Author's Note:

Some of you may know me, some of you may not—but I'm Momoko Harukaze, a former writer for the SOA fandom. I deleted my old story, but I'm now slowly reposting it. I don't think it's very good, but a lot of people seem to be happy it's coming back. I wrote that story when I was eleven. Now I'm fifteen, and I've decided to rewrite the whole thing—starting, of course, with this chapter. This is the newer version, which I will update when I can (I don't have lots of time between theatre, schoolwork, family and friends).

I was a little hesitant to return since I've seen some examples of plagiarism from my old story (one person even copy-pasted it and posted it as her own). However, I love this fandom, and Kate x Keith gives me a warm fuzzy feeling.

If anyone is wondering where the cover of this story is from, I drew it myself. You can find more of my art at my artblog, which is linked at my profile.

Please enjoy my fanfiction, and leave reviews to help me think of ideas or just express your thoughts!

Chapter One

The First Day

Ranger Academy.

An elite school for the best of the best, only accessible through endless applications, studying, exams… and she was here.

A young girl took a deep breath as she smoothed down the front of her green jacket, then tightened her yellow tie. Her light brown hair was pulled up in two messy, spiked twintails, pale ivory skin flushed red in the cheeks and pale blue eyes flicking around nervously.

"You alright, Miss Lovett?"

The girl jumped. "No!" She yelped. "I mean, yes! I mean…" she gave a sigh of defeat.

"…No," she mumbled. How could she lie to herself? She was arriving at this school over halfway into the year. She didn't know anyone, she was all alone in a foreign country… "I'm terrified," she admitted.

The tall woman beside her gave a small smile. She had auburn hair hanging loosely around her shoulders, a spring green shirt and a white skirt—she gave off an aura of authority, yet gentleness as well.

"Don't worry, Kate," she soothed. "Your class is very accepting, I'm sure you'll fit right in. It's not like they're all from Almia, we have students from anywhere you can imagine—Hoenn, Unova, even all the way up in Sinnoh."

Kate gave a shaky nod. "…O-OK," she gulped. "T-thank you, Ms. April…"

Ms. April smiled and nodded in response. "Attagirl," she said. "Wait here, and I'll introduce you to the class, ok? Just wait for my signal."

Kate nodded, this time far more vigorously.

Ms. April went in the door that led to Kate's future classroom, closing the door quickly behind her so heads couldn't turn in time to see the young girl. The walls were thin, and Kate could hear everything that was being said inside.

"Alright, class, settle down!" Ms. April called. "We have a new student joining our class today."

Immediately, Kate heard several other voices from inside chatter in whispered gossip.

"Who could it be? A girl, or boy?"

"Oh, I hope it's a girl, then there'd be an equal number!"

"Dummy, it's gotta be a boy! A girl couldn't make it into this school so late in the year…"

"Oh, just shut up, Keith! Honestly, you're such a bigot…"

"A big what?"

"Everyone, quiet!" Ms. April's voice rose over the rest. "Here they are."

Kate reached for the doorknob hesitantly, but then grasped it and turned the knob, opening the door.

Almost immediately, she saw several heads turn to look at her. It was a small class, but varied—there were all sorts of teenagers in there, of various hair, complexion and color. They all looked at her, their eyes shining in curiosity. All but one, that was, as Kate noticed a scruffy head of red-brown hair in the front row facing the board steadily, as if the owner had no interest in looking at her. 'Good,' she thought, 'less to worry about.'

Kate started walking down the aisle, trying to make herself look as small as possible. As she moved, she noticed a very beautiful girl looking at her—she had fluffy platinum blonde hair that framed her face, and deep blue eyes that looked like you could swim in them. She even wore a faint sheen makeup, eyeshadow and lip gloss—sixteen years old and Kate had never even thought of it.

Reaching the front of the room, she turned to face the class. Staring at the group, she gulped slightly. The class stared with rapt attention—she felt her knees weaken slightly. In addition, from what she noticed, the person in the front still seemed to be paying her no mind. Deciding to count it as a blessing, since she wasn't sure if she could handle any more gazes she glanced at Ms. April. The teacher gave her an encouraging nod, and Kate finally cleared her throat.

"M-my name is Kate Lovett," she said. "I'm sixteen, a-and I'm from Pacifidlog Town in Hoenn. I-I'm here to study to be a Pokémon Ranger."

And that's when she felt it.

The minute the word 'Ranger' left her mouth, she felt eyes. Eyes that were staring, penetrating her, scanning her. She didn't dare to meet them directly, but she knew they were coming from the redheaded person in the front who had previously ignored her. Gulping, she continued at a faster pace.

"I-I know I've just transferred here, and it's l-late in the year, b-but please take care of me! I-I hope we can be friends!" She finished, bowing with a slight jerk.

The class clapped, and Kate noticed that the lovely blonde was beaming at her. She gave a tentative smile back, not daring to look at the redhead.

Ms. April was smiling. "Good, good," she said happily. "Now then, your seat… Keith? What's with that grin on your face?"

Kate blinked, turning her head to where Ms. April was looking—which, she realized with a shock, was the redhead.

It was a boy, with wild, reddish brown spiky hair, amber eyes, and slightly rosy skin. He was looking at her steadily, as if sizing her up—but despite this seemingly serious action, it was ruined by the fact that he had a huge grin on his face, spreading ear to ear.

The boy—Keith, apparently—didn't answer, so Ms. April just sighed and moved on.

"Alright, alright," she said. "In any case, Kate here scored very well on her entrance exam. She's a late arrival, but treat her kindly. Now then, your seat…"

Kate's ears were flushed red from the comment about her exam scores. She was brought out of her embarrassment, however, when Ms. April said, "Ah, there. The seat right next to Keith is open."

Kate's eyes widened. Sitting directly next to someone? Couldn't she just sit in the back? She worked best alone!

But not wanting to disrespect a teacher, she nodded slowly. "O-OK," she said, slowly walking over to the two-person sized desk and setting her bookbag down by her chair. She sat down next to Keith, who was grinning even wider now.

"Alright," Ms. April said, "there's no real lesson scheduled for today, so this will be a study hall hour. Use it to prepare for your Mechanics of the Styler quiz and your oral exam on interviewing citizens… and if anyone is feeling confident about their skills, please take the time out to show Kate around the school."

With that, Ms. April left the room. Immediately, Kate found herself surrounded by her classmates. She quickly felt her throat tighten and her hands nearly lose feeling.

"Hey, you're from Hoenn, right? What's it like there?"

"How did you get in halfway through the year? It's hard enough in the summer!"

"Come hang out with us after school, we're going to get ice cream!"

"So do you have family back in Hoenn or did th—"

"Kate."

Kate looked up quickly at the single call of her name—and saw the lovely blonde from earlier smiling sweetly down at her, hand outstretched.

"I'm feeling alright about my tests, so I thought I'd show you around the school. Is that ok?" she asked.

Kate nodded with an awkward jerk of the head, standing quickly and failing to remember to take the girl's hand. She didn't seem to mind, though, as she just pulled her hand back with a pleasant smile.

Just as the two turned to start out the door, a voice came from behind them.

"Hold it, new girl."

Kate stiffened, turning just a fraction. Her desk neighbor, Keith, was standing now, smirking. He wasn't all that tall—they were about the same height, Keith perhaps having about one centimeter on her.

"Y… y-yes?" Kate managed to say through her utter terror. Maybe it was the hair, but this didn't look like someone she would mix well with.

"How'd you score on the Capture portion of your exam?" He asked.

Kate blinked. "…I… I'm sorry?" she mumbled.

"Come on! Capture portion? Styler, Pikachu, slightly delusional examiner?" Keith demanded. "How long did it take you to capture that Pokémon?"

"Oh!" Kate jumped a bit, stammering. "I-I—u-um—i-it took me… f-fourteen minutes?"

A beat.

"…Fourteen… minutes?" Keith said, staring.

"…G… g-give or take," Kate replied, trying not to meet his eyes. "W-why do you—"

"Are you serious?" A boy exclaimed, gaping. "The average time is eighteen minutes! Plus, Keith's top Capturer of the class, and he took fifteen minutes to capture it!"

Keith gave the boy a venomous glare. "Watch it, Ryan," he hissed. Then he looked back at Kate, sizing her up yet again. Kate felt herself shrink under his gaze.

"…Hmph," he finally scoffed. "You're nothing special. Fourteen minutes? You're either lying, or you got dumb luck."

"Shut your trap, Keith," the blonde snapped, glaring. "You're just mad because she did better than you!"

Keith glared back. "Shut your trap, Blythe, or I'll do it for you!" he snapped.

The girl scoffed, grabbing Kate's hand. "Come on, Kate," she said, "I need to give you the tour.

Kate gulped, unable to speak from that interaction. "O-ok." She replied shakily.

Once out of the classroom and in the hall, the blonde sighed.

"Sorry about that," she said. "If there's one thing Keith hates, it's when people show him up. He's a capturing prodigy, but his ego is way over-inflated."

"Ah—i-it's fine! I-I don't mind…" Kate stammered.

"You should!" the blonde huffed. Then she blinked.

"Oh," she said, "I'm sorry. I never even told you my name, did I?"

Kate blinked, realizing the same. Keith had called her Blythe, but…

"I'm Rhythmi Blythe," the girl smiled. "I'm here to become an Operator. I'm from Floaroma Town in Sinnoh. I hope we can be friends."

Kate's eyes widened as she stiffened a bit. "Ah—" she gulped, nodding. "Y-yes! I-I'm Kate Lovett from Pacifidlog Town in H-Hoenn! P-please treat me kindl—"

Rhythmi squeezed Kate's hand, smiling gently.

"…I know," she said calmly. "And I will."

Kate blinked, her hand starting to tense up, but then she slowly let herself relax. She felt a sense of relief spread. Thank Arceus—she'd managed to make a friend, and on the first day, no less!

"Shall we?" Rhythmi smiled.

Kate smiled back. "…Sure!"

An hour or so later, the girls were relaxing in the library. Rhythmi had shown Kate around the school—from the dormitories where she would be rooming with all the other girls, to the teacher's lounge, where she'd met the principal whose name honestly escaped her despite it only having been ten minutes since she met him. The two girls were now browsing the library, Rhythmi helping Kate find the books she'd need for upcoming tests.

"…And… there," Rhythmi said, handing Kate one last textbook. "I think that's got you set and ready to go."

"T-thank you, Rhythmi!" Kate stammered.

Rhythmi smiled. "No problem."

Kate smiled back, but then seemed to hesitate for a moment. Rhythmi blinked.

"Something wrong?" she asked.

"Huh—" Kate jumped a bit. "N-no, nothing. It's just… t-that boy I have to sit next to in class…"

"Ah," Rhythmi's eye twitched a bit as she looked over some other books. "That's Keith. Keith Evans, to be precise. He's cocky, jerky, has the ego of an overgroomed Piplup… and he's training to be a Ranger."

Kate blinked. "…The same as me, then?" she asked.

"Yep." Rhythmi shrugged. "That's why he didn't pay you any mind until he heard what you're studying to become. He's always on the lookout for people to show up… which is why he got annoyed when he heard you shaved five minutes off his record."

"W-what?" Kate gulped. "H-he didn't seem annoyed. H-he told me it was just dumb luck…"

Rhythmi looked at Kate dead in the eye. "…You don't get out much, do you?" she asked.

Kate flushed fiery red as she looked down.

Rhythmi laughed, but then looked far more serious. "Anyway," she said, "you should steer clear of that guy. He's a big, competitive idiot."

Kate gulped a bit, then decided to change the subject. "Should I go meet the teachers in the Capture Building once more?"

The two left the school and walked to the warehouse in front, where the rather overdramatic Mr. Kaplan and the (thankfully) far more sane Ms. Claire greeted them, gave them a quick run through of their subjects and what they entailed. It was a brief meeting, and as they exited, Rhythmi sighed heavily as she ran a hand through her thick blonde locks.

"Jeez, that Mr. Kaplan," she muttered. "I'm not sure if he's serious about this whole 'Team School' thing, or if he's just trying to pull our leg."

Kate smiled sheepishly. "He is funny, though," she said tentatively.

Rhythmi smiled back. "Yeah," she admitted, "I guess he—"

"AHHH!"

"Wh—" Rhythmi and Kate looked around for the source of the scream—and they found it, in a slightly stocky woman with short brown hair, wearing a housedress. More alarmingly, though, they saw that she was watching in fear as what Kate counted as nine Bidoof ran rampant through the courtyard.

"Is that Janice?!" Rhythmi said as the girls ran to the woman. "Janice! What happened?"

Janice, who Kate remembered being introduced as the housekeeper of the dorms, looked at the girls, alarm all over her face.

"I-I was feeding the Bidoof," she said, "but when I left to get more food, I returned to find them out of their pen and running all over! I-I could have sworn I closed the gate, b-but-!"

"Don't worry," a voice suddenly rang out from behind them all, "I'll handle this."

Kate looked up to see none other than Keith Evans striding over like it was just another day of school.

"Oh, Arceus," Rhythmi hissed. Keith raised an eyebrow.

"What, you got a problem, Blythe?!" he demanded. "In case you don't pay attention in class, you should know that these Bidoof need to be captured to get them back in the pen. Which is a Ranger's job, correct?"

"You're not a Ranger yet, smart aleck," Rhythmi muttered.

"I'm the closest thing to one!" Keith snapped, whipping out his School Styler. "And do you see any other Ranger trainees here?"

Kate was trying her hardest to make like a Kecleon and blend in—honestly, she had no interest in pointing out to Keith that yes, there was another Ranger Trainee there. But of course Rhythmi did.

"That's right!" she said triumphantly, pointing at Kate. "And she's right here!"

Keith looked at Kate, snorting. "What," he said, "Ms. Dumb Luck here? I bet she wouldn't even be able to capture one!"

"Oh, you wanna bet on that?" Rhythmi replied.

Kate jumped, sensing danger. "U-um—" she started in.

"Making a challenge, Blythe?" Keith demanded.

"You know it, Evans."

"Fine! Cathy Covett and I both go for the Bidoof!"

"R-Rhythmi, p-please don't—"

"At least make an effort to remember your classmates' names, Keith. You're on. And the one who captures the most, wins!"

"What do I get when I win?"

"I-I would really prefer t-to not—"

"Loser takes chores. For a week."

"Oh ho, I'm gonna love seeing you and Dovett here cleaning the common room, Blythe."

"…U-um…" Kate gulped, realizing she had no control over this situation.

Rhythmi looked at Kate with narrowed eyes. "You are going to win this."

It wasn't a question.

"Come on, Pate Zovett!" Keith called as he rushed into the fray of Bidoof. Kate sighed as she followed.

'Kate Lovett isn't even that hard to remember,' she thought mournfully as she took out her School Styler and switched it on.

"CAPTURE ON!"

Both Stylers activated, spinning tops shot out of the machines, bright lines trailing behind them. This was what she was good at, what she loved best—allowing herself to forget what was happening around her, whoever might be watching. It was just her and the Pokémon as she drew the loops with her Styler to convey her feelings of friendship.

Around and around, Kate worked methodically, one Bidoof after the other—she didn't want to risk anything by capturing two Bidoof at once, she hadn't studied that yet. Eventually, with four Bidoof trailing neatly behind her, she saw one last stray on the side.

"Captu—"

"ON!"

Kate jumped, suddenly broken out of her trance as she saw Keith already capturing the Bidoof. She knew that was it, then—it was dangerous and unethical for two Rangers to be capturing the same Pokémon.

Instead, she hit the "complete" button on the side grip of her Styler, the Capture Top once again shooting back inside the machine.

"Capture complete," she murmured. Turning, she bent down at the Bidoof, who were all looking at her with glittering black eyes.

Smiling, she gently stroked their fur as she heard Keith shout "CAPTURE COMPLETE" in the background.

"…Four, five!"

"…Four."

The Capture over, Kate and Keith were counting their haul. As expected, Keith had caught the higher amount. Rhythmi groaned loudly as she fell to her knees dramatically.

"No," she moaned.

Keith grinned widely. "You made the bet, Blythe!" he said gleefully. "I win, which means you and Hovett clean the common room in my place for a week."

Kate was ignoring them, helping Janice round up the Bidoof to take back to the pen. Janice beamed at Kate.

"Thank you both so much," she said. "I don't know what I would have done without you."

"Ah—" Kate blushed, holding up her hands in defense. "N-no, it's nothing. Mr. Evans started the whole thing, really."

Janice blinked, then laughed. "Mr. Evans?" she said in amusement. "That's something you don't hear a sixteen year old girl say!"

Kate flushed furiously, looking down.

"…I know he's not the most modest boy around," Janice admitted," but he's a good one, even if he can't show it. I should know—I care for the students at this school like my children. Including you."

Kate blinked, but then looked up. She smiled slowly.

"T-thank you, Ms. Janice!" she said.

Janice laughed. "Please," she replied, "just Janice is fine.

Janice left, the nine Bidoof trailing after her in a line. Kate steeled herself, then walked to Keith and Rhythmi, who were still bickering.

"You totally moved in on Kate's last capture!" Rhythmi insisted. "She had that wrapped up and ready to go, but you just jumped it and took it!"

"Finders' keepers!" Keith huffed in reply. "First come, first served! Or did you not pass kindergarten, Blythe?"

"U-um," Kate interjected shyly.

"WHAT?" the two students turned and glared at her. Kate shrunk back for a moment, but spoke in a small voice.

"I-I'm sorry I lost, Rhyth," she said, "but Keith's right. He won fair and square. I'm the one that competed; s-so I'll clean the common room by myself. You don't have to help."

Rhythmi's eyes softened. "Kate…" she murmured.

"No way," Keith stated firmly. "You may have competed, but Blythe made the bet. You didn't even seem willing to do this in the first place. So Blythe at least has to help you."

Kate's eyes widened as she looked at Keith. "…Mr. Evans…" she said.

Keith's jaw dropped. "Mr. Wha—?"

He was cut off, however, by Rhythmi. "Well, Keith," she said, a smirk on her face. "You're certainly nice all of a sudden, saying I have to help Kate. Any reason for that?"

"Huh—" Keith's eyes widened as he gaped. "N-NO! W-what the hell are you implying?! I just don't wanna see Blythe getting off scot free!"

"Well, that's too bad, Keith. I'm afraid you'll have to."

"Wh—" everyone turned to see Janice standing by them once again—only this time, she looked much less warm and cuddly. Her arms were crossed, and she was tapping her foot dangerously as she glared at Keith with eyes of venom that only a mother could give.

Keith jumped, gulping. It was as if he… knew what was coming? "Y-yes, Janice?" he said cautiously.

"A student told me something interesting when I was putting the Bidoof away," she said. "He said that while I was gone, the gate was indeed locked… until a certain familiar student came and opened it for them."

Rhythmi's jaw dropped. Keith seemed to shrink, looking guiltier than a toddler with his hand caught in the cookie jar.

"YOU LET THE BIDOOF OUT?!" Rhythmi shrieked. Kate jumped at the noise.

"H-hey, I wanted to see Lovett's real potential!" Keith said in a panic. "And I couldn't just wait for those easy training classes! That's not the same as a real-life situation!"

"Well, I hope you're satisfied," Janice cut in, glaring, "because you'll be the one cleaning the common room. And not for one, but two weeks. And you're denied dinner tonight!"

"…Yes, Janice," Keith sighed.

Janice stormed off, apron fluttering with every stomp. Rhythmi took Kate's hand.

"Come on, Kate," she said, voice ringing with glee, "let's hurry, or we'll miss dinner… I'd invite you, Keith, but it looks like you can't join us."

Keith grumbled, his hands in his pockets. "Whatever, Blythe," he muttered.

Kate let herself be dragged away by Rhythmi, walking after her towards the school. She still looked back at Keith, though.

Keith looked up at Kate, their eyes meeting for a second. It was only that, though, a second—as Keith quickly turned away and walked off in the opposite direction.

"Goddammit."

Keith cursed as he picked up strewn snack bags from under the tables of the common room. Didn't people know to pick up their own damn trash? Grimacing at the mold already sprouting on the garbage, he chucked it into the bin before it could grow legs and run off.

He'd been there two hours. Everyone since had long gone to bed, and it was late at night. But of course, Keith was stuck in the common room, cleaning. If this place wasn't "spick and span" by tomorrow ("spick and span" being the highest standard for Janice), then he'd have detention for another two weeks, and he did not need that on his record. Or his free time.

As he bent down to lift the sofa cushions so as to purge them of crumbs and uneaten candy, Keith felt a long rumble from his stomach. Groaning, he dropped the sofa cushion, instead flopping back on it.

"Dammit," he muttered to himself, "if Janice wants this place clean so bad, shouldn't she have fed her slave?" he hadn't eaten since that morning's breakfast—he'd skipped lunch to pull a covert operation involving Mr. Kincaid's chair and a thumbtack.

"U-um…" there was the sound of shuffling feet from the stairwell. "M-Mr. Evans?"

Keith's body gave a jolt as he looked with wide eyes at who was visiting him—but he relaxed once he saw who it was. "Yeah?" he grumbled. "What do you want? Come to gloat?"

Kate gulped. Her hands were behind her back, as if she was holding something.

"N-no!" she squeaked. "N-nothing like that! I-I, um… I-I just, that is…"

Keith glared at her. "Spit it out," he demanded.

Kate stiffened, but then slowly pulled out a tray from behind her back. On it was a juice box, some Berries, and even a sandwich and chips. Keith felt his jaw drop.

"…W-wha…" he started, but Kate, for once, beat him to it.

"Y-you've been here for so long," she stammered, "a-and I thought it just wasn't fair! I-I mean, I lost, after all. P-plus, you didn't eat, a-and…"

Keith stared for a few beats, but then quickly coughed, looking away. He sat down on a chair by the table.

"You do realize that snagging food from the kitchens is against the rules, right?" he said. "I could report you. You could get in serious trouble."

"But you won't do that, right?" Kate mumbled.

Keith drummed the table with his fingers. "And why not?" he mused. "It'd be good revenge."

"B-because you're starving. And R-Rhythmi told me all about how you thumbtacked Mr. Kincaid's desk. So if you take me down, I-I'm taking you with me."

…Well, shit. She had a point there.

Keith gave a sigh of defeat, pointing at the chair across from him. "Sit," he commanded. Kate followed obediently, setting the tray down in front of him.

The next few minutes were silent, save for Keith's scarfing at his food. Kate watched in silence, hands folded neatly in front of her.

As Keith started in on his Berries, Kate broke the silence. "…But you wouldn't have told on me anyway, right?" she murmured. "E-even if I didn't have dirt on you, and even if you didn't eat the food."

Keith raised an eyebrow, popping a Cheri Berry into his mouth. "And your reasoning for that is…?"

"Y-you're not a mean person, Mr. Evans."

A pause, which Keith filled by his choking.

"Wha—" he coughed, managing to swallow. He pointed at Kate, glaring venomously. "What the hell makes you say that?!"

Kate winced at the swearing, but then stammered. "Y-you didn't let me clean the common room alone when I lost, y-you told Rhythmi she had to help," she said, "a-and Janice said you're a good boy! P-plus, I-I mean…"

Keith drummed his fingers impatiently. "…W-what?" he said.

"…Y-you knew my name all along, right?"

Keith's eyes widened. "…Wha…" he barely managed to say. Kate cut in before he could speak.

"Y-you said my name after Janice yelled about you letting the Bidoof out!" Kate continued. "I-I mean, i-it was my surname! S-so, u-um, maybe I'm wrong… m-maybe it's a fluke, and you don't really know me, but…

"…I-I just don't think you're a bad person, Mr. Evans."

Complete and utter silence filled the room. There was no sound, save for a single Hoothoot crying out in the distance.

Kate began to panic. Did she take this too far? Oh, no, she must have said too much! Now everything was awkward, he must now be thinking she was some kind of freak for talking about him like this. She should have just left as soon as giving him the food, she shouldn't ha—

"Kate Lovett."

Kate looked up, blinking. "W-what?" she stuttered.

Keith was eating his Berries again, not meeting her eyes. His ears were flushed dark red. "…K-Kate Lovett," he repeated. "That's your name, right?"

"…Y…" Kate jumped, nodding vigorously. "Y-yes! I-it is! T… thank you, Mr. Eva—!"

She was cut off by a groan from Keith. "Arceus, you're weird," he said, "calling me "Mr." when I'm the same friggin' age as you. What kind of church school did you come from?"

He thrust out his hand, holding it out with an open palm. Kate looked up in surprise, blinking her pale blue eyes to see amber ones staring firmly back at her.

"The name's Keith Evans," he stated. "And since I got even with you with those Bidoof for breaking my Capture record… I guess we could be friends. If you want to, that is. I'm way cooler than Blythe, though."

Kate gaped back. "I-I…"

"…Well?" Keith's eyes narrowed as the red in his ears began to spread to his cheeks. "I don't have all day. Hurry up and make your decision before my hand gets numb."

Kate stared. Then her cheeks flushed pink from ecstasy as she smiled brightly. "Y… yes!" she nodded. "I-it's nice to meet you, Mr. Eva—" a glare. "…K-Keith."

She shook his hand, thinking that perhaps her new life at Ranger Academy wouldn't be so terrifying after all.