Chapter Text
Dawn of the final day. Both Rean and Laura woke at the normal time, practiced with their swords, and met in the common area of the Class VII dorm. It was scarily quiet, adding to the tense air surrounding them.
“What do you propose we do today?” Laura asked, quiet as to not wake up everyone who was still sleeping, but also considering the possibility that Crow could be anywhere, listening at all times.
“We speak only when spoken to, avoid Crow, and it might be a good idea to not interact with other people while we’re together.” Rean looked serious, almost the same look he had in battle. Laura found it attractive, but now wasn’t the time for that. She had to pay extremely close attention to what she said and thought today.
“I don’t know him as well as you do, but he doesn’t seem like the kind of person who would simply let us win. I doubt we could win by simply limiting our speech.”
Rean shrugged. “Yeah, you’d be right about that. He either has something planned that will make us fail, or the plan is that we’ll trip ourselves up by preparing for something that won’t come.”
“I see. Well, luckily for us, we have a self study period where we would normally have combat training. That should take away most of the difficulty for us.”
“I don’t know, something about it seems almost too convenient. I feel like Crow might have something planned for us then.” Rean shook his head. He had to be overthinking it. There’s no way Crow could’ve known they’d have a self study period on the day that happened to be the last one in the bet. He just needs to think logically, and they’ll be alright.
First period, history. The swordsmen couple had decided to sit apart from one another, which prompted a look from Machias, but he decided not to speak on it. Fie however, did not have as much tact.
“Oh, are you two having a lovers quarrel?” She asked Laura smugly, as Professor Thomas was on a side tangent on something completely unrelated to the lesson.
“Hm? No we- I mean- we aren’t arguing, and we aren’t lovers so that term isn’t fitting.” Laura had become slightly embarrassed from her question, but managed to give the former jeager a proper answer.
“Uh-huh…” Fie appeared unconvinced. “Then why aren’t you sitting with your favorite boy-toy like usual?”
Laura’s eyes widened at the description. If she had been slightly flushed before, her entire face was red at this point. “Wh-what? He’s not- that’s- why would you-“ Fie was laughing hysterically as she saw Laura attempt to form a coherent sentence. Even the usually composed Gaius had overheard the conversation, and was failing to hold back a small laugh.
After taking a second to compose herself, she gave the girl her reasons. “Rean and I aren’t obligated to sit next to one another. We aren’t romantically involved, and he is most certainly not my bo-… whatever it is you just said. I respect him far too much to even think of calling him that, as a person and a sw-“ Laura stopped herself, realizing she almost lost the bet then and there. Fie raised a brow, but figured Laura was still just flustered, so she let it be and gave herself a mental pat on the back for being a good friend.
Rean couldn’t hear the conversation, but he did notice the two talking. While he felt bad for Laura, he silently thanked Fie; the sight of a blushing Laura was one he always welcomed. He was sitting next to Jusis, who wasn’t aware of the conditions of the bet but knew it was happening regardless, so Rean was having a much easier time. Curious, he looked to Crow’s seat, to see if he was planning anything and… he was fast asleep. Rean didn’t know if he should be relieved he didn’t need to deal with Crow or worried he had the confidence to sleep on the final day. Probably both. All he was sure of was that it was going to be a long day.
Second and third periods had been easier, it was harder to think about swords when you’re solving math equations or studying orbal science. Fourth period wasn’t as simple unfortunately. While Rean and Laura weren’t in the same room, he was alone with an awoken Crow, and her alone with Fie. She wasn’t in on the bet, she knows how to get to Laura.
“Ugh, I can’t do this!” Fie exclaimed. She was trying to stir some batter, as the girls in the class had to attend a cooking course. Her results compared to the desired outcome were different at best.
“Calm down Fie. Being frustrated will only make the results worse,” Laura explained.
“I know that!” She let out a frustrated sigh. “Why can’t they let us make whatever we want? I'd have rations out in no time. How is there even a ‘wrong’ way to stir something?”
“All you need is a steady mind and hand. It’s a lot like swo- studying, in that way.” Once again, Laura almost lost the bet then and there. She chastised herself for being so careless. Sure, Crow wouldn’t have known this happened if she stayed quiet about it, but that would be dishonorable.
“There you go again,” Fie pointed out.
“Hm? What do you mean?” Laura panicked slightly. Had she caught on? There was no telling what she would do if she had; on one hand, she wasn’t in on the bet so she’d have no reason to make Laura slip up. On the other hand, it was Fie.
“You keep stopping yourself from saying something. Actually now that I think about it, you’ve been doing it for a couple days.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Laura said, rather calmly considering how much she was freaking out. As long as it didn’t have to do with Rean or her personally, she could present herself normally.
“Sure…” Fie decided then that since she had nothing better to do today, she’d see what’s up with her friend when the opportunity arose.
Compared to Laura, Rean was fairing surprisingly well.
“You know Rean, I gotta hand it to ya. I didn’t expect you’d make it this far,” the silver haired upperclassman said, putting his hand on Rean’s shoulder.
“Yeah, turns out we can go at least 3 days without mentioning swordsmanship in an unrelated conversation. Hasn’t been all that hard either.” Well, that’s a lie, but he doesn’t need to know that.
Crow smirked, “Yeah, sure. By the way, make sure you keep your self study period open. Let Laura know too.”
“What? Why?” Rean had no idea what his friend was planning, but it couldn’t be good. All he hoped was it was something he could get out of.
“Wouldn’t wanna tell you and spoil the surprise would I?” He winked then went back to his desk. The swordsman groaned, he should’ve expected his swindling friend had something planned.
After their classes, it was time for the self study period. Laura and Rean met up, and he explained what Crow had said to her.
“I don’t know what he’s planning, but hopefully it’s something we can just skip.”
“Agreed. I’ve already been slipping up on my own, if he interferes I doubt I’d be able to handle it,” Laura said.
“Schwarzer. Arseid. There you two are,” a commanding voice called out to them. They turned around to see Instructor Neithardt, with Crow standing next to him.
“Good afternoon instructor. Did you need something from us?” Rean asked.
“Yes. Unfortunately, I owe your friend here a favor and he informed me that you two wish to learn more in depth about Cassius Bright’.” Crow winked at the two.
That wasn’t what either of them were expecting to hear. Talking about Cassius Bright without Rean or Laura thinking about his Divine Blade status would be tough, especially for Rean. “Wait, how do you owe Crow a-“
“That much isn’t important, Schwarzer. Just follow me to an empty classroom,” Neithardt looked annoyed, probably due to the fact that he had to fulfill a favor for a slacking swindler who somehow made it to Thors.
“Oh, we wouldn’t want to take up your time to receive a personal lesson. I’m sure you’re very busy,” Laura said, attempting to get out of a situation that spelled certain doom.
“Nonsense, I don’t have any pressing matters for the 4th Armored Division as of right now and I intend to keep my promise to Armbrust. Now is as good a time as any.”
Rean cursed under his breath. It seemed like there was no way they were getting out of this one.
The three left for a classroom, and a figure emerged from hiding.
“What was that about?” Fie asked herself.
“As you may know, Cassius Bright was one of if not the most important person in the Hundred Days War. An extremely talented strategist, he was able to bring the war to a truce from the brink of Liberl’s defeat. Shortly after the war, he left the Liberlian Royal Army and became a Bracer, S rank in fact.” The lesson on a Divine Blade had begun, and so far things were looking good. Neithardt was efficient with teaching, he didn’t leave much room for questions as he explained everything as thoroughly as possible.
“Prior to the war, do either of you know what he was doing?” The instructor asked. Each of them knew the answer of course, he was studying the Eight Leaves. Neither answered however, Crow was right there with them and they’d lose the bet if they answered with that.
It wouldn’t even count as unrelated if they mentioned him being a Divine Blade. I just like seeing them trip over themselves, Crow thought to himself with a smirk.
Rean was the first to speak, mentioning as much as he could that wasn’t related to the Eight Leaves. “He was a Colonel in the Royal Army, and I believe he has a wife and daughter. I think an adopted son as well?”
“Those are all correct, though the son was after the war, but I was referring to his training under the Sword Hermit. I had expected that to be the first thing you mention.”
“Oh, well, I guess I just went for the less obvious choices. I’ve already learned more than enough about his training from Master Yun Ka-fai.”
The instructor eyed them suspiciously. “You two seem uncharacteristically nervous. If it’s about taking up my time, I assure you this is no bother.”
Rean and Laura managed a weak “yes sir,” and Crow was laughing to himself at their embarrassment.
Outside the classroom, Fie was listening in. I think I see what’s going on now. Crow probably made some bet with them so they don’t start talking about swords out of nowhere, she thought. That would explain Laura’s behavior, Rean’s as well now that she thought about it. She pondered her options briefly; she could sabotage Laura and make them lose, or help them out to make Crow lose. As much as she liked messing with her friend, seeing Crow lose a bet that he probably started would be too good to pass up.
Fie sprinted into the classroom, drawing the attention of all 4 people in it.
“Hey Laura, Rean, can you guys come quick? I need your help with something important,” she said, pretending to be out of breath to make her claim more believable.
“Excuse me Miss Claussell, we’re in the middle of a lesson,” Neithardt sternly informed her.
“I’m sorry, this is important though! I need their help with… finding a… cat?” Clearly she should have thought this through more.
“And why do you require both of them?” The instructor asked.
Fie had to think of something fast, or her plan would fail. Or worse, she’d be invited to join the lesson.
“They’re the first people I found, and Rean can sense living things so he’d be helpful. And Laura is surprisingly good with animals, so she’d be able to help me calm it down.” A good explanation for something she came up with on the spot.
“Surprisingly?” Laura muttered under her breath.
Neithardt grunted, then pinched the bridge of his nose. “Very well, we went over the most important aspects of Cassius Bright’s history at least. You two are dismissed. Good luck finding your cat.”
Crow looked disappointed, a good sign. Maybe he didn’t have any other plans and this was his last stand. Wishful thinking, but not an impossibility.
Fie led them to the courtyard, and stopped there.
“Alright, where’s the last place you saw this cat?” Rean asked.
“Yes, we should hurry in case it gets too far,” Laura added.
“Actually, there is no cat. I just did you a favor and got you out of there. Figured with how you’ve been acting the past couple of days, and how Crow of all people set up a lesson for you that something was up. Is it a bet to not mention swords?”
Laura was surprised. With how lazy her friend attempts to be she forgot how perceptive the girl was. “Essentially, yes, that’s the idea. If we lose we have to let a few people in on a secret.”
“That you’re dating right?” She meant to ask, but it sounded more like a statement than a question.
“N-no I’ve already told you that’s not true.” Laura’s blush and stuttering definitely didn’t do her any favors.
“You don’t need to hide it you know. You can trust me with it, I’d like to think I’m your best friend. Well, aside from him but that’s romantic so it doesn’t count.” Laura wasn’t expecting Fie to be so genuine. She felt a little guilty for possibly making her friend doubt herself.
“Yes, you’re right. I’m sorry for keeping it from you, it’s just that being in a relationship is still fairly new to me. You still are my best friend Fie, in fact you’re the first person I’ve chosen to tell. Rean did tell Jusis however.”
“Don’t worry about it, I get it. I mean, how could I not with how often you came to me for advice about him before figuring out you loved the guy.” Fie smirked, she knew exactly what she just did.
Rean saw her look, and caught on fast. “What’s this she’s talking about Laura?”
She blushed, but actually managed to respond clearly for once.
“I take it back. I regret telling you anything,” she said to Fie, making sure it was obvious she was joking.
Rean and Fie laughed, caught off guard hearing a comeback from Laura that quickly.
“Don’t tell me you’re learning to get back at us? Rean is a bad influence on you.”
“I doubt I’d be able to last if I couldn’t counter at all. Us aside, would you two like to go to the café once class is over? It is last period after all,” Laura offered.
“I get to third-wheel? Sweet. I’m in.”
“Yeah, why not. The stress has been making me pretty hungry.”
They didn’t talk much on the way, but Fie decided to break the silence.
“So have you guys kissed yet?”
This time, Laura couldn’t manage to respond coherently. Her face was covered in a dark shade of pink, approaching red. “F-fie!”
When the three returned from their stop at the café, it was about 8 o’clock. Only 4 hours remained until the bet was over; At least one or two would be spent on their nightly training, so there would be even less time for the bet to be lost. Sharon had dinner prepared for all of the class minus the three that had already eaten, and nobody questioned how she knew at this point. That gave the resident swordsmen even more time, which was both a relief and cause for concern.
“We have time on our side, but we don’t know what Crow might have planned. Though that lesson with Neithardt seemed like a last resort. I’d put our chances at a solid 70, but we can never tell what he’s thinking when he’s trying to mess with someone.”
Meanwhile, Crow was eating his dinner without a single thought regarding the bet. Rean and Laura were correct in assuming he had no other plans, all he could do was hope they messed up themselves. ‘Wait… don’t I need to give flowers to Sara now? Shit.’ he had stared death in the face numerous times, but Sara was another creature altogether.
The dorm's favorite totally-not-a-couple had a surprisingly uneventful evening. They trained with their own respective styles, then asked the most likely drunk instructor for permission to use the training room on campus. They weren’t sure if she actually had the authority to let them on campus this late, but joked about blaming it on her if anything happened.
“Crow’s a bad influence on us,” Rean said as he parried an attack from Laura. They were sparring more for fun at the moment, so they were able to maintain a conversation easily.
“Maybe so, but I don’t think I mind as much as I should. Bending the rules is more fun than I would’ve thought before meeting all of you,” she admitted.
“Yeah, I agree.” He didn’t manage to get out of the way of her overhead fast enough, and she stopped right before reaching him. “Ah, that’s your win. I expected you to go for something different.” Someone watching might question their use of actual swords instead of wooden practice ones, but their experience made the two weapons practically the same. It wasn’t only the blade that caused injury, but the skill of the person wielding it; the use of their normal swords displayed trust in one another, and skill in the art.
Returning to their starting positions and beginning the next match, Rean continued. “I wouldn’t outright skip classes like he would, but doing stuff like this is fun. Especially with you, I like seeing your more daring side. It’s cute.”
Laura was caught off guard by the sudden compliment. “H-huh? Oh, thank you…” Rean used this to his advantage, and stopped his blade in a place where had it continued, it would’ve hit. Once she realized what he did, she lightly hit Rean in the arm, which elicited a laugh from the boy. “That was a cheap tactic! Stop toying with my emotions so much.” She acted as if she didn’t like it, but they both knew it was an enjoyable feeling. She‘s even been able to make Rean blush occasionally at this point. Both of them loved how despite feeling it daily at this point, it always affected as if it was the first time. Whenever they were together, it was as if nothing else mattered. They were the only two in the world, free to spar, talk, or simply enjoy each other’s presence as much as they wanted to.
After finishing and changing clothes, Rean looked at the orbal clock. It was 11, far later than either had expected to be out. The sparring session got progressively more serious as they continued, and by the end they had lost track of time. It was good training, but the instructor had wanted them to return to the dorm an hour ago. Ideally she would be drunk enough to have their late arrival go unnoticed. Just in case, they sprinted to the dorm through their sore muscles.
Rean opened the door as gently as he could, while checking if he could sense anyone waiting for the two. He couldn’t feel anyone's presence, so he motioned to Laura that they were in the clear. They walked as silently as they could towards the stairs, but as soon as they reached them they heard the sound of someone clearing their throat.
The pair turned around to see their instructor, a mischievous grin on her face.
“Good evening you two. Out a bit late aren’t we?”
“Instructor, I assure you there’s a perfectly good explanation for our being late,” Laura began to explain.
“Yeah, we just lost track of time and-“ Rean started to talk, but was cut off by Sara.
“Oh, you don’t need to explain anything. I know what happened.”
“You do?” He thought things were proceeding surprisingly easily for who they were dealing with.
“Don’t worry, I’ll save you the embarrassment of explaining it yourselves. I know you two were off in your own little world, all alone where nobody could see you. I just hope you were safe,” she said with a wink. What she said wasn’t necessarily false, but the way she said it was concerning.
Laura was the first of the two to speak up, trying to clear any misconceptions. “That’s not exactly wrong , but you seem to be implying something scandalous occurred.”
“You don’t need to tell me what happened, I know how kids your age can be. It was the perfect opportunity to indulge in your desires, and you couldn’t resist the allure of doing it in a place you shouldn’t.”
That confirmed what they thought she was implying, and both Rean and Laura blushed profusely. “No, nothing like that happened at all, I swear!” the boy managed to say, frantically denying it.
“Yes, he’s right! We were just sparring, and then we got more serious as it went on, and we lost track of time, and we didn’t have any way to remind ourselves when curfew came, and..” Laura’s normally composed and elegant way of speaking had vanished completely, she was barely even stopping to catch her breath between sentences.
“Sparring? Is that what you guys are calling it these days?” The instructor said with a smirk.
“N-no, I mean the honorable practice of swordsmanship! It would be highly inappropriate if we were to do anything in that situation, especially since we aren’t in any sort of relationship,” Laura said as confidently as she could.
Sara rolled her eyes. “Oh, please. I’ll admit I’m just messing with you as punishment for coming back late, but you can’t tell me you two aren’t an item.”
She looked at Rean, who only shrugged. They’d confirmed it for three people already in the past few days, what’s one more person.
“Alright, we might be… dating ,” she said quietly. “But that doesn’t mean we’re irresponsible hormonal teenagers!”
Sara laughed. “Yeah yeah, I know. Like I said, I was just messing with you as punishment for coming back an hour late. Now get to bed, it’s late.”
The two thanked their instructor, then went back to the stairs; though she did leave a comment saying how they should sleep in their own beds, which made the two of them blush.
They parted with a hug before Rean went to the boys floor, who sensed Crow waiting for him.
“Yo.”
“Hey Crow. What time is it?”
“About 11:30. I’m gonna head to sleep after this myself, so I don’t have any surprises planned for you.” Crow got up from where he was seated and shrugged. “I heard her mention it down there, but I'd say that was related to the conversation. If I were a less honorable man I would’ve counted that as my win though,” he said with a smirk.
“I can’t think of a worse word to describe you than ‘honorable’. We kinda already did what would’ve been our punishment for losing though, we told three people in the last few days. Four including you.”
“See? I always win.”
“Don’t forget though, you need to give Instructor Sara some flowers for losing. Make it a romantic one too, that seems fair for our three days.” Rean grinned in a fashion Crow had never seen before. He was rubbing off on him too much.
“Ah shit. You can be the devil sometimes you know? No wonder you can do that transformation of yours.”
“Who knows, that’s as good a guess as any.”
“Whatever. Night Rean.”
“Night Crow.”
The following weekend, Rean, Laura, Jusis, and Fie were all tailing the loser.
“Oh yeah, you guys never told me what his punishment was,” Fie realized.
“Rean came up with the idea of having Crow give Instructor Sara flowers. I don’t know where he pulled that idea from but I can’t miss this sight.”
Fie burst out laughing at Jusis’ explanation. “Really? Rean did? Wow. That’s harsh.”
“Even I hadn’t expected him to come up with something like that. He still surprises me more than you’d expect with how much time we spend together,” Laura commented.
Fie smirked with an eyebrow raised, and decided to cause problems for her friend. “You mean all the time right?”
“You’re exaggerating Fie, you spend just as much time with me as he does.”
“That’s a lie and you know it. I practically have to pull you away from your favorite boy-toy if I wanna hang out with you!”
“Fie! I told you not to call him that!” Laura whisper-yelled.
Jusis was barely hanging on to his usual calm demeanor, and Rean stood there confused.
“Wait, does that mean you’ve called me that before?” He thought out loud after hearing what Laura said.
Fie was practically rolling on the floor, and even Jusis laughed.
“Rean, I promise those are her words, not mine. I don’t think of you like that at all, I respect you far too much to even consider it!” As Laura was frantically explaining herself, she stopped in confusion as even Rean had started laughing. Then she thought about the absurdity of the situation. She joined in on the laughing herself. Telling their friends had made things fun.
Jusis, being the first to calm down, motioned them to be quiet. “Look, Crow is moving towards the instructor.”
They hid just far enough to not be noticed; but close enough to hear what was going on, and waited for Crow to move in.
“Good afternoon Instructor,” he said with his hands behind his back, holding the item that could get him killed.
“Hm? Oh, hey Crow. Whatcha got back there?”
“A gift for you, my lovely teacher.” Sara turned around, eyeing the boy suspiciously.
“Uh-huh… Did you want a better grade or something? I’m afraid you can’t buy my affection. Well, not unless you managed to get beer, but you’re underaged so I doubt that. I wouldn’t tell if you did though,” she said with a playful wink.
“Not at all! I simply wish to show my appreciation for all of your hard work.” This is going well. They never said I had to ask her out, only buy flowers.
“Aw, thanks Crow.” She took the flowers with a smile that seemed unnatural on her; then she put her arms in a tight lock around his neck. “Alright cut the act, what are you trying to accomplish?”
“N-nothing instructor! I promise!”
“I don’t buy it! Not in a million years from you of all people! Are you trying to get out of something? A better grade? Under my pants? Are you trying to get a date? I got news for you pal, I’m way out of your league!” She practically yelled into his ear. Crow looked to the townspeople for help, but they seemed to go on with their day as if there wasn’t a crazy woman choking a student out. Maybe they had gotten used to her, a scary thought.
“No, I would never! I’d only date people closer to my age anyways!” The moment he said that, he knew he would either live to regret it, or wouldn’t have the chance to.
Sara let go of him, and cleared her throat. “Crow Armbrust, I will give you 30 seconds.”
“Uh… for what?” He replied nervously.
“To run.”
The group watching this exchange couldn’t contain their laughter.