I was every bit as excited as I was nervous when I found out Rachel was coming to the Colossus. Excited, because I got a chance to see the normal side of someone I admired. Nervous, because... the same reason. Rachel, normal? Those words just don't jive. In my mind, I've always associated Rachel with battles, from her inseparable gun to the silent footsteps unique to scouts, to the drone or two that hovered above her head...
Therefore, when Rachel stepped through the door in person, took off her cap, and handed me a bouquet of wildflowers, it made me speechless. She seemed rather... perplexed. "Isn't it customary to bring flowers when visiting someone? Or is it different for Caelestites?"
I took a closer look and realized the flowers are indigenous to Eraveil. I've heard about her attention to detail on the battlefield but didn't expect that of it. Rachel and normality were anything but contradictory. She was simply adorable!
I accepted the flowers and put them in a vase. When I turned around, she was long gone. That silence of the scout! Guess it will never change.
—Vice

Of course, to be from a "Family of Heroes" is a great honor, but the backlash is worse than anything else since everyone will shun you for failing to live up to expectations and even call you a deserter! Given that, I solidified a "backlash" to that backlash within me, when I was little. I wanted to prove how wrong they were to shun me.
In school, other kids would sprawl on their desks when they got tired, but I kept my back straight for several hours. When they laughed out loud at jokes, I fought to maintain a poker face.When I got good grades on exams, I would not show joy no matter how happy I was. Why? Because that's how heroes are supposed to act.
But fake heroes never last. I was always picked last for volleyball in P.E. classes. I was way scrawny back then, and it was torture for the weakest kid in class to try to be a hero. Yes, torture. I didn't have the courage to admit it until now. Before, I would just grit my teeth and tell myself that Life is testing me.

I was too scrawny. Couldn't help how I was born, other than to train hard every day: 10,000 jump ropes a day, running laps around Gannon, sprinting up and down the stairs. Each day, I got... You thought I was going to say "stronger"? No, try "more mobility challenged". My ankles hurt like the dickens. Every step felt like it was at knifepoint... Planar fasciitis? What's that, fancy term for "My feet are about to fall off"?
Anyway, periostitis is the word, and in serious condition too. The doctor warned me to stop tormenting my feet and give it a rest, or spend the rest of my life laid up in bed, so I gave up. Not that I could move even if I wanted to.I stopped for a month, resorting to only sit-ups, crunches, and pull-ups... Luckily, no joint inflammation in the meantime. I even took the chance to learn how to train scientifically. I haven't had any pain since I resumed running.

Thanks to the workouts, I finally got into the military school and started studying mechanical engineering and making weapons. That's incredibly useful in helping you understand weapons and create even more powerful ones. I thought I was passionate about the field, but I was wrong.
My peers were all nuts—and I say that with respect and admiration. They love engineering down to the aesthetics of every screw, even ignoring cats by the roads when they had blueprints in hand. How's that possible?! Well, you know what I mean.Compared to them, I treated the subject as just a stepping stone to winning battles.
Oh, I never thought there was anything wrong with that. I never wanted to work for R&D like all of them did. Sticking out like a sore thumb? Yes, but I've long gotten used to that anyway.

So I got into the 3rd Legion like I wanted, the opportunity I was waiting for. I would regain my honor and restore the "Family of Heroes" title to my household.
I was adamant about it for a very long time.
In retrospect, I was indeed bullheaded. Why? Sure, repaying my aunt and protecting my sisters were great motivations, but that's not all.The mocking I endured as a kid, bearing the agony of my back and ankles while watching my classmates discussing their futures in engineering from afar... I had to tell myself there was a reason for my suffering, or all the pain would be for naught.
I'd probably never tell all that to anyone else but you. Don't worry about me, though, those days were over. I've found the real reason for me to fight now.