Even though she normally wasn't one to care for such things, not even Fie could deny that it was a beautiful day. Bright, sunny, and surprisingly warm for a late April morning. The perfect day to curl up and take a nap.

Only she couldn't.

The first free day of the year should have been a cause for celebration as there were no classes, but sadly there was nothing worth celebrating. The threat from the previous day hung over her head like an executioner's weapon, poised to strike.

Join a club. Or else.

She had no idea what being in the student council actually entailed, but she was observant enough to plainly see the horror written on the faces of her classmates at the news that that was the future occupation for anyone who failed to join a club. And the idea of being stuck working with the terrifyingly powerful principal... Yeah, nope. Knowing which battles weren't worth fighting wasn't cowardice. It was prudence.

But that left her with a conundrum. Joining a club. She had spent the first few weeks of school purposely avoiding the other students as much as possible and now she was expected to go up and join some of them on some random pointless activity?

She groaned tiredly as she walked through the nearly deserted courtyard. It was an impossible request. Most of the other students had no problems as they immediately grouped up and began planning out their clubs. They all made it seem so easy.

Wait. No. That wasn't entirely true. Not far from her Altina was standing by her lonesome, looking about as bewildered as Fie felt. She distinctly remember her expressing her own doubts about this task the previous night.

Curiosity compelled her into conversation. "No luck, huh?"

Altina gave her a flat look. "I doubt that you have had any more success."

"Got me there. Don't even know where to begin." The situation sucked, but having someone to share her failures in made her feel a little better.

That good feeling lasted for all of three seconds until she noticed the approaching figure of Rean. Of course he would get himself involved. "Would the two of you like my help?"

Fie rolled her eyes. "I thought you wanted us to join the clubs ourselves." Altina rightfully pointed out.

"I did, but that might have been a little much for you right now. I'll help you two find clubs, but everything else after has to be done yourselves. Is that fair?"

On one hand he was as annoyingly persistent as ever. The guy truly got a kick out of sticking his head where it didn't belong. The look Altina was sporting made it clear that this was a common occurrence for her, too.

...And yet as much as Fie hated to admit it, right now she desperately needed his help. "Fine. I accept. Altina?"

"Very well."

"Great! Not all the clubs have been formed yet, but I know a few that have. Let me show you to them and see if anything catches your eye."

The first place Rean took them to was the academy field, where Juna and two other girls were gathering some equipment. They claimed to be the Tennis Club. Although Fie had never seen the sport before, she knew the basics of the game play and the fact that it was supposedly extremely popular in Remiferia.

Given her agility and speed she had a feeling she would be pretty good at the game, but she hesitated. Even if she was good at it did she really want to spend her days playing tiring sports in the summer heat when she could be relaxing somewhere else? Add to the fact she still wasn't comfortable around Juna and didn't even know the others...

While she didn't dismiss the club outright like Altina did, inwardly she was praying that they would find something more interesting.

Something which didn't happen at the second place Rean took them – The Reading Club. The former jaeger couldn't imagine a more boring club could possibly exist in the world. As far as she was concerned most books were for keeping the fire going during cold nights and little more.

Surprisingly Altina seemed quite interested when Rean took them to the pool where the Swimming Club was obviously located. After the briefest of introductions her younger classmate left to get changed into a swimsuit, leaving her and her teacher to wait.

Leonora – the captain of the club – approached her while they waited. "Don't suppose you're interested in joining too?"

She hesitated. In a way it was like the Tennis Club. "I don't mind swimming, but..."

"Naw. I get it. There are a lot of things I like doing in small doses too. No sweat. Still..." She felt wary when the green-haired girl's appraising eyes roamed her body. "With your body I bet you're really good at swimming. Tell ya what – Even if you don't want to join the club you're always welcome at the pool. Got a hunch you would make for a great race partner."

"Thanks?" Three weeks in and such casual kindness still made her feel uncomfortable. After a few more words Leonora left to chat with some of the other club members, leaving her alone with Rean. "What other clubs are there?"

"Well, like I said earlier there are still clubs that have yet to be formed, but off the top of my head I know of the Chess Club, the Eastern Tea Ceremony Club..." For some reason he looked away with a red hue after mentioning that one. Odd. "...and the Cooking Club."

Yuck. All things she would be terrible at. Before she could contemplate her bleak prospects further the door to the changing room opened and out stepped Altina. Under Leonora's guidance the possibly former intelligence agent tentatively approached the pool before slowly entering.

At first Altina floundered in the pool and Fie was afraid she might start to panic and need rescuing, but under Leonora's steady coaching the girl calmed herself down. She watched in quiet interest as her classmate slowly started to acclimatize herself to the water before eventually beginning basic swim techniques.

Fie thought it was weird. Altina was clearly struggling and there was no doubt in Fie's mind that she would be unable to swim the entire length of the pool, but underneath the look of intense concentration on her face was one of... excitement? It made no sense to her.

Fortunately there was still that guy who seemed to think he knew everything still standing there. "I don't get it. She clearly sucks at this." She felt a bit bad saying it that bluntly, but sometimes the simplest course of action is the most direct one. "So why is she still doing this?" It was beyond obvious at this point that this was Altina's future club.

Rean must not have minded her negative comment much as he laughed – much to her chagrin. "You're looking at this the wrong way. You don't need to do something you're good at. In fact, we'd almost prefer the opposite. Nothing you do during club activities is getting a grade. This is supposed to be a time for you to experiment with something new. Isn't there something you want to do, but have never had the chance to try before?"

"Something I've never tried before...?" It made sense, she supposed. There were only like twenty students total, not nearly enough for everyone to find something they're already good at. "What were the options again?"

"Outside of here there's the Tennis Club, the Eastern Tea Ceremony Club, the Book Reading Club, the Cooking Club, and the Chess Club. Did one of them pique your interest?"

She hesitated. "...Maybe." There was something she wanted to try when she was younger. Perhaps that ship had long since sailed, but maybe there was a chance... "After we're done here can we go to the-"

"You want to join the Cooking Club!?"

Fie winced at the loud excitement. She hadn't expected Tita of all people to be involved in this group as the girl seemed too mechanically minded for something like this. She supposed it gave credence to Rean's speech. "Maybe."

The blond engineer tilted her head curiously. "Do you have any experience?"

She shook her head in the negative. "Not really. I've spent the last few years... traveling. Can only make the basics."

To her surprise Tita nodded in understanding. "I know the feeling. I spent nearly a year traveling with bracers back home in Liberl. It's a different experience, isn't it?" While Fie was quite certain their experiences weren't the same, the fact the young engineer could relate to her on some level at all was both surprising and a little comforting. So she nodded her head. "That's great! I would be more than happy to teach you a few things!"

"Cool." She still wasn't sure to think of this entire club thing, but this definitely felt like the best of the lot for her.

"So?" Rean – who had been silently spectating – finally pressed, to her annoyance.

"Yeah, fine. I'm in. Happy?"

She tensed up when Rean's arm reached out towards her head. He seemed to notice this as he stopped before lowering it again with a sheepish look. "I am. Good job, Fie."

...Just what had he been about to do?

The instructor coughed awkwardly under her confused expression before glancing over at a nearby clock. "W-Well, look at the time. I need to get back to school for a staff meeting. Have a good rest of your free day, you two."

With that he left in a hurry. "...That was weird." Turning back towards the only other person remaining she paused. "And what are you doing?"

Tita – who had been busy tapping away at her ARCUS II – looked up at her. "I was just letting the others know that you were joining the club.

"The others?" Dammit. She forgot that these clubs had a minimum of three people in them. Just who else was there?

"Yup! Sandy's also in the club!" Tita's smile wavered a little as she continued with a little less enthusiasm. "...And Freddy seems interested in bringing his... unique recipes into the club, too."

She had no idea who Freddy was or why Tita seemed so bothered by his 'unique recipes', but she had already met Sandy. "Huh. Neat." Overall? Not bad. But this was entirely too much social Fie for one day. Seeking to extricate herself from the conversation she let out a yawn. "Think I'm gonna go take a nap now."

The engineer giggled slightly. "Alright. Have a nice nap. I'll let you know when we're starting club activities."

"'Kay."

As she made her exit the former jaeger pondered on what just happened. She had just joined a club. Hurray? These past few weeks had served as a good reminder of just how tasty food that weren't field rations actually was. Could she become good enough to make such dishes herself? Who knows!

...But by joining the Cooking Club she now found herself in a position to find out for herself. As much as she hated to admit it, it seemed like Rean had been right. Maybe expanding her horizons into something like cooking could actually be fun?

With a tiny smile on her face Fie continued her walk. She hadn't been lying when she decided that it was time for a nap. Given how warm and sunny it was an outdoor nap seemed like the perfect choice. But where should she go...?

It was a shame that the academy had so few benches to rest upon. And it was sorely lacking in comfy foliage too, which also reduced the number of solid nap places available. Thankfully it did have one very outstanding tree.

Decision made the girl made the tree her destination. It was still early enough in the day that she should get a few good hours of rest before dinner. With everyone so busy setting up their clubs and enjoying the free day surely the area would be deserted, right?

To her dismay she discovered that it was not so. One girl was diligently working at the ground near the tree. One who noticed her as she approached. "Oh! Hi, Fie!"

"Sandy." She quietly greeted the girl. "Making your garden?"

"Yeah! Instructor Rean delivered my tools a little while ago."

Fie couldn't keep her eye from twitching. Did that guy just make a living out of helping people out all day long? "Uh huh..."

"So? Is it true?" The cheerful girl looked up at her excitedly. "Tita told me you are joining the Cooking Club?"

"Looks like it."

Sandy didn't seem to mind her lack of enthusiasm as she cheered loudly. "That's great! We're gonna have so much fun together!"

"Sure? So this garden of yours...?"

"It's going to be for the club, yep. My home is a farming village so most of our recipes involve fresh fruits and veggies. I'll show you some of them once I get things growing."

"Sounds like fun."

Eventually the other girl's exuberance faded slightly and she tilted her head as she glanced at Fie in confusion. "I take it you didn't come here just to see me...?"

"Was planning on taking a nap, actually."

For some reason that answer caused Sandy to giggle in amusement. "Sure! I'll be quiet for you."

It was a nice offer, but Fie actually felt kinda guilty putting her out like that. "Nah, it's fine. I got some other spots I can check out." Eyes widened in realization as the perfect spot came to mind. It would absolutely be deserted right now!

"Well, alright. Have a nice nap, Fie!" Sandy smiled widely. "I can't wait for club activities to start! We're gonna be such good friends!"

She didn't say anything as she walked away, but that last comment stuck with her. Friends? Just like that? But they had only talked twice! It was completely insane that anyone could think that of someone else after a couple chance meetings like that!

Fortunately for her, confusing thoughts of cooking and friendships could be shunted aside as she had finally reached her destination – Einhel Keep. Absolutely no one came out this way. It was perfect for a good nap. Setting herself down against the building the newest member of the Cooking Club closed her eyes and drifted off into an easy slumber.

As unprofessional as it was, Rean couldn't stop himself from facepalming as he laid eyes on the sleeping girl. Seriously? Sure he knew she liked taking naps around town and the school, but all the way out here? Beside him Altina stared stoically at the sleeping girl. That was natural. On her other side, however...

"Oooh. Who's that?"

Such an odd sight was bound to generate questions, especially for one as inquisitive as Millium Orion. "That would be one of my students, Fie." Best to keep the information to a minimum. It wasn't that he didn't trust his classmate, but...

"Neat. That looks comfy. Maybe I should try taking a nap out here?"

Leave it to Millium to think taking a nap in the middle of nowhere was a good idea. "Do not take naps in strange places." Luckily for him Millium's sister was on the ball at shooting her suggestions down."

"Aww! That's lame! Can I wake her?!" Class VII's most excitable girl was quick to pivot topics.

"I don't think that would be very-"

"...I'm already awake." True to word Fie's eyes were open as she glared at Rean and the two rabbits. "You are too loud."

As pointless as it was to ask, he couldn't stop himself. "Why are you out here?"

"Taking a nap, duh." Just as he expected. "It's supposed to be quiet out here." The venom in her eyes was impossible to miss.

"Hiya!" Not that such a thing could stop his classmate. "I'm Millium! It's nice to meetcha!"

The silver-haired student stared at the excited girl for a moment before her gaze shifted towards him. The unspoken question was clear. "She's a member of the original Class VII, here on special business today."

His answer caused her eyes to flash with recognition. Of course. She had seen his precious photo already. "Nice to meet you?" Millium being Millium seemed to completely ignore the dubious way which Fie greeted her. "Why are you out here anyways?"

"Old Man Schmidt wants us to beat up some monsters!" The blue-haired girl cheered happily. That only lasted for a moment before she gasped, seemingly having received an epiphany. "I know! You should come with us!"

"Now Millium, I don't-"

"I think it's a good idea." Any other time and Rean would be happy to see Altina agreeing on something with her sister. But to unite against him like this? How troublesome.

Still, at the end of the day the decision didn't belong to either of them. It belonged to Fie and Professor Schmidt. As the former dragged herself off the ground and dusted dirt off her uniform he expected to hear a flat refusal. "Is it gonna be harder than the trial we did the first day?" So to hear her actually consider it threw him for a loop.

"It will be, yes." Of course that wouldn't stop him from answering honestly.

"Okay. Why not?"

"Really?" He shouldn't be questioning his own student like that, but he was that surprised. Sure he knew she had occasionally been doing some extra training at the dorms, but still...

Fie must have noticed his disbelieving gaze as she looked away with a huff. "Got a problem with that?"

Luckily he was saved from having to answer as Millium cheered loudly. "Woohoo! We got a great team here! Let's go go go!" Although Altina remained silent the small smile on her face spoke volumes of her thoughts as she followed her fellow rabbit into the keep. For his part Rean sighed tiredly, but knew the grin on his face was telling a different story. It was a little thing, but her agreeing to come along was promising. He waved Fie ahead before entering Einhel Keep behind the three girls.

As expected, Professor Schmidt and Tita were already there waiting for them. While the latter was surprised by the addition of his students the former merely let out a scoff. "I see you brought Black Rabbit and the jaeger girl with you."

Rean winced. He knew the professor as well as anyone. The man had absolutely no morals and found anything that delayed his work to be a hindrance. But still! Did he really need to announce Fie's prior affiliation like that? Tita was right there for Adios' sake!

Something which Fie didn't fail to notice as she scowled lightly and bunched her fists at her side.

Either she understood his inner turmoil or was simply impatient, but Altina chose to answer for him. "Is there a problem?"

"Not at all. I already surmised as such when I passed her on the way over. I have adjusted the difficulty accordingly.

After some final preparations the group of four made their way to the elevator. He had held back during the first trial for the sake of his students, but he had a feeling that this time he would need to give it a little more effort. But how to best go about this...?

"Alright! Let's kick some butt!" Millium was quick to form a combat link with a reluctant Altina. "Milly and Tilly with Lammy and Sammy! We're unstoppable!"

Although her look was anything but impressed 'Tilly' made no move to break the link. Guess that settled that. He glanced towards the final member of their group. "Guess we're partners today. Don't worry, I'll-" He paused as an idea came to mind. Something that both answered his prior thought and would be applicable here. He grinned. "I'll match your tempo, don't worry."

Although the former jaeger didn't verbally reply to his statement, she didn't refuse his combat link either. He took that as a good sign. Entering the first room the group of four were immediately beset by monsters. Dromes and monstrous turtles. Perfect.

Millium and Altina both understood that the Dromes were hard to kill with physical attacks and so opted to hang back and blast away with the lasers of their combat shells. That just left the turtles. As he had expected, once the battle began Fie darted forward, gunblades poised to strike. The turtles tried to snap at her, but the agile girl danced around their clumsy strikes. Something which left them wide open.

He took a stance he hadn't used in combat in quite some time, but despite that it was still one of his favorites. Focusing energy into his legs he prepared to move. Fie had already stepped out of his way – either having read his intent through the combat link or just naturally observant enough to expect such an action. There was nothing to stop him from taking off. "Second Form: Gale!"

Working alongside someone else – while admittedly rather uncommon – wasn't something completely alien to Fie. During her time in Zephyr she obviously worked with the other jaegers, and even during her awful mercenary days she had occasionally found herself fighting alongside someone else. During her first visit to Einhel Keep she had been forced to work with Kurt.

But this was the first time she had ever fought alongside someone who could match her speed.

Sure there were obvious limitations to Rean's ability. The fact it wasn't natural speed was an obvious one. She could tell that the force he used to propel himself forward prevented him from making clean natural movements. Instead he relied on wide sharp turns to keep his offensives going.

And yet despite being a pale imitation of real speed she couldn't help but find fighting alongside a fellow speedster to be... fun. Neither Boss nor the others relied on speed, instead overwhelming their opponents with raw power and deadly traps. And thanks to their combat links they didn't need to worry about getting in each other's way, either!

The fact that he had been keeping such a useful skill in reserve was kinda impressive.

"...Me and Lammy had just landed after flying over the Nord Highlands when a bunch of crazy people on horses rode up and attacked us without warning!"

Millium Orion was also another interesting individual. Despite the enemies in the keep being fairly difficult the blue-haired girl was just as loud and excitable as she had been before they had entered. It almost seemed as if the battles were a game to her. Sure the members of Zephyr often acted casual during enemy encounters, but underneath that exterior were still hardened warriors who were diligently planning out victory with every action.

Millium... Seemed to be the opposite of that. She would have considered the girl to be an idiot were it not for the fact that her actions proved otherwise. Despite having a nearly identical combat shell thingy as Altina the supposedly older sister was always a little quicker to act and more decisive with her commands. Observing this Old Class VII member had been one of the reasons she decided to tag along, and thus far she wasn't sure what to think. Were all of Rean's classmates just as weird?

Given her limited interactions with Sara it was a very real possibility.

"In my defense we were looking for suspicious individuals and you certainly fit the bill."

"You were looking for a bunch of jaeger dropouts! You and Jusis must be really blind if you think I look anything like those losers!"

Fie silently nodded in assent. Sure jaegers came in all sorts, but she was pretty confident that there wasn't a single mercenary out there like Millium.

Altina scoffed. "Why am I not surprised that your first encounter with Instructor Rean was because you got caught being suspicious."

"Hey! You're one to talk! Didn't you kidnap his sister during your first meeting with him?!"

Altina's only response was to look away awkwardly, causing Millium to raise a fist in celebration. Huh. That sounded like a fun story.

Rean seemed surprisingly unbothered by it, however. "Alright, you two. I think we're coming up on the end, so let's be ready for anything. I'm sure the professor has something dangerous planned for us."

"Aww, already? This was way too short!" Fie found herself agreeing. The initial trial had been a lot longer. "This is pretty fun though! Remember when we worked together at Celdic, Tilly?"

"I recall you repeatedly bungling our efforts to capture the Northern Jaegers. This has been a vastly different experience."

The final room was deserted, but that didn't seem to matter much in Einhel Keep. Sure enough, shortly after the group entered there was a ball of light and when it faded a monster stood in its place. A rather large behemoth that roared in challenge as it gazed down upon them.

"Millium!"

"Righto! White Decoration!" Brave Orders were another unique feature of the ARCUS II. Fie had no idea how it actually worked, but someone could overload their unit with energy to enhance the capabilities of all other nearby units. It seemed like a pretty crazy ability. She knew from an earlier encounter that Millium's enhanced their durability by quite a lot.

She couldn't help but wonder if she had the capability to do such a thing. And if so, what effect would it take?

There was no time to think about that as Rean burst into action, charging right at the large behemoth. The guy definitely acted a lot more aggressively against more powerful enemies. Still, it wasn't as if she were much different as she darted into action right behind him. And while her teacher was forced to divert his attack after drawing the ire of the boss and evading his fists, she had no such problem to deal with. Her blades drew first blood as they sank into a meaty leg, but given the way it tried to kick out at her she knew not much real damage had been done.

The monster was forced to focus its attention away from her as Millium charged in with her doll transformed... into a giant hammer? That didn't seem all that practical, but the little girl swung the massive weapon with ease. The enemy looked like it wanted to block the dangerous attack, but a laser blast from the other combat shell hampered its efforts enough for the original Class VII member to strike home with her blow.

The enemy was forced back by the powerful blow, but that mostly served to make it angry as it let out a bellowing roar that reverberated through the room. Fie winced as the force of the noise threatened to unbalance her. Millium – being at the epicenter – wasn't so lucky as she fell backwards onto her butt.

Roaring victoriously the beast reared an arm to swing. In a hurry Fie fired her gunblades at its face. Sadly, while her shots did inflict some damage, the monster was too smart to ignore the tasty prize in front of it. It slammed down with all it's might...

"Lammy barrier!" ...And accomplished nothing as Millium's combat shell somehow managed to completely nullify the attack.

Undeterred the enemy was about to try again, but this time Rean was upon it like a whirlwind of blades. This time the monster's roar was of anguish as his tachi scored deep cuts all over it. "Fie!"

"Ja!" She didn't need his command to exploit the obvious opening. With the monster so distracted it was easy for the former jaeger to move in undetected and strike at a spot that she knew would hurt. With all her strength she drove her twin blades into the back of it's leg, hamstringing it. For good measure the girl pulled the trigger and exploited the cuts with charged shots.

It was too much for the monster as it toppled over, with Fie just managing to dart out of the way before it landed on top of her. Still, the old man had picked a pretty dangerous enemy for this trial as it was already struggling back to its feet. They needed to put it down for good while it was vulnerable.

Something which Rean seemed to agree upon as he shouted out. "Hit it with everything you have!" Heeding his own advice the swordsman seemed to still himself as he focused on his sword. That moment of silence faded as he darted forward in a flurry of blows. It was like the so-called second form he had been using during the trial, but different. It was the same attack he had used when Juna and Kurt got in trouble during the last trial. "Seventh Form! Fallen Leaves!" Between the cuts and the windstorm he created the monster was badly reeling by the time he finished.

As soon as his attack ended she began her own. Her strongest move, taught to her by the Boss personally. Like Rean her attack began with overpowering speed as she sliced and diced at the fallen foe, but unlike his she finished up with a barrage of bullets from her guns. Only her blows weren't nearly as powerful and the volley of bullets was more of a hindrance to the thickly armored foe than anything-

Before she could reflect on the limitations of her Sylphid Dance Millium sprang into action. Once again she had her Airgetlam hammer, but this time there was also an Airgetlam ball...? Seeing her slam the two together like this was a sporting event was really weird and seemingly impractical, but as the ball impacted the monster the results spoke for themselves.

Fie was fairly certain the beast was already dead, but Altina decided to take no chances as she proved that Millium wasn't the only one with really strange attacks. Unlike her sister who transformed her shell into a weapon, Altina elected to turn hers into a suit of flying armor. Something which she used to great effect as she flew in while firing her big laser before slicing at the now very definitely dead enemy with the blades of her wings.

With that the trial was complete. Both Rean and the two sisters seemed pleased as the group made their way back to the exit. Fie too wanted to appreciate that this had been both a good workout and an interesting observation of the others.

But she couldn't. Instead her mind was focused on the final encounter. Sure the others with her were all either seasoned fighters or in possession of strange combat shell technology, but there was no denying that her Sylphid Dance had paled in comparison to what they all brought to the table. She knew that it was more effective against groups of weaker enemies, but it was still her strongest ability...

...In fact it had been her strongest ability for almost three years now. It was yet another painful reminder of just how badly she had stagnated since Zephyr disbanded.