Window Shopping

First off; for those of who that aren't familiar with Link of Hearts case: A.R, it's a short manga (about the length of an average chapter) that details the origins of the gloves that Rean and Alisa wear as part of their summer uniforms.

Because my previous attempts at linking haven't worked all that well, I won't tempt fate; that said, a quick Google search of the above name should lead to a FB post with a scanlated version to peruse at your leisure! It'll explain the background a bit.

Now, without further ado…

"I trust everything's finally in order with the secrecy, Alisa? If you'd like, I could find Hugo and get him to draft a non-disclosure agreement of some kind."

The blonde narrowed her eyes at the gunman, hands on her hips. "Hilarious."

"Oh, I'm not trying to be," Machias offered dryly, adjusting his glasses with one hand. "Considering the measures you've taken to get Gaius and I alone without anyone else finding out, I can only imagine what you've got in store for us…"

"Ugh, could you try and make it sound a little less sinister? It's nothing big, really! I just… need your help with something, that's all," the archer explained, holding back a wince at how vague she sounded.

The green haired boy frowned while Gaius shrugged affably, the taller boy as calm as always. "Well, we'll certainly do our best to help, whatever it is. Machias does have a point, though, and the cloak and dagger routine did get me curious. Everything's all right, I hope?"

She felt her cheeks heat up at that, and the look that her two classmates exchanged didn't help any. This was embarrassing enough as it was, damn it!

"Y-Yeah, everything's fine. It's just…"

"… It's just…?" Machias prompted when Alisa turned even redder and trailed off, looking at her feet.

"Alisa?"

"… You remember how I started the year with Rean, right?" she finally answered, her nervous gaze flitting between them both.

Gaius nodded, a flash of amusement crossing his face. "I think it'd be hard for any of us to forget that, if anything."

His compatriot snorted. "Truer words were never spoken. N-Not that I have any room to talk!" the VP added with no small amount of haste, Alisa's sheepish expression having been replaced with an annoyed glare. "It's not like I don't have more than a few memories I'd like to leave behind as well."

"Hmph. Good save, I guess," Alisa grumbled, crossing her arms and looking out the window at the bustling Thors campus. "But when you're right, you're right. Still, as much as I'd like to forget I ever acted like that… it's not that easy, you know?"

"Hang on a second," Machias interrupted, a little curiosity coloring his gaze now. "I was under the impression that was all water under the bridge. You apologized, he accepted… it seems to me like there's no debt to be paid."

"I would agree with our vice president's take on the situation," Gaius agreed with an amiable nod. "Any sort of fracture has long since disappeared, if that's what you're worried about. You eventually taking initiative took care of that."

"I-It's not just that, though," Alisa hurried on, scarlet starting to work its way into her complexion again at the unsolicited support of her classmates. "He took point on the field study, he's tried to help us our problems when he could, he's dealing with Sharon better than I do on my best day –

A cough. "You're aware that one of those things isn't quite like the others?"

"Shut up, Machias. At any rate," she continued, pointedly ignoring her fellow ranged specialist's indignant sputter, much to the lancer's barely repressed mirth, "after everything he's done, I just… I think that… I need you two to…"

The two males exchanged glances yet again when Alisa's next words were mumbled and aimed more toward the floor than at them, before she set her jaw and raised her head, more than willing to forge onward in spite of her hesitation.

"… Could you help me find him a gift?" she finally asked, more than a little proud that her voice had remained strong and steady all the while.

Part of her – the immature part that she didn't like to acknowledge, the part that remained suspicious and wary of others, the part that always seemed to rear its ugly head around Rean no matter how much she tried to hold it back – steeled itself for the worst; she had sounded painfully childish even to her own ears, so what might the two boys standing across from her think?

She needn't have worried.

Gaius broke into a kind grin, nodding in agreement. "Well, that's certainly a thoughtful gesture. I'd be more than happy to help, Alisa."

"I'll offer whatever assistance I can, though to be honest I'm not sure how much use I'll be," Machias admitted next with a resigned shrug, before shooting the blonde a small smile. "Still, it's an admirable sentiment, and I'll do my best to ensure that you find something that's worthy of it."

"That's the spirit. After all, with gifts the gesture matters as much as the actual present," the lancer commented sagely, and much to her chagrin Alisa felt her throat briefly close up, unable to speak in the face of such open warmth.

"… Thanks, you guys," she finally managed, a smile of her own coming to the surface.

"Think nothing of it," the gunman assured her. "But I should probably ask; wouldn't we be better served getting more people to help? I understand the secrecy now, but I'm sure that none of the others would let anything slip."

"I thought about it, but none of the other girls really have any experience buying anything for guys," she explained, crossing her arms and hiding a wince at the mental and verbal gymnastics she had undergone to try and bring up the topic without arousing suspicion. "Laura said she didn't have many close male friends her age in Legram, Emma told me that she was one of the older kids in her village so she crafted a lot of stuff for the younger ones instead of buying, and Fie – "

"Hmm. Knives or grenades are always a good starting point, though you might wanna get both if you can swing it. Better to cover both long and short range, right?"

"Fie was Fie?" Gaius chuckled, the expression on Alisa's face telling a story all on its own.

"... Fie was Fie," she affirmed with a weary sigh, deciding not to elaborate on the smaller girl's frighteningly specific taste in presents. "Besides, they're all busy with other stuff right now, so they're out."

The vice president nodded. "I see. Should we track down Elliot and Jusis, then? Elliot's insights into Rean's tastes would definitely help, and – unfortunately for my mood – so would Albarea's," he finished with a grimace, looking for all the world like he had bitten into the sourest fruit known to humankind.

Alisa rolled her eyes, long used to her friend's quirks at this point. "Hope that didn't hurt too much, Machias."

"I'll live."

"Good to hear. I do seem to remember, though, that Elliot had to help Bridget and Mint with composition and Jusis had agreed to help Paula clean the stables. It looks like it might be just us," Gaius concluded, leaning back against the desk.

The green haired boy shrugged in resigned acceptance. "I-I suppose we'll have to make do. I can't see it causing us any real problems."

Giving the clock a quick glance, he added "Luckily, we have most of the afternoon left – where should we start, Alisa?"

In hindsight, any other response would have been better than the blank stare she wound up going with.

"… You're joking," he said in disbelief, and her eyebrow twitched in a manner that Rean had grown intimately familiar with thanks to their early days at Thors.

"W-Why do you think I needed help?!" Alisa retorted with a bitter scowl, wondering if her face was doomed to remain the same color as her uniform for the rest of the day. "It's not like I'm an expert at this – I mean, I barely know where to start!"

"I believe you. Zero ideas? Really?"

Her eyes narrowed dangerously.

Luckily for his bespectacled friend, Gaius took that moment to raise his hand with a calming look, forestalling the archer's inevitable explosion. "We might be looking at this the wrong way. From a certain point of view, there's actually a chance that starting from zero might be the best course of action for us."

Seeing two identical questioning looks leveled at him, he taller boy went on. "Searching without a starting point means we have quite a lot of ideas to cover, but it also keeps us from going in with preconceived notions of the 'perfect' gift, right? We can take our time, and hopefully the ideal solution will end up presenting itself without too much difficulty."

Machias nodded slowly, digesting the logic and finding it to be acceptable. "Hmm. That's an excellent point. It's not uncommon to see a similar idea in certain chess openings; while some are designed to be long and complex, others are only meant to open up the board and allow for improvisation on the part of the players after a few mutually beneficial moves."

"Y-Yeah!" Alisa agreed in a hurry, grabbing the unexpected lifeline like it was the hand of the Goddess reaching down from Her heaven and deciding to ignore yet another example of Machias Regnitz's uncanny ability to seamlessly work chess into anything under the sun. "See? This just means we have more possibilities to sort through, that's all."

"Exactly," Gaius said, gesturing to the door with a flourish. "Should we start brainstorming when we're out and about? Linde's told me that a good walk and talk can lead to some inspiring ideas."

"Far be it from me to disagree with an artist of her caliber," Machias assented, reaching for his satchel. "I've got a feeling that we'll end up having a couple of things in mind sooner rather than later."

Alisa bit her lip, and the nervous gesture wasn't missed by either. "I sure hope so."

"And should the worst come to pass, there's always the option of wind chimes," the spearman added, a solemnity to his voice now. "They're a wonderful addition to any home, and they allow everyone around them to hear the gift of the cool breeze; a fine token of appreciation, wouldn't you say?"

No, they probably wouldn't say that. No one said anything for a moment, as a matter of fact.

Machias glanced uncertainly at Alisa. "W-Well, that's..."

Alisa glanced uncertainly back. "U-Uh, of course! Sure! I mean, why not?"

The serious expression remained on his face for a moment or two longer before he broke into a grin, unable to hold the facade for a second longer.

"Only joking. But you should see the looks on your faces right now."

They hadn't been walking long when Machias declared he had a stop in mind, much to their surprise.

Saying she was underwhelmed when they got there didn't exactly do her feelings justice.

"I can't say I'm all that shocked," the archer commented dryly, looking around the familiar bookstore. "When in doubt, go with old faithful, huh?"

The Class VII VP merely flicked her an imperious glance in reply, one hand coming up to push up his lenses. "Hmph. There's nothing wrong with sitting down with a good book. It's a perfectly valid way to spend some leisure time. Besides, I'm hardly suggesting you buy him a reference text, or anything along those lines."

Alisa smirked, enjoying the look of annoyance work its way across his face. "How could I? I mean, you've probably bought them all already to give you a leg up on the rest of the year…"

Gaius coughed twice, and it was pure coincidence if it happened to sound like a strangled laugh. "I could certainly see Rean enjoying a novel alongside a cup of tea. Or coffee," he added, much to the vice president's clear approval. "His literary tastes are pretty varied, aren't they?"

"Yeah, from what Rean's told me he's got quite a bit of reading material in that room of his," she answered, her brow scrunching as he tried to remember exactly what he had mentioned over the course of their semester thus far. "Besides his school stuff, he has a few whodunits, a couple of books on other styles of swordsmanship, some history compilations here and there…"

"That's a relief," Machias muttered, already rifling through one of the shop's myriad stacks of hardcovers. "A wide range of interests means that it won't be difficult to find a 'good' gift if we can't find the 'perfect' gift."

"Ah, so that's why you had us come here first," Gaius said, the realization spreading across his face. "You wanted to make sure we had a solid backup plan in mind so that if it came down to the wire, we didn't waste any time running around like panicked horses."

The other boy ran his finger down the spine of one of the new arrivals, looking very much like he was taking mental notes for when he (inevitably) came back later. "Well, my intended metaphor was going to be headless chickens, but besides that…"

"That's our VP, all right," Alisa quipped, favoring her friend with a quick smile. "Making sure we have all our bases covered, huh?"

His reaction in the face of genuine gratitude was about what they both expected. "I-It's only natural, isn't it? If we're working under a limited timeframe, then managing how we spend this afternoon is key!" Machias sputtered, any equilibrium he might have had having long decided to take an inopportune leave of absence, and his quick turn back toward the shelf didn't do anything to hide his darkening complexion.

"He had the right idea in mind, that's for sure," Gaius noted, finally deciding to throw his classmate - who suddenly now found the volumes in front of him even more fascinating - a much needed bone. "This store isn't that big; if we all take a few minutes to browse then come back and compare notes, we should have a decent foundation for your fallback, Alisa."

She flashed him a resolute grin. "Sounds good to me. Machias?"

The gunman mumbled something that she couldn't quite catch; 'mrgle', maybe, or possibly 'brmph'?

Eh, good enough for her.

"All right, then," Alisa declared, looking at the shelves behind her with a resolute light in her eyes. "Let's get to work."

"For a store that small, they really had a lot of options."

Gaius chuckled when he saw Alisa pat the pocket where she had placed her completed list with more than a bit of satisfaction. "I'd say so. If anything, it just makes me want to go back when I have more time; it goes to show that you don't know what's right under your nose sometimes."

"Right? I surprised you didn't buy anything, Machias."

The gunner shrugged as the trio strolled on. "I wasn't there to browse for myself. I frequent them often enough that they know I'll be back sooner rather than later, anyway."

"Emphasis on the 'sooner', right?"

"… I'm not dignifying that."

Alisa snickered, but before she could manage a reply –

"Oh, Gaius! Are you all getting some shopping done, too?" a pink haired girl with twin braids called out from a few arges away, a bag hanging loosely from one hand and a nigh identical (barring the hairstyle and a mischievous grin) doppelganger standing at her side.

"Sort of," Gaius answered with a laugh, nodding politely at the new arrivals. "Hi, Linde."

"Hey, what about me, huh?" the other girl pouted mightily, much to Alisa's amusement and her twin's undisguised exasperation.

"Hi to you too, Vivi," the archer chuckled, more than a little familiar with the antics of her fellow first year thanks to some of her classmates. "Fancy meeting you two here."

"Greetings," Machias followed up – Alisa wasn't sure if he had actually had a conversation with either one of them that lasted for more than a few minutes, but he was nothing if not polite.

"That's better! Hi, Alisa," Vivi chirped back, breezy as ever.

Then with slightly narrowed eyes and in a voice that some might call a little lascivious, "Hi, Machias."

And without a moment to spare for the gunman's sudden discomfort and in a voice that most would call a lot lascivious, "Hey there, Gaius."

Linde paled.

The taller boy laughed, seemingly unconcerned with the barrage of innuendo that was probably coming his way in a few moments. "Good to see you, Vivi. What brings you both out here?"

"If we ever managed to bottle and sell what makes you so unflappable, Reinford would make a damn killing," Alisa thought wryly, watching the ever calm lancer and contrasting him with the visibly nervous Linde and… well, Vivi.

"Oh, a little of this and a little that," she answered evasively, toying with a strand of her hair. "I'm sure you can use your imagination. Us girls have to have our secrets, you know~!"

Machias raised his eyebrows.

"W-We're just running some errands for our clubs! Why do you have to make it sound so inappropriate?!" Linde choked out, free hand waving desperately in a manner that suggested she was trying to ward off wild animals or evil spirits. Or both.

Vivi smirked. "You're awfully jumpy. Come to think of it, we did split up for few minutes… I wonder what you bought that has you so wound up?"

Alisa had never heard a dying mouse before, but she figured that whatever sounds were coming out of Linde were pretty close. "T-T-T-That's – "

"Ah, so you're shopping too," Gaius interrupted, gesturing toward their bags. "The funny thing is, we're actually gift hunting ourselves at the moment."

That had the braided girl looking up with sudden interest, the mischievous façade vanishing – much to her beleaguered sister's relief. "Gift hunting, huh? Who's it for?"

"Well, Alisa wants to buy something for – "

The blonde's eyes widened in momentary panic, muscles tensing when the intimately familiar sensation of fightorflight kicked in -

"A friend," he finished smoothly, and behind her Alisa swore she could hear Machias snicker at her audible sigh of relief, the smartass.

Vivi, however, wasn't letting them off that easily. "A friend, hmm?" she repeated, stroking her chin in what was probably supposed to be dramatic fashion. "Anyone I know? Ooh, better yet; is it for a boy?"

She was two for two, though Alisa wasn't about to tell her that.

"U-Uh, that's kinda – " the heiress stammered, all the times she had laughed at Rean's stories about Vivi coming back to haunt her, and Goddess, was she really that obvious?

Linde, for her part, had managed to recover enough to toss in a legitimate suggestion, much to her sister's chagrin. "I can't speak for Re – uh, your friend," she amended quickly, giving her an apologetic grin as Alisa's head dropped in mortification, "but have you considered looking at Le Sage? We've always liked receiving clothes as gifts, even now. They're practical and expressive."

Machias crossed his arms, considering. "It's certainly not something we had thought of, but it couldn't hurt to go see what they have. I don't think I've stepped foot in there since exploring Trista for the first time."

"It's a good a plan as any," Gaius agreed, favoring the two girls with a smile. "Thanks for the suggestion."

The artist's cheeks turned as pink as her hair. "A-Any time. I'm just glad we could help."

"And if you need any more help," Vivi chimed in, her eyes gleaming with an eerie light that bordered on supernatural, "feel free to say the word."

"I'm good," Alisa answered flatly, one eyebrow twitching just a tiny bit. "But yeah, thanks."

"You're sure? I mean, if you want a sure fire gift that a guy's gonna like, then all you need to do is – "

"We're leaving now," Linde declared, her hand flashing out to grab her twin and drag her away.

Vivi pouted as she let herself be pulled along, not really putting up any meaningful resistance. "Oh come on, at least let me give them a hint! Here; if you think really, really hard about the wind, then – "

"I said we're leaving now!" Linde practically yelled, and the Class VII trio watched as the two sisters… departed, for lack of a better term.

"Interesting girls," Machias finally said, sounding like he wasn't sure if that was supposed to be a compliment or not. "Linde's about what I remember, and though I'd heard stories about Vivi from Rean and Fie, actually seeing her in action was… something."

Gaius gave him an approving look, recognizing his green haired friend's valiant attempt at tact for what it was. "I can picture her being a real handful from time to time, true. But her heart's usually in the right place, and she's truly a good sister. Just overly mischievous on occasion, from what I hear – and in this case, see."

"I fully believe that. It's just… let's just say she wouldn't be my first choice for company on a rainy day."

Alisa snorted under her breath. "Not even on your radar unless they beat you on exams, huh…?"

Machias blinked, a bit taken aback. "A-And what exactly is that supposed to – "

"Don't worry about it. Off to Le Sage!"

They had assumed that they would simply do what they had at the boutique what they had done at the bookstore; browse, come up with a list, then dwell over said list and hope they found something satisfactory.

A fine plan, except unlike the bookstore scenario and unremembered by Alisa, Machias, and Gaius until now, a key piece of information was nowhere to be found.

"H-Has anyone here actually seen what Rean wears aside from our uniforms?" Alisa muttered, looking at the racks and realizing that she couldn't picture Rean in anything that was there because she had never seen him in anything but Class VII red.

Gaius blinked. "You know, now that you mention it…"

"That's right," Machias said next, snapping his fingers. "We all arrived at Thors in our uniforms already, didn't we?"

"And we haven't had a chance to wear anything else since, swimsuits and PE gear aside," Alisa continued, her mind flashing back to the clothes that had been left untouched since the start of the semester, much to Sharon's regret.

Who actually missed doing more laundry, really?

"Taste in clothing is something that's completely dependent on the owner," Gaius noted, looking around the store again. "While I'm sure the three of us could find something that we think looks good, Rean might think otherwise."

"Well said," Machias sighed, a resigned air about him. "Should we still take a look, Alisa?"

She shrugged, not feeling too good about their prospects. "We're already here, right? Might as well."

Their search began, though from the quick looks she snuck at her partners in crime it was clear that they were having as much trouble as she was. Sure, she found a few things here and there (a red vest, a salmon t-shirt, an outfit that looked like it took serious inspiration from Liberlian fashion trends), but nothing that stuck out –

Until she saw it, displayed at the back for all the world to see.

The centerpiece of the ensemble was a black longcoat with a red interior, fashionably tattered at the bottom with buckles even where no practical designer would have ever thought to put buckles. There was a silver shoulder pad (just the one) on the left side, and it was finished off with various chains and a pair of relatively pedestrian black gloves. The pants that came with the outfit looked about as standard as the gloves – aside from the strategically(?) placed rips – but Alisa would put hard earned money on the accompanying boots being longer and flashier than any of the pairs that she herself owned. And the final crowning touch?

A set of goggles and a pair of headphones with a black and crimson motif, proudly resting on the head of the mannequin as if to tell the world 'Mira is temporary. This? This is forever.'

She was dimly aware of Gaius and Machias stopping next to her, and all three stood in silence for a moment, taking it all in and burning the sight into their memories so they would never forget it. Just watching, nothing more.

Then, in one synchronized movement that would have rivaled their finest combat links, the Class VII triad simultaneously spoke the solemn truths that lay at the core of their being, within their very hearts and souls…

"No."

"I don't think so."

"What."

"That was a bust, no two ways about it," Alisa sighed as they trudged along, kicking a pebble off the street and into a storm drain. "I saw a few potential leads, but nothing I was willing to pull the trigger on," she continued, all too aware that they were starting to run out of time. Maybe they'd have to make a return trip to the bookstore after all…?

"I think we're all in the same boat for that one," Gaius conceded with upturned palms. "If only we had a better idea of Rean's tastes, we could have – "

"Alisa?" a high pitched voiced called out, and they looked to see Towa and Angelica rounding a corner and walking up to them, all smiles.

"Hi there, Towa, Angelica," the blonde replied with a tired wave, starting to feel just a little discouraged at this point. For Aidios' sake, who'd have thought paying Rean back would be this hard?

Apparently it showed more than she thought, because Towa's brow immediately knitted in concern. "W-What's wrong?"

"Yeah," Angelica chimed in, crossing her arms and scrutinizing her old friend a little bit closer. "You look irked about something."

"It's complicated," Machias explained, looking at the two second years. "You see, we're trying to find a present for someone…"

Angelica looked nonplussed. "That's it?"

Alisa glared at her, her fists clenched at her sides. "That's it, huh? It's not like we're having a ton of luck here!"

"We've had a few good ideas, but nothing that's truly worthy of the word 'gift'," Gaius elaborated. "I don't suppose you'd have any ideas?"

Towa 'hmm'd, one hand holding her chin as the metaphorical gears started to whir and turn. "It all depends on the person, right? If that's the case – "

"Porn. Or erotic literature, if you prefer the fancy term."

"That's one – wait, what?! Angie!" Towa yelped, utterly scandalized.

"Why," Alisa moaned, massaging her temples with one hand. "Why."

"It's perfect! There are kinds for guys and girls, it doesn't break the bank – "

"You're forgetting unavailable on campus, aren't you?" Machias groused, the gunner looking about as pleased as Towa.

The biker flashed him a full toothed smirk. "Unavailable? On a co-ed campus teeming with teenage hormones, questionable decision making skills and just enough disposable income to make mistakes with? C'mon. You just have to know where to find it, that's all."

If she wasn't too busy wishing that they had taken a different route away from Le Sage, Alisa probably would have found the sight of a floundering Machias hilarious. "B-But that's – how – the campus authorities should – where would you even…?!"

"Yeah, Angie," Towa spoke up again, hands on her hips as she glared up at her friend, Alisa's conundrum seemingly forgotten in the face of her student council presidential duties. "Where would you even?

She snickered. "Here and there. Don't worry your adorable little head about it."

The diminutive brunette didn't quite stamp one foot, but it looked like she was damn close. "Angie – "

"Hey, it's still a good gift idea. Bet you ten mira that Crow would probably back me up on this."

"That's your defense?!"

The sound of Gaius clearing his throat made Towa turn back toward the three first years, her outrage vanishing in an instant only to be replaced with a sheepish look of apology. "O-Oh… I'm sorry about that!" she exclaimed with a nervous laugh, before shooting the martial artist a pointed stare. "We'll discuss this later."

Angelica waved a hand, unconcerned as ever. "Sure we will."

"Anyways. The thing I always find difficult about giving someone a present is that I tend to worry too much about the issue of want vs need," Towa began, continuing when she saw Alisa look a little confused. "You see, I always aim to make sure that the gift I give is meaningful in some way, so I try to get something that they would need. The thing is, though, something they want – or even might want – is a valid option too. And other times, the ideal gift lies somewhere in between the two. So in your case…"

The archer nodded, slowly catching on but wanting to make sure she was on the right track. "In my case...?"

"I might focus on want and need instead of trying to find the perfect present outright," the tiny brunette finished with a laugh. "That way, you're not disqualifying so many possibilities from the beginning, or relegating them to second place."

There was a moment or two of silence, Towa's words sinking in.

Finally, Alisa smiled, her shoulders lifting as the tension drained out of her like sand from an hourglass. "Okay. I think I get it now. Thanks, Towa."

"Indeed," Machias added with a respectful nod of acknowledgement. "That's some excellent advice."

"Words to live by if I've ever heard them," Gaius said next, a look of approval on his face. "I would have expected no less from our esteemed president."

"Damn right," Angelica commented, smirking as her friend blushed under the combined weight of Class VII's praise. "That's why they pay her the big bucks, y'know. It's hard to find someone that can dish out sage like wisdom and be that cute and cuddly at the same time. Believe me, I've tried."

"Thanks, Angie," the green-clad girl deadpanned, her pink complexion doing a wondrous job of blunting her disapproval. "I think."

"But hey," the biker went on with a snap of her fingers, "if you don't know where else to look, why not hit up the Student Union? I hear they're getting a new shipment of equipment in soon, and even if you don't find anything you'll at least be able to prep for whatever goose chase you're getting sent off on next."

Machias smirked. "I think Instructor Sara prefers the term 'field studies'."

She waved a hand in an exaggerated gesture of dismissal. "Same thing, really."

"I-Is it, though…?"

Alisa snickered, feeling a lot lighter than she had been a few seconds ago, the sinking feeling in her gut having vanished without a trace. "Honestly? I think that sounds like a pretty good idea. We can make it our last stop; if we don't find anything, then I can just take the list I made today and go to the bookstore again tomorrow."

"You're sure?" Gaius probed. "We can try again tomorrow if we don't find anything today."

"That's right," Machias told her, his index finger pushing up the bridge of his glasses. "It's no trouble at all, and you shouldn't have to give up because of one fruitless day."

"It's fine. Any more than this and I think we'll just end up burning ourselves out and wind up picking something for the sake of picking something. Plus, I think everyone's going to be finishing up soon, so if we're not back at the dorm by the time they do then we're going to have to come up with an alibi, and my head hurts enough as is."

"Trying to keep this a secret, huh?" Angelica mused with a mischievous grin. "Gee, I wonder who the gift could be for…?"

"Don't be mean, Angie," the smaller girl chided, flashing the blushing archer a comforting smile. "I'm sure the recipient will appreciate whatever you end up buying them, Alisa. In the end, it's the thought that counts."

"… Yeah," Alisa agreed quietly, almost to herself. "You're right about that, too."

"Kidding aside, if you're gonna go, then you should probably go now. You were saying something about your other friends coming back, right?" the taller girl reminded her, arms crossed over her chest and the remnants of her grin still lingering on her features.

"Right. Thanks again, you two. I really appreciate it."

Without another word, Alisa turned and strode off, and after a pair of hurried farewells a startled Machias and Gaius followed suit, much to the satisfaction of the senior Thors students.

"I don't see why she's so worried," the Taito practitioner commented, her gaze focused on the three first years gradually shrinking in the distance. "Rean's going to appreciate whatever she gets him. He's not the type to be picky."

Towa chuckled, a whimsical smile playing over her lips. "Oh, of course. You know that, I know that, and I'm fairly certain that the other two know that. But we also know that there's a difference between buying something for a friend and buying something for a friend, isn't there?"

She drew a palm to her heart, the theatrical excess in the gesture unmistakable. "Is there? Do tell, Towa. A sheltered innocent like me needs instruction from the voice of experience."

"Another time, maybe," the brunette replied flippantly; after being friends with Angelica for so long, sidestepping obvious bait like that was child's play. "We have more important matters to discuss, don't we?"

There was a slight but definite edge to 'important matters' that made the other girl pause, and oh Aidios, it's never good when she looks like that…!

"… Lemme guess," she sighed, recognizing imminent defeat when she saw it. "The porn?"

"Erotic literature, Angie. I prefer the fancy term."

"You're actually in luck," the clerk on duty tossed out as he walked back to the storeroom. "We don't have a ton of new stock, but what we did just get in is all pretty unique; considering the brand names and packaging, some of this stuff would look more at home at Le Sage, to be honest."

"That doesn't sound right," Alisa replied, looking curious now. "Do you think there was some kind of shipping error?"

Goddess, she really hoped not. Even Reinford had issues with those from time to time, and it always took the better part for a few hours to sort out no matter the size of the order. Get a single digit wrong and suddenly a transport container was on a train headed to the outskirts of the Empire…

"Nah, I don't think so. All the numbers and everything check out, so I'm thinking that a crafty supply manager somewhere got a ton of extra stock and decided to see if we could liquidate it. Win win, right?"

"So long as it's all accounted for in the books, then yeah, I guess!" she said, watching as he plopped a small stack of merchandise boxes none too gently on the counter.

"Here, that's most of the new shipment. Definitely no weaponry or heavy armor, but I think there's more than enough to catch your attention. Feel free to take a look, and just gimme a shout if you're interested in a purchase! I gotta go back and finish inventory."

"He's trusting," Machias muttered, opening up one of the boxes and looking inside as the second year left. "This one looks like… components for orbment modification?"

"That sounds like something George would enjoy," the other boy said, taking a box of his own and peering in. "Hey, these are…"

"Hmm? What is it, Gaius?"

"There seems to be some archery gear in this one; would you like to swap?" he asked the blonde, who looked up from her own container inquisitively.

"Sure. I'll probably end up finding something for me instead of Rean, though."

"That's part of the fun," he quipped, shuffling past a distracted VP to switch spots. "Any luck, Machias?"

"I'd probably be able to answer you if I knew what any of these did offhand," he replied, squinting at the various parts that lay within their still pristine packaging. "As it stands, I'm going to have to pass on an evaluation for now."

"Fair enough. It looks like there are mainly combat accessories in mine; they're most likely useful, but I'm not sure if they're quite what we're looking for. How about you, Alisa?"

The silence from the normally outspoken girl made them both turn and look to see what was holding her attention, and they were greeted by the sight of Alisa turning a small box around in her hands, her expression thoughtful.

"Did you find something?" Machias inquired.

"Yeah, kinda. It's the first in a new line of hybrid shooting gloves that I didn't think were coming out for a while. I guess the release schedule got pushed up… either that or someone's going to be in huge trouble for breaking street date."

"Hybrid shooting gloves?" the boy repeated, not familiar with the term.

"Usually the gloves archers use have specialized designs that keep them from being useful for anything else," Alisa began, looking at the package with a bit more interest now. "With these ones, they've tweaked them enough so that they can be worn for more than just shooting. Not that these still wouldn't be good for that."

Gaius nodded. "That sounds like it'd be useful for our next field study. If you feel like they'll aid your performance, why not buy them? Ranged support is a tough task sometimes."

"I'll say," Machias readily agreed, leading to a chuckle from the other boy.

"I'm actually considering it, but these come packaged as a pair, and I only need one. Normally they only come sold as singles," she explained, frowning at the inconsistency - something Reinford's product lines never suffered from, she noted with an air of pride. "I wonder why they changed that? This brand's been around for a while and they've been pretty consistent with how they've done things until now. Ugh, it'd be such a waste to buy it and have one glove just lying around in my desk…"

"… It wouldn't necessarily have to be left unused."

Alisa blinked at that, not following Gaius' logic. "But… what would I do with it, then?"

"You said they were hybrid models, right?" Machias said next, having a very strong feeling as to what was being implied. "So they could be used for other disciplines besides archery. Say… swordsmanship?

(So much for subtlety).

"W-Wait a sec!" she yelped, cheeks flaring a brilliant red and the gloves dropping from fingers that she suddenly couldn't feel. "You're not suggesting that I – "

"That's exactly what we're suggesting," Gaius answered, maddeningly unruffled even in the face of her shock. "It sounds like it would only help your shooting, and from what I've read there are certain sword styles that don't rule out the use of hand protection."

"Given that the Eight Leaves has both one and two handed strikes in its repertoire, a little bit of added defense to Rean's dominant hand would certainly be welcome," Machias took up smoothly, not missing a beat. "It kills two birds with a single stone. Like you said yourself, it would be a waste to only use the one…"

"… And in terms of being a matched set, I can think of no owners that would be fitting than you two."

Meanwhile, Alisa was fighting mightily to get her mouth to start working, her heart racing more and more with every word because these two weren't playing remotely fair and she had to say something damn it, but…

But their combined argument was sound, there was no denying that. There was also no denying that it was as delicate as a hammer to the back of the head, but that was beside the point.

After all, their field studies were only bound to get more difficult from here on out, right? Anything that gave them even the slightest of advantages on the battlefield simply couldn't be overlooked…

… And if she looked at the gloves and thought of something else entirely unrelated to bows and swords, thought of her and Rean in a way that was far removed from classrooms, train cars, and Thors… well, that might explain why she found herself setting the box down on the counter before she even knew what she was doing, much to the satisfaction of her two friends.

She stilled for a few moments, just waiting and breathing, her slim fingers idly toying with one of her sleeves.

"A matched, set, huh?" Alisa thought, memories of her time spent with the dark haired boy playing unbidden in her head on repeat, swirling and coalescing into 'what ifs' and 'maybes', and she almost didn't feel her lips turning upward into a quiet smile, her racing heart having been lulled into serene calm.

She liked that idea. She liked it quite a bit, and when she held up a hand to call the clerk back, she did it with her head raised high and a voice that didn't shake once, because even if she had to take the long way around sometimes… Alisa Reinford knew when it was worth it to be brave.

"Excuse me? There's something I'd like to buy."

"Welcome back, my lady. I trust your day went well?"

Alisa made a face when she walked in and saw Sharon ready to greet her, her ever present smile as enigmatic as always. "I guess. Same old, same old. Nothing really new and exciting," she said off-handedly, and the blonde knew her attempt at subterfuge had failed miserably when the maid's eyes flicked toward the bag she was not so inconspicuously shielding behind her right hip before going back upwards with a curious sparkle.

"I see. I suppose that without an ongoing field study, your academic life is really no different than that from your average Thors student. Still, I think it's truly wonderful to see you taking advantage of the lull in activity to partake in more… ordinary matters," she finished, casting another blatant glance at the bag.

She probably should have let that slide. She wouldn't have been Alisa if she did.

"A-And what exactly is that supposed to mean?"

"It's not supposed to mean anything, my lady. Just a simple statement of fact," Sharon answered mildly, and a wary Alisa watched as her maid curtsied and walked away, apparently deciding the conversation was over.

She exhaled in relief as she headed up the stairs and for her room, thanking Aidios that Sharon had left it at that. After all, when the maid was motivated to find something out, more often than not she succeeded with virtually no trouble, and when you combined that with how naturally perceptive she was…

"Oh, by the way; don't fret about the gift, Lady Alisa. I'm sure Master Rean will appreciate it, whatever it is," Sharon called from below. "Have you thought about how you plan to give it to him yet?"

Judging from the sound of something hitting the floor and the explosion of panicked invective coming from the direction of her charge's room, the answer would be 'no', the maid decided with a fond laugh, a palm against her cheek.

No matter. There was time yet.

The lavender haired woman couldn't help but sigh wistfully. Alisa had grown so much since she had started at Thors, there was still so much more to come, and Sharon's most cherished wish was nothing more than to witness as much of it as she possibly could with her own two eyes, no matter how difficult that would prove to be.

If nothing else, she swore that to be true.

"Hang in there, my lady. A journey of a thousand arges begins with a single step, or so they say."

AN: It's been so long since I've written early CSI era Machias and Alisa that I had forgotten how much they grew as characters over the course of the games; during the post-Nord/pre-Heimdallr period this was set in (post Eight by Eight and pre Turnabout in terms of my story timeline), they're still both fairly prickly. Luckily, Gaius was as chill as ever. Also, I'm certain that 'hybrid shooting gloves' are not actually A Thing.

While I'm not sure if the manga oneshot is canon canon, it was published in one of Falcom's official magazines and there's nothing that really contradicts it, so I figured I'd run with it. Besides, it's cute and it gave me a chance to use Linde, Vivi, and the second years again.

And now, for some Machias/Emma pre-shipping that I'm pretty sure only a handful of people (and me, but I'm biased AF) will care for…

OMAKE

"You're both shameless."

"I have no idea what you mean," Emma replied with a Fie-worthy head tilt from across the table, her words dripping with innocence and confusion.

Lies. All lies.

"Do you – and Elliot for that matter – really have nothing better to do with your time than to try and unravel a grand conspiracy that doesn't exist?" Machias told her firmly, because he could lie too and Alisa had made very, very clear the consequences of slipping up before she had completed her task. "I hope that this fool's errand of yours won't come back to bite you during exam time. I won't show any mercy, no matter the reason!"

"I wouldn't expect you to," the brunette said, a small grin alighting on her lips. "But I keep telling you that you're imagining things."

He raised an eyebrow. "Which is why Elliot was here earlier. For an hour."

She shrugged. "Maybe he just wanted to study?"

"Oh yes, I could tell he was in legitimate need of review with gems like 'I don't get this section in chapter seven, Machias! Speaking of something else I don't get, Alisa sure seems to be acting funny around Rean again, huh?'"

She tried and failed to stifle her giggles at that, sounding light and breathless and –

"Cute," his brain decided to throw in out of the blue, and that made him stop cold for a second or two because when had that particular adjective ever come up before?

"P-Please tell me that's not an exact quote," Emma managed, finally getting herself under control and snapping the boy back to attention.

"… Close enough," Machias muttered, adjusting his collar with a small cough, purposely averting his eyes from her now curious gaze. "Anyway, I'm just about done reviewing, and I could really use a cup of coffee."

She blinked, a little thrown by the sudden change in topic. "Wait, I – "

"You're welcome to join me and keep up the interrogation, if you want," Machias offered, pushing up his glasses when the light glinted off them.

The brunette heaved an exaggerated sigh and rolled her eyes in mock exasperation, though there was no mistaking the warmth in her voice. "Hehe. Well, when you put it that way, how can I say no?"

"Don't read too much into it. This is only a temporary ceasefire," he warned.

"Oh, that goes without saying. Like I said earlier, I'd expect nothing less," Emma teased him, a friendly smile on her face.

"Not even on your radar unless they beat you in exams, huh…?"

"… Ugh. You talk too much sometimes," he groused quietly, resolving to have a chat with Alisa in the near future about choosing her words more carefully.

After all, it wouldn't do to keep getting distracted like this, not when there were still finals to think about!

Emma, for her part, simply looked confused. "D-Did you say something?"

He sighed once and shook his head, dismissing the bizarre tangent without a second thought, and maybe if he hadn't been so determined to block out the blonde's teasing... he might have noticed that he was smiling, too.

Slow and steady.

"No, nothing at all. Shall we?"