Rain Clouds and Regrets
With the onset of June came the rainy season, and the frequent gloomy days reflected the dampened mood of their class.
While Masha put up a strong front, she had become even more twitchy around noble students, especially Lawrence, not helped by how the tall noble returned from Saint Arkh in a grim mood which had only been made worse by him learning about the events in Bareahard.
Irene found what transpired quite concerning as well, doubly so because her memory of the last few hours was…hazy. She remembered traversing the waterways to free Masha, and fighting the jaeger hounds sent by the Provincial Army, but the details were fuzzy.
Oh.
And Fion used to be a jaeger.
It was hard to look at him the same way she used to.
It explained a lot of his oddities and the gaps in his education, especially his eagerness to eat food or nap wherever and whenever he could.
Part of her still felt bad for him…but jaegers didn't deserve mercy.
He wasn't one anymore though…
It was probably a good thing that Fion had made himself scarce after the field study. She wasn't sure that she'd be able to act normally around him.
And if that weren't enough, Julia was acting a bit strangely around her too. Her blonde friend had been worried about her, trying to make sure she wasn't getting too stressed, and checking up on her a lot more than before.
She even seemed a bit nervous around her sometimes, which was…a bit worrying.
Irene frowned, looking out the window at the rain, tuning out Instructor Valestein's half-hearted reminder to study.
Oh, there she went ranting about Vice Principal Heinrich again. Those two really seemed to have strong feelings about each other.
While Irene was fairly confident that she would be able to perform acceptably on the midterm exams, she would still have to find time to study.
A few of her classmates looked a bit more concerned, like Ellia, who seemed not too far from pulling her hair out. Gaia seemed as calm as usual, but Irene had seen her in the library quite often in the past week, poring over her notes and textbooks. Lawrence and Elisha had also been there often, now that she thought about it, the former apparently having asked the latter for some assistance on studying for the engineering exam.
Even Masha, who probably was in no danger of failing, looked slightly frazzled.
The only one who looked entirely unaffected was Emmet, though since he had scored the highest on the entrance exam, maybe his confidence was justified. Then again, he had seemed barely fazed by the prospect of facing down the Provincial Army, so maybe it just wasn't important to him.
"Irene?" Julia called, standing near her desk. "Are you doing alright?"
"Hmm? I'm fine, Julia," Irene replied, looking up at her friend's concerned face, realizing belatedly that most of the class had left already. "Sorry for making you worry."
Lawrence hovered by the door, giving her a questioning look, and–
Wait, why was Emmet still here?
"I'd stop worrying if you stopped spacing out like this," Julia huffed, taking a seat on the desk next to her (on Elisha's desk).
"Does the weather not sit well with you?" Lawrence wondered.
"Or did whatever happened in the sewers have some longer term effects?" Emmet suggested, leaning against the wall and giving her a searching stare over crossed arms.
"Emmet! Don't be so blunt about it!" Julia hissed, turning to glare at their purple haired classmate.
"Why not?" he grunted. "From what I have observed, it only comes out when Irene feels a desire to hurt something, like a jaeger."
Thump!
"P-please don't," Irene whispered, clutching her chest.
"Emmet!" Lawrence growled, his voice rumbling through the room as he glared at the bespectacled man.
"Honestly! Have you no shame?!" Julia huffed.
"Only a little," Emmet replied sardonically. "But that doesn't really matter. What's important is that Irene doesn't fly off the handle at the wrong moment."
"And provoking her is supposed to help, how?" Lawrence grunted skeptically.
"Merely pointing out how much of a problem it is."
"Directness is respectable, Millstein," Lawrence rumbled. "But blunt force does not solve all problems."
"That just means you aren't applying enough of it to the right place," Emmet snarked back.
Julia snorted, shaking her head, sharing a commiserating look with Irene. "Boys."
Irene frowned "I'm sorry for worrying you–"
"Up, up up! None of that!" Julia cut her off, waving her hand dramatically. "It isn't your fault–"
"It sort of is," Emmet pointed up.
"Shut up Millstein!" Julia sniffed. "You're not helping!" She turned back to Irene. "Though if the stress of exams and all the crap that's happened to us is getting to you, I think you could use a break."
"B-but, there's so much–"
"I spoke with President Herschel about it," Lawrence interrupted. "She mentioned that several other student council members are putting their duties on hold to study, helped by the fact that student activity also has decreased as people realize they need to study, so you should be able to ease off that work."
"But then President Herschel has to do all the work herself and study!" Irene objected, though she felt her face warm. It was a bit touching that they cared, even Emmet, in his own way. Probably.
"Nothing she hasn't done before, or so I've heard," Emmet chuckled. "And I'd bet blood that seeing you like this would only make little Towa worried."
Irene looked down, realizing that he was right.
"It's not fair when you all gang up on me like this," she pouted, letting out a long sigh.
"Evidently, it was necessary," Lawrence chuckled. "You can be quite stubborn sometimes, Lady Irene. Especially when trying to help others at your own expense."
"I-I'm not like that–!"
"Yes you are," Julia snickered. "But now you have a mini me in the Student Council President to pass stuff off to when you need a break, like now."
"Going into the exams all wound up isn't going to do you any good," Emmet pointed out. "Nor is trying to resolve how your maternal instincts conflict with your desire to strangle jaegers."
Thump!
"Aidios dammit Emmet!" Julia growled, baring her teeth at him. "Quit doing shit like that!"
Their purple haired classmate just smirked at her. "You're a lot more fun with your claws out, Jules," he snickered, giving her an appreciative once over. "All you nobles in our class are quite fun, actually, all silk hiding steel."
'B-wha?!'
"I've never had silk used to describe me," Lawrence laughed, slapping Emmet on the back. "Are you sure you meant to include me?"
"Got a point, you slab of rocks," Emmet grunted, straightening up quickly to cover how much the friendly smack had shifted him. "You're more like a massive club painted in bright colors."
"I never took you to be a poet, Millstein," Julia snickered, "and seriously, 'Jules'?"
"It takes all sorts. And what did that soldier call you?" Emmet mused, gazing up thoughtfully. "The finest jewel Bareahard ever produced?"
"Oh, Aidios, anything but that," Julia groaned, pinching her nose with her hands.
"Oh! I remember that one," Lawrence huffed. "Then there was the 'True Flower of Nobility' one."
"Lawrence…" Julia grumbled warningly.
"They are not incorrect," the tall man remarked defensively.
"I'm not going to pretend I'm not a winner of Aidios' face lottery," Julia sighed, "I get reminded of that every damned day, but I'm not some 'True Flower of Nobility'. None of them believe that, it's just something they say to try and get up my skirt, or my father's, really."
Irene choked on air. "J-Julia…!"
Emmet snorted, before doubling over and letting out a loud laugh, the most expressive sound Irene had heard from him.
It was a surprisingly nice laugh for a man as dour as him.
From the looks Julia and Lawrence gave him, they seemed similarly surprised.
Finally, Emmet ran out of breath, standing back up straight, a wry grin on his face. "Maybe they should have called you the sleekest mink in Kreuzen, pretty to look at, soft fur, but with claws and teeth enough to ruin any rat's day."
"Oh, stop, you're making me blush!" Julia grinned covering her face in mock embarrassment, though her eyes glinted with mischief through her fingers.
"I would also like to point out that roses have thorns and many gems are hard enough to cut things," Lawrence added. "They are also beautiful."
"Dammit Lawrence," Julia sighed, smacking her forehead into her palm, trying to hide the flush in her cheeks.
"Hehe…" Irene couldn't help but giggle, and after Julia shot her a betrayed look, she found she couldn't stop. She covered her mouth to try and stifle them, to no avail.
"I-I'm…I'm glad you guys are getting along," she finally got out, getting control over her laughter. "Especially you, Emmet."
She smiled at the normally standoffish man. "I don't know what weighs on you so much, but if you need help, you can ask."
He raised an eyebrow skeptically.
"There she goes again," Julia muttered, before giving Emmet a serious look. "I do owe you one. We definitely wouldn't have been able to get Regnitz out of the guardhouse without your help."
"It was a group effort," Emmet grunted, looking away and crossing his arms.
"Now, now, don't be too humble!" Lawrence laughed, patting his classmate on the shoulder. "I heard you took down a Kazakh Dovan single handedly! Quite an impressive feat. We should spar sometimes."
"I would prefer my limbs intact," Emmet drawled, looking resigned.
"Just don't block head on," Irene advised. "Then you'll be fine."
"Not helping, Irene," Julia grumbled.
"You do look a bit better now, Lady Irene," Lawrence observed. "Perhaps you just need to step away from things for a bit."
"But…" Irene paused. He had a point. The bit of levity had done much to lift her mood.
"It'll be a free day tomorrow," Julia pointed out, "why don't you visit Elise? It's a short train ride and a few months should have been enough for her to get situated."
'Ah! Elise! How could I forget?!'
"Ah, that's right!" Lawrence exclaimed. "I heard from Kordell she's found an ally in the younger Lady Schwarzer."
'I'm such a failure of a sister!'
"Well if she's anything like Irene she'll be sane at least," Julia remarked. "Something St. Astraia sorely needs."
'Is she ok?! Did something happen?!'
"You keep on describing that place as if it was a madhouse," Lawrence grumbled. "Was it truly so bad?"
'Wait no, she'd send a letter if she needed help, right?'
"An unnaturally high concentration of prepubescent noble girls?" Emmet mused. "That sounds like a recipe for disaster."
"All the snide remarks you can ask for," Julia quipped.
"Are you alright, Lady Irene?" Lawrence asked. "You look a bit distressed."
"I really should visit Elise," Irene murmured. "I hope she's fitting in well–"
"Alright! That's enough thinking!" Julia declared, shooing Irene out of her chair. "Go visit your sister! The school will still be standing when you get back."
"Probably."
"Not helping Millstein!"
As much as Irene wanted to see her sister, it was getting rather late in the evening, so she decided to visit the next morning instead.
Thus, she found herself on the earliest train to Heimdallr, enjoying the view of the sunrise through one of the windows.
The train was not too crowded, it being the weekend, but there were quite a few people that still worked, or were visiting the capital for other reasons.
A short trip later, she stepped off the train into Heimdallr Central Station, tracing familiar steps back to St. Astraia Girl's School.
The Sankt District was a fairly safe part of the capital, though Irene still took her weapons with her. She would not be unprepared if someone dared to threaten her little sister!
Or herself, for that matter.
As she arrived at the gates of the school and looked up at the old building, she felt a nostalgic feeling settle over her. True, her time there had not been entirely pleasant, but she had made many friends, and proved that she could be a proper lady regardless of all the ridicule cast on her adoptive parents.
Her reminiscing was interrupted as she sensed someone approaching, and she glanced back down to see a girl with shoulder length pale blue hair stalking around the school grounds, two swords strapped at her waist.
"Lady Irene?" the blue haired girl greeted, sounding surprised. "What are you doing here?"
"Oh, good morning Kordell!" Irene replied. "I decided to visit Elise and see how she was settling in. How are you doing? Keeping watch?"
Kordell nodded. "Yes." Her face hardly changed, but from how her eyes lit up, the perhaps overly serious girl was quite happy to see her.
"If you wish, we can spar later," Irene offered, stifling a giggle with her hand.
Kordell's lips twitched upwards slightly, which for her, was an equivalent to a beaming smile. "I will fetch your sister."
Irene's smile fell a bit as the blue haired girl went inside. Kordell Vander was officially Prince Cedric's guardian, a task the taciturn girl took very seriously, but with Princess Alfin attending St. Astraia, where her guardian, being male, would potentially pose a problem, it had been decided that they would switch their charges for the time being.
The decision must have infuriated Kordell, but here she was, still dutifully keeping watch over not just the Princess, but also the rest of the school.
A short while later, Irene spotted her adopted sister exiting the building, a rather annoyed look on her face.
"Elise!" Irene cried, smiling at her sister. "How have you been?"
"Perfectly fine, sister," Elise replied primly. "Just what are you doing here, at this hour too?"
"Do I need a reason to visit my little sister?" Irene pouted, a bit hurt that Elise didn't look too happy to see her.
"I suppose not," Elise sighed, smiling wryly. "Were you holding yourself back these past few months, then?"
"I'm sorry I didn't visit earlier," Irene apologized. "Thors certainly has a rigorous curriculum, and I also felt that you needed some time and space to get situated here."
"I barely needed to do anything of the sort," Elise snorted. "Many of the older students were all too eager to help me once they learned I was your little sister, and the staff here are even worse!" She sighed. "I have had quite enough of people pinching my cheeks and gushing about how cute I am."
"But you are!" Irene cried. "They are simply acknowledging the truth!"
"Why do I even bother?" Elise grumbled, shaking her head in resignation.
"If you are busy, I can always come back later," Irene offered, somewhat disappointed by her little sister's annoyance.
"No, it's fine," Elise denied quickly, looking a bit guilty. "You're here anyways, and no one's going to be mad if you visit."
"Excellent!" Irene cheered, smiling brightly and clapping her hands together happily. "I know of a nice cafe that opens early, if you're in the mood for tea or coffee."
"I think I know the one," Elise remarked drily. "I've had many people recommend it to me."
"Wonderful!" Irene chirped. "Shall we go then?"
"Very well, sister," Elise agreed, shaking her head in exasperation. "Just let me fetch my tachi."
A while later, the two sisters sat at a table outside the cafe Irene had frequented during her own tenure there. The proprietors were quite happy to see her, but she declined their offer of free tea; she wouldn't want them going out of business.
"Hmm…" Elise hummed, taking a sip of her tea. "This is quite good. I really shouldn't have expected otherwise."
"I would hardly suggest you drink subpar tea!" Irene huffed, sipping at her own cup of tea.
"Right," her little sister mumbled, staring down at her cup.
"Is something wrong, Elise?" Irene asked worriedly. "Oh, I knew I should have visited earlier!"
"It's…" Elise sighed, looking back at her sister. "It is not something you can really help me with, Irene."
"What do you mean?" Irene frowned. 'What could be so difficult that I can't do anything to help?!'
"Aside from dealing with a few irritating schoolmates, I have been well," Elise continued, which did not help Irene's confusion. "The problem is that everyone seems to think that I'm supposed to be just like you."
Irene blinked. "But why?"
"Seriously, sister?" Elise snorted, giving her an unimpressed look. "You were the student council president, and a good one at that. Everyone in the upper years knows who you are, and most of the faculty have nothing but praise for you."
"Oh…I wasn't aware I made such an impression," Irene murmured.
"How could you not?!" her sister exclaimed. "Even the maids keep fighting me about cleaning my own room and washing my own clothes!"
"They are just being helpful."
"Yeah, but what did you do for them to project whatever it is onto me?!"
"...My first few months there…were not that pleasant," Irene recalled, looking down at her own tea. "Some of my classmates destroyed some of my uniforms, and the maids helped me get new ones, so I helped them clean sometimes later, and when I was Student Council President, I punished those who were disrespectful to them."
"You could have told us about that," Elise grumbled.
"I…didn't tell you, Mom or Dad, because I didn't want you to worry." Irene admitted..
"Of course we were worried!" Elise exclaimed, jutting her chin out defiantly. "You were so far away, and it's not like we didn't know what some idiots were saying about you. We were surprised when you said nothing bad happened, but that didn't make us worry any less! In fact, it might have made us worry more! Why would you even think that!"
Irene pursed her lips. This visit was turning out to be less relaxing than she had hoped. Though perhaps that was simply the natural result of her failings as a sister.
Not that she was a real sister, in the first place.
"Mother and Father have been very kind to me," she began, after a long pause. "They took me in when they had no obligation to, despite all the ridicule it brought on them."
"Mother and Father adopted you, sis!" Elise emphasized, glaring at her furiously. "That means they–we view you as family, damn whatever other people say!"
Irene smiled, one hand unconsciously clutching at her chest.
'Why does my heart ache so?'
"Such is the spirit of the Schwarzer family," she remarked, a sad smile on her face, "from its early days as a mountain clan, to its elevation to nobility, and even so until this day."
Elise Schwarzer frowned at her, face scrunched up in adorable fashion. "Sis, why are you talking like you aren't a Schwarzer too?"
"Because I am not," Irene admitted. "Not in truth."
"Didn't you hear what I just said!" Elise sputtered. "Sure, you may not be my sister by blood, but you're family in all the ways that matter!"
"Blood matters too, Elise," Irene countered. "It is why you will inherit, rather than me."
"That's not how it works!" Elise exclaimed, eyes ablaze with passion. "Father can pass the title to either of us, and it really should be you, since you're the older sister. You were the one who insisted that it had to be me!"
"I can't just usurp centuries of heritage!" Irene cried. "That is simply not right!"
"You wouldn't be!" Elise shot back, clutching her tea furiously. "You're one of us in all the ways that actually matter. Remember what Father told you? That bonds of spirit are stronger than shared blood?"
Irene looked down at her tea, blinking as some water splashed into her cup. 'Was it raining?'
"I'm afraid I'm a bit lacking there too, Elise," she whispered. "I don't really share the same sort of spirit you and your mother and father have."
"What do you mean, sister?" Elise cried, staring at her with watery eyes.
"I…could not–cannot, so easily ignore what other people say," Irene began. "I don't care that they mock me, but for them to deride the great kindness Mother and Father have shown me–"
Thump!
"That, I cannot forgive." She smiled grimly. "I made those girls here eat their words, and perhaps I can do the same for the others too."
"...Stupid Big Sister," Elise pouted, giving her a disappointed glare. "You shouldn't listen so much to other people. Shouldn't what we say mean more?"
Irene laughed wetly. "Truly, I do not deserve you."
'Oh…were those tears?'
"Grr...do I need to beat some sense into you again?!" her sister growled, springing up to her feet.
"You're welcome to try," Irene chuckled, smiling slightly. "It hasn't worked so far."
"No wonder Kordell likes you so much," Elise grumbled.
Elise had improved quite a bit, Irene noted as she ducked under a helical slash to tag her little sister in the leg.
"Point to Lady Irene," Kordell called as Elise huffed in irritation, rubbing the sore spot on her leg.
"That was well done, Elise," Irene smiled brightly, all sign of her earlier dull mood vanished. "You must have been training seriously to improve this much in a few months."
"Evidently not enough," her little sister huffed. "I guess your help wasn't that great after all, Kordell."
"You have gotten better," the blue haired girl noted. "Lady Irene has simply improved more." She frowned. "If only we could get more experience here similar to what I've heard of this Class VII."
"Don't be like that, Kordy!" a bright voice chirped from the sidelines. "This place is plenty fun!"
'Ah, right! My cute little sister has made friends with the princess!'
Princess Alfin Reise Arnor pranced over to the group, clapping her hands excitedly.
"It is not," Kordell grumbled.
"And why didn't you tell me your famous Big Sister would be visiting, Elise?" the princess questioned, ignoring her current guardian's disgruntled sounds.
"That fault would be mine, Princess," Irene admitted, dipping into a polite curtsey. "I arrived unannounced because I had an unexpected amount of free time."
"Ohoh? A surprise inspection?" the short blonde giggled. "Your arrival sure got a few people scrambling to tidy up and look busy."
"Eh?" Irene blinked. "They did not have to do that. I am simply here to visit my cute little sister!"
"Sister, why?" Elise sighed, shaking her head as she sheathed her sword.
"My, my, you certainly didn't exaggerate, my dear Elise," Princess Alfin giggled. "Your sister is certainly quite the character!"
"I will take that as a compliment, Your Highness," Irene replied with a smile.
"And so polite! As expected from a former student of this illustrious school!" the blonde royal beamed happily.
"Aren't you usually still sleeping at this time?" Kordell asked bluntly, giving the princess a blank look that Irene knew signified annoyance.
"How could I miss the chance to meet Elise's dear older sister?!" Princess Alfin gasped.
"If only you could wake at this time when we have class," her blue haired guardian returned, her tone still flat and unchanged.
"Ack! Kordell, don't betray me so!"
"No."
"Isn't making sure you go to class part of her job?" Elise added, pinching her nose in annoyance.
"Yes."
"Oh come on you two!" Princess Alfin cried. "Stop making me look bad!"
Irene chuckled into her hand at the sight. "I'm glad you seemed to have made friends, Elise."
Princess Alfin paused in her theatrics for a moment, giving Irene a considering look. "That's really your first thought?"
"Well…yes?" Irene frowned, looking at the royal curiously. "My first few weeks here were a bit difficult, so I am pleased to see that it was not so for Elise."
"She beat up the annoying ones," Kordell remarked approvingly.
"Wait! Don't tell her that!"
"Elise…" Irene called warningly. "What did I say about getting into fights?"
"Ensure that they would be perceived as the aggressor first," her precocious sister recited with a sigh.
"She did do that," Kordell noted.
"It was quite impressive!" Princess Alfin declared. "So this is where you learned that from, right Elise?"
"Yes it was," Elise intoned flatly.
"Speaking of which…" Kordell trailed off.
Irene laughed. "Yes, we can spar, Kordell."
Kordell nodded, her lips quirking upwards in delight.
Sparring with Kordell was always enlightening, as while the blue haired guardian practiced a form from the Vander School, it bore quite a few similarities to Irene's own interpretation of the Eight Leaves.
Both of them focused on quick footwork and evasion, or using one weapon to deflect and the other to attack. When facing another with a similar style, it was more akin to a dance than a fight, though quite a bit more dangerous.
Blades glanced off blades as the two of them danced around each other in whirls of steel, and Irene found herself hard pressed to keep up, despite her opponent being a few years younger.
'My word, Kordell is truly talented!'
Still, Irene had learned a few more tricks of her own. She blocked Kordell's attacks, locking her in a bind and throwing the smaller girl off balance with a shoulder check, giving her an opening to score a quick hit.
Kordell conceded with a slight pout. "You have been sparring with Sir Lawrence, haven't you?" The young Vander accused.
"Ahaha…" Irene laughed awkwardly. "I may have?"
"Ooh, how dangerous!" The princess crowed. "You better watch out, Kordy, or else she might steal him from you!"
'Wha–?'
"I do not understand," Kordell muttered. "I do not own Sir Lawrence."
"Big Sister…" Elise drawled, giving Irene a gimlet stare. "Did I hear that right? Have you been hanging out with boys unsupervised?"
"I-It was for schoolwork…" Irene flubbed, flushing in embarrassment.
"…I'm telling Father," her cute little sister declared.
"Elise! It's not like that!" Irene cried.
"Someone has to look out for you," Elise huffed. "Otherwise people will keep taking advantage of you."
"Elise!"
"Heeheehee! You two are so much fun!" Princess Alfin laughed, clapping her hands together in delight. "It's a shame you did not continue your studies here, Lady Irene. Having you as a senior would have been wonderful!"
"You flatter me, Princess," Irene demurred. "Even so, I have found my time at Thors to be very educational, in ways this school, as refined as it is, cannot offer." That, and she did not want to overshadow Elise. Her little sister needed her own space to bloom.
"All the skilled one went to Thors," Kordell grumbled under her breath. "At least Elise is here."
"Thanks, Kordell," Elise sniffed, rolling her eyes at her blue haired classmate.
"You're welcome? Though I do not know what you are thanking me for."
Elise let out a slow breath, closing her eyes for a moment.
"Hehe, it's good to see the three of you all getting along so well," Irene chuckled. "And perhaps the Crown Prince will attend Thors in a few years. That is fairly common for members of the Imperial Family, is it not? Then you would be able to attend as well, Kordell."
"Hm." The blue haired girl nodded thoughtfully.
"Nooo!" the Princess cried, rushing over to grab hold of Kordell's arm. "No stealing!"
"I do not belong to you," Kordell muttered, giving her charge an unimpressed look.
"I…do not understand what you mean," Irene murmured. "Assuming I complete my education on time, I will have graduated when Prince Cedric is of the right age to attend Thors. Not to mention that you could always attend yourself, Princess."
Princess Alfin narrowed her eyes, giving Irene a scrutinizing look, before turning to share a glance with Elise. "Dangerous."
'H-huh?!'
"Yes," Kordell agreed. "You may reach intermediate level soon." The admission seemed to pain her, and Irene swore she could see the light dim in her junior's eyes.
"You really think so?" Irene wondered. "If that's true, you must be quite close as well, Kordell, we were quite evenly matched there."
"You won," Kordell pointed out.
"Only because I used something I learned from sparring with Sir Lawrence," Irene qualified. "If you continue to progress at the same rate, I believe you will reach intermediate level soon as well."
"So, I need to spar with more opponents," Kordell hummed thoughtfully. "I see. Thank you."
"My word! You managed to get Kordy to think about making new friends!" Princess Alfin exclaimed. "I've never managed that at all!"
"Your suggestions were bad," her guardian retorted blandly.
"Oof!" the princess clutched her chest as if struck.
"They all just wanted more favor with Prince Cedric," Kordell continued ruthlessly, turning to give her charge a dead-eyed stare, "and many of them insisted on plying me with falsehoods about my beauty."
"Oh, don't get down about that, Kordell," Elise sighed. "You are plenty beautiful."
"It doesn't matter," her blue haired classmate dismissed. "The parasites made insinuations about the Prince and I, as if Prince Cedric would deign to such vices. I was tempted to demand satisfaction for such slander, but Prince Cedric asked me not to kill anyone for him if I didn't need to."
"Challenging them does not mean killing them," Irene pointed out helpfully. "Though many girls of that sort are quite vindictive, so it may be necessary to put the fear of Aidios into them."
Kordell nodded solemnly. "I see. I will take this into consideration."
"...Your sister is really dangerous," Princess Alfin whispered to Elise, who nodded smugly.
"Now, don't pretend this is not relevant to you as well, Princess," Irene added sweetly, giving the blonde royal a smile.
"Err…what do you mean?" Princess Alfin asked hesitantly, shifting her feet so her guardian was partly between her and Irene. For her part, Kordell looked unimpressed.
"You have a duty to your brother as well," Irene pointed out. "Kordell is charged with protecting him in body and to ensure his health, but as his sister, Princess Alfin, it is your duty to protect his spirit, and, if necessary, to leverage the influence you have that a guardian lacks."
"Right, I can't let Kordell do all the work!"
"Yes you can," Kordell objected. "You do."
"Hey! Don't embarrass me like that!"
"No. May I have my arm returned to me?"
"No! I still need it."
In response, Kordell began walking away, dragging the princess with her.
"Are…the two of them always like this?" Irene murmured, giving her sister a questioning look.
"Yes," Elise huffed, letting out a long suffering sigh.
"I see St. Astraia is the same as ever," Irene giggled.
Despite her brief slip up during teatime, overall, Irene found the trip quite refreshing. She felt a bit bad about unloading some of her feelings on her little sister, but Elise just had a way of worming her way through her composure, and Irene was really quite helpless against her little sister's serious face.
Which is why she caved when Elise insisted on walking with her back to the station, even though it was getting a bit late. With how much her little sister had improved, she would probably be fine returning to the school by herself, not that Irene didn't worry anyways.
"Enough with that, Irene!" Elise sighed. "I'm not going to be walking through any of the dangerous parts of the city, and I can take care of myself!"
"It's a big sister's prerogative to worry," Irene replied. "Even though I am very proud to see how well you are doing." She reached up and patted her cute little sister on the head.
"Stop that!" Elise grumbled, swatting at the offending appendage.
"You'll be about my height or taller real soon," Irene hummed, "so I have to make the most of it while I can."
"Just go buy your ticket, Big Sister," Elise huffed, shaking her head in exasperation.
Irene covered her mouth with her hand to hide her smile, but her little sister was just so cute she couldn't help it!
That said, she did have to get her ticket, so she stepped into the line, while Elise stepped over to a map of the railways to pass the time.
While it was the weekend, this was still Heimdallr, so it took some time to get her ticket. By the time she was done, she found Elise chatting with a young man in a cap and a green jacket.
"Making friends, little sister?" Irene interjected with some amusement, glancing at Elise's conversation partner–
"Oh! You're back, sister, this is–"
Irene stepped forward, putting herself between her sister and the disguised figure.
"What are you doing, Fion?"
The former jaeger stepped back, hands empty and raised placatingly, his eyes widening in surprise. "Whoa there! Just forget you saw me, and I'll be out of your life for good."
"S-sis?"
"What do you mean by that?" Irene hissed, narrowing her eyes at the young man. "And what were you doing with Elise?"
"Nothing!" Fion replied swiftly. "I was looking at the map, and she started talking to me."
"Sister isn't this your classmate?"
"He's a jaeger."
"More of a dropout at this point," Fion muttered, his eyes darkening. "Not that it makes much of a difference."
"…What are you talking about?" Irene asked icily.
"When Pops died, the other ditched me," Fion spat. "Barely let his body go cold before they left. So much for all being a family."
"I…thought you didn't have parents?" Irene blurted out, her anger wavering. 'If the jaegers found him…'
"Sis!"
"Not that I remember," Fion shrugged. "Got adopted into Zephyr by the Boss as far as I know. Not official like, 'cause jaegers. I guess technically Sara is my mom now paper wise."
"That doesn't explain why you are here though." 'What were the odds they just happened to find him?'
"To take a train."
"To where?"
"Anywhere. Doesn't really matter."
"Don't you have school?!" Elise exclaimed, giving Fion a disappointed look.
"Elise–"
"What's wrong with you, Sister? Shouldn't you be lecturing him for playing truant?"
"What's that mean?"
"Skipping out on school," Elise supplied helpfully.
"Huh, story of my life then," Fion snorted.
"And what, exactly, do you plan on accomplishing by leaving like this?" Irene pressed. "Am I correct in assuming Instructor Valestein is unaware?"
"Not sure, I'll figure it out," Fion shrugged. "And not sure about Sara either. She'll catch on eventually. Probably. Dunno if she'll care. She's got you guys now."
"W-wait! You plan on just running off on your own?" Elise exclaimed, pushing past Irene to give Fion a disapproving glare.
"Elise!"
"No, Sis, I don't care if he might be a bit dangerous, he shouldn't have to do that! How are you even going to live?"
"There's always gonna be people who pay for stuff to get handled," Fion replied. "Monsters to kill, enemies to kill…Heh, maybe I'll get lucky and there are more cute girls that need to get busted out of jail."
"By yourself?!" Elise cried. "That's not safe at all!"
Fion nodded nonchalantly. "I tried living a normal life. Didn't work out so well. And I don't really know how to do anything else."
"Because they never let you learn?" Irene asked softly.
"I guess? Wasn't ever a priority," Fion grunted. "Not sure they knew either. Things look a lot different when you half expect to die in the near future."
"And you…want to go back to that?" Irene asked incredulously.
"Honestly…? Yeah…I kinda do," the silver haired boy admitted, looking to the side thoughtfully.
"Why?!" Elise croaked.
"I've seen people die," Fion murmured, staring off into space. "People I knew, people I didn't. Almost died a few times. Got out alive though."
Irene stilled. 'I…hadn't thought of that…and he's so young…'
"Not the best life, sure. Food kinda sucked…But here, I've got nothing. Pops is dead, all my friends fled, and I don't have a clue what I'm supposed to do." He shrugged. "Out there, I know what to do, how things work, and the same number of people'll care when I'm dead."
"T-that's…!" Elise gasped. "That's horrible."
"Such is life," Fion shrugged.
Thump!
Irene felt her heart break.
Before she knew what she was doing, she had stepped forward and wrapped the young man in a hug.
"Wha–?!"
"Sometimes…sometimes, we live when people close to us don't…" she whispered.
Thump!
'NOOOOO! Why?!'
"And sometimes…people get to walk away who don't deserve to…"
Thump!
'What did Kasia and my daughter ever do to you?!
I'm your enemy! I'm the one you want!'
"But if the people we lost really cared about us, they wouldn't want us to throw our lives away, would they?"
"...Sis?!"
"...I guess not," Fion replied quietly, stock still, but Irene could feel him trembling.
"After all…you can't pay those responsible back if you die fruitlessly in a ditch, can you?"
Thump!
"...Irene?"
"...Pff! Hahaha!" Fion broke into laughter as his head thumped into her shoulder. "How come you get it?!" He croaked, and Irene could feel the dampness of tears.
"Jaegers killed my mother-my birth mother, like they did yours."
"I don't remember her–"
"It may be kinder that way."
"-so why does it hurt?"
"...Maybe the heart remembers things that the head does not."
"...I have no idea what's going on," Elise muttered.
Frankly, Irene wasn't sure either. It wasn't that long ago she had drawn steel on the boy now crying into her shoulder.
"You really think I can live a normal life?" Fion wondered, voice watery.
"Perhaps as normal as Instructor Valestein," Irene replied. "At the very least, it will be a better life than a jaeger."
"You sure?"
"Positive."
"Well…I guess I could give being a bracer a try," Fion huffed. "Do bracers need to take exams too, though?"
"Yes they do," Irene replied.
"Damn."
"If it's any consolation, that's a pretty normal reaction," Irene chuckled. "And Towa and I can help you study."
"Well, you bring food, so that sounds good."
"J-just what are you doing, Irene?!" Elise sputtered, her face red with exasperation.
"What do you mean, Elise? Someone needs to fill in the gaps in his education from the jaeger neglect."
"Didn't you say he was dangerous?! Now you're hugging him!"
"You know, I kinda feel like I'm the one in trouble," Fion remarked. "You're big sister is pretty dangerous herself."
"N-no I'm not!"
"Uh…I saw what you did to that Kazakh Dovan. You split it open like a sack of flour."
"F-fion!"
"A what?!"
"A jaeger trained hunting dog," Irene explained. "It wasn't that dangerous."
"Oh–"
"It was about the size of a horse."
"Sister…"
"…A small horse."
"…I'm telling Father."
"Elise!"
"...You can let go now…if you want," Fion murmured awkwardly. "I think I'm ok now."
"Oh! My apologies, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable!" Irene cried, letting go of her classmate, who shrugged.
"I mean, it was kind of nice," he hummed. "Just kind of…different."
"It's only been a few months, sister. Just how many boys have you gotten wrapped around your finger?" Elise snarked, giving Irene an unimpressed stare.
"Umm…none?"
"Uh…you're on the Student Council," Fion added helpfully. "That means you're kinda in charge of a lot of boys and girls."
"That is not how the Student Council works!" Irene huffed.
"Most of the clubs need to ask you if they want money," Fion pointed out.
"That's the Student Council, not me!" Irene insisted.
"Didn't you manage to bully Lawrence into buying new clothes?"
"What?!"
"I did not! I just convinced him to ask for a properly sized uniform!"
"And you made Emmet play ball with Julia and Masha."
"I just told him I wanted to get a better score on that field study."
"You also got Elisha to remember that lunch was a thing."
"Sister, just what have you been getting up to at school?"
"It's not what it sounds like, Elise!" Irene cried, feeling her face heat up in embarrassment.
"What does it sound like?" Fion wondered.
The station announcement system pinged, announcing the imminent departure of the train to Trista, and Irene was thankful for the distraction.
"Oh! Fion, do you need to get a ticket?" She asked, unease filling her as she realized he probably wouldn't have time to get one.
"Nope," the silver haired boy shrugged. "But don't worry, I can find my way back to school the same way I got here."
"...How did you get here?"
"By bike."
'He rode a bicycle the whole way?!'
"Don't you have a train to catch?" Fion pointed out.
"Oh yes! It was nice visiting with you, Elise, but I must go–" Irene turned to leave, but paused, turning around to give her classmate a serious look. "If you are not back in the dorms before the day is over…I will be very disappointed."
"Got it, boss," Fion grunted, giving her a mock salute.
"It was good seeing you again, Sister," Elise offered, narrowing her eyes at Fion.
"Make sure you get back to school safe, Elise!" Irene called over her shoulder as she headed towards the train. "Don't follow any suspicious people, and make sure to stay alert!"
"I will, Sister," Elise sighed. "I'm not stupid."
"She isn't wrong though," Fion pointed out.
"Quiet you!"
"What did I do now?"
It was probably not a wise idea to trust Fion to do what she told him to do after what had just transpired, but she couldn't really force him to return. Still, Irene worried about it the entire train ride back to Trista.
She returned to the Class VII dormitory with some hesitancy, wondering if she should wait somewhere to see if Fion would actually return–
Thud!
A loud crashing sound came from inside the dormitory, and Irene pulled the door open quickly to see if anyone was hurt.
"Oh, good evening Lady Irene," Lawrence greeted casually as he swatted Fion out of the air, knocking the silver haired boy to the ground.
"Oof! Hey boss, I made it back in time!" Fion grunted as he picked himself off the ground, getting to his feet and circling to one side, looking for an opening.
"Well you came back at an awkward time," Elisha remarked, sipping on a cup of tea from the couch, where he and Gaia were sitting.
"What in the world is going on here?" Irene cried.
Lawrence and Fion continued exchanging blows, apparently deaf to her inquiries.
"After Fion came back on the thing he called a bike, Lawrence challenged him to a fight so they could settle their differences," Gaia explained.
"What?!"
"I mean, this makes sense," Elisha pointed out. "You know how they are."
"I think they have moved past whatever disagreement they had," Gaia mused, watching attentively as Fion tried several methods to topple his much larger opponent. "They seem to be having fun."
Despite his efforts, Fion had no luck, mostly because while Lawrence wasn't as quick, he was still remarkably fast for a man his size.
"Is…it that simple for them?" Irene wondered, still hovering by the door as she definitely did not want to get caught up in the fight.
"It seems so," Gaia observed, taking another sip of her tea. "They are no longer really aiming to hurt each other anymore."
"Huh?!" Irene squeaked. On further inspection, it was now obvious that both of the boys were a bit banged up, though it was quite imbalanced, with Lawrence only sporting a bruise on his face, while Fion appeared to be favoring his left leg and looked like he had been thrown around.
"Though the match up was certainly skewed in Lawrence's favor to start with," Gaia mused. "Fighting a man his size barehanded is rather challenging."
"Yeah but Heiny took all my explosives and Lawrence was right about not destroying the dorm, so they're not really going all out," Elisha added, as if that was normal.
"Couldn't you two have done this outside?!" Irene sighed in exasperation.
"Actually…that is a fair point," Lawrence admitted, pausing for a moment.
"Oops, sorry boss," Fion added, shrugging his shoulders.
"Boss?" Elisha wondered.
"Could you morons keep it down?!" Masha yelled down from the top of the stairwell. "Some of us are trying to study here. You know, studying for the midterm exams this month?!"
"We are also studying," Lawrence called back. "Simply for the practical exam instead."
Masha blinked, before arching up like a startled cat. "Fine, but couldn't you do that outside?!"
"I think we can call it here," Fion offered. "I'm gonna try and avoid getting into a fist fight with you after this."
"Fair enough," Lawrence chuckled. "It would not do to be overexerted before the exams."
"Fion?" Irene asked, the more rational part of her mind catching up to her. "How did you get here before the train did?"
"I rode a bike," the silver haired boy replied as he collapsed on the couch and grabbed a cup of tea.
"You were riding a bicycle before this?" Lawrence asked, taking a seat on the other side of the couch, his weight bouncing the smaller youth up slightly. "I apologize then, it was a bit unfair to challenge you when you were not at your best."
"Nah, it's fine," Fion grunted. "The bike's an auto, so I wasn't that tired."
"An auto?"
"Yeah, like an orbal car."
"Waaaait a minute!" Elisha called, narrowing his eyes at Fion. "Did you steal my bike?"
"...No?" Fion replied uncertainly. "I didn't know you owned a bike."
"Was it the one by the Engineering building?"
"Oh, that was yours?" Fion asked, looking legitimately surprised. "It wasn't booby trapped though."
"Dammit George! I told you we should have booby trapped it!" Elisha barked, slamming his cup on the table.
"Be nice to the silverware," Gaia chided, elbowing him in the rib.
"Ow! Ok! Ok, I'll be nice to these containers."
"Fion!" Irene cried. "You can't just take people's things without asking for them!"
"Ok, I'll ask first next time, boss."
"Would you all shut up?!" Masha shrieked from the third floor.
This class was certainly lively, if nothing else.
A.N. Thanks to LordOfChange for proofreading (I really need to remember to say that. If I forget to mention it, it's still very much appreciated).
This chapter...has a lot of tonal whiplash. I'm not entirely sure it makes sense, but Irene is in a rather weird spot right now emotionally, and well, we know how Rean/Irene acts like around Elise. It isn't helping that Fion triggers two conflicting feelings for her too.
This section of classmate conflict is not entirely resolved, it's just making a lot more headway to start with.
I also have a Discord server if people are interested in that. It was mostly for my other fic but that's finished now.