Disclaimer: I don't own fire emblem.
A/N: Alright, I finally got another good idea for this pairing. Ike/Mia, best pairing in FE9/10. They work great together. Anywho, I think I did good with this one. It turned out better than I thought it would, but it could've been better. Ah, well. This is set after Mad King's War but before FE10. Enjoy.
Fortune
Ike stormed through the crowd, rudely shoving or pushing his way through the mass to get to his destination. Usually, the commander of the Greil Mercenaries was calm and collected, only using force when he needed to cut an enemy open. But that wasn't the reason the hero of Tellius was being so rough.
He was royally pissed.
What had gotten Ike in such a bad mood? Nothing but nobody easily angered the young man. He could handle Boyd's braggy boasts, Shinon's snarky comments, and Gatrie's constant flirting and obsession with women no problem. But he wasn't just mad. He was also tired. It was one person who had given him so much stress. One of his close friends.
Mia.
Now, why Mia? They were close, very close, best friends. They always talked, they were sparring buddies, worked together on various missions, always backed each up on the battlefield, and enjoyed each other's company. So how could Mia of all people get so worked up.
"That stupid fortuneteller." Ike grumbled angrily to himself.
Everyone in the Greil Mercenaries knew about Mia's visit to a "famed" fortuneteller during the Mad King's War. The old lady fortuneteller said she would soon meet her "white-robed rival". Mia was bent on finding her white-robed rival no matter what it took.
Turns out, this "White-robed rival" was supposed to be the only one who could defeat Mia, and vice versa for Mia. They were supposed to be each other's greatest opponent. They were supposed to be equal in terms of skill. Ike rolled his eyes.
Being Mia's sparring buddy meant he knew how she fought and the girl was deadly when she was serious. He had a hard time beating her, and she was the only one who could give him a real match nowadays. Sometimes he lost, sometimes he won. All and all, this "White-robed rival" would have to be pretty skilled to beat Mia. He knew this for a fact.
Ike sighed. Mia's strong belief in her fortune had caused the Greil Mercenaries a lot of trouble. He still remembered Mia's fruitless attempt to teach Rhys how to use a sword during that two month period she had convinced herself he was her white-robed rival. She had once asked Gatrie if he knew any women that wore white robes. The man had answered that there were many in town and, well, the Greil Mercenaries had to stay away from the marketplace after what Mia did in an attempt to see which woman might be her rival. There was also that time Oscar had gotten flour all over his armor and Mia thought he was her rival. Plus, at the time she had thought her fortune was "Her white-robed rival rides towards you" and because Oscar rode a horse, it only further convinced her. She had revisited the fortuneteller later and got her fortune retold.
In the end, it was "You will soon meet your white-robed rival". Nothing more, nothing less. Mia also said that her rival would use a sword but that was pretty much it.
Ike rolled his eyes. Personally, he didn't believe in any of that fortune stuff. To him, they were some person's ramblings that were vague enough so they might come true. Plus, he knew that the fortuneteller's didn't even believe in their own powers. They knew themselves it was just a fun little game.
Fortunes were a ruse.
Now, what did Mia's fortune have to do with Ike's distress? Well, she had been talking about it nonstop for the past week, and it was really starting to get on his nerves. She had also been forcing him to spar with her every second of everyday to prepare for her fight against her white-robed rival. Ike had lots of stamina, but Mia sure had a lot more, especially when she was working towards something. There was only so much he could take and he had to draw the line.
He had managed to find out about the fortuneteller and her location while he and Mia were sparring. The fortuneteller actually lived in a town not far from Greil's Retreat in a small house near the marketplace. Ike smiled as he found the small building.
"Hannah's Fortunes." Ike said aloud as her read the sign above the door. He entered the building.
The room was pretty small. It had a variety of trinkets and colorful antiques in it, all looking magical and mysterious. In the center of the room was a small table with a crystal ball on top of it. An old lady sat quietly at the table. She smiled up at Ike.
"Hello young man." The elder lady smiled. "I am Hannah. Have you come to get your fortune told?"
"No." Ike replied shortly. He sat down in the seat across from Hannah. "Do you know a girl named Mia? Purple hair, uses a sword, upbeat attitude?"
"Ah, yes. Her." Hannah smiled. "She's one of my more frequent customers. She comes in here every so often to learn more about her fortune."
"Her fortune dealing with the white-robed rival?" Ike said unamused. Hannah nodded.
"Precisely. Do you know her?"
"She's my friend and co-worker." Ike said. "Look, she's become obsessed with this white-robed rival stuff and it's getting pretty annoying for me and my other friends."
"…So?"
"So could you please tell her that fortunetelling is all a scam next time she comes in here? I'd really appreciate it." Ike smiled. Hannah just stared at him.
"…You think my fortunes are a scam?"
"Well, yeah." Ike nodded. "Fortunes don't actually come true. You can't actually tell what's going to happen to someone in the future."
"I disagree." Hannah replied frowning. "I'll have you know that all my fortunes have come true, and this one is sure to come true very soon. I know it."
"Right." Ike said rolling his eyes. "You can't just tell someone what's going to happen to them in the future. No one can be sure what's going to happen to them."
"Such a naïve child." Hannah sighed, shaking her head. She smiled. "How about I tell your fortune then?"
"No thanks."
"Please, I insist." Hannah pursued. "I'll do it free of charge. If you can spare just a bit more time with this old lady, I can tell you about your near future."
"…Alright. Fine." Ike sighed. Hannah beamed.
"Good, now give me your hand." Hannah said. Ike let her take his hand. She stared at his open palm. "Hm, I see."
"…" Ike remained silent.
"Now, I shall read your fortune." Hannah said.
She raised her hands over the crystal ball and mumbled a few words Ike couldn't quite hear under her breath. Hannah closed her eyes and let out a long humming sound. She reopened her eyes.
"I have read your fortune." Hannah smiled.
"So what is it?" Ike said in mild curiosity.
"You will soon meet your white-robed rival." Hannah smiled.
Ike's jaw dropped. "T-That's the same as Mia's fortune!" If he thought, even for a second, that fortunetelling was real, this pretty much proved it was all a pile of crap.
"Oh, but I'm not done yet." Hannah smiled. Ike raised an eyebrow. "Your white-robed rival will be a beautiful woman and a skilled swordmaiden. She is the only one who can beat you, and only you can beat her. You respect and admire her, and you hold her close to your heart. But though you are rivals, you are also meant to be lovers. You will always stay by the others side, and even if you try and avoid it, you two are destined for each other."
Ike stared at Hannah. Now HE was destined to have a white-robed rival, and this girl was supposed to be his lover? Now he knew for sure fortunetelling was a sham.
"Thank you for your fortunetelling, but I really have to go now." Ike said, excusing himself. He opened the door.
"Your fortune will come true very soon. Sooner than you think." Hannah called to him. Ike shut the door. Hannah chuckled to herself.
"And so will Mia's. Very soon."
X.X.X
Ike stepped onto the grass that surrounded Greil Retreat, the Greil Mercenaries home base. He smiled as he made his way into the compound. He always felt calm and peaceful here. Then again, the place always had a cool and calming atmosphere.
"Hello Ike."
Ike turned around to see the mercenaries priest, Rhys. Though, he looked different from how he usually looked. His holy white robes had been replaced by a simple white shirt and brown leather pants.
"Hey Rhys. Why aren't you wearing your robes?" Ike asked.
"Mist is doing the laundry right now. She told me to tell you to change into some casual clothes so she can wash our dirty clothes. Everyone else is like this too." Rhys replied.
"Oh. Well, do you know where Mist is?" Ike asked.
"She should be out in the field hanging up some clothes to dry right now." Rhys smiled.
"Thanks." Ike muttered a quick goodbye and ran off to his room to change out of his armor.
After he was finished changing he made his way out to the field. Ike had chosen a dark blue shirt and black leather pants as his current attire. When he got to the field he noticed Mist wasn't the only one there. Mia was helping Mist hanging up some clothes to dry and Shinion and Rolf were shooting at some targets a few yards away. Mia wore a purple shirt with white shorts while Mist wore a tan shirt with white shorts. Shinon wore a dark green shirt with tan pants while Rolf wore a light blue shirt with white pants. Ike made his way over to his sister and sparring buddy.
"Hey guys." Ike smiled. "Having fun?"
"Hiya boss!" Mia chirped happily. "Where'd ya run off to?"
"Just went to town for a bit. Got something to eat." Ike shrugged. If he told her he went to see the fortuneteller he'd never hear the end of it.
"I guess that means you won't be wanting any lunch then." Mist pouted. "And I worked so hard on it too."
"Aren't you still cooking the soup?" Mia asked.
"Oh, shoot! Be back in a sec." Mist ran back towards the base to save the soup she was making for the hungry mercenaries.
"Need some help?" Ike offered.
"Glad to have some." Mia smiled. Ike picked up one of his wet shirts and proceeded to hanging it up.
A little distance away, Rolf was watching Shinon with admiration as he aimed three arrows each at different targets. He let the arrows fly at the exact same time and they all hit the center of their designated target, only something a master archer could achieve.
"And that's how it's done." Shinon smirked. Rolf beamed at his teacher.
"Wow, that was amazing Uncle Shinon!" Rolf said excitedly. "Think I could try doing that?"
Shinon shrugged. "Knock yourself out."
"Alright!" Rolf smiled. He fitted three arrows to his bow and aimed. He let them fly.
Now, Rolf's a good archer, but he's nowhere near as good as Shinon. One of the arrow's hit its mark, the other one his the outer rim of its target, the last one shot towards Ike's back.
Ike and Mia were moving on to Rhys's robes when Mia saw a arrow headed straight toward the guy next to her. With lightning quick reflexes, she grabbed Ike and pulled him down.
"Boss, look out!" Mia shouted.
She grabbed around his waist and pulled him down. The arrow soared over his head. Unfortunately, they were standing on a bit of a slope. It was easy to stay balanced on, but if you bent down and leaned forward you could fall. Since Mia practically pushed herself and Ike down and forward it was only natural they lost balance and started to fall forward.
Not finished with hanging up Rhys's robes, they fell into them and got tangled up in the clothing on their way down. They tumbled down the slope and rolled to halt when the ground leveled out again.
"Thanks Mia." Ike said rubbing his head. "But I could have done without the fall."
His friend said nothing. Mia just simply stared at him with wide eyes. Ike looked at himself. Was there something wrong with him? Did he have any injuries. He was tangled up in the robes, but other than that nothing seemed to be wrong with him.
"I don't see how Rhys wears this thing. Too many flaps hanging out, right?" Ike smiled. Mia kept staring at him.
Slowly, very slowly, she crawled towards him on all fours. Ike scooted back a little, a bit creeped out by what Mia was doing. The swordmaiden kept crawling towards him until she was right in front of his face. Her face was mere inches from his. Ike held his breath, wondering what could be going through Mia's mind right now. The girl blinked. She broke out into a huge smile.
"You're my white-robed rival boss!" Mia almost shouted.
"W-WHAT?!" Ike shouted. Had she gone crazy? How could she think that he was her white…robed…rival. Ike looked at himself again.
He was tangled up in Rhys's white robes and, in a way, wearing them.
"W-Wait, Mia. This is just a coincidence." Ike said as her smile grew wider.
"IKE IS MY WHITE-ROBED RIVAL!" Mia shouted at the top of her lungs.
"Mia, I'm not…" Ike began. He stopped. He took this time to check over Mia. She got tangled up in another one of Rhys's robes. She was…wearing…white…
She was HIS white-robed rival too?!
"Mia…you're…" Ike said in disbelief. Mia cut him off.
"Yeah, yeah! It all makes sense now!" Mia cheered. "You're my rival boss! The only one that can beat me! My equal! You use a sword, you're wearing white robes, you're the only one who can beat me in a sword fight, it all makes sense!"
She suddenly stopped. She slowly brought her hands over her mouth. Her eyes widened to the size of dinner plates as she looked at Ike. He stared back with wide eyes as well. What was going through her head now?
"That's means…you're my…" Mia gasped, her face cherry red. She suddenly turned and was gone in the blink of an eye, leaving Rhys's robes behind her.
"What was that?" Ike wondered aloud as he untangled himself from the robes and got to his feet. "Was she…blushing?"
"Quite a little scene you had there."
Ike turned to see Shinon and Rolf standing there. Shinon stood there with his usual smirk while Rolf stood next to him looking slightly guilty.
"I-I'm sorry about the arrow commander…" Rolf said quietly.
"Don't worry about it." Ike said, not really paying attention. "Where do you guys think Mia went?"
"Maybe to her room. What did you say to her anyway?" Shinon asked. "Not that I care or anything, but what was with that 'Ike is my white-robed rival!' thing?"
"…You…heard that?"
"Everyone must've. That woman is loud." Shinon grumbled twirling his pinky finger inside his left ear.
"I get tangled up in Rhys's robes and now she thinks I'm her white-robed rival." Ike sighed. A sudden realization dawned upon him.
But if she was his white-robed rival, that also meant she was supposed to be his…
Ike blushed. "I'm…going to find her." He ran towards base camp.
On his way in he bumped into Mist. She was carrying a basket of wet clothes. She smiled at her brother.
"Hi Ike." Mist smiled.
"Hey, weren't you going to make lunch?"
"Oscar said he'd take care of it." Mist replied. "By the way, Mia just ran in her a few minutes ago. What happened?"
"We had an accident and now she thinks I'm her rival." Ike said.
"You're wearing Rhys's robes…" Mist said.
"Take them." Ike said, pulling the robe off him and putting them in the basket.
"Wait, if you're her rival than that means…" Mist trailed off. She smiled. "Well, then I guess it all makes sense then."
"What makes sense?" Ike asked.
"…Did Mia ever tell you that there was more to her fortune then what she told us?" Mist asked. Ike looked clueless. Mist smirked. "Well, of course she wouldn't tell you. She only told me. I always thought that the rest of her fortune might have something to do with you, but the 'white-robed' thing always threw me off. I guess my assumption was right in the end.
"What assumption?" Ike asked, frustrated with his sister for not giving him a direct answer.
"You'll have to ask Mia about that. She's in her room. I'll make sure to save your lunches for later." Mist smiled. She went back outside to finish the laundry.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Ike said to himself.
He shook his head and made his way down the hall to Mia's room. He knocked on the door when he was faced to face with her door.
"Who is it?" Came the voice from inside.
"Ike. Can I come in?"
"…Okay."
Ike opened the door. He saw Mia sitting on her bed holding her knees to her chest. She smiled at Ike as he sat down beside her.
"So, what did you want with me boss?" Mia asked.
"You know what." Ike replied. Mia laughed uneasily. "What happened back there?"
"You're my white-robed rival." Mia said quietly. "But that also means something else."
"What?" Ike asked.
"You know how I told you my fortune was, 'You will soon meet your white-robed rival'?" Mia asked. Ike nodded. "Well, there was a whole lot more to my fortune than that. A lot more."
"What was the rest?" Ike asked.
"I told you my rival also had to use a sword, right?" Mia asked. Ike nodded again. "Other than that, I didn't tell any of you the rest. It was too embarrassing, and I knew it would never happen."
"C'mon Mia. You can tell me. I'll keep it a secret if you want." Ike said reassuringly. Mia took a deep breath.
"Alright." Mia sighed. Her cheeks turned pink. "This is how it went."
"You will soon meet your white-robed rival, a man of great skill. He uses a sword, like you, but in a different style. You are the only one that can beat him, and he is the only one that can beat you. He will be someone you hold dear to your heart, but you already know him. You respect and admire him, and he respects and admires you. The two of you are destined for one another, destined to be together forever. You are each other's greatest rivals, and greatest companions. You will find you are meant for one another together. Both will find out at the exact same time. You will never leave the other's side, being rivals and lovers for all eternity."
Mia finished. Her face had gone from pink to scarlet. Ike simply stared at her with wide eyes. That…was different than what he originally thought her fortune was.
"A-At first, I thought it was you for a while." Mia said. "You're the best swordsman I know, and your style is different from mine. You're the only one I've lost to, and you said once yourself that I'm the only one who's ever beaten you. Ike, you're the person I respect and admire most and that's one of the reasons I decided to stick with you after the Mad King's War. I really did think you were my rival for a while, but you don't wear white robes. Never have. So that's why I stopped believing you were my rival."
"Mia?"
"I…I really do like you. Like really like you." Mia blushed as she said this. "I was really hoping we could be, you know, LIKE that. But it sounds crazy, right? I was stupid for even believing a fortune like that. We can't ever be like that…can we…"
"I think we can."
"Huh?"
Mia looked at Ike with a bewildered expression on her face. Ike smiled to himself.
"Your white-robed rival will be a beautiful woman and a skilled swordmaiden. She is the only one who can beat you, and only you can beat her. You respect and admire her, and you hold her close to your heart. But though you are rivals, you are also meant to be lovers. You will always stay by the others side, and even if you try and avoid it, you two are destined for each other."
Ike finished. He grinned at Mia while she looked at him disbelievingly.
"Boss, what was that…?" Mia asked.
"That, was my fortune." Ike smiled.
"What?"
"Today, I went into town to see that fortuneteller." Ike said. "You were always bugging me about your white-robed rival, and tiring me out with challenging me all the time. I was getting fed up with it, so I went into town to see the fortuneteller and get her to tell you that your fortune was fake. I ended up getting my fortune told, and that's exactly what she told me. I'd meet my white-robed rival very soon." He turned towards Mia. "You're my white-robed rival Mia."
"I'm…YOUR white-robed rival?" Mia said in disbelief.
"Hey, if I become you rival by getting tangled up in Rhys's robes then the same goes for you." Ike smiled.
"It's true. I was tangled up in some robes too." Mia said to herself. She couldn't believe it.
"You know, I didn't believe in fortunetelling until today. I used to think it was all some scam." Ike leaned towards Mia. "But I found out it's not as stupid as most people say."
"Ike…"
"I found out today that I really like you too Mia." Ike said. He blushed, something he never thought he'd do. "And…if it's fine with you I…wouldn't mind being your white-robed rival and…your lover."
Mia didn't answer with words, she answered with her actions. She snaked her arms around Ike's neck and pulled him forward, capturing his lips with hers. Ike wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer to him. They held one another, they were rivals, but fated lovers holding and kissing each other. They eventually pulled apart. They both were mildly surprised when Mia found herself in Ike's lap. Not that they minded their position though.
"I wouldn't mind being your white-robed rival or lover either." Mia smiled. "Does this mean we have to start wearing white clothes now?"
"I don't think what we wear matters at this point." Ike chuckled. He leaned forward and kissed Mia again. She smiled.
"Me neither." Mia laughed. They came together again. They both found out they missed lunch later that day.
But that really didn't matter at this point.
A/N: Yep...I wouldn't say I was surprised with this one, but... maybe... intrigued? I don't know. Did you like it?
So yeah. My favorite pairing. I would've put some more pairings in this one, but I couldn't think of any good ways how I could. Oh well. The main focus here was Ike/Mia and I think I expressed that well enough. I used Mia's vague fortune for this one-shot. Cool.
Please...leave a review. I'd appreciate it, and it makes me feel like I did a good job. I've got another Ike/Mia fic if you want to check that one out. It's called Embarrassment before a battle and in my opinion it's the best one-shot I've ever made. Anywho, Please review.
Kiiam
