"So she's making you move out, huh?" Artorian asked as he sat down on his bed, watching as Emilia finished up packing her belongings.

"Yeah, says she can't have me staying here since it goes against the rules." She shrugged. "I get my own room though, since Char's cleared me on keeping my identity a secret."

"What was up with pretending to be a guy anyways?" Artorian responded. "There was probably easier ways to get back into contact with me than lying on government documents. You're lucky Char had your back on that otherwise you could've been facing jail time."

"Well… you know…" Emilia muttered as she stood back up, poking her fingers together as she looked away. "It was the best chance that we'd end up in the same room. I figured you'd come to Little Garden at some point so I kinda banked on getting to share a room with you."

"You figured I'd come?" Artorian raised an eyebrow. "We didn't exactly know each other very well. What had you peg me down as becoming a Slayer?"

"Well, it's because you're a Variant like me." Emilia stated. "I know Char's told you about what we are, and I knew that since you tried to get the Savage blood out of me, that you definitely had become a Variant like me."

"Right… you got a bunch in your cut back then." Artorian muttered. "So since you became a Variant, you just thought that I'd become one as well. That was quite the gamble, but it looks like it paid off for you."

"Yep, I was finally able to find you again!" She cheered with a bright smile.

"And throw yourself into the most dangerous job on the planet." He reminded. "I can't imagine your father was very happy at the idea of you joining Warslran, especially since Gudenberg and the other countries in Britannia are falling behind Wenz in terms of Slayer strength." When Emilia's lips went thin, Artorian gave her a half lidded expression. "You left without telling him, didn't you?"

"Well I mean… it's not like it would've been that big of a deal." She laughed desperately, rubbing the back of her head as Artorian gave her a dry stare. "I didn't go and join a rival country, so I'm sure there isn't anything too big that would warrant concern for us."

"Oh yeah, cause joining a PMC is so much better." He rolled his eyes, groaning as he laid back and rubbed his face. "Fuckin' fantastic, the third in line for inheriting the throne ran away from home and is now planning on joining one of the big three PMCs of the world."

"Y-You know about that?"

"My dad was your family's bodyguard when you would leave Gudenberg, how the hell would I not know?" He then sighed as he let his arm sprawl out on the bed, looking up to the ceiling. "Not that it really matters or anything. If you didn't want to stay, then who am I to judge you doing so?"

"You… don't care that I'm royalty?"

"Why should I? My dad was a royal knight, it's just a fancy title to make people with connections feel better about themselves." He then shrugged, sitting back up. "It's not like you go around boasting about it either, plus you ran away. I'd say that title of princess is pretty much null at this point."

"I guess you're right." Emilia smiled. "Hey Artorian? I never was able to say this before but… thank you."

"Hmm?"

"You know, for saving me. And not just for today, but back then in Yamato when we first met. It's thanks to you that I'm here, and I never was able to express gratitude."

Emilia's words caused Artorian to look away, hitting him with a wave of guilt as he thought back to the fateful day of the Savage invasion. 'You don't have anything to thank me for…'

"Hey Emili… Emile, about back then."

"Is something wrong?"

"Not necessarily, but I wanted to… can I see it?" Artorian didn't specify what he meant, but the snow haired girl seemed to pick up on what he meant, as she walked over to him and sat next to him on his good side.

"Most of the scarring seems to be permanent, even Char's attempts at healing it seems to have done nothing." Emilia explained as she lifted her shirt up to just beneath her breasts, revealing the scar she got from the Savage nearly ripping her open. "The pain's long gone though, I just sometimes feel a moment of numbness."

Artorian said nothing as he looked at the scar, the indent from it being the only possible flaw on her body. Just seeing it brought flashes of the day back, but he was able to keep them back as he gently brought his index and middle fingers to trace the marking, getting an embarrassed blush from Emilia.

The first thing she noticed was how surprisingly cold Artorian's touch was. As a Variant, her energy often built up when unused and increased her body temperature. However Artorian's touch alone seemed to completely cool off the heat her body produced, confusing her since he too was a Variant and should have the same condition.

However that embarrassment turned to concern as she saw Artorian's expression; the guilt present in his eyes as he lightly traced her scar catching her off guard. "It was all my fault…"

"W-What?"

"What happened to you, it was my fault." He said as he looked down, pulling his fingers away as he placed his hand down on the bed. "I promised to help you get to safety, and when we were at the final stretch I entirely forgot about you and focused on Hayato and Karen. I didn't even look back when you were trapped behind rubble and were likely screaming for help."

He then clenched his hand on his sheets, his eyes narrowing as he felt himself heat up. "I don't break promises, but I nearly got you killed because of my own stupidity. If I wasn't… if I could've just…!"

"You did everything you could." Emilia said, placing her hand over Artorian's. "You were just a kid, all of us were. You were scared, just like all of us, there's nothing wrong with that. I don't blame you for what happened because you came back for me, you saved me."

"My father saved us, all I did was watch…" He muttered, before recoiling in pain as he felt Emilia flick the side of his head hard. "Ow! The fuck was that for!?"

"Stop blaming yourself for what happened to me." She stated, pointing right in his face as she stared sternly at him. "You did everything you could, and it's thanks to you that we're here now. Artorias might have held the Savage back, but if you weren't there then I wouldn't have made it at all." She then clasped his hand with both of hers, her warmth countering his cold.

"Even if I was hurt, even if I was infected with the Variant virus, there isn't a single thing I would change about what happened." She said, smiling to him as she held his hand. "That pain made me stronger, but it also allowed me to find you and Karen again. And I wouldn't take it back for anything."

Artorian stared at Emilia's face silently for a few seconds, trying to process exactly how the girl could come to such a conclusion. As far as he knew, neither of them had known each other for longer than a day. A day that was easily the worst in both of their lives, yet she had this conviction to say it was all worth it. Truthfully he'd take back the day in a heartbeat, but he also understood the impact and importance it had in shaping him into who he is.

Eventually, he rolled his eyes and sighed, shaking his head with a small smirk on his face. "I don't get you Emile, I seriously don't understand you in the least." While it wasn't the response she expected, the fact he dropped his guilt for the moment brought a smile to Emilia's lips.

"So what is it, you only have a few minutes before you move out right?" Artorian asked as he stood up, getting his hand from her grasp. "Why not have celebratory cups of tea before that? I know this good recipe that only takes a minute to make."

"No Artorian let me." She responded, standing up with him. "You're still injured, you should be relaxing right now."

"I will not be told to relax just because I have a single broken ar-" Before he could finish, Artorian felt his whole body go numb and collapse, managing to catch himself with his hand but still landing on his face.

"Artorian!?"

"I'm fine… my body just went numb out of nowhere." He said, slowly pushing himself up and turning onto his back, sitting up weakly as his heart rate increased. "Maybe I'm not as fine as I was expecting." As he said that, his eyes flashed golden for a second, getting the other Slayer's attention.

"Wait a second, your virus is reacting again." She realized, noticing his eyes blinking between gold and blue.

"Is that bad?"

"I can handle it, just don't push me away."

"Push you away for wha-hmph!?" Before he could finish, Emilia moved to mount his waist, capturing his lips for a kiss the second time that day. The two's tongues danced as he felt the numbness in his body pass, eventually his composure returning as she pulled away from his lips.

"What… was that about?" He asked, staring at the girl as she remained on top of him. "You did that back when I was going berserk against the Savage to calm me down, and now you do it again and my senses come back. I'm at a loss right now."

"Well you see, as a Variant your virus has a tendency to react in different situations. Sometimes it will give you an immeasurable boost in energy." She began to explain, her cheeks dusted red from the kiss. "After this happens, often times the virus will reactivate and cause fatigue throughout your body. And the only way to calm an active virus is with a dormant one."

"And that method is through kissing?"

"It's the most direct and safest way to affect the virus. Blood also works but saliva is often the quickest course. So I figured it'd be best to administer my virus like that." Emilia then looked away, her eyes blinking back to Artorian occasionally as she suddenly got cold feet. "Unless… do you not actually like kissing me?"

"Well, how about I put it like this…" Artorian trailed off, lightly cupping Emilia's chin with his thumb and index finger, turning her to face him again with their lips and inch apart. "I can think of a lot of things worse than kissing you."

The closeness of their faces caused Emilia's face to brighten several shades, her heartbeat increasing as he held their lips so close yet barely keeping them from connecting.

'He's… he's this close and he isn't pushing me away.' She thought still anxious but closing her eyes as she felt him slowly begin to pull her lips towards his.

'All that tomboyish attitude you've shown before and now you're just like any other embarrassed school girl with a crush.' Artorian thought in return, chuckling lightly as he saw her flustered, closing his eyes as he smiled to himself. 'I don't get you Emilia, but I guess that isn't so wrong here.'

"Emile Crossfode, what is taking you so long!?" Just as the two's lips were about to connect, they were interrupted as Claire stormed into the room looking for the cross-dresser. "You were given till 2000 hours to be moved into your new room, what is taking you so-!?"

The whole room went silent as all three of the inhabitants' eyes went wide in surprise, none of them moving an inch as the situation slowly processed in all of their minds.

"Wh-what form of debauchery is this!?" Claire shouted as she pointed to the two on the floor, her face ablaze in embarrassment at walking in such a moment.

'I don't know if I'm more mad that I got cock-blocked by the most generic shit in the book or disappointed that she honestly said debauchery…' The silver hair boy sighed as he let go of Emilia's chin, letting his disappointment last for a second before smirking and looking to Claire.

"Well, Emile and I were thinking that since it was the last night we'd spend in the same room, and since we just went through a life or death situation that we should relieve some of the stress we've built up." He joked with his usual tone, making it more difficult for the president to know if he was being serious or not.

'He he he he he he… he wanted to… to do… that…' Emilia's face matched the blazing of Claire's, although having the benefit of hiding her embarrassment as she placed her face down on his shoulder.

"You… you have some nerve Artorian! To attempt such a thing in the dorms of Little Garden, and with the excuse of the mission you volunteered to no less! I have never encountered such a shameless and perverted individual such as yourself!"

"Dorm Regs: chapter five; article six; paragraph one states as follows: "Under the pretense of preparing for a mission or recovery, Slayers are allowed to relieve themselves in any way fit as long as both partners are in agreement and the room is vacant of any unwilling participants"." He grinned in response, surprising Claire with his knowledge of the regulations.

"See Prez, I can understand the rules just fine. I just actively try to annoy you because you make it oh so easy to get underneath your skin. That pompous, royal attitude of yours makes it even better."

"Even so, to preform such an act is immoral and inappropriate at the time as you're aware that Emile is supposed to be moving out at this time! Acceptable rules or not, I will not stand for this and order you two to stop this once!"

"Gods you are so damn tight Claire, loosen up!" Artorian rolled his eyes, tapping on Emilia's shoulder as he carefully moved her off of him to stand up. "We weren't going to fuck or anything, as far as I was aware it wouldn't go much further than kissing. You take things way too seriously."

'Just… just kissing. It was just going to be kissing…' Emilia pondered as she worked to relax herself, taking a deep breath as she held a hand over her chest. 'Of course, Artorian wouldn't go that far so quickly. He just really likes teasing is all… right?'

"I cannot afford to lower my guard in regards to you." Claire argued, crossing her arms under her chest before looking away. "Only four days here and you've caused more commotion than any Slayer before you. It's honestly concerning what your career has in store for everyone if this is how you act now."

"Once again I can't stress how much you could use to loosen up." Artorian commented as he approached the blonde.

"To a ruffian like you, acting proper and respectable would seem to require "loosening up"."

"You know something, I bet you wouldn't be nearly as wound up as you are if you actually kissed a guy. Maybe then you'd have a bit more capacity to express an emotion other than your pompousness."

"H-How dare you make such a claim!" Claire responded hostilely, turning back to Artorian with her cheeks dusted red again. "Never would I degrade myself to such a manner, much less with a degenerate like you!"

"I never said you had to kiss me. That's your own words, not mine." As Claire realized her misspeak and attempted to correct herself, Artorian leaned his face down to be leveled with hers. "Of course though if that's a request, I wouldn't exactly object to it either."

"I… you… we… how…" Claire stuttered over her words, the closeness surprising and putting her off her guard with such an embarrassing topic.

"Sorry Prez, could you say that a little clearer?" He asked with a grin. "Perhaps trying a simple yes or no would work better, since you're clearly so humiliated to form a cognitive sentence."

"Absolutely not!" Emilia shouted, getting Artorian to turn to her with a raised eyebrow. "You can't go kissing Prez because you… you…" Realizing her outburst, the cross-dresser once again got cold feet and looked away. "It wouldn't… it wouldn't be… competing would…"

Before Emilia could stutter her way through to the rest of her sentence, Matthew appeared at the open door and knocked on it three times, dispelling the awkwardness in the girls and gaining everyone's attention. "Sorry to interrupt this… spectacle, but some of us actually require sleep."

He then motioned back with his shoulder, referring to the several opened doors across the hall. Most of the Slayers in the hall had heard the constant shouting and concluded it was coming from the room, however Matthew was the only one to approach the room and interrupt what was going on.

"So if you wouldn't mind, could you please sexually harass Claire and Emile when we aren't all trying to get some shut eye?" He asked, getting flashes of embarrassment from the girls but a chuckle from Artorian.

"Damn, and here I thought I'd snatch Little Garden's commander's first kiss." Artorian playfully snapped his fingers as he leaned back from Claire. "Okay, I'll leave the two alone for the time being. You can tell everyone we'll quite down."

"Thank you." Matthew said as he turned away, walking out from the doorway and out of sight.

"Yet another unnecessary situation brought by your incisive need to cause trouble." Claire huffed as she turned and began to walk out.

"You and Emile were the one shouting, I barely raised my voice in the slightest." He chuckled again as he saw her pause, her foot stomping on the last step before continuing.

"You have a minute before you're expected out of the room Crossfode." She stated before walking out. "If you are not out by then I will drag you out if need be."

"This place is fun, I'm starting to have fun." He said with a smile as he looked back to Emilia. "Sorry if this got a little much for you there, couldn't pass the opportunity to tease our residential top Slayer could I?"

"R-Right, teasing…" Emilia responded quietly, looking away as she did.

"Alright, what's on the list of Emile issues now?"

"Well it's just… was earlier also teasing? It's okay if it was, I'm not expecting you to just instantly be like that, but it was so sudden and I couldn't tell what was serious or not andIjustwantedtoknowif-!"

Emilia's response slowly turned into a ramble, and would've continued to the point of incoherence had Artorian not leaned down and placed a sly kiss on her lips, shutting her up instantly as she looked back up to him.

"How about we put it like this so your little head doesn't get too caught up." He said as he patted her head with his good hand. "I'm not so sure where it was either. So we'll keep our relationship where it was this morning and see where it goes. It might just have been teasing, or maybe it might be something more. We'll just have to find out over time, sound good?"

Emilia's cheeks turned red again in embarrassment, but she returned the smile as she nodded. "I'd… I'd like that."

"Thirty seconds Crossfode!" Claire informed from outside the room, getting the duo to look at the door before grinning at each other.

"Better get going, otherwise Prez might throw another fit and I'll have to tease the both of you again."

"I'd prefer you left the teasing only to me." Emilia then quickly stood on her toes and pulled Artorian's head down, kissing his cheek before grabbing her suitcase and running to the door. "See you tomorrow Artorian!"

"Yeah, see ya." He waved to her as the door closed, sighing instantly as he heard the window open. "And like that, solitude." The Slayer then walked back to his bed and sprawled out on it, looking up to the ceiling with a bored expression. "Great, only around ten hours until my first class in years. This kind of pattern's going to get old real quick."

"Try getting a job." Artorian didn't even flinch as he heard Matthew's voice, instead looking over to his window to see his fellow Slayer sitting in the opening.

"I thought you were going to sleep."

"An Abysswalker is in a room alone after an intense life or death situation. Sleep is the last thing I can afford right now."

"You've been following me the whole time we've been back, haven't you?"

"Are you surprised?"

"Nah, your family's thorough like that." Artorian shrugged. "So what's this about a job?"

"Slayers and students are allowed to accept jobs in central. Obviously if it impacts your grades you'd be forced to drop it, but we both know you aren't exactly here for your academic genius."

"Ouch, you don't pull punches." He chuckled in response, sitting up and turning to look at Matthew. "But I suppose your right, I don't exactly intend on being the bright future of science. Any ideas for jobs?"

"Grocery stores could always use the extra hands for night shifts, or you could try one of the bars if you feel like getting paid for no work." The Slayer answered. "Personally I'd keep you as far away from alcohol as possible, but then again the Abyss negates any chance of you getting drunk so that worry is out of the way."

"Interesting options, I'll have to check them out later."

"Good, the quicker you pick one the better." Matthew stated as he was about to reach out and move back to his room.

"So what do you think of my little scheme?" Artorian asked before he left, getting him to pause halfway through the transition and hang outside. "You admitted to following me since we got back to Little Garden, so I know you heard my chats. So I wanted to get that out of the way now."

"I hold no loyalty to the Harvey family or Warslran as a whole." Matthew spoke without missing a beat, not having to look back to know Artorian was now holding his sword. "At the same time I will not dedicate any loyalty to an Abysswalker. You can consider me completely unaffiliated in your plans against Judal. You, Kisaragi and the nurse are not of my concern; we are not comrades in our battles. Just pieces that fit together in a puzzle with no architect."

"Gods you're so mellow dramatic." Artorian rolled his eyes as he rested his sword on his shoulder. "Simply saying you don't care or aren't apart of it would've done. I already know where our standings are on a personal level."

"Then we're done for the night." Matthew concluded as he moved out of sight, entering his room and closing the window behind him.

"Prick." Artorian then sighed as he looked over to his door. "Well, I guess staying in my room's no longer an option with thunder breath keeping tabs on me. Let's see what would be the best waste of my time for these long nights."

"Shit, shit, shit!" Artorian seethed as he worked his way around putting on his uniform, wincing as he got his broken arm through the sleeve. "Gods, it's my luck that Emilia gets caught the day I also get my arm busted and we have class. Any other day would've been far too convenient for a stupid Savage to show up."

Eventually the boy was able to get himself into his clothes, rolling his shoulders as he felt out his new coat. Due to him now being apart of Selections, the Slayer was given the proper uniform, having red sections going around his collar, across his shoulders and down his arms to signal his position as an active Slayer.

"Wish they would've let me choose a color, red's not my color." He commented to himself as he put his back and wrapped the strap over his shoulder, kicking his sword up and catching it swiftly after. "Alright, let's get this day over with."

Sighing, the Slayer walked out of his room and headed out of the building, the halls empty as most of the other Slayers and students were already heading out for class. There was a few here and there, however most had left to get to their homeroom quickly to get a head start on keeping up an appearance in the academy. A desire Artorian had little to share with in regards.

"Artorian!" It wasn't until he got out of his dormitory that he heard someone call him out, turning to see Emilia approach him with a bright smile on her face. "You're finally out, I almost thought you were going to skip out on class today."

"The thought was tempting, but I'll pass on getting lectured so early in the year from our illustrious president." He smirked in return. "Save that for a day when I have a bit more strength to sit through it."

"How's the arm?"

"Still broken, hurts when I move it." He said, motioning to his cast. "Other than that, fresh as can be on day two without sleep. How about you? You didn't take much, but that Savage still left a couple marks on you if I recall."

"Oh I'm completely fine." Emilia smiled, rubbing the back of her head. "All I needed was some rest was all. I got off easy compared to what you went through."

"Putting it lightly."

The two shared a laugh before heading off for the academy's main building. They still had roughly ten minutes before class, opting to stay out by the courtyard and sitting by the fountain.

"I didn't know if you ate again this morning, but I thought I should bring a few of these." Emilia said as she pulled out two protein bars from her uniform's chest pocket. "They promote energy recovery and act as a full meal, so it should help if you missed breakfast."

"Thanks, I lost track of time and forgot to get anything from the cafeteria." Artorian said as he took one of the bars, the two opening it and taking a bite out of theirs. "This feels weird."

"Hmm?" Emilia hummed, chewing on her bite while Artorian swallowed.

"We're Slayers, our goal is to hunt and eliminate Savage when they show up. Why bother wasting our time with something as simple as school? We could be spending more time training or at least studying the Savage rather than basic human history."

"Because not everyone makes it far as Slayers." The two's attention was turned to Liddy, the vice president approaching them after overhearing their conversation.

"You're up already?" Emilia asked, showing concern for the student council member. "Are you sure you're good? You took a bad hit yesterday."

"I thank you for the concern Crossfode, however I can promise you I'm okay." Liddy responded.

"Yeah, sure. And you just so happen to look like shit?" Artorian asked rhetorically, pointing out her bandaging. "I had a bone poking out of me, but I look better for wear than you do right now."

"I can assure I'm fine Artorian." She stated, rubbing her eyes as she blinked the sleep out of her eyes. "The only thing bothering me right now is just a lack of sleep. Most of the pain in my injuries is already gone."

"Did the pain keep you up?" Emilia questioned as Artorian already lost interest, going back to eating his protein bar as the two talked.

"No, my meds dealt with most of that shortly after I woke up from the mission. I just had a few bad dreams and they kept me up was all."

"I don't blame you, for a second I thought we were going to die back there. Having a few terrors probably makes sense."

"Meh, I've probably had worse." Artorian shrugged.

Liddy then looked down to her PDA, seeing there were only a few minutes before class. "I should get going, and I expect you two to do the same. Tardiness so early in the year will not be tolerated."

"We'll be sure to get there in time, don't worry." Emilia promised, waving Liddy off as she walked away.

"Oh, and Emile." Liddy spoke up, stopping for a second to face her. "Claire and Erica told me what you did, thank you for protecting me, even despite what I said to you before."

"It's no problem. We're all on the same side after all." Emilia beamed back, Liddy returning with a small smile before walking into the main building.

"You two are getting along better suddenly." Artorian noted, deciding it wasn't the best time to point out to the two that he was technically the one that protected both of them.

"What can I say, coming close to death can really bring people together. You understand that don't you?"

"I guess…" Artorian said as he finished his bar, thinking on how Emilia said they were all on the same side.

'I wonder if that thought would change if she knew what I really was…' he wondered to himself, looking down to his hand with a distant gaze as he did. He could see the faintest traces of the Abyss creep from his skin, invisible to anyone who wasn't specifically looking for it.

"Hey Artorian!" The boy's trance was then cut as he looked up, seeing Emilia stand in front of him with her hand out to him. "We're going to be late if we sit around any longer. Let's head in."

"Yeah, sure." Artorian responded as he took her hand, letting her pull him up partway before standing up fully. Grabbing his sword, the pair began to walk again, heading into the building themselves and walking through the halls before they came to classroom 1-A.

"Well, here we are!" Emilia grinned, looking over to Artorian. "Sop you ready to get this year started?"

"Oh I'm not in this class." Artorian stated, surprising her as he pointed to classroom 1-B. "I got assigned to the next class, apparently not good enough for the goodies that got great Hundred scores and academic like you."

"What!?"

"Sorry, looks like you're on your own for this part of our stay." He chuckled as he walked to his class, leaving a disappointed Emilia at her room's entrance.

"But… but we were supposed to be…"

"Cut the slack Crossfode." Matthew said as he walked past her, grabbing the back of her uniform and pulling her in with him. "Save your mopping for later."

"But it's not fair!"

"Oh, oh, oh! Artorian!" The moment the boy entered 1-B, he was instantly greeted by the sound of Reitia calling out to him, the fellow Slayer sitting near the back of the classroom by the window. She was waving over to the boy and pointing to the seat next to her, getting a reluctant sigh from him as he walked over and sat down, leaning his sword on his desk.

"So it looks like you're a fellow B student, huh?" Artorian asked, looking over to the girl after getting situated with the awkward size difference with the desk and chair.

"Yeah, guess I messed up a little on the written test or something." Reitia nodded. "So how you holding up? I didn't get the chance to see all of you in after your mission."

"Matthew didn't tell you?"

"Matthew doesn't tell me anything about his missions, it's completely unfair!" The girl then noticed Artorian's cast, pointing it out as she did. "Hey… did you get that from the Savage?"

"Oh, this?" He responded, motioning with his broken limb. "Yeah, blocked a blow that was a little too much for me, bone pierced through the skin and I made it worse by keeping up my fighting."

"Wow, that must of hurt."

"Eh, honestly I thought Liddy and Erica got the worse end of the stick. Both got slammed into buildings like they were nothing but toothpicks."

"Whoa, they're Selectives and they got taken down? That Savage must've been something else."

"It was a Trenta, not the most dangerous thing but packs a lot more of a punch than some of the pros like to admit. We got off lucky with two of us not getting any injuries."

"Claire and Matthew right?" Reitia guessed. "They are the only two in Little Garden that can summon a Full-Body Armament, so it makes sense they didn't take any hits."

"Oh hell no, I'm the reason boobs for brains didn't take a hit. Idiot thought she could take on the Trenta head on with low energy, it was a miracle she didn't get burned to a crisp."

"Pfft!" Reitia nearly had a dry spit take as she placed a hand over her mouth, stopping her outright laughing fit. "Boobs for brains, that's a good one!"

"Thanks, I try." Artorian smirked, leaning back into his chair.

"Man, I didn't think anyone would have the guts to call the Invincible Queen something like that. Even Matthew usually thinks twice when he's talking about Claire."

"Well he has better survival instincts, I'll give him that much." He commented, looking down to the burns on his arm.

"I'll say, you took her on with just a couple hours of experience with a Hundred. But you did really well for someone so new; you even had Matthew shocked with how well you did against her. But hey, that's also an advantage I think you have over both of them."

"A lack of survival instincts as an advantage? Now I've heard it all."

"You're a lot more unpredictable, they've both used Hundreds for years and are basically uncontended by anyone else here. Then you show up swinging madly and boom, now they're trying to figure out different ways to fight you. I saw Matthew with his journal actually making plans on fighting you."

"Oh did he?"

'Something tells me there's more to it than simply fighting me.'

"Well that's all I know at least. I don't know her, but the fact Claire accepted you into Selections is evidence enough that she recognizes you as a potential rival."

"Yeah, but I still have a ways to go before I can fight her. And before I can even reach her, I have to get past Matthew first."

"You do?"

Claire's the top Slayer here, and Matthew's considered just below her." Artorian explained. "Our deal was that we'd fight again when I'm recognized as her equal. And before I can do that, I have to beat the person next to the top, meaning Matthew's also on my list of opponents."

"Well you're going to need all the help you can get with that. Matthew's been training since he was six, and he's kicked anyone's butt who even challenges him."

"Don't threaten me with a good time." Artorian chuckled as the teacher walked in. "Before I forget, I wanted to say… thanks."

"For what?"

"Getting Karen back the hospital. We all had to leave suddenly and I shoved that responsibility onto you."

"Oh that? That was nothing, I was glad to help."

"It wasn't nothing to me. Karen's the only person I have left that gives my life meaning. You helped us when we barely even knew each other; I even threatened you when we first met. I owe you one, so feel free to cash it in whenever."

"That… that's not necessary." Reitia said, feeling uncomfortable at hearing the son of the legendary Slayer Artorias making such an offer. "Karen was really nice, I didn't have a problem helping her. It's just what friends do, you know?"

"Friends huh… yeah, I can work with that. Still owe you that favor thought, you're not getting out of that."

"Just don't go out of your way to do anything serious, please?"

"No promises."

(A/N): So... this took awhile to get out. I'll admit, I don't have much of an excuse, I kinda just got a writers block for this for a bit. Add in that the site I was using to read the light novel suddenly lost everything past the duel with Claire I found it hard to write. I found a new site though and have come to a new conclusion. I'll likely be using the light novel sooner, as while I like certain elements of the anime more, the light novel offers a lot more to work with. I'm also going to be reading the full series again, as from my leave I've forgotten or am fuzzy about a good chunk of the later plot.

But excluding that, I'm starting to get more excited for this series to come. It's obviously biased, but enjoy writing Artorian into this rather than reading it from Hyatt's perdsepctive. Nothing against the character, but he feels too generic for me and that is one of my personal gripes with the series.

And as one last thing, once again I'm grateful for all the comments and support this series has been getting. I love hearing your feedback and glad I've sparked interest in you. Don't ever feel nervous to write what you feel, as I never shy away from anyone's questions or comments. If you don't have an active profile, I'll try answering your questions in an author's note like this, but while I don't want anyone to think what they think isn't important, I also don't want to make someone feel like they need to type anything. Just simply reading this story is all the support I need to know I'm doing something good, my goal as a writer is to make a good story and to entertain my readers. Nothing else comes first to me.

This author's note's gone on long enough, so I'll sign off for the day. As always, I hope you liked the chapter and have a good day. Peace!