chapter three: friends
"Yew, would you be so kind as to deliver these books to your class?" Mr. Ringabel, or just Ringabel hands Yew a large stack of freshly ordered textbooks, smiling. Yew nods, struggling to lift the heavy books in his arms. Ringabel tuts playfully, "They are a little heavy, so I'd think a strong kid like you would be capable of a task." He winks as he retreats into the librarian's office. Yew lets out a sigh, turns and makes his way out towards the door. His arms grow tired, so he sets the books down on a nearby table.
"At least I can actually read through this," Yew says to himself as he reaches for a new trigonometry book, flipping it open. The pages are pristine and perfect, zero errors (so far). Yew smiles and flips the page, analysing the text that talks about finding a certain degree in specific angles and shapes. Trigonometry is such a unique topic, it teaches you about things you didn't realise you'd need in life. At least, that's what Yew thinks as he turns to the next page.
As he turns the page, a small letter slips out of the book and drops to the table. Yew blinks, sets the book down slowly and grabs for the letter. There's no return address, and it's stamped with the symbol of the Cavaliers, a group of protectors who keep vestals of the crystals safe. Yew tilts his head to the side, curious now. He knows he shouldn't open a random letter, but to find it in his own book? That's pretty questionable. He shrugs it off and opens the letter carefully as to not damage the seal or the envelope.
The letter is illegible, chicken scratch even, and the only words Yew can make out are "Nikolai", "crystals", "deny", and "vendetta". Yew slowly sets the letter down, wide eyed. He has never heard of the name Balestra, but he knows of a Nikolai, who doesn't live on campus but in the town nearby. He's a friendly older man, owns a bookstore that Yew often frequents even after Al-Khampis started printing their own books. They'd cut business with Nikolai, unfortunately, and Yew starts to wonder how he and his business are operating without his deal with the campus.
But the three other words — especially the word "deny", strike Yew as very odd... questionable.
The door to the library swings open and Yew whips his head around, spotting Janne walking in with his small bag over his shoulder. He glances over, meeting Yew's eyes. "Oh, there you are." Yew quickly slides the letter and the envelope into his satchel, his hands shaking and fiddling with the button of his bag. Janne makes his way over and sits across the table, setting his bag down. "I tried looking for you in your class and the clubroom, but I should've checked here first." Janne smiles playfully.
Yew laughs along nervously, brushing his hair away from his eyes as he takes his reading glasses off. "You're in a good mood," he points out with a friendly smile. "Did something happen?"
"You did," Janne admits, blushing faintly. "I passed my exam."
"That's great, Janne!"
"There's more," Janne reaches into his bag and hands Yew a flyer. "I've been accepted into a fencing tournament in Ancheim, this Friday." Yew's smile begins to slowly change fake. Janne continues, "I'm gonna kick some ass, Yew! Just like I promised, I'm using my sword for you!" Yew had never seen Janne so... enthusiastic, so giddy and his smile is much prettier than it has ever been. Normally it's just a wry smirk or a smug grin, but Janne's smile is... it's perfect. It makes Yew's heart drum rapidly in his chest.
"That's... that's cool, Janne!" Yew nods slowly, handing Janne the flyer back. "I'm proud of you."
"Are you gonna come watch?" Janne's eyes seem to sparkle in delight. "You're my... you're my only friend I've got here, Yew, and I'll impress you. I'll make you see what I've been talking about all this time." Janne leans closer to Yew. "And hey, you can always invite Edea. She seems to like you a lot too." He laughs quietly and gives Yew a gentle, playful shove.
Yew's face heats up, pouting. "I'm not interested in her, Janne. What gave you that impression?"
"I saw you guys talking at the bar," Janne points out. "I'm not dumb."
"Well, what if I told you I'm not all that interested in her?" Yew states matter-of-factly. Then he blushes, shying away as he glances into a random direction. "I mean... in that way. Romantically. I'm actually, um... you know, I don't have time for girls."
"But you'll make time for boys?" Janne teases. "Yew, listen. Remember what you told me the other night? About uh... my gender and shit?"
Yew nods. Janne continues. "I don't care if you like guys, girls, or nobody — you're my friend. And as my friend, I expect you to come and watch my tournament this Friday." He pats Yew's shoulder, the boy's heart rate increasing at Janne's touch. There he goes again, about his fencing contest. Yew nods slowly, but internally he just wants to seclude himself back in his dorm and curl up with his new textbook.
"I'll be there, Janne. Just for you." Yew begins to regret opening his mouth.
═════ ◈ ═════
It's nearing Friday, and Yew can barely pay attention in his class. He loves the lesson, he's good with the professor and the new textbooks are making this class better to understand. It's just... he can't focus. His mind races from one direction to the next, and it's all a big jumbled mess of "what if" questions; what if Janne is going to hurt someone at the tournament? What if Janne is using Yew for something? What if Janne—
"Yew. YEW!" The professor shouts, her voice shrill, worse than nails on a chalkboard. Yew whips his head up, blushing. "Did you listen to a word I said?" the professor demands, tapping her foot. Some of the students turn their heads, some smirking, others glaring. Yew hates having so many eyes on him, when it should be just Janne having his eyes on him... No, no! Not right now!
"I'm sorry, madam," Yew apologises, hanging his head low. "I was lost in my thoughts."
"Well, those thoughts are not as important as the exam this Friday," the professor scolds. "Pop quiz for everyone!" The students in the class save for Yew groan, some muttering a 'thanks a lot, nerd!' and 'teacher's pet' before opening their textbooks. Yew sighs, frowning and shaking his head. The teacher passes out some papers, and as Yew is handed his, he reads over the questions and furrows his eyebrows.
"Madam? This isn't something we've learned yet," Yew points out. The teacher ignores him and continues passing out work. Yew shouldn't even be here right now. Sure, he enjoys class but not when the teacher humiliates him, the class wants him dead and Janne won't leave his thoughts alone.
Instead of doing the paper as told, Yew opens his diary and flips to a spare page. He sighs, picks up his pencil and begins to create a messy sketch. Once he cleans the sketch up, he works on drawing some long pretty hair, cute eyes, a warm smile and... Yew sets his pencil down. Crystals, he's infatuated. Yew made a promise he wants to break, but he can't. He doesn't have the heart to let Janne down. Someone like Janne who's gone through so much misfortune, it's led him down a dark path of depression. Janne does a pretty good job hiding his true feelings, even when he smiled at Yew the other day.
His smile... it makes Yew's heart flutter.
He shakes his head quickly, closing his diary. He can't think of Janne right now. Not when there's a quiz of all things. Yew picks his pencil up again, struggling to focus. Sure, he's learned a ton of things about maths and angles and whatnot, but this is something out of his territory of knowledge. It's something related to calculus, something Yew has heard of but has never learned in class.
He decides to wing it.
Twenty minutes pass and the bell rings. The teacher walks around, gathering everybody's papers except for Yew, who's still focused on the third problem. The professor walks around Yew's desk, tapping him harshly on the shoulder. "The bell. Out of my classroom," she orders. Yew jumps slightly, nods, grabs his things and heads out the door and to the courtyard.
It's hot outside, and Yew regrets wearing his sweater. The wind is still so it makes the air more stuffy and uncomfortable. Yew can't wait until he's back in the cool library, even if it's the result of his punishment for taking the blame earlier. He has to admit, at the time he felt brave, a little powerful, as if triumphing over the principal for the sake of his friend. Yew is by no means a leader, but for once, he was glad he stepped in. And he hopes to try and keep it up.
The library is once again deserted save for Ringabel, who's surprisingly accompanied by Edea. "Hey, Edea," Yew calls as he walks over to the reception desk, Ringabel focused more on writing something in a notebook than he is the other student. Edea glances up from her own work, smiles.
"Hey, Yew!"
This grabs Ringabel's attention, the older male smiling. "Well, you've become a frequent visitor," he remarks playfully. "Are you here about your textbooks? Or did you miss me?"
Yew blushes, rolls his eyes. Edea glares at the other male, pouting. The silence is broken as Yew finally says something else. "Well, actually, I wanted to ask you both a question." He reaches into his bag, taking out a flyer — the same flyer Janne had given to Yew yesterday. "My friend Janne is entering a fencing tournament, and he needs a little bit of support. Mr. Ringabel, I think you know who Janne is, right?"
Ringabel shakes his head. "Nope."
Edea raises an eyebrow. "How could you not know the name of your own student?"
"This is a very large campus," Ringabel says cooly. "There's only so many names I can remember, and so many pretty faces." He winks to Edea, who sticks her tongue out in disgust.
Yew chuckles awkwardly. "Well, that aside... would you consider joining us? It's this Friday in Ancheim." He slides the flyer across the desk. "We could really use you guys. Especially you, Edea. You're a friend of Janne's right?"
"Don't push it," Edea mumbles. "But we're sort of acquainted. Before I quit my job at that gross ass tavern, Janne would talk to me a lot as if I were his sister." Yew frowns slightly. He begins to recall how she'd mentioned Janne venting to her about his parents, losing his home. Janne is a very private person, it seems like, but given that he's a little bit of a lightweight (despite his heavy denial) Janne would even share his most private secrets in such a drunken stupor with the devil.
"Well, I think you'd make a good sister figure for us," Yew smiles. "Besides, I can tell you and Mr. Ringabel here are getting along as well."
Edea realises her hand is being held by Ringabel's, scoffs and snatches her hand away, stepping hard on Ringabel's foot. "Hands off me!"
Yew laughs as Ringabel yelps in pain. He knows he shouldn't laugh at the teacher but they're close in age, and it's not like Ringabel takes his job seriously either. Honestly, Yew wishes he could be more like Ringabel — easygoing, relaxed, outgoing. Or maybe he'd rather be like Edea, who takes no crap from anyone. Not even a charming guy like Ringabel.
"Mrgrgr," Edea grumbles, pouting. "Anyways, I'll tag along. You said the tournament's in Ancheim, correct? That's like the closest city to here."
"I suppose I shall come along too," Ringabel chimes in. "If milady isn't opposed, that is."
"I'll split you in half if you call me that again, Ring-a-ding!"
"Guys, guys," Yew laughs again, this time a little awkwardly. "Both of you are invited. Can we maybe try not to file for divorce in the library?"
"Divorce?!" Edea sputters. "I've only known this guy for thirty minutes and he's insufferable!"
Yew rolls his eyes playfully. "I'll go tell Janne that you guys are coming along, and then we can make plans to meet on Friday. How does that sound?"
"As long as you keep me 20ft away from this guy," Edea grumbles, pointing to Ringabel.
"Well, you two please try to play nice. And then we'll meet up on Friday!"
═════ ◈ ═════
"Edea and... who?"
Janne rolls his set of dice, hardly paying attention to the numbers. Yew picks up his diary and writes a few notes down, before setting it to the side and moving his minifigure around the board.
"Oh, her new boyfriend Mr. Ringabel will also make an appearance," Yew grins as he picks up his dice and rolls the set onto the table. He and Janne are playing a tabletop game — as a matter of fact, it's the same one Yew had taught Janne on the first day they met. "She seems to like him quite a bit."
"Right, that was fast." Janne scribbles a few numbers down on his character sheet, until he stops for a moment. Yew chuckles and nods in agreement. Janne's expression shifts suddenly from a relaxed smile to a look of shyness. "Hey, um... Yew?"
"What is it?"
Janne slides the paper over. "I can't read this word." He points to a certain word on the page.
Yew adjusts his reading glasses and takes the paper, setting it down a few moments later. "Authority," Yew reads out loud. "It says you need to add a +5 on the box, since your character is a master of speech."
Janne scoffs and writes down a +5. "I wish I was too."
"Hey, in this game, you can be anything you want," Yew gently pats Janne's shoulder. "That's what books, writing and these games especially are for. To take off your shoes and step into the shoes of another entity." He gives Janne a reassuring smile.
"I want to take vengeance," Janne says casually as he moves his little minifigure on the board. "On the thieves who stole my airship. And I want to save the day.."
"All right, roll me an attack check."
The dice fall onto the table. Janne sits in silence, struggling to count the numbers. "What does it say?" he asks quietly.
"Oh, you rolled an eighteen! The thieves leave you alone, but you take your sword — Vendetta, right? And you swing it around striking just about every thief in the coven. The thieves shout your name, 'Isabella!' before they meet your blade one final time."
Janne nods, his eyes lightening up a little as he stares intensely at the board game. Yew shoots him a concerned glance, but assumes that maybe Janne is happy with his game result. After all, he wanted to win the game, it seems like. Janne certainly loves winning. Janne even starts to blush a little, as if he's lost in his own thoughts.
"You've taken back your airship and now you're on the way to save the queen," Yew says, demonstrating with the minifigure as he moves her from the forest on the board to a little makeshift plastic tower, where his own minifigure sits. "And you both live happily ever after!"
Janne says nothing, staring off into space, his eyes a little hazier than usual.
"Janne?" Yew waves his hand in front of his friend. "Janne, are you okay?"
"Hm? Oh, yeah. Sorry, I'm just thinking." Janne sits back and sighs. "The tournament is tomorrow and I'm... I never get this nervous." He picks up his minifigure and fiddles with it in his hand. "I dunno, Yew. Should I back out? Should I just excuse myself?"
"What?" Yew blinks, hard. "What kind of talk is that? You're Janne Angard! You didn't back down after those bullies came for me, and you especially didn't back down when I confronted you the other n—" Yew cuts himself off. He laughs nervously, continues. "What I'm saying is, you shouldn't give up so easily. You didn't give up during our little tabletop game."
He lets out a quiet sigh. "Hey, I promised you that I'd come along. I'm your friend, right? Friends don't give up on one another, no matter the cost."
Janne scoffs, shrugs. "Yeah, sure. I mean, you're not wrong Yew, but I hope that no one takes advantage of your kindness."
"What do you mean?"
"Nothing," Janne waves it off, picking up his minifigure, the dice and pencil before helping Yew clean up their shared board game space, an old coffee table. "Anyway, I'm glad you'll be there for me. It... It means a lot. Truly." Janne blushes faintly. "I really need you."
"Wow, Janne, you're being quite forward!" Yew teases with a laugh. "In all honesty... I need you too."
═════ ◈ ═════
The tournament is in Ancheim, a large city not too far away from Al-Khampis. This is Janne's second — third? — time being here since early childhood, the wind comfortingly cool for a change despite standing in the hot, muggy desert. Janne takes a few deep breaths as he readies himself. With Vendetta by his side, he'll have no problem taking down any opponent.
He'd named his sword a long time ago, he can't remember when he received it or why he named it Vendetta. But the name stuck. What's in a name, honestly?
Janne rarely gets nervous. He's dueled many times before, even going as far as to humiliate his opponents with nasty remarks and cruel words, even using their families as part of his jokes. He once even made a small girl in a class below him cry. Not that he's proud of himself for making a little girl cry, but on the other side of the spectrum, she's living in an unforgiving world. Plus, it gives Janne adrenaline and an opportunity to strike. Weaken the opponent mentally and strike him down.
Janne tries to focus, glancing around for a trio of familiar faces. Yew had managed to score tickets in the front row, bringing along Edea and even the English teacher and librarian, Ringabel. But Janne focused on neither of them, mostly gazing towards Yew, who gives Janne an encouraging smile. Janne doesn't smile back, just looks away as he gets ready to take down the taller opponent before him.
The opponent is a tall boy a little older than Janne, with messy brown hair, freckles dotted along his olive face and skin, and dark green eyes as deeply coloured as the forests of Florem. He isn't even wearing the proper fencing uniform, even lacks a sword and instead has large claws in place. He doesn't have any armour either, instead a ragged brown shirt, bandages on his legs with some dried blood seeping through and a tattered red scarf. He even wears fake little ears that make him look like a wolf. What a joke, Janne thinks. There's only one Blazing Wolf here.
The only thing that doesn't look as outlandish as the rest of him are his glasses.
His name is Tanner Bestia — he's a student here too, but no one ever sees him or hears from him. He claims to have grown up with wolves and bears, hence his strange appearance and animalistic tendencies. He speaks in a very thick accent, one that Janne has never heard, and oftentimes communicates in low growls or grunts like an animal would.
Janne is perhaps the only one here who can take Tanner down. Maybe Vendetta wants a little taste of wolf blood. When he hears the gunshots, Janne snaps out of his thoughts. He can hear Yew shouting and cheering for him, and it makes his heart race. The way he looks so happy up there, cheering him on...
Janne has never, nor does he even deserve, a friend like Yew.