fall away as he focused on her.

...

She'd seen glimpses here and there, of course, but now, it was finally starting to seek in. It seemed that he would always fall back to being his true self, the Rean she cherished, when it was just the two of them.

This revelation made her feel warm inside.

Wanting Rean to not be so concerned over her, especially now, when he'd already made her feel better, she used her index fingers to push her mouth upward into a smile.

She looked absolutely adorable. And a little ridiculous to boot.

In spite of himself, Rean laughed at her.

The silver-haired maiden was taken by surprise as she felt her heart flutter at the sound. It took her some effort to not let this show.

Rean patted her head then. "Okay, okay, I get it. You're fine."

He didn't quite believe that, of course. 'If she really doesn't want to tell me, then there's nothing I can do. I just hope that she cheers up, and that whatever's bothering her doesn't last.'

"Anyway, you were heading back to the dorms, right? Come on, let's go."

---

4/15 - Thursday

Rean climbed the stairs to the second floor of the Student Union building, where several of the clubrooms were located.

'Okay, I've got a little free time. Might as well check out one or two of the clubs.' With that thought, the Schwarzer heir made for one of the doors.

...

Rean opened the door to the clubroom, where he saw two others already there.

The first was a boy with light skin, short, light brown hair, and hazel eyes. He was dressed in the noble uniform.

The second was a boy with fair skin, dark pink hair that was mostly hidden by his black beanie, and light brown eyes. He had the standard green uniform.

"So, Rex, now that you've officially joined the Photography Club, I have a very important question for you." The boy in the white uniform prefaced. "What kind of pictures do you want to take here?"

"Pictures of cute girls, of course!" The second boy, Rex apparently, replied excitedly. "Like, I wanna spend the upcoming summer snapping perfect pics of swimsuit-clad babes. What more could a guy ask for?" He was openly enthusiastic. "If I'm gonna be taking pics at all, I want'em to be of girls, y'know what I'm sayin', Fidelio?"

Fidelio sweatdropped at this. "I-I guess that counts as being passionate about photography...at least, technically..."

'Probably not the best time to talk to them about joining.' Rean thought, as he closed the door without ever stepping foot in the room.

...

Deciding to check out another room, the swordsman tried the door opposite of the Photography Club, only to find it locked. "Huh, must be an unused room." He said to himself, looking up at the placard and confirming there was nothing written on it.

Moving onto the door to the right of it, he spared a glance at its placard.

Imperial Fishing Club.

'I'm not sure I'm actually dedicated enough of a fisherman to join a club centered around fishing, but it couldn't hurt to have a look inside.' He decided, opening the door and walking in.

It was a basic room with all sorts of fishing paraphernalia, almost an overwhelming amount, in fact.

"Hey there. Haven't met you yet."

Those words got Rean's attention, as he regarded the person who spoke them.

It was a teen boy with light skin, short brown hair, and blue eyes. His attire was consistent with that of the other noble students, only sans the blazer, and adding a beige cap to his head.

"You've got one of those red uniforms on, so I guess you're from Class VII?" The noble teen questioned.

"That's right. My name's Rean Schwarzer." The raven-haired youth introduced himself. "Are you the head of this club?"

"Yup. I'm Kenneth Lakelord, first-year from Class II. And this is the Imperial Fishing Club. It's pretty laid-back, you'd like it. But yeah, pleasure's all mine." Kenneth greeted him in a rather informal manner for a noble.

"Likewise." Rean returned the sentiment. 'He seems pretty laid-back himself.'

"So, are you the only member of the Imperial Fishing Club?" The Schwarzer heir queried.

"Yeah. Trista's supposed to be a great place for fishing. I hear there are a ton of different fish you can catch here, so, I figure, it's only a matter of time until a fellow fishing aficionado comes along and becomes the second member. And, if not, no big deal." Kenneth remarked. "Speaking of which, you've done a bit of fishing before, right? Why not give it another shot?"

"I have, but how did you know that?" Rean asked him.

"Ahaha. Just a hunch." Kenneth answered with a laugh. "Well, then, from one fisherman to another..."

Stepping over to a table with plenty of fishing supplies, the noble boy grabbed a fishing rod and a thick notebook, and proceeded to hand them over. "Here you go."

"Are you sure I can have these?" Rean questioned. "I'm sorry to say that I don't think I'm actually going to be joining the club, so I feel kind of bad getting this stuff for nothing."

"Don't sweat it. The Imperial Fishing Club's here to spread the joy of fishing. Whether you're a member or not doesn't really matter, it's all good." Kenneth kindly assured him "Just fish away to your heart's content."

"Thanks. That's very kind of you." The swordsman gave his gratitude.

"Now that that's all handled, it's time for me to head off. I've got some fish to catch. I'll be fishing at the pond behind the main building if you want to join me." Kenneth said, grabbing a rod for himself, along with a tackle box.

...

Kenneth left, putting up a sign on the clubroom door that he'd gone fishing, and Rean was standing in the hallway once more.

"He was a pretty nice guy. Much more relaxed than most of the other noble students, that's for sure." Rean thought aloud.

He looked down at his new possessions. "I should go and put these away in my room."

With that, Rean made for the stairs leading to the first floor.

'I wonder if Fie's found a club she likes yet?'

---

4/17 - Saturday

Rean stifled a yawn as he straightened his tie; watching himself in the mirror, he made sure he'd tied it correctly.

In the past two and a half weeks, he'd kept busy.

He'd met the entire faculty: Instructor Neithardt, the military studies teacher. Instructor Beatrix, the medical teacher as well as the school nurse. Instructor Makarov, the orbal engineering and biology teacher. Instructor Mary, the fine arts teacher. Instructor Thomas, the history and literature teacher. Vice Principal Heinrich, who also served as the the political economics teacher. Janitor Gyler, Bianca the receptionist, and Karol the librarian. Ramsay, the school chef, his wife Samantha, who took the orders and handled the money, and James, the proprietor of the campus store. Principal Vandyck, and, of course, Class VII's homeroom teacher, Instructor Sara.

Between acquainting himself with the entire faculty, the coursework, which was a little more difficult than he'd anticipated; catching up with Fie, and spending time with the friends he'd made in Class VII, he'd had little time for anything else.

...

Tie properly straightened, Rean turned away from the mirror and walked over to the two-layered shelf next to his bedside. Two framed photographs sat atop the wooden surface: the first was a recent picture of his father, mother, sister, and himself, taken shortly before he left for Thors; the second was from over eight years ago, it featured him, Fie, and his sister Elise as children.

Both photos brought a smile to his face and warmth to his heart.

'The Boss died. After that, the Zephyr I grew up with disbanded. The remaining members went their separate ways; I don't have a clue where any of them went... They left me. I was alone again.' Fie's words replayed themselves in his mind.

Rean's smile fell away and the warmth turned cold.

'How could they just abandon her like that?' He bitterly thought.

He knew very little about Zephyr as a whole, so perhaps he had no right to judge, but that rationale could not quell the anger he felt inside. It took considerable effort on his part to keep it bottled, however, he was used to this by now: reigning in his emotions, controlling them. It had become second nature to him.

This was the first time in quite a while that he had to really, consciously try in order to manage it.

...

The sound of knocking at his door broke the swordsman from his state of thought, pulling his attention back to the here and now.

"Come in." He already knew who it was.

With his permission, they opened the door and entered the room.

"Morning." Fie greeted him, closing the door behind her as she did.

"Good morning, Fie." He greeted her in turn, his smile returning.

"Almost everyone else has left." The silver-haired maiden informed him.

The implications of her actions were obvious: she'd come to get him.

"Yeah, I know. I was just on my way out too." He told her. "You coming with?" It was a wholly unnecessary question, and they both knew it.

Even still, she nodded her head.

That's when it caught her eye. "Is that...?"

"Yeah, it is." The Schwarzer heir confirmed, having followed her line of vision to the picture frame.

"I'm surprised you still have it." She admitted.

"Why wouldn't I? It's the only thing I had to remember you by, of course I'd keep it with me."

---

A seven-year-old Fie tried to will away the blush staining her cheeks, visibly uncomfortable as she continued to fidget in the dark green dress she wore.

She wanted to take it off so badly, but, she just couldn't bring herself to. It was one of her birthday gifts, after all: it was fine quality, without being overly fancy. The Schwarzers also wanted to take some pictures together while she was wearing it, and she could not find it in her to refuse, not after they'd been so kind as to throw her a birthday party with cake, presents, the whole shebang.

'It's just for the picture.' She resolved herself to deal with it.

It was only made more difficult, however, by the giggling siblings behind her.

"Do you really dislike it that much?" Rean asked her, not even making an attempt to hide his amusement.

"It's not that I don't like it, it's just...it itches. And it feels...weird." The silver-haired girl relayed her discomfort.

"I don't get it, I wear dresses all the time, and they've never made me feel itchy or weird." Elise stated. "I wonder why that is?"

"I don't know, I've never worn a dress before." Fie disclosed.

"Never?" The brother and sister pair queried in tandem.

She just shook her head.

"All right, kids, time to take some pictures!"

---

Rean shifted his gaze from the photograph to the girl beside him. "You know, that was the only time I ever saw you in a dress." He commented.

"Yeah, and I haven't worn one since." Fie remarked, her distaste, mild as it may be, apparent.

"That's too bad. You would look really cute in one." He said without thinking.

It was barely noticeable, but there was a slight red tint to Fie's cheeks in that moment.

It was then that Rean realized exactly what he'd said, and how it could be construed. "What I meant was that I-I, well, what I meant to say was-" The seventeen-year-old was blushing as he spluttered in an attempt to explain himself.

It was readily apparent that he would not be able to do so in a very articulate fashion.

So Fie opted to spare him from any further embarrassment. "We should get going."

"R-Right. We should be going." He gratefully and readily latched onto the lifeline she threw him.

Walking over to his door, he opened it, allowing his childhood friend to exit first, then followed.

...

'Why did I say that? Think before you speak, idiot.' Rean mentally chastised himself, as he closed the door behind them.

The pair made their way to the staircase, catching sight of Elliot doing the same from the opposite end of the hallway.

"Oh, Rean, Fie." Elliot spoke their names as he spotted them.

"Morning, Elliot." Rean greeted his friend.

"Morning." Fie mimicked the greeting.

"Heh, good morning." Elliot returned the greeting with a pleasant smile. "Are you two heading out too? How about we walk together?" He suggested.

"Sure. But we don't want to be late, so we might need to pick up the pace a little." The Schwarzer heir let him know.

"No problem." The orange-haired boy agreed.

The three teens started descending the staircase.

"I'm guessing everyone else left already, huh?" Elliot mentioned.

"I can't sense anyone in the building besides the three of us, so, yeah, looks that way." Rean replied. "That's not much of a surprise, though. Gaius is an early riser, Machias likes to be early for class, as you've seen for yourself, and Jusis is rarely still here when any of us come down. Laura, Emma, and Alisa don't strike me as the types to wait until the last moment either." He expounded.

"Yeah, you're right." The sixteen-year-old nodded his head. 'I still don't really get how that sensing thing works.' He thought to himself.

Their conversation lulled momentarily, as they reached the first floor and made for the front door.

Exiting the dorm, they closed the doors behind them, and began their trek through Trista toward Thors.

...

"These past two and a half weeks have really flown by, haven't they? It's funny, I went into this thinking combat practice would be the toughest part of the curriculum. I never would have guessed the academic side of things might give it a run for its money!" Elliot opined.

"Well, 'strong in body and mind' is pretty firmly embedded into imperial culture. I do get what you mean, though. I figured I'd be able to coast through the year, but I've had to very quickly reevaluate that." Rean admitted.

"You too, huh?" The orange-haired boy said with sympathy. "I wish I were as smart as Machias or Emma. They don't seem to be having any problems at all. But then, Emma got the top score on the entrance exam, and I'll bet you anything Machias wasn't far behind."

"I'm sure." The raven-haired youth concurred. "Jusis and Alisa are apparently doing really well too, as are Laura and Gaius."

"R-Really? Guess I'm just gonna have to suck it up then..." The sixteen-year-old said with a sigh.

"If it makes you feel any better, I'm not doing so hot on the academic side of things either." Fie divulged to the two.

"Heh. It doesn't, but thanks anyway, Fie." The diffident swordsman acknowledged her attempt.

"I guess that makes us the academically challenged trio of the class, huh?" Elliot remarked with a chuckle.

That reminded Rean of something. "Wait, actually, Fie, I thought you'd finally taken Emma and Alisa up on their offer to study?"

"I did. I've studied with them a few times." She replied.

"Then why are you having trouble?" Elliot asked.

"I'm having some difficulty grasping a few subjects." Her response was vague, but honest.

"Yeah, I can relate." The orange-haired teen remarked with what sounded like relief.

"Well, I'm not doing that bad, but I feel your pain all the same." Rean shared in the sentiment.

Something caught Elliot's eye in that moment, so he came to a stop. Rean did the same, and Fie mimicked him. This left the trio smack dab in the middle of the three-way intersection leading to the noble dorms, commoner dorms, and the academy gate.

"That's where we'd be if we weren't in Class VII. Dormitory number two...for all the common folk like us." The sixteen-year-old remarked, continuing to stare at the building in question.

"Not Rean." Fie corrected.

"Huh?" The meek teen finally pulled his eyes away from the building.

"Rean would be in the first dorm." The silver-haired girl reminded him of their friend's status as a noble.

"Eheheh, I forgot about that, actually." Elliot confessed. "It's just so weird to think about Rean as a noble, he acts just like the rest of us, ya know?"

"Honestly, I'm glad you feel that way, Elliot." Rean told his younger friend. "I'm still kind of shocked Class VII gets to have its own dormitory, though." He changed the subject without preamble. "I think that building was abandoned til' this year. Seems like they renovated it just for us." He shared his observation.

"Well, they did a good job. Its got a nice feel to it." Elliot commented, going along with the change in topic. "I just wish it were a little closer to the academy..."

"Hey, you're in our way. Step aside at once." A new, fourth voice cut in.

This got the trio's attention, turning to face the source of the voice.

It was a teen of average height and build dressed in the white uniform; he had fair skin, strawberry-blond hair, and blue eyes. On either side of him were two other noble students.

"Hmph. Class VII, I see." The strawberry-blond spoke with clear distaste in his tone.

"I-Is something the matter?" The timid orange-haired boy queried.

"You're just a ragtag bunch of nobodies, aren't you?" The Strawberry-blond noble regarded them with a sneer, after giving them a quick once over. "Don't let the attention you're getting go to your heads. A few of you stopped a couple of petty thieves from snatching a few purses and wallets, that's nothing special. A couple of half-trained mongrels could have done the same." He disparaged.

Rean maintained eye contact and made it apparent he was listening, but said nothing; Fie had no real reaction and barely even looked at the guy; Elliot just smiled sheepishly. Not exactly the responses the noble boy was wanting.

"Come on, we're leaving." The strawberry-blond told the other two noble students.

"Yes, Patrick." The first flunkie agreed without delay.

"A word of advice. You might be part of a 'special' class...but that doesn't change who you are. Never forget your place." The second flunkie derided them.

The three in white then proceeded to bypass the trio and start on their way down the path toward the academy.

"So they're from one of the upper classes... This is why I hate talking to them." Elliot remarked with a sigh.

"Unfortunately, that attitude is all too common among the nobles." Rean informed him. "Thanks goodness Laura and Jusis aren't like that."

"If they were, I'd have to kick their teeth in." Fie stated matter-of-factly.

Elliot couldn't stop himself from staring at the younger girl with wide eyes, a powerful feeling of incredulousness coming over him. 'She's kind of scary...' He privately thought to himself.

Shaking it off, the orange-haired teen went on to say, "You know what, speaking of nobility, no one outside of our class knows your a noble, huh?"

"Yeah, but it's only a matter of time, I'm sure." Rean opined.

"I wonder if they would have been a little nicer to us had they known..." Elliot thought aloud

"Doubt it." Fie commented.

"She's right. I'm just the son of a baron, nothing really impressive, especially to someone from one of the Four Great Houses." The Schwarzer heir concurred.

"You'd know better than me." The sixteen-year-old granted.

The sound of the school bell got the trio's attention.

"Guess that's our cue to pick up the pace." The raven-haired youth remarked.

The silver-haired maiden nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, sorry." The meek teen apologized.

The three resumed their trek to the academy.

...

"Oh, hey, have you picked out a club to join yet?" Elliot inquired, filling the comfortable silence that had settled on their walk. "It doesn't sound like you have to or anything, but it's probably a good way to meet people." He added.

"No, I'm still looking. It's hard to decide on one. Besides, I think I'd be better served trying to get to know our classmates better before worrying about acquainting myself with the rest of the student body." Rean replied.

"I guess you have a point." The orange-haired boy conceded. "What about you, Fie? Decided what club you wanna to join yet?" He went on to ask the younger girl

"Not really. Not sure I even want to." The fifteen-year-old divulged.

"You should, it'd be good for you. Why not join the swimming or gardening club? You never seemed to mind swimming, and you actually like flowers." Rean recommended.

"I'll think about it." Fie all but capitulated.

---

Seventh Period: Combat Practice

The entirety of Class VII, Instructor Sara included, were gathered together on the academy field once more: the area was devoid of any other human life due to school hours.

"All right kiddos, today, I'm going to be testing your individual strength and ranking you accordingly." Sara jovially informed her charges. "From one being the toughest to nine being the weakest, fairly simple. Now don't take it personally, this is just to get a rough sense of where each of you stand regarding combat ability, and, hopefully, provide incentive to work harder to better yourselves." She elaborated for them. "And rest assured, this will not affect how I view any of you. As far as I'm concerned, you'll all still be my cute little munchkins." Her tone was almost sickeningly sweet.

"Okay, she's just making fun of us now." Machias stated with a frustrated sigh.

"Yep." Fie immediately agreed. "It's what she does."

"Looks that way." Rean concurred.

"Can't argue with that." Gaius said.

"It's starting to grate on my nerves." Jusis commented.

"I can't deny that I feel similarly." Laura remarked.

"Isn't teasing students supposed to be beneath the dignity of an instructor?" Alisa queried, fixing the older woman with a rather judgmental look.

"Apparently not." Elliot chimed in with a halfhearted chuckle.

"I'm sure she doesn't mean anything by it." Emma was trying to give their instructor the benefit of the doubt.

"Come now, you guys, wipe those sour looks off your faces. This'll be fun, trust me." Sara assured them.

"Fun for you, maybe." Fie was openly dismissive.

"What do you mean by that?" Elliot inquired with a hint of worry.

"How do you think she's going to gauge our strength? By fighting us herself." The silver-haired girl apprised.

"Wait, what?" Alisa had clearly not been expecting that info.

"We'll be fighting our instructor one-on-one, then?" Gaius asked.

Fie nodded in the affirmative.

"Every one of us?" Emma questioned.

"One after the other." The fifteen-year-old confirmed and clarified.

"Is that wise? I'm quite aware she's likely stronger than any of us, given she's the combat instructor. However, can she truly do battle with every single one of us back-to-back? Seems a little excessive to me." Machias gave voice to his doubts. "She could wind up injured, especially if she intends for us to go all out against her. After all, there are nine of us; two of whom seem ridiculously strong as it is."

"You have no idea just how in over our heads we are." Fie muttered to herself in her usual monotone.

"I'm rather curious as to how things will unfold, now." Laura admitted her interest.

"Hmph, fine. If that's how it is, then I shall go first." Jusis volunteered, stepping forward. "I may not command enough strength or skill to emerge victorious, however, I shall, at least, display my competence for battle." He confidently declared.

Rean shook his head at this. 'I can't really tell how strong she is, exactly, but, I can tell she's tough enough that she could probably hands us our asses all at once. So...yeah, this isn't gonna go well.'

"Well, all right then, that's the spirit!" Sara exclaimed, pulling her weapons from her coat: revealing her armaments as a pink orbal handgun, and a peculiarly designed sword with matching color.

The weapons were of near flawless craftsmanship, as such, they were visually beautiful, and looked disconcertingly deadly.

"An orbal gun...and a sword..." Emma thought aloud.

"Those are...terrifying looking weapons." Alisa opined

"Let me give each of you some advice." The instructor began, tone much more stern than previously, getting all eyes on her. "Come at me with the intent to kill, otherwise, you're the ones who might end up dead." Her words were grim, as she stared them down.

It was unsettling, to say the least.

All nine of the students had gone deathly quiet...

"Just kidding!" Sara exclaimed with humor.

She had effectively yanked their chains.

The entire class nearly face-planted due to the absurd ridiculousness; Fie was the only exception.

"Ah, but seriously, come at me with all you've got. Cause' if you don't, then I'm not gonna be able to get an accurate reading on your power, and that would just be counterproductive." The twenty-something explained.

At that, Jusis drew his imperial saber and prepared to do battle. "Let's just get this over with."

...

AHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Jusis cried out as he was taken completely off his feet and sent flying back seven arge or so; hitting the ground none too gently, the momentum forced his body into a violent rolling motion, only to suddenly come to a stop as he collided with the stable.

The other eight members of Class VII collectively sweatdropped at this display, additionally, the more sensitive members: Elliot, Emma, and Alisa winced in sympathy.

"That lasted about two seconds longer than I'd expected." Fie dryly quipped.

"I-Is he gonna be okay!?" Elliot questioned, openly worried.

"I had no idea she was that strong..." Alisa was baffled by the instructor's show of strength.

"Holy crap! That's some monstrous fricking strength!" Machias exclaimed in astonishment.

"I believe she was holding back, too." Gaius observed, his amazement a little more muted in comparison to the others.

"I couldn't even hazard a guess as to what kind of fighting style that was." Laura remarked with curiosity.

"I'm unsure of how you could. She only used a single attack." Emma commented.

"This is going to suck." Rean to himself with a defeated sigh.

"All right, that's one down. So, who's next?" Sara queried enthusiastically.

---

The school bell had begun to ring, signalling the end of the school day.

"Nice work, everyone. You made it through another day of grueling classes!" Sara congratulated her students; it was difficult to discern whether she was making fun of them or not. "In case you've been living under a rock, please don't forget that tomorrow is your first free day. It's not teeeeechnically a day off, but there are no classes, so it's up to you what to do with your time. Why, you could go shopping in the capital if you wanted to! Or...just do what I do, and sleep all day." She suggested. "Sleep is so wonderful!" She added happily, talking more to herself than the class.

There was a collective sweatdrop among Class VII at that.

Due to having Sara as their instructor for over two weeks, the nine teens were able to get over her ridiculousness fairly quickly, or, rather, they ignored it the best they could and addressed other issues.

"Um... Will the academy's facilities still be open for our use? Emma inquired.

"Yes, I'd like to be able to use the free study area in the library myself." Machias put forth.

"Of course! This school shuts down for no one, so feel free to patronize any and all facilities as you like. A lot of clubs have meets scheduled for these free days as well, so anyone who's joined one should probably check on that." The instructor notified them.

"I see." Gaius seemed to be thinking over the instructor's words.

"I'll be certain to do so." Laura said with a nod.

"Also, before you leave, we should go over what's happening next week. On Wednesday, you all have your practical exam." Sara let them know.

"A practical exam?" Rean repeated with a tad of confusion.

What does that entail, exactly?" Alisa queried.

"It's part of your combat training." The red-fuchsia-haired woman answered. "You'll be graded on your performance, so make sure you're well rested and ready for battle by then!" She forewarned them. "Might be a good idea to do some training on your own time too, just to keep from getting rusty. I know a few of you in particular could use it."

The twenty-something teacher had all but just called out the three lowest scorers from seventh period.

They all knew it, too: Elliot scratched his cheek as he chuckled nervously, Emma giggled awkwardly in the same manner, and Alisa sighed, resisting the urge to hang her head.

"Hmm, interesting." Jusis commented.

"I definitely don't like the sound of that." Elliot murmured to himself. "And if earlier was any indication..." He trailed off, remembering just a short while ago when each member of their class was sent hurdling through the air: this 'exam' concerned him, greatly.

Fie just yawned at all this.

"Oh, and one more thing! After the practical exam is over, I've got another important announcement...about a major part of Class VII's curriculum that I...haven't mentioned at all yet." Sara brought up, attempting to arouse curiosity in her students.

"Wh-What?" Machias questioned in a rather unsophisticated manner; an addition to curriculum without any warning beforehand or prep time for the students was a rather considerable deviation from standard procedure in academics, and as such, caught him off guard.

"Should've seen this coming." Fie remarked with a sigh.

"So, whatever you choose to do on your free day, make it count for something. That concludes today's homeroom. Machias, if you'll do the honors?" Sara prompted.

"Y-Yes, Instructor." Machias replied and complied. "All rise... Bow."

...

Rean, Fie, Gaius, Machias, and Elliot remained in the classroom as their instructor and fellow classmates filed out.

The pair of childhood friends remained seated at their desks, with Fie sitting sideways in her chair to face Rean. Machias, Elliot, and Gaius chose to stand, gathered around the right side of the raven-haired swordsman.

"I'm a little worried about the practical exam next week." Elliot confessed. "Okay, that's an understatement: I'm absolutely dreading it. I mean, I'm literally the weakest member of our class." He hung his head in open dejection.

"I'd be happy to help you train, if you need a sparring partner." Rean offered. "The gymnasium looks big enough that I'm sure we'd have no trouble finding a good spot for it." He helpfully provided.

"I wouldn't mind assisting." Machias echoed the sentiment.

"I'm in." Fie was up for it.

"That's very kind of you guys to offer. But I was planning on attending club practice today." The orange-haired boy informed them.

"Oh, you've joined a club already? Which one did you pick?" The Schwarzer heir queried.

"I, uh...decided to try for the band. Though I'm not sure how much use they'll have for a violinist." Elliot replied.

"I didn't know you played the violin." Rean said with a some surprise.

"Neither did I." The bespectacled academic commented.

"Never got around to telling you guys, I guess." The timid violinist shrugged in a visibly nervous manner. "How about you, Gaius? Have you joined any of the school's clubs?" He quickly changed the topic, hoping to divert attention.

"I'm considering joining the art club." Gaius answered.

"Art, huh? Somehow, that's not what I pictured for you. No pun intended." The raven-haired youth remarked.

"Do you have any artistic experience?" Elliot questioned.

"I dabbled in it back home. Taught myself, though, so I feel like this could be a good chance to learn proper technique." The softspoken nord gave his reasoning.

"Wow. That's pretty cool." The orange-haired teen complimented.

"I'd love to see some of your work sometime." Rean stated.

"What about you, Machias, joined any clubs yet?" Gaius queried.

"I've been thinking about joining the chess club, actually." Machias told them.

"Chess huh? How long have you been playing?" The diffident swordsman asked.

"Since I was a kid."

The conversation was cut short, as the door to the classroom was suddenly thrown open, and Instructor Sara waltzed in.

"Oh, good, you're still here!" The buxom young woman exclaimed as she laid eyes on them.

"Is there a problem?" Gaius inquired.

"No, no, I was just hoping someone could do a...teensy little favor for me?" Sara started, walking over to the desk they were gathered at. "There's something I need picked up from the Student Council room." She finished.

"Something you need picked up?" Elliot repeated.

"What would that be?" The softspoken nord questioned.

"Heh. That's for me to know, and you to find out. All I'll say is, it's something absolutely essential to your school life." The twenty-something instructor was being purposely vague. "And somebody needs to go get it! Though it doesn't matter who. Any volunteers?"

"Sure. I'll go." Rean was quick to agree. "If I show up in the Student Council room and tell them you sent me, they'll know why I'm there, right?"

"W-Wait..." The orange-haired violinist began to protest.

"Are you sure you don't mind?" Gaius asked.

"There are five of us, you don't have to be the one to go." Machias pointed out.

"You three have clubs to go to, right?" The Schwarzer heir reminded. "I'm still totally undecided, so this wouldn't be a big deal at all."

"Well, if you really don't mind... Thanks."

"Thank you."

"Yeah, thanks, Rean."

The three thanked their friend.

"The Student Council room is in the Student Union building next door, at the end of the hall on the second floor." Sara informed. "It's open until quite late, so there's no rush." She assured.

Sara turned and walked away from them. "Thank you, my dear! I leave everything in your capable hands!"

Stopping by her desk, she grabbed something. "Almost forgot the student register in here." She said to herself, before leaving the room again.

"Uhh...okay..."

...

Machias, Gaius, and Elliot left the classroom shortly after the instructor.

Seeing no reason to stay any longer, Rean stood up and made for the door himself.

Fie got out of her seat and followed after him. "Comin' with."

"All right."

---

Rean and Fie stood before the entrance to the Student Union building, when the sound of a voice caught their attention and got them to turn around.

"Hey there, Reanie." Crow greeted, as he came to a stop in front of them, dropping a brown drawstring sack at his feet.

"Reanie?" Rean couldn't help but cringe at the nickname. "Please don't call me that." He implored.

"No prob." The white-haired youth agreed without a second thought. "So, how's it going? Looks to me like you two worked things out."

"Yeah, thankfully." The Schwarzer heir confirmed.

"No thanks to you." Fie stated bluntly.

"Ah, I guess not. Not if you're sore with me. I was so sure that would help smooth things out between you two, at least a little. Apparently, I was wrong. My bad." Crow accepted the fault with a grin. "So...academy life been treating you guys well this past half-month?" And just like that, he'd completely changed the subject.

"As well as can be expected." The silver-haired girl replied.

"Actually, yeah. It may not be easy, but I'm managing, mostly. Though, I have a feeling it's only going to get harder from here on out." The dark-haired swordsman opined.

"Haha. Of course it will." The older teen said with mirth. "Your class is going to be more intense than the others too. But you guys just hang in there, okay?"

Fie opted not to respond.

Rean, on the other hand, "We will."

"Oh yeah, I totally forgot to ask you this when we first met. Wanna see a cool trick I've been practicing?" Crow brought up out of the blue.

"I have a bad feeling about this...but, all right." The seventeen-year-old agreed.

"Cool. So, got fifty mira I can borrow?" The white-haired youth asked.

"Yeah, sure." Rean pulled a coin out of one of his pockets and handed it over.

"Cheers." Crow said as he took it. "All right, watch closely."

With that, he flipped the coin high into the air. It spun and rotated continuously as it ascended, before, after a moment or so, it began it's descent; reaching out with both arms crossed, he speedily nabbed it. "Now!"

Crow uncrossed his arms and presented his closed hands to the younger teens. "Which hand is the coin in? Left or right?"

"It's in the bag at your feet." Fie answered with yawn, completely blase.

"Wait, really?"

Crow nearly fell over in surprise at this. "H-Hey! Come on, now! You can't just go around spoiling stuff like that!" He complained.

"Get better at it, then." She responded curtly.

The white-haired youth shook his head. "You've got a sharp one there, Rean." He told him with a chuckle. "Anyway, keep up the good work, man. You're gonna need to be pretty tough to get through a year with Sara as your instructor."

Crow picked the sack up and slung it over his shoulder then. "See you two around. Have a good weekend."

With that, he walked away.

...

"Wait, my fifty mira..." Rean realized, about to call out to the older teen, before deciding against it. "He got me." He admitted with a sigh. "Is that guy going to make me look like a jackass in front of you every time I see him?" He wondered aloud, glancing over at his childhood friend.

"He didn't make you look like a jackass." She reassured him. "Just gullible."

Rean sighed in defeat and hung his head.

---

After picking up what Instructor Sara needed from the Student Council room: Class VII's specialized student notebooks, finding out Rean had been signed up, without his knowledge, to assist the Student Council, and being treated to dinner by Towa, the duo finally left the Student Union building.

It was getting close to dusk, but they still had some time, so the two stopped by the school courtyard to take a rest on one of the benches.

"You don't have to do it, y'know." Fie suddenly said to him.

"Maybe not. But after seeing how swamped Towa is, I just couldn't bring myself to turn her down. I didn't exactly volunteer for this, but I'll give it my best shot nevertheless." Rean replied.

"I could help you." The silver-haired maiden propounded.

"Nah, I got it. Besides, I want you to spend tomorrow figuring out what club you want to join, all right?" The Schwarzer heir urged her.

"...Fine." She finally gave in.

...

It was at that point that Rean's ARCUS began ringing.

Pulling it out from the pouch strapped to his leg, that every member of the class had received a few days prior, he flipped it open, answering the call.

"Hello, this is Rean Schwarzer speaking."

"Guten Tag, my favorite little Wunderkind!" Sara greeted merrily. "I heard you had a little dinner date with the Student Council President and Fie, at the same time. Ooh la la!"

"Shut up, Sara." Fie shot back at her mentor, having overheard her due to her close proximity to Rean.

"If this is how you treat your 'favorite little Wunderkind', I dread to think how you'd treat people you don't like..." The Schwarzer heir sighed. "Would you care to explain why you've been signing me up for things behind my back?" He questioned her.

"I'll skip the details for now, but it's got something to do with the other part of your curriculum that I'll be announcing next week. I thought it'd be a good chance for one of you to do a little rehearsal before the main event. And since the Student Council truly is busy, I figured, why not kill two birds with one stone?" The instructor expounded. "A fine plan, if I do say so myself."

"I have a feeling half the reason they're as busy as they are is because of certain instructors..." Rean insinuated in an accusatory manner. "But all right. I'm happy to play along." He capitulated. "Basically, you just want me to spend my free day tomorrow helping the Student Council, right?"

"Oh, that's entirely up to you." Sara told him. "If there's a club you're interested in joining, far be it from me to force you away from it."

"No, to be honest, I still haven't found on that really clicks with me, so that won't be a problem." The diffident swordsman explained. "There is one question I'd like to ask, though. Why me, exactly?"

The instructor went silent on the other end of the line.

"This seems like the kind of task typically entrusted to the class president or vice president. So Emma, or Machias... And even if, for some reason, you were choosing based on social class, Jusis and Laura are both higher ranked than I am, not to mention the fact that they were both born into noble families. I wasn't. So what makes me so special, exactly?" Rean adjured her for an answer.

So, she gave him one. "Well, in a sense, you're effectively at the center of Class VII."

"Pardon?" The raven-haired youth had a look of sheer confusion on his face.

"In a class full of nobles, commoners, and exchange students, you in particular are special. Considering your background, surely even you can see that, no?"

Rean went quiet.

"That's why I decided to give you...'first dibs', so to speak." She continued. "I wanted to get an idea of how things might go from here on out. There's never been a class like yours before, after all. So, there you have it. The beans have been spilled aaaaall over the place. Ball's in your court now."

Rean closed his eyes and contemplated her words for a number of moments.

Only to be interrupted, as the sounds of chugging, followed by a satisfied sigh filtered through the line.

"Wait, what are you drinking?" The Schwarzer heir queried, incredulous.

"Beer, of course." Sara replied, almost painfully honest. "It's the weekend, and I'm stuck wasting away in my room, imbibing libations, alas, all by my lonesome. If I only had a classy gentleman friend who'd go out drinking with me. But, woe of woes, such a man is nary to be found!" She bemoaned in a rather histrionic manner.

Rean sweatdropped at this. "Umm... Are you okay?"

"Never better. But you! Instead of trying to put everything in its place, why don't you just...go with the flow, for a change?" She suggested. "It seems like you're desperately trying to find...'something'..."

Rean, for just a split second, went rigid.

"But if you don't plant yourself somewhere, you're just going to blow away with the next big gust that comes along..." Sara cautioned him.

The raven-haired said nothing in response, breathing in through his nose and slowly exhaling, allowing his body to relax.

"And on that note! Make sure you have Fie back before midnight. Toodles!"

The line went dead, Sara had hung up.

...

"If I don't plant myself somewhere, huh...?" Rean repeated those words to himself, pondering the implications.

Silence...

"Rean?" Fie spoke his name, concern in her eyes.

"She certainly seems to have a few screws loose, but she makes a good point, doesn't she?" Rean smiled at her as he said this, but, like most smiles he gave nowadays, it didn't quite reach his eyes.

The concern in her lime-green eyes grew.

"I'm all right, Fie."

Fie wasn't so sure.

---

When Rean and Fie returned to the dorm they came upon the rest of the class, occupying the sofas on either side of the table in the common area.

As it turned out, their classmates were trying to figure out what the practical exam would entail, as well as how to...well, survive it. After all, they had all witnessed the monstrous strength Instructor Sara possessed, and if the exam was anything like her little test of might... In no uncertain terms, they were completely screwed.

Shortly after the duo walked in, however, that conversation died, and all eyes were on them.

"What?" Rean questioned, realizing they were suddenly the center of attention.

"You two were out awfully late. Together. Again." Alisa stated, tone bordering on accusatory.

"Your point?" Fie responded, looking bored.

The dispassionate way she'd said it seemed to diffuse...whatever this was, as their classmates returned to the topic at hand, continuing their discourse over the upcoming practical exam.

Rean and Fie joined them at the table, managing to pack themselves in between Gaius and Machias.

"Before everyone starts brainstorming over the practical exam, I should hand these out." The Schwarzer heir spoke up, getting everyone's attention once more, pulling out the notebooks. "Fie and I picked up everyone's student notebooks." He told them, giving them out one by one to his classmates.

A chorus of thank yous came from the seven teenagers.

"Here's yours, Fie." Rean handed the last one over.

She gave him a nod of gratitude.

"Why were you guys the ones to hand these out?" Machias inquired.

"Yeah, wouldn't that be something for the instructor to do?" Elliot questioned.

"It seems you've forgotten who our instructor is." Jusis retorted.

"Mm." Fie hummed in agreement.

...

Ten minutes later, and the discussion regarding the practical exam had picked back up and continued in earnest. The actual progress in regards as what to expect and what they should do, however, was painfully minimal.

As the group of teenagers went back and forth, and the group talk dragged on, Fie grew incredibly bored. So much so that she opted to tune the whole thing out, yawning at the tiring nature of it all.

With no idea how long this would last, she got comfortable. Leaning into Rean, she rested her head on his shoulder, using it as a pillow of sorts, and closed her eyes.

...

Rean paid it no mind, but it wasn't long before everyone else took notice of the fact that Fie had dozed off.

The discussion lulled, the participants going quiet.

"What is it?" The Schwarzer heir queried, noticing all eyes were on him again.

"Look, I don't mean to come off as rude or nosy, but what, exactly, is going on between the two of you?" Alisa inquired.

"What do you mean by that?" The raven-haired youth questioned, a little confused.

"Every morning the two of you leave the dorm together, and every night you return together. You're practically attached at the hip!" The blonde archer brought up.

"The two of you were the sole pair able to form a combat link instantly and effortlessly." Jusis commented.

His participation surprised a few of the others, as he rarely interacted with the rest of the class when not necessary.

"You guys have these little exchanges where no one else can figure out what you're talking about." Elliot mentioned.

"Fie doesn't seem like a very social person. She rarely says two words to anyone. However, around you, Rean, she's far more talkative." Emma pointed out.

"The point is, you two are super close." Alisa remarked.

"Is there something you aren't telling us?" Laura came right out and asked, opting not to beat around the bush like the others.

"What are you guys getting at, exactly?" Rean queried, clearly not getting it.

"Are you two dating?" The blonde girl finally spelled it out for him, his ignorance visibly grating her nerves.

"W-What!?" Was the swordsman's eloquent response.

"It's hardly been more than two weeks, who starts a relationship in that short a time?" Machias voiced skepticism at his classmate's conclusion.

The bespectacled youth had his own suspicions, of course, but he didn't quite agree with Alisa's little leap in logic.

"You are reaching a bit." Jusis re-joined his fellow blonde.

"I don't believe that's any of our business." Gaius opined, finally speaking up on the matter.

"N-No, no, it's nothing like that. We're not a couple." Rean calmly explained, face dusted with red from his blush. "We're just childhood friends."

Rean received rather dubious looks from the rest of the class at that. He couldn't blame them, either, that had sounded terribly cliche, even to him.

"I realize how that probably sounds, but I'm telling you, it's true." The dark-haired teen insisted. "I have proof, in fact. A picture of me and Fie as children, it's up in my room, on the shelf next to my bed." He informed them. "I don't want to wake Fie, so if one of you would be willing to go get it for me, then you can see for yourselves."

"I'll go get it." Machias volunteered to fetch it.

As the Class VP stood from the sofa and moved toward the stairs, most of the others continued to stare at Rean disbelievingly. The exceptions were Gaius and Jusis; the former was giving his friend an understanding smile, and the latter looked as though he'd lost interest in the topic and was debating whether or not he wanted to stick around.

'It's gonna be a long night...' Rean resigned himself to this fact.

---

END NOTE: For the people who have read the original version of this chapter, the free day section has been transferred to the next chapter, as with the new additions in this one, I felt it better served its purpose in the next.