"NO!"

The same dream haunted Robin at least once a week. She always woke up screaming, remembering she had done something awful, but nothing else. It happened with such regularity that she wondered if it was a premonition. If only she could remember more so she knew what to watch for.

Then she realized her voice was far too deep. She instinctively touched her throat and looked down at herself. A lean, bandaged chest flanked by silver hair filled her vision.

I'm in Takumi's body again! He's alive… Thank goodness. These bandages, though… I must have gotten him hurt pretty badly. But if I'm Takumi again, that means whatever caused us to switch places is still at work. What am I going to do?

"Big Brother!"

A young girl rushed into the tent. Robin recalled she was Takumi's younger sister, Sakura.

"Are you alright, Big Brother?" Sakura asked. "Did you have another nightmare?"

Another nightmare? Wait, Ryoma and Oboro mentioned Takumi's nightmares, too. He must get them a lot.

"I did, but I'm okay now, Sakura," said Robin. "Sorry to make you worry."

"I just wish I could help you, Big Brother. All my healing arts are powerless against nightmares…"

"Hey, you did what you could. I'm glad you came to check on me."

"Still…" Sakura sighed. "Well, since you're awake, I'll see how your wounds are healing."

With an expert hand, the young princess unraveled the bandages covering Robin's arms and torso. The revealed skin was slightly red and tender, but Sakura remarked that it was far better than just a few days ago. She concluded that Robin was clear to leave the infirmary, but just to be safe, she would be confined to the astral plane for one more day.

Robin was relieved at the news. Her inexperience with the bow would stay secret for a little longer. Sakura was surprised that Robin readily listened to her orders but made no further comments. Robin winced and made a note to act more stubborn next time.

"You look tense, Big Brother," Sakura noted. "Why don't you have a soak in the hot spring?"

"H-hot spring?" Robin squeaked.

"Did I say something wrong? I mean, if you don't want to…"

"N-no, I'll go! It sounds like a great idea! I'll see you later, okay? Bye, Sakura!"

That was how Robin found herself staring at a pool of hot water with a towel tightly wrapped around herself. Logically, she knew she needed the bath. Sakura was just too polite to outright tell her she stunk. At the same time, though, Robin felt like she was violating both her and Takumi's dignity. Not to mention she was being a hypocrite.

"Why do I have such bad luck when it comes to bathing?" She took a deep breath and sighed. "Might as well get it over with. Please forgive me, Takumi."

She placed her towel on the ground and stared at the sky while she waded into the pool. The hot spring provided smallclothes for bathers, but she still felt dirty seeing a man nearly naked, even though she was said man.

She sat down and leaned backwards so her hair was submerged. It floated around her head and caressed her bare skin. Her heart was pounding, but the water felt heavenly.

"Lord Takumi!"

"Wha?!" Robin shot upright, head whipping around to see who spoke. All her blood rushed to her face. "H-Hinata?!"

The wild retainer was, like her, dressed only in smallclothes. Robin had to exert all her willpower and bite her tongue in order to stop herself from screaming.

"So Lady Sakura finally let you go?" Hinata asked. "That's great!"

Don't scream. Don't scream. Don't scream.

"Lord Takumi? Is something wrong?"

He stepped into the water, and Robin lost control.

"HAVE YOU NO SHAME?!" she screeched. "AT LEAST WEAR A DAMN TOWEL WHEN YOU ADDRESS A LADY!"

"Lord Taku― OW! H-hey! Why are you throwing things at me?! Ow, that's sharp!"

"GET OOOOOOOUT!"

Hinata fled, but not before a bar of soap smacked him in the back of the head. Only once Robin's temper cooled did she realize the magnitude of what she had done.

"Oh, gods. I'm doomed." She stood up and dashed out of the pool, grabbing her towel along the way. "Hinata, wait!"

After hastily throwing on her "kee-moh-noh", she hurried outside, only to see Hinata being confronted by a furious Oboro. When her eyes landed on Robin, her scowl deepened.

"YOU!" she yelled. "What the hell were you thinking?!"

"I'm sorry!" Robin cried. "I couldn't hold it in any longer!"

"Of all the…" Oboro buried her face in her palm. "As if Lord Takumi's reputation wasn't sullied enough…"

"Will someone please explain what the heck is going on here?" Hinata groaned.

"Well, since I blew up so badly on you back there, I owe it to you to explain everything," Robin admitted, scratching the back of her head. "But first, let's go someplace private."

Once the trio was safely inside Takumi's tent, Robin confessed everything to Hinata. His mouth opened and closed a few times, but he surprisingly did not interrupt. Only once Robin finished did he speak.

"Wow. That's some story," he said.

"I know it's hard to believe, but―"

"No, I believe you. I thought it was strange that Lord Takumi was acting so… cute."

"Idiot!" Oboro snarled as Robin blushed. "Why didn't you confront her, then?"

"What was I supposed to say? Besides, you're one to talk. You knew all along and never told me!"

"Only because Lord Takumi and Robin swore me to secrecy! Besides, you're the biggest blabbermouth I know!"

"Come on, guys, stop fighting!" Robin pleaded. "I need both of you to help me until Takumi― Sorry, I mean, Prince Takumi and I switch back."

"How long will that be?" asked Hinata.

"If it works the same way as last time, then just until tomorrow. But the fact that this happened again means that it will almost certainly keep happening. We really need to figure out what's causing Prince Takumi and I to switch places, or else we're going to be in a real bind."

"Hmm…" Oboro crossed her arms. "I admit, I'm clueless. I've never heard of something like this happening before."

"Me neither," added Hinata.

"Of course you wouldn't," Oboro grumbled. "I can't remember the last time you picked up a book―if you've picked one up at all."

"As long as I can protect Lord Takumi, I don't need any silly old books!"

"Fat lot of good that does us. Lord Takumi isn't even here anymore!"

"Will you two please focus?" Robin interrupted. "No one here is at fault. If we work together, we should be able to get to the bottom of this. First things first: does this place have a library?"

"Well, yeah," said Oboro. "In fact, Lord Takumi visits there fairly often."

"That's perfect! Since Sak― Er, Princess Sakura has me confined to the astral plane for the day, I have plenty of time to do some digging. Best of all, it won't look out of place!"

"Just watch out for any Nohrian scum," Oboro snarled. "I've seen Prince Leo enter the library a lot. For Lord Takumi's sake, if you see him, then stay away from him. If you can't do that, at least make an attempt to retain our liege's dignity."

Robin laughed nervously and scratched her cheek. "Sorry… I'll try to keep an eye out for him."

Before she left, Hinata and Oboro helped guide Robin through styling Takumi's hair. Robin commented that the result looked similar to a pineapple, which earned her an earful from both retainers. Apparently, the two of them idolized Takumi so much that they styled their own hair in a similar fashion, so she ended up insulting all three of them.

Can I not do anything right in this body?

She sighed as she pushed the library doors open, but her mood skyrocketed the moment her eyes laid upon the vast shelves filled to the brim with all sorts of foreign literature. She suppressed an excited squeal as she zoomed over to the nearest bookcase. She hadn't seen so many books since she was last in Ylisstol.

She ran her fingers over the bindings and plucked out a random volume. As she opened the cover, the familiar scent of aged parchment washed over her. For the first time, she felt at home in this strange land.

"Well, if it isn't Prince Takumi of Hoshido."

Robin yelped in a most undignified manner and chucked her book towards the voice. It smacked into the unfortunate person's face with a loud thunk and dropped to the floor. She paled when she found herself face to face with a very grumpy Prince Leo.

ACK! Oh no, what have I done?!

"I see your aim is on point," the prince grumbled as he rubbed his bruised nose.

"Then you shouldn't sneak up behind people!" Robin argued, trying to keep Oboro's words in mind. "Er, Nohrian scum!"

"This, coming from the coward who hides in the back on the battlefield?"

Leo was obviously trying to get a rise out of her, and it was working. "Hey! It's not cowardly!"

"Care to enlighten me?"

Robin smirked. "The next time a pegasus or wyvern swoops in, I won't bother to save your sorry butt."

Leo bristled at the statement. "As if I would ever fall into such a position that I'd need help from a filthy Hoshidan!"

"Considering that you're wearing your collar inside out, I find your claim hard to believe."

"WH-WHAT?!" He took a quick look at the purple fabric and his expression soured. "Damn that Niles! He lied to me!"

Hook, line, and sinker.

Robin suppressed her laughter and attempted to remain aloof and spiteful. "The mighty Prince Leo's greatest weakness: wardrobe malfunctions. How pathetic."

"Shut up!" Leo snapped as he fixed his collar. "I wasn't the one screaming at his retainer in the hot spring this morning!"

"Y-you heard that?!"

"With how loud you were shouting, I'm surprised the whole camp didn't hear."

Robin gulped. "How much did you hear?"

"Enough. I can only assume that idiot walked in on your other retainer."

"Hinata is not an idiot!" Robin snapped. "His heart's in the right place. He's… just a bit eager."

Just like Chrom.

"Regardless, that eagerness is going to get him killed one day."

"That's why it's my job to look after him and make sure that doesn't happen."

Leo gave her a strange look and she realized she must have messed up yet again.

"You too?" he asked.

"Huh?"

"I have to ensure my retainer, Odin, doesn't get overly eager as well. Something about his 'aching blood' and his 'tome hand'."

That sure sounds a lot like Owain…

"Say, how did Odin come to be your retainer? Just curious," Robin said quickly. "I mean, he doesn't seem the type someone like you would hire voluntarily."

"That's none of your business," Leo growled.

"In that case, I'll just ask him myself," Robin said with a smirk. "I'm sure he'd be more than willing to tell me about his daring exploits."

She squeaked when Leo suddenly shoved her against the bookshelf. "I will not tolerate you threatening my retainer!"

"W-who said anything about threatening him?!" she shrieked. "Geez, not everything I do is ill-intentioned! And could you back off just a little bit? Those gauntlets are sharp!"

And your face is way too close.

Leo scoffed but released his grip on her shoulders. "Then consider it a warning. If I find even a single hair misplaced, you'll regret having ever crossed me."

And now he's acting like Lucina… Why does everyone here want to kill me?

"All right," she sighed. "Look, all I came here to do was check out some books. If I bother you that much, I'll just stay out of your way and pretend you don't exist."

"Finally, something reasonable comes out of your mouth," Leo snorted.

I swear, if I ever come across this prick in my own body, he's dead meat.

With a great deal of effort, Robin managed to keep her temper in check and ignored Leo. She snatched several books that looked promising and stomped back to her tent, still fuming. She flipped open the cover of the first tome she grabbed, gripping the edges harder than necessary.

"I can't believe that headband-wearing little snot!" she growled. "I've never met someone so disagreeable and antagonistic in my life! If I were myself, I would have smacked him, prince or not!"

"I want to smack him too," Oboro piped up as she opened the tent flap.

"Oh, hey, Oboro," said Robin.

"I see things didn't go over well with Prince Leo."

"Considering it started with me throwing a book at his face and ended with me pinned against a shelf, yeah, it went as badly as possible."

"You threw a book at his face?! Damn it, I would've killed to see that!"

"I hit him square on the nose, too," Robin boasted. "I imagine it's gonna look pretty purple before long."

Oboro giggled. "Serves that scumbag right. Anyway, did you find anything interesting?"

"Well, I don't know if these are going to be of any use, but we gotta start somewhere. Mind giving me a hand?"

The pair carefully searched the tomes for any clues about what could have caused Robin to switch places with Takumi. One mentioned a very old Nohrian body swapping spell, but it affected the caster, so that was no help to them. There was plenty of other information that Robin found helpful since she needed to learn more about Hoshido and Nohr, but nothing that could solve her current predicament.

"Well, this looks like a bust," Robin said as she closed the last book. "It's getting late, so why don't we call it a day?"

"All right," said Oboro. "The others should be back from the day's march before long. Why don't I take these back for you? If Prince Leo shows up again, I want to see that bruise you made!"

"You're terrible," Robin snickered. "Oh, while you're out, can you get me some paper and a pen?"

"Why?"

"Takumi― Oops, I mean, Prince Takumi is going to want to know what I did today, and I'm abysmal at using an ink brush."

"Ink brushes are meant for Hoshidan calligraphy," Oboro explained. "Did you seriously try to write Nohrian with one?"

"Um… Yes?"

Oboro groaned and shook her head. "I can't believe you. All right, I'll get them for you, but I'm going to write the letter."

"Fair enough. It'll also make it less likely for a non-Hoshidan to read it."

Half an hour later, Oboro returned with paper and brush in hand. Robin carefully dictated what she wanted recorded, and Oboro translated it into the strange but beautiful characters that made up the Hoshidan language. When the ink was dry, Robin folded the letter up and placed it with Takumi's belongings.

"Thanks for all your help, Oboro," said Robin.

"After everything you did, you needed it," the retainer replied.

"I won't deny that," Robin admitted with a nervous giggle. "And I'll need you and Hinata to help me again the next time Prince Takumi and I switch."

"I hope Lord Takumi will be able to fix this before that happens, but I know that's just wishful thinking. I'll be keeping a sharp eye out for you, Robin, you hear?"

"Understood. Good night, Oboro."

After Oboro left, Robin changed into Takumi's nightclothes and climbed under the covers. Before she closed her eyes, she suddenly recalled his frequent nightmares. What if he woke up scared again? How cruel that she kept borrowing his body and yet was unable to help him.

She glanced at the brush and inkstone Oboro left behind and got an idea. After making a bit more ink, she sloppily painted a message on the palm of her hand and wrist.

I'm here for you.

It was barely legible, but she hoped that he'd be able to read it when he woke up. She patiently waited for the ink to dry before climbing back into bed. She closed her eyes and drifted off with a smile on her face.

Outside the tent, Niles hummed thoughtfully.

"Well, this certainly is interesting," he commented. "Lord Leo's hunch was right on the mark. He'll definitely want to know about this stray little bird."

I'm back! And I managed an update before the end of the month! Progress has been kinda slow since I was binging Paper Mario games, but I still tried to write a little every day. I was a little burned out after writing "Soulbound", so I think the break was warranted.

I am so mean to Robin. I feel a little bad but putting her in all these awkward situations is just too much fun. I hope it's fun to read, too!