because today is the very last day.

[ordine]

We'll allow you to be in Class VII under the guise of someone being brought in to be an example for the other students. I'll trust that you'll watch over those children and, at the same time, look for signs of Rean Schwarzer being one of the key members of the Imperial Liberation Front.

"Man, they're always giving me the hard jobs. Slave drivers, all of 'em!"

But, that didn't matter now. Rean was here at the academy, sleeping among the members of Class VII, keeping to himself and looking for Crow at every opportunity. It wasn't like Crow hadn't seen him around once or twice, having caught a glimpse of him when Rean was running around delivering student notebooks with all the enthusiasm as a workaholic, but...

(The rot has already begun to settle. He can feel it somewhere deep inside of him, scalding hot and dark as it coils around his heart. His inner beast sings for its kin, for Rean, and it's slightly frustrating how empty he realizes that he was without him.)

He was treading some very fine ground. Both Sara and the Principal believed him when he said he had nothing to do with them anymore other than the occasional check-in to make sure everyone was alive, but with Rean here it was like everything was either going to get really intense or really catastrophic. Or maybe it'll be both? I really hope I'm worrying for nothing.

The door to the classroom swung open with a simple push and he breathed in real deep, mustering up a fearless smile as he walked inside and settled in front of the class between the students and Instructor Sara, all the mirth in the world in his eyes even as they scanned the starstruck faces of his new classmates searching for the one he was looking for.

"So, a little birdie told me you all needed a good role model for the next two years and I was gracious enough to accept. Starting today, I'll be a member of Class VII with all you fine folks-- hope you guys don't mind. It's gonna be pretty sweet! ♪"

Comments

[rean]

Rean was at the back, at the very last row. He'd picked the seat nearest to the window -- admittedly, because an old friend joked that if he had to go undercover somewhere, the best spot was always the spot nearest to the easiest exit -- and was slumped on the desk pretending to be asleep when he heard that very familiar voice.

Crow. It had been several years by now since Crow had left the ILF with Ordine and pretty much disappeared from their collective radars. Crow had been the best agent there was in their group and he'd used it to successfully evade them. Evade him; though, he was certain that wasn't much of a feat in itself. Despite the time lag, Rean could recognize that voice -- the tinge of playfulness Crow infused his speech with, when he was trying to be friendly -- anywhere.

He stamped out the burning urge - almost literally, with the mark on his chest flaring up ever so slightly- to just shoot up from his chair and quickly make sure it was Crow introducing himself in front of the class. His cover was that of something of a lazy and eternally sleepy student so Rean had to, somehow, pretend not to be particularly interested.

He made a show of stirring before slowly lifting his head up from his desk to 'sleepily' study their new arrival.

He froze when their eyes met. Crow easily stripped him of whatever pretense he'd set up. He wasn't hiding who he was, not from Crow at least, but that small bit of confidence he'd gained from pretending to be an unlikely addition to Class 7 with his near-narcoleptic tendency to sleep anywhere, and barely-passing marks that Class 7 had accepted so easily.... well, it made Rean feel like his lies were paper thin and that he had to try harder, especially now that Crow had decided to appear here, right before him.

CROW YOU SUCK

[rean]

A little birdie told Rean something. Something important. Something, that concerned him and he would've liked to hear about from Crow himself, not some other person.

"Crow!" And so here Rean was, throwing the door to Crow's room wide open, marching in with a purpose...

"We need to talk."