zero02: I tried it and decided to hold off. If you want my reasoning, I give it in another review response below.

Lyrista: Of course he is, he's Rean.

That's the truth.

Heh, you make a fair point. That would be funny, though.

Oh most definitely. Look forward to it!

Guest: You're welcome. Indeed it will. Yep, complete grade-A asshole. He'll get put into his place, in due time. You can't act like Verrat does and not expect someone, doesn't matter who, to put you in your place eventually. The only way someone like him could prevent that, was if he was the strongest warrior in the world, and even then...well, you get what I'm saying.

RosyMiranto18: You may be right, we'll see. Every chapter, sometimes even twice a chapter. How long after? Eh, usually in the first two days. Sometimes it'll be after about a week though, that's rare, however. They leave guest reviews, but always have some sort of different random name. I couldn't delete their spoiling bullshit if they weren't guest reviews, after all. The main reason I think it could be the same person, is because they always go by something related to Legend of Heroes. They ruined a huge revelation regarding Osborne for me, I won't repeat it word for word here, lest I spoil others, so I'll just say this; they said something about him involving reincarnation. I can still hardly believe it; I keep thinking to myself that it must be a troll and that can't be true right? But hell if I know, right? I've also had something huge regarding Crow and Millium spoiled for me, but that wasn't anyone's fault, just an unfortunate accident. It really bums me out to know all these twists and turns though, I really wanted to experience them firsthand. That said, it hasn't killed my hype for Cold Steel 3 in the slightest! :) Yeah, I'm really grateful to anyone who helps me avoid spoilers. Thanks, I'll do my best.

-Mm.
-Sounds good.
-No problem.
-Fair enough.
-Okay then.
-I suppose you're correct. I could go into a whole spiel about this, but I'll leave it be.
-Oh, well, they are teenagers, with hormones. I guarantee you sexy times will happen eventually. I just won't be writing them out, is all. That's what the fade to black or scene change is for.
-He could indeed take it less well. Everyone will just have to wait and see.
-Hey, a lot of potential fights are in the cards. Who knows what kind of badass battles will occur? Even I don't, as while I have a bunch planned out, I am pretty notorious in thinking up something on the spot and restructuring the entire chapter around it. So it's anyone's guess what I might do for some of the upcoming battles.

You are a hundred percent correct, Elegy of a Killer will have nothing to do with Verrat. You're welcome, and thank you for suggesting it; I appreciate it. I certainly hope it is.

-Yep, dual machetes. Yep, they escaped in the dream.
-Well, if we are indeed talking about overprotective Yanderes and not possessive ones, then yes, I can definitely see Fie as one. Believe me, I feel your pain. Don't even get me started that they never kissed in the games. Oh man, it hurts my heart that the romance I had established between them in the first two games is reset in the third one, and even worse, I have to wait until the fourth game to romance Fie again; oh my heart, the pain! :( Back on topic, yes, it was establishing the consolidation of her feelings. Maybe, maybe not; who knows, maybe you just forgot.

-You know, it's funny you say that...oops, I've said too much. XD Yeah. Don't worry, you're good.
-I can see your point. Can be kind of fun when you get it right though.
-That's not a bad theory, I like it.
-Eh.
-Pretty much. Ah, Calvard. I want nothing more than to continue adventuring with Rean and friends, so that'll be weird to play when it eventually comes out. Cool because more trails, but weird. Yep. I can't tell if you're being coy, so I'll just say it; the strap was of Dogi, who is apparently a character in another Falcom game series called YS. I know nothing about it. Perhaps.
-Indeed. Yeah, all I'm gonna say is that Verrat isn't exactly the prodigal son. Crow can't be everywhere at once. No worries.
-Yes it is. Oh yeah, you've already figured me out on that one. XP I never really though about that. I've never heard Meister used as a nickname before, not by itself at least; I've only ever heard someone use it by saying someones name then Meister after it. So that's why I wrote it that way, to be honest.
-Hell, he probably gave it to Elliot or Gaius or something. Just Fie's. The colorless noodles are what come about if you have her try and cook that particular dish in CS I, so I figured I'd translate that in this fashion. I know you played the game, so I probably don't have to tell you that, however, I've heard of people who ignored the cooking mechanic entirely, so I'm just making sure. Hey, got problems with the dish? Take it up with Cold Steel, where it came from. :P

Yeah. Oh, don't even get me started. I went through all three Sky games last month, and while the story was top-notch and the characters really good, the graphics were atrocious. I hated looking at everything. Graphics don't make a game, they are honestly one of the least important things in a game. That said though, if you're graphics look like something from the infancy of the first Playstation, when your game came out in the 2000's, you've got a serious problem, my friend. See, people say it's harder than Cold Steel, and perhaps it is on nightmare or something, but I've tried it on normal and some on hard, and comparing that to my experience with CS I and II, of which I've played normal, hard and nightmare, I truly didn't notice much of a difference in difficulty, so, eh. Oh, wait until after I beat CS III, yeah, I totally agree with that. I will do so.

Yep, I liked Sky the Third quite a bit. Mainly because of Kevin, as he is an awesome protagonist. I didn't quite like Estelle all that much, so I appreciated that I no longer had to play as her. I don't hate her, she's just one of my least favorite characters in Sky. I played the game on my computer, which ran the first two games without much problem. I honestly have no clue what happened, I'm just glad it's over, as it was awful dealing with it. Yep, I've already beaten Full-Body, in fact. Furthermore, as of the time this chapter was posted I've completed Crossbell. Zero wouldn't run on my computer for some reason, so I watched a four hour summary of the game, then jumped into Ao, which I've beaten. Oh, no need to apologize. I wasn't upset. I just wanted to let ya know I don't think I could ever get sick of Trails, is all. I hope I will!

Let's get on with it then.

-I suppose I could see Vivi falling for Rean. He is one of the only people who'd be able to put up with her constant antics, and still be kind, after all. XD She is; so is Rean; they're both lucky to have each other. Tis' an AU my friend, things are gonna get changed. Who knows, we'll see. It's a serious possibility, considering I'll definitely have played and beaten Cold Steel 3 by the time we're at Heimdallr in this story. You're not wrong.

-By squeezing in tightly. The tables aren't very big, but they could seat four people, so five can definitely fit if you really try. Fie is a good girl, but she isn't the most responsible, if we're being honest, at least not when it comes to the small stuff. Oh, the mess he had to clean was the day before this chapter. Jusis cleaned the kitchen the morning after Fie and Laura practiced cooking; the day before the chapter where he mentions it. Also, that was the same night that Fie stayed up until two in the morning, then woke up around an hour or so later thanks to that nightmare, which also led to her napping in the infirmary. Figured I'd clarify that, as it seems you may have gotten the timeline of events a little mixed up. Nah, Rean's just too nice a guy is all. Good point, and yes, Fie has the best comebacks.

-Fie is most definitely carrying her blade deck around 24/7. Not only does she quite enjoy the game, but it was also a gift from Rean. Rean wants the whole class to eat together, Sara included. That could be a fun idea.

-No, Machias has found his club. This was just the first day the upper-class chess club showed up and started being pricks and talking shit. Yeah, I'd imagine it is, especially since I can't give you guys a visual representation of what Verrat looks like, I can only describe him. Verrat has longer hair that is less well-groomed than Patrick's, though their hair colors are similar; not the same though. Equipment; it's nothing plot important, just Crow helping out. He's not far from that point, honestly. Indeed.

-Not much of a reaction from me, I'm afraid. I don't have a Switch, so I can't play Three Houses, even though I really want to. I've never played a fire emblem before, but it looks so damn cool. Sounds like too much effort, I'm pretty sure Kenneth would pass on that. Yeah, I've actually been thinking about that, since I'm aware of what Vivi does after Thors. I'll probably include something about that...maybe. It's actually more than likely he would get some bait from her every once in awhile, they always seemed pretty friendly to me.

-Machias and Jusis, in case you don't remember, publicly stood up for her back in Chapter III Part I: Not Good Enough. Yeah, I was half tempted to make a pun about that; I decided not to. That's a bit harsh; the Schwarzers are good people, Laura and Victor are good people, Jusis is a great guy in his own right, Angelica is cool; there are good nobles, so it's not the whole. I will admit to it being the vast majority, though. Doesn't really seem like something they'd do in this situation. I don't quite recall that. Either it isn't mentioned until the third game, or Duke Cayenne said something that I can't recall because I was too busy being consumed by everything else that was going on and hating him at the same time.

-Sara, seducing Rean? If she really wanted to, I'm sure she'd at least have the decency to approach Fie and let her intentions be known, if that were the case. Hell, she'd have to get Fie to bring it up to Rean, otherwise he'd end up shutting her down. XD Fair enough, but they do say some questionable things in public as well. You'd have to twist her arm pretty hard to get her to do that.

-You're not wrong. Of course, Rean isn't gonna let someone get hurt. Verrat's been trained in the art of combat, so he knows how to fight, but he's never actually been in real combat before. Needless to say, he was overwhelmed; go right ahead, I ain't gonna defend the guy. Well, not exactly. Rean met Verrat when he was eleven and Verrat was thirteen; that's six years ago; just saying. I don't disagree. Take away the few things Rean has going for him, and I could definitely see him doing it one day. I don't watch that, but hell, that would make things pretty bad in this situation.

I tried Tokyo Xanadu Ex+ and did a bit of research on it to boot; I've decided to hold off.

As for your request about me giving status updates while I'm playing CS3, sorry to tell you that once I have it in my hands, I'm not touching my computer or my stories or anything else for that matter until I beat it. That's what I did with the first two games and other similar games that I love more than most. So you'll get my opinion and feelings regarding it, for sure, but not until after I've beaten it; I'm gonna do nothing but play CS3 until then. Sorry. :P Don't worry though, with how much time I put into CS1 and CS2, I beat each game in roughly a week a piece, so 3 should only take me between one and two weeks to beat, what with life's responsibilities draining some of my time too and all.

Apex85: That would be a good punishment. That would also be a good punishment. Glad I could convey Machias' feelings so well. Yeah, I'm sure no one can blame him at this point. Oh it's coming. I won't say who and I won't say how and I won't say when, but it's coming.

Erk Prower: Thanks!

Yeah, I've never played a Ys game. That said, I tried it out, Tokyo Xanadu Ex+ that is, and...yeah, I'm gonna hold off on it. First I find out there's no dub, that's a huge blow and enough for me to consider not bothering with it, however, I have played a few games with no dub that turned out to be amazing, so I deal. Then I do a bit of research and find out it has a bonding system similar to Cold Steel, but no romance options; needless to say that's another point against it. Finally, I try it and I'm kind of feeling it, then I get to the first part where combat comes in and Kou has like one of the shittiest and most boring weapons I can imagine...and to make it worse, it isn't very fun to use either; just why? Ugh, so needless to say, with all that against it, I've decided to put it on the backburner. It still looks cool and since it's Falcom, I'm figuring I'm in for a good story and great characters, so I'll still be playing it, eventually. I'll most likely sit down to play it when I have nothing else to play and I'm bored. For now though, I'm good.

RedBurningDragon: Yep. It would depend on how the situation developed, I think. What, of course not. What could possibly go wrong? XP That number will only continue to rise, I assure you. Most definitely; the situation bearing striking resemblance to such a thing, it definitely shook him up.

Heero de Fanel: Verrat will get his, eventually, trust me.

Manu259: Yay!

That's completely understandable. I can't write for shit, in any manner for anything at all, on my phone.

No need to worry, doesn't bore me at all.

That's likely. I have no doubt you will loathe Verrat quite a bit after a while. That said; you'll also get to know him better, eventually, and then, maybe, just perhaps, you'll hate him a little less. Or the opposite, you could end up despising him even more. XD

Yeah, that's inevitable at this point. Rean can't keep it a secret forever; s'all I'm gonna say.

Oh ho, is that what you're looking forward to? You're in for a treat next chapter then.

No problem, and thank you.

Once more, allow me to thank all those who reviewed, and allow me to thank those who have added this story to their favorites and alerts since the last update as well. dartanias75, frag2k13, ipaznokas1, Rinko123gtg, animelover2177, Skult, thank you!

Once again, I am cursed with being unable to come up with a good title for this chapter. I had some in mind, but they seemed too severe or serious for it, so I just went with this. Regardless, I'm sure you guys will love this chapter. :)

Please read, review and enjoy.

ACT I - CHAPTER III - PART V

...

It was drawing close to nightfall by the time Rean, Machias and Jusis returned to the dorm.

"Hey, what kept you three so long?" Sara posed to the last of her students to return, as they closed the door behind them; the instructor was currently seated at one of the sofas and nursing what was most likely an alcoholic beverage.

"We got into a bit of an argument." Rean came up with on the spot; technically, he wasn't lying. "We just about got it all sorted out though, so it's fine."

"I got somewhat heated. I apologize that my actions held up our dinner plans." Machias put forth.

"Am I correct in assuming everyone else is already in the dining room?" Jusis inquired.

"Everyone but the four of us." The twenty-something woman answered.

That was when Gaius poked his head out of the dining room-kitchen combo, having heard the voices of his classmates. "Good to see the three of you back. I assume everything is well?" The kind foreigner inquired.

"We're all good; we appreciate the concern though." Rean answered for them with a small smile.

"Got it." The spearman acknowledged with a nod. "That said, Rean, Jusis, I must apologize; I wasn't sure when you would return, so I started the meal prep without you." He informed them.

"That isn't a problem." The humble swordsman waved him off. "It's our fault for taking so long."

"One moment, I shall join you in finishing the prep." The aloof noble told the tall teen, before sparing a glance at both his friend and his rival.

"Right." Gaius accepted, before disappearing back behind the doors separating the main room and the kitchen-dining area.

Without saying another word, Jusis strode into the other room to assist, leaving just Rean, Machias and Sara at the entrance.

"Oh, right, almost forgot." Sara commented, as the blonde left. "Someone was looking for you a little while ago, Rean."

Sara proceeded to describe the teenager who'd been looking for Eight Leaves practitioner.

Machias openly glowered at this.

Rean couldn't help but chuckle nervously. "Don't worry, I ran into him and we talked; it's been taken care off." He told her.

The jovial instructor quirked a brow at her two students' behavior. "Something happen?" She came right out and inquired directly.

"No. Not anything to worry about, at least." The affable swordsman attempted to assure her.

"If you'll excuse us, Instructor." Machias cut in brusquely, but politely. "We have something to discuss before dinner."

With that, Machias took the stairs and went to the second floor.

"We'll be back down shortly, then I'll join the others and get to cooking." Rean added, as he followed his friend.

This left Sara somewhat confused, as she sat alone in the dorm foyer. 'What's going on with them?'

...

Once on the second floor, where they wouldn't be overheard, Rean turned to his bespectacled friend, and asked him outright, "What was that about?"

"What do you mean?" The dark green-haired academic requested clarification.

"Back there on the highway, for just a few moments, you were looking at me but not seeing me. The way your eyes became unfocused and how emotional you became all of the sudden, I could tell you were looking passed me and seeing someone else entirely." Rean voiced his deduction.

Machias was stunned and unable to respond for a few moments; he was blown away his friend had been able to read him like that and pick up on such a thing. "I-I, h-how-" He stammered.

They both went quiet at this point, neither sure of what to say. Until...

"Putting your incredible observation skills aside for the moment; I'm sorry for how I reacted back there on the highway." The class VP suddenly apologized. "With everything you've been going through, the last thing you needed was for me to act so harshly with you."

"There's no need for that." Rean told him with a shake of his head. "I'm honestly kind of flattered how much you seemed to care." He followed by saying this with a few self-conscious chuckles. "I don't really expect people outside of Fie to get that worked up over this sort of thing." He confessed.

Machias regarded his friend with sideways glance of a complete baffled nature. "You didn't think your friends would be upset that you were being treated in such a deplorable manner?"

"Well, when you put it like that..." Rean started to reply, rubbing the back of his head in a sheepish manner. "It sounds pretty bad. But I didn't mean it like that. If I'm being honest...it's more that I never really considered it or thought that it mattered all that much." He divulged.

That only caused Machias' face to break into an even more absurd expression, as bafflement, vexation and concern mixed together.

"What I mean to say is, I..." The affable swordsman paused, taking a moment to think about what he was about to say. "I suppose I've just grown accustomed to it. I never wanted to burden or bother anyone with this; especially considering there wasn't anything they could do to help me; so I just kept it to myself. Somewhere down the line I got used to dealing with it on my own. At a certain point, whenever something happened with another noble, like Verrat, there was no fanfare or any sort of big scene about it, I just pulled myself back to my feet and went on with my life. No one knew, so no one cared. Life was simpler that way, easier. It wasn't fair and it sucked, but making a fuss about it only made things worse. So I just didn't do it anymore; I kept quiet about it, and that made everything easier for the people around me, especially my family. And I wanted to ease their troubles; most of them are a result of them taking me in, after all." The Schwarzer heir unbosomed himself to his friend; his tone even as he spoke at length on his predicament.

What he didn't say; what he kept to himself, was, 'I didn't want them to know, I didn't want anyone to know; especially not my family. They've suffered so much because of me, I had no right to add my petty problems on top of it all.'

"When it became clear Verrat was going to make my life here at the academy difficult, I stuck to that mindset. I won't bother anyone with it; I'll get through it just fine if I keep my head down and keep anyone else from getting involved. I especially didn't want you two interacting, as I was worried you might have a melt down when you saw how he embodied every single aspect of the nobility you detest." The affable swordsman mused with some humor. "But seeing you get so worked up on my behalf; it's not something I've really seen from anyone besides Fie in a long, long time. I guess it just caught me by surprise is all." He finished explicating the matter. "It actually makes me kind of happy." He disclosed additionally with a smile and a chuckle.

Machias was at a loss for words at this point. He opened his mouth to attempt to form a reply several times, but found himself closing it again each time, as he couldn't find an appropriate response to all of that.

Pausing, the bespectacled academic took a moment to get his thoughts together.

"You've never talked to anyone about this, have you?" The Class VP finally settled on this inquiry, worry showing through.

"Not counting Fie, you're the first." Rean informed him of this truth. "I mean, I haven't even talked to my family about all this stuff." He admitted with sheepish laugh.

"You haven't even told your family? Then why would you...?" Machias started, growing visibly confused.

"You were so upset that I hadn't told you about what was going on, and in the moment I couldn't think of anything to say that would make it better; as your friend, I felt I owed you at least this much." The humble swordsman disclosed his reason for sharing something so personal.

"I...I see. You have my gratitude for choosing to confide in me; please do not hesitate to do so whenever the need arises in the future" The green-haired bookworm urged his classmate. "Whatever you do though, do not ever feel like you have to suffer that bastard's abuse in silence. If you trust me enough to share with me why you have chosen to endure it; then you can also trust me to lend you my support. Whether that be in the form of someone to listen to your troubles or a sparring partner to help you work out your frustrations or whatever else I can possibly do. I'll do everything I can to help. You are my friend, Rean. A friend that has risked life and limb to protect me when my own stubbornness nearly got me injured or perhaps even killed; I will not sit by while such a good friend is in distress."

"That means a lot, Machias, thank you." Rean responded with a grateful smile; he clearly appreciated the kindness shown to him.

With a heavy sigh, the seventeen year old adjusted his glasses. "Now, since you have shared with me the reason why you reacted as you did, I shall do the same."

With that, Machias shared the story about the cousin that was like a sister to him, revealing to Rean the reason he held such animosity toward nobles and how he was capable of seeing through the smiling mask the Schwarzer heir had taken on.

Roughly an hour later...

With the exception of the cooks for the evening, Rean, Gaius and Jusis, every member of Class VII was seated at the dining table, Instructor Sara included. The seven waited patiently, chatting amongst themselves to pass the time. Before long though, the three males emerged from the kitchen section of the room with platters and pans of food.

"It's finally ready." Gaius announced to the others.

"We each whipped something up; between the three different dishes, there should be enough for everyone. There might even be leftovers." Rean remarked.

"We aren't running an eatery; so feel free to serve yourselves." Jusis apprised those seated, as he and the other two cooks for the night placed down the dishes they had prepared, along with the utensils needed to serve each one.

There was deluxe herb chowder, courtesy of Jusis; tomato gratin and Nord-style tea from Gaius, as well as fried fish Rean had prepared.

"I'm impressed. Everything looks quite good." Machias complimented.

"This is definitely more than I was expecting. It all looks great." Elliot opined.

"I didn't know you guys were such good cooks." Alisa remarked.

"I expected no less from you three." Laura commented.

"Thank you; everything looks delicious." Emma verbalized her gratitude.

"If everything tastes as good as it looks, maybe we should have you guys take over kitchen duty from now on." Sara suggested with a grin.

"I refuse. I have no desire to become the class chef." Jusis immediately quashed that idea.

"We appreciate the praise, however." Gaius added.

"Looks edible." Fie finally said after taking a good look at each dish.

"I certainly hope so." Rean replied with a chuckle. "I'd hate it we'd kept you guys waiting for a meal that was so awful you couldn't even eat it."

Before the three amateur chefs could take their seats; the sound of knocking could be from the dorm foyer, more specifically the front door.

"I'll get it." Rean quickly volunteered, before leaving the dining room.

...

Answering the door, the Schwarzer heir found a certain white-haired slacker waiting to greet him. "Yo, Rean-Meister!"

"Crow, hey, what's up?" Rean returned the greeting.

"Nothing much. Mind if I come in?"

"Not at all." Rean assured him, as he let him inside, before closing the door behind him.

Taking a moment to take a quick look around, the second year nodded his head in approval. "Not bad. Pretty decent size for a class of nine."

"Yeah, it was kind of the school to fix it up for us."

"Well, they needed someplace to stick you guys. After all, they couldn't 'dare' put commoners in the noble dorms, and putting nobles in the commoner dorms ain't the best idea either; and it wouldn't have made any sense to separate you guys when you're in the same class." The red-eyed jokester explicated.

"You have a point." The dark-haired teen acknowledged.

"But enough about that." Crow said, changing the subject. "I heard something about you guys having a get together for dinner. Since you didn't tell me, I figured it must have slipped your mind to tell ol' Crow; after all, my pal wouldn't forget to invite his bestest buddy, right?" He queried rhetorically, grinning with gaiety.

Rean couldn't help but chuckle at this. "If you wanted to join us, all you had to do was ask. No need for the runaround."

"No, no. That's not how it goes." Crow responded with a shake of his head. "You're supposed to be like, 'Oh, of course, silly me. I'm sorry I forgot to invite you buddy; please come in and join us. We'd love to have our super-cool upperclassmen hang out with us.'"

"Yeah, no." Rean shut that delusion down real quick. "Just come on; everyone's waiting to eat."

"That's mighty kind of ya, pal. I'll take you up on your offer." Crow replied as if the words he wanted to be said had been spoken to him.

Rean, despite the small grin he he wore, rolled his eyes at that, before returning to the dining room, Crow in tow.

...

The moment they entered, before Crow could even announce himself, multiple people spoke up in tandem.

"Seriously? 'Bestest buddy'? What are you, like, five?" Alisa questioned with a half-lidded and very judgmental stare.

"Honestly, 'super-cool upperclassmen', surely you jest." Jusis remarked with a dismissive scoff.

"Crow, stop trying to act cool. You just aren't." Fie scathingly apprised him in her usual deadpan.

Machias said nothing and just shook his head.

Clearly, they'd heard every word spoken in the foyer. "Come on, you guys wound me with that kind of talk. Especially you, Fie, ya cut me deep." The notorious slacker retorted with faux hurt; simultaneously, he mimed being injured by holding his hands to his chest.

"I had a feeling you'd show up; you always do when there's free food." Sara remarked then.

"You're one to talk." Fie interjected, pointedly gazing at her mentor in an accusatory manner as she did.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." The ex-bracer brushed the accusation off and took a swig of her alcoholic beverage.

"Why, I am offended, madam." The red-eyed second year emoted offense in an over the top manner. He made no attempts to respond further, so the exchange stopped there.

"Good evening, Crow." Emma kindly greeted. Laura politely echoed said greeting.

"We made plenty of food, so please, feel free to join us." Gaius bid his senior with courtesy.

"Yeah, the more the merrier, right?" Elliot added good-naturedly.

"See, now that's how you're supposed to treat your upperclassmen. Thank you, guys. I'd love to eat with you." The white-haired jokester said, moving to finally take a seat.

Rean did much the same; everyone was now seated.

With that, Crow joined Class VII for dinner.

...

Rean, Fie, Laura, Gaius and Jusis lined one side of the table, while Machias, Elliot, Alisa, Emma and Sara lined the other; Crow sat at the very end. Conversation flowed easily between the group of eleven, as they discussed their clubs, what they've been up to lately and other such extracurricular activities.

Rean brought up the topic of fishing, which engaged all of his male friends, plus Fie, as they talked about any recent catches he made and how he'd used most of them to make the fried fish tonight.

Emma complimented Jusis' dish in particular, which started a small talk amongst those who hadn't went to Bareahard and the blonde noble in question, about how it was a recipe from his mother and as such, he was intimately acquainted with how it was made.

Elliot inquired as to how the Nord-style tea they were drinking was brewed, commending Gaius on it as it was delicious, Jusis seconded this; the soft-spoken foreigner was all too happy to share the know how.

Topics were plentiful, as they all spoke at length and shared with one and other about their clubs and other such; Crow piping up every now and then to remark on such things.

...

When there was a small break in the constant flow of conversation, Laura looked to her left toward the two childhood friends and inquired, "Fie, Rean, how is your training progressing?"

"Rather well, I think." Rean opined. "I managed to attain my first draw against Fie recently, at least. Though, admittedly, she held back a little." He clarified.

"Not as much as you might think." Fie immediately corrected. "I didn't use my strongest move and I refrained from using any tools of the trade; that's it. I hit you as hard as I could and you gave as good as you got." She reassured him without even looking his way. "Besides, not like you didn't do the same. You didn't bother to use your Flame Slash."

"That's fair." The diffident swordsman conceded.

"Sounds like it's the perfect time to mix things up." Sara commented. "You're drawing close to the point where training against one and other won't produce anything more than small increments of improvement." She expounded. "And while that's fine, you two are clearly looking to make more headway than that."

Laura and Jusis both pointedly looked toward the childhood friends then; they needn't even say anything, their faces said it all, 'Our offer of assistance is still on the table.'

The Schwarzer heir chuckled at this. "Okay, okay, next training session you guys are more than welcome to join us. No need to stare at us like we're a couple of kids who don't know any better."

"Satisfied?" The stoic maiden by his side added.

"Indeed." Jusis replied with a nod of his head.

"I am." Laura confirmed.

The raven-haired teen shook his head at this, before glancing toward Fie, sharing his amused grin with her. Which in turn caused her to crack the smallest of smiles back at him.

"You know, I've been wanting to ask you two this for a long time now; how did the two of you meet?" Alisa posed this query to her rather close classmates, regarding them with a curious gaze.

All eyes went to the two then.

"Uh, well..." Rean hesitated. "I don't really see a reason not to tell you, but it's not exactly a very interesting story." He responded, appearing somewhat reluctant to talk about it.

"It's fine, just tell'em." Fie signed off on it.

"Alright then." The diffident boy acknowledged her willingness and began to recount the event for the others.

Little Rean and little Elise had been playing somewhere around the start of the second Ymir path when it hit: a blizzard. It went without saying that as the icy, whipping winds set in, and snow began to be tossed to and fro, the two children began their retreat back to their hometown. Due to a few clumsy mishaps to avoid spots where monsters were know to be around, and the diminishing visibility thanks to the storm, it took them a little while to get their bearings and know for certain they were going the right way to get back.

Even still, they likely would have ended up lost in the mess of white, if not for their father coming to find them. It went without saying that as he'd noticed the weather growing worse, that he'd come to fetch them and bring them home. He greeted them with a smile and told them dinner was almost ready, and then simply led the way.

They followed behind as he led them safely along the paths and toward the town.

"~the sun don't ever shine~"

The eight year old Schwarzer heir stopped in his tracks when the sound of a voice reached his ears; it was faint, so much so that he'd only just barely heard it.

He hesitated, unsure if he'd really truly heard something or if he had just imagined it.

"~will you go?~"

There it was again; that was all he needed for it to register as real. "A girl...?" He wondered to himself aloud as he began to look around for the source; the voice sounded distinctly feminine to him, though, between the whipping winds of the blizzard and such, he wasn't entirely sure. 'Girl or not, someone is singing...' He mentally noted.

Looking back to his father and sister to see if they'd heard it as well, he could see it had obviously not reached their ears, as they continued to draw further away from him. The blizzard was continuously intensifying; if he didn't follow them, it was likely they wouldn't notice he was gone until they reached the village. That was enough reason to fall back into step and follow after them, however...

'That voice sounded like it came from somewhere close by...' The raven-haired kid thought to himself. 'The voice also sounded really sad.' He thought further. 'Maybe they need help...maybe they're stuck out here somewhere...' The eight year old speculated.

The possibility that there was someone out here who needed help, girl or boy, was all Rean needed.

So defying common sense and ignoring all his survival instincts that told him to follow his family, he allowed his father and sister to keep walking and disappear from his sight into the nearly all-consuming white that filled the air; at the same time he broke off and began following the sound of the voice, trying to locate the source of it.

...

After a few short minutes of searching; the dark-haired kid completely lost at this point; he managed to find a cave that was unfamiliar to him; it wasn't that far from where he'd stopped in the first place. His discovery of such a grotto was quite fortuitous, as not only would it provide him temporary shelter from the blizzard; the sound of the voice he'd tried to follow seemed to be echoing off the walls of this very cave and spilling out into the open. "~I would shiver the whole night through.~"

Entering the cave in the side of the rock-face, he was able to hear the voice much more clearly, as it continued to sing.

"~My girl, my girl, don't lie to me; tell me, where did you sleep last night?~"

The affable boy ventured deeper into the cavern, until he rounded a corner that lead to what seemed to be a dead end.

There, slumped against the rock of the cavern's end, hugging themselves as they shivered, was a small child. They were somewhat androgynous in appearance; possessing gentle features, yellow-green eyes; short, scraggly silver hair, and almost unnaturally pale skin. However, there was something there...something in their facial features that stood out as uniquely feminine; Rean just wasn't sure what it was; he was sure about her not being boy though.

'It is a girl.' He observed.

This girl wore well-used clothes, grey and tan in color; the ensemble consisted of just shorts, sneakers and a shirt that was one size too big. Beyond that, she looked haggard and exhausted; her skin was tinged a deep red from being out in the cold for so long; more than likely from the onset of the early stages of frostbite. In short, she looked cold, miserable and in pain. And with the way her eyes were trained on the spot of the ground closest to her, staring at it blankly, she didn't quite appear to be all there; she was likely trying to block out everything around her.

"~In the pines, in the pines, where the sun don't ever shine; I would shiver the whole night through.~" She continued to sing to herself, her voice both melodic and melancholic.

Filled with concern and curiosity, Rean began to slowly approach the girl.

"~My girl, my girl, where will you go? I'm going where the cold wind blows.~"

Not wanting to scare her, he announced his presence as he drew closer. "Hey, are you alright? Are you hurt?" He inquired.

At that, the child's head shot up, eyes going as wide as they could; pressing herself against the wall of rock, her body language screamed 'stay away!'; she was like an injured animal ready to bolt at the slightest noise. The fear she radiated was almost palpable; at the same time, her eyes narrowed, the spark of something within her yellow-green orbs coming to life. Despite how scared she seemed, there was fight in her eyes. She was more than some wounded creature ready to flee, she was a cornered animal ready to lash out.

It was then that the little boy realized she was as likely to attack him as she was to run away. So, he stopped dead; not wanting to set her off, he would not draw any closer. "It's okay, I'm not gonna hurt you." He attempted to reassure her.

She simply continued to stare, body noticeably straining itself in it's overly tense state.

"I won't come any closer." He assured her. "If you come with me though, I can take you to my home in Ymir, where it's safe and warm." He tried to convince her he wanted to help her.

Once more, no reaction. It quickly became clear that his words meant nothing to her; nothing he could say would make her stop being wary of him.

Unsure of what he could possibly say, he didn't know what to do. What he did know is... 'She's freezing.'

Unzipping the heavy jacket he wore, the eight year old took it off and, not wanting to frighten her further by getting any closer, tossed it her way. "Here, this will help a little."

She didn't move at first, likely thinking he was trying to lure her into some sort of trap or deceiving her in some manner; after a few moments, she dared to lean forward and grab at the article of clothing. Snatching it up, she quickly put it on.

...

Once it was on, she took a moment to look the older boy up and down. "You really aren't Silver Serpent, are you?" She queried, sounding dubious and unsure, yet suspicious at the same time.

"Silver Serpent?" Rean repeated in confusion, brows furrowing.

"Never mind." She shook her head at that; her body visibly relaxed to a degree, a majority of the tension draining away; the fear fled her being entirely.

She followed up by asking him bluntly, and rather curtly, "What do you want?"

"I just want to help you." He answered her honestly.

"You're lying." She accused, her eyes narrowing.

"I'm not lying!" He insisted. "Why would I lie about something like that?"

Silence...

She did not respond to what he'd said. And he was unsure of how to reply to her going quiet.

Taking a step forward, he continued his once halted approach. "You're-"

Only the moment he took another step closer to her, she was on her feet and tackling him to the cold, hard ground. Needless to say, that hurt. And so did the punch she delivered, socking him in the face with her bare knuckles. Having disoriented him with the blow, the girl took the advantage as she pushed her arm against his throat, ready to restrain him if he tried to fight back. Staring down at him, she expected him to react with fear or anger at this, however...

"You're gonna be alright, I promise." He continued with what he'd been trying to say, bleeding from his nose at this point, as he coughed a few times from being tackled so hard and nearly having the wind knocked out of him; his eyes glistened with unshed tears as he tried not to cry from the pain she'd inflicted upon him. Even more surprising to her? He raised one of his arms to reach up and pat her head as he did this. To top it all off, to make things even stranger, he smiled at her.

She was flabbergasted and completely speechless. Struck by guilt and regret for her actions, all she could bring herself to do was to slowly get off of him.

Getting back to his feet, little Rean wiped the blood trickling from his nose with the sleeve of his shirt and then the wetness from his eyes, before offering his hand to her. "Follow me, I'll take you back to Ymir."

The girl was so stunned, she didn't even realize she had reached out and taken his hand until he was already leading her out of the cave.

Even upon this realization, she couldn't bring herself to let go.

"I did my best to get us back to Ymir, but it wasn't easy. I'm honestly not sure we would have made it if it weren't for my dad. Once he'd gotten Elise back to the village, realizing I wasn't there with them, he immediately went back out to find me. Since I was, thankfully, leading Fie in the right direction, he was able to find us before too long and get us to safety." The adopted noble finished his story. "Come to think of it, Dad actually told me he'd been planning to scold me pretty bad for not sticking close to him, but once he realized I did what I did to help someone, he decided to let it slide." He affixed that statement to the end of his tale, chuckling as he did.

"Aww, that's adorable!" Alisa cooed.

"Yes, I agree. Honestly, such a scene wouldn't be out of place in a cute children's book." Emma concurred with a giggle.

"Cute? Am I the only one who heard the part where she decked Rean-Meister in the face?" Crow questioned the assessment of the two girls.

"Heh heh, Crow has a point." Elliot chimed in with a laugh. "That does kind of detract from the storybook qualities of the whole thing. Though, I think they're just trying to be polite by ignoring that part."

"I am not surprised in the least." Jusis remarked. "Rean's tendency to stick his nose in others' business and his general do-gooder attitude dictate he'd do as much, even back then."

"Uh, thanks, I guess? Not sure if that's a compliment or not." Rean replied with an unsure laugh.

"It wasn't, I assure you." The aloof noble said.

"You were quite the brave child, Rean." Laura commended her fellow swordsman with a warm smile. She'd already heard this much from Fie, but she still felt like reiterating her opinion on her classmate. Machias echoed this sentiment, lauding his friend.

"I'd expect nothing less from Rean." Gaius said with an approving nod and a friendly smile.

"Though, that begs the question; what were you doing all by yourself in that cave?" Alisa further inquired, putting the attention on the silver-haired girl.

"I was using it as shelter; it also doubled as a hiding place." The stoic girl answered. "My corp, or the few of them who were with me at least, had intended to escort me to Ymir where they planned to stash me. They were embroiled in what amounted to war between jaegers, they found themselves locked in combat with three different corps at the same time, one of which was the Silver Serpents. This was on a whole 'nother level compared to usual operations, so the Boss decided it was too dangerous for me to be around while it was going down. He picked out a couple of his best to escort me and gave them a location; Ymir. It was far out of the way of the conflict, and most importantly, it was safe. He said that he'd been there before and knew it was full of good people, that they could be trusted to take care of me." She elucidated.

"Since you were hiding, I assume things didn't go as planned." Jusis surmised.

"Pretty much." The ex-jaeger confirmed. "Some members of the Silver Serpents had tailed us into the mountains. They ambushed us and I was forced to flee; I was sure they would pursue me, however, they must have been too preoccupied dealing with the other members of Zephyr. I knew better than to turn back though, doing something like that would only get me killed. So I just kept moving, and eventually, when the cold became too much for me to take, I ducked into that cave. I'm honestly not sure how long I sat in there until Rean stumbled across me." She finished explaining.

Most of Class VII was silent as they digested all this information. The mood at the table hadn't been brought down completely, per se, but things had certainly become a tad more somber.

"It was a good thing he found you, Fie. Too much longer and you would've frozen to death out there." Sara bluntly put forth to fill the silence; the smile she wore contradicted how serious such a statement was, she clearly took some enjoyment in hearing about her ward's escapades. More than what she said, however, was the look she gave Rean. Fie may have been the only one to recognize the emotion in her mentor's golden eyes in that moment, but she could tell the former bracer was grateful to the boy for being there for her charge in her time of need.

Fie hummed in agreement with her guardian's words. "S'only the first time he saved me." She further stated.

"There was that time in Celdic." Elliot acknowledged such an instance.

"Not what I was talking about." The yellow-green eyed fifteen year old said.

"Then what were you talking about, Fie?" Emma inquired.

"Maybe we should change the subject." Rean attempted to steer the conversation in a different direction.

"Rean's saved me a bunch of times. The second time wasn't too long after we first met; he faced down a pack of snow-wolves." Fie divulged nonchalantly, pointedly ignoring her childhood friend's desire for a topic change.

"Oh my!" Emma exclaimed in surprise.

"A pack of wolves!?" Alisa repeated in shock. "When you were just kids?!" The blonde girl further displayed said shock.

'He never told me about that one.' Sara thought to herself with some surprise of her own, not recounting such an event being among the things the swordsman had shared with her about his and Fie's time together.

"Whoa. That's pretty crazy for a little kid." Elliot opined, clearly impressed.

"It almost sounds like the sort of tall-tale children would tell each other." Machias commented. 'I've little doubt it actually happened, however.' He thought to himself.

"That does sound like something Rean would do, though." Gaius pointed out.

Laura nodded her head in agreement. 'I was already aware of this. Fie shared this and many other memories of her time in Ymir with me.'

"What is the point, exactly, in sharing this story?" Jusis queried his female classmate in his usual aloof manner. He didn't seem wholly uninterested, just curious as to the reason for the anecdote.

"Felt like it." Fie answered simply. "Besides, Emma's the one who asked."

"Ah, that explains that scar on the back of your shoulder." Crow suddenly remarked in his friend's direction, shifting attention back to the dark-haired swordsman.

"Scar?" Elliot repeated with some worry. 'I only saw the one on his chest. He has another?'

"It's nothing. Just a little thing, barely even noticeable." Rean tried to assuage the rapidly growing concern building among the more sensitive members of the class.

"You mean the wolves actually got hold of you?" The timid violinist further questioned with disbelief.

"Yeah, they tore me up pretty good." Rean confirmed with a sheepish chuckle. "It took me a little while to recover...still, it could've been a lot worse. If it wasn't for Fie, I'd have died that day."

Most of his classmates were understandably a bit taken back at this sudden information.

The biggest reaction, however, came from the girl sitting beside the one who'd said all this. Fie's eyes noticeably widened, as her deadpan demeanor fell away for a brief moment. She turned her dumbfounded gaze toward her childhood friend, the unasked question clear in her colored orbs. 'You knew?'

Rather than verbally answer, Rean just gave the younger girl a bright and reassuring smile.

Heart fluttering in her chest, Fie found herself fighting back a blush that wanted to color her face. 'How does he know? When did he figure it out? I never even hinted at that I was the one who...'

"Before the two of you start flirting, let's change the topic." Jusis interjected dryly, wanting to stop this conversation from progressing into that sort of territory.

Rean looked somewhat abashed by that, but said nothing in protest.

"If we're changing topics, let's discuss the upcoming midterms." Machias put forth, eliciting audible groans from others at the table; Crow and Sara were among the number of those to have such a reaction.

...

The discussion was now centered on the upcoming tests, both the class president and vice president all but dominating the entirety of it as they went back and forth. Though, Jusis and Alisa did speak up every now and then, and Gaius, Elliot, Laura and Rean had at least a few comments to make here and there.

Sara and Crow had almost completely zoned out at this point.

Fie had been notably quiet during the exchange, even for her. She hadn't verbalized so much as a syllable; too caught up in her own thoughts. The small revelation that Rean had, at some point, figured out what had happened that day with the wolves, and the moment he gave her such a sincere smile; it made her want him to take notice of her feelings even more.

"If you're trying to get his attention, be direct. Aggressive, even." Vivi had advised her.

"Example?" She'd requested.

The pink-haired prankster got quiet at that, taking a moment to think it over. "I don't know...stick your boobs in his face or something." She suggested in a giddy manner.

The ex-jaeger fixed her clubmate with a very dubious look at that. "That's not real advice. You just want to see me make him flustered."

"Maaaaaybe." Vivi responded in a sing-song voice with an accompanying snicker.

'I'm certainly not going to try Vivi's suggestion. But there is something I've been meaning to ask him...I guess I could try and be a little more aggressive with it, like she said.'

Fie cut into the conversation at the first opportunity, "Rean, I've been meaning to ask you something."

That effectively got all eyes on the two.

"Yeah, Fie?"

"What's your take on big boobs?" Fie very directly and very bluntly queried her best friend, pointedly looking right at him and making dead-on eye contact as she did.

A very pregnant pause followed such a question, no one daring to say anything.

"I-I'm sorry?" Rean responded with several rapid blinks of confusion, clearly perplexed and thinking he must have misheard her somehow.

"I asked what you think of big boobs? Do you prefer them? Or are smaller ones okay?" The silver-haired maiden clarified her question.

Rean's face became akin to a tomato as he turned into a stuttering, spluttering mess, flustered beyond belief in the face of this. "I-What-I don't-Why-Are you-I just-I-"

Crow and Sara nearly became hysterical, absolutely roaring with laughter at this turn of vents.

Alisa and Emma both went red-faced.

"D-DON'T ASK HIM THAT!" The blonde girl shrieked in protest. "And don't you dare answer!" The bowwoman dictated to the humble swordsman.

"I-I-It isn't p-proper to a-ask such t-things, Fie. E-Especially not i-in p-public." The bespectacled girl stammered nervously.

"Y-Yes, t-that is highly inappropriate, Fie." Machias managed an attempt at chastising the younger girl, agreeing with Emma; face consumed with a heavy blush; needless to say, he couldn't make himself sound very stern in such a state.

Laura appeared visibly taken aback by such an inquiry, but said nothing in regards to it.

"Well, this conversation has certainly taken a turn." Gaius remarked, the only one present seemingly unaffected by Fie's loaded question.

Jusis remained silent, however, he leveled a very emotive look at the fifteen year old. Staring at her in such a way that his accusing eyes screamed, 'Are you kidding me?', it was evident that he was not amused.

Elliot, his face darker than his hair, managed to mumble out in his embarrassment, "W-Why a-are you even a-asking him that?" It went without saying that he couldn't quite meet the eyes of his only classmate that was younger than him.

At that question, Fie pulled her eyes away from Rean long enough to answer. "Last month, when Rean was clawed up by a cat, Emma found me treating the scratches. She got concerned and rushed over to his side. As she checked out his hand, she accidentally stuck her chest in his face; he blushed, hard, and he got all nervous. I've never seen him flustered by girls before, that was the first time ever. I was curious whether it was because of her chest size, or not."

"Eep!" Emma squealed; completely mortified, she hid her face in her hands.

"What the hell!?" Alisa exclaimed, having realized she'd been there when it happened and hadn't noticed.

"Did...did you just 'eep'?" Machias queried in surprise, though he did so in a manner that it was more like he was asking himself rather than his fellow spectacle wearing bookworm. 'That was uncomfortably cute.' He thought privately to himself.

Clearing his throat, the bespectacled academic returned to the topic at hand. "The sort of situation you described, Fie, has little to do with size. Any heterosexual male would be hard pressed to not react in such a way when his face is pressed into a lady's bust." He explained in a very clinical manner.

The red-eyed lacrosse club member growled in frustration at this.

The aloof noble followed his rival's words with, "As crude or distasteful as some might find it, Regnitz isn't wrong. Male hormones make it nigh impossible to not react in such a way in the situation you laid out."

"What the hell-" Crow started, doing his best to talk through his laughter. "-have I been missing!? HAHA! This class is just a breeding ground for hilarity!" He proclaimed with boundless mirth.

The stoic maiden returned her attention to the affable swordsman in question, as she asked of him once more, "So, what's your answer? What do you think?"

In unison, everyone present turned their heads to look right at him. Just like that, all eyes in the room were on him, awaiting his answer. Some were highly amused, some were curious and confused, and others, namely a certain blonde girl, glared daggers.

"W-Why the hell am I being put on the spot!?" The diffident teenager spluttered in equal measures nervous and embarrassed. "Why am I the one being asked!?" He adjured for a reason.

He certainly got one. "I don't care what the others' opinions are, I want to know what you think." Fie enlightened him.

"WHY!? You shouldn't!" Alisa fulminated angrily.

The fifteen year old simply ignored her.

With an irritated sigh, Jusis interjected, "As odd as the inquiry might be, it is a simple one. So, if you'd kindly, just answer it already so we can be done with this topic."

Elliot and Machias both murmured their agreements at that.

"Oh, do tell, Rean, we're dying to know your thoughts." Sara addressed her student in a very teasing manner, a large, mischievous grin plastered on her face.

"Please excuse my forwardness." The sword maiden prefaced. "However, in spite of the off-color question, I must admit, I find myself curious as well." She confessed. "So, by all means, feel free to answer honestly, Rean. I assure you, I certainly won't take offense either way you answer." The blue-haired noble girl encouraged her friend to answer with a pleasant demeanor.

"Why the hell are you going along with this!?" The bowwoman of the class demanded. "This is not okay!"

"We aren't children, we can handle a simple discussion regarding mammaries with maturity, can we not?" The Arseid style practitioner posed this query, as cool and collected as always.

"NO!" Alisa declared vehemently, now flustered beyond all means.

"That sounds like a you problem, not anyone else's." Crow gave his two cents with a few chuckles, eliciting a few laughs from some of the others at the table as well.

Snarling in vexation, Alisa took up arms and threw her spoon at the white-haired second year, nailing him right in the face, "OW!", which earned far more laughs from the rest of the table.

...

Fie, having continued to press for answer, finally got one.

"Well, um, if I'm being honest..." Rean preambled, face flushed to the point where it was the same color as his blazer. "I don't really have a real preference either way."

Needless to say, the ex-jaeger looked dissatisfied with such an answer.

"BOO! That's a cop out!" Crow immediately objected, as others at the table released breaths they hadn't even realized they'd been holding.

A couple moments passed in silence then, as everyone calmed down a bit and started eating once more. The mood was a touch too awkward for anyone to feel like starting up the conversation again. Well, almost everyone, that is.

"So, Fie, why'd you really want to know Rean's thoughts on tits so bad?" The red-eyed jokester asked her candidly.

The tenseness returned, as the awkward energy shot up once more.

"Was wondering if he liked mine." Came Fie's unvarnished answer; deadpan as always.

The sounds of silverware clattering against the table followed those words; and a very, very, very pregnant pause ensued. No one was even able to form words, as they all stared, slack-jawed, completely dumbfounded, at the silver-haired girl.

Fie turned to face Rean once more, making direct eye contact as she proceeded to reach up and give her modest chest a small squeeze as she asked him, "Do you?" This girl, going by her impassive expression, either didn't realize just how immodest such an action was, or, she had absolutely no shame. It was anyone's guess as to which.

Crow literally fell out of his chair laughing, a loud smack sound emanating from the hard floor as his body collided with it; he was completely unfazed by it as he guffawed uncontrollably.

Sara devolved into nonstop mirth; throwing her head back and nearly tipping the chair over as she cackled in an uproarious manner. So caught up in this, she failed to even notice that she'd knocked over her glass, wasting the last few swallows of booze within.

Machias was speechless, staring incredulously at the expressionless girl; glasses hanging off his face, they were dangerously close to completely falling off.

Elliot couldn't even bring himself to look at her, eyes cast downward to the table, locked there, not daring to raise them as his face glowed crimson.

Jusis looked visibly uncomfortable at this point, words failing him along with the usual sass he was know for. He had no response for this.

Gaius seemed fairly shocked himself, though considerably less so than everyone else. After a few moments, much to everyone's surprise, he too began to laugh. While not quite as hard as the other two, deep, hearty laughter did come from the soft-spoken nord.

Emma looked like she might pass out. She clearly couldn't handle all of this. She was a tad too proper for such things. The secondhand and firsthand embarrassment combined to be so mortifying that it overwhelmed her.

Alisa looked like she might explode; the copious amounts of secondhand embarrassment and aggravation made for potent fuel for such. "T-This is sooooo not right! A girl shouldn't do something like that in front of people; especially a bunch of boys!" She aired her main grievance in that moment.

Laura was, understandably, stunned. 'That is...uncompromisingly daring. I was sure she would try another approach after my idea proved less than successful. However, I never thought she would attempt something so...direct.'

As for Rean? He'd been mid-bite when this occurred, and was currently all but choking to death on his food. Beating on his chest, he managed to get the bite of fish down, clearing his windpipe and initiating a coughing fit. Before he even got that under control, he shot to his feet, his chair being shoved back as a result and the legs creating an annoying scraping sound as they dragged across the floor.

"OKAY! Dinner's over!" Rean finally managed to get out after he managed to stop coughing. "Hope everyone enjoyed it, timeformetogoupstairs! We'redonehere!" Rean frantically exclaimed, speaking too fast for some present to understand what he was saying. Not that they got a chance to ask him to repeat it, as he hurriedly made his exit.

...

"What...just happened?" Machias wondered aloud, blinking his eyes numerous times in confusion.

Rather than an answer, the sound of Rean's rapid footfalls as he swiftly ascended the stairs filled the silence.

"Who knows anymore?" Elliot said in response to his bespectacled friend.

"Does it even matter at this point?" Jusis remarked.

"That could've gone better." Fie huffed disappointedly.

"I think you may have overwhelmed him, Fie." Laura opined.

"You may have come on a tad too strong." Gaius concurred. "I'm pretty sure Rean was at a complete loss for how to respond."

"What is even going on right now!?" Alisa queried rather aggressively in a confounded manner. She clearly had no clue.

"Fie, we have to work on your etiquette. That was...I would prefer that not happen again. I think I nearly had a panic attack." Emma addressed her younger classmate with a sigh of relief now that the whole debacle was over.

Crow and Sara were still laughing their asses off and had nothing pertinent to add.

"Guess dinner's over." Fie stated with a sigh, as she pushed her mostly empty plate aside. 'That was a bust.' She thought sourly to herself.

End Note: The song Fie sung, if anyone is curious, is an old American folk song called In The Pines, or alternatively, Where Did You Sleep Last Night. It is, of course, in the public domain, so as to correspond with the site's guidelines.

Also, this will be the last chapter I'll be posting for awhile. Why? Because tomorrow I start my Cold Steel marathon! I'll play through the first two games, the improved PS4 versions at that, and be ready for CS3 on release day. I'll be pretty busy with that, so don't expect to hear anything from me until next month, at the least! Haha, see you then, guys! :)

PS: No serious editing, just a once over, I gotta lot to do with real life responsibilities and my Cold Steel marathon, so bare with me here.