And we're back! I hope I didn't leave you waiting for too long. The break was very appreciated for me. Was able to clean up on my backlog a bit. Now I can focus entirely on the more important things in life-
Wait, what do you mean today is Eiyuden's release date!? Dammit all!
Green, Fie decided, was not her color.
In fairness, a year ago she had thought the same about red. But time had done a lot to change her opinion of that color. Time and a lot of annoying fools who would somehow become some of her closest friends. Or more, in some cases.
The green uniform she was currently staring at currently had none of those benefits, thus she wished she could discard the clothes as something awful. Her old Class VII uniform would suffice, as would the clothes she wore during the war. Sadly, as the newest member of Class IV's second year those were no longer options for her.
"Guess I gotta get this over with..."
The process of getting dressed was a quick and easy one as there was nothing around to distract her. For some unholy reason both Rean and Laura thought they should get up and get prepared early for their first day of the new school year. Complete lunacy in her opinion. Instead she had resisted their attempts at prodding her awake until the two of them left their shared bedroom to give the sleepy girl a few more minutes of blissful peace before cold hard reality set in upon her.
Once finished getting ready the lithe girl gazed upon her reflection in the bedroom's mirror. She frowned before let out a miserable sigh. Once again she cursed herself for being so stupid as to accept an entire new year of going to school.
Kind, happy, and very in love Fie sucked. Why couldn't she still be the aloof and pragmatic Fie that would have run away as soon as the opportunity presented itself?
With nothing else to do in the room the girl allowed her nose to lead her towards her next destination. At least her lovers seemed to have the right idea as it smelled like someone was cooking something tasty. Hopefully it was Rean. Although Laura's work had been getting better – and Fie would grudgingly admit that her rival might be taking a slight lead in that competition – The Arseid tended to stress over minute details to the point that it took her twice as long to cook anything with a kitchen that was twice as messy afterwords.
The trek was a short one. None of them had been expecting much when the school offered them their own private little apartment, but the results had been pretty underwhelming even by those low expectations. It wasn't the tiniest place, but in the end it was little more than a modest kitchen and a pair of bedrooms. Of course she refused to even consider using the second room for its intended purpose so they had instead converted that into a large closet for all the stuff they collected during their previous year while they all shared the other room.
Although if she was to be honest with herself Fie was less upset by the apartment itself and more the fact that they no longer had a Sharon around to handle all the chores. Those she could have done without.
She was broken from her thoughts as soon as she reached the kitchen. As expected, both of her companions were in the small room. But it wasn't them nor the greetings they sent her way that really caused her to go off.
"Hahaha...!" Fie tried to smother her laughter, but was entirely unsuccessful. Instead she just rolled with it, "Hahaha... You two look like clowns!"
She might not be much of a fan of the green uniform, but it certainly beat the white uniform the noble students were forced to wear.
"Honestly, Fie..." Laura shook her head in exasperation, "Why are you always so... you." She finished lamely.
"You love me because I'm me."
"Sometimes I wonder about that..."
Fie didn't. Without her the other two would be so dull. It wasn't easy being the gremlin that held everything together, but it was a mission she wouldn't fail.
"Alright, you two..." Even though she couldn't see Rean's face as – much to her relief – he was busy putting the finishing touches on breakfast, she could tell he was smiling. He definitely sounded amused, "...Let's eat up and get ready for the day."
"So..." The silver-haired girl mouthed in between bites of food as she turned towards Laura, "How does it feel to be a member of the almighty Class I?"
The taller girl paused her own chewing before closing her eyes in thought, "It's... a strange feeling." She admitted at last, "A part of me feels like I'm betraying the memory of Class VII by becoming a member of our rival class, but at the same time I know it was to be expected and nobody will fault me for it."
Rean nodded along, "True, and our relationship with them did get better in the last few months, so I doubt it'll be too bad. Still, a part of me is glad I'm in Class II instead. Being classmates with Patrick would feel weird..."
That was probably for the best, Fie mused. Patrick was playing a dangerous game by wanting to get close to the little sister of Erebonia's most overprotective hero. While she was no fan of the guy she didn't want to see him chopped into itty bitty pieces by crossing an invisible line with Elise. Pretty funny to think about, though.
Once that thought was out of her mind she instead focused on her own class, Class IV. She didn't know much about that group other than the fact it was the class with Vivi. That was both a good and a terrible thing to consider. Good because it meant she at least had one friend there with her.
Bad because that friend was Vivi. She could already picture the very loud and obnoxious scene the prankster will create once Fie walks through that door.
With a groan she shoved that terrible scenario to the side. Future Fie would have to deal with that. Present Fie was too busy eyeing up her family in between bites of food. Class I, II, and IV. They all looked so... wrong dressed like that. But this was the situation they now found themselves in. Nothing else to do but grin and bear it.
With resolve and trepidation battling for supremacy in her mind Fie prepared herself for her second year at Thors Military Academy.
"Oh my gosh! Fie's in our class now!? This is the bestest best day ever!"
Yep. Just as she predicted. The very second Fie walked into her new classroom she was beset by the shrill cry of her friend and fellow gardener. Loud and obnoxious indeed. Considering Vivi had been standing at the far end of the room when she made that cry it was a surprise that the rest of her new classmates weren't suffering from the noise.
Or maybe they were, but all of them seemed too distracted by her arrival to care about the noise. Yep. This sucked. Sure she expected to draw a lot of attention due to her status as a member of Class VII and the overall rarity of students being moved to a different class, but having all eyes upon her was a crummy experience.
At least this gave her the chance to observe her new class in turn. Unsurprisingly the presence of Vivi meant that Linde was also there. Beyond the twins she also identified Rean's friend Alan, Casper from the Swimming Club, and that fashionable girl Colette. There were a few others she at least recognized, but those five were the ones that helped out during the war and thus the only ones she actually cared about.
It also surprised her just how large the class was. Maybe being in Class VII had spoiled her a bit as that group never had more than eleven students in it, but she counted nearly twenty students in the room! That was an insane amount and ensured she wouldn't have a moment of peace and quiet during the entire year.
Those wonderful days where she could peacefully snooze during the less interesting classes were gone for good. Truly tragic.
"Alright, everyone. Calm down. As you can see we'll be having a new addition to our class for this year."
Fie didn't really know much about Instructor Mary. The older woman was one of the few teachers in the school who wasn't much of a fighter, instead focusing more on music, art, and other stuff that the former jaeger admittedly held little interest in. That she was to be her homeroom teacher for her second year left the girl feeling ambivalent.
Still, she wasn't Sara. That at least made her worthy of some respect.
"Alright, Fie. While I'm sure everyone already knows who you are would you be willing to introduce yourself to the class...?"
Fie resisted the urge to sigh. Like Instructor Mary said everyone already knew her, so why was an introduction needed? And even though it was phrased as a question she was savvy enough to know that a refusal would make her look bad. She saw two such introductions last year and while Millium's over the top one definitely didn't suit her at all, Crow's laid back greeting seemed more up her alley. Best to take inspiration from that one.
"Sup? I'm Fie. It's nice to meet you guys, I guess. Seems we'll be classmates for the next year. Looking forward to it."
Kinda lame overall, but it got the job done. She had nothing against her new classmates and was willing to work with them, but her heart would always belong to Class VII. As long as they all understood that things would be fine.
"Very good!" Either Instructor Mary did or she was too kind to call her out for it, "Please take that free seat near the back and we'll begin homeroom."
Fie did as she was told, doing her best to ignore the glances and whispers that followed her every step. As she took her seat she couldn't help but wonder how Laura and Rean were faring with their own introductions.
"Hello. My name is Rean Schwarzer. I'm looking forward to spending my next year getting acquainted with you all."
"Marvelous, Rean! Simply marvelous! Now hurry up and take a seat so we can get started!"
The swordsman bit back a grimace as he complied with his new homeroom teacher. On the surface everything said was in line with what a normal teacher would say, but given recent events he couldn't help but wonder...
Instructor Thomas was his new homeroom teacher. Normally he would simply brush it off as a coincidence. The man had been Class II's teacher since long before he became an Awakener and as the son of a lesser noble this would have been his class regardless. Surely the church didn't have that kind of foresight, right?
And yet as he made his way to the nearest available seat he wasn't entirely sure of that assessment. As unlikely as it seemed he couldn't dismiss the possibility outright. It was plainly obvious to him now that there was so much more to the seemingly silly history teacher.
Especially true as he recalled just how easily he had been manipulated by others during his first year. Osborne, Crow, The Noble Alliance and the ILF...
He was sick of it.
But at the same time Rean understood the fear was a moot point. Whether he liked it or not he was a student of Class II now and Instructor Thomas was his homeroom teacher now. Despite all the danger the older man possessed he had willingly revealed his presence to Rean and offered him an olive branch. While he wasn't sure how much he could trust the Gralsritter of the Septian Church he was at least fairly confident they weren't his enemy for now.
Shaking off those pointless thoughts he cast his gaze over the class as he closed in on his seat. Unlike Class I which had its rivalry with his old class, he hadn't really had much interaction with the 'lesser' noble class. Still, there were a few people he recognized.
Bridget sent him a smile and a friendly wave, which he quickly returned. While he wasn't particularly close with the noble girl he still considered her a trustworthy friend. He couldn't help but wonder how her relationship with Alan had been faring. Perhaps he could ask her about it when they had a free moment?
Claiming the nearest available seat he couldn't help but grin as he noticed his closest neighbor, "Long time no see, Kenneth."
"Haha. Indeed. Not since you helped Annabelle and myself out in the match against my brother, I believe? Thanks again for all the help that day."
"Don't mention it." He waved off sheepishly, "Even if I did it to help you guys out the competition was so much fun that I probably would've done it regardless."
Kenneth let out another laugh, "Absolutely! The joy of angling should be a reward in of itself, but even still..." He hummed thoughtfully for a second, "I know! My family is planning on releasing a new line of advanced fishing rods this year. They're designed to be entirely modular unlike our previous rods. I'll make sure to have them send some extra gear for you once it's ready."
A new upgraded fishing rod? "Awesome! That sounds amazing!"
A part of Rean couldn't help but find amusement at his actions. A few seconds ago he had been entirely wary of his new teacher and now he was completely ignoring the man in favor of chatting about fishing. A few of his new classmates were even shooting dirty looks as neither he nor Kenneth were being very discreet about it. Whoops.
For once he was grateful that he was alone in this class. Fie would absolutely never let him live this down.
But there was one thing that could pull his mind away from angling, "...Is she alright?" He asked Kenneth with concern as he pointed towards a familiar figure sitting a few rows in front of him.
Sitting wasn't entirely accurate. Margarita looked entirely dead to the world as the proud noble had abandoned all pretext of appearances in favor of lying at her desk. The only way he knew she was still alive was because of the occasional whimper or groan the larger girl would let out.
"Ah..." Kenneth gave an awkward look in her direction, "She's been like that for the past week or so. She really misses Vincent."
"Oh..." Yeah, that would explain it. Pretty much every interaction he had had with the girl involved Vincent, her attempts at seducing Vincent, her attempts at poisoning Vincent, and all the other Vincent-related things he could think of. With Ferris' brother now a graduate...
He wasn't sure if he should feel pity for the girl or relief for the guy. Instead he simply decided on the safer approach to ignore the situation entirely.
"...There will be a few changes to your curriculum this year." Instead Rean turned his focus back to Instructor Thomas. Hopefully he hadn't missed anything important, "First of all, the school has yet to find a replacement combat instructor, so until that happens you'll be expected to do your own training, either on your own or in groups. Whatever works best for you."
Well, that wouldn't be a problem for him. He knew that Laura was starting to chomp at the bit to resume their usual sparring sessions. Still, even as some of his new classmates let out sighs of relief he couldn't help but feel a sense of melancholy at the reminder that Instructor Sara was gone. Sure the woman had been a hot mess at the best of times, but she had been his favorite teacher all the same, and some of those combat exams had been pretty memorable battles for the young swordsman. Even when the school eventually found a replacement he didn't think it would be the same.
"Aw, man!" The Gralsritter's cry broke Rean from his sad thoughts, "With both Instructor Sara and Neithardt gone... who's gonna be my new drinking buddy!?" He wasn't alone in letting out a sweatdrop at hearing his teacher's complaint. Still, Thomas seemed to recover quickly, "Oh, I know! You're all second year students now! I bet some of you early bloomers will start reaching legal age in a few months! I'll gladly buy you the first drink when you do!"
...Rean couldn't help but be grateful he wasn't going to come of age this year. In fact, he was still a couple weeks away from his nineteenth birthday. Laura's was just a couple months after him, and as for Fie...
Best not to go there. She hated being reminded that she was two years their junior.
"Ahem!" Instructor Thomas coughed awkwardly. Even knowing the truth of the man it was hard to see him as anything but an overenthusiastic teacher who liked to ramble on and on about whatever caught his attention, "On a related note, even though you won't be having scheduled combat training for a while I hope you're all excited for Panzer Soldat lessons! The principal informed me that you'll have your first lesson next week once all the machines have arrived! I simply can't wait! Massive humanoid weapons, almost akin to the Divine Knights of legend..." He let out a dreamy sigh.
Rean did his best to ignore the myriad unsubtle looks sent his away at the mention of Divine Knights, something which proved easy as energetic chattering filled the room as the teacher's words truly settled in. Panzer Soldat training. Even he - despite having been piloting Valimar for a few months now - found himself somewhat excited at the idea.
Just how different would piloting one of those manufactured machines be in comparison to Valimar?
Would his time spent fighting soldats during the war as the Ashen Awakener help or hinder his ability to actually pilot one?
How would the others fare inside the cockpit?
"Well, that's all from me!" The Gralsritter finished at last, "You're all second year students now, so I'm sure you know what you're doing at this point."
Indeed he did. There were a few minutes remaining before the first class began. Normally this would be the time when all of his classmates from Class VII would congregate around his desk to chat about whatever topic was available for discussion.
But this wasn't Class VII anymore, was it?
Rean exhaled as that continued realization weighed heavily on his shoulders. There was no more Instructor Sara present. Nor was there Elliot, Gaius, Alisa, Machias, Jusis, Emma, or Millium. Laura and Fie were still at the school, but neither of them were in the class with him.
Suddenly he found himself feeling rather lonely.
"Hey, Rean?"
Startled out of his mind the swordsman focused his attention back on his angler friend, "I never got the chance to ask before, but when you were in Crossbell did you manage to get any fishing done?"
What an odd question. Still, in his mind a question asked was a question that deserved to be answered, "A little bit. Why do you ask?"
He had actually had plenty of time to fish during his deployment, but he had been too distracted. It was only thanks to Captain Lechter prodding him constantly that he finally acquiesced the one time he did.
In hindsight it was another in a long line of wasted opportunities for him.
"My brother told me that the fish ecology in Crossbell is a lot different than it is here. Was hoping you'd be able to tell me more." The younger Lakelord son let out a dramatic sigh, "I'm actually kinda jealous of you. Those deployments on your Ashen Knight mean you get to go all over the country and fish in so many unique places. I would love to go on a fishing trip like that..."
Rean blinked. He hasn't really considered that possibility for any potential Ashen Chevalier deployments. A little ray of light in what would undoubtedly be some stormy times ahead?
Would Valimar mind if he stored his spare spare fishing rod inside the Divine Knight?
"Oh! Now there's an idea!" Kenneth continued, "I know you're going to be busy with a lot of other things, but would you consider-"
As Rean listened to his friend's suggestion he couldn't help but raise an eyebrow in interest. It was a very enticing proposition. And given how different the student council was now that Towa was gone...
His second year was going to be a lot different than his first. Why not embrace that for what it was?
Her first day in Class I had been something of a mixed bag to the noble from Legram. Sure they had been rivals at one point in time, but Patrick, Ferris, and most of the rest of her new classmates treated her with polite respect and offers of friendship. The constant suggestions that she should join them in the noble-exclusive salon were a little irritating, but she could understand that they came from a genuine attempt at building closer ties.
There were negatives too, naturally. While Vice-Principal Heinrich was an excellent teacher she could certainly have done without the snide comment that she was 'back where she belonged'. Laura had never defined herself by her nobility, so having to listen to the man prattle on about the inherent superiority of the noble elite – even after their defeat during the war – still irked her.
But that in itself wouldn't have been too bad, were it not for something else about the class that left the blue-haired girl feeling a little awkward. It was something from what felt like an age ago, but still lingered in her mind as one of her more shameful memories.
Black. Red. Blonde.
Three colors belonging to the hair of three of her classmates. The three girls undoubtedly had names, but to her shame Laura still didn't know them. The only reason she remembered their hair was because that was how she had identified them the last time they had spoken.
It was also the time that she had knocked all three of them out with her fists.
And now they were Laura's classmates. She had absolutely no idea what to do about this situation. S-Should she go up to them and reintroduce herself? Apologize for events that had happened over half a year prior?
Mentally she was cursing her former self. Not only for her actions, but because she hadn't apologized immediately after. Maybe she would have remembered to do so at some point in time, but the arrival of the festival and the war and everything that happened after had taken precedence and the idea had fallen completely to the wayside until this current painful reminder.
Unsure of what to do she simply continued to do nothing, remaining in her seat even as most of her classmates shuffled out the door upon hearing the final bell of the day. Her indecisiveness was cowardly, but even her courage had its limits. Maybe someone like Rean would have been more able to swallow their pride and resolve the situation, but unfortunately she just couldn't bring herself to make that move.
Tiredly she scanned the departing crowd in search of the three girls who had remained firmly on her mind the entire day. She didn't see them in the group, and she was pretty sure they hadn't already left. That just meant...
Turning her head her eyes widened in fear.
They were approaching her!
It was a silly thing. During the previous year she had faced down Panzer Soldats, Ouroboros Enforcers, and even an ancient being that could herald herald in the apocalypse, all without flinching. So why did the prospect of having a conversation with three noble girls terrify her so much?
Despite the primordial urge to flee welling up inside Laura she reluctantly held her ground and remained seat at her desk. Running away would only serve to make the situation worse. Best to just face the upcoming conversation head on.
Even though it was undoubtedly going to be quite awkward.
"O-Oh." Laura winced. Curse the traitorous hitch in her voice! "Hello, you three. It's... been a while, hasn't it?"
Seriously? That was how she greeted them!? 'It's been some time since I assaulted the three of you, hasn't it?' There was a voice in her head that was currently laughing at her awkwardness. For some reason it sounded suspiciously like Fie.
"H-Hello, Laura." Red greeted. The three girls looked just as nervous as Laura felt, but to their credit they were the ones initiating the conversation and not her. She couldn't help but feel equal measures of respect towards them and shame towards herself at that thought.
"S-So..." The Arseid raised a hand to run through her hair nervously, but stopped upon noticing all three girls were staring at said limb. The blonde-haired girl even flinched. Awkwardly she lowered it, "W-What can I do for you today?"
The black-haired girl glanced between her two friends, "Well, actually... We were hoping to... um..."
Seeing her friend flounder Red stepped up and shouted, "We wanted to apologize!"
"...Huh?" Laura blinked. Despite the sheer volume of those words she couldn't believe she heard correctly.
"R-Right!" With the dam broken Black gathered her courage to continue, "What she said! At the time we didn't understand why our words hurt you so, but we totally get it now! We were looking down on Rean and Fie despite them being remarkable people."
"Yeah!" The blonde continued, "You guys and the rest of Class VII were totally awesome during the war! We were wrong, and we're so sorry! Plus now... I think you're all so cute together! I totally ship it!"
Laura was still so bewildered, especially by the sheer excitement that now seemed to be bubbling out of the three of them, but the gist of their words was clear. They were apologizing for their prior words. It only stood to reason that she should be doing the same, "I... I'm grateful to hear that, but none of you should be the ones apologizing to me. Even if I did find your words to be hurtful I was entirely out of line by resorting to violence like that. I should be the one apologizing to you all."
"It's... no big deal!" Red replied with an awkward laugh.
"Speak for yourself! My nose was broken!"
Black quickly elbowed Blonde, "In all honesty I don't think it was a bad thing you knocked some sense into us. Not sure we would have been able to handle the war or it's... aftermath without it."
"But my nose!"
"Still..." Laura felt uncomfortable leaving it at that. Even if they took her action as a learning experience that didn't change the fact it was an awful thing she did.
"How about this?" Red asked as she saw her discomfort, "We acknowledge that it happened and we all made mistakes, but we're all mature enough people to move past it, yes? I would very much like to start over with you."
Despite her lingering doubts Laura couldn't help but latch onto that extremely appealing offer, "That would be great. I would love to start over as well."
"Great! It was going to be such an awkward year if you had said no! I'm super excited to have you in our class for this year!"
Blonde was quick to follow after Black, "Let's be good friends! Preferably the kind of friend who don't break my nose again."
"I hope so as well." It seemed this year would be filled with a lot of new beginnings for Laura. While she would always miss what she had lost... perhaps this wouldn't be the worst thing after all.
That being said...
"I-If we're going to be friends and all, there's one thing I have to ask." The swordswoman paused nervously as she glanced between the three girls. Black, Red, Blonde. "...W-What are your names?"