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“You wanna know who it is, don’t you?” said Musse, with a mischievous grin.
Sitting in the cafeteria eating her lunch, Juna was hesitant to entertain whatever line of questioning Musse was pursuing. Cautiously, she answered, “Just what are you going on about this time?”
“You know…” Musse’s eyes lit up as she revealed what this was all about, “Our dear instructor’s sweetheart, that’s who!”
Nearly choking, Juna spluttered, “H-his what? You mean he has one?”
With an overly animated downhearted expression, she nodded, “He does indeed, and yet even after meeting all of his former classmates—not one of them revealed herself to be his lover.” Brightening instantly, she gushed, “And yet each one shared such a passionate reunion with him when they met! Oh, I’m just dying to find out who it could be. Is it Alisa, the radiant beauty? Could it be Emma, the studious mystic? Laura, the stalwart knight? Fie, the agile bracer? Or maybe… he had a forbidden teacher-student romance with the easygoing Instructor Sara!”
Feeling overwhelmed by the verbal onslaught, Juna sat back and gave Musse a hard stare, “And just what makes you so sure he’s even dating one of them in the first place?”
Musse’s lips curled up again into an unnervingly wicked smile, “Oh, it was just this morning as I was leaving the dorms. He made a call on his ARCUS telling her where to meet up and then headed straight for the station to take the train to Heimdallr!”
Juna scoffed, “So? He meets with old classmates on his free days all the time. It doesn’t mean he’s going out on a date or anything!”
With a smirk, she let out a low giggle, “And just which of his old friends do you think he has the nickname ‘my sweet kitten’ reserved for?”
Dumbstruck, Juna’s jaw dropped. After a few moments to gather her thoughts, she whispered, “Instructor Rean… Said that?”
Musse nodded vigorously, and the implications began to sink in.
So he really is dating one of them, and using weird pet names too… Oh, this is just too much to picture with my own instructor! Rrrgh I know he’s got his own private life and all, but now I just really gotta know which one of them he’s seeing!
Thinking back to how Musse first approached her, Juna spoke, “Let me guess, you were planning to spy on him, weren’t you?”
Musse beamed, “Of course! How else could I possibly find out which young beauty he has his sights set on? I absolutely must know who my top competition is for his affection!”
Exasperated, Juna groaned, “Right, of course that’s why you’re so interested.” Suddenly, she remembered, “Wait, won’t he know we’re following him though? He has that whole Eight Leaves One Blade training and whatnot where he can sense us if we’re even remotely close. There’s no way we’d be able to get a good view of who he’s with!”
Leaning closer, Musse grinned, “Not if we have a secret weapon on our side to keep us hidden. Buuut I thought I might have a better chance of getting her help with you on board.”
Juna’s eyes widened, “Wait, you don’t mean? No way! Allie would never agree to that!”
"Absolutely not." Altina said flatly.
Juna and Musse sat across from Altina in the common area of the dorms, after having sought her out for her assistance. Musse pleaded, “Aww, come on! This is our best opportunity! With your stealth field I just know that there’s no way he’d be able to detect us!”
Looking at Musse, Altina stated, “First of all, I can’t guarantee its effectiveness against his senses when trying to hide multiple people at once, especially if we need to relocate while remaining hidden.” Turning her gaze to Juna, she continued, “Secondly, this idea is simply childish. I’m honestly surprised that you actually managed to get Juna to agree to such a silly plan.”
With an embarrassed look downwards, Juna mumbled, “Well, I mean… It *is* something that’s been on my mind for a while now.” Raising her head, she asked, “Aren’t you even a little bit curious? You know more about all of his classmates than we do, yet you’ve never indicated at him being romantically involved with any of them.”
Altina dismissed Juna with a shake of her head, “I couldn’t care less who he’s seeing, and even if that information had been reported back to the Intelligence Division, it would likely be no more than a footnote on his file.”
Musse’s face seemed to turn sinister once again as she smirked, “And what if his special someone was, I dunno… someone like Millium, perhaps?”
Juna felt a bit taken aback at this suggestion, but neither of the other two girls seemed to pay much attention. Millium, really? I find that pretty unlikely, but then again…
This caused Altina to pause, just for a moment, before she regained her composure and said, “Any potential relationship between Instructor Rean and my ‘sister’ is their business and not mine. And besides, Millium would never be able to keep quiet about something like that.”
Despite her insistence otherwise, it would seem as if Musse’s words had sparked a bit of curiosity in Altina—whose hands were now fumbling with her skirt slightly as she tried to maintain her disinterested stance.
Pressing her advantage, Musse appealed, “What if there was something else I could offer for your assistance? I could always ‘sweeten’ the deal if you’d like.”
“Musse, if you’re attempting to bribe me—”
Musse cut in, “How does a trip to Recette afterwards sound? All the pancakes you want; it’ll be my treat!”
Altina looked away shyly, and muttered, “Well, I—” It seemed as though she could no longer pretend to be indifferent to the topic at hand. With a look of resignation, she conceded, “Well, I suppose if Juna’s going too, I can join you. But there’s a cafe in Heimdallr I wish to try as well. We simply cannot make a visit without trying their shortcake.”
Musse clapped her hands together, “Then it’s settled! The three of us will take the next train to Heimdallr and find out who Instructor Rean’s girlfriend really is!”
“Not so fast, Egret!” A voice called out from the dining room. Standing in the doorway were Ash and Kurt.
Juna and Altina both nearly jumped out of their seats upon hearing Ash’s voice. Musse, however, simply turned towards him and smiled innocently, “Oh, Ash and Kurt, did you two hear all that?”
Kurt nodded, “I’m afraid so, Musse. I’ve gotta say—this is a pretty bold plan, even for you.”
Ash snickered, “I hope you weren’t thinking you could take off and leave the rest of Class VII in the dark.”
With a smile, Musse responded, “Why, Ash, I would never wish to leave you out! You’re coming as well, Kurt?”
Having recovered from their sudden entrance, Juna blurted, “H-hold on! Ash, I can kind of understand—anything for a chance to get a little dirt on Instructor Rean. But Kurt? What’s your angle here?”
With a bit of an embarrassed look, Kurt replied, “It’s true that I’m not much for gossip, but I can’t deny at least having *some* curiosity about his relationship with the old Class VII members. Not to mention this could prove to be good practice for covertly gathering intelligence, and if everyone else is going then I’d hate to be left out.”
Musse beamed, “Perfect! It’ll be just like one of our Special Ops missions! Our target this time is Instructor Rean!”
Turning to Altina, Juna asked, “You think you can handle bringing all of us?”
Meeting her gaze, Altina stated, “It will be more difficult, but as long as we stick close together I should be able to hide everyone’s presence.”
With a nod, Juna announced, “Alright, then let’s head for Leeves Station!”
“Claiomh Solais!” Altina called, covering herself and the other four students in a field that would keep them hidden while in their hiding spot. She nodded, “There, that should keep us concealed as long as we’re here.”
Looking around, Juna asked, “You’re definitely sure this is the right place, Musse? I haven't seen him yet, and we can’t afford to just look around the city if they went somewhere else.”
They were on a rooftop on Vainqueur Street, on the opposite end overlooking Le Sage Boutique. Juna eyed the place, gathering that it must be a clothing store. Wonder why they’d specifically meet here, first. Maybe there was something they wanted that nowhere else had in stock?
Looking through a pair of binoculars, Musse whispered, “He had a solid head start over us, but hopefully they’re still inside.”
Ash groaned, “Ugh, waiting around when we don’t even know for sure if he’s in there is gonna be such a pain. I say we give it another ten minutes or so before we cut our losses and call this whole thing a waste of time.”
Kurt agreed, “As exciting as this idea sounded at first, I’m afraid we never had a whole lot of information to go off of in the first place. If they’ve already left, they could be anywhere in the city by now.”
“There!” Musse stifled a giddy shout, “I recognize his jacket in there, through the window! He’s definitely there.” Glumly, she added, “I can’t see if he’s with anyone, though. But he’ll come out eventually, so for now we’ll just continue to wait!”
Musse handed the binoculars over to Juna, who turned around and beamed, “Alright! Now it’s only a matter of time until our mystery woman is revealed!”
Rean stood by the window, feigning interest in a few of the items on display. He could hardly contain his excitement as his girlfriend was in the changing room, trying on something she’d found to see if it matched with what he’d bought for her.
She chose not to model for him yet so she could surprise him with it later, but the images flashed through his mind in anticipation for when he’d get to see her wearing what she’d picked out later that day.
“Sup, Rean? Ready to head out?”
He heard Fie’s voice from behind him. Turning around, she was dressed in her usual bracer attire and had a paper bag around her arm. Even though he’d seen her a few times this year already, it still stunned him just how beautiful and mature she’d become over the last two years. He had to appreciate these rare opportunities to meet with her now, especially without the eyes of his students watching his every move.
“Just about.” He said, “I take it everything fits just fine?”
With a pat on the bag, she grinned, “I think you’ll be pretty pleased.”
Shyly, he smiled back, “I feel certain you’ll look great in anything you’ve picked out.”
With a slight blush, she said, “Alright, that’s enough flattery out of you.” She approached him and raised herself on her toes as he crouched slightly to meet her face for a brief kiss.
“I’m guessing that it’s no coincidence that we met here, is it?” She asked with a hint of nostalgia written on her face.
Rean nodded, “You’re right. It was some adventure we had back when we came here to pick up the uniforms for the talent show.” His expression turned somber as he added, “Just another memory we have to thank Crow for.”
His mind was filled with thoughts of a special evening he’d shared with Fie back when the two of them were both students. They’d been sent to Heimdallr to retrieve the outfits they were going to wear for the upcoming concert their class had planned for the talent show, only Crow had purposefully withheld the fact that the time to pick them up had been delayed by a few hours—leaving a couple of horny teenagers in a big city with a lot of time to themselves. A fond memory, to be sure, but thoughts of Crow left a bittersweet taste for Rean ever since the Civil War. And with the recent appearance of Azure Siegfried, who shared both his appearance and voice, Rean was even more unsure of what to feel when thinking about Crow.
She squeezed his hand, “I know he’s been weighing on your mind a lot lately, just as the boss has been on mine. And honestly? I don’t know what to make of their supposed returns either.”
Rean looked her in the eyes, “Fie, I’m sorry. It was careless of me to bring him up. I’m sure it’s been even harder on you to have both a friend and your father who you’ve already mourned appear again under these circumstances. I can’t imagine what you’re going through right now.”
Fie spoke softly, “It’s okay, Rean. It’s been a lot to process, but I’ll be fine—especially with you by my side. No matter what happens, nothing will change the memories I have of them.” She grinned, “Especially not this one that Crow gave us.”
With a brighter expression, Rean suggested, “Well, if we’re already strolling down memory lane, you feel like hitting up the ice cream stand again?”
Fie nodded, “Sounds like a plan.”
Juna exclaimed, “He’s leaving the store! Quick, come look!”
Her classmates huddled up close and all watched as their instructor left Le Sage Boutique. Following behind him was—
“FIE?!” They all gasped in unison.
“Well, color me surprised.” Kurt mused, “I’ve gotta admit, she wasn’t exactly my top prediction.”
Altina added, “I have to agree. Truth be told I was expecting it to be Alisa, or maybe Laura.” Though she spoke calmly, there was a slight look of relief on her face.
Musse grinned, “Well, well, Instructor? So that’s your type, is it?”
Ash couldn’t contain his laughter, “No way! Schwarzer went for THAT hot piece of jailbait? Oh, this is just too good!”
With a frown, Altina turned towards him, “That is a very strange way of referring to someone who is almost certainly several months older than you.”
Juna, having processed what she had seen, offered hesitantly, “Well, he does have a bit of a point though, right? Like, doesn’t it feel a little weird to know that our instructor is dating someone around the same age as us?”
Musse beamed, “Oh, it just fills me with even more determination to win his heart now that I know for sure that I’m not too young for him!”
Musse’s comment deflated some of the tension as everyone else let out a sigh. Juna groaned, “Of course THAT would be your takeaway, Musse.”
Turning towards Juna, Kurt spoke more seriously, “Well, I think that in a case like this, the difference in our positions plays a bigger role than our age—especially given how young Instructor Rean still is himself. We’re his students while she was a classmate, making her his peer. No doubt he sees us very differently because of that.” With a thoughtful expression, he added, “Kind of like how you look up to Tio as a member of the SSS, rather than the way you would a classmate, despite her being a year younger than you.”
Juna considered, “Well, I guess when you put it that way, I can kind of understand? Two years or so isn’t that much of a gap, after all.” And they were in the same class, huh? I suppose it’d be kind of like if I were to date All— Her thoughts came to a halt as she glanced over at Altina. She felt a slight blush on her face. Oh no, Juna. We are NOT going there right now.
Altina noticed Juna’s stare and turned towards her, frowning, “Juna, you have a most peculiar expression right now. Is there something else you wish to share?”
Her hands went up defensively as she sputtered, “N-nope! I think we’re good to drop that topic now.” Eager to change the subject, she pointed, “Look! They’re on the move!”
The group watched as Rean and Fie approached a nearby ice cream stand. The two of them each picked out a flavor and sat down on a nearby bench to lick their cones.
Looking through her binoculars, Musse giggled, “You know, seeing them out on a date like this makes me realize that they are actually kind of cute together.” Eyeing up Fie a little more—taking note of her exposed midriff and short skirt—she added with a grin, “I wonder if I should start wearing clothes like hers more often. I bet that’d get Instructor Rean’s attention.”
Juna said with an exasperated sigh, “Musse, if I see you walking around Leeves dressed like that, I’ll drag you back to the dorms myself to make sure you put on something more covering.”
“Aw, you’re no fun.” She pouted, as she resumed her watch of the couple. After a moment, she let out a gasp, “Oh, my! She’s not afraid to get a little naughty in public, is she?”
“W-WHAT?” exclaimed Juna, as they all watched Fie lean over to lick some ice cream off of Rean’s face.
Ash broke in, “Yo, Egret. Let me get a closer look.” And without waiting for her to respond, he reached for the binoculars. Having caught Musse off guard, the binoculars slipped from her hands and fell to the ground. Ash blurted out “Shit!” once he realized what had happened.
They all went silent, not daring to move a muscle. Though the stealth field was still active, they couldn’t be sure if Rean had noticed them or not. All they could do was hope that the hustle and bustle of the city drowned out any noise that the small device would have made when it crashed to the ground. And with all the traffic between their side of the street and his, they knew it was unlikely that someone would notice anything that small through all of that. But they dared not underestimate their instructor’s keen awareness.
After a few moments of silence passed, Altina whispered, “I detect no changes in his behavior, it would seem that he hasn’t noticed our presence.”
Kurt let out a sigh of relief, “That was too close for my liking. I’m not sure we can afford to take any more risks after that.”
Juna nodded in agreement, “Yeah, and we got the answer we came for, after all. Maybe we should just wait until they leave, and then I think we’ll be in the clear.”
After shooting an angry look at Ash, Musse shrugged, “Well, I guess I’ll just have to make do with this view for now. Hopefully I can still catch something juicy.”
Ash rubbed the back of his head nervously, “My bad, Egret. I’ll make it up to you later, all right?”
Rean continued eating his ice cream and making small talk with Fie, only occasionally glancing around the surrounding street.
“It’s happening again, huh?” Fie asked, detecting a slight shift in his posture.
Rean sighed, “I’m afraid so. I guess this really is just like last time. Except that now, it’s my students.”
Something else that Crow was responsible for during their previous Heimdallr escapade was deciding to bring four other students from their class to spy on Rean and Fie while they hung out. The two of them were of course aware that they were being followed, and eventually decided to wait out their onlookers by going into a pub where they couldn’t be easily seen from a distance.
Rean continued, “And, credit where it’s due, they’re doing a much better job of hiding than our classmates did. I take it that they have Altina’s stealth field to thank for that.” Stroking his chin, he pondered, “Ash or Musse must have put her up to it, although I’m leaning towards it having been the latter of those two.”
Continuing to eat her ice cream nonchalantly, Fie remarked, “Sounds like they’re a real handful.”
With a sense of pride, Rean responded, “They can be, but they’re good kids. And seeing them each come into their own this year has easily been the highlight of my time at the Branch Campus. In a way, I’m almost kind of glad to see they’re getting along well enough to go on a little adventure of their own like this.” With a sigh, he added, “Though I guess this means the cat’s out of the bag with us, now. Not that I *really* needed to hide it or anything, but it is a little embarrassing to have them keeping tabs on my personal affairs like this.”
Fie grinned and said in a playful tone, “And after all that restraint I had to show in front of them in Sutherland.”
With a slight blush, he spoke, “Believe me, that restraint was very much appreciated. It would’ve been very unprofessional and inappropriate for me to have done even half of what I wanted to do when I saw you again while they were watching.”
Leaning in close to him, Fie whispered, “Then you’ll just have to make it up to me later, alright?”
With a nod, Rean said, “Oh, I will. But for now, we should probably act under the assumption that they’re watching our every move. And unlike you, I have to teach them history tomorrow.”
“Fair enough.” Acknowledged Fie, who leaned back and began to finish off the remains of her ice cream cone, before asking, “Well then, what’s the plan? Should we try to ditch them by going somewhere indoors again?”
Rean answered with a slight shake of his head, “That’d get us out of sight at least, but we’d be taking a gamble on how long their patience will last. Last time, we could tell as soon as we left the pub that our classmates weren’t following us anymore, but this time we won’t have that certainty. I think our best chance for now is just to wait here. That way I’ll be able to detect when they make a move.”
Stretching her arms over her head, Fie announced, “Works for me. Commencing Operation: Bore the Crap out of Rean’s Students.”
Turning his head, Rean suggested, “Well, if you want to take a nap, feel free to use my lap again. It’s been a while since we did that.”
With a smile, she shook her head, “As pleasant as that sounds, I think I’ll pass. I get plenty of time to sleep these days, but not nearly enough to spend with you. So I’m game to keep talking as long as you are.”
Rean smiled, “I’d be glad to.”
Juna watched as Rean and Fie both finished their ice cream and continued to sit on the bench together, chatting and watching the people and cars passing by. They showed no signs of leaving. Kurt and Altina had lost interest in watching the two of them, and had started playing a game of Vantage Masters. Ash and Musse, however, remained just as transfixed on the couple—paying close attention to how they interacted with one another.
Growing impatient, Ash growled, “Oh, come on, Schwarzer. Are you really just gonna sit there all day? You can’t just go out with a babe like THAT and act this boring!”
Juna teased, “Maybe he could learn a thing or two about exciting dates from your cozy reading sessions with Tatiana.”
Flustered, Ash answered, “W-what? Oh, for crying out loud, it’s not like that!”
Musse sighed, “And I can just imagine all the things they could do and places they could see on a day like this. I wonder if they have some reason to be taking things slow right now…”
Glancing back at Kurt and Altina, Juna suggested, “Maybe we should just leave them be. I’m sure they have a lot of catching up to do, and I don’t think we’re going to learn anything else from this vantage point.”
Ash nodded, “Yeah, let’s bounce. I got no more interest in watching a vanilla ass date like this.”
“Kurt, Allie, you ready to go?” Juna asked.
Kurt gathered up his cards and said, “Ready when you are.”
The group snuck down the back of the building and into an alley, where Altina released the stealth field.
“We should be far enough away now that our presence won’t be distinguishable.” She stated.
With a smile, Musse announced, “Well, I’d say that this mission was a success!”
Kurt agreed, “It certainly proved to be a fun trip, at least. And now we know for sure who he’s with.”
Looking around, Juna asked, “So, what should we do now? We did come all the way out to Heimdallr, after all.”
Altina demanded, “Shortcake first. I will lead us to the cafe.” and began to walk out of the alley.
Ash shrugged, “Eh, not really my scene. But I won’t say no.” and followed.
No one else had any objections, so the rest of the group followed Altina as well.
I suppose it’s as good a place to start as any. Juna thought to herself as they all left the alley. It’ll be nice getting to explore somewhere with all of them for once without having several missions to take care of.
Rean reached for Fie’s hand and squeezed it. “Looks like they’re gone. I doubt we’ll have to worry about them for the rest of the day.”
She responded, “That’s a relief.” Then turned to him and continued with a smirk, “I wasn’t sure how much longer I could wait to get you alone.”
Standing up, Rean held out his hand and proposed, “Same hotel as last time work for you?”
Taking his hand, she stood up and nodded, “That’s fine by me.”
The two of them walked towards the Ost District, where the cheap hourly hotel they’d spent much of their evening together in last time was located. On the way there, Rean found himself occasionally trying to get a look at what was in the bag from Le Sage Boutique that Fie was carrying.
Noticing this, Fie grinned at him, “You wanna sneak peek?”
With a resigned shrug, Rean replied, “No, I think I’d rather be surprised. You always did have an eye for clothing that accentuates your best features.”
Teasing him about the gift he’d gotten her, she said in a low voice, “So, cat ears, huh?”
Blushing, Rean explained, “O-oh, I just thought they’d suit you, is all.”
Fie reassured him with a giggle, “Don’t worry. I’ve heard of way stranger kinks than that.” She blushed as well and then purred, “Your sweet kitten is looking forward to playing with you.”
Being reminded of what he’d called her over his ARCUS, he found himself really hoping that his students hadn’t overheard that part of his conversation. And yet they knew to follow me here… I’m never gonna hear the end of this, am I?
The two kissed and continued towards the hotel where they would spend the next few hours together, for the first time in what had felt like so long. Marveling once again at how beautiful Fie looked, Rean let all of the worries that had been plaguing his mind for far too long drift away for the moment. No matter how much has changed since we were students, I’m just glad that we can still enjoy little moments like this together. That’s one thing I hope never changes.