The Holy Grail Agency

Chains and Stones

"I must be off," the First Knight of Fianna was visibly shaken, immediately looking away from her.

"No," Jeanne took a hold of the man's arm, muscles tense under her touch, "Answer me first, I need to know."

He shook his head, "Honestly, milady, it is not an important matter right now. I must be off to the high school."

Her grip tightened a bit more, holding him steady in his place. It was a good thing he was not the kind to shake off her grip harshly, "Yes, it is. Of course, it is." She pulled him back towards herself before he could step away any further, "How would that not be important? You know who I am. Who I really am..." Her eyebrows furrowed, "How?"

His free hand took a hold of her wrist and he gently squeezed it, "I have to go, Pucelle."

"If you know me, we have to go to Marie and she can work the whole crystal—"

"No!" He gasped, his voice becoming a soft but steady hush, "No, no, no. You can't go. They can't do this to me again."

Jeanne took her own step back, "Wait, what do you mean?" She felt her heart suddenly jump in her chest. There was a pained look in his amber eyes, something scared him; what ever the crystal had to offer.

His head whipped from side to side, searching for something—or rather making sure no one was listening, "It's happened to me before, I know it."

"B-but how? They would have erased all your knowledge... right?" He wasn't himself, not the way she knew him to be. 'Love Spot' was not acting like the cool, composed young man she thought him to be, but rather a hardened and frightened warrior—aged by experience.

His eyes bore into hers, staring her down. She felt small in his gaze, not just physically shorter but inexperienced, "I... I'll explain when we return. We have to hurry to the high school."

She had already loosened her grip on him, letting his arm slip from her hold as he turned towards the exit. It took her a while to snap back to her senses and follow him out the door and to her high school.

They had made it there in seconds with something he had called 'materialization'. Since she had yet to master this technique, he had wrapped an arm around her waist and done the whole 'dematerialization' from the lobby of the Agency.

When they reappeared on the sport's field of the school, she felt her weight had lightened. Her fingers tingled as if being poked with thousands of needles and her vision was slightly blurry. It was an odd and foreign sensation, it caused her much uneasiness.

His armour made little to no sound as they strode through the field, a flickering street light behind them lighting their path. Their shadows were long and dark just as they arrived at the foot of the school's stairs. The male lifted his arm and contacted his partner through the watch, and they were soon led to the second floor of the school and down a moonlit hall.

The school was oddly silent. Their footsteps being the only sign of life for meters to come.

"There you are!" A deep voice called through the hall, the Knight jumping at the sound and nearly screaming.

"You almost gave me a heart attack!" the dark-haired man groaned as he turned back to meet his partner.

Jeanne turned around, her eyes had already settled in the darkness. She noticed a man appear from the vast darkness of one of the stair cases; a tall buff man. His hair looked deep red in the darkness as did his attire. He wore a fur-lined cape—uncharacteristic to any other H.G.A hero, but it suited him well. He was a sturdy man, and he did look quite a few years older than any of the heroes she had seen so far.