Chapter 36 - A Hero's Return
12.25.1205
"Alright, a five letter word for a sword from the east? Oh simple, tachi." Towa said to herself as she continued her crossword puzzle inside her family's store.
Ever since returning from her tour, Towa had spent all of her time helping her family look over their shop. There wasn't that much work for her to usually do. She would mainly run the register or reorganize the shelves each day.
Tonight however was different. Towa's family had gone on a business trip earlier that day and wouldn't be back for a few days. They had left the house, and by extension the store, in her hands after she insisted on staying home. They told her that she was free to close the store whenever she wanted if she decided to do something else, but she wasn't really sure what else to do besides run the store.
She'd been like that for a while now. Ever since Rean was sent off to fight in North Ambria back in November, Towa hadn't been able to do much but worry about his safety. It was Crossbell all over again, but instead of burying herself in Student Council work, she devoted herself to helping run her family's store. Even if it was obviously not a good fit for her.
While her aunt and uncle appreciated her help, they knew that Towa was better suited somewhere else. They brought her job applications from all over the Empire that they felt would be a good usage of her skills, but she threw them all out after skimming each of them. They required her to move out of Heimdallr.
Moving out of Heimdallr was the last thing she wanted to do. It wasn't because she would feel homesick, she lived in Trista just fine. It wasn't because she would miss her family, they were always a call away. It wasn't because she disliked traveling, under normal circumstances she would have loved to explore more of the Empire. It was all because of a promise she made to herself. She wanted to be there when Rean returned from the Northern War.
Towa recalled doing little to stop Rean from getting sent to Crossbell when the Civil War ended, and she regretted the fact that she still did nothing to stop Rean from getting drafted into the Northern War. All she did was stand aside as he left to do things he didn't want to do. The fact that she slept through his return from Crossbell still gnawed away at her. She desperately didn't want to make that mistake again when he returned from North Ambria.
"It isn't all bad. Rean isn't by himself this time around. According to some of the newspapers I've read, Instructor Sara and Major Claire are also fighting alongside him." Towa thought to herself.
Towa couldn't help but feel a little jealous of Sara and Claire, she desperately wanted to be there to keep an eye on Rean herself.
"That's enough moping around for tonight." Towa said to herself as she stood up.
Towa quickly inspected the store one last time before closing, granted since there weren't any customers that day everything was the same as it was in the morning. She soon made her way outside to move some items inside for the night.
"It's awfully nice out tonight. I've been cooped up in the shop all day, maybe a walk around Heimdallr is just what I need." Towa thought to herself after seeing the night sky outside.
Towa quickly went to her room and put on the nearest sweater she could find. She didn't intend to wear the orange sweater that Rean had lent back during the Civil War, but she couldn't deny that it made her feel a little better.
Once outside, Towa double checked to make sure the front door was locked before starting her walk.
Rean sat quietly as Claire drove him, herself, and Sara to their hotel. They had just left the airport and were making their way to the hotel the government booked for them to sleep for the night.
Rean wanted nothing more than to return to Ymir as soon as possible, but he was told that all the trains were getting serviced that night. In the end he had to settle with the free room the government was offering him.
It was clear to Claire and Sara that Rean wasn't feeling well and decided to do something about it.
"Alright you've been silent the whole trip back. Rean, what's the matter?" Sara asked.
"Huh? Oh, it's nothing." Rean lied as turned to look out the window.
"Rean, we've been back in Heimdallr for a while now. Yet you still have the same tired look on your face. We know what happened in North Ambria wasn't what you had planned, but things are better now." Claire told him.
Rean continued to stay silent. He had been attempting to forget about everything that went down in North Ambria. How anyone in the military could call what happened there a victory was beyond him. The fact that Chancellor Osborne and Rufus also sent Altina to fight only made him even more furious. It wasn't a place for someone who's practically still a child to be in.
In the end, Rean couldn't be any more mad than with himself. He could rant about Osborne's decisions for an entire night, but in the end he chose to obey his orders. He could've easily attempted to fight the decision, he could've tried to hide somewhere where the government couldn't find him, or simply stay in Ymir. But he didn't, and he paid the price. Ever since the last battle, he hasn't been able to control his ogre powers. Then there were his worries about Towa.
Sara immediately started giving Claire the stink eye for bringing up the Northern War. They knew first hand how unpleasant it was, so to immediately make Rean remember it was a bad call.
In an attempt to salvage the situation, Claire and Sara decided to stay quiet until they reached their hotel.
Rean helped take out their luggage as Claire and Sara went to go get the keys to their rooms. It was then that he finally noticed how nice the weather was that night.
Rean made his way to the hotel's entrance before sensing someone familiar walk past him. For whatever reason, he couldn't help but stare as the person made their way deeper into the streets of Heimdallr. Unfortunately for him, it was too dark to make out who they were.
"Thanks for getting our stuff Rean." Sara greeted as she took her backpack.
"Here's your key, looks like we're all on the same floor." Claire greeted as she handed Rean his room key and took her backpack.
"Say, would you guys mind if I take a walk around Heimdallr real fast?" Rean asked.
"Go right ahead. Would you like me to take care of your backpack?" Claire asked.
"Don't worry, I'll take it with me. It's only clothes, so it doesn't weigh much." Rean answered.
"If you insist. Do try to get back as soon as you can." Claire responded.
With that Sara and Claire watched as Rean walked into the depths of Heimdallr, unsure of what would motivate him to go out at a time like this.
"Well, I'm going to check out my room. I take it you're going to do the same?" Claire asked Sara as they went back inside the hotel.
"Actually, I think I might head to the hotel's bar for a few drinks." Sara answered.
Towa carefully walked around the streets of Heimdallr. Despite being a resident of the city, she rarely left at night. Key word being rarely. She started recalling all the times her grandfather would wake her up in the middle of the night to take her stargazing.
"Seeing Heimdallr illuminated with stars like this is such a rare treat. It looks like most of the residents are asleep now." Towa thought to herself after noticing that most of the streets were dark with only street lights and passing cars illuminating the streets.
After staring at the sky for a few minutes Towa continued her walk. Thinking about her grandfather had given her an idea.
Rean followed the small cloaked figure across town. What he assumed would be a simple walk, instead turned into a marathon.
While dark, Rean was still able to keep an eye on the places he passed so he could go back to the hotel without any issue. So far he passed the Sankt District, Garnier Street, and Vainqueur Street. Now he was in the Leica District. More specifically, outside the Imperial Museum.
"Hey you! Who are you!?" Rean yelled as he ran towards the figure.
"I am someone who's on a mission." The figure answered before jumping into the air.
Rean saw as a large shadowy puppet flew them into the night sky.
"Wait Alti-" Rean realized before having his train of thought interrupted.
"R-Rean!?" someone yelled from a few streets away.
Rean turned around and saw someone wearing a familiar sweater walking towards him.
Rean quickly realized who it was, and instead of waiting for them to get to him he started running towards them.
"T-Towa!?" Rean called out as ran through the street.
Rean and Towa immediately embraced each other once they saw each other face to face again after so long. Along with a long kiss for good measure.
"It really is you Rean." Towa said as she laid her head on Rean's chest.
"Yup, it's me alright." Rean responded as he started rubbing Towa's head.
Just like in their final moments together in Ymir, Rean and Towa couldn't help but start crying in each other's arms. Although unlike before, these tears were tears of joy.
Altina watched from the Imperial Museum's rooftop as Rean and Towa started walking away, hand in.
Once they were out of sight, Altina turned on her Arcus unit to make a call.
"Icy Maiden, the mission was a success. Schwarzer is now in contact with Herschel." Altina announced.
"Good work Black Rabbit. I appreciate you doing this favor for me. I doubt Rean would've been comfortable in the hotel." Claire responded.
"It's not a problem." Altina responded.
"I've been meaning to ask, but didn't your contract with Jade Rock end recently?" Claire asked.
"Correct, as of now I am free to do as I please. I should be returning to the workshop soon." Altina revealed.
"I know this is confidential, but Scarecrow told me that there seems to be growing developments in Leeves. I figured you might want to look into it." Claire continued.
"I'll consider it." Altina said before hanging up.
Altina decided that it was time to head back to the base and summoned Claiom Solais to fly her there. As she flew across the sky of Heimdallr she noticed the pair she was told to reunite making their way to Herschel's Shop.
"I should probably inform Icy Maiden about getting a refund for Rean's unused hotel room." Altina thought to herself.
"We're here." Towa announced as she led Rean inside her family's home.
"It's certainly been a while since I last came here." Rean joked as he carefully looked around the shop.
"You've certainly grown a bit since then. Don't worry about making noise, it's just me here for a few more days." Towa informed him as she finally noticed Rean's growth spurt.
"Huh? Did something happen?" Rean asked.
"Oh they went on a business trip, they should be back in a few days." Towa answered.
"Don't tell me you stayed here just to work while they're away?" Rean asked with concern.
"It wasn't because of that. I... I just didn't want to leave Heimdallr." Towa admitted.
"Did something happen?" Rean asked as he made his way to comfort Towa.
"I-I just didn't want to make the same mistake again." Towa continued as she buried her face in Rean's chest.
"What mistake?" Rean questioned.
"Rean, when did you come back?" Towa asked.
"I arrived a few hours ago. Major Claire was driving me and Sara to our hotel before I decided to go for a stroll." Rean answered. He had decided to leave out the part about chasing Altina.
"So I did it again." Towa muttered to herself again.
"Did what again?" Rean asked.
"I missed your return again! I've refused to leave Heimdallr because I wanted to see you the second you came back!" Towa yelled as he looked up at Rean with tears in her eyes.
"Towa…" Rean responded as he realized what had been worrying Towa ever since he'd left.
"I missed welcoming you back again, just like when you got back from Crossbell…" Towa lamented.
"I-I'm so sorry Towa, I should've tried figuring out a way to call you the moment I had the chance." Rean said as he got mad at himself for worrying her again.
"W-Why didn't you!? I tried calling the moment I heard the war ended, but you never picked up!" Towa yelled.
Without saying a word Rean pulled out his Arcus unit, or what was left of it anyway.
"What happened to it?" Towa asked as she looked at the charred remains of Rean's Arcus unit.
"To be honest, I don't remember, and I'd rather keep it that way." Rean answered.
"Rean, what happened?" Towa asked, knowing fully well that something must've happened to him during the Northern War.
Rean questioned if he should even tell Towa about what happened to his ogre powers. It was clear that she was already worried about him, the last thing he wanted was to cause her more grief. But then he remembered that she was his girlfriend, and that if there was anyone he shouldn't hide anything from, it was her.
"It was during one of the battles. I saw a group of archaisms making their way to one of the safe zones, and seeing no other choice, I used my ogre powers to get to them before they could harm any of the civilians. I had been doing that for most of the war, the moment I saw any threat I would use my ogre powers. I suppose I overdid it that day, because during the fight I lost consciousness. According to Major Claire, I kept on fighting even if I wasn't awake to know it. By the time I woke up again, my Arcus unit was destroyed and I wasn't able to use my ogre powers properly again." Rean explained.
"Rean…" Towa responded.
"Well, as you can see my Arcus unit is in no shape to make calls. So that's why I couldn't call you." Rean continued as he tried to steer the conversation in another direction.
The two remained in each other's embrace for a few minutes. Rean and Towa had heard enough about the war and simply wanted to move on to other things.
"It's getting late, I should hurry back to the hotel before Major Claire and Sara get worried." Rean said as he reluctantly separated from Towa.
Before Rean could get too far however, he felt Towa hugging him in an attempt to stop him from leaving.
Towa wasn't sure what was going on in her head. All she knew was that she didn't want to see Rean leave again. She wanted to keep him within her grasp for as long as she could. She couldn't trust anyone else with him. For all she knew he'd be in trouble yet again, and she wouldn't be able to help.
"Rean, I want you to stay here for the night." Towa said as she tightened her hold on him.
Rean wasn't sure what had gotten into Towa, but he couldn't deny that her offer wasn't enticing. After everything he saw during the war, he wanted to ensure Towa's safety above all else.
"Sure thing Towa." Rean said as he started rubbing her head.
With that, Towa locked the front door and sent Sara a message informing her about Rean staying with her.
Once that was taken care of, Rean picked Towa up and carried her off upstairs so they could rest for the night.
Author's Note
That Leeves place sure does sound interesting.
Preview - "Rean, how much did this cost?" Towa asked.
