Chapter 5: A Day at the Branch Academy

[April 15th, S.C. 1206]

[Thors Branch Academy Student Dorms]

Two weeks had passed since the first day at Thors Branch Academy. Plenty of time for the students to grow accustomed to their new routines and adjust to the class regimen assigned to them. Small as the student body and staff was, it also meant their dorm was a singular building near the residential end of Leeves.

The structure was sizable enough to house the admittedly slim number of people within it. The first floor was the recreational part, containing the salon space, dining hall, and baths. The second floor was the dormitories for the students, and the third the staff's living quarters. It certainly meant that mornings were busy, with students and teachers alike departing in various groups to make their way to the academy building.

Or, say, use one of the side rooms near the entrance as an impromptu sparring hall.

As was now becoming all too routine for the students as a whole, leaving the campus also meant one would typically be hearing the sounds of clashing metal coming from within one of the side rooms of the first floor, and by now they were all but used to it.

The culprits? Shin and Kurt, currently engaged in somewhat more casual sparring that morning, their blades acting like a morning call for anyone passing by as their exchanged moves, but never actually aiming to truly strike one another.

The morning spar ended as the two exchanged a flurry, their blades stopping as if to strike the neck… with Kurt the first to pull away as he let out a breath.

"I'll admit, your blade work is fast, enough I still can't match it," Kurt lowered his swords, Shin giving a nod and pleased grin.

"Don't downplay yourself much, Kurt. It's only been about two weeks, but you're catching onto my speed far faster than most could. Although, in combat it's always the minor differences that matter the most."

"Certainly," Kurt stepped over to the nearby table, setting his swords on it and gathering his blazer, Shin doing the same. "It's why I can appreciate this. I really am thankful you agreed to spar with me in the mornings like this."

"Well," Shin gave a light laugh, "Considering we both happened to decide to use this room for practice, how could I not? That, and I believe having a partner means this kind of practice will only be more effective for us, wouldn't you agree?"

"I do. Both of us simply need more experience, and this is certainly helping with that," As Kurt was fitting his blazer on, he looked to Shin's uchigatana, still out of its sheath. "Thinking on it… despite how many battles we fought the other day, Instructor Schwarzer was never short of breath. I'd say the Eight Leaves One Blade School is impressive, but it's nothing compared to what my Father, my brother Mueller, and my uncle, Zechs, are capable of."

"Actually, I couldn't help but get the sense he was holding back," Shin's comment got a questioning hum from Kurt. "I know it's odd, but remember how Professor Schmidt mentioned some other way he could have taken on that Magic Knight? I can't quite say what he could have meant by that, but whatever it is, it meant Instructor Schwarzer was holding back. Not to mention he didn't really use any moves from the First or Second Forms either. It really does show the gap of experience between us and him, if such is the case. Granted think we can both admit that damn golem was a bit too much."

"That, or he simply relies on the power of his Divine Knight," Kurt's alternative idea earned a shrug from Shin. "Speaking of swordsmanship styles, you've made mention of learning several styles in Iska, sure, but never the one your swordsmanship itself is from. And I have to say, on observing you over these past two weeks, I can't help but notice it's quite similar to Instructor Schwarzer's Eight Leaves."

"Ahaha… I suppose two weeks is probably enough to explain that, huh?" Shin put a hand behind his head, Kurt noting to himself that was clearly a tic of his. "The explanation is actually rather simple: The style I learned is one of the many styles that Master Yun Ka-fai used as basis for developing the Eight Leaves One Blade School off of."

"Oh?" Kurt raised a curious brow. "I'm aware that the Eight Leaves is centered on multiple forms, such as Helix and Gale, which were mastered, respectively, by Cassius Bright and Arios McClaine. But I didn't think it had been developed by branching off different schools."

"Back home in Iska, I'd say it's a pretty well-known fact. Master Ka-fai is probably even more storied back in the East than he is here in the West. Not that Erebonia is lacking in well-known martial arts and all, of course. Seeing the version of the famed Vander Style you make use of has been a treat for sure."

"And I do appreciate knowing that. But as for your style?"

"Right right, getting a bit off topic…" Shin cleared his throat. "First off, how about a little trivia? See, in Iska, we refer to the Eight Leaves One Blade School as Hachiyo Ittou. The school I practice is known as Kokushin Ittou, or in Common, the Black God One Blade."

"My, that's quite the imposing name. Almost comes off as some kind of boast," Kurt gave an amused sigh as Shin looked to the side with an awkward expression. "I'm going to take a guess and say your mentor was this… what was the term you used? Nee-san, was it? I assume that's another Iskan term as well?"

"That would be correct," Shin had a hint of pride to him now as he confirmed it. "As for the linguistic bit, Nee-san basically means something like "big sister" in effect. Although she's not much older than us, Nee-san is certainly the one who taught me how to fight using the Black God style. She's by far the strongest person I know, enough I'd say she could probably contest with someone like Principal Le Guin. Though that's only a guess. I'd need to see our Principal fight first to make a more accurate guess."

"Believe me, listen to any of the stories about Principal Le Guin, and you'll certainly understand why she's called the Golden Rakshasa," Kurt looked to his own swords, setting his hands on the table. "She's a master of both the Vander Style's greatsword school and the Arseid School. If I had to place her, she's one of the strongest warriors in Erebonia, next to Viscount Victor S. Arseid himself and my own father, Matteus Vander. I'm surprised though, I'd consider them to be known by just about any martial artist, even if you're from as far away as Iska."

"I can certainly say the people I know back home likely know of their reputations. And I've probably heard some of the stories here and there moving down the grapevine. Admittedly though, considering I barely had any idea Erebonia had been through a civil war until recently I'm quite out of the loop of more than I likely should be. Then again, I was told I was a bit too dedicated to all my training. Granted that was mostly Nee-san trying to drag me off to mess around after she was done practicing."

"Sounds as if this older sister of yours is quite different in temperament, then," Kurt was the first to start leaving, Shin following once he'd sheathed his sword and picked up his own blazer.

"Trust me, it can be a bit of a mess sometimes. One would almost think she's the younger of the two of us based on attitude alone. At least, until she starts acting anything close to serious."

"Well, at least it sounds as if it meant you had an interesting childhood."

"Interesting is… certainly not an inappropriate word to use."

Kurt got the sense Shin was being ever so slight evasive as they stepped out of the side room, but before the conversation continued, the boys saw Juna rushing down the stairs in a hurry, braking to a halt when she saw her classmates. Specifically, though, Shin.

"Morning, Juna," Shin greeted, Kurt doing the same.

"Good morning, Juna. I take it you're headed out as well?"

"Y-Yeah," said Juna. "Are you two done with your training?"

"Just finished up," Shin said, finishing putting his blazer into place, even if done in a far looser fashion than his two classmates.

"It's pretty impressive how you two do all that every single day," the boys looked at each other.

"Well," said Kurt. "It's something I've been doing since a very young age. So, it's just a part of my morning routine."

"I was surrounded by people who did much the same growing up," said Shin. "It's basically just a habit for me as well. A part of me almost feels weird if I don't get morning practice in."

"Mrrnnn…" Juna's sudden noise turned into a sudden shout. "I'm sorry, okay?! I'm sorry about before!"

"Eh?" Shin tilted his head, Kurt giving a sigh.

"I think she means from when she tried to punch you. When that happened," Kurt only shook his head as Shin gave another sound, as if he'd entirely forgotten that had happened in the past two weeks.

"Yeah, that!" spat Juna. "I know it wasn't your fault, and—haaagh. I shouldn't have gotten so angry. It was childish of me."

"I, haha, I should probably apologize myself," Shin raised a hand, a cautious expression on. "I was perhaps a bit too callous in my own response, which certainly didn't help. So, I apologize for my own behavior."

"Have you been wanting to say that for the past two weeks?" mused Kurt, Juna's face going flush a bit. "Though maybe it's because Shin is Iskan, might that have made it easier?"

"D-Don't get the wrong idea!" said Juna, "I-I don't dislike the people here! Yeah, I've got my problems with the country, but if it's between people, it's different! Erebonian or Iskan, doesn't matter: When I mess up, I make sure I apologize."

"That's a decently mature outlook to have," mused Shin.

"W-Well, I was also maybe too harsh in other ways. Like what I said about your and Kurt's weapons. I mean, you two practice every day and…"

"Ah, right," Kurt gave a hum. "I believe for me, what you said was 'weapons as old as the Great Collapse', if I recall? And since we hadn't seen Shin's uchigatana at the time, you were also dismissive of it."

Juna could only look to the side as her blush worsened, Shin giving a slight snicker.

"Don't worry about that," Kurt said, "Besides, like I said, my training is just part of my morning routine. Out of curiosity, is everyone from Crossbell like you?"

"Huh? 'Like me' how?"

Shin quietly held a few fingers up, slowly curling them back down as Kurt continued.

"Oh, I don't mean to offend. Very straightforward and good-hearted, probably the type to be easily tricked," Kurt didn't quite catch Shin give a slight wince as soon as Juna's expression changed to being cross again.

"Hey! Wanna run that by me again?!"

"Like I said, I don't mean to offend," Kurt then held his hand out, "I'm glad to have a classmate like you whom I can trust. Though I don't know if I can trust your skills just yet."

"Agh, you're a real piece of work," Juna then gave a chuckle, looking between the two boys. "Well, let's start over. Glad to be your classmate, Kurt, Shin."

Juna took Kurt's offered handshake, and in turn, to her own surprise, Shin offered a fist bump to her, which she returned with an amused look.

"Hello, you three. Good morning."

"A-Altina?!" Juna turned around as the small girl came down the stairs, more surprised at her arrival than the boys. "I thought you left for school already!"

"I received a routine status call early this morning. I didn't want to wake you, so I took it in the study room," the small girl's statement made her classmates look between each other. That 'on paper' statement of her association with the Intelligence Division was all too obvious at times like this. "If I disturbed you as I was leaving, I apologize."

"N-No, I was out like a light. But wait—what do you mean by 'routine status call'?"

"Sorry, that is confidential."

"Another 'slip of the tongue' I take it?" Shin's dry remark earned him a look from Altina, but she didn't counter it either. I'm going to need to tread a bit carefully around her, thought Shin. I already have Major Irving keeping a close watch. The answer I gave raised more red flags than I assumed it would have. Not to mention the news Kurogane said before I left, about Erebonia's Intelligence Division being sighted in Calvard. J,eez, Nee-san isn't going to let me live this one down.

"Well," Kurt speaking next pulled Shin from his thoughts. "in any event, it's nearly time to head to class. We're all in the same class anyway, so why don't we walk together?"

"I do not mind, but…" Altina looked between the three, but perhaps particularly stopping to look at Shin and Juna. "Perhaps I should leave you three as you were? Since it seems your conversation was going smoothly."

"Don't worry about it, we just finished up anyway," said Juna, tapping Altina on the shoulder. "Besides, all four of us going sounds more fun, so come on!"

"Alright," Altina's flat response betrayed the slightest hint of bewilderment as Juna started moving her along, leaving the boys to exchange amused looks.


With most of the morning hustle beginning to die off, it made Class VII's walk from the dorms a cozy time, and Juna was sure to express it with her chipper chuckles and stretches as they went along.

"Ahh, Leeves is such a nice place. I can't get enough of his homey atmosphere. It's so peaceful and laid-back, and it's got some great shops."

"Agreed," Kurt nodded. "It's a good halfway point between rural and urban. We're just the right distance away from Heimdallr."

"The previous owners of this land were a noble family," said Altina. "After they lost ownership of it, the government attempted to convert it into a resort. However, that plan fell through. It's said the half-finished buildings from that were used to create the campus."

"W-Well…" mumbled Juna. "You sure know a lot."

"Something tells we shouldn't ask why you know that," muttered Shin.

"I suppose that explains why the branch campus is so large," said Kurt.

"All that aside," Juna was quick to pull things away from that potential landmine, which Kurt and Shin were visibly thankful for. "I didn't think the empire's military academies would be this tough. I get combat training and practical exams, but math, history, and even art? Isn't this workload way beyond what you'd have at a regular high school?"

"I'm curious about that as well," added Shin. "I take it Erebonia places a high value in education?"

"I'd say that assumption is correct," said Kurt. "Here in Erebonia, the pen and the sword are both held in high regard. Especially at Thors. It's a prestigious school founded by our most notable emperor. That legacy won't change simply because this is a branch campus."

"However, it seems the main campus has changed significantly this year," said Altina.

"Ah, yes…"

Juna and Shin exchanged a look. As foreigners, whatever it was Altina and Kurt were getting at, it was certainly beyond their knowledge.

"I don't get what you guys are talking about," unsurprisingly, Juna was the one to elect to voice her thoughts. "But looks like we're gonna have to give it 110% here. Let's kick all the other classes' butts!"

"Well, if you say so," Kurt mused. "However, most of our lessons are held with the other two classes anyway."

"Homeroom is the only one we have without them," said Altina.

"Considering this school has a measly twenty-one students, not much else we can do," Shin chuckled. "At the least I think that small number helps us. Hopefully it'll encourage us to see our classmates more as comrades than rivals. If anything, I believe our rivals should be the main campus. If we're the rejects or undesirables, then I say we show the main campus students we won't fall behind so easily."

"Hehe, despite how politely you talk, you've got quite the competitive streak, huh?" Juna chuckled. "But yeah, I'm with ya there!"

"Well, well. If it ain't the chosen ones, struttin' off to class together!"

A rather sardonic voice brought the four to a stop. At the gates, seemingly waiting for them was another of their fellow students. A tall young man wearing his uniform quite loosely, standing out thanks to the red shirt he wore beneath the blazer. A rugged looking face, blonde hair kept in a short, spiky crop, and with sharp, bright red eyes.

"You're…" Altina murmured.

"Ash Carbide, he's in Class VIII," said Shin, folding his arms.

"Right, I've seen him around," mumbled Juna.

"Good morning," Kurt was much more cordial otherwise. "Is there something we can help you with?"

"Hehe, nope, not a thing," Ash's amused chuckle only made Shin narrow his eyes. "Just wanted to get a little peek at the class taught by the hero of Erebonia. Class VII, huh? I'm sure the view's just great from up on that pedestal of yours."

"Oh, really?" Shin huffed. "And here I thought you were waiting outside here to give us pleasant morning greetings. Shame I was wrong."

Shin's snark actually earned an amused scoff from Ash.

"Sorry to disappoint, but we're being treated the same as any other students," said Kurt, Juna nodding.

"Yeah, it's not like things are going to be different for us just because our instructor's famous."

"Oh yeah? Then why'd they go out of their way to make such a small class? A little kid who's clearly too young to be here, some rich pretty boy with fancy hair, an unruly, loud foreigner from some sob-story country… oh wait, my bad, not a foreigner anymore, huh?" As he addressed each in turn, Ash's comments were hardly earning pleasant looks from the others. "And lastly, some foreigner from so far off to the East we've got an RMP officer basically breathing down his neck since nobody knows his deal."

"All right, we understand, you're a tough guy," Kurt said, glancing at the now glaring Shin. "But that's quite enough. If you have more to say, I'd be happy to talk with you further… after school."

"Put me second on that list," bit Shin.

"Heh, not bad," Ash said. "You've both got more spine than I gave you credit for. But the one I've got business with is—"

"Heehee," a pleasant trill of a giggle cut through the escalating mood. "I'm so happy to see everyone getting along!"

Next to approach was a girl with a slight, almost heart-shaped face, with short bright green hair kept a tad askew with multiple clips in place and topped by the uniform's matching cap, further marking it with a purple ascot in place of a ribbon like Juna's. When she spared a glance across her fellow students, they were met by large, soft purple eyes.

"Oh…" Juna hummed.

"She's in Class IX: Military Finance," said Altina.

"Musse Egret, right?" Shin mumbled, the girl looking straight to him as she curtsied. With a skirt.

"Good morning to you all. The weather is just splendid, isn't it?" Shin couldn't quite explain it, but for as pleasant as Musse's greeting was, he couldn't shake this feeling about her… what it was, he wasn't sure. "But if you spend too much time out here chatting, the bell will ring before you know it."

"True," Kurt muttered.

"You all done messing with us?" Juna said, looking at Ash.

"Hehe, me? I'm not here to mess with you."

"Really?" Shin drawled. "That's an interesting way to say good morning."

"Hah, take it however you want, Iskan. Well then, see ya around," as Ash turned and headed past the gate, Shin let out an annoyed hiss as he tapped a foot.

"Oh ho hooo I am going to enjoy the next sparring class we have with him," one could almost shy away from the aura of danger Shin was radiating as his eyes burned and his lips quirked into a stilted snarl pretending to be a smirk.

"My, that's quite the passionate look in your eyes. It's quite stimulating, I must say," Musse giggled, Shin glancing at her with a raised brow. "Heehee, I hope you all have a lovely day. I'll see you again for the classes we have together."

As Musse left next, Juna gave a sigh.

"What's that Carbide guy's problem?" said the girl. "I can't believe they let some punk like him into a military academy!"

"He obviously had some issue with those of us in Class VII," said Kurt, but then Shin caught him speaking under his breath. "No, not us exactly, but—"

Only for the bell to ring.

"Oh, shoot!" Juna gasped.

"We better hurry, or we'll be late to homeroom," said Altina.

"You're right, let's get moving."

With nods from the others, the four students took off in a hurry. And watching from afar with amused smiles, were Rean and Towa just around the corner.

"Phew, hard to believe it's been two weeks already," said Rean.

"Heehee, it warms my heart to see all the students trying their best," Towa said. "The classwork here is much more difficult than on the main campus, so I'm sure it's tough on them."

"Yeah," Rean nodded. "Then on top of that, training exercises were added on to their curriculum. We didn't have anything like that at the main campus. Thors' branch campus. I think I'm starting to understand what the government's trying to do here."

"Oh, but I don't think that's the only reason for this place. In keeping with Thors tradition, we'll also have THOSE days to look forward to."

"Yeah, I'm sure that'll be a relief for them. I'll tell my students about them after school, alongside the club announcement."

"Got it, thanks for taking care of that!" Towa chuckled as she pumped her arms, giving a readied grin. "Well, then, 'Instructor Rean,' let's give it our all today!"

"Likewise, 'Instructor Towa'!"


Considering how small a school it ultimately was despite the large campus, classes at Thors branch campus were ultimately simplistic. Four teachers, all teaching the measly twenty-one students between subjects, with only their homeroom class at the start and end of the day being when they were truly separated into their class groupings, with the groups effectively rotating by period to keep the groups relatively evenly split between lessons if they weren't all in attendance for that period.

First period was math taught by Michael Irving. Of course, though, it wasn't simple math by a long shot. Rather, the kind of math one would need to consider for military operations, with that day's lesson being on the formula used to calculate trajectory during artillery operations and the like.

Second period was taught by Towa Herschel, her subject being political economics. The subject for the day was Gross Domestic Product, which came with the tidbit from Towa that Erebonia's GDP had risen by 42% since two years prior.

Or more accurately, since the civil war had ended.

Third period was field training exercises, instructed by Randolph Orlando. It consisted of everything from soaring routines to survival tactics. All too amusingly for Shin, this was a class so up his alley that it only took two weeks for Randolph to decide to start preventing him from making things too easy on his classmates for any lesson requiring a group.

But that day, marching lessons meant such a measure wasn't needed.

And lastly, fourth period was history class, instructed by Rean Schwarzer. This was perhaps the second subject Shin found himself paying the most attention to, keen to fill in the blanks on his knowledge of Erebonia even if it meant starting from as far back as the Empire's founding. Luckily for Shin, Rean showed to be an excellent instructor, making his lessons clear and easy to understand for the class.

That day's lesson was getting into the definitive War of the Lions, a historical turning point for the Empire and what had been the ultimate rise of the very emperor who had founded Thors, Emperor Dreichels the Lionhearted. At the least, that day it was how said war even started.

And when lessons finally concluded, as evening began to roll around, it was then finally time to closing homeroom.

Which then meant now, the classroom for Class VII had a measly five people in it.

"Well, that's about it, how are you all holding up?" Rean looked across his four students, all in various states of tired out across their shared table, though still plenty alert. Good enough for the announcements he was about to make.

"… tired," Altina muttered.

"I was prepared for the coursework to be difficult, but even so…" said Kurt.

"Are you just piling more work on us just as we're getting used to the old pace?" Juna bit, folding her arms and raising a brow.

"Maybe it was always the plan," Shin hummed, sitting with his head placed firmly on the table and to the side. "I wouldn't be surprised to learn we're getting it worse than the main campus."

"Haha, not yet, anyway," Rean chuckled. "But I may end up needing to do that. The curriculum here at the branch campus is pretty diverse. It'd probably be a good idea to prepare yourselves for more work down the road."

"Ugh, if only there weren't so many lectures," mumbled Juna.

"Energy consumption greater than expected," said Altina.

"Sheesh," Kurt rolled his eyes. "Tomorrow is a free day, is it not?"

"Free what?" Shin angled his head to look at Kurt.

"That's right," said Rean. "In fact, I was just about to explain…"

"Oh right… the entrance guide mentioned that, didn't it?" Juna hummed, Shin giving a sound of realization.

"How is it different than a normal day off?" said Altina.

"Think of free days as normal school days, but without any classes," Rean said. "On free days, you can study, train, or pursue one of your hobbies. If you get permission beforehand, you can even go visit Heimdallr for the day."

"Wow!" said Juna. "That's a lot more freedom than I expected! I figured it was going to be some rest day with a ton of rules and restrictions."

"That doesn't sound too bad, though," added Altina.

"Quite the open box for an official school day," said Shin, finally rising to a proper sitting position. "A day to see some of the capital does sound fun…"

"Well, it's just one of the things that makes Thors, Thors," said the instructor. "However, though you're generally free to choose what you do, there is one mandatory task tomorrow. You'll need to choose a club to join."

"Really?" said Juna.

"A… club?" said Altina.

"I hadn't thought there would be clubs at a school that was only just founded," Kurt said.

"We're supposed to make clubs with so few people?" muttered Shin, counting things out on his fingers.

"It was a requirement from the principal herself. She said as long as we're using the Thors name, student clubs are a must. You'll be allowed to apply for a club as long as you have at least two members. We'll also see about getting your club the proper equipment. Oh, and any students who don't join a club will be put on the student council, where they'll work directly under the principal."

"Sounds dangerous," Altina said, her classmates nodding.

"It almost sounds like a threat," Shin muttered.

"What is with this place?" Juna grumbled. "Everyone here's too over the top!"

"So, we're being forced to choose," Kurt said, "We have until tomorrow, correct?"

"Right," Rean nodded. "I recommend you start thinking about it after school today. If you need advice, feel free to talk with any of the faculty members. Remember, we're here to help you."

"Understood," Kurt said with a sigh, Juna and Shin in quiet thought.

"I'd prefer just having you assign me a club," Altina murmured.

"Also," Rean continued. "regarding the new course at the end of the week."

"Oh, yeah, I forgot about that!" Juna said.

"Panzer Soldat training?" said Altina.

"Right, we'll be learning how to pilot the robots I've been reading about," Shin gave a hum.

"That's right. The training units have arrived at the hangar. You'll be joining the Combat Tactics students for basic maneuvering lessons. After that, we'll discuss the special lessons, the first of which will take place this weekend."

"The special lessons? I was curious about those," Juna said.

"I'm guessing there's no point in us even asking about those, is there?" said Kurt.

"I have a probable idea of what they could be," said Shin. "But I'd rather wait for official word about it."

"Sorry, but not even us instructors have been filled in on it. Anyway, focus on tomorrow for now. Think of it as a day to spread your wings and lift your spirits. That concludes homeroom. Can I have you lead the class here, Altina?"

"Understood," Altina stood from her chair. "Stand… bow."

And it was that quick routine that marked the official end of the school day.


"Picking some kind of club, huh? That's going to be something to think about tomorrow. What kind of club though?"

Shin was quite wrapped up in his thoughts now that the school day was over. He didn't even know where to really start with picking a club, though at the least maybe something that could fit in with his sword practice could work. But he was also thinking it may be good to branch out a bit and join a club where he could indulge in some other interest.

But the problem came with knowing he'd need at least one other student to join him in said interest, whatever it could end up being. Which really just made things more complicated to try and figure out.

And perhaps because he felt just that little bit out of place, Shin had found himself squirreling away to a corner of the training field to stew in his thoughts. He was pretty much alone out there, though off near the hangar there was a couple of girls from the other Classes, no doubt discussing their own ideas for what kind of club to form.

"Haaagh-and if I can't figure something out I'm just gonna get shoved onto the student council… though that could have its own merits. Depending on what kind of work Principal Le Guin would make any of us do."

"Ah, this is where you wound up," Looking upwards as he was simply sitting down, Shin saw Rean approaching. "Everyone was at the building, so I was wondering where you'd gone off too."

"I wanted to wander a bit to try and think things over," Shin chuckled. "What are you doing right now, Instructor?"

"Just doing the rounds, seeing what everyone is up to," Rean sat next to Shin, the student giving a hum. "Something up? You can talk to me if you need help deciding on your club… or is it something else?"

"Well, mainly the club thing. Frankly I have no clue what I'd even be interested in doing. And I can't say being the principal's gofer sounds appealing, truth be told."

"Ahaha, you caught that one immediately, huh?"

"I've had plenty of that back home in Iska. I'm sure I'll have a better idea of things tomorrow, maybe take some time to talk with anyone else here in town."

"Ah, I see…" Rean gave a knowing nod, Shin raising a brow. "Feeling out of place, right? It's fine if you feel a bit uneasy, being so far away from home. I know it's been two weeks already, but you have plenty more time to adjust. I just hope you'll have an easy time making friends despite that."

"Getting along with my new schoolmates isn't really the issue. In fact, I quite like most of them. Well, perhaps besides that Carbide fellow," Shin thought back to the encounter with Ash that morning, his brow furrowing as he grumbled. And Rean could feel that rising agitation. "Something about him just rubs me the wrong way, even if it's just been one proper meeting…"

"Haha, that so? Guess not everyone can mesh easily. But, if you're struggling with things, again, don't be afraid to ask any of us instructors for help, and just talk with the other students and see if you click with any idea. If not, well…"

"I suppose I'll just have to see."

"You've got time, so just think carefully about it," Rean stood, adjusting his coat. "Well, good luck. And maybe tomorrow we can have that chat about our sword styles. I'm still curious about what stories you've got from Iska you know?"

"That's only fair," Shin chuckled as Rean started off. And as Rean left his sight, vanishing through the doors of the hangar on the other side of the yard, he went back to lounging against the wall of the yard, a deep sigh passing through him. "Of course, I couldn't say this uneasy feeling is because I'm not used to it being this peaceful. I wonder… how long will it be before I decide these people are worth trusting? Enough to say what I was really doing back in Iska."