Just a few days prior Rean and the rest of Class VII had been looking forward to a return to normal school life. After all the chaos of the field studies and the ensuing events, it all sounded quite good on paper. But now? The new normal was becoming annoying, and he knew he wasn't the only one to feel that way.

The reason for that? The new normal didn't account for the fact that he now had a girlfriend. Two, even. They had known the next month would be difficult when they made the decision to keep it quiet for the moment, but knowing it and experiencing it were two completely different things. Were it not for a few quiet conversations he had had while out of earshot of his classmates me might have written that whole night off as a dream.

Long tedious classes they had expected, but the festival preparation had become all-consuming as the members of Class VII worked frantically to catch up to the other classes. Although they had expected it to be hard work, not a single member of the class had been prepared for the level of perfection demanded of them by one Elliot Craig.

The young musician wasn't at all discouraged by the fact that George was still in the process of getting their instruments ready. Instead he had managed to acquire some instruction books for their instruments, presumably shipped from his sister, and had forced each of those with an instrument to study every intricacy of their chosen tool. A part of Rean felt like he had more knowledge about guitars than he did tachis at that point and he wasn't alone as he witnessed equally frazzled looks on the faces of Laura, Alisa, and Gaius.

The dancers and singers found themselves under the critical eye of Crow and while the jokester gave off a more relaxed air, from all accounts he was just as harsh a taskmaster as the musician was. He had been merciful enough to allow them to do the early parts of their training in secret to spare them the early embarrassment of performing in front of a crowd, so Rean wasn't sure how well it was going, but there was no denying how exhausted Fie and Millium looked after those sessions, or how utterly miserable Emma, Jusis, and Machias were.

And the worst part was that none of them could complain about it. None of them wanted to be the ones to mess everything up in front of a large crowd, not even the ever flippant Fie. So they continued to give it their all, even as they privately wished the experience would end.

It wouldn't have been so bad were it not for the fact that his classmates and other friends were everywhere. He loved them, truly, but he was just starting to understand how impossible it was to get a few moments of privacy anywhere outside of his room. And he couldn't start making constant visits to the third floor without arousing suspicion.

Still, as annoying as it all was, it was only three weeks until the festival and a return to the peaceful student lives they had become so accustomed to. Three weeks of classes, training, and homework. At least they didn't have to worry about combat training or a field study at the end of the month.

This isn't to say that the events of that night had gone completely forgotten. Although true privacy was almost impossible to achieve, he did find brief moments with them, either with just one or together, and those moments were special to him. Even though they couldn't express their feelings in a physical manner with so many others around, their every interaction held an extra level of warmth that had not been present prior, and never once did they fail to make his heart beat a little faster.

It was frustrating that they couldn't find other ways to be together, but he could be patient for as long as it took. Laura, he suspected, felt the same way. Fie, however, he wasn't so sure about. The girl was cunning and appeared to be deep in thought more than once. He wondered if she was planning something, but couldn't help but find himself rooting for her success if she was.

But while his love life might not be progressing as much as he wanted, there was one area that he was advancing on: his training. Although only a few days had passed since the return from Ymir, the intermediate scroll sitting in his room had been all but memorized at this point.

Memorizing the contents and mastering them were two vastly different concepts, and it would be months before he could realistically utilize the things written there in combat, but it was a strong first step. It gave him another reason to want the festival to be done with so he could return to the old school house and begin training in earnest.

Still, even with limited time and trapped in the confines of his bedroom he was able to make some progress. The scroll went over most of the other forms of the Eight Leaves style and he understood the importance of fundamentals. As exciting as it was to learn flashy new techniques, understanding the stance and the movements of a certain form were far more important in the grand scheme of things.

There was one craft, however, that he had decided to go ahead and learn even if he hadn't learned the form first: Spirit Unification. A seventh form technique that allowed the user to draw upon their inner strength to temporarily enhance their physical attributes beyond the normal limit. It didn't take him long to realize that the details written were very similar to the way he conducted his transformation, so it was a natural evolution for him. And plus, having an actual name for the technique could only be a plus in his opinion.

There was a sense of nervous excitement around Class VII the next morning as they sat through class. George had contacted Rean and informed the swordsman that the instruments were ready and just needed to be picked up from the Engineering Building. Not wanting to leave the instruments cluttering up the kind engineer's workspace for too long, Rean had promised that they would be collected later that day.

Informing his classmates of this he was relieved, but not surprised, when they all offered their services to help transport the instruments. The question of where to take them was brought up, as Laura's drums especially were too bulky to be brought back to their dorms. Fortunately, they had the obvious solution of the Old Schoolhouse. Given that three of their number had recently been using the place for combat training it was clearly big and secure enough for the class to use it to practice, and it afforded them the option to practice late, even after the campus itself had closed down for the night.

In a show of surprising kindness. Instructor Sara gave them leave to cancel afternoon home room so they could get an early start on the work. That bout of kindness was proven to be a double-edged sword, however, as the bracer turned teacher happily informed them that she was going to skip her own work and instead bring some drinks down there to watch the students make fools of themselves later on. Annoying, but not at all unexpected given what they are used to with her.

Still, thanks to the extra time and the fact that Crow had a spare key to the Engineering Building, they were able to lug everything to the Old Schoolhouse before the other students were dismissed and could get in their way. Setting everything up was a greater challenge, but eventually they persevered and were soon ready to begin playing their instruments for real.

Under Elliot's intense gaze the four new musicians began to practice. The beginning was fine, as they were allowed to mess around while familiarizing themselves with their instruments of choice. It was when Elliot started having them play simple notes that things got difficult.

It didn't help that Crow had decided that this train wreck was too good to pass up and had given the dancers and singers the day off, so not only did they have to deal with their Instructor's mocking laughs and jeers, she also had Crow, Fie, and Millium with her. Jusis and Machias were busy having a not-so-friendly debate about the cause of some errors in their singing, while Emma was split between trying to cheer her friends on while also doing her best to keep the 'debate' civil.

Even Rean couldn't deny how amusing it was to watch Alisa and Gaius's first attempts at playing their guitars, although unlike the others he didn't dare express that humor as he knew his turn was coming up. The swordsman couldn't recall ever seeing the calm Nord ever look so flustered as he did after his initial attempt ended in something unholy to their ears. His next attempts went better and after a few minutes Elliot appeared content that Gaius was on the right track.

Which meant that now Rean found himself at the center of attention as his turn had arrived. Gulping down the sudden surge of nervousness the boy did his best to draw upon his experiences with the lute and calming techniques from his sword training. The results... weren't great. If he was being completely unbiased he might have taken comfort in the fact that it was better than the initial attempts of the two before him, but it certainly didn't feel like it.

And of course, like the two before him, he was subjected to the peanut gallery. It was bad enough that Crow and Instructor Sara seemed to take special amusement in his struggle, but what he found truly embarrassing was the mischievous grin and tiny giggle that his secret girlfriend let out. A glance to his right was enough to let him know that his other secret girlfriend was finding herself in the same predicament that he had just been in: Amused, but terrified as she realized her moment of judgment was coming very soon.

Pretty much the only one not taking joy in his plight was Elliot himself. The master, stone-faced as he had been with the previous two victims, was quick to point out his most obvious faults and ways to correct them. Despite having admitted to having very little practical experience with more modern instruments like the guitar it was obvious that the youngest Craig knew exactly what he was doing and soon enough he demanded that Rean tried again. Which he did, to slightly better results. Again he was corrected and again he retried. After a few minutes of this Rean felt like he was doing a somewhat passable job, albeit only with the one simple tune that had been picked out for them. It was a relief when Elliot seemed to agree and turned his attention to the blue-haired drummer.

Unlike the previous three, Laura's attempts were far more unique, and it wasn't just because she was using a completely different instrument. She had had no prior experience with a musical instrument, but Elliot clearly knew what he was doing when he decided that Laura's sword experience would give her a good rhythm with the drums. Despite that, however, it was soon clear that the strongest member of the class was completely overwhelmed trying to multitask the multiple drums and cymbals. Her strong start soon degraded into a mess and had the spectators in stitches. As with the others before her Elliot assisted and had Laura initially go slower so she could adjust easier. This helped and soon she too was drumming away at an acceptable level.

Once it became clear that everyone was done making fools of themselves the spectators got bored and left, leaving the four neophytes and their harsh taskmaster alone. They played up until dinner time, and while they still clearly had a long long road ahead of them, were at least comfortable enough to begin making real progress. It was only at that point did terrifying dictator Elliot leave and kind gentle Elliot reappeared, although they knew that would only last until the next day.

Dinner was miserable, as their classmates and Instructor teased them relentlessly for their performances. Crow, despite being one of the most vocal, also happened to grant them reprieve when he informed the dancers and singers that it would be only a matter of days before their private training would end and they would have to practice as one large group, causing their teasing to turn to horror at the thought. With all of the first years thoroughly cowed, save for Millium who didn't have a curim of shame in her body, dinner went by awkwardly and soon the students returned to their rooms for the night.

Or at least most did. Laura was not at all surprised when Fie followed her into her room without saying a thing, having become accustomed to it at this point. "I take it you have come up with something?" She asked her best friend and partner in crime.

"Kay, so I've figured out a way for the three of us to hang out together without the others throwing a fit." It was actually super annoying how some of the others were still mistrustful of the three for their past actions as if they expected them to be so stupid as to let Rean lose control and turn into a demon.

"Alright, so what is your idea?" Knowing Fie, it was sure to be something well-thought out and planned...

"Simple, we sneak down and visit Rean after everyone has gone to sleep." Apparently not. Correctly surmising that the simplicity of the plan was the reason Laura was shooting her an unimpressed look Fie was quick to elaborate, lest she let her embarrassment show. "Don't worry. I've spent the past few nights tailing the others, figuring out when everyone sleeps and who to be wary of. Our friends are pretty boring in their routines."

Alright, that was a bit more acceptable. "And you're sure they won't notice us? In case you have forgotten, I am not nearly as quiet as you."

Fie nodded her head. "Yup. Alisa is always quick to bed. Emma stays up a bit later to study, but she's usually so focused she doesn't notice anything around her. Millium... is Millium." The girl could actually be really observant when the situation required, presumably due to her past profession, but when she was just chilling in her room? Not an issue at all. "If Sara were sober we would be screwed, but she's usually drinking at this point and will be a total mess in an hour or two."

"As for the guys? Most of them are no problem since they are on the other end of the hallway. Gaius is the only one in that group I would be worried of, but he might be the earliest one to bed out of all of us." They had heard about it from the group that went to Nord all those months ago. Something involving sheep? "Crow, surprisingly tends to go to bed early as well." She chose to not mention how she almost got caught once when the second year student unexpectedly left his room late one night, but assumed it was just a fluke bathroom trip or something.

"And what about Rean? Not sure he would appreciate us waking him up in the middle of the night..."

Fie shook her head with a knowing grin. "That's the best part. Thanks to that scroll he got back in Ymir he has been staying up late to practice. He'll probably be the only one to sense us coming so we should be fine to just slip in unnoticed by everyone else."

Laura blinked. "You really did spy on everyone, didn't you?" Was that a good thing or a bad thing? She wasn't sure.

"You're kinda like Rean. You stay up fairly late each night cause you like to swing around that big hunk of steel, but you're also pretty oblivious to your surroundings when you do that." Fie replied with a cheeky grin, making it clear that she also did due diligence on her as well.

"Alright, fine. You have made your point. And I can't deny the opportunity doesn't sound appealing. If you are certain we can pull it off, I see no reason we shouldn't try."

"Just leave it to me."

"In that case I suppose we have nothing to do but wait. I was planning on spending the next hour or so studying. Why not join me?"

That wasn't what Fie expected to hear, and certainly not something she was at all interested in. "Nah, no thanks."

"Fie Claussell." Said girl noticeably stiffened at the stern tone used. "We all know how miserable your test scores are. Emma has been running herself ragged trying to help you." Technically speaking, her scores had been improving at a modest rate, but she was still sitting comfortably in the back of the pack, even behind Millium. "So you are going to sit down with me and together we shall review the vice-principals lecture on the Erebonian taxation system."

The victim of Laura's aggression glanced towards the door. She still had jaeger blood in her veins and understood more than most the value of a tactical retreat. She was the speedier of the two by far and could find a good hiding spot until this crazy idea was forgotten...

She sadly discarded the idea. Her best friend could be remarkably stubborn and persistent when she set her mind to something. Her only viable course of action was surrender. She let out a miserable groan as she accepted her fate, causing her tormentor to grin victoriously. "Ugh. Lame."

Laura watched as her partner reluctantly moved towards the offered seat, but was confused when Fie instead passed it without stopping. Instead the silver-haired girl had decided upon a different seat... her lap. "If I'm gonna deal with this torture I at least want to be sitting somewhere comfy." Was the only answer the girl gave to her surprised look.

'I suppose this isn't too bad.' Fie thought to herself as she rested her head on Laura's chest while the older girl proceed to play with her messy hair. It was actually quite comfortable and she felt her body relax as her eyes started drooping and- "Ow!" She yelped as the blue-haired chair gave her hair a yank. "What was that for?"

"No sleeping." Was the only answer she got. 'Never mind. This sucks.'

As was the norm these past few nights, Rean found himself hard at work going over the contents of the scroll his master had left for him. While he was interested in at least understanding the basics of each form eventually, he couldn't help but feel a certain sense of excitement as he found himself currently working on the seventh form: Void. It was, after all, the one his master believed best suited him and so studying it made it feel like he was making actual progress as a swordsman.

He paused in his efforts as he sensed a presence approaching. Odd, as most of his classmates should be in bed at this hour. At first he thought it was Crow, as the second year occasionally slipped out at night to do whatever it was that Crow did, but discarded that thought as he didn't recall the older boy ever leaving his room. Focusing on his senses he soon realized that there was a second presence trailing after the first, and smiled as he realized exactly who it was.

Sure enough, a few seconds later the doom to his room slowly opened with a creak, and a familiar mop of messy silver hair peeked through. Upon seeing him staring back at her, she withdrew her head and opened the door fully, before walking in like she owned the place. Trailing behind her, looking slightly more apologetic, was Laura.

"See, told you it would work out." Fie bragged to her companion as they shut the door behind them.

Laura chose to ignore the silver-haired menace, instead turning her attention to the boy who was watching them owlishly. "Good evening Rean, I hope we didn't interrupt anything."

"No... it's fine." It was more than fine, but Rean was doing his best to act cool in this situation. "Just a bit surprised, that's all. What are you doing here?"

"We came down here cause Laura wanted to make out with you, duh." Yup, teasing them was definitely becoming her new favorite pastime. Rean's reaction was cute, but paled in comparison to that of her companion.

"F-Fie!" To her credit, Laura remembered that they needed to be fairly quiet, so even though she closely resembled a steamed lobster she still managed to keep her voice to an embarrassed hiss. She was just now starting to realize how terrible of an idea it was to involve Fie in this as the younger girl was actually a gremlin in disguise.

Said girl giggled in amusement as she flopped down on Rean's bed. "Fine, fine. Nothing fun for now. How boring."

"Anyways." Laura coughed awkwardly as she tried to regain control of herself. "We just thought it would be nice to come hang out for a while, seeing as how we won't be able to train together until after the festival. I take it you have been practicing your Eight Leaves style?"

"Oh... umm, yes." It took him a second to realize he was being addressed as he had been so focused on their byplay and Fie's remarks. "Even if I can't really put it to practice there's a lot to learn in that scroll." He had discarded said scroll on his bed when he first noticed their approach and a curious Fie had snatched it up and was in the process of looking it over.

"Is... that alright?" Laura knew how protective the Arseid family was of their own techniques and was surprised that Rean didn't seem all that bothered about it.

He shrugged. "Probably not. But Fie is Fie, right?" If he thought she was trying to steal the techniques his master had left for him he would have been bothered, but he was pretty sure that the ex-jaeger was just curious about it.

Laura found she had no way to argue that so she just nodded to concede the point gracefully. "So how has it been going?" Seeing someone train in the Eight Leaves One Blade style was intriguing to the Arseid practitioner. While her family style did have different forms for different weapons, as someone who primarily relied on the greatsword she specialized solely in that style. Rean's school, meanwhile, put emphasis on versatility, with seven different forms utilizing the same weapon. From what she understood, a Divine Blade, while specializing in one or two forms, could seamlessly switch styles as the situation called for.

"Well enough, all things considered. It's unfortunate I got that scroll just as we started with all the festival stuff, because right now I want nothing more than to go out and practice this for real. I might need your help once I have the fundamentals of this next form down."

"Of course. I would be delighted to assist. I am curious about the form you are learning, however."

"Hmm..." Rean considered the best way to explain it. "The Seventh Form: Void. It's the form my master thinks will best suit me. It's a very... reactive form. It's less formal, instead relying on me to clear my mind of thought and moving on instinct. Best suited against those with unpredictable fighting styles or those who rely on ambushes. Kinda like Fie, I suppose."

That comment caused said girl to briefly raise her head from the paper that had held her attention, shooting a half-lidded glare at the swordsman "Really? Dunno if I should be amused that your master thinks your best style is for you to stop thinking or be annoyed that not thinking is your solution to fighting me."

"I... um..." He stammered as he wondered it the girl was actually insulted by his words, but soon noticed the teasing grin on her face, realized that she was just giving him a hard time, and instead leveled a flat glare back at her.

Which she promptly ignored. "I do get it though. It sounds a lot like how I learned my gunblades. Boss taught me just enough to to not kill myself with them and left me to figure out the rest. Just ended up doing what felt right, I guess. This formal stuff," she pointed to the scroll still in her hand, "just feels weird to me."

Laura, ever the expert on these subject matters, took the time to explain. "What you describe is how most martial schools got their start. Someone decides to try something different and trains themselves on instinct, slowly refining their technique through experience. Maybe eventually you will have reached a point where you feel comfortable enough with your style that you decide to take an apprentice or teach your children and they will continue evolving the style. Eventually, your style will gain notoriety and people will start wanting to learn Fie's famous gunblade techniques for themselves."

The petite powerhouse hummed thoughtfully. "I guess when you put it like that it doesn't sound so bad. Could be fun coming up with silly names for all the techniques and ranks. I wonder if I could come up with something as cheesy as 'Divine Blade.'"

"...If you're trying to get a rise out of me you won't succeed like that. Even I think 'Divine Blade' is a bit pretentious." Not that Rean really thought about it that much as he didn't consider the possibility of him ever obtaining such a lofty title for himself.

"Boo. Boring." She complained with a moan before flopping down onto the bed, although she was at least respectful enough to gently set his precious scroll aside first.

The awkwardness of the moment was finally starting to fade for Rean as he realized that despite the current setting and recent change in their closeness that neither girl was interested in doing anything too daring and were content to simply hang out with him in his room. Well, at least Laura was. Fie obviously couldn't help mix in a few teasing comments on occasion.

That wasn't to say he didn't want to advance their relationship, of course, but he had absolutely no idea what to do in a situation like this. Being in a relationship was not something he had been expecting, especially with it being a relationship with two different girls at the same time. He didn't want to rush things or do something that might inadvertently favor one over the other or anything else to jeopardize this new situation before it had a chance to fully develop.

And yet, despite the fact they were merely hanging out with him there was a warmth in the air that had absolutely nothing to do with the chilly October evening. Despite the words not being much different than the ones he hears when spending time with Elliot and Gaius, Jusis and Machias, or any of the others, the entire experience was different in a way he couldn't describe.

Perhaps it was due to the fact that despite their wildly different upbringings they were remarkably similar individuals, but he wasn't at all afraid to share his own insecurities and vulnerabilities with them. Despite the butterflies in his stomach that came from hanging out with two remarkable girls he still found himself more relaxed around them than he did with the others.

And it wasn't just him, either. Laura was very open about her lack of experience in matters outside the sword and was glad for their support, even as they weren't exactly paragons of social skills. She had promised to attempt another meal for them in the future when time permitted, and they were more than willing to try whatever it was she ended up making.

Fie meanwhile was far less reserved when it was just the three of them. It was almost like she was a different person. While she had started opening up more while among her other classmates, the difference was still staggering. What's more, she was far more willing to share her past with them, whether to give an example for something, share some advice, or simply to sate their curiosity. She was also a lot warmer with them, like a stray cat that had finally found a home and people to love.

As fun as their rendezvous was, however, it didn't change the fact that it came very late at night and they couldn't spend that much time together if they didn't want to let sleep deprivation become an issue in the future. Laura was the one to make that decision, but she was the only one to make a move towards the door. "Fie?"

The younger girl, however, remained stationary on Rean's bed. The only movement she attempted to make was to bury herself deeper into the blankets. "Don't wanna go." She mumbled out.

"Fie!" Laura hissed.

"It's comfy..."

"Fie!"

Join me. It's nice..."

Laura sighed before turning to Rean. "Would you be so kind as to get the door for me? I have to deal with a misbehaving child." Without waiting for a reply she strode over to his bed and effortlessly lifted her best friend in a bridal carry. Fie moaned piteously, but was promptly ignored. "Shush now. I need your senses so we don't get caught going upstairs. Good night, Rean."

He could only blink owlishly as the one girl carried the other out of his room before closing the door behind them. Since Laura was correct and the hour was late, he decided to forego the rest of his training for the evening and got himself ready for bed.

The next week followed this same routine. Classes during the day, festival training in the evening, secret meetings in the night. What little free time they had available was often spent helping out in their respective clubs as many of them were planning on doing their own little things for the upcoming event. It was exhausting, but there was a palpable excitement in the air.

Their progress in training as a group was substantial, and by the end of that first week they could perform the first song with only a few minor mistakes scattered throughout. Since they still had a week and a half, morale was high as they were fairly confident they would be ready since the musicians were more familiar with their instruments and the others were already somewhat practiced with their routines. Of course pulling it off successfully was only the beginning, as Elliot had promised that they would keep practicing until they could do it consistently without a single mistake. The eerie smile on his face as he said it made it quite clear that he meant every word of it, too.

As for the other part, that had also been progressing well. While there hadn't been any new developments in that week, the secret visits continued in earnest. Perhaps it was how comfortable the meetings were, or maybe it was due to the thrill of hiding such a dirty little secret from everyone else, but for Laura those late night visits were moments she looked forward to every night.

There was one problem that had been lingering in her mind, however, and that came from something Fie had said to her at the end of that first night.

Laura had just finished carrying Fie to her room. Thankfully the dorm was completely silent at that hour as everyone had finally gone to sleep, so they were able to make their egress undetected. She couldn't help but marvel at just how light the powerful little ex-jaeger was as she carefully placed the girl in her own bed.

She was just about to exit for her own room when the sleepy girl called out to her. "You know I was only partly lying"

"About...?" She pressed as she wasn't quite sure what Fie was referring too.

"About you wanting to make out with Rean. It's me who wants that."

Laura wasn't quite sure how to respond to that. "O-Oh... So w-why didn't you do anything?"

"Wouldn't be fair to you." Seeing the confused look on the sword maiden's face she clarified. "I know nobles like you and Rean are taught to take things slow and do it proper, but I wasn't. I'm curious why everyone seems to think it's so good, but at the same time... I don't want to mess things up by going too fast and I especially don't want you to feel pressured."

"Oh..." Despite the awkward topic Laura couldn't help but feel touched by her friend's consideration in taking her feelings and upbringing into account.

"Still, I don't wanna wait forever..."

Laura got the hint easily enough. "I... understand. You have given me a lot to think about. Good night, Fie."

And that led to her current conundrum. She knew that as a noble there were expectations on how she conducted herself, and courtship was no exception. Fie, meanwhile, thanks to her jaeger upbringing, was taught to take what she wants and deal with the consequences later. She was torn between those two ideals and unsure of how to proceed.

Once again they were in Rean's room, and the kind swordsman appeared to notice her distracted state. Outside of a few words and the occasional concerned glance he focused most of his attention on her partner in crime. Their antics were entertaining, as Fie had originally teased the swordsman about a mistake he had made during practice, only for him to surprisingly retort by mockingly mimicking her dance routine. It was out of character for Rean and left the silver-haired girl utterly speechless.

It was nice watching the two of them do what they wanted to do... Laura almost gasped in realization. She had been so focused on what society and Fie wanted to do that she never asked herself what Laura S. Arseid wanted her to do. And thinking about that made the decision easy.

Bless her father, he really tried. But while he and Klaus did their best to raise her to be a noble and a swordmistress both, it was hard for them as they were both famous swordsmen themselves. As soon as she was strong enough to lift a sword her path had been made clear and both men accepted it readily. She was a warrior first and a noble second, and like her fellow warrior, what she wanted was sitting there in front of her...

"Rean?" Once she had his attention she would say... something to him. Speak from the heart. Get comfortable in the moment and make the move to claim what she desired. She would...

He turned to her and she immediately got lost in those violet eyes that she was becoming so fond of. The words she had planned to say were immediately forgotten. She stared at him for what felt like hours, but was maybe a second at most. Knowing the moment was becoming awkward and with butterflies in her stomach she panicked.

She wasn't exactly sure what happened. One moment she had been staring at Rean in a panic and the next she was... where was she, exactly? Oh, she appeared to be connected to him via the lips. It was only when the flare of pain hit that her brain finally caught up to her. In that moment she had decided to just barrel on ahead and lunged forward, but she might have gone a bit too hard as their faces all but collided.

She accomplished what she had wanted, but in the worst possible way. It didn't help that the first sound uttered was the unrestrained laughter of Fie as her brain finally caught up to what had happened. Laura wondered if she was as red as the uniform she was wearing, as she certainly felt like it. Seconds passed as she contemplated her next action before her body's desire for oxygen made itself known and she reluctantly pulled away.

"I think you broke him." Fie giggled as they finally got a good look at Rean. She had thought she might be as red as her uniform, but he clearly was. The boy just sat there, unblinking, as he stared ahead blankly. Laura did her best to ignore the red spot from where their heads collided.

"Not gonna lie, that was kinda hot." Fie admitted readily. "But you might want to tone it down for next time. Something like..." The ex-jaeger had said she was going to wait on Laura, but now that that had happened she was unwilling to wait a second longer. Grabbing his head with both hands she pulled him forward and connected her lips with his. It was brief, especially in comparison to her own, but it was just as effective.

Laura knew she should feel something as she watched her best friend kiss her boyfriend, but surprisingly she felt nothing. Maybe she was still stuck trying to process her prior actions, or perhaps she understood that this was what she wanted when she first made the suggestion, but seeing it didn't hurt at all.

Despite her confidence, Fie appeared to be just as red as her when she pulled away after a second. Still, that was far better than how Rean was faring, as the Ymir native had been completely overwhelmed by the one-two combo unleashed upon him. Seeing that he was out of it she turned to the other girl, noticing the same amusement in her eyes as she felt herself. The moment was too much and they started laughing.

Crow Armbrust couldn't quite hold back the yawn as he made his way back to his temporary residence in the Class VII dorms. He had just been in a meeting with Vita and some of the other collaborators and it had run longer than expected. He had a lot on his mind as he considered his next move.

Technically everything was ready. With the Imperial Liberation Front seemingly wiped out at Roer they had complete freedom to move everything into position for the final strike. All that remained was to wait for the spark that would light the entire county ablaze and Vita had reassured them that the situation in Crossbell was coming to a head and that said spark would probably occur in a matter of weeks. This meant that the one known as C had some free time on their hands.

If nothing else this at least meant that they had time to see the resolution of the Old Schoolhouse. He was pretty certain what awaited his classmates at the bottom and it was pretty obvious that Rean was the chosen Awakener. If there was anything that gave him pause about the upcoming storm he was about to unleash on Erebonia it was the sickening realization that he would soon be forced to utterly crush a guy that he genuinely liked a lot.

Still, years of anger and resolve weren't so easily shattered. He and Ordine would be ready for that day when it arrived. Despite that, he could at least make sure to enjoy these last final weeks as a member of Class VII to their fullest and help the kiddos do the same thing before the harshness of reality sunk in. If that meant using his talents as the secret leader of a terrorist organization in order to make sure the upcoming concert went smoothly, so be it.

Some might have been surprised at how casually he entered the dormitory and made his way towards his bedroom, but why should he worry? The only one who might be around at this late hour was Sharon, and while the Enforcer maid might have suspected something, so long as his plans didn't jeopardize Alisa she wouldn't do anything to oppose him. Sara and Millium might be risks, but both of them had grown complacent in their roles here, and even if they hadn't, being on the third floor meant the risk of being caught by them was slim. If anyone else was still up he could just play the role of a second-year student and make up a bullshit excuse easily enough.

He made his way up the stairs and was just about to enter his room when he froze. He didn't just hear what he thought he did, did he? A second later and he heard it again. Wide-eyed he turned to the room opposite his. What he heard was laughter. And not just any laughter, but that of a girl.

A girl in Rean's room? How delightfully scandalous. All thoughts about the upcoming catastrophe were shunted to the back of his mind as he considered this new development. While he wasn't able to make out who the voice belonged to, he did have his suspicions. Now what to do about it...

As a good friend the nice thing to do would be to keep this information to himself and let Rean have this little bit of happiness, but he couldn't help it. He basked in chaos and news like this would be sure to create heaps of it. The well-mannered swordsman was quite popular, especially with the female population, so this news was sure to send ripples across the school.

He chuckled as he quietly entered his room. The bomb he was about to drop on Erebonia paled in comparison to that which he planned on dropping at breakfast the next morning.