Fie found herself facing a conundrum of epic proportions as she walked through the streets of Leeves. It was a truly difficult situation for the girl. A crisis with no easy answer. A situation that well and truly sucked.
She was bored.
Classes were over for the day, but there was still plenty of time before dinner. With no club activities that day she found herself aimlessly wandering about. In the first month she would just go somewhere private and either brood about her unfortunate new circumstance or simply just take a nap. The former was something she no longer desired to do, and the latter...
Fie shuddered. Lesson well learned.
Sure she could always go back to the dorm and sleep in her room, but doing that just felt... lame. Sure she wasn't someone who enjoyed being social with others, but going to her room this early just felt like some stupid capitulation. Like an old antisocial lady locking herself away from the world.
Seeing what her classmates was up to was possibly an option, but she had no idea where any of them were. She could call them on her ARCUS II, but while she was bored she wasn't that bored. Desperation was an ugly look for someone who prided herself on being as cool and aloof as she totally was.
What did people her age usually do for fun? An answer soon presented itself as she saw two boys from Class IX walk into a nearby clothing shop. Right. Shopping. That sounded like a thing thing people did, yeah?
With a shrug Fie decided it must be so. Perhaps a little window shopping of her own was in order? But since she didn't want to follow those other students she sought out another shop to browse.
Neinvalli? Nah. She had gone there enough lately. Plus she still had the job she was gonna do for Jingo in a few days.
The game store? Possibly. Her absolute defeat to Musse still rankled her pride and finding new cards to fortify her deck did sound appealing. She frowned in thought. While she did have a little spending mira on hand it was not so much that she was ready to blow it all on game cards. Not yet, at least.
Instead she pivoted around and walked towards one of the shops on the opposite end of the area. Nyo-Sui-An Imports. Fie had no idea what the name actually meant, but she knew it was an Eastern imports shop. She remembered checking it out once during her initial survey of the town, but had put it out of mind after that scouting mission.
Time to change that.
Entering the shop she was pleased to see it was deserted save for the old man behind the counter. Good. The man said a standard greeting to her and she responded with a disinterested nod before focusing her attention on the myriad goods stocked around the place. The owner must not have minded too much as he gave a good-natured chuckle before returning to whatever it was he had been doing.
Fie wasn't completely clueless to eastern culture. Even though Zephyr mostly worked in the more prosperous western half of the continent there had been a few times when good opportunity for work took them into the more chaotic east. As a little jaeger mascot she didn't really get much chance to experience the places and foods of that exotic region, but she at least saw a few things with her own two eyes. Things she was now seeing again in this shop.
Averting her eyes from an admittedly tasty looking display of manjuu, the girl found herself blinking as she stared at something that definitely didn't belong in an imports shop, "Uhh..."
"Gahahaha!" The old man was clearly paying more attention than it first appeared, "I know what you're thinking, missy, 'Why would an import shop carry a bunch of fishing rods?' Well, the thing is, I just so happen to be a member of the Imperial Fishing Club and thought it'd be a waste if I didn't use my position to spread the joys of fishing to the people of Leeves!"
That made sense, she supposed, but it didn't quite answer the most pressing question, "But why do you have so many rods?" There was like twenty of them on display!
"Cause they're named after me, of course!" The now named Rod exclaimed with a mirthful grin and another laugh. At her unimpressed stare he coughed to compose himself, "In all actuality there was a bit of a hiccup with a recent order I placed. I thought I requested six new rods, but somehow an extra zero ended up at the end. Sure I could have sent them all back, but then I decided oh what the hell. Why not take advantage of the opportunity?"
She tilted her head in confusion, prompting the shop keep to elaborate further, "I got a bunch of rods, right? So I decided to sell them dirt cheap to the people of the town and academy. Sure I take a loss up front, but I'll make it all back when you kids get hooked and come back looking for upgrades, accessories, and extra bait! Everyone's a winner!"
"...Are you really sure you should be telling that to a potential customer?"
"Hoho! I don't see why not. You might not act it, but I can tell you're interested by the gleam in your eye. I know a future angler when I see them."
Dammit. As much as she wanted to deny it, she kinda was interested. That fishing session in Sutherland had been kinda fun. The only reason she continued to hesitate was because a part of her felt like buying a fishing rod would be giving Rean an undeserved win and the guy was already too damn annoying as is.
"Tell ya what. I'll give you a rod, plus some bait to get started, and all you have to do is stand at the river and fish for a while to draw attention to yourself. Hell, I'll even sweeten the deal a bit – If you can convince some of your classmates to also purchase from me I'll reward you with some quality reels, line, and hooks. Stuff the pros use."
"Sure. That sounds fun." If nothing else this was a good way of alleviating her boredom for the day. After acquiring her gift rod – and making a mental note to come back for some of that manjuu later – the girl exited the store. Complying with Old Man Rod's request the jaeger turned student turned novice angler made her way to the bridge that stood over Leeves' only source of water.
Peering over the side she actually saw a few shadowy figures darting about in the clear water below her. Perfect. She didn't have much experience fishing, but something told her that this was going to be a really good spot to fish. Once a bait was attached she took aim and fired, "Come at me, fishes!"
That moment of elation soon gave way to the tedium that was fishing. Cast the line, reel it in slowly, hope something bites. But it was peaceful and that was what mattered most to her in that moment.
Relaxing under a peaceful sun with nothing but the chirping birds to keep her company? This was the life.
"...What are you doing?"
Correction. Chirping birds and Altina. Fie's youngest classmate was now standing at the end of the bridge staring at her with a raised eye.
The neophyte angler looked down to the rod in her hands before going back to Altina, "...What does it look like I'm doing?"
Altina gave the most minute of twitches, which coming from a girl even more stoic and controlled than she was said a lot, "Allow me to rephrase – Why are you fishing? Should I inform Instructor Rean that his strange obsession is spreading?"
Fie definitely did not need Rean finding out that she was trying out his hobby, but despite that was still confident enough to call the bluff, "Please. We both know that you had just as much fun as I did back there. And weren't you the one who caught the fish in the end?" Altina earned herself some head pats for that success.
The reason she remembered that detail had nothing to do with jealousy.
But she was definitely gonna be the one to complete the next fishing mission! ...For unrelated reasons, of course.
The intelligence agent narrowed her eyes in challenge, "Perhaps, but I am not the one currently holding a fishing rod, am I?"
"That can be changed, you know?" Altina tried to keep her stern look up, but there was the tiniest glimmer of interest in those eyes, "Nyo-Sui-An is running a sale on fishing gear right now. That's where I got this one."
"...How cheap are we talking?"
Fie chuckled to herself. Hook, line, and sinker. Literally. "Dirt cheap. I got mine almost for free." Fie hesitated briefly. Should she swallow her pride and continue...? Yeah, what the hell, "Also if you tell 'em I sent you you'll probably get an even better deal." If the old man was offering free stuff for referrals she would be a fool to pass up on the offer.
"Why would telling them that you sent me-"
"Shhh. You're disturbing the fish!" Having a convenient excuse to change the topic is pretty great! "So hurry up and get over there before they run out."
"But I haven't agreed-"
Nuh uh. No second guessing, "Yes you have. We both know it. Now go!"
Altina glanced back towards the town, hesitated for a brief moment, but eventually squared her shoulders and marched off in that direction.
Mission accomplished.
With Altina now temporarily out of her hair Fie returned to the task at hand – Catching an absolute behemoth of a fish. It should be easy considering she knew what she was doing now, right?
...A few minutes passed without anything biting and Fie mentally changed her mission to something a little more realistic. Any fish would do, actually. Maybe even a sardine?
"I have returned." So caught up in trying to reel in the fish Fie hadn't even noticed the return of Altina. Given her classmates was now holding a rod in her hands identical to the one she was using assured her of mission success.
That didn't make her feel any better, however. In fact it made her downright wary of the younger girl as she cast her own line into the river. Thus far Fie had yet to be able to catch anything and Altina had been the one to catch the big fish in Sutherland. It would be pretty damn embarrassing if that girl somehow managed to show her up despite starting so much later.
Fie rolled her neck, causing her muscles to pop. It was game time.
The next few minutes were tense as both girls focused their attention on the calm water beneath them. Neither was willing to back down in this spontaneous duel. Fie would occasionally sneak a glance at the girl beside her, doing her best to gauge her progress. Should she maybe engage in a little act of sabotage? There were a few subtle things she could do to mess up Altina's progress without her classmate noticing like-
"Claiomh Solais."
Fie's eyes widened in surprise as the mechanical being appeared between them, "W-Why did you...?"
"No reason." Altina replied without looking away from her line.
Either she had somehow managed to read her thoughts and was deploying a countermeasure against her idea or she wanted to preempt Fie with her own offensive action. Either way, Fie opted to place a little distance between the two of them just in case.
She paused. There was a third possibility that Altina simply did that just to get into her head. Altina's face remained as blank as ever, but that didn't mean anything. She could be pretty devious when she wanted to...
Thoughts about her classmate's malicious intent were put on hold as she felt a tug on the line. Yes! Jaeger training kicked in almost immediately as Fie calmed herself down. Gotta keep a clear mind when in a battle or else you're liable to screw up and get yourself killed.
Fishing seemed to follow similar guidelines, even if the threat of imminent death probably wasn't there.
With focus established the battle was an easy one. The fish fought valiantly, but against someone as experienced and cool as her? No contest. Within seconds she had the fish captured as she gazed upon the frantically flopping creature.
"...It's tiny."
"It's the first catch of the day. Gotta work my way up" She wasn't going to allow the bitter lamentations of a sore loser to get her down.
Even if it was a really small fish, barely the size of her hand.
"You've been here longer than I and that's your first catch?"
Instead of responding verbally Fie closed the distance with Altina before patting her on the head, "There, there. I'm sure you'll catch something... eventually."
"Don't do that." Altina hissed, swiping her hand away, "You aren't Instructor Rean."
Despite herself Fie sighed wistfully as she recalled that one experience, "Yeah. His are much better..."
She realized her mistake as soon as Altina froze. The gaze of the short girl grew intense as she scrutinized Fie with a pronounced frown on her face, "...How would you know?"
Sweating nervously Fie looked for an escape from the situation she found herself in. Thankfully, she spotted one walking not too far from their position. "Heeeeeey! Kuuuurt! Over here!"
Yelling loudly across town while waving an arm like a lunatic? Totally out of character. But right now the need for a distraction outweighed any other concern.
It would have felt really bad if the swordsman had ignored her painfully loud cries, but thankfully he didn't and instead approached the duo. With raised eyes Kurt glanced between the two of them, then to the rods in their hands, before finishing with the fish still dangling from her rod, "What are you doing?"
"...What does it look like we're doing?" Were it not for the fact that Fie was desperately trying – and probably failing – to get Altina to forget about their previous interaction she would have given her a pat on the head for that retort. Her friend was learning!
Kurt let out a tired sigh, "That's a fair point, I suppose."
"You should join us. The imports shop is selling fishing poles at a low cost right now." Altina said.
"Tell 'em I sent you and you'll get an even bigger discount." Fie supported.
The Vander glanced between the water and the two of them before sighing again, "...Very well. I could use something relaxing after today's Chess Club meeting."
Score! Second referral acquired. She didn't really know how useful the free stuff she was getting would be, but she had eyes - Rean's fishing rod was far cooler than the basic thing she had.
Her attempts to return to fishing after Kurt left were stymied by a pair of eyes focused upon her, "...You are a dangerous person." Altina muttered before returning to her own line.
Fie had a funny feeling that she wasn't referring to her military background or her fishing prowess with that statement.
By the time the Vander returned five minutes later they had both caught two fish, something which Altina made a point of mentioning. Fie found it to be pretty immature of the stoic girl to act like this was some kind of contest, because it definitely wasn't.
...Unless she won, naturally.
"Soooo..." Fie drawled as the only boy in Class VII dipped his lure into the water, "You seem pretty tired. Something happen?"
"It's your fault, actually." His words caused the former jaeger to blink in confusion. She definitely hadn't done anything to mess with her friend. That day, at least.
Seeing her confusion Kurt shook his head before elaborating, "We aren't the only ones who have noticed that you have changed, even if we're the only ones who know why. You've started to garner some interest from the other students. Sidney in particular seems to think he has a chance with you. He kept asking me questions about you all throughout club today."
Fie tilted her head in thought as she pondered his words. Had she really begun appearing more approachable lately? She didn't really think so, but it was probably possible. Others would probably notice it more than she had.
But the most important question on her mind, "...Who is Sidney?"
"Ouch." Kurt shook his head with a smile, "That is pretty much what I expected." After a brief chuckle the swordsman shook his head, "We must be really bored. I can't believe we are really copying Instructor Rean's stupid hobby."
"It is rather unfortunate."
"Yup. Pretty weird." Best to not remind the others that she was the one who started it.
Running his free hand through his hair, Kurt turned towards the two girls with a pleading expression on his face, "Do you think we can at least pretend this is some kind of emotional training? Something about remaining calm maybe? I mean Instructor Rean seems to have a good grip on his emotions and maybe fishing had something to do with it...?"
He was clearly grasping at straws, but Fie had to at least consider his words, "I've seen a few jaegers who do weirder things before battle..."
"That's not it at all." Altina had a pronounced frown on her face as she spoke, "During my many missions with him we would often encounter bodies of water. It didn't matter if it was before, after, or even during a battle, he would always demand we stop so he could cast a few lines in the water... It was rather annoying."
"Wait. You mean he would make you stand there while he fished?" A nod was Altina's reply, "And he never bothered to let you try until Sutherland?" Another nod, "What a jerk."
"I have to agree with Fie. What a jerk indeed."
"Hey guys!" Oh look. Here comes Juna to round out the squad. The pink-haired girl stopped at the end of the bridge and gave the three of them a flat look, "...What are you doing?"
Fie looked towards Kurt. Altina looked towards Kurt. Kurt let out a sigh, "We are fishing, obviously."
Dammit Kurt. He broke the combo.
After shooting a final look of disappointment to the unawares swordsman she turned her gaze back to the girl from Crossbell, "Hurry up and get a rod so you can join us."
"What she said." Was all Altina muttered as the young girl found herself far more interested in a tug on her line. Fie scowled. She was not going to fall behind!
Juna looked between them with a disbelieving stare, before shaking her head with a sigh, "For real?" If Fie knew the girl half as well as she thought than she knew the inner conflict going through her head right now was a debate between allowing herself to be peer pressured into something as dumb as fishing or not. A debate with one obvious choice, "...Fine! Don't go anywhere!"
Fie considered suggesting to the others they do just that, 'cause being gone by the time Juna returned would have been funny, but beyond the obvious difficulty of convincing the others to follow suit there was the fact that doing so would mean Altina would end up with the most fish caught. The quiet girl would never let her live it down.
Instead she focused all her attention on the water, something which paid off almost immediately as she reeled in a nice looking fish. Kurt also managed to catch two, but she wasn't concerned about him. There was only a little more time before the onset of darkness and dinner, so the next few minutes promised to be decisive.
"I'm back!" Juna really didn't need to say that considering how loud and bright the girl was, but she responded to the words with a nod regardless, "So was this something that just happened randomly, or did you guys just decide to do this without me?"
"Pretty sure this was entirely unplanned."
"It was." Altina confirmed Kurt's words, "The only explanation I can think of is that somehow Fie is working with the shop owner to sell us rods for some reason."
"Damn, you're sharp."
Juna looked confused for a moment before seemingly shrugging it off as unimportant, "Uh huh... Well, whatever. I guess this is a good way to relax. Tennis Club was a pain!"
She was obviously fishing for sympathy, but Fie had already used up her limited interest with Kurt. He meanwhile proved he could be surprisingly heartless as she spotted the grin on his face that he concealed from Juna by glancing away. Altina... had already tuned out the conversation as she was entirely focused on her line in the water.
That little... Fie growled before hastily following suit. She wasn't losing!
"Wow." Juna muttered after a long awkward silence, "You guys really suck."
Her mood worsened when someone began to snicker at her misfortune. Fie belatedly realized it was her, although both Kurt and Altina had sly little smirks on their faces.
"Fine! Whatever! See if I care! I'm just gonna tell the fish all about my day, and I'll do it really loudly! See if you can ignore that!"
Juna clearly underestimated Fie's ability to tune out things when she wanted to, but fortunately for the Crossbellian that was a lesson she wouldn't be learning that day. She couldn't say she was all that interested in the happenings of the Tennis Club, but she still intended to listen.
'Cause that's what friends do.
Rean found himself thinking about his just finished meeting with Principal Le Guin as he entered Leeves proper. The formidable warrior had attempted to be subtle with her words – which was admittedly quite a surprise for such a straightforward person – but the overall point of the meeting wasn't lost on him.
She was planning on moving a couple more students into Class VII after the upcoming field study.
In hindsight it made a lot of sense. His class only had four students while both Towa and Randy had double that. Moving a student from each of their groups into his own would balance the numbers better.
Aurelia hadn't said which students she had in mind, but the young teacher had an inkling of an idea. Two of them had already proven to be quite the troublemakers back on their previous field study, and he had a feeling they would fit in quite well with Class VII.
He stopped walking as he considered his words. Was it wrong that he considered his students to be a bunch of troublemakers?
Oh well. It wasn't as if his class had been much better. Maybe that was simply a Class VII thing?
He had intended on taking a fairly direct route back to the dorms, with only a brief stop to chat with Munk on his itinerary. That plan was put on hold when he heard laughter from the river. And not just any laughter, either.
It was laughter he was quite familiar with.
Being the curious guy he was, he couldn't stop himself from turning towards that exit of Leeves and moving a little closer to investigate. Sure enough, upon coming into view of the bridge he saw exactly who he thought it would be. What they were doing, however, was enough to give the Ashen Chevalier pause.
His kids were all fishing together.
That none of them noticed him despite his lack of hiding spoke volumes of how invested they were in his favorite hobby. That notion was enough to cause a swell of elation to rise inside him. Seeing them hanging out and having fun together this quickly...
He supposed in that regard they were different from his class. Machias and Jusis needed a little longer to recover from their spat. Maybe it was a benefit of the smaller class size?
Still, as good as things currently stood he knew there were still issues to be resolved. Juna was a good student most of the time, but given her past she was a minefield he needed to be careful around. Fie had responded admirably to the reappearance of her old family, but she would need to make a major decision in the future. And Altina was making great strides herself, but student life was still a novel experience to the agent and he wanted to keep watching over her for a while longer while she adjusted.
At least Kurt seemed to be a lot more confident in himself now. He didn't think he would have any more trouble with his fellow swordsman.
Still, while he wasn't so naive as to think those issues could be overcome immediately, he was confident that they could be overcome in time, especially so long as they had good friends at their side. Hopefully he could play a small part in that learning experience too, both as a teacher and as a friend. It was why he became an instructor, after all.
For a brief moment he considered joining them, but decided against it. Best to let them develop their bonds organically. Besides, he could always use it against them later on if he discovers a great fishing spot on an upcoming excursion.
With a warm feeling burning in his chest Rean turned away from the students and made his way into town proper. After making that quick stop to chat with Munk he decided to make another detour, this time to sate his curiosity. Thankfully Nyo-Sui-An was on the way.
"Ah, instructor! You look to be in a good mood today." The old man greeted as he stepped into the mostly vacant shop.
"I could say the same about you, Rod, and I suspect it's for the same reason."
The shopkeeper gave an understanding hum, "So those are your students?"
"The one and only Class VII: Special Operations."
"Heh. They're good kids. You've done well, instructor."
Rean let out a small laugh, "I haven't done much. Everything they've accomplished has been because of them. I have to ask though... How did it happen?"
"A couple hours ago the quiet girl came in. She didn't seem to have anything specific in mind, but I caught her staring at the fishing display and gave her a special deal. All it took was a free rod and the promise for some extra accessories if she helped bring me more anglers."
"I see..." His class had multiple individuals that fell under the description of 'quiet girl,' but if he was willing to bet his fifty mira – which he wasn't – he would place it on being Fie. That definitely sounded more up her alley.
"Gwahaha!" The elderly man laughed boisterously, "Better watch out instructor, or your students will end up surpassing you before you know it, especially once they get their hands on some of this new stuff the Lakelords sent me!"
Rean too laughed, but not nearly as loudly as the other man, "As a teacher I suppose I would be happy if my students managed to surpass me. Still, I think we both know it's gonna take more than some good accessories to overtake experience and passion."
"True enough, instructor, but it will definitely make a difference. Take this tuned gear for example. With it you can reel in your line much faster than before. Perfect for those moments when the fish exhausts itself!"
Rean knew exactly what the man was trying to do, but he couldn't help but bite regardless, "...How much is it?"
"Ten thousand."
Oof. That was a lot of mira, especially for an instructor. Still, if there was one benefit from all his time spent working as the Ashen Chevalier it was that the government paid exceedingly well. He did have a modest nest egg saved in case of emergencies...
An image of his students standing triumphantly with larger fish than what he had caught came to mind. Any respect they would have had for him would be lost for sure. He shuddered. This was definitely an emergency!
"Well, as a teacher I would be happy if my students surpassed me, but as an angler I would be pretty upset. You've got yourself a deal."
As Rod bagged up his newest purchase Rean couldn't help but think back to the scene on the bridge. His students had definitely come a long way since those first days. Maybe he should attempt to treat them to a meal again? It definitely couldn't be as bad as the last time.
Although perhaps he should wait on that idea. They would be getting new arrivals in just a couple weeks. What better way to welcome them to Class VII?
He smiled to himself as he left the store. Things were definitely looking up.