Chapter 30 - Lonely

3.9.1205 - Wednesday

Towa sat alone at her desk inside the Student Council room. Despite the fact that the Student Council didn't have that many duties to attend to anymore now that the school year was coming to a close, Towa decided to spend every day inside there to sulk by herself. It was the only place that she still sensed some connection to Rean.

Unlike the rest of Class VII, Rean was forced to stay in Heimdallr instead of returning to Trista like the others. Within a few days, Instructor Sara told everyone that Rean had been shipped off to assist in Erebonia's occupation of Crossbell.

That was back in January, and each passing day made Towa more and more worried. She wanted to have the confidence to believe that Rean would return back safe and sound, but she couldn't.

After what happened in the Vermillion Castle, Towa lived each day fearing that she wouldn't see Rean alive again.

The most she could do to feel some sense of assurance was wear Rean's red uniform coat and hug tightly the Mishy plush that Rean had won for her back at the school festival. She had been doing it every day since they returned.

She had spent every day trying to get news about the current situation on Crossbell. The occupation itself had gone rather smoothly. According to many reporters, the Ashen Chevalier had taken great steps to minimize the number of casualties down to zero. Towa was a little relieved to hear that Rean had been doing his best to keep things from getting bloody, but she soon realized that Osborne had intended for that to happen. With each good deed reported across the nation the pressure Rean would face to continue his involvement grew. According to Instructor Sara, Rean was only supposed to stay in Crossbell for one month. But because he'd done such an honorable job keeping Calvard and Crossbell at bay, Chancellor Osborne extended Rean's stay until "things cooled down". The latest developments she had read were that Rufus Albarea had been appointed the first Governor-General of Crossbell. That had given her some hope that Rean would return soon, but after a few days with no sign of Rean, Towa was prepared to accept that she wouldn't see Rean for the rest of the school year.

Granted, Towa still did a few things besides sulk and worry about her boyfriend. She still did the remaining Student Council work, which mainly consisted of her looking over small requests and doing them herself. Just like she did before Rean walked into her life. Angelica also took her on rides outside Trista on her newly constructed orbal bike. She also went to visit Instructor Beatrix for a quick check up. And luckily for her and Rean, she wouldn't need to start buying any larger outfits. Although she did get a scolding from Instructor Beatrix for being so reckless. She also sent some NGOs her resume, she was told that they would respond to her in around a week.

Towa started to feel tired. Due to all her worrying, she hadn't gotten that much sleep in her room and usually fell asleep in the Student Council room. Most of her nights in her dorm room however were just her praying to Aidios to keep Rean safe.

Towa suddenly heard her Arcus unit ringing. She had hoped that it was Rean, but she knew not to expect miracles.

"It's probably Angie. She probably wants to take me for a ride…" Towa said to herself as she drifted to sleep.


Towa woke up when she felt someone put their arms around her.

"I-It's not what it l-looks like! I-I was just feeling cold and f-found Rean's uniform coat!" Towa yelled in a panic before realizing who was hugging her.

"Long time no see. I tried calling you earlier but you didn't answer. Imagine my shock when I find my girlfriend sleeping in her office with my uniform coat." Rean greeted.

"R-Rean! You're back!" Towa yelled as she stood up to hug him back.

Towa held Rean as tightly as she could. She didn't want to let go of him. She didn't want him to leave her sight again. She wanted this hug to last for as long as she could make it. Luckily for her, he was seemingly more than eager to do the same.

Towa basked herself in Rean's warmth. It was something she'd been longing for since Rean had been sent to Crossbell. Rean's coat was a nice substitute, but it couldn't compare to Rean himself.

"R-Rean... I-I've missed you so much…" Towa admitted as she started crying. She had started to lose hope, but there Rean was in front of her now.

Towa felt Rean's grip on her tighten as her tears started staining his coat.

The two stayed like that for a few minutes. No matter how much Towa tried, her tears only kept coming. She had been holding them in for months and now there was no way for her to stop.

"R-Rean… I-I'm relieved to see you safe… There doesn't seem to be a scratch on you… Heehee, I guess Aidios was listening to my prayers after all." Towa said as she inspected Rean.

"Haha… I guess I should thank you for that Towa." Rean responded.

"O-Oh…" Towa said in response. She still wasn't used to Rean calling her by just her first name.

One look at Rean's smiling face was enough to reassure Towa, and helped her worries fade away. Towa felt herself melt into Rean's chest. There was nowhere else she wanted to be than next to him for as long as she could.

Towa soon saw how dark it had gotten outside.

"R-Rean…" Towa whispered.

"Don't worry, I'll stay here with you for as long as you want." Rean responded. It was as if he knew what Towa was about to ask.

"T-Thank you, but that's not all I wanted to ask…" Towa said.

Towa knew that she was being selfish with what she wanted to request. She wanted something that they both knew he couldn't promise her. Even if she knew that Rean would lie to her to make her feel better, she wanted to hear it from Rean.

"P-Please… Rean… promise me that you won't ever leave my side. I-I don't ever want to lose you like I lost them. So please Rean… don't leave me…" Towa said as more of her tears came out.

"Towa…" Rean responded before tightening his grip on her.


Rean watched as Towa slept on her desk. He had arrived in Trista around an hour ago.

Class VII along with Angelica and George came to welcome him back from Crossbell. According to Angelica she had tried calling Towa to tell her that he was arriving earlier, but Towa never responded.

After putting his things in his room, Rean went to celebrate with Class VII, Angelica, George, Celine, and Sharon in the Class VII Dorm.

It was nice to be around the others again after so long apart. Although Rean was worried about Towa. His friends clearly saw his worry and told him to go spend time with her. According to Angelica and George, the last they saw of her that day was in the Student Council room.

Thus Rean made his way to the Student Union building after thanking everyone who arrived to welcome him back.

Once inside the Student Council room, Rean was met by a sleeping Towa.

Not wanting to wake Towa up, Rean decided to take a seat on the couch in front of her desk.

Rean could tell just how tired Towa had become in his absence. While the paperwork on her desk was significantly less than before the war, he knew that wasn't what Towa must've been focused on.

"Judging by how you're wearing my uniform coat and hugging our Mishy plush, I guess you really missed me huh?" Rean asked the sleeping Towa.

Upon being met with silence Rean remembered that Towa was sleeping.

"Don't worry… I missed you too." Rean said as took out the locket that Crow had gotten for him.

Rean quickly opened his locket to look at the picture of Towa inside.

"I guess I should be thanking you right now Towa. Even in Crossbell, knowing that with each passing day the closer I was to getting back to you really helped in the motivation department. I really am lucky to have such an atowable girlfriend." Rean said.

Rean soon closed the locket and put it back in his pocket. Rean couldn't help but look at the real thing sleeping in front him. He soon noticed tears going down Towa's face.

"Shame I can't do the same for you. I'm sure I brought you nothing but worry and fear while I was gone. I'm sure telling Instructor Beatrix about what happened that night must have been horrifying to do alone. Then all the requests you probably had to do in my stead. I'm sure your friends brought you more joy than I ever could. I'm not sure if I'll ever be good enough to be your boyfriend…" Rean said.

Rean soon noticed how dark it had gotten outside.

After getting a good look at Towa, Rean noticed that she was still tearing up from whatever was happening in her dream.

Not wanting to wake Towa up, Rean sent a message to Instructor Sara informing her that he'd be staying in the Student Union building with Towa until she woke up, so he could safely walk her to her dorm room.

Rean soon looked around the Student Council room to see if they had a spare blanket, and luckily they did. After closing the blinds, Rean carefully placed the blanket over Towa so as to not wake her up. Then he turned off the lights, and laid down on the couch.

Rean's plan was just to wait for Towa to wake up, but soon he felt himself falling asleep. It would seem as if he was still tired after the battle he had with Lloyd Bannings and Rixia Mao.

As much as Rean wanted to wait for Towa, he soon fell asleep just like her. But not before hearing Towa say something in her sleep.

"Rean…" Towa whispered.


Towa soon woke up and found herself in a darkened Student Council room.

"I should've known that I was dreaming. Huh? Wait, I don't remember turning off the lights, and I don't remember putting on this blanket." Towa said to herself as she looked around the dark room.

Despite it being dark, Towa could see a figure sleeping on the couch in front of her desk.

Towa decided to investigate the sleeping figure. After putting the Mishy plush on her desk, Towa got up to see who it was. She decided to keep the blanket over herself along with Rean's uniform coat.

"W-Whose there!?" Towa yelled as she approached the figure.

Before Towa knew it however, she slipped on the blanket.

"AH!" Towa yelled as she fell on top of the figure sleeping on the couch, headbutting them in the process.

"OW!" Rean yelled as he was awoken by a sharp pain in his head.

Despite how dark the room was, Rean and Towa were both able to see each other.

"Rean!?" Towa yelled as she tried to lift herself up, but quickly realized that she was pinning Rean to the couch.

"Towa!?" Rean yelled as he felt Towa pinning him to the couch.

The two tried to calm themselves down so that they could figure out what had happened.

"I-I'm guessing by how we hit our heads, can we confirm that neither of us are dreaming?" Towa asked.

"Yeah, can't say I've ever dreamt about you headbutting me before." Rean joked.

"Heehee… Welcome back Rean." Towa responded.

"Glad to be back, Towa." Rean said.

"S-Say… I'm guessing you've been here for a while. U-Um… did I talk in my sleep?" Towa nervously asked.

"Only you saying my name, but I did see you crying. Towa, I'm sorry for not getting here sooner. I can only imagine all the pain-" Rean started saying before Towa interrupted him.

Before Rean knew it, Towa had started kissing him. He wasn't sure if it was to shut him up or to check if they were dreaming. He couldn't complain either way. Each kiss with Towa was as great as the one they shared when they confessed to each other.

"Rean, that doesn't matter. You're here with me now safe and sound. A few bruises and cuts, but that doesn't matter." Towa said as she separated their mouths to catch her breath.

Rean saw as Towa began to cry again. Not wanting to see her in so much pain again, he decided to tightly hug Towa to remind her that he was there now.

The pair stayed like that for a few minutes. They had been separated for so long that the two wanted nothing more than to bask in their warmth. Thankfully the blanket Towa slipped on managed to fall on top of them, so they were both fairly warm.

"Rean… you wouldn't mind if we slept like this? I-I'm not sure I want to be separated from you so soon." Towa asked as she snuggled even closer to Rean.

"Of course. There's nowhere I'd rather be than by your side Towa." Rean said as felt Towa snuggle even closer to him.

"Say Rean...please don't leave me." Towa whispered.

"I don't ever plan on leaving you Towa." Rean responded.

Rean and Towa soon fell asleep together. It was the best sleep either had gotten since the night they both confessed to each other.


3.10.1205 - Thursday

"Good morning Master Rean and President Herschel. Instructor Sara told me that Master Rean came to meet with you here, but hasn't heard from either of you. I decided to bring you some breakfast. I do hope I'm not interrupting anything." Sharon greeted.

Sharon wasn't sure what to think about the sight in front of her.

Rean and Towa were sleeping on the couch together under a blanket.

Sharon had expected to see Rean sleeping on the couch and Towa sleeping at her desk. But the sight in front told her that something far more bold had happened between Rean and Towa that night.

"Oh my Master Rean and President Towa, I had no idea that you two were such bold lovers. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. After all, Instructor Sara did tell me once that she saw you two doing something similar a few months ago in the computer room. I suppose last night must've left you two tuckered out. I suppose I'll leave your breakfast here. Don't worry, I'll make sure to tell your instructors that you couldn't make it to classes today. I doubt that you'll wake up before school starts." Sharon said as she placed the breakfast she brought and left as quietly as she could.

"Towa… did you… hear something?" Rean asked while still half-asleep.

"Only you Rean…" Towa responded while also still half-asleep.

Rean and Towa soon quickly fell back asleep, and as a result missed an entire day of school.


Author's Note

Hope you all enjoyed the grand return of the Mishy plush (and Dream! Rean)!

Preview - She didn't know that she was capable of being jealous of a plush.