Chapter Text
If she needed to describe her rival with one word it would be carefree and not in a good way.
If that so-called rival needed to describe the other with one word it would be coldhearted in every sense possible.
Last midterm exam: Done
For most students midterms had just finished and depending on how soon teachers corrected all of their students' exams, these students would soon be able to see their grades.
For most of the students their grades signified nothing more than a number which indicated if they were passing, failing or doing average. The global average they had in each class told them where they needed to put more of their efforts. For most. For the few other students their grades signified so much more. They constantly wanted to have the best grades. Some were even focused on winning an award for the highest overall average, in their respective grade of course. And of course, only one person per grade would be able to win the award.
Rivals. That’s what everyone would call them if they knew the truth. A blonde and brunette, complete opposite though it wouldn’t be easy to tell by only looking at their school-
The blonde who went by the name Durandal Kaslana, was a soccer player always preparing for the next match and putting all of her effort on improving in practice, she was carefree, socializing with people and nearly always last minute to class. On the other hand, The brunette who went by the name Rita Rossewiesse, didn’t play a single after school activity they were of no interest to her, most called her coldhearted and mysterious, that was just because she was constantly focused on school, rarely socializing with anyone. These polar opposite girls had two things in common. The first thing was their grades which were impressive to say nonetheless. They both had the same goal of getting the highest overall average. The second thing was that they couldn’t stand each other for so many reasons that it was impossible to list them all.
The brunette was staring at her agenda. Her last midterm had finished a week ago but her agenda was unfortunately far from empty. Now that the midterm exams were done teachers started assigning midterm projects and the brunette had notes for each of them describing what she would be working on and when. She knew she would also have a midterm project in her weakest class and she feared the teacher would announce it today as their last class had been the midterm exam. She looked up when the teacher greeted all of them waiting for them to quiet down. Durandal and Kiana entered class as the teacher laid their hand on the door knob to close the door. They shot a stern look in the direction of the Kaslana sisters who chuckled nervously, one of them apologizing as they directly went to take their seats.
" Good morning class. I hope you are relieved that your midterm exams are finished . I’ve started correcting them but will not be discussing them today. If you all remember correctly in the first class I had spoken of a midterm project. I shall explain that today.”
Rita cursed under her breath. She would need to find time for her weakest class. It should be a relevantly easy class for the one who spoke a dozen languages yet somehow German was a language she struggled with. She could speak it well but writing it and reading, showed to be challenging no matter how many hours she spent studying. She hoped that the project wouldn’t have much writing involved in it and that if somehow she needed to be paired with someone though she knew she would work better alone she hoped that the person also cared deeply about their grades.
The project seemed bizarre at first glance. A cooking project would be the simplest way to define this project. Students would be in teams of two chosen by the teacher as they wanted the teams to be ‘fair’. Most complained that the teams would be more fair if they got to choose them on their own but the teacher wouldn’t back down from their decision, they continued to wait until the class stopped talking before continuing with their explanation. Each team would need to find a recipe that was often cooked in places where the official language was German. They would need to write out a script and present it to the teacher before they started filming the project.
“You may consider me reviewing your script as a gift.” They had explained. Precising that they were going to be evaluating how many mistakes students would make whilst speaking in German. They excluded pronunciation mistakes unless what the student had said was completely incomprehensible. Durandal nearly laughed when the teacher reminded students of the most common mistakes they saw on exams. This project seemed too simple for the one who had been raised speaking German half of the time at home. The simplicity of the project made her excited because it definitely wouldn’t take much time. She had already started thinking about the fact that the teacher wouldn’t even need to review her script because she could ask Cecilia. That was if she even decided to create a script. If she wanted to make her life incredibly simple, she could just write basic sentences explaining each step and then talk to the camera naturally. All this unfortunately depended on Durandal getting paired with a good student. For Durandal, a good student was anyone but Rita. If out of everyone in the class she somehow managed to get paired with Rita the project she was excited for would suddenly become the project she dreaded the most. Unfortunately or maybe in some bizarre way luckily the feeling was mutual.
Kiana watched as her sister scribbled random notes in her notebook, she wasn’t paying attention to what the teacher would say but she would pay attention to her when she elbowed Durandal just hard enough to grasp her attention. Kiana looked between the board and her sister before she whispered in the blonde’s ear bragging about how easy this project was going to be, without falter the teacher noticed the Kaslana sisters once again not paying attention to her class. She narrowed her eyes and cleared her throat trying to grasp their attention as she started pairing everyone in their respective teams.
The whole time the teacher had been presenting the project Rita had been trying to figure out when she would be able to work on the project. All of her other midterm projects were relatively easy for a student like her; they just took time and research. However, this new project would need more time than the others and so many factors played into when she would do what project and why. Usually she liked to take time to write out the project in detail to try and understand all the steps that would lead to her eventually submitting the final project. With this project because she would be paired with someone and would probably already need to start discussing when they could work on it outside of class she mostly stared at her agenda, stared at her schedule trying to figure out the best moments to meet someone. She could hear her own heartbeat as she attentively listened to the teacher, trying to understand all the components of the project, taking notes as she impatiently waited to find out who her partner would be.
“Durandal, you'll be working with Rita. Kiana you’re paired with Bronya.” The tone in the teacher's voice was almost purposely cold.
Out of the corner of her eye Rita saw Durandal reaction to their pairing. She saw Kiana trying her best not to burst into laughter when she glanced at her poor sister, who let her face fall into her open notebook, absolutely discouraged that the one person she didn’t want to work with happened to be the person she would need to work with. Rita could read all of Durandal’s emotions like she was an open book. The brunette also knew that if Durandal did look in her directionist she wouldn’t be able to detect any kind of emotion from her. There was a simple explanation for that. Rita cared little what the soccer player thought of them working together and even if she would try to keep her focus on the white board as the teacher continued to call out every students’ name she couldn’t deny that she was concerned as to how the project would work out. Durandal wasn’t a student who seemed to plan everything out as meticulously as Rita did and whether Rita liked it or not she would need to discuss her plan with her new partner. Though of course, unless Durandal had an important reason as to why Rita’s plan couldn’t work, the perfectionist would care little what the soccer player's opinion was. Not only that but the second the teacher had paired them together Rita had already decided that no matter what she wouldn’t try to be friendly to someone she didn’t like just for a project, they would tolerate each other at best.
“Alright these are all the teams if I didn’t name you raise your hand…Otherwise when everyone works on the project later during the class come see me.”
The teacher's genuine warm smile made Rita wish she disliked them a little less right now. She knew the teacher was not at fault for not knowing the brunette's opinion on Durandal but they could have also chosen any other student for her. Perhaps there was a hidden intention that the perfectionist had yet to understand and if there was one she definitely wanted to know what it was. Even if she technically had a partner she would still go see the teacher after the short lesson to see if by any chance she could change partener, work alone or maybe with a bit of luck she could find out the real reason she was paired up with someone who cared so little about her classes and her grades.
She wouldn’t bother warning Durandal of her intentions, they weren’t going to be partners for much longer anyway. It made sense for Rita to do the project alone; the class was an odd number so there was currently a team of three. One of those students could work with Durandal whilst Rita worked alone, it would make everyone’s lives so much more simple.
However, the teacher didn’t allow her to make a simple sound before they spoke. For a brief moment the perfectionist pondered if maybe the teacher had known all along that Rita would instantly try to ask them to work alone.
“ Rita, you cannot do this project alone. ”
Rita nodded, trying to find a new solution. There was a certain determination in the teacher's voice. Rita wouldn’t be able to convince them to work alone no matter how hard she tried. Yet that didn’t mean she could still try and convince them to let her do the project with someone else. Perhaps she should have stayed at her seat a little longer to figure out the best way to phrase every possibility. ‘Too late now’ She thought, taking a deep breath to steady herself.
“ Hello teacher. May I at least work with someone else… ” She paused thinking the teacher was about to argue against her but after a brief second they changed their mind and gestured to Rita to continue with her reasoning. “ I care deeply about my grades and hope to be at the top of the year. I’m afraid Durandal doesn’t seem as dedicated to her grades as I am. Is there possibly a student who is more dedicated who could be partener for this project? ”
The teacher considered Rita’s request alongside how they would explain their answer carefully for they knew that what they were about to tell Rita, what they needed to tell her would upset most students who cared deeply about their grades but they also knew that it was probably the one thing she also needed to hear.
“Rita I would. However, despite Durandal not having the same work ethic as you, she has much higher grades in the class than you do. I paired you with her in hopes it will help you. You seem to deeply struggle with the class and you have said that you wish to be first of your grade. Durandal may be able to help you get the outstanding grades you are looking for.”
Rita disliked them more than she did when before she had come to talk to them, which didn’t seem possible but the teacher was so brutally honest, there was no hidden intention behind their words. They were trying to be genuinely kind despite the difficult situation. Rita didn’t know how to answer them, opening her lips and then closing them because if Durandal could help with her one precious goal then she should have no reason to not want to work with her. Except she had a list of reasons as to why she didn’t want to work with the soccer player. Durandal was the one person that the perfectionist couldn’t stand and if she got a high grade whilst partnered with Durandal…She didn’t want to imagine how a high grade could also benefit the soccer player.
“ Teacher -”
“Rita.” They instantly switched to English hoping Rita would understand a bit better. “You need help in this class. Your last exam wasn’t the best one, and it counted for quite a bit. Now, I hope your midterm exam will help you but if it doesn’t, you might be at risk of failing the class because these are exams that are worth a lot.”
“Please worry not. I think my midterm exam went well. I expect it to compensate for my other grade. Therefore…”
“No. You are working with Durandal, I’m sorry Rita.”
Rita smiled and nodded slowly, understanding that no matter what she said the teacher would not change their mind on their decision. Rita was destined to work with Durandal.
Kiana kept whispering in Durandal's ear for no reason as she texted away on her phone. They were supposed to be going to meet their partners yet both of them stayed sitting at their desk, neither had the opportunity to go see their partner. Bronya was absent today and Rita had gone straight to the teacher before Durandal even had the opportunity to get out of her chair and try to start up a conversation. Now the blonde was lying her head against her hand bluntly staring at Rita and the teacher when Kiana groaned, throwing her phone back onto her desk and leaning into her chair.
“Consider yourself lucky, that was the third text I received that just said ‘Kiana Idotika’.”
Durandal rolled her eyes. “Bronya’s your friend. I need to deal with her.” She pointed to where Rita was not bothering or wanting to have to say her rival's name. For someone who always seemed to think that time was a precious thing she also seemed to enjoy taking her sweet time talking with the teacher. Minutes passed and everyone had already found their partner meanwhile Durandal stayed in her seat wondering if her partner would ever join her. She silently hoped she wouldn’t. She silently hoped that the perfectionist would manage to convince the teacher that they shouldn’t work together.
“Durandal!” Kiana was snapping her fingers in the blonde’s face in hope of getting her attention.
“Yes? Why isn’t Bronya here by the way?”
“Doctor's appointment.” Counting on her fingers Kiana named out everyone Bronya had warned. “She texted me, Mei, Fu Hua in a group chat and probably Seele.”
“Oh…I hope she’s alright…”
“Of course she is! She’s Bronya!”
Durandal would have shot back a comment had it not been for someone suddenly clearing their throat behind her. The blonde didn’t need to turn around to know who was standing behind her, Kiana’s wide eyes and bright smile told her enough. She didn’t even know when the perfectionist had stopped talking to the teacher and had arrived eavesdropping on their conversation but one thing was for sure that she was definitely behind her now. Slowly Durandal turned her head, smiling awkwardly. They were in class full of students talking but around them it was absolute silence, tense silence, neither dared break it, they stared at each other for a solid minute unamused at the other presence. Kiana kept looking between them, finally deciding to break the silence by jumping out of her chair, practically knocking it over in the process.
“Welp I need to go see what I do without my partner. Have fun!” She cheered with way too much enthusiasm for her sister’s liking.
Durandal didn’t hesitate much after to turn back to her books and grab her backpack which had her laptop. She didn’t make eye contact when she spoke to the girl standing at her side.
“Hello Rossweisse. You can take Kiana’s seat.”
Rita nodded, not saying a word but still doing as she was told. She hated how messy both the Kaslana’s places were but she dealt with it silently. She tried to look on the bright side by being thankful that Kiana’s things weren't too much in the way, all there was an open notebook that was covered in a messy handwriting with drawings covering the margins of the page, there was also a pencil and eraser lying on top. Rita pushed the younger Kaslana’s things to the side and put her own agenda and laptop down. She waited for Durandal to speak again, unsure of where they should start but Durandal didn’t speak either. They sat in that tense silence for a few very long moments until the brunette glanced at Durandal’s laptop quickly noticing that something was odd. Durandal’s laptop wasn't set in english it was set in German. She didn’t know the blonde was fluent in German. It should have been a pleasant surprise, afterall it would probably make the project a lot easier and the brunette would be able to use this new knowledge to her advantage but it wasn’t a pleasant surprise, quite the opposite. It annoyed her more than anything, her blood boiling as she finally understood why neither sister was bothered with the class and beat her despite all, the class was just too easy for them. Finally Rita broke the silence, smiling mischievously.
“What recipe do you think we should cook?”
“I’m looking some up…”
“I thought you might have already found some.”
Rita noticed the small eye roll but it just made her smile more.
“No I haven’t but we should find some.”
“Of course, afterall we can’t do the project without a recipe.”
The blonde was going to roll her eyes again when her phone flashed open. Somehow she was already receiving multiple texts from Kiana. The white hair was complaining about how she didn’t feel like starting the project alone. She was also listing a few reasons as to why Duradnal should consider herself lucky because Bronya was annoying her. She also received messages from her mother in their family group chat. Kiana was already trying to cheat her way out of the project by asking their mother for recipes. ‘At least she sent the messages on the family group chat,’ the blonde chuckled to herself. The soccer player looked through her messages, she felt Rita’s eyes on her and didn’t care, she was working on the project looking through the few recipes her mother suggested off the top of her head but even she didn’t know many because Mei often came over and cooked for them instead.
Mei was basically a part of the family by now, they had known her for years and she lived more at their place than in her own home. Her home was often incredibly lonely since her father constantly needed to work hard to try and rebuild his reputation after it had been destroyed. His company getting destroyed was one of the main reasons the Raiden’s had moved. Mei’s father had hoped people wouldn’t recognize their family name so far away but too many people still knew what happened and no one dared talk to Mei, except Kiana who had even added Mei into their family group chat. Their family group was so chaotic. Someone would text something in German and Mei would instantly send a bunch of question marks. The purple hair knew how to speak German but she had yet to master how to read or write it. Most of the time Mei let the single German message slide but if a conversation continued in German and she saw that they could very well say everything in English she allowed herself a sweet revenge and replied in Japanese so that everyone else would have to use a translating app if they wanted to understand what she said. When Durandal saw the purple hairs name appear on her screen she was sure the message would be in Japanese but for once Mei had answered in English asking what the Kaslana sisters were doing texting in class. The blonde couldn’t help the laugh that escaped her lips, noticing that Mei had been more concerned by the Kaslana sisters texting in class then their own mother. Perhaps Cecilia hadn’t realized they were in class. Actually, mei pointing out that the Kaslana sisters were supposed to be in class was the only reason Cecilia noticed they were in class. Instantly her mother started sending a dozen messages written in both English and German. They were all in capital letters and they all demanded an explanation as to what they were doing texting instead of listening. Durandal couldn’t help herself but laugh again and she felt once more Rita’s stare for a brief moment before she met her stare.
“Hmm Rossweisse?"
Rage quickened Rita’s blood. She couldn’t be bothered to deny that she cared little that Durandal was fluent in German. No, that wasn’t what made her blood rage. The real reason was that it was so clear that the soccer player didn’t care about the class that she preferred spending her time laughing whilst she texted away. It seemed as though the perfectionist would have to carry the project for the both of them so that they could get a good grade. Durandal would supposedly be able to help Rita and was a worthy partner for the brunette. She wasn’t and it was just one of the many things that irritated Rita though she ignored her thoughts and she smiled because she was too polite to express her feelings.
“Kaslana have you found any recipes? I have quite a few I can send you.”
“I have and please send me them so we can see which one is easiest to do.”
“Oh? The recipes are supposed to be easy?”
The brunette couldn’t say she was very surprised that Durandal wanted to cook something easy. If it was easy it took less time and they got the project done faster.
“We have to cook it. If it’s easier there is less room for error.”
Rita couldn’t help her laugh and the teasing smile that appeared on her face.
“Please do not worry about that Kaslana.”
Durandal raised an eyebrow confused. She wanted to ask why Rita sounded so confident but at the same time she didn’t see why she should show any interest especially since there wasn’t much time left because of the teacher's lesson and Rita going ahead and talking for so long with the teacher so instead the blonde decided to change the conversation completely to make sure both of them were on the same page for the project.
“Should we meet outside class hours to get the script ready?”
The bell rang as Durandal finished and Rita started to pick up her things calmly. For a second the soccer player thought that maybe the perfectionist hadn’t heard her with the noise of everyone hurrying to leave and Kiana running over to get her own things so she could leave to go see Mei. The blonde was still sitting, not having packed anything and about to open her mouth when Rita spoke plainly.
“We can contact each other.”
“H- How?”
She practically rolled her eyes at the stupidity of the question yet part of her enjoyed the question and the teasing smile that escaped her calm face. “Oh? School email account we both know each other's names.” She paused, waiting to see Durandal’s reaction. “That is unless you never check your emails…”
Durandal ignored the last comment, trying to keep the cool in her voice when she answered. She finally started to pack her things, stealing back her backpack as her sister had long ago taken it, throwing everything inside without caring if it would cause a huge mess.
“I check my school emails.”
Rita nodded and left without another word. The second the brunette had stepped out of the class, Durandal hit her fist onto her desk cursing before she proceeded to roll her eyes when she saw Kiana curling her lips trying not to laugh at her again.
“She’s insufferable!”
“Give her a chance.” Kiana encouraged instantly.
“What happened to Kiana? You sound like Mei who tells you to be nice to everyone and go easy on them during soccer.”
“Can you blame me? It's been so long since I last saw her.”
It had been less than a day. Mei’s father had taken the weekend off to spend time with her and had Kiana jokingly decide that she would count every second that they were separated. Despite never shying away from also telling Mei that she was glad the purple hair was able to see and spend time with her father. Mei being a sweetheart had invited Kiana over so that the white hair could meet her father again. At first Kiana had been somewhat hesitant despite wanting to meet Mei’s father again. It only took a little bit of encouragement for Kiana to agree. She ended up not coming home until 1 in the morning. The blonde had lost sense of time whilst she had been reading a book and had only managed to notice the time as she heard the car arrive. Curiously she looked out of her window to see Mei walking Kiana to the door before she drove off again.
“Why haven’t you gone to see Mei?”
“Because she said…she’s waiting for us!”
“Us? No, I'm going- KIANA!”
The white hair didn’t let the oldest Kaslana finish her sentence. She had barely given her sister enough time to grab her open packback before she dragged her out of the classroom and outside to the bleachers they usually hung out on. No one was around since it was a small walk to get to though it was considered a part of campus. It made Mei easily spottable when she waved at both of them. Kiana immediately broke into a sprint and dragged Durandal for a few seconds before she let go as it was clear that the blonde wasn’t going to make an effort to run.
“MEI!!” Kiana jumped into her lover's arms who instantly laughed.
“Hi Kiana. Hi Durandal. How did class go?”
“Hi Mei.”
Durandal waved before pointing towards the bleachers gesturing she would let the two of them catch up. She sat down on the bleacher and pulled out her laptop to try and start working on some other project but she couldn’t see anything on her laptop screen with the bright sun reflecting against her screen. So instead she decided to check her bag to make sure that Kiana's little trick from earlier hadn’t caused her to lose anything valuable or important that she would need.
“Bronya is my class partener and Durandal got Rita.” Kiana was in the process of explaining to Mei what happened during class when they came to sit near her.
Durandal narrowed her eyes at the single mention of her name and threw a stern glance in Kiana’s direction warning her.
She had already lost too much time dealing with her and she didn’t want to think about it anymore.
“Rita as in Rita Rossweisse?”
She nodded her head. “Yup. She’s just like the rumors say. She's annoying and always so focused.”
“She probably only likes what the rumors say at school.”
Mei tried to sound supportive and maybe encourage Durandal to give the brunette a chance but it didn’t really help. Durandal sighed discouragingly, she had never been able to understand those who couldn’t find a hobby worth of their time besides studying or focusing on school, it seemed far too boring and trying to get to know Rita out of school seemed like an absolute waste of time. Rita had made her intentions clear the whole time they had talked and when she had tried to leave directly when the bell rang not even bothering to finish their conversation.
Still the soccer player subconsciously tilted her head, wondering for a brief moment of curiosity if Mei might not be correct. Maybe the brunette was different outside of school hours. No, she couldn’t be and beside her bubble of curiosity was already broken. She would never find out and just like the brunette had made clear. They were to work on the project only, the rest didn’t matter.